We're leaving Canberra soon! We'll be on our way to Wagga Wagga. It's the first place on this trip that we've never been been to before. Sydney, Canberra, and Kiama are all reruns for us.
I had a funny dream last night. I was eating lunch with my friend. She's American, but I think we were in Australia. My friend talked about her problems. It had something to do with her husband buying the wrong pickles at the grocery store. Then I started telling her about our Australia trip. She got really mad and said I was being inappropriate. She said doctors shouldn't tell their patients about their lives. She said if I didn't shut up she'd have me fired and put into jail. I told her I wasn't a doctor. Then she started spitting at me.
I better go finish packing.
* * *
I learned it might be raining on our drive. I hope it's not too horrible.
It rained here last night. Fortunately it started after we had gotten back to our motel room.
* * *
I'm mad at Tim now.
He talked to his friend who's watching our cats.
I overheard him saying that Ben should be splitting the one small can of food between Mushu and Max. I spoke up and said no, it's supposed to be one can for each of them. Tim gave me that shush! look and went on talking. When he got off the phone, I brought it up again. He insisted I had told him 1/2 can of food the last time we talked. I said that's not true, AND I had left Ben a note saying one full can for each cat. So, why can't Ben just go with the note?
It's not just that. Tim always gives me looks and questions me when it comes to buying canned food for the cats...or anything that relates to the cats. Like their litter. I dread asking him to pick some up for me when he goes to Costco. He gives me this attitude, like I'm wasting the litter.
I'm the one who cleans the litter, and I'm the one has to spend the most time with the litter boxes. One is in my office where I do my writing. The other is in the laundry room where I do the laundry.
If Tim wants to use a minimal amount of litter, let him be in charge of emptying it and let him stay all day nearby smelling it.
I really don't think I use more than you're supposed to.
Maybe I'm too sensitive. Maybe I'm imagining things. But...I don't think so. I think it upsets him to have to buy stuff for the cats. And it's not like we're giving the cats a life of luxury. I'm not buying them gourmet cat food and sending them off to fancy cat hotels.
You know.....
I'm not one of those wives who asks her husband to buy her expensive jewelry. I don't ask for fancy things to decorate the house. I rarely buy clothes, and when I do I usually get them at the thrift store.
I really don't ask for much!
So....
I think I should be able to buy things for the well-being of my cats without feeling guilty.
I'm not going to keep arguing with him, though. I don't want him mad when he's about to start driving.
* * *
Felt guilty because I remembered Tim did say yes to this Australia trip. This is pretty damn expensive.
Yeah. I may not want jewelry and designer clothes, but I do want Australia. I guess it all evens out.
I still think I should feel free and easy about spending a reasonable amount of money on the well-being of our cats.
* * *
I miss Mushu and Max.
I feel guilty for leaving them for so long.
* * *
We're in Gundagai now. We just saw the Dog on the Tucker Box.
We ate lunch at a little restaurant close by to it.
Tim is doing some navigation investigations, so I'm taking the time to write.
Although now I don't have much to say.
* * *
Tim asked me to remind him why we're going to Wagga Wagga. What are we planning to see?
I realized I have no idea.
I'm thinking the whole reason I wanted to go to Wagga Wagga is because of the Wagga Wagga werewolf.
Sadly, he doesn't exist and there's not even a Wagga Wagga werewolf statue.
* * *
Told Tim the truth.
He was totally fine with it. Now I feel guilty for being mad at him earlier. He may not be very patient when it comes to the cats, but he's definitely patient when it comes to my love for Australia and Harry Potter.
I also added that Wagga Wagga has a really cool name. That alone makes it worth the visit.
* * *
Jack is talking to his cousins on FaceTime. We learned Darcy's Bat Mitzvah has been scheduled for May 2014. That should be fun.
I need to put it on my calendar so we don't end up making conflicting plans. I'm glad they told us so far ahead of time.
Okay. I need to stop writing. Tim's started driving.
I don't want to get carsick again.
* * *
We're here at our motel in Wagga Wagga. It's a Comfort Inn thing called Prince of Wales Motor Inn.
It's very hot here.
I kind of regret going to Australia in the summer.
We're not really unpacking much because we're only going to be here two nights. I think we'll just live out of our suitcases.
I'm going to do some laundry.
Tim is watching The King of Queens.
I guess later we'll walk around.
Maybe it will get cooler at night.
Or it might storm, and we'll be stuck here.
The good thing is the motel has its own restaurant.
* * *
Tim made me mad again.
He was watching some news show and there was a word I didn't understand. I asked what it meant, and his tone of voice was very much, How can you be so stupid? How could you not know the meaning of that word?
I strongly feel we should never feel ashamed for admitting ignorance and asking a question.
I guess he doesn't agree with me.
I'm going to go for a walk.
I need to walk when I'm angry.
* * *
My walk was not very long.
It was too hot.
I started to feel sick.
I think I'm heat intolerant.
I shouldn't have come here during the summer.
I did find a nice little food store. I bought Jack some mangoes. He loves those.
* * *
I told Tim that he annoyed me.
He denied using that tone with me.
It's not an argument I can win. How do you prove who's right about a tone? Even if we recorded his response, we still might disagree on his tone.
Tim also said I often use that tone when he asks me a question.
Do I really? I don't know? I don't know if I really do that, or he's just trying to deflect the accusations.
I then said talking to him is like talking to one of those doctors. He so often uses vocabulary words and acronyms that I don't understand. It's so hard listening to him sometimes. It's nice that he has such an advanced vocabulary, but maybe then he shouldn't have married someone so below his intelligence level!
* * *
Jack's upset because we're fighting.
I hate fighting.
It's especially stinky when you're stuck together in a motel room.
* * *
We're not all together in the motel room anymore.
Tim left.
He said he had to get away.
It's dinner soon.
Should we wait for him to come back, or should I go with Jack to get dinner alone?
* * *
Tim came back.
He said sorry.
I said sorry.
Everything's okay now.
I guess it should be expected that we're going to fight at times on this trip.
At least it didn't last very long.
We had dinner together.
We ate at a Chinese restaurant right near our motel.
I had a spicy vegetable dish. Tim and Jack shared a ginger chicken thing.
After dinner, we went to get some gelato.
Now we're in the hotel room.
Tim is watching a movie, Monster House. Jack is kind of watching it with him, but also playing his Minecraft.
I'm reading a fabulous Irish book. I don't want it to end.
* * *
The book ended.
It made me cry.
It was beautiful.
NOTE: This trip journal is fictional. We are not really in Australia. Some stuff in these posts are based on research. Some stuff is based on my reality. Some stuff is based on past experiences. And some stuff is based on fantasy. The non-trip journal posts ARE true and real…except for my dreams (which are written in purple).
Oh...and also....my 2009 trip reports are about a real trip to Australia. That's all true too.
I had a funny dream last night. I was eating lunch with my friend. She's American, but I think we were in Australia. My friend talked about her problems. It had something to do with her husband buying the wrong pickles at the grocery store. Then I started telling her about our Australia trip. She got really mad and said I was being inappropriate. She said doctors shouldn't tell their patients about their lives. She said if I didn't shut up she'd have me fired and put into jail. I told her I wasn't a doctor. Then she started spitting at me.
I better go finish packing.
* * *
I learned it might be raining on our drive. I hope it's not too horrible.
It rained here last night. Fortunately it started after we had gotten back to our motel room.
* * *
I'm mad at Tim now.
He talked to his friend who's watching our cats.
I overheard him saying that Ben should be splitting the one small can of food between Mushu and Max. I spoke up and said no, it's supposed to be one can for each of them. Tim gave me that shush! look and went on talking. When he got off the phone, I brought it up again. He insisted I had told him 1/2 can of food the last time we talked. I said that's not true, AND I had left Ben a note saying one full can for each cat. So, why can't Ben just go with the note?
It's not just that. Tim always gives me looks and questions me when it comes to buying canned food for the cats...or anything that relates to the cats. Like their litter. I dread asking him to pick some up for me when he goes to Costco. He gives me this attitude, like I'm wasting the litter.
I'm the one who cleans the litter, and I'm the one has to spend the most time with the litter boxes. One is in my office where I do my writing. The other is in the laundry room where I do the laundry.
If Tim wants to use a minimal amount of litter, let him be in charge of emptying it and let him stay all day nearby smelling it.
I really don't think I use more than you're supposed to.
Maybe I'm too sensitive. Maybe I'm imagining things. But...I don't think so. I think it upsets him to have to buy stuff for the cats. And it's not like we're giving the cats a life of luxury. I'm not buying them gourmet cat food and sending them off to fancy cat hotels.
You know.....
I'm not one of those wives who asks her husband to buy her expensive jewelry. I don't ask for fancy things to decorate the house. I rarely buy clothes, and when I do I usually get them at the thrift store.
I really don't ask for much!
So....
I think I should be able to buy things for the well-being of my cats without feeling guilty.
I'm not going to keep arguing with him, though. I don't want him mad when he's about to start driving.
* * *
Felt guilty because I remembered Tim did say yes to this Australia trip. This is pretty damn expensive.
Yeah. I may not want jewelry and designer clothes, but I do want Australia. I guess it all evens out.
I still think I should feel free and easy about spending a reasonable amount of money on the well-being of our cats.
* * *
I miss Mushu and Max.
I feel guilty for leaving them for so long.
* * *
We're in Gundagai now. We just saw the Dog on the Tucker Box.
We ate lunch at a little restaurant close by to it.
Tim is doing some navigation investigations, so I'm taking the time to write.
Although now I don't have much to say.
* * *
Tim asked me to remind him why we're going to Wagga Wagga. What are we planning to see?
I realized I have no idea.
I'm thinking the whole reason I wanted to go to Wagga Wagga is because of the Wagga Wagga werewolf.
Sadly, he doesn't exist and there's not even a Wagga Wagga werewolf statue.
* * *
Told Tim the truth.
He was totally fine with it. Now I feel guilty for being mad at him earlier. He may not be very patient when it comes to the cats, but he's definitely patient when it comes to my love for Australia and Harry Potter.
I also added that Wagga Wagga has a really cool name. That alone makes it worth the visit.
* * *
Jack is talking to his cousins on FaceTime. We learned Darcy's Bat Mitzvah has been scheduled for May 2014. That should be fun.
I need to put it on my calendar so we don't end up making conflicting plans. I'm glad they told us so far ahead of time.
Okay. I need to stop writing. Tim's started driving.
I don't want to get carsick again.
* * *
We're here at our motel in Wagga Wagga. It's a Comfort Inn thing called Prince of Wales Motor Inn.
It's very hot here.
I kind of regret going to Australia in the summer.
We're not really unpacking much because we're only going to be here two nights. I think we'll just live out of our suitcases.
I'm going to do some laundry.
Tim is watching The King of Queens.
I guess later we'll walk around.
Maybe it will get cooler at night.
Or it might storm, and we'll be stuck here.
The good thing is the motel has its own restaurant.
* * *
Tim made me mad again.
He was watching some news show and there was a word I didn't understand. I asked what it meant, and his tone of voice was very much, How can you be so stupid? How could you not know the meaning of that word?
I strongly feel we should never feel ashamed for admitting ignorance and asking a question.
I guess he doesn't agree with me.
I'm going to go for a walk.
I need to walk when I'm angry.
* * *
My walk was not very long.
It was too hot.
I started to feel sick.
I think I'm heat intolerant.
I shouldn't have come here during the summer.
I did find a nice little food store. I bought Jack some mangoes. He loves those.
* * *
I told Tim that he annoyed me.
He denied using that tone with me.
It's not an argument I can win. How do you prove who's right about a tone? Even if we recorded his response, we still might disagree on his tone.
Tim also said I often use that tone when he asks me a question.
Do I really? I don't know? I don't know if I really do that, or he's just trying to deflect the accusations.
I then said talking to him is like talking to one of those doctors. He so often uses vocabulary words and acronyms that I don't understand. It's so hard listening to him sometimes. It's nice that he has such an advanced vocabulary, but maybe then he shouldn't have married someone so below his intelligence level!
* * *
Jack's upset because we're fighting.
I hate fighting.
It's especially stinky when you're stuck together in a motel room.
* * *
We're not all together in the motel room anymore.
Tim left.
He said he had to get away.
It's dinner soon.
Should we wait for him to come back, or should I go with Jack to get dinner alone?
* * *
Tim came back.
He said sorry.
I said sorry.
Everything's okay now.
I guess it should be expected that we're going to fight at times on this trip.
At least it didn't last very long.
We had dinner together.
We ate at a Chinese restaurant right near our motel.
I had a spicy vegetable dish. Tim and Jack shared a ginger chicken thing.
After dinner, we went to get some gelato.
Now we're in the hotel room.
Tim is watching a movie, Monster House. Jack is kind of watching it with him, but also playing his Minecraft.
I'm reading a fabulous Irish book. I don't want it to end.
* * *
The book ended.
It made me cry.
It was beautiful.
NOTE: This trip journal is fictional. We are not really in Australia. Some stuff in these posts are based on research. Some stuff is based on my reality. Some stuff is based on past experiences. And some stuff is based on fantasy. The non-trip journal posts ARE true and real…except for my dreams (which are written in purple).
Oh...and also....my 2009 trip reports are about a real trip to Australia. That's all true too.
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