Well, it's been a while again since my last update. I keep on not wanting it to be a habit, but it keeps on being one…

Nearly three weeks ago, I left Michelle. This was because I realised that things just weren't as good as they were, or could have been. I felt that we needed some space, and so I ended the relationship. Obviously this affected her considerably, and it was quite a rough time for a while. I wanted to maintain a good friendship though, hoping that we could get back on track. This was very difficult to do, but I think we're back together as friends. I don't know what will become of it… we might just remain as friends, or we might get back together. I know that we've both got a lot of work to do with our way of being with each other if we want to get back together, but right now I feel that it's best we're apart, that we're not a couple.

For most of my life I've had women leave me, and I know how devastated I've been. This is the first time I've chosen the ending of a relationship, and while I know it's been devastating for Michelle, it's something that I needed to do for my own peace of mind. Things just weren't working between us, and I felt a desperate need to end the unhappiness. I hoped that we could stay together as friends though, and I'm happy that's what's happened. You never know… one day we might get back together again. Stranger things have happened.

When I made this decision to leave her, it seemed obvious that I wouldn't be going with her to England, as we'd originally planned. Michelle tried to change my ticket into her own name, but the travel agency told her early this week that they couldn't do that. Nor would they give a refund on the ticket. It was, unfortunately, "use it or lose it". So, after discussing this, I agreed to her request to join her in going to England anyway. My reasoning in accepting her request was that we had re-established our friendship pretty well, and I didn't want to have that money that had been spent to be wasted, and the added incentive of seeing another country - of seeing England, followed by a week in Canberra, Australia, on the way back home. I'm really looking forward to seeing all my friends again.

So now I'm going to England. I'm leaving next Thursday - exactly a week away now. Am I excited? Ummm…. YES! Hehehe. The only 'problem' I've got now is to buy some warm clothing for it, as Christmas in London will be COLD!! While I've got my winter clothes, I don't think they'll be quite enough for London in winter… So I'll be shopping this weekend.

Since I left Michelle, I've been sharing with a couple of friends, temporarily. Today I arranged with another friend to move in with him when I get back from overseas. He lives in a nice area in a nice house (same suburb I'm in right now), and my room will be pretty good too. Sharing again… will it ever stop? One day, I'm sure. My job is going really well, and it looks like I've got a decent future with the company - at least in the short term. Nothing's been confirmed yet about my contract extension, or whether they'll make me permanent. Time will tell. I do know, however, that if they continue to want me, I'll continue to stay. I'll also buy a nice car… Cars are cheaper here than in Australia, so I'm sure to get a good buy.

Ok, that's all from me until next time. And there WILL be a next time… I just don't know when! Be patient… I'm still around. You can't get rid of me that easily.
*smile*

The exciting news of the moment is that tomorrow I'm getting onto a plane and flying to Auckland. Then I'm flying to Sydney. Then I'm flying to Thailand. Then I'm flying to London! Woohoo!

Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about this little event in my life. This year has been pretty amazing... Everything was pretty static in my life, and then along comes Michelle and my world changes. Suddenly, I'm travelling!! This year, I've left Australia and moved to New Zealand. I've flown in airplanes; to Auckland and back, and to Australia and back. Now I'm flying to London in England, for God's sake!

Michelle is going to be taking me around London to see the sights. I'll be taking heaps of photos! You might even see some of them in here pretty soon. I'm going to Cumbria (I think that's how it's spelt) where her mum is, and about 8 miles north is Scotland, so I'll be seeing Scotland too!

I'm going to be returning from England on the 5th January (if I remember correctly...), and will be getting into Sydney on the 7th January. I'll be staying overnight with my friend Peter. On the 8th, I'm flying to Canberra and spending a week there, staying with Scot. I'm so excited about catching up with all my friends there again! On the 13th, I'm flying back to Sydney, where I'll catch up with Tricia, staying overnight with Peter again, and then back to Wellington on the 14th of January. Back to work on the 15th. I'm going to have an absolute ball over the next three weeks.... it'll be the longest and best holiday of my entire life, I'm sure of it!

I'll write some more when I get back... see you then.