A month of updates

 I keep meaning to write a post but haven't been able to get motivated; it doesn't feel like I have much news to report. I talk with M&D so frequently, giving the random day-to-day updates of what I'm getting up to, that I forget some of it is sort of worth mentioning. So let's take things back to the end of March...

The weekend after my last post I got to do a catch up with a bunch of my old admission colleagues. During pandemic lockdown they began doing a Friday night Zoom happy hour as a means of staying in touch and supporting each other. I attended an early one, maybe last April or May when I was still in Perth, but waking up at 5am is a challenge and I'm not super operational in the wee hours of the morning (side note: it's 5am as I write this and I've been unable to sleep for the last hour and a half or so. Go figure). For the one year anniversary of their gatherings they reached out to a bunch of us who are casual drop ins and we joined in! It was so, so good to see their faces, even if my internet was choppy and my screen was frozen half the time. I guess there always has to be someone with a bad internet connection!

The dive shop bought a new boat, so we did a staff training day to give it a test run. We went out on a beautiful Sunday morning and my friend Lindsay was sweet enough to take these photos:

See?! I really do swim with whale sharks! Besides that day out, though, there hasn't been much working on the boats for me. The company I work for is flush with staff (all of whom prioritize that work over their other jobs, unlike me), so I'm nominally on the staff but practically haven't been working. No matter, though, when I'm lucky enough to have days like that one from time to time ^^

Over Easter weekend my friend Boonie quite unexpectedly found out that he had to return to Perth to deal with some business and wouldn't be able to continue living in Exmouth for the foreseeable future. His apartment, right across the street from the pub, would be sitting vacant through the end of his lease. So, bless him, he asked if I'd like to take it on! I moved in on Easter Monday, along with Gaia, one of the new hires at the pub. She's amazing as a co-worker, even better as a housemate, AND she's a diver. She's doing her dive master course right now at EDC, so our social circles overlap quite perfectly, and it's really fun to have a housemate to talk diving with. 

When I first got back up to Exy in February, Welshie mentioned that he's been wanting to go adventuring but hasn't been able to recruit anyone to go with him. I finally got my act together two weeks ago and we went on a day trip down to Coral Bay. It's only an hour and a half south of here by highway (as opposed to the 4WD coastal track down the beach), so we went down for pies (AMAZING BAKERY, Y'ALL) and did a little beach mission! I've been to Coral Bay a couple of times before but have always spent the time directly in town so I didn't realize they have a little coastal park that's got a whole network of 4WD tracks to various beaches. Welshie, who spent years vacationing there with his family when the kids were little, knew all about it. So away we went for the afternoon, cruising over dunes and swimming at stunning beaches.

We had the best time

Our dinner view from the pub in Coral Bay

Today is ANZAC Day in Australia, so there's a dawn service in town to celebrate the veterans of the past and present. The day originated as a day of remembrance for the ANZACs (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) who fought at Gallipoli in the First World War, but now it's expanded to include all veterans. Aussies take it super seriously, so even mid-lockdown last year people were encouraged to do a dawn salute at the end of their driveways in commemoration. I took the day off from the pub so that I can work at the Truscott Memorial Club (the Trussy), which is sort of like our local VFW post. It'll be the place to be today, beginning with the dawn service, then breakfast to follow, then bar open from noon. I start at 2:30, so we'll see if I can sneak in a nap between brekkie and my shift! It's coming up on 6 now, so time to rally!