the love-hate relationship with Melbourne

I want to remember. 

I had fun in Melbourne, especially on the first day I arrived, and the last day I left, meeting up with the friends, and leaving them again. 

yum cha at taipan, hung out at rojak's, coffee at one of the cafes in North Melbourne, frisbees at carlton gardens, dinner at laksa king, death race at crown 

and the last day, 

brunch at fraus, the christmas parade on bourke, lunch at chomp chomps, johnston street spanish festival, photos at the museum. 

and really in between these 2 days, were the best and worst days, as I rediscovered Melbourne, living in Glen Waverley, Balwyn, Doncaster East, South Yarra, found new suburbs of South Melbourne, St Kilda, Boronia. i made kaya, did hot yoga, hung out with the cousins, walked the dog (as in walked behind someone holding the leash to the dog), ate homecooked meals, had urban burgers at Middle Park while waving those pesky flies away, and just well, had really good catch ups. 

all that you can leave behind?

Toki

Eastern Time - the change has arrived.

Back in Melbourne, I caught up with a friend, someone I haven't seen for ages, whom I've kept in touch rather inconsistently in the last 10 years. We don't really share any common interests, to begin with I don't have that many specific hobbies, but we've walked the journey together at points of our lives, from chalking, movies, flatting, dinner, pool, studying.

But I appreciate the lunch with her, just pouring out the doubts I had for the past three months, and knowing that someone had gone through the same questions, and that it wasn't unusual.

That there is always the desire to try something new and the temptation to fall back into somewhere familiar and safe when things fall apart.