From where I stand, poised with a Phoenix palm tree on the shores of the Tasman sea, things in the world seem to be looking up – at least things in my world… well, mostly.

So here is what’s happening in my world:

Politics

Barack Obama is my new president.  Sweet.  The election if finally over.  Now every time customers at the Marlin Grill hear my American Accent, they won’t ask me who the next president is going to be.  As if my American upbringings somehow entitled me to privileged election results, even before any votes were cast.  Or maybe they just thought I was clairvoyant – either way, I’m glad the battle has been won.  And I’m happy with the outcome.  Now I’ve just got to get people to stop asking me how I feel about that Obama fellow being my new president. Christ.  I get paid minimum wage (with no tips) to serve food and have an endlessly repetitive and useless conversation about American politics.  Shoot me. Or leave me a fucking tip. Thanks.

Physicality

My ankle is healing nicely and I’ve ditched the crutches, though I’m still slightly hobbled.  Now I just wear an elastic wrap for support, and most days, I can get around with an only slightly noticeable pimp limp.  Yesterday the sun was shining and everyone was having so much fun playing at the beach that I couldn’t help but join in.  It was a cruisy Frisbee session, but I over-did it and realized that while I feel mostly better, I still need to give my body some more time to heal.  I can walk, but I’m certainly not running or surfing yet.  Oh, and I’m still not smoking cigarettes!  Yes! I feel like a golden god… but I still look like a frail little man (with unbelievable good looks, of course).

Finances

I’ve gotten myself back on track with my credit card payments.  Which is nice and all, but I really don’t care about my credit score (I live in a cash-only / only-work-when-you-have-to world these days), and making that last payment totally crippled my bank account.  Exchange rates are terrible, interest rates are worse, and I “forgot” to make my payments for a few months.  Still, it feels good to have the creditors off my back, at least for another month.  Now I just have to figure out where the hell I’m going to get enough money to fund the next leg of my adventure (Australia?  South America?). I will consider any suggestions short of selling drugs and prostitution – but only because I’ve already considered both and well, this town is just too small.

Movember

Many of you won’t know what Movember is, so I’ll give you all a quick rundown. It’s pretty simple, really.  For the entire month of November, you grow a mo. For those of you who don’t speak jive, that means you grow a moustache.  That’s right, I’m growing a moustache.  An awesome / ridiculous / totally freakin’ awesome handle bar mo.  Check out the pic — a bit patchy, but I’m only 13 days in.

But Movember isn’t all about looking like a 70’s porn star, oh no – there is more to the story.  Actually, the whole thing is used to call attention to men’s health issues and help in the fight against men’s depression and prostate cancer. People can donate money and somehow everybody wins.

Check out my mospace here to donate. The money goes to charity, not to me — but you should know that you are indirectly support my choice to wear my facial hair in a ridiculous manner.

That’s all for now – I’ve got some major choices coming regarding my next move, and I’ll blog about all that soon.  So stay tuned – because I’ll need your help in making my final decision!