Last day here

It's sunny and 90 degrees, with nothing but a few fluffy white clouds in the sky. The breeze is hot but not too humid. It's a typical Brisbane summer day, and of course it's the first one we've had since we've been here. We leave tomorrow.

The Pyne's house on Payne street (at the corner of "Hume and Payne" as it is often joked -- pronounce it out loud) sits in a tranquil little valley which blocks out the sounds of City traffic which you would hear just a few blocks either way. You can hear the music that various neighbors up the hill might be playing. While we've been here, a house at the top of the ridge to the south of us has been undergoing renovations, and we can hear all the construction noises at a comfortable distance.

Tonight we're planning to have a few of Tony's friends over for a "bon voyage" of sorts, and it sounds like we're going to get absolutely plastered. Tony's ambition is to empty the liquor cabinet, or at least make a valiant attempt to do so. He and Irene are off to buy the mixers and some snacks to see us through.

So I'm sitting here on a teak verandah next to the pool, working furiously to get the work done for my weekly deadline -- or at least reach an acceptable quitting point. Because I know that whatever ain't done by 7 or so, well, it ain't getting done.

We've had a fantastic time, and have seen a good deal of cricket. Not only have the Indian and Sri Lankan teams been in the country this summer, but we've seen quite a few of the boys' matches. Josh and Jimmy are both turning into formidable bowlers. Josh is a spinner; Jimmy is a fireballer.

Australia is a friendly and happy country. You don't sense the same sort of dissatisfaction, alienation and angst that you often feel in the U.S. -- at least, anecdotally I can tell you I haven't felt it. I'm sure the weather has something to do with that, but I think it's also the approach to work and play. There's a healthier balance here. I like that. Who wouldn't?

We're heading back to Michigan after a few days layover in Fiji. Back into the freezer, as it were. Cold weather is hard work; there's no way around that. Just going about day-to-day operations is hard. There are lots of little inconveniences and discomforts, and we pretend we like it to get us through. We tell ourselves that we'd miss winter, that we like the snow. We like to think enduring cold winters builds character. We ought to consider the possibility that it just makes us disagreeable.

Anyhow, I do miss friends and family, and if I can't have them all here, I'm looking forward to seeing them all back there in Michigan. I'm looking forward to meals at some of my favorite American restaurants, and drinking some of my homebrew. So, two months is a good spell to spend in a sub-tropical paradise. And I sure am glad that I skipped the depths of winter.

See you all soon, friends. If they sober me up enough to put me on that plane to Fiji.