Goodbye, old friend (the farm) in Adventures in paradise

I get a message from my landlord last night saying that his nephew is coming to stay for a couple of days. As in tomorrow. Thanks for the short notice! So I spent the better part of the early hours of the morning (3:30am precisely) trying to lug a queen-size mattress up the stairs, by myself, without waking up both of my housemates.

That was fun.

Fuck it wasn't easy. i was exhausted when I got half way. Our stairs are wooden (like the rest of the house) and curve in a 180 degree angle at the half way point, so getting the mattress up half way was hard enough, let alone hoisting it OVER the top of the railing and then upright so it'd actually fit. I was stunned when I managed to finally do it. I'd gotten that hot doing it that I'd ripped my shirt off and thrown it down the stairs. I then heaved the mattress up the remainder of the stairs into the upstairs hallway.

I then faced another issue. The new housemate had put his desk in the hallway outside his room, which is directly opposite my landlord's room, where I needed to get the mattress into so that his nephew could sleep in there. So I had to lift the (also heavy) desk alone, into the room, withOUT knocking it against anything. By the time I'd done that successfully, I pretty much threw the mattress onto the bedframe in the room, not even caring if all my banging around had woken my housemates.

I sent me landlord a message saying, 'MAN that was hard. You owe me bitch! lol' and he replied (as it would've been the middle of the day or something in the UK) saying 'That's why you pay less rent! Work it gurlfriend!'

Ummm well no, I pay less rent because I a) Don't use the internet and b) Do so much useless shit around here that benefits you and I get NOTHING out of.

I've actually told my housemate that I reckon our landlord will ask me to move out come December. It means me getting another job to afford to do so, comfortably at least. I'm already convinced that's what will happen. He has told the new housemate, as well as Jeff, that both of their rooms are only available until December, but I know my landlord too well. It's almost like I'm just waiting for him to ask me to move out. I know he's struggling with money (apparently) and he wants more for this room, which I'm not willing to cough up. Then there's the thing where I feel I've really overdone my time in this house anyway.

I still haven't warmed to the new housemate, but he seems cool enough. Turns out my friend Sheldon knows him. They met at a party and Sheldon must have been the one who gave him a good rep about me, and why he decided to move in. Of course however, this guy happens to be a bulker (both in food purchasing and describing himself), so he's concerned about the lack of space in the fridge for his stuff whilst there are four of us living here, and is considering getting his own fridge. Well, that's up to him.

Vish and his boyfriend gave me a bit of a shock when I went over last night. They told me they are considering moving to Norway. Ok then. As you do. I love how people can just pack up their entire lives and move overseas. I don't even think they speak English there, but, it's where the money is, and it's all about that for them.

I went out this afternoon to get some food, but everywhere was closed because of the EKKA public holiday here. As I was looking around, I heard the sound of a car screeching and next thing I knew there were people near me all looking toward where the sound came from. It was a little out of my view, so I peered around the corner and saw a p-plater car pulled up against the sidewalk. I then saw people running toward this other guy who was sitting on the road, wearing a helmet and holding his knee, with his knocked-over scooter laying nearby. Poor guy! He had a lot of people attending to him making sure he was okay, and I had to walk by to cross the road to where I needed to go. I heard the ambulance pass by me shortly after. After I found a place that was open, I walked back by and the ambulance was leaving the scene, and the guy was there picking up his scooter and starting it again, so thankfully he was okay, I believe. The people on the phone to the ambulance were saying he'd grazed his knee, and I guess the ambo's gave him the all-clear.

A little bit of excitement for me on my food run, but probably the most exciting thing that happened in my life today. It's been pretty ordinary lately, I guess.

This weekend will be quite emotional however, I predict. I'll be heading out to the farm for the very last time, to say goodbye to the place where I knew up and spent my childhood. I think it will be nostalgic. So many fond memories. So many experiences. So much self-discovery. Yabbying in the creeks, fishing and catching turtles instead of fish, riding motorbikes and just sitting by my favourite area of the creek, swimming in the dams in the spring/summer/autumn, the thrill of crossing the highway on the motorbike to cross to the other farm, visiting my grandma on the middle farm, the beautiful lagoon now covered in reeds, pigging with dad, bird shooting with dad for yabby-bait, kangaroo shooting with dad (although that used to upset me lol), visiting my cousins and 'running away from home' one day when I was angry and ending up there haha. Ohhh boy, so many memories. Soon the farm will be in someone else's hands. It'll be cool to see how the clearing sale goes. It's meant to be raining, so that'll suck, but it'll be a good sentiment considering 75% of Queensland is in drought at the moment and it' badly needed. I must just remember to bring an umbrella.

My mum keeps bothering me to ask my brother for a lift out there, but the issue I have is feeling like I'm stuck. I can't not STAND it. When I'm given a lift by someone and I have to stay or go as THEY please and I can't do anything of my own. So I think I'll hand over the $80 or so and just hire a car again of my own to get out there, and then I can leave whenever. I've applied for Saturday off work to attend this thing, and don't have to work until Monday again, so I could probably even stay out there two nights, although I doubt I will. I kind of got over the farm years and years ago and have well adapted to being a city 'kid'. But it's always been there. This time will be the last time ever seeing it and letting it go. I imagine a lot of my extended family will be there also.

I actually just got a text from my mum asking if I'd gotten onto my brother and that we'll all have to stay at their new house in Pittsworth, as there is only their own bed left out on the farm. It sounds like a hell of a lot of work has happened and the house will probably even alarm me at how empty it will be. I have no idea how they'll have done it, and I'll probably get a heap of last-memory photos so I have something to remind me of the way it used to be. Man I really feel like I've come a long way since then. It's not like I really visit the farm much anyway in recent years. I've always felt like the odd one out, even before coming out to my family. Time to say goodbye, old friend.