Tonight, it hit me...

Well, we know I'm going away
And how I wish, I wish it weren't so
So take this wine and drink with me
Let's delay our misery...

It ain't easy to say goodbye
Darling please don't start to cry
'Cause girl you know I've got to go, oh
And Lord I wish it wasn't so

Save tonight
And fight the break of dawn
Come tomorrow
Tomorrow I'll be gone

Tonight was a long, but much needed night for me. For the past two days I've been fighting a head cold and against my better judgment had a few drinks last night which made it even worse this morning. So I laid in bed all day drinking water, taking Emergen-C, and sleeping. Then I mustered up the energy to go to my last night of poker at the AB Hotel, because I hadn't said goodbye to Colin and Charnae and the other Glebe locals I've come to know. I had a pretty good feeling I wasn't going to do great, because I just didn't even have the energy, but I lasted until the top 15. I am now the only one of our group of regulars to not get first place at all in the poker tournaments at the AB. (I did however get first at Landsdowne and first at Ivory Lounge, so I don't feel too bad about myself) Well before I left Colin gave me a winners chip and told me to just tell the others that I won, and he asked me to come back to Sydney for his birthday on New Years Eve. I said it's a little soon and not so cheap, but I'd see.

Next stop was Friend In Hand Pub. When we first got here Babs and I went to the Fall Out Boy show. We approached some random people who had I Love NY shirts so we had someone to talk to. Well turns out they were actually Australians. Got to talking to them and they gave us some good places to go and hang out and one guy Scott invited us to go to crab racing with him at Friend in Hand. We went for a few weeks, but then got sucked into poker and never really made it back. Doug had never been and we told him you have to do it once, so I met Doug, Stacy, and Jess there after poker and caught the races which brought back a lot of great memories.

Then it was on to Sidebar. Before there was ever poker or crab racing there was Sidebar. More importantly there was Dan and Dave. About a week after we moved in to Unilodge we had a barbecue for all the new residents. The live entertainment was an acoustic duo named Dan and Dave who rocked. They played a bunch of great American covers that reminded me so much of High School proms and what not. They also played a few Aussie songs that we've come to know and love like "Wish You Well". Well after their set on the roof we all went to Sidebar "Where the World mixes". From that day on we spent about 33% of our nights in Sidebar. Specifically the nights that Dan and Dave played. Matt and Brandon got the hook up early on and were sure to share it with all of us so a good night at Sidebar rarely cost anyone more than $10. Then there were a few weeks where we travelled or went to different bars and somehow we and Sidebar grew apart. Then we had the urge. The urge to go back and hear Bob Sinclair or The Killers and we forced ourselves into going. Well one thing led to another there were comments made and beers thrown and Alex got banned for life by 'Little Randy'. But no one else did and since Alex is away...we went to Sidebar without her. (Did I mention she is slightly in love with Dave?)

Somewhere after the first three chords of Save Tonight, it hit me. This was it. This was the last night we were ever going to see Dan and Dave, this was the last night I was going to play poker with Colin, and that was the last time I was going to get squirt with a hose while watching Hermit Crabs race across a table. It was a truly bittersweet moment because here was the finale of a lot of things and some of my closest friends were missing it. On the walk back from Sidebar it was Stacy, Jess and I talked about how we had come full circle. It was the three of us that left Boston together to fly here 18 weeks ago and it was the three of us saying goodbye to all these things we loved in Sydney.

I don't ever want to feel
Like i did that day
Take me to the place i love
Take me all the way
I don't ever want to feel
Like i did that day
Take me to the place i love
Take me all the way (yeah yeah)

The feelings I've had here in Sydney are feelings that I never want to forget. I never really want to re-live them either. It's a once in a lifetime experience and I wouldn't have changed a thing. The good times were really good and the bad time made me a stronger person (I hope). Sydney is definitely an awesome city. I don't really feel like I was able to take advantage of everything that I wanted to here. But then again 4 months isnt really all that much time to get to know a city. I've spent almost 3 years in Boston and there's a lot I haven't experienced. You get caught up in the little things, and forget sometimes to look outside of the box.

The more I feel like I'm ready to go home the scarier it is to realize that I only have three nights left. I'm reaching to hold on to everything I've experienced and remembered it all. I wish the weather was nicer so I could get a few more pictures of my favorite sites. It's been cold and rainy all week, good for them since its been a drought for decades. One city outside of Sydney recorded the most rain in June in 10 years. If it doesn't though, I have the memories. I'm pretty sure they are well engraved in my brain at this point.

With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you

Dan and Dave end everyone of their sets with "With or Without You" by U2. It seems a fitting way to end one of my final blogs from Australia. To my the crew here in Sydney. You guys have been my best friends for the past 18 weeks and I can't thank you enough for that. From Sidebar to Pontoon to AB Hotel to Wedges at Landsdowne to Bob's Kebabs. From weekends in the bush on Wilson's Prom or at Star City and Crown. From Cluedo to Creeping and Cap'n to Soco we've created some awesome memories and even stronger friendships. Sometimes it's very hard to live with you all non stop;) but 100% of the time I know I could not live without you. When Sunday comes let's just remember it's not going to be "Goodbye", just a "See You Later".

OZ074L