It’s been a largely mellow week finishing out Sydney and starting off Queensland. Lots of exercise in the mornings, 80% of meals have come from the grocery store, and a mixture of wandering around different towns and beaches. It’s the closest I’ve felt to having a routine in the past 3 months, and I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s also been very relaxing having extended time with Amy, Becca, and Claire and not needing to do any branching out socially.
It has been suggested to me that people might like to see more pictures with me in it so you can see that I’m actually having fun out here. I’m not fully convinced that you want more of my face, but we’ll give it a shot. You can thank the girls for doing a better job than I do making sure my face makes its way into some pictures.
LOCATIONS
- Sydney, Australia (Jan 8 – Jan 10)
- Brisbane, Australia (Jan 10 – Jan 12)
- Mooloolaba, Australia (Jan 12 – Jan 14)
ACTIVITIES
Brisbane New Farm Parkrun
As much as I enjoy hanging out with them, I nervously knew what I was getting myself into when I signed up for a week and a half with the gals. Not one, not two, but all three of them run marathons and are very dedicated to their training even while traveling.
Not even 24 hours in, I was “invited” to join them for Saturday Parkrun (I’d never heard of a Parkrun before this trip, but they’re a regular 5k run/jog/walk event every Saturday at 7 am all across the world). When I inquired about what this fully entailed, I was told that we’d need to leave by 6 AM, run 4 miles just to get to the parkrun, run the 5k, then retrace our 4 miles back home. Questionable definition of fun, but I obliged. I figured it would be a good test of the kind of shape my legs were in after the heaps of walking over the past few months with the occasional run and hike.
Turns out, I haven’t completely lost all of my fitness. I started off hot and accepted that I’d either surprise myself or bonk hard and struggle through the last mile. Having other people around was a nice boost and I managed to keep a pretty steady pace throughout the whole 5k, rolling in 10th overall. My legs yelled at me a bit afterword, but we got the job done.
There was a photographer taking some shots near the end of the run. Always assuming any photos of me will never turn out any good, I went for the subtle pose to mess around. For the first time ever, the photographer somehow managed to make me look cool (way cooler than I really am).
Here’s us as well as my fun little solo shot.
Australia Zoo
The Sunshine Coast is home to the Australia Zoo built up by Steve Irwin and his family. It’s everything that you’d expect and hope for from a zoo created by the Crocodile Hunter himself. Highlights of the day included seeing a crocodile show as well as petting koalas and kangaroos. The koala might be the softest animal I’ve ever touched, it was magical. I wish I could have held it, but that wasn’t on the table for the day. Not much else to say about this one so here’s some pics.
Family Dinners
One of the aspects I’ve missed most about being at home is eating home cooked food. Up until this week, the only meals I’d had out of a home kitchen were when I was in Singapore with the Yap’s and staying at Fin’s house in Sydney. Staying in Airbnbs this week with the gals has allowed us to cook food together and it’s been such a nice break from the constant eating out. We whipped up some bomb dinners and got to enjoy the work of our own hands around the table each night.
Here’s us at dinner as well as one of our days attempting to make the most of a very rainy Brisbane.
REFLECTIONS
Taking The Backseat
As much fun as solo traveling has been, it’s gotten exhausting at times. I need to have a plan for nearly every day with no guarantees of tagging along on other people’s adventures. It creates decision fatigue over time and sometimes I really want a break from the constant planning and sitting in the drivers seat.
This week has been that break I needed, as I’ve been able to take a step back and just ride along with the gals. I pretty much wake up each day and go with the flow. The biggest decision that I’ve had to think about is what we should cook for dinner.
I think some of us are used to being in the driver’s seat constantly. Being in the driver’s seat is comforting, because it provides a sense of control. At the same time, there can be a number of pressures that come with it and I don’t think it’s sustainable for anyone to always be in that position.
I’ve been comfortable sitting in the backseat this week because I know that the car is traveling roughly in the same direction that it would be if I was driving. I’ve spent enough time with these three that I trust their interests align with mine on how to spend a day. If that wasn’t the case, sitting in the backseat wouldn’t be such a good idea as I’d end up somewhere completely different than where I wanted to go. It’s a good little reminder that who you surround yourself with has a dramatic impact on your trajectory.
External Processing for Internal Processors
I’m an internal processor at my core. I can generally wade my way through most things on my own without needing a second voice. But sometimes, my brain becomes an echo chamber that results in unproductive circling. I had more than one of those days this week and knew I needed another voice to help me figure out where I was trying to get to in my spinning.
I rambled to Corey for 20-30 minutes, taking him along all the paths my brain was walking down. He mostly sat and listened. Every once in a while I paused long enough for him to sneak a question in, and he’d let me ramble on longer in a new direction.
After a half an hour, we found it. All of a sudden I was choked up as a single thought filled my brain. It was immediately clear this was what I was poking around trying to find. My brain quickly stopped running as I’d found what I’d been seeking.
Our conversation reminded me of a few things that I want to share, especially for the internal processors out there that might struggle like I do with processing externally.
- Your processing is not a burden on other people. There are people in your life that care about you. Leverage them. If you don’t know who to leverage, my line is open.
- Wandering isn’t inherently unproductive. When you know you’re looking for something but don’t know exactly where to start, sometimes the only thing to do is retrace your steps and start exploring new paths.
- There’s nothing weak about needing another hand to help you dig. You might still find what you’re looking for on your own, but having an extra set of hands can sure speed up the process and save you a lot of energy and frustration.
- My brain is very talented at making up stories and giving too much time of day to ungrounded thought patterns, and I know I’m not the only one that experiences that. Allowing someone else into those twisted spaces allows them to help loosen up some knots that might be present by reminding you of truths you might need reminding of.
There’s a song called Song To Myself I heard for the first time this week that dives into insecurity and anxiety and it really struck me. The whole song is powerful and I’d encourage you to go listen to it, but there are a few lines that apply specifically here and I’d like to end with those.
“If you’re needing some help, just (expletive) reach out
If you dive into your head, make sure you don’t drown.”
NEXT UP
Our last few days were spent enjoying Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. The beaches there were insane and it’s the closest I think I’ll ever get to being a beach guy.
This morning marks the start of a three day 4-wheel driving adventure around the island of K’gari. Lots of camping, cooking, and beach time to come. Our group will be roughly around 15-20 people so it’ll be nice to expand the circle a bit again for a few days.
After that comes the final week of Australia up in the Whitsundays and Cairns before popping over to New Zealand!
As always, if you know anyone that you think would be interested in anything I’m writing about, I’d ask that you consider sharing this with them.
Thanks for being here. Talk to you next week.
– Trevor