Everyone is gone, I have no plans, and it’s a little scary. I’ve found that it doesn’t happen very often in my life that I have absolutely zero idea about where I’m going next. I know what that says about my personality. I’m a control freak and I probably need to let go, a little, once in a while. That being said, I am very uncomfortable with the idea that tomorrow might come and I won’t have a plan to deal with anything other than “we’ll see how this works out.” As of now, here’s what I know:
1. Tomorrow will result in me not knowing anyone in Tamworth
2. I do not currently have a destination
3. I do not currently have a job
4. I do not currently have enough money to fund the rest of my 1.5 months in Australia
5. I do want to continue working as a Jackeroo
6. I would prefer to do so in the North on a large station
7. This is difficult because Jackeroos do this as a living and I am doing this as a summer job
8. The fact that nothing is open on the weekends is inconvenient
9. The fact that nothing is open at night is inconvenient
10. I always land on my feet, a little worse for the wear, smelling like the proverbial rose.

That last point is important because if this were not the case, I might have much more reason to “freak out” as the kids say these days.

Now for an update as it has been a while since I’ve been allowed to interact with you civilized folks in the real world. This last week marked the end of many things. It marked the end of my first job in Australia, the last time I would see my five friends the bulls, and probably the last time I will teach someone else how to ride a horse. It also marked the beginning of some great things. I now have a person in Norway that has offered me a good time should I ever get there and seems like a really good guy. I learned my first Norwegian. “Jeg skal knuse deg!”(pronounced: yai skull knooseh die) means “I will crush you!” I finally feel as if I have some accomplishment when it comes to horse riding and this is the first time I can remember being kind of excited about lack of direction in my life…shocking isn’t it?

The last horse I rode was named Matrix. She is the most dominant horse in the herd and it shows. There is not a moment when she is not trying to own you or another horse. She is also extremely responsive and well trained. She was a pleasure to ride and work with, once you got past that nasty habit of biting, and is now represented in a bracelet I had made of the horse’s I’ve ridden tail hair. It’s pretty cool if I do say so myself…and I do.

Most of the scars I’ve made since going to the farm are now fully healed and mark the places where I proved I can really work…or that I’m just not that adept at working with my hands. Whatever way you look at it, it’s nice to be whole once again and I plan on staying that way for a while…not that one ever plans to lop off a finger. I am however short a few items and long on some others. In my haste to pack yesterday I forgot my dress belt, a pair of fingerless gloves, and a jacket. You might ask, “why do you want a dress belt on a farm, what do you need fingerless gloves for, and which jacket?” or you might not. The point is I wanted them with me and now they are not…with me. I also need to send some things home. It turns out that after you’ve read books, you don’t want to carry them around with you for the rest of the trip…weird. I am also still stuck with a bobble-head moose and two shot glasses that are supposed to be presents but are currently dead weight. Aye aye aye…woe is me. Serves me right I suppose…that’s what I get for thinking that anyone but a Minnesotan would want a moose bobble-head. Maybe I’ll pawn it for food money…

I hope that this post finds those of you who read it well and wish me luck as I embark on a diet of McDonalds and peanut butter and jelly.
Peace out,
Nicko