Your Annual Leave has been approved: 25th December 2015 - 3rd January 2016.
Decisions, decisions. Do I, (A). Go to Phuket with people I hang out with in Hong Kong on a weekly basis, or; (B). Return to Sydney for my first Christmas in Sydney in eight years?
It's a no-brainer. I go to Phuket and stomp out the year with a flurry of Redbull Vodkas and Pad thais! That's what 19 year old Derek would have said. 33 year old Derek on the other hand locks in option B. No need to call a friend. No need to ask the audience.
I depart Hong Kong on Christmas Eve. The airport is not surprisingly busy, people are shuffling through security with purpose and spending a little longer in the the Duty Free outlets. The airport radiates warm fuzzies. I arrive in Sydney, bleary eyed, managed minimal sleep. It doesn't matter! It's Christmas! I'm in Sydney!
My sister, my conspirator, takes me home. "Hello! Merry Christmas!". No answer. Where is everybody? I dump my luggage and walk through to the kitchen. Mom and Dad are lounging in their PJs (actually, they're hiding). "Hey! What are you doing back?" "I was just saying, why does he sound like Derek?". Not exactly the reaction I was going for, but I'll take it. It's good to see them!
I sometimes dread going home, it's not because I don't want to go home. It's more I know that I'll be in the firing line for a certain set of questioning. "What's been happening?", "Where are you working?", "Are you dating somebody now?", "When are you coming home?". There's times I don't feel like I have an adequate enough answer for those meaty questions. Speaking of meaty, I sure did miss home cooked food. Merry Christmas!
"And this christmas will be a very special christmas for me" - This Christmas, Donny Hathway
Decisions, decisions. Do I, (A). Go to Phuket with people I hang out with in Hong Kong on a weekly basis, or; (B). Return to Sydney for my first Christmas in Sydney in eight years?
It's a no-brainer. I go to Phuket and stomp out the year with a flurry of Redbull Vodkas and Pad thais! That's what 19 year old Derek would have said. 33 year old Derek on the other hand locks in option B. No need to call a friend. No need to ask the audience.
I depart Hong Kong on Christmas Eve. The airport is not surprisingly busy, people are shuffling through security with purpose and spending a little longer in the the Duty Free outlets. The airport radiates warm fuzzies. I arrive in Sydney, bleary eyed, managed minimal sleep. It doesn't matter! It's Christmas! I'm in Sydney!
My sister, my conspirator, takes me home. "Hello! Merry Christmas!". No answer. Where is everybody? I dump my luggage and walk through to the kitchen. Mom and Dad are lounging in their PJs (actually, they're hiding). "Hey! What are you doing back?" "I was just saying, why does he sound like Derek?". Not exactly the reaction I was going for, but I'll take it. It's good to see them!
I sometimes dread going home, it's not because I don't want to go home. It's more I know that I'll be in the firing line for a certain set of questioning. "What's been happening?", "Where are you working?", "Are you dating somebody now?", "When are you coming home?". There's times I don't feel like I have an adequate enough answer for those meaty questions. Speaking of meaty, I sure did miss home cooked food. Merry Christmas!
"And this christmas will be a very special christmas for me" - This Christmas, Donny Hathway
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