8:10 am - Saturday 10th August 2001

Well folks, she's here…

Thursday - Her flight is bumped, it won't arrive until Friday morning. I catch the bus up to Sydney and have a fitful night sleep at the hotel.

Friday - Up at 4 am, at the airport at 6 am. We can't find each other until 7 am, but after that we find safety in each other's arms. Most of the rest of the day is spent sleeping with a brief foray into China-town.

Saturday - We don't leave the hotel till about 1 pm and then we never quite make it to the aquarium as planned. That night we have dinner at a Spanish restaurant and then walked up Pitt St (a mistake) and then back down through Hyde Park which looks amazing. We sit together there for the longest time.

Sunday - A brief day because we have to catch the 1 pm bus back to Canberra. It's nice to have someone you know and love to sit next to, to make the trip bearable. Thankfully there was no movie on the bus, but the humidity and the struggle to get the luggage home gets me a bit hot and flustered. Later we discover the various ways to fit two people into a small single bed.

Monday - I spend most of the day at work, she spends most of the day at home sleeping. Later in the evening we go for sushi, and then on a whim we watch "Elvis - That's the way it is" at the movies, *sniff* so very cool.

Tuesday - I spent most of the day at work, Ally went out with Peta (B) to do the tourist thing. The Aust. J. Chem. Paper is coming along nicely, however Ally is not able to find any kangaroos to photograph. She goes to the High Court and Mount Ainslie amongst other things.

Wednesday - Mum came over at midday and met Ally. We had lunch here at Toad before running a few chores. Mum invited Allison home to Tumut for an overnight stay. Apparently she met my Dad and eldest brother and even had conversations with both of them. *gasp, shock, horror*

Thursday - Allison got back on the bus from Tumut in the mid-afternoon and I met her and introduced her to Emma. Emma gave us a lift back to Toad and we crashed out.

Friday - Work for me as usual, though I was fairly unproductive because the reaction I needed to do needed to stir for 30 hours, but I was going to be away in Sydney all weekend. So, I put the finishing touches to Chapter 2, got back to tidying up Chapter 1and found out what I needed to do for Chapter 4. That night Ally bought a whole bunch of groceries and we went around to Peta's place and made a big lasagna for dinner. That was nice and fun, though I fell asleep on the couch towards the end of the night.

Saturday - We have to catch the 1 pm bus up to Sydney so that I can run in my 15th City-to-Surf on Sunday morning. I'm coming back to Canberra on Monday night and Ally is going to stay with her friend Kevin for a few days.

Well, it's all been quite amazing and novel. After not having to share my life physically with anyone for such a long time, I'm finding it all quite fascinating. I'm guessing that in between taking care of her, waiting on hearing word back about the post-doctoral position in Miami and my mounting pile of work that I'm not going to have much time for diary writing. As per usual, I apologize.

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