Well... I guess that that was always going to be expected if I really thought about it! I'm doing a crapload more driving than I had ever done in the Netherlands. Most of that is really due to the fact that Australia is just a bigger place than Europe.... but a good chunk of it is really more due to the fact that whilst I live in Canberra, most of my work is in the larger cities... msotly, Sydney.

Sydney is only a three hour drive away... and I really much prefer to drive rather than catch a flight that pretty much goes up and then straight back down... the Canberra airport is really easy, but the Sydney one is a real pain in the arse. So, three hour drives (as long as Sydney isn't completely clogged up on the roads) is manageable to keep returning back to family and snatching in some teaching as well. Lie most things that technically work on paper, it tends to be a touch less fun in real life. On the calender, it looks perfect... as projects and commitments dovetail into each other, even with the travel time...

... but it does mean that I've got lots of late night driving... and early morning driving. I've gotten quite used rolling out of bed at around 5 in the morning and straight into the car to get to a rehearsal in Sydney. Sometimes, I've not even bothered to get changed out of my jimmy-jams.... but thankfully for everyone else, I generally wear trackpants and the day's t-shirt to bed... so, at least I'm not showing up in Winnie-the-Pooh boxers!

Anyway, this particular morning was a slightly earlier start... as I had to a couple of hours further than Sydney. I had a commitment the night before, which meant that I wasn't able to do the sensible thing and leave the night before working. I had considered if it was worth doing a couple of hours in the night so that the next morning could start a little bit later... but I know how I travel. I will tend to sleep badly in a foreign bed, and so it would be likely that with the check-in and check-out of the hotel, that I would have much less sleep than if I just tried to get to sleep a little bit earlier and just sucked it up and powered out of bed and into the rehearsal... at least this time, I wouldn't have to drive back on the same day!

... and so after a little bit of a mid way stop to get my morning coffee... definitely something that was needed after about 90 minutes of being fresh out of the bed... plus, a good time to get out of the car and off the road... there is often going to be quite a few potential roadkill opportunities at the dusk and dawn hours, and I've found that during those early morning wakeups... I don't think I'm quick enough to slow or dodge them at that part of the morning... thankfully, there aren't that many cars or trucks on the road either... so, if I do accidentally do the wrong thing (swerve...), then I'm much less likely to die... or kill other people.

After so many trips up and down... I've not managed to hit any animals, but I get the feeling that it is only going to be a matter of time. My wife did accidentally take out a cat... which did traumatise her... and that was on a suburban road that wasn't that fast... I can imagine if I hit some at full motorway pelt, there would be some serious damage to the car as well... plus getting smacked hard in the face with the airbag.

However, it is the late night drives that are really the tricky ones... those are the ones where it is the last half hour that is killer.... the moments where your eyes are drooping, and the air-conditioning is as cold as possible to prevent you from sleeping. I generally have to take a quick breather, and walk around the car a few times to get some of that cold night air into my lungs to wake me up...

... anyway, I think I will stop writing and get back to work... there are students to teach, and they just won't teach themselves... sadly! Plus... if you can't tell... I'm really suffering from hazy brain due to the combination of too little sleep and too much coffee!

I can also be found cross-posting at:
Hive
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Publish0x

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