282/365. April 11. Time for a more regular old-skool post.

I took this photo this morning at the Combined Club where I was having a work meeting while the clouds rolled in and the boats passed by. My little Lumix is a lovely camera, though I get frustrated at not having more control. But dem's the breaks when you choose to carry a nice light point and shoot around instead of the big SLR kit. Anyways....

Almost 2 months since I left Tokyo. Feels like a lifetime ago already. People have been asking me just what I've been up to, how I'm really enjoying it. I'm happy to report that I *am* happy here.

I've been getting up early and going for longs walks/runs - first around the mountains near my bro's place, then the beach and headland once I moved closer to town. The weather has been incredible - magical, the kind of blue skies so blue that resort photographers don't need to retouch their pictures, and often not more than about 30 by day and cool enough for light summer blankets at night. All this nature, big wide skies..... It makes a jaded Tokyo girls heart sing, I tell ya. It's been good getting on top of my health - turns out I have a pretty hefty Iron & B12 deficiency and it's nice to work on all that in an English speaking environment so I can read the support material and ask the questions and understand the answers. So many things I am enjoying about NOT BEING in Japan anymore. And yet....

I see so many Asians around here (massive Asian population here, well, actually not here - but in Cairns an hour south), and I stare and stand close to listen to them in the hope they might be Japanese. Sometimes they are, and I stalk them with a wistful, nostalgic sensibility. Amusing how much I can understand, yet when I try to open my mouth to speak with them I usually have about 3 false starts. The Japanese food on offer here - even when made by Japanese staff - is different. The onegiri's are not as fresh or tasty and the soba and udon is very average. The tempura is made using a strange batter, heavy and tasteless. I don't understand why. It is so sad, I truly miss the flavours.

My work is pretty crazy. I am an event coordinator for the towns annual 10 day Carnivale, it's full of politics and local characters and history and is way more work that the 20 hours a week I signed on for. I haven't had a lot of time for photography - but I am getting some great work, nevertheless. I am a weekend photographer for the local newspaper - The Mossman & Port Douglas Gazette which is the weekly local newspaper, part of the News Ltd conglomerate. The editor there welcomed me with open arms and loves my photography and is throwing my name to anyone who needs photos, which is why I just did a food & portrait shoot for Vogue Entertaining & Travel Australia. Cool, huh. I am also getting real estate and the odd portrait job around the joint, did a young mum and her 3 week old baby yesterday - the pic's are for the kids' obasan who lives in Sendai. Yep, Daddy is half-nihonjin. I am working towards building the business so that once the Carnivale is over on May 31st, I can just jump straight into being a full time photographer (yeah, I know, I may be dreaming there). There is a lot of work here for photographers: hundreds of resorts and real estate agencies, and a massive wedding & events industry, there are not enough photographers to keep up with it all in the high season (which starts in May and runs till about November). Plus I'm helping my brother out with his real estate business, and once carnivale is over I'll be his Media/PR person to help get the properties for sale out there for buyers.

The locals up here in the north are a funny bunch, they do take some getting used to and I do feel like a fish out of water at times. Or maybe like a rabbit trapped in headlights.... Big & loud & straight-shooting & blunt & super friendly, it took me aback initially, after living in Tokyo where eye-contact is to be avoided at all costs. I haven't made a lot of friends here yet, but they are starting to come out of the woodwork. Getting used to epithets like darlin', bub, sweetie, sugar, honeybunch etc from complete strangers - it initially made me chuckle, now it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I think I like it. And I'm pretty sure I'm going to like it here.

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