I had a great weekend down at Seven Mile Beach. While I was walking along the beach this morning I found some empty pipi shells that were still attached at the hinge (so they look like butterflies ^_^) and had beautiful colouration so I brought them home to put in my room. I spent quite a lot of time contemplating the natural beauty of things, just sitting around watching the waves roll in and the wind blow by. I really miss the feeling of being close to nature. It was rather meditative to watch as the leaves and flowers danced to the different beats and flows of the swirling breeze, and it was while observing precisely this that I managed to sort out some problems which had been niggling me for some time. It was awesome to be back with the same group; drinking, relaxing, eating, relaxing, jamberooing, relaxing, partying, relaxing, then relaxing some more. On Saturday we went to Jamberoo, where safety rules control the action. The toboggan ride was awesome, except for the last time I went on it 'cause my brake were fucked and stayed on the whole time. Had heaps of fun on the water slides and the rapids ride, though the go karts were shithouse. My get up for the rock party totally smoked pole 'cause I didn't have time to go and get the stuff I needed to complete the ensemble. I feel really privileged to be invited into the world of such an enduring & genial group of friends. I thought I'd be able to get to sleep easily tonight but instead I've found myself with a million different trains of thought thundering through my head. It's so lovely to be able to think for myself again, and not to be constantly fretting over assignments, readings or exams. I've decided to do some volunteer work at the Children's Hospital on my days off over the holidays, and am now waiting for them to reply to my email. One of the guys from uni is doing it out at Westmead and gets to read the kids stories and keep them company while they're cooped up in bed. I really hope they have something available at Randwick, I adore children and it'll give me an excuse to borrow more children's books from the library at uni (they have HEAPS).