The last 6 weeks

I’ve been on holidays for almost 6 weeks now, thanks to the delightful people at the RBWH medical administration. It has been amazing, so I’m going to tell you what I did!

Week 1: After finishing up at Geriatrics, I found myself feeling young again. It was almost as if the musty smell of stale urine wasn’t going to permeate my very being after all. At this stage Shu-en was still having her final exams and I wasn’t really in the mood for too much excitement just yet (you have to work up to these things, in case osteoporosis turns out to be catching). So I ran lots of errands, sorted out my job/move for next year and shifted my now whale-like frame into the pool for some exercise. (Okay, so whale-like is probably a bit harsh on myself, but I’m definitely not the image of fitness I once came close to almost being kind of like).

Week 2: Shu finishes her exams. Hurrah! Much celebration is had as I mosey my way down to sleepy Melbourne to help my wonderful now-dentist girlfriend be rid of that pesky Shiraz that has been sitting around waiting for her exams to finish. It was good. We called and toasted many friends that night, much to the chagrin of those in the household who still had exams.

Week 3: Back to Queensland, but this time with Shu in tow. We spend a few days wining and dining in Brisvegas (and yes, I do hate myself for calling Brisbane “Brisvegas”) before making a lazy drive up the coast to Peregian Beach, with a detour to Montville. For the uninitiated, Montville is a delightfully quaint little town in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, specialising in Grandmotherly trinkets, home-made ice cream and other sweets, as well as some great little cafes and restaurants. The view is also spectacular and the drive (for those in the car who cared to stay awake) is pretty amazing. Highly recommended day trip for anyone in the area.

We met my parents at Peregian Beach where we had a beach house for 3 nights. It was great. We played 500, watched movies, ate great food and drank good wine and scotch. Unfortunately it was bucketing down rain for most of the time, so we only made it to the beach once. Dad and I also managed to have a game of golf to celebrate Dad’s birthday. We played Twin Waters and I actually played really well, which is surprising considering how infrequently I play.

Week 4: Back to Melbourne for the arrival of Shu’s mum and her Aunty (eldest Aunty on her Dad’s side, who she is very close to and helped raise Shu-en and her siblings). I had heard much about Shu’s Aunty (who she calls “Acaur” though I’m sure that isn’t how you spell it; it’s a Mandarin term of respect used for your Father’s oldest sister). I didn’t really know what to expect, and truth be told I was a little nervous. She is a very important person to Shu-en; what if she didn’t like me? Well, all of my fears were dashed in the first five seconds when a sub-5 foot elderly Chinese lady wearing a big smile came up to me, grabbed my love handles, gave them a shake and then hugged me. The love-handle shaking wasn’t an overly pleasant experience (see whale-like frame above) but it did make me feel like part of the family, which was very nice.

That week was an emotional roller-coaster. Shu was offered a job in Shepparton and given 6 hours to accept it, which we were worried she would have to as she hadn’t been offered a Townsville job yet. We were unsuccessfully trying to get on to the clinical director of the Townsville Oral Health Service where we were hoping she would have a job. Praise God, about 5 minutes after we finished praying and accepting that we would do distance for another year if need be, the phone rang and the clinical director at Townsville (who was on leave, but still had her work phone on her) basically gave Shu a quick phone interview and had offered her a job within the hour. We were over the moon!

I think our high peaked when we went to see Wayne Brady, American Comedian from Whose Line Is It Anyway fame. I can’t remember the last time I laughed to hard. The whole show was improvised, and it was incredible. Not only was it very clever and particularly hilarious, it was mostly clean the language didn’t make you cringe (with the exception being the opening act, who was actually a comedian from Townsville, and she was awful).

The emotional roller-coaster wasn’t done for that week though. The following Sunday, one of Shu’s uncles in Melbourne died suddenly and unexpectedly in his sleep. He was 56 and leaves behind his wife and two boys of 21 and 18. It was very tragic and he will be remembered as a strong and godly man, a loving husband and devoted father. He will be very sorely missed.

Week 5: Uncle’s tragic passing meant that Shu’s maternal side of the family all came down from Singapore for the funeral. Shu’s dad also came down. Shu’s mum is one of 8 children, so this was a fairly large effort to house and feed everyone. Still, I’ve been wanting to meet her extended family for quite some time, and I’m happy that I got to, though it was a shame it wasn’t under happier circumstances. They were all very lovely people, with a great sense of humour and a real sense of community within the family. The made me feel very welcome and part of the family.

The funniest part of this was Shu’s grandmother, who was in her 80′s and didn’t speak a word of English, but for some reason assumed that I spoke Chinese. I don’t. I can count to 10 in Mandarin and say hello. Smiling and nodding abounded. I’m worried I agreed to try fish head soup next time I see her.

Week five also entailed Shu’s grad ceremony, Mary Poppins the musical, the Vigil Service, the Funeral and the grad ball, in that order. Since this post is already too long, I will describe in a series of adjectives.

Grad ceremony: Hot (without aircon in large room). Tedious. Sore cheeks. Proud boyfriend and family.

Mary Poppins: Amazing. Incredible. Highly recommended, even for straight men.

Vigil Service and funeral: Deeply touching. A wonderful tribute to a wonderful man.

Grad Ball: Frivolous. Fun. Great food. Good dancing. Fantastic photos of a ridiculously good-looking couple.

Unfortunately I had to leave after that, to come back to work (I’m going back tomorrow). It was a great holiday, even though I didn’t go anywhere I hadn’t been before or do anything extraordinary. I got to meet some wonderful people and Shu and I got to spend a good amount of time with each others families, which went swimmingly. Despite the tragedy, it was one of the best holidays I’ve ever had! Now, if I can just remember how to be a doctor, I will be all set.

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