It`s been a happy time at my camp, despite the incapacitating heat of the last month. I did leave the country though, and spent a wonderfully relaxing time in the coolness of the Gold Coast, but not before struggling to adjust from the 38 degree heat of Osaka, to the seemingly freezing 21 degrees of Surfers Paradise. After a day, all was well, and I was able to bask in the perfect conditions.

Come to think of it, of the 3 holidays I`ve gone on this year, twice were back to Australia. And while I miss the awesomeness that is Melbourne, I still haven`t gone back home. I did go to Sydney however, but as much as I wanted to make that extra hour on the plane, I didn`t have the time.

Upon my return from the Gold Coast, I didn`t get much of a break before my mum came by to visit. While it was great to see mum, doing so while being fried by the sun, drowned by the humidity and suffocated by the stench of the millions of non-deodorant-wearing Japanese people didn`t make for the happiest of happy reunions. Still, for the most part, I kept my mood in good check and we did have a great time.

Of course, mum telling me from the get-go that I`d gotten really fat didn`t bode too well, and neither did her constant warnings of the family`s history of diabetes and heart disease and such. But still, in the end, I was quite happy to see mum, and get some updates on the latest in family gossip.

But that`s not my reason for being so happy.

A feel good story...

Last night, having come home from a night of shopping, I was quick to doze off, completely neglecting to have any snack, and worse, dinner - something that hasn't happened for as long as I can remember. And so, while my brain had fallen fast asleep, my stomach wasn't about to let a dead brain stand in the way of its nightly fill. 

The functional organs amassed for a meeting. Given the responsibility of filling in for the sleeping brain, my second brain would only relay its fantasy of 2 of its favorite actresses, draped in apple custard with a topping of cream cheese. But patience was wearing thin, and the stomach the same. Trying to slap some sense into brain #2 only worsened the situation, and so, as the minutes passed, all hope seemed lost as each organ began its nightly fall into slumber.

A light. A drumbeat. A (guitar) power-chord. Revived by what seemed like an 80s motivation song in the background, the stomach found a voice through my mouth, and wailed like a lost kitten as it relentlessly called out for help, hoping that somewhere, someone would have the kind heart to help one so helpless and hungry for love.

Like the cliched end to a feel good movie, someone did hear, and that someone took the time to attend to the needs of the destitute. My gf woke me up, plate of omelet and rice in hand, and told me to eat it because she was sick of me crying out ``I`m hungry`` in my sleep.