My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!

Yeah, Princess Bride rocks, despite me not wanting to like it for spite! This is as close as I'll get to commenting on Chris' blog. So I think I've decided to use my blog titles to make comments about Chris' stuff. Or I could just include it in the body of the blog...but I like the title better. I want to see it again soon.

I hadn't slept too well. I fell asleep with the computer on and missed quite a few ppl who left me messages. I woke up at 2am and couldn't fall back asleep til 3am, then I woke up at 9am after some really trippy dreams. But as I was up, I decided to make good use of the day and spend at least half an hour at the gym. I did my own thing and I must say it gave me so much energy. I'm aiming on going to the gym everyday up until I leave in 3 week's time. But I do realise that I'll be working more hours in that time, but I still want to make time - even if I have to get up at 6am and go to the gym before work. We'll see how it pans out.

Today I was triple booked. Well, I was 'kind of' triple booked, but not really. It sounds much better when I say it like this...makes me popular! I had planned on going to lunch today with a close family friend from Chile - which I did. She is a close friend of the family (her sister and my mum knew each other when my mum first arrived in Australia 32 years ago. They were work colleagues as well and they have been friends ever since), but to me she is the closest thing to a grandmother as I'll get. So in line with my strange family lineage of fake sisters, nephews and cousins, I'll just refer to her as my granny. Deal? The reason I was 'triple booked' was coz I planned this lunch last week, but yesterday my sister calls me and tells me she's got no plans for Sunday and we should all go out to Great Ocean Road for the day, as it was going to be 30 degrees. And normally I would have dropped everything and said yes, but I was going to say farewell and thank you to my Chilean grandmother for helping me with accommodation in Chile. So I stuck to my guns. Then this morning my best friend Jackki calls and says, "I'm out here on Bridge Road, let's go shopping". As you all know, I don't need to be persuaded to go shopping and I almost said yes, but Mum reminded me that I had to go out for the farewell lunch. POO!

Anyway, my 'grandmother' is the one who has organised some accommodation for me when I get to Chile. I'll be staying with her sister (legit sister, no fake ones here!) and her nephew in Santiago - who is the same age as me. My 'granny' has a huge family of 11 brothers and sisters and as a result, has a whole load of cousins, nieces, nephews - as well as her siblings who live all across Chile, mainly down south. So I'll probably be in Santiago for a few days before heading down south towards the active volcanoes with her nephew to meet up with the rest of the clan. Her niece has a 'residencial' that has my name written on it and will be mine for over a week, so I can easily and safely base myself there in Villa Rica but make day trips even further south towards Patagonia (on the Chilean side, not the Argie side) and even Antarctica. Can't wait for that!!

I've never met her family, so they don't know what I look like and vice versa, so we were trying to hatch a plan so that I am easily recognisable from the crowd when they meet me at the airport. My granny said to have something distinguishable on my backpack. But everyone is going to have a backpack. I said I could put my Argentinian flag on the backpack, then mum suggested I maybe wear a visor I got in Arg that has the colours of the flag. Then we realised that me being in Arg gear may not be such a wise idea, given that the Argies and Chileans aren't exactly the best of friends. There's a different attitude for the Chileans and Argies that have migrated to different countries - we get along great. But the hardcore locals may make life a bit difficult. I mentioned to my uncle that I was going to Chile and he went ape shit, then proceeded to make fun of them, to which I cracked the shits. My uncle's cousin also has Chilean neighbours who live in Arg and their house is a target for tee pees and random acts of stupid vandalism. Not as much anymore, as the tolerance levels have increased, but to the ppl who are stuck living in the past, the hostilities are still current. So we scrapped the Argie colours. Then my granny said I could borrow a hat of hers that has Chile written all over it, with the flags and colours, etc. But there is a plane load of people going to Chile, so I may not exactly stand out if other people, particularly tourists, have the Chilean gear on. Mum said that I could wear something that has Australia on it. When we went souveneir shopping last week, she bought me a nice fitted t-shirt that had Australia written on it with a cute design. So we all agreed to that. Now I just have to remember to a) Pack it with me and b) To wear it on the 28th of February! So remind me folks!

The lunch was great, but getting to her place was a bitch. We would normally catch 2 trains, which takes no time at all. However, they were doing some construction works on the railway lines from both of the train lines that we needed to catch, so we needed to take the train replacement buses. We went from our home station to a suburban station on the bus, then we had to get off the bus and change to a train into the city, then change trains from the city to a northern suburban station and supposedly catch another bus for just 2 stops. It was a beautiful day, so I decided to walk those 2 stops. Mum was being stubborn and said, "I'm waiting for another bus", even though we were really close to my nonna's house. I walked and got to my nonna's at 2:35. I was first there and lunch was ready. I hadn't eaten breakfast and just had a workout, so I wasn't going to wait around for my mother to rock up, so we ate. Mum finally gets there at 3pm. We asked what happened and she said, "I had to wait 25 minutes for a bus coz the previous one never came". I asked, "Why didn't you just walk it?" She said, "Coz as soon as I start to walk, I know that a bus will come. I wasn't going to let that happen". She was being really stubborn today. Now I know where I get it from!

We eventually got home. The journey home always seems shorter than when you arrive. I got home and watched a show that traces celebrity's family trees. Today it was David Tennant. It was really interesting. I'd love to find out my family heritage, but it's a bit tricky. I wouldn't know where to start. All I know is the heritage from my Mum's side - and that's quite a large mix of nationalities there already. I've got my grandfather's side who are Polish and my grandmother's side that are Turkish. But both grandparents were born in Arg. I wouldn't have the foggiest idea of my Dad's side, but I wouldn't mind checking it out. And I do have some resources at my disposal that I can ask. Worst case scenario, I give Dad a call! But there are a few avenues I can pursue before I even get to that point, if I ever need to get to that point at all. But then again, I won't be starting my research til I get back from holiday, so I have a long time to think about this.

I am thinking of getting up early for a 6am workout...it's just a thought at this stage. Tomorrow I'm at work, but it's my usual shift. It's not sinking in that I'm leaving. It comes and goes, but it just doesn't seem real. Not until I pack, which I'll start next weekend :)

Have a good week all, stay out of trouble, get to bed early and drink lots of water til you pee clearly!!! hehehe Bye!!

QUOTE OF THE DAY: I am successful as I make up my mind to be.