Mojitos with my mates

Mojito Sunset
Originally uploaded by 1bluecanoe.

When I arrived home on Sunday and I went into my bedroom, the first thing that caught my eye (aside from the "Welcome Home" banners and helium balloon!), was my framed Graduate Diploma in PR from the University of South Australia. My graduation ceremony had been held the month after I left home, so obviously I had arranged to graduate in absentia. I had actually forgotten that the ceremony even happened, so I was a little surprised to see the certificate there. But it reminded me how much I was looking forward to Thursday's rendez-vous with my Uni friends.

The day started quite early, with the idea of coffee with my Dad in the City. But given that my cold attacked me with a vengeance yesterday morning, I bowed out of that engagement. Jems dropped me into North Adelaide for lunch with Gav, but I realised halfway there that I had made the lunch date for 11.30am - and not noon, like I had been thinking all morning. So there we were, burning along O'Connell Street and I was frantically making phone calls to Gav, hoping he didn't think I was standing him up for real. He was fine. He had a bar, he had a beer, he had no problems. And our lunch at the Queen's Head bar, when I finally got there, was wonderful. Gav has seen a bit of the world himself since I last caught up with him, so it was good to swap stories and share laughs about how different other cultures are to our own, and what a struggle it can be to come back home after such amazing adventures. And the long overdue James Boags premium beers just went down a real treat.

As the summer rain bucketed down outside and threatened flash flooding, we waited until there was a lull in the storm and then we walked up to the Oxford Hotel, site of my 21st birthday. I don't particularly like that pub, but it does hold happy birthday memories for me, and it was close to the Archer, where Jems was enjoying her own staff Christmas lunch.

Theresa then joined us at the Oxford for a couple of sparkling wines, and by that time I was feeling rather merry. I had also started to yawn, which I tried very hard to blame on jetlag, but Gav didn't believe me. When he started to yawn too, he stopped nagging me. Phew. Mind you, it wasn't at all late by this stage, so we headed next door to The Banque, for a couple of vanilla mojitos (that I do love from there). Our Uni friend Jane then joined us, and it was wonderful to see her. Jems followed shortly after and we had a great chat together - with the barman too, who threw in some comments from the background.

Gav disappeared after that to attend his own family Christmas dinner, and the girls and I adjourned to Beyond India, a fabulous Indian restaurant that Katie and I used to go to all the time when we lived in North Adelaide. We'd either dine there and have multiple bottles of wine and then go and see kids movies at the cinema (!), or we'd get them to deliver to us and walk up the three flights of stairs to our apartment hehe. Either way, we were very good customers! So last night was a fun trip down memory lane. And fortunately the menu hadn't changed - my lamb roganjosh was particularly delicious and I had some yummy garlic naan so I guess that means I won't be the kissing bandit tonight! The boys of Adelaide are safe for another 24 hours.

So that was another happy day under the Adelaide sun. I've woken up on Friday morning to a slightly cloudy and drizzly day, but there is still enough residual warmth in the air to warrant wearing my cocktail dress that I've not yet had the occasion to bring out of mothballs. I bought the dress at Kenzie in Santa Monica and with today's social engagements, I think I have found 3 perfectly good occasions to bust it out (as distinct from 'busting out of it'). Sweet.