In December 27, 2006, I made my first step in Australia at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport. A year later, I’m back in Tulla, awaiting my flight back to Manila.

It’s been quite memorable, these two Australian trips. I was able to live in a different country for almost 6 months. On the first trip, I was so excited about being overseas once again. Homesickness set in about after a month after my arrival. On this trip though, the homesickness set in nearer to my departure date. It was Christmas you see, and Christmas is usually spent with family and friends. I did get to spend Christmas with family and friends in Tasmania (and had a blast, actually), but it’s still diffferent. Not that it’s bad, but Christmas in Manila is something I really missed.

I feel my heart racing with anticipation; in less than 10 hours I will be back to the city I so love. I am looking forward to seeing her again, to discovering the changes that happened while I was away. And maybe see how the Manila Peninsula looks now.

I also feel a twinge of sadness though. Melbourne has been good to me. I spent my last two days in Melbourne buying bilins and pasalubongs. Coming home from overseas without gifts is a big no-no. Though while I was in a hurry to complete my errands, I didn’t run. I want to savor every last moment that I spend walking through Melbourne’s streets.

I don’t know when I will see Melbourne again. A part of me wishes it to be soon, yet another part yearns for Manila. I would like to see more of the Philippines, so Melbourne will have to wait. But I know I will come back.

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I am an idiot. I knew all along what time the A380 was scheduled to touch down, but I still didn’t go on time , so all I got were these slightly obscured photos of the A380 docked at Tullamarine Airport.

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My 15-year old niece took her first flight out of the country last night. She’s due to arrive in Melbourne right about now, but so far, I haven’t received any text messages or calls from either her or my sister. And joy of joys, I’ve also run out of pre-paid credit on my mobile, so I can’t call them.

Naturally, I Googled for flight tracking websites. The biggest downside with these flight tracking websites is that most of them are limited to flights coming in and out of North America.

I did find one that covers Asia and Australia: Flightstats.com. I liked the website because aside from its nice interface, once you register, you can receive alerts on flights you are tracking.

Unfortunately, I’ve refreshed the page a million times and it hasn’t updated the flight status, nor have I received any alert. Worse still, Philippine Airline’s website only track flights that depart and arrive in Manila. Bleah.

Maybe I should just sneak into my sister’s (my niece’s mother) room and check her cellphone, no?
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