:/

The past few days have been kind of tough for me. A few days ago, I learned that my ex-brother in-law was dying from the effects of Alcoholism. It never occurred to me that David would die from this, I always thought he would hit rock bottom and make a comeback, being there for Brendan, my nephew, down the road. He passed away a few days ago from liver failure. This news was just shocking. I wasn't sad for me, but sad for the emotional trauma on my sister and nephew are going through, and thinking what is to come down the road for them. Even though they were no longer together, this has been really hard for Lisa. I feel awful that I'm not home to be of some comfort for my sister. I know there's not much I can do, but it's just hard being 10,000 miles away from home during this time. The rainy weather we've been having lately here in Cairns has not been much help. Hard to stay distracted when you're stuck inside.

Today, I went to breakfast with my friends and Jacqueline's parents who are visiting from out of town. I was supposed to later go to the Cairns Tropical Zoo, but the continuing Monsoons are not letting that happen. I've done some shopping (bough 1 litre of sunscreen for $9) and cleaned my room a bit, but that's about it so far. I'll probably do some pleasure reading soon, get off this computer!

Tomorrow, I am going snorkeling at the Outer Reef, which is supposed to be beautiful! Hopefully, this rain won't mess things up too much out there. I'm also considering getting certified to scuba dive down here. Definitely have to do more research, a lot of companies here all offering different packages.
XOXO
SZ

please send lots and lots of love to Lisa and Brendan <3