Cheap thrills and spirits

Has it finally sunken in? Have we all started receiving grief counselling to help with the loss? Mardi Gras has officially come and gone. Like an exciting fling, it has built us up and now left us to count our blessings and move on.

After many years of treading the RHI and Hordern dancefloors, I have learnt the best way to deal with the huge mountain many of us come down from after such parties is to set out on a crazy adventure to take your mind off all your troubles.

So Tuesday last week I did just that. To celebrate the birthday of one of my fabulous lesbian girlfriends, Tracey Belinda, my friends and I decided to surprise the old girl with a trip to Surfers Paradise for 48 hours. Cloaked in secrecy, Matthew, Luke and I continually dropped hints of trips to Hobart.

Rising at 5am on the Tuesday after MG, we all headed to the airport with a confused lesbian in tow, packed for a whirlwind trip of excitement.

The plane was cancelled, then the new flight was delayed for four hours, so it seemed our trip was going to be a little bit more urgent than we had first expected. Checking the weather forecasts we learnt that Queensland would be beautiful one day, pissing down the next. Not letting this taint our trip, we dashed to the hotel to drop off bags and head to the first theme park. As there was rain forecast, we decided on Wet ‘n’ Wild. Tracey said as a lesbian she loved the sound of that theme park. Up and down millions of stairs, flying down slides a hundred miles an hour with water dripping from every orifice, the next four hours seemed to fly past. skin wrinkled like prunes and sore all over, it was time to head back to hotel.

After a few holiday Pimms, it was time to hit the gay nightclub. To our astonishment, we bumped into the majority of the Midnight Shift staff heading in the same direction. The Meeting Place was the place to be. Every time I tell anyone I ventured out in Surfers Paradise they raise an eyebrow but, to be absolutely honest, I had a hoot. Cheap spirits till midnight helped everyone slip into that party/ holiday mood, and we all soon forgot about our tired bodies from earlier in the day.

The next day we headed to Dreamworld. I guess the best way to describe the day was shaken and stirred. I was thrown about for six hours, and to think I actually paid to have it done to me! After 48 hours of this sort of relaxation, the four of us slowly made it back to the plane.