From the Compression Chamber

The view from my hotel on James Street.

Thirty years ago almost to the week, I prepared and left for Europe with my mate Nick. It was so much easier then. Preparing for my move to Dresden over the past nine weeks has been exciting and challenging. During the final 24 hours before departure, I feel on the precipice of My Life Part 2. 

The cahos within my hot apartment drove me to a hotel in Northbridge. This airconditioned sancutry is my depcompression chamber where I reflect on the past years and prepare for my upcoming year in Germany. Twenty years ago I returned to Australia to get help for the debilitating mental health symptoms which were ailing me. In those two decades I tried different jobs (bus driver, English teacher, peer support worker), got sober and engaged in much therapy and many treatments. Now I feel good. I identify as having an invisible and episodic psycho-social disability as a result of being neurodivergent and having complex PTSD. I continue to have melt-downs, but I recover quickly. I know what sets me off, so I can avoid that. I am ok now. Ahead of me lies a year of historic musicological research at the State Library of Saxony. I think it will be very fulfilling and satisfying. I am thrilled to be back in Germany.