Like a lot of people who start up new diaries on Diaryland, I am trying to find a space where I can be myself.

That sounded way wankier than it was supposed to.

Long story short, I have another Diaryland spot but I clambered into a rickety boat and am seeking refuge here.

So hi!

I'm Martina. If I mention that the Pigeon is really Daniel, there may actually be a couple of people who know what I'm talking about. I am not going to link to my old diary anywhere though, so if anybody does make the connection, please keep it quiet. It would just make me happier that way.

It's late and I'm on a slow computer so I intend to keep this fairly brief.

ABOUT ME

- I live with my boyfriend of three years (Daniel) in a unit in Cronulla, which we purchased a few months ago.

- I am a bit cynical about the notion of "one true love". I believe that it's possible to truly love more than one person at once, and I also believe that people are like stones in a tide... they get worn down into new shapes overtime and can "fit" with different people.

- Death has been around me a fair bit since last year. I think it's time to balance things out a bit, so somebody close to me had better get pregnant soon.

- I cannot drink vodka without nasty, nasty things happening to me and my surroundings (my apologies to the cab driver from last New Year's). I am not proud of this but that doesn't stop it from being true.

- In high school I thought I was a blank canvas. I thought that I was bland, that I had no personality, no interests, nothing that distinguished me from anybody else. Of course I had friends, but as far as I was concerned I was a dork and a bit of a weirdo (if liking Red Dwarf and Monty Python instead of Friends, or The Beatles instead of Pearl Jam, is any example). I didn't find out till years later that several of my friends really respected me for staying true to myself and not trying to be anything I wasn't. Oh and it turns out that I did have a personality. Here's a lesson for you: just because you can't sum yourself up in three brief sentences doesn't mean you're not unique.

- I studied in France for a couple of months, at La Rochelle. I would love to go back there. I want to dispel any myths you may have heard about the French being snobs. The French are lovely people. It's the Parisians you have to watch out for.

- I've also been to Canada, Austria, Switzerland, the US (briefly) and Slovakia (briefly). Most of that was related to snowboarding in some way. Lesson I wish to pass on from my travels: Slovakian food is awesome... but never let a Slovakian make you a "Mexican" meal.

- I am studying Proofreading & Editing by correspondence, as I find the English language fascinating. I mean the language itself, not the flowery literature. I enjoy languages in general but don't really have the time I'd like to immerse myself in the study of another language. I liked learning French though.

- I own a guitar and know a select range of chords. I love singing.

- I think I'm OK at drawing, if rather slow. My favourite medium is charcoal because I love the dramatic light and shade you can create with it. I rarely draw though.

- I was terrible at keeping up with diaries and leaving notes. I am going to try to write in here at least twice a week, and to leave notes just as regularly. I want to get myself a camera too so that I can have some photos of my life to look back on. I have never really had many photos, and I don't just mean in my online diary.

I'm kind of stuck, but I think that should do for now.

The other day I saw a real live reindeer in a horse float in busy Sydney traffic, and I think it was one of the most exciting things I'd ever seen. I'm Australian so I probably wouldn't have looked twice at a kangaroo (I drive past plenty of dead ones on my way down to the snow in winter anyway), but seeing those huge hairy antlers actually made me bounce in my seat and point frantically like a three-year-old at the zoo. Please note that I am 24 years old.

That's a scary thing to say. I liked being 22. I only turned 24 a few weeks ago but I suddenly feel like I'm in a great big countdown. It just sounds so much older, and I'm still doing the same mundane stuff I was doing last year. But then... where is one supposed to be at 24?

I like Daniel's way of putting it. Life is about your experiences, the stories you can share with people. I think he's right. Some people spend thousands of dollars on shiny cars. We spend that money on holidays. It's about the experiences.

Whatever you do for a living just helps you to pay for what you really love to do, unless you're one of a very fortunate few. For a lot of people, the workplace is just a workplace. If you get paid OK and don't mind your work, then it doesn't really matter what you do. I was thinking about this the other day. So many people I know from Uni have gone on to work in bureaucracies and government offices in Canberra. It's what they aspired towards for years. I never had that interest myself; I just didn't see the glory in it. Every job out there contributes to society in some way.

I'm tired enough to not only not remember where I was going with this, but can't even be bothered reading back to find out.

But my aim in life is to weave a good story of it. Experience interesting things and learn from them if I can. Practise the "right" and "wrong" way of dealing with things. But mostly I hope to learn to appreciate what I have, because I know I have a way of taking things for granted.

So I'm off to appreciate the awesome caramel slice I made.

PS Some of my links may not work properly yet, but I'll fix it all eventually.