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Sunshine During Rain
Ah, the break has been good. In slowing my writing down for a bit, I have had to adapt and learn to organize my thoughts in a different way; reassess, I guess.
I will never regret the two years that I have been writing with some sort of regularity. I think it has saved me more often than not. I also know it brings clarity to large portions of the past that I would otherwise see in a blur (or forget entirely). “Oh, right – we DID go to Whistler in June…oh, yeah….THAT’S how we spent October.” You know, things like that…more important events and thoughts as well, but you get the idea.
I think this may be a bit of a turning point for me. I’m not sure where exactly I’m turning from, and in which direction I’m now faced, but there’s some kind of crazy road sign associated with it, I’m sure.
Only in Melbourne
Actually the Melbourne hook-turn comes to mind as a very suitable analogy. Here in Melbourne there is an insane, yet perfectly legal and common maneuver whereby you pull into the far lane to make a right hand turn (keep in mind we drive on the left over here, and to turn right means to cross oncoming traffic). So you’re driving along and realize you need to go right at the next intersection. You must pull into the left lane, turn your blinker on and wait for a gap in traffic traveling in both directions! What!?! You should really only attempt this crazy turn when you’re comfortable. It feels SO strange…a little exhilarating…different…
… yeah, a good analogy I’d say.
West Coast Eagles lost!
So as one may assume, I have landed myself in Melbourne, a lovely city, indeed. It was a sad affair to leave Perth, but I had a great last couple of days there, before heading south. On my last night, Kim and I managed to snag Footy tickets (thanks Sean!)! Now this is a truly Aussie passion and I can see why: a riled up crowd full of supporters for both teams, fit men running up and down a huge field…running, tackling, kicking (and that’s not including what’s happening in the stands!), over-priced-beer-drinking… Yup – they’ve got everything a good hockey game has, with the exception of ice and Luongo.
I won’t pretend to understand the rules, but it was great to watch – and the atmosphere was electric. We made friends with the people sitting next to us and managed to make our way to the club bar for a celebratory pint or two. Good times!
A View from Federation Square
The flight to Melbourne was straight forward, and wouldn’t you know, I happen to be sharing the plane with Matt Gresham, the musician I had seen a couple of weeks earlier in the city (One of his songs was features in my ‘theme songs of the day’ last post). We had a little chat, and I got to tell him what a great performer he is. Good times!
I had a total of three days in Melbourne and my tour guide did the city a great service by introducing me to the wonderful cultural diversity that oozes off the pavement here. There are so many restaurants and cafes and galleries; little nooks to get lost in. The streets are littered with pieces of orange and red and yellow; it’s just at that point in the season where the balance has been tipped: there are more leaves on the ground than in the trees. Everyone looks good, somewhere to go, a hurried but casual pace. This is how I imagined it to be.
It flows upside-down...crystal clear on the bottom
My tour guide, and host, Matt, is a friend I met in Hawaii many months ago. He has recently moved back to Australia to travel around a bit and, as his family lives in Melbourne, he thought that a good place to start. We have kept in touch and the plan is to stay in the city a few days – then we head down to Tasmania for a week of exploring. What fun.
An adventure awaits… but then, when doesn’t it?
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Theme songs of the Day:
Rose Pickles – The Custom Kings, from the album At Sea
Number One – The Custom Kings, from the album At Sea
Olive Picking on the Side of the Road
I’ve been having a tough time finding the inspiration to write and I’m not exactly sure why. Coming back to Perth has given me a sense of well-being that only a few other cities ever have.
I haven’t stopped writing altogether, but the last couple of weeks have proved a difficult lesson in sharing. I’m not able to write for anyone else but me right now….as I say that…mmhh…maybe I can write a little….you know, now that I’m here…
Why not, eh?
One of the reasons I may be having trouble finding any sort of motivation is that I have just celebrated my thirtieth birthday. It was a little bitter-sweet to be entirely honest. Birthdays have always been a priority for Kevin and I. As most of you know, we always planned bbqs, parties, camping trips…fun-filled events - for both of our bdays – it’s always just been an excuse to celebrate. Although it’s exciting to be in another country for the ’big day’, in my heart I am somewhere in between here and home. I don’t know how to explain it…another reason not to write. I’m only able to write around the idea of my feelings. I can’t quite figure it out in my own head, so how do I type it up into a neat little paragraph (or a slightly larger paragraph, in the instance)?
Maybe another excuse for the lack of written word – I’m relaxing a bit. I feel like the shock might be wearing off a little bit. I’m seeing things a little more clearly; I am getting outside everyday and I’m spending more time by myself than I have in years.
Just a nibble
Getting used to the alone thing. I guess we’ve all had to do this at one time or another; a break-up or what have you. There’s something special about eating alone at a restaurant.
With my many hours of quiet time, I am re-learning that everyone is extraordinarily complex. I knew this before, but it has really hit home during this trip. We all have these amazing experiences. Listening to people’s stories and hearing how they work; what goes on in their minds. What music they like, how they get on with their families, why they are where they are…its all so fascinating.
Maybe focusing on other people allows me perspective that I don’t get when I turn inside-out. I am saddest when looking deep into my own heart, but when I get a tiny glimpse of what lays in others’ hearts, I can see, reflected, all that I am going through and all that I’ve been through…just from farther out. I like this perspective best: no magnifying glass necessary.
Jellyfish
Anyway, my time in this city has been wonderful. We’ve been enjoying some great live music. I have a bike.. it’s blue and it’s awesome: a birthday gift from a friend. I have ridden it almost everyday since I got it last week. What a great feeling: riding along the water and looking out into the plain of blue that is the Indian Ocean.
Kim and I have found time to go to the aquarium (AQWA) and the zoo. I am currently a walking encyclopedia of flora and fauna. There are some CRAZY animals out there. My favourite it the Leafy Seadragon. These are absolutely beautiful creatures. They bob gracefully through the water and you would never know they even existed, as they blend in so well with common sea kelp.
Beautiful, unassuming, and complex…. just like us.
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Theme Songs of the Day:
We Are Not Criminals – Matt Gresham (…we saw him live and he has SO much energy!)
Paper Aeroplane – Angus & Julia Stone, from the album Chocolates and Cigarettes
I’m sitting on the deck enjoying the heat and the noises of very tropical-sounding birds. Somehow the five hours of sleep I’ve had in the last fifty-odd hours is sustaining me. I think I may be surviving on the excitement and novelty of being somewhere new. It’s so warm!! I can see a wild baby turkey as I write this.
The flight over was a pleasant surprise. I have never been upgraded before, but if I only have the one shot at improved airline comfort, the 14.5 hour flight to Auckland was the prize to land. I was moved from an isle seat at the back of the plane to a “premiere economy” seat against the bulkhead at the front of the aircraft. SO much leg-room!! 
The food was good too – prawns and such, cheese, port…champagne to start. Fantastic. Thank you, Air New Zealand – really it was quite the experience and I feel a guilty indulgence at having traveled like a rock star…or at least a Canadian rock star…
Upon arriving in Brisbane, my good friend Alice welcomed me. There’s nothing better than having someone you love meet you at the airport! It’s been seven years since we’ve seen each other, but Alice has had a way of being around during pinnacle moments in my life. We first lived together in Edinburgh, ten years ago. Alice was the only ‘local’ who lived in the flat with us and we became fast friends. We traveled a bit through the area surrounding the city and endured one of the most disastrous camping trips I’ve ever been through. It was an ordeal – but we laughed the entire time.
Years later, Kevin and I took our first trip abroad together and Alice’s house was one of our stopping points. I got to show him my former playing ground, and Alice and Kevin had a chance to get to know each other. That was the trip Kevin proposed to me on – Alice was in on the surprise. Very devious!
Our last meeting was later that same year when she came to Victoria to visit us. Since then we have been keeping in touch intermittently. Coincidently, Alice wrote an invite for me to come visit anytime, just a day after the tickets to Australia had been booked. “Oh that would be great – you’ll never guess – I AM coming to Australia …where exactly do you live?” Aha- Brisbane, wow that’s where I’m flying in!
So we trekked through the city, making our way to her place – a beautiful little flat in a nook off of a cul-de-sac. Up on a hill, we can see the city through the leaves of the frangipani. It’s so green. It’s warm, and the bag is heavy, and the jeans are exchanged for a skirt, and the beer is cracked. Ahhhh…..
Friends come over and we chat and have some food and soon enough it’s time to head to the West End… We’re going to see the Chocolate Strings, a very fun and talented local band, at a pub called Lock n’ Load. The West End is a super-casual, café-culture area in a small strip just south west of the Central Business District. Live music plays at a few different venues and the atmosphere is busy but relaxed. The bar is packed and the music is just great. The band has actually outgrown the venue and people are dancing on the sidewalk outside. What a rad first night.
We get home in the early hours of morn’ and, after struggling with the math, I realize I’ve been up for exactly 48 hours. Sleep comes easy. I am so happy to be here.
Theme Songs for the Day:
Massive Nights – The Hold Steady, from the album Boys and Girls in America
A.M. 180 – Grandaddy, from the album Under the Western Free Way
Later –
The day was good. Although it would have been just fine to hang out in the yard and work on Alice’s friend’s bike, we actually managed to walk into town and maintain some amount of productivity. We walked for hours – I saw just how ‘interesting’ Brisbane is…it’s not necessarily the prettiest of cities, although there are some little gems. Alice explained that Brisbane had a huge developmental boom in the late 80’s. It so happens that the city held Expo ’88 (yes, they were the city that followed Vancouver). “Queensland shows the worls: Regionalism and Modernity.” The massive amounts of concrete are a testament to this era.
Slurpees were our main form of sustenance as we made our way over the Goodwill Bridge, through the Botanic Gardens… we walked down through the main shopping area and, as it was Saturday, it was jam-packed. It had started out cloudy but was pure sunshine within the hour.
A view from The Goodwill Bridge
We walked down to the man-made beach that sits beside Brisbane River in the South Bank area. It’s a little weird that chlorinated water sits on the graduated sand ‘beach’ – but all the people that swarmed the area seemed happy. It’s like a big water park for the whole family.
As we strolled the market we realized how terribly tired we really were. Movies were in order…and popcorn (it’s just SO good – top five foods for sure). A successful day. Tomorrow – the beach.
Another theme song for the evening:
Burn One Down – Ben Harper, from the album Fight For Your Mind
So I’m heading over to Vancouver after spending the night in Nanaimo, with good friends. On the ferry, I watch the gulls fly around the boat; riding the wind. There’s a thin layer of white snow on the beach. The water looks COLD. I won’t be back this way for a while and I’m realizing how beautiful it really is. Cold and cloudy and beautiful.
I love that the house I grew up in can be seen from the boat, although it’s harder to distinguish when all the roofs are white! I spent twelve years of my life watching these ferries come and go, from the hills surrounding the bay. I get a special, nostalgic, feeling upon seeing Mnt. Benson, Gabriola Island, downtown in the distance…Harmac (the pulp-mill). Anyone who knows Nanaimo knows the wonders of that special Harmac smell… how else would we know the weather is changing?
“Welcome aboard BC Ferries…our sailing time will be one hour and thirty-five minutes…”
The cat has been safely stowed at a friend’s place. He adjusted well after a long, loud car ride (meeeeoooowwwwwww). He was mildly sedated and very comfortable; maybe a little too comfortable. It was pretty funny to watch. His back legs stopped working properly and he actually rolled off the couch at one point. He spent the night stumbling around, exploring his new surroundings. He’s quite the little traveler himself! I’m so glad he will be taken care of while I’m gone.
The loose ends are tied up in a bow and I am, officially, on the road. No car…and, one of the biggest indicators of freedom: no keys! When was the last time you left anywhere without keys?
Looking outside at the mountains and water and sky – they are all shades of blue. My leaving the island has many shades as well… blue in nature, but hints of bright white too.
Saying goodbye to friends is bittersweet. Aren’t we actually lucky, in a way, when it’s painful to say goodbye? The pain could be seen as indicative of the strength of the friendship. It’s sad but happy too. We will all see each other again soon, and we will have so much to talk about.
…
Theme songs for the day:
In the Flesh? – Pink Floyd, from the album The Wall
Boa Sorte (Good Luck)– Vanessa da Matta & Ben Harper, (Deeplick Remix)
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