Yesterday I mentioned the terrific sound system I found in the back laneway. Today, it’s a lovely sloppy-joe I bought at the Salvation Army store near Oxford Street.
And tonight I’m wearing it for the second successive night. Winter has arrived in Sydney (well, autumn really, but it’s chilly enough to start to bring out the winter clothes).
As I mentioned on Facebook and Twitter, I figure the Swedes know best how to cope with winter, and so a second-hand IKEA staff sloppy joe, though made in Vietnam, is probably the best way of dealing with the next few months.
Ikea Staff Sloppy-Joe
I’m approaching winter with a bit of dread, actually. I know how grumpy, and downright unhappy I get when winter comes around, such that it is in Sydney. Yes, I know I’m complaining about something which isn’t that bad after all.
Last year I went overseas for three months.
This year I’m spending a week or two with my friend Sue (visting Darwin), and I’m currently hunting around for flights to Beijing (to visit my friend Kate who is living there at the moment).
I’m hoping the combination of both will ease the winter pain. In the mean time I have my sloppy joe from IKEA.
As I sat at the cafe at Mudjimba this morning I faced one of the recurrent “first world” dilemmas in my life: what should I eat last. Should I finish on the bacon or the haloumi? Both tasted great, but which should be the last thing I tasted?
Haloumi and Bacon
I’ve been doing this ever since childhood. Growing up on a diet of meat and three veg I was always wondering which of the vegetables I should end on. Most of the time I saved the peas til last.
Forty years later and I’m still doing it. Most recently it was over a desert at a nice restaurant which had multiple items and tastes.
I told some friends about this particular “habit” of mine a few years ago, and they thought it was absolutely hilarious. Please tell me I’m not the only one who does it?
I called in to the “Lizard Cafe” as I had a couple of hours to kill between leaving Gympie and catching my flight from Sunshine Coast Airport back to Sydney.
As I told the woman driving the Gympie airport shuttle bus of my dilemma – a couple of hours to kill at the airport – she offered to drop me off at the small town/resort of Mudjimba about seven minutes drive from the airport. “It’s the last remaining part of the Sunshine Coast that hasn’t been developed”, she told me, and highly recommending the bakery.
We had been chatting for quite some time on the trip from Gympie to the Muster site, and then to the Sunshine Coast, and had discovered a common ancestral link in Northern NSW. Her ancestors included the Spinaze family, who were amongst the settlers at New Italy not far from my home town of Lismore. I certainly recall the name from both primary and high school.
Bushland near the Gympie Muster site
Having consumed a yummy breakfast, I went for a walk over to the beach. Although windy, the weather was pretty spectacular, and I worried briefly about developing a case of sunburn.
The difference between the people at Gympie and those having breakfast on the coast was quite dramatic. In addition to the way they dressed, there was also an obvious physical difference in the way they carried themselves between those who lived on the coast, and those who lived a little bit inland. It’s hard to articulate, but you know it when you see it.
And then it was back to the airport to kill an hour or so before my flight. Those waiting for planes included an assortment of people who had also obviously – by the way they dressed – been at the Muster.
“Do you feel like some lunch?”, one woman said to the other. “Not after that breakfast”, she replied, adding, “let’s just have alcohol”. And they did, two big glasses of chardy, as I sat and went through some of my photographs, and composed this blog post.
After just a couple of days in the country I feel very relaxed.
I also feel quite bloated, having consumed more meat and protein this weekend that I would otherwise consume in a week. Today’s breakfast probably didn’t help my cholesterol levels and risk of heart disease.
In the end, I chose the bacon to end the meal. The haloumi was good. Very good. In fact, some of the best haloumi I’ve had. But the bacon was also very bloody good.
Perhaps this “two choices” dilemma is an analogy for my life. I love the city and I love the country. In the end, which will I choose?
A few months ago I was lucky enough to be on a table that won the “Lucky Door Prize” for a dinner at Sydney’s Aria Restaurant. Along with ten others, I enjoyed a wonderful night this evening of great company, great conversations, delicious food and wine, and great views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. Though the servings look small, they were very filling and very, very enjoyable.
Dinner at AriaDinner at Aria
We were treated to matched wines chosen by the son of one of our hosts. We also had a visit to our table by the restaurant’s owner, Matt Moran. Feeling very, very fortunate/privileged tonight, so I thought I’d share a few of the lovely photographs I took. Very grateful.
When I woke this morning and saw the weird red glow outside my window I actually panicked a bit. I’d gone to bed last night expecting some winds and some dust would have arrived in Sydney, similar though nowhere near as dramatic as that which had occured yesterday in Broken Hill. As I blogged last night, I’ve lived through a couple of dust-storms. But I wasn’t expecting what I saw when I woke this morning.
Bedroom View
The last time I remember seeing the skies so red was during the Christmas Day bushfires of six or seven years ago. I remember waking up from a mid-afternoon nap and then walking outside and seeing the famous “blood red skies”. I joked at work today, though, I joke… “the first thing I thought when waking up was that my windows needed a good wash”.
So yes, the dust-storm was the talk of the day all around Sydney, and the reason why I rushed into work early this morning. Along the way, I snapped a couple of photographs of Crown Street, my street, and George Street. What’s strongest in my mind, though, was not just the red dust, but also the sounds of fire alarms going off throughout Surry Hills and The City. Weird stuff.
Due to the need to carry something requiring both arms, I ventured out to the shops today without my crutch. This week my physio granted “approval” to part ways with the crutch, with the condition that I use it in crowded situations where the risk of bumping and falling exists.
For the past week, more often than not, I’ve found myself walking while holding the crutch in the air, scarcely placing it on the ground. Today presented only one precarious moment. Close to home, I ran into a colleague and his wife. While maintaining eye contact, I failed to notice the uneven surface of the footpath. Fortunately, I swiftly recovered, averting a potential fall.
During my three-week absence in Lismore, I continued daily public walks, complemented by exercises prescribed by my physio. She told me she was very happy with the ongoing progress I’ve made. In our conversation, I outlined my first goal for the year: to participate in the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, marching with the ABC float again.
Unlike previous years, my current reality involves living with a disability, following the amputation of the lower part of my right leg six months ago. I now walk with a prosthetic leg. The challenges of the Mardi Gras march include its length (1.7km), the uneven terrain at the start, the rising incline of Oxford Street, and the potential for fatigue.
Discussions with a colleague, who, like me, lives with a disability (walking with a crutch), highlighted the anticipated fatigue. Despite her warning – “You’ll be exhausted the next days” – she offered encouragement. With my daily step count currently ranging from 4000-5000 steps (approximately 3km), my physio thought the Mardi Gras march feasible based on distance. Incidentally, for every bit of exercise for an amputee, it’s generally thought to be two or three times that of someone who isn’t an amputee, so the 4000-5000 steps probably equates to around 12000-15000. Plans for the next few weeks include strengthening my upper leg and practice runs before the event. “But what are you going to wear?”, she asked with a laugh.
This week marked a significant step in my rehabilitation as I met with my prosthetist to discuss transitioning to a “permanent leg.” The interim leg has undergone adjustments due to my evolving limb shape. Meeting to determine the characteristics of my permanent leg, considerations included the ability to wear it in the shower or for swimming.
Almost a “museum” of prosthetic legs from the past at my prosthetic provider, based in Alexandria. The older legs look so heavy in comparison to the newer ones made from lighter, stronger materials.
Financial support from the NSW Government funded the interim prosthetic, while I anticipate NDIS approval for the new leg, recognizing the substantial cost involved. Hopefully, it will include a “wet leg” with drainage holes in the prosthetic foot for shower and swimming use.
Additionally, I met with a fellow amputee today, who I have been chatting with online. Approaching the one-year mark since his diabetes-related amputation, he navigates well and shares a positive attitude. Both of us emphasized the power of positive thought in our recoveries. Acknowledging occasional encounters with negativity, we stressed the importance of addressing realities with a proactive mindset rather than succumbing to a negative spiral.
I know any day something might happen that means I’m back in the wheelchair, unable to leave home. But in the interim, I’m so incredibly happy that six months ago I was potentially on the verge of death, and as we start 2024, I’m able to be able to get on with my life. Cheers!
I spent some time yesterday with friends, including a visit to the newish rooftop bar at the State Library of NSW. Great views, drinks, (big fat tasty) olives and friendly service. Highly recommended, but be sure to book for night time, as we could only have a rooftop table until 5 (when tables were reserved).
It’s Friday night and I’ve just spent the last twenty four hours in Melbourne. I’m a bit tired, but I’ll do my best to update you with my existence since I last wrote, last Saturday afternoon.
Last Saturday night, you might recall, I went along to a dinner party hosted by a couple of friends, John and James, which was an informal celebration of the fortieth anniversary of Cook Islands independence. James is from the Cook Islands and has lived in Australia for many many years, all of his immediate family now live in Australia. Nonethless, he maintains strong contacts with the island and with the island community here in Australia. One of the highlights was that James organised a couple of Cook Islands dancers – male and female – who performed for us. It was a really great night.
On Sunday afternoon, Colin and I went to see a new French film Me and My Sister. At the heart of the film is the seemingly dysfunctional relationship between Martine (played by Isabelle Huppert) and Louise (played by Catherine Frot). Martine lives in Paris, is wealthy, and is very “cool”, but ultimately unsatisfied with with her life. Her sister, Louise, who lives in Le Mans and is all a bit “rural” has come to Paris to visit her and to meet a publisher, as she has written a book about various aspects of her life. Although it seems the source of their dysfunctional relationship is the very different lives they lead, it’s really about how they have reacted differently to their childhood with an alcoholic mother. Despite this, and although I hate the phrase, it’s a “feel good” movie, it is that… but with more depth. Highly recommended.
On Monday night, a group of us caught up to celebrate Kate’s bitthday at BBQ King which is one of those great Sydney institutions where the food is great, but the decor is terrible and the service, while fast, is abrupt. The group of people – five of us in total – are a reasonably interesting bunch and we had a really great night chatting about this and that, especially travelling. One of those attending was a well known photographer who has travelled extensively and who spoke about the different cultural norms associated with having photographs taken. Another, Wendy, is heading off to spend the next couple of years in China. Wow, what great adventurism… I wish I had that same spirit!
And then on Tuesday night I went to the Sydney Blogger Meetup. As I left work I mentioned to everyone what I was going to. Although everyone smiled and feigned interest, I also sense one of those “oh we really love you James, but you do have some odd things about you” looks. As usual, Mark, Spleenie and Glen were there, but so too were Glen’s girlfriend and Amanda. I think the fact that we’re all getting to know each other a little better now meant that it was pretty informal. As Mark has observed there was lots of boozing, pool and laughter. And also a bit of flirting with the bar staff. Looking forward to the next one!
I also spent a night this week in Melbourne, as I had to travel there for work. Sue and I caught up and chatted, as usual about life, the universe and everything.
Work remains busy, but good.
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Is that in good condition? It looks divine! I want one too!!!!!
Hey James… just in case you’re in the mood for some extra Swedish practice, you could always translate this… not that words are 100% required… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXRWvJjcdkk :)
Is that in good condition? It looks divine! I want one too!!!!!
Excellent condition, actually.
Qantas currently have a sale on: Sydney to Beijing for $983 return incl. taxes. That’s bloody cheep – I paid more than double that six months ago.
The travel date range is from July 20 to Sept 22 – I think that fits into your schedule?
It does! A woman I work with has scored $1200 return (inc taxes) to NY in September. Cheap fairs abound.
Hey James… just in case you’re in the mood for some extra Swedish practice, you could always translate this… not that words are 100% required… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXRWvJjcdkk :)
Thanks Tom, that’s terrific. A bit of trivia: the female judge is Charlotte Nilsson/Perelli who has represented Sweden twice in Eurovision.