As I came in and out of my apartment block a few times today I kept an eye on the pile of “White Pages” on the door-step. Would anyone actually collect them?
For at least the last five years, I’ve noticed almost no-one from my block bothers to pick them up. The pile remains there, mostly untouched, until it disappears a few weeks later. I’ve noticed the slim-down Easter Suburbs version is often picked up, but the larger versions of White and Yellow pages, are almost never taken.
It was a day of “chores” for me. I needed to replace some washers in the shower, and I needed a new cable for my computer. So I was in and out of the building a few times today. I also had a few other minor chores to worry about. At the end of the day, having completed these chores, I felt quite satisfied.
Don’t ask me what else happened today… as there’s nothing else to report.
There’s something really terrific about being a tourist in your own town, especially on a weekday. On weekends, the area around Circular Quay is full of both tourists and locals enjoying the space. But on a weekday, most of the locals are still at work, so it’s just you and the tourists. The only locals you’ll see are retired people and those running around at break-neck pace during their lunch-break.
At this time of the year, the weather is perfect: winter hasn’t quite kicked in yet, so you avoid the extreme temperatures of summer and winter. The lite is a little less extreme, too. There are more shadows than you often experience in summer.
Today was a perfect day to go on a walking tour of the Royal Botanic Gardens, as part of my week-long “staycation”. Twice a day, the RBG runs tours with volunteer guides. Our small group included some Americans, an English woman, a family from Malaysia, and retired couple from the NSW South Coast. “Though I have visited the gardens on many occasions”, I told our guide, “I never really look too closely at the plants, and don’t know too much about them”.
I certainly learned a lot today, on the 90 minute tour which focussed on both native and introduced species. And it was great to take some photographs.
PS: There’s two plants I couldn’t identify when I went back through my notes: the purple berries, and the fluffy red flower in the tree. If you can help with identification, I’d really appreciate your comments.
It’s Sunday night, I’m in Wagga Wagga and I’m killing time, ahead of catching the XPT back to Sydney. Though I’ve gone first class on travel, I’ve booked economy for accommodation for my brief visit back to Wagga.
I’ve been staying at Romano’s. Co-incidentally, it’s the place where I stayed for my first week in Wagga Wagga, when I moved here at the end of 1991. For a moment, I thought I might have been staying in exactly the same room as I was almost thirty years ago. I have a strong memory of a “romantic liaison” in the hotel room here. The room has changed little. The beds are the same, the furniture is the same, and the shared shower facilities are most definitely the same. They’ve done a terrific renovation on lower floors of the hotel, which clearly hasn’t made it to Level 2 (especially the bathroom). But that’s all okay, as this was always a brief, nostalgic visit.
I lived here from the end of 1991 to the beginning of 1995. I’ve been back a few times, though the most recent was in 2002, for the funeral of a good friend, Chris Jones. I can’t believe it’s so long!
This visit also has a “death” theme to it all. My friend Kate, who I met here many many years ago, is back here to support her son, as he winds up his father’s estate. When Kate mentioned she was coming, I asked if she would like company for the trip down. So yesterday morning, we began a road trip, taking in sites like The Big Merino, The Dog On The Tuckerbox, and serial stops along the way to look at the mixed-emotion beauty of paddocks filled with Paterson’s Curse and Canola, and to see the Murrumbidgee River.
Visiting the Dog On The TuckerboxCanola, near Wagga WaggaWollundry Lagoon, Wagga Wagga
I’ve been trying to remember how I felt when I left Wagga Wagga at the beginning of 1995. As I recall now, I was still pretty happy about living here. I’d made an excellent circle of friends, in part due to my involvement in co-establishing the Riverina Gay and Lesbian Social and Support Group. I had a very “social” house, located on the shores of Wagga’s Wollundry Lagoon. Here, I’d fulfilled a few of my career dreams, and thought it was probably time to move on, which is why I’d moved to Sydney.
Holding court at my apartment in Wagga Wagga. Date unknown, but maybe 1994. Thanks to Glenn.My former apartment at Unit 2/ 185 Forsyth Street in Wagga. When I left Wagga, the bay tree on the right was only centimetres high.Bay Leaves from the tree I planted in 1993.Wiradjuri ReserveWagga Wagga BeachLooking towards Lake Albert from Willan”s Hill.I was pleased to see the awesome Indian restaurant is still operating, and Rabina is still greeting customers. They’ve been operating for 28 years, and we chatted about how Leo Schofield once described the restaurant in the SMH, as some of the best Indian food he’d ever eaten. They’re no longer in the arcade, having moved to what was Al Fresco. The food is still great. “Show your friends that I’m still alive”, Rabina joked.
There was a further trip down memory lane, as I revisited the studios of ABC (Radio) Riverina, Wagga Wagga. This was my second ABC Radio station, having previously worked at ABC Radio in Renmark, South Australia. A lot can happen between 1992 (aged 26) and 2019 (approaching 54). Many thanks to Mollie from the bureau (station) who let me in and took the pic.
ABC Radio Riverina in Wagga Wagga in 1992Only the technology has changed!!
As I wandered around the city, I was reminded of some of the wonderful people I met here. A few of them are no longer with us, including Colin Anderson and Chris Jones.
Others, I am still friends with, including Glenn and Greig, and Kate. It was a really wonderful period of my life, and I look back on it with much fondness. It’s been great to enjoy a trip down memory lane.
Suitably, my weekend ended with some theatre. My friend, Kate alerted me to some “Shakespeare In The Pub”, she’d seen mentioned in the paper. Without much thought, I booked some tickets to https://bardwork.com/. The show was a modern, abridged, and very colloquial version of “Twelfth Night” which I enjoyed very much.
And suitably, the production was in the downstairs restaurant.
With about an hour to go until the train back to Sydney, I feel like I’ve come “full circle”.
“Do you mind if we take a rain check on Friday’s visit and catch up next week instead?” I wrote to a couple of friends who were planning to visit.
As much as I have loved the steady stream of visitors over the last nine weeks in the hospital, I told them I was feeling a little tired and needed a “quiet day.”
By nature, I’m a little introverted and can find lots of face-to-face time a bit exhausting. I love people and have a wide and interesting circle of friends. But I also like being alone, and I have tried to space out the visits by family, friends, and colleagues.
On top of that, there have been regular interactions with the medical staff.
This week, I’ve been granted “day leave” twice to go out with friends, and tomorrow I’m going out again, so I decided it was time to take a break.
The “day leave” for lunch was with some long-term friends. One, I’ve known since we were fifteen. The others, I’ve known since our mid-20s. Coincidentally, they all now live in Newcastle.
Out for lunch in Darlinghurst, crossing the road.
Though not as much fun as catching up with friends, the most significant meeting of the week was with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This was to determine the level of funding I might receive to cover things like the prosthesis, a wheelchair, and some support as I return home.
“What do you know about the NDIS?” I was asked in the meeting. “I’m a journalist, so I know a little about a lot of things,” I replied.
The most significant thing I’ve learned in the last few weeks has been about the age limit. After the age of 65, you’re not eligible for the NDIS, as it’s assumed you’ll be eligible for aged care. But if, like me, you qualify before the age of 65, you are potentially eligible for the remainder of your life.
“Amputations are pretty straightforward for the NDIS,” a few people have told me. For me, there’s also the likelihood/possibility I can get back to work reasonably easily, though with some support getting there.
That’s probably why, within only a few hours of the meeting, my funding was approved. That, and having the support of the social worker, physiotherapist, and occupational therapist who were there with me and who put together the case.
The plan will be reviewed regularly over the next 12 months.
I had a further chat with the social worker today and will meet again next week to look at the required next steps.
All in all, it’s been a busy week, which is why it was nice to relax a little this afternoon.
Tonight I got to see Anna Bergendahl’s performance in the Eurovision semi-final that I wrote about yesterday.
The crazy thing from my perspective is there’s half a dozen songs from the Swedish selection process, Melodifestivalen, which are heaps better than songs which have made it through to tomorrow night’s final.
I agree with the assessment of Julie and Sam on SBS tonight that Lithuania and Sweden were robbed.
Good songs miss out, and yet the big four countries can put up any rubbish (and have done for many years) and be guaranteed a place in the final. Ah well, if you have deep pockets and are willing to pay I guess that’s your privilege.
This year’s Norwegian presentation team is very good. Their presentation style lacks some of the showiness of last year in Moscow, but it’s “tight as” and lacks so much of the clunkiness you often associate with the event.
And they seem to have a good sense of humour, too. “Norway has won 3 times, but has also come last 10 times”, Erik, the co-host noted, leading into a series of clips from performers who’ve failed to make the grade.
Although he was described as the Norwegian Josh Thomas on tonight’s broadcast, I thought Erik was very “Niles Crane” from Frasier :)
My favourites tonight were the double-piano song from Romania (very “Captain and Tenille”); the shorts-reveal from Lithuania (loved how they re-assured Julia they were straight) and of course Anna Bergendahl from Sweden.
I also loved the old-style ESC quality of Netherlands.
Along the way, I tweeted, “Is that Wil Anderson doing the interpetive dance for Azerbaijan?”
And in response to @donandcarol who asked who I was supporting with Sweden knocked out, I told her… ” I’m supporting Iceland. Partly because of the song, and partly because they need a break.”
“There was a lot more hair than I thought there was going to be”, the hairdresser said to me today, as she finished up my haircut. As someone with very little hair on my head, I guess this came as a surprise to her, as large clumps of hair fell to the ground.
Normally, I’d pop into one of the salons close to home, and the job (a simple clipper cut) is over and done within about ten minutes. But this cut took a little longer.
I have a vague recollection of visiting her salon previously, though it’s been quite some time. That hers was predominantly a female hair dressing salon, meant she seemed to take a little extra time and care with me. I also asked for a beard-trim.
I’ve been home in Lismore for almost two weeks. Having come home without packing my beard-trimmer, my appearance has been starting to look a bit “scrappy”. And so when I finished work today, and wandered home, I looked in earnest for a walk-in hairdresser.
One of the things that quite surprised me today was the seemingly large number of hair dressing salons to be found in the central business district of Lismore, especially in the laneways and arcades.
And as I wandered around looking for somewhere, I also took a bit of time to look at some of the laneway art. Even though I’ve blogged about it previously, and I thought I’d seen ALL of the laneway art of Lismore, I made a few new discoveries today.
“Reasons To Be Cheeful (Part Three)” was a song by 1970s/1980s performer, Ian Dury (And The Blockheads). He had a bunch of novelty/punk songs that I remember from my teenage years, including the songs, “I Want To Be Straight”, “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” and this song. Seeing this today made me smile.The Dirty Laundry Project is about eliminating domestic violence.I have no idea who this is, or who the artist is, but it made me smile.And of course, Lismore also has a “Rainbow Crossing”. Haircut and beard-trip complete!
I had every plan of watching a fair bit of television tonight, but somehow the only thing I managed to watch properly was the Oprah in Australia special on Channel 10.
It was another monstrously busy day at work, and then after heading over to visit my friend who has been in hospital, my plan was to come home, sit quietly and watch a fair bit of television.
After all of the hype of the last few months, how could I NOT watch Oprah? Although I missed last night’s episode, and probably won’t see tomorrow night’s either, I was determined to watch a least one episode.
“How was it?”, my friend asked as we chatted on the phone later in the evening. “It was actually pretty good”, I told her. I really like the way Oprah seems genuinely committed to bringing a little magic into people’s lives, and how she never forgets her impoverished roots. I raised my eyes at the yoga on the beach at Byron Bay scene, but that’s all because of my own personal North Coast “baggage” more than anything to do with the program. Otherwise, it was quite an interesting program, the scenery looked great, I definitely decided I must go and see those penguins near Melbourne some time, and boy did Oprah look pissed off when the chopper ran out of fuel when she was atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Oprah on the Sydney Harbour Bridge
My friend and I then got into a chat about Oprah and the nature of her relationship with her friend Gayle, which is often speculated to have certain Sapphic qualities. “What’s happened to the husband – Stedman?”, my friend asked. “Oh, I don’t know, although I don’t think he’s been around for a while”.
We then got into a discussion about the sexuality of tennis players currently in the Australian Open. Sam Stosur? Really. Allegedly, of course. Henri Leconte? What? But hasn’t he had three wives and four children? Hang on, they keep describing him in newspaper articles as flamboyant I noted.
Anyway, Oprah was the only show on television I managed to watch all the way through.
I was looking forward to seeing Keanu Reeves on Graham Norton, as I’ve long thought he was quite attractive. In fact, my ex and I had a discussion once that we would have an open relationship if Keanu was part of the equation. Not sure about the acting, though I loved The Matrix, but definitely cute. But guess what? Keanu was quite boring and I fell asleep watching the show, even though I quite love the program.
Sophisticated conversations, eh? Must check the biorhythms. Intellectually strong but physically and emotionally weak. Sounds right.
Biorhythms
At the end of the night, I’ve managed to add significantly to the number of recordings on the PVR and on my computer that “I must get around to watching”. I don’t have much planned for the weekend – except taking delivery of a new washing machine – so I’ll make another attempt at watching a bit of television then.
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Hi James, I work at Sensis, publisher of the Yellow Pages and White Pages books, and I’d like to help out. Are you able to email me with your address details at sustainability@sensis.com.au so I can look into this for you?
The usage of our books remains very strong in Australia, with more than 20 million searches being conducted each week (Source: Roy Morgan, June 2010). However, we also respect people’s choices which is why we provide an option for Australians to order books or cancel delivery via a toll-free number (1800 008 292) and online at directoryselect.com.au.
Hi Jessica,
I’ve actually done this for myself over the weekend when I googled to see if I could do it. But obviously the other people in my block may not know. I’m happy to put up something on our noticeboard so people can do this if there’s something you can suggest ot say.
James
Hi James, I’m pleased to hear you found the website over the weekend. With regard to the delivery of books to apartments, we leave sufficient copies for tenants less any cancellations received, and come back approximately two weeks later to recover any left over books. If the books have been there for more than two weeks, it would be good if you can email me your details so we can arrange to have them collected.
Thanks James.
Kind regards,
Jessica
Hi James, I work at Sensis, publisher of the Yellow Pages and White Pages books, and I’d like to help out. Are you able to email me with your address details at sustainability@sensis.com.au so I can look into this for you?
The usage of our books remains very strong in Australia, with more than 20 million searches being conducted each week (Source: Roy Morgan, June 2010). However, we also respect people’s choices which is why we provide an option for Australians to order books or cancel delivery via a toll-free number (1800 008 292) and online at directoryselect.com.au.
Kind regards,
Jessica
Hi Jessica,
I’ve actually done this for myself over the weekend when I googled to see if I could do it. But obviously the other people in my block may not know. I’m happy to put up something on our noticeboard so people can do this if there’s something you can suggest ot say.
James
Hi James, I’m pleased to hear you found the website over the weekend. With regard to the delivery of books to apartments, we leave sufficient copies for tenants less any cancellations received, and come back approximately two weeks later to recover any left over books. If the books have been there for more than two weeks, it would be good if you can email me your details so we can arrange to have them collected.
Thanks James.
Kind regards,
Jessica
Thanks for your response. I sure will.