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" I hope you write a story about this"

Tonight I signalled I wanted to catch the 5:00 train, did exit things to enable this, except left my bike helmet at the desk, by the time I made it to the train platform on my ebike, all gone.  I waited for the next train, with my study partner, all good as I caught the train home via the inner west, which terminates at now gentrified beach destination, OMG, another level of fashion forwardness. Think men in linen jackets, paisley shirts, trousers, lace up oxfords, carry bags, silver fox (male, female) with wrap around wool wear, confidence, knowing/connecting looks, cool handbags by a bespoke bag maker.  My pick of the night was a couple, she/they short hair, tweed wool coat, wrap around scarf, leaning into/resting against him/they in pink shirt, doom scrolling phones. She/they wore pants, lace up oxfords and as she/they exited, I noted: nose ring, lip ring, that latest craze of skinny pendant descending into cleavage territory, semi unbuttoned linen shirt, thin not wiry, in ...
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From a fashion first aid perspective, I need intervention, wore tracky pants, in public, to avoid unflattering effect of jeans. Lifestyle has caught up and have to do something, something, something.  Umm, what else. I had an amusing experience when I realised a frenemy-someone I get along with, from an intellectual and cultural and even ethical perspective-suffers not only from smugness, but social insecurity. I had no idea they need to be cool, given they're well educated and attained tenure in a competitive field, by pursuing something that yielded external validation of a kind they take for granted, which funds renovations and holidays. Sounds enough to me, but they also want to be cool.  I suspect the source of their difficulties is they've been with the same partner since a teenager, lack of comparison in the bedroom (even a sample of two is useful), kissing action hasn't diversified since they were a geek. That's the real tragedy. Funny how much passion is involv...
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Cool women

 Work is work and men are men, but maybe I should acknowledge my gender a bit more. Tonight, as I approached, on foot, bike cage in the basement, an emerging cyclist noticed my approach and left the electronic cage open. She was wearing what I will politely call lady commuter clothes, and I recognised her as a school classmate (in the day), above me by two years, cycles every day.  I read annual report of a women's service and liked the leadership, culturally (and class) diverse.  My manager was made permanent, and when I outlined milestones and due dates, they said, redundantly, "I'm not a micro manager"; I said, "I can't leave you keeping this information in your head" and we both smiled at similar understandings.  My friend took me out for a birthday dinner, for my significant birthday and as she was telling horrified anecdote about an architect who DJs, is a sexual healer and enjoys life modelling in full frontal mode, we were served a banana fritter...
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Robert Smith birthday/RIP James Valentine

Every year I have a quest to honour, in the moment, Robert Smith's birthday. I was a day late, but thanks to Greenwich time, I was cool?  Sadly, James Valentine has passed, and I realise he was the blueprint for cool guys with glasses, music nerds, and all of that. Thank you for being you.  It's 9 years since John Clarke passed on, whilst bush walking. I'm getting a theme here-domestic life.  Today, as the day or day before that or week before that, I went to the pool to swim 50m laps and it was good, though not yet a community formed. I'll keep trying. I feel so great after swimming, even if I've mostly kick boarded, each time I set myself a challenge to keep going. Then I picked up the youngest, and took him for a neighbourhood bike ride, on the new walkways or bike lanes, or something funded by national money. To cycle with him is to understand him, it's precious time. He'd told me in the morning, as we cycled to OSCH, that he has two friendship groups, a...
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She's on the mountains and I'm on the plains, we want to slow down.

I'm here in April, but I'll go back 6 weeks. Work wrapped up, I had leave, youngest settled into his new school, learn to ride a bike, days spent cycling to and from school, lying under the trees, feeling the air.  Studies resumed and this year's cohort are my people. One has a sister who learnt to roller skate to be lead in Xanadu, he's watched the film and loves it. Another moved around with her family, including Tassie and NT. My placement partner came to my house and we did Picasso portraits, another day when we caught the train, we persuaded a classmate to join on the back of my e bike, the three of us cycled around the campus like BMX bandits.  Now it's getting real, as new old job has a deadline by September that will be a lot of work with no room for error, study starting to pile up-all in my range of ability, but I like to fret.  Tennis lessons wrapped up, youngest did get better, playing soccer and football next term and selected for specialist art after s...
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baby teeth

For some time, I've been having dreams about baby teeth. As has another friend.  Allan has a dream analysis book, which as a precis, states it's a sign of outgrowing old things. I don't recall having the Baby teeth dream until very recently, but it reminded me time moves on.  Prompts=Generations in Jazz, recent holiday in Hobart, realising you have a thread to something that isn't needed anymore. Work has been the biggest reminder of this, inadvertently, as current role has brought me into contact with people from a decade ago, whilst a new guy I work with is the brother of a guy I long ago dated, who he talks about every day, and I can't recall who I was at the time.  It's been interesting reflecting on the blank canvas provided when I moved away to other places, not only 'anonymity' but learning how to drive in heavy traffic.  Last week in Hobart, I looked around to try and understand. On the Friday, I'd met up with S, en route to UTAS, we met at H...
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hobart

Hobart was so wonderful.  A rough itinerary-Resilience Fair, dinner at neighbours; early morning beach swim Open House Hobart and homemade pizza; lost day; Rivulet walks and Hamlet coffee; visit to Squiz and evening lecture on co-housing; visit to a childhood friend, watching Chris play Real Tennis, then Sharon Van Etten gig; coffee at Soho after distributing Vote NO to the Stadium posters, catch up with Sab, ramen at Ranita's, wine at Lucinda bar and flight home where uncle and aunt were in town.  Highlights: Sharon Van Etten crouching down to sing 17 in front of me. Squiz's 8 yo niece asking to do a portrait of me (so great).  The free clothes at Resilience Fair.  Walking in misty mountain air and feeling like I was in a Midnight Juggernauts video clip People initiating conversations-to ask for directions, to tell me where the platypus was, to get help.  My friends-old ones I've known for decades and new ones, that remembered meeting me.  Ceramic love, ho...
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