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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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Little library themes and house husbands and what I think about Halloween

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  Finding 'little libraries' was my most fun thing in Sydney, I did enjoy it.  So, I survived work Halloween dressed in a black Gorman jumpsuit or as a snarky twenty something might put it, "oversize playsuit", nice person lent me a witches' hat for trick or treating- we limited ourselves to the block, child 'educating' about removing cotton wool to protect baby birds out of the nest, a better way to educate than be judgey (though actually it makes me mad to think about).  When I say 'survived', work party was enjoyable, but Halloween has certainly been embedded as another northern hemisphere ritual that does not make sense, weather wise. My first Halloween party was as a teen invited to the big kids goth party, even though I found them scary even after Giles told me scary ones were groupie. He'd carved pumpkins lit with fairy lights, we sat in a circle and chatted about the blue rinse set being our only allies (Exeter had asked Jeremy to dye h...
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happy birthday to my school friend

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G was leaning towards swimming pool; I lean towards piano cake, able to picture myself once making miniature props for my dolls and general 'imaginary inner world'.  Today I spent doing something I love, editing things that other people wrote, so much better than editing something I wrote, and I was in the zone, lulled by the spring sun outside, which made me think of that Dragon song by Paul Hewson. Another school friend sent me an amusing photo of her naturopath's recommendations, which I suspect was intended without a trace of iron(y) (naturopath is onto it!).  Part of what I was editing was, in fact, policy about health. I find that everyone who *thinks* they are beyond the biomedical model, waxes lyrical about 'holistic health' or 'social determinants' when you probe, they're replacing one model with another that is also unsustainable or exclusionary, but wellbeing at a sustainable community/health level would be ability to NOT devote 10 hours a day...
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Bird count week: takes 20 minutes

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Tim's I have known

  Calls himself TiM. Reluctantly organises anniversary school reunion.  "Friday night, or Saturday night, but not both!" (Sydney bank manager & entertainment budget). Gave me a lift to my car, a Holden Datsun, in his car, a Holden Kingswood after a Pavement gig. Lent me his Judy Blume books, nearly died of dengue fever whilst on a humanitarian placement. Only dyed his hair black because premature greatness ran in his family. Cute.  Hippie in an empty bedroom at a party waiting to seduce, reading Sartre, "hard going". Played double bass in primary school, dived to bottom of West Beach pool to retrieve my Ray Bans. Rented a flat, next to Lutheran Seminary. Owned a VCR. Got married on his 40th birthday.   The IT guy that I never met but who was very helpful when I really needed IT help. Auskick coach that sends updates from email address that includes "timmy" and year of birth.  I'm sure there is more. 
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