Christmas came and when it was over I felt relieved. There have been the occasional flashes of inspiration and enlightenment, the odd moment when I was made aware of the great gift of love that I have received. Yes. Perhaps Keenan is right, some things are best left unsaid.

posted by beautiful at 10:06 am

[joie de vivre]

I just put together an album of photographs documenting some of the good times I had in Australia, also paying tribute to the people I met whom I can share those memories with. At Ian's urging, I have decided to immortalise certain moments which capture the stupidity and frivolity of my youth, the last months of which were lived out in the land down under.

1. Daring Johann to drink an opened can of coke that had been sitting out for months before I even moved in for two dollars.
2. Considering drinking it when he double dared me.
3. Melting part of a plastic spoon into a pot of pasta and eating it unknowingly.
4. Going on a road trip with Saf and laughing at the word 'Canena'.
5. The mystery tour to Claremont, after which I emptied a huge amount of white sugar into Johann's back pocket which he then made me eat.
6. Having a spoonful of white sugar shoved into my mouth while I was screaming.
7. Giving Johann a 5cm long scratch on his forehead with a stale baguette.
8. Checking out Scandinavian guys in the supermarket.
9. Eating so many mooncakes I fell sick.
10. Taking tennis lessons but not finishing the course because I couldn't wake up early on Sunday mornings.
11. Arguing with the woman who put a bright pink grip on Johann's tennis racquet.
12. Exhaling to see if my breath makes puffs in the air.
13. Having Geoff try so hard to kiss me that he broke his chair, and capturing it on camera.
14. Manipulating Mike into carrying a massive pack of loo roll (20 rolls) because I don't want to do it myself.
15. Chatting up the cute guy in my Shakespeare class, and never having the guts to do it again.
16. Taking a random trip to Joondalup, with time only for ice cream and a couple of U-turns.
17. Going rockclimbing and not being able to stop laughing at the man whose shorts rode so low we could all see his G-string.
18. Teaching my German housemate what 'kick ass' means and still not being sure if she understands.
19. Trying to clear the many misconceptions people have about Singapore.
20. Staying late in the library one evening and watching the sky behind the James Oval turn pinkish purplish orange.
21. Sitting in the sun with Lisa in Subiaco.
22. Walking to church on Saturday evenings in winter as I talk to God and think about how beautiful all the dead trees are.
23. Skipping Vietnamese night to read The New Yorker in Hot Box and telling the man behind the counter that life was good when it really wasn't.
24. Cycling so much in Rotto that my ass could have split.
25. Playing Boggle with Johann and driving each other nuts with our competitiveness.
26. Laughing at Psycho Mark for dipping buttered bread into Sui's pork rib soup. (Honestly, does no one else care about the blatant disrespect they have for our cuisine!)
27. Having my housemate Koen walk in on me in the bathroom while I was starkers.
28. Listening to the sounds of my other housemate Bridget scream while the stay-in Chinaman walked in on her in the bathroom while she was starkers and finding it bloody hilarious.
29. Pretending to sympathise afterwards.
30. Leaving my key at home and calling Koen to come home and open the door for me, only to have Bridget show up 2 minutes later... then locking the door once again to save Koen from making a wasted trip.

Everything else is somewhere in my head. Otherwise it's X-rated and therefore unmentionable. I had the time of my life. God bless everyone this Christmas, oceans between us or not.

posted by beautiful at 9:05 am