Heaps of fun in freemantle – charge up the side of a hill, prison break, artist’s market, outdoor cafe, tea breaks, favorite fairy store, picking up some sort of accent that sounds more Asian/Czech than Australian.
Jun23
Author Archives: beth
Jun21
I love the smell of ocean in the morning
relaxing way to ease into the day, with a stroll by the Indian Ocean, nothing to do but feel the breeze, take in the salt air, feel the winter sun on my face, keep a sharp eye out for shark fins, in Western Australia.
Jun18
If it’s Tuesday this must be……..Monday?
After leaving my house on Sunday at 2 pm, and numerous flights, layovers, and connections, I have somehow arrived at my destination down under And it is Tuesday at 2 pm. After traveling through various time zones and crossing the equator and international dateline, and losing a day and going ahead 13 1/2 hours in my new time zone, here is how I have made sense of it in mathematical form: if e equals mc2 plus add in 1 day plus 13.5 hours plus 2 flight delays and 1 early arrival then I have arrived, though I am very unsure of what time it is. Am I here yet?
Jun15
head south. hit the equator. keep heading south. you’ll get there at some point.
leaving tomorrow to spend some time down under in australia.
i plan to enjoy a bit of r & r.
i’ll be posting in between adventures.
Jun14
wannabe fairy frustration
each of us has experienced, at one time or another, a certain level of impatience while waiting to break in, or fall in, to our chosen life’s work. some are better at expressing this than others, and my niece, finn, is one of them.
Jun13
ever play candyland with godzilla?
the entire metropolis of candyland was wiped out today in one swipe from a massive paw belonging to a force greater than anyone could control, baby action jackson. one plastic gingerbread guy was seen slipping out just in time via gumdrop pass.
Jun12
i’ll huff and i’ll puff and i’ll bulldoze your house down!
recently, after much debate and financial and political wrangling, the city demolished some of the old houses at the far end of main street in an attempt to create ‘a blight-free zone, a welcoming gateway to our city.’
this project and the demo crew doing the work were met with mixed reactions:
– a rotary club member stopped to applaud them and told them it was gratifying to see them going down. it was becoming ‘his kind of neighborhood.’
– 3 homeless people shared their memories of squatting in the houses with the crew.
“I used to sleep in the one on the end. It was called the Dirty Squat,” said a man who identified himself only as Pig Pen, a self-described train hopper and hitchhiker. He said they sleep out in the woods now, but at different points each of them stayed in the houses being demolished.
“That was the one I stayed in last year,” said a man who goes by the name Pooh, pointing to another of the houses. “I met my fiancee and we stayed in that one for two weeks.”
Karma, a local who was with Pig Pen and Pooh, said she had a bad incident occur in one of the houses and she’s not sad to see that one go, but she lamented the loss of the rest.
“My personal opinion is they should really keep these,” she said. “If they’re condemned and about to collapse like the one on the end is, yeah, probably tear them down. But if they’re perfectly good and could be fixed up to live in, they should donate it to the city.”
Karma said it seems like the options for homeless people who prefer not to stay at the homeless shelters are becoming fewer.
“I don’t know what they’re doing right now, but it seems like they’re trying to clean up the whole town and they’re clearing people out from underneath the bridges, all the parks, and they’re getting rid of every place for the people who have no place to go,” she said. “It’s a problem.”
the mayor and police chief could not immediately be reached for comment. luckily pigpen, pooh and karma, were available for comment.
Where thou art, that is home.
Jun10
double secret vote taken to disallow double secret vote taking?
in the frequently stunning public arena known as politics, the following scenario recently played out at a local city council meeting :
3 members of the city council abstained from voting on a measure that would have prevented them from abstaining on future votes. 1 city council member had proposed a resolution that would have required each member to only vote yes or no on each issue. the mayor and 2 council members abstained. the resolution failed. i have chosen to abstain from stating my opinion on this matter.
______
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Remember that it is not enough to abstain from lying by word of mouth; for the worst lies are often conveyed by a false look, smile, or act. |
Jun8
one of those lazy, crazy, mazey days of summer
somehow, once again, i found myself trapped and wandering through the rat maze that is ikea, and with my incredible lack of anything even resembling a vague sense of direction, it took on a whole new level.
it’s definitely an extreme sports experience in itself, and after following the trail around and around, and eating a horse meat-laced meatball or two, and collecting lots of odd colorful plastic springsprongthingamajigs and blonde wood-ish items, i was left wondering what they were and what were meant to do.
i chose the items i did simply because they looked cool and really no other reason. and the fact that i felt like i had to get something so that i would be allowed to find my way out again. now that the olympic committee has dumped some of it’s current sports events, i’m considering proposing this whole experience to them for their consideration as an indoor winter sport. maybe a better match for the x-games though?
along the way, i swear i saw people nervously look over their shoulders and skitter through what looked like secret shortcuts and potential passageways out, only to never return. possible slides right to the checkout line or the parking lot?
whew – i need a swedish cocktail, if only i could figure out if that glass thing i put in my giant blue plastic bag was meant to be used as a cup or oil change pan?
skoal!!!!!!
Worry compounds the futility of being trapped on a dead-end street. Thinking opens new avenues.
Jun6
life in the key of z
another walk down the hall with my kindergarten class.
another answer to a question much bigger than i ever imagined.
‘hey z, what does that key around your neck open?’
‘it opens everything in the world,’ says z.
