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Jan. 23rd, 2005 04:41 pmAfter my post last night I somehow fell down the rabbit hole into the bizarreo-land version of Sydney, except, I don't think I did, I was just out late, walking around -- people I started conversations with were inclined to chat with me and other random people seemed inclined to start up chats with me as well, and I wasn't always feeling willing.
First it was horrible drunk people in the Oporto (love the Oporto) in the Cross. Then it was a crazy guy who looked and acted remarkably like Robin Williams playing someone mentally unbalanced who really, really wanted to be sure I was having a good day and to know that he felt really, really terrible about the tsunami.
And then I walked along the wall of the Old Darlinghurst Gaol, because I keep having my own personal Lost in Translation moment with it, and stumbled upon the end of a trick being turned (yes, Rach saw a blowjob in public last night, and then because she's out of her mind talked to the 23-year-old kid in question).
Then I walked up and down Oxford Street for a bit, getting more of a sense of Sydney nightlife by watching the door situation than experiencing any of it myself. Finally, I made it back to Circular Quay, didn't want to wait 45 minutes for my bus and caught a cab (after listening to more really drunk people argue about the cricket while changing out of their evening clothes while standing in the queue). The cab driver registered my confusion about Sydney cab manners (for one, I couldn't find the door handle, for two, people pop into the front seat next to the driver, which I eventually willed myself to do) and asked if I was Canadian.
"No, American," I said, and after a long pause from him, added, "New York, so it's not really the same. Don't worry, I think my president's an asshole too."
At which point said cab driver launched into a somewhat epic and frighteningly well informed monologue that ranged coherently over such seemingly diverse subjects as the Nuremberg trials, the lovely liberal Archbishop of Canterbury (and the asshole Archbishop of Sydney), the history of and the international community's problem with Israel, and a number of American sub-cabinet apointees I didn't even know about.
When it was time for me to get out of the cab, he apologized for jumping on me for being American.
"No worries," I said, as that's what you say here (although it sounds more like "naeworries", but what I should have said was I don't disagree with you one whit, and I'm not offended, but I'm very far from home, and I keep having this conversation over and over and while this is by far the most interesting version of it I've had, I leave Monday and it makes me so heartbreakingly lonely to know you can barely look at me because of where I'm from, eventhough I agree with you.
*
Today I went to the zoo in the pouring rain and took lots of incredible pictures most of which I suspect I will not upload until I return. Wombats for everyone! Actually, the wombat was hiding. But, I do have a komodo dragon pic.
What I didn't take pics of were the two black swans there, which I had a somewhat bizarre interaction with. They weren't near each other at all, very seperated, and one of them when I stopped to look at all the birds came up to me and made a plaintive little noise at me. Much like I do with my cats, I made the noise back and he paused and paused and paused, and then made the noise again. This went on for a bit, and then I wandered off. At which point the thing started making these huge loud freaked out sounds, until another person who had been looking at him called after me that he wasn't done talking to me, so I went back and he started making the weird little plaintive sound again. Eventually I got away without too much separation anxiety, but it was weird.
*
Then it was off to the aquarium where I discovered the movie feature on the camera I borrowed from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
coyotegoth and took a little film of fishies swimming. They had lots of sharks and manta rays so that was pretty brilliant. So this is me updating before going to Tropicana for dinner and then tomorrow it's breakfast at bills and basically doing some of the first stuff I did here again before going to the airport. I've seen pics of the snow back home and it seems profoundly alien.
*
OMG, the music in here is "It's Raining Men" and someone has "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?" as their cellphone ring. Hello, Australia!
Oh, and btw, the buses here have TV's in them where they broadcast news and advertisements and, wait for it... a ballroom dancing competition.
And on the subject of ballroom dancing, I should note that one of the people in my studio is a filmmaker who happens to be in a wheelchair. On the last day of the course after it was over we snuck our drinks into the lighting studio and watched on of his films on the big screen there. It's a mockmentary news interview with a quadrapelgic (played by him), and at one point the "newscaster" is asking him about the accident and how it happened, and "Wheelchair Bob" (the guy from my class) is going on about how "Well, you know, I was addicted, and I don't regret it. I mean, sure, it's dangerous, and if I could still do it, I would."
"Do you think there should be legislation against it?" the newscaster asks.
"No. It'll just go underground then. Everyone loves to Rhumba."
Yes kids, that was my final classroom moment at NIDA. Cheers.
*
Grrr, I've one last pic I really want to put up before I upload the rest when I come back, but this computer isn't recognizing the camera. FEh feh feh. It's not a big deal. It's just this awesome "I will not let the white city fall" sort of tree that seems like a good closing point for this trip (and may be the best photo I've ever taken), eventhough there are a few last photos I have to grab tomorrow (I'm so weird about taking pictures I hardly know where to begin).
*
I wandered around a newstand a lot today and need to report that it's weird seeing tutors from my NIDA course on the cover of entertainment magazines here. Also weird is "Cosmopolitan: Pregnancy" which yes, is Cosmo for pregnant chicks. I mean what the hell is that? How to suck cock during the third trimester?
First it was horrible drunk people in the Oporto (love the Oporto) in the Cross. Then it was a crazy guy who looked and acted remarkably like Robin Williams playing someone mentally unbalanced who really, really wanted to be sure I was having a good day and to know that he felt really, really terrible about the tsunami.
And then I walked along the wall of the Old Darlinghurst Gaol, because I keep having my own personal Lost in Translation moment with it, and stumbled upon the end of a trick being turned (yes, Rach saw a blowjob in public last night, and then because she's out of her mind talked to the 23-year-old kid in question).
Then I walked up and down Oxford Street for a bit, getting more of a sense of Sydney nightlife by watching the door situation than experiencing any of it myself. Finally, I made it back to Circular Quay, didn't want to wait 45 minutes for my bus and caught a cab (after listening to more really drunk people argue about the cricket while changing out of their evening clothes while standing in the queue). The cab driver registered my confusion about Sydney cab manners (for one, I couldn't find the door handle, for two, people pop into the front seat next to the driver, which I eventually willed myself to do) and asked if I was Canadian.
"No, American," I said, and after a long pause from him, added, "New York, so it's not really the same. Don't worry, I think my president's an asshole too."
At which point said cab driver launched into a somewhat epic and frighteningly well informed monologue that ranged coherently over such seemingly diverse subjects as the Nuremberg trials, the lovely liberal Archbishop of Canterbury (and the asshole Archbishop of Sydney), the history of and the international community's problem with Israel, and a number of American sub-cabinet apointees I didn't even know about.
When it was time for me to get out of the cab, he apologized for jumping on me for being American.
"No worries," I said, as that's what you say here (although it sounds more like "naeworries", but what I should have said was I don't disagree with you one whit, and I'm not offended, but I'm very far from home, and I keep having this conversation over and over and while this is by far the most interesting version of it I've had, I leave Monday and it makes me so heartbreakingly lonely to know you can barely look at me because of where I'm from, eventhough I agree with you.
*
Today I went to the zoo in the pouring rain and took lots of incredible pictures most of which I suspect I will not upload until I return. Wombats for everyone! Actually, the wombat was hiding. But, I do have a komodo dragon pic.
What I didn't take pics of were the two black swans there, which I had a somewhat bizarre interaction with. They weren't near each other at all, very seperated, and one of them when I stopped to look at all the birds came up to me and made a plaintive little noise at me. Much like I do with my cats, I made the noise back and he paused and paused and paused, and then made the noise again. This went on for a bit, and then I wandered off. At which point the thing started making these huge loud freaked out sounds, until another person who had been looking at him called after me that he wasn't done talking to me, so I went back and he started making the weird little plaintive sound again. Eventually I got away without too much separation anxiety, but it was weird.
*
Then it was off to the aquarium where I discovered the movie feature on the camera I borrowed from
coyotegoth and took a little film of fishies swimming. They had lots of sharks and manta rays so that was pretty brilliant. So this is me updating before going to Tropicana for dinner and then tomorrow it's breakfast at bills and basically doing some of the first stuff I did here again before going to the airport. I've seen pics of the snow back home and it seems profoundly alien.*
OMG, the music in here is "It's Raining Men" and someone has "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?" as their cellphone ring. Hello, Australia!
Oh, and btw, the buses here have TV's in them where they broadcast news and advertisements and, wait for it... a ballroom dancing competition.
And on the subject of ballroom dancing, I should note that one of the people in my studio is a filmmaker who happens to be in a wheelchair. On the last day of the course after it was over we snuck our drinks into the lighting studio and watched on of his films on the big screen there. It's a mockmentary news interview with a quadrapelgic (played by him), and at one point the "newscaster" is asking him about the accident and how it happened, and "Wheelchair Bob" (the guy from my class) is going on about how "Well, you know, I was addicted, and I don't regret it. I mean, sure, it's dangerous, and if I could still do it, I would."
"Do you think there should be legislation against it?" the newscaster asks.
"No. It'll just go underground then. Everyone loves to Rhumba."
Yes kids, that was my final classroom moment at NIDA. Cheers.
*
Grrr, I've one last pic I really want to put up before I upload the rest when I come back, but this computer isn't recognizing the camera. FEh feh feh. It's not a big deal. It's just this awesome "I will not let the white city fall" sort of tree that seems like a good closing point for this trip (and may be the best photo I've ever taken), eventhough there are a few last photos I have to grab tomorrow (I'm so weird about taking pictures I hardly know where to begin).
*
I wandered around a newstand a lot today and need to report that it's weird seeing tutors from my NIDA course on the cover of entertainment magazines here. Also weird is "Cosmopolitan: Pregnancy" which yes, is Cosmo for pregnant chicks. I mean what the hell is that? How to suck cock during the third trimester?
