Day 54

Yes it's been a week since I got back from the Gold Coast. It's been a week of mostly coughing, fever, fatigue, packing, selling, throwing and giving away stuff. A girl came to collect our $10 microwave and I ended up giving her all the stuff in our kitchen including cutlery, dishes, knives, tupperware, photo frames...basically stuff that would have ended up in the bin anyway.

This is the last night I'll spend in our little apartment in the eastern suburbs. So after sweating it out the whole day, finally a cleansing dip in the baths. Goodbye coogee. See you later.

ps: Yes, the girl is walking her rabbit.

Day 36

Carols in coogee on the last weekend of christmas. It was packed full of families. Also a disproportionate number of teenagers looking to be seen. Funny that. I remember carols in london being a lot more family-orientated and less a pickup zone for teenagers. Or perhaps it's just too cold during christmas in London to bare any flesh or hold a smile aside from a grimace from the cold.

If you got there late, there wasn't anywhere to sit. There were also quite a few latecomer families with strollers who were leaving. But if you bagged a spot on the green, it was nice with picnic blankets, cocktails and people of all ages. Was noticing how the kids in sydney just run around and race and jump around on everything. Out of a full beach of kids, only 2 were in white dresses and practising their candle-holding poses like little ladies. The other 50-100 kids were racing each other, jumping off head-high walls (yes, really), climbing walls. Ah, these active aussie kids.

I am starting to notice a stereotype of the male couple backpackers. More bro and no homo, these european males travel in pairs for safety and company. Generally in Australia to get away from the expensive, cold and crowded confines of europe, they drink themselves silly, spending more on one night out and a greasy breakfast the next day than they would on their total apartment furniture. Normally reeking of alcohol and hungover on saturday and sunday mornings, the strong australian sun usually makes them turn bright pink when they doze through a whole day of UV rays without sunblock.

Unfortunately I've come into contact with these species recently because I've had to sell my furniture on gumtree. On 1 weekend, they will have spent more on alcohol than the amount that I'm asking for the rest of my furniture. FACT.

Day 28

Lin's in Sydney! Lots of catching up, but did very beachy stuff like burying legs in the sand and eating fish and chips. Bit of a lazy day.

Day 26

I wondered when it would happen when I'd forget to put the battery back in the camera..well it happened today. Trust me when I say that it was the same beautiful weather as yesterday. Unfortunately even though it was a monday, it was still really packed with tourists and school kids. Even more unfortunately, I didn't manage to get there early enough to catch the high tide, but tide was still high enough to jump off the rocks and then the tide was low enough for me to graze my knee on the last jump. Which incidentally was the most straightforward as I just took a giant step backwards, and put my knee on a rock underwater....ironic. But yes, blue skies, sun, happy kids, good times. Water was pretty cold, no change from the last few weeks but difference was that I wasn't swimming around like the last few times. Was shivering like a little puppy afterwards.

Day 25

People! People everywhere! Well it is a sunny Sunday after all...

The tide is still super low because it was just a full moon a few days ago, so sea levels should rise in a few days. Again, way too shallow for me to jump into. But the pool was full of people, from everywhere, some american tourists (talking about watching the big football game), English people (not pink, but climbing over everything), Chinese students (who brought chopsticks to eat the local shells??) and locals (caught a little crab with our goggles, a little girl and I).

Summer! yay!

Day 24

Got really really excited to go jump off the rocks today..and then realised the tide was so low that it exposed all the rocks around the pool. Later found out the water was thigh high. Not good to do flips into...

But water was at its lowest point, so decided to walk around the giant rocks bordering the pool since they were all exposed. Halfway around, I could hear some tourists laughing at me because they couldn't figure out how I'd get back. Unfortunately because it was only me and 3 of them, I could clearly hear them, which disrupted the serenity of the place.

Anyway made it all the way around, the last part I just walked into the water since it was only thigh high. Swimming was difficult as certain parts were only 6 inches deep! Next time I'm going during high tide :p High noon.

Day 15 - BW

Was feeling a little arty...enjoy.

Day 15

Finally made it out to the beach for a short swim. Trying to do laps with a digital camera underwater housing is like swimming with a brick attached to my wrist. Must find something to anchor camera underwater while I swim - or I could just leave it in my bag? Just that there are more weird guys walking around with silly boxer shorts and when I do laps, my bag is the last thing I'm looking at. Guess some people had a big weekend, losers left a used condom at the steps above the pool. Otherwise it was a nice day, a dad pointed out an octopus in it's hole in the pool. As I was standing in the pool I felt little fluttering on my legs, that usually means that some fish have found my legs irresistably delicious. There were small and not at all shark-like, so I thought they were kind of cute (for leg-nibbling fish) and took a photo. Walked back to the beach, it went okay until I put one foot on a slimey rock off the path. So right foot slipped and left foot got lacerated. Realised that half the rock was ok, but the other half was slimey. Didn't notice wound until I walked about 10 steps down the beach and all the sand balled up into the wound and started hurting.

With all the sand in it I couldn't see how deep it was but an off-duty lifesaver that very coincidentally was sitting 2m from me helpfully carried sea water in his goggles to rinse out my wound until I could put my shoe on. Hobbled home and spent ages trying to get sand debris out. Realised it was rather deep and jagged and I could see flesh. Sigh. Will disinfect foot again tomo. Wonder if I can hobble to clovelly tomo? It's only... 6km? Grrr.

Day 11

Another hot day today. Sunset swim was exceptionally refreshing. The water wasn't that warm but the tide was really low and the seas were calm. The rocks that form the barrier between the pool and the ocean was amazing, it had a green underwater forest of seaweed at the edge of the stone stairs leading up. Unfortunately once you climbed up, the surface is covered with barnacles. If you've ever tried chinese foot acupressure therapy..well this is similar to it. Tread with care or risk ripped skin. Walked home in tints of rose. Crickets singing, the smell of jasmine in the air. Warm summer air.

But nothing really brings home the fact that it's summer, than when the rainbow parrots use my balcony (and my orange slices!) as a pick up zone and place for fornication. One parrot came back later and squarked loudly into my open balcony doors, asking for "MORE ORANGE!ORANGE!MORE ORANGE!" Cheeky parrots...

Day 10

A day of extreme weather, it started off really hot, then a lightning storm, with a few drops of rain (but no rain) and wind and...sun? The water was cool but still swimmable in a bikini :) It wasn't a crowded as it could on a Friday, probably because of the weird weather. It started off rather strangely when this granny came down and started telling this father that he was irresponsible to let his baby go around with no clothes in the pool because of all the paedophiles and their cameras around. He didn't really care, so she got more upset and started insulting the other granny and calling them idiots, so it ended with the dad telling her to watch her language and if not he would throw her out to sea. Errmmmm... anyway, it got better after she left. A few other babies came by stark naked afterwards - nudie run! hehe

I took turns with a little girl at the pool taking pics. I took a pic of her too, but I'm not going to put it online because I'm not a paedo :p

A nice swim otherwise. A bit of stretching afterwards. I found it slightly ironic that while I was listening to a podcast about synaps firing to convey signals to the brain, I was trying to ignore the signals from my screaming muscles as I stretched them. Still... things are much better now.
Professor Paul Bloom - Yale Introduction to Pyschology Podcast

Day 6

Didn't quite want to get out today but reckoned a bit of a jog would give me some energy. Also the stupid software I'm learning had missing files and I spent a good 1/2 hour trying to find them, so thought I should get out before I hurled my laptop out the window...

Forecast storms tomorrow, you could see the weather changing. On the way to the Baths I saw this young girl 1/2 her dad's size pulling exactly what dad was pushing and dad was yelled at her (encouraging yelling?) when she let the surfcraft drop a little. He saw me staring (disapprovingly, probably) at him and then was a bit gentler with her, but she was really determined by then, bit her lip and just kept on going. Really strong spirit, she's going to kick some ass when she gets older.

There's a big swell pushing through, created some interesting situations at the Coogee Bath. People would arrive, get into the calm water and then a few minutes later a big set would come through and transform the bath into a foam bath. Everyone gets out straightaway, leaving the bath empty and the water calms down... and then the next group of people arrives :D

Coogee Reef and Wedding Cake Island is breaking, it's beyond my skill level but Coogee inside breach break would be worth sniffing around tomorrow. I hate crowds... Crickets singing outside, lightning storm has passed over. 6-legged wings fluttering past my forehead. Humid air.

Day 4

Woke up late today, was really knackered. But was really glad I went down the beach, the water was perfect today! Dove off the rocks at the Coogee Baths, the water was clear and there was a happy group of people diving off as well. I remember an episode from "secret Diaries of a Call Girl" where a S&M dominatrix said that the best way to keep from getting marks on the flesh was to build up the impact of beatings to encourage blood vessels to get to the area. In that case, I should have a very very strong back because I kept on landing on my back doing those backflips..

All in all, yet another good day :)

Day 3

Jogged down today, was good to get out. Explored the rocks at the bottom of the cliffs, wasn't as unexplored as I hoped as there was some grafitti and a broken bottle, but I'll be back. I have to go see Sculpture by the Sea before it finishes this weekend!