2004-06-11

cafe scribblings

Sitting in a cafe called ICI, off of Brunswick Street in the Fitzroy suburb (what we call a neighborhood). I've been here for a week already, with only four whole days left. Cafe-sitting is the epitome of what I've done on this trip. It's been my first solo vacation as an adult that was not planned around a sporting event. Heck, I've barely done any sightseeing. No Type A Tourism for me. It's been all about absorbing the ambiance.

This is as close as I can get to a chill-out-on-the-beach-type holiday. I don't crave the sun, thus the chilly winter (but feels like an East Coast autumn) weather suits me just fine. I don't drink much, so staying at home at night is the priority over self-obliterating at some local gay bar. I'm not much of an island culture fellow, so this city by the sea (or bay, as it were) is a perfect match. Even though there are similarities, I doubt I'd find myself so laid back at home in SF, a foggy, chilly, chill-out town in its own right.

I figured I'd come to Melbourne and spend my time observing life, then rushing home to record it in a laptop. Secretly, I hoped that words would spew forth from the sheer fact of being halfway around the world, away from my job and daily life of responsibility. However, I've been too busy experiencing and enjoying this place and its many neighborhoods that I haven't found/made the time to type it out in written form.

Instead of casting an outsider's eye on a foreign culture (aren't we all a little aspiring David Sedaris'es?), I've turned my gaze on myself, noting how I've changed during my homeless-like wanderings between boutiques, public transportation and restaurant restrooms.

As trite as it sounds, I've gained an appreciation for the simple things: millet in the morning or yoghurt for breakfast (no need for Cheerios); a mid-day yoga class (because I feel like it, not for fitness); accomplishing only one or two things a day (like strolling down a new street or making macaroni and cheese after a visit to the market--note: there are no more leftovers); eat off the clock (who needs three meals a day when there are snacks and flat white coffees all around?). As my exterior layers or purpose and pretension peel away, it's not a writer revealed, it's just me.

Now, don't think this has all been a lonely, introspective sojourn. I've met some of Lucy's friends by cooking dinner for them... and tonight there are four more coming over for a vegan roasted veggie bonanza. I've rekindled a relationship with a former AIDS Ride coworker who I forgot lived in Melbourne and just happens to teach at Lucy's gym. (It IS a small world after all...) I've run and swam with Frontrunners and the Glamourheads (queer sports teams), getting to see a reflection or parallel universe to my life back home. And, I've spent much of Lucy's international calling card on the phone with manfriend in the States, missing him terribly and telling him how much he'd love it here.

Although it's been mellow and not rushed, I have accomplished (is that the verb I want to use?) a lot so far: shopping, seeing a movie, eating out all over town, seeing Victorian arcades and alleys, strolling through hipper-than-thou neighborhoods, dancing in a smoky nightclub, running through the Royal Botanic Gardens, trying to figure out the mishmash of Victorian, Art Deco, Modern and Contemporary architecture (as if New Orleans, Florida, San Francisco and residential London were all put in a blender).

Tomorrow, we may wanter through more still more parks, a museum or art gallery or two, see a live band at a pub, and, if we're lucky, see an AFL footy match (it's not soccer or rugby in this State... just Aussie, aka Victoria, football).

I have no idea what Sydney holds in store (we're flying there Sunday), nor am I sure I'll get postcards written or gifts purchased. I just hope to remember my relaxed attitude and find a means to carry back a smudge home over the Pacific Ocean into my daily life. Vacations don't take us away from our day-to-day, they teach us how to live it better.

earlier - later