Inter state

(From last week)

I’m interstate briefly. A work trip. A get up early and get on the train well before sun rises kind of trip. Word of advice. Don’t rethink your outfit at 4 in the morning. You will end up wearing something odd. Something pyjama like. Anyway, trip went well, all prepared, good meeting. Tonight found groovy noodle place, hidden away. This city is more covert, hidden than Sydney. Sydney is glass fronted bars, people queuing, wanting to be seen, seen to be seen. This city is alleyways which are dark and full of bins and the promise of a dark, hidden door which might be the entrance to a sultry club or hopping bar. It’s a city of brunettes rather than blondes. Knitwear.

If only I was here a little longer to soak up the ambience, browse for shoes and handbags, get to the art gallery, go visit the permaculture gardens. See friends. Go to the vegebar on Brunswick Street. Good news is there’s a repeat visit booked in a few weeks, and that time I should be able to stick around for a weekend.

Oh another thing about early starts. Guess who packed 6 tops, 3 pairs of shoes, 3 pairs of underwear and ONLY ONE PAIR OF PANTS??? Yes, that would be me. For the next 3 days here and back in Syd before I go on holidays. Derr. And I think I lost my hat sometime today. Did I also loose the Capri pants I thought I had packed? Bad packing. Also, 3 pairs of shoes for 3 days = too many shoes. My suitcase for my holiday is packed and stored under my desk at work. Hope I did a better job with that one!

I am still slightly delirious from lack of sleep. Can you tell? I was fine in the middle of the day but now fading fast. I watched some of the Steve Irwin funeral and got all teary at the sight of school kids getting teary in their classrooms watching it. Wish I could splice another day in between today and tomorrow. A day in which I would I would sleep, get a facial, a massage, drink juice, go lie in a park, buy a copy of the new Neal Stevens book. But oh well.

By the way, I think I had a significant moment with a cute taxi driver in the mountains last night. A sit and keep chatting after the fare is paid moment. A turn and face each other for the chat moment. We chat each time I get in the cab – this strange ongoing conversation broken into little erratic chunks based on when I happen to catch his taxi. We are bonding over poetry, we talk books. He’s slightly reticent, looks a bit like someone else I liked once, has nice smile lines. Ridiculously tidy, probably a bit shy, a bit uptight, but in a sexy way (see again with the delirious). Probably a bad idea to invite him out right? If I was less paranoid about my reputation in a small town I might.

Must be hormones. I found someone in the meeting today strikingly attractive – I even checked for ring. He was informed, opinionated and clever. Cute teeth – kind of nubby little teeth. Big open mouth laugh – like a muppet. Receeding hair. Glasses. Shiny shiny eyes. Nice voice. Ooooh – people with well-thought out ideas on sustainability, people with good, respectful yet effective meeting and interpersonal skills – how enticing. Probably never a good time in a meeting though to say ‘so then, are you available? Up for it?’. Not all that practical in any case. Not all that likely that we would even be compatible – him all reasonable and well thought out, me all impetuous and interrupty with my one pair of pants and trillion shoes and lace tops. Him knowing actual content on sensible big picture tangible actual things, and me just flying by the seat of my (if I had any) pants.