Monday, July 13, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Next stop - Perth!
And so we're off. First to Perth then Johannesburg up to London and finally Toronto. 20 or so days of world travel designed to visit close friends and closer relatives and to put the final cherry on the top of this incredible year.
In our final few Melbourne days, we have managed to pack in a few more events and goodbyes that have really helped to neatly tie up our life down under. A fun dinner with Simon and Alex Davies allowed us thank them again for all of their friendship and support - though we couldn't wrestle the cheque out of Simon's hands! Saturday night we had a pizza dinner with our friends Mark and Kathy Wilson and their kids and made some exciting plans to potentially play host to them when they visit next winter. The boys had a few more playdates with good friends as a last hurrah and we even managed to sneak in Transformers 2 and Ice Age 3 (with Colin's friend Jonah and his family) in the last day or two just because.
The boys wrapped up their Australian school careers with stellar reports and we had a few teary goodbyes with teachers, friends and families.That community has been so welcoming and friendly to our entire family that we made a small donation as way of saying thanks. We are hoping they will put the money toward a world map that will be dedicated to tracking all of the countries represented within the school population. Regardless, the school has been the perfect window or door through which we were fortunate enough to discover a very special group of Melbournians.
Maybe the highlight of the past few days was the 10km Run Melbourne run Linton and I did with her two friends and running mates. The culmination of a lot of training for her and a lot less for me, the run took place on a cool but ultimately glorious Melbourne winter morning and wound its way around the Yarra, the botanical gardens and the MCG. We both managed to shave some significant time off of our previous 10k back in October and in many ways it was a fitting way to say goodbye to this adopted home - beautiful weather, a challenging run with friends, over and around many of the iconic landmarks in the city. The sense of accomplishment was two-fold: it felt like a run and a year, well done.
As my final attempt to log and blog a few more classic Aussieisms, I wanted to sum up our year (just for fun) as the most "old school" Australian might, if he (or she) spoke in just a few of the many, many classic expressions that have kept us on our toes over the year. So, here is a final salute to the wonderfully quirky Aussie slang.
Yeah, look. I mean, I'm no bludger but I really enjoyed the chance to wag work, mate. Uni was heaps of fun and I'm pretty sure I didn't cark it. At times we found the tucker a bit shonky, but when we weren't up for a pie and a pot, there was still a Tim Tam and a long black that could get me quite chuffed, mate. The footy has been ripper and them blokes love a good stoush. Look, you can't be no chook in the ruck, mate, and I was just as happy to barrack for the Hawks from the sidelines with 0ne hand in the esky reaching for another tinny of VB. Though we may miss talking about rubbish or jumpers when we return to Canada mate, and I really wouldn't mind driving a ute, we certainly won't miss the blowies. But we will definitely whinge a bit next winter when its cold and our thoughts turn to thongs, bathers and making like a shark biscuit at the beach. We will also miss, in the land of no worries, the servos and salvos, and all the other words them blokes like to end in os. I mean, yeah look, at times I felt a bit crook, almost wanted to spit the dummy when a popsicle became an icey pole and a pepper had to be a capsicum. Down the track we won't miss the ads on the telly for Harvey Norman's stock take sale neither, mate. But at the end of the day, mate, we still have to say good on'ya Oz. It's been fair dinkum. Let us shout a round to you! Tah.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Moving on through metaphor
I had a dream the other night that upon further review might neatly sum up my state of mind about the end of this Australian odyssey. In my dream, I was on a tram when suddenly the driver decided he had done enough driving and jumped off. Of course, I volunteered to keep the tram, full of people, running. Driving the thing was relatively easy, it was the stopping that gave me fits. As each station came into view I applied the brakes (God knows how I knew which lever to pull) but despite my increasingly frantic and powerful pulls on the brake lever, the tram would stubbornly slide by the stop every time. People started yelling and pleading with me to stop the tram better and sooner but no matter what I did or how hard I pulled, the tram just kept sliding by stop after stop…Now, by putting on my English teacher’s hat or perhaps opening my psychiatrist’s note pad, I wonder if this dream is really my subconscious telling me about the inevitability of our return to Canada. No matter how hard I want time to slow down or stop - the tram is on track, on schedule and not even a Herculean crank on the ol’ brake lever can stop this train from leaving the station!
A second event with equal potential for metaphorical significance took place the other day as we enjoyed our last pizza and movie night. You see, every Thursday night for the past year, we have indulged ourselves in pizza (frozen) and a video from the local independent video store guy. I’m not sure how the tradition came about, it doesn’t matter, but I do remember that at the time it seemed like a good way of creating something fun that we could all look forward to as a family that might, in a way, protect us from any disappointments or difficulties the week may have presented. It’s not something we do at home in Canada and though certainly not beluga caviar and a glass of Dom, it has always felt a tad indulgent – like this entire year. And so again with my teacher’s hat firmly in place I heard something significant in Colin’s announcement last week that this would be “the last pizza and movie night”. Alas, was this a sign from somewhere that all the indulgences of the past year were also over? Did I hear the faint tolling of a bell signifying the end of a year of living…not dangerously…but maybe just a little more carefree? Would two margharita pizzas washed down with a frosty Pure Blonde in front of the latest Pixar goldmine ever taste the same again? Was this big, fat pizza party coming to an end?
My final foray into this metaphorical minefield is perhaps the biggest stretch of the three, but hey, I’m on a roll. The other day Lint and I found ourselves doing some last minute personal retail therapy at the DFO which is a sort of giant factory outlet mall right beside the Southern Cross rail station in downtown Melbourne. As we were scarfing down some mediocre Chinese food, she looked down to notice with horror that her Pandora charm bracelet was not on her wrist! This was bad. In a panic we proceeded to ask at every store we had been in and to re-trace our steps a thousand times in our head, only to realize with growing dread that if it wasn’t at home then it was gone. The bracelet had been a surprise Christmas gift from me to her and it had begun to accumulate some real significance with charms we had bought or she had been given. Of course, my thoughts were focused on the cost whereas Lint’s were elsewhere. She was focused, quite rightly, on what the bracelet had come to represent – call it a multi-layered metaphor for the entire year’s experience. In my attempt to make the best of a bad situation, I offered that we could always replace it. But Lint said no. She didn’t want to replace it. It was a one-time piece and all significance would be lost on a surrogate purchase back in Canada. And this is really where my final metaphorical marker kicks in.
This year, like that bracelet, has been a one-time thing made up of a series of experiences that will forever remain perfect and poignant because they happened or we made them happen in life’s daily adventure. These same “charms” may be replaced, repeated or even purchased by some, but the buyer will always know, deep down, how real or meaningful they are. The real significant charms come the first time; that first moment when you see newness and perspective you could have never before imagined. And for us, those are the indelible bits of insight and memory that have been etched forever into our charmed Aussie life. They are priceless and irreplaceable and will remain with us, even when the t-shirts fade, the posters rip and the boomerangs stop boomeranging.
PS – We found the bracelet at home. Which as I write this, makes me think there is meaning there, too – but I’ll save that thought for another day.
A second event with equal potential for metaphorical significance took place the other day as we enjoyed our last pizza and movie night. You see, every Thursday night for the past year, we have indulged ourselves in pizza (frozen) and a video from the local independent video store guy. I’m not sure how the tradition came about, it doesn’t matter, but I do remember that at the time it seemed like a good way of creating something fun that we could all look forward to as a family that might, in a way, protect us from any disappointments or difficulties the week may have presented. It’s not something we do at home in Canada and though certainly not beluga caviar and a glass of Dom, it has always felt a tad indulgent – like this entire year. And so again with my teacher’s hat firmly in place I heard something significant in Colin’s announcement last week that this would be “the last pizza and movie night”. Alas, was this a sign from somewhere that all the indulgences of the past year were also over? Did I hear the faint tolling of a bell signifying the end of a year of living…not dangerously…but maybe just a little more carefree? Would two margharita pizzas washed down with a frosty Pure Blonde in front of the latest Pixar goldmine ever taste the same again? Was this big, fat pizza party coming to an end?
My final foray into this metaphorical minefield is perhaps the biggest stretch of the three, but hey, I’m on a roll. The other day Lint and I found ourselves doing some last minute personal retail therapy at the DFO which is a sort of giant factory outlet mall right beside the Southern Cross rail station in downtown Melbourne. As we were scarfing down some mediocre Chinese food, she looked down to notice with horror that her Pandora charm bracelet was not on her wrist! This was bad. In a panic we proceeded to ask at every store we had been in and to re-trace our steps a thousand times in our head, only to realize with growing dread that if it wasn’t at home then it was gone. The bracelet had been a surprise Christmas gift from me to her and it had begun to accumulate some real significance with charms we had bought or she had been given. Of course, my thoughts were focused on the cost whereas Lint’s were elsewhere. She was focused, quite rightly, on what the bracelet had come to represent – call it a multi-layered metaphor for the entire year’s experience. In my attempt to make the best of a bad situation, I offered that we could always replace it. But Lint said no. She didn’t want to replace it. It was a one-time piece and all significance would be lost on a surrogate purchase back in Canada. And this is really where my final metaphorical marker kicks in.
This year, like that bracelet, has been a one-time thing made up of a series of experiences that will forever remain perfect and poignant because they happened or we made them happen in life’s daily adventure. These same “charms” may be replaced, repeated or even purchased by some, but the buyer will always know, deep down, how real or meaningful they are. The real significant charms come the first time; that first moment when you see newness and perspective you could have never before imagined. And for us, those are the indelible bits of insight and memory that have been etched forever into our charmed Aussie life. They are priceless and irreplaceable and will remain with us, even when the t-shirts fade, the posters rip and the boomerangs stop boomeranging.
PS – We found the bracelet at home. Which as I write this, makes me think there is meaning there, too – but I’ll save that thought for another day.
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