Category Archives: melbourne

glasgow

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5

 

i want to be here, now.

and by ‘here’ i mean glasgow, where all of these pictures were taken.

it’s been more than six years since i moved from glasgow back to melbourne – and realising that has just blown my mind because it feels like it was only a couple of years ago…WHEN DID I BECOME SO OLD?? – and almost three since we (my glaswegian boyfriend and i) went back for a holiday.

three years; that is mental. MENTAL!

discovering this website this morning has brought to the fore two things that i already knew:

1. glasgow is pretty awesome and i miss it: i spent almost two years there, and although i admit i didn’t fall for it immediately (unlike tokyo, where i got off the train from the airport to be greeted by a 6-storey image of ewan mcgregor drinking milk tea and i thought ‘i freaking love this place already‘,) i grew to really love living there, and it most definitely has a special place in my heart, and there’s nowhere in the UK that i’d rather live (take that, london!).

2. glasgow is so cheap and WHEN DID MELBOURNE BECOME SO OBSCENELY EXPENSIVE: look at the price list for those coffees carefully… less than two pounds for a coffee?! that’s SO MUCH cheaper than melbourne (just ask shaq). and don’t get me started on the difference in beer prices: i still remember the time i was at rooftop and i took $20 up to the bar to buy two pints and the guy just shook his head at me as i handed it over (and then had to push through the crowd to go and get more money), and that was about three years ago. and $14 isn’t unheard of for a pint these days. (MENTAL).

it’s a long way to travel for coffee and beer, but i think a holiday to glasgow is very much needed. off to look up flights now…

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all images from blank inside

colour

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3

yesterday i went to the art gallery of ballarat with mum.

oh my god: anyone who has even a vague, passing interest in australian art NEEDS to go there. their permanent collection is like a ‘best of’ australian artists (painters, mostly), and while one might presume that as a small, regional gallery, the works on display would be inferior to those at, say, the ngv, it was not the case at all. perhaps i’ve just been to the ngv too often and thus some of the works have lost their appeal (or, perhaps i just don’t get some of the more ‘important’ paintings like the pioneer), but those on show at the ballarat gallery more than held their own (go here to see some of the highlights).

and the temporary exhibitions were also outstanding. there was a wonderful display of recently acquired ceramics and works on paper, all of which i wish i could own. but the one exhibition that stood out the most was aurora by lars stenberg and marion east.

these (hastily snapped iPhone) images above were painted by stenberg as a response to the contrast of the light of victoria to that of his native scotland. when i first moved to scotland i couldn’t get over the light, and how beautifully muted it was, particularly on a crisp autumn day. so soft and inviting, particularly when compared with the blinding, burning, headache-causing glare of the australian sun.

i must admit that i hate this bright light.

i hate how it saps your energy and how you can feel it penetrating your clothes and scorching your skin, even on a mild day. i hate how it makes everything look old, or cheap, or dusty. i hate that it makes colours all blend in to one, and that on a bright day everything is either blindingly white, or hidden in dark, impenetrable shadows. i will take a long winter over a hot summer any day, not because i prefer the cold or dislike the heat, but because i just don’t like the bright light.

but just look how beautiful this light is when seen through another person’s eyes.

perhaps i have it all wrong, perhaps i haven’t been looking properly, or i’ve been taking it all for granted. but i will try to look at things differently when summer inevitably comes about again, because images like these are just too breathtaking to miss.

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see more lars stenberg images here

making shit happen

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12

so. i am now officially unemployed.

it was going to happen one day or another; i’m a part-time sessional teacher whose position is entirely dependent on student numbers, which, unfortunately, are down this semester. hence no work for this 12 week term (at least).

it’s pretty shitty.

i’m not sure what to do.

i’m trying to be positive and look on the bright side, but it’s hard sometimes. i’m very romantic and all ‘happiness > money’ but there is something to be said about job security and knowing that you have enough money to pay the rent.

but i’m not going to get down about it: i’m going to make shit happen. you heard it here first.

running

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1

today after ‘work’ i had a quick look around the shops for some running gear (inverted commas used because i don’t work on wednesday, so even though i went in i didn’t get paid. and probably could have done what i needed to do via phone / email, though i didn’t realise that until i got in. annoying).

anyway, i came home empty handed, and went for a run in my still-dirty-from-last-time running clothes (don’t judge: i’ve been busy and the weather has been shitty).

and then i hurt my leg. okay, so i hurt it on the weekend but thought that it was better. i guess not. it’s just a strain, or a pulled muscle or something (are they the same thing? who knows). nothing major, but enough that i limped home barely halfway through my run. lame-o.

anyway, the reason for this (incredibly self-centred) story is basically to give the above clothes context. or a narrative. or something. not that they need it.

puma by hussein chalayan