I hopped on a train and headed west – it’d been a while – to have a $5 breakfast before going for another wander. A very loosely defined idea of where I’d walk when I got here completely unravelled when I found myself heading south again to Y town. Before long, the station looked appealing for a retreat to the city. I should’ve kept going west, instead. »
Sometimes the city conspires to keep you out of areas you’ve never yet explored properly, but only sighted from its edges so many times you’ve lost count. As I approached Cremorne, the skies darkened and the rain came. I took the hint and retreated to a cheap bakery on Swan St for a coffee and a coconut slice. Some other time. »
It’s a Lygon St cafe, but the radio’s playing Flame Trees – or maybe it’s just retro-fashionable for the kids now, I dunno. There’s no inspiration in the air today – a few lines here and there, a slightly new path traversed, but nothing’s really standing out. My next trip’ll have to be further afield. »
It’s gotta be connected somehow. The chatty woman sitting next to me while I sipped tea on Sydney Road after breakfast. She’s waiting for her hairdresser. Who’s late. Around the corner, a (pet?) cockatoo sits perched at the gateway to a garage. We stare at each other for a while, and I move on, giving it a thumb up. It stares back, then shrieks as I leave. I hastily document a few things with my cameraphone (it’s all I have on me) – an abandoned heater, an old ad painted on the building of what must’ve been a milk bar once, the burnt-out wreckage of an abandoned building and a nice apostrophe on a street sign. »
I caught the tram into the CBD before heading into work, wondering if going a different way might help me feel closer to the world. But all I saw were people going their own little ways and plugged into my music I felt more alone, more distant. Silly me. »