The Suburbia

OK, that does it. Too hot. A climate in which one cannot leave a bar of chocolate unattended for half an hour least it dissolves is not worth living in!

Today was a working day. I dropped off Charlie to Simon B.’s parents house so she could sort out her stuff and decide what she will be taking with her back to the UK. Their place was bloody far away, but thanks to that it was close to something worth seeing – Mt. Dandenong. Yes, there is a mountain on the eastern outskirts of Melbourne! It’s quite an interesting area, compared to the desperately boring suburbs around it, a windy road took me up through a land of small alleys disappearing into the forest towards well hidden cottages and houses, and fantastically looking bush, towards the hill top. I had to pay to drive in even though the only thing up there was a bar where more money could be spent, but the view was worth it. I could see most of Melbourne, or at least as much as the smoke from the forest fires let me. A pretty monotonous view, to be honest, but worth seeing. I then spent most of the afternoon writing a book review that I need to submit soon.

Before I move on, a reflection on the suburbs. Or, more appropriately, the Suburbia. The Suburbia isn’t just a description of the outside part of a city – it’s a way of life, a state of mind even. It embodies the deep conviction that after eight hours of a well paid work one deserves to come back home, watch some TV, wait for one’s spouse to prepare a tasty dinner, perhaps engage in some highly original hobby which would make one feel different and creative, perhaps play a bit with the kids or pet the dog, watch a movie and go to bed, excitedly awaiting for the next, hopefully equally interesting day, and all the identical days to come. Disgustingly boring. Little boxes made of ticky-tacky, with little people who all look just the same. If I ever end up like that, just shoot me. Anyway, every city has its Suburbia, so I wouldn’t mention it if not for the fact that Melbourne is pretty much just made of them. The city centre ends, there are maybe one or two slightly more interesting districts, and beyond that – enter suburbs. And they go on and on and on… Now I know where all the plastic people come from. Scary.

In the evening we caught a flight to Sydney. We came to the airport a little early and at the check in we were offered taking a 7pm flight instead of our 7.30 one. We went for it and the flight was delayed and left after or original one. Life. But we got here and we docked in Genna’s house all right. We met Stephanie and a cool evening of hunting for a bottle shop at night and then drinks in a park followed, even some singing was involved!

By the way – another interesting thing about Australia: you can’t just buy alcohol in a shop, you need to go to a special bottle shop which sells only alcohol. And it’s bloody expensive too, even more so than everything else. 6$ for 0.25l of beer in a pub? That’s more than the most expensive places in Edinburgh charge for a pint! Eh…