closing down

Well, I think it's about time I closed this down. It's done its job of recording some of the emotional stepping stones. It's a year and one month since we landed in Perth and we are feeling more and more settled. The weather is undeniably good, it's the middle of winter and when the sun shines, we are wearing t-shirts.

I'm keeping a record of photos on flickr, anyone interested, you can find me under mikeandsuj. You'll find more "brisk walks" photos of Perth then and now, a set of Perth Lunches, and a collection of rainbow shots during the wet season. I'm also on facebook so please feel free to contact me there, and if all else fails, you can find me on gmail.

more brisk walks

In one of the many underground arcades (the town planners are strangely fond of the subterranean for such a sun drenched city), there is a long row of old photos from around Perth. I was thinking of reasons to go for more brisk lunch-time walks. I decided to take a photo of the old photos, and then tried to find the building or view as it looks now and get a photo of it too. Here's the first. Cheers to Harry, who calmly pointed to the building while I was looking all around trying to find it.

Not the most scintilating series of shots I admit, but it is better than scoffing sarnies over my keyboard.

Season of low sun

It's that time again, you might get a bit tired of sunrise and sunset photos soon, but starting a day's work with these views is too good an opportunity to miss. The building in the second photo has the C restaurant in it. Haven't been there yet. It revolves 360 degrees. but does get rudely in the way of my morning vista. I love those high, scattered clouds, especially in an azure sky, has a feeling of madness about them. The mist in the first photo was spread all over Perth, pooling in the hollows of the Perth basin and the sun was picking it out in spots. The perspective reminds me of those Japanese woodcuts, all done in vertical planes.

rainy nights

Rain rattling hard on the roof, and the air conditioning ducts pipe it straight into the bedroom, 4am, head back under the duvet and drift back into some very funny dreams. The water filled the local park, although I've a strong suspicion the park is really just a big drain, cleverly disguised as a field.


Park in the morning, originally uploaded by mikeandsuj.

It had all gone somewhere by the time I walked home this evening.


Park in the evening, originally uploaded by mikeandsuj.

My bus arrives around sundown now, the evenings are drawing in, and by the time I get home it is dusk.


Board at the bus-stop., originally uploaded by mikeandsuj.

Dodging showers

Showers today, the one day I ride to the station. Managed to dodge the showers, but the gray skies and autumn colours made for some nice contrasts.

Brisk walks

Went for a "nice brisk walk" this lunch time. Co opted some friends to come see the oldest building in Perth. Wholly underwhelming, but there it is, just a little yellow box, next to the supreme courts. I guess you don't have to be big to be historic. My companions were Sim, Harry and Jason. We finished the little tour off along the river front. I was there on Monday and it was calm, and full of little jelly fish and small schools of puffer fish. Choppy to day though, but sunny none the less.

Smelly trees

I came out of the train station yesterday, and was unlocking my bike when I caught the scent of burning paper. At least that was what my nose thought. It was a pleasant smell, but sometimes smells come through wrong. You can be smelling something and thinking to yourself, "that's candyfloss" but there is something about it doesn't sit right. It feels a little skewed, makes you a little dizzy. It's a bit like looking at one of those optical illusions where you have to focus past the plane of the image to see the 3 dimensional picture and your eyes feel like they straining to see something that you can't quite resolve. Suffice to say it wasn't burnt paper. It wasn't until the next morning I realised what the smell was. I was riding past a stand of tall eucalyptus. The morning air is usually fresh and relatively still, and it was full of the scent of these gum trees. But this isn't the astringent, nasal smell I would have associated with eucalyptus oil. In no way did this reminded me of blocked noses and steam baths. This was rich, warm and spicey. It had a food like quality, as though it were more like the smell of something you would drink warm from a flask. I've recently begun riding to the train station. The heat has moved out of the morning air and riding somewhere doesn't seem like such a chore. The mere thought of it earlier in the summer could bring on a sticky vaneer of sweat. The suburbs around me are very green, with a large number of cycle routes linking paths and cul-de-sacs. Riding through the pockets of scent emphasizes the effect of smells on mood. I'm not an advocate of aroma therapy. The whole "smell to get well" movement seems to me to be another example of smartly marketed placebo. However, come Monday, there is no denying the marked difference in my disposition after riding the bus, with it's associate cocktail of perfumes and colognes, compared with riding my bike and the warm aromatics of the gums.