Week 5 blog must begin with an homage to his excellence, Wes Anderson. It is with great excitement that I inform you "Moonrise Kingdom" has made it to Australia. Hannah, Kappy and I ventured to see the opening of Moonrise at a theatre in the city and I could barely keep myself from reminding them America has reveled in the movie's glory for months. I was also bursting with the desire to sing along with the soundtrack. Anyone familiar with the music in the movie would agree that no one should sing it aloud unless they are a children's choir so it was best that I kept my bursting to myself. A large popcorn and bag of Mnm's later, we filed into a PACKED theatre to watch the film and feel inspired by youthful innocence, validated in our greatest dreams of love and adventure.
Tuesday was Ciara's birthday, which equates to a feast in the Noone vernacular. The whole family gathered for an amazing dinner of mango chutney chicken and beautiful greens. I say whole family very literally, as one of the two traveling daughters was phoned in on Skype for the big birthday song.
Wednesday, I made the commitment to the gym located approximately two seconds from my place of residence. This is because "there is no excuse", a strange adage that is often applied to those living within 25 miles of a gym. I'm not sure who decided that everyone who lives within this distance should bear this guilt or have to defend not liking/not feeling compelled to lift heavy blocks in the company of perspiring people, but I gave in to the social pressure and signed up. Wednesday night, as dictated by earlier posts, is X Factor night. Know that nothing else gets in the way of that.
After work on Thursday, I went and lifted heavy blocks in the presence of other perspiring people. I also ran on a machine but did not move anywhere. The gym is such a strange place. Luckily, I'm so busy contemplating the social constructs of the gym that I barely notice the time on the treadmill. After the gym, I had a beautiful dinner with Martha, Emma and the rest of the Noone family, filled with dynamic Irish history lessons and detailed accounts of UK living. I left the house to meet Brett, Daniel and Pece for drinks at La La Land shortly thereafter. The night was lovely and the conversation abundant, mired only by a strange skateboarding incident, where a skateboarding youth was pushed from his means of transport by the unimpressed bouncer. This was shortly followed by a vehicle striking Daniel's car, forcing us to worry that we would be involved in the next small catastrophe.
Friday morning, the sun was shining and I got to catch a run on the beach before work. Such a nice way to start, particularly when the sun greets you off of the water, instead of polar winds. I had a shift with Beat and got my music fill, writing a series of press releases to the tunes of the "Is This It" album. Musical inspiration for anyone with ears. Afterwards, I headed home. Ambitions of returning to the city were abandoned in the face of a warm home and cloudy tea. Jack and I went for falafel and practiced our Turkish and Kate and I bonded over channel surfing and romantic comedies.
Saturday began with a walk on the beach with Em and Martha, "to wake up our minds". It was followed by coffee treats. Let me just give you some incentive to fly to Australia right now. Iced coffee actually means "I'll have my coffee with ice, three scoops of french vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of hazelnut syrup". I didn't even have to verbalize this, this treasure was handed to me. If that doesn't get you to buy a ticket, I don't know what will. I then trained into the alternative pocket of the city for a vegetarian lunch with Annie and Jess and their friend, Molgana. "Veggie Bar" had the most unbelievably diverse menu, though meatless, and was assuredly one of my best meals yet. Not to mention, it being in Fitzroy means the setting itself is super cool and filled with people with gaged ears and band t-shirts. I followed the girls to the famous Rose Markets and strolled through vendors with the most unique array of things, from children's books converted into agendas to Frieda Kahlo lamps to necklaces made from stamps floating in resin. I abandoned the girls in my own pursuit of bookstores and found myself back in Polyester, one of the coolest bookstores in either hemisphere. Had an awesome peruse through the classics but upon venturing to the music section, was duly rewarded with an entire section committed to John Cage's poetry. The coolest!
Walked myself down to the Melbourne Museum and spent the afternoon in the exhibits. The best floor was the Mind and Body exhibit. The room was split into the two entities. I braved the "Body" aspect first and even made it through the embalming room (when I say made it, I don't mean I survived the embalming process...the exhibit makes a point to emphasize that this is impossible). Rather, I kept myself from fainting long enough to progress to the Puberty section. This is actually where I chose to end my time in the "Body" side, as the life-size photos of naked children, adolescents and adults struck a very strange chord. Could be blamed on the Catholic school sexual education course, the innocence of which has left me quite uncomfortable in the face of such exhibits. It also might have been the couple intensely reading the pre-natal section, flanked by the photo representation of the birth canal. Regardless, the "Mind" section was so excellent. It explored everything from dreams to language capacity to emotions, all the while providing interactive exhibits to test one's aptitude in all of the above. The Noone house was throwing a party in honor of the impending AFL Grand Final when I returned, so the house was full of footy, wine and Indian food. Multicultural city, multicultural household.
Woke up early Sunday morning to grab a workout before having the biggest brunch of all time with Bretts. We have continued our committed effort to "sharesies", where we order our meal of choice and then split our meals. Hugely beneficial for the indecisive or those with a varied palate. After a combination of everything on the menu, we parted for pre-Rosh Hashanah resting. For me, it was time to be in Russia with "Crime and Punishment". I trained to Ellie's for honey cake and tea prior to braving her family's Rosh Hashanah dinner. She prepped me with the family lineage, noting everything from creepy uncles to wine-smashing uncle's girlfriends. She has never been more accurate. Her creepy uncle, intact with knitted sweater, the miraculously refilling bottle of wine in hand and a head pimple, played his part as indicated by Ellie's predictions. Her wine-smashing, girlfriend- of-uncle is worth quoting. Imagine her speaking in the loudest, most stilted posh accent, with syllables often being lost to a wine-induced drawl.
Wine-Smasher: Might I inform you about my grandson. He is an absolute joy!
Me: Mhm.
Wine Smasher: Just the most pleasant young child. Always with the sweetest expression. His older sister just wants someone to love and absolutely showers him with attention and affection. Just darling!
Me: Aw. Yeah, thats nice.
Wine Smasher: (hysterically laughing) And he is just brainless! We are so concerned! A child with such a sweet disposition, who is so very...malleable...well, he couldn't possibly have an ounce of intellect!
Me: Well. That took a turn.
And this was just glass one. Her strange stories, undulating from sweet anecdotes to desperate cries for help, were made more tolerable by unbelievable shortbread cookies and apples and honey. And having Ellie close by to exchange concerned glances.
Shana tovah to all of you at home!
Lots of love always. Hugs and kisses xoxo
Music! Music! Music!
Little Scout: Go Quietly
MS MR: Dark Doo Wop
Ball Park Music: Surrender
White Denim: Darlene
Run DMT: Romantic
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