hello from sydney [part two of four]

you again! why, hello!

ready for friday and saturday?

my father accompanied me to my eye exam on friday morning and he bought me a new pair of specs. the shop assistant explained the category of glasses, like this section here is men's, this is unisex, women's, for older people, designer and so on. i choose a big semi-transparent grey plastic pair from the old people's section [only $70]. she frowns at me "are you sure?" she asks. "yes!" i say. she points to a black geek pair, i am not convinced. i really like these grandma ones. i pick them up on wednesday.

after running a few errands for my mother in hurstville and rummaging through the vinnie's there, i head back east to start on some office props for doris' birthday party. she asked me to make a photocopier out of cardboard, not flat but 3d. while i am at it, i make a cardboard typewriter for myself. i must say it was one well-dressed event, the people and the apartment. d stole a giant stapler and shredded paper from her work. she decked out the flat [her friend's, they share the same birthday] with a tea trolley overflowing with coffee mugs and biscuits and instant chicken noodle soup. platters of sushi and financial magazines fed the body and the mind. she had business review weekly's rich 200 issue and encouraged us to see if we could find ourselves in it. the women rocked corporate chic with power blazers, high-waisted pleated trousers, and lace-up oxford heels. some wore a blouse, some did not depending on whether they were busting for a promotion. the men wore suits. adrian dressed as patrick bateman complete with blood-splattered rain poncho. hot. the night dissolved into further hilarity when we settled down to watch one of d's gifts, butts of envy. sigh.


chief executive officers, doris and sophie, on an important conference call.


stacked tea trolley and cardboard water cooler, a happy office makes.


these numbers are not going to crunch themselves!


patrick, is that you?

saturday was washed out so a trip to rozelle markets was sadly ditched. instead, lils, tadz, and i went to the fish markets, bought fish and ate an early lunch.


my gracious hosts, lily and tadzio.


am i the only pleb who does not know this is off a sonic youth album?

i pick up a last-minute shift at poepke [with juliet, catch-up city!] before heading to viola's apartment for a roll-your-own-sushi-roll/ boardgames night with the girls.


viola with a plate of omega-3 goodness.

ok that is all i have for now.

love
o

hello from sydney [part one of four]

hello friends

i am in sydney, i have been here a week. how are we going to do this? it might take a while.

my parents picked me up from the airport last sunday night. i was a bit disappointed my mother did not greet me with tears on her lashes. for someone who always manages to slip in a "i do not understand why you are in london. when are you coming home?" in every phone call, she was very composed. i did feel a little guilty when i spied my father dab dab at his eyes. we went to dinner with doris at chat thai in chinatown. you know, it is easy to find cheap bad food and expensive good food in london, but cheap good food is a diamond in the rough. i miss sydney for its culinary delights, thai and japanese on every corner. one can eat out twice a week here and not break the bank. the upside to being food poor in london is that it forces one to be a creative cook. back at d's apartment, dave comes over and we watch the 1984 hit, splash. remember? daryl hannah is a mermaid and tom hanks falls for her. i forgot what it is like to watch a film with doris. five minutes in and the questions start.

monday late lunchtime sees yvette, dave, d, and i scoffing vegie rolls, pizzas and tarts down bourke street bakery way. i can already tell this sydney trip will be my own personal food safari. i am staying with lily and tadzio for the rest of my trip and lily kicks off with a delicious vegetable broth. i am not sure what it is called but it has greens in it. so good!


doris, at the surry hills vinnie's, stocks up on party supplies for her office party themed birthday do.


dave does his bit to boost the economy.

tuesday i venture into the city before my lunch date with caryl. maybe just maybe i was a bit awestruck by kinokuniya [london is a bit chain store crazy so it is easy enough to find borders but a design book wonderland is harder to come by]. my knees melted at the sight of an a5 sized book featuring japanese wood prints categorised into seasons, isetatsu collection. then i made the mistake of peeking into incu and my knees melted, again! i have never been a fan of lover but there is this black sleeveless number with a white double collar, generously draped top, cinched in waist, and pencil skirt. die! it is sort of a tuxedo dress, sort of sexy novice nun. if you want to see it, take me out.

arm in arm, caryl and i head towards this vietnamese eatery we used to lunch at when i still worked in sydney. it is not there anymore, replaced by a new vietnamese eatery. an old man standing out the front waves us in, a good sign. i end my food tour for the day at dinner with andy at the chinese dumpling and noodle place in potts point. again, yum!

do you know jonathon has left london and is returning to sydney by way of san francisco and los angeles? sigh. you are lucky to have him back. before he left, rodrigo, kt [r's friend, my new flatmate], and i made him a goodbye film based on actual events. i showed it to andy, he watched it about five times rolling on the floor laughing. i thought he was going to die.

wednesday i had lunch with dominik at the korean cafe on the side of the metro theatre, afternoon tea with doris and my mother at the tea room, and dinner at din tai fung with the girls. when i warned rodrigo i might come back roly poly, he drily suggested a gym membership.


afternoon tea with my mother and doris, before


and after.


dinner at din tai fung with brides-to-be, viola and cass.


i sat next to caryl and staedtler at dinner. the dumplings and noodles fueled my fight against their wave upon wave of love energy.

i worked my first of four shifts at poepke on thursday. do you know what has been such a comfort about being back in sydney? its familiarity. of course this can be a curse and that is why i needed to stretch my legs in london but it is good to know i can come back and sydney will still be her usual charming, laid-back self. the life here is so good. it is certainly easier to be poor here than it is in london. back at poepke, i slipped into my old shopgirl self. spacing the hangers evenly, straightening the shelves, folding and refolding tshirts on the bassike concession stand [i say that lovingly], attending to customers, and having a dance in front of the mirror when no one is looking. i tried on a pair of dries van noten heels and a bernhard willhelm jacket. die!

love
o