Autumn days...
As I look across at the various shades of golden tree tops in the Botanical Gardens, through the rain that is rolling in off the bay, I am a little more sure that Autumn is well and truly happening.
My experience of Autumn, for the past 5 years at least, has been a cold affair. Melbourne is Autumn, is not. Ask any local and you get a different story but as most of you who know me understand, I do not feel the cold as much as most.
I walk to work these days. Pretty impressive huh? It takes me 20 odd minutes to walk briskly across a main road, through pretty East Melbourne, across the Fitzroy Gardens to Spring Street then up the lift to the 30th floor of my building.
I get quite warm walking so I usually shed my jacket well before the gardens. So it always makes me smile to see people wearing heavy coats and a scarf when the temperature is hovering around 20 degrees and I'm warming up. I guess it is all relative. When you live through a few summers where the temperature reaches the high 30's, a 10 or 15 degree drop is going to make you shiver. I hope.
Work is going okay. Picking up more and more responsibility which is keeping me busy and, for the moment, interested. I have the odd momentary crisis of confidence where I find myself wishing I was back at KPMG in Manchester where I was known, loved and respected and not here having to prove my credibility all over again. I know things could be a lot worse but you know me and my insatiable need to feel special!
Our apartment is such a treat! I love the fact that while it is only a one bed apartment, we have a hallway that is almost the size of our old kitchen and, twice as long. I love that I can look out our lounge room window and see the tops of the skyscrapers on the cities skyline.
I love that the sun rises in our kitchen window and sets in our bedroom one. I love that it is brand new and, any dirt I clean from here on in is ours - so it's not that disgusting!
I love that we are tucked away at the back of the complex which means we are away from the main road traffic. But if I am still I can hear the trams rumbling along Victoria Parade in the distance. And if I am up before 7am I can hear the odd magpie warbling away somewhere beyond the concrete.
It is great to be living in Collingwood too which so happens to be my Aussie Rules football team. Carn the Magpies!
The only downside is that our neighbours lounge room wall is the other side of our bedroom wall. All well and good except we suspect their playsation is hooked up to their surround bloody sound system. Again, not a great disaster except that when it rumbles on after 11pm [yes, we've turned into old people overnight] I get a little stressed.
Ian tends to be able to fall asleep regardless but last night I got myself up out of bed, got dressed and went down to the foyer and rang their intercom. Nobody answered however but when I eventually got back to bed the noise had thankfully stopped.
Last Saturday morning, at 6.30am I was rudely awoken by the same God-awful noise. I figured for that hour of the morning the only polite thing to do was bang on the wall, rapidly and loudly. That seemed to do the trick. However if Ian falls asleep before I do, while this would probably stop the noise it would inevitably send Ian crashing into a right state. So I refrain.
I may need to just write a kind and diplomatic note and drop it into their mailbox tonight. The last thing I need is a war with our neighbours through the bedroom wall!
My experience of Autumn, for the past 5 years at least, has been a cold affair. Melbourne is Autumn, is not. Ask any local and you get a different story but as most of you who know me understand, I do not feel the cold as much as most.
I walk to work these days. Pretty impressive huh? It takes me 20 odd minutes to walk briskly across a main road, through pretty East Melbourne, across the Fitzroy Gardens to Spring Street then up the lift to the 30th floor of my building.
I get quite warm walking so I usually shed my jacket well before the gardens. So it always makes me smile to see people wearing heavy coats and a scarf when the temperature is hovering around 20 degrees and I'm warming up. I guess it is all relative. When you live through a few summers where the temperature reaches the high 30's, a 10 or 15 degree drop is going to make you shiver. I hope.
Work is going okay. Picking up more and more responsibility which is keeping me busy and, for the moment, interested. I have the odd momentary crisis of confidence where I find myself wishing I was back at KPMG in Manchester where I was known, loved and respected and not here having to prove my credibility all over again. I know things could be a lot worse but you know me and my insatiable need to feel special!
Our apartment is such a treat! I love the fact that while it is only a one bed apartment, we have a hallway that is almost the size of our old kitchen and, twice as long. I love that I can look out our lounge room window and see the tops of the skyscrapers on the cities skyline.
I love that the sun rises in our kitchen window and sets in our bedroom one. I love that it is brand new and, any dirt I clean from here on in is ours - so it's not that disgusting!
I love that we are tucked away at the back of the complex which means we are away from the main road traffic. But if I am still I can hear the trams rumbling along Victoria Parade in the distance. And if I am up before 7am I can hear the odd magpie warbling away somewhere beyond the concrete.
It is great to be living in Collingwood too which so happens to be my Aussie Rules football team. Carn the Magpies!
The only downside is that our neighbours lounge room wall is the other side of our bedroom wall. All well and good except we suspect their playsation is hooked up to their surround bloody sound system. Again, not a great disaster except that when it rumbles on after 11pm [yes, we've turned into old people overnight] I get a little stressed.
Ian tends to be able to fall asleep regardless but last night I got myself up out of bed, got dressed and went down to the foyer and rang their intercom. Nobody answered however but when I eventually got back to bed the noise had thankfully stopped.
Last Saturday morning, at 6.30am I was rudely awoken by the same God-awful noise. I figured for that hour of the morning the only polite thing to do was bang on the wall, rapidly and loudly. That seemed to do the trick. However if Ian falls asleep before I do, while this would probably stop the noise it would inevitably send Ian crashing into a right state. So I refrain.
I may need to just write a kind and diplomatic note and drop it into their mailbox tonight. The last thing I need is a war with our neighbours through the bedroom wall!
posted by claudy at 3:02 pm
1 Comments:
Hi Claud,
Can you email me with your email address for Australia as I don't have it. I feel very guilty because you must think that I am simply ignoring you...but I promise I am not!
Catherine xx
PS The German Market in Albert Square isn't quite the same without you!
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