Tuesday 1 January, 2008

Bye bye 2007

For readers who aren't from Melbourne I tried to figure out how to show you how extremely hot it was yesterday. (In the forties during the day, high thirties as we saw the new year in.) I am afraid I can't show you landscape shimmering in the heat. The best I can do is show you Fitzroy St, about 11 am this morning, when it was already above 35 degrees again.

But the photo doesn't paint a good enough picture. Virginia does better, with this pic). I'll go for words. Too hot to move. Craving for beer pulled from the freezer. Failure to leave the street on New Year's Eve because the mere thought of moving a kilometre down the road to a friend's party seemed akin to climbing a mountain (not a cold one, I stress, but a hot one). Long, flat, pussies (not, I repeat not, a porno term). Martinis in a bath full of cold water (which was, frankly, still hot). Nude on bed, no sheets, no window open because it was less boiling inside than out (and there were noisy parties out there - how did people do it). Sweet SBS movie called The Choir was watched. Scrabulous was played. Neighbours were talked to - and Tom and Ned's joy at having STAYED AWAKE UNTIL 12 to watch the fireworks was infectious. The fireworks looked pretty good too, though we could only see the tops of them.

I was, in theory, inspired to do what Tom has done and sum up the year. But he's done it so well already and we shared the same best holiday and best day ever so I don't want to double up.

So I will do a speed summary. Travel in April/May - wonderful. Leonard Woolf Research - fascinating. Cats winning Grand Final - wonderful. Howard out - wonderful wonderful wonderful. What is the What? - wonderful. Virginia - wonderful. Bird & Wilson - wonderful. The Wire, Season 3 - wonderful. Generation of creative ideas - good for half the year.Physical healh - good. Blogging - inadequate. Struggle with second novel and publisher's expectation of what my second novel should be - not so wonderful. Trying to find a well-paid and interesting job that also gives me time to write - a failure. Dealing with corporate life - not so wonderful (on which note I should mention I finish up at Lonely Planet in the next couple of months). Attempts to meaningfully contribute to fabulous group blog Sarsaparilla - pathetic. Anxiety about climate change - rising, just like the temperatures.