Sweat it out / Shiver it up: Emotional Thermoregulation in a Life of Extremes

Moments of clarity always seem to come with a perspective shift. This is nothing new. There's something therapeutic to constantly messing up my body clock and traipsing through old haunts while forging new memories. And new memories are certainly in order.

This trip back to my place of origin is covered in reminders of the brevity and fragility of life. It's interesting to see how the individual characters perceive and react to these realisations. Ultimately, I guess we all just scramble harder to be our 'real' selves. Sometimes for better, sometimes....well I don't really know.

Presently, I'm camped out on the 7th floor of an office building in the Chelsea district of Manhattan NYC. My makeshift hotel room is an unused office of my high school best friend's current workplace. You can never predict these things. They just happen. I have no idea what I'll get into tomorrow but I'm sure it will be at least decently random (and very cold).

Pardon my lack of organizational strategy but really you can blame that ugly monster the 'time crunch' (and my incessant need for sleep on a dailyish basis). What follows is random tidbits from my journal that I've had with me these past two weeks as I've hopped a few time zones, reconnected with old friends, made some new ones and been forced to do things like "relax".

Dec 3rd on the plane to take off:

Funny how the excitement of airports is tinged with an odd sense of familiarity by this point. For the first time since I lived in GA, I actually feel like I'm a visitor to these destinations ahead. I have a place to call home. A place I'm excited to go back to, people who will miss me but know I'm coming back. That's a new feeling for me.

On staying in a resort (for free) in Fiji for 2 days and 1 night:

It's very peculiar for me to stay in a large, posh, corporate hotel/resort. While the comforts and amenities are enjoyable, I can't shake the obvious sense of distance between myself as a guest and the people I will be interacting with over these two days. I wonder what it's like where they live. What do they think of this place? Do they like their bosses? What must they think of the tourists? What do they do when they get a holiday? How do they stand listening to these horrible Christmas songs for a month straight, especially while it's 32 degrees Celsius and 95% humidity?!

Artwork by Krystal Campbell 

This hotel complex is an odd slice of life. Obviously trying hard to strive for the cookie cutter corporate ideal, leveraging the "bulla smile" and typical tropical trappings to their fullest extent. Yet, the mushrooms, birds, toads and geckos all proudly remind me of the underlying untamed sense of this place. The afternoon storms don't care if you're only in for one day or you've lived here your whole life. The cheesy Christmas music on repeat adds an extra layer of touristiness to the experience. And yes, the birds will stare you down in an attempt to intimidate you out of your breakfast. This is their house and yes they like pancakes. Give them some pancakes or they will poop in your cereal!

For now, that's all I got.

(My pictures to be added later once I can download them)

Far From the Middle of Everything: Stars, Stories, and Sun for Days

Toto, I don't think we're in Melbourne anymore! Stepping off the plane in Alice Springs the sun was out in full force and the air, warm and welcoming. This is exactly the week I need. Not exactly a holiday but not exactly work either. Inspiration and illumination a plenty.

I'd describe Alice Springs as a big outback town with all the charm and ambience of 'the bush' yet with this odd, contrived tourist overlay on it. Shops close early, the pubs start to fill in around 3:30pm and everything just moves slower than back home. It works.

Our party was a youthful mob of friendly postgrads, mingling well with the handful of various other young travellers with which we shared our tour. The first day in Alice was relaxing and informative thanks to a rousing trip to the Reptile Centre complete with proper outback bloke Rex promptly opening up the glass and taking out the Western brown snake within minutes of our arrival. I'm pretty sure my colleagues came in just a few minutes after he explained how freak'n deadly this thing's bite is (fatal in 30 minutes without treatment). To say the least, I was impressed. This was what I have been missing! His presentation was amusing yet informative and really drove home the reality that Australian snakes are quite easy to avoid incident with, armed with a few simple tricks. Don't walk in tall grass with exposed legs and feet. Be aware of your surroundings and if you see a snake simply back away from it calmly. There, life safe. Too easy.

Out there, it's the dryness that will get you first. It was pretty much the most perfect weather you could ask for but there is always the constant need to keep hydrating when in the desert. Despite my best efforts, I did manage to get a little dehydration sickness towards the end of one day.

I should point out that this was my first, and probably only, purchased packaged tour. All the plans sorted, all the adventure minimised. Don't let that fool you, adventure is a place of mind. It starts with turning off your phone, running out of money, and forgoing your typical caution. This trip really only had the luxury of one of those things. The trip was centred on that magical, misunderstood monolith that serves as the only non-manmade icon of this distant and sometimes forgotten land. Sad to say but I was just looking forward to getting out of the city for a few days, away from the impaired landscapes and short sighted perspectives. Sometimes you need to get out far enough to see a real horizon line, broad reaching and deeply cleansing.

It wasn't all smooth sailing. There was one little burst of excitement when the bus decided to refuse to start. After it was established that the starter did not appear to be operational, our guide decided it only made sense to try one thing before calling for help. So about six of us got behind the trailer attached to our bus and gave it a nice hard push. Sure enough, it started up! Luckily, that seemed to be the only time it decided to play up. It's funny how perspective is everything, not a single person complained or expressed negativity through the whole event. It really was the almost ideal tour group.

The afternoon at 'the Rock' was an emotional day for me. I can't really explain why. Here is a place that some of the oldest civilisations on earth have used as a focal point of congregation to teach, learn, and grow as communities. Ancient riverbeds glued together by time and energy then cracked apart slowly to present the features now reduced to a postcard snapshot. This place is so much more than that. The scientists and stewards of this harsh land sure know that. These ponderings interest and excite my mind to not end. Land, country, community; these are all intertwined components of the intricate way of life out here. Shouldn't that be the same everywhere? Uluru and Kata-Tjuta stand as icons of the power of the centre and the story being told here is one of collective consciousness as well as deeply complex laws. A few days was a good introduction but it was exactly that.

This trip only served to further solidify my desire to see the rest of this diverse and unique country. At this point, I can't say when but in the coming months to years I have to pack up a vehicle and traverse the far flung and magical corners of Oz. I want to make another chapter in the story of my life, a sort of outback ode to Alexander Supertramp....minus the tragic ending. Maybe I'll figure out a few more things and get a bit stronger. Maybe I'll just get a sun burn, who knows.