Making Friends With The Neighbours

I first moved to Brisbane from Byron Bay to take up a PhD opportunity in 2008. It would be a gross understatement to say I was not thrilled about the move at the time, but I was thrilled about the chance to undertake my study (about women's surfing). Putting surfing first was not making me happy. Living where I did meant  limited job opportunities, and I was bored. I'm not saying my life was boring, nor that life in Byron Bay is boring. I'm saying that I was bored. But the transition from surfing every day to a much more a mediated surfing life was not easy. I was over an hour from the closest break and I was poor as you can imagine, so I couldn't regularly afford the petrol money. I couldn't just take off when I wanted, but often had to wait until I could get away, so I often got skunked on the surf as well. Getting shit waves might not have too much of an effect when you can surf all the time, but when it's rare that you get into the sea, it can really bite....

In Australia, we have a Federal election coming up on 2nd July . Even more significant, it's a double dissolution , which means the whole government is dissolved and is up for election, including the entire  (Senators sit for 6 years and usually only half the Senate is elected every 3 years). A double dissolution can be called if the Senate and House of Representatives fail to agree on a piece of legislation twice. The Governor-General (the Queen's is still our Head of State and the G-G is her representative. I KNOW!!) calls it, but the Prime Minister asks them to do so. There have only been seven double dissolutions since Australia's Federation, so it's a pretty big deal. Since we have three layers of government - federal, state and local - and since under Australian law, it is compulsory that all citizens over the age of 18 enrol and vote in elections , many Australians find elections annoying. Not me though. I love them. I love elections for lots of reasons, not le...

One of the things I love most about surfing, is being outdoors and in nature. I love watching the surface of the water, the changing colours of the sky and sea, the clouds that drift across and light up in the sunrise and sunset, the birds that wheel above us, the creatures that swim below and around us, the line of the shore from the water, and the cool and warmth of the air, water and wind. Being immersed in this world of light and colour and sensations and creatures has taught me a lot about my place in the world. It's taught me that I'm part of something, that my behaviour has effects, and that being a human in the sea has consequences. It's taught me I am not in control of the world and the plants and animals that inhabit it, but instead that I'm a part of that web - that ecosystem. With so much of my focus on surfing being about the culture and the relationships between people - good and bad - there have been times when immersing myself in the beauty and immen...

People often talk about how, when they go surfing, their troubles drift away or at the very least, they don't think about them. Or that they see it as time out from the stresses of their life. I've never really felt like that. I don't know how they disengage like that! I was thinking about these things this morning as I surfed. I was having a great time in the water. There were little waves breaking down on the inside that were fat but they broke long and clean, and every so often there was an awesome double-up that came through. I was having a ball and I got a lot of waves. Like, a lot . The water was clear as possible, the sun was out and there were only a couple of other people anywhere in the vicinity. Seriously, it was so great. But my brain kept thinking about things on the shore, on the land, awaiting me at home. A large part of me wanted to stay out the whole day in this watery playground, but my brain kept dwelling on the responsibilities I have and the things ...

It's official. I'm mental. I'm that crazy person who talks to and terrifies strangers on the street. So tonight I was walking home from my fitness class (yeah, yeah, yeah). I was wearing tights and a t-shirt, and I was sweaty and stringy-haired and most likely red-faced. You know, like what people look like right when they stop exercising. Anyway, as I was walking up the hill past a bus-stop I saw a guy waiting there who looked as though he'd been at a gym or something as well. He was leaning up against a pole, listening to tunes on his head-phones and reading a book. It was the book that caught my eye. I'd nearly passed him when I realised the cover of the book looked as though it had a surfer getting barreled on it. Without thinking, I stopped and stepped backwards and stuck my head down to look at the cover of the book and asked 'Is that a surfer on the cover?' He looked at me and slowly took out his headphones as I repeated my question. I think i...

Yesterday I went to have breakfast with friends at a cafe. They were, as ever, running late. I had been sat at a communal table, where I was right next to a young couple who were alternating between chatting and playing on their phones. I didn't spend time listening-in to their conversation - I'm opposed to conscious eavesdropping - but my ears did pick up on the guy's response to a comment from his girlfriend that I didn't hear: Him: You don't even know what a grommet is! (Extended silence.) It's like, a surfie dude with long hair. I had to repress laughter at his patronising her and then, when it came time to divulge the knowledge, clearly having no real idea himself. We were sat right next to each other, and while I was sorely temped to speak up, I stayed silent and carried on reading the paper. P.S. I would like to acknowledge that I have not (yet) commented on the Roxy thing. I will. I am. I promise! I just needed some time to think through why thi...