Light of the Gods
Jan. 30th, 2014 11:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
todayiamadaisyThere is a bus stop across the road from my house. That is perfect. One, because it is across the road and therefore quite handy, and two, because it across the road and therefore there are no strangers loitering outside my house all day. Except it's not really all that handy, because the City by the Sea's bus services have traditionally been fairly meagre. They're meant to be once an hour, but there are none from seven-thirty to nine in the morning, when a person might want to get to work, because the buses are used as dedicated school buses during that time. Same again during school home time. So I didn't use the bus very often, but when I did, it took about 5 minutes to get into the city centre, and a couple of minutes to walk to my office. Eight minutes, tops.
Anyway, the bus line announced last year that 2014 would bring exciting new services. More buses, more often! Buses that will go during peak hour even! So last week, I noticed new orange and grey bus stop signs going up. Not on my stop, though. It's still one of the old red ones. Does that mean it's been decommissioned?
I saw a route map today, and yes: my stop is gone. So I typed my address and my work's address in their Find My Bus site, and it seems I have two options. I can walk 600m up a hill in the other direction and catch a bus going to the shopping centre on the outskirts of town, which will then take me back into town, where it will drop me a couple of blocks west of work: total time, including walking, 26 minutes. Or, I can walk the 600m up the hill and catch a different bus heading to the shopping centre, but get off en route on Wanstead Street (Wanstead Street! The City by the Sea's badlands. On Wanstead Street, sometimes... hedges are set on fire! What? Even our criminals are fairly mild.) and walk the rest of the way: total time, 21 minutes. I'm not seeing a huge improvement in my bus service there. Honestly. If I'm going to walk 600m, I might as well just walk 600m towards the city centre and be quarter of the way there.
When I was doing yesterday's meme instalment, I mentioned that I once lived in a place that is now called Mutitjulu, and marked it on the map, but I forgot that non-Australian readers won't recognise the name and won't think 'crikey Moses, how interesting!' So here's the sitch: when I was a wee little thing, the place that is now called Mutitjulu was a tourist area filled with motels and camp grounds. (My mother was the on-site nurse for one of the resorts.) In the 1980s, the tourist places were moved a more respectful distance away, and the traditional owners of the land, being Pitjantjatjara people, built the township of Mutitjulu. Respectful distance away from what?, you may ask. Well, Mutitjulu is point A on this map:
So there's that. And now onwards:
100 question meme, part III
51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed?
The left, just because it's closer to the door. When I stay in hotels, I am happy to change sides if that's where the clock is.
52. Do you know how to play poker?
No. My grandparents taught me to play Euchre. I could probably call that to mind in a card-playing emergency.
53. Do you like to cuddle?
That depends who or what I'm cuddling. Not generally, no. I'm not a particularly touchy-feely person. Well, I say 'not particularly'. I mean 'mostly not at all'.
54. Have you ever been to Canada?
No, but I have met enough Canadians to imagine it to be like upside-down Australia, only with ice hockey and French people.
55. Do you have an addictive personality?
Oh, yes. It's one of the reasons I don't drink.
56. Do you eat out or at home more often?
At home.
58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
Not that I've ever met, but I've had so many people tell me they know someone else who has that birthday. Apparently 26 March is everyone's cousin's birthday.
In terms of famous people: Keira Knightley, Diana Ross and Steve Tyler. Not that I know them.
59. Do you want kids?
I was ambivalent about it when I was younger. Of it happened, super; if not, great. Now it's unlikely, and I am fine with that.
60. Do you speak any other languages?
French, not fluently, but reasonably well. I read it better than I write it, and do both of those things better than I speak it. I can generally follow films without reading the subtitles, although it's hard to be sure because I find them too distracting not to read. I once saw a documentary about fishermen in Marseilles, and the only word I understood was 'poisson'. I think that was an accent thing.
Italian, less well than French, but well enough that it once got me job at a bank. It was a job interview where the final round was a series of role plays based on real situations, one of which was dealing with someone who didn't speak English. The actor (probably a staff member?) came in speaking Italian, so I gave him a bit of 'buongiorno signore, non parlo bene l'italiano ma voglio aiutarsi', and the job was mine. I turned it down to stay at university for an Honours year (also because I didn't really see myself in a bank).
I can also say in Japanese how to find the public toilets. Not all public toilets; just ones the near where I used to sit, and only in relation to where I used to sit. A very limited conversation, that one.
61. Have you ever gotten stitches?
I don't think I've had stitches, but I have a memory of peeling back a bandage and looking at some stitches, but I honestly don't know where they would be. Maybe I dreamt it.
62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
No. I have had to call one (not for me).
63. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool?
The ocean. I can smell it from my house. (I can also see about an inch of it.)
64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seat?
Window first; aisle second; being stuck in the middle seat, a distant third.
65. Do you know how to drive stick?
We call it manual, but yes, I do. I've only ever had manual cars. The only time I've driven an automatic was a hire car.
66. What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
Money's not for spending. It's for counting. And once you've counted it, you put it away so it's there for counting again later. And maybe by then there'll be more of it to count. I'm not paid to be an accspendant.
Having said that, I do seem to have more books than it's possible for me to read. And stuff. Way too much stuff.
67. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7?
I tend to keep earrings in for weeks at a time, more because I can't be bothered changing them than sentimental reasons.
68. What is your favorite TV show?
Twin Peaks, always. I saw it as an impressionable teenager and I've never really recovered. They don't make shows like that any more.
69. Can you roll your tongue?
Indeed I can. And I can do that thing with my fingers.
70. Who is the funniest person you know?
My mother.
71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
No, but I often have to share the bed with a live one. I have an ancient teddy bear that lives in the bookshelf next to my bed.
72. What is the main ring tone on your phone?
I don't know. Whatever the default one is. I only ever ring out on it. I don't think I've ever heard it ring.
73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little?
I don't think so, no. I suppose my mother might, but that doesn't seem like the sort of thing she'd do.
What's 'little', though? Now I think about it, I have a cardigan that my mother knitted for me as a teenager; I use it as a bed jacket in winter. Also a woollen poncho from when I was a Brownie.
I also have a white satin scarf from when I was seven or eight. That was a church thing, where we were given a patch to sew on it for every sacrament we received. I've got four patches: baptism, confirmation, eucharist and penance. What a full life a person would have to lead to collect all seven patches (the others being anointing of the sick, holy orders and matrimony). I have my issues with the Catholic Church (not least among them that I'm an atheist), but credit where it's due: they know how to do knick-knacks.
74. What red object is closest to you right now?
A Feet Seat (TM), which is a kind of velveteen cuboid pouffe. There's three words you don't often see together.
75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth?
Yes. Yes, I do. I grew up on a farm that collected and used rain water, because the town pipes didn't come out to the country. We had huge tanks, big enough to get us through a couple of drought years without needing to buy water in. (We also had an underground bore for the gardens and livestock, so the tanks only had to supply enough for human use.) Despite having a reasonable supply, we still had to be water-conscious. I don't remember ever being told to turn the tap off while cleaning my teeth; I just did. It would be wasteful otherwise. The first time I found out some people left the water on, it was on a TV show. That wasn't the point of the TV show, like, look at this wasteful person! No, it was just some woman leaving the tap running while she cleaned her teeth and talked to someone. I was shocked. Shocked! (I was a sheltered child, yes.) I think I am a generally tolerant person. I mean, live your lives, people. I'm not going to judge. Unless I find out you leave the water running while you brush your teeth, in which case you are no better than a seal clubber. (I obviously also frown on clubbing seals.)
Anyway, the bus line announced last year that 2014 would bring exciting new services. More buses, more often! Buses that will go during peak hour even! So last week, I noticed new orange and grey bus stop signs going up. Not on my stop, though. It's still one of the old red ones. Does that mean it's been decommissioned?
I saw a route map today, and yes: my stop is gone. So I typed my address and my work's address in their Find My Bus site, and it seems I have two options. I can walk 600m up a hill in the other direction and catch a bus going to the shopping centre on the outskirts of town, which will then take me back into town, where it will drop me a couple of blocks west of work: total time, including walking, 26 minutes. Or, I can walk the 600m up the hill and catch a different bus heading to the shopping centre, but get off en route on Wanstead Street (Wanstead Street! The City by the Sea's badlands. On Wanstead Street, sometimes... hedges are set on fire! What? Even our criminals are fairly mild.) and walk the rest of the way: total time, 21 minutes. I'm not seeing a huge improvement in my bus service there. Honestly. If I'm going to walk 600m, I might as well just walk 600m towards the city centre and be quarter of the way there.
When I was doing yesterday's meme instalment, I mentioned that I once lived in a place that is now called Mutitjulu, and marked it on the map, but I forgot that non-Australian readers won't recognise the name and won't think 'crikey Moses, how interesting!' So here's the sitch: when I was a wee little thing, the place that is now called Mutitjulu was a tourist area filled with motels and camp grounds. (My mother was the on-site nurse for one of the resorts.) In the 1980s, the tourist places were moved a more respectful distance away, and the traditional owners of the land, being Pitjantjatjara people, built the township of Mutitjulu. Respectful distance away from what?, you may ask. Well, Mutitjulu is point A on this map:
So there's that. And now onwards:
100 question meme, part III
51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed?
The left, just because it's closer to the door. When I stay in hotels, I am happy to change sides if that's where the clock is.
52. Do you know how to play poker?
No. My grandparents taught me to play Euchre. I could probably call that to mind in a card-playing emergency.
53. Do you like to cuddle?
That depends who or what I'm cuddling. Not generally, no. I'm not a particularly touchy-feely person. Well, I say 'not particularly'. I mean 'mostly not at all'.
54. Have you ever been to Canada?
No, but I have met enough Canadians to imagine it to be like upside-down Australia, only with ice hockey and French people.
55. Do you have an addictive personality?
Oh, yes. It's one of the reasons I don't drink.
56. Do you eat out or at home more often?
At home.
58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
Not that I've ever met, but I've had so many people tell me they know someone else who has that birthday. Apparently 26 March is everyone's cousin's birthday.
In terms of famous people: Keira Knightley, Diana Ross and Steve Tyler. Not that I know them.
59. Do you want kids?
I was ambivalent about it when I was younger. Of it happened, super; if not, great. Now it's unlikely, and I am fine with that.
60. Do you speak any other languages?
French, not fluently, but reasonably well. I read it better than I write it, and do both of those things better than I speak it. I can generally follow films without reading the subtitles, although it's hard to be sure because I find them too distracting not to read. I once saw a documentary about fishermen in Marseilles, and the only word I understood was 'poisson'. I think that was an accent thing.
Italian, less well than French, but well enough that it once got me job at a bank. It was a job interview where the final round was a series of role plays based on real situations, one of which was dealing with someone who didn't speak English. The actor (probably a staff member?) came in speaking Italian, so I gave him a bit of 'buongiorno signore, non parlo bene l'italiano ma voglio aiutarsi', and the job was mine. I turned it down to stay at university for an Honours year (also because I didn't really see myself in a bank).
I can also say in Japanese how to find the public toilets. Not all public toilets; just ones the near where I used to sit, and only in relation to where I used to sit. A very limited conversation, that one.
61. Have you ever gotten stitches?
I don't think I've had stitches, but I have a memory of peeling back a bandage and looking at some stitches, but I honestly don't know where they would be. Maybe I dreamt it.
62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
No. I have had to call one (not for me).
63. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool?
The ocean. I can smell it from my house. (I can also see about an inch of it.)
64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seat?
Window first; aisle second; being stuck in the middle seat, a distant third.
65. Do you know how to drive stick?
We call it manual, but yes, I do. I've only ever had manual cars. The only time I've driven an automatic was a hire car.
66. What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
Money's not for spending. It's for counting. And once you've counted it, you put it away so it's there for counting again later. And maybe by then there'll be more of it to count. I'm not paid to be an accspendant.
Having said that, I do seem to have more books than it's possible for me to read. And stuff. Way too much stuff.
67. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7?
I tend to keep earrings in for weeks at a time, more because I can't be bothered changing them than sentimental reasons.
68. What is your favorite TV show?
Twin Peaks, always. I saw it as an impressionable teenager and I've never really recovered. They don't make shows like that any more.
69. Can you roll your tongue?
Indeed I can. And I can do that thing with my fingers.
70. Who is the funniest person you know?
My mother.
71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
No, but I often have to share the bed with a live one. I have an ancient teddy bear that lives in the bookshelf next to my bed.
72. What is the main ring tone on your phone?
I don't know. Whatever the default one is. I only ever ring out on it. I don't think I've ever heard it ring.
73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little?
I don't think so, no. I suppose my mother might, but that doesn't seem like the sort of thing she'd do.
What's 'little', though? Now I think about it, I have a cardigan that my mother knitted for me as a teenager; I use it as a bed jacket in winter. Also a woollen poncho from when I was a Brownie.
I also have a white satin scarf from when I was seven or eight. That was a church thing, where we were given a patch to sew on it for every sacrament we received. I've got four patches: baptism, confirmation, eucharist and penance. What a full life a person would have to lead to collect all seven patches (the others being anointing of the sick, holy orders and matrimony). I have my issues with the Catholic Church (not least among them that I'm an atheist), but credit where it's due: they know how to do knick-knacks.
74. What red object is closest to you right now?
A Feet Seat (TM), which is a kind of velveteen cuboid pouffe. There's three words you don't often see together.
75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth?
Yes. Yes, I do. I grew up on a farm that collected and used rain water, because the town pipes didn't come out to the country. We had huge tanks, big enough to get us through a couple of drought years without needing to buy water in. (We also had an underground bore for the gardens and livestock, so the tanks only had to supply enough for human use.) Despite having a reasonable supply, we still had to be water-conscious. I don't remember ever being told to turn the tap off while cleaning my teeth; I just did. It would be wasteful otherwise. The first time I found out some people left the water on, it was on a TV show. That wasn't the point of the TV show, like, look at this wasteful person! No, it was just some woman leaving the tap running while she cleaned her teeth and talked to someone. I was shocked. Shocked! (I was a sheltered child, yes.) I think I am a generally tolerant person. I mean, live your lives, people. I'm not going to judge. Unless I find out you leave the water running while you brush your teeth, in which case you are no better than a seal clubber. (I obviously also frown on clubbing seals.)