Random Messages

This week I was reminded that sometimes random interactions are extra meaningful because they seem to directly address my emotional state.

As he watched me stare at a chocolate bar I'd just bought from the canteen, a year 11 student said to me: "What's wrong, Ms. Unger? Ya gunna to eat that chocolate bar or let it go to waste?

Me: "I think I'd like to eat it."

Year 11: "Ya have to think about it?!"

Me: "...yeah. today I do."

Year 11: "C'mon Miss, get it in ya! It'll make ya feel bettah."

After he watched me unwrap it and take a bite, he patted me on the shoulder and said: "Atta girl, Miss. That's the way."

As I waited on my bike for a light to change at an intersection in Northcote, an urban hipster in skinny jeans pulled up beside me on his single speed road bike and said: "Hey. Thanks for wearing that dress today."

As he led the class through Tree pose, my yoga teacher said: "It's not how quickly you get into the pose and hold it that matters, it's the quality of your effort that matters. Remember that once you're in the pose, it's always changing, and even when it's over.... it will be there to do again in your next practice."

Funny Thing

At a recent dinner party, my friends all agreed that a really good name for a horror movie is "DECIDUOUS".

...and that's Australians dealing with a change in season for you! Hilarious.

Baby Ava

Matt and Jasmina's little girl Ava is adorable! I went for a visit down the coast a couple weekends ago, and she'd grown heaps since I first met her in January.

Drinks after Class

These are my lovely Verve students after our last class.

Bike Rides

Bicycles (specifically "Push bikes") are a popular form of transportation here in Melbourne. There's the highly Lycra-ed set that travel in brightly coloured peletons or the skinny jean-ed hipsters on retro tour bikes. Whichever your preferred flavour, there's lots of bike friendly corridors across the city and into the CBD. Sunday morning was bright and sunny, so Nadia and I rode into the city along the Capital City Trail.

Some sections of the trail had heavy traffic: lots of people strolling, jogging and bike touring with little ones. Other sections, like this one just past Heyington, were idyllic and quiet.

Rowing pairs, quads and eights do their drills up along the river on Sunday mornings.

One of the best parts of the trail is the riverside section just before the bridges into the city. Yes, the view on one side of you is restricted to unattractive bumper-to-bumper footy traffic into the city, but it's pretty special riding along the river suspended just above the water.

We cycled back through Fitzroy to enjoy a coffee before heading home. The Fitzroy Town Hall looked especially grand against the blue sky.

Nadia contemplating Town Hall.

Autumn Changes

Autumn is here in Melbourne. The weather is changeable and unpredictable. Yesterday was a stormy and rainy deluge in the morning followed by bright sunshine and fluffy clouds in the afternoon. It's cooler, and scarves (say "skaahves") have become part of one's new season uniform. Daylight savings is back, and it's darker earlier. ...Conditions conducive to sipping red wine and curling up in a cozy chair.

Looking into the Sun

If I could have looked into my future and seen what was in store...

But I didn't know....

And now I've got to look at my present with an open heart and into my future with hope, and do the best I can to turn it into gold.