Happy Birthday To Me

I open the old photo albums
expecting to see
the grotesque mirages
of myself
that I have become accustomed to
imagining

staring out at me
from every frame

but the girl
blowing out last century's
birthday candles
is today
not burdened
by those habitually fabricated
kilos,
imperfections,
monsters

these are not images
made blurry
by adolescent self hating insecurity

but crisp, clear
outlines of a girl

a pretty, pouting, posing girl

with poor posture
and badly fitting clothes

waiting for someone to tell her
she was thin enough
she was good enough

when she should have been able
to look in the mirror and see it
for herself.













can you count the candles on the cake? I can't. I think I'm 15 or 16 here. photographer unknown.

Middlesex

'Her body was a constant embarrassment to her. It was always announcing itself in ways she didn't sanction.'

A line from Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, that provoked first a visceral then photographic response. I've often thought how nice it would be to have a body that doesn't blurt out things we'd rather keep to ourselves, but then again, I doubt anyone has one of those.

White Lace On Saturday

Going Native

I spent the weekend surrounded by great looming native trees, listening to the intermittent warbling of the birds, punctuated by polite bursts of clapping. Sure, I was supposed to be working, but it was still nice every now and then to appreciate nature's beauty whilst trying to ignore the stumbling drunk sports enthusiasts' jeers and propositions.

Then, back in my native environment, a different type of birdsong, and a small offering of native flowers. Geraldton wax, my favourite! How they could have known beats me, but I sure was glad to eat my steak in the company of these perky little petals.

The Days I See The Sea Are My Favourite Days

I took a beautiful photo (with hipstamatic for iPhone, because I'm that much of a hipster) of the sea today. It was taken from the top of a small hill overlooking the bay down in Mentone, with some purple Geraldton Wax (it's my favourite because it reminds me of my childhood home) in the foreground.

I'd post it here, except that I inadvertantly caught a couple of schoolboys in the shot (which I was taking furtively, trying not to look like a pervert, being on a school campus and all) and it wouldn't be very PC of me to post pictures of schoolboys.

So you'll just have to imagine it.

Sea and sky and Geraldton Wax.

And a couple of schoolboys in cricket hats, looking wistfully (or so I like to imagine) into the distance.

The Ninjas

I was thrilled to find these little fellows locked in a school's display cabinet. Ninjas! Kids get to do the awesomest things these days.



Then on closer inspection I realised they were Ned Kellies. And we know how I feel about patriotism.

So I'm sticking with ninjas!

Dressing Up

Just because I'm not getting involved in Cup day silliness doesn't mean I can't put a frock on.







(There were no fascinaters involved in the production of these photos)