The Blog

   A pocket full of seashells...

Today was a glorious day.
The sort of day where some part of your brain kicks in and says "you remember how it rained for months and months and they think it will be raining again next week? why are you sitting here making yourself miserable?" and you stop, and you think about it for a moment, and you can't come up with a reason to sit there any longer so you say "fuck it, I'm going to the beach!"

And you do!
I put myself on a series of buses, and took myself to the beach I was most familiar with the public transport options to -- Manly! Which is such a nice place, and right from the moment I stepped off the bus I could smell the salt water. Oddly enough, it made my stomach grumble (it had been a long time on the buses) so I wandered through some shops and eventually found myself some nice seaside lunch!
And the usual crowd showed up to try and share:
But it was okay because I was too greedy and wouldn't share (and there were enough people feeding them chips that I didn't actually feel bad about not sharing my very yummy sushi (which was quite cheap too - $5.70 for all that)). And who could pay the seagulls any attention with a view like this:
After I'd slowed down the rumbling of my tummy, it was time to actually enjoy the beach that I'd traveled so far to see. I took my shoes off and headed off down the sand.
and found myself a nice sandy (and shady, since I'd forgotten my hat) spot to sit down on, where I could just listen to the waves coming in.
I tried to take a self portrait to prove I was there, but I was replaced by aliens at the last moment.

I sat there for a long time, running my toes through the sand, writing and doodling and just trying to remember the last time I did something creative and how it used to feel when I was more than just someone who spent all day working on a boring PhD. It was really nice, and I wasn't just feeling sorry for myself, there was some real soul searching going on there. No conclusions, but at least I'm looking now.
As the shadows got longer all of the chronic sunbathers went home (or maybe to their nearest solarium, I have no idea. These people had leather instead of skin), leaving the beach even more peaceful than before.

I was feeling better about the whole no-longer-a-creative-person thing, so I packed up my notes, tried to get most of the sand off me, rolled up my pants and headed for the water at last.

The water was so nice and warm! If I'd had a swimsuit (or maybe even just less impractical underwear) I would have gone for a proper swim, because the temperature was just perfect! (The lack of waves higher than my knees was but a small disappointment.) I love the Pacific Ocean, particularly the East Australian Current which keeps our beaches nice and warm even in the colder months. It brings warm feelings to my heart and makes me want to go back tomorrow.

But it was not to last, as I had promised my mother I'd be home in time for dinner (first time all week, I think I'll have to work on that). So I took one more photo of me (in the hopes of not looking like a goth this time) and started heading back.
I may have stopped by the New Zealand Natural shop on the way back for the customary "I went to Manly and all I got was this lousy Ice Cream"...

...but there's absolutely no evidence to say that I did. :)

As the sun was starting to set I made my way to the wharf and put myself on a ferry back to the city. Because nothing says "Sydney Harbour is a deathtrap!" like riding on the Sydney ferries.
I got to watch the sun go down...
All in all, a most satisfying day away from the university. I almost feel up to going in and actually working on my PhD on monday. Pity my iMac's being delivered. *grins*

There are a few more photos up on my flickr set, since I figured I'd spammed you all enough for one post. I'm sure I'll be back to my regular moping in no time.

Labels: autumn, beach, manly, seagulls, swimsuit edition