Randwick Town Hall, decorated for Christmas

As it’s Christmas Eve I thought I’d post some of the Christmas photos I’ve taken near where I live. Randwick comes alive at this time of year, with lots of houses and businesses putting up decorations and it’s a lot of fun walking around and seeing what’s new. These are some of my favourites from this year.

Most of the houses are from Frederick Street, which is known for its Christmas displays and has won awards in the past; there are a few photos from Bondi Junction as well which I took while shopping. There are about 20 photos so I’ve split them after the jump; you can click on any of them to see larger versions as well.

I’m just finishing my annual Christmas song now as well… will have it posted sometime tomorrow. This year’s is an Aussie version of “Deck the Halls”. Should be fun!

Blue Santa lights on a house in Oberon Street, Randwick.

A surfing Santa and other decorations outside a house in Oberon Street.

A flat in Frederick Street, getting into the festive spirit.

Christmas lights and decorations in Frederick Street. This was one of the more brightly lit houses.

Christmas signs. This was the same house where I took this photo as well.

Christmas lights and a colourful tree in Frederick Street.

Another surfing Santa. Guess they must be in fashion this year?

Reindeer and thong lights, with Santa gnomes nearby.

Panorama in Frederick Street. The kids there seemed to love this one; they kept coming back to look at it.

Nativity scene in Frederick Street.

Snowman and star lights, with a guitar-playing Santa below.

Reindeer lights and a spiral tree in Frederick Street.

Rudolph decoration in Frederick Street.

Another house getting into the Christmas spirit.

Reindeer above the entrance to a house in Frederick Street.

A house in Frederick Street, covered in Christmas lights. This was my favourite overall.

A shrub, covered in Christmas lights.

Santa with Dale the Emu. Dale is a bit of a local celebrity as he keeps being stolen, only to turn up again in some unusual places.

Snowman sitting on a balcony.

Lights and decorations at Papaya homewares in Bondi Junction.

Christmas trees outside the entrance to David Jones, Bondi Junction.

Tree decoration outside The Coffee Club in Westfield, Bondi Junction.

Christmas tree in Oxford Street Mall, Bondi Junction.

Ray White real estate office in Randwick, decorated for the holidays.

Antonas real estate office in Randwick, decorated for the holidays.

Christmas tree in the window of Taylors real estate office in Randwick.

Dirty Streets
Whisper my name
Fill me with longing
To find my way home

I took this photo last week. I saw the motorcycle out of the corner of my eye and took a quick photo without really thinking about it at the time but looking at it now, I find the contrast interesting, the shiny bike propped up against the run-down garage and street.

What you can’t see in the photo is that the entire street was in a similar state; most of the houses looked slightly rundown, with paint peeling and tiles missing and overgrown gardens – but they all had expensive cars in their driveways and satellite TV. I guess having a car and staying connected is more important for many people these days than if a house needs new paint, particularly in the current economy.

I thought it seemed like an apt analogy for the world at the moment. I wonder how many other streets and houses are like this around the world… probably too many to really comprehend, sadly.

Photo and haiku © CJ Levinson 2011

A Letter of Hope to Sydney Cove, near Botany Bay
Erasmus Darwin (1789)

Where Sydney Cove her lucid bosom swells
Courts her young navies and the storm repels,
High on a rock, amid the troubled air,
Hope stood sublime, and wav’d her golden hair;
Calm’d with her rosy smile the tossing deep,
And with sweet accents charm’d the winds to sleep;
To each wild plain, she stretch’d her snowy hand,
High-waving wood, and sea-encircled strand.
‘Hear me,’ she cried, ‘ye rising realms! Record
Time’s opening scenes, and Truth’s unerring word.
There shall broad streets their stately walls extend,
The circus widen, and the crescent bend;
There ray’d from cities o’er the cultur’d land,
Shall bright canals, and solid roads expand. —
There the proud arch, Colossus-like, bestride
Yon glittering streams, and bound the chasing tide;
Embellish’d villas crown the landscape scene,
Farms wave with gold, and orchards blush between. —
There shall tall spires, and dome-capt towers ascend,
And piers and quays their massy structures blend;
While with each breeze approaching vessels glide,
And northern treasures dance on every tide!’
Here ceased the nymph—tumultuous echoes roar,
And Joy’s loud voice was heard from shore to shore —
Her graceful steps descending press’d the plain;
And Peace, and Art, and Labour, join’d her train.

I took this photo during a recent trip to Taronga Zoo. I was waiting for the ferry at Circular Quay and realised that I’d been there dozens of times before but had never actually taken a photo of the Bridge, something I’d always wanted to do… I guess living in Sydney I’d always assumed there’d be some other time and had just never got round to it. So this time I made myself take a few shots.

I particularly like how this one came out. The couple looking at the Bridge were tourists and they walked into the shot by accident at the last moment but I think they add a lot to it… they almost make me feel like I’m seeing it anew through their eyes.

The poem above is one of my favourites, A Letter of Hope to Sydney Cove, near Botany Bay by Erasmus Darwin (Charles Darwin’s grandfather). He wrote it in 1789 to accompany a small number of medallions created by Josiah Wedgwood to commemorate the settlement of Sydney Cove and it’s always struck me how eerily he predicts the city that would one day rise in its place. I thought it made an interesting contrast to the photo.

Update: I also took this black and white photo at the same time which I like as well.

Photos © CJ Levinson 2011

Christmas is a bit of a funny time for me. I’m not religious anymore but I still enjoy the feeling of the season, the spirit of goodwill and cheer in the air. For some reason I haven’t really felt it that much this year though. We put up our tree a week late this year and that’s usually when I get into the Christmas spirit, so that might be part of it, but there’s also been a distinct lack of atmosphere this year. There have been fewer lights and decorations around and the shopping centres have been all but deserted, even on Christmas eve. I guess it shows how much people are struggling this year… 2010′s been hard on a lot of people and I think everyone’s feeling the squeeze. Hopefully 2011 will be a better year.

I guess to me Christmas is mostly about spending time with family these days and I felt lucky to be able to spend it with my parents today. It was a simple, quiet day and I think I’m starting to value those kind of days more and more as I get older. I know that a lot of people feel lonely and isolated at Christmas, having lost someone or not being able to be with their children, and I found myself thinking about them a lot today, and our troops overseas. I’d still really like to volunteer somewhere over Christmas at some stage. I didn’t feel well enough to do it this year but maybe next year I’ll be able to.

In any case I hope you’re having a wonderful Christmas wherever you are in the world. To celebrate I thought I’d post another of my Aussie Christmas songs. I did an Aussie take on Jingle Bells last year and The Aussie 12 Days of Christmas in 2008, so I guess it’s become something of a Christmas tradition on my blog now!

This year I thought I’d do We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Originally I wanted to do Frosty the Snowman but I couldn’t work out a way to make it sound very Australian – I mean, it’s not like we get much snow! We Wish You a Merry Christmas was a little easier and it’s also one of my favourite songs at this time of year. I’ll try to do Frosty next year if I can.

I hope you enjoy it. And Merry Christmas.

We Wish You an Aussie Christmas

We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!

Good luck and good fate to you and your mates
We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!

Send the gifts through the post
Get the food for the roast
Sleep in on Christmas morning
And get ready to play host!

We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!

May your kids make you smile
May your Christmas have style
May they get lots of pressies
To keep them busy for a while!

We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!

Grab a sausage or two
Don’t forget the fondue
And we’ll gather in the backyard
To start the barbeque!

We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!

Have fun with the rellies
Laugh and sing with full bellies
Take a few family photos
Then watch the cricket on the telly!

We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!

Have a beer by the pool
While you try to stay cool
And we’ll sing songs and carols
To celebrate the yule!

We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!

Try a slice of the cake
Just like mum used to make
A little dry and spongy
But at least it’s not fake!

We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!

May your Christmas be bright
Filled with festive delight
And don’t forget to say g’day to Santa
If you see him tonight!

We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas
We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!

Good luck and good fate to you and your mates
We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!

We wish you an Aussie Christmas and a ripper New Year!

I haven’t been feeling that well recently. I’ve hardly slept and I’ve had an awful migraine for the last few weeks. I blame the weather; everything seems worse when it’s cold and it’s been bitterly cold in Sydney this past month. It’s the coldest winter we’ve had in a long time.

We’ve also been gearing up for a national election and it’s been kind of surreal. Just a few weeks ago Kevin Rudd was our Prime Minister; now Rudd’s gone, we have our first female PM in Julia Gillard (long overdue) and we’re rushing to the polls on August 21. It’s all happened so quickly that it’s almost draining.

Usually I quite enjoy elections but after the brutal way Rudd was brought down and how both parties have gone so negative already, it’s just ugly. Neither party seems to stand for anything and it’s more a battle of personalities than policy. The way both parties are treating asylum seekers is frankly appalling to me. I may have to flip a coin at this rate.

I’ve actually had some good news about my writing, though, during all of this which I’m very excited about. I was contacted by a scouting agency last week who sound interested in looking at some of my work. I’m thrilled… it’s just what I need at this stage. I’ve had some minor interest before as well, so I guess that shows I’m on the right track.

I haven’t worked out what I’m going to send yet. I’ve only just started working on my first novel so I haven’t really finished enough to show to anyone yet. I’ve been thinking about putting together a collection of short stories, so that might be an option instead.

Either way, it’s encouraging. I feel like I’m finally starting to get somewhere, so I think I’m going to focus more on writing my novel for the next few months. I feel like I’ve come far enough to seriously think about publication now and if I can have a draft finished by mid-September then at least I’ll have an idea of if it’s good enough to send away.

I’ll probably have to put some of my other projects aside while I work on the novel but I’ll be continuing with Sleepless at the same time. I may change a few things about how I’m writing the story (I’ll probably hold onto a few updates rather than posting them all live, so I’ll have something to post when I’m busy with the novel) but I’m still really excited about it and some of the ideas actually complement the novel, so it shouldn’t be a distraction.

If you’re following Sleepless, by the way, you’ve probably noticed I haven’t updated it for a few weeks. I took a break from writing to plan out the rest of the story but I’ll be getting back to it later tonight. With everything planned out now, there shouldn’t be any more delays. Thanks again to everyone who’s followed the story so far. I really appreciate it and all your feedback.

Anyway, as it’s been a while since my last post I thought I’d do a fun post to get back into the swing of things. So how about a meme? About two years ago I did the 5 Things About Me meme and as it was one of my favourite posts, I thought it’d be fun to do a follow-up now and see how my answers have changed… kind of like digging up a time capsule.

I’ve answered the questions differently where I can and I’ve added a few new ones as well to show what’s changed in the last few years. Just looking back at the original post now, it’s amazing how much has changed since then… we’ve changed Presidents and Prime Ministers, gone through the GFC, watched Haiti suffer, Michael Jackson become a memory… I’ve made new friends and lost others, watched from overseas as my grandmother nearly died… you don’t really realise just how much can happen in two years until you look back.

I hope you enjoy the meme. Has much changed for you in the last two years?

5 things found in your bag
I’ll use my messenger bag again

• Camera
• Glasses (mainly for reading these days)
  
• iPhone
• Sunscreen
• Notepad and pen

5 favourite things in your room

• Favourite pen
  I have a number of pens but my favourite is a custom-made Amboyna Sapwood pen that I’ve had for a couple of years. I tend to prefer wooden pens to metal ones; I write by hand and they’re just more comfortable when you’re using them for a long time. I use it mostly for writing letters and editing and I always use it for the first page of a new story.

• Writing area
  My computer died earlier this year, so I took the opportunity to get a new desk as well. I loved my old writing desk but it was too small for the monitor, so I’m saving it for when I have more room. I’ve got a nice area set up now. Now I just need to get on with writing!

• Memory box
  Everyone probably has a memory box somewhere. Mine’s mostly filled with simple things – photos, trinkets, my school prefect badge, a copy of my favourite book from when I was a child (The Velveteen Rabbit). It also has my first acceptance letter from when I was published and my first email from a reader.

• Statues and figures
  I mentioned that I collect these in the original post as well but I’ve added a few more since then. The Egyptian figures are made by Veronese from cold cast resin; most of the pewter ones are by the Tudor Mint. The Le Morte d’Arthur piece (right) is my favourite.

• Wall plaque
  I got this for a bargain $2 on eBay a couple of years ago. I love Asian-themed art and it’s one of my favourite pieces. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find out much about it, though; I only know it came from Melbourne and has a “Partos” sticker on the back.

5 things that have changed in the last two years

• My writing
  My writing’s come a long way in the last two years; I’m much better at editing in particular now and finally feel confident enough to try a full-length novel. Also, I’ve really taken to poetry, which has been a surprise. I’ve never really thought of myself as much of a poet.

• My philosophy
  I’ve been an atheist for about two years now. It was a gradual thing; I lost my faith after 9/11 and Bali and considered myself an agnostic for several years, before I started to drift towards atheism. Atheism isn’t what a lot of people think it is; it’s a philosophy based on the absence of personal belief, not the worship of science. I don’t pretend to have all the answers but I feel more content now. Most people seem to respect that.

• My family tree
  I’ve always had an interest in genealogy and I started researching our family tree last year. So far I’ve found several distant cousins and an entire side of our family we knew nothing about. I’ve also learnt a lot about Isaac, my great-great grandfather.

• My taste in music
  I’ve never been that into modern music but I’ve found myself drifting more and more towards indie and alternative artists and music from the 60s and 70s over the last few years…. I can’t even remember the last pop song I bought. I’ll take Sarah Blasko over Katy Perry any day.

• My hair
  I guess it’s just a part of getting older but I’ve started to lose a little of my hair over the last year or so. It’s not that bad but still, I wasn’t expecting it just yet! And the icing on the cake? I found my first grey hair the other day as well…

5 things you want to do in the next year

• Finish my novel
  I feel happy with where I am with my writing at the moment, so I finally started work on my novel a few weeks ago. I’ve been developing the idea for almost a year; it’s a modern fable exploring racism, terrorism and religious extremism. I won’t know if it’s good enough to publish until it’s finished but I think it could be excellent if it all comes together… something quite different to what’s around at the moment.

• Study
  I’ve been thinking about this for a while and at some stage during the next year I want to get back to studying. Now that I’m finally working on a novel I want to have something to fall back on as well and I think now’s a good time to think about studying again. I’m looking at library studies atm; I could do a Masters later as well, which would allow me to teach, something I’ve always wanted to do.

• Meet someone
  I don’t talk about my love life that often. I don’t date that much but the last time I had something close to a relationship was about two years ago, when I met someone I became very close to… I’m not sure if it was “love” but it was certainly the most intense connection I’ve ever had with someone. It ended quite suddenly; I don’t know why exactly, though I suspect it was because I became an atheist as she was quite religious. I haven’t really been looking to meet anyone since then, but I’d love to meet someone during the next year, someone I could be myself with. I don’t know if it’ll happen but it’d be nice if it did.

• See the Australian Open
  I love tennis and I’ve been wanting to go to the Australian Open in Melbourne for years. Hopefully 2011 will be the year! It’ll probably come down to whether I can afford it closer to the date but it’s something I’d love to do to start off the new year. I’d love to see a cricket match at the MCG if there’s one on as well.

• Get a good night’s sleep
  I’ve had insomnia for about three years now. I only get a few hours sleep a night and frankly it drives me nuts. I mean, what are you supposed to do at 4 in the morning? Just once in the next year I’d love to get a good night’s sleep. That’s not too much to ask, is it?

5 things you have always wanted to do

• Perform a poetry reading
  I’ve always enjoyed poetry readings and I’ve often thought about sharing some of my own work in public. I’ve always been worried about embarrassing myself as I’ve not taken my poetry that seriously before but I still love the idea. I’ll have to do it one of these days.

• Learn to play the piano
  I’ve never been that talented as far as music goes; I’m completely tone-deaf and the only instrument I used to be able to play was the little plastic recorder they made us play in school (I still wasn’t very good!). But I love music and if I have the time and money one day, I’d love to learn to play the piano. I’d have to get soundproofing for the neighbours first, though.

• Travel to Egypt and Japan
  There are a lot countries I’d love to visit one day – India, Canada, New Zealand, the US – but if I had to choose two, I’d really love to see Egypt and Japan. I’ve always loved the idea of trying to find my way in a completely foreign city, of seeing the Pyramids, the Asakusa temples in Tokyo. Hopefully I’ll make it to both one day.

• Be an extra in a movie
  I’m a big movie buff and I’d love to be part of a movie as an extra one day and see how they’re made. Maybe I could be a red shirt in the next Star Trek film and die a horrible death. What do you think?

• Ride an elephant
  I’ve always loved elephants. Some treks in India and Africa actually allow you to ride on the back of an elephant and I’ve always thought that would be an amazing experience. I’d only want to do it if it was safe and the elephant was comfortable with it, of course, but it’s something I’d love to do… a real once-in-a-lifetime experience.

5 things you are currently into

• She & Him
  I’m a big fan of M. Ward’s and one of his side projects is a folk duo with Zooey Deschanel called She & Him. Deschanel reminds me a little of Julia Stone (who I love as well) and they’re kind of a throwback to 60s music with a modern twist and sound refreshingly different to anything else out there right now. Their latest album’s one of the best I’ve heard in years.

• Scrabble
  I have a kind of ritual I go through before I start writing; I do a word game or a crossword to start thinking about different words. Lately I’ve been playing a lot of Scrabble and I’m hooked. I got my highest score the other day (425) and still lost! I’m still not quite sure how.

• The West Wing
  I’ve been working my way through all the DVDs of The West Wing over the last few months and it’s become one of my favourite shows. The writing and acting are incredible and it’s interesting, seeing the parallels to both Bush and Clinton administrations. It’s brilliant. I can’t believe I missed it on TV.

• Catherynne Valente
  I hadn’t heard of Catherynne Valente until recently but she’s quickly become one of my favourite authors. The best way I can describe her is that she writes modern fairy tales, with some of the most beautiful, haunting prose I’ve read in a long time. If you like Margaret Atwood or Kelly Link, you’ll love her books. I can’t wait to read Palimpsest next.

• Natalie Portman
  Because she’s Natalie Portman. What? Some things never change.

5 people you want to tag

I won’t tag anyone as I did it in the first post. But if you’d like to do the meme yourself or do it again, feel free to use it… I’d love to see your answers.