1/ The Beach vs. The Ocean

I don't have much experience with oceans so Bondi was the first time since a trip to Elat when I was 16 that I have thrown myself into an awe-shaped body of water.

The beach is like the shallow outer lining of the ocean. On the beach I sit and stare at the indescribably fit beach people who have spent their lives grooming themselves for life on the surf. When the utter baywatchness of Australian beach culture begins to feel weird, I have a book, and I read.

I woke up this morning and felt a little lonely. I am not sure if it was because I ended up hugging a pillow while I slept and nothing says lonely like waking up in a twin bed hugging a pillow, or if it was just in the stars. Anyways, I woke up and went and turned on my 'puter and immediately engaged in some online chit-chat with close friends. So here's to the internet - whatever your other flaws, as a cure for homesickness you are without compare.

I am actually posting stuff I wrote while waiting at the airport, I am now safely in Sydney, although I am really really really (really) tired.

It’s 7:30pm and I am back at the airport listening to Sufjan Stevens, and thinking about why there are Christmas carols playing everywhere. It’s only December 11th, I thought for the sake of sanity and good taste you couldn’t let her rip with the ding-dong merrily until a week before Christ’s birth?

So my flight got delayed again at YUL. The exciting thing about this delay, what gave it a different let’s say ‘Jouissance’ then the previous days delayitude, was that today, we all got on the plane, taxied away from our gate and then came to an abrupt stand-still. Like a bug in amber, a lizard frozen under the eye of a predating eagle. Our little airbus, alone on a vast expanse of concrete. The pilot came on the overheads and explained that as the plane had started for take-off. O’Hare had closed it’s runways due to freezing rain, BUT said the pilot, since it was for all concerned a better idea to be “ready for immediate wheels-up status” we would all just stay put in the narrow little plane. Thus began a two hour wait for the “go ahead” during which many a sports analogy was used to try and coach the reluctant team (passengers) into accepting their time in the “bullpen”. For some reason it was considered optimal to explain that “everywhere” was like this, true perhaps, but other everywhere’s have a wider circumference.

So as you all know, I was stuck at YUL for about 6 hrs yesterday. Which is the best. Highlights of my airport stay included watching the automated window shades rolling up and down every 15 minutes and wondering why there was so much indecision about whether or not the atrium for the US -bound flights should be sun-filled or shady.

As well, I purchased some useless electronics, and considered a "top ten stupid things I have done in airports while waiting for my flight which ended up not happening anyways" list.

In French when a stewardess says take-off, she or he says the that the plane will "decollé". That means she is saying "Ladies and gentleman, the plane will be un-sticking itself in 10 minutes for service to Sydney Australia". Unfortunately this afternoon, the United Airlines ("Fly United - A donkey will get you there faster than us!") flight to Chicago is having a bit of trouble un-sticking itself and I am thus, still here in montreal, 2hrs into a 29hr travel itinerary and all the moves I have made are from gate to magazine store to gate to washroom, to tea shack and back to gate.