why wy?

Just spent two days in Geelong/Torquay, which is the start of the Great Ocean Road if any of you have been down that way before.

Day one was spent lounging in mum's friend's beach house, which has all the things that my apartment doesn't - miles of space, heating, artful furniture, a view - and I even braved a dip in the ocean. I became intimately aquainted with the water (cold, salty), my face exfoliated with sand as the waves rushed out to greet me. But with a wetsuit and a boogie board, you don't feel the cold at all. Really. Am considering going back to do it in winter, during the next school holiday, but the look from a friend (amused, horrified, pity) is making me reconsider.

Day two was a systematic decimation of all the op shops in geelong. We must have hit at least 8 in 5 hours. Op shop is short for opportunity shop, they are usually run by old ladies and owned by churches, selling donated items, profits going to charities. Clothes and kitchen/household items are definitely good buys, sometimes you can get furniture and books, although finding an undiscovered lost beatles track or antique china is probably a stretch.

Among the many things I liked but didn't buy - a purple raleigh bicycle, in a classic roadbike-style like the one we rented in paris but with gears, for $60 plus helmet; a white coffee table with a tiled chess set in the centre, $20; a retro 50s' style dining table in formica, with 4 green and sliver chairs, $80; a side cabinet wallpapered with cut-out pictures from magazines, mostly of spike from buffy but also silence of the lambs, very pop culture 15 minutes ago, $10.

Tyger has a great series of posts on her Cambodia trip, especially the bug-eating bits. My only claim to fame is a fried grasshopper and, then again, I could only eat it with my eyes closed.

Am in two minds recommending this link to an exerpt from neil gaiman's latest book - it only makes me want to read. the entire book. now. must have it now.

t-shirt saying i just made up: hangovers are for wimps
t-shirt saying i want to get: warning, may contain traces of nut