Blue Toilets

some public toilets i visited in melbourne were decked with blue lights.

its only after reading a friend’s post that i realised the blue lights in the toilets were meant to deter heroine addicts from finding their veins.

not only in my dreams

i have vivid dreams every night. i remember what i dreamt most days. the last few images i capture before i sleep makes the deepest mental imprints in my mind for dream material. one glance at this ad that appeared in my inbox sent me flying to melbourne. i dreamt that i was showing some new people around the city (i’m melbournian by now you see). i was supposed to head north towards uni, but took a train towards flinders along swanton instead. the detour was extended further when i took a connecting train along latrobe with the intention of heading up via elizabeth when i could have just backtracked at swanston.

bad sense of direction, even in my dreams.

dinner is served

its past midnight, i’m feeling a little tired but i can stay up as long as i want to just because i can luxuriously bask in the knowledge that i have nothing urgent to attend to. the radio’s on, i’m fresh out of the shower, back to editing and posting pics, the stomach’s full and i’m satiated. i’m not doing anything spectacular, but just enjoying the moment. and yes, having had a resturant chef friend cook up an amazing dinner (pumpkin soup & bruschetta for appetisers, braised osso buccho and finally mocha parfait for dessert) at home helps in enjoying the cooled friday evening.

the euphoria is still strong in this one.

Bennetts Lane

laneways in melbourne are tightly packed with all sorts of quirks, pleasant surprising and best kept secrets. bennetts lane isn’t exactly a kept secret, but its located at the dead end of a narrow alley, off little lonsdale. its not a place what you can stumble upon, but one that has to be deliberately sought after, or brought to by a fellow jazz aficionado.

bennetts lane offers nightly performance to discerning jazz fans, its where the best selection of traveling and local musicians gather. vibe begets vibe which resonates the music beyond the confines its the small capacity.

last night, the barney mcall septet was playing, featuring kurt rosenwinkel on jazz guitar. they played their own instrumental compositions, no vocals. as a team, they were more coordinated then improvisional which accounts for how they managed to be very tight yet seamless.

kurt rosenwinkel was nothing i’ve ever heard before. his exquisite playing plucked at my heartstrings. i should try to look for a recording at basement discs.

a few more pics here.

melbourne cup day

every year, victoria takes a state holiday to take part in the melbourne cup extravaganza in one way or the other.

my housemate won $150 on a $5 on-a-whim-bet which was in fact more than a fluke because her uncle who placed the bet for the relatives bet on the wrong horse by mistake. this wrong horse turned out to be the champion.

i didn’t pay attention to anything that happened at the race course that afternoon because i had a much more enjoyable time at a bbq-get-together-to-eat-anyway-birthday-celebration in the suburbs.

its things like that and food like that makes me feel right at home. the home-made satay put me right back at newton.

 

as a bonus, i got served up barista-made coffee right in the backyard, freshly roasted and ground too!

 

more pics here.