All the Things I Have Ever Loved

I am all the things I have ever loved:

Being warm. Being dry. Blankets. Hugs.

Family. Friends.

Spaghetti. Red sauce. Long noodles twirled around my fork.

My Little Ponies. Inspector Gadget. She-Ra. Rainbow Brite.

Kitties. Hide and Seek. Memory Games. Scavenger Hunts.

Outside and playing Lost Girls. 

The soothing sound of the water. Warm sand between my toes.

The tall thin boy a year older than me whose gaze I could never meet.

Emo. Scream-o. Basement shows.

Goodwill. Messenger bags. Home-made patches. Safety pins.

Eyeliner. Ball-chain necklaces. Cuffed jeans.

Adam. Pot. House parties.

Summers in Door County. Beach days. Sue's magnificent breakfasts.

Driving around in cars.

Adam. Walks in the woods. Fractals.

Late night omelets. Roommates evolving into friends.

Freedom. My black Honda Civic. Quick drives to Madison.

The Irishman with a quick temper but an unparalleled generosity.

Travel. New experiences. The thin line between strangers and friends.

White rice. Steamed. With soy sauce.

The brief summer with a tall skinny representation of wanderlust.

That infectious laugh.

Beers and food television. Video games. Late nights at bars.

Grilling a tenderloin on a Madison rooftop.

Getting kicked out of training for playing Minesweeper too loudly and giggling too much.

My car again. Road trips. Couch surfing.

The Playa. The West Coast.

The week with a boy who blew glass and brought home organic juice.

Philz. The Golden Gate. Carousel rides with a boy from the Midwest.

Huelo feet. Tiki Hut. Sundays on Little Beach.

Hitchhiking.

That same boy and camping roadside. Walking up a volcano.

Selling everything and island hopping in Asia.

Being warm again. Being lost.

San Francisco. Diversity. Culture.

Josh. Then Goober. Then Logan.

Creating a home. Neighbors. Neighborhood.

23rd Produce. Duc Loi. Sun Fat Seafood.

Basa. Radish. Yamo.

Support. Family. Phamily.

Netflix. Rainy day excuses to do nothing.

Still Goober.

A rack full of wine. Cooking while listening to my favorite songs.

Lazy Saturdays reserved for writing.

Australia: Diary Entry One

We start the trip with a long flight. 14 hours in a plane to New Zealand. Movies and books. Sleep.

At 5 AM we land in Auckland. Two hour layover and noodles for breakfast.

 
Come 10 AM, we finally land in Aussie. Long lines for customs, long lines for baggage, long lines, long lines. Taxi ride through the outskirts and finally, our destination.

It is 12 PM in Melbourne. Lord knows what time at home.

---

Day One is for exploring.

We head out for lunch and it’s not as hot as we expected. We stroll through the European-style alley ways lined with tiny eateries. The cobbled-stoned alley itself full of intimate umbrella topped tables. Everyone chatting. Everyone nibbling. Everyone sipping on coffee. On water. On wine.

We gulp down cool glasses of water and dine on delightful focaccia sandwiches. The pesto chicken in mine pairs nicely with the added avocado. Green on green. Tasty.

We walk some more, wandering in and around the Central Business District. Watching the locals. Watching the tourists. We stop in a funny souvenir shop to look for a plug adapter. We find ourselves immersed in rows of Uggs, koala keychains, over-the-top Outback hats and even a boxing kangaroo novelty pen. I box at Josh’s arm as he pays for the adapter.

We grab groceries and toiletries at the local Cole’s. (Cole’s! Like us!) We traverse back to the homestead with bags of goodies.

After a shower and a refresh, we head out again. Bronnie and Neil, our kind AirBnB hosts, are relaxing in the living room as we don our shoes. We chat with them about this and that. What to do in Melbourne. What we both like in travel. What our various experiences are with AirBnB – both travel and hosting. I keep reaching for the door handle. I keep getting pulled back into conversation.

We walk the streets of the CBD again, this time veering East toward Fitzroy Gardens. Green grass. Tall ancient trees. Old buildings from the 1800’s. History mixed with greenery. Our wanderings lead us up to some strange sights – a miniature Tudor town replica, a Fairie tree, and random fountains.

By now, the sun is setting and our stomachs are rumbling. We jut back Westward toward the plethora of restaurants. As we find one, we also find ourselves underdressed amongst the just-out-of-work diners clad in pin-stripe button ups, slacks and fancy shoes. We eat anyway – splurging on burrata, fresh pasta and wine. Cheers to our first night in Australia.

The wine abets gravity and pulls our eyelids closed involuntarily. Between blinks and sips, we decide to meander our way back to the homestead and fall quickly and heavily into bed.

Day in the Life.

(Half-way through the Challenge: A Day in the Life)

This is Wednesday.

1:09am - Wake up. Is it time to get up yet? Check my phone. Nope.

4:45am - Alarm goes off. Do I have to get up now? Sigh. Yes. Get up. Get dressed. Eat yogurt. Brush teeth. Too early for thoughts. Just robot movements.

5:15am - Walk to work. The streets are dead. Air brisk. (Should have brought another layer.) Homeless man hounds me to buy a Street Sheet. Walk faster.

5:30am through noon - Coffee. People. More coffee. More people. Grind. Pour. Stir. Sugar. Cream. Grind. Pour. Stir. Sugar. Cream. Grindpourstirsugarcream. 

Noon - Phew. Clock out time!

12:05pm - Walk home. It's warm now. The sun is out. The City is up and I weave around it as I traverse.

12:30pm - Home and on the couch. Snuggle time with the Catface. Lunch: Eggplant, shallots, parm, butter, red sauce and angel hair. Yum.

1:30pm - Shower and dress to start the rest of my day clean and fresh.

2:00pm - Administrative time: Budget, blogging, e-mail. 

3:00pm - Time to myself! Rediscover a lost saved game of Zelda on SNES. There goes my afternoon..

5:00pm - Josh is home! 

5:30pm - Head out for downtown. Walk, bus, walk. More people, more bustle.

6:00pm through 8:00pm - Business time. Spreadsheets, forms, schedules, logins. Meet new people. Share new ideas. 

9:00pm - Dinner/trivia at the Irish Pub. Whiskey. Chicken fingers.

10:00pm - Walk home again. This is the third time today I have walked this route. This time it is dark. This time it is colder. This time Josh is at my side. This time is my bookend.

Missing.

(Day 12: What/Who Do You Miss)

This is hands down my father. 

Arthur John Alexander Brown passed away back before I had a chance to share so many things with him. I think I hadn't really grown into myself yet. I hadn't really gotten past the "me" stage of high school and college. I hadn't really taken the time to develop the relationship with him I wish I could have.

It's the little things I miss sharing with him. Sitting down with a crossword. Playing Scrabble. Talking of travels. (I miss listening to his stories. I miss not having the chance to explore more with him.) Cooking. Eating. Laughing.

There are a lot of things I remember we did together.  There are a lot of things I have forgotten.  

There are very many things that have happened since he died that I wish he could have seen/experienced.  And there are very many things to come that I know I will wish he could be there for.