Friday, March 31, 2006

Adios Village Amigos!

I write this entry with the most shockingly well-crafted hangover imaginable. Last night I danced on tables and subsequently fell off (twice) and have two bruised knees.. I did fall into couches though so am not as damaged as I could be. We had the village closing party and I had a fabulous time... I also recall dancing on the bar with about 20 others to New York New York (Sinatra) and actually not falling off. Was all very Coyote Ugly..

I bawled my eyes out at one point and at a few other points as well... was also crying & laffing at the same time like a fool.... It's been such a challenge to let go of all this! (And I always thought I was so great at non-attachment! hah!) I have had such an amazing experience with such wonderful people, not a bad egg amongst them. The people I've worked with at the Village have rocked my world in so many ways.. The Resi Crew... Chrissy, Deb, Gerard, Cushla, Emily, Jo, Fiona, Tamsin, Toby, Tristan, Stevie, Meegs, Marc, Madeliene, Les... and then also other 'village people' like Cath whose blog is here... and others whose faces I know but can't remember in my feverish brain.

How to go back to normal life after this? I have no idea, but am having 10 days off to chill as a buffer zone then back to the gallery on a casual basis and then? Too far into the future to even contemplate... I have applied to DOHA, but have yet to hear anything, am keeping my fingers crossed.. touch wood etc.

Other highlights from last night....
dancing to Love Generation which they played about 6 times over the course of the night, an incredibly cheesy but infectiously positive song, kind of like the new Don't Worry Be Happy.... watching Chrissy & Tristan do fabulous tango while skidding around on those little white balls that come out of bean-bags & her doing a spectacular fall.... bawling my eyes out again... drinking 'found' wine at the Aussie 'village' with Chrissy & Cath et al. and taking stupid photos of ourselves and laffing at them... digital cameras are the BEST thing ever invented... dancing with Jo on coffee tables that were not designed to be danced on and kept tipping over sideways sending me flying into couches and bruising my knees.... Food, yes I actually ate something... playing soccer and actually scoring a goal! This is the girl who hates sport and hasn't kicked a ball since high school, goes to show it doesn't really need much skill does it?? ;-)

Can't think of any others, my mind is fuzzing back over for the moment... Will post some photos soon... Love Love Love... Feel the Love Generation going through my head... wonder if this is good for my mental health? It's 1pm...Could be time to try for some solid food... and time to get ready for the big closing party at the MCG..

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Athlete's Village report #2

Hi Kids.. so today is the first day of getting up at 5am that I actually feel GOOD. Yes, one week to go at the Village and I've finally gotten used to getting up at 5am in the morning & going to work. So weird hopping on the bike at 6am and riding through darkness, but I've seen some cool things like the hot air balloons floating above the city & people actually running at this time.. There's a whole different world out there at 6am, it's like a different city, it even smells different.

The Athlete's village is kind of winding down now and they're spending more time relaxing & just chilling out. The pressure is off. This experience for me has been like being a spy in a new world and also like travelling without leaving home. Have met some amazing peoples. It's been fascinating to see the relationship that they have to their bodies, their bodies are like high-performance vehicles that the push to the nth degree to squeeze all they can out of them.

Aesthetically I've seen some amazing bodies... and I'm really speaking from a purely visual point of view here ;-). The African runners are like living sculptures, wish I was allowed to take photos.. they all seem so humble and chilled out. Out of all the nationalities they are the most polite and relaxed. The aussies are the prima donnas of the village - they don't mix that much with the others. Snobs.

Trying to write this blog is v. frustrating b/c people keep bothering me with questions [oh that's right, I'm here for customer service!], so I will try again later, later... Love Love Love, Meri xx

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Self Obsessing..

10 FAVORITES:
FAVORITE COLOR: cool bright red/grassy green/bright orange/royal purple
FAVORITE FOOD: mango smoothy made by moi
FAVORITE SINGER: Chris Martin [a voice I'd want to curl up in]
FAVORITE MOVIE: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
FAVORITE SPORT: yoga
FAVORITE SEASON: summer
FAVORITE DAY OF WEEK: sunday
FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR: natural vanilla
FAVORITE ANIMAL: bunnies
FAVORITE NUMBER: 9

9 CURRENTS:
CURRENT MOOD: sleep deprived but enjoying the altered state that it creates
CURRENT TASTE: elite athletes
CURRENT CLOTHES: a bright blue uniform that does absolutely *nothing* for my figure ;-)
CURRENT FINGER/TOENAIL COLOR: natural
CURRENT TIME: 3:25am Australia
CURRENT SURROUNDINGS: Commonwealth Games Athlete's Village Resident's Centre Desk bathed in flourescent light at 3:30am in the morning.
CURRENT ANNOYANCES: sitting too long has made my stomach feel all bloaty and yucky... body is confused due to not sleeping at this time of night... feel very strange physically & mentally like I'm wide awake & dreaming.
CURRENT MUSIC: Classical music for the end credits of a movie I didn't watch on cable, looked like something Elizabethan..

8 FIRSTS:
FIRST BEST FRIEND: myself
FIRST SCREEN NAME: fluffcore [as opposed to hardcore]
FIRST PET: a bassett hound named Kavi [coffee in Finnish]
FIRST PIERCING: ears
FIRST CRUSH: John McEnroe [seriously]
FIRST MUSIC: ABBA, Pink Floyd The Wall, Grease Soundtrack, Madonna!

7 LASTS:
LAST DRINK: Peppermint Tea
LAST CAR RIDE: To work here at the Athlete's Village at 10:10pm.
LAST TEXT MESSAGE: [from my supervisor Toby] Hey Meri, in bed but just remembered i forgot to give u a food voucher. Should be spares in RC6 with Les or a DM can track one down. Hope u r still awake and having an okay nite!
LAST MOVIE WATCHED: Brokeback Mountain
LAST CD PLAYED: Coldplay X&Y

6 HAVE YOU EVER:
HAVE YOU EVER DATED ONE OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS: Yes, had relationships with 2 best friends... gotta break that pattern!
HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN THE LAW: whose law?
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ARRESTED: no, have not had the pleasure
HAVE YOU EVER SKINNY DIPPED: Most definitely.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV: no.
HAVE YOU EVER KISSED SOMEONE YOU DIDN'T KNOW: yes, drunk one night on the Champs Elysee in Paris, French boy in a trench coat... he was quite cute but he was a wet, sloppy kisser... yecchh.

5 people you trust:
5: Odette
4: my mum
3: Dalai Lama
2: Bill Hicks
1: me on a good day

4 things that you last bought:
1. a japanese manga toy thingie - red rabbit thing
2. a new deadlock for my house
3. electric extension lead
4. Birkinstock hiking boots

3 PEOPLE YOU LAST TALKED TO ON THE PHONE:
1. Deb
2. Dana
3. Helena

2 CHOICES:
1. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA: vanilla (natural)
2. HOT OR COLD: most definitely HOT

1 THING YOU'RE THANKFUL FOR:
Being alive, being here, along for the ride.

Athlete's Village Hi-jinx

The time is 1am and I'm working at the Athlete's Village for the Commonwealth Games. My role is a front-desk reception person, kind of like a youth-hostel front desk. There's nobody in my Resident Centre at the moment besides 2 cleaners who are cleaning and will soon mop the floor around me as well, soon I will be overwelmed with the stench of industrial-strength cleaning chemicals. Yum.

Night shifts are kind of weird. I haven't ever done one, except for when I was throwing raves in San Francisco during my misspent but well-extended youth. And that wasn't really like working and I had some chemical assistance to stay awake and dancing for 8 hours. But enough waxing nostalgic. I'm right here, it's right now, 1am and there are some very fun things about this job: huge plasma screen & I have the remote control [drunk on the power]. Also there is much uninterrupted time for me to work on my blog.

Speaking of which, thanks so much for coming back to SP [Sacred Profanities] although I've not written for quite some time... moved house etc. new job etc. excuses, excuses... [please pleaes please leave a comment because I'm dead curious as to who actually still reads this.. go on don't be shy!]

Saw some movies... Brokeback Mountain: which I thought was okay, was expecting to be more moved by it, but I barely broke out a tear. And I usually weep quite easily. Not sure why I didn't empathise with the characters, maybe b/c I'm not a gay male cowboy, but I think its beautifully made & thought that Heath's acting was amazing, however, it didn't really rip my guts out.

Back here in the Village I've just tuned into Letterman show at 1:30am. Am working until 7:30am. Fuck me I'm not sure how I'm going to make it. Apparently a bunch of english are due here at 6:30am to watch the soccer as they are want to do.

The sporting world is very different from the arts world, I'll just state the bleedin' obvious there. The first month here was fabulous... lots of training and getting to know you games. Have met some really lovely people, a really eclectic bunch of Resident Centre Supervisors we are. There's 29 of us from all backgrounds. Actually I've had so much fun I don't know how I will assimilate back into the real world after all this hi-jinx. We have the best job here, we're like cruise directors for the athletes. And our supervisors are pretty amazing too. I don't ever want to leave, I want the games to go on forever..

This second month is a bit more full on with hardcore shift work, there's early shifts from 6.30 which are killers, and afternoon from 2.30 to 11.30. And the graveyard, of only which I have two. I'm surprisingly quite awake still, I think I've passed that sleepy phase.

Am watching David Letterman on TV. Americans are weird, and I can say that because I am one.

Not many athletes have arrived yet, still feels a little like a Lego village.

I'm starting to ramble on... here's some photos...

Meri & Jo Jo...

Pizza Time with Meri & Meegs...

Chrissy, Deb & Eyes-Wide-Shut Meri