I am very good at goofing up. My laziness has something to do with that. Probably. I woke up too late (ignore the obvious signs) to do the hike up Mount Ainslie in Canberra. It's 843m above sea level and the reward for huffing and puffing up there is a look at the capital city unfurled before you. It's not a bad view.
"More so if you'd earned it," said an elderly gentleman to whom I'd made the mistake of admitting I'd taken an Uber up. There are several trails up to Mount Ainslie. A popular one is stopping by the War Memorial and heading up. The Kokoda track, named after and filled with plaques detailing stories about a battle between Australian and Papua New Guinea people and Japanese soldiers. I might have sullied all this sombre history when I careened down the hill going "wheeeeee".
Australia is kinda pretty, you know pic.twitter.com/dvWpp78aPI
— Alagappan Muthu (@AlMuthu) December 18, 2024
Adelaide was distracting and it wasn't just me. Rishabh Pant went to the mall presumably looking for things to buy and instead he got roped into babysitting again.
I went to Henley Beach one evening, intending to have a nice walk along the coast, feel the white sand under my feet, squeal in alarm at the coldness of the water, successfully dress it up as a cough and catch the sunset. What I did instead was follow a pair of seagulls around who led me to a grassy bank up on the shore from where there was music coming. Some people had set up a DJ station and in the stone footpath written in chalk were the words "Come dance with us. It's free and fun." I tried not to listen. I failed. This impromptu dance party is a staple at the beach. Happens every Tuesday evening and goes all the way through to sunset.
I'm a very happy introvert but, as I sang out of key and danced with a version of grace that has only just passed its first trial for public consumption, I felt like a phony and I didn't mind it.