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happy for the time being

dammit! i was sposed to be posting regularly but now look at me... so much has happened in a week n a half and i may never write about it... well, i'll start with today...

i got a new cd today! what a treat. it's a soul/rnb singer called John Legend and it's lovely. it's nice to have a new cd. so i've just put it on after eating a kangaroo green curry and i've watched will n grace too, so i'm winding down nicely after a busy day.

bush court was on again at Ngukurr today and i was busy there helping out A who is a Kriol interpreter. it went fine, which in Ngukurr terms means it went really well... hehe. Then, at 4:30 i went for a trip with my Mami N, her husband J and an oldman, D, who I call Dedi. J is the chairperson of Ngukurr Language Centre and wants to build a bowshade out the back. It's a traditional kind of shade structure with wooden poles, rails and is then covered in paperbark to make a nice outside shade. you see, language centre is very small, and ppl prefer sitting outside, so having a bowshade here would be great. so, we cruised around and various bushtuckers were pointed out to me. We reached the river and old D got his axe out and started cutting giant sheets of paperbark off the big paperbark trees on the riverbank. it was very cool. he's a very skillful old man and still strong and fit. I carted back quite a few loads of paperbark back to the truck. man, i hafta get a digital camera so i can start documenting some of this stuff. anyway, we drove back to town with a truck full of giant paperbark sheets and i was happy. we're on our way to building the bowshade and i didn't even have to humbug anyone to make it happen!

if today was a good day then yesterday was a totally different story. i was utterly miserable n depressed. firstly i was a bit sick with swollen glands and then nothing at work was going right in the morning. it got the best of me and i took the afternoon off to sleep, get better and not inflict my depression on anyone. seriously, i was lying there and i couldn't think of one single good thing about my day. i was miserable. i wanted to leave ngukurr, runaway and do something completely different. so unhappy.

it's like that here - very up n down. i spose it's good in a way because when i hit rock bottom like yesterday i can be pretty sure that it will turn around again soon. but i don't think it's a good thing overall. the constant up n down is taking its toll on me... it's not a good way to live really. i know that things like that can lead to serious things like depression. well, i'm pretty much decided that i'll have a good break after june. i've at least got a three week holiday lined up. can't wait!

and before yesterday? well, i had an absolutely brilliant weekend, a good week at work and a great end to my easter weekend. i spent about 10 days in katherine and it reminded my how easy life can be when you live in a town or city or within your own culture. i'd forgotten how simple everything becomes. i really didn't feel like coming back here but i made it and it's okay.

my brilliant weekend? well, i drove up to darwin on friday afternoon to go to an art exhibition opening. the exhibition was for an old man, B, from Hodgson Downs (I call B uncle). it was really good but took me a while to adjust to. i mean, art exhibition openings are strange enough affairs but when it's for an old man who you're used to seeing cruising around a dusty remote community and all of a sudden he's at a flash art gallery in the middle of Darwin surrounded by his bright paintings hung beautifully on the wall... well... it's kinda strange. old B would be over 70 but he's still sharp as a tack and knew how to put on the charm to all the munanga who asked questions about his paintings. the best part was when he wanted to go down the road and look at the contemporary art gallery that featured obscure 'installation art' which comprised of felt covered green blobs on pillars. old B gave a cheeky smile and later said that it made him embarrassed! (his words were 'make me shame'). haha... good one uncle!

after the exhibition there was pizza and then i tagged along to a bday party at a bowls club. we went straight for the bowls green and played bowls for two hours and had a great time! a really great time!! it was so fun!! after that, i went out dancing and got drunk (so much for not drinking this year) and it was all good.

next day, i hit the markets for some yummy lunch n coffee and at 2 met old B again and drove him back to Katherine in my little red early 90s sporty mazda. it was kinda fun cruising down the highway at 140km/h with old B in my lil red car listening to Saltwater Band really loudly... hehe... so back in katherine it was time to get ready to go out again... this time it was to see a touring band called Cat Empire! oh my... they're completely famous, talented and brilliant and i still can't believe they were in katherine. it was such a treat. the show was soooooooooo good and everyone danced their feet off and couldn't wipe the smile off their faces. it was so good! even better than lawn bowls! what a good weekend.

apart from that, i've watched some dvd's, worked, chatted, played pool, seen a few katherine sights, been swimming. but now i'm here at ngukurr... happy for the time being.

Comments

Jhuny said…
You want digital camera? Go to Johnny's and tell my Mum you know me and she'll sort you out...

Disclaimer: Johnny's Electronics reserves the right to ignore any promises that JhunyTheBoy may make.

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