Aghast! A ghost!
Day 5? (I can't keep doing this, I'm loosing track):
Brisbane (at least I know where I am)
An excerpt from http://www.ourbrisbane.com/visitors/placestogo/greatsoutheast/scary.htm
In my now 5 days since I arrived in the city, I have yet to see a single ghost. The closest I had come was the old man conducting the elevator in City Hall. Sure, he looked authentically alive, but you never can be too careful. That said, I'm not about to go poking and prodding an old man in an elevator just to be sure, and I can live without validating his corporeal nature. I'd have to find my ghosts elsewhere.
Not wanting to miss all the paranormal hoopla I resolved to snoop around the one place where surely ghosts would reside, Toowong Cemetery. And what better way to get there than yesterday's newly discovered bicycle paths. Unfortunately, I am quite incapable of figuring out directions, forks in the road, and one-way paths (evident from the frustrated headshaking of oncoming riders).
I added a good 10 miles onto that leg of the trip, ensuring I would arrive at the cemetery right at twilight. And though the dim lighting was not conducive to reading headstones, or taking pictures, it did seem the perfect circumstance for some spookiness. Add in the wind whipping the dead leaves into miniature cyclones, and I was ready for the dead to rise from the grave. Sadly, without a sacrificial virgin, goats blood, or even a Ouji board, I was again denied my communion with the dearly departed.
Not wanting to miss my opportunity to play some Ultimate Frisbee at University of Queensland, I put a hold on the ghost hunt. Yet once more on the way to the "Uni" I managed to lose the bike path that I had been on only an hour earlier. Overwhelmed by the desire to run, throw and jump, I pounded out the remaining miles once I was back on track, making up for lost time. Arriving earlier than anticipated, I even had time to determine that the location of Field 7 is so secret that even the Uni students themselves are not told of its location. I half expected, when I found the field, for it to rise from the mist like some sort of Shangri La, with beautifully lined fields of perfect dimensions, and players skying and hucking and 'breaking the mark' with skills surpassing even the highest club teams.
I tried so hard to imagine these things sitting in the dark corner of a desolate Field 7. Drinking a Red Bull and eating a Snickers, I thought, "Its Ok, I'm early, there's still time". And surely there was time; I've rarely seen ultimate players arrive on time to their own weddings, let alone pick-up games. And so the self delusions continued to run through my head long after I should have started on my way home, or at least getting lost along the way. Alas no last minute arrival , no lights, no signs of life, or even death.
Dejected and beat, I pumped the pedals once more towards the infamous bike path. However there was a reward, this time, at the end of the rainbow. Well, actually, the reward was a rainbow itself, at 8 PM. Sitting along the banks of the Brisbane river, the view of the urban rainbow went a long way towards recharging my less than affable attitude.
A few pictures, and too many miles later (another 32 mi. today) I was chugging Gatorade and snacking on yogurt dipped granola bars in the comfort of my home away from home, far too tired for anything requiring more effort than ripping packaging and instant consumption. I have too little energy left to stay conscious any longer.
Tomorrow I'm taking the bus.
Brisbane (at least I know where I am)
An excerpt from http://www.ourbrisbane.com/visitors/placestogo/greatsoutheast/scary.htm
A little known fact about Brisbane, it's one of the most haunted cities in the world, according to the International Haunted Places Directory. The Directory contends there are ghosts residing in the hallways of many Brisbane institutions such as Old Government House, Parliament House, the Brisbane Arcade and Brisbane City Hall. Supposedly, it's not uncommon to see a ghostly figure of an elderly lady from yesteryear wandering the staircases of City Hall, or the now-retired maintenance man who rides in the elevator. Who would have thought! The question is, do you believe?
In my now 5 days since I arrived in the city, I have yet to see a single ghost. The closest I had come was the old man conducting the elevator in City Hall. Sure, he looked authentically alive, but you never can be too careful. That said, I'm not about to go poking and prodding an old man in an elevator just to be sure, and I can live without validating his corporeal nature. I'd have to find my ghosts elsewhere.
Not wanting to miss all the paranormal hoopla I resolved to snoop around the one place where surely ghosts would reside, Toowong Cemetery. And what better way to get there than yesterday's newly discovered bicycle paths. Unfortunately, I am quite incapable of figuring out directions, forks in the road, and one-way paths (evident from the frustrated headshaking of oncoming riders).
I added a good 10 miles onto that leg of the trip, ensuring I would arrive at the cemetery right at twilight. And though the dim lighting was not conducive to reading headstones, or taking pictures, it did seem the perfect circumstance for some spookiness. Add in the wind whipping the dead leaves into miniature cyclones, and I was ready for the dead to rise from the grave. Sadly, without a sacrificial virgin, goats blood, or even a Ouji board, I was again denied my communion with the dearly departed.
Not wanting to miss my opportunity to play some Ultimate Frisbee at University of Queensland, I put a hold on the ghost hunt. Yet once more on the way to the "Uni" I managed to lose the bike path that I had been on only an hour earlier. Overwhelmed by the desire to run, throw and jump, I pounded out the remaining miles once I was back on track, making up for lost time. Arriving earlier than anticipated, I even had time to determine that the location of Field 7 is so secret that even the Uni students themselves are not told of its location. I half expected, when I found the field, for it to rise from the mist like some sort of Shangri La, with beautifully lined fields of perfect dimensions, and players skying and hucking and 'breaking the mark' with skills surpassing even the highest club teams.
I tried so hard to imagine these things sitting in the dark corner of a desolate Field 7. Drinking a Red Bull and eating a Snickers, I thought, "Its Ok, I'm early, there's still time". And surely there was time; I've rarely seen ultimate players arrive on time to their own weddings, let alone pick-up games. And so the self delusions continued to run through my head long after I should have started on my way home, or at least getting lost along the way. Alas no last minute arrival , no lights, no signs of life, or even death.
Dejected and beat, I pumped the pedals once more towards the infamous bike path. However there was a reward, this time, at the end of the rainbow. Well, actually, the reward was a rainbow itself, at 8 PM. Sitting along the banks of the Brisbane river, the view of the urban rainbow went a long way towards recharging my less than affable attitude.
A few pictures, and too many miles later (another 32 mi. today) I was chugging Gatorade and snacking on yogurt dipped granola bars in the comfort of my home away from home, far too tired for anything requiring more effort than ripping packaging and instant consumption. I have too little energy left to stay conscious any longer.
Tomorrow I'm taking the bus.
posted by Vit-One at 11:59 PM
2 Comments:
Vit-one:
Nice photos, but what kind of pansy is afraid of ghosts?
also is the word verification really necessary? geez.
i'm enjoying your blog.
aj
I wanted to be the hundreth person to forward you this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/health/nutrition/04bike.html?8hpib
please nick, for the good of you and your traveling progeny, invest in a high quality seat, or hail a cab.
with love,
-E
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