things I won't miss

There was something edgy about Sydney today. It was hazy again, not bad temperature but you couldn't see the sky for the low haze of clouds.

Six, count them, six different people asked me for change. They always nominate an amount. "Excuse me, ma'am, do you have one dollar?" "Do you have two dollars?" Rather than shopping around for the best bargain, I just have a blanket policy that I never give money to anyone on the street. Especially not the registered charities who accost you at the train stations, but actually I didn't see any of them today.

The people who ask you for change are always just sitting there, lurking, stationary on the footpath or on a step, waiting, making eye contact with everyone who passes. So now as I walk up to anyone stationary, I get a tense feeling of demand and persecution. Several of the stationary folks didn't ask me anything, but I still felt a sense of pent-up, directionless, somewhat sinister masculine energy coiled up around the city.

I saw two fights. One youth on a bicycle said something to set off the security guard at the Coles across the road, and the guard had him in an arm lock for a little while and was shouting. The kid on the bike must have continued to say whatever it was, because the guard took off running after him still shouting, even after he rode off on his bike.

And the other was in the park by Central, a family with two little kids was standing at the footpath looking and smiling and something - from the look on their faces it looked it it was jugglers or a circus or something. I looked where there were looking and there was a small crowd and two guys having a fight. Sort of a fight club fight. I thought it was kind of appalling that the family was standing and gawking like it was suitable entertainment for kids. Maybe the fight club fight was something more exhibitionistic like capoiera class or something. But still.

Edgy, edgy, edgy. I'm looking forward to the big, flat, friendly midwest, especially because I will be hermetically sealed up in my car everywhere I go.