My arms and shoulders are beginning to stiffen up. Yesterdays circuit class achieved several things:
Exercise (the whole point, really)
Extracting me from the house on a Sunday afternoon
The more modern equivalent of a cold shower and a run around the block.

For a whole hour, I pumped weights, ran on treadmills, cursed the instructor and not once did I think about the beautiful boy that now sleeps less than 10 metres from me. I know the rules of share house living. I know most of this attraction is due to his resemblence to my ex. And I know that it's probably exceptionally obsessive and unhealthy. But... it's fun. It'll wear off soon enough and in the meantime I'm revelling in my ability to have a simple, straightforward crush on a virtual stranger. I don't have to think, I don't have to make any effort, I don't have to put time into it, I don't have to worry about emotional baggage. I just get to look at him and grin like an idiot.

Today's other major achievement involved a sugar snap pea and a caterpillar. While not nearly as fun, it did provide amusement for several friends. Caterpillars may be viable protien, but they're not tasty.

I find myself continually thinking about the olympics. Before they started, I was highly sceptical. I just wanted them to be gone, to be over, to get rid of this foolish rush of commercialism and cashing in on tacky symbols of national pride. But the opening ceremony.. East Timor's triumphant entry and the spontaneous standing ovation from the crowd.. and the torch... that one moment where a female aboriginal athlete was chosen to light the flame, that image of her standing surrounded by water and fire... it took my breath away. It was one of the greatest advertisment for reconciliation I've ever seen, and it was done without rhetoric, without politics, just one, simple beautiful image saying this is our future. The games themselves were fun. Australia is damn good at sport, and I found myself being sucked into the whole winners atmosphere. I WAS proud to be Australian. I love it here, I think we have the best standard of living in the world, and one of the best societies. Yes, we have a shit government, we have injustice, intolerance and poverty, but there also seems to be a sense of hope... a belief that this can be changed.

And finally.. the closing ceremony. One part of me grinned hugely at the prime minister's discomfort when so many of the acts sent out massive pro-reconciliation messages. And their impact was all the stronger for their simplicity. I admit... I loved it all. It was tacky, it was foolish, it was loud and gritty and sparkly... Jimmy Barnes to Drag Queens... it was totally, totally Oz.