2002-05-22

I'm so busy I could die, at the moment. There are large chunks of my life that I despise lately cuz all I want is to be bored and not be doing stuff for others a little bit. I want to be the one that needs hassling, who is slack, who needs people to do shit for them cuz they can't get their shit together, or just someone to cook me a feed or shout me dinner would be nice, even!

Have put an application on a house. Fingers crossed.

I've been talking for ages about writing my share history down, and now seems pertinent, but it wil take discipline, as I have lived in (goes off to count) 16 share houses since June 1991. Much of it will be cliched, no doubt, and many cringeworthy bits I will have to write despite the despicable nature.

In 1990 I finished high school. I knew that once the HSC was over there was no way I could stay another MOMENT in Taree. Early January, I made my parents help me move to Sydney, despite uni not starting til March. My initial plan of living with a friend was nixed early in the piece, so the compromise for my folks was that I live in a boarding house with a family. Such a house was found from the newspaper, it was located in Croydon and was one of those American style triangle houses and it had six bedrooms upstairs for boarders. All the family had grown up and moved out, except for the youngest daughter, so they had taken in boarders. I can still remember my parents leaving me there. :(

It was whack. Nice idea my parent's had to look after me a bit, upon moving to the big city. But moving in with a family is wierd enough, let alone with other boarders. The other boarders varied but in general contained: 55yr old Hire Car driver (the white prestige cars for VIPs) who started each morning with some of the most unholy throat/phlegm clearing in the universe. Noise travelled up the narrow hallway; a Jordanian immigrant dude who was looking for work; a girl my age doing nursing; the daughter and her Portuguese stud boyfriend. I think there were more at different times, but this was the staple household.

We payed $125 to be fed and bedded. The food was OK, a bit ordinary. We could get stuff out of the cupboards and eat what we wanted. I was naive to the house sharing thing, so didn't know the ettiquette. I wonder if I was a caring housemate? I honestly don't remember. I do remember that, flush with new found freedom, I would go out to see bands all the time on my own. The woman of the house used to tease how my parents would freak if they knew. Maybe, but I was FREEEEEEEEEE!!

I also wore a lot of black at this time. heh...and listened to the Smiths.

During this time, the first Gulf War was on (yeh, there have been two now, y'know) and half the world was glued to the telly, our first glimpse into the televised wars we would see from then on. CCN 24-7. For the first time. Now, you may remember a detail from above, that I lived with a Jordanian dude. Jordan is pretty close to the gulf, yep. Jordan had things to say on the whole Us invasion thing. I can't remember the high politics of it all, but the gist I have in my head is that Jordan were not completely hip to the US going on in to Iraq. So it was an interesting dynamic to have a Jordanian in the house, who was not necessarily pro-Saddam, but was definitely not pro-US. Some interesting discussions. And his angle when viewing the war was different to our - he was watching his home region in turmoil, a vested interest.

I moved out after six months, much to my parent's chagrin. See going to uni you realise all the FUN things in life. Too much smoking pot at my friend's house and seeing bands meant this arrangement would do NO LONGER!