Down Pitt Street and
Past the Theatre Royal
Through Martin Place
Down George Street
One of the main thoroughfares of the city
It has been pedestrianised and a tram runs up and down from Circular Quay all the way to the eastern suburbs and into the inner west
It is peak hour
All the well dressed workers on their way home
The new restaurants and bars along the way are pumping
One of my old haunts
Jackson’s on George, which used to be a seedy nightclub
Now looks like a space ship with
A flashy hipster bar
I’m surprised how clean Sydney looks
There’s no trash on the streets
People are well dressed
I’ve just walked through the busiest part of town and only saw 2 people begging
I know homelessness exists
Last night on the news they even talked about the possibility of a San Francisco style epidemic of homelessness
Times are hard everywhere
But it’s different here
There’s a quality of life that doesn’t exist in the US
Down around Circular Quay
It’s a tourist hub
But it’s one of my favourite parts of Sydney
The Bridge! The Opera House! The art museum! The ferries! The water!
The Rocks! (a historic district)
Being back in the city and going by my old haunts
Feels most like being home

Waking up to a bright red sky
And the screech of cockatoos 
Visiting dear high school friends
And meeting their sweet babehs 
Lazing about in the pool
Followed by a delicious nap
On a balmy summer's day

Time with extended family 
On a summer's afternoon

Catching up with dear friends
My heart is full to bursting 
​I feel like the luckiest person in the world 

Swimming in the salty water of
Botany Bay
It feels healing and medicinal
Later, sharing cheesecake with Tita Margot and John
Remembering the blueberries from their farm
One for me, one for the bucket!
The outrageously sweet corn
Delicious memories
Reawakening dreams of my organic theatre barn
The moment when we were talking about Miren
And the rainbow lorikeets flew into the tree
And remembering the last time I saw those birds was
​On Miren's balcony 

Being re-intoxicated
By the smell of eucalyptus
In its natural habitat

Technically I don’t have a Jan 31 this year
​It still feels like the 30th when I left
Right now I’m flying over the Pacific
Sydney bound
The joy of airports
The novelty of duty free
And giant Toblerones
And whiskey and gin
And oversized packets of cigarettes 
In Vancouver, it’s
Maple-flavored everything
Maple syrup, maple fudge, maple chocolate, maple short bread, maple tea.
Not hungry? Have a maple leaf on a t-shirt
Thinking about the stories of all the people around me
The humanity of it

This morning I went for a run 
And found myself outside Yankee Stadium
And later I went for a walk 
And found myself outside the Cathedral of St John the Divine 
​My god I love New York! 

Tonight, after a performance of The Connector
A truly wonderful new musical about 
Writing and truth and story-telling and fact checking
(It's so good in fact, that I saw it twice in one week) 
The composer and musical director 
Jason Robert Brown said 
"People like musicals, enough talking about it." 
And I wanted to shout
PREEEEACH! and
​LOUDER FOR THE STUDIO EXECUTIVES IN THE BACK!!! 

Sometimes you get to meet your idols
And they are every bit as lovely
And kind 
As you'd hoped