Marking the Unremarkable: One Year On

I don't feel like blogging today. Really, I don't. But today is the first anniversary of my arrival in Perth, so...something has been telling me that I must write something about it. Anything. Even scribbles and scratches.

So...I don't even know how to start, for God's sake. Today I can only remember all things I held onto on September 28, 2013, all things I left, all things I looked forward to, all Australian hopes and dreams.

I remember getting my belongings inside the taxi as we left for the airport. Then my mother stopped by at a nearby convenience store to buy a few packs of biscuits.

I remember having breakfast at Oh La La Cafe. I ordered a piece of scone and a cup of coffee. I think Mother ordered a cup of hot chocolate. For the first time in years Father, Mother, and I were having breakfast together at the same table without any yelling or swearing involved. I remember feeling so giddy.

Li Na: A World She Makes Big

Walking away from the sport, effective immediately, is the right decision for me and my family.

That statement is an example of what no avid sports fan ever wants to see. Especially when it is released by one of the sport's most celebrated athletes, who always brings joy and amusement to spectators not only with their dangerous game but also with their impressive personality. Yet that one sentence is part of a letter published on Li Na's Facebook page today, announcing her retirement from tennis just before the Wuhan Open, a WTA Premier tournament held in her hometown, kicks off.

September 11, 2014

Imagine a day darker than this
When crying children become a common view
Sadly those children are none of the riches
So that such a common view is well beyond you

When crying children become a common view
If they are far from the lenses no one will cry over them so
So that such a common view is well beyond you
And their tears and screams may just pass and then be let go

Room 15.205

Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, Perth

September 15, 2014