Observations – Week 6

– I’m riding my bike late at night through some Brunswick side streets. As I approach Sydney Rd, the traffic lights change and a small group of people start walking across. Considering the time of night, and their boisterous behaviour, I’m guessing they’ve had a few drinks. As they reach halfway one of the women notices me, and starts asking something. She seems a bit more sober than the others. I can’t hear her at first as I have headphones in. I take them out and I hear her asking me somewhere that would be open now? “For a drink?” I ask. “Just something to eat” she responds. She seems to have a British accent, and I hear one of the men say something in Italian. I direct them to a kebab shop up the road that I’m not entirely sure is still in business, and ride off as the light goes green. As I ride I wonder about them and what they’ve been doing to bring them to this encounter.

– A young man is working out in his backyard. He’s on a rowing machine, and listening to loud music. West Coast Hip Hop is his favourite. As the music gets more intense, he starts to go harder. And harder. Each pull on the machine he begins to grimace more & more, sweat beating down his face. The song nears its climax, and just as he was pushing at his hardest, a polite yet slightly passive-aggressive woman pokes her head over the fence between their backyards. “Could you turn it down please?” she asks, making sure she’s got his attention. He gives her a nod as he puts down the pulleys and leans over to his iPhone to turn it down. He sits there breathing heavily, thinking she could’ve been a bit nicer. He’ll make sure to keep it down from now on.

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