Archive for September, 2006

Being in Austria is not unlike walking in my own past. A combination of early childhood, to all the vacations back here in the years after that, and now the last four years, actual conscious memories of holidays here. It all has a memory here. Or at least I have it with this area. My parents live amongst winefields! The more I spend time in cities, the crazier that sounds. It might have been a forced stop to make, it has been a great one, getting to spend some QT with the two responsible for my existence.

Monday I leave for a bit though. Going back to Paris again, working there on Tuesday, returning Wednesday morning to fly to New York Thursday. It turns out Versace still likes me, doing the Versus campaign this time. Not sure why, but work has been very well since I’ve been in a cast. I think as soon as I have recovered fully I’ll break my other leg. Crutches are so hot right now.

I know I am a bit late with this, and I’m not sure why I am writing it. With Steve Irwin passing, the world lost a beautiful human being. His death really hit me, maybe because I was close to it all, hitchhiking past his zoo the day before he past away. Why is it so sad that he passed away? Him being famous? Getting killed by one of the animals he tried to protect? No. His wife and his kids, yes, of course. But to me it hurt because an excited human being passed away. Someone with an actual passion. Someone so crazy about nature that so many mocked him and made jokes about him. Come on, how many people are left that will show you their mad passions without worrying about being out of the ordinary? I enjoyed watching him, I laughed from time to time, wondering if he really could be that excited about foinding another snaike. I think he was.

Returned from Australia through Los Angeles to New York, sitting in coach with no leg space with my busted ankle (Thanks Qantas! Bunch of peachy fellows you are!) for over 24 hours, crashing through time- and date zones, seeing my dear dear friend Irene, going to Brooklyn to find my own room still occupied by some idiot who didn’t leave when he should have. After four and a half months I was finally going to unpack, and I couldn’t. I sat in my living room for a second, with my crutches and jetlag, and felt like shit for a moment. Thankfully, Irene was there to kidnap me to Pennsylvania, where I have been couchpotatoing for two days now.

Tonight it is off to Paris. Somehow they still want me there for a shoot eventhough I can’t stand and my foot is in a cast haha at first I didn’t want to since this foot is botherig me a lot, but then they offered to fly me businessclass, and after sitting with a freshly messed up ankle in coach for a day, I’ll go to Paris before Vienna, just to avoid that. Isn’t it crazy, all I have to do there on Wednesday is lay down. However shady that sounds.

Thursday morning it’s off to Austria. To the family. For the first time in three and a half years we’ll have the whole pack together. I cannnnnnnnot wait. My father is turning 60. I know he always reads LiveNews, I shall therefore refrain from all age-related insults until we’re face to face and I can pull the pity-card and show him my cast and crutches. And hide behind my mother.

LiveNews is now four years old. And it’s five years since the world took a wrong turn. And on this day I hop on an airplane from New York. Pushing it a little bit? Jetlag is messing with me, 14 hours difference between Sydney and here, going to add another six tonight, and haven’t been able to catch any sleep properly these last two nights. Proof of this was not so much in the fact that I temporarily misplaced my passport, but that I found it. In a half-eaten bowl of popcorn.

During a soccergame two days ago, you know, a friendly three-on-three, a couple of guys, a couple of girls, nothing serious, I slipped. My right foot slipped away, while not going too fast, nothing special. Except that I collapsed onto the left ankle. Result:

“In the frontal and oblique films there is a subtle lucency at the articular surface of the tibia medially just lateral to the medial malleolus. There is also a possible tiny fragment of bone here measuring 3mm. Also minor lucency of the adjacent medial aspect of the talar dome. These findings are quite subtle but do suggest potentially significant osteochondral injuries. Initial further evaluation with CT suggested. MRI may also be required to further evaluate. No abnormality seen elsewhere.”

That, and torn ligaments. Shit. So it’s not sure what else is going on, not sure where to do the CT and/or MRI. I mean, I’ll be in NYC on Saturday, but then I go to Austria on Thursday. And five days after that I go back to NYC. When to do this? My ankle is in a half cast now, since it is continuing its swelling. Back in Sydney now. Not sure what else to say. The adventure has been amazing, spent two days on Fraser Island, which was gorgeous, never seen that many sharks and rays from a high distance, almost got arrested in the rain, got dropped on a highway, never seen that much rain, learned to really listen to Emiliana Torrini, got more than 1500km north with a sign that said ‘As long as it’s NORTH’, slept in strange places, met the Australian version of me, and I busted my ankle in such an innocent way.

An adventure it has been. Now it is time to go home. Wherever that is.