Oh Messy Life #15: Three Sisters
Plus, obscure Halloween costumes, Kevin's thoughts on the Sweat Tour, Chris' new 'sletter, and a Proper Chune from Bloomsday
Welcome to Oh Messy Life, the column that sometimes publishes on Mondays.
We spent most of the drive back to Sydney listening to Caroline Polachek because it was Leah’s turn to choose the music. She was between Caroline and Taylor, and I wondered what Dan thought of Caroline, so we went with that.
We were less than an hour outside the city and the golden hour was slowly turning blue and the convertible’s top was up, blocking most, but not all, of the noise from the road. I was in the backseat and I could just hear Caroline over the sound of traffic, but I didn’t really mind. After all, I had heard her before. And I was tired from traveling.
That morning we had traveled an hour and a half west to the Blue Mountains. The Dans had wanted to hike part of the Jamison Valley, but we were all worried about their dog, and leaving her alone for too long, so, we decided to skip the hike and drive to various points of interest instead. Before that, however, we needed food and coffee, so we drove to Pantry Story, a bakery five minutes from their rental in Newtown. There, we ordered potato bacon tom yum focaccia, and a sesame seed sausage roll, and a brown butter chocolate chip cookie (for health). I followed Zajac’s lead, ordering what the Aussies call a cold long black. The whole thing was $30 or $40, paid for with a pair of crisp, colourful Australian bills.
The bakery was lined up out the door as we walked back to the car. It was Sunday morning and flat clouds lingered over the city. We would be flying back to Canada soon, but there was still time to explore. Dan sat in the driver's seat and ate a cookie for breakfast, shaking his iced coffee occasionally, before turning the key over and launching the Audi west toward the Mountains.
We spent most of that drive listening to Zhu because it was Dan Kell’s turn to choose and because that record is pretty long. The Dans wanted to show us the Three Sisters rock formation and The Grand Canyon (no affiliation I’m sure).
Millions of years ago, the region containing the Blue Mountains was full of seawater, which compressed sediment that eventually eroded to form some of Australia’s most popular natural attractions. The Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise estimates that as many as 2 million people visit the Three Sisters every year. Half of them seemed to be traipsing the cliffside that afternoon. Tour groups stood with their backs toward the valley, posing for photos, screaming “Say cheese!” so loud as to send cockatoos flying.
As we descended the stairs toward the Sisters, I was reminded of a few days earlier, when Leah and I were caught in the rain as we walked from Coogee to Bondi Beach. Nobody ever tells you that — that sometimes it rains at Bondi. But it does. It rains and the beach sits empty and there is nothing to be done, except to shake your head and laugh.
Astonishment was something of a recurring sensation for me in Australia. I was surprised by the sheer force and scope of nature, by the idea that a former penal colony could one day house a shimmering CBD, complete with UNIQLO and Polo Ralph Lauren. That a continent, full of modern conveniences could still feel so isolated from North America and Europe. In other words: away from home.
It’s been almost four years since The Dans moved to the South Pacific — first New Zealand and now here. They are 18 hours ahead, which in the Internet age is practically a millennium. And while time has eroded parts of what existed in Vancouver, has stripped us of the everyday friend errands, the quick catch-ups, the knowledge of what Dan thinks about Caroline Polachek, it has carved something that is still worth admiring.
As a wedding gift, The Dans treated us to an afternoon at a Japanese Bath House overlooking Lake Lyell. We sat in hot water and talked and the clouds that had lingered since Sydney began to part. There were red parrots on a brown fence bordering the parking lot as we exited the building and put our wet clothes in the trunk.
For the record: Dan says Desire, I Want to Turn Into You is overrated and that art should be “plain spoken” in order to have “emotional resonance.” He and Dan Kell also think Fetch The Bolt Cutters sucks. I tried to convince them otherwise, but to no avail.
Oh Messy Life
Double, Double Toil and Trouble: wrote about obscure meme costumes, and so did . My take: I don’t care what you wear, so long as you keep it out of the office. Costumes at work are just cruel.
Pursuits pal launched a weekly fashion newsletter called Duchump. His writing has a real sense of style and there’s been some surprises along the way, like his recent Skims boxer purchase!
UNO reverse: Tyler Bainbridge and the team over at have announced they are leaving Substack, and doubling down on their own Owned and Operated platform. This is a huge loss for Substack, but a huge win for PI, and independent creators such as myself.
is writing a book about Diddy called Bad Boy For Life. I’ll let you know when pre-orders go live.
Leah and I sold our tickets to Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s Sweat tour, but Kevin went and made an interesting point: when’s the last time an openly gay man headlined an arena tour of this scope? Charli gets so much attention, but let’s not forget Troye is a big fucking deal.
And the boys from Bealby Point have a new Chune out. Stream ‘Fairytale’ HERE.
Proper Chune
I’ll be chatting with Iris from Bloomsday later this morning. Their song ‘Dollarslice’ is quite pretty.