Skyline

OK – in case it isn’t already glaringly obvious, I’m no photographer. So I am trying to distract from how terrible my photography is by prattling on.

Yesterday’s Photo a Day challenge was “Skyline”. I was out and about with my Dad yesterday, and didn’t really get a lot of opportunities to take photos of a skyline. Well, that’s not entirely true. There were probably several decent moments when I could have snapped a shot while we were driving, but when I’m a passenger in my Dad’s car I am generally trying to ensure he knows where we are going and we are not running into a bus to really pay much attention to the horizon.
So I snapped this pic when we were back on terra firma in a Westfield food court.

It’s kind of suburbia at its worst I suppose – overlooking a Maccas carpark with a stretch of “homemaker centre” behind. But you know what? I don’t actually mind it here, as much as I joke about ‘brick veneer land’ with my friends. I live in the western suburbs of Newcastle – which is getting a lot of attention lately for being a pretty cool place. Hell yeah! Newy is a great town, both to visit and live. Of course, the part where I live is not shown in the Lonely Planet guide – we have no hip cafes or funky boutiques. No nightlife other than the local tavern. No picturesque vistas over beaches and rivers. But there’s a lot of heart out here in the “bogan outskirts” (to quote an infamous bus), which belies the portrait painted of suburbia in the media. There’s community spirit, excellent public amenities and friendly neighbours. Not everybody is a kindred spirit, but people are more open-minded than you might think. No better or worse than anywhere else, I reckon.

Plus we have parrots and possums and eels and dragons in our backyard. Dragons!

Oh – and since I am posting a day late, here is Day 3: something you wore today. $3 Big W Thongs. Oh yeah, I’m classy.