August is over and on to September

A year ago today I was winging my way to the other side of the world, to a beautiful city full of rivers and parks, where I got to reset back to spring, where I didn't have language guilt, where I felt at home from day one. How I wish I could do it all over again...

As a small comfort, and kind of following on from my recent post about viewing things back home on Google Maps, I found that most of Melbourne has Street View shots. Well, definitely out to the neighbourhood I lived in at least. So I didn't even need to take all of those photos of the house and of Ascot Vale, you can wander around the whole neighbourhood on Google.

I was so excited when I saw the shot taken of the house I lived in: Nick's car is out front! Nick was a guy in the house who moved in the same day I did and left before I did, so if his car is there, the photo had to have been taken when I was there as well. The trees are green, so it definitely hasn't been taken recently, when it would be winter. It's a beautiful day. The recycling wheelie bin is at the curb, though I can't remember what day of the week was pick-up day. I have been desperately staring at the photo trying to tell if it seems like some ribbons with dead balloons at the end are hanging from the corners of the fence on either side of the driveway because if there are it would mean it was after our party on Cup Day. And if I go up to the main street where I waited for the bus, is the bus stop sign still missing from when the insane guy crashed into it? When were the photos taken?! I want to look through all of Melbourne in hopes of spotting myself...

Ah, better clues to the date can be found downtown... I figured checking out Federation Square would give hints as to what time of year it was, and I was right. That's assuming of course that the photos out at my house were taken around the same time as the ones downtown, but it looks like a similarly cloudless day. There are definite signs of Christmas at Fed Square. One building is covered with this huge advent calendar and there are the holographic star decorations hanging over the street. I thought the advent calendar meant it was December, which is after I had moved out of the house, but I don't think any of the squares are revealed yet. An even better clue is across the street on Flinders St Station. There are banners celebrating World Diabetes Day, which apparently is November 14. There don't seem to be any Melbourne Cup banners around town anymore. So I would say the photos are from between the 11th and 14th of November (the ones taken at Fed Square at least). I would even venture to say that it's Sunday the 11th. Maybe Saturday the 10th. I think it's a weekend in any case based on the lack of suits walking the streets, it just looks like a weekend rather than a week day. I'm definitely around somewhere. Where was I??

Arg, my heart hurts.