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Yesterday I realised my Learner's Licence had not actually been returned to me, necessitating another trip down the road. I would have had to make one anyway to book another test. Everything looked different in the daylight, like the transition between day and night in games such as Zelda. Sun bright, sky clear, grass green. In fact on the way back I noticed something I try to always keep my eyes open for - no trace of clouds anywhere in the sky, a completely clear blue dome overhead.
It was the kingdom of the birds. I don't know how the land was before humans arrived, but we have cleared out any large mammals that might have been, any ground-based predators. The dogs are locked up, the cats are sleeping and the humans, like lions on the savannah, don't care to do anything about it themselves, or else are too busy off working. So the birds rule the day, stalking their territory in their little packs, watching from the trees and other perches. I saw a magpie swoop a smaller bird and chase it away.
As for my business, I made my booking for another test. They had no spots earlier than the 24th so I took that one. They did not have my licence; the woman at the counter told me they normally mail those to people so I should wait a few days before applying for a replacement.
It was far too hot to be out in the middle of the day (38 degrees, 100 Fahrenheit), but there was a more enjoyable outing planned. Alastair Reynolds (Squee! Cover illustration for The Prefect! Oh, and author photo if you find yourself curious) was due to appear in Galaxy (these apparitions, as with other paranormal phenomena, are yet to be explained), so I packed my copies of Diamond Dogs/Turquoise Days and Zima Blue, which I think are the most special of all the copies I own, though now I think it may have been appropriate to bring a copy of his first, Revelation Space, too (ah, but here we edge closer to 'bring all of them' territory), plus the big Dickens book to read. Also sammiches and fruit.
I think after finishing A Tale of Two Cities I will reread The Scarlet Pimpernel for a different persepctive on the French Revolution and push back Consider Phlebas (decided on bus). Well, my reading pile has probably 60+ books on it already, I don't know what business I have adding more to it but there you go. On the train I sketched out a sequence which will probably appear in chapter four or five of Serial B.
When I arrived at Town Hall (it is the nearest station to the store so I think I do not give anything away to say this) I was disoriented and discovered an exit I had not seen before in all my many visits, into the Galeries Victoria. The Monorail stops there on the first floor and half of the second is taken up by a store I did not even know existed, Books Kinokuniya. There was not so much time before five and the alignment of the spheres so I only peeked at the doors before scurrying on my way.
I made it some few minutes early and turned in my bag at the counter. The store was clearly busier than usual and at first I did not realise Alastair Reynolds had already been chained to the alcove at the back, surrounded by columns of every copy of his books the place could muster. So I browsed a while first. I will not bore you with details of what I grew excited over, dear reader, save to mention Stephen Baxter's Xeelee sequence and especially his Destiny's Child series. That expansive future history has probably been a great influence on my writing, as has Reynolds himself (the Jemadhis being mostly inspired by the Ultras).
After I did notice him there I had to get up my nerve to join the line. A while later I left again to get my books from my bag.
Back in line I had some conversation with others also waiting. I discovered my copy of Zima Blue was perhaps more precious than I realised - it is sold out now, only a couple of weeks after I purchased it. Diamond Dogs/Turqoise Days is no longer available in hardcover either so far as I can tell.
I was surprised to find myself disappointed that he did not glow with an aura of writerly coolness. In fact, he looked rather a bit like someone who used to be in my astronomy class. When it came time to present my books for signing I froze. Here was a problem I had not considered - what name was I to give? I neither wanted something which would be odd in the future, nor cause present awkwardness, so I compromised on a nickname I have had and gave my name as Tris. I had no questions prepared to ask either, but I did grab a copy of Chasm City (so now I have all his books), thanked him for the stories and while he was signing talked briefly (and barely intelligently on my part) about some of the interesting choices he made, such as the lack of faster than light travel. I walked away grinning too much and forgetting my politeness, not even wishing him a wonderful time in Australia!
Alastair Reynolds is an affable sort of fellow, I think. I did not have any questions then, but I had in 2003 and he kindly answered them by email. He even had offered to send me copies of some of his short stories, though computer difficulties apparently ate a number of his emails and I did not choose to follow it up. And he did send a copy of at least one story to one of the guys I shared line with. But now I have them all (most) in lovely print form anyway. ^_^
I made sure to take Chasm City straight to the counter so as not to walk out with it on accident and ended up having a lovely chat with the girl at the counter. We agreed that there were far too many beautiful books being put out (especially that lovely omnibus of Joe Haldeman's Forever novels) and that working at galaxy makes one poor in money but rich in books and noodles. Some more browsing turned up a Dalek Survival Guide, longer than I expected but, said the girl standing next to me, very funny. There sadly turned out to be no copies of the SF Masterworks edition of The Left Hand of Darkness and I left on my merry.
There still being some daylight left I took a more thorough look at Books Kinokuniya. There was my usual hunt for the Principia Discordia in the religion section. None turned up but I did get to make my neck twisty, so this is good. It was amusing to see religion and science shelved almost at opposite ends of the place. There were a few astronomy books I would have loved to take home, including a pair on galactic dynamics and an encyclopaedia of the solar system for about $300! They also sell fossils and, in the comics and manga section, small statuettes including transformers for nearly as much as the fossils.
I did not mention it last time, but when I asked at King's Comics about Berserk the girl behind the counter suggested I try another store, the name of which and directions thereto I did not catch, if they could not find it. I think she was talking about Books Kinokuniya. I will probably buy Excel Saga there from now on.
So with sun setting and head filled it was time to leave the city behind me. I took the time on the train to write down the scene I had composed earlier and this time I got into the right car. Soon enough I shall return, as I overheard one of the stuff mentioning that they had confirmed Terry Pratchett for February. If you think I was too fangirl this time, well...
It was the kingdom of the birds. I don't know how the land was before humans arrived, but we have cleared out any large mammals that might have been, any ground-based predators. The dogs are locked up, the cats are sleeping and the humans, like lions on the savannah, don't care to do anything about it themselves, or else are too busy off working. So the birds rule the day, stalking their territory in their little packs, watching from the trees and other perches. I saw a magpie swoop a smaller bird and chase it away.
As for my business, I made my booking for another test. They had no spots earlier than the 24th so I took that one. They did not have my licence; the woman at the counter told me they normally mail those to people so I should wait a few days before applying for a replacement.
It was far too hot to be out in the middle of the day (38 degrees, 100 Fahrenheit), but there was a more enjoyable outing planned. Alastair Reynolds (Squee! Cover illustration for The Prefect! Oh, and author photo if you find yourself curious) was due to appear in Galaxy (these apparitions, as with other paranormal phenomena, are yet to be explained), so I packed my copies of Diamond Dogs/Turquoise Days and Zima Blue, which I think are the most special of all the copies I own, though now I think it may have been appropriate to bring a copy of his first, Revelation Space, too (ah, but here we edge closer to 'bring all of them' territory), plus the big Dickens book to read. Also sammiches and fruit.
I think after finishing A Tale of Two Cities I will reread The Scarlet Pimpernel for a different persepctive on the French Revolution and push back Consider Phlebas (decided on bus). Well, my reading pile has probably 60+ books on it already, I don't know what business I have adding more to it but there you go. On the train I sketched out a sequence which will probably appear in chapter four or five of Serial B.
When I arrived at Town Hall (it is the nearest station to the store so I think I do not give anything away to say this) I was disoriented and discovered an exit I had not seen before in all my many visits, into the Galeries Victoria. The Monorail stops there on the first floor and half of the second is taken up by a store I did not even know existed, Books Kinokuniya. There was not so much time before five and the alignment of the spheres so I only peeked at the doors before scurrying on my way.
I made it some few minutes early and turned in my bag at the counter. The store was clearly busier than usual and at first I did not realise Alastair Reynolds had already been chained to the alcove at the back, surrounded by columns of every copy of his books the place could muster. So I browsed a while first. I will not bore you with details of what I grew excited over, dear reader, save to mention Stephen Baxter's Xeelee sequence and especially his Destiny's Child series. That expansive future history has probably been a great influence on my writing, as has Reynolds himself (the Jemadhis being mostly inspired by the Ultras).
After I did notice him there I had to get up my nerve to join the line. A while later I left again to get my books from my bag.
Back in line I had some conversation with others also waiting. I discovered my copy of Zima Blue was perhaps more precious than I realised - it is sold out now, only a couple of weeks after I purchased it. Diamond Dogs/Turqoise Days is no longer available in hardcover either so far as I can tell.
I was surprised to find myself disappointed that he did not glow with an aura of writerly coolness. In fact, he looked rather a bit like someone who used to be in my astronomy class. When it came time to present my books for signing I froze. Here was a problem I had not considered - what name was I to give? I neither wanted something which would be odd in the future, nor cause present awkwardness, so I compromised on a nickname I have had and gave my name as Tris. I had no questions prepared to ask either, but I did grab a copy of Chasm City (so now I have all his books), thanked him for the stories and while he was signing talked briefly (and barely intelligently on my part) about some of the interesting choices he made, such as the lack of faster than light travel. I walked away grinning too much and forgetting my politeness, not even wishing him a wonderful time in Australia!
Alastair Reynolds is an affable sort of fellow, I think. I did not have any questions then, but I had in 2003 and he kindly answered them by email. He even had offered to send me copies of some of his short stories, though computer difficulties apparently ate a number of his emails and I did not choose to follow it up. And he did send a copy of at least one story to one of the guys I shared line with. But now I have them all (most) in lovely print form anyway. ^_^
I made sure to take Chasm City straight to the counter so as not to walk out with it on accident and ended up having a lovely chat with the girl at the counter. We agreed that there were far too many beautiful books being put out (especially that lovely omnibus of Joe Haldeman's Forever novels) and that working at galaxy makes one poor in money but rich in books and noodles. Some more browsing turned up a Dalek Survival Guide, longer than I expected but, said the girl standing next to me, very funny. There sadly turned out to be no copies of the SF Masterworks edition of The Left Hand of Darkness and I left on my merry.
There still being some daylight left I took a more thorough look at Books Kinokuniya. There was my usual hunt for the Principia Discordia in the religion section. None turned up but I did get to make my neck twisty, so this is good. It was amusing to see religion and science shelved almost at opposite ends of the place. There were a few astronomy books I would have loved to take home, including a pair on galactic dynamics and an encyclopaedia of the solar system for about $300! They also sell fossils and, in the comics and manga section, small statuettes including transformers for nearly as much as the fossils.
I did not mention it last time, but when I asked at King's Comics about Berserk the girl behind the counter suggested I try another store, the name of which and directions thereto I did not catch, if they could not find it. I think she was talking about Books Kinokuniya. I will probably buy Excel Saga there from now on.
So with sun setting and head filled it was time to leave the city behind me. I took the time on the train to write down the scene I had composed earlier and this time I got into the right car. Soon enough I shall return, as I overheard one of the stuff mentioning that they had confirmed Terry Pratchett for February. If you think I was too fangirl this time, well...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-01-12 14:01 (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-01-12 14:14 (UTC)From:I already had one but after I failed the test for my provisional licence it was not handed back to me. They mail back the ones people leave behind.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-12 22:09 (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-01-13 04:53 (UTC)From:"Slice of life" things such as this are fun. But perhaps only when they are described in this way? *thinks*
*nods solemnly* Terry Pratchett....I was only told by a librarian friend to read a Discworld book. And then I did. It was enjoyable.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-13 05:18 (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-01-13 05:09 (UTC)From:I still haven't booked my retest... I think I'm just too depressed and scared. :\ I KNOW I can drive, I just feel I can never pass a test about it :(
no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 08:30 (UTC)From:Tris, eh? :)
Ahhh, so there is a reply past all the comments too, must remember that in the future. I still find it a baffling layout~, doubly so as this bottom one appears only if comments already exist, it seems!