Hey skateboarder-commuter guy

To the guy who rides his skateboard to work who I see from time to time outside Etihad Stadium  – I do so love the way you glide so effortlessly, seamlessly weaving your way through the hordes of workers (me included) stomping our way determinedly to work.

You look like you are fully present, content and in the moment. You actually love your journey and, I’ve got to say, it’s a thing of beauty; please keep doing this just so the rest of us can enter the day with a little more grace and finesse.

It’s surprising what you see on the commute in and out of Docklands.

Nowhere else can you see skateboarder-commuter-guy, people doing laps in an indoor pool as you walk past just a few feet away, the lower half of a slain witch protruding from an office building, and those translucent jelly fish you see hanging suspended in the water from time to time.

So there is lots to engage the senses.

 And then there is the weather.  

Yep. The weather in Docklands is different.

Hotter. Windier. Sunnier. Colder. Errrr.  

Come autumn, everybody will be talking about the wind … how it nearly sweeps you off your feet, how it bends the trees in half, takes the froth off your cappuccino and is generally disagreeable. And it does seem windier here than other parts of Melbourne. Particularly East Brunswick. In my house. On my sofa.

As an office worker, I guess I don’t have much cause to complain. Once I enter my workplace I enter a warm, regulated, dry and pretty much ideal environment for human beings.

But there is still the walk into Docklands, when the need to exercise is often thwarted by the weather. When warm, dry, tram-reading my book wins out against cold, wet, windswept Bourke or Collins street.

But no more.

After having worked here for just over a year, I have resolved this year that I will not be uncomfortable, cold, wet, and grumpy on my commute. I don’t want to dread the walk across to Southern Cross and down Bourke St.

Rather, like skateboarder guy, I would like to enjoy it. No more desperate dashes to Woollies or the chemist for an extra pair of tights, an umbrella, or hair smoother. This year, I will face the outdoors and arrive at work composed, calm, hair smooth, dry and smug.  

On my winter kit list:

A big, thick, soft coat made out of ski jacket material that covers me from the top of my neck to at least half way down my calves. It will be wind and water-proof. It must not be black. It should zip all the way, or even better, zip and button. I would love one that came in at the waist a bit so I don’t end up looking like a Chico Roll in a coat.

A beanie. One that covers my ears because some days they get so cold in the wind that they hurt. (Who knew ears could actually ache with cold?)  It can be red, olive, yellow, brown, not black. Too much black. Not enough colour.  

A scarf. A colourful one, to complement the beanie. But not the same because I don’t want to look “constructed”.

A pair of sturdy, comfortable boots that I’m happy to walk in, and be seen in. That means I’ve got to start saving up now.

Gloves. Nice soft gloves with bendy fingers that stop the cold from biting. Again, not black.

Failing that, I’ll just wrap my doona round me and leave it at that.

At least it’s not black.

What’s on your winter kit list?