In 2008, being just a wee bit naive and filled with well meaning enthusiasm, my then-housemate and I concocted - over a few beers - an elaborate plan involving the Centrepoint Tower, our rooftop in the city, lots of candles, all our friends and their friends and even possibly their friends friends, a camera and the words 'Unicorns! Fuck Yeah!' However, a few days prior to the scheduled fiesta, Mahogany (the hairdressing salon I was - am? - a sometimes model at) called to ask if I wouldn't mind a free haircut and dinner in return for modelling as part of a presentation on GHDs and some other things I couldn't/was too distracted by food to understand. It was an offer that, with a measly two dollars in my bank account and no food, I would have been, frankly, an idiot to turn down. So, unfortunately, the plan didn't go ahead. In hindsight though, considering that our plan was largely dependant on the whole of Sydney City switching off their lights, it's probably best that I had to work: I was told that only a handful of lights could be seen switching off come Earth Hour. As my then-housemate sat on the rooftop, rather disappointed, I was meanwhile making my way to Mahogany, wondering how they were going to conduct a presentation in pitch black - I didn't consider for a moment that they wouldn't be partaking in Earth Hour at all which, in the end, was how they got avoided the stumbling block completely. Rather sly, eh?
In 2009, I was on an aeroplane (and not the jelly kind), on my way to London - about the least environmentally friendly act possible. Of course, by this time I was slightly more worldly and only 35% of me expected the plane to switch of it's lights and engines for an hour.
This year, I'll be at the Metro watching Angus and Julia Stone (or, perhaps more likely, their supports) during Earth Hour. While my hopes are still considerably high (about 28% positive) that they'll turn off their lights and sing in the dark for oh, at least two songs - they are supposedly hippies, after all - I'm somewhat sceptical after my previous experiences.
I'm afraid the height of my participation in Earth Hour 2010 will be turning off my bedroom lights before I leave the house. *Maybe* (there might be hope yet) the lights in the whole house if no one's home/I manage to convince the housemates not to throw bottles at me when I switch their bedroom light off mid cartwheel. Either way, there's nothing particularly special in that, is there? I would have switched off my light either way. I suppose my point is that you should probably get your shit together for Earth Hour, get your whole neighbourhood involved and switch off all your lights, appliances and vibrators for the whole frickin' hour because if all my readers do that then it might... er... probably won't come anywhere near making up for that year I flew to England or my subsequent years of failure. Sorry, Earth, this one's for you. Cue the clinking of glasses and sculling of beer - at least beer's environmentally friendly, right?
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