Friday, February 29, 2008
Out and About
I celebrated my day off a few days ago by heading to Chatswood mall. I enjoyed some window shopping and a treat at Starbucks. I also had a free movie pass from work, and the only movie showing at the right time was "Dan in Real Life." I'm a big fan of an afternoon at the movies, and it doesn't bother me at all to go by myself (although it's always a puzzle when I try to explain the concept to extroverts). But I had a new experience: I really saw the movie by myself. 200 empty red plush chairs and me. Nobody else felt like an afternoon at the movies, I guess. I found the idea of a private screening slightly odd, but I loved the fact that I could laugh at the parts I found funny and there were no distractions. I wouldn't suggest it for a night movie or a movie that's in the least bit scary, though!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Rainy Sydney
I've mentioned before that this has been a wet and cool summer for Sydney. Great for farmers who've been suffering drought for years, but bad for most of Queensland that has been flooded for months. We've had a couple days of nice weather, until last night. And, of course, it was last night that Stacey, Louise and I had tickets for Moonlight Cinema. I had swapped shifts at work so that I got off early, and booked today off so I could stay up late. We were going to see The Sound of Music; an all-time favourite of Louise and I that Stacey had never seen (?!?)
The sky had been a bit dark, but I was optimistic. We bought our picnic supplies in the city, and just as we were stepping on the bus, Louise announced "I think I felt a drop of rain!" Sure enough, within a minute, it was pouring outside. Thunder, lightning, flooded streets... the works. I received a helpful text that, due to weather, Moonlight Cinema would be cancelled, and we had already decided to head home. We had to run through the rain to get to the train station, and we were absolutely soaked. But within a half hour it was clear again! It turns out that the freak storm left a lot of damage throughout Sydney, and that more rain fell in 30 minutes, than the average rainfall for the month!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Office Pictures
Okay, I finally ended up asking someone to take my picture at work! It was a bit embarrasing, as it's an open concept office. This is my desk and cool little phone headset thingy. The pictures I put up by the computer are the ones I had at hand of people I love (if you're not there, it's just cause I didn't have a picture.) People wanted to see a recent picture of Carole and I, but the best I had was one from 1984! And on the other side of the computer is my South Park avatar (made by my supervisor in my old team):
And the view...
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Crafts
Seeing as I don't have much in the way of news (I just finished day three of a 13 day work stretch), I'll fill you in on my day off. Louise, Regina and I went to the Creative Living Expo in Sydney. We went to a beading demonstration and spent several hours wandering through craft booths. It was mostly scrapbook & papercrafts, quilting, beading and needlework. I had to limit myself to craft projects that were affordable and I could easily finish (no scrapbooking or quilting for me!) Anyway, the designs above are the two cross-stitch patterns I settled on. I had almost talked Louise into trying one when the sales lady came over, whipped out a pattern and went into a very detailed lecture on back-stitching. A pretty sure way to scare off a beginner! And I also got some basics for beading; my first project being the keychain above. I reused the beads from my Christmas tree ornaments!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Saying Sorry
Yesterday was a pretty significant day in Australian history. I'm guessing it may not have been the first story on the American or Canadian news, so I'll try to fill you in. The first time I heard about "The Stolen Generation" was from Louise when we were in Taiwan. I'm pretty sure they left that out of the history books we used in high school, because I was pretty shocked. To try to summarize history, Australia's government authorized the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their homes and family during the years of 1869 to 1970. It was mainly children of mixed descent, and they put them into orphanages or foster homes. Some people said it was for protection because the children wouldn't fit into their society, but others admitted that they were hoping to "breed out" Aboriginal characteristics for a white society. 
Estimates put the number of children taken over 100,000, but there's still a lot of debate and investigation as to the extent and effect. It's hard to believe it's taken this long for the government to apologize, especially because the government report documenting the issues was released in 1997. But the previous governments refused to admit responsibility because they were worried about having to financially compensate those affected; John Howard (former Prime Minister) said "Australians of this generation should not be required to accept guilt and blame for past actions and policies." 
But yesterday Kevin Rudd (current Prime Minister) read his apology, and it was very well received across the country. He said sorry without qualifications, and pledged to rectify the past by addressing the issues facing the Aboriginal community today. The Liberal and Conservative parties agreed to work together to establish preschools and better health care. Afterwards, the head of the opposition party read a speech that wasn't as well accepted. He did apologize, but he tried to justify it and compare it with other tragedies such as the death during the world wars. He said that the children were removed "with the best of intentions" from lives of squalor. People watching outside Parliament and at live links across Australia all stood with their backs to the screens in protest.
If you're interested, you can read the speech or watch a great (short) multimedia clip.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Gladiators!
Louise, Regina, Sophia, Stacey and I had tickets to a taping of Gladiators today! I saw in the news that it's returning in America, too. Gladiators is one of the only shows I remember watching (and loving) as a kid, so I was pretty excited to see it live. We saw four competitors complete four events... and it took four hours. Seriously. I expected a half four TV show taping to take one hour, maybe two tops. The crowd thinned out steadily, and we only stayed till the end because we were hoping they would be taping the Eliminator (which they didn't). There was a lot of down time, and I couldn't believe how many times they had us stand and cheer (we're not monkeys, after all!) But I'm glad we went, and I remembered all the games: The Pendulum, Joust, Whiplash and The Gauntlet.
Oh, and Carole and Julia would appreciate the fact that I saw the guy from Thank God You're Here. I tried to inconspicuously whisper to Louise, but she was too caught up in Nitro chasing Jane on the Pendulum.
I took these pictures on the train ride home...
Follow up notes:In my last post I mentioned the Sydney weather. Just to clarify, I'm pleased as punch with chilly, rainy Sydney. I'm not a beach girl, and I was afraid of living in Australia because of the heat!
Carole: still wrong on two. I've give you #11, I'll be visiting Kember in Neuchatel, Switzerland. But for #10, you have to guess! It borders one of the countries I'll visit, and here's the flag...
Thursday, February 7, 2008
What's with the Weather?
Before I came to Australia, all I had to go on was my previous vacation to Perth and reports from Carole and Louise. Perth is perennially warm and endlessly sunny, and Carole's experiences were all on the west coast. So I took Louise's word on Sydney weather: a hot summer and sweltering days on the beach. I'm not blaming Louise, but she was wrong! This year has turned out to be a record breaking year of "cold" temperatures and very wet weather. All last week was rainy, and next weeks forecast has little storm clouds for each day. Rain everyday for weeks reminds me of Taiwan, but for a country that's been in drought for years, the flooding and full reservoirs are news worthy!Tuesday, February 5, 2008
I Wish I Was an American (Only For Today, Though)
Is everyone else on the edge of their seats? I've never been so, so, so excited about politics in the States, although I've always been fascinated by American elections. I really, honestly believe in Obama; that he is the only possible answer to the downward spiral in the strange nation to the south. I remember when I first heard a speech by Barack on TV while sitting on a couch in the lounge at college in March 2004. He had just been elected to the Senate for Illinois (I went to school in Chicago), and his speech was mind-blowing. I remember thinking "If only this guy could be president!" It's weird that I remember the exact evening, considering my notoriously bad memory, but it was really that impactful. Anyway, if Obama becomes President, I will be the happiest Canadian!
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Food For Thought
I got this email at work the other day, and I thought you might find it as interesting as I did. It's a picture of the type of food and costs the average family consumes each week in various countries. (If you click on a picture, you can see a larger image)Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07 USD
United States: The Revis family of North Carolina. Food expenditure for one week $341.98
Italy : The Manzo family of Sicily Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo Food expenditure for one week: $31.55
Bhutan : The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
Chad : The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
Clues
Thanks to Carole for guessing my travel pictures. Maybe that is only a fun game for you and I (similar to the "spin-the-globe-and-see-where-your-finger-lands" game we played as kids or how much we enjoy tracing maps). So here are three more clues for the ones you got wrong (wikipedia may help).
8. Clue: Dusseldorf was a good guess (right country). This is where they hold Oktoberfest.
10. Clue: This is a very, very small country.
11. Clue: This is a hard one. Kember lives here; halfway between Geneva and Basel.Friday, February 1, 2008
Travel Plans
I've finally finished my travel planning for my month-long journey home in May. Travel planning is surprisingly fun for me, and I spend hours choosing flights and hostels. Anyway, just for fun, do you want to play "Guess-That-Country/City"? All guesses, no matter how geographically off-base, will be accepted!1.
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At this point, I think I'll be breathing a sigh of relief. This will be one of my longest travels without stopping for more than a week in one place, but I'm ready for the adventure!
The Newest Weapon
Mom suggested this morning that I should blog, even if I really don't have much to say. No problem! I didn't know what to think of this little doo-dad when they gave them out at work; it seemed like a desperate grasp to find something unique to put the company logo on (pen, mug, hat... fly killer?) And, as you might imagine, handing out mini-weapons to stir crazy office workers resulted in a war of flying plastic. Anyway, two nights later I spied a creepy black insect on my ceiling. It was too high to reach by hand, but I remembered by little fly killer. With steady aim, the plastic web part sqashed the bug and caused both dead bug and plastic part to fall conveniently to the floor. I'm keeping it on hand for any future run-ins with the insect kingdom.