Go Latham

Chanced upon this anti-Howard website today (and there are heaps of them) which was having a competition for best anti-Howard slogan to be printed on free fridge magnets.

Some of the gems:
"With Howard, your vote counts. But not your opinion."

"My country went to Iraq and all I got was this stupid fridge magnet."

"Visit Canberra! The 51st state of the USA."

Some commentators are saying the unthinkable could happen: The Liberals might win but not Howard. That will be so funny in a sad way.

But I think Latham has a good chance. It's hard to believe that a youngish man partial to foul language and beating ppl up has blossomed (for lack of a better word) into a respectable dude on the cusp of Prime Ministership. As they say on Idol, he's come a long way.

Teetotaller By Default

Drinks are so expensive here, I've not gotten wasted for a long time. Is that a good thing?

God, I miss those Saturdays where the restaurant staff in Sydney go clubbing after closing. You get beers for $3 and dance the night away in the city, then walk home in 5 minutes.

Over here, you pretty much have two choices: Fork out ridiculous amounts for cover and a baby glass of Tiger, or let some stranger buy you a drink and endure the conversation for 5 minutes. How to get rid of the guy pleasantly without giving out numbers is an art form. And then, you gotta fork out $20 for the cab fare home.

And all that to hear some guy belt out a carbon version of Maroon 5's This Love?

On Monday, I went out to dinner with my ex-housemate Judy. She's literally gorgeous enough to turn heads wherever she goes. And this young lady wants to do equities research! Ha! Trust me, babe, you SO belong to private banking.

Anyway, we went to some bar at the top floor of Raffles City for wine. Spellbinding city views. But I almost jumped off the building when I saw the bill for 2 glasses of red: $88.

Where's an irritating stranger with deep pockets when you need one?

Starting Out Clothes

It started with a shirt. A Nerhu-collared ladies shirt with a slightly deep V neck, in vertical dark blue stripes. Quirky, stylish, yet respectable. I had to get it. Never mind it was $99. (That's still in 2-figure territory, right?).

I'm starting a new job next month, and since I've lived in jeans and tees and Nikes for the past 2.5 years of my postgrad life, and my previous work clothes scream "the 90s!", I figured it was justified -- no, imperative -- that I get some decent work wear. Something cool enough to wear in this brain-melting, life-sucking humidity.

I went to Mango and Zara, coz their stuff have longevity -- in terms of surviving machine washing and fickle fashion fads. Their suits were too stuffy for a newsroom, even for a financial newsroom.

But I found some gorgeous skirts and dresses that are cut for skinny bodies (Joy!). Also, got a few long-sleeved tees in the most buttery soft fabric.

It was at that point when the experience turned into a full-on shopping orgy. With clothes, came the shoes: brown kitten heels and black stilettos... In no time, I had injected $800 into the retail sector.

Angel: That's a lotta burgers, mate.
Devil: You have to think in terms of cost per wear. You can buy shit clothes that fall apart after a few wears, or you can invest in workhorse staples that last longer than Bush's Iraq occupation, and whose CPW is lower than a burger's price. Would you rather spend $800 at one go and have the wardrobe to show for it, or bleed $100s frequently and be left with rags?

Angel: You got a point there...

I feel like a kid ready to start the first day of primary school: new uniform, check. Pencil case, check. Water bottle, check. Go girl!

Need. Food. Now.

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside." Mark Twain

Out of the blue, I had this huge craving for kobe beef steak. Those who say wagyu steaks are overrated haven't tried the Go Bungai version. Sizzling, tender, juicy and oh-so-lightly seasoned. Pure bliss. At $20 a pop, it's "you-gotta-be -kiddingly" cheap.

How do they do it?

The trick, it seems, is to preheat the pan over a super high fire such that when the meat hits, its outermost layer is immediately cooked crisp, forming a sealed barrier that stops the meat from losing its inner moisture. The fire is then turned down low, to cook the inner part, and voila, the juiciest steak ever.

Gosh, the thought of it makes me wanna get the next flight out to Sydney.
But for the time being. I had to make do with takeaway steak from the "western food" stall across the road.

Voting with heart

In an ideal world, a democracy is there to make sure that leaders who turn out to be lousy don't stay in power much longer. A new dude gets elected, and is then tested again.

At least that's the way it's supposed to work.

Seeing how Howard and W managed to mislead their country into a dodgy invasion (not war) and cower their ppl into a state of paranoia, you would think that, if the masses had their way, dudes like Latham and Kerry will be shoo-ins at the elections.

But that is not the case. Kerry is still way behind W, and Latham, though neck and neck with Howard, is in no way assured of victory.

Who are these ppl who vote for the incumbents? Are they ignorant or nuts or just plain apathetic? Or are they ppl who are aware of how questionable their leaders are, but think since these guys are gonna win anyway, they might as well back a winner? If these ppl get re-elected, they sure know how much shit they can get away with. Dodgy ppl only stay in power if the masses let them. Thing is, the masses may be blinded by propaganda. Smacks of 1984.

There have been ads encouraging ppl to "vote with their hearts" and "be counted". Why do I get the feeling these are funded by the small L liberals?

If everyone voted with their hearts, they will be voting for a change. Sure, no one knows if Latham is going to turn out to be an evil-ler exponent of arsekissing. But there comes a time when one is so disillusioned by the current guy, the new guy is almost certain to be at least as good, if not better.

Maybe it's the circle of friends I hang with (young, professional, Chomsky-reading, SBS-watching types) , they REALLY are voting with their hearts. They're voting Greens.

Crossroads

"I am not suffering from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it." Anonymous.


Mom's words, when I asked her why she bought me my greasy breakfast if she thought it was so bad for me, were, "But you always had to get what you want."

Fuj once said to me,"I try to like the life that I lead. You, on the other hand, always aim to lead the life that you like. You will never be satisfied until that happens."

T'is true, too. My life as it is now, is the result of following my dreams and desires wherever they lead. The problem is, like a cholestrol-laden breakfast, getting what I want has sometimes been bad for me, and occassionally disastrous.

But hey, you choose it, you live with it.

If you aim to be a domestic goddess with 1.37 kids, a great family life and not much else to brag about, then voila, it is within your reach.

If you want to spend your late 20s making the most of what youthfulness you have still in you, wearing tattoos, suffering hangovers, partying like the reckless young woman you were too cautious to be before -- you can do that too.

And if your heart lies in having a successful career, power and glory, and the material trappings to show for them, then that can be done too.

At least, these are the choices I give myself now. One out of three. If I summoned all of my energy to do all these, maybe two out of three. But you can't have it all.

But as they teach in game theory, sometimes a person ends up better if you don't give him/her any choices. Alternatives mess up your mind, and may land you in dangerous, unknown lands. It is sometimes better to just have no choice.

Everything is possible. Everything has a price.

All talk

Today, we sat at the kitchen table and for some reason, started to make plans. Plans to go travelling in Japan ("backpacking" is too strong a word to use on me) next spring for a month. To hop from Tokyo to Kyoto to Osaka and finally Kyushu.
We even debated details like who we can bunk with, what to see, how much to spend...

Then, we totally digressed and discussed what our future kitchen would be like.. open concept,, stainless steel everything....alas, my dream of having a dishwasher got cruelly vetoed. "Trust me, you CAN wash dishes."

It's surreal, if only coz I haven't sat down and planned anything for ages. The past 3 years, I've pretty much just stood there and took whatever life threw at me. Figured I would do less damage to my life that way.

Dreams, yes. Fantasies, sure. But no plans.

Plans are a bit like fantasies, except they have a better chance at being realised.

But you know what? Even if these conversations don't end up amounting to anything, I still enjoyed them heaps. In my mind, I'm already on this fabulous trip, takin in the best of Japanese street culture.... or cooking up a GFG worthy meal in my awesome new kitchen in a hypothetical new home.

That, for me, is precious in itself. One thing for sure though. It aint gonna be JAL's business class this time 'round. Sob.

10 things i miss about sydney

There is a state of mind called Sydney. Sunny, carefree, witty, irreverent,intellectual,egalitarian and passionately, unreservedly, unapolgetically cheerful. There is a place in every soul for this feeling.

I miss living in the sunlight. As opposed to living under the shade of a box.

I miss:
1.The Weekend SMH. So heavy it is a pain to carry home, so full good stuff it is a joy to spend an entire day reading....

2.A decent long black... Thick, strong and aromatic. In the tiny coffee-obssessed wedge of a shop called Campos. In snootieer-than-thou Bambini Trust. In the uni aquatic centre ( coffee's too pricey for that quality, but that's not the point.. u really go there to perve at ppl doing laps, no?)

3.Bookshops in Newtown. Nothing the chains do can emulate or take away the charm of indy bookshops. Without them, who will employ quirky characters, post staff reviews on bookshelves, buy back ur Graham Greenes?

4.Spring. Summer. Autumn. Nuff said.

5.Sydney Uni. To be among minds that challenge and explore. To walk amongst grand, old sandstone buildings before sunset. To experience the exhiliration and fear of facing inquisitive 19 year old kids. To have a sense of wonder that the real world soon replaces with cynicism.

6.Alcohol is ridiculous! So cheap and abundant I can be Queen of Siberia one night and President of Australia the next.

7.Blokes who act like real men, who let you go first, hold doors open and look not leer.

8.The harbour. There. I said it. That which I dismissed as touristy and uninpsiring at first glance, now I adore. Apologies to the Bridge, the House, the Rocks.

9.My United Nations of friends and workmates, from every continent (ok, maybe not antartica).

10.