hmm

I don't like spending large amounts of money at once. I'd like to think I'm not a tight arse..people may or may not disagree. What I mean is that when it comes to buying anything that are say over $50 I always think twice, and I've already done research to see how cheap said item is. 

I am a sucker for discounts. This is a direct consequence of having gone shopping with my Dad as a kid, where we would literally wait til about 3.30pm on a Saturday to go grocery shopping. In the town we grew up in, the supermarket shut on Sundays, so all the perishable items like the bakery stuff and the meat would get severely discounted so they didn't go off or get thrown in the bin. Of course, everybody knew this fact so there would be literally a crowd of people surrounding the person with the discount tickets and the marker pen.

So I think what I gathered from that is, don't accept prices at face value. People are generally able to set prices at whatever they want. So most of the time, for any luxury purchases, with a little research, the power of your dollar goes much further. I mean, for God's sake, if you can get stuff at a supermarket cheaper than normal, you can get a $3000 TV reduced in price by a few hundred without too much fuss. I did, lol.

in defense of... what?

I think one of the biggest struggles is about freedom. I was going to list all the differences I could think of but now I think that won't help things.

I feel like I'm not allowed to have a good time with my friends because it happens at a time when she's at home by herself, particularly if things aren't fun at home. I understand that a lot of the time we just talk to help her escape that world if only for a minute, and we do. Alot. But I also have a life to lead. At least give me that sometimes. It's not always peachy living on this side. I need a time out too. I know you get envious because you're not able to do the same, hardly ever if at all. But why do you hold that against me? I have no actions that I need to defend, done no bad deeds.

And I don't know what you worry about sometimes. Honestly, people doubt me to their detriment. I will rise to the top. So why do I have to defend myself all the fucking time? Tired. Talk about appreciating the sacrifices I make, step in my shoes and feel the pressures. And if I don't pick up the phone, then maybe a text message is more appropriate. Otherwise I will start turning my phone off, cos 17+ missed calls is fucking bullshit. Deal with it. I will not say this again.

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I don't get too excited about art. Or rather, maybe I just haven't truly found art that excites me.

I try to make an effort, going to museums, free exhibitions now and again, seeing things that she wants to go see. But in all honesty, I'm never truly excited. I can appreciate things in a work or installation, like grand pieces where it is obvious the level of skill involved in creation, the attention to detail, the length of time and dedication required to make the piece. But often times, particularly with modern day art, I just look at it and think, who cares.

Sculptures by the Sea this year (for those that don't know, SxS is a yearly free outdoor exhibition set in Sydney along the incredibly picturesque backdrop that is the Bondi Beach- Tamarama Beach walk) was.... under-whelming. Admittedly we didn't go see all of it as it was getting dark, cold and dinner time, lol... But most of the pieces were either too random, or too abstract, or too "so what?" for me. It didn't evoke an emotional response most of the time. I think the epitome of this was an installation that consisted entirely of what looked like random rubbish, set on a rock that is part of the cliff face. Big who gives a flying F. There was also a piece based on Scrabble pieces that spelt out "I M A G   N E". Can you guess what the missing letter is? Do you really care that wow, I did think of it, hooray that I know English?! 

So sometimes I try to make things more interesting by making jokes (some would call it witty commentary, others would call it sheer idiocy. Well, six of one, half a dozen of the other...) I have to laugh at the people that take art too seriously. The image I have of going to see art exhibitions and the people there dressed in various shades of black, liberal amounts of pearls, an occasional monocle, with lots of ahhh, ummming, and words such as baroque, impression, luminescent....get fucked. I don't think I'm missing much with "high society". 

I prefer music, and would love to see more live music. But I don't get to indulge in it much, cos tickets x2 are expensive, and also it gets too difficult to ensure that we can both go that night. If only there were more concerts during weekday days, but of course that's not going to happen.

deep breath.

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T.I.R.L. this week.

The feeling of sitting down looking over the ocean. The ambient noise is so relaxing and rejuvenating. I understand why people want water views, but never understood why people pay so much more for water views of the harbour. Give me a little bungalow on the beach over a 3 bedroom high rise apartment in World Square, any day of the week.

and now T.I.R.D.L. For those playing at home, the D stands for Don't.

I don't like the smell of low tide. Too faecal for me :( lol.

a timely matter

ok, now my appetite has been whet, it is on.

I am incensed at the stupidity of people that are starting bushfires. In Sydney, where we've had water restrictions for years, and it's starting to get hot and dry. It doesn't take a 5th grader. The most recent one was started in the Blue Mountains (not far from where I live) by two 11-yr olds throwing a Molotov cocktail into the bush. I mean, really, where do I begin.

Sure, on the one hand, they're just 11 year old kids going, wow it would be fun to make a Molotov. Undoubtedly they would have been influenced by something they have seen, like a video game, movie, or the Internet. And it follows that being minors they would be unaware of the consequences of their actions. They probably wouldn't have considered beyond, yep, it'll be cool to see it explode, maybe burn something.

The cost of dealing with bushfires, be they natural disasters or man-made, is staggering. Aside from the physical damage by the fire to people's homes, land, buildings, loss of commerce, the cost of fighting the fire itself is enormous. Even when you consider that most firemen are volunteers, the cost of sending multiple trucks, crews from interstate, choppers to waterbomb, the cost of public service for evacuations, temporary accommodation, setting up helplines- the list goes on. Weigh that up against a bottle of oil and a rag and a lighter. Corporal punishment does seem like a very appealing option.

There's talk that the two kids are going to be charged with terrorism offences, in order to underline the severity of their actions. I think that's a bit much. I wholeheartedly endorse giving the guilty parties appropriate and serious punishments; community service won't teach them anything. But to call it a terrorist offence is a misnomer. The word "terrorism" has been thrown around so much by Dubya, that it's now become a buzzword. But that's for another post.

I believe there is definitely a time and place for corporal punishment, if not capital punishment. The humiliation of a public caning would definitely last a lot longer and affect them more than 500 hours of community service. It is easy to confuse corporal punishment with merely inflicting pain, when in actual fact the pain of the event is secondary.

At my old school in Ipswich corporal punishment was still used as a form of discipline. When I was in Year 8, I remember one of the parents made a complaint cos their son had been given the cane, for some repeated minor infringement. One of my old teachers replied, "It's not about the pain. The pain merely helps them remember the humiliation and shame of being caned." It follows that whatever physical pain is caused by the punishment, the emotional pain associated with the event magnifies the event. The power of the mind is much stronger than the power of the hand.

Suffice to say if these two were my kids there would be some serious smackdown to be laid...