Oh well, if everyone else thinks it’s ok…

Kate McCulloch, a woman dense enough to want to be Pauline Hanson:

“Look, scores of people are coming up to me and saying, ‘Good on you, Kate … you’re saying what we’re too scared to ‘cos of racial vilification laws, but we all think it.’ I would like to keep our place like it is and I guess [joining the] Liberals would be natural,” she told the Herald.

I wonder if the same conversation happens amongst groups of would-be thieves?

“Oh man Steve-o you fuckin’ rock! Robbing that fuckin’ bank man! We’re all too scared by the fuckin’ pigs, but goodonyamaaaaaaate…“

[sirens can be heard in the distance, edging closer and closer...]

The obvious solution is…

I recently read a story about the “growing dangers” of hybrid cars, namely that hybrids are are too difficult to hear for blind pedestrians, and pedestrians who can be distracted by, I shit you not, cell phones, music devices, and kids. So what are the US lawmakers’ solution? A two year study, and possibly require Auto makers to make hybrid cars louder. Yep, those big brains over in America thinks the best way to deal with quiet hybrids is to make them louder. Wow, what qualifications are required to be a US politician? Common sense isn’t one of them.

Here’s what the NSW Police is doing. Scroll down to the bottom — some of the best public service ads I’ve seen.

On Return

I’m afraid I’ve become one of those people.

You know, the type that goes overseas only to complain that “it’s not like back home blah blah”. Except in my case it’s the other way around; “It’s not like that in Japan….”

And it isn’t: public transport is expensive and shit, it’s more dangerous in parts of the city (like at the Town Hall bus stop at 2am when the Riot Squad showed up), and even the produce is not as good as I remembered it to be. All week I’ve been eating tasteless vegetables and wondering what went wrong — admittedly my vegies were bought at Coles, but I used to shop at Coles and it was fine two years ago.

That and all the other things added up, and I’ve been talking up Japan so much that even I wanted to tell myself to just get the hell back over there if I like it so much!

I’ve got the post-holiday blues bad, that’s for sure. Let’s hope I get a job soon so I have a distraction from how un-Japan everything is.

(Apologies for the lack of activity here, evidentially I’ve been too busy whinging and have been neglecting this blog.)

Things I have learnt since coming back to Sydney

Sydney is annoyingly large geographically.

The trains worked better than I remembered.

But the seats are just as uncomfortable as I remembered them to be.

Sydney is more expensive than Tokyo, no lie.

I live out in the freakin’ sticks, and I need to get the hell out of the Shire as soon as I can.

But given how expensive everything is, that is highly unlikely.

So, a week in Australia, and what have I learnt?

Koala shaped chocolates, with exception to Caramello Koalas, are really hard to find.

However Koala shaped everything else is everywhere.

The old crows that work at Myer at Miranda are still as rude as I remembered them to be.

And on that note, people still stare at me in Miranda. Yes, I’m short and have black hair and I don’t look like you, Ms-born-in-the-Shire-die-in-the-Shire-middle-aged-”but-still-young-at-heart”-shivelled-up-crow, so stop staring.

Happily, I don’t get stared at anywhere else. That’s progress for ya.

But most people now think I’m Japanese. Or at least a foreigner. Including Flight Attendants. Who are Australian. Even with my accent, which I have back, in full force maaaate.

Speaking of progress, a funny thing happened when we walked through the city on our first day — neither of us felt like we’d left Japan. Because walking down George St all we saw were Asians — everywhere! Where did they all come from? Did I just not notice before? It felt like we were walking through Roppongi on a Saturday afternoon than walking through Sydney.

Did that sound really racist?

Speaking of Asians, I can now no longer pick where in Asia someone comes from. The cross-breeding of fashion and trends from different Asian countries have done away with that — although you can still pick a Chinese family from the amount of noise we make in public places. Especially restaurants and places where we can take photos of each other.

And on fashion, I have somehow become more metrosexual. It pains me. And provides my sister with an unnatural amount of amusement.

And I missed Chinese food far more than I realised. Though I don’t miss the way it accumulates around the waste line.

Another surprising thing about Sydney — the trains were working ok. They mostly came on time, they were relatively clean and fast. Unfortunately they were really expensive, but you can’t have everything.

Food in Sydney is also expensive. As are drinks. And film, electronics, games, books, hotels, ferries, and just about everything else. I think it might actually be cheaper to live in Japan.

Sydney Airport staff are great — efficient, friendly, and helpful. Why can’t the rest of the damn country be like that?

I miss my dog. And my friends. And my ex-coworkers; though I don’t miss the work so much. But most of all my dog, who’s pushing 13 and has gone deaf and kind of blind. God I love that little guy, I hope he hangs on long enough for me to see him next time I come back to Australia.

0709_karma.jpg

Much Excitement!

1. I’m finally coming home! Well, for a visit anyway. I’ve booked my tickets, The Girlfriend and I will be in Sydney between September 15th to September 25th, in time for my sister’s birthday, as well as seeing Christian Lingberg play with the ACO. Happyness!

2. (Incidentally, 15th September was also the day I first set foot in Sydney, 21 years ago.)

The Big Flop and the Big Durian

1. I have been rather lax the last couple of months, and I have no excuse besides laziness. So, a quick update on life matters.

2. Firstly, my long awaited trip to Kansai this month ran wildly off course and unfortunately had to be aborted mid-trip. It was disappointing, but Kansai is only a two hour train trip away, and I’ve been told November is the best time to go; as the country slips into Autumn it dresses itself in a brilliant red, a breathtaking sight. Not sure the finances will cope but a November weekend in Kyoto is a possibility.

3. Secondly, I won’t be coming back to Sydney this NYE after all. Plane tickets were just to expensive to justify the short time back home, so now I and a fellow teacher here will be going to Indonesia instead — climbing Anak Krakatoa, visiting Yogyakarta and the nearby Merapi volcano and getting under the influence for Christmas and New Years in the Big Durian. Molten rocks, millenia old Javanese temples and cheap cheap beer, oh my!

4. I’m working right now to expand my photography portfolio, and am planning on launching a web store in the near future to sell my prints. I think I’ve got some nice images now, and the cost of entry is so low there’s no reason not to try. More on that as it comes.

5. Not much else to report I’m afraid — weekend antics notwithstanding (and I ain’t talkin’ about that). All is well in the night.

Peter Debnam: Stupid Name, Bad Politician

1. Peter Debnam, you are no John Howard. Seriously, leave social engineering for those in your party that are actually good at it. From the Herald:

Mr Debnam said in yesterday’s Herald that there were “200 Middle Eastern thugs” in Sydney connected with revenge attacks on beachside suburbs after the Cronulla riots in December.

If elected next year, “at dawn … on the 25th of March, my instruction to the police commissioner will be to take as many police as you need and charge them with anything to get them off the streets”, he said.

2. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt, and interpret this as a clumsy way to manipulate the stupid and the ignorant. I sincerely hope that the leader of a major State political party was not idiotic enough to seriously consider ordering police to arrest people based on racial profiles. Really, doesn’t he have a PR guy?

3. Even better though, here’s the Police response:

But Assistant Commissioner Graeme Morgan said that could not happen. “Fortunately we live in a society that is guided by the rule of law,” Mr Morgan told 2UE.

4. Touche.

Tomodachi

1. I have been curious about this restauraunt since it opened a couple of years back, but it wasn’t until last Tuesday that I finally found time to try it out. Situated in a food court of a shopping centre isn’t exactly doing it any favours (who goes to a food court for a night out?), but the restaurant itself is nicely decorated, and once inside the food court melts away and doesn’t intrude. Prices are reasonable, pushing expensive, but the servings are big! An entree of Tempura Prawns were fantastic and almost mains size; and the Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box that followed is big enough to share. Featuring a mixture of Tempura (crisp), Sushi (delicate), Sashimi (very, very fresh), Teriyaki Chicken on rice (yum!) and a selection of salad and fruit, one is almost overloaded with choice — in fact it would be wise to skip the entree and go straight for the Bento, unless you are really hungry!

Tomodachi, level two, food court, shop 220, 2 Bay St Broadway, Sydney. Tel: (02) 9281 6000

Spanish Tapas

1. Yum! Located on Glebe Point Road (right up from where I live) I’ve been staring at the restaurant for almost a year from the bus on the way home from work, but we finally went there for dinner last night. The service was a bit lacking, as in lack of wait staff, but the ones who were there were capable and friendly. The Tapas were fantastic, ranging from $9 to $15 per place; we ordered five plates for the four of us, which came out fast, and tasted delicious. There were also paella on the menu (which we didn’t try) but neighboring tables did and it looked magnificent. Nice atmosphere, complete with bad latin pop soundtrack, rounded off a good night. We’ll be going back for the paella, most definitely.

Spanish Tapas, 28 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe, NSW 2037. Tel: (02) 9571-9005, Fax: (02) 9518-6371