As if my taste buds aren't already stultified to the max, my grandma and aunt just arrived from China. It means that there is now a 0% chance I get to eat Western food for lunch or dinner unless I make it myself, which is equally as devastating because I can't cook anything other than pasta and chicken risotto (that one time I cooked out of pure necessity to feed my friends) using the microwave half the time. This will also make me sound like a spoilt noveau riche kid but I have never even fried an egg.
Yes, shake your head. Cyber slap me. Tell me I'm naughty. Reowr.
Honestly though, I don't know how the other Chinese kids do it. How? HOW?
There should come a certain point in your life when you put your chopsticks down and go: "No, I cannot take any more bowls of plain white rice, bok choi and sweet and sour pork. Give me pasta, lasagne, pizza, steak, chips, gravy, mashed potatoes and pavlova okay not really that last one."
And yes, my mum actually does make a hell of a lot of sweet and sour pork. It's a true stereotype.
Personally, I just can't stand Chinese food anymore. Or maybe if we get to the bottom of it, it's just the food my mum cooks. Because she cooks the exact same thing almost every day. Or maybe I'm just a really ungrateful little shit.
There's also the issue of me not really liking meat. I'd much rather prefer vegetables. But when Chinese people make vegetarian dishes, they just dump a whole lot of broccoli, mushrooms and carrots onto a plate and try to pass that off as a legitimately satisfying dish. Bloody hell.
So yeah. I crai.
For the time being, I still have a fridge full of Lean Cuisine boxes. Once they run out though, consider my gastronomic life over.
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Friday, 7 June 2013
Little Russian Kid has got Groove. Everyone is high.
I want to dance like this kid. Legit. Someone take me to a Russian nightclub and we can party like it's 1999.
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Friendzone v Girlfriend zone
You know how it is, right, ladies? You know a guy for a while. You hang out with him. You do fun things with him—play video games, watch movies, go hiking, go to concerts. You invite him to your parties. You listen to his problems. You do all this because you think he wants to be your friend.
But then, then comes the fateful moment where you find out that all this time, he’s only seen you as a potential girlfriend. And then if you turn him down, he may never speak to you again. This has happened to me time after time: I hit it off with a guy, and, for all that I’ve been burned in the past, I start to think that this one might actually care about me as a person. And then he asks me on a date.
I tell him how much I enjoy his company, how much I value his friendship. I tell him that I really want to be his friend and to continue hanging out with him and talking about our favorite books or exploring new restaurants or making fun of avant-garde theatre productions. But he rejects me. He doesn’t answer my calls or e-mails; if we’d been making plans to do something before this fateful incident, these plans mysteriously fail to materialize. (This is why I never did get around to seeing the Hunger Games movie. Not to name any names, but thanks a lot, Tom.) Later, when I run into him at social events, our conversations are awkward and lukewarm. This is because the moment we met, he put me in the girlfriend-zone, and now he can’t see me as friend material.
I must say that I find this really unfair. I mean, I’m a nice girl. I have a lot to offer as a friend, like not being a douchebag and stuff. But males just don’t want to be friends with nice girls like me. They can’t help it, I guess; it’s just how they’re wired, biologically. Evolution conditioned our male hominid ancestors to seek nice girls as mates and form friendship bonds only with the other dudes that they hunted mammoths with. It’s true—I know this because I studied hominids in my fifth-grade science class.
So what’s the answer? Should I take up mammoth-hunting in an attempt to appeal to the friendship centers of men’s primal lizardbrains? Should I keep making guy “friends” and then prevent them from making a move on me by subtly undermining their self-confidence? Should I just give up on those manipulative, game-playing, two-faced bastards once and for all? I don’t know. I mean, I’d really like to have a true friendship with a guy someday, but it’s so hard to trust and respect them when they never say what they mean—and you never know when you might be relegated to the girlfriend-zone.
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
Another isolated incident or a sign of pervasive racism in Australia?
School boy racially abused by 50-year-old woman on Sydney bus
FOOTAGE has emerged of yet another racial attack on a Sydney bus - but this time, the victim is a school boy.
Video posted to YouTube and aired on A Current Affair last night shows a 50-year-old woman hurling verbal profanities at a young male of Asian descent in a school uniform.
It all starts when, in order to protect "fragile equipment" stored in boxes, the boy and a friend decide to stand in the aisle of the bus while keeping the equipment safe on bus seats.
It's this that agitates the woman, who claims the pair are blocking her view.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national-news/school-boy-racially-abused-by-50-year-old-woman-on-sydney-bus/story-fncynjr2-1226657226955#ixzz2VFHJJ2vs
Fortunately, I have never been a direct victim of racism but I think I know exactly how this boy feels. Being subject to explicit racism is an incredibly scarring experience that stays with you for a long time - maybe for the rest of your life. And when it's 2013 and you're living in one of the world's most affluent and multicultural cities, having this happen to you is gut-wrenchingly demoralising.
This incident was particularly disheartening for me because no one spoke up for him and also because he immediately reminded me of my younger brother. My brother is very shy and can be quite socially awkward. My friends used to say hi to him outside the school gates while we waited for my parents to pick us up and he would literally - not even kidding - scurry over to a tree or behind some foliage and retreat into the shadows. Not saying a word. That's how much confidence he lacks.
So if something like this ever happened to him...
He'd probably keep his mouth shut and look away, shrinking back into his seat and digging himself further into his little bubble of timidness. Scarred for life. And the worst thing is, he might not tell us about it. He'd keep it to himself and feel bad all the time, and no one can help him.
Really, this video just makes me feel: wow, that could've been my little brother taking the bus, being abused by some random.
Very sad.
Makes me want to freaking destroy/punch the f out of anyone who makes him feel that way.
But overall, I still hold an optimistic view for the future of multiculturalism in Australia. I always assure myself - once my peers are the ones running society, we will have a generation of leaders where most have grown up in very multicultural communities and are great champions for anti-racism and acceptance.
Anyway, it's important not to get too bogged down by this new incident. While we have seen quite a number of racist incidents being reported by the media recently, we must not forget that there are definitely leaders out there who are actively supporting and fuelling multiculturalism in Australia:
Multiculturalism and anti-racism were key messages at the fundraiser for the Liberal Candidate for Bruce, Emanuele Cicchiello. And yes, here's a video of my time that night:
emanuele cicchiello fundraiser from Cincity on Vimeo.
Reactions to 'The Red Wedding' episode of Game of Thrones
If you've read the GoT books, then you'll know that author George R.R. Martin is a sadistic bastard. Nothing is guaranteed. Everything is temporal.
He likes to kill off the main characters in the most brutal and undignified ways. The characters he knows you all love and care about the most. The ones he has spent the most time developing over the course of the series, garnering the loyalty of readers and viewers... suddenly - 'AHHHHHHHH!' The silvery gleam of a traitor's sword flashes for half a second as it slides across ******'s throat, leaving a trail of fresh vermilion. One of the most loved main characters has just been killed. Now dead. Just like that. You sit there, mouth open, eyes wide, not believing what just happened.
And then you read that passage again and Martin is just like "yep, that just freaking' happened. Deal with it." Resentment boils up inside you. You think of him sitting at home, surrounded by wads of cash, sipping tea in an armchair and then pausing to let out an insouciant chuckle. Yet you know you can't stop reading to find out if they're REALLY dead. So at the same time you keep reading all the books, your mind is like "SCREW YOU GEORGE. SCREW. YOU."
The world of fiction can be cruel and as a celebration of what is hitherto the greatest of Martin's massacres, video reactions of GoT fans who had no idea 'The Red Wedding' was coming has been compiled for your amusement. For those who have already read the books and knew exactly what sort of shit was going to hit the fan - feel free to snigger at the collective screams of diehard fans worldwide.
Sunday, 2 June 2013
I really want to see this movie
NOW YOU SEE ME pits an elite FBI squad in a game of cat and mouse against "The Four Horsemen", a super-team of the world's greatest illusionists.
"The Four Horsemen" pull off a series of daring heists against corrupt business leaders during their performances, showering the stolen profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.
Liberal Party Fundraiser for Emanuele Cicchiello: photo-dump
I doubt anybody remembers or really cared but if you've read my other blog (which I know is much more interesting when I fill it with anti-Bruno Mars rants), I have been to a number of political fundraisers and I did volunteer work for former Liberal candidate Gladys Liu during her campaign a few years ago.
Yep. Pumping helium balloons. Handing out flyers. Going around tables selling raffle tickets. Not doing exam revision and getting a crappish score for my Chinese sac.
T'was the lyf.
Experience is always a positive thing though. Yes, it actually is. We all need to
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| With Melbourne City Councillor and former President of the Chinese Association of Victoria, Ken Ong, who only seemed to register any sort of interest in making conversation with me after I told him I studied arts and law at Monash Uni. He was all like "my son does the same course and is in your year." Something about how I should know him because his son is so heavily involved with club activities etc. |
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| With the star of the night, Emanuele Cicchiello, who is the Liberal candidate for Bruce. He went to MWSC and was a teacher before becoming a principal and now a pollie. Seems like a very nice guy. But can a nice guy be a good politician? A trenchant question one must consider before September 14. |
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| With the President of the Legislative Council and State Member for Eastern Metropolitan Region, Bruce Atkinson. Conversation with him was extremely awks. I think I just need to practice being more laidback, Aussie style. Get an Australian accent. Which REMINDS ME, Reuben watched the St Kilda FF video and said I HAD A LISP. A LISP. I know I can't pronounce 'th' but it's not as bad as an actual freaking lisp. |
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| With someone all of you Asians living in Box Hill should recognise at once - he's your rep Robert Clark and the Attorney General. He went to St Alban's High School and then graduated from University High. I found it quite lovely that two of the most important people in the room both received public school educations. |
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| Liberal for Hotham, Fazal Cader, who was really enthusiastic about doing an interview with me. And... a guy in a Qing Dynasty hat. Or something. He might have been someone important. Sorry. |
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| MCs: Cr Ken Ong and the wonderful Gladys Liu |
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| Singing and dancing. |
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| More singing and dancing. |
Saturday, 1 June 2013
Green Steps: a brief outline of why it's better than other activist organisations
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| A small child could fit in that gap. Michael and Keith - the Green Stepping bros. |
#lifemistakes
#lightweight
It was a rather formal networking event where a bunch of expert panellists did a Q&A (you know the ABC show, right?) type session on the future of sustainability in business practices. By sustainability, they didn't limit themselves to the definition of 'environmental sustainability' but also corporate social sustainability and risk. Being mature professionals, they recognised that sustainability meant different things for different businesses and so they were not going to impose their priorities on others.
The panellists:
- Professor Kate Auty - Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, Victoria
- Alison Read - Head of Environment & Sustainability, National Australia Bank
- Will Symons - National Practice Leader, Sustainability and Climate Change, AECOM Australia
- Matthew Belleghem - Principal Consultant | Environment, Sustainability, EHS & Renewable Energy, envirosearch
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| I'm wearing green for Green Steps. Really trendy. |
The event was incredibly enlightening, at least for me. As an organisation that aims to raise awareness of environmental sustainability and encourage businesses to adopt environmentally sustainable practices, they really distinguish themselves from other activist groups like Amnesty International (which I am a member of) and Greenpeace, whose usual tactics are to pressure institutions into reform via protesting and petitioning. And sometimes, marching down streets holding placards full of puns and screaming into megaphones. On the other hand, Green Steps completely and deliberately veers away from that sort of confrontational approach. Instead, they work with government and other businesses to create sustainable projects and business practices, meaning they are there from the very start to offer input and ideas for improvement.
It's a very fascinating approach. Green Steps educates students, no matter what they're studying, into incorporating practical strategies for sustainability into their thinking so that when they get jobs, they can make an impact from the inside and not from the outside. It's like a really cool infiltration process. And yes, they actually make efforts to help kids find internships in companies (which they hope will lead to an actual job) so they can fulfil the Green Steps mission. Instead of confrontation, they negotiate. While concessions have to be made at times, at least you're part of the process and you know you're making a change to some extent. I find this very admirable. And as you can see from the panel, these people are very very high up and are evidence of this nascent 'change from the inside' approach.
When you think about it, although Amnesty Int and Greenpeace are huge multinational NGOs who have undoubtedly made a mark on certain government policies, is putting pressure on governments and other institutions using the above strategies really the best way to go? And is it really that effective? One thing's for certain - protesting raises awareness but in terms of creating change, it really doesn't offer much and relies solely on the other agent or institution to buckle under pressure and thereby comply with their demands. Obviously, I don't want to undermine any of their achievements and I actually know that both Amnesty and Greenpeace have at times moved toward a more cooperative and consultative approach, but Green Steps just seems so much more effective, perhaps at a more grass roots level.
This hippie guy, dressed in jeans and a hoodie and sporting a ponytail, was sitting at the front and was all like 'but what role does activism play in your approach?'
LEL. You can tell from the panellists' brief moment of silence that activism - in the way that that guy was thinking - did not play a role in Green Steps. Green Steps is an environmentalist organisation that has established a highly professional and reliable team for businesses to turn to - obviously, not wanting to fuel the dichotomy that already exists between them and environmentalist groups.
Will, one of the founders, said that when he was younger and at university, he was heavily involved with activism. However, he realised that that sort of activism seemed to fuel arrogance and egocentric "about me" attitudes among the group. People were so adamant about protecting the environment that they seemed to forget that businesses and governments have other priorities and values as well, and not necessarily for selfish/self-interested reasons. So instead of imposing their values on them, they work to align their values.
And that was what I took away most from that night. It's a simple concept but it's not a very widely disseminated one among activists, who are much more likely to join large NGO groups focused on pressuring authorities into action instead of choosing an approach similar to Green Steps.
+ I still think Amnesty Int and Greenpeace are very important and the world needs them. Just, maybe, if a minority of their millions of members moved over to Green Steps-like organisations, it would be....interesting.
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