November 2007 Archives

Having spent the last day and a half recovering from what appears to have been a stomach virus, which I am now recovering from, I now have had some time to contemplate the events of the last week or so...

Here in Australia, we have exercised our democratic right to change the government, with the new Rudd Labor government taking up the reins this week. The incumbent Prime Minister lost his seat, after enjoying eleven years of government and the leadership of the new Opposition will be new faces to the old team we have become accustomed to.

The election result appeared to have been inevitable, even months before it was announced, opinion polls had predicted the correct result, and the whole electoral campaign was a bit of a drag. In some ways, we should be glad that we can have campaign after campaign that are tedious, but in reality, as we live in a politically stable country, we are not likely to get out of bed in the morning and find things have radically changed, unlike other places in the world.

Australia has won the two test series against Sri Lanka, without much bother...and we await the arrival of the Indian Test team just before Christmas.

Momentum gathers in the days leading up to Christmas. At the moment, it looks like we may have 12-14 here for late lunch on Christmas Day. We always seem to have a dilemma here in Australia regarding whether we should have a hot or a cold meal, as the weather can vary anywhere between about 12 to 42 degrees C at that time of year. I have memories of sitting up to hot roast turkey, chicken and pork and roast vegetables followed by plum pudding in a steamy kitchen, with the temperature somewhere in the low 40's outside, but as it is just as likely to be a cold day, when the roast would be greatly appreciated. The solution: make a decision a few days before, when the weather forecast is more accurate, and we still have time to change the menu. So, the options are still open...

At this stage, I have done very little Christmas shopping, so there is going to have to be some activity soon, otherwise I will have to hit the panic button. Any more trips like last Sunday's, when G and I went Christmas shopping and only came home with a new pair of Birkenstocks each, are to be avoided.

As I hinted in my previous post, there was an annual milestone in my life last Monday... Now, I have long got over the need to be the centre of attention, and if the truth be known, probably was never really that comfortable with it, so when I left for work on Monday morning, and G stumbled out to say goodbye to me, almost fully asleep still, because he had been on night duty, and he did not remember the date, I didn't worry too much about it, because I had so much going on at work that there was no time to contemplate it. He rectified the omission later in the morning, and I received some SMSs and emails regarding the day, but did not actually say anything at work about what day it was. The two people who did remember weren't at work that day, but one left a note on my calendar, and the other sent me an SMS. In the evening we went out for a lovely dinner at C and Y's and I generally had a very busy, but nice day.

So it was with a bit of a surprise later in the week, as I was reading out the Star Sign with a fellow Scorpio in the office, that I let it slip that it had been my birthday, and I was a little taken aback at the disappointment on the faces of people who missed out on having a little fun...(not to mention cake)

Suffice it to say, that I shall not make this mistake again. The tradition in our office, to bring a cake on the day, is the usual trigger for reminding people that it's a special day...and as I had been too occupied the day before, I hadn't done it.

Now, I've made amends: baked a Passionfruit Sponge, which I took to work today, and which disappeared in a very satisfactory manner...

Last night, I ventured out to continue my newly recommenced exercise program, with some good friends, for street orienteering in Yarraville. Despite the overcast skies, and a few spots of rain, we were able to complete nine checkpoints, despite receiving penalties for getting back late.

It is an amazing contrast to see the industrial side of the city, close to the Port of Melbourne, and the quaint workers cottages on the western side of Whitehall Street. It is fun to walk along roads where we normally zoom past at, or close to the speed limit, to appreciate the trouble people have gone to, to restore houses that are more than eighty years old, and to sniff the wafting aromas coming from BBQs and restaurants and cafes as we passed. Noone stepped out of a restaurant to offer us a restorative drink, but there were many curious glances as we strode by, with maps and score cards in hand.

Street orienteering does not involve a compass, as does regular orienteering, the score card and a map showing the controls, or checkpoints and a watch is all you need . The rest is up to you.

If you want to discover more about street orienteering, you can go to http://www.street.orienteering.com.au

I have been thinging what it is about some pieces of music, that in the hearing of them, is capable of changing my mood (for the better) or others that pick up a touch of melancholy, but somehow in the end also lighten it, by the sheer joy invoked in simple harmonies, key changes or resolution of incompleteness .

This particularly applies to music in a minor key, because even some French music has this effect on me, as my understanding of some of it is limited, unless I spend some time studying the lyrics, so it must be the overall sound that does it.

The half hour trip home from work in the car, with a CD playing (at my preferred volume level) is often enough to take me, metaphorically at least, to another place. To relax, and let my thoughts fly where they will, and all inspired by music.

Dear readers, please excuse the lack of witticisms in recent days, there have been many happenings in my workplace which have diverted attention from amusing tales of woe or laughter, with an emphasis on just getting things done. Politely. Efficiently.

Now, I must contemplate the prospect of yet another milestone in my life on Monday, with enough numbers for a pack of cards, but no joker...that's next year!

So if I am to make a resolution or three, what should they be?

Be true to myself
Make sure there are things in my life that I love doing
Keep in touch with those that matter to me
Take time to smell the daisies, or the roses...
Keep work in it's proper perspective

One of the pleasures of living in Melbourne is the opportunity for a range of culinary experiences drawing from a number of different food cultures. Add to this an opportunity to dine with friends visiting from the Middle East, and you have the ingredients for a lovely evening. Even more special when the dinner is the result of a wager that is being honoured, albeit not quite the one that I was expecting. And I acknowledge that making assumptions may not always be the wisest thing to do, but reading between the lines, and reaching a considered conclusion on the basis of known facts will often reap rewards.

Approaching the eve of the Melbourne Cup weekend is not an easy one to find a restaurant with bay views in St Kilda, as most of the signature restaurants were already booked out by mid week, however, a recommendation from a colleague saw us heading to Mirka at Tolarno in Fitzroy Street for an early dinner, with G rostered for a 4am start the next morning, and our companions still to recover from jet lag after arriving in the morning. This restaurant has a menu which is strongly influenced by French and Italian cuisines with some classic dishes like Bouillabaise,

The restaurant has kept the murals painted by the artist, Mirka Mora, and windows overlooking Fitzroy Street, where you can watch the world go by

As I had perused the menu on the internet before we went, I had pretty made up my mind by the time we got there to have snails, served as an entree, without shells but with garlic and parsley butter and a flaky pastry topping, which proved to be absolutely delicious. Other choices for entrees included oysters, black pudding with scallops, and mussels marinière.

Other delicacies included Pork with crunchy crackling, the afore mentioned Bouillabaisse, Sword fish and a range of other yummy stuff too numerous to mention.

And, yes, I found room for dessert, too...

And I'm looking forward to the next one...

Work, work, work...

A taste of the Middle East, with stuffed wild “zucchinis” and couscous for dinner on Tuesday night

How useful (or not) an extendable fork would be

Shopping for fashion to wear to the races

Coco (the Siamese cat) racing from one end of the house to the other at top speed…before finding a knitting needle upstairs, and bringing it down to play on the polished floor boards, in the wee small hours of the morning: click, click, click, click, click…When she’s not playing at that time of morning, she’s curled up at the small of my back, or the crook of my elbow or behind my legs, depending on the temperature and how cold she feels.

Roses flowering in our garden (Photograph to be posted when I get a chance)

Contemplation:

of what is freedom and what is not…