Ms Chocaholic with lots of opinions and an attitude

The answer is 42

2011-06-05T22:19:00.004+07:00

So while I was busy breaking my leg, it meant I didnt pay tribute properly to the brilliant Douglas Adams. But then again, unlikely I would have carried a towel around all day :) This year I just decided to wrap one around my left foot semi-permanently instead!

Fans of DNA (Douglas Adams as he is referred to by many) will talk about how the books changed their lives. I wouldnt claim to be such an avid fan, but have to admit over the years I find myself borrowing his words a fair bit. Even if to only use some of his book titles, but why not! Who amongst us has never thought of and pondered questions such as 'Life, the Universe and Everything', and who amongst us had not had the occasion to say to people in their lives: 'Thanks for all the Fish'.

Many will also have lots to say about his brilliance as a scientist - so much so that there is a book dedicated to mathematical reasons why DNA might have chosen '42' as the ultimate answer to 'life, the universe and everything'. I wont even pretend to understand any of that talk about using what base of mathematical number to arrive at why 6 times 9 is not 54 :)

In fact, not having grown up in the UK or knowing about western literary work, I had no idea of who Doug Adams was until a couple of years after his death! The very first book I read by him was actually his last book 'Salmon of Doubt'. Interestingly, the book is a collection of all his otherwise unpublished articles - recent ones, but also going back to the days when he was still a high school boy. His talent and clever wit shone through already since then. I think I finished reading the book in 2 days (a record at that stage in my life..with all the other work pressures).

After that book, I was on a quest. A quest to read the unconventional '5-book-trilogy' (If it were normal Hollywood movie, that would have been the sequel after sequel that just refuse to go away - but in the case of the Hitchhiker, no complaints :)

Analyse it, dont analyse it - whatever works for you. But if you need a bit of humour in your life, do read the books. If nothing else, there will be something on every couple of page that should make you smile :)

Exactly 10 years after his death, and he is still remembered with fondness by so many around the world. Me included.

So, 'thanks for all the fish' Douglas!

ps. ohh and all you new gen iphone, ipad, ipod lovers - DNA was a big big Mac fan, so there you go ;)

The bright side....

2011-06-02T22:10:00.007+07:00

I keep getting told people are visual creatures (men more so than women?)
so here are some visuals :)

The first is care package compliments of Khun Stephane

The second? care package compliments of the doctor (ofcourse at a very hefty fee!)

and of course the last....care package compliments to my own addiction :)

I did say

2011-05-30T16:55:00.003+07:00

I'm sure I've said this to a few friends at different times: I don't worry about dying from a chocolate overdose I'm more concerned about my clumsiness!! Rightly so

In the last few weeks alone I've had a number of misses and minor accidents - a couple of falls around town while with my friend A, then fell down the stairs at home luckily managed to catch myself in time and only a somewhat sprained wrist that healed quickly enough.

But I suppose one cant escape what was bound to happen? Last week just after a visit to my physio, calmly walking on the footpath, deciding whether to jump in a cab or to go round the corner for some food, I suddenly twisted my foot. Felt this excruciating pain, like really awful pain and thought 'I'm in trouble'. Stood still holding my left foot for a minute or so, then tried to stand on it. Was bearable so maybe things aren't too bad. Went about business as usual for the rest of the afternoon. A slight bother in the foot, but again nothing overt the top well until I sat down and tried to get up again. The foot started to hurt, initially a little more than it had all afternoon, but then within less than a minute I could no longer out weight on my left foot and was soon limping.

So straight I go to the hospital. The doc orders an X ray, looks at it - good news: no broken bone. Bad news: 2 pulled tendons that means you won't be able to walk without being in constant pain. So I'm going to put that leg in a cast for at least a week. So that was that. Took all of 30 minutes and I now have this ugly white solid leg along with an even uglier slipper to go under the cast to contend with.

Of course I try not to mention the pain. My theory: maybe if you ignore it long enough it might just go away :p but nah on a serious note, got a couple of strong pain killers to help me cope.

The bright side: (there's always a bright side!) I can now seek attention. So far managed to get that already from my future boss :), from my friend Stephane who brought some books, AND a large supply of all sorts of chocolates. Then there is P Na who sends me meals everyday! Thank you! I will soon be fat from inactivity combined with too much food and chocolates :)

Women's rights, inspirations and good editing

2011-03-09T00:26:00.003+07:00

how are these 3 items linked together my fans must be wondering

there is no logical connection, but rather a reflection of the random thoughts that run through my head and my weird way of joining the dotted lines :)

Today is international women's day. Sure, its not any different to another day, and we should all recognise the rights and appreciate what women contribute to society everyday, not just on some dedicated day once a year. But its a good occasion to highlight the achievements, the plight, the discrimination, the challenges that women face.

There was a time when I used to write opinion pieces, and what became annual pieces looking at women's rights and the progress made. Every now and then we get asked who are the women / woman that inspire us. If I had to think of a 'celeb' woman that inspires me, I would say its Mary Robinson.

I once had the opportunity to listen to her deliver a speech at a conference, and had a brief exchange with her after her speech. She talked about property rights being a key factor in ensuring true empowerment, and fundamental to human rights. She shared her experience working with women in Africa on entrepreneurial initiatives, and how private property rights, or the lack thereof, affected the success of the efforts. At the time I was working on promoting economic freedom and human rights - two things I strongly believe in. Strangely enough, most that work on human rights issues seem to have a strong view against economic freedom.

So having the biggest human rights advocate such as Mary Robinson tell an entire conference room how crucial it was that economic freedom is needed alongside human rights made me feel like I was no longer alone :) sounds dramatic perhaps, but that is truly how I felt - that the pleasant people around me would almost turn hostile when they read my business card that said "Regional Manager, Human Rights AND Economic Freedom'. Expressions changed when they saw/heard the latter part of my title :)

Ms. Robinson put in much more eloquent terms what I had tried to persuade my fellow human rights advocates to listen to. I remember writing a piece on the issue, quoting Ms. Robinson in more precise terms. The article was edited, and the unfortunate part is that the exact quote from Ms. Robinson was removed. I wish I still have my original version, since my memory is not too good anymore. And the odds of having another chance to exchange a few words with Mary Robinson? sighhhh only wishful thinking :)

Violence in Egypt

2011-02-03T17:44:00.002+07:00

I know all of you have been reading and following the news on the protest against Mobarak's rule in Egypt in the past 10 days. I cant claim to have any knowledge or understanding of the situation, and have basically read and watched news in the media just like most have. Including this interview of my former colleague, Dr. Ronald Meinardus, who is now based in Cairo.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,14805222,00.html

However, there is something more I want to share. It is not any indepth analysis of the situation. It may not have the same professional feel as the article written by Dr. Meinardus above, but it is an account given by a friend who lives in Alexandria. He disappeared off all channels of communication for a few days, and when he finally had mobile phone and internet access again, he sent us the following glimpse of what he observed/experienced:

I lost some friends (they were shot by criminals).
I lost my work, the buildings was burned.
I lost my car (I saw somebody driving it on TV)

The story is very strange, the situation in Egypt is dramatically changing every 30 minutes. It is unpredictable.
Very important do not believe the media specially "El Jazirah" it is NOT neutral at all.

Do not believe any party now, there are NO facts. only assumptions or unscientific conclusions.
I will tell you things that i witnessed myself (i am walking on the streets to collect information so i may understand what is happening):

1- Most of the police stations were burned at the same time.
2- Many police men were inside the police stations when it was burned.
3- Many historical places were attacked at the same time.
4- Many museums were stolen at the same time.
5- Many prisons were attacked at the same time.
6- Most of the protesters who were in Tahrir square yesterday are
( Highly educated - High economic class - employed - some of them hold more than one nationality) this means that they are not representing the majority of the Egyptians who are - according to the UN, USA and Egyptian authorities- : more than 60% cannot read or write- 20% are unemployed - more than 50% under the poverty line)
7- the supporters of the president who stated their campaign today are tooooooooo many and most of them ( low education or no education - poor or low income - workers or farmers (majority of the Egyptian) -

..... but what i see now makes me confused. i need more information to understand.

I am just glad to hear from him and to know that he is safe. I hope things stay relatively calm and no more innocents are hurt.

Floods and cyclones strikes Queensland

2011-02-03T16:13:00.002+07:00

It was not that long ago when I posted about my personal experience with flash flooding in Pattani. So when I heard about how parts of Queensland had been hit by floods, I could imagine the difficulties people there are going through. People had to leave homes and their properties, some got injured, others lost their lives. A truly painful experience. Dealing with the aftermath is far from an easy task too.

The floods were so bad that even Brisbane CBD had to be evacuated. This is what it looked like after the floods: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8194723/instant-inland-tsunami-kills-four

While the federal government together with state government is still trying to deal with re-building infrastructure and helping victims, there is already more bad news on the way.

Around the weekend there had been warning of 2 possible cyclones likely to hit Queensland. On 1st Feb it hit northern Queensland, and I hear reports of wind velocity of about 200kms per hour. THAT would be one scary storm. When we had the floods in Pattani, with roofs of homes blown away, the wind was at about 50kms an hour. And I thought that was already scary, and was strong enough to almost blow me away.

Here are some pics of what cyclone Yasi did to the region: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/slideshowajax/145074/the-aftermath-of-cyclone-yasi.slideshow

The Federal Government had proposed a flood levy on all those earning more than $50,000 per year already when the floods stuck. I wonder how much they are going to try to raise in tax revenue to deal with the impact of the cyclone. DOnt get me wrong - Im not opposed to helping those who have been affected, or re-building infrastructure. I just believe the government need to have been more efficient with its budget management. Instead it sqaundered away the tax surplus and has now been running on a budget deficit. They then use a natural calamity as an opportunity to raise income tax - no matter what kind of levy you call it, it IS essentially a tax.

Had some discussions on the matter with a friend via facebook exchange, might see if any of those points are worth repeating here. If so, will update this post

Flash floods in Pattani, 1 Nov 2010

2010-11-20T22:05:00.004+07:00

I had so much to say but things got so busy dealing with the aftermath of the flooding that it has now become old news.

However, I will try to recall the experience from the night. While it was not tsunami level ferocious flooding, it was still frightening enough for me.

water levels rose quickly - from one minute seeing heavy rain, to the next seeing water had reached up to more than half the car tires, and the next you try opening the door and water was rushing into a high pick up truck. then you get out walking on the road and feel like you are being swept away, both by the winds AND the water. and so is your 6foot tall, big built brother. and when you stand still you almost start to freeze by how cold the water is.

water receeded quick enough, but damage has already been caused. trees uprooted, building roofs blown away, damaged goods and furnitures. people rushing to stock up on food over the next few days. everyone trying to clean up, and at the same time move things to higher grounds, constructing dams around their houses, etc etc

many other towns and cities around Thailand were affected by floods this year. Pattani was not the worse hit. However what got me peeved were a couple of things
1. absolutely no warning from the provincial administration. Hat Yai had their warning. People had time to make some attempt to safeguard their property and lives. Also, very likely the flood could have been mitigated if they had taken care of the drainage system and made preparations ahead of time. Couple of days AFTER the flooding, the provincial administration sent out teams to clean up canals around town.
2. In many places around the world, Thailand included, one often sees the military is mobilised to assist during natural disasters. I saw a lot on the news how the military helped people during and after such calamities, including places such as Hat Yai. Granted Hat Yai was worse affected than Pattani, but I have to say I was still surprised that I did not see any military personnel in Pattani during the disaster that struck in Pattani. Keep in mind that over the past 6 years, and the last 2 in particular, Pattani has had a large contingent of military personnel stationed here. Many camps all over town, including inside school grounds. But none to be seen after the floods. Well, until about 10 days later when the Prime Minister visited a village that was still flooded :)

being a tourist in Indonesia

2010-10-24T19:50:00.003+07:00

after the hectic days of working on the Freedom Festival Indonesia, I decided I have earned a break. So I took off and went on a bit of a (tiny) tour of Indonesia.

Starting in the Batik town of Pekalongan, where Mom was able to buy a fair bit of batik in just a couple of days. We even managed to have a nice seafood lunch by the beach :)
(ohhh we took the train to get from Jakarta to Pekalongan. I think my expectations of Indonesian train might have been somewhat high.....but I kept hearing of how 'good' it is!)

From Pekalongan, we travelled by road to Borobudur. We stayed at the famous Manohara Hotel, on the grounds of the temple. Full compliments to the hotel for their very high level service. I was recommended the hotel by Rainer. Read quite a few not so positive reviews on the internet. Glad I decided to ignore those reviews and took Rainer's advice. the place is a true delight.
Borobudur itself was nice enough. I wasnt 'wowed' by it though. The view from the top of the temple was great of course.

From Borobudur, we hired a taxi to Yogyakarta. It is much bigger than I anticipated, with lots and lots of tourists. Marlioboro street reminded me of Khao Sarn Road. Just a longer strip. We did check out a lot of the batik shops - from the bigger ones to the smaller cheap style places. There was so many different styles, designs and a vast variety of colours. I resisted and didnt buy too much, except for some small pieces. Mom bought a bit more for samples. We also took the commuter train to Solo. Another batik-capital of Indonesia. didnt quite manage to go out to the smaller villages that make the batik. Running out of time. We decided to spend our last evening in Yogya at the Hindu temple, Prambanan. We were lucky enough to catch the outdoor Ramayana, classical ballet performance. Great performance, set against the background of the beautiful temple on the other side of the river bank. It helped that we know the story of Ramayana, and hence could follow the story of the performance.
[as an aside - many places I went to, they offered to give me student discounts for entry into sites. too bad I dont have a student card :) ]

A short but sweet trip ended far too quickly. However, what followed was not as sweet. A couple days after we flew back to Jakarta, Mount Merapi, not far from Yogya, erupted. We infact considered going there one evening to observe the active volcano. Little did we imagine that only a couple of days later, it would have turned into a disaster zone, causing much destruction.

PS. Speaking of disaster - there seems to be plenty these days. I started this post more than a week ago. Since then, I have left Indonesia, spent a day in Penang, catching up with my friend Nee, then made my way home to south Thailand. Only a couple of days later most of south Thailand, including my hometown, was hit with flash floods, causing lots of damage. I report about this in a separate post.

I have the Prime Minister's autograph

2010-10-12T22:59:00.004+07:00

alright, not exactly. She was still Education Minister at the time, but between the time I received it and the time I post this blog, Julia Gillard has since become Prime Minister of Australia. Sometime in May 2010, I was advised that my proposal for the Australian Government's Endeavour Executive Award had been successful. This notification was accompanied with a letter from the Education Minister, Ms. Gillard. About a month later, she became Australia's first female Prime Minister. (see my post on the elections below)

So, yes, since August of this year, I have been on the Executive Endeavour Award, working to prepare for the conference 'Migration and the Wealth of Nations'. It has been a hectic 2 months. In fact hectic is almost an understatement, given that the conference evolved from a 2 and half day event into a series of training workshops, networking events, public policy discussions and book launches. I wrote a quick summary of the 'Freedom Festival Indonesia 2010' for the Friedrich Naumann website here.

The conference was the highlight of the 9-day long events. For the first time in EFN Asia history, we also attempted to produce a conference resolution that will be distributed and used in various channels in days and months to come. In addition to managing the conference, I was also part of the team that drafted the first version of the resolution - later discussed and modified by all delegates, and then accepted and passed by all. The drafting process was indeed challenging, but I had an amazing group of people that worked with me on it. Sebastian Braun, David Hennebeger, Barun Mitra, Aan and Nirwan. [Towards the end I think I became a bit of a time-police - so in addition to working so hard, they also had to put up with my frantic way in the last 15 minutes or so :) ] You can find the final version of the resolution on the EFN Asia website.

Lots of reports still to be written, but I thought I should make some attempt to update this blog. It has been neglected for quite sometime. I wanted to show off about my receiving the Australian government award, but by the time I manage to write about it, it is already almost over :)

Australia 2010 Elections

2010-08-21T16:35:00.003+07:00

I think I have lost the flair for writing about elections.....but I still have not lost the interest. This time its not the German elections but the Aussie one.

Most experts are calling this the tightest race in Australian elections - with most pre-election and exit polls predicting results in the vicinity of 51% Labour vs 49% coalition (Liberals and Nationals).

As of writing this post (early evening of 21st August 2010), the votes are still being counted. Labour has the lead at 65 seats. They need 76 seats to win. I personally dont understand all the fancy terms of such and such percentage swing so will leave that to the experts. The ABC website is probably one of the best live coverage. You can read all the latest on their website.

You may also want to check out the AustralianPolitics website for info about the voting systems, particularly the primary votes and the two-party preferred votes.

What I think I will comment about is the key election issues. Rightly so much of that is centred on the economy. Other issues are the mining company 'super tax' (a 40% tax on mining companies proposed by Labour), climate change, a national broadband network, immigration, and separately asylum seekers. The immigration issue I understand. Australia currently receives 300,000 migrants a year. For a country whose total population is 22 Million, that is a sizeable chunk and enough to scare people when they hear predictions like the number of population will increase to 36 Million by 2050. It has implications on demand on resources, and for big cities like Sydney and Melbourne (where the majority of new migrants end up at - yours truly included!) this comes at a price. Housing prices, including rental, particularly in Sydney is probably one of the highest in the world today! Sure, the majority of migrants to Australia arrive under the skilled migration category, supposedly to fill shortage in the workforce. However, from my time there I realised that majority of these skilled migrants end up in jobs far below their skill level. A lot of that is due to the English language capability (or lack thereof), but a large part is also due to employers wanting to hire people with experience in Australia! [How does a new migrant gain experience in-country if they are not given that first job to begin with?]
By the way, an interesting point to note: Julia Gillard is herself a migrant to Australia. She was born in Wales, and moved to Australia at the age of 4.

Anyhow...I get somewhat sidetracked from the current election issue. Back to that. It is the last issue of asylum seekers that baffles me. Asylum seekers total a mere few thousands a year, and if and when they are admitted to the country, will hardly make a huge difference or add much pressure to the demand on resources of the country. Yet, the sensationalisation of the issue in the media over the years has made this become one of the top election issue. I certainly dont have an answer as to the best way to deal with asylum seekers, but does it really deserve all the negative publicity it gets? and the fear-mongering the media has induced into the population? and more importantly, is it really an issue of big impact to the Australian people?

It is ironic and a contradiction for me to observe the same compassionate Australians who are known for their volunteerism spirit, open-mindedness and friendly nature take such a strong uncompromising stand against these asylum seekers. It also reminds me of how powerful the media can be, and how much it can influence our perspectives.

A(n) (almost) perfect send off

2010-08-13T19:59:00.003+07:00

In the midst of two week non-stop days and nights of rain, I was about to have to pack up and move all my stuff (junk!) into storage. So of course I was ohh so thankful that on that particular Saturday morning, the Metereological department were wrong about their forecast of rain all day, and the powers that be decided to let the sun come out. It felt more like a lovely warm spring day, rather than the rainy winter day. Sydney giving me a nice send-off perhaps? :)

Got all the stuff nicely dropped off - thanks Tam's for agreeing to look after my junk, Kelly for helping me pack up my mattress, JP for lifting boxes after boxes, doing trips up and down the stairs, despite the hangover, and Yasir and Sunayna for cleaning up the mess I had left behind in the living room!

and of course, Dave for giving me a bed to stay for the night, AND agreeing to take me to the airport at such early hour on a Sunday morning! he even provided: chocolates for pre-dinner snacks, a pizza and pasta dinner, AND football! didnt quite manage to wait up for the Arsenal pre-season friendly though, but despite that....a great evening! what more could a girl ask for?
ermm a Dennis Bergkhamp testimonial scarf, apparently :p

Holland's (and my) road to the FIFA 2010 Final

2010-07-11T22:25:00.003+07:00

Ive watched every of the Holland game, some in the warmth and comfort of my bed (the 4.30am games), some in the midst of other Dutch fans (the first game against Denmark), and one even in the outdoor FIFA Fan Fest in the cold rainy Sydney night! While they have won every game, I have to admit that Ive always worried how they will do, particularly in the Semi Final against Brazil!

Somehow the Oranje made it through......and now comes the big night. The Final against Spain, who beat Germany in the Semi final. And what a game that was, the Spaniards look really strong. All I can do now is keep my fingers crossed, put on my Oranje shirt, even put the other Oranje shirt on the panda bear sitting in my room (pics to follow!)

There is all this talk about Paul the octopus and his prediction. I thought I was the only one who needed to resort to voodoo...but seems the whole world has gone mad over this octopus. Some are ofcourse adding a lot of octopus dishes to their meal :)

Anyhow, Hup Holland Hup!!

a birthday gift from the Dutch boys!

2010-07-03T00:59:00.002+07:00

Danes no match for the Dutch, according to report on the FIFA website :p (as per link above)

I went out to join hundreds of Dutch fans, and the Oranje did not disappoint, giving me an early birthday gift just on the verge of midnight.

See pics:

Also, a big thank you to all my friends for the lovely messages sent via facebook, sms. Only complaint is: no emails? no postcards? no phonecalls either? awwwww

Hey, what can I say......Im am old woman (getting older by the day!) and I like my old-fashioned, traditional, conventional ways :p

FIFA World Cup 2010 ...my sleepless days begin

2010-06-13T14:39:00.003+07:00

So the World Cup kicked off on June 11th, and no Im not going to attempt to compete with the millions of sites already reporting the news, the latest result or the predictions. What I will endeavour to do is share snippets of my own experience, interesting or otherwise :)

First game: South Africa vs Mexico. Even without really caring either way for any of the teams (sorry to my Mexican and South African friends) - I did, however, head out into the cold cold Sydney night (forcast said 10 degrees, but my bodythermometre tells me it was closer to 6 degrees celsius!) and watched it at Darling Harbour at midnight! yes thats right, 6 degrees at MIDNIGHT!! for teams I dont really care too much about. The things I do in the name of football huh??

Second game: South Korea vs Greece. I get a call from S [an aside: at the time I had no idea who S is!!] turns out Sam is a friend of another friend, who has been tricked into going to watch the game at the Enmore Theatre. So he called me to ask for back-up support. An explainer maybe needed here: S is Korean. Anyway......you may still wonder why the back up? The Enmore Theatre is home to Australia's large Greek population!!

We walk in, a girl friend with her red coat and red scarf - head right to the front of the theatre, where S proceeds to stand up in front of the crowd, and waves around his red scarf :p nice move. I do the same when the South Koreans scored. When it became 2 nil up, I said to my friend, "Im grabbing that Greece flag from the stage on my way out. Thats gonna be our safety ticket out of here" :p
[ I do have to add that - despite all the boo-ings we received, they were a great crowd, and most of the time they were abusing their own team :p ] Sorry Kat and Vicki and all my other Greek friends - I know Im a bit of a traitor.

Reminded me of sitting in front of the big screen in a Gummersbach conference room with Natie, Lara and Enikoe - 2 Argentinians a Hungarian and a Thai making the maximum noise in our white and blue flags and shirts, while a crowd of Germans hover behind us!

Watched bits and pieces of the next: Argentina vs Nigeria game, and totally missed the ENgland vs USA game. I will have to make a bit more effort on the foregoing sleep, but then again I understand I didnt miss much on the England game :P

Can NOT miss the Australia vs Germany game tomorrow morning though. 4.30am.......oh what joy that is going to be staying awake for, not to mention the conflict of interest. (Ive got my Green and Gold flag ready, but also found my Black Red and Yellow wrist band!)

While I was sleeping....

2010-06-12T10:42:00.003+07:00

On May 31st Israeli commandos raided a ship carrying aid destined for Gaza in international waters. Nine killed. Details on various news site: Reuters, New York Times

With my inexplicably strong empathy and allegience to the Jewish people, I have always mostly been a supporter of Israel, but with this latest incident, I find my support more than wavering.

Archie Comics introduced a new character - gay Kevin Keller! (I didnt even realise they still have Archie Comics. Well, it is just one of those things that you stop paying attention to, and you assume it ceased to exist? Used to read them in my teen years - absolutely loved it!
From the Archie Comics website:

On September 1st, Kevin Keller, Archie Comics' first openly gay character, will be welcomed into the town of Riverdale.

"The introduction of Kevin is just about keeping the world of Archie Comics current and inclusive. Archie's hometown of Riverdale has always been a safe world for everyone. It just makes sense to have an openly gay character in Archie comic books," stated Archie Comics Co- CEO, Jon Goldwater.

Good on them :)

And finally, cant exactly claim this happened while I was sleeping, on the contrary, while I was wide awake (and likely to be going without sleep for most of it): the FIFA World Cup 2010 kicked off on June 11th! Of course this event will get its own separate post(s) in ensuing days :) My Oranje shirt is ready....but I now realise what I should have bought is Oranje scarves and jackets! given how cold it is in Sydney these days.

Bangkok today

2010-05-19T19:32:00.004+07:00

Photos courtesy of my sister in law, who still had to go in to work this morning!

Bangkok on fire...literally :(

2010-05-19T18:18:00.005+07:00

When I wrote my previous post with its title 'While Bangkok burns' little did I even think that the title used would become the literal state of Bangkok a day later.

As of this morning 19 May 2010, the army has moved in to the protest site with armoured vehicles, firing live shots at some protesters stationed near the make-shift barricade they created using sharpened bamboo sticks and tyres. The operation started at dawn this morning, and by early afternoon the protest leaders had called for protesters to disperse and they turned themselves in. By that time, another 5 people had been killed, including an Italian journalist, and several more wounded.

I have spent the entire afternoon/evening glued in front of the TV switching between CNN and BBC, while simultaneously reading up on news from various online sources and calling up friends and family in Thailand to get the latest updates. To say it was an eventful day in Bangkok and other parts of Thailand would be an understatement.

While the protest is now officially over and the government claims things are under control, the situation has actually got to its worse - with fires being set on various public buildings across town in Bangkok and a few other provincial towns.

What many feared about things getting out of hand is exactly what has happened. (Keep in mind also my earlier warning about things being taken underground - expect sporadic violence around town in ensuing weeks or even months). While the protest leaders have turned themselves in and asked protesters to go home, a number of them continue to defy authorities and have escalated the level of violence. It has now reached a state of anarchy, and the governments alleged roadmap to reconciliation seems unlikely to offer disgruntled groups any assurances. It will be an interesting next few months for Thailand, and I fear, not in the positive way.

For those interested to find out more on the background of what led to these protests, have a read at this summary compiled by the BBC. A simplified quick overview version ofcourse, where many other details are not discussed. Another background summary is available via the CNN site and also this article from Newsweek

While Bangkok burns......

2010-05-17T21:51:00.002+07:00

I have had a mishap of my own in the last 10 days. Cant blame anyone but my own clumsiness though.

I tripped and fell over, hitting the ground first with my knees, then unfortunately with my face. Broke a front tooth, and sustained a deep cut on my lower lip. and YES it was VERY painful. (in fact I now watch all those action and fight scenes with a renewed empathy - as I can imagine how painful it must be!) Things must have happened quickly, but in my head it felt like each step of the fall happened in slow motion.....a very odd feeling.

People from the workshop rushed out to help me. While slowly lifting my face up, I felt something inside my mouth...and right away I knew....simultaneously I asked the good samaritans - "Did I break my tooth?" Just as I opened my mouth to phrase the question, I had my answer. Blood streamed out of my mouth, and in front of me I see my broken tooth! A very haunting image I tell you! My next thought was - Im going to look very ugly now. yes yes I know very vain, but hey it proves Im still a woman? :p

The people in the workshop took me into their office and let me use the washroom to rinse out my mouth. It was then that I looked in the mirror, and was even more frightened by what I saw. After resting for a bit, I made a couple of calls. Rebecca, my volunteer work coordinator, whom I hadnt even met, rushed over immediately and drove me to the clinic. Tony then arrived and waited with me while the doctor tried to clean the wound, wrote me a couple of referrals for emergency services at RPA and a dentist. The referral to RPA scared me even more! The thought of your lip being pulled opened, given a thorough clean to remove dirt and whatever else, and then stitched back together? Fortunately, it didnt come to that. Just some other (equally?) painful cleaning procedure. Local anaesthetic, which could only be achieved through 3 injections directly into the already swollen and painful lip. OUCH! And another shot of anti biotic into the lip. another OUCH.

the bright side?
The doctor was cute. Either that or I was so delirious from the pain.
I had Angelina Jolie lips for a week, without botox?
The most naturally crimson red lips without any lipstick?
Some TLC from my friends - Tony, Vivek, P Elle and Rory. THANK YOU!

The half broken tooth was fixed on the day itself. More painful stuff. And it doesnt end there. Have to go back in 6 weeks to check if the nerves survived. If not, then a root canal to pull out dead nerves. arghhhhhhh. For now, I have this tooth that pokes out slightly, and has a tiny gap between it and the next one. When questioned the doctor, answer was "I cant be perfect." ermmmmmm, excuse me dentist, for the prices you charge us, even if you arent perfect we expect you to not admit it!!

By the way...friends that read this blog, please do not worry. Everything is back to almost normal now. Swelling is all gone and I am back on normal food, instead of liquids through a straw (biggest torture was - having lots of food in front of you, but cant eat any. including no chocolates for many days!! Imagine the horror?)

Ohhhh,
I wasnt running
I wasnt in high heels
and I certainly was not drunk :p

Some food for thought for Bangkokians....

2010-04-22T00:19:00.002+07:00

As said, I have been seeing so much from Bangkokians vehemently calling on he government, the military and the police to use live ammunition to disperse the red shirt protesters. I seriously hope they are not serious. Yet despite what we may call and I now borrow a word I have seen so much on the internet and I use it for the first time, because it really is the most apt in this situation - while these calls for crack down are what I would assume to be "internet warriors" - ie. I dont believe anyone calling for violence would themselves dare to pull the trigger - yet creating such sentiment would pressure the military into going down the violent path, but most importantly they will feel like its justified. Which of course isnt the case! No Matter how much they may have disrupted the economy by closing down roads.

proposing violent means is certainly far from a solution.
a likely scenario - if Bangkokians continue to let military feel they are entitled to use firearms with live ammunition to disperse the crowd (regardless of how much it is disrupting the economy) - sure the red shirts will be dispersed. their weapons and numbers are no match to those of the army! (remember sharpened bamboo sticks vs machine guns?)
but what is that going to do? we risk alienating the people, and they will take their fight underground. where they are a less obvious target, and the officials become sitting ducks. a case in point - the situation in South Thailand. all started with discontentment that was never addressed. and look where we are now? can we afford that happening in Isaan too?
some food for thought for anyone who has been suggesting shooting the red shirts down.......

Whats to become of Thailand?

2010-04-21T10:01:00.000+07:00

whats to become of Thailand :(
soldiers armed with machine guns, ready to disperse the crowd. protesters set up barricades made of bamboo, and carrying weapons made of sharpened bamboo sticks....
thousands sitting on Rajprasong road, at the mercy of whatever plays out.......
a truly sad time for Thailand. an occasion that I openly admit to bringing tears to my eyes........

More violence on the horizon for Bangkok?

2010-04-20T19:34:00.001+07:00

initially the army proposed 7 steps before using live ammunition - yet more than 20 people were killed (ofcourse the 7 steps were never followed). Now they are talking about a 4 step strategy before getting to live ammunition....and have the audacity to suggest there will be lower casualties? good logic!
BBC News - Thai army 'ready to use live fire against red-shirts'
news.bbc.co.uk
The Thai army has made explicit its determination to use live ammunition against "red-shirt" anti-government protesters in certain circumstances.

ie. good logic if they think people are stupid enough to believe that....

but what makes me more mad is the stand a lot of Bangkokian people have taken. suggesting that it is ok to kill the red shirt demonstrators because they have disrupted the economy. Regardless of the damage done to the economy, how can anyone suggest killing others?

when the yellows closed airport, or shot at motorcycle guys across the road - i was far from happy, but i would not advocate killing them.
This attitude of if we arent happy with them then their lives mean nothing will not help
especially coming from the supposedly educated group.

I ask this again - where is the compassion gone? where is the usual kind Thai? And I will not accept that line of the reds have gone too far and there is no other way to deal with them. There has got to be a less violent way to resolve the situation.

My political standing

2010-04-14T21:49:00.003+07:00

I am certainly not a believer in constitution changes through bullying tactics
but in my opinion today's problems and the red protests (regardless of how much we may disagree with the way it has gone about) is directly linked back to the changes made since the 2006 coup and the precedent set by the Yellow shirt protests of that year.

I questioned a lot of Bangkokians at the time as to the legitimacy in them supporting the yellow shirts. Their answer was always: "anything to get rid of Thaksin. He has manipulated the democratic mechanisms to the point where we cannot leave it to democratic processes to remove him"
I completely disagreed, and to this day still strongly felt that democratic forces were slowly working against Thaksin at the time. (Bangkokians who absolutely adored him for his business acumen had turned against him due to the Shin sales and the tax issue). Elections had been called - but the Democrats boycotted it citing not enough time to campaign?

The election commission had just been replaced, with the new ones very likely to work against him. But what happens? A coup takes place. And they tear up the constitution that had had the maximum people input in Thai history. Was it perfect? Im sure no, but still better than the one put in place by the military.

I remember Abhisit at the time coaxed people into voting for new constitution in the referendum, saying to accept it just so elections can be held. A clear misrepresentation of facts. Elections could have been held without the new constitution. On the other hand, there was also the scaremonger that if the newly drafted constitution does not pass the referendum, then the military could simply pick any of Thailand's past constitution and put that in place. (which means they could have picked the least democratic one from even the 1930s!!) So through whatever means, the new constitution is replaced, with the military happily claiming that it was democratic because it passed referendum. People seem to happily ignore or forget? how the nation was manipulated to vote yes.

Anyhow, so its done. A lot of changes in government over the past 3 to 4 years due to whatever means - I dont think we need to discuss that again, has been done millions of times - finally the Democrats are in power. And did they make any effort to make changes to make the constitution more democratic in their time in power?

On another note more closer to my heart - while Thaksin was in power, a report on the problem in South Thailand had been commissioned. Recommendations were available towards the end of his term (I think?), the government particularly Thaksin was accused of paying no attention. Democrats as opposition were most critical of the government.

One reason cited by the coup makers was so that they can address the problems of south Thailand. Yet nothing was done during the military rule. Now with the Democrats in power and in a position to implement some of the recommendations proposed in the report - yet no such attempts have been made to address any of the problems. For instance, some are simple and non controversial such as including the local dialect Yawi as the second official language for the 3 southern provinces. This strategy would be mostly symbolic and unlikely to have any detrimental affect on administering the country as one unified nation. Yet I have heard nothing of it being considered? I read things like 60% of the problems in the south has eased, from the government's public relations department, but I do not see that on the grounds. People in the local community certainly dont feel that way, and each day feel more and more disoriented from the rest of the country.

People may say Thailand has many issues the government needs to address - education, economy, etc etc - but I see these as on-going long term projects, while the situation in the south and those of constitution related are more immediate and need to be addressed before they escalate. Cos the minute they escalate, everything else will be put on hold (as has happened now with all the protests since last year for example).

Some think Im a supporter of Thaksin, or a supporter of the Reds. In reality, Im more of an onlooker disappointed with the Democrats.

Bangkok turns violent

2010-04-10T19:03:00.004+07:00

Yet again violence erupts in Bangkok. Im monitoring news through so many different channels, unable to sleep or rest. CNN, BBC on TV and the net, livestream of the redshirt movements from their stage, Thai media channels, emails from journalist friends. Footage on Thai TV. None of it is good news. As of now....about 10pm - at least 7 dead, with more than 300 injured. And its all happening only less than 500 metres from my house! I feel like its 1992 all over again. A Reuters journalist was amongst one of those killed. The news agency is calling it 'Bangkok's worst political violence in 18 years.'

There is so much I want to say, but most of it is just sadness and condolences for those who died, those who got injured. Of course there are also many things I want to express on a political level, but nothing I havent been saying since the protests started by Sondhi Limthongkul in 2006, and the ensuing military coup. Back then I heard a lot of Bangkokians, including my democracy-promoting colleagues, say that sometimes anything is justified to achieve a certain result-ie. getting rid of Thaksin and the evilness that they see he has brought to Thailand. My response was simple: if you let this mob drive out an elected prime minister today, what is to stop them trying to chase out the next one if they arent happy with the next one too? or what guarantee do we have that a different crowd might not form to chase out whoever is the next Prime Minister? The answer I received then was - 'but you dont understand! Thaksin is so evil. He has controlled and manipulated the democratic processes, so it is necessary to resort to undemocratic mean to get rid of him'

And look where we are now? Four years of political unrest, the country not being managed by any government because they have to spend their time either dodging crowds, being airlifted from parliamentary meetings, Prime Minister having to move to live within army compounds, Foreign Minister having to spend a lot of time tracking one person around the world? And constant protests from Yellows, to Reds, to Blues and the latest Pink colours. And a cycle of violent clashes - now almost an annual event.

Do I have answers? Of course I dont. Do I support all these protests? Certainly not. Yet at the same time, if we are to preach so much about equality, then I say that those that were tolerant to the Yellow protests should be as tolerant to the Red protests - regardless of your political standpoint.

Who do I blame? ANyone and everyone who argued that it was ok to adopt undemocratic means and that the end of removing Thaksin would justify the means to achieving it. Another sad day. I had hoped that the 1992 violence would have been the last Thailand has to face. Unfortunately not so.

In the midst of red shirt protesters

2010-04-04T00:53:00.002+07:00

I did have some friends question me before I left Sydney whether the timing of my trip back home had anything to do with joining the protests! As coincidences would have it - without intending to, I somehow ended up right in the midst of the red shirt protesters this afternoon. (and yes it really was unplanned, and yes I realise there have been a couple of coincidences in my life lately.....)

Anyhow....seeing as I got to near Phetburi road, corner of Rajdamri road, just around the same time as the red shirts were arriving from Phetburi Road, and my taxi driver dumped me right in the middle and took a quick U-turn....I didnt have much of a choice but to walk, and no other direction to go except where the crowd was moving to. I got to the car park exit of Central World, asked the guards if I could walk at the pavement in front of the Mall, but there was a polite no. (at this point, the crowd at my end wasnt too big, but there was already a bigger crowd occupying the other half of Rajdamri street, and also Rama I Road).

So back to the main street it was, with the crowds fast becoming bigger. I ended up walking on the road, hoping to be able to walk at a faster pace and get out of there quickly. Not the smartest move clearly, as I somehow ended up right in the midst of the crowd. Not that they were scary - the spirit was very relaxed and friendly, people talking, some had music on, some danced, others took photos, a bit of food was being distributed - they even went out of their way to make sure I got one of those nice sticky rice in bamboo stick. I took a few photos, and one of the red shirts then walked ahead of me, turned round and took a pic of me! What could I do except give him a big smile.....

Took another big effort of maneuvering before I could get to the Rajprasong junction (corner Rajdamri and Rama I) - there were motorbikes parked and the people standing close to the bikes somehow seemed reluctant to give way. Eventually reached the corner, where I could get back on to the footpath, turned right on to Rama I where there were numerous pick up trucks parked blocking the entire road, with more crowds. Saw a couple of farangs with prams head in the direction I had just come from. I tried to explain them its not such a great idea to head that way - nothing to do with violence or lack thereof, but taking prams into such a crowded area??

All this in the midst of screeching hot Bangkok 39 or 40 degrees heat!!

By the time I made it to my destination of Siam Paragon, everyone had been asked to vacate the Mall! Somehow I managed to go inside for a couple of minutes, spoke to P Sun on the phone, and figured out she was waiting across the road on the Siam Square side. Only took me another 5 minutes to walk across the BTS bridge, and only a couple more minutes to choose one of the restaurants still open in Siam Square for my lunch :)

(I did say I love my food! Now you all can not doubt the things I would do for food :P )

Pics to follow in next post......

Bangkok....kinda 'home' yet not quite

2010-03-29T16:55:00.002+07:00

Its hard to say Ive come home. Bangkok is the city I know best, yet Im somewhat of a stranger to my own town now. Not that much of the city has changed, perhaps some restaurants and bars have changed names, and Im no longer the expert on the most in trend places to eat at :) but in general things are pretty much the same.

More expensive certainly. Property prices has gone up by twofold in about less than 2 years. Eating out at proper restaurants easily costs as much as eating out in Sydney. The fancy places are of course still somewhat cheaper. Speaking of fancy - thanks to my favorite Italian Luca who took me back to Biscotti for a lovely Italian lunch

and while we are on the subject of food, here is what Ive gotten up to so far:
Irish pub with Martin
Thai food at Kalapapruek with the Aucky girls
Western meal (lamb steak, salmon etc) with Mom
Chinese meal with P Kai
ohhh and an Indian wedding with: lotttttttts of fresh Sashimi, Dim Sums, and a touch of Indian, and lotssssssss of desserts! (gotta love Indian weddings!!)
Vietnamese is on the agenda......

ofcourse my life is still filled with food plans. Ive been told by my farang friends that their experience of Thai people is that we are always thinking, planning and eating food :) I think they may be on to something :)

by the way...I even managed a walk on the Rajdamnoen avenue that has been closed due to the government wanting to keep protesters out of the area.....more on that when I get to proper internet access perhaps

Random Jyoti facts

2010-03-21T11:49:00.004+07:00

I dont like packing, but I dislike unpacking even more!
My worse domestic chore has got to be changing sheets and making my bed - especially my Bangkok bed (it has a really nice mattress, but that is sooooooooo heavy!)
[ofcourse keep in mind Ive done away with the need for ironing from my life, COMPLETELY!)
There used to be a time in my life when my fridge contents consisted of: chocolate milk, chocolate brownies, chocolate cake rolls, chocolate cakes, chocolate bars, Nutella and water, and Hagen Daaz Macademia Brittle icecream.
(Im much better now!)
I dont really cook, even after 2 years in Sydney, except perhaps a few times (maybe 3?) for a guy I was dating. We are no longer together. Lesson learnt? If a guy offers to take you out to dinner, let them :p Dont bother cooking :p
Chocolates, not rice, not pasta, not noodles, not bread, not roti, is my staple diet.
I do think before I speak or do things, but the time between my thoughts and my actions are so minimal that it appears I do spontaneous things.
I tried to learn German, no really, I tried! even thought I could master one phrase a day. Four years surrounded by Germans, you'd imagine I must be an expert at it! Alas, not to be.....I shall not point fingers of blame....but one particular person does come to mind to be held responsible. Despite that he remains one of my favorite former bosses ever......., but ofcourse he shall remain un-named :p
I thought I no longer have clothes that are appropriate for Thailand (too warm, too short, too tight, too revealing?), but then I saw some photos on facebook of people in Bangkok - by comparison my clothes are still waaaaaaaay more conservative! :p

the 2010 Champions League quarter final draws

2010-03-20T11:08:00.002+07:00

Im excited and of course nervous as Arsenal will be facing Barcelona. They are no doubt a tough opponent, not to mention the memory of the defeat at the finals in 2006 (still remember staying up late for that game, totally ignoring my friend who was with me - thats how nerve-wrecking it was for me. my heart skipped a split second of a beat each time the Barca players came anywhere into our half!)

Of all the pairing, it seems all the football sites are talking about the Barca vs Arsenal games the most! A few reasons for that I suppose. Arsenal and Barcelona both play what we consider 'beautiful' football (some have said that Arsenal needs to move away from beauty and start focusing on more goals and winning); the fact that the 2 teams met in the final in 2006; and also the performance both teams have had in the round preceding the quarter final - Barca beat Stuttgart 4:0 while Arsenal beat Porto 5:0 at the Emirates!

Add to that this game will bring Thierry Henry back to Arsenal's ground, attacking our goal! Then there is the rumour of the current captain Cesc Fabregas eyeing to move to Barcelona. Will certainly make for an interesting display!! Not sure where in the world I will end up being, or who I will be with, but am certainly looking forward to the game!

ohhhh, and yes there will also be other games as part of the quarter final :p (but Im sure you can understand why my focus is where it is surely!)

So this is what the draw looks like:

Barcelona face Arsenal
Olympique Lyonnais play Girondins de Bordeaux
Bayern München take on Manchester United
and Internazionale Milano meet PFC CSKA Moskva.

Green is my favourite colour

2010-03-17T21:13:00.002+07:00

anyone that knows me, knows that. But for today, I do wish I didnt have to see so many dressed in green.

hard to explain....but oh well. However, I did see this woman in a really nice white dress with green lining. It looked really nice....very elegant. Wouldnt mind that dress myself....even if the shade of green might not exactly work for me. Took a pic, but was a bit dark.

More on this Green day thing later (no no the band...some kind of Irish drinking competition I think :p )

Random musings, observations and revelations

2010-03-15T22:47:00.003+07:00

I have lost half my hair. (I had this grand idea of auctioning it for charity...but didnt find an organisation that seem to do that....locksoflove would take your hair and use it for kids that need it, but I thought Id try to get more money for it, and use it for more than one child). anyhow, now I dont think anyone would want to oay for whats left of it :(

In Sydney's Chippendale suburb there is a street called Chippen, and another called Dale.

If there is one thing I want to steal it would be people's cute puppies and dogs. I miss my Julie.
(apart from when occasionally people ask you that strange question of - how much would it have to be for you to get tempted? my answer - it would have to be a LOTTTTTT and I mean a LOTTTTTT of money and I know a 100% there is no chance of me getting caught.....probably in the hundreds of millions (dollars!) - otherwise its not even worth it)

chaos continue in Thailand. protests, grenades here and there, prime minister flying in and out of army camps on helicopters. sounds like some scene from an action movie doesnt it. read more on the BBC site.

I had a lot of other random things on my mind...but for now they seem to have slipped my mind. oh well. maybe I need some of those 'executive something pills' a friend talked about. She said they supposedly help with memories.

Speaking of pills, today I saw a guy wearing a tshirt that said: "I took the red pill." I wanted to ask if I could take a photo of his tshirt (would have cut off his head ofcourse :p) but after having been told by Anna that Im weird cos I took a photo of a rental lawnmower, I figured my request to photograph a stranger's tshirt might not go down too well.

I did photograph the jellyfish that were washed up ashore at the beach though. They looked quite disgusting yet were fascinating. And yes, maybe I am weird.

Ive always said Im not 'normal'. A few years ago there was that email going around - the one that asks you a few questions, and at the end tells you to think of some object? and supposedly 98% of those that play it answer the exact same thing? an axe or an orange axe or something bizarre like that? anyhow, whatever that object was, clearly that wasnt my answer since I cant remember it! So according to that survey, Im part of the 2% of the population who is not 'normal' (I believe they used a different word to make me feel special). The funny part though - everyone I know seems to have fallen into that 2%! Considering the 6billion population on earth, 2% of that would be ?? oh who cares. bottom line is - Im abnormal,and all my friends are too. :)

by the way - I think I can put my idea of becoming a writer away. but then again, Ive seen some silly books published and clearly people have bought them?

Oblivion to Thailand's political turmoil?

2010-03-14T21:08:00.003+07:00

I did try to remain disinterested and oblivion - havent looked at international news, and so far there was nothing reported in the local paper..and with limited phone contact to my family I decided I had restricted my interest in what was or was not happening. However, I finally succumbed, and decided to check out the Thai newspapers online.

it seems there have been mass gatherings, some rumours of possibility of demonstrators taking over major roads - but they were simply rumours. An ultimatum has been made for the Abhisit-led government to resign - apparently the deadline is Monday - but not clear what the demonstrators plan to do if their demand is not met?

On the other hand, there appears to be some sort of 'tracking' of Thaksin's movements - reports of his son and daughters having left Thailand over the weekend, and some other political players who flew to Singapore. Mind you - some of these reported as players could simply be going on their normal weekly shopping trips to Singapore, but at a time of high political tension - a trip to the golf course by politicians would be spun as newsworthy :)

Ofcourse I have nothing of value to add - no profound insight, no indepth analysis, or informed opinion. Im merely restating the quick scan I have had of a couple of news articles. Perhaps I need to tune in to the BBC and other international media to see what if anything is being said? And perhaps, it is time for me to start taking a bit more active interest in developments in my own country again?

(well, its not that Ive lost interest....but its a bit harder to engage in discussions with people in the country, and I cant really have first hand observations while being so far away. Had i still been at home, Id have been in a dilemma as to whether to check out the size of the crowd only meters down from my place, or whether to stay away for safety reason -but in either case suffering from the inevitable traffic disruptions with no alternate route to avoid the chaos! Oh just one of the joys of my Rattanakosin Bangkok address :)

Loyalties and priorities

2010-03-13T22:19:00.003+07:00

I absolutely cant explain what Im doing taking interest in the Six Nations rugby game between Ireland and Wales - have no access to the live game (unless I want to read about it live through some website, or livestreaming through some other net site), not to mention the fact that I still have no clue how the game works (did only have a supervised session only once - Martin has been absolutely terrible - he didnt try to indoctrinate me into rugby at all? hmmmmm)

anyhow, apparently the score at the moment is Ireland 16:3 Wales.....still early in the game. All the Irish supporters must be happy - and in a twisted way I have become one of them . The game ended with the Irish winning 27:12, a worthy goodbye to their stadium.

Now, as to the Arsenal game....hasnt started yet...and I dont think I have much more energy to stay up. Sorry guys....but looks like they manage to do better when I miss watching a game :) case in point: the game versus Porto...where Arseal scored 5 goals against them!

Why would anyone want to leave Sydney?

2010-03-11T18:52:00.002+07:00

or any place with such glorious summer?

yet here I am....in this freezing col! dont get me wrong..having a great time ofcourse! starting with some lovely Vietnamese food when I arrived last night....a very nice relaxing day at a mineral/spring spa with two girlfriends, catching up with two more girlfriends over drinks and too much pizza!

only a day in and Ive already managed to put on weight HAHA...and not even had any dessert yet :p

Interesting times in Thailand....arsenal theft at army camp!

2010-03-07T20:30:00.002+07:00

and no not my Arsenal, just the army arsenal. blah...but in a way its my taxes!

war weapons stolen from army base in South Thailand. Its amazing how the country's supposed security forces cannot secure its own compounds? Especially when this is not the first time its happening. Back in Early 2004 they claimed similar thing....only this time more weapons disappeared :)

the question is how can the security at army facilities be so lax.....if it happened one time ridiculous as it may sound you can come up with some lame excuse of being unprepared, not thinking someone would dare break in to army camp. but when there has already been a precedence?

Im not proposing any theories, cos Thailand being Thailand, it could be any number of things:
someone supporting either side of the political divide decided it might be a good idea to create some headline to discredit the other side
someone decided some group of civilians/insurgents/mob need to be armed
someone needed some cash and decided to distribute the arms to one of the groups in 2 above
the weapons never existed in the first place (I love my last theory - it conforms with my favorite line from the Matric "There is NO spoon!")

by the way, the list is ofcourse not exhaustive, and in no way a scientific analysis of the situation. Just my 2am written in 2minutes take on things.

Shoot!

2010-03-04T13:47:00.002+07:00

If I were the swearing cursing type...there would have been at least a couple of occasions in the past 2 weeks that I would have.

Once when I was somewhere running into someone I shouldnt be running into..... c'est la viw.... life has a way of playing not so funny jokes on you.

And today, I would have double 'shoot!' myself. After sending one email....in my typical do everything in a rush style....hit the sent button and in the same split second realised that 1) DOH!!! I should have put the group in the BCC address..... given that Im not using a database mailout, while in my 'TO' box shows the addressee as "Sydney Friends" it occurred to me that once it gets to the recipient's inbox it will show all the email addresses. So apologies to my friends for sharing your emails with some strangers .....but I think most of my friends are safe? :)
and 2) that I should in fact have gone through the group address to double check who may or may not still be included in the list, and whether any need to be removed and saved from receiving unnecessary email from me.

Too late now....in particular number 2) is a bit more of a worry.....but worse things have happened I suppose. I (and they) will just have to live with it.

I wonder if this will teach me to slow down a bit with my actions.....its not that I dont think about what I do.... I do think...but I act on it so instinctively and so quickly :) Has gotten me in a fair bit of trouble every now and then....most recently on Valentine's Day. (not that I pay Valentine's Day much attention - just an easier reference than saying 2 Sundays ago?)

Another clothing appeal from me....

2010-03-04T10:39:00.004+07:00

Some friends are getting together to collect and ship clothing and basic necessity items to the victims of the quake in Chile. So I thought Id help spread the news a bit.

In a sadly coincidental way, it was almost exactly a year ago when I organised an appeal for the victims of Black Saturday in Victoria.

I know everyone would have done their bit to help, and must have seen so many of these appeals. Yet, from my experience with the Black Satuday collection, I know each of us will somehow always have unwanted items sitting in our closets or cabinets. So, instead of letting it sit there, or throwing them out in your spring clean, why not give them away to those that need them?

Items we are collecting:
Clothing - particularly warm clothes and blankets, towels and such
Basic toileteries
Non perishable food - no bottles please!

Yes, theres been a lot of money supposedly pouring in, and yes it may be more cost effective to send money...but the distribution of funds could be delayed due to bureaucratic procedures.

Items collected will be shipped to Chile, and delivered to an NGO working on the grounds to distribute them straight away.

If you have a lot of items, please bring them by my place in Stanmore. However, if you only have a few non heavy pieces, I can arrange to meet you somewhere in the city.

Remember, every small effort counts. Just to remind you of how much each of you helped last time....here are some photographic reminders :)

Sun Sea Sand. and ofcourse an Aussie/Thai/Scottish BBQ

2010-03-04T10:29:00.002+07:00

Happy birthday Rory!
as I said...with all the lovely food that P Elle makes...you can have a birthday every week!

So I ventured out to enjoy the Aussie Sun Sand and Sea on the weekend. And the much needed company of Rory and P Elle. Yes, there was all that jazzy meat BBQ at Bronte...but I was more than happy to settle for the ohh so yummy spicy 'Som Tam' compliments of P Elle. Stayed there til it got dark, we decided to pack up and head home. Rory tried to tempt me with a few drinks back at theirs. P Elle mentioned the magic words of - Ill make some Thai dessert of 'Kluay Buad Shee' [bananas cooked in coconut milk and sugar] and make you some 'Khao Tom' [Chinese-Thai style rice porridge with minced pork] for breakfast in the morning!
So of course who was I to say no :)

Also met Elissa there. We got into a bit of an almost girly discussions of men - with some injection from Rory to defend the male race :) I once again got to present my wisdom theory of "Men are great. As friends. The minute you start to date them, its like they have made a secret pact to turn into complete jerks" :)

Great weekend, even if I do end up putting on some extra 2 to 3 kilos everytime Im at P Elle's :) "Thanks for all the fish!"

Tropfest Australia

2010-02-21T22:17:00.003+07:00

I went to the outdoor Sydney Tropfest this evening. Glad I did....was pretty good....some of the short films even managed to make me smile!

There was one in particular that made me think of all my guy friends. It shows a woman talking....supposedly a video dating profile I think? she describe the kind of man she wants.....shes not very confident, shaky voice, a bit geeky looks with glasses....has a long list of all the cliche type of man...romantic, walks on beach etc etc. she wraps up the video. feels like ended. then she adds. ohhhhh I forgot to mention. My Dad owns a brewery! HAHA. cute. Ive heard so many guy friends with that joke of wanting a girl whose Dad owns a brewery. So guys....heres your chance!
(Im sure the films will be on youtube or such soon.....so will try and find clips for some of my fav ones to share)
ok here we go, link to videos. The one Im talking about is: last roll of the dice.

The emcee mentioned that Tropfest is now also venturing into a few other countries, including Bangkok?! Ill have to do some research to find what month that might be....or perhaps it is still very early stage of planning. He mentioned the NewYork one in July......but no dates mentioned for other countries. But who knows....maybe I can catch another round on my overdue visit home?

Auckland House School - reunions

2010-02-15T17:29:00.002+07:00

it seems my friends love reunions in bulk. All these years not much has happened, in fact Ive occasionally run into Aucky friends around Bangkok over the years, and their attitude has always been lukewarm, almost non caring.

Now suddenly, thanks to facebook, everyone has gotten into a frenzy of loving reunions :) Dont get me wrong - Im all for it - but I just am a bit amused by how we all tend to do things at one extreme or the other? Some have said that, the older you get, the more you appreciate your friendships, particularly childhood friendships. For me, the bond has always been stronger with friends from Aucky and from IH, cos we lived together. At Aucky it was 6 years! Thats a big chunk of my life!

Anyhow...so last week, they had the reunion in Bangkok. Mee went. (Mee = Mom). No, not to represent the missing daughter :) She is also an alumna. In fact, she was the School Captain, and Durrant House Captain, and was in the school basketball team! Yes, thats how good my Mom is :) So yes, she went along, and they asked her to give a speech. (Apparently not because of her achievements at school, but because she happens to be the oldest alumna present! Back in those days I dont think there were too many students from Thailand at Aucky). Im told it was a great speech, but I still have no clue what was said. Have spoken to Mom several times since, but still havent got it out of her....yet!

Now, there is one more being organised in Delhi! it is being coined the 'gala' reunion! mygosh....much as Id like to see my friends, in some way the thought of a 'gala' as a reunion frightens me :p Im sure it will be lots of fun though....and do wish I could be there. Will just have to wait for the pics and numerous comments going back and forth amongst all the friends..some seniors, some juniors I wouldnt know I suppose......hmmm yes pics, I love pics!

The theme apparently is to wear your house colour. I was in Durrant House (blue - funny that huh? its as if they knew I would end up in the 'true blue' country Australia!). A comment from Vimol got me thinking. (Vimol is some years junior but was also a blue)that I dont quite have a proper dark blue dress or top. I dont know if that is intentional? Cos at one point, up to perhaps 6 or 7 years after school I remember avoiding brown and yellow, cos I had had enough of wearing those 2 colours for 5 days a week for 6 years!!
Now? I actually love all shades of browns, and my wardrobe is filled with them. With a touch of yellows here and there, including one very bright full dress all in yellow :p So I think Im past whatever hangups I had with school uniform colours :p

Alright - mission - find a dress in Durrant House Colour? hmmmmm if I go through my closet...will I find a blue dress? there is one, but its not dark blue...its more a shade of sea blue, which could almost be looked upon as green! no way! and there is another which is white, but with navy blue patterns on it. might work....but the royal blue? Might make me cringe a little. but Ill keep my eyes out for one that could look decent :)

Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T08:48:00.006+07:00

funny thing is – why do we buy into this silly stuff anyway? truth is, the media has so much influence on us that we somehow let ourselves feel that something ’special’ needs to happen on this day.

by the way, historical facts show Valentine's Day to be somewhat sad - marking the death of St. Valentine. Wikipedia has a combination of stories about various people, which you can find on their site here

I personally like this other version I found here: St Valentine, patron of love, lover and friendship
to quote from that article:

On the event of his death, Valentine wrote a last note to Julia to thank her for her friendship and urged her to stay close to God. The note was signed, “From your Valentine.” And some say that this was the start of the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine’s Day.

yes, Id have liked to go to dinner with my date regardless of which Sunday, or which day of the week it is. So why does this supposed ‘lovers day’ with all its media hype makes a lot of us feel like something is missing cos we didnt get flowers, or taken out to dinner and such? By that basis, then I reckon we should feel let down every other Sunday, or Saturday or whatever other day that we dont get flowers? [I quite like getting flowers for no occasion at all. So far, has happened once. Red roses, personally and sweetly wrapped in gold paper :p ]

so whats my plan for today? lotssssssss of chocolates - yes for myself! I dont need a man to buy me chocolates for Valentine's, but I wont say no to free chocolates from anyone, any day hehe.

May head out to some symphony concert (alone) later this afternoon. the plan is to end my evening with what is now becoming my regular daily jog session. fingers crossed the rain doesnt ruin my determination.

Just any other day really :)

ohh PS. Im listening to Roxette again. my rediscovered love for the band. nothing to do with Valentine's....even if the words to some of their songs are somewhat corny to say the least

Happy Birthday...to the most special man in my life

2010-02-11T17:11:00.000+07:00

....happy birthday to one of my 2 favourite guys in the world! my big bro. love you!
and to those that keep asking why Im an Arsenal supporter? thats also all thanks to my lovely brother.
amazing birthday present by the way..... Arsenal win over Liverpool 1:0, and Chelsea lost to Everton yayyyyyy
(would have been an even better birthday if ManU had lost too) :p

Black Saturday...1 year on

2010-02-07T12:57:00.003+07:00

Its now been a year since the devastating bush fires in Victoria on 7 Feb 2009 that claimed many lives, and left yet numerous more homeless and dealing with the loss of their loved ones.

Today a memorial service was held in Melbourne, a moving service. I am still at a loss for words when I think about what they must still be going through. Losing someone you love and care about is never easy, and not something you can easily forget, especially when it is under such shocking circumstances.

To borrow the words of the head of the Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority Christine Nixon:

"We are here to remember all those who lost their lives," "The worst national disaster in Australia's history has left an indelible scar on families, friends, neighbours and relatives and strangers across the world. People have seen and heard things they hope never to see again."

Our thoughts are with all the victims, their families and loved ones.

Men....no the male specie

2010-02-03T19:24:00.003+07:00

I was nicely walking along Enmore road the other day, minding my own business, when suddenly this dog being walked by his owners ahead of me starts to turn around towards me. He kept doing that, and tried to pull his leash backwards, attempting to sniff me. I picked up pace slightly and reached beside them, where the dog kept dragging his owner towards me, wanting to show me affection.
well -or so I thought.

Anyhow, I was torn between wanting to return his affection, yet not wanting to bother his owners. So I smiled at them. This was when he had caught up to each other. The not so little dog was crying out for attention.

We reached the crossing, and had to wait for red light. I decided should be safe to extend a friendly gesture, so smile to the owners and asked the little guy's name. I say hello to him. And guess what? After all that fuss and chasing me for a block, the thing ignores me!!

gee! typical male behaviour. They loveeeeeeeeee the chase, but the minute a woman returns their attention, we are no longer a desired object. Its amazing how the male gene transcends not just across cultures, but also across breeds :p

Pa Mickey's birthday

2010-02-01T18:21:00.002+07:00

just wanted to say I miss you. I didnt get you a cake or a rootbeer this year, but you were definitely on my mind.

NOTE: I think this blog can no longer serve as my diary, as it has become somewhat public - may have to think of another avenue to comment freely on how important the 24th Jan 2010 is to me :)

something about honest and 'frank' (not Sinatra....?)

Australia Day...and the flag

2010-02-01T00:15:00.002+07:00

the Aussies love their flags. This is more apparent on Australia Day. Every where you go you will notice people dressed in tshirts with the flag design on, girls in the flag version bikini, or people wrapped in the flag, flags put up on cars and prams, etc etc.

So I just dont get the debate as to whether to change the flag. The issue seems to be centred on the display of the union jack (possibly related to the Republic debate and the union jack showing a link back to Britain). Personally I dont see why there is a problem with links back to the UK - even IF Australia opts to become a republic. (There was a referendum in 1997 - it was my first time to Australia, and at the time was still very clueless as to the ins and outs of politics, nor did I pay much attention as to why it didnt happen).

Australia has its roots in the UK. Yes today it may have migrants from all over the world, but its history lies in its ties with the UK, so why try to remove evidence of that link? Im not a big fan of change (haha), I like stability and routine (honest!) - and for these reasons alone to me its enough to keep the flag. I know companies undergo corporate identity change/update every now and then - and even for them its a complicated process that requires a huge marketing effort to get everyone from employees to external stakeholders to adopt the new logo - imagine how hard it would be to implement something like that for a country and not end up confusing its own population?
hmmmmmmm

Eveything men know about women

2010-01-26T18:49:00.004+07:00

someone brought me some reading material when we went to the beach a few weeks back.

one of the book was titled .....cant remember something about marriage and blah blah
the other kinda caught my eye (the friend that brought it is a guy....so it made me curious) titled:
"Everything men know about women"

so I picked it up and thought will flip through a few pages while lying in the sun....
flip I did...........

it was about a hundred or so pages of blank paper HAHAHHA
best book
best humour

I loved it!

maybe I should buy a few copies and gift it to male friends (and also female ones in relationships) at every occasion I get....

Max Brenner comes to Jyoti

2010-01-04T22:01:00.004+07:00

my friends know how much I love chocolates, and those that know me better will know of my love affair with Max Brenner! (He features high on my blog, so that should give you a clue).

After the accidental discovery in Greenbelt Manila, and the devastating news couple years later that they had closed (yes I know by then I had moved back to the land of Max Brenner cafes). My fav spot of course is the one in Paddington, but often have to compromise and visit the one in David Jones, or near Wynyard.

Not anymore!

Max has obviously decided it was time to bring his cafe to Jyoti, rather than have her run around the world searching for one of his nice waffle and chocolate treats. So cheers to the new cafe that has just opened in Newtown - my local shops(with a Mexican chocolate drink from Max Brenner of course!)

ohhh, and for those that enjoy history, here is a bit of the story behind The Chocolate Bar by the Bald Man

Christmas treats

2009-12-26T21:26:00.003+07:00

I know that I am fortunate in some ways, and one of those is having friends that really care about me and look after me. It also helps that they treat me to some really special meals every now and then.

this was my Christmas :)

Lunch
Roast leg of ham, turkey, cous cous, taboula salad, crispy noodle salad, sparkling, some white, followed by: Christmas puddding, Fruit cake, Bread pudding (all home made) served with custard and ice cream mmmmmm

Dinner
pre dinner snacks of fresh olives, nuts and italian bread served with pink sparkly
Gazpacho (topped with watermelon, cucumber and fresh basil), entree of avocado and ricotta with dill and thyme (ohhh so yummy!), 3 cheeses quiche, followed by sweet meringue topped with mascapone and summer fruits and finally some pistachio chocolates and cardamon flavoured chocs

Romantic places to dine at in Bangkok

2009-11-25T21:15:00.002+07:00

Ive been asked this question so many times, and each time have written long emails with various suggestions (with different price range, some restaurants, some coffee/cake shops).
So I figured I should do the smart thing and start collating all these suggestions in the one location. Granted restaurants in Bangkok disappear so quickly....and having been away for a year, perhaps some have closed down, but Ill just have to take my chances. Those living in the country can double check the validity of the info and report back :)

some nice suggestions, nice food, but not all that have been suggested are what I would consider 'romantic'
or they would cost you more than the 3000 baht for 2 budget smile.gif

with exception of:
Eat Me restaurant and GAllery - in Soi Convent. make sure you try the dessert! (I believe their menu changes every few months....but last time I had some berry-fruit based thing, and a sticky date pudding that was OHHH SOOOOO YUMMY!)
Face Bar - the thai restaurant section feels somewhat romantic, in an old fashioned kinda way.......bamboo trees, slow thai classical music. food is just 'ok' hence overpriced in my opinion

I found Le Cafe Siam to be very romantic, and if you dont drink too much...I think you could get a meal within the budget. (a bit hard to get to.....its on a dark street beside the entry to the Express way off Rama 4 road). Set in a colonial style home, with garden.
http://www.lecafesiam.com/

At Virtigo or Sirocco drinks alone would be already above 1000 baht! I usually do that...food at Eat Me in Convent, then a short taxi ride to Virtigo for drinks smile.gif

there used to be a tiny little place in Suk Soi 31....further down from the Silom Village in that soi...cant remember the name...but my guess is its no longer there. didnt seem like it would last long...which is unfortunate with many smaller/cosy places in Bangkok.
(my biggest devastation was when 1. the thai place in Soi 11 was converted to LemonCello 2. the Pickled Factory in Rajvithee closed down sad.gif )

For other options try:
Witch's OYster bar at Ruamrudee (not the one in Suk 55!) - the best tuna steak Ive had, ever!! nice cosy setting...good food, great selection of drinks.

or:
Spring summer / http://springnsummer.com/main.html
in Sukhumvit. fusion thai food....the food itself doesnt quite 'excite' me...but its a nice relaxed feel to the place.
you can choose to sit out in the garden on cushions (perhaps after the meal, while having drinks?)

Im sure there are lots more...but hopefully these have given you some ideas
enjoy smile.gif

ohhh...by the way someone mentioned RotSabiang in Suk 11...the food is alright, but I wouldnt consider the place 'romantic' Not sure if Zanzibar in same soi is still around...for decor that might be a better option. For Thai food in Soi 11, there is a place in the sub soi near the 7-11 ....I forget what its called. Small place, waitresses dressed in old style Thai costume, and they also talk in that old fashioned way, food is served in old fashioned utensils. It feels touristy perhaps, but Ive eaten there lots of times, and the food is authentic, and the atmosphere is certainly close to romantic smile.gif

Just another day in Sydney.....

2009-10-27T18:57:00.002+07:00

life sure is exciting. Ive never seen police draw out their guns before (army and police standing guard at check points in southern Thailand is not quite the same).

Anyhow, Sydney gives you an all round excitement :p

Was enjoying the peace in my room when suddenly I hear a couple shouting at each other. Lots of F word etc, and it was at least sounding violent. That was when I decided I'd poke my head out, in case the guy was planning to do something stupid (I know stereotype - for all I know the woman might have been trying to hit him?)

Anyhow it was at that moment that the cops arrived just at the corner from our building. When I looked out my window I could see 2 police officers running down towards other end of street, where the man's voice could be heard saying something like 'Im out here" "Im this way" or something like that......

Both officers had their guns drawn out. Its nice to see police here take calls for help on domestic violence issue seriously, yet it is alarming to see that guns are so easily drawn out? To their credit, my guess is the couple had been fighting sometime before I heard them, perhaps initially inside their home? and somebody must have called the cops...possibly advising if any of the couple were armed with some weapons?

Alright, Im speculating way too much now. But hey, what can I say, after all my years in supposedly dangerous Thailand - where according to a newspaper article (either Nation or Bkk Post?) Aussie tourists make up the highest number of foreign deads - Ive never experienced first hand as much excitement as I have in one year in Sydney!

German Reunification Day

2009-10-03T07:41:00.003+07:00

If I remember correctly, last year I went out to the German brewhouse to celebrate with some strangers (or was it simply strange?)

No German friends...none of them would come visit....so I have to resort to a bit of culture and heading out to the Opera House for a concert instead.

Not to worry though...its a day time martinee, so plenty of time to celebrate later tonight when my German friends will be slowly waking up in their part of the world......

the 'yes we can' campaign

2009-09-11T13:21:00.002+07:00

there was a lot of hype centred around the Obama campaign, so much so that around the world there has been talks of political leaders and campaigners trying to follow suit and even go as far as to adopt the wordings, 'yes we can'

funnily, we in Asia seem to forget that the phrase is not at all new in the political campaigning circle. For as long as I can remember the slogan "Malaysia Buleh" had been promoted by Malaysian leaders.

Recently when I was in Indonesia I saw similar wordings being used in an election billboard in one of the towns. [need my Indo friends to remind me of the exact words - Anung?] (leave aside for now the question as to why his billboard was still allowed to stay up months after the election) Do we then conclude that it is part of the Obamania? or is it simply a continuation of what has been going on amidst political campaigns for years? ie. to promote a sense of belonging, a sense of pride in your country, and by extension the leader (or advertiser) who is riding on that easy to rev up national pride emotion?

Militants relentless...even during the holy month of Ramadhan

2009-09-03T19:20:00.002+07:00

another bomb exploded almost in the mid of Pattani town at lunch time today. The bomb was placed in a busy restaurant - injuring close to 30 people.

I once watched one of those movies depicting fighting during war in one of the African countries. At prayer time was when everyone would take a break. UNfortunately here in Pattani, the presumably Muslim militants, would not even stop their atrocities even during their own holy month. I suppose after the spree of killing unarmed men, innocent young woman, school teachers and such - I really shouldnt be expecting them to observe any sense of morality should I

Details of the incident at Bangkok Post

Scam. Nay. Extortion at Jakarta airport!!

2009-08-31T14:01:00.001+07:00

As I mentioned, with much enthusiam, that my brother flew out all the way to spend a couple of nights with me in Jakarta. Was an all happy event, despite the limited time we had together, given I still had to continue with meetings in JKT.

He left very early Sunday morning, while I had taken the flight back to Sydney the night prior. As he was flying out to Penang, there was only one very very early morning flight.

He got to the airport, checked in, and was alerted by airline staff that he seem to not have his departure card. He duely filled in a new form and proceeded to Immigration.

This was where the drama began. The officer made a lot of noise about him having 'lost' his Departure card, proceeding to tell him it was a criminal offense. BLAH! of course its important, but we all have made that mistake before, and as long as you have the arrival stamp in your passport, and can prove you entered the country legally, it really should not be such a big deal.

Well, not to these unscrupulous immigration officers (by then the guy that was dealing with my brother had created enough commotion to draw other officers to the counter - I believe its their intimidation strategy). The airport was almost empty, devoid of any other witnesses. Anyhow, they proceeded to threaten my brother with jail term, talking about taking him to the police station and holding him there. While he knew he wouldnt really go to jail for such a trivial mistake, he also knew these guys would hold him at the airport long enough to make him miss his flight.

They then started talking about how they can "HELP" him. RIGHT, help! The nerve they have! Im sure you know the rest. We can help you, but its a serious offense, we will need some money to get this done. blah blah blah.

In his tired state, and wanting to just get out of there, my brother gave them whatever Rupiah he had left on him (which in itself was a fair bit), but made the mistake of not thinking straight, and overlooking the fact that there was also USD in his wallet. So turned out to be a very expensive trip to Jakarta for him!

If he had realised how much money it ended up being, I figure he would have opted to miss the flight. Getting a new ticket would have been cheaper, and certainly less maddening than having to part with so much money for these unscrupulous type!

I know theres nothing that we can really do anymore. Complaining to the Consulate will achieve nothing. HOwever, I do hope to spread the word out as much as possible, so Im hoping my friends that read this blog post will help me spread the word around.

around Indonesia islands hopping in 8 days?

2009-08-31T13:35:00.003+07:00

perhaps my FNF friends were trying to imitate the adventures of travelling around the world in 80 days? We didnt get anywhere close to that, but managed to cover bits and pieces of Indonesia in 8 days.

I know there is still much more to be seen, but spending each of the 8 nights in different towns was certainly a fair bit of moving around at least for me :)

I landed in Jakarta on Friday morning, waited at the airport, where FNF colleagues joined me for the connecting flight to Semarang. Had an interview over dinner...food is very similar to Thai and the Thai-Chinese adaptation. Some more interviews the next morning, before heading off to Solo. ON the way out we worked out that one of the partner's wife happens to be a friend of mine from IAF, but by then it was too late to arrange to meet up, so all I managed was a phone hello to Iswari (but at least now I have some news of her - married, and an expectant Mom! congrats Iswari!! and Ofa)

I was excited about Solo being included in the trip, as was hoping to see some good Batik. UNfortunately, we only got there at 7.30pm, went straight to a dinner meeting with a large group, and finished discussion at close to 11pm. Time to head to the next town! Checked in at Kediri only at 2am.

More meetings, and here is where things start to get hazy. NOt sure if we left the town for elsewhere, or we simply had more and more meetings in Kediri, before heading out to Surabaya that same night. (Alright, so the title of the post is misleading....we changed plans and headed out to Surabaya late night, which meant we spent 2 nights in Surabaya, instead of whatever other town we went to whose name escapes me at the moment).

From Surabaya, after more meetings, we flew out to Mataram, the provincial capital of the famous Lombok island. Saw a lot more non local faces on the flight, and after our meeting with the Vice Mayor of Mataram I even managed to get a bit of western food. Dont get me wrong - I enjoyed Indonesian food tremendously, but after meals after meals of some sort of either grilled chicken with spices, or chicken curries, or chicken nasi goreng - all accompanied with yummy spicy sambal - I needed my dose of salad and fresh greens! Even had a couple of free hours in the evening that allowed us time to head to nearby beach to watch the sunset. HAve to say the beach wasnt as impressive, but my guess is you need to head further away from town to see the very beautiful beaches that Lombok is famous for. Im still appreciative of the break of course :) Will come back to update name of the beach. Too many names in my head at the moment!

From Mataram we flew to Padang in West Sumatera. More meetings there, followed by long winding road to Bukit Tinggi. It was my favorite place for the trip. A bit cooler weather, surrounded by mountains, and a decent hotel with a pool that I never had time to use :) BUT, I did manage to order a tiramisu cake, and a nicoise salad, both initially with scepticism. I was pleasantly surprised. For those that are heading to Bukit Tinggi - its the Hills Hotel, previously was a Novotel Im told, but now under different ownership.

The next day we had a meeting in the small town of Tanah (something), and on the way back we drove past the biggest lake in West Sumatera ..again I forget the name. I always thought it was Lake Toba in Medan? Perhaps if we had more time to look around, I may be more appreciative, but for those that know me and what road trips does to me would understand why sitting through long windy roads for a 1 minute glimpse of a fog covered lake didnt do much for me. (Speaking of my motion sickness - for a girl who hated road trips since she was 5, Id say Ive come a long way!)

Next stop Jakarta! Was I happy! Despite more hectic days ahead, at least there was something to look forward to. My brother was flying out to Jakarta to meet me! YAYYYYY. and ofcourse there is Lily. Didnt manage to catch up with Ida (AGAIN! ....but shes always so busy!)

Indonesia......funny sightings at the airport

2009-08-23T12:17:00.003+07:00

so on Friday I got into Jakarta, this is 2 years after my previous trip. Cant say if much has changed as I didnt quite venture out of the airport, but proceeded to the domestic terminal for a flight to Semarang.

HOwever, while at the airport, a couple of things struck me. 1. There is a porter service to help you pick up your bags from the conveyor belt on to your trolley. Great service for old people, unaccompanied minors travelling on their own, or such others that need this service I suppose. It does however feel strange to me to see a very strong man use the service.....not that there is anything wrong with it, just different. I know they have porters in India train stations, but then you dont have trolleys to help carry the load. I dont remember seeing the porter service the last time I was in Jakarta so thought its a 'new' service, but friends inform me it has existed for quite sometime.

Another thing I noticed while waiting for Anung and Eko to arrive at the airport was a lady came round to me and brought out a bottle of perfume. She then moved on the lady next to me. It was then that I realised the first lady was offering to sell the perfume. Very strange. Not sure what the concept is? She bought it cheap at duty free and then hopes to sell it to someone at the airport? Or was it a counterfeit product, and she chooses to sell it to travellers at the airport?
Whatever the concept, it was a rather strange idea. I wonder if she makes any sales......

by the way, while on the subject of airport, I must add that I quite like the domestic terminal in Jakarta. It doesnt compare to the likes of Singapore, or KLIA or Bangkok in its modern offerings, but was impressed when I saw it last time, and it still has that same pleasantness. Its very green. The building has walkways surrounded by glass that looks out into a very well maintained garden on both sides. I give it the green thumbs up rating for its effort to create a relaxing and pleasant view to look at.

Garuda Indonesia

2009-08-23T12:12:00.003+07:00

I cant speak for its safety record, but having now used its service for both international and domestic sector I can certainly say the service is very good. Well, part of it could be due to the fact that in Sydney they were far from busy, no queue at check in, flight was not full. Staff were very friendly, gave me whatever seat I requested, and even went a step further to suggest blocking seats next to me so that I can have the whole row of seats to myself. Thanks Aaron :)
The plane was equipped with personalised entertainment screen (albeit the choice of movies on offer were not exactly 'new', but overall was not bad)
plus they give you chocolate icecream for your second meal! cute :p

domestic wasnt too bad either...full flight......a little bit of snack on board, which included a tiny little bar of kitkat amongst other things. Whoever is on the nutrition board gets my vote :)

Stargazing at Belanglo

2009-08-16T01:31:00.003+07:00

after much to-ing and fro-ing of whether I would or I wouldnt, could or couldnt, in the end I decided I would go to Belanglo with the IH gang (supposedly with Anesha as my buddy and JP as the token guy).

However, as we know things never seem to go accoring to plans. Anesha booked herself a flight to Brisbane, while I thought oh well perhaps next year. It was then that the token guy decided he was still keen on the drive, so off we go on the M5. Me being me, completely trusted the driver, and didnt even bother looking at the maps that were sent to us. Whilst in the car looking up Belanglo in both the Sydney Metro and NSW Regional street directory, as well as the Australia Atlas maps (both of which listed even the tiniest of creeks) - did NOT have the Belanglo State Forest listed. Interesting. I wonder if it has anything to do with the bad publicity Belanglo received? surely not.

Anyhow, thanks to google map and a nice lady in Berrima, we finally make it to the Log Cabin in Belanglo. They had redone the kitchen, and have now built toilets right next to the cabin. (party poopers! now there wont be memorable freezing cold trips to the bathroom on your nights at the log cabin anymore. awww!)

It did bring back memories of the last trip there with all the IH friends. Perhaps less cold, as I managed to stay outdoor watching the stars for quite a fair bit, and survived inside even without the fire having been lit (but mind you it was still only about 7.30pm or 8 when we left - so the night hadnt got down to its coolest yet). Speaking of the stars - country sky has never disappointed. Millions and millions of stars, and having the astronomical society guys there meant they point things out to you with the most powerful lasers that feel like they are almost touching the stars, and amazing telescore where one blurry dot in the sky is revealed to be a collection of thousands of old stars (I forget the technical term for it - anyone?)

Star filled sky brings back yet another memory - driving down to Armidale for Christmas at Leesa's some years ago. The most amazing non-date I can think of :) Thanks to Leesa and Tony (Ho).

Football season has started!

2009-08-16T01:31:00.002+07:00

so ...
the season started in style for us

leading Everton 3 nil at half time. and by 89th minute the score had gone to Everton nil, Arsenal 6

but looks like I wrote this too soon. just as Im typing Saha scored a goal. so its now Everton 1: 6 Arsenal.

still not a bad opening game at all is it

Sickness update!

2009-08-15T10:30:00.000+07:00

so thats how boring my life (and my blog!) has become. I now have to resort to updating about my sickness :p

so after about 2 weeks I finally feel somewhat better. after about a few days of antibiotic, I was given a shot of penicillin (which dated as it sounds, is what seems to have helped me recover). Had some blood test just to make sure its not glandular fever. And here is the amazing thing about modern technology/science/medicine. They try to check for one thing, if they dont find anything wrong with that particular test, they somehow manage to find something else thats wrong with you. Great!

But. Its not something I have to worry about in the short term. I dont think. so we can deal with that if need be.

For now.....still trying to get back to my normal diet. Of late apart from no food, there has also been absolutely no chocolate intake in almost 2 weeks! (except for some choc chip cookies early on, some chocolate milk and one, get this, ONLY ONE timtam! that was when I realised I hadnt yet recovered, when I couldnt have any more than one timtam)

I must be really really sick. :p

The amazing things my family get up to...Mom mainly!

2009-08-04T16:58:00.001+07:00

so Mom was in KL last week. I called on the weekend and Pa Pawan says hes booking her something for KL.
eh? again?
but she was just there!

well my very capabale Mom. Amidst the high security between Thailand and Malaysia border, she managed to leave Malaysia without getting a stamp in her passport! Amazing!

So now she's heading back in again, to get an exit stamp.

(I think it was just her ploy for another trip back there!)

And my brother? what does he get up to?
I remember one day....he had parked the car just outside our house (its on the main street), and had received a ticket for parking in the motorbike spot. (They had recently re-painted the spot just outside our house from a car parking to motorbike parking). We have always parked our car outside our house for years....so not a happy camper.....my lovely brother picked up the ticket, walked across the road, and planted the ticket on a car parked illegally on corner of intersection. The car belongs to some police officer. Im not sure what became of that ticket....but we havent received any since :)

the flu...again!

2009-08-04T16:55:00.001+07:00

so here I am....the last 2 days in bed.....
my throat feels like its being slowly cut on the inside with one of those little blades...swallowing water is an effort!
eyes burning , yes yes yes i know....
everyone has had the flu before, why am I making a big deal etc

well.......theres no one around to pamper me with hot soup, so have to whinge somewhere dont I....

addition:
so after 3 and half days in bed, lots of panadol to bring down fever, I finally managed to venture out to see the Doc. been diagnosed with Tonsillitis...swollen lymph node...which explains the impossibility to eat or drink...... temp was brought down from 39.5 to 38.5. been prescribed antibiotic, and get this...traditional indian style salt water gargle :)

have to go back to see the good doc again tomorrow......

Men ...can be so arrogant...but at least some are entertaining

2009-07-30T19:58:00.002+07:00

I was at the Establishment for their Tuesday Salsa night this week and met a couple of Everton's friends. Nice enough group of people......

Anyhow I also happen to talk to a guy who seems to think by showing off his wealth is a way to get women. Do men really think like that? Seriously?

Dont get me wrong, Im not saying financial security is not something most logical human beings wont value, but trying to impress women with talks of fancy dinners, flying them off in private jet, a holiday in a waterfront villa, or a ski weekend holiday and all that jazz.... I thought men would have learnt that these over the top shows of extravagant wealth doesnt really work with all women. Admittedly, it must work with a few otherwise they wouldnt keep using it.

There were further details of the arrogance....always with a charming smile ofcourse! HAHA, but enough revealed on such a public media :)

a young man and his dog

2009-07-20T11:10:00.003+07:00

a few weeks ago I was walking in the city when I came across a young man sitting on the corner of Liverpool and George Street. He had a dog on his lap. I dont usually give money to people I deem to be young and capable of finding work. Somehow that day I felt different. Perhaps it was the dog sitting on the man's lap, perhaps it was how cold the evening was, or whatever the reason, I emptied out my pocket of coins and put them in front of him before crossing the road. I kept walking but couldnt get him out of my mind, so I walked back and decided Id give him my dinner. It was nothing fancy, just something I picked up from the supermarket while buyiong some chocolates. (I debated internally while walking back whether to give him the chocolates or my dinner - the selfish me won and I kept the chocolates).

I wasnt sure how he would take to being given food, but his reaction was very positive and appreciative. So I decided to ask him whether he has no jacket as he was sitting out on the street in freezing cold temp without a jacket. His response was: yes, but the floor is too cold so I have to use it to sit on.

I know there are lots and lots of poor people in the world, but for some reason his reply hit a nerve. If I were more generous or could afford more Id probably have removed my jacket and given to him, but I just couldnt. So all I managed to do was ask if he is there everyday. He advised me that yes, either there or Hay Street. Three days later I picked up anohter old jacket I have and headed off to the city, with the intention of handing it to him. I got to Liverpool and George, no sign of the young man, so I walked towards Hay Street and looked all over. Still no sign of him.

It has been weeks, but the thought still bothers me. I can hope he wasnt there because his luck has turned for the better. In the mean time, I am still keeping the jacket, just in case.

Michael Jackson.... gone

2009-06-26T14:47:00.002+07:00

there may have been a lot of controversy surrounding his character and actions in recent years, however there is no controversy or doubt as to the fact that he was a true pop star.

Back in the 80s he set the trend on music and dance. People loved him, teenagers, young adults, perhaps even the older folks?

I grew up listening to many of his albums, so I think its fitting to dedicate one blog post to say Rest in peace.

ASEAN silent on Thai-Cambodia temple row

2009-06-25T13:28:00.002+07:00

A Cambodian friend Sopheap, posted comments on the above. Details of her views are in the link.
I share this with friends for 2 reasons: my friend has done a great job writing it, and I believe she has made very valid points! In particular on this aspect that I quote:
"The border tension appears to be politically motivated to distract attention from the internal turmoil that has plagued Thai society ever since the military coup that toppled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from office in 2006."

have a read of the commentary here

Changes....

2009-06-23T15:11:00.002+07:00

so I turned another year (or is it day older) on 15th June. In true Gemini style, should that make me 2 years (or 2 days older)?

On the same weekend I also moved apartment. Now living on higher grounds. With even more guys! They arent too bad though. On the subject of flatmates and househunting ordeals I believe I may have material for a mini booklet. Anyone interested to publish me? :)

Anyhow, new changes, lets hope all for the better......

a photo journalist reports of rumours circulating amongst red shirt protesters

2009-04-23T10:22:00.001+07:00

I know Thailand is but one small country amidst the myriad of problems the world faces. However, I obviously have more of an interest in whats happening there :) For others that may be too, below is a link to a good unbiased and vevry fact based opinion by a photo journalist living in Bangkok.

in case its of interest :)

Latest update by John Le Fevre

A monk in Bangkok claims he saw soldiers shooting

2009-04-17T23:13:00.002+07:00

I came across this article by a photojournalist in Bangkok, John Le Fevre. The article is based on an interview Le Fevre had with a head monk of a Bangkok city temple.

The monk relates the story of how he saw soldiers shhot at a group of people on the street, amongst them a monk. He later saw about 10 bodies being put in a van and driven off. The full account of the interview can be found on John Le Fevre's news blog.

Thailand and the various colour-shirted protests

2009-04-17T10:53:00.003+07:00

I am no fan of street protests. Anyone that knows me is aware of that. I made my feelings about the Sonthi-followers clear since 2006, long before they became the unruly mob that took over the airport in Novvember 2008.

My reason was clear. It had nothing to do with whether or not I support Thaksin and his government. It was simply to do with the fact that if we let a mob dictate what happens to our government today, because we think the government we elected has now suddenly turned corrupt, then theres no stopping the same mob, or a different one, to try and do the same thing the next time they are not happy with whatever government is in power at the time. A precedent would have been set.

Alas, a precedent was set afterall. So the reds took over the streets, and have been demanding the resignation of PM Abhisit. Crackdowns have taken place, and the crowd since dispersed. There has been some worrying images in the media, mostly of how the red shirts have destroyed property and try to cause chaos.

However, limited stories are also emerging on how the reds were initially attacked by others - by security forces, by other mobs, by plainclothes officials. An account shared by a friend living in Bangkok can be found on this site and also posted on my facebook profile. The friend prefers to remain anonymous (understandably), so I can only provide credit in so much as saying I did not write the account.

I certainly cant confirm or deny the mentioned account of events. However, what has always bothered me since our Democrat friends came into power, is the lack of activity to bring the leaders of PAD to task. and we can believe different accounts as to who instigated the first violent act between the army and the protestors, the REDs or the YELLOWs, or the NAVY BLUEs. However there is no denying that so far we have seen arrest warrants issued for leaders of the REDs, but to my knowledge none for leaders of YELLOWs. Where is the rule of law in this? We can argue over who caused more damage between the REDs or the YELLOWs, but the punishment for each crime is to be determined by the judiciary. There certainly is no denying that both have committed crimes. So why is it that only one group is being brought to justice, while for the other group there is no action taken?Unless some things have been done, and I failed to have for updates and news.

I feel famous!

2009-03-30T08:53:00.002+07:00

I was doing a search on the net for something today, and somehow came across 2 link for library books in the US. And guess what! They have listed the one and only book I wrote with my boss Rainer as their new acquisition! (ok listed in Feb/Mar 2008, but this is still 2 years after the book was published). So Im pretty happy :)

not just any uni too...was UC Berkeley and Uhio

For my friends in the US that may want to read it (haha) you can find it under DS595.2.T36 S225 2006x at Ohio
[http://www2.library.ohiou.edu/info/newacq/2008-02/d.html]
or
in Main Stack DS595.2.T36S225 2006 at Berkeley :p
[http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/SSEAL/SoutheastAsia/2008march.html]

for a print run of 3000 copies, it sure has travelled far :)

but seriously, not about bragging or anything, it is a goo read, especially for Malaysians or those working in Malaysia, or anyone that thinks Malaysia is a well developed country that is the model of racial harmony and co-existence.

Catastrophic Bushfires, particularly in Victoria

2009-02-20T14:26:00.006+07:00

Im sure everyone would have seen the news about the tragic and devastating bushfires in Victoria, Australia.

It took hundreds of lives, and rendered thousands of people homeless. The saddest part is that many of the fires were started intentionally by arsonists!

I took advantage of my work location (for once there is an advantage to working in such a big organisation), and organised a clothing appeal. Within less than a week we have collected more than 12 palletts worth of clothing items. The first couple of days clothes trickled in slowly, and I was still sorting them. This was when I noticed that many people were bringing in new clothing, possibly buying some items to donate.

However, because all the people involved at the other end are so busy, Im still waiting for an exact address where the items can be sent to!

Some pictures below:

this one was my temp office :)

Democrat government and the PAD saga continues..

2009-01-13T14:14:00.001+07:00

now there is talks the new government is looking at appointing some PAD members to the government, in role of advisors to Ministers
Government may appoint PAD as advisers (per Bangkok Post article)

these are the same people that led thousands to besiege government house, wage street wars against ordinary thai citizens, firing at taxi drivers in broad day light on Bangkok's street, and holding the country ransom by shutting down its international airports. Has the country run out of capable people to advise the government that leaders of this same group whose actions cost Thailand's reputation and contributed to the decline in its economy - exports, tourism, and loss of jobs - now we have to live with them being advisors to the government?

Made in back to Aus despite the odds

2008-12-17T12:37:00.000+07:00

so we had to drive 9 hours to the airport in Phuket.. cos Bangkok airport was shut down by PAD for more than a week. With Bangkok closed, many of the regional airports essentially was inoperable as well as most flights flew to Bangkok, hence was ineffective for whatever one flight a day that was left to other destinations

The so called peaceful protest

2008-12-05T15:41:00.001+07:00

in this link are images of the vandalised government house after PAD left.
Images of Government House after PAD left ......from Pantip forum

text in thai, but the images should give you an idea. Government estimate damages to the building and property here alone to be more than 100M baht. Below is excerpt from a news story:

The actual damages will be known officially next week as assigned government agencies assess damages at Government House, occupied by the PAD protesters since August 26, Mr. Nathi said.

Although the protesters had vacated Government House, its staff are still not allowed to return to work at the building after several bombs were found hidden inside the building, he said. Bomb squad police experts will be invited to retrieve the explosives first.

Among the damages tallied in the wake of the protesters were four cars belonging to the Secretariat of the Cabinet office earlier thought to have been stolen, but one was later found abandoned at a nearby intersection, Mr. Nathi said.

Other valuable items which were missing include pistols and ammunition of police guarding Government House, Buddha amulets, TV sets, cameras, computers and cash.

PAD coordinator Suriyasai Katasila acknowledged that there might be some thieves among the protesters and that his group is ready to compensate for the lost articles.

Key PAD leaders have proposed that the government withdraw trespassing charges filed with police and to prepare a joint agreement that neither civil nor criminal charges would be taken against the protesters, said Mr. Nathi.

hmm, no charges and we will compensate. I wonder if they will also compensate the country for damages caused to the entire economy?

Thugs and mob rule take Thailand hostage

2008-11-26T21:53:00.002+07:00

since 25th November the political impasse in Thailand has gone from bad to worse. In the past year I have refrained from posting anything political, as one Ive been so sick of whats going on, but mainly because I dont see room for solution, at least not unless we want to give up on democracy and give in to the blackmail by a group of thugs.

After almost a year, it has now come to a violent stalemate.

Various events taking place, starting with PAD taking over government house for weeks, demanding the Prime Minister resign. On 25th November they marched to the international airport, on the way getting into street fight with pro-government group, complete with gunshots and grenades. The PM was suppose to land in Bangkok from Peru after his APEC trip. His plane had to be diverted to ChiangMai, where crowds of government supporters waited.

Meantime, the army has refused to act to restore order in the country, and proceeded to suggest the government should dissolve parliament. No mention is made as to what the PAD anti government group would accept the choice of the people in the next election were it to take place. (The current government has its mandate from the people through electoral process in late 2007).

Didnt hear any news for a couple of hours, and now suddenly I hear the latest was the 'red shirts' - pro government, and the 'yellow shirts' - anti government; got into a violent clash, resulting in at least one man being beaten to dead.

At this minute the Prime Minister has started his public address to the Nation. More on the details of his statement soon!

Chinse dominance Part II

2008-11-20T12:32:00.001+07:00

Chinese dominance

2008-11-20T12:17:00.004+07:00

in the last few months my life has been somewhat Chinese-centric, but perhaps not surprising given the trade ties between Australia and China. Then again, who doesnt have (or rather doesnt want) close trade ties with China these days?

Doesnt stop my skepticism about China though (rather reinforces it).

Anyway, started with a book launch of "The new rich in China", edited by my good (somewhat German) neighbour Professor David Goodman. The book is a collection of essays and research papers including sections on class, status and power, and lifestyle The New Rich in China investigates the political, socio-economic and cultural characteristics of the emergent new rich in China, the similarities and differences to similar phenomenon elsewhere and the consequences of the new rich for China itself. It links the importance of China to the world economy and how the growth of China’s new rich may influence our understanding of social change elsewhere.

A bit too technical for me....but certainly didnt stop me from getting a signed autograph copy of this:

Photo: courtesy Professor David Goodman

the silly clumsy me is back

2008-11-20T12:11:00.002+07:00

alright, so she never really left....

yesterday I hit myself (accidentally) on the corner of my eye DOH! slight swelling today...but not as bad as the last time when I hit my face opening the car door right on my cheekbone.
I really dont know any one more clumsy than me. Over the years have collected many bruises and scars, most of them self-induced!
sighhhhhh

Its certainly not the same Sydney. I had an incident last night!

2008-09-12T22:52:00.001+07:00

where to begin
I was out in the city tonight, having a drink and dinner with a girlfriend. it wasnt late...aout 8.30pm when we finished and left the cafe heading towards the main street. I was still in conversation with friend when suddenly I felt someone by my right side. Turn to look and theres a man really close to me, his attention was on my bag that I had on my right arm. It all happened really quick, when I first felt him near me, seconds later he had my bag in his hands and ran off.

I recovered quickly and ran after him for a couple of steps.... realised no way I would catch up especially not with the shoes I had on. So I left my shoes (yep on the street ) and continued to run after him...this time faster, and also shouting.... PLEASE STOP THAT MAN, STOP THAT MAN, HES GOT MY BAG!

he turns round a corner, crosses the road and runs down hill. I turn round the corner following him, but my senses told me to pause to watch for cars before crossing. At the same moment this thought ran through my head that not only will I lose my bag, money, keys, phone and everything, now I will likely lose my shoes as well! I continue to shout after him though. He runs past 2 bewildered women who were trying to figure out what was going on (probably). While still chasing him and shouting, I notice a guy on a cycle suddenly speeds up in same direction as the thief. They both turn at another corner heading to a main street. By the time I get to that corner, Ive lost both of them.

I look around - theres 2 directions - straight ahead, with a train station close by, and one down hill towards another street. I gamble on the train station, hoping the man might have headed there, dumped my bag (as he would only be interested in the cash), and hop on one of the trains. No luck there.

All this time, back of my head Im thinking - what am I gonna do. The friend that was with me will give me some cash to tide me over, but where will I sleep, how will I get home with no keys (I know she would let me sleep at her place too), and all sorts of other questions. [Incidentally, after she recovered from the initial shock of me suddenly shouting and running off chasing some guy she did pick up my shoes and follow me...so I do have my shoes PHEWWW!]

I then head to station manager, in the hope of asking their staff/cleaners and such to keep eye out for my bag in the dumpster somewhere. He then calls the police station (which was going to be my next stop). Speaks to a constable there, who then advised that they've got my bag

So off I go to the station.....still in 2 minds.....hopeful, but also skeptic. What are the odds of something like this happening, and getting my things back...and within less than half an hour of the incident. Unlikely. But I was still secretly hoping that its mine. Walk in to station, and first thing I see is a cycle in front of counter, and a young-ish man beside the bike. I knew right away he was my good Samaritan

The man heard my cry for help, saw the thief, and started chasing after him. From his statement, he shouted to the man to stop, and the thief turns back and screamed at him saying 'Ill stab ya! Ill stab ya!'. However, in the end he just threw my bag down and continued to run. My rescuer picks up the bag and takes it to nearest police station.

I get most of my things back. The crucial ones anyway. Got my phone back, got my house keys. Which meant I could call home, have my (thai-based) credit cards cancelled, cancel my AUS ATM, and have the somewhat comforting thought that I can now head home.

In the midst of this unfortunate, and have to admit, shocking incident, I still feel lucky in 2 ways. One that against all odds, I got my phone and keys back. Two - when I look at my bag at the strap (where the man was fiddling) - both the police and I realised that it had been cut with a sharp object. Quite likely a small knife or blade of some sort. Things could have gone more wrong. He might have hurt me, or the nice guy that tried to help me by chasing him. Fortunately, none of this happened.

One other thing that suddenly hit me given all the above is this - I now realise I dont remember any phone number of someone in Aus that I can contact should any kind of emergency arise and I need help. No one I could call to come pick me up and drop me home, dont remember flatmates numbers so I can check if they are home. [Coincidentally, just 15 minutes before the incident, my flatmate called to let me know he was going away for the weekend. So I would have been left out in the cold, literally).

So what am I going to do?

Start memorising some phones numbers first thing in the morning!!

Disclaimer - NO the above is not fiction, eventhough it might have been written in such detail that may make you think you are reading a lousy novel of some sort. I suppose Im still in some kind of aftershock mode? The friend that was with me said " Jyoti, you were so brave. I thought you would cry!

Wheres the decency and compassion in us gone?

2008-08-06T12:52:00.000+07:00

I was out in the city yesterday evening with couple of friends at a bar for drinks last night. A place in the city, mostly professional type, after work drinks kinda place. At one point I see this young Asian girl who had been in the bar, and noticed she was really drunk, and walking around all over the bar (its quite a big place). Some of the guys she walk past were grabbing her!!! Then she walked past my table, so I tried to hold her and get her to calm down a bit. That was when club security came and tried to take her outside. He asked me to help escort her out, I did. On the way out, one girl pass a bag that she left on the counter and said it is hers. We went outside, and I tried to get her to calm and think where she lives etc. She couldnt tell me a thing. I got her to try to call someone in her mobile, and her phone battery died!!! (I was so frustrated with all the things that were going wrong).
At this point I asked the security if we can get her some water. Then another guard walks up to me and says "CAN YOU TAKE HER AWAY FROM THE FRONT OF OUR BAR"
I told him I didnt know a thing about this woman!!! and I tried to explain that thats exactly what I was trying to do......get her to sober up so she can tell me where she lives, or call someone to help her home.
and he said, yeh just do it away from the front of this bar, I dont want her here!
where was I suppose to take her!!
that was when I lost it. I got so upset with that second guard. here is a woman totally drunk (yes her own fault), but dont we have certain responsibility to do the basic and right thing to make sure shes ok and doesnt get taken advantage of by men?

he then had the nerve to tell me that the girl does it all the time and that shes banned from the bar. So basically, he was telling me he messed up in doing his job (if she was banned, how did she get in, and how did they let her get so intoxicated?!)
and now that she HAD gotten drunk, he thinks his only job is to get her outside the bar, not so she can sober up, but so she doesnt create a bad image in their snobby bar!

After she finally got in a cab, I was heading back into the club
I gave him a piece of my mind (I was REALLY REALLY upset with him and almost created a scene!
I know that everyone is responsible for their own life, and shes an adult and should be in better control of herself and look after her own safety.
but really, where has the kind caring side in us disappeared? that we cant take out a few minutes from our 'fun' evening to try and help a girl and prevent something bad from happening?
it doesnt take a lot of effort. we are not trying to stop a war. just give a woman a glass of water, make sure she can walk straight, and get into a cab to the right destination. cant be that hard can it.
maybe its not his job as a security. I was doing that. I dont mind. but why make a big deal that she cant be seen outside that bar for another 5minutes or so????

Im still so upset. might give management of bar a call later today and ask what policy they have on this!

An unexpected farewell

2008-07-25T14:25:00.002+07:00

Marmalade died this morning. He got sick last night, was taken to the vet, had some blood test done, kept overnight at the vet. I went to visit him after work, spoke to his doctor, she said things dont look too good for him. The minute I walked out of the clinic the tears just began to flow. I wasnt expecting to have to say another goodbye, certainly wasnt prepared to fall in love after Julie. When Julie died I decided I wasnt ready for that kind of pain again, and am not going to have another pet for a very very long time if ever. Marmalade was an unplanned addition and now hes gone, and here I am again, almost at that same point, almost a deja vu.

Stuart brought him home last night, after having decided he would put Marmalade to sleep. I said my goodbye this morning....was hard, but kept thinking to myself.....I got the easy end of things, since Stuart decided to go to the vet without me and asked his ex girlfriend to go instead. Was on my mind all day, didnt dare call Stuart until end of day. And there was the news - in some way easier than dreaded - Marmalade died of his own not long after I left for work this morning. Julie died less than 5 minutes after my brother decided we would need to put her down. Animals really do have that instinct I think.

I have to say thanks to Marmalade, and of course my Julie. Thanks for saving us from that conscience. Marmalade - you might not have been part of my family as long as Julie is, but clearly you are loved too, and will be missed. Julie -- I still miss you every day and wish I could take you in my arms again, but even if I cant do that, you certainly are in my thoughts. Big hugs.....

Unions and the Pope

2008-07-20T19:55:00.003+07:00

so I suppose most of the world know that Sydney hosted Catholics big event, World Youth Day this past week. Not sure how many people heard about the threat of strike by NSW public transport union though. They had been in negotiation with the state government over payrise for some time, and shortly before start of WYD 2008, threatened to go on strike for Thursday 17th July, the busiest day for traffic...busier than even during the Olympics apparently (Sydney had an estimated extra 250,000 visitors for this one week and that particular Thursday 700,000 Sydneysiders and visitors would have been affected if the strike went ahead - source SBS News!!)

So in the midst of all that the Union who supposedly claim they aim for collective good of the people tries to blackmail the state government in their pay negotiation. And people wonder why I dont care for workers union?

Many Australians felt Howard's government introduction of the Australian Workplace Agreement was in favour of employers and allowed individual employees to be exploited. I dont know how they came to that logic, cos I dont believe that one person's performance and associated reward should be evaluated based on the average of how an entire group performs. The only thing that would lead to is unproductivity - the underperformers have no motivation to improve as they are over-rewarded, while the over performers will get to the point where they are discouraged to continue at their level while being under-rewarded. So they will lower their performance knowing they will still get rewarded at the average rate. In the medium to long term every one reduce their performance, and oops! overall performance (of the company/the country) has dropped how many ever notches.

Art and alcohol

2008-07-13T18:39:00.002+07:00

the problem is perhaps I should have made it a "Alcohol THEN art" weekend, cos as much as Ive always admitted to being clueless about art, after the experience of looking at Mike Parr's so called art installation I have to say that even IF I had started my day with lots of alcohol before visiting the installation I would still not be able to ever accept his work as art.
All I see is torture. Torture of people, torture of animals. And yes, much as I believe in choice, so you may tell me that the people that took part in the filming of the videos made a choice to let the torturous act be done to them, it still totally baffles me how the City of Sydney can use tax payers money to display such gruesome acts in one of the city's most prominent art festival. (and dont forget you cant use the choice argument for the numerous chicken mercilessly tortured either!).

There wasnt even any attempt to warn people visiting the installation of the awful nature of what people are to expect, and there certainly was no sign of any sort of group protesting the act. I wonder where are all the groups with the moral high grounds that are always out and about protesting far more trivial things?

the installation was bad enough to ruin the experience and any other good pieces by other artists that I saw on the day.

Ensuing discussion that led to the question of the fine line between child pornography or what the parents who are also the artists using their own children as subject certainly didnt help calm me down.

The only comfort I could find was the warmth of the Gluhwein at Sylvia's accompanied with meeting the lovely Yoko, and of course memories of my first Gluhwein at IAF, and once again with Sascha and Juliane in Dusseldorf

a non appreciative cat

2008-07-11T09:28:00.003+07:00

I dont think Marmalade realises how priveleged he is. I cooked him dinner last night. I never ever cook for myself. Certainly didnt cook for my Julie. and here I am standing in front of a stove cooking red Kangaroo meat. (have to say it was a yuk experience! that stuff smells!!)
and my reward? he ate a tiny bit of it then walked away. grrrrr what a fussy cat!
he didnt seem to enjoy the chicken either. the other night he loved it. then he wants mince pork. then the next thing, and the next. not sure I have enough creativity left in me to offer him any more choices. sighhhhhhh

Addition: he ate some more of the cooked Roo meat this evening...with a bit more enthusiasm. about time too! especially considering the torture I went through cooking that stuff!!! (made me almost literally sick! thats how bad it was!)

My chocolate Sunday

2008-07-08T06:33:00.002+07:00

I decided to go to the 'Aroma' festival at the Rocks on Sunday. It used to be the coffee festival, but this year they changed the name cos theres more inclusion of teas and chocolates (my main reason for going!!). Ive been to the Coffee festival once before... some 10 years ago it must have been...with Wang and Gorn...reminds me of a certain thing that Wang made me a part of that day, but nah Im not going to advertise it online :)

anyhow...so ten years later, Im back there this time trying some strange vanilla honey, or cinnamon flavoured tea, some sweet dessert wine (tasted like a REALLY yummy cough syrup HAHA), and ofcourse all sorts of chocolates!! mmmmmm a quite interesting one was the pinot noir infused choc...I dont usually appreciate liquor chocolate, but this one was done quite well.

Perfect day to be out enjoying the sunshine, chocolates, and live Turkish music complete with a group of girls dancing to it having lots of fun. Reminded me of Rana, Inci, Burcu, Loubna, Maia and all our other Turkish music dancing nights in Gummersbach. The frangrance of shisha pipe also reminded me of the night out with Tareq, Berk, Dr. M, Carla, Munazza, Amira, Tauseeq, Gulmina and hmmmm did I miss out anyone's name?? but well you get my drift......

As if all that chocolate wasnt enough, after a quick stroll around the harbour, Sylvia and I decided to head to Max Brenner for guess what! MORE CHOCOLATES!! Choc dipped strawberries with a nice hot chocolate with crispy waffles. mmmmm. bliss. Ive come full circle, this is where my love affair with Max began, and this is where I am again :p
(well ok it really started in Paddington....but its Sydney!)

Everything needs a closure

2008-07-04T14:06:00.002+07:00

so does the EURO 2008, and yes I know Im somewhat late....but for the above named title I decided I still had to put in writing the disappointments in the last few games. So after the dutch were eliminated, although I still watched every game, the enthusiasm had certainly changed. Saw Germany go through after a lacklustre performance against Turkey ... who really were the better team that night and should have won. the Germans were lucky and got to the final, but finally paid the price in the final game. On the other side..well Spain did a tremendous job against the Russian... or perhaps it was also the Russians didnt play as well as when they beat Netherlands....whatever it was... the final ended being Spain vs Germany. And what a game it was...the Germans looked almost amatuerish on the night...in particular the defence... terrible really! and this coming from me, a somewhat of a hlaf new-ish supporter of the German team since the growing number of German friends in recent years, means it was really some bad football.

I guess my consolation is that in both the Semi's and the Final, Cesc Fabregas played really really well for Spain....he was the key playmaker actually!! So Im really happy and smiling over that. He continues the momentum to the start of the EPL season would mean a good start for Arsenal :)

but for now...I guess I have to live without football for a month!

might be time for me to turn some attention back to the chaotic political situation in Thailand in recent weeks. more on that soon...but for now...gee!! what a mess!!

A day at the beach

2008-06-29T20:03:00.002+07:00

I think now I know why people in countries with changing seasons talk about the weather so much. Somehow life seems to depend on how it changes. I got a glimpse of that myself, with recent cold winter days where I wouldnt want to step outside the house, as opposed to this glorious sunny winter day where I could spend the entire day out in the sun.
We had a walk with a few UTS people.....from Bondi to Bronte and back. For some reason I remember it to be longer than it is......so it wasnt quite the exercise I had imagined it would be. The walk even comes complete with sandwiches and drinks at the end of it! Still no complaints. Learnt something new about Bondi though..... something about the crazy tradition at the Iceberg swimming club.....they like to swim in cold water in winter....and they add ice to the water to make it colder!!

Anyhow....I then decided to make the most of the day and spend the rest of the day out at the beach. headed to the markets...bought some silly costume jewelry (AGAIN!)......sunbaked in the sun for a while........then had Brad show me what the locals get up to on a Sunday evening.

I think my life has become rather simple....Ive now moved from talking about human rights advocacy to a day at the beach, the weather, iceberg and bars. hmmmmm

Im Oranje heart broken!

2008-06-23T07:00:00.003+07:00

well Im too heart broken to speak (type) at the moment :(

sighhhhhhhhhhhhh

another birthday celebration

2008-06-21T20:04:00.002+07:00

Rafiq was in town for a couple of days.... was going to meet him Thursday evening, but met Paul instead....not the best idea...but looks like whats done is done.
anyhow, so Friday evening I meet Rafiq, we start out at Brooklyn pub near Wynyard. So Rafiq says "Its your birthday, lets celebrate", so we get a bottle of sparkling!!(cant say Champagne or the french will sue me!), then we head out to the Marble Bar at the Hilton hotel, and a second sparkling bottle later I decide its time to head home.
was good fun, catching up talking about our time in Gummersbach. we even woke up early next morning to watch Croatia vs Turkey football game...another nostalgia from the days of watching football together in Gummersbach. have to admit I was kinda hoping for Croatia to win....but they lost to Turkey on penalty shootout. I hate a game ending on penalties!!

today, Saturday, turned out to be a nice sunny day, so we headed out to Coogee beach for a late lunch.Thai food ofcourse....was pretty good for a cheap lunch deal!

now Im looking forward to tomorrow's Holland vs Russia game. I shall definitely be reporting on that soon ...hopefully with good news! :)

Holland to meet Russia in the quarter final

2008-06-19T11:52:00.002+07:00

so last game of the group stage Holland met Romania, while Italy met France. no matter the result, Holland would go through to the next stage. So there was a lot of talk that Holland would let Romania win so they dont meet either Italy or France (if Romania lose or draw against Holland, either Italy or France have a chance to go through...provided one of them win the game!). So yes, Holland did rest a lot of the main players and had more of the substitutes on, but played to their full commitment, AND they won! so Im quite happy.
yes theres a chance Holland might meet Italy again in the semi finals, and thats a bit of a worry (not cos the italians are so strong, but more so cos they are so good at getting penalties out of the referees!!). but if we beat them once, we can do it again.
the next challenge though is to get past Gus Hiddink's Russia. (sadly they pur Sweden out of the race...) I think theres a certain magic about that guy..any team he has his hands on have been doing so well -- South Korea back in the 2002 World Cup, the Socceroos almost unknown for its football team (they even call it socceroos so go figure!) with their amazing performance in their first World Cup in 2006. [side note - the Socceroos were ousted by the Italians, over what the Aussies still hate the Italians for today).

I wonder if Frank will have split loyalty? living in Russia for however long that he has been there, vs the home team. I certainly know where MY loyalty lies :)

theres some tough games ahead....so Holland really need to keep their act together and continue the good form they have had since start of tournament.

Birthday

2008-06-17T12:53:00.002+07:00

and yes, I WILL afterall talk about myself, my birthday, my celebration
but to be honest, it was no different to my other low key birthdays. afterall, I only turn one day older dont I..so why make a big deal of it?

anyhow, apart from waking up to watch football, the EURO 2008, having the Bondi to Bronte beach walk cancelled due to bad weather, and a really nice dinner with Virg and Stuart (great pizza place in Sydney's Paddington), the only remarkable observation is the effect of technology. Apart from calls from Mom and brother, I got a couple of calls from friends, a couple of SMS, but a score of posts on my facebook wall!! Im still trying to come to term with this phenomenon. My friends have literally stopped writing emails...some dont reply my email but will either send me a message or post a message on my facebook profile? strange strange strange

but no lets not take that as a complaint...Im always happy to hear from my friends. just a bit of a whinge to say...how about a postcard? :)

from the old fashioned girl whos turned another day older!

Anna and the King

2008-06-14T11:58:00.002+07:00

so after having decided today will be my lazy day, I turned on the TV while having breakfast and find Anna and the King was on. given that its banned in Thailand, I thought this would be a good time to watch it and find out what all the fuss is about!

The first thing I noticed is that all the actors spoke Thai with a funny accent!! Thats cos none of them are Thai. makes sense I suppose...for whatever reason it is banned in Thailand, I imagine it would be hard to get Thai people to risk playing in the movie. Made for some weird experience....trying to understand the almost impossible to understand Thai, and reading the subtitle at the same time!!

Anyhow...after watching the whole movie, I cant see what the fuss is about??? I dont see how it portrays the King in any bad light. Sure it shows Siam (Thailand as it was called then), as a country with different practice...things we would frown upon today, and uncommon in the Western world back then, but not totally unheard of. (slavery, unequal rights of women). Slavery existed in even the country that tries to set itself as exemplary in human rights, the United States. And well, equality of women is something every country still struggles with today. Only difference is the rights granted to women in each country have progressed at different scales (granted that in many its still pretty much non-existent).

Holland 4:1 France! what a perfect birthday gift!!

2008-06-14T11:52:00.002+07:00

my only complaint is....and I said this even before they played...that if the game were being played a day later, it would just be perfect. (that implied my unspoken confidence that Holland would win!).
Imagine..waking up first thing Sunday morning..4.45am...watch my favorite team win against one of the big names in football! would be a great start to my day..and my year :)
(must admit...there was always that strange feeling seeing Henry but not wanting to support him....have to say he didnt play too well either. nothing like his days at Arsenal....maybe I should be thankful for that?)

so now Holland is at top of the group, and to play Romania in 4 days. Romania almost put the World Cup champion Italy out of the tournament early! luckily for the Italians, the second Romanian goal was ruled off-site. The Italians and French face each other, and both must win it or are out.

In other group, Croatia won over Germany! a team to watch out for as well. so are Portugal and Spain.

Holland 3: 0 Italy!

2008-06-11T19:39:00.002+07:00

no I dont intend to compete with the numerous websites, tv channels, newspapers etc that report the EURO 2008 score. but I will certainly be sharing my excited enthusiasm over all of Holland's win. and this was not just any win...was against the world cup champion Italy!
so yes, I certainly started the day a happy girl. despite the 4 hours sleep, followed by crazy meetings after meetings (thats another story that I wont go into!)

so obviously I had to share my enthusiasm with all my friends. and knowing that most of my friends dont bother reading my blog, so I had to make sure their inbox is filled with the good news :p

some interesting responses... Marianne with her human rights lawyer perspective to how the games encroach on various rights . you are so cute sweetie!
Quintus, the Dutch, with his zero interest in football, calling me to share the news about how the entire nation, apart from him, had stopped everything for the game. (just what Id expect actually, and I can imagine Id have such a great time if I were somewhere in Holland watching Holland win! Still remember my Sydney experience with a room filled with Dutch expats at the Hilton back in World Cup '98)
Alec, the guy I sometime forget is somewhat 'Dutch' cos of his oh so international globetrotting lifestyle. Well we will have to watch a game together sometime wont we Alec! if you can get your act together that is. (last time he was one train stop away from me, max 10 minutes walk from Kirribilli, yet we never managed to meet up!)

anyway, so Holland won in their first game. but still many games to go. The group is called the group of Death, with Holland, Italy, France and Romania. France and Romania first game wasnt that impressive, draw of nil, nil. But certainly does not mean we can be overly confident just yet.

the other group matches, I have to say Spain was pretty impressive (Arsenal's Fabregas did well!), Germany and Sweden were not bad either (again with either former or current Arsenal favorites, Ljungberg, Lehman)

EURO 2008

2008-06-06T10:58:00.002+07:00

so the game kicks off Saturday night European time. Will be early Sunday morning here in Aus. have been trying to check what channel/s the games will be on for the past couple of weeks..with not much luck apart from the opening game being on SBS (free to air)
finally I worked out that yes they will be on cable, but not on the standard package ESPN or foxsports ones! they've decided to make more money off us, and put the games on another channel where additional subscription is required!

guess I will just have to pay. and now that I will be paying extra money for it....that means I will have to try to watch as many games as possible to make it all worthwhile wont I!

the silly luck continues....

2008-05-26T21:27:00.002+07:00

so Sunday I decide to do my laundry.....almost a routine thing really
so there it goes....into the nice machine......
50 minutes or so later.....its ready for the dryer.....so I put the clothes from the wash to the dryer. quick enough job. soon I see an empty washer. well almost. wait. whats that. sitting at the bottom of the washer. some black something.
my watch!! grrrrrrrrr
so yeh....must have left it in one of the jacket pockets.
it had certainly been given a thorough clean.
and for those smarty ones wanting to question if my watch is not water resistant...try if its tumble spin resistant.
sighhhhhhhhh. there goes my luck with expensive items. should now teach me I am only capable of using cheap products that I can afford to replace every couple of months!
:p
I might be somewhat laughing now....but its really not funny.
sighhhhh

(ohh and this morning went in to work only to find someone decided to pinch my breakfast cereal bowl! not a good Monday morning following the incidents of the weekend.....)

PPS...speaking of the weekend...something about today reminded me about the incident on Friday..nah not the one about leaving my bag and heading home without money or keys...but another small but annoying incident......someone assuming they can order me around, thinking she can tell me where/when I can or cant drink water. what kind of misinformed controlling character is that. if I were more childish I could have made a big deal and made a big fuss about it...especially given that she has no say in telling me how to do things, and the fact that I was doing that particular task out of hours, and its not even part of my job. even IF it were my boss, I wont let them try to stop me from drinking water! I know its a small thing, and Im making a bit too much out of it....but I guess it just so baffles me.........

gee this is turning out to be quite a rant post isnt it.

Dinner with Hugh Jackman

2008-05-24T17:47:00.002+07:00

ok ok so there were 300 other people there....but well
yes hes kinda cute, and certainly very funny. still not sure why he gets an award though...for being famous? hmmm

anyhow, interesting evening. Had my bag and other stuff in the girls room, by the time the evening ended I couldnt find them....phonecalls and SMS didnt help either....so I decided to just head home. yep, no money, no keys. must thank my obsession with having a phone on me that really saved me. managed to call Stuart to check he was home and awake to let me in..........

but ofcourse the silliness in me wont let things end there. so next day Stuart goes away on a trip.....and I sit there happily wave him a wonderful weekend. 5 minutes later I realised DOH! should have borrowed his keys!!!
so now I sit here...no money...no keys.....locked in.

good fun :p

on the bright side, its at least better than being locked OUT :p

a bit of football

2008-05-19T12:15:00.003+07:00

I realise Ive neglected the blog somewhat....I blame the fact there hasnt been much to say about Arsenal in recent weeks...sighhhhh
so ManU won the premier league, and Portsmouth won the FA cup, ManU and Chelsea play each other in the race for UEFA Champions league in Moscow this Wednesday (21st May). Theres a lot of whinging going on about the game being played in Moscow, but if some of the reports on their security measure is true...then Id more than complain too! Apparently whats happening is, fans will be taken straight from airport to the stadium, but HELD there until game starts, and right after game, straight to airport! its ridiculous.....how can they enjoy the true spirit of the anticipation of such a big game while being held in some how many ever metres by some other metres cage! Its disgraceful too! these are sports fans and not criminals...since when does prevention of POSSIBLE violence allow authorities to hold captive mass number of innocent people?
sighhhhh

but anyway, I suppose I will torture myself to stay up and watch the game even though theres nothing in it for Arsenal anymore....
need to recover from this cold so I can stay up though!

A tribute to the ANZACs and other brave souls

2008-04-25T14:57:00.002+07:00

It seems not too long ago when I wrote about ANZAC day last year, but this is a topic I have no qualms in repeating. Im more familiar with the events around World War II, but the Gallipoli battle and the ANZACs role in it is only one from World War I I can claim some awareness of. What I admire is the sense of pride Australians associate with their heroes from Anzac, the fact that they celebrate the bravery of their ancestors, not necessarily the victory.
and they can rightly be so. these young soldiers were all volunteers that left behind families, new wives, young babies to go fight a war thats thousands of miles away. Australia had only become a federation for 14 years when the nation joined force to fight with the British, probably at a time when the newly joined states still had a number of conflicts among themselves, conflicts put aside for this display of unity.

the tradition of volunteering seems to have remained with the Australians, with different focus now. most australians are against wars and against sending troops into Iraq or elsewhere. Yet the spirit of volunteering remains strong within Australian communities. Im told that it has the biggest volunteer firefighters in the world, and also the biggest volunteer lifesavers too. (new knowledge for me was...the weekday patrol are Lifeguards - as in paid, while on the weekends they are Lifesavers - as in volunteers. Thanks to David for this interesting snippet)

in similar theme of bravery, April also marks the first civilian revolt by young Jews against the Nazis in occupied Poland some 65 years ago.

May all these brave souls rest in peace, but most of all, may the perpetrators realise that there will always be a price for them to pay and stop all their violent acts.

Autralia 2020

2008-04-23T20:44:00.002+07:00

funnily enough, listening to the discussions and suggestions from the various streams on how to deal with some key issues Australia face as country gave me the impression that Australians are more socialist leaning than I thought
any idea proposed, new or old, creative or not, all seem to rest on achieving those suggestions through more government funding, and more taxes.