It’s Sunday afternoon and I’ve just been having a little lie-down on the couch. After the last week or so in which work has almost completely dominated my life, it was great just to have a few moments of thinking about nothing. That said, there have been a couple of social engagements which I’ve found very enjoyable.
Last Sunday I went to a birthday party for Colin. Just a couple of years short of his 70th, it was organised as a “practise session” for that major event. A group of ten to fifteen people, close friends from a long period of time were there. And what an interesting group of people with lots of interesting stories to tell, including someone who was a guest at the Bec & Lleyton Wedding! Colin and I also went out for dinner at RQ on Tuesday night for his birthday. RQ is a really great restaurant and the food, atmosphere and company were excellent.
One of the best things about the week was dinner with Damo on Thursday night at the Belgian Beer Cafe in “The Rocks”. The food was good and the beers were excellent. Although the beers were mostly high in alcohol content, I didn’t feel at all pissed, even if we had a drink or three.
And then on Friday night, a group of us went out for dinner to farewell a colleague who finished up on Friday. We had a great time with a very yummy dinner at the Marigold Restaurant followed by drinks at Paddy Maguires. Another colleague told me we were “spotted”… no doubt you’ll be reading about in in the newspaper tomorrow. Though if the last week’s experience is any guide, one third of the story will be correct, one third will be from unreliable sources, and one third will be made up. It’s fascinating to watch the media report – unreliably – on itself.
Nothing else to report… or at least nothing I can talk about here.
Swedish class resumes tomorrow night and I’ve been wondering all night about what I should “write” in preparation for class.
I’ve been thinking I could write a piece about the comparisons about the Australian and Swedish political systems. Interestingly, the Government in Sweden is currently a Centre-Right coalition, while the Opposition is a Centre-Right (Red-Green) coalition, which, perhaps, might be what happens in Australia also? Centre-Left and Centre-Right, of course, are relative terms, since pretty much all of the political parties in Sweden would be to the left of most of the political parties in Australia.
I’ve also been thinking I might write about an aspect of Swedish corporate culture which might be about to launch in Australia, following in the foot-steps of IKEA. I’ve been reading tonight about speculation Swedish clothing company, Hennes och Mauritz (H&M), may be about to announce their first shop in Australia, possibly in the new Pitt Street Mall complex. I wish!
As well as adding a bit of “Swedishness” to Sydney, I’m also excited because they have clothes which, generally speaking, actually fit me.
As a average/shortish man with a roundish tummy, I generally find clothes shopping quite difficult. Generally speaking, when I buy a pair of jeans, I need to get the legs tailored, removing four or five inches from the legs. I find it remarkable why this is necessary, since I see an awful lot of Australians of similar proportions, especially in Central Sydney with a large Asian and Middle-Eastern populations. Often I find myself, oddly enough, as one of the taller people in a room or bus, even though I’m only 174cm tall. Yes, there are lots of tall, thin people around, but there are also lots of short people in Sydney too. And I wonder how many of us are going to the tailor to have our jeans modified?
Wearing my H and M polo shirt
As a result, over the last few years I’ve tended to favour the second hand clothing store. First, it’s part of my general philosophy the world is full of crap and that we should recycle as much as possible. Second, it’s a cost factor, as you can usually pick up some very nice clothing for next to nothing. And third, most of the clothing adjustments have already been done. Rather than go to a tailor and have several inches removed from the legs, I can actually go in and find clothing where those necessary adjustments have already occurred.
A few years ago I picked up a pair of second hand jeans while visiting the town of Coonamble in Western NSW. Although I was impressed with the price – just two dollars at the local op-shop – I was more impressed with the fact they fitted, instantly, off the shelf. Whoever had them before me was obviously the same weight and height, and for that I was truly grateful. No stuffing around in the changing room, no going to tailors, they just fitted!
The only other “jeans breakthrough” I’ve had occured in March this year when I went to H&M in Copenhagen. The jeans I purchased for about $50 fitted right off the shelf, both in terms of waist and height measurements. I’ve been wearing them ever since. I love them.
A couple of years ago in Sweden, I also bought a great black polo shirt from H&M which also just “fitted”, and looked good.
Although I appreciate there are some “issues” associated with the manufacture of clothing through these international chains, I’m a bit of a fan of Hennes och Mauritz, both for their Swedish-ness and for their manufacture of clothing which just “fits”.
There’s also an interesting broader issue about H&M, which reminds me of a program which I saw on SBS a couple of years ago about Swedish corporate culture.
The central thesis for the program was that years of extreme poverty, followed by years of high affluence have influenced the nature of Swedish business. “We think that everyone should be able to afford good fashion”, said someone from H&M. Later, another commented, “That’s why in Sweden all the young people dress the same, and it doesn’t worry them. In some countries, everyone wants to look different, but that’s not the case in Sweden”.
An interesting philosophy. I wonder if it will have much traction in Australia, or have we all become such individualists that we would all want to dress differently or maybe we won’t notice so much? I suspect, at heart, we remain a largely conformist culture (“we’re all individuals”) and they’ll do reasonably well.
Parkham Street, Surry Hills is a topical little street if ever there was one. I received a tip-off yesterday the City of Sydney were being asked/told by the State Government to remove all of the trees in the street to allow it to be used as a thoroughfare for World Youth Day.
When I turned up for the “photo opportunity” at 2.30 today (along with a photographer from the Sydney Morning Herald and a journalist and a photographer from Central) it quickly became clear it was not as bad as that. According to Marcelle Hoff, the City of Sydney Councillor who attended, most of the trees will remain.
Nonetheless, those residents who attended say they remain concerned about the lack of information so far available. They also say they’re concerned about losing their small park near the Buddhist Centre on the corner of South Dowling Street. The park needs to be cleared (except for one tree), so the pilgrims attending World Youth Day can walk over the nearby footbridge across the Eastern Distributor.
Anyway, enough of the politics. I think it’s a nice little street. It’s got a nice little school, a little Buddhist Centre, and (at the moment), a nice little park at the top of the street.
It’s been a funny year. It’s been a mixed year. It’s been a year of ups and downs. Mostly it’s been a pretty good year, though there have been times. Yes, there have been times…
I started the year catching a flight back from Lismore to Sydney. I’d been in Lismore for about ten days visiting the family. The night before I’d gone to Tropical Fruits New Year’s Eve Party. It was okay, I guess, though not really “my scene”. A little too much doof-doof music and party-drugs for my liking. The first thing I said to a friend on arriving back in Sydney, was “I won’t be doing Tropical Fruits again”.
Tropical Fruits NYE at Lismore Showground
No, this year on NYE, I will find myself back in Perth, which is where I lived in 2004. I’ve travelled a fair bit this year, actually, including a couple of visits to Brisbane (February, October and November), and a couple of trips to Lismore (April and December), and a trip to Crookwell (in October) for a wedding
The biggest trip, of course, was my trip to Stockholm in July/August. As with much of my travel planning it was a spur of the moment decision based on a cheap air-fare. I remember coming home on a Friday night and clicking on one of those “cheap airfare emails” you get, and discovering a flight with Air China return for $1474. $1474 return to Stockholm in the middle of summer was a bargain too good to resist. And so even though I had no real plans to travel to Sweden this year, I booked my flight as soon as my travel leave was approved.
Stockholm Pride on Expressen
It was a memorable trip in lots of ways, though mostly because of my accommodation. When I travelled in 2008, I was a “backpacker”. When I travelled in 2010, I was staying in hotels. This time around, I found an apartment that was well-priced, clean, and not too far from the centre of Stockholm. The combination of these three things meant that I could relax without the need to change accommodation on a regular basis. Even though I was only there for three weeks, it was great to have a “home base” to wash clothes, go to the supermarket and so on, thus taking away some of the usual travel anxieties. On top of that, my friend Graeme was also in Stockholm which added to the “home feel” of things.
Alcazar performs at Stockholm Pride
In the back of my mind, 2012 has always been the year in which I went to live in Sweden for a while. Maybe six months? Maybe a year? I’m reasonably sure that’s a goal I can’t/don’t want to realise for 2012. The reason why is purely financial, in that I’m in a reasonably good “earning cycle” right now, and would like to keep on earning money for the time-being, rather than spending it. On another level, I’m still not happy enough with my Swedish language skills and figure an extra six months of study is definitely needed. In my mind, I’ve pretty much firmed up that I would like to live there for six months, arriving in March and leaving in September or October, as that’s the time of year which seems to suit my temperament best, I think.
Graeme at Stockholm Pride
In some ways the trip to Sweden this year was more “life-changing” than I anticipated it would be. I met a guy in Stockholm who helped remind me I’m still attractive, despite getting older. “Don’t worry, he likes the old ones”, his friend told me. What has proceeded is a period of my life where I have been pursued by a couple of potential suitors. There’s been no one amongst them who I’ve felt similarly attracted to, which is a bit of a shame. But nonetheless, I think it’s been nice to have a reminder that I’m not exactly over the hill.
Although I’d like to think it’s because I’m an interesting, fascinating individual perhaps it’s because I’ve lost a fair bit of weight this year? Having weighed as much as 105kg (overweight on a 175cm heigh frame) I managed to get back down to a healthier, though still overweight 85kg by May. And then by June I was down to 82kg. By late August, I realised the key to my own personal weight loss has been giving up (pretty much) soft-drink. “You must have drunk a lot of soft-drink?” people have said when I’ve offered that reason. The answer is partly true, along with bad eating habits, too much alcohol and a lack of exercise. Who would have thought the combination of those few things could lead to obesity? :):)
In the back of my mind, I think the weight loss may have also been because it’s been a couple of years of thinking about my own mortality and that of others. Gloria died eighteen months ago, and this year, a close friend has had ongoing health problems. Thinking ahead, at the age of forty-five, I went to a financial advisor for a mid-life top up discussion, and soon afterwards decided it was time to make a will.
It’s also been as year of transitions. Work-wise, for example, it’s been an amazing and satisfying year. I started the year with a new job, and then with a request to take on some additional duties (with extra pay), and I’ve found both challenges really interesting and rewarding. I think my new job(s) really play to my skills and experience too. There’s some things I’m quite good at, and other things I’m not so good at, and it now seems like I have job which is 85% of the former and 15% of the latter.
Also this year, we wound up the art collector’s group called “Hawkesbury One” that I’ve been involved in for the last decade. In June, we had an exhibition of our collection at the Newcastle Regional Gallery. Towards the end of August, the group wound up officially, as per our original agreement. It was sad in many ways, but as with all things, there’s a time to move on.
Hawkesbury One
Transition years are like that, aren’t they? You gain enthusiasm for some things and lose entusiasm for others. In the last few months of the year I’ve found it difficult to keep up my studies in Swedish. A whole bunch of work commitments got in the way of attending class for quite some time, and then without the motivating factor of attending class, I haven’t been practising as much as I could or should. I’ll be returning to class in January which I’m looking forward to very much.
In the last few months of the year, I also lost a bit of enthusiasm, for maintaining this blog. For the last three or four years I’ve been writing something every day. However in the last few months I’ve sometimes struggled to write something even weekly. Mostly I’ve been either too tired on arriving home from work, or feeling I don’t really have anything interesting to say. I will endeavour to keep writing, as it’s something which gives me a great deal of pleasure.
I also put this lack of enthusiasm down to a couple of bouts of depression this year. It’s something I’ve lived with most of my life, and mostly I keep things in check, and I never really talk about it. But from time to time, I don’t feel so good about myself, and as my personal self-esteem plummets, I tend to lose a bit of interest in many things. Things seem to be back on track at the moment, which is good.
In a few months time it will be exactly ten years since I started this blog. My first blog entry, on April 27, 2002 was as follows…
It’s late Saturday night. I still haven’t packed, I still haven’t organised the house, but I have set up an Online Diary, so I can record all of my thoughts and feelings while living in the Northern Territory. I hope this period will be a significant one in my life. A real turning point. The last few months I’ve felt a little directionless. I hope this will give me the strength to make a new life.
The entry was reference to the fact I’d been “dumped” in the weeks prior to Christmas, which apparently is quite common.
Thankfully I don’t feel that way anymore. Well, not always :)
Best of all this year? The family is starting to talk about stuff.
One of the best things I’ve done this year is subscribe to the Edition Series of Sydney’s 4A Gallery. 4A is a gallery which specialises in Asian art, both art by artists from Asia, as well as artists from Australia with an Asian background. I’ve been to a far number of their exhibitions and they’re always usually very good. The works are interesting, and they’re presented well.
What has been great about the Edition Series is the random nature of it all. For a $500 annual contribution, I’ve received three random art works (with the fourth just about to arrive). I’ve had no say in the works, which has been a really appealing part of the project – the surprise element. There have been three limited editions prints, and one piece of porcelain. The works have all been very lovely, and I’m pretty confident they’re worth more than the $500 I’ve contributed. In fact, I know the Jason Wing screenprint has been selling at the price of $500 by itself.
And so it was a real pleasure to go to the 4A Members Exhibition with my friend Kate, and to see all four works on display. The other works were very interesting also, but I have a soft spot and fondness for the work of the artists I now have in my own collection.
Part of the 4A Gallery Members Exhibition
Part of the 4A Gallery Members Exhibition
Part of the 4A Gallery Edition Series
Jason Wing Double Happiness, 2011 Offset lithograph Dims 70 x 50 cm Printer, Big Fag Press
FX Harsono Per Memoriam ad Spem, 2011 Offset Lithographic Print Paper size 60 x 40 cm
Vernon Ah Kee Unwritten, 2011 Offset lithograph, 70 x 50 cm Printer, Big Fag Press
Vipoo Srivilasa Coral Jug, 2011 Southern Ice Porcelain Dims 12 x 9 x 8 cm Produced at Claystone Pottery
I went to the Powerhouse Museum last night for the launch of this year’s Sydney Design Festival and had a really great time. As you might expect at a Design Festival Launch, there were many photographic opportunities, including the chance to photograph the woman featuring in the publicity alongside some of the publicity material.
There were also opportunities for people to get hair and makeup done, with a disturbing number choosing to have theirs done in the style of a 1980s New Romantic. Given the age of some people doing this, I suspect it was less retro, and more remembrance.
Even the food and waiters looked well designed. There was one, a guy from Lithuania with designer hair. He told us he was in Australia for 5 months (maybe longer) to improve his English. All I can say is thank goodness for the Eurovision Song Contest, which allowed me to know right off the top of my head the capital of Lithuania was Vilnius!
I’m heading off to quite a few events under the design festival banner, which I’ll be blogging about.
I’m not normally one for shopping. In fact, I really hate shopping. I’m not one of those people who enjoys walking around endlessly and aimlessly looking in shop windows. I like know roughly what I want, go into a shop, make the purchase and get out. As an example, I can pretty much do my Christmas shopping in a couple of hours. But today I went shopping with two specific purchases in mind: a USB to micro-USB cable (I left mine at home) and a new pair of jeans.
Yesterday I’d walked past a clothing store on Sodermalm which was having a clearance sale on jeans. “Excellent”, I thought to myself, “a chance to pick up a new pair of jeans in addition to the ones I’m currently wearing which have started to develop a couple of holes”. All very good until I started looking at the sizes. The sizes started at 25 and ended at 31.
“Surely that can’t be right”, I thought to myself. “Can you explain the sizes to me”, I asked one of the assistants. “They’re inches”, he told me. And when I told him what I was looking for, something in the range of 34 to 36, he walked me over to the “grandpa jeans range” as I instantly noted from the styles before me. Honestly, I thought to myself, how on earth could an adult male have a waist size of 25? For all of the cliches about the big Nordic men, there’s an awful lot of them who are also slim and girly, it would appear.
And that’s definitely the case on the gay scene in Stockholm. Maybe it’s a generational thing, or maybe it’s a cultural thing, but many Swedish gay men appear to be a little more effeminate than in Australia, for example. Lots of hair product, that kind of thing. I spent a couple of hours at Torget late this afternoon/early this evening having a couple of glasses of wine, and it’s something I definitely noted.
Having a glass of chardy – I suspect it was Australian wine, since Jacob’s Creek seems to be the house wine of choice in many Stockholm bars – was the perfect way to end the day which had included a fair bit of walking.
I also did one of my favourite things to do in Stockholm: I caught the Djurgården ferry. I really is quite brilliant, especially on a bright sunny day.
Sunday over, and it’s time to look to Monday. Although rain is forecast, I’m looking forward to the Stockholm roof-top tour which I have booked into for tomorrow afternoon.
