The end of this year marks the tenth year anniversary of when my ex and I broke up. Well, strictly speaking, it’s ten years since he dumped me, but that’s just semantics I guess. And while we’ve both moved on in quite different ways, there’s someone at a major Australian bank who clearly thinks we are/should still be together.
As you do, when you’re in a relationship, we had a few things together including home insurance, as well as linked credit card accounts. After five years of active campaigning through phone calls, letters and emails, they made the home insurance changes. They don’t appear, however, to have gotten the message, though about the credit cards.
In 2003, 2007, and now in 2011, they continued to send me a replacement credit card for my card which was linked to his account. Even though we’ve told them three times now we’re no longer in a relationship, and have even received written confirmation they’ve made the changes to the account, they keep sending me replacement cards. The latest arrived in the mail today.
When I checked the mail this afternoon and saw the new credit card ready for use, I’d actually forgotten we had the linked account. I just thought it was a mistake. But then after a few minutes, I remembered we had been through all of this three or four years ago and began to get slightly grumpy. “How many times do I have to tell you?”, I grumbled as I walked around the house.
I texted Damo tonight about this, to which he replied, “you’re fucking kidding”. He’ll call them again on Monday to try and get some closure on this. I’m sure it’s just an error, or perhaps there’s someone at the bank in a state of denial who thinks we/should still be together.
Credit Card Offer
Hopefully, it will all be sorted out. If not, I’m booking an overseas holiday :)
One of the great things about my job is that I have warm, sunny office with a good view of the immediate city. In a couple of year’s time I’ll also have a close-up view of the new Frank Gehry designed building for the University of Technology, Sydney. It’s the first Gehry-designed building in Australia, and like many of his works it will have a “crumbled paper” look and feel about it. As I’ll have a first hand view of the new building under construction, I’ve begun to take a photograph every week or so from my office window. I’m only using a camera phone, and unfortunately you can see the window smudges. I’m sure someone else is documenting the construction in a better manner. In the meantime, here’s my contribution to recording a moment in history.
It’s that time of the year when radio stations in Australia are in the final stages of preparing to make their presenter line-ups for the following year. This is a rather cute corporate video from 1992 featuring myself as a youngster working in regional radio. Though most of my hair is gone, I still own that shirt.
For the last couple of days I’ve been wondering if I should share with you one of the downsides of being in Stockholm at the moment. Even though, as I’ve said, it’s lovely and sunny in the daytime, it can still get quite cold. Unfortunately that’s caused my body some slight grief, and after much hesitation, today I’m revealing my legs, and the slight case of cold weather hives I’ve developed.
Cold urticaria is the proper name for the red welts which have emerged on my legs in the last few days. Even though I’ve kept myself reasonably warm and protected, it’s still been cold enough to have developed a fairly minor outbreak of the condition. According to everything I’ve read, it’s reasonably common, and even though it can sometimes cause death, it’s fairly easily treated with some extra moisturiser. So there you go. The bad as well as the good.
Cold Weather Hives – Cold Urticaria
I was up reasonably early this morning checking out the online news. OMG, there was talk on Twitter, briefly, of another leadership challenge back home. Following on from successful leadership challenges in Victoria and the Northern Territory, there was talk Kevin Rudd had the numbers and was about to challenge Julia Gillard for the ALP Leadership. Seriously, the news in Australia is never as interesting when I’m back home as when I’m overseas. The talk was short-lived and quickly denied. I dropped a “sorry” note to my colleague back home, apologising for going on leave and leaving her to deal with the breaking news associated with all of these political happenings, as well as the election of a new Pope.
After a morning coffee, I spent a bit time of time wandering around Gamla Stan, the Old Town in Stockholm which is absolutely stunning. Since Sweden remained neutral during the Second World War, Stockholm escaped the bombing which destroyed many of the Old Towns in Europe. Thus, Gamla Stan remains wonderfully intact. And unlike other Old Town areas, such as Sydney’s “The Rocks”, Gamla Stan is more than a museum, more than one big tourist shop. People live in Gamla Stan. They have jobs in Gamla Stan that aren’t necessarily tourism-related. It’s wonderful to see an Old Town that’s living and, seemingly, thriving.
As I wandered around, a poster caught my eye in the window of The Riksdag, the Swedish Parliament. It was a poster which declared the Swedish Parliament passed lots of legislation every day. At the very top of the poster was an image of two men kissing. (OK yeah, that’s what caught my eye). For just a moment I reflected on the significance of an “official poster” from the Swedish Parliament of two men kissing. And, in contrast to Australia, it wasn’t a safe sex poster or something like that hidden away in a public toilet or a gay bar. It was wonderfully re-assuring to see something like that all official-like.
There’s room for all sorts of families and relationships in Sweden. The Swedish parliament passes all types of legislation, according to this poster.
But Sweden’s like that, you know. It’s been fascinating to reflect on the much discussed, much publicised gender equality you see here. And you do see it, most commonly when you see men pushing prams and bottle feeding their children in coffee shops and restaurants. Sure, men in Australia and other parts of the world do this also, but it’s so common place here no one seems to blink, whereas I think back home people would look and stare.
I also reflected today that the last week or so has flown by very quickly. Tomorrow I need to do clothes some washing, ironing and packing ahead of my trip to Berlin on Saturday. I also need to wash the sheets and make the bed, and clean up a little bit in the apartment I’ve been staying. In stark contrast to staying in a hotel or a hostel, it’s been so wonderful to have a place to call my own for the last week or so.
My friend Sue meets me in Berlin on Sunday, and we’ll be spending a few days there, followed by a few days in Copenhagen, and then back to Stockholm. We’ll be here for Easter which, apparently, is a pretty terrific time to be in Stockholm. Already the countdown is on with the feathers on sticks (a Swedish Easter tradition) all over the city at flower shops and stalls at the moment.
Gosh I love won-ton noodle soup. Especially the seafood variety. And especially the seafood won-ton noodle soup they have at my local “Noodle Star” at the Surry Hills Shopping Mall.
It’s really tasty, just about the right size, and I can always quietly read the newspapers they have there while I consume it (even if my glasses do occasionally fog up).
Having taken the day off work to try to prevent a worsening of the cough, cold, flu thing that’s doing the rounds at my workpace at the moment, I decided a bowl of soup would be just the right thing for lunch today.
However, the normally quiet eat-in/take-away was packed to the rafters. Most of the tables were taken, and all of the newspapers were in use.
Still, the soup was very enjoyable, and just the right thing for a coldish day in Sydney when I was also feeling a bit crook.
Early in the day I toyed with the idea of going to work, but by lunch-time I realised how stupid that decision would have been.
It’s funny when you’re feeling a bit sick, but not exactly dead to the world, and the decision making process you make about whether or not to go to work.
I woke early this morning feeling quite ill, though still able to function to a degree. The mind was strong, though the body was weak. For about an hour I remained in bed weighing up the pros and cons of being a bit sick today verses going to work and becoming a lot sick. I chose the latter, because I have some important things on tomorrow that I really can’t miss.
The last few weeks have been reasonably busy at work, and with everything else that’s been happening in my life, I suspect I’m a little run down which probably just adds to the illness.
But there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.
And despite having a bit of a cough, some congestion, and feeling a little tired, I’m ending the day in a much better position than I started.
Home after a lovely weekend where I traveled with friends to a wedding near Crookwell in Southern NSW, Australia. We stayed, literally, in “shearers quarters”. Feeling very relaxed after a lovely weekend back in the bush. I’ll move back one day. :)
I didn’t know what to expect from Lorna Luft who played last night in Sydney. I mean, I’d heard her CD, and I’d heard two radio interviews. I was expecting a kind of old fashioned broadway show, but beyond that I didn’t know what else to expect. I must admit, though, I thought the first half was a little mixed. There were moments of sheer joy, where she was totally in her element on stage, singing wonderfully and connecting strongly with the audience. And there were other moments when she sometimes struggled with the material. Sometimes the phrasing wasn’t quite right, and other times the key wasn’t really suited to her. But even when that was the case, she was able to save each song with a tremendous final note. “She’s great at those big notes”, I whispered to my friend Graeme who came along with me last night.
Lorna Luft in Sydney
In the second half, she re-emerged to re-create the stage show, “Songs My Mother Taught Me”, which, in her own words was about coming to grips with her tremendous musical legacy. As she related, at one point, you can’t go into a library and ask for a self-help book about how to behave as the daughter of a musical legend. For a long time she rebelled, telling us “I died my hair purple and hung out at Studio 54”. I also read somewhere the other day she performed as a backing vocalist on one of Blondie’s early albums. As her own children began to ask questions about their grandmother, Judy Garland, Lorna explained she began to come to grips with her demons.
The second half of the show recounts the story of Judy Garland, and along the way touches on three other important influences in her life, Dean Martin (Dean’s daughter is Lorna’s best friend), Sammy Davis Junior and Frank Sinatra (her godfather). There were some genuinely touching moments, and some wonderful anecdotes. My favourite anecdote was about when the family was living at the Savoy, and, arriving home one night she asked her mother why everyone placed their shoes outside their rooms at night. When Judy explained it was so they could be shined for the following day, Judy then had the idea of swapping the shoes. Lorna explained they swapped shoes over three floors. “But mamma, don’t you think we’ll get caught”, Lorna remembered. “Do you honestly think they’ll believe Judy Garland would do this?”, Lorna remembers her saying.
Clearly though, she has her mother in perspective. While there were no tales of the alcohol and drug abuse in the show, Lorna said. “Mamma spent money even when there was none”, with a tinge of sadness in her voice and on her face.
The second half of the show was tight, entertaining, and a really entertaining show.
It was an old-fashioned kind of entertainment in some ways. In stark contrast to some of the more introspective, almost shy peformances you often see on stage these days, Lorna (like Judy and Liza) really knows how to put on a show. Big, ballsy, brassy. It was no wonder the crowd jumped to its feet on more than one occasion, quite spontaneously.
Before the show we were told there was to be no flash photography due to the program being taped for replay on “Ovation” later this year. I can’t wait to see it back.
After the show, we caught the bus up the street to “The Sly Fox”, a mixed gay-straight-lesbian bar on Enmore Road. Last night it was mostly a lesbian crowd, and it was also karaoke night. Ironically, with about 15 lesbian women on stage preparing to sing Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman”, it was only the gay men in the bar (and some older women) who seemed to know the song word for word, with the younger women having to use the cheat sheet.
A similar situation happened when a group of young men got up to sing “Macho Man”. I loved the look on their faces when they suddenly realised they had to sing verses as well as choruses. Have you ever read the lyrics to the verses of “Macho Man”? Totally obscure and very difficult to sing along with. “They should have tried YMCA”, I said to Graeme at one point, “At least you can sing along to the verses too”.
After a couple of beers, we headed off home, having enjoyed our night of Lorna and Lesbians.
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I love that you texted Damo. I once saw gay men’s ability to remain friends with their exes as “the gay superpower”. It’s something my straight friends don’t understand – “Delete his number!” “Why are you still Facebook friends?” They look a little confused when I shrug and say “Because he’s a nice guy.”
I love that you texted Damo. I once saw gay men’s ability to remain friends with their exes as “the gay superpower”. It’s something my straight friends don’t understand – “Delete his number!” “Why are you still Facebook friends?” They look a little confused when I shrug and say “Because he’s a nice guy.”
Talk about rubbing salt – bloody banks. Another reason to hate them.
:)