Just had a sneak preview of the Chinese New Year exhibition at Sydney Town Hall which my friend Kate has curated.
They’re setting up today for an official opening on Wednesday.
My bit of personal excitement is a work that I own will be in the exhibition. More details here…
Swedish class was a lot of fun tonight.
It’s two weeks since I’ve been due to holidays and just not feeling like it last week, but things still went okay.
I was anxious about the class due to the homework which was an exercise involving reflexive pronouns and reflexive verbs. My goodness, I didn’t know what they were in English, let alone Swedish. So late this afternoon I looked them up on Wikipedia, and guess what?
I think I understand them. And that’s what I said to Grant when we met at the pub tonight. Whereas Grant is great at grammar, I am, by my nature, naturally inclined not to study grammar. I was part of that generation which was experimented on, and aside from nouns and verbs, we weren’t taught much else.
But by the time I’d gotten to class, and realised I had a vague idea of what I’d missed, thinks went quite well.
Everyone was also in a good mood. And the class was large and cheerful tonight. We had lots of fun.
And I even managed to make a Swedish grammatical joke. We needed to find a word to associate with the word noggrant which means carefully and thoroughly. When Grant suggested a word, Marianne ummed and ahhed and said that wasn’t quite right in Swedish, I leant over to Grant and said, “So that’s no Grant”. Crazy eh? :)
But at the end of class I’m left with a dilemma.
Next week is our final class for the year, and as well as well as bringing along some Swedish food, it’s a probably good idea that we should translate a Swedish Christmas song as part of the class.
I mentioned to Grant my favourite Christmas song remains “Wrap Myself In Paper“. And although it’s by Magnus Carlsson it’s not in Swedish.
It’s very camp though.
I’m preparing to sing this for my work Christmas Party of course :) But, it’s in English so I can’t really translate it for Swedish class, can I?
So of course I’d like to translate a Swedish Christmas song… but do I go traditional… or do I draw upon the vast genre of Swedish Christmas albums.
And let me tell you, every Swedish singer has a Christmas album under their belt…
But which one should I do?
Judy, Greg, Cotton and I went to see an amateur production of the musical “Chess”, performed by the Eastwood Uniting Church Musical Society at West Ryde this afternoon.
As far as amateur productions go, it was pretty good, with the musical direction being absolutely terrific. Greg said the guitar solo at the end of “Pity The Child” was the best he’s ever heard… and apparently, he knows about these things.
The singing and acting were both a little patchy, although there were some very good performances in the midst of it all. The guy playing Anatoly had a sensational voice – lots of comparisons with Tommy Korberg – although his acting was sometimes a little overdramatic.
The chorus was excellent, especially in those moments without musical backing. They harmonised very well.
The one disappointment was “One Night In Bangkok” which, unfortunately, they failed to cut the mustard on, perhaps due to technical issues… or maybe because it was just too complex for an amateur production to stage.
It occurred to me the reason why “Chess” has had only limited success is that it spends too much time early in the piece talking about the game, the history, the politics when actually it’s the love story and the personal motivations that are the most interesting. If I was doing a production I’d chop out most of the first half and begin with “1956 Budapest Is Rising” as it’s from then onwards that you understand so many of the motivations – both personal and political – that govern the action of the characters.
Curiously enough, the director, Penny Wilson wrote in her notes, “From the earliest days of conceptualising this production, it has clearly been a ‘problem play’. For me as a believer in Christ, and for EUCMS as a Church-based organisation, the problems it poses were the aspects we wanted to emphasise rather than avoid.” She was obviously talking about the selfishness of the characters and that there were no happy endings, leading her to conclude that it could be read “as a sort of anti-parable”. Who would have thought…
Overall a good production and well worth the trip to West Ryde.
For the last few days I’ve been meaning to pop across the road and take a photograph of the restored mural in the nearby park. Back in October last year, when there was first talk of a renovation, it was looking a bit shabby, to say the least. That was when the first development application or council notification or whatever came around. Five months later, it’s looking pretty good.
As I’ve been sick the last few weeks I’ve been able to watch some of those involved go about their jobs. It’s been fascinating to watch the combination of experts and tradesmen coming together to work on the project. They’ve worked co-operatively, they’ve enjoyed morning tea and lunch together, and they’ve gotten on with the job of turning the shabby old mural into something new, while obviously protecting its cultural and artistic integrity.
Ater a couple of weeks away from work – on “death’s door” – it’s been kinda weird returning to work, especially since I need to pop out for an hour or so each day to have my wound dressed. “You’re finishing up early today”, the bloke at the chicken shop said to me, as I walked in for lunch today. When I explained my situation, he expressed concern, but then realised my current affliction is more of a nuisance than a real concern. The pain has pretty much gone. I hardly feel the impact of the dressings any more. The only thing which causes me concern is that I’ve picked up a minor cold in the last few days. Everyone at work who doesn’t know what my illness was, assumes I’ve been off with the flu or something. I’ve got a visit to the doctor tomorrow, and then hopefully just a few more days of daily dressings. And then, I suppose I can start 2012.
I was chatting to someone the other day noting that I don’t really have a “plan” for the year yet. Normally by this time of the year I’d have some wild and exotic travel plan already in the back of my mind. But this year, I don’t. Or at least not yet.
Interestingly, a colleague who works on Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games coverage noted that I usually take leave when the games are on. “Do I?”, I asked her. And then she noted I went overseas for both Beijing and Delhi. “Oh yeah, I suppose I do”, I said to her. So yeah, I better start thinking about 2012 and what I want to do this year, eh?
I spent a fair bit of this weekend napping. It’s not like I’ve been working excessively long hours, or going out “clubbing” (heaven forbid), I’ve just been feeling a bit tired this weekend. By nature, I’m an introvert, and that usually means socialising really tires me out.
Despite having gone into a career which involves a lot of public speaking, meetings and, generally chatting to people, my natural instinct is for solitary pursuits. I live alone, I like being alone, and to be honest, I’ll sometimes feign illness to avoid social interaction.
And it’s been a very social week. I caught up for dinner on Tuesday night, on Wednesday night I caught up with friends for drinks, and then on Friday, I attended an awards lunch (followed by celebration drinks) and then dinner with a friend.
It was terrific to catch up for dinner with Sue on Tuesday night, the first time we’ve seen each other since she moved to Wagga at the end of January, and when I went down to visit her there. It was good to catch up on how she’s settling in, and to hear updates on how her house was shaping up (as I’d helped her do some unpacking and furniture organisation). It was also good to catch up on how she’s going with her job, and with making friends/contacts. We talked about a few dates when I would next come down to visit, though I’ve concluded it will be more than likely after my forthcoming trip to Hobart.
And then on Wednesday night, I caught up with fellow blogger, Andrew and his partner who were up from Melbourne. Though I was quite sure it was only last year when we had met for the very first time, a quick re-think of the last 12 months was a timely reminder it was actually two years.
They seemed to have been enjoying their time in Sydney with things like a trip to Double Bay (inspired by my recent blog post) with further plans to visit The Blue Mountains and some Japanese Gardens I’d never heard of before, but which sound interesting. Hi Victor! They were a little apprehensive, naturally, about being able to return to Melbourne, so I hope that’s all worked out fine for them.
As Andrew comments frequently on public transport, I asked him for his thoughts on the new tram system in Sydney. He thought it was very good. “The drivers are very good. No stops and starts”, he said, though adding there are parts of the route where they could increase their speeds. Agreed.
And then on Friday, it was the AWEI Awards for LGBTQ Workplace Inclusion. As noted in this media release, the ABC were big winners this year, with three awards. https://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/abc-named-gold-employer-at-lgbtq-inclusion-awards/
The awards are based on the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI), which measures the impact of LGBTQ inclusion initiatives in organisations. The ABC’s annual score out of 200 in this year’s AWEI increased significantly from 105 to 177.
I’m part of ABC Pride which is a staff-led group focussing on a range of staff welfare issues. We also do awesome things like hold morning teas, provide behind the scenes policy and editorial advice, and have participated in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras over the last two years.
There was much to celebrate, and so lunch morphed into dinner with a friend and former colleague. We caught up for a drink, and then headed to a light and sound installation at one of the former monorail stations. As awesome as it was to see one of the former stations still exists, to be honest, it wasn’t that exciting for either of us. But still worth doing, and an awesome idea.
My friend, Andrea has recently moved to Sydney, and we had much to talk about. We had dinner at an old favourite, Red Chilli. We’ve also been to the equivalent part of the Red Chilli in Canberra (where she’s been living). Interestingly, despite it being fairly busy in Chinatown, and Red Chilli being usually fairly busy itself, there was only a handful of people in the restaurant, and then it was just us. So we could be as noisy as we wanted, and could consume some of their wonderful food without having to worry about neighbouring tables.
By the time the weekend came around, it was time for sleep. It’s less busy this week: catching up with a friend for dinner and drag queen bingo!!, and then on Friday, it’s time for having my AstraZeneca shot. By the sounds of things, I’ll be resting up next weekend, as most peopleI know have reported feeling a bit under the weather the next day. AstraZeneca sounds like a drag queen, too, right?
Since I’ve been working from home, preparing meals has become a much more important part of my life. When I was full-time from the office, I’d mostly pick up some takeaway for lunch. But since I’ve been at home, I’m much more inclined to make something, from a simple salad (my favourite is a simple calad of tomato, cheese and cucumber) to something more complex.
I made a terrific Thai Chicken Curry last week, and in previous years I would have eaten the meal and then frozen the rest. My freezer used to be full of frozen meals. Frozen, but then hardly-ever unfrozen! And so since working from home, I’ve been more inclined to just keep eating the meals until they were finished. I think I set a personal record the other week with that curry – I had it for lunch, dinner, lunch, dinner, and then lunch the next day.
The other thing I’ve done recently is go back to basics wirth bedding.
The first time I had one they were called “continental quilts”. I don’t remember exactly when it was, thoughI suspect it wasn’t until about 1987. Photographs from my day at university, and living in Tarragindi reveal I was still using blankets. It wasn’t until I moved into the house at Taringa that I had a continental quilt, later called a doona.
As part of “growing up”, I think I thought it was time to walk away from blankets, as a thing of “childhood”, and to embrace something a little more”grown up”. And they’ve been with me for the rest of my life.
The one thing I could never do was put on the cover “properly”. It was always a bit of a drama, and once the task was completed, they never really looked “tidy”. Thus, the “organisation” of my childhood gave way to an “unmade bed” look of adulthood.
I was thinking about this the other day when I saw some statistics – I don’t remember where I saw them – about the low percentage of people who make their beds every day. I’m not one of them.
Co-oincidentally, as winter returns, I’ve been thinking of going back to blankets. I’ve been thinking about the environmentalism of the doona. Even though they can appear to be very “natural”, I’ve been wondering about the likely synthetic nature of most doonas. Yes, I use that word now.
The other day I decided it was time to buy a couple of old-style blankets for my bed. I have a couple of lovely “throws” which I use. But I thought maybe a couple of old-style blankets would be something I could use in preference.
And you know what? They’re terrific. They feel warm, they feel good. All I need is for my mum to come into the room to tuck the blankets with an almost-suffocating tightness. Love it!
And in conversations, too, it’s time for back to basics!
I was thinking the other day about the adrenalin rush some people find from having an argument. I was watching a very weird discussion on Facebook about how someone I know who had seen an older man (he was described as being in his 60s) ask a young woman (she was described as being in her 20s) to pick up her newspapers on a crowded train so he could sit down.
By the account of my friend, it was a tense discussion. “Not without a facemask”, she said, to his reply, “I have one, but I don’t need one”. He put the mask on, and that was the end of it. None of the people were there went into overdrive on the Facebook post saying things like “She must have felt threatened”, “He must have been menacing”, and it was about “Women’s right to consent”.
I was a bit surprised about the backlash to the older man, because my response was “If it was me and an older man had asked me to pick up the newspapers, or more than that I would have stood up and offered him my seat. I see this quite a bit on Sydney buses and trains, where younger people will stare are their phones and “pretend” not to see older people. I’ve become the person who says to them, “Get up, there’s an older person who needs a seat, just like the signs say”…
“There were so many podcasts I’ve never heard of”, I told quite a few people at last night’s Australian Podcast Awards. Though I knew a lot of people attending, including quite a few finalists and winners, there was a distinct “knowledge gap” for me about many of the commercial sector podcasts.
In contrast to the recent podcast day I attended, this was a much more “commercial” event. https://thelimbshift.com/2022/10/are-podcasts-dying/ There were quite a few nominees and winners from the ABC, including the podcast I work on. However, most of the nominees and winners were from podcast apps like Listnr, I Heart and Nova.
As well as some great company and conversations (and a few drinks/food), I came home with a long list of podcasts to listen to. These include “Hi, I’m Eddie” https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/discover/podcasts/hi-im-eddie produced by former ABC colleague, Rhianna Patrick, and the overall winner, “The Last Outlaw” https://thelastoutlaws.com.au/ I also came home with a realisation I need to seek out more podcasts from the commercial radio and community sectors, to know more about podcasts than just the ABC.
For me, it’s been a very busy few days.
It all started on Friday night when a couple of friends and I went to the recording of an ABC TV special, to go to air in the lead-up to Christmas. Hosted by Nazeem Hussein, the special featured a range of musicians and comedians, with an emphasis on diversity. There were lots of laughs.
It was such a delight to see long-time musical favorites like Linda and Vika Bull appear live, as well as remote video inserts from Paul Kelly in Melbourne and Kate Miller-Heidke in Brisbane. We all laughed out loud at the “rather spicy” lyrics of the song by Kate about “growing a beard down there for Christmas”.
And then on Saturday, the same couple of friends and I went to the Marrickville Musical Festival. It was very much a “grassroots” musical festival, with school bands and lots of indi performers across a range of genres.
On Sunday I went to see the movie, “Bros”, which has been described as “the first mainstream gay romcom”. It had all of the conventional story of “love gone wrong, and then finally achieved” you find in most romcoms, except the two lead characters are men.
As much as I loved the idea of playing with the convention, I still found the film somewhat annoying. In fact, I thought it was a little “too gay” for my liking. In the back of the romantic comedy, there was a lot about “gay politics” and identity that I just wasn’t interested in. I understand why it was there, to contrast the lives of the two lead characters, I just found it personally a little distracting and alienating.
And from there, I went to the nearby Uniting Church at Newtown for the installation of my friend Karina Kreminski as a minister for one of the emerging communities, Surry Hills.
It was a wonderful experience to be there, to share the experience, and to hear an affirmation of faith.
After the last week, I feel like I need to rest up a bit.
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And this was part of the exhibition launch.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8anG3xSVTO8&list=UUI1bFe8qn6lDYb1KMlANetw&index=1]