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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

A Whinging Culture

It is quite often said that Australia has a drinking culture. And thats true, we do. We drink all the time. We drink to celebrate, we drink to commiserate. Something happens - hey lets have a drink. Oh Oh the sun is rising - crack open a beer! 


I have absolutely nothing against this drinking culture, given that I grew up with it, and my mother and father have been giving me sips of alcohol since I was about 4 and I'm pretty sure that wine was a base ingredient in all my food growing up. I even think they may have used that old trick when I was teething - you know stick the dummy in some bourbon and then the baby has no more pain. This is NOT recommended by doctors, dentists, or really any health care professional. It could explain some things.......


I don't really know the opinion of the rest of the world in regards to Australians - although I've been told we are fairly highly regarded. And our drinking culture is acknowledged. HOWEVER - does the rest of the world know that Australians whinge? We whinge like no tomorrow. If there was an Olympic sport of whinging, we would win gold, silver and bronze because the whole event would be filled with Australians. 
I do not like our whinging culture. I believe it has stemmed from our insistence on being tied to the apron strings of Britain, England or the United Kingdom or whatever name it is I should call them. Lets become a republic already!!!!! 


I mention this because I was reading the 'news' yesterday - yes always a dangerous thing when trying to keep anger levels low. The thing that struck me the most was not the news articles themselves, but the comments people made on them. This was online news for anyone stuck in a paper world and doesnt know how to get out. Turn on the computer. Things will happen on the screen. This is exactly like reading paper but about five gazillion trees are saved. Not quite sure how your reading this blog, unless I'm really famous, and you are one of those bosses who gets their assistant to print everything off for them to read. BTW - your assistant hates you. She (or he, but probably she - I'll do a blog post on gender next time) is probably young, technology savvy and resents you for not being able to get your head out of your own arse and catch up with the rest of the world. And you know what? One day you will be dead and she will still be ruling the world - even though you are misogynistic and rude and don't believe in her. Guess what? The world does not actually revolve around you. Get over yourself.


Anyway...


The whinginess of Australians. I mean come on. These people took time out of their day to comment on these news stories. The comments are not well written and I don't think these people actually understand what they are talking about. I detest people who have all these wonderful opinions and stick firmly and very vocally to them, but have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.


Case in point. The mining tax. Personally I was for it. Not going to go into that now. But I could also see negatives, and I think that the idea could work, but the technicalities probably needed to be ironed out. But the amount of people I met who just swallowed the anti-tax ads on the tv (which were funded and developed by the mining companies, I might add) ran into the hundreds. Hook, line and sinker. Please people, apply some critical thought here. 


Also, I bet on the online forum things - nobody actually cares what is written. The reason that people comment is so they can get a response from other people and then that can degenerate into an online slanging match. Whoop de fricken doo. If you care that much about something, get out there and do something about it. Don't just comment on a news article then sit there smugly while hundreds of other people get upset. You have achieved nothing. 


I love how I am whinging online about others whinging online. But then I'm Australian. Its my culture. Think I'll go have a drink.


Till next time


Ash 

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

London Baby!

GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHAT!!!!! 


I'm going to London, baby!!!!!


You might be able to guess that I'm a little excited.


We (my boyfriend and I) got some uber cheap deal from Air Asia this morning - $775 Perth to London return. Yes. Believe it. 
Air Asia is currently having a sale because they've had 100 million visitors or some crap like that. Whatever the reason, the prices are insane!! $3 from KL to Penang, Perth to Bali $125, Perth to KL $99. 
You'd be mad to miss it! 


I sound a little like one of those crazy carpet ads on the radio. Or used cars. I promise Air Asia has not paid me to endorse this sale. Although that would be cool. 


So, uni is struggletown today, as all I can think about is London, baby! We are going for 3 weeks in June 2011, and we will pop over to Germany (I love saying that, like its no big deal) for a couple of nights and spend out 3 year anniversary in Paris! And its so cool, because yesterday I didn't even know about the Air Asia sale, and then I saw my parents and they told me. So I went online and checked out prices for Bali (I'm a Bali freak - I just love the place!) and then I remembered that Air Asia flies to London and I though 'hey that would be cool'. I cleared it with the boyfriend (he's chef on the mines, so he got really excited coz he just wants to eat his way through three countries) and waited for the sale to start. I was up till midnight and I couldn't get through (I'm imagining suspenseful music playing at this point). I started to stress. I called the boyfriend and he tried to get through. He finally convinced me to go to bed and he would try in the morning. WELL, the darling boy woke up early and got through and booked the flights. And now I'm going to London, baby!! 


I have not been well traveled in my life, so please forgive me for my puppy-sees-food/ball/person/tree/ground/sky type excitedness. I've been to Bali 4 times and New Zealand 10 times. Yes I realise thats a lot of times overseas for someone who is only just 20 but I want to emphasise 2 things. Firstly, NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AND THERE ARE MORE AUSSIES IN BALI THAN IN PERTH. Secondly, there is zero variety. I actually count New Zealand as my second home. I wear a jade fishhook around my neck at all times. Therefore, I do not count it as travelling. I have been going there since I was 18 months old. Not that exciting. 


Another point about the boyfriend (I think he reads this so I better be nice): he is amazing. When he's home, he gets up earlier than me and makes me a coffee in the morning. Every girl should have a clone of him. 


Ok, I've thought about it again. New Zealand is interesting. Its green. There are quite a few sheep. They have a nice accent. Their money is different. They have mountains and snow. They have cool adventure things. 


On the other hand....


It rains ALL THE TIME. I was there last December (therefore, summer) for 10 days. It rained for 8 of those. 
They bombard you with questions - does it really never rain in Australia? Yes we do have rain, but nowhere near as much as you. Does it get as hot as New Zealand in the summer? Are you kidding? Your summer 'droughts' and 'heatwaves' are like our average winter. 
The roads are so wind-y that you will get sick. My sister regularly vomits on road trips in New Zealand.


Anyway. I should stop bagging New Zealand. I don't mind the place. I have some nice cousins over there.


And no. They do not have sexual relations with sheep!!!! Australia has more sheep than New Zealand. Although the ones in NZ are whiter and cleaner - coz it always rains. They have amazing ice cream and milk too - coz the cows get to eat green grass all the time.


Ok, I'm going now. 


London, baby!!!!! 

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

15 Things I Would Tell the 15 Year Old Me

Right I know this is corny and everything but lately everywhere I go I find articles/blogs etc saying 'What I Would Tell My Younger Self'. So I am jumping on the bandwagon. These are the 15 things I would tell my 15 year old self:

  1. You are not, by any stretch of the imagination, fat or ugly!
  2. If you want something to be different, then do something about it. Sitting there in silence hoping someone else has the guts to speak up and they want the exact same thing as you is never going to work.
  3. Yes it sucked that you were in a car crash. Yes that drunk driver should have gone to jail but somehow didn't even make it to court and it was unfair. Yes you will be plagued with back problems for at least the next 5 years. BUT - the fact that you were in that crash has made you a safer driver. It has made you more aware of the dangers of the road. Life is unfair sometimes. Your back pain will let you know when you are stressed/have been sitting at your computer for too long and allow you to take action against that. It will also give you the excuse to get massages and not feel guilty. 
  4. Just because you have a boyfriend now and you are 'so in love with him!' does not mean that you will marry him. Your life does not need to be so mapped out and at 15 what do you know about love anyway? He will dump you, over the phone, on a Monday morning, right before your TEE exams. You will blame him - try not to. He tried to do the right thing, because your relationship wasn't right anymore, he just did it the wrong way. And don't be so desperate and needy by calling him at all hours begging him to take you back. That ain't right. 
  5. When your dad tells you to go outside and 'do something', do it. Just because you feel like sitting inside reading doesn't make it the best thing for you. You will probably read that books 6 more times a least - you don't need to finish it today. 
  6. Drink more water
  7. The people in your class who are mean to you? They will do nothing with their lives. Just because they are the 'cool kids' now, has no bearing the second you step outside the school gates for the last time. You have the courage and the opportunity to leave town, to go to the best school in the State, to go to university, to leave the comfort of the known. They don't. It's sad really, because you can see their potential. 
  8. You do not smile enough nor take enough photos.
  9. Eat the sandwiches Mum makes you for lunch. Its healthier than going hungry. Or at least have some respect and tell her you would prefer something else, rather than throwing out your lunch and getting angry at her without her knowing why. 
  10. Put the pocketknife down you idiot. Stop being so self indulgent - you will get angry at yourself every time you see that scar. These things take a long time to fade. 
  11. Quit the sulky whiny 'everybody is against me' attitude. 
  12. Stop feeling like nobody recognises you are important and start believing you are
  13. Don't gain weight - its much harder to lose it
  14. Don't stop karate - you are actually quite good. 
  15. Be nicer to your sister - she will grow up way too fast and it scares you. Try and be there for her. 
 So there is my 15 Things to Tell My 15YO Self. 


Me at 15











Side bar: If I was able to tell my 15yo self all this - and she listened - I would not be the person I am today. So I probably wouldn't tell her. Although I would love her not to have that kind of teenage pain to go through, to be honest, it was probably a good thing. 

Ashleigh 

Friday, October 1, 2010

The One with the Control Issue

funny graphs - The Circle of Life


So I have realised that there appears to be a theme of tiredness running through this blog. 


And drunkenness. 


But more tiredness. 


So lets lay off that for a while. 


Firstly I would just like to add that I have just come from Horny Frog's house and I beat both Smiling Tiger and Drunken Leopard in Cluedo. Yes I guessed correctly - Miss White with the Pistol in the Kitchen. Boo yah. 


I have recently discovered that I have control issues. I make excessive lists, I panic when things don't go the way I've planned, I've got every second of my life planned out for about the next 30 years and I do not like to lose (except at Mario Kart where I don't really care). I am becoming very neurotic. 


Now, because of my control issues, my life is very organised. I know three days in advance what I will be eating for dinner (although thats probably more to do with my food issues), I know my next two weeks in minute detail, I know pretty much what all my assignments will say and I drive everybody crazy making plans. I feel like this habit of mine makes my life better. I feel better when everything is planned and there is no uncertainty. However, recently I have been wondering - if I was less organised, would my life be easier? I wouldn't be stressed if the plans didn't work out - because there wouldn't be a plan. But I figure that would require a whole personality overhaul that I could not handle. It's the change aspect going on there. 
I thought this was a recent thing, but I have been making some enquiries with True Blue Kangaroo and also my ex bf from a few years ago and apparently this organisation habit of mine is quite advanced. Hmmm. 


The reason I bring this up is because I have found that, when you watch a TV show, there is inevitably one character on the show that reminds you SO MUCH of so-and-so. I am a HUGE Friends fan. When things go pear shaped, there is nothing better than lying on the couch under the trusty doona and watching Friends. Friends will always be there. Friends will always have the same type of humour. Friends will tell me when to laugh. Friends love each other. Each Friend has their own unique personality and they have good bits and they have bad bits but you love them no matter what. (OK not sure if I'm still talking about the TV show - moving on). 


I was watching Friends the other night and I was trying to work out which person in my friendship circle resembles which character the most. Like I said there is always one. I could not think of one. Then I realised -  what if its me? My flatmates used to call me Monica - because her major control issues. A girl I work with says I remind her of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. The problem here is these characters are the butt of a lot of jokes. Am I the butt of a lot of jokes? Does it matter if I am? Probably not. I'm not going to change and my friends have put up with me so far (well except the boyfriend who dumped me - but that was his issue I'm sure). 


Anyway, this is a fairly random type post. But thats ok. I can be a random-type person with random-type ideas and unpredictable actions. If I plan them. 


Ashleigh xo