april 19, 2001
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These are just a few scanned photos that I selected out of my many rolls. I have no pretensions about being a good, or even passable, photographer but I just thought the photos would spice up this usually texty page. Sorry about the quality of the scanning. I have neither the time nor the inclination to figure out how to properly use the scanner here at work.
From left to right: Akaroa Harbour near Christchurch; the cliche photo of Lake Matheson that I was actually lucky enough to get; a sheep photo that I took specifically for you, Sandeep, you better like it; the Moeraki Boulders on the South Island; the surreal scene of tourists mobbing aforementioned boulders; rafting on the Rangitata the day after my birthday (looking downriver, I'm front and left); sunrise from the plane as I left New Zealand the angle of which, incidentally, about reflects how I felt in the drug, fatigue, and nostalgia induced haze I experienced on that flight; and the view from the outdoor North Sydney Olympic Pool where I have been swimming here in Sydney.
A few of these are available in larger format.
posted by tina 4/19/2001 07:08:02 PM
Of course the first kangaroo I saw in Australia had to be dead at the side of the road.
posted by tina 4/19/2001 10:15:06 AM
april 13, 2001
I'm settling in now and I've been feeling increasingly ambivalent about a lot of things these days. I've joined a kickboxing gym and I think that the muscle pain in my upper body is unlikely to fade anytime soon. I've been eating a lot of pumpkin, fruit, yogurt, and insane amounts of chocolate (not together). I have also been reading a lot of books during the long commute. Ones that I have greatly enjoyed recently are The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey and No Logo by Naomi Klein. I'm trying to get my hands on some more good Australian fiction (currently reading Cloudstreet by Tim Winton) and would welcome further suggestions. Also, can anyone recommend a good textbook for teaching oneself Mandarin at home, both written and spoken? I'm trying not to get too rusty.
This section will be updated less frequently over the next couple of months. I always intended it to be a based-on-motion log and, now that I am stationary, I don't feel that it is necessary to continually be updating. I'll be putting this and that in when I notice more travel-related type things but it won't be back in full swing until the end of June when I get moving again. As far as the other stuff goes, I am looking for a way to ftp new files and updates. Contrary to popular belief, I am an idiot when it comes to most computer-related things and don't know the proper commands in certain ftp applications. I am trying to sort things out and should hopefully find a solid and reliable connection sometime within the next week.
posted by tina 4/13/2001 02:52:51 PM
april 6, 2001
It's not intimidating to me anymore (March 19). It's not just that everyone is beautiful here; it's that they are all beautiful in the same way. The same clothes, the same hairstyles, almost the same carriage. There is diversity but it seems to be primarily in skin colour. The only people that you can pick out are the tourists who dress in another way entirely. This is something that I didn't really notice for what it was at first. I just thought it was sophistication but, after spending more time here, I increasingly see it as a kind of highly polished conformity. The streets, bars, and the clubs are full of the same people. If there is a counter-culture, it is way down underground and I have yet to see its face.
* * * * * * * *
Now let's play a little imagination game. You have a friend of the opposite sex with whom you have been spending time. It's great - you enjoy each other's company and you have a laugh together. You are content just being friends and have made it perfectly clear that this will remain solely a friendship. It has, after all, survived the drunk test (i.e. drunk together without having hooked up). Suddenly, said friend explains to you that the two of you must either "take it to the next level" or else no longer continue your friendship. What would you do in such a situation?
Well, I'll tell you what I did. This - could you have guessed? - has recently occurred to me and I'm afraid I didn't quite know how to respond to such an ultimatum. I told him that he had my number and he could take all the time he wanted but I wasn't willing to "take it to the next level" (his quote, not mine). Maybe you guys out there will understand his motivation but it left me feeling slightly pissed off. I don't really believe that stuff about women and men not being able to be just friends but this makes me think twice. How unfair is that you make someone choose either all or nothing? By asking me to become more than just friends, he was clearly suggesting that we become physically intimate with one another; that was really all that was left. To me, it almost sounded like an ultimatum for sex. What woman is going to cave in and say yes, especially when she has already made it clear that she is not interested? At the same time, it made me feel like he didn't value our friendship, because he was so willing to lose it over this.
Anyhow, maybe some of you have thoughts on this. Paul?
posted by tina 4/6/2001 01:20:02 PM
april 1, 2001
Basically, I'm a receptionist for a serviced office complex. I answer the phones for about forty different companies, directing calls and taking messages. I also do clerical grunt work such as typing, arranging couriers, and proof-reading exceptionally poorly written letters, memos and other correspondence. The icing on the cake - after six years of university education - is that I have the honour of fetching coffee and tea for people when they are having meetings in the various boardrooms. While it may not be the most challenging job and I will probably be bored stiff within two weeks, it does pay quite well and, taking into account the rent that I am paying (so so low), I will be able to save some serious travel money. Also, the office is pretty relaxed and most of the people with whom I work are friendly.
However, it is amazing to me the assumptions that people make about you when you are clerical support staff or a receptionist. If you have worked in retail before, you will probably know what I am talking about. It's as if people reach a certain level of income or self-perceived importance and then promptly forget that they ever had to work in a low-pay or menial position. You can almost feel their condescension expressed through looks and comments. Many people assume that I can only be there because I may not be good enough or smart enough to be in any other job. Just because someone is making more money than me or their job is perceived as having higher importance, that doesn't legitimize their assumptions and behaviour towards people who aren't as "important". However, the bright spot in this situation is that I love when people are visibly surprised when I engage them intelligently on a topic or issue on which they are not expecting to be challenged. Or when they pause briefly on learning that I have a university degree or have read several books by that author or actually follow the news. It gives me such satisfaction.
I would say more but my parents are here in Sydney at the moment and I'm off to entertain them now.
posted by tina 4/1/2001 11:43:01 AM