Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! It has been a long but fun day. We started the morning with 10:30 am mass at St. Raphael's Church where I saw Lynne, Jeremy and her family as well as my great-aunt Lorraine. Once we got home it was time to finish cleaning and get started on cooking dinner. As has become an annual tradition, my Aunt Chris and cousins Leilani and Meinani came over for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately James was working, plus with the new baby he and Simi weren't going to be able to come down this year.

We started with cheese and crackers and some mulled cider before moving into the dining room for our big meal. My mom made Jello salad with cranberries, and then it was time for the main meal of scalloped potatoes, turkey, stuffing, and broccoli. All of it was delicious, and Lei also brought a couple different bottles of white wine to have with dinner.

After finishing eating we went back out into the living room to digest food and exchange presents. Lei was furiously knitting to finish up one of my gifts- a scarf. When we had a bit of room in our stomachs it was time to hit the dessert table. All of that baking from yesterday was now available to eat. I had a little sample of everything, and the apple pie came out well. It was another successful Christmas dinner, and as always nice to spend time with family over the holidays.

Baking up a Storm

I have spent the majority of today baking assorted treats with my mom for our Christmas dinner tomorrow. I think we may have too much dessert.

Sugar Cookies


Snowball Cookies


Pumpkin-Orange Cookies


Lemon-Cranberry Bundt Cake


Apple Pie

Shopping

I have spent the last two days helping the US economy by shopping up a storm. On Sunday my mom and I went to Vintage Oaks in Novato and hit Target, Old Navy, Bath and Body Works, Ann Taylor Loft, and Costco. My biggest bargain of the day was a zip hooded fleece sweatshirt on sale for $5 at Old Navy (in fact, I got a lot of clothes on sale there and only paid about $100 total).

Today we went to The Village and Town Center in Corte Madera. I managed to finish up my Christmas shopping at Williams-Sonoma (along with getting some peppermint bark and hot chocolate), got a nice pair of trousers on sale for $16 at the Gap, a laptop battery at the Apple store (very much not on sale), and also checked out J.Crew, Anthropologie, and Crate and Barrel. In the midst of all this we also stopped for lunch at Boudin, where I continued to indulge my love of sourdough by having clam chowder in a bread bowl.

Meeting my Nephew

Today my parents and I headed up to my brother's place to have lunch and see my nephew Logan, who is now two-weeks old. Dad made his very yummy clam chowder and we also binged on my favorite sourdough bread from Bordanave's. It was great to meet Logan, who is a cute and fairly mellow baby. I got to hold and feed him briefly while he was awake. It was also nice to catch up with James and Simi and Simi's parents, who are staying with them until the new year. Everyone seems to be doing pretty well considering the huge life changing event. We will be back up to visit them after Christmas to exchange presents and spend more time together.

Flying Across the Pacific

Today was my flying day on Air New Zealand: Melbourne to Auckland and then Auckland to San Francisco. I managed to occupy my time by reading, listening to music, and watching the films Julie & Julia, It Might Get Loud, and Funny People. Due to a strong tail wind we actually arrived in San Francisco an hour early! It was a clear and crisp day as we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County. I am happy to be home for the holidays and hopefully the jet lag won't be too bad.

The Boroughs

Yesterday Tash and I attended The Boroughs, which organisers said would be "a celebration of the culture, street art and music of New York." Originally scheduled to be at a warehouse on La Trobe Street, the venue was changed to Shed 4 in Docklands. Wilfred Jackal was finishing up their set when we arrived. Both Tash and I were a bit confused as we walked in. First problem was that they were only using part of the Shed, which didn't really make much sense. Their attempt at making it "New York" was to have some opened shipping containers around the floor, graffiti artists painting a wall (they were amateurs compared to a lot of the graffiti you see around Melbourne), some really bad attempts at performance art, and a small skate ramp for the skaters. It was a total fail.

Music-wise the bands really had nothing to do with New York either, but there was a good mix of different styles. The sound in the Shed was horrendous though, which was really apparent for the bands we have seen live before. I wouldn't mind hearing The Hello Morning in an intimate venue as their alt-country sound was so muddy in the venue. The Frowning Clouds played with a lot of energy and had a group of people dancing at the front of the stage. Bachelor of Arts was probably the closest to a New York sounding band, and Hot Little Hands played a good set of indie rock.

Miami Horror had everyone dancing and their single "Sometimes" got a big reaction from the crowd. Up next was Yves Klein Blue, who were fantastic as always. It was great to hear "Getting Wise," "Polka," and "Digital Love." The final act of the evening was Bertie Blackman, who was dressed in a monk's robe for most of the night. In her hour-long set she played the one song I know of hers, "Byrds of Prey," as well as covers of Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight" and a Fleetwood Mac song. The funniest part of her set though was watching the Frowning Clouds boys with supersoakers running around side of stage and spraying the audience.

I'm An Auntie

Welcome to the world my nephew Logan James. He is a big boy at 9 lbs 13 oz, and is 20 inches long. To think he was two weeks early! I can't wait to meet and hold him in person in a couple weeks when I am home for the holidays.

The Veils and Oh Mercy

Last night Tash and I met at The Toff In Town to see the last night of The Veils Australian tour. Opening for them were our faves Oh Mercy, who played a blistering set of music to the appreciative crowd. It was good to hear some old favorites like "Holding On," "Salvation Jane," and "In My Stride" as well as the album tracks "Get You Back" and "Broken Ears." Oh Mercy have had such an amazing year and I'm really happy for all their success and the recognition they are receiving.

I admit to not being familiar with The Veils music although I have been aware of the band as they toured the US with Liam Finn in 2008. This was their last show of the year and you could tell lead singer Finn Andrews was emotional about this fact at times, pondering what he was going to do with himself when there were no shows to play. The tour was in support of their latest album Sun Gangs, and probably my favorite song of the evening was the single "The Letter." They did have some technical issues with the bass guitar throughout the set, but made it through the evening playing with a lot of passion and emotion.

Hungry Kids of Hungary: Let You Down Easy Tour

Last night Tash and I headed over to The East Brunswick Club for the last show of Hungry Kids of Hungary's Let You Down Easy tour. The first band on for the evening was Alpine (formerly named Swiss), who had two female lead singers and played a kind of electro/guitar mix of music. The girls had decorative glitter on their faces and would both sing the lyrics at the same time. They are probably a fairly new band, but have potential.

Next up was one of my favorite local bands The Frowning Clouds. It was so good to see these Geelong lads again in their 60s mod clothes (the guitarist even had a burgundy cape on for the first song). Zak and Nick split vocal duties throughout the set. My favorites were "Lovin' You," "Time Wastin' Woman," "Tiger Heart" and "That Kinda Girl." By the end of their set there were a group of people dancing at the front of the stage.

Hungry Kids of Hungary then took to the darkened, smoky stage which had balloons tied around the drum riser. The set was a mix of old songs and new ones they are working on for their upcoming album. Highlights for me were "Set It Right," "Two Stones," "Scattered Diamonds," "Old Money," and the new single "Let You Down." The harmonies were on fire all evening and they did a good job dealing with portions of the crowd that both Tash and I felt were completely obnoxious at times. The surprise song of the night was a cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" which had a bunch of people up on the stage dancing with the band. They came back out for a quick one song encore of "Good Times" and then the show was over.

Here's the brand new video for "Let You Down"

Musical Interlude: Female Artists

Here are some of my favorite female music artists:

Bic Runga "Say After Me"


Sarah Blasko "All I Want


Amy Winehouse "Tears Dry On Their Own"


M.I.A. "Boyz"


Bjork "Joga"


Adele "Chasing Pavements"

Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development: One Year On

Today I attended the Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development: One Year On Forum at the MCG. The first year of the Blueprint has seen the development and implementation of 42 actions across three reform strategies: system improvement, partnerships with parents and communities, and workforce reform. The Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development: One Year On report highlights the achievements made in the first year of Blueprint implementation and describes the actions that the Government commits to in 2010.

Both Ministers were there to present on achievements in the early childhood and education portfolios over the past year. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard was going to attend, but couldn't make it at the last minute due to the crazy politics currently taking place in the opposition party in Canberra. We had two workshop sessions to explore themes around the new actions for 2010. I attended sessions on workforce reform and school education where each table discussed some of the specific actions and provided feedback and ideas. The day ended with a plenary session with the Secretary of the Department.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving, which is probably my favorite American holiday and the one I miss the most being in Australia. I would always have fantastic dinners with my family and it's just nice to gather around the table together and be thankful for another year. Last year I hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner here with friends, but this year I'm not going to get around to it due to having things on nearly every weekend until I fly to the States. As is tradition, President Obama pardoned a turkey at the White House. My parents will be having a Mexican fiesta Thanksgiving up at my brother and his wife's place this year- so jealous!

Four Years

Last month was the four year anniversary of my arrival in Australia. The time has gone by quickly and I definitely feel at home in Melbourne. There are so many things I love here, including the footy and of course the music scene. Rick Slovett wrote an opinion piece published in The Age earlier this year about being an American in Australia. I would have to agree with a lot of what he said, including gaining a love of beetroot (although not yet on hamburgers), which is something I never ate in the US. The anti-American sentiment is always around just below the surface and tends to boil up occasionally, although things have gotten much better since Obama was elected president. At least I am no longer fearful of people hearing my accent on public transportation. America is such an easy target for some, but thankfully I have met people who are genuinely interested in the intricacies and peculiarities of my homeland.

There are times I miss California, but when I read about the current state of the economy I feel lucky to be in one of the few countries that really didn't go through the recession. I have a good job, work with a great group of people, and have made some wonderful friends. I really can't complain. In 2010 I will finally get my act together and apply for Australian citizenship (it's either that or renew my permanent resident visa). I'll still be a dual citizen though because I am not willing to give up my US passport. I guess the only question will be what to call myself: American-Australian or Australian-American?

Seagulls

Seagulls can be a bit of a menace here in Melbourne. If you have ever watched an afternoon Aussie Rules football match at the MCG, you have seen them swarming on the field. I'm always amazed that the players can put up with it and none of the seagulls get hit by a football. The funniest recent seagull incident here happened last month during the Channel 9 evening news. Peter Hitchener was reading a serious news story when a seagull walked past the camera that projects the live shot of Melbourne behind him. It is absolutely hilarious to watch.

Up in the Gym

It has been four months now since the Virgin Active Health Club opened up in Melbourne and I have been very good about going 3 - 4 times a week. I pretty much have a set routine now and I am doing a variety of classes: kickboxing, body pump, pilates, and spin. The instructors for the classes I take are all really great and even know my name (one had my name down the second time I did her class- impressive). It definitely helps to head to the gym directly after work, as that was why I was not going that much when a member of a gym closer to home (sheer laziness). I am also seeing results as clothes that were tight or not fitting are now much looser on me. My fitness challenge will be over the holidays when I am in the States, although if I'm desperate I can always do a free trial membership at 24 Hour Fitness like I have done on previous visits home.

How to Lose Friends and Steal from People

Last year I flew home to be the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding. One big thing I didn't mention when writing about the event was the fact that I actually paid for everything. After the wedding rehearsal the venue told Angie they had not received the money to pay for the venue hire and catering. Supposedly the check was lost in the mail. If they didn't get payment, the wedding would not be allowed to take place the following day. As you can imagine there was a lot of panic, and I innocently (and turns out stupidly) asked if they would take credit card, knowing that no one was going to be able to come up with the money in less than 24 hours. The morning of the wedding we went to the venue and I put everything on my credit card- around $16,000. Angie said she would get into contact with the bank, put a stop payment on the check, and then pay me back. Easy peasy.

They went on their honeymoon, and I flew back to Australia and waited, and waited for the money to appear in my bank account. I got a lot of silence, excuses and empty promises. It became apparent that there was never a check in the first place, so I was told that she would sell half of her coffee shop business to a friend and then use that money to pay me back. In the meantime I received $600, which barely covered the interest for two months. I flew home again last Christmas and she told me to my face that the sale of the shop was finally going to go through in a matter of days and that I would have my money. In January of this year she wrote that the sale was completed and she had deposited $17,000 into my bank account. In February the money still had not appeared and my emails and phone calls were met with silence. Realizing that I would not be seeing any money and to relieve the stress I had been feeling for the past year I proceeded to transfer money from Australia (when the exchange rate was bad) and also cash in my savings in the US (when the stock market was in the tank) to pay off the credit card bill.

I have for the most part let go of everything because I don't want to waste any more energy on this situation. I still don't understand why someone who had been my best friend for 20 years decided to do this to me. I hope that one day I will get my money back, but I'm not holding my breath. I have learned after the fact about other incidents where she had lied to me, and if I had known more about her financial situation I never would have volunteered my credit card. What also irks me is that her first husband did a similar thing to her- opening up credit card accounts without her knowledge and charging them up, leaving her with debt that took years to pay off. For her to do basically the same thing to me is just inexcusable.

Musical Interlude: Madchester

The Madchester scene came about in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Manchester, England. I was really into this music during high school, and here are some of my favorite bands from the era:

The Charlatans: "Sproston Green"


Inspiral Carpets: "She Comes In The Fall"


The Stone Roses: "One Love"


Happy Mondays: "Kinky Afro"


New Fast Automatic Daffodils: "Big"

The Good China

Last night Tash and I headed to The Empress Hotel to see The Good China play in support of their recently released EP Old Maps/New Roads. We had tickets to go to their EP launch in September, but were bad fans and went to see The Basics that night instead (sorry).

While we were eating dinner we could hear the opening band Oh, Deanna. After they finished we headed into the band room to watch Institut Polaire. They had a fairly mellow set mixed with old and new songs. It was good to hear "City Walls and Empires" which is such a great song. The Good China then took to the stage and played all the songs on their EP as well as a few new ones. My favorites for the evening were "If Pain Persists," "We Found 3 Whistles," and "All Nothing" (complete with hand claps). We even got a cover of The Cure's "Close To Me." It was good to see the Chinas again as they are always a fun and entertaining live band.

Pet Peeves

I am usually a pretty mellow and tolerant person, but there are a few things that I encounter when out in public that I find really annoying:

People taking pictures of themselves at concerts
This is the thing that pisses me off the most. You are in a dark venue and getting blinded by flashes because people are so conceited that they feel they have to take pictures of themselves in the crowd. Who on earth is going to look good in a picture taken in a dark room? The worst are those people who do this while a band is playing.

Sidewalk hogs
This seems to be a particular issue here in Melbourne. I constantly encounter groups of people who walk four abreast on a sidewalk. The problems you encounter are either a) trying to get around them or b) when you are walking in the opposite direction and no one moves! It's like a game of chicken. News flash people- sidewalks are just like roads. You only walk on one side of them. I'd love these people to try this behavior in New York City. They would be mowed down in less than a minute.

Riding bikes on sidewalks
Besides people who can't walk properly on sidewalks, the other group you have to avoid is bike riders. When there is a gigantic bike lane on the road I really don't think you need to ride on the sidewalk. You don't see me walking in the bike lane.

Inability to ride escalators correctly
There is a certain escalator etiquette at the train station: if you are standing you keep to the left side so people can walk up on the right. Most people are good about that, but I often encounter people who wait to start walking until the escalator is at the very top and meeting the floor. It's like they are afraid to walk once the steps flatten out. If you are unfortunate enough to be standing behind them you almost end up running into them. The escalator is not going to break if you start walking on it. I won't even get into the people I saw one day who were sitting on the escalator steps as it was going down. How lazy can you get?

H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccine

Today at work I got the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine since they were offering shots for free. It was quick and painless and all over in less than a minute. There has been a lot of paranoia about the vaccine, especially in the US. Australia has already gone through winter and while cases of swine flu were mild for most, it is very contagious and children and pregnant women seemed to be the most affected (in fact a few pregnant women died). As anyone who knows me would tell you, I usually shun any types of medicine or flu shots. However I have gone ahead and gotten the H1N1 vaccine since I will be heading to the States over the holidays and don't feel like coming down with swine flu while I am there (or infecting my newly born nephew). So if you are on the fence about getting the vaccine just go ahead and do it. I feel perfectly fine and even went to the gym for two hours tonight.