The car accident

A car literally flipped onto its side and screeched to a halt right in front of me on my way to the train station this morning.

I immediately ran up to the vehicle. The airbags had been deployed, the front windscreen was smashed, and the driver was trapped because because the driver's side of the vehicle was laying against the road. Someone opened the front passenger door (now facing the sky) to ask the passenger if she (I think it was a woman) was ok.

I noticed a crumpled bike lying on the road a few meters behind the car. I didn't see a bike rider so hopefully it wasn't a collision and that the rider wasn't squashed under the car.

A man asked if someone could go find a fire extinguisher (just in case) so I ran to a nearby cafe and got one. I placed it next to the car.

By now, several people were on the phone to triple 0 and a sizeable crowd had gathered. I had a lecture to deliver, so I continued on my way to the station.

What a way to start the morning.

Legitimate excuses?

A barrage of emails have appeared in my inbox over the last few days. There was an assignment due last week and students are contacting me with all kinds of reasons why they shouldn't be penalised for not handing in their work on time.

I received a couple of emails with the stock-standard excuses.... illness or bereavement due to the unfortunate passing of beloved family members (grandparents seem to have a nasty habit of dying at this time of year).

But this year, I've also had a few new excuses I have not encountered before. These include:

(1) being dumped by a boyfriend/girlfriend (x 1)
(2) death of family pet (x 1)
(3) "I handed in the wrong version of my assignment" excuse (x 2)

Evidently, I'm a bit of a softy when it comes to giving students the benefit of the doubt but I'm starting to get a bit suspicious.

Separation anxiety

My book is almost ready and I am having separation issues. The publisher has set up a site for my coeditor and I to upload the chapters and I am procrastinating. I should just do it. In truth, I think it will be a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. It's been a three year long process from inception of idea, to writing the proposal, to getting scientists to contribute chapters, and finally putting the whole mammoth thing together. I don't think I'll do another one for a while. It was a lot of work. Ok, better get to it...

Mystery lithograph

Nathan and I bought this lithograph last week. We have no idea who the artist might be or whether it is even Australian. The work bears the letters EA on the bottom left corner and a signature – but we can't make out the letters. This is going to be a difficult one to resolve.

Early paintings from the western desert

The recently opened exhibition of early aboriginal paintings at NGV Australia is a must see.

The exhibition showcases 200 or so of the earliest works produced from the western desert. These early paintings are significant for giving rise to the western desert art movement. The works themselves (most of which were painted on board) are absolutely breathtaking.

There is a great sense of power and spirituality in these paintings that set them apart from the more commercial works in the decades to follow. Intriguingly, several of the works were held in a special room separated from the rest and came with a sign warning that they may not be suitable for general viewing due to cultural sensitivities.

I know I am biased (given my interest in aboriginal art) but this is really something special. Click here for a video about the exhibition.

Blogger catch up

A definite highlight of my day off yesterday was catching with fellow bloggers Victor and Evol Kween for lunch.

Victor and I had previously discussed meeting up for pho in Sydney but seeing as he was in town, we decided to go for pho here instead.

I had a restaurant in mind but as is typical with my bad sense of direction, it not where I had thought it was. Fortunately EK had a better sense of direction, knew exactly which restaurant I was trying to find, and got us there.

I must say that it was terrific to finally catch up and meet people whose blogs I had been following for years. Importantly, they were both super nice and the conversation flowed freely....it was like catching up with old friends.

Sadly, EK had to get back to work, but Victor and I ended up extending our catch up a bit longer over scones at the NGV. We said goodbye 4 hours later.

Am already looking forward to the next outing...

Misspelt obscenity

Was on the train today and noticed someone had scrawled "Fuck big coke" on the seat next to me. An accompanying picture of a penis suggested that 'coke' was meant to be 'cock'.

I really worry about the state of literacy in this country when young people can't even spell obscenities correctly.

Weird dreams

I have been taking Fridays off. It seems that having a three day weekend is bad for my dreams. For the last few weeks, I have been having nightmares on the Monday morning (is it a sign that I don't actually want to go into work?). The other week, I dreamt I was being chased by dinosaurs. This morning, I had a dream I was stuck on scaffolding very high up from the ground and had to jump to the main building – but was too scared to do so. I'm not sure what happened to the pleasant flying dreams I used to have... other than the fact I don't seem to have them anymore ;-(

The xenophobic homophobe

Nathan and I were waiting for the train at (of all places) Prahran when we were subjected to a racist homophobic rant from a woman with two jack russells. She wasn't technically ranting at us but having a loud conversation with her dogs about us. I've been subjected to the occasional racist jibe from time to time (in Queensland and Western Australia) but never been at the receiving end of any overt homophobic remarks. I don't think I am particularly camp (if at all) and neither Nathan nor I 'flaunt' our sexuality (not that any of that should matter). The filth that came out of her mouth made me blush (though, technically, calling us cock suckers is probably a bit hypocritical).

Is he or isn't he

I was watching the late news earlier this week about a helicopter rescue in Queensland. A crew member on the rescue helicopter was interviewed and I recognised his name as someone I had gone to school with. For a moment, I was sure it was him but now I am not so sure. I have terrible facial recognition. I guess it's been quite a while since I finished high school and people change in appearance. Anyhow, I looked the guy up and there is a photo of him but I still can't tell.

My lunch party

In an effort to be more social and to foster team bonding, I decided to host a lunch at my place yesterday for all of my grad students. I didn't plan it very well. I ambitiously agreed to go to two work meetings in the morning and got back to the apartment 30 minutes before the arrival of the guests (I forgot to factor in the travel time...oops).

I literally ran into the apartment, had a pee, and began frantically cooking (yes, I washed my hands).

There were several dishes going at once...microwave was on full blast, fried rice was being tossed around in a wok, chicken wings were roasting in the oven. It was chaos. And then the guests arrived. Shit! I managed to chat, cook and show them around the apartment. Thank God for an open plan apartment ("this is the apartment, here is your drink, go on a self-guided tour").

The lunch actually went very well. Too much food; though I've learnt that students can eat...a lot. Nathan got back from the country and helped wash all the dishes that were piled in the sink.

There was one bizarre interaction though...mid way through my lunch party, someone (whom I can only presume was a neighbour on my floor but can't be sure because people are always moving in and out of the complex) came to the door to ask for a pair of pliers. I said I didn't have pliers. He then wanted to see my tool box (raised eye brow) because he needed something to dismantle a bed. I lent him my spanner. He said he'll bring it right back. I haven't seen him or my spanner since.

Stuff white people like

A recent post from Andrew over at High Riser got me thinking and I decided to come up with a list of 'chinese' things that many of my white friends like but I (and many chinese people) find perplexing (in no particular order)...

1. Kylie Kwong.
2. The dim sim at the South Melbourne market.
3. The Flower Drum.

And to be fair, many of my white friends find a lot of chinese things rather perplexing too. As I recently learnt at yum cha, the consumption of chicken feet probably rates very highly on that list.

Weird coincidences

So after nearly bumping into an actor from Winners and Losers the other day, I just received an email telling us that Channel seven is going to be filming a scene for the show at my work this week (right outside my office window in fact). Luckily I will be out of the office that day so I won't be tempted to stare out my window all morning watching the filming.

Celebrity watch

One of the things about living in a big city is that you occasionally see celebrities wandering about town. For the most part, the ones I have spotted have mostly been D-listers (former game show hosts, reality tv contestants). That was until yesterday when I nearly ran into an actor going into a yum cha restaurant. I tried to be discrete and refrained from gawping. Nathan was behind me talking to our friend, Pales, who is a big Winners and Losers fan. They were too engrossed in their conversation and didn't realise what had just happened.

Me: Did you see who we just walked past?
Pales: Who?
Me: The pretty girl from Winners and Losers.
Nathan: Really?
Pales: No way, I have my phone. Let's go. I want to take a picture.
Me: No...we are not going to stalk her now. Do you know how hard it is to get a table here?

The hot Chilean

Ok, so I have to say something about the very attractive Chilean man who was also at dinner last night. Oh. My. God.

The moment he walked into the restaurant, I turned to my friend and the following quick word were exchanged...

Me: "He is very attractive."
She: "I know. Unfortunately, he is gay. My friends thought you were single and were trying to get him to sit next to you but I told her you already had a partner."
Me: "What a pity, I was thinking more for you".
She: "Yeah...the cute ones are always gay dammit".

We both spent the evening trying not to stare. The guy oozes sex appeal. What is it about South Americans? Sexy. Warm. Charismatic. Actually, I have yet to meet an ugly Chilean (Does such a person even exist?). Luckily the food was very spicy so my friend and I could blame our flushed faces on the sichaun pepper and chilli oil.

Sichuan with Mexicans

I just came back from a wonderful evening with a bunch of Latin Americans, many of whom I had never met before. I was my friend's 'plus one' for the evening and the dinner was, to my surprise, at a Sichuan restaurant in the city. Sichuan is a province in China famous for being home to the iconic giant panda. For those unfamiliar with Sichuan cuisine, it is renown for being intensely spicy. All the dishes came either smothered in chilli flakes or swimming in chilli oil. Despite my chinese heritage, I felt completely out of my depth. Fortunately, my new friends knew the restaurant well and selected some amazingly fiery and delicious dishes. What a surreal night...unfamiliar chinese food with (mostly) Mexicans. What an amazing country we live in.

Black vs white

I did something very unusual the other evening. I actually went out...on a week night!

I went to see an aboriginal activist talk about black sovereignty. What a depressing talk that ended up being. The man was just so angry (and, unfortunately, I think he will be angry for the rest of his life). He sees himself as a victim. He spoke about genocide and oppression by white people and white people's laws (I felt so profoundly sorry for all the white people sitting in the audience).

I later spoke to one of my gallery friends who has spent decades working directly with senior indigenous artist and she tells me that the aboriginal elders she got to know were such joyful, gracious people that were intent on moving forward (despite being directly touched by the protectionist and assimilation laws that saw their displacement from traditional lands and the creation of the stolen generations). In those people, she never saw or felt any resentment whatsoever.

So...the contrast...the bitter urban activist and the joyful desert-dwelling elders.

The $5.2 million Madonna

Went to see this on Thursday:

Evidently, according to newspaper reports, the purchase price of $5.2 million was a real bargain. I then spent the rest of my time gawping at a very attractive art teacher who was chaperoning a group of students through the early european paintings.

National costume wtf?

Sadly, this is NOT a costume for next year's mardi gras. Nope. This is actually the outfit that is suppose to represent our national costume for the Miss Universe pagent. Isn't it hideous (the dress, not the girl)?
The bra looks like it has been constructed from several yellow jockstraps and the dress seems to be made from a bunch of over-stetched used condoms/balloons/granny undies.

London burning

Hmmm...all this civil unrest in London reminds me of William Golding's classic book The Lord of the Flies. It's amazing how easily things can degenerate.