i'm miss american dream
I just spent an hour shooting hoops in the park. Much like when i went two or three weeks ago, the court was covered in rainwater and shit that fell off the trees. My hands were black after 10 minutes. But i played for over an hour. It's my space, you know? I'm just realizing that. When i'm out there - especially when it's so cold and wet noone else is crazy enough to be there - it's just me and the hoop. I can think the rest of the world away and i'm in my happy place.
At the game this week i fuckin lost it. The refs made some bad calls, and then in the last 10 seconds we were (what i thought was) up by 1 and the other team tipped the ball out. I could've picked it up, but i let it go so we had guaranteed possession and could run the clock down. Ref fucking calls it for them. While i'm standing there incredulous, they do a quick throw in, sink a fucking gay netball shot. I threw the ball away and yelled at ref. Then just to make matters worse, the scorer had fucked up too so we weren't up by 1, we were DOWN by 1, so ended up losing by 3! It shits me to tears when i know we can win a game and we lose it because of bad calls and mistakes on the scoreboard.
Anywho. Immigration is back being a pain in my ass again. J has just been promoted to manager, but on her current visa she can only stay working for the same employer for 6 months, so she needs to apply for a temporary work permit. Her employer wants to sponsor her for a two year contract. I'm not sure if i feel happy with being here for another two years. But then at work my manager is talking about a promotion for me too. What do you go with? Career advancement? Long-term dreams? And whatever you do it's going to be a fucking battle because immigration is such an appalling bureaucracy. And we might have to do it twice! Blergh.
Yesterday Australia woke up to the news they are now the fattest country in the world. Meat pies and beer trumps tacos and double gulps apparently. It amuses me how so many Aussies are blown away by this ("but Americans are SO FAT, we can't possibly be as bad as THEM"). 26% of adults here are obese. Yoiks. And i still can't find any decent clothes in a size 16 (that's 14 in North America). Maybe i need to gain a bit more :-) When i was in Bondi i felt like i was in heaven walking around La Senza and seeing all the 38A bras they had. It was almost like shopping in America again. I bought two.
Actually Sydney in general kicked ass. Every time i go there i love it. Even though we didn't get to have a wonderful romantic weekend - it was a whole bunch of J's girlfriends (full-on suburban estrogen-fest) - i had an amazing time. The city is so fucking beautiful. It's big. It's international. Loads of tourists, loads of immigrants... They actually have Mexican restaurants for fuck's sake. The mark of culture is how many Mexican restaurants you have in your city. Stores that sell bras in a 38A are a bonus. In fact, all the fucking clothes stores there are better. Everything is better. Coming back to Melbourne was like coming back to a small country town by comparison. No buzz, useless cab drivers, parochial locals, a downtown you walk across in 5 minutes... Don't get me wrong, i love having all the nightclubs 10 minutes walk from my house, i love having Chinatown at my doorstep, i love paying $325 per week instead of $525 per week for a sweet apartment, but man. There's a reason it's cheaper to live here.
Dude. We are living in great times for pop music. The late 00s are seeing some of the best stuff come out since the 80s. I love how some of the refugees of the 90s have come out guns blazing this decade. Wicked synths, beats, vocal effects - awesome. Who needs guitars?
At the game this week i fuckin lost it. The refs made some bad calls, and then in the last 10 seconds we were (what i thought was) up by 1 and the other team tipped the ball out. I could've picked it up, but i let it go so we had guaranteed possession and could run the clock down. Ref fucking calls it for them. While i'm standing there incredulous, they do a quick throw in, sink a fucking gay netball shot. I threw the ball away and yelled at ref. Then just to make matters worse, the scorer had fucked up too so we weren't up by 1, we were DOWN by 1, so ended up losing by 3! It shits me to tears when i know we can win a game and we lose it because of bad calls and mistakes on the scoreboard.
Anywho. Immigration is back being a pain in my ass again. J has just been promoted to manager, but on her current visa she can only stay working for the same employer for 6 months, so she needs to apply for a temporary work permit. Her employer wants to sponsor her for a two year contract. I'm not sure if i feel happy with being here for another two years. But then at work my manager is talking about a promotion for me too. What do you go with? Career advancement? Long-term dreams? And whatever you do it's going to be a fucking battle because immigration is such an appalling bureaucracy. And we might have to do it twice! Blergh.
Yesterday Australia woke up to the news they are now the fattest country in the world. Meat pies and beer trumps tacos and double gulps apparently. It amuses me how so many Aussies are blown away by this ("but Americans are SO FAT, we can't possibly be as bad as THEM"). 26% of adults here are obese. Yoiks. And i still can't find any decent clothes in a size 16 (that's 14 in North America). Maybe i need to gain a bit more :-) When i was in Bondi i felt like i was in heaven walking around La Senza and seeing all the 38A bras they had. It was almost like shopping in America again. I bought two.
Actually Sydney in general kicked ass. Every time i go there i love it. Even though we didn't get to have a wonderful romantic weekend - it was a whole bunch of J's girlfriends (full-on suburban estrogen-fest) - i had an amazing time. The city is so fucking beautiful. It's big. It's international. Loads of tourists, loads of immigrants... They actually have Mexican restaurants for fuck's sake. The mark of culture is how many Mexican restaurants you have in your city. Stores that sell bras in a 38A are a bonus. In fact, all the fucking clothes stores there are better. Everything is better. Coming back to Melbourne was like coming back to a small country town by comparison. No buzz, useless cab drivers, parochial locals, a downtown you walk across in 5 minutes... Don't get me wrong, i love having all the nightclubs 10 minutes walk from my house, i love having Chinatown at my doorstep, i love paying $325 per week instead of $525 per week for a sweet apartment, but man. There's a reason it's cheaper to live here.
Dude. We are living in great times for pop music. The late 00s are seeing some of the best stuff come out since the 80s. I love how some of the refugees of the 90s have come out guns blazing this decade. Wicked synths, beats, vocal effects - awesome. Who needs guitars?