Seats on Buses and Trains

I'm quite picky when it comes to who I sit next to on public transport.  That is, until its a choice of sitting versuss not sitting. 

I find myself drawn to sitting next to people who are reading or have a book. 

I'm not sure if it's an observation or it's now a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, It's occurring more and more and not just initiated by me, also by the other person who is taking their seat next to me.

Sometimes my neighbour will surprise me and will pull out their book half way through our journey.

Either way, look for us up the back.  We're the intellects on the bus reading.



Picture taken from:
http://www.acrilico.org/wp-content/busreading.jpg

Half-Mast for What?

I follow the news. I know what's generally going on locally and internationally. However, there are days when I feel that maybe I have been living under a rock.  My under-rock-living days include the majority of  times when I see the flags across Sydney's CBD at half-mast.

There has to be a way of communicating to people and informing them that this is why we are lowering our flags. A neon sign is tacky, but maybe a more tasteful sign?  Or have a section on the front page of newspapers? Maybe there is an app. for that?

There is nothing more frustrating when you want to know whats going on and google or SMH don't really help.




Photos taken from:
http://www.australianphotography.com/images/yafPhotoEntry/podImage300/0568%20half%20mast1.jpg
 

Just Drive!

I'm quite patient these days, except when it comes to driving. I'm frustrated at how slow people are, how people just cannot keep to their lane & how everyone seems to always be on their phone while driving.

At times and over the years, I wanted to take things into my own hands.  One way I was thinking about taking things into my own hands was to have a collection of some signs/placards that I could flash up as I'm driving past. 

Some of the most needed signs I need are as follows:

1. Stay In Your Lane (Yes you in the Barina.  It's so small as it is, I don't know why its so hard for you)
2. Put Your Headlights On (Doing a public service, not really helping you)
3. Get Off the Phone (I don't really care what he/she said last night, you're going to kill someone)
4. Just Drive! (Stop being so conservative and hit the accelerator, it says 80!)

So if you see a sign being waved towards you on Sydney roads, chances are, it's probably me. So get on with it and just drive normally!

Ball in my Court

In relationships, (from the little I know) I realised that sometimes when the ball is in my court, the ball is not where I really want it & sometimes, if given the choice, I wouldn't have the ball in my court at all.

I just moved the ball from out of my court & I cannot tell you how much more peaceful & less stressed I feel. 

In the lead up to it, I was umm'ing & ahh'ing what should I do? Should I do it now? Do it later? ... Tomorrow?

Now that the ball is out of my court, I know that whatever the reaction is I'm going to be comfortable & at peace.

Maybe its a mixture of not procrastinating, making a decision or not having to worry about something 'to-do' as it's done.  Either way, a weight has been lifted, the ball has been returned & now I feel that I can move on.




Picture taken from:
http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/g/ga/gabetarian/530894_tennis_ball_on_court.jpg

Great Friday!

It's been a Great Good Friday.
It felt very peaceful walking & driving around today.  People were out and about, cycling, picnicking, strolling & laughing. Being outdoor was a MUST for today.

Is it something to do with the fact that the shops are closed? That most restaurants are closed? There is no scheduled team sports?  The crazy drivers aren't rushing around? (It's double demerits this weekend).

The Sydney people/tourists we crossed paths with were friendly, relaxed & it seemed that everyone was just revelling in the sun & carpe diem'ing.

It was nice not having any agenda, knowing that you have to also pick up eggs & milk from the shops & run some errands. Its not too often that you can relax, let your hair down & feel totally at ease in Sydney. 

Today was one of those days & I really relished every moment!

 

Going Solo

Trend has it, that over time, more & more Australians (even around the world) will be living alone. Winners will be those who cater for the single dweller in the house & those who go out & about, alone.

Recently, I was in Melbourne & the name of this trendy restaurant kept popping up. It initially caught my attention as it was mentioned to cater to the solo traveller. (which was me!) It's hard walking into a place & asking for a table for one, even harder walking in to a place that's super trendy and full of people.

So I walked into Cumulus Inc.
I was seated at one of the bars, food portions were scaled back to suite the solo dinner, the wait staff were attentive, a little chatty & they gave me a copy of their cookbook to flip through.

Great food & great experience ... can't wait to get enough nerve to walk into another cool place.
It's hard but glad I did it.

Art-y Farty

I went to public school, I was never really exposed to art unless it was through my parents & more through my father.
My first trip to see an art exhibition was to see the Turner exhibition in Canberra.

Lots of pastels, big old-school nautical ships and assorted watercolours. To 10 year old .... boring but also a bit of a novelty (the audio phone part before mobile phones).

Flashing forward to last weekend, I was in Canberra to see the Renaissance exhibition. A highly publicised exhibition displaying the works of Raphael, Botticelli & some others.  It was good, not as vast & diverse as I thought but glad that I saw it. 

Going to Canberra "to see the art" got me thinking, when did I start to appreciate art? And more importantly ... am I forging a hobby in art snobbery?  (But then why else would you go to Canberra?)

Recent exhibitions I have been to were the Masterpieces from Paris, Van Gough, Turner to Monet. I've also been to the Rijksmuseum, The National Art Centre in Tokyo, the Van Gough Museum.  A lot of my art appreciation came from travelling however, its also the colours, vibrancy and at times the sheer scale of some of the canvases.

You can tell that I'm a Van Gough/Monet girl. I can't describe it too well, but its just the colours and seeing the world through a delicate lens.  It also helps that the bulk of the paintings are inspired by France and French lifestyle.

One of the clinchers for appreciating art is when you "get it" or it amazes you or you want to be a character or in the painting.  I felt that when I first really looked at Klimt's The Kiss.   It's the stuff fairytales are made of - as a romantic female, I wanted to be that woman.

However, I also get that feeling when I see the big blockbuster art pieces like Monet's Waterlilies or Da Vinci's Mona Lisa & you want to pinch yourself. You can't believe you're seeing this major piece of art with your own eyes.   It makes you awe struck. It makes you feel insignificant.  It makes you want to buy the $10 version in the gift shop & decorate your walls with it.


Images taken from:
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTF0HQGP1LamMjZSe71X6a5pBMESahy7V2PxO_AeW_bl9f3amBhQA
http://marionblackburn.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/VanGoghBranchesAlmondTree.jpg
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/k/klimt/kiss.jpg