using my inside voice |
Politics, Community & Society | March 17, 2009
Lately I feel like the economic crises is the global defence of all ills. It is the "dog that got my homework" rationalisation for any single event that could be even remotely linked the economic crisis.
Got to make some cut backs at work? Blame it on the economic crisis.
Don't want to buy an expensive bottle of wine? Lay it at the feet of the economic crisis.
Don't want to make a detour to pick up your friend because of the extra gas it would take? Damn this economic crisis for encroaching on my basic driving rights!
Don't blame it on the gas price, don't blame it on your tightness, goodbye to the good times, blame it on the crisis (sing this in your head to the tune from Blame it on the Boogie). Pretty catchy huh?
If you have been affected by a pay cut, or worse, redundancy, then sure, don't buy that bottle of wine, and stop driving your car altogether. But, for the majority of us, I think everything has been going okay. Sure, maybe you took a small pay cut, and sure, maybe you might want to save a little more at the moment, but really, how much have you been affected? Day-to-day, what have you really had to forgo?
The answer is nothing. We are collectively scared witless, so we've stopped spending money, maybe not taken a holiday abroad this year, and holed up like polar bears for the winter.
I for one am not going to capitulate to this so-called economic crises. I will still buy $15 bottles of wine dammit, and I will still ask my friends for lifts ... although, maybe they are the ones in the sticky situation... in that case, I will offer my friends more petrol money!
People should continue their lives as before. Saving more than you are spending is a huge contributing factor to this whole debacle. As an example, Australians have hit a 20 year savings high. And, what is this achieving?
Similarly, more than 95 percent of Australians have left their mortgage repayments as is, despite dropping interest rates. Fear of this financial emergency is seeing people pay their debts off ASAP. As they say, there is no more solid investment than bricks and mortar, so best to secure it...?
An interesting conundrum.
Some would argue in favour of this changing trend, saying a decrease in materialistic tendencies could only do the world good. I would agree with that sentiment. Therefore, we should all be spending our money on holidays, food, wine and enjoying our lives to the fullest. Sure, tuck away some money for a rainy day, and spend the rest on doing things you love.
I realise my argument is rather one-sided and incredibly lacking in research or knowledge, hence the beauty of the blog. It allows fools to proffer conjecture at a moment's notice, on any topic they choose, without the need of reference, experience or good judgement. God bless the internets.
Lifestyle & Culture | March 15, 2009
Well, I screwed up big time...
This weekend has been extra special for me.
First, I stood up a brunch date on Saturday morning. In my defense, we'd never actually confirmed it was going to be at that exact time or day, just that weekend, but the other party assumed it would be, as we'd missed a previous brunch date on Saturday at 10am before...
Second, that get-together I blogged about yesterday? You know, the one that was the positive note in my last post? Well, turns out it was on SATURDAY not SUNDAY. That was uber special.
Thing is, I'm usually so organised, I remember everything, I never miss an appointment, I never stand up a date, and I certainly don't get Saturday confused with Sunday. But, I did, and it feels a little odd.
So, this week, I aim to keep all appointments. I will turn up on the right day at the right time to each one, and I will be congenial and engaged (of course I'm always congenial and engaged, but I will be EXTRA congenial and engaged this week). I promise.
North American Travel | March 14, 2009
After 3 glorious weeks in the sunshine of Australia I'm back in Vancouver, and guess what? It's raining... awesome.
Here are some observations about the weather, winter and Vancouver:
Pessimistic? Yes.
Realistic? I think so.
Is there any hope? Yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Summer, 10 glorious weeks of the year.
On a happier note, I'm heading to a photographic get-together with one of Vancouver's best photographers, David duChemin, this Sunday afternoon. Being a local Vancouverite for many years now, I'm hoping David has some inspiration and advice on how to make the most of photography in Vancouver. He's been doing a series of posts lately on photographic vision, and forcing himself to pick up his camera for an hour a day and shoot - no matter what. That's an interesting experiment in itself.
I'll keep you posted...
Lifestyle & Culture | February 24, 2009
Weddings are always a blast (in my opinion) and this past weekend saw my first, and oldest, friend get married to her partner of 8 years. Being in my late 20s you'd think I'd have more married friends, but this was the first.
It was a beautiful location on a beach in Mackay. And, after months of rain and flooding in the nearby countryside, the day was picture perfect sunshine. Although, being fairly high up north, it was also muggy and humid, so as a bridesmaid I was a little worried about walking up the aisle with sweat staining my green silk dress.
Luckily the sweats held off for a few moments, allowing me to get through the ceremony stain-free. But, when some ants started crawling on my foot I got somewhat nervous. Knowing me, I would get bitten mid-ceremony, scream out, and ruin the entire occasion. However, the ants seemed only interested in exploring the contours of my painted toenails.
Weddings do always baffle me a little, there is so much effort, organisation and money spent to culminate in one day of celebrations. I can see the meaning and importance of deciding to commit to one person for the rest of your life, but at minimum you are spending $15,000 doing it.
On top of this, it's likely that the guests will spend about $10,000 on presents, and more on travel and accommodation. If the government wants to inject some spending into the economy it seems like a good way to do this would be to encourage all the youngins to get married! Instead of a first homebuyers grant, how about a $2,000 first marriage grant?
A cheap wedding would generate a minimum of $40,000 in spending, as a guess, and an expensive one could be anything up to $100,000. If the economy is going to recover, I reckon a few weddings could give it a kick start!
Cynicism aside, it was an amazing day, with lots of great people, good food, and more importantly, good wine! But, it does make me think about whether I want to invest my money into one day of drinking and eating, or use it for a deposit on my first home.
Photography | January 28, 2009
I've blogged about photography and I've blogged about the weather, and today I'm going to blog about them together. AH! I hear you say, photography and weather together at last.
You might be thinking this blog is going to be about the fact that cloudy skies make better sunsets, or that you should always take photos of flowers after the rain, but no, it's about neither of these things. In fact, it's probably going to be entirely unhelpful to both photographers and meteorologists alike, but here I go anyway...
The weather in Vancouver sucks at the moment. And I don't mean, oh it's a little rainy, or man, isn't it a bit cold. No, it truly sucks. Not only did we get about 1metre of snowfall over the Christmas period, but it's been hovering around zero or negative temperatures since half-way through December.
And what, prey tell, does this have to do with photography? In my opinion, being the sun-loving child of the sea that I am, it has everything to do with photography. Because, when it's snowing, raining, freezing or any combination of the three, my motivation to head outdoors and snap a few images decreases to pretty much zero, along with the temperature.
I know, a lot of you out there will say that there are a great images to be had at any time, and sometimes the most dramatic pictures will be taken in just these conditions! Don't get me wrong, I agree with that whole-heartedly, but frankly, I'm just not into it.
My hands get cold, I'm paranoid about getting my camera wet, I walk five blocks and my shoes are soaked, and how, I ask you, does one carry both an umbrella and a DSLR? Unless the scores of images of underside of a stripy umbrella are high in demand, I'm pretty much getting nothing of quality in these dire circumstances.
So, what is the undoubtedly enlightening and life-changing conclusion to this blog post? It is this my friends - winter is lame and summer is cool. Bring on the warm weather is what I say! Without it my addiction to photography is hanging in the balance...
Lifestyle & Culture | November 2, 2008
Yes, I write a lot of food and drink related articles, and despite this blog's title I'm for once not talking about food. No, this time I'm talking about what Vancouver really serves up best, and that's rain. Yes folks, the rain has started and we must now resign ourselves to about 5 months of this tiresome and grey weather. So, riding my bike to work will be a lot less frequent, and yoga will reign as the exercise of choice over the dreary winter months.
I guess I shouldn't complain too much about the rain, because in a place like Vancouver where there's rain, there's snow (or at least snow on the nearby hills). So, I will have to endure 1.5 more months of idle raininess before I can hit the slopes at either Whistler, Grouse, Cypress or Seymour. I'm actually really looking forward to hitting Blackcomb Mountain. So far I've only boarded Blackcomb once, and I had an absolute blast. I found it's terrain much more suited to my riding style, so when the freshies come, so will Bay.
Unfortunately, this bleak, rainy, hellish weather also means that a lot of my other weekend activities (which usually involve strolling somewhere in the sun) have also come to a halt. I've found myself cooking my own brunch at home (god forbid) and spending the rest of the day sitting on my fat arse complaining about being bored, then eating something, reading a bit, sitting on my far arse and complaining some more, then going to bed. What a life I lead! I think I need some inside hobbies, and I do have some (Photoshopping and Lightrooming) but the weather and my lack of enthusiasm for going outside have meant that I haven't taken any photos worth a damn in ages. Catch 22.
Maybe I should pull out the old sewing machine and whip something up, then I could wear it around the house and make my complaining sessions a little more interesting... Or, I could repair my black work pants that I haven't worn for a year because they have a rip in the side. There are lots of things to do, and I think I need to start taking some of my own advice - what to do on a rainy weekend in Vancouver???
Lucky for me, I have a party to go to every Saturday night for the next four weeks, so I won't feel so bad for sitting round the house all day!
Lifestyle & Culture | September 4, 2008
So, my weekend in the Okanagan was amazing. The weather was gorgeous (apart from getting rained on during brunch on the first day) the wines were delectable and the food was pretty well up to par. I think the gang and I set some sort of record on Saturday, fitting in 8 wineries in 4.5 hours. That's going to make Guiness right?
Unfortunately the lowlight of the weekend (as opposed to the highlight) was a 7-hour trip to Kelowna on Friday night. That's right folks, we left Vancouver at 6pm and didn't get to Kelowna until 1am (we should have been there around 10pm). There was flooding on the highway (unbeknownst to us) and we were pretty much at a standstill until the toll gate (which is just over an hour from Kelowna).
Luckily the guys that rented the car had chosen creature comforts over a roomy interior and while we were left with a smaller car it did have leather seats (most important) and a DVD player. Ever since I'd seen those things in cars back in 2004 I'd thought the concept was abhorrent - subduing children with a movie during a car trip just didn't seem right. They should be fighting and screaming and asking if you're there yet! However, I quickly changed my tune as the traffic ground to a halt and we were left with no choice but to crack out Dirty Dancing and relax in the relative comfort of the car (piled with pillows, sleeping bags and mattresses - hey at least I had something to rest my head on!)
After two intense days of wine tasting we headed home completely exhausted with 18 bottles of wine and a $500 credit card bill. I am hoping to post some reviews and articles of my wine tasting extravaganza soon, so stay tuned!
Bay's career has been many and varied due to a penchant for traveling the world. After completing a double degree in Business Management and Journalism at the University of Queensland in 2002 she was lucky enough to land herself a job at Brisbane's Quest Community Newspapers. A year of roving reporting brought the epiphany that journalism and Bay didn't jive.
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