Chia.

I have a new favourite thing, chia seeds. They are in my new favourite muesli bar. I'm not a muesli bar person because they break your teeth and are too sugary, but the Be Natural FOUR ones, esp the coconut apricot oats and chia one, are soft and just nice. I got given one to try because someone I know invented them, which is amazing. If I was going to be a scientist, a food scientist would be the coolest thing ever. I sometimes try and think up food combinations for her. Anyway, chia sends are nifty, because when they get wet they get a glob of jelly around them. The little black seed is floating in a drop of slime. So they feel quite weird when they get stuck in your teeth.

Friday Food for Thought.

Here is the food part:

• I usually fail when trying to split my IGA brand scotch finger biscuit. Either 2 handed, or across the back of the middle finger on one hand. I think it can only be done if you have 4 thumbs.
• Kit Kat rows are similarly badly designed. The chocolate rarely breaks in the gutter, it usually breaks off the side of the next finger, leaving unsightly exposed wafer.
• I keep buying 2L of milk with only 2 days left till expiry. But my stupidity is matched only by my resourcefulness. I recently found out (by experience, again due to expiry ignorance) that milk can be drunk at least 5 days past the expiry. Also, my $60 grocery challenged forced me to freeze milk. It defrosts OK.

In other news, I'm at the point where I wonder if I'm watching too much telly. But there are so many episodes of Big Bang Theory on! Sometimes on 2 channels at once! Is there such a thing as too much Jim Parsons? Look what I found today. BBT minus laughter. It's kind of weird, and the bleak pauses remind me of Garfield Minus Garfield.

And this is current affairs: Debt Crisis for Dummies. This is a nifty visual representation of Europe's debt. You click on a country and see where it owes money. Then you click on the country that holds the debt and see where IT owes money. Then you click on THAT country… I wouldn't say it explains the situation though, "because why the heck?" is still the unanswered question. But I guess it's like when people pay off credit cards with other credit cards.

And that's pretty much everything! Go forth and have a rock n roll weekend.

Networking

As I head into the corporate working world, I've been thinking about networking--what is it and what is its place in the working world? I've had a little taste of the benefits of being networked and wanted to know how to maintain these professional relationships.

I attended a workshop on it at uni today, and the two big things I took away from it was:
- networking is relationship-building and
- networking is a two-way relationship: what can you offer? How can the other person help?

In a sense, that's a relief because my background and experience has taught me a lot about relationship-building--I just wasn't sure how to apply it in the corporate working world.

I've also learnt that if you show a genuine interest in people, they're often willing to help or give advice over coffee.

Here's some further reading:
7 Tips for Surviving & Thriving at Networking Events
Why Networking is NOT All About Who You Know

Help fill the cathedral (and our stomachs).

On Thursday 1st December there is a Christmas service being filmed at St Andrews to air on the ABC on Christmas Eve I think. It will go for exactly 1 hour, 6.30 - 7.30 (doors shut at 6.30). This is obviously a pretty huge opportunity to present the gospel. I've been to cathedral Christmas services before and the music is pretty spectacular, so that's another reason to go. And finally, since it will finish at 7.30, we can eat dinner afterwards (someone has suggested Emperor's Garden BBQ or something Chinatown. Oooer, a meal not in Kingsford! Anyway, support a TV evangelistic opportunity + singing + dinner + not a late night is my plan, please join me!

St Andrews is charging $5 (virtually nothing) to cover production costs and you can email them or call Sue on 9265 1661.

Sartorialist plug.

I've been checking out the sartorialist blog for a couple of years now, and I like it more and more. It builds a huge diverse picture of what clothes can be, when worn with interest. Obviously you usually have to be thin and cool to wear these clothes and draw admiring glances, because despite the diversity in race and age the constant themes are still thinness, good skin and hair, and usually bare ankles—socks are optional at all times. But the variety of what people put on is so interesting. One person thinks that a cardigan on backwards is a good look. Another person perfects the amount of crisp white shirt collar and cuffs showing under his immaculate suit jacket. Also, they are just lovely photos of people and streets around the world.

This is a beautiful example: strong composition, interesting artistic subject matter, and the guy has a poodle-hawk. Or a mo-poodle. Curly mohawk, anyway.

thesartorialist.com