jelssie

My Baking School.

2012-01-30T12:18:00.000+11:00

If you would like to learn how to bake bread, I would love to teach you! Because I think it would be fun. Free lesson, free lunch, probably with some free games of Rummikub while the bread rises and bakes and cools. Must be on Saturday or Sunday. Ask me about it, and I will invite you over.

Keep a stocked toiletries bag

2012-01-29T10:24:00.000+11:00

For people who go away a bit throughout the year, it's worth keeping a stocked toiletries bag. I used to pack and unpack toiletries every time I went away and returned. But it's annoying and a waste of time to do it several times a year.

It's taken me ages to work this one out, and I bet some of you are smart enough to be doing this already ;)

Roll with me, Henry

2012-01-28T11:25:00.000+11:00

It's probably been discussed on jelssie how rolling your clothes saves luggage space. Jess and I have applied this principle to our drawers at home. There seems to be more space and it's easier to get items in and out of drawers.

Grace has a filing-system-like method to her folding of clothes.

Jelssie loves mainstream fiction.

2012-01-27T11:57:00.000+11:00

We both planned to watch some friends swim in the harbour, and knowing there would be waiting and public transport at various times in the day, we both separately turned up with library books by mainstream best-selling authors—John Grisham and Patricia Cornwall. That's not a huge coincidence, I know. But we could both have brought no book, which is normal in this age of ipods and so on, or brought a second-hand classic, to impress other commuters, which is the normal rebellion to the age of ipods. It's quite unusual that A) we would both bring a book and B) both were from the library, which is a "frugal talent", and C) neither book would be an intellectual status symbol, and we don't care. We thought it was a photographable jelssie moment.

Mainstream, and we're cool with that

2012-01-26T23:05:00.004+11:00

Jess and I like borrowing books of mainstream authors from local public libraries.

Photo by Georgina

I'm holding a copy of The Litigators by John Grisham, a very fun read.

Since I'll be doing quite a bit of commuting this year, I thought about getting a Kindle, an e-reader. I decided to do a little experiment first.

Firstly, to see how much I would actually read while commuting. If I do read, then more points towards getting a Kindle.

Secondly, to look at the cost of books I would want to read on the Kindle. On this point, the Kindle loses because books from the library are free (and I don't even have to keep them afterwards) and second-hand books are cheaper. However, a Kindle is thin and carries many books!

Currently, I am sticking to books.

Fathers and sons

2012-01-24T12:41:00.000+11:00

I'm developing this bad habit where I call fathers by their son's name. It happened most recently at church on Sunday, where I didn't recognise my error until the father burst out laughing and pointed it out to me.

There is one trick I use to deal with this problem. Let's say the father and son are called Joseph and Jesus, but I can't remember which name belongs to who. My brain then goes, "It's Joseph and Mary [wife's name], Joseph and Mary, Joseph and Mary, therefore the son's name is Jesus, and the father's name is Joseph!". My brain seems better at names of couples, rather than names of individuals.

Just a minor quibble

2012-01-23T07:13:00.001+11:00

Dear Pinterest,

Love your work, but a heart is not "like", it is love.

Better than Disney Princesses

2012-01-22T17:41:00.005+11:00

After watching Arrietty, I have concluded that Disney Princesses are LAME in comparison. Arrietty is adventurous, brave and full of spunk. She is a risk-taker. She's not scared of bugs. Disney princesses are just pretty women with tiny waists.

Image from http://www.arrietty.com.au

This Disney Princesses vs. Hayao Miyazaki Debate is a good place to start. (Miyazaki is the creator of Arrietty and other Studio Ghibli creations). I'll end with a quote from the debate:

Except for Mulan, almost all the actions of Disney princesses still seem to be defined in relationship to their man.

In contrast, Miyazaki’s female leads offer a far more complex picture of what it means to be a person. They often have agency outside of their relationships to men.

Another really good podcast.

2012-01-20T17:13:00.000+11:00

It's because James Valentine is still away. My ears are bored.

Radiolab. It's kind of like Dr Karl, Catalyst, Mythbusters, ie science infotainment, but better.

The beginning of friendships

2012-01-20T08:30:00.001+11:00

Friendship is a delightful thing, isn't it? One of my favourite staring-into-space activities is to pick a friendship and work out how it is that my friend and I became friends in the first place. They often have an element of serendipity or divine intervention to them. I find that you're just acquaintances to begin with (nothing special) and before you know it, you're knee-deep in a valued friendship. How does it happen?!

There is one friendship I made last semester that I keep reflecting on because it reminds me not to judge by worldly standards, nor to hold on to my initial judgments too tightly. I also reflect on this friendship because I have been so enriched by it.

So today, I tell you the story of T and me. T was in two of my classes last semester and my first impression of him was that he was quite shy. I didn't think we'd progress any further than just classmates. Plus, I just wrote him off as a young person with lots of study experience and not much work/life experience.

He surprised me one day, when he said something in response to my noisy thinking-out-aloud. "Maybe he's not so shy after all," I thought.

A few weeks later, he approached me to join my group for a class assignment, at the suggestion of a mutual friend (that serendipitous/interventionist touch). And that was the beginning of our friendship.

I discovered that T is very patient, reliable, and giving. He shared his time, study notes and almond M&Ms as we studied. He is also very smart and hard-working. I found out that he wasn't quite the inexperienced young 'un that I thought he was; he'd had considerable experience in a respected, international, mid-tier accounting firm back home.

Reflecting on this friendship gives me a lot of joy because it turned my first impression upside-down and reminds me to look beyond the surface in people. Be open to people whom you initially think you may not connect with.

As an aside, if you need a bit of a pick-me-up, reflect on your friendships and think back to how your dearest friendships began and deepened over time.

Inspired by Bircher

2012-01-19T09:28:00.004+11:00

Have you ever had Bircher muesli? It's basically oats or muesli soaked in apple juice overnight, and then mixed with dried fruit, fresh fruit and nuts in the morning.

My current favourite breakfast is soaking muesli with just enough water to cover it, overnight, and then eating it in the morning with a big dollop of organic, natural yoghurt. Yum! I like how the dried fruit plumps up. Not so great if you like crunch.

First KESC 2012!

2012-01-18T15:21:00.000+11:00

I think the next place is Taiwanese Express Meal, according to google street view circa 2009. It may not be there anymore, but we'll meet there anyway, 2 doors to the right of 85c Bakery Cafe.

Friday 27 January, 6.30.

Love yas all, hope you can come!

TV is too good.

2012-01-17T18:19:00.000+11:00

I should be making the productive most of having no set-top box. In the absence of TV I should be playing the piano, finishing craft stuff, filing photos and so on. However, I have instead been gulping hungrily at TV series on DVD. I watched Samantha Who, it was not great but I finished season 1 in 3 days. I just find Barry Watson a bit hateful. I started watching Heroes last night though. Always been meaning to watch it. Hiro is the cutest Japanese nerd ever. I'm going to skip free red room night tonight at watch more Heroes. TV shows on DVD are the biggest binge substance ever. TV beats movies for involvement in plot and characters. It's a golden age for TV! The only sad part of the DVD binge is that it's not a shared experience like it is when everyone watches things on live TV at the same time and you can go to work and compare theories about SD6 or Red John.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation.

2012-01-12T12:10:00.000+11:00

I've been uncomfortable tight across the back of my shoulders for the last few weeks. I'm stiff even when I get up in the morning. I can't get rid of it while at work obviously, and it doesn't relax in the evening, and no amount of stretching helps much. Yesterday I was so irritated, I'd just decided to get a massage soon, when I had an idea that would be cheaper, and worth trying first. There's some sort of yoga thing for relaxing.

I did a quick search of audible and itunes, listening to samples of tracks that talk you through relaxing your muscles group by group. It's sort of like you concentrate a "yawn" on a part of your body: clench, hold, then relax, then move on. I found one I liked the voice, Ken Goodman, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, and spent $1.69.

I did it while dinner was cooking, but I wasn't sure if you lie down or stand or sit, so I was jumping around and swapping (sitting in my high-backed armchair was the best way way), but in the end it was definitely relaxing. So I did it again around 9pm, it goes for 10 minutes. I went to bed and fell asleep pretty much straight after. And this morning, my shoulders and breathing felt looser. I can gradually feel myself getting a little tense again as the day goes on, frowning at the computer and so on.

I think if you drive, a car would be a brilliant place to do this, when you get home at night. Put the seat back a little and you've got good support for your head and everything. There are some free podcasts of this stuff on itunes so you can try it for free. I'd be interested in hearing if it works for anyone else.

This American Life.

2012-01-11T17:06:00.002+11:00

I've only recently heard about this podcast, people who listen to it love it, and I can see why. If you like interesting, human, random things, download the current episode and check it out. It's an hour long program each week with a loose theme—this week, the Apple factory, last week, neighbourhood.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory

A life with no fridge.

2012-01-10T17:02:00.001+11:00

Sunday night's storm left me with the great appliance massacre of 2012. [skip this part if you already know the story or find detail boring] To fill jelssie readers in, who haven't followed the trauma on my other blog, while I was out it stormed, and when I got home 3 things wouldn't turn on, one of them being the fridge. The shock has worn off: I was in a bit of a panic esp about the fridge, and I watch a lot of TV so the broken set top box really bugged me. Although, I have been thinking for some time that I should watch less TV, so this is a good experience. And upon further evaluation of the fridge situation, there is a lot to be thankful for. First, it was free in the first place. I've had it for almost 6 years, and it was a gift second hand. So that has been an enormous blessing. Second, it's just a fridge, not a freezer. Which annoyed me when I got it, and I bought a freezer separate, but now the benefit is huge. On the weekend the fridge happened to be pretty empty, whereas the freezer is pretty full. I transferred the freezable stuff over. I cooked "dead fridge stew" and froze it last night. There were a few bags of things to put in the bin, like almost empty bottles of mayo and lemon juice, it's good to cull stuff periodically. A couple of phone calls to repair people eventually got me an over-the-phone diagnosis. I described the problem and made the noise, he said "buy a new fridge". I am very pleased that I didn't have to arrange and pay for a repairer to come and look in person to find that out!

[start again here]

So now that the fridge is off, and empty, the worst is over. And at this point, I am relaxed. I'm going to wait until flatmate returns and share the decision burden with her.

Here's an idea though. Do we need a fridge? We have a freezer, is that enough? Because fridges are so useful and so good at what they do, we don't just rely on them, we take them for granted. It NEVER occurred to me to go without one, and how long have fridges been around? 3 generations? It can't be impossible. I have googled, and of course there are people living an alternative fridgeless lifestyle for the planet. The idea excites me a lot, even though I use the fridge for a lot at the moment. Would my diet and cooking habits have to change very much? I wonder. Perhaps a compromise, get a little fridge just for milk and cheese.

http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/don039t-fight-room-temperature

2nd CWA Sandwich.

2012-01-08T11:31:00.000+11:00

Brown bread, cream cheese flavoured with chopped onions and worcestershire sauce.

Steam mop review.

2012-01-07T17:12:00.000+11:00

I have written this within only hours of purchasing and using the highly anticipated steam mop. I know there is a lot of interest in this subject, people who have been wondering for a long time about getting one but don't know if it'll be any good. Here is the jelssie scoop. I don't have my camera connecter. Unless this laptop has a thing to put a memory card in! Looks like this is it. Never done this before. Photo will be included below if I'm clever.

I bought the Optim, $36 on special at Godfreys, and got talked into buying 2 extra fluffy heads which I wish I hadn't; my hesitation saved me $5 so silent haggling works, but I don't need them yet and wont for a while, so that was not frugal of me. Total spend $50.

It needs to be constructed, but it's not hard to click together. I thought it would only work in a straight upright position but fortunately once I used it it bent to the normal angle for floor cleaning things.

You sweep or vacuum first. Personally I can't see much benefit in vacuuming hard floors, but some people like it. Then you fill it up, wait a minute for it to boil, and then use it like a vac. Each time you push it forward the handle pumps some steam out. Therefore, it actually takes a while for the steam to moisten the floor cloth sufficiently. Next time I would damp the cloth first to get started quicker.

I think it worked quite well. The floor looks clean and the cloth is dirty. It's very manual though. I'd say this cheap one is good enought for my light cleaning. I suppose the expensive ones do more of the work for you, work better on heavy mess and maybe are easier to push. But not a bad investment.

I'm not really sure where to store it.

How to tie a bow tie.

2012-01-06T16:51:00.000+11:00

I can't tell you how deeply satisfied I am to finally know how a man ties a bow.

Steam Mop!!! !!! !!!

2012-01-06T13:01:00.000+11:00

My latest obsession.

Last night having dinner at a friend's house, three of us had totally scintillating conversation on a diverse range of subjects. Frugality and dentistry and grilling food and eyebrow trends and stuff. I have never felt more like a grown-up woman discussing grown-up woman things. There was no way there could have been a man involved in that conversation. There were 3 moments: first, S got out 2 containers of Connoisseur ice-cream, and J and I went "oooohhhhhh". S's husband was bemused. Is there a woman on earth who won't swoon over Connoisseur ice-cream? Then, S brought out her wedding photo albums, and J and I went "ooooohhhhhh!" with surprisingly genuine excitement. And finally, we discussed cleaning. S demonstrated her steam mop. She loves it. I am going to get one. I HATE my mop and bucket, so I rarely mop, and our living room is woodish so that means 2 thirds of the house… so in theory, the steam mop just gets filled with water and plugged in, you run it over the floor like a fluffy iron on a stick, and it washes without detergent, then it dries fast because hot. And then you put the cloth in the washing machine. So, shopping trip to Godfreys! So excited!!!

CWA sandwiches are go!

2012-01-03T12:39:00.000+11:00

First one: Brown bread + fried champignons, salt and pepper, mace.

Champignons seem to google up as ordinary mushrooms, not tinned ones or anything. Mace, in the glossary, is equal to nutmeg, not pepper spray. So I bought some mushrooms and a masterfoods bottle of nutmeg, and picked up a $1.80 loaf of brown bread from the bread shop on the way to work. I figure it wouldn't be authentic to use posh Burgen bread for these recipes, only white or brown unfancy square loaves.

Cooked 2 thin sliced mushroom on sandwich press with a very little butter, put on bread with salt pepper and nutmeg. Nutmeg has an evocative smell, I placed it as smelling like pumpkin scones. It's a little bit sickly. Didn't butter bread but I think I will tomorrow The mushrooms were freshly cooked and warm, not sure how it would taste cold. I cut the sandwich into little triangles, and ate it. It was nice. A bit plain, and not enough salt probably. Not very filling. I'll happily eat it for the rest of the week, but will probably add other things to it to make it bigger.

Alternate use for contact lenses container

2011-12-30T18:31:00.003+11:00

Pillbox.

Also, should the title say, "Alternative" instead of "Alternate"?

I, myself, I, have an interesting quote about pronouns.

2011-12-29T17:13:00.000+11:00

"One of the most interesting results was part of a study my students and I conducted dealing with status in email correspondence. Basically, we discovered that in any interaction, the person with the higher status uses I-words less (yes, less) than people who are low in status." --James Pennebaker

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-secret-language-code

So many interesting implications.

Shall I boast about what I got for Christmas?

2011-12-28T13:25:00.000+11:00

No, it's bad taste. Also, it wouldn't impress you very much, although I enjoyed receiving them. My gifts included a tiny one-egg frying pan, my youngest sister made me some 'weekend pants', and a big luggage—the vintage honeymoon suitcase is retiring: the trip to Mudgee was exhausting for a suitcase with no wheels.

Also, from Grandma, the 2009 CWA cook book. I feel a challenge could be made from it, specifically, the sandwich recipes. There are so many sandwich recipes. I could have a different sandwich every week! Though even I, a firm believer in the truth that you can put ANYTHING between bread and enjoy it, am doubtful that I want to eat some of these sandwiches. Eventually I would have to buy tongue. I think the strangest sandwich is the "Mock Oyster Sandwich", which does not include oysters, obviously, but unobviously includes "2 sets of lambs brains". That is taking resourcefulness to the EXTREME.

But, a 'CWA Sandwich Challenge' is calling me. Would anyone like to partake? I can post the ingredients of a sandwich every week, and away we go. Or I could do it and you could just watch me.

The jelssie effect

2011-12-24T11:58:00.000+11:00

(Original tweets 1, 2, 3 and 4)

Quick conversions

2011-12-23T08:51:00.000+11:00

While here in Tokyo, I'm still adjusting to prices in yen. If I want a quick evaluation of a price, I've started "benchmarking" prices e.g. "That diary costs more than my lunch!" or "Woah, that handbag costs more than 3 nights accommodation!"

Glorified and Horsified

2011-12-22T23:13:00.000+11:00

Curiosity got the better of me and I bought some horse oil cream.

I look at the ingredients (Glycerin, Horse Oil, Shea Butter) which makes it glorified, horsified sorbelene cream.

Stuff I just need to put on the internet.

2011-12-22T17:22:00.000+11:00

Funny how most of the blogs I read have been paused for the holidays while the bloggers recharge their creative juices, but here at jelssie we are still over-flowing with the usual rubbish. Energy levels soar with Christmas snack food intake.

I feel like saying a few things about TV.

FIrstly, how much does off-season suck. Why do I have to watch re-runs of The Mentalist when there are new episodes on the other side of the world? Why is off-season so long? And it's not like on-season has that much better quality. And this year summer has been wet so in weather terms we should still be in on-season. I'm not going to the beach every evening, I'm home in front of the TV.

I've noticed in the last week on ABC1 three new newsreader ladies. Only one is blonde, and she has an interesting face with a crooked mouth, actually a little bit like Elliot from Scrubs. The other two are dark haired, in fact "ethnically diverse" in appearance, but with Australian accents. I like them all! I can't choose!

ABC2 plays David Mitchell's Soapbox. I love him. In this one he gets right to the heart of the baby name issue.

Seven2 is such a waste of time. I have decided to never check that channel ever again because it's always lame.

The various channel 9s used to always have Big Bang Theory during prime time, but lately they haven't. This is a sad regression. Replacing 2.5 men with BBT was the best thing 9 ever did, along with buying Sherlock and The Mentalist, because until then I had never watched 9 at all. I'm looking forward to new Sherlock, esp to see how they resolved the cliff-hanger.

And lastly, have you ever thought about staples? They are amazing, because they are made from metal, but they are sort of stuck together, but only stuck together exactly the right amount so that they can be broken off individually in the stapler. So amazing.

Ah-ha! Creepy facebook isn't so clever after all.

2011-12-22T17:13:00.000+11:00

DIY guide to VHS cases.

2011-12-22T09:56:00.000+11:00

This was a little bit of fun Liza and I had on our last day at work. She has the free Super8 app on her phone which makes the thing look cool and old. The soundtrack we just played an appropriate song from my itunes while we filmed, you can get like 120 songs like this for about $10 on itunes, Magic Hits of the 50s or something. And of course, you can get videos and their very useful cases from Matthias Media.

Book covers

2011-12-21T18:53:00.002+11:00

I've seen a few book covers here in Tokyo.

They're made out of sturdy material and have a bookmark sewn in. I think they're popular here because there are a lot of commuters who read on the daily journey to and from work. Someone should import them to Australia. I reckon you could sell them to people wanting Bible covers.

Be the coolest kid in the world.

2011-12-21T17:15:00.000+11:00

VIDEO CASES make cool containers for stuff, lunchboxes, or book/bible covers, or maybe convert them into funky hipster purses by gluing some canvass webbing handles on. Featuring two "Colin" designs or a "TWTL" design, these awesome retro fashion statements are available for free from Matthias Media and come with a bonus VHS cassette tape.

Creepy, even for facebook.

2011-12-21T16:57:00.000+11:00

I really wonder about facebook. How does it know stuff? It wants me to confirm my location in photo albums several years old. The one with Melbourne in the title is a bit of a giveaway, but what's with Coona? I mention lots of other country towns in that album but not actually Coonabarrabran. I'm pretty sure I was offline that whole week so wouldn't have mentioned Coona in a status (although I can't be bothered searching back my statuses to confirm). HOW DOES IT KNOW?? And I'm really not going to confirm it, thanks.

Interesting news in the news.

2011-12-21T11:43:00.000+11:00

If you are an avid reader of the Maitland Mercury, you will be all over this story already. I just wanted to find out if there would be anything interesting to do while I'm in Maitland... little did I know! Someone might put caltrops on my front lawn! Wouldn't that be interesting? Ancient booby traps like giant bindys. I think that's interesting.

http://www.maitlandmercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/greta-grandmothers-horror-find/2399581.aspx

Packing

2011-12-20T14:27:00.000+11:00

I like this idea of packing bags inside your bag when you go travelling. It appeals to me because it applies the organising principle of storing like with like, and I like how bags compartmentalise everything. You could use travel organisers or packing cells. I like these clear ones because you can see at a glance what you've packed.

If you loathe to buy new things, an alternative could be using laundry bags (I have quite a few in different sizes) or maybe even packing things in pillow cases?!

Just as well nobody wants me.

2011-12-19T16:42:00.000+11:00

I lost my phone in car-pool chaos on Saturday. I checked my co-worker's backseat this afternoon when I remembered it was lost. Unlike my last phone-forgetting event, I had no plans to meet anyone. So it didn't bother me AT ALL. I was COMPLETELY out of contact for 36 hours! How about that. Pretty rare. You would have had to physically knock on my door to talk to me.

Bathwater of reason.

2011-12-19T16:21:00.000+11:00

...Christopher was an heir of the Enlightenment tradition, and would have felt right at home in the 18th-century salons of Paris. He wanted to carry on the grand tradition of doubting what had been inherited from Christendom, and to take great delight in doubting it. This worked well, or appeared to, for a time. But skepticism is a universal solvent, and once applied, it does not stop just because Christendom is gone. "I think, therefore I am. I think." We pulled out the stopper of faith, and the bathwater of reason appeared undisturbed for a time. But modernism slowly receded and now postmodernism is circling the drain. Our intelligentsia needs to figure out how to do more than sit in an empty tub and reminisce about the days when Voltaire knew how to keep the water hot.

Douglas Wilson in Christianity Today | posted 12/16/2011 12:00AM

Tis a brilliant description. I've noticed, for example, the gay marriage "debate" floundering about ridiculously because (to simplify greatly and make my point quickly) there is no reference to something externally ultimate, or anything true beyond what people feel is right.

An Asian take on trifle

2011-12-19T11:52:00.000+11:00

I really like trifle.

(image from http://to2sassy.blogspot.com/2008/07/trifles-and-tribulations.html)

The other day, I bought a tin of grass jelly and wondered if whether an Asian-inspired trifle could work.

(image from http://cheateat.typepad.com/blog/2004/10/my_favourite_gr.html)

You could make the following substitutions:
Sponge cake/jam swiss roll -> pandan cake or ma lai go (Cantonese steamed cake that you get at yum cha)
Raspberry jelly -> grass jelly
Custard -> The same, or maybe coconut or pandan flavoured?
Peaches -> lychees, jackfruit
Whipped cream -> Coconut flavoured cream?

Food bloggers

2011-12-18T11:43:00.001+11:00

I frequent Sydney food blogs when I'm super-bored, but the question must be asked: what is it with Sydney food bloggers? Why are most of them Asian and female? I know I'm not the first person to make this observation, but I need a theory peeps!

(Oh look, here's an American-Asian's take on it.)

Designer fashion for a small frame

2011-12-17T09:43:00.002+11:00

If you're female and of a very small frame, it's worth checking out Leona Edmiston's range for children. There are two labels--I think they are called Miss Leona and Little Leona. The great thing about this is that the children's label is about a third cheaper than the adult label and when department stores have a 30% sale (like at Myer this weekend), it's even cheaper!

A zombie wedding

2011-12-16T11:10:00.000+11:00

No, I don't intend on getting married to a zombie, but it would be really cool to do a zombie-themed wedding. I could have engagement photos like these and a wedding cake like this.

The cookbook goldmine will never be mine.

2011-12-15T17:40:00.000+11:00

Apparently the 4 ingredient cookbooks have sold 4.5 million copies. Good on them! Lucky go-getters. But I'm going to rant about it anyway.

1. The ingredients aren't always raw ingredients, they are like "a packet of this instant meal thing with lots of numbers and added flavours" which isn't healthy, and sounds like cheating. I think of one ingredient as one discrete (!) thing, not a packet of lots of things in one packet.

2. If you are cooking with only 4 ingredients you shouldn't NEED a book. Just pick four things and cook them.

My favourite meal at the moment, for example, has only 2 ingredients, or 3 if you count sweet chilli sauce. Cucumber, spring rolls. Ta-da!

My other favourite meal has about 5 ingredients. Choose 2 veggies and cook them on george foreman with garlic. Serve with olive bread and olive oil. Go crazy and add fetta and avocado if you want.

I invented those meals myself. I share them with you for free.

Interesting TV factoid.

2011-12-14T09:16:00.000+11:00

Did you know that Smallville (according to my flatmate) is now the longest-running Sci-fi TV show? Smallville! I've never watched an episode, but there it is, still there. I've never met anyone other than flatmate who likes it. But maybe it's good.

Discrete couples

2011-12-13T23:35:00.003+11:00

Sometimes, some couples are so discrete that when they announce their engagement, you go, "Woah, I didn't even know they were dating!" and occasionally, "Woah, I didn't even know they knew each other!"

The demise of the toilet door

2011-12-13T16:23:00.003+11:00

Has anyone noticed that when you go to use the restroom/washroom/toilet at shopping centres, the main doors are now missing? That is, you just walk into the restroom entrance, turn 90° a couple of times and there you are. Of course, the individual toilet cubicle doors are still there*, but I wonder what brought about the change. Cost-cutting? Health concerns? Traffic flow? Easier for cleaning staff to enter and exit?

*One cannot take individual toilet doors for granted. Once my sister and I went to use the public toilet in a foreign country...only to discover there were no doors! Needless to say, we lost the urge to go.

Rain survival.

2011-12-12T17:12:00.000+11:00

Umbrellas only keep the rain off your head. If you walk in heavy rain, you will experience a lot of splashback from puddles, and rain which blows under the umbrella.

So my first tip, no jeans if it looks like rain. Jeans dry slowly and get heavy when wet. Light trousers, or shorts if it isn't too cold.

My second tip is, if you get stuck in heavy rain go barefoot. Thongs are ideal, gumboots if you are prepared, but I have been caught out several times in sneakers, with a lot of rain to cross between a bus stop and a destination. If you wear your shoes, you will have wet feet AND wet shoes. If you remove your shoes and carry them, you will have wet feet, BUT, the ability to dry them easily and replace your dry shoes and be comfortable for the rest of the day.

(You know what's surprising? when I finish a post and want to tag it, there is ALWAYS a pre-existing tag. This is not the first post about rain.)

Alternate cake storer

2011-12-12T16:22:00.005+11:00

I have one of those nifty Decor Cake Storer with a lifter so that cakes can be easily removed.

However, instead of using said nifty cake lifter, I often use another container turned upside down, and place the cake on the lid instead.

Upside down container, with cake on the lid as the bottom:

Lift the body away:

Cake on lid, ready to serve!

Art Gallery

2011-12-11T09:46:00.000+11:00

Just an ordinary gal enjoying the Art Gallery, right?

Wait a second! Who's that man in the black?!

It's Thom Yorke from Radiohead!

Too cool.

(image from http://www.whosdatedwho.com/tpx_1715647/thom-yorke-and-rachel-owen/photo)

The Original Hipster

2011-12-10T09:32:00.000+11:00

Graham Coxon (lead guitarist of blur) is probably the original hipster. I mean, he's been looking like this since blur's early days in the 90s.

But look at this meme that's been floating around:

So who is the original hipster?

Squeeeeeeeellll!

2011-12-09T17:06:00.000+11:00

I've heard rumors of a musical movie version of Les Miserables. Guess what, ladies? Auditions for Cosette are being held in New York in 2 days! Your Marius is alright-looking, and Hugh Jackman will be your dad. Interesting cast so far, in terms of singing ability, and it's nice that they might take a newcomer for Cosette. I've always wanted a singing movie version, I hope it's not disappointing. It's a year away, I shall follow the goss with great interest.

http://broadwayworld.com/article/Want-to-Be-Cosette-in-the-LES-MIS-Film-Open-Call-1210-in-NYC-20111202

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/

Henry

2011-12-09T09:26:00.000+11:00

If you have bartending friends, don't bother trying to organise getting together on a Friday night because they're all working. Your only hope of seeing them on a Friday night is to visit them while working.

The title is a reference to Liz Phair's song "Polyester Bride" where she sings about Henry, her bartending friend.

Some kind of law

2011-12-08T09:20:00.003+11:00

I suspect there's some kind of law of physics, or of Murphy's or something, which applies to my bedroom. I'm convinced that a tidy room begets mess, which begets even more mess. I can never quite understand how my room gets so messy so quickly, especially after I've tidied it up!

It's probably because I need to put these two principles of tidying up in place:
- Put things away immediately after you use them.
- Find a home for things.

It perpetuates a cycle: I don't have a home for things -> things start to pile up -> mess -> I don't have a home for things.

Cool music taste.

2011-12-07T17:09:00.000+11:00

I'm a little behind the ball when it comes to new music. I listen to the wrong radio stations. But I am no longer ashamed! Being outside demographic targeting is liberating. Also, it makes me cool. Although now I'm talking about my coolness that cancels out the cool. Oh well, no big loss. I shall continue regardless.

What is it called when I listen to 2CH Easy 1170 on the radio? It's called "alternative". And being alternative is cool. Therefore, for me to listen to an easy listening radio station that has ads for funerals and a family-run painting business you can trust—cool. Bob Rogers as DJ—cool. Singing along to "Have you heard about the lonesome loser"—cool.

Weekend pants.

2011-12-06T16:48:00.000+11:00

My sister announced on Facebook last Friday that she had her weekend pants on. What a nice image. I imagined some loud-coloured many-pocketed elastic-waisted trousers. And then I walked to the shops and SAW an older gentleman wearing a pair of trousers that had "weekend pants"written loud. They had a repeating pattern of red and green leaves and blonde bikini girls.

So, my sister's weekend pants are pants that she made specifically for the purpose. She wanted something to wear in summer when she hadn't shaved her legs, but not be too hot like in jeans. I haven't seen the pants, but they are described as red and made from linen and rather loose. Pretty good idea, I think. I'm a fan of skirts but there are advantages to pants.

And now I'm going to tag this post "fashion". Baggy homemade weekend trousers = fashion.

Food of 2011

2011-12-06T16:36:00.000+11:00

In my observation: grain wave chips. This is a surprise, as I did not like them at first, but now they are popular wherever I see them and there are different brands of them. I like them because they are crunchier than potato chips and even corn chips, and the giant corrugations are pleasing to nibble.

I would say chia seeds, but I suspect I am ahead of the curve on that and they may be the food of 2012, once they are used on Masterchef and put in breads and breakfast cereals.

Like days of phoneless yore.

2011-12-02T16:02:00.000+11:00

"Days of yore" is my favourite saying. Also "frock". But I keep forgetting to use "nice frock" and say "that's a pretty dress" instead.

Last night there was a vague arrangement to meet a Elsie, and then D as well, at 5.30 at the Town Hall Steps. I realised on the bus that I had no phone. Also, irrelevantly, the battery was almost flat and I had no credit. That made me feel very vulnerable as I waited alone on the footpath. What if? What if! And then D arrived, in the exact same flap because her phone was also absent and flat. Elsie had her phone, but it was completely useless to her, because phones are only good for calling people whose phones are with them. So effectively, we had to meet each other with no phones, no backup plans, just like the olden days!

Chia.

2011-11-28T17:55:00.000+11:00

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.

2011-11-25T17:02:00.000+11:00

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

2011-11-24T15:42:00.003+11:00

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).

2011-11-23T16:49:00.000+11:00

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.

2011-11-22T17:33:00.001+11:00

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

I love George.

2011-11-21T13:03:00.000+11:00

Grandma burnt the cord on her George Foreman grill so she donated it to my brother to fix, he fixed it but he doesn't cook (family joke is that he lives off ice-cubes, oranges and bread with salt on it—funny because true) so it is now mine. I don't know how I lived without it. It is 550 times better than a frying pan or anything else. A lot of steam does come out the back, but other than that it cooks very cleanly, no spitting fat. And it is so fast. I cooked a piece of gravy beef on it and it was chewable. I'm going to start grilling veggies because zucchini and eggplant are under $1/kg in Kingsford at the moment. George now has a permanent place on the bench, because it gets used more than the toaster. I am fully obsessed. I want to watch ads for it.

Waiting for books to come in the mail is exciting, and so is wondering if a special childhood book is still going to be special.

2011-11-17T15:04:00.000+11:00

I have ordered 3 books from Amazon. (Amazon owns TBDepo now anyway, and were cheaper even with postage, fyi). I don't feel too guilty about online retail because I doubt 2 of the books are easily available off a physical bookshelf anyway. But I do like and support book shops in principle.

Now I am in that happy waiting place. The thing I like about online shopping is that you pay and then ages later you get the thing, so the buying process is all separated and it's like you've given yourself a present! I am expecting Snuff by Terry Pratchett (which is a huge exercise in self control because I already have the audio book but want to read it first) and a book on typography and a book I remember from my childhood, only read once at the library but I remember being enchanted by it, The Ordinary Princess.

This isn't the cover but I like it. melindart.blogspot.com

Childhood books can go either way. Some are such high quality that you re-read them as an adult and still enjoy them, or enjoy them even more. Winnie the Pooh fits that class. Some you realise are perfectly written for kids and totally boring for adults. Enid Blyton fits that class. Mum thinks she's awful. When I was a child I gobbled up all those books about children and hideouts and torches and dogs and ginger beer and macaroons and smugglers and saying "smashing". Now I don't even know how an adult could write them. The Arther Ransom books like Swallows and Amazons are the same sort of content but still just absolutely brilliant and it's a pity nobody reads them. So anyway I'm wondering about The Ordinary Princess.

Sigh. The single post view bug is still chewing up jelssie. I don't know why.