What do I do when I’m trying to avoid facing, let alone confronting, the harsh realities of life…. when I’m trying to avoid work… when I’m kept away from the gym thanks to a whole day of incessant pissy rain… when I’m anticipating the purchase (gift?!?!!) of a brand new digital camera (I’m desiring the Canon Ixus 70, a.k.a Powershot SD1000 - the classic looking black and grey one of course - very much… hint! hint!)…

I went online and spring-cleaned my account on flickr (touted as “almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world”) and then tidied up the photo section of this blog. I’ve added some new photos, notably those of me, in case you’ve forgotten what I look like… though it’s more likely the case that you don’t realise how much I’ve changed physically since I dedicated half my life to the gym about six months ago.

Enjoy oggling at the photos and Happy Surfing!

Posted on June 20th, 2007 by jl
Filed under: blah blah | 2 Comments »

I can’t help myself… I really want and need to blog about this…

I read a newspaper report today and discovered that in a global survey, Sydney was ranked behind Tokyo, Hong Kong, singapore and Seoul (of all places) as the top financial centres of the Asia Pacific (see a report here).

Seriously… how did Seoul - that suffered a major financial crisis not 10 years ago and was recipient of the biggest bail-out package from the IMF in all of history - rank higher than Sydney in terms of being a financial hub is beyond me…!?!? What makes it more intriguing and interesting is that Seoul ranked 9 globally whilst Sydney lagged behind at number 14.

What does this survey actually say?

That the survey is flawed? That this is testimony to the South Koreans ability to bounce back and claw their way to the top? That Sydney isn’t the great vibrant financial centre of the Asia-Pacific that it likes to think it is?!?

What’s pathetic though is how this is being reported in some of the local media - rather than focus on how the country has performed in this survey vis-a-vis its neighbours, it chose to advertise how Sydney pipped itself over Melbourne which was ranked 34… (see, for example, this and this - these are some of Australia’s top news sources, by the way). I don’t think I need to point out how parochial this is… or maybe I do seeing as how some people obviously can’t see the forest for the trees…

Posted on June 14th, 2007 by jl
Filed under: Life! | 1 Comment »

It’s been 3 years but there are still two things that I can’t buy or eat without thinking of the-ex - sweet corn and pistachios. They were his most favourite.

I hesitate just a second, every single time, before picking up packets of sweet corn in the supermarkets - they are good here in Australia. And for the first time in three years, I finally bought pistachios over the weekend.

Relationships… how they affect you long after they have ended…

From my vantage point at the moment, I can understand why some people choose not to fall in love again after the end of a significant relationship - you just don’t want to risk another break up. It can truly break you. Staying single is a defence mechanism - it salvages and preserves what’s left of you.

—

I’ve been very quiet on this blog lately. There really hasn’t been much that I have wanted to say. Or at least nothing that I could articulate in a clear manner.

I’ve been dating someone for the last five months. It’s been going well but I don’t think it’s going to go where I would like it to go. I think I need to put up defences before I become broken… again.

Posted on June 12th, 2007 by jl
Filed under: Life!, love | No Comments »