Legally Alien

#PhotoADayJune - Close Up

2012-06-04T18:43:00.000+10:00

This is a close up picture of a couple of my favourite silver bangles.

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I LOVE jewellery.

I really miss jewellery shopping in India. It's cheap and its oh-so-pretty! I bought these bangles when I was in India in 2011, from a little store I have been going to since I was about 13 or 14 years old. I hadn't been there since 2007, yet the guy at the shop immediately recognised me (I did after all spend a LOT of money there).

I ended up spending a LOT of money. Again. (surprise surprise) but I cam back with some amazing silver jewellery that I always get compliments for.

This post is part of the #PhotoADayJune Challenge.

What's that song again?

2012-06-04T18:00:00.000+10:00

You know what's awesome? Technology.

So we're in the car, listening to Triple J.

Me: What's this song again? I really like it.
J: I don't know B..
Me: Oh but I have to know.....

*lightbulb moment*

Out comes smartphone and tap tap tap, SHAZAM (literally), the song is:

Wait. It doesn't end there. Then, le smart phone is even more awesomesauce. It tells me I can listen to the song on Spotify! MIND = BLOWN!

So of course, all weekend I Spotify the shiz out of this song. Never mind that YouTube was just as accessible, I had to Spotify because I could!

Picture this scenario 5 years ago and you'd be hanging for the song to end and keeping your fingers crossed that the radio presenter tells you the name of the song. Or it would slowly eat away your insides until the next time you heard it and may be, just may be, you would ask and someone would know the name of the song. Pain. Ful.

How awesome is technology?

#PhotoADayJune - On My Plate

2012-06-03T19:49:00.001+10:00

This is our dinner tonight - Garlic and thyme roast beef with a side of roast vegetables and gravy.

And because you're asking, it was delish!

This post is part of the #PhotoADayJune Challenge.

Dhoom Machale!

2012-06-03T10:53:00.003+10:00

Last night SBS had a new reality show on - Bollywood Star. It's a competition to find a Bollywood star in Australia for one of India's leading movie producers/ directors. Last night was the audition process and it was pretty funny. I am keen to watch more.

After the show, SBS had a Bollywood movie on. Now I'm not usually a Bollywood kinda gal but all the singing and dancing on Bollywood Star got me a bit enthusiastic so I spent my Saturday night watching Dhoom 2. What was funnier though is poor J got stuck watching it with me. I think he enjoyed it and was pretty amused with exactly how far Bollywood stretches the concept of "willing suspension of disbelief."

I was talking to my mum while we were watching the movie and told her J was watching it with me.

Mum: You're making him watch a Bollywood movie? He will get a weird idea about India.
Me: He knows me, he already thinks Indians are weird.
Mum: That's true.

And now, J has been singing "Dhoom Machale" since last night.

#PhotoADayJune - Empty

2012-06-02T14:58:00.000+10:00

It's a cold, rainy miserable Saturday on the Gold Coast and not too many people out and about.

This picture is taken just outside J's house, normally a pretty busy street on a Saturday with heaps of people walking their dogs. Today the dogs have decided to stay home however.

I love this street. Normally I'll leave the door open and I can look out onto the street and just people watch. Dogs and little children. Skateboards and short shorts. Crackheads and fast cars.

It's cold today, the door is shut and it's an empty street. Empty.

This post is part of the #PhotoADayJune Challenge.

#PhotoADayJune - Mornings

2012-06-01T19:00:00.000+10:00

Day 1 of the challenge and I didn't have to think twice about what my picture should be today.

I am not a morning person. So much so that J insists on cooking breakfast every morning because when I do it, it takes twice as long. Definitely not complaining about that one!

My body has (very reluctantly) gotten used to waking up very early these days. It’s an occupational hazard for the luxury of being an adult. Doesn’t mean I like it and definitely doesn’t make it any easier getting out of bed. So every morning, I tell myself “there’s coffee at the other end of this” and that helps.

So here’s to morning haters and divine cuppas.

This post is part of the #PhotoADayJune Challenge.

#PhotoADayJune Challenge

2012-06-01T18:09:00.000+10:00

I'm doing the #PhotoADayJune challenge.

I have never done one of these challenges before and am quite excited about it.

I will be sharing via this blog or you can also catch me on Twitter (@missRBit) or on Instagram (MissRBit).

This is what June is going to be all about:

If you want more info, FatMumSlim has a detailed explanation on her blog.

I will post my photo for today in a bit.

Mondayitis evermore

2012-04-30T18:27:00.000+10:00

Happy Monday! Haha jokes – Monday ain’t never gonna be happy unless it’s a holiday!

Image courtesy: hunchypiper.com

Getting a bit used to these short weeks ever so often…another one coming up next Monday for Labor Day here in Queensland. How good would life be with just a four day week? I would happily work 4x10 hour days if I could have 3 days off. I work almost 9 hours a day now anyway, so whats another hour? In an ideal world....

This weekend was pretty unproductive and I think I procrastinated most of it away. Of course, being unproductive didn't get in the way of enjoying some amazing food. I always joke to J about how much our lives revolve around food but it's true. We make such an effort to eat well and well, nothing makes me happier than a happy tummy.

Here are some of my Instagram (Follow me: missrbit) pictures of some of the good food I enjoyed over the weekend...

Saturday night - Chicken parmigiana at Nobby's Beach Surf Club. It was massive and dripping with gooey cheese, just as a chicken parmy should be.

Coffee. The addiction has only intensified over the last couple of years, so much so I have converted J (who previously didn't drink much coffee) to a pretty regular coffee drinker. The Burleigh area on the Gold Coast has heaps of good cafes doing excellent coffee, so every weekend I have plenty to choose from. On Sunday morning, we went to Canteen Coffee, hidden away in a little alleyway off James Street. If you like your coffee strong and your decor retro-hipster-chic, you will love Canteen.

The almond biscotti was good too though it wasn't as biscotti-like as I expected. I'm used to biscotti being hard, softening when you dip into coffee or tea.

Finally, J and I headed to Slurping Panda for Sunday night dinner. Slupring Panda is at Burleigh Heads too, tucked away in the Old Burleigh Theatre Arcade. We had a menu dropped into the mailbox and it looked very interesting so we had to try it out. The menu is a mix of different Asian cuisines, from Thai to Korean, from Japanese to Malaysian and so much more - I really struggled to pick just one dish to order.

We shared the Panko duck and pumpkin rice balls with plum dipping sauce and it was nothing like what I expected. In a good way! The batter in which the balls were fried was unbelievable, crispy and loads of taste!

For mains, we ended up ordering the Beef Pho (Thinly sliced eye fillet and wombok in ginger broth with mung bean noodles) and the Pork Japchae (pork belly, eggplant, basil, chilli, heirloom tomato and gai lan in oyster sauce with sweet potato noodles). Both dishes were incredible. They were full of fresh vegetables which J and I both love and most importantly, they tasted so food. The Pho tasted very typically Vietnamese with its mix of ginger and lime and the mung bean noodles blew me away with their taste! The pork belly is always a crowd favourite and it didn't fail to disappoint. It was sort of like a spicy Thai stir fry but with a twist. I was glad the sweet potato noodles didn't have a sweet potato taste to it (I hate sweet potato with a passion). I loved their slippery, glassy texture however and it mixed in so well with the rest of the fresh vegetables.

I think we're going back for more next weekend.

Love

2012-01-03T12:42:00.000+10:00

Snippets of this video are all over the news today because the man who made this video, Kristian Anderson lost his battle to bowel cancer on Monday.

Keep reading...

The longing to belong...

2011-12-29T18:51:00.000+10:00

The universality of human experiences despite our many diversities has made me realise that our identities are not bound by race, nationality or even gender.

Yet somehow, we have all felt out of place at some point; We have all felt like we don't belong...anywhere. I'll be honest, I have really struggled with my longing to belong (and still do sometimes). But through the struggle, I have realised it's not something that should get me down, but it's something to enjoy.

Not belonging means not being limited by gender stereotypes, by cultural expectations or societal pressures and that's very liberating. Ironically, this state of "not belonging" actually helps me belong in a way too - belong to a universal humanity. To know I am my own person and yet one with the universe is awe-inspiring.

This year, my only promise to myself is to not worry so much about belonging and an identity that fits in somewhere - I think being in a perpetual nomadic state of belonging or unbelonging may not be so bad.

From one Legal Alien to all the others out there - hope the coming year is filled with limitless discoveries.

Groupon Fail: Bisro Fleur, Paradise Point

2011-10-31T11:09:00.000+10:00

I bought a Groupon voucher for a meal at Bistro Fleur at Paradise Point on the Gold Coast in late September. Last week, I rang the restaurant to make a booking for Friday night. The man taking my booking (who I later found out is the owner) was the average cordial restaurant person - until I mentioned I had a voucher. His tone immediately changed and he very rudely asked me "what voucher?". I mentioned having a Scoopon and he yelled, saying "That's already expired so I can't take your booking".

Shocked by his rudeness, but still trying to maintain my cool I told him that I was sure my voucher was valid as I had only bought it a month ago and it said it was valid for 3 months. I said I may be mistaken and maybe it was a Groupon. He cut me off before I could even say anything else and snapped at me saying "If you don't know what you've got I can't take your booking".

Clearly, he wanted my business.

By this point I really wanted to just slap him but yet, I summoned all the niceness in me and very politely said to him, "Look, I know I have a valid voucher and I'm just trying to make a booking. If it's such a big deal, I will ring you back with the details of my voucher." I was out for lunch at the time and needed to wait till I got back to the office.

But Patrick wasn't listening and just went off at me about how they had 3 vouchers going and I couldn't use an expired voucher etc etc. I wasn't trying to use an expired voucher! Anyway, so I told him I'd ring him back and he hung up on me!

I rang him back and his tone and attitude was no better when I told him it was a voucher I bought on 20th September. He asked me when it expired and I told him it was valid for 3 months. He snapped at me asking what date. I'm sorry, is it that hard to figure out that 3 months from 20th September is 20th December? He took my booking but left me fuming. I was seething for the rest of the afternoon and eventually ended up deciding I wasn't going to go. I looked up Bistro Fleur online and found these reviews on Urban Spoon and Trip Advisor - so many of them saying how badly they were treated and guess what, Mr. Patrick got a special mention too.

I was really excited to go to this restaurant. I've never been to a French restaurant before and I was keen to try out some snails. I really enjoy eating out and I love discovering new places through sites like LivingSocial, Groupon etc. If the Bistro Fleur experience had been good, I would have definitely been a repeat customer.

I have worked in a restaurant and I know sometimes customers are stupid and sometimes they will try to use expired vouchers. But you don't yell at them. If I was annoying him by saying Scoopon instead of Groupon, he could've simply said "I'm sorry but our Scoopon voucher has already expired, did you mean Groupon?" AND in a tone that is more customer service friendly not one that accuses me of being stupid.

I was shocked to find out I had spoken to the owner of Bistro Fleur and he was so angry that I had a voucher and had the gall to use it. Why does this man sell vouchers to his own restaurant if he wants to treat voucher-holding customers like shit? If you don't want customers, don't sell vouchers. It's really as simple as that. The whole point of vouchers is to generate business and possibly create a new customer base - but if you make your customers feel like shit, they're definitely not coming back - totally defeating the purpose of having a voucher.

I was going to ring him back and cancel my booking and tell him it was because he was so rude but I forgot to do it. At 7:45pm on Friday I had a voicemail on my phone from a very angry Patrick saying "You haven't bothered turning up, I'm going to cancel your booking". There's that lovely tone again.

These sleepless nights

2011-08-24T07:58:00.002+10:00

I didn't quite end up finishing the NaBloPoMo August challenge did I? This time it wasn't laziness though.

I haven't been sleeping well for a few weeks now and I think a lot of it has to do with me not unwinding enough before bed. I am physically exhausted from the lack of sleep so you'd think I would crash as soon as my head hit the pillow but nope, doesn't happen. My mind…has a mind of its own. Haha really it does! I cannot stop thinking, stressing, planning, analysing - just not giving my mind a break!

This is why I'm trying to disconnect, unwind and do other things when I get home. I try to spend as little time in front of the computer. Of course it doesn't always happen. But I'm hoping it will work and I won't wake up feeling so tired every day!

Mundane inanities

2011-08-08T21:29:00.001+10:00

Today was my first day back at the gym after many months and I'm so happy I'm finally back :)

It was a struggle for sure but I'm happy I got there and am finally healthy enough to be gymming again. Exercise keeps me sane and so I was obviously going a little crazy not being able to exercise. I am disappointed with my fitness (naturally) and I know it will take me a while to build it back up again but I'm grateful to be back and at it again. Yay me.

In other news, today I found out they are re-releasing one of my most favourite movies of all time - The Lion King in 3D - for 2 weeks in September.

Besides being one of the best Disney movies (in my opinion) - the movie brings back a lot of wonderful memories. It was 1994 and I was loving my 9 year old life. My parents took my sister, my cousins and me to watch the movie - which was sold out so we had to sit way up in front (in the fifth row) to watch the movie. It didn't matter that our eyes hurt - we loved the movie and we all cried when Mufasa died.

I think 3D still has some way to go before they add a wow factor to regular movies but animated movies in 3D are amazing. So yes, I cannot wait for Lion King in 3D....so excited!

This post is part of the NaBloPoMo August challenge.

John Lennon says...

2011-08-07T15:37:00.012+10:00

I have a coffee table book called 'Imagine' with quotes from John Lennon.

Keep reading...

Homesickness

2011-08-06T23:00:00.023+10:00

These random pangs of homesickness
Unwelcome
Unasked for
Unexplained.
Triggered by a song, a sight or even a smell.
A longing for a home that is no longer home
But
Will always be home.

The people. The people...
The familiarity.
The memories
...A life long gone.

Can you be homesick for a person
A person long lost...
Another version of you in another life, another universe?

I never was very good at hide and seek.

This post is part of the NaBloPoMo August challenge.

Currently reading...

2011-08-05T17:36:00.015+10:00

Going back in time and re-reading the whole series :)

This post is part of the NaBloPoMo August challenge.

Of course this post is about Harry Potter

2011-08-04T20:29:00.000+10:00

It's over *cry*

Yes ok, it's been over for a long time but you know, it's finally O-V-E-R. Nothing to look forward to anymore :(

The movie was absolutely brilliant. Admittedly the first few Harry Potter movies weren't very good (I still watch them though) but they definitely picked up their game and the last two movies have been amazing. I'm so glad this last one didn't disappoint. Such an amazing way to end it all.

Of course I got emotional during Snape's memories of Lily. Of course I was holding my breath for a few scenes (Molly ending Bellatrix, in particular). And *of course* I wished certain bits from the book hadn't been left out.

I loved the movie and I wish I could say it better instead of just gushing like a little child but I'm not feeling very writer-y today. I *will* write a Harry Potter post though. Soon.

This post is part of the NaBloPoMo August challenge.

Harry Potter at last!

2011-08-03T17:00:00.019+10:00

Going to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 tonight. Finally.

I'm too excited to write a proper blog post. Maybe tomorrow, I will write about it and my grief that it's over.

This post is part of the NaBloPoMo August challenge.

Ethics vs Religion vs Politics

2011-08-02T19:32:00.020+10:00

I went to an Irish Catholic school for 13 years and yes surreptitious religious indoctrination was definitely part of my daily school life ;-) However, as part of the school curriculum, Christian students had to go to Catechism classes once a week while the rest of us attended 'Moral Science' classes. These classes started from Year 1 and attending one or the other was compulsory right up to Year 12.

Being of non-Christian faith, of course I went to the moral science classes where, for a change we weren't just being talked at, being lectured, being forced to strive towards academic excellence that some of us clearly had no drive for… In these classes, we talked about almost anything of any relevance, including current affairs, world issues, human rights, books, religion, politics and much more. Even with the limited worldview that childhood brings, we debated and discussed issues with our classmates. The teachers didn't preach - they encouraged us to think, respect someone else's opinion and most importantly, have an opinion of our own.

The reason I bring this up is because last week I heard about Fred Nile and his Christian Democratic Party pushing for NSW public schools to do away with the recently introduced Ethics classes which are an alternative to scripture classes for non-religious students. Nile believes these ethics classes are "in competition with scripture".

This made me angry and while I was busy trying to frame my thoughts in a coherent way, 11-year old Charlie Fine came along and said it better :

"By all means, Mr Nile, you go out and be as Christian as you want; I respect that entirely. But that does not give you and your supporters the right to attempt to shape a future generation of adults in your mould – that is a religious conservative."

Go Charlie!

One of the first things I noticed when I moved here was how little Australians cared about religion and I liked that. However, of late religion seems to have become such a big part of Australian politics. Politics is dirty and when religion comes into play, the waters get even murkier.

During the last election campaigns, the Liberals constantly harped on Gillard's atheism. Suddenly Australians were going on about "Oh she doesn't believe in God…" even though it probably would have made no difference to them had Tony Abbott not used it as his catchphrase. Would Julia Gillard's capabilities as a Prime Minister have improved if she were Christian? And would God help Tony Abbott "Stop the Boats!" had he become Prime Minister?

And now Nile and his CDP are promising to "torpedo" the NSW state government and its legislations unless their religious demands are met. Nile doesn't surprise me but it is disgusting that the NSW Premier is considering a "deal" with a man who is unashamedly homophobic and believes pornography is equivalent to eternal damnation.

A progressive society is made up of free thinking people with a variety of opinions and beliefs. Governments don't need to play nanny to what morals or beliefs children are being taught at school - I think that is a parent's decision. Encouraging children to think critically to grow into free-thinking adults is a tough ask and if these ethics classes are aiming at that, I am all for it. I am not saying ban scripture - but I believe religious study should be an option for children and their parents, not something that is forced on them.

I'd just like to say to Mr. Nile that being religious does not automatically create a better breed of Australians or a better society. I'm sure you will find that sometimes religious fanaticism makes a country regress. So just let people be Mr. Nile…I assure you we are capable of making our own decisions, without any help from you. And if that decision involves us not believing in God…oh well, shit happens.

As even an 11 year old will tell you, "I think it is possible to be non-religious and a good person."

This post is part of the NaBloPoMo August challenge.

NaBloPoMo - Take 2

2011-08-01T20:41:00.001+10:00

I'm hitting up NaBloPoMo again this month. I was very enthusiastic about it last month but not having a computer and a buggy Blogger app made things annoyingly difficult.

So armed with a new computer, I'm here to kick things off again.

NaBloPoMo Take 2.

Action

This post is part of the NaBloPoMo August challenge.

Friday night dinner

2011-07-15T21:40:00.001+10:00

The best pizza in town and wine...the perfect night. :)

Stop the Terrorism. Enough!

2011-07-14T17:33:00.015+10:00

Ever since the 26/11 attacks on Bombay in 2008, (It is still, and will always be Bombay to me) India has bumped itself up on the Terrorism Risk Index. And here we go again. I’m so, so angry and again, like in 2008, I’m so deeply saddened.

When people ask me about India and what to expect, I always tell them nothing can prepare them for India because it’s so unique in its madness. India is a lot of things. It is, as is often said, a country of contradictions. It is rich, it is poor. It’s beautiful and fugly. It’s modern and oh-so-third world. It’s historical, it’s cultural, it’s steeped in religion and tradition and it thrives on familiarity.

It's an assault on the senses. People have no concept of personal space. Roadside Romeos make you squirm and turn you aggressively feminist. Con artists will often rip you off for a quick buck. It is colourful, crowded, polluted, alive and awake at all hours of the day and night, hot in winter and even hotter in summer. It is a crazy and chaotic existence that is absolutely normal for a resident but unbelievably surreal if you’re looking from the outside.

It is all of these things. But, it is not a country of terrorists. But would you believe me now? I wouldn’t believe me now.

India is continually terrorised by a country I try so hard not to judge and very often feel sorry for because of the myriad problems it faces; but at times like these, it’s so damn hard not to. But today is not about them. India is governed by a bunch of corrupt, money hungry mongrels who care so little about the actual people, I’m amazed we’re still called a democracy. Australians, you think Julia Gillard is ripping you off with the Carbon Tax? Try having an Indian minister siphon off millions and yet get re-elected over and over. Now imagine every minister at local, state and federal level doing this. No wonder the poor only get poorer in India.

Life goes on in Bombay after an attack because it has to. The politicians make it sound heroic and call it the “Mumbai spirit”. Fuck the Mumbai spirit. The average person has precious little choice but to go on with their life and to hope there is no next time and if there is, to pray that their pantheon of Gods will protect them because the politicians sure as hell aren’t.

When I was in Bombay last December, I went to many of the tourist places that were attacked in November 2008. There were security guards everywhere for sure, and that was a positive sign. But I can’t help be a little sceptical about their ability to actually prevent a terrorist attack. Another thing that concerned me was the (lack of) security on the local trains. Local trains were a prime target in 2008 (and even before it) but I didn’t see much protection there. WHY? Non-tourist locations in the city had little to no visible security – and yesterday’s attacks once again prove why it is so necessary.

India cannot afford to be complacent. Terrorism is very, very real and it is not going away so this head-in-the-sand attitude isn’t working. Just because terrorist attacks were foiled twice after the 2008 attacks, doesn’t mean they’re going to stop trying. Bombay is the heart and soul of India. It’s India’s City of Dreams. Don’t the city and its people deserve better than this? Empty words like “my prayers and sympathies go out to the people" mean squat when people are dying. What we need is some empathy and some positive action towards protecting Bombayites and everyone across India.

Ditch the political correctness. No one wants to hear it. Why do the Indian & Pakistani Prime Ministers make statements like “I condemn the attacks”? Who wants to hear political fluff like that? Of course you condemn the attacks. EVERYONE “condemns” the attacks. Can you say something useful and/or meaningful for a change? Stop telling people to be calm and be rational. Why should they be when they are so helpless?

I’m not saying we need to terrorise other countries in exchange but we need to scare the terrorists enough so they don’t assume India is an easy target; so they don’t assume India can be terrorised and they can get away with it like they always do. And we need a government that actually gives a shit and actually protects India. Why should Indians feel so vulnerable?

Yes I’m angry and I can’t do anything but spew hate at people who actually can do something but won’t. I feel helpless too.

Bombay, you are in my thoughts. India…you are in my thoughts.

Reconciliation

2011-07-13T15:19:00.003+10:00

Is the person you thought you were meant to be, the same as the person you turned out to be?

....

2011-07-12T21:31:00.001+10:00

It's been an overwhelming day.

Monday

2011-07-11T19:06:00.002+10:00

Sigh. They suck and I'm not feeling too well.
So until next time.