Monday, June 1, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Long Weekend!
It's unbelievable - term 2 is already halfway over. This last week has been great, Dave's Dad is in China and we were able to borrow his car. It's a massive four wheel drive, smooth... I feel so spoiled driving to work and back. It's going to be weird going back to the train and bus.
Friday night Dave had work. However, I was at home around 10:30, messing around on the computer (definitely *not* streaming a Gossip Girl episode, haha) and in walks Dave! Turns out the bar wasn't busy and he finished early. We drank a nice bottle of wine and watched "35 Up". Nice night. Saturday night was Dan and Cara's engagement party. We were at JP and Kerry's engagement party a couple of weeks ago, they were so different. JP and Kerry had hors d'oeuvres being passed around, a band playing, the champagne was flowing, people were pretty dressed up, it was lovely. Dan and Cara's was a backyard celebration, with tons of food, courtesy of the Mums, lots of beer (particularly EMU) in coolers, picnic tables...Both parties were great, and in both cases family and friends were getting together to celebrate such a special occasion.
Pretty chill day today - Talked to Dad on the phone, then Dave and I went to Bilby's for some delicious burgers. Hung out for awhile while Mrs. Henry had a practice, then Dave and I got picnic stuff for dinner and watched some movies. The best thing is that unlike a normal weekend, there's an extra day tomorrow! Will probably spend it marking, but at least I can do it in my JAMS.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Term 2
Well, the school holidays have been over a little
while now. The week has begun again. Sigh! I do
like my job, although it's quite exhausting! One other cool thing about it is that there is always a break in sight. Not too shabby! It gives you an incentive to work hard while you're there. Today at work there was a photo taken of all the stu
dents and staff at the school - That's over 1200 people! It was an interesting morning. Getting all the kids up on the scaffold
and in line took almost two entire periods!
We're doing poetry with year 8 and year 10 (after the year 10 exams, that is). It should be fun. Tomorrow I'm going to play some music in the class to teach about tone and mood, yay!
On a more serious note, we said goodbye to two good friends, Jack and Larni, who have recently left Perth to experience some exciting adventures, and will possibly settle in Europe. They will be missed a lot, things here won't be the same. To say goodbye everyone celebrated at Flying High. Dave and I deejayed for one of the 1-hour slots, it was great fun. We all went out after, it was a great night. I hope they have a blast on their travels.
Last weekend was great, it was JP and Kerry's engagement party, which was beautiful. Also, that morning Dave and I went surfing with some people, which was something different and great fun. I wasn't very good and I swallowed a lot of salt water and sand, but had a blast.
Dave and I are contemplating going away somewhere over the next break. It is only 2 weeks, and I would like to be in Montreal for my Dad's 60th, but it does not make sense to go at that time. I would rather go when I have more time, and celebrate with Dad next time I see him. I hope that some people can come and visit me here! So far nobody aside from my parents have really put any effort into making the trip. Anyway, Dave and I are considering Vietnam. Got to go see about places and prices! What a great 4-year anniversary celebration that would be!
In other news, Dave is doing really well this year in the DipEd course, I think that's fantastic. He's got his second prac coming up, and he should do well there. I am very proud of him!
NOFX are touring with Bad Religion and they're in Perth in September. I got two tickets, but people here don't seem to be too crazy about going, so looks like Dave's going to have to come with me. We'll just have to rock out on the night. Haha.
Will write more later.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Perth/Montreal
Montreal and Perth are neck and neck in the e
valuation of best cities to live in overall, according to the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
Here are the results, 1-25:
1. Zurich, Switzerland
2. Vienna, Austria
3. Geneva, Switzerland
4. Vancouver, Canada
5. Auckland, New Zealand
6. Dusseldorf, Germany
7. Munich, Germany
8. Frankfurt, Germany
9. Bern, Switzerland
10. Sydney, Australia
11. Copenhagen, Denmark
12. Wellington, New Zealand
13.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
14. Brussels, Belgium
15. Toronto, Canada
16. Berlin, Germany
17. Melbourne, Australia
18. Luxembourg, Luxembourg
19. Ottawa, Canada
20. Stockholm, Sweden
21. Perth, Australia
22. Montreal, Canada
23. Nuremberg, Germany
24. Oslo, Norway
25. Dublin, Ireland
ion, hygiene, recreation, political-economic stability and public transportation.
Perth receives its high score for comfortable-
beautiful weather, proximity to the ocean and beaches, parks, low unemployment rate, cleanliness, etc. As a city Perth loses out in terms of burglary rates, high housing costs, public transit, being one of the most isolated cities in the world and limited options for going out.
Personally, I think Perth is a beautiful city. I would give it major points for a lot of the people, the foliage, animals and birds, the weather, great asian restaurants and proximity to beautiful places like Margaret River...I would say that its drawbacks are that things are very spread out, making a night out a bit annoying, unless you're in Northbridge clubbing. The isolation factor is a problem in terms of travel - it can be difficult, time co
nsuming and expensive to get anywhere, since Perth is so far from everything. The transport system is not that great. Perth is pricey, but wages are good. Shopping is not great at all, I have problems finding decent clothes and shoes here.
Montreal gets points for recreation, culture, lo
w housing costs, education and universities,relatively low crime, public transport. It loses out with traffic/roads, the rough winters, taxes, politics and the language tension in Quebec.
For me, Montreal is excellent, there is always something to do. It is a city with a lot of culture, there is great nightlife. And hockey! Summers are great, and it's when the city puts on festivals, the most fun for me is the Montreal Jazz Festival. M
ontreal has a really good music scene. Since it's central, it's easy to travel to Europe, the US and the Caribbean, among other places. Public transport is good, although late at night it can be troublesome.
The weather can be a problem - the winters are very cold, and very long. Public transport is relatively expensive, the roads and traffic are pretty bad. One big problem is the political instability and the tension between languages. I'll elaborate on some of this another time.
It's a tough one...
Maybe it's just best to go with one closer to the top of the list.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Don't You Need Somebody To Love
Why do we enter the relationships we are in, and why do we stay in them? Now, first off, this may sound like a crappy rerun of "Sex and the City", but I found myself considering it the other day.
JP and Kerry announced their engagement last week, and it brought Dave and I to talk about how many friends we have who are part of couples, and how many lovely, healthy couples we know. Maybe it's the age we're getting to, maybe we know a lot of lucky people and are fortunate ourselves...
I feel very lucky to have met Dave. I truly feel that with him I want to be the best version of myself I can be, and he is a source of constant encouragement and support. I don't want this post to be a smug detailing of how great Dave and I are as a couple. I guess what I want to say here is that I feel like I am with someone who shares interests and passions, loves, supports, compliments and challenges me, who I have fun with, and this is so great and so lucky, because I would not settle for less.
There is a common phenomenon that exists with both men and women. It is the need for "someone". Not a particular person, just being in a relationship with someone, so that they are not alone. I have known and know people who have been or are in this situation, and the reasons vary. Due to low self esteem, many feel like they should take what they can get, even if the person is not right for them, has no character and/or has wronged them in the past. Some common statements may be,
"I can't do any better,"
"My partner may change in time,"
"There's nothing really wrong with my partner, he/she is a nice person,"
"If I leave it means I wasted all that time I spent with them,"
"They put up with me, I'm lucky,"
"I can't be alone/single,"
"It's better than nothing,"
I don't know, I just think that this is being with someone, being with anyone, and for the wrong reasons. I might sound preachy, apologies there, but to me, if a person is making these statements it indicates that they should be alone, spending some time discovering things about themselves, taking care of themselves, possibly healing themselves so that they can be an independent person and then perhaps meet someone who is a good match. This might sound harsh, but when I think of my relationship with Dave I am happy to realize that I don't need him because I need a relationship with someone. I am with him because I love him and want him to be around, with me, and the feelings are mutual.
In the past I have made some questionable choices in terms of who I would choose to spend my time with, romantically, and in friendship. I discovered that I would rather be alone than settle down with someone who is not right for me.
School Holidays
I probably say this again and again - I have to write more often so things don't get out of hand! Frequently, things pop into my head, and rather than saving them all up only to forget about them, I should write them down.
Term 1 at school absolutely flew by. For the first few weeks I was so exhausted, I didn't know how I'd go for 10. But as the term progressed and more things had to be done, time slipped away faster and faster.
For Easter Weekend and a few days after Dave and I went to Bunbury to visit Dave's parents. We rented some videos, did some reading, went out with Renee and Owen and had a lovely lunch at Knee Deep winery in Margaret River. We visited a brewery, a cheese factory, went into town and to the rocks and the beaches. On the Saturday we all took a picnic to Honeymoon Pool, got our feet wet and watched some pretty funny kids swimming. A relaxing time was had, with no reminders of impending work to be done.
Thursday Dave and I walked to the city and I finally got a mobile phone. I guess over 2 years was enough time resisting it!
Other than that, not much news - just relaxing for the holiday, and aiming to plan for the term coming up, so I'm not constantly behind. Will update with news!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Congratulations!
Just wanted to express my congratulations and best wishes to Dan and Cara as well as JP and Kerry, who announced their engagements this week. I'm sure both of these couples will have a really wonderful life together. What lovely news!
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