Why not enter politics...

The other day I was listening to 4zZz (total quality radio) and to my amusement, the announcer declared that the upcoming Market Day was going to be more fun "than having sex with a politician"...

I thought that was a bit harsh but at the same time, a guilty giggle escaped me...

In the past I have been asked to get into politics and have responded with refusal. My reasons have been that I am interested in doing good things for the world and I don't want party politics to stop me from doing so. Besides, I think that in many ways, you can achieve more by doing what you need to do and letting the politicians catch on, than waiting for them to decide that something needs to happen.

Also, frankly, I have met way to many young people who are in politics and are total tools. Take a young man I met 7 years ago who I ran into the other night at a high profile cultural function... He was weird but relatively harmless when we first met, now, seven years in the making and apparently the head of The Young [insert name here] Party down the coast, he is a name-dropping, need-constant-reassurance-that-he-is-great, sleazy, clingy puppet.
Shame, he is actually kind of handsome...

Another young fellow I know, nice guy, was brought in from Outback Queensland to be one of four people to represent young people in Brisbane. THIS GUY ISN'T EVEN FROM BRISBANE!!! He really is nice enough but when we met, he knew next to nothing about what being a young person in Brisbane was like...
At least he could communicate well...

k
p.s. Even though our current Prime Minister is far from being described as handsome, did you know that former PM Bob Hawke had a casting agent??
Oh, oh, while we are on PM Trivia, did overseas people know that another former PM, Harold Holt went out to surf one day and disappeared, never to be spotted again??

Gah...

Seeking Employment

Okay people, I need your help.

I am seeking a progressive organisation focussed on improving the social and global community. I am looking at working for an organisation interested in hiring a positive, enthusiastic and passionate Australian who has a lot of initiative, can work in groups as well as independently. I am looking for an organisation based in Southern California.

A basic resume is available from my homepage or from my directly.

I am looking to commence work in January 2007 but am available for job interviews in Southern California at the beginning of November...

Let's see what we can do...

Kristiana

Your questions answered!

Today I was reflecting with some friends about the time I woke up to three lovely girls in my hostel room in Budapest packing their bags... When I looked over they mouthed an apology for waking me and I mouthed back an "It'a okay" so we didn't wake anyone else in the room talking out loud. We continued the mouthed conversation thing asking the usual, "Where are you from? How long have you been travelling? Where are you heading?" etc, etc, until one of the three girl's friends came into the room. Turns out the whole mouthing conversation thing was actually because these girls were deaf... I felt stupid...

Anyway, these ladies inspired me because I thought it was totally dope that four deaf girls were travelling Eastern Europe together! I have been trying to stay in touch with them and the other day I got an email from one of them...

She had mentioned that she had been partying with friends and that the music was really loud. I wrote back to ask her how she knew it was loud and she said that deaf kids can hear the music if its REALLY LOUD otherwise they just feel the vibrations. (That's also apparently why they tend to like anything with a deep beat). She said there are also some awesome deaf dance groups and that some of them even write their own music, (but she is unsure who sings it...).

I also asked my friend how deaf kids chat in bed at night, or if they can... She said that people usually fingerspell using blind language, (like Helen Keller) or when there is enough light at night, you can just get close enough to someone's face and lipread what they are saying or see what they are trying to sign.

Just thought I'd share some info to answer those nagging questions we have all wondered at one time or another...

raff

Thank you friends!

I love you guys... Just when my ego starts to get too big due to blog comments you guys keep me in check by holding back with any sort of comment. Thanks guys...

My ego is back to a healthy size now so fee free to type away and let me know your thoughts!

Meanwhile, I have joined the dark side... I was just a tad over being blonde; the damage to my hair, the maintenance, the expectation to be 'blonde'...

I like the colour but it makes me look a bit pale... I dislike this picture a bit but it is just about the only pic I have right now...

It is really funny to walk around Brisbane and be in the downtown area, or school and see old friends and just go up and say, "Omigod, HEY! How are you? WHat is new?!?" and see people look a me like, 'Hello friendly stranger, I am quite certain I have no idea who you are so you must have the wrong person' and then an instant later their expression alters completely as they yell "OOAAWW!!! OMIGOD!!! You look SO diffERENT!!! I thought you were still overSEAS!!! WoW! HIII!!!!"

He he...

Sending you sunshine!

k

Comments and emails to keep me smiling!

I love comments! According to the comment box from my last blog there is now some super cool young person reading my blog, who really likes it, and is inspired by me!!

Excuse me while my ego EXPLODES!!!

Moving on... I just received the funniest email ever from my friend Peppa who is currently working in Japan. She is working as a school teacher and she just sent me an update of what has been going on, here is a paragraph I had to share:
"Sports festival was the next day, and much like a sports carnival in Oz, there are races and colours and teams. That’s were the similarity ends.
There’s no highly dangerous crazy Japanese games in Oz that send about half the kids to the school nurse with scrapped knees, heads, elbows and hands, the occasional punched eye, lost contact lens and broken wrist!
They really are mad as rattle snakes. There’s one that I particularly liked.
The kids stand in their teams, huddled together as tightly as possible. Then the leaders of the teams have to run around swinging this huge metal pole around. (about 7 meters long and 8 cm thick). The team has to stay together and duck, jump and swerve this pole and try not to get nutted!
It’s totally crazy, but the most incredible thing to watch. They also have a very serious relay, which I think is the biggest event of the day. The entity of all the teams group up in either pairs, triplets or quads. They all have to tie their legs together (not side by side either, front to back!) and piss bolt around the oval, 1/2 lap per team before the baton is passed on. I need to note that at quarter intervals around the oval there are tables set up with bottles and bottles of the Japanese equivalent of Coke. 1/2 way through each groups run, the head person in the group has to stop and scull the bottle of fizzy*!!!!
This leads not only to a lot of falls dues to the ropes around the legs, but a lot of burping, reflux and down right vomiting before the game is over! Absolutely hilarious! It was like watching Japanese Jackass all day!"

All I can say (once I have stopped laughing in a nervously horrified and highly entertained way) is 'law suit'....

Ahh ha ha ha ha!!!

k

*For the international people reading this, "scull the bottle of fizzy" means "drink the bottle of softdrink/soda as quickly as possible".

Random

I write this with Aussie love from the computer lab on the fourth floor of Z Block building on the Gardens Point Campus of the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Great South East region of Queensland, Australia, Oceania, Earth where 65% of the room are girls and the rest are boys, were I can see 3 black guys, one asian girl and one asian boy, a couple of Middle Eastern looking people, many blondes, a pleathora of dress styles (I can see only two people wearing hoodies - one girl and one guy) and there is a girl talking loudly about her Lebanese friends, an assignment she needs to finish and her hair... behind a girl facing me but not looking at me whose glasses make her eyes look HUGE and next to her is a guy looking at her computer screen but pretending that he isn't......

I can see two people playing with the cell phones and the big eye girl is now listening to music....

I am sitting next to a pretty girl wearing a little too much makeup and heart shaped earings, she is doing banking on the computer next to me. On the other side is a guy doing a job search, he has quite striking facial features but is wearing too much gel and he just sneezed...

From were I sit looking at the computer screen I see my two hands and "Ishmael" a GREAT book I am reading by Daniel Quinn. On my left wrist is a bracelet from Vietnam that my dad gave me two days ago, on my ring finger is a silver band that I wear identical to Claudia. On my right wrist is a yellow band from Scotland that says "be the change", a silver bracelet from Lena that says "Starshine" and a little embroided bracelet from Vietnam that adds to the 'I'm such a world travellor, look how many bracelets and items of jewelry I wear from all over the world because I have been SOO many places and am SOO international". Ha!

Random. My world right now.

Sorry that was so long and abstract... Oh the guy that was looking at the computer screen of the big eyed girl has moved and I didn't notice.... he looks peeved, maybe his computer died...

Kristiana

Fun things in Bris-vegas!

One of the things I love about Brisbane is that there is so much going on!

It is one of those small big cities where if you come to visit and you don't know anyone, you could think there was nothing to do, but when you are a local or have a local showing you around, you realise that there is something happening all the time!!

For example, on Saturday night everyone was so happy I had come back to town that the State government spent millions on a very celebratory and welcoming display called RiverFire*. It was a wonderful event that I really appreciated!

The fireworks than kicked off some massive street and club parties all around the city and my favourite local band, The Resin Dogs, were even playing (for free I might add) at a popular pub!

Sunday night I went clubbing in the city. Unlike LA, Brissy clubs are open until 5am so it was nice to be able to go out, release some much pent up energy and boogy away my Sunday night and Monday morning!

Monday night I went past a juggling club doing their thing and inviting everyone around to participate.

Tomorrow night I might head down to Orleigh Park by the river for fire-twirling fun.

Then Friday is Moonfest!
Moonfest is a drug and alcohol free gathering at the Moora Park Shorncliffe foreshore, every full moon. People of all ages and walks of life bring instruments, drums, fire toys, twirly whirly toys and magic makers, dress up costumes, friends, fun and dancing shoes to the beach to festive away the night underneathe the full moon.

I am having a bit of a pagen week this week I think...

Love Brisbane!
It's nice to be back.

Kristiana
*RiverFire is rumoured to actually be a celebration for Queensland - "The Sunshine State: Good one day, perfect the next"... whatever...

A sorry day

I woke up to a voicemail on my phone this morning from my best friend that went, "...I can't believe what happened to Steve. It is just aweful. I can't believe it...".

Steve Irwin, Australia's wonderful wildlife and conservation ambassador, a true and down-to-earth Aussie, loved all over the world, has died.

He died doing what he loves doing, in the environment amongst our wonderful creatures when he was apparently, and unfortunatley, pierced through the heart by a stingray.

There is no news as to what will happen to his wildlife park or his other attractions but the staff and locals are too upset to make too much of a comment right now.

I really do think that Australia has lost a great man. He was eccentric and full of a boundless amount of energy. My condolences go towards his wife, two children (Bindy and Bob) and those connected closely to the family.

Crocs Rule!

kristiana

Spring in Aus.

It was raining when I left Zurich, it was raining when I left London, it was raining when I left Bangkok and when I got to Sydney and eventually back to Brisbane, it was raining...

I have been told that it has not rained in Brisbane since I left Aus which is aweful news. We are in a major, major drought over here.

Today is early spring. Today it is not raining but due to the last few days, everything is looking particularly lush.

The weather is also particularly pleasant, I can hear some birds singing and there is a lovely tree sheltering me from a beautiful sunset that is painting the usually clear blue sky with a wonderful array of colours...

It is nice to be back but it totally surreal to see that except for the occassional new building, everything is same-same while I have grown up so much.

Although everything here is so familiar, including the total randomness and irony of Australian humour and the drunken street calls from Aussie men (*vomit*), I am really keen to get back to SoCal and find a job there.

I will go back to the States before the end of October and my plans from then til the end of the year are a little sketchy. I suspect I will be back in Aus for a beach day Christmas BBQ but will leave soon after to live and work in SoCal.

Hope to catch up with everyone soon!

Lots of love!

kristiana

35hours in the making...

So apparently the last couple of weeks there has been a lot of "terror"ble activity going on in the world. That is uber unfortunate and saddening. But, you know what, I would really appreciate still being able to take moisturiser, toothpaste and deodorant onto a damn plane!

I really thank the airlines for providing itty-bitty tubes of toothpaste on the plane but when you have a flight from Zurich to London, to Bangkok, to Sydney, to Brisbane to make consecutively and there is no moisturister or deodorant to use, when you come back to your "home", the people that are supposed to be most happy to see you are just about ready to throw your mummified, stinky (no, sticky is too gentle of a word...) self back into the any one of the four planes that brought you back to them!

Gah!

Anyway, I have now showered and been replenished so it is now safe for me to receive visitors... So in case you haven't guessed it, I'm back in Australia!!!

SURPRISE!!

Kristiana