Jenny’s Journies

Monday, 18 February 2008 @ 12:20pm.

Frowns:

* Am so sad to hear about the recent shooting at Northern Illinois University. The university homepage has information about the tragedy.

Smiles:

* The Australian Government has finally said sorry to the Stolen Generation of Aborigines. It was a very long time coming. I watched some of the televised speeches by Aboriginal elders and they were quite moving. The debates over compensation continue… If you are interested, I recommend the film “Rabbit-Proof Fence” (2002). It’s an inspiring story.

* Went to the St. Kilda Festival on the 10th. It was a lot of fun. It’s the biggest free outdoor festival in Australia. There were carnival rides, live music, cultural programs, family activities, comedians, great scenery (St. Kilda beach and foreshore), food booths, and all the usual cool restaurants, bars, and clubs. I enjoyed people-watching and walking around.

* Finished puppy training classes, though I think the certificate should have been made out to me and my partner considering we “survived” it and I’m not sure Pluto passed with flying colors. To the pup’s credit, he seemed to try, at least when there weren’t a lot of distractions which was rare! We are considering further classes…

* I celebrated my birthday in a low-key fashion as it was on a week day. I received beautiful sweet-smelling flowers and we had orange poppyseed cake. It was quite good. Giving up chocolate hasn’t been as bad as I thought it was going to be, but I am looking forward to Easter. Thank you to those who sent birthday greetings.

* We spent Valentine’s Day with another couple at Waterfront City in the Docklands where we had an amazing dinner of Turkish food at Achelya Restaurant. I am totally into bread and dips and overdid it that night! I really liked the fish and chicken dishes we had as well as the sample of desserts. It was nice to try some new foods, too.

Thursday, 07 February 2008 @ 4:57pm.

* I am not happy whenever I hear of a “bashing” story, especially when it’s in my neighborhood. Unfortunately, local police have not been able to stem groups (usually male teenagers and young men in their 20s) from beating up and stealing from innocent folks on the street. What really bothers me is the racial and ethnic component of the bashings where the victims as of late tend to be Indian. We have told our fellow friends of color, particularly the ones who work late shifts, to be careful when out and about on their own. Sigh…

* Today has been chilly.

* Starting yesterday (beginning of Lent), I am not eating chocolate, ice cream, potato chips, and instant noodles. I’m participating during this fasting period both for spiritual and health reasons.

* I enjoyed watching some of the Carnaval celebrations on television.

* I’m thinking of going camping along the Great Ocean Road at the end of this month.

* I’m slowly, but surely making progress on “DA DISS” (a.k.a. my dissertation).

* I have a wonderful puppy named “Pluto” and we are doing well in his doggy training classes. I’ve actually had him since the end of November, but wasn’t sure how to introduce him on my blog. He probably deserves much more fanfare than this little blurb. To see his adorable pictures, you can find a photo album on my Facebook profile.

* I have not been getting enough quality sleep. Suggestions are most welcome.

* I went to my first 20/20 cricket match. We were sorely disappointed that India lost to Australia. At the same time, though, Australia’s Brett Lee is a great bowler (”pitcher” for my American friends).

* My birthday is just around the corner. Where does the time go???

* I recently saw the films “American Gangster,” “National Treasure 2,” and “Juno.” Of the three, I highly recommend “Juno.”

* I like the following two quotes from Reader’s Digest:

(1) Stephen Fry, actor: “An original idea. That can’t be too hard. The library must be full of them.”

(2) Sir Winston Churchill, politician: “A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.”

Tuesday, 05 February 2008 @ 2:05pm.

Photos from when I went to Sky High Mt. Dandenong last month:

Here are two sculptures I liked that are located in the English Garden:

I thought the Giant’s Chair was pretty darn cool:

As you can see, it was raining for a while during our visit. The views from the top were cloudy, but we still had a really nice time.

One benefit of the clouds and fog was this lovely shot of the trees while we were hiking:

We were too tired from the hike to stay into the evening to see the city lights, but were okay with that.

We instead made our way back home, but not before a side trip/dinner at Flippin’ Pancakes. Vik had the “Blueberry Hills,” which is two pancakes surrounded by blueberries, ice-cream, and drizzled with Advokaat. I enjoyed the “Strawberry Fields,” which is two pancakes topped with strawberries marinated in a brandy butter sauce and there’s ice cream as well. Yummy!

And as for today, there was an inspirational quote on the Oprah Show: “Let your kids paint on the walls.” For more, see “Randy Pausch Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” at http://youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo.