Jenny’s Journies

Thursday, 21 June 2007 @ 5:11pm.

I wanted to share a great quote from Liz Lange, a fashion designer. On The Oprah Show the other day, she said, “Don’t be bogged down by the skills sets you do or do not have.” In finding and maintaining happiness and success, she’s right… Don’t let negativity or skepticism from others (or yourself for that matter) get to you.
While taking a break, I found some cool things on the internet:

Cool Things You Can Do with Google.com: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/cool-things-you-can-do-with-google.html With just a few key words or special terms after the address “www.google.com,” you can do some pretty amazing stuff.

American Film Institute (AFI) has a program called “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies.” Go to http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx to see the list of top American movies of our time. How many have you seen?

American First Ladies Picture Gallery: At http://womenshistory.about.com/od/firstladiesus/ig/First-Ladies-Picture-Gallery/index.htm you can see pictures of several women who have made a difference, and some of the quotes are incredible. For example, Abigail Adams, the First Lady of the United States from 1797-1801, was married to John Adams, who was the second U.S. President. She said, “It is really mortifying, sir, when a woman possessed of a common share of understanding considers the difference of education between the male and female sex, even in those families where education is attended to… Nay why should your sex wish for such a disparity in those whom they one day intend for companions and associates. Pardon me, sir, if I cannot help sometimes suspecting that this neglect arises in some measure from an ungenerous jealousy of rivals near the throne.”

Random Websites: Just for the heck of it you can go to this site http://www.randomwebsite.com/ and it will generate a random link for you. Some of the sites it points you to are probably not that useful, but occasionally there’s something fascinating.

Okay, and now for some cool things on the internet that are not so American (guess I was feeling a little homesick and didn’t realize it!):

Got the travel bug? Wanna escape even if just for a moment while you’re behind a desk? Check out http://www.lonelyplanet.com, http://www.tourismindonesia.com/, or http://www.australia.com/. You’ll find plenty of interesting educational information at these sites, too.

The Best of African Songs: http://www.emusic.com/album/Safari-Sound-Band-The-Best-of-African-Songs-MP3-Download/10881139.html

Top 100 Foreign Films: http://www.foreignfilms.com/

United Nations: http://www.un.org/

Monday, 18 June 2007 @ 12:15pm.

I turned on the news this morning and was shocked and saddened to see the headlines. Police are hunting a gunman who shot three people - one died and two are currently in critical condition - in the Central Business District (CBD). Go to The Age at http://www.theage.com.au/ for updates.

I tried to think of the messages I heard along with almost 20,000 others on 09 June 2007. That afternoon, His Holiness the Dalai Lama discussed “Universal Responsibility” at Princes Park in Carlton North. He talked about having a sense of the larger picture, unlimited compassion, and positive emotions. At times serious and other times playful and humorous, he noted that it is important to have concern for the whole world, the whole planet, humanity. The Dalai Lama also mentioned that our self-created problems are our own responsibility to solve. One of his main points was that our nature is peaceful.

Friday, 08 June 2007 @ 10:15pm.

I’ve been a bit snap-happy with my camera as of late…

While walking in the Central Business District (CBD), one can come across unique buskers and artists such as this spray painter:

Here’s a close-up shot of one of the final spray painted pieces:

Yesterday I came across this wonderful activity in the CBD. Pavement chess is just so cool:

This is me at Luna Park, which is a very small (but cute!) theme park. It was a little too cold and close to evening to go on the rides, but I hope to enjoy them at some point in the future:

I went to my first footy match last Sunday! “Footy” is short for Australian Rules Football. I went to see the St. Kilda Saints (my neighborhood) versus the Geelong Cats. Here I am standing outside Telstra Dome in downtown Melbourne:

Though St. Kilda were the underdogs (and eventually lost) in this match, there were plenty of folks wearing the red, black, and white colors to support the team. I noticed that many fans wore winter scarves that had team colors:

The stadium was pretty packed for just a regular game:

I thought this was an interesting sign located in one of the stadium bathrooms. I guess it was appropriate given the amount of alcohol that gets drunk at these games. Beer seemed to be the most popular, but hard liquer was also available for those of legal age:

As for food, fans could munch on chips (french fries), nuts, meat pies, hot dogs, and even Krispy Kreme donuts!

If you are interested in the Australian Football League (AFL) 2007 schedule and results, visit the following link: http://sports.ninemsn.com.au/afl/season_schedule.aspx

In a previous posting I mentioned the lovely bakeries that abound in Melbourne. How could one possibly resist walking into a shop after seeing these offerings in the windows?

Shop #1:

Shop #2:

Yeah, so it’s been getting colder each day! I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that it’s winter in June here! I’m trying to keep warm with my beanie:

01 June 2007 @ 4:41pm. I’ve been told it is the first day of winter and it is quite chilly. The sun was out, however, so it wasn’t too bad. I really like the neighborhood that I am currently living in. It’s quite diverse, though I would say it is predominantly Jewish. There are lovely delis, bakeries, markets, and all sorts of shops within walking distance of where I live. I’ve been going for daily walks to explore the surrounding areas. Occasionally it drizzles, but so far I’ve had pretty good timing with Melbourne’s “4 seasons in a day” weather.

Though it’s the start of winter, there are still some flowers hanging on and despite the small size of most gardens, there is quite the variety:

Over a large wall of the local cemetery, I saw this statue:

Here is a picture of one of the Jewish schools nearby:

Instead of calling them “thrift stores,” I have noticed that Aussies call them “opportunity shops.” I like the latter name very much.