Will’s View

Yeah, I know, it’s that time of the year. It’s the time when everyone writes corny articles about the ‘togetherness’ of the human race, or some tripe like that. Instead I’m going to have a brief look at the things that make Christmas Christmas (also corny I know, but I never really bought into that ‘togetherness’ stuff)[and also presented in no particular order]

1. Sunburn

Just sitting on the beach today I was privy to at least three or four people who had long outstayed their welcome under the sun. This may not seem like many, but given that it’s Boxing Day, there were only eight people on the beach. Whilst I’ve not found a cure for sunburn, there is a product called Solarcaine which goes a long way toward easing sunburn. But, as always, the prevention is better than the cure, even when you’re “only going out for a couple of minutes” and won’t get sunburnt. Yeah right.

2. Presents!

Who can really say that they don’t like getting presents? I know that it’s a holiday for its own sake, and that some guy was crucified at, or near (or maybe not-so near, who really knows?) this time of year, and that the holiday is all about togetherness and all that. And I completely agree, family and friends are most important at this time of year, but presents come a close second.

3. Food

Christmas day, to me, is all about eating to excess. Cooking a large turkey, or ham, or some variety of large thing, and sitting down for a couple of hours in the sun (with the possibility of number 1 above) talking crap to the people you happen to be with at the time (preferably family or close friends, or whoever you can rustle up at the last minute). This is often accompanied by several bottles of wine or cases of beer, depending on the number and nature of the company.

4. Books

Relaxing over the Christmas period is one of the few times when I get to enjoy a quiet book or three. I’m notorious for the rate at which I go through books over the summer holidays, mainly because I like to have an excuse for not getting off the couch/lounger. Sitting outside in the sun and reading is one of the best things about summer (see point 1).

 

Enjoy the Christmas period wherever you are, and the downhill run into New Year’s Eve.

--> Yeah, I know, it’s that time of the year. It’s the time when everyone writes corny articles about the ‘togetherness’ of the human race, or some tripe like that. Instead I’m going to have a brief look at the things that make Christmas Christmas (also corny I know, but I never really bought into that ‘togetherness’ stuff)[and also presented in no particular order] 1. Sunburn Just sitting on the beach today I was privy to at least three (More...)

I thought the days of corporate responsibility were over.

And it’s highly likely that they are, but recently I had an encounter with a certain firm that renewed my faith in the ethics of business, kinda.

A few weeks ago I dropped my watch on a patch of concrete from a reasonable height. Nothing that it hadn’t survived previously, but this time it decided to give in. A couple of the numbers attached to the face of the watch managed to de-attach themselves from the face, and went on a merry little jaunt around the watch. Bugger.

So I took it in to get it fixed, very responsible and rational and all that. Originally I was told that it would take two weeks for a quote. “That’s fair,” I thought “they’ll give me a quote then do it in a couple of days, and all will be hunky-dory again.” I think that was where I went wrong. I may as well have touched wood, or invested in a voodoo doll or something, because that sure as hell wasn’t going to happen.

But sure enough, after a couple of weeks, they did get back to me with a quote, which just so happened to be exactly the same as what the shop attendant had told me when I originally dropped the watch in to be repaired. I was starting to get suspicious that the watch-maker was just stalling for time, but not having any proof to go on asked that they carry on with whatever repairs they deemed necessary and to call me when it was ready. I was told that it would be a “couple of weeks”.

Well…After about two times a couple of weeks of being ridiculously late for everything (yes I know, I’m usually late for everything anyway, but imagine me without a watch - then I don’t even know how late I am in order to apologise…very embarrassing!) I became a little disillusioned with the whole thing. I went in once to see if it was ready, and it wasn’t. Then I called in advance the next time, and I was told it would be ready. So in I go to see the watch-maker.

Again, sure enough, the watch isn’t ready, so this time I determinedly waited in the waiting room, to make sure it was done. And this is where the irony of the situation struck me. Here I was, spending inordinate amounts of time (I think it was about 2 hours total in the end) waiting for something to be fixed, that would allow me to know how much time I had wasted. And not only that, but the watch ended up taking so long to get fixed after I had sat in the waiting room that I was late for work anyway. What is this world coming to?

--> I thought the days of corporate responsibility were over. And it’s highly likely that they are, but recently I had an encounter with a certain firm that renewed my faith in the ethics of business, kinda. A few weeks ago I dropped my watch on a patch of concrete from a reasonable height. Nothing that it hadn’t survived previously, but this time it decided to give in. A couple of the numbers attached to the face of the (More...)

Whilst enjoying my lunch outside in the Carlton Gardens yesterday I was approached by a rather interesting fellow. He commented on my use of a paper diary (only because I’m currently without a computer, mind!) and seemed to use that as an introduction to begin pontificating. And by golly did he have a lot to pontificate over!

Now don’t jump to conclusions, he wasn’t some crazy lunatic telling me to convert to extreme Anarchism or anything. He even prefaced his monologue with a sentence akin to “I often stop and talk to strangers, just to see what they have to say”. I too expected him to go on a tirade with it’s contents based in religion, fiction, or trying to get David Hicks out of jail; but instead he availed me with what seemed to be a brief summary of Sir John Monash’s life.

The précis was a little meandering, and had it’s fair share of side stories etc, but the prevailing sentiment - it seemed to me at least - was that those were the good old days, when engineering was King (I didn’t dare start to discuss the fact that I was studying to be an engineer, for fear of missing Christmas if he continued). He went on to say that who could have known that the ‘bean counters’ and the politicians would be the people responsible for this country’s future. I didn’t dare tell him I was a New Zealander either…

But is this a usual thing, for people to get lectured on a slice of Australian history whilst enjoying their lunch on a park bench?

--> Whilst enjoying my lunch outside in the Carlton Gardens yesterday I was approached by a rather interesting fellow. He commented on my use of a paper diary (only because I’m currently without a computer, mind!) and seemed to use that as an introduction to begin pontificating. And by golly did he have a lot to pontificate over! Now don’t jump to conclusions, he wasn’t some crazy lunatic telling me to convert to extreme Anarchism or anything. He even (More...)

Okay, so I call it custard square, but call it what you will, this stuff is delicious. I’ve recently been told that there is a competition in Melbourne to find the best vanilla slice in the land. Excellent!

The reason it comes to mind, is that I tried to eat a slice of this today without dropping any on myself. Big mistake. If you’re not eating it over a plate, or you’re eating in public then you’d better have paper towels on hand. For starters, the things are usually too damn big to fit in your mouth, so you have to find some outlandish way to try and eat it. The best way I could find was to split it in half horizontally, and eat the bottom half, then the top half (it has the icing so you have to leave it till last). Cool, so the first problem is solved.

But, then there’s the problem of the vanilla custard. Now this one’s a tricky thing, because as soon as you try and bite into the slice - even if you have followed the above step - then the custard tries to squish out of the other end. I have yet to find a really suitable solution to this problem, but the best I could do was to take small bites from around each edge in succession. Seemed to work okay once I got the hang of it.

But this leads me to think, how the heck do they judge this competition? By the number of times they have to split the slice in half before they can eat it, or perhaps the amount of vanilla custard the judges find on themselves after trying to eat each contestant? I’m intrigued!

--> Okay, so I call it custard square, but call it what you will, this stuff is delicious. I’ve recently been told that there is a competition in Melbourne to find the best vanilla slice in the land. Excellent! The reason it comes to mind, is that I tried to eat a slice of this today without dropping any on myself. Big mistake. If you’re not eating it over a plate, or you’re eating in public then you’d better (More...)