ode to burma

The other day I read that a bunch newspapers in China were censored because they featured Aung San Suu Kyi (that Burmese political prisoner chick) too prominently. What bollocks! I think my blog is having the opposite problem - I'm not featuring Aung San Suu Kyi prominently enough. So here is an ode to the Kyi-unit to remedy this dire, dire problem.

Still not prominent enough...

Not yet, maybe a bit more..

Maybe that last one crossed the line..........but now I'm up to date and even with my Chinese counterparts. Y-A-Y!

Thunder, lightning, rain rain rain

First of all, this is a pretty cool invention. I hope both world poverty and the iRevolution simultaneously continue to progress in great bounds and leaps!

Yesterday I went and saw Oliver! at Drury Lane Theatre Royale. Oh my days it was such an amazing performance. Compared to the version of Oliver! I saw at the dilapidated Wynnum community hall when I was about 6, I’d say this one was pretty good. I had vivid flashbacks to year eight “consider yourself” performance number, humming the ‘Oliver’ tune while working in a European sweatshop bakery for a man named Oliver, and the time I was a homeless orphan in London and a little cockney boy took me under his wing to a grimy underground brothel and taught me how to pick pockets. Good times. Followed by sushi, cider, and Shoreditch, Saturday was surely a tip-top day.

I’ve also got a new job. I have been personally selected among thousands of applicants to work at Citigroup Canary Wharf, the world’s largest financial group. I will be working on the 36^th floor, alongside some of the richest and most powerful bankers in the world. I will be crafting them exceptional semi-skimmed lattes and slices of mouth-watering carrot cake to feed their hungry stomachs with food and minds with banter, allowing them to continue to rule the corporate world.

This now being my 47893th job in London, I believe I have experience quite a well rounded cross section of jobs that London has to offer. From a traditional English pub, to a famous punk club, to an overpriced vintage stall, to the au courant Topshop, and now banking giants Citigroup (or “Starbucks Citigroup” if you want to be completely po-co), I’ve done it all.

Employment comes as a huge relief to me. Though it means I actually have to leave my bed each day and face the chill, it also means I can stop living out of cans. After the successful opening of discount supermarket LIDL on high street – where fireworks are sold next to laundry detergent – I have been enjoying a diet consisting largely of canned soup and instant noodles. However, I did branch out one day, y’know, thought outside the box, went out of my comfort zone, tried new things…but new things can be dangerous. This time I may have gone too far.

For 19p, it was an appealing choice. Low in sugar, high in carbs, filling, the goodness of tomatoy nutrition, as well as a quintessentially English choice.

The taste, to sober taste buds, was not the worst thing ever. It was hardly a Gordan Ramsay delicacy, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on the menu of a more standard-deficient restaurant (not mentioning any in particular…*ROYAL MAIL HOTEL*) As you could imagine, the liquid brew slid down my throat smoothly, happily filling my stomach with the MSG-coated goodness of snags and beans. However my stomach didn’t stay happy for too long. I was soon enough doubled over and clutching my stomach in snag-induced pain. But I’ve learnt that like basic hygiene and fitness levels, comfort is something that one must forgo to survive comfortably (or near-comfortably) in London.

Other than that, I’ve just been watching too much Dexter and Hollyoaks, finishing an assignment, contemplating my long term career goals, Harry Potter world premier, went to Liverpool, saw MEN at a burlesque bar, and keeping well hydrated in the evenings. Bet you haven’t noticed that I’ve also changed my typeface. It was a branding decision.

Guy Fawkes night just down the street..

My neighbourhood is a very open-minded one.

Snape kills Dumbledore.

Pride, a wonderful emotion

I'm currently in hibernation and have nothing creative to say for myself, so I'm going to let another brilliant blog do the talking. It taught me a lot about the word "pride" and its inner meaning.


There are a few different meanings of the emotive word PRIDE. An old saying goes “Pride before the fall”. This pride infers smugness, conceit, or even arrogance and these human traits are never popular as they contain elements of egotism and ignorance. The PRIDE that we love and need occurs when we are thrilled that someone or some organisation does something special and we feel passionate about this achievement.

When “Advance Australia Fair” is played as they raise the Aussie flag at the medal ceremony, or when our mighty Maroons lift the State of Origin Trophy (again), we feel euphorically happy, and sometimes emotions will spill over and the eyes become a little watery. That PRIDE is the good PRIDE. There is no egotism here. This feeling is one of sharing and this feeling is often experienced as a group, so it’s personal but at the same time it’s an emotion that unites the group or community. We feel better because our SELF ESTEEM has increased.

I can still remember the times when my children were “on show” – either in the school play or scoring the try that won the game. As parents nothing compares to the PRIDE we feel when our children achieve their goals and I don’t mean just winning – I mean “having a go” or bringing some kudos to their group, team or school. As they say “the heart swells with PRIDE” and very often the memory of these moments last for many years, and sometimes as long as we live.
During the last NRL season I saw Jamie Simpson score a try and he immediately grabbed the front of his Rabbitohs jersey and kissed the club logo. Jamie is a former St. Brendan’s student who overcame some massive hurdles in his life and in doing so has become an inspiration to many. What Jamie has achieved is incredible but this brave and humble young man is extremely proud of his club and of the wonderful game of Rugby League so he spontaneously and unashamedly demonstrates this PRIDE for all to see.

When I witness these moments, I feel PRIDE. I am proud of my allegiance to Rugby League and I know that there are hundreds of thousands of fellow Rugby League supporters that feel the same as me.
I know that in a few years time, I will be sitting in a magnificent world class stadium in Central Queensland and our own CQ NRL team will run onto the green grass into the white light. The Central Queensland dominated crowd of 20,000 will come to their feet and cheer for their team. A team with a predominance of Central Queensland players and individually and collectively we will have that sense of happiness, relief that it is here at last. It is this PRIDE that we Central Queenslanders need to experience. The wonderful flow-on effect of this PRIDE is the massive increase in our SELF ESTEEM as a community.