I’m back, two feet on the ground, literally and metaphorically, in Sydney. It’s a let down. I’m happy to be back in my little flat, watering my plants and sleeping in my own, glorious bed. But other than that, meh. I’m tired, and jet lagged, and already missing a world in which I did little of any importance, but learnt so much from so many.
I’ll probably spend the best part of the next month trying to deal with everything, and process it all. A lot happened in 8 weeks. A LOT. I went to the freaking WEST WING of the White House. How is that even possible? How is it that I have memories of the Oval Office in my head? And was it really just two weeks ago that I was striding across the floor in the Capitol dome like I owned the place? Damn, I miss that handy little ID card already.
And now I’m back. Since I left, my favourite Thai food shop, the one in the terrace house with the fluorescent-coloured walls and the fish tank, has closed down. But a new Chinese food shop opened at the pub down the road, and it delivers, and will also deliver alcohol from the bottle shop. Incredible. My favourite massage place is gone too. It’s not quite the Sydney I left.
And I’m not the person I was when I left. I learnt so much- so, so much. About myself and the world and where I fit, and what I’m capable of. And about other people, and how they are and how they can be.
And now I’m back, exactly where I was before, but totally different. How do you do that? How do you fit back into a slot when you’ve grown?
Eh, enough whinging for now. There’ll be more- believe me, there’ll be more.
Strangely, this last 10 days, I’ve been listening to Frightened Rabbit’s Midnight Organ Flight a lot. Still. It’s funny, because it was SO my album for last year, and with all the growing and changing, I thought perhaps I’d have grown out of it. But it’s still my current-favourite-album, and it still feels more like me than anything else I’ve listened to lately, including their latest album.
*edit* I just had a thought: maybe I’m listening to them because I’m mourning the fact I missed them in Sydney while I was away. For the second year in a row. I also missed The Decemberists, and Taylor Swift, and I’m sure someone else rather awesome. And nobody I wanted to see came to DC while I was there. I almost went to North Carolina to see Midlake at a little bar the second weekend of my trip, but I didn’t want to drive, and to drive alone, so I didn’t get there. It was disappointing.
So of course, here’s one of my favourite FR songs:
Which was used almost perfectly in an episode of Chuck. My only quibble, of course, is the fact they changed the line from “It take more than fucking someone you don’t know to keep yourself warm” to “it takes more than loving someone you don’t know to keep yourself warm.” Rather a significant difference.
While trying to find a Frightened Rabbit song for another post (to come), I happened upon this version of Christmas TV, by Slow Club, which remains one of my favourite songs. ”It’s ok to have scars, they will make you who you are”… Dammit, I love that.
On a side note, this particular Youtube Channel had songs by Frightened Rabbit, Slow Club and The Thermals. I think there’s a good chance they’re Chuck fans.
Somehow, and I don’t know how entirely, it’s been two and a half weeks since I arrived in the US. In a bizarre turn of events, I’ve rarely been at my computer, except when at the office, and thus have been entirely woeful about sharing news of our adventures.
And adventurous they are. Today, I was supposed to my friend Jonathan after work finished. It’s the first day of the session of Congress, and there was a vote on, so we were forbidden from using the magical tunnels that connect all the buildings (they keep us from needing a coat). When votes are on, the tunnels are only for the members. So instead, I walked outside, across the courtyard, and into the Capitol. I was to meet Jonathan in Statuary Hall, which is where Congress met for a good number of years a long, long time. It’s amazing, because the room has certain echo spots, so if you’re there alone, you get to try it out. You can whisper on one side of the room, and people positioned in a certain spot on the other side of the room can hear. There are plaques on the floor where former presidents’ desks were. I was running a bit late, though, and Jonathan walked into the next room to meet me. There we were, under the dome of the Capitol building. It was amazing. I’ve been there a few times now, but being there at night, when it was almost totally deserted and closed to the public was surreal.
We then went down a set of tiny abandoned stairs, and through the crypt (yes, it’s really called that), and down hallways, and through security, and up an escalator, and through more security (or, at least, that’s how it seemed), and then through a door, and into the gallery of the house. There below us were our respective congressmen, and Nancy Pelosi, and Dennis Kuchinich and all sorts of other people well recognised and kind-of-recognised. Sadly, Aaron Schock was a no-show.
So yes, it’s been exciting. The office itself isn’t always thrilling- I’m doing lots of data entry- but I’m learning lots, and occasionally something happens that is just wonderful- I’ve been able to write a few things, which has been great.
Non-internship things are going well too. After one day of DC site-seeing, we went to New York City for a couple of days ahead of NYE, and were staying in Times Square, so we got the whole experience, and didn’t even have to wait outside for 6 hours. When I was in Central Park, I found a wallet, opened it up, and discovered it belonged to a fellow Australian, so we had quite an adventure tracking him down (He didn’t have a Facebook page, which made it challenging, but his parents were listed in the White Pages, so Mum helped out, and we got in touch). We wandered up 5th Avenue, had yoghurt on the Met steps, went on an NBC tour (and bought LOTS of Chuck stuff). I spent a wonderful, snowy morning with family friends in New Jersey, taking the train out and back. I also went to the Central Park Zoo, and saw the Penguins, which feature in many a dodgy chic lit novel, but in real life, they smelled really, really bad.
We took the bus back to DC on New Year’s Day, and the internship started the following Monday.
Some other things that may or may not be great:
1. I live next door to a mall. Seriously. A BIG mall. With a Norstrom and a Gap and a Benetton and a Macys. You may think this is good, but really, considering my bank balance, it is very, very bad.
2. American food is GIANT. Seriously, the servings are enormous and very, very cheap. And American Sprite, in its corn-syrup-laden goodness, is just so yummy. This is all Not Very Good for my waistline.
3. It is COLD. Like, really cold. We’re lucky when it gets above freezing. We’ve had a few little bits of snow, but no good downfalls yet. We’re getting acclimatized (I don’t even wear a scarf anymore!!), but seriously, to borrow my friend Naomi’s phrase, it’s so cold it hurts to wear pants. I do love the cold, but it gets a little tiresome, wearing quite that much clothing.
So that’s what’s going on… more news soon ( I hope…)
I’m very cross tonight. Most of the time, I quite like being Australian. I love my socialized medicine and my affordable education and my superannuation. Not tonight, though. Tonight I am ashamed. And tonight I want to tell you about it.
Oh, what a delightful thing, that this still goes to the world. For the time being, at least, the Australian government cannot legally restrict my capacity to send this message far and wide. I can TELL you I am ashamed. But my legal right to say such is, at least indirectly, being put in serious jeopardy.
You see, those days of freedom are waning. Today, Senator Stephen Conroy, who has taken the mantle of Douchiest Man In Australia from a field of hundreds of worthy candidates, announced that the trial of a “clean” internet feed had been a success.
What’s a clean internet feed? It’s the government imposing mandatory internet filtering at ISP level. It requires ALL internet service providers in Australia to prevent their clients from accessing a black list of sites. This black list is provided by the government and is not available publicly. Furthermore, the blacklist cannot be challenged.
How can such blatant abuses of freedoms be tolerated in a democracy? Of course it’s by stating it’s “for the children”. The moves have been framed in terms of porn and violence, though there’s a strong “illegal activity” element. The government has stated it will restrict access to such sites. As is to be expected, Rupert Murdoch’s papers are singing its praises. They’re framing it a victory for family values.
But it is not. It is a victory for human rights abuse. Extreme, I know, but that’s what this is. The government should not be able to limit our freedom on speech in such a manner. They should not be able to limit our capacity to organize. They should not be able to determine our values for us. That is our responsibility, not theirs.
The technology requires to do this is not reliable. It doesn’t block the sites it purports to block, and it limits beyond the scope of what it is supposed to limit. Furthermore, it legalizes behavior by the government that ought not be legalised. The government should not be able to decide what the public can and cannot see. That is a fundamental conflict of interest.
It bothers me so much. It bothers me because, fundamentally, its a reminder of what we lack by not having a Bill of Rights: protection against government overstep. But it also reminds me of the way the government don’t truly understand the role of digital media. Do they think it’s not *really* the media? Do they think we don’t take it seriously? Do they think it doesn’t matter to us? Do they think we don’t want to protect it?
The online world isn’t just a part of our world. It is inseparable from our world. We read, write, share every day via digital media. It’s not optional to us: it is fundamental to our experience. We do not want that compromised. We do not want our experiences of the digital elements of the world to only be what the government deems to be appropriate for us.
We are adults and we deserve to be treated as such.
What’s more: we care about our freedoms. We consider digital freedom to be fundamental to that. We will vote accordingly.
The mos of Movember have been shaved away, and the clarity of mind that followed Ocsober has been long lost in the Christmas Party season. Not to worry, though, because Veganuary is just around the corner!
Veganuary is the invention of my friend Mal and I. We were talking about the benefits of eating vegan, both personal and environmental, and decided to commit to eating vegan for a whole month.
The environmental benefits of eating vegan are well-known. The awesome PB&J Campaign, which encourages people to eat plant-based foods at lunch time, has some incredible state. The amount of carbon you save by limiting your meat intake is incredible. Check out the numbers.
Why just a month? Well, deciding to eat vegan is certainly a lifestyle, and one that takes a lot of commitment. Veganuary is a good way to learn a bit about the benefits of eating vegan food, and to introduce a few vegan meals to your regular rotation. After eating vegan for a month, it’s a lot easier to imagine a life in which meat is an occasional luxury, rather than a regular feature. And you’ll do far more environmental good than, say, switching your lights off for a purely-symbolic hour.
Plus, it’s a great way to start the year on a healthy note, especially after the aforementioned Christmas parties.
As I’ve probably mentioned, oh, 16000 times, I’ll be in Washington DC for January and February, and living in a shared apartment where we’re likely to share meals. Maintaining my vegan pledge while I’m there will no doubt be a challenge, but worth the effort.
So through Veganuary, I’ll try to post some of my favourite vegan recipes, and let you know how it’s going.
And why not think about signing up** for Veganuary yourself?
*Here’s a link to one of my earlier vegan recipes, Sweet Potato Patties, pictured above. They are seriously yum!
