Sunday Stealing: Storyworth

Another Saturday night, another group of questions. I've had a lovely day catching up with friends and going for a long walk to get my steps up for the weekend. It was a lovely day in more ways that one. 

And now onto the weekend questions, provided, as always, by Bev at Sunday Stealing. 

    1. Did you ever have a commercial you really liked?

I have plenty of old commercials that I like. As an Australian, we still mention commercials that were on twenty - thirty years ago. 

Like this one:

And this one: 

And this one: 

And this one: 

"Not Happy, Jan!" and the Emperor Nasi Goreng are still in common daily use. 

    2. How did you learn to ride a bicycle?

My dad taught me in the back yard when I was five. I had training wheels on the bike for a while, then they came off and then I was riding my myself. 

    3.How did you celebrate your 21st birthday?

Dinner was had with some friends and family at a favourite Italian restaurant in town. It was pretty low key from memory. 

    4. What fascinated you as a child?

I remember being fascinated with all sorts of things. Dinosaurs, lego, animals, space travel and the stars. Normal kid stuff. I also remember pouring over a language dictionary as a kid at mr grandmother’s place. My love of languages started early.

    5. What was one of your favorite playground games?

   I used to love the swings. Actually, I still love the swings and will get on them any chance I can get. I love the feeling of being on a swing set. 

 6. What things matter most to you in life?

In no order: 

• Friends
• Reading and writing
• Keeping fit and health
• My cat
• Sleep
• Travel

    7. If you had to go back in time and start a brand new career, what would it be?

There is still a part of me that wonders what sort of doctor I might have made if I ever got the grades (and had a better grasp of physics.)

    8. What do people get wrong about you?

A lot of people think, because I am friendly and reasonably bubbly and occasionally loud, that I am an extrovert. I'm not. I'm a very pronounced introvert. I need my space more than anything else. 

    9. Do you believe that people can change? Why or why not?

I think people can change to a point. It normally takes a big event to make people reconsider things and change their ways. 

    10. What is some of the best advice your mother ever gave you?

Don't get pregnant. 

    11. If you could see into the future, what would you want to find out?

I'm a dab hand at tarot cards, but I don't tell the future. At the moment I'd like to see if Trump ends up in prison. That would be good. In many ways it's bad to know too much about the future. 

    12. How has your life turned out differently than you imagined it would?

I never, ever, imagined I would be going up to Darwin for work on a regular basis - ever. Before getting this job I'd been to Darwin once. It was somewhere I never thought I would go again, especially in the Wet Season. (Darwin has two seasons, Wet, which is most of the year, and the dry, which lasts from the end of May to the end of August - which is when the weather is just lovely. The rest of the time it's hotter and more humid than Satan's armpit.)

    13. What is the longest project you have ever worked on?

I'm a contractor and I work on projects most of the time. I've been on a couple that have lasted around three years. After that, you're normally wanting to do something new. 

    14. What have been some of your favorite restaurants through the years?

At the moment, my favourite restaurant is this little French place down the road called Noir. It's just lovely. 

My favourite Vietnamese place is called Vinh Ky - again, it's nearby and it has laminate tables, surly staff, and ot’s often hard to find and Anglo face in there and the food is great. 

I love my regular trips to Cafe D'lish near where I go for meditation. I was there this morning. 

I still have dreams about the salad bar and the cheesy garlic bread at the Sizzler. Sizzler left Australia many years ago. 

I love going back to Cumulus Inc when I can - it's a Modern Australian place with amazing food. 

And my current favourite Mexican place is in Camberwell. La Cabra. Cheap and cheerful, but very yummy. 

Oh, and my favourite Indian place was called Indian Tukka in Collingwood. It shut down years ago, but it had the best vindaloo I've had outside of Britain. 

    15. What is one of the best shows you've ever been to?

The best music concert I've been to would be David Byrne from Talking Heads. Saw him at the Brixton Academy in London in 1993, and again in his American Utopia show in 2019. He's phenomenal.

The Pixies are incredible live too.

Best straight theatre - oh, that goes to either A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in London in 2001 - with Brendan Fraser as Brick and Ned Beatty as Big Daddy - that was extraordinary. There was a particularly good Richard III at the Melbourne Theatre Company a number of years ago which was as good as anything the RSC has ever put on. Oh, and Aiden Fennessy's The Architect, another Melbourne Theatre Company production from 2017. I still think about that regularly. An extraordinary play. I mourn the loss of the playwright, who died a couple of years ago. A talent gone too soon. 

Today's song: 

Movie Review: Past Lives

 Movie Number 31 of 2023

The Movie: Past Lives

The Cinema: The Rivoli, Camberwell

Stars: 5

This one hit me right in the solar plexus. Some reviews are saying this is the best movie of 2023. I'd put it in the top five with ease. As a small, independent film, this is incredible. Pitch perfect. Mwah!

Nora (the inimitable Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) are deeply connected friends from childhood. At the start of the film we see the two kids have a bond which you only develop in childhood. But Nora and her family move to Canada, leaving the kids separated and lonely. The children playing Nora and Hae Sung are excellent, which sets the film up beautifully.

The film moves on twelve years, where Nora tracks down Hae Sung on Facebook. The relationship which was there as children is rekindled over the internet. At this time both are students. Hae Sung has to complete his studies and do his military service. Nora has worked hard to get a scholarship in New York. They talk about seeing one another in real life, but Nora pulls the pin to let herself make the most of her opportunities, including a writer's retreat in Montauk, where she meets Arthur, a fellow writer. 

Spring forward another twelve years and Hae Sung comes to New York to see Nora and to try to resolve his feelings. By this stage, Nora and Arthur are happily married. And there is the rub. Nora too has to reconcile the love of her past and the love of her present. 

Celine Song's screenplay and direction are phenomenal. This is a very understated, quiet movie. Seoul looks as dumpy and New York shines. You also have no idea what is going to happen. Will Nora leave her husband to go back to her childhood love? Will her husband make things difficult when he meets Hae Sung. And what will the luckless Hae Sung do?

The acting is also understated and on point. A lot of the film is in the Korean language, with very good subtitles. But no matter, you feel for these people, who are all caught in an impossible situation when it comes to the heart. 

Much has been made of the influx of Korean films and series that are hitting our screens. There's a reason why. Some of them are excellent. 

I adored this film. It's just perfect in ever way. It's also nice to watch a film which isn't filled with things blowing up, having sex or screwing people's lives over.

Also, as somebody who's lived out a similar situation in the past, Celine Song has got this one just right. Maybe that's why I loved this so much.

Today's song: 

The Laps of IKEA

 I got to the gym tonight with only 4000 steps registering on my watch. 

I want to do 10000 steps. I've been good about this.

The 45-minute session with Twelve harvested another 1000 steps, with the general running around from each piece of equipment. 

So, with 5000 steps to find at twenty to eight, I did what was safe and available to get my tally up. 

I went and did laps of IKEA. 

Three laps in total. Following the yellow brick road (well, the big yellow arrows) around each floor will yield you about 1500 steps. 

What people don't tell you is IKEA is actually quite peaceful at night. It's not over run with the great unwashed, there's room to move. The ratio of screaming kids to fraught adults is limited. You're not bowled over by prams. There seem to be a lot of young couples with sleeping babies looking at sofa beds, foreign students seeking saucepans, and probably, the odd dingbat like me, strolling through the store, in sweaty gym gear, hoping to get her walking quota in for the day. 

I think this is a genius way to do some walking at night. It's warm. It's well lit. Nobody, including the sales consultants, are going to bother you. It's safe. And you get to reinforce why you no longer buy IKEA furniture - although it does have its place, says she who owns three Billy bookcases and a heap of glassware I don't mind losing to accidents. I'm also fond of their candles.

And at the end of the third lap, especially after the workout Twelve made me do... (I swore at him in French tonight. He giggled at me. Giggled! How rude!) I allowed myself a hot dog, because I was hungry and IKEA hot dogs are grouse. 

I'm happy with myself I kept to my steps. That feels best of all. 

Today's song:

 

The Lunchtime Walk

 Winter is my favourite season, and cool, wet, rainy days make my heart sing. Maybe it's because I was part raised on a farm and gentle rain is good. Maybe it's because I like the muted colours and dulled lights. Maybe it's just because I think the Melbourne streets look their best when they're damp.

Today was a cool, wet day. 

I went for a walk at lunchtime. I had four things to do. Go to the bank. Go to Myer. Collect the mail. And find some lunch. 

This is the scene that greeted me as I walked down Collins Street from my office at the Rialto Building. 

Grey, bleak, like something out of the 1960s. It was rather cool.

The bank session went well. I found what I wanted in Myer. The mail was collected. Lunch, a favourite salad from a favourite bar that I rarely get to because the queues are always long. A successful lunch break. 

Arriving back at the office, I bought some daffodils for Daffodil Day. Ten bucks for cancer research. A steal. The flowers brightened up the Rialto courtyard, which is normally filled with grey faced, grey suited lawyers and accountants. 

And after work I caught the tram home. It was drizzling. The trams were packed. But the light was awesome. 

In all, a successful day. 

And for no apparent reason, I've been singing this song all day. 

Today's song: 

Swearing in French

 I'm off to France in a month and things are getting exciting. For the last year, I've been dutifully doing my Duolingo, which is adding to my okay French skills. I did French all through school and for a year at uni. I've always used the language, and I'm lucky because I pick up language easily. 

For something different tonight, with a friend, I went off to a Laneway Learning class, "How to Swear Properly in French with Oceane."

It was awesome on so many levels. 

Firstly, after a gin and tonic with Lynnie and her friend Em, we made our way into the glorious Nicholas Building, with its rickety lift and old Melbourne charm. We were on time, but were greeted by Madelaine the manager, as we rounded one of the buildings many corners. 

"Stick fighting or Swearing in French?" she asked us.

"Um, Swearing in French," we said back in unison. 

"Follow me," she said, thinking that stick fighting sounded pretty fun too. 

And there we were with the wonderful Oceane, a pocket rocket Parisienne with a big smile and what seemed to be unending patience (and none of the Parisian nonchalance we hear so much about). If I could just have a thimbleful of her effortless cool, it would be wonderful. 

Oceane started out by quoting a neurobiologist who went to prove that people who swear are more intelligent. I can subscribe to that. 

The 75-minute class, which cost $20 was great. There was a lot of fundamental stuff, the hellos and goodbyes and the how are yous. Things you should learn before you start blasting off at people with cuss words in a foreign language. We looked at the hierarchy of swearing in French, from the words young children can use (Zut, idiot, andouille) to the words that would make a sailor blush (putane, salope, conasse...) And we got to practice on each other, which was fun. 

Oh, and don't mix up "connard" which means arsehole, with "canard" which means duck - like the bird that goes quack. 

Of course, there was a lot of talk about semantics. How the French don't have the universal adjective of "Fucking" which has lost a lot of its punch. (i.e. "Fucking" is now, what "bloody" used to be forty years ago - you can almost use "bloody" in polite society now, so much has it softened.)

One very cool moment was when one of the crew asked about the word "cunt". In recent years, the word has taken on a life of its own. You can call a friend a cunt, and its taken on as a term of endearment. You can describe somebody as a cunt, and you know they aren't very nice. You can use the word to describe a part of the female anatomy - although it's often thought of as derogatory, depending on how it's said. Personally, I rarely use the word, it's one I keep for special occasions. 

One of the members pressed this further. No, the French don't have one of these terms. Putane is about as good as it gets. 

I questioned back about using cunt, saying, "If you're going to call somebody a cunt, you'd want them to have some warmth and depth."

Then I sat back and waited for the penny to drop. When she worked out what I'd said, my night was made - took her a minute. 

In all, this was a fun hour - I really enjoyed the camaraderie in the group and Oceane's fun way of teaching. 

We left happy, searching the Nicholas Building for the rickety lift, feeling a bit better about going to Paris in a month. On exiting, we met up with some of the stick fighters, who seemed like a fun crew. Maybe next time. Laneway Learnings have some really interesting offerings at a good price point. I hope to go back. 

So entertained and enlightened, an ice cream in hand (because the Nicholas Building is across the street from Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and it would be rude not to partake) I caught the tram back home. 

It was worth missing book group for. 

Today's song:  This clip is worth watching for the subtitles. 

The Shot

It was going to happen, then it wasn't going to happen, then it happened. My COVID booster. 

One of the joys of overseas travel is you're going to be mixing with who knows what, and who knows where they have been - and if you're going to get sick, you get sick travelling. 

And the last COVID booster I'd received was in July last year (I had COVID in October, so that gave me a bit of immunity for a while). 

Talking to the nurse while I was having my flu shot, she said the best time to get a booster is a month out from going overseas. So I took her advice and booked for this week, meaning I get to Europe with hopefully maximum immunity. 

Today came. Then I got a text that read, "Don't come for your COVID appointment today. The cold chain has been broken and we've had to destroy the vaccines. Make another appointment."

Disappointing. 

Just after lunch, a second text, "Hi, we've obtained some vaccines from a sister chemist. If you want a vaccination, come to the shop. I'll be here until 4 p.m."

I grabbed by car keys and left immediately. 

I remember all of the angst from those first vaccinations. The endless discussions about which one to get - how people were hanging out for the Pfiezer, over the Astra Zeneca - or still, waiting for the Novovax. Or to not get one at all. I remember having to provide your vaccination status to come into the office. I'm not even sure if they asked about vaccinations. We've moved on so far from all of this. 

After a five-minute wait, the nurse came and got me, and the non-spoiled Moderna vaccination from the fridge. The jab didn't hurt. I was given my chupa-chup and I was on my way. It's not a real vaccination if you don't get a lollipop at the end of it all.

Thank fully, other than a bit of a sore arm, all is well. All will be fine tomorrow. 

I'm glad that this has become normal now. 

And hopefully it stops me from getting really sick if I come face to face with the dreaded lurgy again while away. 

Today's song: 

Concert Review: Candlelight Concert - A Tribute to Coldplay

 The Performance: Candlelight Concerts - A Tribute to Coldplay

Location: Collingwood Town Hall

Ticket Prices: Around $60

The next performance in Melbourne is on 22 September

Stars: 3.5

You mix two things and get something completely different. Two unlikely things. A strings concert orchestra - and Coldplay, with lots of electric candles - and you get a Coldplay tribute like no other. 

A friend and I went to the Collingwood Townhall for the Candlelight Concert's Tribute to Coldplay last night. I remember when we booked the tickets that this sounded alright. Orchestral version of Coldplay songs. I love music which takes advantage of the string section. I generally like Coldplay, although I reckon they are a bit overrated. They're definitely overplayed. And a touch derivative at times. 

The concert went for just over an hour. The strings orchestra was made up of six violins, three violas, three cellos, a bass and a fellow on the drums. All of the musicians were classically trained, and you could see this - they were on point. Young musicians. Happy musicians. A group playing a selection of Coldplay's greatest hits. Songs like:

• Yellow
• Clocks
• Every Teardrop is a Waterfall
• Speed of Sound
• Princess of China
• Trouble
• Hymn for the Weekend
• Scientist
• A Sky Full of Stars
• Everglow
• My Universe
• Adventure of A Lifetime
• Fix You
• Viva La Vida

The candlelight gives an extra element to the performance. It's great for the ambiance. 

And yes, I did enjoy the program, which lasted just over an hour. One thing I really liked was at the start of the concert, they said there was to be no photography or videos until the last set, when the audience was welcome to start recording to their hearts content. This worked well. For 80% of the concert you could sit and enjoy the evening without competing with people on phones. Instead, the musos had to compete with the audience singing along in places. 

My takeaways for the night. These concerts are where band geeks end up after music school. It's good that the musos are getting gigs like this. And the standard is very high.

The other thing, after a few songs, I was feeling like I was in stuck in the middle of a Bridgerton soundtrack. I love Bridgerton too, but it is a bit sappy. 

Then, after an hour, after quietly humming along to a few of my favourite tunes, after watching the passion of the performers on stage, it was over. 

It was a really entertaining night. Would I consider going to another tribute concert? Maybe. Depends on who it is. For me, I'd probably be better off going to a straight classical performance - that's more my thing. 

This was a good thing to go to. I'm glad I went - though I wouldn't rush back in a hurry. 

Today's song: