~ Curious Charlie ~

Last Week of the Holidays @ Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Monday 27th July

Mondays ideally are a work from home day/catch up with photos day, as we have a meeting near home. Though on this particular Monday I was off to the city for lunch and an info session with Lola.

Lola is my only friend who doesn't work FT and so is up for lunch adventures. Like me she is also loud and likes the arts, and food - we both love food! It also helps that like me she's pretty opinionated, and we're both American.

Think.Eat.Save 2015 Melbourne (though happening across all the states) is about fighting food waste and offering a free and delicious hot lunch all created from produce that would have ended up as landfill across the nation.

I don't get it. Much like I don't understand how making a million ribbon stars will help end violence. Like is a major organization going to create a fund to run workshops or something if they make all those stars?

Anyway along the same idea if the food wasn't consumed for lunch today I doubt it would end up in a landfill. For example the ice cream was donated by Maggie Beer. Maggie Beer ice cream is expensive. There is no way someone would buy it and not eat it, it's like $8 for a pint/500ml-ish container. The potatoes and veggies perhaps. Bread, yes. Bakeries either give away bread to those in need or throw it out, because it's faster and easier.

A family friend owned a bakery, they give us all the unsold bread at the end of the day and mother gives it to neighbours and co. None of us are in need of it though. But every week we also bring it to work for the kids to take home. Le beau and I volunteered as tutors at a community center for refugees in a low SES area (or in simple words poor area).

So what was for lunch? Well, each state as offered something different. In Melbourne there was vegetarian pepper soup, I'm telling you that soup was made with pepper as the main ingredient! Someone over did it. The soup was served with a croissant in the shape of a bread roll, Lola says it's because they last longer than normal bread. I love croissants! It was a bit sweet so we didn't dip it in the soup. Dessert was delicious! Bread & butter pudding with Maggie Beer's ice cream, which Lola commented tasted like Ben & Jerry's.

There's a similar weekly event that's about recycling food that's coming up next month. Freud looks down upon it, saying he's too good for it, but we'll be there. The food is perfectly clean, it's not like when I throw things in the bin and mother takes it out - yes that happens. If it's mold it goes out, mother has issues.

After lunch we went to an info session for the program for the MSO in 2016. There was only a couple things that stuck out, though we'll be buying more tickets than just for those shows. In 2016 there will be 3 concertmasters, this year we saw Dale once and mostly the beautiful Eion, even le beau has a man crush, though he's also a musician.

This happened at some point.

Unlike this which didn't happen. I signed up for the 5km but was a no show...

Tuesday

Less was achieved than planned today. A trip to get my hair done took 3hrs, planned: 1hr. Missed a meeting due to that. Hair is most fascinating but also very time consuming. I had a lovely hair dresser work on me, though at home it's not going to happen.

A stop by Twissto's for those potato spirals you see at markets/festivals/events. Through Scoopon I bought a "Twistto Korean Fried Potato Twist & a Soft Drink or Bottle of Water" for $4. Bargain! It's $6 for a potato swirl. Lots of flavours. One that are so fluro they glow in the dark! We went with salt & vinegar, as it was less artificial.

Yum! Of course I loved it, it was crispy and fun to eat. It was also in a size that I could consume on my own. I'd get it again as I bought a few $4 deals. At $6 I'd be less tempted though, especially as I think thta's event pricing. Oh and this is the second time I've had the potato swirl.

We're trying out a new dance studio. Nothing wrong with the current one, but I want to switch days just for a month to do things exclusive to say, Wednesdays. For 4yrs I've always had class on Wednesdays, so things like the night market I have never been to.

The new studio, you get a card to scan each time you're there. Cue ugly mug shot with the dreaded flash. Nope can't take another one, already sent it to the printers.

It's one large room with seats on the side. Everyone dances in the middle, to the side the newbies learn the dance, in a small group. Step by step but we go all the way though. Newbies are then invited to join the group to do that dance. Repeat. As a slow learner I struggled. There also wasn't really any breaks during the 90 minutes.

Will we be back? Yes, we paid for the month. But I'm pretty happy where I am, with people I'm familiar with. The new place there's a lot less people and the atmosphere is very different. Young people with dimmed lights, disco ball and Christmas lights. Also modern music, that was very different.

Priceline had 40% off skincare today! I'm not really into make-up and so only buy a couple things, but when it comes to skincare I stock up! Spent about $120 at two stores. Got everything on the list.

Before going shopping we did a bit of organization, updating my catalog. Yes I catalog my stuff, well the supplies so I know what I have. This is just skincare as I'm not really into make-up.

Wednesday

Last night we got home at 10.30pm and I crashed. Up at 2am to finish that burrito and shower. Spent today asleep, so crazy tired. The dr says I might have a hint of depression but I think not, I'm just tired and feeling sometimes (thought not often) empty.

Today we're having a bit of an off day. I have a love/hate r'ship with instagram. I love seeing the amazing fruit platters that cost $$ that I have no idea who eats that daily, even weekly. Instagram is also mainly how I find out about events and pop-ups. But then there's the other side. I'm not about beauty or being thin or being fit so I get almost none of that in my feed. But what I do get is food, I love food, but I do die a little when I see that everyone was invited to an event and I wasn't. They're not excluding me on purpose or anything (that was middle school) but I do sometimes feel excluded and like a nobody. And that's something that no one should be able to do. Even my manager who calls me a silly girl doesn't have that affect.

Someone once told me that I was pathetic trying to get into a place I didn't belong and that my blog would never be noticed and fade out of exsistance. So naturally I punched that bitch in the face and ended up in detention. Though sometimes I can't help but think she's right.

Even though my life is full of events I am not invited to, and night classes I do feel like something and someone (le beau) is missing.

Tonight we went dancing, yes I got up at 6pm but by 8pm I'm very tired. Others got up in the morning, went to work, then came to class. I have no idea how they do it.

Brad & Jannet aka the morman's are gone, they moved to the advanced class. Brad left without saying goodbye! We (I) tried to be friends though he's just too busy, the wife doesn't like me and that doesn't help.

The other night I saw something I only see on stage on in movies, with one exception: Helen & Adrian (le beau's brother and his wife). Brad's parents are crazy about each other and you could tell just by the way they look at each other. It's something I rarely ever see, because I was always taught that marriage is a partnership, a business transaction, a merger. If you're lucky you might get love but otherwise no, it's just business. No one around me (as in family and mother's friends) got married because they were in love. No one. My parents got married because for them it was a game of musical chairs or partner up, and they were the last two standing. Mother regret getting married and all that came with it, she wished she had become a nun. People marry for money and citizenship. I'm encouraged to marry a doctor since I didn't become one myself (I'm scared of blood, thought not murder).

Yesterday I met a boy on the train who said he was studying bio-med. Do you like it? I asked. And he said "Well I like money". I was always taught "you gotta do what you gotta do" to survive and not to follow passions which often/sometimes lends you into being a struggling artist. Or that quote saying if you love your work it's almost like you never worked a day in your life. No. You never worked a day in your life because you passion is something that ain't hiring.

Thursday

Looking up a menu, instead of prices the kj are listed... yes because I'm totally looking to add up the kjs I'm going to consume at your cafe.

Thursday we went to fill out forms and see the dr. Planned to go to coastal styling workshop or dancing but I was too tired. So we went to bed at 5pm - for a short nap and woke up the next day.

Friday

I am not a morning person. I also don't like coffee and rare get up early enough for brunch. But I'd get up early to meet Donna Hay, an inspirational character in the world of food styling. Her work is amazing and I regret not bringing a book to get signed (not sure if she was doing signings). At the event we sampled complex healthy smoothie shots, delicious bites of date cake and granola/muesli with Greek yoghurt. We were also should how to drink coffee with the wine techniques of sniff/inhale, swirl and gulp.

Homework - Reading up about social linguistics. As an American we speak a lot and fast. We do pause to let you in, but if you didn't pick that up you'd think we were hogging all the talking time - not true.

Thanks for the cupcake!

Made it to school. Feeling like a first year. Where slides are given out. Yay! But being me I already printed it. Like first years the teacher expects full attention. You must be new. Half the class on their phone is normal. Group project, I'm asked to take a step back and not lead... because I kinda specialize in the area. Note I only take the wheel when I know what I'm doing. I know what I'm doing.

Shopping for summer secret santa. Went a bit over the budget. Healthy strange new age health movement green chocolate is small and expensive. My ss has gluten and dairy issues so B&P and Luxbite was out sadly.

Dinner at Saigon Inn, Pho. Link to the full post.

Onto our next adventure in St Kilda. This week's performance was a play by Fleur Kilpatrick 'Yours The Face' which "tells the story of a photographer and his model, both played exquisitely by Roderick Cairns, who come together to create one perfect image".

One actor. Two characters. Two sides of the story. One simple but effective set, great use of lighting. Full frontal. Lola liked it, so did I. Though I was a bit O.o when he took his pants off, while Lola liked what she saw felt O.o when he put his pants back on. XD

Post-show dessert/snack, because two cupcakes wasn't enough and at 9.30pm the night was young, despite 9am work for Lola and 11.30am for me the next day. San Churro, churros and hot chocolate is my choice of dessert or late date night idea in winter.

Saturday

This Saturday was the launch and first Saturday of the Hank Marvin Markets, a weekly street-food market in St Kilda. Filling the gap in the South for a space for food trucks. Or more importantly getting them all in the one place so we can catch them before they run. We'll have a full post or two on this.

Back to the city, Hank is about 25mins from the city on the tram that goes past the Cancer Council, turning at St Kilda Junction. I ate too much and need to be rolled home, and so lay down at the office for a while then headed up to Melbourne Central where I may have consumed more food. Whoops.

How was your week?