Saturday, July 31, 2010

Cooking, Eating & Awesome Jammies

So this week I tried to make vegetarian pasta and also parsley soup. So these are how it turned out. The vegetarian pasta was super yuck! And after eating it twice I just cooked riced and fried an egg and some salami. The bit on the top was what was left of the vegetarian 'sauce'. It was cauliflower, almonds, and some other greens, and red wine reduction. Ok, maybe it was perhaps due to me just subbing too many ingredients like I replaced dry white wine with red wine, and pine nuts with almonds. Ahahaha. So self induced yuckness! Geez I think I'll just eat green a bit more raw next time.

The parsley soup was great but it 2 freaking hours to make! Well, firstly because I did not read that you could use ready made vegetable or chicken stock, and I made my vegetable stock from scratch. Which is a whole lot of tedious work. But in the end the soup was good, surprisingly. I don't think I've made anything decent, and this is the most decent. Though I don't think it's all that healthy though, there's potatoes and single cream. So it is kind of fattening I think. Need to keep more greens in so I think I need to look for clear soup recipes. This was my dinner because I want to live like a monk.

And lastly my sister got me awesome jammies. They are super comfortable which makes me super lazy, so I only wear them before I sleep and on Sundays. Because I'm lazy on Sundays. And I think I've lost some more weight. So yay, shed off all that excess fat for City to Surf. So want to come in around 60 minutes for that. Running again tomorrow.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

12 km attempt 2

I tried the 12 km run along the same path again. And it only took 1 hour 17 mins! I was surprised myself, I would have thought to take at least 1 hour 40 mins. So that was great, so trying more to push it closer to 60 minutes.

Also tried my hand at cooking more healthy, so half a pork steak and lots of italian salad. It turned out quite decent. I hate cooking, but then what can I do. Need to eat more healthy...

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Expectation and Sustainability

Expectation is anticipating with confidence of fulfillment. And that is a problem sometimes.

Say people in the modern age, if you work this amount a week, you really expect to be paid that much. But who says that is so, what makes this expectation acceptable. If you get more than the expected, you are happy. If you get less, you are not. Say a cleaner is given 5000 dollars a day. If that is the norm, then that is what is expected, if you pay less, say 4500, then people will be unhappy regardless. That may be an unreasonable example. Because if you pay me 4500, I would still be happy. But then you put it into perspective, and think of the days when there was serfs and lords. The serfs are basically treated like slaves. So, even though in modern terms one may see this as unfair, at the time it was perfectly accepted by both parties. So every increment above the serf's expectation provided by their lord would very much contribute to their happiness, be it just giving them extra food for they day or the like. So the point is, any point above the norm (where the norm is the accepted expectancy of a person) would provide happiness, and anything less than the norm would cause negative emotions to arise.

Of course to maintain the expectancy to remain the same, I believe all minimum requirements have to be met. That is shelter over a person's head, health cover, and ample food so as to not starve. That is living comfortably within one's means and the sense that one has earned it fair and square.

So that now builds into the modern expectancy. And as we know expectancy these days have gone though the roof. One now expects to be provided a good education, a comfortable life of no suffering, and all the luxuries of the world. It was not that long ago that things such as tv's and cars were luxuries. But that is now a norm. And again, now 1 car is not enough, a family has to have 2 or 3, just for convenience sake. It is only befitting because that is where society has shifted. When we live in a society that enables, this the expectation is you have that flexibility. Say for example this. In days when a family has one car, the family is not expected to be able to get to work on time, get the kids to wherever they need to be, and get all day to day things done in that space in time. It is accommodated that people have only one car and that they are restrained with this capacity. But now, as it is normal for families to have several cars, they are expected to have no excuse to be where they need to be. So the people who really cannot afford this, are again still expected to live within these new set of standards which society have set. And even if they now cannot achieve this, they would aspire to be rich enough to own several cars, as it is well within their reach. And if not them, their children will have this aspiration too. So as society evolves, the expectation of what is the norm and what they deserve is moving increasingly in this direction.

This is just one example of material expectation. Job wise, for instance executives might expect to get paid a certain amount because it is their entitlement. I believe this is not a concrete expectation and depends on place and time. Because a developed country would have a higher pay than a developing country, and also depending of the time period this will only keep on increasing due to inflation. And say now the major executives in multi million dollar companies. What makes them entitled to so much money in bonuses. And football players being paid millions for kicking a ball around. Is that 'fair'?

In terms of food consumption, this is also true. Meat used to be a luxury food item that can only be afforded by the rich. Now it is again an expectation that everyone has cheap access to this item. And this is now again causing serious problems.

So with all these examples, they are not borne of anything malicious but simply our desire to improve our quality of life and be more comfortable and happy. But some of these things are ironically producing adverse effects.

One main cause is the prices of items are not reflective of their true value. Say now you look at a shirt and it is only 5 dollars and made in China. How is this possible? Because of the low labour cost, and the full life cycle costs not taken into consideration. So there lies the problem. It may be that it is cheaper now, to have the things that we always wanted. But it may not be as cheap as it actually is. The rate of consumption is unnecessary, superfluous and unsustainable.

I go back to the point of getting what you should be paid. There can never be a 'right' solution to this because there are so many subjective factors in this matter. But there must be some semblance of control of what is acceptable. And with regards to material things, more steps should be taken to reflect fully the cost and impact of production. Sometimes we do not need to grow, and expand an have more. It should be more about reducing, or stabilizing while producing with the highest efficiency possible.

On an individual level, these unrealistic expectation should be redefined to fit what the real problem is. What we want are not 'better' and more things, or more choices and quantity of food, or anything else. What we want is more happiness. And the channeling of all energy into the material to achieve this is a pipe dream. You can never find true happiness with a nicer car, nicer clothes, better food etc. Certainly there is a bare minimum to what does cross the barrier between happy and sad. So a solution is this, redefining the expectation of what should and should not be, and redefining expectancy of what is really important in life.

Do you need a nice shiny car to be happy? Or is an old working car that has been in your family and shared plenty of memories with you more valuable. And for this to be sustainable, there needs to be a mechanism that supports costs for it to be feasible to keep an old car running for a long time as opposed to buying a new car every 5 years. Again this is because it is now cheaper to buy a new car than it is to repair a slightly damaged older car. And the reason is because the full cycle of cost involved is not totally accounted for in new cars.

We are a society conditioned to want more, strive for more, be happy when we have more. But I have tried to live this dream. And it does not make me happier, I have more things, but I do not truly appreciate them, because I expect to have them and there are just there because I should have them. And with increasing expectancy, consumption grows and grows, an unquenchable appetite. That brings us to the point of overconsumption where we are living beyond our means of sustainability where there is no real need for it. We just want more because we expect it and it is assumed to make us happier.

We need to dissociate material possessions with happiness. And that is difficult, even for me, because I am conditioned to believe this to be true. But I am at the point where, I get tired just seeing how much crap I have. And when I purchase unnecessary things, it is more an impulse and addiction than a purchase made out of pure requirement. It does not contribute in any way, except for the fact that I think it may make my life better. Does your fifth watch tick more accurate than the first? Why do you need 50 shirts? Well, of course the argument is because you look good and you must have that shirt to match those shoes, and you must have those shoes to match those shades, and so on and so forth. So that is again, conditioning of what is seen as a 'positive' in society. So what is it you really crave? It is acceptance in society and being viewed in a positive light by your peers? If the 'in' thing was wearing the most crummy clothes you have, everyone would then want to. That may be an extreme, but you get my point.

So a broad redefinition aim would be this. To live within one's means, and then try to reduce it further. Because what we are looking to do now, is not live with more but make do with less. I believe humanity is smarter than this. We are at the stage of our evolution that most basic creature comforts are covered and we do not require much more. So what we should be looking for now is rediscovering spirituality and our connection with one another, and of course happiness. We must live simply  and in appreciation and know that these are the real things that provide happiness.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

14 km attempt 1

Actually it was supposed to be 12km. I got lost. I made a circle back and asked for directions. Atually I was on the right track, and I just did not make a turn somewhere and ended up going in a circle. Well, I jogged some and walked most of it. So it actually took me 2 hours and 20 minutes. But knowing the route now hopefully next week I can go much faster. Also I brought 2 litres of water just in my bag just in case, so that slowed me down a bit. But I found there was a water fountain halfway along, so I can just bring 1 water bottle and not bring a bag next time.

So in the last few hundred metres of walking felt a touch of cramp, better drink more electrolytes or something. And had a cold shower after, apparently it helps with muscle recovery. I read that on the interweb, so it must be true. Anyways, doing it again next week. I will survive...

Saturday, July 17, 2010

No Inhibition

I don't know how I got here again, but I'm reading 5 books at a time. I read some books to almost the end and stopped, then continued on with other books and did the same. So, really now is time for me again to finish off these books. Well, 2 of them are short story books, 1 by Knut Hamsun, the other by Roald Dahl. Oh, wait and also one by Stephen King. So actually that makes 6 books! Okay, so I am also reading Deepak Chopra's Ageless Mind, Timeless Body. Hopefully I can finish that off tonight. Really insightful book. And I am also reading Bulldog Drummond by Sapper, a detective novel. And also just bought Tess of D'urbervilles when I was waiting for my sister shopping. I've gotten about 40 pages into it and geez, it's good. I did not think much of it to be honest, seeing I thought it's be something like Pride and Prejudice or some hoighty toitghty thing like that (to be fair I have not read Pride and Prejudice either...). But yes, this book is getting to be really nice. So, I will try to finish Deepak Chopra's book and also Roald Dahl's short stories, which I am down to the last one, which is his first ever short story. And then after those, I'll hopefully finish Bulldog Drummond. I do not think I will be reading much of the Stephen King as I would like to savour them one by one. So just read one at a time. And Knut Hamsun, that too, probably a bit slower. These are short stories anyways. So no matter. And after that I have gotten 3 Jostein Gaarder books from the library! I will consume those whole in long sessions. Love his books.

Okay, so I really need to make time for writing also. I have all these ideas. And I really need to get them written and stuff. But there seems to be this stop that makes me hesitant to write them. So as an effort to release them, I will start writing stories with no inhibition at all. Living up to my blog of being nonsensical fiction, I shall do literally just that. No inhibition. One may think what with the silly stories I write that was what it was to begin with. But then, there was always a certain measure of sanity to them. What I speak of now, may be stories of no plot or reason. No start or end. I will just write whatever crap that comes to mind, and it will not make sense. So, whatever. I need my creative juices flowing and that requires me to break down that barrier that keeps in the constraints of what I think to be acceptable writing. No, down with it all. I will write the most ridiculous stuff I can. And I may not like it, you may not like it, but I need it.

To be sane, you need to be a bit insane

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Unsustainable

Okay, maybe trying to write 1 piece of literature a day is a bit too much. (Notice the rationalizing of redefining my mid year resolutions). As much as I try to make myself sit down and write a story I just cannot. Even my brain resists it, it tells me anything I write now will sound forced and would not come out beautiful. And I simply cannot force myself to do it. Tough. Need a break from it.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Intermission

I have finished off 3 flash fiction pieces in the last couple of days. And now working on a poem called Intersection. But it's really hard to get the words and the ideas flowing. So I think I'll stop for the day and start reading. I feel like doing something different. So I'll start reading a book now, and hopefully finish in 12 hours time. Oh lovely.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Mid Year Resolution

And again I am late with my mid year resolutions. And in the first place you're thinking why would I have mid year resolutions. Obviously it's because I can see no way of achieving the resolutions I have set out at the start of the year. So yeah, need some redefinition of what my victories are.

Ok, well. With uni stuff it's pretty much on track. Just need to keep at it and things should be fine. And I'll probably cut back on tutoring a bit to make more time for my research, good and proper.

Well, the other thing is of course with the writing. I'm obviously very good at writing nonsense here. But doodidooda has been in neglect for the past 2 months or so. I am not reading as many books as I like, no shortage of buying them though. Well, need to keep up the pace. So many nice books to read.

And also with the writing. Have not been doing that much at all! Perhaps my timeline is just so way off. I have not the discipline and tenacity to write even short stories, takes me the most extreme effort to write even one. And in the end did not turn out quite as I like it. So going to concentrate purely on flash fiction for now. I no longer care if the ideas are corny, plot weak, or dialogue bad. Don't even care if my English sucks. Whatever. I just vow to write a whole bunch of flash from now on. And just put them all up. Anyways, not even concerned with publishing on magazines or anything. I just need to be happy writing right now and not think of success or failure. In the first place, I'm not looking to be a success or anything. That should not be that important. What is important is that writing is exploratory of my thoughts and stretching my abilities. That is all I'm looking for now.

Okay, so there's the new resolutions. Prepare to see them go up in flames in a month. Ever the optimist I am.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Sundays

Well, watched Last King of Scotland last night till about 2 am something. Pretty good movie, love James McAvoy and Forest Whitaker. And watched Losers also, wow it was quite crap I think. A-Team was so much better. Indeed their plots is roughly the same, but the action, script and acting in A-Team is so much better. Anyways, watching movie late Saturday made me wake up late Sunday. So only managed to pull myself out of the bed at around noon for breakfast.

My sister went back to Malaysia for a week or so, so I decided to drag myself out of bed and not be a bum and lay in bed the whole day. Had lunch then went to South Beach, that's sort of Fremantle. Anyways got there around 4, hoping to read some.

It was nice and cool, not too hot. So pulled out a Knut Hamsun book I was reading, Tales of Love & Loss. It's pretty good, very different way of writing that most other writers I have read.  Only read 1 short story then decided the weather was too nice to not take in the sight. So I just sat there and later and walked a bit, till sunset. And then something funny happened. While I was walking along the beach, a dog was walking behind me. Well, the dog was kinda buff so I was a bit scared really. But he kept following me and I just kept walking, then I just stopped there and he went to pick up a stick and wanted me to throw it. So yeah, ended up playing with the dog. Looked around and did not see anyone there. No idea where the owner was. So just kept playing with the dog. Then the sun went down then and I took the picture.
Yeah, that's the dog there. Well, after the sun went down I was going to head home. But I looked around and there was no one else there. I walked to one end and the dog followed and I thought the owner was there, but the people there seeing the sun gone down already just headed off. So I walked to the other end of that stretch, then asked a couple on the beach if it's their dog and they said no. Well, a bit worried now, maybe the dog's lost. Then I made my way inland a bit more then the dog was still following me. I just started walking to the car park and the dog stopped following and he ran to a couple on the lawn making out. Bleah, too busy making out to bother with the dog. Oh well, I got to play with the dog. Made my day.

Rearranging

Well, like I said in the last post I was sick yet again! And after talking to friends, they said probably the position of my bed is bad, as in fengshui-wise. It was facing the window. Well. other than just feng-shui probably the cold winter air seeping through coming straight at my face of feet (depending on which was I'm sleeping), maybe caused me to get sick also. And also get freaking weird dreams. So I rearranged my room and also sorted out the living room a bit. Well, first through rearranging I took a picture of my babies!
















Well, I love the acoustic best and I play mostly acoustic these days. Just chord and all. Don't play too well, but oh well, they are so pretty guitars are.

Then I spent Friday evening sorting out my room and got it all done by Saturday. And so it's great now, set up a desk beside my bed so I can get some writing done also.
I am going to get a desk lamp for my desk also soon. I've looked at lots of pretty ones, like these by Robert Kitto, but they are really quite pricey. Well these are the two I liked most from that series.
 
This one's called Hamlet(top) and there's a nice finish and detailed patterns on it. But I find it a bit cloggish, and I like Ophelia (bottom) better, more simple but elegant.

Anyways, looking harder I think I'm going to get one from IKEA Barometer, it looks great online, hopefully the real thing is sturdy and well-made. The joints and rods look like something naval or the protractor connector also. So that looks pretty awesome.