:: baby ::

And let me introduce you to my baby:


Isn't she pretty? Jen do not hesitate. Buy one now.

:: back ::

Back on the blog after a week offline.

One month left in Basel. I thought what better time than now to start with a Basel/Swiss fact a day (internet permitting). Until D-day China, I will endeavour to wow the pants off you with the scintillating minutia about the kanton + country that I have called home for the past 18 months.

Fact 1: The swiss are extremely passionate about recycling. You can find recycling bins for brown, green & white glass and cans all over town, every couple of blocks; but my personal favourite concerns the disposal of paper and cardboard. Bi-monthly, on the designated day, one is required to leave a nice & tidy, I would even venture to say cute bundle of crushed and folded down cardboard & paper, tied ever so carefully with a piece of string.

:: stupid ::

What's the deal with the Aussie holiday makers going to Indonesia and getting on the gear?

"TESTS have confirmed that two tablets found in the handbag of Australian model Michelle Leslie were ecstasy, senior Indonesian police said today."

"Last month he represented Adelaide man John Julian Pyle who received a mild five-month jail sentence for possession of a small amount of hashish following a police operation in the Bali mountain resort of Ubud."


Going to Indo to party, now with the Bali nine & Schapelle making the headlines is just stupid.

:: skaters ::

Nothing like being surrounded by sweaty, pot smoking, 14 year olds badly in need of some deodorant to make you realise you are not as young as you used to be. The European Skateboard Championship was a good Sunday out even if the weather was better suited to one of those lazy days reading the paper with a cup of tea in bed.

This being said, after the skating we headed back for a greedy evening of melted cheese and grill, the raclette - this is for sure one of the more important contributions the swiss have ever made. I discovered that you can actually get the little hotplates that cook the cheese with a teflon coating - this kept me in awe for most of the evening as I regretably reminisced all of the hours spent scrapping burnt cheese. I will definitely be buying a new grill before I head home.


I read Maz's post on finding spark etc etc. I can't wait to finish this job I am in now and head home to start something new. When I started out, I really enjoyed this job - I enjoyed what it allowed me to learn and I was happy with the contribution it allowed me to make. After a year I had learnt everything that I could from this role and changes in the structure of the organisation meant that I was no longer having fun.

At the end of the day, I think if you can find a job that you can tolerate, earn some cash to finance the other 2/3's of your life, the travel & family & homelife etc, aim to learn something you didn't know before and when you can no longer tolerate it, find something new. If it was fun, it wouldn't be called work. If you find the right mix, tolerance actually gives way to acceptance and possibly a job you grow to really enjoy, but it is still work. It is still 8 - 12 hours a day that you give to the man in exchange for a better life outside of those hours. I think AIESEC creates this idea that we are all too good for the job we have. I bet there are thousands of unemployed hopefulls who would love the chance to tolerate our jobs.

Beating a dead horse ain't going to bring the pony back to life, find a new ride.

:: Em Bebbi sy Jazz ::

Tonight in Basel I will be heading to an Open Air Jazz festival that has over 70 live acts scattered across the city for free (yes, in Suisse and it's free!!!) and you can pretty much walk around, bag o' cans in hand and take in the music - around 50,000 spectators expected.

Sunday I am heading to the European Skateboard Championships - to really feel old as I realise that words like narly and radical and burly attract blank faces and confusion from the young, hip bone breaking skate set. Can you even use the word hip anymore?

6 more weeks left in the office. 30 work days. 240 productive work hours. But who is counting right?

Which reminds me:

"My time in Europe is coming to an end and to celebrate the time spent and the journey ahead, I'll be having a party!
(for those familiar with the Australian vernacular, for party read: complete booze-up and Sunday write-off).

WHEN: Saturday October 1st - start 7.30 - till late
WHERE: Trainee Flat, XXXXXX Basel (Contact me direct for address details. If you
come from outside of Basel, let me know to organise a place to crash for you).
WHAT TO BRING: BYO booze; snacks provided.
THEME: Wear something Swiss!
MIX: DJ Spicy (with maybe the odd yodel)

I would love to see everyone one last time before I make my journey back to Australia. I will be abroad again (and crashing at your houses for sure :P) but it will be some years before that happens so make sure you head over to have one last pint.

Look forward to seeing you."

Brett

:: fox rubbish ::

Tall men get short shrift as husbands
From: By Fiona MacRae
August 17, 2005

"TALL, dark and handsome is the classic description of the perfect man.

But when it comes to perfect husbands, shorter men stand head and shoulders above the rest, a study has found. Women regard taller men as excellent for a fling but see short men as better companions to settle down with.

This could explain why Nicole Kidman married Tom Cruise, who at 170.2cm is 10cm shorter than her. But she only ever dated the 190cm Steve Bing. Or why Penny Lancaster, a rangy 180cm plus, chose the shorter Rod Stewart as her husband-to-be.

So did his 183cm ex-wife, Rachel Hunter, although she only had a fling with 185cm Robbie Williams."


Now I am sorry, I may be mistaken but if Tom marries Katie, won't that be his third marriage? Perfect husband my arse.

:: shanghai ::

Just booked, flying out of Dusseldorf on the 7th October. Cheap flight, I hope there is something interesting to do in Dusseldorf. Will night train to get there, maybe head up to Berlin first...then all the wonders of the orient at my doorstep - well Digs' doorstep where I will humbly be crashing...

Was looking at Trans Siberian, but in the end was going to cost me too much with flights home as well. Now contemplating train from Bejing or Shanghai to Hong Kong, flight to Singapore to make Alfy get me some food and then a hop, skip and jump across to Adelaide.

Digs and House-Maid, I'm on my way - and thinking about it, Absinthe is very possible...

: : homecoming : :

September 30 last day in the office. I feel like I have already left. Looking at booking the trip home - I have aspirations of a huge travel adventure to make my way home but the thought of 3 months on no income suggest otherwise. perhaps a simple flight will be the choice. Devrim, is there a place to crash in China if I swing a ticket that way???

2 days until the biggest social event on the suisse calendar - street parade. got my ticket to energy and am planning to be well off the planet.

the powerbook is still continuing to amaze me - the only issue so far is using safari to view "my" blog, believe it or not.

the thought of nothing to do for 3 months is more and more appealing - thanks to woolies and aiesec, it will be the first time i have ever had a summer off since i was in high school. thanking you in advance Jen for not joking about how long ago that was. remember you have big feet.

:: gone ::

laura left yesterday and is currently mid-flight. missing her heaps already but i will be home for good in october, so not too long to wait. 8 more weeks or work left.

yesterday my 12" Powerbook arrived and she is very, very sexy. i am understanding what all the switchers have been threading about in the forums - it makes everything seemless, simple and and enjoyable experience. coupled with free internet at home, i am finally getting online without the security constrints of work!

laura is worried i will love the PB more than her - i just assured her i now have two loves in my life.

transferring the 13 gig of mp4's from work machine is a mission with only a 512MB usb mem stick...next purchase will be the ipod...well best get back to earning the cash before i spend it all.