22/8/2008 - Stop the presses: Lauren wants a piece of Yao Ming!

Netease published an absolutely hilarious article today, alleging that basketball player Lauren Jackson has been wooing Yao Ming. Apparently she has publicly expressed her love for China's man monster. No mention of when and where she actually expressed this love, but no doubt a bit of Jackson sarcasm has been mistranslated.

When recently asked whether the Australian men’s team could beat the US Redeem team, Jackson said she would run naked around the Olympic Village five times if the Boomers won. I think the Chinese media should have picked up that comment as a sign that Jackson likes to add a bit of colour to her quotes. Please keep reading for a translation of the Netease article.

Lauren Jackson, the woman who is allegedly trying to steal Yao Ming away from China. Picture from Sports Illustrated.

Ye Li’s love rival stops Chinese basketball miracle in its tracks – Jackson has expressed her love for Yao Ming

At a height of 1.98m, not bad-looking and dressed in a figure-hugging basketball jersey, Lauren Jackson, Australia’s No.15, has been the most-watched female basketball player at the Beijing Olympics. Last night, this beautiful woman, who has actively sought a date with Yao Ming, grabbed 11 points and 10 rebounds. Apart from totally dominating Chen Nan, Jackson was the key force behind Australia’s 90-56 victory over China.

Although they lost the match, the Chinese women’s basketball team still has the chance to win a medal – tomorrow they will fight against an ailing Russia.

The 27-year-old Jackson is averaging 27 minutes, 18 points, 7.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game at the Beijing Olympics. She has even been called the ‘No.1 sister’ of women’s basketball.

 

However, of more importance is that Jackson publicly expressed her love for Yao Ming even after the romance between Yao and Ye Li (Yao's wife) became common knowledge. She actively asked Yao out on a date, but he refused. Regardless of whether it is on the court or off, Jackson is the ‘enemy’ of the Chinese women’s team. If Ye Li didn’t retire, she would probably take on her former ‘love rival’ directly. Now the job of keeping Jackson under control has naturally fallen on the shoulders of centre Chen Nan.

However, after the match started, the difference between Australia and China’s offensive set-ups (led by Chen Nan) became evident. From the very first quarter, Jackson controlled the rebounds. Before the end of the first quarter, Australia had 13 rebounds to China’s three. By the end of the first half, it was 31 rebounds to 16. Dominated on the boards, China fell into complete passivity. At the end of the first half, China was losing 18-34.

The rest of the match became a training exercise for Australia. China’s coach Tom Maher did not receive any mercy from Jackson and the other disciples that he once coached. Instead they used a strong defence and an accurate offence to increase the lead. Australia ran out winners by a massive 34 points, ensuring that they will meet the United States in the gold medal match. 

8/21/2008 - My Normal Week

I don't blog frequently as much of what I do is repeated over and over again, which would be very boring to read, especially for those who don't share my interests. However, I will give a brief run-down of my average week, so you can all get the idea.

Monday mornings are usually free except once a month when there is a Probus meeting. Afternoons I usually spend working on my programme for that night's pack meeting - this can be quite time-consuming, especially if I haven't got any games organised or have to madly think up a craft and be sure I have the necessary equipment. Sometimes I have to write a report or add info to the cubs' details of tests passed. Of course, Monday nights are the pack meeting nights, and I always hope we have a great meeting when everything goes well and the cubs go home happy - sometimes there are a few glitches but on the whole all goes ok.

Tuesday is my really busy day. I go  to Weight Watchers at 9.30am, then as I don't have breakfast on that day (to try to cut down my weight!) I have a sushi roll and cup of miso soup at West Ryde. Often I do a bit of grocery shopping there as well. For the last 6 weeks I have had to go to Ryde Hospital at 12.40pm for my exercise class. Then head off to pick up my granddaughter from school at 3pm. I take her home for an hour and a half   - she often has a boiled eg, sometimes two if she is really hungry, from my chooks, with vegemite fingers and perhaps a cup of chocolate milk. then she gets changed into her swimmers and I take her to her swimming lesson. While she is in the pool, I usually rush off to pick up Nicky from Pre-school, then back to dry Taya off. Robert often meets us and sometimes Andy. We then get a milkshake and doughnut from a shop upstairs before  take the girls home. By that time it is usually about 6pm and I don't feel like cooking so either nuke a frozen dinner or buy a take-away roast beef or lamb dinner from Charcoal Chicken. After all this I just collapse in my comfortable chair and watch tv or read, with the heater on and Bianca (my little Maltese-cross) on my lap.

Wednesday is usually free except for Computer Pals meeting once a month and the Wise Owl Folk Club once a month during the day and attending the Hornsby Library every second month for my family history group meeting. I was visiting my old school chum once a month but she has babysitting duties now on Wednesdays.

On Thursdays it is back to Ryde Hospital again. This time for 2 hours for a lecture followed by my exercise class. Thursday evenings I used to have a class at the local community college on genealogy, but it only runs if enough people sign up - it hasn't run this past term. 

Fridays are usually free except for once a term when I have my Old Girls' committee meeting and two weeks later the Mail-out of the newsletter, when we fold, address and fill envelopes. In the evening I usually play cards (Gin Rummy) with my dear friend Gloria and her 98 year old mother (used to be scrabble, but we changed to cards as the tiles were too hard for Mgt to read, as her eyesight is getting worse)

In between all this, of course, I often have to fit in babysitting, especially if any of the grandkids can't go to school for any reason.  Also I have an occasional doctor's appointment to check up on my health. Some terms I have a computer class to attend but didn't do one this past term.

So you can see why, unless something unusual crops up, there's not much new to talk about during the week. Weekends are another matter.

20/8/2008 - Robot Barman

18/8/2008 - The Boris Becker of table tennis

When watching the semi-final of the team event in the Olympic men’s table tennis competition yesterday, I discovered that one of the German players looks like the famous tennis player Boris Becker. The table tennis player goes by the name of Christian Suss, and he mustn’t be a bad player because Germany made it to the gold medal match after defeating Japan in the semi-final. Of course, Germany is greatly aided by the fact that it has Timo Boll, the only laowai who has a remote chance of beating the top Chinese players.

After seeing Suss in action, I excitedly told my workmates of his resemblance to Boris Becker, but unfortunately no one knew the German tennis champ. After getting such a poor reaction from my workmates, I have decided to inflict this set of look-alikes on the readers of my blog (who seem to have increased since the start of the Olympics – I have been receiving quite a number of critical comments).

The gold medal match between China and Germany will start tonight at 7:30pm Beijing time.

8/14/2008 - Wowee!

I am feeling really pleased because I have had two newchums come along to cubs! One is not exactly new - a girl who came the first night of term and missed the second, so I thought she had decided not to join us. However she came along on the third night and now her Dad had filled out the forms and paid the registration fee, so she is now officially a member.

The second was the younger brother of one of the girls - he was dying to join but was too young, as you have to be at least 7 1/2 years old. I was quite surprised to see him as nobody told me he was ok to join us now. Anyway, he'll be a welcome member. Must remember to give his parents the forms next week. The only bad thing is that his big sister will soon be old enough to go up to Scouts, and she is very keen to go, which means our numbers will drop again.

This means that we now have 13 cubs - an awkward number for certain games but Raksha is always ready to join a team when necessary. We played a great game on Monday where two cubs from opposing teams had to bat a balloon against the opposite wall to gain a point. The cubs got extremely vocal as they cheered their team member on! As Raksha was taller (and heavier) than the tallest cub, we had to handicap her to try to make it fair.

8/13/2008 - Victory in the Pacific

On Sunday 10 Aug I attended a remembrance ceremony for "Victory in the Pacific" at Epping. Together with my ACL, the Akela from 1st West Epping and the scout leader from 1st Roselea, we met outside the Epping RSL at 1.45pm. Again I was disappointed that none of my cubs turned up, but neither did those from 1st West Epping. However, there were 4 scouts, a guide leader and 3 girl guides. This was the first one of this particular ceremony that I had attended, but will be sure to go next year as it was very well organised and must have looked good to all the spectators.

We took part in a short service in the ballroom, then lined up outside the club to march down Rawson St  to the cenotaph behind the club. The march was led by the Golden Kangaroos Marching Band in full uniform, followed by a big contingent from 322 Squadron (Air Force Cadets), then came the returned servicemen with us following. The police held up the traffic and I must say that we created quite a stir!

After the wreath-laying ceremony at the cenotaph, we formed up again into the parade and marched back to the club. Here we were treated to afternoon tea in the ballroom - chocolate cake and biscuits. I was very good and only had one slice of cake with my much-needed cup of tea!

Then Raksha and I had to rush off as there was a Group Council at 4pm back at the scout hall. All in all, a busy day!

In the evening Robert and I had our usual dinner at the Ryde-Eastwood Club - we only just made it as  Robert was extremely exhausted after playing all afternoon even though he was still not feeling well after more than a week.

12/8/2008 - AJ is in business

...well almost.

Like thousands of women in Australia and possibly millions world wide, I've jumped on the band wagon with those bead-charm bracelets (aka Pandora, Biagi, Lovelinks, etc).  I've also moved into selling compatible beads.  At the moment I only have glass ones, and some pewter-alloy gemstone ones, but I will get more.  I am a hop, skip and a jump away from setting up my eBay shop (read I need to sort out packaging), but if any one is interested, send me an email or PM and we can sort something out.

AJ

8/11/2008 - Visit to Cumberland State Forest

On Sunday 3 August I had organised a trip for my pack to the Cumberland State Forest in Pennant Hills. This was to provide them with a chance to pass yet another part of the World Conservation Badge - if I didn't do so, none of my cubs would have a chance as their parents are either too busy or just don 't bother to make the effort.

It turned out to be a lovely day but I was disappointed that only 3 of my cubs came along. Still, it was better than none! One mother stayed with us but the others left and would be returning at 4pm. I was pleased that the Akela from 1st West Epping joined us, along with 6 of her cubs, so we made up a nice little group. Aslo Raksha from our pack came as well.

I arrived early and asked at the counter for some of the free booklets available for schools as these had lots of pages of activities and drawings to do. The cubs had been told to bring a pen or pencil so as we walked along I pointed out objects to note down in the booklets eg. count all the bbq's, garbage bins, toilets; mark all the nesting boxes spotted; write down certain types of trees found eg. blackbutt, turpentine, cabbage tree palm etc.

We went on two marked trails - the forestry trail of about 40 minutes and the sensory trail of about 20 minutes - although it took us longer as we were writing or drawing. We stopped along the way to rest and have afternoon tree in a picnic area. By the time it was about 3.30pm, we had completed everything we had to do so I took them into the Information Centre to examine the exhibits - the skeletons of animals found in the park were of great interest! I was very pleased that the cubs showed so much interest in what we saw during the afternoon and hoped that it would inspire them to take more notice of the wonders of the Australian bush.

Raksha bought a potted kangaroo paw plant from the nursery and there were lots of other people enjoying themselves there. Some were family groups while others were obviously there with friends. Its a great place to spend a sunny afternoon and I can reccommend it to anyone living within driving range. There are lots of picnic area with BBQ's available, too.

By now it was 4pm and thankfully we said goodbye to the cubs as their parents arrived to collect them. I was rather tired as the trails weren't flat gentle tarred paths, but rough-hewn with tree roots jutting out, and going down quite steep hills and back up again. So after thanking the other leaders and parents for giving up their time, I set off for home and a nice relaxing cup of tea!

11/8/2008 - Salary Survey

Some one just sent me Seek's salary survey.  It was interesting from the perspective that I realised how many "extra" benefits I don't get, however I was able to tick off all the boxes in terms of career development.  A nice little reminer of why I'm in my job!

http://salarysurvey.seek.com.au/

9/8/2008 - More on the Olympics

I've just read an article abou the opening ceremony, which  I didn't watch.  And it's made me realise my gripe with the Olympics this year (including all the publicity which I wrote about yesterday).

This year's Olympics seem to be more about China than about Internationalism and the spirit of sporting competition.  That's what it is!  Usually the Olympics a celebration of all nations coming together, not just the host nation!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-hidary/beijing-olympics---the-op_b_117688.html

8/9/2008 - Cooper's 1st Birthday Party

On Saturday 2nd family and friends gather to wish Mel's youngest a happy birthday. Actually, he wasn't 1 until the following Tuesday, but it suited everyone better. The party was held in a neighbouring park and luckily the weather was fine and sunny, if rather windy.

Robert was unable to come as he had a big gig that day but I went over about 10.30am to help get things ready and transport them to the park. Darryl's parents had come down from Brisbane especially for the occasion. I gave Cooper my present (the Chicco Activity Walker) as we thought he'd be able to use it at the park but first Lionel and I had to assemble it. It was not as easy as one might think! Some masculine strength was required to thrust the legs into their sockets. We finally did it and inserted the batteries. Cooper seemed to know what he was supposed to do and took off! Rather unsteadily, with several collapses but having fun. River wanted to play with it too as there were lots of things attached with lights, music and songs.

When we arrived at the park, there was a lot of stuff to do, of course, finding a good spot with tables, putting out the food, setting up the bbq and supervising the kids. We got the best spot with a playground close by.

Andy and the girls soon arrived to River's delight; other friends of Mel's and Darryl's including one of the Miller twins with her own gorgeous twin girls and 10 month old baby; Kelly and Brianna (Taya's best friend from preschool. We seldom saw them both after that!); Chris and Vickey. River and Nicky played together until they were joined by two other little boys, when kicking footballs became the order of the day so Nicky joined Taya and Bree at the swings.

Cooper had a great time opening all his presents but it was hard to stop the other little kids from opening them, especially River, who seemed to think that that was his job!  Mel lit the solitary candle (with great difficulty as it was windy) and we all sang happy birthday to Cooper.

We all had a good time and I only had one glass of wine but I'm afraid I kept nibbling at the dips, cheese and cabanossi all afternoon! By 3pm some of the guests had to go, so we packed up and returned to Mel's house for a cup of tea or coffee. I had another party to go to at 6pm, (the monthly Amway pot-luck) for which I had to cook something to take, so said goodbye and left.

8/8/2008 - More Communist Propoganda

I'm sitting here flipping through the channels tonight and there is yet another documentary on China.  I'm yet to figure out if this one is like the SBS stuff which seems to marvel at the country through it’s less recent history or something that explores the darker side of the dictatorship (which could take decades really).  They have briefly mentioned the genocide of the Cultural Revolution, to their credit.   It's suddenly occurred to me that every station has been flooding our screens with various forms of infotainment about China.  The stations did not show the same level of interest in other recent hosts of the games - Spain, America and Greece (I'll skip Australia as we need no introduction to ourselves).

Whilst China is a controversial at the moment, I'm not entirely sure the publicity is all made up of critical exposes.  I think that some of it is buying just a little bit into the propaganda that China is a fascinating, misunderstood place.  Whilst I am all for learning as much as possible about other cultures, it is important to maintain a critical view.  Other cultures, like our own, are not neutral and not without ideology, politics and agendas.  Equally, just because something is not the same as the way we do it, does not mean that it is naturally fascinating or better.  There are dangerous, perverse, subversive and destructive elements to all cultures.  I say this not in criticism of China, but also as someone who has lived in Japan.  Japan is a wonderful country and completely alien to everything in our culture.  And whilst it is fascinating, I could not throw myself into the culture the way others I knew over there did.  The culture is still rampantly misogynistic, somewhat racist and embraces some values which I do not.

As I have already mentioned, I don't really intend to embrace anything about this Olympics.   I think that the IOC has made a controversial and possibly damaging choice.  China is not a democracy, it is not a free country, it is not an open economy.  It is a dictatorship which centrally controls some things, and gives totalitarian power to regional bureaucrats, giving no power to the people or the workers.  China has grown rich off the open economies of the West, whilst remaining closed and failing to reduce the central command of the economy.  I am not saying that there is not good in the country and I am certainly mean no disrespect to the people.  However we do need to approach our media with cynicism at present, as there does seem to be an awful lot of propaganda out there at the moment.

6/8/2008 - For the love of God, wear jeans!

This week I’ve had the privilege of working with some auditors from Italy.  Any one who knows me knows I love and hate this particular job.  I hate it because it seems to be the case that any Italian who is not a blue collar worker seems to think themselves obliged to spend a minimum of 10 hours a day at work, regardless of how much work they actually do.  I love it because the people are lovely, welcoming, interesting people.

So one of these fellows is a little older than me and we were discussing how it’s wonderful to not have to wear a suit on the weekend.  Italy is a little more formal in their professional standards than Australia, however as a consultant I should generally be wearing a suit at all times when I am or could potentially be in contact with clients.  We’re in the same boat.  I'm lucky, however, instead of wearing a tie and a buttoned shirt I get to wear more colourful tops and fabulous jewellery.  Needless to say during the course of this conversation I taught my colleague the correct use of the term “thongs” when in Australia (which is the incorrect use in the UK).  I think it all leads back to my university days, where being a member of the Arts faculty meant that I could pretty much what ever the heck I wanted.  Pyjamas were dressed up for some classes, ironed clothes were a rarity.  My staple clothing was pretty much jeans or army fatigues and t-shirts (yes you heard me right, I wore combat pants consistently or at least two years I can remember).  In my final year I started to get buttoned shirts as I thought I may need a professional wardrobe at some point and didn’t want to have to fork out for it all at once.  I loved it.  I’d love it even more now as I can actually afford decent clothes.

Which made me wonder, who on earth wears a suit outside business hours anyway?  The only time I would do this is if I’m going to something after work and don’t have time to change.  Although if it’s a professional function I wouldn’t change even if I had time to do so.

Personal dress sense, in situations where there is not a uniform (I include suits in this as even though they are not homogenous, are all essentially uniform) is generally meant to say something about you.  It’s a form of personal expression and also a way to belong to a group.  Really, to be voluntarily wearing a suit after hours or on the weekend, you pretty much have to be selling something or have absolutely no creativity or individuality what so ever.  The third option is that you don’t have a regular desk job and for some reason you think it’s cool to wear a suit, but I won’t go there.

For my case in point my mind goes back to a fellow I knew a few years ago who I had only ever seen in a suit, a tux and the generic jeans, polo and leather jacket (none of the items were fashion items, they were all rather generic, “I have no idea what to wear when I’m not wearing a suit” type items).  I think he thought he was creating a good impression or giving a sense of authority.  He was doing quite the opposite.  The suit was so often out of place that it immediately put people off side and seemed to mark him out as someone who did not know what was contextually appropriate.  It was on par with turning up to the church for your grandfather’s funeral in a fuchsia emblazoned Hawaiian shirt.  Possibly a Hawaiian shirt with “thank goodness the old bastard is gone” embroidered on the back as well. 

The other thing about my case and others I can think of as well, is that the suit was usually fairly new and worn with gaudy cuff links.  I put this sort of dressing on par with girls who update their Cue collection every 6 weeks.  Whilst moderately fashionable (for the middle class) and up to date.  It screams lower level customer or client facing staff.  It readily identifies the wearer as young, generally childless and having few financial commitments.  

Let me elaborate.  People who are able to update their wardrobe regularly, and even seek out fashion finds, are people with time.  They also don’t have to spend their cash on things like feeding, clothing or educating children, housing and in most cases that come to mind, transportation.  Their budget is pretty much divided into clothing money and drinking money.  And it really does show.  People who spend their time seeking fashion finds on work clothing, also place a high degree of importance on the front that they present at work.  They feel insecure enough to have to have something newer or sharper than most of the people they deal with.  And more often than not, they do not have sufficient experience or ranking to assert their authority without resorting to Donald Trump brand suits and Italian cufflinks.

These are probably people who also base their ideas of what it’s like at the top on television and the movies.

I have been in board rooms, worked with executives of a variety of companies from small to large, from listed, to private to partnerships.  The one thing I have noticed is that people with real power and authority do not have to be suited up in order to be in command of a situation.  One female banking executive I worked with in a previous role looked to me, like she did most of her clothes shopping at Kmart when she was picking up toys for her children (don’t ask me how a woman gets that high in a company and still looks after the children as I have no idea).  If she didn’t have the authoritative dignity which she has, the unsuspecting could have easily mistaken her for one of the EA’s.  The same goes for a CFO I have worked with recently.  She generally walks around the office in a knitted top and slacks and you need to watch closely to notice she’s wearing expensive shoes!  Other than that, it is her knowledge and her people handling skills that set her apart as someone who leads the company.  I have come across one CEO who I always see in a jacket and often in a tie, but his work does involve a meeting with clients regularly.  However, he is quick to shed his jacket and isn’t nearly as fashion conscious as most of the external auditors I have met in the firm.  I’ve also found the heads of the medical firms that I have worked with surprisingly unassuming and unpretentious as well.

So this is my very long winded way of saying that nothing seems more clueless, socially inappropriate and less authoritative than some one in a suit at 8:30pm at night or on the weekend.  I’ll generally want to know what’s wrong with you or what you’re selling!

And for those not convinced, I will show you a picture of a very undesirable public servant that came up on my hits when I googled, "bland suit."

My other point is, a suit is also the resort of someone who does just not have a clue about what to wear.  Perhaps they’re too scared to say something personal about themselves, or living in fear that they have got the dress code wrong.  But by the same token, sometimes wearing a suit does actually say something, it says, “I’m bland.”  And from time to time it is also inappropriate in many social situations.  At school, self expression through clothing is inappropriate; hence school uniforms are selected for students.  However if by the time you’re 17, have finished school, and feel the need to wear something uniform like, you obviously needed to spend more time in Art class, or with your friends.

8/5/2008 - I See a Diabetes Educator

On 31 July I had an appointment to see the Diabetes Educator at Ryde Hospital. It was quite an interesting experience and I learned a lot. For instance, I knew that diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin in the body but I didn't know that it is a hormone made in the pancreas. I suppose that means that people who get the pancreas damaged in accidents must have to take insulin from then on.

I was puzzled as to why I had developed Type 2, as I am not overweight , don't smoke, only have about 2 drinks a week and try to eat healthy food. I must admit that I don't do a lot of exercising, though, except on outings with my pack. However I learned  that while lifestyle may cause Type 2, sometimes people can get it regardless of the fact that they have a healthy lifestyle, as it can be passed down in the family even if no one knew that it was present in any member .  As far as I know, no one in my family had it, but maybe it just never got discovered. After all, it was only the fact that they gave me different tests without results to try to find out what was causing my chest pains that they finally decided to test my glucose. If they hadn't, I would still not have been diagnosed. So current members of my family should think seriously about getting a glucose test, as they may also be at risk of developing Type 2, as well as follow a more healthy lifestyle. Yes, that's a strong hint to certain people!! 

I was not happy to learn that I may eventually need tablets or insulin, in spite of the fact that by following guidelines I may delay the need. According to the information I was given, 50% of people diagnosed will go onto insulin with 10 years. Not a cheerful outlook!  But hopefully I will be among the other 50% who don't.

The educator was very keen on me getting my own gadget to check my blood sugar level regularly. I hate the thought of pricking my finger every day but may have to get one once I finish the 6 weeks course. (I get my blood sugar checked twice each time I go to the hospital, once at the start and once at the end, so thats 4 times a week already! I feel like a pin cushion.)

I am not a happy little vegemite!

5/8/2008 - Some thoughts on the law and control

And as much as I could have something to say about all of these things, it makes me wonder, when did government become so trivial?  And when did government decide that they are serving the public interest best by arranging all the intimate details of how people live, how they do their work and even, if things keep going the way they do, what they put in their mouths.

When you think about it, there are some significant changes that have been introduced through law.  Most criminal codes go a long way to ensuring the rights of the citizens in most countries.  Allowing women to vote, work, own property and be the partner who initiates marital separation again springs to mind as fairly significant advances.  The abolition of slavery in both the US and UK, and the abolition of apartheid in South Africa, all are historically significant.  Even in Australia, the referendum to give Aboriginal people equal rights to those of other Australian’s is  a history defining moment.  (Along with the blocking of supply to Whitlam, but that wasn’t so much legislation as the blocking of it.  However it has been a long time since we have had something truly history defining go through our parliaments.

When you think about it, things may have not been that much better during the middle ages, because of social restrictions and power structures, but at least people were much more free.  I’m not entirely sure that most of the legislation we have has made life safer, easier, or human interactions more pleasant because of it.  In fact quite the opposite.  The best thing it’s probably achieved is keeping a lot of mediocre people in employment in the civil service, in an environment that frustrates the few good people it manages to attract.  I’m tempted to go into a little rant about over legislation, but really I just mean to say, I think the government should stick to the history shaping decisions, and leave the trivial ones to the communities, rather than trying to control people too much.