Warming Up

Every year its the same. I forget how amazing the sun feels. I forget how nice it is to slip into cool water after getting hot and sweaty on the walk towards the beach. I forget how good it feels to lie on a rock in the sunshine and stretch out. I forget how satisfying it is to rub your shoulders and feel salt come off on your fingers. I forget how much I love feeling weightless in the water. And I forget how much I miss all of these things in the winter.

I'm surrendering these next week and its just another of those things I've been kidding myself about. Silly girl.

"I'm so appalled"

Today the WA Court of Appeal upheld a jail sentence handed to a man convicted of glassing another man at an Inglewood pub.

Magistrate Paul Heaney sentenced the man to 18 months jail in March after he pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding. The individual then had his sentence reduced by Supreme Court Justice Michael Murray to a suspended sentenced and he was released from jail after serving three months jail time after Justice Murray allowed his appeal.

Justice McLure said today in a written statement that usually using a glass in an attack did not warrant jail time, but given the frequency with which glassing attacks are occurring in WA that "increased weight could be given to the need of general deterrence".

Justice McLure also said that due to "the many mitigatory factors in this case, a term of immediate imprisonment is the only appropriate sentencing option."

The argument by the DPP that the suspended sentence was grossly inadequate for such a serious crime and a crime which most of the WA community would find abhorrent was upheld by the Court of Appeals and the although the initial sentence of 18 months was reduced to 15 months, there is a certain sense of comfort that comes for magistrates who are due to sentence in trials like this one.

What this means most importantly for WA is that crimes like this are not going unnoticed, or unpunished. The individual convicted initially had his sentence reduced because of his "personal circumstances" and the fact that rehabilitation was likely but as most people would probably agree having a glass shoved in your face should never be the means by which someone wins an argument.

Yes alcohol was a factor in this case, as it is in almost all "glassing" incidents, which seem to be the crime du jour for WA, but the fact is the law is created to separate those who can do the right thing and those who chose not too. I certainly feel safer knowing that harsh sentences are going to be given to those who chose to pick up a glass and shove it into someone's face, drunk or not, and even though I can see in some circumstances where drunken arguments can be a simply misunderstanding, I think it takes a lot of gall to partake in such an inherently violent act.

What confuses me most about how these types of incidents keep occurring is the sheer fact that glasses are still handed out at venues which serve alcohol. Surely the easiest way to stop "glassings" is to take away the glass? Perhaps I'm missing a vital point here but I cannot imagine that drunken violence is really going to stop any time soon when drinking and getting drunk is such an integral part of Australian culture, so I can't for any reason see how or why we are happy to hand over what is fast becoming a life threatening weapon to people who can't keep it to themselves. I'm more than happy to surrender having my pints in a glass for a plastic cup if it means me or my friends who are having a drink at the pub aren't going to have to have reconstructive surgery on our faces because we looked the wrong way at the bloke at the bar.

Colours

I think I hate Carrie Bradshaw

So I’m watching Sex and the City and I’m wondering if all women are exactly the same. Are we that whiny? That irritating? That frustrating? That……..doomed? What if Sex and the City is living my life for me?

This is my Carrie inspired “starting off with a question” piece of writing. Were the writers of Sex and the City spot-on because they were able to capture how women communicate, or have women just managed to convince themselves that that is how we talk? I don’t know. Does Sex and the City offer the lessons that women should learn in order to grow and create meaningful and successful relationships with other people? I don’t know that either because to be honest I’m not old enough to know. My life experience in relationships so far is minimal and a lot of the time I’m just running on instinct or emotion. There are really no rules to work with- we just do whatever we choose to do, and when I say we and I’m talking about my friends specifically. My little own posse of gals that I lunch with, shop with, share secrets with, keep secrets with and basically live my life with. We all watch the show and although some friends love it more than others I know we all see the “truth” that the show presents us with.

I don’t see myself as being particularly similar to Carrie or any of the women on this show because really and truly they never change or evolve from the mistakes they make. I like to think that I do. Maybe. Of course that’s wishful thinking because like Carrie I’m in constant need of attention, like Miranda I don’t know if I believe in romantic love, like Charlotte I’m very naïve in some respects in regards to boys and like Samantha…well no, can’t draw any similarities there I’m afraid. But that’s the safety we find when we turn on Sex and the City- although different men come in and out of their lives, although they move cities or apartments, they’re always going to be those same stock characters that never change. And I don’t know that I’m alright with that.

I hate these women when they’re going on and on about nothing- nothing being men mainly. They’re so boring and repetitive but I think I might hate them because I do the exact same thing. Do I do it because that’s how I am or has Sex and the City decided what my interaction with other women is supposed to be like?

I had an interesting experience this weekend. I got opinions on a situation from three different women. Two friends and one mother. One friend was blunt and told me what I didn’t want to hear. The other friend told me that I should go with what my emotions were telling me and the mother told me to do whatever would make me happy. I appreciated the opinions from all different women and I found the reflections on what they each had to tell me was more important than what they actually had to tell me. I think therein lays the success of Sex and the City. It’s not what they’re actually talking about, it’s the way that even in a group that is SO different to my friends they still can all offer up those confusing and polar opposite opinions that you get from your friends. Which is why we keep watching, but I’m starting to wonder if I’m missing the point a little bit.

I get upset with this show because I like it (I won’t lie), but it does sometimes make me feel a bit “not quite up to it”. I don’t think that women like this exist. Well they might- but I sure haven’t come across them. Of course I’m well aware that I’m 21 and my friends are never going to be like the Sex and the City girls because THEY’RE REAL but these are the women that have shaped the way we approach life and relationships. We watch and experience with them and sometimes I think that they’re living our relationships for us. I don’t ever want to be in “the dating game” because these characters have made it look tiresome and horrible. I just want to meet a nice boy and then that’ll be that.

An advert came on during a break for Head and Shoulders and it had a woman on a date who was panicking because she wanted to scratch her head. She ducks under the table to scratch and then pops up with frazzled hair. Mum made a good point: “Have we just got to the point in our lives were we can’t do anything that’s human- I scratch my head all the time.” I feel that way about Sex and the City. It’s too hard to measure up to all those things they’ve already done. The perfect relationships have already been played out on screen so there’s nothing left for the average woman to achieve. I don’t need to wait for my Mr Big because I can just turn on the TV and there he is. Which makes me a little bit sad to be honest.

Jessica and Frank

Jessica stepped down off the last wooden plank which had been haphazardly nailed to the tree years and years ago. Frank had jumped from the fourth one but he’d been ascending and descending these planks since he was a boy. Jessica had only been on the property for 36 hours so her agility in the huge ‘playground’ that Frank had been talking up for days was not forthcoming. He’d finally decided that this weekend he would take her to visit his mum and dad and the property he’d grown up on. She’d met his mum and dad a few times before this weekend; they liked coming to visit London. They were really nice the first few times she’d met them. His mum’s eyes had positively popped out of her head when she’d met Jessica, introduced as “my new friend”. Frank was lovely so it made sense his parents were lovely. That didn’t stop her from being incredibly nervous each time she spoke to them though. She’d bonded with Paul (Dad) about West Ham’s slow start this season and what changes Avram Grant could/should make to pick up after Christmas (Jessica had a sneaking suspicion Paul was an ex-Mile End Mob member, and, even if he wasn’t she liked the idea of it and imagined him running after Chelsea fans after matches). Janet (Mum) was a classic beauty and the most caring person Jessica had ever met. She had modeled in the early 70’s and even though she was ageing now she still retained that simple beauty that made Jessica feel incredibly self conscious. But Janet had given up her modeling not long after starting because she found the other girls ‘a little bit silly’ and had settled down with Paul soon after they met through friends at the pub. She said she fell for his confidence in wearing a Ben Sherman polo with tight trousers (“Always had a thing for mods I did”) after seeing Paul Weller do it. Paul said it was Janet’s eyes, which made Jessica blush and try her hardest not to look at Frank in case he was looking at her. They’d suggested to Frank that he bring her up the property so she could get some colour back in her cheeks after the long winter spent indoors at her computer writing endless releases for the company and sending them out to every single media outlet she could think of. It had not been a fruitful undertaking and Jessica was beginning to grow concerned that her job was on the line. But all of that was far away now that she was walking alongside Frank down to the edge of the large pond that marked the end of the backyard. Jessica had heard about backyards as a girl but the closest she had come to seeing a proper backyard was when her friend Sammy had invited her to her Gran’s house and her Gran lived in a flat which was on the ground and out the back was a square patch of grass with some flower pots around the sides. But now Jessica understood. She imagined a young Frank running wild through the leaves that would have fallen in autumn from the huge oak tree that stood next to the house. She could see the 9^th birthday party that Frank had told her about when his parents had let him have a bouncy castle and all the kids had been absolutely sick with jealousy. It was not long after that party that Frank had stopped bringing other kids round to his place. Even though he had the best backyard in the county, Frank had decided that no one should be able to share his space again. But now 15 years later here he was, with a girl holding his hand walking down from the tree-house he had made with Paul to the edge of the pond. Jessica felt grip Frank had on her hand once they reached the water’s edge tighten and he seemed to hold her back ever so slightly as if to confirm she wouldn’t keep walking right into the water. For the first time since she had arrived at this place she felt slightly uncomfortable. She looked up and Frank’s eyes had glazed over as he surveyed the rippled water of the pond and watched the ducks swim silently across. She’d never seen him look like this, he was usually so focused and attentive. He was far away now thinking about something he hadn’t thought about since he’d met Jessica a few months ago. She’d managed to block everything out particularly well and he was happy to have met her. She was beautiful, funny and completely unaware of the effect she had on the men around her, but suddenly being here in this space with her seemed like a terrible idea. Jessica squeezed Frank’s clammy hand with hers and he snapped quickly out of the distant daydream.

“I need to tell you something about this pond”.

Fixing smelly cows

One of the greatest challenges to the fight against climate change may be diminished significantly thanks to ground breaking research being performed at the University of Western Australia.

Dr Kioumars Ghamkhar is the head of a team which is mapping the genes in legumes which end up producing the most harmful gas in regards to climate change- methane.

Dr Ghamkhar and his team are researching the different types of legumes that cattle and sheep eat, in order to distinguish which ones end up producing the least amount of methane when digested by these animals.

In a world first for the mapping of plant genes, Dr Ghamkhar is hopeful that the research will have a significant effect on the problems farmers could eventually face in terms of climate change regulations.

"The aim is to reduce the effect of what farmers are doing on the environment", he says. "We want to create legumes with the best feeing value with the lowest methane emissions".

Although results are still a few years away, the potential for a positive step for farmers and avoiding climate change is great.

To Facebook or not to Facebook?

Yes I have just been to see The Social Network. Yes I did think it was a great movie. And yes I am moved enough by the subject matter to write something immediately.

I do not want this piece to be a film review. I am not intelligent enough, not have I seen enough films to even begin pretending that I am some how worthy enough to start preaching my own judgment of a film on the internet. Other than I thought it was good. Which it was.

No, this piece I want to be something different. Something that demonstrates a difficulty that I have been struggling with for, oh let’s say at least the last couple of years.

Facebook for me has become a part of my daily routine. I check it very regularly. I didn’t check it daily when I didn’t have the internet at home, and to be completely honest I preferred life that way. I never felt like I missed anything. People used to say “How can you not have the internet/Facebook at home?” and my answer would just be “I just don’t”. Nothing more. Now I have both the internet and Facebook at home and I really do think I’m worse off for it. Not the internet as such, it’s really useful. But Facebook has, again, taken over my life. I wish I could resist it- but I can’t. I’d like to try. And so I’m going to. Eventually.

It is the first week of study before exams for me. I only have one exam however and so my study will basically be reading the lecture slides for the subject and hoping for the best. But the importance of it being study week is that typically this is a week of high activity for my ‘friends’ on Facebook. Procrastination kicks into overload and people begin posting everything and anything they can think of. Names are changed, South Park clips are posted, quizzes about which hip hop star you are are taken, and insane babble is posted to everyone’s wall. I am not immune to this. I don’t even have 4 exams to ignore- just the one, and I’m still able to get involved with the study week insanity. I tried not to today. But I got to maybe…11.45am? I didn’t get involved earlier because I SPECIFICALLY left the house. But it shouldn’t be like that. I shouldn’t have to leave my own home just to ignore a website. A website which makes me smile sometimes, but at other times makes me want to die.

I remember in first year of uni when ‘Monday Night Facebook’ was something I used to look forward too. Everyone put up pictures of the weekend and you talked too the new ‘friends’ you had added/had added you and basically got to relive your own glory. This got stale quickly. Now, three years later, the idea makes me sick to my stomach. But I still check the photos tab for some reason. I still punish myself by looking at the pages of people I know to have a better social life than I do and getting self conscious about it. Why? I don’t know. It’s just part of the phenomenon. But I want it to stop.

My argument used to be “Oh no I stay on Facebook to talk to the people who don’t live in my city”. That’s a blatant lie now. The people I do genuinely want to talk too, I talk to daily- if not, weekly. These are the people I usually end up talking to on Facebook anyway. One of my good friends is far away in Europe, and not even that is a good enough excuse anymore to stay on Facebook. We have email, we can use that. Oh better yet we can get out the pen and write each other a letter. Rather than post that Iggy Pop video we’re just dying to show one another because we’re funny/cool.

I’m in a crisis. A modern crisis. A crisis that would never have eventuated without the internet/Facebook. Am I stressing about Facebook because I’m trying to be different, or is Facebook actually having an effect on who I am?

I’d like to think it doesn’t really matter, but unfortunately it does matter. The time this ‘activity’ takes up in my day is growing increasingly out-of-hand. I shouldn’t think about funny status updates when I hear them, but I do. I shouldn't look at that boy's page AGAIN, but I do. I shouldn’t wake up on a Sunday morning and panic because someone might post a photo/comment from the night before which is incriminating, but I do- not often, I’m not that much of a sicko, but it still happens.

My friend suggested to me the other day that when I get back from Europe in February I should delete my Facebook and I do think it’s a great idea. The people I want to talk to will still be there. And I like the idea that people aren’t meant to stay in your life forever so maybe we’re not supposed to stay ‘friends’ on Facebook. But what until that point? Do I keep facing this daily dilemma with a smile and just laugh at the modern condition? Or do I try and find out what it is that’s really bothering me?

Mark Zuckerberg, you’re a genius but I kinda hate you.