My Place and Yours - Blog HQ

This week's Meet Me at Mikes My Place and Yours theme is Blog HQ - the place where you blog from, bought to you byNinon. As it has been quite hot in Alice Springs recently my Blog HQ has moved from my bed (perfect in winter with the sun on your back) to the couch, where the cool breeze of the air con washes over you as you blog.

Fired Up - the racial discrimination act

Whatever your view on the NT Intervention (and there has been much debate amongst a number of Anthropologists on AASNet) it is great to see the NT Greens taking action to reintroduce the Racial Discrimination Act into the Northern Territory. The Act was suspended so that the Intervention could take place. See more about the Greens proposal here

Significance

I came across this quote today while researching another project:

‘man [woman] is an animal suspended in webs of significance he [she] has spun’ Clifford Geertz

A friend recently commented about being sick of reading narcissistic blogs, but I guess, when it comes down to it, narcissism is the essence of blogs. We blog to tell others about ourselves and bring our 'wisdom' to other people. It's incredibly self serving and narcissistic. I started this blog to practice writing and tell others about life in the Territory. I think the blog could give more on the latter. Hopefully some of you find what I have to say interesting, but at the end of the day it is what it is, narcissism.

*Please read the comments, Sarah and Vintage Fabric Addict both have excellent things to say on this

Street Art Sunday

This week's street art comes firstly from Fitzroy Street in Fitzroy, Vic. I love the rabbit and his flag struggle. The other two pictures come from Leicester Street in Fitzroy, Vic. This wall has a near constant base of stencil art, but changes regularly as new art is added. It's always interesting to walk past and see what's new.

My Place and Yours - Bedside

As I entered last weeks' my place and yours fairly late, it's already time for this weeks. I don't really have room for a bedside table as there wouldn't be room for the nearby cupboard to open. So my stuff sits neatly (sometimes) on the ground.

I have my one bedroom studio essentials - my sleepy mask and my ear plugs. I tend to go to bed earlier than Nick and this wouldn't be possible without these. Plus our lovely neighbour is often out late at night and leaves his porch light on, flooding our room with light.

I have my magazine pile, plus a few books I am reading. I never read one book at a time, so by my bed I have:

- Beauty in Bloom by Natalie Bloom

- The Lovely Bones by Alice Shebold

- Such a Pretty Fat by Jennifer Lancaster

My ugg boots are still out because we are still getting some cold nights every now and then. I love my cosy ugg boots and try to drag out the ugg boots wearing time for as long as I can. Forcasts of over thirty for the next week will probably spell the end of this.

See Pip's blog Meet Me at Mikes for more bedsides

My Place and Yours - On the Shelf

Meet Me at Mikes now has a meme, it's called My Place and Yours. It sounds fun, a way to sticky beak into other people's places, but on their own terms. I though I'd join in.

My shelf is in our bedroom. On the top shelf is our hat and beanie collection, plus my belts in the box. A few weeks ago I decided that I'd display some of my high heels rather than hide them in my cupboard, so they're on the next little shelf. The painting is by Lucy Hope, a local Alice Springs girl, who creates fabulous works. You can see more of her work here. Sitting next to the painting is the obligatory box of crap where you can semi hide almost anything in a last minute clean up.

Fired Up - Fines for beggers and euphemisms

The NT has increased state fines for begging to $6500. Obviously it musn’t go without saying that if you are begging you probably don’t have $6500 in your bank account (you probably don’t have a bank account) to pay a fine. There go you will be sent to jail. In jail you’ll probably get a meal, a roof over your head and a chance to dry out, so it might not be so bad, but why do we have to use our jails for this? Surely we could put some money into accommodation and support for the homeless instead of increasing our prison population and police force? I am pretty sure that our police have other issues to police. The government is now reviewing the bill

On Monday one of our NT parliamentarians referred to asylum seekers as scum. While this does sound like something a parliamentarian would say after a few drinks in a pub, it was made in Parliament, quite probably while the man was sober (I can’t be certain of this). Scaremongering about refugees is something that the Australian government has done quite well in the past Howard era, and it looks as though it will be bought into the Rudd era. Oh K Rudd you held so much promise.

And don't get me started on Wilson Tuckey (a Federal Government Politician) who yesterday stated that the asylum seeker boats were 'full of terrorists'. Yes, a terrorist's preferred method of travel is a leaky boat.

Sweet Valley High Movie!!

You may have already heard this but I think it's worth repeating, Diablo Cody has signed on to write the screenplay for a Sweet Valley High movie. How awesome! One of my favourite writers (Diablo Cody wrote Juno and a novel called Candy Girl. She's also one of the writers for The United States of Tara) paired with my favourite novels from my early teens, do you realise how much I am anticipating this movie?! I still have all my Sweet Valley High books in our storage shed, cuddled up to my Baby Sitters Club Books.

Shea Sylvia asked on her tumblr blog which twin you are most like. I would have to say Elizabeth. I could never understand how she put up with Jessica. Jessica was always getting into trouble and Liz was always having to bail her out. Liz got good grades, had a steady boyfriend and never got into trouble – maybe Liz was the more the twin I wanted to be?

*I was also a major fan of the Baby Sitters Club, even had the board game. Oh the days when I went to the bookstore with my $2.95 and purchased the new BSC book. If I remember rightly there was a time when they were releasing them once a month?!

Image: Geeks of Doom

Quick big city visit

Last week I popped down to Melbourne for a brief visit. It’s always nice to escape Alice Springs and experience the cold, windy, rainy world that is Melbourne. And Melbourne did not disappoint, rain it did. My umbrella was my number one accessory. I did all of the big city things, breakfast out, shopping, hair cut (I do save this for Melbourne trips), see a movie (we only get blockbusters in Alice Springs). I saw The September Issue. Great documentary. I think if Anna Wintour was a man we’d never hear about her. Grace Coddington, on the other hand is amazing, Vogue is lucky to have her).

I ate dumplings, caught up with friends (including my good friend who recently – less than two weeks ago - had a baby, he’s so cute) and caught up with relatives. I also did a little wedding dress shopping! All in all a successful trip.

Street Art Sunday

Found in 2008 on Leicester Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne.

On being a landlord while residing at your boyfriend's mum's place

Until the engagement I had been dreaming about moving back into my townhouse. It’s a two story, two bedroom place in a complex that has a pool and a gym. I love it. I love having a place of my own. It’s been great to be able to live in the studio in Nick’s mum’s backyard, but it mostly contains her (really nice) things and I’ve been missing my things, which are in storage in Melbourne. I think I also have this level of pride that I have my own place and stuff and that I can take care of myself. I’m not sure where I’ve gotten the idea that being a landlord before 30 is not something to be proud of. While I am living elsewhere someone else is paying my mortgage –pretty sweet. With rising interest rates and the ever increasing price of houses, owning your own home wasn’t really a possibility amongst our Melbourne friends, so mentioning your rental property wasn’t entirely appropriate. Everyone rented, so a sweet deal at Nick’s mum’s would sound great to them. Back in Alice Springs, most of our friends own their own home and when asked where we live, living at the back of Nick’s mum’s house doesn’t sound as cool as ‘in my house’.

A few months back I approached my real estate agent about the possibility of us moving back in, but a glitch in communication last December meant that my place has been rented with a longer lease than I had approved. Thus when we wanted to move back in it wasn’t available. The house has recently become available, yet with the wedding and saving to go overseas for at least six months (including a ski season), it really isn’t financially viable for us to move in. Nick says we can make it work if I really want to, but I just don’t think it’s wise. The longer we've lived here the more it feels like our own. Plus we are fairly independent here, as much as we would be at mine. Maybe we can live there when we come back to Australia or maybe that cute little townhouse will simply remain a happy home for someone else. In the meantime, I’m going to relish in the knowledge that I became a landlord before 30.

Images: My wonderful house as photographed by me