To the woman who puts on make-up everyday even though she hates it because society says that you can’t be beautiful without artificial help. Let us tell her that when she smiles, she’s beautiful.
To the man who is afraid to cry because society tells him that by doing so, he is too feminine and he has to be strong instead; keep it all inside. Let’s tell him to hold our hands and cry to us when he’s ready.
To the child who got told to be quiet because she wants to be a chef, an actress, a pilot, a lawyer and a singer. Let us tell her that she can be whatever she wants to be.
To the teenager who dreams of world peace, sickened by the cruelty of those in power, standing helpless in a maze of social conditioning that tells her there’s nothing she can do about it. Let us give her hope of change, despite the desolation.
To the factory worker who is told that she can’t work because she is pregnant and now she doesn’t know where to find money to pay for basic needs. Let’s protest the free trade zones.
To the tall woman who longs to be a dancer but is told that she is not the right size because she would be taller than her male partner. Let’s have a lopsided ballet.
To the millions of girls who endure genital mutilation, let us heal them and punish those who dared to love power, instead of human beings.
To the lone gay man who wants to commit suicide because he’s afraid to tell his parents that he’s gay, let us huddle around him and offer him protection.
To the Wall Street bankers who are on an endless number crunch, let us tell them that money can’t buy life.
To the voices that need to be heard, let us show that a democracy that is ruled by the majority is a flawed system.
To the man who preaches supremacy of race, let us tell him that it is all an illusion, a pyramid built by ghosts which was never real.
To you and to me, let us remind each other that there is no us and they, because we’re all in this together.
Tuesday 26 July 2011
Sunday 29 May 2011
Stop the Madness
From the time each and every one of us shoots out of our mother's womb, to the time we are old and gray, buying things is a habit ingrained in our everyday lives. In order to survive, we have basic human needs. To be fed, to be sheltered, to have adequate drinking water and perhaps most important, to be loved. Studies have shown that human beings, as infants, if left untouched by human hands, are capable of dying. People die without affection or love. Yet, are our lives structured around love?
Unfortunately, no. Our lives are structured around money and the pursuit of it. People are increasingly finding it hard to survive with a mere $1,000 or $2,000. To survive in this bloating inflation times, people claim that they need more money than ever in order to get by. Let us examine if this is true.
After attending the obligatory 11 years of school (where peer pressure is the rule and fitting in is a religion), the next natural step is to earn the almighty degree. So, influenced by friends, family, the mass media and the glossy advertisements by a particular education institution, you pick a major that you semi-believe in and then proceed to be a student for another three to five years. While I still firmly believe that education is one of the best experiences a person can have, my conviction is faltered by the money-making practices that educational institutions are now employing in order to get more students, so that they can make more money and compete with other educational institutions. The university experience is one that comes as a whole package - discovering yourself, your likes and dislikes, participating in extracurricular activities, learning new ideas in the library and going to mind-blowing lectures. But it all comes with a cost, a cost that is becoming increasingly impossible to pay for a huge percentage of people, whether middle class or not. And what I find particularly hilarious is that, the whole idea of going to university for the majority of people is to be able to secure a job after those three to five years. While that is of course, expected in today's wealth-chasing system, it defeats the original and true purpose of education: to gain knowledge for the sake of knowledge. One cannot properly educate herself if her pursuit is money and money alone.
So what's next after the revered 'Degree'? The great 'Job' of course. As soon as your lovely, independent son/daughter has graduated (perhaps even before), (s)he is pressured to find the almighty job, in order to earn the almighty dollars. It doesn't matter sometimes, if they're not ready, or if they want to sit on their bums for awhile (and really, it doesn't hurt to take a break in between the transition), no they have to beat all the other graduates who are doing the exact same thing. It is a mad rush to secure the first available job that is remotely tied to what you studied in university. And if you don't, God forbid, you are questioned, threatened, sent on a guilt-trip and forced to eventually join the mad rush because that's what society expects you to do. In Asian countries like China, Malaysia and Hong Kong, young people face the added pressure of having to worry about what the next-door neighbour might say if they saw you bumming around instead of sitting at a desk for eight hours, typing out things you don't really care about. In America, this is called 'keeping up with the Jones.' In Malaysia, it is the single most terrifying sentence a young person has to endure: "What will Aunty/Uncle/grandma/the maid's gardener say?" It is this constant pressure that will finally crack even the most laid-back carefree person to dive straight into the inane job-hunt and find something just to shut everyone up.
So what's next? You have the picture-perfect job (on the surface of course, when you hide in the loo and tear your hair out, no one knows) and you're earning what most of us will term, a 'decent' salary. Sometimes you stay later than 5 to finish off a task that again, doesn't contribute anything meaningful to your life. Then comes the pressure to buy shiny new things. A person who, say, enters the journalist office, will be pressured to buy a Blackberry (to check work e-mails), or to at the very least, possess a Smart phone. This is not an anti-technological stance, mind you. I have nothing against technology. I think it is the single greatest invention ever created by mankind. But it has created (like anything in the monetary system) a constant pressure for people to buy and own the latest gadgets. It's very simple - if you don't think your life will be greatly improved by a piece of metal, then you don't have to give in. But often what will happen is that, the fresh graduate will look around at everyone else with the coveted Blackberry or with the cute Peugeot and vow to be able to afford it some day. You don't have to buy into this.
I have experienced this first-hand at my old job. The moment I got my first paycheck, colleagues would furtively glance at my beat-up second-hand car and whisper that I could get huge discounts off a brand-new car, all under the guise of being part of the media. Tempting isn't it? But then I looked at the weariness in their eyes, and the way some of them stayed in the office until late, putting in overtime just so they could pay off their car loans, house loans and whatever else they thought they couldn't survive without and vowed not to join the rat race.
You might laugh in my face and say that no matter what, I will eventually get dragged into it or something will make me want to possess all the grandeur that we see everyday. You might be right and perhaps someday you will scoff in my face. But I don't see the need to join this mad struggle. Do you? What kind of benefit will it bring me if I owned a better phone than the one I currently have? Will I radiate prestige and power? Will I smell like new money? And if yes, will I become a better person by owning a better phone? Gladly, I can assure you that the last statement is far from the truth. I might reek of dollar bills, but I really don't want to. Especially since I'll be so broke from paying for my new phone, I will only have the illusion of reeking like dollar bills. The truth will be that I won't be able to afford the simple pleasures of life because I was too busy chasing the idea of prestige.
So what's with the constant pressure? Is it true that the farther you climb the corporate ladder, the more things you have to own? If I start making more money in about three months, am I expected to own better clothes? The truth is, this is just another fitting-in scheme that dictates the lifestyle of an urban yuppie living in today's world. It is the same peer pressure that dictated high school and unfortunately, it is also fabricated by the same people who would look down on you if you don't have what they have.
Right now, when you go into a Starbucks to drink coffee, not only are you being sold ripped-off coffee, you are also being sold, "the Starbucks experience." According to Naomi Klein, the marketing department at Starbucks know it is the whole reality that counts, and not simply the coffee, or the mug the coffee comes in. You are dazzled by the comforting deco in Starbucks, lulled by the friendly baristas and seduced by the pretty stuffed couches on the cozy hardwood floor. Don't fret, I've been seduced too, especially since I've been in a Starbucks where they advertised a Billy Holiday CD at the front counter. The people at Starbucks packaged a different realm of consciousness as the Starbucks experience and you cannot say that it didn't work. The marketing world has stopped pushing products, they have started pushing ideal lifestyles that look and feel so lush, so beautiful and so irresistible. And it worked. And you know what? We're not stopping to think about any of this because this is the way life has been for a long time.
There is no need to stop and think when everything looks just fine and dandy. I'm strolling into Starbucks on a Saturday afternoon with a good friend and willingly paying RM12 (approximately USD3 plus government tax) for whipped cream, coffee and flavoured-syrups. What's wrong with that, you might ask? Why can't I enjoy my coffee, one I decidedly earned, after working five out of seven days a week? You can, because you don't know how the coffee was made, and where it came from. You might have heard something about it being produced in poor countries, but all that is in the back of your head as you take your first sip and savour the excellent combination. And then all is forgotten.
It is sad that we are not products of our imagination, or education. We are products of society, one that is inundated with things, possessions and more possessions. Our generation has not been educated by useful knowledge, but by the television. Our brothers and sisters might be very tech-savvy but they were also brought up on a diet of advertisements, product placements and told how to fit in best.
So what's the solution? Should we all just turn of the television? Well no, because everything is shifting over to the Internet, so it can't be avoided. Then, what, we stop utilizing the Internet? No, we can't because we've become pretty dependent on it and it is a very powerful tool of communicating ideas. Then what?
I suggest the simplest of all solutions. Think before you decide to buy anything. Because the absolute truth is that owning things will not and never make you happy. It might buy you a certain status with your peers and your colleagues but you will be emptier than before. It might buy you temporary happiness, especially if it's something you love. But all I ask you to do, is think hard and long before you make a purchase. Because if you truly don't have a need for it, don't succumb to the enormous built-in pressure that surrounds objects. Only buy to cater to your basic needs and nothing else.
The other day, I looked around my room and saw all the junk in it for what it truly was: clutter, waste of space and useless. Unfortunately, all that junk is going to have to find a place under the earth as we contribute to the growing pile of garbage on our planet. Let us stop the madness, before it threatens to consume us.
Unfortunately, no. Our lives are structured around money and the pursuit of it. People are increasingly finding it hard to survive with a mere $1,000 or $2,000. To survive in this bloating inflation times, people claim that they need more money than ever in order to get by. Let us examine if this is true.
After attending the obligatory 11 years of school (where peer pressure is the rule and fitting in is a religion), the next natural step is to earn the almighty degree. So, influenced by friends, family, the mass media and the glossy advertisements by a particular education institution, you pick a major that you semi-believe in and then proceed to be a student for another three to five years. While I still firmly believe that education is one of the best experiences a person can have, my conviction is faltered by the money-making practices that educational institutions are now employing in order to get more students, so that they can make more money and compete with other educational institutions. The university experience is one that comes as a whole package - discovering yourself, your likes and dislikes, participating in extracurricular activities, learning new ideas in the library and going to mind-blowing lectures. But it all comes with a cost, a cost that is becoming increasingly impossible to pay for a huge percentage of people, whether middle class or not. And what I find particularly hilarious is that, the whole idea of going to university for the majority of people is to be able to secure a job after those three to five years. While that is of course, expected in today's wealth-chasing system, it defeats the original and true purpose of education: to gain knowledge for the sake of knowledge. One cannot properly educate herself if her pursuit is money and money alone.
So what's next after the revered 'Degree'? The great 'Job' of course. As soon as your lovely, independent son/daughter has graduated (perhaps even before), (s)he is pressured to find the almighty job, in order to earn the almighty dollars. It doesn't matter sometimes, if they're not ready, or if they want to sit on their bums for awhile (and really, it doesn't hurt to take a break in between the transition), no they have to beat all the other graduates who are doing the exact same thing. It is a mad rush to secure the first available job that is remotely tied to what you studied in university. And if you don't, God forbid, you are questioned, threatened, sent on a guilt-trip and forced to eventually join the mad rush because that's what society expects you to do. In Asian countries like China, Malaysia and Hong Kong, young people face the added pressure of having to worry about what the next-door neighbour might say if they saw you bumming around instead of sitting at a desk for eight hours, typing out things you don't really care about. In America, this is called 'keeping up with the Jones.' In Malaysia, it is the single most terrifying sentence a young person has to endure: "What will Aunty/Uncle/grandma/the maid's gardener say?" It is this constant pressure that will finally crack even the most laid-back carefree person to dive straight into the inane job-hunt and find something just to shut everyone up.
So what's next? You have the picture-perfect job (on the surface of course, when you hide in the loo and tear your hair out, no one knows) and you're earning what most of us will term, a 'decent' salary. Sometimes you stay later than 5 to finish off a task that again, doesn't contribute anything meaningful to your life. Then comes the pressure to buy shiny new things. A person who, say, enters the journalist office, will be pressured to buy a Blackberry (to check work e-mails), or to at the very least, possess a Smart phone. This is not an anti-technological stance, mind you. I have nothing against technology. I think it is the single greatest invention ever created by mankind. But it has created (like anything in the monetary system) a constant pressure for people to buy and own the latest gadgets. It's very simple - if you don't think your life will be greatly improved by a piece of metal, then you don't have to give in. But often what will happen is that, the fresh graduate will look around at everyone else with the coveted Blackberry or with the cute Peugeot and vow to be able to afford it some day. You don't have to buy into this.
I have experienced this first-hand at my old job. The moment I got my first paycheck, colleagues would furtively glance at my beat-up second-hand car and whisper that I could get huge discounts off a brand-new car, all under the guise of being part of the media. Tempting isn't it? But then I looked at the weariness in their eyes, and the way some of them stayed in the office until late, putting in overtime just so they could pay off their car loans, house loans and whatever else they thought they couldn't survive without and vowed not to join the rat race.
You might laugh in my face and say that no matter what, I will eventually get dragged into it or something will make me want to possess all the grandeur that we see everyday. You might be right and perhaps someday you will scoff in my face. But I don't see the need to join this mad struggle. Do you? What kind of benefit will it bring me if I owned a better phone than the one I currently have? Will I radiate prestige and power? Will I smell like new money? And if yes, will I become a better person by owning a better phone? Gladly, I can assure you that the last statement is far from the truth. I might reek of dollar bills, but I really don't want to. Especially since I'll be so broke from paying for my new phone, I will only have the illusion of reeking like dollar bills. The truth will be that I won't be able to afford the simple pleasures of life because I was too busy chasing the idea of prestige.
So what's with the constant pressure? Is it true that the farther you climb the corporate ladder, the more things you have to own? If I start making more money in about three months, am I expected to own better clothes? The truth is, this is just another fitting-in scheme that dictates the lifestyle of an urban yuppie living in today's world. It is the same peer pressure that dictated high school and unfortunately, it is also fabricated by the same people who would look down on you if you don't have what they have.
Right now, when you go into a Starbucks to drink coffee, not only are you being sold ripped-off coffee, you are also being sold, "the Starbucks experience." According to Naomi Klein, the marketing department at Starbucks know it is the whole reality that counts, and not simply the coffee, or the mug the coffee comes in. You are dazzled by the comforting deco in Starbucks, lulled by the friendly baristas and seduced by the pretty stuffed couches on the cozy hardwood floor. Don't fret, I've been seduced too, especially since I've been in a Starbucks where they advertised a Billy Holiday CD at the front counter. The people at Starbucks packaged a different realm of consciousness as the Starbucks experience and you cannot say that it didn't work. The marketing world has stopped pushing products, they have started pushing ideal lifestyles that look and feel so lush, so beautiful and so irresistible. And it worked. And you know what? We're not stopping to think about any of this because this is the way life has been for a long time.
There is no need to stop and think when everything looks just fine and dandy. I'm strolling into Starbucks on a Saturday afternoon with a good friend and willingly paying RM12 (approximately USD3 plus government tax) for whipped cream, coffee and flavoured-syrups. What's wrong with that, you might ask? Why can't I enjoy my coffee, one I decidedly earned, after working five out of seven days a week? You can, because you don't know how the coffee was made, and where it came from. You might have heard something about it being produced in poor countries, but all that is in the back of your head as you take your first sip and savour the excellent combination. And then all is forgotten.
It is sad that we are not products of our imagination, or education. We are products of society, one that is inundated with things, possessions and more possessions. Our generation has not been educated by useful knowledge, but by the television. Our brothers and sisters might be very tech-savvy but they were also brought up on a diet of advertisements, product placements and told how to fit in best.
So what's the solution? Should we all just turn of the television? Well no, because everything is shifting over to the Internet, so it can't be avoided. Then, what, we stop utilizing the Internet? No, we can't because we've become pretty dependent on it and it is a very powerful tool of communicating ideas. Then what?
I suggest the simplest of all solutions. Think before you decide to buy anything. Because the absolute truth is that owning things will not and never make you happy. It might buy you a certain status with your peers and your colleagues but you will be emptier than before. It might buy you temporary happiness, especially if it's something you love. But all I ask you to do, is think hard and long before you make a purchase. Because if you truly don't have a need for it, don't succumb to the enormous built-in pressure that surrounds objects. Only buy to cater to your basic needs and nothing else.
The other day, I looked around my room and saw all the junk in it for what it truly was: clutter, waste of space and useless. Unfortunately, all that junk is going to have to find a place under the earth as we contribute to the growing pile of garbage on our planet. Let us stop the madness, before it threatens to consume us.
Wednesday 27 April 2011
Music Empires = Corporate Machines?
After a very long time, I visited an online drum forum and there was an interesting discussion about the state of the music industry.
You know how the saying goes, “they don't make X like they used to anymore”? (X can be anything, including women, but that's for another day). Well they bloody well do not make music like they used to anymore. What with the influx of good looking but untalented supposed “musicians” getting shitloads of airplay. If Paris Hilton can record an album and sell it, which she actually did, that says a lot about the state of the music industry nowadays.
Most of this can be blamed entirely on record labels. These money minded corporate machines only think of profits, and therefore the quality of music is lost somewhere between a band like Tool, talented bunch of guys who do not get much airplay and Justin Bieber who I can honestly say has not, will not and can never hold a candle to a band like Tool. The big 4 corporations; Sony, Universal, EMI and Warner, collectively control about 70% of the world's music which means basically almost everyone you hear on radio is signed to these labels. These labels take control of the image, music and the marketing of an artiste to maximise their annual earnings. The next time you see Justin Bieber with a new haircut or Lady Gaga wearing fishes as a dress, know that it was a job by the labels. The Westlife line up you know now? Yea, that's Simon Cowell's work.
To be fair to these labels, they run a business, and like every businessperson, they want to make money. But these monsters (I wish I could swear) do that at the expense of quality and regurgitate quantities of utter bullcrap. Not forgetting they also buy over smaller, independent labels that they think might be a threat to their business. Kinda like how the Mafia works. Yes, the music industry is a hazardous one, kill or be killed. Even established independent labels like Roadrunner Records (a label that caters to metal music) tend to at least co-operate with the bigger labels so as to boost their artistes' profile. Not only that, sometimes these labels also screw over their clients in ways such as not paying royalties, so yea, monsters does not cut it.
The only way this can be solved is to find the balance between money and creativity. Some labels like Roadrunner Records have successfully maintained the balance between making money and nurturing creativity. For all you know, if the bigger labels find the balance, Justin Bieber and Rebecca Friday might actually be able to sing.
Rock on.
Sticks
You know how the saying goes, “they don't make X like they used to anymore”? (X can be anything, including women, but that's for another day). Well they bloody well do not make music like they used to anymore. What with the influx of good looking but untalented supposed “musicians” getting shitloads of airplay. If Paris Hilton can record an album and sell it, which she actually did, that says a lot about the state of the music industry nowadays.
Most of this can be blamed entirely on record labels. These money minded corporate machines only think of profits, and therefore the quality of music is lost somewhere between a band like Tool, talented bunch of guys who do not get much airplay and Justin Bieber who I can honestly say has not, will not and can never hold a candle to a band like Tool. The big 4 corporations; Sony, Universal, EMI and Warner, collectively control about 70% of the world's music which means basically almost everyone you hear on radio is signed to these labels. These labels take control of the image, music and the marketing of an artiste to maximise their annual earnings. The next time you see Justin Bieber with a new haircut or Lady Gaga wearing fishes as a dress, know that it was a job by the labels. The Westlife line up you know now? Yea, that's Simon Cowell's work.
To be fair to these labels, they run a business, and like every businessperson, they want to make money. But these monsters (I wish I could swear) do that at the expense of quality and regurgitate quantities of utter bullcrap. Not forgetting they also buy over smaller, independent labels that they think might be a threat to their business. Kinda like how the Mafia works. Yes, the music industry is a hazardous one, kill or be killed. Even established independent labels like Roadrunner Records (a label that caters to metal music) tend to at least co-operate with the bigger labels so as to boost their artistes' profile. Not only that, sometimes these labels also screw over their clients in ways such as not paying royalties, so yea, monsters does not cut it.
The only way this can be solved is to find the balance between money and creativity. Some labels like Roadrunner Records have successfully maintained the balance between making money and nurturing creativity. For all you know, if the bigger labels find the balance, Justin Bieber and Rebecca Friday might actually be able to sing.
Rock on.
Sticks
Monday 25 April 2011
Mittal vs. The Williams
Last week at work, I was assigned to find a picture of the infamous Mittal wedding. Unashamedly, I didn't know who or what Mittal was, so I proceeded to Google him. Lakshmi Mittal is the owner of the largest steel-making company in the world. He is also presently the sixth-richest person in the world. His personal wealth is valued at $US31.1 billion. I'm not exactly good at math, but that sounds like a huge amount of money for one person.
Not to fret though, he was generous enough to spend approximately $US55 million on his daughter's wedding - reportedly the most expensive wedding ever recorded in the history of the world. I'd keep my eye out on Forbes in the next week though - apparently the highly anticipated Royal wedding is set to break the mold, and Mittal's extravagant wedding might serve well as a measuring device - whoever spends the most money won't lose face in the Forbes community. And mind you, Indians have a lot of pride and hate to lose face, especially not to some pretty white boy from Wales.
Here is the top 10 list of things Lakshmi Mittal can do to outdo Prince William and the Middleton.
10. Build a 60,000 seat stadium in London and call it Mittal's. This will also make the crown prince of Abu Dhabi's 20,000-seat stadium built for his marriage to the Princess look like child's play.
9. Arrive everywhere in a hybrid Hummer, a la Arnold Schwarzenegger c.1992. Top that you dirty English bugger in your horse-drawn carriage.
8. Invite Isaac Tigrett to the house and get all the dirt on the next avatar of Sathya Sai Baba. Proceed to leak it to the Indian newspapers.
7. Buy over an English football team and make bad decisions.
6. Put the Taj Mittal on eBay and watch people place their bids. When questioned, shrug and say "I was bored."
5. Catch the Bieber fever and boycott the Royal Wedding fever. If the Americans think Justin Beiber is good-looking, they probably don't fancy English lads.
4. Help Black Sabbath sneak past security and get a mosh pit going next to The Choir of Westminister Abbey.
3. Call up Colin Bleasedale and offer him money to make the world's most expensive sorbet, for summer parties.
2. Find out where they're making the ridiculously expensive hats and stick toilet paper in them.
and the number 1. way to top Prince William's Royal wedding -
1. Show up at the Royal wedding with a t-shirt that says "I have more friends on Facebook."
Not to fret though, he was generous enough to spend approximately $US55 million on his daughter's wedding - reportedly the most expensive wedding ever recorded in the history of the world. I'd keep my eye out on Forbes in the next week though - apparently the highly anticipated Royal wedding is set to break the mold, and Mittal's extravagant wedding might serve well as a measuring device - whoever spends the most money won't lose face in the Forbes community. And mind you, Indians have a lot of pride and hate to lose face, especially not to some pretty white boy from Wales.
Here is the top 10 list of things Lakshmi Mittal can do to outdo Prince William and the Middleton.
10. Build a 60,000 seat stadium in London and call it Mittal's. This will also make the crown prince of Abu Dhabi's 20,000-seat stadium built for his marriage to the Princess look like child's play.
9. Arrive everywhere in a hybrid Hummer, a la Arnold Schwarzenegger c.1992. Top that you dirty English bugger in your horse-drawn carriage.
8. Invite Isaac Tigrett to the house and get all the dirt on the next avatar of Sathya Sai Baba. Proceed to leak it to the Indian newspapers.
7. Buy over an English football team and make bad decisions.
6. Put the Taj Mittal on eBay and watch people place their bids. When questioned, shrug and say "I was bored."
5. Catch the Bieber fever and boycott the Royal Wedding fever. If the Americans think Justin Beiber is good-looking, they probably don't fancy English lads.
4. Help Black Sabbath sneak past security and get a mosh pit going next to The Choir of Westminister Abbey.
3. Call up Colin Bleasedale and offer him money to make the world's most expensive sorbet, for summer parties.
2. Find out where they're making the ridiculously expensive hats and stick toilet paper in them.
and the number 1. way to top Prince William's Royal wedding -
1. Show up at the Royal wedding with a t-shirt that says "I have more friends on Facebook."
Green in Perth
My first thought once exiting the Perth International Airport was: “Where is everybody?” I genuinely thought that maybe, I had arrived in the middle of a shooting for a zombie movie. One could literally hear the chirping of the crickets. Before making my way out, I had been rudely robbed of my precious 3-in-1 Nescafe coffee sachets and a carton of cigarettes. I paid the required fine for the carton because I couldn’t bear to part with my last ray of hope And apparently, those tiny bags of coffee powder have the potential to devastate Perth’s agricultural industry. I felt like my world had ended; what exactly, was I going to do without instant coffee? Fresh out of Mom and Dad’s shadow and emerging into the strong ozone layer-less Perth sunshine, I blinked like a newborn and tried not to cry my eyes out.
I watched in awe, once in the comfort of a friends’ house, as my housemates effortlessly produced meals out of jars. Creamy butter chicken appeared in front of me (from a jar but hey it was good!) and I ate voraciously, my appetite intensified with homesickness and the shock of a new culture. My first day at tutorials was stimulating and I managed to get past the awkwardness of small talk. My classmate turned to me and said, “So hey, a bunch of us are going to the tavern. Want to join?”
I blinked at him and stupidly pointed out the fact that it was 10.30a.m. He shrugged and said it was never too early for a beer. My eyes must have widened because the poor guy backed away and ran to catch up with his friends, leaving me with my mouth hanging open. Alcohol before breakfast seemed to be the norm for the students at Murdoch University and I had to learn to make variations of the joke that I couldn’t stomach orange juice at that hour so how was I supposed to hold down a pint of beer?
Then there was panic when I saw the way Australian girls dressed. I was confused at first, thinking perhaps that maybe some of them couldn’t afford clothes because they seemed to be always partially-clothed. I thought to myself that if Murdoch culture required me to have cleavage, then I should think about applying elsewhere. Surely people didn’t expect that I pull down my top and reveal my underwear to public?
And don’t get me started on the people that I saw walking around barefoot. I felt sad, thinking that maybe this state wasn’t as rich as I believed it to be if everyone walked around missing vital items of clothing! But then I learnt the price of my fees. And rent. And groceries. And daily essentials, like soap. Or the price of having a decent meal out. And I cried my eyes out, thinking about poor Dad, sending me to a country that he thought was going to give me a bright future, but really were full of people walking around without clothes and shoes!
I took comfort in going to the little Asian shop down at Kardinya. It was familiar, seeing brands I recognized and food I missed from back home. As the petite man packed my stuff, he gave me a huge smile and said “Cheers mate.” I was traumatized. He was Chinese.
Fast forward a year and I have to look back and laugh. I don’t think I have yet to utter the infamous “Cheers mate” line but I don’t feel as out of place as I used to. I might not start drinking before I brush my teeth, and I may not enjoy showing a lot of skin but I have started to really like it in this pretty state and I wouldn’t mind settling here (on second thoughts, I don’t know what I’d do if my children started talking with an Australian accent). Maybe I’ll consider England simply because the accents are sexier.
I watched in awe, once in the comfort of a friends’ house, as my housemates effortlessly produced meals out of jars. Creamy butter chicken appeared in front of me (from a jar but hey it was good!) and I ate voraciously, my appetite intensified with homesickness and the shock of a new culture. My first day at tutorials was stimulating and I managed to get past the awkwardness of small talk. My classmate turned to me and said, “So hey, a bunch of us are going to the tavern. Want to join?”
I blinked at him and stupidly pointed out the fact that it was 10.30a.m. He shrugged and said it was never too early for a beer. My eyes must have widened because the poor guy backed away and ran to catch up with his friends, leaving me with my mouth hanging open. Alcohol before breakfast seemed to be the norm for the students at Murdoch University and I had to learn to make variations of the joke that I couldn’t stomach orange juice at that hour so how was I supposed to hold down a pint of beer?
Then there was panic when I saw the way Australian girls dressed. I was confused at first, thinking perhaps that maybe some of them couldn’t afford clothes because they seemed to be always partially-clothed. I thought to myself that if Murdoch culture required me to have cleavage, then I should think about applying elsewhere. Surely people didn’t expect that I pull down my top and reveal my underwear to public?
And don’t get me started on the people that I saw walking around barefoot. I felt sad, thinking that maybe this state wasn’t as rich as I believed it to be if everyone walked around missing vital items of clothing! But then I learnt the price of my fees. And rent. And groceries. And daily essentials, like soap. Or the price of having a decent meal out. And I cried my eyes out, thinking about poor Dad, sending me to a country that he thought was going to give me a bright future, but really were full of people walking around without clothes and shoes!
I took comfort in going to the little Asian shop down at Kardinya. It was familiar, seeing brands I recognized and food I missed from back home. As the petite man packed my stuff, he gave me a huge smile and said “Cheers mate.” I was traumatized. He was Chinese.
Fast forward a year and I have to look back and laugh. I don’t think I have yet to utter the infamous “Cheers mate” line but I don’t feel as out of place as I used to. I might not start drinking before I brush my teeth, and I may not enjoy showing a lot of skin but I have started to really like it in this pretty state and I wouldn’t mind settling here (on second thoughts, I don’t know what I’d do if my children started talking with an Australian accent). Maybe I’ll consider England simply because the accents are sexier.
Friday 15 April 2011
De-Stress Yourself!
Everyday, we face stress. From the time we wake up till the time we close our eyes at night, we face stress in one way or another. As working adults, the moment we wake up, the clock starts ticking and we literally go through a personal rush hour in getting ready for work and to work. Once we’re on the road, we face the jam stress and once we’re at work, we face the various other stressors at work. On the way home from work, we once again face the mad traffic jams and by the time we reach home, we are completely stressed out! The helpless feeling we face by not being able to control how stress affects us will in the end impact on our systems negatively, be it mentally or physically. And so I say to you, take control of your stressors! Do yourself a favour and de-stress yourself! Here are a few easy steps that could help you tremendously throughout your day.
1. What you are is what you eat.
Let’s face it, most of us love to eat. We live in a country surrounded by a variety of food sources available to us 24-7. However, this is where we have to take precaution. We may not realise this but a good nutritional diet plays a huge part in combating stress. In stressful circumstances, vital nutrients that help to battle stress are quickly depleted. Therefore we have to constantly replace these vital nutrients by eating a healthy diet.
Good nutrition supports the adrenal glands, which greatly helps in your battle against stress. Stress shrinks your adrenal glands, and a healthy diet helps to maintain good adrenal function. Your diet should consist of the following:
Whole grains and high fiber food
Beans and legumes
Fruits and vegetables
Moderate amount of lean meat
Low fat dairy products
Fish
Nuts, seeds and their oil
Also in response to stress, our bodies start to crave for certain addictive “stuffs” which are supposed to maintain the stress levels in your body. These include smoking, caffeine, alcohol, sweets and salt. Try and avoid these at all costs! Have you seen people who are heartbroken? The first things they zone on are chocolates!
2. Stretch those muscles!
Wake up in the morning, stretch! Feeling stressed? Stretch. It will do you a world of good! Stretching relaxes tight, tense muscles that often accompany stress.
3. A cuppa tea?
Tea, whether black or white, helps. Studies from the University College of London have shown that people who drink black tea before engaging in a stressful task perform better than those who don’t do so. This is because their cortisol levels (which is the steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands) drops.
4. Indulge in some time-out!
Be it Facebook or YouTube, just take some time out from work or from your studies for a few minutes. Facebook time-outs are usually overlooked by employers as they understand the need for their employees to de-stress for awhile. That little joy in conversing with friends over a favourite network can greatly de-stress a person. Watching a few funny videos and laughing or listening to soothing songs on YouTube will decrease the levels of stress.
5. Vent out your frustrations.
Sometimes it’s good to talk to friends or colleagues and vent out your frustration. It’s ok to depend on others for emotional support. This is considered healthy. Repressing your emotions can impact negatively on you emotionally. If it helps you more to blow of some steam, then go to a private corner and just say #*%$ it! Try not to do so in the company of other people or children, of course. But yes, sometimes swearing privately does help.
6. Retail Therapy!
Indulge yourself in some shopping! Sometimes pampering yourself is a good way of saying bye to stress. According to most women, going on a shopping spree in stress mode is therapeutic because they start feeling good by buying things they fancy without a list
So folks, change the way stress affects your life and take control. These few tips may help you greatly in your endeavours to battle your stressors in life. Good luck!
1. What you are is what you eat.
Let’s face it, most of us love to eat. We live in a country surrounded by a variety of food sources available to us 24-7. However, this is where we have to take precaution. We may not realise this but a good nutritional diet plays a huge part in combating stress. In stressful circumstances, vital nutrients that help to battle stress are quickly depleted. Therefore we have to constantly replace these vital nutrients by eating a healthy diet.
Good nutrition supports the adrenal glands, which greatly helps in your battle against stress. Stress shrinks your adrenal glands, and a healthy diet helps to maintain good adrenal function. Your diet should consist of the following:
Whole grains and high fiber food
Beans and legumes
Fruits and vegetables
Moderate amount of lean meat
Low fat dairy products
Fish
Nuts, seeds and their oil
Also in response to stress, our bodies start to crave for certain addictive “stuffs” which are supposed to maintain the stress levels in your body. These include smoking, caffeine, alcohol, sweets and salt. Try and avoid these at all costs! Have you seen people who are heartbroken? The first things they zone on are chocolates!
2. Stretch those muscles!
Wake up in the morning, stretch! Feeling stressed? Stretch. It will do you a world of good! Stretching relaxes tight, tense muscles that often accompany stress.
3. A cuppa tea?
Tea, whether black or white, helps. Studies from the University College of London have shown that people who drink black tea before engaging in a stressful task perform better than those who don’t do so. This is because their cortisol levels (which is the steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands) drops.
4. Indulge in some time-out!
Be it Facebook or YouTube, just take some time out from work or from your studies for a few minutes. Facebook time-outs are usually overlooked by employers as they understand the need for their employees to de-stress for awhile. That little joy in conversing with friends over a favourite network can greatly de-stress a person. Watching a few funny videos and laughing or listening to soothing songs on YouTube will decrease the levels of stress.
5. Vent out your frustrations.
Sometimes it’s good to talk to friends or colleagues and vent out your frustration. It’s ok to depend on others for emotional support. This is considered healthy. Repressing your emotions can impact negatively on you emotionally. If it helps you more to blow of some steam, then go to a private corner and just say #*%$ it! Try not to do so in the company of other people or children, of course. But yes, sometimes swearing privately does help.
6. Retail Therapy!
Indulge yourself in some shopping! Sometimes pampering yourself is a good way of saying bye to stress. According to most women, going on a shopping spree in stress mode is therapeutic because they start feeling good by buying things they fancy without a list
So folks, change the way stress affects your life and take control. These few tips may help you greatly in your endeavours to battle your stressors in life. Good luck!
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