Growing up?

So Maz from school had organised dinner on the weekend: there were a few of us girls from school, and a few other friends of hers and Jamie's, and then... there was everyone's partners. My gosh, I mean, there were a few of us there who were single, but mostly couples, and the average length of relationship was like 5 years!!! (Seriously, it came up in discussion!). And I was the only uni student there! They all have grown-up jobs. These people are grown-ups.

Seriously, it was weird, most people there were the same age as me (just one slightly older couple)yet we lead such different lives. It reminds me of a conversation with Mel, Loz & Cassie a couple of weeks ago. Everyone we know from school seems to be getting married etc. But in AIESEC, it's different. It seems normal for people to be mid 20s, running around the world like it's a giant playground, owning not more than a suitcase of stuff and maybe a laptop, and making the most of being young and carefree. And to be honest, I think that's the way I like it. Sooner or later I'll be at risk of being tied down by relationships, career opportunities and material assets (I hope! Or do I...?). I plan to live, healthily, to 100. So that's plenty of time being grown-up and sensible. Might as well just be random for now while I can still get away with it :)

But I don't want you to get the wrong idea - despite these intitally disturbing revelations, the company was great and the food was lovely - all in all, a great night :) thanks maz!

News

1. Blossom is starting to appear all over Adelaide, and the forecast for tomoz is 22 deg C. Spring has sprung!
2. Chris is definitely coming to Adelaide for Christmas - yay! Plus Mel and Justin will also be in Oz in late December! An Aussie reunion for the complete summer team from the Shuang An apartment :)

Max Brenner Brownie and Italian Hot Chocolate - mmmmm....
















After :)















Vincent with his Souffle and Melting Chocolate & Milk
















Flic and Sam at the Chocolate Buddha!

Vincent and I in Melbourne - not bad for a self-portrait huh?!

Firstly, the last week or two have been GREAT, mostly because, for the first time since I left China, I've been BUSY! It's so hard to go from doing heaps and never having enough time for anything, to having almost nothing to do, but with assignments due, helping out with AIESEC and a trip to Melbourne, I felt like a real person again :)

Firstly, dancing :) yes for aaaages I've been saying that when I came back to Adelaide I'd learn to dance. So I dragged Loz (welcome back babe!) & Laura(to you too!) from AIESEC and Julia & Rhiannon from Saints Girls along to Salsa & Merengue class at the gym at Adelaide Uni. There were only 3 other people in the class so it was pretty casual, with 2 instructors (who can really dance!) and lots of stepping and wiggling. Actually, I could feel it afterwards... it wasn't like there was sweat dripping off us, but it's definitely good for the stomach muscles! I missed last week but will go again this week. Finally gonna learn to shake my arse! :)

So, AIESEC. Azz asked me to speak at an IBW event about the Chinese SN pool and process, as the event was focussed on working with AIESEC to gain access to Chinese SNs to help to develop and implement international trade in China. The turnout was small, but it was great, I really enjoyed it. It's something I'm still very passionate about, and I loved the chance to share that! Plus, hanging out afterwards with a few of the old and new guys to enjoy the bar tab was also fun :)

The next morning I was off to Melbourne! I went to catch up with Vincent from UIBE after his CEED at QUT, and made a weekend of it by also seeing Luke from USA, Sam from ANU and Michelle and Simon from RMIT. I used my frequent flyer points and in the first time in a couple of years, I had both leisure time in a different place (ie wasn't there for a conference!) and some money to spend (as I know I can come back and eat for free at home 'till I recover financially!)

It was great catching up with Vincent again, and meeting Alvin, Teon and Shu Shu as well. We spoke random (well, I was random, anyway) Mandarin, ate Greek, Italian (although Vincent had kangaroo!), went to Crown, the Old Gaol (only from the outside!), the Queen Vic Markets, Max Brenner's (thanks for the suggestion Lil!) and more. We had dinner with Michelle and Simon too (huge "parmi"s at the pub), as they're both off to Beijing soon and it's never to early to start to get to know the locals ;) I stayed with them while I was in Melbs and gave them ideas on what to take and stuff. Thanks so much for the hospitality guys! It's kind of weird though - it feels like it was all a dream sometimes... did I really live in Beijing?

Luke took Michelle, Simon and I to an AWESOME breakfast place near Brunswick St that I'll definitely revist when I get the chance, and I had Japanese with Sam at the Chocolate Buddha (there was no chocolate involved but the place and food were both pretty funky so we didn't mind!). It was great to catch up with both of them :) And I visited KokoBlack for THE best hot chocolate in my 23 years (thanks Michelle you were right!). So, as you can see, friends and food were the themes of my weekend :) Books, coffee and walking walking and walking were also important! Oh, I went to see the second half of a Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performace too. Random! I went in to ask about shows but I'd missed the start of everything. Went to use the nice bathrooms before I left and heard an announcement that the second part was about to begin and there were tickets for $5! In the end they didn't even want my $5 - great - coffee and cake!

Despite the rain and the huge cash expenditure, I totally enjoyed myself, both spending time catching up with friends and just spending time on my own exploring. The decision to go was the best one I've made in ages. And so, on to the next decision. Friends repeats are on soon and I think I should be ready with some tea and something hot to eat - so enough for now! I'll post photos when I work out how :)

Extreme

I’ve become a bit of an extreme person. No, I haven’t dyed my hair blue or anything. Although I did colour it “Darkest Brown” once and an older woman at work told me it was purple… it was pretty black, but I think to say purple was going a bit far.

What I mean is, on the one hand, I’m a lot more cynical than I used to be. I watch TV and I have to comment about everything. Even just to myself. I have no problem talking to myself :)Although not about how unrealistic a lot of stuff is, that’s my “it’s just TV” philosophy, and I like it a bit unrealistic sometimes, that’s what makes it different from living real life, yeah? Just don’t get me started on reality TV! Anyway, everyday I have more criticism about universities, about the media, and about the random people, organisations or situations that I encounter. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go around screaming abuse at store managers about their pathetic service levels or ridiculous store policies; I’m not really into that kind of thing. But why is it? Have my expectations increased? I doubt it, I could rarely make much sense of anything that happened in Beijing! And I think those experiences generally (not in all cases!!!) made me a more patient person. Maybe I notice more about the ways that things are done or not done. No, I don’t just notice, I also analyse more too. Why is it that way? What could that lead to? How could that be improved? I’m turning into a monster…

On the other hand, I take so much pleasure in the little things these days. I often get off the bus early so I can walk down Rundle Street on my way to uni. I love just walking past the cafes and little shops in the sunshine. I feel so alive when I choose a new “route” to go out walking, and puff past houses I may or may not have ever seen before and through parks I’ve never really explored. I get excited thinking about what I’ll cook for dinner each night, though usually it’s just one of the usual 3 or 4 dishes! I stand in bookshops or libraries and am overwhelmed with the number and variation of ideas and reflections and theories and tales in front of me, and I wonder which ones I will get to read, and which ones will just never make it far up the list enough, and I feel the importance of the decision of what stuff I will choose to spend my time reading today or tomorrow.

How can I be so critical of some things, and yet made so happy by other such simple things?