Downtown Signature

Although I lived mostly in big cities in the US, I also travelled and spent a bit of time in small towns. The same in Oz. We live in Melbourne, but have travelled extensively in Victoria and South Australia, browsing through several small towns where we often stayed in a hotel overnight. Never more than one night, because we always drive through to a new place... The itinerant foreigners. But every time we had to stay in a small town, I took notice of its downtown, which is called “town centre” here. Like in the US, it’s most often a small street that has a café, maybe a bakery and a gas (petrol) station, and a hotel. The hotel always has the name of the town and invariably looks like the one in the picture. Victorian style, built in the late 1800s or early 1900s and never updated, just repainted. The hotel serves more the purpose of housing a gambling spot “Tatts” and bar where locals enjoy a few (too many) drinks. The few hotel rooms have irregular shape. One time, we even had a room in which we could enter only directly from the street! Bathrooms and hotel structure probably never change. The bathroom is sometimes with a shower room like in a gym, but also with the faucets for hot and cold water separated by the entire length of the sink. Try mixing them to wash hands! Anyway, the air of these old hotels is antique in itself, and the dusty, lacy balcony adds to it.

Confession: Why I Wash My Car Once a Year...

I am sorry you are all now disappointed in me and my cleanliness standards, but my car just turned two and has only had a wash so far. Basically the “birthday” present for my car is a wash, and the one for this year is due next week. A bit after the event… A good friend teased me about it this past week-end. Although there was not a lot of dirt on the outside, it was enough for her to be able to write “Wash me, please!” on the trunk (called boot in Oz). So I started to wonder myself why I don’t wash my car. I think of myself as a clean, well-groomed gal, up-keeping even a house of too many bedrooms and closets in excellent conditions… I’m not a pig and I used to regularly take my car for a wash in California, so I cannot say I never washed my cars. What is it then? Why do I wait for a whole year until I wash this vehicle to return it to a tomato-red color? There are two reasons that equally determine my attitude. First, it’s the fact that the car wash is open 9 to 5, when I am at work, and on week-ends closes even earlier and the line is longer. I don’t want to do it myself because I’d use too much water and I don’t have a good car vacuum cleaner to also clean the interior. I believe it’s more environmentally-friendly to have the car washed professionally. Second reason comes from my rebellious nature. I didn’t want to have a car and drive a car because the transit system is broad and strong in Melbourne. Buses, trains, and trams make the city and suburbs buzz with activity. However, I had to have a car, because despite the presence of the trains and buses, their schedules and routes beat the whole purpose of their existence. All trains go into the city and then out and moreover, they do a loop around the CBD. There is no circular line, like a belt around the city, and therefore, I’d need to change three trains. Instead of travelling for 40 min one way, my commute (one way) would be 1h15min long. Double. Buses have so many stops that it would take the same amount of time, even if they don’t go through the center of the city. My point is that I was forced to drive and thus have a car, so I literally bought the car from the dealer floor, the cheapest but most reliable (considered) type I could, and never made peace with this issue. To be forced not to use a serious transit system and produce instead my own large carbon print in a country that prides itself (falsely) as being protective of the environment is quite frustrating. So, I am saving a lot of water by not washing my car, except on special occasions! The end. P.S. I didn’t know what picture to include today, and since I said I was not a pig, I found this one, of a cappuccino and a funny napkin (called serviette in Oz) from the “Hog’s Breath Café” Enjoy, eat with your mouth closed, and save some water!

Empty Walls

Is it just me or everyone has the "waiting room mood” altered by the waiting room looks? Especially in medical offices and hospitals, where waiting equals a diverse mix of anxiety, impatience, and boredom... At least in my case. Hospitals are about sick people who need to be healed or made feel better, and I am certain the hospital environment plays a role in this process, too. Imagine feeling feverish and nauseated and being seated in a waiting room in the corridor with just a poster of emergency measures hanging lonely on one wall, while elevator doors and clerk windows break the white of the other walls. That would enhance my anxiety and invite me to run away. Even if there is not much space available, a few walls to separate the waiting room from the main corridor would help. And if pictures of beautiful landscapes, animals or people, or any art work inductive to relaxation and positive thinking could be hung on the walls, that would improve my mood. Oh, aquariums, too! I dare say it may also ease my nausea and I'd certainly be a more patient patient. Hospitals here in Oz, as well as Pathology centers and small medical offices, have empty walls maybe with a big TV screen blasting some sort of news at you. With so many free pictures to download from the Internet and so many artists who would donate some of their work to be exhibited for free, I cannot (for the life of me) understand why nobody thinks of covering the walls in a way that helps the sick. I was also fortunate to have worked in a large medical center in the US where drawings, paintings, pictures and even art created by patients (big or small!) added so much warmth to that hospital environment, it was healing in itself! Rebelling against these empty walls, I've added a picture entitled colors with this post. It is from the tulip festival.

Taxes and Bananas

I just prepared my taxes last week. The technological landscape of Oz does not know Macs, thus, I couldn't use any of my home computers to do my taxes. I borrowed a PC laptop from work. I am a zealous citizen, too, because besides this effort, I also made the actual effort of paying on time, which very few of my friends/acquaintances here do. I confess I was hoping for a rebate, because besides the medical spending I had this year, I also made a few substantial donations. Bad luck! This will not happen and moreover, I owe the tax office a good amount. This is why. A few cyclones hit Australia last year and the government, which already takes substantial taxes from its citizens, decided to instate a flood levy. This is a one year tax (2011-2012) that is 0.5% of the income between $50K and $100K or $250 plus 1% of the difference between $100K and the taxable income. Needless to say that if a government is not prepared to absorb flood damages in a country that does have them every 10-15 years, is a bad sign. Meanwhile, right after cyclone Yasi I paid $8 for a pound of bananas because the banana plantations were directly hit by the cyclones. I hope with all the insurance coverage, money from the flood levy and the profit they made from the golden price of bananas, at least the farmers in Queensland will sell their bananas at a reasonable price this year… In this spirit, today's picture is that of a flooded road in the Northern Territory. I took the picture from the car window, while crossing the flooded road. Because such floods are rare, there are no bridges, and the road gets occasionally flooded, although I secretly wish my flood levy contribution would go towards raising some roads in these areas, as at times, we were afraid of getting stuck in the middle of the water.