The LA trip

I tried many time to write this out as an article where I go through each of the event chronologically. These events are so disjointed that you need fillers to transition you to the good parts. And fillers are boring.

I didn't want to write about the what happened but rather jot down prompts for what I was thinking.

Friday night:

• Mark showing us his pirate photo
• Chess game between Mark and Frankie
• Energy, vibrations, GEB, women - you know Godel; you must have chosen completeness over consistency
• Rob the writer - why does he write? 
• Laker's games
• You do not clap for the opposition while sitting in the owner's box of a team. 
• By their cheering I extrapolate that most of the crowd loves the team, a large percentage the personalities, and a few the sport
• Beer - If you don't like beer, you'll still drink it because that is what men do when watching sport. Despite the opulence around me, the fridge was poor in taste - Bud and Coors and, the saving grace, Guinness.
• Desert cart - food - "Don't give him Fred.. he can only have one"
• Six pack of dogfish head 60 minute IPA and to Jarred's house
• "He is a total slayer" - Kudos my friend 

Saturday:

• 11:30am: Got to get to the game!
• Man sells parking (at his house?) for $80
• Parking costs almost $100 - Families and friends having a bbqs and beer drinking in the lot. Three guys park car and leave.
• Remember when you drank to get drunk not because it tasted good? Some people are still doing it.
• Football is a great game - it hints of skill beyond the physical. I hope to learn more about it.
• Drove off to a restaurant - how do you say "Sorry mate, 1.5 hrs is too long a wait" with a smile?
• Carribean - Enchilada chicken spicy + beer
• Drinks at the "Surly Goat" - Good beer. Average venue. Poor music

Sunday:

• To Joey's house
• What is the the opportunity cost of letting friends stay at your parent's place
• There are no coffee shops in LA 
• Beer for people who like water
• "David from Telstra" redux - Learning to counter the look away
• Game of 500 - I just thought of a strategy that no one has ever thought of
• Babies "go crazy" 
• Valet parking
• Expressing gratitude is only one half
• Saying goodbyes to old friends

Good bye friend

Maverick dies today. He's not dead yet or maybe he is. I could find out but that's not the point. He got old and sick and the vet and folks decided it was time to let him go. He died as soon as the decision was made and when the vial full of heart stopping poison was injected into him is almost irrelevant from twelve thousand kilometers away.

He lived just over 14 year and the last 4 years of his life I barely knew him. He was the ever forgiving friend, always welcoming me back after a long period of absence with a wag of tail and all the exuberance he could muster in his old age. I had little time for him as I flittered between friends and family, trying to maximise my time at home.

Rest in peace old friend.

Words you were getting wrong

http://litreactor.com/columns/10-words-you-literally-didnt-know-you-were-getting-wrong

Australian science website

YES!

http://www.veritasium.org/

American culture

As I sat drinking my glass of water, my compromise for being out while nursing a cold, and the occasional sip of Mara's martini, listening to the "average Joe" sing in a voice fit for stage, I realised I was witnessing American culture. Bizarrely enough, possibly made clearer by the contrast, I discovered words for Australian culture as well.

America is a land of assumed familiarity. After punching a ticket, the bus driver cut right through the small talk and moved on to talking about how tough things got when she was jobless. Too much information? The elderly lady, who just happened to jump on the bus last and sit on the seat closest to the driver, didn't bat an eyelid. She responded with her own story of being hospitalised and the economic strain of it. You'll have a tough time getting a Australian you just met to talk about something that deeply personal.

Add to this the cranky air hostess on the delta flight from LA to SF, the loud and incessant chatter of American tourists at the Nairobi immigration line, and the TSA agent having a bad day and I can only conclude that Americans do not believe in moderating their moods. They way they feel is the way they feel and what they are thinking everybody needs to hear.

Australia seems so much younger than the US. Where Australia is a young boy, athletic and healthy, going to primary school, US is in its teenage years - new found strength in it's muscles, brash and impulsive, and unsure of its identity. The country may not be old enough to have developed its own unique food (they absolutely nail the hamburger though) but it does have it's own music - Soul, Blues and Jazz are uniquely American. Through this music, you get a glimpse of a rich culture and a nascent identity. 

Understanding the psyche of a country provides a baseline for how you relate to the people. And I'm still trying to form a clear picture of it. I recently found myself adding "sir" into regular rotation. Here's a word I hadn't used or even heard used in the 15 years I lived in Australia - "mate" is such a perfect word - it signifies respect, camaraderie and good intentions, whereas "sir" is distancing, cold and dry.

I should add a book on American history to my reading list.

Welcome

Quality shit to be posted here real soon.