Meanwhile, Adele Horin has written a very good Op-Ed column in this weekend's SMH on how Australia has got its priorities fucked up when we value sporting prowess by a small number of elite athletes over more substantial things like indicators of national health and wellbeing, reducing the disparity in life expectency between indigenous and non-indigenous people and even social participation in sport. Definitely worth a read.
Here is one more reason why record company executives should all be burning in hell instead of writing 'copyright' laws for our democratically elected governments to inflict on us: Britney Spears live- the feed from her microphone isolated during a live show.
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Today Gam and I did our first tutoring session with an organisation that enlists volunteers to provide free English classes and homework assistance to refugees. It wasn't nearly as daunting as I'd feared- quite fun, in fact. I helped out a year 12 girl with an essay she was writing in which she was to argue the case for widespread screening for a particular genetic condition- mostly it was just providing pointers on structure and where she could fill out her argument some more. She was close to finishing her assignment and when I asked when the due date was she told me it was around 2 weeks from now. I don't think I ever finished an assignment with more than 24 hours to spare when I was in highschool, so I was mightily impressed. The second girl I helped out was a year 10 student doing a home economics assignment, and I think her main problem was confidence. Her spelling wasn't so hot, but neither is the spelling of most Australians- her main problem was being too scared to write stuff down in case it was wrong or didn't make sense. I knew exactly how she felt, because it's the same way I tended to approach things when I was learning mandarin. We didn't get her assignment finished, but I tried to help her out with some strategies and descriptive words to use when phrasing her answers for a section she hadn't completed.
After we finished up with the tutoring, we stopped by Coles on our way home to pick up some shoe polish and feta (why is it impossible to get Australian-made goat or sheep's milk feta at Coles now?), and Gam noticed a very vertically-challenged older lady having trouble reaching for some product on the top shelf in the cleaning products aisle. He offered help, which she briefly declined and then accepted. Gam joked that his skill in reaching the items on the high shelf was the reason I married him, and I noted that other women are always borrowing him for this very purpose. The old lady thanked Gam and we went our separate ways. On our way out of Toowong Village, after Gam had stopped outside the store to talk to a colleague he recognised, the old lady came by, pushing her trolley. She said to me "When my husband and I got married, this was back in the 60s, it was because we wanted to get away from our parents... and have regular sex and a double bed. I think your reason was much better!" She then wished me all the best and continued up the escalator. I noticed the back of her t-shirt had a picture of the Phantom on it. What a cool old lady. I bet she never voted for John Howard.
1 comment:
Awesome thing to do. Awesome old lady meeting.
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