Home for the holidays December 24, 2006
Posted by Niels in : Personal , 1 comment so farThe older I get, the more flaws I see in my family, but I’m always grateful to spend another Christmas with them. Nobody’s perfect, and I can appreciate them for who they are, instead of always looking for who they aren’t.
Just one complaint: DC is a little chilly. California’s made me so soft.
Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! (And Happy Hannukahs, Happy Holidays, Cool Yules, Kickass Kwanzaas, etc to those who care about that sort of thing.)
Your thoughts?15-minute supergirls! December 23, 2006
Posted by Niels in : Other , add a commentReport from Melbourne AoA, Day 3.
On Sundays we cut our students a break and bring the girls to them. This is the day when we bring in the supergirls. These are cute girls that our students get to flirt with, just like in a bar, except this time, the girls give them feedback. They tell them what they feel – whether the interaction felt creepy, or comfortable, whether the guy looks relaxed, or if he looks nervous.
Unfortunately, Melbourne was our very first international workshop and unexpected things happen. Two of our guest instructors brought in their girlfriends to work as supergirls, which was great, but the other two girls we had found didn’t show up. With fifteen minutes left before the exercises started, I walked out of the front door of the hotel to find replacements.
Melbourne is amazing. Cute girls everywhere. The first two groups I approached were in a rush, but the third pair stuck:
I spot two cute girls in the crosswalk walking toward me, so I wait. As soon as they get to me, I open, and it’s textbook Art of Rapport. I ask them where Starbucks is, turn them 180 degrees, appoint them my new tourguides, and they start laughing. I flirt with them for a few seconds longer, but they’re still moving away from me. “Hey, where are you going?!” I ask. “I’m not done flirting with you yet! Come back here!”
And they come back. Which I promptly tease them about, of course.
I find out they’re not headed anywhere in particular, pitch them on being supergirls, and they’re in. I show up at the hotel 10 minutes later with two girls in tow, and they do great. They were a little nervous at the beginning, but our students were so awesome that the girls calmed right down and started giving great feedback.
The best part is that one of them didn’t even realize we were paying her for this. Yes, we’re that much fun. When all was said and done, the girls said they’d be happy to come back next time we were in town, and if they were busy they’d point us to some of their friends.
Your thoughts?Photos: Australia, final round December 22, 2006
Posted by Niels in : Personal, Photos , 1 comment so farDaniel took off last Friday, but I extended my stay a few days for personal business. I moved into a hostel, caught up with some old friends from Sydney Uni, did some touristy stuff, and generally took some time off to relax.
Final day in town - first stop: Sydney Fish Market! Fish tastes so much better when it’s pulled straight out of the water and onto your plate.
 
I had planned to just walk back to the hostel afterwards, but then I noticed a sign with directions to the mall where I did all my shopping while studying abroad here. I didn’t realize I was so close! So I swung by the University of Sydney and my old college (dorm) St. Paul’s. I even made a donation to Paul’s - something I haven’t done for Rice. The administration at Rice did a lot of stuff that made me mad, whereas I’ve got nothing but good memories from Paul’s.
I remember one particularly large food fight after we won the rowing competition. The warden posted a notice afterwards informing us that the damages would be deducted from the Student Fund. “12 plates - $120. 14 glasses - $70. 2 chairs - $300. 3 paintings cleaned - $500.” The list went on for a little while, and then someone had written in at the bottom, “Schooling Jimmy Franklin in the head with a potato - priceless.”
 
For my last night in town, I caught up with some Art of Attraction grads and headed up to Kings Cross. Kings Cross is the main backpackers’ strip in Sydney, as well as the red light district. We ate at a Chinese restaurant right at the top of the hill with a glorious view of the city.
The area is kind of artsy, as indicated by the poetry emblazoned across the ground.
There are really red lights in the red light district! Cool. The second photo is the water tank from a bar where you can watch an underwater strip show. But this was Monday night, so there wasn’t anything happening.
 
We did find a great British candy shop. I got myself a Sherbet Sucker. If you’ve read Roald Dahl’s autobiography Boy
 
A good night, overall.
I also want to mention how much I love that fact that while in the US stereotyping is castigated and swept under the rug, Australians go out of their way to take a certain measure of joy in it. Toohey’s Extra Cold is currently running a brilliant ad campaign, as everyone knows that the bloody Poms (”Property Of her Majesty”) drink their beer warm.
This billboard would so never fly in America.
Yes, we have no bananas December 19, 2006
Posted by Niels in : Life, the universe, and everything , add a commentIt appears the only thing Australia doesn’t have going for it is the fact that bananas cost $3 each here. My friends tell me the price is a result of the hurricane that wiped out the northern banana plantations and that I should be happy they don’t cost $9 a banana anymore.
Your thoughts?Photos: Australia, round 3 December 19, 2006
Posted by Niels in : Other, Personal, Photos , 2 commentsThe Sydney intro seminar rocked! We’re coming back to Australia and we’re coming back in a big way.
We headed out to celebrate. Sydney is stunning at night.
This was cool. Town Hall was lit by a bunch of projectors that changed every couple minutes. Never have I seen anything so beautiful and so hideously tacky at the same time.
 
 
 