Category: random thoughts

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Trying to get back in shape….

Getting healthy v’s getting skinny

Why does everyone have an opinion of everyone else diet choices?

I love my new job. I work with a great team. We’re a small group, only six of us. We joking call ourselves JOIC Team Six, since we’re a military unit, deployed to the border. Unfortunately, we’re all desk jockeys. We don’t get to see any real action. We sit behind a desk all day, working intel, making powerpoint presentations and watching cameras.

When I first got here, they said we participated in mandatory PT, mainly because they also ate breakfast tacos everyday and had lots of BBQ’s. Nobody has ever actually enforced the PT rule, and apparently everyone here has gained at least 15 lbs in the first 3 months. I’ve not been here for 7 months, and I haven’t gained 15 lbs, but before I came down here I thought I’d be using my spare time to work out everyday, and had planned to go home looking smoking hot like Jessica Biel. This hasn’t happened either…..

My weight fluctuates about 5 lbs on a weekly basis. Matt says he can tell when I’ve been eating well and actually doing some exercise. My biggest downfall is I’ll eat really healthy and then I go home to San Antonio for a weekend or my 4 day, and I eat crap and don’t exercise at all. So then I spent time looking for an eating plan I could live on while I was here that wouldn’t be too hard to make Matt eat when I went home. Even worse than the weight fluctuation was I was getting headaches from the food changes. We did some research, and we’ve worked out it was because I was going between high sugar and carb intake to low sugar. I also worked out that I really don’t like the feelings I get from sugars and carbs. So after some research, Matt showed me a ketonic diet and how people would get headaches going on and off. It’s also what people get when on Atkins Induction, or whats referred to as Induction Flu. After looking at various eating plans, like low calorie, which leaves me constantly hungry and wanting to snack on crap, or low sugar, or eating how I used to eat, which was pretty much pescatarian, I decided to try something new. Matt loves his meat. I couldn’t go home on weekends and make him be a vegetarian. I didn’t want to be constantly hungry or having headaches. So I decided to kick start some fat loss with a ketonic diet, and I found the Atkins Induction plan to be fairly easy to do. The website actually had a full 2 week eating plan, with recipes and everything. Best of all, when I go home, I can stick to the plan, and Matt will eat it. I did go nuts last weekend home though. It was the Italian Society’s Spaghetti Dinner, and all money raised goes to the kids of slain police officers, so I happily lapped up some carby goodness.

I chose to do Atkins because it was the easiest. They have a free website, they have recipes that are super easy and require minimal fuss. They have snacks and shakes for when I just want something small or don’t feel like cooking. Even better, since starting on it, I feel great. I don’t get headaches, I don’t get that carb coma of needing a nap after lunch. When I bring more food to work the boys love it because it’s steak and salad. I never feel super hungry anymore, except for when I cheat and eat sugar or pastry. But anytime I mention I’m eating low carb or trying Atkins, people just freak the fuck out. Never mind I feel great. Never mind I’ve already had people telling me that I look great and I’m losing weight. As soon as you say low car, low sugar, whether it’s Atkins, Paleo, Caveman or any other low carb diet, people start going on about how you can’t just cut out an entire food group. Well, actually, I can. It’s not so much about cutting out sugar and bread. It’s about cutting out the crap that has been loaded into pre-processed foods. I’ve always been fanatical about reading labels on food. Have you read an ingredient list on simple things like bread? In the US, it’s has a list 50 ingredients long, with crap like high fructose corn syrup, and a bunch of things that I can’t pronounce. My philosophy is that if you can’t pronounce it, you shouldn’t eat it. I’ve also stopped drinking soda. Well, I take that back. If I can get a Bundaberg Ginger Beer, I indulge. I’ve had a Mexican Coke, cause it’s got real sugar in it. But they’re very occasional things. I do like bubbly drinks, so I’ve starting keeping a supply of Perrier or San Pellegrino around. I get the fizz, and still feel good 20 minutes later.  I’ve started cooking again. I used to love to cook. I used to be an actual cook in a restaurant. Somewhere, I forgot how much I enjoyed cooking. Now I cook everymeal from scratch again. No buying frozen meals or eating at fast food. I make clean healthy food, and it’s delicious. In fact, it’s so good, one of the other guys at work pays me to bring him food every day.

I don’t know why people think Atkins in unlimited steak, bacon and eggs. I eat green leafy salads, lots of veggies, and have a small portion of lean meat, like filet mignon or pan seared fish. I’ll make avocado and shrimp salad or roast chicken. I’m not really a bacon fan, but I’ll make it in small portions. I do enjoy eggs for breakfast, and they’re way more filling than cereal. I cook them in coconut oil, and they’re so light and fluffy. Actually, I cook just about everything in coconut oil. It doesn’t burn like Olive oil.

So far it’s working pretty well for me. I cheat a lot, like today I made Beef Wellington with green peas. It was delicious. I’m thinking of giving up on the restrictive Induction phase and moving to the next one. I really don’t have that much to lose, only about 10 lbs, but it’s all in my belly. The rest of me looks just fine. It actually doesn’t even bother me that much, except I don’t look super cute in a bikini, but since I’m not an actress getting papped at the beach, I really don’t care. The only real reason I’m trying to get rid of it is because it’s the most unhealthy place to have fat.

I turned 35 this year. Next year I’ll be 36, the same age my dad was when he died of a heart attack. I have naturally high cholesterol, which the doc and I worked out I could manage without taking prescription drugs. But now I figure I should get off my lazy ass and try to actually get healthy again. Not for looks, but for my life. I don’t need to be 100 lbs again. I don’t need to fit into a size 0 jeans. I just need to get rid of the belly fat (and hopefully I won’t lose my boobs or butt). I no longer feel the need to look like a Hollywood actress, but I also don’t want to look like a fat Texan. I think that’s attainable. I think it’s a realistic goal.

I just wish people would stop telling me that what I’ve chosen to do, which is actually working for me, was wrong.

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Report finds Joe Paterno aided Sandusky

Joe Paterno and the Penn State Coverup

So now that Jerry Sandusky has been found GUILTY of  45 child molestation charges and will hopefully spend the rest of his life behind bars, an investigation has found that Joe Paterno, who died last year of cancer, was guilty of covering up for Sandusky. His actions would have allowed Sandusky to molest many more kids than if he had done the right thing and stopped Sandusky when he first heard about it. Several other members of the Penn State board have been found to be negligent also. Here’s a link to the report that TMZ obtained.

I was happy to see that Nike is going to be removing Joe Paterno’s name from it’s Child Care Center. His name has no business being associated with a Child Development Center. I don’t care if he’s dead and I shouldn’t be dancing on his grave. The man knew what Sandusky was doing, and he was more worried about his precious football team and the Penn State name than he was about these innocent kids.

Here’s an piece from the report:

The most saddening finding by the Special Investigative Council is the total and consistent disregard by the most senior leaders at Penn State for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims. As the Grand Jury similarly noted in the presentment there was no “attempt to investigate, the identify Victim 2, or to protect that child or any others from similar conduct except as related to preventing it’s re-occurrence on University property.”

Four of the most powerful people at The Pennsylvania State University – President Graham B. Spanier, Senior Vice President-Finance and Business Gary C. Schultz, Althletic Director Timothy M. Curley and Head Football coach Joseph V. Paterno – failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade. The men concealed Sandusky’s activities from the Board of Trustees, the University and authorities. The exhibited a striking lack of empathy for Sandusky’s victims by failing to inquire as to their safety and well being, especially by not attempting to determine the identity of the child who Sandusky assaulted in the Lasch Building in 2001. Further, the exposed this child to additional harm by alerting Sandusky, who was the only one who knew the child’s identity, of what McQueary saw in the shower the night on February 9, 2001.

These individuals, unchecked by the Board of Trustees that did not perform its oversight duties, empowered Sandusky to attract potential victims to the campus and football events by allowing him to have continued, unrestricted and unsupervised access to the University’s facilities and affiliation with the University’s prominent football program. Indeed, that continued access provided Sandusky with the very currency that enabled him to attract his victims. Some coaches, administrators and football program staff member ignored the red flags of Sandusky’s behaviors and no one warned the public about him.

It then goes on to say that by not promply and fully advising the board about the sexual abuse allegation against Sandusky, the men failed in the jobs. Its then continues with:

Taking into account the available witness statements and evidence, the Special Investigative Counsel finds that it is more reasonable to conclude that, in order to avoid the  consequences of bad publicity, the most powerful leaders at the University – Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley – repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse from the authorities, the University’s Board of Trustees, the Penn State community and the public at large.

When will people get that a predator is a predator, and that if you let them get away with it once, they’re going to keep trying to get away with it. By not stopping to problem, you become an enabler. You’re effectively helping the predator to continue. It’s a cliche, but If you’re not part of the solution, the you’re part of the problem”.

Eventually, someone is going to speak up. Someone is going to have the balls to come forward. Then, others will also find their voice. The children will find strength in numbers, and then the shit will hit the fan. All of the douchebags who let it happen will be exposed. They will be shamed just like the predator.

Joe Paterno got off easy. He died before the shit really hit the fan. His memory will forever be tarnished. Hopefully the others, Schultz, Spanier and Curley will also have to face the music and pay for their ineptitude to save those kids.

I don’t give a shit how fabulous you think your football team is, or how wonderful your organization is, or how high your TV show is rating. If you allow a child predator to continue their deeds because you’re protecting a cash cow, you’re just as big a douchbag as the predator. You deserve to also face jail time and should be publicly named and shamed. In the case of these three remaining Penn State idiots, they should be fired, jailed and never allowed to work near kids again.

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Why people don’t like Refugees

Boat people, asylum seekers, people smugglers and immigrants.

My view on the current boat people tragedy off the Australian coast is admittedly skewed. I haven’t lived in Australia for over 10 years. I spent a year of high school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, a 3rd world country which this year made the list as the most violent city in the world, and I’m currently deployed as an analyst in an intelligence center that deals with border crime. I’ve also gone through the immigration process myself as a Naturalized US Citizen. I’d like to have a Utopian view of the world and think that all fortunate people of the world should just take the less fortunate into their homes, but I know in practical application, it just doesn’t work.

Contrary to the headline, I don’t think that anyone out there dislikes genuine refugees. We feel bad for those who have been through so much. We are saddened when we see what poverty or war stricken countries they are fleeing from. It’s hard to see pictures of children being shot in the streets. The problem with refugees, is that the word is often misused or over used. People see them as illegal. I do find it odd that people are irritated by “boat people” but don’t seem as concerned by the huge number of people who come to Australia on tourist visas and who then never leave. Maybe because people figure if they can stay they’re not a burden to the system. They’re either working under the table or are independently wealthy. Maybe because the majority of illegal immigrants in Australia are from the UK, the USA and Malaysia. I don’t want to hear it’s because they’re white. Most of the Americans I personally know of in Australia who have overstayed are African American. I think it’s because those people entered the country with documentation, and we know who they are.

The actual definition of a refugee: Any person who owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country.

Now, there are more amendments than that, and there are restrictions also. People who have committed war crimes, have violated laws, etc will not be considered refugees. Of course, it’s still pretty open to interpretation. I mean, people like Matt Newton or Kyle Sandilands could both claim to be members of a particular social group, (Celebrities) and they are so persecuted by the media and public in Australia they should be allowed to live elsewhere. Stupid argument, I know, but it’s all in the interpretation of it, isn’t it? It’s also why people need to be assessed as genuine refugees.

People get refugees confused with economic migrants, environmental migrants and people who are just looking for a better life. The best example for me is Hurricane Katrina. For years afterwards, people in the street would ask me for money, declaring they were Katrina refugees from New Orleans. Yes, Katrina was a disaster, yes people were displaced and many people lost everything, but these people were not “Refugees”.  Alabama and Mississippi suffered just as bad as Louisiana, but they picked up the pieces and got back along with life, without making a huge fuss. They weren’t being persecuted, (unless caught looting), they weren’t outside their country and their own government was helping them. By definition, not refugees. But people got so used to hearing the term in reference to Katrina, the word lost a lot of its meaning.

Then there’s the issue of “illegals”. These are people who have no valid reason to claim refugee status, but choose to enter a country illegally, or enter with a visa, but let it expire. In Texas alone, Border Patrol agents apprehend over 3000 illegals a WEEK. Contrary to popular belief, they’re not all Mexican. In fact, only about half are Mexican. Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are big ones, but there’s normally a list of 20 or so nations on there. We even get an Aussie or Kiwi every couple of months. There’s also terrorists coming through the border. At his sentencing hearing in San Antonio, one al qaeda terrorist on trial stated he didn’t care he was being put in prison. He had brought hundreds of other terrorists across the border over the years and they were now all over the US, and he would never tell where they were. The big problem is the Coyotes, the people smugglers. It amazes me what people will pay to cross the border. Instead of going to the embassy and applying for a work visa, which I’ve been told by many  Mexican friends is actually a very easy task, (they’ve actually done it) people will pay someone hundreds to get them to the border. They then pay another coyote $1200 to cross the river. They’ll then pay another $3000 to get to a third city. I just don’t get it. If you can save up that kind of money for a coyote, why not just go pay for a visa? Of course, it seems in every load we catch, there’s someone in there who couldn’t get a visa. People who have been deported multiple times for DWI, Rape, Murder, etc. There are people who pay their way across by transporting drugs. People who get caught up in the violence and end up in the sex trade or who are told their families will be murdered if they don’t bring drugs across. There are poor migrants from south of Mexico who are murdered by the hundreds in Mexico because they won’t be drug smugglers, or can’t afford the coyotes. People die crossing to the US. In summer, these people are ill prepared. They don’t have enough water. They die of dehydration or heat stroke. The coyote doesn’t care. Just like the people with the shitty unseaworthy boats bringing people to Australia. They don’t care if the conditions are bad, or if their passengers die. They just want their money. The Mexican cartels are in a bloody war, not just over drug routes, but over people smuggling routes. Almost 60,000 people have been murdered since Presidente Calderon took office. The DTO’s are ruthless and don’t care who or what gets in their way, they just want the cash. So many Mexicans could be classed as genuine refugees. Border Patrol Agents ask them leading questions, trying to get them to just ask for it. Do you feel scared to return? Do you fear for your life? Many are allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds. Many of them however are simply seeking to come to the US, steal someone else’s identity, work for a while, send the money home and then move back there. They’re not here to contribute to society. They are what are classed as Illegal. People who have bothered to go through the immigration process legally, and those whose identities are stolen by illegals really don’t like them. People may confuse genuine refugees with illegals, and that’s sad for the refugees.

What about the people of Haiti? Are they considered refugees? Before the earthquake, they were the poorest nation in the western world. They had a huge crime rate. Life pretty much sucked. Unlike Cubans however, when they took a raft to the US, they weren’t granted asylum. They were put into detention centers. Then they had that devastating earthquake. They still weren’t refugees though. They had an environmental disaster and they certainly needed help. They still need help. But taking people out of Haiti isn’t going to help. They need people to go there and teach them how to rebuild, physically and emotionally.

Some Cubans are refugees. Although they’re not just welcomed en masse either. They have to actually make dry land and then ask for political asylum. If they are caught out at sea, they will be turned back. If a USCG or USBP Agent grabs them before they make it onto dry land, they’re out.

I don’t know how to fix the boat problem in Australia. How do you take in genuine refugees that need your help while discouraging scummy people smugglers who are willing to let people die just so they can make money? You can’t just let people loose in the community without finding out who they are first. Australia’s first responsibility is to its citizens. They need to make sure they’re safe. Immigration camps are not all bad. My mothers best friend came  to Australia from Scotland. She had to spend time in Villawood Detention Center. The govt. wanted to make sure people were free of disease. We still need to do this. The countries refugees come from are not ideal. They have many diseases that have been eradicated in Australia. If people don’t have documents, how can we be certain that they are who they say they are? How do we know they’re genuine refugees, and not really a cousin of Saddam Hussein trying to blend in with everyone else on a boat? How do we know they’re not fleeing their country because they’re wanted for war crimes?

We need to treat genuine refugees with respect. We need to take care of them. We need to do what is on the treaty we signed with the UN. But we still need to protect those that are contributing towards the cost of those refugees. People need to be vetted, and sometimes this takes time. People live in refugee camps in disgusting living conditions in Africa or the Middle East for years at a time. Some people have been in camps for over 15 years, without running water or access to proper meals. When you compare those camps to the ones in Australia, or even the ones off shore, ours are like Club Med. Australians might not think they’re flash, but they’re a shit tonne better than whatever hell hole they just came from. People are fed good meals everyday, they’re given clean water, decent shelter and their children are given access to education. Some of their conditions are better than the soldiers deployed fighting for those people. Yes it sucks people had to flee their homelands, and it’s not ideal being in a camp, but if all you do is bitch about the conditions, this flags to me you’re not a genuine refugee. A genuine refugee is just grateful to be away from the situation they were in. If they demand to be sent to a particular country, this tells me they are in fact an economic migrant, not a refugee. When the Chileans who were being persecuted by Pinochet asked for refugee status from America and were denied, then also told no by Canada, but given visas to Australia, they didn’t complain they should be allowed to go to the US. They were grateful someone, anyone, gave them a refugee visa and they had an out. They were grateful to be taken in. They didn’t complain about conditions, or make demands of the government. I can imagine if my life was in danger and I had the money to pay my way out, I would try, as would many others, but when people who have paid $15,000 to a rickety boat smuggler start demanding they have the right to be free in a certain country, this tells me they didn’t really have it that bad. Oversimplified yes, but simply my opinion. There’s also a question of why those boats are filled up with mainly men.  It’s much easier for Women and Children to be perceived as refugees. They seem more at risk. But as someone who wears a uniform and is willing to risk my life for others, I wonder what makes some men run and what makes others choose to stay and fight. Why should the US and Australia and other countries send their sons off to war to die for your country if you won’t stay and defend it yourself? Men who are accompanying their families are understandable. But I think people have less sympathy for those single men who are simply getting out so they don’t have to fight. It seems cowardly.

I understand something needs to be done to help refugees. I don’t know how to fix the problem, but I don’t think people should be using this loss of life as an excuse to bitch about whoever is currently in parliament. Julia Gillard didn’t ask these people to risk their lives by getting on an unsafe boat and attempting to cross the sea. It’s not Australia’s fault that the dozens of other countries in the region choose not to be part of the UN Refugee program. It’s not the Australian governments fault that other countries are at war. All it can do is try to work out how to settle people with the least loss of life. Pushing the government to make hasty decisions while everyone is in crisis mode isn’t going to help that.  There has to be a way to help refugees while discouraging people smugglers from profiteering off the desperation of others. Maybe the UN needs to go into the camps and divide people up and each country has a navy ship waiting to transport people. Maybe while people are in camps the UN could do a better job of vetting people so they could be moved quicker. Maybe Australia could hire more immigration officers so vetting done on Australian soil is quicker. Maybe we do need to turn back boat people who have managed to go through Indonesia and make them take some responsibility. I don’t know what the solution is, but I do know we need to discourage people smugglers. They’re not out there moving people from crappy countries out of the goodness of their hearts. They’re people who are taking advantage of others in a time of desperate need. They’re willing to risk people’s lives for a big pay day. They’re no different than drug smugglers. Do the math, you fill up a rickety boat you bought for $1000, put 200 people on there at $10,000 each. That’s a sweet payday. Being a refugee isn’t illegal, but being a people smuggler is. How do we help one while stopping the other?

I think it’s great Australia implemented a program for people to sponsor refugees in their homes. It’s like an exchange student program. People can learn so much about each others cultures, and this will help the refugees adapt to Aussie life much quicker. I applaud the government for coming up with a program that will benefit the community both economically and socially. I think anyone who has the means to do so, but doesn’t and prefers to just sit back and whine about the country not doing enough should just shut up, or come up with another solution, and then actually implement it. Instead of complaining, use that energy to work out how to help people. Write a blog post with your ideas, submit them to others to review. Give a smile to a refugee. Invite one over for dinner. Buy a nice yacht and bring people over for free. Use your airline miles to sponsor someone.  Go do the ESL Teacher course at TAFE that lets you become a free English language trainer for migrants. Do something, anything. Just don’t turn it into finger pointing or a political debate. That’s not going to help anyone.

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Why people secretly like Reality TV

Or at least why I enjoy reality TV

Today while reading news.com.au I came across an article by Chris Paine, a journo with a column on the Punch. He had written a post about Trashy Reality TV becoming his life. It was interesting to see a man’s perspective on reality TV, especially someone who was into macho football and drinking with the boys at the pub.

I used to enjoy watching the news. I loved it. I also loved NCIS, CSI, Law and Order, Lie to Me and House. I loved shows that make you think. When I had a day of dealing with idiots while working at a restaurant or in retail, I craved some intelligent viewing. I wanted to see what was going on in the real world. After going public I lost interest in Law & Order. Seeing Benson and Stabler nicely wrap up a case in an hour was irritating. The cast changed so many times on CSI, I didn’t like it anymore. House got to the point where we knew if it was 8:45, he was about to have his epiphany. Lie to Me got cancelled.

Now I have a job where we literally have a wall of television screens that are tuned in to every news channel and I’m constantly bombarded with the news, which is recycled every few minutes on each network, I like to watch something else. My job involves reading intelligence reports all day, scouring news sites and writing weekly reports. I work in a Law Enforcement Intelligence Center. I wear a military uniform. So now when I watch anything military or LE related, I am irritated with all the Hollywood bullshit that has no realism. Guys who don’t wear their uniform correctly, or leave their cover on inside. Cops who do stupid shit. Make believe scenarios like on NCIS LA where they have totally unbelievable technology that helps them catch the bad guy in 10 minutes.I also see a lot of dead people in my reports. Not gentle dead people. Violently killed dead people. Or usually, bits of dead people….It’s not pretty and I see it so much at work I no longer want to see it on TV. When I first got here and went to see a movie with one of the FBI analysts, I didn’t get the no-violence in movies preference. Now I totally get it. You can only watch so many execution videos before a movie like SAW or Hostel just isn’t appealing anymore. I can understand why lawyers hate law shows, and why medical people hate doctor shows.

So these days, when I need to switch off, I like to turn on E! Suddenly, Keeping Up With The Kardashians seems like fun. I love Tosh.O and Chelsea Lately. Fashion Police and who was wearing what to which awards ceremony is fun. At night at work, we turn on stupid TV. One of the guys has so many movies on his laptop and we plug it in and watch it. Today, before heading to work I was watching Mean Girls. I got to work and turned it on. None of the boys cared. They all watched it. Sometimes, you just need to watch something that has nothing to do with anything. It’s a way to switch off. Being deployed and away from my in-laws, and being an expat and being so far from my own family, watching the Kardashians makes me see that some people actually like their family. Mostly I think they like each other too much and could use some other people in their lives, but I get that they probably do have other friends, they just don’t want to be part of the show. But for half an hour I get to witness family time. I get to see people interacting. I get to hear family tell each other they love them. It’s something I don’t get down here.

Before you judge someone because they watch crappy reality shows, understand that not everything has to be super intellectual all the time. Life has to have some fun in it. If you have a fun job and crave high brow TV when you get home, great. If you have a super stressful job and silly TV gives your mind a break, then power to you. That’s why there’s so many different styles of show on TV. That way we all have something to entertain us and take our mind off life. Don’t tell people they’re stupid because they choose to watch Lara Bingle or Celebrity Apprentice. For people with stressful jobs, it’s much cheaper than talking to a shrink and better for you than unwinding with a 6 pack.

If you don’t like reality or silly TV, don’t watch it. Change the channel. But don’t demand it be taken off TV or spend all day on websites bitching about it. While you’re watching 4 Corners, I’ll be watching Fashion Police. I won’t judge you and I hope you won’t judge me in return.

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Being Lara Bingle

Why So Much Hate Australia?

Since Channel 10 likes to geoblock, and nobody has posted it onto YouTube yet, I haven’t actually been able to watch Being Lara Bingle yet. However, since I do use Twitter and read the Aussie papers, even while being deployed with the Guard, I know that Lara Bingle has a reality show and that it started to air this week. I also know that there are plenty of haters out there.

I guess after all I went through in the last couple of years I shouldn’t be shocked by all the armchair heroes with internet access spouting hate towards anyone and everyone, but sadly, I guess I just still expect better from people and am saddened when I read so much bitterness and hate directed towards someone who is simply trying to live her life and be successful at it. When I read Australian papers and all the comments from the Aussie public, it actually makes me glad that I moved away. The Tall Poppy Syndrome in Australia was always ridiculous, but now it’s just sad. I’ve learnt to love America. It’s a place where people are encouraged to dream big and go for it. If you want to be an actor, a reality star, a business person or athlete, people will support you and encourage you and be happy for you if you make it. In Australia, everyone loves “the little Aussie battler” but the moment that person makes it, the minute they achieve their dreams, they become a pariah. They’re an arsehole. They’re a jerk. They’ve become too big for their boots. Are we still that angry over our convict past that we hate anybody who might be a step above us? (Even if it’s only a perceived step)

If you really don’t like reality TV, then don’t watch it. Go watch your high brow ABC or SBS series. Sometimes people want to just switch their brains off and enjoy something silly. Hence, why there are so many reality TV shows these days. Don’t kid yourself, MasterChef is a form of reality show. Most travel shows are a form of reality. Then there are actual reality shows, like the Kardashians, (who Aussie’s seem to love) there’s Jersey Shore, and now, there’s even Mrs Eastwood and Company. That’s right folks, Clint Eastwood, Actor and Director Clint Eastwood is on a reality show. I think when Clint Eastwood starts doing reality TV, we need to accept that it’s just a part of accepted mainstream television.

I also don’t like the famous for being famous cliche. Reality TV is just as much work as making a scripted TV show. Probably more. If you’re on a soap or drama, you go to work, film, then go home. You get to leave the cameras behind. Reality TV on the other hand means having a cameraman with you about 12-18hrs a day. There is no going home and unwinding. You’re always working. Even when Kim Kardashian goes on vacation, she’s working. Personally, I think being that famous would suck. What’s the point of having enough money to go anywhere you want if once you get there you can’t leave your hotel room because you’ll be mobbed?Plus, none of these people are actually famous for simply being famous. There was a reason they got a reality show in the first place. They didn’t just go out and pick some random off the street and decide to give them a reality show.

Anyway, back to Lara. Unlike Kim, who became famous for being friends with Paris Hilton, her dad representing OJ Simpson and then making a sex tape, Lara was a model who was the international face of Australia. Sure, she’s had some questionable relationships, and some other incidents. But if we’re honest, which one of us hasn’t fucked up at one time or another? The only difference is that most people don’t have their mistakes shown on national TV or the cover of the newspaper.Most people probably couldn’t handle that kind of scrutiny either. I was amazed at her control when interviewed on The Project or B105. I wouldn’t have been that polite….

Power to Lara. If she can make money at being herself, then why not? If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. Just don’t be a douchebag and act like you’re so intellectually superior that you think there’s no need for Being Lara Bingle and that it’s the downfall of society. Not everything has to be mentally stimulating. Sometimes, we just need a good laugh.

So Lara, good luck with the show. Milk it while you can. I hope they sell it to the US so I can watch it over here.

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My Vintage Airstream Project

My Vintage 1972 Airstream Land Yacht Safari

Living small in a vintage Airstream

As many of you know, I’m into sustainable housing and the tiny house movement. I don’t feel the need to live in a huge McMansion. We have a 2 story 2400 sq. ft. house in San Antonio that we only use half of. The other rooms just gather dust.

For a while now I’ve known that I eventually want to build an Earthship. I also like Eco-Domes and had though of building one down at our ranch. If we ever built the Earthship, the Eco-Dome would become a guest house.

I’ve also looked at a lot of the tiny house movement and sustainable living designs. I love many of them, but Matt doesn’t. He wants to be earth friendly, but doesn’t want to live in 100 sq. ft. I guess that’s why we both like the Earthship. It’s bigger like he wants, but totally off grid like I want.

A lot of people in the tiny house movement have bought old Airstreams and fixed them up and live in them full time. The Airstream is a classic piece of Americana. They’re built to last and are instantly recognizable. They’re trendy with the Hollywood set too.

Celebrities and their Airstreams Here’s an Morning Show video about Airstreams

Matt and I spent several years traveling around in a Class C Motorhome when he was contracting. We liked it much better than hotels, but I didn’t like feeling like we were living in a bus. I always wanted a Travel Trailer. It’s just a little more homey.

So last year I joined the Guard. Then someone told me about one of the deployments that’s essentially a full time active duty position. There’s six locations, none of them in San Antonio. I thought it would be an incredible opportunity to work full time in the Guard. It would probably be my only chance to ever wear a uniform full time. It had always been my dream to serve in the regular full time military, so this was an awesome opportunity. Even better, the job was actually something I was skilled at. Sitting behind a computer all day! So I applied. My Commanding Officer sent in a letter of recommendation. I got an interview call. A half hour later they called back and offered me the position. I was so excited. Even better, the location I got was only 3 hours from home. So I could still go home easily on my days off. It was also in a town we had traveled to many times and actually like. Although apparently I’m one of the few people who had a positive image of the town before coming here…

We have to supply our own accommodation down here. Some of the guys share a house together, one of the other guys rents a room from someone. I knew I wanted my own space, and I was going to get an RV. I was looking at cheap ones, and they were all so blah. I knew I wanted an Airstream. So I started searching. Eventually, I drove out to Houston to look at one, and with a week to go before I deployed, I picked her. She seemed pretty good. Matt was pissed caused she weighed way, way more than what I was supposed to buy. But hey, she was $3500. Plus, she was nice and spacious inside, and I though she just needed a cosmetic make-over. That would give me something to do while I was down here by myself.

So I took her into our local RV repair place. They said it was a good thing I hadn’t just taken her with me. She was ready to explode… So $2000 later, she had new gas lines, new electrical, patched up some leaks and a new kitchen faucet. So, now I’m $5500 into her. Still not bad. The tiny 1979 Argosy I had looked at for $6000 wasn’t as nice and was half the size, so I still felt I was ahead. Of course, by this time I was staying in a hotel because I’m a procrastinator and had waited so long. After 2 weeks though, I finally got her down to an RV park and started full timing.

I was in heaven. Then, the Heavens opened, and I was in Hell. The roof leaked. The Airstream had been in an accident years before. They hit something and crashed the front. The windows were buggered up. The front corner is dented.

What I didn’t know was that there used to be an antenna up top. I guess it got ripped off. They had kinda patched it, but not that well. So there’s water pouring in. Awesome. It’s not easy fixing a roof on an Airstream. Eventually, I took off the vents from the inside and stood inside the vent and patched the roof that way.

Of course, the other problem with leaks and a known issue with Airtreams is floor rot. Mine doesn’t appear too bad, except in the bathroom. It seems like the plastic is just sitting on the trusses. The whole sub floor is rotted out. My big project is to rip out the bathroom, replace the sub-floor and then put the bathroom back in.

Some of the easier projects have been cosmetic on the inside. I pulled all the broken perspex off the front window, then cleaned the old bubbling tint on there. It was amazing the difference that small window made.

I got rid of the old broken rolling window shade in the kitchen. I painted the hideous yellowing plastic in silver, and installed mini blinds. I had found these cool plastic metallic backsplashes which worked like a champ with the curve of the Airstream. So for $20, I had a pretty new backsplash. The blinds were $8 each. Paint was $14 for the metallic and the primer I had to use first. So for under $50, I had a total kitchen make-over.

Painted Window and New Blinds.

I thought the Aistream was pretty dark and wondered why there wasn’t more lighting. Turns out the roof vents also had lights under there. I didn’t find this out till I pulled down the ugly vents when I was fixing the roof. It was pretty gross up there. About 30 years worth of mold… I had to completely sanitize everything. I had been watching a series on American Restoration and they replaced the vents.

I wanted to do the same. Matt suggested I paint them, which at first thought was silly. Then one day I grabbed the paint and tried it, and they ended up looking pretty good. Well, in the day time at least. At night when the lights are on they look a little funny.

Ugly yellow vent.

While out shopping I saw the most awesome bedroom sets. They had sheets, comforters and and matching curtains in my favourite shades of Fuschia and Cyan. I also found a shower curtain with matching colours, a floor mat and even a broom in the same shades. I figured if I couldn’t do the floor yet, I could at least make the interior bright and happy to live in. I also installed the mini blinds behind the curtains. Some weeks I work nights, and I like it dark to sleep in.

I started painting over the other ugly yellow plastic parts too. The biggest part is at the front. The end dome was this awful shade of orange yellow. I painted it silver too.

I’ve got some pretty new curtains that go with my retro theme for the front.  I haven’t put them up yet though. As I work on stuff, I’ll post it up here. It has been a pretty fun project. I finally broke down and installed a flat screen TV a couple weeks ago. Put up the swivel mount, installed the TV, then realized there wasn’t a jack on the outside to hook up to the cable… The jack on the inside went to the old antenna. Which, surprisingly, picked up two Mexican channels. So then I ran new coax and installed a jack on the outside.
I’ve always been handy, and sometimes I’m surprised at the amount of stuff I can work on myself. I’m looking forward to re-doing the bathroom and then I’ll lay new flooring throughout. The lino in here is pretty fugly.
At the end of my deployment, hopefully I’ll have her all shiny and new and I can sell her and get my money back. The vintage Airstreams are pretty trendy right now. I’ve seen some that have been restored or refurbished go for almost $20k. I know mine’s not going to sell for that kind of cash, but if I can break even on my accommodation costs I’ll be happy. In the meantime, I’m still coming out ahead. I only pay $215 a month rent on my RV space, which includes cable TV and free WiFi. My electricity is about $20 a month. (I’m constantly unplugging things if I’m not using them) Even if I shared a house I’d have to pay more than that. I take my laundry home on my days off. Best of all, I have my own space. I like the people I work with, but I probably wouldn’t if I had to live with them as well…

I see articles in the paper in Oz about the housing crisis in Sydney. Maybe if more people could downsize, or if councils weren’t so anal retentive about micro managing every aspect of building, people could have more affordable housing. Maybe younger people could look at living in RV’s and save up their money for a house. Or look at buying land and building an Eco-Dome. It’s not just the building itself, but these things cost much less in electricity and water too. People could make caravan parks where they have US style RV’s that are completely self contained. I remember staying at Kate’s caravan as a kid and we had to walk 10 minutes to pee or shower. That sucked. I can’t imagine staying in a camper now and not having a toilet and shower.

Instead of buying into the dream of owning a big home, think outside the box. Look at alternative housing. It might surprise you how comfortable it is.

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WTF Australia? Sending Derryn to Jail?

I know many Australians hate the fact that I’ve become “Americanized” and now have a mixed accent. But there are times when I really do think that the US has got something smarter going on than Australia.

Like today, I’m glad I live in the US.

 I am so saddened to hear that they have decided to find Derryn Hinch, a man who has spent so many years defending small children, who has put his freedom on the line to name and shame pedophiles is now going to face jail time again, especially when he’s already fighting for his own life.

What a joke. How many times have we heard judges say we should show mercy to pedophiles who are on their death bed, or who are just simply old. Yet here, a man who is fighting to let the truth out, trying to protect more children from being abused is going to die in jail. Still, he keeps his sense of humour, by stating that they won’t get five years out of him.

Meanwhile, in the US, anybody who is charged with an offence against a child goes onto a sex offender register. This is a publicly available list. There’s even an iPhone app that I have on my phone that will pinpoint my location, and tell me if there are registered sex offenders close by. When an offender moves into a neighbourhood, and it has to be a certain distance from school, churches, etc they then have to go around and let the neighbours that they are a registered sex offender. At work, we received a letter informing us that a sex offender had moved in nearby. It was mandated by law. People don’t conduct a witch hunt. They are simply informed, so that they know not to let their kids play with the offender.

The identities of the victims are protected. On the registrer, it has a photo of the offender, as well as what type of offense they were charged with. When we had our exchange student, we noticed there was an offender listed as living on the way she walked to school. We informed her, so she could stay clear of him and his house. No big dramas. Just a heads up.

In Australia, we protect pedophiles. We allow them to continue molesting more children. We don’t empower parents to protect their kids. We don’t give them the simplest thing to save their kids from years of pain; information.

Derryn, I applaud all you have done over the years to help kids. You are an incredibly brave man. I wish I had come to you back when we both worked at Channel 7. You would have done something about it.

Stay strong Derryn. Fight till the end. I’ll be fighting alongside you.

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A difference of cultures in crisis

Helping a community in crisis

 Hope Lives Here Video from the Courier Mail, featuring another former Aussie Expat, Jodie.

On the surface, Australia and America seem to be very similar. It’s only when you really spend some time in each place, you start to see some of the differences. Eventually, you get used to them. Neither culture is right or wrong, they’re just different.

This week, watching the flood footage coming through from Australia, I am reminded of some of those differences, and some of the similarites.

People always tell me, “Texas is just like Australia, right?” and I ask, “What part?” However, when it comes to the spirit of the people, Texans really are like Australians. Much more so than other parts of the US. Maybe that’s why I like it so much here.

When Hurricane Katrina and then Rita wiped New Orleans off the map, I couldn’t understand why they didn’t rebuild. Why even now, most parts are still uninhabitable. Mississippi and Alabama were equally devastated by the hurricanes. In many areas, even more so. They were however primarily middle class towns and people there, much like the people in Australia, and got on with it and rebuilt. Meanwhile, Texas offered as much assistance to it’s neighbours in Louisiana as possible. Texas took in thousands of “refugees”; many of whom have never left. The abandoned mall near my house was turned into a shelter. (It’s now the Rackspace building) Many businesses along that street closed down because of all the theft after the “refugees” arrived. When your local Target closes because of that reason, it’s pretty dramatic.

Years later, they still do documentaries on New Orleans. How it’s still a mess. How the Govt failed them, etc. I still get people begging me for money, saying they are “Katrina Victims”. Of course, nobody does any documentaries showing the people in Alabama and Mississippi and how they’ve managed just fine.

Then I see the footage from Floods in Australia. I see neighbours, friends, strangers, people from all walks of life, lending each other a hand. They’re out cleaning up the mess, the next day. They’re helping people they don’t know. They’re cleaning the dirt and mud before it turns to toxic mold. They’re getting the stuff out on the streets, and I’m sure the govt will do a great job cleaning up those streets.

If only we could teach our cousins in Louisiana about Mateship. Because that’s what it really is. That’s what most Aussie Expats miss the most. (Besides Vegemite and Bundy Rum) It’s the ability to turn to turn to a mate and have them lend you a hand, without you having to ask.

Australia and America were founded differently. America was pioneered on a loner spirit. People rushed out and grabbed land. They had to make do by themselves. Aussie’s on the other hand worked together  to get through the hard times. That legacy has carried on through the generations.  While Americans like those at the top, those that single themselves out and make something of themselves, Aussie’s still have tall poppy syndrome and will take the “Little Aussie Battler” over the big entrepreneur anyday. Both have their plusses and minuses. If you’re looking to really make something of yourself, you’re probably better off in the US. If you’re in a flood, you’re better off in Oz…

Now many States in the US are not like Louisiana. New Orleans has a very large poor population. Many people live on welfare. They live in Section 8 housing. (Like Housing Commission)They use food stamps. They have entitlement problems. They live generation to generation on welfare and don’t look for a way out. When the Hurricane happened, they didn’t bother to get out. They expected someone else to move them. Many people blame George W. Bush for Katrina. Actually, legally he couldn’t do anything until the Governor of Louisiana asked for help. The Govenor didn’t. Eventually, GWB stepped in and superseeced that ruling and helped out. That whole thing was a mess. Then, when people did get evacuated, there was many horror stories of how people were acting. A group of Australian tourists had to be escorted out under the care of the National Guard because of threats of sexual assault against them in the dome. Red Cross workers were treated badly. “Refugees” thought they were in a hotel, and the Red Cross workers were their maids. Looters were everywhere.  When people got their $2000 cards to get food and clothing, there were reports of people using them to buy Louis Vuitton handbags or getting lap dances at strip clubs… When people were provided trailers to live in, they sued the Govt because the trailers were “toxic”.

Everything about Katrina victims showed the absolute worst of American society.  The victim mentality, the entitlement issues, the bad management.

Hopefully, with the Floods in Australia, we will continue to see the Best of people in Australia. The banding together to help each other out. The mateship. The cleanup. The massive amounts of donations. The way people just get along with it and make it better instead of sitting around waiting for someone else to do it for them.

It’s in those moments that I’m so proud to be an Australian. I wish I could be over there with my gumboots on, broom in hand, helping you clean up.

I hope that next time something big happens over here, I’ll be able to spread a little of the Aussie spirit around, and make it better, the way we would in Oz.

If you can’t be there to help out a mate with the floods in Queensland, NSW and now Victoria, help out with a cash donation instead.

http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

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Celeb for a Day – WTF???

Are you kidding me?

After yesterday’s post on Mary Kate talking about her childhood and seeing all the comments from people dissing celebs who don’t always appreciate the attention, I was amazed to find how many photographers are now latching on to the fake paparazzi thing. Take for example, Celeb 4 a Day. This is an entire agency devoted to making ordinary people feel like celebrities for a day, by stalking them with paparazzi for an hour. Seriously. For $250, they’ll stalk you for 30 minutes, snapping pics and asking you about yourself. If you want to feel like a mega star, you can spend $1500 and have your own bodyguard and publicist and 6 paparazzi who’ll follow you for 2 hours.

For $1500, Matt and I could spend a week in Mexico in a beautiful resort. Airfare included. Seriously, what kind of attention starved individual would pay $1500 for 2 hours to feel like a celeb? What’s worse, is that for 2 hours, it might be a lot of fun. Then said individual will try to work out how to be in the spotlight more. (Yes, I’m talking about you Kim Kardashian) Then, years later, when they are an actual celeb, they’ll start to hate the same paparazzi, the ones who they no longer have pay for, but who continue to stalk them.

A quick Google search shows that even regular photo studios are offering paparazzi packages. You just give them your regular schedule, and they’ll be hiding behind tress, waiting to take real life shots of you. Now, I’m a fan of candid shots, I like real life action shots much better than posed photos. However, calling it a paparazzi package and catering to people’s need to be famous just seems kinda sick.

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. Those who live as ordinary citizens wish for the perceived glamour and lifestyle that stars get. Celebs wish they could just blend in and go get some Starbucks without being stalked. I guess since I grew up on TV, cameras were just part of growing up. I always longed to be an ordinary person. I’d hate to be a celebrity these days. Maybe the 2 hour package is long enough for people to realize it’s not that great. My Woman’s Day photo shoot was fun at first. It had been a while since I got to play dress up, and it’s always nice to have someone else do your hair and make-up. Matt didn’t realize just how long a photo shoot lasts and holding a smile for more than an hour is tiring! We both went home exhausted. I was very happy to go back to being a nobody again after that day. Well, until I had to fly to Oz and then hide out while there… After that, Matt said he had never seen me so happy to get back to San Antonio.

It’s a pity the Celeb 4 a day people aren’t in San Antonio. I’m a good photographer and it could be fun to be on the other side of the camera for a change….

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Judge Blocks Key Portions of Arizona Illegal Immigration Law

I’m going to come out and say it, I was in support of the New Arizona laws.

As someone who went through the effort of coming to the US legally, first on a tourist visa, then going through the process of getting a work permit, then a green card, and last week sending off my application for US Citizenship, I know what it means to be an immigrant. Sure, it wasn’t cheap. But getting my visas legally was way cheaper than what most people pay a coyote to bring them through the desert illegally. I think if you can afford to save up $5000 to pay a coyote, you could save up the $1000 for the residency application. Shit, if you can save up $5000 in Mexico, you’d be rich and wouldn’t need to come to America! I’ve seen reports of people spending up to $75k on a coyote. If I had $75k, I’d move to Mexico and retire.

I have several friends who came to the US from Mexico. I know people that are here legally and some that are here illegally. Amazingly enough, most of the ones who came here legally said it really wasn’t a big deal. They went to the US embassy, applied for papers and got them. Sure, there’s a wait, just like any other country. It’s not like I got my papers overnight just because I’m Australian. Someone once told me, if you really want something, you should do it properly. It’s worth waiting for. Most of the people I spoke to believe the same thing. Those Mexicans that went to the effort of applying to come here legally don’t like the ones who came here illegally. The illegals give the legals a bad name. People think just cause you’re a Mexican in Texas you must be a “wetback”. I feel bad for those that went through all that paperwork just to get labeled that way, because so many of their fellow countrymen choose not to do the right thing.

People think the new Arizona law was about racial profiling. It wasn’t. They weren’t going to be pulling over random vehicles because people in them were brown. It was about when someone was pulled over for speeding, and that person couldn’t present an Arizona drivers license, they would then ask them where they were from, and if they were here legally. I really don’t see what’s so bad about that. If you’re breaking laws, people have the right to ask you for ID. If you’re here illegally, and breaking more laws on top of that, they should be able to deport you.

There’s more than just whites and browns in Arizona. If I got pulled over for speeding, I’d expect that they asked me for my papers. Of course, since when I got my greencard it clearly stated that I had to have it on me at ALL times, I always carry it on me. I know plenty of other Aussie’s who don’t carry theirs.  Call me paranoid, but since I live less than 2 blocks from the immigration building, I like to keep it on me at all times. I also like to take my passport if we’re going anywhere near the Mexico border. There are checkpoints at the 100mile marks, and whether you left the US or not, they’re going to pull you over, ask for your ID, do random vehicle checks and I’d rather have my papers and be prepared. It’s not racial profiling when they ask my husband and I to pull over and show our papers. They do it to everyone. Instead of taking it personally, I’m grateful that there are people there making sure that there’s isn’t a mass influx of people and drug trafficking going on.

People also don’t get that it’s not just about Mexicans coming here illegally. Plenty of radical Islamic terrorists are using the Mexico border as a way to come into the US. People who complain that Arizona was only targeting “brown people” meaning Mexicans forget that Middle Easterners are normally pretty brown too. Someone from Iraq could easily blend in with the thousands of Mexicans making the trek across the border illegally. While the cartels are bringing in drugs, the terrorists could be bringing in bombs or biological agents. If they’re driving down the street and get pulled over for turning without indicating, I’d love for the cops to ask them for their ID. You’ve got to have a drivers license to drive a car. If you’re an American and you drive without one, you get into trouble. Why shouldn’t someone who is here illegally?

Right now, the way the laws are set up, it seems like you’re better off being here illegally. You can work, but don’t have to pay taxes. You can drive, but don’t need a license or insurance. If you get sick, you can go to the ER and never have to pay the bill. If you do get pulled over for something, or commit a crime, you can say it was racial profiling and a bunch of agencies will come to your rescue. It’s total bullshit. What incentive is there to be here legally? If you want to live here, you should have to follow the laws here. Simple as that.

And for anyone who thinks the US immigration laws are too tough, you should check out the Mexican immigration laws…

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