Spite

So Ebene showed you her personal green eyed monster, funny because her eyes are brown, mine are green, anyway, now I will show you my personal spiteful monster. Christianity is a constant process of self development so it is good to examine our flaws to better ourselves.

To there we where, outside the largest bookstore in the city. There are always people collecting for charity there, always someone camped out with newspapers for $5 which goes to the homeless, a beach chair and a collection can. Always. Why do they camp outside a bookstore? Is it because they feel that people buying books are more liberal than the rest of society and therefore more likely to contribute money? Possibly, but I don't think that's the reason. I suspect the reason is because books are a luxury and if you can afford to buy a book you heartless consumerist capitalist whatevers should be able to spare money for the homeless. That's what I suspect.

So, I had just bought Ebene's Christmas presents, and we are standing in the crowd ready to cross the street and this old lady accosts us. Accosts us. She must figure being a mixed race couple we are open to all sorts of ideas including giving to charity. Now normally I will make some sort of a donation to such people, and I can't stand walking away when someone flags me down and I will sit and talk to them, but I have never seen this before. She comes up rather forcefully and almost growls at Ebene "Would you like to buy Suchandsuch magazine?" Ebene asks how much it is to which the old lady replies $5. Ebene said no, we where fine, thanks (shes so much stronger than me), and this is where I start to get quite angry.

The lady does not accept that we are not going to buy her magazine, and almost yells "The cover spread is on energy saving ideas for the home!" As if knowing this we would see the error of our ways and buy the magazine. Quite the opposite, she just upset my partner, she's now not getting anything from either of us. I intervene, ask her how much it is, make a show of searching my wallet, say no we are fine, thanks, as firmly as I can she she doesn't come back at us, she gives us a look like "dirty consumerists I hope you die in your sleep", the lights change and we go.

I was so mad, is getting up in peoples faces and badgering them going to make them buy things? Maybe it makes some people cave but my opinion of the people that give out the Suchandsuch magazine just took a terrible turn for the worst and they aren't getting my money. Is this wrong of me? As a Christian, should I give her my money on her word alone it is going to the homeless and shes not going to put it in her back pocket? Should I reward rude behaviour with my donation? Perhaps I am being a bad Christian, but other charities just got my money over theirs.

It was then, further down the road that spite struck me. A lady with a bunch of paperback books asks us who does the cooking in our relationship. Ebene tried to drag me on but spite had me, and I stopped and said we both cook. The lady then asked us if we would like a cook book? Sensing danger I asked how much it was. She said it was a donation, they accepted whatever you thought the book was worth. Now she did not say $5, she said you can give however much you think the book is worth. I promptly pulled $5 out of my wallet, handed it over and accepted the book. The lady said thanks, the money goes to the homeless, and she was grateful for our donation. I probably would not have taken that book had we not had the experience with the Suchandsuch magazine lady. And if I had, I probably would not have paid $5.

This is where many Christians will condemn me to hell, the book was a Hare Krishna cook book! Pagan beliefs and devil worship through vegetarian food oh my!

Was it wrong to be spiteful? It's not a good thing, but in that instance I gave into my base instincts. It was wrong of me but I did. Charity got $5 though, so maybe it was not completely damning. Was it bad that the polite Hare Krishna lady got my money over the rude non denominational Suchandsuch lady? I don't know I don't think so, there's an equal chance it will go where it was suppose to go over lining someone elses pocket so I don't think there's any real difference.

This raises a few questions that I can't answer. Should we give money to people selling stuff on the street? Are we helping the problem? Should we give money to beggars? Do different groups or different denominations deserve our money more over others? I don't know, but I acknowledge my flaws, I recognise my spiteful streak and will try and minimise it in future

Weddings and Green eyed monsters

on the eve of my friend's wedding, I sit and wonder what is it that I am feeling, I was happy for her at one stage surely (though after a while wedding plans begin to sound tedious) and I had predicted that she would be married before the year was out even though at the time she didn't have a boyfriend and now in a few hours she'll be Mrs. Ivoire reckons it's the green eyed monster, at 1st I thought he was wrong and the more I sit and think about it the more I think he might be right. But it is not the fact that she'd getting married that I am envious of...after all Ivoire and I made this commitment a very long time ago, a vow so to speak, that we would get married, but we would do it our way, preferably with no help monetary wise fro anyone(having learnt that to really make it in this world, sometimes you have to rely only on yourselves). I still do find myself what she is doing in these final hours of singlehoodness( I even called her to find out but she didn't pick up – probably busy with final prep)- I also wondered what i would be doing.

This is all besides the point because fact is I am jealous and yet I do not know why, it's not exactly like I want to be married now or anything but something gnaws at me and because of that I cannot feel complete joy for my friend. Delving deeper into this thought I realise that maybe it's because she is not going to kiss her fiance until the priest says 'you may kiss the bride,' or the fact that even though she and her fiance found a place to live together they are not sharing the same bed until tomorrow night, whereas Ivoire and I do, or that she and her fiance have their families supporting them emotionally and financially. Next to her it seems everyone will be damned to Hades. But then again I look at our situations and think of how lucky I am to have Ivoire and how I could not possibly sleep without him by my side.

Finally...the critique for Quantum of Solace

So, Ebene and myself went and saw the latest Bond film Quantum of Solace. We would have seen it a lot earlier but we where tyring to book tickets at the local gold class cinema and could not get a booking before the next blue moon, so we gave up and saw it in a regular cinema. It goes without saying but so no one has any excuse this post will discuss the plot so if you don't want it ruined for you, don't read this until you see it.

So now that's out of the way, how was it? I liked it, Ebene sort of liked it, and it was not Casino Royale. But then it wasn't really any of the other bond films either, which is why I liked it. The first thing that struck me about the film, probably because the first scene was a car chase, but more importantly because the second scene was a dash across rooftops in Italy and and a fall/scuffle though what I think was a building under construction (well there was scaffolding, so sue me if I'm wrong), was that the cinematography was good. As in really really flipping good. You could see every chip of roofing tile fly across the screen, every shard of broken glass. Having said that Quantum must have set a record for the amount of broken glass in one film.

Next the film showed a Bond you saw a bit of in Casino Royale, and none of in any other Bond that I'm aware of. A Bond that had a range of emotions. A Bond that was torn with regret and betrayal over the death of Vesper, a Bond that had familial attachment to his boss, a Bond that loses sleep over what he has done, and one who holds a mixed conviction of revenge for Vesper, for Mathis, for the attempt on M's life, and for the general rightness of stopping the world powers cutting deals with a Bond villain. He was not some 2D drink that, sleep with that, kill that Bond. Some, like Ebene, would say it was a little over the top, perhaps it was, but I enjoyed seeing a human side to Bond. By the same token, I enjoyed the indecision in M's character was well as Felix. The lines are grey and no one really knows who's a friend and who's not.

Overall I enjoyed the plot line, though I can see how some people would not like it. It was a continuation from Casino Royale though, so I don't get the people that liked the plot line for Casino Royale and not Quantum of Solace. A CEO running the most pervasive criminal organisation that has infiltrated pretty much everything, buying water to hold a third world country, and hints of the world at later stages, to ransom does sound a bit pie in the sky. But not in the order of Moonraker. Greene, the evil CEO, was a decent villain, I preferred Le Chiffre, but Greene was not bad. And the plot was thought out with characters that pursued their agendas with a vengeance. I mean when you look at it, multinational corporations do cut deals with nations over land, mining rights, what have you, and I bet at least once in modern history a large company has if not bank rolled, lent funds to, a coup attempt in a third world country, so that part of it is not completely unbelievable.

Bond did not sleep with the main Bond girl which I think is something to be applauded, though the girl he did sleep with was dressed a bit promiscuously. I mean, if you wear a trench coat and nothing else, it did not seem she had anything on underneath, did seem a bit scandalous. But otherwise it was a more human Bond with a more human support cast locked in a web of deceit and double crossing where every friend could be a member of Quantum, plots to overthrow governments, countries thinking of nothing but oil, ruthless multinational corporations, explosions, a car chase, a boat chase, a plane chase, and lot and lots of broken glass. Did I mention the broken glass?

When you go to watch a Bond film you know what you are going to get, so people stop hating and take it for what it is: A well shot, face paced, piece of escapism. It was enjoyable, do watch it.

New place blues

(the comfy couch - never mind the mess)

I have never not gotten on with a landlord, just like I have never not gotten on with my teachers (somewhat of a teacher’s pet) so it comes as a shock to me when I feel as though our new landlords are not pleasant with us because we when we initially moved in the place was not clean and we agreed I could clean it and take it off the rent which caused a wee bit of a drama.

The telephone line is apparently connected but it’s not working and this of course is delaying the connection of the all important Internet...
It’s all so trying considering that I am suffering from homesickness, I am it seems missing the student accommodation, granted it got on my nerves staying there at times, sharing the fridge and people not putting away dishes etc etc and now Ivoire and I have own place where we can walk around in the nude (we are closet nudists) and the cost is snarky landlords...ah well.

I am focusing on the good bits like because Ivoire’s work place is within walking distance he comes home on days I am not working and I fix him lunch...homemaking and of course we get to walk around naked.

During a moment of introspection I realised the challenges Ivoire and I have had to face in the almost 2 years we have been dating (anniversary is New Year’s day), from him leaving for England for 6 months to helping pay my uni fees and I thought that we had become bogged down by everyday life that we were forgetting to nurture our love more, (we do but I think we ca do more), anyway I have decided to declare this a Summer of Love and there shall be games afoot.

He of course knows nothing of this...yet.

The new place (and the most comfy couch)

So the move has been completed just as we head into the final stretch of my uni trimester, yay!! Well it should be ‘Yay, ‘but yesterday as I went back to the uni for my last lecture I passed by the old place and I felt as though something was amiss, I was not going to be spending the night there...the 1st place I called home ever since I moved t Australia. I think I now understand why so many people do not leave or 50% of those who do come back. It’s not because the rent’s dirt cheap and you have no bills, it’s because it’s a security blanket especially after 2.5 years of living there, and there are always people around you.
I like the place we are in (apart from the landlords which would be the 1st time I have never gotten on with my landlord), Ivoire comes home early and we have heaps of privacy and lots of fridge space but I still miss the familiarity of my old place and my shower.

Buying furniture has put a dent in our savings though we would have to do it now or when we bought a place...either way we were going to spend that money but that doesn’t mean I am happy about it. I am consoling myself with the knowledge that we have the comfiest couch in the world!! Seriously this couch is so comfy that when you sit down you won’t ever want to get up, Ivoire has almost been late for work this whole week.

We have air cons in the bedrooms for the summer; Yay:) There is a possibility of getting a huge electricity bill, nay:(. I am in love with the kitchen hopefully I will get time during the holidays to make aphrodisiac desserts (after all the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and I am the Queen Bee of Desserts)...we have an eye level oven and microwave and a glass cooktop (I could go on).

I have been annoying, dropping rather *ahem* loud hints that I want to be romanced so I figure I am going to start the ball rolling by romancing Ivoire, any suggestions?

Important Note:
We still don’t have the internet connected so the posts are either done at work so they'll far between till we have internet.