Friendly Aussies II

I went to the gym as usual this morning to work on my upper body. As it was a week day, there were slightly more people exercising before going to work. I could not help noticing a vivacious young guy walking and talking loudly (about Olympics etc) on the treadmill with two oldies who were also on treadmills beside him. He was wearing the sports centre's blue-green polo shirt. Almost the whole time I was there he was chatting with them. Then the oldies decided to move to the other stuff in the gym. So the bubbly guy went to sit on the rowing machine next to me. Apparently, he is the new gym manager! And he asked me if I'm a member and if I would fill the gym's questionaire. So this new gym manager is going round the gym chatting and actually helping people to use the weights and machines properly! I never seen anything like it , at least not at this particular sports centre. The previous 2 gym managers either sat at their desk or were not really present in the gym!

Another bubbly Aussie is a pretty shop proprietor in the suburb where I used to live. Everytime my toddler go into her shop she would call out to him and try to(mis)pronounce his name. I think she takes a shine to him even though he always hide from her when she says Hi . She had given birth to a cute baby boy this year and is always comparing him to toddler. I always have to stop and chat with her at the checkout even though I am in hurry to pick up kids at the school nearby. Btw, she is originally from Vietnam.

Ekka

The whole family went to EKKA on Wednesday. I think nearly 100,000 other beings decided to transcend upon the RNA Showgrounds on the same day too. It was jam packed! We didn't go last year as there was a serious flu virus flying around. Maybe we should have gone then because of the smaller crowd . (I don't like crowded places.) But get this, the dh and kids wanted to go there specifically to get SHOWBAGS! The kiddoes got 2 each. (Dd insisted on going again this Saturday to get more!! but I object. ) Hubby wanted to get the Pepsi bag and I was wandering what is so fun about getting 3 pepsis and freebies in a bag ? Anyway, I should of let him get it if it makes him happy. (Btw, I asked him to get me one bag too with 2 mags ie Woman's Weekly & Good Health plus some healthy snacks , for a bargain at $10 as not much choice of bags for oldie like me.)
The kiddoes also liked to play at the fun fair as they get small stuffed animals as prizes. I think the game arcades there are rigged though as not a lot of people seem to win the big plush stuffed ones.

I come from there

I just learnt of the Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish passing. Innalillah wainnailaihirajiun. Below is just one of his excellent Arabic poems translated into English.

I come from there
and I have memories
Born as mortals are, I have a mother
And a house with many windows,
I have brothers, friends,
And a prison cell with a cold window.
Mine is the wave, snatched by sea-gulls,
I have my own view,
And an extra blade of grass.
Mine is the moon at the far edge of the words,
And the bounty of birds,
And the immortal olive tree.
I walked this land before the swords
Turned its living body into a laden table.
I come from there.
I render the sky unto her mother
When the sky weeps for her mother.
And I weep to make myself known
To a returning cloud.
I learnt all the words worthy of the court of blood
So that I could break the rule.
I learnt all the words and broke them up
To make a single word: Homeland.....

Charity Drive

Heads up from DrBubbles . Ramadan is fast approaching and if you are in a charitable mood, please direct your monies/in kind to Islamic Relief (M'sia) to help make the "Feed the Fasting " Campaign a success.

Friendly Aussies

Well, after living a couple of years in Oz, I thought I'd capture the spirit of the Aussie people from my day to day dealings with them.

Did you know that before you could pay your merchandise at the counter, you have to follow the ritual of the cashier saying "Hello, How are you?" and you answering "Good, thanks. How are you?" before you can actually pay for anything?? Many a times, I'm at the cashier counter and I forget what was it that I wanted to do there in the first place coz the cashier are so darn friendly... This lil ritual of saying how are you blah blah blah... can even last a bit longer than you'd expect. I mean I've seen cashiers and customers happily chit-chatting like they are old chums from waayy back...

Aussies also like to make jokes. When I was stuck in a lift with an Aussie family, one guy had a look at my supermarket trolley which was full to the brim with groceries and said, "You have enough food in there to last you for 12 months." I had to grin and say that I had a big family (if you can say having 3 kids is a big one). And the guy quipped back, "That is your fault!"
... ..ummm, I guess it is the fault of my husband and I for having them in the first place, lol.