why wy?

During this holiday, I managed to:
- make mayonaise (whisk an egg yolk with some salt, mustard, vinegar and dribble olive oil into it slowly).
- travel to daylesford, a mineral spring and spa area an hour's drive away. Hint: There is a public spa if you are on a budget, and there are also places that offer $500 scrubs/rubs/dubs. And don't drink the spring water unless you are fond of rusty pipe, cos that's what it tastes like.
- cycle to town (and to work)
- reading some Alexander McCall Smith, very amusing. Sad to say, I'm struggling through Eats, Shoots, Leaves, which is a humorous look at punctuation. She's too much of a word geek for me, and I guess it reminds me of work too.
- made funny faces at the fish at the aquarium, manta rays that stretch from fingertip to fingertip
- had a wonderful japanese lunch treat (and sake too). Thanks Mon!
- ripped a hole in the seat of my favourite jeans, just when it was getting to that perfect worn-out faded look.

(the idea of a holiday essay comes from a couple of blogs, mostly teachers I think.)

I been asking people, if they think they were smarter when they were younger, before they started knocking back a few. Most don't think alcohol has that much of an effect, as new synapses are being formed even as old cells are destroyed. Then again, I had trouble naming the G8 countries and it took an 8-year-old to remember them all (he knew where the concerts were held). It's scary, because I definitely would have known this 10 years ago, coincidentally before the philosophy honours inhouse bar had an existence, and before the friday night after-work sessions.

Anyhow, it is good that the live8 concerts have raised global awareness of poverty and the HIV crisis, although I'm not sure how much impact it had on the G8's decision to cancel some world debt and to put some sort of action plan together. All the publicity and slogans are amazingly emotive and powerful, like, Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, spoken by Nelson Mandela.

I'm wondering if there are other ways to help, beyond petitioning governments, giving money. Something easy that everyone can do, like taking your own canvas bag to the supermarket instead of asking for plastic when it comes to reducing environmental waste. Obviously, not everyone is able or prepared to travel to worst-hit places to help, and even that may result in complications and a band-aid, feel-good effect. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.