Not-so-random acts of kindness
I don’t have any bones to pick with public transport, but sometimes it can really screw you over. This is a shout out to the kind stranger who helped me out a few days ago. I was up in Brisbane for work and needed to get a bus from Central to my meeting out west. Wanting to check that I was in the right place, I turned to a … Continue reading Not-so-random acts of kindness
Of vengeance and forgiveness
Did anyone else catch the Jesus parallels in the Divergent series? All in all I was mostly disappointed with the trilogy, but at least there were some interesting ideas.
The books, however, did explore themes of guilt, regret and sacrifice. I suppose in that context, some Jesus undertones are unsurprising.
Continue reading Of vengeance and forgiveness
A Canberran perspective on Vivid
Is it just me or have I seen Vivid before? In Canberra. Continue reading A Canberran perspective on Vivid
Reclaiming convenience
If you’re anything like me, you’ll occasionally stumble into extended conversation with a random. It doesn’t happen quite as often as I’d like, but last week was one such instance. I was checking out a guitar I’d found advertised on Gumtree. The seller and I talked at length about his many guitars. And his guitar collecting habit. So when he asked me about my own guitar history, … Continue reading Reclaiming convenience
Australia: Not the place I thought you were
The other day after work, I was flowing with the peak hour crowd down Anzac Parade, when I witnessed something awful.
An Aboriginal man was heckling and shoving an East Asian man. The Indigenous guy was yelling obscenities and things like “Go back to where you came from!” to the suited up Asian guy, who was trying, literally, to shake him off. That was Awkward thing Number 1.
People just watched. And did nothing. That was Awkward thing Number 2.
By people, I mean mainly Asian people. The University of New South Wales appears to be predominantly Asian, even the law faculty – a contrast with the College of Law at my own alma mater. That was Awkward thing Number 3.
And I did nothing because, frankly, I’m both Asian and female. I actually thought I might get hit. That was Awkward thing Number 4.
It made me think about how Australia is not the place I thought it was when I was little. Continue reading Australia: Not the place I thought you were
Taking 5 in Taswegia
I went to Tasmania and it was awesome. Here are just 5 special moments and accompanying pictures for you to gawk at. Continue reading Taking 5 in Taswegia
We the Internauts
I love the word internauta. The English translation is “internet user” – an accurate but boring term. The Spanish word, typically, is more wonderfully evocative, pairing well with the idea of the internet as a whole new universe; we as users navigate cyberspace. Internauta suggests an element of the intrepid, of exploring new and dangerous territory. Indeed, the internet is fraught with danger – with … Continue reading We the Internauts
Making fashion ethical, and ethics fashionable
The 2017 Ethical Fashion Report is out today. I had the great privilege and pleasure of being part of Baptist World Aid’s research team.
Read the report … and read some of my reflections, about what I’ve learned and why ethics in fashion matters. Continue reading Making fashion ethical, and ethics fashionable
Lavish Friday
Unconditional, eternal, lavish I was reading about how God loves us unconditionally, eternally and lavishly. Unconditional, I get – I’ve had grace explained to me more times than I can count. Eternal, I get – God loved us before time, loves us now and will love us always. But lavish? The thing about growing up privileged but being hyper aware of disadvantage and poverty is … Continue reading Lavish Friday
Freeing the Beast
If I could use my eyebrows the way Emma Watson does, everyone would know where they stand with me. Lumiere and even Cogsworth watched those eyebrows. The Beast dared to hope because of those eyebrows. Only good ol’ Gaston didn’t get that Emma was using those arches to give him the finger.
But where Lion for me was all about Dev Patel’s hair, the latest live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast got me thinking not so much about Emma Watson’s eyebrows, but about the nature of freedom and slavery. Continue reading Freeing the Beast
