Hi! I'm Joe Hockey.

"Joe Hockey" just doesn't seem quite Australian enough. Maybe even vaguely Canadian. *gasp* (Just kidding you fabulous Canadians, you).

Might I suggest some alternatives:

• Joe Football
• Joe Cricket
• Joe Rugby (too Queenslandish?)
• Joe Tennis (for that international appeal)
• Joe Boomerang (not technically a sport....)
• hell, Joe "World-Class" Sydney-Harbour-Bridge.

Gimme what you've got in the comments.

Anti-social vs Anti-social

I had to giggle when I came across this thread on TripAdvisor:








The thread continues as you'd expect: a woman who cried through the whole flight, drunken teenagers arrested upon landing, anxiety-induced catatonics, etc. etc.

But interspersed throughout the thread is a prime example of this particular culture (language?) difference: anti-social vs. anti-social.

Clearly in Australia and the UK (and probably everywhere else), "anti-social" means "anti-society" - teenagers run amok starting fights, smashing things, vandalism etc. Whereas in the U.S., colloquially, it just means "anti-socializing" - people who perhaps just don't want to interact with other people. Americans might be surprised that someone with "anti-social personality disorder" can actually be very charming and engaging.

I think the credit really must go to TripAdvisor for encouraging culture-sharing in ways you'd never expect!

Major Feature!

Big article in the NY Times today (2-pager!) about the situation with credit card fees in Australia. It's almost shocking that the US is actually looking into precedents set in other countries. (Hello, healthcare?)

Link: U.S. Looks to Australia on Credit Card Fees (NY Times)

8bitTim's assessment: "Unregulated capitalism is terrible."

*heart* Jellybeans

I just love how jellybeans are not a strictly "Easter-time" treat.

It's official.

This is my favorite thing about Australia.

Photo credit to: www.atablefortwo.com.au

Brisbane

I just realised I haven't posted much about Brisbane at all, and we'll have been here a year in January! Brisbane has been pretty amazing, the winter weather was beautiful and I'm really excited about my plumeria tree beginning to flower. Brisbane is so busy, there's always something great going on. (Such as the Buddha's Birthday celebration!)


Everything seemed very fast-paced after Tasmania, but it's been awesome to live near an Ikea and a real live shopping centre (transl: mall). 8bitTim is almost finished with the first year of his master's course, and I recently took a job at a research centre for maternity care at the university. So all in all, Brisbane is starting to grow on me, and *bonus* I hardly ever get lost driving around anymore!

I'm clearly a terrible blogger.

But I also sell jewelry!

I thought I should share the fact the I have (finally) re-opened my Etsy shop! So please come visit me - shop early and shop often! I have quite a few new pieces to photograph and upload, so you should see those over the next few weeks. www.tinkitty.etsy.com