Coffee & Cigarettes

I am a caffeine addict.

I can't help it... I can't get through the day without my fix of tea or coffee. Preferably skim, preferably well made, preferably in a bucket. No sugar, thanks. I don't really see the point of drinking it if it doesn't appear like a lake in front of you; if it's good, you can't get enough of it. And anyway, it can often be a cost-effective (if wickedly unhealthy) meal-replacement option for us poor students, and hey, if it gets me through my lectures, I'm not going to complain.

Being at Uni, I come across a variety of people with a mix of views every day I go in. Most of these relate to the availability of computers, lecture clashes or gay marriage, but another major issue of constant contention is smoking. I belong to a minority, in that I am a non-smoker, but do not mind other people smoking around me. From what I have noticed, most people tend to be either staunchly (and vocally) opposed to smoking, or totally in favour. My friend T (a smoker)the other day raised what I thought was a valid point: that if, in Australia, we still have the right to smoke, then there should be designated areas (including certain pubs and institutions that have lost some of their ambience since the ban was introduced) where people are free to smoke, and non-smokers can avoid. My other friend B (non-smoker) thought this was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard, because the Government introduced the ban to give incentive for people to quit, so why on earth would they allow people to smoke inside?

While B does raise a valid point, every time I see an anti-smoking campaign funded by the Government, it makes me a little angry inside. Not because I feel as though it is infringing upon the rights of smokers, but more because everyone who chooses to smoke in Australia today is making an educated decision. It's drummed into us at school, for one thing - the side-effects are no secret. So if they choose to smoke regardless of risks, another ad campaign is hardly going to make them stop. To me, it feels like the Government is wasting precious taxpayer dollars making themselves look proactive about contemporary issues, while really doing nothing. It makes me angry.

But back to my original point. I remember when I was in primary school, and everyone thought smoking was seriously uncool. I maintained this view until I was maybe 17 and started watching foreign films - and was affected by the notion of experimentation and rebellion. Since then, I'm still not a smoker, but I have been known to dabble. The thing is... even though bogans and drunkies look incredibly foul when lighting up and make me sick to my stomach, every so often you notice the impossibly cool indie girl, or the tall dark stranger with a cigarette casually resting between their fingers and a trail of smoke dancing in a trail from the tip, and I realise: smoking is sexy. So as much as I don't want to get emphysema, I can never be anti-smoking for the simple reason that when done well, it is one of the most attractive looks on the planet.

One of my favourite film directors, Jim Jarmusch, got it pretty right. In 2003, he made a movie called 'Coffee and Cigarettes'. And quite frankly... I'd be happy to live in that black-and-white wonderland for the rest of my life.

Words of interest.

Fulgurate

To flash or dart like lightning



Morganatic

Of or pertaining to a form of marriage in which a person of high rank, as a member of nobility, marries someone of lower station with the stipulation that neither the low-ranking spouse nor their children, if any, will have any claim on the titles or entailed property of the high-ranking partner



Impedimenta

Baggage or other items that impede one's progress

It's all a matter of perception, really...

If you were to ask a few of my friends what my compulsions are, they would probably say photo-taking*. Just about every time I leave the house, I have my camera with me and am known to pull it out on random occasions and take pictures that are a mixture of posed and candid. I love it... I'd call it my passion, but I think that's underrating the nature of a 'passion'.

Because I take photos so regularly (and I mean, regularly. I have 40+ albums on Facebook, most of which have more than 100 photos in them. My catchphrase tends to be "consider yourself tagged"; my friend Andy has 124 photos on the social networking site, and of them I've taken all bar about 6. Nathan was tagged in nearly 200 of my photos, before he deleted his profile), I am well accustomed to what you could call my 'style'. I love group photos, mostly candid, where there is stuff happening in the background as well as the foreground. I like photos with more than one person, usually, but trying to catch their personality or emotion at the time.

What I noticed recently, was that everyone sees the world a bit differently. How? Well, a couple of months ago, I didn't feel like taking the photos myself and so entrusted my camera to my friend for the evening, instructing him to take as many photos as he wanted. The result - a lot of portrait-style, zoomed in shots of my friends faces, taken throughout various stages of the evening. Not at all what I would have taken, which was brilliant! It was the first time I'd ever noticed the subtle differences in the way that people look at the world around them.

A few weeks after this, I went on a road trip to Queensland, where we used a video camera to document our exploits. It was awesome, because we realised when looking back at the footage that it was possible to identify who'd been filming which parts because of what was the focus. Once again, I was astounded by the simple differences in the way that everyone looks at things. It's probably because of this that we get such a variety of films, books, tv shows and works of art. It's one of my favourite things about people, and I hope that I never get used to the idea of the way we see things. Because after all, people can always offer an alternate point of view - on everything. And that's really pretty cool.

*Not photography. I'm not trained or qualified, and I wouldn't dare label my photos as 'art'. Maybe one day, but definitely not yet.

Itchy feet...

One thing about me is, I really like to travel. A few years ago, I moved to England for 12 months and had a brilliant time, seeing a fair chunk of the UK, Ireland and Europe. Honestly, one of the best years ever (and I haven't even had 21 to choose from yet!). The only thing was, it totally ruined me forever, because now all I want to do is travel. It seems like every time I cross somewhere off my list of places to go, I add another three... and all of them seem to be overseas, and tend to be on the more expensive side of dreaming.


It's not that I don't like Australia - not even close. There is so much of Australia that I haven't seen, and I keep hearing about places that would be cool to see (like the Big Pineapple and the Big Mango). But, when it boils down to it, Oz is quite same-y. It's great fun - the beaches are brilliant, there's good food, good shopping and lots of things to see, but when it boils down to it, it's still Australia. Everyone has mostly the same accent, and a similar background. I was born here, I've grown up here, and so, I think Australia is just the familiar to me, and is therefore less interesting than, say, Paris. Or Morocco. Or Istanbul. Or Thailand. You get the picture.


A girl I used to work with had no interest at all in travelling the rest of the world. This idea was so alien to me - I mean, sure Australia's got a lot going for it, but imagine all the people you can meet, and the things you can see, and the cuisines you can try elsewhere! But, each to their own. Some people want to see and experience the world. Others are perfectly content in their own spheres. The only people I have problems with are those who want to see the world, but not experience it (and that includes not understanding why everywhere else doesn't speak English. Come on, people).


I found out recently that I could be moving back to the UK next year for about six months. Brilliant! Hopefully, it'll all work out - then I can satisfy my wanderlust (or at least sate it for a while). I've got my fingers crossed, anyway!