Thursday, June 18, 2009

Twitter: Follow Friday #4 (@tigertigercb)

And the next victim...bwahahaha...(thats supposed to be an evil laugh *sigh*).

*drum roll*

@tigertigercb

This one is a little indulgent of me. I am a bit of a coffee fan and really enjoy finding and tasting good coffee. I have explored Sydney and Perth coffee as I have lived in both, and Perth is really growing up a lot (in my humble opinion) on the coffee scene.

Tiger Tiger Coffee Bar is a really great spot in the Murray Mews, 329 Murray Street Perth. There's nothing better than dropping in on a Saturday morning, having some eggs benedict and a couple of cups of their awesome coffee (seriously, how could I just have one!). They have a "Single Origin Day" every Wednesday fortnight (next is 24th July) where they feature beans from a single country and plantation...such as Ethiopian Lumu.

Tiger Tiger Coffee Bar Website

Clare (the owner) always has a smile ready for you, and the atmosphere in the shop is terrific. They are also expanding into wine, with various tastings and special events.

I thoroughly recommend checking them out, and following them on twitter. Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Naughty boy...lack of posts

Yes, yes, I know. One of those bloggers that starts with the best of intentions, and then loses focus and posts intermittently...well...almost never.

Well, I have some Real Life (TM) things going on that have take precedence. All good stuff for inspiring blog posts. So eventually I will get on to it. I missed last #followfriday, but I will pick it up again this week.

And there will be a flurry of posts in the near future. Do I promise? Nope, not in the habit of making promises I can't guarantee keeping. So instead I will refocus and endeavour to post more in the near future.

And if that's not good enough, don't read :P

Have a good day *grin*

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Twitter: Follow Friday #3 (@wil_anderson)

And here we are, the third #followfriday already...oh how time flies!!!

Today's victim...errr...nomination...

*drum roll*

@Wil_Anderson

Australians are likely familiar with Wil's work, however for international twitterazi (and the lesser enlightened Aussies...) Wil is a comedian, TV host and radio presenter. I am a huge fan of his (now cancelled) show "The Glasshouse" which ran on the ABC and was cancelled...rumour has it due to the then Prime Minister John Howard putting some pressure on the ABC (got to love a good conspiracy theory...).

He also hosted a show "The Gruen Transfer" which takes a look at advertising with a humorous twist. He also has performed a number of stand up shows, his latest I think being "Wilosophy" which unfortunately I didn't catch (clashed with other commitments) but I hope to see him one day soon.

I recommend him on Twitter as he is a genuinely funny person and often posts his views, humorous and otherwise, on his feed and lightens my day :)

Monday, June 1, 2009

The need to fix things...

I recently held a conversation with a woman in an attempt to understand something that had been perplexing to me for many years. The need for women to stay friends with their ex's.

From both personal and related experiences, I know many situations where women remain friends with their ex's. The conversation generally goes like this:

Boy: "Hey, I see that your ex hit you up on Facebook the other day."
Girl: "Yeah, we're still friends. We talk and catch up every now and then. There's nothing to it."
Boy: "Sure, but I'm not particularly comfortable with it."
*insert tense silence*
Girl: "Well I'm not going to let you tell me who to be friends with."
Boy: "So you're telling me being friends with your ex is more important to you than me?"
Girl: "Well if you put it that way, yes."

Now this particular woman I spoke to said she is friends with one ex in particular. They were together for a number of years, and broke up. Then some time later he contacted her and they caught up. On departing he gave her a hug and tried to kiss her. She explained that she just wanted to be friends, nothing more. His response? I have enough friends, I don't need another one so if that's all it will be thanks but no thanks.

So time passed, and then she received an invitation from him on everyones favourite Fake...errr...Facebook. She accepted it, and they got to chatting every now and then.

Am I the only one that see's a problem here? My first question was why. After some superficial responses, it came out that she wanted to fix it. That they have been together, that they could possibly fix it and maybe get it back to what it was.

Now putting that aside, lets say this woman meets a guy and forms a relationship. When I asked her if she would stop being friends with this guy because her new boyfriend asked, her initial response was no. Why should I? He should trust me.

OK, so I spun it around. I explained a scenario to her...she goes to a nightclub with her boyfriend. During the night, a hot girl throws herself at him and tries to kiss him. He pushes her away and says no thanks. Now, how do you feel? She says well it's not his fault, I'm not going to hold it against him. OK, but do you feel happy it happened or comfortable with the situation? Ummm...well no.

So it's not that you don't trust them, but it's that it's an uncomfortable situation. And most importantly you don't trust the guy (or in the prior example, girl). Especially when (in this case) he has made it very clear that he has enough friends and doesn't need another...if you can't read between those lines...

So why is it that women do this? Is it the moral high ground? Are they so naive as to believe that men can be fixed? Is that saying really true about womens behaviour in general:

A women enters a relationship expecting a man to change,
and being disappointed when he doesn't.
A man enters a relationship expecting a woman not to change,
and being disappointed when she does.

When I had that related to me, I laughed. I didn't believe it but the more I think about it, the more I talk to women about their beliefs and behaviours, the more elements of it come to the forefront.

Now before any women decide to take a hit out on me, I do not generalise this across the entire female population. As a matter of fact much to my detriment, I give everyone the benefit of the doubt and my trust up front. So I am not tarring all with the same brush. However so far, I have been given little reason to think otherwise.

The long road ahead...

Be with someone.

Be alone.

It seems that humans are designed to be partnered. Society looks upon the companionless as unusual, outcasts, something to be pondered, studied, and pitied.

Don't believe me? Try it some time.

It is a very real fact that if you go to a concert, the movies, coffee shop or pretty much anything outside of your own house on your own, once people realise they give you that "oh you poor dear" look. I have gotten used to it and get myself out and busy, but sometimes depending on your mood you notice.

I have been in relationships since I was in high school. Until the end of 2008 I had not been out of a relationship for more than a month or so. I have now been out of one for 6 months. I would never have thought it, and argued vehemently against it initially, but it's been a good thing. Difficult, as with any adjustment, but good. I have sorted myself out a lot, gotten a lot of things in perspective.

Perhaps most importantly I now want to be with someone, rather than need to be with someone.

Now this leads me nicely to the source of my recent consternation. I am enjoying my own time, and have actually got myself into a good place. I have a fitness regime and am healthy and happy with how I look. I am mentally good, have a really exciting new job I'm starting soon, finances are sorted and ever improving...all good.

So whilst I'm happy with where I'm at, I feel like I'm ready to be with someone. Not need, but want to. So how do I go about it?

Well popular opinion would have you believe you should "let it happen". I refer the people that tell me that to my prior blog post "Fate and Destiny...". So clearly, I'm not a big believer of that option.

On the other hand I have done the RSVP/websites, Speed Dating, Blind Dates through friends and family. Fail, fail and epic fail. Yes, perhaps I have been unlucky. Regardless I have now sworn off all of this.

So the middle ground is to get out and about, circulate and not be closed off to opportunities. I find it hard to draw that line and given my inherent shyness and inability to approach women, it will be a long hard road but hey, better than nothing.

And then how to find a woman that is not...

a) ...psychopathic.
b) ...just out of a relationship within the last 3 months and still secretly in love with her ex(s).
d) ...a slob and looks after herself.
e) ...so lacking that she struggles to hold a conversation with a housebrick.

So far...well I guess it's early days, patience is not a virtue I naturally possess. You wouldn't think it was that hard...but I'm telling you, it is.