A Sugarholic's Diary

My friend Jane* believes I'm addicted to sugar. I beg to differ. Even though I hide lollies around my room, doesn't make me guilty of being a sugarholic.

Sure, I like sweet food. Everyone does.

7:30 am: I'm busy reading the newspaper. Oooh, sugar! I want it in my cereal.

10:14 am: I'm typing an article for a website. Oooh, biscuits! I grab three of those.

10:15 am: I'm feeling tired. Oooh, chai lattes! I run downstairs to the cafe to purchase this.

12:00 pm: Lunch time. I walk to the kitchen and as I grab my lunch something grabs my attention. Oooh, choc-chip cookies! I grab one.

4:00 pm: Again, I walk down the kitchen. The jar's empty. I say out loud to anyone who could hear me, "Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?" I'm getting stroppy with my co-workers afterwards.

5:00 pm: TGIF drinks! Oooh, I want some lemon and lime bitters with vodka please. I'm happy again.

9.:30 pm: Having dinner with the other half. Oooh, tiramisu. Should I have it? I've eaten way too many sweets all day. Bugger it, have it.

Three hours later, I feel sorry that I divulged in so many sugary foods. I only have two packets of Oreos, a box of Cadbury favourites and Pop Tarts hidden in my room. It's decreased heaps.

Oh bugger it! I open up a packet of Tim Tams and bite both ends, stick it into a mug of hot chocolate and use it like a straw.

In hindsight, I look at this timeline and wonder if I am a sugarholic. Does anyone feel guilty at the amount of sweets they eat at times? Oh please, don't tell me I should attend Sugarholic Anonymous meetings!

Happy reading,
5ft0

P.S - Parts of this entry may be slightly fabricated for entertainment value.

* Names have been changed for privacy reasons.

Did you enjoy High School?

Recently, I received an invitation on Facebook that my grade was going to hold a belated five year reunion. I thought school reunions occurred a decade after we finished school. I was wrong.

It got me thinking, did I enjoy high school? I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel when I step back through the doors of my high school years in two weeks time. However, I do remember a few things.

I remember that when I was at high school, I didn't have Facebook to distract me. I had Tickle. iPod's were still black and white and I had a huge crush on Adam Brody from The OC.

I remember I was embarrassed that I attended this high school. My school stuck out like a sore thumb compared to other schools in my area. The boys’ uniform resembled an outfit Steve Irwin would be proud of – khaki shirt and shorts with black school shoes.

Unlike other schools in my area, my school had a farm. While most girls my age were too busy stuffing their bras with oranges to make their breasts look bigger, I was milking cows and growing cabbages. While most students came home looking relatively clean, I came home looking like I spent three days down a mine shaft. I had gesso, clay and blue pen marks on my school uniform. My mum threw sticks at me after I committed this offence the twentieth time. As a result of this, I’ve been washing my clothes since.

I remember how I hated looking at myself in the mirror before I went to school each morning. I hated how I had a broad face and almond eyes, and wondered why I wasn’t a tall girl with long blonde hair, with sky blue eyes and a smile so bright, that
could save New York City a huge electricity bill.

My skin had more craters than the Earth's moon. I used any old thing at the local pharmacy to try and scrub it into submission. I would also go to a supermarket and buy foundation to hide my crater face. But as I was hopeless in applying foundation, I didn’t even use it at the end.

School wise? I was an average student - who did enough work to scrape by. My favourite subjects were recess and lunch. I couldn't wait to finish year twelve. I want to escape from all the stupid rules, chemistry and I didn't need sin, cos and tan to navigate my way through life.

Now? I wish someone told me the HSC had the same value as toilet paper. Or that 'real life' doesn't mean you need to be an accountant or a pharmacist to have a steady income and pay the mortgage.

After recalling all these memories from high school, I still want to go to the reunion. Seeing what people are up to these days. Who's married? Who's already got kids? All the important questions in life.

How was your high school days like? Would you go to your high school reunion? For those of you who have, what was the reunion like?


Happy reading!
5ft0

Who wants to win the iPad battle?

Last time, Apple wanted to sue Woolies because their logo looked apple-y.

Now, Fujitsu wants to sue Apple because they have own the trademark to the iPad. In 2002, Fujitsu released a touchscreen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth phone which looks like this:


It looks like Apple's new iPad which looks like this:


Like most people, I didn't know Fujitsu created an iPad. They even wanted to trademark the iPad name in 2003, but this was suspended at the U.S Patent and Trademark office because ANOTHER company wanted to register this name. This company was Mag-Tek. They wanted to register the name in 2000, only to abandon this process in 2002.

Even a Canadian company invented the breast-enhancing iPad bra. However, I've searched the interweb and I couldn't find the images to this.

Since none of them actually own the iPad trademark, I predict this case would go bust. Compared to what's happening at Haiti at the moment, this stuff is so trivial.

What are your thoughts about this?

Happy reading,
5ft0

A New Way of Looking at Aging

This particular post was inspired by watching "Iron Chef". It wasn't the cooking that got me - it was more of the commentating of the judges that surprised me. There was this thirty-one year old female contestant who went up against Chen Kenichi (for those that don't know, Chen's the Chinese Iron Chef). What would most of you think when you hear the age thirty-one? In Western countries she would've been considered mature, or in the modelling industry, O-L-D.

Here? They called this thirty-one year old female contestant as 'young'. I thought it was a great way of viewing aging. In fact, in the Japanese culture, you're not considered an adult until your fifty. Their reason? "For the first fifty years of your life, you're learning all the lessons about life. You need to learn these lessons before you're considered an adult".

Different, yes. But thought-provoking. In Straya, we considered adults to be over the age of eighteen, where they're legal to buy beer, get into clubs, drive...all the important life lessons.

If we had a different perception of old-age, would people fear aging? It is a natural process. However, our youth-centred perception of older women in particular, is stereotyped and negative. This is reflected in our use of language, humour and media. Phrases such as 'over the hill' and 'don't be a fuddy-duddy' show old age as a period of incompetence. In jokes - which speaks volumes about societal attitudes - show women as lonely, frustrated and shrivelled up. Even though women live longer than men on average, older men are perceived as being healthier than older women.

Youthfulness is a major incentive to sell products. We're surrounded by media messages about the need - especially for women to stay young. As I said from the previous post, hiding old age is impossible. I'm twenty-three. While it isn't noticeable, I have laugh wrinkles. Even seventeen year olds have wrinkles, but they aren't noticeable. It's normal. We're all going to have wrinkled skin and sagging bodies to mark our old age.

A great example of someone who feared aging is this person. She went from this:


To this:


Happy reading!
5ft0

Y'know how Paris Hilton always talks herself up?

I'm about to do the same.
Oops.

I don't want to sound like I'm the biggest show-off in cyberspace, but I'm so thrilled that an article of mine is published at The Punch.

I was nervous when I walked into 'The Punch' office. My writing skills aren't on par with the journos there - especially with Penbo and Colgo. But hey, I gave it a shot.

I've got to stop the bragging mechanism right here. Feel free to comment on my post - you can agree with me, criticise me, hate me - whatever. Australia is a democratic country after all.

I have to thank Alex at Shut Up Vita for writing out her thoughts about the Republican v Monarchy debate. Your help was much appreciated.

Happy reading!
5ft0

Prince William doesn't do it for me

I'm unfazed with Prince William's arrival to Sydney today. I know many girls are in shock that I'm not besotted by Prince William's looks. After watching a shot of Prince William greeting people in New Zealand yesterday, he looks like a pasty pompous prince with a bald patch on his head.

I'm having a crush on this Prince:



Yes, I admit I'm a shallow person and a silly girl on top of that. But he looks like a guy who can laugh at himself. Sure, he's done some stupid things such as wearing a Swastika armband to a party, embarrassing the Royal Family in the process. Or getting caught smoking pot and drinking in 2002.

But today, I'm here to admire the aesthetics of this young Prince.

Happy perving!
5ft0

The Brits Cracking Down on Obesity

It feels like I've neglected this blog for far too long! But I wanted to hear your say in what you think of this news.

In 2008 in Britain , parents are receiving official letters telling them if their child is has a weight problem under a Government crackdown on obesity.

However, words such as 'fat' and 'obese' will not be used to avoid stigmatising the illness. The word obese apparently makes parents 'switch off' and not take any notice. Instead, words such as 'overweight' or 'very overweight' replace the former.

The measurements used to calculate the body weight of a child is to use the Body Mass Index (BMI) adjusted for their age but parents will not be told this figure. Instead the letter will plot where the child is on a scale from underweight, to healthy weight, overweight and very overweight.

The letter will also accompany with leaflets on healthy eating, 'physical activity' and the health risks associated with being overweight.

I'm on two thoughts with this one. On one hand, is right for schools to give authority if their child is obese...oh sorry, I mean overweight? Or do some parents need to be told what to do?

But here's my piece. When I was doing work experience at a school recently, I'd noticed children's lunch were overloaded with food. I'd started Kindergarten over 17 years ago and the only thing I had in my lunch box was a small bag of chips, a ham, cheese and tomato sandwich and an apple juice.

Today? The kids lunch boxes are filled with a 50 gram packet of chips, double layer sandwiches, a tub of yoghurt, biscuits and a banana. I think to myself, is a child going to eat all of that?

Even worse, when I did notice a student only having an apple and a bottle of water for recess, the teacher was alarmed and said,

"Are you already full from eating an apple?"
To which the child replied, "Yes".

Blimey, haven't times changed.

What's your opinion on this issue?

Happy reading!
5ft0