The location: Cumulus Inc.
-> Eating house on Flinders Lane (near Spring St) headed by brilliant chef Andrew McConnell
-> awarded The Age Good Food Guide 2010 One Chef's hat and The Age Good Food Guide Chef of the Year
The occasion: Solo pre-theatre light meal before meeting my sister Fiona for 'Le Salon' @ Arts Centre on Saturday night.
The dishes:
-> Crab and dried scallop soup with crispy chicken (great as an entree)
-> Sardines and zucchini flower tart with pines nuts (yum yum yum)
The sardines were pan-fried to perfection, with no unpleasant fishy smell, slightly crispy, and were excellently complemented by the pine nuts and zucchini flowers (i really like the yellow-green leaves but on speaking with Fiona about her previous experiences with zucchini flowers - stuffed and at a different eatery - she hates it).
The crab and dried scallop soup with crispy chicken had a seafood chowder-like texture without being too creamy. Nice seafood taste without being too heavy. Succulent crab flesh bits and also bits of dried scallop flesh added to the mixture. My guess is the crispy chicken was used as soup stock and helped to balance the taste of the seafood. It had a drizzle of basil oil at the top which added a dash of fresh vegetable taste to the overall concoction.
Also had a glass of Pyrens Vineyards Block E Shiraz (I should have taken greater care to match my wine to my mostly seafood dishes - but I like Shiraz and was just having a casual meal, so Shiraz it was)- nothing much to report... but my takeaway soy latte (made with Bonsoy) left me a happy foodie as I made my way to Le Salon. (I need to double check - but I suspect they use Genovese coffee...? If so, can never go too wrong with Genovese and Bonsoy!)
Since I had to rush to the theatre, I didn't have a chance to eat dessert, but would have loved to have tried the sago dessert and/or have a couple of madeleines with herbal tea (but required 15 mins prep time).
The menu has changed since it opened (of course, not surprisingly so) - I had gone a few times when it first opened (last year?) but not since then due to long wait lines (no bookings) and as so many other eateries in the area have caught my attention (Coda, Bar Lourinha..) Definitely need to head back to Cumulus Inc more often to try all the new items!
Cumulus Inc also serves reasonably priced breakfasts daily (closed Sunday) - I've tried the full English brekkie previously which was very nice (although I didn't like the blood sausage - not because it wasn't tasty - I just don't like blood sausage). I must head back for breakfast soon and do a proper brekkie review then.
The place: I arrived at 6:30pm on Saturday and the place was already packed out. I squeezed onto the last seat on the counter and had the absolute delight of watching the professional cooking team hurry about their tasks in a focussed and efficient manner. There's a social buzz to the atmosphere and the mostly white and black decor is classy and modern; open, casual and comfortable (not snobby, pretentious or intimidating). There were a couple of people on dates near where I was sitting - I probably wouldn't go to Cumulus Inc for 'the special date' as the venue is more social than intimate - perfect for catch-ups with a friend or two over good food though.
The people: Service was excellent and professional but still friendly and attentive. Spot on.
Value for money: All up, including drinks, my meal was just under $40. For that sort of quality, who can complain?
The verdict:
Food 8/10
Ambience 8/10
Service 8.5/10
Total 24.5/30
Cumulus Inc is back on my favourite eateries list - along with similar quality places like Movida, Coda and Bar Lourinha. They're all very close to my work too - very lucky!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Livin' it up + Melbourne International Arts Festival
Work hard and play (even) hard(er). That's the way I like to live my life. And increasingly so.
On my bedroom wall is a photograph taken by Ken Duncan (I love his stuff) of a beautiful sandy white beach (Whithaven Beach, Queensland). Admittedly I have never been to Whithaven Beach, and generally prefer mountains/lakes to beaches, but what I love most about the poster is the accompanying quote which serves as a reminder to me every day - "Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life".
Living a full life will mean different things to different people. For some it may mean being surrounded by close family and friends; for others it may mean travelling far and wide and seeing/experiencing all that the world has to offer; and yet others it maybe mean success and achievement in their spheres of influence/careers. Or it could be living a peaceful and quiet life, with lots of rest, enjoying nature and good health.
Although I haven't worked it out completely yet, I would say crucial elements of a full life for me would include:
- Friendships/relationships which are heart-deep and which are edifying and encouraging - 'building each other up and not tearing down', and a sense that we are sharing our journeys of life together through different seasons in life;
- Activities and experiences which expand and cultivate my mind and senses, which stretch me and grow me intellectually, emotionally, sometimes physically and even spiritually (may it be travelling to a foreign country and venture around with a Lonely Planet guide in hand, seeing art exhibitions/movies and reading good books which make me think, listening to amazing orchestral music, being inspired by a sermon at church ..) I must say that Melbourne is a great place for such.
In the last few weekends, I have had some particularly fun and blog-worthy experiences and I thought I'll jot down a few thoughts here. I attended several gigs/events as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival (www.melbournefestival.com.au)
-> 'Tyranny of Distance' - a Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/ videography gig @ Hamer Hall on Sat 17 Oct 8pm
The first part was "Pictures at an exhibition" arranged by Julian Yu (based on Modest Mussorgsky's piano suite of the same name). It was ten short pieces representing different ideas - like moving from picture to picture at an exhibition. Some playful, some surreal & quirky, some more intense. Without knowing exactly what each piece was originally composed to represent, I found myself picturing a calm sea at times, a ship amongst stormy waters at another time, and a grand building against the music of church bells at yet another...On googling Mussorgsky's original after the fact, I learnt that the imagery I conjured in my mind didn't reflect the original items at all, but it was still fun to let my mind float along imaginatively with the music. The original piece by Mussorgsky was a piano suite - this has been made into an orchestral ensemble by Julian Yu. The experience would have been made more complete with 10 different pictures projected, appropriately matched to the essence of each musical piece.
The second part of the concert absolutely blew my mind. Titled 'Tyranny of Distance' by Brenton Broadstock (Composer-in-residence of the MSO this year). It was astounding, hypnotic, amazing, a fascinating concept and a holistic visual and music experience. I felt visually and audially spoilt. The MSO played with the MSO Chorus, soprano solo, didgeridoo solo and stunning videography.
The piece consisted of 3 movements.
i) Island: angry sounds and rumblings, didgeridoo and the chorus with a whisper/chant-like effect... the visuals consisted of electric-like waves which moved as if it felt the emotional changes in the music.
ii) Journey: intense movement of orchestral sounds and mesmerising videography of images of travelling - looking out of a fast-moving train window, over landscape as if on a chairlift, choc-a-bloc cars in peak hour traffic; and movement along a subway-like tunnel, gradually moving towards the light (exit) at the end of the tunnel. People meet you at the end of the journey.
iii) Home: pictures of greenery, a man (perhaps a father life figure?)... the idea that the journey is the home.
The Notes in the program offered so much food for thought and great quotes which speak of the cultural and philosophical ideas behind 'Tyranny of Distance' - not just geographical or physical separation, but social and much much more. I loved it.
-> Le Salon by Belgian theatre company Peeping Tom @ Arts Centre on Sat 24 October - about a family which used to be very wealthy, but are now in decline. Talks of the screwed up relationships and insanity which goes on in the house. The father has Alzheimers, the wife wants attention, the sons are probably a bit fed up with looking after the father, and the daughter-in-law is fragile and goes a bit mental at the end too. The cyclical patterns of destruction (father despising the wife; then son with his wife)... The main cast of five displayed excellent acting (particularly the father - Simon Versnel) - combined with interesting forms of dance and movements, and some singing. It was a play with a lot of nuances and undertones. Dark, mysterious, with melancholic insanity.
Regrettably, this is not my sort of thing at all - partly because I find it hard to relate to the themes, and I also struggle with periods of intense quiet and contemplative silence in a hall full of people. It makes me feel caustrophobic and uneasy for some reason.
-> Free World exhibition at Federation Square - rap poetry by young pan-African artists, with raw and honest lyrics e.g. re Sudanese refugees experiences in Australia. I was delighted by the talent showcased as part of this community project, and the lyrics really touched my heart and made me more aware of the experiences of young refugees here in Melbourne.
-> Beck's Rumpus Room @ Forum Theatre - gig on Friday 23 Oct
This was one of the funnest experiences I have had for a while! Wendy and I partied hard at the front of the stage - with hundreds of people behind us. The bands/artists were:
i) Ramallah Underground - a Palestinian hip hop/rap duo - they rapped in Arabic so I couldn't understand what they were saying but likely to have various political undertones as per the visual images displayed on screen. They were passionate and very good (I love their hand gestures while they rapped too..lol).
ii) Beans - African-American rap artist who was phenomenal at rapping - he rapped in English and I still had no idea what he was saying, but the beats were good (although tad repetitive later). Wendy and I just went crazy anyway - just grooving to the beats... While waiting for Act 3 to begin, this chick approached us asking which band was next - we said we had no idea; she thought we looked like hardcore fans.. haha.... We also made friends with this Taiwanese guy who had just arrived in Melbourne for 2 days for travels - he had read about the Festival in a visitor's guide and simply came along - he looked like he had an awesome time!
iii) The Cuban Brothers (with Kengo Sam) was a hilarious and entertaining three people group. Think lead singer with a sequenced outfit and the two accompanying dancers in pink and purple suits. They did crazy dances, spun on their heads, got the crowd cheering and pumping... To our surprise, they also stripped down to their underwear (two of them are middle-aged Cuban men, and Kengo Sam is a young Japanese guy) and wore ridiculous-looking tight grey bodysuits with fluoro green tassels!... They engaged the crowd, shook our hands and the lead singer talked obsessively about f***ing and penises - that part was probably a tad confronting and gross. But overall, heaps of entertainment value. They're on as the chief act on Saturday's Beck's Rumpus Room.
I loved the gig - unexpectedly so. The type of music and scene is quite alternative and (I thought) not naturally my type of thing. But the whole being crazy and groupie-like and dancing at the front of the stage and basically having carefree unrestricted fun the whole night (till 2am) was really really great!
Wendy and I will be tee-ing up more random gigs and experiences - so stay tuned. Here's to more random craziness, fake-eyelashes and getting hit-on by random people (more Wendy than me..) Cheers Wendy! lol
On my bedroom wall is a photograph taken by Ken Duncan (I love his stuff) of a beautiful sandy white beach (Whithaven Beach, Queensland). Admittedly I have never been to Whithaven Beach, and generally prefer mountains/lakes to beaches, but what I love most about the poster is the accompanying quote which serves as a reminder to me every day - "Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life".
Living a full life will mean different things to different people. For some it may mean being surrounded by close family and friends; for others it may mean travelling far and wide and seeing/experiencing all that the world has to offer; and yet others it maybe mean success and achievement in their spheres of influence/careers. Or it could be living a peaceful and quiet life, with lots of rest, enjoying nature and good health.
Although I haven't worked it out completely yet, I would say crucial elements of a full life for me would include:
- Friendships/relationships which are heart-deep and which are edifying and encouraging - 'building each other up and not tearing down', and a sense that we are sharing our journeys of life together through different seasons in life;
- Activities and experiences which expand and cultivate my mind and senses, which stretch me and grow me intellectually, emotionally, sometimes physically and even spiritually (may it be travelling to a foreign country and venture around with a Lonely Planet guide in hand, seeing art exhibitions/movies and reading good books which make me think, listening to amazing orchestral music, being inspired by a sermon at church ..) I must say that Melbourne is a great place for such.
In the last few weekends, I have had some particularly fun and blog-worthy experiences and I thought I'll jot down a few thoughts here. I attended several gigs/events as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival (www.melbournefestival.com.au)
-> 'Tyranny of Distance' - a Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/ videography gig @ Hamer Hall on Sat 17 Oct 8pm
The first part was "Pictures at an exhibition" arranged by Julian Yu (based on Modest Mussorgsky's piano suite of the same name). It was ten short pieces representing different ideas - like moving from picture to picture at an exhibition. Some playful, some surreal & quirky, some more intense. Without knowing exactly what each piece was originally composed to represent, I found myself picturing a calm sea at times, a ship amongst stormy waters at another time, and a grand building against the music of church bells at yet another...On googling Mussorgsky's original after the fact, I learnt that the imagery I conjured in my mind didn't reflect the original items at all, but it was still fun to let my mind float along imaginatively with the music. The original piece by Mussorgsky was a piano suite - this has been made into an orchestral ensemble by Julian Yu. The experience would have been made more complete with 10 different pictures projected, appropriately matched to the essence of each musical piece.
The second part of the concert absolutely blew my mind. Titled 'Tyranny of Distance' by Brenton Broadstock (Composer-in-residence of the MSO this year). It was astounding, hypnotic, amazing, a fascinating concept and a holistic visual and music experience. I felt visually and audially spoilt. The MSO played with the MSO Chorus, soprano solo, didgeridoo solo and stunning videography.
The piece consisted of 3 movements.
i) Island: angry sounds and rumblings, didgeridoo and the chorus with a whisper/chant-like effect... the visuals consisted of electric-like waves which moved as if it felt the emotional changes in the music.
ii) Journey: intense movement of orchestral sounds and mesmerising videography of images of travelling - looking out of a fast-moving train window, over landscape as if on a chairlift, choc-a-bloc cars in peak hour traffic; and movement along a subway-like tunnel, gradually moving towards the light (exit) at the end of the tunnel. People meet you at the end of the journey.
iii) Home: pictures of greenery, a man (perhaps a father life figure?)... the idea that the journey is the home.
The Notes in the program offered so much food for thought and great quotes which speak of the cultural and philosophical ideas behind 'Tyranny of Distance' - not just geographical or physical separation, but social and much much more. I loved it.
-> Le Salon by Belgian theatre company Peeping Tom @ Arts Centre on Sat 24 October - about a family which used to be very wealthy, but are now in decline. Talks of the screwed up relationships and insanity which goes on in the house. The father has Alzheimers, the wife wants attention, the sons are probably a bit fed up with looking after the father, and the daughter-in-law is fragile and goes a bit mental at the end too. The cyclical patterns of destruction (father despising the wife; then son with his wife)... The main cast of five displayed excellent acting (particularly the father - Simon Versnel) - combined with interesting forms of dance and movements, and some singing. It was a play with a lot of nuances and undertones. Dark, mysterious, with melancholic insanity.
Regrettably, this is not my sort of thing at all - partly because I find it hard to relate to the themes, and I also struggle with periods of intense quiet and contemplative silence in a hall full of people. It makes me feel caustrophobic and uneasy for some reason.
-> Free World exhibition at Federation Square - rap poetry by young pan-African artists, with raw and honest lyrics e.g. re Sudanese refugees experiences in Australia. I was delighted by the talent showcased as part of this community project, and the lyrics really touched my heart and made me more aware of the experiences of young refugees here in Melbourne.
-> Beck's Rumpus Room @ Forum Theatre - gig on Friday 23 Oct
This was one of the funnest experiences I have had for a while! Wendy and I partied hard at the front of the stage - with hundreds of people behind us. The bands/artists were:
i) Ramallah Underground - a Palestinian hip hop/rap duo - they rapped in Arabic so I couldn't understand what they were saying but likely to have various political undertones as per the visual images displayed on screen. They were passionate and very good (I love their hand gestures while they rapped too..lol).
ii) Beans - African-American rap artist who was phenomenal at rapping - he rapped in English and I still had no idea what he was saying, but the beats were good (although tad repetitive later). Wendy and I just went crazy anyway - just grooving to the beats... While waiting for Act 3 to begin, this chick approached us asking which band was next - we said we had no idea; she thought we looked like hardcore fans.. haha.... We also made friends with this Taiwanese guy who had just arrived in Melbourne for 2 days for travels - he had read about the Festival in a visitor's guide and simply came along - he looked like he had an awesome time!
iii) The Cuban Brothers (with Kengo Sam) was a hilarious and entertaining three people group. Think lead singer with a sequenced outfit and the two accompanying dancers in pink and purple suits. They did crazy dances, spun on their heads, got the crowd cheering and pumping... To our surprise, they also stripped down to their underwear (two of them are middle-aged Cuban men, and Kengo Sam is a young Japanese guy) and wore ridiculous-looking tight grey bodysuits with fluoro green tassels!... They engaged the crowd, shook our hands and the lead singer talked obsessively about f***ing and penises - that part was probably a tad confronting and gross. But overall, heaps of entertainment value. They're on as the chief act on Saturday's Beck's Rumpus Room.
I loved the gig - unexpectedly so. The type of music and scene is quite alternative and (I thought) not naturally my type of thing. But the whole being crazy and groupie-like and dancing at the front of the stage and basically having carefree unrestricted fun the whole night (till 2am) was really really great!
Wendy and I will be tee-ing up more random gigs and experiences - so stay tuned. Here's to more random craziness, fake-eyelashes and getting hit-on by random people (more Wendy than me..) Cheers Wendy! lol
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday roast - lunch at Ca de Vin
The location: Ca de Vin @ GPO/Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne
The occasion: solo lunch while Fiona went swimming at the gym - I was starving! (in between friend's wedding ceremony at the Botanical Gardens in the morning, and reception in Bulleen in the evening last Sunday)
The dish: Roast Pork with apple and sage sauce, with roast pumpkin, sweet potato and cauliflower gratin
But I asked for other vegetables to replace pumpkin and sweet potato (which I generally dislike) and was given steamed / roast zucchini and corn cobs.
The food: The roast pork was very yum - succulent, weighty, with a bit of crackle (and fat with I cut off). The apple had an interesting texture - it appeared to be Granny Smith, but reminded me of semi-dried apple slices - very sweet. The sauce, because of the apple, was also sweet and complemented the pork well - perhaps slightly too watery though. The crackle (a beautiful dark red and brown) was perfect - slightly crunchy, but slightly sticky and chewy (others may have prefered otherwise). The cauliflower, with a bit of cracked pepper and sicilian sea salt added by me - was nice but slightly soggy. It didn't have flavour of its own and gave me the impression it had been steamed/drenched in water for a tad too long. Eating corn cob with fork and knife presented a bit of a challenge, but I didn't feel up to getting my fingers sticky in the middle of Bourke Street Mall, with pedestrians walking past and watching me eat - in my party dress and best coat.
The place: This brings me to ambience - I really like the outdoor cafe set-up, with random music from buskers further down the mall. I love sitting on the very edge of the area - just next to the tram tracks/walkway - and just daydream or journal in privacy (eventhough people walk past me continuously, I usually zone out when I start journalling). Generally, I think it's a great place to have a coffee and perhaps a snack/light meal - great spot to people watch (or be watched by passers-by - I don't mind too much). The only downside is the passive-smoking since lots of patrons like to smoke in the outdoor cafe part. I haven't dined indoors at Ca de Vin so cannot comment on the decor and ambience inside.
The people: Service is good once you manage to get their attention, but lacks promptness to serve when you first sit down - on several occasions I have found it takes quite a while just to get a menu and see what's available.
Value for money: $22.50 for the roast, which is not too bad, considering that it left me very full. The menu has a variety of small dish offerings (lamb skewers, calamari, etc) for approx $15-20. Otherwise, a pasta dish is approx $20 up.
The verdict:
Food: 6.5/10
Ambience: 7/10
Service: 6/10
Total: 19.5/30
The occasion: solo lunch while Fiona went swimming at the gym - I was starving! (in between friend's wedding ceremony at the Botanical Gardens in the morning, and reception in Bulleen in the evening last Sunday)
The dish: Roast Pork with apple and sage sauce, with roast pumpkin, sweet potato and cauliflower gratin
But I asked for other vegetables to replace pumpkin and sweet potato (which I generally dislike) and was given steamed / roast zucchini and corn cobs.
The food: The roast pork was very yum - succulent, weighty, with a bit of crackle (and fat with I cut off). The apple had an interesting texture - it appeared to be Granny Smith, but reminded me of semi-dried apple slices - very sweet. The sauce, because of the apple, was also sweet and complemented the pork well - perhaps slightly too watery though. The crackle (a beautiful dark red and brown) was perfect - slightly crunchy, but slightly sticky and chewy (others may have prefered otherwise). The cauliflower, with a bit of cracked pepper and sicilian sea salt added by me - was nice but slightly soggy. It didn't have flavour of its own and gave me the impression it had been steamed/drenched in water for a tad too long. Eating corn cob with fork and knife presented a bit of a challenge, but I didn't feel up to getting my fingers sticky in the middle of Bourke Street Mall, with pedestrians walking past and watching me eat - in my party dress and best coat.
The place: This brings me to ambience - I really like the outdoor cafe set-up, with random music from buskers further down the mall. I love sitting on the very edge of the area - just next to the tram tracks/walkway - and just daydream or journal in privacy (eventhough people walk past me continuously, I usually zone out when I start journalling). Generally, I think it's a great place to have a coffee and perhaps a snack/light meal - great spot to people watch (or be watched by passers-by - I don't mind too much). The only downside is the passive-smoking since lots of patrons like to smoke in the outdoor cafe part. I haven't dined indoors at Ca de Vin so cannot comment on the decor and ambience inside.
The people: Service is good once you manage to get their attention, but lacks promptness to serve when you first sit down - on several occasions I have found it takes quite a while just to get a menu and see what's available.
Value for money: $22.50 for the roast, which is not too bad, considering that it left me very full. The menu has a variety of small dish offerings (lamb skewers, calamari, etc) for approx $15-20. Otherwise, a pasta dish is approx $20 up.
The verdict:
Food: 6.5/10
Ambience: 7/10
Service: 6/10
Total: 19.5/30
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The prerequisites of attraction
Last night, while having a quick bowl of Vietnamese noodles after a late night at work, Daniel and Andrew accused me of liking ugly men. They were recounting and describing characteristics that I "supposedly" have revealed about my ideal type of guy (after a few drinks on a Friday night no doubt) - and here are the items described (in no particular order):
And this reminds me of conversations with single friends quite recently about their "top 3 characteristics for the ideal mate". First conversation was with a bunch of mostly male friends @ Ruco (at Grand Hyatt - one of my favourite bars in the Melbourne CBD - completely classy, with the ground to ceiling clear glass wine cellar being my favourite feature of the venue.) Someone joked that one of the guys likes girls who would look good in school uniform (now, these guy friends are not the crude type at all - they were just teasing him about liking girls that look young! lol) Confidence (for the shyer / quieter guys), independence (for the recently single-again guy) and not being high-maintenance were also top picks. As was attractiveness...
At this point, I must explain that I'm currently caught in the in-between space of jaded cynicisms ("hmph, for guys, attraction is always number one - so typical!") and naivity verging on ignorance ("...people value inner beauty, not just looks"). I don't think it's good to be in either boat.
Second conversation was with an all girls uni friends group - and the interesting thing about the characteristics that everyone said about their ideal mate - it's just soooo like them. E.g. my friend the awesome swing dancer would struggle with someone who is not coordinated or doesn't dance; my other friend the dietician would strongly prefer someone who loves food (and apparently, a small cringe factor / weird thing about them - and at this point, one of the other girls jumped in and said "how about NO cringe factor!?!").. lol. I love these girls.
And of course it's completely possible (and likely) that NONE of us would end up with the type of guy we prefer or had imagined. God's humour is sometimes like that.
Anyway, my intention is not for this to become a long drawn out discussion about relationships (not now anyway), but simply to jot down a couple of recent thoughts and conversation bits about attraction. So I might just end now with something I was telling one of my guy friends on the issue - I want to discover that "heart beat feeling" again. Perhaps it's something that I haven't felt for a long long time, or perhaps I have never really felt it. ... crazy, reckless (but not irresponsible), passionate, intense, all-in kinda feeling... for me, that's the "X factor" for attraction...
- Caucasian (that is no longer true after seeing Chi Cao in Mao's Last Dancer the movie - twice!);
- Tall (I think there's something very cute about a tall white guy with a small asian girl together);
- Intelligent (more intelligent than me; or at least be knowledgeable and be able to converse intellectually with me on a variety of topics?);
- Loves God (in a more serious conversation I would expand, but essentially, this person must appreciate and value the "depth of who I am" and understand the core of me - and God is at the epicentre of that); ... and
- (according to Daniel) - UGLY.
And this reminds me of conversations with single friends quite recently about their "top 3 characteristics for the ideal mate". First conversation was with a bunch of mostly male friends @ Ruco (at Grand Hyatt - one of my favourite bars in the Melbourne CBD - completely classy, with the ground to ceiling clear glass wine cellar being my favourite feature of the venue.) Someone joked that one of the guys likes girls who would look good in school uniform (now, these guy friends are not the crude type at all - they were just teasing him about liking girls that look young! lol) Confidence (for the shyer / quieter guys), independence (for the recently single-again guy) and not being high-maintenance were also top picks. As was attractiveness...
At this point, I must explain that I'm currently caught in the in-between space of jaded cynicisms ("hmph, for guys, attraction is always number one - so typical!") and naivity verging on ignorance ("...people value inner beauty, not just looks"). I don't think it's good to be in either boat.
Second conversation was with an all girls uni friends group - and the interesting thing about the characteristics that everyone said about their ideal mate - it's just soooo like them. E.g. my friend the awesome swing dancer would struggle with someone who is not coordinated or doesn't dance; my other friend the dietician would strongly prefer someone who loves food (and apparently, a small cringe factor / weird thing about them - and at this point, one of the other girls jumped in and said "how about NO cringe factor!?!").. lol. I love these girls.
And of course it's completely possible (and likely) that NONE of us would end up with the type of guy we prefer or had imagined. God's humour is sometimes like that.
Anyway, my intention is not for this to become a long drawn out discussion about relationships (not now anyway), but simply to jot down a couple of recent thoughts and conversation bits about attraction. So I might just end now with something I was telling one of my guy friends on the issue - I want to discover that "heart beat feeling" again. Perhaps it's something that I haven't felt for a long long time, or perhaps I have never really felt it. ... crazy, reckless (but not irresponsible), passionate, intense, all-in kinda feeling... for me, that's the "X factor" for attraction...
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