Hindsight

Ah yes, hello Hindsight, you little smartarse!

Here you are again, trotting in on your high horse with your “ha ha”s and your “I told you so”s. You seem to enjoy turning up late with your wise insights, don’t you?

I’m well acquainted with your cousins Self Doubt and Pros and Cons. They are nothing if not punctual, even omnipresent. They seem to be able to get their shit together and get here in plenty of time, so why can’t you? I could sure do with the heads up from you from time to time.

Sure, you have your uses. I can be grudgingly grateful for the life lessons you thrust upon me as you languidly roll in the door.

But if you can just arrive a little earlier next time, I’d be forever grateful.

My Best Christmas Never

It is the first week of December and I'm really excited that THIS, my friends, could be my "Best Christmas Ever!" How do I know this? Better Homes and Gardens, the Women’s Weekly Magazine and all of the major retailers are telling me that they hold the key. All I need to do is follow their easy to understand, time-saver tips and I'll be on my way!

Thankfully, I feel perfectly up to the task, given that I am crazy about agonising over gifts for obscure relatives, cooking mountains of food that no one wants to eat and lovingly baking fresh shortbread cookies for teachers, neighbours, friends and the postman - together with handmade gift tags of course.

Everyone in my house is feeling refreshed during December as we drag our arses through the last weeks of school, complete with a swimming carnival, drama performances and dress up days. I am looking forward to those magic hours spent gazing at my daughters fighting over the green texta as they carefully pen messages to their 238 BFFs on cards (Mum, how do you spell "Christmas" again?!)

The Christmas tree has already been set up and decorated by the little ones and in no way does it look as though an elf has thrown up on it. Presents will be carefully wrapped soon and placed under the tree, only to be patted around the lounge room by the cats at 3am, the playful sound of the paper being torn to pieces sending a smile to my sleeping lips. No matter, I can always rewrap them in my spare time.

In order to avoid a Christmas morning rush, we will wisely and faithfully attend the Christmas Eve Family Mass in comfort with plenty of personal space, a gentle cool breeze wafting through the windows and not a whingey child in earshot.

After church I will wrap those last minute gifts only to realise that I don’t have enough paper (although I'm sure I stored 3 tonnes of the stuff after last Christmas Eve). I will enjoy the sharp sting of the zig-zaggy-metal-cutter thingy on the sticky tape dispenser that won’t cut the actual tape but manages to deftly pierce my fingers. And I will wait with loving patience for my children to fall asleep so I can so I can get it all done and hopefully collapse on the lounge with a bottle of wine in front of the tele.

Yes folks, I do believe this will be my Best Christmas Ever!

Who's Paying the Price?

I like a bargain as much as the next person, but an alarming trend has emerged in the competing department stores in Australia. I'm sure you've notice it. There are the ads on TV using catch phrases like "Cha-Ching" and "Everyone's a Winner" all pushing the idea that every family has the right to affordable fashion, and lots of it! $9 jeans, $3 t-shirts and $5 shoes are certainly attractive to most families as they struggle with the demands of unemployment, mortgages and raising their children.

But how are these prices possible? Considering materials, labour, packaging, freight and display of even the humblest item I'm wondering just how much the manufacturers of these products are making. We've been long aware  of the so-called sweat shop establishments in Asia that churn out cheap clothing for minimal wages with appalling conditions for staff. In the 1990s, there was a well known global movement boycotting Nike's high-end merchandise when it was alleged that little of that large price tab was making it to the raw material suppliers, nor the workers that made the shoes. It was seemingly all going to the greedy corporates running the whole show.

Fast forward a decade or two, and it seems we now accept that everyday family items are (and should be) ridiculously cheap. In fact, the market demands it. Package it all with a fun jingle, a well-known celebrity and suddenly we seem to rejoice in the opportunity we have in this country to but a whole new wardrobe every season for every member of the family for a bargain price. I too am guilty of immersing myself in that heady, bargain-grabbing feeling whilst shopping. I usually give little thought to where the clothing may have come from in order for me to get it at such a low price.

I'm not sure what the answer is; buying Australian-made ethically made materials is one way to shop, but can the average household afford to? Sure, for one-off purchases we may be able to fulfil our good deed quotas, but given that there are very cheap options out there it makes sense for struggling (and not so struggling) families to take advantage of the opportunity to save their hard-earned cash.

I think this is narrowing our world view and creating a generation of impulse-buying, mass consumers whose only concern is to have as much of the latest product for the cheapest price possible. We need to look outside ourselves and perhaps consider just how may pairs of jeans we need. Do we need 10 pairs at $9 each or would 2 pairs of ethically made jeans be a better option? Will we want to wear these same cheap jeans next season or will they end up in landfill when we strip ourselves of our unwanted clothing? Considering these questions when shopping could be one of the ways we can be sure to make conscious and sensible decisions about our consuming.

Now... where's my credit card?

Poise and Prejudice

Adam Goodes' poise in the face of the recent racist insults against him is commendable to say the least. First, from a 13 year old girl and then by Collingwood President and Grown-Up Who Should Know Better, Eddie McGuire. Both apologised to Goode saying 1. The 13 year old didn't know what she was saying (umm, she must've heard it somewhere to use it in context) and 2. Eddie had a slip of the tongue for which now he is truly regretful. Graciously, Goodes accepted the girl's apology and urged the public not to harass her on social media - a most admirable and mature response which reinforces his good standing as a positive role model.

For Eddie to have had this slip of the tongue, these words must be part of his internal dialogue. Sure, as a public figure he is taught to be very careful with what he says, but the fact that these racist references have been bantered around in our society in the first place has meant that he has to think before he speaks.

In previous generations, where racism was just part of life, this sort of language was in everyday conversation. However, even though laws and society have changed somewhat, this language can still be recalled by our brains and, every now and then, slips out. I liken it to a drunken "Well, I've always thought you were a tosser!" to a colleague at a boozy work function. You wouldn't normally say it, but because it's part of your internal dialogue, it slips out when you're off guard. I.e. too pissed to bite your tongue.

So, how do we break the cycle? Each one of us has the responsibility to not use this racist language out loud ever! Once heard by younger people, it can become part of their internal dialogue too. Of course, it would take every single person in the world to follow this in order for racial taunts to be eradiated completely, by oh what a wonderful world that would be!

We have come a long way since the segregation of the 1950s but these public displays of verbal racism clearly show that we have a long way to go yet!

Does Lance Need to Apologise?

The backlash against Lance Armstrong's lack of remorse following his recent interview with Oprah, has me asking... Does Lance actually need to apologise? The world wants it, but should we require it?

Caught up in the web of deception, it's clear he believed his own propaganda when denying his involvement in doping in the 2005 video deposition. Did the pressure of holding in these lies get too much for him? I think not. It had to have been the overwhelming evidence coming in from former teammates such as Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie and Frankie Andreu, that led Lance to finally admit guilt. There was no place to hide anymore.

I think he honestly regrets the bullying and threats that he subjected his peers to, in order to keep his secret safe. We know that he has tried to make ammends with some of these people. Regretting the personal hurt he has caused individuals is one thing, expressing his regret for doping and fooling the world is quite another. Perhaps he doesn't actually feel sorry? I suppose that could be a valid stance for one so selfish and egotistic.  After all, apologising needs to come from the person's heart. We can't force it from someone. Although now in disgrace, his career as a professional cyclist has given him and his family many advantages in life that they have been able to enjoy. I can see how he may not regret this. I am interested to see if an apology ever does come from Lance. Forgiveness is another topic all together.