Cuts (Australian)

A return to the more "serious" stuff now: I've been following the Australian budget and discussions over it. It's actually quite shocking how "mainstream" the major Australian newspapers (especially the Australian) are over this--the blame for whinging and not accepting realities seems to have fallen upon Labor (the opposition). This is absurd as it's a budget that cuts funding to the vulnerable. E.g. folks have to pay to visit their GPs now, which they never had to before; Universities can set their own fees for courses, which means some courses might disappear altogether as being "not cost effective". And we all know those won't be the "real science" courses though one of the key areas cut is also funding to science research. But it's also interesting as Australia has a manageable (compared to the US) budget deficit and the economy is doing quite well. And, yet, there have been cuts in social welfare and climate-related issues--$80 billion in long-term cuts just to health and education.

To me, the issue is a good one to follow because, while Australia is similar to the US in many ways, its opposition (generally toothless lately) is actually making a fair effort to protest these cuts to social welfare. Many of the general public are angry (and protesting). There seems to be more of an awareness that "we" shouldn't let the government do this sort of thing. Though, of course, that is what happens generally during full on neoliberal/austerity reforms and, yet, nothing changes and the cuts become normalized over time, creating a society of Haves and Have-nots in which the increasing inequality is brushed under the carpet. Just like us here, in fact.

For those interested in reading about the 2014 Australian budget, the Guardian has a whole bunch of stories here. 

Weddings! (or, just one wedding)

I'm currently in Marietta, GA (slightly outside of Atlanta) for a friend's wedding. I've known said friend since undergrad, when I was a wee confused kid who'd landed up in far north Queensland and lucked out in finding some really wonderful people to hang out with. She's also provided me with some info about one of my alter egos (the marine biologist) as she's a sea/ocean/water (whatever we call it) geologist (she doesn't know I have alter egos). But, that's not my point. My point is: this was a wedding in which I knew NO ONE. None. Zero people. Except the bride and obviously the bride's not going to have time to stand around and hold my hand and make sure I didn't flounder in the waters of social oceans (dreadful analogy/metaphor/whatever we call it there). Instead, I was left on my own and am not sure how I did (not too well, I think, from a conventional social behaviour sense) but can say I had a marvellous time. So here's what happened:
I was placed at a table where there were 5 people (out of a table which seated 8). I was the only female (I later found out some of the lads were supposed to bring their wives and girlfriends but didn't--who knows why!) and I was the only person that didn't draw, write, own, edit comic books. In fact, I think I can name the number of comic book artists/writers I know on the fingers of one hand and have fingers left over. Oh and I know very little about So Bad They Are Awesome '80s films (the wedding songs were almost all from the '80s and there was a lot of 80s films discussions going on) and I'd just come off a 14hr buses/train journey+2 hr bus journey from Atlanta to Marietta (for a distance of 20 some miles. Yeah public transport!) so my comprehension/concentration skills, already fairly minimal, were shot.
And, yet, as I said, I had a great time. Why, you ask? Well, I think the main reason was that it was like hanging out with people I know. Someone would start off by talking about Thor and the conversation would jump from Helmsworth, Chris to ancient Norse myths to what they have in other religions/cultures to how women were portrayed in the comic book Thor vs movie Thor and then back to how ancient people conceptualized "men" and end with a joke. There were no rules but also everyone KNEW stuff. Romans? Yeah, they were killed by (long explanation)...Oh no, Romans were the ones who (another different explanation)...man, those Romans (joke). It was the sort of thing where your brain works to keep up and then you feel a bit energized afterwards. There was also no filter (ok, that was mainly me) as things like: "Oh, goodbye. Nice to meet you. Hope you have a good trip back. Gosh can we add yet another platitude to that? But, wait, Don't forget the platypus." made perfect sense (none of us really drank anything apart from copious amounts of coffee). My last words to them? (as I was worriedly waiting to figure out if the shuttle to the hotel had left without me on it and they were asking if they should wait with me, even though they had hours of driving ahead): "No, no worries. I'll just stay here and haunt this bloody place as a ghost."
Answer: That's a pretty perfect answer.
I mean, it's rare anyone says that to me. My uni friends would have been all: that Priya, she's so weird. Here, the folks thought that I'm sure (and thought I was rude, too, since I spent quite a fair bit of time trying not to fall asleep over the table) but didn't say it. And kept on keeping on even when it was obvious I wasn't doing much to uphold my end of the convos.
[This blog has gone from my observations about the news/uni stuff to my observations about me and my thrilling personal life. Let's just say it's observations on/about anything?]
ETA:  To point out that I'm sure folks *thought* I was weird but didn't *say* it. I mean, I was operating on 5hrs of sleep for the previous 48 so, yes, high on adrenaline and coffee and sheer nervousness at knowing No One At All. 

You...(not) talking to me?

For the past few months, I’ve been going around a fair bit with another person. Said person is just over 6ft tall and not Asian and a man. He's from Europe (Austria) so has an accent. The reason I bring all these identity markers up here is that I’ve found it interesting to see how people react to each of us. For me, I have noticed that shopkeepers, service personnel, cashiers, librarians, etc all talk to me more than to him. They chitchat, asking questions about the book/thing I’ve bought or just general convo about the weather (we love the weather here. We’re almost British in how much we talk about it). For him, it’s people at pubs/bars/restaurants and also (we’re both at university) at uni. The most interesting difference I’ve noted is how many people at uni ask him about what his research is on while people generally talk to me about…yes, weather or student quirks or something that is unrelated to my research. 

In general university settings, folks from other departments and colleges talk to him usually, not me even if we are stood together. I think this is partly upon me----I do not exude charm or friendliness and find large (or largish) social situations quite stressful so am probably stood there looking as though I'm suffering through it all. If there’s someone else around, I’m happy to let them take up the slack of talking while I stand around and try to fade into the nearest wall. He, on the other hand, is laid back and casual and enjoys talking to university people*. But I think, too, our differing experiences indicate the gendered nature of certain types of spaces and places here: folks in shops, libraries, animal rescues, etc tend to be women and especially local women. From talking to some of my department’s administrative staff, I’ve realized that quite a few of the women here tend to be self conscious about their accents and a bit intimidated when they are talking to someone else, especially if the someone else is a foreign academic. “I feel the way I speak is funny”, as one of my department’s staff people said it. Also, the university settings where my friend tends to be talked to/with more are mainly populated by male faculty. These men seem to be more comfortable talking to other men, especially if they are from engineering or computing science (two of the biggest departments at my university).

There really isn't any grand conclusion to draw from this but just something that I found interesting...observation of trifles, as it were. Which was (and is) sort of the theme of this blog. At which I'll try to be more frequent in the future (but then I always say this, don't I?)

* Definitely not to locals, though--there's a story for another day there about foreign expectations of "the US South" and attitudes therein.