Scotland: Spiritual Homeland?A certain floppy-haired bloke I know named Joel once waxed lyrical to me around 4 years ago about the fact that Glasgow was his spiritual homeland for three reasons: 1. everyone ate hot-chips for breakfast, lunch and dinner 2. Haggis actually tasted great; and 3. Everyone shunned exercise and thought it pointless and stupid. I similarly have fallen in love with Glasgow, even though times have changed. Katrina told me brilliant stories about how she was the first person ever to actually jog in the streets around Glasgow, and she knew this because: 1. she never ever saw anybody else run; and 2. she would frequently get heckled by people as she ran past, shouting things like, "Oi love, there's a bus stop just there, why run?" and "Hey, if you're in that much of a hurry I can give you a lift!" etc etc. Several years after my dear friends left town to come back to Sydney, several things have changed, but I still agree with Joel that it is a spiritual homeland of sorts. I was constantly amazed at how many people I saw jogging everywhere. There was even a boot-camp thing going on in the park where Steven and I sat to drink tinnies of Tennants on my first afternoon in town. But other than that, there were still a hell of a lot of hot-chips, but no so much haggis. Alas I am at work and have just been asked to actually do something, so I will cut this entry short and write more about my Edinburgh adventures later.
Go Go Glasgow!Can I just say off the bat that this town totally rocks. I've been whiskey tasting the last two evenings with the lovely Steven, who just happens to be a bit of a whiskey expert, handily enough. I've taken myself off on a bus tour of the Highlands, missed the Loch Ness monster but managed to see Urquhart Castle and every other loch in between here and Inverness. And, ew! I ate haggis - with neeps and tatties on the side. It was more the thought of it than the actual taste that made me feel ill afterwards. Taste-wise, for those who are curious, it tasted like if you mixed minced meat in with your porridge. Am now off to Edinburgh for the day to hang out at the castle and hae a coffee at the Elephant Cafe - JK Rowling's hangout when she was a povvo.
Dig! - Best Rockumentary ever?In other news, Dig! the rockumentary charting the rise of the Dandy Warhols and extremely sad/funny self-destruction of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the relationship between the two bands has landed in the Number 2 Spot on my chart of greatest rockumentary's EVER. Spinal Tap remains at Number 1, although debate still rages over whether it should be categorised as a Rockumentary or Mockumentary (sort of like Harry Potter - should it be listed on the children's book top 10 or overall fiction Top 10?) I went and saw Dig! at the Odeon at Picadilly Circus. The streets were crowded and there were alot of American tourists trying to buy last-minute tickets to David Schwimmer's show Some Girls, which was playing down the road. Why people would pay £40 to see David Schwimmer is anyone's guess. Why anyone would pay £50 to see Val Kilmer in The Postman Only Rings Twice, is just as puzzling. Hollywood floatsom and jetsom seems to wash up frequently on the shores of London's West End district. Strange really, because in a snap-poll I conducted in the office, only 13% of people polled had seen a West End play in the last 12 months. Interesting.
Are you a Yeppie?*That's Young Experimenting Perfection Seekers, confused and reluctant to commit to careers or love Consumer Profiling - it's the astrology of the Nike generation. I like finding profiles that I fit, because then I don't feel like such a loser that I haven't managed to have a meaningful relationship or career in my short 28-year span on planet Earth. Jamie Doward and Dana Gornitzki
Sunday July 31, 2005
The Observer They are twentysomething, ambitious and confused. And they won't commit to anything until they are certain it will bring them enduring happiness. Meet the 'Young Experimenting Perfection Seekers' - Yeppies, as anthropologists are calling them. Research shows that today's graduates are increasingly adopting a 'browsing' approach to choosing jobs, relationships, homes and life-styles. Far from knuckling down like their parents' generation, they believe true personal fulfilment can only come after years of anguished experimentation. 'Unlike the yuppies of the Eighties, who were motivated by money and status and knew how to get both, today's young adults are less certain and less single-mindedly materialistic than their predecessors,' said social anthropologist Kate Fox, of the Social Issues Research Centre, who identifies the 'yeppies' in a report, commissioned by online auction firm eBay. 'Yeppies are unsure how to achieve their ambitions so they experiment through a shopping-style approach, trying to find the perfect job, the ideal relationship and the most fulfilling lifestyle.' They postpone big, life-altering decisions until they feel they have exhausted all their options. 'It will be increasingly regarded as normal for young people to continue "Life Shopping" well into their late twenties and thirties. The way things are going, by 2012 thirty will be the new twenty as the "official" age for transition to adulthood; people getting married in their twenties will be regarded as too young or too immature to make such a big decision,' Fox said. The trend helps to explain why more youngsters live at home for longer. In 2004 about 40 per cent of men between 24 to 29, and 25 per cent of women in the same age group, were still there. In every sphere of life the younger generation appears happy to procrastinate. The report says that the number of jobs young people have in their first three years of work has doubled since 1975, from two to four. By 'trying on' a number of different jobs or career paths, they learn what they are good at and eventually discover who they are and what they want from work. They have the flexibility to change direction and move on when something does not work out, rather than settling for an unsatisfactory or unfulfilling job, the study suggests. The twentysomethings use a 'mate shopping' approach to marriage. In 1971 the average man got married at 25 to a 23-year-old woman. By 2003 this had to increased to 31 for men and 29 for women. In addition, since 1990 the average number of partners people in the 16 to 44 age group have is up from two to four for women and from four to six among men. 'What we are seeing is not aimless, random promiscuity,' Fox says. 'The majority still believe in marriage; they are just prepared to wait longer and, more important, to "try on" a number of relationships until they find the one that is right for them.' They keep their options open over parenthood, too. The average age of married first-time mothers rose by almost six years - from 24 to 29.9 - between 1971 and 2003. They have been called the 'Peter Pan' generation because they never want to grow up. But Fox believes their reluctance to commit is a major shift in aspirations. 'The something Yeppies are searching for may well be unattainable,' the study finds. 'But they have high - some would say unrealistic - expectations and they move from job to job, or from career path to career path, desperately seeking perfection.' As one woman told the researchers: 'We have high expectations of personal happiness, which I don't think my parents' generation had.'
Bigging up the CotswoldsIn Bridget Jones' style because I don't have much time: Went on mini-break to Cotswolds last saturday with Olga - v v fun. Drank lots of Pimms at every opportunity (ie. every pub we walked past), including one in a delightful town called Stow-on-the-Wold with the oldest pub in the universe, apparently. Timbers in dreadfully low ceiling dated to 947ad - v v old! Olgs took lots of photos on her fabby digital camera, so will post them as soon as I get them. Olgs is going to Sydney in two weeks, so she can catch youse all up on the details then! Am v v jealous of Olgs going to Sydney - am dying for a swim, and would still go in the water there even if it is only 10 degrees.
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