#7: Learn to roll sushi

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I work at a school that could pass for a mini version of the United Nations. Lunchtime is a gastronomic phenomenon. A Vegemite sandwich just no longer cuts it. I get particular lunch-box envy when I nosily peek into the lunchboxes of my students who are of a Korean background. It ain't about Keeping Up With the Jones' anymore. It's about keeping up with the Kims/Parks/Lees.

These kids get beautifully packaged meals filled with delicate, handmade morsels. I must have expressed my lunchbox envy quite noisily on a number of occasions, because I now often get boxes of handmade sushi/rice rolls/ kim chi sent in for me by some of my Korean families.

I always figured this sushi-rolling business was quite complicated. But hey, if Mrs Kim can just whip out some beautifully executed sushi on a weeknight to be put in little Johnny's lunchbox- it can't be that hard. Right?

Before the seeds of my lunchbox envy had been planted, I had actually resolved to learn to roll sushi. #7 on The List.

Luckily for me, I have a friend who is all kindsa awesome who also happens to be a very capable sushi-roller. So one Saturday evening, we had a sushi party. Ch-ch-ch-ch-check it out, Korean mums of the world. I too can roll sushi.

Excuse the ginormous, monster hands. All the better to roll sushi with.

Put that in your lunchbox.

And we devoured our sushi as we watched the Oscar-winning Best Film of 1982, Gandhi (#16 on The List: Watch every film that has won the Oscar for Best Movie since my birth year.) I hear you ask, "What's that sound?"
It's the sound of my 30x30 list being smashed to smithereens.

#9 Start a school choir with my partners in crime.

This 30x30 item is proving to be an interesting one, given that my partner in crime and I have no formal musical training.

However, our little choir had their big public debut last Friday at the school Anzac Day assembly. Despite getting off to a wobbly start- read: wrong music was initially played over the sound system- our little cherubs sang their hearts out. We covered One Day by Matisyahu, complete with sign language. Yep- 3 verses, a chorus AND sign language. A huge achievement for a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds.

I'm not entirely comfortable with posting school-related videos containing kiddies on my blog, so you'll just have to trust me when I say WE WERE AWESOME.

Our inspiration is drawn from this amazing choir from New York....

However we are by no means as talented as them (probably due to the previously mentioned fact that our choir is lead by 2 teachers with no formal musical experience!)
Check out their amazing blog here.
Now who wants to argue that arts aren't an important part of the curriculum?

The State of the Nation. (a.k.a- Remember That List?)

Amazing public art installation involving a list.


Aaaah, that list. 30 things to do before I turn 30. The issue with making this quest public is that people ask me how the list "is going." "It's going" I reply. But is it, really? Is it?!
Yesterday marked 8 months until the deadline.
So how is it going?

#1 Write a screenplay so that The Man can turn it into an award-winning film.

RE: #1 This one I find a bit scary. Primarily because I have no screenplay-writing skills. That's right- zilch, nada, nothing. That's not much of a challenge. Right?

#2 Start Hapkido so I can learn to do this.

RE: #2 This one I am leaving until winter. When I have a lot of pent-up anger about the absence of summer.

#3 Complete a 2km ocean swim. This may require training as opposed to my current ocean swim regime which consists of turning up.

RE: # 3 Scheduled for completion in November.

#4 Make pasta like a nonna would. From scratch. DONE! Pictorial evidence coming soon.
#5 Have an alcohol-free month. Dry July, anyone? DONE!
#6 Complete the Blackmores 9km run. Without stopping. Or walking.

RE: #6 Scheduled for September 18th.

#7 Learn to roll sushi.
#8 Eat a piece of fruit every day at recess with my class. Apparently parents don't believe in fruit in lunchboxes at my school. I'm hoping to make fruit cool.

RE: #8 Working on it.

#9 Start a school choir with my partners in crime. We imagine it will be like this but it could end up like this.....
#10 Have a creative classroom. Yep- English and Maths are important. But so is music. And art.
#11 Start a herb garden. And don't kill it.
#12 Banish plastic in my life. Say no to plastic bags and plastic water bottles.

RE: #12 Trying, but this one can be hard. WORK IN PROGRESS

#13 Bake some bread. From scratch.
#14 Figure out my new camera and keep a photo journal.

RE: #14 WORK IN PROGRESS

#15 Learn Spanish. (no- "Hasta la vista, baby" and "una cerveza, por favor" does not constitute knowledge of the Spanish language.)

WORK IN PROGRESS

#16 Watch every film that has won the Oscar for Best Movie since my birth year. N.B I will not watch Titanic again.
#17 Start a daily journal, jotting down awesome moments.

RE: # 17 I'm replacing this one. The new, improved #17 is: To start a blog about cooking. Stay tuned!

#18 Do some ballet lessons.
#19 Read 10 books from the BBC Top 100 list. (Because I love lists.)
#20 Listen to 10 musicians from 10 random countries.

RE: #20 South Africa and Chile down. WORK IN PROGRESS.

#21 Visit 3 museums/galleries in Sydney I have never been to.
#22 Sing in the shower. But maybe not when at the gym.

Struggling with this one. I keep forgetting the lyrics to songs.

#23 Go on dates. With my mum. Dad can come aswell if he wants.
#24 Support microfinancing and fund an entrepeneur through Kiva.
#25 Write my husband love letters. And it doesn't matter if he doesn't write back.
#26 Plan a kick ass 1st wedding anniversary.
#27 Every Sunday, blog something for my little sis who is moving to London.

RE: #27 And then we discovered Path..... which is kind of a more improved version of this item.

#28 Try and not complain for a week.

RE: #28 I would like to complain about this item. a) I'm not sure if I could successfully complete it. b) What purpose would it serve to not complain for a week? Therefore this item is being replaced with- Take a Thai cooking class. In Thailand.

#29 Write a letter to be opened by my 40 year old self. Put it somewhere safe. (Note to self- Don't forget where this safe spot is.)
#30 Plan a trip to South America.

Where to from here? Well, I'm now off to bake some bread (#13) whilst listening to some music from a random country (#20). Whilst the bread is in the oven I might plant a herb garden (#11), read a book from the BBC's Top 100 list (#19) and then relax with an Oscar-winning movie (#16).

Go on- ask me how my list is going now!

Tengo grandes planes para el 2011: Enero*

Item #14 on my 30x30 list involves keeping a monthly photo journal. The Man got me a whizz-bang new photo-making machine for Christmas. I admit, I have not as yet read the User's Manual, but it has a whole heap of fun settings to play with. Here are the results for January....

I don't trust the seagull in the background.

Nothing says childhood nostalgia like dappled light and caravan parks.

The camp vase. Every good campsite needs one.

Bluebottles always make a stroll to the waters edge slightly nerve-racking.

Lunch at Rojo Rocket makes me want to move to Mexico, eat lots of guacamole and revel in intensely-coloured fabrics.

A ghostly evening in Sydney.

An evening at the Spiegeltent.

A moment.

Another moment.

Piggy buns at Chef's Gallery. Oink.

Mirazozo.

A sunlit spectacle at Mirazozo.

Kobe Jones Bento Box of Deliciousness.

And the month ends with Sufjan Stevens at the Opera House. Where balloons fall from the heavens. It's a little bit special.

* = I have great plans for 2011. Item # 15 on the list- Learn Spanish- is in progress.

30x30

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The brief? Develop a list of 30 things to be completed before my 30th birthday.
The deadline? December 11th, 2011.
The objective? Hit the big 3-0 in grand style. Or die tryin'... yep 50 Cent- I'm lookin' atchu. But seriously Fitty, I like your "Give it everything you got" attitude. For my 29th year, I'm going to channel my inner 50 Cent and try things I've always wanted to do or simply do things I've been meaning to do for my entire 20s. Incidentally, getting rich isn't on the list but hey, I won't be complaining if it magically eventuates during the lead-up to my 30th.

#1 Write a screenplay so that The Man can turn it into an award-winning film.
#2 Start Hapkido so I can learn to do this.
#3 Complete a 2km ocean swim. This may require training as opposed to my current ocean swim regime which consists of turning up.
#4 Make pasta like a nonna would. From scratch.
#5 Have an alcohol-free month. Dry July, anyone?
#6 Complete the Blackmores 9km run. Without stopping. Or walking.
#7 Learn to roll sushi.
#8 Eat a piece of fruit every day at recess with my class. Apparently parents don't believe in fruit in lunchboxes at my school. I'm hoping to make fruit cool.
#9 Start a school choir with my partners in crime. We imagine it will be like this but it could end up like this.....
#10 Have a creative classroom. Yep- English and Maths are important. But so is music. And art.
#11 Start a herb garden. And don't kill it.
#12 Banish plastic in my life. Say no to plastic bags and plastic water bottles.
#13 Bake some bread. From scratch.
#14 Figure out my new camera and keep a photo journal.
#15 Learn Spanish. (no- "Hasta la vista, baby" and "una cerveza, por favor" does not constitute knowledge of the Spanish language.)
#16 Watch every film that has won the Oscar for Best Movie since my birth year. N.B I will not watch Titanic again.
#17 Start a daily journal, jotting down awesome moments.
#18 Do some ballet lessons.
#19 Read 10 books from the BBC Top 100 list. (Because I love lists.)
#20 Listen to 10 musicians from 10 random countries.
#21 Visit 3 museums/galleries in Sydney I have never been to.
#22 Sing in the shower. But maybe not when at the gym.
#23 Go on dates. With my mum. Dad can come aswell if he wants.
#24 Support microfinancing and fund an entrepeneur through Kiva.
#25 Write my husband love letters. And it doesn't matter if he doesn't write back.
#26 Plan a kick ass 1st wedding anniversary.
#27 Every Sunday, blog something for my little sis who is moving to London.
#28 Try and not complain for a week.
#29 Write a letter to be opened by my 40 year old self. Put it somewhere safe. (Note to self- Don't forget where this safe spot is.)
#30 Plan a trip to South America.

So there it is- 30x30. And now it is in the blogosphere, I have publicly declared that I am going to complete this list. When this happens, I'm pretty sure I'll be as happy as a rainbow-spewing panda. Boo-ya.

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Ode to the List.

Oh, how I love a list. A shopping list. A To-Do list. A What-To-Pack-Before-A-Big-Trip list. (Undies? Check.) A Books-That-I-Really-Should-Read-If-I-Want-To-Look-Intellectual-At-A-Dinner-Party list. Heck- my 1st post on this blog was.... a freaking list.

I love writing aforementioned lists. Ticking things off these lists as the task is completed. Sometimes I even highlight things off the list. With a highlighter. N.E.R.D.

So, when I stumbled across Angie's 28x28 list over at her blog of awesomeness, I got minor heart palpitations. I may have even swooned slightly. She has a list of 28 things to do before she turns 28.

At the end of this year, I hit the big 3-0. Um, pardon me? How did that happen? At risk of sounding like my mother... Where did the years go?

So I'm going to make the final years of my 20s a killer. Huge. Epic. Ok, maybe not epic. But you get the idea. As the Post-It* suggests, I'm gonna make bold plans.

I'm going to write a list.

30x30.
Watch this space.

*Post-Its: An awesome tool for list-writing. Check these ones out- why I don't I ever find cool things like this in public places?