I've been running around like crazy trying to get everything sorted before my trip to Singapore, Jakarta, and Bali. No real surprise there...Looking at the 48 hours between now and departure time, I really have no idea how it everything is going to get done. Yikes.
As Indonesia is heavy on the mind these days (most days, in fact, given that it's a main part of my thesis!), here's an interesting NYT article about the growing religiosity amongst Indonesians, as opposed toan increase in support for political Islam or radicalism. Unfortunately, the picture often gets muddled by conflating the terms and using them interchangeably. The article fits with my understanding and reading of trends within Indo.
As of July 1, Melbourne's pubs became smoke free. Finally, you can go out for a couple of drinks without feeling like you're licked a couple of ash-trays in the morning due to the second hand smoke. While there were a few protests from the likely suspects, it's been very well-received overall. Remember a few years ago when the thought of banning smoke from bars was considered controversial? Perhaps those with longer memories can remember a similar debate when the ban on smoking on airplanes was introduced. I know Mom (a flight attendant who flies heaps to Europe) was very excited about it...
We had a frisbee tournament here in Melbourne on Monday and Tuesday; I won't go into much detail about why it was called the "Boycott City Challenge", but the short version of the story is that Melbourne University finished 2nd, losing the final to Monash University (our main rival). It would have been nice to win it, but overall I don't think we can really complain too much about the result. Next thing up for the University team is the Australian University Championships (to be held in late September on the Gold Coast in Queensland - described to me as the "Florida of Australia"). In between, we'll be beginning the selection process for the Australian National team for the World Championships in Vancouver next year. Unlike last year, only one team from each country gets into this tourney, so competition for slots is very intense. No doubt you'll be hearing about how it's going for me along the way. I haven't really had a break from frisbee for a couple of months now, and while I'm obviously geared up and excited to make a run at the Aussie team, the prospect of 2-3 weeks of rest while I'm traveling makes my legs and feet happy.
