The Problem with Clubbing.

Clubbing is fun. Even if you don't drink. Getting drunk off the music is enough for me. But there are several very annoying parts of this culture that are incredibly obvious and needs to be rectified.

Getting Drunk: While fun, getting so drunk off your face that you have no idea where you are anymore is not good. Best to be done maybe at a house party. As, on the dancefloor, the biggest drunkards will always make fools of themselves, and need to be carried off to a quieter place. Don't get so drunk that you are out of control of your own decisions, that's irresponsible and can lead to dangerous encounters. Or even just embarassing photos uploaded to facebook the next day.

Dancing: I LOVE to dance. I would dance all night if there wasn't a very big problem. Guys gyrating up against you. Guys. STOP THAT RIGHT NOW. Learn to read body signals before you think you can just hook up with every girl at the club. Because very recently I realized, a very small amount of guys actually like clubbing. They go to hook up. That's it. There really needs to be a badge you can wear if you are taken or not interested. As it's just becomes a disgusting orgy on the dancefloor after a while.

Which leads me to my next problem,

Hook-ups: Okay, so we understand that drunk people are also overtly friendly. Sometimes to the point where they can't help hugging, kissing or fondling each other on the floor. That is appalling and unacceptable. If you want to hook up, go find a corner or go upstairs away from the throb of the crowd. Although, I must say, the crowd encourage it. The mentality that you are safe around a big group of people is probably the reason a lot of people do not go elsewhere.

Friends-hooking-up-with-friends is also quite..I'm not sure what to say...pathetic?

You want to kiss your friend, so you get all the attention of the boys on the dancefloor, then when one of them wants some, you wonder why? Isn't that called a cocktease? While I understand the freedom of every person is important, and people should be able to do what they want without being harassed. That is bound to attract unwanted attention.

I used to never understand why so many straight girls go to gay clubs, but now it is perfectly clear. Men are a big problem at these clubs, there needs to be a women-only-but-not-necessarily-lesbian club. As the amount of guys acting like complete idiots was staggering. It was not simply a few of a large crowd. It was the majority of the crowd. Can't I just enjoy the music and dance?

Now, it's not like I am particularly attractive either. I'm just your average girl. It's just like my friend Nicola said 'It's because I have a pulse, and I am standing here' - is exactly right. These guys are trawling the clubs, asking any girl who looks half-decent, if they want to hook up. It's not even a 'hi how are you, my names joe' introduction-style. Which I would appreciate and be very polite to. It's 'HEYY LAYDEEEES'. It absolutely ruins a good night of dancing have that happening.

Transport: Getting to a club seems to be easy enough, but just you try to get home if you don't have a lift arranged. Public transport is horrendously under-represented, even in big cities like London. I remember sitting outside the Fortitude Valley train station in Brisbane, waiting for it to open, and never thought the same kind of thing could happen in London. Turns out it does, and it's much worse. The train from the major station, Victoria, starts at a reasonable time, but it is bloody hard to get to the actual station if you are nowhere near it. Best bet is to save some extra money just for the cab to the train station.

These tiny occurances make it harder to have a good time and just let go. London is a major international city, it needs to start thinking how many people travel from quite far to be there on a night out. They would not lose money opening the tube/train station earlier so people don't freeze walking around in the cold.

Also, men need to learn that NO means NO. It seems to be a hard concept to grasp. It's really quite easy. Don't hit on girls who are dancing tight, dancing together, having a good time. Don't ruin their night. If you are desperate to hook up, go for those skanky girls gyrating in the middle of the throb.

I like clubbing, but it'd be better if these problems were fixed, and not just 'part of the night' - I have a feeling nothings ever going to change though.

Toku - Restaurant Review

On January 30th, 2011, the fateful night of my 24th Birthday, my boyfriend, my best friend and I all went to London to try out the Japanese restaurant Toku.
As we entered, and commented that we had made a reservation, we were curteously brought to our table and handed the very fine-crafted wooden menus. Left to think for a while, the first thing we were struck by was the immense amount of choice.


Pages and pages of the finest sushi, sashimi, curries, noodles and tempura dishes, along with other Japanese delicacies. We found it quite difficult settling on just one dish, so we each ordered two. One hot meal and one cold one. We also ordered two starters to share between the three of us.


Between the three of us, we ordered:


- Chicken Katsu Curry
- Salmon Sashimi
- Avocado Roll
- King Prawn Tempura
- Beef Gyu Don (with raw egg)
- Beef Udon with Broth
- Salmon and Eel Nigiri
- Assorted Nigiri Plate


I need to talk about these exquisite dishes before I move onto the desserts. My dish was the Beef Udon with broth, which was a fantastically large bowl for the price it was. The noodles were delicious and soft, the beef was tender and had a really good texture, the thin slices drew in the flavour from the broth. I also tried the Beef Gyu Don, which was lovely with the raw egg, a combination that you don't expect to work, but surprisingly does.
The Chicken Katsu Curry had a real bite that only lasted a few seconds, so you got a smooth and luxurious curry and chicken mouthful, plus a hit of spice at the end. Absolutely fantastic.


Then we get onto the sushi and nigiri platters. I really cannot express in words how perfect these were. The avocado was perfectly ripe and soft, just the freshest ingredients were used, and it really shows. The salmon, THE SALMON. I could write a whole post dedicated to the soft, buttery, velvety taste that was the salmon. It tasted like it had literally just jumped out of the sea onto your plate. It melted in your mouth and the flavour lingered there long enough to make you want to pop another one in. Really, really unexpected.
The Eel was another very, very good choice. Eel, when I have eaten it in the past, never having a bad flavour, but often being too dry or too slimy. This eel was brilliant, it, like the salmon, melted when it hit your tongue and was not chewy or unsatisfying in any way. It was perfect. All of the food we ate, even though we were so full, we finished because it was just so delicious. The quality was outstanding.


Then we had a break and chatted for a bit, before ordering dessert. I ordered Green Tea Ice Cream, which was very refreshing and was not overpowering in the least.
This food, this excellent food, really made my birthday something to remember, and we will definitely be all heading back there again.
~
5 stars for quality.

London

Since moving to London. I have become...less patient, less caring, less fun, and in general a grumpier, angrier, more annoyed person. I know what you're thinking, how on earth could YOU get any MORE of any of those things. Very easily.

You do not think of London as a carefree type place, it is a strained, stressed, pumping city that throbs and beats, like a big heart. It sleeps, but very lightly. It is dirty, it stinks and it's expensive. Why would I love living here so much then?

I have such a love/hate relationship with this city. It comes from the fact that I live in such a dank area of the East, which, I persuade anyone moving to London not to move to East London. It's racist, sexist, confronting and forces you to change the way you feel about certain things. Which, I suppose, all in all, may not be such a bad thing.

A faith school in East London had children pouring out of it last night and I felt immense pity for them, until I realized they were still at an age where it wasn't affecting them yet, they were running, screaming, playing, just normal kids. Yet I know that as they get older, the religion that is forced on them will squeeze out all their creativity, and capability for open minded thinking. But, even just for this brief moment in time, they are happy, laughing children. Just like anyone else.

Piccadilly at night is a wonder to behold. The giant Sanyo neon sign pumping and the endless tourists posing in silhouettes against it. I take a breath every time I walk out of the tube station and see it. It seems like I am in a sort of eternity, but, things will change, people will change.

Will they?

Londons people are of a few stark different kinds. The posh middle and upper class. The average working class, the tourists, and the scum. The scum, I do not think I am acting too rashly when I say it is anyone who spits, leaves litter, pees in a public place, yells catcalls at women, screams at someone on the tube hoping to provoke a fight, and bible bashers. Stop ruining London.

The freedom of this city is overrun by the idiots, and while I do not mean to sound snobby, as I am far from an upperclass man myself, I just wish people were a little more polite. When I first got here I took every pamphlet, listened to every crier, stared at every homeless person, said sorry to everyone I bumped into. Now, I could care less about every one of them. I am encased in my own little world. Headphones in and not ready to smile at any of them. As many of the others are.

I hope this does not affect my friendliness in the long run, as I know I am quite a stressed and highly strung person. I don't want to become worse, and completely closed off from meeting excellent new people. London is a great city, and if you pick your places, it can make a good home, but I wouldn't recommend it to live for anyone who has high stress levels.

Oikos (ii-kos)

This show was unlike anything I have seen before. Heavily steeped in Hindi Biblical mythology, 'Oikos' opens on a man, Salil, overworked and frustrated, coming home from work. He is stressed, talking on two phones at once, and clearly exhausted. He remembers the simpler times, back in his home in India. When he and his sister used to play a game that involved a rock, a skip, and good balance.

"Boys don't have good balance!!"

What follows is a tumble through the interesting, but surprisingly normal, lives of 3 family members. Salil, and his wife and daughter. Who are both feeling disconnected from him, as he spends so much time at work. His wife, emotional but unyielding, volunteers for the poorer Chinese people in the area, as she likes their 'family ethics', she is also desperate to reconnect with Salil. His daughter, Lily, is a teenage dirtbag, who frequents parties, and is going through what you would call her 'rebellious' phase. However, Salil is having re-occuring dreams and visions about his life in India, and his family.

We find out later that his family were drowned. Salil blames Gungah, the water god, for taking them away from him, and as we see, his past may come back to haunt him in more ways than one.

The acting is suberb, the setting is intimate, and the storyline is sublime. So different from anything I have ever seen before, and I can only say positive things about it. The way the actors interact with other 'people' (as in, acting with no one there) is incredible. The Oikos Project is indeed a fantastic one, and I believe everyone should go see this show!