Throwin' some sloppy second Kleinballs

I threw my Honoré de Klein-Balzacs on Sunday and managed to completely forget to touch on a few points. So here they are, nice and sloppy... just like I know you like 'em!

"You are the most difficult person I've ever had to shop for." Those were the words uttered by the helpful (and extremely hot and buxom) employee at one of the clothing stores in the Bondi Junction mall last weekend. Which, of course, harkens back to my shopping difficulties detailed at the beginning of this post. So, yeah, no real argument from me there; she's absolutely right, and I acknowledged as much when she told me. And then, as quickly as she cheerfully showed me around the store, even as I shot down all but one of her maybe three dozen suggestions, she turned bitch on me. For the second I said, "Thanks so much for your help, but I think I'm just going to take the jeans", she went ice cold. As if the previous ten minutes (during which the thought that I actually had a chance with her absurdly crossed my mind) never happened. I felt used, and a little dirty.

Qantas' engineers are striking, forcing Australia's largest airline to cancel dozens of flights the last few days. Yet as I touched on in my recap of my Melbourne trip, there are a ridiculous amount of flights in Australia, especially between the major cities. So what kind of disruption has this strike caused customers? Hardly any; people are generally being rebooked on flights that leave within an hour of their original flight's scheduled departure time! So I ask: doesn't this defeat the whole purpose of a strike? Isn't this a huge slap in the face of the engineers, as if Qantas is saying to them, "You know what? Go on strike! We're still getting all of our customers into the air within an hour of when they were expecting to!" And honestly? These days, if the flight that I was originally booked on leaves within an hour of the scheduled departure time, I'm happy. So yeah, I'm not exactly sure what the engineers are accomplishing here.

I never realized how American peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are. I mean, I know people in some cultures find peanut butter repugnant. (Which, in and of itself, bewilders me.) But in Australia, they love peanut butter. It's probably just as prevalent here as it is in the US. And in Australia, they love jelly. It too is probably just as prevalent here as it is in the US. And in my office, the kitchen is stocked with each of these for use as spreads. But eating the two together in one sandwich? It just doesn't happen. Many an Australian have even told me that they've literally never had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It boggles the mind.

The video below is awesome -- nay, it's awe-inspiring. Everything in it. From the music (my God, the music!) to the 1:54, 2:24, 2:36, 3:54 and 4:00* marks and everything in between. Then I read about this guy and his adventures on his web site. And it has inspired me to take my own special dance** worldwide. Or at least go worldwide. I need to travel more. And I will.



*I'm not going to lie. I'm not sure if it was because it was first thing in the morning when I first saw this, if it was the crescendo of the entire video and music (my God, the music!) as it ended, or if it was a little bit of homesickness. But when I saw Santa Monica Beach -- a spot that I drove by nearly every day of my life for over a decade -- it briefly got a little dusty in the room.

**Hell, it's already taken Australia by storm! Haven't seen my chicken dance yet? Get me drunk and on a dance floor, and, well, it's bound to come out. And the people? They eat it up.