tuk tuk no good

I don’t give a shit about my career

I don’t give a shit about my career. I tried it for a while, caring about having a career, but I’ve decided it’s not for me.

Why are we told from such a young age that in order to be succeed at life, we should get married and build a career? First off, why do we need to be successful? Anyway, that’s a discussion for another day. I’d say succeeding at being happy is more important than succeeding in your career. Great if you can have both, but too many people I know are chasing career success at the expense of their own happiness. [Read more…]

Thoughts on being Asian

Some white people I know tell me I am too preoccupied with race. What they don’t understand is that it is something I have to deal with every day. When people see me, I am sure the first thing they notice is my race. It is used as the first adjective to describe me. When someone asks me where I am from, I know that ‘Australia’ is not the answer they are expecting or want. Once a drunk guy asked me this question and when I answered ‘I was born in Australia’, his reply was ‘and before that?’ [Read more…]

Being female

I’m currently training for a half marathon but the weather is terrible. Too windy for Tempelhof, meaning I probably can’t jog today. I can’t run in Hasenheide because every time I have ever run in there, I’ve been catcalled by drug dealers. They make comments like ‘oh, I wish I could work out with you’. I’d rather stay inside than endure this. Normally Tempelhof is a safe bet to jog and not be disturbed, but even the other day, a guy stopped me mid run and danced for me. [Read more…]

Village life

I was never a village person before. I remember being in Hobart years ago and thinking, ‘I could never live in such a small place’. How things have changed. I don’t think I’m ready to give up city life full time, but I definitely now appreciate the charms and positive aspects of small town/village living. [Read more…]

A meat-free house

To all our meat eating friends and guests, sorry, but no more meat consumption at Datscha Fröhden.

We came to this decision after we hosted a team event a few months ago, where a lot of meat was brought and left behind. At first I didn’t want to impose any kind of rules at our house, but after this event, I realised that turning the house into a meat-free house is not a very big ask. Most people only stay for a day or two, and surely not eating meat for this short period of time should be easy. [Read more…]

The life and death of Pumpkin, my first chicken love

RIP my girl Pumpkin.

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My favourite chicken was eaten last night, by what we now suspect was a fox. I must admit that I cried for quite a while over her death. She was my baby and I really loved her. I know that I am an easy crier, but it is also surprising to see how much I really became attached to her. I feel a bit bad wishing that Diva or Eggplant had been eaten instead, as they are not so friendly and do not enjoy so much human interaction. They are black bovans so their temperaments are different to that of an ISA brown (Chickpea and Pumpkin). [Read more…]

Pre-holiday stress

Holidays, holidays, man, sometimes I really hate holidays. Well ok, I really only hate holidays when I am about to take one.

I don’t know why, but the thought of going away for a few days or weeks (or months) just makes me feel stressed. Having to clean the apartment, making sure everything (the cat, our chickens) is looked after while we are away. [Read more…]