Does anybody else see the sad and extreme irony of one of the David Wirrpanda Foundation’s Ambassadors listed on its website?

In case a) the above image is too small to read and b) the website page has been modified or removed, the cropped relevant sections are below:

If you have been living under a rock and do not know who Heath Ledger is, he was a young Australian actor making it big in Hollywood with roles like The Joker in The Dark Knight. That is, until he tragically committed suicide died from prescription drug abuse in January 2008.

My first Perth residence is in East Victoria Park, an inner suburb approximately 5 kilometres as the crow flies from Perth’s Central Business District. East Vic Park is surrounded by the suburbs of Kensington and Victoria Park to the west, Lathlain to the north, Carlisle and Welshpool to the east and St James and Bentley to the south. It is part of the Victoria Park Council area.

A few streets south from home in Bentley is a belt of institutions including Curtin University, Swan TAFE Bentley Campus, correctional services facilities, aged care homes, a Baptist seminary and Technology Park.

This is the most multicultural area I’ve lived in with South Asians, South East Asians, East Asians, Africans, Middle Easterners, Europeans and Aboriginals all in abundance. Indian Saris are commonly worn in local streets and the nearest IGA supermarket allocates 60% of one whole bay (3 out of 5 shelves) only to maize meal!

East Victoria Park’s topography consists of rolling hills and valleys interspersed by plains. The suburb’s soil is very sandy, so much so, walking on roadside verges can be difficult.

Amongst the location’s newer homes are unkempt older houses and yards, leading to the surmise that East Victoria Park was a poorer suburb when developed in the 1960’s and 1970’s which has improved as Perth became wealthier.

Overall, I enjoy living in East Vic Park, particularly with its diversity of people and closeness to the city.

For much of my time in Turkey I only owned 2 pairs of shoes: black Rivers boots and sandals. Following flatmate Sameer’s generous Fila running shoes birthday gift, my collection now consists of 8(!) pairs, probably the most I have ever owned. Imelda would approve of this extravagance 😉

Today I went to Fremantle with Sameer, mainly to visit the Fremantle Markets.

Last weekend, in between Lucy’s birthday drinks, lunch with Therese and David, and meeting Vel and Alex, I managed to see a few planes in the sky at the Red Bull Air Race. Here are a few photos from Sunday 2 November:

A large yacht flotilla gathered in the Swan River to watch the air race and supporting exhibition flights. Above are a few of the many mansions disguised as boats that filled every spare water space.

6 red planes flying in formation.

The same planes (in the top right of the photo) flying over Perth’s skyline. The P E R T H sign is visible above the water line.

Red Bull Air Race gates in the background behind another tranche of yachts.

The highlight for me was this fighter jet flying low over the Swan River. The rolls and manoeuvres it performed were stunning and the noise produced was awesome, in the traditional meaning of the word.

Today is the second and final day of the Red Bull Air Race held above Perth’s Swan River. I plan to see some of the low flying plane action this afternoon.

This massive  P E R T H sign has been installed in front of the convention centre next to the Swan River. I took photos of the individual letters with my phone’s vga camera and spliced them into a panorama.

I wonder how much we Western Australian taxpayers are collectively paying for this event…

In Turkey I made my own muesli several times. The joy I got from eating it could not be overstated.

Last Sunday, on a spur of the moment decision at the only grocers open* in the area, Swansea Street Markets of East Victoria Park, I decided to make muesli again.

The above photo is the result of mixing wheat flakes, rice flakes, wheat bran, raisins, currants, slivered almonds, coconut flakes, rolled oats, roasted cashews, linseeds, roasted peanuts, mixed dried fruit, pumpkin seeds and bran together. I didn’t have a suitable container so I placed the ingredients in one bag inside another.

This week I’ve eaten muesli most mornings and nights although it is not as good as the batches I created in Turkey 🙂

*Another difference between Perth and Adelaide is that Perth only has Sunday trading in the city centre and Fremantle.

5 is the number of fingers on a normal human hand

Five is the number of mainland Australian states

5ive is the name of an extremely bland boy band

V is 5 written in Latin

Five is the number of male cousins I have on Mum’s side of the family

5 is the number of serves of vegetables the Australian Government recommends you eat each day

Five is the number of senses we have: smell, sight, taste, hearing and feeling

5 is the value in cents of the lowest denomination Australian coin

Five is the number of letters in Yield, the name of Pearl Jam’s fifth album

5 is how old my blog became on 20 October 2008. Happy belated 5th birthday to Joe’s Ramblings!

Adelaide has better Iced Coffee; Perth has more construction

Perth has a better transportation system; Adelaide has the Central market

Adelaide is closer to the rest of Australia; Perth is closer to Asia

Northbridge is larger than Hindley Street

Adelaide has the National Wine Centre; Perth has more mining company

headquarters

Perth has a greater population; Adelaide has the best footy team

Adelaide CBD is ringed by parklands; Perth has Kings Park

Perth has biltong; Adelaide has Coopers Beer

However, all of the above differences pale in comparison with the following contrast:

Adelaide has yiros; Perth has kebab