The revenge of the clumsy claws of chaos

I'm not one to admit, but I wish I heeded my husband's warning at the outset. I wanted to prove him I'm right. Turned out, he was. Again.

By Nila Sweeney

After Christmas, Joe and I decided to go to Kiama, a 3-hour drive south of Sydney, for serious walking and possibly swimming. It was drizzling a bit and the beach was full of blue bottle jellyfish (those creatures with the nastiest sting), so we decided to just walk along the coast instead.

Even with rain and wind, Kiama was beautiful. I love the fact that you can walk 22 km along the coast and also enjoy the bush. Joe and I didn't walk the whole distance but we covered a fair bit and had a really great time.

Until we went to lunch. Somehow, during lunch, I've triggered my clumsy fingers. A soon as we've left the cafe, I've started dropping things. Starting with my new shiny HTC 4G phone. Ouch!

You know that sick feeling when you damage something precious? My phone's screen was shattered and it's only a couple of days old. In case you're wondering if I've been imbibing alcoholic beverages during lunch. Sadly no. If I did, I would have had an awesome excuse:-)

Broken after just 2 days

So being clear-headed and all, there's nowhere for me to go but to blame myself for being clumsy. Normally. But not this time.

I'm not exactly sure what induced it. It could have been the fact that we just had a lovely lunch and the scenery was simply breathtaking and peaceful. It could have been the fact that I still have another brand new phone to fall back to. It could have been the holiday spirit.

Whatever it was, it made me stop to realise that it's just a phone. It can be replaced or fixed. What cannot be replaced is the time I'd spend berating myself and getting depressed about the whole thing.

I've decided that rather than be overcome with remorse about the incident, we can look at getting it fixed if it's not too expensive, otherwise, I'd go back to using my other phone which was only a few months' old anyway.

Making that decision was so liberating and empowering for me. I wasn't pretending it didn't happen. What I did was to accept it was an accident and there's no point in getting angry about it.

Unfortunately, the saga of the clumsy claws of chaos didn't end there.

I also brought my iPad with me during the trip and I decided to use it after I dropped my phone. Joe warned that I should just leave it in the car. I insisted I'll take it with me. It will be fine, I assured him. I did alright, until we started the bush walk.

The scenery was achingly beautiful and I wanted to capture some of it myself so I took out my Ipad. What do you know, the moment I took it out of my bag, my Ipad slipped right out of my fingers and landed on the hard pavement. The corner of the screen was shattered. 
I've broken something. Again!

I don't know anyone who can top my record of breaking two gadgets within 3 hours!

Joe and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. "You're not touching my phone," he said. I responded, "I would be too scared to touch anything at this point!"

The really wonderful thing was the fact that Joe and I both thought what happened was hilarious. We both saw the light side of it.  We continued on with the trail and had an amazing time communing with nature. The thought of two broken gadgets a distant memory.

The best part of this whole saga? Joe got me a proper camera to play around with - a shiny Canon SLR 650D. Now I don't have to worry about dropping anymore phones and Ipads.

Life lessons from my dogs

By Nila Sweeney

It's amazing what you learn from dogs. No matter what you did or didn't do in the past, they still love you... Even if they don't see you for months, they won't hold grudge...Even if you withhold your love (as we humans do) and keep them outside, they are as excited to see you when you step out of the house.

How I wish I could be just like my dogs - no judgement and free to express their love. How great would it be if every encounter I have with others comes from nothing but pure, unadulterated love!

But how can I do this if I'm too busy judging, manipulating, defending or resisting? No wonder, my interactions with others are often less than fulfilling.

Our minds truly rule our lives. We can make people flourish or perish in our thoughts alone. Whatever or however we think of others, they instantly become that.

The sad thing is, we do it to ourselves as well. We are using our mind, the most powerful weapon we have, to either obliterate us or propel us to unknown heights. No other species do that.

Perhaps living a dog's life every once in a while would help us see ourselves and others on a different light.

Hornsby real estate market heats up

Hornsby property market sizzles

I’ve been keeping a close eye on this market for a long while and I’ve noticed that the last couple of months have been particularly busy.

The properties on market are getting sold within the first week. It would seem that buyers are intent on getting their hands on the available properties here.

Who could blame them? There’s a lot to like about Hornsby.

First and foremost is the convenience.

The big Westfield shopping centre houses massive array of retailers, restaurants and even cinemas. There’s also a couple of fitness clubs for the health buffs and a large number of medical centres. 

The Hornsby train station is a major stop for all trains travelling to and from Newcastle to the city and also for those travelling the Northern and North Shore lines. The suburb is about 22km to the Sydney CBD and takes about 45 minutes drive via the Pacific Highway.

The Hornsby hospital is within easy walk from the Hornsby CBD and there are also a number of schools ranging from primary to secondary levels.

Hornsby scores high in terms of liveability. It’s relatively safe and quiet. My street is considered a main thorougelyhfare, yet it’s quiet. My neighbours are great. They even take my rubbish bin in for me.

Rents are rising but still relatively affordable compared to neighbouring suburbs such as Waitara, Wahroonga or Turramurra. Property prices are also much lower when compared to these suburbs.

While there are a couple of housing developments underway, I believe demand from the fast-growing population will soak it up fast. Hornsby has been touted as the next “Chatswood” and with the rate it’s going, this may happen sooner than later.

Hornsby suburb stats

Median listing price (2 bedroom units): $438,000

12 month growth: 2.2%

Median weekly rent: $430

Gross rental yield: 5.1%

Best buys: 2 bedroom units

Where: Units around May Street, Muriel Street and Florence Street are highly desirable

Source: www.realestateinvestar.com.au
www.yourinvestmentpropertymag.com.au

Disclosure : Author owns an investment property in the suburb.

Close encounter with the racist kind

By Nila Sweeney

The day a French woman and her friends copped verbal racist abuse that eventually went viral on the internet, I was also subjected to a racist treatment of my own.

While it may not be as high-profile as the Melbourne incident, there’s nothing trivial about being singled out and treated with contempt.

It happened on a bright and sunny morning at Hornsby rail way station where I took the train to work. As usual, I arrived just before 8am to catch my train, coffee mug in hand and walked towards the bench where a woman was sitting, doing her cross-word puzzle. She’s middle-aged Caucasian and was sitting right in the middle of the bench which normally sits at least 4 people.

Most days, I wouldn’t sit while waiting for my train but that morning I decided to do so and sat right at the very edge of the bench and waited. The woman gave me the filthiest look as she grabbed her things and angrily said “you have no right to sit there, bloody Asians should all go back home”. Then she stomped her way to the other bench, squeezing herself in a packed bench, just so she can move away from me.

She didn’t stop right there. She kept giving me that filthy look and when the train came, she made sure everyone who listens knows she was offended by my presence. She made sure I heard it too.

Instead of getting offended, I felt sad. Sad for this woman who feels so much anger for a total stranger whose only fault is having a different race. I felt enormous compassion for her for feeling such rage for something she and I had no control of.

Now, this is by no means the worst racism I’ve encountered in Australia. Since I arrived in the country in 2005, there have been countless occasions where people, mostly Caucasians would hurl abusive racist remarks on me. Most of the time, I don’t take offence. As long as it’s not life-threatening, I just smile and move on. I get it, I’m an immigrant. I’m lucky to be accepted in this country.

Racism is not new to me. Having lived in places like Hong Kong where Filipinos and other non-Chinese and non-Caucasians are treated like second-class citizens no matter how successful you are in your career, I’ve gotten used to these racist slurs and blatant discrimination.

But racism didn’t diminish the quality of life I’ve lived in this city and the love I felt for the place. I love Hong Kong so much I miss it terribly. It’s where I’ve met the most important people in my life and came across the most loving and loyal friends. Yes, you’d be right, they’re Chinese.

I feel exactly the same way here in Australia. There’s no other place I’d rather be now than here in Sydney. I love everything about the place: the geography, the weather (even if tends to go into extremes), the food and most importantly the wonderful people that I come across.   I’ve met some of the most generous people here in Australia and most of the people I encounter are fun, friendly and caring bunch.

That’s why I never let this occasional racist treatment gets in the way of my relationships and my strong connection with the place. Racism is not pleasant. But letting it run or ruin your life is to squander everything you’ve worked for to be here in this lucky country. Learning to be tolerant beats retribution any time.