Last weekend Sue organised an outing to The Mahjong Room to learn how to play Mahjong. It was great fun and I think we've all become a little Mahjong crazy.

Before our outing the only thing I knew about Mahjong was from watching The Joy Luck Club. While learning to play we decided to introduce The Joy Luck Club rule to our version of Mahjong. While we shuffled the tiles the dealer (the East wind) had to tell a story about their ancestors. I told the story of my great grandfather who vanished leaving behind his wife and children in Australia (possibly back to his wife and family in China). Sue told the story of her great-grandfather who had two wives (at the same time).

I've added playing Mahjong to my 1950s Housewife resume. I am of the belief that once I have the full set of 1950s housewife skills I will travel back in time and forever be known as the inventor of time travel.

While Andrew and I were living in London we were real touristy tourists. We visited museums, we went to exhibitions and we explored London. I had a list!

When we returned to Sydney I was a bit worried about our homecoming. I was worried that I was going to be bored in Sydney. There is so much to do in London! So many free museums and heaps of cool and quirky events. It's also just a hop, skip and a jump away from the Continent. So if you couldn't find something to do in London you could always hop across the pond and visit another city and another culture.

So, I decided that when we returned we had to be tourists in our own city. The decision hasn't resulted in much action yet though. We'll get there eventually.

Our first attempt at Operation: Explore Sydney was checking out Vivid Sydney. It was on during the time of crazy uni exam stress so we had to squeeze it in. On Vivid's last Friday we headed over to Macquarie Street after work to have a look. This year's theme was Macquarie's Visions. Light shows which explored the contributions made by Governor Macquarie and his wife to the growth of Australia as a nation were projected on to St Mary's Cathedral, Hyde Park Barracks, The Mint, Parliament House, The State Library and The Conservatory of Music. Macquarie is known as the Father of Australia and he played a big role in the transition of Australia from a penal colony to a free settlement. The light shows not only made the buildings look pretty but they were also interesting and educational.

Some of the patterns projected on St Mary's Cathedral were really beautiful. I wish it looked like that all the time!



I was surprised by the number of people who were also out and walking the route. Even though it was quite chilly there were lots of photographers, families with young children and heaps of senior citizens. It's obviously a popular event.

After we finished the route we walked down to the rocks to check out the projections on the Opera House. There doesn't seem to be any sort of theme to the projections on the sails. They only changed every 5 minutes or so, which wasn't often enough for me. It was too cold to stick around for the full rotation so after checking out a few of them we headed home.

More photos (slideshow) on Flickr.

Last year, I stumbled across Jessica Watson's blog. I can't remember how I got there. I do a lot of random web surfing.

I can remember thinking how together she sounded. Here she was, 16 years old and sailing around the world. She was all alone on a tiny boat in the middle of an enormous ocean. And yet, her blog entries were so positive. She seemed to face any challenge with the same "I can do it" attitude. Even when in one storm her boat was knocked down four times, she wrote about it like it was one big adventure.

I added her blog to my feed and I enjoyed reading her updates. Even the mundanity of life at sea was interesting. She wrote of albatrosses that followed her boat. She wrote of the meals that she made on her tiny stove. She wrote of chatting on the radio to the captains of the massive ships that she passed in the night. She took pictures of the beautiful sunsets that she saw. She really captured the spirit of her sea voyage and made us feel like we were out there with her.

It wasn't until I arrived home in November that I heard the Jessica Watson controversy. There was a whole debate about whether or not she should be allowed to do it that I missed. She also crashed into a tanker on her test voyage (oops!). In the last few months there have been a lot mean spirited comments about her in the media. Her record isn't official. She is selfish. It seems that anyone who has anything to say about Jessica Watson gets an article in the newspaper. Even these challenges Jessica faced with the same positive attitude. She replied to the comments in her blog in a level-headed and mature manner. Generally she just wondered what the fuss was about. She was doing what she wanted to do and that was all that mattered.

I was so impressed with Jessica's achievement and mainly her attitude that I wanted to be there to welcome her home when she returned on Saturday. So on the weekend Andrew, Dad and I boarded Two Up and sailed out to the heads to join Jessica as she crossed the line. I can admit I teared up a little as we sailed through the heads, part of the flotilla of honour with hundreds of other boats. It was worth the wait (3 hours!) and braving the swell (3 m!) to be there. Good on ya Jessica!

Apparently I have a girl crush on Jessica Watson. Is it wrong to have a 16 year old as a role model?

More photos (slideshow) on Flickr.

On Sunday evening, we introduced the tourists, Sarah and Duncan, to the wonderful game of cricket. Unfortunately, it wasn't really a fantastic introduction for Sarah and Duncan. The game between Australia and Pakistan wasn't really a competition (Australia won by 9 wickets without raising a sweat). It was also rain delayed; we left at 8.30pm when it started raining. The result was clearly going to be in Australia's favour. (photos)

To fully appreciate and understand cricket, you really have to go to a game. Only at a game can you experience cheering the Aussies on while sitting in a sea of yellow and green sombreros, munching on a $8 hotdog and drinking a $5 light beer. (Well, cheering them on except when Matthew Hayden was batting. At 25 runs off 65 balls, we actually cheered when he got out!)

I think cricketers need a bit of the "queer eye for the straight guy" treatment. Shoaib Akhtar is in dire need of a haircut, Dizzy Gillespie has a mullet and Andrew Symonds looks like a clown. Andrew Symonds can rest easy knowing he can get a job doing children's parties if he ever gets kicked off the Australian team.

Shoaib Akhtar	Jason Gillespie	Andrew Symonds

Andrew and I took advantage of the fantastic weather this weekend and we went to look at the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. The exhibition, as the name suggests, is held by the sea along the Bondi to Coogee Coastal walk. Although, the display doesn't start until Tamarama Beach. Unfortunately, the crowds also start at Tamarama; I think a lot of people had the urge to get out in the sunshine and take advantage of the first weekend of daylight savings.

The exhibition included both arty pieces and crowd-pleasing pieces. Andrew and I looked at most of the arty pieces and thought "huh?". I've never really understood abstract art. The crowd-pleasing works, such as the big sunnies and the thong bottle, were always surrounded by large groups of people. Tourists having their photos taken, unruly children climbing on, poking, tugging, pulling at the sculpture (where were their parents?) It was impossible to get near some of the artworks, to view and appreciate them properly (*G* we're such artistes!)

My favourite artwork this year was Lola's Daisy chain. Nine-year-old, Lola, with the help of family and friends, created a chain of 35 000 daisies that stretches 1.6 km from Tamarama to Bondi. Her reason for the daisy chain, "I like daisy chains because you start with something little, and end up with something big." Just like her idea for Sculpture by the Sea. An idea that became a submission, that was accepted and turned into a great art work. Good on ya Lola! (photos)