divabot

The Invasion Day long weekend (really, just change the date and adopt something less gross for the national holiday) featured three events of note in my life. The first included a short-notice visit from Adam and Lara from Darwin; we went to Balloon Story, which had some amusing moments, but really was something for the kids. It was nevertheless marvellous to catch up, albeit for a shorter time than usual, and I am sure there will be a next time. Afterwards, I ventured out to the Thornbuy Bowls Club, where my friend of almost forty years, Simon S., was celebrating his birthday party. With a collection of over a score of migrant friends from Perth, the cycling and motorcycle community, and various nerdish characters of various stripes (which much crossover), Simon's plan to hold a relatively low-key gathering was stymied by his friendship circle, who came out in spades.

The following day was my own gathering of the same sort (and yes, it included several people from the day before), with the additional theme of South America and Latin America from the recent trip. With over 30 people visiting my apartment throughout the day, I provided a wide variety of dishes from the different countries I visited (plus a couple from Ecuador, which I did not), various favourite beverages, and music. All along with a slideshow of photos from the trip. I actually didn't end up making everything, but have endeavoured to do so in the following days because, as usual, I overcatered. Blessed with an incredible variety of often brilliant friends, the gathering was really quite lively, and I am rather overwhelmed by the support and enthusiasm that everyone contributed to the day. Photos will be forthcoming, but for now, "Lev's Solar Orbit, South America and Antarctica Voyage" included the following food, drinks, and music:

Los Platos
- Fainá (Uruguay): Chickpea flatbread with parmesan and mixed herbs
- Aji Amarillo Salsa (Peru): Yellow capsicum with milk, vinegar, lime juice, jalapeño, mustard, garlic
- Llapingachos (Ecuador): Potato cake, cheese and spring onion
- Salsa de maní (Ecuador): Peanuts, milk, onion, cumin, coriander, red chilli
- Torrejas De Espinaca (Peru): Fried tortillas with spinach, spring onion
- Ensalada Negra Inca (Peru): Apichu (golden sweet potato), avocado, black beans, quinoa, and chard (silverbeet)
- Salsa Criolla (Argentina): Capsicum with tomato, onion, garlic
- Pastel de choclo con carne (Chile): Maize with beef, tomato, onion, milk, basil, paprika
- Pastel de choclo sin carne (Chile): Maize with soy TVP, tomato, onion, milk, basil, paprika
- Ceviche (Peru): Ocean fish with red onions, tomato, cucumber, capsicum, lime, coriander, jalapeño
- Empanadas (Argentina): Pastry with gorgonzola cheese and puerro (leek)
- Tortillas fritas con Dulce de Leche (Uruguay): Tortillas, ice cream, milk, sugar, cream, chocolate

Las bebidas
- Café de Galeano (Uruguay): Coffee, dulce de leche, cream, amaretto
- Caipiroska (Uruguay): Vodka, lime, sugar
- Piscola Eléctrica (Chile): Brandy and Pepsi blue
- Pisco Sour (Peru): Brandy, lime juice, egg white, sugar, bitters
- Terremoto (Chile): Pineapple ice cream, red wine, pomegranate juice
- Tierra del Fuego (Argentina): Tequila, Campari, spiced vodka

La Musica
- Jorge Morel (Argentine classical guitar)
- Astor Piazzolla (Argentine founder of nuevo tango)
- Los Prisioneros (Chilean post-punk)
- Los Buenos Muchachos (Uruguayan alt-rock)
- Dengue Dengue Dengue (Peruvian electronic-industrial)
- Föllakzoid (Chilean electronica)
- Vangelis, Antarctica movie soundtrack

Three days ago, I completed another orbit around the sun. Nothing terribly remarkable about that, however, I do experience a wide range of joyful emotions of surprise, affirmation, and humbleness when close to four hundred people across all walks of life reach out to me in some way to send their best wishes. The actual day itself was spent, first and foremost, in the good company of Mel S., who, as tradition dictates, took me out to perhaps the only eating establishment in town that suits her dietary requirements. Then, with a delightful dash of synchronicity, I discovered that a friend, Jaimee, shares not only the heritage of The South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand, but also the same birthday. She had already organised an evening with friends, so I joined in and made it a dual gathering, with glamorous photo opportunities and some excellent conversations. I was particularly impressed and surprised by one youngster who shared an almost identical childhood and adolescence to mine, which is pretty unusual, to say the least - separated by decades and thousands of kilometres, there was a connection that only experience brings.

The celebrations are not complete, however. On Monday, for the second year, deflecting the wickedness that is Invasion Day, I'll be hosting a "linner" party. Unsurprisingly, this will be styled in a Latin American and Antarctic manner to follow up on the recent epic trip to those locations. Not much on the menu from the latter, of course (I don't fancy eating penguin, seal, whale), but the former does provide an enormous array of options, of which I am concentrating almost exclusively on interesting food and drinks from the locations I had the opportunity to visit. I should also mention, in this context, that I have been blessed in the days that I have returned to attend to other similar gatherings; Nitul D. recently finally hosted a housewarming gathering, which was full of some delightfully intelligent and educated individuals who were quite happy to discuss Incan civilisation, imperialism, and play chess. The second was Django's birthday party, which always attracts a likeable crowd from his wide range of interests (musicians and RPGers feature prominently). This weekend I will also be party to birthday drinks for Simon S at the Thornbury Bowls Club, which, as one of my oldest friends, also promises excellent company.

The marking of another year has meant in recent days that I've engaged in some planning of what I want to do this year and how it fits with my longer-term objectives in life. Recently, I mentioned that I have sufficient outstanding but interesting things to complete, so the bigger ticket items can be delayed for a while. Still, not being one to put things off too much, I have started a new unit in my PhD studies in global energy policy, which, whilst based at Euclid University, draws upon content from the University of London, where I started an economics degree (at LSE) several years ago. Further, I have plans to visit Guizhou, Sichuan, and Jiangsu provinces in China in two months' time, which also involves visits to a couple of "big science" installations, more to be revealed soon. Adding this to some more usual activities involving work, study, and social life is sufficient for the time being. But I do have something else quite remarkable on the back burner.