30 is the new black

30-something property virgin Gillian Nalletamby is desperately trying to get off the real estate circuit with little success. Here is her tale of property she has loved and lost and just admired from afar.

I don’t know what’s harder to find in this town — a man or a property. I’ve just realised my dating life has a lot of parallels with the Sydney real estate market.

Property experts have been saying for a while that there is going to be a property bubble in Australia but I think my relationship bubble burst quite a while ago and I’m currently in negative equity.

My commitment phobia extends into the property market. I probably should have jumped into it a while ago but unlike men, it’s not like the good ones (apparently) are taken, it’s just now they are out of my financial reach. Yes, I know what they say, if you liked it, you should put an offer on it.

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Treat your job as you would a new relationship.

Starting a new job is like meeting your boyfriend’s parents for the first time. And if you’re like a lot of us and married to your job, it’s important to make a lasting impression. Here are tips to make your union a happily ever after.

So you have landed your dream job or perhaps your ‘job for the moment’, very similar to ‘Mr Right for the moment’ if you have taken former Employment Minister Mark Arbib’s helpful advice and tried not to be too picky.

In your first week, dress in a conservative manner to make your colleagues fall in love with you at first sight. Think of the outfit you wore when you first met the parents. Just a hint of cleavage, minimal makeup, no short skirts and leave the hooker heels at home. I’ve got two words for you: crotch shot.

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Celebrate 100 years of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2011.  The event began in 1911 with 15,000 women marching through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

Today, we still battle for equal pay and equal rights but this day is about celebrating a woman’s right to choose and that doesn’t only mean striving to be the CEO of a company but also the choice of being a single mother, staying at home with a child or not having children at all.

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There was uproar when the news broke that black magazine Essence appointed Ellianna Placas, a white fashion editor (incidentally from Australia). But is the problem more than just skin deep?

The brand mission of Essence magazine states that “Essence inspires black women of all shades and shapes to lead bold, fulfilling lives. We encourage their passions and dreams and celebrate their community. As a trusted friend, we reflect their best selves and motivate them to live without limits.”

Given Australia’s poor record to date and lack of visibility of black women in magazines and popular culture, I’ll admit that my first reaction to this wasn’t exactly one of pure elation.

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New York based Australian model Jessica Hart who joins Jennifer Hawkins for the latest Myer campaign busted the myth that models don’t work out and said that there were no short cuts to modelling.

It’s a welcome relief from the lies we have been fed for years by models who say they can eat whatever they want, never exercise and attribute their stick thin body to simply good genes and a fast metabolism.

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Can women and men ever be friends? This is an old-age question and everyone has a different view on it. I agree with Billy Crystal’s character in  the movie “When Harry Met Sally,” who famously said, “Men and women can’t be friends … the sex [or attraction] part always gets in the way.”

Past experience has shown me that a man can only be friends with a woman if there is no physical attraction but the kicker is that a man will usually only seek out a friendship with a woman he is attracted to. I think women are much better at trying to put their feelings aside but when unrequited feelings gets in the way of a blossoming friendship, admittedly it isn’t always the guy who is struggling with those feelings.

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When the saying ‘I am woman, hear me roar’ was coined, I don’t think women being called cougars and depicted as ‘preying’ on younger men was exactly what they had in mind.

A woman dating a man ten or years younger than herself is no difference to a man dating a younger woman but once again, women are reduced to and defined by their sexuality.

But is it really women who are furthering the cougar movement as the media and popular culture would like to suggest or are aggressive young cubs pursuing older women eager for some Mrs Robinson action?

I would like to  put an argument forward that it is the latter rather than the former.

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