New is the Same Old

Time for Change

2008-09-14T17:43:00.001+08:00

hightealadies.blogspot.com

Harps are cool

2008-06-23T21:19:00.003+08:00

A couple of nights ago I accepted a last minute invite to watch/listen to WASO performance of "Romantic Rachmaninov".

The last time I went to WASO was so long ago it's faded into a distant memory of a school excursion when you get to eat soggy chips at lunchtime and ogle your crush on the bus.

This time though I paid more attention to the music. I'm a ballet lover at heart and love any classic music with sugar-plum-fairy or princess pirouetting connotations.

Lucky for me I got to hear Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty excerpts. In my mind there were men in tights and women in tutus.
That's the imaginative power of an orchestra.

Unfortunately I'm not familiar with the technicalities of music. I do appreciate the synchronousness of 20-odd violins, bows poised and ready to release music. And harps, harps are cool.

However I can't help but feel that classical music is oft-forgotten. You get a few blank looks when you tell people you're going to a classical concert. You know they're thinking - why? whyyy?

Because it's live, it's fun, it's soothing yet as satisfying as clashing two cymbals together.

A couple of things about the symphony orchestra crowd - they are about 80% retirees, mean age being about 65-70. I didn't see many children there, although it was a Friday night, which is a bit sad. The arts is suffering in WA and without children gaining an appreciation of classical music from a young age it's hard not to think about how it will survive.

Next on my list - the opera...

Ruski's Road Trip

2008-04-27T16:48:00.009+08:00

There are dogs that will fetch balls in the park, jump into the ocean for a swim and happily leap into the backseat of a car upon the mere mention of the word "car ride". Ruski isn't one of these dogs. He's stubborn. He's fearless. He's also spoilt and incredibly hyperactive anytime he steps out of the house.

Suprisingly though Ruski was very well behaved on a day trip down south. Driving down to Margaret River and back on Anzac Day was a pleasant journey for both dog owner and dog alike.

The last time I went "down south" I was only 12 months old. This seems a bit tragic considering I've travelled overseas but have never ventured far in my own home state. Better late than never, bright and somewhat early at 8.30am, we set off for a little big chow chow adventure.

Tree lined roads on the way to Margaret River. Passing through the countryside, we counted wineries, cow farms, deer farms, alpaca farms and cheese factories. Ruski prefers the trees though.

A chow's view of the trees. Heaven.

Stopping at Prevelly Beach, near Margaret River for some takeaway lunch and views of the ocean. Ruski whines his way through lunch and sniffs the salty air from the carpark. "He's a pretty thing," a man about to go to the beach with his kids comments. This goes straight to Ruski's head.

After the beach we stopped off at Cullen Winery for wine tasting (really just me tasting). I bought the sauvignon semillon blanc and the chenin blanc dessert wine. We ended up having coffee and cake, sitting back in the afternoon sun looking out over the vineyards. Bliss!

On the journey back we stopped in Busselton to run down the jetty. Ruski stayed in the car as we thought dogs weren't allowed. Just as well as the narrow jetty and his eagerness to run down it would have caused a few issues...

Ruski was so tired on the way back he finally succumbed to exhaustion and lay down on the backseat, snuggling next to me. He never actually fell asleep in car, though when we got home he flopped on his bed and snored loudly the rest of the night.

Next time we'll have to organise pet friendly accommodation. It's a dog life.

I want to dance with somebody

2008-04-05T14:04:00.007+08:00

I've always been a fan of ballet. As an eight year old I dreamt of being a ballerina. I came up with this exquisite poem in year 3.

When I grow up I want to be, dancing at His Majesty's.

I thought it was so clever, considering everyone else's a) did not rhyme and b) were astutely boring.

In my classical ballet class my favourite moment was just before the end of class, when my teacher would turn up a CD and let us "free dance" - choreograph our own spectacular solo performances. This really involved seven little girls running around the studio, leaping and turning and trying not to crash into each other.

I took "free dance" very, very seriously. I would watch myself in the mirror and throw in as many leaps as I could. Leaps were the bestest.

Alas, I never did make it as a professional ballerina. With no stage parents to send me to classes twice a week, I could only practice in my living room and wasn't able to sit examinations.

On my 21st birthday I went to a performance of the Nutcracker at the Lincoln Centre in New York City. No piss up 21st for me, just fulfilling my childhood dream in a different way.

The New York City Ballet now has its own You Tube channel where you can watch the company on tour in London. It's fascinating, candid and emotive and also scored with funky tracks from UK artists.

New York City Ballet - You Tube Channel

hello 2008, i'm a grown up

2008-01-01T21:07:00.000+09:00

I feel a bit sad for some reason and perhaps it's because I know I've entered the realm of adulthood. My childhood seems foreign now. I can't for the life of me remember what I liked as an 8-year-old - Polly Pocket, Saturday Disney, ballet but in what order? I'm trying to avoid Peter Pan syndrome.

Shifting into adult life means you have freedom but at what price? Going through the motions of the beginnings of a career. Holding onto friendships when you're not really sure what it is you have in common anymore. Picking through relationships. At what stage can you let go and not feel resentment or obligation?

This year I'm looking for that something more that you hope to find, that little bit extra which reminds you - this, this is what life is all about.

What Goes Around...

2007-10-05T16:57:00.000+08:00

Being young can be a bit of a curse in the workplace.

You're constantly trying to prove yourself because you don't have 20 years of experience and all you have a degree (and practically every other person has one of those).

There are your mentors and then there are the people that just want to catch you out.

But this isn't the Devil Wears Prada nor is it a quarter life crisis. Not yet anyway.

What was I doing one year ago today...? Vlogging! Oh and finishing my honours thesis...

I'm a twentysomething

2007-08-04T15:10:00.000+08:00

In between working and wanderlust occasionally I'll dip my feet into the dark undersides of my hometown on a Friday night. This is known as "painting the town red" in ye old English slang.

It takes about 20 steps into a bar to run into someone you know who is utterly drunk and has atrociously attractive friends.
It takes one accidental nudge for my drink to spill onto me whilst my friend and I throw each other "EW GROSS" looks at the girl in gold hotpants swallowing a man's tongue as his hands begin to descend...
It takes two drinks to become embroiled in a conversation full of complete and utter nonsense about pinatas with people you're unlikely to run into again. (But then again this is Perth).
It takes about 15 swirls of my straw to guess the occupations of said strangers.

But after someone slurs "you're hawwwwt" at you, it's perhaps better to call it a night while you are still indeed hot.

Yes, I'm a twentysomething. My apologies.

Sowing the seeds

2007-07-22T18:01:00.000+08:00

I’ve spent the last three months waking up at 5.45am, walking my dog at 6.15am, catching a bus at 7.30am and walking down St Georges Terrace at 8.10am. I worked a 7.5 hour day where I mainly answered phones and pretended to look busy when I had very little work given to me. After four years of uni and a heavy HECS debt, you start to wonder – is this all I studied for?

Tomorrow I’m starting a new role in a marketing position at a charity. I can’t say that I imagined things would turn out like this, but as I mentioned in an older blog post, this year has been rather topsy turvy.

On the plus side, I’ve always wanted to work at a not-for-profit that actually makes an important contribution to the betterment of society. It’s a reason for getting up in the morning and for achieving a sense of fulfilment. Jobs aren’t always about the money.

Anyway, it’s exciting! I feel somewhat old, I feel like I don’t have that much in common with friends who are still at uni anymore – even though I have 2 units to go on my marketing certificate.

Like a good friend said to me recently: “I feel like I have something more in-store for myself.”

More than a relationship, more than stalling time, more than the daily grind.

Also, my HPV story.

Paris...I kinda love you but I'm not sure...

2007-04-25T10:58:00.000+08:00

I have a thing for French films. I don’t claim to be a French film aficionado, nor do I speak French other than saying the odd “Merci bloody becoup”. Liking French movies doesn’t make me think I’m pretentious or arty any more than the next person. They just make me smile.

I recently watched Priceless and have just watched Paris Je T’iame. The latter of which is really 18 short films put together. I really liked the vampire tale starring Elijah Wood and Gepard…the dictatorish baby…

It was the last film that perhaps was the most poignant though. An American lady in Paris, a simple woman who works as a mail deliverer and has two dogs and decides to learn French and visit Paris on her own. She’s independent and alone, but rather than feeling sorry that she has no one to share Paris with, she reaches a point of epiphany. Her eyes well up with tears, she feels joy and sadness. She realises that far from home, she has fallen in love with Paris and Paris has fallen in love with her.

I didn’t spend enough time in Paris to ‘fall in love’ with it, but I think strange things happen in Paris…

You find out that French waitresses give you attitude when you don’t speak French and “parlay vou anglais” them until you give them a healthy tip.
You learn that to ask for the bill, it’s “le account”. Say money and you get weird looks.
You discover that Chinese food, dim sum etc, is presented in cafes in a similar fashion as how meat is displayed at the butcher…
You accept that it’s perfectly natural to go shopping with your French bulldog in Zara and how to avoid the dog poop on the sidewalks (that was in Nice, but you get that).
You really want to dress like the French women who look impeccable at all hours of the day and don’t wear puffy white H&M coats in winter.
You know that French people think it’s weird when they ask you for a light and you don’t have one.
You were secretly creeped out in the Lourve especially when you visited the bathroom and saw a massive hole in the wall and thought a skeletal hand was going to come out of it.
You were also freaked out by the French military marching around the Eiffel Tower.
You will now eat a baguette or croissant and realise they’re poor imitations.

Oh Paris, I miss you and the metro and wish we could’ve become better acquainted. Maybe next time.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman Review

2007-04-10T16:18:00.000+08:00

I've just finished reading Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami my favourite literary author. It's a collection of short stories, some of them are heartachingly bittersweet. I find it easy to relate to Murakami's characters, they all seem like lost souls, none of them are perfect. Instead they're usually lonely, confused, bored, sad and all of them have extraordinary tales to tell.

Three stories stuck out for me out of the 24, note that these contain spoilers!

A folklore for my generation: a history of late stage capitalism
Young love is broken by youth itself. Girl and boy are together but never consummate their relationship as girl wants to stay a virgin until she is married. Boy remains in love with her, girl remains indifferent. She loves him but views their relationship as if she outside of it and refuses to marry him. Instead she promises to sleep with him when she is married...to someone else.

Firefly
A college student befriends the former girlfriend of a high school friend who committed suicide. Their relationship is never "official" but their loneliness and lack of other friends appears to drive them together. They have conversations but not about their dead friend, in the end she commits herself to a sanatorium.

Hanalei Bay
A mother loses her son in a shark attack in Hawaii. Every year she returns to the town "Hanalei Bay" around the anniversary of his death. She was never maternal and let her son do whatever he pleased. She ends up befriending two young Japanese surfers and looking after them in Hawaii...the ghost of her son appears to the surfers but not to her...

Murakami's writing feels so flawless sometimes, he claims that he's been able to write one a week (!) and is naturally compelled to write them. After reading his work I always feel...speculative as if all the odd things that have happened in my life have unique consequences. They also make me really want to visit Japan.

Belief

2007-04-03T09:29:00.000+08:00

This year thus far has been rather tumultuous. I started off the year overseas with the vague plan of coming home, finding a job and figuring out my next "move". In betweeen I somehow found myself making a last minute decision to enrol in a postgrad marketing course (which has actually been rather enlightening) and in an uncertain long distance relationship. I found out the hard way that long distance things are inevitably difficult and, in 90 per cent of circumstances and in my own personal situation, are not meant to work out. Hence, I'll be staying home for Easter.

In good news and signs that perhaps things are finally going my way, I've got a job lined up and am feeling relatively calm. Of course there is still anxiety/fear/apprehension about being in a full-time job that does in no way guarantee five years of stability. But I don't really want that. I still want to travel, to move out of here, to work overseas, to give back to society...

When I talk to people who have finished uni and then gone on to work, there is still that lingering sense of "Did I choose correctly?" or "Is this really what I want to do?". I haven't even begun my job yet, and I still wonder about both of those questions. When I first started uni, I would've been shocked if I thought I would still have doubts when I graduated. The reality is that you can never be sure about anything, you just have to take things as they come.

I went to the West Coast Blues and Roots Festival on the weekend and saw my favourite musician John Mayer in concert for the second time. Although he played a rather short set and I spent a lot of the time angling my head so that I could see in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, it was amazing. The vibe was great, Mayer seemed relaxed and happy to be performing in Australia, I didn't see Jessica Simpson but that's no loss. I guess it can all be summed up in the last line of Gravity:

"Just keep me where the light is."

My Generation...The World According to Y Review

2007-03-14T14:52:00.000+09:00

So I've recently finished reading the above book, lent to me by my good friend Kassie.

My generation, known as Gen Y, for people born on or after 1982, often gets a good beating in the media. We're apathetic, we're not politically engaged, we are materialistic and the list goes on. I really liked this book because it debunks a number of these stereotypes and also looks closely at what's really going on in Gen Y minds.

For instance, it expands on a research theme I came across during my honours year - that whilst young people may not be engaged in political parties and other traditional forms of civic activities they are volunteering, members of community groups and charities, which they feel are more adequate means of expressing their beliefs and values.

Another interesting theme is that Gen Yers prefer friendships to relationships. People in serious relationships still value their friendships and are unlikely to let them wilt away (perhaps like our parents' generations). I found this quote particularly interesting:

"For many Y women, even mature sexual relationships can't quite match the intimacy of unqualified friendships that stretch from childhood into adolescence and adulthood. This is a Sex and the City generation and young women values their female friendships above all others." Huntley, p. 31

That resonated well with me but then I found the next quote even more interesting.

"This ultimate trust and intimacy between young women supports a double standard. A typical Y girl has higher moral expectations of her female friends than she does of the man in her life."

This is because women tend to excuse the bad behaviour of men, because they're more liable to screwing up. When it comes to women we expect them to know correct behaviour but we're more forgiving of men. I think this is probably true, perhaps it's unfair that we demand perfection from our friends but maybe "sexual love", in the sense of a coupled relationship, allows a greater degree of forgiveness. Since female-female relationships are more intimate, the betrayal cuts deep.

Personally, I think this is very reasonably, the truth. Not that I've experienced being cheated on and had to forgive a lover or anything remotely like that. But I think it's the case in the relationships I have with my female friends, there's a silent degree of expectation. And if you break that, in any way and not necessarily limited to cheating per se, your relationship may never recover.

The book also talks about Yers as consumers, how we don't profess to love branded culture but how we're stuck within it. Our power as consumers seems to elevate above our powers as voters or workers. We still have brand loyalty even if we don't want to admit it. I think this leads to consumerist guilt, we want that nice top/jeans/mobile phone but we feel bad because we know we're subconsciously ruled by status rather than asking ourselves if we really need product x or where in fact did product x come from? The sad fact is, we've been brought up around commercials and corporatism and whilst we are fighting it, we're not sure who is really winning.

Anyway I'd recommend this book to Gen Yers and those from other generations, it's a great read and broadens your mind to us "young people of tomorrow".

T

The Art of Interviewing

2007-03-05T15:50:00.000+09:00

According to Seek, a job interview should be two way. Not only should you be answering questions in a way that makes you attractive to your employer, you should also be asking questions that determine if your career objectives can be met by the employer.

Last week I did three job interviews and I have another lined up this week. It's rather emotionally draining. You have to have the perfect outfit, your voice has to sound clear and convincing, your expressions both bodily and facial has to exude with confidence. Most of what you say is backed up by your non verbal cues.

It's pretty vicious out there with the JDFs, CVs, salary packaging, + super + bonus (does that mean additional or on top of?) and the recruitment agencies that push you to the bottom of the list.

Jaded, much? Listening to my high school pals talk about their current careers has made me feel more restless and eager to start work. On the up side, I do have my graduation to look forward to...(read: get tipsy at)

Anyway I am in dire need of funds as I'm going to Melbourne for Easter (rendevous!) and am subconsciously planning my next overseas trip.

T

Living low in the highbrow

2007-02-25T21:55:00.000+09:00

I went to a writers festival over the weekend. I always get inspired listening to other writers, hearing about their creative process, their advice, their failures, their characters...It's also surprising how much of creativity and writing is a mystery. For a lot of the questions, the answers the writers were giving were "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" but they ended up having a really personal way of writing. It was quite humbling to think that there is no perfect guide to writing.

The other thing was that my workmate and I ended up having political/life discussions over the weekend. Our main concern was that in our generation we seem to be caught between a world of pop culture and the political/social world. The lowbrow VS highbrow. The mainstream VS the intellectual. It's so strange to think that we have to choose sides, when really pop culture, the Paris Hilton/Britney, branded, capitalist, marketability is unavoidable. Consumerism is what we've been brought up with. It's difficult to fight it. It doesn't mean that we can't both be informed and be consumers, like gossip columns and like world news. As a young person, we feel like we're being pigeonholed. Choose your category and stick to it.

T

P.S. Here is a few of my favourite travel photos.

The Full House terrace houses in San Francisco.

Central Park in December.

Nice, pebbled beaches and laid back French charm.

Venice is a tad smelly but, makes up for it with its romance and the bottled bellini.

Mozart lived here in Vienna.

Mt Pilatus and its mountain goats who appear unaffected by the altitude.

In Lucern the temperature was so cold that I had two hot chocolates in one day.

Book burning memorial in Berlin.

The Vlata River in Prague.

Rigamarole

2007-02-20T20:57:00.000+09:00

Rigamarole: a set of confused and meaningless statements

Sometimes you have one of those amazing weekends when you know that you'll look back on it in say five, ten years time you'll think...wow what are the odds, how did that happen, I was so happy in that moment.

I've learned more to enjoy those moments and try not to pinch myself when I'm in them.

What happens on contiki...

2007-02-01T11:27:00.000+09:00

I've been home for about 10 days now and I feel like a part of me has slipped back into old Tash ways. I think you're always a different person on holiday, more open to new things and experiences. When you're home you realise that everything around you has stayed the same and you gradually morph back into your old self.

Eg. I caught so many trains overseas, countless times. I come back home and my anti-train sentiment creeps back in and I won't even catch it by myself. Why is that?

Anyway, the holiday was, as expected, phenomenal, exciting, incredibly fun. All positive adjectives may be applied to describe it. It was single handedly the best thing I have done in my life thus far. I love how I can say outrageous things like that being only 21.

Highlights of the USA:

San Francisco - walking down Lombard Street (crookest street in the world), seeing 'sidewalk' garage sales, unknowingly tramping through the tough Tenderloin district, seeing the Full House townhouses, being asked for directions and feeling like a native...

New York - seeing the Nutcracker on my birthday which lived up to the hype, unwittingly eavesdropping on a hilarious first date conversation where the female New Yorker talked about herself nonstop, walking through Greenwich Village and finding a yummy Italian patisserie, the beautiful Christmas markets especially all lit up at night and watching ice skaters, learning that takeaway coffee cups have "sleeves" so you don't burn your hands and listening to drummers on the subway...I heart NY!

Also spent a little while in London, I liked the city but the vibe feels pretty much like Melbourne/Sydney with everything being incredibly expensive. The hotels we stayed in had tiny rooms and even tinier bathrooms. I did enjoy going to the Tate Modern museum though.

Contiki, contiki, contiki. Where to start with the story of Contiki? Well let's just say that some things on contiki are only inevitable such as: being drunk, partying hard, getting Contiki cough and being sick as a dog, early mornings, trying to sleep on the bus unsuccessfully, making new friends, hook ups and gossip and commissioned shops.

That being said, we had an awesome tour manager with an incredible love of history and insider knowledge (eg. take the stairs down to the Lourve and avoid the front entry queue), there were only a few people out of the 50 on tour that were annoying, everyone else was really nice, we went to places that weren't on the itinerary like the Mauthaussen concentration camp a harrowing but necessary experience, the hotels were pretty decent and the Europeans were really nice. After awhile Contiki is pretty much like a high school camp, you have your inside jokes, a theme song and gossip that travels like a bushfire...but the experience is once in a lifetime.

Favourite places on tour...

1. Venice
2. Paris
3. Nice

But every place is unique in its own way. Barcelona for example was dirty and kind of reeked but the food was amazing and the nightlife was crazy fun, getting free shots and free pours...Amsterdam had its seedy side (sex and drugs) but the shopping was great and visiting Anne Frank's house was moving.

I'd definitely go back to Italy and the French Riveria, and probably Paris too. I'd like to learn another language though before travelling again.

What do you learn about yourself from travelling?

You learn to trust your instincts when it comes to directions and to always ask when in doubt, not to leave your valuables lying around even in your suitcase...you learn that you're more independent and mature than you realise and shock horror you're "grown up", that it is unwise to drink a huge cocktail when you've had two glasses of champagne, mulled wine and a shot, and finally you learn that it's okay to take a chance with someone, even if you don't know where it will go.

T

Will post pics soon!

Bought my suitcase today!

2006-11-04T17:19:00.000+08:00

Things to see and do:

San Francisco...

Go to Macy's

Visit Alcatraz

Walk down the world's steepest street

Pretend to be bohemian

NYC...

Watch the NYC Ballet perform the Nutcracker

Go on a Sex and the City tour and drink cosmopolitans

Have breakfast at Tiffanys

Go ice skating at rockefeller

London...

The usual royal haunts

Notting Hill

Have high tea and stick my pinky in the air

Act like one of the other half a million Aussies living in London

Paris...

Pretend to speak French

Eat pastries and drink cafe au lait

Avoid slipping in Dior and stepping in dog poop

Contiki...

Now wouldn't you like to know what I've got planned for contiki...

And...

Can't wait to use my travel journal!
Been shaking my Eiffel tower snowdome everyday!
Watching too many episodes of SATC!
!
!
!

Honours...it's not over till the fat lady sings

2006-10-31T12:05:00.000+08:00

I haven't updated my blog in a long time due to uni and work and life. But I'm happy to say that I handed in my thesis last friday (and I can understand why so many people told me not to do honours) and I finished my communications project last night. My video blog can be viewed here:

I'm feeling slightly underwhelmed. By this I mean that I've been at uni for the past four years and I don't feel sad, overtly happy or relieved. Instead I feel a bit confused. All my life I've been a student. Once that secure safety mat is ripped from under my feet, where is there for me to go next? I don't have a job lined up for next year and I don't exactly know if I've made the right choices.

Don't get me wrong I love what I've studied, I've worked hard, I've never asked for an extension, never failed a unit and spent countless hours in the library. I've had fun along the way. However, I still feel like something is missing.

I'm taking a bit of a sabbatical and going away to US/Europe in December and January. See the world, living life, that kind of thing. I'm looking for my new life direction. I'm still writing and am hoping that new opportunities are lying around the next corner.

After all, I haven't even turned 21 yet...

T

Roos, Whales and Books.

2006-06-23T20:20:00.000+08:00

A strange social phenomena exists in Australia known as…the sport that people suddenly love. AFL and cricket are mainstayers but every so often other sports have a surge in popularity. The sport that I am referring to is soccer and while Australia has never been a country known for its soccer skills suddenly it appears that we’ve made the finals in the World Cup.
Amazing, considering we have such a hybrid team of players and such an oscillating support base. But the past is behind us and even if we get booted out in the next game we can always say, remember back in 2006 when the Socceroos made the finals and there were a lot of drunk Aussies running around Germany? What a year, what a year.

Tim Cahill is hawt tho.

I may be writing a piece on Japan, the IWC and the blubbericious whales. I’ve noticed a couple of things about the IWC. Sometimes it’s a bit like the UN Security Council, in other words the countries involved don’t like getting pushed around and often have their “international reputation” to uphold. Other times it’s a little more corrupt, a bit like paying your way into an exclusive club. Like all good international organizations, everyone gets a vote and there are plenty of moratoriums. Only the whales don’t get to vote of course.

Notables

- Chai is the new latte. I’ve discovered that Twinings have really good chai teabags. I think I’ve drunk about ten Chais in ten days. The Jarrah Chai is a bit too sweet though. I think I need to stop having powdered tea drinks. They’re unnatural for a reason.
- May be getting Gucci bag for 21st. Love my Mum. Maybe could get matching purse…
- Was reading in the living room today when Ruski barked at me from outside. He had spotted me through the window. “Hey you!” Tried new Ruski experiment where he stays out in the front garden off his leash. Didn’t try to run away. Might be able to convert Ruski into a non-leash wearing dog-walking dog. Like a real dog.
- Discovered new marketing trick. Special discounts and vouchers appear/start on a Friday. Have 20% all books in Dymocks this weekend and got a 30% Borders voucher from today’s paper. Will finally get Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. Also the top in Witchery I bought yday on sale was further reduced today as 20% on all sale items began. Damn skippy.
- Finished reading Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason. Was vg.

T

Sets of Four

2006-06-05T15:04:00.000+08:00

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Gloria Jeans
2. Temt/VG
3. (ex)Dream
4. Stocktaking (actually I've had more than four jobs)

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Russian Dolls
2. Before Sunrise/After Sunset
3. Bride and Prejudice
4. My Best Friend's Wedding

Four places I have lived:
1. Perth
2. Perth
3. Perth
4. Perth (and hopefully somewhere else, somewhere soon)

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Sex and the City
2. The O.C.
3. Gilmore Girls
4. LOST

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Singapore
2. Eastern States (Syd/Melb/Canberra/Perisher Blue)
3. Thailand
4. Malaysia
(and once again hopefully somewhere else at the end of the year)

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Creme brulee
2. Japanese...tempura
3. Sticky Date Pudding
4. Seafood (sans oysters)

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. France - Paris or maybe St Tropez or Nice
2. London
3. Jindabyne (when it snows)
4. Sydney

Four things I have done this weekend:
1. Read The Harmony Silk Room by Tash Aw
2. Got my old job back
3. Watched Failure to Launch
4. Had dim sum

I've taken the weekend off, but I should start studying tomorrow for my exam (singular).
Sometimes it's good to do nothing. Just for a little while. The calm before the storm.

ACT NOW...A couple of days in melbournia

2006-05-15T19:46:00.001+08:00

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the launch of ACT NOW a project that I’ve been involved in for the past 3-4 months. Earlier this year I was accepted into the Act Now Incubator which was basically a youth advisory board and involved a trip to Sydney (scroll down to read that one).

Anyway I applied for funding from various places in the hope of being able to go to Melbourne, meet Catherine Freeman and catch up with some of ppl I met in Sydney.
I managed to score funding from my local council and also from my local MP. Which I found rather surprising although it made me feel glad that my persistence paid off.

So Melbourne. This was my third time to Melbourne and there are a couple of things that I like about the place.

Firstly, I get a kick out of the trams (that’s tr-am not tr-yam). In Perth all we have is this sad little tram that goes to tourist attractions and is more like a minibus. The bad thing about the trams is that you could quite easily get run down by a car if you don’t look before you jump off one.

Secondly, I think Melbourne people have a unique sense of fashion. Here people that are fashionable usually look the same. In Melbourne everyone wears boots (alas I left my new Sachi boots at home) with skirts or jeans and pull off haphazard combinations of clothing with ease. I’d like to think though that people would think I’m fashionable enough to be a Melbournian although that remains to be seen.

Thirdly, there’s a better variety of shops. But any city has a better variety of shops than Perth. I should say VINTAGE shops. I went into one called Retrostar which was floor to ceiling with vintage clothes. It was crazy. Kinda smelt weird too. If I was game I would’ve tried on cowboy boots for the hell of it.

What I don’t like about Melbournia is that it was however extremely cold which I’m not very used to. I wore my mum’s big white Esprit jacket for most of the time, although the double zip kept pissing me off. And also for some reason when I’m in Melbourne I feel like I’m landlocked. Of course if you’re in St Kilda or nearabouts you wouldn’t feel like that but I’m used to being in a CBD and seeing a major waterway, like the Swan or a harbour not the little Yarra.

The launch…was a lot of fun although it felt like it was over before it had begun. It involved mingling, champagne, posing for a lot of pictures and meeting lots of people. It was great explaining what Act Now is and how it works and inspiring other young people.
Another thing was that before the launch I got to partake in an intimate Q & A session with Olympian Catherine Freeman. She talked about her private inspiration like her stepfather and late sister who suffered from cerebal palsy and how she’s passionate about people. I liked that she was frank and real, she wasn’t like: I’ve-made-it-and-you-can-too motivational speaker. She talked more earnestly about how you really have to love something to be passionate enough to take action and how it’s all about your mind, body, heart and spirit. I liked how she brought up the idea of spirit perhaps without specific religious connotations as a powerful source of inspiration.
At the end I got to give her a gift on behalf of everyone and I got a kiss from her! The other thing about Catherine is that she was a WICKED sense of fashion. Her boots! Gah!

It was fun though just seeing my Act Now friends, getting lost on the tr-yams with the boys, going to Brunswick and Smith Streets, catching up with Bali, buying these gold earrings and polka dot hairclips that I am in love with and just being away from uni for awhile.

I was sick for about 3 days when I got home though and then only today did I finish my literature review which is 4000 words long.

The only bad thing is that after going interstate or going on any trip it takes me awhile to readjust mentally. Or maybe its because with Act Now stuff so much happens in a relative short period of time that for days afterwards I have all these random moments and conversations that keep reappearing in my mind. Or perhaps I'm just weird.

T

The End of Retail?

2006-05-01T12:31:00.000+08:00

I quit my job on the weekend since the store I worked at closed down but I might actually miss it. Out of all the part-time jobs I’ve had, and yes I’ve had a lot, it’s probably been the best. I got a good discount on clothes, I became good friends with my work mates and I got to work in the city. I enjoyed working in the city, it’s more fun than at a shopping centre. There’s a lot more interesting characters around, less customers asking if they can have a discount on sale items and a lot more places to visit on a lunch break. It was actually fun to work on a Friday night, seeing people roam the malls and hanging out at the nearby pubs. Things I won’t miss? Working unpaid overtime, cleaning, doing the rack and being asked the same questions by customers twenty times a shift.

Murphy’s Law also states that if a customer wants something off a mannequin it’s highly unlikely that they’ll actually purchase it. I don’t think I’ll ever buy anything that’s been on a mannequin. Anyway this job may be the last retail job I’ll have had before getting a full-time job. Maybe. It depends on how desperate for money I get, if it takes me forever to get a full-time job and if I really want to go on that contiki tour.

But some highlights from the job:

Getting some super nice customers who genuinely thank you for helping them. I spent five minutes on the phone once with a customer who asked me to search for a matching jacket and pants suit and she actually asked my name at the end to thank me.

Sunday afternoons, double-pay and little work to be done.

The super cute boys who worked next door.

Eating the $6 salad combo that my mum would buy for me on Fridays. It’s lame I know but when will I ever get to eat those gourmet salads again?

2IC Jen playing her anti-RnB music, John Butler, Sarah Blasko and a CD called She Will Have Her Way Songs of Tim and Neil Finn, covers sung by various female artists which I am now addicted to.

Getting called O.C. girl every time my mobile went off and getting teased about my phone sock. Actually everyone teases me about my phone sock. What’s with that?

Dressing mannequins. Apparently I have a knack for it.

Getting visits by my friends at work. That always shortens the work day.

Having a random joke stuck in my head all day, sometimes that’s the only thing that keeps you going. “Oi! I think I woke my cat up…” LOL, you only wish you knew what that one meant.

Next job – editing! Ooooh.

T

the Vortex

2006-04-24T19:58:00.000+08:00

There are some people in the world who have the ability to suck you into their life like a vortex. Perhaps this could be labelled the Vortex Syndrome. You don’t necessarily have to have a love/hate relationship with this person as their relationship to you may be an accidental friendship, an on-off love, blood-tie or vague association. However for some reason, maybe it’s their charisma, their charm, their personality-type - you are strangely drawn by them. You could go by without talking to them for weeks or seeing them for months. And then as soon as you’re back within the inner circle things slowly spiral.

It’s like you become a different person entirely with the Vortex Syndrome. It brings out the best and worst in people. It can make you feel like the cow in the movie Twister, you get sucked in, whirl around for awhile and then get spat out just as quickly (or if not faster) than you were drawn.

And every time you say to yourself, I won’t be sucked into the vortex, I’m smarter, I remember how it panned out the last time.

Yet how easily the mind forgets, the usual barriers you place upon yourself are lowered. So you wonder, what happened to yourself, that you can so easily lose a sense of perspective in the vortex?

On the outside, things have never been clearer.

My Inspiring/Awesome/Educational/Humourous Weekend

2006-03-28T22:10:00.000+08:00

There are moments in life where you look back and think, I really felt like I had an impact, made a contribution, did something that matters. My weekend is probably one of those times in my (albeit short) lifetime. Afterwards, your head spins from all the conversations you had, all the new experiences replaying in your mind so that when you come home, back to reality, you end up feeling rather distorted, like you’re in limbo. This might just be because I’m back in little ole Perth which is worlds away from Sydney but then again who knows?

What did I actually do on my weekend in Sydney?

This needs some explaining…I got involved in a project run by Inspire to help create a website called Act Now to help young people act on issues that affect them. Which can range from the huge (refugees, illegal whaling, deforestation, the hole in the ozone layer, racism) to the smaller but no less important (recycling, complaining about a late bus service) But it’s more than just that. It’s about inspiring, motivating, giving youth tools to help them act, seeing how easy it is to act, learning from other people’s actions, giving support, seeing that one person can make a difference. It’s also about patience and knowing that getting involved and passionate in an issue doesn’t equate to “microwave world peace”. (I borrowed that phrase.)

Some of the things I did included:
- writing a letter in an hour to the Shadow Minister for Immigration about mandatory detention
- listening to how Inspire developed, how the website Reach Out started and also learning more about how non-profit organizations worked
- listened to Greens Senator Kerry Nettle about politics, actions, getting your voice across
- made a calico bag with fabric paint with a quote from Gandhi – “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”
- made a collage about images that I was passionate about
- got involved in teamwork solving problems like how have clear objectives about acting on an issue, how to organise a forum on mandatory detention, how to be prepared and convey your ideas and action plan in a formal meeting with a politician/mayor/reporter/community leader
- understanding how an issue affects the wide community (pyramid of decision makers, to influential people, to opinion leaders, to the people)
- did wacky group exercises with the threat of having to eat dried crabs if we sucked…
- contributed to marketing ideas, slogans/messages and how to act on the smaller scale promo ideas
- helped construct the toolkit on what young people need in order to act (eg. Info about local councils, government, volunteering, fundraising, staging a protest)
- watched a short doco about two interns that helped passengers complain about a late bus service
- committed myself to creating content for the site

That’s all that I remember at the moment. I stayed in a hostel, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it could’ve been until one of my roomies suggested that it was possible that they don’t change the bed-sheets…Although I do think that having three showers and three toilets per bathroom per floor is a little rough.

One of the major things that made my weekend so enjoyable was the great people that I met. By the end of the weekend we had an assortment of “in jokes” and fun times to look back on.

For example:
- the fisting and the shocker, I feel as though my innocence has been corrupted
- the shop known as Australian Special – direct to the public, anyone for sheep’s placenta?
- Too many stories that involved TMI!
- Asking the American interns questions that were quite obviously Australian eg. “Do you ever visit the Amish?” “Have you ever been to Disneyworld?”
- Getting cramps and inadvertently playing footsies in a cushion room at a Lebanese restaurant
- The various hunger complaints and people fading away right before lunch time
- Eating “Italian” food and going to an “Irish” pub where drink prices go up after 10.30pm but no one smokes inside.
- Walking down to the Rocks on Sat night, witnessing beefed up pimp cars and cat fights and dressed up and dressed down Sydney-siders, in the rain only to find that the bar we were going to was at full capacity and then trekking back to another bar where more drinking and dancing was to be had (but perhaps also more sleazy guys)
- Complaining about the squeaky beds in the hostel
- And many other things that probably don’t belong on the Internet

And I got to see my bro on Sunday and we spent some time together, shopping in the city and also going to Bondi Junction before I got shipped off the airport where I bought Krispy Kreme doughnuts (after listening to the Victorian ppl going on about KK) and ate McDonalds.

I feel really wired and I’ve had one and a half doughnuts this morning...but I still feel INSPIRED!

I’m so carrying my calico bag to uni today...

Tash

*PICS TO COME*

Thumbsucker Review

2006-03-09T11:00:00.000+08:00

Thumbsucker is one of those movies where you really feel empathy for the lead character. Justin Cobb (played by Lou Taylor Pucci) is a 17 year old with a thumb sucking problem, in order to rid himself of his addiction he actually substitutes one addiction for another from Ritalin to pot. But his only real problem is that Cobb is just so painfully adolescent. There are moments where you can’t blame him for needing a release for all the emotional baggage that he has. Whether its being humiliated in front of his love interest Rebecca in debating class or hooking up with her only to find out that she only wanted to ‘experiment’ with a guy that wouldn’t hurt her. Ouch.

Keanu Reeves plays his hippie orthodontist, Perry, who dishes out advice for Cobb. Best line:
Cobb: Aren’t you just an orthodontist?
Perry: I’d like to think of myself as much more than that.

The movie is so subtle in its symbolism and the idiosyncracies of its characters. For example Keanu transforms from hippie ortho with pictures of wolves in his examination room to clean cut, suit-wearing, ortho with a white walled exam room who smokes after looking at Cobb’s teeth.

The relationship between Cobb and his parents are strained at best, especially with his father. The one image which stands out is when Cobb goes to talk to his father and walks down the hall in his house to knock on the closed door of his parents’ bedroom. It’s almost as if he’s knocking on the door of the principal’s office. The distance between him and his father is palpable.

The other image which stands out has to do with Benjamin Bratt’s reforming celebrity drug addict character - Matt Shram. It’s too gruesome to repeat. But Audrey, Cobb's mother, who is a nurse saves Shram and at the same time allows Cobb to see his mother in a whole new light.

I really liked Thumbsucker since it was such a raw movie. It was hard to distinguish Vince D'Oforio from Law and Order away from his character Michael Cobb though, he doesn’t really strike me as a father figure. But I really liked Tilda Swinton’s performance as a mother and nurse. She kind of looks like Lou Taylor Pucci. The setting is also simplistic, a family living in a house with bad 70s décor. No glamour there. It's just so bleedingly normal.

The thing with Thumbsucker is that people’s problems are always bubbling away at the surface and sometimes they explode. But everyone needs an outlet to vent or release the emotional surge below. And it’s perfectly normal. Even if it is thumbsucking.

And no one ever really "gets it".

Last quote:

Dr. Perry Lyman: I stopped trying to be anything. I accepted myself and all of my human disorder. You might wanna do the same.

T

21sts and my best dressed Oscar list...

2006-03-07T10:49:00.001+08:00

I’ve been to a lot of 21st parties in the past four to five weeks and they all seem to follow a certain pattern. Some are the standard speech-before-cake soirees, some turn into high school reunions and others just seem like another excuse to get drunk or ‘trolleyed’ – a new term which I have recently acquired.

I’m beginning to think that there should be some sort of a handbook or a guide to 21st parties, both for the birthday girl/guy and guests. The first rule should be no matter how trolleyed you are (or how trolleyed you pretend to be) never bombard other people, especially people you haven’t seen since high school, with much too intimate details about your personal life.

For example, going up to a group of people who innocently ask why you’ve got two drinks in your hand is NOT an invitation to hear all about your love life. Person A, who will remain unnamed, recently did exactly that when talking to my friends and I.

“This other drink is for my girlfriend, we’ve been together two weeks. TWO WEEKS! It’s fantastic you know it’s so much easier than my last relationship which lasted a year and a half. Boy she was a bitch. A HUGE ONE! I mean I know it was ages since we broke up but man compared to my last relationship, B is just so amazing.” ‘A’ sips on some milky cocktail concoction.

Cue is-this-guy-drunk looks to friends. Also cue attempts not to laugh.

The second rule is that no matter how bad the party is, or how bad you think it is, you can’t leave until the cake is cut and speeches are made. This equates to my rule of one hour minimum, two hour maximum. Of course you can stay longer depending on how much your feet hurt, how much fun your having, how good the company is.

The third rule is that it’s polite to at least pretend to recognise people you ought to know. You can save the man he/she’s put on a lot of/lost a lot of weight for the car ride home. This also means that if person ‘A’ says to you, “You went to high school with us didn’t you?” and asks for your name you have to provide your real name and not a fake one.

Rule no. four, if your parents have to make a speech it has to be embarrassing. This one is a bit of a given but just in case they need prompting.

Fifth rule, whatever drink you can’t finish can be passed onto the birthday guy/gal. They are meant to be ‘trolleyed’ at the end of the night. Even if you can hardly tell.

Finally the last rule is to not take it too seriously, if you have low expectations you can never be disappointed. This goes for the birthdayer and the guests. The 21st is just another party after all. No matter how built on a pedestal it appears to be and how you’re meant to be an adult entering the real world with a key to your future, it’s just another year older. Just because you're physically older it doesn't always mean that you're an adult mentally or emotionally. I'm stuck in a body of a 15-year-old and I feel like I'm 30. But that's just me.

I’ll keep all of this in mind when I turn 21 in approximately eight months time. And no one stays longer at my ‘do’ than two hours. I should mention that I have one more 21st to go and I'm looking forward to it. Why not?

Lastly to prove that I’m not all that cynical here is a picture of the best dressed ‘couple’ at the Oscars. Mr Reeves and Ms Bullock, my my my. They’re not really a couple they just presented together but let the rumours fly.

Doesn’t Keanu clean up well?

Also Jessica Alba looked great, I would love to own a dress like that.

But why did she change into a suit for the Vanity Fair party? The mind boggles.

Oh and Heath didn't win. But you already knew that.

T

Not quite Manolos...but still hot nonetheless

2006-02-20T20:04:00.000+08:00

I bought shoes from Sportsgirl for only $39.95. It's something I like to call 20 per cent off already reduced items. It's a rare occurence that happens when the sun, the moon and Mars all line up.

Full shot.

Side profile.

Yes those are my legs. It was hard to get this shot but it's all in the camera angle.

The shoes are NOT gold. They are bronze. Bronze like the bronze period. I really like them, there was another pair that were a dark blue with a silver tinge but I settled on these as they were cheaper and a little different. If the other ones get reduced I'll probably get those too.

Oh I love shoes.

How did we get here? No, really?

2006-02-15T22:20:00.000+08:00

One of my old high school friends recently asked me, “Did you ever think we would have all ended up here?”

After high school everyone begins different journeys. Catch-ups turn into gossip sessions over who has gotten married, engaged, had a child. Talk inevitably turns to what you’re studying, how long you have left, what you’re going to do with the rest of your life. Because obviously it’s been four years since high school and if you don’t know now when will you ever know?

I try not to look back to high school too much. I’m not one for dwelling on the past. But it’s interesting when you think how some people can do complete 360 degree turns with their lives and their personalities and how others are basically the same, just older, with some highlights in their hair and a better (or worse) clothing style. Everyone seems more independent, slightly more together.

But going back to the question of whether I thought that I and my old friends would have ended up where we are now. The answer is probably no. When I was 12 I thought that by the time I was 20 I’d have two books published, pursuing a law degree and have a really good boyfriend. Instead I’ve settled for some published articles, an arts degree (much better in my opinion) and waiting for this really good boyfriend (which I might have if I wasn’t so damn picky).

The only thing that really stands out from when I was younger till now is that I wanted to write and I’m still writing.

As for everyone else, I’m still surprised by what people are doing… getting married, learning Swedish massage, studying in Tasmania or whatever. I guess I had inklings of what I thought people would study, who they would date but life always throws in surprises. People you thought would study medicine end up dropping out, others move and you don’t hear from them again.

And so life progresses, paths cross intermittently and friendships drift without the day to day of high school that once anchored us down.

T

The Ethics of Editing

2006-02-08T10:54:00.000+08:00

The Ethics of Editing

I have never really subedited before. Once in Year Three I was known as the ‘preferred editor’. This meant that my teacher recommended that I edit the cutesy stories that people in my class would write. Who knew my good grammar at age seven would finally pay off?

Anyway I am subediting for the student paper which is an all new experience. I get to read things before they go to print. I’ve also realised how I’m not used to reading pieces that are blatantly opinionated after a summer of ‘objective’ articles and conformity. It is a student paper after all so many pieces are lefty, less so are righty, and mine are the ones that are situated some where in the middle.

Perhaps I am being to hard on people when I split up sentences into smaller ones and nitpick on the correct use of apostrophes. I don’t suggest that my grammar is perfect nor do I suggest that I don’t make mistakes.

It is interesting comparing the styles of the pieces. One of the pieces was really colloquial and felt like the writer was giving a casual speech on the topic. Another was impressively researched to the point where I felt like I had inadequately sourced mine. The last piece used four or five adjectives per sentence (which made me cringe) but had some great thoughts.

In the realm of the student newspaper, writing is respected and style is appreciated. I have learnt to respect the style of the pieces I sub and leave them as is. I wouldn’t want someone ripping what I’ve written to shreds. Elsewhere however the same rules do not apply. So you have to interpret what the style should be before embarking on your own.

Where does that fine line lie in editing too much and taking out too much?

When I was doing my internship my entire feature article was swapped around, paragraphs were shifted up or down, a couple of sentences inserted or restructured. It was far from what I’d originally written. The lady doing the editing simply said that feature articles have their own natural shape, you just have to get a feel for it.

Maybe that tend to only apply for mainstream newspapers where paragraphs are short and readily re-assembled? Rather than when articles carefully lay out a biased argument?

All I know is that I’m learning as I go, and that seems to be the key. I will be learning shorthand soon, and will learn how to decipher the scribbles and write them myself. A whole new written language…

In other random events…
- Sunrise featured a Chow Chow on the show as a part of promoting Chinese New Year festivities in Melbourne. The weatherman hugged the Chow, it was gorgeous! Ruski was jealous.
- (OC SPOILER) Johnny fell off the cliff. I knew it! I could see it coming miles away. I felt bad for the character I mean his girlfriend cheats on him, Ryan saves him in a punch up, he gets hit by a car which screws up his surfing career, he attempts to rob a store for money for the operation but Ryan saves him again, he almost gets involved with Marissa’s younger sis Caitlin who is a ball-buster and then he tells Marissa he loves her (very cute, I laughed when he blurted it out and Marissa was just ‘oh shizzamonizza’) and then gets a letter saying she doesn’t love him back but how bout being my best friend. And then, and then! He gets pissed on tequila, climbs up a rock cliff, yells at Marissa for not loving him and how Ryan has to save him again…and BOOM slips, falls, crashes onto the beach. Poor guy. This all leads to the conclusion that Marissa causes the downfall of any guy who loves her who isn’t Ryan. The stats are all here:
EG. Oliver – exposed as a fake, and something else that I don’t remember.
Luke – has a gay father, sleeps with Julie Cooper, gets in a car accident (sound familiar?) and moves to Portland.
The Gardener Dude – okay nothing bad happened to him but he did lose his job.
Trey – gets shot in the back.
- who knew a cartoon could cause so much controversy? A sign of the tensions of the world I suppose. A cultural studies intellectual may see this as evidence of society moving back to image-based communication, where one image causes a chain reaction worldwide…fast to transmit…even faster to protest.
- I have three 21sts coming up in the space of four weeks. Outfits and presents need to be planned and/or bought!
- Fall at Your Feet

I’m really close tonight/
I feel like I’m moving inside of her/

T

THE OHHHHHH-I-SEEEEEEEE (OC) Spoilers to be Spoilt!

2006-01-22T22:02:00.000+08:00

There’s something about Ryan Donowho aka Johnny Harper manboy in love with Marissa Cooper. It may be his “perfect bone structure” or the fact that his side fringe is slightly better than mine. Jury is still out on that one...

Yes I’m sad Marissa. Isn’t my puppy dog eyes look freakin’ OBVIOUS!

It took me almost nine episodes to realise that you’re never going to love me. But that’s okay coz mini-cooper thinks I’m haaaawwwwwwwwwt.

Okay I know you’re only 14 and in real life I’m 24. But I’m feeling a connection…

And we’re just going to have to wait till the next bittorrent episode to see how that connection pans out. I do know that I have watched too much O.C. especially when I dreamt I was in an episode the other night.

I keep having these repeat migraine onslaughts which I get from work. It makes me feel nauseated and I lose my appetite/feel like a brick is slamming against my skull. Slight exaggeration there but sleeping it off seems to have a good effect. Somehow three hour shifts aren’t really worth it if all I get is a migraine and my pay slip is four weeks late and may never appear.

It’s back to the office tomorrow. Otherwise known as the other O.C. - Oestrogen Central.

T

Ooh to be an unpaid labourer!

2006-01-18T11:54:00.000+08:00

I have spent the last two days interning which is an art I am slowly perfecting. Say yes to everything and anything they ask you to do. Try not to be annoying. Act enthusiastic even when they send you out to some random photo shoot with children and rabbits and you have to hold one of those anti-glare white screens and its 31 degrees outside.

Everything has to be put into perspective really because everything is an “opportunity”. Everything is a “foot in the door” of a career in journalism.

Actually its more of an excuse for them to get you do things that normally some other poor person would be doing. I had low expectations when I started at this mag which was probably a good thing. This way I can get excited when I get an article or at least something publishable to write. So far I haven’t written anything. Just phoned around, “sub-edited” and wrote a synopsis.

It would probably be different at a bigger magazine of course. They would have more staff, (read more oestrogen pumping around the office) and perhaps more telesales girls wearing miniskirts and boobtubes. Maybe they would have clothes and accessories too because so far I haven’t seen any.

I miss having cabcharges.

Just a thought.

I can't believe the Premier resigned...I'm glad he was brave enough to step down it takes a lot of courage to do that. But now I'm not sure about the other would-be-next-Premier contenders...I don't think that they can replace the untiring optimism of Dr Gallop. The Liberal vultures are lurking...

T

Cute Ruski Pic #1

2006-01-12T21:51:00.000+08:00

Ruski received a letter in the mail today. It was actually addressed to Ruski, which is his new vet centre's attempt to be cute. His old vet clinic closed down while the Doc decided to do further study into equine breeding, as you do. Ruski's letter was a reminder about a six month check up but Ruski's only ever had 12 month check ups along with his yearly vaccination. I think the letter, with its magnet on the back and the way it was written from a cat's point of view was really just trying to suck me for more money.

Honestly, Ruski doesn't even have Medicare.

I'm starting work experience next week at a women's fashion magazine. There's a poodle which wanders around the office and I was told to basically come down Monday morning and have a "mess around". I'm not sure if this is a good sign. Hopefully I'll learn something. Even if I don't (doubtful) at least I'll be out of the house and attempting to be productive.

On the bright side the lady whom I met enjoyed looking through my portfolio (basically everything I had published last year) and chuckling at lines I don't even remember writing.

That's the thing about words, you never remember them once they've left your fingerlips.

Honey and the Moon - Listening, Watching, Reading

2006-01-10T20:54:00.000+08:00

LISTENING: My new favourite song is Honey and the Moon by Joseph Arthur. It’s one of the songs from the OC soundtrack mix 1 CD. The only problem with having a favourite song is that you can listen to it over and over and not get sick of it. But then you might not have listened to it enough to even recall the lyrics. Right now all I can remember is something like: Right now everything is falling down/ and right now all I want to do is/ take you to the shore

The real lyrics go: But right now
Everything you want is wrong,
And right now
All your dreams are waking up,
And right now
I wish that I could follow you
To the shores
Of freedom
Where no one lives

WATCHING: I watched Russian Dolls yesterday and it was a pretty good movie. It had the touch of Euro-weird-comedy in it which I really found amusing. I liked the view the movie had on life and relationships especially the last line where the main character (while typing out his memoirs on an iBook - does this sound familiar) compares his girlfriends to babushkas. You just have to keep on opening the dolls, embarking on new relationships and not know if the current ‘doll’ is going to be the final doll or rather The One. Its all part of the journey I suppose.
My favourite parts of the film were:
- when Xavier and his lesbian friend pretend to be engaged so that he can introduce a ‘fiance’ to his grandfather, meanwhile she starts ranting about the economy and how important it is to know how the markets are doing.
- the massive Kookai store. I knew Kookai was a French chain but actually seen a huge Kookai store in Paris made me start laughing. Then Xavier hooks up with the Kookai chick after buying a dress for his ex girlfriend
- the part when a girl Xavier used to be in love with is running down the street buck naked and he goes running after her naked as well. Its too random.

The actor who plays Xavier is kind of cute. He has the whole I-have-a-hot-French-accent thing going for him and he’s dark and handsome. Even though in some parts of the movie he engages in prick behaviour.

I hunted down the prequel to this movie, the Spanish Apartment and am fighting the urge to watch it straight away...

READING: I am currently reading Behind the Moon by Hsu-Ming Teo. It explores the relationship between three misfit-type characters growing up in multicultural Australia and how their families coincide. I love how the author hits the Singlish right on the head, I love the character Annabelle who has an obsession about keeping toilets clean, its hilarious! But the characters all have a darker side to them, and they're repressed and lonely. (In case one's thinking this is a comedic novel). I also want to read her first novel but will need to go to the library for that one.

T

Work and no play

2006-01-08T16:31:00.000+08:00

“My rapid pellet expansioner is killing me.” Seth Cohen

I love that line from the Christmahkahbarmitzmakah (I don’t know how that’s spelt) O.C. episode. I laugh out loud even though its kind of sad that I’m relating to Seth because we both shared the same orthodontic treatment when we were twelve. Oy.

I have worked in the sauna known as work for the past four days. After the coldest December on record in a hundred or so years summer decided to kick in. I love summer, I like the heat, I like falling asleep to air-conditioning even though its probably bad for my eczema-afflicted skin. But being stuck all day in a shop without air conditioning for eleven bucks an hour is not amusing.

Not only that but I was meant to be going part-time at the clothing store that I work at next week. I thought part-time meant that you get a minimum amount of hours. Unfortunately I can’t recall this being on the sheet that I signed. I have ONE SHIFT next week. On a Sunday so yes I get double time. But another girl whom I’ve never met is working at the store next week and has hours that used to look like mine. I’m not desperate for the money, it’s the theoretical side of the issue that’s bugging me. If I have only one shift the next week I will have to complain.

Why does part-time work over summer have to be so complicated?

At the moment I am feeling restless. I feel like most of my friends are off doing their own summer thing and meanwhile I am not quite sure what my summer thing is. I am looking for more work experience but haven’t heard back from my first inquiry. I have watched too many episodes of Sex and the City. My mind needs to be challenged.

I wrapped my right foot in plastic last night. My doctor said that it would help the cortisone cream he prescribed for my eczema to soak into the skin. It worked pretty well but I think I will let my foot breathe for now.

T

Welcome to New is the Same Old

2006-01-05T11:59:00.000+08:00

Welcome to the Same Old.

After having two other blogs I decided it was time to move ship again and have found myself a new home. I’d like to try to be more consistent in my blogging and try to avoid too many of the personal entries which seemingly ramble on about nothing. (Note this is not a news years resolution) But then again I always start new blogs with that intention and contradict myself.

Hence my new title – New is the Same Old. Really we kid ourselves when we think everything is different in our lives. While some things may be new, new as in novity which means newness; innovation according to Phronistery.info (which has a great inventory of rare words perfect for pretending one has a large vocabulary), other things may be simply hiding in new packages.

Like a new blog.

Living in the hope that perhaps some newness is original I have bought an iBook. OK actually I just bought the iBook because I like the look of it and I want in on the Mac crowd. Although if I get angry at my Mac I do not intend on throwing it on the floor like Marissa Cooper trying to write her college application.

I have discovered the old in the new in WIDGETS!

Little programs which are cute, user-friendly and…addictive like BLOBBIT.
My new time-waster! I haven’t managed past 12900 yet but I intend on rescuing more little blobs and saving the world from alien warfare.

One blob at a time.

T