Who wants an update?

Seems I’ve caught this place after exactly a long lazy month. Funny, that. None too pleased that it’s taken me this long, but I suppose late is usually better than never so will just go with that!

I hope that everyone had a lovely Easter! Mine, as it usually is, was spent with family and we had a wonderful weekend. Easter is generally around my favourite time of the year so am happy to say this year was no different. The fam and I topped up Easter Weekend with dinner at Hog’s Breath Café (one of my favourite restaurants, despite that rather blegh sounding name) where it turned out my friend, Ally, was waitressing her last night and thus planning on getting very drunk at shift’s end. A few of us have wanted her to slow down the work for ages, so was very glad to find that out. She already has a full time job in a law firm in the city and her time at Hog’s was just flattening her out. Granted, rent is a bitch, but she was barely home because of work and at home, all she did was sleep because she was exhausted. Time for a rest, she seems to have realised, while the rest of us breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, what’s been happening? Round up:

* Katherine’s birthday dinner was loverly. We Yum Cha’d it and later, ran into some old friends as well. Am STILL waiting on pictures from the others. That night, Kim stayed over at my place because Shane had just begun renovating their house and she needed to be out of there for a couple weeks. It was funny though, because my mom took one look at her and wanted to know if she and Shane had split up or had a fight or something… I was choking down the laughter while trying to tell her that he was just renovating! She stayed the rest of the time with her family and the work was finished last Monday. Good thing, too. She was missing him badly while she was away and they were barely getting to see one another the whole two weeks. 

* Ange has now joined the ‘23’club. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to her Luna Park gig that Friday because I was at a weekend retreat at Bargo, so she and I chilled it up at her place on her actual birthday (which was the Thursday). Sounds like LP was good though, Ange now branded forever as the Chick who threw up on the Rotor. I must say, though, I HATE that ride. Hate. I was so sure I was going to die when I went on it… eepers.

* The retreat was great, especially being during Lent, and I came home pretty nicely refreshed even after Katherine and I got completely lost on the way home and ended up driving all the way out to the airport. It ended nicely though because we had a major ‘kindness of strangers’ moment trying to find our way home. In fact, I’m currently working on the piece to submit to RD for their ‘Kindness of Strangers’ section :P Sure, it was just really nice people helping us find a route home, but it was so out of the blue and nowhere and kindness is kindness as strangers are strangers and if they read it, we’ll at least have gotten a chance to say thank you :D

* Got to watch the Bell Shakespeare company’s Macbeth at the Opera House with Mel and Ryan. It was AMAZING. The acting, the set, the lighting… Lady Macbeth was really good, the star, without a doubt. Macbeth was good too, but at times, he really needed to tone down his performance. 

* Thanks to Mench, Aissy, Marlina and Sanna, I’ve finally gotten to see the new Pancakes on the Rocks restaurant near Parra. Nice little place, though I still find it so odd that it’s still called Pancakes on the Rocks when it’s nowhere near The Rocks. I dunno, just seems silly to me.

* Friday, went to see Becoming Jane with Nicole and actually really enjoyed it (even though I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it). I actually liked Anne Hathaway in it… and loved James McAvoy. I liked the story and I knew it was largely fictional so I didn’t have any need to be pedantic about accuracy. Rather depressing at times (both Nicole and I kept looking at one another at points and asking if we reckoned it was time to ditch our pens and quit writing considering the hardships involved :P), but overall, it was a good watch.

Meanwhile, coming up, seems another stay at the Westin’s in order for the weekend. Mench’s friend is having a birthday do in the city so most likely there will be clubbing, which I’ve actually wanted to do for a while. Works for me. A good part of me, however, is looking forward to Sunday morning. Martin Place, early morning on the weekend, is so calm and peaceful especially in contrast to the bustling place it is during the week, with everyone rushing to work. It kind of weirds me out to think I used to be one of those people… no regrets though. I just really like getting to see Martin Place like that. Still. Quiet. No people. 

Anzac Day weekend approaches, along with Mel’s birthday so a bunch of us are heading to her place to give her new Wii a go. Considering the effort needed to play that thing, I’m guessing we’re all going to look like right asses by the end of the day! And hurrah, finally seeing the Manga Exhibit at the Art Gallery the Saturday after! I’ve been wanting to go to that for ages. 

At the moment, I'm hoping that all this can come through as the health has been rather up and down over the last couple weeks. Overall, I should be ok, but have been fighting the rather flarey skin and the flu lately. 

Bookswise, I've just finished Written on Glass by Judith Lennox. Took me a month, but LOVED it. The story and the characters are so well written. I'm now on One True Thing by Anna Quindlen, which from all I've heard, is very good. 

Musicwise, maybe it's just the after effect of going to my first ever concert alongside the nostalgia associated with them, but I'm very into Westlife at the moment... or at least, revisiting some of the songs I remember from the end of high school and around firstyear. So very funny, considering how reluctant I was to go in the first place. I've snagged a couple albums and DVDs and I'm really liking them. Also liking that they don't hide from the fact that they are more performers than songwriters. Sure, they're cheesy and all, but damned if their hiding that fact. 

Along with that, have fallen in love with Imogen Heap. 

At work, I'm doing something different for a while. I'm up at Policy Management again, doing copyright work, again. Variety is nice, but admittedly, the work is rather deadening. Thankfully, I'm doing more research than anything else and I've been able to come across some pretty interesting info (and not just about copyright :P) and that's because I'm looking at a lot of journals and snooping around the different faculty sites. The School of Physics site has some really cool stuff on it and it feeds the physics geek in me, so hurrah! :D

Moving away from the work side of things, I've been producing a lot more outside lately and that is fabulous. I've been stretching a bit, creatively... drawing more, playing more... I've been punching out a really basic tune on the piano... the chords, I'm having issues with, but I do like how it sounds so far. It's my third composition, ever, and considering I've been playing for 13 years, I hope I can do a few more at least. For now, however, I'll see how this one pans out. I've also been exercising the voice a lot more and hurrah! My range is wider than it's ever been. I'm hitting notes I never thought I could sing with more ease... my breathing, however, requires a good amount of improvement. 

At the moment, I'm working on a couple of stories, one in particular that I'm enjoying watching evolve as I write it. No, I don't have any plans to send this out... it's more a personal achievement at the moment, considering how dead my writing has been for so long. I'm simply enjoying the process of creating these characters, learning more about them and teasing out their stories bit by bit and I'm loving the fact that I can do it. It's been a rather recent development, this acceptance of what I want to do and its ability to live alongside my attempting to be financially independent (which most others do not see), and I couldn't be happier about that.

So I guess the point of this extremely long entry is that life is good :)

Cake is nice

After finding a quiz on burn out on Gill's LJ, I was looking at the other quizzes and I found this one, feeling the sweet tooth hitting me.

You Are a Lemon Cake

Strong, sexy, and overpowering.

You know who you are, and you're not afraid to show the world your fabulous self.

You're confident, charming, and extremely popular.

I can't say those would have been my first thoughts on a lemon cake but i then thought of the zest... which made me think of semolina lemon cake and that's just... *drool* it is pretty powerful stuff so I get it! Jan, that list of yours wasn't helping out either! I know a conspiracy when I see one... :P

I'm currently munching on a Hobnob so, you win.

Meanwhile, I'm only a few hours shy of finishing Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination and already I'm imagining conspiracies against me. Crazy, rather overly fantastic read, but definitely good fun! I do like Helen Fielding's writing style.

Hmmm, seems a bit of catch up is in order since I last posted... what was there? Oh yes, the Westlife concert was surprisingly fun. I honestly didn't expect to have as good a time as I did (I was also brought back to my Shane Filan crushing days... sometimes I hate being such a girly girl)and going with Mel and Ryan made it the best. I wish one of us had brought a camera though. Pics would have been good! I love those two to death. Afterwards, got a lift home with Menchie and the gals and ended up having ice cream, pancakes and chips (well, the first two for them, the last for me :P) in Parra a little after midnight, before having to drive all the way out to near Liverpool to get Marlina home and thus ensuring that I wasn't going to make it into work tomorrow. Thank goodness for a flexible to the point of ridiculous work timetable!

Then later that week, had dinner with the labbies and then immediately after, I headed back to UNSW (so yeah, I left work, only to come back... very, very sad) for the start of session party at the Roundhouse with Jen and Ri . The decision had been rather up and down until during the dinner when I asked Ri for the directions to her new place in Bondi, she told me to just go to uni and I realised, oh, so we're going after all. I was sure it would reek of firstyears (yes, I am arrogant) and really didn't expect much... but second pleasant surprise of the week was that we had a blast! Ended up there till 3am coz we found the best group of randoms to talk to in the end, amongst all the terrible music, the drunken babble and scary dancing! To Andre, Chris, Chris, Chris, Anthony, Tom, Igor, Slav, Kira, Egg, Swiss guy, new Seven Hills guy, Poker King guy, Prague guy and everyone who bummed Ri's smokes for making the night memorable! Damn it, we should've gotten a pic, but no one thought to bring a camera to this thing.

Next day, Jen and I got to chill at Ri's new place in Bondi... it's lovely and there is a perpetual breeze coming in from the beach and at night, you can sometimes hear the waves... honestly, I'm envious.

Then last week, after some rather interesting days at work, it was to the Blacktown Show with Ange, Kyle and the girls and ok, notes: Kyle is manic in any car-related ride, the Flashdance ride should be outlawed for making me so dopey for 20 minutes after riding it (I stopped drinking for a reason!), Kayla could not be cuter on a jumping castle, Shane is terrible at the pop-up and scare you to death greeting and Tracey is a legend :D

Oh, and I am now officially an Ugly Betty and a Grey's Anatomy fan. Hurrah for Seven's Sunday lineup ;)

As to this week? One of my friends is going to Uruguay to teach English and his farewell is on Friday... I couldn't be prouder. Go Francis! And Katherine's birthday shindig is on Saturday and it's the gals so it'll be good :D Here's to hoping I get over this danged cold before all that!

Revisiting lists...

Patrick Park's Life is a Song is playing in my head.

I made these mid-last year and wanted to see how I'd done with them :)

'DVD hunt currently consists of:

Running On Empty (the River Phoenix one)
Little Nikita
Macross (Do You Remember Love)
Robotech (all eps)
Friends: The One With All Ten Seasons (I already know where this one is, and hopefully will get it soon :D) - got stuffed on this one. Waited too long, however, Ri is helping me out so all is not lost!
Veronica Mars
SeaQuest DSV (season 1, anyway. Yay!)
Entourage
Charles In Charge'

'To add to the potential spending spree, I'm dying to read:

Wicked
March (only because I'm crazily interested in the idea that a fanfic won a Pulitzer)
The Outsiders
A Light In August - hard core read, this one. To me, anyway. I preferred As I Lay Dying.
On The Road...'

To which I now would like to add: My Sister's Keeper (Picoult), Lunar Park (Easton Ellis), and more Daphne Du Maurier. I have recently become obsessed after re-reading Rebecca and then following that up with Flight of the Falcon andMy Cousin Rachel. I could not put any of them down for long at all. What amazing books. 

I've currently suspended myself from reading the rest of Windfall by Penny Vincenzi (I got the book for 30c at a fete last September, along with 12 others [almost all of which I've finished, hurrah! so can hopefully get started on the batch I got at the recent sale in Olympic Park], so I thought I'd give her a try. Bit of a tough act, following Du Maurier, but it is interesting. I'm suspending it in favour of The Artist's Way at the moment, because that will have to go back to Ri soon, along with Breakfast at Tiffany's (which I loved! Oh yeah, I want to add In Cold Blood to the above list). 

I've gone a bit book nuts lately, allowing the tide of DVD fever to subside a little (after getting the Anne Series, The Office S1 and the SQ DVDs, anything else I buy at the moment would just feel like extra :) I still have to wait for the OC S4 DVDs to come out here). Thanks to that fete (13 books for $4!) and then the sale at Olympic Park just after Christmas (10 books for $30, but considering $30 is something like 1 1/2 books...) and my recent discoveries of King books in bargain bins (Pet Semetary, Dolores Claiborne and Misery for $15!!)... I've not been short on reading material - though time to read, that's been another story! I've yet to finish the first batch (although Rebecca and Breakfast at Tiffany'swere some happy intrusions there) and it seems it will be a while before I get to those King books, but ah well! It ain't bad having them to look forward to.

In the outer realms, am going to the Westlife concert tomorrow night that was originally planned for September, last year. Ri keeps paying me out for it and I don't blame her. Last year, Jimmy Eat World were here... and I was going to go to Westlife. This time around, both Evanescence and BoyzIIMen have been out here... and I'm going to Westlife :P I'm going more for the other people going if that makes sense and because I finally said to myself, what the hell, you've never been to a concert before so why not? Little did I know I could have made my first concert a band I really love. 'Tis cool. Westlife are not bad so the show oughta be cool and Anthony Callea is opening and I do want to hear that voice live!

Then Wednesday, maybe go-karting with Mench and the others, if not then dinner after. Whoa, just realised how many birthdays are coming up. Eepers. Maybe I'll skip go-karting.

I know I'm over-emotional at the moment...

...but whoa, I got to watch the Series Finale for The OC and damn it all, I actually cried. I really didn't expect that (but again, will blame current leaning towards emotional excess due to a definitely turbulent afternoon/evening), but it was just really, really well done. I gave up on the show after S2, then was one of the apparent few who heard that Marissa was no longer in the picture so thought, yes! Will check it out again and got re-hooked with S4. It's kinda gone up and down, but I loved how it ended. 

Another show down (but no way did I expect myself to be as sad about this show as I was about Friends... then again, when DC ended I got sad... crap, I'm an ever bigger sap than I realised). Frankly, I don't watch much TV anymore - Buffy, Friends and DC ended... I lost interest in GG and Charmed... and out of the more recent shows, none of the ones I want to keep up with are shown here in Australia. Veronica Mars (it is on here, but very, very behind) and The Office are pretty much it at the moment. With OC off, I'm back to online watching (though, for the most part, I was doing that with OC too being too impatient to wait a whole 3 days). 

Today, went on a bit of a baking spree... well, sort of. More accurately, our bananas were severely overripe so I had to use them and I thought, heck, might as well whip up some shortbread as well (no banana in it, just coz). I was going to make my macaroni salad but in this heat, the baking was enough. When Ange came over because she was sweet enough to snag me some pineapple for the salad when she went to the shops and she left the house with an armful of cake and cookies. 

Meanwhile, the turbulence seems to have taken a rest for now and hopefully does so for a little while. But there are some rather daunting challenges approaching in the week ahead, mostly to do with family and work. Will see how things go!

Hehehe, it feels funny to be coming back to this place for random rants like this :P

I like having days off. :D

LJ Repost: Craaaaaaaaazy!

Well, I've not updated this thing in, let me count it... almost five months! Terrible! That said then, may as well make this post worth it (even though the likelihood is this will show up on Friends pages and people will think... huh? Who is this? No blame for sure! I will cite the usual excuse and move on! Yes, life could always get crazier but admittedly what we have tends to be a bit on the nutso side! I only hope that it's being kind to everyone!

Meanwhile, as to the rest of it, on the more mundane bits and pieces, things are just plodding along really - work, writing, etc... I will say 2007 has already proven an odd and interesting year so I am honestly wondering what else is to come. Considering the curve balls that have made their way into the mix, I honestly have no idea anymore... just waiting and seeing! 

A resolve I have been working on lately, is more pics! I am not a camera person so I've rarely any pics of friends and family, which I really do want to change so I've been trying to gather more and trying to take more (will hopefully soon be investing in a camera!) and I feel like sharing so, here we go :D 

This is my darling friend, Menchie - without a doubt, one of the sweetest people in the world who, though yes, tick-off-able, is never able to hold bad blood toward anyone for long. At all.



It's an old pic, but I love it and recently uncovered it. 3 of the best people you'll ever know - Katherine, Mel and Kim. I've known Kim for 13 years, Katherine for 12 and Mel for 10... wow... love them all.



Dearest Clarkey on her big day :D She's a record holder (unless I can get a pic of Nicole on here...) I've known her since we were 5, so we're going 20 years here! It's amazing to watch someone you've known since Kindergarten, get married :D



This is with our friend Tess, another school friend whom I've known forever (another not so unlucky 13 years) who, much like myself, disappears for eons at a time, but when she comes back up, it's like she was never gone :D



Going from school friends to my main uni crew :D Reyna, Mench, Jennifer and myself. Reyna is one of the best people to hang out with and Jennifer is likely one of the most understanding people I've ever met in my life. Sadly, we are however, missing Ri and Carlos. 



The rest of the 'OC' (or Oporto Crew) at Menchie's bday last year. Cindy, moi, Aissy (Mench's sis), Dolly (from Darwin, hehe), Sam and Mae are all very, very cool chicas. Aissy, especially. Nothing is more fun than watching her and Mench battle it out over whatever in the car. :P



This was at Mench's surprise birthday do, a week before the one in the pics above. She had no idea what was happening (although admittedly, neither did a lot of us up till an hour or so earlier!). At this point, she was in the 'drunk-with-happiness' stage which is really infectious :D



At the Westin, where we stayed when Dolly came down from Darwin for a visit last year. We all experienced the same shock when we walked into the room and found there was a window into the bathroom! That is, till we found the blind. Still, we had to document so... :P



That night, we had dinner at Centrepoint (to crown a day of cruising through Sydney Harbour of which, unfortunately, I don't have pics. Mench and Dolly have them all!) and Ri came up too. All beautiful people through and through. I've covered Mench, Dolly is a real sweetheart and Ri is quite possibly, the best friend anyone could ever have. Love her to death. I couldn't do it myself, but the others got adventurous that night - I can only remember the kangaroo meat, though I'm sure there were some other weird dishes on that list!



An old and terribly scanned pic, but I wanted one of Ange's wedding up. She and Kyle recently celebrated their two year anniversary and now have two damned adorable little girls :D I also have to mention Mellicia, the girl with fabulously curly hair next to me (who doesn't seem to be looking at the right camera). Pure personality, that one, fantastic! 



The labbies. Well, sort of. I'm an 'honorary labbie' and Arlin, to Mel's right is her old friend from Singapore. Pann Pann and Ryan on my right, along with Mel were all up in BioSciences. Mel and PP are still there, but sadly, Ryan took off to USyd to do Medicine :( But no fear, we still all come up with whatever excuses whenever we can to head out to dinner or to the city! Birthdays... Fridays... 



And this was at Pontoon just before New Years. That bar really sucks, but good times abound despite it! We've got Apple on the end, there, Jen's friend... and lucky Carlos in the middle! Looking very out of it, mind you, as are the rest of us...there are some oddities about this pic, almost unnoticed to me except for Ri's caption. Poor Carlos... looks much worse than it is!

From this point, I really want to better maintain this place so hopefully will be able to do that! Missed more about it than I realised... though I admit, people have admittedly gotten me hooked on some other things *cough*myspace*cough*friendster*cough*... but at the same time, my net time has decreased significantly, in comparison to before. I used to be online all the time, browsing pages, forums, FF posting like a nutter, etc... oh well, I still do that, but not nearly as much. Although, I'm guessing that's a good thing! 

Meanwhile, here's to hoping this isn't the last entry for too long! Hopefully the next update doesn't come around later than mid-year or else that end of year round up is going to look so very sad.

Cheers! :D

Just a vent...

I LOATHE the creators of Winfixer, Winantivirus, Drivecleaner and every other similar program that has decided to, all at once, descend upon my PC and slow it down with incessant popups and false NAV alerts... these people need lives, I swear. And there goes another one! I've spent the last two weeks trying to rid my system of the damn PUPs and it's driving me mad! I mean besides the popups, things keep stalling and, oh, yeah all my System Restore points were wiped out so I couldn't use that to get rid of Winfixer(the original culprit). I'm currently getting advice from these dudes at a forum called Geeks to Go, though it's a little difficult to get the time to get online long enough to follow all the necessary steps. i do appreciate the help though.

Bah humbug. 

Ok, breathing normally now. 

Will now attempt to do the rest of the clean up. But before that, mini-update: 

- did not get that job but received a job offer in my current department, which I had to decline because of study. 
- Study, meanwhile, is going along although with some rather large hiccups due to incompetence on the part of the institution which decided to take over my college. It concerns their work experience guidelines which no one seems to know anything about, meaning my search for places to sign up to next year is halted. Although my tutor has expressed dislike towards WE and I wrote back and am now waiting on his reasons why. I'm a little confused, clearly, about certain course expectations... work expectations and thus how to pace myself for the next year, regarding work and a hopeful career... does make things interesting though so, cool, at least I can't say life's boring. 
- That said, I've been going out with my friends heaps and it's been both fantastic and a little distracting (in terms of study). Dopey as it makes me sound, having a life takes adjusting to :P
- Another one of my best friends got married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is currently on her honeymoon in Italy. :D
- I don't normally have much to say in this arena, but guys-wise - an old constant mind occupier has decided to resurface; I've additionally met someone with whom I have a freakish amount in common (although unfortunately I don't think that the attraction is mutual.. damn) and that I really like spending time with (though, sadly, it's not as often as I'd like..everyone's too damn busy nowadays); and am finding myself the object of particular intrigue to someone else. His words, not mine. Of course, what bites is that while yes, he's a pretty interesting guy (in more ways than one), for me, it stops there. 
- Lately, I have gone rather DVD-nuts, not only obtaining a good number of that list I mentioned previously, but heaps more and I am now officially obsessed with The Office (US), particularly Steve Carell and John Krasinski and the whole JAM fiasco (although not just that!). This third season already has me hooked. Oh, thank you YouTube, btw.

Ok, on to that clean up now. Pennebaker was right (again)... am feeling much better than I was earlier. Loverly.

La vita è bella... :)

Though I am both excited and nervous beyond my wits, it's the truth and I like it. 

I'm currently preparing a job app for a position on campus that I would really love and be really lucky to get at this stage. It's been a while since I had to endure the whole job application process and since this is a government/uni position, the process is even more strenuous. I've been fortunate enough to get every tip under the sun from a lot of the people I already work with, my boss has ensured me a fab reference and a couple of people have offered to go over my stuff for me as well so that was really kind of them. Of course, I still have to finalise my other referee (who will be getting a semi-irate call tomorrow... I kid) and finish addressing the criteria (they expect sub headings and admittedly, it does make things easier - I'm just editing now), but the closing date is next Friday so I have a little time.

I am certainly prepped for the possibility I won't get it, but I'm just excited to be applying :D let things go as they go...

Oh yes, and as of today - my HECS debt is history! I made the final payment today and now, I've paid off my entire tertiary education and I'm not destitute, huzzah! *dances* 

And to just pop that cherry on top there, it's payday tomorrow :)

Aaah, the things that excite you when you get older... and after all those lovely simple pleasures everyone's been noting...;) Will get mine out soon, promise.

On the prowl...

Anybody got any opinions on The Outsiders before I run out and find myself a copy?

I'd certainly heard of The Outsiders and recently, for some reason, seems more people are asking me if I've seen it. My answer was generally no up until recently when I was looking up another movie (one I knew had Ralph Macchio in it from the little that I had seen) and found that he wasn't in it (the movie was Gorky Park... how I came by the notion that that was the movie I'd been watching, I no longer know) and after a little more digging, I realised that all this time, I hadwatched The Outsiders, albeit unwittingly. The more I've looked into it, the more I want to read the book and watch the movie properly hence the question above.

DVD hunt currently consists of: 

Running On Empty (the River Phoenix one)
Little Nikita
Macross (Do You Remember Love)
Robotech (all eps)
Friends: The One With All Ten Seasons (I already know where this one is, and hopefully will get it soon :D)
Veronica Mars
SeaQuest DSV 
Entourage
Charles In Charge

Unfortunately, VM, Entourage(is it even on DVD?) and SQ are still unavailable down here in jolly ol' Oz. The others, thankfully, are just a matter of ordering... once I have the funds of course :P As the ATO are soon to receive a rather hefty amount from me, this won't be for some time yet. I can't complain too much though because over the last couple days, I was able to tape Finding Neverland and The Prince and Me, the former making me weepy by the end and the latter just something I can sit back and watch, soaking up the cutesy-poo. 

To add to the potential spending spree, I'm dying to read:

Wicked
March (only because I'm crazily interested in the idea that a fanfic won a Pulitzer)
The Outsiders
A Light In August
On The Road...

... along with a million others :P Thank you, A&R's top 100!

*toddles back off into oblivion*

And continuing the P&P fever I seem to be suffering at the moment...

Please tell me I was not the only one who didn't know that in real life, Elizabeth Bennet was Peter Parker's Aunt May's daughter? The fact that she's more American than British has done enough to bowl me over, but that? Of all the connections I've ever come across, Jennifer Ehle being Rosemary Harris' daughter hadn't even made it to the realm of possibility :P 



Found this lovely picture of the two of them at the Wilde premiere (had not realised she was in that either) :D The blonde hair suits her really well... and I'm so used to her as dark-haired Elizabeth. 

ETA: oh dastardly Tripod :P

:D "I do love catching up!"

Hurrah for the shattering of hermit-like existence! Well, sort of anyway... have had a lot of catching up done this week and a good number of reasons for celebration all round, holiday season aside. :D Engagements, birthdays and Honours work completed, to name a few. I myself will be rounding up work for the year soon so I'm looking forward to that as well. In the meantime, Christmas shopping has begun and it's going to be tough... have a couple of rather obscure items in mind for a few people, but if I find them, it will be fantastico.

Sunday, I met up with a friend I'd not seen for at least 2 years... Kasey was one of my original firstyear friends from whom I kind of drifted seeing as she was studying Chemistry... but we've kept in touch over the last couple years and have avowed to make sure another 2 years doesn't dare go by before we grab one another again. We ate, walked, talked (or laughed... heheh), browsed and bought (a couple of tops for summer, which were desperately needed), then promised to do all that again and soon too, especially with Christmas shopping needing to be done. I've nearly exhausted my Dymocks card now because I found 2 collections that day that nearly bowled me over when I saw the prices... I got The Complete Works of William Shakespeare and The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, both collections together for less than $40!! :D Kasey grabbed herself a copy of the Shakespeare collection as well... oh man, I love Wordsworth publishers. I literally went bug-eyed when I saw the books. I mean, seriously. Thank you Vicki and the others back at Pitcher for giving me that card! Angels, the lot of you!

Just a couple of days before, I had been debating whether or not I would use it in order to buy a copy of The Australian Writer's Marketplace which I actually found by chance at the Uni Co-op Bookshop. I honestly have no idea why it's never occurred to me, not once, to go in there since I started working and the only reason I did that day was because of one of the guys down at the RO. Jeffrey had just come back from a conference in the US and on his desk I spotted a copy of Strunk & White's Elements of Style, something I've been hard pressed to find a hardcopy of (it's nice having it online and all, but I really want a hard copy). When I asked him where he got it, he said it was the last copy at the conference and when I mentioned wanting a copy, he suggested the Co-op. Once I got there, I couldn't see Strunk and White anywhere but the 2006 copy of the AWM was staring me in the face. Eventually deciding that I would use my card for books for leisure as opposed to stuff for work, I bought it and at a reduced price too (being a shop mostly catering to students). Damn... I knew that there were publications for every topic under the sun but seeing it all listed in one book kind of emphasises the point further. Not to mention it also contains a complete list of Australian Publishers, Lit Agents, Writer's services, Comps, etc... thanks for the suggestion Jeffrey. :D 

I went to see Pride and Prejudice yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it! Aside from some pangs with the anachronisms and the at times, over the top direction and overpowering musical score, it was a really good movie. I think the interpretation was definitely a more raw approach to the story, where we got to see how things would have played out had a slightly lesser importance been placed upon propriety (although, I do kind of think too much license was taken in Elizabeth's appearance after her walk to Netherfield). It was a version I would gladly watch again. I grinned almost the whole way through (hurrah for those little awkward moments!) and I'm so glad that they included that scene where Bingley was practising his speech. That was gold. Given the time contraints, I did understand how quickly they needed to pace the movie and somtimes that was felt with scenes sort of toppling into one another and other plotlines barely touched on but overall, it was a great watch.

Keira certainly had a handle on the dialogue and whatever issues I had with some of her scenes, I'm kind of attributing that to the direction because I thought she did a really good job. I liked Matthew's Darcy as well... his portrayal was a slight more emotional than I'm used to and it was pretty effective. I liked seeing Darcy that way. :D Mr. Collins had me ROTFL because everything he said seemed to be accompanied by a desperate need to rush to the loo, particularly in Elizabeth's introduction to Lady Catherine. He turned me off in a whole different way to David Bamber's greasy little man in the 1995 version :lol: and Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland played off each other really well :D I did wish his accent would steady itself though. Was it just me or did Wickham bear a vague resemblance to Orlando Bloom? Like a not-so-handsome version of him? My friend actually thought it was him, but then again, I don't think she's seen as many pics of him as I have ;)

I daresay, the BBC version remains my favourite (the subtlety in that movie is damned astounding), but this version is definitely not without its charms. Looking forward to getting the DVD when it comes out :D 

Goblet of Fire opens tomorrow! Hurrah!! :D

'Paper! Snow! A ghost!'

Aside from the fact that I’m currently eating the blandest tasting apple ever, it’s been a pretty cool day. Oh, however, be careful what you wish for too… I complained about the crunchy Anzac Bikkies and what do you know… my sister decides to get me some more (I’m so spoiled) and well… soft. Incompletely baked. I dunno. But still better than the crunchy so heh. 

- Got The Castle DVD :D Aaahh, one of my favourite Aussie Aussie movies. Not to mention vintage Pre-Chopper Eric Bana. I miss him donning the plastic wig while taking off Ray Martin. Classic Bana.
- Finished off re-watching the BBC’s 1995 Pride & Prejudice for the millionth time (all this P&P talk!)… *sigh* then followed it up with Little Women (the ’94 one) and Clueless, both of which I’d not seen for years. Movie fun.
- Finished my first song! Hurrah! Yes, the chord switching is still really rough (much like the tips of my fingers!) but I was able to sing it through with some semi-reasonable breaks. Yippee!
- It was actually earlier in the week, but finally heard from my tutor and well, he’s great… :)
- For some reason, felt compelled to have a go at the YA recaps on TWoP again… and it has been a while since I laughed that hard. Pam Ribon is hilarious :D

And tonight, shall begin on The Shining which I acquired after finally using my Dymocks card. I wanna see if it justifies my having made room in my freezer.

Meanwhile, a million points, a la Whose Line, to whoever knows to what the hell I’m referring in my subject line ;)

Have I put off heading down to the RO enough???

Alrighty then, RO, here I come!

~~~~~~~~~

And it's later in the day, the RO has been covered and I am now power-typing it up on the 7th floor in the library. I was tempted to truck it on up all the way to the Law Faculty (which sits snugly atop the library, with an awesome view of everywhere within a huge radius (wish I could be more specific but sadly, I can't). I love that place, by the way. Talk about cushy. It's enough to convince one to do Law (if they can, that is... my friend got a 99.6 on his UAI and he still couldn't get in as he'd missed the cutoff by what, .2?). In secondyear, I did a course up there - Human Rights in Ancient Rome and it was a really interesting course too. Despite the fact that the guy who taught it was a quiet octogenarian, he was able to get everyone's interest sparked and of course, he was greatly aided by the course material. One thing I learnt? That the Romans were a slippery lot of bastards and I'd want one to represent me if I were ever taken to court. I so wish I'd had the grades to make it into Grad Law. I wanted to do that course so badly but ah well, c'est la vie. Will direct any legal questions to May instead ;)

The wind is hollering like mad outside and you can hear it beating against the windows. I'd anticipated a different day so I'm not really quite dressed for this(although for boiling weather, this shirt is the best). It certainly did aid my walk up here from lower campus... literally pushed me up, step by step, it was that strong. My hair was extremely unappreciative. It doesn't help (or does, as viewpoint calls) that the campus tends to act like one giant wind tunnel. The sensation was one akin to some invisible and impatient (and surprisingly strong) child pushing me up towards some imaginary candy shop and I do believe the angle at which I was walking at times would have betrayed this as well. This does mean that my trek back down to lower campus (only this time, to harass the loverly people down in the Science Office) ought to be pretty interesting. 

Meanwhile, awkward moments abound as I just ran into my best friend's ex. It was your classic stare-down-as-you-walk-past and to be quite frank, I nearly burst out laughing. I'm not sure but I think he might have noticed that as well. So strange. I'm sure he's wondering what the hell I'm still doing on campus seeing as the last time we spoke was the night before my graduation (a conversation which I endured under duress I might add). Then again, maybe he guessed after spying the contraption I was carrying around. Made my day, that certainly did. Up till the final months of his rel/ship with Mel, I actually felt sorry for him at times... and overall thought he was a really great, decent guy. It's weird to look at someone after your opinion of them has been altered so much, and especially after you'd begun to almost consider them a friend.

Although I'm sure it's now over, when I got off at Central station this morning, I got a nice taste of how many people were attending the strikes protesting Howard's new IR laws. Oh man, I was so tempted to go with them and see if I could possibly get something written up. If it weren't for work, I might have. Then again, I've still very little practice as the nosy journalist (too bloody polite that's what :P)... then again, when opportunity knocks? Funnily enough, where the SMH had made it front page, the Daily Tel barely covered it. I'm a little surprised. I understand wanting to cover the terror suspects ('Grubs', in the words of Paul Kent), but come on... a strike over the new IR laws gets nothing? Hell, they even mentioned the strike in Melbourne! Unless someone clears something up for me big time, I can't say I'm on board with the new initiatives... there are a lot of shitty employers out there who will be at even greater advantage to abuse their employees. Not on. Oh, and I'm still not all that happy with a 'shoot to kill policy', although yes, I do think that I would prefer giving the police a little more leeway over having my train blow up on the way to work one morning. 

And now, it's time I ate. Will do so as I plough through some articles I want to read and some potential follow-ups I want to do on them. The assignment I've been working on has me a little stumped at the moment but only because I'm a ridiculous perfectionist when it comes to this and no idea seems good enough. Anyone here have any questions they've ever wanted to ask a range of celebrities (whatever type) which would not only be embarrassment free, but also allow them to better their image whilst being potentially creative and interesting? Hehehe... I want to tackle some writers but then I have to think of publication appeal and it's just not hitting me at the moment, who in the world would want to read about that seeing as I'm having so much trouble finding lit mags here in Sydney and the thought of tackling one of the bigger publications at this stage seems rather implausible.

'Leavin... on a jet plane...'

... man, I wish that were true. I feel like taking a trip or something. I may even restart the search for some nice places in the mountains where (hopefully) it'd be cooler. The heat's pretty scorching and so today, I'll be taking all the 'sheltered' routes around campus in order to make life just that little bit easier.

The last week has sort of flown really and it seems to be doing so ahead of my brain because the attempt just now to recall most of it was pretty blank for a little while there... it's the heat, I tell you. Turns the brain to mush and the body to jelly (or at least, it does mine. Good on you lot who can sustain yourselves in weather like this. I mean it, I applaud you!)

Seeing as I am now in an air-conditioned building and feeling a tad more refreshed, warning: I've yet to see how long it takes me to shut up on this thing :P

Oh ok, I'm nice... will insert cuts so that not everyone's eyes have to bleed ;)

Last week, my bro got a new TV for his room (or, as I like to call it, his 'miniflat' :P) and he'd recently let on that if he were to do such a thing, I could have his old one. Thought that wouldn't happen for years (or at least, not till the darned thing had pretty much broken down) so paid little attention to it. There was also the matter of us having no antenna (thanks to Foxtel) and that there was no way I was about to start shelling out $90 or so a month to get it in my room so a TV in my room would be pretty useless. Nevertheless, the new TV came and the old one made the trip up to my room. Duds and I decided, sure, why not, this way if we were to ever play our ancient Nintendo again, then we would be able to do so unhindered. 

Good plan, turned out better. I've now got a DVD/VCR up there (can we say, hurrah??). My dad was looking through a Bing Lee catalogue when he found a GREAT brand for really cheap and he bugged me about it, saying it was on sale and it would never be this cheap again, ya ya ya... as a testament to my complete impotence as a shopper, I went up and down and up and down (and over and out! Hee... the cheap was a bargain, yes, as well as still being a nice hefty amount of moolah), even doing research into cassette lives and VHS-DVD quality and then caved once I realised that holding out for a 2 way DVD/VCR recorder was completely unnecessary (and according to my research, pointless). At least, for me at this stage. Duds insisted on hooking it all up for me (love her) and there it is. Tis very cool. The concept of me watching TV in my room was so foreign to me this time last week so, ain't life grand? 

Sunday was the official start of my attempts to play the guitar. Thanks to May, my bro and this site online which provides a midi of the E string, I now know how to tune a guitar! That's awesome! And getting past the tuning stage, I also know how to play scales and I've got the G, C and D chords down (or close). I think my hand is still unaccustomed to holding the neck the way I should. My fingering is dodgy as but by yesterday it was improving. My biggest problem seems to be pressing the strings down hard enough for all the notes to ring clearly and doing so without touching any strings I'm not supposed to. Because of this, my G chord sounds really weird to me :P Oh well, practice, practice, practice (Swan Princess flashback)! Switching chords is getting a little easier and I'm even attempting a song (ref: my subject line). Sure, it's coming out really slowly, but so far it doesn't sound awful (to me, anyway :P) so hurrah! Finally getting onto the guitar! I do hope those callouses build up a little more quickly though 

Tuesday (Monday was a lazefest) was pretty cool. I went into work and the Canadian guy there showed me the pics he took on PEI, including a shot of the original house upon which Green Gables was based. Apparently, LM Montgomery's relatives lived there while she in fact lived down the road or something in a house that wasn't so nice. The place looks beautiful... and the country is gorgeous (Chris, I saw some pics of some of the gardens you mentioned... everything there looks really pretty). Apparently, the Anne industry is huge up there (during the summer) and at some points you actually have Matthew and Marilla stalls up and down the streets. Seriously, had he told me this 10 years ago, I would have just gone nuts wanting to laugh and go up to see it at the same time. After that, goofed around with some of the other staff as per usual before finishing up there and the GRS and then heading to the city to meet Mel at St. Mary's where we spent a few hours before heading back for her meeting with her supervisor. 

Yesterday? Mush and jelly... although I did wake up a little bit when I found out that we have another engagement on our hands... my friend, Ed's (the dude who beat me out at trick or treating :lol:) gettin' hitched. I caught him and his sister on my train this morning and got the chance to congratulate him. He and his fiance have been trying to get organised and seems as though that's pretty difficult as every place they've looked up seems to be booked till 2007! Yikes... but that means another wedding to go to (hopefully) next year. Oh geez... what to wear? Meh, I've still got time.

Hello, Friday!

Ok, where are we... where are we...?

- Looking through Lovehammers Pics courtesy of Lovehammers.com and enjoying the hell outta short-haired-Marty shots :D ETA: oh! hello Flip Off shot! :lol:

- Listening to My Yahoo! Music Station. Addicted, I am. I have found soooo many long lost or forgotten songs, albums and artists on this thing and loving every second of it :D No joke, they even have the Anne (of Green Gables) Soundtrack... the Anne soundtrack! I mean, damn! Since when would you hear Anne's Theme playing on a radio station??? Fantastico :D Seems like something's trying to get me to re-read my books or something... first the DVDs and then the guy from work coming back from visiting Charlottetown and giving me an AOGG souvenir pencil (which now sits with pride in front of my set), now this? I'm mad, I know :P

Whoa... Jan, you're one quick woman! And THANK YOU for the song! :hug: Have I told you that you're awesome??? Well, you are! :D

- Waiting on some word from my tutor

- And now being dragged off the computer by my sister... alrighty then :lol:

Heh

Two things I was just doing... reading the news and then looking for scripts, trying to find a particular quote, which I ultimately found:

'Now isn't it just as biased to say things aren't as to say they are, when you don't have proof either way?' - Lucas, SeaQuest (ep: Lostland)

Sure, didn't really need that exact quote to say it, but I liked it.

How much some people stake on pure speculation kills me. 

Man, I love this piece :) *hums along to the FG Suite*

Wow, back sooner than I expected to be... ;)

I like work gaps :D

Tiny little hurrah here because after years of searching (well, ok, more like a search spanning years :P), I've finally found where I can get a copy of a book I absolutely loved as a kid... A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Now, I actually already have an online link to the full story but it was this book in particular that I wanted because of the illustrations... amazingly done by Graham Rust. I had been looking for this book for I don't know how long and if I had remembered Graham Rust's name, that search may have taken much less time. Ah well, bugger it, found it anyway :D Lots of stories associated with this particular book and I seriously can't wait till it's on my shelf...

Meanwhile, hehehe, Halloween passed last night and I think there were a record number of kids walking about our neighbourhood! Trick-or-treating isn't all that big down here in Aust, but kids are catching on. Then again, come on... dressing up and getting free lollies or candy?? That's not something I would have just passed up the opportunity to do when I was a kid (although I've only ever been once in my life. I was 10 and my friend, Christine and I were having a little competition with her brother, Ed [Little-Kid-Who-Thinks-My-Name's-Naughty's dad now] and his friend, Glen. The boys were on blades while Chris and I went about on foot... unfortunately, seems blading was the way to go 'cause the guys were able to cover more area and ended up winning, thanks to some mystery person who gave them entire bars of chocolate! Maaaaann...)

The kids last night were adorable and really polite too, which made them all the cuter. You had the older kids watching over the little ones and helping them out... letting out mini groans when I would be unable to resist giving the tiniest one an extra piece seeing as I nearly missed her... the whole thing was a lot of fun to watch. In fact, Duds and I enjoyed it so much that we wanted to go out and get more stuff in case we ran out. We never ended up doing so though because it was getting dark and no more kids came around. 

Hehe, and now... off to the Red Centre (given it's not raining too hard outside)!

ETA: And Australia holds its breath as the Melbourne Cup gets underway... I'd actually forgotten it was today. Goes to show how much I pay attention :P Fun to see everyone around the offices in on it though. You can see how excited everyone is... and a little worried as well, considering how large some people's bets can get. An old classmate once won something like a grand in the sweeps and she didn't even know anything about it. What a gag. :P Bookies' bet: Makybe Diva

Long time, no update so...

... here we go!

Another day at work and things are just peachy... and I actually mean that without sarcasm. All in all, it's looking to be a pretty easy day (hmmm, have I just cursed it? Ah well...) and well, gotta love that. Work has been pretty good and study is going very well :D

As to news? My gosh, is time flying because not only did I attend a baby shower on Saturday for one of my oldest friends (she's having another girl!), but that day, I also received the news that ANOTHER ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS IS GETTING MARRIED!! :D My gooosh, I'm so happy for her and her fiance... I'd seriously been waiting for this to happen for about a year but I still yelled like a banshee when she told me :D Man, so many of my old classmates are hitched or soon to be. Who'da thunk? Huzzah! I've been appointed chief hound on all things Wedding-y (first for me!) so this will be the first wedding in which I'm actually an active participant. At the moment, it looks be to be an April wedding so heaps to do! :D :D

As to the shower... well, that was one of the funniest one of those I've ever attended. Angel's got some really hilarious friends and I laughed most of the day away. The new baby (who Ange and Kyle have named Kayla) looks to be pretty set. Her older sister Chloe has made sure there are enough toys for her when she comes (which I think is very sweet considering Chloe is just 4) and the rest of us stocked them up with supplies :) Chloe is one of the most beautiful little things I've ever seen. She's also the spitting image of her mum so I guess that's no surprise. I was watching over her and our neighbour's grandson, Brandon, when the majority of the guests had left and they were a pretty good pair to look after. Very fair in play... at least up until the argument about which Batman movie to watch. I held them off until Kyle took control of the situation. Wow, is that guy good with kids. After Brandon had gone, I spent the rest of the night talking to Ange, with Chloe on my lap watching Batman Returns and at one point, seeing Kayla do something akin to a mexican wave :D I've never seen or felt a baby kicking before so that was pretty damn cool. So's being called, 'Auntie Jel'. At one point, Brandon accused my name of being a 'naughty word'... makes me wonder what Ed's been teaching the kid about me...

Meanwhile, the birthdays in my family are getting scarier and scarier... my bro is now 29 and my baby sister will be 15 in a month (meaning I'm 23 in a month and 2 days... hehehe, weird). When did everyone get so old?? Hehehe, I joke. December is THE month for birthdays in my family so lookin forward to it :D

And now, must head off to the Research Office to get some work knocked off. Hopefully, it's not another year or 2 before my next update on this thing.