The Knitting Ness

Trying out tumblr

2011-03-17T23:57:00.003+11:00

For some reason, on a whim, I thought I'd try out tumblr.

I know, it's a bit of a betrayal, eh?

So for those who are interested, check it out! I think I kinda like that format if I were to post just short things like photos and links, however I'm also trying to test out the long blog entry with it too.

http://vanessadang.tumblr.com

I guess for now, if you follow my blog, change the link to the tumblr one if you can!

My Ysolda package - my early Christmas present to myself. :D

2011-01-05T20:30:00.003+11:00

So one night back in November I was suffering from insomnia, and I was trawling around facebook and twitter when Ysolda tweeted that she had a limited sale on some project bags...

Obviously on a whim, I bought a couple of project bags for myself (seeing as I never finish my WIPs but they keep on increasing in numbers, so you can never have too many project bags) plus a kit for the Rose Red pattern.

I kinda forgot about it until the parcel arrived - it was like an early Christmas!

When I opened up the parcel, it was like receiving a present, all nicely wrapped with ribbon and a cute Ysolda badge. It felt like it was a gift, that I didn't spend money on it at all!!! I like the way they do their business... :P

I bought a limited edition Ysolda project bag, Elijah project bag, and a Rose Red kit, which had two balls of yarn and the pattern inside the Rose Red project bag.

And as you can see, I was one happy customer!

Now... All I have to do is do some more knitting, eh?

Happy New Year?

2011-01-03T10:46:00.003+11:00

Don't mean to fish for sympathy, but I spent New Years Eve alone. Followed by a break up. So my New Years was pretty awesome - full of tears and wallowing and self-pity. But at least it's a new start, right?

I do have my friends, however, to thank. They have all been very supportive and have patiently listened and cared for me even though I must have been frustrating at times, making the same mistakes over and over again. I sometimes am just helpless when it comes to boy troubles, and I fear that I am going to make those same mistakes I did years ago... And to be honest, I am a bit tired of it all. All I really yearn for is stability, and I guess for now the only certain thing that I know is stable is myself and my friends around me. And my family too. :D

2010 had a lot happening, however I don't know whether it went anywhere for me. It was lots of fun, however. Sad that I didn't do as much knitting as I wanted, and I haven't destashed all the excess yarn I want to get rid of, so I hope that on the knitting front I'll be able to accomplish a whole heap of things this year.

Why I say 2010 had a lot happening but didn't go anywhere? Well, I did a lot of theatre projects. Even though it may have built up my repertoire and experience and such, and it was immense fun, because they were mostly university student/amateur productions, it wasn't necessarily paving me a way into the industry. However, I got to meet heaps of new people and got to just have lots and lots of fun.

In a sense I sound a bit bitter when I say 2010 didn't go anywhere for me. I don't mean it to sound like that, but when I do reflect on it, it kinda felt that way. Which means that I hope 2011 will be a very productive and "moving forward" (to quasi borrow the words from our PM) type of year. I hope career wise I will be able to start my own business and do something for myself (I have always wanted to work for myself, be my own boss), I hope to finish knitting projects (I've joined a sock club just so I can), and I will continue to be surrounded by loving family and friends.

I always start the year by saying I should concentrate on myself more. Then I drift and start being dependent on certain people, or worry about certain people, or just be damn lazy and unmotivated. I say a lot of things, and I'm sure everybody does too, however I'm not totally great at fulfilling them. But I'll give it another try, and see how things go. I am a bit of a thinker, and sometimes my thoughts get carried away and weigh my heart down, so let's see if I can distract myself and focus on getting things done.

Here's to a new year. Let's hope all the tears I had for 1/1/11 are the only tears for the year, and it can only get better from here.

WWKIP Day video - finally up!

2010-10-21T12:45:00.002+11:00

So yah, have been totally slack, and after all these distractions of life, uni, theatre and what not, I have finally edited and uploaded the video. :D

Check it out on youtube!

I may try and start my videoblog again, seeing as I kinda enjoyed the first one. However I don't think I finished any of my knitting projects since the video... Oh wait, I lie, just one (Daddy's vest). But yah - maybe within the next month or so? Maybe I should stick to keeping it a yearly thing. :P

What have I been up to recently? Oh, nothing much really...

2010-10-03T18:35:00.008+11:00

So my last post dated back to the beginning of July - 3/4 months ago. It's amazing how time flies when you have so much going on (yes, I lied in the blog title).

In the space of 3 months I did 5 shows: Little Shop of Horrors (Musical), 40 in Song (A Cabaret Showcase), Omon Ra (Play), February (Play) and Reefer Madness (Musical). All volunteer (except for 40 in Song), all in the name of fun, practice and experience. I have a couple of loose ends to tie here and there, but in essence, my show run is now OVER! I can recover for the next couple of weeks until I start getting restless again.

Cast and Crew of Little Shop of Horrors, performed in Fig Tree Theatre

Little Shop of Horrors was a NUTS production (the major for 2010), which involved a lot of rehearsal time and patience, yet it was extremely polished by the end of it and definitely well received. Everyone who went to see it was impressed with the talent and the production value. The main reason (and it was kinda a lame reason, but most of you would understand) for me wanting to be involved was mainly because George (my boyfriend) was involved. I knew that if he was going to be playing piano at rehearsals then I won't get to see him much, so the next best thing was to be in rehearsals with him, so I played synth in the band. :D It also happened that he had to go away for three weeks anyhow to help out his mum in Sri Lanka for an art exhibition and visit his brother in the Maldives, so I covered for him for those three weeks when he was away. All in all, lots of fun and lollies in the confined space called "the orchestra pit", and it was great to be performing in the Fig Tree again. :D

A showcase of songs composed by Heinz Schweers,
performed in Downstairs Theatre, Seymour Centre

Before I signed onto Little Shop of Horrors, I signed onto playing the synth in Heinz Schweers' band for his showcase 40 in Song, celebrating his 40th birthday with his musical theatre compositions. Heinz has written music for a couple of musicals (one being A Nasty Piece of Work that I was also in the orchestra for back in 2008 at New Theatre), and is successful at writing sweeping love ballads and catchy tunes (admittedly by him a little Eurovision-y) and the singers and the band were all very talented and professional. We had very productive rehearsals, and after only a couple of runs got together we did a 3 night show run in the Downstairs Theatre of the Seymour Centre. The singers' abilities just blew me away, and I always looked forward to show because I knew I was amongst very talented, beautiful people. Unfortunately, 40 in Song was in the middle of Little Shop of Horrors show run, but fortunately only for 3 nights of the 2 week run, so I didn't miss out on too much.

Cast and Crew of Omon Ra, peformed in Studio One

Whilst rehearsing for Little Shop, Sean (who played Mr Mushnik in said production) approached me the night before proposals were due for NUTS' Week 8 and Week 10 slots to help him produce his show Omon Ra. Even though I was putting forward my own proposal, I ran the risk of not being approved, and said yes as a massive favour for him (sometimes people underestimate the amount of work that goes into producing). Sean's show got approved, but unfortunately (or fortunately?) mine wasn't, but it didn't really matter because I knew no matter the outcome I was going to be involved in yet another show. Omon Ra, I must admit, was not my kind of play, however I appreciated it for what it was. It was thought provoking, and the cast was, once again, very talented. The creatives (lighting designers Julia and Michael, set designer Bri, costumer Beth, and set constructor George) were also very very talented, and I was proud of putting that show together. Salima, the stage manager, was also quite on the ball with things and I appreciated her gutso effort in keeping the production together. The cast also consisted of men (Caz was the only exception, but she's not the most girly of girls I know), so it was quite interesting working with a group where the cast were mostly male, and the crew were mostly female...

Cast of February, part of Sydney Fringe Festival
performed at the New Theatre

What I forgot to consider when I said yes to Sean to produce Omon Ra was that I also said I'd help out Gee with February, which was selected as part of a triple bill of plays for the Inaugural Sydney Fringe Festival. This was happening at the same time as Omon Ra, so I had to utilise my time management skills and make sure I was able to attend to both of the show's needs. I initially said I was going to assist Gee in producing the show, however I also assisted Gee in the direction as well. February was a very well-written short piece (10 minutes, written by Gee herself), and despite its brevity managed to explore many themes including nostalgia, feminism and self-assurance. Bri also was involved in designing the costumes and set, and Bri, Gee and I were once again reunited in another show since our City of Angel days where we all first met. Being a small piece, it also had a small cast - Fliss and Maddi, both who were very talented and worked hard despite their busy time schedules. Because we were a triple bill, we also worked with cast and crew members of the other shows - Murder in the Dark and Time, both which were well performed and received.

Cast and Crew of Reefer Madness
Performed in Fig Tree Theatre

Whilst finishing off Little Shop of Horrors, and producing both Omon Ra and February, I was talking to Brent, who was directing Reefer Madness through Studio Four, about his musical directors, who seem to all bailed out on him. So I kept telling him that if he wasn't able to find any that I would be happy to, but obviously he didn't take the hint... Until I blatantly said "Look - I'll do it if you're happy to have me on board." I must admit, being in Little Shop it made me realise how much I missed musical directing, and so I really wanted to get behind that keyboard again and lead a band and cast through the type of theatre I love best - musical theatre! When I first saw Reefer Madness as a movie with Alan Cumming and Kristen Bell in it, I wasn't quite impressed by it. I actually didn't watch the whole movie - I left half way through. So I was slightly dubious about the show but thought I'd give it a chance anyway, mainly because I thought musical directing different shows will give me more experience and build my musical theatre repertoire. When I finally got to know the songs, I was proven wrong - they were ten catchies and lots of fun, and the musical was very funny and hilarious. A couple of one liners here and there amused me to no end. Topped with, once again, a very talented cast (some who were from Love.net earlier in the year), a wonderful crew who were so friendly and accomodating, and the choreography being totally awesome (thanks to Jorge), Brent chose a really entertaining musical not only to perform, but also for the audience. Despite the short rehearsal period and the unfortunate "bailings" of cast and crew members, it held together quite well in the end and everybody just had lots of fun, which I think is a very important aspect when one is involved with amateur/independent theatre.

So, in doing all these productions you could say I was just a tad busy. I'm a little worn out, but since it's also school holidays I also have one week of doing nothing (well, almost nothing, I do have a couple of teaching catch ups to do and accompany a saxophone exam) to recuperate and just relax.

One of the things that I've neglected a little has been my knitting. I made a resolution at the beginning of the year to sell my excess yarn (from when I did yarn stalls at the markets) and to reorganise my stash. I also resolved to finish all my projects before I start new ones... Now that winter is pretty much over, I'm scared that warm weather will once again deter me from knitting and I will lose my mojo! However, seeing as this long weekend has been pretty miserable and drab, I do hope that in the next 2 months or so it'll be okay knitting weather and I can finally finish those knitting projects, and also keep tabs on what I have in my stash and how I'm going to use it all up.

Life is pretty good at the moment, having successfully produced quite a number of shows, being surrounded by lots of talented and beautiful people, and directors who should be immensely proud of their work. I was also lucky to consistently have wonderful support from my loving George and my family and friends. To quote one of George's most frequent phrases, it's only "onwards and upwards" from here. :D

For curiosity's sake

2010-07-05T19:36:00.010+10:00

The results for my survey. Unfortunately, "freeonlinesurveys" was not free, and I had to pay a monthly subscription of US$9.99 in order to upkeep it since it exceeded 50 responses, and I was not allowed to see my results until I paid. So I decided to finish the survey with 124 responses over 2 weeks, otherwise if I leave the survey up it'll keep on deducting $9.99 per month, which I do not want to happen.

So the charts show the amount of responses to each question, such as 35 people clicked on a) for Question 1. It's not the percentage, as for some questions I allowed it to be more than one available answer.

Stupidly, though, I suspended the paid account without copy and pasting the answers to the "others" for the questions I allowed "others" for... I remember some responses, but unfortunately I won't be able to access them unless I pay again. Although, I did print out the answers to me that were the most important, which were the answers to questions 15 and 16, so that's okay... :D

If you can't see the numbers properly, just click on the image, and the image should enlarge.

*Drumroll* And here are the responses!!!

Question 1: What size yarn do you mostly use?

a) Lace weight
b) Sock Yarn
c) 8/10 Ply
d) Bulky 12/14 ply

Question 2: What would you prefer to see more of?

a) Australian indie dyers and/or spinners' products
b) Organic products
c) Overseas products, such as Rowan, Cascade, Malabrigo, Habu, Jitterbug, etc
d) Australian products such as Cleckheaton, Patons
e) Other

Question 3: Would you also like to see the following fibre crafts available in store?

a) Felting
b) Spinning
c) Dyeing
d) Crochet
e) Other

Question 4: Would you or anyone you know of attend any of the following workshops if they were made available?

a) Spinning
b) Dyeing
c) Finishing techniques
d) Crochet
e) Sock knitting
f) Lace knitting
g) Kids school holiday workshops
h) Other

Question 5: What aspects of a knitting store would you consider very important?

a) Very friendly and informative service and assistance
b) A well-presented store, with bright lights and easy access
c) Affordable prices - if it's too expensive I may go elsewhere
d) A great range in both colours and products
e) Other

Question 6: If there is a courtyard at the back, would you utilise it?

a) Yes! Depending on weather, of course.
b) No not really, I like knitting in private at home.
c) Maybe, depends on who's there - do I have to buy something?

Question 7: If there is a courtyard, I shall make it available for functions if you would like to host a tea party or a knitting/fibre party. Would you consider it for your next birthday/event?

a) Totally!
b) Maybe... Depends on how much it will cost.
c)No, not really.

Question 8: I'm hoping to include a cafe. Are you mostly:

a) A coffee drinker
b) A tea drinker
c) An ice chocolate/milkshake drinker
d) A soft drinker
e) Water's fine for me, thanks.

Question 9: I'm also hoping to have a cafe for people who don't knit (but maybe have loved ones that do!). What type of cafe would you prefer?

a) All day breakfast and a lunch menu
b) Baked goods and sweets - cakes, cupcakes, cookies, chocolates, pastries
c) One that just does good coffee and other beverages, no need for food
d) A combination of all of the above, but a selection of each
e) Other

Question 10: What time would you most likely come and visit the store?

a) Late morning - 10am-Midday
b) Lunchtime/early afternoon
c) Late afternoon - after 3pm
d) Evening - 5-7pm
e) Mostly weekends

Question 11: I would like to provide internet access so that knitters and other fibre enthusiasts can do their research. Which medium would you like?

a) Free wireless internet - bring in your own laptop, phone or reader
b) A computer or two on the premises
c) Both!

Question 12: What would you prefer to do in terms of pattern books and instructionals?
a) Have a library - where you can borrow and return like a video/DVD store with a membership and a nominal fee
b) Just have a huge range to choose from, I like to have my own books
c) Have a service where you can order books in when requested to be purchased
d) Don't really need it - I buy heaps online which tends to be cheaper anyhow

Question 13: Of course, location is very important. What would make you think twice before coming to visit the store?

a) If it requires more than 10 minutes of walking from a bus stop/train station
b) Paid parking or difficulty in finding parking
c) No parking

Question 14: I envision this place to be not only somewhere you can buy knitting goods and other fibre goodies, but also a space to be creative. Would you come just to knit/spin/crochet/dye if I make facilities available? Of course, no pressure to purchase anything.

a) Yes of course!
b) Yes, if the furniture is very comfy.
c) Yes, I'll use it as a meeting place to meet up with friends.
d) Yes, if it is kid and pet friendly.
e) No, I don't want to impose or have that pressure to purchase anything.
f) No.
g) Other.

Question 15 was Do you think knitting is just a current fad, or do you think it'll stick around for at least 3-5 years? and pretty much all of you said "No, it's going to stick around for sure". Some of you made the point that it'll wax and wane in popularity, but it'll definitely be around.

Question 16 was Do you have any requests, suggestions or ideas to keep in mind if this grand plan of a knitting store combined with cafe happens?. I had a lot of well wishes and good lucks, and a couple of good suggestions such as a really good website for online purchasing (which I thought would be a given), disabled access (which sometimes businesses seem to forget) and stocking Madelinetosh! I had funny ones, such as "No feathers ;) We will all lose respect", and even though I've knitted feathers ONLY ONCE (and it was for my mum - she chose the yarn), rest assured that I will vow not to stock feathers in my knitting store. :D

So I got a bit of insight as to what people would like, and whether Sydney (or even Australian) knitters were on the same wavelength as me in terms of what is wanted in a yarn store. But please note, this is research for an idea... Can't promise anything, and if anything does happen, it probably won't happen as soon as I hope (which is at least 1.5-2 years)...

So... Opening up a yarn store...

2010-07-05T13:45:00.003+10:00

As you may have seen in my previous post, I put up a survey about opening a yarn store.

I have been given lots of advice, lots that I appreciate very much so, and some that are pretty much a given, such as "Do you realise it's really difficult maintain a business?" Uhhh, yes, I do. :D

It's interesting seeing all the results from the survey... Such as a lot of the knitters (and some of my friends) are more Coffee drinkers than Tea drinkers, majority of people will by 8/10ply yarn and Sock yarn, and the majority of you would like to see more Indie Australian products, followed by international yarns that are not readily available here in Sydney (in person that is, online is very very easy to obtain).

So my next step is to look into how I'm going to get all the products, figure out my calculations as to how much I need to sell and how much rent I can afford. The places I look at are getting a little wee expensive, which then requires me to go further away from the city. However there are so many people wanting it here, there, and everywhere around Sydney suburbia that it will be difficult to please everyone!

A friend of mine lives next to My Little Cupcake, and he told me that first it started up as an internet business back in 2002. Only a couple of years ago did it have a shop front, and it's not really near anywhere, it's smack bang in the middle of the lower North Shore suburbia. But apparently due to word of mouth, awesome publicity with SMH (has had write ups in their food/home section) and internet exposure that they're getting lots of business from mothers driving their kids after school having a cupcake for afternoon tea, and the many wedding/baptism/birthday/other major life event orders that happens over weekends. No matter where you are, as long as you have a well presented, friendly shop front (every time I'm there I always look into their store at their pretty pretty tea cups and home decor) and just awesome products, people will travel. Or order online. :D

I also read in the comments section in my survey someone suggesting (I don't know who, because you don't really leave your details behind) that I should start online and see how that goes, and slowly work on getting a shop front. Seeing as it worked for My Little Cupcake, maybe I should do the same.

I've been trying to get a job with Morris and Sons so I could get first (or second) hand experience in ordering and what people like buying and just how a yarn store is run. However, due to conflicting timetabling with my current job teaching piano, I believe it seems to be hindering my process in getting a job there (I've been knocked back 3 times already)... I'm with my current teaching job until at least the end of the year, and I don't know whether to continue next year (as it pays fairly well for the amount of hours I have with them) or to try again with Morris and Sons saying I can work full time and commit for at least a year or two (as I need to save money in order to start a business).

So it seems to me, seeing as a) I don't have enough money saved to start a business, and b) it seems hard for me to get a job in the yarn retail industry, I might try my hand at doing it at home. Last year I tried with the markets, but I think this time around I need to save a bit more money and find a product that no other online store in Australia has, and maybe make a presence in some of the markets such as Glebe (again).

For now though, folks, I shall be holding off any grand plans of opening a cafe/yarn store anytime soon. Thanks heaps for your help/contribution with the survey, as it's given me a bit more insight as to what the demands are like at the moment. Who knows, maybe I might be able to find an investor who's willing to fund my quirky plan and hopefully I'll be able to set this thing up as soon as next year. But for now, it still remains as a business plan...

One can only dream, right?

A quick survey.

2010-06-22T00:30:00.003+10:00

So call me crazy, but I'm seriously thinking about opening up a yarn store combined with a cafe. Kinda like the one in Newtown, but I have more ideas.

I would appreciate it greatly if you could take a couple of minutes of your time to fill out an online survey, (kinda like marketing research for me), so I can see whether my ideas would float one's boat. :D

Here's the survey!

Looking forward to see what you think! :D And thanks in advance if you do this survey... It's only up for 10 days, so the sooner the better!

Finally finished a knitting project!!!!

2010-05-27T23:55:00.006+10:00

I still need to do the finishing touches, eg weaving in the ends and blocking them, but THEY'RE FINALLY DONE!!!!

And this is not for me!

This is for a swap project that ended almost a year ago. All my knitting friends who were part of this sock swap finished for their partners AGES ago. However, my poor unfortunate swap partner is having to wait UNTIL NOW (or at least another couple of days whilst I block the socks and send it to her in a package) to get these socks...

Just to prove that I did TWO socks, not one. :D

Life got in the way, as per usual, and then I lost my knitting mojo. So for months it has been sitting in the pile of WIPs where I only did a row or two every couple of weeks.

Fortunately enough, for the past couple of weeks my knitting mojo came back. I think it's due to a) the amount of spare time I have now that I'm not doing any shows or doing any study whatsoever, and b) the weather.

And now that I've successfully finished one project for the first time this year, I'm going to try and finish all the projects in my WIP pile before I cast on another one. I'm giving myself a "cast-on ban", and even though I'm itching to start brand new projects, I still have projects such as a vest for my dad that was due last year in February, a beret for my friend's 21st that was last September and a lace project with the rainbow Kauni yarn that is especially for me.

But for now, I'm going to be incredibly happy that I've cast off the first project in AGES since losing and then regaining my knitting mojo. :D

Sock smiley :)

SOCK MONSTER ATTAAAAACK!!!!!!!!

PS: The photos were taken on my iPhone because I was too lazy to get out my digital SLR, and it was dark so it was blurry. Oh wells, next time maybe.

love.net

2010-03-29T01:43:00.008+11:00

This was the reason why I was off the radar and busy as for the past couple of weeks.

It was a great show. I had heaps of fun writing it, directing it, watching it.

I guess I was just as surprised as everyone as to how funny I actually am. This sounds a little egotistical, but the show I just put on stage was quite amusing and fairly fun, and I'm still gobsmacked as to how well it went.

I was also blessed with a talented cast, crew and band.

I really loved working with Bri, one of my close friends, who seems to know how my brain works and knows how to put her opinions across so that her ideas mesh with mine. I trust her visions, and I like her aesthetics, and therefore I really enjoy collaborating with her as director and she as production designer.

Also Simon, who did the graphic design (see poster above) is one talented cookie. And Liz, the vocal director, came in and just gave the extra oopmh the cast needed. Another example of reliable and talented, and just people I love working with.

Nic (on lights) and Salima (stage managing) were fairly new to NUTS, however they were both competent and organised. They weren't afraid to ask if they were stuck with something, and were prompt and reliable. I really enjoyed working with them, and wouldn't hesitate to work with them again. :D

The band were awesome, and they somehow just meshed very well together, even though they all didn't quite know eachother. They were just as much fun as the cast, and because they were being seen on stage, they were also performers in their own right. It's wonderful to see the musicians also being performers instead of just mere backing tracks in a musical.

George was a total saviour. Not only was he willing to participate and get the band together, he also helped a lot on constructing the set and just being the handyman of the theatre. Being an engineer, he loves fixing things and making things, and therefore he had lots of fun being all Bob the Buildery and such. It was also a great excuse to see him pretty much every single day. :D

My cast - woah, my cast. All of them were great singers and performers. At first I thought that quite possibly I may have miscast it a bit, mainly because at callbacks all the people there were very talented. But I trusted my gut instinct and went with it, and by the end of show, I didn't regret casting any of them because they were all very beautiful and talented in one way or another. I also enjoyed how they took my ideas and ran with it, and had lots of fun with it too. I told them from the very beginning that all I wanted them to do was to have fun, and I think that was achieved...

But the most amazing experience I had out of all that was the amount of people who approached me after show to personally congratulate me and to tell me how impressed they were. I must admit, student theatre does have its own stigma of not being terribly good, and on occassions there have been productions where you wish you didn't go see. Most student productions, however, can be good and generally hold a lot of potential, but you can see there were setbacks and therefore are more forgiving if one aspect of the show is not as good as the other.

So for people to tell me that I should enter short play competitions, or that I should continue on with writing such plays/musicals, and that they had lots and lots of fun watching the show, and having some people even coming TWICE to see the show, I felt that directing is where I wanna be. I felt at home, being in the theatre and being creative... And seeing all the different audience reactions to my stories is quite priceless.

For those who were involved, I miss you already! For those who supported this production, thanks so very much. For those who saw the show, I really hope you enjoyed yourself.

And for those who have been part of my life for the past 25 years, thanks for being my inspiration. :D

Awesome? Yes, awesome. :D

2010-03-08T01:03:00.002+11:00

Things that were awesome this weekend:

1. Waking up to my boy 3 mornings in a row. :)

2. Seeing Amanda Palmer behind the piano. She's an awesome performer, very heartfelt.

3. Wine. And lots of it.

4. Rehearsing for my show. Things are coming together, it's only a 3rd of the way in but it looks very promising.

5. Working with a bunch of talented individuals.

6. Ukulele.

7. Brownies!

8. Hugs and kisses.

9. Festival 21!!!! :D

10. Awesome friends.

The only sad thing is that I didn't visit family. I will soon, I swear!!!

Reassessment

2010-02-12T12:52:00.003+11:00

Been wondering about lots of things surrounding me at the moment:

Family: I thought that this year would be the year to spend more time with family. However, it's also potentially more time for me to screw things up around them. I noticed how last year, when I didn't hang out with family too much, I was less likely to screw up around them and get them angry at me. So this year, I've started working for Dad a little, and visiting them more often and just doing more things for them and with them, that when I stuff up it's just like old times when I was living at home, and I was just never good enough. That said, I really enjoy seeing my family from time to time, but I guess I should start looking at what I'm doing and seeing why my parents react the way they do. I must admit, as much as I hate to, parents are right sometimes.

Knitting: I'm knitting less. I'm blaming it on the weather at the moment, but I have so much yarn and so many projects that I still haven't finished 6 months after I've started. Am I starting to get over knitting? If so, that really makes me sad, because knitting for quite some time have provided me awesome friends and awesome creativity. I've learnt so much in the past 2 years through knitting, and I don't want it to necessarily end.

The Internet: I think I'm obsessed with it. I'm always on it. Facebook, Gchat, Gmail, MSN, Ravelry. And even when I'm done, I'm still on it looking at things unnecessarily. And I feel it's stopping me from doing anything productive, like going through my wardrobe to get rid of clothes and reorganising the way I hang everything and such.

My career: This is what I'm most upset about. I'm confused with what I truly want to do. I'm lacking direction. Do I open a music school? Do I keep teaching, then travel heaps and then come back and settle down? Do I pursue directing and continue to not earn much money because to be in theatre you have to make sacrifices? I don't want to spend another year to "figure things out", but it feels that way.

Myself: Need to be comfortable with myself, and also just accept that things will not always go my way or that I can't get what I want all the time. I need to respect myself and also take responsibility and respect others. I need to actually motivate myself to do things and take action, as opposed to just talking about things. Like I am now. In a sense I'm happy with where I'm at and what I've been through, but there are aspects about me that I'm not truly happy with. I guess it's just time to do it now, now that I no longer have to study and such.

So let's see what my 26th year on earth has in store for me.

Girl Crushes

2010-01-27T13:16:00.002+11:00

So I've noticed that if I were ever to be a man or a lesbian, I kinda have a type in which I go for in terms of looks for girls.

Zooey Deschanel

First saw her in the movie with Jim Carey in Yes Man, and then fell in love with her in 500 Days of Summer (as well as crushing on Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Last night I saw her her in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and yes, she's so cute. Her husky voice and her blue eyes...

Katy Perry

She writes most of her own music, and she also has a sort of husky quality to her voice. Katy also looks a bit like Zooey too, with the dark hair and blue eyes. I also like Katy's sense of style - a mix match of vintage and quirky, and basically fairly out there (but not as out there as Lady Gaga...). Katy also has curves.

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Loved her in Secretary with James Spader, which is where I first saw her. Her transformation in that movie was awesome, and as an actress I always thought she was cool. I also loved her in Stranger Than Fiction with Will Ferrell, and even though they look like an odd pairing, I so would go for a threesome with them! :P

Dianna Agron

Plays Quinn Fabray in Glee, and she's basically the first blonde I really like. Her facial features just seem in such even proportion, and in the series when she starts wearing normal clothes and not wear her cheerleader outfit, she's quite feminine and pretty.

Marion Cotillard

She was quirky and cute in Love Me If You Dare, one of my favourite movies of all time. She was brilliant depicting Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, and I'm totally looking forward to seeing her in Nine. Marion also has something that seems a bit French about her, I don't know what, but I think it's mainly because I first saw her in a French film.

So out of this list, I think I've come to the conclusion that I mostly like brunettes who are fairly feminine and slightly quirky. The eyes, I think, do it for me, as they all seem to have this slight innocence yet seductiveness to their looks. It also helps that they are in movies, shows or make music that I like...

Just a random thought I thought I'd share. :P

There is a change happening

2010-01-14T00:21:00.003+11:00

And I want it to happen to me soon. Apparently I have an element of psychic in me that I need to nurture and tap into more. This could also be utter bullshit, but I've been told by more than one person. And those people were fortune tellers, so still, can be bullshit.

But I feel a change coming on. Or rather I WANT a frigging change to happen. I know, I know, I have to do things to MAKE this happen, but there are some things beyond my control, and my heart and mind are willing it to happen.

We'll see, I think turning 25 next month will be a significant time for me, and being 25 will also be an interesting year for me.

Is it just a matter of wanting what I can't have? I'm scared that's all it is to it, and once I have it I'll probably don't want it anymore. But right now the want is so great, it's slightly frustrating.

I should also stop being vague. :D

In other news, here's a clip dedicated to the current weather and how awesome the 90s were.

Back to the Hood

2010-01-04T02:53:00.004+11:00

This weekend I took the opportunity to catch up with friends from when I lived in Bankstown who I haven't seen in around two years or something crazy. It's amazing to see where my friends are up to at the moment - marriage, babies, mortgages, etc.

I went to church with my family for the first time in yonks, and saw how a couple of my friends are now married with kids. They're around my age or a year or two older, and I was like - wow. I'm now at an age where everyone is settling down and starting families. It's the age of "responsibility".

I have friends who have a son together, and their son is absolutely gorgeous. He's almost 2 (in a week), and he's very clever for his age - could recognise colours and is making an effort to identify objects. He warmed up to me straight away, and kept showing off his new toys and such, bringing me a different car of his and trying to play ball with me. He's half Polish, half Vietnamese, so you could imagine how absolutely adorable this boy is - I was totally in love. Made me hideously clucky, and when he was giving me hugs goodbye I just wanted to take him home. He was pretty sociable and I said to his parents that he would become a heart breaker one day, because he seems absolutely charming. He was a good kid, who kept amusing himself, and was very inquisitive about things and loved to share.

Then the dad of this kid brings up a newspaper article (which funnily enough my housemate brings up later that evening) about how Bankstown is one of the top 10 suburbs in Sydney to have had the most births in the past year. Blacktown is the highest one, with something like 550 births registered last year - crazy. I see lots of babies around Bankstown, and having at least 4-5 friends around my age having just had kids, I don't find it hard to believe at all.

I obviously am not in a position to have kids yet. Hell, don't have a partner to have one with! But I'm not afraid of kids, and in fact I would love some, just not now. Or I guess it'll just happen when I'm ready... Sometimes you can't really predict when you become a parent - it can come sooner than you think if one is not careful. And when you are ready, it may take some time before your wishes are fulfilled. But I see little kids, especially the toddler stage of around two or three, and my heart melts. Seeing as I don't see myself dating another Asian (no offense to the Asian guys I know), I imagine my son to look similar to my friends' son I met for the first time today, and I think that's probably why I was extremely clucky.

Here's to those who are getting married, buying their first property, and having kids. I shall one day catch up to you guys one day, but for the meantime I'm going to be single, partying and travelling whilst I'm not tied down with responsibility. I'm guessing it's just not my time yet.

The token New Year entry.

2010-01-01T17:05:00.003+11:00

Am I the only one who's fairly apathetic about the New Year? I think I am. I guess people take this opportunity to start afresh, to forget all the crap that happened the year before, and move on with new (or not so new) resolutions.

Why am I apathetic? I believe that we don't need a date to dictate a new attitude and hope. Things should change no matter the date. We don't need a date to reflect on who we are and what we were and what has been done, as that can be done any old time in the year.

Fair enough use this time as an excuse to party and get drunk, but I've used every Saturday night as an excuse to party and get drunk. :D Fair enough use this time to lose the extra kilos, to read those books, to do more exercise, to eat more healthily, to save more money. And as per usual, try within the first month and by February you're back to your original habits. Cynical and sour? It's because I've been there, done that.

But if I were to reflect on 2009, I have been through a lot more than I expected. I made 4 wishes/goals that year, and fulfilled 3 of them. I only have one left, and I'm "carrying it over" to the new year, but to me it's just a constant goal no matter what time of the year it is. A break up, a degree, a bit of soul-searching here and there.

Lots of wine, bodies, words, music, sighing, touching, talking, looking, seeing, hugging, loving, hating, empathising, sympathising, crying, laughing, sexing, kissing, lusting, lying, truth.

Lots of living.

But I need more of me. I've noticed I've attended to so many (sounds egotistic I know), and I do have lots of friends around me who love and care for me, and I've got a loving family who also love and care for me unconditionally. I sit thinking about the many hims, yet they don't think the same way about me. I highly doubt they're thinking the same about me, and I need to get myself out of that rut and just think of me.

So if I were to make any resolution then this is it - it's just me. I'm on the top of the list. I don't need to care of anyone else anymore. Things are for me and me only. Lots of me. I think my heart and mind is worn and tired from caring and giving and teaching and nurturing. But I have a feeling it's going to be so hard for me, because I know that naturally I am compliant, giving and generous most of the time.

Here's to being selfish for once. Even if it's just for a month, so that if or when I fall back to my previous habits when the effort wears off by the second month, I can say I tried.

Tis the season to be jolly

2009-12-25T09:51:00.003+11:00

Fa la la la la, la la la la...

First time in a while where I've been single for Christmas. Must say it's a raw feeling to have. I thought I'd be used to this whole singledom by now, but I'm still adjusting. But being surrounded by friends and family does make it feel a lot better, and I do feel loved by those around me.

There's something about holidays that, even though it physicallly isn't anything different to any other day of the year, mentally and emotionally there is a certain hype or expectation that it has to be "special". In a sense it's a special day because it's a specific day to spend with loved ones, but what I'm trying to say is that it shouldn't have to wait to be a "special" day for us to give presents and say that you love and care for them. It should happen more often throughout the year... But, you know, lifestyle, work, busy-ness, blah blah blah prevents that from happening at times.

I guess from this thought I'm going to try and make more of an effort to spend time with family next year. I know this year I've been a bit slack, and not seeing my parents and little brother as often as I should. I try to do it weekly, but sometimes I miss a couple of weekends here and there due to commitments or laziness.... But yah, I know family will always be there for me, no matter what, and I should take the time to appreciate them and be there to show I care as well.

And with special holidays come family traditions, one of them is going to my Grandma's and having a family bbq. Caught up with cousins, aunts and uncles that I haven't seen since Easter. I have family that live in Dubbo, and they come up to Sydney every Christmas and Easter to see us. They happen to be my favourite aunt and uncle Linh and Nhan, and have 4 kids (I may have mentioned this before) - Nathan, Trudy, Coorey and the new addition (who was baptised earlier this year at Easter) Celyna. And she is sooooo cute! My aunt is totally in love.

Then I was to Gee's place for her birthday - Happy Birthday Gee!!! She turned 24 on the 24th, and had a red themed party. She was lovely to cook for us a dinner, and served sangria as part of the red theme. She also made this awesome icecream, and oh my was it diabetes central but oh so good!

And the traditional Midnight Mass. For me it's a family tradition to always go. I managed to stay awake (thanks to the awesomeness of computer midi music), and it was lovely to be back to my old parish and be recognised still, and caught up with a couple of old friends in the meantime. I kinda miss the church community, however I don't quite miss the ritual of going to church... Quite like my sleep ins on Sunday, thanks. :D

Followed by the opening of pressies - Dad and Tony liked their presents from me. Got Dad a Saba collared buttoned shirt in a steel grey colour, short sleeved for summer, from the David Jones sale in the city. He really really liked it, and Mum was impressed just by the label (sigh). Tony really loved his Chaser Annual book that was signed especially for him (the Chaser guys were at Broadway and I took advantage of that). He also got a shirt that I bought from the Finders Keepers market, which he appreciated, but not as much as the autographed Chaser Annual.

But Mum however, she didn't like the shoes I bought her. They were really pretty black heels, but Mum doesn't wear heels anymore. And the first thing she says when she opened her present was "Oh how extremely tall is this! I can't wear this, I'll trip over and die!". You see - she's shorter than me, and for my whole entire life I've known her to wear heels. But this year, she's gone crazy, and decided NOT to wear heels the ONE year I buy her shoes for Christmas. It is another example of how I cannot win when it comes buying presents for Mum - it's never up to her standard. She will always find something to complain about, even if it was something she requested. Sometimes I wish I never bothered with it, but hey - she gave it back to me and the great thing about that is that we have the same size feet. So I have scored myself some awesome pair of shoes, and glad I like it too...

Anyways - shall no longer bore you with my Christmas Day... Safe holidays everyone, and remember not to always wait until Christmas to show that you love and care for someone. :D

LOOK LOOK LOOK!!!!

2009-12-04T10:49:00.003+11:00

I can now add Bachelor of Music to my name. :D Finally, after 6/7 years, I have a frigging degree.

So... now what? I have no idea. Let's see what 2010 has to offer. :P

Tribute to Oscar

2009-11-25T00:27:00.004+11:00

It was love at first sight -
Your gorgeous round face and big, bright eyes.
You started talking, I was engaged,
You had a way of capturing people's attention.

A sociable one, approaching people and making them feel loved,
But not one for being egotistical or too proud.
You knew you were handsome, yet you weren't one to flaunt,
Instead you would freely share your affection.

You were loyal towards me until the very end,
Following me and waiting for me.
Your concerns when I came home late,
Sitting (im)patiently at the end of the hallway
Or on my bed - the stare from you was priceless!

I will miss your playfullness,
Your talkative times and your headbutts.
Our cuddles will be reminisced
And the lazy times where we'd chill out in bed.

Although brief, our time together was awesome.
You've made an impression not only on me
But on others whom you have met along the way.
Be good, Oscar... Remember me as the one
Who gave you that tartan collar
And lots of love, kisses and headbutts.

I'll miss you Oscar!!!! I hope to meet another cat just like you. Hugs and kisses from afar!

Inspiration

2009-11-11T10:03:00.003+11:00

Last weekend was one of the most fun but most bizarre weekends ever, as a couple of things happened that I had least expected. That is, not everything went to plan.

HOWEVER, I now have a new brainchild. I was so excited by it on Monday night that I didn't sleep until 1am. I'm starting to calm down about it, but I was just telling all my closest friends and everything. I love being inspired, and I love having projects in mind. Difference is whether I actually fulfil them or not. I feel as though next year is the year of huge projects, and I'm going to go through at least the two I have in mind.

Sorry for being vague, but I am tres excited!

In other news, I'm trying to get back into normal life... Or at least start a new routine. Have joined a gym last week, so I should utilise that ASAP otherwise it's another waste of moneys. Have quite a few social events this week that I'm looking forward to, and this weekend looks like a huge weekend coming up as well! A dinner party, a picnic, another party, a show maybe, and then Britney's concert on Monday. Yes, I'm going to see Britney mime. :D

I'm just totally excited about life now! It's the greatest feeling, really.

IT'S OVER!!!!

2009-11-05T21:35:00.000+11:00

RED ROVER!!!!! :D

I can't explain the relief I feel right now....

End of an Era

2009-11-04T22:06:00.006+11:00

As much as I hate to say this, I think tomorrow will be the last day of a period of my life where it has taken great significance, and has helped me to the place I am right now.

I think I may have fallen out of love of piano.

And it makes me sad to realise this, because piano has been a huge part of my life. But several years ago when I started my BMus (yes, it was that long ago), I realised I didn't have the same talent or dedication that some of my peers had, or the natural musicality and technique some of them carried. As of late, I've noticed it even more so. I feel fraudulant calling myself a "pianist" because I'm not of the calibre that most of my peers were at Uni and at my teacher's studio. For a while I tried really really hard - practicing hours on end, and just trying to get these damn Creole dances under my fingers. But in the end I got a decent mark (75), but not the marks that everyone else were getting - 80, 85, 90, 92... I know I shouldn't have to compare myself to others, and just do the best to my ability, but it made me sad that even when I do my best, I can never be the best.

Piano, however, introduced me to the world of theatre. With my piano skills, I was able to do some things, such as accompanying and being part of musical theatre shows. That's when my love of musical theatre started to grow substantially, and the skills that I attained through my degree and piano lessons enabled me to musical direct student theatre shows and just expose me to a great group of talented and fun friends, and to immerse myself in the wonderful world of musical theatre.

It has also made me realise that I'm not a performer. I know what I want to get out of it, but I can't seem to channel it, especially through the piano. I can tell people how, and I can observe and criticise, but to actually do it myself - somehow it just doesn't show. Same with my acting - not that I've done much acting, but I don't think I can fully be comfortable with myself to expose myself that way. Even with my singing - I think I have a couple of restrictions with my voice and even if I work hard at it and stuff, I don't think I can ever get to a level to some of my friends are.

Hence being comfortable taking the "director" chair, and telling other people to do it. I actually have a thrill seeing awesome theatre. I physically get chills down my spine. The first show I saw on Broadway, In the Heights, I cried. I had the whole "oh wow, this is theatre" feeling, and I was brought to another place. I've had friends' performances give me that feeling of "wow, magic" before. And I guess if I'm able to do a show where I get that for 75% of the performance (at least), I will feel as though I've succeeded.

So tomorrow, here's to passing my piano exam. All I want is this degree, and finish this part of my life. Start something new. I've finally found my calling - I really want to direct. I want to create and mould and visiualise and conceptualise. I want to wow, I want to make magic, I want to leave an impression. I want people to think and realise and empathise and sypmathise and just want. I don't think I've ever been this sure about my life in a very long, long time.

So close...

2009-10-26T08:09:00.002+11:00

So I didn't end up doing my recital - had a bit of an anxiety attack and it is now postponed to a later date. I'm still practicing like anything and trying to get university over and done with so I can move on with life. So even though there's only 6 more days of October, I don't think I can fulfil my Blogtoberfest obligations... I could have if I were more organised since the very beginning, but things happen for a reason. Life happens for a reason. And I should stop dwelling on what could have been and focus on now and what could be.

I am one essay, one report and one recital away from finishing university. Yet I don't feel like doing it. I feel like whatever I write or whatever I play will not be good enough, and that I won't pass, even though my lecturers have said they'll help me pass and that's what they're there for. Maybe I'm afraid of moving on? Or maybe I just think it's too hard and feel it's easier to give up. I should stop with that attitude because it's gotten me no where me thinks.

I found out I'm good with making plans, but I'm not necessarily good at executing them unless I'm really really into them. I have this huge plan ready for my birthday in February next year. Turning 25, I'm hoping to make a huge huge birthday bash as I didn't have a huge one when I was 21. It'll hopefully celebrate not only my birthday but the fact that I've finally finished uni (after all those years of part time study and failing) and a new chapter in my life. These grand plans will come into play once my recital is done, and my NIDA interview is over.

But for now I have to focus on the task at hand - today I'm going to finish that damn 2500 word essay, and do that 750 word report, and practice my heart out until next week so that I can put a "Bachelor of Music" next to my Diploma of Associate Music in Piano Performance and my Diploma of Entertainment Business and Management. It's so close, yet so far.

Missed another 2 days of Blogtoberfest...

2009-10-20T12:38:00.003+11:00

I shouldn't have signed up really... :P

My recital is this Thursday, 22nd of October at Sir John Clancy Auditorium UNSW, 6.30pm. If you would like to come see me make a fool out of myself spewing piano notes everywhere you're welcome to. It's free, and you don't need to book. The Auditorium is pretty big and I highly doubt I can fill it up with people, but I'm obliged to publicise nevertheless. All I want to do is pass, really.

Oscar is being adorable, until he does naughty things like poo somewhere other than the litter tray. He was behaving so well until then. I think I need to change the litter box a little more often.

After this week is over, I will be excited to a) go back to my knitting, and b) finish uni. I would only have a couple of more papers to hand in and hopefully that would only take me a weekend and a couple of days, and then I can be stress free for about a week until I go for my application for NIDA... Sigh. Things never stop!

Back and unprepared

2009-10-17T19:41:00.004+11:00

Back home from my travels. I fail at blogtoberfest, as I definitely haven't been blogging every single day. Even though it's great to be home, I'm now back to reality and the responsibilities that face me for the next couple of weeks at least.

I has a new foster cat. I've named him Oscar, and he's really chatty. And currently really smelly because he just recently gotten desexed, and his body is still trying to get used to the whole "no more testerone" thing. But he's adorable... :D

And in other news my recital is this Thursday. Totally and thoroughly unprepared. Am trying to practice heaps, but yah, the motivation is no longer there. I have 5 more days of heaps of practice and hopefully I'll get there. Apparently I can. I just need to work really hard. Sigh. And then my degree will be OVER!

I Heart America

2009-10-14T18:28:00.003+11:00

And after New York and San Fran, I'm thinking I'm happy to move here for a while. I dunno whether I would bring up a family here, because I'd like my kids to be near my parents (or at least in the same country), but for my career I really need to be in the States.

San Francisco has a couple of friends living here, and they all seem so happy. Or at least successful... One friend is working at Ernst and Young, and another at Apple, and they seem so happy! San Fran is a pretty city despite the hills (and the weather - slept in this morning because it was raining and we couldn't do anything in the rain), and the houses are pretty. However New York has this exciting buzz to it that I just really really loved.

I'm scared of facing all the work I need to do once I get back to Sydney... Sigh. It'll all be done in a week I'm sure, but still scared!

I'm already planning my next trip - I'm hoping to go to Londontown. And possibly a couple of other places in Europe. Hope to save up enough money to get some specials or early bird tickets sometime next year... And maybe a detour back to New York if I have the time and monies!!! Sigh... Just have to keep on fantasising, it keeps me sane. :D

San Francisco...

2009-10-13T12:58:00.003+11:00

A very different vibe. It's definitely awesome, with the insane amount of restaurants and arty stores, and the pace - very very relaxed. Definitely opposite to New York. And oh my, the amount of hills! You wouldn't have to get a gym membership if you had to walk everywhere here. Just walk a couple of hills a day and I think you'll lose weight almost instantly.

We went on a City Tour today, seeing as we only have 2 days here, and it's pretty awesome that you can go a couple of blocks and it changes continents - from Chinatown to Little Italy to something South American.

It's a pity that it's a bit overcast, and apparently it's going to be raining tonight and windy tomorrow... Hopefully that won't get in the way of things!

Starting to stress about uni work, and the amount of stuff I have to do when I get there... Sigh. But I've planned it all out and made notes about it all. :D Hopefully I'll be organised and stick to it!

Waiting... Foolishly...

2009-10-12T05:52:00.003+11:00

I did the ultimate stupid thing this morning.

A couple of days ago I thought I'd be organised and book in a shuttle bus to the airport. I asked for 7.35am because I read my flight as 10.35am. And how I was wrong.

My flight was actually at 7.25am, and 10.35 was the time on my old itinerary where I would've ARRIVED at San Fran.

On my new itinerary we would've arrived there at 11am, so we would've had had half a day to go around sight seeing and stuff, but alas we've spent this opportunity to miss a flight due to my stupidity and spend possibly 12 hours waiting around for a free seat on the flight. We've been waiting around since 8.30am waiting for flights every 2-3 hours, being on the stand-by list and just hoping we'll be on the next flight. I really hope we're on the next flight at 5.30, but obviously people aren't as stupid as me.

I guess the reason why I made this mistake is because this is the first time that I'm pretty responsible for the whole trip. I don't have my parents nagging at me, and they're usually very particular about things, and I'm not part of any tour where other people would also check things and we'd keep eachother in line. I have my little brother, and even though he's 14 he's still fairly dependent, and I didn't expect him to go ahead and double check papers for me or anything.

So here I am, in JFK Airport NY, waiting for a flight to San Fran. At least it's not a flight home, just kicking myself because I've now lost a full day of travelling and sight seeing. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise - it's allowing us to do nothing and have a rest. Would just prefer to do it without the added stress about whether we're going to be on the next flight or whether we have to figure out a place to go to tonight if we don't get in. Apparently, and fingers crossed, we'll be leaving at 7.30pm the latest.

Oh and to add to the time wastage, all my knitting is in my suitcase which are now checked-in, also waiting in stand-by I guess. Just scared about the whole knitting confiscation that I thought I'd play it safe and leave it in my checked-in luggage. Sigh.

I hate being stranded.

I'm a consumer whore! And how??!!

2009-10-09T16:40:00.004+11:00

So I've bought a whole heap of stuffs...

(Yes, that was totally posed.)

So I bought so far:

Sheet music to musicals and films: In the Heights, Cabaret, Drowsy Chaperone, The Little Mermaid (Broadway), Enchanted, Twilight (for my students, I swear)
Yarn: Some more Alpaca Tweed, including the Donegal Tweed and the Merino I bought yesterday
Some square needles - they were awesome to try out! (Wordout to Southport yarns - they were so awesome and hospitible)
New Jared Flood booklet and Debbie Bliss magazine
2 hangings - one of Broadway/Time Square, and one vintage looking Hershey's Ad
Mr Potato Head parts and an Eva and Wall-E plush
m&m earrings
New pair of headphones that are BRIGHT RED by Panasonic
Converse sneakers
I Love NY T-shirt and Hoodie
5 shows I've seen so far: Shrek, Hair, In the Heights, Next to Normal and A Steady Rain

And tonight I saw Shrek the Musical, mainly because Sutton Foster was in it. The staging was spectacular, with lots of awesome mechanics and moving sets, and puppetry. And Sutton Foster tap dancing!!! :D I went to Stage Door and waited to grab her autograph, and then got Tony to take a photo of me with her, which was awesome! :D Even the little Fionas came out to sign the programs, they were so cute!

Tony, my little brother, is getting tired of all the theatre, which I kinda feel sorry for him. BUUUUUT then again, I did tell him that if he was going to come along, that most of the time I'll just be seeing theatre shows and going to yarn stores. But we did go to J&Rs, which is a huge electronics store, and we got some headphones that he wanted. They're actually really really good, and the ones I got are just aesthetically awesome, dunno whether the sound quality is actually that good, but they suffice for me.

I'm tempted to get more Converse sneakers - $40 over here! And maybe more yarn and maybe some perfume... So much stuff!

Until next time, Hello from NEW YORK!!! :D Miss you Sydney, even though I heard the weather has been a bit bipolar.

I Heart Theatre...

2009-10-08T18:01:00.006+11:00

Saw two shows today - A Steady Rain, with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, and Hair.

My little brother slept through A Steady Rain... He found it boring. It was also his first ever experience watching a "play" as opposed to a musical. I realised that all the shows he's seen with either me or my family have all been musicals, so in a sense he was spoilt that his first ever straight play was with two top actors, and he found it boring.

Hair, on the other hand, was AMAZING!!! It was very interactive, with the ensemble going out to the audience dancing and protesting and what not. And the best thing in the end was that they invited the audience to come up and DANCE!!! So basically I could officially say I danced and sang on Broadway!!!

Another awesome aspect about Hair was that the band was onstage, and the MD was awesome - she dressed up all hippy like and everything, and even participated in one of the songs, and at the end when I was on stage I asked for a photo. Alas, the quality wasn't great, because as soon as someone took the photo, the lights went down - but it has a trippy effect to it!

She was just as a performer as the cast on stage, and I was reminiscing of the times when I was in City of Angels and I realised that everyone could see me, so I had to "perform" my conducting as well! :D

Unfortunately (and kinda fortunately) I've decided not to go to WEBS... Mainly because after my little brother sleeping through A Steady Rain, he felt a bit grumpy because we've been doing a lot of things that I wanted to do. So instead we have tickets to see Shrek (which is more up his alley) and tomorrow we're spending the day at Centennial Park and Ground Zero and seeing the Statue of Liberty.

HOWEVER - I did go to School Products... And omg the yarngasm... So much cashmere I couldn't comprehend it all! I touched a $55 ball of cashmere bulky yarn, and almost cried. And the colours!!!! It was only merino, but the colours were AMAZING...

I bought some Donegal Tweed which I think is also Cashmere, because it was marked down from $50 to $20 per skein, and bought 8 balls of the aurora 8 Karabella Yarn, which is 100% merino. In the picture above, it's the third from the bottom right. Going to try and catch some more yarn stores on Friday and Saturday, but I'm spending WAYYYYY too much money already.

Oh and I also visited the Disney Store, and Tony and I had too much fun. There was a place where you can bring home your own Mr Potato Head in a box, and fit as many parts as you can for $19.95. Tony did Buzz Lightyear and the Incredibles, and I did Little Mermaid and the Mad Hatter...

We did so much today, I could go on forever... But I can say that I need more than just 6 days in New York... It's too crazy here and so much to dooooooo!!!!

The Land of Excess

2009-10-07T16:53:00.003+11:00

New York is a city of billboards, and the city of almost everything. Nevertheless, I love it here, and seeing theatre makes me want to stay in New York forever and ever.

Tonight I saw "Next to Normal", another Tony award winning musical. Got Partial View tickets for $36.50, which I thought were still fairly cheap. I missed out on the general rush tickets, as I should've stood in line at 10am to get some. Tomorrow I'm going to wait in line at 9.30am for student rush tickets to see "A Steady Rain", which has Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman in it. Both Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman in the same theatre and live??? How can I miss such an opportunity!

Thursday Ysolda Teague will be at WEBS, which apparently is only a couple of hours away on the train from New York. I dunno whether I wanna do the trek out in the evening to catch her or not, and it also means I sacrifice another evening of theatre. She'll be at WEBS from 6pm I think and only for an hour and a half, so I'm torn whether I should go see a musical that night, or make the journey out to a huge huge huge yarn store. Sigh... The choices!

Tomorrow we were hoping to go to Central Park, but it started raining. I was hoping to hire a couple of bikes and bike ride around, but maybe I should wait until Thursday seeing as that's a better day to go bike riding.

Sigh - I would move to New York in a heart beat, really.

In the heights...

2009-10-06T19:35:00.002+11:00

So today we visted a couple of places, and I shall post up photos later when I'm less tired... It's currently 4.30am and I've stayed up to finish a paper that was due last Friday... 5 days late equals to 10% off, but hey, it's finished, right?

In summary Tony and I went to:

M&Ms store - lots and lots of M&Ms in different colours!
NBC Studios, home to Saturday Night Live
Magnolia Bakery, and
Watched In the Heights - an awesome musical.

The musical inspired me to finish my damn assignment and not be burdened with guilt. The show gave me the fuzzies in which awesome musical theatre always give me, and how I want to be part of it one day by being a director. That made me go "Damn, I want to fucking pass this Bachelor of Music and move onto my next chapter of my so-called career".

But I shall leave you with this video of a busker playing the most awesome instrument in the world - the keytar!

A-me-e-ri-i-caaaaaa!!!!

2009-10-05T16:44:00.004+11:00

I couldn't help but sing the opening song from "Team America" when I landed in Los Angeles for transit.

18 hours of plane and 4-5 hours of waiting in between and I'm finally in New York... With swollen feet and tired pants from my little brother.

And the first thing we did? We wanted food, so we ordered from a Deli around the corner that did delivery, and ordered some curly fries.

So tomorrow we will start our musings - New York, here we come!

So I massively fail...

2009-10-04T11:50:00.002+11:00

At Blogtoberfest.

Although it's been a busy 2 days... Friday was spent running around chasing up things whilst trying to finish an assessment which wasn't successful.

Then Dad found out about my credit card debt and took my credit card away from me. :(

There's a saying in Vietnamese... "Cha may" (spelling a bit iffy) which literally translates to "Your Dad". Thing is, Dad said it. To me. When he was looking over my last credit card bill statement. I found it hilarious. Those who have hung around me a bit know that sometimes I like to use the catch phrase "Your Mum"... "Cha may" has a bit of a different ring to it, and also a different purpose, but it's kinda similar to "your mum"... kinda.

So I leave on a plane at 1450. To New York. Then San Fran. Yay! Although a bit stressed about the work that lies ahead when I get back, but I'm going to try and forget about it and not worry about a thing.

Here's to the US of A.

Blogtoberfest - Can I do it?

2009-10-01T11:26:00.002+10:00

I was reading a fellow blogger Bells' recent post which mentioned "Blogtoberfest". I'm a sucker for punishment, seeing as I have all these things to do (including a 3000 word paper due tomorrow) and yet I decide to procrastinate and write for my blog instead.

For those who are up for it, it's not too late to sign up. Tinnie, a crafter that I only heard of since today, is organising one on her blog and you can sign up and grab a gadget for your Blogger from here. I guess today is the last day to sign up seeing as part of the condition is to blog e.v.e.r.y s.i.n.g.l.e d.a.y... This will also be interesting as I will be away for a week and a half in New York and San Francisco... I shall be bringing my laptop with me and visiting net cafes just so I can do this! Oh and iPhone will be great too. :D

So I do hope this is considered a blog-worthy entry. Procrastinating again from a 3000 word paper due tomorrow and piano practice. Only THREE more sleeps before I leave for New York, and one night to write up 3000 words. If I don't finish it, I shall do it on the plane trip to New York where there is no internet distraction and I have all my material with me to complete everything.

I also hope I get my knitting mojo back. All this hectic-ness has made me not knitting as much as I would like. I'm going to try so hard to finish this paper so that hopefully I can knit on the plane.

ALRIGHT!!!! Off to work/practice... Sigh.

The story of Red Rock Deli Chips.

2009-09-29T20:29:00.002+10:00

So when I was at the petrol station to refuel my car, I walked past the chips aisle which had 2 packets of 90g Red Rock Deli Chips for $5. Since I was a bit hungry, I did a very compulsive thing and bought the Honey Soy Chicken and Sea Salt flavours.

I thought maybe I won't eat dinner, seeing as I chowed through the Honey Soy one pretty quickly on the drive home. I was feeling gluttonous and started on the Sea Salt when I caught something that I thought was misleading.

First of all it said "75% less saturated fat". 75% less than what? Other chips with saturated fat? Didn't quite explain.

But the second one that really irked me was that it said it was "7% of your daily intake per serve". And I was like - woohoo! Only 7%!!! Then I thought - I'll check how many servings the package has. And lo and behold, each package had an estimated 3.2 servings.

I didn't eat all of Sea Salt, and I actually threw it out, but I think I had approximately 4 servings of chips. That means I just had 28-30% of my recommended daily intake. That was like a whole meal. And I totally am not that full from it. I do however feel a bit sick after finding out...

So even though I would eat them anyway because they taste good, they don't have to make us feel good about it. We KNOW what tastes that good is not going to be healthy.

I guess the moral of this story is always read the fine print - nothing is ever as good as it sounds. :D

10 Things I Did Last Night/This Morning (another night that ended at 4am)...

2009-09-19T13:41:00.007+10:00

Wore my lego necklace. It's red in a heart shape, with a yellow cross in the middle. I bought it the same time Georgina bought her Scrabble "G" ring at Glebe Markets.

Bought the new Regina Spektor and La Roux abulms. I heard Laroux the other night when I went to go Laser Tag at Darling Harbour with a couple of friends, and I was told off for not knowing La Roux... And Regina Spektor's music is featured in the movie I saw, which was -

500 Days of Summer. It was an awesome movie, and I fell in love with Joseph Gordon-Levitt all over again. Zooey Deschanel is also very very cute and pretty. But it kinda proved my theory that you don't really move on from someone until you meet a particular someone else.

We went to Dendy Newtown to see the movie, and they allow alcohol in the theatre. I had a glass of red wine, and I left it in the drink holder in between the seats. My friend Kim and I were talking about something and he accidentally knocked my wine over into my seat and onto my clothes... So he nicely bought me another one. So you think I'd be thinking "Yay! 1 and a half drinks! Woohoo!!!" and that I'd be uber careful with the 2nd drink, but no, I knocked that one too JUST before the movie starts, and I missed the first couple of minutes of the movie (came in during the opening credits). So I spilt 2 glasses of red wine, which ended up being equivalent to just the one after spillage, but by golly goash did I feel like a klutz.

Thanks to Rosie, I had a Jam Donut. At first I thought she was talking about the actual donut, until she mentioned the word "shot" in the same sentence. And it was totally sweet, and quite nice!

Had a couple of Deep and Meaningfuls...

Gambled two dollars on the Pokies at Bar Broadway. The most I won was like 50 cents which I gambled away anyways.

Mixed my drinks. I had red wine, champagne and vodka. I'm surprisingly all okay.

Found some Zoolander magnets that my housemate had on the fridge, and it prompted a 3am session of the movie. Lots of Blue Steel...

And finally - ya mama.

Knitting mojo - where art thou?

2009-08-31T23:55:00.002+10:00

Is it because I've been busy? I love knitting, and it's something that I can do with my hands other than creating music. I was told it waxes and wanes but yah, I have projects to finish! I've disappointed a swap partner right now, and I have been quite busy as of late, but still!

I've also been meaning to put up another episode of my knitting video blog - but it's like 2 months overdue right now... Sigh.

And uni is slowly creeping up with its responsibilities. Another sigh.

I also have like tons of social engagements - which really, I shouldn't complain. But I haven't been this social in a very long time. Monday has become my weekend more so than any other day (even though I work on Monday).

Also a dear friend of mine, LynS, is celebrating her birthday today. I wish her much happiness and knitting joy as she celebrates yet another awesome year on earth. She's a wonderful, inspiring woman, and I enjoy her company whenever we knit together. Happy Birthday, Lyn! :D

Who needs a label anyway?

2009-08-17T00:28:00.005+10:00

People like to categorise things as it makes it easier to define and identify.

I was recently asked whether I was bi. I don't know really, I do think I'm probably more straight and possibly bi-curious, but I have the theory that if I'm attracted to someone, I'm attracted to someone, whether that person is a he or she. So far they have currently been mostly boys, but I have fallen for a girl or two in the past.

And then I have friends who are in complicated relationships - between the fine line of something that is "casual" to actually "going out", and the impact the title brings to the relationship can definitely strain it. I've been in a situation similar to that before, and the confusion it brings can cause definite heart ache and self doubt. But the pressure to have a relationship at a certain level can make having a relationship really tiring and just no fun. And right now all I'm up for is fun, even if it would confuse other people.

Which makes me think about the word "marriage". My understanding of marriage is that it is a union between two people recognised by the state/nation/whatever. The cliche is that people get married and "settle down", but I don't necessarily see that. I see marriage as a proclaimation between two people wanting to stay with eachother for the rest of their lives. Or until the divorce. People argue that you can still have a relationship without a marriage, but I think marriage can still be important as a legal thing and just a celebration of a couple being a couple.

But then - why say I believe in marriage, but also believe that labels are over rated at times? Isn't being married a label in itself? I guess. But I see marriage as a level of relationship - like if we start from being acquaintances, to friends, to lovers, to a married couple, and all the stuff in between.

I probably overthink too much and non-sensically whilst really tired from little sleep, but hey, I like to share my messy thoughts sometime.

So it's been a while...

2009-08-14T03:48:00.004+10:00

Since I've done a post. Only because I've been distracted...

Currently doing a show which finishes this Saturday night (City of Angels @ UNSW with NUTS) and I'm having quite a lot of fun. It's been ages since I've been able to go out until 4am drinking and hanging out and just being me.

Being single enables me to just be free and flirt heaps (with both guys and girls) and let loose. I'm not concerned about offending anyone, as I can be my outrageous self once again. This show will probably be my last student production (if I pass everything that is), and I am happy for this show to be the last, as the experience has been great. The people have been awesome so far - cast, crew and orchestra.

As I was driving home after giving a lift home to Nikk (who directed the show), it just occurred to me how different single life can be. I haven't been "alone" for a while. I put alone in quotation marks because as one of my best friends has said to me, I'm not really the type to be "alone" in the sense that I thrive being in a group, and I'm not really ever "alone". The most blatant example was getting a foster cat a couple of weeks after my breakup a month and a half ago. For the past couple of years I've been jumping from one person to the next, and the biggest gap I had was 6 months and that was way back after my first ever real relationship in my teens. Since that break the gaps always ranged from 4-6 weeks, which in essence doesn't really give me enough time to be myself. Or that by the end of that 4-6 weeks I reach a stage where I'm so confident being on my own that (and I may sound a bit pigheaded here) I seem to attract people because I'm just loud and out there.

I've also noticed a change in the clothes I wear too. I've started wearing my ties again, and wearing hats. For some reason when I'm in relationships I stop wearing them or at least don't wear them that often... I guess when you're taken, you are less likely to want to attract attention to yourself. A girl wearing a tie does attract a bit of attention, and the styles of hats I wear do attract a bit more attention than usual.

I've also come to realise that I probably should just have lots of fun between now and when I think I have found "the one"... And I really do truly believe that I can find him out there. You may laugh but I seriously think there is such a thing as a soul mate, but for some reason I guess I've been naive to think I have found him for the past couple of times... I guess I can only wait to know what it really does feel like, and I have an inkling that when I find him it'll just click. Damn them Hollywood romcoms.

I have had friends who have a checklist for when they find Mr Perfect, but honestly, I don't think I could do such a checklist. Why restrict yourself? I guess the only restriction I'm allowing is that my "soul mate" is male. I probably have guidelines -the usual stuff like the preferable age, race, interests, etc. I definitely know that whoever I do end up with will be creative in some way, mainly because I am and I feed off other people who are creative around me. But other than that, why bother with the guidelines? It only disappoints you more.

One thing I'm a bit sad about lately is that I've kinda lost my knitting mojo.... And my study mojo, but that's not as fun as knitting. I hope to get back into it once I finish the show, and have a bit more time to chill out and knit things again.

Anyways, thought I'd share a lightbulb moment that I had when I was driving home alone. I like having car trips on my own sometimes, as I like to talk to myself and just wonder about things. I may be in a slight denial, but I think I'm getting comfortable with myself again and just being me. In order to attract, you gotta love yourself, and I think I'm most of the way there. I hope. :D

Glebe Markets!

2009-07-18T05:10:00.001+10:00

Today (18th July) I'm going to try my luck getting a stall at Glebe Markets... Due to personal distractions, I was slightly unorganised and did not book a casual stall in time this time.

BUUUT! I shall be posting on Ravelry and I'll try to post here if I'm successful.

So if you get this in time, come by my stall!

See you then. :D

Pilot Episode of Video Blog

2009-07-13T01:54:00.003+10:00

Hey y'all!

Ignore my incessant "umms" and my rising inflexions, here is my first ever episode of my knitting video blog!

It took me a while to put this up due to rendering problems and then my episode being too long... Garr!

WWKIP interviews will be the next episode, so stay tuned!

Please be aware that lighting and camera equipment were stolen by the money fairies, so I only had the minimum requirement to make this possible - sunlight, room light and a camcorder from eBay. :D

Feel free to leave comments or email me at knittingness(at)gmail.com

Theory.

2009-07-07T07:50:00.005+10:00

I think the reason why I didn't sleep properly the other night was because I didn't eat enough meat. Because of what's happening lately, I've been eating not extremely well and lots of junk, ie nothing much of any nutritional value. Especially Sunday - had next to no meat at all. Had some chicken nuggets, but really, is that truly real meat?

Last night I went to Churrasco with my friend George, and had an abundance of meat to last me at least 2-3 days. Last night was such a really good, deep sleep compared to Sunday night. Sunday night after 2 days of no decent amount of meat (had a bit at Fee's birthday, but I mainly gorged on the sweets provided there), I was shivering. I thought it was because I had one less person in my room, but I think it's also due to the fact that I hadn't eaten properly and just eating carbs was probably quite a bit of a factor there.

This has convinced me not to be vegetarian. Sorry for those who are vegetarians out there, but I won't be doing so at least over winter.

Does anyone else think the same?

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes!

2009-07-06T11:32:00.005+10:00

So yah, lots of changes are happening at the moment. It's like fate was getting bored and decided to like turn everything around and stuffs.

Dad bought me my new laptop which came with a free wireless colour printer - that's pretty cool. It's a Toshiba Satellite Pro, and it has 250GB memory, a web camera and apparently Dolby Sound speakers.

It's coming to an end with working for one of my bosses - last week of teaching in her schools before I have to surrender all my keys and what not. Saying goodbye to the little kiddies that I've been teaching for the past 4-5 months, some for the past 2 and a half years... eeeeep.

Had a NIDA interview for the Open Director's course. I think I got in, basically due to the fact that only 14 people showed up, and roughly 14/15 positions are available. Didn't get to speak as much as some others, but hey, I guess that's a good thing because they didn't need to get much out of me to find out what I'm like.

I promise my video blog will come up soon - just need to transfer all my data across from my old laptop and start editing. I also need to redo my first episode because I umm'd and ahhh'd a lot. And I was quite sniffly

And remember how I blogged about scary spider on my balcony? Well, she's dead... I think due to the rough winds and the cold weather, she was slowly dying because the last time I saw her before she died her web was all dusty with a couple of gaps here and there, and she was hanging on with just the one leg. Poor thing...

Maybe this signifies a change. Lots of things are happening around me that requires a level of adjustment, and this once scary spider will now rest in peace, I can now be able to go onto my balcony without the fear of the spider leaping off from her web onto me and biting me. Not that it would. But yah, I need to stop reading into things too much and overanalysing things...

Bye scary spider, hello balcony. Bye old broken laptop, hellow new wonderful laptop (although it has Vista...). Bye old job, hello new job. And hello to focusing on myself. :D

No longer there...

2009-07-04T04:40:00.004+10:00

Woken up by a dream just then. Well, I heard my housemates coming home from going out tonight and that woke me up. It's now 4.42am. Don't really want to go back to sleep.

Yesterday was a horrible day for me, because everything seemed to go wrong. It started with not purchasing the Britney Tickets at the time I was supposed to, thinking it was another time. I eventually did buy the tickets, and they're fairly good, but I could've gotten better....

Then a stupid cock-up at work on my part, which costed us not only money but time and unnecessary stress at such a crucial time of the year.

That lead me to find out something I kinda sensed would happen but did not want to happen. This devastated me the most, I guess.

Then coming home to check my email, and receiving one from my father who seemed upset.

So I cried myself to sleep. And had a dream which just reflected what happened if I overanalyse it and look at it metaphorically. If the dream was any indication of what's to come, then I really shouldn't get my hopes up and basically try to move on as soon as I can.

I'm really busy tomorrow, so hopefully I shall be able to distract myself for a period of time. Life, when it's good, is awesome. When it sucks, it sucks big time.

Sorry for such an emo post, and having had not posted for quite some time, this ain't a great one to start it off again.

Got tagged.

2009-06-17T10:58:00.002+10:00

So MissyFee tagged me, and because I'm procrastinating from my final assignment (that really shouldn't take me more than a couple of hours) I'm doing this. :P

What is your current obsession?
Knitting and yarn. I have recently bought $300 worth, and am continuing to buy things even though I'm trying to reduce my credit card debt.

What are you wearing today?
Right now I'm still in bed, wearing my pj pants that say "Little Miss Naughty" with the character of the same name, and my mum's huge jumper which she wore when she was pregnant with me. It was the 80s, so it's really daggy but warm - grey with big white bold box stripes. Very horrible, but home daggy.

What's for dinner?
Dunno yet - I went home to my parents yesterday and mum gave me a box of spring rolls, so I may cook them up for lunch/dinner.

What did you eat for your last meal?
Mum cooked me some chicken stirfry with rice and a salad. Twas yum, and it's nice having a home cooked meal from mum, even though Dad forgot to tell her I was coming and therefore didn't really cook for me. Sigh, I'm truly loved.

What's the last thing you bought?
Some Malabrigo Worsted yarn from a destash on Ravelry, 3 Twist Collective Buzz bags (one for myself, 2 I dunno, maybe sell off or give as pressies), and some yarn from Knitabulous.

What are you listening to right now?
The traffic from outside and general house mumblings from housemates.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
New York. I seriously can't wait til October.

Which language do you want to learn?
French, because I want to go to France and learn how to make French movies. Even though I'm not a French movie buff.

What do you love most about where you currently live?
Very close to the city, close to pubs and one of the best cafes in Sydney for breakfast, and close to everything I need.

What is your favorite colour?
Red. Then purple, blue, green. I wear a lot of black though.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
This red coat my mother gave me. It's a scarlett red and it's a thick winter coat - I think it's wool and cashmere? Not quite sure, but looks nice and expensive and fancy shmancy.

What were you doing ten years ago?
In year 9 probably being teased by boys, trying to pass my 6th grade piano exam and just getting my braces. I was also holier than thou as I was playing the organ for my church.

Describe your personal style?
When I'm working it's modest, boring and "teacher" like. When I'm not working, it's daggy, and comfy. :D

If you had $300 now, what would you spend it on?
Paying off credit card? Nah, I'd probably go spend it either on yarn or dvds or buying myself and Mark something we'd appreciate. Like nice food.

Where would you go if you had to flee the country for tax evasion?
If the US wasn't in danger, I'd go there. Mainly because of the amount of yarn they have, and the amount of film and theatre they have there too.

What are your favorite films?
Amelie, Love Me If You Dare, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Stranger Than Fiction, Juno.

What inspires you?
Some of the kids I teach, my boyfriend, my knitting community, films and musicals.

Who's work/designs are you inspired by?
Musically: Jason Robert Brown, Bach and Mozart. Film: Michel Gondry, Jason Reitman, Marc Forster. Knitting: Yarn Harlot (blog wise), Ysolda, Brooklyn Tweed

Your favourite books?
Don't really have any... Sadly enough.

Do you collect anything?
Tickets of movies and theatre shows I've seen, and like Miss Fee - yarn and wool?

What makes you follow a blog?
The person (especially if I know them in real life), and people with knitting adventures.

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?
Sleeping in til 10am. :D It's really the only thing I've done so far.

What's one thing you dream of doing?
Well, I have two - directing an oscar-worthy movie, and owning a yarn store.

The rules:1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own. 2. Tag eight other people.

I'm going to tag people on facebook - that way they will see this. :P

So I lied, and have broken some rules...

2009-06-10T23:19:00.003+10:00

And the vodcast hasn't come up yet. But some things to update:

1) I have a new blog that I'm contributing to with redambition - Operation Awesomeness - read up to know what it's about.

2) WWKIP is happening this weekend - and I shall bring my camera along to that!

3) Uni assignments are so BORING. But am almost finished.

4) I had Maccas for the first time in a while this year. I know I'm so naughty. Won't happen again.

5) Also had a fizzy drink. A Coke Zero. Someone slap me.

6) Diet starts next week when my uni assignments are done.

7) Shall stop procrastinating in 5 minutes... :D

Huzzah!

2009-05-26T23:59:00.000+10:00

Won a camcorder - JVC 20GB. Sufficient for me. Waiting for it to arrive - hopefully tomorrow, but probably sometime this week.

Await for the Pilot Episode of the Knitting Ness! :D

More inspiration!

2009-05-19T01:08:00.002+10:00

So I've been downloading some podcasts... such as limenviolet, cast on and the knit picks one. I've downloaded more, but some of them were a bit of a drag. Such as the knit picks one. Lime and Violet are entertaining, but half the time they're giggling about stuff which can get a bit much, but generally they're fairly entertaining. Need to listen to some more, but in general I think I like the visual with the audio. If I'm listening to something, I like to listen to music, as there are many elements and levels to that auditaury experience. But there's something about just listening to voice or voices that after a while I'm craving music... Podcasts that last for 15 minutes are fine, the podcasts that last for an hour and 25 minutes - my gawd, how can they do it????

It has inspired me to start a vblog. Like my friend Hein did for a while in his blog (doesn't have any at the moment, because he has been busy with Med Revue which finished just a couple of weeks ago). I want to talk about knitting (of course) and musicals and just something and anything I think is interesting. Don't think it needs to be an hour long, but around a 3-5 minute video like the communitychannel girl. Now, she's an example of an online celebrity. It definitely didn't happen overnight - I believe she worked hard at it. But she's cute, funny, witty and does poke fun of life and their silly topical issues. I haven't seen all her videos, but I've seen quite a bit of them and they're fairly entertaining. She also apparently goes to my uni.

Anyhows, I'm proud of myself at the knitting front - finished 3 WIPs in the last week and a half - a pair of fingerless mittens, a massively long scarf for my housemate and a longneck beer bottle holder knitted out of hemp (read coarse and scratchy as hell) yarn. Currently back on my longways scarf, where I'm knitting garter stitch longways and I'm about halfway through - doing it until the ball of yarn runs out I suppose, and knitted a bit on my knee length socks. Started another project, even though I shouldn't have - I'm kniting a butterfly pi shawl, with my kauni rainbow yarn! I'm very very excited... Just need to upload photos now.

So I am on ebay looking and bidding on cheap camcorders - want to buy one now so I can start the vblogging which I've been contemplating for the past 2-3 months, and have one in time for New York as well. :D Wish me luck!

April - the month of excessive spending. :D

2009-04-30T23:11:00.009+10:00

Please note: I had this as a draft for like 2 weeks because I either didn't have time or when I did have time,
I couldn't be bothered... So yah - major update needed!

It's been a while since I blogged - so long that I forgot what I initially was going to talk about.

Easter came and went. My cousins from Dubbo were in town, and I took them out to see Monsters vs Aliens in 3D with my little brother Tony (who's not that little anymore) . It was okay. Celyna had her baptism on Easter Sunday, and she is very cute, and unfortunately the jumper I knitted for her is on the small side, but I shall knit up a dress which will hopefully be appreciated and will not be too small either. Mark got to meet my extended family, including my cousins that are my age (there's my age, and then there's the next level of cousins who are a little younger than Tony's age, so around 8-12 years old and Tony's 14).

Oh yes. My purchases. The multitude of unnecessary purchases. That was what I was initially going to blog about.

The Vintage Fair was held a couple of weeks ago mid April, and may I say that it was awesome! Lots of things in which I look at and go "awwww, want!" but restrained myself. Including a bowler hat! But I did buy 2 hats, a pair of earrings and 2 buttons on the first night (Friday night) when I went with Cecile and Kath, and some fabric when I went on Sunday (final night) with Carylyn.The vintage earrings... Have since replaced the screw on hooks with real hooks

The Purple Hat

The Purple hat from behind

Green hat! :D

After the Vintage Fair on Sunday, I dropped Caryl home after we had a catch up over lunch (sushi trains are awesome!), and went to Leichardt for the 2MBS fm Book and Music Bazaar. Bought Bartok for children, an early 20th century manual on how to be a piano teacher (it seems fairly outdated), and this interesting book on "How to Write a Movie in 21 Days". I'm actually tempted to take 3 weeks of my 6 week school holiday break at the end of the year and see if I can churn out a script! I kinda have an idea in mind - possibly something semi-biographical, but I'll see what happens! I also bought a stack of Broadway Musical recordings that were like $3.50 to $5 each. :D I was one happy camper, and all for a good cause.

I also bought quite a bit of yarn over the weeks. School holiday is dangerous because I end up wasting time online and just buying, buying, buying. Bought some Opal sock yarn, and some Knit Picks sock yarn and a couple of sock knitting books to start the sock addictions that all my other knitting friends have. My friend Birch brought my stuff over from the US since Knit Picks doesn't deliver to Australia, so I actually bought it a couple of weeks ago, but I finally got it after camp. Woot!

But the best part of the holidays was knitting camp over at Mt Keira in Wollongong. C R K Daisy Designs were the hosts of the event at the Scout Camp, and they were all so friendly and hospitible. It was just heaps of fun! I went down with Margarita driving myself, Jane and Lee, and shared a cabin with Kris, Fee, Lyn, Gemma, Kelly and Jody. Met heaps of Ravellers there - and I must admit I don't remember all their names, but they were all so friendly and cool! Lots of gossiping were had, and lots of wine and champagne and wine and alochol and wine.... I got a bit sick at one point. :P

One thing I forgot to do was bring my camera, so I didn't take any photos (and there were quite a few opportune times to take a wanky SLR photo). Participated in the dying workshop and dyed my 14ply yarn I had in my stash cupboard, and did the beanie contest - the quickest person knitted up a beanie in 1 hour and 15 minutes, the next person in 1 hour and 20 minutes. Jody knitted hers in 2 hours, and mine was 2 and a half, which I think is not too bad, considering some finished later on in the night! Played Trivia and I was on the losing team with Donna, which meant that I got lots of free yarn - odd balls here and there, which is fine by me, good to make random stuff with. :D

It was a great weekend away - leaving on the Friday and then coming back on the Sunday afternoon. All it was was knitting. And there wasn't the internet to distract me from the knitting, and I managed to get a bit done, despite my slowness.

And about a week and a half ago I bought my mum's Mother's Day present. I took a bus from uni to the city to go to M&S's SnB, and the bus stopped in front of David Jones. So I thought - might as well buy something for mum. I must have had the "Hmmm, wandering, pondering, I think I may buy a perfume" and got bombarded with 10 different fragrances all at once. Eventually I bought my mother a Hermes gift pack, and bought myself Versace Versences. :D I love perfume, and for me it's an at least once a year indulgence.

To finish off the line of purchases, I won a spinning wheel on eBay. Woo! Need to pick it up now. :D

There was also a point where I got into a sewing frenzy and sewn myself a straight knitting needles case. It has dodgy sewing...

Sew not straight!!!! (Geddit? :P)

And Mark also bought an amp in an attempt to make a voice box for Med Revue - but it didn't quite work. But look what was on the box!

You know it's been cheaply Asian made when the spelling is wrong...

So I was hoping that May would be the month of not spending much - but le sigh, I'm bidding on a clothes dryer on eBay - only because the weather's been so shite I can't do my laundry without the clothes getting rained on 3 days in a row!

Until next time peeps, happy spending! :D And knitting. And procrastinating. And more spending...

When I should be doing uni work...

2009-04-15T00:15:00.004+10:00

I sorted out my stash instead. :D

After a twitter post by missfee who was inspired by jp to count up and sort out their stash, I decided to do the same. Thing is, I haven't entered any of my stash since, well, the very beginnings of my knitting life, and that was around a year ago. And now that it's grown to something fairly big (in the space of a year, my gawd), I thought I might as well organise it, and control it.

So here's the mess while entering the data into my Ravelry Stash page.

I'm yet to take individual photos of each type of yarn - now, that process will be fun, seeing as I'm meant to have 74 types of yarn in my stash. That's around 270 balls/skeins, approx 15 kg and approx 27.618 km of yarn. Quite a bit. But probably not as much as missfee. :P

Tomorrow I'm going to buy ziplock bags and categorise them before I put it back into my stash cupboard. Although, I kinda like leaving them out in the open because sometimes I like feeling my stash. But I am going to at least photograph then organise them, that's for sure.

So I'm guessing the next time I want to buy yarn, I should look at my stash and go - I don't really need to. This does not count the 8kg of yarn I have as inventory for my stall.

Glebe Markets!

2009-04-11T19:38:00.003+10:00

Thanks for those who came by Glebe Markets today! Really appreciate the support and hopefully I've encouraged people that there should be more knitting in this world!

Will be back hopefully over at Kirribilli markets? And if I do come back to Glebe Markets, it may be with someone else helping, who knows? I definitely know that if I'm going to make an appearance, then it won't be until July at Glebe Markets due to teaching on Saturdays...

Still have a fair bit of inventory left, but that's ok - more for everyone else to buy at a later date, right? I made little info leaflets and cards, and my friend Derek helped me do the logo. I thought the cards were really cute, until my housemate Pascal pointed out a stupid mistake.

So see here - the front of the card, all cute and girly!

Excuse the blurriness but it's dark in my room, even with the crappy tungsten light on. :D

And here's the back which failed -

Ravelry was spelt "Raverly" - and seriously, it was fairly late last night when I was doing these (I should've done them earlier, but didn't because I'm stupidly a last minute person). Oh wells, I still liked how the cards turned out. :D A tiny bit cheaper than ordering them, but a little bit more time consuming.

In other news, I've created a wall on my cupboard of stash where I put polaroids of my friends. Remember how I scored a polaroid on eBay? Well I've bought (expensive) film and I've started taking photos of friends... I think its fun and something that I'm looking forward to filling up slowly. Excuse the blurriness again.

And lastly I finally finished my cousin Celyna's jumper. Hope it will still fit her! If not, it shall fit Tigger.

Good Friday...

2009-04-10T13:38:00.002+10:00

And I has a widdle cold, so I'm lying in bed, surfing the nets. Wondering whether I should be a good Catholic girl and go to Mass or not - I kinda don't want to, even though the church is 2 minutes walking distance. Seriously, I'm that lazy.

Anyhowsen, thanks to Twitter and Perez Hilton, I came across a website which rated the top 15 Cupcake Bakeries in New York. Have to check it out! So the aim of the trip to NYC is: a) visit a whole heap of yarn stores, b) to watch a whole heap of Broadway shows and c) to eat lots of cupcakes! That's all I should eat, really, whilst I'm there. Cupcakes.

And I've been following a blog Wendy Knits, and she posted a video about the health benefits of Knitting - and this is why the whole world should knit.

I shall have another little nap, see how I feel about going to church, and then I HAVE to do some work... Gar, motivation!

Changes and excitement!

2009-04-03T14:18:00.003+11:00

So I fixed my fringe, as you can see on my profile pic... I've made it longer and thicker. Under the advice and guidance of my friend Renata I just snipped it off myself. Man it was scary seeing long strands of my hair in clumps landing in the sink... And that was only my fringe!

Also - am going to New York and San Francisco! Am so excited! Going with my little brother, and we're leaving in October. Will need to book tickets soon for The Little Mermaid and Guys and Dolls on Broadway, and will need to make a list of all the yarn stores that I want to visit. :D

And lastly, I did something fairly out of the blue at work yesterday. It has upset a few people, and has caused a bit of a kerfuffle. But to be honest, I like to make things convenient for myself, and this year is a year for me. I don't always need to make everyone happy, and I don't have to care for everyone either. I think my compassionate, complying and sympathetic nature is maybe going away for a break for the next year or so, and the next few years will be solely about me. It's what I need.

Countdown to the Glebe Markets stall on Easter Saturday - 8 days! Everyone better come! :D Even if you're not a knitting fanatic, just come and say hi. I also hope it doesn't rain...

Here's a sneak preview!

Another week, another challenge...

2009-03-30T00:34:00.005+11:00

So, last week's challenge wasn't so successful. If I count chocolate ice cream into the deal, I spent $9.40 on chocolate last week. That's almost double the amount I was limiting myself to. Oh vell, try again this week!

I should also cut back on spending, but this week there was a sale on at Knit Picks - up to 40% off sock books. They don't ship to Australia, only within the US, but I knew one of my friends (Tom Birch) from San Fran was coming back to Sydney for the Anzac Day long weekend. So taking advantage of the free shipping within the US (if you spend over US$50) and Tom bringing it over when he comes to visit, I spent US$55 on 2 books plus some sock yarn. I just started my first pair of socks, and it's going quite well (although I'm still trying to find out how to not have the holes from where I wrap my stitches when I turn the heel) and thankfully even though the pattern is just basic stocking stitch, the yarn is very pretty, and that keeps me interested!

Also spent $5.50 on an armchair that I bid on eBay...

Well - it costed me more than $5.50 when I count petrol money and the time spent driving there and back (it was all the way out in the Hills district - Beaumont Hills, 45 minutes each way!). I reckon it looks better in real life, and it's quite comfy too! (Am sitting on it right now as I type... :D) It's perfect because I can sit properly whilst I knit instead of knitting on the bed, and I can also sit next to Mark when he's at his table on his computer. All I need to get now is a laptop table, and I'm set.

Oh and talking about buying stuff, when I was buying my text book for a uni class, I bought two Popular Penguin books - Clockwork Orange and Lolita. It's pretty cheap already, and buying it at the UNSW bookshop we get 10% off, so it ended up being $9 each. I hope to do more leisurely reading to kick start my imagination, as well as to possibly improve my (horrid) writing skills. I find that academic journals and articles are sometimes a bit dry, even though I should employ their writing techniques moreso than fiction novels. But being the arty-farty wanky me, I prefer something with an interesting narrative. Have started a bit of Clockwork Orange, and must admit even though it's kinda novella size, it's still a bit of a challenge to read as the language used is slightly cryptic - lots of slang used by Alex, the main dude, and therefore slows the process down a bit as I try to decipher what he's talking about half the time! I know it's the language that is used in the movie, which I remember but not extremely clearly, but having the images you can guess pretty quickly what he's on about, as opposed to having to re-read the paragraph to get the context of what he's trying to say. Sometimes movies do do half the work for you, as you don't necessarily have to "imagine" the protaganist's world, but I guess that's the magic about reading a novel - YOU get to conjure up the images the way YOU think it should be and really no one will judge you. As a movie director of a film based on a novel, if the image you try to recreate does not meet up to the standard of, say, a hardcore fan's expectations, you're just a sucker for punishment... :D

And I've been learning a bit of guitar too! Mark, of course, is teaching me a bit here and there. I now know how to do 2 octaves of the G major scale, and I'm going to try learning a few chords next week. Am trying to practice my picking and also keeping my fingers closer to the frets. I scored this acoustic guitar from freecycle, and even though it's not fantastic - far from it actually, it's good to learn on before I invest in a better than crap guitar.

This week's challenge? To detox my system. It has a lot of gunk. I'm going to try and be as healthy as possible, and also try to exercise everyday again as well. Have made a list of things to do, so that's another challenge - cross off everything on that list! :D

Until next week, smile everybody!

My new baby cousin!

2009-03-24T19:02:00.004+11:00

Hello Celyna Tran! :D

(In case you haven't guessed, it's a baby girl!)

Which completes the ideal family of six in the Tran household - my aunt Linh and my uncle Nhan (the proud parents), and the kids Nathan, Trudy and Corey. Can't wait to see Celyna when she's in town over Easter... :D They live in Dubbo, so I don't get to see them that often.

Photographic Update 2

2009-03-23T21:18:00.006+11:00

So there is more...

In terms of buying things, I also bought more things such as a Ravelry Project bag that I've been using since it landed in my hands thanks to Kris

And I've started quite a few projects here and there... One of my friends requested a beer cozy for a long neck after I told him that I bought hemp yarn from a yarn store and haven't quite decided what I should knit with it...

It really shouldn't take long, but I discovered that this hemp yarn is in fact quite course and it hurts the fingers after a while, which kinda slows down the process.

I also started on a feather and fan scarf for my boss Rachel, who's birthday was actually 2-3 weeks ago at the end of February... Has a few mistakes, but hopefully she doesn't notice!

I was inspired by the people knitting at the M&S Stitch and Bitch sessions to knit a pair of socks. My first attempt failed BADLY because I decided to start with a fairly tricky cable pattern which enabled me to make heaps of mistakes after I thought it would be fine. So I decided to do a simple toe-up stocking stitch pattern, and I'm also hoping that it'll be knee-length - depends if the yardage of this yarn allows...

And one night I remembered that my aunt in Dubbo is pregnant, so I thought I would knit my new cousin a little jumper. She's apparently going to be born around Easter time, or probably even now... I should give her a call soon. But I did this all in 2-3 hours about a month ago, and haven't touched it since...

And Daddy's birthday was a good month and a half ago, yet I still haven't finished the first piece! It's the back I'm currently doing, so hopefully I'll finish it sometime soon. I'm knitting it up with some Patons Wool Tweed DK, and it's actually looking kinda nice, despite the few mistakes at the bottom when I was still figuring out the pattern - couldn't be bothered frogging it back, so hopefully Dad won't notice that either!

We have a friend residing in our balcony. Don't know what to call her, but she's massive. Doesn't look it in the picture, but she's huge, and her web is also quite big. Any suggestions as to what to name her? Click on the pic to enlarge her, but be warned that the photo is quite blurry...

And last but not least is the BESTEST THING EVER! One of my very close friends Cecile went to the US of A recently to get away from it all, and when she went to Disneyland, she brought back for me a LITTLE ARIEL! And her Little Flounder makes bubble-under-the-sea noises, and it's just sooooo cute! Also bought be back a Playbill from NYC, which I hope to go in October this year to actually SEE the production!

And yah, to update on my weekly challenges? Not that great. Haven't been going for runs because I've been just too tired and flat out with teaching and uni and Bombshells, which is now over. But I have been maintaining my fruit a day, and staying away from soft drinks since my one slip up with that can of Diet Coke. Haven't had Maccas since, and have been trying really hard to knit at least an hour a day... Haven't really knited for an hour today, but will do after finishing this blog entry. :D

This week's challenge? I'm only allowed to buy $5 worth of chocolate a week for the next 4 weeks at least. Today I already bought $4.40, and consumed half of it (Hershey's Cookies and Cream is soooooo good), so I should save the rest for extreme emergencies and I shouldn't buy any more this week. I thought up this challenge after I bought the chocolate going "Wow, 2 bars of chocolate and it costs $4.40 already... Chocolate can be expensive, maybe I should cut back a bit..." I know, I know, I can't believe I thought that either.

Photographic update

2009-03-23T13:30:00.009+11:00

Here are some photos to update you what I've been doing lately... Excuse the crappy quality of the photos - most of them are blurry, but I'm just showing pictures, not really creating art. :P

Most recently - My new fringe. Like?Apparently it makes me more Asian and younger, which I don't mind either....

I've also been buying things off eBay, which I should stop doing, but hey, trying to boost the economy, right?

One purchase was a Polaroid camera - I just recently bought film for it (so expensive! Turns out being $2.50 per photo) and the stupid camera ate up a whole packet (10 photos, so $25 lost). Oh well, I'll see if I can try and find out whether I can use the wasted photos on some artistic collage.

Also off eBay I bought a cupboard to store my stash of yarn... And here it is:

This is the cupboard itself, with the middle shelf exposed and therefore a perfect place for me to store the knitting books and notions.

My top shelf!

And bottom shelf...

Needs to be a bit more organised, but I like how it's in a shelf now and not in boxes, and I can look at it from time to time to remind me how much yarn I actually have...

And I'm holding a stall at Glebe Markets, and my first batch of inventory for the stall came last week - here's a sneak preview!

Pretty ain't it??? If it's not all sold, it's just more for me!

And I finally got to clean my 1kg of Romney fleece that I bought last year off a Ravelry member. I bought Ashford Hand Carders from Petlins in Rhodes and it's a bit of a slow process, but it's getting there...

Ahhh! Running out of time, need to dash to teach... So shall create another entry with my WIPs that I've started in the past month or so...

Another relief is that I finished Bombshells, which turned out to be a very well received production. But no more shows this year! Focus on me, me, me. And knitting. And piano...

This year's dream...

2009-03-19T03:00:00.006+11:00

To go here...

Broadway, New York City.

To visit, of course... Don't think I'll actually be in a show there.

No self control....

2009-03-17T09:24:00.002+11:00

I have no self control sometimes... The other night I was so tired and stressed out and feeling sorry for myself that I caved in and had a soft drink. Not that having a soft drink is bad for you, but the whole no-soft-drink-for-the-rest-of-the-year thing didn't work. But you know, sometimes you have your one lapsed moment, and then you pick yourself up again and try harder.

I also haven't gone for a run in ages. Ages as in about a week and a bit. Too lazy. Although I've been trying to eat less in general and I still am maintaining and losing a bit of weight. But I'm still eating junk. Lots of chocolate, and chips. I can't live without chocolate, even if it's a small bite each day - Chocolate is part of my staple diet. But I think I can live without chips.

So this week's effort of a challenge will be no chips. No twisties, no hot chips, cheezles, nadda.

And also to knit heaps. Have so many projects going on at the one time... It's crazy!

Have also been hand carding fleece that I bought about a year ago, and the fleece is really pretty and soft. Going to see if I can try spinning it with my spindle later, but I have 1kg to go through - I think I've only gone through like 50 grams so far? It's going to take forever, but I'm persistent!

Oh - and I've organised a stall at Glebe Markets for the Easter weekend - Saturday 11th April. Those who knit should come by and check it out! If not, come by and say hi anyways... :D

My (quasi) Weekly Challenges

2009-03-06T23:41:00.004+11:00

These are my weekly challenges that start from that week onwards for the rest of the year. Will update and edit accordingly. :D

No more Maccas
No more soft drinks
Eat a piece of fruit daily
Jog/walk every single day
Knit for at least an hour a day
No chips of any kind

So much for a challenge, eh?

2009-03-02T12:11:00.003+11:00

Well last week's challenge of a) jogging every day and b) knitting for an hour a day didn't quite work. There was at least one or two days where I didn't knit, and there was at least 3 or 4 days where I didn't jog? Sigh... Procrastination much.

So this week's challenge is to uphold last week's challenge for one more week.

Uni is starting again soon, and I'm kinda nervous about it all! Need to focus on getting things done.... GAR!

And Bombshells is a show that I've been musical directing which is in it's production week. And now I'm also playing the piano for it, so lots of things I need to do this week!

On top of that I'm organising a stall at Glebe Markets to sell yarn, and hopefully I'll be able to grab a stall and have some yarn to sell! :D

Should go and knit now - lots of knitting to do. Need to knit 3 vests in a week!

Craft4aCause

2009-02-27T15:17:00.003+11:00

A fellow knitter on Ravelry has a daughter Ayla who has Polymicrogyria. Because Ayla needs to go to a special Steiner school to take care of her and accept her lovingly, her mother Melissa is trying to raise funds to make this happen. This is a quote from her first post on Ravelry telling her story:

I am looking for a little help from anyone who would like to give. My daughter Ayla has a motor impairment which means she is unable to crawl, walk or talk. She is 3 years old and currently charms her way through life. Mummy (that’s me) has just been informed that in order for her to go to school with her friends she will need a full-time teacher aide at a cost of $22000 per year. As the school is independent there is very little government funding available to her so it will have to be fundraised. I am putting together a crafting pool called Craft for a Cause where everyone who joins is emailed a selection of craft patterns at the beginning of every season. Each member creates one or more masterpiece/s from the patterns, donating both their time and the materials needed to complete the project and sends the finished piece to me to be sold at market stalls (and if this gets big enough an online shop on Etsy!). Money raised will go into an investment account in the hopes of generating more $$ to help us pay for Ayla’s ‘inclusive’ education.

I myself have not knitted anything yet, but I believe Ayla is one little girl out of many in the world that needs our help. I soon will knit something (once I get the other knitting out of the way) but I encourage everyone else to have a look at the Etsy store Craft4aCause that Melissa has set up. :D

Score!

2009-02-26T20:01:00.003+11:00

I'm on a group called Freecycle and a lady made an offer of knitting/crochet patterns and quilting magazines. I immediately jumped for the knitting patterns, and I did say I wasn't too keen on the quilting magazines, but I'd take them if she can't sort them. The lady was very nice to have sorted the magazines out for me, and this is the amount of knitting patterns I have:

Haven't been through the whole thing, but have heaps of Patons, Cleckheaton and other ACS publications, as well as Rowan, Filatura di Crosa and Jo Sharp. Lots and lots to go through, although I think I won't be knitting all of them anytime soon. For me it'll be a matter of inspiration if nothing else!

Now stuck with a head cold, and I'm not totally happy. A student of mine came in with a runny nose, and that really really sucked. From there I knew I was going to catch it, and guess what? I did the following day. The wonders of teaching, really.

Other than that, I'm pretty happy and set in everything. Must admit the exercise challenge for the week ain't quite happening every day but it did happen twice at least out of 4 days... :D If I feel better tomorrow morning I may try to jog tomorrow.

Lost in-terpretation?

2009-02-23T23:41:00.004+11:00

Is the internet so frigging disconnected that we misinterpret things way too often? Do I not get sarcasm anymore? Is there internet etiquette?

I think when I chat online or I email someone if it is to someone I see often, I can see them being "sarcastic". I can imagine them actually talking to me in their usual speaking manner as I read their messages or emails.

For friends that I don't see often, I try to be polite, because things online can be misinterpreted. I don't play the sarcasm or cynical card, I just stay neutral and friendly (which sometimes includes lots of smilies and exclamation marks, which can annoy people).

So when I chat to a friend online and he pops up saying that I'm taking things too seriously when I was just stating a point, unnecessary tension forms. Every time I chat to him, it happens. Apparently I'm uptight and can't read sarcasm... Anyways, he's not a person that I seek the company of for that very reason, and I don't even bother initiating conversations online as well.

Anyhowsen, it's amazing to see how something so impersonal get so personal. It's not like the internet can provide anything like real life can, it can only supplement it. I don't know where I'm getting at here, but I just wish sometimes the internet is not so easy, because then it'd force people to interact more, have to face a person to insult them, or write a letter in snail mail, which requires more effort, or make a phone call.

Then again - if that's the case, I'm a hypocrite and calling the kettle black by typing up this post. :P

Lists

2009-02-22T02:00:00.004+11:00

Of crafty things to do:

Finish Dad's vest.
Finish my newly born cousin's jumper.
Finish the 3 vests that are due in March
Finish a friend's scarf for her birthday this week
Start on a hat for my housemate Nic
Finish my housemate Pascal's scarf for April
Decoupage my (knitting) money box
Knit a beer cozy for James
Knit a present for George's 21st
Knit Cecile's skirt that was meant to be done last year
Finish Mum's blanket
Knit Mark's cardigan
Knit my jacket in time for winter sometime soon!

Of general things:

Re-enrol into uni
Pay off credit card
Save money for a trip overseas
Lose at least 6 kg this year
No more shows this year (after Bombshells)

My challenges so far:

No more Maccas
No more soft drinks
Eat a piece of fruit each day

This week's challenge (and seeing as I didn't have one last week, I'm having 2 this week):

Walk/Jog every day for at least 10 minutes.
Knit for at least an hour a day

Sigh - so many things to do. So little time to do them.

Ness' knitting money tin

2009-02-18T00:42:00.002+11:00

I'm going to buy a money tin tomorrow and label it "Ness' knitting money" and put all my coins in there. When it becomes full of coins, it shall be used to buy yarn.

This will hopefully stop me from impulse buying yarn all the time, and go - if I'm going to spend all that money, I may as well put it in the tin. Then it'll make me think twice and then I shall not buy anything. Well, hopefully. I could be wrong.

I had a candle holder that I doubled up as a mini-change bowl, and I found out in the space of 5-6 months I accumulated around $50 worth of change. That's like 5 balls of quality yarn, or 3 balls of top quality yarn. Or a bag of bargain yarn.

This time around, I think I'm going to use the change to fund for a dinner Mark is going to cook with friends, and to pay for entry to see a gig that our housemate is having this Thursday at the Annandale.

Talking about gigs, I bought tickets to go see Wayne Brady, of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" fame. It's in May... So excited! And Tim Minchin is coming up soon too... :D

Need to focus. This week's challenge - a bit of a cheat - to maintain what I have so far. Also to finish all my knitting. Grrrrr.... Too much to do, so little time!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-15T00:50:00.004+11:00

Not a huge celebrator, but I do love cards. Especially this one which I gave to my Markyboo... :D

Mark made me dinner (must admit dropped huge hints for it), but it at least inspired to cook! I didn't get anything for Mark, just this card and a message in the card, but yah. We don't quite believe in Valentine's Day, especially due to the fact that I had my birthday the day before, and Mark's probably a bit poor from that!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

Under pressure...

2009-02-11T10:41:00.002+11:00

To finish things! I had a friend pressure me to get a recording done, and I'm currently doing a production where I'm just slightly behind on the recording thing. I also need to re-enrol into uni, so I can finish this damn degree. And I have a few knitted items that need to finish in 2-3 weeks, and I'm like terribly behind! I'm also under pressure to lose weight, exercise more and eat less. GARRR!

Sigh, I really need to work harder this year. Need to get everything done so that I can get over this stage of my life, and just move on to the real world!

Besides that, my birthday is coming up soon, and I'm excited! :D Just to have a day for me on Friday would be great. It's a Black Friday this year, so yah, nothing too special. I'll probably just knit and compose that day.

Challenge for the week: Eat a piece of fruit a day. In conjunction with my other challenges of no Maccas and no soft drinks, which I have done for the past 2-3 weeks. :D

Happy New Year!

2009-02-06T14:07:00.002+11:00

Yah I know, it was like more than a month ago, and I've been slack. So sorry about that.

Going to try and at least blog once a week - weekly updates. For a while I thought I may do a Vblog like one of my best friends, but I decided nah, I like typing more so than having to buy a video camera and edit and all that.

So due to the holidays I've gotten chubbier. Chubbier than chubbier... It's annoying. So I've decided to make weekly challenges for myself. Last week was no more McDonalds! I used to have (and this was my guilty pleasure) a Maccas breakfast on the way to Saturday teaching. But now I'm going to stop that habit and have no Maccas at all for at least the rest of the year, no matter how hungry or convenient it is!

My second challenge for this week was no soft drinks. Even though I had one on Monday (a diet coke, and it was free), I said no more for the rest of the week. So so far, despite the many cravings I had, I didn't have any since Monday night! :D

I'm going to make that every Monday I'm going to give myself another challenge. Like I thought today maybe my next challenge would be to take the stairs or walk as much as possible. So if there are escalators but a set of stairs right next to it, or a lift and some stairs right next to it (granted it's not 15 levels high), then I'm going to use the stairs instead of the lift/escalator. Thing is, I don't go out that much so I think that may be an easy challenge. So I probably have to have an additional challenge to it, like a serving of fruit each day or something.

Today I got my car serviced, so I decided to spend the day hanging out in the city, as the VW shuttle bus dropped me off at Town Hall, and will be picking me up soon at 4pm at Town Hall. I hung out a bit with Hein, and I got to experience his work for an hour! :D It was fun, and even though I love teaching, retail is really not as bad as I remembered it to be. Maybe because my luck with retail wasn't that great, and I had mean bosses and managers with control issues, but yah, Hein seemed to have fun at his work and I one day would like to own a knitting store and make it as fun as that! :D

Anyhows, I was in the underground QVB part, and I hadn't had breakfast yet and was hungry, so I went to the German bakery (I forgot the name). I was standing waiting to be served, and as soon as the person before me left I made a motion that I was next, and the woman behind the counter went straight for the other dude who came after me! I was like - what the hell? Granted he was probably a regular and he was kinda cute, but he wasn't THAT cute. The woman was nice and warm and cheerful to the guy, and then when she served me next, which she took her time for (because after serving him she went off to do something and clearly didn't care about serving me), it was fake and abrupt. So yah, I thought maybe she had a thing for the "regular" guy, so that annoyed me. Makes me wonder whether people are just naturally flirtatious or something that they favour the opposite sex or whatever, it just irks me that you would favour someone just because they're male (if you're a female that is). Soooooooo annoying. Anyhows, I enjoyed my tomato and boccini with pesto sauce roll, but that woman tampered the whole experience. If that roll was really shite it would've guaranteed me not to go back there, but alas, the roll was great yums.

I've been in the middle of so many knitting projects, I haven't finished any! Oh, I finished one, and that was a birthday present for my boyfriend's mum. She seemed to like it - it was a knitting bag. I need to finish dad's vest, and I also need to finish my housemate's scarf. And start on a friend's beanie, and another friend's pair of arm warmers, and a bikini for another friend, and a cardigan for my boyfriend, and three vests for a fashion designer. Sigh. This is all too much. Why do I promise to knit things when I myself can't knit that fast???? And I keep buying wool unnecessarily, but I guess that's just part of being an arty crafty person - having "stash". :D

So I'll make more of an effort to update my blog, I'm actually going to try and revamp the look of the site somehow. I'll figure something out. :D

There's nothing like Christmas...

2008-12-26T18:55:00.002+11:00

Christmas started with an all traditional Midnight Mass. Went to St Brendan's back home in Bankstown, and it was a nice mass, bumping into old friends and seeing lots of unfamiliar faces... Dragged Mark along, and he felt a bit out of place, and it was a bit foreign to him, but I appreciated the fact that he came to keep me happy. :D

So I met Mark's extended family on Christmas day for lunch - they all seem really lovely! :D And I also finally got to meet Mark's sister Linda, who came over to visit from Sweden. She's absolutely lovely and got me awesome pressies! I got a little Fairy cookbook to make things for my students, and Pam (Mark's mum) got me heaps of baking utensils, like an awesome red rolling pin, a pink spatula/spoon thing, some confetti and candles and cupcakes... Oh and Linda also got me a very very cute apron! And some loose leaf gold - REAL edible gold! Maybe I should make something for my own little birthday party!

Then I also went to my parent's house and we had a BBQ. Big day for eating, may I say! Tony, Dad and I had fun cooking on their new BBQ (it's huge!) and the lamb and beef were very very nice. I ordered some head phones for Tony on Ebay, and they haven't arrived yet, so I'm sure he'll receive it soon.

And today, Boxing Day, I treated myself for Christmas! Boxing Day sales meant shopping for me - got some Bills cook books, The Ultimate Travel Book from Lonely Planet having info on every single country in the world, the "softies" and "more softies" toy books, two sheridan bath towels (one red for me, one blue for Mark), and a Mundial Knife Block set. All in all, I'm totally happy with the purchases!

Mark promised me knitting stuffs, so I aksed him tomorrow whether we can pop in quickly into Morris and Sons and get me a knit picks interchangable set... Dunno whether to get Options or Harmony, but I think I may opt for the Options because I like slick. :D

Here's to another Christmas - this year was actually quite nice, and I had fun giving presents as much as I received presents... Next year I'll be more organised with my knitting and people will actually get their knit presents on time... :D

Creative week? Maybe...

2008-11-30T16:35:00.005+11:00

Did a few things this week that tapped into my creative crafty side...

My first attempt to dye... Well that was interesting! I followed the instructions on Pea Soup's blog on microwave dying with food dye using 100g of Naturelle Chunky 14 ply that I bought from Morris and Sons. I did this as a project for the Christmas Swap on Ravelry's OTF group, and the swapee I had mentioned Christmas colours, so I chose red and green and left a section white.

I wasn't happy with how I blotched some of the colours together, and that when I rinsed it some of the red food dye managed its way to the white section and it turned out a very light shade of pink... But once it was wound up it actually looks alright, and the pink doesn't scream out like it did in a skein.

So here's a pic of the yarn in a ball - I've already knitted a bit of it to make the Christmas stocking, but it still looks kinda pretty!

And here's the Christmas stocking for the swap. :D First time I did something similar to a sock, and it was a fairly quick knit.

So when it's knitted up it's not too bad, the pink is not too obvious. But in the ball and when it was in a skein that was like ten more obvious... Anyhows, I hope my swapee likes it anyways!

And last night I made some cupcakes! I used the Magnolia Bakery's recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes, and they turned out okayish... They're really sweet! I initially did another batch beforehand of Chilli Chocolate cupcakes, but I accidentally put one tablespoon of baking powder instead of one teaspoon, and it deflated on me ten folds. And Mark didn't seem to like it either, so I threw it out.

Here are some pics of the Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Icing! :D I think I did an okay job, and I must say it makes a hell of a difference when you have an electric hand beater - not having one last time made my buttercream all runny, and this time it was spreadable!

I'm practicing my cupcake making so that I can make a whole big batch on Friday for the students doing their recitals next Saturday and Sunday... So I'll be baking cupcakes all day, that's for sure!

And the other day Mark was visiting his parents, and I thought I'd come up later and pick him up and drop in to say hi as well. Pam (his mum) and I were talking about knitting, and she said that she found Mark's scarf that he made when he was in year 5 or 6 in Primary school! Pam was so nice to let me have it, and it just seems so cool to have something that he crafted when he was younger that is actually kinda functional.

Mark told me that when he made it, he didn't really want to, and so to finish the project as quickly as possible he made sure he used the biggest needles he could find - 13mm. He also used 3 colours, which was not what many other kids were doing in the class, and he told me of races that he had every now and then to see who finished a row the quickest.

So as you can see - for a first (and only) knitting project, I think Mark did extremely well for a 11 year old boy. I think young boys have better motor skills than young girls (I teach piano, and is a common observation not only from myself, but from others as well). His ends were just tied (obviously didn't care about weaving ends in) and there was one or two dropped stitches, but in general a pretty good job!

I have a theory that he may have changed needles half way - what do you think?
The right side is tighter than the left side, so I'm assuming that his
tension improved, or he changed needles sizes... Not quite sure...

As you can see here - he just tied the ends... :D

And this is one scarf that I will treasure for a while. I'll even whip it out when we have kids and go "See? Even Dad knitted once!" Well, first thing's first, we need to get married and have kids, but that's another 10 years or so away!

Oh and other good news to add is that all my students who went for exams passed! They all got a Credit (B) for their piano exams, and I'm totally happy about it. I'm also teaching another student that I used to teach when I was home in Bankstown, and I'm glad that she thought of me when her mother wanted to change teachers... I guess I'll be teaching piano for quite some time, hey?

So here's another week to creativity - am up to my neck full of projects that I want to start, and have started and want to finish ASAP... I wish I was a faster knitter, or I had motivation to knit more! Ravelry and the internets are very distracting sometimes...

Laptop out of action

2008-11-14T11:27:00.002+11:00

The power supply for my laptop has died, and now I can't access everything straight away on the intertron. I have to wait for Mark to finish something, or for Mark not to be home to use his computer and check my email and update myself on what I usually read every morning without fail. :S So now it's the first morning where I've been able to have the computer for more than 5 minutes, and I'm finally up to date 2 hours later...

On the up side, I have done a lot more knitting. Haven't finished that essay and probably never will... I need a power supply soon though because I need to mock up an e-flyer for my teaching's end of year concert, and I need my photoshop to do all that. Sigh.

But it goes to show how much time I spend on the internet - I'm going to try and tone it down a bit I guess, and get more things done, even if it's just knitting and doing things around the house - that reminds me, need to do my laundry. I guess I'll start it now.

I really have nothing exciting to tell except for the knitting projects I have finished for a recent swap on Ravelry. More details later I guess - once I get my computer up and running again.

Oh well - off to do some housework and get myself cleaned and organised and make a few phonecalls. I wonder if anyone really reads my blog (besides you Hein... :P) Would like to update my layout and personalise it a bit more - anyone able to help me on that?

Oooo I hear my boyfriend is back from his guitar lesson... Better look productive!

Appearances can be "deceiving"...

2008-10-15T13:44:00.003+11:00

Well... the whole "age" thing. It's a curious thing, some people make a huge issue out of it, and some don't. It also depends on the context - people think 23 (my current age) is young, and some think it's old. I don't find it a huge issue that I'm a bit older than Mark (by like a measly 7 months) but my parents made a huge issue once when I had one boyfriend who was one month younger than me.

I had some students - twins, actually, who asked me how old I was. They're going through a phase where they want to know everything about someone. They thought that I looked fairly young, and thought I was still a teenager, which I thought was cute. Then I had a mother of a student yesterday ask me whether I had my own children - and I'm like hell no! I'm not even married yet! Her reasoning was because I seem to be really good with kids, and thought I would have some of my own to be experienced in such a way.

And there have been other numerous times where people thought I'm younger, or much older, either because I act the same age as them, or if I'm "older" it's because I seem experienced, wise and worldly. In a way I guess they're both flattering, so yah, I just find it very intriguing that people perceive you differently in different situations and contexts. When I'm vocal directing a University Revue, people assume that I'm a lot older than I am (I'm still relatively older anyhow, I should've graduated 2-3 years ago) because of the whole authoritative figure. Oh vell, both are compliments in a way, so I should just take them as they are.

Since we're on this road of "self-discovery", I also concluded that I'm too nice sometimes. I seem to care about people who don't even give a damn about me sometimes, or are self-absorbed or something... Friends that I whinge to tell me to let go of them. But it's hard, I don't know why but I must have something that I identify with them, and hence the friendship. I sometimes also get involved when I shouldn't, and the energy invested in 'solving' people's problems by listening to them and offering them advice usually amounts to nothing. I am becoming a bit more selfish lately, and keeping to myself more so in light of this, but there are a few things that make me curious and always go back to ask that one last question or to keep them company and what not. I've been known to be generous, and it's basically me thinking "if I were them, what would I like?", such as offering a lift to the station to make things a little easier. If I have such a luxury (a car) I should share it, and hopefully they'll do something in return. I don't do things expecting a return, but I do like appreciation. And I also find it hard to say no sometimes, and that's one thing I need to do. More me time, less everyone else time.

Sigh - a bit of a wah, but that's what blogs are for, right?

It's October already?

2008-10-07T19:05:00.003+11:00

And basically I feel like nothing much has improved. My money situation, my health, my bad habits, procrastination.... Sigh. My attempts to "change" have failed miserably yet again.

So what do I wanna do? TRY AGAIN! WOOOT!

One thing I have realised is that I have definitely put on weight (as opposed to lose weight, which was what I was aiming to do since God knows when). I'm the heaviest that I've ever been, and I'm not growing any taller (unfortunately... the height gods spite me).

I realise that an expensive Gym membership does not motivate me any more to go exercise, so I thought before I get another Gym membership (because the last one has lapsed) I have to prove myself worthy of one - I'm going to go for jogs/walks every single day for at least 15 minutes and develop my fitness and to just do some physical activity for when I'm in bed the whole entire day (like today - stayed on my bed doing NOTHING!). So starting today, I am running around the block each day and if my time gets better, I'll do extra rounds or change the route so I run a longer distance.

Another thing I realised is that I don't fit nicely into half the clothes I used to fit in. I have awesome skirts, pin-striped pants, jeans, flattering tops, evening/cocktail dresses that I can fit in, but my fat deposits are like bulging out everywhere. Or they just don't fit. Sigh - I think I may have technically put on like 12 kg since first year (which is quite a while ago) and so I think I better work on losing it again. I liked the clothes I had before, and I really don't want to throw them out - therefore, we all know what the obvious solution is.

And the last thing that has prompted me to wanna diet is my family. My mother comments every single time I visit her about how fat I am, my dad is always telling me to "get fit" - it's his nice way of telling me that I've put on weight, and the whole recent thing of my granddad dying and the prospect of going back to Vietnam - the thought of my extended family telling me off for how fat I am made me cringe. When I was a couple of kilos lighter, my extended family was telling me off about how fat I was back then, so imagine the insults and comments now??? I don't want to... it depresses me.

Talking about depression, I have a feeling that my mother may have it. She is physically sore and is definitely not happy, and I guess me not visiting her today didn't quite help. Dad wanted me to take her to the GP today, but Mum said that her GP is on holiday for the next two weeks. Dad, however, is still in Vietnam for my Granddad's funeral. And I know I should be a good daughter and take care of her, but (even though todays attempt was an epic fail) I'm fairly behind with my uni work, and wanted to use today to do it. I've been listening to Dad's side of things, and Mum's side of things, and it appears to me that my mother is paranoid about my dad leaving her, or that all his investments will fail somehow and Dad will send the family bankrupt, or some other disaster like that. She's always thinking the worst, being the pessimist she is. My Vietnamese vocabulary ain't that grand, so I can't explain to her what I want to tell her. She refuses to listen to my dad, and in turn Dad has started to not tell her everything, but not hiding it that well so when Mum finds out, all hell breaks loose. To be honest, I reckon that some couple counseling between Mum and Dad would help, and I know Dad has tried it before (but with our Parish Priest), but I feel that someone who has no connection to either Mum or Dad would help the situation much more than someone who is on Dad's side, or who knows both parties and so therefore have to be more careful in terms of things to say or do.

But in light of all this, I've also realised a couple of other things - communication is important in a relationship. Refusing to listen is disrespectful, and I have a feeling that my mother is refusing to listen to Dad, but now Dad in turn has refused to listen to Mum and she is slowly feeling isolated. Dad says my mother has everything, and blames the Vietnamese community for stirring shit about our family and about Dad especially. But once you start listening to gossip and trusting gossip more so than your own husband who you apparently know, wouldn't that mean you're no longer in a relationship that is equal and respectful? I get really frustrated with my mother when she talks crap about Dad, and she starts telling me off for believing in him, but until she shows me hard copy evidence that Dad is doing all the things that he's apparently doing, I have no reason to believe her.

I also think that because she doesn't have work to do, and basically is a stay at home mum who gets an allowance and just goes shopping and all that, she starts worrying about Dad's agendas too much, and once he starts not doing what she thinks is right, she takes offense and thinks that it's a plot against her somehow. She doesn't really exercise (she walks everywhere though, which is a plus) and she doesn't eat extremely healthily (she's always watching her weight, and on a diet despite the fact that she weighs 45kg... can you see where I get the self-conscious thing from?). Even though I do want to lose weight, I also want to get back my healthy lifestyle of being active again (I used to walk everywhere and do a run each day, now I just drive everywhere and I'm fairly stationary for quite some time). I believe having a healthy physical being equates to a healthy mentality and emotional stability. Because she stresses, I feel it translates to her body and puts her in pain where even a specialist says there is nothing wrong with her. If, say, she was exercising and eating the right foods (instead of relying on Chinese herbal medicines and practices and no protein and stuff) maybe she wouldn't be entirely paranoid about everything. But I should say maybe with caution, as we do have a family history of mental illness, and it just so happens that my mother may be in the initial stages of this illness.

So what have I learnt? Quite a bit. What am I doing? Not quite a lot... So I'm going to attempt to write an essay once more, then cook some dinner, then keep you updated with my jogging attempts and what not. There's also another thing I don't wanna be, and to me it's kinda sad but true, and that is I don't want to be like my mum. I love her, and I care for her, but she is not quite the role model I would be going for. Sorry Mum...

Family happenings and non-happenings

2008-09-29T12:30:00.002+10:00

So, I got a phone call from my mother this morning. She said she's going into the hospital on Friday to check what's wrong with her. She's been pretty sick for the past month, and last week she fainted in the bathroom and Dad got her to Bankstown Hospital. They said they couldn't find anything except for an ulcer in her oesophagus, so she was sent home and was told that if she still feels pain she should go to a specialist - which she did. So I'm coming home tomorrow to help her with some paperwork because she wants to have things taken care of just in case she needs to stay in hospital.

Mum also mentioned about how Grandpa on Dad's side is dying. He too was in hospital, but he was sent home saying that he's pretty much ready to die. How horrible is that? I would prefer a quick death, personally. But Mum said that Dad's waiting on Mum's results on Friday before Dad would go anywhere... Also Dad needs to organise his business so that it could take care of itself for a while so that he could at least attend the funeral over in Vietnam. All this sadness... And I know that when Dad gets over there for the funeral, it'll be more than just a funeral, it'll be a time where his relatives (distant and immediate) will ask him for more money. I feel sorry for Dad at the moment...

And then Tony calls me this morning and RICKROLLS me! He called me from the home phone, so it could be either Mum or Dad or Tony himself, and when I pick up I get the infamous song that has made an internet phenomenon. It kinda lightened up the day for me after a bit of worry from my family.

Anyhows - I should stop procrastinating on the internets and do something productive - like uni essays! Woot!

Compliments, Affirmations and Apologies...

2008-09-22T12:17:00.004+10:00

Like many people, I don't receive compliments too well. I sometimes say thanks, or I mainly degrade myself and go "nah, I'm (insert negative comment here) ". Although, I also admit that I don't give out compliments too much. When I work with people, sometimes I forget to tell them that they're doing an awesome job, or that I appreciate their work, so I've been trying to do so recently by thanking people heaps... Dunno whether it's enough but anyways.

I also have noticed that my Markyboo compliments me and tells me he loves me all the time. It's like when we don't really have anything to say, but he wants to say something, he'll go "You're cute, and little, and cute, and I love you!" No one has ever said those things so many times in a day as he has ever. I obviously tell him that he's handsome and lovable and all that too, but this is also the first time I've done it to anyone. To this extent anyways... I dunno - am I the only odd one here that finds it hard to compliment loved ones?

Anyhow... I got a drunken message from one of my best mates Hein, saying that he loves me and thanked me for putting up with all his shite especially in the last few weeks whilst he felt cynical and bitter about the world (and men in general, which I don't blame him for). I felt loved and appreciated, and for a best friend to say that to me randomly, I felt blessed. So I messaged him back this morning saying I feel the same, and even though I do, it felt contrived in a sense only because I'm trying to reciprocate what Hein said to me... Which is what I kinda do with Mark as well... :S

Then oddly enough, this morning I got another phone call - this time from my old high school friend Dong Yi. She, myself and Regina (another high school friend) caught up yesterday over Yum Cha, and it was really nice to see them again. So when she called me it was kinda out of the blue, and she went "Hey, I used to call you fat in high school, didn't I?" "Uh... I dunno, maybe you did. I was a bit chubby, so yah, I didn't really care." Then she goes "That's not nice. I'm sorry." So yah... random apology from a good friend of mine - which I also appreciate, but still, random.

So I guess I should be more appreciative of people around me, and just be nice. :D Back to do some knitting I guess. It's been hibernating for quite some time.

My Posts are way boring

2008-08-24T23:29:00.000+10:00

I'm more interesting in real life. :P

Being sick sucks

2008-08-22T12:47:00.005+10:00

And I'm not extremely sick or anything, but having a cold for like the 50th time this year sucks. It's like Mark and I play sick tag throughout the whole year, and the late nights, poor diets, shows, weather and everyone around us being sniffly and sick too doesn't help.

(<---- That's me being miserable and wah. :P)

And having things to do like uni assignments, teaching little kids on a Saturday morning and conducting an orchestra doesn't really help. I just wanna sleep all day, and if I'm awake I wanna lie in bed just knitting and watching a movie or something. My health is just lame at the moment, and it doesn't help that when you go to the docs all they say is "bed rest and you will be fine"... But doc - I do have bed rest, but I never fully get over it! C'mon... gimme some drugs!

In other news I've finally got hatted. :D Frog from Perth (that's her name on Ravelry and the Woolaholics forum) hatted me, and I'm like nooooooo! I haven't even had a chance to receive my unfinished hat to make into a killer hat yet! So I either blame Australia Post for being lame, or other people not being prompt enough with their hat deliveries...
So Thanks Frog for the lovely hat! And it was a fun game... I came second place, so that's awesome! :D

Sorry for the crappy quality photos - couldn't be bothered using my proper camera, just used my phone camera. Not that it really matters, but yah. I'm sick and tired of being just that - sick and tired. I want to be healthy Ness! *sigh*

Things are getting done... kinda

2008-08-18T11:35:00.005+10:00

Man of La Mancha opens tomorrow night. I'm hoping everything will turn out well - we had an intensive 6 hour rehearsal (with 2 hours prior figuring things out and bumming around a bit) which helped solidify things a bit, and unfortunately we didn't get to rehearse with cast that much, but that's ok. Once Man of La Mancha opens on Tuesday, hopefully most of my job is over and I can relax and just ease into things at uni.

Surprisingly I got the hat done for Death by Hat about a week ago and sent it off.

And surprise surprise! I'm the top two who are still alive!!!! I thought I would've been dead by now, but no, I'm still going. I'm waiting to either be killed with a hat, or another project to finish off.

On Saturday I went to see Dralion - it was awesome! I absolutely loved the theatrics and the acrobatics and the dancing and the juggling and the ACTING as well are just all breathtaking! I recommend everyone to go see it, as Cirque du Soleil may be expensive but it's worth it every time. And now I've conned my parents into seeing Phantom of the Opera soon.

Right now I'm just really lazy to do things. I wanna do things, but I don't. I will soon I guess. Tonight is dress run and so I'm just going to laze it up before I have to teach this afternoon and then be on my toes for the rest of the night.

What am I up to these days?

2008-08-05T11:28:00.002+10:00

Seriously, I've been busy, but I just don't know whether I have the effort to explain it all.

I feel as though I'm growing more sensitive to people's bad moods and snappy behaviour. I used to brush it off and go "Well, I'll try not to be like them and not do the same, don't take it to heart and just move on", but when people do that I automatically just want to hide. For a while at least. I do get over it. But I just feel a bit more sensitive in general these days.

I've also been wanting to be less social these days too. Like - I love my close friends, and I miss them, like Hein I haven't seen for a while (I've seen him at social gatherings but we haven't caught up one on one in ages), and my high school friends Regina and Dong Yi, and I don't mind having personal catch ups, but big social groups I'm feeling less inclined to be around.

I think it's because I'm doing so much rehearsal, and I've started teaching a lot more as well, so I have about 50 or so students that I see a week, plus a cast of 20 that I see at least once a week with an Orchestra of 10, and another cast of 30 that I bump into... I just feel like I want to stay home and just be myself and not do much.

Staying at home I like to knit. I should catch up on my readings for class today... but I feel like knitting after my blog. I'm currently in this game called Death by Hat, but I'm sure I'm going to be one of the first ones to get out... I haven't even started my hat yet, and some people have finished over the weekend when I didn't even have the chance to check the forums for which pattern I had to use. Death by Hat is where you get a victim, and you knit them a hat. If you receive a hat, that means you are "killed" and therefore if you're still half-way through your hat, you send it back to your killer, and the killer finishes it off for the victim you were assigned to. The idea is to be a fairly quick knitter, and also to be lucky enough not to be killed. Last one standing gets recognition... I don't know if there is an official prize. But the awesome thing about Death by Hat is that everyone gets a knitted hat in the process. Which is a nice and challenging game, one of which I'm losing big time. :D

And soon we have the Ravelympics, where you start a project when the Olympics start, and finish it by the time the Olympics end. It's not a race per se, but if you finish it, you get a point for your team, and it's the amount of finished objects a team can get throughout the Ravelympics. You also get an online badge to put on your blog to say that you participated in it. So I'm looking forward to starting that when I have the time - if I have the time!

Talking about time, I've been asked to be rehearsal pianist for a school production over at Rosebank again. That means $$$! This starts in Term 4, which will be awesome because I hope that by then my uni studies will be over. And this will carry into Term 1 next year. I'm not too crash hot on the choice of the musical (The Wiz... I slept through the end of the movie...) but hey, more musical theatre experience even if it's at a high school.

So uni has started, I'm now doing 18 hours of teaching as opposed to the 10 I had earlier in the year, and I'm currently doing 2 shows. I currently have only 1 day free, and in the next few weeks I'll be busy as. Hopefully I can get a balance of everything... Come to think of it, I haven't seen my parents in a while, should probably go visit them.

So come see Man of La Mancha and CSE Revue - ask me for more deets if you're interested. :D

All Marks are lovely. :D

2008-07-05T21:44:00.002+10:00

I was having a conversation with Amy and Kim, two cast members of Man of La Mancha that I am currently musical directing. As per usual I talk about my boy Mark, and Kim mistakes Mark for Mark Mitchell at the Performance Unit at UNSW... So I went - uhhh, no, my boyfriend Mark. :D Amy then says "Awww, but Mark Mitchell is lovely. All Marks are lovely!" Obviously I concurred.

Then the following day I went for a check up for a UTI that didn't quite go away. The doctor I had was named Mark and he was also lovely. He was the first male doctor to have seemed cared without being condescending and he was just really really nice. I felt quite comfortable with him, unlike a previous doctor I had where it just didn't feel right with him. You may ask "don't you have a regular doctor?" And I do, her name is Dr Peter, but she's always fully booked and I tend to go to the one that is least busy on the day at the Broadway practice, now that the Glebe one is no longer open (which is sad... I liked Glebe medical practice).

So this just confirmed Amy's comment on how all Mark's a lovely. I know a Mark (named Mark Bradley) who always seems to be friendly and chilled, even at the most stressed times, and as my Mark says the whole building around him could be tumbling down, but Mark Bradley will still be calm and cool about things.

Today was the last official day for teaching. But I'm still teaching over the holidays. A few students want to do catch up lessons here and there, and I kinda don't mind, but it's just not a complete break. I'm also working in Dad's office in the first week because he's off skiing with my little brother. I must admit, Dad needs the break... So in a sense I don't mind coming in, just that it leaves only to one week for relaxing.

So I'm going to try and finish some of my knitting. :D

Hope you're all well!

Beware!

2008-06-25T11:24:00.006+10:00

I should know that having a blog that's public that I should be aware of the potential readers.

My little brother found it via facebook, and then showed the previous entry to my dad, and to my horror I found that slightly embarrassing.

Also, I recently changed the name of my blog, and so the old address has links to "live web cams", and two of my friends have notified me about it... :D

Soooooooo I dunno what to do. Should I make this more of a knitting blog? There are plenty out there, and I still consider quite a newbie to knitting even though I've done it for a while. I wouldn't mind making it a knitting blog, but that requires pictures and in depth knowledge of knitting - so maybe not.

Or maybe I'll just write about things in general, like I always do. Things mundane like I've finished uni for the session, so now I can relax and sleep in. I'm only teaching now, and even that is going to be over soon. Oh and updating that I'm musical directing Man of La Mancha through NUTS on UNSW campus, and I'm pretty excited - I have to recruit an orchestra of 16 people, and I've got 2 thirds so far. To conduct an orchestra is going to be exciting! I've always been the one playing piano, as opposed to conducting, so this will be different. Musical directing behind a keyboard is sometimes pretty hard.

And my boy is famous on youtube! :D Well, not really, but his video has almost 20,000 views or something. Check out some of the stupid comments, or just watch the video below... He's the red head that looks "serious" in the video. :D

When he told me that his team won the Artemis competition, he was so happy and ecstatic... Now that he's back home, he's studying for exams and writing up his thesis - he doesn't seem as happy and ecstatic. But I love him lots! :D And I'm very proud of him.

Anyhow, I have nothing else to update that's interesting, so until next time, enjoy the webcams!

My family can be warped sometimes...

2008-06-03T23:55:00.000+10:00

Yeap - I have another 3000 word assignment that's due tomorrow that I'm happy not to do. I bought myself some dark chocolate, and man does it smell nice... That was such a huge anecdote.

Anyhow, Mark's been away so I've been doing quite a few things on my own, which has been nice but I'm missing Mark a lot. So in one of my ventures I went to Bankstown to visit the folks, as they like to see me at least once a week, which, I agree, is a nice thing.

So everytime I visit my mother, not only does she nag about how much weight I've put on (and I haven't really put on any more weight, but I have since last year), she gossips to me about stuff and stuff. This time, she's gossiping to me about family matters from Vietnam.

I don't think I can go into extreme detail, but there was one thing that irked me. Basically, let's just say there are two people involved in this story. I'll call one Cousin A and the other one Cousin B. Both are female, and both from Vietnam and related to our family some way or another. They are not close cousins, they're pretty distant.

Now Cousin A is fortunate enough to have an older brother here in Sydney, and has another brother coming from Vietnam. She's here to study commerce at UTS, but has to do learn English to a certain level before she's allowed entry. This has been the same for her brother. Anyways, Cousin A is quite fobbish. She had no dress sense (my mum showed her), and I don't recall talking to her in English that often (usually the ones who are keen to develop their English speak to me in English and I happily speak back in English to them), and in fact I don't recall talking to her much at all. Anyhow, my dad gave her the opportunity to work for him seeing as she's studying Commerce, and dad said she ain't the brightest one he's encountered. She apparently doesn't learn quickly and she doesn't have the greatest initiative. She only worked for a while, and then stopped.

Then Cousin B came along. She, in fact, is the immediate cousin to Cousin A, and Cousin A's family is quite rich, so Cousin A's family is helping out Cousin B, and got Cousin B in touch with my dad. Cousin B is also learning commerce at uni, and so dad took her under his wing, and apparently she is a lot brighter and hard working, and her english was a lot better. She seemed to grasp things pretty quickly and dad was impressed, and was thinking of sponsoring her as an employer to speed up her visa status. Then, due to conflicts back in Vietnam, Cousin B was forced to stop working for my dad, and she was made to go work in a pharmacy of a family friend (a field in which she's definitely not studying for) and to top it off, the pharmacy didn't offer her enough hours for her to work and earn enough money.

Cousin A and her brother were living with Cousin B in a sharehouse that is owned by my mother's friend. Apparently the share was around $160 a week or something, and Cousins A and B had to share one room. Because of the whole "our family is supporting yours" kinda thing, Cousin B was forced to pay $100 a week for her share, which was totally unfair and uneven. And apparently that included food, but for times when both Cousin A and her brother were out, she has to fork out money on top of that. Because of conflicts back in Vietnam (the same that I referred to earlier) Cousin A and her brother decided to move out of Bankstown and to Cabramatta, and asked Cousin B to come along, but she refused. She said she found it difficult to study with another person in her room, and seeing as Cousin A doesn't study at all (apparently she watches films on her laptop) Cousin B found her distracting. Cousin B then stayed back in Bankstown on her own, in her own room, for $60 a week including food. She found the pharmacy job a bit tiring and out of her way, and kept telling my mother's friend that she wanted to work at my dad's place. My mum's friend then told my mother, and mum said that she has to call herself and then mum will let her come back.

So Cousin B called last Sunday, and basically arranged to quit the pharmacy job and come back and work for my dad. Mum's happy with that because Dad needs all the help he can get because business is busy without anyone to assist him, and also mum wants to nurture those who work hard (as opposed to me... hehehee).

So, what did I realise out of this story? There are two kinds of international students: ones who buy their way through the system because they have the money and they can, and the ones who work really hard because they don't have the same opportunity back at home.

Cousin A comes from quite an affluent Vietnamese family. The fact that they can support 3 children in Australia means that they're earning a surplus of $30 000 for sure. Apparently Cousin A's grades aren't that great, and she spends most of her time at home just watching movies on her laptop. My mother seems to help her heaps, but she lacks initiative.

Cousin B however comes from a well off family, but not enough to support her 100%. They can pay for her education, but her living expenses are not as generous as Cousin A's. Hence the reason why Cousin B wanted to work for my dad - he was able to offer her more than 1 day a week, and it was closer to home and close to what she is studying, so therefore for her it is beneficial on more than one level. She is very career focused, and she has a strong work ethic, something that dad picked up on whilst she was working. The fact that she actually studies in her spare time instead of just watching movies and stuff is commendable. But the reason why she is told not to work for my dad was due to family politics back in Vietnam, and due to my grandmother being narrow minded and my dad's cousin being easily offended, Cousin B had to suffer.

So I don't mind if Cousin A doesn't get what she wants, she basically doesn't really work for it. But for Cousin B to suffer due to people being ignorant or sensitive, I think is unfair as she seems hard working and shows to be a promising individual.

It angers me how some people back in Vietnam have no idea how it is like in Australia. Yes, we probably do have it a lot better than most in Vietnam, but to say that we don't need to work to get to where we are and that everything is given to us on a silver platter, I think that's just plain naivety. My aunts from my mother's side had that problem, thinking that no one had to work hard for themselves. They did not realise that my dad went through a lot to get where he is. And what my grandma thinks is unfair is just due to the fact that she is ignorant of the laws and regulations that obviously don't exist in Vietnam.

Anyhow, it's late and I'm going around in circles, or my argument is convoluted. But yah, I am to curious to meet Cousin B, apparently she wanted to go see Annie Get Your Gun with my family, but because of feuding and disputes back in Vietnam, she was not allowed to have contact with our family. Now that she's working for dad again, hopefully I'll get to meet her. I have a feeling that she is the daughter that they wanted me to be - hardworking and following in the footsteps of my dad... I'm glad they have another outlet to fulfill their dreams, I'm sorry mummy and daddy that I can't do that for you. Unfortunately I was born here and I was given access to so much information that I was able to teach myself what I wanted and find out a lot of things for myself. Hurrah for independence (to some degree... :D).

Stuff and procrastination

2008-05-27T15:48:00.003+10:00

So I'm procrastinating again. From what?, you may ask. A dreaded essay which is already 5 days late. And when I hopefully finish it tonight or tomorrow morning, I have another 3000 word essay due the following week, plus my log book which is 4 or 5 entries behind (that means roughly 600-750 words that I need to catch up on, but it's basically on my opinion and what I've learnt and possibly extra reading, which is a good thing I guess).

I'm the opposite of Mark, I think. Despite the obvious reasons being he's a boy and I'm a girl, I'm physically Asian (although I feel as though my mindset ain't) and he's such a white boy, it's pretty obvious that Mark is the hard worker and, like, I'm not. :D I'm definitely not an academic, even though people may say I'm kinda smart and what not (I'm not that smart, I think my boy is like ten times smarter than me), and in order to show that I'm "smart" I have to work pretty hard and to be honest, I can't be bothered.

My parents are wanting me to finish my degree sooner rather than later. I told my dad the other day that due to timetabling I may just have to stay back for another session and finish just one subject off, but that will allow me to work full time and start saving money to go overseas with my gorgeous boy for a whole year. Dad didn't seem to like that prospect. But I do want to travel whilst Mark and I are old enough to be brave and try new things, but not be too young and naive that we'd make stupid mistakes or we're not allowed to do things like drink alcohol in the US (I'm kinda thankful that I've left it til after I'm 21 to go there, otherwise Vegas would be boring... it was boring when I was there as a 7 year old).

I actually can't wait to start full time teaching. I don't mind teaching for a year or so. I do eventually wanna do something like Honours or Masters if I get to choose what I want to study. For my masters I wanna do film studies at UTS possibly, and learn how to make a film all over again. I didn't really enjoy film theory at UNSW, and as much as I enjoyed studying about film genres, I still hate writing essays.

I've discovered that I'm probably ten times better at doing things like presentations. I got a distinction the other day thinking that I was under prepared for that presentation, but she commented on how I explained my topic thoroughly and answered the questions well and what not, and the mark was almost a HD. But my writing is shocking - it was only Credit standard, and it exemplifies how I just don't like writing. First and Second year stuff were a bit easier and less words and all, and about topics that I know thoroughly well, but for Aboriginal music (this essay which is already 5 days late) I feel inadequate again, and I hate my writing style, as I feel it is mediocre and just not academic enough. Sigh... If I do decide to do Honours or Masters, it'll definitely be mostly, if not all, course work, and not Thesis work. And the thesis work involved will definitely be of a topic that interests me thoroughly. :D

After this affirmation that I hate essay writing, I also came to think that I'm one of the most fickle people around. One day I would say I wanna go back to studying, and the next day I wanna go into full time work. But I can't really get into full time work without a degree, although the part-time job I have at the moment wants me on full-time, and it shows that I don't need a degree in order to do this job. I can't wait until next year where all I need to worry about is teaching during the day, and I could do things like procrastinate on the internet and knit and stuff in my spare time. And probably hang out and do things like watch movies and theatre, and go out and be creative and all that. Maybe the extent of my learnings would be to take up a photography course online so that I can take awesome photos by the time I go overseas...

Anyhows, now that shows are dying down and I'm getting less busy, I really need to concentrate and ho-down on my assignments for the next two weeks until uni finishes. This really shows that I'm pretty good at starting things, just not finishing things... and you could probably tell by my knitting - ten zillion projects at the one time, but have I really finished many? Nah...

Oh, and Markyboo is going to Greece this Friday for the Artemis Project Competition. I'm tres excited for him! His syndicate is entering a Clarinet playing robot, and apparently it's quite behind schedule, but hopefully all will be well once it gets there. Gonna miss him for a whole week! We've been spending every day with eachother for the past 5 or so months, it's been crazy! Also, we've been going out for 9 months already... 3 more months and it'll be a year. It would be my first ever official long term relationship, I wonder what else is in store!

Little things that make me smile

2008-04-28T13:34:00.003+10:00

- Mark telling me he loves me, and that I'm perfect

- My Daddy calling me just to see how I am, even though I said I was going to come and visit earlier in the week but didn't

- A lecturer saying that I did a very good presentation even though I only had one and a bit weeks to prepare, was first in line and felt under prepared

- Seeing a difference in attitudes from people after addressing why I was upset with them

- Chocolate

- Dogs that are ultra friendly, especially the Golden Retrievers over at the director of ISM's house

- Having the house to myself

- Knitting

- Listening to awesome music

- Seeing my friends happy

I'm a Catholic, a sister, a girlfriend, and above all other things, terrible.

2008-03-26T15:27:00.006+11:00

*****Warning: It's a long entry, so if you don't read it now, I'll rant it to you in person.*****

So the Easter break comes by, and what decides to come to greet me? A dose of the cold and gastro. It was fun*.

I didn't go to Good Friday mass, and, I must admit, I had the Catholic guilt tugging behind me like a puppy with three legs and one eye. I have been raised by a very Catholic family, whom are funnily enough not always the most Christian people I know. When I say Christian, I mean forgiving, sympathetic, empathetic, compassionate, loving, generous - the virtues that the religion tends to try and educate en masse. My dad, ironically, I think is more Christian than my mother, even though Dad converted into Catholicism to marry my mother because my mother demanded it**. My mother, however, even though I do love her, forgives but never forgets (which in my mind, I don't think is real forgiveness), is hardly sympathetic because she thinks I'm the drama queen and even though I know she loves me, sometimes I find it hard to accept it when all she does is criticise my every move and my physical being. Dad does more volunteer work in the church than mum does, so when my mother tells me off for not going to church I don't feel that guilty, because even though mum has been going to church without fail for the past few years, I haven't seen her become more generous in her time, or more sympathetic towards others (especially when it's all about gossip), or more understanding. I claim I'm a non-ritualistic Catholic - that I do appreciate going to mass, but just not on a weekly basis, and I still believe most of the teachings the church provides (I just don't agree with some of the doctrines, like sex before marriage, and contraception, and abortion... but let's talk about that another time).

I know it's easy to criticise and be hypocritical, and I must admit I am hypocritical at the best of times, but for my mother to tell me off because I haven't been to church even though my mother going to church without fail for the past few years hasn't really stopped her from being as "sinful" as me, then I think I'm entitled to my break from religion. It's been the first time in (probably) my whole entire life that I've missed a Good Friday mass, and one out of 23 ain't that bad.

Due to my sickness, I was a bit low energy for Med Revue, and following that I was totally focusing on recovering on Tuesday for one of my bosses. Being aloof and always double booking myself, over the weekend I also agreed to picking up Tony after school on Tuesday... but forgot. So when I got a missed phone call from home at the end of teaching my last class on Tuesday afternoon, the first reaction was "SHIT! I FORGOT TONY!" and called him straight away. Thankfully he took the bus to my place and was waiting outside, and whilst waiting he was doing his homework, but for a good 2.5 hours he was left wondering where I was and why I haven't picked him up. I got there, and he was all forgiving and said "That's ok..." but I knew deep down inside he was hurt because someone close to him had the ability to forget about him. I remember when I was younger my dad always took his sweet time picking me up, and one stage I thought he forgot me when I was left at school for a good hour or so. There was also once on a Parent/Teacher interview night where he was a good hour and a half late, and I hated to keep the teachers waiting, and for someone who declared that my education was very important and that I had to be top of the class, he seemed a bit careless when it actually came to showing that to others besides myself. So when Tony told me that he wasn't angry at me, just slightly upset, I truly felt what he was feeling and I became that horrible monster that dad was when I was crying to myself anxiously waiting near the gates of the school, wondering why I was so forgettable. I also now know how life and work can get the better of you, that you tend to forget that there are those who still depend on you and they're around you hanging on for your next word, but you're too self-absorbed to even notice. I'm so sorry Tony, and I swear I'll make it up to you***.

And whenever I talk to people about religion, and I tell them that I'm Catholic (and don't worry, I'm not that devout), I say that the one thing that I'm totally grateful for is the fact that I've learnt to be generous through being Catholic. So generous that when I got the cold and gastro, I gave it to the one I love most - my boyfriend, Mark. So over the weekend he was driving me everywhere (to rehearsal, back home from Bankstown, yadda yadda yadda) and trying to take care of me that he eventually got sick himself - but, like, times ten. He got gastro big time. To the extent that this morning, he woke up at 3 and didn't stop vomiting until around about 9 or 10. He was on the drip from about 6.30 til midday, and after that he still felt a bit ill, but was able to get home and kinda relax. I felt kinda bad because I gave it to him, but also it was a chance to test my girlfriend capabilities - how much do I love this boy that I'm willing to clean out a bucket of his bile and watch him throw up every half an hour? I must admit, I think I love him quite a bit to endure it all... I felt sorry for him, because when he's sick, he gets quite sensitive, and I believe when someone's sick you can see the little kid in them, being vulnerable and helpless and in need of some tender loving care. Thankfully Mark is steadily recovering, and it makes me realise that when you live with someone as a couple, you share more than just a bed - woot! You share saliva and therefore sicknesses.

So in summary, in the past few days, I've done nothing terribly productive in terms of the many uni assignments I have, and I've been a horrible Christian, sister and girlfriend. But I've been able to finish more knitting (thanks to the few hours of waiting time in the emergency ward of Balmain Hospital and RPA), have more of an excuse to feed my brother liquid sugar, and have been able to take care of my boy to show him how much I love him dearly. I'll deal with uni work later.

But for now, I should resume my domestic duties. *Sigh* Laundry, cleaning, bah!

* Notice the hint of sarcasm there.
** She is now telling me to get Mark to convert to Catholicism too.
*** With TWO slurpees at the Easter Show! :D

Shananigans Galore

2008-03-16T18:08:00.002+11:00

I've been busy... just a bit. Tonight is the final show that I'm doing with Alix, and is my second show for the year. Uni just started this week, and teaching has been going on for a while, but I'm hoping to have more teaching work soon, otherwise I may just as well get another job on top of what I have.

So everything has eventually started, and I already feel bombarded. I have quite a bit of work to do for uni, and I have a bit of work to do show wise as well... Med Revue is coming up and that I shall be having to find time to juggle for. I'm also doing Annie Get Your Gun with Waverly Lugar Brae Players, so therefore May is going to be one big motherf***er of a month with 2 shows and being 3 quarters into the uni session with assignments and assessments due everywhere.

Today has been the first day where I didn't really have to do anything... All day I lazed around, and slept - a lot - except for the show tonight. Today has been a really tired day, because I think I drank just a little bit too much wine last night, and my body is trying to recover.

On Thursday night, my parents went to see the show, and Mark's parents was also there. And now they've met. It was slightly nerve wracking, but nevertheless it was bound to happen, seeing as I think my parents seem to like him quite a bit, and his parents seem to like me quite a bit also. So it's all important that everything works out, because I seriously want it to work out... Mark is very important to me, and I do hope nothing will get in the way of this.

Doing photography this session, and I'm absolutely loving it so far. It's only been one week, but it's been a great learning how the camera works and stuff... I wanna go to COFA or some postgrad photography school and learn photography as an artform... It's quite inspiring, but I dunno whether I'll be good at it or not. We'll see how my assessments turn out.

There's so much to do in the next few weeks - do uni homework and readings, research on things, practice piano, go to galleries of photo exhibitions, etc. Knitting has also slowed down because I'm doing so much, and that makes me sad... I love knitting and there have been times where I don't feel like it, but there have been other times where I love doing it I can't stop!

Anyhow, I'm hoping to focus on my work, and balance between shows, uni and teaching. I was looking at my WAM not long ago, and it doesn't look too great. Not that I really need my degree for anything, but for someone who used to work hard, I feel as though not only did I let my parents down, I think I let myself down. But having Mark as a hardworking, intelligent boyfriend, I'm hoping I can do better this year, so that I graduate with something, or even get into Honours for next year (need a credit average for it). I dunno what I really wanna do, I kinda want to do well, but I kinda wanna just graduate and move on.

So, I should make my way to the show now... Have been bludging all day, but hopefully tomorrow I will pick up the pace and do all the work I need to do. :D

Trusting others and trusting yourself.

2008-02-26T11:20:00.002+11:00

I feel as though I have a great amount of trust in people sometimes. Not to the general public, though, but towards friends and family.

One of my exs has told me that even though through all the hurt and confusion that I've been through love wise, I somehow seem to still have the ability to find love and possibility no matter what. He was definitely talking about Mark, and yah, even though I've been hurt quite a bit by boys treating me harshly, I still had the capability to be myself and fully immerse myself into my relationship with Mark.

So when I see friends having trouble trusting others when they are in the beginnings of a potential relationship or they seem interested in someone, they don't have the courage to pursue further because they don't trust the other person or themselves. And to be honest, I do try to understand and empathise, but sometimes I do think - just get over it, and be strong about it! Even though I myself am guilty of being lame in getting over things.

I think everything seems a bit rosy to me right now because I'm terribly happy in a relationship. We've been going out for 6 months now, and usually now is the time things go wrong (in every other relationship I've had), but right now it's perfect. So I don't know whether my positivity is due to my relationship with Mark, or whether I had this all the entire time. I must admit though, it didn't take me long to move on from one serious boyfriend to another - I think the longest time was around 3-4 months? And sometimes I feel that I haven't exactly gotten over the last one, but a few months into the current relationship, and I'm totally over it and smitten and just happy and on cloud nine.

I guess everyone approaches things their own way, but it kinda upsets me that some of my friends deny themselves of the same potential happiness that I have because they're afraid of getting hurt. I mean, isn't that what life is all about? If you don't experience hurt, all the good things that happen to you don't seem as special or as nice. I guess it is all relative, but I find that all the shit that happened to me made me appreciate the awesome things a lot lot more. Also, the hurt and bad and terrible experiences gives me something to talk about, rant about, and draw emotion from if I'm trying to do something creative and what not. But essentially, with all the crappy things around, there are good things to balance everything out.

I just wanna see my friends have courage to just get out there and get the happiness they deserve, and not worry about being hurt, and not worry about their image and self esteem, because to me they deserve it no matter what, and past experiences and stupid social conventions and superficiality should not get in the way of finding someone "to be home with", as one of my close friends would say.

Twas my birthday last week...

2008-02-18T12:41:00.002+11:00

And it was heaps and heaps of fun. For a Wednesday, I thought it was a great turn out, and the fact that last year only, say, less than 10 people came to visit me for my birthday, this year there were roughly 40 or so special people who came.

The day started with a breakfast with my boy at the cafe we like to hang around in for breakfast, called "Le Petite Tart". Then I went into the city and bought my boyfriend his Valentine's Day gift. I know I could've done it the following day, but I didn't feel like it. I wanted to do it then and there. Then I came home, finished knitting a sock for my new iPod that I got from the parentals, and went out for a picnic with my old Angel friends. We had champagne and cheese and chocolate and port, and then we dawdled to The Different Drummer, which was where I was having my birthday gathering. I didn't know how many people were turning up, and the manager was like "You should've booked next time"... Saw a lot of cool friends and oldies from NUTS and 3ma, and lots of CSE revuers as well. Had a total of 10ish standard drinks because I had 5 cocktails during happy hour, it was awesome! Got totally drunk but had heaps of fun.

Got home at about 10 to midnight, and after Mark had a shower I was like "It's Valentine's Day! Open your present!" and he was ecstatic when he discovered it was a Pizza Oven! Basically it's a grill with a ceramic plate to make pizzas, and he was so excited, and I was so happy that he loved it! He got me for my birthday (and I told him not to worry about Valentines) a 160 gb hard drive to replace my old 40 gb because I complained how my iPod had more memory than my laptop! And for Valentine's Day we made pizza after he came home from work. It was yummy and heaps of fun to do!

Also caught up with my little brother the day before my birthday where he gave me the iPod and a $50 gift voucher for the iTunes store. He was very sweet, and the first thing he said when he saw me was "Happy Birthday for tomorrow Vanessa!" and gave me a hug. Makes me think I taught him well.

And another thing that caught me by surprise was a message from a student that I used to teach last year, smsing me to come back and teach them again because they miss me and asked whether they were that horrible to teach! I obviously said of course not, and that I miss teaching them as well. It was a surprise sms and it almost made me cry, but these type of things I can help, seeing as I can't really teach them anymore due to uni timetabling and everything.

I can't wait for uni to start. I need to start using my brain again, and moving around. I've been quite sedantry, but yah... sigh. I have been busy with rehearsals and shows, though, seems all so much! And teaching too. But I'm having fun, and life has been treating me well thus far.

And Mark moving in has been a blast. He's been really good so far, and it feels so nice waking up to him next to me in the morning. He's the perfect boyfriend, and I just feel so lucky to have him...

Oh and Birch's part was such fun too... Pity he's going to the states though. Got him this awesome book as a going away present - it was a picture book with a hole in the middle, so that the manhood can be a character in a story... Very amusing, and just Birch all over. He got all sentimental and saying "I love you" to everyone, which was really cute, and just being drunk Birch really.

So last week and weekend was quite a bit of fun. And even though I wasn't exactly looking forward to turning 23, I think this year would be a great year for me... Year of the Rat, which is my year, should be a great year for me. Let's hope that I finally finish a degree this year. Woot!

Holidays almost over...

2008-01-25T18:19:00.000+11:00

So these holidays I think was quite productive, with sufficient rest and relaxing... What did I do?

Christmas with Mark's family: it was a nice trip, and I got to meet his extended family and spend Christmas with Mark.
Knitting: I took up more knitting, and I manage to finish 3 projects - 2 scarves and a quick job of making a sock for a friend's Nintendo DS console. I've bought a book and a magazine, and have started up another 2 projects - an aviator beanie for my little brother and a wrap possibly for my mother if she likes it.
TV series: Caught up with Scrubs Seasons 5 and 6, and am currently watching Gilmore Girls, and am up to Series 2.
De-cluttering: have gotten rid of some clothes - 2 bags worth! And did some cleaning around the house. Still need to get rid of some clothes, but cleared most of my things...
Hein's room makeover: That was fun, helped him out getting more things for his room, and reorganised his room with clothes racks and bedside tables and heaps and heaps of candles which is cool
My own room makeover: Mark got me some candle things, and he put them up on my wall, and put some hangings up on my wall as well.
Gym: this week I've been back at the gym, so hopefully I can keep it up for the rest of the year, or at least until my gym membership is over.
ISM: did some calls here and there, and did some retraining, and tried to organise my teaching schedule... I like organising my life, it's fun!
Marky Baby: yah, not only did I do him, he's moved in! He paid rent as of last week, and he's now an official member of our household. We'll see how this pans out. :D

So for someone who is terribly lazy, I did quite a bit for 4-5ish weeks. I caught up with friends, and I had a bit of alone time, and when school starts teaching starts, and then a month later uni starts... I'm slowly starting to get busy, doing a bit of accompanying for shows and stuff, and theatre is kicking off again.

I'm sad that holidays will be over, but I'm also excited to get busy again and start doing all these projects and finishing uni! :D

Passions come, passions go.

2008-01-08T23:19:00.000+11:00

Well, I dunno whether my passions for things actually go, per se, but they definitely rise and fall in the level of passion I have for it.

For instance - musicals. I love musicals. And I love directing them or musically directing them, or watching them, or listening to them. At one stage my life ambition was to work in New York and direct a musical, but right now I'm not really wanting that anymore. I have applied for directing and musical directing in Short, Sweet and Song this year, but I dunno whether I'll get in.

But musicals have been quite a passion for me for quite some time, especially in the last few years, until I found knitting. Suddenly I'm trying to extend my knitting abilities and such, and researching online what I wanna knit and different yarns... And it's amazing that when you have a passion suddenly your eyes open up to things that I would normally pass, like I saw this knitting store today whilst I was driving home from refresher teacher training, even though I've driven past it so many times. Also decided to go online to look for certain knitting stores around my area, as I only know of one which is in Newtown, and discovered one in the city which has apparently 2 levels! And Cecile told me that apparently the knitting level is huge... And on the website it says it's looking for employees, I wonder if I can apply...

And from visiting all these knitting stores online and in person, I want to open up my own knitting store one day, hopefully in Glebe. This is my current ambition, and it's funny how it's changed from wanting to direct a Broadway musical to owning a modest tapestry store in the inner city west.

Also want to refresh my interest in photography - thankfully am taking some general education subjects in photography and that will help the kickstart into serious amateur photography. I've got the cameras, just need the motivation and the drive to go and do it!

So really, passions for me don't really go, I just get new passions that tend to overtake the old ones for a while until the newer ones kinda lose its initial novelty and I rekindle the old passions. One thing, though, my passion for music will always be with me. Whatever I do, I need music and this will be an important aspect in my life.

Inspirations and Aspirations...

2008-01-03T20:09:00.000+11:00

Well it is 2008, and here comes another year. Of course a lot of us have a lot of new year's resolutions, and I have quite a few of mine, some that were also last year's resolutions that didn't quite seem to work out.

But rather than talking about the same things over again - what I wanna do and achieve this year, I wanna talk about what inspired me to make these resolutions (which I kinda will keep to myself... :D).

My credit card bill: looking at it makes me realise I spend too much money. You can guess what that resolution is.

Justin Timberlake: I bought his DVD on boxing day at JB HiFi, and not only is he hot, he's an awesome performer. He has an awesome voice, and his vocal ability is pretty impressive, and he plays the guitar and piano, and dances so well. His musicality and artistry is something to admire, and his stage presence just tops it off. I know I really don't wanna be a solo performer, but being in his band would be awesome, and whenever I go to live gigs, I always walk away going I would love to do what the musicians do on stage. *sigh*

University: I'm not sick of the lifestyle, but I really need closure from it. I'm debating whether to finish it this year with one degree, or next year with two degrees. Still thinking...

Travelling: I want to travel around the world... and I've planned to do a whole year with Mark, hopefully to go in 2009 or 2010. So basically finish uni, save money, and go!

Health: I'm the heaviest that I've ever been in my whole entire life, so it's terribly clear what my intentions are with this comment...

And finally...

Mark: What can I say??? He's just awesome...

so this is christmas...

2007-12-19T23:37:00.000+11:00

it's the last week of teaching, and i've been getting a few cool presents from my students... today has been an exciting day for me!

got heaps of chocolate of course, and got my first bottle of wine the other day. also got some cupcake candles, and a music mug, and these awesome sterling silver music earrings. the best one which seems to capture me quite well is this cupcake cushion (see pic below) - it's a strawberry cupcake with little strawberries on top, and it's random and cute and just really cool. and the two best presents i got are from really good students, so maybe i should get students to be more awesome, and they will in return give me more awesome stuff. :D

and on monday mark asked me to come to queensland with him to visit his mum's side of the family, and spend time with his grandma in brisbane and noosa. i'm kinda looking forward to it, and kinda nervous about meeting and spending time with mark's family, but hopefully it'll all go well. the drive up to brisbane would be interesting - a good 10-12 hours with his parents in the same car, i'm sure there'll be a story out of that one somehow! :D

it'll be the first christmas that i've spent without my family, which is kinda interesting. it'll be with mark's family, so at least it's not on my own, but i hope my parents don't think i'm distancing myself too much away from them. but i'm totally in love with mark, and mark doesn't seem to not like time apart from me, and vice versa, so i hope my parents will understand.

it's been pretty awesome so far, and it's not even christmas yet. i have a new found appreciation for teaching (and no, it's not all about the presents, it's the fact that i've bonded with some of my students quite well, and it's gonna be disappointing if i don't teach some of them next year), and i'm excited about finishing my degree next year, and just hanging around with mark heaps. :D

a few more sleeps, and christmas will be here! and just to add, this is a photo that one of my closest friends hein took, and it sums up basically how much mark and i are in love with eachother... :D

A Midnight Post

2007-12-09T00:11:00.000+11:00

Have been sick lately, and last week I caught the cold, and then it transferred into tonsilitis... it's been quite uncomfortable to swallow and sore, and the sinuses aren't helping much with it either. Currently taking penicillin to get over it, apparently the tonsilitis was quite bad.

I'm feeling better than this morning, when I woke up to heavy stomach pains from taking pills on an empty stomach. Naughty me! But the cramps existed for about an hour until it subsided after I ate some bread despite the fact I wasn't hungry. But after the doctor's appointment I went home and stayed in bed all afternoon feeling sick and ew. My sinuses now feel a bit clearer, but I'm still getting headaches and my throat is still a bit sore, so hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Up the road there's this house party of 50-60 year olds dancing to a cover band singing songs like "Pretty Woman", "Stand By Your Man", "Blue Suede Shoes" and other classic rock tunes. I was walking past whilst on my way to satisfy my midnight cravings with a kebab, and I wondered whether it would be cool to gatecrash this party? I'm sure I'll have no trouble fitting in with the oldies!!! :D

Talking about kebabs, I just had half of a kebab for the first time in a very long while. It wasn't that great, because the meat was a bit overcooked and dried out, so it scratched my throat a bit. But yah, I miss pigging out on unnecessary foods - not that I've really stopped, but being sick for the past few days, you don't really feel like eating much. Or when you do grab a whole heap of food, you don't feel like it anymore halfway through. I even gave chocolates away the other day, instead of keeping it all to myself and consuming it on the way home... Quite proud of that achievement!

And a few hours ago I got to talk to Mark online for an hour and a bit. Goash I miss him so much. We're the sappiest couple ever, I reckon, and we always say how we miss each other and love each other and never to be apart ever again! I'm counting the days - 4ish more days left and he'll be saying hallo and greeting me at the airport. I absolutely adore him and he's my everything at the moment, and I do hope we never ever lose each other.

Christmas is around the corner - meaning my bank account is going down. Sigh, I need to control my savings a lot better... But I've gotten half the Christmas pressies so far, just need to wait to get paid again so that I can go for some more Christmas present shopping.

Hope everyone is well, as opposed to me, and I love you Marky baby if you're reading... xxoo!

the need to move on...

2007-12-02T23:28:00.000+11:00

i really need to move on from things... like a particular ex of mine that had an interesting situation, where one comment really made me upset, and it somehow turned into "i don't know why you're not happy for me - you're the only one who is not happy for me..." totally not what i was on about, totally different topic, but just slightly annoyed by the fact that he once told me that i accuse him for doing certain things when he didn't mean them that way and that i just misinterpreted them, and then he turns around and kinda does the same thing to me.

i don't know, i guess i shouldn't dwell on the past. it creates baggage. i just felt misunderstood, and foolish to have felt the things i felt for him, and even though he says he does not at all undervalue the relationship we had, i just feel.... i dunno how to describe it... i wasn't good enough. despite all the things he says about me being great and fun and that i wasn't at all just for convenience.

i guess that relationship just wasn't meant to be. and in a way we both know that. he definitely didn't see it, so there's no point in me trying to find it.

AND i have found mark. mark is absolutely wonderful, and i just don't know why i'm still hanging on to this. mark's away for 10 days over at sweden, so i guess i should use this time alone to not only miss mark terribly, but to heal over the relationship i had with my ex. with all my exs actually. i dunno whether i'm over one of them yet. i'm definitely over my first ever serious ex, but the last serious two i should probably work on closure.

mark, baby, i miss you. can't wait til you come home...

Rainy Days and Disappointment....

2007-11-27T10:58:00.000+11:00

I really have nothing to complain about. I do have it pretty good - an awesome boyfriend, an awesome household, a loving family (that's not part of household), a car and always some financial stability, whether it's from my well-paying part-time job or assistance from my family.

But for some reason, for the past few days, it's been kinda off.

Firstly, I was disappointed that I couldn't do that film course I wanted to do as a gen ed over summer because it had a prerequisite. That kinda burst my bubble in the hopes of making a short film.

Then came the gig that I was involved in recently at Bar Me, and the end payment was quite dismal. I was disappointed because I had to attend quite a few rehearsals between July and November (that was at least 4 months of weekly rehearsals) and to only come up with a small amount of money really disappointed me... And it wasn't as though the gig actually led me anywhere (except to Bar Me Open Mics, which are awesome).

Yesterday, I met up with Alex to discuss doing a short film together, and asked me to do the sound design, and for some reason I didn't seem excited about it. He noted that I seemed not my bubbly self, and I didn't know why I was just not into it, but I felt distanced and just not with it then.

Then I had to deal with a difficult class yesterday, and usually they're not that bad, but for some reason they were worse. The threats did not seem to have an effect, and so a stern "I'm disappointed in all the boys in the class" (there's only one girl, and she's pretty much well behaved, and was the only one to receive a sticker at the end of the class) in front of their parents made them realise that I was not happy with them.

But what kinda upset me was something someone said to me last night over the internet. Granted it was the internet and interpretation can be skewed, but it really affected me and I was upset. Which made me wake up dreary and upset this morning, and waking up to the rain even added to the slight depression. This made me not be in the mood for work experience, which has been awesome in the past week, but I just wanted time to myself today and therefore chucked a sickie.

I'm trying relatively hard at the moment to appreciate all the great things I have, including wonderful Mark and the work experience opportunity, and having a great support network around with friends and family, all the small shitty things that get in the way just makes me feel a bit worn down. I should possibly go off the pill maybe, and hopefully then this small bout of depression will disappear.

I do, however, appreciate the rain, and waking up to it in the morning makes me wanna stay in bed all day.

I had a dream...

2007-11-16T10:28:00.000+11:00

And it was an awesome prospect if it happened in real life...

Basically towards the end of the dream, I was in an office. I was asked by a random woman what I was doing during my Easter holiday... I said "Nothing... why?" and she asked me whether I would like to go to New York for some work experience.

OMG if this happened, say, sometime next year where I get to follow someone as a personal assistant to New York, I would totally cry.

So what did I do? I applied (late) for an internship at Sydney Symphony so even if I do not get considered this year, I can still have made some sort of "hey I'm around, if not I'll apply next year" type of thing. I'm hoping Sydney Symphony will still accept my application - it was only 4 days late... :S

Anyhow, I'm going to make sure that next year will be my final year of uni, or at least mostly my final year of uni. I really want to start working on a career... *sigh*

So what now?

2007-11-15T10:55:00.001+11:00

Well, JMC is currently over, and I'm enjoying my spare time, although there are many things I need to do.

Can I be bothered doing them? No not really....

Like going to the gym. I've only been once in the past 3 months, and I went again last Monday... I should go again today, and do the exercise for half an hour 3 times a week thing to get fit and lose weight... but sigh, laziness prevails. Maybe I'll go after this blog entry.

Mark is fantastic as per usual... We're still in honeymoon period I think, and whenever I think of him I still smile heaps, so yah... Nothing's really changed there.

Back to UNSW next year, and I have like 2 options - either keep doing Music/Arts and graduate at the same time as Mark, or just do Music and kinda graduate at the end of next year and hopefully apply for a masters for the following year... I have no idea at the moment, and I have applied to just drop my arts, but I feel like getting it back now. Ah, fickle me.

Anyways, I'm at a point where I need to get things sorted, because I feel like uni should end soon, and that I need to start a career...

Ok - due to go gymming now....

Sorry for such a boring entry. :D

The truth about wine...

2007-10-09T00:42:00.000+10:00

I love wine. Red wine especially. But I try to be a good girl and not drink and drive, and only have it when I'm sure someone else (namely Mark) will drive me around.

One thing I've noticed is that wine (or any type of alcohol, really) makes you honest. Inhibitions are gone, filters are barely there, and whatever you think, it's instantly verbalised.

Dan's family invited me to celebrate Flossiy's 21st, which I thought was very sweet of them to invite me, even though they only met me once or twice before. At the dinner, Dan had just a bit to drink, and on the way back decided to tell the truth... And truth be told, I was quite touched by what he had to say, and I may have had a tear or two in my eye. Anyhow, it was comforting to know that Dan still cares and loves me, and I still care and love him. And it's also nice that Mark trusts me, and doesn't seem too bothered by the fact that I still hang out with an ex.

Anyway, another encounter involving wine and "the truth" was tonight. I was at an open mic gig over at Bar Me in Kings Cross, and I accompanied a friend of mine who wants to keep on singing, and I also randomly accompanied this other guy with sheet music that I had to sight read. I also sang (not that fantastically, but I think I kept in tune), and I just had a lot of fun. And it was great listening to blues and bossa nova and jazz and rock and just impro stuff. There was a woman there named Jo who had an awesome voice, and in the break I went up to her to tell her how awesome she is, and then right back at me she goes "You're fantastic!" and told me how I should keep up with my playing and what not. I also discussed how I wanted to venture into jazz, and I needed to get a jazz teacher - she introduced me to another Daniel and said "If you were crap, I wouldn't even bother letting you know about Daniel and even talk to you..." Jo wasn't a huge fan of my friend's singing, and she was quite blunt about it as well, and she goes "I'm in honest mode here, with the help of wine and all, and I think you're fantastic, and your friend? I'm sorry..." I kinda felt bad because I had to hear about what Jo thought of my friend, and being a friend I should stick up for her, but at the same time, I kinda agreed with some of the things Jo had to say. I'm still giving my friend singing lessons, so hopefully I can steer her towards the right direction.

But the whole point of that story was that it was the wine that made Jo very blunt (or probably more blunt than usual), and made her babble on about how she thought I was really good and kept on encouraging me to keep practising and further my jazz abilities (of little I have).

On another note, Mark finally met my parents last Saturday. It was my mum's birthday dinner, so I told Mark to kinda make an impression and get her flowers and stuff - so not only did he get her a bunch of gorgeous flowers, he bought me 2 pink roses! They're currently on my bedside table and they smell absolutely lovely...

Dad seemed to like him, and Dad was surprisingly laidback and relaxed and encouraged Mark to drink more beer with him and what not. Mum was yadda yadda yadda as per usual, and judging him before even knowing him in a more relaxed environment. I told mum to give him a break, seeing as he's in a situation where he feels out of place and quite unfamiliar, and that despite what it seemed like at the dinner table, he's quite attentive and considerate towards my needs and wants... Oh well, despite my mum saying "You're the one going out with him, not me, so as long as you're happy", she can easily turn around and quickly judge without really knowing the guy. I must say, half the time she's pretty spot on, but I'm going to make sure she gives Mark a fair go, because my dad seems to say he's cool and that he says he wants to get to know Mark a bit better before he says anything, which is what mum should do, but won't do.

Okay... I'm kinda spinning out, so I think I should go to bed... Damn bed bugs - I've had an infestation lately, and it's making my life hell because I had quite an allergic reaction to the bites... Hopefully after all the washing of bed sheets and spraying of mattress and bed box, all will be fine and dandy and I won't get bitten anymore...

Despite bed bugs, I'm in such a happy place... :D