This mess is gonna get raw like sushi

cecism — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 05:24:18 GMT

KYLIE. WAS EPIC. AMAZING. AWESOME. Words can't even describe. Fountains! Gold winged horses! Aerialists! Moving tiered stages! Feathered dances! She is seriously one of the world's best entertainers. And I love that she's not afraid to do her old songs from the 80s and 90s - she did the Locomotion, hilarious! Welcome home, girl.

I'm up to 3x11 of Private Practice now, so slowly but surely. I'm watching all the episodes in pieces because I hardly have time to myself to just sit and watch all the way through, but hey, better than nothing. So what's happened so far (YES THESE ARE SPOILERS BUT SERIOUSLY, I'M TWO YEARS BEHIND. I'm assuming everyone who wants to know has already watched them.): Addison has had that family bombshell dropped on her, Sam and Naomi are struggling with Mya's attitude, Cooper and Charlotte are still fighting and Mark Sloan is visiting. I know I have some fellow PP watchers here, so I'm up for a very belated discussion, hee!

I make no secret of my great admiration for Guy Sebastian and his wondrous talent, and his acoustic version of Man In The Mirror is unbelievable. I want to link the YouTube video BUT IT'S FREAKING "UNAVAILABLE" IN MY COUNTRY. I DON'T UNDERSTAND. HE IS FROM HERE. Whutwhutwhut.

The Boy's family and I all went out for a quick dinner yesterday and our waitress was a friend of mine from school that I had since lost touch with. Turns out she lives up the road from me. It's completely nuts considering we're 1,700km away from where we were first friends. So yay, I have another friend up here!

Bugger. My footy tips this week have sucked. Fingers crossed I stay in the top five or else I'm going to go and sulk in a corner. (Not my fault Brisbane were supposed to beat Sydney and WTF how is Freo beating Hawthorn at the G?)

cecism — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:42:16 GMT

I took an unintended hiatus from LJ for a week ~~and a bit~~, and I have gone back and commented on some rather old entries and caught up, but if I missed something... sorry?

The Boy's grandmother passed away two weeks ago so last week the whole family went down to Melbourne for the funeral. I stayed behind to keep doing the preschool classes and look after the puppy + cat. I got a bit sad because they were planning to catch up with people/go to the footy/etc. which they had every right to do, and I was happy for them - it just was hard since I couldn't go and at that point, I really wanted to go home and see my own family. I got over it, but meh, it put me in a sombre mood for a while there. (But we're going down at the end of the month so it's okay.)

GOLD COAST SUNS' FIRST HOME MATCH IN THEIR BRAND SPANKIN' NEW STADIUM OMG. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this, but the Gold Coast got their own footy team this year (and have since become my second team after Carlton) and they had their first match in the brand new stadium on Friday. Okay, so they were playing the most dominant side of the last five years and they got thrashed in the second half, but the atmosphere was AMAZING and everyone was just so excited to be there. The moment when Karmichael Hunt kicked his first ever AFL goal (he originally played rugby) was crazy good. The 10,000 red flags looked unbelievable.

I've decided to catch up on two seasons of Private Practice. I didn't mean to stop watching it, I just kind of never got around to it. Let's see how long this takes me, hee! (I'll probably write some thoughts as I go - those who are actually current, don't spoil me!)

KYYYYYLIE ON FRIDAY.

Yesterday the Victorian government passed a new law giving the police the power to give out on-the-spot fines for swearing in public. 99% of the population seems to be outraged. I can understand why, but I'm not actually against it. Hear me out: swearing is part of Australian life. It has its place: at the footy, when you're with your friends telling a story/ranting, when something goes wrong. You guys know I'm not against it. What I am against, however, are tweens and teenagers swearing their heads off when walking down the street, groups of 'youths' yelling expletives on trains, or swearing in a public place full of kids, like a playground.

Basically, I want this law to work to target those idiots who scream out Fs and Cs with no respect for those around them, and I think that's what the law was designed for. I'll have a problem with it if someone 'innocent' (so to speak) lets out an F-bomb when sitting in traffic or those other situations where I deem it okay, and they get fined. That's wrong. I really hope it doesn't get to that stage. (And I know it then goes on to say: what is considered swearing? Is it unfair to stereotype and punish those said youths? Freedom of speech? It is subjective depending on the particular police officer, etc etc. I know this. I also have problems with society becoming a nanny state - another rant for another time. But if this is used right, I don't think it's a bad thing.

Thoughts? Or am I a moron? You can say so. ;)

At aerials last night, I finally mastered climbing the damn silk! Up until last night I could do it, albeit not very smoothly and I was getting seriously frustrated. But then something clicked and it just became easier! Thank God, I don't have to pressure myself so much now. (Note to self: work on deepening splits. Haven't had to do them properly since I was about nine and wow, who knew you get stiffer as you age? Ha.)

Stay well, buttercups! ♥

cecism — Wed, 18 May 2011 11:06:58 GMT

This is me doing more frequent posting in hope that my entries don't end up being lengthier than an essay and too goddamn long to read. Limit: four points still! (I did so well last time I thought I might try it again!)

DYLAN MORAN IN AUGUST HELL YES. gemmi_joo is awesome times a million and logged onto Ticketmaster at 9am on Monday to get them. SO EXCITED.

Does anyone watch Winners & Losers here? (PLEASE LET THERE BE SOMEONE BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE SQUEEING WITH MYSELF.) I absolutely adore that Sophie is a halfy. Yes, halfy. That's what I call us Eurasians. Because it's all like, "ooh, you're kind of Asian but... not quite?" and they can't quite work us out. Hence: halfy. ANYWAY. It's the first time I've ever seen a halfy character and that excites me so much because we're a minority and it's just awesome to see. ALSO: I ship Sophie/Doug and Frances/Zach. Can't help it, shoot me.

Bill Hunter is gravely ill in hospital. He is probably the most recognisable Australian actor ever; he's been in everything. Muriel's Wedding, Australia, Strictly Ballroom, Finding Nemo. It's kind of like when Bud Tingwell passed away; you don't think about them very often, but they've been in so many things that it's just strange to think they're not there anymore. (Not that Bill Hunter has died. But they're saying it's not far.)

Bless the Gold Coast and its small(ish) population. The evening traffic report on the radio says the same thing every day, due to there hardly ever being traffic accidents and train delays that bigger cities have. "It's heavy around Area X, slow south-bound on the M1", etc. Really, they should just say, "It's slow in the areas that are usually slow at peak hour, just like normal". That would save time, wouldn't it?

Going to the International Boat Show tomorrow! Basically, hundreds of super-luxurious, squillion-dollar yachts to explore. IT'S FUN. You can pretend to be a rich bitch sunbaking and drinking champagne and having the Old Spice guy serve you sushi on a silver platter. Cue: "Oh yeah, I've taken the boat many places. Miama, Tokyo, Denver. GRIZZ WAS IN THE NAVY." lolol I'm so delusional. And then on Sunday is some ladies' lunch on water thing that The Boy's mum invited me to go along to. Might be fun?

ANGRY BOYS STARTING NOW, must kick boy off watching AFL 360. Oh, oops, that was five points. Oh well.
Edit: SLAP MY ELBOW. LOLOL THAT WAS AWESOME, HOW DOES CHRIS LILLEY DO IT.

cecism — Sun, 15 May 2011 06:29:34 GMT

scribblecat would like me to make a post that didn't have about a thousand points in it, so her brain doesn't explode. I would like this also. Let's do four! ...and see how we go, ha ha.

WHO WATCHED ANGRY BOYS? Represent. People were saying that it's not as funny as We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High... come on, it's only had one episode so far! Give it time before making judgements. And people are way too tender-hearted: it's racist! it's homophobic! It's Chris Lilley, of course it's not everyone's cup of tea. His way of pinpointing stereotypes in an unbelievably realistic way is genius. (It'll be on HBO and BBC Three later this year, people!)

Gosh, the footy has been so tense/exciting this year! I'm in the top three tippers at The Boy's dad's work competition, which has 500 people. (IT'S A FLUKE I SWEAR, IDK HOW IT HAPPENED). I'm currently at #1 because I tipped Geelong to beat Collingwood, but unfortunately I also tipped St Kilda to find that much-needed spark to beat Hawthorn (with ten minutes to go, not happening) and Richmond to upset over the Bulldogs (also not happening). So I'll probably go back to #2 or #3. Meh.

I've decided that finally I can splurge $20 (a whole $20, I know!) on Bossypants. Yes, I have been waiting this long. Yes, it's been driving me nuts. Still really excited to read it, though!

Argh, my 21 year old cousin in Sweden is now engaged. WHY ARE ALL THESE YOUNG PEOPLE GETTING ENGAGED/MARRIED I DON'T UNDERSTAND. Now it makes me sound like I'm anti-marriage. I'm not, I'm really not. I'm just in the "WHAT IS THE FREAKING RUSH" school of thought. Get yourselves financially stable. Put a deposit on a house. Get a dog. Or a goldfish. Just do those independent, grown-uppy things first. Maybe they'll have one of those long engagements? Who knows. Ah well, their life, not mine.

Oooh, I restrained myself to four points! Look at this progress, hear me roar. Have a lovely remainder of the weekend everyone (OH GOD HOW DID MONDAY COME ROUND SO QUICKLY?)! Might go and watch some bits of Eurovision, even though I know who won. Yay!

cecism — Fri, 06 May 2011 06:51:33 GMT

Oops. So I have to admit that I meant to post days ago, back when things were newer and more ~current. (Wow, we're now in the age where things are "old" after a few days. No wonder I feel tired.) But I didn't quite get around to it, and so bear with me with this ULTRA OLD STUFF, otherwise known as "things that happened in the last week and it is now Friday".

What an eventful weekend: some wedding happened, some TV awards show happened, and then some raid in Pakistan happened. Newspapers must have been loving it!

Oh, sorry, the TV awards thing applies only to Australia. Last Sunday night was the Logies - like our version of the Emmys, except less credible because half the winners are voted by the teenybopper public who buy a crap magazine. I always have a great mix of fascination/loathing for the night, because I can't stand that half our most "prestigious" TV awards are voted for by lowbrow idiots. But I also love the celebration of our industry. And I'm greatly heartened that NOT ONE PERSON FROM HOME AND AWAY OR NEIGHBOURS WON THIS YEAR. THIS IS A VICTORY. (Karl Stefanovic winning gold is beyond a joke, but that's a rant no one wants to hear. Two words: ADAM. HILLS.)

Wow, Katy Perry does not perform live very well.
Jessie J, however, was awesome. ♥ at the actors dancing and singing along! I still think Jessica Marais'd had a few, ha ha. I know this apparently happens at the Golden Globes, but I love that at the Logies everyone basically gets drunk and happy. It's hilarious.
Awww, Megan and Andy love. Seriously, how have they broken up, I can't even.
Asher Keddie! She looked amazing.
RACHEL GRIFFITHS! Was she hinting that Brothers & Sisters is going to be axed?
Love how ABC and SBS still got some awards.
...and that would be all.

You know the best thing about international events, good or bad? The treasure trove of meme-giffy goodness that comes out of it. After bin Laden, there have been some pages created that are absolute GOLD. "On a scale from Anne Frank to Osama Bin Laden, how good was my hiding spot?", "Hi, I'm Osama Bin Laden, and Windows 7 was my idea", "A prince gets married, the bad guy is dead. It's a real Disney weekend.", "Osama Bin Laden: World Hide & Seek Champion 1987-2011", etc. etc. BRILLIANT. Or Grace van Custem, the Frowning Flowergirl. Which I find amusing in the way the image is used, not because she's a young child. Clear difference.) Find the humour in everything, I say. (Well, most things.)

I've been meaning to rant about this for a while, but now that the movie is being released this week, it's probably a good time. Has anyone here read Something Borrowed and the follow-up-slash-companion-book, Something Blue? I absolutely loved them - the second one more so actually, but beside the point. But I can't stand the thought of the movie. Especially with Kate Hudson, who turns everything into fluffy crap. According to the trailer, they've made it into a typical rom-com and I'm furious, because whilst the books were considered chick-lit, there was quite a bit of angst, regret, deviousness, etc. and the movie probably has none of it. The way that the characters are built in the book is layered so you actually understand Darcy. Kate Hudson will give her no layering whatsoever. ARGH, I HATE MOVIE ADAPTATIONS THAT AREN'T THE ONES IN MY HEAD. DO NOT WANT.

I received an email from Ticketmaster today that Dylan Moran is playing a show in Melbourne at the end of July! Mothereffin' YES, just waiting to see when the Brisbane shows are announced. (He has to come to Brisbane, okay?) Pleasewithacherryontop.

A friend of The Boy is Facebook friends with a player from my football team, and has his privacy set to "friends of friends". So The Boy and I spent about an hour Facebook stalking all the Blues boys' profile pictures, and some from other clubs too. Awesome fun. (Speaking of, go the Blue boys against the Saints... sorry scribblecat!)

Ooh, we just got an iPad2 delivered! (The Boy's Macbook died after about five years of usage, and it's cheaper to get an iPad than a laptop.) Fun experimental times!

Off to walk puppy now, poor thing is restless. (WOW I REALLY NEED TO UPDATE MORE OFTEN SO MY ENTRIES AREN'T THIS LONG.)

cecism — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 07:09:12 GMT

Oh, right, I'm back from Melbourne. Forgot to say. Oops. Flew in Easter Sunday night (cheapest day to fly, surprisingly!) and wow, the Gold Coast has been having schizophrenic weather! Usually I can rely on Melbourne to be unpredictable - the Gold Coast weather is always delightfully consistent - but it's the other way around now, ha.

Did we all have a good Easter? As I've been asking the preschoolers this week: "Did the Easter bunny come and visit you?" Cue lengthy recaps of what Easter eggs were given and eaten and where they found them in the garden and one was pink and one was green and oh, did you know that we had hot cross buns too because Mummy bought some and it was very very yummy. Yes, children.

Tomorrow is Friday (Friday, gotta get down on - OH WAIT SHUT UP WHY AM I EVEN THINKING OF THIS) which means it's wedding day, or Logies Spit Roast if that tickles your fancy. I'm stuck in the conundrum of being completely apathetic to royal weddings, Australia should get rid of the monarchy and be like Canada (still be invited to Commonwealth Games, however, because I like seeing us win everything ha-di-ha) and what a use for taxpayers' money in the economic climate, to OOH I JUST LOVE THAT SHE'S A "COMMONER" AND THAT BLUE DRESS WAS REALLY QUITE NICE AND DAMN IT I'M SUCKED IN. Is anyone else in a similar predicament?

I planned to watch about ten minutes of the "William & Kate: A Modern Day Fairytale" telemovie last night to mock and laugh and suddenly found myself watching THE ENTIRE THING. I AM APPALLED AT MYSELF. I HAVE STANDARDS YOU KNOW. Well, I thought I did. Clearly not. Up until then the only things I knew about Lifetime movies was based on "A Dog Took My Face and Gave Me a Better Face To Change The World: the Celeste Cunningham Story". That was a classy piece, that.

One last thing on the subject that I claim to be apathetic towards (oh, who am I kidding) but in the words of accrues (sorry for the plagiarism, love): "I think it's hilarious that the Chaser made it so the BBC had to rewrite the rules so that they specifically could not do a commentary." EXACTLY. Except it's annoying, because I was going to watch them commentate the wedding. Where's the fun otherwise? Might just have to watch Dame Edna on Channel 9 now. Or Channel 10. And oh, dilemma, do I watch the Sydney vs Carlton game at the same time? HALP.

In other news, I've had a technology fail day and The Boy is enamoured with the new AFL Playstation game and my SuperCoaching is actually doing well! And those hijabs with football teams is an awesome idea, IMHO.

I was also going to write thoughts about last week's double 30 Rock but I can't really be bothered now. Basically: AWESOME. FLASHBACKS RULE. TOM HANKS IS GREAT. I LOVE JACK AND LIZ AND HOW HE COULDN'T FIRE HER AND HE DOESN'T STAY WITH AVERY AND HE'S THE GUY THAT NEVER LEFT. ♥

A random note to finish off one: I've been burning a blueberry cheesecake candle which is really quite lovely but now the room smells of baking and is making me hungry. Gah.

cecism — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:07:37 GMT

[No little picture icons today, lovlies, I'm not on my computer and have no idea what the URL is.]

1. So I'm in Melbourne again for Easter. My perfect weather so far: 23°C/73°F and sunny. (A bit cloudy tomorrow but ah well.) Have added to my comedy festival total by seeing Sammy J & Randy (LOVE) and Hannah Gadsby (BRILLIANT). Charlie Pickering tomorrow night and Alan Brough on Thursday. Lygon St for lunch today and San Churro for late dessert last night and yeah, not only will I probably put on some chub but my wallet is also depressingly empty. And muldy will testify that the footy match on Saturday was horrendously tense and awesome and really annoying that it ended in a draw.

2. A girl I went to school with got married yesterday. WHYYYYYY. Seriously, I'm all for people being happy but WHAT'S THE FREAKING RUSH. (We're 23, jsyk. Which I know isn't that young but it's young enough. There's no way I'm getting married for another five years at least.) Mind you, my year level had 350 and only two have gotten married that I know of, so it's not that bad. But still, I can't comprehend it. Also, feel free to disagree with me but if you haven't yet reached that stage of your life where you're working full-time and can be financially independent, don't do it. Because living with your now-husband's parents because you haven't finished uni and don't have any money of your own yet (no matter how rich the bride's parents are) will not make a happy marriage. Just saying.

3. Oh, shite, I just remembered I forgot to set the recorder for the second part of Paper Giants. Did anyone watch the first part last night? HOW GOOD WAS IT.

4. I also really enjoyed 30 Rock this week.

5. I finally got around to joining up to my local library last week, a year after moving to the Gold Coast, and my name is spelt wrong on my card. I won't bother complaining, but honestly, people can be stupid. My name is on the form. Right in your hand. You can copy it exactly, thank you very much. (This happens with email replies all the time as well. I SIGN MY NAME OFF. YOU THEN SPELL IT WRONG. IT'S NOT THAT DIFFICULT.)

This is a ranty post, isn't it? I'm not even grumpy! Sorry. A quick meme to end on a positive note:

Comment if you want to do this meme, and I'll give you a colour that I think represents you, and then you list ten things you like in that colour or ten things it reminds you of! You don't need to include pictures.

gemmi_joo gave me RED!

1. Maltesers (my first thought it chocolate, what a surprise)
2. Poppies
3. My first (very shit) car
4. The Boy's (much nicer) car
5. Strawberries
6. A football
7. Warmth
8. Tomato sauce on a Four 'n Twenty pie
9. My house colour in Year 7 & 8
10. Addison Montgomery's awesome hair

That's me done, over and out!

cecism — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 01:38:16 GMT

Hiatus was unintentionally extended from one week to two. Oops. (Think I've caught up on the flist now? Go me.)

Melbourne trip as follows: (because I know you're all positively fascinated by it)

1. Tiger cancels our flight four hours its due to leave, yay. A quick reschedule to Virgin which seems positively luxurious in comparison. Cousin's wedding was a full-blown church ceremony, which I'm 99% sure was due to his now-wife's Irish-Catholic-looking family (and probably my aunt's religious influence), and the fact that my cousin nor his partner are religious themselves. Wouldn't have minded except the church was freezing. Reception was good though.

2. LIONEL RITCHIE AND GUY SEBASTIAN. That's a two-for-one-concert, you guys. Guy came out and they sang All Night Long together and it was amazing. Guy looked genuinely so honoured to be performing with one of his musical heroes. I know it's shameful to admit, but I think I knew more of his song's than Lionel's. (I didn't have cool parents who played me motown as a child, okay? I wish I did!) And Guy sang Amazing Grace at the piano with a video montage of the floods/Christchurch/Japan and it was so beautiful.

3. One comedy show of the 2011 festival ticked off! Cal Wilson, whose show was all about her procrastinating, so I related to it extremely well. Hee. And The Boy got to go to the F1 Grand Prix, so he's happy.

4. Ticked off so many culinary to-do's. Box Hill for dumplings and bubble tea and sago with mango. (I missed all my Asian goodies so much.) South Melbourne. Georges' curry pasta. COFFEE, thank God. Babka's. Lygon St. Chapel St. I can't even remember the rest but I think I've probably put on 5 kilos in a week.

5. Can you believe I've never been to the National Sports Museum? It was really, really interesting, especially the Olympics section. Was a little rushed because we were going to the Richmond v St Kilda match so we'll go back another time and do all the interactive stuff.

Last Saturday was the very first match of the Gold Coast Suns, the newest football team in the league and something we've been very involved with. Massive conflict, because I so want them to do well but bloody typical, they were playing my first team. So I was torn as to who to support (solved: wore my Carlton scarf, and my Suns t-shirt). The crowd atmosphere was fantastic, and it didn't matter that the Suns got absolutely hammered (yay, Carlton percentage!). Speaking of, bloody Collingwood. I'm all for team rivalries, but getting their supporters to wear "I Hate Carlton" t-shirts is just bad taste - nothing to do with the fact I'm a Carlton supporter, I just hate blatant finger-pointing at other teams. Loved the sign in the 88,000-strong crowd last night though: "Nice flag. We've got 16 of them." FTW. (muldy, I promise to be nice about next week's match. You'll probably win, anyway.)

I really hope the Spice Girls musical comes to Australia in the next few years. I don't care how bad the storyline will be; if a musical has "Say You'll Be There"/"Stop"/etc. etc. I'm there.

I'm debating whether to buy Bossypants from Amazon and pay for international shipping, or buy it at a higher price from a local store. The Aussie dollar is actually higher than the US dollar at the moment, so maybe Amazon is the way to go. Gah.

I don't think I've mentioned yet that I'm learning aerial silks! You know, Cirque Du Soleil and Pink concerts. Except obviously not that amazing. More "oh sweet Jesus my arms are not that strong", but it's fun. Even though my forearms kill afterwards.

Edited to add: I know this is old news now (oh, Internet, how you age 'news' within 24 hours) but who watched the musical episode of Grey's? I don't know about you, but I basically wanted to laugh at the entire thing. Yes, even through the ~dramatic bits. Because: someone's dying! drama! relationships! more drama! and - wait, why are they suddenly singing? (Although yay, Addison, even if she was only on for about three seconds.)

Oh God this entry has been long-winded and boring. Let's make it even more so! Meme, because I haven't done one in, what, two years?

Tagged by accrues.

Except I don't tag, and I'm too lazy to think of new questions. Have fun reading, chickens.

1. Make a list of 5 things that you can see without getting up.
A half-eaten Cadbury Easter egg (will try not to finish it in one day), my dance sneakers, my now-empty tea mug, the boat marina outside my window, and very boring business things like accounting books.

2. How many times have you changed your hairstyle in the past five years?
I don't really change my hairstyle. I'm unadventurous like that. I've had a side fringe for years, but the humidity in Queensland kills it, so I'm toying with the idea of changing it slightly so it's more manageable.

3. What is your favourite article of clothing (that you own) and why?
Um, possibly a dark grey Jay Jay's t-shirt with a big, diamanted butterfly. Or my TGS hoodie. Or my Carlton football scarf, for sentimental reasons.

4. What's your occupation?
Self-employed preschool dance teacher. A lot of work and almost no monetary rewards. The kids are usually great, though.

5. What is one thing you believe in and why?
That hot cross buns must be warmed up before being eaten. Have I mentioned that I'm addicted to Woolies' mocha hot cross buns? THEY ARE AWESOME AND I CAN'T RESIST.

6. What's your favourite guilty pleasure treat?
Oh lordy, there are far too many. A really good, dense, rich, moist piece of chocolate mud cake. First bite of one is like ecstasy. Or slamming Tim Tams through hot chocolate. Why are these both chocolate-related? I love savoury just as much!

7. What are you thinking about right now?
I should probably go feed the puppy.

8. Write the first word that comes to mind.
"Um...?" I fail at word association.

9. Do you have any pets? Did you have any growing up?
I had a cat until I was 18. We now have a seven-month old Westie puppy, Millie. I do want another cat one day, however.

10. If you came across $2,000 (or other currency) would you keep it or turn it in?
Depends on the circumstance. If it was in a labelled envelope in a shop/similar, I probably would try and "do the right thing" because guilt is something that plagues me everyday. If I literally just found it lying on the footpath, however... (Two years ago I would have said "hand it in", but being severely budgeted has made me want that two grand. Am I a bad person? Maybe.)

11. What was the last thing that you bought?
A red bean donut at a new Japanese bakery yesterday because I really miss my Asian bakery items (read text above) and it's the closest thing to Breadtop!

12. What other countries have you been to (if any)?
Sweden (six times), Hong Kong (for two years), New Zealand, the US, Canada, England, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Vietnam, Thailand (three times), Macau (does that count?), and Tasmania - kidding. Whilst I travelled a lot as a kid, I've severely missed out doing what most other 20-somethings in Australia do and travel everywhere, especially Europe. muldy, I'm looking at you!

13. Where do you see yourself in five minutes?
Probably still finishing this meme.

14. Last book you've read?
The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do. Seriously, my fellow Aussies, you have to read it.

15. What are you doing this weekend?
Cooking puppy stew, catching up on three weeks' worth of TV, household chores that I haven't had time to do all week, cooking meals for the week ahead.

16. What is your song of choice RIGHT NOW? The one you select when you kick off your playlist in the morning or whenever.
I started off this morning by listening to The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars because I really hope today is something like that. Ah, wishful thinking.

17. Favourite movie of the last six months?
Six months? What has even come out in the last six months? Let's see. The King's Speech, Wild Target and Gnomeo & Juliet. Clearly I suck at giving just one answer.

18. What are you doing tomorrow?
More of the same today, I think. Preparing for another work week. Menial administrative things I don't want to have to deal with.

19. Which part of this year are you looking forward to the most?
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The Gold Coast Suns' first home game at their new stadium in May. And, uh, Christmas!

20. What scares you the most and why?
Losing everything on my computer. It's sad but true.

I really have to go and do something productive now, I think. See you 'round like a rissole!

cecism — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 05:44:39 GMT

hiatus. again.

Going to Melbourne tomorrow for a week. I've been really bad at keeping up with LJ this past week, it's been crazytimes. I have all these entries bookmarked to go and comment on but I'm really running out of time so I probably can't get to them - CAN YOU FEEL MY GUILT OOZING OUT MY PORES? Feel it, flist, because you are important and deserve better treatment by me. I'M SORRY.

I'm in my Sound of Music phase again. (Can a phase stay with with you for life, just in varying degrees of power? If so, it's a phase. 'Phase' seems to downplay it, however. But I digress.) I used to watch that movie every weekend. Or at least every few weeks. In moving and everything else, I hadn't watched it in 18 months (THE HORROR!) and finally got to on Saturday night. And sang every lyric of every song. Oh lordy, ever since I've just wanted to watch it again and again. How did I go for 18 months without watching it? I don't know, guys, I really don't. It's my crack.

Anyway, see you in a week, lovelies! Take care. ♥

cecism — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:47:46 GMT

I figure that if I post sightly more frequently, maybe my posts will be slightly less long? Let's test that theory.

I've been in a funk today, so instead of working I bought myself a blueberry muffin and a coffee ~~with money I don't have~~ and ate it whilst watching True Hollywood Story: The Women of Desperate Housewives. Then some of Piers Morgan's interview with Dannii Minogue. Yes, my life is that sad. Have I ticked off anything from my to-do list? Nope, and I feel worse for it. I suck.

Dance has been making me happy though. My studio recently changed venues, and whilst the new one is a bit further away from me, the cliquey, superficial girls haven't come to this new place. So now I talk to everyone else and it's a lot more friendly and basically, yay! (Oh, and they're starting aeriel silk classes soon. I CAN LEARN TO TWIRL IN THE SKY LIKE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL AND P!NK.)

Oh, and really, I should have no reason to be mopey today because WE'RE GOING TO KYLIE IN JUNE OMG I AM SO EXCITED. Last time she was out here I was going to go and then didn't so I'm seriously, utterly delighted. I would really, really like to see her perform in Melbourne one day as its both her and my hometown, but I'm really looking forward to seeing her in Brisbane because we'll be closer to her! (I just used 'really' three times. My bad.)

Booking shows for the Comedy Festival, yay! I asked Dad if that could be my birthday present and he so kindly agreed. For those newer readers, I lovelovelove going to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It's the biggest in the world after Edinburgh and I'm a bit of a comedy junkie. I couldn't go last year because we were up here on the Coast, but my cousin's wedding is on at the same time so we're taking a week off to fly down to Melbourne for it.

Any Australians going to watch Winners & Losers? It's so not going to get the audience that Rafters does. I miiiiiight give it a go because it's local and, uh, stuff. I also don't really care that Rachel moves to NY (assuming that's what happens). Jessica Marais is one of the most stunning women alive (ALTHOUGH WHY IS SHE EVEN SKINNIER THAN LAST YEAR?), but Rachel is probably my least-favourite character and just meh. Now that we're on-topic, how awesome was Zoe Ventura on Gordon St last night? Edit: They put the adventures of Mousie on YouTube! FTW.

Okay, keeping this short didn't work particularly well. Oops. (And really, this post has been full of positives. SNAP OUT OF YOUR MOOD, CEC.)

cecism — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 09:22:44 GMT

Sunday nights make me depressed, because I'm in a three-way tie of head yelling: a) "Last few hours of the weekend, let's have some fun!" b) "I should really start preparing for Monday, which I've had all weekend to do" and c) "I HATE MONDAYS MAKE THEM LEAVE." (I never particularly dreaded Mondays until now, not even at school. But now Monday is just the hardest day of my week and I dread it, which is annoying because it totally ruins the last bits of Sunday.)

I'm only two episodes from being caught up in Grey's, hallelujah. Now that I don't have any vested interest in it, I'm quite enjoying it again. That's the way to go, I conclude: rid yourself of any emotional attachments of a show, and then it's fun again!

The Boy is absolutely loving watching Desperate Housewives. It's kind of hilarious. I just promised him that I won't tell his friends, because it's not very "manly". (His favourite show is Top Gear and watches about four football shows a week, so I think it evens it out.) Also? My newest obsession is Ace of Cakes. I know, I'm late to the party but we recently only got the Food channel and we adore it. And we get very involved when watching Ultimate Cake Off. Seriously, there really is a reality show for everything.

Speaking of which, I watched some of the Sydney Mardi Gras last night for the first time. That was... interesting. Actually, I want to go one day - so much colour and music and dancing and gay guys running around in costumes. What's not to love?

In cleaning out my filled-to-the-brim hard drives (OH WOE), I've discovered I have 5GB of podcasts. BlakeLee podcasts dating back to 2006, specifically. That's a lot of disk space. I actually went back and listened to some of them, and the show was so experimental and new! I miss those days.

On Friday a news story broke out (some of you Aussies probably heard it) where a school teacher took a group of Year 10 students snorkelling as part of a science trip. Some of the students got caught in a rip, and the teacher went after them. After pulling them all to safety, he himself got swept out, had a cardiac arrest and died. He taught at my high school (had since moved to another school) and though I didn't have him as I didn't do biology, his office was right next my locker and he was the most lovely teacher. Always joking (in a sarcastically grinning way) and well known for his eclectic collection of ties. Fancy a schoolteacher saving the lives of his students and then sacrificing his own - that's the true mark of heroism.

I had the biggest craving for crepes today. I made myself a fruit salad instead. WILLPOWER, I HAS SOME.

Have a lovely remainder of the weekend, all!

P.S. I am digging this song, just FYI. Despite the autotune. Can anyone make a song that doesn't use it, I ask? Maybe not.

cecism — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:51:45 GMT

Now I'm averaging two posts a month, go me! (Note the sarcasm.) On the bright side, you don't have to put up with pointless entries from yours truly. Speaking of pointless entries, here we go!

I was talking to my (new) dance teacher yesterday and he comes from Christchurch and he was so sombre, it made me sad. He was saying how he couldn't get hold of his aunty for two days after the earthquake because she hates technology and only has a landline, and since the phone lines were cut, they couldn't check with her. Also how it's eerie to see the cathedral, which is the centrepoint of Christchurch (look at its name, forchrissake), not quite there anymore. I'm so sick of natural disasters; first the floods, then a cyclone, now this - I know, NZ is a different country but they're like our little sibling that we look out for ~~and tease for their sheep and accents~~.

...Depressing, pointless entry thus far. Let's fix that.

I haven't watched 30 Rock yet because I'm waiting for The Boy to finish watching the footy (Collingwood will win anyway, what's the freaking point). I could sneakily watch it by myself right now, but I feel bad. WATCH THIS RESTRAINT PEOPLE, WATCH IT SOAR.

I hung out with two footy players on Wednesday night, it was awesome. Okay, story: the Gold Coast, where I live, is getting their very own AFL team this year which is SUPER SUPER EXCITING. I will always be a Carlton girl inside, but I'm adopting the GC as my second team. So The Boy's family went about buying memberships with another family so we could all sit together at games, and then invited more families along, and some more - so we ended up forming a group that now consists of 70 people. So we gave ourselves a name and got in touch with the club's administration, AND NOW WE ARE A FULL ON SUPPORTER GROUP. And so we had our very first supporter group function, and invited some club people along now that we're ~legit, and the CEO came, and an assistant coach, and the sponsorship guy, and two players: Jarrod Harbrow (formerly of the Western Bulldogs) and Charlie Dixon who was the very first player they signed. Jarrod was super-quiet, but Charlie was an absolute sweetheart. And very, very tall. (200cm/6'5.) OMG I'M MIXING WITH AFL PLAYERS HOW IS THIS HAPPENING.

I accidentally overcooked some brownies the other day (note: I've been baking cakes without fault since I was eight, these things do not happen to me, and I was very disappointed in myself) but now crumble them into ice cream with homemade chocolate sauce. It's really bad. But really good.

I NEED TO ~~SPRING~~SUMMERCLEAN MY COMPUTER. I realised this when my 145GB drive where I store all my TV and movies ran out of space, and then my 73GB drive with all my documents, photos and music did too.* I know, I don't need episodes on TV that I already have on DVD, BUT IT'S SO CONVENIENT. I can't be bothered walking into the next room, getting the case out, putting the DVD in and waiting for it to play. LIFE IS TOUGH IN THIS WAY, Y'ALL. (I kid. But still.) I know I have shit on my computer, but I can't bear to chuck it. Please tell me I'm not the only one with this conundrum?

* It's okay, I still have two more 75GB drives to fill, but that's not the point. I'll ruin my organisation!

Nelly and Kelly were recently filming their new video, hurrah! I've been looking forward to it, and I don't even bother watching videos 95% of the time. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT'S BEEN ALMOST A DECADE SINCE DILEMMA. Seriously, wtf. What were you doing when Dilemma came out? Me, I was in Year 9. Little, teenage angsty ~~not really~~, naive me. It so doesn't seem that long ago. On another music video note: apart from the irritating product placement, I freaking love Hold It Against Me. I think because she fights herself and there's colourful paint and glimpses of teenage!Brit. I'm easy to please like that.

Ooh, I think the footy's finished now. 30 Rock and ice cream, here I come!

P.S. Pointless entry is still pointless. I'm sorry, guys, it's a Friday night.

cecism — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:57:42 GMT

It's a teeny wee belated, but happy Chinese New Year! Kung hei fat choi is pretty much the only expression I know how to say in Cantonese. Which is shameful since my dad speaks it and I lived in Hong Kong for two years. We're going out for a late New Year dinner tomorrow paid by Rupert Murdoch (long story short: it's a corporate credit card, The Boy's mum is BFFs with a News Ltd CEO, she jokes that she'll be his next wife, etc). And my grandma gave me a lai see even though I don't live in Melbourne anymore, hurrah!

MOTHER NATURE HAS PMS AGAIN. Seriously, first Queensland has the worst flooding liek evah, and then Cyclone Yasi comes and hits the coast yesterday.

Crazy, right? It's wiped out like 85% of Australia's banana crop, which means prices will skyrocket, fun times. Luckily the Gold Coast must have been Mother Theresa in a former life, because we were somehow spared both flooding and cyclone. Funnily enough the storm's swept across Central Australia, and the arm has affected Melbourne and now I hear they're in for a crazy storm tomorrow and already have had flash flooding. Le sigh.

I HAVE HAD THIS SONG ON REPEAT FOR LITERALLY TWO WEEKS. It soothes me, somehow. IDEK, it's just good in the background. Anything to get that bloody S&M song out of my head, omgihateitsomuch. Who writes lyrics like that? ~~I'm sorry, some of you may not know I have an irrational, intense dislike towards Rihanna. It's okay, I know most people love her.~~

I decided I'd finally finish the last season of Grey's Anatomy since the latest season starting airing last night (well, I had to do something when the tennis finished, right?). I haven't been up to date with that show in what feels like years. I've got no hope on ever catching up on Private Practice properly, however, which is sad considering how I used to go gayballs (thank you, LL) over it. Meh, Shonda stuff is now just habit rather than actually caring.

That aside, pleasepleasePLEASE someone tell me they also can't wait for Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight! accrues, don't let me down here. (Adams Hills = MOST FAVOURITE COMEDIAN EVER, see?)

I... don't think I have any thoughts on this week's 30 Rock. Did anyone think the episode had way too much to comprehend in it? I need a second viewing (which I promised The Boy about half an hour ago, so I better finish up here). I did awww at the fact at the middle name thing. Then one could say there'll be an Elizabeth in Jack's life forevaaaaaaah. This thought happies me. (Also, I'm still struggling to realise that this storyline hasn't yet had a massive twist in it and then ceased to exist. Like, it was fake/not his/something else more interesting. WHY IS THIS STORYLINE STILL HAPPENING. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP.)

H'okay, time to go back and rewatch said episode and get a banana paddle pop from the freezer, because we all know that banana is the best kind. Except for maybe rainbow. Oh God, now I want a rainbow one. Damn you, brain.

Happy Friday night to you all!

cecism — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:00:07 GMT

Help Australia & Brazil. I caught up with gemmi_joo the other day and want to publicly acknowledge how awesome she is by spending days cleaning thick, contaminated mud off strangers' homes in the flood clean-up. She was tired, poor bb.

I forget that in January, 70% of my time is taken up by watching the tennis. I've realised that during the Australian Open I'll follow it religiously, read the articles, update myself when I'm out with the scores (thanks, free iPhone app). The rest of the year? I don't even realise the Wimbledon/French/US Opens are on until it's the final. Faaaaail. BUT I LOVE ME SOME SUMMER TENNIS. Go Stosur! (Or Clijsters.) Except pleasepleaseplease stop hiring Jim Courier to commentate. NO ONE LIKES HIM. At least Henri Leconte is entertaining, kthx.

Had you told me a year ago that one day I would say "I can't wait to watch Oprah, FOUR NIGHTS IN A ROW" I would have declared you insaaaaane. I've never watched a full episode of her show, and don't really care about how much money she's giving to schools etc. etc. But I'm ashamed (or not?) to admit I GOT SUCKED IN WHEN SHE CAME TO AUSTRALIA. And the complete over-the-topness of everything makes me cringe, as does all these mispronunciations and stereotypes. But whatever, it's a freaking amazing tourism campaign la la la. We had to go out to dinner last night though, so I missed the third episode. ~~Hmmm, must find download somewhere.~~

Work goes back next week (well, technically it did last Wednesday, but more this week) and I'm kinda dreading it. Which is normal, I know, but this is my own business. So I shouldn't dread it. I just can't deal with the shit and the constantconstant worrying over other people's shit. Mothers are the most vague people EVER to deal with. You're always the afterthought with them, and it puts me out each and every week. /rant

Thank Christ Miranda Kerr gave her son a normal name. That can't be said about you, KidmanUrban camp (I'm sorry, but no Australian would call their child Faith. Polarising opinion? Sorry 'bout that, still love ya). CHRIS JUDD IF YOU CALL YOUR UNBORN CHILD SOMETHING ODD I WILL HAVE TO ERASE A POINT FOR REASONS WHY YOU'RE AWESOME.

Came across the 2001 locally-made film Better Than Sex which I've been wanting to watch for years due to Catherine McClements and David Wenham being in the same movie. IT WAS AWESOME. Hilariously written and so fantastically directed. If any Australians see a copy, grab it. Just don't watch it with your parents, because that could be slightly awkward.

30 Rock came back last night, thaaaaaaank you baby jesus.

30 Rock, 5x11 "Mrs Donaghy"

1. Jenna and Danny storyline FTW. "But you're my Danny and Jenna!" Did anyone else try and play the "spot Jane's stomach" game? I really hate it when I know an actress is pregnant in something and then my eyes just drop to their stomach in every scene. IT'S DISTRACTING. Keeley Hawes in Death at a Funeral, I'm looking at you. (Lovingly looking, but looking nevertheless.)

2. "Whatever you say, dear." "Do not. Do. That." Bwahaha.

3. "I have the results of your physical. Tracy, you are going to die. You have no reflexes, your blood tastes like root beer and some of your bones appeared to have vanished." I love random!Dr Spaceman appearances.

4. "I have to talk to my husband." Did... anyone else's heart just pang a little?

5. "Did you draw that? You might need help. That's awful for an adult." ilu, Janet Baloney.

6. ELIZABETH LEMON-DONAGHY ON TELEVISION MAY HAVE MADE AN ORGAN OF MINE EXPLODE FROM LAUGHING TOO HARD.

7. OKAY OKAY THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT. That scene in Jeffrey Weinerslav's office I could watch over and over. I feel that any Jack/Liz episodes tend to fall into the the "Ha ha we are SO making fun of you shippers, you pathetic people you" category, or the "If you pick up on that, you're reading into this waaaaay too much" category. This one was kind of both. The blatant obviousness of the Jack/Liz stuff ("You two have always thrown out the will-they-or-won't-they vibe and it's been a real hoot to watch your courtship") is always enjoyable even if it's glaring at me in the face, but seriously, YOU JUST WROTE HOW THEY ARE THEY ARE DESTINED TO BE BFFs.

On the downside, I always feel like there's a little subtitle underneath explaining that they are being reeeeeally careful to write it so it's clear Jack and Liz are not "meant to be" anything other than the best BFFs ever. Which I already know, realistically. PICKING UP ON TINY SHIPPY THINGS, HOWEVER, MAKES WATCHING FUN. MY HEART TRIES TO HUG MY BRAIN AND I LIKE THAT.

Still. Ilu Liz and Jack for bringing me so much joy. Arm holding! Bickering! Revenge games! And... all those reasons Jeffrey gave. Which we already know, so we didn't really need a "here's a list, check it twice" spiel. But y'know. It's fact. I wish I had a BFF like that.

I don't know what my point was here. I loved it, despite the nail being hammered into the coffin a tiny bit more. And hey, you can call them ex-spouse now, that's kind of hilariously odd.

I love that when we finished watching it last night, The Boy goes, "Can we watch it again?". I was the adult, however, and said no because it was 12:20am. We'll watch it again this morning though! Hurrah!

P.S. I would probably watch an episode of Queen of Jordan and then turn it off because my brain hurts. I can only stand those shows for so long. Toddlers & Tiaras is an exception.

WOW THESE WERE SO NOT "BRIEF" THOUGHTS, I'M SORRY.

Whoops, I just realised I was so engrossed in doing this that I forgot to have breakfast. No wonder my tum's protesting.

cecism — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:25:24 GMT

I'm back from Sydney as of last night. Whilst I've been gone - and I'm sure most of you are aware - the state I now call home is 75% flooded. That's twice the size of Texas. Some of the bodies that were swept away in the floodwater will never be found. What staggers me is that Brisbane flooded; that's the third-biggest city in Australia, two million people, an actual city. These things usually happen in regional towns, but for it to happen in an urban place is just mind-blowing.

The Gold Coast is an hour away from Brisbane and miraculously the flood decided to jump over us and continue further south. I'm so, so thankful we weren't directly affected but flying into Brisbane last night and seeing half the city dark and out of electricity was eerie. We went to the supermarket, however, and long-life milk is sold out; we only just managed to grab the last couple of litres of ordinary milk. Fruit and veggies are half gone, so are eggs. Everyone was stocking up on canned food like it was WWII.

It's nuts to think that, two years ago, I was living an hour away from the worst bushfires the country has ever seen. Now I'm an hour away from a floodzone. (What's even crazier is that where there was bushfires two years ago is now also flooded - it won't make as much news but my hometown of Melbourne and surrounding areas is also experiencing flooding. WTF.)

Meanwhile, Brazil and Sri Lanka also lose people, homes, business, animals to flooding. This is all so unfair.

There was a massive street party tonight organised to raise funds. Lots of bands, food, people. Rebecca ~~Twigley~~ Judd and Lauren Phillips were collecting donations - that's WAG royalty, right there - and Scott Prince was signing jerseys. It was so well-organised for such a quickly-put together event.

===

In other news, boating in Sydney was great fun. Three days of absolutely nothing to do other than cruise around on the harbour and read. And watch flood news continuously. And read. And drink tea and play cards like a grandma. And read. (I was going to upload some photos of Sydney Harbour but being lazy is too easy.)

Today The Boy and I sat speculating whether 30 Rock are going to write in Jane Krakowski's pregnancy. My theory? Two of Jenna's gay friends decide to do an Elton John and have a baby, and she volunteers/is coerced/tricked into being the surrogate. Or will Jane just be forced to wear bulky jumpers and hide behind vases of flowers? Thoughts?

AUSTRALIAN OPEN STARTING SOON HOORAY! I love this time of summer when there are sports on other than bloody cricket. Lleyton Hewitt has organised a charity match for the floods like Roger Federer did last year. HURRAH! It had me in stitches last time.

Laters, sweets!

P.S. I love this song, I won't lie. You go, BritBrit.

cecism — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:23:30 GMT

brief hiatus.
Going to Melbourne for a wedding, then Sydney for boating. (!!!) Will be back next Friday, loves. ♥

cecism — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 05:08:21 GMT

OHAI, 2011. (Nine hours early. Oh wells.)

...seriously. How did it get to 2011? IDEK.

Had an unexpected hiatus because we went to stay at the house (oh, did I mention the house renovations were finished about a month ago? So The Boy's parents moved there, and The Boy and I have the apartment to ourselves. It's a very sweet deal, I must admit) for Christmas and we've just kind of stayed there since.

But I've caught up on all your Christmassy posts and whilst I haven't had time to comment on them, I love reading them and I'm glad most of you seemed to have good ones! Mine was good, despite the atrocious grey, windy, rainy weather - it's supposed to be bright and sunny here, FYI - and it turns out The Boy's family are awesome present givers. I know, it's not supposed to be about the presents but it always helps, yes? Hee. (Amongst other things, I now own a TGS hoodie, a Whitehaven HS top and the collector's edition of the soundtrack! Hurrah!)

I've now seen The King's Speech twice and it is PHENOMENAL. Seriously, it needs to be compulsory viewing. And it has Colin Firth, which at the end of the day, is a good a reason as any. Problem with this time of year is that too many movies come out and I never end up seeing them all. Next in line: Love & Other Drugs, Little Fockers (shuddup), Black Swan. They're the most important.

Anyway, what does everyone have planned for New Year's? I'm feeling a bit sad because ordinarily I'd be at a house party or out in the city, but all my friends are in Melbourne and, well, I'm not. So The Boy and I are going to the basketball and then wandering around and seeing what people on the Gold Coast do at midnight.

This was supposed to be a short entry. Why do I talk so much? Meh. See you in 2011, tulips!

P.S. You know you live in a regional place when they're giving away rodeo tickets on the radio. *headdesk* Not saying there's anything wrong with it, o'course, just... yeah.

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden ute!

cecism — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 02:36:57 GMT

Merry Christmas!

Here, have a Christmas puppy:

(I'm usually morally against dressing up animals but this Christmas jumper was so freaking cute that I couldn't help it. It has a reindeer face on the back with a brown pom pom nose. And thankfully she didn't seem to mind the jumper at all!)

I hope everyone on my flist have themselves a fabulous time filled with all the good things (I think food and presents and music, but really, whatever floats your boat). And for those who don't celebrate, I hope you have yourselves an enjoyable 25th December because a good day is still a good day, right?
Edit: sometimesartist reminded me also of the 24th. Which I should have included because I celebrate Christmas on the 24th too! Duh, me.

It's not sunny and terribly warm and that's dampened my mood somewhat (CHRISTMAS NEEDS TO BE SUNNY AND HOT HERE, DAMN IT, OR ELSE IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE CHRISTMAS) but I'm about to make meatballs and banana cake (unusual, I know, but it was requested) and Carols by Candlelight is on tonight - it feels odd not to have gone yesterday, sigh. Home Alone was watched two days ago, however. This is my first Christmas away from my family, so this shall be interesting!

See you on the other side of this crazy time of year... ♥

Because it was too adorable.

cecism — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 09:14:41 GMT

Back from Melbourne! We were actually there for a decent 12 days, as opposed to the usual 5-7 where we're so busy running around trying to catch up with everyone that I don't get a chance to breathe. THINGS WERE DONE:

>> mary poppins. FANTASTIC, OUT OF THIS WORLD, I can't even. It's on par with Wicked, that's how awesome it was. Maybe even a teensy bit better, depending on my mood.
>> hairspray. Very different from Mary Poppins with much simpler sets (THOUGH VIDEO SCREENS, SO AWESOME), but the songs and costumes are so infectious that it was just so fun.
>> disney exhibition. fascinating stuff, with so many original Walt drawings and designs!
>> the full carlton experience. Dinner at University Cafe, then browsed in Readings, then dessert at Brunetti's. I've had my Lygon St fix!
>> cocktails. At my favourite old haunt with the 70-page drinks menu. I wish I could pick it up and put it on the Gold Coast. Or, you know, clone it somehow.
>> christmas party. For The Boy's dad's work. Bollywood theme, ha ha. Free wine and three course meal, hurrah!
>> eating. My friend has recently moved out of home (when did we turn into adults?) to minutes away from Errol St in North Melbourne, with a lovely collection of cafes and restaurants and basically, I'm jealous that she lives so close to it.
>> myer christmas windows. Wouldn't be Christmas without it. This year's was The Nutcracker, which was so. much. better. than 2009.
>> christmas tree decorating. Yay!
>> swedish meatballs. Because I won't be with my family this Christmas so we made them early.
>> yum cha. Though I'm sure there's a place to get decent yum cha on the Gold Coast, I'm just yet to discover it.

We went and saw Human Nature last night. MOST. INCREDIBLE. CONCERT. EVER. Human Nature, for those who don't know, are basically the most awesome Australian musical act for the last decade. I've never met anyone who doesn't like them, which is interesting considering half the songs are boybandish. But then they did two Motown albums and have booked out the Imperial Palace in Vegas for two years straight. Smokey Robinson loves them. They can do freaking anything. (People Get Ready, their signature acapella song. This time with a symphony orchestra!)

We were in the third row, and they kept coming down the stairs to mingle with us. And then the first four rows were invited to a function afterwards where we got canapes and then they came and joined us! And we got photos with all of them and they signed our program and omigosh it was amazinggggg.

Crazy storms the last 24 hours. This morning it was so hot, sunny and humid that I took the puppy for a walk and came back soaked in sweat. Then at 1pm it went completely dark like the sun was about to set. Most of the rain actually missed me (it went further north, sorry Brisbane!) but still, it was quite odd. And hail, in summer? Mind you, I've been reading about so many posts from you guys about northern hemisphere snow - what a contrast, hey?

I'm actually really sad Andy and Megan broke up. Though at least she still has her lovely sense of humour: "And just to clarify, I did initially secure Ham in the split, but I traded him for a box of Crunchie icecreams & U2 tickets. What a bargain!" Hee.

Okay, that's me done, I'm out!
Edit: HOW MUCH DID MY INSIDES MELT WHEN LIZ MOUTHED 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' TO JACK. I just had to get that off my chest.

cecism — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:22:09 GMT

I was going to quickly post "OHAI, I'm not dead, brief hiatus", but truth be told I'm so inconsistent with posting these days that it's not exactly a newsflash.

But, you know: brief hiatus. Am in Melbourne. Was going to do succinct bullet points but my sinuses are throbbing and I have a headache (WHY AM I GETTING SICK THIS IS A HOLIDAY DAMN IT) and my sister's keyboard is weird, so it'll wait until I'm back on the Gold Coast mid next week.

Just caught up on the flist. My fingers are numb so comment!fail, but I read everything!

I think The Boy has ordered something from the NBC store for me for Christmas. BLAMMO. Cec out! (For now. Until a proper update next week. In which I'll have forgotten everything I was going to write about but hey, story of my life!) Stay well! ♥

cecism — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 07:23:24 GMT

Hurrah, sun! I don't usually make the habit of talking about the weather, but yesterday was nutty. Morning (when I take Millie the Puppy for a walk): cold, windy, rainy. Mid-morning: bright and sunny. Mid-afternoon: suddenly raining once more. Evening: fine. WTF, I felt like I was back in Melbourne again.

Speaking of, we're going back next Thursday for a week: CUE EXCITEMENT. I don't know, recently I've been really missing home and having this trip to look forward to has really kept me sane sometimes. Thankfully Christmas is soon after that, then New Year's... hopefully enough to keep me afloat.

Old news, but the day Will and Kate announced their engagement, Channel 9 aired a one-hour special that night. How long had they kept that thing in their files? I can imagine the TV execs now. "Guys, surely they're going to announce it soon?" (Am I sad for watching the last fifteen minutes? Shuddup, I just really, really liked that navy dress!)

I would be excited for the Christmas episode of 30 Rock, except for THAT PERSON. Who should not be at that reunion. (I'm too lazy to do a cut so hence the crypticness.) Argh.

Thoughts to the miners killed in New Zealand yesterday. (For those who aren't aware, 29 miners were trapped underground like in Chile, but rescuers couldn't get to them because of toxic gases. Right before they were about to go in a rescue them, the mine exploded, killing the miners.) I keep creeping myself out with thoughts of whether they were actually alive down there, waiting to be rescued, or if some had died, or if they had all starved or something. How morbid of me.

Sandra Bullock Revealed was on E! yesterday, and just happened to flick over to it. Only caught from Miss Congeniality 2 onwards, so therefore missed Speed (but then there was a bit on The Lake House so it's okay.) Also included divorce and baby... gosh, they update those things fast!

THEREFORE, GIF JUST BECAUSE I CAN. Also, I commented on hazyflights's journal the other day with it and basically need to use it again. Any excuse, people, any excuse.

THEY'RE SO CUUUUUUTE.

That's a good note to end an entry on, amirite? So, I leave you here. Cec out.

Edit: Forgot to say, I ~~made~~ showed The Boy Tina Fey's acceptance speech for the Mark Twain Award for American Humor. Me: "Thank you for watching it, I know others probably wouldn't be so interested." Him: "No, it was good! I really enjoy Tina Fey." Me: "SAY THAT IN ANOTHER CONTEXT." Him: "Oh, ha ha ha."

cecism — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:29:38 GMT

Yesterday was Melbourne Cup Day! Some of you long-timers may remember me mentioning The Race That Stops The Nation, because at 3pm every first Tuesday of November, the entire country stops to watch a horse race. It's the biggest in the southern hemisphere blah blah blah, but basically: CHAMPAGNE. HATS. FOOD. PICNICS/BBQS. MORE CHAMPAGNE. MORE FOOD. It's also a public holiday in Melbourne, and being a slack country, most people take Monday off as well, so it's a lovely four-day weekend for a three-minute horse race.

This is my first Melbourne Cup not being in Melbourne, but the weather was perfect here and it was also The Boy's birthday, so we had people come to the new house and we ate and ate and ate. It's like Christmas a month early. Having said that, why the hell is it not a national public holiday? It seems that everyone skips work, or at least gets drunk during it, so give everyone the day off I say!

Is it weird that I forgot to take photos of actual people, rather than plates of food? IDEK. But they hired a chef for a couple of hours (note: in the middle of moving, have no kitchenware, no time to buy/cook food, INSANE LUXURY THAT I CAN'T QUITE COMPREHEND) who was this hilariously charming Irish guy in his 60s and was just the greatest.

PARTY!

What would a Melbourne Cup party be without a horse centrepiece?

The plate this salad was on was literally a metre long. It was amazing.

Cake by yours truly. Didn't actually turn out too badly in the end. Was gooey and moist and chocolatey delicious, too. ;)

The sun setting after a gorgeous, clear day. Sigh.

PACKED TO THE RAFTERS, OH MY GOD. SOMEBODY PLEASE COME AND TALK TO ME ABOUT IT.

30 Rock is back this week, hurrah! And this week: LL > Avery. Like duh. I did quite appreciate the "One thing is for sure about Liz and Jack, they always have each other!" description on the 30 Rock Facebook thread however. FTW.

Also, how did I get about three weeks behind on Weeds without even realising it? Good news, I did catch up on Glee though. So it ain't all bad.

Going to see Robin Williams tomorrow night. The Boy's family have seen him live multiple times, but I'm a virgin at this. I don't know; I'm grateful to be going and all that, but to be honest? His manic-style comedy doesn't usually do it for me. I just hope it's good because I don't want to be the party pooper that didn't laugh enough.

Finally got around to seeing Eat, Pray, Love and didn't know David Lyon was in it. In fact, why were there all these Australians in it? (Oh, of course. It was half-set in Bali, and when there's Bali, there are Aussies drinking cheap beer.) That movie just made me want to eat, damn it.

Time for bed soon, my eyes are about to close on me. 'Night!

cecism — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 12:37:43 GMT

Wow, only two weeks since my last post? I'm improving, guys, clearly. ;)

TV. I'm still way behind. Rafters, Glee, Grey's, Offspring. i.e. everything except 30 Rock, which I need on a weekly basis like heroin - the kind I'd inject and then listen to jazz. That stuff. I AM APPALLED AT MY TV WATCHING BEHAVIOUR, you guys. I am so disappointed in myself.

Now that we're on a TV tangent, however, can I just gush for a minute about how damn lovely 30 Rock was this week? Not just the episode, but the feeling it induces afterwards. The fandom* has been pumped full of joy and squeeness that we haven't seen in what seems like a season (bar perhaps The Problem [pause] Solvers). WE ARE ALL SO HAPPY, NERDS. And I love that feeling. And you know what common denominator exists in fandom squeeing? LIZ AND JACK, EVERYONE, IT'S LIZ AND JACK AND THEIR WONDROUS BFFNESS-THOUGH-ACTUAL-SOULMATENESS. Ohai, TPTB, this is what we want. Just sayin'.

I've really, really missed that feeling of just simply GRINNING at them. Grinning because they are so damn good, and Tina and Alec are so damn good, and IT'S LIKE MY HEART IS TRYING TO HUG MY BRAIN. I think I took those tidbits for granted in season 1 and 2. And 3, despite freaking Elisa. There were some golden moments in season 4, but it was diluted in that Nancy vs Avery thing, WHICH DIDN'T EVEN END THE RIGHT WAY. NANCY FTW.

I was going to screencap the bit in the limo but for some reason, my screencap!Jack and screencap!Liz turned blue. IDEK. So a gif I stole from muic, originally from Tumblr:

Okay, enough now. I just really love Jack and Liz-centric episodes where Jack is helping Liz, or Liz is helping Jack, and they do these really cute friendshippy things and say awesome things like how they wouldn't know what to do without the other, or how they're better than Reagan. Add a hug and it's smiles times. I love feeling excited about ship again.

WAIT ONE LAST THING ON 30 ROCK. Knowing I've had an exhausting and stressful week, The Boy bought me the Scene It 30 Rock game for the iPad. IT'S SO MUCH FUN I DON'T EVEN. And the questions are actually kind of tricky sometimes! 95% of them I get within a second, but there are a few that I have to think about. And the different 'chapters' of questions are called awesome things like 'Beep beep ribby ribby', 'What the what?', 'Office Wife' and 'Night Cheese'. IT'S A+. gemmi_joo, I'm going to make you play next time I see you! ~~Beat my highscores and I'll smack those teeth straight.~~

* When I say "fandom", I mean the one on LJ. And by that, I mean the ones who vote YAY for Jack/Liz. And by that, I mean the awesome ones. ;)

Watched a bit of the International Rules today, which is always amusing. It's an annual game between Australia and Ireland, with a football team from each. The game is a compromise between Australian Rules football and Gaelic football (AFL was influenced by Gaelic football when it was invented in the 1800s), so I always find it fun to watch. I don't even care who wins!

Is anyone else stunned about how it suddenly got to October? End of October, even? Gah. 2011 sounds so futuristic. 2011. 2011. I have to say it aloud just to see if it sounds plausible.

I CAN'T GET SICK OF THIS SONG. IT MAKES ME FEEL HAPPY AND ALIVE. I dare you to listen to it and not feel dancey.

Okay, this post was supposed to be filled with fun things except now I can't remember what they are. So, I leave you with PUPPY PUPPY PUPPY! (I swear I won't spam you with any more pictures, I know no one actually cares to see multiple photos of a dog. And I never thought I'd be one of those people, so.)

Ooh, it just started pouring outside. Time for bed now, methinks.

cecism — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 06:24:00 GMT

Oops, might have gone over our internet cap (again, argh) and was without it last weekend/early this week. And I was planning on posting about the Grand Final replay (remember my last post when it was a draw and we had another week of festivities? Imagine the World Cup Final being a draw, without penalties and extra time, and you had to do it all over again a week later. It was kind of hilarious, frustrating and awesome at the same time. ~~Except bloody Collingwood won. And everyone hates Collingwood. Except for their supporters.~~), the Britney Glee episode and actually be around LJ properly! DAMN THE INTERNET, I LOVE-HATE YOU.

Busy, busy week though! We've started moving stuff up to the house (almost finished renovations, hurrah! Just pretty much the furniture and garden to go) which is time consuming, and we set up a new home office (YAY IKEA) which was tiring too considering we had to move all the furniture to the car, load it at the house, go back, etc.

BUT A MORE EXCITING THING: WE HAS A NEW PUPPY!

Meet Millie:

(Sorry, dodgy photo taken from my phone. Photoshop, what is that.)

We picked her up two days ago, so we're still at the peeing-on-the-carpet-constantly-supervising-waking-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night stage. I know it takes time, but I'm rather hoping that passes soon, hee. (I'm the only person I know, I swear, who hasn't had a dog before.) I love her waddle; her bottom sways as she walks and I find it hilarious.

So now I'm super-behind on TV; watched 30 Rock last night in bed but nothing apart from that. Not even Packed to the Rafters! Faaaaaail.

I was going to do a meme that accrues had tagged me for, like, three months ago - but it's taken me literally half an hour to type this because Millie keeps interrupting me. Meh. I'll try and do it during the week. ('Try' being the operative word.)

Hope you've all had - or are having - a good weekend!

Oh, when the Saints go marching in!

cecism — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 10:43:32 GMT

THE GRAND FINAL WAS A DRAW.

A draw. 68-68. WTF. So there's a replay next week - that's right, folks, we come back next Saturday afternoon and do it all again! (I feel sorry for the players; they put their bodies and everything on the line for the final match of the season, and then they have to recover and play one more time. And the supporters who flew from all around the country, the people who scheduled their weddings/christenings/holidays, etc. for NEXT WEEKEND to avoid the chaos - and then there's things like all the bets laid, televising the replay, ticketing... DEBACLE. But a kind of hilarious one.)

Just for some perspective, there has only been two other Grand Final draws since 1897, the last being in 1977. So it's not exactly a common occurrence. Afterwards, the players and spectators were completely stunned. No one knew what to do or what to say. (AND THEN IT STARTED POURING WITH RAIN LOLOL. Even the gods were caught out!)

BUT I LOVE GRAND FINAL DAY. We had a party of ten people and I ate enough sausage rolls, party pies, sushi and lamingtons to sink the Titanic. The last few minutes was hysterical, we were all standing up in front of the screen screaming, lulz.

Also? NEXT WEEKEND IS SPORTING MADNESS. We have: 1. the Grand Final rematch, 2. the NRL Grand Final, 3. Bathurst (massive motoracing event, not that I give a fuck, but The Boy does), 4. the first Melbourne Victory-Melbourne Heart derby, which the A-League had deliberately scheduled not to clash with the Grand Final, hahaha. Oops. But NEXT WEEKEND IS CRAZY.

Still, I may be biased (see my "I don't care" face) but this is, like, the most magnificent sporting ground in the world.

It's just a gigantic, beautiful, iconic thing.

And I love (and miss) the way Melbourne explodes with it all. The way Fed Square is packed out, the Music Bowl, everything. Yesterday's parade:

Observe Eric Bana cheering on the Saints! (Did you ever see the film Funny People? He put in all his St Kilda stuff in the background. It was awesome.)

Note: MY TEAM WASN'T EVEN PLAYING. Can you imagine what I'd be like if they were? You wouldn't stop hearing about it for weeks.

===

ANYWAY. I know 98% of my flist don't care for any of this, I'm sorry. I just get excited. So how about this: HOW AWESOME WAS 30 ROCK LAST NIGHT. I'll run around to all your flailing posts, promise. Also, Weeds has got to that stage where it's all shit-everything-has-gone-wrong-and-then-Nancy-screws-up-again. My God, that show makes me nervous. This season is pretty awesome, though. And Glee was fun. Though I had the feeling they just went, "Hey, what songs are big right now? Let's put them in!" BRITNEY/BRITTANY NEXT WEEK OMG.

Done.

Edit: I should have put this under a cut. I'm sorry. I can't be bothered right now, but if this stuffs up anyone's flist layouts, let me know, okay? ♥