My Blue Heaven

Strains and pains

I think I strained my back yesterday at the gym. And embarassingly, it wasn’t even during my workout. It happened while I was drying my hair!! I think that warrants a classic “Vron” bimbo headshake.. don’t you? 😛 Anyway, I reached across to brush at my hair, and as I twisted round, I felt a sharp pain in the middle/lower left area of my back. Doh. Its not too bad now, just a little sore if I move certain ways. Hopefully it’ll be better before dance class tomm nite!! Also my knees were playing up a bit after working out yesterday…. I really hope these exercises do something quick. In fact, I should probably remember to do them exercises more often. :\

On top of that, I managed to develop myself a mouth ulcer yesterday too. *sigh* I hate ulcers. And mine always stick around for ages. 🙁 I got some fairly extreme advice today from a friend – she suggested rubbing salt into the ulcer until it bleeds! And then it’ll heal real quick after that. She says she usually uses a toothbrush!! *cringe* Far out, I dunno if I’m game enough to do that. I find putting salt on it bad enough as it is.

I’ve gone on a bit of a dvd shopping spree lately. Bad Kazzart. So far this month I’ve bought myself “What A Girl Wants”, “Never Been Kissed” and I just bought “Maid In Manhattan” and “Monsters Inc” today (2 for $40 sale!). Granted, all of these were on sale.. the most expensive being “Never Been Kissed” for $24. “What A Girl Wants” was the cheapest at around $15. But yay, new girly girl movies to add to my collection! 😀

Btw check out my cam pic! Isn’t Coltrane absolutely adorable!? 😀 He was so cute last night… sleeping on my chair whilst I was using the computer. He took up most of the chair (I had to sit on the edge!), and one of his legs was dangling off the edge. Heehee… he’s getting so big now. My baby is growing up! 😛 Ok, aaanyways, enough cluckiness… I must be off. Gonna watch 50 First Dates tonight! 🙂

Current listening :: “Baby Boy” – Beyonce (Man, Beyonce is hot! Have u seen the new video to “Naughty Girl”? I looooove the dance routine in it… its very Rrramon! :D)

Mellow

I could show the world how to smile
I could be glad all the while
I could change the grey skies to blue
If I had you…

I could leave my old life behind
Leave all my pals, I’d never mind
I could start my whole life anew
If had you…

*sigh* This song is just absolutely beautiful. It’s this kind of music that got me into jazz… the beautiful jazz ballad.. with soft sweeping brushes, laidback walking bass line, mellow yet rich piano comping, just the right touch of that smooth saxaphone.. and finally, the soulful voice of a female jazz vocalist. I’ve had the What Women Want soundtrack on rotation lately. I love the songs on it.. all the jazz ones anyway! So beautiful..

Weekend update

My weekend was alright. On Saturday afternoon, I went to Clarence and Grace’s wedding.. which was very nice. I was a bit late, so I had to stand up the back.. surrounded by a plethora of mothers and babies. Far out, so many babies out and about now. I thought Kat and Pete Lau’s baby was rather cute though. I held him for a bit during the service.. gee he’s a heavy one.. my wrist started hurting after a while.. hee.

So after the wedding, I had my yearly (or so) visit to my old primary school – to vote in the local council elections. Bah. I had no idea, so I just picked one of em. It’s always weird going back to my primary school. Everything looks so small, compared to what I remembered it to be. And walking through the playground, I remember where I used to sit with my friends, where I used to make up and practice dance routines, where we had assembly in the mornings, where we played tip.. and I remember the path I walked up with my mum, on the first morning I arrived at the school, at the beginning of year 3. *sigh* Life was simple back then, was it not? I wonder where all my classmates are now. Esp my old best friends – Leanne and Jenny.

Then Saturday night was spent at home, alone. I was kinda bored, but managed to keep myself amused on the net, or played with Coltrane. I had lots of cleaning to do before my parents came back on Sunday anyway.. a fair few loads of washing, had to do the dishes, clean the kitchen etc. Unfortunately whilst I was busy with this stuff, I neglected to notice Coltrane’s miaowing… and he ended up PEEING IN THE HOUSE.. ON THE LAUNDRY!! Thankfully it was the dirty laundry, but still… I tried to get him to stop.. to no avail. I ended up having to carry him outside, whilst holding a dirty towel to his butt so he didn’t pee everywhere on the way out!! Yeh, that was my excitement for the night.

On Sunday I picked up my parents from the airport. *sigh* My three weeks of freedom with the car is over. 🙁 It’s back to living with the folks, mk 2.

Current listening :: “If I Had You” – Nnenna Freelon (What Women Want OST)

Thoughts

Last night I went to a Jazz Topix class before my jazz fusion class at the Con. Jazz topix is this new addition to the Jazz Outreach Program – complimentary for any “performance class” student, they’re a bonus series of half hour tutorials that broaden performance skills and general jazz knowledge.

It was pretty cool… coz I was learning something new. We were learning how to sightread jazz charts and melody lines. I never knew there was a standard on reading and interpretting the melody in a jazz chart. Things like crochets are all “short”, quavers in a run are joined and long until the last quaver of a phrase, which is short. So we sat in a small circle and jazz “scatted” (eg dah dah doooo.. bah!) this jazz chart given us for the sightreading exercise. It was pretty hard actually. But fun… I’d never done anything like it before. I spose coz its been all same old, same old for so long – with playing piano at church, or even with other stuff – things get pretty boring after a while. Its nice to do something new and fresh and different. Keep things challenging.. which is one reason I like going to these jazz classes.

On that note (haha.. pun not intended), playing piano isn’t the only area in my life in danger of going stale. It seems to be life in general at times. Everything is always the same old same old.. work, church, stuff… I’m starting to wonder what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, and what I could be doing different… other possibilities in life. I had the crazy thought today as I visited the beautician and chatted with her on how she got into the industry (whilst getting my toenails painted.. hee) “I wonder what it would be like to be a beautician? It sounds fun.. I definitely find this sorta thing interesting. I wonder if I’d be crazy enough to drastically change vocations like that. Hm.. prob not. Maybe I could start into it as a hobby?” So, I might start off trying something like a massage class. It sounds fun (though tis a pity I won’t benefit much from it myself.. hehe). Still, I think I’d enjoy giving people massages. There’s something satisfying about it.

So anyway, gotta head off to Glue (youth group) soon.

Oh, and I forgot to add, went to dance class on Wed night. Was much fun indeed! It’s been like 2 months since I’ve been. It was nice to be back. 🙂 The routine was to the theme song from “Queer Eye For A Straight Guy” apparently. Funny.

Current listening :: “Si Ya Se Acabó” – Jennifer Lopez

Catnip

I went shopping on Sunday, and whilst going gaga over the adooorable Golden Retriever puppies in Pets Paradise, I decided to buy Coltrane a new toy. 🙂 So I bought him his first catnip toy ever… its this small plush bird with a few feathers stuck to it (most of which promptly disappeared within the first few hours of play… probably into his stomach).

Anyway, I’ve never tested the effect of catnip on Coltrane before… and boy oh boy, does he love that toy. It hangs from this elastic cord which can be hung from a door frame. At the first introduction he was fascinated with it – he couldn’t stop sniffing it, purring away like a mini motor. He then proceeded to bat at it playfully.. and try to catch it in his paw or mouth. Its really quite amusing to watch him take a flying leap at it, catch it in his mouth only to have it catapult away on its elastic cord as he let go. And then as he turns around to intently watch his prey bounce around, he’ll crouch down, with that pre-attack quiver in the butt, he’ll take another flying leap at it. Hehe. I gotta catch this on video when my parents return. Soo funny!

On nastiness

Thanks to people for your constructive comments. For those who were wondering, no that post was not about me and people making nasty comments on my blog. Not particularly anyway. I’ve had a few smackheads visit every so often, but not enough to really be a bother. It was more about what I’ve seen elsewhere, on other blogs/forums/websites.

So yeh, I’m feeling a bit better about stuff. A rant is a rant yeh? And no, to reiterate myself, I don’t hate men. And I don’t wanna kill all men etc etc. 😛

Girly girl schtuff

In other news… I bought a belt last Friday. I like! Have been wanting to get a “fashion” belt for ages now (I say “fashion” coz it really serves no practical purpose other than to look good.. :P). Its from Miss Shop.. about 2 inches wide and white. Here’s a piccy. 🙂

Anyways, I watched “Maid In Manhattan” for the 2nd time last night.. on dvd. Ahhh its sooo romantic…! *sigh* I love girly movies! I also FINALLY bought “What A Girl Wants” on dvd – on sale as an ex-rental at Video Ezy eastwood. Woohoo! Also saw a few others on sale for $15.95.. like Princess Diaries, 10 Things, Coyote Ugly. But I managed to limit myself to the one dvd.

Speaking of girly movies… I can’t wait for Chasing Liberty, The Prince and Me, A Cinderella Story, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and Win A Date With Tad Hamilton to come out here! We need more girly flicks!! The earliest one will be in April – “Win A Date With Tad Hamilton” and “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” (I’m looking forward to this one in particular! I loved the original Dirty Dancing.. and this one looks good too! I also love watching latin dancing.. & I wouldn’t mind trying it again sometime). Then I’m gonna have to wait till June for “Prince and Me” (and “Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban”!! Woohoo!), then September for “A Cinderella Story”, “Princess Diaries 2”, and “Girl Next Door” (which looks kinda interesting.. heh). And who knows when Chasing Liberty is gonna come out here. Its not listed on Hoyts or Greater Union. 🙁

Current listening :: “Come away with me” – Norah Jones

Nastiness

Why are there so many mean and nasty people out there? I mean seriously, why do people waste their energy putting others down? Are they that bored? Or perhaps they do it just to make themselves feel better, and more superior. To be one up on someone else. I really don’t get.. especially in the “virtual world” – I’ve seen so many mean people making mean comments on people’s blog. Why go to all that trouble? Maybe their mum didn’t teach them well enough. Or maybe its coz they can hide behind their anonymity, and make cheap and nasty comments about others just to fill the void of their meaningless existence. *cough* Sorry… getting a little carried away here..

Its just really sad to see… the reality of people and their true character. The messed up state of this world. I guess I’m also particularly thinking about the way men tend to view women. I was reading an article in a magazine about holiday rape. And it really disturbed me.. the way some men view women (particularly in other cultures), as an object, just some worthless piece of ass, something to be used and thrown away. Or even, the idea that they were “asking for it” by dressing a certain way. I dunno… it gets me riled up just thinking about it. Its so not how its supposed to be. How we were created to be.

And its not just other cultures, its here too, in Australia, among the “educated”.. workers in offices who go on and on about sexy lingerie, or the latest hottest chick they’ve seen. That kinda talk reveals a certain attitude and mindset about women. I guess I really dislike men who think that way, have that certain attitude.. who view women as objects and playthings, to be looked at, leered at, and in that way, used for their own satisfaction. It’s degrading, and just makes me feel really dirty, knowing this about guys and the way they think.

Wow. This has really turned into a “I hate men” rant. Woops. Anyway, not all men are like this, I know. There are plenty of guys out there who put me to shame with their kindness, decency and compassion for others.. who don’t judge the value of a woman by the shape of their body, or the beauty of their face, but by the beauty that is within, and their value as a fellow human being.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some feminist out to burn bras and protest for the rights of women. I don’t particularly agree with (what I know about) feminism. And I’m not a humanist either. I am a christian, and therefore my view and understanding of humanity is based on what God has said (through the bible). I didn’t really get into the details of *why* I think the above mentioned mindset/attitude/actions are wrong. Err… leave a message if you’re interested.

Enough procrastination.. time to get back to work…

Current listening :: “I Heard The Voice” – Selah

Deadline

Four days and counting. Eeek! Really really gotta buckle down and get this darn project finished. Argh. I hate deadlines. 🙁 Doesn’t help not getting enough sleep at night too. Ah well, I’ve had my mocha… I’m ready to up and at em! 😛

I watched The Fighting Temptations on the weekend. I like Beyonce.. she’s preetty. 🙂 Has lots of awesome gospel choir music in it.. and a sizeable chunk of dodgy theology, but ah well.. its just a movie. I enjoyed.

Ok back to work..

Current listening :: “Automatic” – Utada Hikaru

No surprises

Ahh… good ol Radiohead. I seem to be greatly appreciative of Ok Computer at the moment. I don’t know why… I always used to prefer The Bends.. but yeh, listening to it now, I’ve forgotten just how deep, intricate, and layered this album is. Esp the last track, “The Tourist”.. its just so…. intense and so.. encompassing. Anyways, funny how different music appeals to you at different times. Ok Computer is definitely hitting that musical spot for me at the moment.

Fusion

Jazz fusion class last night was pretty good. It started off not so good, coz I just felt really off… I was really tired and didn’t feel like being there at all. But then, as time went on, I felt a bit better. We played “Every Summer Night” (Pat Metheny) which was great! I love playing that song… its so much fun, and is a really beautiful song. Just gotta get around those fast chord changes to solo over..

Anyway, we have a new saxaphonist in our class, and after class last night, the guy asked me to jam with him and a few ppl from his other class. They meet fortnightly on Sunday arvos.. so I’ll prob go check it out next Sunday. How cool is that? And I’m also gonna be jamming with some people from my class – the bass player (John) and the drummer (Bernard). We’ve been talking about forming a piano trio, playing jazz standards and stuff. I’ll probably be singing too! 🙂 I’ve always wanted to sing and play jazz!

Current listening :: “The Tourist” – Radiohead

Updates

Holding firmly onto my tradition of procrastination…. I’ve added a “current playlist” feature in the side navigation “Currently” box, using a new plugin for winamp 5.02. Yay! In fact, I spent the better part of this morning installing and configuring winamp 5 just so I could get this Now Playing functionality working.. 😛

Its pretty cool. It automatically updates the list (via ftp) everytime I play a new song in winamp, and also shows the last 100 songs played. Check it out!

In other news.. still feeling pretty tired. Wasn’t feeling very well last night – that dizzyness thing sorta came back, so I left cg early. Still have a slight feeling of dizzyness today, even though I had almost 9 hours sleep last night. I don’t know what’s wrong with me..

Anyways, I guess I should get back to my work project. Fun fun fun.

Current listening :: “It’s All Understood” – Jack Johnson

The good stuff

Just came back from a great workout at the gym! Ahhhh…. feels soo good afterwards… just that feeling of revitalisation, energy, and accomplishment.. that buzz from the endorphins.. 🙂 Gotta love it!

Now I’m sitting back enjoying a Starbucks Mocha Frap.. excellent reward for working hard at the gym. Probably not the healthiest thing in the world, but oh well, I think I deserve it. 😛

Great workout + Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino = One Happy Kazzart. 😛

Current listening :: “Ain’t It Funny” – Jennifer Lopez (Murder Remix Ft Ja Rule & Caddlilac Tah)

Feelin’ not so good..

Ok scrap the previous diagnosis. Not feeling quite so good anymore.. Am feeling a bit nauseous.. and maybe slightly dizzy. I think its a carry over from last night, when I had a bout of extreme dizzyness (the whole room was spinning) and nausea. Not fun. I’m just glad I didn’t throw up. 🙁

Ugh… wonder if I should go home early today. Any doctors out there know what causes these bouts of dizzyness/nausea? I know I tend to get it when I’m really tired..

Current listening :: “Just No Other Way” – Coco Lee

Feelin’ alright

Thanks to those who showed concern/asked about my wellbeing. Am doing better now. My cold has pretty much gone, and I’m feeling quite a bit more cheerful too. 🙂

I had a pretty good weekend. Went to a friend’s birthday dinner on Sunday night, which was fun! We stuffed ourselves stupid with a heap of pizza and pasta. Ugh. And my parents left on Saturday morning to go overseas for a few weeks, which leaves me and Coltrane with the house, all on our lonesome. 🙂 So I’ve been having fun cooking, cleaning, looking after Coltrane etc etc. It’s nice having the freedom to come and go as you please (esp with the parents car at my disposal.. mwahahaha.. *cough*), but also to be responsible and look after yourself (and the house, and the cat).

Anyways, not sure what I’ll do whilst the parents are gone. Might invite some girlies over for a girly sleepover… yay! Or just spend some quality time with Coltrane at home. Unfortunately my parents took the digital camera with them, so I’m camera-less for the moment. 🙁

Current listening :: “Showdown” – Britney Spears

Meh

Don’t expect many updates from me in the next 2 weeks. I actually have a deadline at work for once, for this web application project. Its gonna be a stressful one.

Feeling pretty blah at the moment. Just.. lacking joy… feeling empty… and melancholy. Life… it seems like there’s just nothing to look forward to in it at the moment. Its like I’m just living each day, trying to keep myself busy so I don’t fall into a depressive state again.

Meh. Think I’ll go to the gym now. Am in need of a decent workout.

Current listening :: “Secretly” – Jennifer Lopez (been getting into J Lo recently… I watched her “Lets Get Loud” dvd last nite.. a live concert in Puerto Rico.. hee!)

Sickness blues

Nothing much to say.. I stayed home today to rest up and get better. Definitely don’t want this cold carrying on for longer than absolutely necessary. Not feeling very cheerful.. I don’t think I work well staying home and doing nothing the whole day, not seeing anyone. It depresses me and I get lethargic. I probably should be doing things like cleaning my room, practicing piano etc etc. Instead I blog. 😛

Well, one thing I’m really bummed about is not being able to go to dance class tonite, which is started 15 mins ago. *sigh* I held out over the last month for this chance to go… and now I can’t. It sucks. 🙁

Anyways, s’pose I should go and do stuff… something constructive.. hmm.

Current listening :: “Eyes On Me” – Nobuo Uematsu

Procrastination rulez

You are Schroeder!

Which Peanuts Character are You?

brought to you by Quizilla

Neurosis? Hmph! 😛

Damn I hate being sick. I just wish I could stop coughing….. its getting really annoying. That constant tickle in the chest. 🙁

Current listening :: “Flake” – Jack Johnson

Utter bliss

Last week, from Thurs – Fri, Vron and I had our long-awaited belated birthday overnight stay at the Observatory Hotel and Day Spa. 🙂 It was very, VERY nice. I looooove luxury hotels. Something me and Vron have in common. Hehe.

And the Day Spa? Oh. My. Gosh. I’ve never been more pampered. *sigh* I made full use of the pool/spa/steam room/sauna while I was there too… It is sooooo good. The pool and spa is underground, with the ceiling full of starlights. And I always love steam rooms and saunas. Your skin just glows afterwards, and you feel sooo relaxed. 🙂

As for my treatment, I had the “Total Body Wellbeing” package. 2 1/2 hours of utter bliss.. a full body massage, full body Hydro-Active mineral salt scrub, and a classic european facial. *sigh*

Here are some piccies for ya’ll.

More here.

Nitrous Oxide

On Friday night, me and a few friends went to N20.. some asian danceparty event at Gas. Anyway, it was pretty fun! It sucked that we had to wait till midnight to get in coz the person who had our tix was inside, and the whole no pass outs till midnight policy.

But on the whole it was pretty good… it was a sold out event and was packed! I spent most of my time upstairs in the R&B room.. which went off. 🙂 I also spent most of my time dancing on the stage… as usual. Hehe. I also erm *cough*entered the booty shaking competition*cough*.. well, actually I was more pushed on stage by my friends, to enter the dance competition for a pair of shoes. I didn’t win 🙁 but I came second, and though I didn’t win anything, that ain’t bad by my books. Still… it woulda been nice getting a free pair of Pumas..

Anyways, after dancing for 3 hours straight, we eventually got around to leaving by about 3:30am… and I got home around just after 4am. And woke up with a burning sore throat the next day, followed by a nasty cold, which I still have. 🙁 Serves me right I suppose. I really should accept the fact that I’m probably getting a little old to be clubbing/partying all night. My body just isn’t what it used to be. *sigh*

Oh, and on Saturday night, I dyed my hair red. Using Fudge Paintbox in Red Corvette. And woah… its REALLY red now. Check it out!

Current listening :: “Could this be love” – Jennifer Lopez

Dreary weather

Geez the weather this week has taken such a turn for the worse. Its gone all rainy and cold… whereas the week before, it must have averaged near the 30 degree mark. *sigh* There goes summer…

It’s such snuggle-in-bed-with-a-good-book-and-good-music weather now. Or, one could spend a night at a luxury 5 star hotel, pampering oneself at the day spa. Hm.. that could work too.. 😛

Anyway, I was standing on the concourse looking out over West Ryde station this morning.. it looked kinda picturesque.. in that dreary suburban sorta way.

In other news. I have unco teeth. I have a mouth ulcer inside my lip, from biting myself (twice.. due to the aforementioned unco teeth). It hurts. Pouring salt on it hurts like a beeotch. SM-33 rocks (numbs the area). Getting it on your tongue is dumb. Alright, time to get back to work..

Current listening :: “Some kind of miracle” – Kelly Clarkson

Getting on

My left knee hurts. As does my right shoulder/neck area. And apparently one of my left shoulder rotator muscles has been injured, not healed properly, and in need of treatment by a Chiropractor.

Is this normal for a 25 year old?!? I feel like quite the elderly woman, with all these aches and pains and Chiropractor bookings. I was having a conversation at lunch today with a girlfriend, who is only about a year or so older than me. She sympathised, commenting that she too has started to notice all these aches and pains, and that things just aren’t as immune to hurt and damage as they once seemed.. back in the younger days of our teens/early twenties.

Darn it. I am getting older. :\ Now where did I put those spectacles….

Current listening :: “Wasting Time” – Jack Johnson

Buckle down

Alright. Time for me to really get this work project done. Don’t expect many elaborate posts for the next week or so. (So those Jervis photos are gonna have to wait!) I may post small updates in between tasks though. Lets see if I can get this project done in half the time I estimated. (Damn procrastination *sigh*). I suppose I’ll just have to work late to make up for it… maybe even weekends if I really need to.

Sometimes I really wish I could escape everything. I just don’t want to deal with it all anymore… with my life and everything in it. At the risk of sounding pathetic and self-absorbed, I’m kinda really hating my life at the moment. A new life would be rather nice at this time. One that isn’t as screwed over as mine.

/rant

/wallow

Current listening :: “A New Life” – Frank Wildhorn (performed by Linda Eder)

Poor kitty!

Hahahaha. Check out this very funny cat video. Poor kitty!! But its such a cack! Hehehe… 🙂

I have come to clean zee pool

Check out this guy I saw on the train last night. Wow… porno glasses, mustache, boofy hair (nearly a mullet!)… but the most ewwww thing about him was that he was checking me out… from the seat directly across the aisle from mine. Ewwwww! Its so yuck when dirty old men do that.

And so it begins again

I went to the first jazz fusion class for the year last night! Woohoo! So it begins again! Man I’ve missed playing.. esp such cool and interesting music such as this. We played a new song last night, by Pat Metheny, called “Every Summer Night”. It was so much fun to play. The chords were pretty easy, which made me happy, and the rhythm was pretty straightforward. Except for the constant change of time signatures, which made the song more interesting! We went from 4/4 to 2/4 to 4/4 to 3/4 then back to 4/4. Fun! 🙂

I did suprisingly well in the class, considering I haven’t touched this stuff since last year! I’m so lazy! Lets break it down:

• My technique and fingers were a bit rusty… doing the warm-up 5 finger exercises at the start demonstrated that much. The left hand was especially un-co too.. hehe.
• But I suprisingly remembered most of my jazz chords, esp my 2-5-1’s. That was pretty cool. My hands remembered the shape of the chords, even the some of the more complex ones.
• Rhythm wasn’t too bad either, just a bit slow on the uptake, coz my fingers needed to warm up. And I fumbled a bit in the 5/4 time sig.
• My improvising was so-so… which is to be expected. I just have to refresh my modes knowledge. I also really need to sit down one day and actually learn my altered and diminished blues scales.. in all 12 keys!! Now thats gonna be a task and a half. :\

So yeh, all in all it was a fun class. And I’m looking forward to performing again in the end of term concert in 10 weeks time. Eek!

In other news.. have been dealing with a mixture of rather negative emotions lately. Guilt, sadness, depression, loss, loneliness, discouragement, unenthusiasm, indifference, apathy, listlessness.. I suppose its only natural. But yeh… s’no fun. Think I hear some rich & creamy chocolate ice-cream calling… from somewhere over in Pitt St mall… could be opposite Sydney Central Plaza… with that orange/brown sign. Australian Ice-cream, here I come! 🙂

Current listening :: “Whats Up Lonely” – Kelly Clarkson