My Blue Heaven

Revisited

It’s funny how, after nearly three months, it still creeps up and bites you at times. Funny how it still kinda burns.

I mean, I’m mostly fine now.. over it and happy. I don’t regret where I am now. But there are still times….

I was listening to the new Mario song “How Could You”. I LOVE it. Such an awesome song… old skool slow jam. 🙂 But yeh… it did trigger things a little bit I suppose. Made me feel a bit sad & emotional.

(Temporary treat for you folks – clicky here for the mp3. Get it while its hot! Only gonna be up for a few days.)

And also been listening to the song “No You Didn’t Say” by Kandice. The lyrics just remind me….

Switchfoot Gig Videos

Another treat for you folks, thanks to my friend Colin, you get a sneak peek from the front row of the Switchfoot gig I attended last Tues.

Clicky here for the video segment taken during “Dare You To Move”. There’s another video coming soon (kindly provided by Joe)!

Freebies

In other news… what is it with getting freebies whenever I’m served by an asian guy. I just walked into Harvey Norman today to buy Trend Micro antivirus software ($99), and the guy gave it to me for free! (Coz I’d bought a laptop from them a week ago, though it wasn’t part of my laptop deal). SWEET! Not that I’m complaining!! But yeh.. its funny. Like the asian guy that serves me when I buy my OJ from Juice Station at Wynyard every morning – he always gives me the 500mL one for the price of the 250 mL one ($1). Even if I try to take the 250 mL, he makes me take the 500 mL instead. Strange.

Current listening :: “No You Didn’t Say” – Kandice Love

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International Dancers Workshop Take 3

*sigh* Exhausted, sore and happy.. I had the best weekend. The International Dancers Workshop was abso-friggin-lutely AWESOME! 😀 All up – 11 classes, 11 hours, over 2 days. Plus I went out on Sunday night to Cave nightclub with a bunch of dancers from the workshop, after which we went to Pancakes at the Rocks for some much needed chow. Ended up getting home, bone weary, at about 4:30am. (Yes of course I’d taken today off work. I knew what to expect!) Suprisingly, I’m not actually as sore today as I’d expected. Definitely not as sore as last time. Maybe I’m more fit now than I was then. 🙂

A quick review – I liked Roger Lee’s classes the most. His choreography is awesome, and his classes are fun.. he’s quite a funny guy too! The routines were quite difficult and fast. Very exhausting, being pushed to your limit… but nailing it is the best feeling! One routine that stood out in particular was to this song “Don’t Cha” by Tori Alamaze (I never heard of her before, but apparently she was the backing vocalist for Outkast “Hey Ya”). Anyway, this dance was hot hot HOT! The hottest dance I’ve ever learnt. And we all LOVED it! 🙂 (I scoured the net today trying to find the song. Heh). We also did a beginners routine to Ciaras “1, 2 Step” which was great, though more like intermediate level! It was really fast!! I don’t know how a beginner would have coped with it.

So in summary, my fave routines were Roger’s sat morning intermediate class, sun morning beginners, and sun morning advanced. All Roger’s classes yeh… hehe told ya I liked his stuff! The other teacher, Peanut (thats her stage name), was good too. But for some reason I didn’t find her classes as fun. She focused too much on detail (you can’t afford to get that caught up on detail when you only have an hour), and she was too serious – bordering on moody at times – she had this attitude thing going. But still.. she had some pretty cool choreography. And some really wierd moves! We even did an african style routine with her – the music was wierd.. the timing was way out (some african style music).. I couldn’t pick the beat at all! So she told us we needed to ignore the music and dance to the counts in our head.

Anyway, oops this turned into a longer review than expected. I’m off to bed now – gonna watch an episode of Stargate (season 4) on my laptop (in bed :D) and then get some much need zzzzzz’s.

Current listening :: “1, 2 Step” – Ciara Ft Missy Elliot

Gone!

So.. more about the Switchfoot gig on Tues night. It was pretty awesome! Not so much awesome in terms of the band’s live performance, though it was quite good (but I’ve seen better – still, Jon Foreman is quite a good live performer, and works well with the crowd). But awesome just in terms of the atmosphere and enthusiasm and fun to be had by all. Even with everyone shoving and pushing, and getting majorly crushed during the night. Like sardines in a can. And then put that can in a sauna. I was absolutely totally soaked in sweat by the end of the night. You could prob wring out a cup of sweat from my clothing. Ew. :\

But I had a great spot (which I am proud to say, I managed to maintain the whole night!) – right at the front, one person from the barrier! I took quite a few pics on my phone – which I’ve uploaded to my moblog.

It was great being there, getting into it, surrounded by everyone singing along with the songs. Gigs are so much more fun when you really know every song they play. They even performed one or two from “A Walk To Remember” (or rather, their earlier albums) – like “Learning To Breathe”.. (though they didn’t do “Only Hope”). And Jon had some cool antics too – like getting up on the crowd barrier… he stood right above me at one point.. I could even touch his jeans. Hahah. I felt like such a teeny bopper fan. ^_^

So anyway, a shout out to the blue singlet crew. 😛 Thanks for letting me jump the queue with you guys. It was nice to meet Joe and his friends Colin, Marty, Dunc and Yimmy for the first time IRL. *waves hello* Catch ya’s on the blogosphere. 😉

Self-Inflicted Stupidity and A Really Really Dumb Blonde Moment

*yawn* Am sooo tired again today. Totally self-inflicted of course. A repeat of Monday night’s stupidity – in bed at midnight, ready to go to sleep. And what do I do? I pull out my laptop, pop in a dvd to just “check it out”… and end up watching the entire movie, getting to sleep at 2am, when I KNOW I have to get up in about 5 hours time. Why am I so dumb?

To add to this, I had a really really dumb blonde moment last night. *blushes* I’m almost too embarrassed to share this with the www.. but what the heck. I was trying to connect my laptop to my pc via ethernet connection.. so I plug in the cables to both ethernet slots.. and I’m like, hmm.. its not even recognising the cable or connection. Why?! So I get my dad to have a look, and turns out I was using a telephone/modem cable instead of a cat 5 ethernet cable!! :\ I think that wins the prize for the Most Dumb Blonde Moment of the year. *hides under a rock*

Current listening :: “This Is Your Life” – Switchfoot (I really like this song… for some reason it really speaks to me. Like my other fave from this album – “Twenty Four”)

*YAWN*

Ok. Brain has finally kicked into gear, and I am actually awake enough to concentrate in this training course. Gee… that took only 4 hours (after getting up).

I am sooooo soooo tired today. Getting up at 7am does not agree with me. Esp after a hard night at the Switchfoot gig last night (more about this later – but it rawked!) All I can say for the moment is 2 words: sardines and sweat. :\

Ok back to completing this lab exercise……. hmm procedural techniques in XSLT… fun fun fun..

Current listening :: “Gone” – Switchfoot (How good was this closing number last night! “GONE!” :D)

Hello from Aspect

I’m currently in my “Exchanging and Transforming Data Using XML and XSLT” Microsoft training course (at Aspect Education, Nth Sydney). Just finished a lab exercise early, so am taking advantage of the internet connection here.. hehe.. gotta love having a net connection on your computer at training. 😉 This course is pretty alright – for the techie-minded, I’m learning stuff about XML, navigating nodes using xpath location statements & functions/expressions, and XSLT stylesheets… so far. 🙂

Went on a bit of a CD shopping spree yesterday after class. Bought myself 3 cds and a single!! Including the new Jack Johnson “In Between Dreams” (limited edition with DVD extras), the new Jennifer Lopez “Rebirth”, the new Michael Buble “It’s Time” and the Ciara single “1, 2 Step”. 😀 Yay… lots of new music to enjoy! My review so far:

• Am really loving “In Between Dreams”…. I like the new songs, in his usual cruisy laidback feel-good style. I think my faves so far are his more upbeat numbers “Never Know” and “Good People”.
• The new Michael Buble is alright too – I really like his rendition of “Dream A Little Dream”. Love that song! So romantic… *sigh*
• J.Lo is ok. I bought it coz I really like the single “Get Right”. Such a great song to dance/club to. 🙂 The other stuff is ok…. don’t really like her ballads though. They’re a tad on the cheesy/cliched side.
• Love “1,2 Step” by Ciara & Missy… mostly coz of Laura’s hiphop class. Hee. We did an awesome routine to the song. 😀 Now whenever they play this at a club, my friend and I dance the routine… usually on a stage.. hee!

Oh yeh, and I also bought the new Doves “Some Cities” cd last week. Not bad either. They seem to have moved away from the whole piano sound (think “Sea Song” from Lost Souls)… and concentrate on more guitar oriented songs (as they did in The Last Broadcast). But I think this one is a bit more mainstream sounding? Not sure… will have to listen to it more…

Anyway, better finish up.. I think he’s gonna continue teaching again soon.. or is it lunchtime now..?

Current listening :: “Good People” – Jack Johnson

The proud new owner of..

A Toshiba Satellite M30 (R00) laptop! Yeah baybeeeee!!! 😀

I’m quite happy with my new baby. Been enjoying it’s beautiful large 15.4″ widescreen display. It’s so clear and bright! Great for watching dvd’s. And for such a big screen, it’s not actually that heavy. Bit bulkier than your average “thin & light” laptop, but still fairly slim and only 2.8 kgs. And with a Pentium M 1.8GHz, 512mb ram, 60Gb hdd, Geforce fx 5200 graphics with 64mb ram…. Very happy I am. 🙂

Weekend Update

Anyway, I had myself a rather nice weekend. Friday night went to an awesome advanced jazz/funk/hiphop class at SDC. Juliette Verne taught, and she is a great teacher! Love her chore. 🙂 After the class, I met up with some friends who were gaming at City Hunter (on sussex st), and joined them for a few hours of Unreal Tournament and Counter Strike. Hee. Unleash the nerd within! 😎

On Sat, went to Coogee beach with some friends who were playing in the beach volleyball comp. (I really need to maximise on beach time now while I can – while summer lasts, and while I’m still in Australia! *sniff*) Then picked up my laptop from Harvey Norman in the city afterwards.

Sat nite I went for dinner and movie with a mate – we watched Constantine.. which was so-so. Cool effects, mediocre storyline and really really dodgy theology. I mean, come on. They could have at least tried to make the theology even slightly accurate. Ah well. Got home and stayed up late playing with the laptop 😀 and then slept in today till about 1pm. Chilled at home most of today, went to church, had dinner, came home. And now I really need to get to bed!

Got an early start tomorrow. I’m gonna be on a training course for the whole of next week – on XML/XSLT. That’s 5 days, work paid for, Microsoft XML training course. Hehe. Hopefully I’ll have internet connection on my computer there, so might be able to post occasionally. 😉

Anyways, nitey nite all!

Current listening :: “Come Away With Me” – Norah Jones

Happy

I’m feeling really happy today for some reason! In fact (aside from being sick), I’ve been feeling that way quite a lot lately. I’ve just been happy with life, feeling independant and liberated… and excited. 🙂

More than fine
More than bent on getting by
More than fine
More than just ok..

(No prizes for guessing where those lyrics are from. :P)

Well… off to my regular HipHop class now. More detailed updates coming soon. Am still frantically trying to complete my CV (stuck on the career history section.. ugh) – but at least I’ve sent my passport renewal form off and have just about decided on which laptop to buy! Yay! Also still slightly sick.. but am on the mend… slowly…. :\

Current listening :: “More Than Fine” – Switchfoot

Busy bee

Man. Life these days has been just a whirlwind of activities and planning. So many things to remember, so many things to do.. sometimes it feels like my mind is gonna overload. I’m constantly reminding myself of things that I’ve forgotten, at the most unlikely of times.. like sitting on the toilet:”Ooh, gotta remember to take my passport photo”. 😛

Anyway, things are progressing fairly rapidly.. I’ve been doing lots of research. In addition to looking up websites about London and about living & working in London, I’ve also bought Lonely Planet’s guide to London – which has been quite an interesting read so far. Reading up on all this stuff really gets me excited about the move. I can’t wait to get there and see London with my own eyes.. soak up the new-ness of it all.. and just *be* there. 😀

So updating my to-do list:

• Take passport photos & verify with GP
• Send british passport renewal form (Mon 21st Feb)
• Complete CV draft (Tues 15th Feb)
• Complete CV second draft (Tues 22nd Feb)
• Final CV check with various friends (Fri 25th Feb)
• Hand CV into Global Career Link for assessment (Mon 28th Feb)
• Write cover letter
• Prepare for interviews
• Organise accomodation with cousins
• Book flight to London (but still keeping eye out for cheap Singapore Air tix)
• Research best suburbs/areas to live in London
• Read Lonely Planet’s “London” guide
• Read “7 Habits Of Highly Effective People”
• Try and save $$$ <-- Eeek.. not doing too well! :\
• Buy laptop (Sun 13th Mar)
• Buy dark coloured (grey, blue or black) business suit
• Buy more cold/wet weather clothing
• Buy black work heels
• Buy runners/sneakers

Gee this list grows with each week – even after striking off completed tasks. Eeek! Need to keep focused, not get distracted by things. Hrm.. more about this later..

And on top of everything, I think I’m sick now. 🙁 Have managed to come down with a minor cold – probably due to not keeping warm enough with this sudden cooler weather, not sleeping enough, going out too much, and being too busy/stressed with things. Need to take a few days out to rest and relax methinks. And keep warm! I guess it would have all started with clubbing last Sat night – getting home at 6:30am on Sunday morning wouldn’t have helped either. But I think I would have been ok if I had slept early on Sun/Mon/Tues nights. Meh. Silly me.

Current listening :: “Twenty-Four” – Switchfoot (Am looking forward to see these guys!)

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Displaced

Just feeling a bit… unsettled. Displaced is the best word I can currently find. I guess it is because things are happening, moving, changing in and around my life… and all of a sudden, I feel sorta scared.. out of my comfort zone.. insecure.. alone. Hrmm.

Anyway, in other news, I’m really milking the gigging here in Sydney for all its worth! So far I’ve purchased myself tickets to:

• Switchfoot @ UNSW Roundhouse (Tues 1 Mar)
• Jack Johnson @ Centennial Park (Fri 18 Mar)
• The Cat Empire @ Enmore Theatre (Fri 22 Apr)

And I intend on seeing/purchasing tickets for:

• Bluebottle Kiss @ Spectrum (Sat 19 Mar)
• Ben Folds @ Enmore Theatre (Sat 2 Apr)

Gigs galore indeed! So, who wants to come with me? 🙂

And also tonight I’m going to the Side-On Cafe for dinner and some good jazz music. A mammoth sized 18 piece jazz ensemble called “Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra” are playing. They play all original jazz pieces, and apparently are very good. Looking forward to it. 🙂

Current listening :: “Grace” – Jeff Buckley (Live A L’Olympia – Wow… this guy really went all out in concert! The emotion in his voice and in the band is just so overpowering. He would have been awesome to see live… RIP 🙁 )

Mini me

I don’t know how I forgot to mention this, but I’ve FINALLY purchased myself a brand spankin new pink iPod mini!! Woohoo! On sale at Myer last weekend for a mere $299 ($100 cheaper than retail price). 😀 And how cute is it! And pink! *girly squeal* 😛

Waveaid Temporary Webcast

You have to check out the Bigpond Music site. They’re hosting a webcast from the Waveaid concert, temporarily playing until 16th Feb. So yeh, catch it while you can. I’m watching it now at work. 😉

Current listening :: “London Still” – The Waifs (live @ Waveaid – this song is so beautiful… makes me feel like crying for some reason..)

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Life & London Update

To update my checklist:

• Figure out career goals (Fri 4th Feb)
• Complete british passport renewal form (Fri 11th Feb)
• Attend Global Career Link info seminar (Tues 8th Feb)
• Take passport photos (Fri 11th Feb)
• Complete CV draft (Tues 15th Feb) <-- ACK haven't even started!
• Complete final CV (Fri 25th Feb)
• Hand CV into Global Career Link for assessment (Mon 28th Feb)
• Contact relos/cousins/friends in London and start getting word around / build relationships
• Organise accomodation with cousins
• Book flight to London (via stopover at HK? or maybe Singapore?) – REALLY wanna find cheap Singapore Airline tickets – I think I just missed out on the earlybird offers dang it!! 🙁
• Research London climate, living conditions, culture etc etc
• Read “7 Habits Of Highly Effective People”
• Try and save $$$ <-- Eeek.. not doing too well! :\
• Buy laptop (Sun 13th Mar)
• Buy iPod mini
• Buy dark coloured (grey, blue or black) business suit
• Buy more cool/cold/wet weather clothing
• Buy black work heels

Phew. Lots done and still lots to do! I attended an information seminar last night with Global Career Link – a NZ & Australian based international recruitment consultancy that helps people find work overseas, specifically in the UK. It was pretty useful, we learnt about the current UK job market, tips on what they look for in CVs in the UK, expected earnings etc.

Now the big thing I REALLY need to get cracking on is my CV. I haven’t written one in over 4 years, so it’s really quite hard trying to think about these things now. What have I accomplished in my job? How have I “added value” over the last 4 years here? What are my key skills? What challenges have I overcome? What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses (and how do twist them into looking like strengths)? ARGH! *stress stress* My problem is that I feel like I haven’t really accomplished much or added much value in this job… and that’s part of the reason for me wanting to get OUT of this place! But I obviously cannot say that in my CV or in interviews. *sigh* Time to bring out the good ol bullsh!t-o-meter. 😛

Other than that, life has been pretty good. Been hanging out with some new friends more lately, which has been good – refreshing! Though everything these days is done with the constant thought that I’m leaving soon – so it’s like I’m living in my “last days” here in Sydney. Note to self: gotta get me some more beach action! 🙂

Another thing is I’m trying to fit in as many gigs as possible before I leave. So far I’m going to see Switchfoot (Mar 1 @ Roundhouse) and Jack Johnson (Mar 18 @ Centennial Park). I also want to see as many Aussie bands as possible – like Bluebottle Kiss (hm no shows announced atm), Missy Higgins (15th Apr @ Enmore), The Cat Empire (REALLY have to see these guys live! 22/23 April @ Enmore!) and more.

Current listening :: “Simple Things” – Usher

London Calling

Ok, some of you may already know that I have been contemplating the idea of going to London to work for a year (or more). This idea has been something that’s been consistently pushed on me by my mum for the last few years, but I never even entertained the thought up until a few weeks ago. I guess, given the stage of life I’ve suddenly found myself in – single, looking for change and a new life, nothing holding me down anymore – this idea suddenly sounded rather appealing… and had been growing in it’s appeal over the last few weeks.

But I think it was yesterday that I finally made the decision, that something clicked within me and I finally decided: Yes! I am 100% decided on going to London within the next 4 – 5 months! 😀 I think the clincher was when I bought myself a new business suit (dusty pale pink with pinstripes!) yesterday in preparation for interviews and new jobs over there. Hehe. Such a girly way to decide. 😛 Also whilst in the shop, talking to the shop keeper and a work colleague about my plans to go to London helped solidify this plan in my mind.

So, now that I’ve decided, there’s lots to do in preparation and not much time! As typically anal me, I wrote up a To Do list (I love making To Do lists for some reason!) for things I need prepare before leaving (I’m sure I’ll be adding to this list as time goes by):

• Figure out career goals (Fri 4th Feb)
• Complete resume draft (Tues 15th Feb)
• Complete final resume (Fri 25th Feb)
• Send out resume/start job hunt (Mon 28th Feb)
• Organise british passport renewal (Fri 11 Feb)
• Contact relos/cousins/friends in London and start getting word around / build relationships
• Organise accomodation with cousins
• Book flight to London via stopover at HK
• Research London climate, living conditions, culture etc etc
• Read “7 Habits Of Highly Effective People”
• Try and save $$$

And then there will be things I need to purchase before going over (as I hear things are pretty expensive over in the UK!!):

• Laptop
• iPod mini
• More business attire
• More cool/cold/wet weather clothing
• Cool weather casual & business shoes and boots

Ack! I know this goal kinda contradicts with the save money goal.. meh.. oh well! But how exciting is all this! In the words of Big Kev: I’m excited! 😀 (Though a part of me is scared as, wondering what the heck I’m getting myself into!!!)

Current listening :: “The Sound Of White” – Missy Higgins (I saw her for free last nite at Darling Harbour aqua shell! It was an awesome gig… she played a great set for over an hour.. most of her album plus 2 new songs! And did I mention it was free? 😛 There’s just something about outdoor gigs at sunset… *sigh*)

Wave Aid

So its all over. The Wave Aid Tsunami Relief Concert held at the SCG on Saturday, 29th Jan 2005 WENT OFF!! 😀 I had an abso-friggin-lutely AWESOME time!! Its been a while since I’ve attended an outdoor music festival concert. The last one I went to was Livid 2002. Heck, its been a while since I’ve been to any gig!

Highlights for me:

• Powderfinger – they were awesome! I always love seeing them play live. Pity they didn’t play more Internationalist stuff.. and I was really hoping they’d play DAF.. but ah well.
• The Finn Brothers – how awesome are they! They played all their classics, the whole crowd singing along. They even played a classic not their own “Better Be Home Soon” by Hunters & Collectors. Very cool. I’m soo kicking myself for missing out of “Don’t Dream Its Over” though… coz I just had to pick that time to go get some food. Argh!! Stupid Kazzart!! 🙁
• Missy Higgins – was good to finally see her live. I like her stuff. 🙂 Her brother is pretty awesome on piano too! Had some nice jazz improv going there. What a musical family.
• John Butler Trio – How good was the drum/congos solo!!! Bloody awesome. Very talented muso’s these guys.. from 12 string guitars to double basses to congos. Nice!
• Watching many a young hopeful jump the barriers in an attempt to get into the Yellow Oval section… and then getting chased, tackled and brought to heel by the security guards. What a crack up!!
• The camera/video guys entertaining us in between sets by roaming through the crowd, providing witty commentary on the screen that playfully poked fun at certain unfortunate individuals. Hehehe.
• Watching a nearby guy get busted by the cops for smoking pot. We could smell it all around us, and he and his mate reeked of it. They were so ripped. Hahah.
• Watching Peter Garret (Midnight Oil) work that thang on stage. Hahaha. He’s a crack up…. sooo animated on stage. Gotta love his dancing and stage antics. 🙂

So there you have it. My highlights for the day. And what a looong and sweltering hot day it was. 2pm to 11pm. I managed to get slightly sunburnt on the face and arms, inspite of my application and reapplication of 30+ sunscreen. (Silly me didn’t bring a hat. :\) Maybe it got washed off by the sweat dripping down.

*sigh* I just had such a good time. Despite getting sore feet, legs and lower back and just generally feeling absolutely exhausted! The atmosphere, with 47000 people there, was just awesome! And it was great being in the yellow oval.. the front section! Very very cool. Fond memories of moshing along to Powderfinger and Midnight Oil… ahhh…. good times. 😀

I was also.. er… amazed.. at the number of girls who flashed for the video camera… their.. erm.. assets.. displayed on big screen for 47000 people to perv at. But the funniest thing were the guys who decided to join in on the flashing action. Hahahah. Proudly displaying their.. er… asset… totally topless, their jeans around their knees, being propped up above the crowd for all to see. There’s a pic of one example in my gallery. Haha.

Here’s a piccy of the Oils finishing their set with a bang, to a very very appreciative audience. What a day! 🙂 For more pics, clicky here. Note: None of these pics were taken by me!

Current listening :: “Passenger” – Powderfinger

Compilations

“To me, making a tape is like writing a letter – there’s a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again. A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do. You’ve got to kick off with a corker, to hold the attention..”

~ Excerpt from “High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby

Made myself a compilation cd today. Took me two days of culling down a huge song list, lots of chopping and changing, the installation of new software Exact Audio Copy & LAME (highly recommended software btw). And finally.. the completed track-listing is as follows:

1. “Ten Days” – Missy Higgins
2. “Don’t Ever” – Missy Higgins
3. “Bruised” – The Bens
4. “So Beautiful” (live) – Pete Murray
5. “Burn” – Usher
6. “Last Goodbye” – Jeff Buckley
7. “Seasick” – Something For Kate
8. “Let Down” – Radiohead
9. “I’m With You” – Avril Lavigne
10. “Nobody’s Home” – Avril Lavigne
11. “Lover, You Should Have Come Over” – Jamie Cullum (cover of Jeff Buckley original)
12. “Fever” – Starsailor
13. “Alcoholic” – Starsailor
14. “Miracle Drug” – U2
15. “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” – U2
16. “Truth” – George
17. “Love Song” (live) – Amiel
18. “What’s Going On” (live) – Michael Franti & Katie Noonan

Ok, so I broke Rob’s golden rule of not putting the same artist on twice, and again by putting them one after the other. Ah well.. its for me, and nobody else. And I’m enjoying it muchly. 😛

In other news… I’m going to HoneyRoasted tonight. Should be fun fun fun. 😉

Current listening :: “Last Goodbye” – Jeff Buckley

Meh (Revisited)

Meh.

Bleh.

*sigh*

Just when you thought everything was ok….

But time has changed nothing at all
You’re still the only one that feels like home
I’ve tried cutting the ropes and
I let you go but you’re still the only one
That feels like home

Current listening :: “Ten Days” – Missy Higgins (*sigh*)

Music is the language of us all

Am really loving my latest CD purchases. I bought The Cat Empire’s “The Cat Empire” and Switchfoot’s “Beautiful Letdown” earlier this week – and I love em both! Quite different genres of music, but both very enjoyable. I’m going to see Switchfoot when they tour in March. Should be awesome. 🙂 I’m also really wanting to see The Cat Empire live (if/when they come up to Sydney again) – they sound like an AWESOME band to see live! You can tell they just love music, and that’s what they’re all about – with their complex and ever changing rhythms, awesome improv solos, and the boundless energy in their music.

I love variety in music – there is something awesome in every genre, something that touches the soul in every song. I know my musical tastes are pretty eclectic (I mean, who loves both Britney Spears AND Radiohead?!) – but really, I think I’m the lucky one, being able to discover and enjoy the range of different music. No need for elitism here. 😛

I’ve also borrowed Missy Higgins cd from my brother – I need to get familiar with her stuff (and a whole bunch of other bands I’ve not had the chance to listen to much) before Wave Aid on the 29th. I prefer going to gigs being at least a little bit familiar with the bands stuff. It’s more enjoyable that way. 🙂

Current listening :: “Ten Days” – Missy Higgins (I *like* this song.. just really touches me for some reason)

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Advice for a friend?

Recently received this from a friend. Appreciate any thoughts/advice anyone could give regarding this delicate matter.

“I would be most grateful for any advice anyone could give me on this matter of deep concern to me. For sometime now I’ve suspected that my girlfriend may be having an affair.

You know the sort of thing. Her mobile rings, I answer, someone hangs up. Recently she has started going out ‘with the girls’ a lot and when I ask which girls it’s always “Just some friends from work, you don’t know them”. I always used to keep an eye out for her taxi coming home but now she always walks up to the house although I can hear a car setting off as if she has just got out of one around the corner.

The other day I picked up her mobile, just to see what time it was, and she went mental, screaming at me that I should never touch her phone again and why was I checking up on her.

Anyway, I have never approached the subject with her. I kind of think deep down I don’t really want to know the truth.

But then last night she went out again and I decided that I would check up on her. I hid behind my car which I knew would give me a good view of the whole street so I could see which car she got out of on her return. It was whilst crouched behind my car that I noticed rust around my rear wheel arch.

Should I take it into a body repair shop, or should I buy some stuff from Supercheap and try to repair it myself?”

Gym junkie

In other news. I have succumbed to the dark side and joined the masses. I’ve become a lemming. Yep. I joined Fitness First at Carlingford (a gold membership, but I’m on a 2 month trial period at the moment – for only $20! Thanks to the powers of bargaining. :P) Mainly coz my current gym, Female Fit, is closing down soon.

So I FINALLY went for a much needed session of exercise last night – first time in weeks! I’ve really been little miss piggy lately. I think I’ve even gained a kilo or 2 or 3. 🙁 Anyway, I tried a Body Pump class – my first pump class ever. And my body is feeling it today – t’was a good workout! I’m not as sore as after my dance classes, but definitely feeling something. 🙂 Gonna go back for more punishment tonight – wanna try their Body Balance class (my usual fave class).

Current listening :: “Miracle Drug” – U2

Gigging, surfing and ROTK

I’m going to Wave Aid! Yay! Got a much desired ticket through a friend who managed to secure Yellow Oval (I think that means the front section) tickets this morning. I’ve also got 4 tickets to see the free George gig on Opera House forecourt this Sunday evening. Anyone wanna come with me? Its free, but limited to 4000 and you have to get tickets from an American Express Foreign Exchange
Office in Wynyard, Circular Quay or Parramatta.

In other news. I went attempted surfing again on Saturday – for the 2nd time in my life! I went over to a mates place, whose flatmates own a number of shortboards – we took one out and attempted to surf. Hahah. My friend managed to get out on the 2nd attempt and caught one wave. Our first attempt failed miserably, with us paddling furiously in the same spot for about 10 mins (lesson learned: follow the other surfers out). However, my 2nd attempt to get out was rather short-lived, and ended rather abruptly when I tried to avoid an incoming surfer, and ended up with the point of my surfboard hitting me in the arm. Bye bye surfing. Hello ice pack. 🙁

Ah well. I had fun anyway. 🙂 I’d forgotten what an exercise in controlled fear it was to surf. Especially by yourself, on a crappy day with highly dangerous and strong currents (most of the beach was actually closed – the sand had been heavily washed out, and the surf was dumping on the shore) and on a type of board you’ve never used before. I think I should go for another lesson, before attempting the crazy again.

Finally, I bought the LOTR ROTK 4 disc dvd set yesterday!! Only $54.25 at EzyDvd store in Burwood too. Last one in the store. Woohoo!! Watched it last night, and it was SWEEEET! 😀 Also bought the latest Raymond E Feist – “Exiles Return”. On the last day of sales at Myer. Nice. 🙂 Oh and I watched Elektra too yesterday. Despite the plot holes, I quite liked. I like Jennifer Garner. I wanna be buff like her. 🙂

Hm I kinda like this Avril Lavigne song. Shame on me. 😛

Well I couldn’t tell you
Why she felt that way
She felt it every day
And I couldn’t help her
I just watched her make
The same mistakes again

She’s lost inside, lost inside..
Oh oh..
She’s lost inside, lost inside..
Oh oh..

Current listening :: “Nobody’s Home” – Avril Lavigne

Happy Birthdee To Mee!!

Yup. I’m now officially twenty-old! The big TWO SIX!! Gosh that sounds old. Eeek! I remember thinking about this age when I was in high school, thinking, “Yeh, 26, I’d definitely be married by then, thats so old!” Little did I know!

*sigh* So much has happened in my life in the past month. Things have definitely been very interesting, and I think I’ve changed a lot in this short period of time. I’ve experienced and done many new things, made a fair few new friends, and yeh, it’s just been a huge time of change. And I’m not regretting one bit. Even the painful times – it all contributes to where I am now. No idea what’s gonna happen in the future, but in keeping an open mind, and talking to and meeting different people, opportunities seem to be appearing out of nowhere. And I actually have some tentative plans and goals that are in the process of being made.. perhaps involving a career change (within IT still), and perhaps a temporary move overseas…. we’ll see what happens! All exciting stuff!

Was sitting on the train the other evening… with a smile on my face. Sounds kinda dumb.. but that means something to me. To be able to smile again. I am moving on, I’m happier, content… taking on the change and standing on my own two feet. Something I haven’t done in so long.

These are the days that I’ve been missing
Give me the taste give me the joy of summer wine
These are the days that bring new meaning
I feel the stillness of the sun and I feel fine

These are the days that I’ve been missing
Give me the taste give me the joy of summer wine
These are the days that bring new meaning
I feel the stillness of the sun and I feel fine

Current listening :: “These Are The Days” – Jamie Cullum

Another love song

It’s one thing to ask why we break up
Have you ever
Wondered why it is we fall in love
Can you tell me
Do you know what it is you’re looking for
What do we need
Can you tell me why I care
How is it that we hear
That voice that says I want you there

I’ve just read and made another love song
Just read and made another love song


Actually for the original version, substitute “stupid” with “f*cking”. I think it gives it a slightly edgier and more appropriately angsty feel.. but hey, I’ll stick with the censored version for the kiddies. 😛

In other news. I’m sick now. 🙁 I think as a result of my partying hard at Gas on Fri night. Ugh – this always happens to me. Its like a 50 – 50 chance that I’ll get sick after going clubbing these days. Meh. I’m getting old. 🙁

Sunday was pretty relaxing. Went for a swim at Lane Cove Aquatic – very nice. Did a good 700m in the 50 metre pool. Then relaaaxed in the spa, steam room and sauna. Love it! 🙂

Current listening :: “Love Song” – Amiel (Live version from “Music Live From The Panel Vol 4”. I also REALLY love Michael Franti & Katie Noonan’s cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Whats Going On” on this cd. Soooo good!)