My Blue Heaven

Another day in the life of Kazzart

I’m really loving this older switchfoot song (off the “A Walk To Remember” soundtrack – they played it at the UNSW gig). *sigh*

Hello, good morning, how you do?
What makes your rising sun so new?
I could use a fresh beginning too
All of my regrets are nothing new

So, appologies for not updating in a while. Things have been really hectic for me lately. Work has been mega busy… ugh… so stressful!! I hate doing a project when I have absolutely nfi what I’m doing, and how to use the technology. Meh, anyway, I’ll spare you my rant about work and continue the update on my oh-so thrilling life. 😛 In point form:

• My british passport arrived a few days ago!! Yay! Thats one less thing to worry about now. It was strange… I felt strange holding that british passport in my hand. Just.. this wierdness.. the realisation that my home is also in a place on the other side of the world. Hard to explain… but it just left me feeling a bit displaced.. something to do with my identity I think..
• My CV and cover letter are FINALLY finished!! Yay!! They’ve been sent out with Global Career Link and also uploaded to jobsite.co.uk. I’ve actually had 3 recruitment agents email me so far about job opportunities. And I’ve also applied to a number of web development jobs that seemed to match my skillset. There seem to be heaps of IT web development jobs available in London atm!! So I’m hoping it won’t take me too long secure a job over there!
• I have secured accomodation for my first few weeks over in London! One of my cousins has offered for me to stay with her and her husband in a house in London in sw11, zone 2 of London – which is very close to the city… a nice central location. (I’m actually starting to get familiar with the suburbs over there by studying the tube map and reading books/websites about London.) But I don’t want to impose on their generosity for more than a couple of weeks – so I better find a job asap, otherwise I’ll be living in a hostel for a while.. till I have a steady income and can rent a flat.
• Have been seriously getting ready for the move to London. I’ve started writing a list of things to pack, thinking about and gathering the various documents I’ll need to bring, cleaning my room (well it always needs to be cleaned :p) etc etc. Soon I’ll need to book in appointments for final checkups with doctors, dentists and optomotrists. And cancel any active accounts/memberships I have (eg gym, mobile etc). I’ll also need to get myself a qantas frequent flyers card. Lots to do! Only 5 weeks to go! ARGH!!! I’m pretty excited about going there… its all starting to feel more real now.

Oh and last night I went to the Ben Folds gig at The Metro. It was awesome! He rocks my socks. 🙂 Such inspiring stuff… makes me wish I practised more piano. I also had one of the best spots, 1 row from the very front, the stage – soooo close to Ben Folds. He was literally just a few metres away, and I could see every note he was playing. And guess what…. I FORGOT TO BRING MY CAMERA!!! UGHHH!!! :(((( Ok.. not gonna think about that, otherwise I’m gonna go kick myself… and I already have a bruise on my shin from the hiphop workshop (collision course with another girls ankle bone).

So, apart from all the London stuff… other areas in my life have been undergoing a bit of turmoil. Just… been dealing with a lot of emotional crap from the past. I dunno why it’s all coming up now.. perhaps it is subconciously related to The Big Move. But, its been a struggle… dealing with this stuff… this baggage. Man I’ve packed me some pretty hefty suitcases over the past years. Lots to sort though… and even though I feel like crap at the moment, I will hopefully come out a stronger, wiser person on the other end. *sigh* Its all been rather draining. I tell you what, this trip to London is certainly going to be interesting.

So… now that I’ve gotten this blog update out of the way… onto other important tasks.. like hand washing some new clothes, eating dinner, then just chillin and continuing my journey though Stargate season 5. Sounds like a plan. 🙂

Current listening :: “Learning To Breathe” – Switchfoot

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Emotionally arousing ruminations

I’m standing on a bridge
I’m waiting in the dark
I thought that you’d be here by now
There’s nothing but the rain
No footsteps on the ground
I’m listening but there’s no sound

It’s a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won’t you take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I dont know who you are
but I, I’m with you
I’m with you

Shirty thy name is Kazzart

Meh. Have been in the shirtiest mood this evening. Not to mention depressed. Maybe tis the miserable weather. Maybe tis the sleep deprivation. Maybe tis the crimson wave. Maybe tis all of them. Who knows… But watch out! She bites! *bares teeth* 😛 Bring on some Radiohead. And Jebediah. And The Cure. And Smashing Pumpkins. And Doves. And Foo Fighters.

…..

*sigh*

Bleh.

Plus near all my friends are abandoning me this weekend. Church ppl are all going on youth houseparty… and some other friends are going to melbourne. *sniff* Heheh.

Nah gives me time to chill, and start cleaning out my room in preparation for the move to London. Only 6 weeks to go! That’s right. I’m counting in weeks now!! Crappity crap its creeping up quickly. (Try saying that quickly 5 times in a row!) I’m feeling a certain mixture of excitement, sadness and “unsurety” (translation: uncertainty :P) about the move. I haven’t been doing much in the way of preparation lately – haven’t even finished my CV, as I’ve still been receiving feedback and making improvements to it. Wotta masterpiece it’s gonna be! But I definitely will attempt to knock over at least a few to-do items during the easter long weekend. Will post an updated to-do list tomorrow. 🙂

So, now that that’s all off my chest… Ima gonna go watch Princess Diaries 2 (again) DVD on my laptop…. in bed. 🙂 Have been thinking about doing this all day. Tis the perfect weather for such relaxing and cozy activities. And methinks some chocolate ice-cream is in order too. Mmmm…. 😀

Current listening :: “No Suprises” – Radiohead

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Jack Johnson Gig

It was abso-friggin-lutely AWESOME! 🙂 Despite the rain (was pouring at one stage – so glad I had my “Great Barrier Reef” poncho.. even though must have looked ridiculous – but hey, ppl were even wearing garbage bags), going solo, and 6 hours of standing squashed in a crowd of 30,000…. I had myself a GREAT time! With over 5 hours of live music – 3 support acts, and Jack playing for a solid 2 hours – it was almost like an outdoor music festival. The supports included Xavier Rudd (very cool stuff!), Donavon Frankenreiter, G. Love & Special Sauce and DJ Katalyst playing a good mix of tunes in between sets. My first time seeing Jack live… he’s awesome! Very natural and friendly on stage.. a great performer, his songs sound even better live. Even with everyone singing along to most of his songs. 🙂 I took soooo many photos (and *cough* videos) at the gig.. I’ve uploaded all the photos here. Here’s a sample below.

[Update: Videos have been uploaded! All up, 9 vids, 45 megs!! Clicky here, for a limited time only coz they take too much space!]

Incidentally, I met this italian guy called Fabio (and no he was not the most beautiful man in the cosmos). He was there alone too, and was my gig buddy for the evening. As cool as it was being there alone.. it was nice to chat to someone occasionally.

Day Out @ Wattamolla

What a great weekend! Not only was there Jack Johnson on Friday night, I had a very enjoyable day out with friends on Saturday at a BBQ/day out at Wattamolla beach, down south at the Royal National Park. (Hello guys if you’re reading this :P) Though it had been forecast to rain, the day turned out just beautiful.. blue skies, fluffy white clouds and sunshine. 🙂 We started the day a bit late as one of us had a small car accident (on the way to pick me up incidentally).. but we eventually made it to Wattamolla by lunch time. The day was then spent eating a scrummy bbq lunch (hey it was a good effort, even though we had no oil, no bbq utensils and no sauce! :P), playing various sports involving balls (cricket, volleyball.. or seeing how high you could throw a tennis ball?? The things that amuse some people. :P), frolicking in the rather nippy ocean (learnt an amusing new term that surfers apparently use for cold water – “spanner water” – can anyone guess what that phrase means?), or lazing about on the sand. Here’s a few piccies (more pics here, and also thanks to Steve for some extra pics):

Karaoke Craziness!

After having dinner in Liverpool, some of us headed out to K-Mix in the city for some KARAOKE! What was meant to be a 2 hour booking got extended (twice) to a mammoth 4 hours of karaoke fun. I think this is the most fun I’ve ever had at a karaoke session. These guys are a crack up! Everyone fully got into it – from dancing on table tops (*cough*), to singing our hearts (and lungs) out, or doing “backstreet boys” style moves (ROMYL!), posing like a very.. *cough*homosexual*cough* “Dancing Queen” (ROMYL!), and just generally letting loose (note that NO alcohol was involved whatsoever) and having an all round awesome time. 😀 Some great singers too! We even kept on singing acapella after they turned our machine off. Hehe.

Afterwards, a few of us were feeling a bit peckish.. and I was cravin some pancakes (“Make you banana pancakes… pretend like its the weekend…” Ok I gotta stop reciting those Jack Johnson lyrics.. :P), so off we went to Pancakes at the Rocks.. at 3am! Ended up getting home (once again) at around 6am. You guys are such a bad influence. (Btw if you guys are reading this, I think you should be nice to Kazzart and leave a comment. :D)

Current listening :: “Wasting Time” – Jack Johnson (Hehe.. appropriate.. took me aages to get all these photos from the weekend up and this is a mother of a post!!)

Crazy?

Does anyone else have a habit of talking to themselves? Was just realising – I think I talk to myself a lot – like whilst I drive (if alone), when another driver is being annoying, I’ll call out to them “Aw come ON!”… or insult them in some manner, or if they are nice I’d gratefully say “Thank you!” And so on…

Then I remembered, during uni, my friends told me I used to talk to myself quite a lot whilst programming. So geeky.. they told me it was like I was giving myself a running commentary whilst programming assignments and labs. Rather amusing really.

Here’s a probable example of what it may have been like sitting next to me in the computer labs… “Ok declare variable i, and assign it to 0 for now. Now, lets see I think I’ll use a For loop… hmmm I need to start from i until the end of the array… etc etc … ok lets try it… What?!? Why aren’t you working you stupid piece of… oh wait a sec… duhh… its i+1.. alrighty then give it another whirl… *waits*… Yay its working.. woohoo!” Or something along those lines.

Ok geek rating has just gone off the scale. I think I need to go…. play some sport or something. Ooh.. hiphop class tonight. That’ll suffice. 😎

Anyways. Only 2 & 1/2 hours to go until end of the week for me! Yay! I have tomorrow off coz I’m going to the Jack Johnson concert at Centennial Park! Woohoo. And its gonna rain. Woohoo.. not. *sigh* Guess I better waterproof myself good and proper then.

Oh yeh and as promised, a piccy of my uber hot sim. Everyone… meet Rosalyn. 😛 (Sorry she’s in her pjs.. they’re a bit risque.)

Current listening :: “Belle” – Jack Johnson

Kazzart + Sims 2 = BAD IDEA

Oh boy, I knew it was gonna be a bad idea to buy Sims 2. Bought it on Sunday arvo. Installed it on my new laptop on Sunday night (at like midnight), and slept at 2am that night and last night, playing it.

It is such an addictive game! Played it for good solid 5 – 6 hours last night.. taking a break to have dinner and wash the dishes. I was so into the game, and totally zoned out by it, I felt like a Sim washing the dishes… giving myself commands to do household chores. Sorta scary really!

Anyway, I’ve been playing in Pleasantville (for those who know Sims) to just get the hang of things – with the Pleasant family lot. I kinda suck at it so far – too many people to try and manage – they never get enough rest or food, and time goes too fast! The dad even passed out outside the house from exhaustion due to my neglect, and then pee’ed his pants upon awakening. And in front of the sexy house maid (with whom I was trying to get him with). Hehehe.

Then I decided to create my own Sim – my very first Sim! Of course, I had to make her an uber hot chicky babe. 😉 Which is sorta why I slept so late last night – spent ages adjusting the features on her face to make her perfect. 😛 And damn is she hot – black hair, blue eyes, pouty lips. Nice. And then you get to choose make up and clothes too. Haha.. just like barbie dolls for grown ups. Err… or maybe not. Anyway, I think you can take snapshot pictures of your Sim – so I’ll see if I can post up a portrait of my hot chicky Sim. Hee.

Anyway, time to do some work – I’ve had my mocha for the morning. Methinks I am gonna need more than one today!

Current listening :: “Banana Pancakes” – Jack Johnson (Going to see him this friday @ Centennial Park!! Woohoo! But its forecast for showers.. nooooooo!!!)

An Ode To Blog Spam

Blog spam, blog spam
Oh how I hate thee
Thy neverending life I would if within my power
Willingly throw off the highest tower
To fall into the darkest pit
And be crushed into a lifeless
Ball of blackness

Current listening :: “How Could You” – Mario

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”)