My Blue Heaven

*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!)

(more…)

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..)

(more…)

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