Ten good things:
The Grace Emily on a Monday night: Open mic, eclectic decorations, sweet cider, and an elusive gathering of couch surfers which we never found. Meeting others instead - a guy from the UniSA Exchange Society who invited us to his upcoming house party that he was trying to "keep quiet" - only around 300 guests, all exclusive invites like us I assume. The English fellas we bumped into from the hostel, who filled me in with a bit of gossip from the last few days - I love talking about that world with people who know it too, because sometimes what happens in that building doesn't seem quite real once I leave. And the three mates who we spent most of the night chatting with, two of whom were down from the country where they worked on oil and gas rigs. Amusing guys. One of them was tempted to steal the moose head from the wall, but was stopped very promptly by not one but two Grace Emily staff. Go Grace Emily security!
Coming home to find a sleeping cat on my desk chair. Nothing says cosy like a sleeping pussycat.
Watching the Style Channel in pajamas with H and her sister. H knows all the shows. There's 'What I Hate About Me' where the surfer chick got a total life make over (learning to sleep better, getting over ex, new hair colour etc) in one day, 'Ruby', the overweight woman with the heart of gold, 'Clean House' and the best one, 'Clean House Comes Clean' where they reminisce about the previous episode of 'Clean House'!
The (500) Days of Summer Soundtrack, in particularly Regina Spektor.
Margaret Atwood.
The way DW jabs with concentration at the screen of my iPhone.
Cleaning my top desk drawer and finding that 4 icecream containers can fit perfectly in there and hopefully keep all that messy make-up, hair and jewelery stuff organised. Who needs fancy IKEA drawer dividers?
Looking through old photos to choose some for Mum's 50th. Weddings, babies, scruffy dogs in Christmas hats.
The Skyscanner website - browsing random dates and finding cheap flights between England and other places in Europe. Seriously cheap deals there!
Talking with H about our 21sts, both coming up in a few months. Looking forward to a few good parties!
--khere is the hero of this story, doesn't need to be saved
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
100 days within 6 months
...is the amount of time you have to commit to working for Active Assistance for the training course to be free.
Just talking to a British voice on the phone is giving me the itch to leave!
H is also keen to leave this 'bum town'. Hopefully we can coordinate some overseas travel together, when/if we both go. 3 things keeping me from caving to her requests and going on a trip now:
1. Uni. Semester starting soon, and if I'm going to plan to leave for 2 or 3 semesters then I don't want to miss any more than that, you know?
2. DW. Volumes could be written here.
3. Money. Well this is the main one, and perhaps the only real reason, because once I have the funds then I plan on dealing with #1 and #2.
"Dealing with". That sounds so harsh. "Overcoming the obstacles". Because a loving relationship is an "obstacle"?
I have finally managed to reconcile my two realities, into what sounds worryingly like a "life plan". I say worryingly, because naming a plan invites interference. However, it's better to have a plan than to have one side of my brain wondering about the logistics of when we have kids, at the same time as the other side of my brain thinks about leaving him. Because that's just confusing.
My end goal is to be with DW. With the knowledge that it's something that I've chosen rather than drifted into.
The first part makes sense, right? He's the best thing that I know. It might turn out that if I give myself a chance to find something 'better', I'll find it, but you know what? I think I'm pretty damn lucky. I think I understand when I hear people say, 'He's not Mr Perfect, but he's Mr Perfect-for-me.'
No, if I leave I don't think it'll be with the goal of leaving forever to 'find somebody better'. It'll be with the goal of coming back to what I suspect is the right man.
You could argue at me from both sides. If I want to be with him, why leave him? If I'm going to leave him, why bother saying how awesome he is and how I want to come back to him?
Here's the thing. DW was my first guy. I've never so much as kissed another (ok, one other). DW is the texting-in-between-classes, making-out-with-parents-in-the-next-room, eighteenth-birthday-party, cuddling-on-a-single-bed guy. At the other end of things, DW is the one I want to walk the dog with, furnish a house with, have a baby with. (You know what? When I thought we were going to break up, a while ago, I was in tears over the fact that he wouldn't father my children. That's, I don't know. Yeah.)
It's just the in-between stage that niggles at me. I don't want to jump from that first stage to the last, without anything else in between. I don't want to 'drift' into my life, I want to make a decision to commit to him, and an informed one at that. If I don't travel and have new experiences now for the sake of staying by his side I think I might come to resent him for that, and then nobody wins.
Aaanyway. Though well from done, this topic is premature. I shouldn't mention it to DW yet, since why stir trouble before you have to? If (when?) I leave, it wouldn't be for another year. A YEAR. That's a long time.
So. I've seen more movies since last time I posted. During uni time I'm notoriously bad for getting around to watching any movies - I tend to think, 'how could I commit to wasting 2 hours of my time in front of the TV! I'll just quickly check facebook and then get back to work' and then end up wasting 4 hours on the internet instead. So I'm happy to be getting up a reasonable tally here.
Bran Nue Day (seen with J) - bizarre! Huh. Made-for-TV, anyone?
(500) Days of Summer (downloaded by Dad)- good good. I liked the 'expectations' versus 'reality' split screen. Although, it caused me trouble when, after a moment of uncontrollable giggling while playing squash with DW, I tried to visualise myself taking the game seriously. Of course a split screen pops up in my head, with me being a squash star on one side and messing up serve after serve on the other side. That did nothing to curb my helpless giggles. I'll let you imagine which side of the 'screen' was accurate.
In The Loop - (seen with H) - funny, although you had to pay attention to keep up. Very British. Thumbs up.
A Serious Man (downloaded by dad) - weird. A bit too long. Not altogether bad, but not really... that good.
Dan in Real Life (borrowed from the library by mum) - nice film! Big nawws all round. Makes me want a big wooden house by a lake.
I'm going bowling tonight with my 'country' friend whose just gotten back from a month in Korea. Looking forward to it, we should have lots to catch up on. Will be good to see how the house party some other friends ended up after we left, too. (Now THAT was a good evening, complete with much Strongbow and chocolate licquer).
So, in short, it's time to eat some noodles and get moving.
--khere's kitchen rules.
Just talking to a British voice on the phone is giving me the itch to leave!
H is also keen to leave this 'bum town'. Hopefully we can coordinate some overseas travel together, when/if we both go. 3 things keeping me from caving to her requests and going on a trip now:
1. Uni. Semester starting soon, and if I'm going to plan to leave for 2 or 3 semesters then I don't want to miss any more than that, you know?
2. DW. Volumes could be written here.
3. Money. Well this is the main one, and perhaps the only real reason, because once I have the funds then I plan on dealing with #1 and #2.
"Dealing with". That sounds so harsh. "Overcoming the obstacles". Because a loving relationship is an "obstacle"?
I have finally managed to reconcile my two realities, into what sounds worryingly like a "life plan". I say worryingly, because naming a plan invites interference. However, it's better to have a plan than to have one side of my brain wondering about the logistics of when we have kids, at the same time as the other side of my brain thinks about leaving him. Because that's just confusing.
My end goal is to be with DW. With the knowledge that it's something that I've chosen rather than drifted into.
The first part makes sense, right? He's the best thing that I know. It might turn out that if I give myself a chance to find something 'better', I'll find it, but you know what? I think I'm pretty damn lucky. I think I understand when I hear people say, 'He's not Mr Perfect, but he's Mr Perfect-for-me.'
No, if I leave I don't think it'll be with the goal of leaving forever to 'find somebody better'. It'll be with the goal of coming back to what I suspect is the right man.
You could argue at me from both sides. If I want to be with him, why leave him? If I'm going to leave him, why bother saying how awesome he is and how I want to come back to him?
Here's the thing. DW was my first guy. I've never so much as kissed another (ok, one other). DW is the texting-in-between-classes, making-out-with-parents-in-the-next-room, eighteenth-birthday-party, cuddling-on-a-single-bed guy. At the other end of things, DW is the one I want to walk the dog with, furnish a house with, have a baby with. (You know what? When I thought we were going to break up, a while ago, I was in tears over the fact that he wouldn't father my children. That's, I don't know. Yeah.)
It's just the in-between stage that niggles at me. I don't want to jump from that first stage to the last, without anything else in between. I don't want to 'drift' into my life, I want to make a decision to commit to him, and an informed one at that. If I don't travel and have new experiences now for the sake of staying by his side I think I might come to resent him for that, and then nobody wins.
Aaanyway. Though well from done, this topic is premature. I shouldn't mention it to DW yet, since why stir trouble before you have to? If (when?) I leave, it wouldn't be for another year. A YEAR. That's a long time.
So. I've seen more movies since last time I posted. During uni time I'm notoriously bad for getting around to watching any movies - I tend to think, 'how could I commit to wasting 2 hours of my time in front of the TV! I'll just quickly check facebook and then get back to work' and then end up wasting 4 hours on the internet instead. So I'm happy to be getting up a reasonable tally here.
Bran Nue Day (seen with J) - bizarre! Huh. Made-for-TV, anyone?
(500) Days of Summer (downloaded by Dad)- good good. I liked the 'expectations' versus 'reality' split screen. Although, it caused me trouble when, after a moment of uncontrollable giggling while playing squash with DW, I tried to visualise myself taking the game seriously. Of course a split screen pops up in my head, with me being a squash star on one side and messing up serve after serve on the other side. That did nothing to curb my helpless giggles. I'll let you imagine which side of the 'screen' was accurate.
In The Loop - (seen with H) - funny, although you had to pay attention to keep up. Very British. Thumbs up.
A Serious Man (downloaded by dad) - weird. A bit too long. Not altogether bad, but not really... that good.
Dan in Real Life (borrowed from the library by mum) - nice film! Big nawws all round. Makes me want a big wooden house by a lake.
I'm going bowling tonight with my 'country' friend whose just gotten back from a month in Korea. Looking forward to it, we should have lots to catch up on. Will be good to see how the house party some other friends ended up after we left, too. (Now THAT was a good evening, complete with much Strongbow and chocolate licquer).
So, in short, it's time to eat some noodles and get moving.
--khere's kitchen rules.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Buff
Thanks to Christmas vouchers, generous Palace Nova offers, and my father's little downloading habit, I've seen a few movies lately:
The Lovely Bones (seen at the cinemas with mum) was bizarre. The part where the sister was in the murderer's house was thrilling and suspenseful, probably the best bit of the movie, but the end was just weird and felt a bit anti-climactic. Spoler: the girl's 'ghost' willed a killer icicle to knock the murderer over a ledge where he fell to his death. Really?
Sherlock Holmes (seen at the cinemas with H) was good, had a cool atmosphere to it (mm waistcoats) though felt long and a bit doze-inducing in the middle part. But maybe I'm turning into an old person who can't stay awake through movies. Further evidence of this tendency follows.
Up in The Air (watched at home with Mum and Dad) was also good, but I didn't expect it would be awarded so much acclaim. I mean, it was a good romantic comedy, and I like a romantic comedy as much as the next person, but 'best movie of the year', really? Then again, perhaps it made its mark in the final scenes, which I missed... a few pre-5 am morning starts and a too-comfy couch caught up with me because I did actually doze off during this one.
Avatar (seen in 3D with A and JY) started off good, dragged on the fighting scene way too long (embarrassed to say, another short doze may have happened, but I in my defence I probably could have slept through an hour without missing much) and then redeemed itself with a satisfying finish.
Invictus (seen with JG) was probably the best thing I've seen so far this year - sure, it was corny and predictable at times but it was easy to watch. Even though it was long I felt engaged every second, and everybody likes a happy ending. I liked that they showed the real people that the actors played, too - gosh, Morgan Freemon did an awesome job of playing Mandela. I had to look twice when they showed the real deal.
(Ok, so apparently South Africa didn't turn into a joyful harmonious land for ever after. Still. Nice movie.)
Transamerica (taped off TV) was interesting. It came a year or two ago so I won't bill it against Invictus for best viewing of the year, but I did enjoy it. For a movie with a controversial subject matter I can't really think of much to say about it: it just did what it did. Gender issues are always fun.
Soon to come... (500) Days of Summer, which Dad has downloaded for me.
I also recently read The Secret History (by Donna Tartt), which was the most addictive fiction book I've read for a while. I even bought it before reading it, which is not the way I usually roll. It was an $8 Penguin Classic, and I decided I should give the library a break and support cheap no-frills literature. I'm glad I did. The ending was a bit blah though. And I swear I thought Julian would end up being a more pivotal character. Oh well. Overall it was a good solid read.
Now I'm reading My Place (by Sally Morgan), which I began reading after finding it in the bookcase in Largs Bay and subsequently put on hold on at the library (there we go!). Haven't finished it yet, but it seems decent.
The Lovely Bones (seen at the cinemas with mum) was bizarre. The part where the sister was in the murderer's house was thrilling and suspenseful, probably the best bit of the movie, but the end was just weird and felt a bit anti-climactic. Spoler: the girl's 'ghost' willed a killer icicle to knock the murderer over a ledge where he fell to his death. Really?
Sherlock Holmes (seen at the cinemas with H) was good, had a cool atmosphere to it (mm waistcoats) though felt long and a bit doze-inducing in the middle part. But maybe I'm turning into an old person who can't stay awake through movies. Further evidence of this tendency follows.
Up in The Air (watched at home with Mum and Dad) was also good, but I didn't expect it would be awarded so much acclaim. I mean, it was a good romantic comedy, and I like a romantic comedy as much as the next person, but 'best movie of the year', really? Then again, perhaps it made its mark in the final scenes, which I missed... a few pre-5 am morning starts and a too-comfy couch caught up with me because I did actually doze off during this one.
Avatar (seen in 3D with A and JY) started off good, dragged on the fighting scene way too long (embarrassed to say, another short doze may have happened, but I in my defence I probably could have slept through an hour without missing much) and then redeemed itself with a satisfying finish.
Invictus (seen with JG) was probably the best thing I've seen so far this year - sure, it was corny and predictable at times but it was easy to watch. Even though it was long I felt engaged every second, and everybody likes a happy ending. I liked that they showed the real people that the actors played, too - gosh, Morgan Freemon did an awesome job of playing Mandela. I had to look twice when they showed the real deal.
(Ok, so apparently South Africa didn't turn into a joyful harmonious land for ever after. Still. Nice movie.)
Transamerica (taped off TV) was interesting. It came a year or two ago so I won't bill it against Invictus for best viewing of the year, but I did enjoy it. For a movie with a controversial subject matter I can't really think of much to say about it: it just did what it did. Gender issues are always fun.
Soon to come... (500) Days of Summer, which Dad has downloaded for me.
I also recently read The Secret History (by Donna Tartt), which was the most addictive fiction book I've read for a while. I even bought it before reading it, which is not the way I usually roll. It was an $8 Penguin Classic, and I decided I should give the library a break and support cheap no-frills literature. I'm glad I did. The ending was a bit blah though. And I swear I thought Julian would end up being a more pivotal character. Oh well. Overall it was a good solid read.
Now I'm reading My Place (by Sally Morgan), which I began reading after finding it in the bookcase in Largs Bay and subsequently put on hold on at the library (there we go!). Haven't finished it yet, but it seems decent.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Garmin do you read me
I'm actually looking forward to going back to uni, although god knows I'll miss these empty days once I can't have them.
Because, guess what: I'm gonna rock with the organisation and shit this semester!
Yup! This is not those usual study resolutions that everyone makes at the beginning of the semester. You know, when delude themselves into thinking it will be easy to get up at 6:30 am and get a head start on the day's work, or plan for way too many hours that could be feasibly spent in the law library.
Like, see right here on my timetable where I have a whole three hours between lectures? Obviously that will be prime study time. Sure, I may take a stroll or eat a packed lunch but it's not like anything else will be taking up my time, right? It's not like previous semesters, when it's been frighteningly easy to sit chatting about non-law related things with friends, or log onto facebook on the library computers, or get up for multiple money-wasting excursions to buy coffee or lunch or look at the shops. How did I ever waste so many hours with that sort of rubbish? Not this semester!
And look at these days, where I don't have to be in town until 10 or 11 am. Imagine, I could do both exercise and law readings before I've even left home for the day! I hear there's a 6:30 Circuit class at the gym. Ah, not that I've ever been, but that's just because I'm yet to experience the supreme state of productivity that warrants a 6:30 gym class. It won't be long though. Come March, that'll be me.
--khere is a gold member
Because, guess what: I'm gonna rock with the organisation and shit this semester!
Yup! This is not those usual study resolutions that everyone makes at the beginning of the semester. You know, when delude themselves into thinking it will be easy to get up at 6:30 am and get a head start on the day's work, or plan for way too many hours that could be feasibly spent in the law library.
Like, see right here on my timetable where I have a whole three hours between lectures? Obviously that will be prime study time. Sure, I may take a stroll or eat a packed lunch but it's not like anything else will be taking up my time, right? It's not like previous semesters, when it's been frighteningly easy to sit chatting about non-law related things with friends, or log onto facebook on the library computers, or get up for multiple money-wasting excursions to buy coffee or lunch or look at the shops. How did I ever waste so many hours with that sort of rubbish? Not this semester!
And look at these days, where I don't have to be in town until 10 or 11 am. Imagine, I could do both exercise and law readings before I've even left home for the day! I hear there's a 6:30 Circuit class at the gym. Ah, not that I've ever been, but that's just because I'm yet to experience the supreme state of productivity that warrants a 6:30 gym class. It won't be long though. Come March, that'll be me.
--khere is a gold member
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