t-shirt idea c/o dp

i'm not cute
i'm just lead that way.

mlx2006

it was coming, then it was here, and now it's gone. sigh.

the problem with such amazingly fun weekends like this one is the fact that they eventually have to end. everyone eventually all head back to their respective home towns, i eventually catch up on sleep and stop being in a constant state of delirium.

i had the BEST time that i have had in a very long time. i'm totally head over heels in love with dancing again. (but much less in a nerdy technical kinda way and much less in a total succumb to connection kinda way - this time it's all about acting like a total fool and doing whatever the music moves me to do. ..how did i forget about that??)

great music -loved the bands, especially the Red Hot Rhythm Makers whom rocked my very foundations. i also thought the two seperate dj rooms were an excellent idea. not only did they provide to the slow groovers and the crazy lindyhoppers but also gave everyone an opportunity to administer some self-moderated djing - i switched between rooms constantly depending upon my exhaustion, mood, partner etc etc. it also meant that the energy stayed ^UP^ in the lindy hop room and the atmosphere fine in the groover room.


a four day long party was what it was like. so many fun friendly people to hang and chat with. while i had always planned to spend many hours giggling etc with team brunswick, i found myself stalking the perthies like some kind of crazed animal; i wanted to bask in the attitude and energy exuding from their every pore. they've even gotten me to reconsider doing hullabaloo again.

i managed to dance with almost everyone i had intended to dance with. with only one or two people missed. lindyhop is always a nice conversation starter anyway.

another amuzing moment: trumpetor-bf asking if the lindyhop event he was at was a "christian dance" and if there were any drugs.

like all mlx predecessors this one didnt disappoint on the gossip side of things either- although this is the intirnet people, what do you think i am?


sooo.. besides mlx what else has been going on??
not too much, working mostly, teeney bit of yoga, bike riding, sparse amounts of with with the squeeze, and little britain dvds.
today i got free stuff from work - woo woo! a chocolate making kit and a pancake maker. not really encouraging a healthy lifestyle is it?? and not the sort of products that i would ever pay money for.

i will try to find a photo of my new dance shoes and post. i think you will be impressed.

xxC.

ixcellent.

i'm sorry bloggers, i've been slightly slack lately.

apart from work i haven't been doing anything particularly abnormal or busy. but i'll try to think of a mildly amusing anecdote for your pleasure..

i've been craving and eating alot of asian food lately. i think it might have something to do with the warmer weather. i was also recently reminded of the satisfaction gained from a visit to victoria st. there is nothing like a big hearty bowl of noodle soup with fresh coriander, vietnamese mint & basil, chilli and selected meat. super tasty! mmm-mmm. i really like the broth of the soup and all the fresh flavours. i particularly like the contrast between fried things like spring rolls or chicken against the freshness of lettuce, sprouts and herbs. yum. and it's all so cheap too. ..if it werent for the msg factor i would want to eat such things every single day.

i'm also rather keen on the idea of gaining a kiwi accent. i thought a NZ friend would be a perfect addition to my life until someone pointed out that it's not very nice to immitate your friends - esp seeing as i'm only after the accent, that would be cruel.
i've started saying "yis, thet would bi ixcellint." i wonder what people think of the (not so) subtle addition to my everyday conversation?
i figure it: if i can get the accent right, i'll be able to pull of words like "duvet", "chilli-bin" and "jandals".

i'm not getting a whole lot of exercise at the moment. and it doesnt feel particularly great, i have to say. i'm considering the option of riding my bike to work. my only concern would be leaving my bike on the street all day, even if it is locked up and directly outside my work. we'll see.

i'm also attempting to write a jazz routine to my favourite song. it's not going particularly well so far. it's not an area that i have much experience in and i'm finding it rather difficult. thankfully it's not a very fast song but it is quite long and i've been mulling over the structure for a good month or two now. i'd ask for help but i'm trying to be stubborn on this one and force myself to figure it out independently - it'd be good for me.

speaking of seeking help. i'm starting to feel like the special girl at work. i know i'm the new girl and i cant expect to know everything straight away but my intake of information is at a much slower rate now and i'm asking for help ALL the time. sometimes the same questions over and over. i'm hoping this phase passes soon.

ok, it's time for me to go. and you've already got 5 moderately boring stories out of me.

xxC.

hip-hip-hooray

well this week i've:
-said goodbye to one seriously crappy job
-started at a rather pleasing job
-started my volunteer work at school
-started my tax for the past 3 years
-started reading again
-eaten out 6 times (and still lost 3 kilos).

i'd say that's a pretty nice looking week would'nt you?
hip-hip-hooray.

i think the important one there tho is leaving THAT job. i'm very, very happy about that. i suspect that my boss would've wanted me to stay on for another month but enough is enough - especially when i've already work 2/3 weeks past my notice period - and i HATE it. it's going directly behind me.

ahead of me is another job which is almost exactly what i had in mind. hours are good, pay is good, they look after me, train me, dont patronise me, follow occupational health and safety guidelines, and is not in the slightest bit boring. woo hoo. i could REALLY enjoy this job.

my planned holiday is panning out to be more localised than i was thinking for a while there. it will however be more of a tropical escape. how exciting!! i can imagine myself lying in the sun, going shopping, eating great food, exploring another culture, seeing nice sights, learning another language.. etc etc.

step, step, one, two, me

well i've been doing the job hunt thang again and it seems to be much easier this time. i've already had two interviews - one i want, and one i'll take untill i find something better. the one that i had this morning was really good. i was abit nervous tho - infact i'm still feeling a little shakey. it was exactly my kind of workplace with nice managers and a good outlook on how to run a business. good old-fashioned customer service - it's wierd that that sort of thing is so hard to find these days.

other stuff:

i went back to ballroom again this week and with no swing in between it felt like one long week of ballroom. the novelty factor is still there but when i went swing dancing last nite i suddenly realised how much i missed it/love it. swing dancing is soo organic and natural and the movements make sense. perhaps i was feeling slightly oppressed by the shakles of just learning the steps at ballroom- i was craving improvisation, styling, expression, REAL lead and follow, conversational connection.
the thing is that i dont really KNOW if ballroom does have all these things that i love about swing because i'm still in the beginner stages. sure i've been around the traps at swing for a while now* so i'm pretty comfortable with the basic steps etc and have gone beyond these levels and can view lindyhop in quite a different way than say a beginner swing dancer. it could take me years of learning ballroom before i discover all of this and can make an adequate comparison.
in the mean time, as i mentioned earlier, i'm enjoying the novelty factor.
the music is incredibly bizarre as well. it is like EVERY single genre you can think of and nothing really has all that much energy to it (well not the way that i feel energy in music anyway) ..unless you count the pumping, wanna-pull-your-hair-out, disco music.

been shopping alittle lately too. on the search for the ultimate outift:
-comfy for bike riding and yoga.
-breathable fabrics
-still looks nice enough to wear in public or out in a bar (why cant i ride my bike to the pub dammit?)
dont know if such a thing exists but i'm experimenting with a few things. ..and how on earth did leggings become fashionable, i really dont know.

i start doing work at my friend's school next week. i will go twice in the first week so hopefully you'll get lots of nice anecdotes** about kids with snot, crayons and playtime snacks.

for those of you whom are not in melb at the moment: it's grandfinal season, so that means parades, bbq's and terrible traffic. the royal melb show is also on for those of you whom ever forked out $30 to go see the carnies with their front teeth missing. the weather is also starting to warm up and everyone is in a nice sunny mood.



*not to imply that i'm the world's expert or anything.
**within reason ofcourse, i'm not actually sure if i'm aloud to blog anything at all out of respect for the school and it's students.

o brother where art thou

this film ROCKS!!
watched it on the weekend and enjoyed it waaaay more than The Big Labowski or Intolerable Cruelty. it's a real thing of beauty. every single scene is a anecdote all it's self and the film eventually ambles along into an overall story with a neat little conclusion. it's not very often taht i get to the end of a film and want to watch it all again from the beginning straight away and this is one of them.

right now Smoothie's flatmates are watching a show on sbs called Oz. it is possibly the most violent thing i have ever seen - and i dont think i should be even half watching it this close to bed time.

ballroom.

last i was taken along to a ballroom dancing class. quite willingly really, i was interested to see what it was all about including the technique, culture, rhythms and any simularities or differences to swing dancing.
we went to a relatively small studio (that seems to operate every nite of the week) and i did a beginners class. it was held in a hall along side two other classes and loud music blarring from the stereo. i spose i cant really complain considering that it was free but i honestly couldnt hear a thing that was going on. but quite a generally enjoyable experience. everyone in the class seemed to be picking it up ok and having a pretty good time. there was no nice introductions to the other students i noticed but those who were keen to make friends made themselves known.
i have to confess that it has been quite some time since i attended a dance class let alone one where i was a beginner in a whole new style. i found it relatively confusing actually. and remembered what it felt like to be tripping over my own feet again.
we stayed for what is called "the circle" where all the dances learnt in the previous class are done in a rotating circle that includes all other students at the school. it's a nice way of bridging the gaps between beginners and everyone else and building communities. i made some nice friends during this phase (and also discovered which ones didn't like participating in such activities).
next was social dancing which went for approximately 2 hours. social dancing entails of much of the same stuff that swing does except (yes the girls can ask the boys too) each dance is dictated by the music played - no making it up as you go along. and despite being a follow- heavy nite (typical) i got quite a few dances. some nice friendly leads showed me many new dances that i hadnt learnt before and some that i had. it was interesting what i discovered about the way i was learning. i really needed to know about the counts: 'how many beats is this step? 6count?' i also found myself much less comfortable with remembering rhythms and realised my reliance upon pure following. it wasnt untill the end of the nite that i found my groove though. and i was able to feeel the dance through my partner.
i suspect i'll go back again this week. my only reluctancies were to do with:
-the focus on certain styling that i might find waaay too over the top for my tastes. like wrist gestures, high chests and chins, pointed toes etc etc. (would i go so far as to suggest that it is "too feminine for me"?)
-while there are something like 8 styles and 38 dances to learn i fear that while i have very little interest in learning any styling that is suggested, i would find it eventually abit boring (?) ..for lack of a better word.

a funny.

i cant take any credit for the following (this is care of Smoothy - i dont know where he got it from) but this is for those who like funnies:

A husband takes his wife to play her first game of golf. The wife
promptly hacked her first shot right through the window of the biggest house adjacent to the course.

The husband cringed, "I warned you to be careful! Now we'll have to go up there, find the owner, apologise, and see how much your lousy drive is going to cost us."

So the couple walked up to the house and knocked on the door. A warm voice said, "Come on in."
When they opened the door they saw the damage that was done: Glass was all over the place, and a broken antique bottle was lying on its side near the broken window.

A large black man reclining on the couch asked, "Are you the people that broke my window?"
Uh..yeah, sir. We're sorry about that," the husband replied.
"Oh, no apology is necessary. Actually I want to thankyou. You see, I'm a Genie, and I've been trapped in that bottle for a thousand years. Now that you've released me, I'm allowed to grant three wishes. I'll give you each one wish, but if you
don't mind, I'll keep the last one for myself."

Wow, that's great!" the husband said. He pondered a moment and blurted out, "I'd like a million dollars a year for the rest of my life."

"No problem," said the genie. "You've got it, it's the least I can do.
And I'll guarantee you a long, healthy life! And now you, young lady, what do you want?" the genie asked.

I'd like to own a gorgeous home complete with servants in every country in the world," she said.

Consider it done, "the genie said. "And your home s will always be safe from fire, burglary and natural disaster s!"

"And now," the couple asked in unison, "What's your wish, genie?"

"Well, since I've been trapped in that bottle and haven't been with a woman in more than a thousand years, my wish is to have sex with your wife!"

The husband looked at his wife and said, "Gee, honey, you know we both now have a fortune, and all those houses. What do you think?"

She mulled it over for a few moments and said, "You know, you're right.
Considering our good fortune, I guess I wouldn't mind, but what about you, honey?"

"You know I love you sweetheart," said the husband. "I'd do the same for you!"

So the genie and the woman went upstairs where they spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying each other. The genie was insatiable. After about thr ee hours of non-stop sex, the genie rolled over and looked directly into her eyes and asked, "How old are you and your husband?"

" Why, we're both 35," she responded, breathlessly.

"No Kidding." he said, "Thirty-five years old and both of you still believe in genies?"

onwards and upwards.

"onwards and upwards" -that's what they say in the classics, right? and how could it not be true in this instance? i'm moving on from something that isn't pleasing me but also increasing my happiness to a higher plain.

for those of you that dont know where i have been working and for the reasons in which i hate it then you'll have to ask me about it when i'm much older and can look back and laugh.
but big changes are occuring at the moment so i while i feel three years older and 10x tougher i wont be enduring much more of it as i have given my notice.

i've also been offered a unique opportunity to go and get some more experience out in the classroom. which is perfectly ideal - considering i was getting the point where i was contemplating doing some sort of volunteer work to feed my soul. but this particular opportunity is far more selfish given my interest in the industry. dont worry bloggers, i will keep you posted.

on other fronts:

-Smoothy took me out mountain bike riding ..which is an entire story all in it's self. hey if you think the professional guys are adrenaline junkies, try doing it when you've only just figured out how to stay ON a bike. death wish?? needless to say there was a stack involved which left me quite shaken. BUT the important part of this story is actually experiencing a slice of the hobby that Smoothy is soo passionate about. it's WAY more fun than road riding - infact it's a whole different ball game- i can see how people could end up spending so much time dedicated to it. ..oh and i saw 2 dead kangaroos.

-last nite i did the supportive girlfriend thing and went along to a race. it was interesting in some ways. i did bring my new friend along though so it was substantially less boring than it could have been. Smoothy's team placed at 3rd which is super considering he did two thirds of his team's laps/riding.

-as of two nites ago i'm considering how likely it is to get my butt on some extravagant trip to some nice place around the world. i'm half way to my savings goal but do i want to blow it all in one go?? bloggers? would i be better off investing in some shitbomb car for next year so that i can spend less time on public transport and more time making money or studying??

-my new friend is very nice. i will write you some funny stories about her all too soon i'm sure. she is rather spontaneous and has a knack for saying slightly inappropriate things in ideal situations. it's very funny.

gotta run spagettiOs.

bah humbug!

bloggers. there are times in a girls life when she feels like she needs to not ask the advice of her unsupportive mother but rather throw those delicate questions about life out into the VOID that is the internet.
so tell me, what is it all about?
should i hate my job this much?
is it unreasonable to expect more?
am i unemployable?

fuck no. i fuckking rock! and all you mother fuckers that think otherwise can sit on it and rotate.

yes i'm posting mad. and damn it feels good.

weighty questions

my Smoothy* is quite concerned with weights. he is quite determined in his quest for getting down to "race weight" and has gone a long way out of his way to drop heaps off his bike and is constantly weighing stuff. apparantly he used to take his bike parts down to the local grocer to have them weighed with his fruit and veg.
not that he hasnt tried to find his own scales, that is..

first came the electronic kitchen scales. small, precise and great for nuts and bolts.

then came the digital bathroom scales. we shopped around abit for these. naturally, trying them all out in store.

and finally, because he is SUCH a goldielocks, came the hanging scales. that i think are usually used by fish mongers etc.

ofcourse i shrugged it all off as natural Smoothy behaviour and didnt give it another thought. little did i realise exactly how much enjoyment i would be getting out of such gadgets. i found that i liked measuring myself sooo much that it has turned into a bit of a game. i like to measure myself:
-with or without shoes
-with or without clothes
-before and after a shower
-before and after a meal
..but my favourite one is before and after i go to the toilet. is that wierd?? is there something wrong with me? that i like to get an idea of exactly how many mls pass through me at any one time?


*note: how i use the word "my". possessive much?

round up.

right so, alot has happened since i last posted.

dory has come and gone with all her many crude jokes, snotty tissues, harrang brownies and serious looks. i guess i had forgotten exactly how much i missed her. before she arrived i guess i was basically nervous. nervous that we might not get along the same way, that we had both changed alot in the year or so that had passed. but it was exactly like old times! sure she had changed - but not reeeally. they were all things that were a part of her before she left but had been given the space to come to the surface. ..and well i guess a little bit of london had rubbed off on her.
so the week while she was here was spent with many nice dinners, breakies, and cups of tea; whinging, listening and giggles. it was really nice. i got to hear all about her life in london which put me much more at ease - i didnt realise it but i guess i was taking on the protective friend role; it was like london was the boyfriend that i hadnt yet met and wasnt really sure if i could trust him. but now i can see that he is making my dory happy. hoooray!

last weekend was spent in tassie. my whole fam went down for my grandma's b'day and also to basically spend time with my grandparents. it has often been noted the sort-of critical mass that can occur when there is two or more members of my family located in any one situation - can you imagine what is like with a dozen of us?? my family is truly nuts!! nuts i tells ya. needless to say i found the weekend most distressing and much unlike a holiday! ..i suspect the reason i had such a lovely time last year had little to do with tassie or my fam and much to do with the fact that i spent most of my time with very fun friends. oh well.
one of the saddest things about it all was the awareness that everyone had about my grandparents' mortality. even them! i was expected to essentially say goodbye to them - but i dont even know where to start - it's not like i have a close relationship with them anyway, they were always the disapproving conservative oldies that no matter what you did would frown. it was all waaay too confronting for me. even without all the other family politics that came along with it.

..while i'm a on whinging note: i flew back before sun rise on monday morning with only 3 hours sleep. i was shitty shitty!! but when i realised i was sitting next to a teenage mum with her mum -and her ugly screaming baby- i wanted to slit my wrists. what is it about babies on flights?? they fucking suck!! especially when they are loaded up with chocolate, coke and chips at 6am. i reckon there should be cry baby flights like there are cry baby sessions at the cinema.

this weekend Smoothy and i are heading down to geelong for some mates party and a looksie around the area. the sun is shining so i'm hoping for some outdoor type activities. i'm guessing he's keen on some riding - we'll see how we go.

here's my map

i'm in tassie. here's my map

broke back mountain

watched brokeback mountain for the first time last nite. it was sad. not only due to the unrequited love thang but also with all the homophobic related violence. heath ledger did an excellent job with his tight lipped stuff. and i found all the old fashioned, ranch living, cowoboy stuff abit interesting - it's like a whole other culture.

i also understood why it recieved so much controversy. it's not only a film about boys that love each other which is pretty unusual for mainstream media. but the first 30mins was REALLY full on! i thought there'd just a be abit of head and some kissing but nah uh! yikes.

once upon a time continued..

we last left our heroine in a state of confusion in regards to the operation of a bike. in her desperation to impress said boy she became far more determined to not fall over and land in some bushes ..or hurt herself in other places.

the girl knew that if she could only stay on the bike without stopping (or going around any tight corners) then the boy wouldn't be as embarrassed to go riding with her. but eventually she figured out how to push off by pushing on one pedal whilst using this force to hoist herself up onto the seat. this prevented many mishaps ..and the boy didnt get that crinkle in his forehead quite so often. but the girl didn't want to be riding forever - she needed to learn how to stop.
as it turns out; bike riding (like ice skating) is much like balboa. "how?" you ask?
a) none of them came naturally to the girl,
b) none of them would make good busking activities,
c) all of them required careful weight changes.
as it turns out; the pedals seem to provide some kind of stepping stone for getting in and out of the seat. this can be done during a cycle or when the pedal is at the bottom of the stroke. "that's obvious!" you might say? ..and you'd be absolutely right!

so the girl learned how to ride a bike (sort of) and didnt get nice smooth arms (not her own anyway) and is still pretty uncoordinated. the end.

Mexican Feast

Smoothy and i made kick-ass mexican food last nite. very enjoyable.
a lovely rich chilli con carne - fairly simple of: tomatoe, mince, mushroom, garlic, onion, cumin, ground corriander, red capsicum, fresh corriander and a smidgeon of chilli. we forgot to put the beans in - but it still rocked!
i also finally made the mexican spiced rice that you get in restaurants. i searched recipesource.com and decided which flavours should be in it and chucked it all together. it's pretty much just lightly puffed rice that gets toasted before you add the water and with a bit of stock and corn in it. but it worked perfectly.
the perfect finish to this ensemble was a delicious salad based loosely on DP's salsa recipe. mine included: tomatoe, capsicum, fresh corriander, red onion, avocado, baby spinach, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper. sides included sour cream and tortias for dipping.
Dp's amazing mexican cook ups have always been very enjoyable and might sometimes include piella or chiroz sausages. but my general experiences in ALL mexican restaurants is that it's over priced and pretty crap. the 1.2litre margurittas do help soften the blow but i'm very unimpressed.
this was also a stand out mexican cooking experience because it wasnt too hot for me - while i do agree that there should be chilli in such food, Smoothy tends to overspice it to such a degree that i can no longer eat it. so now i am The Chilli Controller - oh lai!

once upon a time..

once upon a time there was a girl with pig-tails who liked to dance. despite her efforts and many hours at yoga she wasnt the most co-ordinated of girls -but her friends still liked her. (..especially when she would pretend to fall over and hurt herself in front of large crowds.)
one day when she was out dancing she discovered a boy with the nicest arms she had ever seen. "my-oh-my! how did you get such smoooth, smooth arms?" she enquired. the boy responded by describing all the wonderful outdoors activities that he liked to do -like rock-climbing, bike riding, and snow boarding. the girl became excited and thought that she would like to do all those fun things too. first the boy took her bike riding. the girl couldnt really ride a bike, but that didnt matter. he was very nice about it and didnt laugh too hard when she tried to stop and start (this took some time).
he said "dont worry, you'll get better with practice."


to find out if the girl DID infact get better, you'll have to wait for the next installment.

bikey-bike

yesterday i got another brand new toy to match my new glasses. it's spunky. it's red. it's 8x3 speed. and it's speedy. (bloggers, what do you think i should name it?) it's a mountain bike but has relatively slick tyres for a mountain bike and should be quite suitable to road riding as well.
i only took it for quite a short ride yesterday but as soon as i actually get moving today i will get out there and see what it can really do. i didnt believe Smoothy at how much difference a (half) decent bike makes to the whole experience. while i'm thankful that i even had access to my mum's bike, i'm now totally aware of how crap it is to ride. it was stiff, heavy and didnt click into gear too easily. my new bike is lovely - and feels like it has power steering in comparison.
i'm trying to decide where i should ride it to today. i could ride home and hang out there, or i could ride it to yoga in clifton hill, or i could ride it to see cairo club down the street. or i could ride it randomly around the place and see what happens.
the weather isnt as beautiful and sunny today as it has been the last two days. friday was just stunning. not an inch of cloud to be seen and blue-er than i could have hoped. even the 20mins my friend and i spent sitting out on the grass in the sun was more vitamin D than i've had in months. just gorgeous.
today is the last day of my long weekend. i feel like i've done many lovely things with my time off. including: virus, jw, breaky out, dinner with ham and cheese, sleep ins, nice food etc etc.

new specs

they're here! i picked them up last nite. i REALLY like them.
see pic:

not only do they look way hotter than my last pair but they also help me see. i didnt realise just how much more blind i had gotten in the last two years. i put on these new ones and suddenly i can SEE. i can see EVERYTHING. so far i think i'm doing ok in terms of adjusting to them; i only had one moment of headache-dizziness last nite in the first ten minutes.
and before anyone asks, No i didn't order them online. i'm still very dubious about shopping online -not knowing what i'm gunna get etc. although i know it seems to be quite popular at the moment with some friends purchasing some very cute / nerd t-shirts. ..although there are some rather amusing things out there ..and the savings that Smoothy makes on bike gear is AMAZING!

okay, i'm outta here, it's beautiful and sunny out there and i'm sitting inside on the computer!! what tha? i'm going to the park.

this and that

i ordered some new glasses yesterday. i'm rather excited about it all really. this will be my second pair ever! i'm quite over my first pair. they are plain, boring and have started fading to a copper-y type colour. my new pair will be none of those things. i might post a pic when they arrive (approx 5 - 14 days.)

i also had my second drawing class on friday. this time we drew glass bottles arranged on a mirror. i had a few issues with my elipses (gone crooked) and lost my centre axis once or twice) - mainly due to the fact that i didnt leave myself enough space to be able to step back from my easle. but i was quite happy with my picutre. it ws quite challenging and i felt a did a good job. i think i got a little lost in the colours again but i'm working towards including other elements like: lightsource, depth, reflections, backgrounds and object relationships.
i look forward to next week. ..although i suspect that my friend is not enjoying it at all and has sudden fits of grumpiness surrounding the classes. i cant help it that, i'm enjoying it. i'm not going to provide sympathy grumpiness. that sucks!

i also had my hair done on friday. got rid of all the little red spots and have gone dark all over in two slightly different shades. quite strong colours - it makes my anticipation for my new glasses grow even stronger.

this coming weekend i will have a three day weekend which i am REALLY looking forward to. these split weekends have been killing me, it feels like i barely have a chance to unwind and i'm back at work again. i'm even dreaming about it. hopefully i'll get used to it soon. but the break this weekend will be good either way.

this time of year is the time to buy underwear as well. oh my god it is cheap. i've bought five SETS for the same price as one decent bra. lucky me. i might need to stop spending money soon tho and get back into saving mode. ..even if i am obcessive compulsive about storage and want to re-do my entire bedroom.

last nite i dropped in to see the cairo club at railway hotel in bruny. quite small, and only oldies there but alright. i had one slow dance with my squeeze, one crazy solo dance by myself on the carpet and one dance with an old guy who took pity on me. i really enjoyed it. i think i might go dancing again this weekend. havent decided which of the 5 possible events i'll go to - but probably one or two, until i'm sick of it again.

ok, that's all from me for the moment. cherio kidios!

the best, the worst and the moderate.

the squeeze and i have been dining out a fair bit lately - taking advantage of a voucher book that he somehow acquired. we've been going to all sorts of places that we wouldn't normally go which is good. and on those nites when we're a bit clueless it provides to basic ideas of where we can go for malaysian food (for example). i'm sure we're not really saving all that much money but the experience is fun.
on sat nite we went to this place called boheme on bridge rd. it didnt look terribly interesting from the outside and i started getting worried when i read the menu but it proved to have quite nice food. after consulting the waiter* i settled on a chicken disk that was AMAZING. yum yum yum. perfectly cooked, tender with al dente rice and vegies, the sauce not too salty or overpowering. delicious. i wasnt as impressed with Smoothy's meal (some sort of bacon, tomatoe chilli pasta) and the waiter lost points after recomending the mars bar cake (which was then served in a melted mess) but overall an enjoyable meal.
the best food i've had all year has been at place on mt alexander rd called Dimples. not in the book, and chosen by pot luck. reasonably priced. FANTASTIC food! home made pastas. simple flavours done well. they are in absolutely in no danger of getting carried away with too many complicated ideas until it ends up in a mush! very impressed, we'll be going back there i'm sure!

although i'm starting to suspect that eating out isnt really all that good for me. i should get back into the habbit of cooking at home. for starters it's way more expensive than cooking and when i cook, i actually KNOW what i'm gunna get. and it rarely disappoints. i suspect that i may need to invest in my own chef's knife after being spoilt by Smoothy's knife set in his kitchen. a crap knife makes take take three times as long and a million times more frustrating. ..but doesnt a bad worker, blame his tools??

worst place we've been to: Loco Express at highpoint. imagine a cafe, now imagine it at highschool. and was run by highschool students, with primary school food. with expensive prices. not even a voucher can justify that place. crap!

*yes, i'm doing this more and more often lately - it seems quite worth while especially when i'm feeling super indecisive.

pirates of the suck-a-bian.

friday nite i went to see pirates of the caribean- dead man's chest. the sequal. as a general rule sequals that get made purely because the first film made shit loads of money and dont actually have any relevance to the overall story are a bit sucky. but i thought i'd take a punt on this one - i mean the first one was exceptionally good and the second one still contained marvellous ingredients eg, pirates, johnny depp. unfortunately this film did not come through with the goods. while it was mildly amusing to watch it actually never came together in some sort of sensical way. it had no rhythm almost like the editor just wasnt doing his job properly - surely they can save all taht hoo-ha for the special section on the dvd?
i remembered walking out the cinema feeling jibbed. it just didnt wrap up properly, there was no resolution to the plot and no character development either.
i then watch the original one on sunday nite (as it was shown on tv) and all my doubts were re-confirmed. the first one is brilliant with all sorts of interesting themes going on about good vs. evil /morality etc etc. and the sequal is actually really flat. DISAPPOINTMENT.
so fellow readers, just like all those critics who shit-canned the davinci code movie, i'm imploring you to avoid this film and avoid disappointment.
..at least until it comes out on video (3day rental - after new release but before weekly).

drawing it out

today i attended my first visual arts (drawing and painting) class in many years. i decided to begin a short course at the community centre with a friend to give my brain some more food - yes i feel like it's going to sleep!
and yes i had an excellent time. and yes i think my brain got worked because now i'm entirely exhausted. in highschool (and well primary) i enjoyed all types of visual arts (i actually changed schools in yr 12 to have the opportunity to do so) and only completed one year of art in 1st year uni. at the time i found i wasnt enjoying it so much and had many a grumble about the unit chair. so i guess i havent really done a thing since. it was really enjoyable to get out there and do some more again. this class is run in a very casual and non-structured manner in order to cater to all levels. this frustrated the hell out of my friend but i found it quite pleasing and was able to approach the whole thing in an impartial manner.
i've often thought that the main problem with my uni art experience was actually more to do with my ego than anything else. i really want to be able to approach this new course as a beginner and try to take on board whatever i can to learn and extend myself. ..although it might be noted that this might not be entirely necessary and that if i wanted to ignore the teacher and any advice they have to give then i could clearly get away with it -as SOME members of the class have been doing for more than one term.
today we did still life with pastels. it was a basic construction of pears, a plate and a knife. i had an excellent time playing with all the different colours i could manage. and felt i really experimented with the limits that i could take it to.

tour de france

my squeeze has been watching the tour de france. now, i'm going to claim that i know anything at all about it but i'm learning a little and frankly i'm AMAZED. these people race lengths like 200+kms per day for three weeks. can you imagine how hard that would be? people have to train professionally -not just in the sense that they might get some financial reimbursement but they literally dont have any other time outside of training to earn a living - i would consume their entire lives. whoa! it is the/one of the hardest races in the world to compete in and people take it very seriously. there is this one guy that has a fracture in his spine and is STILL racing.
this is an interesting website. purely for the fact that it shows some of the competitors vitals (pulse, speed, cadence etc) live as it happens. you can see it on the telly, and it's happening on the internet too. (kinda like bigbrother)
it seems that despite how seriously these people are taking it all, there is still some sense of etiquette to do with what's appropriate and what's not. for example during the drink pick up section - noone will try to "make a break" and get ahead, it's just NOT done. the squeeze was also describing a situation where a whole paleton (pack of riders) all pulled over to take a piss. i dared ask "what do they do normally?" and he took some time to decide whether they would be pissing over the front handle bars or down between their legs. ewww!! what about all the licra?? that's totally gross.
and i'll leave you with that very pleasant thought.

slack

alright, so i havent been exactly the most loyal of bloggers lately. in fact i've been down right slack. after reading some other blogging-mad pal's work, i've decided that maybe i should get my feet wet.
what's been going on with me? not a whole lot of interest really. it feels like work work work lately. i'm working full time in a crappy job. you know the ones - where you work it and hate every second of it but you know that it will make going back to uni next year seem way more exciting. not 100% sure how i feel about my course at the moment but that's the plan so far.
i'm finding interesting ways to spend my money, and less interesting ways to save it. there have been some discussions of some kind of massive indulgent splurge at some stage within the next year when i've saved enough. but i'm not giving anythign away just yet.*
hmmm, i'm starting to run out of things to say again..
..well before i start rambling on about mundane things like skin regimes, i best be off (exfoliation is go!). hope all are well. i will TRY to blog again soon.


*i've got to create SOME anticipation, now dont i?

cant get it out of my head

just love this song at the moment. it's just pumping through my veins and makes me want to bust out right there and then (even if i'm standing in line in a busy shopping centre).
sidney bechet - bechets' fantasy!!

i love it. i love it. i love it.

*haha, well i actually got the name wrong if any of you actually went and looked up this song. it's called something else like "oh naughty, my sweetheart" or something to that affect. it's off the same albumn as "bachet's fantasy".

doors and windows

you know, they say: just as one door closes..

they might have something to do with glass ceilings..

but how complicated is a part time job meant to be any way??

i'm looking out for windows. lots and lots of windows. big, fat, open ones.

jobs and whatnot.

i had a job trial at a cafe last week. ..actually TWO. that's right 2.4hours of unpaid work. i also worked 3 hours on sunday and they are yet to discuss any terms(pay) with me. i'm finding rather frustrating.

what's the work like?
well, i havent really ever done any actually waitressing - and the stuff that i did do was a VERY long time ago (like highschool). so it's all pretty new to me really. i suck at carrying plates. i hate the bucket that the sponges get kept in (and the fact that i get stared at by my boss every time i wash my hands after dipping them in the mirky water). i was surprisingly nervous about dealing with customers and especially clearing empty plates - i had the distinct feeling that i was interrupting them. but soon got over that.

so i'll be there most sundays i guess. untill i find something better.

there goes my favourite day/morning of the week. long sleep in and long lazy cooked breakfast.

i'm also finding that my instincts about my age being an issue confirmed. if it's written on my resume you think they'd read it before dragging me out for an interview (after keeping me waiting for 35mins).

i also went to the doctor yesterday to get tested for celiac's disease. it's present on both sides of my family and those nasty (paralysing) stomach cramps followed by noisey wind is not something i want for much longer.
i had a rather surprisingly pleasant experience with the nurse and vowed never to return to a pathology lab ever again. so i'll find out in a couple of days if i have to let go of the mcuh loved GLUTEN.

Buffy

been undergoing a serious buffy binge lately. all of season 5. previously unseen by my eyes. i'm quite impressed. i'm in the zone a bit. i even had a dream in buffy style the other nite. i really like how each episode is nicely constructed with the same themes in mind despite the overall picture. and how the theme of each main plot is then reiterated by sub-plots and again by random imagery.
plus buffy kicks butt. she's a teeney weeney girl with a heart of gold and will kick yo ass. i REALLY like spike. and even unlikeable anyia (?) has grown on me a little.
i dont think i should get stuck into season 6 straight away just yet - it's all pretty full on. and i need to do something else for a while..

chockies

it's easter sunday everyone!!
my personal preferance is quality over qauntity and i think i've achieved that so far. right now i'm sitting on the couch with Smoothy sharing a chocolate bunny on a stick from Koko Black. i've been naming Haighs as my favourite brand for some time now (still getting through my supply from christmas) but this chockie is AMAZING. smooth and delicious. i know that their hot-chocolates are the best i've ever had - literally like a cup of liquid chocolate not watery, gluggy, or floury in the slightest. Smoothy seems to be happy with his score. and my Haighs Bilby will go down very nicely. YUM!

bike scene

a friend of mine was recently telling me this story about a bike scene that they are actively involved in. it seems that there are certain people whom are in a certain position of power and tend to act quite intimidating towards other people as a way of protecting their own status in the scene. they coined the term "fan-boy sydrome" where these people have loads of little teenage fans that look up to them and tell them how wonderful they are etc etc that after a while they start believing it and infact use these fans as a way of boosting up their egos. it's like they are addicted to the position of status and social power and will keep everyone else at as much of a distance as possible.
how shit is that?? that a scene can be built up of people whom are in such great need of that bolstering that they actually make it difficult for others to enjoy the scene as well. in such a small a unique niche it's a real shame because it only takes one or two assholes to fuck it up for everyone else - there isnt really alot of space to not have to deal with such people. it kinda ends up being like a "cant live with them, can't live wihtout them" type deal.
i spose thinking about there really wouldn't be anyone that is THAT bad - i mean come on we're all human. but what if this sort of syndrome were something much more subtle and inherent in the way that a scene were run?
i mean all sorts of human communities have social heirarchies/platforms/structures of status but they dont all need to end up running like some boys club ..do they??

i got thinking about the need for acceptance within the community that you are involved in. like on the question: 'does speaking up make you an outcast?'. this question is loaded with pre established ideals:
-i want to do what's right
-i dont want to be considered an 'outcast'
- i want to be accepted by my community.



...ok my train of thought has gone now and i have to leave for a baptism ceremony. so till next time, team..

short and sweet

hey guys i'm sorry i'm not going to post properly today but if you're desperate to find out what i'm up to i did write alittle bit on my other blog.

that's all from me for the moment folks. hope all is well.

xxC.

recipes

Smoothy has begun the long awaited food blog. including the infamous sri lankan curry. very tasty indeed. and the food's not bad too.

* haha!! i totally forgot to post the link. here ya go.

winter, flicks & ikea

daylight savings finished this weekend. and as if that wasnt bad enough last weekend we had a gorgeous 28 degree day to watch the road-race at 'da games ..and this weekend it's winter. not the start of autumn with a gentle chill settling in but it all smacked you at once. smacked us so hard - we were smacked right into the middle of winter ..in new york.
such dramatic weather changes call for dramatic lifestyle changes. no longer are sundays spent with long lazy breakfasts in your pj's and nice walks in the sun. but are now replaced with brisk breakfasts of porrige and rushes to the shower and wearing all the clothes i own ..all at once. too cold to be outside- off to the movies and ikea. i reminisced about swedish cultural invasions. about swedish food (meatballs & crisp bread) and swedish dinner parties.
i also dream about the prospects of re-furnishing my room with all the neat little gadgets and storage ideas that could improve my life dramatically.

>oh my god! it's not even 5 and it's almost dark. this is soo depressing.<

we watched aeon flux which was fantastic. for those of you who dont know it was originally an anime* about this a female assasin set in a futuristic world where the people are more like insects than actual people. my memories of the actual plot were extremely fague but the visuals stayed with me for a very long time and was my main motivation for see this film. i was not disapointed either. aeon was all sharp angles with whispy haircuts, pouty lips and pointy boobs. there were a few moments when the actress didnt look quite as graceful as would be hoped to pull off many of the unbelieveable stunts in this film (yes very cunning). i keep thinking of Alias and how she has to train three hours every day to be as fit as the character she's playing - another assasin.
so overall, i loved it. sci fi. female super hero. romance. life-as-we-know-it/all-of-humanity-is-relying-on-this type plot. costumes. sets. carefully chosen camera angles. what is there not to love? it's right up my alley.

also watched war of the worlds- which while had me hooked right in for the first half of the film with absolute terror - had the most stew-pid ending i've ever seen and proved to be highly disappointing. far too many simularities to other films that i had already seen like 28 Days Later(which was excellent) except they didnt manage to pull it off quite as well. it was pretty interesting how the most distressing scene for me in the film had nothing to do with the aliens but much more to do with the mass histeria and crazy behaviour from the people who were desperate for their lives. i can totally imagine that gun scene happening just the way it did in other chaotic realities like after a hurricane/tsunami/terrorist attack. i'm petrified of everyone else.

the final film was Sunshine of the Eternally Spotless Mind which was just beautiful. it's a film for anyone who has EVER been in love or been hurt. i loved it. Closer was another film about breakups but came out with a much different sentiment than this one and actually left you feeling better and with a "why bother?" type attitude. whereas this film was really nice the way it put emphasis on all the nice things about love and relationships. sure it can suck sometimes but overall it's got to be good otherwise why would you be there for so long? and god knows that there are times when i wish that i could forget some nasty things from my life but they are kinda there for a reason and it's slightly reassuring that it's okay to trust yourself in the moment(who i was back then) and not get all bitchy/pessimistic in hindsight.

today was also the first day that the heater has been used for the season - that's a bad sign. summer REALLY is over. i had soup for dinner last nite and lunch today and dont feel like eating all the normal foods. i hope i dont start getting super hungry all the time and put on heaps of weight like i normally do at the start of winter. fingers crossed.

it's kinda nice that although this end of the world is heading into the chilled-out months, the other side of the world (like london) is doing the exact opposite. no more grumpy londoners or snow storms. they've even started day light savings. crazy.


*i too, thought this was a spiny sea creature but it's also a japanese animation. i know cause i actually checked the spelling for this one.

unread newsletters

i'm just checking my email, cleaning out my junkmail box.. reading lovely updates from dear friends afar.
but there's a backlog. a backlog of newsletters that i havent read - nor do i think i will. infact i've enjoyed their absence from my life so much that i dont think i will ever invite them back.
sure they used to provide information about things i was interested in but more often than not they just make me feel shitty. so i'm stopping - that's it! no more.

wow, this is really liberating.

now that i think about it.. perhaps i should stop a few other related rituals? things that shit me. things that arent really neccessary in my life anymore. i'm certainly uninterested in contributing these days. and i only read about %5 of it these days anyway - that's practically nill.

excellent.

FITting it in

running is usually my fall back option when i have exhausted all other possible outlets for some exercise, it's generally not something that i would choose to do but with a severe lack of dancing in my life at the moment i was getting abi† desperate. monday nite i went for a jog and it was moderately nice - not fantastic and certainly not consistent for the whole half hour but it did the job.
tuesday i went to a class at the gym wi†h my mum called "strong to the core" which is (as you guessed it) basically all about abdominal workout stuff. it wasn't exactly beyond me but i sure was buggered afterwards. my mum said it took her 5 days to recover from her first one of those classes. it only took me 3-4 (it's only been minor pain in the last day or so) but i wasnt able to push our brand new recliners back with my fatigued torso and had to use the (rather handy) handle.
last nite i ran again and god it was GOOD. it felt really good. no stopping every half block to walk - i had made it two train stations up the line before i knew it. usually i tend to do a conservative circuit around my block (allowing a quick return home) - but last nite i just found myself so liberated by this new found ability that i just wanted to keep going and going and going.
so i've decided that i MUST harness this new power and use it as much as i can before i loose it. who's with me?
a treat: brand new shorts, socks, sports bra and sleek hair cut to match. woo hoo.

the games

well as most of you know the commonwealth games are currently happening here in melb. there's tones of athletes and tourists from all over the world come to visit our home town. what does that mean for people like me? there's way more traffic than usual, lots of quick-fixes have been put in place to make melbourne seem alot nicer than it is. there is less rubbish around the place, new signage ..and even the homeless guy that does laps of flinders street station has new clothes -and SHOES!
what does it exactly mean for ME? well i worked one day on friday as a last minute fill in. part of the linen team helping to drive around the village and drop off/collect towels from 6am to 3pm. most of my collegues were 30 something blokes with big beer bellies and half sneered when they saw that a GIRL was going to be working with them. pfft yeah it's hard manual labour but sure as hell isnt out of my reach. i was pretty fucking buggered by the end of they day but that was probably more to do with sleep deprivation and in contrast to my usually rather relaxed lifestyle.
lunch was provided. it was amazing. they provide more food than i could possibly dream of getting through in an entire day; hot smorgas board, salad bar, fruit salad, yoghurt, bread, sandwiches, chips, chocolate bars, desserts, cakes, muffins, ice creams, water, coffee, tea, bikies, and cereal for breaky. i mean they did mention something about it being a good feed but i would never have imagined that. most people looked rather lethargic after lunch from over eating. i thought i was being disciplined by only have some rice, curry, salad, fruit and yoghurt but it was still too much.
i'm not sure if i will be working again as they want someone who can work the entire way through - i have commitments to my other job etc.
but it was really interested driving around the village and seeing all the different flags for different countries everywhere. then as people started to get up we saw loads of differnt athletes training and getting themselves organised all over the place. i just remembered thinking "oh my god! MUSCLES!!" muscles everywhere - it was beautiful.
i was surprised to discover that all the other workers around the place (besides the police and the cleaning contractors) were all volunteers - even the ones doing shitty jobs like sweeping the tan bark back into place around the gardens - what tha??
there were also a nice scattering of entertainers around. the first ones i saw (and were my favourties) were these guys on stilts in strongmen/lifesaver outfits including the old fashioned striped swimsuit; the lifesavers cap and massive porn-moustaches; and faux rubber muscles all which made their little capped heads look like pin heads in comparison. when i asked to have my photo taken with them they're like "of course you can gorgeous!! wow, that's a bright shirt! are you okay?? are you sure you dont need mouth to mouth resusitation?!" hehe it was pretty cool. as i walked away i realised that the oversized calf muscles were actually massively curved to disguise the springs attached to their stilts allowing them to bounce 5 metres into the air. i was extactically excited.
..there were also four sheep a bit later. covered in (non stuffed) sheep skin suits with puffy chops around their thighs and shoulders. they would follow each other around in a pack and make subtle movements with chewing expressions and sometimes breaking away from the group to get down on all fours to stare at a passer by. they were fantastic!!
i thought they were amazing and positively wasted on the under populated village - just athletes with nothing but sport on their minds. no appreciation.

today it is nice and sunny - a sunday. still considering what to do. Smoothy is contemplating a walk up to the local hippy commune to see if he can find me a pub bike. readers might be interested to know that my bike riding is slowly getting better. i'm still having massive problems getting on adn off when the seat is put up to the actual height it is meant to be. but last week i DID ride all the way back from dp's place and up that enourmous hill with dying. ..we will see.

that's all for now bloggers. xox

literate?

well, i'm trying to get back into the reading for pleasure thing. it's been a while and i'm feeling extra rusty but slowly getting there.
ham lent me a copy of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency which was quite a lovely read. a collection of short stories that eventually made up one larger picture. great for those with short attention spans. easy language. quaint small town fables.
my next hurdle was lady-trash at it's best with Sex, Murder and a Double Latte. i went to the library and selected half a dozen paper back _lady_ books (many of which were pink and with titles much like this one). this was the only one that actually ended up reading and required 2 renewals but was well worth the work. i really enjyed it. including one rather painful day at work where the anitcipation of reading that final chapter and finding out who the killer was almost killed me. i was so excited and involved that i found myself get butterflies as i read it on the train.
my next trip to the library i found three more nice reads - again must be paper back and smallish to fit in my bag. i got caught up in the excitment of a book sale and free dvd borrowing that i didnt realise that i had borrowed a book called "Odd Fish and Englishmen" and another entitled "Of Cats and Men" ..no-one can critisize me for being inconsitent.
i'm currently reading the one about cats. i didnt realise it but it's all short stories about women and their cats and men. most of them i;ve found rather frustrating. the first was possibly the most annoying with an account of this woman whom becomes insecure in her relationship after stumbling onto her husbands porn collection - i'm mean i'm not that partial to a bit of neurotic behaviour at the best of times but come on! i'm hoping that it gets better. ..or i might have to take drastic action.
i also think that the library rocks. i think i migth go there again today. i like the walk there in the sunshine. and i like taking my ipod.

.. love my ipod - i suspect that nothing in my life could ever be better than my pod. it completes me. i *heart* my pod. sigh.

clips on the internet

hmmm, as seen in my previous post there are clips available online from the recent competition held in melbourne. alot of competitors are getting upset about having their image (in whatever form) online and available for the wider swing community to access.
sure i feel sympathy for them - it's always wierd when you realise exactly how exposed you are. i'd like to say "yes, if they dont want them online - they should be allowed to request the removal." ..BUT there is another part of me that is just far too excited about moving into another phase in lindyhop multimedia use. it's like we are contributing in a whole other way than just observing what our international counterparts are dishing up. we're establishing an identity of our own. this can only mean great things for australia's visiting potential and perhaps even having our reputation preceeding us as we go globe hopping.
i think it will also put things into perspective alittle more for both sides of the coin. my mind keeps getting drawn back to a particular move that was recreated from the UHLS clips in the competition. it was a rather tricky move and got an amazing audience response in the original context but it's recreation actually had no value because the context was not appreciated at all. a move that is executed at slower tempos in a routine or class has more impact if it can be done at much higher speeds and socially. but if it is just performed for the sake of being performed then it has no impact at all. and just _looks like_ they are purely mimicking clips that can be found on the internet. would it not be nicer if australia were more aware of themselves in terms of holding their own weight. sure rip everyone else off - and make it your own - but when on display to the rest of the world, arent we more likely to want to improvise, extend and challenge ourselves to the limits.
i just went and watched all the footage available online (i still havent gotten around to looking at my own stuff yet) and well yeah, it's nothing to be ashamed of at all. it's pretty nice stuff. aussie's can hold their own! fucken yeah!

sure if i were on there (to a greater extent) i'm sure i'd be much less excited but i'd like to think that i'd be able to get over it ..eventually.

incidentally this whole thing reminded me of another situation where my image had been used without my permission:
-at mlx last year someone came up to me and said "hi my name is X. you must be Y, i know you from the AJC dvd." my reaction was pretty shocked as i hadnt really considered that something like that would either exist or have me on it.
it was somewhat shocking but it's not really doing anyone any harm. and if you think about it- if we all started getting upset about our image being used then there would be no images to use. ...coming from an ametuer film-making perspective at the very least.

*edited to remove t-shirt reference.

Melb Swing Fest

this is what i wrote a week or so back:

i'm sitting here in my pj's eating the biggest bowl of museli/yoghurt/pear you've ever seen and reading everyone's comments of the weekend just passed on SwingTalk and i'm thinking that if i dont post about it soon, the normal levels of sleep may overtake my memories and it will all be lost forever. what to do?? blog blog blog.
so, what is MSF??
The Melbourne Swing Festival as run by Swing Patrol in celebration of The Harlem Hot Shots and their South East Asian Tour. All nine members of the group were in town for the weekend - no Hannah, but the new face of Jenny which was still lovely.
I think I have a crush on each of them for different reasons. In fact I KNOW that I have crushes on them - I've been telling everyone I possibly can ..including my Squeeze.
Mattias was a bit of a crowd favourite which was no surprise really considering how much of a ladies man he is. I personally like to hang back and just watch him in action - not too excited about the prospect of actually flirting with him. I loved watching him in the disco outfit in the performance - it's his flirtiness that gives him that amazing stage pressence! He's certainly easy on the eyes!
Zackie is the sweetheart guy that you'd most definately like to sit down and get to know, he's much less caught up in the fame of it all and acknowledges everyone. I REALLY enjoyed the dances that we had - he made my nite on friday nite!!
Daniel is just beautiful! I suspect that if he did actually come out social dancing that i would not be able to get enough of him. i like his bouncy-ness and how playful he can be. if he were an animal he'd be a bunny or some kind of playful puppy - i'd just want run up and squeeze him.
Asa -Daniel's parter- is so cool in contrast with him. she seems to be a bit of an ass-kicker and would get his life under control. the fact that she is hubba-hubba-mamma only makes her COOL attitude even more likeable.
Frida was scatting in class one day and i was starring at her porcelain skin as she sung "goo gi di da gah!" and i suddenly thought she was like a dolly. a sassy dolly. of all the HHS's she was the one that let her personality show through the most in classes and made lots of jokes.
And Lennart is totally the eccentric, mad scientist of them all. i often wonder what his story actually is. why does he stay on and train up these young bucks?? he takes the piss out of himself alot - i've noticed.
i did not really get much of an idea of what Fatima and Jenny were like. next time.

i give the workshops a 10 out of 10!! i felt that it was certainly challenging enough even though the standard of the stream wasnt that high. alot of material was familiar stuff that i had maybe learnt before at another stage but was able to REALLY understand it and claim it as my own. i hope i can remember enough to document it for future reference!
i also have a renewed faith in all things old school! the old school swingout. the old school active follows. the old school rhythms. all things that i havent really been doing at all for the last year or 2. i've decided that i want to be much less of a passive follow and put more of myself into my dancing. it makes sense that i did it for a while (especially when competing with those passive follows for leads and dancing with leads that dont appreciate it) but it does not explain why i've forgotten completely how to play; i let it take over. i miss my other crazy girls like lotte, doz and linnea.
i cannot express how unbelievably inspired i was after watching the stage show on sat nite! amazing recreationist dancing and kick yo ass lindyhop. i had about 12 dances before being dragged away for food but they were probably some of the best dances i've had in the last year - and the craziest!! attired in tassles and heels i pulled out some truly stupid stuff - EXCELLENT!!
once again team Brunswick (well part thereof) was back in full form! serious punnage and silly car rides ahhoy!! special thanks to sam and dave for meals, chocolate and looking out for me in general. they kept me from reaching "critical mass".
some lovely faces back in town like perthies make for excellent fun.
the film festival wasnt THAT out of my league so next year i will definately have to enter a film of my own. i just need some more focus. plus Swing Kids sucks balls. i'd much rather be publicly humiliated than sit through that again!.

this is what i wrote today:
uh oh!! yes i am forgetting lots of stuff i learnt. oh dear.
what else happened over the weekend you ask? hmm well i didnt enjoy the competition so much with stomach cramps and upset belly for most of the evening. i missed alot of the events as i hid outside in the fresh air. so disappointed fans i will have to find another opportunity to flash my boobs in public places. there are clips available for your viewing pleasure here.
there are also now a million melbournians going to harrang this year. i'm such a trend setter - ha! ..well maybe i could make that claim if i knew that i was actually going this year: the job hunting is still going on.
since that weekend i've been doing lots of non-dancing type things. abit of yoga, abit of bike riding (i'm still seriously bad at it though). a few films, abit of work.
we finally test drove the new board game i got for xmas. settler fans will be pleased to hear that the cities and knight's extension set makes the whole game much harder and more complicated!!! i found it really hard to figure out my game plan cause there was just so much going on.

anyways, hope all are well. i'm sorry i dont post as often these days. i'll will try to make a better effort. mwuah!

quotes

there have been a few quotes or moments over this weekend that has just made me laugh laugh and laugh. this was one of them:

"you'd better not be thinking about red shoes as i kiss you!"

says one cheese to a ham.

summer activities

oh boy has it been hot lately!!! whoa, i get out of the shower and i'm already sweating, so i feel like i'm sweating all the time. my house unfortunately got abit warmer than it should considering i've got lovely thick brick walls and not many windows.

my parents have gotten abit of a shock from leaving weather like this and going to snow in europe - i suspect it's quite a rude shock to adjust to.

but nice summer things can still be done in this weather. desperation sent me to the cinema on friday and i almost went shopping yesterday to escape the heat. some friends held a traditional swedish crayfish party on sat which was lovely in the airconditioning comfort but my fish stinking clothes didn't appreciate stepping outside into the heat - oh boy, that's a stench!! quite an enjoyable lunch tho. sad goodbyes for a visiting swede and nice friends to chat with.

yesterday was lovely too. Smoothy and i packed up a picnic and headed down to fitzroy gardens for some music and lazing about in the grass. the music wasnt exactly ideal and the usual swing demonstration voices were a tad distracting but the food, surroundings and company was extremely pleasant. the original plan included many more poeple and a game of twister but this ws much nicer. ahhh.

right now it's alittle bit cooler- so i'm airing my house out hoping that it will last till the next 40degree day.

i'm starting to get abit lower on my list on MUST-DO summer activities; i've already been to the beach, zoo, jazz in the park, bike riding, pleasant park walk, had lots of bbqs, picnics, games nites, lots of wine and cheese evenings, eaten lots of fruit (including cantalope), late nite gelo bar visits, tuesday nite pearly shells.
things i havent done yet: the nite market, moonlight cinema (although their schedule is much less enticing this year)..

battling

on thursday nite at the usual weekly social dancing haunt there was an informal competition held in preparation for an upcoming festival involving several exciting events and a much more in depth competition evening.

one particular comp was a "lindy-battle" of the likes which has never been (to my knowledge) held before in australia. the term "battle" to me raises images of hip-hop, break and popping/locking and the format of this wasnt too far from that. we were dividing into 2 teams of 6 couples and to take 2 phrases of music in turns. captains were elected and about 3 mins planning was provided before it commenced.

i fucking loved it!! i had the time of my life. i cant think of a better way to approach competitions. it was like one big massive jam but with your buddies, and the opportunity to jump back in with further ideas again and again. usually with comps you are either dancing while your opponents are or only get one opportunity to out-shine each other during the "shine" periods. this back-and-forth format with "listening" and "speaking" roles opens whole new doors for playing off each other and using the inspiration provided by other parties' efforts as the basis of taking your own dancing to the next level. i might liken it to that "coversation" that occurs during a social dnace between the lead and follow. ..just en mass

i also especially like that it is in team situations. the pressure is not on just one or two people to perform every single time and it leaves it open for alot more variation and showcasing of different people's strengths(weaknesses).
i liked the fact taht the teams were chosen randomly at the last minute as well. there was no time to get caught up in the competitive clicquey stuff because you had no idea who you were going to go with anyway. i also liked the fact that you had to make friends with your team mates just like THAT. it made for a really nice vibe. the fact taht i had some very fine friends on the opposite team meant that i was playing up for them - and the whole (not serious) agressive/fighting/ battle thing - by doing all sorts of playful gestures in an effort to wind them up a bit (and the crowd).

i think i've decided that i prefer there to be as little planning as possible, allowing people to actually respond to the other team as they bring it - rather than just going through the motions of what was planned 5 minutes ago.
not to say that there isnt any value in having a few tricks to fall back on when you're stuck for ideas.

i also think that a flexibility across the team in regards to whom is dancing next and what will be performed allows for more variation and interesting dynamics on the floor. a captain/team that is unwilling to get carried away in the moment/fly on the seat of their pants would be a great hinder on overall creativity of the battle.

i like to think that the actual competition coming up will inlcude a nicer balance between lindy-hop and silly stuff (that's not say that i wasnt one of the main drivers behind the silly stuff - but if i were alittle smarter i would try to hold back and have the silly stuff in context a little more). i'd also like to see more musicality and kick-yo-ass lindyhop/charleston/swing dances.

i did however like that fact that there werent that many aerials going on. i suspect that it would cause a much more dangerous situation than the standard competition-aerial situation. aerials in themselves are quite crowd pleasers but generally a spectating crowd is alot more diserning about how aerials are included/inserted into the dancing in a competion - there is time to watch and listen carefully during a spotlight. but this team-battle-thang is far more frenetic and chaotic ...with some couples being kicked out unprepared by their own team members ..and the music, all but the phrasing, is ignored.

for photos see flickr.com and search dogpossum.

digital freedom!!

it might be really old! it might be really slow! it might even take up more than half of my desk and give me a neck ache stooping to use it. but it's mine, and it makes me happy.

as seen at dogpossum.org i am now in debt to The Family and will one day need to repay this favour otherwise live in fear of 'taking a trip to Vagas' ..or perhaps Broady, if we localise it.

but really when it comes down to it, i dont mind being looked after by an underground crime syndicate like this one, at least i know that the upmost care will be taken with all food preparation and the their websites will never crash*.

..although i'm not sure how they are going to transport any carpet rolled bodies on the back of their bikes. that'd be some hardcore paneers!


*haha! ..well not without alot of shouting first.

slacker

yep, thats right i have posted in ages!!! i'm a slacker.

lots been happening tho. well lots of nice summer things, i havent really had a whole lot of time for things like blogging or other such nerdy internet things (unless it involves sudoku - yes i know!)

so, how was my xmas?? lovely! enjoyable! just a nice quiet lunch with the fam and an international visitor. we had delicious oysters, prawns and crayfish with a nice light salad. i drank lots of champagne and wine. my mum made a gluten free xmas pudding with custard. i got haighs chocolates instead of stocking fillers. my dad is still increasingly obcessed with mince tarts. he ssearches them out like a predator. they have no hope of survival. to him xmas is all about mince tarts. when visitors come over he might offer them one (not to the family tho) but you might note than the one he is actually eating is of quite different quality to the ones he's happy to share.

to me xmas is not about the pressies, it's about the food and the grog. i felt like i drank alot over the holiday period. and ate lots too. many evenings with nice wine and cheese. my waist is still feeling it. i'm getting back into the active stuff again but some of my clothes are fitting more snuggly than i would prefer. and i sweat profusely still.

started getting abck into yoga. realised what 2-3 weeks off does to your fitness. ouch!
also starting doing a bit of bike riding. i'm attempting to get myself alittle bit bike fit so that i can do nice social bike riding type things with Smoothy.

speaking of Smoothy ..just allow me to gush for a moment .. :) ahh! what a lovely thing.

he also managed to feed my game obcession for xmas. after solving abit of a mix up i've gained a copy of 'cities & knights' (which is a settlers extension set) and an on loan games box from my good cambridge friends. so it's all sytems games at the moment. i'm currently yet to work out the exact rules of this new thing but i'm ever excited about such prospects.

so yes, zot and lott have left our sunny shores for the cold and miserable winter on the other side of the world. but even more excitingly: much closer to holland and an interesting/impressive new job. i was a tad concerned that they would make the flight at all but all went well. craziness. here's hoping they've arrived safely and are making themselves comfortable in their new home. australia will miss them and wish the best of luck for their new beginnings.

been doing abit of cooking as well lately. with ham, with Smoothy, with my fam, by myself. i've decided to write a recipe blog. possibly to be converted into a database (listed by ingredients) at a later date - depending upon Smoothy's time constraints. last i made a mediteranian rice salad with tuna. there wasnt a whole lot around the house but that work a treat:
-half a can of tuna
-one cup of rice
-2 tomatoes chopped
-half a cucumber
-half a dozen black olives chopped
-parmasen cheese.
cook rice, cool. add other ingredients and pour dressing over:
-T olive oil
-T balsamic vinegar
-t grainy mustard
-half t garlic
-T lemon juice
top with fresh chopped basil leaves and parmasen cheese.
serves 2 hungry people.

other tasty treats that i'm loving at the moment. is lamb. or red meat. has to rare!! thyme is also a new flvour that i'm using a bit lately. made a good thyme and lemon lamb with a olive,fetta and lemon rice salad and a yoghurt and spinach cold salad. sam serves this with a tomatoe and chickpea vegie slop with lots of cumin and corriander. but when i made it my bro made a cumin chicken and i made a sweet salad (well it tasted sweet next to the other things) of: capsicum, picked onion, tomatoe, and cucumber.

Smoothy made an excellent risotto also with tomatoe, spinach and thyme. we had issues with the broth and made it far saltier than my tastes but it was still pretty nice.

hmmm i'm getting hungry now...