Archive for Life

Blue snakes, Sydney friends, holidays, and Paypal!

The longest days are those you spend home alone with your computer.

And now that I have a verified paypal account, they are also slowly becoming the most EXPENSIVE days.

I wrote a tally of things that I will be expecting in the mail for the next two weeks:

  • NRFB Blythe Ichigo Heaven: pink-haired dream girl! (Sorry to all my friends who have tried to intervene with my rapidly growing expensive habit, I promise this will be my last)

Blythe ichigo heaven

  • Used Blythe Love Mission (I spoke too soon!)
  • Brainworm eye chips in 6 colours
  • A cute red hoodie
  • The cutest shoes ever to be made

Black Kitty Mary Janes

  • A pair of custom tailored mary janes with BURGERS!, from the same seller
  • 2 x knitted aminomopop hats
  • 4 wooden hand-painted mushrooms

Wooden mushrooms

  • A random mix of cute japanese printed fabric
  • A hand-made blythe dress

I haven’t added up what the total is, and I’m afraid to. As long as I have enough in my savings to pay for the rent, it’s all good! (Or at least, that’s what I’m telling myself)

I’m actually really looking forward to these holidays. The good thing about uni holidays over high school ones is the fact that there is no work carried over, so it really is like being completely free. Shame about it being so short though. At the moment, I’m just bumming around at college, but once I go home I’m looking forward to some major craftage on my part (expect one update a day).

Today’s been a generally lazy day. Cissy, Kaka and Jessie, who stayed in my room (illegally, I might add) just left yesterday, and I feel a little restless. It was so surreal having friends you haven’t seen in so long hang out with you again. Ever since I moved I feel like I’ve sort of stopped appreciating my old friends because I see them so rarely, so their trip was such a nice reminder. :)

Okay enough soppiness. As promised in the heading, there was one more thing I’d talk about today, which are BLUE SNAKES. I was so happy to discover Allen’s now makes blue snakes, in addition to their usual range of red, orange, yellow and green, and can I say, they taste absolutely awesome. I have no idea what ‘flavour’ it’s meant to be, but it deserves a packet of its own.

And that’s all that’s been happening with me.

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(I’m not sure what this is really about… Stress? Insomnia? Hunger?)

I think there comes a stage when, on a collective level, all of us reach a certain self-consciousness or self-awareness. It’s a mood that pervades all of us, but all of us somehow hold some conviction that we are the only ones in possession of it, and the general result is that no one can help the other in any substantial way.

What am I talking about?

The approaching end of semester and exams, of course!

Ever since joining facebook, (I know, shoot me) I have felt much more like a university student, and a first year one at that. This is mostly attributed to the networks, (I’m part of Australia National), and the groups that one can join. In particular, there was that one that stood out, I think it was called something along the lines of… “I’ve gotten over the initial hype of uni, now I wish I took a gap year”.

This is exactly how I’m feeling. At the risk of making this a mopey and whiny post, something I’ve (hopefully) avoided so far in my blog, I will make some explanations and give it some rationale it appears logical and consistent.

I feel hopeless at university, to start with. The “ivory tower” that presides over academics and their interactions becomes tiring after a while. While I supposed that high school was just a bad stage one had to pass before getting onto ‘real’ things, I find now that such a description can be applied to unversity just as easily. I haven’t really felt myself intellectually challenged, because most of the time I’m so self-consiously aware that’s what I’m meant to be feeling.

Is it disillusionment?

(Or am I just really tired of studying, and am looking for a justified break?)

Also, the idea that High Distinctions are “exceptional” and have “flair” seems so presumptuous. Markers can’t actually describe what they are looking for in words that are coherent, rather they rely on grandiose rhetorics such as this to describe some general “feeling” that they are looking for. And what is this “individual spirit of thinking” bull? They ascribe some sort of magical quality, some transcendental sensation to assignments that are essentally questions that ask for descriptions, observations, or summaries of other’s works. It’s sort of like a paradox, on one hand they tug and pull at our intellectual channels, and on the other they limit such endeavours by setting questions and word counts that stifle whatever “creativity” they are looking for.

Of course, there are some exceptions to this, like the major essay (3000-3500 words) that I get to write on anything at all within my discipline. But somehow, looking at the question that I have set for myself (i.e. set by my supervisor), I’m not certain of how it will turn out.

I feel a little sad for all my NSG friends, if you’re reading this, who sound almost disappointed when I tell them about all this. My work ethic is such a contrast to last year’s, and if you know what that was, then you must know what a big difference that makes. I have lost motivation to work, to learn, to even make subject choices for next semester, and the such. (All I want to do is make plushies, not even ‘high’ art!)

Hm. On a side note I didn’t sleep until 3 AM last night, so I’m pretty sure this entry will be deleted tomorrow after much revision. (Especially since I’m getting 200% increase in page views since joining facebook)

—-

PS. Ivy, there is no answer to the question, that is the joke!

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General comments on life developments

Recently I’ve started job hunting. Not because I actually need the money (as a tour of my room will demonstrate), but because I want to be more excessive in my spending. I’ve calculated that if I work a good 8 hours a week at minimum pay, I would still be pulling in more than a hundred dollars a week, which is good news by me.

In the beginning, it was all an an elusive dream. After working various jobs at various food outlets, I set myself the following ground rules:

  • Never ever deal with fast food again
  • Or for that matter, food, service, and customer’s basic requirements for living such as eating, drinking, waste, and the such in general
  • Work somewhere that has a roof over its head, i.e. no open vendours and the such
  • Nowhere that sells shoes

Now that pretty much ruled out 85% of all possible jobs (there were 3 shoe stores alone) and I didn’t really plan on making an effort. Then one magical day Lincraft AND the Teddy Bear store both pronounced HIRING signs outside their windows.

Let’s say I was pretty excited. Retail dealing with items I actually like, score!

More updates later regarding the success of these applications.

*****

In other news, I have three essays due in three days which I should make some more progress on. Procrastination ends here.

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Love dedications

This blog entry is dedicated to Nathania, eternal companion through Mediterranean waters and faraway lands, valiant and handsome, fighter of evil and protector of purity. May you be happy with this dedication and revel in self-worth.

(PS. Blythe photos coming soon! After the day clears and there is nice natural lighting)

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Stalking packages

I love mail tracking.

On the 5th of April, less than 2 hours after they were paid for, items no. RA869031432HK & RA869031429HK were processed for delivery to their destination, Australia. I’ve been checking the status of the two parcels compulsively for the last two days, and last time I checked both items have left Hong Kong for their destination on the 7th of April

Eventually, after crossing the sea, I will be able to stop stalking my girls through Hongkong Post, and instead shift my attentions to Australia Post.

Once again, I love mail tracking.

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Outer space!

Stars are cold, very cold. Or rather, stargazing at the top of a mountain without jackets is cold. However there is a warmer side to stargazing- looking at stars (and planets and galaxies and nebulas).

Some things we saw:

  • A fuzzy red dot = Mars
  • A Saturn that looks like Saturn – complete with coloured rings, and shadows, and perfection!
  • Two fuzzy stars together = binary star (or bad eyesight and bad focus)
  • Alpha Centauri
  • The Milky Way
  • Another galaxy
  • A triangle star constellation
  • A dog star constellation (I still argue it’s three lines)
  • Free tea
  • Airplane star (moving quickly and blinking)
  • Shooting star x 2
  • Single star constellation
  • Dot shaped constellation
  • Single point shaped constellation
  • The lone star

All in all, it was a fun night out. Yay!!

(I promise the next entry will not have dot points. We are just so unimaginative, us science people)

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I fought a bear

I realised I should update this space more often, before everyone forgets about me and stops checking this altogether. It’s not that nothing interesting has happened, it’s rather that too many interesting things have happened. Here is a sample:

  • I had yum-cha on a dirty table
  • I couldn’t find where the books were in a library
  • I got into netball by dancing
  • I ate ham and cheese croissants
  • I bought burger erasers
  • I have allies in Uno
  • I have learnt Uno is all about alliances
  • I realised that Uno without morals is like water without hydrogen
  • I’m still bloated from Wednesday
  • I smell nice
  • I got a hair cut
  • I feel like a boy from the back
  • I may have made a new friend
  • I nearly finished a crossword
  • I’m not in my room
  • I broke my nose
  • I have to make a formal complaint against Kinder (or german children in general)
  • I need to go shopping for kinder surprises
  • I’m in a band called College Room Bondage – we’ve released four albums
  • I actually had the beef for dinner
  • I rewrote history
  • I haven’t had a Golden Gaytime for 173 hours
  • I rolled up the Sun
  • I’m wearing boy pants
  • I’m waiting in anticipation for something that is happening in six days
  • I have a vicious streak
  • I have white teeth under yellow light
  • I have a smaller room than everyone else
  • I adore Gregor
  • I give joy in a tupperwear container
  • I can’t spell words
  • I fixed my nose, and made it Grecan
  • I have a green ring, it’s not black
  • I found a nice hot water bottle that likes science and dancing
  • I got hit by a door, a bookshelf and Erin
  • I got money from the government for being a good citizen
  • I’m using that money to buy a blythe doll
  • I stole things from the National Art Gallery
  • I researched the wrong alternate universe
  • I’m really cool
  • I had a nice time in Sydney
  • I had a better time in Glasgow
  • I set fire to butter
  • I have posters that hate me
  • I couldn’t find the maths room, so I went home
  • I cleaned my room for four hours
  • I can’t dance
  • I got crushed by an asian girl with pink glasses and boy hair
  • I had no art history this week, which made me sad
  • I got a message I need to send
  • I never got to Oregon
  • I have 6 new voicemail messages, which I still can’t access
  • I had the breakfast of scholars
  • I forgot to commit a crime
  • I won a competition
  • I started drinking a coffee
  • I became a cheat
  • I helped a man cross the road
  • I found the Ring of Gyges
  • I married Dionysos, and he turned me into a dolphin
  • I can’t ride a bike
  • I keep hanging on
  • I forgot to stalk the Tropfest film director
  • I forgot to stalk Adrian Deutsch’s family
  • I fought a bear, and won

And this is only a sample.

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Settling in

Starting university is like starting high school all over again, with more hormones and more booze. I take great pleasure in going through the same 3 questions with everyone I meet on campus, which go as follows:

  1. Hi what is your name?
  2. So what are you studying?
  3. And where are you from?

Apparently those three questions are enough to make acquaintances (I dare not use the word “friends” just yet) and can also ensure that you are able to determine what sort of person they are.

This leaves me with a number of insecurities.

Firstly, what should I say, as first impressions can soon solidify to life-long friendship? Secondly, if I make the wrong impression will I be stuck with the wrong people (boozehounds, misogynists, bad poets) for the rest of my life?

After numerous mishaps, and more than a dozen occasions of having to explain that just because I’m doing a Bachelor of Philosophy it doesn’t mean I HAVE to actually study philosophy, and confusing practically everyone, I have settled with just saying I’m doing Arts.

This way people will presume I am lazy, lack a direction in life, and am full of my own wit and importance. That is the best I can do for now.

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Miscellaneous!

Today I took my Macbook to the apple service centre because it stopped working.

I like how they set it out like a GP/Doctor’s office, complete with a reception table and black leather couches (sadly, no trashy magazines!). The whole process also sort of reminded me of being in a waiting room… especially when the repair man speaks like this:

  • “This is not looking good”
  • “We might have to open her up”
  • “Pass the scalpel” (although this was technically a joke)

I felt very tense the whole time. It’s not fixed either, so I have to wait half a week for it. *chews fingernails*
In other miscellaneous news, I got a new blythe doll on Monday!

It was amazing, because the EMS shipping from Japan to Australia took only 3 days, and the postman hand-delivered it to my front door at 7:30 AM. I wasn’t expecting her AT ALL (because the website said 2-4 weeks) so the surprise was great. For more pictures, click the thumbnail below!

That’s all for now, thanks for reading!

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Cutting down on excesses, or something.

The most hassling thing about going to university interstate (although some remind me that ACT is technically within NSW) is deciding what items to take with you. I admit, I’ve been used to a life of luxury, I have two rooms all to myself: one with a bed, the usual wardrobe things and one with the books and the computer and the TV. How that will all change.

I invite you all to look at what will be my home sweet home for the next 4 years:

Accom

I’m hoping that the furniture is included. In case you can’t make out the measurements, it’s 4.635 m by 2.705 m.

So I’ve started compiling a list of things to take with me, but it’s been hard sorting the essentials from the unnecessary-but-oh-so-necessary-to-my-material-happiness.

The list so far goes:

  • Comic books. Too precious to say goodbye to.
  • Art history books. Sort of necessary considering that’s what I will be studying
  • My PS2 with a TV. That way, I can watch TV, play DVD’s, play video games, and don’t need to take my CD player(4-in-1 function, yeah!)
  • Vivienne Westwood handbag. For street cred or something.
  • Since I can’t take all the novels I have, I will just take the “essentials”, which are Franz Kafka, Salinger, Eugenides, Coetzee, and most of my classics. Otherwise I’ll group books by a categories and take them down on a rotational basis.
  • I will have to do the same with clothes (summer and winter). Or maybe I’ll just count out exactly enough for 7 days a week.
  • CD’s. Or if I’m really short on room, I’ll just transfer them all into digital files.
  • My computer, although I’ll probably have no internet.
  • Acoustic guitar, the electric seems too much of a hassle.
  • Clean underwear.

I think I’ll start packing in February.

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