#Untitled

I can't remember the last time I wrote poetry but I have vague memories of a year 8 English assignment circa 2006 so I have no idea where this came from, when I am so very much exclusively a prose type of girl. Perhaps it was inspired by this lovely chick-a-dee or perhaps just from generic sleep deprivation.
Regardless, this is it.
Originally it wasn’t intended to be so depressing but considering it wasn’t intended at all, it is what it is.
Also, I’m not going to lie, I did use a rhyming dictionary to help me out a few times.
Anddddddd I used a metaphor so win - go lit class.

I lay beside him silently while he is asleep

Wrapped in his arms in his little single bed,

I can't close my eyes for the whirring thoughts in my head, 

So I stare at a darkness so deep,

There’s no light in here,

Only shadows that linger, 

But dance away from the touch of a finger,

Leaving behind them only fear. 

This is not my place,

I do not belong,

I've been playing this part for far too long,

My face is a mask and this mask my face,

It’s the end now,

This is over, finished, done,

But make no mistake; I’m not trying to run,

But there’s only so much one can allow.

If only he knew how I really felt,

Could see the truth behind my smile,

Know that it hasn't been real, not for a while,

And that his sweet words no longer make me melt.

I wanted this,

I dreamt of it for ages,

If only I knew it was different off the pages,

I never knew love was so hit and miss. 

We both know the end is at hand,

Yes, to start it was better than fine,

But then I knew he wasn’t really mine

So we'll have no wedding upon the sand. 

Instead we'll let go,

Untwine our lives and move on,

But never forget that at one point we shone,

And remember the high as well as the low.

Because life is what you make it,

You can’t always hold tight,

At some point you just have to do what is right,

Even when the flame remains still partially lit.

The "Ugly Friend"

You know what really pisses me off?
Looks aren't everything! And I'm not just saying that.
You need to have Confidence (Cohen)!
If you call yourself the "ugly friend" then so will everybody else. Stop putting yourself down! If you can't see yourself for the amazing person you are how do you expect anyone else to?
No, we're not all blessed with Miranda Kerr and Jennifer Hawkins good looks, we can't all be brainiacs or comedians but that doesn't make you the "ugly friend." And by saying you're the "ugly friend" does not mean you're going to miraculously have an ugly duckling/caterpillar transformation and you'll suddenly be most wanted.
Life is what you make it.

I don't have a boyfriend or boys beating down my door but it's not because I'm the "ugly friend." It might be because I'm the "shy friend" and I don't put myself out there nearly enough but it also might be just because I haven't met the right guy at the right time yet.
The point is, it's not because I'm any less, or more, than any of my friends in any way. And if I don't get a boyfriend and end up with a guy then it's not because my friends are better than me for having that, it's because it's meant to be. I don't think I will end up all alone, at least I don't plan to and I have faith that I'll find someone, somewhere, someday (preferably British and bilingual, or at least European).
If the darling ex-boyfriend gave me nothing else, he at least gave me that faith. If 12year old me could find a guy who loved me (as much as one can as a teenager), 25 year old me will be fine.

Maybe that's the difference then. Maybe because I've had that 6 months of positive reinforcement and a couple of random hook ups since. Maybe it's how I was raised. Maybe it's just who I am.
All I know is it really bugs me.

Just accept yourself for who you are and one day you'll find someone who loves you for you.
There's someone out there for everyone.

grrrrr

So on wednesday I worked 9-4. It was a lot of fun. If you haven't read yet I look after kids and this week is school holidays so my week off at uni is turned into study and work frenzy as rather than working a few hours in the afternoon, it is the whole day on the holiday program. On wednesday we took the kids on an excursion rock climbing and to the beach. The weather was great and the sun was out. It was perfect. Except by the time we got back i lost my voice... which turned out to be the start of a cold. The next day I worked 8 30 to 5 30 and it was a nightmare. It hurt to talk, I was tired and I couldn't get anyone to cover my shift. It was a bright sunny day and I felt like shit. Each hour was agonisingly long. So today, when it is my day off and I am starting to recover....a storm is on the horizon and I am forced into study.....fml

LWWY♪

♪Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy 'till we meet the sun, 

I know we only met but let's pretend it's love.♪

I did not expect to love it as much as I did. In all honesty, I thought it would be pretty ordinary. I should've known better though, I'm in love with their first album, why would the first single off their second be any different?

I love the video clip too, and not just because they're shirtless and/or wet 60% of the time, they're just happy. They look like they had an absolute ball and that's nice to see.

I seriously want a go on those water walking ball things though, that looked like epic fun.

Challenge Complete

Zoe thought that when she put out an ad for a pen pal in the paper she would end up exchanging casual letters with a girl her age who loved shopping, movies, music and hanging out with her friends just like she did. All she wanted to do was have someone to share her day and exchange advice with, but never meet. She wanted to receive mail with her name written on the envelope with loopy handwriting rather than a phone bill. But the letter in her hand is as close to this reality than the supernatural novels sitting next to her bed. Zoe has slowly been dragged into a dark world through a young man she knows as Claude. The letters are like a drug and she is addicted. This man, who depicts such a surreal and dangerous world of which he is a part of, intrigues her guileless personality. Has Claude just created a life as fictitious as Zoe’s novels? Is the safety of her bedroom from where she writes enough? Why has Claude decided to write to her?

I wrote this a few weeks. As you can see, creative writing…actually any writing is not my forte. I have been inspired to post this now though by the piece of music that is blasting through my headphones. Today I was asked if I would like to play in the entrance foyer at someone’s wedding. I don’t know the people; it will be for complete strangers. I haven’t given an answer yet. I got home and went straight to my piano and looked at the songs I had to try figure out what songs I did have. I kind of want to do this but in the same way I feel I may not be able to this with professional perfection and I will ruin someone’s wedding. I find it so much harder to play when I know other people are listening. So when I got kicked off the piano so my family could get some sleep I started listening to classical music on my headphones. I ended up on this one song and put it on repeat. I don’t play this song, I want to, but I kind of don’t want to ruin the magic it beholds. It is full of emotion. There is a sadness, a hopefulness and a passion to it I can’t explain. It is called My Big Secret, from the movie The Piano soundtrack. Micheal Nyman is the composer. I could listen to this song over and over again loudly for the rest of my life. I don't know the connection to the piece I wrote, but it felt right to post this now. Goodbye for now.

Procrastination

I've not so recently (probably years ago really) "discovered" a band called OKGo who, according to Wikipedia (which as we know is the most reliable site ever), identify themselves as an 'alternative rock' band. Which is cool, I don't understand music genres but I like their sound.

I feel like I should say that while I do like them, I do have only 3 songs out of their 3 albums but my point is that they consistently keep popping up in my movie and T.V. show soundtracks and getting downloaded onto my iPod.

They're kind of...boppy. They just make feel good music (the songs of theirs I've heard anyway).

Anyway, I should probably get back to my essay but yeah...I'm not just into preppy boybands from the UK.

Just Stop.

Stop asking things of me, stop inviting me places, stop demanding my time, stop requiring me to do things, stop wanting to see me, just stop.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment (if that wasn't abundantly clear) with work, uni, my friends, my family and I'd kind of like it all just to stop but, alas, it cannot.
I know it's partly my fault, I should spend more of my time down my uni work so I can go out with my friends instead of watching TV/YouTube/etc but sometimes my brain just doesn't want to speak Uni and I can't help that.

I just kind of needed to rant because I feel like lately it's "I want you to come here," "I need you to do this," "Don't forget we have that thing on Thursday," don't get me wrong, I love my friends, my family, my job, even my uni course but everything just seems to culminate at once which also (always always always) seems to be the exact time my muse emerges from hibernation and wants me to write down all the thoughts in my head.

So...yeah.

//rant over

Day 30 - Write a Short Story or Blurb From a Book Featuring the Other Person

So I've been a bit lapse with this last challenge because I've honestly had so much fun doing this that I just don't want to say goodbye. Even if no one ever reads it, it's been really good to write something new everyday and my new (self-) challenge is to post more often, maybe even once a week if the mood strikes me.

Anyway, alas, alack the time has come, here is my blurb about Hannah.
I originally wrote it in French just for shiggles so I'll post the French and the English translation.


'Voilà je te presente Hannah. Elle est une fille de 20 ans et elle aime jouer au piano. Mais la raison pour laquelle elle aime joué au piano est plus que l'aime de musique, sa piano est magique. Sa piano peux voler. C'est une piano volant. Elle a fait beaucoup des aventure avec sa piano et sa amie Zoé. C'est leur historie.'

'I present to you Hannah. She is a girl of 20 and she likes to play piano. However the reason for which she likes to play piano is more than the love of music, her piano is magic. Her piano can fly. It's a flying piano. She has had many adventures with her flying and her friend Zoe. This is their story.'

It's short but in both versions I just felt like to write anymore would ruin it.

Stay tuned for the adventures of Hannah and her flying piano!

Last week Ed...this week Elvis

What did I do today? I listened to Elvis and spent 7 hours doing homework after a tree across the road convinced me staying home would be a better idea. 

Last week it was Ed Sheeran, this week it's Elvis. 

What can I say? Elvis was...godly, he was just...amazing. Decades later and his voice still gives me shivers whether he's talking or singing. He sings it all to, its bot just rock and roll, or blues, or country, or ballads its...everything. 
And, from what I've seen in crackly, black and white interviews on YouTube, he seems like a lovely guy. He revolutionised the music industry with the first ever music video. 

He is, without a doubt, the King.

A movie alone

So I only fail in late submission. I did go and see a movie by myself today. I went and saw Moonrise Kingdom. Yesterday I had 2 assignments due and it was such a relief to take the afternoon off and go to the cinema. So after my lectures this morning i went off and bought tickets. I had about 2 hours to spare before the movie so I wandered around the shops and grabbed some lunch. It was very relaxing going at my own pace.
The movie was great too. This wasn't the first time I've been to the cinema by myself. The first time was when i went to see Black Swan. It's funny how the movies I have chosen to see by myself were more art house. I really liked this movie. It was simple, with earthy colours, dry humour, beautiful, quirky scenes. Essentially its about two early teens who fall in love and run away together. He is an orphan and scout and she is from a dysfunctional family. I can't really explain it....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eOI3AamSm8
It's kind of a hit or miss thing, either you like it or you don't. I liked being able to sit there and watch the movie without a friend whispering in my ear their opinions of the movie. I like being able to form my own opinion on the movie without the influences of others. I like spending time with friends, but i also like the time I have to myself. I had a great afternoon by myself and spent the night eating thai and watching a flick with the girls. Very relaxing.

Day 29 - Go To the Movies By Yourself and Describe the Experience

Yeah so... Even with a month of warning I didnt get around to doing this mainly coz there's just nothing I want to see...why are movies/music etc so crap these days? I'd honestly much prefer to sit at home and watch movies from as far back as the 40s (Casablanca) or disney from my childhood than pay to see the crap Hollywood cooks up now. As for the music, more often than not I listen to my iPod and its arraignment of great classic hits from the 60s, 70s and 80s rather than the radio. I wish there was better quality stuff, quality over quantity people.
 
Anyways, first failed blog challenge (on day 29 of 30 mind you) my bad.

Warm and Fuzzy

Warm and fuzzy. The little things. Hmm.
When mum makes me a Hot Chocolate or brings home hot chips, or some sort of treat she wouldn't usually do.
When I sit in front of the heater at my grandparents house.
When friends turn up to my gigs. It means a lot to me when people try hard to come and support me. It reminds me a lot who my real friends are. Zoe, Matt, Duncan, Channy...Billy, Trav.... Zoe offered to drive the boys the other night, and Matt and Channy have taken me to countless gigs when I couldn't drive and Duncan even took a taxi to and from the last one. When we finish playing a set and they are waiting there...it just makes me happy.
Harry Potter. Each book and each movie that came out has given me sooo much excitement.
Laying in bed when its raining. Theres a drain right outside my bedroom that makes a sound that makes me feel so secure.
Going to sleep when you know you can sleep in and you don't have any work/uni/study/assignments to worry about the next day and you can sleep in.
Listening to Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men.
When I get a message from Kaori, my Japanese exchange student.
When my grandmother cooks one of her delicious feasts and the family sits around on their big dinning table and dig in.

Concert

So i haven't been to as many concerts as Zoe has. I really want to go to a festival. In particular Splendour in the Grass, but since I never have money to buy tickets, or travel all the way to Byron bay I just have to wait. So the first ever concert I went to was the wiggles. And the first one i can remember going to was the Hilary Duff concert. Yes, I was once a Hilary Duff fan, which was preceded by me being a S-club Seven fan. I was in year 5. My Aunt took my cousin and I for christmas. Things sure have changed. In year 11 Dad took us to the Living End concert. That was pretty cool, buy I wish I had listened to them a bit before I went because although I knew them all I couldn't remember the words and so I kinda failed trying to sing along. My favourites would have to be the most recent ones I had been to. In year 12 I was absolutely obsessed with Florence and the Machine. I mean I still love Florence, but this was when i was obsessed. I bought a T-shirt and everything. And she was amazing. It's always great when you see them live and they are just as good as on the CD. So the last one was this year, and if you haven't realised I am absolutely obsessed with Metric and they were playing at Splendour, which i couldn't make because I had compulsory Uni classes and lack of funds....But I couldn't miss my favourite band so I made sure I could make it to the side show! And Goldfields played as the support and were amazing. Never had i seen so much energetic on stage, 2 drummers, brilliant! Kind of puts my band to shame..The best thing about the last two concerts was they were smaller venues so you could get up right close and also perhaps because I chose to go because I loved, and still love the bands and not because someone else took me.

Day 28 - What Are Some Little Things That Make You Feel Warm and Fuzzy?

I've been looking forward to this one but I'm sad the ZoHan 30 Day Challenge is almost over.

"Morning beautiful" text messages whether they be from my boyfriend (when he exists), my best friend, my cousin or my mother, they sure as hell don't make my day suck.

An "I miss you" it kinda makes me sad coz, presumably, I miss them too but it's nice to know I'm loved.

Same goes for a sincere "I love you." "I love you" are words that get tossed around a lot, I myself am guilty of flinging "I love you"s left right and centre, and while I do mean them sometimes an "I love you" from someone who rarely says it can mean more than a hundred "I love you"s from someone who says it liberally.

Listening to the rain - ironic huh, that the sound of falling water gives me the warm and fuzzies but I just love the sound of rain and my house has a colourbond roof so it sounds even better.

Reading a really good book for the first time, in my opinion there is nothing better than a good book. The kind of book where you almost want to cry when you finish it because you'll never have that feeling of anticipation and what's-going-to-happen-next ever again with that story and while you'll come back and read it again nothing beats the first time.

People walking the dogs and just general good pet ownership.

This picture:

Yes, One Direction again but a) it is just so CUTE I can't help but smile when I see it and b) my best friend sent it to me when I was sad one day to cheer me up so it's our thing and while an image of Harry Styles in all his utter sexiness is always fun to look at, the fact this particular image reminds me of her is what really gives me the warm and fuzzies.












This photo also just makes me happy. It's the background on my phone and my favourite photo ever.

For some reasons Aths Day/Swim Sports at BHC produced the best photos of the year, probably because we were all in our house tops, bright colours and green grass, and this photo is my favourite. We just look happy...simpler times. I always used to say, if we swapped out Pierre for Patto it'd be three best friends with their three best friends. Nowadays, even with that concession I'm the only one who still talks to my best friend...as for us girls? Well that friendship is not quite as close as it appears in that picture either. Even despite the fact that it makes me sad because we're not like that anymore it still makes me smile because once upon a time we were. 'Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.'

Another photo that make me warm and fuzzy:

 How could I not be warm and fuzzy when I see this view every day on my way home? This is why I don't want to ever leave Australia. I love the grass and the trees and the hills and then just blue sky.

Day 27 - Concerts You Have Attended and Your Favourite

I suck, I try to be good with updating on time but tonight I got distracted...my bad.
Without further ado, here is my concert history:

My first ever concert (with the exception of Disney on Ice or whatever) was Green Day in '05. It was kind of awesome. It was the first time I had my "Oh. My. God. That's actually (insert name here) up there on stage! In the flesh! We're sharing the same area! OH my God, WE'RE BREATHING THE SAME AIR!"
Since then I've seen The Fray, The Script, Nickelback, Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Simple Plan and will be seeing Nickelback again in November.
My favourite concert...I honestly couldn't tell you. They all had their ups and downs but I think maybe the Script or The Fray. Taylor Swift was theatrically amazing but I sometimes struggled to hear over the screaming Tweens.
As for Maroon 5, I became quite disillusioned with Adam Levine (whom I'd half had a crush on ever since "She Will Be Loved") round about the time they did a song with Rhianna.
With Nickelback, who are my favourite band ever, I had a math exam the next day and couldn't quite enjoy myself fully with that hanging over my head.

26 Movie that made you laugh the most

The movie that made me laugh the most was probably Death at a Funeral. Black English Comedy. I don't think there was many moments when i wasn't in hysterics. If you haven't seen it, take a look. Just make sure it's the english original, not the american remake.
It's really hard to find a comedy film that fills the laughing expectations and this movie has done it superbly. I don't want to ruin it if you haven't seen it, and as it is you really can't describe the plot of a comedy movie because it just doesn't make sense. All i can say is that it is a funeral gone wrong, mixed with hallucinogenics and wonderful actors.

25 camping

So zoe has just explained where i was last night....had a long day yesterday and 4 hours sleep then uni and work again today so I'm kinda really tired but I can't let it get 2 days behind again.
I love camping. Yes, showers are a comfort I take for granted, but i think if there was a river I would be a fine substitute. I was thinking about who i would want to go camping with. Zoe was talking about a bunch of friends and outward bound and it got me reminiscing about my time on the camp. I remember some of the best times were getting to know the people I didn't know too well. So if i brought people camping with me I would bring friends and friends of friends. I wouldn't have many people either, maybe seven or eight. As much as I'd love all my friends to be there, a few days camping with some of them would drive me insane. Last summer I went camping with 4 friends and it was so much fun. We didn't have too many to play cards or fit into the car for 4wding, for talks around a campsite without having to climb over everyone to get a word in.
I would probably take
Ok just letting you know here that i started writing this then my computer battery went flat.
So i will quickly finish.
 I would take people who don't mind helping out with cooking and cleaning, one think i get really annoyed with is people who don't pull their weight. I would take people open to trying new things, even if it might not be their cup of tea. I love exploring. I there is a river i'll jump in it, if there is a hill I'll climb it. You always need to take someone who knows what they are doing, and has the right equipment. For that i would take my mate Patto. He always comes prepared with maps and all those things that you don't really think about while camping but then find you need when you are out there. I know this one sounds sounds a bit stereotypical. I would take someone with a guitar. I've always wanted to sing songs around a campfire. It's funny, when i think about most of the people I would take, I think mostly of my guy friends. I know a lot of girls i know would likely complain or bring a shit tonne of makeup or something ridiculous. I would take Zoe though. I know that she would miss her showers, but i also know that she wont complain too much about it. I suppose when i think about camping I think about relaxing and I know that if you take certain people or a lot of people you will end up with an argument that belongs in the schoolyards.
 So in conclusion, easygoing people, selfless people, musical people, experienced people and few people.

Day 26 - Movie That Made You Laugh the Most

Okay, so I'm not going to lie, the movie that has probably made me laugh the most was New Moon.

Maybe it was the fact I saw it with my best friends and we spent the whole movie taking the piss out of it (as we have done with every Twilight movie since). But everytime RPatz came on screen or Kristen Stewart tried to make an expression or Taylor Luatner was shirtless, I laughed.

I know, Twilight isn't meant to be funny but really, with a book as shocking as that what did you expect when it got translated to the big screen?

I am anxiously awaiting the release of Breaking Dawn part 2 so I can go, watch it and laugh with the girls all over again. It is one of the highlights of our movie year. We're good about it though, we're respectful of the Twihards (for the most part) we wait until a few weeks after the release, don't go at busy times, try and make it on a school day when most of them can't go because, while we think Twilight is the most ludicrous thing ever, we understand there are people out there who love Twilight as much as we love other things and who wouldn't take kindly to randoms ripping into the love of their life.

Day 25 - Who Would You Go Camping With? Describe them.

I didn't post this challenge last night because I was out being an awesome friend and supporting Han and her band at a gig. After driving through near torrential rain and getting lost I really did have an amazing night dancing and singing along to their music which is why I forgot about this but I'm here to do it now.

I'm not anti-camping, Outward Bound was one of my favourite school camps ever, and it's not the sleeping on the ground or lack of toilet that bothers me...it's the no shower. I like to be able to wash. Sure I could just go camping for 2 days and the not showering thing wouldn't be an issue but when I go away I like to go away for at least a week otherwise I may as well have just stayed home.

Who I'd go camping with would just be my friends, the same people I have drinking nights with, or Cold Rock dates or movie marathons, my friends from school. I love being around heaps of my friends and having them all there at once, not just because it makes life easier to see people if they're all together but because I think out of a result of being an only child, I spend a lot of time on my own (which I do enjoy) so it's nice to be in a big group and also my friendship group is rather large. True, it does have it's factions but we're all friends. It's pretty impressive to be able to coordinate and organise 25 people to get out and do something together even with the help of Facebook.

The book turned movie...

I've talked a lot about books turned movies. I guess i would have to say my favourite was tomorrow when the war began I was obsessed with the books and the movie stayed true to the book in most ways. Otherwise I would choose the hunger games. The hunger games only changed small things and stayed true to the books on an emotional level too. It's funny, both movies are about kids/teens surviving in hard time of war or suppression. I suppose i can relate more closely to those characters.
I love harry potter and the movies, but as zoe said, the movie only reveals a tiny snippet of the books. Theres only time for a slightly reduced story line and a few cute scenes, even with 8 movies.....the end/cut

Day 24 - Favourite Book Turned Movie

Lord of the Rings without a doubt. I admire the detail and complexity of the book but to see that put onto the big screen in such an amazing way as those films did was mind blowing. I just...they're amazing. Theatrically the landscapes of New Zealand were perfect to encapsulate Middle Earth, the costumes were fantastic, the fact that all movies flowed so perfectly one on to the other (no doubt aided by the fact they were shot back to back), the near seamless merging of CG effects and normal filming, the stunt work, the sheer scale of people and places and animals those movies required.
If you havent seen the Lord of the Rings, as I know many people haven't, I strongly suggest you sitting through the 9 hours at least once. Even if the story isn't your thing, you can at least marvel at just how huge of a project it was. It's up there with Star Wars in my book, and the epicness of Harry Potter even if in my personal opinion the Harry Potter movies fall far short of the books. 

22 Backyard and bedroom

This is a picture from my bedroom window. In the bottom corner you can see the neighbours washing line and you can also see the next hill across. We live on the hilly side of town and my room faces the rising sun. Lucky for me....I like sleeping in an my blinds don't do a good job of keeping the light out. 

So to detract from the horrible view from my room, here is my backyard. I love it. There has been so much work put into it. Dad laid the bricks and pavers and grass, and built the pagola. We bought that massive tree home in the back of the station wagon and mum has spent countless hours in the garden. My grandfather installed a water feature and lifted up the pavers and trimmed the roots that were lifting them. Its recently had a bit of a clean up, and the beginning of spring means all the grass is green and there are pink tassels on the tree. In summer the tree grows leaves which shade the house and in winter they fall, creating a goddamn mess but allowing any sun we get to warm up the house. I just wish we had more grass....

Green with Envy

So i was going to do a post last night then realised it was the window one and i cant take a picture in the dark and completely forgot all about it and i forgot again today....but i'll at least do todays one, things that i envy of my friends.
I used to envy their skin. Most my friends have lovely skin and i managed to inherit the horrible blemishes. Like Zoe hardly waers makeup but i do everyday just because it gets so read any blotchy that i feel a little more comfortable with a bit of foundation on.
But I think a thing that i really envy that nearly all my friends have is a tight and functional family. A lot of them don't realise how lucky they are. Even when my parents were together they used to argue all the time and I don't have many memories of them being happy together. They don't have to lug stuff between houses and listen to each parent talk negatively about the other, they don't have to deal with the fact that their father cheated, or pressured into getting to know the girlfriend or live with a single parent. Everything is simple; family holidays, family dinners, the family routine.
There are a few plusses to  it all. If you argue with one parent, you can go to the other. Want friends over and dad says no, go to mum. Dad lives near the station, easy parking.
I dunno, it's they things that you take for granted that are the most precious.

Day 23 - Something That Many of Your Friends Have That You Envy

A boyfriend I guess?
Not really but otherwise there's nothing else they have that I wish I did. I don't really mind not having a boyfriend though, one day I will and it's not the end of the world that I don't at this point in time. However, for the sake of the ZoHan 30 Day Challenge lets just say a boyfriend is the thing my friends have that I don't that I wish I did.
That or a brother, but considering none of my friends have a twin brother (which I've always wished I'd had) that's not really something they have that I wish I did.

Day 22 - Photo of Your Backyard and/or from Your Window

So I took the 'and/or' just as a plain 'and' so voilà a photo of/from my window:

Look at my cute little butterflies stuck on the window (and I mean stuck, I tried getting them off the other day but they're literally melted onto the glass) and my books 'cause I was totally studying before I took this photo and my little cubby house, you can even see where I tried to paint it blue...or green when I was little and oh my God, THE TREES!!! Green as far the eye can see and then just sky...mainly 'cause my phone freaked out takin a photo of the slightly brighter outside from the slightly darker inside...

21

So its really hard for me to pick a favourite composer let alone a classical song. It's like picking your favourite child. I am in love with the works by Michael Nyman. He is the one who wrote the music for The Piano. I have never seen the movie, but i have the soundtrack and I learnt one of the songs; The Heart Asks Pleasure First. And one day I will get around to learning My Big Secret. Comptine D'Un Autre Ete - L'Apres Midi and La Valse D'Amelie are songs i learnt by the composer Yann Tiersen. its just beautiful. Moonlight sonata is another song that i love playing, because although so simple, it can be so hard to get right with all the accents. But i will have to say that my favourite is Clair De Lune, by Claude Debussy. It was one of the first pieces of music that I found and learned because i wanted to, not because they were in a grade book. I started learning it, just hoping to be able to play the start of the song. I had had it on my ipod on repeat and i was just in love with the song. I never thought i would be able to play the middle bit, but i managed to learn it and play it at my year 12 valadictory. It was far from perfect, but it was the first time that i realised i could pick up sheet music for a song and know i could learn it if i tried. The first time i realised i had reached the level of playing i could be proud of. It is such a fun song to play, and i play it differently each time i play it. I am ashamed to say that i have actualy forgot some of it, so now i need to relearn it....

20

When i looked to my bedside table i found no book. There's not many times in my life that this happened. So i went and got a book off my shelf that i had once read but forgot all that happened. It's called Letters from the Inside, by John Marsden. I picked it mostly because I met the author recently and i wanted to read something that he had wrote after meeting him. I kind of think that Zoe would enjoy this book. I can almost imagine her as one of the characters. It's just letters exchanged by two teenage girls. I've read a few pages. I am a bit too old for it, but I know that at the end one of the girls stops writing letters. It's really sad because in one of her last letters she talks about her brother obtaining a gun. Marsden had said that what happened at the end was obvious to him, but i think you cant help at the end but wish for the positive possibility.

Just another post about basketball...

Last weekend I suddenly came to the realisation that half the girls on my basketball team(s) that I've been playing with for 5 or 6 years I've never hugged. We're not huggy and considering the majority of the time we see each other we're sweaty and gross it's not surprising.. That's not to say we never touch each other, we're all high fives and slaps on the back and a hand up after we hit the deck, we just don't hug which I find a little strange (even despite the whole sweaty thing). Given that my school friends were/are so ridiculously huggy I find it a bit weird that I have girls I've known for years (in some cases longer than my school friends) that I've never hugged.

Last weekend, I went to a basketball game last night, sat down with half the girls from my team to watch our women's team, more affectionately known as the "Lady Cavs," a few of whom I played with on Friday night. It was their second best-of-three final and they had to win to make it to the next game which they also had to win in order to win-win. One of my teammates just looked like she needed a hug after that so I gave her a hug for the first time in the two years I've been playing with her. Additionally, another of my teammates is going overseas for four months so after our team's 'going away' lunch I gave her a hug, potentially for the firs time (but I have known her for almost 10 years so chances are we have hugged before.

The Lady Cavs didn't win last weekend, they went down by about 5 points. It was sad, the girls were upset, there were some tears and hugs all around. I don't blame them, I would've cried too, they did well to get that far, suffering injuries and losing a girl to college basketball in America. I'm proud of all of them, especially my team mates, 3 out of 4 of whom are nominated for awards in the competition. I hope they win so they at least get something other than a loss out of all their hard work.

Day 21 - Favourite Classical Song

Fur Elise. 

Just...yeah. When I had a keyboard, when I was learning piano, I half taught myself some of it and I've just always loved it. It's such a beautiful song. It makes me wish I could play piano. 

Daddy-O

I'm daddy's little girl at heart, he gives me money, buys me chocolate (won't get me a cat though!), fixes Rosie when she's broke, gets Rosie washed when she's dirty, basically does everything when it comes to my car actually...he lets me come into work late on occasion (also makes me come into work on my day off too so I guess we end up even), changes the light bulbs in my room (eventually) and kills spiders.

He also spoils me pretty much rotten.

He has this way with people though...he's a master salesman, he can sell ice to an eskimo as my mum used to say and he just makes friends everywhere. Everywhere and anywhere my dad can find a friend who's useful. Not as in he uses these people he befriends, it's a give-take type thing, sometimes he ends out on top, sometimes he doesn't. But he always makes friends, everywhere he goes he knows people's names - the Casino, the coffee shop up the road, the general store, the newsagent, he used to have stores in shopping centres and he knew the guys down the road in the shoe place, and the lady at the cafe 'round the corner. They know him too, say hi, make his drink the second the see him coming in and maybe it's just part of being a regular but I think it'd take me months to have that kind of relationship with people that he seems to form in weeks.

I envy him 'cause I just can't do that. My brother, my sister, they have that way with people, not so much as dad but they're only young too so we can maybe chalk it up to experience. Mum and I...we are so not people people...somehow I got that part from mum while my siblings got this ability to just connect with people from dad. I'm shy and quiet with strangers and going up and talking to someone randomly is about as terrifying as jumping off a cliff. I'm a lot better at it since Uni but still I'm not good with meeting new people, which kind of scares me when it comes to travelling, people say travelling is all about meeting new people and I'm no good at that!

But at the same time, he annoys the crap out of the people close to him. He does things just to annoy you, on purpose, just because he knows they annoy you. And for the most part you can take it but, like anything, sometimes you just snap.

I've come to respect him far more, partially (I think) because my above mentioned siblings showed him so little respect. He has come a long way from the little boy who couldn't speak English when he started school. He got a trade, earned money, started his own business, ran it successfully for over 20 years before the market capitulated and he had to start all over again in a completely different industry. He sent his 3 children to private schools, bought a house (on which there's still a mortgage but we've recently a) started a new business and b) renovated), always had nice cars, we have an exuberant number of TVs and by exuberant I mean one for each member of our household when only one of us actually watches TV on a regular basis. We've never struggled for money or had to cut corners, I didn't get everything I ever wanted but I didn't want for anything either.

Dad knows his stuff too (as long as it's not to do with technology) and I'd do well to listen to the wisdom he has to impart and I have learned a lot over the past 10 months both through his teaching and through the opportunities he's given me.

Thanks Daddy, for everything you've done, do and will do for me in the future.
I love you.

Happy Fathers Day

Day 19? Pretty house

A Dream House.
If I could have any house, and I wouldn't be responsible for cleaning it, it would be a big house near the coast, isolated but not far from a town, somewhere warm, probably surrounded by trees, on top of a hill. A lake house would be pretty, but i don't think it would be fun during a storm. It would probably be slightly modern, quirky looking house or something that looks very old but full of modern features. I have to say that I would have secret passages and rooms and concealed hiding places. I've probably just read Harry Potter too much, but I still think that would be pretty cool. There would be cool technology like tony stark's home and lots of glass overlooking the ocean. There would be a fireplace. No, make that multiple fireplaces. I would have a large room that would be empty apart from a black grand piano. I would have a library, an entertainment room with a pool table, and a pool and spa outside. I would have an art studio and a recording studio. A home theatre room. I would have fireman poles. (Don't say that you have never wished for one whenever you saw them on tv or whatever) I would have some sort of tree house or lookout.  And an attic, I think attics are cool. Oh and an inground trampoline....oh and a pit like the year nine building at school, but full of cushions.....i better stop now before i sound too much like a child stating every whim...

Day 20 - What Book is Sitting Next to Your Bed?

Funny you should ask...

Yep.

Admittedly, I have read several of these before and a couple of those are there for their second (or third, or fourth etc.) read and a couple of the other 'reads' just have nowhere else to live. 

So, you guys all know what my holiday project is...

If you guys get nothing else from this picture, I have one thing to say: READ BRENT WEEKS' NIGHT ANGEL TRILOGY (the fat white one on right called Shadow's Edge). Do it now. Seriously.  

Day 19 - Describe Your Dream Home

My dream home...whenever I've thought about it, what comes to mind is the house from the Notebook but I'm not entirely sure how much of that is I-want-Noah-to-build-me-a-house and how much of it is omg-that-house-is-awesome...I also love the house I live in at the moment too...

I kind of have the gist of my dream house though I guess, or at least the must haves:
- walk-in-robe, I need plenty of room for all my shoes
- double storey, preferably on top of a hill in the bush with an amazing view through a wall of glass (a-la-Tony Stark)
- big bathroom, black(ish), open shower, double sinks (coz you know I'll be living with more than my cats hopefully)
- an old style country kitchen with cupboards of natural style wood and marble bench tops but I want all the stainless steel appliances too
- a MASSIVE bed room with a huge four poster bed in some dark wood like mahogany or something. I kind of want a mosquito net too...but that might be overkill
- Dorma windows with window seats or a desk
- a massive ranch style wrap around porch
- a pool coz we's in Straya bitch, bitches get hot in Straya
- I want like a theatre room too with big comfy couches and surround sound
- and a library!! MUST HAVE A LIBRARY!
- fireplaces for the winter - nothing beats an open fire

Well they're the essentials