Procrastination.

I'm in the middle of finals/exams at the moment and once again the procrastination bug has bitten. I absolutely cannot focus. So here I am writing a rather pointless blog about nothing particular interesting. The problem I guess is not so much that I can't focus, but more the fact that having finally gotten around to completing one of my essays I have this over-inflated sense of accomplishment and feel I deserve break.

It's funny how being completely and utterly bored can motivate someone to sit down and actually get something done. That was me yesterday. I got called into work and was in an office all by myself for 4.5 hours. It was almost eerie sitting there all by myself. Even more eerie when the phone rang and pierced the silence. Despite the eeriness it would seem that, that amount of time spent in relative silence and isolation makes for perfect conditions to start and finish an essay.

Random Post #13923

It's been a while since I've posted. I've decided I am really bad at this blogging business, but to be honest I haven't really had much to say the past couple of weeks. With the end of semester looming near, I've spent most of my time madly catching up on uni readings. The good news is that my arm is much better. The hideous bruise has disappeared, it took a while and at one stage faded to a weird green colour, which reminded me of mould on bread (random, I know). But it's gone now. I'm back to driving myself around, for the most part (freedom, hurrah!).

Every semester around exam time I get incredibly contemplative. This year being my final year of uni I keep thinking about what I want to do next year. I didn't apply for any graduate jobs, in fact I'm not even sure if the corporate world is for me. I'm thinking of taking a year off to "find myself" and to travel. Ultimately, I hate making decisions, and this is one that gives me a migraine. Who knows where I'll end up, but in my incredibly contemplative state I agreed to a rather drastic hair style change over the weekend and now find myself with a fringe. Not sure if I like it yet, or maybe it's just the fact that every time I see my reflection I don't recognise myself. Either way lesson learnt: when in a weird contemplative state of mind DO NOT make ANY decisions, including hair style changes.

Walking Disasters.

As I sit here struggling to type this blog with only one hand. I'm contemplating how on earth I became one of 'those' people...you know, the ones that are always losing things, running late and injuring themselves. Walking disaster is another way to describe such individuals. Well, it would seem somewhere along the line I joined the ranks of all the others.

My latest disaster is a muscle strain injury to my right arm. For several days (through my own stupidity) I dismissed the pain stemming from this bruise as being 'no big deal'...

As it turns out, I've severely strained the muscles in my arm and wrist. I cannot drive or carry heavy things...and by heavy I really mean anything because even holding my iPhone hurts. I now realise most normal people would not ignore a bruise that looks THAT bad. Everyone who has seen it has been baffled as to why I didn't see a doctor sooner. In fact, I'm wondering that myself...So now, here I am, with an arm that resembles an encased sausage of sorts.

The only plus to come out of the situation is that I have been able to justify taking time off from uni to "rest" (read: catch up on episodes of Boardwalk Empire). Hope you're all having a better week than me!

iPad 2

Having been busy with work and uni the past couple of weeks I haven't had much time for my poor blog. As a result of being so busy there isn't anything particularly exciting to write about. So I'll share the tale of last Friday when I decided to finally indulge myself and buy an iPad 2.

I have wanted an iPad since the first one was released but I kind of decided to save for a holiday instead - but since I'm no longer saving for anything in particular, on a whim I decided, why not finally get one. Of course, I took the normal person route and ordered it online rather than lining up for insane amounts of time outside an Apple store. Apparently, one guy (who I might add, already owns an iPad 2) was out there for 50 hours. I saw these crazies on my way to work Friday afternoon and couldn't believe the lines and the camping equipment around!!

Anyway, while I patiently await the arrival of my iPad 2 sometime in April I decided to buy a pouch to store it in. Slightly sad, but I was in one of my favourite stationery stores, kikki.K, and couldn't resist.

Pretty, no? (okay, I'll admit, it looks A LOT better in real life)

Then, when I arrived home a little while ago, I found this waiting for me...

Seems it was a day for iPad 2 accessories to enter my life lol. It's mildly ironic that I have a cover and a pouch for a product I don't yet have. Oh well, I guess in the meantime I can look at them and think of the awesomeness that will be the iPad 2 :)

Random.

Wow. I can't believe it's been 2011 for 10 days already. Today marks the first day of the new year in which I am actually at home and just chillin' out. I haven't had much time to blog lately and have been feeling rather uninspired. To sum up my year so far:

- I have worked to the point where I may scream the next time a person says "you must love seeing the show every night" or "oooh you're so lucky to work here" because when 50 different people say that I don't feel lucky, I just feel irritated and mildly annoyed.

- I have said goodbye to two of my closest friends as they leave ol' Sydney town to embark on what I'm sure will be grand adventures.

- I have dined out almost everyday of this new year, and had some really great food. But now all I want is a home-cooked meal.

- I have festival-ed at Sydney Festival First Night (yes, I realise festival-ed is not a real word but since my brain is having trouble functioning and for lack of a better word I'm rolling with it).

- I have attempted to re-enrol in uni but it would seem they don't want me to return. I'm half tempted to take that as a sign that I should skip it and just travel...maybe?

And now here I am today, exhausted and feeling like I need a year off from my life.

Amongst all the 'busy' that has been 2011 for me so far there are a few exciting things coming up in my life in the near future. So maybe I'll return to blogland then, but in the meantime I'm taking a blog hiatus. Hope everyone is having a great 2011 so far!

I wonder...

The past couple of weeks of my life can only be summed up as being absolutely chaotic. When my life gets as crazy and chaotic as it has been (this past week in particular) there are two ways I react. I either get mildly hysterical and anxious about everything or I adopt this weird, eerily calm demeanor. At the moment I'm in that place of calm, but what usually happens during this weird period of calmness, is that I get incredibly contemplative and ponder the really strange and insignificant things in life.

This past week as I travelled along the M2 (for those of you unfamiliar with this road, it's a major motorway that travels through the north/north-western suburbs of Sydney). I've travelled this motorway almost everyday for 4 years and there's one thing that I've often wondered about. In morning peak hour when you get onto the M2, heading towards the City, you are lucky to be able to travel 5km/hr. Most of the time the traffic is at a stand-still. And then you reach the Epping tunnel and BAM! Everyone is suddenly able to speed up and drive on the max. speed of 100km/hr.

I don't get it. How can everyone be inching along at 5km/hr for kilometres and kilometres, and then two-seconds later (as you exit the tunnel) everyone is able to drive at 100km/hr. Where does all the traffic go? Does some Fringe-like occurrence happen whereby half the cars are sucked into a parallel universe, therefore freeing up space on the motorway so that the traffic can resume normal speeds?

It's pretty random, but I've thought about this on occasion the past 4 years, but in my contemplative state this week it really got me thinking. I'm sure there's a logical explanation. I just wonder what it is.

NB: For those of you unfamiliar with Fringe, I'm referring to this.

Bullying.

This past week I've been reading a lot about the teen suicides in the US that were a result of bullying and I can't help but feel incredibly sad while thinking about what an incredibly cruel place the world can be.

Bullying is a huge issue not only in the US but in Australia too. The saddest thing about it is that not a lot is often done (or even said) about it. In many cases those being bullied feel completely helpless and even worse many find the only way out is suicide. The case that has made the biggest headline recently is that of Tyler Clementi, an 18 year old student at Rutgers University who was driven to suicide after he was outed as being homosexual by his roommate who secretly taped and streamed his sexual encounter with another male online. After reading about this I felt sickened and appalled. What sick and heartless human being does this to someone? What makes a bully feel justified in carrying out such a vicious attack on another individual? It is simply heartbreaking that an innocent was driven to take his own life because of the cruel and careless actions of another.

I've never shared this openly before, but when I was younger I was bullied. Growing up I have always been incredibly reserved and somewhat shy. This can make me seem socially awkward when I'm around people that I don't know all that well, when in truth once I get to know someone I can be incredibly outspoken - in fact my nickname from my family since I was 3 years old is 'chatterbox'. Sadly though coming across as quiet and socially awkward led to some people finding it justifiable to taunt and make fun of me - and just be plain horrible. The worst part was realising that my supposed best friend never stood up for me and actually found it "kind of funny". This same 'friend' actually ended up being a huge cause of misery for me as they were reflecting their own insecurities on me and constantly putting me down, making me feel like a complete 'loser' who had to prove myself. Needless to say my self-esteem took a massive hit, and even today I'm incredibly cautious about the people I surround myself with. While I never came out and spoke about my experience to anyone, including my family, I somehow made it through - perhaps it was the sheer determination of proving all those people wrong and the fact that I wanted (and still want) so much more in life. Unfortunately, many people aren't so lucky to come out the other side of being a victim of bullying, and I understand only too well how hard it is to talk about it and ask for help.

Whether the bullying be a result of sexual orientation, race, religion or some other factor, it is completely unacceptable and something needs to be done. For the moment it seems that raising awareness about the issues surrounding bullying in society, and offering support to those that may otherwise feel completely helpless and alone while experiencing bullying is a step in the right direction. The campaign supported by US talk show host Ellen Degeneres in conjunction with The Trevor Project is an example of a positive and much needed action against bullying (especially for LGBTQ youth).

I can only hope that the teen suicides that have plagued the media this past week shows other youths that they are not alone and that there is support out there even if all they feel is a complete sense of helplessness and despair.

Tulips, Parades and the Elephant Boy.

Just got home from a wonderful day out with the family. We decided to go for a bit of a drive down to Bowral for lunch, and it just so happens that the locals were in the midst of celebrating their annual Tulip Time Festival.

For lunch we stopped in at the Elephant Boy Cafe. The cafe has a quirky decor, filled with all sorts of odds and ends, and shelves lined with old books.

The food is (for the most part) really good. I opted for the Vegetable Lasagna was supremely tasty with it's fusion of Indian and Italian flavours - while it had a traditional bechemel sauce it was spiced with a lovely pancha masala.

My dad and sister tried the Fish Cakes (made from Salmon and Potato), which is a dish Elephant Boy is quite popular for. I, of course, could not resist and stole a bite from their plates and decided that they were indeed absolutely delicious.

Because I had trouble deciding what to order my mum decided to get the Sweet Potato Tart so that we could share and I could have both the lasagna and tart. It too was spiced with some uniquely Indian flavour and with the accompanying Mango Chutney was incredibly tasty.

After lunch we decided to go for a bit of a wander around the main street and check out all the stores we like to visit whenever we head to Bowral. Despite the fact that I'm in the middle of a mission to save money for a holiday I couldn't help myself and had to buy something. I opted for a little bar of Herbal Clothing Protector. I figured it was practical, protecting my clothes from potential moth infestations, and so it justified the spend.

Then my sister and I went into one of the many antique stores. There is simply so much character and history behind each piece, I love it!

While we were out on our little wander we noticed the street was beginning to fill up with locals, and it was then that we discovered that today was in fact the main day of the Tulip Festival, and because they were celebrating it's 50th year there was going to be a parade through town. The parade itself was pretty standard, showcasing the organisations and things that make the Southern Highlands unique.

Following the parade there was going to be wheelbarrow races and lantern parades but we decided it was time for a break from festival-watching and decided to grab some coffee and cake instead. We usually head to the Bowral Cafe and Patisserie, but having enjoyed our earlier meal at Elephant Boy we decided to head back there. Sadly, this second visit was a bit of a let down. We ordered our coffees, as well as a slice of Carrot Cake and a slice of Pear and Almond cake to share. When they arrived we were shocked to discover that there was in fact mould on the Pear and Almond cake. This put a major dampener on our afternoon.

Despite the mould debacle the coffees were in fact really good, living up to the claim on the door that they have "the best coffee in town". Predictably I ordered a Chai Latte, and not only was it perfectly made it came in a little bowl, which I thought was pretty neat - even if it did present a slight challenge when it came to drinking it.

All in all it was pretty great day :)

Good News!

I have just been informed of some wonderful news that has literally made my week.

It seems Starbucks Australia has FINALLY brought out Earl Grey Tea Lattes. I cannot describe how happy this makes me. I literally lived on the stuff during my time in NYC. Since returning to Sydney I've been settling for the Starbucks English Breakfast Tea Latte, which sadly just does not quite live up to the greatness of the Earl Grey one.

Here's hoping it tastes similar to those that I consumed during my time overseas. I'm not expecting it to be exactly the same because there simply is no comparison to sitting inside a Starbucks cafe (in one of the greatest cities in the world!), sipping an Earl Grey Tea Latte and watching the snow fall outside. Bliss.

My Last Weekend of Freedom...

...well for a long while anyway. This week signals 'back to work' for me, which means that this weekend was essentially my last weekend to do relaxing, fun things for myself - as I mainly work weekends at my theatre job.

Sadly, my weekend was not filled with much fun but was instead consumed with university assessments with a side of stress *sigh*. Despite the boringness there are a few lovely things that have cheered me up through this rather glum time.

This is lovely thing #1 - a wonderful beauty powder that is scented like peonies and has the fluffiest little powder puff ever! I've always wanted a powder like this, I've always thought they were so classic and feminine. Growing up I always used to sneak into my parent's room and head to my mother's dresser to play with her makeup, but especially with her tin of beauty powder. Though I think this one is infinitely better, and based on the scent I think peonies might even be my new favourite flower.

Lovely thing #2 that cheered me up was this necklace that I found during a brief study break/trip to the shops. I always tell myself that I don't need any more dress jewellery but then I always see something and cave, as I did with this. For months I've been slowly piecing together all the elements for the outfit that I will be wearing to my sister's graduation ceremony in September. In April, for instance, I ordered the most perfect dress from my favourite US department store, then in June I ordered a pair of heels from the same department store. All that was left was accessorising the outfit, and I think this necklace is going to go perfectly with the dress.

Last but not least, lovely thing #3 was this dress that arrived on Friday (not technically the weekend but whatever), it's the product of my latest online shopping adventure.

I personally don't think that the picture does the dress justice, I'll be the first to admit that I almost didn't buy it because of the picture. The dress is a Mexicali (Mexican-inspired) dress, with some wonderful embroidery on the sleeve. It is made from super light cotton that will no doubt make it perfect in the sweltering heat of summer. Now I just have to wait for the weather to warm up...

Writer's Block

I am currently experiencing writer's block. Both in working on my many university essays, as well as just in general expressing myself - i.e. in the form of blog posts.

Usually I am filled with focus and am able to tap out assignments easily, as well as write music rather easily - as I often like to do (it's one of my many favourite ways to pass time, be creative, and take a break from the craziness of uni/work/life). Right now, however, I'm struggling to express myself. My thoughts just feel jumbled and nonsensical.

Hopefully, I'll overcome this writer's block soon. Especially with essay deadlines looming! Until then I'll refrain from posting my weird and random thoughts that are currently struggling to escape my mind, and are only achieving this in ways that make little to no sense.

Just another not-so-ordinary day in the life of A

I should have known that today was going to be rather eventful when my alarm clock failed to wake me up on time, and made me late for my class. Another sign should have been my nose deciding to bleed, an occurrence that I have been lucky to avoid since I left my primary school days behind (until today that is).

The day seemed to redeem itself when I caught up with my lovely friend R for lunch. Even the fact that the bagel place (which I have previously mentioned here) decided to disappoint us with their lack of blueberry and apple-cinnamon bagels didn't ruin the day too much - especially since it led to the consumption of a lovely Smoked Salmon sandwich. But how a bagel place runs out of bagels before the lunch rush even begins is something I will never quite understand...

After a leisurely lunch and catch up it was time for me to head back to campus and head home. I got to the car feeling hopeful since the traffic looked good and I it seemed I would get home in good time. And that my friends is where the day went bad, very bad!!

As I sat behind the wheel getting ready to leave I noticed this yellow envelope on the windscreen.

These yellow envelops are the kind that can make your heart stop dead in its tracks. I frantically jumped out the car to grab it, my mind racing to think of how or why I could possibly have been fined by the university's security patrol. I was parked within the marked lines AND I have a valid parking permit.

Surprisingly (and thankfully) it was empty, and that's when I noticed it had something scrawled on the back.

The kind security staff had left me a note to say that they had noticed one of my tyres was "low". As I jumped out to inspect the tyre it wasn't just low, it was absolutely flat and punctured. Swallowing the rising panic in my throat as I turned into a walking stereotype of a helpless female driver who cannot change a tire I called my sister to get a bit of reassurance. Then I called up roadside assistance, and to be quite honest I have never been more happy and appreciative of the work of the lovely NRMA than today.

It turns out that a nail had pierced the tyre, not too surprising when I remember that the university is essentially a big construction zone. The NRMA representative replaced the tire with the spare. The spare tyre as I discovered is of the temporary kind and has a speed limit of 80km/h. I miss the good old days where car manufacturers gave you a real spare, instead they now leave you with something that doesn't look remotely stable enough to support a car. My feeling of trepidation was not helped by the NRMA guy who remarked that these new kind of spare tyres never look strong enough.

The good news is that I got home safe. The bad news is that the flat tyre has to be fixed or replaced ASAP, until then my car will be useless.

On a more serious note...

Okay, so this blog post has been a couple days in the making. I've been having trouble trying to come up with the right words to express what I'm thinking and feeling about certain recent world events. I'm sitting here finishing up my human rights law readings for the week, and each time I read an article I am left reeling with a sense of incredible sadness, which has only been compounded by current events in the world.

Growing up I've always been the strong one in my family, I hardly ever cry when sad things happen (not because I don't feel emotion but because I've always been good at keeping it in). I definitely DO NOT cry in front of others.

But recently (or rather in recent years) something has changed, the more aware I've become of the world's problems, and the suffering of millions living in poverty-stricken conditions, and the inherent human rights abuses occurring every second around the world, I've become a sap. I cannot help it, but every time I see someone who is suffering or in need I get really emotional (ask any one of my family members and they'll agree). I know that it's impossible for me to single-handedly fix the world's problems (although I wish I could) but if I can simply help bring about awareness of various issues, then I think that is one simple (albeit small) move in the right direction.

This past week has made me particularly sad as I've read about and watched images of the devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan. The suffering is heartbreaking, and while part of me feels like breaking down in tears the other part of me is confused at the bureaucracy that does nothing to help those in need.

Just this week, Ban Ki-Moon the United Nations Secretary General visited the affected areas and proclaimed it to be one of the worst natural disasters in a while (even worse than the Haiti earthquakes and the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004), and urged the need for faster aid and assistance. Many nations, including Australia have already committed foreign aid and have sent food, shelter, medical supplies and the man power needed to help those affected. What angers me, however, is how heartless and ignorant the government of Pakistan is. Sure they've got their army helping foreign aid agencies like the Red Cross (and Crescent) but their leader is busy traipsing off on foreign visits, instead of staying in the country that needs him most during this devastating time.

It's all so incredibly sad :( There are many articles on the floods, but this one was particularly sad to read and look at...it's available here but I must warn the pictures are absolutely heartbreaking.

Donations are currently being taken via the United Nations (UNHCR) website here and the Red Cross website here.

The Quarter Life Cooks.

Today I stumbled across a lovely little blog called Big Girls Small Kitchen...Okay, I'll confess I didn't quite stumble, I was commanded to check it out by one of my all-time favourite cooks, the fabulous Ina Garten. So I did.

The blog follows the cooking and entertaining adventures of 'The Quarter-Life Cooks' (aka Cara and Phoebe). These two lovely young ladies share recipes and tips, many of which are designed to help fellow 20-something-year olds who may just be finding their feet in the kitchen, so that they too can cook and entertain for their families and friends.

In late-2009 the girls announced that their blog has spawned a book deal. But until that book (which will undoubtedly be filled with scrumptious recipes) is released, you can check out their blog and delicious food ideas here.

Kids' Books

It's a widely known fact that I love books, as I have a tendency to mention it to everyone and anyone that will listen. I do not discriminate...Well, that's not entirely true I discriminate against books that can't keep my interest past that chapter (aka boring and poorly written books), but doesn't everyone?

However, since waving goodbye to my teen years I began wondering how old is too old to be reading young adult fiction - as this is the genre that many of my current favourites fall into. Unsure, I've often found myself keeping quiet about my love for young adult fiction worried that perhaps I was supposed to have outgrown the genre by now.

You can only imagine how happy I was to come across an article by Pamela Paul in the New York Times (which can be found here). It is a wonderful article that reassured me that I am not alone, and that there are many adults (of all ages) who enjoy reading those books that are targeted towards children and 'young adults'. So next time I feel embarrassed and am tempted to hide my young adult fiction books deep at the bottom of my bag, I'll instead carry them around and read them proudly :)

Update.

This is a brief post about a few random unrelated things.

First up, I finished reading Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (previously mentioned here) and I have to say it is one of the best books I have ever fished out of the discount bin. It was a clever, beautifully written story. Worth way more than the mere $5 I paid for it. So my dear friends if you ever see it lying amongst your local bookstore's discount books I recommend you buy it ASAP and give it a read!

Second, I was excited to read that Pretty Little Liars (also previously mentioned here) made it to no.1 on the NY Times Bestsellers List this week.

Finally, I've been listening to a song by Kina Grannis that I came across during one of my breaks at work this week. It's a quirky little song called Message From Your Heart that just got stuck in my head and is refusing to leave me alone, so I thought I'd post about it. It's written from the perspective of a heart. The song was an entry in a competition that saw the winning video (aka Kina's video) "Crash the Super Bowl" and as such was played in the middle of the 2008 Super Bowl grand final. Check it out here.

Holidays.

Today marks the last day of my uni holidays and it has me wondering where exactly time went. The holidays seem to have flown right by and I feel like I need another break just to recover. These past few days have been particularly exhausting, with so much going on at the bookstore (we've been in preparation for the start of semester 'rush'), as well as on the home front with the installation of our new oven, which ended in the partial demolition of one of our walls.

The highlight of the weekend has been my rediscovery of my love for pretzels. I had the most delicious Swiss Cheese Pretzel yesterday as an after-work treat. As a result, I embarked on yet another online shopping spree for books, one of which is a Pretzel cookbook. Cannot wait to get it!

Another highlight, though not quite up there with the pretzels was watching Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, which was surprisingly a fantastic movie. I didn't know what to expect but it was so interesting that it managed to snap me out of my fatigued state - in fact I like it so much, that I've decided to read the books and ordered the box set of the Percy Jackson series as part of my online shopping spree. I definitely recommend it as a movie to watch.

Well, I expect I'm going to be M.I.A for much of the next week, lost somewhere between classes and 8 hour shifts at the bookstore. So until next time...

Monday.

Today has been a fairly great day. It began with an exciting morning, which saw the arrival of our beautiful new fridge and oven (to replace our deceased fridge and currently dying oven).

Then I caught up with my lovely friend R (not to be confused with previously mentioned cousin R) and we hit up one of my regular haunts - the T2 Cafe. Today I had the Madagascan Vanilla tea. This is a delicious black tea blend that is flavoured (and scented) with a delicate hint of vanilla. In addition to their wonderful selection of teas, T2 seems to have expanded the range of food items offered in their cafe, and they now have a tasty Organic Pear and Raspberry Loaf (and for those with particular dietary requirements, it is also gluten free!).

The day was traveling well and after bidding farewell to R I tried my luck in tending to some University business at the Student Office. Big Mistake #1. The lines were unbelievably long and the staff really unhelpful (there is a major communication issue!).

After what seemed like an eternity I emerged from the Student Office, and another genius thought struck me. I decided to head to the bookstore and pick up my textbooks. Big Mistake #2. With all my books rounded up I was faced with a major dilemma, together they weigh several kilograms and with an umbrella in hand getting them to the car seemed near impossible.

Here is my stack of books (which have added fuel to my existent dislike for textbooks of all shapes and sizes).

I may have won the battle against the books this time, having successfully got them home, but now I'm faced with a far greater problem - getting them to and from classes. Wish me luck!