7 things i procrastinate from doing

1. Using the bathroom

2. Sleeping

3. Getting up

4. Deciding on what to eat followed by eating it

5. Putting on a jumper when it's cold

6. RSVP-ing

7. Indulging in hobbies

R.I.P

Last night I had a dream and Michael Jackson was there, dancing to Thriller. I woke up to a text saying "OH NO>> no.. Oh no manfuck. Michael died. No."

sun dial

My desk is a gratuitously large piece of furniture positioned in front of my bedroom windows. The two windows are very much like the desk in that whilst they are impressive in size, their design can only be described as simple and practical. From where I sit at my desk, I have a full view of our neighbour's backyard and the position of  the sun. 

Something which always overwhelms me is sitting at my desk for a long enough period of time to observe the gradual path of the sun across the sky (or the rotation of the earth around its axis if you want to be astronomically correct). In the mornings, the sun is positioned at the top right corner of the window on the right. As the day progresses, it travels west until it disappears past the top left corner of the window on the left. The 40cm section of wall between the two windows is a good indicator for time of day, as the sun is directly behind this region at noon. For as long as the sun is in the right window, eating breakfast foods is nothing to be ashamed of, and when the sun is in the left window, it's time to do some work if nothing has yet been accomplished.

On days where I am working towards a deadline, this awareness of the sun's position is a constant reminder of the hours remaining in the day and is thus a motivator to work more efficiently (like Monday for example when I had to learn half a semester's worth of chemistry in one day). But on relaxing days when I am just procrastinating away on my computer, the sun's position will intermittently scream "THE EPHEMERALITY OF LIFE MY NAIVE CHILD!" to my face in the form of violent beams of sunshine. Some philosophical thought on my behalf generally ensues. 


(I can't remember the source of the picture...)

stress

The magnitude of stress proceeding an exam is inversely proportional to the number of days remaining before the day of the exam. At the same time, the student's inclination to procrastinate, is the square root of the magnitude of stress. 

From this data, it is possible to set up an expression for the stress levels of a given student, prior to a major exam. We can then use implicit differentiation to observe the rate at which the student descends into madness, however, if I do this, we may have to multiply "inclination to procrastinate" by a factor of 3. 

an exam strategy to all students of chemistry

When all hope seems to be lost, just ask yourself "What would Electrons do?"

time as a slippery commodity

What happened to my week? Where did it go? Why did I allow it? Will it come back? How will I know? 

enigma

Even when Johnny is 96 and feeding intravenously, he will still be boyishly cute (albeit a very wrinkly boyishly cute). And I, in my saggy 69 year old body, will still sigh to my waning old lung's capacity.







<3

photos from Vanity Fair July issue

the possums in my roof

have come out to play.

(it is 2:53am. Can't a girl get some sleep around here!?)

that alarm

is at it again. 

(it is 2:30am)

hobby:

showing off self-mixed nail polish colours through photobooth pictures.

"Iceberg Blue" - a delicate blend of creamy beige and royal blue, complimented by a periwinkle mug and icy expression.

"Congealed Blood" - a deadly combination of deep purple and candy apple red makes for a palatable Halloween choice.  

all the time

I wish Magic Molly was an extension of my mouth. 

a little ray of sunshine - axiom

Out of all the songs which people have burst out into when I tell them my name, this is by far my favourite, and the only one I'm glad to be affiliated to. 

hana to arisu

There are quite a few directors who I'm slightly obsessed with, but the magician behind Shunji Iwai's films, Noboru Shinoda, is possibly the only cinematographer who really pulls at my heart strings. The fleetingness of youth and love often portrayed in Iwai's films would lose all subtlety if it weren't for Shinoda's mastery of visual aesthetics. How he works with light and the transition of seasons is remarkably understated, but captures the ephemerality of adolescence and emotions just perfectly(so quintessentially Japanese, but never cliche). For me, the only duo who come close to rivaling Iwai and Shinoda would be Wong Kar Wai and Christopher Doyle (although my favourite of their's, In the Mood for Love, is coincidentally most similar to Iwai's method of storytelling). 

Last night I watched the final collaboration between Iwai and Shinoda, Hana to Arisu. I say final because Shinoda passed away shortly after the film was completed. Although imdb tells me that Iwai has a few new films lined up, I'm skeptical as to if they'll ever live up to the standards of his previous work. For the time being, I'm a firm believer that it's the symbiosis between Iwai's directing and Shinoda's cinematography which breathed life into their films, but maybe I will be proved wrong...I hope so. 

If not, I can settle for buying the 11 DVD box set of all Iwai/Shinoda's past films from ebay and simply watch them over and over again. 

Here is a youtube clip of the most famous scene from the movie (Alice is auditioning for a magazine spread and the photographer, after seeing her resume which states ballet as a talent, asks her to perform for him):

a mystery

In my neighbourhood, there is an alarm that goes off at least once a week. Sometimes in the day, other times in the middle of the night. It's either a house alarm or a car alarm, and always from the same direction. It usually persists for about 5-10 minutes, although, as with most repetitive noises, it is hard to tell. 

My initial curiosity has slowly oxidised into sour indignation. If someone can offer a reasonable suggestion as to what is setting off that alarm so often, I may be able to stop ill-wishing the owners of that house/car. My latest ill-wish was for them to die from carbon monoxide poisoning from an old heater and then their bodies feasted on by rabid possums which live in between their walls and attics. 

FYI, I don't live in a seedy neighbourhood, so suggestions will have to be fairly mundane yet unexpected for me to accept them. 

calculus

After a day of studying calculus in a confined space with an overachieving heater, you can expect the following symptoms:

1) Sore eyeballs

2) Hot dry breath

3) Stomach cramps

4) A head of muddled formulas

5) Slow progress

6) Sense of impending doom

7) No-Doz curiosity

8) Existentialism 

 

this is why we're in a rut

One thing which Ecological History of Humanity has taught me is that humans do not learn from past mistakes. It's very anti-evolutionary of them to be so stubborn and non-adaptive. 

I, for one, am proof. 

we accept you, one of us!

I have a politically incorrect fascination for freaks. I had a phase when all I would do is sift through the google links to search terms such as "human freaks" or "Victorian sideshows". This might sound like I'm gloating about how quirky I am, but it's really more of a guilty confession (especially considering I want to do graduate medicine and one day specialise in psychiatry). One place I've enjoyed prowling through at my university is the medical history library, a place where I can sit and not be disturbed whilst I pour over dusty Gothic volumes on the legends and myths surrounding "monsters" and "freaks" (my favourite parts are the medieval woodcuts of bizarrely conjoined siamese twins). 

I think Diane Arbus summarises mine (and I imagine most people's) fascination towards freaks perfectly here:

"Freaks was a thing I photographed a lot. It was one of the first things I photographed and it had a terrific kind of excitement for me. I just used to adore them. I still do adore some of them. I don't quite mean they're my best friends but they made me feel a mixture of shame and awe. There's a quality of legend about freaks. Like a person in a fairy tale who stops you and demands that you answer a riddle. Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats."

A movie which I have been eagerly hoping to see one day is the notorious 1932 classic "Freaks". Has anyone seen it? What did you think?

pilgrimage

After exams finish, I will walk into the middle of nowhere. I won't think about in which direction I'm heading, nor how I'm going to get home. I will just bring a small pouch of lollies, a large waterbottle, and enough money to get me from one end of Melbourne to the other. I will walk until I have no energy left or until I'm bored, which ever comes first. 

a list of simple girly pleasures

which you would induct into your weekly routine if they didn't, in reality, cost (in terms of time, effort or money) more than they're worth:

- making your own gourmet salads

- knitting

- weekly brunch with the girls

- scrap-booking

- inventing new cupcake flavours

- baking these exotic cupcakes and sharing them with friends at themed picnics

- taking polaroid pictures of said events

- exploring your mother/grandmother's closet and reviving vintage items they no longer wear

- going for long walks during transitional seasons

- tending to your garden so that there will always be freshly cut flowers in the house

- self-manicures

- relaxing baths with scented oils 

- collecting the orange cover Penguin Classics books

- buying fresh produce from the market 

It's ok, the rest of us girls are yet to make a dint in that list as well.

photo source

why bother with med school?

I just realised that my desk is very well equipped for opening a small family clinic. There is one extensive biology textbook, one organic chemistry textbook, 5 books on contraception*, a dissection kit, antiseptic spray, half a box of antibiotics, one and a half boxes of band aids, medicinal cough lozenges, individually wrapped tissues, a roll of very strong adhesive tape(you never know), eye-drops and some kind of Chinese ointment for clearing up infections. 

There is a possibility that this mini-clinic could also provide dental/orthodontic services as there is also a pair of dainty pliers and 5 packets of orthodontic elastics (3 in the size "Cliff", 2 in the size "Chuck") askew on my medical menagerie of a desk.

* I imagine distressed and pregnant teenage girls coming to my clinic for advice so it is good to be prepared. (I also happen to be writing an essay on contraceptive methods throughout history. And yes, my library borrowings are looking somewhat seedy due to those 5 books.)

omg marry me

Picture from dear Matthew(Gray Gubler that is)'s own myspace.