WTF?!

SO THIS IS WHAT BRUSSEL SPROUTS LOOK LIKE IN THEIR NATURAL STATE. AND TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, THESE HORRIFIC COLONIES OF BULBOUS MINI-CABBAGES GROW VERTICALLY FROM THE GROUND LIKE SOME SICK JOKE OF A TREE - NO WONDER NOBODY LIKES BRUSSEL SPROUTS (!!!!!)

 

I now realise  how embarrassingly insular my life has been for the past 18 years and 10 months. Someone please tell me that they are also experiencing a moment of disillusionment. 

halloween

At the start of every October, I wish that Australians celebrated Halloween. Though, to be honest, I'm one of those people who don't understand why they can't just make every party a mandatory dress up party. 

To make the Halloween situation worse, some even like to turn it into a moral and political crisis - as though wanting to celebrate Halloween means that I'm selling out to the traditions of a redneck American. 

Well let's just talk hypothetically then. If I was going to a Halloween party this year, I would dress up as Edward Scissorhands. A fairly sane and generic idea when compared to some more radical and abstract ones I have hypothetically dressed up as in previous years. The advantage of this is that I already have all necessary items for the costume (bar the simple craft project of making some scissorhands), and my hair is of the right length for teasing into a Robert Smith nest. In fact, once the novelty of the obtrusive scissorhands wore off, I could take them off and just be dressed up as Robert Smith. 

If you are lucky enough to live in country where celebrating Halloween is not only a tradition, but encouraged upon, what are you dressing up as?

olivia bee

I just discovered this 15 year old photographer about an hour ago on flickr. I don't know why I like her photos so much, maybe because of the way she uses the beautiful natural landscapes around her, or the fact that her friends all look so happy and non-contrived. The youthfulness that exudes from the pictures is so genuine and joyful, it makes me both really happy and really sad.

I guess this quote from Mad Men comes to mind:
Nostalgia - it's delicate, but potent. Teddy told me that in Greek, "nostalgia" literally means "the pain from an old wound." It's a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone.

spirit animal

"Foretelling future through dreams" I have always felt slightly psychic, despite an aversion towards crystals and incense (too kitsch).

queen amidala

Today while I was walking with Alana, I found this flower which came in the most covetable shade of orange-red. When I got home I picked off a petal to admire it individually. How striking it looked indeed! And how much more striking would it look as a lipstick shade? - I thought to myself. 

So next time I am near a Revlon counter (my preferred drugstore brand), I will be searching for something similar. Perfect for watermelon eating in summer (where do the lips end and the watermelon begin?) 

irony

I am doing my best to avoid eye contact with the young couple sitting opposite me on the train. The boy has tattooed sleeves and stretchers in his ears, he is making his girlfriend who looks like Ashlee Simpson (when she was emo) giggle a lot.

Boy: He was talking about how he got this Britney Spears t-shirt, you know, to be ironic. But I was like "Dude, the most ironic thing about that is you paid money for it".

Girl: heeheheheheee

Boy: I mean, at least I got this top for free. I wasn't going to wear if it weren't black.

Girl: Yea, I wouldn't let you wear that out if it was white.

(The top was sleeveless and had something that looked like a cartoon whale and some colourful block writing. The rest of the outfit included a pair of black shorts, skate shoes, tube socks and a black beanie despite the heat)

i love my subjects i love my subjects i love my subjects

 

Today has been a strange day. It was good because the weather was nice and I was able to wear a very light and loose top. I ordered my first iced latte for the year. My orthodontist also promised me that my braces will be coming off in December. 

But then I thought about all the exams I will have to sit through before December comes. 

Last month I bought these guarana lollipops from a funny stall. I'm going to eat them tonight and start and finish my 2000 word essay to remind myself of my superhuman scholastic abilities. 

somehow poetic

My friend showed me this site just before. It didn't take long for another friend to get perverse about it, but somehow, the end translation is quite beautiful..?

I like to fantasize about doing inappropriate things to beautiful girls that walk past me in the street.

into Japanese

私は、歩いて、美しい女の子には不適切な行為をすることについて空想するように私の通り、過去の。

back into English

I walk, the girl is as beautiful as I fantasize about doing their inappropriate behavior in the past.

back into Japanese

私は自分の過去での不適切な行動を行うと空想にふけるように美しい、女の子は歩いてください。

back into English

I do fantasize a beautiful as improper behavior in his past, girls, please walk away.

back into Japanese

私は彼の過去、女の子は、歩いてくださいには美しいとして不適切な行動を空想ありません。

back into English

I am the last of his girl, and please do not walk as a beautiful fantasy act inappropriately.

back into Japanese

私は彼の少女の、最後の美しいファンタジーの行為として不適切に歩いて行ってください。

back into English

I was his girl, please walk to the beautiful fantasy act improperly as a last resort.

back into Japanese

私は彼の少女してください最後の手段としては、美しいファンタジーの行動が不適切に歩いていた。

back into English

I as a last resort please his girl, was walking in the beautiful fantasy act improperly.

back into Japanese

私は最後の手段として、美しいファンタジー行為に不適切な歩いていた彼の女の子してください。

back into English

I as a last resort, please wrong girl was walking to his beautiful fantasy act.

back into Japanese

私は最後の手段として、下記間違えた、彼の美しいファンタジーの行動を歩いていた。

back into English

I, as a last resort, following the wrong, was walking his beautiful fantasy act.

back into Japanese

私は、最後の手段は、間違って、彼の美しいファンタジーの行動を歩いていた次のように。

back into English

I was the last resort is wrong, the following action was walking his beautiful fantasy.

back into Japanese

私は最後の手段が間違っている場合は、以下のアクションを、彼の美しいファンタジー歩いていた。

back into English

If I was wrong last resort, the following actions, he was walking in a beautiful fantasy.

back into Japanese

もし私が最後の手段が間違っていた、次の操作を、彼の美しいファンタジーの世界に歩いていた。

back into English

Last resort was wrong, I would do the following, was walking to his beautiful fantasy world.

back into Japanese

最後の手段、私は以下のように、彼の美しいファンタジーの世界を歩いていたが間違っていた。

back into English

Last resort, as follows: I was wrong was walking to his beautiful fantasy world.

back into Japanese

最後の手段として、次のとおり：私が間違っていた彼の美しいファンタジーの世界を歩いていた。

back into English

As a last resort, as follows: I was walking to his beautiful fantasy world that I was wrong.

back into Japanese

最後の手段として、次のように：私は、彼の美しいファンタジーの世界は、私が間違っていたに歩いていた。

back into English

As a last resort, as follows: I have a beautiful fantasy world, he was walking to me was wrong.

back into Japanese

最後の手段として、次のように：私は、美しく幻想的な世界が、彼は歩いていた私には間違っていた。

back into English

As a last resort, as follows: I have a beautiful fantasy world, he was walking I was wrong.

back into Japanese

最後の手段として、次のように：私は、美しく幻想的な世界が、彼は私が間違っていた歩いていた。

back into English

As a last resort, as follows: I have a beautiful fantasy world, he was walking I was wrong.

constructing a future memory

Yesterday at her friend's house, my mother was shown holiday pictures of her friend's family. Our family were in some of them, but she became distraught that she couldn't remember being there. I tell her it's ok, at least we have photographs to remind us.

This is not enough consolation. Mum panics that we didn't have any photos of her from when she had permed her hair last year, and that we never takes photos as a family anymore. She demands that we take one together right now. I tell her I've lent my camera to a friend and the other camera is out of battery. She demands I charge it right now. 

So finally at 11:30pm, we sit down on my bed in my messy room with things falling off the walls to take a quick snap. Mum was pleased with the results. 

mondays

sunday morning

When I woke up an hour earlier than the usual 8am last Sunday due to daylight savings, I heard the sound of leaking gas. It was loud, and came in bursts. Some short, some longer, almost like morse code to an untrained ear like mine. Construction does not begin this early on Sundays, so I wondered what it could be. 

Whatever was making the sound was definitely getting closer. I ducked my head under my doona and imagined some type of cyberpunk machinery landing on my roof to tell me that I am the chosen one. Eventually I pried open my eyes to look out the window, and lo and behold it was a hot air balloon just skimming past the Gatsby manor. It was much closer in reality than it appears in the photo. 

From now on, I will forever view that space above my neighbour's roof with bewilderment. 

freddy vs jason

mystery

This is my neighbour's house. Their gates are always shut, though I can often hear them having loud parties, and many times I've been tempted to drop a letter into their mailbox to ask if we could be friends, and maybe I could come over some day for a tour of their mansion. It's a very Gatsby inspired dream of mine. 

Peculiarly, in the 8 years that I've lived here, I have never seen the residents of this property. So, for the time being, the dream sustains.

bits and pieces

I feel like lately I've been on a photoblogging rampage. I'm going to have to stop here though because my exams are coming up (which means house locking myself in order to induce study-mode). 

Here are some photos from the two week break we've just had. 

I was surprised that I actually managed to double expose the flower over her face.

hIpPiE bLinG

Alana putting in her contacts...

Her costume for a circus themed ball. I suggested she go as the knife thrower with a lace blindfold. I thought the lace was a great find (we went to a bridal/fabric store), and her final look was stunning.

My friend was going away to Oxford, so she had a gathering for all our bon voyages. This is Ellen enjoying a large strawberry mock-tail. There is more to the glass, I couldn't fit it into my frame...

We had a dumpling night at Alice's house. I can now roll my own dumpling skins and make robust authentic looking dumplings - it's good to be properly Chinese. 

I think we each ate about 30 dumplings or more...Celebrity Masterchef was on TV while we gorged. 

So cute!

Posing at the train station.

I like the two blurry and happy looking girlies in the background.

There was a little shelter with yellow light. We used it as a prop to pose around.  

The only non-silly one.

Pretty, dumpling-fed faces.

If you follow my blog, you should know by now that most of my photos involve people mid-way between eating and talking. 

I let Gab take the last frame. A nice rare smiley photo, albeit out of focus and grainy and at Uni.

I just realised that the girl serving me at the photolab forgot to give me a free roll of film. I'm feeling jibbed and upset now. Time for a cup of tea and an episode of Gossip Girl or Mad Men to make things right. 

?

This morning at the market I found a fully functioning Mamiya medium format camera for $200. Unfortunately I'm a n00b at medium formats, so I forgot to check what make it was. It looked something like this though (which is a c330):

Can someone in the know tell me if that's a good deal or not...? I am tempted to go back next Sunday and see if it's still for sale...damn I hate having an expensive hobby.

femme fatale

Sherilyn Fenn puts the rest of us women to shame. I'm going to go watch Fire Walk With Me now and perhaps learn a thing or two.

recent advances

- I got new glasses after the 3 week mourning period of losing my old ones.

- My hair is now long enough for faux Heidi braids

- I introduced two new people to pho
- My friend taught me how to make dumplings.
- And I think I've grown! (163cm y'all!)