a sensible thought

Recently I have been very into the idea of giving organic gifts. I was browsing through a nursery a few days ago looking for something suitable for mother's day, and upon stumbling into the courtyard at the back, I felt something which I can only described as "inner peace". So my conclusion is I should work at a nursery, or at least a florist. It would do me good.

employment

Finally, I have a job. It involves tutoring English to a 23 year old Korean boy(or do you start calling them 'men' by that age..?) three times a week for an hour each session. So far we have established that he can only understand 30% of what I am saying, I can only understand 60% of what he is saying, but he thinks I look "good and kind" so what is there to worry about?

As of next week, I will be able to cover the following personal expenses:

- coffee

- lunch 

- monthly train ticket 

- something very small and cheap

Barely self-sufficient at all, but I know what types of jobs to look for now. I am hoping to double my weekly wages, if I can do that I will also be able to cover: 

- photographic expenses

- on sale clothes

- other extraneous but never-the-less indispensable items such as birthday gifts, attractive trinkets etc.

Tomorrow is my first lesson. 

jon edwards

Jon Edwards is my favourite polaroid photographer. I think he is 19 and Canadian, but I'm not sure. There is something magical and elusive about both his work and himself. It's a pity his flickr gallery is now locked, but trust me he is ah-mazing. I am waiting for him to be less secretive, but I doubt it would ever happen, and even if it did, I think it would detract from his appeal.

class of 2006

It's ridiculous how much I can't get over this shoot by Paolo Roversi for British Vogue February 2006. Roversi is, hands down, my favourite fashion photographer. It's rare that he does a shoot as colourful and playful as this.

a one bedroom apartment

When no one else is at home, I like to embellish on my sense of loneliness by enveloping myself in the following stimuli: the Amelie soundtrack and words by Dallas Clayton. 

I also paint my nails an understated colour, so I feel less guilty about acting dramatic.

fan girls

Today I was meeting Jayne at GPO, where out of no where there was Scott Schuman (the Sartorialist) and Garance Doré leaning casually over the third level balcony. We decided to be weird and went up to them to say hi and blabber words of admiration. Scott shook hands with us and introduced us to Garance, who was interested in the shopping bag Jayne was holding (she had heard of the shoe shop and was interested in where it was). They told us where they had lunch, and we told them where else they should try. Then rather awkwardly we left feeling inexplicably disappointed. A culmination of spotting them without even trying, but then not being invited to follow them around for the rest of the day to see how they work (ok, I was not really expecting them to extend such a gesture). 

I can only hope that next time I bump into them I'm without my gumboots and old woolly sweater. The wet straggly hair probably was not too chic either. 

PS: Garance is even more gorgeous in real life, and Scott's camera is not as big/fancy as I imagined.  

apocalypse

When Egon Schiele paints, his world is foreboding, melting, fragmented and collapsible. You can not view any one of his paintings without a sense of anxiety.

the horror

Outwardly, fairly normal.

But open my mouth and you get this "Are her teeth melting?"-effect. WHY YES, I AM GOING TO EAT YOU.




And because I'm starting to really desperately just want my braces off, I am actually going to abide by the orthodontist's orders. Two hideous elastics in my already metal filled mouth it is. 24/7. 

The best part is I overheard a 14 year old girl on the train today boasting about how she's already had braces, and has moved on to a plate. I never saw the day I would be jealous of a peep squeak and her plate. Oh woe is I!

revel in its panda-y goodness

If I'm a stay-at-home-mum with lots of cute half Japanese babies in 20 years time, I am definitely feeding them this for lunch, every-single-fucking-day. 

all about lily chou-chou

I am addicted to movies about 13 year olds who live in a world of their own. Shunji Iwai does this best in All About Lily Chou-Chou. I am in love!

chicken soup for the soul

We had this little hen for a while. She was a gift from my mum's aunt, who had quite a few chooks at her farm. For a few weeks, we kept the hen in the courtyard of my grandma's apartment. She was pretty tough as chickens go, in fact we'd thought she was a small rooster until she started laying an egg each day. When I went out each morning, I promised that I'd take a photo of her before she was made into chicken soup, but somehow I always forgot. We'd have kept her as a pet if there was more room, but inevitably her life was over the day she was given to us. I think they slaughtered her a few days after I left for Melbourne. 

I remember when I was about 8, the same great aunt gave us a rooster. He was also slaughtered and eaten a week later. My cousin and I sat at the dinner table both disgusted and tempted by the wafts of delicious smells. But we kept our integrity and didn't eat a bite. The next day we found some of the bird's feathers and buried them solemnly in a nearby construction site. 

There is something about the hopeless deaths of those chickens that disturbed me. I have a theory that this is a reflection of my fear of my own mortality. 

"La Mere Poule" by Picasso

pony

One thing I'm very eager to do with my future long hair is to tie it into a life size pony tail*.



It's such a blasé way of showing off the impressive length of one's tresses.



*a pony tail equivalent in length to the tail of an actual pony

one week is not enough

I need an excuse to stay in bed for a few more days and do nothing but sleep, read, watch movies and drink tea. 

It's been a pathetic Easter break.

audio preview

A lot of you probably remember seeing this little comic on xkcd. I am possibly very dimwitted, but I've just realised that Youtube does in fact have the 'audio preview' function now.

at the dinner table

The little toddler, barely two years of age, sat on her high chair furrowing in her mum's bag. It was becoming a long meal, as often the case when copious glasses of wine are involved. She brandished out an unused nappy and with great concentration began unwrapping it. One by one, the voices on the table die down as all eyes turn to the nappy on the dinner table. For a few split seconds, there are only expressions of concern, but soon a dozen smiles emerge like a Mexican wave as it becomes obvious that the nappy is, in fact, not used. The toddler stops playing with the sticky tab and gives the rest of the table a proud grin. A few chuckles break before everyone erupts into roaring laughter. She laughs along, but soon detects a sense of alienation, which she does not like. Her little lips purse together and begin to quiver as her face turns bright red. Suspense builds as the laughter subsides. The dramatic finale is finally delivered when the toddler bursts into a howling fit of tears.

I am left stunned: how is it that this little fluffy haired two year old knows the difference between "laughing with you" and "laughing at you" while I still falter at such subtleties?