Trip related goodness

In 13 hours I'll be flying alongside the lovely Ms Dotter on what is the maiden voyage of our trip. Not sure if that made sense entirely, but you know what I mean.

First flight we're catching together to begin 3 weeks of each other, the UK, winter and FUN! The last one is a non negotiable. Hehehe, poor Kris has no idea what she's in for.. it shall be fun indeed.

In silly news, the hogmenay tickets havent arrived yet. This doesnt bode well for our NYE, but Ive double and triple checked the details they sent me and its possible we're one of the ones to pick upour tix at the doors.. hmm shall be interesting no doubt. We'll work something out, not too stressed, there are still many tickets out there.

All our hotels were sorted, agent152 is very resourceful and solved all last minute dilemmas that arose with Vicarage, now there should be no problems bar the usual food ones we'll face. Soup, here we come!

Kris arrives later tonight, mum shall take us to the airport tomorrow morning - yep the dreaded 4am check-in session. And at 6am we fly. Off into the sunrise, quite literally.

I shall miss you all. Yes, even you in the back there. If you've given me your address, rest assurred the drunken postcards will begin arriving soon.. I have a reputation to protect after all =-)

If you haven't, well, arent you missing out then.

If there be internet access, and if time permits, I shall update that which agent152 and I get upto.. or down too. If not, you'll have to hold out like everyone else for the stories when we return.

Its snowing in London. Score!

Evenin' fellow bloggites, have yourselves a lovely holiday season and party well!

The wisdom of Drusilla

Her heart pounded and butterflies roamed free - all through her body the vibration of both made her want to throw up. Anxiety is a small word for any kind of first. The first time you public speak, the first time there are introductions, the very first meeting between two strangers.

Dru wasn't too keen on any of this. The thoughts 'why was this happening' and 'how can I get out of this' were running around and around in a huge spiral of this and that through her mind. Somethings are difficult no matter what you say and force yourself to think, meeting a boy you've only spoken to on the phone and online is one of these.

He was awesome. Starting from his shoes and ending with his hair, it was all pretty fantastic. No white trainers [yep, Mon], no skinny jeans, none of that black eyeliner and definitley no ebony dyed hair. With a sense of humour to boot. How on earth was she meant to keep her hands and mouth to herself NOW?

The first time they met, there was a trip to the amusement park - which ended up being closed. Never fear, they ambled along the harbour and piers talking. Rambling from one topic to the other with an ease she hadn't felt with anyone in a long time. It was like lightening in slow motion.

The first time ended on a great note. He was laughing and she was smiling.

She coudn't stop herself from wanting to meet him again. They made plans for the next week. Chuckles. This time he was making the plans, and she hoped perhaps this time, things would go according to plan.

Not that plans and their failure had mattered all that much last time anyway.

But you are not a Jedi, yet.

Clearly my binge on Pirates and Jedi's is spilling over into my other worlds. Superhumans have always held a special kind of sway over me.

Last week involved the last of the rituals, then Dorian Gray on Tuesday evening with Mon and Binks. Loved Dorian!! Ben Barnes is brilliant form of humanity. Physically speaking of course =) His acting wasn't too bad either.

This weeks laser tag session has been cancelled, far too many people were busy and doing other people to come. Sigh. In brighter news, there are still quite a few number of things on this week: Movies with Brad late in the afternoon tomorrow, Wednesday at 152's, Wednesday evening dinner with Rosie. Thursday a surprise activity - for him, not me- with Simon. I know!! How cool is it, I have a friend called Simon now.. yep, Em there shall be epic Si-Mon jokes to come. Friday work and then Green Day with Binks. Phew. If I survive all that, work again on Saturday.

The only real downer in all this is that Ive managed to pull a muscle again! I know, second time in two years. Not a record I wanted to set, believe me. Therapy everyday till Friday and then some. SIGH.

Next week, Saturday, agent152 and I fly to London! Yay! Its come up on so quickley.. we only booked the tickets like two days ago. Oh and we found a lovely hotel, Blooms near the West End to spend xmas in. Yep, all well and good on that score.

Before that, Ive made plans with my cousin Rosie on Wednesday - next week- and Thursday lunch with 152 and Janne. Yep, not stretching myself too thin at all =p

Alright, thats all from me now. Might try out the first part of my NaNoWriMo story later on here.. for the moment, I await Luke's hand being destroyed with the lines, "I am your father, Luke."

Noooooooooooooooo............

Paint it Yellow!

Im not very patriotic. In fact Im not patriotic at all. That is fair to say. As much as I hate making these posts entirely personal, the above is best explained if we get a tad below the skin - so to speak.

So far as I understand it, patriotism stems from a love of one's nation. The emotion buried within [some] people that propels them to want to do something for one's country, for the land that you live in and that is essentially what classifies you as a certain...[type?] of person.

I was born in Australia. Ive lived here for almost 23 years now. That equals to half a lifetime provided I die at about 46. That must be the average life expectancy in some country somewhere, Im sure.

My mothers of Indian descent and we speak Hindi and a hybrid language I refer to as Hinglish. Combination of Hindi nouns and English verbs. Yes, interesting language that is. Other than that Ive taken a strong liking of sanskrit since I was younger, there's something about the way the words flow and sound so incredibly noble as the word rolls of your tongue. Difficult to explain until you've understood the nounce of each word. Regardless, we're talking patriotism now.

Paint it Yellow! [The exclamation is required] Or Rang De Basanti, is a film about five kids at Delhi University who realise the true meaning of patriotism when a British journalist comes into their carefree existence.

To begin with, there are several complications to this story from the onset, apart from my overthinking nature, it seemed to me the second time that I saw this, that it was a tad distasteful to have a Britisher have to remind Indians [the same lot who were ruled by them] of their heritage and the sacrifice many made for a free India.

Particularly as the freedom fighters our British Sue is interested in are Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad etc, who were all fighting for freedom from the British Raj. The third time I saw this film, I rethought this point of view. Since then, Ive come to realise that it doesn't so much matter who causes the realisation to occur to so much as that the realisation actually occurs. 

My second bone of contention with the film is that the conclusion of the protagonists and the film: the death of them seems to be sending out the wrong message. Sure, they go from a 'who-gives-a-damn' attitude to, 'no-nation-is-perfect, each of us has to help make it so' with an incredibly convincing ride, and there is absolutely no preaching, or no one, myself included could have sat through it. However the fact that they die post changing their attitudes and focus, to me seemed a collosal waste. 

I wish they had lived. In retrospect I can see why they choose to kill off the main characters. With their death you see just how foggy the law enforcement system can be sometimes. Through their death, thousands of students and youth receieve a strong message [in the film and outside] that for a society or nation to change, the people, their mindsets must first demonstrate change. But still, I wish they had lived.

Im still not patriotic. Im not sure where my allegiance lies in all honesty. I love the atmosphere of Australia, sure. I appreciate the fact that we have so much freedom, that I as an Australian citizen have so many freedoms that people in other nations don't. I can be grateful for everything I recieve in this country: education, a degree of equality and many human rights. I love that because of my mum I'll always have ties to a place like India, where the culture is so seeped within tradition and ritual that I couldn't escape it if I tried. Im glad that because of this hybridity [technical term] I'll always be different, not quite part of one, but never entirely the other.

But it also means I come with this sense of non-belonging. I don't fit into either culture entirely. Not just me, but so many people from my generation will find themselves in similar predicaments. We won't ever belong to just one nation, one place or one ethnicity. Which is perhaps what our world needs. More universality, more internationality. 

Anywho. My opinion, Paint It Yellow is awesome. There's something of every college kid in those characters. The aimlessness, ambiguity we all carry. Not always knowing where your going, but getting to tomorrow is the aim. Rushing towards deadlines with uncompleted work and extending the prolonged doom. And then, suddenly, there's a boom! A Crash! Someone, something comes along and makes you think.

Back to the Future

I love going away, the further away, the better. Being a part of the Christmas cheer isn't my thing. I hate being at home during the long holiday period. Christmas' at my place are lucklustre, material and largely spent in front of the television.

Then I discovered going away! And it was all bright colours and ice cream from there on.

Last year I got to go away for seven weeks courtesy of mum and my step father - they paid for everything. Flights, awesome hotels and fantastic tours and treks. This year, when Im organising my own trip, oh boy, Totally appreciating the work and effort put into last years!

Agent152 aka Kritan is heading out with me: my very own travel buddy. I can't think of anyone I'd rather be doing this with. She is incredibly easy to get along with, one of my more humorous friends and above all someone I trust entirely with choosing anything.

We spent a solid few hours tonight on the phone and internet simultaneously attempting to organise our hotel for Xmas eve, Xmas day and Boxing day. All three of which, we decided a while back would be spent in a lavish hotel with a major splurge on our parts. Haha, note, this is so much easier voiced than it is demonstrated.

We've come to the conclusion - after weeks of searching and inquiring - that 5*s are out of our range. So settling for 4*s we've been on a hunt to find one that is classic, by which we mean, reminds us of Hogwarts. Decked out with fireplaces, christmas trees and a strong dose of traditional British Christmas cheer.

It isn't Christmas season in my opinion, till its been witnessed in London.

Seeing as we've left it late..*honours thesis rears its head again* what we are finding is the places we like and can afford, are booked out to a large extent GRRR. Then there are the places where we would like to go but the only rooms left are too expensive, in a turn of irony we found places we could afford and liked only to find they are available only from Boxing day onwards. Oh dear, indeed.

However, we can be glad that we have found lovely hotels in Cardiff and for the rest of our approximatley two week stay in London. The London Vicarage [who have rung me twice today] shall be subjected, I mean given the pleasure of our company, for the initial and last few weeks/ days of our stay.

Edinburgh was like a sore foot with multiple blisters combining themselves gradually across the base of one's sole. My inbox is brimming with twelve 'sorry we are booked out for the period you have requested' letters. One lovely Scottish accented boy rang to apologise verbally! Mum answered and raised a brow before saying, 'Scottish sounding man on the phone, can't decipher what he wants, presumably you?' I wish!

The epic phone conversation of tonight deduced, an agreement upon Aonach Mor Guest House and they have space for us!! Hogmenay, Concert in the Covent gardens and street party here we come! We have 6 days and 5 nights in Edinburgh which, between us have been filled to their capacity: Beauty and the Beast at the theatre, storyteller tours, pub crawls and copious amounts of activities I can't remember - though cycling through Edinburgh is a must!

Onto Cardiff we go, where Lincoln House shall host us. There are three beautiful, and different castles I wish to see here - and given Kris likes castles we shall be doing all three. There is a Dr Who exhibition in Glasgow which sounds interesting.. we've said if time permits we'll go across to Glasgow and see if we can catch this. Other than that there are quite a few Welsh landmarks to see along with bookstores, cafes, bars and clubs that sound like a good time to come =-)

That is all for now on the holiday.. no doubt, many more posts will follow on these events. And no, I haven't forgotten the pooja and its leadup, there shall perhaps be an update on that..aspect? some time soon. Till then, I highly recommend Jennifer Rardin's Once Bitten Twice Shy, for anyone wanting a female detective novel with a little bite and some magic.

Today's Muddle: where will we be staying across the Christmas holiday days?

Mon&Me: 10 Men from the silver screen that deserve worshipping.

10. Patrick Verona - 10 Things I Hate About You

 We love the chracter, Mon's not a Ledge fan - I dont mind him as an actor but in this film- OH boy Oh Boy! Bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks who hates the world but ends up falling hopelessy in love. How can you not love that? In Mon's opinion he looks the best when he has his hair tied back in the paint balloon scene. Doesnt give a crap bout how weird ppl think he is, he just rolls with it, that alone is so damn hot. My favs the serenade attempt on the steps - re pic. *Swoon*

9. Troy - Reality Bites

Grungy, unkept, sarcastic, intelligent, smart ass and pissed off at nothing in particlar, need i say more? Oh he has long hair. Reality does more than bite, it makes us just a little more light headed.

8. Guy Patterson - That Thing You Do

We've always had a thing for drummers lol. He's goofy, sweet and genuine and Im entirely with Mon when she expresses the desire to hug him forever! My fav part is the end when, him and Liv Tyler are at the cafe and u know they want eachother but neither say anything, she leaves then he chases after her and finally the 'big kiss' moment that every movie needs. He's so cute in this film. Sadly, this was the first and last film that he was oh, so adorable in.. it all went down hill from here on..

7. Sebastian Valmont - Cruel Intentions

He's mean, sexy and absolutely incorrigible. The bad boy who turns sweet when the right girl comes along, does this not reinstate your inner girly-girl who knows she can reform the hunky bad boy? Right on it does!

6. James Wright - That Thing Called Love

He's on Mon's list by default =p He sings, he broods and he's just damn hot. This is the only movie where he had dark hair, and its long hehehe, just adds to the whole fantasy. The first kiss scene is so hot, but he looks the best in the scene where he's just gotten out of the shower and he storms into the kitchen ( i hate to say but he is fully dressed) hair all wet and his shirt buttoned only half way, gets me everytime. He's high in almost every scene but its his last completed film so it had to make the cut lol.

Adding my 10c - I feel this picture says it all, loud and clear.

5. Jack Dawson - Titanic

Leo's on purely because most girls who grew up in the 90s [us included] wanted, required a Titanic poster to breathe at some point or another in their lives. We can admit it.. with a cringe on my part. We refer to this as part of the blonde boy phase.. c'mon, you went through it too!

4.Rick O'Connell / David Green - The Mummy + School Ties

I don't know what I'd do without Mon to share my movie loves with. We unanimously agree that Brendan Fraser was beyong beautiful and brilliant in both these movies. Drawback? He has short hair in School Ties and the whole ending up with Rachel Weisz kinda ruined it for me in the Mummy.. but he's just so damn hot. Whether in a trench coat or a 1920s hunter *swoon* outfit.. he does it for us!

3. Chase Hammond - Drive Me Crazy

So strange to think that when Mon first watched this at 14 she thought he was eww, and now she wants to bloody kick herself, what the hell was she thinking? He's bloody gorgeous in this movie, like omg. Grungy, loner (Kind of), rebel, shit stirer, sarcastic, generally not giving a shit bout anything and dark haired. 

Why cant every girl have a boy next door like him? I prefer him 'pre make-over' but he's still hot when he's in a clean shirt lol. Oh man i love when he appears at the prom at the end. That slide, that glide and the oh not so subtle 'I was hoping to cut in.' There is no man hotter that Chase for me [yours truly].. but to get to ten, we continue.

2.  Jack Tavern - Speed 

Aside from the fact that he wears a tight, white wife beater throughout the whole film, he's one guy i prefer with short hair. He's so rugged and ripped in this movie (have a look at those arms would u) that it makes u melt and silently curse Sandra Bullock. Oh and the best part...when he ends up all dirty and sweaty by the end with big tears in his shirt... Oh Lord, Have Mercy! This is entirely Mon's description, but I agree absolutely, not only that I totally appreciate the man in the Matrix, so extra brownie points from me!

1. Don Juan / Edward Scissorhands 

In the movies with the same name, Johnny Depp rocks us all over and repeat! God must have been in a very good mood when he made this man. Best part of all, he has long hair in it. Im sure u understand the whole Johnny Depp thing anyway, so no need to go on.. We rest our case and head off to watch one of the said hunks [we mean, movies] *breathe in, breathe out*

Boardgames, Bananas and Binks'.

Just a quick update on the festivities of tonight. Binks is an Amazing chef. Her steak and potatoe bake were absolutely mind-blowing. The entrees [yes! she treated us to a three course homemade meal!] were scrumptious garlic and butter slices with an accompaniment of prawns in a delicious sauce. Hmmm.

I dont think Ive laughed this much since the last time the four of us, Binks, Em and Gus [plus yours truly] were in front of a board game together. Tonight, being hosted by the brilliant Binks saw a Wii being implemented. Trivial Pursuit was belly rockingly funny! Gus insists I cheat - by shouting out the wrong answers which, when played see the contestant lose a turn. I maintain that everytime I got the answer right they chose to not follow me - whereas when I was wrong or kidding they would decide to extend the borders of the circle of trust for me.

Needless to say, the end of the evening saw me at the outer corners of the circle of trust. Hehe, ah well. All is fair in boardgames and battles.

Em surprised everyone [including herself] as to how clever she actually is! Her wedge grew at lightening speeds - alrite, so we all helped a little. But it was definitely 90% her. Binks, Lady Band Six that she is capable of challenging gave her a good run in the middle of the game, and at the end there wasnt too much of a point difference.

I brought up the rear with Gus falling into fourth place.. which isnt bad considering Binks and I were being our usual disruptive selves for most of the playing.

All in all, viennetta dessert capped off what was a brilliant evening going bananas.

*Note to self: spend much more quality time at Binks'*

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

November begins in, oh, twenty minutes or so. If All Hallow's Eve merits a post, then most certainly the month of November does.

Its always been my favourite month of the year. Not quite the end, almost near January. Some months away from my birthday, and so the resolutions Ive concocted. Yet, some months away from my birthday again, so Ive time to find excuses, find time and perhaps, even find a resolve for the resolute decisions made.

November shall witness a number of things.. first the beginning of NaNoWriMo. A month long novel writing challenge. Binks is partaking in this, as is the lovely Abbi. It shall be interesting to see what each person creates.

Ive come up with an idea. Well, two actually. One would follow Alice. It promises to be serious and lofty and vague. Hmm. The second is about a timetraveller. Well two actually and it seems that the story will grow and grow and grow.. kind of like James' giant peach. Im not sure how it will end or where it will go, but I think this might be the one I go onto write. Hmm. We'll see in a few hours when the challenge is officially taken on.

November shall see the farewell of various friends as they leave on trips overseas or interstate. Before long agent152 and I shall be leaving too. Ecstatic! There are still hotels and trains to be booked. This shall follow this week.

I have a whole list of friends to meet up with through November, atleast once. Making a conscious effort to be more energetic too. Xypher has been neglected.

The Dotters! My favourite siblings have been all but MIA lately, and the remedy for this shall begin Monday. Tomorrow, the 1st of November sees a dinner at the lovely Binks' residence. Boardgame fun shall ensue and ofcourse the mirth that we create - amid chaos- each time Binks, 56 and 99 collide.

It is a collision. Three extraordinary personalities in one room is cause for firework level glee. Add the glory of Gus to this and we have a group fit to take over the better half of the world. Not that planning has commenced or any such..

See. November brings the promise of friends, fraternising, flowers, freshness and freedom from future fuss.

The, the fish in the bowl, in The Cat in the Hat. He was always saying that the cat shouldn't be there while the mother was out.

Double, double, toil and trouble

Most of my halloween memories come from films. What can I say, apart from the occasional trick-or-treater back in 'the hood' and now here where I be now.. Halloween is just another excuse to party that I am not utilizing this year. Next year, we dress, we treat, we trick and we cause some severe mayhem.. jailcard here I come!
This year, we check out my top 5 Halloween scenes from various flicks and bask in the glory of favourite-lists.. why? Because, this dear audience, is the only thing I could come up with..

5. Can anyone say Nightmare on Elm Street? Freddy Kruger has to be one of the best terrors out there. Baby-sitting is never quite the same once you've seen these films.. a mass murderer burnt to death returns in the dreams of children to enact his revenge.. one girl realises his power lays only in the world of sleep. So she stays awake.. and tries her best to draw him out to start the real game.. Mhmm. Classic horror. Minimal screaming. Total nightmare material.

4. Buffy: It's just ... You're never gonna get noticed if you keep hiding! You're missing the     whole point of Halloween. 

Willow: Free candy?

One Halloween in Sunnydale, the costume becomes her, and him, and them. That is Buffy all dolled up in her 18th century finery finds herself a helpless *ahem* young damsel in distress.. Willow's a ghost and Xander's the saviour. Role play, anyone? Another Halloween sees the gang trapped inside a haunted house where there is no door.. very shiningesque of them.. all in all, all hallow's eve is always exciting with the Scoobies.

3. Silence of the Lambs.. I seem to be on a scary movie trip here, but how can anyone go past Silence of the Lambs? Cannibal man, female cop, sexual tension that could seriously develop into a feast for one of these two. He could always eat her, and as she well knows, he would enjoy every last peice of her flesh. Eeek! But fantastic film, all the same.

2. Double, double, toil and trouble. So it has a few vices, but it has the Olsen twins at their cutest! Not to mention the whole, twin thing was always one of my favourite places to float around in. *If only there was another me..* Basically, twins! Who save the day with a little help from magic, a little sisterly love and lots of seven-year old charm. What's not to love?

1. The Shining. "Heeeeeeerreeeee's JOHNNY!" If you haven't seen this, dear lord, get out from under that rock and rent / buy it now!! Jack Nicholson totally freaks me out everytime I see him as Jack, the crazy father of young Danny and husband of gutsy Wendy, who is driven to kill both his wife and child through the persuasion of a ghost.. or is he? Never will I go to a ski lodge, alone or with less than five people in tow, a mobile phone, several forms of outside contact and prefrabbly? Lets just go in summer. *shudders*

Loved. Contrived. Forever?

Recently its been in the air. Talk of marriage, love, children and commitment.

Which is better? What defines a better marriage? How do you know your ready? Is it even necessary in todays modern world?

Im not sure. From where I sit, things are something like this. Marriage is relationship one forms with someone they love, its a custom much like birthday parties, it acknowledges your commitment to the one person for the rest of your lives. Forever.

Thats all well and good, but what about those marriages that end in divorce or separation? I know many of these. And the people have moved on. They live. I can also think of people who haven't married but are happy and comfortable. Some have children, some dont see the need.

Others are married in what is termed an 'arranged' marriage. This is a custom in most traditional Indian families. Parents of the bride or groom - whoevers hunting - introduces them to appropriate spousal candidates, Appropriate has varied meanings for different families. Some prefer their inlaws to be richer, others for their family values to be incrediblyhigh. More still like the brides family to be able to afford a sizeable dowry. Dowry is the name applied to a sum of money + gifts given to the grooms' family as a means of saying 'thank-you for taking our daughter as a member of your family, please keep her well.' Its also a system used to discriminate against those who don'y have enough money. Its a conflicted concept.

Today, many families choose to forgo the dowry. Its seen as a aged custom. One that needs to be done away with. Personally, I agree. It seems to me as if one is paying relative-strangers to take away the bride. Many others agree with this idea, perhaps this is why the tradition is receeding, good riddens I say.

Getting back to arranged marriages, for the last thirty odd years the Indian tradition has changed. Now people tend to marry those they've dated and or known for a while. Arranged marriages occur in two kinds of families: one where the child is happy to let their parents help them choose; and others where the child is too afraid to tell their parents not to help them choose. They are really the only two reasons I can see.

It sound kind of easy to me. Your introduced to someone via your family, through advertisements in newspapers/magazines /websites etc. You meet. You go through a courtship. Very old school. And then after a few meetings you decide, yes? Or no. Yes means we move to engagements and what can be a exciting courtship period between engagement and wedding. There are dates, games, dinners, interaction on a very verbal and psychological level. The idea is to get to know your future partner in every way but the physical. Lol. Sounds difficult and old fashioned, doesnt it?

Could be nice.

Especially the way Indian movies show the courtship and all to be. Now, why do I suspect this is false advertising? *wink*

On the other hand love marriages sound like fun too. You meet someone, you fall in love, there are trumpets and fanfare, followed by a few joint replicas of the bride/groom. And voila! Successful marriage.

Sounds easy right? I suppose the drawbacks of a love marriage could range from parental rejection to the fear of early marital discord.

I suppose they both have their pros and cons right. They both have the potential to start off wonderfully and descend into darkness. Or they could start off with some trouble and go onto be interesting and lovely phases of life.

Either way, it sounds too confusing to me. This whole trusting someone else with yourself and your feelings. Its a lot of faith to put into one person. Hmm well I guess we'll see as time goes on.

Interesting train of thought though - I wonder what people in these relationships would say.

Going through the motions

I didn't think I'd feel calm after handing in the thesis.

It was expected by everyone else I know, but I seemed to have missed that memo. I didn't panic until the last 3hours. That's a little.. odd? I suppose. I just didn't feel the real need to panic. I knew what I was handing in wasn't the overall best I could have done, but factoring in time constraints and other factors not exactly within my control, I figured, well, I can be glad Im doing as well as I am.

Is that too much glass half full mentality? Probably, for most. But I like seeing the gladness in situations. It works for me. Besides, everyone I know freaks out so much over so many things, someone has to be calm right?

And when I do freak out, I love how everyone helps out. My friends are awesome. Well, most of you are.

Right then, this was my post thesis blah faze post. Tomorrow we move onto the world of the titans.

And for that we can all be glad.

Agent152: Wisdom shared

Agent152 sent me this fantastic speech made by a brilliant character on critically acclaimed television show Jack&Bobby- its wonderful for all university students - thought I'd share the wisdom--

Grace McCallister's Moonlight Address to the students of Plains State University
Good evening. I want to welcome you tonight to... a renaissance.
For some of you this night marks a return to your college life, for some of you a new beginning. And so, upon the eve of the tremendous journey upon which you are all embarking, I'd like to offer you a thought to take with you. Listen carefully: you will fail here. All of you. College is not the culmination of your high school career. It is the beginning of your adult life. Only it is a slow sweet beginning that feels nothing like what life and all the attending obligations will eventually bring. So fail here... This is your chance.

Do things you know you can't do, or think you can't do but hope in your deepest most secret hidden heart that you can.

Be bad at things. Be embarrassed. Be vulnerable. Go out on a limb. Or two. Or twelve.

The harder you fall, the farther you'll rise. And the louder you fail, the clearer the distant bell of your future will ring. Failure is a gift. Welcome it. There are people who spend their lives wondering how they became the people they became, how certain chances passed them by and why they didn't take the road less traveled. Those people are not you.

You have the front-row seat to your own transformation. And in transforming yourself, you might just transform the world. Believe that, and embrace the new person you're becoming. This is your moment. Now. Not ten minutes from now, not tomorrow, really now. Know that, truly in your bones, and wake up each morning remembering it. And then keep going.

Caped Crusader Twosomes

We all have them. Smallscreen couples you just can't help but love. These are my current favourite twosomes - not lovers, just friends who share well, from fluids to lines with everything in between!

10. Holmes & Watson

If you've ever read a Sherlock mystery you'll see the appeal. They share a largely detrimental relationship, where Holmes is provided with a regular 'simpleton,' much like the readers - to bounce his ideas off of. Works really well however, as Watson develops into the underdog I most certainly, was rooting for.

"By heavens, Holmes!"

9. Spike & Giles

Alrite, so maybe not necessarily a bestfriend duo, but the scenes between these two are rife with detestation, fear, threats, wit and sarcasm that I just adore! Not to mention their relationship really does progress from mortal enemies and food source to room mates and later mortal enemies again!

"You know, for someone who's got "Watcher" on his resume', you might want to cast an eye to the front door every now and again."

8. Dresden & Murphy

One of my all time favourite wizard / detective duos. Harry's a wizard and Murphy's a cop. Perfect! They bicker, they banter and like a later couple on the list they are destined to be together. What can I say? I like happy endings!

"It comes to me like the clearbeam of sunlight!"

7. Grey & Yang

Meredith and Christina have an equation similar to what I had with Anita - there is zero tolernace for bullshit and absolute refusal to be anything other than brutally honest. There are no friends quite like the ones you have at 15; so Grey and Yang constitute this for me.

"You're the messy one."
"No, no, my apartment's messy, my locker's messy, but I am not messy. Sometimes you have like food and stuff in your hair."

6. Castle & Beckett

Mystery writer with wit and a repetoire of comebakcs just waiting to be unleashed on all. Meets sexy, suave, awesome-haired female detective with her own demons - really, does it get much better than this?

"Did you know in the original Greek, 'tragedy' literally means 'goat song'? I know, doesn't make any sense to me either, but whatever that first story was, I can't help but think, bad things must have happened to that goat.."

5. Mal & Crew

Alrite, so its not exactly a twosome- but conversation with Mal is just simply.. divine! Nathan Fillion who portrays both Castle and Mal does so with so much un airbrushed wit its hard not to fall in deep lust with the man- i mean his characters. The captn of a spaceship carrying regular forms of [illegal] loot and cargo that require ingenius disguises, whats not to love?

"If anyone gets nosy, just...you know... shoot 'em. "
"Shoot 'em?"
"Politely."

4. Harry Potter & Ron Weasley

Hermione shuold probably feature in this tag, however I feel the friendship between Ron and Harry deserves a special mention. All those late night chats in the dorm, the frequent life saving and yearlt tradition of battling the great evil with witty - and fearful- banter, perfect, just *sniffle perfect.

"There you go, Harry," Ron shouted over the noise. "You weren't being thick after all - you were showing moral fiber!"

3. Dean & Sam Winchester

Two HOT brothers. Hunting demons and things that go bump in the night. With predictable but humorous dialogue. Jensen Ackles. Really, do I need to elaborate further? Oh, he went to hell! Survived and came back. Sure, he had to get the guilty on for a while afterwards, but really, it was totally worth it to see him all sweaty and sexily tied up..

"So burning the body had no effect on that thing?"
"Sure it did – now it’s really pissed."

2. Merlin & Arthur

Its a century where the men are sexy, dorky and magical. Why, oh why am I in this awful period of time where the men are neither of the three? The story of Arthur and Merlin is old, we all know it on some level, this show make them the same age and turns foe into friend - cannot wait for the second season, you just know Art is not going to be impressed when he realises Merlin is oh so very much sexier with his magic then Art himself is with his sword.. although, that does have a certain appeal..

"Wow, and how long have you been training to be a pratt?"
"You can't address me like that."
"Sorry... How long have you been training to be a pratt... my Lord?"

1. Veronica Mars & Wallace Finnel

Yep, they are my most favourite caped crusaders- wel maybe not caped. But the friendship that develops after V cuts W down from the flagpole, gold. The way they are always there for one another, its just perfect and all of this is done with minimal actual speaking- they are just actions, and thats probably the best form of friendship Ive ever seen *wink*

Thanks to you, I now have the reputation of being a jock-sniffer.

In all my glory

Some days, the image is perfectly tuned.

the wisdom in vanilla chai tea

There lingers a soft, but tangent taste of vanilla and tea leaves as soon as the cup has been moved. Each sip and slurp enlivens every last tastebud of my tongue.

Thessy begins with a blank piece of paper where several thoughts are formed in thick, black, times new roman characters. Every sentence seems wrong and somehow requiring serious improvement.

As the hot liquid coats the insides of my mouth it allows each taste bud a chance to savour the freshly sugared feel of it.

Each word has serious contemplation behind it - sometimes the words have sprung so quickly from my mind through to my fingers, there has not been a beat between the actions.

Vanilla is one of my favourite things. The scent, the taste, the aroma when it is mixed with tea, each form it comes in: tea, cream, colouring, paint, food. Never am I not biased when it is in the list.

Writing is one of my favourite things. The power of a word, of thoughts expressed well. The feel of a good sentence as it leaves your mind and forms on the page. The emotions others can invoke through the simply complicated tool of language. It is a skill some learn, others command, and few master.

While the fascination with vanilla continues, the fascination with thessy is coming to an end.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..

Confessions of the be-lated

I think belated is a term applied, generally to those who have died. Passed on. Croaked. Left their aged and wrinkly bodies for the glory of youth and false hope? That act, you know.

Totally applies to Em from Meg Cabot's Airhead and me at the moment. Em has her brain transplanted from her dead body to the live body of a supermodel. She is technically declared dead and buried, only to look in the mirror, feel herself mentally capable but physically repulsive. Well, repulsive to only her brain that is, everyone else loves Nikki's body. Especially Stark enterprises whom she models for.

Im in a similar situation. Oh, put down the phone! I am not being transplanted to anyone's body - much to my chargrin - simply, there is far too much activity in my mind and not enough in my fingers.

She imagined progress to be a square, solid substance of metal; it flew past like the brilliant burst of breath filled bubbles one blows through a bubbler.

There are something like 5 days between me and a thesis deadline.
A few more than that between Jude's birthday and my presence at it.
Some more plus those will bring a night of boardgames.
Another one and Me and Mrs Khanna shall party.
Hopefully by the sixteenth dawn I shall be at Sam's dinner.
A moon past that and there shall be Dotter-love.
Following that a little beachparty with Chabi.
Next some graduation cake and a flight to London with agent152.

All in all, if the next five days dont leave me dejected and empty there shall be a multitude of moments to look forward too.

I insist on having a movies-you've-always-wanted-to-see night with mon and agent152 + the dotters before departure. Everything else may be left for later and after.

agent152 has promised me 500 days of summer and her favourite where the wild things are - IF i accomplish all tasks relating to thesis by monday. This may sound fair, but it really isnt.. its what I like to think of as blackmail *wink* and its working.. so no complaints!

I dont remember if agent152 was wished a loud and boistrous happy birthday on here.. so this image from me to you shall say happy 22nd with atleast 50 more [with me] to come!

And if your reading this, which you probably are, thanks for today agent152. Really, thank you - and we shall bring in christmas and 2010 with such fanfare as never before *wink*

I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void.

A trip to the dentist

Why is it that some people can Never be satisfied? Every little occurrence has to be of epic proportions in the screw up department.

I can think of two people who are on holidays right now - and having a simply awful time. It isn't that they don't have enough time to do everything or see places or meet new friends, its more so that they are disappointed with how things aren't going to plan.

I wish I had 5 cents for every time things didn't go to plan. I would have millions of dollars to take my own holidays with.

In my humble opinion, if you've gone away, with a mission to have fun, your One and Only aim should be to ensure you have fun. Especially considering you've spent hundreds and thousands of dollars to get to where you are, not including money to ensure you return home with great stories about how much fun it was, and all the new things you did, saw and learnt.

If your going to stay in your hotel room or wherever and have a constant whine about how boring things are, or how you aren't having any fun, how sad for you that no one will be showing you any sympathy.

Its called a holiday for a reason. You go away, get lost, get sore but come home and brag about all the fantastic things you did and saw. Its a new experience, embrace it. Not whinge about all the things you couldn't because no one would take you out and about.

Their called travel books? Say it with me now, Tra-vel Boo-ooks.

When things don't go to plan, grow up, find a different way and please, for the sake of everyone sanity, stop being so melodramatic.

If you insist on whinging, I suggest you pay for my next trip and take yourself to the dentist.
I hear their great for a relatively cheap whinge session.

Faith, Hope & Trick

No more blog page name changes I do solemnly swear on this day at 6:20am AEST time.

Its like finding the comfort zone with a good cup of coffee. You don't just drink it on any old table or chair, there is always that special place where you go with the steaming mug to enjoy a some RnR.

Not that there has been any of that in my recnt past or future few days. But Im sure, we'll get there eventually.

This Buffy episode is up there in my top ten. Faith arrives, Angel returns and Trick causes chaos as usual. What's not to love?

Similarly, Ive got faith that chapter one shall be submitted today. Day. During daylight hours. There's some shred of hope left that I will get to complete that impossible list of aims below this post. And I swear, if Trick was to appear right now, Im fully equipped to deal with whatever chaos he can throw my way.

Way to challenge my karma there. Just throw out the gauntlet and let it fall, let it fall..

Hey, I may be a cold-blooded jelly doughnut, but my timing is impeccable.

25 days to deadline

Not quite a whinge, more a physical note of what this week should bring, apart from hammers in my head and steam trains through my heart.

Two finished chapters
An essay
Between one and another films'
A blog post
Crumplette wages
Some warmth
and a partridge in a pear tree

Im looking forward to writing the third chapter of thessy. Its scary, almost as scary as the first is right now. I finally know what I want to say, just a matter of saying it clearly now. Ahh, structure, how you elude me.

The essay will be interesting. Something else Im looking foward to writing. It isnt about vampires. Its about freedom from oppression under the face of adversity, perhaps through adversity. Cliche a little there, yet..

Flights shall be booked this week. Officially meaning I can escape Christmas yet again. I wonder how many more I can miss before my mother puts her foot down.

Have already started planning next years' holiday. Im sure Lucifer's reserved a special set of chains and hots rods for me by now, I figure why not get a few nine inch rusty nails for my fingers while Im at it.

May just be me, but Im cold. Feels as if a chill has seeped into the tips of my fingernails and trailed its way up through my fingers into my palms, up through my forearms, past my elbows, through by body, shooting straight down to my knees, to settle in the creases of my feet, at the very tips of my toes.

The best laid plans are the ones that lead us unto temptation and misery. I wonder which end of the spectrum I shall be in come next Sunday.

Abra-Kadabra!

If only things would materialise when that word is uttered. Though if Harry Potter has taught me one thing, its that magic isn't simple either.

Kinda sucks when we are oh so human and have so many things to do and see that time just will not cooperate.

Case in point: thessy. Elusive, liminal, monster that she has become. I feel my world being consumed, my thoughts being subsumed. Overwhelmed is perhaps the right word.

Im having trouble finding the words. It isnt so hard when I write a story or tell a tale. Those are my words, to play with and set out as I wish.

Thessy has her own language, her own rules. Games aren't allowed. There is to be no play. I must be to the point. Metaphors must be explained. Adjectives are allowed within reason. The rules are strict and clear upon this.

Borders and fences were never my thing. I can cross them. Leap across them. But adhering to a boundary is not in my programming. I wasn't built that way.

Just wasn't.

Chapter One submitted today.

30 days till deadline.

Must be done atleast a week before the 23rd.

Oh dear, oh dear.

Counting toads, dresses and glass bottles

I suppose it comes from not developing better study habits as a child.

Do I blame Mother for this? Flashback. Im 7 years old, in the second grade and eager [scary child that I was] to do my homework. Something along the lines of maths mentals and basic english skill textbooks comes to mind, oh bright coloured covers how I miss thee!

Mother's input: "Great film this was, fond memories.." *sighs contently* And that dear friends, would be the end of that. I would watch the film / tv show and homework was left till the morning before when I could rush through it and still whoop serious 2nd grader butt.

*Glee*

But really I think the habit building [ or non building] occurred earlier than that. Distinctly remember reading borrowed books and eyeing homework wistfully, thinking with all my 1st grade innocence that since it was so easy I could do it later and still be okay. Not until grade 6 did I realise the point of homework: to challenge and reiterate things we had learnt in class. Sadly, I had a slow attention span in class, only ever heard two-fifths of whatever was discussed / explained.

Homework to me had always been the teacher's way of giving us that day's lesson on paper. This way, if I didnt pay attention in class it didnt matter. When I got home, there it was! On paper! In textbooks! To be read, understood and enjoyed at my leisure. Bit late by the 6th grade to alter this whole mind set, not to mention get my head around the actual aims of homework: torture. Specially designed for little people under the age of 16.

And I wonder where my problem lays. Clearly, these habits must be broken.

Have procrastinated a lot today, but tomorrow shall see GMan recieve my first chapter, and I want to be happy with it. Proud of it, even. Maybe even a little too proud?

That might have to come later.

*Le sigh*

On the topic of le sigh, have picked that up from JaJa Binks : similar to her taking over of my dear oh dear moments [taken from Edward].. Friends, such a tradition of verbal exchanges is what binds us. Wicked last night was pretty...Wicked. It blew my expectations, which weren't sky high, but definitley tree branch high. Elphalba was played brilliantly! The others were great too, but Elphie took the cookies and cream from everyone's cake by far. The ending was happified. Fieryo and Elphie are shown to dance [skip?] off into the sunset together.. which some thought needn't have happened.

Me? I like happy endings. As MJ well knows, I begin to melt like the Wicked Witch from Oz when a film ends in depressing or cliffhanger-y ways. I like to go home /to bed / wherever knowing the characters have learned a lesson, found some peace and or are smiling and looking to the future with a grin. Or teary eyes. Either works.

There are exceptions to this, that shall be discussed later. For now, Thessy requires serious slayage.

Today's muddle: When does one outgrow discovering new modes of procrastion?