Spring is in the air...

We've gone over our monthly internet limit, so unfortunately we've got super slow internet at the moment. It's quite sad. But our internet month apparently coincides with the actual month, so that works out quite well, as the first is on Friday! Yay!

That does mean that I probably won't be blogging until at least the weekend (but I'm blogging right now, so really slow internet CANNOT STOP ME! It will only hinder me), but I just wanted to share this captcha that I had to enter to post a link on Facebook. Is it the most ridiculous one you've ever seen??

So the first of next month will be October, and we all know what that means! The second month of spring! Though really it will be the first, seeing as this month has basically just been RAIN and WINTER. But this past week it's started being all nice and sunny and vaguely warm and it's so exciting! Our jasmine and wisteria have flowered, and life just smells so good. Yes, I did mean to write that.

I have Avast (anti-virus software) installed on my computer. On about September 16th, it popped up and said:

I particularly enjoyed that. Thank you, pirate-themed anti-virus software! Unfortunately I think I spent most of ITLAP Day in bed as I did not go to bed on that Thursday. That's probably why I enjoyed it. Because it popped up at around 3am, and I was delirious.

Holidays are going well, but really quickly. I don't have work this week because it's school holidays, which has meant that I've had more time... more time to do homework? Well yes, but I haven't really been doing any. I don't quite know where all my time goes. On Saturday, Elizabeth and I had a sewing day, and I finished a dress that I started in 2008. I know it was then because the pattern that I vaguely followed was the amalgamation of a skirt pattern (that I first used in year 8, 2002) and a pj top pattern that Astrid and I made pjs out of for Falls (NYE 07/08). I then bought some nice fabric on sale, started the dress, and then just didn't touch it for a couple of years, for no good reason ;)

Speaking of sewing, The Long & Winding Bobbin, a sewing blog that I follow, is having a giveaway of some awesome patterns, pretty fabrics (like I need any more ;) and a bag. Go and check the blog out!

Also on that page there was a link to this skirt... I think I might make (a modified version of) it! ...sometime.

And now I should probably go and do some work. Like reading those two German novels that I need to have read by next Friday. "but you like reading! And German!" I hear you say (I actually have heard someone say that (Simon)). But they're both true stories about the Holocaust, and they're in German! Eeek!!

Bis zum naechsten Mal!

Four points for today.

Firstly; it's been announced that Darren Criss is going to be on Glee!! I'm so excited. For those of you who either only occasionally read my blog, read it but don't seem to actually take any notice of what I say, he plays Harry in A Very Potter Musical/ Sequel. He also played Josh on Eastwick which is a show that was cancelled after 13 episodes or something. Anyway, I love Glee, and it's all just dandy. So excited. He's going to be playing a gay student from a rival singing group, and no one's sure whether he's going to be Kurt's love interest or if the new blonde guy is. ANYWAY, EXCITEMENT.

Secondly; today I banked a cheque for $1180.91 from my travel insurance! YAY!

Thirdly; I read an interesting article on TechCrunch today about offline/online convergence.

Fourthly; this. I'm not madly pining over someone though.

New HP trailer!

You cannot understand how excited I am for the new Harry Potter films. Really, you can't.

One day I might take you through my HP journey, but I probably won't.

But first, the NEW TRAILER!!!!!! eeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!


Also side-note - I have to say that when I watched the new episode of Gossip Girl, I kept seeing the girl as Fleur, not as Chuck Bass' new girl. Also, Penn will always be Dan, no matter what he does. I saw Easy A on Tuesday night, I got confused when they referred to him as Todd.

Today Simon, Nick and I had a Lost marathon. We watched six episodes - finished season 3 (I CANNOT BELIEVE CHARLIE DIED, I THOUGHT HE DIDN'T DIE UNTIL SEASON FIVE, WAAAAH) and the first disc of season 4. We're getting through it. Slowly.

I'm in a really good mood at the moment, it's good. Obviously.

I just feel like things are going well for me, I guess.

I have a loving family, good friends, a home, a job, exciting plans for next year, and my whole life ahead of me. I could really do anything from this point.

Heidelberg, 13/02/2010

Inception

I just saw Inception (yes I know, I know, I'm very much behind the times), but I absolutely loved it. It was just so good. It's not often that I enjoy a film that much.

So why did I like it so much?
Firstly, it made you think. I enjoy movies that don't just tell you exactly what happens for ninety minutes. Sure, this was on the really makes you think hard about a lot for the whole movie end of the scale, but nevertheless, it wasn't mind-numbingly straight-forward.

Secondly, there was so little romance! And that, I thought, was a really interesting point. I mean, there was the story of the romance between Leo and the woman (yeah, I'm not so good with names), but it's not like that was a developing romance. And there was a kiss between 500 Days of Summer and Juno (and that is the problem with an all-star cast), but it wasn't a central plot.

Thirdly, the zero-gravity fight sequences?! Holy crap! They were amazing!!

Fourthly, definite value for money (unlike my Wok in a Box dinner) - it went for quite a long time, so it was worth spending $15 on a ticket (SINCE WHEN ARE STUDENT TICKETS $15?! WHAT THE HELL?!)

Fifthly... no, I don't have a fifthly. I probably could think of a load more reasons, but I can't right now. I just think it was a brilliant film, and if you haven't seen it, go now. Seriously. Don't even finish reading this post. Just go and see it. Because it won't be in cinemas for much longer.

I do wish that they'd played a Harry Potter preview before it though. I was so hoping for one.

This evening I plan to...

...go through all the fabric that I have, photograph it, and somehow catalogue them all so that when I'm looking at patterns online (as I have been all afternoon), I can know which fabrics I have available. I do vaguely have an idea at the moment, but I'm fairly sure that I've forgotten about a whole lot. I might even share some of them here!

EDIT:
So I'm going to share some of my favourite fabrics on here, but first I am going to present to you two problems with which I would like assistance PLS.

Firstly:
Here is another pair of ruined stockings. I also bought them in Germany.
The problem with these is that the elastic at the top is gone, which is a shame because these stockings are super warm! But if I wear them, I have to keep pulling them up.

So my problem is, I can't just insert elastic because firstly, stockings don't have elastic in them, but secondly, there isn't a waistband that I can undo and insert elastic into. I can't fold them over and make a second waistband because as a tall girl I need all the height in stockings that I can get, so, DILEMMA. Ideas?

Second problem: this dress.
I bought it at an op-shop last year, and it was a bit on the snug side then, and a bit on the short side, too. Since then I've put on weight (D:) and it is still too short, but I really like it!

I hope you can see the design of it from the photos - there is an under dress part, and a sheer over part. The zip at the back is attached to both layers which is problematic but not terrible, but I just don't know if it's worth trying to salvage it or whether to just give it up? Ideas, anyone?

Thirdly, this is my corset that I partly made in summer 08-09, but once Caity went back to NIDA (as we were making them together), mine got abandoned. LIKE AN OLD GLOVE. This isn't a problem, I'm just scared to make it in case I do something wrong!

So here comes the fabric part of the post.
This is some fabric that mum found at an op shop. It's pretty nice, and it hangs nicely. However, it has sequins on it, and there's four metres of it. I was thinking I could make a scarf, but beyond that I don't have any ideas of what to make. I'm just not sure if it'd be too much for a skirt? Ideas, readers?

I bought this fabric a couple of years ago, and haven't done anything with it yet. It's a lightweight cotton and I really like it, but I'm just not quite sure what to do with it. I know Astrid made a skirt out of it, but I've got 2 metres so could possibly make a dress.

Libby gave me this fabric a couple of months ago, I really like it but there's only 50cm of it! Very problematic. Not really sure what to do with it. Too heavy to be a scarf.

And this has to be my favourite fabric that's just sitting in my fabric picnic basket right now. It's so spring-y and colourful! Again I've got 2 metres and would love to make a dress from it.

So that's the end of show and tell for today, if you have any ideas for my issues, feel free to help! I'm going to have a look at the comments function, to see if there's some way to change it so that more people (ie Kim) can comment.

Another edit: I've enabled that anyone can post, but I've also enabled word verification. I'm sorry :(

It's 3:23am, my brother's phone is ringing, and it's really loud.

Okay, I wrote that last post about two hours ago, and have spent the last two hours watching videos on YouTube. Recently, Elizabeth and I have decided that we should become YouTube celebrities, after reading that Natalie Tran earns $101,000 pa or something like that, just from advertising. I'm pretty sure that communitychannel was the first channel that I subscribed to. I mean, other than my friends.

Now, I've had google ads on my blog for around two years I'd say, and I have not made a cent from it. Probably because you're all smart enough to not click the stupid ads which I have tended to hide in the side bar anyway. So it sort of blows my mind that someone could earn that much money.

Anyway, rececntly I've been watching a lot of YouTube, partly because I'm still really good at procrastinating/ spending time on the internet, partly as research for when we become famous (mostly the former), and I thought I'd share some of my favourite YouTubers/ channels with you.

Team StarKid are the team who made A Very Potter Musical, Me and my Dick (yeah, really. It's actually pretty funny), and A Very Potter Sequel, and so obviously I think that you should all check them out. They're brilliant, and have the chance to go on Oprah. I would've supported them and written to Oprah but I don't want to have to give my address (I think it's particularly irrelevant because I live in Australia) and that's a required field.

Moving on. I've been spending a lot of time on Tumblr lately too, and there a whole bunch of gifs of this guy called Alex, reading Twilight. "WHY DOES NOTHING PLEASE YOU?!" They are hilarious. The channel name is nerimon and I don't remember what that is a link to, but I'm sure it's amusing.

I discovered charlieissocoollike through nerimon and have to say I think I enjoy his videos more. Also his hair colour is sort of like mine. Anyway, he's funny and another YouTube celebrity - he recently went to some sort of international conference and talked there.

The second to last channel I'm going to comment on is Vlogbrothers who started out on YouTube vlogging to each other every day and then became celebrities and all was wonderful. Their videos are pretty interesting and they can both talk really fast...ly. Quickly, if you will. I will.


And the very last channel that I'm going to mention is elmify. I just subscribed to her tonight and although she doesn't seem overly entertaining, because I guess she's just another girl on the internet, we'll see how that goes. But she seemed to have an angsty phase. WOAH SHE'S JUST LIEK ME!!1!!!!11!!!

If you guys subscribe to anyone fun or interesting let me know.

But for now, somehow an hour on from when I wrote two hours (oh I hate you sometimes, YouTube), I am really going to go to bed.

Goodnight!

PS it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day today!! YARRRRR!!!

PPS if any of you actually follow those links and some/ any/ all don't work, let me know; I coded them myself so that they'd open in a new tab automatically but I can't quite exactly remember the code... so I'm just hoping.

PPPS that band I wrote that you should listen to, Freelance Whales, I bought their album yesterday and I rather like it. Their influences are listed as Arcade Fire and Iron and Wine, and a few others but I can't remember them and can't see them upon a quick scan of their MySpace. In any case, I recommend them. But I guess I did away with anybody wanting to follow my recommendations a long time ago, hey.

PPPPS My Chemical Romance have a new album coming out soon. They have changed their drummer, but didn't tell us why. Which is cool, it's not really the fans' business. Anyway the song (/snippet?) that was released yesterday/ today seemed good, and they don't have black hair anymore and were all in fact wearing COLOUR, but we'll see how that goes.

Okay that's really all now.

The Internet has failed me.

I bought a pair of yellow stockings when I was in Germany. I only wore them once, but I put a ladder in them (accidentally, obviously. I don't subscribe to the "fashion" of stockings/ tights/ pants that have ladders or holes in them, I think it looks stupid). And I haven't worn them since, because I've been meaning to mend them.

Now, I have absolutely no idea how to mend stockings. Mum used to fix my school stockings when they got holes in the toes, and because stockings are (generally) pretty cheap these days, darning them seems to be a bit of a lost art. Which is unfortuante, because it meant that my google searches of 'how to darn stockings' (and variations) mostly led to articles about how it was a lost art. There was one blog that was vaguely helpful, but they were darning socks with huge fibres, so were pretty different from stockings. There was also an article from 'Papers Past' about it. A YouTube search of the same just gave me videos of women wearing/ deliberately laddering stockings O.O

So, I'm going to attemt to fix these stockings on my own. I will document the process and perhaps update this post when I'm done. Of course, if it goes terribly I probably won't, I'll just cry in a corner and mourn my ruined yellow stockings.

Yellow is my favourite colour.

EDIT: SUCCESS!!!
Pictures will come.

Libby says: pink does not go on guys.
I agree with this statement.

Libby and I are going to go and watch something now.
HAPPY SATURDAY NIGHT!

And another edit: here are my progress photos!!

This is the ladder. As you can see it is very large.

This is the hole from whence the ladder came. :(

OMGWTFBBQ I STARTED SEWING.

Hey, check it out, I'm still sewing! That's because the ladder is really long. Plus I found something almost like one of those darning mushroom things. It's a bowl that was handmade in Austria and is pretty but not very practical. Except for fixing stockings.

FINISHED!!! Yaaaaay, now I have (hopefully) wearable stockings again!

I think it's bedtime :)

Freelance Whales are pretty good. Look them up. They're kind of Arcade Fire-ish, I think.

WHY AM I PROCRASTINATING SO MUCH?!

Positive pranking

Positive pranking seems like a really lovely idea. Almost like forking, but even nicer.

Who's up for it?

Or for this: I work at McDonald's in Australia. A couple of weeks ago I had a shift and a group of people came in to have dinner. With them they brought: A tablecloth, candelabras, candles, plates, napkins, knives and forks. They took the whole fine dining to a new level, MLIA.

Today I tried singing on my way to work and to my absolute delight, I can sing again!!! But I still have an awful cough and I can't sing or talk for too long else I either start coughing or lose my voice again.

I just read the 2005 commencement speech from Kenyon University, Ohio. Don't ask me why, it was because I was procrastinating. But it was really quite interesting.

This, I submit, is the freedom of a real education, of learning how to be well-adjusted. You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't. You get to decide what to worship.

...

That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.

Popular Perceptions and Political Economy in the Contrived World of Harry Potter

I started my new job today! It seems pretty good, today I just learnt about things and marked some maths modules, so I guess we'll see how I go, hey.

I've also lost my voice (which is so convenient for starting a new job). The best thing about having a man-voice is that those elusive lower octaves are achievable when I sing. That's because they're the only ones I can reach. Stupid sickness! Go away!!

Now I must be off to read about effects theory, and about the political economy of Harry Potter. Sometimes, just sometimes, Media isn't too bad :D

Life changes like the weather

And so does my blog, apparently. I did say that it was still a work in progress, though. And it still still is. I'm not sure what I want to do with it. So I guess we'll just keep seeing, eh?

In other news, I got a job! Yaaaaay! I had an interview on Wednesday (after applying on Saturday evening and being called on Monday afternoon), and got an email around 9:30 last night offering me the job. Awesome. I start tomorrow, so will no doubt be sharing tomorrow night after I get home. :)

Our hot water service broke on Thursday morning. It was the worst! But it was fixed that day so it wasn't that bad.

The end.

I just read this blog post. It's really lovely.

Twenty-Two Candles: Spreading out my birthday wishes.

Edit: gosh I'm a nerd. Oh hey, let's just write out the html code for linking instead of clicking on the convenient button. And you know what, let's open it in a new window. I probably need a life. :D

Twenty years from now you will be more dissapointed by the things you didnt do, than by the things you did do, so throw off the bowline. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. (Mark Twain)

Heck yeah, circle pit.

Bullet for my Valentine was pretty good. More photos later maybe.

Burton Bradstock - there was sun there too!

It's going to be 18 and FINE tomorrow!! How exciting is that?! Pretty exciting, if you ask me. The forecast for the rest of the week after that is rain, but tomorrow we might see the sun!!

Bring back the short, pointless posts!

I'm also going to see Bullet for my Valentine tomorrow night. I don't even really care that much. I've looked at the setlist from their Perth show and it honestly is not the best. I mean, it's not awful, but a bunch of the songs that I love aren't on there... which isn't surprising as most of them weren't released as singles, so whatever...! I'll still have fun :)

Toilets

I just read this post about... well basically about different signage for male and female toilets. There also seemed to be a vague mention of how this was unfair on transgender people but she didn't really make her point about it very well so I'm not sure that she really did, and I have no idea about that so I'm not even going to touch it. Her main issue seemed to be that the traditional toilet signs - the female wearing a dress and the man not. And she therefore concluded that men are seen as people, and women are seen as people with skirts.

Seriously?!

I have never thought about it like that. Or had an issue with it. To me, it's always been more of a men wear trousers, women wear skirts kind of thing. And let's face it: dad always wears trousers, never skirts, and mum always wears skirts, never trousers (except when gardening. Then she wears trackies). So maybe that's just because I was raised in a house in which my mother only wears skirts. Or maybe it's because it's not even a big deal.

Sure, there are some issues within it, but it's not like the people who designed the place are saying WOMEN MUST WEAR SKIRTS. Though in Iran (there's a picture in her post), women are shown wearing burqas which is quite interesting, though probably not surprising. I think that is more interesting to write about than that women are wearing skirts. I mean seriously. Women DO wear skirts. They also wear pants, but there needs to be some way to differentiate between the bathrooms.

The Social Network

I just read an article on TechCrunch about how the Facebook movie (oh sorry what, I mean The Social Network) is being advertised on MySpace. Bit of a lol. Then I followed the links, and people have made versions of the trailer for Twitter and YouTube too. Pretty funny, I think.

Here's the Social Network trailer:


And the Twitter trailer:


What is the fail whale?! Why do you always go limp when we have fights?!

And the YouTube one:


I will sue you in internet court!