So Ronery

It is truly a testament to our age that I had the following thought today:

"Thank God I have two or three social media accounts that I can whinge about study on. Otherwise I would totally start burning people out."

What I'm realising this week is probably a confirmation of what I already knew – not being around people makes me a little bit loopy.

Since moving into my lovely new abode I have been living alone. It was nice at first, a good break from having lived with people my entire life. That feeling lasted about two months, until one particular evening when sitting in front of some TV, doing some crochet and drinking some cidea thought came to me with a sudden clarity – this is a little bit lame. I need a flatmate.

Add to this the realisation that quite a number of my more positive personal habits are greatly enhanced by social imperatives, the urgency of acquiring a flatmate becomes apparent. Of course, this is just a fancy way of saying that I am much better at looking after myself when other people are around to prompt me to do things. Things like getting into my pajamas and turning all the lights off before falling asleep. Or cleaning the stovetop. 

Needing to be around people to enhance my sanity has become particularly noticeable this week, as I have taken time off work to plug through assignments. The theory behind this is sound – I get more work done when I don't have people around to talk to. But, it turns out not having a variety of people to blab on to everyday is really, really sucky. Hence my old friend social media stepping up to fill the void.

It could also be procrastination. Whatevz.

But! The end is in sight. I'm one assignment away from freedom and one bathroom rennovation away from a flatmate. But until then, I will just have to continue communing with the world via social media and potter around my house singing the following song …

 

Huh?

Lately I've been feeling a bit teary whenever I write down the date. April? How the flip can it be April?? And the second half of April??? Urrrgh.

And I tell ya what, it's been a busy three and a half months. There's been three illicit liaisons (none of which were particularly satisfying); one (maybe two) romantic false starts; one v proud 'get the fuck out of my life' moment; two online dating profiles; one UTI; the commencement of one Masters degree; one domestic revolution; one funeral; one wedding; three unfinished blog posts; one signed contract; and one application for a home loan (the outcome of which is to be determined). And don't even get me started on all of the crochet.

No wonder I'm exhausted.

And while I am rather bemused at myself for naively transferring all the energy I was spending on partying and 'looking for love' into my career, studies and the accumulation of property, I cannot help but wonder – what the fuck was I thinking? Seriously.

I made an offer on a flat, am now under contract and can safely say that I have never been more anxious in my life. I've just had half a bottle of wine and it's only Tuesday.

A healthy thing to do? No. Probably not. Necessary? Absolutely.

And even though I still have eight whole months left in the year, I cannot escape those tiny moments of dread when I consider just how much I still have to cram in. Somehow I feel incredibly guilty about all the things I wanted to do this year but haven't got to yet. Like learning how to ride a bike or taking better care of myself and my body. And while I know I am my harshest critic and I just need to CTFO (Chill The Fuck Out – it's a thing. I'm starting it), I am struggling to make it a reality. 

As I continue to plug my way through the year, here a few of tunes that I've been rocking to that are helping me through. And while I know they don't really make for a very coherent blog post, I think that's okay. I'm not particularly coherent at the moment anyways. Oh and the last song – it's sheer liquid wonderment. Just FYI.

 

Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby.

Along with several thousand of my peers, I recently had the honour seeing Salt'n'Pepper perform live at Good Vibes. And I realised, as I rocked it in my Hanson t-shirt, bumbag and tastefully accessorised Crocs, that 15 years after loving these tracks – I am finally living them.

As my friends and I rapped out the words to 'Shoop' I was struck by the following thought – could the lyrics I so faithfully sang aloud when I was 11 have somehow buried themselves in my psyche only to be revisited as old friends, and a core part of my identity at 27?

As a semi-regular reader of this blog, I think that after you watch the following, your answer will be yes.

That, is so my theme tune. Although for the purposes of generational adaptation I would like to change the line "I like you in your big jeans, you give me nice dreams, you make me wanna scream ooo oooo oooooo!" to "I like you in your tight jeans, you give me nice dreams, you make me wanna scream ooo oooo oooooo!" – it is more reflective of my tastes.

I am glad, however that my early exposure to this brand of sexually explicit hip-hop-pop has not lead me to wearing such short shorts. No, my bottom remains firmly secured inside a pant with a decent sized leg.

But then, after having this epiphany, I realised that their next, and final track was equally relevant to my life.

Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking Anne, are you just using 90s pop music as an excuse for being rude? And in a way, yes. Yes I am. And while I do not necessarily agree with the warning against promiscuity in the above track, I absolutely adore the way they just put it out there. 

And while you could argue that you just can't turn anywhere these days without images and messages of women talking loudly about sex, sometimes I am not sure if we really own it. When we encounter it in magazines and other elements of pop culture it is often under the guise of what we must do to catch and keep a man. We are certainly much more comfortable talking about penises, and semen, and blow job technique than our own clits and vaginas. Talking about these things still lies in the realm of 'outrageous' and as such, seem to belong to female comedians, artists and authors – none of whom are allowed to talk about it on telly at 7pm.

When I think about women whose sexual expression inspires me, there is only one name that springs to mind – Peaches. And any of you who have been fortunate enough to see her perform live will know that there is a big difference between Peaches and Carrie Bradshaw.

Peaches' unbridled sexuality is not something that translates easily to youtube, and in many ways must be seen to be believed. I mean, this was a woman who performed on stage wearing a penis suit and inspired me to wear full body lycra with a strobe light in the crotch. I will not forget standing in the crowd and hearing a man say to his girlfriend "She's kinda dirty" to which she replied awestruck "She's AMAZING". Women get Peaches – she is everything we never see, and we love it. 

So Spinderella, cut it up one time for me – I'm going to talk about sex. Because you know what? I like sex, and I like talking about it. Not because it is a bit shocking (although that that part is quite fun), but because it allows me to connect with women who are more often than not, rather excited about the opportunity to talk about it. And that, really is fun.

(Although, I still cannot quite bring myself to talk about men begging me for anal whilst I am dining with friends in family-friendly cafes at 10am on a Saturday morning. Some boundaries, I cannot break. Yet.)

My Bits. Yes. You Heard Me.

I have recently decided that my Facebook, Twitter and justanne.net blog are just not enough outlets for my compulsive need to share my amusements with the world. Indeed, they are woefully inadequate. "How?" I hear you ask, "Aren't you self-important enough already?" I hear you say. Well, honestly, no. 

My frustrations stems from the following:
  • Sometimes, I have thoughts that are larger than 140 characters, but smaller than 3-4 paragraphs (the size of my typical blog posts).
  • I like to share web content with people and cannot use Twitter, because not enough of my friends have embraced it yet, and I cannot use Facebook as I already feel mildly guilty using it to inundate people with my blog updates.
  • I also like to share photos of silly things I encounter when I am 'out and about'. And while I have used my blog for this in the past, it seems to be taking a new shape and form that 1-2 sentence witticisms and photographs do not quite fit into.

So, I have been toying with a couple of different things and finally settled on starting a second, 'micro-blog', attached to JustAnne. I was going to go with Tumblr, but it occurred to me that as I pay SixApart $100 a year for the honour of hosting my content, and have the capacity to create an additional two weblogs, I should probably just do that. So I give you . . . . 

I will not be updating Facebook or Twitter when I update Bits, if there is something of drastic importance there I shall link to it from time to time. So for all of my Avid Readers, I recommend checking out the link in the sidebar on left of this page when you are procrastinating from work/study/facing reality. You could also try something drastic, like bookmarking it (so old school . . .) or subscribing to the RSS feed. I think you will find that most of the action on My Bits happens on the weekend. So maybe they can become part of your Monday morning routine. Or you could just ignore them. You wouldn't be the first.

Too many moments, and too few characters in Twitter.

I had a truly awful upper-middle-class moment today. I was wandering through the valley on my quest for an air mattress of appropriate price and quality, and I was quietly judging an older woman's outfit. As she came closer I realised that she was one of our family's cleaning ladies. Urgh. Did I feel like an elitist witch? Yes, yes I did. And as if I could be judging anyone's outfit! I have been dagging it up around Brisbane all day wearing my workout clothes (leggings, sneakers, hoodie).

And all around Brisbane I have been. I had an epic day of shopping for camping supplies for my impending trip to Stanthorpe this weekend. Thank God I had the foresight to take the day off today or I would have been totally screwed. The items I required, which after five hours of shopping and driving across Brisbane I have finally acquired, are:
  • A tent
  • An air mattress 
  • An air mattress pump 
  • Casual jeans (all my non-work jeans are a bit too dressy/tight/sexy for a campsite) 
  • A car charger for my phone 
  • A torch 
  • A headband to keep my ears warm (beanies give me horrible almost-straight hair. I do not even want to speak of it) 
  • Some new toys for my depressed budgie Sunny 
  • Head bands for the gym  

Okay, so the last two items were not strictly for my camping trip. But completely necessary and totally overdue purchases. I also impulse bought a book entitled "How To Give Up Shopping (or at least cut down)". It was 16 dollars. But then, I suppose you have to spend money to make money.

Now you would think I would've been able to knock over that list by only visiting my local shopping mall. Not so. Difficulty shopping was also added to thanks to my achy upper body following my morning weights session with my surprisingly nice and non-pushy PT, Terry, at GloboGym. I have to confess though, he was a bit too bulky for his petite frame. Kinda freaked me out. Terry is unfortunately not able to see me at a convenient time next week and has referred me to Rob. We were introduced, and Rob called me two hours later to confirm a time (he as agreed to call me later in the week, as I have no idea what I am doing next weekend). If only men in general could be as attentive as the GloboGym PTs. Think of all the insecurities women would no longer experience. Although, constantly receiving calls from random men at inopportune moments (like when you're juggling shopping bags and a tent) could perceivably become somewhat exasperating.

In other exciting news – the good folk at typepad have given me the knowledge to create a wordle from my Tweets. And you know how much I love a good wordle . . . .
Wordle: Anne April Tweet 

Also, I am presenting a photo of myself at a recent 'P' themed costume party. I went along as Princess Peach, but I do not feel that true nerdy fabulousness of this costume was completely appreciated by my fellow party goers (young international students who were all drinking goon). But I know the Internet will appreciate it . . .

Princess

Fine! I Give Up!!

25 Things About Me (and I am blogging it so click the 'view original post' link above the comment box in Facebook to see the whole thing).

  1. I think the new Brisbane Airport Link is going to be the fugliest thing to ever grace the face of Brisbane. On my commute to work I have watched a raised road be erected alongside a hospital and seen building after building demolished. I remember seeing a model of the new road system at the Ekka, the whole thing looked like a pile of spaghetti.
  2. I can't ride a bike because I had epilepsy when I was younger and my father would not let me near the things lest I had a seizure. I have been living seizure and medication free for 16 years, but I still feel uncomfortable around strobing lights.
  3. I like to write my Facebook status updates in third person. It just feels appropriate.
  4. My all-time favourite blog/web-comedy-serial is Cute With Chris. I have two t-shirts, a pen and a hand written note. I have appeared briefly in a couple of photo montages, although you cannot see my face because I am telling my dog Rosie off for being a bad model. All my dreams, are dead. 
  5. Sometimes, when I am stuck in traffic, I photo blog or update my Facebook status from my mobile phone. It is not very legal, but surely it is better than me sitting there in tears. I hate traffic.
  6. I will be celebrating my fourth year of Bollywood dance later this year. I have done many dances, but the one we are learning at the moment is looking to be one of my favourites (Do watch the clip – there is some amusing Badminton dancing about halfway through). 
  7. I have had some kind of personal website since I was fourteen. And I think I have been blogging for about 7, possibly 8 years. Crikey, can it really have been that long??!!?? That makes me feel old!!
  8. I am the eldest of three siblings and expect to be treated as such. ;) 
  9. I really quite actively dislike Kiera Knightly. She is all teeth and I will be damned if I ever consider her worthy of playing the character of Elizabeth Bennett. 
  10. One of my favourite things to do is sleep in, then lay in bed snoozing, then read a book or magazine in bed, and then maybe snooze some more. In fact, that sounds so awesome I shall have to do it this Sunday, it has been too long.
  11. Sometimes, I throw water restrictions to the wind and have long hot baths. Usually accompanied with a book or magazine. 
  12. Currently my favourite magazine is InStyle. It is what it is. Celebrities, fashion and make up. None of this mixing celebrities, fashion and make up with the big issues like some magazines out there *cough*Marie Claire*cough*. Frankly, I do not think that an 8 page expose on slavery should ever be followed by an article asking me to try and figure out what kind of plastic surgery the women photographed have had. 
  13. I like to buy things online and have them delivered to my office. It spices up my work day and I don't have to traipse to my local post depot to pick up receipted delivery items. 
  14. I like to buy myself flowers, and do so every couple of months when the well priced bright bouquets at my local fruit shop catch my eye.
  15. I am a hopeless romantic. I think we can probably blame Walt Disney for this. And while life has yet to live up to what I would like to consider my 'sweetly naive' ideals, I continue to hold onto the hope that my love story is just around the corner. 
  16. Often, when my evenings finish early and I am a bit too intoxicated to go to sleep, I like to whack on my iPod and rock out. Usually in the street, on verandahs or in people's darkened backyards. Sometimes indoors. 
  17. Due to the above point, I continue to overly identify with the woman in this clip
  18. One of my all-time favourite songs is Chocolate by Snow Patrol and I am insanely excited about finally seeing them live at this year's V fest. Do you want a ticket? Turns out we have three spare. I can cut you a good deal mate, cuzzie bro. 
  19. I went to Dracula's at the Gold Coast for my birthday this year, and it was AWESOME. I had a lot of cocktails and cannot recall the performance in incredible detail. But I had one of the best times ever. And they had jelly shots in syringes. Genius!
  20. I love my MacBook.
  21. I do not love Windows Vista or the new Microsoft Office suite. I fail to understand why you would change the basic functions of something that most of the world knows how to use?
  22. I still have my original SNES console. 
  23. I am a bit of a nerd. I have been told that I hide my geeky tendencies so well, that when they do slip out, they gush and overwhelm people. I don't get it. Aren't there like a million super-geeky, Bollywood dancing, accessory-obsessed social workers out there?? And if not, why not??
  24. Did I mention my increasingly impressive collection of scarves? 
  25. I can't believe I made it to number 25. Especially considering some of my facts actually contained three, if not four, facts about me! Golly, I can gush about myself can't I?  

It’s Saturday Night . . .

And I am manically cleaning my granny flat. In my defense it is pretty grubby. And I had 600ml of Coke Zero at the cinemas earlier this eve. Daniel Craig. Now that is a man that can wear a navy polo shirt with khaki slacks. Mmmmmhmmmmm. With any luck, I'll have some good dreams tonight.

And when I say 'manically' cleaning, I mean it. I am even soaking my garbage bin in a combo of water and bleach.

I am having a couple of days off this week around some training, so I am going to take the opportunity to get my shit together before Christmas. Now, I love Christmas, but for me, a recently bona-fide Myers-Briggs 'J' (the other letters being 'E' 'N' and 'F) it requires a certain degree of organisation that I have not quite yet reached. I've planned, but I need to timetable. And budget. My budget has not been helped by some rather frivolous splurges in the last 24 hours. Two mini skirts, a new pair of shoes and a purple ra-ra dress have left me with a rather diminutive $100 to last the next two weeks. The bright side? I look pretty hot in all of the above items.

Meanwhile, I have recently had to slap a new mattress on my credit card because it turns out – get ready for this – that when you lose 11 kilos, the dint in your cheap old Freedom-brand mattress no longer fits your body, and you can't sleep. The bright side? Well, I've lost 11 kilos (hence the need for new fashion), and my new mattress welcomes me like a lover's embrace. Maybe I will stay single forever, this baby is too good to share. And it has a ten year guarantee. You can't say that about a fella now can you?

So the gist of this post? Well the one sentence summary goes something like this.

I look hot, but I'm broke, so I am staying in and cleaning my granny flat, indulging in my new mattress whilst fretting about the looming cost of Christmas.

Now. I am sure that I have a couple of cluttered former fruit bowls that need sorting . . . 

I have sooo many issues with this …

It’s difficult to even know where to start. That poor bastard. I don’t even care if he is guilty, I am just appalled at what America seems to be able to get away with. And while I have never been the biggest fan of their policies/culture, I still feel betrayed, disappointed and incredibly sad. I would have expected more.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1882383.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1882176.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2007/s1882123.htm

One of these days . . .

The Geckos are going to learn how to trip motion sensor floodlights. And on that day, there will be Gecko feedings the likes of which we have never seen before. And us hu-mans will not be able to sleep, because of the constant strobing of our motion sensor floodlights. It will be like when a cat occasionally walks past, only worse. A million times worse.