La Vortoj De Knabino

Setting Goals

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:23:31 GMT

On April 5, 2008, I made myself a 101 in 1001 challenge, which is a list of 101 goals you want to complete in 1001 days. I still have time - my time ends on NYE 2010 - but even from a couple of months in, I realised that my desires were changing, and some goals lost their allure and I found new ones. So I am abandoning this list in favour on one that is a little more pressing:

Things to do before Christmas, 2009
1. Get a haircut
2. Buy Dad's present
3. Wrap presents, write cards
4. Prepare for Christmas concert
5. Let Ian know I have to work on the night of Carols by the Bay
6. Finish organising all the notices, assignments, uni info sheets, etc., that have heaped up on my desk
7. Get a new moisturiser because even scraping it out of the bottle with my pinky just doesn't do it any more
8. Make sure Mum pays me back for my Christmas present from her
9. Purchase professional photos from the leavers' dinner
10. Bake a fruitcake
11. Put up trees at both houses
12. Get $5 Secret Santa present for work

bang bang bang with a hammer

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:41:33 GMT

and it's up! My dad has a rather haphazard way of sticking things in walls: pick a spot that doesn't sound hollow, choose an approximate height, go and grab the hook and nail from the kitchen, and voila! It works though :) This is my graduation present from him. It's by a local artist and clearly this photograph doesn't do it justice.

And here's some light holiday reading, free for the borrowing if anyone's interested!

What It All Came Down To

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:43:30 GMT

Ah! I can't believe I made another entry without mentioning I got my results! These are the numbers that really matter when applying for university. Imagine my surprise when I was getting ready to go to bed the night before they were expected (the night before the leavers' dinner, too) and there they were in my inbox! Oh, email <3

For those who don't know how it works here, I studied four subjects in Grade 11 and four subjects in Grade 12. After I completed Grade 12, the scores for my five best subjects from those two years, but not more than two from Grade 11, were added up. That number is my Tertiary Entrance Score, and from this I got my Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank, which is basically a percentile ranking.

So, I'm not going to post it, but I am very happy with what I got. Actually, I'm a little bit annoyed with myself because I know I didn't put in as much effort last year as I did this year, and this year's results just showed me how well I could have gone. But it doesn't matter now! I have what I need to get direct entry into Law (even though I'm not sure it's what I really want to study). Until I get a university degree under my belt, it's all I've got, and I'm proud of it.

It's Really Actually Finally Over

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:08:22 GMT

After what seemed like an endless stream of lasts and leaving celebrations, I think we might have actually finished school. Had great fun at last night's leavers' dinner. After having bought the dress months ago, I was really happy with how it all came together. My only regret is that I didn't get in more photos, hopefully my parents took heaps.

and the bathroom still looks as though I've been visited by the cosmetics fairy :D

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:48:20 GMT

Last exam tomorrow morning, Sociology, a measly two hours :DD
Well, I am a little bit worried, considering that all of today's studying was done while listening to the sound of my dad and brother arguing in the next room.
But I can't wait until it's over! Nooooooooo more school!

Well, until uni, but that's a whole year away.

Actually, all this Sociology study has been very reassuring. See, no matter what my dad thinks, social reproduction says it's very unlikely I'll end up in a one-bedroom apartment in Chigwell.

Retail Therapy: replacing one problem with another

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:07:40 GMT

Oh God, I just remembered how much like a drug shopping is. I have a new painting, and a new pair of shoes, ordered a jacket, and I bought myself some food over the past week. The thinking really is that I just need to spend a little bit, and then I'll be good for a while. But it just adds up, and I'm staring at my Paypal page wondering whether to transfer more money from my bank account. I don't know why it's so easy for me to avoid online shopping, but not easy to avoid irl desires. The fact that it's more expensive doesn't disturb me, I think that I like being able to take it home right away and not fussing over shipping/currency exchange rates. Maybe it's because I've been saving, so I look at my bank account and go "That's not right!"

Oh yeah, and my dad says he's going to get a Kindle. Any thoughts?

I can't help liking shiny things

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:20:37 GMT

My tastes in fashion have become a lot more... normal, lately. Or maybe I just haven't felt like dressing up. I don't know. All I know is that my new dream shoes are Alexander McQueen.

Yeah, the gold women looks a tad cheap (and they are, apparently they only cost £370 when they were available, which is pretty good all things considered) but damn they're gorgeous.

It's just weird because I've consciously been working towards classic lolita, but I've found myself swooning over Emily Temple Cute, Jane Marple, and even Betsey Johnson. And while I still adore all the OTT frilliness of lolita, when I go out I just feel like wearing jeans and T-shirt, or a nice skirt. Never a petticoat. These days I only wear my knee-high socks with knee-high boots, and I push them down a bit so you can't see them. My brand clothes are becoming dreadfully neglected. Which reminds me, I need to get rid of my OPs because I never wear them and it makes me sad to see them hanging, neglected in my wardrobe.

ETA: woah, tangent here!

Just to clarify for those reading this who don't know, my parents are divorced. I spend alternating weeks at each parent's house. I've decided that after exams are finished, which is less than two weeks away, I'm going to choose the one place to stay at. They tell me I'll still have a room wherever I go, but this back-and-forth thing is getting to be ridiculous. So anyway, all this means major inventory, deciding what to chuck and what to keep and where to put them. Hopefully it will get me into gear again. I'm not looking to reinvent myself, or find myself, or any of that crap. I just want to make sure I have everything I need for the future: nothing more, nothing less.

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:12:30 GMT

Oh my God I added up all the costs of these end of year celebrations. Dress + shoes + tickets + presents + leavers' top + water pistols + etc. My jaw's still on the floor somewhere. Problem is... studying makes me want to buy stuff.

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:14:57 GMT

John Safran's Race Relations is actually pretty good viewing. Although... it kind of makes me want to make out with somebody in Anne Frank's attic.

Still, if you're going to get ideas from the show, that's probably the one you'd want to get, as opposed to the stealing-women's-underwear thing, or the crucifixion thing.

Study WithOut Teachers is a silly idea

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:28:26 GMT

Okay, I know that I've been a little bit invisible on the internet over the past couple of weeks. The truth is, I'm really only posting because I have to study for exams now, and I found this in our pantry:

*ahem* The GOLDEN MUSCLE WINE is the most famous nation wine in Cambodia. It is combined by deer's antler and many Chinese herbs, with good taste. It help to build up a strong physique, contribute good appetite so as raise mental, sleep well, physical activities and alleviate rheumatism.

ANYWAY, lj keeps going back on me, so having to rewrite this entry over and over is kind of making me want to study.

Exams and the end-of-year formalities are all that separate me from the rest of my life. I've been going to the same school since 1996, and just last week was the last week of classes there ever. It's so surreal, all I know is that at Speech Night I'm going to be a right mess. So far I've managed to keep from crying in front of other people, but I'm going to have to find a new waterproof mascara because my Maybelline one is a little bit unpredictable in terms of whether it's truly waterproof or not.
Two hours of Sociology and three hours of Psychology, once I ace them (positive thinking everybody!...although admittedly it didn't really work for me last year...) I'm going to feel a lot less guilty about having fun. That is, until I have to go looking for another job to get me to Europe. Europe! Let me tell you what I have organised so far:

Plane ticket to Paris, May 30
Theatre tickets for Les Miserables, June 5
Booked (but not paid in full) German course in Austria, July 4 - 31

And what I still have to do:

Accommodation
Transport within Europe (looking into a Busabout Flexitour)
Plan when/how long I'm going to spend in each place
Flight home from Vienna
Find more people with whom to meet up
Organise ISIC
Renew passport (did photos on Monday, hope they're okay because I actually look pretty good XD)
Find more stuff to do in Amsterdam
Obviously other things as well, but they are the most important

Aside from Paris, I have no real plans for June. So far, all I know is that they will involve the Loire Valley, Amsterdam, and Berlin. There are some things that I'd like to do that make me not want my parents around (ie Barricade Day activities, drinking, meeting people, shopping at the Baby Paris store) but God knows there'll come a time when I'll need them, if not for emotional support, then for their previous travel experience and money (lol, of course I'll be an adult by then so it'll work both ways).

Well, to finish here is a poem I submitted in my English Writing folio on Monday. It's a Shakespearean sonnet that took me about two hours to write, and although it's not exactly to my tastes, my English teacher loves it, hm.

By Rights

Outside the court, a fanfare of demands
is raging on a sea of chants and spit,
in block obnoxious colours. Polished hands
with pens and microphones scramble to fit
into the shot and seriously pretend
that they belong to the same world as you
and I. They cry the death, lament the end
of justice here today; then they'll go sue
some friends because they know they must get all
their money's worth, the best desserts. "A fair
exchange, his life for hers," the righteous call,
"The bastard will just taste of our despair."
But when their summons comes at last, they'll find
that without mercy, man is truly blind.

P.S. One of the school office ladies sent us a totally sweet email. Made my day, even if it was really sent to us as a yeargroup.
P.P.S. I must decide between getting a bag or a painting. Based on that description alone, what does one choose?

Yay mail!

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:42:36 GMT

Fricking huge box!

Tissue paper and invoice! (actually no dress in here, I took it out before I took photos)

Shopping bag!

There is absolutely no way this photo does justice to this dress. It fits perfectly, which is odd because I was totally expecting it to be at least as tight as my Baby skirt, being from a classic brand and all. But why'd I get it now? Now I'm going to have it hanging around for months until the leavers' dinner! Good thing it came with a coat hanger :D

I don't think I could be happier right now, as you can probably tell by my abuse of exclamation marks hehe

GLEE

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:19:42 GMT

Just like the sneak preview, but longer X3

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 03:08:30 GMT

The hunt for the perfect formal dress is ON! I decided not to get the one I posted last time because it was just too expensive.

Looking at all these black dresses is turning me gothic you guyzzzz XD (sadly, I will not be getting this one either. A 60cm waist? wtf?)

Going Without

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:47:34 GMT

I have 19 minutes left until I begin the 40 Hour Famine. I'm starting it three hours before the official start time to fit in with work. I'm kinda scared my hunger's going to affect my school work, but we'll see how that goes. At least I get to go to school, right? If you can read this, you're way luckier than you might think.

xxx

Writer's Block: Fantasy Sports

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:00:42 GMT

Imagine you manage a coven of baseball-playing vampires. The Cullen family is really strong this year and you want to bring in a ringer. Which currently active MLB baseball player do you sire?

Submitted By seannau

View 502 Answers

My true response to this question probably can not be recorded without the use of obscenities. So I'll focus instead on the tautology of "MLB baseball".

Just as I thought I was getting sick of LJ drama, I'm suddenly very amused by the comments on seannau's journal.

Macarons!

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:22:48 GMT

Or at least, y'know, something vaguely like them. I'm happy with them as a first attempt, especially because it's something I've been putting off for MONTHS. And a couple in there are probably better than Chris' ones on Masterchef. Sometime this week I'll make a chocolate ganache, which should make them at least more edible.

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:12:31 GMT

I FINALLY got an email from AFS re: the Japan scholarship

Well, I've been accepted for an interview, and I'm having second thoughts!

Basically, what happens is that if I get a scholarship I get two weeks in Japan, all expenses paid, and if I don't I get to go to the Leavers' Dinner. All up, Japan spending money probably is the same as what I'd spend on dress, shoes, etc. (I have expensive tastes!) So the big question is what would I prefer? Given that the list of first song suggestions is pointing to the likelihood that the dinner might be only marginally more fun than the formal, but you only leave high school once.

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:38:40 GMT

This is probably the first time since Grade 2 that I've seriously considered writing as a career, and the closest I've ever come to knowing what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:04:08 GMT

Sometimes I really dislike living so far away in the wrong hemisphere. Totally gonna miss Elisabeth's European tour and RENT with Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal (LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE) in the American tour. grah. There is too much beautiful stuff in this world :)

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:07:09 GMT

Mary Magdalene's 2009 Autumn/Winter survey items: the closest thing to true love.

http://www.marymagdalene.jp/contents/saihan/

:)

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:45:16 GMT

Okay, I have just discovered that I haven't backed up my laptop since Angelic Pretty's Dot Chiffon line, which is around January 2008. I thought it might've been worse, so I'm not completely annoyed with myself, but I've got a lot to do. If you guys know of any good photobuckets, etc. aside from the big egl flickr, can you please link me to them? At least I know where I got all my music from, but updating my stock photo collection is not going to be fun...

The Barricake!

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:27:31 GMT

Look at it!!! Cool, huh?

I didn't put enough icing sugar in the cupcake icing. It was meant to look a bit like the ghostly Cosette-and-flag logo flag, but ended up being a little bit invisible on most of them. It's also lemon-flavoured, by the way.

'Blood of the Martyrs' cupcakes, or 'Red and Brown', whichever.

And I bought a sour belt when I went out with Rosie, because it was appropriately coloured, so here it is draped beautifully over the barricade!

Oh, and daily_lolita post here: http://community.livejournal.com/daily_lolita/1839888.html

Thu, 21 May 2009 13:20:08 GMT

Thanks everyone for your happy birthday wishes! Cant wait til the holidays!

Wed, 20 May 2009 12:17:23 GMT

my laptop has a virus and it's taking longer than usual for the techs to fix ittttt. can't believe i backed up my dodgy psychology questions and not my hell-important drama folio. oh well. i was planning on getting it done on a reasonable schedule, but i suppose i'll just have to pull an all-nighter as usual.

in other news, i turn 17 tomorrow :)

Sat, 02 May 2009 10:15:36 GMT

Man I need to stop spending moneyyyy. There's this little voice in my head that says "just go crazy for now, then you can figure out what to do with it all at the end of the year when you get to stop moving from house to house each week" but I'm almost buying a new dress for every event I go to.

THEN AGAIN

It's my birthday in less than three weeks! And I have a little bit of a wishlist :D
I'm thinking of having a party. Any ideas? I'm worried about having a big one because it's only a 17th, but I know a whole lot more people now than I did last year, and this is the last year everyone'll definitely be together (OMFG I KNOW RIGHT)

Also: this Wednesday or Friday, see our play! It's going to be so good.