Kitty affections

Last night my brother and I left kitty out and about in the house while we slept. (We usually lock him in the bathroom, but since my parents are away, we've been giving him a bit more freedom.) Anyway, I also left my bedroom door open. Big mistake. Coltrane decided it would be fun to come leap on me in the middle of the night.. a few times. The last time was at 5:30AM. And after having him pounce and bite on my feet (coz moving feet under the blankets are just too irresistable for kitty), I decided it was high time to kick him out AND close the door. Grr.

Of course he only wanted to play and get some attention. All was forgiven in the morning when I got up and had kitty rubbing against me, giving me nuzzles and kisses. Hehe so cute! He just wanted to be picked up for a cuddle. :)


Prussian Blue

Have been listening to alot of Bluebottle Kiss lately. Guess I'm in that sort of mood. They're playing at Vic On The Park (Marrickville) tomm night... and as they are me and Andrew's current favourite Aussie band, we'll definitely be there! :) I highly recommend people check them out - they have some mp3 downloads on their website. Their latest album, "Revenge is Slow", is one of the rare albums that has me loving almost every song on it. I also find it quite therapeutic for those angsty moments (which I seem to be having lots of lately..).




Angst (warning: rant ahead)

So speaking of angst. Hm. Just been feeling tired.. of life, of people. As cold and heartless as it may sound, sometimes I get really tired of dealing with other people's problems and hang-ups, and copping flak for getting involved. Sometimes I just want to be away from everyone and the stresses of everything - at church, at work, with friends... Or just find new and different things and people. Maybe its the quarter-life crisis talking. Or maybe I've been listening to too much BBK. I dunno. Sometimes I just feel like I can't be bothered anymore. Maybe I'm getting cynical about friendships (like fjord eh :P). There's been enough reason through my life of friendships so far to prove it to me. From my old church, to primary school, to high school, to uni.. the cycle goes on. A friend once said that friends are all there is to hold on to. Of course on a christian level I know that to not be true, but even on a more human level, I don't believe it. I don't think I have believed it for a long time. I dunno, maybe it was/is my fault, maybe it wasn't/isn't. I'm probably not making sense. If I have ever told you about my high school/friends experiences, then you might know what I'm on about. I was gonna blog about it earlier this year.. but never got around to it. Its not that big a deal, though I'm making it sound like it is aren't I? I'm sure I'll get over it, sometime.


Cough

I still have this darn cough... I'm all better from that bad cold/flu two weeks ago, and all the phlegm is gone, but I just can't seem to get rid of this tickly dry cough. I've been taking some cough syrup at night before bed, and it helps a bit, but not for long. Anyone know anything else I can try? :(

Current listening :: "Revenge Is Slow" - Bluebottle Kiss

Fotos

A friend from the ski trip sent round a few of their photos. Check em out. (Can you find me? Hint: I'm wearing the ridiculous looking bright purple ski suit. :P)


I've also added some more photos of my kitty to the Coltrane album, and added 2 pics to the Misc Friends album.

I just got my own photos developed today (old fashioned film coz I didn't have the digital camera) and they turned out pretty good. I'm getting them scanned so expect some more ski trip photos soon! :)

Current listening :: "Deep River" - Utada Hikaru

Back

Yep, I'm back from an absolutely awesome holiday at the slopes. It kinda sucks to be back in the real world, with all its stresses and worries and blahness. *sigh* I miss skiing. At least I'm not quite "back in the grind" (ie. at work), as I've taken Mon and Tues off. :)

Skiing was great! Though the snow was pretty mediocre on Fri and Sat at Perisher Blue (due to the huge rain event the Wed before last). Still, I got to ski some of my fave runs - such as Zalis and Excelerator (though the Ridge was patchy as.. the middle third being all brown snow and rocks showing through.. shockers). Mt Perisher & Sun Valley was in fairly good form though, which was great! And Olympic was open - probably the hardest run at Perisher. I did it not once but twice! I'm so proud of myself... heheh.. its pretty scary up the top as you're looking down these huge moguls on a 60/70 degree slope. I think the trick is to not stay up there too long (though the view is fantastic) looking at the run, or you'll end up getting too scared. As the Nike ad says, just do it! Anyway, I was glad to have "conquered my fear" up there. Tis a good feeling.

I also took a lesson on Fri afternoon.. I was the only one in my level 5 class, so it ended up being a private lesson, which was fantastic! It was great to just refresh and improve my parallel skiing technique (I hadn't done a lesson for like 5 years), I felt much more confident after the lesson, and my parallel turns definitely felt smoother.

Anyway, sorry for those who've never skied before and have no idea what I'm on about. Just needed to rant about it! You should definitely give skiing a go - you'll be hooked! :)

So on Sunday, conditions were very different - it basically dumped big time over Sat night and all Sunday. It was practically blizzard conditions up the top, visibility very limited. Someone would ski a few metres and then just disappear.... it was a complete white-out! We were actually at Thredbo on Sunday, but half the mountain was closed due to almost no visibility and wind. Still, we found some really nice fresh ungroomed powder along Ballroom and Dream Run (prob coz that way was closed, but you could still ski it down to Friday Flat). I took a few photos along the snowy tree-lined path of Dream Run - it was just beautiful. Skiing on fresh powder is pretty hard on the thighs.. you gotta keep moving and working hard to keep your skies from getting stuck. But, its awesome.. and so soft if you fall. Unfortunately with all that snow coming down, my ski suit and gloves were soaked by the end of the day with the snow melting through. :( On the last run of the day, I had to stop coz I couldn't feel my fingers at all - I was afraid I was gonna get frostbite or something.

I also made a few friends during the trip. I went only knowing 3 out of 29 people, and even then I wasn't close to them. Oh, and they were also all a bunch of honks. I felt a bit apprehensive when I arrived, coz they were ALL speaking in cantonese to each other. I mean, I understood probably about 95% of what they were saying, but still, I can't really speak canto very well. However, skiing tends to bond people together, and I made some good friends over the weekend. I rarely get to meet new people and make new friends anymore, since finishing uni, so I really valued the experience.

So, that was my weekend. And I'm not even that sore! Very happy about this one. Guess all that working out and going to dance classes paid off eh. :)

Current listening :: "Eyes On Me" - Faye Wong
'I kind of liked it your way
How you shyly placed your eyes on me
Did you ever know
That I had mine on you' ..... such a beautiful song... *sigh*

Counting the hours..

Its almost time, another hour and I'll have begun my 4 days holiday from work! Even though I'm only away from Thurs to Sun, I've taken Thursday to Tuesday off, for a bit of a recovery break after I get back. Woohoo! :) I love the end of work/beginning of a holiday... its the best feeling! :)

I'm also just about recovered from my cold. Only a little bit of phlegm, and I'm not coughing very much anymore either. Yay!! Good timing! :) Now all I have left to do is pack, prepare some stuff to bring for the long drive down (gotta make some more compilations methinks), and hit the gym before I leave today for a spot of light exercise and lots of stretching to get me in shape for the hard slog down the slopes! (I was supposed to be working out hard in the week leading up to skiing, but coz I got sick, that was kinda impossible. Ah well, I was working out pretty hard the few weeks before I got sick anyway, so that'll have to do!)

Anyways, gotta dash, lots to do before I leave work today! Will post more tomorrow before I leave since I have the day off at home. :)

Current listening :: "Everyday" - Hillsong

Slow recovery

Finally back at work today, after a nice 3 day break (well, if you call being sick a "nice break"). Anyways, am still coughing up phlegm alot, and feeling a little on the tired/weak side, but other than that, I think I'm on the mend. I haven't been this sick in quite a while. It was a truly miserable experience.

And this coughing/phlegm thing concerns me. I have 3 days till I go skiing. I really need to be better before then. I can't ski like this. :\ Anyone know how to get rid of phlegm??

Anyway, I *hate* being sick. Really really hate it. I think I'm the type that, if I'm unable to be productive/active for any extended period of time, I get depressed. Like now. Even though I'm back at work (not that I really want to be back at work), I still felt pretty depressed today. Or maybe it was because I was back at work... :P


Donnie Darko

I finally got around to watching Donnie Darko on Saturday night with Andrew. It was a great movie.... until the ending... which left me gestulating wildly at the tv screen with a big "What the?" It felt like a bit of a let down... and I really didn't understand it. So, what do you do? As any good geek, you search for "Donnie Darko explanation" in Google. I found a number of interesting explanations, the best ones being here and here (warning: don't read unless you've watched it coz they contain massive spoilers). Oh and check out the official Donnie Darko website. Its wieeerrd.. but gives some interesting extra information. I think I need to watch the dvd again... with directors commentary on.

Sickness

I seem to have come down with something, so I took the day off work today. I was feeling pretty crap yesterday, shoulda gone home - I ended up leaving at about 4pm coz I was just in too much pain. My muscles and joints hurt... particularly my knees and lower back. And I think I was starting to get a fever too. Not to mention my chest hurt from phlegm & coughing.

Anyway, this morning wasn't much better... I definitely had a fever, and my chest really hurt everytime I coughed. It was difficult to even breathe coz of the phlegm. Then my joints started to ache again. I ended up taking 2 panedine and sleeping most of the morning, all wrapped up to try and sweat out the fever. Am feeling sorta better now, which is a relief. Hopefully I'll be well enough to go to work tomorrow. I still haven't finished that darned project. :\

Current listening :: "Here comes september" - Waikiki

Music for the soul

There's nothing like wallowing in some good heart-rending musicals when you're feeling down. I tend towards "Jekyll and Hyde" myself. I love the songs, "A New Life", "Someone Like You", "In His Eyes", "Once Upon A Dream" (lyrics here). Ahh... tis music for the soul.


Interpol

While we're on about music, I went to see Interpol and Bluebottle Kiss at the Metro Theatre on Saturday night. T'was good... very good! Interpol are a band from New York (apparently they're pretty big over there!)... um, best compared with bands such as Joy Division and New Order.. they also kinda sound like The Strokes.. but much darker. I think Andrew classified them as "New Wave"? And a friend from NY classed them as a "goth NYC band". They were pretty good! Really tight. I hadn't really heard that much of them before, but what made me buy the tix was that Bluebottle Kiss were supporting. They're my favourite Aussie band at the moment. Its such a shame they're not more well-known and popular.. they deserve to be.. Jamie's songwriting is awesome.. their songs are awesome and so intense.

The guys in Interpol are a bit scary looking. Hehe. The bassist looks like "creepy thin man" from Charlies Angels.. with dyed black hair. He even had the cigarette thing going. The keyboard player was pretty weird looking too. Really gets into it, even tho he's only holding down synth/organ pads. I always found that kinda funny. :)

Anyway I took a few piccies. Check em out - the one on the left is BBK and the one on the right is Interpol.


There's more in the gallery.

Anyway, better get back to work. The project I'm s'pose to be releasing today isn't working properly.. so gotta fix the bugs. :\

Current listening :: Turn On The Bright Lights - Interpol (I love the song "Say Hello To The Angels"... my current fave from the album!)

Its the weekend! Yay!

Argh, soo glad its finally Friday!! Woohoo! Anyway, I gotta dash off soon, but just a quick update - I've uploaded a new album to my photo gallery - it contains all my archived pics of Coltrane, yep from when I first bought him, to now! Clicky here to view. Also I've updated the cam archives with cam pics from May and June (yeh I've been pretty lazy the past few months, I know).

Anyways, hope everyone has a great weekend! Ciao!

Current listening :: MTV Unplugged - Utada Hikaru

All that jazz

Went to dance class last night at the Sydney Dance Co. It was great.. I was very glad to have Ramon back! The main routine was to "Miss Independent" by Kelly Clarkson. I had no idea she was won American Idol. Anyway. The routine was fun! Quite technical with alot of turns etc... I liked! I noticed last night that my increased physical fitness has benefitted my dancing! I seem to be able to do the moves with greater ease, do things I couldn't do before, and not get as tired. Cool! Guess all that working out is paying off!

It seems they've finished building the luxury apartments on the wharf next to the SDC.. they look pretty nice.. not that I'd ever be able to afford anything like that. But here's a pic of the pretty lights.



Tonight I have my jazz fusion class.. second last one of the term. In some ways, I'm quite glad about that. Its nice to have that extra night free, especially since I now seem to have something on every single night of the week. It gets tiring. Sometimes I just wanna be able to relax after work.. do my own thing.. catch a movie or something!

Anyway, last week our class had this "open class" sorta thing. We'd share the 2 hours in the recital hall with the other jazz class and have an hour each to demonstrate our class to the others, and any friends people brought along. Naturally Andrew came along to hear me play. I thought I sucked, but he seemed to think it was good. He took some pics and videos of me, but I think I'll only post a pic coz my solo's sucked on the videos.



The pic above is of the guys in the band - drums, bass, 2 guitars, and trumpet. In the pic below, I'm on keyboard, and my teacher is on piano. We played through our usual warm-ups, and then performed two Yellowjackets pieces - "Sightseeing" and "Wisdom".



Well, I best be off. I might get some gelato or something before class tonight. Mmmm...

Current listening :: "I can love you like that" - All For One (my gosh... talk about nostalgia!)

"Daancing.. yeh!"

Am off to dance class tonight. Yay! Ramon is finally back. The last two weeks that I've gone, he's been away. Last week was ok though, coz I went to Michael Boyd's int/adv Jazz Funk Hip-hop class instead, but the week before, even he was away too. That kinda sucked. Anyway, must be orff. Ciao!

Health & Fitness kick

"I feeel good... *nanananananana*... I knew that I would..." :D

I'd been slipping into a phase of laziness/unhealthiness. So, deciding that I wasn't gonna let myself get unfit, unhealthy or fat (ever), I gave myself a kick up the butt and got back on track with my work outs at the gym. I also have tried to make it to my weekly dance classes at the SDC again - I've been the last 2 weeks (unfortunately Ramon was away :() - and its been great!

I've also tried to keep a watch on what I eat - I mean, I'm no health freak, not in the slightest - I eat my fair share of chocolate & icecream on a weekly basis - but, when I can, I endeavour to eat healthily (eg bringing mum's cooking for lunch every day, or choosing noodle soup instead of fried stuff). I've even been able to force myself to walk away from buying an unhealthy snack (like an icecream after work, or macca's after the gym when there's dinner waiting for me at home), and it felt so good to conquer that temptation! :) I'm also trying to make sure I drink enough water - so I'm aiming for at least 2-3 litres a day. (My complexion is starting to show the difference - those blemishes/pimples I got a few wks ago are clearing up!)

So anyway, I went to the gym today and yesterday.... and I swam the day before... and it feels AWESOME! I love the feeling you get just after you exercise. That relaxed, refreshed, satisfied feeling of doing something thats good for you. I've been sleeping really well too. This morning I actually woke up feeling fairly rested. Thats rare for me!

Anyway, just wanted to say that I'm feelin' gooood! :) (Now I just hope I can keep this up.. forever!)

Current listening :: "Time to party" - Craig David

My weekend

I had a rather nice weekend of fun, fellowship and food. :)

Starting off with Friday night, after Glue, the leaders hung out at "Wongside", which is now referred to as "Geekside" but only after 10pm. :P (Explanation: here.) Sometime during the night, Aaron decided to take some photos as evidence of our high level of geekiness (clockwise: Nate playing Buffy on XBox whilst Andrew watches, Chris and Gav engrossed in Batman comics, Cerise and Ernie doing a puzzle, Paul and Sai on the internet).


On Saturday we had our Rice leaders reunion at CCC Milsons Point. We strolled down to the park on the harbour, just under the harbour bridge to have a nice picnic lunch of charcoal chicken, salad and rolls.

(More pics here.)

It was such a beautiful day of clear blue skies and sunshine, I just had to take some pics of the harbour. I love Sydney.. it's such a beautiful city.

(More pics here.)

Afterwards we went to Bravo's in Crows Nest for some yummy gelato, and in the evening me, Andrew and a few WS'ers went to watch Extreme Ops at the cinemas (a pretty fluffy movie, so-so plot, but awesome skiing/boarding action!)

On Sunday, I went to morning service (argh so early!) because I was rostered on for the first Glue stand of the month. (The glue stand is an information/advertising table set up at morning service to inform and promote our youth group (Glue) to the morning service people, esp the parents in the cantonese/mandarin congregation.) Here's a pic of us, with our pastor Rev Eddy. :)



[Updated: Tues 4:39pm]
Oops I forgot to add, on Sunday late arvo/evening I went for a swim at the Lane Cove leisure centre with a girlfriend. I love swimming there.. the heated indoor pools, awesome hot spa, steam room and sauna. All for $4.90. And then afterwards we went for dinner at my fave japanese teppanyaki restaurant in Carlingford. Pigging out on the Set Menu A after a good swim/spa/steam was the perfect way to end the weekend! We started with a salad, then salmon sashimi, some tempura pieces, and miso soup. Then onto the teppanyaki - scallops, prawn, teriyaki chicken, misoyaki beef, fried rice, veges and finishing off with icecream. Yum! :P~

Well, I guess its back to work for me. *sigh*

Current listening :: "Close To You" - The Carpenters (*sigh* Karen Carpenter has the most beautiful voice...)