Post-Sweden.

Hej hej!

So I'm back in Melbourne.

I arrived Saturday night after about 19 hours of flying time. My Swedish neighbour on the way to Doha was on a school trip to Kenya to help build a school! We got to talking travel and the flight was fine. 

Doha is absolutely stunning at night, by the way.

The entertainment system on this particular commute didn't fail, not that it ever has; I watched Beautiful Creatures to Doha (missed it in the cinemas in Sweden) and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and most of The Brothers Grimm to Melbourne. Didn't get to finish it because the plane landed, stupid plane! I got some sleep too, big mistake because I'm a little jet lagged because of it.

My mum, my sister and her boyfriend met me at the airport.

 

We spent the night at a nearby hotel before driving to my new apartment in the morning.

This is my new view. I call it the 'rotting rooftop' view.

I'm almost finished fixing my shelf. I haven't put many souvenirs up here yet so it looks almost the same.

I've been doing 'back in Australia' errands lately, unpacking, and soon I'll be catching up with friends.

More to come when I start internalising and have more crazy catastrophes to report.

Twenty-One.

So it was my birthday -- in a foreign country, continuing a pattern started last year in Phuket. This time it was Sweden, and I was interested to see how things would unfold. I had a pre party a couple of days before, and we ended up going out, the usual adventures that happens when you're on exchange with a bunch of fantastic people.

The (Tues)day itself was pretty quiet in comparison. I woke and had three separate Skype dates with home before going grocery shopping and looking around stores. Nothing to really say about groceries that's worth mentioning... but I did get a couple of phone calls. Local ones, asking about my address and if I will be home for the 'delivery'. My questions were answered when the 'delivery' occurred... it turned out to be courtesy of my friend Nicola back home in Australia!

And also got an extra something from my friend Marion here in Sweden.

It wasn't a huge affair, the day itself....but then again, that's never really been my style to begin with. That's something I've thought about over the years and come to accept; I've never been able to get my entire family and friends in the one room together.

And I'm okay with that. Really. That seems to be part of my nomadic nature, and I'm embracing it.

This weekend I'm squeezing in a quick trip to Warsaw, Poland. We'll be taking a day out to visit Kraków (and Auschwitz) as well as sightseeing in Warsaw. It looks like my predicted three weeks in Örebro just didn't stick as I thought they would. But hey, I'm not objecting here!

I'm also extremely excited to London next month; I've already started making my list, like I did for Paris. I'll have four whole days for sightseeing, and I can hardly believe that this is becoming a reality.

I'm off to live this whirlwind life that I've been given -- and I've accepted, and spun as... my own.

Thinking about the year.

So. This was 2012.
...this kind of post is about a month premature, I know. But closure!

This year for me... I just can't explain it. There's been so many ups and downs. I've been lied to - and I've done some lying myself. I switched my job location, and been much happier for it. I failed a class.  I did well in so many others. I've made more friends; I've also lost a couple. I met Julie Benz, Sean Maher and Fran Kranz all in the one day. I shared wedges with university friends on campus every Tuesday for a whole trimester. I saw Ed Sheeran and Coldplay within three months of each other. I rode a tram with a friend with absolutely no idea where we were going (something on my bucket list). Some guy tried to stick his tongue down my throat and I said no; the self-respect for myself has expanded beyond my knowledge. 

I've loved. I've lost. I've laughed. I've cried.
I've been jealous. I've been happy. I've been used.
And I've been living.

The events of this year led me to be accepted for overseas study exchange for a trimester next year. I'm absolutely terrified, and absolutely excited.

I have so much to be thankful for.

I wanted to leave, but the world wouldn't let me go. There's just too much out there for me to experience - why back out now?

I want to thank people who have not only stayed; they've stayed faithful to me.

And I want to thank you for reading this; regardless of you following my blog for three years, or if you're a recent addition to the fold. Thank you.

And I will love you, until you learn, to love yourself...

Guess what guys? I've finished uni for the year.
So you'll probably hear more from me.

I've also started Bleach (the anime). I'm not usually one for anime, but it's something different. Plus there's only so many television shows I can watch before I start picking at the clichés; seductive teacher, bug person, dead person, witch person, etc etc etc.

Once I got over the whole YES THIS IS AN ANIME vibe it threw in my face, it had that weird charm of being charming. Like Doctor Who did. I'm going to have to keep watching Bleach, aren't I?

I've also watched RENT and I like it a lot! It reminds me of year 12 Lit, especially this number.

I'll definitely be Buffy/Angel this summer as well, I only just today bought the Angel boxed set.

I also have this song in my head. While it has the most appalling ulterior motive ever (girls willing to start ripping off their clothes for him) I'm learning to love myself. (Well I'm not like this: *annoying fangirl teenager* Like OMG that song was, like, soooooooo written for me, like yeah). So I don't really care. It's a feel good. 

 

GIRLLEMMELUVU.

The weather, while being very temperamental lately, is getting a little warmer. I rugged up real good today, and I realised I wouldn't mind doing it on a regular basis.

I might have some news in the next couple of days, I might not. No idea.

Days feel strange, impossible to remember...

Recommends!

So in about three weeks, I'll be done with this trimester of uni. I have an exam (boo, hiss) and a couple of big assignments to go. Trying my best. That's all I can really do.

Other than that; I just read John Green's The Fault In Our Stars, and I can see why people why are enamoured with it - because I am too. It was another one of those books I couldn't put down; the characters were very down to earth and I can't imagine losing somebody really close to me to cancer. It's a very touching book that I would recommend to anybody.

Also just saw Napoleon Dynamite for the first time, and it was a film I quite liked without logic; things happened as the characters were developed; not like the traditional character development/things happen/character re-evaluates themselves/character is restored/happy ending linear format. Plus that dance and its aftermath was quite remarkable.

I'm eagerly awaiting Chad Sugg's new EP Modern Sway; the release has been delayed, but he's put up the EP for a free preview. Shake Shake and 25 are stand out tracks. I myself, I'm still reeling from Wizards. This guy doesn't get enough credit; compared to 'top chart' people like Paris Hilton who get attention for doing nothing.

Julie Benz is coming to the Melbourne leg of Oz Comic Con; the wonderful actress from shows like Buffy, Angel, Dexter, Supernatural; the list goes on. Oz Comic Con is shaping up to be a wonderful choice of mine!

And Once Upon A Time has started airing here in Australia (I think the US just got the Season 1 finale, double boo). From the first couple of episodes I've seen (it's mainly a lot of setting up, which is fairly necessary for any series, I mean look at how Buffy started out!) I quite like it so far.

And I said that's fine, but you're the only one who knows I lied.

So things are, again, hectic. Good old Sufjan Stevens seems to inspire me when I'm not quite inspired enough on my own for university essays and the like.

Music wise? I'm looking forward to Metric's new album Synthetica coming out next month, and I just listened to Birds of Tokyo's self titled album. Really liked that one.

I've also gone a little crazy with online shopping. I've never done it before, and that excitement when there's a package in the mail a couple of weeks later is something quite new to me. It's mainly band t-shirts.

I've recently watched Pan's Labyrinth. On recommendations, which I'm glad I did. The librarian squealed with delight when I went to check it out at the campus library, so I was kind of like, yeah.

Don't get me wrong, there are many layers to Labyrinth, and I do like listening to the original Spanish dialogue it was shot with. But I think Donnie Darko will always be my favourite film to fit that niche, despite the fact that I had to study it to death in school... twice.

Work's been a little strange lately, but things are always strange with me I think.

I also got a very high score for an essay on hyper masculinity (which I had kind of pieced together while I was in Thailand and was not exactly expecting too much of a great result). The subject had interested me enough, and hey, Lorne! It was a pretty fantastic score for something I had honestly pieced together without obsessing too much over it. I admit that I'd struggled once I returned from Thailand (and hey, I think you could agree that anybody would feel the same in my position), so I was fairly surprised to say the least.

Lorne from Angel. He's the kind of character who's grown on me in the past couple of weeks.

As well as Fred.

 I'm near the end of season four with Angel. I'm slowly getting there.

The weekend that just past was more social than usual. Saturday I organised a special surprise dinner for my aunty (we dressed all formal and fancy and made dumplings). And Sunday involved a bit of homework before a dinner for Mother's Day; we had people over and everything.

I'll be working all next weekend (which I honestly don't mind too much, but), the three assessments due next week make things a little difficult.

Coldplay dates were announced in Australia! I'm hoping to snag some tickets.

And my NaNoWriMo memoir, about things happening to me the previous November, will be available online for purchase soon. I'm very excited about that.

Mildura weekend...

After the earthquake and the possibility of a tsunami in Thailand, I needed a weekend with my family up north. The weekend involved a couple of flights, and I chose to surprise a few people with my visit. Being able to make somebody's day like that was something that I think was necessary as I know people had been worried about me overseas.

But I'm fine. And alive. Still got legs.

I managed to hand in some uni assignments before I flew up, so it wasn't like I just dropped things, and this to me is such a relief.

While Easter was not something hugely celebrated in Thailand like it is Australia and other parts of the world, my share of chocolate was saved by my family. I have enough to ward off the dementors of my life for a couple of weeks, at the very least. In moderation.

And there's a possibility of escorting my sister to Ed Sheeran's tour later this year.
As well as going to COLDPLAY. It's something that my friend Mel and I have talked about for four years now (since high school) and they'll be in Australia sometime later this year. YES.

I've also realised that I seem to have a slight obsession with perfumes lately. I managed to obtain a couple overseas, and I've also taken a bit more interest in certain perfumes. Chanel Chance is always going to be a favourite, and a close second is Dolce and Gabbana's The One. I think Britney Spears' are the ones to surprise me; I've just purchased the Greatest Hits set. Taylor Swift's new fragrance Wonderstruck is something I've also been surprised with, it's a balanced, modest fragrance that screams with the inner beauty that one associates with the vocalist.

I think I can smell the tacos...

Nostalgia: School Plays

I can recall plays from my childhood that I found myself either envying or having a great time.

I can remember in grade one, I think we did a combination of Madeline with songs about the seasons. I could recall wanting to be a leaf; the costumes were something like 2Dish and looked something like this, and the choreography they were doing looked like much fun. Ungrateful little me; I was cast as one of the twelve girls (I know I definitely wasn't Madeline) and we pretty much re-enacted those repetitive bedroom scenes with Ms Clavel. Songs performed included "Surfin' USA" (Summer) and "California Dreamin'" (the latter, for our purposes, was edited for Autumn for some reason).

One in grade four I think was a competition or extravaganza of some sort; we had been studying The Wizard of Oz for music class and performed a few songs, among a few different acts from other schools. I was cast as a munchkin, I can remember wearing my flower girl dress from my mother's second wedding (which at the time had been two years previously; it was a tight but still passable fit) and we had the four main characters cast. We didn't have a yellow brick road, sadly, but us munchkins pretty much learned to part on cue and instruct the four to follow 'the yellow brick road', they would pass through the gap and then we all danced out after them as a closing to our act.

Merry Christmas!

So I'm sitting in my room in Mildura, with a 38 degree Celsius max. temperature prediction today, about to go to a friend's house for pre-Christmas hang. And even though I feel so torn in different directions, I've come to realise that I would prefer it that way. At least compared to a solitary Christmas. Because I've never been satisfied with pure isolation.

I'm just grateful that I'll be seeing a variety of people over the next week or so. At least I have that variety and freedom, as compared to others.

And don't forget that it's always a lot worse than you think. There are others less fortunate who have no control over their financial situation and have a much less extravagant Christmas. Some won't even have enough food, let alone unsatisfactory presents worth standing in the returns line for on Boxing Day. Please think of others and donate if you can.

I'll be having a country Christmas, fulfilling tradition of watching I'll Be Home For Christmas on Christmas Eve with my sister, as well as watching the carols. I guess this film has a little more significance for me this year - college kid reluctantly returning to his family for Christmas. Although I would never have those kinds of crazy catastrophes on the way.

I won't say happy holidays, because being here in Australia for me, it almost feels like an ignorant northern hemisphere phrase. Merry Christmas will do.

I hope you all have a safe Christmas.

To achieve in my lifetime...

Melbourne at night. Simply amazing. I love you. 

Have my own car
Meet a 667er
Meet Misha Collins
Get a horse drawn carriage ride
Have a song dedicated to me
Get my probationary driver's license before I'm twenty-two
Feel like I belong in my family
Buy a city apartment in Melbourne (and outright!)
Buy my mum a house
Travel overseas at least once
Travel to these places:

• Paris/Versailles
• NYC
• Cyprus
• California
• Rome
• Dublin
• London

Speaking of which, get a passport!
Not move house for at least two years
See Coldplay live
See a band or singer other than Coldplay live
Have a huge bookshelf to fit ALL my books, movies and television shows
Live with awesome roommates 
Ride a tram just for fun, not to actually go someplace!
My prince charming composing a song with me in mind (cheesy, but...I need a Disney moment at some point)
Pay off my student debt
Get in the film industry somehow (Even if it's just holding a boom mike. I'll be happy)
Love unconditionally...and have it reciprocated
Own a pair of knee high black and white striped socks
Win once at NaNoWriMo
Get at least one book published
Learn French
Hear a piece of music that makes my heart break, and complete it simultaneously. 

To the guys who are not dummies, please stand up.

Excuse the lack of posts; I have been hard at work with my Nano story - a memoir of my waitressing and other recent Melbourne-ly adventures. The widgets in my last post are still there, so that you can track my progress.

I'm also plowing through Muse's discography, with favourite tracks so far being Starlight, Plug In Baby, Uno, Escape, Overdue, Apocalyse Please, New Born, Map of the Problematique, Blackout, Bliss, Time is Running Out, Hysteria, Sunburn.... wow.

I just wanted to take a quick break for a rant. Regular readers know that my thoughts and my musings here at Crazy Catastrophes are in their fairly blunt, but brutally honest form. And I thank you for sticking with me here.

But guys can be arseholes. And I spelt that with an 'r' because I felt like it.

Honestly though, feel free to step forward and prove me wrong. Guys are either too stuck in their games, or chasing short skirts, or too far up their own rear ends to see that there are those of us genuinely nice girls who think too badly of themselves. Are there guys trying to reassure them? Nope.

And they wonder why girls turn bitchy or turn to another sex as a second option.

I hope you enjoy your week - I'll be in Sydney this weekend for a cousin's wedding!

The scarecrow walks at midnight, but I walk all alone.

See the post from last week for the Youtube clip this was in.

So I finally saw the last Harry Potter film. And I have no idea how to feel about it, honestly. I'm numb. They screwed up things such as how Lily's sacrifice saved Harry through the end, Teddy Lupin, how the Elder wand saved the day. But overall it could have been worse.

Work's going much better. It's so much better than the gym, I'm on my feet for hours and I'm being paid for it. Plus I come across people who look like celebrities. Like Jesus from True Blood and Sam from Glee. And one group I served had heavy Irish accents that I couldn't understand at first. I'm having trouble balancing my readings/essay/documentary pitch with work, but I'll get there. I have to.

But this is how the story ends.

Just hanging by a moment here with you. ♥

What with all the craziness going on with work and family, I neglected to mention that I'll be in Mildura for a week. I've been here for a couple of days and I know that this place was a mere purgatory, my waiting room until I could be ready for something better.
So coming back here...well...

Catching up with friends is pretty much the highlight of the week. And the flight here was fine, I'm growing to like flying. Especially on my own, there's a certain something about hanging around Melbourne Airport solo.

...although it would be nice if people were there too. I'm not going to embrace isolation entirely.

These sound awesome! Maybe I'll have a go at it if I get unlimited access to a bar or something.
...and then on a crazy whim, I searched and found this. My, oh my.

Anyway, have a good week

Sigh.