25 Random Things

This is all a-buzz on Facebook at the moment. I did mine there, then decided to share it here too.

1. I have an 1800 word assignment due tomorrow and I've only written the title. Looks like tomorrow night will be interesting. I'm pretty slack with getting assignments in that are due right after each other. I need a break in-between.
2. My dog is fat, incredibly stupid, adorable, and a life-long runaway. He may not know what to do when he gets out there past the fence, but man does he want to escape.
3. All of our dog names have been music-related. Layla, Sally, and now Finn. Cats are weirder. Barnaby, Mutley and Shadow.
4. I change my hair probably every 3 months. Mainly out of boredom, as my hair grows really fast and is very thick. I've had every "natural" hair colour except black, and a few unnatural ones - blue, orange, neon red.. and I've had it in length from above my ears to below my butt. It grew from above my shoulders to mid-back last year alone (like, 9 inches). Yes, girls hate me.
5. I lost 7 kgs (15 lbs) last year. I want to lose more. But not Nicole Richie more.
6. I love to plan, plan, plan. But I also love spontaneity. It depends on what I'm doing.
7. I am one of the biggest fangirls you'll ever meet when it comes to The X Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 30 Rock, and House. I think television is a fantastic medium, and usually enjoy it more than the movies. I also love being introduced to great shows of the past -- currently loving Veronica Mars.
8. I take on computer systems with a crazy speed. They just make sense to me. It baffles most people I learn them with. Next!
9. I take that whole "live life as if you'll die tomorrow" thing to some extremes. Mainly financially. I'd rather have experiences and pay it off for a while than not do anything with my life. A trip to Japan, my EP recording, 2 trips to the US, trip to the UK, laptop, sound gear.. sure, I don't owe for all of it NOW (dude, I'd be swimming in debt), but these are things I've spent too much on over the years and yes, I am paying it off.
10. If I wore every item of clothing I own, I'd probably still be able to dress every day for a year without changing an item more than once.
11. I have around 38 pairs of shoes. Mmmmm, shoes. Wait, maybe 39.
12. I can joke and be crude with the boys, but throw on a dress and heels and go out with the girls. My best friends are mostly guys, with a couple of special chickadees, and they're awesome.
13. I haven't had a car accident with two moving vehicles. I've hit a parking machine and a parked car. And my Vitara was seriously damaged when hit while parked.
14. That parking machine accident wrote off the car. It was my first driving lesson.
15. I still find it really hard to believe that I'm 25 in a few months. I feel younger and older all at once.
16. I've been an Auntie since I was 16 and am one of the cluckiest people around. Babies are awesome.
17. I love and hate my job on a daily basis. Half the time we get treated like robots doing a service than another human being. Dude, say hi to me. Don't just shove your passport at me and grunt. But you get some of the nicest people, and get to go out of your way for them.
18. I try to remain an idealist. I try not to be cynical. The world is out to get me. I still think I see the good in people, though.
19. I'm not really into sports, and it's hard to convert me. I'll go watch you play, but don't expect me to join you on the couch for the game unless you want to spend it explaining it and letting me mock it. Serious people that can't mock themselves or their beloved sport..? snore. I also have no sporting talent apart from throwing several strikes in a row on Wii bowling.
20. I am the biggest sook when a movie or tv show is sad. It gets embarrassing. Hand me the tissues.
21. I don't tan. I can't tan. I'm gonna be this white forever. Deal with it.
22. I have a whole bunch of good friends I've never even met. Yay, the internet is awesome. I plan on rectifying this in the next few years.
23. Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Barenaked Ladies and Rilo Kiley are my favourite bands. I don't think that'll change any time soon. Favourite artists are Tori Amos, Sarah Slean, Sarah McLachlan, etc. Singer-songwriter chicks.
24. I am in love with my best friend, the sweetest boy I've ever met, who happens to be an adorable Scotsman.
25. Yes, I am terrified about moving to Scotland. But I am also super excited.

To brighten everyone's day..

I just wanna watch it over and over.

Shalom.

I guess it's time for me to comment on Gaza. Everyone else has.

And the natural response from most is, "Oh well I guess you support Israel."

That's true. I do support Israel. But not entirely in this.

I support Israel's right to defend themselves against a terrorist group who happen to be leading an area. But I don't support the immense amount of firepower used to do so.

I despair for the families who are ripped apart by the bloodshed. But I know that Hamas wants it that way.

I frown at all the protesters tearing down Israel. I've never really been into protesting myself, but this seems particularly ill-placed for my country. I understand that they see the death toll and the amount of children in those numbers, and it's truly awful. But Hamas are fond of hiding weapons and the like in safe places that they know Israel will target. Scaring and ushering people into "safe places" like hospitals and schools because they've "heard the bombs are going to hit Gaza soon". The more dead, the worse Israel looks. The closer they are to their main goal: ridding the world of Israel and all Jews.

And then there's the cafes/restaurants/stores refusing service to Israelis. That's disgusting. That's human rights. Is that Israeli personally responsible? Can they influence their government? Can they do much from New Zealand? Come on.

Did we boycott Americans during the worst days of the Iraq war? no. Have they not seen the Iraq civilian body count which is nearly 100,000 people?

Yes, Israel can seriously suck. But so can Hamas. War sucks. Violence sucks. All I want is peace, just like everyone else.

Shalom, shalom, shalom.

Yo comments are whack!

Seriously the best thing I've seen on Youtube, ever.

Reason #6413 my boyfriend is awesome

The Lush body block he bought me that turned my bathwater bright pink and filled it with bubbles.

♥!

Not-so-new music

Recommendations!

Belle and Sebastian - Tigermilk

Having become slightly obsessed with Belle and Sebastian in the last wee bit (I had heard of them and heard a few tracks before, but only really was introduced to them fully by Dave last year), I was very excited to receive their first album on CD from the lovely boy for Christmas.

Tigermilk has some true greats on it, too -- the fantastic starter The State I'm In which leads into Expectations, which happens to be my second favourite of the album. A good start!

Belle and Sebastian are not just fun to listen to and great songwriters, but truly great storytellers. A brilliant debut from May 1996. An indie masterpiece.

Good if you like: Any other Belle and Sebastian. Kimya Dawson. Indie music. Listening to good tunes with your ears!

Metric - Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?

Released in 2003 and introduced to me in 2007 by the lovely Tim, this album from these awesome Canadian musos is hard to classify. It's rocky, it's poppy, it's electric, it's dancey, it's indie. It's fun as hell.

Favourite tracks for me are Dead Disco ("Dead disco! dead funk! dead rock and roll!"), Combat Baby and Calculation Theme. I bop along in the car to these alllll the time.

Good if you like: Stars, dancing. Hard to compare!

Portishead - Dummy

If you haven't heard this yet, I urge you to do it. Doooo it.

Thumping beats, ethereal and often heartbreaking vocals, gloomy and melodramatic, yet definitely sing-able. I've loved it since highschool and I'll love it a long time from now.

I started to list favourite tracks and then realised that it's pretty much 90% of the album. But Mysterons, Sour Times and Roads take top three.

Can't believe it was made in 1994. All the time it surprises me with how 'present' it always sounds.

Good if you like: Massive Attack. Any other Portishead. Singing dramatically.

Favourite shots 2009 - Week One

1st - 7th January:

Unfortunately I haven't taken much since the 1st officially kicked in! Honourable mentions from NYE include...

Weighty matters..

So since May of this last year, I have lost 7kgs (15lbs).

I did it the old-fashioned way, with diet and exercise. Bread, potatoes, pasta.. all of these became my nemeses. I ate slightly smaller meals, never after 9pm, and started a routine of pilates, jogging and strength-training at home in the form of lunges, squats, sit-ups and the like.

And then I got Wii Fit.

Now let's just say, I bought it for a kick, and because I love Yoga. Add to that the fact that I have this weird obsession with charting progress in anything (see: spreadsheets galore). And so far? I love it.

Boxing, step classes, balance exercises, yoga, boxing, strength exercises that you can't cheat in (not unless you wanna ruin your score!) and boxing. Did I mention boxing? man that's fun.

I also started a running plan yesterday to bring my cardiovascular fitness up, as that is sorely lacking. Hopefully by the time I move I'll be a little smaller, tauter and fitter.

Fun.

(Stay tuned for a video of me making a fool of myself on the Wii..)

87.5..

So I figured out tonight that going by my current leaving estimate (April 1st or thereabouts), Dave and I are apart for 175 days this time. Yowzer. About a week under 6 months.

So. Today is 88 days to go, 87 days apart. 87.5 is technically the halfway point, and now that it's midnight, I declare it so.

We're at halfway. Hopefully it just gets easier from here. All I know is that it kinda sucks right now. (Stupid holidays).

(And yes, I know I have New-Year-ish posts due, I've half-written 'em.)

Happy New Year!

We sure had fun last night.

Only thing missing was my Dave. But as he said in his text message, this is our year. And it's gonna be awesome.

I'll get the photos on Flickr as soon as I can.