The Grey

We were lining up at Village Cinemas when I see my high school friend Tan behind the counter. YES! Hook ups. Networking is good because people can benefit off each other and favours are returned. I had a one in three chance of being served by Tan. He called me over. YES! Tan gave me a discount.. charged us $11 instead of $18.50 per ticket. Village Cinemas made a $15 loss because Tan wanted to give me a discount.

I give free or heavily discounted drinks at Jwow to people I like. I tell em to come in and we can do free shots. Sometimes I feel bad because Jwow is the one suffering for my benefit. It's not really my property to give away freely.. and i get all the credit.

But you know what?? This is our stance against power structures and monopoly. We feed off the riches of other people and thats how this world works.

The movie 'The Grey' wih Liam Neeson was rated 7.5/10 by Imdb. I trust the ratings on Imdb. The movie is soooo similiar to 'Alive' that it was almost predictable when it came to the emotions the characters experienced after the crash. Liam Neeson and survivors have to fight off a pack of wolves just to keep alive long enough to hopefully be saved.

The movie is sooooo suspenseful. I was twitching, cringing, covering my eyes, whimpering. I kept saying 'oh know he's gonna die' or 'I betcha THAT guys the next one to go'. The plane crash scene is amazing. I really felt I was there and seeing the rest of the movie made me cold so I had to half put on a jacket on top of my Nikey Sauna Suit jacket.

I feel Liam Neeson's character in this movie was too much of a sikunt. Tough guy, wise guy, swearing when Neeson started off as a genuine actor. Now he's been what I call 'Americanized' (with a 'z'). This reminds me of the unnecessarily aggressive outburst that Samuel L. Jackson made in 'Snakes On A Plane' that actually had me and Kathy giggling. 'Get these MUTHA FUCKING snakes off this MUTHAFUCKING PLANE!'

I enjoyed this movie, even though I did check my facebook three times throughout the film. It doesnt mean it was a boring movie, it just means I'm addicted to facebook. I like movies that mess with my emotions and this one did.. although one emotion in particular - fear, fear for the unknown/future of these characters. The movie has a lot to do with death.. kinda depressing and probably not the perfect choice of movie for today. The ending is a good one, its one of them open to interpretation endings.


________________________


I voiced my intentions to Jess that I will bleach my hair platnum blonde yesterday. She said to me early in the morning today 'Jen, I've decided that you should bleach you're hair blonde'. Haha. thanks for your support. I went to a hair dressers in Spencer street s/c today who quoted me $217 for almost platnum blonde hair.. oh but I get a 20% discount because I work in the centre (starting from 3 days ago) HOOKUPS. It will take 2.5hours... and did I want to do it today?? oh shit...!! I love impulsive!!

Garden State

Mad movie. If you liked Napoleon Dynamite and wish it had more of a serious message, or if you liked Little Miss Sunshine and wish it wasn't so depressing, Garden State is the bang on target in the middle.

Zach Braff describes the themes of the movie as "love, for lack of a better term. And it's a movie about awakening. It's a movie about taking action. It's a movie about how life is short, go for it now. My character says, 'I'm 26 years old, and I've spent my whole life waiting for something else to start. Now I realize that this is all there is, and I'm going to try to live my life like that'".

I love movies that are quirky and funny in ways that are dark, morbid and awkward. It's easy to make people laugh with common slap stick humour which is probably why I despise those kinds of movies. Dark humour is intelligent humour and I found this movie did it really well.

Dad to estranged son, Andrew: We need to talk

Andrew: What, how? Ahh.. I mean, when?

Andrew is a quiet, awkward young man returning to his home town to attend the funeral of his mum. He meets with his simple and equally awkward teenage friends and falls in love with a girl who in the end of the movie makes everything right for him.

Girl: How do you feel?

Andrew: Safe. At home.

It's an 'awwwwww' moment minus the corny and you know when corny doesnt happen, its a genuine moment. The songs fit the scenes most appropriately and all collectively make an appealing soundtrack. I dont listen to soft cock rock or slow house but I'm going to download the soundtrack and be reminded of the Garden State.

Coldplay - Don't Panic Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line Lebanese Blonde - Thievery Corporation

Vote For Pedro

I knew that this was going to be a strange day the moment it started. I under slept today but woke up at 10am feeling unusually refreshed. I helped Ate clean the house and prepare the salad for Anio's 21st family birthday party at my house that I was going to miss. The party started at 12pm but I had to leave at 12pm for work.

The weather was conflicting. Warm, with an occasional icey breeze, gloomy and 2nd speed wiper rain. I wore my Timbs to protect my feet from the rain and cold. The train announcement called out the station names one too many late. I realised I left my phone at home and refused to struggle today without it. Although I did have to call Vman to pass on a message and tell him to pass on a message to phuong as well.

Work was SO draining. I felt every minute of my 5.25 hour shift and I wasnt even hung over or tired. All the other girls were tired too. The weather didnt help either. Muggy, sticky, hot, cold, rain, what??? The shop got busy for sometime til a point where another girl came up and helped me with the stock but customers where just trying on 500million shoes and not buying anything. Wasted effort for nothing.

I went to jwow to find cheese obviously upset with Australian Immigration, blurting out her problems to Marc. James didnt seem himself. Marc didn't seem himself either and just wanted to get out of jwow so we went to Starbucks where we ordered the biggest caffine hit available. Bam! It did nothing.

Yao and Helen came and we had dinner at the new Laksa joint that opened on Lt. Lonsdale and Exhibition. Back to Jwow, back to mine where Helen and Vman now sleep while I blog. We watched Napolean Dynamite and A Might Heart. I tried to smoke my sheesha but unnsuccessfully carved myself an apple. Apple fail. I need to get some carving lessons off Dave. I resorted back to original house sheesha which was shit because I know I deserve Sydney Road quality shit.

I've been spending so much money on shit I don't need lately and I wont be able to achieve my financial savings target this week. It means I'll have to save what I couldnt this week next week.

The girls at Tony still cant believe I have three jobs and work seven days a week. 'How do you do it Jen? I don't know how you do it.' I don't know either. I worked out I do 48-55hours a week. I dont go out anymore, which is even less than I used to. My body tolerance to alcohol has decreased which means I am a weak drunk, spend less money to get fucked up, which means I'll save money on alcohol? Bonus. This was my plan all along.

Sunday

Work 11-4pm

Jwow friends 830pm onwards

Monday

Work 8-1pm

Tuesday

Work 8-1pm

Work at D 2-9pm

Wednesday

Work 8-1pm

Thursday

Work 12-8pm

Friday

Work 8-1pm

Saturday

10-3pm

Day 30 A New Attitude

Today I took my mum out on a spin in the ole Camry. I spent the night at the parent's house because I didnt want to be waken up by the builders who were renovating our Kealba bathroom. I was treated like a guest here. Mum even went up stairs to tell my brother off for making such a racket.

"Anio!! Be quiet!!

Jenny is sleeping in the next room and you're going to wake her up!!"

I woke up to this at 12:20pm. I ate the breakfast she had made me and my brother; mushroom omelette and watery butternut pumpkin soup which I drank out of my Astro Boy mug. I saw my brother for the first time in 2 weeks. He still dressed like a muzza. I proposed to my mum that we go DFO Essendon.

"Do you know how to drive there??"

"Yes!" Obviously.

The air of confidence around me when I am with mum. I have to prove to her that I'm not a little kid anymore, I am a capable adult. I bet she sat in the passengers seat with controlled awe as I merged onto the Calder Freeway from the Melton Highway exit. Yep. I was braver than she.

I never leave DFO Essendon empty handed and/or disappointed. I love it there. I visit my usual shops:

1. Barkins
2. Sunglass Shop
3. Charcoal
4. Tony Bianco
5. Flockhart Street
6. Dotti
7. Glassons

The sales are really sales here. I spent about $95 today which got me:

1. Navy blue chiffon singlet dress
2. Khaki/brown elastic waist belt
3. Black knitted oversized jumper with sequined shoulders (buy two and get the third item for free weeee!)
4. Modal/Cotton black work pants (pleasant to touch)
5. Hooped earrings
6. Oversized black torn jumper/dress ($5 because it was a faulty item, the knit was coming apart but I think it looks kinda cool like that)

That averages out to be $15 per item. So good. I went home and tried them all on again. Then wore the dress + sequined jumper to the movies later.

New dress & belt

So this new attitude I have with mum. I've decided to let her be my friend. I speak to her now and I was driving her around yesterday and today. After six months of ignoring her, greasy-ing her, yelling and trying to hurt her feelings, I have decided it's time to make peace. Hopefully she has learnt her lesson to leave me alone, stop bitching about me and sticking her head into my business e.g. my rubbish bin. But as soon as she crosses that line, it will be another 6 months of fighting.

_____________

We caught the 8pm 'Conan The Barbarian' movie at Sunshine Village Cinemas. I remember when that place first opened, it was the place to be seen. Us little asian gangstas would be seen hanging around the Arnold Swartzineger (?) holding a globe statue and giggle at the site of his crotch. Food Star All You Can Eat buffet was packed and it wasn't all reheated oven food like it is now. The laser lighting, like in the batman movies, that Sunshine once had and were visible from Delahey were gone due to financial costs. This place isn't what it used to be. It was kinda sad.

So the movie. I tried to save us some money by bringing my own chips and candy. Vince likes spending $15 on large popcorn and coke that we dont even finish. It kills me to think one hour of jwow work = popcorn and coke. Ouch. My standards.... But vince bought a $4 bottle of Mount Franklin.. oh and can you make that two?? So he spent $8 on two bottled waters. Ugh. Thats 30minutes of jwow work!

The movie started off OKAY... but I knew pretty much from early on it was gonna be a shit movie. A strong and interesting story line was not apparent within the first 20 minutes. I felt the casting acting of conan's dad a tad distracting and unbelievable. He played One from the City of Lost Children and I couldn't imagine him as Conan's dad. The name Conan was distracting too because its also the name of Vince's bunny labrador. When I hear the name Conan, I usually follow it with the words 'Big Doggie'.

The movie was violently graphic. Much decapitations. The bad guys didnt die any way memorable and it was a little disappointing.

What?!

All those years trying to track him down and he just falls off a cliff?!?!

I found some of the lines sexist like:

'Woman. Come here! I said come here!'

'Get off' and

'You do what I tell you to do. Go to sleep!'

The cinema was mostly full of guys, groups of tough guys. They snickered at these lines. Definitely get some complaints about it. And the fight scences, I felt they took inspiration from Lord of the Rings.

The picky movie critic that I am did not enjoy the movie. It was tolerable. I closed my eyes during the movie and my thoughts were elsewhere.

Day 8: New Movie & Admitted Addiction

'I Love You Phillip Morris'

Unexpectedly bombarded with homosexual references, not that I have anything against it. I can't take Jim Carey seriously as a non-comedic character.

I have come to terms to my obsessive compulsive disorder. I have found a new addiction.

I admire your self discipline, probably something I need more of.

Transformers in Extreme Screen

Today I watched transformers. The movie reinstated my desire to have an English accent to appear more sophisticated and intelligent. Overall the movie was too full on and Americanised for my liking. Dramatic, over the top/enthusiastic, loud, in your face, fast paced, gullible people, multiple twists, villians, heroes and the euphoric attitude that good, friendship and loyalty will always prevail. There was even a corny kiss at the end.

The best part of tonight was the Shabu Shabu.

Shabu Shabu Buffet, China Bar, Melbourne Central

Pulp Fiction

I do believe, Marsell Wallace, my husband, your boss told you to take ME out and do whatever I want.

Now I want to dance. I want to win. I want that trophy so dance good. Mia, Pulp Fiction

Home is Where I Can Look Like A Bum & Not Be A Bum

Check out mine and vince's tom yum hot pot.

Tom YUM!

14hour shift last night with no proper break. are you fucking crazy? rachel zoe says

UGH!

you could say im desparately looking for another job. need more money. gotta pay for things that im not used to e.g. bills, food, BUS MONEY and my fucking Metro fine for travelling on a concession card without having a valid concession card - it was expired exactly 17 days before my fine and i was in the literal process of getting it renewed! Swinburne stamped my application form on the 16th, i got fined on the 17th and i fully processed my card on the 18th. UGH! such fucking luck. i love swearing. today i woke up in pain and frustration. I finished work at 5am, slept at 6am and woke up at 2:30pm. i told bentot my tummy was rumbling. he asked me what my tummy was saying. i told him my tummy was saying

crispy skin chicken and tomato rice and taro ice blend

bentot said he would get ready and take me :) AW! he so sweet to me. last night, when me, helen and cheese were so obviously dead tired from work, vince came in and helped. he took the broom off me, and swept the floor. i started mopping. when he finished sweeping, he came over and took the mop off me. aw. both me and helen tried to fight for the mop, with all the energy left in our small and hungry bodies, but vman was still persistent. we just left him to it. closing last night wasn't so bad. mainly because everyone fucked off and we closed 30 minutes early. we dedicated our $10 each tip money to buy 2 large pizzas and garlic bread - delivered. we rounded up the customers, locked jwow and waited outside for our pizza - cleaning can be done after. we kicked back on the state library bench for ages and it was the 1st bit of fresh air i had in 12 hours. it was also my first proper break. i immediately felt better. Ty, our friendly and best DJ has some pretty cool friends. Mebz, my 2nd favourite customer works at an African Resto on Brunswick street called Nyala. I really hope i go and check it out this Wednesday since i didnt go last week.. i did have this annoying customer though. she was nice and friendly at first. then she came up with a chewy on her pants.she said the chewy was under her table and when she crossed her legs it got stuck on her knee. she said

i at least want the dry cleaning paid for

i told her to fuck off. nah not really. i told her

we cant control people who put chewy under our tables. we obviously dont WANT people to put chewy under our tables. a customer has never come up, demanding to have their dry cleaning paid for because they sat on some chewy.

her come back was

well it was within your establishment and these are a very expensive pair of pants

what..? those velvet things? ugh. fuck off. she pissed me off the whole night. really. i wish i didnt have to be surrounded by such fake, pretentious, upperclass, materialistic, demanding, illogical, superficial kunts. everyone is happier being kick back. John Travolta says

Be cool.

Vince and his mum picked me up and we went off to St. Albans to carry out the orders of my tummy. Vince's mum needed medicine so we waited in the parked car behind Safeway. We witnessed a drug deal. Facebook status that shit. I had my crispy chicken hit, i also had a strong ass iced coffee vietnamei style. then we started shopping for ingredients for our Hot Pot tmrw. As I walked down st. albans I realised how relaxed and at home I feel. I know where everything is, I know the old men will stare but I still feel comfortable walking past, I know those gangsta looking asians arent so intimidating because judging by their hair, they're only in high school. So So St. Albans

1. Chewing gum on the pavement
2. Vietnamese resto's and asian groceries selling the same shit for pretty much the same price
3. Unhygienic food practices, potential food poisoning and the occasional cockroach in your Pho
4. Identifying Asian grocery stores not by their names but where their register is located
5. Shoppers in pajama clothes and horribly mismatching colours and high heels (women of course)
6. The vietnamese language being shouted across the store and in your ear
7. Broken-english speaking people (which I am now accustomed too)
8. People shouting take away orders from the restuarant door
9. Asian 'gangsters' with tips, fringes, spikey hair and low riding carribee bags
10. The sqaure bus top, buses and their stoned drivers
11. Double parked cars
12. Stationary cars with their indicators going right you don't know if you have to wait or over take them
13. Tiny asian mums driving chunky ass four wheeled drives, squinting and leaning over the stirring wheel
14. Failed parallel parks and almost no reversed parks
15. Driving hell around the Alfreda Street parking patch
16. Gangstas outside the charcoal chicken shop
17. The '20cent' guy
18. The 'cowboy' guy
19. Old Vietnamese men who sit at the resto's before the library and so very obviously stare as you walk past
20. Angry customers walking out of hair salons
21. Notorious St. Albans Train Station crossing
22. Commuters running for the train and missing it (HAHA!)
23. Machette's, stabbings and assults
24. Fireworks for sale
25. Akira Lanning Centre
26. Stinky alleyway behind the Alreda Street restos and people going through the rubbish (true story)

KFL Supermarket

Graffiti: Kealba!

I love St. Albans because it is my home. It's where I grew up and I compare the rest of the world to it. I have so many memories here. I had no make up and wore my PJ pants today. I didn't feel self conscious at all. Then it hit me, home is not where you grew up, but a state of mind. Home is where you feel comfortable just being you. Love. After i got home I had to get ready to head out into the city. I lay in bed for 20 precious minutes because my body still hurt from last night. I didnt think I'd wear my heels because my calves were mattered. but i did, It helped a little that I stretched. I whipped up something in 10 minutes and surprised myself with the final result. vman's waiting outside OFF WE GO! i reached jwow. I drank me 2 glasses of sangria. i was lonely because I was by myself. I was waiting for cheese and helen. I spoke to Joey, our father-figure security guard. he was watching his car because he parked in a disabled spot and didnt wanna get fined! JOEY! I told him to move it, he said he was waiting for someone on Lt. Lonsdale to move their car. as we were complaining about paying fines, some guys right infront of us started up their car! joey, without warning, cut our convo/stopped his job and held his hand out to the guys in a 'stop' motion. he asked the guys to not move yet, joey didnt wanna loose the park to someone else. The guys started up their cars when joey was ready to park. I helped him parallel park. Joey, from the drivers seat looked and said to me with the biggest smile:

Lucky

haha! he made me laugh. he was so proud. he told me he does that every week! hahaha. aww joey. people like him make me think there is more good in this world. seeing people like him break my heart when i see them mistreated by the bad guys. I want to be surrounded by good people. always. helen and steve came. a large group of us did rum, contrieu, chambord and lime shots which was quiet strong. it was cheese's birthday. one more drink and we had to catch the 10:30pm Hall Pass movie session at the Coburg Drive Ins. It took me a while to order 2 vodka lime and sodas, one in a short glass and one in a tall glass for Princess Hwi. He was so happy when I presented him with it at the DJ booth. You could see it in his eyes. A drink well needed. Perhaps. I downed that drink in a record 3 minutes and took my 3rd piss of the day. The Coburg drive in's are haunted. I did not want to go to the toilet there. I did a quick, hug, kiss good bye to everyone and left the back way to buy some chips and drinkies at safeway. drive ins were fun. the movie wasnt. it was american. sexist. predicatable. corny. but good times. I sat in the back seat of Dave's very pretty car and was careful not to mark the leather seats, or wipe my hands on it. Dave kindly escorted me to the toilets when i cudnt hold it in. Dave also kindly drove me home. i felt so bad because i was very much out of the way. he wudnt accept the $5 i gave him for petrol money. so he left it in my mailbox according to his facebook post. ugh! todays rating: 8/10 Have I mentioned this song before? Flight Facilities ft. Giselle - Crave You

Kickin' It Old Skool

No matter how advanced this world is becoming, I loove keeping it old skool. Old skool means meaningful, sentimental. Old skool means appreciating the way things were originally done, and therefore not taking things for granted. Old skool means simple people with simple needs, which equates to a healthier environment not destroyed by our compulsive and disgusting greed for more, more, more! yuck. mum's a perfect example of compulsive and disgusting greed. her hobbies include:

1. Sifting through junkmail and listing down bargains at the local store
2. Driving out to the store, buy all the the things on the list, in every colour please
3. Go home, assess the purchases, call up some people and tell them, then either
4. Go back to the store and return it because the status quo do not approve or
5. Go back to the store to buy papa, anio, ate, tata and everyone else one too

Mum gets me to do her dirty 'return/exhange' work sometimes. At times i accept, other times i reject. She gets me to do her dirty work when she's too embarassed to go back, because she's already been there twice. My mum is everything I do not want to be when I grow old and saggy. Today I had jwow work. 10 hour shift. My eye make up, in particular my eye shadow stayed on for 12 hours. The free eye shadow i got from the Sunshine chemist because my mum discussed superstitious techniques on successful baby making with the Pharmacist. The lovely Israli girl at Da Vinci Mineral Makeup at Watergardens showed me how to apply two colours of eye shadow and make them fade into each other. I'm getting better at it. Today my eye lids were dark and light pink. It was so pretty I might even do it tomorrow. Working with Nai Zi, Helen and Joel today. what a good team we make. they made a make-shift bed on one of the shelves in the storage room - complete with pillow and phone reception. Apparently its comfy. I didnt get any dickheads today. Except for one... I dream of lunging at his neck with my fingernails over the counter til his arteries puncture and squirt. Except that's a fantasy..

and it won't come true. We've never even spoke and your man still love you

sorry, LL Cool J break out. LL Cool J feat. Boyz II Men - Hey Lover I asked Nai Zi to help me list movies that are life changing and sentimental, movies that may affect your outlook on daily life. My shit:

• Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
• Dead Poet's Society
• Monster
• Little Miss Sunshine
• Basketball Diaries
• Fight Club
• Amelie
• Billion Dollar Baby
• The Diving Bell and Butterfly
• Snatch
• Catch Me If You Can
• 300
• Kingdom Of Heaven
• Lord of the Rings
• Kill Bill
• Pulp Fiction
• Requiem for a Dream
• Rise of the Foot Soldier
• Shawshank Redemption
• Curse of the Golden Flower
• Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Lynh and Alyssa turned up at my work today demanding I make them new and yummy drinks. I mixed up the following combinations:

1. Sloe Gin + Lime + Lemonade (favourite)
2. Apricot Brandy + Butterscotch Schnapps + Apple Juice
3. Cherry Brandy + Pomme de Verte + Soda Water (?)
4. Vodka + Lime + Sugar + Soda
5. Amaretto + Lime + Dry Ginger Ale
6. Galliano Vanila + White Rum + Soda Water (?)
7. Vuu Tang Shot

Lynh drank drove us home. A shout out to Lynh who, I discovered today, reads my blog. Your stalking encourages me to write!

I write for you stalkers

Tmrw Ysabella is having her 1st birthday party. I need to be a Caulfield by 1pm. but at the moment I'm so happy, beacause they played Sade - Smooth Operator at Jwow. Btw, I found a new female interest.

Bjork.

Summer Cleaning

I'm fucking tired. I only had 1hr sleep last night, i feel asleep just as my alarm went off to wake up. Full cleaning today at Jwow. It was like those TV shows where they turn a bomb stricken house into something brand spanking new. Floor boards look nice and since the wine's out, everything is so much more spacious. I was so tired i fell asleep on the State Library Lawns and got bitten by more mosquitos.

Mosquito Bite Tally: 009

I needed a ride home from Waterg's. I call mum who tells me to take the bus. What's the point in offering rides if you're just gonna tell me to take the bus??? I decide to go to vman's house which is closer than my house. It will take me about 20minutes to walk. The Bus leaves in 20minutes. So i decide to walk. Its 27 degrees, spitty with rain, humid, cloudy/gloomy but hot. My clothes are drenched in sweat. I keep looking behind me to see if any weirdos are following me. I'm so paranoid, I can't help it. I walk through a small alley way, the kind of alley way where girls get raped. This man is walking behind me. He takes the same turns as I do. I think he's following me, but I've got my phone in hand and I put away my ipod so I can hear his steps. He wolf whistles at me, I turn a corner. He disappears.

I walk past a house, there is a man smoking outside. He says 'Ni Hao', Mandarin for 'hello'. I ignore him. He says it louder as I pass 'Ni hao!'. Ignore.

I find out im walking around in circles. I got confused with Hume Drive and Kings Road they look the same, fucking. I found out I did a U-y around the train station, and another around Rose Hedge Park. I pass the same walker twice, except I wasn't walking for exercise, I was LOST!! What should've taken me 20 minutes took me 40. My tummy, chest and back are sweating. I get to vmans house, eat a large slice of lasagna, watch 1 eposoide of the Simpsons and Futurama ( I Love Leela) and conk out on vman's bed. I hate vman's bed. I wake up miserable with neck or back pains. I don't know how one can get used to it. I'll shut up with my complaining now that I've gotten it out. I got paid today, WOO. I downloaded my second movie. It's called Tais-Toi a french comedy about two people who escape from prison. I'm downloading a few other movies. One called Delicatessen (really looking forward to it). and I wanna watch City of Lost Children. These two movies have something in common:

black/dark comedy, surrealism, horror, fantasy, experimental

Check this song out, James played it at Jwow today. It's so smooth and sexy. Something you slow walk too down a pier on during a summer sunset in nothing but high heels, white bikini with shiny gold trimming, loosely covered with a white sarong that reveals sexy tanned skin with the gentle blow of the wind. Curren$y - Famous

Swimming Pool

Its already 4am and i know in about 1 hour the sun will be up. I downloaded my first movie tonight. It was called Swimming Pool. I googled 'Greatest French Films' and this was one of 50. In reality, it was more in english, and I dont think this movie was that great. i may be missing something or there are some pretty big holes in this story. (I must stop thinking, eating and breathing Die Antwoord and how cool Yolandi Visser is, and how much I want to copy her hair.) I'm hungry, but i dont deserve to eat, since i didnt do anything all day and that the energy, carbs and sugar will be stored as fat around my tummy. i wonder when im going to fall asleep. i have somewhere to be tomorrow. Wandy and I are going hip hop dance lessons in Prahran. $15 for a 1.5hour intermediate class at the Space Dance and Arts Centre. I need to also get my camera quoted for repair so i can finally sort out this insurance claim. The weather is going to be shit all week. warm and 25 degrees but cloudy and pissing with rain. how confusing, what do i wear?? jwow has announced that bar staff are to wear uniform. it's pretty lenient. its basically black (everything black). 'nice' tops, and no PJ tshirts. guys got it a bit harder since they have to wear collared tops. I dont have any nice black tops, i usually wear singlets, is that nice enough?? i might have to buy some. Im not a fan of buying tops, i collect shoes, bags and jeans. tops are a fucking rip off for what they are. and besides, i dont usually find what i like. I gotsa suss out more op shops since the price of recommended retail is not value for money. I'd save heaps and find a whole buncha interesting things.

Chinese NY & Coburg Drive In's

We went to St. Albans festival where there was a street party on Alfreda to celebrate Chinese New Year. I was a happy chappy at st. albans - i couldnt stop smiling at the TB's and reminiscing of the days when I was once one.

Tips on being a typical Asian TB:

• If you're a girl, hold a single rose wrapped in clear cellophane, hold it high and mighty so all the other TB girls will be jealous of you. If you're a boy, also hold a rose and look out for the begging eyes of another TB. If you're a girl and dont have one by the end of the night, you better buy yourself one.
• Guys heroically winning girls cheap stuffed toys at the show games is a must.
• Guys must wear black, or at least dark colour like blue or navy blue. Flared and torn pants/jeans that cover dirty sneakers + black button down shirts with an exposed plain white top are most accceptable. Girls wear short shorts, a dressy jacket and small sneakers. High heels if you're daring. Bags are to be slung around the shoulder and let hanging by the opposite hip.
• Girls must wear their hair long with a massive fringe flicked to the side of the face - usually right side. Guys can die their hair orange or yellow, with black regrowth, and have this spiked or hanging around their faces.
• Girls must cling onto the arms of a girlfriend, guys must stand in a circle or line with other alpha males. Everyone must look sad - too happy and be perceived as an idiot.
• If the reputation of your Asian Gang has not been established, avoid standing next to one that has.
• Holding a phone in your hand makes everyone think you're going to meet up with more cool people.
• Do as much laps around the festival as you can, the more you are seen by people the better. There is also more chances of you getting picked up.
• You probably won't get picked up because TB's are usually shy and terrified of embarrassment and rejection.
• Rep the AzN pRyD3 'Got Rice Bitch?'

Circle Stance

Standing Around

Long Black Hair

Fuck this

I spent $60 on this game at Moomba and won nothing

Bad Boys II? Bad Boysh?

Ahh the TB days :) Phuong kept egging me on to go on the Kamakazi. That is officially the scariest ride I've ever been on (and no, I haven't been on the Giant Drop in Dreamworld). I went on a bigger version at Sydney's Luna Park and poor children, I was screaming foul words and religious indecencies the whole time. I was not going on it again.

Kamakazi

The Popo out in force

Street Food

We ate at Kim Quynh and a loud group of viet mums in short skirts and high heels were being drunk and disorderly. I had my usual crispy skin chicken and tomato rice but it doesn't beat the taste and quantity at Pho Kim Long. Pho Kim Long all the way.

Phuong @ Kim Quynh

We headed off to Coburg Drive In Cinemas after much deliberation. We paid $40 a carload, which equaled to $10 per person. Phuong had brought each of us stuffed toys to cuddle during the movie. I had Miffy and Ace had a green dinosaur which he kept at his lap the whole time, even during the drive up.

Running away on

Calder Freeway

Coburg Drive In Cinemas

Miffy on my lap

We watched 'Tangled' a Disney version of the Rapunzel tale. I wasn't familiar with the original so I'm not sure what they had changed. It was a good movie, and I'm not into my kiddy movies. The guys wanted to hang around to catch a second movie without paying. Ace called it:

'Doing a dodgey'

what an aussie.

we hung around til the movies where playing again, then waited for them to start and chose one we wanted. They wanted to see Unstoppable staring Denzel Washington but in the location we were at, we could have also seen The Tourist with Johnny Depp. I turned my head to watch the Tourist when Johnny Depp appeared on screen... Johnny Depp is so fucking hot. Unstoppable was good, very intense and suspenseful. But I'm going to make it my mission to see The Tourist now that i've seen snippets of it. Eye candy Johnny. I felt bad for not paying for the second movie. We paid $10 for 2 movies, so much cheaper than going to the real cinema. We headed for a Macca's run in Delahey and figured out their frozen coke machines weren't working. So Ace kindly drove us to 7/11 on Station Road for some slurpee's. Much cheaper and better tasting that Macca's I reckon.

Macca's Run, Delahey

I've been very good about not eating junk food. I was in the car with Ace and Phuong munching on freshly cooked Macca's fries and burgers, damn it made me drool. It's actually making me drool NOW. I simply opened the window and kept my thoughts elsewhere... I'm going to highpoint tomorrow to get my hair cut. I usually get anxious when it comes to haircuts, more than often I get someone fucking up my hair, the last time it happened was about 11 months ago and I'm still living with the side effects. It will be with me until it grows out of my hair, which at the rate of my hair growth, will be in another 5 years. I shit you not. lets hope the people at Just Cuts don't fuck up. Pretty French Girl names:

• Celeste
• Hortense
• Henriette

Mark Wahlberg

I hate Mark Wahlberg and his macho 'I'm so violent and aggressive' cop movies.

Macho Posing and Frowning

Jean-Dominique Bauby & France

I just watched an incredible movie about well-known French editor for Elle Magazine - Jean Dominique Bauby. The film was called The Diving Bell and The Butterfly. Jean-Do lives an eventful, luxurious and high roller life with lots of girls and money. He suddenly suffers from a stroke that leaves him mute and paralyzed from head to toe. The only physical movements of control was that of his eyes. He's right eye ends up getting 'sewn up' since it wasnt functioning properly and was at risk to disease. The camera films from Jean-Do's point of view, so you gradually see the doctor stitching up the eye, until it is only blackness. The viewer feels Jean-Do's frustration and fear as he screams

'Go away! Don't touch me!'

but of course, no one hears him and he can't move.

Exercise

It seems life is pointless and recovery progress is slow. A speech therapist teaches him to communicate: she recites the letters of the alphabet (the most frequently used letters first). Jean-Do blinks when the desired letter is said. The therapist will write it down and continue with the next letter. Soon a word will form, then sentences and paragraphs. This process is very slow and frustrating for Jean-Do who has to keep his eye open for the whole time - even when he naturally feels like blinking!

Repeated letters

This movie doesnt focus so much on the negative effects of locked-in syndrome, but more on his optimistic point of view. Jean-Do acknowledges that he still has his imagination and memories in tact and often uses these to escape reality.

Where should i go for dinner today?

he closes his eyes and imagines he's at a fancy restaurant dressed in his sleepwear. He is eating delicious food, then smiles at a pretty lady across the room. He signals for her to come over, and she does. He feeds her some oysters and drinks some wine. He says to her

"Fancy seeing you here.."

Jean-do's body in a 'diving bell' submerged under water, an image frequented in the movie, symbolises his physical state of immobility while butterfly images symbolise freedom in imagination and thoughts.

The viewer feels more comfortable with Jean-Do's ease of his condition and it is easier to see this movie as inspirational and comical. When pretty lady's are in his presence, he looks to their exposed flesh and we hear his naughty thoughts. its funny bceause these girls have no idea what his thinking.

Pretty Girls everywhere

In the 2 years that he suffered from lock-in syndrome, Jean-Do writes a book. The 'feminine' version of The Count of Monte Christo. It will take him 3hrs using the communication strategy of his therapist to write 1-1.5 pages. The book was published and 2 days after, he passed away from pneumonia. He dedicates the book to his three children, and wishes them:

Many butterflies

Its a touching story. I want to buy the book. But would i would i still buy it if it didnt have a happy ending? I realise people only want to hear about real issues if they have positive aspects to it. Sad but true. This is the fourth french movie i have seen and i will say that I love them. There is some kind of sweet charm to the french, i love the sound of the french language, and the gentle humour they seem to have. There is a touch of cheekiness, subtle and usually innocent. And when the topic is not so innocent, there is a twist that convinces you that it is. This kind of charming and cheeky humour makes me smile, unlike the 'laugh out loud' crude and 'in your face' humour of the Australians or English, or the immature 'not so funny' humour of the Americans. Four French Movies

1. The City of Lost Children
2. Tais-Toi
3. Amelie
4. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I am now in love with the French and anyone who can speak French. I want to go back to Paris. French movies communicate that 'love knows no boundaries'. I associate my favourite french scenes with the gentle tickle of the autumn morning sun. I wish i wasnt so intimidated by the French when i was in Paris. I want to see the side of France that i see in the movies. I wish i was still in Paris.

Cars

Creating a visual identity for a car event is difficult, seeing as there arent many existing identities to be inspired by. I look up 'car stores', 'car retail/shop interiors' and i get dodgey looking garage interiors with ugly diagonal and neon signage. I look up 'car magazines' and 'car advertisements' and all i get is the same diagonal font and girls with big boobs popping out of their tiny bikini's. And frankly, i never liked cars anyway. This shit is boring. I'm gonna borrow the Fast and Furious triology and find inspiration from that.

I had work today from 3pm to 10:15pm. i am sleep. but i dont like falling sleep. i will now admit, after 1 year of having it, that my computer is the problem to my fucked up sleeping patterns. there, i said it. and i wont do anything about it. my computer is awesome. im thinking to transfer the tv in the upstairs lounge room to my room. no one watches it there anyway.

@ ze movies

I hate going to the movies simply for the price of a movie ticket. remember the days when they used to be $5 every tuesday? now they are as high as $14.50 for a student ticket, $16+ for an adult and $19+ for a 3D movie ticket. fucking full of shit that is when u can rent 5 weekly dvd's for $6.95 at VideoEzy.

anyways, vince has always loved paying a rip for movie tickets so today i agreed to go. he was always raving on about watching Prince of Persia and Robin Hood in cinema. i have rejected this idea as a possibility until i found out Prince of Persia was directed by the same guys who did Pirates of the Caribeean. WOW! i love that movie. so off we went for the 7pm session at Village Cinemas, Sunshine.

we had to stop by for some toasted kebabs at Ballarat road 1st, then get some drinks at Safeway.

The movie started off good. Really suspensful and kept me on the edge of my seat, lifting my scarf to cover my eyes and mouth when the scary/violent parts were happening. but towards the middle i found the plot unbelieving. How and why would the young king believe Dust'an so easily after Dust'an was accused of killing their father?? and how and why would the princess fall in love with Dust'an within minutes of meeting him?? I wouldn't. he's not even that hot. i wish they got someone else to play the main character.

Overall the film was OKAY. but meh, i couldve waited for it to come on dvd.

Yesterday i spent 2hours+ in Borders, Melbourne Central reading up on France and London and searching for bargain books. I have learnt a couple of phrases in french:

• Good day - Bonjour
• Good evening - Bonsiour
• Please - Siv'il plea
• Mr./Miss - Misour/Madame

here are some facts i learnt yesterday about france:

• almost all businesses close from 12:30pm - 2:30pm for a lunch break
• 1AUD = 1euro
• a cost of one crossoint is 1.20euro
• the french find it arrogant of tourists who dont acknowledge the french language e.g. if you speak to them in english
• majority of french people are not vegiterians
• it is illegal to smoke in public
• it is highly recommended to book accommodation in advance when visiting Paris
• Gypsy pick-pocketers distract you while they take your belongings and tend to appear near tourist destinations like the Effiel Tower and the Lourve
• graveyards are regular walking places, almost like parks
• catching public transport into the city from the airport is much cheaper than catching a cab
• there are few nightclubs in Paris due to the tendency for people to have house parties
• Paris was 1st establised in the 13th century (i think) by a group of people called Parisii

i skimmed through 3 Paris travel books. i bought a book $3 titled 'Death and Celebrities' a true crime book telling the stories of celebrities backgrounds, families, successes and deaths. and a lonely planet book listing all the countries in the world complete with photographs, trademarks and a to-do list for $13.75 from $54.99 =D

The World is Slowly Changing

This Sunday will be my last shift at Femme. Its always sad to leave your comfort zone behind and sometimes daunting to look into your uncertain future. i try to see it as a good thing and mutter the words repeatedly in my head 'change is good, change is good, change is good'. and in most cases it is since everything single fucking thing you go through is a learning experience. and experience is what most people yearn for, whether they want a new job, travel the world, move out on their own, change their room layout, watch a new movie, go on a tour, everything!

ive got bar work tmrw which i find very interesting at the moment. i always know what time i start but never exactly when i finish, i hate taking trains late at night. especially after seeing a Crime Stoppers notice titled

'RAPE AT MELBOURNE CENTRAL STATION'

and some photograph of an ordinary asian man. fucking scary, out of ALL the stations i pass on the sydenham line, melbourne central is percieved to be the safest considering all the security cameras, guards, and the fact that the station is enclosed within a major city shopping centre.

fucking animals.

another fucking animal is the bitch who spat a large amount of phlegm all over the front of a jacket she tried on at Femme. why the fuck would any sane, normal, civilised, educated person do that? she cannot obviously be described by the words above. i wish i had the chance to tie her naked to a chair, hands and ankles bound by electrical tape and spit on her face with my gooey phlegm. id get the top she spat on and use it to wipe it all over her face and make her swallow what she got in her mouth. give you a taste of your own medicine.

Zombie

I've just had a quick squiz at my older posts and realised how much more visual i was back then. sometimes the images i post with my posts aren't even vaguely related but perhaps in some subconcious way they are. its fucking freezing. my computer is far from my cozy toasty room and moving it takes about 2trips since the computer is quiet heavy for my thin arms. i must learn how to grow gripping muscles on my hands to open bottles of drinks at work, i cannot always ask the customers to do it for me. i feel i would appear a tad unprofessional. stupid lady who pointed me out as a newbie. whatever.

sydney tickets are booked again. it will be the 3rd time im flying out of melbourne since january 28th this year. how exciting, im sure wasting my money on these interstate holiday. this time its for a good reason, my 21st. it will be celebrated in sydney from july 30 to august 2nd. i shall do the 3.5hr climb on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and i shall shit myself when i look down at the water below and remind myself i cannot swim to save my drowning soul. i have jokingly said i would push vman off the bridge but there will be no jokes once we're up there. it'll be a 21st to remember.

im gonna save lotsa money to get trashed at the expensive sydney clubs. corona's go up from $5 a bottle to $9 over night at the same club and entry fees can go up to $30. thats 6 corona bottles at $5 each. THATS A 6PACK! unbelievable what they get away with. but you gotta pay for the experience. i must remind myself to not wear high heels that night or i will surely tumble over and break my ankle. perhaps a pair of boots.

Those babies in the top picture will cost me about $150 since they are ginuine leather.

I have gone 4months without them since seeing them 1st in sydney.

Sheila

So steve wants me to blog about salsa. I dont understand why if my blog is so 'gay' in the first place.

Tita grace left for home today. i woke up at 840am to watch mum, tito boy, tita grace and tita cell pacing the floor downstairs. i watched from the stairs and leant sleepily on the rails while sheila just smiled at my drowsiness. today is the day i plan to take out sheila but 1st i must go back and get more sleep. i spent the whole night watching Taken, and a bit of Old Dogs and Sex in the City which i did not find interesting. i snuggled in my fluffy bed surrounded by puffy pillows until my alarm rudely woke me up at 10:10am. quickly got dressed pressured anio to hurry up! he was gonna come with me and sheila to the city.

we were meant to catch the 11.09am train from wg's but after much delay in getting ready we ended up catching the 11:30something from albion. Anio parked the car there and the 3 of us travelled to the city together. the weather was horrible, cold then windy, then it rained, and then the sun shone, and then this cycle was repeated the for the whole day. it confused me and sheila as we repeatedly took off and on our jackets.

our first destination was QV Market. it was the most ideal place for sheila to buy australian souvieners. i wasnt sure as to what the opening hours were on a wednesday, so we took the tram up anyway. it was closed. so we took a photo of the opening hours for our next visit.

We made our way to Melbourne Central by foot, where sheila spent the time comparing melbourne recommended retail prices and dubai recommended retail prices. apparently, here in melbourne we get ripped off hardcore. I took sheila to eat at my favourite Japanese resturant, Ito where we both had eel and rice. i dont really like eel, it felt crunchy in my mouth when i ate it. half way through i realised the eel had bones! what kind of eel has bones?? i thought they were spineless.. i divided the eel from my rice and continued eating the rice. i dont think ill be eating eel again. i dont like eating bones. sheila bought helps of australian souvieners from random shops on swanston street, and also a philosphy book in Metropolis.

Time went by quickly and it was time for salsa classes at Syn Bar. This will be my 2nd time, but sheila's first time. Vman did overtime at work an couldnt make it. this time we had to wear name tags, just for fun, sheila's read 'Jenn' and mine read 'Sheila'. if anyone was to ask, i would tell them i was from dubai, visiting my family for a cousin's wedding. Salsa lessons are so much fun. quite easy too. we danced with almost all the guys in the room (you had to). it's funny becoz there are guys there who think they are so pro with the salsa steps. i find it annoying how they swing my arms from right to left, please. i also find it cringeworthy when they try to improvise with their feet or dance steps, instead of stepping infront with their toes, they will step with heels and wiggle it a little.

No.

Bourke Street, Melbourne

Alice in Wonderland 3D

The white princess says to Alice:

You can't live your life for other people,

because when you fight that creature,

you are on your own

I have a habit of remembering lines from movies and hip hop songs that i find meaningful to me, as you could probably see from my last post. Alice in Wonderland was a good movie, I watched it at sunshine with vman, sheila and ate. but watching it in 3D and paying $5 extra wasn't necessary. Watching Avatar in 3D is definitely worth it, but not Alice in Wonderland and definitely not Up. I think there are a few morals to the Alice in Wonderland story, one may be to have enough courage to face what you have to, another one may be it is better to be loved than feared. I like the costumes, the colours and graphics of the movie. It's visually pleasing. I do like Johnny Depp's characters, in fact, i like Johnny Depp no matter what character he does.. but i especially like him in pirates of the carribbean. i think it's all about his beard.. here are a few pictures for my own entertainment:

There you are, i hope u enjoyed them as much as i did.

Saturday was Lyndon's wedding, i needed 2days of recovery to get over the tiredness of it all. it was a 4:30am start, and a 1am finish the next day, with only 3hrs of sleep the night before. the whole day i spent on my feet in high heeled shoes, smiling for the photopgrapher and waiting around. the photo shoot took almost 3hrs and by the end of it i was just exhausted and felt physically dirty. The first part was spent at Fitzroy gardens, we finished just when it started hailing ice balls the size of mini golf balls. they were hitting the limosine roof and we could feel the impact from inside of the car. there was flash flooding in many parts of the state and some guests cudnt even make it to the reception.

The reception was an 11 course meal, $95 per person. but the meals were almost bite size. ive never experienced a traditional vietnamese wedding until now. half the room could not understand english, so lyndon did his speech in english and huyen did it in viets for all the viets. there was definitely a culture clash since no one from either party really socialised with each other.

the cake was lovely though.

Melbourne on the day of Lyndon's Wedding

Taken from news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1023204

Tired

Came back from work 1hour ago. the nerves in my feet are pinching because of the shoes i wear. not that they arent comfy, they just have a hard sole and dont hug your toes, soles and heels as much as sneakers do.

work today was alright. its a pretty easy job and a appreciate the pay. i also appreciate working with nadya shes good at her job and pleasant to work with.

I was downstairs eating. i consumed two corn cobs and two boiled eggs while i watched the simpsons and At The Movies on ABC. apparently Shutter Island is a shit movie. 'good beginning, okay ending and the middle drags on' thats not good enough for me. maybe ill pass on that.

IKEA food. French fries, penne with napoli sauce

and their famous meatballs with cranberry sauce.

YUM!! =P