My 24th, with a BANG!

.. Or maybe it would be more accurate if I said it started with a 'DO DO DOO! DO DO DO DOO!' ala Third Eye Blind's Semi Charmed Life.. Something along the lines of.

HELLO DEAR WORLD, I AM 24!!
And I have been for.. A little over 24 hours now.

This is a whirlwind account of one of my bestest birthdays ever.

It started off with a cousin's night out. 8 of us went out for drinks and singing. No, not karaoke.. We went to Trip at Kemang. Mike's Apartment (a band which turned out to have a distant cousin of mine as the vocalist) was on, singing what can only be described as one of the most awesome playlists EVARRR. We drank, ate peanuts, and shouted every single song out (not singing.. we were shouting).. We were a loud crowd.. But then, everyone else was just as loud.

Mike's Apartment. Trip. Every Friday. - Highly recomended.

The ride home was hilarious as hell, with my youngest cousin (there) singing random songs, complete with hand movements. Actually.. most of our entertainment that night came from a very, very drunk 17 year old. If only our numbers were complete.. But things were awesome just the way they were. And #cousinsnightout HAS to be repeated. Repeatedly.

The day passed uneventfully.. What with me waking up to my dad thoroughly entranced by the TV, that he forgot to wish me a happy birthday till I pinched him. Haha. Funny, dad. Funny. (It was funny, actually).. Had my hair cut.. Bought a white blouse FOR MONDAY (new JOB! YAY!)..

I went out for dinner with a good friend of mine, and while we were out we had to try out clothes. of course. And this ended badly - with me spending a little birthday dosh on a little (dark grey to) black dress, which made me look oh so deliciously curvy. Instead of the usual lumpy, somewhat mis-shappen silhouette I have grown to love. Had Indian food (our fave!), and somehow stumbled along to a free 15 minutes massage-therapy thing, and laughed at people.

All in all, I was ready to turn in for the night.. When lo, behold! This sight greeted me the moment I stepped I arrived at the second floor of my house:


And so I laughed for 10 minutes straight.

I managed to miss my own surprise party, complete with cake and presents. Ahahahaha..! Oops? Thank you to Jo for the cake and the present she took with her, Rama and Manda for the presents they left, and to anyone else (if indeed there were any) who came. Even if I didn't get to see you, you guys made my day!

And Twinno, for being an annoying bitch-boy, I'm still 2 seconds away from kicking your ass. But for being an unbelievably sweet guy (slash bastard), I'm hugging you. A lot. Now behave, so things can go back to being normal!

And thank you AbangDanisPutiBilaRaiAlAbi, MumDadGramps, RIFA (I almost forgot to mention my brat 9 year old cousin who made me the cutest pressies and gave me a cupcake), Tia, Colson for the emails and count-down.. And everyone else who wished me a happy birthday.

SMOOCHIES!

Zombies, indeed

I've been playing this game for a couple of months now.. I still can't stop. It's.. annoyingly addictive. And it got me thinking..

I think I'd rather be one of the early victims. A zombie when I wake up first thing in the morning. I don't want to run around scared.

Yes. Important thoughts in the middle of the night.

I leave you with a cute song from the game!

Love, love, love comedy

Cowards.
Featuring : Tim Key, Tom Basden, Stefan Golaszewski and Lloyd Woolf

Wish there were more than 3 episodes. *sigh*

They're not as obviously-funny as The Mitchell and Webb Look (another sketch show from the Beeb), but I love how it makes me suddenly laugh (I'm inclined to think I like Cowards more actually.. *legasp* I still love Mitchell and Webb though!)

So. The Melbourne comedy fest is looming.. and there's about 10 acts I want to go see (among them Jon Richardson! And Garfunkel and Oates! And Adam Hills! And Sarah Millican, and Dead Cat Bounce, and Tim Key, and.. the list goes on..) It really, really sucks. It's only a couple of hours away, and I wish I had money. Money can solve all my problems.

Well. Not all maybe. I doubt it can solve the lack of guys that catch my interest, and it wont stop my cat from presenting me with bits of insect and geckos.. but it may solve my shelving problem. Hmmm. Either way, having some money won't hurt. Haha!

Here's some Garfunkel and Oates to make you (and me!) laugh.



It's quite a sweet song when you think about it. Call it my late Valentines for the internet. Hahaha.

Oh I might as well..

While I'm here.. 2 new pics! I'm loving the grainy black and white look at the moment. And yes, I'm still all about the squares. They speak to the symmetry-freak in me.

These two are close friends of mine, and let me tell ya, they were fantastically fun to shoot.



Shot using a Nikon D80 and a lensbaby composer lens. As always, also available on my dA account.

On facebook, netiquette and parental supervision

Rule number one of the internet : Never talk about the internet.

Oh hang on.. Sorry. I was thinking of Fight Club there for a second.

The internet. It's a wonderful place, yes? Full of information and possibilities and people. Oh I know there are plenty of bots around, but people.. People make the internet a wonderful place to explore. It also makes it oh-so-dangerous.

Rule number one of the internet : Be sensible.

There's been a couple of stories on the news lately of teenage girls going missing after meeting up with people they've met on the internet. While it is a worrying thing - the internet isn't to blame. Specifically - facebook isn't to blame.

I've been on the internet for more than 10 years now, I'm healthy, (sort of) sane and pretty much in one piece. No, I didn't really have parental supervision when I started out - mostly because I sneaked on when my parents weren't looking. When they did realize I've been using the computer for things like chatting and surfing however, they told me one thing : be sensible. Don't give out personal information. Don't be an idiot.

I realize with things like facebook and myspace and friendster and hi5 and all those other social-networking sites, you do end up giving out personal information. Things like your name, and maybe place of work and/or school - but you really don't have to fill all the spaces provided. You can omit those details and no one is likely to complain. they can always message you if they need to contact you.

And yes, I know you can meet people on the internet. I, myself have been lucky enough to have met some really wonderful people. It's not likely I'll ever meet any of them, sure.. but I have received packages - expected and unexpected - from them. Gifts that I treasure and keep in a special place. And if I ever do decide to meet any of them.. Well I'm going to be sensible.

Is it too much if I say that it's common sense that if you're going to meet up with someone you have never met before, you go to a public place? Filled with people and preferably somewhere familiar to both parties. Go with other people, bring at least two or three friends along.. And for God's sake, don't go anywhere "private" with them! Not to a quiter place, and definitely not to their cars!

Yes, I know it was horrible that these girls went missing, and yes I suppose I am selfish for saying this. But I do hope those few idiots doesn't ruin the internet for everyone else.

Our government right now is at a place where they're likely to do anything to make sure they stay in the good graces of the public. And while many would be outraged at the possibility of over-policing the internet, I fear many more will cry out that certain sites just be banned outright.

Maybe netiquette should be made part of the curriculum in school.

Or better yet - teach common sense.

It seems that most of the problems in Indonesia could be solved with just a little bit of common sense. *sigh*

Ist this a bovveréd face thou seest before thee?

I love Catherine Tate. She's so pwetty! Though not as Lauren Cooper.


See? Pretty! Though apparently it's mostly girls that find her attractive. Me, I just have a thing for red-heads. And David Tennant - oh Mr. Tennant, sir! *swoon*

Edit: I just realized that it might make more sense if I mentioned that David Tennant was the tenth Doctor on the series Doctor Who, and Catherine Tate was one of his companions. That's why I found the Doctor Who reference and her "bite me, alien boy!" bit hilarious. :D

Never you

I know it's not you,
it never is.
But still I turn my head,
and sigh..
.. and curse.

Every corner,
at every stop sign,
Everywhere.
I always see..
.. something.

But not you,
never you.

I really should stop looking.

Because everyone reads twitter, and a blog post is too revealing.
.. and because I still miss you. Sometimes.

Jump! Turn! TWIST!

(for some reason I can't post a bigger version of this pic. Graarrgghh..)

I think by the end of my 5 minutes of directing her moves, she was too dizzy to be pissed off at me for telling her to jump and spin around. Ahahaha!

The photo came from the same series of shots I took while I was at Bromo with the family, though I think I prefer the outcome/edit of my previous shot. Although that one looked gloomier.

I should go out and take moar pictchoores.. Oh wit what did you say, conscience? Thesis? What thesis..?? Meh. I should stop distracting myself. Procrastination is evil and should be avoided. Know that I am nodding wisely.