Dream Haze

City 2 Surf

2007-08-12T18:07:00.000+10:00

I went in the City to Surf this year for the first year ever, in memory of my Great Uncle Syd Bachell who passed away recently. He completed the 14km fun run 35 times, the last one in 2006, age 90. So I figured if he could do it, so could I.. however 14km was a very very big challenge for me so Im happy just to have gotten through!

'Official' times will come out in a few days, however in the most crowded year ever, we didnt even get to the start line for over 30 minutes so its all a bit screwiffy!

Mum n I completed it in 2 hours and 30 minutes. Injuries sustained = many blisters.. we shall hobble for some time to come, but good fun, and lots of crazy dressed up people who must have been suffering from the extra hot day.. Congrats :)

Saw the most ridiculous thing on the way home too.. Taxi on fire.. pulling into a petrol station.. and stopping next to a petrol tanker attached to a fuel pump. Smarts! Dunno what happened but there was a very fast fire truck 10 minutes later!

More photos at my Flickr

Aussie-grown Research

2007-07-10T13:05:00.000+10:00

VS ?

Today it has been announced that Aussie scientists have made two hugely important discoveries that may greatly impact the future world.. My question is, which piece of research do more people want to read about??

Alcohol DOESN'T actually kill off brain cells

Scientists find a way to teleport atoms

And yep, you guessed it, the stories were released 5 minutes apart.. and 2 hours later, according to news.com's popularity counter, the booze story won the vote. So does science have its priorities right, does the population of news readers ;) ?? Research about men with more muscles getting more sex was even higher up on the popularity contest.. Obviously there's not enough star trek fans out there to drool over the article on teleportation (which by the way doesn't actually tell you anything.. sigh)

All the same, I'd love to know the demographics of people who read different articles, it always fascinates me that even on big-news days, a Britney Spears' scandal will be an equally popular read as articles with information about terrorism on our doorsteps.
o=)

L-O-V-E

2007-05-24T22:41:00.000+10:00

Love has four legs and a wet nose

I know I'm well overdue in introducing the newest Meek to the internet world, and I still don't have the adequate time to do photos justice, but I'll give you a snippet!

Meet Lilli, our Cavalier King Charlies Spaniel (Blenheim). She is cheeky and chewy and the worlds greatest escape artist. I've never seen a puppy climb quite like she does. Through her perfected mix of chewing, cuddling up, racing around like a maniac and gazing around with her puppy-dog eyes she's managed to capture quite a few hearts.

She's already a pro at the Vet thanks to a few early disasters that quickly reminded us how much you can love a pet and worry obsessively when they can't say whats wrong. She also attends puppy school where she is still learning how to blend in and not be a sook at mum's feet. While she's only just started being allowed out for walks I now know why some people buy dogs to meet people.. on her first outing Im pretty sure she'd attracted the entire street to come say hello.

CUTE!

At World's End

2007-05-24T08:13:00.000+10:00

Got to be 'one of the first' people world wide to see Pirates 3 last night (Thanks Mix106.5 & Frads), in a preview screening on George St. It was interesting going through security screening and having our mobile phones removed before being allowed in, it kind of hyped up the experience and I can't imagine how anyone realistically could have pirated (hehe) it in time for today's aussie release!

I can't wait for other people to see it to be able to discuss, and although I have a sinking feeling critics are going to be attacking it for its length and scenes that are somewhat unsuitable for kiddies, i LOVED it. Of course. It had Johnny in it. Alot. But hats off to the creators of this movie, If I could have half their imaginations i'd spend my entire life in a blissfully happy comatose daydream.

That's all I'm going to say but feel free to post when you've seen it! I want to know if i'm the only slightly slow one who's brain was spinning for 3 hours (in a GOOD way of course) to keep up with everything!

When Stars Collide

2007-04-30T20:08:00.000+10:00

Congratulations to the Celebrity Photographer of the Year 2007

Guy Sebastian has won this rather obscure photography comp (where was my invite people?), fair and square (i.e no obsessive fans with RSI from smsing involved), and now I'm an even bigger admirer! (from a fellow-photographers point of view only, promise!)

Music and Photography definately go hand in hand as my favourite forms of creative expression, and I couldn't have picked a better mix O=) That doesn't mean I'll be releasing a single anytime soon, sorry to dissapoint. Sadly however, I thought he was gawking at me at a recent concert, however now I know he was just checking out my (sexy beast of a..) camera. KIDDING GUYS, quit GROANING at me!
Anyways...
In all seriousness..

I'm really hoping they do an expo up here, it'd be really interesting to view photos by people who are usually stuck at the wrong end of a lens.. so anyone with a spare exhibition room in Sydney reading this.. hint hint?

a side note:

Mr Greg Mc******, if you're reading this, I'm onto you. This guy has been prank calling me for months, and you're fiiiinally gonna gets whats coming to you. Nyer.

Cranky

2007-04-07T11:47:00.000+10:00

Okay enough is enough. Posting this probably wont help but I need to vent.
PEOPLE ARE MEAN!

WHOEVER KEEPS CALLING ME STOP IT! Your number's been reported! You never say anything, so whats the point! I don't answer it anymore, and I'm looking for a way to publish your number all over the place so maybe YOU have to delete you're own ph number to escape stalkers. Grumph.

Someone threw a brick through my car last night - I hope you're happy, you wrote off my Stimpy, and I hope the universe balances itself and puts a brick through something of yours that you rely on every day. Was it really worth the thrill of seing some shattered glass? Dickhead.

Ummmmmm Save The Reef? (Up.)

2007-04-05T21:20:00.000+10:00

Grow a brain?

I am waiting for more people to get into a panic about this save the environment/save the planet notion thats finally captured my attention. Amazing it doesn't bother more people yet. When I was on one of my reef tours at GBR Heron Island, they taught us that the worlds reefs provide us with more oxygen than the forests.. and that unless Australia does something drastic YESTERDAY, the magnificent Great Barrier Reef will be little more than happy holiday snaps somewhere within 60 years.. less even (UPDATE: 20 years.. someone reacted!) . At least its starting to hit the news..

Oh and disposable underwater cameras don't work so great (when I use them at least!), but here's a few snippets.

Time flies when..

2007-03-18T09:35:00.000+11:00

A life full of daydreams and expectations is not always one full of dissapointments.

So I've been somewhat awol from the online life for a while, but my shiny new toy boy Vaio and a bit of bed-ridden time-off has inspired me to do a quick catchup post o=).

As the picture above may suggest, I went on a little photographic holiday - thats me on Heron Island, probably the only photo of me, thanks to Zoe and Chris, a fantastic photographing couple I met there who filled me with tips and showed me where to go a lot of the time! I could babble on forever about it, but it was basically a much needed break with a lot of snorkelling the great barrier reef, exploring, walking, more exploring, and rest.

Being dropped off by boat in the middle of the ocean with snorkel in one hand and underwater camera in the other was a little scary, and swimming with sharks for the second time was a lot less... controlled, but exhilerating to say the least! I was suprised by how un-scary it ended up being; floating around just off the reef feeling completely vulnerable to nature. The sunburn on the other hand.. ouch.

Whilst the holiday ended up in a bit of sun-stroke illness it is definately one I'd love to repeat some day with a bunch of friends. Wildlife there was stunning, and I fell in love with all the turtle hatchlings, watched them come out of the sand every evening at sunset. Cuuuuuuuuute!

Sadly, my old computer has suffered another lightning attack (who would have thought - it DOES strike the same place twice, grr), and a lot of my photos are unaccessible for now, but hopefully not forever.

The rest of life-before-Masters was jam packed with another queensland holiday, house-sitting, and pretending to redesign a room which I still havent moved into yet. Made a mirror Ill try put a pic up of later, it's one of my better efforts if I do say so myself ;)

Finally and joyously I quit Kmart in a fit of quiet grumbles. Good riddance and no regrets there! I'm now a photographer's assistant doing private potraits of kids 0-5ish travelling around childcare places. Its fun - not even the best of you imaginers could picture grumpy-me doing what I do. Call it silly-therapy. I am captain feathersword telling unfunny jokes and baby-talking 90% of the time. And im already sick from little-kiddy sniffly noses. But its rewarding, already learnt a lot of new stuff.

Soooo holiday-revived Kellie began new uni, new car (well parents recycled one), new laptop (woo! - boo for the excessively obsessively insanely security conscious vista tho), new job (phew), almost new room, what else...

Ok ok I get it, boring now, next post shall be livened up with political whinges (snort) and lively criminological debates (pfft)... Actually the new course is suprisingly and dauntingly politics-based so i'm getting a bit of a crash course at the moment. Most of the stuff we have done in class has been said on a 'whats said in here stays here' basis so i cant share much. I know I've found my place as a forensic psychologist though. I no longer roll my eyes at the 'omg you must love csi/omg you psycho-analyse dead people?' cracks and will happily launch into how I have to get my Hep B shots and get to visit Gaols in a matter of weeks - yay! Not so yay talking to the class on erectile dysfunction and paraphillias but thats a hurdle yet to be tackled.

Somebody give me an idea on what i should actually post on this thing, I forget why I made it again! :p

Adios!

....

2007-02-26T20:53:00.001+11:00

GAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Moron of the month goes to..

2007-01-22T14:25:00.000+11:00

I cannot find the words to describe this complete idiot.
There is a time and a place for freedom of speech protests. Wearing an ugly Bush t-shirt (and smelly by the sounds of it) on an intenational flight to get a bit of public attention is moronic. Yeah there may be some rules that are a bit extreme in the new flight security measures but save a bit of thought for the many, many thousands of people who have already been directly effected by terrorism - who have to glance at your pathetic clothing statement mid-flight. Have a bit of respect for the people who do a lot of work to try protect ignoramuses like yourself from uneccesary fear or harm. A major part of terrorism is that it makes people afraid, uncomfortable, unsure, uncertain, etc of continuing their everyday activities, so standing out like a weirdo in a Bush-Terrorism t-shirt and adding wood to the fire for no real purpose, should be banned in my books.
Just get over yourself and stop causing a fuss over nothing. Have a whinge when your back in London or something.

Grr.

Shopping

2007-01-17T21:02:00.000+11:00

I dedicate this to all those who have frozen in a mix of shock and poorly disguised suspicion when a woman says "Man, I HATE shopping".

I really feel I owe the gender debate my own theories as to why one of the female kind absolutely loathes shopping. However I dislike it so much that I cannot bring myself to hypothesise, form comprehensive sentences and the whole proper beginning, middle, end thing that english teachers drool about. How about point form?

1. It often involves clothing. Clothing is boring, follows bizarre trends that mean many sheep like people wear mostly absurd and unattractive pieces of largely overpriced thread, bringing me to my next point.

2. It involves money. Money is a pesky thing that just sits there when you don't have the need to spend and somehow goes missing right when you really desire to buy something. Most annoying.

3. Clothes shopping is gender biased. Especially in summer. Girls tend to wear skimpy barely existant bikinies and such. They pay twice the price a male does. More than twice if you're a certain person who appreciates the commando style of living. Admittedly the price difference is becoming less as this whole 'trend' thing is sucking guys into its evil vortex of money-mind-individuality-sucking doom, but it still annoys me.

4. Shopping involves many people. People smell. Especially people in crowds of snatchy whiney gigglepots that wear the same thing (suprise suprise) and throw their rubbish over balconies to see which pram they hit (I witnessed this today, hence today = people in general are on my bad list).

5. Shopping involves decision making. Any one that has known me for 5 minutes.. or was it 6.. will know that decision making is my largest flaw. To be put through shop upon shop of 'ummmmm should I or shouldn't I', is pure agony.

6. Many forms of shopping involve mirrors. Mirrors in public places should be banned. Mirrors in teensy rooms that make your skin go funky colours should be banned. Shop attendants that gawk at you in the mirror instead of looking at the real you in person, should be banned.

7. Shopping attracts nice people who accidentally or perhaps intentionally provide backhanded compliments right at your weakest moment. You really would be gorgeous if your wore nice clothes is an interesting one that requires further thought.

That's it for now, I need a shower to rid myself of shopping germs. Did I mention I had the most succesful shopping trip ever today? I have expanded my shoe collection from 2 to 4. My dress collection from 1 to 3. My short-short collection from -1 to +1, and my wardrobe finally from winter, to summer. Yay.

PS - I quiver in fear of those 5 ppl who will prosecute me for the untrendy use of trendy grammar above.

PPS - and I'd take Johnny Depp's hand-me-down rags anyday over real clothes.

PPPS - Electrocution by clothes dryer after spending 2 hours fixing it = Bad Mood

PPPPS - Trendy. Dude.

Words that Stuck

2007-01-16T10:52:00.000+11:00

We'll do it all
Everything
On our own
We don't need
Anything
Or anyone
If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget
the world?
- Snow Patrol, Chasing Cars

.."its actually a great way to leave, because it's giving Gavin the message that we haven't been defeated, we are up for it, we're young, we're in control of our lives again, we can charge into the future with confidence."
- John Marsden, Circle of Flight

"My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa contrictor digesting an elephant."
- Antoine de Saint Exupery, The Little Prince

"You better take care of me Lord, if you don't you're gonna have me on your hands."
- Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp), Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas

"I'm not sure I'm an adult yet"
- Johnny Depp

"With the assistance of a couple of good mates we set upon digging an air-raid shelter in my backyard. My father took a lot of convincing that he was playing his part in Australia's survival by giving up his much prized rhubarb patch."
- John McGrath (My Great Uncle), Johnny's War

"Attention customers, if there is a Guy in the store, could he please come to the register areas to meet his.. oops.."

- Myself, Kmart P.A

I could analyse each of these quotes as to why they've stuck in my mind over the summer, but maybe that's best left to the imagination of the reader. Life and the way I choose to negotiate my way through it.. is greatly shaped by the words that float by day by day, yet we all interpret everything so differently.. No wonder some people just don't fit in.

.. and my favourite photo (so far) of Summer 06/07

Sunday Bloody Sunday (The U2 Concert)

2006-11-12T22:17:00.000+11:00

Sunday Bloody Sunday
Photo Originally uploaded by evieangelique.

Sooo, I went to the U2 concert last night, and first things first, it was AWESOME. Music was incredible, the stage & screen setup was like nothing i've ever seen before, crowd atmosphere was.. infectious, and of course, Bono n co were stirring up politics all over the place. It was the first U2 concert I've ever been to, so I wasn't sure what to expect, and I wasn't too well informed on just how much they press the whole world unity thing, but amongst a crowd that HUGE, it was incredible to hear so many people screaming and cheering in reaction to every little word from Bono's mouth. How much sway does a rockstar (insert any celebrity here) actually have on our opinions of the war, human rights, and so on.. quite curious, hadn't really pondered that one before.

That said, there were a few oddities I must have my whinge about. All based around one main topic I suppose. When we got to the gates, we had to remove ALL bottle tops from drinking implements (apparantly to prevent the creation of heavy watery missiles). Ok, a bit weird and VERY inconvenient for a hot, squashed, impossible-to-get-to-food-venue-for-5hrs concert, but manageable. But if your going to take our basic rights of uncontaminated, unspillable water away, take the frickin CIGARETTE LIGHTERS AWAY TOO!!! You know who you are you ***&@&^% who have no basic respect! Its a non-smoking event for a reason, we're packed in like sardines, we non-smokers who crave the tingle of fresh air cant choose to escape the second-hand smoke blown directly into your mouth-eyes-nose and ash flicked in your eyes! And it seemed a little more dangerous than the threat of water-missiles. ON that note: To the english guy (Ashes fan at the wrong event?) who lit a cigarette up every 15mins in my face, threw his cigarette packet, rubbish, his un-capped bottles and water-filled condoms(eww?) into the unsuspecting heads of the crowd - I would have loved to teach you a little bit about respect, perhaps before tearing you into many pieces and many other things I am too polite to think out loud.

*phew*
SO, back to the good things, considering how many people were there, the whole queueing thing was incredibly smooth for once, didn't have to wait very long anywhere, even the buses home were okay. On the drive home into the northern beaches there was a train of 12 buses in a row up the hill.. an interesting site on MV road at 1am.. The music is still ringing in my ears, considering it was outside the acoustics were fine, n from my position, moshing under the sweaty armpits of 6ft males remained optional, yey!

SO, All balanced out, great night, THANKS Fradam!! You rock ;)

Oh and as for the title.. had my first full day back at work (in a bossier position than normal), was a tiring sunday for poor footsies after U2. O=) *boo hoo*

Count Down

2006-10-29T11:42:00.000+11:00

Until I regrow new braincells and figure out how to make a proper timer..
Heres the page I'm constantly watching whilst daydreaming and procrastinating. Not much longer till uni is permanently over and I can have a life I actually enjoy again o=)

There's so many things I plan to do when 'free' but by the time I am, I'll probably have forgotten coz I dont write things down. Considering the world's longest tick off list.. Some of the things currently in head include re-learning how to play the brand new blue sax sitting under my bed i've barely touched since I got it, going horseriding again is up there, taking my baby (that would be my camera - calm down) for a holiday, visiting the courts, recording an audio book (yeah don't ask, just a weird recording-project ive wanted to do for a while), learning to draw (for Makayla so kiddie style), puppy-hunting, painting, redesigning and moving rooms, watching every Johnny Depp movie in existence, cooking churros (crave), the list goes onnnnnn but I forget and I'm sure anyone reading has fallen asleep.. if not.. make suggestions? o=)

Music

2006-10-06T21:36:00.000+10:00

Not feeling cheerful enough to even look at thesis right now so thought i'd update this since I fixed itunes a while back. It'l chase off blog lurkers once they see my 'taste' in music at the moment.

Open iTunes/iPod or Windows Media Player to answer the following. Go to your library. Answer, no matter how embarrassing it is.

Total Songs: 945 (lost alot since last time.. stoopid computer)

Sort by song:
First Song: (techno)5th element techno opera
Last Song: Your Song - Ewen McGregor & Alessandro Safina
Sort by time:
Shortest Song: "Poppet" clip (0:01)
Longest Song: The Jiva Samba - Cannonball Adderley
Sort by artist:
First Artist: 'Nsync *cough*

Six Most Played Songs-
1. Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With flowers in my hair) - Sandi Thom
2. NSW/Sydney Police
3. Come what may - Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor
4. How - Guy Sebastian
5. Jack Sparrow - Hans Zimmer
6. Alarm Bells - The Lyrical Madmen

First song that comes up on Shuffle: The Summer of 69 - Bryan Adams

Search (I just searched song names, no artist or album in the criteria) ....
"sex", how many songs come up? 8
"death", how many songs come up? 0 (yey)
"love", how many songs come up? 61
"hate", how many songs come up? 2
"you", how many songs come up? 126
"final", how many songs come up? 1

Reference to "pirate" or "Johnny"? 15

Weirdness

2006-09-23T22:53:00.000+10:00

Dunno if there's much validity in any of these.. might try a different pic next time, but still fun!! even if it does mean showing face O=)
Update: Tried a pic that isn't quite as unflattering and gets a better match. Yes, I AM bored. Friend next to me ironically enough got similar matches to my old pic.. hmmm.. *suss* Yeah I know pic is a bit distorted and squishy, I aint no blogging pro yet and it least it hides the chubby cheeks a little.

Shameful amusement

2006-09-14T13:33:00.000+10:00

Hmm well, I stumbled across this video, and although it is far from my usual source of amusement I must admit it distracted my day (anything does however) - most things on the net don't get past the "im sooo unimpressed right now" expression anymore.

Meanwhile in most recent news to annoy me....
This was funny to start with, but as I slowly realise it means Naomi's face is on the news even more, I am less amused by this suggestion that she IS a journalist at all (last I read she's never actually had the formal education on how to conduct a 'sensitive' interview). Channel 7 needs a new figurehead for their precious show I think - this ones getting in one too many irritating embarrassing situations. Don't get me wrong, I'm not normally bitchy, but 'fake' people inspire the whinge.

Oh and as for the increasing amount of news on Steve Irwin - the Wilderness Warrior or animal abuser.. and all the Peter "not-so-perfect" Brock stories, will everyone just calm down a little and let the families have some grieving time - you can shout your rants and whinges to the public; grab your fame and notoriety for crushing aussie 'legends,' at a later point in time. If you can't respect the dead for whatever reason, at least respect their friends and family.

Okay, I'm done for now.. but how about the news pushes a warm fuzzy story a bit more often. Onya Sophie, remind all of us how to smile.

Holiday Plans

2006-09-07T08:30:00.000+10:00

Well, looking about for a holiday destination for when Uni is over is as good a hobby as any... but I wasn't expecting to find this... The ultimate tropical holiday without the sunburn? I dunno about it being pulled off by next year though.

Meanwhile thesis is still on a very slow burner, data is finally all cleaned up and ready to be pushed and prodded in every which way to see what good stuff can be uncovered. Multiple personality essay and research design proposal are taking up more of my time and interest for now.. if only my thesis were on multiples or abnormal psych.. I'd be happily studying during bed-time reading.

Oh and in the latest news to annoy the whatever out of me... Why is a possible football scandal and the third day of every possible story angle on Steve Irwin AHEAD of the news on more Aussies being firmly sentenced to death by firing squad in Indonesia. The order of priorities seems really wrong to me..

Distractions

2006-08-17T16:09:00.000+10:00

Okay, so, today like most other days has been fairly distracted by everything under the sun. Just now it was a flock (or whatever the appropriate grouping word may be) of Kookaburras making a racket on nextdoors t.v aerial.

Been following the news today with the JonBenet arrest, I've followed this case since highschool when I got caught up in an assignment. There's a good book on it but a frustrating read with no solution.. until perhaps now.. Interesting and very curious to see what details they release to public.

Thesis wise its time to start fiddling with data and fixing up the bazillions of missing pieces in the intro... I have many places to start but.. yeah :p Also have a presentation to write on multiple personality disorder which for once is actually slightly interesting.

Big day tomorrow, going to catch me a couple of sea turtles... Okay not really, Im going scuba diving (never tried before), with sharks (not normally creatures Im in close contact with ;) ). Should be an experience!

Hmm Im thinking of putting my 'movies to see' list up.. Coming soon..?

Bored

2006-08-10T17:55:00.000+10:00

Bored today while fiddling with stats for my thesis so thought i'd post an update..
87 completed questionaires to start entering, joy.. need a couple more to balance up the groups.
Next task is data entry and re-writing the intro YAY! not

Such is life.

Blah.

Doh?

2006-07-30T10:12:00.000+10:00

You are without doubt the worst escapees I have ever heard of.

cough

2006-07-28T12:00:00.000+10:00

Which facial expression of Jack Sparrow are you? Warning: ..very silly quiz.. ;)

"You are his... Shexy Stare. This is really self-explanatory, but I'll admit that those eyes sure have an inviting look to them! ^_~ SHEXY!" Do the quiz here and here :)

Oh and apparantly my phrase is "Welcome to the Caribbean, love" I'm hoping that means I'm going on a holiday soon.

Yarr!

2006-07-27T20:48:00.000+10:00

*pokes squishy brain*

This is either madness.. or brilliance..

Remarkable how often those two traits coincide. (Savvy?)

Enough said.

Prisonbreak

2006-07-25T20:46:00.000+10:00

Well.. a daydreamed prisonbreak anyway. Source of winter melancholy is surely the lack of outsideness in combo with writer's block. The beach is just as purty lookin' in the cold I guess, and the smell of afternoon fires and warmth of the sun when the chilly wind has a rest is appealing, but really.. bring on the summer!

Prisoner

2006-07-24T18:05:00.000+10:00

Lock me up with my thesis and throw away the key and don't put any DISTRACTIONS in the cell coz I ain't getting any satisfactory work done... Should have given brain a decent holiday coz now motivation is strained. *whinge*

Here Ill invent my own template being so skilled:

Mood: CRANKY
Song: Welcome to Crankyville
Current Book: Idiots guide to Crankyness

Goal: 5000+ words of sensible writing by next Monday... O.o

< /rant > Grr.