--> as usual

wednesday, 29 july

I'm sitting here, at my desk, between two mountains of library books - Mount "Capability Brown & the Picturesque" (150mm above desk-level) to the left; & the "Vitruvius, Crystal Palace, Primitive dwellings & Gottfried Semper" Ridge looming on the right. I've got an essay proposal, a class presentation and two site analysis projects due in the next two weeks, and potentially something maybe probably i should have had done and ready for tomorrow, and i thought!- what better time to have a major blog session.

What's happening right now:
Batman's chasing the Joker in the background (I miss the ambient voices of everyone at home... so I chose the epic battle between superhero and supervillan [complete with explosions, gunshots and highly-disturbed people] to emulate the peripheral noises of home. ah, yep.), my room is only slightly messy at the moment (you can see the majority of the floor. My desk, however - not so much.), and everyone else's gone to bed like normal, sane people. I don't know if the in-floor heating's on tonight, but I'm sitting here pretty comfy in a singlet, shirt and leggings. If you turn the heating right up, you can walk around in shorts and a t-shirt and sleep just under the sheets - but we all found the artificial "tropical zone" thing a little disconcerting, and leave it down on the minimum most of the time.

Went out with the roomies to the shops today, looking for things to wear to tomorrow (thursday) night's Rubix Cube dance/social/excuse-for-people-to-get-drunk thing. Apparently you come dressed like an unsolved Rubix Cube (ie, dressed in an article of clothing for every colour of the Cube), and by the end of the night, and through a bit of tipsy trade, you come out a sorted cube (ie, all one colour). Think we did something like it for Jen's party, back in school - only this time, I don't think we'll be getting our exchanged clothing back (there are no takesie-backsies in uni). So, me and the roomies went out and hunted for some "disposable" clothing - first at the shops (I didn't even entertain the notion of buying something new), then we raided the op-shops, and came out a bit more successful (well at least I did.) Only problem now is, I don't think I want to part with my disposable clothes! I mean, those green polka-dotted thongs are -nice-, and I really don't mind that slinky singlet... Oh, irony! Perhaps I could make it into a statement, and keep my clothes - saying that I would prefer to keep my clothes and remain "imperfect" and "incomplete" (not now, Backstreet Boys) and retain my uniqueness rather than be homogenised by the demands of social pressures and expectations. Yeah. That, or "I don't want to take my clothes off for you." The more inebriated ones mightn't get that one. Or the first one, in fact. Oh well.

Been writing a little journal to eighteen-year-old Grete. Made this cute little scrappy book when I was bored - insides of envelopes, old dockets, wrapping paper and off-cuts etc - and decided to dedicate it to Future!Grete. So, sis-of-the-past has been confiding (so far, mainly only small talk) in the person her not-quite-two-years-old sis will become. I don't know what to write - one night I couldn't sleep, so I wrote a whole list of all the foods I really liked until I could sleep (seemed like a good idea at the time...). Yeah, Grete'll read it and look back in sixteen years time, and realise just how insane her big sis really was (and in all likelihood, will continue to be). ...Maybe this journal wasn't the greatest idea after all. Maybe there're some things people are better off not knowing about you and being left to just fill in the blanks with their own happy little imaginings. (Grete could've gone on imagining I was hip and wonderful, and loved soy milk and tofu and only ate wholegrain bread. But now she'll know the harsh truth that instead, I have a deep fondness for nutella on a spoon, corn frittas with tomato sauce, freeze-dried fruit, egg and lettuce sandwiches... (for the full list, see end of post). Oh, the secret's out!)

It's 1am, and my eyes are drying out (over-did the contacts, again. My eyes feel like dried apricots - all dry and, apricotty.) - think its time for bed. (this is where I stop, and don't complain that "my first class tomorrow is at 10:30am, and that I've been getting up at around 10 most days - and now I'll have to get up -extra- early for class, maybe even 9:30!!" - and subsequently make you all hate me and my on-campus apartment.) ;^)


thursday, 30th july

Stupid busy thursdays, and stupid vague projects which may or may not have things due today - certain, unspecified things - which, by their vague nature, are difficult to get done (or to know if you've done it). Stupid tutorial presentations with their stupid lack of available research material, & stupid... (looks around room for something else stupid)... nah, think that's about it for today.

Actually, one of my projects got slightly less stupid and vague today - we actually got an info sheet on WHAT THE DEVISHLY-HOT-PLACE WE'RE MEANT TO BE DOING, which was nice. Feel better about that one now and should be able to ge it done this weekend. Speaking of weekends! I've been "hired," by my Japanese architecture friend, to help out with her daughter's birthday party on saturday - involving painting the nails of six little kiddies (help! I've never even painted my own! what do I do? what if they want to paint mine? how do I fend them off without being hypocritical or offending them?! "Sorry, but I feel nail-painting is a vain activity with no real purpose, which most of the time doesn't even provide any aesthetic improvement, and as such, I do not wish to participate. Now, would you like red gloss or pink glitter?"). Damn girly parties. Must try channelling some patience and the ability to communicate to children from Ess.

Back from the Rubix Cube party - ugh. My ears are still ringing. Kept most of my clothes, but swapped my strange white mesh jacket with some guy for a red padded vest. Made him happy, & the vest was a lot warmer than the mesh. Nothing much else to report, except that drinking games are stupid, and watching them while sober isn't very exciting, nor does it inspire one to drink.


friday, 31 july

MASSIVE SLEEP-IN. My Japanese friend who's employing my services this weekend is insisting on paying me for my time - something I really feel she doesn't need to do, since she's my friend and she's helped me out heaps already - I'd just be returning the favour. I think it'd make her unhappy if I didn't accept some payment (Cynical and Sarcastic Inner Jac scoffs and says something about "cameras" and "saving for", and "are you sure it's not just -you- who'd be disappointed?") so I decided to get something for the Birthday Girl, and subversively give the money back. So after a trip across town and a quick stop by Vinnies, to drop off the articles of my Cube get-up that were less than likely to be worn again, I got a pad of coloured paper at Kmart, and came home and made a simple journal out of it. I had no idea what to get her, and thought something handmade might be nice - and what girl doesn't love stationary? :^) It ended up A5 size, bound Japanese-style (managed to figure out how to do it from a picture I had saved somewhere!), pastel coloured papers and soft cardboard covers and chunky jute binding. Hopefully it'll be her thing. ...probably not.

Haven't run in three days! MY WORLD IS COLLAPSING! Was busy till late wednesday, had classes all day thursday, and was busy again today - though I probably could have squished a run in there somewhere if I had really wanted to (or if I hadn't slept in till half past ten...) Might try and do a sprint session ("try", as in "try desperately to run slightly faster than long-distance pace") tomorrow, before I go and help entertain several excitable little girls. Haven't done a sprint session in such a loooong time - last sunday was my first attempt at sprinting in... at least 7 months. That was fun. It was drizzly weather, and all the fields were in use for soccer games, except one hidden up behind the gym, where I dumped my stuff under a bush and did my little session on my own in the rain (thankfully meant no one saw how pitifully slow and un-sprint-fit I'd gotten!) Came home feeling tired and awesome and wanting to do more (I even got sore muscles the day after! I nearly cried tears of joy!) So the plan is to get fast again, and maybe look into athletics clubs and competitions down here since I miss it so much.

Argh - it's that time of night again (you know, the one where most people go to bed, and Jac is physically incapable of going to sleep at), so I shall go and think about going to bed for a while - maybe an hour or so - then maybe go to bed. Or think about it a bit longer. I'll have to think about it. (Nibbits!)


saturday 1 august

MY TEETH ARE SORE. Too much sugar + wisdom teeth joining the party = ow.

Another busy day today - started drafting up my site analysis for Design class, went for a (short) run, then met my Japanese friend and went and did girly parties for a few hours. SO. MUCH. PINK. Six little six year old girls - each in some variation of pink (and if not, it was at least their favourite colour, or they asked for their nails to be painted pink). The agenda involved: 1) Beauty Station: glittering, nail painting, stick-on earrings, faerie and flower temp-tattoos; 2) Pass the Parcel; 3) Pink Bingo (everything was pink); 4) Treasure Hunt (with clues stuck to people, and Puumba protecting the treasure); 5) Party Food Intermission (the food was SO CUTE. In fact - no word in any language can possibly describe how cute it was. So you must make one up - a word like "Cutesweet". But even this portent word cannot truely describe how cute it was.); 6) Musical Statues; 7) Unicorn Piñata Bashing (unsuccessful, and required surgical opening and artificially reproduced candy-explosion); 7) and finally, The Cake. SO MUCH FUN. I enjoyed being useful and felt like an extended member of the family - I really enjoyed myself. (I even got some cake and Cutesweet food!) And the Birthday Girl's an artist! Glad she'll be able to make use of the journal.

Mmm, my friend insisted on paying me (thankfully not too much), so I'm glad I was able to contribute back a bit (cause really, helping glam-up some girls and pick up after them isn't all that hard - in fact, it was a lot of fun!) So, that's a little bit more towards the camera-fund - or in all reality, just funds for the next uni project. Damn expensive drafting film and foam-core. Eventually, camera. Eventually we'll be together (and we'll have a nice house, and millions of children, and a dog...). <3

Worked (and I use that term very loosely) on the History tute-presentation with Melon when I got home (we're presenting together). We made makeshift sushi for dinner - had the rice, rice-vinegar and nori, but had to make do with sandwich mayo, a scrap of avocado and a tin of flavoured tuna for the rest. It was... edible. And messy. I had a baggie of leftovers from the party that we had for dessert (too. much. cutesweet food!), and we vaguely worked on it for a while in a tired stupor, then watched a bit of Finding Nemo on tv while eating the oranges she brought over - and called it quits for the night. Plan to reconvene tomorrow night.

So, sitting here now, in the slinky green action-back singlet I found for the Cube party (love it!) and grey trackies, at a loss for what to do next. Hmm. Maybe that site-analysis thing. Yeah, let's do that for a while. (See - if I had the internet, I wouldn't have this problem!!) ;^D

Hmm - that's it for now.

* * * * * *


An Incomplete List of Foods Jac Really Likes:
(from "The Journals of Jac: An Immortalisation of Her General Shortcomings, for Future Generations to Enjoy/Cringe at/Use as Blackmail Material," page 10-or-so. 27.07.09, 1am.)

warm porridge and honey
persimmons
banana toast while it's still warm
water after a long run
omelettes with lots of chives
home-made pizzas (especially cold)
orange-mango-pineapple juice
vanilla ice cream & creaming soda spiders
vanilla custard & passionfruit slice
sour cream & peach slice
auntie betty's zucchini slice
tiny slices of baklava
nachos with beans, & sour cream, avocado & cheese
fuji apples
winter strawberries (& cream)
tung shin special fried rice
sparkling grape juice
iced chai with ice-cubes and whipped cream
caramel slice
jelly oranges
carrot cake & cream cheese frosting
pancakes
rich raspberry yogurt
breakfast juice
poached egg on toast
watermelon
chewy anzac biccies
honey soy or lemon chicken and rice
chocolate & glass of milk
garlic + most things
dimetap cold syrup (purple)
mango chicken curry
grandma g's baked potatoes
cashew chocolate
nutella on a spoon
corn frittas with tomato sauce
mum's minestrone & garlic bread
butternut pumpkin soup, & bread'n'butter
mayo/avo/cheese/mate/ham on soy linseed bread
Pura long-life milk
crystallised ginger
dried dates
freeze-dried fruit
spicy-coated peanuts
egg & lettuce sandwiches
chicken/tuna + avocado sushi
egg + lettuce sushi
marshmallows
shortbread biscuits
Indi's banana loaf
Ess's avocado dip
M'Gran's pumpkin soup
Fluffy PS's vege soup
sweet chilli foccacias
cheesymite scrolls
cheesecake
spinach & ricotta triangles
vegetable samosas
butter chicken & rice
vanilla milkshakes
subway footlong teriyaki chicken
cold bread'n'butter
roast/baked onions
red-bean buns
tomato soup & toast
sausage & onion & bbq sauce sandwiches
Somie's bacon & egg muffins
date scones
spinach & feta scones
spring rolls
butterscotch ice cream
pavlova
fire engines
caramel popcorn
...
hot custard and cold apple crumble
bruscetta
cabonnara