Almost All Grown Up

Legally, little JAG isn't a child anymore...

Age 2

Age 3, same gumboots

Age 4, different pair of gumboots. Navy, with a red sole. I loved those gumboots. (I obviously had a burr in my sock, hence one boot on, one boot off. Happens, when you live on a farm.)

Age 4; me and my cat, Pippa

18! At last. I can drink, buy alcohol and cigarettes, vote, go clubbing, watch R rated movies, get my green P plates, marry without consent, gamble, be tried in a court of law as an adult, hire from Video Ezy and - as Sara pointed out - prostitute myself (oh, the things I have to look forward to!); no more underage!

Oddly enough though, 18 doesn't feel that old, compared to a lot of people in college, etc, who are 19, 20, 21...and a good friend of mine, a post grad student, who's 24.

18; it's the age at which we come bear whole new responsibilities that we gleefully shirk in our celebration of newly acquired rights.

I look forward to it!

(Details about the celebrations to come...)

x
Just a (legal!) girl

The depths of my superficial soul

x
Just a girl

Who needs a boyfriend when my friends give me chocolate and flowers?

So, for a while now I've been thinking...

[I've got the life I love...but not the love I want in life.]

But then I realised, screw having a boyfriend; my friends are the best people I have in my life!

This epiphany came about on Tuesday, when I went out to lunch with 15 school friends as an early birthday celebration.

It was fabulous, really. It was great just to catch up with everyone, because even though most of us go to the same uni (and some of us even do the same course), we don't bump into each other very often, if at all. Also, I was spoiled with presents (earrings - my first pair of pierced ones!, chocolate, a necklace, a book of quotes, an iTunes gift voucher and a beautiful bunch of flowers, the first time anyone's ever given me flowers) I was flattered and touched. By everything. Especially when they lit 18 candles on this tiny little chocolate cake (it was delicious) and sang me happy birthday.

Point being, it showed me just how much these people mean to me, and I them, considering the effort I know they went to just to come. So for the time being, those wistful feelings of want and desire are placated. Thank you to the dear and wonderful people I feel privileged to call my friends.

Tonight I'm going down to Lygon St with some girls from college for dessert - gelato, a chocolateria, whatever takes our fancy - and coming back to watch Kate & Leopold, which I've never seen but I'm told is good.

Almost 4 hours to go...

x
Just a girl

Um...yeah, that would be me

I've started up a LiveJournal account - Litterarius - so that I can read Sara's blog and intend to post whatever I write (poetry, prose etc)/read/think on it, but haven't got around to it yet (partly because I find LJ hard to use). In any case, LJ sent me this email today:

Hi litterarius,
litterarius's birthday is coming up on May 31!
You can:
Post to wish them a happy birthday
Send them a virtual gift
Gift them with a paid account

Thanks, LJ, for the reminder that it's my birthday in 34 hours! I'm definitely going to gift me with a paid account...

x
Just a girl

PS: Cried again whilst practising my memory prose piece on my great grandmother for tonight's reading. Made my tutor cry, too. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...

Hormones or PMS?

Either way, I can't stop crying.

I don't usually cry easily. But lately, lots of things have been setting me off.

Yesterday it was the Time quote of the day and photo that made me realise the devastation of the Chinese earthquakes.

Last night, it was while I was redrafting my memory prose piece for tonight's college reading, about my great grandmother, who died 6 years ago. As I was writing about my great grandfather's death (who I never knew), it just hit me; I miss her; all the things I'll never know about her; the way life seems to be moving on without her. I hope I don't break down tonight during the reading.

This morning, it was my democracy reading - Martin Luther King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail. It was the part (in particular) where he says

"Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging dark of segregation to say "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters' when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find yourself tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see the tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross-county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," you middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and out resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness" then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait."

x
Just a girl

Waterboarding - it's not what you think

Shudder.



Let's not stand for it.

***

Meanwhile, this is news. Are you kidding?!

***

Finally, a word to the wise, Sharon Stone: an earthquake is an absolute tragedy, not karma.

x
Just a girl

Directions

I recently installed Site Meter, out of curiosity as to how many people read this blog and where they come from. Turns out it's an endless source of fascination, amusement and distraction (wouldn't you know it, I'm trying to write an essay due Friday.)

Here are some of the search terms that landed people on my blog:

• what men find as bitchy clothes
• girl photo bitchy night
• penelope shuttle poem analysis lunulae
• three lunulae
• Three lunulae, turor museum
• anything but clothes
• girls are bitchy to guys
• bitchy girls names (there's such a thing?)
• bitchy clothes (pray tell, what are they?!)
• casual clothes day
• how to write an unseen commentary prose
• how to write paper 1 english commentary prose
• I think therefore IB
• cop girls naked (this is where they landed, OK?)
• don't understand what to do when girl feels bitchy (my answer: leave her alone)
• never had laryngitis

Obviously most people landed on me because of the word bitchy, girls, etc, but I can't have been much help to the people wondering how to write a commentary or looking up Three Lunulae. How humorous.

x
Just a girl

This is why I love Wikipedia

I was clicking through Wikipedia, looking up ages of consent and the like when I stumbled across this, with regard to the age of consent in Antartica:

"While there are no specific age of consent laws in the Antarctic, in the unlikely event of a minor engaging in sexual activity, under the Antarctic Treaty, scientists and support staff stationed there may be subject to the laws of the party of which they are nationals."

LOL. Need I say more?

x
Just a girl

Avant Card Tuesday

I've got a bit of a penchant for collecting things, particularly postcards, and especially if they're free, which they tend to be around Melbourne, if they're advertisements or artwork. So a little bit of a regular feature on this blog is going to be "Avant Card," based on all the groovy/inspirational/just plain pretty postcards I pick up around the place, produced, incidentally, by Avant Card.

I call this one "old school cool," and the clever (or lazy) thing is, they're using an advertisement as an advertisement for the exhibition "Drugs: a social history," at the Melbourne Museum. 9 May - 5 October, if anyone's interested; from smoking cannabis for asthma relief to using opium-laced syrups to calm teething infants, this insightful exhibition examines Australia's drug taking history.

***

I was rereading an email from my Democracy Co-ordinator, to see what we're going to cover in the lecture today, when I noticed he said this:

Good luck in this the final week of the subject, and also as you embark upon your exam preparation, though it would probably be optimistic to expect this revision to begin immediately...

At least he's realistic.

***

Hold on to your hats, people! 4 days until the big 1-8. Me? Excited? Slightly. Though as someone said to me yesterday, "you're excited about everything." Which kind of sums me up.

x
Just a girl

Details

I love:

--this little pocket on the sleeve of my Tommy Hilfiger navy stripe long sleeved top;


Admittedly, it's pretty useless, unless you want to carry emergency tissues, a tiny phone, your mp3 (a nano/shuffle would be ideal) or are exceptionally nerdy like me and like to carry around pens. No, not really. It was just there for scale.

--my shoes, because they're pink and cute and go with just about everything.

***

Furthermore, I am over The Boy, which is a relief, emotionally speaking. I don't know what I thinking; I only met him once. I must have been desperate. That's not to say he's not cute or funny or kind but, well, some things just aren't worth the while. So, a new header, and here's to romance on the horizon (and in the same city, let alone state.)

x
Just a girl

Goodness, Gracious, Great Ball of Fire!

So, I wore a dress I made last year for Design Tech,

and travelled by limo

to the gorgeous ball room

for a fantastic night of fun.

Beats hit the floor, feet hit the floor, whoops someone hit the floor

I wasn't really very excited/in the mood until we got there and the music started. If it's one thing I love - and find hard to resist - it's dancing. There were sing-a-longs, classics like the nut bush, the fresher dance, and generally getting one's groove on. We sat in tables of 10, were photographed throughout the night by some lecherous old man who sold them back to us later for $10 each, and enjoyed the good food (for once) and never ending supply of drinks. The order of proceedings was; mingling upon arrival ("your dress is fantastic!" "thank you, I love yours!"), taking photos (which, of course, continued throughout the night), drinking, dancing, eating, drinking, dancing, eating, drinking, dancing, eating, drinking, dancing some more (and possibly hooking up at the same time) and by 11.30 it was almost all over (it finished by 12am), so a friend and I decided to cab it back, blistered and knackered, but utterly content.


The day after (for most people) went something like this: sleep, skip class, nurse a hangover, try to remember what happened, post photos on Facebook and discover what happened by talking to other people who weren't quite so drunk.


x
Just a girl

The best thing after a long night out...

...is coming home, slipping off your heels, putting on your pjs and getting into bed. Ah, comfort & bliss.

So, the Great Ball of Fire was terrific fun, but more about that in the (later) morning. Just got back, one of the earliest to leave - I'm sure they're all heading over to the after party now (I couldn't go, underage - but only by 10 days! Gah.) Even so, I'm pooped, and I've got a 9 am tute (it would be Democracy, the one in which my tutor expects us to discuss and debate the readings), but at least I'm not hung over. (I don't drink, remember?)

I might be missing out on all the random hooking up, drunken brawls and dirty dancing, but I'm sure I'll hear about all that in the morning. That is, if anybody makes it down to breakfast...

x
Just a girl

Feminists for Obama

Rehab is the new anorexia*
What would Wayne Carey do?
Ghandi's Enema

^^Melbourne Uni debating team names.

***

Tonight's topic was That Australia should establish a skilled migration scheme for Pacific Islanders. Our team won for the negative side by a narrow margin, even though Sara and I swung for different teams. Overall, we finished fifth on the ladder, and just missed out on getting into the finals by about 10 points, having 4 wins and 1 loss (no team finished undefeated.)

***

Saw this in an Ecological History lecture - the one and the same!

[Source]

***

I've been listening to the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and so have this stuck in my head:

Of course, it just makes me want to break out into dance!

[Source]

***

Since I rejected Rochester (yes, despite the lovely offer they made, due to my parents' strenuous objections) and am still waiting on Columbia, I'm looking to exchange (which my parents fully endorse), and getting kind of excited about it. Even though I'm not considering it until 2nd semester next year, the deadline for application is December this year. The question is: US or UK? Uni of Penn or Berkeley? One semester or two?

***

I auditioned for our college play - Dinner - but didn't cut it, even for a call back. Oh well.

***

Tomorrow is the college ball; the Great Ball of Fire.

***

11 days until my birthday!

x
Just a girl

*they never show up. They obviously take their name seriously as a lifestyle.

Everybody's Secrets

Here's one for all of us:

This is exactly what my parents think, whenever my cousins send graduation invitations, knowing we can't attend:

[Source: the lovely PostSecret]

x

Just a girl

Pick Your Stereotype

An email forward that actually has a point.

I'm SKINNY, so I MUST be anorexic.
I'm EMO, so I MUST cut my wrists.
I'm BLACK, so I MUST carry a gun.
I'm HISPANIC, so I MUST be dirty.
I'm ASIAN, so I MUST be smart.
I'm NOT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, so I MUST be a loser.
I'm JEWISH, so I MUST be greedy.
I'm GAY, so I MUST have AIDS.
I'm a LESBIAN, so I MUST have a sex-tape.
I'm ARAB, so I MUST be a terrorist.
I SPEAK MY MIND, so I MUST be a bitch.
I'm OVERWEIGHT, so I MUST have a problem with self control.
I'm RELIGIOUS, so I MUST shove my beliefs down your throat.
I'm an ATHEIST, so I MUST hate the world.
I'm REPUBLICAN, so I MUST not care about poor people.
I'm DEMOCRAT, so I MUST not believe in being responsible.
I'm SOUTHERN, so I MUST be white trash.
I TAKE ANTI-DEPRESSANTS, so I MUST be crazy.
I'm a GUY, so I MUST only want to get into your pants.
I'm a GIRL, so I MUST be over-dramatic.
I'm IRISH, so I MUST have a bad drinking problem.
I'm INDIAN, so I MUST own a convenient store.
I'm NATIVE AMERICAN, so I MUST dance around a fire screaming like a savage.
I DON'T LIVE WITH MY CHILD, so I MUST be a dead beat parent.
I'm ATHLETIC, so I MUST be stupid.
I'm PREPPY, so I MUST shun those who don't wear Abercrombie & Hollister.
I'm a TEENAGER, so I MUST drink and do drugs.
I'm a CHEERLEADER, so I MUST be a whore.
I'm a PUNK, so I MUST do drugs.
I'm YOUNG, so I MUST be naive.
I'm RICH, so I MUST be a conceited snob.
I WEAR BLACK, so I MUST be a goth.
I'm BLONDE, so I MUST be a stupid ditz.
I'm WHITE, so I MUST be a nagging, steal-your-money kind of girlfriend.
I'm PRETTY, so I MUST not be a virign.
I'm CUBAN, so I MUST spend my spare time rolling cigars.
I'm MEXICAN, so I MUST have hopped the border.
I'm NOT A VIRGIN, so I MUST be easy.
I FELL IN LOVE WITH A MARRIED MAN, so I MUST be a home-wrecking whore.
I'm a TEENAGE MOM, so I MUST be an irresponsible slut.
I'm ITALIAN, so my family MUST own a pizzeria.
I GOT A CAR FOR MY BIRTHDAY, so I MUST be a spoiled brat.
I HAVE STRAIGHT A'S, so I MUST have no social life.
I'm REALLY INTO MY MUSIC, so I MUST be scene.
I DYE MY HAIR CRAZY COLORS, so I MUST be looking for attention.
I'm INTO THEATRE & ART, so I MUST be a homosexual.
I'm a VEGETARIAN, so I MUST be a crazy political activist.
I HAVE A BUNCH OF GUY FRIENDS, so I MUST be fucking them all.
I HAVE A BUNCH OF GIRL FRIENDS, so I MUST be gay.
I'm COLOMBIAN, so I MUST be a drug dealer.
I WEAR WHAT I WANT, so I MUST be a poser.
I'm RUSSIAN, so I MUST not care about people's feelings.
I'm GERMAN, so I MUST be a Nazi.
I'm BRAZILLIAN, so I MUST be a slut.
I'm PUERTO RICAN, so I MUST rob, do graffiti and stab people.
I WEAR GIRL PANTS, so I MUST have no friends.
My BOYFRIEND'S OLDER THAN ME, so he MUST only be w/ me 4 sex.
I WEAR LEG BRACES, so I MUST be "crippled".

I'm NOT any of these things, so stereotypes MUST be stupid and judgemental.

x
Just a girl

Start Killing Your Friends!

That's right, people, Assassins has begun in college!

I've never played this game before, but I've read about it in Prep. Basically, you are assigned a 'target' whom you have to 'kill' with some kind of weapon. These are the rules:

• You cannot kill them in the Dining Hall, bathrooms or their room (these are safe areas)
• There must be no witnesses
• You must kill your target with a weapon
• If you kill anybody that isn't your target, anybody can kill you! (you are placed on the Most Wanted list)
• If you do not kill your target within three days, you will be placed on the Most Wanted list, and anyone can kill you
• You may kill someone in self defence, even if they are not your target
• Once you successful killed your target, you will be assigned a new one

Some 50 or more people were killed in the first two days, and I believe there are only some 20 people left in the game, although no one is too clear. I haven't been killed, nor have I killed anybody (yet; I'm not sure why I'm not on the Most Wanted list yet, or why no attempts have been made on my life.) The atmosphere around college in this first week has been hilarious; suspicious and paranoid. No one walks around by themselves; everyone tries to find people to walk to the Dining Hall with, or to uni, or to tutes, etc. Everyone carries a weapon; eg letter opener, plastic club, toy gun, silly string as mace, plastic knives (me), cardboard daggers, etc. My target, in particular, is "guarded" every moment of the day, and it has been near impossible to even approach him by himself.

It also got fairly catty, what with people disputing how they were killed, assassins assassinating anybody (and thus getting picked off themselves - see #4) and accusations of the whole thing being "rigged."

I wonder how long this will go on...

x
Just a girl

Homophobia Scares Me

According to Facebook, today is the International Day Against Homophobia. Wear red, wear the rainbow; show your pride.

How appropriate that California has just legalized gay marriage. How soon before Australia wakes up and recognises that gay people have rights too?

Because homosexuality isn't a sickness or a crime, and should not be treated as such.

[All photos from International Day Against Homophobia Event page]

x
Just a girl

Ask a question, any question

Tag from Kayleigh.

1. Last movie you saw in a theatre? Made of Honour. It's funny, but predictable. Had more fun with the friends I was with though - CM and AO'D - was great to see them after a fairly long while! Miss you, chicas!

2. What book are you reading? New Moon, by Stephanie Meyer. Love it.

3. Favorite board game? Squatter.

4. Favorite magazine? Vogue or Bitch.

5. Favourite smells? Chocolate/cooking, the smell of rain, Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Girl

6. Favourite sounds? Rain on rooftops

7. Worst feeling in the world? Feeling useless and far away.

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up? "I would throw my alarm clock against the wall if it didn't double as my phone."

9. Favorite fast food place? Subway

10. Future child’s name? Ariel, Chelsea, Madison; Theodore, Oliver, Carter

11. Finish this statement- "If I had a lot of money I'd..?" travel, buy expensive clothing (eg Alannah Hill) and eat at fancy restaurants.

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? I sure do, it's a teddy bear named Katie that Gemini gave me.

13. Storms: Cool or scary? Cool in a scary way? Scary in a cool way? Totally rad.

14. Favourite drink? Hot chocolate, preferably from Max Brenner.

15. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would…?” sleep more, learn French, read more and get a job.

16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli? Sure do. Are you telling me you don't?!

17. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice? I don't want to dye it...but if you're going to be that way...blonde? I'm curious as to what I would look like. Probably worse.

18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in? Only one, and I'm not going to tell you where that is, because you wouldn't know anyway. And I'm not counting boarding school.

19. Favorite sports to watch? Tennis, AFL. Sometimes soccer. If my brother is playing.

20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you? She likes Twilight, and therefore is an awesome person in my book!

21. What’s under your bed? The floor.

22. Would you like to be born as yourself again? Well yes, it's been pretty good to be me so far this lifetime...

23. Morning person, or night owl? Oh, definitely a night owl.

24. Over easy, or sunny side up? Sunny side up. Yum.

25. Favorite place to relax? Outside, in the sun, on the lawn. On my bed.

26. Favorite pie? I don't really do pie, though I'd love to try apple.

Tagged: anyone who wants to be

x
Just a girl

Wednesday One Liners Need Explaining To

Overheard in yesterday's Ecological History lecture.

Student sitting behind me: At high school, nobody cared what you wore, and now at uni, everyone cares about being cool again. I feel like I'm back in fucking primary school!
His friend: It's the presence of females.

*

Lecturer: back then [in the 18th century] they had forms of contraception such as coitus interuptus...
Student sitting behind me, explaining to another: She means pulling it out.

*

Lecturer: And that's why they had Sunday school.
Front row student: Are you serious?
Lecturer: Yes.
[laughter]
Student sitting behind me, explaining again: they [parents] sent their kids to Sunday school so they could have sex...

[Title inspired by Overheard in New York]

x
Just a girl

3 7 Beautiful Things

The idea is 3BT, but I just had such a great day...

1. Lunch with C and A, who I haven't seen for a while.


2. Buying Breakfast at Tiffany's on DVD from Borders for $10! Majorly excited; haven't seen it in full yet, so looking forward to it.


3. Eating my mother's super-delicious chocolate cake that she made for me. Rich, but so yummy.


4. This video, posted by Du'loque. Cracks me up every time.


5. Winning tonight's debate, even though only one other person from my team showed up and someone from another team had to swing for us. The topic was that cheap air fare should be sacrificed in the fight against global warming and we were affirmative. Appropriately, I was wearing my favourite t-shirt, which says SAVE OUR PLANET. Had the following note passing conversation with the first speaker during the third negative speaker's speech:

-Me: Our model is being misinterpreted!
-1st. Speaker: :(
-Me: uh-oh [when she pointed out that we hadn't really addressed the issue of cheap flights but flights in general.]
...
-Me: putting words in our mouth
-1st Speaker: yes, I think she's overplaying her attack
-Me: using pre-prepared rebuttal
...
-Me: the opposition overlooked that too (could have been their model) [cutting down use of cars]
-1st Speaker: should have been their model
-1st Speaker: we need to be more specific in our model so they can't put words in our mouth
-Me: deliberate misinterpretation
-1st Speaker: :( again
...(after she'd finished, about two minutes overtime)
-1st Speaker: Her overtime helps us
-Me: :)

As you can see, our main issue with the third speaker was that she didn't seem to understand our model, and hence kept rebutting all these arguments we didn't make. The best part was that on the way down in the lift (wasn't there but 1st Speaker was) the third negative speaker asked for some personal feedback from the adjudicator and he said "you shouldn't misrepresent what the other team is saying." So, we win on all fronts!


6. Talking to Gemini tonight on the phone.


7. Deciding to get my ears pierced. Before my birthday.

x
Just a girl

If it's on the wall, it's a tapestry. If it's on the floor, it's a rug. If it's wrapped around someone, it's a...dress?!

So, in an example of highly effective advertising, a Nordstrom ad for dresses caught my eye; in particularly, this gorgeous dress;

It just looks like Spring, so sweet and pretty. And only $156 (US) - practically the same in $AUS, the dollar is so high...

This one makes me wish for warmer weather, but at $425, it's not as tempting as the above.

I'm not sure, however, if some of them were meant to look like they were wearing tapestries:

This one's kind of cute, but still has the 'I could hang this on my wall instead - instant art!' look.

A further click around the site revealed that their day dresses leave much to be desired. This, for example, looks like a nightie, something Wendy might have worn to Neverland.


This just looks like a pinafore - as in, school uniform - but admittedly has potential. The colour is appealing. Maybe Carrie could get away with it...in heels, of course.



I like this one; it's simple but chic. Makes a nice LBD, but it would be more summery in another colour, say a bright shade of yellow.



And also...would anyone actually wear this to homecoming or prom...or ever?!

It could be nice, I suppose, if it didn't look like she was wearing a jungle.

Speaking of dresses...I'm on the prowl for a sweater dress, because I agree with the Clothes Horse that dresses are "more comfortable and easy than jeans and such a simple piece to throw on;" They're fun, and pretty, and girly, but tend to be spring/summer wear. The sweater dress, however, is a solution to this.

You can wear them with boots, heels, or flats, and with or without a jacket and tights. So versatile, practical and so stylish! Any suggestions as to where I should start looking?

x

Just a girl

¡Qué inteligente!

I just had to share this because it's so funny:

Next Time Impede the Investigation in Finnish
[Patrol car flashing lights at curb. Small group of high-schoolers corralled against wall]
Police officer: So what happened --what did you see?
Sharp teen: No hablo inglés. [I don't speak english]
Officer, in perfect Spanish: Entonces, que pasó? Qué viste? [So, what happened? What did you see?]
Smart teen: No hablo español! [I don't speak spanish!]

x
Just a girl

Distraction, Denial and Democracy

I don't want to think about this so I'm amusing myself with this video my Spanish teacher sent me, called "One Semester of Spanish Love Song:"



[Source]

It's basically a whole bunch of (random) things learnt in a first semester beginner Spanish class; I think you can get a pretty good idea of what he's saying (Hello, girl. What's your name? My name is Mike. My name is Mike. Where is the bathroom? Happy birthday! What's the time? What's the time?) My favourite part is when he say "No remembro how to say eleven," it's the kind of spanglish my brother uses (i.e. put an 'o' on the end of everything and todo es bueno - all is good.)

And another hilarious one brought to you by the same guy, called "Ooh Girl!" - An Honest R&B Song:



[Source]

Classic. It's got me in stitches.

Also, I'm supposed to be doing my Democracy essay, due tomorrow. Let's not talk about it.

x
Just a girl

Men Will Never Understand Why Makeup is a Necessity (or Why it Takes so Long)

I was over at Fashionista when an article on makeup piqued my interest - should we, shouldn't we wear it, and do you, would you, leave the house without a single swipe of make up?


I was intrigued by many of the responses about why some women can't live with, whilst others can't - literally - live without it.


Piccolina42 @ 11:45am, February 28:
I am the lowest of the low. My apartment building WAS on fire and the first thing I went for was concealer and a toque. (That's a Canadian word, I think you guys call it a beanie or something?) Anyway, horrible. I'm horrible. I had the flu of death a couple months ago and on my 30 second march to the grocery store to get more drugs and gingerale, I still wore makeup. You're not alone! I don't think it's vanity so much as a refusal to look like ass. I want to be one of those little old ladies who, at like 115, is in her hospital bed with red lips and hair totally done.

Even camping, man. I used to get caught as a kid -- while my family was "roughing it" and making breakfast over a fire, I had snuck into the car to put on makeup in the visor mirror. No one ever said camping had to equal ugly.


***
Guest @ 11:52am, February 28:
this comment of mine might be a bit overly philosphical, i know, but here goes...

i wear make-up as infrequently as possible. obviously i look better with a little color on my cheeks and lips and some definition around my eyes, and i do pretty up for parties, events, etc.

but the reality is that make-up--like push-up bras, men's shoes with lifts, etc--is yet another way for people to hide who they truly are from the world. it's just done in a superficial, surface way instead of a more personality-based way such as editing one's facebook profile to only include good qualities and exclude the bad bits.

over the years, i've certainly had my share of severe acne. and as an adult now i still do not have perfect skin by any means, but i don't particularly care. if i want to communicate who i am to the world thru physical appearance only, i'll do it with my choice of clothes--not my ability to expertly cover up blemishes.

"Do you, would you, leave the house without a single swipe of make-up?"
hell yes! what's to be afraid of?

and besides [...]--make-up is just plain old not good for the skin.


***
Natalie Hormilla @ 12:07pm, February 28:
guest @ 11:52am,

your comment was way too thoughtful to not acknowledge, so here goes:

i can absolutely appreciate your comparison of makeup to push-up bras.

but there is another side to makeup, which i'm sure you've heard of before - makeup as a means of "readying."

i don't do this everyday anymore, (although I did up until a couple years ago,) but for me, putting on makeup is almost like a form of meditation (no giggles, please!) it's like i'm getting myself ready for whatever i have to deal with that day, thinking about it, picturing what i have to do, what might be a good/bad idea, while i very carefully apply liner, mascara, whatever else. and when i'm done, it's like all of the preparation shows through my face, and i swear i really do feel more prepared for the day once i've gone through this ritual.

but i think you are so definitely right about a certain "fakeness" it has. but i really don't see that for makeup so much as other, more permanent decisions.

my theory is, if you can't wash it off at the end of the day, you've gone too far.


***
Guest @ 12:52pm, February 28:
I think another view of makeup is that it's a form of self-expression. I don't wear much, and can go bare-faced and be okay, but I've actually shifted toward wearing *slightly* more just because, well, it's fun! Unlike a push-up bra, or shoe lifts, where the bra/lifts are simply a means to an end, I find that makeup is somewhat more... of an accessory, sort of -- just something fun to play with. Lately I've been using an eggplant-colored liquid eyeliner thinking it might help my eyes look greener, and I got a great red lip gloss just to be a little bolder... and it does -- as an above poster said -- sometimes affect my attitude. Not in a serious way, but just in an I-might-break-out-the-John-Travolta-strut way. (Kidding. Mostly :) But don't mistake that as me using makeup for self-esteem! As I said, I tend to go minimal with makeup, but view it as fun -- I think if you're a slave to it that's another story.

And man, do I need to clean my brushes... I'm terrible with that...


***
Guest @ 6:43pm, February 28:
Considering that I'm a high school sophomore, and the majority of my grade goes tanning on a daily basis and cakes on pounds of foundation, coverup, eyeshadow, and eyeliner, I prefer to be bare. My daily beauty routine is some Aveeno facial moisturizer, Palmer's cocoa butter swivel stick chapstick, and (occasional) a quick squeeze of an eyelash curler. I'm rediculously pale and I've got bags under my eyes, but I'm comfortable in my own skin. Most of my friends wear mascara at most, and I like that it sets me (and us) apart from the rest of my grade.


***
Chasing pavements @ 9:39, February 28:
Makeup separates at-home me from out-in-the-world me. It might only be some nude eyeshadow, a swipe of mascara, and my go-to lipstick, but it makes me feel like I'm putting energy into looking good, and when I know I look good, not only do I feel good, but I don't worry about my appearance.

Moreover, I've long since learned that people will judge you on your appearance whether you take care of yourself or not, so best to put in a little effort. I know that sounds shallow, but appearances do matter, at least as first impressions are concerned.

That said, I'm currently in academia, and looking like a china doll is far worse, appearance-wise, than going without altogether. Sometimes I notice that paying attention to my clothes, makeup and hair attracts way more attention than it would in other workplaces - and even if I'm complimented on stuff, I feel like I'm also taken less seriously because I care about these "frivolous," "feminine" things.

But enough about my job.


***
Guest @ 5:20pm February 29:
Many young women start wearing make up in middle school, when hormones cause your skin to break out, in the mistaken belief that covering up blemishes is the only way to go and they usually go about it with a very heavy hand. As a result, their skin gets progressively worse. This habit follows them into adulthood. What many women don't realize is that make up is a toxic brew of chemicals. Just try to read the back of a bottle of foundation. Happily, there are a plethora of natural mineral-based alternatives now available. I bought my teenage daughters the mineral powder when they started pleading for some form of cover-up. I also aggressively treated their acne, natural solutions for one, and Pro-Active for the other when natural solutions failed to work. I can count on two hands the times I have worn more than just mascara, and now that I am 45, my skin is better for it. It is ok to look human, you don't have to buy into the whole make up myth. Eat right, get enough sleep, and if you can't pronounce it, don't put it on your face. Oh! And moisturize your neck & chest with the same stuff you use on your face....you'll reap in the benefits later.


***
Guest @ 3:22pm, March 2:
just as a note.. noticed that most of the "i've never and will never wear makeup!" people were 15-18 years old :P

i didn't wear any makeup either until i was 22 or so. i don't wear any foundation, etc., but i wouldn't rule it out as i age. trust me, your skin will not always be as fabulous as it is when you are in high school ;)


***
Sam Alex @ 3:34am, March 10:
I would love to leave the house without makeup, I envy all my friends who wake up beautiful, but honestly, I can't enjoy my day if I don't feel attractive and I don't feel attractive without a bit of makeup. Bad skin runs in both sides of my family, I even did the Accutane bit, and I'll never have that porcelain skin. Some powder and concealer makes me feel infinitely better and much more confident as I go about my day.

Plus, I get such a positive reaction when I put a bit of effort into my face, and who doesn't want that all the time? A lot of people have said how they like to keep it makeup-free during the week so people notice when they are dressed up. For some reason, I enjoy the opposite - I want to look consistently decent ever day. And I mean decent for me, not that you need makeup to need decent! I just feel like whenever I'm out and not made up it gets noticed, in a negative way.


***
Guest @ 12:52pm, March 11:
for me, make up is a tool for self-expression and creativity. there are many sides to me: sporty, urban, cosmopolitan, euro-inspired, global boho, sleek, tomboy, sexy, earthy, mysterious, minimalist, sweetness, cutie pie, fresh faced, femme fatale, punky, bookworm, au naturel - whatever influences turn me on and make me feel alive.

for the most part, i feel i look my best with some concealer dabbed around my nose, tinted moisturizer with spf applied to sallow spots, eye lashes curled, a berry gloss and perhaps a smudge of either pencil along my lower lash line or some shadow along my lid. i do go bare-faced but i prefer a lash curl and a swipe of sheer colored gloss or lip balm as my best minimal look. i don't have the best skin, which i lament; trust. so instead i focus on my bits that are positive. so much of being fabulous is being true to who you are and working it.

i confess that when i read many of the comments posted, they strike me as judgmental and absolute - like there are these rules and if one doesn't abide by them one is not fashionable. this makes me sad. it seems so uptight and such a buzzkill. i don't think fashion and creativity can truly be reduced to such a terse existence and to comply with such sterile and stringent dictates just seems so anti-style .

i think anything goes and if it makes you feel good and confident about yourself - yay!


***
Guest @ 5:14pm, March 19:
I feel ugly without any make up.
iv done it before and people are shocked. they ask me if i'm okay, if i'm ill.
and they stare and
im like
aww i look rough.
its not fun.
i feel like i can relax with foundation and concealer on. mascara and eyeliner and blusher.
and lip balm.
thats what i wear.
if im wearing that then i can get on with my day!


***
Guest @ 9:49pm, March 27:
I glanced through the comments on this article and it has left me disappointed in the female population. I have never worn concealer or foundation and I have clear skin [surprise surprise]; why is mascara non-negotiable for so many of you? Are you all so self-conscious and condemning that you can't stand to ever go without it? Eyeliner or eyeshadow, I understand, and maybe mascara every now and then, but really, don't be so ridiculous. Why is it so difficult to go bare-faced? No, I am not a tomboy or a product of rural upbringing and I have passed through the damned age of acne, but I still never wore makeup. Stop being so superficial. It's making me sick.


***
Guest @ 3:09pm, March 31:
I have yet to find a make-up that actually stays on. Eye pencil and mascara leave me looking like a panda however allegedly water proof the products are. I already have a natural red colour to my cheeks and going out into the winter chill or summer heat just emphasises it further. Lipstick does not last much beyond the first drink or meal. Above all I am a WYSIWYG kind of girl. I don’t want a beau to run screaming from the room the first time he sees without make-up because the difference is so marked. Paradoxically, I often find that it is on those days when I feel I ought not to be allowed out onto the street without a paper bag over my head that I find strangers are more likely to come on to me. Perhaps decisions about whether to wear make-up are influenced by our mothers. The woman who raised me did not own so much as a lipstick and regarded women who wore make-up as little better than brazen hussies. By contrast my mother, who I went to live with in my teens, believed in applying the full works, down to the old fashioned mascara you literally had to spit on before applying with a wand. One thing that struck me was the way Hollywood stars wanting to be taken seriously as an actress, often ditch the glamorous make-up for a role in the hope that their heroic self-sacrifice will result in critical acclaim: think Charlize Theron in Monster for example.


***


Me? I'm a very simple girl when it comes to makeup; I can take it or leave it. Lip balm is my only daily - and not even that - application (apart from cleansing, toning and moisturising.) In fact, I only bought my first foundation last year because I'm worth it at my mother's behest [to wear] for my house dinner (and then formal, Valedictory Dinner, etc.) It's never been a routine for me to wear or "do my makeup," so I don't wear concealer, foundation, blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow or mascara, and am pretty much a dunce when it comes to putting them on (the first four, in any case.) Wearing mascara and lipstick does make me feel dressier, classier - a bit more glamorous that my usual self/look (I feel the same way about wearing earrings - because I so rarely do - and rings; they are touches of sophistication.) And it's always fun to Gemini "make me over," which she's done for just about all my boarding school dinners and dances!


To me, at least, minimal is key. There is, I think we'll all agree, such a thing as too much.


In short, my answer to the initial question is yes, I leave the house/college/whatever without makeup all the time. Because I'm born with it I really couldn't care less.


So, do you dare leave the house without makeup?


x
Just a girl

Happy International No Diet Day!

Are you over the diet industry telling us that we cannot be healthy or happy unless we are slim? That to have a so-called "perfect body" we have to diet and consume weight loss products?

As Australia's largest charitable foundation supporting people with eating disorders and negative body image we are truly 'over it.' Restrictive dieting can be the precursor to life thratening mental and physical illnesses. more and more people in Australia are suffering from eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating, as well as obesity - brought about by negative body image. The eating and sharing of food for many people has become a fearful struggle with it having a devastating impact on their mental and physical health.

The Butterfly Foundation is proud to be celebrating International No Diet Day - a day celebrated around the world each year on May 6th. We are celebrating the beauty that can be found in many diverse body shapes and the right of all people to a healthy self-esteem and positive body image. most importantly the Butterfly Foundation wishes to highlight the dangers of restrictive dieting and wants to let you know that "we love you just the way you are."

[quoted from the free promotional International No Diet Day postcard]

I wholeheartedly agree. Let there be cake!



Enjoy eating. Enjoy living. Indulge. Beauty isn't skin deep; it's on the inside where true beauty lies, and that beauty can never fade.

x
Just a girl

My Ears are in Your Hands

I might have mentioned that I'm fairly indecisive. At the moment, I'm tossing up whether or not I should get my ears pierced.

Totally not a big deal, I know, but we indecisive souls take no decision lightly. They are troubling, every one, a drastic, life-changing choice.

Waaaay back in October last year, I said this:

My ears aren't pierced and I don't think they're likely to be, either. It's not something I'm completely against - while I know that the market for pierced earrings is much larger, and generally cuter, than that for clip on earrings, it's something I've never felt an urge to do.

Well, people, clearly things have changed. I'm feeling the urge, so to speak. I'm not particularly sure why though, which is worrying me slightly. I just want pierced ears, I think they would be nice, and think about all the fabulous earrings I could wear!

But what's weighing me down is a semi-guilty feeling. Having not had my ears pierced like most of my cousins, my grandmother and mother seem to take great delight in buying me clip earrings and giving me theirs, so getting my ears pierced feels a little like going to the "dark side"...

So, like the rational-minded and nerdy person that I am, I'm drawing up a benefits list:

Pros:
-wider range of earrings to wear!
-pretty & fun!

Cons:
-annoying to wear eg sport (have to take them out, lose backs, etc)
-potentially tacky?
-infections? (low risk)
-earrings can get caught on hair/clothes (etc), pull/tug ear lobe?

Minor problems? Worth it?

What do you think? Adivce, opinions, recommendations and past experience all welcome!

x
Just a girl

Are You Calling Me Delusional?!

I cut this out of the Honolulu Advertiser last year when I was there.

[Click image to enlarge]

x
Just a girl

Spooky

Does anyone else find this photo of Miley Cyrus disturbing?



I'm a fan of Leibovitz, and I get that she's going for an older, more mature image, but all I see is someone who just got out of the shower and has a vampire tan.

Miley irritates me a fair bit, and yet when I was in the States I am ashamed to admit I spent a disgusting amount of time watching Hannah Montana, which I suppose just goes to show I'll watching anything on TV, or that I watch a lot of Disney in general. While her voice is decent enough, most of her fame stems from her father's name, which isn't even that big. She's just annoying (probably because she's a tween star.)

Point is, this isn't one of Leibovitz's best (or most flattering) shots, and she could have done a better job. The Vanity Fair article, though, which it was for, is actually quite amusing; the author seems to be about as skeptical about Miley as I am. (But don't even get me started on the weird and unnatural looking photo of her and her father.)

x
Just a girl

Desperate Housewives meets Hedda Gabler

I wrote this for my next creative writing assignment (monologue or creative nonfiction), but I'm not going to develop it or submit it for serveral reasons; the assignment is 1,500 words, I'm not happy with the idea, not sure where I'm going with it, and I've had another idea. Plus, I kind of like it as it is; it's a little abrupt, and perhaps states the obvious, but it's dark and bitter and that's the way I like it. The idea was to subver the notion of a somewhat typical discontented housewife (eg Hedda Gabler) into a discontented husband. I think it's my first piece of writing that's actually slightly humorous, even if it is sarcastic and resentful.


***


Darling, I’m home!
No, no, don’t get up,
I’ll put away my coat and hat.
Do I smell dinner?
No, I’m imagining things again.
Well, I’m home now darling,
you can start the cooking.
But before you do,
I want to talk to you.


I’ve noticed you seem unhappy,
darling, unsatisfied with your lot,
so to speak.
Been reading Hedda Gabler, have you?
I suppose you see yourself as Hedda,
do you, darling,
poor, tortured housewife that you are?


How do you imagine I feel, then,
darling? Not much like that Tesman,
poor, oblivious man that he was.
Jolly, though, I’ll grant him that.
No, darling, I feel nothing like him.
Not much like that manipulative Hedda,
either. Did everyone a favour, she did,
taking her life like that.
Oh, I’m sorry, darling.
Did I spoil the ending for you?
And here you were, hoping
for some fairytale.
Hate to break it to you, darling,
but that’s how it is.


That’s how I feel at the end of the day,
darling, when I come home
to this cold, cold house,
with all its fires blazing,
but no warmth anywhere.
I am often exhausted, darling,
but there is no comfort,
not even in our countless cushions,
daybeds, chaise lounges and chairs.
Happiness doesn’t live here, darling,
oh no. But Dissatisfaction does.


x
Just a girl