okay sandy

blog has moved

2011-02-26T10:16:00.001+08:00

A proper note this time.

Ps. Check out my awesome 5 o'clock shadow.

moved. (for now)

2010-10-17T22:49:00.002+08:00

Blog has moved to sanlive.com.

Please update bookmarks, RSS feeds, etc. :)

Quality control

2010-09-11T19:36:00.001+08:00

gg Premium cracker factory. I opened the packet and this was the top
cracker staring back at me.

Contemplative cat

2010-09-01T23:30:00.001+08:00

Fortune cat

2010-08-24T12:38:00.000+08:00

FORTUNE
CAT BRINGS YOU VERY BEST
WISHES MAY HAPPITY & HAPPY
HOCKS BE WITH YOU FOREVER

The Suite - Shenton Park

2010-08-23T19:38:00.000+08:00

Afternoon snack

2010-08-17T15:58:00.001+08:00

Good suit!

2010-08-13T17:35:00.001+08:00

Winner

2010-08-13T15:08:00.000+08:00

Pop pop Americano!

2010-08-13T09:15:00.002+08:00

2010-08-06T20:26:00.001+08:00

server switching and stuff

2010-08-06T11:49:00.000+08:00

Waaaarrrgh~ my little website has the lurgy.

In the midst of some epic server switching. All my self-hosted sites, and all my friends' sites that I host may be down for a little bit. Sites affected:

Insiderhosting.com is great, by the way. :)

Good game - i'm very distracted

2010-08-05T23:26:00.001+08:00

Wanna play?

It's called Fat Slice by some guy named AaronOfTomorrow. You cut pieces off a canvas, but you have to trap all the balls together, and you can't let them touch your cut line.

m-flo "one day"

2010-08-05T20:23:00.000+08:00

english translation

Gustav and Drummond

2010-07-25T02:01:00.001+08:00

An evening of wizardry ends as all evenings should.

Sleeping cat and pet human

2010-07-22T10:29:00.001+08:00

Week 1

2010-07-18T13:00:00.001+08:00

Week 1 at the new place has been lovely. New surrounds, new layout,
new things for the cats to look at.

Got a week off work too, to clean up, settle in, get some stuff
happening with the old apartment. Found a property manager, but have
yet to read all the paperwork she sent me. Baby steps... Really slow
ones.

Does anyone play Godfinger on iPhone/ipad? I'm looking for more
friends so I can complete one of the game challenges. Add me? I'm
stuckfox.

Naptime for cats

2010-07-18T12:53:00.001+08:00

Yeap 2.

2010-07-16T18:27:00.000+08:00

Yeap.

2010-07-16T18:26:00.000+08:00

Dubstep War of the Worlds - lovely

2010-07-16T09:46:00.002+08:00

War of the Worlds by erwtenpeller

Sunday evening, second last night here

2010-07-11T23:22:00.000+08:00

We found a new place. Hooray!

It's been a drawn-out house-hunting adventure filled with false hopes, near misses and so many fucking forms. I hate forms. I don't understand why we don't just have a national database with everyone's info, where you can consent to one-off access for specific situations - rental applications, electoral roll, credit card verification. Security would never be an issue if you hire a shitload of ninjas, which also takes care of unemployment.

Fuck it, even that sounds like a lot of effort. I just don't want to fill in another form for awhile plzthx.

Spent the last week in packing mode; the last 2 afternoons actually packing. We don't have nearly as much stuff as I thought we did; as I did when we first moved in. I guess I've thrown a lot of things away since leaving the suburbs - clothes, toys, trinkets, letters, memories, dignity, youth...

It feels like a new life chapter is about to start, and I don't mean this in a romantic starry eyed way. It's more along the lines of "shit's going to be a bit different from now on, so you better adapt." I'm a little scared - I'm going to be paying rent and a mortgage, which means this place will need to be cleaned up quickly so it's fit for a tenant.

And there's lots to do. :[

On a less stressful note, found a cool iPhone app last week. It's called Stachetastic and it's amazing. I won't spoil it for you - go check it out for yourself.

Bye now. :)

How to remove blu-tac without ripping paint off

2010-07-11T11:06:00.001+08:00

Use a wodge of blu-tac to remove residue, but instead of pulling or
rolling it off, just twist until it's all gone.

Just a pity I ripped off two chunks of paint before figuring this
out. :(

Moving day tomorrow. We found a new place. :) Wee!

Anyone seen this?

2010-07-10T12:27:00.001+08:00

To fight influenza...

2010-07-09T19:28:00.000+08:00

That was a goal.

2010-06-27T22:43:00.001+08:00

That was Lampard's goal, you ridiculous ref. Score should be 2-2, world.

Not cool.

2010-06-27T22:36:00.001+08:00

Not cool, England. Plug the gaps up. COME ON.

Watching GER v ENG

2010-06-27T22:13:00.002+08:00

It's been a lovely weekend. Drinks and snacks at the Fetchtv (http://www.iinet.net.au/fetchtv) launch party on Friday; ended with a sore arm from foosball rage.

Finished ALL my writing course on Saturday and cleaned the bathroom. My word, it's so good to have time to clean. iiNet quiz night in the evening: my table won!!

Slotted in a pub lunch today, then more cleaning - laundry room and kitchen - and now here I am, enjoying the football, 12:09. COME ON, ENGLAND.

Looking forward to having my evenings back. Got a week of leave coming up in mid-July too. Life is pretty good this evening. Fingers crossed it stays that way for the next 80mins. :)

Trying out the new establishment

2010-06-27T13:25:00.001+08:00

Grossvenor Hotel, Perth, c. 2010.

Technical stuff

2010-06-23T19:59:00.001+08:00

In the studio with Mat (http://soundcloud.com/djnu) and Jerry (http://www.jerichomusic.com.au).

They're talking audio nerd stuff and I'm learning new words like 'upward compression' and some other word I've already forgotten.

Good run tonight; timing passable and pitch reasonable. I still get nervy when singing anywhere but the shower or doing dishes alone. But wow, did start feeling confident tonight. Maybe nerves are on their way out. :)

Hometime soon, to dinner and the football. Come on, England!!

Fly Away Rabbit - cute iPhone game

2010-06-21T01:16:00.002+08:00

Rabbit dreams of being among the clouds. Touch the helium blocks to
remove them from his way.

But be careful - don't let him fly too fast or he might get lost!

Get game - so cute! I played it to help me fall asleep last night. :)

Working with designers - tips from Module 8

2010-06-17T13:59:00.002+08:00

Wow, vindication. Having been on both sides of the writer vs designer briefing process, I can vouch for all of these. Check 'em out - excerpts from Module 8 of my writing course, "Writing for Public Relations 2":

Designers are visual people.

Designers tend to see copy as a visual element. They usually will not read the copy itself.

Designers are not mind readers.

If you have examples of the graphic style and mood you want, bring it to the briefing session.

Designers are not readers.

To a designer, the overall 'look and feel' of a piece is the critical issue. They generally will not proofread a finished piece - this is YOUR responsibility and your client's.

Designers are expensive.

This means you need to ensure your brief is precise and your copy is correct. Lack of discipline in this area on your part (or your client's) can more than quadruple the quoted price of a job.

That last one applies more to time than price where I work. Non-designers often underestimate the effort that goes into producing a 'simple' piece. Maybe we've submitted a plain black square in the middle of an A4 sheet of paper, but it took a hundred "two steps forward, one step back" steps through red squares, blue squares, red and blue squares cos that's more on-brand, how about a triangle, on second thought let's try the square again but in rainbow colours, etc. to get to that one black square.

The same goes for writing. The final version may be a simple one liner, but it takes a lot of consideration to word that one liner just right, in such a way that the audience will just get it in those few words. It's all in the delivery, which is sometimes referred to as kairos, for anyone interested. :)

Back to work I go...

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

2010-06-14T00:05:00.002+08:00

Another half-baked idea by dos4gw

2010-06-12T16:01:00.001+08:00

How to deal with a sprained ankle.

2010-06-08T23:49:00.000+08:00

This PSA blogpost is a little something to all my accident prone
friends. I'm no physio, but I've been lucky enough to sprain my ankle
TWICE every year since I started playing football 4 years ago.

It's no fun, being sore is shit, but I'm now a full bottle on managing
my injury.

Everything here are tips and lessons from my awesome physiotherapist
Gerard. I hope I've remembered the details right. If anyone knows
better and sees a mistake, lemme know and I'll editeditlala.

Hope you find this useful. :)

-- Ice ankle as soon as possible after injury. --

When a sprain occurs, your body sends a flood of histamines to enflame
the surrounding tissue, forming a puffy polyfilla padding.

Healing doesn't begin until the swelling goes away - ice helps to get
you to the healing stage faster. Anti-inflammatories (nurofen,
voltaren, etc.) work wonders too.

-- Get back on your feet as soon as you can. --

Gently, though. The idea is to retrain and recalibrate the muscle as
early as possible. Gets your muscle memory reinstated quickly and
starts the re-strengthening proccess.

Get the icepack on afterwards, to keep your ankle returning to the
healing process.

-- Do balancing exercises. --

Stand on your lame foot while brushing your teeth, while waiting for
coffee, while picking your nose.

When you go slightly off-balance, your ankles compensate to keep you
upright. Getting the balance calibration back in your ankle lessens
the risk of re-injury.

-- Find some caring friends to make sad faces at. --

This one's not from Gerard. It just makes me feel better when I'm
still sad after doing all the other stuff. :)

(This post is dedicated to SamE and Laura.)

what kind of idiot writes a draft?

2010-06-02T22:49:00.004+08:00

In highschool, our teachers always made us write a draft of any stories or essays we did in class. I used to wonder, What kind of idiot needs to write a draft? Surely, any halfway-smart person knows what they want to say. Of course, when you're a teenager, you know everything, and I sure as hell knew then that I wasn't some dumbo writer who had to take a few goes.

Many, many failed assignments later, I discovered that I need to write a draft.

It's not about knowing what to say, but knowing how to say it so the message is received in an adequately expressive and unambiguous way. It's the duty of every responsible writer to meet a reader halfway - and this translates to real life too. For instance, nothing shits me more at work than when people pull me in to answer a question that takes place midway through a conversation that they had in their head. Context is so important, and so easy to offer quickly with a bit of consideration before engaging.

This wasn't meant to turn into a half-arsed rant about irresponsible communication. I actually wanted to share my writing process. If you're interested, that is. ^.^

When I sit down to write - a Discoveryzone article, for example - I generally start with a planning doc; a scribble of notes about the aim of the article, the intended audience, a rough list of topics to cover and sites that seed the research process.

Next comes the 'streams of consciousness' draft. This is essentially a brainfart of facts, concepts and phrases that come out of the thinking process. My SOC drafts look quite different to the planning doc. For example, the original list of sites may change shape, shrink or grow during the SOC process. Topics may be added, removed or merged; whatever feels natural.

The final SOC draft will usually contain repetition and word-for-word splices from my research material, producing a flow that's quite rough and clumsy. SOC drafts are then tidied up to form a first draft, with more presentable, non-plagiarised flow and wording.

Subsequent drafts and edits follow, peer review, grammar assistance, Engrish removal, yeah you heard me... until finally, a final.

Like my arrogant highschool self, I firmly believe you don't need a process for good writing. Not one prescribed by others, anyway.

What I've ended up with here emerged over the course of a couple years, where I was getting paid to write properly for public consumption. It's organic, it suits me, and for you to write your best, I think you need to find your own way to do it.

That's it from me.

what i am going to do today: not much

2010-05-30T12:00:00.000+08:00

~~1. wake up too early~~
~~2. go do the stupid stair climb~~
~~3. get 13 min 16 sec, worse that my first time evar~~
~~4. shower like a motherfucker~~
5. have the rest of the day to do sweet FA and maybe a bit of assignment

here, a picture:

the touchy-feely human parts of module 5

2010-05-25T23:25:00.000+08:00

I love learning about the touchy-feely human bits of writing. Here are some interesting snippets from the module on corporate writing.

Baggage

Senders bring their feelings, attitudes, expectations, past experience and values to any communication. These can be indicated by their tone, their response to questions and so on. This 'personal baggage' can colour the way they encode their message.

The text then goes on to say how if you don't like a person you receive an email from, it's easy to be offended by what they've written. On the other hand, you could get a rude, abrupt message from someone but don't get offended because you have a pre-existing relationship.

Learning point:

People will not be aware of what baggage you bring to the communication process unless you tell them.

Noise

Noise is what you call the things that distracts you from communicating smoothly. Could be anything - loud traffic, building construction, being interrupted by the person you are speaking to, language difficulties, emotions, headaches, etc. Basically, if it's distracting you from the flow of understanding, it's noise.

Learning point:

Noise colours the communication process and can cause it to break down entirely.

Body language

I learned a couple years ago that only 15% of our total communication is done in words. The other 85% is a mix of body language, tone of voice, facial expression and stuff like that. It's all the stuff you kinda have to feel your way through when communicating with people.

Learning point:

When you write, many of these cues are missing, so you have to choose your words very carefully. You want to ensure that there is no confusion about what you are saying.

It still trips me out a bit how some people sound like total dickheads via email, but they're really genuine and cool in person. Guess the 'being careful' thing can make a huge difference.

Channel

Despite body language communicating heaps more at once, it's not necessarily better to do everything in person. I get this quite a bit actually - sometimes people will come up for a face-to-face conversation, when a text chat or email would probably work smoother and faster.

This section of the course gives a couple paragraphs of examples, so I won't quote them here. But to give you an idea, the exercise lists a few types of communication (survey results, staff churn, deadline notices, policy announcements, meeting confirmation, etc.) and asks us to match them with the appropriate communication channels (email, newsletter, meeting in person, posters, reports, etc.).

I'd always taken that sort of thing for granted, but having to think about it now gives a bit of shape to the gut feelings. Like how you'd use a regular publication to talk about run-of-the-mill stuff, but it would be better to use surprise!methods for super exciting or time sensitive stuff.

Context

Quick last one cos it's my bedtime...

Context: the shit that happens that might influence the way your message is understood. It's the vibe, basically. Before you communicate stuff, suss out how people are feeling.

For example, you may have good news about the tearoom refurbishment, but no one has seen your cheery email because they are still in shock at the retrenchments announced by the boss that morning.

I was shopping for a training course a couple years ago and found a "Communications for Women" course next to a plain "Communications" course. The only difference between the two that I could find was that the "for Women" course had a module on good timing. As in, how to be a bit more aware of your surroundings before opening your mouth.

Bit funny, but probably not inappropriate. Sometimes it does feel like the mental filters momentarily switch off as soon as things get a bit exciting. Maybe we're just hardwired with stronger blurt reflexes, or maybe we're socially conditioned differently to boys? Or maybe it's nothing at all and I'm just seeing things, but nonetheless, there was a tailored piece of learning for professional females.

The learning point from the Context section is basically to ask yourself a bunch of sensitivity questions about your audience before you reach out.

I am sleepy now, good night. x

bachelor frog

2010-05-25T22:21:00.000+08:00

Things I have eaten this weekend

2010-05-24T01:17:00.000+08:00

1. Delicious chips at Armada at the Travelodge Hotel in town. One of
the best pub chips around, though the one at the Holiday Inn still
tops my 'most impressive' list. That was a good 5 or 6 years ago, but.
Haven't been there in awhile.

2. Dolsot Bibimbap at Myoung Ga. I live that place; it's run by a
happy Korean uncle who keeps the kitchen open right up til near
closing time. They do takeaway too, and he's really eager for you to
enjoy your at-home meal. Also good: they have grape, pear AND
strawberry BongBong. :D

3. Two fat Jesters pies for lunch after Saturday morning football.
Wicked reward after a 3win-1loss session.

4. Potato noodle for second lunch. This is the new best noodle in
town. Chewy like a bastard with superb default flavour, so you can add
whatever and it will still taste fantastic. I added lemon juice and
parsley; sour balanced the salty well. Man, I'm hungry again just
thinking about it.

5. Smoked salmon crackers for dinner. The more fibrous and wholemealy
the cracker, the better. Spread generous cream cheese, dip salmon in
lemon juice before applying. Add finely chopped tomato, thin carrot
slices, thin cucumber slices; sprinkle finely chopped parsley. Yum!

6. Fish fingers with 3 dipping sauces - thousand island, Caesar and
tomato. Must remember to add 5 extra minutes with oven 20 degrees
hotter - crumbs go crunchier.

7. HooRooRook noodles for breakfast. Another new best instant mee.
Korean style, no msg, yet still bloody tasty.

8. Open ham sandwich, blogged earlier today. Faaaark what a treat :)

9. Fish finger snack after outdoor football. Wee! Ranch sauce that
time, I think. It was the survival snack so we'd have enough energy to
think about dinner.

10. Beef stew!! No stock, no additives. Just tasty veggies, bit of
salt, herbs and spices. Really excited to experiment with not using
pre-made stuff. More a curiosity thing than for health reasons, but
would be nice if there were health bonuses alongside.

The spice I'm currently playing with is cardamom. It's tangy and warm,
so delicious on beef.

I have a leftover turnip, parsnip and mushrooms. Might get a new
bottle of random spice and make a soup. Sadly, soup and stew are the
only things I'm any good with.

The picture in this post isn't from this weekend, but from Wednesday
night. Tried the Beaufort Street Steakhouse; that was the charcuterie
platter. Delicious lavosh crackers with strange tasty mustard dip,
baby gherkins, capers, prosciutto, shaved pork, rabbit pot and warm
soft chorizo.

The steaks were quite remarkable too -cooked evenly all the way
through. Yummy sauce (pick from 4), small potato side (chips, mash or
jacket spud). A+ would patronize again.

Okay, pretty hungry now. Also getting sleepy. Oh yes, that's number
11: an antihistamine for good night's sleep.

Hasta mañana, everyone!

What an awesome treat!!

2010-05-23T13:00:00.001+08:00

Best lunch evar <3

Winning lotto ticket

2010-05-20T17:46:00.001+08:00

That's $28.65, for those who can't read Out Of Focus. Congrats, fuzz :)

what i'm studying tonight - loose sentences

2010-05-18T21:10:00.001+08:00

Loose and periodic sentences tonight.

A loose sentence expresses the main idea first:

The girl wrote with incredible monotony, not realising how much it annoyed her readers.

A periodic sentence saves the main statement to the end:

Not realising how much it annoyed her readers, the girl wrote with incredible monotony.

In the loose sentence, the chief contention is clear from the start; in the periodic sentence, you must read to the end for the full meaning. Used too frequently, the periodic sentence can annoy the reader.

Interesting, huh? :)

I'm very tired. We won at outdoor indoor football tonight. Hooray! Was good to win against that team too, since we drew the last couple of times we played them. Had cannelloni for dinner, with spinach & rocket on the side.

And now, it's study time.

For you, some links:

Letters & ligatures - lovely character map copypastey tool
Turning old books into plant pots - nice idea for a hobby project
Shoes of Prey - design your own shoes (via @snuff_man)
The Cuddle Hormone: The Good & Bad of Oxytocin - one of many love chemicals

Tie me kangaroo down, sport - dnb remix

2010-05-17T14:13:00.002+08:00

Primary school would have been way more fun remixed.

Thanks, dos4gw, for the link!

Chips' stick man

2010-05-14T14:23:00.001+08:00

Artwork by @chipschipschips

Mood writing from Module 3

2010-05-13T21:56:00.004+08:00

Yep, up to Module 3, about editing and grammar. There's lots of little holes in this one - topics that the heading & contents page suggest are covered, which are in fact either not covered or foggily covered. Perhaps these are "stretch" objectives, the way the Blue Screen of Death is "stretch" screensaver.

Here's an interesting snippet, not taken verbatim, from this part of the course. It's about the mood of verbs - how you convey feeling by the way you use a verb amidst the rest of the sentence.

There are three moods:

1. Indicative - where the verb makes a statement or asks a question:

She creates drama.

Does she create drama?

2. Imperative - gives a command or makes a request:

Have fun now!

Wash your hands in the sink.

3. Subjunctive - ...

The explanation gets a bit hazy here. It sounds like the subjunctive mood is where you are expressing possibility, doubt - stuff that's not a question, statement or direct order. So, like... daydream talk: "Oh, I wish this part of the course wasn't so dry and confusing."

As it stands, I am getting nervous. The assignments I've already handed in haven't yet been marked and returned. I need to work doubly-hard next week to get back on schedule. How excitement! Garr...

new wordpress theme, and it was probably a stomach bug

2010-05-11T21:31:00.002+08:00

Made my very first evar Wordpress theme today. :) May I present SandySoft - still not fit for public distribution, but I hope to clean it up and list it, open source, whatevery, blah. All for you, my lovely dears. Experience it at sandylovesyou.com.

It's become a comforting habit, redesigning as a healthy distraction while on the mend. Sure beats lying in my own filth on the couch, watching Trailer Park Boys, for 2 days in a row. (Just the one day was fine.)

For anyone yet to be afflicted, or wondering if they may be getting sick, here's the official list of symptoms (gathered from friends who also got sick around the same time):

Chills
Fever
Body aches
Stomach cramps
Sore kidneys
Nausea/vomiting
Evil poos
Weakness/lethargy
Loss of appetite
Swollen glands

And stuff I found helpful:

Carrot slices, cucumber slices & Salada crackers
Canned Irish stew (just don't eat the meat bit until you feel better)
Chamomile tea
More Salada crackers
Packet noodles (not spicy)
100Plus isotonic water
LOTS OF WATER
Mineral water, if normal water gets boring
Yakult

Plus lots of sleep.

Worst time to be sick

2010-05-10T19:25:00.001+08:00

This is the worst time to be sick. So much going on at work, at home,
arrrgh :((

Still not sure if it's flu or food poisoning; it's pretty horrible and
I just want it to go away. Mummy... :(

On the upside, it's nice to have a break. I keep daydreaming about
being 5 years old and my grandma taking care of me, feeding me rice
porridge with bovril and smelly Chinese medicine.

Tonight, I've eaten some canned Irish stew, salada crackers, cucumber
and carrot. And some sports water. Please please please, I'd like to
not be sick tomorrow. Please.

2010-05-09T21:55:00.001+08:00

So very very tired, and why does my face hurt?

Went to dad's giant birthday dinner party on Friday night. And by
giant, I mean more than our regular "4 for noodles" evening. It was
good to see aunties and uncles who I haven't talked to in ages. Quite
overwhelmed, though - despite growing up with mum and dad's dinner
parties, I feel heaps more comfortable having quiet, reclusive time.
This better not be early onset Crazy Cat Lady-itis.

I had a glass of wine that was as old as me OMG!! It tasted like dates
mashed through a gym sock. Yum yum~

Not feeling well tonight. Ran almost a full game of football today,
and I'm really knackered. Feels like I've been beaten up, and now my
tummy is playing funny buggers. Will end this post now, but I have
some interesting links to share with you... tomorrow.

No beverges. No.

2010-05-07T16:47:00.001+08:00

Good morning, did you sleep well?

2010-05-03T08:13:00.001+08:00

a gentle weekend

2010-05-02T21:11:00.001+08:00

Got some leisurely designery in - sanlive.com has a new skin. Simpler and less bug-prone, I hope.

This weekend's passed by quietly, as I hope this night will too. There is a party on tonight, but I am here at home, a little poorly and tired after this morning's football match. No, it wasn't really that hard a run; I'm just not that fit yet.

I've got tomorrow off work, but it won't be a slacker day. Hope to get some laundry done and make some progress on my assignment. Did you guys get up to anything exciting? Message me, I love stories! :)

A snippet from Module 2

2010-04-29T20:23:00.000+08:00

Submitted my first assignment for my writing course this evening. Now just trying to do a little bit of the second assignment, then reward myself with some book shopping.

Not much to say tonight - just wanted to share a snippet from Module 2:

One thing is certain about writing and editing - there's never enough time, there's never enough pay and there's always far too much work.

Such a combination can result in even longer hours, working under pressure at a computer. This can be lethal to stress levels and health, if you let it. Try to negotiate realistic timelines and pay rates. Do some relaxation exercises or meditation to ensure you maintain an appropriate and relaxed attitude to your work.

Wow, man, I wish I had known this when I was much younger. Although, I think once you understand this needs to be done (as in, properly understand, not just recite textbook good advice), it gets easier to work it into your lifestyle.

I'm a little bit sick tonight. My throat is sore, mood is low, head tired and eyes a bit sensitive to light - whine whine whine. Looking forward to some slovenly rest shortly, then ten-pin bowling tomorrow, board games on Saturday and football on Sunday.

Hasta mañana, my friends. I leave you with this nice link:
http://sourcesofinsight.com/2010/04/21/the-elephant-and-the-rider/

Dinner at settlers

2010-04-26T18:08:00.000+08:00

Typographic nightmare

Alpaca love

2010-04-26T13:55:00.000+08:00

Burn off

2010-04-23T11:50:00.000+08:00

Mm, giant bbq

I love a good breakfast pie

2010-04-23T11:22:00.000+08:00

Mmmm... It's good to be a Friday.

if i may be self-helpy for a moment

2010-04-22T08:42:00.002+08:00

It's tempting to lose sight of your vision for life as you find yourself consumed in Other People's Dreams and Other People's Projects. I am all for helping others. I am all for engaging in other people's projects - with awareness. But I think there's a danger in (myself and many of my helper-type peers) becoming so consumed with someone else's dream that we forget to pursue our own.

Excerpt from How to Create your Personal Manifesto, by happiness/socialmedia blogger Gwen Bell. I've not read much of her stuff, don't know how good she is, but this bit of text struck a chord for me.

I'm not usually comfortable with making sweeping statements on the kind of person I am (because no matter what I have to say about myself, I seem to prove it wrong - even if sometimes just by interpretation), but I think I might be one of those "helper-type" people - sad as it may be. It gets exhausting.

Along with Other People's Dreams and Other People's Projects, I know I've been susceptible in the past to getting caught up in Other People's Dramas. It's hard to say no to someone who says they're genuinely upset by a huge problem and really needs your help - sometimes it makes me blind for awhile to any actions that indicate they're not really that upset, the problem really isn't that big, and they want more attention than help. Whoooo, not meaning to sound cynical there, but you get the idea.

Anyway, I wanted to share in case any of you also get caught up in stuff like that, and could do with the mental stickynote. Props if you know how to deal with it, without turning apathetic and sadistic. Please share if you do. :)

For now, I'm enjoying the AoM How to Be Resilient guides, and whatever TED talks that Mark and Chips send me about brainology.

Burger, she wrote

2010-04-20T22:04:00.001+08:00

I had a burger today. A lovely KFC burger and can of Mountain Dew for $4.95. Since that fateful hungover day, I've been waking up with a taste for fast food. There's a Hungry Jacks and KFC across the road from work, Jester's Pies round the corner, Macca's on the other side of the recreation centre...

Fffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuu... it's way too easy to eat badly, and I'm ashamed to not be above the cravings. There was really no excuse today. I wasn't hungover. It was mid-afternoon; I could have had sushi or a salad. I just... really wanted a burger.

But I spent the afternoon psyching myself up - "burger is fuel, burger is fuel" - and ran my heart out at football tonight. WE DIDN'T LOSE!! Drew 1-1 with the other team, who were clearly not thrilled that we weren't a walk in the park.

And now, I'm doing homework. Yeah, homework. I'm a sort-of student again. My employer has kindly offered to let me earn my Diploma of Professional Writing on the company dollar, as a personal development goal for this half.

Yeah, this half. I got my course materials today, which means I'm fitting a 10-month curriculum into the next 10 weeks. WHAT THE FUCK HEY.

Caning through this first tutorial, though. It's about the writing industry and personal workspace preferences, different categories and styles of writing. I'm really excited about this course. It's nice to be in student mode again; purposeful, looked after. I'll try to share bits and pieces as I go - hope you don't mind.

For my writer friends, here are a couple of questions from one of the tute sections - a self-awareness exercise:

Are you someone who works well with a deadline looming? Or does a deadline create confusion and panic?

Do you require silence when you work or do you prefer music or other sounds?

Do you like an open, wide space or one that is closed and cluttered?

Good night, everyone. :)

how to cure a hangover

2010-04-15T20:50:00.000+08:00

1. drink a litre of tomato juice for breakfast.

2. get a jester's pie and coca-cola for second breakfast.

3. go to the physio and freeze your arse off on the ice pack.

4. eat a hungry jack's cheeseburger and 6 nuggets for lunch.

5. buy a towel and shower at work, because you smell like a vagabond.

6. go home and order a pizza and SET UP YOUR FETCH TV AAAAH!

7. record a documentary about animals with feelings on discovery channel.

8. wash your stanky hair.

9. eat pizza, watch ultimate fighter.

10. brush the cat.

11. forget about doing anything creative tonight.

12. watch niaal shoot yetis in uncharted 2.

13. maybe have a pot noodle later.

This old Mongoloid learned new things :)

2010-04-13T02:07:00.001+08:00

Carn't sleep. Quick blogpost, then back to the effort.

Today was a stellar Monday, full of learnings and culture.

Listened to War of the Worlds - the drama and the play - simply
amayyyzing. What an inspiration. I have a bit of a thing for that old-
fashioned American accent; not sure what it's called - 'pan-American'
maybe. Whatever it is, very nice - makes me think of the old ideas of
'manliness': "sort out your shit and be respectable"; a very hard idea
to dislike!

On that note, I'm fascinated at the moment with what it means to be
ladylike or manly. The media-reinforced stereotypes of delicate
females and oppressive males seem way too impractical to be what's
really going on. Anyway, I don't have much to say on this just yet;
it's all still a soup of thoughts.

Had a cuppa with DJ NU's (soundcloud.com/djnu) housemate this evening.
Well, a cuppa and a good natter about work, girls, working out, going
out, gossip, drama - 20something stuff. He gave me a cute anecdote
about how boys only have a 4-point check for girls, to see if they're
worth going out with:

1. Is she all-right looking?
2. Is her personality okay?
3. Is she intelligent enough to have a conversation with? and
4. Does she have a job so she can buy her own shit?

There you go, ladies, secrets of men revealed lol!

Came home and caught up on all the Uncharted 2 story Niaal played
while I was out, then got wikijacked and ended up spending 2 hours
reading about Marco Polo, shield soldiers, the Dalai Lama and racial
genetics.

Turns out the word Negro has been hell outdated for hundreds of years;
instead use Congoid for west Africans and Capoid/Khoisam for south-
eastern Africans. The genetic group throughout Europe, northern Africa
and India were considered Caucasoids. And finally, us Asians are from
a group called Mongoloids.

## yeah laugh it up jerks -_- ##

Of course, because of rude people throughout history, those words can
be quite offensive. So if you're clever enough to remember them, be
clever enough to not use them offensively.

Learned many new things this evening, so I probably won't need to
learn more stuff for a few days. :) good night!

Sick, that.

2010-04-02T01:33:00.001+08:00

Yeah, they're in there

2010-04-02T01:31:00.001+08:00

You don't say...

2010-04-01T19:04:00.001+08:00

Centipedes?

2010-04-01T19:03:00.000+08:00

Perth storm: Lovely sky

2010-03-22T18:28:00.000+08:00

The sky is lovely but we can't get to IGA to buy dinner :(

Perth storm: Holy fuck we're almost home!

2010-03-22T18:18:00.001+08:00

It is now 6:14pm and we're almost home!

Public, the radio says please don't call the 13 25 00 hotline unless
it's to report power lines down or a life-threatening situation.

Perth storm: More leaf litter

2010-03-22T18:03:00.001+08:00

Not interesting.

Perth storm: Driving thru leaf-littered road

2010-03-22T18:00:00.001+08:00

An avenue in
the quiet streets of Wembley;
I can see through time!!!

Perth storm: Plight of the Bins

2010-03-22T17:47:00.003+08:00

his lid's bin blown off!

but this one's having none of that rubbish

some might skip it altogether

Perth storm: It's currently 5:29pm

2010-03-22T17:34:00.001+08:00

It's currently 5:29pm. Perth is thunderstormy with congested traffic.
Just heard from a mate who's windows got smashed by nature, house
flooded. Exciting times; I thought the highlight of the day would be
pub lunch and Farscape.

I'm not good at taking action photos. So you'll get the most boring
pictures i can muster from today's storm.

Perth storm: Still storming an hour n a half later

2010-03-22T17:25:00.001+08:00

the map

2010-03-22T15:25:00.000+08:00

Chris' vergïne

2010-03-19T18:20:00.001+08:00

The new floor

2010-03-18T20:45:00.001+08:00

post modern contemporary minimal interior new media design

2010-03-18T20:42:00.000+08:00

OH MY GOD IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK ON A PROPER FLOOR.

About a month ago, my apartment flooded. All my beautiful floorboards went waaarrrp and had to be stripped up and thrown out. For 2-3 weeks, we heard nought from anyone who could do anything about it. Then finally, out of the blue, a phone call from awesome-awesome building guys, John Nelson Agencies, bearing good news.

Today, I have a floor, some peace of mind and piles upon piles of old clothes, bric-a-brac and furniture to donate, secondhand or throw away.

All this has given me some time to think, reassess, self-help. It's been about 2 years since moving in, after wishing for ages to live in this area, and I have itchy feet. I think I've grown out of this unit, ready for a different suburb, different dwelling.

And thus begins the hunt for a new home. More to come...

The spirit of the game

2010-03-13T01:40:00.001+08:00

Four cans

2010-03-13T01:29:00.000+08:00

Not my best effort. It was that Sapporo that killed it. Do not mix
with mariner.

This is a shelf of cans

2010-03-12T17:50:00.001+08:00

This text is uninteresting.

Mini

2010-03-05T19:06:00.001+08:00

Bit of a whinge, and some recommended links

2010-02-28T11:20:00.000+08:00

My place is being surprise!renovated. Currently waiting on insurance, builders, etc. to call me back to arrange more appointments. Feel a little like home life is on hold until that's sorted. Very hard to get excited about tidying up the place, knowing it's all going to be mussed up again shortly.

My god, it's even a huuuuge effort to post a whinge on this blog.

Here, have some recommendations:

I told you I was wearing that shirt!!

2010-02-26T15:25:00.001+08:00

Remember Mathnet?

2010-02-22T18:44:00.000+08:00

Anyone remember Mathnet from the old Square One TV series?

God, I love this show.

absolutely nothing

2010-02-18T17:17:00.008+08:00

Four years ago, I was fascinated with thermodynamics. Yep, the same thermodynamics you have to learn in school. What made it interesting to learn in adulthood was the absence of a teacher breathing down my neck about handing assignments in, and the idea that thermodynamic principles might translate to human behaviour.

Like how you are attracted to people "hotter" than you, because you like their "warmth" - generally speaking, and at a very basic, atomic level. I think if you only knew enough physics, you could predict the dynamics of most interpersonal relationships, and understand perfectly the mechanics of how they fail. But I didn't know enough physics - I just liked to study and suppose things.

ANYWAY, my interest in this subject came to an abrupt end one night. I was living by myself at the time, and not really in the best period of my life. I was a system isolated from my environment, entropy could not decrease.

In true "nerd introvert" fashion, I sought comfort in my physics. Sorry, I know I'm showing now what a boring person I am. Most people drink, party or watch movies - I sit and wonder what would happen at absolute zero.

Everything would just stop, wouldn't it. All it would take is one particle at absolute zero and all the heat in the universe would get sucked in to try an even out the temperature, but you can't even out the temperature because absolute zero is fucking cold and what if there's not enough heat to go around. You'd be frozen in time, and you'd have no control over it. What if you were really unhappy, or really trying to make your life better, only to get stopped.

You wouldn't die, you'd just be... stuck. Forever.

What happened next was a bit unexpected. I feel stupid telling you this, but sharing is somewhat cathartic, and will explain why I brought up the topic in the first place: I had a panic attack.

Not a big one. Just a little one. My heart started beating really fast, it was hard to breathe, and I was overcome by feelings of dread and paranoia. It was quite horrible.

In true "single girl in panic" fashion, I messaged a physics student friend and asked when the universe would freeze over. And in true "Chinese physics student" fashion, he told me plainfaced that absolute zero was just a theory, and it was unlikely that some mad scientist was going to accidentally freeze us all. So from my point of view, absolutely nothing would happen, because it just wouldn't happen.

I tell this story today because I found an article on New Scientist, which goes through what happens at absolute zero. As it turns out, THERE IS A PLACE IN SPACE THAT IS ONE DEGREE WARMER THAN ABSOLUTE ZERO.

JUST. ONE. DEGREE.

Mummyyyyyyyy... :(((((

smoke and a pancake

2010-02-16T23:26:00.004+08:00

Mum's duck & melon salad was a real treat on Chinese New Year. After getting my groove on at the Team Sprint Cup (38.19 seconds baby, yeah!), I sat on my furry, tired arse and watched a heap of Farscape.

Sorry if that offends you. I'll be the first to admit that Farscape is a bit shit. But I like it. I like it the way I like the original series of Star Trek. There's charm in the costume latex and muppetry, the formulaic storylines and cliché dialogue. It's a special kind of escapism.

Caught up with @ihavedirt last week for pancakes at Pancakes at Carillon. He had the potato au gratin with chips, I had a mushroom crepe with hash browns. I had no idea what a cathartic evening it would turn out to be, but I guess you can't help but feel relieved after a big crepe.

We updated each other on stuff that's been happening at work and at play, then somehow got to reminiscing about what cowboy webdevs we were back in the day. Back when all we had was goddamned Zope and whatever Python we could muster without compromising system security.

We were rebels, baby. Two chesty young bucks pioneering our own seat-of-the-pants web programming in a tiny 2 x 5 corporate dungeon (which, to be fair, had a lovely view and afternoon sun - but it was dungeon-sized). We didn't know much by ourselves, but together, we created from scratch a shopping cart & credit verification system using just a vision, a Google search engine, and a few choice swear words.

We built a customer feedback system for our support knowledgebase, a Flash feature (banner) rotation system, and awesomest of all... a broadband number checker, which was simply a screen scrape of results from the website of the company I now work at.

HAY GUYS WHATS GOIN ON ITT.

By today's standards, what we did was peanut work. Anyone in 2010 can do it, and just about all the 'innovative' brand names do. But back then, not knowing that much and having only curiosity and audacity to guide us, we did some pretty rad stuff.

At least... looking back now, I feel a bit proud of it.

@ihavedirt made that part of my career tolerable - I hated 2.5 out of the 3 years I worked there, but since that's now safely tucked in history and I don't program anymore, I can say feel glad to have been a part of the awesome & functional abomination that we built.

Man, I really like pancakes. :)

Gong Xi Fa Cai (eve)

2010-02-13T18:17:00.001+08:00

Those red and yellow things you see in the photo are karaoke microphones. The other yellow thing is my sister playing some very Asian looking computer game, complete with ting tong wing wing wong background music.

It's Chinese New Year's eve and it's good to be home. :)

(Hurry up, cousins, I'm getting hungry!)

Hot chocolate with mint0x

2010-02-12T09:22:00.001+08:00

hooray for not planning everything all the time

2010-02-09T23:06:00.000+08:00

Some cool things that have happened in the last couple of days, that weren't pre-planned or anticipated.

Went for coffee with Jaase.
Delicious bread loaf of coriander, chilli & parmesan.
Found some funny pictures on 4chan despite the porn.
Got a delicious merlot for under $20, IT'S NOT PLONK and it goes well with bolognaise.
Uploaded some music of my own to my soundcloud. THIS IS PLONK. You are warned.
Finally, tried some Cobalt gum today; it's definitely an experience.

Time for bed. Good night :)

paul van dyk makes good music for sitting around to

2010-02-07T16:30:00.000+08:00

Most of my long-ish projects are at an end now. DJ NU launched "Feel The Tide" last week, today I finished a zine I've been working on for awhile, indoor football season is nearly over (finals soon - eek!) - I'm at a bit of a loss for what to do next.

Maybe it's a sign to take a break - recuperate, recharge. We'll see. I'm getting the fidgets already.

Meanwhile, here are some interesting links for you:

what starts with F, ends with K, and means lots of heat & excitement?

2010-02-06T21:20:00.000+08:00

Was supposed to go play some cricket today, but dos4gw didn't call, I couldn't have picked up anyway because I was asleep, and my goodness, I still have a headache that's been around all day. Not a hangover headache this time - there is a tiny angry pimple on my forehead, and it's making my whole face sore. Doesn't hinder my ability to complain, though, so here you have it.

I'm having trouble deciding what to do tonight. It happens every time I get a stretch of free time - my head gets so excited about the potential of how to use it, that I end up spending that time sitting around being excited. NOT VERY CLEVER, SANDY.

Okay, time to calm down and make a list:

Finish this blog post
Have a cup of water
Put some laundry on
Wash the pimple and brush its hair
Do a bit of zine stuff
Tidy room
Watch some Farscape in freshly-tidied room
Eat some noodles

OMgOmGoMG free tiiiiiiimmmmeeeee... Right, I'm done.

By the way, if you're still looking for the punchline for the joke in the title, you can find it here.

(Thanks, Chips, for the blogpost photo.)

New Single Release - "Feel The Tide"

2010-01-30T20:32:00.000+08:00

After months and months of hard work, our best-laid plans have finally come to fruition. Our new single "Feel The Tide" is now available for public consumption. Listen to it at DJ NU's soundcloud.

I'm so excited, guys. OHMYGOD. :) Wee! Thanks so much for your help & support. Hope you like the sound. Ze goods vill be available on iTunes soon.

PEACE MTHRFKN OUT! :)

Bunj and the climber

2010-01-29T18:52:00.000+08:00

NAO sushi & izakaya opening hours

2010-01-27T17:57:00.001+08:00

happy australia day

2010-01-26T23:11:00.000+08:00

I didn't tell you - my terrarium died. :( Awhile ago. I left it on the windowsill at work and it got cooked by the hot summer sun. My mourning subsided two weeks ago, and I picked up this little tree pot at the Subi markets.

Not sure what it is - possibly a juniper - which I'm excited about, because juniper bonsai grow up beautiful. This little guy lives at my home, instead of work, where I can take care of it every day. I hope it lives long and grows up beautiful.

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY, everyone. It was warm as hell, and we went down to the cricket nets in a park in Innaloo. What ho! I got schooled in the art of bowling, my feet burned on the hot pavement, and just 2 tinnies of Fosters got me very woozy. Ate too much BBQ'd meats, but I'm really hungry again now, but can't eat because it's bedtime and I'm VERY VERY heaty and tired.

THAT'S IT OH MY GOD GOOD NIGHT CAPS LOCK.

HA HA

2010-01-23T17:03:00.002+08:00

via Fuck Yeah 4Chan

I just want to sleep

2010-01-22T01:12:00.001+08:00

It's been so hard to fall asleep lately. This is crap.

No, I'm not in a bad way. Just the temperature, activity, maybe eating
carbs too late at night - garrrrr I just want to sleep zomg.

My body is so tired. Had trouble sleeping last night too, even after a
hot football run, then played another 2 games of football today. But
every time I shut my eyes tonight, my head goes LALALA DEEDEEDEE DOODOO.

And all I can do is pick up my iPhone and complain. Right. Drop7 time.
Good night.

Blight. BLIGHT.

2010-01-14T21:49:00.000+08:00

Some days are easier than others for making words that make sense. Writing doesn't come as easily as it did when I was younger, a bit more carefree about spouting ideas and saying silly things. Now my head applies a stupidity filter as a reflex. I can't wait until I get old and lose my marbles and get to babbling crazy talk again.

It's the zines that brought me here - been trying to work on mélange #2, and I'm fighting against distractions like SCRABBLE® and all my Steam friends list playing the new Crysis mod. Curse you all. A blight on your potatoes.

Lost 3-2 at football tonight. :( Boo. We played all right, just couldn't put enough away. And I got in the keeper's way twice, got nutmegged both times and let the ball roll in. Double boo. But it's okay. We'll do better next week with the agony of defeat as motivation.

Gentle evening time.

It's really dark in my room

2010-01-13T23:45:00.004+08:00

It's really dark in my room tonight. I'm so very sleepy. Napped til 9:30 and am ready to doze off again soon. Just wanted to check in because I got a good score in Drop7 and want to bask in the afterglow a bit longer.

Today was a full Wednesday, lots of having to think on the fly. Somehow, it doesn't seem to mean much once the lights go out. The person you are when you go to sleep is just 'you'; not 'you the programmer', 'you the designer' or 'you the whatever'.

Despite the enthusiasm and pride that makes me want to be Somebody, it's still nice at the end of the day to lie down and just be 'you'-- err, 'me'.

It's just me, my iPhone and the sound of late cars passing by outside. Good night, Internet. :}

My week of eating

2010-01-11T00:23:00.000+08:00

Have had a lovely week of eating.

SUNDAY: ploughman's lunch - something healthy before summadayze.

MONDAY: ploughman's dinner, with both a scotch egg and pork pie.
Disgusting and delicious. Found rollmops at the shops too - what a
delight!

TUESDAY: chicken curry with a brown & jasmine rice blend.

WEDNESDAY: flipside burger (http://www.flipsideburgerbar.com.au) after
visiting The Stanley on Cambridge st in wembley. Today's post photo is
of their outdoor area.

THURSDAY: made up for the Thursday football glut with good, hot KFC.
slept so well that night.

FRIDAY: had a wickedtasty tortellini at Ess Bar for lunch, followed by
a KFC snackbox and Chelsea pizza dinner.

SATURDAY: catered for and partied at a viking-themed picnic. Heaps of
sandwiches, salad, roast meat and canned beer.

SUNDAY: woke up a bit hungover. Had sardines n crackers for lunch,
roast beef & gruyere sandwiches for second lunch, then bacon & pea
pappardelle for dinner.

As I write this, I am lying in bed thinking yet again of food. Can't
stop being hungry; may have been because of the gym visit earlier in
the week. Does anyone else get monster hungry after exercise?!
INTERROBANG?!

absolutely scrabulous

2010-01-10T15:16:00.003+08:00