The Bible

I have discovered the new bible for Atheists such as myself. Well, maybe not. But uni-bound-aspiring-journalists-with-male-problems such as myself.

Cents and Sensibility by Maggie Alderson.

Has there ever been a better chick lit than this one? Well, yes, there probably has been (and there's a few from Meg Cabot still in my top 10), but this one is UP there. It’s given me a little insight into the world of journalism and valuable lessons to learn about the scoundrels that all males are. I understand the total hype about this woman now, who is now my personal hero.

“Maggie Alderson, my hero”, I told my mother this afternoon, trying to dodge raindrops while walking to Woolworths. Alderson has written for every type of publication you can, and is now a renowned author. If my life turned out like hers, ever, life would be deemed AWESOME.

Another VG-turned-movie to add to the stack

I found out recently that yet ANOTHER video game has been optioned for a movie – Tekken. Now, I’ve always been a fan of Tekken, even since I was a little girl. Sure, it wasn’t exactly an 8-year-old girl mould, liking a beat-em-up game, but hey, I wasn’t your average girl. So far there have been a few actors rumoured to be filling the roles, such as Sienna Guillory and Andy Serkis.

Sienna Guillory, who played Jill Valentine in another vg-to-movie, Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Perhaps she’ll play Anna Williams?

I just hope whoever they pick for Nina Williams doesn’t screw it up. She’s My Character. I never lose a match while I’m playing her.

Production is set to start early this year, which can also be said for Twilight, which has just done a casting call to find a boy to fill the role of Jacob Black. I was ever so sad to see my favourite Jacob-worth actor age way to fast - Steven Strait… he could have been perfect *sob*.

Friday night sights

I finally caught up with around 20 people from the class of 07 that I haven’t seen since we pissed off outta high school last year. And it was awesome!

During the taking off this picture Bab’s vodka-and-red-bull aka. Pulse was spilling down the front of my NEW dress.

It’s really sad that I now understand what people mean by: when you finish High School, you barely see any of your classmates again. Then again, half of them I didn’t want to see again anyway, so there’s no love lost.

A ruined coffee

It happened this morning. The conversation went like this:

One of my colleagues at job number two announced “Heath Ledger is dead.”
Me: “You lie.”
Her: “No, he IS dead; in fact people reckon he committed suicide.”
Me: “WHAAAAAA????”

…and ruined a customer’s latte that I was pouring milk into. I admit, I was shocked. I mean, the star of one of my favourites, 10 Things I Hate About You, cannot be DEAD. And also, he was one of the best Aussie actors we had!

After my short freak-out, I realised what I had done, and asked the woman meekly if she minded cappuccino over latte. She too, was a Ledger lover, so she understood and didn’t mind.

Thank goodness.

RIP Heath Ledger 22/01/08

Happiness Is...

Today I was on the tail of my mother, following her from one shop to another while she hurries to get back-to-school books for my two younger sisters. Her brainwave in paying ultimately less by not buying the pre-made book packages has pretty much gone against her, considering everything was practically sold out. But anyway, I minced my way into a random bookshop (mincing on the account of having accumulated a blister on my feet, courtesy of my trusty havianas) and discovered a whole batch of Gossip Girl novels.

Happiness is finding Gossip Girl novels that you can buy. Seriously. Ever since the TV show came out on Foxtel, finding the novels in the local library is almost like an archaeological expedition. You can search and search, ultimately ending up with nothing – probably because someone got there first.

I’m happy that everyone likes it now. That Gossip Girl has now become fully-fledged mainstream material. I’m not one of those people who like the indie stuff until the indie stuff becomes mainstream. But it’s just so INCONVENIENT, that’s all.

But not anymore. I’ll be mincing my way back into that bookshop to purchase the lot.

As soon as payday rolls around.

Domino

Going against the advice of one of my best friends “China”, I rented out Domino to watch (instead of sleeping like I should have been doing). And she was wrong on one count – it wasn’t AWFUL. At least, not really.

I’m sure a lot will disagree with me on this, but I found the first 40 minutes or so awesome. The movie was done in a different way, sure, but isn’t that sometimes a GOOD thing? The fact the director was a teensy bit creative pulled me into the beginning of the movie. I’ll admit that the constant replaying of some lines, like: “My name is Domino Harvey, and I’m a bounty hunter [pause]. My name is D-d-d-d-domino Harvey-y-y-y. I’m a bounty hunter-r-r-r-r… [pause]. My name is Domino Harvey, and I’m a bounty hunter” got a tad irritating at best, but I still found it watchable.

I really liked how Keira represented Domino. There wasn’t much in the way of character development, but she still managed to pull off what was remaining; the best parts I found were the times she was incredibly cynical. I found with the British accent it made it almost humourous. And also she should be commended for learning the whole deal with the num-chucks (if that indeed was her and not a stunt double).

To cut a long story short, I sat through the first hour, and fast-forwarded the rest. I had no idea what was happening by the end of it, but I’m content to take the movie for what it was in the first 40 minutes.

The last thing I like to point out? The funniest part was when Lateesha was on Jerry Springer. That scene alone would have done well. Check it out:

Expect the Unexpected

It occurred to me one hour after I saw in the New Year that this year would be very different. I should expect the unexpected, per se.

This occurred to me the moment I discovered that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, my ex-boyfriend of approximately 3 days had already moved on… to his ex-girlfriend. It was actually his ex-girlfriend-now-girlfriend-again that told me they had been back together since Boxing Day. Oh, how cut I was, and what a nice thing to be told when you’re erring on the side of a drunken stupor.

My second indicator was the fact that I’ve enrolled into my university courses for this semester, but when I went back to check them with more depth I realised that the “Academic English Writing” was actually, when fully stretched out, the “Academic English Writing for Asian Speaking Students”. And didn’t that take a while to clean up, first dropping the course like a hot potato and enrolling in a different one, then fixing up the mess that was my timetable.

I guess the moral is, A) I should never trust men again and B) Read the fine print when subjecting yourself to an Asian-focused course. Well… maybe just B. I’m trying desperately hard not to be bitter about the first point.

27 Dresses

In a Nutshell:
Jane (Katherine Heigl) has practically made a job out of attending weddings as a bridesmaid; she relishes the joy and romance of the celebration. When her little sister Tess (Malin Akerman) returns from overseas and woos the man Jane is secretly in love with, she rethinks her always-a-bridesmaid life. With reporter Kevin (James Marsden) who won’t take no for an answer and Tess who demands Jane plan her wedding, she starts to realise that she should change her overly-generous nature.

What’s Good:
The movie begins quite quickly with not much opening, which is a good way to start. The fast-paced nature of 27 Dresses ensures that you don’t get bored – unless romantic comedies aren’t your thing. Heigl, of course, is amazing and pulls off the plethora of hideous dresses with a style you have got to admire.

What’s Bad:
If you’re looking for a movie with unexpected twists and turns, I’d probably look elsewhere. It’s your typical romantic comedy, albeit done in the least painful manner. Marsden does a convincing job of a hard-hitting journalist, however his character lacks the depth we need to buy his role completely.

The added 2 cents:
Malin Akerman is bratty, self-absorbed, borderline-psychotic and downright irrepressible in her role as younger sister Tess, not unlike her role in The Heartbreak Kid (opposite Ben Stiller) where she is also bratty, self-absorbed and the rest. I guess if the phrase is anything to go by, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.

7/10

Twilight movie

I was as excited as the next person when I found out that my favourite book of all time, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, was being turned into a movie. Of all the books they’ve turned into a movie, I thought to myself that it was about time Twilight had its turn. The protagonist Bella, and the much-loved Edward have already been chosen by Hollywood to be brought to life through Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson respectively.

Can I just say, I’ve noticed on the internet that A LOT of people have a problem with this? They think that these two which have been chosen don’t look the part, or match what they pictured in their head. I just wish they’d realise that just because they don’t match the PRECISE perception that every SINGLE person had of the main characters doesn’t mean that those chosen can’t ACT the part. They obviously got chosen for a reason, and I trust that the casting agents know what they’re doing.

Sure, I was a little cut for the selection. I was a supporter of the ‘Emily Browning as Bella movement’ but I’ve seen for a fact these guys selected can act – I remember Stewart distinctly as that kid opposite Jodie Foster in Panic Room, and obviously all who aren’t strangers to the Harry Potter phenomenon have seen Pattinson in Goblet of Fire.

I’m excited about who is going to get chosen for the remaining characters, especially Jacob Black, but I think it’s more important that they end up casting people that won’t completely ruin the movie. After all, choosing the most attractive people you can find to fill acting roles isn’t always going to get you a good movie – just watch the Covanent, and you’ll get what I’m aiming at. While all the guys were gorgeous, Caleb and Tyler in particular, the acting was terrible. The movie, which had quite a promising storyline, was brought down by the creators desire to appeal to an audience.

So, until the movie comes out, I think people should stop their whinging and complaining, and sit back and watch it unravel and THANK the fact that they’re making a movie at all.

Overdrawn

I have developed a premature hatred of my bank. Premature, but deserved all the same. Usually, a 17-year-old shouldn’t have much reason to despise their bank, considering I’m not old enough to apply for a credit card and therefore cannot be screwed over when The Bill arrives at the end of every month. It’s hard to rip me off if I’m not of ‘age’. I thought.

The problem with my family is that around Christmas, we pack up and leave multiple times for things called ‘holidays’ and, while I’m totally cool with the whole seeing-the-sights-getting-a-tan-on-ze-beach kind of thing for weeks on end, my work suffers. Ultimately resulting in me being on the err side of BROKE. I haven’t had $20 bucks in my account for over a month now, which is not my fault. It’s not anyone’s, really. But my gym membership doesn’t account for holidays or broke-ness. It doesn’t account for much at all, I think, because they don’t even deduct payment from my account when I specify them too either. Turns out they tried to do just that about a week ago, and I got slapped with a $40 overdraw fine from the bank ONTOP of the $40 I owe to my gym.

WHICH I DON’T GO TO ANYWAY.

Obviously the universe – or just Bendigo Bank – doesn’t want me to get a new phone so I can stop using my replacement – the dreaded brick of a nokia 3315.

Scandal!

We interrupt these messages for breaking news:

I am still increasingly cut that my father, who prizes technology in the first degree, who always likes having the latest software on the PC, has once again turned down my idea of cable television.

I approached him tonight during our nightly father-daughter bonding session (aka the washing and wiping up) and asked him (nay, BEGGED him) to have cable installed. When he asked “why” in that you-can’t-possibly-think-I’ll-say-yes-you-fool kind of way that he’s distinguished for, I let it loose. First, I fed him bullshit about how I’ll need the Discovery Channel for my university studies (before he knocked it down saying I was doing Journalism, not, like, animal husbandry). Then I was all for saying that, in terms of being globally-sound, an interest in politics and economics is one of which that will get you far in life. He, again, knocked that one back by pretty much saying that if it’s not on A Current Affair, it isn’t worth knowing. So I finally admitted that, if anything, could we please get Fox8 so I could indulge in the new TV series Gossip Girl which, although is not must-see television, is a guilty pleasure and, “hey, those two aren’t really mutually exclusive anymore anyway”. I mean, before it got taken off YouTube due to copyright infringement, I enjoyed the first three episodes of season one. And not just because it has striking similarities to the OC (even though that’s why I thought it’d be alright), I’d read the books and loved them. Not because they were academically enriching and educational, but because it was a little like The Sex and the City. Not exactly rocket science, but you loved it anyway because it was just so dishy.

Needless to say, he knocked it back. Not that I expected anything else, after he rejected my first two arguments, which probably would have appealed to him more so than high heels and scandal.

Oh well. Back to the drawing board.

Over and out!

antarctic chocolate

I am broke. My phone has broke. And now my heart has broke.

My baby is not working. My dearest, sweetest Lanos vehicle that I love ever so much, fondly nicknamed “Sailor Mars”, is not working.

Never mind that my license is sadly non-existent, it is still my car and I love it so. I was left stranded today after I finished work at job number two, due to the fact my car (being driven by mother) wouldn’t switch into reverse properly. Usually, this may not always stop someone from picking you up, but in my case being able to reverse out of our property is like swimming in Antarctica and not expecting your health to pay the price. It’s not going to happen. So now there’s a nice dent in the front roller door due to the fact that mum forgot where the brake was the minute the clutch failed while she was driving up our steep driveway. I’d imagine the dent has been shared onto my baby, but the fact is I can’t (and kind of don’t want to) see what the damage is until father comes home from work and pulls it apart like a surgeon.

On the plus side (and only a very small plus side, in comparison) is that “Size Doesn’t Matter” by Meg Cabot is now officially in the library.

Now, if only that little twit that got to it first before me returns it, then I can read the feel-good novella which reminds you that if you are a US size 12 then it’s all good. Those unnaturally skinny people are only mean to you because they WISH they could eat the kit-kat you’re scoffing down in the mall. They’re jealous of you. They have a butt-load of envy that they can only express through demeaning and hurtful comments. At least, that’s what one of my friends tells me every time a said comment is aimed at her. And I totally understand her point of view. I mean, I was jealous of the fact she had a massive cookie the size of her head in her hands. But anyway, the third release in the Heather Wells mystery novels has me in high hopes that Cabot will follow on to release the second sequel to “Queen of Babble” another novel I highly relate to, if only for the fact the protagonist, Lizzie, can’t keep her mouth shut.

Over and out!

procrastinating. me? never.

I never actually thought I’d be that girl – you know, the post-graduate, on-the-verge-of-entering-university girl. It sounds weird, but I always figured I’d be in high school forever. Even though I know what I want to do, I can’t imagine myself ever doing it.

Being the next Sandra Sully, for lack of better words.

It occurred to me today while I was working job number one, that I’d been a casual assistant at the local discount store for TWO YEARS. That is a really long time, if you think about it. But it hasn’t felt like a long time. I’ve been fixing up customer messes and scanning items that may possibly work (but more than likely won’t) for years, but it seems to fade in comparison to everything else. And I’m closing in on my one year anniversary at job number two, and I can safely say, I still don’t know how to froth the milk. Not that I’ve ever been given a chance to learn, but still. I can’t totally pronounce myself ‘Queen Barista’ if the only thing I know is that its 170 degrees for a cappuccino. The end.

Anyway, I received my package from the university yesterday, in its massive A4 glory. I hold it up like it’s the Holy Grail, and open it.

Needless to say, about halfway through the ‘how to enrol’ booklet, I feel slightly nauseated and quickly make myself some herbal honey and lemon tea before I vomit. So now, it’s sitting on the kitchen bench. “This is a form of procrastination”, I tell my mother matter-of-factly, after picking up the fruit bowl and putting the load underneath it. She reminds me that my new year’s resolution was that I would stop procrastinating. For one, I tried to ignore the fact she only seems to remember the kind of stuff I say, but never stick too. And secondly, I replied that it’s not true procrastination, as I’m not doing anything else to replace what I should be doing. I’m just avoiding it, anxiously looking at it when I go to grab a nectarine, like it’s a bomb about to go off. And it will go off on February 8, so I guess I should suck it in, and read the rest.

But I should watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy first.

Over and out!