Hello friends,

I've..uhh, temporarily re-located. I'm not leaving LJ, I promise. It's like you live in this amazing condominium in the city area, with the glitz and the nightlife and the bustling activity. But you're a little weary now. So you're taking an extended vacation and moving to the 'burbs for a bit, y'know? That's what I'm doing. I'm still paying my mortgage here. I'm only renting the vacation lodging.

This is where I'll be if you want to hop along for the ride for a bit.

See you again when I do.

Love
Dawn

(from stolenrhymes)

Step 1: List your ten favorite artists in any particular order. Do not scroll down and view the questions first.
Step 2: Answer the series of 20 questions which follow, using your list of 10 artists as the reference point.
Step 3: Be sure to insert the name of the artist you are discussing into the parentheses paired with each question, so that readers of your meme don’t get confused!

Name Your Ten Favorite Artists:

( In no particular order )

My little sister, riffandroll, turns 19 today! I stupidly thought that she was turning 20, which was kind of an epic fail on my part. WHAT KIND OF SISTER FORGETS HOW OLD HER SISTER IS? Sigh. Age is really catching up with me. But you can't really blame me. She is way more level-headed than I am. At 21, I'm still trying to get back on my feet but she's taking these large leaps, moving forward with so much more courage and strength than I'd ever had. My sister is phenomenal. I cannot even count the number of nights where we've stayed up late in our room, with the lights out and our faces lit up by our iPhones, and I would lie there and rant about the mess that is my life (or what I thought was a mess but compared to my room, it's nothing) and she would lie on her bed, patiently listening and letting me get it all out before presenting the most logical of solutions, like, DUH, if you're from Africa, why are you white?

Anyway, all that mumble-jumble to say, SHE'S 19 and she can't help it if we go shopping and everyone thinks she's the older sister, okay? Cut her some slack. She can't help my youthfulness oozing out from my pores. It's really not her fault.

Happy birthday, little sister. I hope you have the best year savoring the last of your teenage years. I hope you find most of the things you're looking for, but that you leave some undiscovered for the rest of your life to go unearth. I hope you know that I love you and I appreciate you being the stronger one when I can't cope. I hope you curb your shopping addiction. I hope you continue to be strong-willed and ridiculously stubborn and morally-grounded. It's sickening but it's a good thing. I hope you know that a broken nail isn't a sign of the Armageddon. I hope you get some boobs. They are pretty fun to have. I hope life throws you less lemons but if they hit you with an entire crate, I hope you know I'll be there setting up that lemonade booth with you, 'COS THAT'S HOW WE ROLL.



(So we saw a video that said to achieve the supermodel smile, you have to say "prune" instead of "cheese". Uh, I did not master it, but, as always, she did. Bitch.)

Last night's game damn hear KILLED me.

( My Hokkien ah beng side meets my English sailor-cussing side )

Okay I have never screamed so much at such a goal. The previous time I got so emotionally involved and excited was at the Champions League game against Chelsea. I was causing an earthquake on a micro-scale by all the jumping and howling that was going. I don't think people quite understand how much I HATE Manchester City. Like, WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING. I DETEST THEM. If I walked past their flag, I would SPIT ON IT. Or burn it. Or take a dump on it. They are a bunch of whiny assholes (Adebayor, Micah Richards, Robinho) and I have NO RESPECT for teams like Real Madrid and City who think money can buy them trophies. It disgusts me. Ugh, HATE IT.

To win against City is pretty much the best that could happen. Even if we don't win the league, this moment is good enough. City, money can buy you players but it can't but you a team.

(And all that Tevez rubbish. If he "respected the shirt" he wouldn't have joined City. That's all I'm saying. 17 other clubs in the league and you pick our rivals? And expect a warm reception at Old Trafford? PUH-LEEZE. I concede that you gave all you could at Old Trafford but don't act like you didn't commit the ultimate football faux-pas by going to the Dark Side.)

So we all know how much I've been anticipating (500) Days of Summer. I stupidly did the stupidest thing my stupid brain could ever think of. After a whole entire year of waiting, I read the spoilers for the movie yesterday. I damn near wanted to punch myself and upon the advice of amaelamin_, get myself pissed drunk so I could forget all of what I'd just read. But I know it now. It is embedded in my head. I AM AN IDIOT!!!! Sigh. My lovely fordarrjeeling sent me this video to comfort me and it would cheer me up if ALL OF YOU WATCHED IT! It will cheer you up too, PROMISE! :)

( I'm just sitting on the shelf. )

This layout change was probably the easiest one I've had to do since obtaining an LJ. I hardly edited it but I'm still unsure about the font. Too small? Too girly? I'm hoping the new layout will inspire me to blog more.

Either way, little entry to say I'm home, will be here for a little while, I'm not dead, I'm still jetlagged and I've done something about my layout. Peace out, homies.

There is no joy blogging from a gadget as small as this. But Dad says "Update your blog whenever you can so we can be updated too." My father no longer believes in traditional communication.

I'm going to the 4th of July Parade in Bristol tomorrow! Apparently the very first 4th of July Parade took place there so I shall be in a very historic place taking part in a historic event. I am actually really surprised by the high level of patriotism that this country displays! Slightly jealous, I guess because it's true -- this country has such a rich history and has so much to be proud of.

At grocery shopping yesterday, I bought PopTarts!!! Yay! :) This afternoon I watched 4 episodes of Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel! What's not to love in this country, eh?

I'm having a good time hanging out with Michelle and burdening her with the responsibility of taking me around and waking me up haha. I get exhausted very easily, I guess, and this sudden shift from Melbourne to Singapore to US is quite overwhelming and I've stopped dealing with overwhelming situations generally by sleeping but one cannot (and perhaps should not) do that on a vacation (or at all in life). I'm honestly having a lot of fun and I am constantly amazed that I'm lucky enough to travel and that I'M IN AMERICA! for crying out loud and that I'm surrounded by people I love and truly miss. But there exists this part of me -- a kind of subconscious that reminds me that I'm tired, this is tiring, living is tiring and I can't cope. Which is untrue because look, I'm still alive! But it's somewhat difficult and I'm not sure it should be. Either way, please believe me when I say that I love the sense of adventure one gets on vacation! Today Michelle and I even trekked unknown woods where we discovered a swamp! I'm excited about going back to NYC and seeing everything that I didn't get to the last time. I'm excited about 4th of July tomorrow yay!!!!

So there, parentals, there's an update for you! I miss you both and the siblings, of course and tell Diane that drinking more milk and putting on weight will give her more ample bosoms.

Love, Me
Posted via LiveJournal.app.

WOOHOO!!! LJing FROM NYC! I'll make it quick because it's 3AM and I'm kind of sleepy but I took a shower and my hair is wet and I don't have a hairdryer etc. so I'm on the Internet! And the hostel is screening Transformers hahaha. OPTIMUS PRIME AND BUMBLE BEE, I WOULD BREAK THE LAW AND MARRY YOU ROBOTS ANY DAY!

Friendly friends, New York City is...you got it, AWESOME! I love it. It was quite honestly love at first sight. I don't think I've ever felt that way about a human being before so when I got off at Grand Central and saw Conan's face, I was OVERJOYED. NYC IS SO SO SO NICE. I want to live here. FAMILY! Let's MOVE!

I've seen a lot of things and I got over my jetlag pretty quickly (all those years of late-night sleeping paid off) and everything is just incredible. The US of A overwhelms me. On the way from Narita to JFK, we were flying over land for the most part of it. It's MASSIVE!!! Conan says hi to y'all and he's been a great tourguide and doesn't have a pretentious American accent at all, one of the great things I love about him. He can live here and speak the way he normally does. And then, on the other side of the scale, there are people who live here, adopt an accent and then go back home and continue using it as if they are bloody American. Conan knows how to keep it real. So plenty of "wah laus" have been uttered in the past few days.

Being overseas and cut off from the Internet is a little strange though. I feel like I'm out of touch from the real world. News isn't really news just yet. All the deaths that have taken place since I've left (MJ, Fawcett and Cronkite) seem so far away from me. I bought the New York Times today and sat down at McDonald's to read but it still didn't hit me. Why is this?

Sad things aside, friends, I LOVE THE USA!!!!!! And Americans are GREAT. I cannot understand why people pay out Americans and American culture so much. It's so colorful and diverse. And I still wish I were black so I can talk like Queen Latifah.

Rhode Island tomorrow night! YIPPEEE!!!!!!!!!

I wish I had my own private jet to fly around and visit all the people I want to at any time I please. But I do not have that privilege. I guess the next best thing is to visit some of my favorite people by commercial jet. Heading off to a land that is home to this man tonight. You didn't think I was over it, did you?







Take care and see y'all when I do.

Woke up and wished that I was dead
With an aching in my head
I lay motionless in bed
I thought of you and where you'd gone
and let the world spin madly on

Everything that I said I'd do
Like make the world brand new
And take the time for you
I just got lost and slept right through the dawn
And the world spins madly on

I let the day go by
I always say goodbye
I watch the stars from my window sill
The whole world is moving and I'm standing still

Woke up and wished that I was dead
With an aching in my head
I lay motionless in bed
The night is here and the day is gone
And the world spins madly on

I thought of you and where you'd gone
And the world spins madly on.
-The Weepies; World Spins Madly On

The last song that my friends sang for me before I broke down in tears and realized just how much I'd changed because of them. And just how much I was going to miss them.

I'd write more but I'm exhausted. Goodbyes are pretty lame.

We took down my room today. The posters are gone. My wardrobes are empty. It's a lot more spacious but so much emptier and sadder. I feel really sad. Irrational. And I just want to cry. 3 years of it all just packed up into boxes in 2 hours. It's crazy. This is crazy.

Plus point! I sat on a ferris wheel today :)

You get to listen and watch videos today! I WILL MAKE YOU ALL FANS OF THE KILLERS. Because they are beyond awesome and Brandon Flowers is really the modern rock star of my dreams. (harpingale, the videos are VERY SAFE and not full of evil and badness, hehe.)

( I wouldn't dream so high. )

So the past 2 days have been slightly crazy. I had 2 essays due yesterday and finished them ON THE DOT and I felt exactly like Colonel Sharp in Armageddon as he was trying to decide on the red or blue wire as the bomb was about to be detonated. Thankfully, with a lot of encouragement from friends and all the help from God, the bomb did not go off. I should definitely look into a future career with the bomb squad.

SO THERE IT IS. I'm done with the 2 final academic essays I will ever need to write. I have a French creative writing piece to get through and one last Politics exam this Friday to deal with and then, PRAISE THE LORD! I will be done with this whole school thing. HELL YEAH. Not sleeping for 2 nights straight saw me go completely delirious. I was shouting random things at a friend's dinner party last night and it is in times like this that I appreciate my ability to be crazy and psycho in normal life so people don't actually notice the difference.

Anyway, blah blah blah!

My friends, BE BRAVE PEOPLE. I now know, for a fact, that there is nothing to fear when you've got JC on your side.

Watch the videos. For your own good. I am going to party now, by writing a crazy French story.

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort – a sustained effort – to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is also one rule that lies at the heart of every religion – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples – a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian, or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the heart of billions. It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today.

We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.

The Holy Koran tells us, "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth.

SOURCE

His views on the Middle East, specifically the Arab-Israeli war (somewhere in the middle -- persevere! You'll get there and it'll be worth it) just had me nodding in agreement. It isn't a new solution put forth. Clearly, strategists and experts on the Arab-Israeli conflict have thought of this before. It's the way Obama says it, the way he is fully convicted that the human race desires unity and harmony that makes it seem like a possibility. I'd rather call it optimism than naivety.

It's Zach's birthday today. He turns 32. I wanted to do a massive spam but I've just fallen pretty ill and my head is spinning and my throat is hot and dry but I couldn't go to bed without commemorating his birth with a couple of images. So here he is.

( only 5 images of total hotness )

So I will succumb to you, wretched sickness. You better not have anything to do with pigs or I am going to stop eating any other meat but pork and ham JUST TO ENSURE YOUR SPECIES DIE FASTER. I will eat bak kwa at such an astonishing rate, I'm telling you.

Things To Do Before I Depart
By 5th June
1) Start and end French story-writing (550 words)
2) Start and end History of Sexualities reflective essay (1,500 words)
3) Start and end Inventing Asian Traditions research essay (2,500 words)
4) Get details for a packing/moving company.
5) Pay rent and electricity bills FOR THE LAST TIME EVER!
6) Pay library fines.

5 - 7th June: Away on a farm in Cohuna with the Cranes
12 - 15th June: Away on a beach at Rye with the Party People

1) Pack like mad. Categories include: luggage for the US, boxes to ship home and WTF WHY DO YOU OWN THIS UGLY PIECE OF 1998 CLOTHING?!
2) Go to the cupcake store at Degraves Lane.
3) Laser tag at Crown.
4) Learn to bake mint slices at 103.
5) Last hurrah on Lygon Street.
6) Surfing with Appletini (?) -- it's officially winter today..
7) Eat as much vegemite as I can.
8) OH! Photobooth photo at Melbourne Central with Appletini, Kristen and Belle..at least.
9) Countdown of 2 more St. Jude's sessions, whoopee.
10) Make sure the landlord cleans my carpet up.
11) Close account with the bank.
12) Apply for commencement (in absentia or otherwise)
13) Attend the going-away party being thrown for me. I hear there are performances lined up. I don't want to cry.
14) Fly on the 20th back home. Forever. Wow.

Okay, this list is making me all kinds of sad. But there is so much to be done and no time to do it!! Minor panic.

YAY! Meme from amaelamin_!

( T-SHIRTS/SHORT SKIRTS )

AND XIAOJUN IS VISITING ME!!!!!!!!! I'M SO EXCITED I THINK I'M GOING TO EXPLODE!!!! :D :D :D

Guys, I'm really trying so hard not to bombard you all with another picspam but ZQ is really KILLING me with his cuteness. For the past week I've been trying to blog properly but every time I open this page I just want to bombard you all and share the goodness of ZQ. So I resist and close the window. Which explains my absence. But I've come to a good compromise. I'll put up a few ZQ things each time I blog so you get a little bit of awesomeness each time you visit but you won't feel annoyed at my girliness, deal?

There has been quite a bit happening. My last month in Melbourne has started and the goodbyes have started pouring in. I had my last servant team meeting today and the guys bought us chocolates and candles and wrote us notes. We had the craziest meeting insulting each other and having fun. Appletini wrote me a song and recorded it and I cried when I watched it. I didn't think it was going to be this hard. After all, it's only been 3 years.

I've been sleeping over at 103 a little bit and Kristen has been over at mine and the other night we watched The Fountain. It was so intense right from the start and the cinematography is absolutely breathtaking (one of the best) and I was bawling so much. Confronting the inevitability of the end is so shocking and upsetting but liberating too, because surely, it must indicate the beginning of something else?

Of course, this time, it means the beginning of the ridiculous life of a working adult.

( The world is your oyster..don't eat it. )

AND NOW, FOR PRETTY GOODNESS!!!!! I died looking at the photos again. This is horrible. Please, please send help. I cannot do this anymore.

( I'M GIVIN' IT ALL SHE'S GOT, CAPTAIN! )

See. I practised self-restraint. A lot. Videos tomorrow. Maybe.

I'm not sure I can explain my obsession with Star Trek XI but I will tell you that I've caught it at the cinema twice now, and would willingly go another few more times and that when I watch Zachary Quinto or Chris Pine give an interview, I get a little too emotional (cf. United winning last year's Champions League against Chelsea) and I do not know what to do with myself. I have realized that I have collected over 300 images, gifs and icons relating to the film and its cast. I no longer have any control over myself when it comes to this. I'm even going to get some Star Trek merchandise when I get to the US. (I managed to stop myself from purchasing a phaser gun.) Please don't be ashamed of me. I know, somewhere deep down, I still have some coolness left. But until I locate that again, HERE'S A FRACTION OF THE AWESOMENESS THAT HAS KEPT ME ALIVE THE PAST WEEK! :D

It will be pretty image-heavy, but they aren't HQ images so never fear, all ye who possess dial-up connections. Also, very Quinto-centric but I thew in some Chris Pine and Karl Urban for those who care.


( THRUSTERS ON FULL! )

I hope you enjoyed it. I had fun doing it, although I really don't know how amaelamin_ can keep up. So tiring to make picspams! But I just wanted to share the goodness. Yes.

That is all from me today. I'm exhausted!