Bizarre

I’m actually feeling refreshed from my weekend! It’s such a strange feeling I didn’t know what it was at first. Despite the moving furniture and general springcleaning and food shopping my weekend was restful. I also got to sleep in today and I’m figuring that didn’t suck. (Am working the late night, so start later).

The apartment is looking really good, or rather it will once we’ve finished tidying. The second bedroom (a.k.a. computer room) is looking really roomy and I’m able to spread my sewing stuff out some. I can fold the washing right on the table and leave it there in the light for final drying. We watched stuff on the projector and the new position for the screen is fine.

Last night was a medley of first episodes. After finishing Porco Rosso, which is just as lovely as I remember and the dub has Michael Keaton in the lead role = awesome, we moved on to Deadwood.
I gotta say the first episode didn’t do that much for me. Obviously I’ll watch more before making my final decision, but it’s kinda harsh and mean and upsetting. We’ll see. I didn’t feel much like watching more after it, so we watched the first episode of Bro Town instead. For a comedy show I thought the laughs were light. I enjoyed their mockery of Robbie Rakete but on the whole I thought it just wasn’t very smart. It’s doing the whole South Park make-fun-of-and-insult-everyone but without South Park’s wit.

Also? Girls should on the whole do the girl voices. Lee hated it. Won’t be watching any more.

So, after that Lee insisted on League of Gentlemen which has been recommended by….people? I hated this. It was so unrelentingly awful. Just nasty and gross and not that funny. After the vet put the wrong dog to sleep we decided it was too yukky and switched to Black Books, which remains wonderful.

I *heart* Bernard Black.

So, as I was saying I was feeling really refreshed and good after the weekend and then Celeste and I did the pirates themed holiday programme. We had 47 children and 22 adults turn up and now I’m exhausted. Need a nap now.
Point of Fashion: I was a pirate briefly
Current obsession: feeling kinda worn out now.

Busyness

Spent the second half of yesterday afternoon rearranging furniture. Right now the lounge looks like we’ve just moved in or something. We’ve even shifted the screen a few feet kitchen-wards…and this is all because I wanted my scrapbooking desk in the lounge with the good light.

Last night we saw Stage Beauty which was utterly wonderful. Think Shakespeare in Love but less tongue in cheek and a bit more hardcore. Billy Crudup makes a lovely woman (the story concerns the first female actors and the male actors who play women suddenly being out of a job…) quite beguiling and I do love Clare Danes.

We went to see it at the Penthouse and the audience there was really quite rude. I’m not sure if it’s maybe OK to talk all through the movie at Penthouse, I wouldn’t have thought so but we seemed to have a lot of it going on. Also was quite disturbed by the uproarious laughter during a genuinely harrowing scene…I guess they just didn’t quite get what was actually happening on screen.

Ok. Spoiler time: In the climax of the movie Billy plays Othello to Clare Danes’ Desdemona (the role he was most famed for) and during the murder scene he gets so worked up he actually nearly smothers her to death. There is a lot of him flinging her around and quite violent action. The other characters watching this are worried…they all think he’s really going to kill her…I was biting my nails and half the audience was laughing like it was the funniest thing around???
end spoilers.

Anyway it’s a fantastic movie and I definitely will watch it again. Brilliant script full of clever repartee and double entendres. Fascinating portrayal of a real identity crisis and the love story was very real.

This morning: Yum Char. Am looking forward to it.
Point of Fashion: Fin Pants, goth-lite tshirt
Current Obsession: sorting out the lounge so I can actually scrapbook!

In Between Months

I can’t believe how quickly this week has gone. I feel like it’s been 5 minutes since last Friday!
Keeping busy will do that I guess. Tonight will be the only night this week I don’t have something on. It’ll be something of a relief, although I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve done this week.

Hitchcock movies watched this week: Rope and Shadow of a Doubt. I really enjoyed watching Rope again. I know what happens in it but I had forgotten a lot of details. It was fun to watch the reactions of the people watching it with me…they hated the main guy but didn’t want him to be discovered…I’m glad Hix told me that it’s based on an actual murder which a gay couple comitted. That made all the subtext Rachel and I were laughing at valid.
I liked Shadow of a Doubt too. Some very frightening scenes and the whole premise was pulled off nicely. Basically a man goes to stay with his sister and her family. His niece begins to suspect he may be a serial killer. Awesome. Plus, adorable 40s shoes!

Point of Fashion: jeans skirt
Current Obsession: nearly weekend again!

Into the future

Have been mulling over the game of Dogs In the Vineyard I played in on Tuesday and after a talk with Steve at lunchtime I think I had a great time. I’m still a bit unsure though, so I’ll get back to you on that later.

Costs for the wedding are rearing up. I need to buy the underwear I’m wearing under my dress sooner rather than later so the fit is right. I have to buy fabric for a mock-up and then the actual dress…next Thursday we’re going up to the Castle with the caterers and soon after we’ll have an actual quote for them.

The sequel to All-American Girl is very good. It’s a bit more adult, and it’s got a fantastically filmic story. I’m nearly finished. Then it gets lent to Chelle 🙂

Point of Fashion: No time for fashion this morning
Current Obsession: Job applied for at Porirua City Libraries.

Why I’m scared of Willie Wonka

…this hardly ever comes up. Damn Tim Burton for making a new version of the most traumatic movie I watched as a child.
True Confessions: I am frightened of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

In the past year as more and more hype has been building and more and more people have been talking about the movie. I haven’t been able to avoid it.

When I was a kid I watched Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and it terrified me. I have been able to deduce the reason why (apart from the fact that Gene Wilder is a sinister man and the music is all freaky-deaky): I watched it at a tender age when I didn’t really understand live action movies. I watched it believing that all the kids were good and were being punished by evil adults after eating candy.

I liked eating candy. I didn’t want freaky shit to happen to me after eating candy. I didn’t like the idea that the kids were going to be dumped in the rubbish. It freaked me out!

Now obviously, everyone chants to me “But those kids were BAD!”
When I originally watched it I didn’t get that. I simply didn’t have the faculties to understand that some of the kids were good and some bad. I was looking at it with cartoon based understanding of: all kids good, all adults bad.

So, to this day when I watch any part of that original movie I get queasy sick feelings in my stomach. I get a disturbed/uncomfortable feeling like I’m watching innocent, defenseless kids being bullied and I don’t like it.
Amphigori actually made the new version sound good to me and maybe someday I’ll watch it. I don’t think I can bear to see it at the movies though. I need a safer environment.
Point of Fashion: back in my new boots
Current Obsession: everyone wants me to see Wille Wonka for some reason.

Can’t stop the signal

I nearly died when Lee mentioned that “Mr Universe” from Serenity is the Jewish best friend from 10 things I hate about you he just looks so different!

..so I liked the movie and all, but it was sad and scary and yeah. I feel like the others who came out of it in a weird daze.
I had a pretty annoying day yesterday and I just couldn’t really get up any excitement to see the movie. I just wanted a bath and then my bed.

Books:
Necklace of Kisses by Francesca Lia Block is a wonderful new book with Weetzie Bat at 40 realising she wants her life to change. I loved it. It departs from the other books in the series in that mostly they use *actual* names…Max is Max not Secret Agent Lover Man. Witch Baby is Lily and at college! Love love love. Wandered around town trying to find a copy to no avail. Dymocks might have it I guess…

All American Girl; Ready or not by Meg Cabot. Sequel to All American Girl which I loved because I’m an art geek. The sequel is typical Meg Cabot girl stressing about things to the nth degree. I’m liking it.

Mooooooonday

Serenity tonight.

I sewed a furry teddy bear shape onto my coveralls. I ironed on three embroidered patches, 2 ladybirds and a daisy. The effect is adorable.

I have done nothing on my jacket, so it’ll just be coveralls tonight. I don’t mind I’ll be comfy.
I moaned to Giffy last night that I’ll have the least pretty outfit of all the girls at my party. She told me that my outfit will be pretty with the jacket but still. If most of the girls are going as companions they’re going to be looking more impressive than me. But that’s what I chose so I shouldn’t really complain. I’ll be the one getting presents after all!

I just feel funny about it since I saw a picture of my gorgeous pirate party dress on Saturday and I wanted it back. I’ll be comfy though, very comfy in my coveralls.
Comment count: 1997. 7th form. Free periods hanging out in the window seat in the common room, eating 2 minute noodles.

Is everybody fine? That’s fine!

Yes comments from me count towards the total, although I will try not to post any more until the threshold has been passed. Total as I logged on was 1991. Ah the balmy days of Form One, school socials and crushes on the wrong boys.
Yesterday my sister invited me shoe shopping since as she pointed out I still haven’t found wedding shoes and she wanted opinions on shoes that she could wear with 3/4 pants and shirts that weren’t too girly.

After looking in all the shoe places on Lambton Quay the ones I loved most were $170 from Overland. I bought them. They are comfy, high heel, great colour, flashy and classically gorgeous. I love them to bits, although they were MUCH more expensive than I have planned. If they’d had more pairs I might have waited for them to go on sale….but no. I saw some other shoes I loved there on sale for $80. They were completely inappropriate for the wedding, hence the not buying them but I want them a lot. If anyone wants to get me Overland vouchers for my birthday I’d be verrrrry happy.

I also bought an awesome pair of black biker boots from #1 shoe warehouse for $6.95. They have all their winter boots on sale now, so it was very tempting indeed. I resisted buying more than the one pair though, having already spent all that money on heels a la Sex in the City.

I voted Green and I’m glad I did because they needed all the votes they got. I suspect a lot of would-be green voters went with Labour instead.
This morning I dreamed that I was a prisoner on a pirate ship. Suraya laced me into a corset and then we had to go through an evil funhouse.

Point of Fashion: Towel head, legwarmer feet
Current Obsession: shoes. I am turning into either Imelda Marcos or my Father. Not sure which is scarier.

Other stuff

emails aren’t flooding into my inbox fast enough so I’ll update again with some things I forgot to mention.
Here is my birthday list. It’s not too early!
Of course, there’s a bunch of other stuff I want now, like the totally renamed spy game and more DVDs and stickers and suchlike.

I’ll get my birthday invite out sometime today. I will email it because I can’t be arsed making one like last year. Aah the laziness of me!

I’m reading Across the Wall by Garth Nix and it’s fantastic. The Creature in the Case is verreh verreh good and I’m loving all the other stories too. The Hansel and Gretel one is really sticking with me so far. I’m nearly finished it actually…soon…soon. Must buy duraseal so I can protect my book.

What to do at lunchtime? Interfacing or duraseal? I can’t do both…I think duraseal wins because I can get food at the same place. Interfacing can wait til Saturday.

Oh and Suraya asked so I thought others might be interested. My hip librarian outfit was: Charcoal fin pants, red doc boots, black v neck wide knit wool fitted jersey with white singlet underneath, mother-of-pearl brooch in shape of a tiare flower and hair pulled back in very neat ponytail. Glasses.

I was told after doing my presentation that I am a natural speaker, I looked very professional and over the orange juice yesterday morning (direct quote) “Oh! You’re one of those fantastic librarians from Wellington”

Things about stuff

I had a lovely sleep last night. I don’t remember Lee turning off the reading light so I fell alseep very fast indeed. I slept right through til 5.30 when I had to wake up and sneeze a lot. Then back to sleep til the alarm.
Note to Concert fm: I don’t like waking up to ominous organ music, kthx.

I’m feeling very up today, positive and happy and enthused. My last day at conference was really very good.

Oooooh I didn’t tell you about the dinner and dancing yet did I? I ended up wearing black skirt and red top. I wore my patterned black tights and my little black shoes with butterflies on the toes. My hair was up in candybar-style floofy pigtails and I wore my multi-strand floating pearl necklace. I felt pretty-ish but unimpressive. I’m still annoyed at the lameness of the theme. I would have loved to break out one of my awesome costumes, but I just wasn’t inspired enough.

In the arrival area they had a copoeira demonstration which I watched for about 20 minutes before heading in to schmooze with the other delegates. As it turns out bubbly champagne is really nice and after two glasses I get a very nice buzz. I got pretty silly and so did one of my bosses. After we went into the dinner I switched to plain old sauv blanc and the buzz went away. I got another glass of the bubbly but my buzz never really returned. *pout*. Anyway. I did dance and it was fun and the food was lovely and I had a rocking time.

I got tired about 11 and then they played “Rockin’ Robin” and I knew it was time for me to go back to the hotel. I was actually feeling a bit sick and had switched to water so I didn’t want to go to sleep straight away. I watched some cartoon network and then got three hours of blissful sleep. Then I woke up at 3ish and didn’t get back to sleep til 5. Meh. So a lot of people thought I was more hungover than I actually was because I was so tired.

Anyhoo. I’m back now with a huge bag of pens to distribute and lots of fudge and toffee for myself.
I’ll have to remember to get myself some bubbly for my birthday party.
comment count: 1966 (Swingin’ sixties! We’re getting there!)