Goodbyes

On Wednesday 9 June, I spent the day out with one of my best friends Molly. She would be leaving for her month-long European adventure on the Sunday, so I wanted to hang out before she left. We had to go to our university first because Molly had an interview for an Arts program there (which she did awesome in, so we're now at the same university together again), and I had to hand in an assignment, but then it was off to the city for lunch and to visit the Art Gallery.

We had lunch at Pancakes & Grill and were very naughty - we had pancakes for lunch.

Molly had the Brandied Apricots.
I had the Blueberry Heaven.
There was a new exhibition at the Art Gallery that we wanted to see, the Patricia Piccinini Relativity exhibit. It was just amazing, and so realistic, and ... frightening in a way. My favourite sculpture was The Stags 2008. The only thing that dragged the day down was me, literally. I still couldn't walk properly after injuring my foot, so I was limping around everywhere and Molly had to walk slower because of it.

The weather took a cold turn that day with Winter finally setting on (notice the matching blog template change). And the perfect way to stay warm on a cold day is ... coffee. Or a cold drink, as Miss Molly decided. She's nutty.

Here's Molly checking out my Wise Blood book.
By that time it was already past 5 o'clock, so Molly drove me the short distance to where my mom works in a business district and I got a ride home with my mom. I love being out at night.

This is the view from mom's 14th floor office.

When I got home I got a nice surprise: Jill over at the now finished blog, Today I Saw, had sent me another postcard. I feel so lucky to have gotten two from her considering she only sent out one postcard a day for a year.

Pretty good day.


Reading: Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor, Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler (want to read more non-fiction these holidays)
Listening to: "All The Right Moves" by One Republic, "Monster" and "Dance in the Dark" by Lady Gaga, "Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult" ("More cowbell!") and "Don't Fear The Reaper" (cover) by The Mutton Birds (from one of my favourite movies The Frighteners), and "Automatic" by Tokio Hotel (seriously fascinated by these guys)

I wish that I was Jessie's Girl

What an eventful week. It's the last week of semester and I have been running on adrenalin and coffee. I'm going to be feeling this later, I just know it. I will probably be found sprawled out on the floor somewhere in my house, away with the clouds....

The week started off with an Irish coffee. Things were going good. I was doing an assignment, writing about a university reading. I was in the mood to do the assignment. There was some great music playing on my computer. I stopped for a moment to stretch my arms. And managed to pull a muscle in my right arm. I'm right-handed, so my left hand can't type well without its beloved other half. See, assignments can hurt you physically.

My job requires me to have two working hands. I'm a clothing alterations assistant and need to prep the clothes to be altered. Unpicking threads is my main task. Boy, is that difficult when you have limited mobility.

------------------------------

I ended up going to sleep at 5am on Wednesday. The hours around midnight are when I'm at my most motivated, unfortunately. And assignments needed finishing and editing. So, I was awake late.

Somehow I woke up at 8am that day to research another assignment, on postmodernism. I also decided to make cookies for my class that morning. Cookies from a boxed baking mix though. Class did start at 10am after all.

Not only did I bake cookies for my morning class, but I came back home during my break to make brownies (from a baking mix) for my afternoon class. I stayed awake for that afternoon class because of drinking about four cups of coffee throughout the day. (And I was supposed to be cutting back on my coffee intake.) Call me crazy, insane, nuts, to say the least.

I think wearing my red high tops all day yesterday caused me to walk abnormally: I may have pulled something in my left foot. Man, do I injure myself in the strangest ways or what? And it's the second time I hurt myself the day before work. I do like my job, honestly. I would have looked a right site hobbling around my workplace today (no, wait, that would be yesterday because now it's 4.31am) but I was in too much of a good mood to care.

One more class later this afternoon, and the semester will be over. And two essays after that, I will be on holiday for two months or so. I will probably spend most of that time working and sleeping. Sleep, what's that again?

This was written on my bus stop's schedule. I know it's graffiti, but it's also sweet.

All that remained of the cookies and brownies.

The sky around 5pm. Now that it's Winter, the sky is pitch black by 5.30pm. I adore Winter.
A face to go along with the words. I'm part-Indian, part-English (and part-Irish, according to my sister, but that hasn't been confirmed). Yes, my room is slightly untidy. In my defence, this was before I cleaned it up.
(About this post's title: When I was a kid, I used to think that was the lyric in "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield. Well, it made sense in my five year-old mind. I really wouldn't mind being Jessie's girl now - he sounds like a nice lad.)


Reading: Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
Listening to: "Baker Baker" by my favourite redhead Tori Amos (seems appropriate), "Love" (live version) by Sugarland, "Secret Garden" by Bruce Springsteen

Southern Gothi-what?

It feels as though I'm in a lair at the moment. I sit upon my bed surrounded by various university readings, assignment drafts, and notes, a small dome of light illuminating my working area.

My brain is full of postmodern theory and theorists, elements of storytelling in non-fiction, editing principles, key arguments ... and then I put on my The Holiday soundtrack. And the light gets bigger, my room begins to feel warmer (it's Winter here), I'm multi-tasking with three assignments, and my toes start moving to the jazzy sounds of Hans Zimmer's musical creations ....

Been trawling through Southern Gothic Productions' various blog and vlog archives over the past few months. Huge fan of the SoGoPro book club. Then realised didn't know what made southern gothic fiction, well, southern gothic. Then felt silly after researching it and noticing I'd seen/read a fair amount of southern gothic films/novels:

• A Streetcar Named Desire (1984 film version)
• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (the novel)
• Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994 film version)
• The Green Mile (1999 film version)
• Big Fish (2003 film version, Note: love Tim Burton)
• The Little Friend by Donna Tartt (which led to reading The Secret History - a book of epic awesomeness)
• Cool Hand Luke (1967 film version, "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Ha, sounds like my assignments and me.)

... to name but a few. I do need to credit Nick Gray for the current book I'm reading. (I would've read it eventually - knowing me it would've been years and years - as I'm currently reading through this list but now, thanks to Mr. Gray, I'm reading it sooner.) Come to think of it, I need to thank the whole SGP gang for my sudden foray into the realm of the southern gothic because I. AM. LOVING. IT.

The only way I am awake now, at 2am, is because of four serves of coffee all in one mug. Oh, assignments, how I wish you would write yourselves.

Kiara.

Reading: Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
Listening to: The Holiday soundtrack