Keeping with the times

This is going to be a short post. Yes I realise I posted only a few hours ago, saying that I was tired and about to go to bed. Yes I am still awake. I blame the internet.

Skipping forward to the catalyst for me hitting the "new post" button for the second time in only a couple of hours, I just found out via Twitter that Amy Winehouse died. She was 27.

I'm devastated. I know she was a drug/alcohol addict. I realise that this is something she brought upon herself, but MAN! That woman had one heck of a voice on her. Have you ever heard it? She was incredible. I just, I think in my eternal optimism, I was hoping she might recover and make a decent career for herself. Which makes this even more tragic. It's like romeo and juliet, minus the romeo element.

I remember sitting in my work tearoom, reading up on her latest antics in whatever gossip magazines were there. I, just, why? I can't even.

I realise that topically, the events in Oslo, Norway are far more tragic, but to be completely candid with you all, I haven't really caught any of the news, so I'm really disconnected to the tragedy over there. I'm ashamed to say so, but it's true. Whereas, even though Amy had a choice, and the people of the Norway Tragedy had none, I actually spent time, while Amy was still with us here on this lump of rock, listening to her dulcet tones. Developing some semblance of a one-sided relationship with her as a human being (as we all do with musicians. That is, after all, the role of the singer/musician/artist/whatever). So, there was a part of her that had become a part of me before she died.

Don't get me wrong, any loss of life is terrible, and my heart goes out to all of Norway in the light of everything. But a little tiny piece of me died tonight with the news of Amy's parting. And that is why I am in mourning.

Last time I felt like this was a few years back, when we first heard the news of Heath Ledger. Then again when we heard of Britney Murphy. So much talent among them all. So much waste. And it's no unheard of either. Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, among others, were only 27 when they left us too. I wasn't around for those, but I imaging their supporters all felt the same too. GAH! I have no more words.

I'm going to shut up now before I get any more gushy. It's 10 past 3 in the am. I'm obviously just emotional and delirious because it's 3:10am, and I need sleep, though I doubt this news is going to suck any less when I wake up.

RIP Amy. Let the heavens enjoy your dulcet tones forevermore.

Oh wow...

I was just about to make a post about how long it's been, but MY! This whole system looks different! I must say, I like the sleek look of the upgrade, but, well, I mean, this is the most different the posting/dashboard has looked since I started blogging. SO UNUSUAL!

Ok, spaz attack over.

So, it's been like, forever again. Sorry. Whatever, let's move on.

I'm so out of practice at this I'm afraid I've completely forgotten why it is I come here. Why did I ever post here in the first place? Was it worth it? Why did I stop? I've been eyeing the Blogger bookmark in google chrome for weeks now, feeling guilty that I haven't posted in forever. It's been quietly nagging at me to come back and show it some love and attention, which up till now I have dutifully ignored. Tonight it finally won.

So for the few of you who still come on here to read these pointless meandering ponderings, I have questions. First off, I just checked my insight for pageviews on this here blog. It says that my viewing audience have logged on in Australia (not surprising), America (where I know some of you live) (specifically those to whom I used to write snail mail to) (speaking of, it's about time we jumped back onto that old bandwagon isn't it? I feel like it's time) (sorry, I digress) and, of all places, Russia. It's odd, because I know at least 2 of my subscribed readers live in the UK, but the UK didn't show up :-/ and I don't know anyone in Russia, but on the insight map, Russia is dark green, suggesting high concentration of pageviews.
My question for you, readers, is Where In The World Are You? Let's get some sort of idea of our demographic, shall we?

Secondly, how exactly do you benefit from reading this here pointless-waste-of-internet-time-and-space-I-refer-to-as-my-blog? I mean, I benefit because I suppose it's an outlet, and it's a form of entertainment. But, like, if you're reading it, you must be getting something out of it, right? Am I entertaining? Am I informative or insightful? Am I simply relatable? Please leave me little nuggets of joy and love down below in the comments. You know how much I love knowing that strangers/acquaintances on the internet/other side of the world love me enough to acknowledge that they have read/enjoyed/even hated my outpourings of mental mush...

Thirdly, what would you LIKE to see from me? See being the creative type I am, I'm completely hopeless at coming up with blogging ideas. I have a couple of post ideas, but in order to get into a routine, I feel I should follow some sort of blogging agenda or pattern. Like, post reviews of books/movies/music on Fridays. Post an artwork/work in progress on Tuesday. Some sort of critical thinking/analysis of something-or-other on a Sunday. And then in between, just post and keep you all updated on my not-so-interesting-when-you-compare-me-with-other-individuals-on-the-internet life. I'll sort out the details later.

I'm very tired right now, so I'm going to leave it there. So, minions, leave me your comments. Spam the heck out of my comment box. And get creative. Tell me what you want from me, and I will MAKE IT HAPPEN FOR YOU.

Love




*EDIT* So I just noticed that last time I tried to recommit to blogging like a lunatic, I started a thing where I attempt to list ten things that I love. Little things, but things all the same. Should I keep going with that? COMMENTS. DO IT. Cool.

List of things I love: Part the Second

I know I said that this was going to be my Wednesday thing, but I am quite a forgetful person. I'll catch up eventually.

It has come to my attention not so recently that I start a lot of my sentences/paragraphs with the word "so".

So there's that...

To the LIST!

11. Harry Potter
12. Tumblr
13. Chronicles of Narnia (currently starting The Last Battle. It has taken me so long to get around to doing this. EXCITING!)
14. When a little bird comes and just chills on my bedroom window sill in the morning. Just minding his or her* own business.
15. Hans Zimmer's work. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but it's worth another mention, just to ensure that it is here on this list.
16. The Corrs. Irish-pop band who were big from the mid-nineties to the early naughties. Still love every little bit of music they have released to date**
17. Sitting down after a long day with a book and a cup of tea and some relaxing music.
18. The way the sun shines on dewy grass in the morning. I like this especially when it is still misty. There's just something magical about it, and when you're not a morning person like I am not, that extra little bit of magic helps
19. Finally getting a passage of music right after practicing it and screwing it up a million times.
20. Getting excited about nerdy things, be it the release of the latest HP movie***, or an awesome teefury t-shirt design.

*It's a bird, guys. How am I supposed to find out its gender? I mean, really...
**Including the solo releases of both Andrea Corr and Sharon Corr. Don't tell the others, but those two are my favourite.
***Super stoked for the next one btw. The first promo poster came out for it today. Excitement levels through the roof.

Movies to watch this year.

I just need to make one of these lists. So many awesome movies I haven't seen and really need to see. Will probably save them for the winter months because everybody knows winter is the best time for watching movies. It's too damn hot in summer to sit down on a couch for a couple of hours in front of a screen. No. Summer is night-time-stroll season. Winter is curl-up-under-the-blankets-and-watch-movies-with-a-cup-of-cocoa season. But, I digress. TO THE LIST

1 Inception. I know, I know. What kind of Hans Zimmer* fan am I if I haven't even seen this one?
2 Avatar. The one with the blue people. Not the last airbender one. I hear the latter is really crap.
3 Tangled. I've seen the first hour, but I was watching online, and it cut me off. I hear the lantern sequence is the best scene in the film.
4 Sherlock Holmes (the one starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law)
5 The King's Speech
6 Black Swan
7 Slumdog Millionaire

Can you tell I don't get out to the movies much?

That's all I can think of right now. Got any suggestions for me? Or movies that everyone else but you has seen, that you really need to see? Or even, anything you've seen that has an incredible soundtrack? Soundtrack is a big thing for me, and can sometimes be the make-or-break factor of my liking the movie.
This list is bound to grow. I just need to keep track of these amazing

Also, I feel like this blog is turning into a place for me to dump all my lists. I hope that's ok, and if it isn't I don't care.

I might add in an update every now and then, but it's kind of handy having somewhere to keep my lists.


*Still a pretty huge one, considering the ever-rising play count of the Pirates: At World's End soundtrack.
Current plays: between 50 and 66
(this isn't completely accurate as it's been a few weeks since I plugged in my iphone for an update. I assure you there are plenty of plays on there too)
Most played track: Up Is Down
(fairly sure this is accurate though. Favourite track/theme of the score)

List of things I love: Part the First

I've decided to make a definitive list of all the things in life that I love, or love to do, or that make me happy. It's going to be an ongoing thing. I'll try to do ten things each time I post, and I will try to make these posts weekly. So this will be my wednesday thing.

Here we go.

List of things I love, part 1

1 Pokemon Cards
2 Playing the violin
3 Awesome people
4 The Internet
5 Internet Memes
6 Youtube
7 Tumblr
8 Twitter
9 Facebook
10 Expressing myself creatively

Since this is the inaugural post, the initial list items will be mostly generic things. Hopefully, as we go on, the items will become more and more obscure. I like to think it will encourage me to appreciate the little things.

Also, maybe, it might encourage me to come on here more often to share my life with you lovely people. I really hope that is the case.

<3 you all

Oh hay

Yeah. It's me.

Now that you've recovered from the shock of finding a post from my blog in your feed (really, did you ever think you'd see the day?), let's chat.

So how've you been? My life's been ok. Up and down. Which I kind of like. I don't really feel like recounting every bit of it for you here though. I hope that's ok.

I've been spending a lot of time doing stuff online lately, so I figured it was time to resurrect this old blog. Dust of the cobwebs and such. I want to use this as a station where I can post anything and everything that I do, so you guys know what I'm up to. So instead of just reading about it, you can live it with me.

If you want to keep up with me day-to-day, I am on twitter. My twitter feed shows up in the sidebar here anyway, if you don't have a twitter account. Which you should, if you're on the internet. I mean, my pet spider has her own twitter account. And youtube account. You really have no excuse... other than perhaps if you were a Swan Queen, or if Voldemort* killed your parents...

Ok, that's enough guilt-tripping for one post. Since whenever I start posting on here again, I am temporarily super-motivated, you may see another post from me as early as later this afternoon. (Current time: 1:42pm)

So I guess I'll smell ya later.
:P

*sidenote: Google Chrome recognises the word Voldemort. Awesome.

It's late

I have work tomorrow and I should be sleeping. But I am not. Instead I am typing this while listening to my brother help a friend with uni work.

Just wanted to say that I experienced a moment of impulsiveness today when I watched some of the YT videos regarding NaNoWriMo*. Even though I decided ages ago I wasn't going to be writing this year, I changed my mind. Roughly five minutes later, I changed my mind again. As fantastic and valiant as this challenge is, it takes a lot of mental preparation. And with just under 2 days to go until it starts here, I'm way underprepared.

I mean, 50000 is a lot of words. And I'm not the kind of person who can just dive straight in and run with it. I need to think about it for ages, settle on an idea I like, and outline it pretty thoroughly ahead of time if I have any hope at all of winning**. So not this year.

Having said that, I fully support everyone who is embarking on NaNoWriMo in a couple of days time. Good luck to you, I wish you all speedy fingers and wordy minds. Type like the wind!

But yeah.

I was contemplating taking on a different month-long challenge... Vlogging every day, perhaps? I reckon  maybe a video, and a blog post each and every day of the month of November. Because there are blog post ideas and video ideas circling in my head, and they need to see the light.

So what should I do? Leave a comment.

Have a good night/day/afternoon guys.

L


*for n00bs: NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month. It happens every year in November, and it's huge in these parts of the internet. So, if you're here reading my blog, you should have heard of it. If you haven't heard of it, where have you been, n00b? Living under a rock? (I'm kidding. I love you :D)
**for n00bs: winning = reaching the prescribed 50000 word count.

It's not "Pass" or "Fail" anymore...

Hey guys.

I just got back from retaking my driving test. You'll know already if you are friends with me on Facebook or Twitter that, again, I didn't pass.

I know I already mentioned that I failed my driving test last time (obviously*, otherwise I wouldn't be retaking the test) (derp) but I didn't tell you guys how it went down. In short, it was probably one of the worst experiences of my young life. I had high hopes, I had worked hard, everyone pumped me up, I felt good vibes, and I honestly felt I was ready. Not to mention, I had a whole host of things planned for the rest of the week; all involving me being able to drive. So basically, the whole run-up was setting me up for a win, but I had no safety net.

Ten minutes into the test, we were back at the testing centre and the driving tester asked me if I knew what I did to make myself fail. Naturally, I had no clue. "Do you think I would have done the wrong thing if I knew it was wrong?!" is what I thought. Going over the speed limit is a critical error. I didn't see a 40 sign, and since unmarked roads are 50, I figured 47 was a safe speed. Instant fail. Basically, I crashed unceremoniously back down to earth. It hurt. I cried. It took a good week or two to get back on my feet.

So, what was different this time around? Well, my failure was not due to a sign that could have been more visible if they'd actually thought about where to put it. It was due to my own mistakes. My own shortcomings. Basically, this time, I was in control.

I think that was the biggest thing for me today. Last time, I felt like the carpet had been pulled out from under me. Like something else had pushed me over the edge. This time, I jumped. I also did a glorious swan dive on the way down, Pocahontas-style. It was more important for me to feel in control than to win. At least I failed on my terms. Now I have a mission; I have something to fix, and to build on, and improve.

Coming up to this one, I was really unsure how I would do. Well-meaning friends encouraged me, saying things like "You'll do great" and "You're a good driver, you'll pass", but my knee-jerk reaction was "You don't know that". Nothing was certain. After the first attempt, I couldn't find my grip.

What I'm trying to say is, although failing sucks, it was exactly what I needed to so. Successful people say that you need to fail in order to succeed. Failure is good for success, because failure teaches you what you need to know to succeed. So now, when someone says "You're gonna rock that test" I fully, 100% believe them, because I know what to do now.

I mean, it's still going to be a while before I can drive myself around, but I am now confident that I can work around it. Everything will be fine.

Thanks, btw if you're still reading this. It wasn't the most interesting or entertaining post. I just had to write it and share it. And I dunno. Maybe you got something out of it too. Or not. Whatever's cool.


*Is it weird that I can't hear the word "obviously" anymore without following it up with "we have a rapist in Lincoln Park"? I didn't think so...

HI EVERYBODY :D

I don't even need to start by saying it's been a while. You all know that. Right. Point acknowledged. Moving right along.

So, you're probably wondering, "what's been going on in Lucy's life all this time?", I mean, because that *is* why you read my blog, amirite?

And I intend to fill you in. In point form, because there's too damn much to type otherwise. 

So, in the past few months, I:

• Went to China. Best 11 days or so of the year. The Great Wall was amazing, the Terracotta Soldiers were amazing, World Expo was amazing. There's not much that can top performing on the world stage. 
• Did not continue studying. The funny thing about travelling is it tends to cost a lot of money. So by the time enrolment came around, I'd run out. :-/ Don't take this the wrong way though. I don't regret my decision in the slightest. I mean, I'd love to go back and study and get my diploma, but I'm also happy to do other things in the meantime while I scrounge and save. 
• Moved out of home. Best and worst thing ever. Best because my mother is no longer breathing down my neck every second I'm in the house. Worse because financially, I've been far better. My current work situation isn't helping. But I won't bore you with the deets. I am looking for a new job though.
• Finished my 100 hours of driving practice (finally). Also, in the same category, I failed my driving test. I won't go into it, but it made me angry for a while, but I am getting over it. I have my next test in a couple of days, so here's hoping all the extra money i'm outlaying won't be wasted this time. 
• Performed one of the best concerts ever: comprised entirely of music from Video Games. All of the music was new, so to get a good ten or eleven songs learnt in three months is a stellar effort. It *could* have been more polished*, but hey, considering the circumstances, we did a bloody good job. If you want, you can see video footage from the day here. There were loads of important people in attendance. People from our state professional orchestra, people from the gaming industry. And loads of gamers, of course. It was a big deal, because we're the first youth orchestra in our state to perform this kind of repertoire. Such a thrill to be a part of. Also, since I helped out with the visuals, I was given a Mario figurine. I'll post a pic later**

I think that's pretty much it. Doesn't sound like a lot, but time still seems to slip by. 

Anyway, glad we had this chat. Now I can stop feeling guilty every time I look at the Blogger bookmark at the top of my screen (I use chrome). I might actually come back and do this more often. Would you like that?

I thought so. 

Seeya soon :)

*I'm allowed to be critical, since I was there every step of the way.

**I'll probably just insert it into this post. Check back later?

CHINA!!!

It's only 2 days away now!!

Ten days of no facebook*, foreign cuisine, not enough sleep in hotel rooms with hardboard beds, sightseeing, shopping, bargaining, and the time of my life.

I will be posting photos to facebook upon my return. :D I'm also keeping a travel diary, some portions of which I may post here.

I really don't know what else to tell you about the trip at this stage. Did I already mention that I will be travelling with the Brisbane Regional Youth Orchestra, and that we will be performing at Shanghai Expo '10? Because we are.

I think that's it. I've been posting tonnes of china related status updates on FB, trying to get it all out of my system.
I don't post here that frequently to be missed for that length of time, but I figured you guys should know what's going on anyway.

Love you all, and will post again when I return!!


*Or any other social networking (including blogging) for that matter