Day 202: December 30th

From the newsdesk...
This is the end

The time has come for me to say goodbye to this blog. I have decided that I want to try something new and as with the theme of the new year coming up, I would like a new blog, a clean slate as such.

The blog has taught me to start small and work your way up.
It's shown me that if something isn't working to keep trying and if it still isn't going your way, there's no shame in giving up.
The days of the lists were my love and hate. If I could think of something it was fantastic and I'd just slam it out, but BUT if I couldn't think of anything it was a nightmare and sometimes the blog was a chore instead of something fun and frivolous.
My current theme From the newsdesk suits me much better. It gives me more freedom and time to write whatever I want and whenever I want. I think that writing on this blog gave me more confidence to share my writing to the world (even if no-one is reading it) and to critique my own writing as it appeared on the screen. To quote Hairspray, "I've come so far, but I've got so far to go".

So goodbye to 365lists - I never did finish you, but I tried my best. You got the best of me, but I'm very proud of what I achieved (168 days).
Goodbye to From the newsdesk - you've taught me what real blogging is like and how to write really. I will miss you all, but thanks for everything.

Goodbye. Sayonara. Au Revior. Tchau. Shalom.

Day 201: December 11

From the newsdesk...

Date

So I guess I should commemorate this memorable occasion by making a blog post about it. Today is in fact the 11/12/13.

Unless you're American, in which case the date would be written as 12/11/13 and this doesn't make it cool like it is Australia. 

I am up to episode 3, season 8 of FRIENDS,

I am currently reading A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. Very good read, but long. 

Do yourself a favour and listen to Barack Obama's speech at Nelson Mandela's memorial service. 

Day 200: November 24

from the newsdesk: 
Books are so novel

I am [attempting] to write a novel. I started out doing it just for me, but then found this website that can track your words and then verify it as a 'novel'. But to have it verified, it has to have fifty thousand words. As of today, at 8.54pm, I had ten thousand and three words [10, 003] and 19 pages. I can't believe I actually got to 10,000. It seems like just yesterday that I had under 1000 words.

I probably won't finish it by the end of November, as I've got just under 40,000 words to go and a week to get there. Including school. But my aim is to finish by the end of the year and by [hopefully] writing about 10,000 a week, I can get there. Before this, the longest story I'd ever written way probably closer to three pages.

Day 200: October 11

From the newsdesk...

"Our Quarterback"

That was officially the single most emotionally draining episode of a tv show I have ever seen. And I have watched A LOT of television.

Sue [Sylvester] got me. I cried when she spoke. She was so rude to him when he was alive and now - now that he's gone - she will never have the chance to tell him how many she actually like him. That really got me. How she could NEVER turn around and say 'sorry'. It made death sound so final and obsolete. 

And it wasn't even just Cory that died. It was Finn too. Finn, the first 'cool' kid to ever talk to, let alone join, the Glee club. Or Finn, who went out with Rachel or Finn, the man who never had a mean word to say about anyone. I can't say, as I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but it seems like Cory's personality seemed to come through in the later stages of Finn. 

But the thing about this episode is that is this episode, they weren't acting. The we're replying real life with a few changes names here and some changed locations there. The tears, the grief, the heartache - all real. The actors had to take their grief and show it to the world. They had everything twice - the funeral, tears, heartache, heartbreak. They had to replay possibly the worst moment in their lives. 

But I'm glad for the tribute and when Mr. Schue said "I'm glad to see that so many of you could make it", it seemed like he was talking about the actors and how many of them had come to not only mourn and celebrate Cory as a person, but as an actor as well. 

Santana (Naya Rivera) was fucking amazing. You could actually see the emotion in her face and her rendition of If I Die Young (The Band Perry) was especially heart wrenching and absolutely devstating when she ran off halfway through because she couldn't deal with it. 

R.I.P. Cory Monteith (1982-2013) 

"The show must go on... all over the place... or something"

Romy Rosemont (Carol - Finn's mom) was jaw-droppingly incredible. 

Day 199: October 5

From the newsdesk...
Eye herd a storey 

This tail is confusing
I mussed admit strait out

I can’t begin too understand
Eye’m stuck without a doubt

I highed a helping hand

Someone to work me threw

This riting disaster of a poem

Someone who said he new

The help was a pear of twins

Who hailed from an aisle in grease

One was a buoy and one was a girl

and they advocated four world piece

The twins maid me reed

This poem to them allowed

I didn’t struggle all two much

And fore that I’m very proud

I cent the twins out fast

They were boring seouls

I wanted someone fun; mary

Sum won outta control

I maled out a letter
A dressed to the ‘funny sun’

And quikly received a reply

At precisely five seconds passed quarter two won

He said heed help me -
“no problem, for shore”
We then maid a date
for July first at twenty past for

The sundae arrived

I could bearly weight

The clock was ticcing slowly

But I was feeling grate

After the son set

And evening became knight

Funny man was a know show

Butt I was going all right

I would fight thru the poem

All the ups and the downes;

All the inns and the outs

To get the holey crown

I would beet it all

Ay was better than the best

I would bee number won

I wood win the final quest

Day 198: September 30

From the newsdesk...

Things that make me happy

So wow!! 

It's been nearly a month since I've been on here and nearly a year since I've had this blog! I think my writing has definitely improved since last year this time but there's still a long way to go. 

I think when I go traveling (one day) I want to keep a blog (as opposed to a diary), because while I think diaries are more special an personal, I always seem to give up on them about 2 weeks in. Maybe with a blog I'd be more consistent, but also maybe not. 

Oh well, I've got over two years to figure it out.

Things that make me happy 

1. Michael Buble's songs 

2. Miniature Objects

3. Dinosaur (Kisschasy)

4. It's nice to be alive (Ball Park Music).

5. Books

6. When the weather is at the perfect temperature 

7. My friends

8. Peanut butter flavoured things 

9. Doing well on a test I thought I was going to do shit in 

10. Pastels 

11. Owls 

12. Things that are related to Harry Potter

13. When the June picture in a calendar is good 

14. Fruit salad 

15. Cool English (language) rules

16. Snow globes 

17. Jangly bracelets 

18. Grapes 

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” 

- John Lennon 

Day 197: September 1

From the newsdesk...
September

September is the ninth month of the year and is one of the four months to have 30 days. It is named after septem, the Latin for 7, as it was previously the 7th month.

Today is September the first, a day celebrated (or not celebrated) by many. Why? Well I'm glad you asked because here's a list:

SPRING: Gone are the days where you are greeted by condensation every time you breathe and you can feel the cold under your skin. Instead we're greeted by the sounds of sneezing thanks to hayfever and the birth of many new bugs and insects. Jokes aside, spring is a lovely season filled with blossoms and baby animals and pretty perfect not-too-hot weather. Its a frivalous time and its time to break out that hat and the sunscreen and get joyful.

Father's Day: In the Land Down Under, we celebrate Father's Day on the first Sunday in September, which this year happens to be September 1st. So here's to the last 16 years of homework help, dad jokes, anchovies (small salty fish my dad likes), halva, billtong, advice, boring biscuits, cynical comments, running and just being there when I need you (and also often when I don't)

SEPTEMBER 1st: What does this mean you mere muggles ask? Well September 1st is the faithful day on which Hogwarts students go through the wall onto Platform 9 and 3/4 and take the puffing steam train known as the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It doesn't bother me hugely that my letter is 5 years overdue or that I live in Australia (and Hogwarts is in Ireland). But soon my fellow witches/wizards we will be walking up and down the 432 (?) moving stairs of Hogwarts, transfiguring match boxes into mice and looking into crystal balls with Professor Trelawney. Soon.

(Also for people who live in the northern hemisphere, school starts today).

So stop what you're doing, grab a straw hat, your favourite Harry Potter, your dad, a picnic basket, a mat and skip down to the nearest park for a father's day celebration. The Harry Potter book is for when he goes to BBQ the meat.

Day 196: August 24

from the newsdesk..
City of Bones 
So today I saw The Mortal Instruments: The City of Bones. I have been wanting to see this movie since, I don't know, forever. It's like me waiting too see Harry Potter but not really because Harry Potter is pretty much perfect and nothing can compare to it, and I just used it as an example because it was the first thing that popped into my head.
Here's how I analysed it:
Lily Collins was the perfect Clary.
Didn't think Jace would look like that [Jamie], but I still reckon Jamie is a pretty perfect Jace. I just need to get used to to (and also meet him).
Cheekbones.
I didn't like the Silent Brothers because I thought they would glide more and be less human but they walked and seemed like they were human-ish.
Robert Sheehan was Simon.
Izzy was beautiful but maybe wasn't mean enough? 
Luke didn't look like I think he would
Jocelyn was pretty spot on and her and Clary could be twins. (Seriously at the beginning, when Clary first came on screen I was like Jocelyn or Clary?) 
Hodge was good - nothing special (but he looked like the image in my head). 
Magnus was perfect (and him I want to meet too). 
I think Alec was too old (but that was just the casting). Like he seems so much older than Jace and I think they're meant to be around the same age? 
I didn't know Madame Dorethea would be black ( I just never thought of her like that). 
Valentine.. I just thought he would be more monstrous - more Voldemort-esque.

But I am totally nitpicking and the movie itself was amazing and damn, the special effects were brilliant and three cheers for Harald Zwart [the director] for pulling it off how he did. Obviously there were bits missing [as in every movie] and maybe bits that were considered important, VAMPIRE & RAT, but I guess they'll come around in the next one!! But the main parts were there and the GREENHOUSE SCENE was the cutest/best/loved it and I really liked Jace's sense of humour [maybe arrogance] and I would've loved to have seen more in the movie. I also like some of the things they added, like the PIANO, but a certain person  turned into a DEMON [pretty sure she didn't in the book] and that threw me off course completely.

But I think I would have been completely confused if I had gone in there, having not read the books. Sometimes in movies, when I don't understand something, I try watching it from the POV of someone who hasn't read the book. In this movie, I think it was a little bit confusing with whom was related to whom and what happened to Hodge and quite a few other things that I don't think I would've known if I hadn't had the prior knowledge. Sometimes book knowledge can be a hindrance - when movies go a different course - but sometimes you just need that extra knowledge. They did make things more obvious in the film (LIKE SAYING 'OH WE SHOULD LIE ABOUT THIS PERSON AND THIS PERSON BEING RELATED), whereas in the book, we don't find put that they're not actually related by reading the next book. WE HAD TO WAIT. Feels. It's mostly an easy movie to follow, but I think if you want to get the full value out of this film, I recommend reading the book first because that way, you'll pick up on the small details that take it from being a good film to a great film.  

(Guys did you know that I have met Cassandra Clare - and also got a rune necklace [and autograph] from her!?)  
So when is City of Ashes coming out? 

Day 195: August 18

From the newsdesk...

Leave 

I just want to leave. 

To get out of this house; to go somewhere unfamiliar. 

To get away from these four whitewashed walls and same people. 

Just to escape the routine of life: exactly the same day in and day out. Conversations are even routine. 

What would you like for this meal?

How are you? 

How was school?

Does that even matter. 

I want to take a plane, a car, a ferry, a unicycle; hell, I'll walk - to someplace else. Somewhere unvisited. Somewhere different; exotic. 

Less of the same, more of the unusual. More colour and less experience. More variety, more glitter. 

It'll be a field. A market. A bustling street in New York City. It'll be the house that looks like a farm. 

Let's go to Ikea in Sweden. 

These four walls are a trap. But it's disguised cleverly; you can't tell. It beckons you in with familiarity and security and warmth and comfort and you get comfortable, but then you also want change. But by then, it's too late. 

Everything works like clockwork so why would you want to change that? Sure, there's a few bumps in the road, but they'll pass. What's life like without a few bumps anyway, say the people who haven't experienced anything more than a straight road their entire lives. 

Wouldn't you like to know? 

Day 194: August 17

from the newsdesk...
The Seed

Winter.
I received the seed in winter. It came by courier mail and it arrived at my front door in a small cardboard box, tied with a yellow string. It took me at least ten minutes to get through the layers of bubble wrap tissue-paper and finally through the small hessian sack that held the precious seed. It was beautiful. Small, sort of oval shaped and it glittered like a diamond on one of the crowned jewels. I really wanted to plant it; to watch it grow into something special, but the directions that came with the plant said I wasn’t allowed. There were strict instructions for me to plant the seed in spring. Winter was too harsh for the seed and the seed was too fragile for winter. I placed the seed at the bottom of my false drawer-bottom, hidden in a ring box, stashed between my favourite red cashmere sweater and the ugly green scarf cousin Andy had given to me for Christmas.

Spring.
The first day of spring didn’t look special. If someone happened to peer into my house, they would’ve seen me doing what I did every day; absolutely nothing. But they didn’t know about the seed; the secret seed that had spent the last three months buried under layers of clothing. It was finally time for the seed to be taken out the box and placed in a pot with soil and water and light. It was time for the seed to prosper. The prepared pot was brought out from the back and the seed was placed into it. Alternatively, I poured water and soil over the seedling. Days began to blur as I waited for the seed to grow. Finally, twenty four days in, there was a leaf. It was small, but it was there. The seed continued to grow and soon there were leaves everywhere. Some leaves were small, some were like elephants. But they all had this wonderful aura about them. It was like they held a magical power; a power so great that it only revealed itself to the true master. But the leaves weren’t something that excited me greatly. Don’t get me wrong, they were pretty epic, but I was waiting; waiting for the flower.

Summer.
The first day of summer was stifling hot. It was the type of day that everything sticks together. Everything is in this hot oven of the world and we all cook like chickens ready to roast. I wasn’t faring well. Sweat poured off my brow even though every single fan was on full blast. The air conditioner had gone and collapsed on itself just the summer before. How inconvenient. The flower seemed to be enjoying the rays of sunlight, though. It had finally started to flower and the petals were as soft as a marshmallow clouds. The leaves glowed a fluorescent green and the petals were blue, magenta or orange, depending on the light and how you looked at them. The plant grew bigger. At first it grew slowly - a couple of mm a week - but by the time two months had passed, the plant was almost three metres high. It hadn’t lost its sparkle either. It sometimes shone so brightly that I had to wear sunglasses in order to prevent blindness.

Autumn.
Autumn arrived with a change of colour and a crunch of leaves. The weather turned windy and half the day was always spent sweeping leaves off the lawn. The plant suffered. As the months progressed, the plant shrunk and the leaves started disappearing. First they turned brown and then dropped off completely, joining the collection of leaves on my just-swept front lawn. It shrunk fast and after just the first month, the tree was just a hint of what it had been in the summer. It looked so forlorn, lost in the garden; overlooked by the pines and oaks that grew. It shrunk down so small that it was no longer visible from above and I had to remove soil in order for it to be seen. The last day of autumn was sad. The tree that had grown and lived in my garden for the past three seasons was now nothing but a small seed; a reminder of what it had once been.

- Do I need to add a reason for the seed/add a prologue/epilogue and say why it is special or is the air of mystery good/okay? -  

Day 193: July 31

From the newsdesk...

Happy birthday Jo (and Harry)

Dear Jo,

First off, happy birthday. The purpose for writing this letter isn't solely to wish you a happy day for when you were born; it's a thank you letter. 

Thank-you for writing. Thank you for being on that train that day and putting down the idea of Harry Potter on the that serviette (or napkin - what do they call it in England?). Thank you for creating our favourite red head family - to the tricks the twins play to Ron's fear of spiders (why couldn't it be follow the butterflies?) to Mrs. Weasley's 'NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH' one-liner that had the whole cinema cheering. Thank you for creating the Malfoy's, a family that just mirrors our reality. Thank you for creating Lily and James and McGonagall and Dumbledore and Snape. Always. Thanks for creating Hermione to show us that girls can be warriors to and thanks for Lupin and Tonks and Mad-Eye and Luna to show that different is good. Finally, thank you for Harry. We saw him (and Dan) grow up from a small boy whp lived under the stairs to a man who duelled with Voldy. As it is said 'there won't be a person in this world who won't know his name'.

Thanks for Hogwarts and Hogsmeade and Azkaban. Thanks for all the time and effort and energy you have put into this series of books. 

I remember when I was about 9, and my older sister was reading Harry Potter and my mom said to me "oh, why don't you read this?" and I looked over at the book and I said to her "No, it looks bad". And if I could take back any words I've said, it would be this. I think maybe a few months later, I thought to myself, why not? I started the Philosopher's Stone - and never looked back. 

I remember going to line up for the last book. We had a countdown and we took it straight back home and my sister read it in 9 hours straight. I took it from her and devoured it. It was like I had been waiting for a part of my childhood to come along and this was it. I finished it. And you never once let us down Jo; not once. 

One more thing I remember is the premiere of the last movie. The last ever Harry Potter movie to show in cinemas. I went to the midnight screening with my best friend of the time, my younger sister (who had since become obsessed) and her friend. We dressed up; I was Hermione and my sister was Luna. We walked in and see Ron's, Harry's, Weasley twins, a Lucius and even a Malfoy. The atmosphere was brilliant. We went into the cinema and the movie started. I think it was about two hours. People cried, people laughed. I certainly laughed, but I didn't cry. I just watched the movie, reliving everything from the books. And then it finished. We just sat there for about ten minutes, taking it in. NO MORE MOVIES. But then I thought, I've got the books. They're taken me through 5 years of my life and they will continue to do that. 

So Joanne (Kathleen), thank you for my childhood. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By extension, happy birthday to Harry Potter. 

To the Boy Who Lived, 

Thanks for the years of laughter and fun and tears and spells and magic and flying and Polyjuice Potion and crying and Ford Anjelicas and transfiguration and the Snitch and Fluffy and Fang and fights and duels and you pretending to be dead and your glasses and your scar and just you. 

Thanks for being apart of my childhood. 

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

On a really unrelated note, I cut my hair!! Since I came to Australia (2005) I have had long hair and I was just getting really sick of it and it was just there I wanted it cut. For once I actually like my hair cut. 

Hair today, gone tomorrow 

Day 192: July 27

From the newsdesk...

Please Like Me 

(This is not a post of me saying that you guys should like me, it's actually a post about Josh Thomas' TV show Please Like Me & Australian television in general). 

If I had a hat on right now, I'd tip it. (It'd preferably be a bowler hat or a top hat). 

I'd tip my theoretical hat to John and Josh Internationl, the company that produced this show. (It is named after Josh Thomas and his pet poodle mixture of some sort, John). 

Please Like Me is an Australian television comedy drama starring Josh Thomas (as himself), Caitlan Stasey (as Claire), John the dog (as himself) and Tom Ward (as Tom), his best friend. 

It's a funny, heartfelt, charming TV show which takes just the right amount of twists and turns. Even the sad moments turn out to be something to be laughed at. 

Please Like Me centres around Josh (as himself) and the days leading up to his 21st birthday. There are laughs, hook-ups, break-ups, boyfriends, girl-friends, deaths, (maybe) new lives, lots of Panadol, online dating, a fancy car and a $19 sundae. 

Josh (and Caitlan Stasey) for that matter have this weird Australian-British accent. They both have this weird intonation where they sound like they've been living in Britan and picked up on how they say some of the words. But pretty sure they're both born and bred Australian. 

Straya. 

Just watch it. We know all I'm pretty shitty at reviewing stuff but I really recommend this. If you're having a shit day or you just want some down time or a few laughs, watch Please Like Me. There's 6 episodes and they're about 28 minutes each, so really if you watch them and then hate it, it's not that much of a waste; approximately only 3 hours of your life.  

(GUYS IT'S BEING RENEWED FOR ANOTHER SEASON)!! 

Australian television/movies are actually really great. I'm always really cynical about it - "aw, they can't act" or "damn, hate the accents", but it seems like I'm just saying it for the sake of saying it. Of course there are the bad movies/tv shows *cough* Yolngu Boy *cough*, but there are plenty of bad American and British TV shows and movies too. 

There's WINNERS AND LOSERS (which I swear by) and NEIGHBOURS and HOME AND AWAY or PACKED TO THE RAFTERS if that's your thing. Movie choices are endless: SHINE, TIM, THE SAPPHIRES, AUSTRALIA, CROCODILE DUNDEE, RED DOG, ANIMAL KINGDOM, BRAN NUE DAE, MURIEL'S WEDDING (no.), MARY AND MAX (A++ would recommend), JINDABYNE; I could go on for forever. 

So whenever you're bored or just feel like chilling, grab a stubbie, a lamination (or a piece of pavlova if you're that way inclined), chuck a shrimp on the barbie (which I've never seen anyone do and don't they call them prawns here?) and pick yourself an Australian movie to watch. 

((My dog is snoring))

Day 191: July 23

From the newsdesk...

Happy birthday Dan

Happy 24th birthday to The Boy Who Lived (or his very much real/alive counterpart). 

Thanks to Dan for making one of my absolute favourite characters come to life. You grew up in front of the worlds eyes and for us Potterheads, in the ways and means of Harry James Potter. As Emma Watson said in her speech at the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II launch, on July 15, 2011, "Dan, you didn't 'get lucky' - you were and are the perfect Harry and will be forever." 

Ps. This only feels relevant to mentioning because it has a sort-of (minimal) Harry Potter relation. The Royal child has been born and according to the bloody news banners that scrolled across the TV screen every 10 minutes, it's name will announced in 'due course'. I don't care (because we all know it's going to be something like Edward or Arthur or Harry or Geroge) unless its called Snape which would fit BECAUSE IT IS THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. 

Just saying. 

Day 190: July 15

From the newsdesk...

Existence 

Our existence is so fragile and - quite literally - could be ended with something as simple as a gunshot. Or a bomb. Or a fall. You can even be killed by drinking too much water - your organs will drown in the excess liquid 

Our existence is a tiny little fly waiting to be swat at. We move around, avoiding obstacles, but one day our end will come and we'll face that fly swat head on. 

People are people and whether they're young or old or fat or skinny or average or have brown hair or blue hair or green eyes or run or paint or watch lots of TV or like reality cooking shows or want to be a police officer when they're older, their hearts will one day stop beating. No-one can know the exact second that will happen. 

It's taken for granted that most people will live a long and joyous life and be taken away by old age - with the exception of those with cancer, a disease or something that will inevitably end their life sooner than expected. But while cancer and diseases are public, as such, drugs and alcohol are not. 

You can be drinking yourself into oblivion and no-one would know, save for the people close to you. Same goes with drugs. One day you have them and you're fine and the next day you have one too many and you're no longer. 

Which is why it was such a shock to me to hear about Cory Monteith. For those who didn't know who he was, he was an actor, most widely known for his role in Glee as Finn Hudson. He was found dead two days ago in his apartment in Vancouver. No foul play was seen, a drug overdose was suspected. 

I found this on Tumblr and it really rang true. 

It's like an equation. 

Young + healthy = not going to die 

Young + sick = still not going to die, due to young age 

Old + sick = will die. People are already preparing themselves 

Old + sick = mmmh, will die soon. 

It's like a habitual 'draw a line between the two that match'. I mean, young people don't die, do they? That's just totally not a thing. Ludicrous!  We immortalize them, take it for granted that they'll live forever and if they're in a certain TV show/movie/picture book they're be typecast as that character (but, different discussion for a different day). 

R.I.P Cory Monteith 

Ps. 

Kyle Massey (Cory in the House) has cancer 

Zimmerman went free. (quite angry about this)

Day 190: July 11

From the newsdesk:

Blood Donations 

Today I gave blood. 

Yes, it did involve them sticking a needle into my finger (haemoglobin check) and my arm to take the blood out. But you know what? That small prick is a small price to pay when you think about what your blood is doing. 

Your blood (and platelets and plasma if you choose to donate this) are saving people's lives - quite literally. 

In Australia, 1 in 3 people will need donated blood in their lives, while only 1 in 30 donates. Think about that. Think about the people who might die because they're not getting blood. Obviously there are a few exceptions to blood givers - preggers, lived in England around Mad Cow Disease time, Hep C etc - but otherwise there is absolutely no excuse. If you are one of those people who claim to care about humanity so much that you'll do anything to help, now is your chance. 

If you live in Australia, here the number to the Australian Red Cross: 13 14 95, and here is the website: 

Donateblood.com.au

At home after I'd donated blood :)

Day 189: July 1

from the newsdesk:
L PLATES 

This day, the 1st July, 2013, marks the day that I got my L plates. First step to driving on the big roads. I just had to do a 32 question compter-generated test. It took me about 12 minutes. The pass mark was 78% and I got 81%. This means I have to now do 120 hours with a supervising driver, ie. mom/dad/at a driving school and record it all in a log book. Totally OTT, but I suppose that's what makes Australian roads as safe as they are. I'm totally pumped to learn how to drive, but also totally scared. It'll give me a control I've never had before.

On another note: FASHION CRISIS! I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO WEAR TO JASMINE'S (my friend is having a big 16th and I have nothing to wear). HELP!

New favourite song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7Tblv4ZVig
It's such a classic.  

(how punny Lauren).
Oh, wow, I crack myself up.

Day 188: June 27

from the newsdesk...
The Tonys and the brilliance of Neil Patrick Harris 

If you're feeling like shit or you need a laugh or you feel like watching something, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3IpegKvdt0

Ladies and gentlepeople, the opening number to the Tony Awards in New York. It is happy, it is clappy and it is hosted (and sung) by Neil Patrick Harris. For those of you who don't know him (!) he is Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother. It really makes me want to get up and dance and flip and sing and be on Broadway. Unfortunately, I do non of those things, but a girl can dream, right?

9.58pm fact of the day (regarding NPH):
Neil Patrick Harris has this awesome talent of being able to speak/sing really fast. It is displayed in the opening of the Tonys and also in the clip in which he pretty much recaps the whole series plot line of How I Met Your Mother in 60 seconds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCSjcII64FE

Quite impressive.

Day 187: June 17

From the newsdesk...

John Green 

John Green is not a perfect person.* 

But he comes pretty damn close.

His writing. 

It's like a writer married a fairy and then when they had sex the fairy didn't have eggs, but fairy dust and then she got pregnant and John Green was born. 

Pretty much. 

He creates this fictional world that is so good and so real that everything that happens in this fictional world seems like its happening in reality and then attachment occurs. Over the space of 313 pages, Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace and Van Houten and Isaac and everyone became apart of my life. When (SPOLIERS) Augustus died, it was like a bit of my heart had been ripped out. It was like Hazel Grave and Augustus were my best friends and they made the best couple and then he was gone and took a piece of my heart and sanity with him. (SPOILERS ARE OVER FOR NOW, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE THERE'S MORE SPOILING FURTHER ON. I recommend reading the book before continuing). 

John Green's vocabulary is like a long piece of rope. That is, it's extensive. He doesn't use really simple, basic 5 year old language, yet he doesn't use long over the top words that don't need to be there. When needed, simple words are good, but mostly he uses middle-of-the-road words - words that I will understand (most of the time), but they aren't too basic. 

In Fault** he takes you on this long journey: a rollerocoaster ride really, that has ups and downs and twists and loop-de-loops. It never stops moving and there is a new surprise at every turn. When the book ends, it's like a slap in the face. Everything you do feels so inadequate, and it's as if nothing matters anymore. Because five minutes before you were in the ICU with Augustus and hoping with Hazel Grace and then suddenly hope dies and the book ends. The first time I read it, I just lay there, thinking what to do with my life. Not "oh, I'm gonna stop world poverty" thoughts, but the real deep "shit, cancer and disease and what can I do about it?" thoughts. Real life thoughts. 

This is what I sent my friend to get over a John Green novel, aka Fault (I've edited it slightly): 

1. Cry 

2. Cry 

3. Cry 

4. Get angry at cancer 

5. Wish it was gone 

6. Ship Hazel Grace and Gus 5eva 

7. Remember about Gus. 

8. Cry more 

9. Rinse and repeat. 

So you will never get over the novel and the unfairness of the world and the paranoia that your favourite author is also a douchebag alcoholic that hates kids and that maybe someday someone that you know will get cancer and they'll have to live though the pain and the suffering and the agony that it brings and watch it destroy everything and everyone around them. 

->That's the thing about pain. It demands to be felt.  

->Okay? Okay. 

-> I fell in love the way you fall asleep. Slowly and then all at once. 

-> The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves 

-> They don't kill you unless you light one. And I've never lit one. It's a metaphor, see. You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing

-> The world is not a wish-granting factory 

-> My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations 

-> What a slut time is: she screws everybody 

-> Some infinities are bigger than other infinities 

-> I lit up like a Christmas tree, Hazel Grace

-> It'd be a privilege to have my heart broken by you Hazel Grace. 

*one day I will do a list on these. 

*The Fault in Our Stars. The best book written by John Green. Maybe also ever. 

Day 186: June 9/10

From the newsdesk...

Sweet sixteenth 

9 more minutes until the 10th of June, 2013. 

I got a Kindle. Seriously I have the best friends in the entire world. Also, I got.a Rolling Stones clock, Skins, season 3, Typo stationary: notepads, mug and drink bottle, a miniature chick container and small chocolate balls and a bouquet of chuppa-chups. Also a Kindle cover.

It's true. The moment before you turn one age, you finally feel the age from before. 364.5 days late, but you're finally there. 

When you turn an age, adults are like "well, now you have to act like that". Well no. Just because another year has gone by since I was covered in blood and had tubes running out of me, doesn't mean I have to act that age. It doesn't require me to act maturely and read the newspaper every morning and be serious all the time. Some situations may require maturity, but some are just there to be enjoyed and to have fun!! 

11.58pm. 

I'll still probably write 15 years old on any forms and when people ask: "oh, I'm 15". 

It's more mentally knowing that you're a year older than being it physically (is that a thing?) 

It is 12.00am, on the 10th of June, 2013. 

I am officially 16. 

Day 185: June 9

From the newsdesk... 

Partay

I am turning 16 tomorrow. 

What? 

(There will probably be a blogpost on this at 12am tonight/tomorrow morning). 

But tonight is my party. 

16 years of life and fun and tears and laughing and crap days and the best days and music and friends and family and basketball and photos and aeroplanes and food and baking and school and days that you never wanted to end and crutches and daisy and indie and fluffy (rip) and mopsy and fights and exams and tests and trophies and Facebook convos and viber and iMessage and shit teachers and giggles and clothes and movies and sleepovers and moving location at lunch and bomber jackets and good teachers and the canteen and parties and L's and finally being legal to give blood. 

So let's raise a glass to that. (Non-alcoholic because I'm not legal yet). 

To evrrything mentioned above and everything yet to come. *Raises virtual glass*. 

To us experiencing every emotion fifty times over and taking selfies all the time. To us and our friendship and to all the many fights, laughs and brilliant times we'll have in the future. 

To us and our crazy ways and the way we all say the same thing. 

To us for finishing exams. (Only 2 years to go). 

To us being us.

*Clinks glasses together* 

Day 184: June 5

From the newsdesk...

Exams 

And so the countdown begins...

8 hours and 53 minutes. 

All the studying and writing and reading (Mockingbird) and testing myself and learning - it all comes down to the next two days. 

And then it's over. 

You work your ass off for two terms learning four subjects, each of them with their own set of sub-topics, just to get it done and over with in 2 days. 

8 hours 50 minutes...

And then the cycle repeats again. 

Year eleven, here I come! 

But then you have year 12 where there's no mid years and you work for four terms for six exams that literally plan out the next year of your life for you. 

It's weird. 

Half of my brain is saying that I'm prepared and I've learnt what I need and no need to worry and the other half is saying that I don't know enough and I should've looked over this more and that I can't do it. 

Dementor and Hermione's never-ending-beaded bag. 

It's only two days, but it's two days filled with writing down - literally - everything you know, or anything that could be relevant to that subject - on a piece of paper and just hoping for the best. 

8 hours 40 minutes.

I feel like I know my material inside out and upside down (except for physics), but is that enough? 

Day 183: June 2

From the newsdesk...

Crunching the numbers of my life

•8 days till my birthday 

•I am turning 16 

•3.5 days till exams 

•There are 83 McDonald's on the island of Manhattan which is 783km squared or 302.64 square miles. 

•On a scale of 1-never again, I am at never again, regarding "do I ever want to see another text book?"

•In 31 days, we will be at the middle of the year (3rd July) 

•It has been 2 'official days of winter' and so far we've had a thunder storm that rocked the house.

•The time is 8.49am, Sunday morning 

•The goliath birdeater is a spider that lives in the Amazon and can grow up to 30cm wide. Great. 

•My dog weighs about 11kg 

•I woke up at 7.22am this morning 

•They used to sell half gallon drinks (1.89L) at Macca's. Maybe they still do. 

•1/4 lb is 113g 

•When I turn 16, I can donate blood which will potentially save 3 people's lives. 

Day 182: May 31

From the newsdesk...

Storms 

I've found that a lot of people have either a huge hate for storms or a huge love for them. 

I am in between. 

I like the rain bit, because it's soothing and especially when it comes off a tin roof. 

Rain off a hot tin roof.

I also like the lightning - when I'm NOT in water and also when I'm inside - because it's really pretty and it lights up the whole area. It's pretty cool. 

I'm not a huge fan of thunder. Like, I'm not scared of it, it's just that I don't think it's particularly necessary. 

Apparently, neither does my dog. She absolutely hates the thunder and we have to drug her to calm her down. She barks and cries and runs around panting and just generally being pathetic because she doesn't know what to do with herself. 

About 15 minutes ago, we have a massive thunderclap. It sounded like metal on metal or maybe that something was crashing down on the earth. Maybe the car port had fallen? It felt as if the house was shaking, if though it wasn't. 

How cool would storm chasing be as a job? Dangerous and weird, but pretty awesome. 

After lightning comes the thunder. 

ps. I like the name Storm 

Day 181: March 21

From the newsdesk...

Maureen McCarthy

Tonight I listened to and met Maureen McCarthy.

She's an author:
Ganglands
Rose by any other name
Queen Kat, Carmel and St. Jude
Wake up and find me gone

Her new book is called The Convent , and while it's fiction, all the history in the book about the actual (Abbottsford) Convent is true. She told us the original inspiration for this piece was a note she'd written to herself in 1991 - just over 30 years ago.

She had wanted to know more about her mothers childhood in the convent. Why was she there? What was it like? What were the people like? The environment?
(Her mother had lived there from 3 years of age until she was 15 or 16).

Maureen went on to tell us about the convent and how it really was a refuge for girls and their problems. She talked and interviewed many people about the convent and life during that time. Most of them said it was great, but some of them, especially the laundry workers, said it was harsh and horrible.

She read us an excerpt from her new book and then she signed my copy of Rose by any other name

She's one of those people who you just want to be like when you grow up. Not necessarily have her job (although I'd want that too, because being an author would be perf), but her manner and you can see she loves what she does.

That's what I'd like to do. I'd like to have a job or do something that, when I talk to people about it, they can see I'm really enjoying myself. That I absolutely love what I'm doing.

She also had on a matching colour scarf and skirt (and bracelet) and her shoes and stockings went well.

You could see she was passionate about what she did and she wanted to share her passion and joy with others. She wanted other people to experience the pure happiness of books and writing.

So one day, when I write a speech, thanking people for things that need thanking for, mark my words, Maureen McCarthy will be on that list.


Mark my words.

Day 180: March 19

From the newsdesk...
officially marking

Today, the 19th of March, 2013, marks the day my dad has officially run 200 races.

This includes half marathons, 14kms, full marathons, ultra marathons, ultra-ultra marathons and any other distance race that he has done.

He started running about 15 years ago. His 200th race was the Great Ocean Road ultra-marathon, which is 45km long, starting at Lorne and ending at Apollo Bay, running along the Great Ocean Road.

Today he ran it in a time of 3 hours and 31 minutes which is absolutely amazing and crazy, but wow!! (This also beats his last years time of 3.36).

His distance over the last 15 years is just over 32,000 km. he records (pretty much) every race he's done and the distance and the time it took in a log book of his.

Like I do with my books.

His longest race would have to be the Comrades, which is +-90km, from Pietermaritzburg to Kwazulu Ntel (or vice versa) in South Africa. He's done it twice and I think he plans on doing it again next year.

Inspiring.

Life goal?
To run a marathon, or at least a half marathon with my dad.

Day 179: March 14

From the newsdesk...
Time:

(This is something I wrote on the twenty ninth of June, two thousand and twelve, 312 days ago)

Time is the paradox of life. It is fast, yet goes slowly when you're in a very boring board meeting. Time is long, but quite short. It can stretch out for hours; even days on end and it'll feel like a few minutes. Milliseconds, seconds, hours, days, weeks, months and years are how are lives are dictated.

A millisecond won't mean much to an average teenager, but will tell a different story to someone who's just won a silver medal at the Olympic Games.

A second is nothing to a mother, but can be the difference between life and death for a hospital patient.

Time is a mind game. It tricks you, telling you it's been longer or shorter than it actually has. It works in cohorts with the sun, controlling the light in the sky, pretending it's nine o'clock, when in fact it's only seven.

Sometimes the day is too long but when work has got the better of you, you ask the question, "why aren't there more hours in the day?"

Five minutes at the end of a work shift feels like an hour, but to a person at the rear end of their exam, five minutes feels like five seconds.

Time is our enemy, but not using it could be our greatest threat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We, as human beings, rely on time to keep us going. It organises us, it lets us do what we want, while we adhere to the guidelines of 24 hours a day, 60 seconds in a minute and 7 days a week.

We base our questions; our existence, around the very fact of time.
Oh what's the time?
When does the bell go?
17 minutes.
This bakes for 33 minutes.

It's our schedule, it's how we as living, breathing humans keep our lives intact.

Some people love the aspect of time and time-keeping and they're the ones who are always punctual; early even. They check their watch every few seconds and tap their wrists, shake their heads and tap their feet. They want people to know that they're on time and the others are late.

Others hate it. They're late to many things and are always getting yelled at by the clock-people. They're chilled and it doesn't matter if they're 5 minutes late. Clocks are there to glance at, if, at one point, they feel interested in knowing the time. But it's not really an important feature in their lives.

Time is one of the those things that while you hate it, you live it too.

Day 178: May 12

from the newsdesk...
(losing) friend(s) and shopping

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY
(I have no idea where the apostrophe goes and I know there's a rule for this but I always forget the rule).

Okay, so just before I deleted it, there was this huge massive paragraph on me yabbering on about how I'm maybe losing one of my best friends, but then seeing what I'd written showed me that:
1. Maybe I'm overreacting slightly
2. I'm probably feeling sorry for myself
3. I'll let it pan out and see what happens
4. If it gets worse, I'll talk to her.
5. Writing things pretty much always clears my head
6. We can work through this
7. I need to write more clearly

Shopping.
A young girls dream to shop for hours and hours, finding the perfect dress and shoes and trying on t-shirts and high heels and then posting the photos on Instgram.
So apparently you haven't met you.
I hate shopping.
Its so tiresome and boring and tedious and everything is either too big or too small or the wrong shade and then you see people you know and then its like "do i wave or do i ignore them or do i say hey or what?" If you go with someone, they're super critical and then you can't decide whether you want something or not and then you take it home and you don't like it. But if you go alone, there's no advice and you need that extra bit of motivation.
I'm also really fussy and things have to be a particular way in a shape or form or there's not way I'm wearing THAT. Velvet is out of bounds and I have a strong distaste for feathers or any other animal bi-'products' like faux fur etc. I don't wear sparkles (maybe minimal sometimes) and ruffles and fluffles are a no-no. I don't like tight tops and I wear shorts pretty much all year round. V-necks are weird and sometimes half of something first, but not the other half.
I have recently discovered online shopping, but I still haven't decided whether I like it or not. I mean, its pretty and you can see the clothes without trying them on, but that's the problem: you can't try them on. Yes, you can send it back, but really?


 

Day 177: May 7

from the newsdesk...
life choices

Hello and welcome back to the show.

Tonight, I discussed my uni/my course/my year 11/12 subject selections with my parents (after about half an hour of searching for the envelope with the information needed and then not finding it, but then starting anyway and then my mom finding it after she went to check again, 'just in case'. seriously, mothers and their voodoo finding powers).

So what are you going to be when you grow up?

Even though you finish school in 2 years and these subject selections are only for next year, we would like you to pick your subject selections RIGHT NOW, THIS MINUTE so you are READY and PREPARED for the future. Thanks for not stressing and also, just to let you know, we aren't trying to put pressure on you - its not like we want you to pick your subjects 6 months to 1.5 years in advance. Thank you for your patience. Oh and on one last note, even though THESE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS, you can always change your mind at any time, even though NOT REALLY.

Currently, these are my subjects:
1. Maths (normal)
2. Science (general)
3. PE
4. Geography (1/2)
5. Film Studies (elective)
6. 3D studies (elective)
7. English (normal)

In August of this year, we have to pick our subjects for the next two years. Oh the fun of school. Now there are two things I'm positive about:
First, Edward was a vampire. And second, there was a part of him - and I don't know how dominant that part might be - that thirsted for my blood. And thir- oh, shit wrong thing.

There are two things I'm certain about:
1. ENGLISH (YOU HAVE TO DO THIS)
2. Maths (you don't HAVE to do this, but I really think that I should).
Things that I should maybe do NEXT YEAR, AS IN YEAR 11:
1. Geography 3/4
2. Studio 3/4 (year 12 art)
3. Biology
4. Maybe media
5. And if not media, another subject

Potential (HA) uni courses/jobs etc:
1. Vet
2. Doctor
3. Advertising
4. Zoology/ Animal Science
5. Event Management
6. Lawyer
7. Journalism
8. Arts of some sort
9. Maybe a double degree

Things I don't want to be/NO:
1. Teacher (of any sort)
2. Accountant
3. Things with numbers

So I have pretty much no idea what I what to do/be. Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, spy. Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.

Like every other person that lives on this planet, I have my strengths and weaknesses. But do I work AGAINST my strengths and FOR my weaknesses? Or FOR my strengths and AGAINST my weaknesses? Or AGAINST both? Or FOR both?

Life questions.

In a perfect world, full of perfect things, I probably be a lawyer. 98.15 or 99.15 ATAR score. I would do a double degree in arts/law and be out in 5 years. I would either travel before or after or maybe take a semester off. I would do an exchange in a foreign, ENGLISH speaking country (because I don't speak anything else), BUT AS ITS A PERFECT WORLD, I would go to France on exchange, learn French there and then GO AND VOLUNTEER somewhere for 4.5 months. I would come back to Melbourne and complete my degree. I would do FAMILY LAW, which would focus on kids and foster and divorces and families etc. I would FIGHT FOR JUSTICE and yada yada, great life etc.

But as the genie isn't real, I most likely wouldn't get 98.15 +, I have to think of something else. I mean, that could be my goal. I could transfer. Teachers/people are always crapping on about 'the back door' or to get in another way.

But I would HATE hate to spend 5 years on something and then hate it when I'm finished.

Thats where a shorter degree/course would be handy. Anything creative - event management, journalism, arts etc - all have shorter degrees.

OMG I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO AND IT'S LIKE 3 MONTHS AWAY WHICH IS AGES AND SCHOOL IS (NOT) PUTTING PRESSURE ON US. BUT THEY ARE AND I DON'T WANT TO JUST 'PICK GENERAL SUBJECTS' BECAUSE THATS ANNOYING AND I NEED ONE MORE SUBJECT AND HELP.

But there's also this zoology course that's 3 years (or maybe 4) and I've wanted to be a vet since I was young, and zoology isn't vet science, but its a less long and less hard version of it and it sounds really good and interesting but then what about THE OTHER THINGS?