The end of an era

When I first started blogging back in 2009, I did so with the intention that only my family and real life friends would be reading it. I figured blogging was an easy way to avoid having the exact same "So, how's Canberra?" conversation five times a week.

As is usually the way, writing a blog leads to reading dozens and dozens of other blogs. Somewhere along the way, I stumbled across Rachael King's blog. And that led to a whole group of other blogs. And they all had one thing on common: they were all members of a website called 20Something Bloggers.

So, after some further investigation and a small case of "oh God, what am I doing??", I signed up. And it changed my life forever. The forums were equal parts hilarious, feelsy and ridiculous. The chat was...usually pretty dead at times I was able to hang out in there, but it was still hilarious and over the top and brilliant.

When 20SB announced that they were holding a summit in Chicago about two weeks before I was planning on going to the US in 2011, I made the rather rash and spontaneous decision to change my plans and go. To a city where I knew no one. To attend a summit with a bunch of people I'd never met before. I didn't even know if anyone I knew was actually going to go, but I took the chance anyway.

And sure, it was nerve wracking. And sure, I basically spent half of the cocktail party sitting in a corner in terror. But it was so, so worth it.

So many of my best friends came out of the 20SB community. People that I talk to every day. People that I collaborate with every day. People whose faces I get to see on a daily basis every August. People who understand. People who are there when I need someone to talk to. People who send me ridiculous emails and text messages and tweets. People in countries all over the world who I can't live without.

Tomorrow, the 20SB community is closing down. And though I haven't been active there since I turned 30, I'll miss it enormously. So here's to us, 20SBers. Life may not have always been easy, but we've had each other's backs the whole way. And I'm grateful for each and every one of you.

Except that girl who cheated me out of a chicken trophy. I hope she stands on a Lego*.

K xx


*What? No, I'm not even remotely bitter about something that happened three years ago........

TTT - Books I Want to Reread (but am restraining myself over)

It's time to link up with the Broke and the Bookish again!

Today's topic is technically just "books I want to reread", but I've been working on doing a lot of rereading this year because I really want to end up that I've written reviews for all the books I have marked as read on Goodreads. Which basically means that I've been working on rereading books that I haven't read in a million years. This means the books I love and have read over and over in the past are languishing by the wayside. BUT I CAN'T READ THEM AGAIN BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAVE REVIEWS, DAMMIT. 

You see my dilemma. 

So I changed this week's topic a little to be the books I've already reviewed (and, in some cases, already read this year!) but still really want to read again.

1. Persuasion - Jane Austen

My favourite Austen book forever and ever and ever. I usually read it annually, but not this year. I'm planning on rereading and reviewing Northanger Abbey before the end of the year, so poor old Persuasion has fallen by the wayside. Womp womp.

2. Carpe Jugulum - Terry Pratchett

Hands down my favourite Pratchett book. The characters are amazing, the story is phenomenal, and my copy is signed. But I have so many unreviewed Pratchett books to get through before I can reread this. Sigh.

3. The Parasol Protectorate series - Gail Carriger

Oh my God, I adore everything about this series. And I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally want to reread them all. For the meantime, I'm surviving on the Finishing School series, and the endless wait for the Custard Protocol series. 

4. Attachments - Rainbow Rowell

I've already read this once this year, so I should have had my fill of this one. But nope. Never. Must read again ASAP. 

5. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

This one falls into the same category as Persuasion. It's been a favourite since I first had to read it for school in 1998, and I tend to reread it every year. But this year, there are far too many other things to reread to make time for Jane. Especially when I need to reread Villette and The Professor! 

6. Fairwil - Alysia Gray Painter

Technically, this one isn't even out yet. I beta read it for Alysia earlier in the year, and I WANT TO READ IT AGAIN SO BADLY BECAUSE IT WAS SO STINKING CUTE AND FEELSY AND I LOVE ALL THE CHARACTERS SO MUCH. You and me have a date on New Year's Day, book. 

7. The Throne of Glass series - Sarah J. Maas

I've read all of the books in this series so far this year, and yet I want to read them again and again and again. I foresee a full series reread before book 4 comes out next year.

8. Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein

I really want to reread this one, because I loved it so, so much. But I'm not sure my feels could take it. Not without massive doses of medicinal ice cream, anyway.

9. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

This has been a really polarising book for so many people, and I really want to reread it when I'm not on a plane/jetlagged to see if my opinion of it changes. I also want to reread it having seen the film and compare the two. 

10. The Chaos Walking trilogy - Patrick Ness

I tend to forget that I even own these books, because they're somewhere in the depths of my Kindle. But mostly I think I'm holding off on these ones because I'm not quite sure I can cope with reading about certain events again (MANCHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE).

Are you holding off on rereading anything?

K xx

The best books of 2014 to date

So last night, the lovely Cait from The Notebook Sisters wrote a post about her best books that have been published in 2014 to date. I contemplated writing a thesis length comment in response, but ultimately decided that it was easier just to write a blog post of my own!

So here you have my published-so-far-in-2014 top ten!

1. Fairwil - Alysia Gray Painter

Okay, this one is kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind of cheating because it hasn't officially been published yet. But I beta-read it for Alysia, and OH MY GOD IT WAS SO FREAKING GOOD THAT I HAVE NO WORDS. It was the cutest, most squee-worthy thing ever, and I actually reached the point where my comments on the manuscript stopped being creative or helpful and were just links to gifs of Jeremy Renner bouncing excitedly in his chair.

Yup. That's the one.

2. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet - Bernie Su and Kate Rorick

Okay, as a fan of the Youtube series, I was always going to love this book. And I think that it works very much as a companion to the videos, rather than as a stand-alone thing. But oh my God, I just loved it so much. There were so many little moments that we didn't get to see on camera that we got in the book, and so many characters - particularly Mr and Mrs Bennet - came into their own on the page.

3. The Assassin's Blade - Sarah J. Maas

I was honestly surprised that I loved a collection of short stories/novellas as much as I loved this. The stories all flowed together really wonderfully, and Celaena's backstory was incredible even when the reader knows exactly how things are going to end from the very first page.

4. Pointe - Brandy Colbert

This book was so dark and so creepy in a totally realistic way. It was really hard to read because of all the ick-tastic implications of the story, but it was so brilliantly written and Theo is such a wonderfully flawed character that despite how difficult it was to read, I couldn't put it down.

5. Since You've Been Gone - Morgan Matson

Admittedly, this one will leave you singing that irritating Kelly Clarkson song on an endless loop every single time you look at the cover, but it's totally worth it. The lists and the playlists and the best friend feels and the general adorableness of it all made it the perfect summer read. Even though I read it in the middle of winter. WHATEVER, I DO WHAT I WANT.

6. Cop Town - Karin Slaughter

I talked in depth about this one earlier in the week, so I won't go into too much detail here. It's hard to read at times because of the incredible amounts of prejudice shown towards pretty much EVERYONE EVER. But it's such a compelling story and features two awesome protagonists. Totally worth the read.

7. We Were Liars - E. Lockhart

I guessed the big plot twist in this story really early on in the piece, because I'm just that good. (I'm kidding. Mostly...) But it was still an incredible story. It's a really quick read, and the writing is quite choppy which I know has turned a lot of people off. But even if you guess the big twist, you don't know the how or the when or the why. Plus, how often do you get a book where the protagonist is totally unreliable and you know it from the get go??

8. The Impossible Knife of Memory - Laurie Halse Anderson

2014 seems to be my year for Reading Books About Real Life Problems. I read this one back in January, and it's stuck with me pretty well to date. It's such a heart-wrenching story and you can't help but have All The Feels for Hayley and her deeply problematic homelife. Definitely not one to read if you're in the mood for light and fluffy happy things, but still well worth reading.

9. Cress - Marissa Meyer

I love The Lunar Chronicles so much, I really do. The way Meyer ties the three stories together is really fantastic, and the relationship between Cress and Thorne is possibly my favourite to date. I read this in February, and I'm STILL not okay with how long I have to wait for the final installment of the series. I JUST WANT IT NOW, DAMMIT!!

10. The Gospel of Loki - Joanne Harris

How can you not love a retelling of the Norse legends from the perspective of a sassy yet massively unreliable narrator?? Loki is a fabulous character, and I loved everything about him in this delightful series of tales. The writing was gorgeous, and despite the fact that I'm totally not the type to highlight passages to go back to, I found myself doing so time and time again in this book (on my Kindle, it's okay).

What are the best books you've read that have been published this year?

K xx

Movie Monday: The Fault in Our Stars

Okay, y'all. It's been out for a couple of weeks now and most people who are going to see it have done so. So let's talk about TFiOS, shall we?

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What I loved:
- Pretty much everything.
- The script. So much of it was lifted directly from the book and it worked really well.
- Nat Wolff. Holy crap, he stole the show in every scene he was in.
- Laura Dern and Sam Trammell. You got a far better sense of how Hazel's illness effected their daily lives on screen.

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- Cannulas and oxygen tanks and artificial limbs all over the place! OH HAI, VISIBLE DISABILITIES!
- It was one of the most authentic-to-the-book adaptations I've ever seen.

What I wasn't expecting:
- How funny it was. Sure, the book has its funny moments. And I think part of my surprise about the humour of the movie was that it had been a couple of years since I'd last read the book. But the movie was
FUNNY. And not just one or two funny moments. Like, at least half the movie was funny.

This was way funnier than it should have been. Source

- Which moment would actually tip me over the edge into crying. I'd teared up a few times before then, but Isaac's eulogy was what threw me into the full on ugly cry.
- For them to have randomly made Hazel and Gus a year older in the movie than they are in the book. I'm not really sure why they did that, to be honest. But whatever.

What I was a little disappointed about:
- That we didn't get Hazel and Gus brainstorming what to say in the advert for the swingset.
- That we didn't get "Hump the moist cave wall". Admittedly, it would have interrupted the flow of the movie to have that happen after Gus' death. But surely they could have put it in somewhere else??
- "I lit up like a Christmas tree, Hazel Grace". I thought for SURE that moment would make me cry. But no...

SO. What did you guys think? Was it as good as you thought it would be? Did it live up to the hype? I NEED TO KNOOOOOOW.

K xx

YA books that will change your world view

Last weekend, the lovely Cait from Notebook Sisters made a list of 30 YA books that changed her world view, which was, in turn, based on a list on the same topic done by Epic Reads. Cait asked in her post what her readers would add to the list, and rather than writing the world's longest comment, I figured I'd write a blog post about it. And then stuff happened and here we are nearly a week later WHOOPS.

ANYWAY. I've read 12 of Cait's 30 books, and a mere 6 of Epic Reads' 30 books, which is pretty pathetic considering how much I love YA. And I didn't want to give you a list that was filled with books that only half deserved to be on there in my opinion, so I'm topping my list out at 20 books. Because of reasons.

Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
A book that will teach you about friendship and sacrifice. Also a book that will tear your heart out and jump on the pieces.

Tomorrow, When the War Began - John Marsden
Those of us who live in the city are pretty much screwed if there's a war. The country kids? They'll be okay.

Pushing the Limits - Katie McGarry
Seeing things in black and white isn't always a good thing.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
Bravery can come from the least expected places. And friendship can overcome pretty much anything.

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
Love can find you when you least expect it. And sometimes? Your hero is actually an asshat.

The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness
Be grateful that no one can hear your thoughts.

Saving Francesca - Melina Marchetta
The people you thought were your friends can be just as toxic as internet trolls. And the people you thought you'd never EVER be friends with? Can be just the people you need in your life.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
Just because someone doesn't act the way you expect, doesn't mean they're not just as human as you.

Speak - Lauren Halse Armstrong
Sometimes, the things that are the hardest to say? Are the things that need to be said the most.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor
Your exterior can change. It's what's inside that counts. Also, family doesn't end with blood.

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Friendships can be made in the most unlikely of places.

Love and Leftovers - Sarah Tregay
The book that made me realise that maybe poetry isn't as bad as I thought it was.

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
Don't judge people based on surface appearances.

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher
Your words can have consequences you wouldn't even anticipate.

Cinder - Marissa Meyer
What others see as a weakness can actually be your strength.

Divergent - Veronica Roth
Pigeonholing people is bad.

Rose Under Fire - Elizabeth Wein
There were non-Jewish people in concentration camps, and their stories are important too.

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
Sometimes, biting the hand that feeds you gets you an equally shitty hand.

My Life Next Door - Huntley Fitzpatrick
Your parents are human too, did you know?

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver
It's never too late to change.

What YA books have changed your world view?

K xx

TFiOS survival guide

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I saw The Fault in Our Stars tonight, courtesy of Deidre, who got free tickets and wasn't able to go. Everything was all very secretive - we had to hand our phones in at the door, and our bags were searched for other devices capable of recording. Which is understandable, given how much of a BFD this movie is.

Given that it doesn't come out anywhere in the world for at least another week, I'm not going to tell you anything about it, except that it's excellent. Instead, I hereby present you with my essentials for surviving The Fault in Our Stars:

1. Waterproof mascara
Let's be honest: crying during this movie is inevitable. I actually managed to avoid full on crying until way later in the movie than I thought I would, but it's still best to plan ahead. No one wants to make their inevitable hot mess status worse by having giant streaks of mascara all over their face when the house lights come back up!

2. Tissues
See also: point 1. Even if you get through the movie with minimal crying, you'll need tissues at some point. For me? It was right at the end to deal with the inevitable watery snottiness that goes along with crying. For someone near the front of the cinema who sobbed dramatically through approximately 80% of the film, I suspect it was pretty much the whole thing.

3. Water
Crying causes dehydration, yo. Feel free to replace with booze if you're at a cinema that allows that sort of thing. Although you should still have water because booze causes dehydration too.

4. Clothes that won't show the tear marks
Yeah, there was one particular scene (a scene I won't name for fear of spoilers) that tipped me over the edge from tearing up into full blown tears. And due to the fact that I was already teary, the first I knew of the actual crying part was that several tears landed firmly on my shirt. Basically, don't wear anything that you don't want watermarked.

5. A mirror
Whether it's in your handbag or in the bathroom, you should probably check that the waterproof mascara mentioned in point 1 did its job before you head out.

6. Chocolate
It helps with the feels. Trust me.

On a scale from Team Heartless Cow to Uncontrollably Sobbing Girl In The Front Row, how much do you foresee yourself crying during TFiOS?

K xx

TTT - Top Ten Books About Friendship

It's time to link up with the Broke and the Bookish again!

Because, you know, I haven't talked about books NEARLY often enough in the past week, let's talk about books some more! Yes? YES. So. Books about friendship, you say? Let's do this thing. (All images from Goodreads)

1. Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein

I foresee this appearing on a lot of lists today, and with good reason. It was the first book that sprang to mind when I saw the topic, because it's a book about friendship first and foremost, and a book about girls doing awesome and badass stuff in World War II second. You want proof? Boom: "It's like being in love, discovering your best friend."

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling

Look, all the Harry Potter books are about the importance of friendship. But there's one particular moment in Deathly Hallows that, to me, perfectly sums up the friendship between the Golden Trio, and that's the moment after Ron's destroyed the locket in the forest. Ron's on his knees, crying, because the Horcrux knew his deepest darkest fears, and now Harry does too. And Harry just puts a hand on Ron's shoulder and says "She's like my sister. I love her like a sister and I reckon she feels the same way about me. It's always been like that. I thought you knew." He doesn't make a big deal about it, he doesn't try to comfort Ron. He just tells it like it is and lets his best friend know that he's there. 

3. Attachments - Rainbow Rowell

There's something so incredibly REAL about Beth and Jennifer's friendship, even though everything we see of it takes place through email exchanges. There are the random bits of nothingness that you talk about with your best friend as well as the reminiscing, the mutual hatred of certain individuals, the utterly inappropriate moments, and the big things that you can't tell to anyone else. This book is about that friendship as much as it is about Lincoln moving on with his life. 

4. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

To me, there are three distinct things that stand out when I think about this book:

1. Leisel's friendship with Rudi;

2. Leisel's friendship with Max, formed under the most difficult of circumstances; and

3. Leisel's relationship with Hans/Papa, which is more like a friendship a lot of the time.

It shows us that even when things are really bleak, friendships can help you get through it. 

5. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

Sure, this is the story of Hazel and Augustus falling in love. But it's also the story of Isaac losing his girlfriend and his eyes more or less simultaneously. And when he does? Gus is there to help him egg her car. Similarly, Hazel isn't the only one who loses Gus. Isaac loses him too, and his eulogy - albeit delivered with Gus present and making snarky interruptions - sums it up perfectly: "When the scientists of the future show up at my house with robot eyes and they tell me to try them on, I will tell the scientists to screw off, because I do not want to see a world without him."

6. Soulless - Gail Carriger

Sometimes, friends are polar opposites. And often, friends poke fun at each other. While the story between Alexia and Ivy isn't at the heart of Soulless, it's still a fabulous friendship despite the fact that Ivy despairs of Alexia's behaviour and Alexia frequently tells Ivy that her hats are the ugliest things on the face of the earth. Because sometimes? That's what friends do. 

7. Tomorrow, When the War Began series - John Marsden

Yes, I'm counting the entire series here, whatever. This series shows you pretty much every aspect of friendship. The friend who's basically a sibling. The friend you make when you're thrown together unexpectedly. The friendship that slowly ends because one of you isn't the person they used to be. The friend who's willing to sacrifice themselves for the rest of the group. The friend who you can giggle with about silly things at night. Basically? It will give you all the friend feels you could possibly want. 

8. Saving Francesca - Melina Marchetta

Oh, hey. Two Aussie YAs back to back! In this book, Francesca learns that you can find friends in the most unlikely places and with the most unlikely people. Also that friendships can fall by the wayside when you realise that your friends aren't the people you thought they were and that maybe, just maybe, they never really liked you that much to start with. Good thing she's got those new friends to help pick up the pieces...

9. Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor

Even though Zuzana has no idea what the hell is going on with Karou, has no idea where Karou even is, and is caught up in her shiny nauseating love bubble with Mik, she doesn't give up on her friend. She doesn't have to understand everything to do what her friend asks of her, to be there when she's needed. Because sometimes, friendship is about not giving up on people.

10. Redwoodian - Alysia Gray Painter

There's a lot going on in Redwoodian friendship-wise. We get to see the friendship between Fair and Sutton in detail for the first time, and it's adorable. Fair's slowly coming to terms with her shiny new friends and old neighbours, the Overboves, as well as coming to terms with the fact that there might be something more than friendship brewing between her and Gomery. And then her favourite movie star, Prior Yates, is thrown into the mix and she has to deal with the concept of being friends with the man who is absolutely nothing like she'd imagined him to be. Fabulousness. 

What books would you put on your list?

K xx

TTT - Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry

It's time to link up with the Broke and the Bookish again!

Today's topic: Top ten books that will make you cry.

I'm not much of a crier when it comes to books. Movies? Yup. TV shows? In a heartbeat, despite the long running joke over on Snark Squad that I'm the leader of Team Heartless Cow. Hell, I watched that Superbowl Budweiser ad with the puppies this morning and cried like a lunatic. But books? It's a pretty short list. Ten, to be precise. How very convenient!

1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I see this book featuring on a lot of lists. I think I'm quite lucky in that I finished reading this on public transport, and I didn't have any tissues with me so I knew I had to keep it together so that I didn't have to explain to some helpful old lady that I was crying over fictional characters. I expect I'll ugly cry much harder when I reread it sometimes before early June.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
This was the first book that ever made me cry. I made it through Godric's Hollow unscathed. Through Snape and Lupin and Tonks and Dobby. But Fred Weasley? That tipped me over the edge and I ugly cried for the rest of the book.

3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Oh man, the crying that happened during this book.

4. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Way to tear my heart out and rip it into little pieces, Wein. Same goes for the sort-of sequel, Rose Under Fire. A different kind of ugly crying, but it was still there.

5. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
There are no words. How could a book this short cause so many emotions??

6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Even just reading the blurb, I knew this one wasn't going to end well for my tear ducts.

7. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
I met someone recently who hadn't read the books and was insanely excited about the Mockingjay movies. Meanwhile, those of us who've read the book are secretly hoping that certain things get dramatically changed.

8. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
I HATED this book as a child, but having reread it as an adult, I suspect that's because it made me feel all the feels but I was too young to process them. (The same theory applies to Child!Kirsti's hatred of Charlotte's Web and The Velveteen Rabbit)

9. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
I wouldn't have thought this would make me teary, given that we know right from the start that there's only one possible ending to this book. AND YET.

10. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
For the most part, this made me cry with laughter. But there were moments of seriousness when I got a little teary for entirely different reasons.

What books have made you cry?

K xx

Movie Monday: Moulin Rouge

So my uterus tried to persuade me to watch Schindler's List, The Shawshank Redemption, Gladiator and the end of Doctor Who season 2 this weekend. Considering all of the above make me ugly cry like a maniac, and this only makes me ugly cry like a deranged hormonal lunatic, we compromised and went with this:

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Joking aside, I do love the absolute crap out of this movie. And if I could stop it at a certain point and pretend the ending never happens, I totally would.

Reasons why Moulin Rouge is awesome:
1. Ewan McGregor.

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2. The costumes. It totally deserved that Oscar.
3. Nicole Kidman.
4. The music. From Queen to Nirvana to David Bowie to Sting to Madonna to KISS to Elton John, all in the one movie? I mean, come on. That's freaking awesome.
5. Jim Broadbent. He's phenomenal.

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6. It's Baz Luhrmann.
7. The random cameo by Tara Morice at the start. (She played Fran in Strictly Ballroom)
8. Oh my God, ALL THE FEELS.
9. Actual historical figures as characters. What up, Toulouse-Lautrec?

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10. Kylie Minogue as the Green Fairy.
11. Caroline O'Connor.
12. The elephant.
13. Satine's entrance on the trapeze.

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14. The "Like a Virgin" scene. HILAR.
15. Consumption. What can I say, I'm a history nerd...
16. Tom Baker-esque scarves. This is especially awesome, as apparently the Fourth Doctor's scarf was inspired by a Toulouse-Lautrec painting.

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17. Christian's confusion while trying to read Satine poetry.
18. Richard Roxburgh. Even though about half his acting is with his hair...
19. That tango.


20. The sets. They're incredible.
21. John Leguizamo. He's phenomenal, and needed a bunch of physical therapy after they finished filming from spending the entire movie crouching down.

Plus, the following quotes:
- "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."
- "What's his type? Wilting flower? Bright and bubbly? Or smoldering temptress?" "I'd say... smoldering temptress."
- "Christian, you may see me only as a drunken, vice-ridden gnome whose friends are just pimps and girls from the brothels. But I know about art and love, if only because I long for it with every fibre of my being."
- "Use your talent to save him! Hurt him, Satine. Hurt him to save him. There is no other way. The show must go on. We are creatures of the underworld. We can't afford to love."
- "Oh no. I forgot my line."
- "You're going to be bad for business. I can tell."
- "A little supper? Maybe some champagne?" "I'd rather, um, just get it over and done with." "Hmph. Oh. Very well. Then why don't you come down here and let's get it over and done with." "I prefer to do it standing." "Oh." "You don't have to stand, I mean. It's sometimes that... It's quite long and I'd like you to be comfortable. It's quite modern what I do and it may feel a little strange at first, but I think, if you're open, then you might enjoy it."
- "Then I'll write a song and we'll put it in the show and whenever you sing it or hear it. Or whistle or hum it then you'll know. It'll mean that we love one another."
- "It's not that I'm not a jealous man. I just don't like other people TOUCHING MY THINGS."
- "Please tell me you're not one of Toulouse's oh so talented, charmingly bohemian, tragically impoverished writers?"
- "Luckily, right at that moment, an unconscious Argentinean fell through my roof. He was quickly joined by a dwarf dressed as a nun."

So. How many ugly cries does it make you cry?

K xx

Movie Monday: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Oh, hai, Monday. You sure snuck up out of nowhere... I spent a chunk of yesterday going "I don't know what to waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatch...", and generally failing to come up with any ideas. So I went and stared at my DVD collection until something jumped out at me. Not literally. That would be weird. Anyway, I realised that it'd been a couple of years since I last watched this, and NO. NOT ACCEPTABLE. REWATCH IMMEDIATELY.

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Reasons why Breakfast at Tiffany's is awesome:
1. Audrey Hepburn. She's phenomenal.

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2. The soundtrack.
3. George Peppard.
4. Getting things engraved at Tiffany's for less than $10.
5. Cat. He's quite possibly my favourite movie feline.

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6. The fashion.
7. The complete awkwardness of Mickey Rooney playing Mr. Yunioshi. It's both indescribably offensive and something the movie wouldn't be the same without.
8. Holly's earplugs. They're brilliant.

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9. Whistling for a taxi.
10. Doc Golightly.
11. Accidentally setting ugly hats on fire with cigarettes.
12. Holly's face when Rusty Trawler, the ninth richest man in America, turns up at her party.

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13. Sally Tomato and his ridiculous "weather" reports.
14. The jewellery at Tiffany's.
15. "Moon River".


16. Sterling silver telephone dialers.
17. Card catalogues.
18. The scene where Holly's searching for Cat in the rain. Makes me ugly cry every time.

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19. Exploding pressure cookers.
20. That poster! It's so iconic.

Plus, the following quotes:
- "He's all right! Aren't you, cat? Poor cat! Poor slob! Poor slob without a name! The way I see it I haven't got the right to give him one. We don't belong to each other. We just took up one day by the river. I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I'm not sure where that is but I know what it is like. It's like Tiffany's." "Tiffany's? You mean the jewellery store." "That's right. I'm just CRAZY about Tiffany's!"

- "There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl's complexion."
- "Thursday! It can't be! It's too gruesome!" "What's so gruesome about Thursday?" "Nothing, except I can never remember when it's coming up."
- "You know those days when you get the mean reds?" "The mean reds, you mean like the blues?" "No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?" "Sure." "Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!"
- "You could always tell what kind of a person a man thinks you are by the earrings he gives you. I must say, the mind reels."
- "I don't think I've ever drunk champagne before breakfast before. With breakfast on several occasions, but never before, before."
- "I always thought it was a ridiculous name for a prison. Sing Sing, I mean. Sounds more like it should be an opera house or something."
- "They're not the kind of stories you can really tell." "Too dirty?" "Yeah, I suppose they're dirty, too, but only incidentally. Mainly they're angry, sensitive, intensely felt, and that dirtiest of all dirty words - promising. Or so said The Times Book Review, October 1, 1956."
- "And I always heard people in New York never get to know their neighbours."
- "We could have something engraved, couldn't we?" "Yes, I suppose so, yes indeed... the only problem is you would more or less have to buy something first if only in order to have some object upon which to place the engraving... You see the difficulty..." "Well, uh...we could have this engraved, couldn't we? I think it would be very smart." "This, I take it, was not purchased at Tiffany's?" "No, actually it was purchased concurrent with, uh, well, actually, came inside of...well, a box of Cracker Jack." "I see... Do they still really have prizes in Cracker Jack boxes?" "Oh yes." "That's nice to know... It gives one a feeling of solidarity, almost of continuity with the past, that sort of thing."
- "I'm going to march you to the zoo and feed you to the YAK. Just as soon as I finish this drink."
- "You know what's wrong with you, Miss Whoever-you-are? You're chicken, you've got no guts. You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, "Okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness." You call yourself a free spirit, a 'wild thing,' and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you're already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it's not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It's wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself."

Is there a more pathetic sight in the world than a cat that's been left in the rain? If so, please tell me what it is.

K xx

On internet friendships

(I was originally planning on writing this for my 400th post, which is coming up very soon. But I'm feeling extra schmaltzy this evening, so you get it now instead!) 

When you're a blogger, there are certain things that you get used to. It becomes perfectly normal to share stories of public humiliation or total heartbreak on the internet. You become adept at becoming insta-friends with a person you've known for months/years online but never met before RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND. Mentioning blogs and Twitter in everyday conversation becomes second nature. And you sigh when people tell you that you can't possibly form real friendships with people on the internet. Because those people aren't real, and they could be ANYBODY, and how could you possibly know them?

I call bullshit. Yes, it's true that online friendships aren't the same. You can't turn up at the house of an internet friend with booze and chocolate when they're having a crappy day or going through a break up. You can't attend birthdays, weddings, or baby showers. You can't go to the movies with them, because (at least in my experience) they live on the other side of the world.

But this doesn't mean that you can't have real friendships with them. I've had people say to me that my internet friends can't possibly know me as well as my "real" friends. To them I say this: You're exactly right. In some cases, they know me better. And so I want to say thank you to them.

To Kat, who was willing to sign up to spend a week in Thailand with me and meet me for the first time at the airport. And who was willing to visit a millionty museums with me in the US. Where's our next trip going to be to??

To Lor and Sweeney. An hour hanging out at the 20SB cocktail party in Chicago, and we were being force fed chunks of ice cream sandwich by a bouncer, and being asked "What time do the panties come off?" by a crazy man on the street. You can't get much more real than that. We'll always have mac and bonfire!

To Deidre, who knew me well enough after an hour-long lunch to suggest ongoing Dessert Days, and who agrees with me that Bill Pullman's hair deserves equal credit in his movies.

To Gina, who shares my love of books and movies, and always has the time to have a conversation on Twitter or Facebook or via email, even though she's raising three kids and doing a Masters.

To Alice, who just plain *gets it*. All of it.

To Kim, who turned my "something fun and kind of bluey-greeny. Hey, that reminds me of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey and now my brain's in a David Tennant place, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, DOCTOR WHO IS AWESOME!!!!!" instructions into the amazingly perfect design you see on my little corner of the interwebs. And who knows me well enough to know when I'll get on with her friends like a house on fire, as happened when I met up with Caro this afternoon. 

To Pink Gingham Girl, who shares my love of Pacey Witter Dawson's Creek.

To Lauren, who was willing to take me on my word that I wasn't an axe murderer, and drive from New York to Boston with me.

To Emmy, with whom I can squee about Broadway musicals, and who was willing to jump on the Doctor Who train so that she'd know what the Hell the rest of us were talking about. 

To Tim, for having the world's most amazing stories and for being America's Greatest Ambassador.

And to my BFF, Nikki, without whom I would have no one to rant to about the dramas of grad school, public transport, and Spooks. 

I'm enormously grateful to have each and every one of you in my life. I love you guys like whoa. <3

</schmaltz>
K xx

The end of an era

First thing this morning, my BFF Sara sent me the link for this:


Now, I don't know about you guys, but within about 40 seconds of hitting the play button, I had tears streaming down my face. By the time it finished, I was a wreck. God help us all when it comes out next month. I foresee going through an entire box of tissues and being mocked for all eternity by whoever I see it with.

I was thinking about it later, and realised that I've been reading about Harry, Ron and Hermione for almost half my life. I first read Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets in October 1998 on a flight from London to Melbourne. A family friend that we'd been visiting in the UK had been raving about them, so - as a teacher - Mum jumped on anything that would encourage kids to read. She handed them to me at the airport (she was staying on longer), and told me to let her know what I thought when she got home.

Usually, a flight from London to Melbourne is absolute torture - 24 hours trapped in a metal tube filled with strangers, eating sucky food and watching crappy movies. But I only remember two things from that flight:
1. Em spilling honey and lemon cough syrup all over my jeans and my sleeve sticking to it for the rest of the flight; and
2. Not wanting to stop reading long enough to eat or sleep.

I think Mum was kind of surprised by how much I gushed over them when she arrived home. New Harry Potter books always seemed to be released about three days before my brother C's birthday, so for years, I would buy the book (read: send my mum to buy the book because I was in high school...) and spend the next few days sneakily reading it while my brother was out/playing sport/still asleep, all without bending the spine so that he wouldn't know I'd read it. (Turns out, he always knew... So much for stealthiness!)

So the books have been a part of my life for almost thirteen years now. And the movies have been a part of my life for ten years. For thirteen years, there's always been something Potter-related to look forward to, whether it was the next book or the next movie. But now? It's all about to end.

I cried when I finished high school, and that was only six years. All things considered? I think I'm allowed to turn into an emotional trainwreck.

Who else is going to be a disaster zone on July 15th? Please tell me I'm not the only one..........

K xx

It's a nice day for a white wedding

And it was - Sunday turned out to not be cloudy with showers as predicted earlier in the week, but sunny and warm. I'm not sure the groomsmen appreciated the "warm" part, considering they had to stand around at the altar for 20 minutes before the ceremony even started, but the rest of us sure did!

Anyway, to start at the beginning, I went out to the venue for a little "here's where you stand when" session on Saturday morning - the rehearsal was Thursday night, and I didn't get to Melbourne until Friday lunchtime. That was all pretty straight forward, although I wasn't particularly thrilled to learn that I was the first one to walk down the aisle - it caused me some degree of stress relating to how fast to walk and exactly how far over I needed to stand... Then Saturday afternoon, we went for mani-pedis. I begged and grovelled for them to please not touch my cuticles, which they seemed very perplexed by. The woman kept stopping in between every step and going "NO cuticles??" with a really confused look on her face.

Here are the nails:

Oh, and I neglected to wear thongs/flip-flips/jandals (I think that covers all possible confused readerships?), which meant I was given a pair of these to go home in so as not to ruin my freshly painted toenails:

The carpet they're on is dark green. That's how bright they are...

Classy, no?

The ceremony wasn't until 4.30 on Sunday afternoon, but I was up and at 'em ("Up and at them" "No! 'Up and atom!'" Aaah, The Simpsons. Always applicable...) by 7.30. We started the day with croissants and fruit before the hair and make up side of things kicked in at 11.00. That finished just in time for me to lace Em into her dress before the photographer arrived at 2.00. Then it was a whole lot of having photos taken in every possible permutation of bridesmaids before the car arrived at 3.15.

Yes, that's a stretched Rolls Royce

Then it was a 45 minute drive out to the Dandenongs (and let me tell you, riding backwards in a limo in the Dandenongs is not especially fun...) to the reception centre. The ceremony was gorgeous (apparently I walked down the aisle rather faster than was necessary, but oh well!) - Matt teared up during his vows, which made all the groomsmen cry, which made all the bridesmaids cry... The only downside was that I was standing on grass and my heels kept sinking, so I was slightly terrified that I'd suddenly pitch over backwards! But thankfully, I escaped unscathed, and the ceremony went off without a hitch (besides the celebrant calling me Kristy.............).

Obligatory photo of me in my dress

After the ceremony, it was a world of photo taking. The photographer made Em and Matt stand still, while the rest of us had to run around them in circles. It was FAR to strenuous an activity to do in 6cm heels. Especially when the running was followed by shots where we had to jump in the air, Toyota advertisement style...

The reception seemed to go very quickly, and I didn't cry or throw up during my speech - definitely a plus I think! The food was really nice, and it finished up with a dessert buffet. Total genius. Mini desserts = getting to try one of everything. And not feeling guilty about trying one of everything!

Mmmm... Lemon tart, chocolate tart and berry ice cream

Then it was all over - I avoided the bouquet toss (sorry Em, I know you're probably disappointed in me!), and didn't put my piece of wedding cake under my pillow (seriously, who came up with that tradition??). So, congratulations to my beautiful, wonderful friends Em and Matt - I love you to death and you deserve every happiness that life has to offer!

K xx

Misery rant - read at your own risk...

My least favourite thing about Canberra? The periodic bouts of loneliness and homesickness that I seem to get since I moved up here. I've lived a lot of places in my twenty seven years, but there's always been a support network to fall back on. Up here? Not so much. Sure, I have friends up here. But for the most part, they're people I work with. And me in one of these bouts is not something I want to force on anyone who's only known me for a year.

Every couple of months, I seem to get hit by a wave of it. I end up feeling like I could disappear and no one would even notice I was gone. Like I'm going through the motions. Like I'm a spectator in my own life. Like everyone else knows what the hell is going on, and I'm still messing about in the shallow end of the pool with my floaties on. Like there's a tiny marionette Kim Jong-Il in my head singing "I'm Ronery" (ironically, Team America is on TV tonight...). Like the only thing that will help is getting on a plane to Melbourne and never coming back. And then suddenly, inexplicably, I'll be fine again. For a while, at least.

This time? I think it's partly exhaustion. Work has been crazy lately. And I've been having bizarre, disturbing dreams, which generally result in waking up feeling like I've run a marathon. I'm also blaming the weather. Canberra is sunny. All. The. Time. I'm a Melbourne girl. This much sunshine isn't natural... And the hayfever. Oh, God, the hayfever... (I only get hayfever in Canberra. And it just about kills me every year...)

This time though? I've made a decision, which I may or may not stick to. But at this stage, my decision is this - when the project is over next year? Yeah, I'm getting the hell out of Dodge and moving back to Melbourne. Because I don't think I can stand it any longer than that...

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to watch the 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' literal video again. Because if anything can make me suck it up and stop being a miserable whiner, it's that.

K xx