i'm a monkey

2008-09-20T14:42:00.000+08:00

woo-hoo.. me on bumble bee!

constant craving

2008-05-05T15:42:00.002+08:00

aaahh fresh air, cold face, warm feet, hot coffee, smokey clothes, salty hair, sandy toes.
one night there was even a bandicoot.

days gone by

2007-06-23T15:17:00.000+08:00

today, my first day off in 15 days. i slept until midday.
the last few weeks have held many sleepless nights, wearing the same clothes, not going home for days, non brushed teeth, sore sore muscles, seeing the sun rise, talking nonsense, being totally oblivious to whats going on outside and being completely and utterly over it.

today, i am trying to do all those things which have been left aside... washing, sweeping, shopping, sleeping, sitting down, watching saturday tv, returning phone calls....
emma: yes please can we sit on the beach very soon..
pops: yes yes to a swim and maybe even a spa?
fe: hi :) i will read your blog next..

soon, matty will be here to drink coffee on the porch..
soon, fabi will have a son..
soon, stevo will be home so i can take him out to celebrate him finishing uni..
soon, i want to see you all.. i miss you

my porch is always open for endless pots of tea...

2007-06-09T13:55:00.000+08:00

i have been thrown into the guts of fulltime work. 9-5 .. with half an hour for lunch. most days i sit out on the grass with a takeaway cup of soup and a bit of yummy toasted turkish bread. there are magpies out on the grass, one who pretends to be all the other birds in the neighbourhood. she sings and sings, just to me, to show me how clever she is to be able to sound like a kookaburra or a mudlark. i am so impressed that i give her some of my bread. for those moments my head is still, content.. what more could i ask for?
but when its not lunch time, my head is full, overflowing with bits and pieces... so much that i hardly even see the people that walk through the door to look at the art. it's good, i am learning so much about how a gallery works, what makes it tick. maybe even some secrets.
i don't know why people work full time though. it consumes your life. when i try to sleep, i am thinking of tomorrow. when i am driving i am thinking of all the things i have forgotten. and now, on the weekend when its sunny and theres time for the beach i am thinking of monday and who i need to call.

so, i will go to the markets and stock up for the week ahead and look forward to seeing my magpie friend.

2007-05-26T17:43:00.000+08:00

thats all.. for now....

farewell speedy

2007-03-05T16:50:00.000+09:00

it is the beginning of a new strange era. an era without speedy. i finally decided that speedy deserved a lot more love and attention and mechanical knowledge and rust removal knowledge than i could offer. so i put an ad in the quokka and recieved so many calls that i almost had second thoughts. but it was all over so quick that before i realised what was happening speedy had driven a round the corner by its new owner.... who is gonna turn her into a racing car!! what she always wanted to be.
so now it an era of blu bottle the sky wagon. so far a pretty good replacement.

this is my new range of cups that i will be launching :) at "unwrapped, the design market" on april 1st..

and this is a not finished yet painting that will be in me and emmas exhibition that opens on april 15th ..

on the bottom of the computer screen it tells me that it is 39 now, tomorrow will be 41 and the next 40, then two days of 34 and then back to 36.

hmmmmm. maybe i will have to test out the air con in the sky wagon...

2007-02-01T18:14:00.000+09:00

hmmm...
sorry about the last few posts - i got confused.

i have just come home from a hard days manual labour.. my arms and feet are tired. today i was stapling big heavy sheets of fluffy stuff to the roof to sound proof the corridor that leads to a video room.. up and down the ladder. but it was quite fun - like building a dark quiet cubby. it sounded like i was underwater. i got through it without stapling my fingers. thats pretty good considering i couldnt see anything up there.

now i need to cook some nutritious food to keep me going for tomorrow. but i can't be bothered.

the exhibition should be good - it opens next thursday at john curtin gallery. its about antarctica and has penguins in it (poppy).

come check out my sound proofing.

eastwards

2007-01-26T13:10:00.000+09:00

hmmm....a week ago i wrote some things about my holiday and some things about returning home. and some pictures!
but alas...

where are they??? it even says that i last published a post on 20/01/07... so where is it?
does anybody know?

anyway here are some pics of some places and times that i loved...

overeast

2007-01-20T13:57:00.000+09:00

i live in a beautiful country. over the last few weeks i think i have seen some of the most beautiful places that i have ever been to. where the trees are big and the grass is green and the hills are high and twisty and the rainforests are ancient and full of secrecy and the buildings are old and the rivers are clear and cold and the ocean is warm and full of dolphins and the sun rise is reflected in the sea.
for me, living in a van is easy. stopping wherever i want, pulling out the chairs and the gas bottle and making a cup of tea. sleeping under koala trees. sleeping ontop of a cliff. sleeping in the heart of a rainforest. having everything that i need right there with me - bathers, towel, sunnies, thongs. self sufficient.
i didnt wash my hair for weeks, or have a shower... instead i swam in the salt or lay in the never never river. my body loved it. and my heart.
i dont think i was ready to come back home. i could have easily kept on driving.
to the next beautiful place.

scape

2006-12-21T15:19:00.000+09:00

my latest.

almost

2006-12-21T13:01:00.000+09:00

today is nice...
i have just put the last tray of xmas biscuits in the oven.. the house smells warm and comforting.
soon i will have a cup of tea (earl grey i think) and sit down to test out the biscuits and plan some xmas card making.
its good that its a bit cloudy today, or else i would be tempted to go to the beach. sometimes its nice to just hang out at home all day.

part of me really likes christmas, even though i won't be spending it with any of my family. i like the energy in the air. i like how everyone is slowly winding down, thinking of spending time with their loved ones, half heartedly (or in some freako cases 'been planning it all year' whole heartedly) decorating their houses. i like seeing bits of tinsel on buses, or the postie wearing a santa hat, or the kids at aftercare beeing so excited that santa is coming to the centre on friday..
i like seeing people smiling when the know they have just bought/made someone they love something great.

then theres part of me that hates christmas. i hate seeing the pressure that people put themselves under to buy buy buy. i hate walking through the city when everyones doing their christmas shopping. it makes me feel sick and deeply sad. i hate thinking about parents who cant afford to buy their kids presents and the kids not understanding why. i hate thinking about the kids who are intensely spoiled and know everything that they are getting already.. or demand what they are getting. i hate thinking about old ladies who have just lost their husbands or old men who have no friends or family or families who hate each other
... the people who will be the most lonely.

so i am thankful.
thankyou to those who make me smile.
thankyou to those who inspire me.
thankyou to those who bring the best out in me.
thankyou to my family, as spread out and far away as we all may be.
thankyou to all the small things that bring me joy.

seeing people struggle makes me want to be a better person. but also seeing people happy and content does too.

maybe that will be my new years resolution - to be a better person.
or at least to try.
maybe it should be to write more here.

istupidprimus.

2006-11-07T11:16:00.000+08:00

aahhhh its been so long
why?
coz my internet connection is a piece of shit!!!! everytime you click on something it resets the connection and the line drops out and has to redial and takes about 15 minutes to reload, then you click on something again and it all happens over again and again and again until i feel like smashing something!!!!!
aaaaahhh its the most annoying thing in the entire world!

so i rang up iprimus to ask them whats going on. this dickhead with a monotone voice answers. i say "hi, ive been having some major issues with my internet connection." silence. so i continue to explain the problems. silence. just a faint sound of typing..??? weird. "hello?" i say. he says "yeah?"
i ask if he can hear me. he says, "press start and go to control panels." i say "ahhh the computer is in the other room.." then he says "well how do you expect me to give you technical support if you aren't infront of the computer?"
so i try my hardest to get any sort of information out of him as to why my internet connection is being a spack and what i could possibly try to do once i am off the phone.
dickhead.
he tells me to try using a different number to dial up and then to call back when i am infront of the computer. i ask him how does he expect me to do that. he says (real patronising like) "well maybe you could move the computer to where the phone is, or use a mobile or a cordless."
dickhead!
like im gonna spent 20 minutes on hold on my mobile, or spend the whole day unplugging all the cables and wires and extension cords etc etc etc and move the computer into the living room for 5 minutes then move it all back again... and if i had a cordles don't you think i would be using it already!!!! dickhead.

anyway so i tried the new number and so far no reseting or redialling or hours to load a page.

he was still a dickhead.

so... look out
there will be way more blogggy bloggy soon

best

2006-08-19T16:32:00.000+08:00

aaaaah.. camping was great....

i got to wear my warm gnome like beanie...

and play with fire....

and sleep in the forrest to the sound of rain falling onto vannie...

i even did some extreme sport...

finally

2006-08-12T16:01:00.000+08:00

going camping tomorrow. to dwellingup.
gonna take some clay, and some paper and some drawing things and some tea and some bikes and some baked beans and books and some warm clothes and some treats.
gonna light a fire and cook jaffles. maybe some baked potatoes too.

and im gonna sleep really good.
and not shower for 3 days.
and probably be scared of the dark.
and have to wee in the middle of the night.

yep its gonna be good.

then and now

2006-07-22T11:33:00.000+08:00

hmmm its been a while...

theres been:
the world cup
organising exhibition
hanging out with kids
feeling cold a lot
speedy breaking down
cooking some great soup
cooking some even better apple and pear crumbles
feeling guilty for not going to the gym as much as i thought i would
endless sunshine
giant waves
the desire for a new beanie
a few cool parties (yay disco!)
the biggest craving to go down south in a tent
lots of motivation to do more art

hanging out with the kids as been the most fun. we took em out into the hills and had devonshire tea and then went for a little stroll throught the bush to the infamous clay pit where we of course got covered in clay. freezing cold clay.
it was so much fun.
the walk back through the bush with cold numb feet and cold cold wet heavy clothes and hard hair wasnt so much fun. but putting on clean clothes after washing in a bucket of water was the best.
then i got sick.

soon i will go down south.
soon i am starting a ceramics class - im gonna make some teapots and little tea cups.
soon im gonna get some new shoes.
soon im gonna start organising the next exhibition.
soon im gonna start my new range of jewelry.
soon im gonna sleep in and watch movies all day.

soon...

chicken bones

2006-06-20T12:22:00.000+08:00

whenever i am working at the gallery it seems to be stormy and gloomy outside. i like it. i can see the big trees bending over and the dark sky getting darker. and then 1000 people come in all cold and wet trying to escape the day. i have to take all their coats and bags and umbrellas and cameras and run after them coz they are touching the artwork.
then all of a sudden they are gone and its all quiet again.
apart from the wind.

and then the coolest kid in the world comes in with his cool mum and dad. he is on his dads shoulders and has a blonde mohawk. then suddenly he is behind me asking me my name. his name is Seven and he is 4. he asks me if he could please come behind the counter to see the big helicopter. so we had a little chat about helicopters and the time he flew one. meanwhile he eats his hot chips. then he gets distracted by the giant pile of chicken bones. he wanders off very important like through the gallery. he knows not to touch anything with his chippy hands.
so i dont have to chase after him. coz he already knows.

then 2 friends come in. they entertain me for a while. i laugh. then they go and its all quiet again.

so i wait for my tea break, when i can go outside and feel the stormy day.

bare feet

2006-06-10T17:41:00.000+08:00

hmmm so much sun, so many dolphins.
i like seeing dolphins. i always seem to look right at them just as they pop up. i think maybe there was a baby one too.
i like saturdays.
it was cool hanging out with emma today. she was excited about the dolphins. and the sun.
it was cool to talk about art and the projects that we are going to start. very soon.
and the coffee was so delicious.

dolphins, sun, coffee, art talk... it sounds all a bit cliched really.
but i wish all the saturdays could be like this. they make everything ok.

i won't get a dolphin tattood on my ankle though.

fit ball

2006-06-03T16:07:00.000+08:00

this photo is me on top of the duomo in milan...
and the other one is looking at the duomo from down the street.. nothing to do witht hte rest of the post :)

i am now a gym junkie. yep a 3 month membership. and so far (2 weeks) i have been almost everyday. i even got a fitness appraisal. and they designed a workout especially for me.
now all i need is the outfit. everyone else has outfits. and good shoes.
the best so far is doing water aerobics. its hard. im not a big fan of the wieghts yet. my arms are sore.
then the next best thing is the steam room (apart from the skank factor).
yep, soon i will be hot!

moody

2006-05-23T11:17:00.000+08:00

i woke up this morning to the sounds of thunder. i lay in bed all warm and comfortable and tried to hear the sounds of steve getting ready for work. but my ears were full of thunder. so i got up to watch the storm and drink tea. and eat crumpets. yep one of those days.

yesterday we took vannie for a drive down the coast. we took the gas cooker and a billy. we took a blanket and some olives. we went to woodmans point where the seaweed is white. so we took a basket and slowly, calmly, quietly collected all the most beautiful bits of seaweed. the water was silver and see through. and there were fish. i felt very content.
now i have a studio full of amazingly coloured seaweed drying out ready to be made into some sort of creation. i think the whole process is the art work.

so now i am at home on this rainy day with all these ideas and all this time.
i love it.

milano pics

2006-05-17T16:21:00.000+08:00

hee hee rock star poses and a cool chair.

more pictures

2006-05-09T19:52:00.000+08:00

tuk tuk

2006-05-08T17:50:00.000+08:00

bangkok craziness

white sands beach on koh chang and one of our huts (the one on the left.. if you look closely you can see me)

fashion central

2006-05-03T17:50:00.000+08:00

milano...
it seems ages ago now.
now that i am at home with a suitcase full of washing to do and a belly full of thailand sickness.
but being home also means looking back and reliving.
so here are some things that i thought about/saw/felt while in milan..
everyone is dolce and gabanna OBSESSED.
or prada obsessed.
or/and denim obsessed.
suprisingly the most strikingly dressed were not the women but the men. they had style.
'prego' can mean whatever you want it to mean.
'grazie' is actually quite hard to say.
the best hot chocolate is the kind that doesnt come out when you turn your cup upside down.
the best train station in the world is Centrale Stazione.
it really sucks dragging suitcases through the subway.
the extremes between rich and poor are in your face everyday.
it was hard to eat healthy food.
it is actually possible to get sick of coffee and chocolate croissants for breakfast.
dogs have the same rights as humans. (they go everywhere with their owner)
it was really cool having a conversation in italian.
pizza is best served cut up with scissors in little squares.
pizza is the best in italy.
they have the best vegie pizza options too.
italian is a very beautiful language.

my prediction for the next really fashionable thing to do is to match the colour of every possible accessory. but to be really cool make sure the colour is a rare or strange one... like a very particular purple. sunnies, hat, shoes, bag, belt, scarf, gloves, jewelry. but it has to be an exact match. then the rest of your clothes, simple. maybe denim.
yep. thats my prediction.
or if you cant be bothered doing that just wear denim on denim on denim.

the best thing about the fashion in milan was that there wasnt just one trend that everyone follows (apart from being label obsessed). everyone seemed to have their own different style. i liked it. it made everyone seem confident. and no one really seemed to judge each other. they looked at each other but not in a judgemental way. (except if you didnt have a D&G belt of course).

as for the furniture fair (fiera).. it was massive. probably the most massive thing in the world i think. just walking from one end to the other (without stopping to look at anything) took about 45 mins. there were 8 warehouse type buildings. each one the size of the royal show. each one had 3 floors full of furniture exhibits. over the 6 days we onlyexplored 3 of the buildings. and then, throughout the city there are exhibitions everywhere. there is a whole book just to list the parties for each day. just like exhibition openings there were free drinks and craziness. at one we went to they were giving out martinis. and hot almost naked guys in white fluffy hats were handing out champagne. all class.
so much cool amazing stuff to see.
so much more to say about it.

but mashed potato awaits.

farewell koh chang

2006-04-26T14:07:00.000+08:00

wednesday... or is it tuesday?? hmm anyway today is our last day on this tropical island.
today is a strange one - i have gotten into the slow calmness of this place. but i am ready to leave.
ready to leave this place where the dogs sit upright and motionless at the waters edge, quiet and staring out to sea. where the butterflies are as big as bats. where the pineapples are sweet. where old old ladies sit on the back of motorbikes, helmetless. where my skin is brown and healthy. where the geckos sing like birds. where there is a treehouse with hammocks and cushions and good food. where coconuts fall from their trees onto the beach. where there are deer that bark. where there are two little island girls who swim all the time and who are always angry with each other. where tourists run along the beach in lycra and joggers and bumbags. where riding around the island on the motorbike in bathers and thongs is the best thing. where fruit shakes are the best thing.where sleeping to the sound of the waves is the best thing.

but as i think about all the best things i cant help but be saddened because there are also many of the worst things here. this place, i think, is being destroyed by the tourist industry that keeps it alive.
we hired a kayak yesterday and paddled out to one of the nearby islands. from the beach it looked like paradise. as we paddled over we looked down and underneath us was a whole reef full of dead coral.completely dead and grey. then when we arrived to the island i wanted to cry. it was like a rubbish tip. everywhere was rubbish. you get used to it in bangkok but to see it on an uninhabited island was so disturbing. people here dont think twice before chucking there rubbish on the ground. i dont understand.

and now unfortunately the last few days have tarnished this tropical island.
we woke up yesterday to the sound of a girl crying. we went outside and got talking. this amazing girl had just ridden her bike, by herself for 7 months, through cambodia, laos, vietnam and thailand. she was stopping in koh chang for a holiday before heading home to norway. but her first night here was devestating. she had her drink spiked, lost her bag and ended up in hospital because someone found her passed out on the road. and then after a little while she broke down and told us she had been raped too. we looked after as much as we could but she wanted to leave the island.. she was so scared of being here.
it has made me see this place through different eyes. it has made me sick. it has made me sad. it has made me angry. i have enjoyed koh chang a lot but it is time to leave.
please be careful wherever you are. these things can happen to the best people. to the strongest. to the most travelled. and in the most beautiful places.

so, to bangkok we go.

koh chang

2006-04-20T12:16:00.000+08:00

quick update..
this place is cool.
we are staying in a beach hut on stilts about 10 m away from the water. i have always dreamed of living somewhere with a bedroom like this. asaaahhhhh.
last night there was a huge storm so we sat on our balcony in the balmy air and watched the lightning over the horizon.
today we are going to hire a motorbike and go exploring. this place is a tropical island... jungle then beach. i think we might avoid the jungle though.. there are tigers in there. and elephants! and malaria.
and also today i am going to buy some thai pants.
we have 10 days here... lotys of lying around and swimming. the water is the same temperature as the air though.. hot.

next time i will tell you all about milano..
and the monkey school.

she said, he said crowd

2006-03-27T11:07:00.000+08:00

hee hee i just went to a hairdresser to get my haircut..
she shampooed my hair twice - i think she was a bit shocked at the state of my hair (even though i had just washed it and brushed it myself)
she also gave my head a massage :) nice.
the weirdest thing about getting your hair cut at a hairdresser (as opposed to getting friends to do it) is how you have to face a mirror and watch yourself talk.
i was a bit hungover so i didnt look the best and i just didnt know how to talk gossipy hairdresser talk. i found myself being quite embarrassed. and then watching myself go a bit red in the face and being all akward was all a bit too weird.

but it feels good to have my hair cut.

and tomorrow we leave.
maybe i should start packing.

me

2006-03-22T08:55:00.000+08:00

27.
late twenties.
when i first started uni i was 18. some of the best friends i made were in their late twenties. i was pretty happy to be hanging out with 'older' people. they taught me things. things that they will never know that they have taught me.
now i am 27.. one of the 'older' people.
i hope i have the wisdom of my friends.

i felt wiser when i was 18.
maybe coz i had a shaved head.
maybe i felt some sort of a connection with the monks of the world.
maybe it was all the joints i was smoking.

today im gonna play musical statues with the kids.
and pass the parcel.
and pin the tail on the donkey.
and i will get them to make me a cake!

days go by

2006-03-18T12:42:00.000+08:00

ooohhhh the kids took it out of me yesterday... but that was yesterday.
today is beautiful.
i went to the beach early early this morning for a walk and a dip. there were some pretty big waves.. on shore dumpy ones. the swell was forming way way out in the ocean. i was a bit scared. so i walked down the beach until i came to a posse of people swimming where the waves didnt seem so scary. safety in numbers. i used to be the avoidance queen when it came to people on the beach. then i started teaching kids how to swim and the number one rule... swim together.. ever since i had to teach it i had to practise it too. but it means i can watch everyone and their funny beach antics.
this summer i have noticed more and more dads with their kids at the beach. its so cool. especially when its a dad and a slightly older kid hanging out, making sand castles, or body boarding, or just chatting.
today there was a dad and his little boy, maybe 5 or 6 years old. the dad took him out past the breakers and let him swim out really deep. the kid wasnt scared at all.

all salty and sandy and soggy i drove away feeling content.
i stopped in at the subi markets to stock up on nectarines, plums, lettuce, corn, mushrooms, sweet potato, kiwi fruit and eggs. and brocolli.
i got home and it was only 10.30....

next week im gonna be 27.. weird.
then the next week i will be in italy...
im pretty excited about eating yummy pizza and pasta and drinking coffe standing up.
im pretty un excited about not having amazingly cool stylish clothes.
i do have amazingly cool accessories though - they make all the difference!

dont touch the art

2006-03-07T14:36:00.000+08:00

aaahhh invigilation.
its about 45 degrees outside and it has been for days.
i am sitting in the john curtin gallery looking at the thumbprints and crime scenes of miriam stannage.
the more i sit here the more beautiful they are. the fingerprint series are giant paintings that look like aerial shots of a landscape. they are simple and bold in black, red and white, circular and hypnotic.
such a big space to be sitting in. and cold.
her photos are strange.. she binds innocent places up in crime scene tape, then photographs them. a simple idea really. she speaks of fear, the fear that we all have decided to live in. its a constant. from the skate park to the man sitting alone on a park bench.
but then she has done some paintings in response to 9/11. i havent seen any artwork dealing with this yet... just photos or writing. its a tough one.
on my right, on my desk is the thailand lonely planet guide. it has made me live in fear. fear of rabid dogs, of dirty water, of cutting my foot on coral and dying of tetanus. once you know something you cant not know it.

there is 3 weeks till we leave on our adventure. there is 3 days until steves furniture is being packed away and freighted to italy. 2 days ago his table got all broken. it should have been the last layer of paint but it decided to bubble and react with the underneath layer. all of the surface has lifted up from the fibreglass. a big giant disaster really. so all hands on deck to sand, cut, re-fibreglass, sand, putty, sand, putty, sand, paint, sand and then paint... all before friday.
there are going to be some long long nights. i have to remain calm and positive that it will be ok. it has to. we have worked so so hard for this and steve deserves to be famous. this table has to go to milan. it is just not an option for it not to go.
im so nervous.

its nice to be in the gallery again.
its a good change from the crazy kids.
its quiet.

the jabs

2006-02-25T10:20:00.000+08:00

hmmmm to get vaccinated or not to get vaccinated? hhmmmm.
2 and a half weeks in thailand, beach not jungle...

not
1. scared of needles
2. expensive - the same amount of money could buy me better food therefore decreasing the risk.
3. don't really know if i need to.
4. false sense of security.
5. been to the jungles of malaysia and didnt get vaccinated and didnt get anything.

to
1. it might help me not get sick
2. peace of mind.
3. i dont want to spend my holiday in a thai hospital.
4. overcome my fear of needles.
5. hmmmm cant think of another one.

the vaccinations we are talking about are hepatitis a, b and c, polio (dont think i need to), typhoid and tetanus. and malaria and dengue (sp?) hmmmmm

anyone got any advice?

2006-02-21T10:52:00.000+08:00

if i didnt feel so sick i could be here.

maybe i will go to the pools instead
the chlorine will surely fix me up.

heat wave

2006-02-20T09:08:00.000+08:00

i hate being sick. i am not very good at it. i hate being sick even more when its 39 degrees outside. how can i be cold when its so hot?
and then i am hot but a sick hot, not a yay summer hot.
and i am thirsty but it hurts to drink.
and i cant sleep anymore.
and i just want to read harry potter but i only have 2 pages left... that wont last me the day.
maybe the winter olympics is still on.

be mine

2006-02-14T13:02:00.000+08:00

aaahhhh so hot. i shouldnt complain coz really i love it but today its even way too hot to go to the beach. so its just cold shower action all day.
i just went to the shops to look for a bag to take overseas with me.. its a bit exciting. they are so many to choose from. and they all have wheels. i think i want a backpack with wheels. hee hee.

oh yeah love to you all... i hope your passion is as firey as this red tree.

zombie-fied

2006-02-04T11:42:00.000+08:00

last night we got brainwashed. but we got a free holiday!
we went to a timeshare seminar. weird. they told us that all we had to do was attend a 90 minute seminar and we would walk away with accomodation valued at $1200. cool. no obligation to buy anything. just sit through a seminar. cool.
so we got there and there was all these middle aged to old couples reading their timeshare folders with a cup of coffee. they told us to be there 15 minutes early to be in the $500 door prize too. cool. 500 bucks. then this guy came 0ut of this room and called out our names. just us. no one else. his name was brian and he had an extemely excited air about him and an even more excited but slightly nervous high pitched laugh. we almost did a runner. he led us to a table and we had to talk to him about our lives. he cracked weak jokes and tried to be our friend. then we had to go into a big room where all the other couples and their new found friends were. we had to watch a video about how easy it is to go on holidays and then listen to this other guy trying to crack jokes. he tried to get people to interact with him. tough crowd. everyone just wanted the free holiday.
anyway blah blah 2 hours later our friend brian told us that he didnt think timeshare was for us and where did we want go on our free holiday... so we were the first ones to leave. as we left a few couples were asked to stand up and shout 1, 2, 3.. alaska! as they had their photo taken. they must have signed up.

so we are gonna go to melbourne and stay in a fancy hotel - we have a year to use it. cool.

sun kissed

2006-01-28T15:40:00.000+08:00

yay! today was the best. i hung out with my long haired woolly bearded friend. we swam in the amazingly clear and cool ocean. we had handstand competitions. and spoke about the heart.
i wish he still lived next door. then we could play all the time.

hottest 100

2006-01-26T14:21:00.000+08:00

aussie. apparantly to be an aussie you have to eat lamb. or drive around in a big ute with an even bigger aussie flag attached to the tray. apparantly the riots on cronulla beach wouldnt have happened if everyone just ate lamb.

i dont really understand the aussieness of australia day. why go down to the foreshore and get pissed and start fights with other aussies.. coz they are not aussie enough? coz their aussie flag cape is bigger? coz their girlfriend has a better aussie flag bikini? coz they are drinkin an import beer rather than a vb? maybe people start fights just so their mates can scream out the aussie aussie aussie thing.
why go down to the foreshore, get pissed and leave tons of rubbish behind?

cynical maybe...

nah, i like australia. i dont like lamb. but i like being an aussie. i like going to the beach and having bbqs on balmy nights, or in the middle of the day. i can kick a footy bare foot with a beer in one hand. i have mates. i can drive my car on gravel. i can whistle through a gumnut. i wear thongs most days of the year.
i like watching the fireworks.
and i am listening to the hottest 100.
if i had an australian flag fake tattoo i would put it on.
i still dont want to eat lamb though.

stop. hammer time

2006-01-11T20:27:00.000+08:00

this is the result of letting the kids go crazy with several cans of hairspray and an 80's theme...

play time

2006-01-09T17:54:00.000+08:00

first day back with the kids today. strange. but also strangely ok.
we went down to the river and played cricket and boardgames and sandcastles and caught jelly fish and made homes for them.
water and kids always make for a bit of anxiety but there were no dramas. not even any tears.
me however, i am exhausted. it takes a while to get back into it all.
i wish dinner was all cooked for me.

quiet day

2006-01-05T17:07:00.000+08:00

today has been one of silence.
in the morning, before the seabreeze i went for a swim, then read my book on the sand (the power of one..its pretty long).
it was all a bit quiet. apart from the giant waves crashing down on my head.
then i got a message from our travel agent, sarah, saying that our kickass cheap hotel in milan was unavailable and that i needed to ring her back asap....
so rang her back, but she was busy. so the other lady told me that she would tell sarah that i rang.
but then she didnt.
and then i started getting all anxious about the whole thing. in my silent house.
so then i rang her again.
but she was still busy.
so i have been waiting around. i hate waiting.
so i went to the shops coz the phone never rings if you wait for it. so i have been told.
now its 5.30 and still no sarah telling me that she has found us an even better cheaper hotel.
hmmmm
anyone know anyone in milan thats got a spare room?

transition

2005-12-29T12:07:00.001+08:00

suddenly i am here alone in my house. things have come and gone so quickly.
christmas, food, wine, chocolate, my amazing brother and his amazing girlfriend. suddenly gone.
soon it will be 2007, new years eve will have come and gone.
so many things have come out from lurking behind doors, windows, dark spaces, far away memories. lots of things to think about. even more things to do it seems. but i am on holidays. my book is waiting. the beach is waiting. and nothing is waiting.
i have never really thought about christmas very much. its always been there. its always been a day to hang out, no dramas like everyone else seems to have. but this year seems to have brought out some sort of strangeness. i feel it on my back. the pressure of wanting everyone to be happy to be together. the misunderstanding of tiredness as unhappiness. the misunderstanding of busy as not wanting to. strangeness but no less love.

now there is so much time.
time for travel agents.
time for getting bronzed and salty.
time for running.
time for writing.
time for making.
time for getting excited.

transition

2005-12-29T12:07:00.000+08:00

a year

2005-12-03T17:48:00.000+08:00

a year is a long time. a long time not to see someone. in the last 12 hours i have reunited with 2 different people that i havent seen for a year. nothing changes. we get a bit older. a bit fatter. a bit thinner. a bit shorter. a bit taller. but the real things. they dont change. cups of tea taste the same. hugs feel the same...just a bit more exciting.
its a strange thing... that year apart. so much happens. but then nothing really happens.
you miss, then you get used to it, then you anticipate their return, then they are there and its like there was no time gone.
but then they will go again. and it will seem like they were never here.

so while they are here i will enjoy and embrace them like they are leaving tomorrow.

gggrrrrr

2005-12-02T15:24:00.000+08:00

everyone elses blogs are so interesting! and full of pictures.
it always takes forever for my computer to add pictures.
aahhhhh why doesnt it work???
i just spent half an hour trying to upload an image.... so frustrating.
any ideas? anyone?

tour de hills

2005-11-17T08:44:00.000+08:00

oooohhh so busy!
on the weekend we went for a drive up into the hills. it was sunny and beautiful.
i was slightly hung over and the mission was for work. i had to go to all these places and figure out which would be the best for kids. it meant lots of walking through the bush. there were lots of flies and i saw a snake. we went to history village. weird. all the years that i lived 2 seconds away fron that place i, not even once, went in there. its a strange place but a lot more interesting than what i thought it would be.. even with a beer headache.
the hightlight of the day was finding this place called rocky pool.. not the rocky pool that i know (secret local knowledge) but one that is on the map and close to an access road so you dont have to scramble through the bush for ages (although that makes it so much more satisfying).
this little rock pool is beautiful. it is definitely a hot summers day picnic spot.
maybe we should all go there one day :)

spam

2005-10-31T16:28:00.000+08:00

i have just changed my settings to prevent spam comments!!! grrrrr
if you want to leave a comment you have to fill out a word verication thingo - not quite sure what it is but please dont let it stop you from commenting :)
i love comments :)

let me know what it is...

inspiration

2005-10-29T17:41:00.000+08:00

the bathroom sink is being used for making felt. the laundry sink is being used for modeling foam. the bread board is being used to cut the foam on. the kitchen table is for paper mache. the living room is for sewing. the coffee table is for ironing on transfers. the doors are to hang the finished shirts on. the shed is for drilling, resining, sawing, sanding. the bedroom is for essay writing. the edges of the tables are mini photographic studios.

the coffe shop is for writing references.

the chairs are for chopping vegies on - i made a vegie lasagne :)

it seems that in every corner there is a different project evolving.
and in my head there are more.

anticipation

2005-10-19T17:31:00.000+08:00

its started.
the sky is all blue. my feet are bare. my toes are sandy. my hair more curly. dinner is eaten on the front porch. my bathers and towel live in my car, lying over the passenger seat to dry. there is a need to eat salad and fruit. my wardrobe needs a new summer dress. i need to water the plants more. and put water in the fridge to cool. my legs are moisturised and hairless.
tomorrow i will run along the beach before work.
and then all day i will be salty and sandy.
i will collect some shells and let the kids make creatures out of them.
yep.

holidays

2005-09-28T17:55:00.000+08:00

today i took some kids caving at yanchep. there was no lights so we had torches and helmets. the kids were a bit scared. we had to scramble over rocks and be careful not to step on the cirlces of rocks on the ground.. they meant that there was a new stalagmite trying to grow there. to get out of the cave we had to army crawl for about 100 metres then squeeze through this tiny hole (still on our tummies) and pull ourselves up out of the cave. it was crazy! i really didnt think that i could fit through it. we got all dirty. it was really fun.
yesterday we took all the kids down to the skate park and we took photos of all their fully sick tricks - acid drops, olleys... and all the other ones.
then we designed our own tags and did some graf on a custom build wall.

sometimes i love my job - i get to do cool stuff.

next week we are having crime and pinishment day - we get to lock em up in jail!

this day

2005-09-11T09:12:00.000+08:00

its that day... four years i think its been.. how did it get to be four years? there will be lots of sad people today. i will think about them.

but here, removed and far away from all of it, i will be doing some art work. all day. i already have my paint splattered pants on. not that i will be painting ... but it puts me in the mood. i think i may stop for a chai tea at some point.. if anyone is interested in joining me? i have so many ideas. it would be good to chat about them over a chai tea. then again, maybe if i talk about my ideas they might disappear.. maybe we could just chat about the weather? or how good johnny depp is as willy wonker.

till then x

ch..ch..ch..changes

2005-08-28T14:05:00.000+08:00

the last few days have been spent painting.. it maybe should have been the arty kind, on canvas and genius but it was the house kind. it started with the toilet. the floor is now black and the walls white. then it moved to the laundry.. same colour scheme. then the out the back bit and the outside of the out the back bit.. same colour scheme. its weird. looks a bit like an art gallery.. the white is very very white.
its crazy what a coat of paint does though... such a cliche but its so true. its like we have moved house. pretty exciting. next i would like to paint the living room... the dark red is so dark. it makes winter even worse.
its a nice space to be in when you are painting.. you start to not notice the paint dripping on the floor or the phone ringing or even the sunshine in the air.
a good few days off.

spring in my step

2005-08-21T20:45:00.000+08:00

today i put a mat outside the back door... i sat on it crosslegged... it was in the sun... i ate my cornflakes... lulu the little cat came bouncing out of the garden with a squeaky hello... all the clothes were clean and sunning themselves on the line... there was anticipation of a visit to the markets and a fridge full of fresh fruit and vegies and athena yogurt... and a picnic in the park.
i could smell spring.

it was a day full of laughing and being floppy

and then yesterday i was running along the beach and i found a baby turtle.. all black and soft and eyes closed and scared of the world.. so i picked it up and put it back in the water.. thats where i thought it wanted to be. then today i was talking to jess the turtle girl and she said that it was a fresh water turtle that had come out of the storm water drain coz it had legs and a long neck.
so i had done the wrong thing for this little turtle. i hope that it is enjoying its new salty life.

creations

2005-08-13T17:24:00.000+08:00

here's some of my latest....
i am working on how to make the clasps be more professional.. at the moment they are just clasps.. i need them to be more original. i was thinking maybe magnets?
any ideas?

a shop in freo called south of the border now stocks them :)
they have some very beautiful things in there. i hope people spot mine amongst all the other beauty

fast trucks

2005-08-08T17:54:00.000+08:00

yesterday we went to the raceway in wanneroo and watched trucks race. it was scary. they're a bit big to be going so fast around corners. none of them crashed. i kind of wanted to see them crash.. they are all modified so that they are safe. they have roll cages and stuff and the drivers have to wear full helmets and fire proof jump suits.
there was also a ute muster on too... mate. it was funny. i don't know if these people are seriously so aussie or whether they are taking the piss?? there was plenty of akubra hats and bundy flags and stickers about roots in utes and spotties and cowgirls... i think there was also some guy cracking a whip.

the best bit was on the drive there - we got a huge bag of strawberries for a dollar!

and here is a cool picture of my friend the duck - for you mum :)

out in the cold

2005-07-10T14:38:00.000+08:00

grrrr
they say i can click on the little picture icon and add a picture from my computer... why wont it work?????
anyone?

clay pit

2005-07-07T12:54:00.000+08:00

yesterday was crazy.
we took 35 kids to a clay pit up in the hills and watched them slosh around and fall over and lose their shoes and freeze! it was a very very cold day after a 2 degree night so the clay was even colder than the night and the day. kids are amazing though the loved it so much. and it felt so good that we thought up the idea to go there and let them be kids.
we then walked them back down the 500m track to where a bbq was waiting and also a huge family having a holiday outing. it must have looked pretty strange... all this kids covered from head to toe and by this stage so cold that they could hardly move... then they had to strip and get hosed down and towelled try and new clothes put on them.
sometimes i love my job.

mud and more

2005-06-23T15:51:00.000+08:00

i love cows. they are so placid and gentle.
we went to nannup on the weekend.. there were lots of cows.
i think that everyone should visit nannup. its beautiful.
we went there so that steve could do some extreme sport. he raced his mountain bike down a big hill, dodging trees, getting all muddy. i think hes crazy. he had some big stacks. his head slammed into one of the trees. i wasnt sure whether he was going to get up or not.. scary. he slowly got up, straightened his handlebars, got back on and kept going. if that was me i think that i would be very broken.
i have digital footage of this if anyone is interested... if anyone can tell me how to send it to them...

extreme sports are very different to cows.
i love the cows more :)

boys

2005-06-11T15:32:00.000+08:00

yesterday the kids loved me, they thought i was ace. i bonded with the boys... the older scary intimidating, naughty, clever boys. we hung out in the art room and made rocket launchers and t-fighters ? (space ships from star wars) and abstract ART out of pop sticks. it was pissing down with rain outside and cold, so cold. and we had our little gang in the artroom all cosy and hanging out. it was quite strange. it was easy. it made me happy.
i wont get too cocky though, there's always tomorrow.

where's emma? its saturday afternoon after the markets tofu burger time..

sickness

2005-05-09T13:26:00.000+08:00

i have a stupid cold... my throat hurts, my bones are aching, im tired and my jaw really hurts too. i have spend the morning in bed but now im just getting frustrated coz its too hot - its a beautiful sunny summery day and its my day off. i wanna go to the beach. but i can hardly sit here and write this let alone drive my car.... i tried watching crap tv - dr.phil was interviewing the 'black sheep' of the family who happened to be this artist guy who liked sleeping out in the forest and only had a couple of weeks work here and there - like mural commissions and stuff. and his family brought him on the show to tell him that they thought he was a bum and should get a real job. he seemed pretty cool to me.. he was writing a childrens book and had his own graphics business and liked hanging out in the woods.. is there something wrong with that?
whenb did they taken away jerry springer?

im gonna go eat toast

seaweed

2005-04-27T17:44:00.000+08:00

aaaahhh.. i still havent quite worked out how to do the photo thing... they all got published in a whacky order and it wont let me do it without having a comment underneath it so if you dont understand thats ok.
but anyway these are my new creations... slightly bad photos but they are made from strips of seaweed and coated in resin. i havent mastered the art of resin yet but im working on it and have heaps of other ideas i want to play around with.
the plan is that everyone will want one and i will be able to quit my job and spend my time at the beach collecting my materials and then in my studio making them...
so put ya orders in...
:)

2005-04-27T17:42:00.000+08:00

they are all in the wrong order!.. here are some jewls i have been making!

2005-04-27T17:40:00.001+08:00

and this

2005-04-27T17:40:00.000+08:00

its seaweed

2005-04-27T17:38:00.000+08:00

...

2005-04-27T17:36:00.000+08:00

tell me what you think....

2005-04-27T17:35:00.000+08:00

here's some jewels that i have been making..

swansong

2005-04-13T15:09:00.000+08:00

and then this thing happened which made me smile...
i was driving back from the beach along lake monger drive and suddenly the car infront of me braked and stopped in the middle of the road. and the cars going the other way stopped too. all these cars stopped and waited and watched this huge big black swan slowly, slowly, one foot at a time, cross the road.
it had no idea just how vulnerable it was. or maybe it did.

just a small thing but it made me smile... lots.

steam

2005-04-01T10:04:00.000+08:00

summer has gone and i am 26! how did that happen?
overnight, it seems.

i am in the process of making the coolest jumper in the world. its gonna be so warm. i wish it was finished for today. its freezing outside... no warning.... just suddenly, its the middle of winter! rain and cold cold noses. i dont think im ready for it. although.... it does mean scarves and beanies and gloves :)
and hot chocolate

its april fools day today... i will have to be on my toes. i think im gonna have to play some tricks on the kids before they pull my pants down or something similarly hilarious.

this coldness and jumper wearing makes me want to be in margaret river watching the surfing.
it also makes me want a cat.
and it makes me want to paint.

maybe i will go for a walk on the beach before work......

crap day

2005-03-11T09:55:00.000+08:00

i applied for this really cool job.. it sounded perfect. but they didnt even give me an interview. it really sucks. i thought that i would have been good at it. and it was a way out of the stressful kids action. i was pretty excited.
oh well maybe it would have been crap.

so today im trying to figure out whats next.
any ideas?

baby

2005-03-02T17:19:00.000+08:00

today the sky is full. the air is full. people are rushing around trying to beat the promised rain. but its so hot. i am being slow today. the thought of being trapped under these dark full clouds makes me smile. i smile to think of the day we danced in the street. the bitumen smelt funny with the heat and the rain. the boy next door thought we were cool. hmmmm
i am being slow today. we went to the park for a picnic... me and my friend and the little baby. she smiled at me. she didnt smile so much last time we saw each other. we ate and lay around and felt the full air. we thought of the day the baby will talk. that will be a great day.
i love these afternoons. i wish they could all be like this.

tofu for dinner?

all of it

2005-02-21T13:35:00.000+08:00

oh wow.. lots of stuff!
i have never lived with a boyfriend before..
the other night steve made some dinner and we got a bottle of wine, sat out on the porch and chatted. it felt like home. i think back to the times when we first met and i laugh and laugh. it seems so ridiculous that now we live together. so funny and weird but just so amazingly good. my house hasnt felt like home in a long time... you know it em!

and then today was the first day of swimming for some kids and i happened to get this kid who had all this technical stuff written on his form under "list medical issues.. blah blah". anyway this kid is only 9 or something and he just had his entire bowel system removed! so, poor thing, he has to have a colostomy bag all the time... and swimming of course too. oh my god i feel so sorry for him. he smiles and laughs with the other kids but i just wonder why this has happened to him. his teacher told me that he may have to have chemo..
so im on a mission to make his swimming lessons the most fun and not stressful and chilled out for him.

today it feels a bit like summer is ending.
i hope not.
i havent had nearly enough beach action.
my hair is actually soft.. hmmm

and theres so much more...

patience

2005-02-10T21:26:00.000+08:00

today was a strange one.. for the first time ever i went mental at some kids that i was teaching to swim.. i feel terrible. it made me want to cry.
i havent been to the beach in ages and ages - it feels like summer will go and i wont have the beach hair! thats gonna have to change.
im a bit jealous that my big brother got to see my mum the other day. he drove down to the bottom of vic to the boat and got to hang out. now mum has sailed off to king island to eat cheese and yogurt :) she rang me the other night and whispered doen the phone that she was sailing the boat all by herself while the boys slept. go mum!

now though i have a belly full of brocolli pasta and sleep is looking like the best thing in the world ever.

play house

2005-01-29T13:25:00.000+08:00

today my head hurts.. its been hurting for a day and a night and a day. i think it needs water.. or maybe quiet.. maybe rest..or maybe it needs nothing. no thoughts, no wondering, no planning.

tomorrow jimi moves out of the room that he has claimed as his for a year and a bit.. it will be shaken of all the jimi-ness.
stevo will then bring all his stuff and fill the empty space with him.
he is so excited. it makes me happy.
theres always new in this place. i seem to be the constant.
we will have to change the phone message. i will come home and he will be here with his friends sitting on the porch drinking tea. people will ring up an ask for stevo. i will say sorry hes not here can i take a message? his clothes will be folded up and in a box clean and ready for the next day, instead of just having staying the night clothes. we will go for balmy walks and talk about our separate days. he wants to get a cat. he will add photos to the kitchen wall. he will buy milk. he will water the plants.
come and visit whenever you want

little feet

2005-01-19T14:55:00.000+08:00

there is smoke everywhere today. some stupid head is deliberately lighting fires up in the hills and fierce easterlies are blowing the smoke into the city. driving back down the feeway from hillarys the visibility factor was maybe 300 mtrs. i got quite scared. i started imagining that the smoke was so bad that the city had to be closed and they forgot to tell the swimming teachers in hillarys.. there seemed to be lots of people driving the other way on the freeway.. away from the city.

blah blah...

i had forgotten how weird kids can be.. and how mean! they have no fear of their elders. they are quite happy to let you know how crap they think you are and how stupid your ideas are and how boring you are...
protected, rich, nedlands kids... they dont know what crap is!!!
and then theres the boys who dress up in fake fur, high heels and glitter and put on fashion parades... so cool!

oooh so tired...

where did emma go?

2005-01-14T15:36:00.000+08:00

the best water ever

2005-01-14T15:35:00.000+08:00

vannie

2005-01-14T15:34:00.000+08:00

tourist

2005-01-14T15:33:00.000+08:00

bogan

2005-01-14T15:32:00.000+08:00

mmm

2005-01-14T15:31:00.000+08:00

holiday snaps...

2005-01-13T21:21:00.000+08:00

just testing how to put a photo on this thing!!!

stop look and listen

2005-01-10T17:15:00.000+08:00

aaaahhh the kids...
today i was in freezing cold stinky hillarys water teaching the kids how to blow bubbles, how to do frog kick, how to swim in deep water, how to float...
there was tears, there was shivering, there was lots of spontaneous sicknesses... but it was kinda good to be back at it :) being in the outdoors, doing something which is challenging and physical. in one stage i got to sit out in the deep on a foamy.. i felt like a cool surfie chick :) i got home and had to have a little sleep though - i was a bit knackered.
i hope theres no wind tomorrow

my life is about to be turned upside down... i can feel it..
stay tuned.

2005-01-08T10:48:00.000+08:00

its been a few days of beautiful music...
the chick from the waifs who rocks out on the harmonica made me smile and smile... as did sitting on the hill with my favourite, on a summery night with the freo breeze floating past watching everyone inside dance.
it made me think of all the good things.
then there was these furry headed, scruffy shirted, big bellied, steelcapped blokes who didnt give a shit about the no smoking... they filled my ears and my heart with such faith in the reality of people. their music was brilliant. everyone of them seemed to be a genius. if ever you get a chance, they are called the kill devil hills. go smile at their funny beauty. even if its just to see the smiles on other peoples faces..

soon it will be time to say goodbye again.. its a weird thing. something that i have done a lot of but never does it get easier. ooooohheee the next couple of days are gonna be the strangest ones.

like pi

2005-01-06T18:04:00.000+08:00

the life of pi
such a great book...

i was reading it while sitting on the beach today. my hat was so floppy that the words infront of me were all that i could see. occassionally i would look up just in time to catch a little dude in a barrell. then his face as he surfaces from the white wash.

i wish i was like pi.

soon i will work out out how to put photos on this thing and show you the most beautiful place in the world.

2005-01-04T21:01:00.000+08:00

hhhmmmmm new blogg...
thanks em for showing me the way

maybe tomorrow will bring more words...