Okay I hate to say this but DAMN IT!!! I might be on hiatus for a while. The stupid net connection at home won't give me any mercy! I HATE IT! ;_;

A few days ago we had a snowstorm that left close to 30cm of snow in its wake. *smiles* Then today...as I was making Sunday brunch for the family with my sister, my father put on some traditional Irish music, the smell of tea and freshly baked cookies throughout the kitchen and as I stood prodding eggs and bacon with my cooking chopsticks I looked outside, smiled and thought 'it would be perfect if it snowed right now'.

Then as if called by my wish and the lilt of the harp...snow began to fall.

As the song reached its crescendo, the snow feel heavier, thicker. Like heavenly white blossoms. Suddenly the trees were laden with glittering clusters of snow flowers. I smiled, enjoying every moment as it fell, sharing tea with my family as my father told stories of Ireland. Every few minutes the snowfall would change. Light one moment, a downpour the next then just as suddenly a soft lazy drifting...

Of course, I could not resist and soon after my tea, ran outside with my sister and Kodey in tow.

This is after all, my sweet puppy's element. We let him pull us up the hill, running and laughing all the while until we collapsed, breathless and holding each other for balance amidst the ice and snow. Amazingly we didn't fall once!

Kodey was so happy and prancy. Bouncing through the snow, sticking his face in it then chasing after us with a tiny pyramid of snow on his nose. *laughs* It was so cute.

Our wanderings led us to the forest. No one had been through yet since the snowfall. *smiles* My sister and I paused as we first entered to enjoy the sound of the falling snow on the few remaining leaves, still desperately clinging to the trees. Even Kodey paused, sitting in the snow and gazing upward, blinking snowflakes from his lashes.

Next I stopped by the river to listen to the softer snowfall as each flake vanished into the water. When I paused a third time at the bridge to listen to the gentle tip tap of the snow falling along the wood my sister turned to laugh at me curiously.

I simply smiled and said, "Each sound is different".

This is why I love snow. Ever changing in shape, in sound, in texture...

The day may one day come when I can no longer hear that soft melody of snowflake upon frozen branch nor truly see each facet glitter as the flakes fall into my hands...

So until then, I will always take a moment to appreciate the gift of its beauty.

When we finally returned home several hours later, I looked like some snow creature. Covered head to toe in white, melted snow clinging to my eyelashes in tiny drops...

It was great. *smiles*

First, a thank you:

I think more than anything else, it was reading the comments left by all of you that made my week less dark and gloomy. Even though I've never met some of you face to face, and even though most of you are so very far away from me, your kind words still made a great difference. Thanks for taking the time to try and make me feel better <3

As I predicted, the little bird died that night. It's better this way...Had she survived, she would have been stuck in a box for the rest of her life. What did make me feel better is the fact that she died in her sleep, looking exactly the way she did when I tucked her in. I'm glad she didn't die in a panic.



And now, onto my Sydney photos. The theme here is a gradual backtrack from sunset, to midday...so this first photos was the last I took in the sequence. The last posted photo was the first I shot :3

I actually printed this photo and sent it to a lot of friends in Japan. It came out rather awesome, though professional printing is damn expensive >.>;;





( Typical Sydney Day )



Feedback is very much appreciated. If you also have some suggestions or advice, I'd love to hear it.


Thanks again guys...You're all awesome <3

Harry and The Potters is a "wizard rock" band I saw at the big Harvard Square Harry Potter fest a few years ago (where I first met countlibras and ifotismeni) . Little did I know they do an annual holiday show here with other wizard bands:



So if you're local and need something really really nerdy to do next weekend, there you have it.


Harry & The Potters

MC Kreacher (wizard rap?)

Came across this...




...and thought "Huuuuh?!"

A little googling reveals Ninja Hattori was a manga and anime, and a live-action movie starring Shingo Katori.
http://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/nin_x_nin_ninja_hattorikun.htm

I think I have to see that.

Today has been one of those sucky, gloomy days that needs to end NOW. One or two mishaps in the span of 12 hours, I can handle. Any more than that and I'm reduced to a nervous, stressed out, scatterbrained wreck who can't do anything right. Thanks to flat tyre (half way through work), I'm now $100 poorer. Thanks to some dickhead who didn't bother to check if the animal he hit with his car is dead or alive, I now have an injured bird on my bed with a broken spine.

F#%k




The poor thing...

Sometimes, I honestly wish I was capable of driving by and not stopping...Instead, I made a crazy break/park combo, ran out of the car into on coming traffic, and yelled at the beeping bastard to STFU while I picked her up. She was fluttering in the middle of the road. Two more cars and she would have been flattened.
But now she's with me, in bad shape, and she'll most likely die. Then I'll cry and feel miserable. It's ALWAYS the same. No vet will work on her like this since birds are notoriously difficult (and really expensive) to treat. Those with internal injuries are almost impossible to save...Not to mention, this little girl- I think- is a starling, that is, NOT a native. Vets and most organizations wouldn't spend money on treating her. My limited avian anatomy knowledge lead me to deduce that her lower spine is broken. She has no feeling in her legs/toes, and no control of the muscles that work her tail. Her wings are fine, but without the push of legs/control of tail, she'll never fly. Doubt she'll survive the night anyway...



Ah well...Guess I should look for that silver lining no? Understanding workmates, awesome friends (Sarah just drove all the way from Parramatta to give me a hug), and it seems I know enough to at least keep birdie comfortable. She even stomached some water and food :3


WEEKEND, I NEED YOU!

*hugs you*
I wish you all the best and I hope you have a great day!
Sadly I´ve got nothing other to give since I have no time for drawing...

And what do you know, if I tried to go to bed before midnight, it'll take me even longer to actually fall asleep -_-


Anyway, some congrats are in order!!

Firstly, to my beloved Sonia. A HUGE congrats on getting the APA! I cannot believe you'll be starting your PhD next year, but I'll be right next door to you doing my Masters and most probably bitching and whining. Looking forwards to being at the same uni as you again!

Mel, congrats on getting the UNE offer letter! If I didn't want to go to UNSW so badly, I would have joined you. The UNSW course is quiet boring when compared to UNE's!

Darren, congrats on finishing your awesome musical composition in time for the competition. Expecting great things from you buddy <3

And fahye , congrats on surviving another year at uni. You are still on your way to becoming Australia's Next Top Doctor!

To everyone on my f-list who has made a recent accomplishment, big or small, congratulations <3



I AM SO WORN OUT! You would think my body would be used to life at this stage. Mentally, I'm dealing well, and even welcoming my hectic schedule, but physically, I'm not keeping up. Thankfully, it's school holidays from next week, so I can ease up with my tutoring jobs. This means more time to spend with friends, which in turn means some nights off for me. For the past few weeks, I've been completely booked out. This isn't just weekends, but weeknights as well! And it's not going to change this year, that I'm sure of.

Here's an example: I spent the weekend meeting with friends/ Japanese workmates and running errands, then last night I went out for dinner with Dan. I'm probably visiting Kana-chan on Friday, then I'm booked out for this coming weekend. Following Monday night is dinner at a friend's, and Friday night is celebration night with Sonia, followed by a weekend long slumber party (Sonia again). And it just goes on and on...

No way in heck am I skipping piano class though!


A little on that:

My teacher is Polish, and is around my age. She's only been in Sydney for a couple of months, and I'm currently her first and only student. I...adore her to pieces. She sat me down on my first lesson and asked me what I liked. Once I explained to her my absolute loathing for most beginner pieces, she skipped the first 3/4 of my book, and had me playing a complex (but well loved) piece from the get go. Three lessons on, and I'm playing Raisins and Almonds- 1/8 notes, pedals, sharps, flats and strict timing.

I'm actually really amazed at my progress. If this is what I can play after three classes (well, two. The first was basically music theory revision), think of what I'll be playing after a hundred!! *really excited*


It's time for another photo post me thinks. This time, it's gonna be local :3


For LeeAnne. THE TURTLE WILL COME, YOU JUST HAVE TO ACCEPT JIN FOR NOW!!





It's not so much Jin that cracks me up, rather it's Kame in the top corner...Oh this episode was good XD

LJ totally isn't sending me notifications. That's kind of awesome. .__.

Have you ever cried because of a film or even a TV series?

I´ve cried so much this evening that you may call it ridiculous.
Today I´ve watched the last episode of M*A*S*H, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen".

If you don´t know this series, go watch it. It´s funny, it´s sad, it makes you think about war and friendship.
The characters are some of the best I´ve ever seen in a TV series. Or perhaps the best.








Thanks for so many hours in Korea between blood and laughter.

Everyone, meet 制覇 (Seiha-chan...perfect name!), my new baby!!

After lots of paperwork, money exchanges (very sad, that part), and a whole lot of people looking at her, SHE'S MINE! ALLLLLL MINE! She will allow me to go anywhere, anytime, with anyone to do ANYTHING! I have my trusty GPS, an amazing CD player with killer surround sound, and incredibly responsive breaks that will hopefully prevent an extreme speed demon like me from killing anyone.

I...am damn happy.




SUNRISE PHOTOGRAPHY HERE I COME!


It amuses me that the only cars I've ever driven have been Toyota. My next car will be the slinky Toyota hybrid, for sure ^^V




( OOooooh the slinky shiny pretty! With a small ass too, which is great for someone like me who hates parking XD )



Anyway, long day is finally over. I had to send everything off to the university, go get the final paper work for Seiha done, go to work, go to my second job, and now I still have piano practice. More on how that's going later :3

God, Bless is pretty. For once, a song in which I love the verses more than the chorus.
But I can't tell if hyde actually changed his hair (it looks darker and shorter - like, Countdown short?) or if it's just slicked back like it was in the yakuza photos with Kiyoharu to battle the perm. YOU GUYS?
It looks all "BUSINESS TIME" either way. L'Arc!mode: on.

Hey, weatherman! I missed out on a lesson today because we thought it was going to snow! THANKS A LOT.