Just Because

I'm so on-the-pulse, that I found out about this cool thing only months after the fact (well, 3 years+ really if you count when it first started).

There was a Melbourne Zombie Shuffle last June, wherein hundreds of zombie-wannabes shuffled through the streets of Melbourne. Why? No apparent reason, really. Just to honour the zombies, I guess.


It's the coolest thing I've heard about in a while.

Can you imagine yourself as a tourist, arriving in Melbourne the night before and then walking out of your hotel the next morning finding yourself swamped with zombies? How freaky cool would that be? Hehe.

Read more about it here or here.

I must remember to head into the city next time the shuffle's on.

In the meantime, I need to prepare myself by doing some research. This book looks like a good place to start.

I Want

I've been salivating after the iPhone ever since I first read about it. Thing is, it's been available in oz for a while now and I still haven't gotten myself one.

First off, I'm a tightwad and I don't want to pay a ridiculous sum of money for a phone. Even one that's as cool as that. And I didn't want to be swept along with the hype.

Also, I wanted them to fix all the bugs first before I got one so that I don't have the headaches the excited ones got.

But now, I think I've waited long enough and it's high time I got myself one (or someone else, hint hint. too bad D doesn't read this blog). I've been looking at the options on offer by the big telcos and the offers don't look too daunting. Some actually seem downright affordable. Now I just need to read the fine print...

Update:
I now have a headache from reading the fine print. There are 4 telcos offering the iPhone but it seems like they're all on post-paid.

[There's a great debate about Optus still offering pre-paid phones for sale at this geek site (which I love because of it's utter geekiness) but in the unlikely event that I go find a store that sells them (too lazy) it still costs over $800 for the 16gb which I will not likely fork over.]

So, after pouring through the details of 3 of the 4 (Telstra's the devil so I didn't even bother), I am still nowhere closer to making a decision. Correction, I am closer to a decision but that decision is to wait until next year because there is no way I will have the patience to try and make sense of the gobbledygook again this year. I even tried this nifty spreadsheet, link courtesy of the geek site, but it made my head hurt even more.

Oh well, my phone still works and so does my iPod. I guess it'll have to wait. Meanwhile, I need to lie down to get rid of this headache.

YoungMe NowMe

My sister turned me onto this site where people submit pictures of their old selves and similar pics of their new ones.

It's really cute and now I want to do it. I especially want to do it with my sisters and my sis and I were chatting on which baby pics would be the funniest.

I'm getting her to scan me photos and we'll see how we go. I might have to wait for her to come here for us to do our together ones... More reason for her to come here now!

The Dark Knight

We're watching the new Batman movie later tonight. I can't wait.



I wanted to watch in Gold Class but it's near impossible to get seats for any decent movie that comes around, unless you want to wait a month for it. Oh well.

Update: Watched it and loved it. For one thing, Katie Holmes isn't in it, so you couldn't go wrong there. Didn't disappoint, which is rare these days. Chris Nolan rocks. Heath was brill. It's a bit long (about 2 1/2 hours or thereabouts) so be prepared.

This Blog's Word Cloud

I went to wordle to get my blog's word cloud and this is what I got.
Interesting.

Score!

Went to DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) last Sunday and boy, did I score.


I spent less than $65 for 4 pairs of shoes (I have the brown in black as well) and a fancy dress (I have 2 weddings and a christening to attend in the next couple of months). How good is that?

The shoes were from Novo and Steve Madden. The dress was a sample dress (I'm back to my old size!) from Ojay and they had a Samples Sale (50% off on sample prices!).

Shopping should always be this good. Oh yeah, it usually is...

I love this band

They're called Bamboo and they're Pinoy. How cool is that? Listen to more of their music here.

They even do a decent cover of Pearl Jam's Alive.

I can't listen to them enough. I bought their new albums when I was back home and promptly left one of them in my parents' house. Now, if only my family can mail it to me soon (not so subtle hint, yes).

Amazon Books

I got my ordered books from amazon.com a few weeks back. They came in a big heavy box through the mail. It was so cool. It was like Christmas.

Surprisingly, the books were cheaper from amazon.com than from any Oz bookstore. Even with international shipping. I will definitely be ordering more. Especially now that I have space in the shelf (more on that later).

(The blue graphic design one is for my sister)

This is so cool

I love my library...


Staff from my local library walk along St Kilda beach on sunny days to hand out books!!

So much fun.

Read more about it here.

Woohoo!

After a million hiccups and several months wait, we finally got our brand spankin' new car!

We got a 2007 Toyota Yaris Sedan and it's very cute. I drove it from the dealer to our house this morning -- it was nerve wracking. I've never had a brand new car before.

This is the picture from the Toyota website.

Ours is dark grey though. I'll take pictures of the actual car this weekend...

Meanwhile, you can watch commercials here. Happy weekend!!

Weather Blues

And to think, this is actually an improvement already as we've been having 5C and 6C days recently.

Yesterday was really dreadful, pissing down all day, really cold and windy. Today's marginally better with the sun peeking out once in a while.

I've been doing better on the work situation. Well, not exactly better. More like, if I don't think about it, it doesn't bother me. But at least a meltdown has been avoided. At least for now.

Yesterday I had the best news ever! Tiger Airways is going to fly to/from Melbourne beginning December this year! Woohoo! They're advertising flights for Melbourne-Singapore for just A$499/return! I want to book now.

Free Hugs

I like hugs. Free hugs are even better.

Hmm, this is exactly what's needed to de-stress.

Go here for the story.

Apparently, 07/07/07 is Free Hugs Day.
(well as deemed by the forum on the free hugs website anyway)

Four Eyed Monsters

I watched this indie film online last night with D. It was funny and very artsy. We both really liked it so I decided to post it here as well to help them promote the movie.

Join Spout Buy DVD Watch Video Podcast Get Code

They've uploaded the entire film on YouTube for a limited time and are asking viewers to help with their credit card debt (incurred during the filming and production of the movie) by joining spout (free sign-up and the site will give them $1 for every person who joins) or buying a DVD or high quality download.

Learn more about their story here.

eBaying

I think I'm addicted to eBay. Seriously.

How does one know? I'm very worried. I think I spend too much time on that site. Not too much money yet though. Well, not alarmingly anyway.

But they're all bargains! I swear.

And I really REALLY needed each item I bought!

Well, not really. Aside from my fm transmitters (itrip knockoff but works way way better), I don't think I would have bought all the other stuff. Not paying retail anyway.

Some of the recent stuff I've bought:

NEW BLUETOOTH HEADSET H700 FOR MOTOROLA(BLACK)

Sony Ericsson Car Charger K750i K800i W800i W850i Z530i

SOLAR GARDEN LIGHTS X 4

200 Channel LCD FM Transmitter+Car Charger for iPod MP3

New Portable Digital USB Speaker for PC Laptop MP3

Yeah, I think I may have a problem.

Adventures

We haven't had any exciting adventures in the recent past. Come to think of it, we haven't even had any not-so-exciting adventures to talk about either.

We do have the excuse of moving house but I think that excuse is well used up by now. I have to get started on a list again. Which reminds me, I should give an update on that list I had early this year to see how we did.

List posted initially in Jan 07 (updates in red):

1. Take Spanish classes with D (already enrolled. classes start Jan 18, Thursday evenings.) - Done! Not sure if we learned anything but we had fun taking the classes!
2. Watch the Australian Open (bought tickets for Jan 21, Sunday) - Went and truly enjoyed it. Hoping my dad comes back next year in time for us to go together.
3. Watch a film at the Moonlight Cinema (sometime in Feb, waiting for the screening of a movie we actually want to see) or the Rooftop Cinema (maybe next Friday to see Bright Young Things) - done and done. Saw Casino Royale at the Moonlight Cinema and Bright Young Things at the Rooftop one. Both were quite enjoyable.
4. Learn Yoga (I really need motivation for this) - i went to ONE class! i'm so bad. at least, D and I have enrolled in a gym. i'll check out the classes there.
5. Visit more museums or cultural centers (next stop is the Australian Center for Contemporary Art where Mike Nelson is exhibiting Lonely Planet at the moment) - went to the ACCA and got weirded out by Mike Nelson's art. i need to find another artsy alternative.
6. Explore Victoria through books (I'm actually doing this already through the reading program, Reading Victoria. Already gone through one, Stiff, and now reading through Picnic at Hanging Rock.) - read Stiff and didn't really like it. Picnic was a bit weird as well. Read another book which I liked - Nevil Shute's On the Beach.
7. Catch more concerts (D wants to see Tenacious D this month. I doubt we'll be organized enough to catch that one... Damien Rice is playing in Feb, Gomez in April) or go to music festivals (St Kilda Festival is on!) - haven't gone to any concerts but we did go to the St Kilda Festival. hmm, i think we should try to catch a concert soon.
8. Have picnics (if we end up going to the Moonlight Cinema, then that's 2 birds with one stone. If not, I want to go to Hanging Rock). - Cinema done, Hanging Rock still hanging. =)

Well, I don't think we did too badly with that list. Time for a new one!

300: A Review

I loved this film. I didn't expect much from it, especially after Chrismiss blasted it. I just hoped it would be as pretty as it looked on the trailer.

I really liked it. It was bloody, gory and fun! Yes, the storyline was more fluff than anything else but what can you expect from a comic book? (Yes I know it's technically a graphic novel. Semantics.) I liked the cinematography and the CGI-ness of it. I read a review somewhere blasting the movie for being too faithful to Frank Miller's version. Um, yeah, that's what an adaptation is, right?

The half-naked men prancing about did help with the eye candy but, surprisingly, I got bored with them after a while. They sort of just blended with the scenery.

Another highlight was the Queen. She rocked! Especially the near-end bit. Won't spoil it for those who haven't watched it but that scene is worth looking out for.

However, I did get disappointed when I did more research on the history of the 300 Spartans (nothing to do with the movie at all). Turns out there were more than 300 that fought in the Battle of Thermopylae. Another 4,000 more that is. It would have been more impressive if there were really only 300.

Last note: I thought Xerxes was just a tad bit silly. Seriously, he looked more like a drag queen than a deluded demi-god.

I highly recommend watching this film on the big screen. Unless you have a really flash home entertainment system, the small screen would not do it justice.

My current obsession

These are sooo yum. Seriously.

Honeycomb Minis

My new toy is cool

My phone's charged and ready. I've been listening to the built-in radio and it's a godsend. Especially as my ipod is still sick. And my officemate has a very loud voice. And she's not afraid to use it. I've been missing my ipod sorely, especially when she's around.

I've just realized that all my contacts are saved in my old phone. Not the sim. I have no idea how to get the details from there. Boohoo.

But other than that, i'm liking my new phone. I haven't explored it too much but I think it'll work well with my needs (which isn't much). I hope battery life isn't too short and I have to get used to flipping it open (not as easy as with my old samsung) and the menu/keypad (which i don't think will be hard to learn).

Woohoo!

I have a new toy!

I got me a new phone. Sony Ericsson z550i. It was the freak wave that finally pushed me to do it.

I've had my old phone (Samsung fliptop) for almost 2 years now and I've been meaning to replace it. But I kept putting it off as I couldn't be bothered looking for a new one.

Well, as my phone is disabled (the keypad doesn't work), I needed a new one, pronto.

Which is this new baby. I like it. And it didn't cost me much, which is very important.

My only requirements were: fliptop (which it is), decent camera (1.3mp, at least it's better than a VGA) and bluetooth (check). It even added some other features that I think is cool: mp3 player and FM radio. Woohoo!

It's charging at the moment so I can't play with it yet...

Irony is...

I left work early yesterday (gone by quarter to 5) so that I could go and pick up my lovely, long-awaited MacBook from the shop which closes at 5.30. D picked me up and we braved the scorching heat (about 40ºC) and rush hour traffic to try to get to the shop in time. We did.

After a short wait, some paperwork and signatures, I got my new toy. We headed home (after a brief stop at the library) and I quickly unpacked the laptop from its box.

Just as I was about to plug the Book into the powerpoint, our power went out. Yes, people, THERE WAS A POWER OUTAGE. So, for the better part of an hour, I was looking at my brand new toy longingly but could do nothing else but stare at it.

It was funny but so typical as well. Hehe.

________

All's well that ends well as I was able to play with my new toy for the rest of the night.

By 11 o'clock, D was threatening to let me be, so I could sleep with my Mac instead of him. I would have happily acquiesced but I didn't want to go to counseling after just 4 months of marriage.

________

So, for the next month, I'll be busy learning OS X and unlearning Windows (well, I can't really as I still have to use it at work). Wish me luck!