In 5 (5!!!) weeks I am off to see the UK, Germany, Japan and New Zealand (and essentially moving to Auckland) and I was thinking of starting a travel blog. I don’t know.. because I am terrible at this one and yet, I am online all the time and I still can never think of anything to say and when I am travelling I won’t have a lap top so a.) I won’t be online all the time but b.) I may very well have all sorts of wonderful tales to tell! Ahhh condrundrum! So to be continued..! Plus, I have to think of a name for it. Ideas anyone? I used to be so creative but seriously since I have left high school I have turned into a mush ball of unoriginal thoughts and ideas. Boo mid youth crisis meltdown!

Anyway my plans for my trip are celebrating my step grand mothers 85th birthday(!), seeing my old London roomie, seeing my old camp pals, raspberry macaroons, 10 year+ reunion in Kansai, tramping the Milford Track, seeing my favourite Kiwi since Mexico!!, Wwoofing, snowwwwww and being outdoors as much as possible. I am hoping to be away for at least a year. Really, without my family there is nothing keeping me here.

Uhhh here are some things I  really really like in recent weeks..

-Uhhh TV? (Big Bang Theory! The Office season 5! Gilmore Girls season 7!) .. and watching them on my Ipod on the train on the way to work, amazing!Also, True beauty (terrrrrrible goodness! Farmer Wants A Wife)

-Crushes! Like one of the delivery boys at work who likes rugby and thinks my signature looks like a 5 years olds? I do not actually know what his name is yet! And this cute girl that walks past  my shop everyday who kind of looks like Sara Quinn.

-Tramping gear (aka hiking gear!) I’ve got all my gear now.. boots, stove, pack etc. I am giving up the indoors and moving to a farm. True!

-Learning Japanese. All I got is hamu sandiochi.. ham sandwich!

-Listening to Roachford, Taylor Swift and The Pogues on repeat rotation!

EXCLAMATION OVERLOAD

Gemma Correll

One of my favourite bloggers, Em from Lick My Cupcakes did a list just like this the other day and I thought I would do one too because most days I think I need a bit of proof that I am more awesome than I give myself credit for. So, 10 things I like about me..

1.) My hair. When I was much younger it was pretty orange tone but these days after a few years of black/brown/purple hairdyes it has faded a little but in the summer in the sun or after I have washed it, I think it is a pretty nice shade of natural strawberry blonde (never ever to be dyed again!) Plus I love it when I have my fringe cut and it is in a nice messy bun/birds nest. Ahhh bliss! It doesn’t happen all the time because I can’t be bothered and washing my hair is my least favourite activity but when I have time, I’m all over it.

2.) My sense of adventure and independance. People tell me this every now and then and I am stoked, but really I don’t know how to be anything else. I’m not totally fearless but I can’t imagine not doing something just because I have no one to go with because I’m pretty sure life won’t wait. Just yesterday a friend called me ‘so international!’ which I think is funny but true seeming I have travelled a fair bit. I just like moving and not being here or there for too long. My plans are to just keep drifting until I get really happy someplace. Plus, I think camping is one of the greatest activities invented.

3.) My eye colour. There is a bit of blue-ish and a few squirts of hazel.

4.) My freckles! The more freckles the better!

5.) My heritage. I love my Dutch family history and learning about it and hopefully one day learning how to speak it again.

6.) My staple wardrobe. I essentially only wear one outfit and never get bored of it. It is nearly almost consists of Chuck Taylors, my drainpipe black jeans, some floral or country check button shirt and a cardigan. Sometimes a canvas tote, kitsch earrings and a headband. &&& always, always my charm necklace and charm bracelet. (Uhhhhh I just realised I have a charm bracelet AND a charm necklace?)

7.) My sense of humour. Sure, I laugh at myself more than people laugh with me but I think I am funny alot of the time. I also love how I pretend to be foreign sometimes plus, I think puns are hilarious!

8.) My excitement levels! Most of the time I am pretty excited! I don’t understand why everyone isn’t more excited about more things!

9.) My honesty and sincerity. Seriously, gimme the truth anyday and I will give it back  to you regardless. I don’t want some blaise version of whatever.. I want the fricken truth.

10.) My nails. Every now and then they are all at a nice length and smooth with nice natural colour.

Wow, that was fun! And heart warming. If you haven’t done one.. do it, you will feel nice!

Sort out international tax returns! Ugh.

File Australian tax return. Woo!

Seam seal my beautiful new tent!

Upload Melbourne photos to Flickr (which by the way, was freaking rad as!)

Things not do:

Wear a certain perfume to perhaps woo a boy only to have him comment that that is what his ex used to wear.

Try not to miss Melbourne too much even though it really hurts and sucks to be home

See Transformers again. I am a strictly romcom kind of girl. And I loathe Megan Fox (perhaps I am the only one!?)

Uhh that pretty much sums me up as of late! Also, I have a Tumblr if you wish to add me. I’m breaking at the britches. I don’t entirely understand what the purpose of Tumblr is.. to reuse and repost other peoples ideas, thoughts etc? Sometimes I feel a bit/very unoriginal on there. I don’t know, but I like having a page with words and images that mean something to me (even if they weren’t mine first) Plus I have come to reliese that I have very little interest/talent in writing (ie in WordPress) so I may stick to lyrics, quotes and pretty pictures (ie in Tumblr) I prefer to just read about other peoples epic lives rather than babble on about the lack of mine.

♥Cupcakes  everyday! Places of interest are.. Little Cupcakes, Crabapples, Let Them Eat Cake, Carousel.

♥ Food! Lots of vegan food! Also, Cookie, that place in the food hall off Swanston that makes Mexi-crinkles, Borsch Vodka and Tears, Mistys Diner, Glicks bagels.

♥ Photoboothing! The old black & white film ones and the authentic round edged colour ones with ink stains and the kawaii computer ones. ALL OF THEM. Also, I might take my polaroid and Holga and take up an old hobby of mine.. photography.

♥ 711! Everyday! Mountain Dew slurpees king size at midnight please.

♥Mini road trips! I am pretty tempted to sit on a bus for several hours to get to Mount Bulla or Falls just to maybe hopefully throw some snowballs down a mountain so my sister and I can pretend we are back in Canada. Or maybe do the Great Ocean Road or maybe just go to some silly named places eg, Tittybong! Mount Buggery! Diapur! Poowong! Or maybe even hop on a plane to Tasmania for a few days.

♥Wicked! My mum happens to be over at the same time so we have a mother daughter date because we rarely hang out when we live in the same house. Plus, it’s Melbourne and Wicked is on and missed it when I was in New York and London so it’s about time. And Moonface is in it!?

♥Shopping! I am actually going to buy things when I go there and not feel bad about coming home with a bigger bag than I left with. For example.. Dangerfeild, Mimco outlet (because I am a few years off affording current season stock!), Genki, General Pants, Lush (sometimes it is easier to fly east than to go south of the river), new Paddy’s store (eco heroes!), Macpac (because I like tents okay?), American Apparel. Shopping list includes but is certainly not limited to.. several various hang bags, a winter coat in red with a hood (some what like little red riding hood perhaps?), Dream Cream, Temple Balm, new Vans and/or Tigers, dresses of great magnitudes, stockings of every colour of the rainbow and uhhhh whatever else takes my fancy!

♥Vintage shopping! Meet Me At Mikes, Circa, Retrostar, Episode, Shag, Hunter Gatherer, Thread Den, Trash and Treasure at Coburg, miscellaneous small town stores.

♥Movies! Really want to see Year One (really only want to see Mr Cera), Sunshine Cleaning and I think that’s it? BOO

♥Bands? I would love to see some bands but I am not aware of any on apart from Pink? PASS. Last time I was in Melbourne I dyed my hair jet black with bangs and camped out for 12 hours by myself to be front row center for Blink-182. True story. And I would do it again given the chance.

♥ hand rolled cigarettes & 80′s movie nights & big hugs & twin reunion & not being at work & my real bff for 2 whole weeks ♥

ETC!

I try to find a way just to say what I’m chasing,
(When truth is just opinion)
Define what I’m making,
Believe what I’m saying.
(When facts entwine with fiction)
To fill this space and feel like I belong.
(Well, I just keep wondering:
What is there to believe in?)

♥

P.S Feeling better.

]]> http://choirinmychest.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/things-i-love-thursday-11/feed/ 0 choirinmychest http://choirinmychest.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/nordisk-musik/ http://choirinmychest.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/nordisk-musik/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 14:39:36 +0000 choirinmychest http://choirinmychest.wordpress.com/?p=239 Continue reading →]]> The other day it occured to me that I like a whole heap of Scandinavian (mainly Swedish though) music, sure I like bits and pieces of bands from primarily English speaking countries but no other countries really.. apart from that lovely little bunch of countries in Northern Europe aka Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway! So I thought I would share some of my favourite bands..

Hello Saferide – A cute twee pop band featuring singer songwriter Annika Norlin that sings about expectations of drunken summer time, wishing your bff was a lesbian, the tears in our eyes (the choir in my chest!) and foot phobias. The only reason I know who this lovely band/woman is, is because of two nice Swedish boys I  met in Canada who played all her records to me and since then she has been in my top 5! Some of my favourites are.. My Best Friend, X Telling Me About The Loss Of Something Dear At Age 16, The Quiz , I thought you said summer is going to take the pain away. ETC ETC! So many favourites! & fyi, her lyrics are actually where this blogs title come from! She is also known as Säkert! and this is my sole reason for wanting to learn to Swedish so I know what she is singing, as I see (or hear it) it is pretty much Hello Saferide but in Swedish. Two bands in one! Awesome hey!

Shout Out Louds (Sweden) – I have no recollection of how I came to love this band but now I really do and I think they toured here once but I did not see them for some reason because I know I was quite slow to get on the band wagon with this one. I really could listen to Adam Olenius all day, and in fact have before and probaly will again soon. Some of my favourite are.. Normandie, The Comeback, Impossible, You Are Dreaming. ETC ETC!

Alphabeat- A cute boy and girl singing pop band from Denmark! Cute! My brother said that they sound like English is definetley is not their first language, which is true. I first heard them when I was in England and they were getting alot of airplay on BBC Radio and then saw them in the summer in Belgium and it was pretty exciting and they are the band I play when I want to be cheered up. Very poppy and cheesey but not too overly novelty (like say, Aqua). They could totally beat the Denmark Eurovison dude and NME called them the best Scandinavian band since ABBA. My favourite songs.. Fascination, 1000 Nights of Thunder, Go-Go.

Refused/ The (international) Noise Conspiracy/The Lost Patrol Band – Pretty much anything Dennis Lyxzén touches I think turns to gold and he is actually in or has been in over 10 bands! T(i)NC actually toured here like 2 months ago and yet I did not go for unknown reasons which is just mental seeming seeing Dennis on stage is one of my dreams! One day! I first fell in love with Refused when I was in year 10 which was not long after they had broken up and thought I was pretty hardcore and I even made a t-shirt. The Lost Patrol (have since changed names a few times and now only sing in Swedish) is the complete other end of the spectrum (kinda like Dallas Green with Alexisonfire and City and Colour) and all (well was) acoustic and  nice! I love it and that way I can listen to them which ever mood I am in almost! Swedish Elle voted him Dennis sexist man in 2004 (I personally don’t find him that attractive..) My favourites.. Summer Holidays Vs. Punk Routine, Liberation Frequency, No New Manifesto.

Other very note worthy bands that I adore and recommend you check out (and click on!).. Lykke Li, Jens Lekman, Kashmir, The Knife, El Perro Del Mar, José González, The Sounds, Stina Nordenstam, Love Is All, Kings of Convenience, Peter Bjorn and John, Joanna Lee, The Concretes and lastly but not least.. Millencolin!

For more infomations: Swedish Pop Info, Razzia Records, Burning Heart Records