How to Have a Bad Week

Welcome to How To Have a Bad Week 101. In order to past this course, you must undertake the following:

1. Fill your week with an immeasurable amount of stress - this may be related to exam pressures, family issues, concern over friends, and a lack of time spent with your boyfriend due to his new position. For maximum results, all of the above should be undertaken.

2. Attempt to fit in study around this.

3. Attempt to fit work around this. (Please note: it is highly unlikely that you will be successful in steps three and four if you have successfully completed step one).

4. Become sick. If you have undertaken the above steps correctly, step four should be a natural occurence.

If you have completed steps one through four, you have fulfilled the requisites for How To Have a Bad Week 101. The secondary course following this subject is How to Feel Better and Recover 202. The following are necessary in order to ensure optimal outcomes for this course.

1. Step back, and realise that exam concerns are easily put to rest.

2. Take a short break and return to study fresh-faced.

3. Realise that your work friends are extremely supportive, and relax, because they will help with your shifts.

4. Take some cold and flu medicine, get some light exercise and drink more than your usual amount of tea.

5. Watch Veronica Mars.

6. Look forward to the good things in the near future.

It is likely that, in finishing all of the tasks set out for you in How to Feel Better and Recover 202, you will have completed your week. It may have been a tumultuous one, but it's over, and you can now move on.

Last week was long and hectic, but it's over now. It finished on a good note; Szilveszter and I went to a friend's house, and we played Battle of the Sexes and had a few drinks. It was a triumphant win for the girls; the boys, when asked where the female scapula was, came to the conclusion that it was "something they do their eyes with". It is, of course, the shoulder blade, which is in the same place as the male's, obviously...

I have plenty of good things coming up over the next few weeks, the first of which is Szilveszter's 24th birthday party on the weekend. I can't wait to catch up with our friends, both old and new! Then on Sunday, Szilveszter and I have booked two nights away at the Crown Plaza at Surfers Paradise to celebrate both his birthday and our two year anniversary of being together. I can't wait to relax at the coast (even though, unfortunately, it will be Schoolies...), it's my favourite place to be. This afternoon is my work friend Ella's formal, and my mum is styling her hair for it. I'm excited to see her all dressed up for her formal! Then in early December, I have a couple of Christmas parties; one on a boat cruise down the river with my mum's work and some of my work friends (our parents work together), and then our Famous Footwear one at the coast, which is semi-formal, how exciting! During the day, on that same day, I'll be returning to my prac class for their Christmas party at the local bowling alley. It's going to be a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to all of it.

I love Veronica Mars at the moment. I'm late to catch onto most trends, unfortunately, and I realise she had her boom a while ago, but still. Anything where the protaganist is an outcast is generally guaranteed to click with me.

Hoping everyone's had a good week!

claire. x.

A Lovely Weekend, Actually.

Today I've given myself a day off. As I've mentioned previously, I've been busy with uni assessment and study, prac and work, so this weekend, I took some time out and decided to give myself a break so that I'll be fresh for my last few days of prac and study for my one and only exam on the 14th.

Friday night, I went to a Halloween party at Garden City, where I work. Szilveszter and I ordered costumes online for pretty cheap, and I had a Queen of Hearts dress. I've always been a bit fascinated with Alice in Wonderland, so I was glad to come by the costume, which had a ribboned bodice and a skirt made of playing cards. Szilveszter was Batman, and after a few drinks, felt that he embodied the role appropriately. It was a great night, and the costumes were most certainly the highlight. I caught up with a few people I hadn't seen for a while, so that was excellent. The group who organised and threw the party are in definite need of commendation, and I look forward to their next event!

After work on Saturday, I went to a work friend's house with one of the girls from our store. We had dinner together and had a few drinks. It was relaxing to sit around chatting, and then we watched Love, Actually. One of my favourite movies! I think everyone relates to at least one of the stories in it. The scene where Emma Thomspon's character is standing in her bedroom listening to Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now usually makes me cry, also. But in a good way, I suppose. But who could resist smiling when the children's lobster-inclusive nativity scene raises its curtain to reveal Prime Minister Grant locked in the much anticipated embrace of the sweet and bumbling Natalie? Just the thing to put you in the festive mood...

















I am so excited about Christmas. I can't wait for my exam to be over (although yes, I know I haven't got much of a complaint, what with having a single exam and all...). The decorations have begun to be put up in Garden City, our local shopping centre, and at work, we're planning the rosters for the late night shifts over the weeks leading up to Christmas. I know it may sound wierd, but I actually love working over Christmas. I love it when you start to see bulk-purchased rolls of wrapping paper in people's overfull shopping bags as they approach the counter, and when the staff of various stores begin to don Santa hats. I don't even mind the fact that I can't get to the foodcourt because Santa's got such an extensive queue of children waiting to put in their requests for this year. This will be my first Christmas at Famous Footwear, and I've already anticipated the Santa hat, and so I have purchased red ballet flats (well, I initially bought them for the Halloween party, but they'll double as Christmas shoes!). I guess that the fact that we work so extensively over Christmas means that we essentially share Christmas with our workmates, and given that we've got such a fantastic staff at FF, it's going to be great.



Since my last post on A Great and Terrible Beauty, I've read Rebel Angels, the sequel, and have almost finished Hush, Hush, the highly anticipated Nephilim romance, among a few more insignificant things. I'll most certainly update on Hush, Hush when I get it back from where I left it at my friend's house (oops), but a post on Rebel Angels will follow this one. I've also fallen in love with the New Moon soundtrack, which I didn't particularly like the first time I listened to it. After putting it through the motions a few more times, I find this soundtrack somewhat more atmospheric than Twilight's, and obviously it's a little bit darker, given the painful nature of the book itself. My favourite song is Thom Yorke's Hearing Damage, among others. It's inspired me to hunt down some Radiohead this week.

Hoping everyone's having a lovely week, and is anticipating Christmas as highly as I am!
claire.x.

A Great and Terrible Beauty

It's been a while since I updated with a book review, and this one was I particularly loved. Libba Bray is a relatively uknown author outside of her first mainstream trilogy, but I have a feeling that we'll be hearing from her again soon. The first book in what is known as the Gemma Doyle triology is called A Great and Terrible Beauty. It revolves around the interactions of the young women at an austere boarding school which houses secrets which have remained under dusty lock and key for decades.

Following the suicide of Gemma's mother on the Indian streets on which she was raised, Gemma is transported to Spence Academy to learn how to become a proper young lady ready to be released for the matrimonial picking of London's finest gentlement. Unschooled in the interworkings of young girls, Gemma is shocked at the cruelty displayed by her English peers. While she herself is a formidable target for would-be bullies, Gemma begins to notice that a particular group of girls is making life difficult for an underprivileged and unfortunate girl named Ann, her new roommate. On top of her attempts to make Ann's life a little easier, Gemma is plagued by visions which allude to the existence of a world exterior to our own, which contains the most desirable and wonderful of things, as well as the worst, and most horrific. As the story unfolds, Gemma's connection to the realms she glimpses is unravelled with the narrative expertise of a writer whose talent is extremely apparent, and as her supernatural ability reveals itself, the girls who proved former tormentors begin to expose their vulnerabilities in a world where they are traded as commodities.

Felicity longs for the power to influence those around her. Ann, cursed with unattractiveness, wishes to be beautiful so that her unfortunate past is perhaps more concealable, and Pippa, the most stunning of the four, desparately wants the opportunity to find true love for herself rather than walk down the aisle toward the incompatible husband and dreary future her parents have arranged for her. Gemma's deepest desire is to have the inner workings of herself revealed to her, so that she may understand her role in both the worlds she inhabits.

All four girls are appeased in their deepest desires when Gemma begins to control her ability to access the realms, and the greatest wishes of the girls are within tangible reach. Meeting in a cave adorned with Celtic prehistoric imagery in the dead of night, the girls explore the realms and the diary of a student of Spence past which begins to reveal, page by page, a destiny which awaits Gemma.

Brimming with Gothic eeriness and a modern understanding of teenage girls, A Great and Terrible Beauty provides insightful commentary into the lives of women during the late 1800s. I felt drawn into the inner circle of the Spence girls, as if I were a part of the illicit secret they harboured, and I was as enthralled by the novel's plot as the protaganists were by the diary of their predecessors.

The novel crept up to a suspenseful and dramatic ending, with more than one surprise I most certainly did not expect. Absolutely unputdownable! I'm so glad I read it, as this is one I'd been tossing up on for literally years.

I give this book my highest reccommendation to anyone looking for, as they would have put it in Gemma's day, "a rollicking good read".

The following books are: Rebel Angels and A Sweet Far Thing. I'm sure you'll get an update on these as I finish them!

Thanks to Gracie, a fellow superbookworm (because we're more avid than your average bookworms) who reccommended this wonderful novel to me.

thanks for reading.

claire.x.

Ode to the iPod

It would only be just to give my recently acquired purple iPod nano its due credit for having gotten me through some confusing and difficult times of late. The past few weeks have been filled with the usual ups and downs, as well as an onslaught of pressure from unexpected places, but I've been just fine, because when I'm so frustrated that I can't find words to describe it, my little nano shuffles itself into gear, and presents me with Paramore's "Pressure" to do it for me. When I've got a minute to myself, the nano reminds me to try and relax by serving up Josh Pyke's "Lines on Palms" and Coldplay's "In My Place". Or, once, when it was in a particularly perceptive mood, the nano offered me "Full Moon" by Black Ghosts, indicating that I should go and escape into my favourite fantasy world at Forks and unwind.

Okay, so this is probably reading into my iPod's shuffle function a little too much. But I most certainly have come to appreciate the benefits of having this little piece of technological advancement in my handbag at all times. Music is a relaxing influence, can be vindicating, is an outlet. It can stir up memories of an entire period in your life (X&Y and Queen's "A Day at the Races" for me = high school), or from a particular night (Black Eyed Peas' I Gotta Feeling, anyone?), and can entirely change your mindset. Soundtracks, if put together well enough, have the capacity to transport us back to the setting of our favourite movie or book. Romeo and Juliet's incredible soundtrack has the ability to tell the entire story of Shakespeare's play through the clever track arrangement of Radiohead, Garbage and Desree. These days, music can make you laugh and cheer you up on a day when you feel down. Take Lily Allen, for one, whose surprisngly insightful appraisal of George Bush ("You want to be like your father/His approval you're after), set against cheerfully boppy music, never fails to crack me up. And Katy Perry, one of my favourites, whose hit Hot 'N' Cold yielded the following sparkling gems of wit: "You change your mind like a girl changes clothes/Yeah, you PMS like a bitch, I would know". How can you not laugh at that sarcasm? It's fantastic. Flight of the Choncords, not to be matched, provide crazy, quirky and hilarious lyricism, which immediately recalls their hilarious show no matter how often you hear them.

At the other end of the spectrum existing within the confines of my little purple nano are the heart wrenchingly works of Placebo, whose drug based songs are definite downers ("I'm forever black-eyed, a product of a broken home"). Good to listen to while you're in the same mood, but not for long, lest you remain there. And for goodness' sake, don't move on to Eminem, who seems to lurk in the "Unknown" track titles, even when I think I've evicted him from the iPod, who is blatantly open about his disdain for most of his fans, himself, his family...you know how he is. However, as I've mentioned, I found Paramore's albums immsely useful in relieving frustration of late...Then there's the endless string of Ministry of Sound albums I've acquired over the years, which are surprisingly useful for study, the gym, drowning out noise, etc., but lack most emotional depth, as would be expected.

So I'm thankful for my purple nano for housing all these realms of expression for me. It's definitely helped me get through these stressful weeks just past. :)

claire. x.

Busy week & Tim Burton

This has been a busy week yet again! So just a quick post to update you. I've been occupied with my study, naturally, and have been assembling several essays for submission as the FINAL ASSESSMENT PIECES FOR THE YEAR. What an exciting feeling! I can't wait for this to be over. However, even though I'm just dying to be free of reference lists and Turnitin.com and due dates, etc., I'm enjoying these last few essays. Essays are my favourite assessments, and I have one to write on the Black Death, as well as another one on Tim Burton! What could be better?! I've always loved Tim Burton's directorial style; my mother used to put us through the paces of watching The Nightmare Before Christmas every year since I was little, and I've grown up appreciating his eccentricity as artful. So I'm anticipating that my essay on his films will be an enjoyable one to write! It's also made me excited about Alice In Wonderland, coming out next year!

I've also been at my first practicum this week. For some reason, they wanted us in a primary school, despite the fact that I'm a pre-service high school teacher...but I ended up in my old primary school, to which my sisters and my partner's neice have also gone. It's strange to hear myself being called Ms. Lines by teachers who taught me, and remembered my tendency to read under the table during their lessons. I have four more days there, and my next day is on Friday. I like it there, but it hasn't swayed me to become a primary school teacher just yet.

I'm also happy this week because I've gotten some marks back for assessment, and despite it having been yet another stressful one because of family issues, I have managed to keep all my marks above a six so far. Hopefully with a bit of hard work, I can keep them there!

Somewhere in amongst all this assessment, I've managed to fit work in. Work's going really well at the moment, despite our excessive consumption of Whittakers Coconut Block during the week, and the dilemma of where to shelf the bondage shoe, as we like to call it.

Today is Szilveszter's Bathurst BBQ (more like pizza, though, I'm thinking...), and after a bit of study in the morning, I'll be going along with Jess, so I'm looking forward to an afternoon relaxing. :)

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

claire.x.

Love La Roux!

This week, I've been listening to a lot of La Roux. I bought her album for Dad for Father's Day (he's predisposed to like anyone and anything from England, but particularly liked her), and put a copy on my ipod. I quickly became addicted to her music, especially her songs Tigerlily, Cover My Eyes and As If By Magic. I often think that finding an album that you truly love is as satisfying as a good book, and almost as good an escape from a stressful day.

Well, I'm on holidays for a whole week (ha) from uni. This week has been a crazy race against time to get all my assignments finished before their due dates, but I managed, and it's over for a whole seven days...

I'm looking forward to having a few lazy days reading and watching DVD (Gossip Girl and Alias and Big Bang Theory) sets before throwing myself into the last few weeks before the exam period. I have a growing collection of books I can't wait to get through, including the first in the Percy Jackson series, the new Marian Keyes book, Blood Promise (I made myself wait for this one, I've absolutely fallen in love with Vampire Academy) and rereading Catching Fire. Yes, I am going to indulge in young adult stuff over the break, it's awesome. :D You won't be surprised to know that I have had a cold again over the past week. All my enegery dissolved, which made pushing through those final exams a bit of a chore, and all my joints and limbs ached with the fever, which made me feel like I was constantly walking through mud. After I handed in my final group assignment, I crashed, and it was such a relief to just be able to lie in bed for a while and watch TV! Szilveszter kept me supplied in Ease A Cold and cups of tea, so I feel much better now!

Speaking of walking through mud, however, all of Brisbane this week was ensconced in a sepia haze of dust, the result of dust storms that had blown up from Sydney. It was very eerie! I was in the uni library when it really hit; I'd been there since about 8.30am, and so I didn't see it start, and all of a sudden all the library windows had this strange, peachy tint. Uni itself was very strange to be at; the sandstone buildings, intimidatingly academic at the best of times, almost looked haunted. Strange.

What was less supernatural, however, was the resulting dryness, and the dust that dirtied anything and everything it landed on. Sigh.

I'm already looking forward to Christmas, on a slightly more festive note! Christmas means lots of listmaking for me: lists of decorations, presents, things to do and buy; extended trade means being a part of the Westfield Christmas period almost non-stop, not that I'm complaining (yet), and numerous Christmas parties and celebrations. I can't wait! We're having some visitors from overseas this Christmas, including my dad's closest friend Dirk, from Germany. It's going to be a big affair at my house! Expect photos of all the animals dressed in Christmas outfits. My mum insists upon it, and if grumpy old Begby could manage his Christmas bow, I'm sure bouncy Daisy and friendly Rosie will manage their outfits... sigh for the puppies!!

claire.xx

What I've Been Up To Lately...

It's been a busy couple of weeks, so I just thought I'd write a quick update. I'm slowly getting through the Vampire Academy series, I love them! Thanks to my work friend Ella's insistence, I finally got over the off-putting covers (which they substantially improved for Blood Promise) and cringe-worthy title, and found that Richelle Mead's series if tautly written, full of a different kind of romantic tension to Twilight, and based around a narrator who is the exact opposite to Bella. More on those in a later post, I'm sure!

I've been trekking through assignment territory steadily, and have one group assignment and one (ahem, unstarted) smallish argumentative essay due in the coming weeks, and then I think I'm done until after the mid-semester break.

I spent yesterday with my boyfriend, who hurt his back recently. We had a lovely relaxing day, and took in a little sun. I did manage to get a slight tan - wow, this means I might have to buy the second lightest shade in my make-up now! Incidentally, on the subject of my beloved boyfriend, I managed to push, shove, plead and coerce him into reading The Hunger Games. And, lo and behold, he adored it. He's currently reading Catching Fire, and for those who don't know Szilveszter, let me just say that he is so resistant to reading that he has read a total of three books in his lifetime prior to THG, and all because I forced him to (he did enjoy them, however!). These include Dean Koontz's Life Expectancy, Russel Brand's autobiography My Booky Wook (which I couldn't really get along with, but he loved), and The Hobbit, which is still under contention, as he was actually read to by his teacher at the time. Hmm. If you count that sort of thing, he also "read" Twilight, by using an audio book. SO it is an indicator of the power of THG that Szilveszter would enjoy them as much as he has, and I'm so pleased.

I'm off to work today, wishing Garden City would hurry up and put its Christmas stuff up. That'd put me in a better mood!

I am currently...

Thankful for the bounce proof case on my iPhone, which has proved its worth a number of times now (and just did again).
Curious about how I managed to hurt my elbow do badly, it's a little swollen and bruised and I don't know how I did it!
Wishing that they made more diaries at this time of year so that I could have a new one. I'm considering just writing the dates in my small moleskine.
On that note, needing another moleskine.
Looking forward to going away for a night with Szilveszter in the mid-sem break. Oh, and Jason and Gracie's engagement this weekend. :)

Have a lovely week, everyone.
More book-related posts soon, I hope.

claire.x.

Catching Fire

Catching Fire, the long-awaited sequel to Suzanne Collins' dark young adult novel The Hunger Games, is an unbelievable book. Following Katniss Everdeen's rebellious win of the Hunger Games in the triology's first installment, Catching Fire concerns the aftermath of Katniss' daring refusal to play the Games by the tyrannical Capitol's rule.

For those who haven't yet experienced the Hunger Games, here's a quick recap: in the America of the future, Panem, a central region called the Capitol holds total rule over the twelve active districts which ring it. Each district, numbering one through thirteen, performs a special function which serves the Capitol, from mining in the poverty stricken District 12 to the manufacture of luxury items in relatively privileged districts 1 to 4. As a haenous reminder to the districts of the failed attempt of District 13 to rebel against the Capitol in the Dark Days, a tournament is held yearly where the names of two children from each district are drawn at random for the purpose of a glorified gladiators game. The twenty four tributes enter a highly controlled arena, and are forced to kill one another until one survivor remains.

Katniss, a sixteen year old tribute, managed almost to outsmart the Capitol at what is quite literally their own game. She managed to keep her district's fellow competitor alive in an act which, at its heart, was pure rebellion, but was presented to the masses as uncontrolled love.

It is from this point that Catching Fire begins; Katniss and Peeta's lives have been transformed into ones of relative comfort, yet neither are happy. Katniss is being controlled in her every choice from where she spends her victor's money, the partner she chooses and the words she speaks. Threatened personally by President Snow, she is under enormous pressure to hold a full-scale rebellion at bay by continuing her romance with Peeta. Essentially, she needs to disguise her own refusal to comply with the Capitol, so that the masses do not follow her lead.

What's worse is that the Hunger Games are not over for Katniss; being the mentor to this year's tributes, she must first complete a victor's tour of the districts before settling into the brutal and savage rhythm of the Games once more.

In the not so obscure world of Panem, however, the government is all-powerful. Katniss's accidental beginning of a long-dormant uprising means that the punishment of the many will forced onto her shoulders, and her relationship with the Hunger Games shifts once more.

With an ending as shocking as its subject matter, Catching Fire lived up to every expectation I had personally held for a sequel to what has become one of my most beloved books. Katniss is every bit as ambitious and determined as she was when we were first introduced to her, but now she is weathered with the horrors of what she has seen and done. As a readership, so are we; I felt every twist of every knife, every stab of fear and every moment of confused hope and panic that Katniss did. Just like the Hunger Games, only more so, Catching Fire resonates with the reader. It remains a part of you for days after having endured its horrors. In a world which so closely resembles our own, Suzanne Collins has shown us what a dark and horrible place the future could be. The hope of the many, however, rests frighteningly easily upon the shoulders of the young.

Everything's okay.

Just a quick post to let everyone know that things are on the up. After a very difficult and stressful week, I'm behind at uni, and worried about that. I'm hoping to catch up early this week though, with a lot of hard work. I'd like to thank anyone who might be reading this who offered any form of help or support during the difficult times we went through last week; your efforts were invaluable. As usual, my boyfriend Szilveszter was wonderfully supportive; my best friend Jess went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure I, and others involved in the situation, were okay. My work friends were generous in their time, offering to work when I wasn't able, and they were more than supportive.

So thank you again to everyone. Looking forward to better weeks ahead.

x claire.

A Beneficial Break

I had the most fantastic day today for several reasons, with the main one being that Szilveszter and I went to Seaworld. I have been to Seaworld before, but not for ages, and it was wonderful to be there again. I was so excited to see all the animals, the polar bears and the dolphins in particular, and was extremely impressed with the shark tank. 'Tank' is probably the wrong word for it. Shark realm is probably more like it. When you looked at it from underneath, through the glass, it seemed to stretch on forever. The constant movement of the fish and rays amongst the regally slow sharks was absolutely mesmerising, and the small distance between us and the animals behind the thick wall of glass was unnoticable. We stayed watching the sharks for ages, there was simply so much to see. Szilveszter adores sharks, and was fascinated by their movements and grace; I, on the other hand, couldn't tear myself away from the dolphins, much to Szilveszter's chagrin. We didn't see everything, and we only saw one show, so there's so much more to see when we visit again, thanks to the Q150 passes Szilveszter got for us.


Today was a refreshing escape from all the petty little things that bring you down in everyday life. In the afternoon and evening, when we returned from Seaworld, we went shopping, and then had dinner at my house. I found that I was in a much better mood than I have been for a long time. And what's more? I even got a little bit of a tan! (If you squint and tilt your head to the left...I don't look SO much like a vampire anymore!) All I needed was a little bit of a break to get back on top of things, and I have!

I'm looking forward to catching up with my Boost friends this weekend for dinner, and going to a retro night on Friday with my old primary school friends and Jess. Throw in a few assignments and that's what I have planned for the rest of my week.

Excited about Catching Fire's release! The sequel to The Hunger Games, I cannot wait to read it.
Reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and realising that, following the odd looks I got on the bus to uni (by some people reading Twilight, no less) and after approximately ten years of doing so, it may be time to stop reading Harry Potter in public places.
Very thankful for my boyfriend Szilveszter. He is my best friend and one of the only people with whom I can truly relax; time spent with him is time treasured.
Appreciative of a day off. With work and study and study and work and uni and study and gym and - did I mention study? - and everything else in between, a break is the most precious luxury you can afford yourself. Normally I like nothing better than to plonk myself in an armchair with a cup of tea and a lengthy novel (a guilty rarity, however), but being away from everything today was just perfect. I can't wait to visit the polar bears again. :)

Hoping you can take a break soon too,
claire.x

My week so far has been fairly quiet, most likely owing to the fact that the cold I've complained about in the last few posts will not surrender! I've caught up on some uni work, and spent some time with some friends, and during the week I had a day in watching movies with Szilveszter. We watched The Talented Mr. Ripley, which was reccommended to me by someone who knew my favourite novel was The Secret History, and once I'd watched it, the connection between the two was apparent. The Talented Mr. Ripley, to give you a quick rundown (as I think I'll be putting up a full review of the book when I finish it), is an unsettling story which takes place in panoramic Italy. Tom Ripley, surprisingly and excellently portrayed by Matt Damon (... ^_^ ...), is something of an impressionist. By chance, he one day impresses the father of a young, rich playboy (a young Jude Law, just in case Matt wasn't enough for you) named Dickie Greenleaf, and he is sent on a mission to retrieve the hedonistic Dickie from his Italian abode.

But once Tom arrives in Italy, he becomes enamoured with the life that Dickie leads, and Dickie's charmingly sweet partner Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). Oh, yes. And Dickie. Tom becomes obsessed with Dickie, and Dickie responds by seeking to put distance between the two. Tom reacts by killing Dickie in a brutal and savage fashion. From hereon in, The Talented Mr. Ripley becomes as complicated as another of Matt Damon's films, The Departed, as Tom takes on the identity of his obsessee, and continues on a chilling murderous streak in order to protect himself. Matt Damon absolutely enthrals as Tom Ripley. He is both repulsive, in that his obsessions are pathetic and needy, and endearing; his naivety and vulnerability, expressed separately from, and in conjunction with, his obsession, are charming. Ever since seeing Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting (and forever quoting "DO YOU LIKE APPLES?" for about the next week), I have been a loyal fan of his, but of all the films I have seen him in so far, I think he did the best job of Tom Ripley. If you liked The Secret History, this film is about as close as you'll get to cinematic portrayal of that hideous, creeping sensation which refuses to leave you after having closed Donna Tartt's wonderful novel. But let me stress that The Talented Mr. Ripley is its own piece, and was written long before the former.

So I'm currently seeking out an omnibus copy of The Ripliad, which is the title of the series of crime/mystery/psychological thrillers written by Patricia Highsmith featuring Tom Ripley. I have located singular copies in Borders, but because they're rather hard to find nowadays, they are quite expensive. Sigh. So onward with the search, perhaps the internet will be my saviour!

What a life I lead, I know! However, there are a few things coming up for me that I'm looking forward to, including Jason and Gracie's engagement party, and Riverfire with the girls from work (wait til you see the footwear that night... :p ).

Hope everyone else has had a lovely week.

Thanks for reading.

claire.x.

Feeling accomplished!

Just finished my first assignment for the semester (and I'm quite pleased with it, even if I did finish it on the day it was due!), and I feel rather accomplished, even though there is a mountain of other stuff I need to move onto rather soon.
It's been a lovely week so far. Szilveszter and I had dinner with Jason and Gracie Monday night; the boys ate two of the most enormous steaks I've ever seen, while Gracie and I wistfully discussed the need for expensive ballet flats (and yes, I did say NEED). Tuesday and Wednesday were spent mostly in bed for me, unfortunately I've had a bad headcold this week. My doctor speculated that it was tonsilitis, but I sort of doubt it, it wasn't that bad. Just slowed the whole week down a bit. Thursday I worked the morning, but I think my ridiculously congested-sounding voice prompted the girls to offer to cover me, so I went home early. Well, actually I went to Gran's, and then, FINALLY, collected my iPhone. Then last night, prompted by my parents, I brought Daisy with me to Szilveszter's soccer game. As I said to the girls there last night, I believe that I may be acquiring a reputation for being a Crazy Dog Lady, as I have been seen at various soccer events with a total of three different dogs now. I can hardly deny it, really...but then, if that's on record as my worst quality, I definitely can't complain! :p

After soccer, Szilveszter, Daisy and I went to dinner and a photo-showing at our friends', Emma and Greg's. Daisy was certainly well-received there, but, despite my best efforts, apparently insisted upon leaving a twenty-cent coin-sized surprise for her hosts after we'd left.

Unfortunately I haven't really been reading too much lately, so I don't have anything much interesting to report. Envy, the third installment of The Luxe series, was brilliant; if you felt a bit disappointed by Rumours, then definitely still stick Envy out. I've been re-visiting Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in light of the movie; a reminder to everyone (if there is still anyone?) who just watched the movies and never read the books - you're missing out!

Hope everyone's having a good week too. Has anyone seen My Sister's Keeper? Is it worth seeing?



claire.x.

It's a mess. It's a start. It's a full work of art.

Take back the city for yourself tonight
Or I'll take back the city for me

Take back the city for yourself tonight

Whoa

God knows you put your life in two a times

And it's both cradled you and crushed

But now it's time to make your own demands

Whoa

All these years later and it's killing me

Your broken records in words

Ten thousand craters where it all should be

Whoa

No need to put your words into my mouth

Don't need convincing at all

I love the place where I have no doubts

Whoa

It's a mess, it's a start

It's a full work of art

You're a save, you're a call

Every crack, every wall

Make a sign, make a fight

Get your head, it's not right

We can sing, 'til you drop'

Cause the fun just never stops

I love this city tonight

I love this city always

This song, you probably recognise, is Snow Patrol's Take Back the City. Kristy had it on a CD she made for work, and it's been stuck in my head all weekend. It makes me think about place, and the way that surroundings can shape you. The city, for me, is Brisbane, pictured above. Some talented photographer managed to capture the colourful movement of Brisbane at nighttime, and made it appropriately lovely. I love the bridge that holds together the casual, natural (although in reality not so at all) vibe of Southbank and the structural aesthetic of the city. I love the Arbour in Southbank, which has blossomed into the canopy of colour it was intended to over the course of my high school life. Remember when the Arbour was nothing but intimidatingly bare steel, curved to unnervingly sharp points?

Going to school at State High, which is adjacent to South Bank, meant that I spent a great deal of my time after school trawling the book stores in the city. I especially loved Archives on Charlotte Street, and used to go there when it was raining, for some reason. It had an oddly old-world type feel. I think they've changed that back room, with its archaic chairs, now. Sadly.

I've spent many afternoons with Szilveszter wandering around the Southbank markets, pretending that perhaps there's something new this time, but always coming back to the same horrible cane toad wallets. For me, there's always a sheepish feeling when I arrive at Southbank, as though I'm not really meant to be there. A remnant from many illicit periods spent by the river from 2003 - 2007, perhaps.

Oh, the river. It's horrible, by light of day, is it not? The most hideous shade of acid green, dotted with the faded City Cats (which, incidentally, my mother always points out with too much interest, as though they are a rare and endangered animal - "Oh, look, everyone, a CityCat!" - and as if we haven't been seeing and riding them since before we could register for a ticket) and probably a collection of rubbish thrown from over the bridge. We all know there are, famously, hammerhead sharks in there, though I've never heard of anyone seeing one for an absolute AGE, and someone once told me, or I read it online, that there was once a cow's carcass found in there. Horrible. However, when night falls over our humble city, the river transforms from puce to jet black, and reflects with stunning clarity, the colours of the city it divides.

Recently, when I was on the new Brisbane wheel with Jess, the casino was lit up in an electric shade of magenta for support of breast cancer. The river mirrored this, as well as the luminousity of the usual street lamps and the lights from the suddenly graceful overpass. I was impressed with the river's ability to be both hideously polluted (is it actually?) and elegantly beautiful all in the space of twenty four hours. It makes the line, "I love this city tonight" all the more appropriate!

It is a mess - so many different atmospheres, all lumped together like a house with endless extensions. The class and old-fashioned sophistication of The Regent, say, compared with the pristine modernity of Broadway On the Mall.

It's a start - it represents to me the start of my relationship; my first day with Szilveszter as a couple, I spent with him in the city and Southbank. The start of friendships, solidified over chai lattes and a shared interest in literature at Borders.

It's a full work of art. Whether you shop, work, live, party, trawl, eat, read, or travel in the city, there's something beautiful about it that I'm sure you'll notice. The pieces that each of us identify as being beautiful combine, of course, to prove that this city, and probably every city, is a full work of art.

claire.x.

Short and sweet.

I'm currently utterly engrossed in The Picture Of Dorian Gray. I'm only about a third into it (I tend to read the classics a fair bit slower...it's a big change from my usual teen fiction, sadly), but it's entirely compelling so far. The characters are intruiging, and each in their own way somehow dangerous. Dorian, at the point I'm up to currently, is enchanting. Lord Henry is frighteningly persuasive, and Basil, the artist, is sort of pathetic, and fairly transparent. Wilde fully intended this; I think he's applied carefully separated aspects of his personality and self to the trio. If you know anything about Wilde's history, you'll see, then, that disaster is probably intended to befall all three. Well, I'll keep you updated, anyway!

I've had a fairly busy weekend that was, guiltily, devoid of uni work. I'll have a lot of catching up to do this week. Saturday I worked, and that night, Jess and I went out to the city with some of my old friends. It was great to have a catch up! I skillfully (or luckily) avoided a hangover for work today. Saw a few friends, incidentally, throughout the day, as is the Garden City way. I often think that those of us who are (willing, or unwilling) participants of the Garden City community sometimes bypass its quaintness. How many specialty shops can you walk past without throwing a wave to one of the staff that you have worked with before, or perhaps is a regular at your own store? Honestly, we're like the Westfield version of Stars Hollow.

Watch this space...

I'm having a lazy afternoon reading and playing with the animals, and I've been trawling Blogger and seeing some other beautiful blogs made me want to change a few things about mine. The themes, the look of it, the way people see it...so watch this space. ;)
x.

This is Daisy, our new puppy (previously referred to as Evie). She is the sweetest ball of fluff in the world, and she's just tiny. She fits, in her entirety, in one of my palms. Szilveszter's hands absolutely engulf her! This picture doesn't really do her justice; it was difficult to get her to sit still long enough for me to take the photo, but this is the one that came out best. We decided to name her Daisy, instead of Evie, because it's far more fitting, not in the least because when she characteristically stumbles, we all chant, "oopsy daisy!". Her feet are roughly the size of five cent coins, and they never seem to go in the way she wants them to, so she does tend to fall over quite a bit. She's also very young, only just six weeks. Bella was about two months old when we first got her, but her feet were about egg size! The other animals in this house, Rosie and Murray, have had mixed emotions, it seems, about Daisy's presence. Spoilt-rotten Rosie was green-eyed for the first day or two, and then she realised that she wants to mother her. Murray, our Russian Blue cat, wasn't so excited. He's harder to read, being the first cat we've ever had, but he definitely needs some extra care while he's getting used to Daisy.

Last night Szilveszter and I joined a new gym; it's Jetts, in the Village near my house. It's within walking distance to me, and has a great atmosphere, silly as it sounds. I'm really excited about it, because its proximity to me means I'll hopefully have the motivation to make use of it. I instantly liked the place, so I'm hoping to spend a bit of time there this week.

Still getting back into the swings of things at uni; today I can't go in, I have a dastardly cold, and I'm a little worried about falling behind. But I have the whole day to catch up. :)

As you could probably guess if you've been reading my blog lately, I've been fairly stressed recently. A few things have been weighing on me, and with so much going on, sometimes just the smallest obstacles can affect the balance in your life drastically. This week, though, things have definitely picked up, and I've found positivity in the most unlikely of places. For example, an article in a magazine which was lying around my house, of all things, made me feel really lucky to have a stable job and a secure amount of savings, be debt free, and working toward a degree, as well as to have several close friends, and the most wonderful boyfriend, whose influence helps to overcome anything.

I thought I'd share with you one of the infinite life lessons that Harry Potter has taught me (really, you must expect that I'm this attached to these books, I've been constantly reading one of them at all times since I was ten). Yes, it is a bit sad, though. But anyway!
Do you remember what the class was taught by the insightful Professor Remus J. Lupin in relation to dealing with the Boggart, the shape-shifter which is guaranteed to take on the shape of your greatest fear?
Laugh at it. (Riddikulus!).

Thanks for reading!
claire.x.

Movieworld + Evie!

Szilveszter surprised me earlier this week with the generous gift of a yearly pass to Movieworld, Seaworld and Wet'n'Wild! I was thrilled, and we spent today at Movieword. I'd never been before, and I had a lovely time with him. Unlike Szilveszter, I'm not one for the rides with butterfly-inducing drops or dizzying heights, but I managed several of the tamer ones, and even enjoyed them. :p We saw what I had to admit was an impressive stunt car show, and visited the glorious Harry Potter store. Surprisingly, I didn't purchase anything there, but merely marvelled at its authenticity from the outside. I was tempted by a plush Ron doll, but what I really wanted to find there was a Pygmy Puff. I had an unshakeable feeling I'd find them, but I did not. I bought the next best thing, though: a round plush cushion of Sylvester the cat. Ha ha ha.

I got some really exciting, unexpected news today! My family is getting another dog, a champagne coloured female chihuahua puppy. She'll be named Evie. Rosie, our existing chihuahua, is possibly the most pampered dog you'll meet, although not in the typical, Hilton-esque manner you may expect; our dog is FAT, there is no denying it. :p Evie will be very young, and it's mostly going to be up to me to look after her during the week until she's old enough to brave "the tag team", as we affectionately term Murray and Rosie, destructive duo extraordinaire. The relationship that Murray and Rosie have developed indicates that Evie should be well-received. In fact, adding another female dog, according to our vet, may in fact improve the dynamic between the two. Although jealousy will no doubt be an issue! Once Evie's settled in, we just need to adjust Bella, Szilveszter's and my dog, to the chihuahuas and Murray; she currently hates Rosie because she's orange. A hypocritical sentiment because she is a shade of vermillion so bright its her trademark.

So as you can imagine, I think I'll be in for a big week this week, what with Evie, uni, work and the rest... But it's all moving forward, so it's all good. Once again, I have that feeling that everything I'm doing is going toward something bigger. There's nothing worse than being static, or falling backward in your tracks.

Thanks for reading!
claire.xox

Back to uni!

Back to uni this week! It's been a great week so far. I've enjoyed my lectures and tutes, and I'm ahead in my readings and assessment. I'm studying two education subjects, one of which requires me to do field experience in a school, which should be exciting. The other one is about constructing learning programs and the use of technology and media in education. Then I'm doing a history subject and a film and television one, which seems really interesting so far. Having things to focus on and plan has really helped to detract from the stress that has interfered with the last few weeks, and going back to uni is a huge reminder that there are bigger and better things to get on with. Although, this will all probably change come assessment time, when I'll be cursing my degree once again... On Monday, I went to the library to do some research for an upcoming assignment, but all the computers were down (sigh, thanks SS&H), so I went outside and sat under one of the trees in the Great Court. I had my much-loved copy of Twilight with me, and I read for about half an hour in the quiet, on what was possibly the best maintained grass in all of Brisbane. It really made me appreciate the uni as a place, and made me feel privileged to be there. At times, UQ feels cut off from the world, as I guess it's supposed to; it's just this little (well...) hive of academia and thought. The library buzzes with frenetic energy, people dotted around the edges of the sandstone walls of the Great Court buildings balance their laptops on their knees, the coffee shops have impossible line-ups, and inevitably, the printers in the libraries jam.

But still. I'm glad to be back.

This week, I'm revisiting Twilight. Aaah. Nothing works so well when you've had a terrible day. Have paid a visit or two to Hogwarts in the small hours, as well. I've been a bit insomniac this week! Can't wait for the Dorian Gray movie to come out; I'm getting through that book too. Oscar Wilde was a bit of a character...looking forward to seeing how it shows on film. Also have been checking out the viral campaign for District 9, a movie set to come out in about two weeks. Not sure if it'll be my cup of tea, but you gotta admire the work that has been put into this advertising. We got shown it during my film and TV lecture... find it at www.d-9.com, if you're interested. It's worth a look.

Thanks for reading,

claire.xox

6 things that make me happy.

I got tagged by Gracie in a linking chain blog thing to list six things that make me happy. :) Sadly I do not have enough followers to tag back, but I'm going to make the list anyway. So here we go:

1. Books. I love to read; there are probably about ten books that I could read time and time again which will make me happy, especially if I'm feeling down. Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games (although that's a push :p), a fluffy Marian Keyes novel, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, The Lovely Bones, Middlesex, Special Topics in Calamity Physics and The Luxe novels usually do the trick. I adore escaping into another world, and I always, always, always carry a novel with me. I love talking to people about books, and introducing my friends to books I know they'll enjoy.

2. Drawing and art. I barely have time for this anymore, but it is one of the things which truly relaxes me. I mostly draw people, from life and those I make up. I'm planning on uploading a few drawings sometime soon. I didn't draw this one below, but I love it. Klimt's The Kiss, from my last post, is fast becoming one of my favourite paintings.

3. Animals. I love animals, especially dogs. We had a cattle dog cross, Bonnie, for a while when I was really little, but when I was about five, we got Begby, an apricot coloured Chihuahua. He was grumpy, viscous and foul-tempered, but he loved a select handful of people. Begby died last year, at age thirteen, and I missed him terribly. But Szilveszter and I have Bella together; she's my orange puppy, and she's mental, and always always happy to see me. She brightens the worst of days with her floppy ears and giant feet. Rosie, my family's much loved new Chihuahua, is exploited for her good nature, and quite often gets dressed in a variety of outfits, the most popular of which is her England jersey. However, I believe that may be because she's too fat for all the others! And then there's Murray, our Russian Blue kitten. He's technically my sister Hannah's, but he loves everyone. And he loves soap suds. I really miss Begby sometimes, but all the animals make me really happy. Also, Begby only ever had one toy. Well he thought so. That pink thing in the picture, Puffa. Only he had two the same; he was so attached, that one had to be washed while he played with the other.

4. Planning (or talking about) going to Europe. I'm so excited, I can't wait, but at the same time, I'm really enjoying just researching and reading about all the places we could go to! London's one place in particular I'm really looking forward to...How can you look at this photo and not imagine being in a plane preparing to land in the city??

5. Music. Both playing it and listening to it. I play violin, and though I wasn't particularly good by the standards at my school, I enjoyed it and have been learning since I was 10. My favourite artists are Coldplay, Lily Allen, Placebo and Garbage, and I love some dance tracks too. I went to see Coldplay earlier this year, and it was fantastic to see them live. I've listened to their music every single day of my life since I was about 12. The best part of their concert was probably Fix You, although they had the entire crowd enchanted the whole evening. This picture was taken during Lovers In Japan. They are all multi-coloured butterflies; they came down in different waves of metallic and fluroescent over the crowd. Jess and I collected a few after the concert.

6. My boyfriend. He always knows exactly what to do to cheer me up when I'm down, or how to fix it when I'm stressed. I'm lucky to have him. :)

look closer (at Klimt, Munch).

This, in case you didn't know, is Edvard Munch's The Scream. Many critics, over the years, have pondered the aesthetics of this painting, as well as what it actually means. Someone asked me once (an art teacher at school?) if I thought the person depicted in the picture was screaming, or if he was blocking out the scream of someone else in the background. I think perhaps it's the latter; perhaps the sound is what has distorted the landscape so. All the colours are tinged with red, the colour of pain. So maybe he is hearing the pain of someone else. Something I've wondered is, who is the black figure behind the screamer, as he is sometimes known? Munch very deliberately painted this figure into the scene. He is no accident. Is he making his fellow painting-dweller scream? This changes things. Is he screaming from pain? Is he hurt? Is the red which dominates the painting the red of blood, of pain? Or is he screaming from pure frustration - is the red his anger? What did the dark figure do to make him so angry? This painting, whether you like it or not, forces you to consider the situation, and the role of the two figures within it. Imagine if Munch had chosen to paint it from the other perspective; if the dark figure were foregrounded, and our enigmatic screamer mysterious in the background? In that case, we'd be looking, I believe, at the perpetrator of whatever crime the dark man has committed against his screaming companion, rather than the response, reaction to, or result of it - the scream - which we are presented with. If you view it from this perspective, as I do, Munch confrontationally forces us to think of the consequences of our actions for others. Look closer.



This is Klimt's The Kiss. It features in the novel Evernight quite prominently. When I looked it up out of curiousity, I knew nothing about the painting - except that I love it. This painting is about romance, love. The generous use of gold paint shows us that this is the most precious, most treasured element of the image. The vines, and lush green of the flowers remind us that this is natural. The designs of the man and woman's respective garments are complex and different to one another, but put together, the combine beautifully. The gold sparks around the couple show that their luminousity has rubbed off on their surroundings. This is an oil painting - it would have taken time, love, to finish. This painting, to me, sends an umcomplicated message, unlike The Scream. Look closer.

This is the famous scene in American Beauty where Lester Burnham's wife, Carolyn, has discovered that he has purchased his dream car, a 1970 Pontiac Firebird. Lester responds with mock enthusiasm, real sarcasm, "I RULE." This film, in my eyes a piece of art in itself, continually urges us to look closer. At the apparent happiness of others, when under the surface lurks deep dissatisfaction with their lives, themselves. At the complacement of yourself, which, if you made some changes, you could dispel. At what is, instead of what appears to be. Consider Angela, blonde siren, whose apparent promiscuity hides a shattered sense of self-respect. Consider Janey, whose initial reaction to her "creepy" neighbour hid a developing sense of longing - shown when Ricky, looking closer than most, zoomed his camera in on her mirror to reveal her reflection smiling to herself. Lester, who looked the closest, and inverted himself, so that upon the film's dramatic closure, he was happy. Consider Colonel Fitts, at whom nobody looked closer, who suffered grievously because of it. If you look closer, what do you see in yourself, in those around you?

Do you see the gold happiness of The Kiss? Or do you see the frustration, the pain of The Scream? Because here's the thing. You don't really have to look closer - you can tell at first glance.

I'm trying to find a print of the Klimt painting for my room. Does anyone know where to find it?

I'm sure the majority of this post will turn out to be rambling and senseless analysis in the end. But thinking of things in this way helped me to clear up my thoughts.

If you haven't watched American Beauty, do. It's my all-time favourite movie, it's fantastic. You'll love it.

Thanks for bothering to read such a long-winded post.

claire.xox

Things to look forward to.

This weekend's been the worst one for a very long time. I've been pretty sick with stress for the past few days, but I don't know how I'd have coped without Szilveszter and Jess. Jess and I had a great night out at Southbank; we went on the ferris wheel. Brisbane's landmarks were lit up pink for breast cancer. The casino looked really good. And we also had awesome Indian, and managed to confuse a waiter pretty badly. We ordered lemon lime and bitters and a baileys, and apparently this was such an unusual request that they combined the two drinks in the one glass. Sigh. Szilveszter and most of my family are coming over tonight for my uncle's 40th. We're having Thai, my mum's made a feast fit for a global army. That should be good. The kids will come over again, I'm looking forward to that part. I'm looking forward to Jess's birthday on Saturday too. On the upside, we did find out this weekend that Rosie wants to join Szilveszter on the soccer field (she was wearing the wrong jersey though), and that she's scared of three year old blonde children who really, really love her. I'm really hoping this week is better than the last. I'm looking forward to going back to uni, can you believe it? At least it's a distraction.

claire.

Week so far, babysitting and Dora.

I've had a few days off this week, thankfully. I've been exhausted, after having gone straight from a stressful exam period into a lot of hours, and eventually two weeks of full time work, so I've really really appreciated having a few days to myself this week. I've spent some time with Jess and Szilveszter, and have done a fair bit of sitting around too, which is what we all need, really! I've had a bit of a head cold, also, which at one point, I was positive would manifest in a return of the dreaded tonsilitis, right before I go back to uni, which would be just my luck. But I'm feeling a lot better now, and I've got a few more days off this week coming, so I should recover nicely in time for the new semester. I've got a huge to-do list in my little Moleskin notebook, so hopefully I have the energy and motivation to work my way through it before uni goes back.

Last night, I babysat my cousins for the evening. Matthew is eleven, Kate is five and Ciara (pronounced Kiera, it's the Irish spelling) is two. I was privvy to a viewing of The Land Before Time - Invasion of the Tinysauruses, which was democratically elected as the evening's entertainment, before the routine participation in Dora the Explorer's quest to save the snow princess. Matthew is constantly engrossed in sports of any kind, so he gave me a run down of the NRL's current state. This was handy, because now rather than pretend I know what Szilveszter's talking about when he gets onto this topic, I will actually have some background in it! Kate opted to be dressed as a princess for the majority of the night; her outfit consisted of a tasteful Princess Aurora dress, golden plastic tiara, her good black dress shoes and a sceptre, which had been stuck back together with sticky tape after too violent a knighthood, or some such. Like me, Kate loves to draw, so she and I got some materials out and were depicting yet more princesses, when Kate nonchalantly announced, "I'm only giving Snow White two fingers, because she doesn't need any more, and I can't draw them anyway." I hid a smile at this, and rendered the full amount of digits on my own Princess Kate, who was defaced by Ciara later on anyway. Ciara is such an enthusiastic girl, who announces anything and everything that pops into her small blonde head with gusto. For instance, last night, with swelled chest and proud stance, she declared, "THIS IS A DRINK BOTTLE." Then nodded and looked around the room, presumably seeking applause or some sort of gratification. It really is hilarious. Once, on a car ride, she said, "DADDY, DADDY, DADDY - I HAVE FINGERS," and displayed them for all to see. I often wonder if she's an ameteur comedian, because generally she's as happy to receive laughter as she is to be rewarded with a round of applause.

It was good to hang out with the kids for the evening last night. It's nice not to have to worry about anything except whether Dora's going to find the blue cow sneezing in the red barn in time to save him from his geranium allergies.

Despite me constantly being stressed, however, everything's going well for once. I've saved an amount of money I'm really happy with, and am able to keep adding to it. Work is great, I love the girls; on our Thursday shift change crossover, we all seem to have a switch flicked and end up in hysterical laughter. Our house is finally a happy place to be, even if Murray and Rosie are generally engaged in combat. They honestly roll around in a ball like on a cartoon. I've been able to spend more time than usual with Szilveszter lately, and that's been wonderful. We've been talking and planning and thinking about Europe, and that's a huge motivator on straining days. And, importantly, I have plenty to read, and the time to do it over the holidays. Jess and I are going to see Harry Potter tonight, so I can't wait for that!

Hope everyone else is enjoying their holidays too.

Thanks for reading!

claire.x.

The Luxe Series

Anna Godberson's recent series The Luxe (including The Luxe, Rumours, Envy, and the upcoming Splendour) is full of goregous and unbelievable fashion, meticulous research and addictive gossip. Godberson utilises a similar format to the Gossip Girl books, which have an omniscient narrator and multiple perspectives, as well as quite a wide and loosely linked character base. Set in turn-of-the-century New York, The Luxe centres mainly on the doings of those connected to the Holland family; Elizabeth, engaged unwillingly to Henry Schoonmaker in order to save her family from financial ruin, has her sights set elsewhere. Elizabeth's younger sister, however, has romantic intentions for a suitor which society would no doubt approve of...if only he wasn't engaged to her sister. Penelope Hayes, Elizabeth's faux friend, is just generally nasty, frequently throwing disguised tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants. She gives Blair Waldorf a run for her money; she has NO soft side that we've seen yet. Lina, Elizabeth's former maid, attempts to throw off the shackles of her working class life in order to join the ranks of the Hollands and the Hayes in society...at a shocking cost to her former employers.

Godberson has very accurately researched the customs and culture of this time period; some of the traditions and societal upholdings you'll encounter in these books will surprise you with the normality with which they were carried out. For example, it is made known that it was customary for a young lady to change her gloves ten to eleven times a day (while Penelope, thinking herself superior, changes them three times that amount, and discards each pair after a single wear!). Perhaps the most frustrating part of these books is the diligence with which the younger generation uphold their parents wishes, becoming engaged to those they don't like, let alone love, and behaving just so purely for the sake of society.

However, the author hasnot only acknowledged these truths of New York society, but has used them to her advantaged, playing off against them scandalous secrets and manipulative schemes which will keep the reader well and truly hooked. Think of this series as a more sophisticated, more intelligent (dare I say that?) Gossip Girl, with more blackmail, cheating and fashion than you can shake a stick at. This series is going off in America, and with good reason!

In my opinion, one of the best holiday reads I've had so far, and an engrossing topic of conversation with my fellow workmate and bookworm, Ella. ;)

On a slightly different note, does anyone have any reccommendations?

Thanks for reading!

claire.x.

Evernight

Evernight
Claudia Gray

Evernight is a book about a vampire romance. So let me say from the outset that if you're such a die-hard Twilight fan that you'll be comparing everything in it to Stephenie Meyer's take on "the cold ones", then don't bother with this one. I say this because if you look, you most certainly will find a lot of similarities between the two, but if you forget about what you know about Twilight, and accept a new take on vampires, then you'll thoroughly enjoy this one. As I'm sure we all know, the story about a vampire/mortal romance is an old one which has been and will continue to be reworked by many authors. I personally believe that Stephenie Meyer's success has to do with the playing out of the fantasy of obsessive crushes, and that's why Twilight and its successors have struck such a chord with the teenage hordes.

(I'm sorry, but do I sound like I take vampires a little too seriously? I was reminded by an old friend of mine today I hadn't seen for a good while that vampires have always been a literary fixation of mine. Won't go into detail here for the sake of retaining my dignity.)

Bianca's parents have decided to enrol her in Evernight Academy, so that she may learn to live a life the way Evernight teachers. Bianca hates Evernight, and, in a release of teenage angst, decides to stage a run-away. On her way away from Evernight, she runs into the intruiging Lucas, whose rebellion against Evernight is a mystery. The closer Bianca becomes to the clique-y group that make up the majority of the Evernight body, the more distance there seems to be between Lucas and herself.

So this part you can probably predict your way through, if, like me, you read one too many teenage-level supernatural romances. What comes next is the twist that makes Evernight something special.

I don't want to give the twist away, but ...yes, there is an age-old rivalry between the vampires and their enemies. And yeah, I think you could probably guess who is and who is not a vampire. But what you couldn't see is how this comes about. Claudia Gray has employed a literary turnaround that you could liken to many of those great texts where the shock has been in front of you the whole time. Remember Fight Club (the book or the movie), where Jack, our faithful (and technically unnamed) narrator undergoes a series of flashbacks wherein we realise that he, in fact, is Tyler? Or when the viewer of The Usual Suspects is shown that Verbal is, unbelievably, not quite as innocent as he seems (oh, how evil you are, Kevin Spacey)? Something along those lines. Narration is used cleverly to expose a different perspective of a plot that, up until halfway through the book, seemed pretty-stock standard.

All in all, Evernight's an addictive holiday read for those among us for whom vampires are a long-standing literary pleasure. Thanks again to Gracie for the gift of Evernight and its sequel, Stargazer, which I am saving at the moment, but can't wait to read! :D

Thanks for reading!
claire.x.

Well, it's been a very busy week at work. I've done full time hours this week, which has been tiring, but excellent for my savings. Working with such good people helps; it makes the days go by quicker. I just find that at the end of each day, I'm too tired to do much after work, which means the socialising part of my uni holidays is suffering. However, my savings account is swelling, which all adds up toward Europe at the end of next year, so I can't complain.
I have managed to squeeze in some catch-ups with a few good friends this week, which has been fantastic. After a stressful and busy semester, it's been wonderful to see people I haven't for a long time.

Another downer this week was when I dropped my iPhone. I definitely knew I'd manage to damaged the iPhone at some point during my ownership of it... at the moment, I'm waiting to find out if it'll get repaired or replaced, so currently using a little Nokia. I must say, it's a relief to use the Nokia at times; my perpetual clumsiness means I'm always dropping phones, and it's just good to know that the Nokia's pretty well indestructible, even the if the battery and the casing spill out everywhere. Yeah, I'm used to dropping stuff. As the Facebook group so correctly states, I was pale and clumsy before Bella Swan made it cool. Although whether she's actually made clumsiness and paleness cool is still contentious in my books...

Speaking of books, I must post the Evernight review. See next post for details. :)

Thanks for reading.
claire.x.

Ecstatic!

I am so happy, I just got my uni results, and after staying awake with stress over it all night, I ended up doing really quite well! I don't want to post the actual figures online, but considering that my second exam didn't go very well, I was worried I'd have to take a supplementary exam or even repeat the course. While that was my worst subject, I still did better than just pass it, so I'm relieved and happy that all my hard work and study before the exams actually paid off.
Thank you to those who put up with my stress during the exam period, especially my boyfriend Szilveszter who had unending patience and Jess, who I've gone through exam freakouts with since the early days of high school. Especially toward the end of my exams, I wasn't coping very well, so I really appreciate the support Szilveszter continually gives me, and the afternoon of procrastination on the swings with Jess, which, rather than procrastination, was a much-needed break from both Weimar culture and the Mithraic cult.
I've been working all week, and last week, which is fantastic for my savings (and shoe collection, ahem), but not so great for relaxation. I could really do with a break, and I'm sure I'll have one when my manager returns, it's just sort of hard to envision having two consecutive days off without a million things to do and complete.
Trying to fit in as much holiday reading as I can - during the semester, whenever I read a novel, I feel I should be reading a passage in a text book or something, but I've managed to get a few in so far! Evernight has been my favourite so far, a birthday gift from a friend equally as bookish as I am (in a Willow Rosenburg, cool way, rather than the Hermione Granger, social recluse way. Well, that what I aim for anway, haha). Evernight had a clever twist in its tail, and while you definitely could make a lot of comparisons between it and the fated Twilight, you must keep in mind that the Twilight story is an old one, and has been reworked in many ways before Stephenie Meyer over-emotionalised it. So Evernight's worth a read. Will probably post a proper review of it soon, but just have barely had the time to sit down and think about it!
Currently reading Rumours, the sequel to The Luxe, which is a cleverly researched novel which could be described as turn of the century Gossip Girl, New York setting and all. And if you've never picked up a Gossip Girl book, certainly do. They're supposed to be sarcastic and ironic, and over the top, and expect something a little grungier than the pristine television show (there's a whole underground-type scene in the books not depicted on the show, which I love anyway), but they're also a perfect holiday read.
Trying to get through a beautiful Penguin edition of Madam Bovary, but I find the classics slow moving, most of the time. The goregous purple and pink cover is a motivator, though!
Am thinking of re-reading all the Twilight series too, but I just can't bear the hype over Edward. I walked past Fellas in Garden City yesterday, and saw a life-size cardboard cut out of Edward - $89. How sad!
Today and tomorrow I'm going birthday shopping for some friends, and I'm really looking forward to finding the perfect presents! One of them I have to put a little bit of work into, so I just hope I can find the time this weekend! I have Friday and Saturday off, yay!
Hope you're having a good week.
claire.x.

Middlesex and Lonely Werewolf Girl

Okay, I admit, I've recycled these reviews from some I wrote on the LivingSocial book thing on Facebook. But these two are fantastic books, though very different to each other; Lonely Werewolf Girl is a good rainy day book; it's funny, interesting, based in a world you'll definitely recognise and, underneath a sarcastic exterior, has quite a sweet story (although expect some disappointment for selected characters ;) ). Middlesex, on the other hand, is an epic, and quite a serious book. It's certainly not a lazy read, and it maybe doesn't have what you'd term a positive outcome, but it won the Pulitzer Prize, and once you read it, you'll see, without a doubt, why it's so deserving of such an accolade.

Lonely Werewolf Girl
Martin Millar
This is the funniest, most complex and most satisfying book I have read all year (including those in my literature courses...). I was initially drawn to the idea of a haute couture lycanthrope designer whose most lucrative client is a fire elemental who is frequently upstaged at interdimensional soirees, but was soon charmed by Daniel and Moonglow's sweet yet very realistic friendship and university attendance habits. I admit that the unprofessional cover of this book almost put me off buying it, but if you make the same mistake, you'll be losing out on a wonderfully funny and idiosyncratically British novel with a vast array of characters who are comparable only to those of J.K.Rowling. Butix and Delix (Beauty and Delicious), twin werewolves of Yum Yum Sugary Snacks fame, Malveria, fire elementa queen who is perpetually bored as a result of having vanquished all of her enemies and Markus, astonishingly attractive werewolf who has an oddly fitting penchant for women's blouses are all worth particular mention, as it is the seamless interweaving of characters which make "Lonely Werewolf Girl" a great book. Apparently it's quite hard to find; Borders only had one copy which I happened to stumble across, but if you can get to it through Amazon then it's definitely worth the purchase. It has elements of romance, comedy, tragedy, fantasy and murder, but don't expect the werewolf version of Twilight; if anything, it's like a reeled-in version of Terry Pratchett. In fact, I think you may even see Death wandering around in there somewhere. There is a lot of sarcasm in Millar's humour, and when you mix that with werewolves, how can you go wrong? ;)



Middlesex
Jeffrey Eugenides
This is an astounding novel. A family epic with an unusual alteration, Middlesex records the life and times of the Stephanides family from 1922, in Greece under attack by Turkey, to late 1970s, where the family's bloodline potentially ends. Narrated by Calliope, later Cal, Eugenides' Pulitzer Prize winning novel centres on the cultivation of the recessive gene which ultimately results in Calliope, a girl, becoming a male, as a result of genetic haemaphroditism. Middlesex takes leaps and bounds to across countries and eras, but maintains the essential focus on the characteristics and relationships of the family it centres on. With an emphasis on the tragic side of the incestuous relationships which produced the recessive gene, the novel presents a story unlikely to be reproduced in writing style, tone and narrative plot. In reading this book, you will find sympathy where you did not expect to, understanding where you thought you had none, and a respect for the difficulty some overcome in life. Middlesex is a lengthy novel, but it could not retain its valour if it was any shorter. It is an exceptional exploration of family, identity and gender whose ultimate outcomes are inverted with subtlety and expertise. Middlesex's unforgettable narrator, Cal, is a character who is likely to join the ranks of those who subtly change our lives, and whose story remains a superbly crafted piece.

Eugenides also wrote The Virgin Suicides, which I am yet to read. But I will be very soon. :)

Back with more later.
Thanks for reading!
claire.x.

Facebook...and...Harvard

Okay, I've taken two Facebook quizzes this morning and find myself having difficulty in stopping. Oh dear. Please don't let me degenerate into one of those Facebook users who posts "When will you get married?", and "What kind of a relationship do you have?" on my page...thus far, I have only endeavored to find out which Twilight character I am (Bella, oh dear - stop me if I complain of an unhealable hole in my chest), which "bitch" I am (Sinead O'Connor. Probably the most flattering of the selection available, and the most accurate heritage-wise :p At least it wasn't Sylvia Plath), which Harry Potter character I am (I'm not even going to bother telling you that one. If you don't know, then you've gotten really bored and stumbled across a stranger's blog), what my dream job is (luckily, a teacher) and most recently, which stereotype I fit. Art Freak/Hipster was the concurrent response. Does that make me most like Jane from Daria? I always thought I was Daria. Is there a quiz to find this out? Argh! :p

Why am I doing these quizzes?! Extreme boredom, sadly, is not the answer. I have plenty of things to do today. I have merely opted instead to use my last day off this week to uncover deeply held truths about myself via Facebook. But looking through Facebook this week, I've noticed a few groups and things to become a fan of have popped up with intruiging specificity.

You can become a fan of Singing in the Car (for me, it'd be rapping to ridiculous Eminem songs in the car with my overly enthusiastic boyfriend, generally wearing his gangsta beanie at the time), Hot Showers, Massages, and "I Hate Stupid Stuck Up Bitches", a popular choice among many of my State High friends; our history as the "pretend private school" has led, for many of we alumni, to a predjudice against what Facebook so eloquently calls "stuck up bitches". However, I have refrained from joining that particular group, as I don't particularly want it on my page. However, I have participated in several anti-bad customer groups. My particular favourite is "I have worked in retail and thus have lost all faith in humanity". Perhaps a little overexaggerated, but you still get the general idea.

The cultural anthropologist would have a field day with the latest that has appeared online. What does it say about you if you take ten quizzes about your high school status ("How cool were you at school?", "Are you a Queen Bee?")? How about ten quizzes about various features of your body ("What is your sexiest feature?", "What does the opposite sex notice first about you?") ? Not to mention all the "When will you get married?" and "Is he your soulmate?" quizzes which you never see the boys do... Facebook garners more than 200 million users per day. How many of those users have not joined a group, become a fan of something, or taken a quiz? Facebook is the most successful procrastination tool in the world. ;)

I rank Wikipedia as a very close second, however. I've just learned from it that Facebook has its origins at Harvard University. Funny then, how the world's most prestigious university has played such a crucial role in the development of what is potentially the most damaging website to university performance...

The Secret History (Review)

The Secret History
Donna Tartt
The Secret History is about campus life, the power and cost of the intellect, the treasures and dangers left to us from archaic times, friendship, adolescence and murder. Underpinning the entire book is the concept of cost; to society, to the world, more spiritually, and to oneself. It is an ambitious read, but to be honest, I’ve read it six or seven times, and also have studied ancient Rome and Greece for two years, and am only beginning to feel like I’m skimming the surface of what this book means.
Richard Papen is a Californian-born student who has elected to study at Hampden College, an isolated and small university in Vermont, because its very nature appeals to him. Once he arrives, Richard learns of the existence of a small, hand-selected class whose intensive studies of the classics have isolated them from the rest of the insulated campus life. After some difficulty, he is granted permission to join the class, and as he gets to know his fellow students a little better, it becomes apparent that their devotion to the classic teachings is more than ardent. His class members are a close-knit group; Charles and Camilla, fraternal twins, are orphans. Charles is entirely dependent on two things; Camilla and alcohol. Camilla, one of only a handful of girls in the entire novel, is understatedly enigmatic. Francis, a “trust fund baby”, is stylish, shrewd, gay, and incredibly rich. Henry is prodigious; an apparent genius, he reads in many ancient languages, slips into Latin speech without noticing, and is the embodiment of the archaic values of Rome and Greece. Central to the novel, in my humble opinion, however, is Bunny Corcoran. It’s difficult to describe his character in a sentence, for it is Bunny whose character resonates throughout the entire book. He is an outdated, American “old-boy”, who lives what appears to be the high life, but in fact simply uses others. He is irritating, seemingly stupid, and does not have the riches of the others. When the classics students, prior to Richard’s joining them, undertake a Bacchanal, Bunny is excluded from the proceedings for his lack of understanding and failure to take it seriously enough. The Bacchanalia involves ritualistic loss of oneself to divine ecstasy, a concept not fully experienced since ancient times; so, the successful completion of the Bacchanalia by the group of college students is a remarkable occurrence. However, during the course of their orgiastic ritual, the students mutilate, and kill a local Vermont man. The real trouble starts for them when the obnoxious, irritating Bunny uncovers this piece of information, and, affronted for his exclusion, begins to use it to his advantage.
The remarkable thing about this novel is that the murders – there are two, the farmer’s, and Bunny’s consequential one – are not the centre of the plot. Instead, the character’s reactions to the events of their own doing and Bunny’s are explored in grotesque, disturbing detail. Henry’s frighteningly cold and clinical deconstruction of the “options” the group is faced with to deal with Bunny’s blackmail and paranoia are deeply unsettling and upsetting. Richard’s self-inclusion in Bunny’s actual murder, despite not having participated in the first one, is a shocking example of the lengths young people may go to in order to fit in with an admired group. The revelation of the true nature of the relationship of twins Charles and Camilla – which, if you know anything about Greek history, will certainly not surprise you – reflects the level to which the group are disturbed.
The novel alludes to the social order of the ancient Greek world; the students are depicted as being fallen aristocrats, and the informed reader wonders if this is one justification for their actions. Interestingly, there is not a single redeeming feature of any of the characters in this novel. This is an ambitious ploy on the author’s part, as often books with unlikeable narrators are difficult to read. Do you agree?
But this is no excuse. Nothing can justify the actions of the students in The Secret History. My mother likened this book to watching a car crash in slow motion. You know it can’t end well, but you’re compelled to pay attention to see what the end result is. Something like a Chuck P book, but without the gratuitous gore (sorry, Chuck). After reading this book, I generally feel quite disgusted; it’s written in the style of a traditional Greek tragedy, which unfolds before your eyes at such a rate that you cannot register its effects until it’s entirely over.
Thankfully, The Secret History is now readily available as an orange-covered Popular Penguin. Now only ten dollars! When I first decided to read it, it was very hard to find, so I’m glad to be able to recommend it so easily now.

Enjoy...or perhaps don’t. ;)