I CAN'T STOP LISTENING TO JASON MRAZ - I'M YOURS

This kind of dependence is unhealthy. What if I accidentally deleted all copies of the song I have? What if my internet connection fails and I can't download a new copy? I mean, I'll have to depend on the radio stations for my 30 plays a day fix - actually, that might just work...

It's been 2 and a half weeks since I arrived in KL, enjoying the holiday I missed last summer. That sentence feels structurally unsound. Anyway, I've been driving a lot, playing some badminton and mostly, just catching up with friends.

I have 2 weeks to plan my future because application deadlines don't wait for you. I feel maybe a little lost.

Quiet reflection.

In the maelstrom of work, I've allowed myself a luxurious hour and a half in the solitude of my apartment, listening to Jack Johnson and looking out on the grey, rainy afternoon outside.

Sigh. Life is for moments like this.

spring

Ah, spring! We've been enjoying warm, sunny weather here in Melbourne, and it makes me very happy indeed. Nothing significant has happened since I last blogged, besides a slight panicky scramble to finish assignments, but the worst is over now.

I went see a movie today at Cinema Nova (ex0 would remember it) with a friend. It's a small, arthousey cinema just down the road from where I live, with great retro decor and very cosy and generous seats. I love watching movies in a cinema where you can sit anywhere you like, where you show up 10 minutes before the show, walk straight up to the counter and buy tickets and share the big screen and surround sound with 4 other people on a Friday evening. It's such a far cry from the sweaty queues at GSC and the big impersonal theatres with noisy kids and annoying mobile phones. If only they had places like Cinema Nova back home.

In other news, 24 days left till the Australian Uni Games! It's being held in Adelaide this year, which everyone claims is an absolute hole. No doubt a week of ultimate will fix that right up. I'll be road-tripping there; it's an 8-hour drive in Susan's old Subi with Chuck and another guy. Times like these I really wish I had an MP3 player that can store more than 60 songs and does not trip and automatically shut down every 10 minutes. If anyone has a spare MP3 player, let me know?

Oh, did I mention that I took up salsa the start of this semester? It's great fun, only there are 3 guys and 17 girls so we have to take turns being male and female. It's confusing sometimes, but your coordination comes out the better for it. Also, it helps you gain a more thorough understanding of the dance, so no complaints, really. Initially I found myself more comfortable in the guy's role (why are we not surprised? =) but I think I've got over that now. I suspect it's because I usually start off being the 'guy' first when we're learning a new move, so it leaves a stronger impression.

Anyway, we hope that I will pick up some feminine grace in my movement (*snort*) at the end of this. The 'rents used to complain that I had a jaunty, clumsy gait that reminded them of elephants. Very forward, them parents. Of course, if I was really looking to pick up some grace, salsa's probably missing the mark a little compared to...say, ballet.

Well, we'll see what happens. I believe it's all in the clothes. After all, it's nearly impossible to trundle about when you're wearing a dress and heels, whereas trundling is synonymous with jeans and runners. For me, anyway.

On a last note, if you enjoy fingerpicking and country music like I do, check out Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel's album The Day Fingerpickers Took Over the World. Great stuff there. And if you're looking for a TV series to get into, Six Feet Under is very good. A more detailed review of that and more in the future...

Scaramouche, scaramouche!

Every now and then, I come across a song that makes me unbelievably happy just listening to it. Last week it was Rufus Wainwright - Instant Pleasure; this week I present you Queen - Good Old-fashioned Lover Boy. This may sound obsessive, but I suspect I lost 2 nights worth of sleep because the Queen song wouldn't stop playing in my head and I couldn't stop humming and giggling delightedly over it in bed. Now I'm just lapping up Queen's Platinum Collection, generously provided by bittorrent. I suppose I have Aditi to thank for this, O Aditi, provider of all good music, I worship you. Maybe not provider, but introducer. All the same.

Semester reopens on Monday, and I'm rather looking forward to it. I refuse to admit that I've been bored this holiday; the stubborness is inexplicable. I'll concede that I've been a tad restless this week or so, for certain reasons, but once semester starts no doubt I'll be quite happily distracted. This has been one of the most enjoyable holidays so far, not long enough to drag, and not short enough to leave me unsatisfied.

I've read 2 of Fry's books, which were both wonderfully poofy, witty and fun. Reread The Fountainhead, which was very fulfilling until I reached the end where I discovered that the last 6 pages were missing and scrambled desperately on the internet looking for an e-book copy. I watched Crash, a very confronting, vignette-style movie about racism twice. It was good, very well composed, and provided a lot of food for thought. I got a little terrified thinking about the firearm laws in the US, and how anyone could live at ease knowing the next person on the street may have a gun is beyond me.

I abandoned American Gods halfway through. It's uncharacteristic of me to not finish a book, but I didn't have the stamina for it. I've only a limited appetite for the fantasy genre, and American Gods just failed to draw me in. Admittedly, I started it during that period of restlessness, where watching TV was the only thing that could hold my attention long enough to make the time pass. So I watched the news channels a lot, which didn't help the situation, because of all the depressing stupidity and stubborness going on in the Middle East. Where is the UN in all of this, for god's sake?

Anyway, that about sums up this holiday, and ultimate's part in it goes without saying of course. This update has come a little late; it's me being lazy again. I hope all is well back home, and to those who've left or are now starting to leave for uni, all the best!