Happy Monday - 27/04/09

So You Think You Can Dance - Well, it's all over as of last night, but man it was fun to watch! I was so excited that Charlie got into the top 2, and was convinced he'd win it, but alas, it was not meant to be. Still, loved it, and can envisage myself jumping on the net to watch random routines whenever I feel down!

TripleSix Hair Designs - TripleSix is awesome. I discovered her work when I was trying to figure out my 'look' early last year, and have been dying to get some of her product. My fringe got here today. Next on the list - blonde and purple dreadfalls - hello!

Julian Wilson - He's not only a young, hot, and insanely talented surfer (to the point he 'invented' a new trick called the 'Sushi Roll'), he's also pushing breast cancer awareness. Donating prize money and proceeds from auctioning boards to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, and riding pink boards bearing the slogan 'Chicks Check Ya Tits', he's making moves to try to encourage young women to be aware, after his own mum battled and won her fight thanks to early detection. How can you not love him?

Random Txts - I usually only get these when people I know are having a big night out, and I have sent more than my fair share. Still, sometimes you get one that makes you go 'awwwww'. Those beat the hell outta the ones that make you go 'huh?', which are also fun, but more often confusing.

My Rip Curl jacket - Ok, well it was The Muso's, then I nicked off with it. Why? Cause it's warm, it's way oversized, it's waterproof, which has been very helpful in the last two weeks, and he left it on top of all my stuff. I'm such a Rip Curl junkie now, half the time it looks like they're sponsoring me.

Hot Chocolate with a shot of hazelnut - Mmmmmmm. It's like dissolving a big spoon of Nutella in a cup of hot milk, and it's soooo good!

Trip Planning - My mum gets here on Wednesday! This means I've been racking my brain for all the things we're going to do (mainly because I have to figure out how I'm fitting in uni stuff around her visit!). Graduation, dinners, shopping. All planned out, and all very looked forward to!

Hump Day

When I was a young teen in Ti Tree, I never really understood why everyone went to the pub on a Wednesday. I mean, really, it’s the middle of the week. Since being at uni, I have discovered that that is exactly the point!

It’s been one of those weeks. Well, really, it’s been a series of ‘those weeks’ for the last several months. Ah, the joys of the honours. Everything that can go wrong, will of course go wrong, with no explanation for why it went wrong, other than it did. I have a theory that the various parts of my project are conspiring to send me to the loony bin. That, or I’ve cured cancer and just don’t know exactly how. Or perhaps it is a super strain of cancer that I could sell to some military institution as the next big biological weapon… Nah.

Anyway, I digress. I got to 4pm this afternoon, and had the sudden overwhelming urge to walk out, and go down the Ponds for a few drinks with my mates. I was taking photos of the super cancer cells at the time, and I have the feeling the scent of 70% ethanol spray may have had an influence on this compulsion. I considered this urge, and realised that it must be because it is ‘Hump Day’. Yes, its been uphill all week to this point, and the after downing a few wine sunrises (cause $2.80 beats $6 spirits), and watching Mentor win on the dogs, the rest of the week can surely only be a smooth, leisurely, coast to the finish.

Of course, everything is going to be better after tomorrow, for the pure and simple fact that my neck will be straight again (Yes, I shall no longer by kinky!), and I’m heading out with some of my favourite peoples (yes Gilly’s, it’s going to be a good night!). Things like that always hep to improve my week. But still, I now see that those Wednesday evenings spent at the pub were necessary, to distress from the half-week past, and to fortify yourself for the half-week coming. I've gotten over the hump, and it should be easy going from here... provided no more bloody cells mutate!

Some place you'd rather be

The problem with having a few days off is that you never really want to go back to the old routine. I’ve spent the last two glorious sunny days cooped up inside wishing that I was back down in Torquay, lazing about on the beach, soaking up the autumn sun. Instead of sitting curled up in an armchair, I’d much rather be walking barefoot along cool, moonlit sand. I’d rather be pulling on the neoprene and taking another surf lesson than shrugging into a white coat and staring down a microscope for hours. And I’d rather be in a buzzing restaurant, listening to some cool music, sipping a crisp glass of white, and hanging with good friends, rather than in an empty house, or a dead campus.

Unfortunately, certain responsibilities have to come before such leisurely pursuits. So whilst I’d rather be on the coast, living the good life, I’ll be dragging myself into uni every morning, and going through the motions, and trying not to complain too much. Things still aren’t too busy in the lab, so maybe I’ll still be able to escape into the sunlight for a couple of hours a day, even if I won’t be down the beach, diving into the whitewash. Doesn’t mean that I can’t occasionally indulge in a daydream of sun, sand and surf!

Where would you rather be? What is stopping you from getting there?

The 'Ultimate Beach Trip' to the Rip Curl Pro

Wow, what a weekend! Thought that instead of the usual ‘Happy Monday’ blog, I’d share some of my fun weekend with you guys. Which really, at the moment, is about the same thing as my usual ‘Happy Monday’ blog, but hey!

Friday afternoon we met Bec and Jade, Jade being the awesome chick looking after us for the weekend. We headed straight down to Bells, and checked out some of the GromSearch action, since the Pros had a lay day. Then, it was off to the hotel (The Sands, Wow), and the drama of figuring out what name the reservation was under. After a phone call to someone, who called someone, who called the hotel, we got into the room (which was just amazing!), then hit the dog filled beach. No, seriously, there were dogs everywhere! I went in the water, then two minutes later decided The Muso wasn’t such an idiot for staying on the sand, and came back out shivering again. After walking from one side of Torquay to the other (soooo many pretentious houses), discovered a great restaurant called Left Off the Rocks. Seriously, their mural by Mylestone is amazing, the food is good, and the atmosphere is pretty cool. The camera got pulled out for a few experimental shots of the near-full moon over the water (the dolphins weren’t being helpful with completing the scene), then the long walk back to the hotel, including cutting my foot on a not-pine-cone, some guy having issues getting his boat onto his trailer, and one fishing guy’s really well behaved dog.

Saturday started early with free stuff. Got to love it! Rip Curl pack in hand, headed to the grandstand to watch the groms and Round Three of the Womens Pro (Poor Nikki Van Dijk, 14, getting thrashed by Steph Gilmore). Then got kicked out of Grandstand 2 into Grandstand 4 cause we had the wrong passes (oops). Surf was a bit dodgy, and split the day wandering between the music stage, and the grandstand. Some great action when the surf cooperated. Come the end of the day, hit the beach again for a swim in the slightly warmer water. Left Off the Rocks was packed, but managed to get in right before they started making people line up for a few drinks and some live music, along with surfer spotting. Avoided the Torquay pub, since the line went halfway around the block, and apparently it took people 2 hours to get in. Ouch! Thanks to the crew who gave us their taxi too, muchly appreciated whoever they were!

After the drama of checking in, checking out of the hotel on Sunday morning was surprisingly drama free, and required no phone calls. Bacon and Egg rolls in the grandstand while watching the Women’s Quarter finals in nice, warm, sunny conditions. Unfortunately, surf that had started the day promisingly had started to die down by the time we got there at 9.30, and it wasn’t unusual to see people sitting around on their boards for 10 minutes waiting for a wave. Around midday the Expression Sessions started up, and saw some awesome action as first the men, and then the women went out and just had some fun on the waves, busting out all sorts of moves. Wow. Just… Wow. Grabbed some fake grass in front of the stage to watch The Violet Flames (apparently nothing to do with the Violet Femmes), then headed the long way down to the beach itself to watch Semi Final 2, and Silvana Lima thrash Sofia Mulanovich in a taste of what was to come later in the afternoon. Spent 10 minutes wishing I was 6 ft before I managed to get to the front of the standing section and get some great photos (Sorry to The Muso for standing on his feet every two seconds). Was funny watching those sitting right up the front suddenly scatter every time a wave reached them, lots of wet cameras, jeans, beach towels, etc. Then, it was the long trek back up the hill (there’s a lot of steep bits at Bells, you’d get super fit super fast doing it every day!), grabbing prime position in grandstand 4, and settling in for the Womens Pro Final between Silvana Lima and Steph Gilmore. It started off in a flurry of great surfing, then continuing in the fashion of the day, the waves became incredibly inconsistent. Some great surfing in the 35 minute final, and eventually it became evident that Silvana Lima was about to topple the two time defending champion at Bells. Even as far up as we were, you could hear the crowd on the beach go nuts as the final drew to an end, especially those Brazilians as they started celebrating! Managed to get one of the best seats (well, spots, since I was standing) for the presenations, scoring a spot on the stairs of the grandstand. One of the great perks of having a VIP pass. The crowd filing up from the beach just kept coming and coming, I hadn’t realised just how many people had been down there! Steph Gilmore was gracious in defeat, and the crowd still went wild for the Brazillian, apparently the first male or female from Brazil to win at Bells ever. It was an awesome moment to experience. After that, it was a case of finding a patch of fake grass in front of the stage, waiting an eternity for Ash Grunwald to set up, and then kicking back listening to his dirty blues for the rest of the day.

The camera got a huge work out down in Torquay, with exactly 200 photos taken over the three days. Funnily enough, the majority are of surfing, and there is only one out of the lot that had either The Muso or I in it (and it’s an accidental shot of the back of his head!). I spent the whole weekend wishing for a high tech media type camera with awesome zoom and a couple of filters, but once I got home and uploaded them, I’ve decided my little camera didn’t do too bad a job.

It was a pretty sweet weekend, getting to just sit back, relax, and not stress about anything. The crew at Rip Curl was great, and were intent on us having a good time. Jade was fantastic, awesome chick, and huge help. So, while I didn’t get to meet Steph Gilmore (which I’m a little sad about, but there is always next year), I had a great time down at Bells Beach, and you’ll all have to put up with the babbling for the next few weeks. Definitely one of those experiences that is going to be putting a smile on my face for ages to come. They were right when they called it the 'Ultimate Beach Trip' prize.

The first of many!

Yes, I've started blogging on blogger.com. Those of you who actually read my blogs, first thank you, and second, don't fret because I'm figuring out how to have all of my blogs automatically post onto Facebook whenever I write a new one, so you won't miss anything.

Ok, after a little thought, this might be a little harder than first expected. Stick with me, I'll figure it out eventually!