Day 52 - Death Cab for Cutie!

Dear Death Cab for Cutie,

I'm in awe.

You guys are such solid performers. Clearly meticulous and perfectionistic, you manage to create such poignant yet clean, "full" sounding music live. Tonight's show was very impressive - 2 steady hours of back to back tunes, including 4 encore songs, and Ben even put on a solo drum show for us - what a treat!

Thank you for creating such heartbreakingly beautiful music. A lot of your songs have been featured in the soundtrack of my life, for which I am grateful.

Thank you for the incredible performance that will remain imbedded in my memory until I see you again.



Setlist:

1. No Joy in Mudville
2. I Will Possess Your Heart
3. Crooked Teeth
4. Why You'd Want to Live Here
5. Photobooth
6. Doors Unlocked and Open
7. Long Division
8. Grapevine Fires
9. Codes and Keys
10. What Sarah Said
11. I Will Follow You into the Dark
12. Hindsight
13. You Are a Tourist
14. The New Year
15. Little Bribes
16. Soul Meets Body
17. Cath...
18. We Looked Like Giants
19. Marching Bands of Manhattan (with Ben's awesome solo drum performance, and Chris and Nick swapping instruments!)

Encore:
20. Home Is a Fire
21. Title and Registration
22. A Movie Script Ending
23. Transatlanticism

Day 51 - Pole sweater, grass mat, hungry Bermuda Triangle and excitement

Here are a few things that made me happy today:

1. Knowing that poles get cold too.



2. Having a grass mat on my doorstep.



3. Knowing that the Bermuda Triangle has digestive problems too. 

On Saturday, the Bermuda Triangle devoured 2 teddy bears, 2 cushions and a LCD screen in an hour. I took that as a sign that it was starving, so I fed it more junk.

I fed it craploads of cardboard, a DVD player, a heater, a broken lamp, old kendo sticks, some nice shoes, light bulbs, books, a roll of chicken wire and a drafting table's stand.

But it didn't seem to like all the crap I gave it. In fact, much to my disbelief, it regurgitated a cupboard, a chair, and possibly even a bicycle!

However when I left for work this morning, everything was goooooooooooooooone!



4. Being super excited about seeing Death Cab for Cutie tomorrow night that I can't stop grinning from ear to ear. Coincidentally, when I got my morning coffee from Plantation today, they were playing Plans! To say I squealed like a 4 year old schoolgirl would be an understatement.

I can still vividly remember their perfectly executed performance from almost exactly 3 years ago, the 24th of February 2009.


So psyched - can't wait!

Day 50 - Dessert at 3:34pm

Happiness is waking up at midday on a Sunday, having lunch at Axil at 2:30pm, and a nougat parfait with marshmallow, passionfruit, smashed honeycomb, persian fairy floss and lemon sorbet for dessert at 3:34pm in the afternoon.



I'm convinced its the best cafe dessert you could have in Melbourne. Hell yes.

Day 49 - Cute things and boys that clean

A couple of things put a smile on my face today:

1. I love randomly stumbling upon cute, funny things, such as a card with a llama wearing a stripy scarf which was knitted by bunnies...

...and this "I love you just the way I am" tea towel, which features a fat cat which resembles Snowflake.


(And here's a photo of Snowflake that I think looks like the fat cat)



2. When I came home, to my shock and horror I found my housemate, Michael... wait for it.... cleaning and scrubbing down the kitchen. Oh my God. I am unable to put into words how gloriously happy it makes me to see a boy cleaning. Little did I know, he had already helped me reorganise all the contents in the kitchen cupboards, cleared out all the expired goods, and sanitised and wiped down all the greasy cupboard doors. I think I've hit the jackpot! 

Day 48 - It's still my birthday!

First of all, here's a photo of Snowflake sticking a bit of her tongue out heeheehee so cute.


It felt like it was my birthday all over again today!

Day 47 - Only happy when it rains

It was raining cats and dogs this afternoon, with severe thunderstorms and wild winds rolling over Melbourne.

I think this sums up Melbourne's bipolar weather pretty well.


When I was much younger, I absolutely loved being in the rain. At first sight of rain, I would change into singlets and shorts, and race out into the garden. Then I'd stand very still, shut my eyes, and submerge myself in the sensation of rain streaming down my face as water droplets danced and bounced off my shoulders. I was convinced that by not moving while being soaked in the rain, I wouldn't fall sick. Rain calmed and soothed me like a gentle lullaby as it hugged me. In that moment I felt born again.

Now, rain annoys the hell outta me when I have to walk in it. The feeling of wet feet is just icky! As I walked home today with rain bucketing down and my feet drenched, I was cursing under my breath.

But as I walked along, I started reminiscing how much I loved being in the rain. I was in such a hurry to get home, in such a mad rush to get my feet out of my wet shoes, that I forgot to look up.

I looked up at my clear umbrella which I lovingly lugged back from Japan, and smiled as rain droplets tap danced on its surface. It was a beautiful sight.

Once I reached home, I headed up to the rooftop and indulged in my childhood pastime of standing in the rain. Perhaps I've grown up now, as I rationally shielded myself under my umbrella.





But it felt just as magical as I remembered.

Day 46 - Turning a year older

Today I'm smiling because... it's my birthday! But I'm actually, really smiling because I'm turning a year older.

I'll be honest - I've never liked getting older. Not one bit. When I was a wee kid, I was never in a hurry to grow up (and I'm still not!). I always thought the time would eventually come, why rush it? Why not enjoy what you have now? Of course, back then I was convinced that by the time I turned 25 I would have somehow changed the world. These days I despised getting older as it meant I couldn't escape adult responsibilities whether I liked it or not, and it almost feels as if all the hopes and aspirations I had of myself when I was younger are catching up on me as I start realising I'm not quite where I imagined to be. Not that I actually still want to be a rockstar now, but that could have been nice... Plus, older is synonymous with wrinkles and facial lines. Gah!

And I'll be honest again - up until just a few days ago, I was dreading the fact that I was turning older, then I read something in the weekend newspaper that resonated with me. A woman who was being interviewed shared an epiphany that radically changed her outlook on the way she viewed getting older. On her birthday she was visited by a friend who had lost her sister to cancer a few years ago, and her friend said a line which struck a chord in her, "We are so incredibly lucky to be able to grow older."

So today, I'm grateful to be still alive.