Game-ban: Day 4

I would love to play some Gostop or Word Challenge right now! But alas, I cannot.

Game-ban: Day 1

Day 1 and it's already a struggle. The only reason I am managing to stay away from the gaming is because of the public announcement. Not that anybody reads this blog anyway, but nevertheless. My mind keeps wandering to the games, but I restrain myself because of the promise I made to myself. And I end up twiddling my thumbs at my computer. This must be what it feels like to go cold turkey on smoking. Okay, maybe that was an extreme example but the number of times my hand feels like reaching for the games bookmarks on my browser is making me realise just how much time I've been wasting at my computer until now. Of course, I may never be fully 'cured' as such, but I'm hoping this will help me manage my time better (actually I think I'm filling the gaming space with blogging.. not helpful!). Times is tough, but I'll get through it and I hope I will feel better for it!

eclectic sounds part II

Started 8.46am today:

Peggy Lee: Bali Ha'i (sourced from the soundtrack album American Beauty, although I'm sure it was originally from another album)
Angelique Kidjo: Give It Up (from the album Oremi)
Lighthouse Family: Let It All Change (from the album Postcards From Heaven)
Kaylan: Rock Me All Night (from the album Best Ever Bonking Songs Vol. II)
Boards of Canada: Satellite Anthem Icarus (from the album The Campfire Headphase)
Tom Jones & The Barenaked Ladies: Little Green Bag (picked up as a pop hit back in the day)
Nitin Sawhney: Falling(from the album Human)
Groove Armada: Serve Chilled (randomly picked up back in the day)
Leonardo's Bride: Stay (from the album Angel Blood)
Train: Drops of Jupite (picked up as a pop hit back in the day)
Adele: Daydreamer (from the album 19)
She & Him: This Is Not A Test (from the album Volume One)
Nitin Sawhney: The Boatman (from the album Human)
Jose Gonzalez: In Our Nature (from the album In Our Nature)
Missy Elliot: This Is Our Last Time feat. Fabolous (from the album This Is Not A Test!)
Samantha Fox: Touch Me (I Want Your Body) (from the album Best Ever Bonking Songs Vol. II)
The Cardigans: Lovefool (picked up as a pop hit back in the day)

Stopped at 9.55am because I can't concentrate on my QMB!

eclectic sounds

Ask anybody who knows me well, and they'll tell you I have a broad palate when it comes to music. I have a box of CD folders beneath my table, and I have a lot of music on my computer which I haven't transferred to CD as well. Although the songs on my computer are my primary source of listening these days, it will always be an inaccurate representation of the extent of my music interest, because there are some artists which I adore but don't have as a digital copy.

Nevertheless, in an attempt to keep me from gaming and being distracted by other things, I have decided to embark on an experiment to show (mostly to myself) how eclectic my collection is when it is mashed up. So I currently have my digital music collection on shuffle as of 7.24pm tonight. I'm going to keep this blog post open while I study, so I can list the songs that have been playing. Here goes:

Barenaked Ladies: Serendipity (from the album Are Men)
Robbie Williams: Me and My Shadow (from the album Swing when You're Winning)
Jimmy Barnes: Lover Lover (from a Mushroom Records 25th Anniversary show recording)
Xavier Rudd: Introduction (from the album To Let)
Leonardo's Bride: Blue Gone Green (from the album Open Sesame)
Holly Valance: Down Boy (picked up as a pop hit back in the day)
Nitin Sawhney: Say Hello (from the album Human)
Counting Crows: Mr. Jones (from the album August and Everything After)
Leonardo's Bride: Fall (from the album Angel Blood)
Alicia Keys: Diary feat. Tony Toni Tone (from the album The Diary of Alicia Keys)
Erykah Badu: Bag Lady (from the album Mama's Gun)
Green Day: When I Come Around (from the album Dookie)
Babyface: Wonderful Tonight (from the album Playlist)
Asa: So Beautiful (from the album Asa)

Stopped at 8.18pm for QMB study (can't think maths while thinking music)

To be continued after this episode of QMB..

a self-challenge

I have decided that games are taking up too much of my time these days, namely Word Challenge, Pet Society and Gostop. Even admitting that Pet Society takes up my time is embarrassing. But that's a good thing I think, because that's extra incentive to change.

So, the challenge I'm proposing to myself is that I will not play games for 10 days, starting tonight - well then I should make that 10.5 days, because tonight is really only half a day. Instead, I will aim to read more, whether it's for leisure or for study, and play more piano, and maybe get creative as well (although that last point is unlikely).

Good luck to me! I don't know if I can do it but I'm hoping this public announcement will help.

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TBTTHTMT: Drawing in my special art book with Crayola crayons, and sharing in the fun moment with my boyfriend. Shame we had to get off the train before he could finish his part :(

more missed deadlines, and other things

I'm so inconsistent with my blog posts. It suggests that I spend more time away from the computer these days, but that is far from the truth. That said, I feel like I have been having at least one happy moment each day lately, and it's a good feeling. It almost feels wrong.. I expect something to go wrong, somebody to go off at me, etc. Well actually I still have people getting angry at me, but I feel like I'm able to brush it off better.. sometimes. At times I feel like it hits harder, because I'm getting used to the positive vibes.

But to get back to the point - some of the best things that have happened to me lately (hence the missed deadlines*) are: more 21st birthday parties, finally getting to experience the fun that is Guitar Hero III, finally watching the remaining episodes of The Gruen Transfer (need to start on Good News Week soon!) and watching Season 7 of Scrubs. Also, spending time with my friends at uni, even if it was mostly for group assignments (I still had loads of fun), and being more active in keeping in touch with people over Facebook. Admittedly, Facebook is not the ideal form of communication (unless your friends are overseas or interstate, and even then I suppose Skype is a better option, unless your timezones are really out of sync), but I guess it will have to do for now. And truth be told, there are lots of people you can chat to on Facebook, but in real life you wouldn't have much to say to each other. Which is strange. But when I consider that I don't use Facebook to talk to my closest friends, it makes sense (in an odd way).

*Thankfully I didn't miss any deadlines for uni assignments last week - got them all done, even if I wasn't impressed with my individual assignment. At least I can say that our group assignments went well (hope the markers think so too)!

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My boyfriend bought me a piggy bank on the weekend. It's really pretty, and the design and colours combined remind me of the playing cards from Disney's Alice in Wonderland. I wish I was good at giving presents. I think it reflects badly on me because it suggests that I don't really pay attention to people and their personalities, or what they like/enjoy.

I've openly admitted in the past that I couldn't pull together a list of the things he likes, and I used to get depressed about it. But I think I can do it now..

Sports: Manchester United.. can't remember what particular football league though (English Premier League?).. I know it's only recently started..
TV: Scrubs, The Shield, Entourage, maybe Flight of the Conchords now
Music: Lots! Some of the favourites that I can remember right now are John Legend, Ministry of Sound, Alicia Keys, Deftones, Daft Punk, Katie Noonan, Robin Thicke, Anthony Hamilton.. and various songs sung by the characters from Scrubs
Books: Eric van Lustbader (emphasis on the "lust" part) and Paulo Coelho. And he's reading "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins (?) at the moment..
Animals: Beagles, and I think Golden Retrievers / Russian Blues.. definitely not Chihuahuas!
Games: Street Fighter, Stacker, Tekken 5/6, Guitar Hero III, Battlefield 2142 (I don't know if that's the right number haha!), Lego Star Wars and/or Indiana Jones, Poker, Gostop and I think to a lesser extent Pet Society, Word Challenge and Diablo.
Other: Discovering new recipes in the kitchen through some culinary improvisation, inserting at least five Scrubs quotes into every conversation (give or take 2 or 3), making me laugh by doing silly things that I'm too embarrassed to do (I eventually pick up on them later), playing games/being competitive with me, finding new music that I like and haven't heard of yet (sometimes this is more difficult than you may think!), creating in-jokes together.. that's all for now.

So there's the proof. I do know something about him. :)

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Just want to keep trying, trying
Just want to keep trying for you
I want to care for you
In your darkest moment
I want to make you smile
All the time

I just want to keep trying
Trying for you..

the best thing(s) that happened yesterday

Day 2 and I've already missed the deadline. Oops.

The best thing about yesterday was bumping into mates from primary school in JB. That, and not losing my phone during the day! Dani & I were running across the oval at uni towards Maccas, and I didn't notice that my phone had fallen out of my pocket. It wasn't until we were finishing our meal and I was about to call my boy, that I realised I no longer had my phone. Luckily I'd changed the settings from silent to ringtone, and we found my phone lying on the grass, sunbaking away. Another lucky escape for me.. don't know what I would have done if I'd lost my phone!

Today is another day to look forward to. Yay!

the best thing that happened to me today

I have two websites to thank for this inspiration: theSCOOP for writing about Princess Lasertron, and Princess Lasertron for writing about a memory from her childhood.

In an effort to be more positive about life and my daily experiences, I'm going to try and write about the best thing that happened to me today, every day.

So, let's begin with the weekend that has just passed, because it was a pretty fun couple of days!

Friday: The best things about today were hanging out with Dani during the day and going to Ramtin's 21st at night. I had so much fun with Dani playing DS, browsing Domayne and then having a once-in-a-lifetime Krispy Kremes feast of 6 donuts and large milkshakes! Although we only managed to finish a donut each by the time we left the store. Ramtin's 21st was great, it was so nice being out near the beach, although the weather was terribly windy and cold and wet, which wasn't so fun. That was ok though, we were all hanging out in an underground bar and having a cosy time indoors!

Saturday: Putting some eyeshadow on my face all by myself! Makes me sound juvenile, but for somebody who has never really had much interest in makeup, this is a great achievement. I don't think it looked particularly amazing, but it didn't look horrible either, so I was happy about that! Although this was probably not THE best thing of the day. The best thing was two of my girlfriends having a joint 21st. It was so much fun! I was able to catch up with loads of high school friends I'd missed for ages, and I laughed and chatted the evening away with my man at my side.

Sunday (i.e. today): I was able to sleep in until 1pm, after getting home at 1.30am from my friends' 21st party. I feel like I don't get enough sleep these days, for whatever reason, so it was a much welcomed deviation from the norm!

The best thing about my life overall is the love I have in my life. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I'm so glad we're together. :)