Prologue, at least here.

Dear everyone,

I've tired of people silently stalking my blog and am constantly creeped out when acquaintances make references to my posts. As a result, I've stopped writing anything and everything that matters and am instead, only photo blogging to avoid controversy.

I like to swear and am happily politically incorrect and have my prejudices. I moved to a different country so I could just be, and am instead falling into the spiral of Doormat Jan again.

So I'm blogging privately now. If you want to read it, email me.

Love,

Jan

Maybe pigtails and giggles will pass me off for 19

My life is currently inundated with changes, both real and potential. It's pretty crazy and about to get crazier soon.

Ah, the return to student life. After several unrewarding careers, I've decided to follow in my mother's footsteps. Orientation is next week - I'm a little nervous as I'll probably be a decade older than everyone else in class. Had I known I'd be having my student ID done that day, I'd have made a little more effort. Oh well. Maybe no one else will notice my giant pimple and crazy hair.

My beloved Honda Prelude, which saw me through moving two states away and then two states back, is on its last legs. X came over to have a look but the right back wheel is done for. I'll be selling/ scrapping it quite soon. On the bright side, no more vehicle-related expenses!

Just got my iPhone 4 and have been experimenting with camera function. Apart from its chronic habit of not responding to the WiFi, I'm very happy with it.

More flowers (made fancy with the Instacam app) taken on a stroll around Varsity Central, whilst waiting out C's interview.

Tequila shots at a housewarming party. Having always been a nibbler and sipper, this was a rush to the head.

The moley kitten at the Mt Gravatt Westfield pet shop. C and I marvelled at its resemblance to Enrique Iglesias (prior to mole removal, which I only just discovered when looking for a suitably similar comparison). The shop also had quakers, like little green chickens that sit on your shoulders that cost AUD550.

Surprised kitten

Okay, I know this is old hat, but OMG THIS IS SO OFF THE CUTE-O-METER.

Cake and birds; no floods

There was a spate of rain earlier last week, causing some crazy damage and over 50 people missing and 12 dead. Received an unexpected slew of concerned messages from Malaysia (including one from my high school English teacher!), feeling blessed. No flooding on the Coast and in fact, no more rain for now either.

C vs Chicken: *Mortal Kombat voice* Finish him!

(L - R): Cockatoos, gallahs, lorikeet. Birds galore!

A detour to Redlands Bay, after an impromptu trip to Sunnybank to satiate C's desire for duck. Very, very pleasant.

We were taking a stroll on Main Beach when we found a small crab. Now crabs are very jumpy creatures and tend to scuttle off at tiniest disturbance. So when we walked over to the inert crustacean and took an upclose picture, we assumed it was dead. My reaction was something akin to OMGITMOVEDITMOVED when it (very suddenly) did.

We also made a discovery - blue bottles pop, like scented napkin packets from Chinese restaurants, when stepped on. Not recommended for the bare-footed.

C and I made tiramisu. We feared mushiness, as purported by the reviews on the recipe and so halved the coffee and dipping time. The savioardi were just the right texture and the Frangelico (thank you Aunty Lil and Uncle Kev!) lent the cake a nice bite. It was the biggest cake we'd ever made and I truly didn't think believe we would ever finish it, but by golly, did my appetite prove my lack of faith wrong! The last square now awaits its fate on day 4.

Helped SC and DR on moving day. Being of a Completely Useless For Labour build, I was in charge of Tiger, their happy and playful kitty.

We set the mantis free. I guess he just wanted to make sure the photo we took of him was a nice one.

The cutest puppy ever. His last sleeping pose, the one I was trying to capture, was way cuter, with a snout and a paw pressed against the glass.

C finally sold my ancient Toshiba L300D laptop on eBay, for a rather handsome sum, I might add. With that, I managed to buy a brand new HP Mini 110-3538TU netbook, on which I'm blogging. Fortunately, I'm quite used to toggling between the iPod and laptop so the small size didn't take too long getting used to. The tiny keyboard however, is another story (apologies to everyone for IM typos).

I must add that this is awesome value for money at AUD388; this comes with 250GB of memory and a 6 cell battery (about 4.5 hours). And most netbooks are equal when it comes to other specs. Remember this people - it all boils down to battery life and looks.

This little spider was munching on a fly, with the carcasses of several prior conquests lending the web an ominous air.

Bird nest found today during a wandering ramble around the neighbourhood.

You know who doesn't love Steve Jobs?

C is very much against my intention to get an iPhone 4, and everything Apple in general. I'm certain he's only a few days away from withholding sex into getting me to buy an Android phone.

C: You know who uses an iPhone? (insert name of obnoxious acquaintance), that's who! Do you want to become like her? Huh?

Jan: Have you sunken to that level already?

C: You know who doesn't use an iPhone? Barack Obama, that's who. And he's a pretty cool guy.

Jan: What if Nelson Mandela uses an iPhone?

C: Well, then he's a dick! I mean, the man wrote a book called Conversations With Myself.

Yeah, he did.

Jan: Well, Gollum doesn't use an iPhone.

C: He's better than Mandela then.

Jan: Are you comparing Gollum to Nelson Mandela?

C: ...

Doppelganger

So yesterday, C and I were watching Happiness, a 1998 black comedy. From the first scene, I could not help but notice the uncanny resemblance between Jane Adams and my boyfriend. The large, sleepy eyes, the thin face and nose...

Here, you judge for yourself.

Good grief, even the positions of the eyes and eyebrows are congruent. Ignore girly pose.

* Credit to C, for being a sport and for composite image. I ♥ you, honey.

The start of another decade

NYE was always such a huge event for me. Drinks and dinner out with friends (or whichever douchebag I was dating then), usually at Bangsar, the climatic countdowns, the sweaty hugs from friends and strangers, the euphoria perhaps stemming more from the prospect of a new slate, than a year well spent.

The past couple of NYEs have been less than memorable, mostly spent on recovering from flights and trips. And given that I'm about to spend a 5 digit sum on my course next year, C and I had a rather low key celebration this year, living the house only to catch the rather uninspiring fireworks (The Spit, Marina Mirage, Surfers Paradise) on the Broadwater.

My last bowling session was an awkward episode 11 years ago (I flung the ball backwards). Hence the overreactions to my hitting anything at all. C was much more adept though, and scored a couple of strikes.

All of us at the table were mildly embarrassed by SC's antics.

A typical day on the Gold Coast - skater dude, beach-goer, fat person.

C left his lights on and needed me to jump start his car, which turned into an ordeal of sorts, given my car's history of chronic un-ignition-ness.

Big ass spider molt at the Botanical Gardens off Ashmore Road.

Non-duck.

It was turtles galore that day. Some guy made small chat, claiming it was his first turtle sighting. Having experienced this, I found it a little hard to believe.

Marsupials at the Coombabah Lakelands. We got surprisingly close. Should have brought food.

The duh roo, with his cocked ear.

Molted cicada shells; I'd never noticed them before, but they are indeed a dime a dozen.

A flea-free cat is a contented kitty.