Tuesday 22 January 2013

A quiet moment

Dropping in (to my own blog, hm) to let you know that I'm going to take a moment off from blogging. I know that this is such a scummy thing to do -- not to mention atrocious timing seeing as my blog is, well, basically brand new -- but I just don't have the energy or content. I don't want to create rubbish for you; I want to write quality, and if I can't then I see no point in continuing. Recently, I've been working two jobs, trying to sort out my visa, university, the old, uh, move 20,000-odd kms away... It's taxing. I hope to be back by mid-Feb at the latest with more WitW (do you actually like that?), moving to London things, photographs of buildings and maybe even nnneeeewwww cccooonnttteeeennttt (substitute in your own wiggly fingers and ghost accent). In the meantime, here are pictures of great actresses with ravens from my Pinterest.
See you soon!

 

Monday 21 January 2013

Rolling stone



And just as it turned an impossible shade of salmon, my battery died. Of course.

Life has been quiet and easy. I've been working a lot; I have two jobs now, both in food retail at train stations. My spare time is spent on typing and flyer delivery, as well as Poirot and Die Hard. I save and I buy dirndls. But the funny thing is that I'm happy. Despite my innate laziness, I don't like to gather moss. (I like money too, I admit.)

 

Saturday 19 January 2013

The city of Melbourne

Last week may very well have been one of the worst times to run errands in the history of the world. The heat was so bad that the Beaureau Beurau Bureau of Meteorology (in all my life I have never been able to spell that word) had to invent a new colour for it. My original plans to go visiting some rural cities and take snaps for y'all have been on hold since -- well. I was going to make a joke about bushfires just now, but that's something you just don't do here. Actually, it's always so strange for me to see the English-speaking Internet explode with excitement for Black Friday, when here it's synonymous with a day of fires so bad that we still remember them, a good 70 years later.

I'm being morose. Here's a picture of my dog looking gorgeous.

Friday! I had birthday presents to hunt down and an interview at a bakery to DESTROY and sangria to inhale. But most of all, I wanted to show you around my city. So here it is.

Bit of a perv on Lt. Collins' Yule House. Is it possible to have a crush on a building?

Whoever let a tree (a tree!) grow in front of these sensational buildings needs to take a long, hard look at themselves.

(Here's hoping all these pictures show up, huh?)

 

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Ain't that a kick in the head

Have a listen to my "things are going really rather well at the moment for me" song (catchy title, I know!). I only ever remember it when I'm feeling truly happy, and I'm a thousand times thrilled to say that I'm like that at the moment.

Two reasons. The first isn't even assured yet, but I'm feeling confident; that is, I've begun the process towards getting my visa to the UK. I'm going on a Youth Mobility Visa (I highly recommend the Aussie Nomad's post on the subject), which means that because I'm a youth I can be mobile. It's available to anyone under 30 and above 18 in the Commonwealth (regretting that revolution now, United States?) and Japan, oddly enough, and lets you galavant around England and co. for up to 24 months. Best part is that you're allowed to leave, too, and take advantage of that 90 day visa-free period in the EU. To ensure job and home security I've enlisted (read: paid for) the help of CCUSA, who operate out of every country known to man. If you fancy a working holiday they're well worth looking at. I mean, if I weren't so afraid of children I'd be on the Russian summer camp like that.

Look at them! What a great time they must be having in their matching bucket hats.

The second is equally life-changing and pivotal and exciting. My university place came out and (drumroll, please)...



Bachelor of International and Global Studies at the University of Sydney! I'm going to major in European Studies (and something else; Literature, probably) and learn German or French or Spanish or Russian. And I'm going to go on exchange and I'm going to join a heap of obscure societies and I'm going to eat Chinese food out of little boxes like everyone seems to do in films.

Their motto is Sidere mens eadem mutato: Although the constellations change the mind is universal. Isn't that just lovely? Oh my goodness!

So that's me until 2018. If this is just the beginning, my life is going to be beautiful.

 

WitW: Graz, Austria

Graz! Hallowed birthplace of Governator extraordinaire, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Europe's Cultural Capital of 2003. (I like my Capitals of Culture, don't I?) It's actually Austria's second largest city, but that's still less than 300,000 people, so I'll beg an indulgence from you all.

Now, I think Graz is truly very nice, but I have a serious bone to pick with town planning.

This is not okay. I mean, I like experimental architecture as much as the next, but this is what we keep Iceland for. That said, this so-called Friendly Alien (nicknamed by its creators, hm!) is a very excellent temporary art gallery, or Kunsthaus. Graz is actually a permanent UNESCO City of Design, which translates into an inordinate amount of chamber music and art installations. The place has more than twenty different museums and galleries, including -- but not limited to -- museums of contemporary photography, trams and locks. (The largest collection of locks and keys in the world!) Graz, in essence, likes its culture.
You saw it here first!
As if being a City of Art Things wasn't enough, Graz is also Austria's self-appointed (...) Capital of Culinary Delights. They have a Gormet Spectacular (and what I wouldn't give to hear that phrase in German) and spend a whole evening every so often eating all together at a really long table.
Did I mention that Graz is also home to Austria's largest cave system?



This little city is a busy place.

All credit to my sources: Graz, Wikipedia, Graz UNESCO City of Design, Graz Tourism, Culture Graz, Hanns Schell Collection, Thomahan Culture

Where in the Wednesday is my weekly excuse to trawl through Google Images. It's a profile of a place I wish I was in and an attempt to draw my eye away from classic travel destinations; I hope that you'll enjoy reading about all these places as much as I love learning and writing about them. Anywhere you think I ought to write about, from the obscure little town in your area to that place you visited in 1989? I'm at anscenicworld@gmail.com.

 

Sunday 13 January 2013

The Party Tree

The park I went to on my birthday is a little too beautiful to resist.

Honestly, I doubt I'll ever see a tree that perfect again.



It was the perfect time of day, just as the sun was beginning to slide, and all the birds were hassling the blossoms and being tremendously noisy. The temperature was gorgeous -- just too warm for a cardigan -- and the wind was pushing the leaves together, making them rustle and sigh.

Not a particularly heavy post today. I had a lazy one, avoiding stag's head-related purchases (I've got to fall out of love with that motif), submitting the application for my working holiday programme in London, eating party leftovers and printing out 207 copies of my résumé.

Oops.

 

Wednesday 9 January 2013

WitW: Arrowtown, New Zealand

Welcome to Arrowtown; so charming it's frightening.

A long, long time ago, the Arrow Basin was carved out by glaciers and the Arrow River formed, "flowing like silver threads through the blackened scrub-clothed plains", on the banks of which Arrowtown sprung up in due fashion. It pattered along for a good few years until a shearer named Jack happened upon some gold and, well, you know how these things go.

These days, Arrowtown cashes in on its natural beauty, which you can sort of understand. I mean, this place has a week-long Autumn Festival just to celebrate how ridiculously pretty it is. They have a scarecrow competition and something called 'Bikes 4 Fun' and I am sure it's an absolute blast.



And they have a tiny little cinema. I mean, come on, Arrowtown. We know miniature is cute. You're killing us.

Of course, since 98% of New Zealand was used to film The Lord of the Rings trilogy (and subsequently the Hobbits, oh my goodness), Arrowtown's surroundings feature as the Fords of Bruinen, better known as the "if you want him, come and claim him" river.
It's probably more fun in summer.
 

All credit to my sources: Discover Arrowtown, Arrowtown Autumn Festival, eGlobal, Private Fleet, Dorothy Brown's, NZ Girl, Travel Blog

Where in the Wednesday is my weekly excuse to trawl through Google Images. It's a profile of the place I wish I was in and an attempt to draw my eye away from classic travel destinations. I write in the hope that you'll enjoy reading about all these places as much as I love learning and writing about them. Anywhere you think I ought to write about, from the obscure little town in your state to that place you visited in 1989? I'm at anscenicworld@gmail.com

 




 

Monday 7 January 2013

Another year of not being dead

I turned 18.

Kind of a big deal since everything happens at 18 here. Drinking, driving (not at the same time, you terrible people), voting (!!!), booking aeroplane seats... The whole box and dice. Above, you see me at 12.01 AEST on 5th January with an unrealistically delicious margarita. It was still well above 30 then, so here I am, sweating like some kind of farm animal. (D'you like my sunburnt nose?)




Things improved rather dramatically with the arrival of my birthday present about eight hours later. Naturally, my birthday outfit featured my beautiful birthday earrings (care of G, who took the picture at midnight and who is going to be the world's fiercest criminal law barrister) (not barista, let's get that straight) and the kimono I got in London (of course! Not Japan!).

Anyway, this is the camera you remember from my resolutions post. I think it takes a nice picture; but what do I know? I'm still trying to figure out how to turn my ISOs on.

The day was picnic-perfect! My 'burb has some lovely botanic gardens so we set up under the mallorn Party Tree golden elm, my favourite of all trees (fun fact!) to spend a solid five hours counting Daniels and eating an inordinate amount of rice paper wraps. I don't think I could have asked for a better group (maybe a few much-missed additions!). These girls are so intelligent and thoughtful and hilarious, and I'm so thrilled that they were there to celebrate with me. They deserve -- I don't know -- individual opal mines. Profitable ones. That and more.



We invested some serious time in making faces... (as usual)...
Eventually, though, we headed off. I spent my time inhaling a Pine-Lime Splice (God's gift to the world of frozen dairy products) and lying face-down on my bed, asleep, to recharge for dinner at Dig a Pony. It managed to fulfil my Beatles and Latino quotas. I'm very impressed.

Plus, it's in Yarraville, which is like Williamstown's cool older cousin. Remember the one you had who you considered murdering for her hair crimper? Yarraville. Had Zoolander on VHS? Yarraville. Inflatable clear-blue plastic couch? Yarraville.

I was a bit busy with merry-making and mishearing dishes (those things above are not called "Fish Parts", as it turns out) to take anything much, but rest assured that I had a beautiful evening to cap off a gorgeous day. And I'm not sad it's over, because now I get to do lots of fun things like getting a pentagram tattooed on my forehead. Adult life is looking good.