Monday, January 31, 2011

And life goes on...

Earlier this month I spent many conversations with many different people talking about how fast the previous year passed by and how time just seems to fly. I guess time goes by while we live our mundane lives. But I think so long as you're having fun time may fly all it will!

A few weeks ago I went shopping. Now there's nothing too remarkable about that, I go shopping every once in a while, especially during the holidays or when I need to buy something in particular. This particular shopping trip I am writing about is just a normal shopping trip with little things that happened that made it memorable to me. :)

I was sortof looking for a satchel-like bag. My sister has a really nice black leather one, which she bought in Europe. I thought the design with the long strap looked practical and was amazed at how much stuff she could fit into a bag that really didn't look all that big. I was kind of hoping for a brown bag, because I thought it would be more versatile and casual. I had a look at all the shops which sold bags (I was at Joondalup Shopping Centre). I saw a couple that were nice but too expensive for me. I wasn't looking to spend much, because let's face it, I can't afford it. I came across a bunch of nice bags in Target. Not too expensive and actually with further savings on top of the already marked down prices. I wasn't quite sure yet, however and decided to keep looking. My search took me into K-Mart where I didn't find a bag I really liked within my price range. There was one bag which was quite cute, but alas it didn't pass the water bottle test. (Any casual bag of mine needs to have room for a 600mL water bottle in addition to my wallet.) I decided to have a look at the children's shoes and came across the perfect summer sandal for this season. Below a picture of them. I wasn't really looking for sandals, didn't really need them and yet they were unlike anything I already owned. I checked to see if they had them in brown (more casual :P) but they only had them in black. I should perhaps mention here that I have tiny feet and usually buy children's shoes which has it's advantages (usually cheaper) and disadvantages (generally less variety and lower heels). I tried the shoes on, took a photo which I sent to my sister for her opinion, took the shoes off, looked at them, took another photo, put them on again, took another photo and eventually sat down, staring at my sandal-clad feet. At this point an older lady who walked past told me: "They look lovely." Shortly afterwards my sister replied telling me they were awesome and I totally should buy them. So I took them to the cashier where to my surprise they were much cheaper than the marked price ($12 instead of $19). AWESOME! And I'm happy to report that I've been wearing them a lot lately and they go very well with many of my outfits! :D



After that great purchase I headed back to Target to have a second look at the bags there. On the way to where the bags were I passed some teenage girls who must have been talking about a guy because I overheard one of them say: "He's hot, but not, like, oh-my-god hot." Bless. I hear ya sister. :P

Once at the bags I put the ones I was interested in through the water bottle test and eventually bought a black satchel like bag. It has since become my favourite bag. It's not too big and yet fits everything I need for my every-day casual needs, although I'll need to go back to a bigger bag once uni starts, I think.

Oh, and I also went into a new shop called Typo . It's a stationary store of sorts. It's affiliated with cotton on. I think it's one of my favourite stors now. When I went into the Harbour Town location later on I bought a really pretty notebook (even though I really don't need any more notebooks, I'm a notebook whore). It has so many quirky, pretty, useful, useless items to brighten up one's day. :)

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The year that was 2010

What a year it's been! I was going to write this post way earlier, but my laptop died at some point back in December. Right now I'm tap-tap-tapping away on my I-phone. So, now to have a look at the year that was...

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Friendships: making new friends, renewing old friendships, deepening existing friendships... 2010 was definitely a good year as far as friendships were concerned! :D
• Finally getting my driver's license. My pursuit for a driver's license has lasted the better part of five years (on and off) and in 2010 I finally got there! The independence and potential for spontaneity and freedom (as well as the all-important air-con in summer) are truly a dream come true.
• Seeing the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra live in concert. What can I say, the were absolutely amazing! Swoon-worthy!
• Taking a year off my studies to concentrate on improving my viola playing... And actually improving a lot, despite not always being entirely disciplined with my practice. Being congratulated on how much I'd improved by various people was just the cherry on top of that particular cake. :)
• Having the whole family under one roof again after my sister spent 6 months in an internship in Switzerland. Sure, we all get on each other's nerves sometimes, but it is still nice to all be together.
• Getting a new viola! This instrument is fantastic. So responsive, it actually makes me sound like a real violist. It has the most beautiful tone. Here's to many hours of music making on my new viola. :)
• Making my viola teacher's new pet bird sing. What could be a more rewarding response after you put your all in the music and make every note special than a bird singing in response?