Thursday, July 29, 2010

Deja Vu

so i keep having all these odd senses of deja vu. it possibly has something to do with the weather at the moment, and the fact i haven't had a summer in a year (yes i went through 2 winters, and yes for a while it sucked).
the latest was one just recently, i was making shortbread with the girls and it was pouring rain. the deja vu of it all was i remember making shortbread with my mum during our summer break while it was pouring rain. the only difference is summer in Australia is in December. so it honestly felt like Christmas should be around the corner. thats what most of them have felt like. i'm used to Christmas in summer not in winter, so i've constantly had the feeling that Christmas is gonna be soon. couple that with the Pouring rain and everyone being off school, and it gets odd sometimes. it has made me a little homesick, cause i miss Darwin thunderstorms and Christmas in summer. but its okay, cause i'm doing things to help it out.
another reason its so odd is i have always associated the end of school with Christmas- all through elementary (or primary as we say in Australia) school, our last days were always making things and decorating the room. doing Christmasy things. so it was wired this year to have Christmas half way through school, and when school did end, Christmas was not there to look forward to. i have made it up though. one night i spent the night listening to Christmas carols to make me feel better. and anyone who knows me will tell you one of my favourite things to do is close my door, play my music and just dance around my room, so doing exactly that to Christmas carols made for a very fun evening. :)

well whatever season you celebrate Christmas its always fun, and this sense of deja vu i don't think will ever go away, its too drilled into my brain that Christmas is in the summer. :)oh well!

Till next time
Katie
xo

Sunday, July 25, 2010

hey so i saw this a while ago (and meant to post about it then completely forgot.) but its a poem, i have no idea by whom (if anyone can help it would be much appreciated) but it totally sums up why a) you should never take anyone for granted and b) you should always ask someone how they are really feeling and c) why hugs never go astray.

When ever Richard Cory went downtown
We people on the pavement looked at him
He was a gentleman from sole to crown
Clean- favoured and imperially slim.
He was always quietly arrayed,
He was always human when he talked.
But still he fluttered pulses when he said
'Good Morning' and glittered when he walked.
He was rich, yes, richer than a king,
and admirably schooled in every grace
In fine... we thought that he was everything
to make us with that we were in his place.
So on we walked and waited for the light,
went without meat and cursed the bread.
Richard Cory, one calm summer night
went home and put a bullet in his head.

so as you can see just because you think one way of someone, doesn't mean that thats what they think of themselves. which is why i never shy away from asking people how are you really and tell me the truth. most of the time thats all people want to hear. and as i said a hug never goes astray. remember that.

Till next time
Katie
xo

Doubt

okay so i really have to get off my butt and do this more often. i was asked for my username and password when i got to my website just then. now i know most people will be like 'you're always asked for those' but i tend to keep myself logged into everything on my computer so i don't have to go through all of that. so when something logs out on me because i haven't been on in a while, its been too long since i've been on...

anyway, Doubt. Doubt is the new production i'm involved in. my role is assistant director/ producer. its fun and it feels so good to be back in the theater realm of the world. Doubt is an amazing play, its about the suspicions of a nun about a priest having relations with a student. but the audience is never told if the priest is guilty or not, not even at the end. it really is up to the audience to decide if Father Flynn really did it or if he is innocent. its intriguing and our cast plays it really well.

though i had a slight shock to the system at our last rehearsal, our director and the woman who is playing Sister Aloysius (the older nun, Meryl Streep's character in the movie) couldn't be there due to all the flooding that has been happening lately. but the rest of the cast met and we went through it all. now because i was there the rest of the cast asked me to step in and read for Sister Aloysius. i said yes then got up to the stands and went uh oh when i realised how much i couldn't read the part. i had no idea how to. i felt like not only didn't i have the life experience but the authority to [lay this part. she is the principle of a school and is very set in her ways. so the first couple of scenes were interesting to say the least. then i sort of had to say to myself that the rest of the cast deserves the best that i can do so i need to find something that will help me play this character better. i then realised that i had been in her position before. i've been in the position of authority where i have had to deal with matter and parents and talk to them in a way that i would have rather not have. being in child care and umpiring do that to you. so i really clutched onto that and used it as best as i could. i'm not sure how well it came off to the rest of the cast but it worked for me and thats all that mattered at that particular moment. so that was a really big learning step for me. taking something and changing it slightly so that it serves you the best way it can.

hopefully i wont have to do it again, because although it was fun i don't really want to play that character until i feel like i'm really ready to play such a character.

oh well i shall keep you all updated on this progressing show (well reading we're not actually doing it full out, though it would be fun to do it all out)

Till next time
Katie
xo

Sunday, July 11, 2010

I'm back!!

okay so i haven't been writing for quite a while. the reason i have had the past 3 weeks off and have been making the most of it. ive been hiking, sliding, playing both my guitar and piano, flirting, seeing friends left right and center. its been so much fun. i feel like i just haven't stopped. apart from one really good night, i was supposed to go to church but i totally blanked on a) what time it was and b) what day it was so i got to about half way through late afternoon and remembered, then got distracted by something else and blanked again. but it turned out to be just the night i needed. just sitting on my own , chilling and relaxing with some good movies, Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St Louis, and Beaches.

on the 29th of June i waited 11 1/2 hours to see the midnight premier of Eclipse. now many people said that not only was i crazy but absolutely insane for waiting for it. but it was fun. i was supposed to go with some friends of mine, but they all bailed on me (one for a good reason, the other cause she was lazy and double booked herself), so sat outside for 7 hours waiting, then we got let into the cinema, waited a bit more and then we started with the first movie. we watched all three movies (Twilight, New Moon and finally Eclipse) and it was so good to see them all in order. and really interesting at the same time. when you do its really obvious that all of them have had different directors, and the visual effect on all are so different. the latest in the saga, has been the best so far. not just the acting (and the lack of Taylor Lautner's shirt), but the directing, cinematography, and editing. i know what people say that its all crap cause its from the books (believe me i've heard it all from my sister), but technically wise they are actually very good i mean, even twihards as they are commonly refereed to know the difference between a movie that has been made well and one that hasn't.

so anyway, the flirting, there was this guy at church who i had looked at before, but had pre- determined that he wasn't for me. then he started flirting with me, so i decided it would be fun to flirt back. now my stance with boys is i either have to really want them or they have to really want me. no dilly dallying, i'm happy single, so if they don't catch and keep my attention, i'm done and gone. and this is what happened with this guy (and he was way to religious for my liking anyway- nothing against it at all, i go to church and wear a purity ring, but he wouldn't go to a national parade with me because it was the day of rest... exactly), and he didn't keep my attention enough, he couldn't keep up with me. so i lost interest. we're still friends but thats it, nothing more.

and hiking, i had so much fun hiking. i went down to Sedona to do it all. i went to a place called West Fork and another called Sycamore Canyon. they were both really good! West Fork is so pretty and such a good walk, its not hard and you stop so often to look at all the scenery thats it not only takes a really long time, but it makes it really easy. and there is some old ruins of a old resort that used to be built there, and it so cool, to see it all and try and figure out where and what things were. Sycamore Canyon was easy on the way down but, hard on the way up. that was because on the way down was down hill and coming back was all uphill, and parts of it were steep!!! but it was so nice, we went cliff jumping and just swam and sunbaked. it was so nice, and then we hiked all the way back up. and our leader was hightailing it out of there! we went so fast, a little faster than what i would have liked, but at the end of it, we all felt so good.
we also went to a place called Midgly bridge. this was also like the Sycamore hike, on the way there was all down hill and the way back was all uphill. but it was so much fun! there is like a natural water slide there, its basically the locals Slide Rock for those who know Sedona. its so much fun, you hope in the creek at one point in the river and the water just takes you with it. the rocks are all really slippery so you go straight over the top of them. so. much. fun!

so i've been playing a lot, i recently got some more music (actual sheet music, not just chords from the internet) so i've been playing and practicing. i've kinda been writing too, but not so much. i really should get back into it cause i think i need to let some stuff out, but at the same time i have writer block and i can't write anything!! its really annoying. maybe i just need the right inspiration...

i've been babysitting as well. the biggest jobs i've done was two days for a friends of mine. she is a nurse so she works 12 hour shifts at the hospital. so i was at her house looking after her two boys (3 and 5) for 14 hours both days. i was pooped at the end of it!! the next day was the day i had my chill day, where i forgot about church. that was hard on the second day, both boys were being a little moody and me being tired, it was not a good mix. and anyone will know that when i get tired i get cranky and there were definitely several times when i was pulling my hair out trying not to get angry at the boys. the other job i did was for a family friends, it was a couple of hours again over 2 days cause parents had to be at work. this kid was so much fun! he is so funny and really smart. i mean, how many 7yo's could tell you exactly where to find 2 different restaurants? not many let me tell you. but i also got to play Wii Rockband. i love that game and my favourite thing to do is play the drums on it. and thankfully the 7yo wanted to sing so i was free to do the drums! yay! we had so much fun, and he is so easy to look after. it really made me realise how hard it is with the kids i normally look after. (their mum babied them and still kind of does, but its now causing all sorts of problems with them, they're good just difficult at times)

anyway, thats about all thats been happening.
i'll try and write more often. :)
Till next time
Katie
xo

Monday, June 14, 2010

Lake Havasu

so the other day we went on an overnight trip to Lake Havasu AZ. this is a dammed part of the Colorado River (the same river that the Grand Canyon is apart of, and that separates AZ from CA). it is absolutely beautiful, in most parts crystal clear waters (awesome for people like me who have a thing about swimming in water they can't see the bottom of)and this time of year the perfect temperature! so thursday morning we all took the 3 1/2 hour drive to the AZ border where the lake is, picked up a second car (it was already down there and needed to come back up to flag with us on the way back). i drove it, it was a huge toyota tundra ute. thankfully it was automatic so i didn't have to worry about gears and all that being on the other side of the car (i've managed to avoid that since i've been here!). and we stopped at a friends place and packed up the ute attached the boat- yes a boat- and went down to the Lake. now an awesome part of Havasu... the original London Bridge (you know the song 'London Bridge is falling down, falling down...') is in Havasu. some really rich people bought it, had it sent brick by brick to Havasu, literally dug a canal in the middle of the Lake and set it over the top of the newly formed canal. and we had to drive over the top of it to get to the boat ramp. it was awesome!


so we went out on the boat, and the best thing about this boat... its fast!!! i loved it!! so much fun! we first stopped of at this little cove which was beautiful, as i said before crystal clear waters, gorgeous views, i could stay there for days. really i could. :)


we swam here for a little while and went on.

the next cove we stopped at was meant for overnight stay, so there was a bbq and tables and bathrooms. we stopped bbq'd up some burgers and hot dogs, so good! we went back out and i went tubing for the first time! tubing as in riding on a tube (or in this case a flotation device) while being pulled behind the boat. we went so fast, and i stayed on longer than what i thought i was gonna. i was so proud!

then we went UNDER the London Bridge, it was even better close up! and i still can't believe that the bridge is in Havasu AZ, of all places in the world for the famous bridge to go, it makes it in Havasu!

we also went fishing, didn't catch anything but boy it felt good to get a line wet! i haven't been fishing since i got here, and my dad used to take me fishing quite a bit back in aus (well not lately but still), i love it. though i was having a battle with the fishing rod, i'm used to using a spin reel, i have used one my whole life and nothing else. but this reel was basically one that meant anyone (except someone who knows how to use a normal reel) could use it. all you had to do was push a button, cast, and let go of the button when you flicked your wrist. now getting the timing right on that sucked big time. there were several times that i was lucky i didn't catch myself because i managed to fling the hook back at me instead of going out into the water.

anyway that was pretty much the end of the trip there, well almost we went out for dinner after that at a really nice Japanese restaurant, we all went to sleep (i almost got kicked out the bed in the middle of the night! i shared with lily and she's used to sleeping in a queen size on her own, in the middle, so she managed to push my to the side before i woke up!) and we drove back 3 1/2 hours to flag. i got home and crashed for another 3 hours cause of the lack of sleep the night before. but it was such a good trip! hope to go again sometime soon!




Till next time
Katie
xo

Sunday, June 6, 2010

My Favourite Things :)

so anyone can tell you that one of my favoutie movies of all time is The Sound of Music. literally that is the movie i've watched the most times in m life (it may be tied with the Wizard of Oz, i'm not sure)... anyway, i'm about to get it through NetFilx (an online movie store- awesome stuff) and one of my faourite songs from it is My Favourite Things. so here are some of my favourite things.

Family (me and my younger sister in the picture, but family is inclusive of all my family related and otherwise!)



Raindrops on Roses (not kidding)


Sunshine and beaches, you can never go wrong!


Dancing


Musicals


and thats just some of them!!

Til Next Time
Katie
xo

Summer Holidays

its only one week into the Summer Holidays and i am so glad i have a long holiday coming up soon. don't get me wrong i like being busy, in fact i love being busy (i have 2 modes super busy -doing 7 things at once- and super relaxed- doing absolutely nothing, if i'm in the middle i feel horrid and figitey and restless) and the weekends thats what it is, in the middle and i don't know what i'm doing. during the week i'm super busy working all day then when i get off, i get off i have other things to do and its all good. but on the weekends, i do my own stuff in the morning, everyone is doing their own stuff, but then once i've done things that have to be done, i'm not actually doing anything. just sort of hanging around... and i hate just hanging around. i do have things i can do such as go for a bike ride, go for a walk, go down to the pool. and i do do these things, but a lot of the time thats what everyone else is doing. so most of the time i feel like i'm imposing, (i know i'm not but thats just what it feels like) also i want some time simply on my own cause i don't usually get it during the week. and most of my friends can tell you, i can deal with lots of people up to a certain point. once that point is reached i go on people overload, and just get grumpy and cranky at everyone (i try to be as nice as possible, but my patience has usually reached its limit, so i use it only when necessary). never unde estimate the power of a quite house- or one where your free to do whatever you please. :)

Till next time
Katie
xo

Thursday, June 3, 2010

I remember too. :)

so my best friends just posted this on her blog. (sorry G i'm stealing it from you but i love it!)

'I remember meeting in preschool, when we were four years old, and even then you were the tallest girl in the class.

I remember always being best friends, even though we were never in the same class, and only went to the same school for three years.

I remember Saturday mornings always being a race to see who could call the other first for a sleepover that night. And the crushing disappointment when we couldn’t do it, and had to wait a whole extra week to see each other.

I remember every birthday card I ever got from you was written in the car on the way to the party. And every birthday card I ever gave you for that matter too.

I remember forgetting to give each other christmas presents, year after year, and the year I found out your birthday was on the 9th, not the 10th like I’d always thought.

I remember getting excited when I realised we were both allowed to pick our own highschool thinking we’d finally be able to go to school together. And then we picked entirely different, almost opposite schools.

I remember the day we met each other at the bus depot after school one day, and realised we would see each other every single day again, even if only for a half hour.

I remember your first boyfriend in highschool, and how it was a huge secret from your mum. And my first boyfriend, who I told absolutely everyone about, including your mum.

I remember my dad getting sick, and going to hospital, and forgetting to tell you about it. But you were still there when I got sick afterwards and needed your help.

I remember telling you that I was going to move away for university, and you told me you were moving to America for a year.

I remember my eighteenth birthday, when you came shopping with me for a dress to wear and you convinced me to buy a bright purple eighties inspired thing. And then got really, really drunk with me.

I remember the last time I saw you, we snuck away from my sister graduation party preparations to go to the markets and eat pancakes and fairyfloss. And take dumb pictures.

I remember that of all my highschool friends, you have stuck by me through everything.

I remember all of the advice you have given me over the years, in person, on the phone and by email, even if I sometimes forget to listen.

I remember that you are my closet friend, despite living the farthest away.

You need to remember that I miss you and love you, and support you no matter what you decide to do.'


i wanna add some things that she missed.

I remember sitting on your couch with popcorn and our famous (well infamous) noodles watching 'The Wizard of Oz'.and being able not not only recite every word, but pick out all the mistakes from beginning to end.

I remember sitting on your couch with popcorn and noodles watching the remastered version of the Wizard of Oz and marveling at how they had actually remastered it and removed a lot of the mistakes (but not all of them!)

I remember swimming in your pool pretending we were mermaids and under the water was our very own hideaway.

I remember roaming around your house/block/street/orchid and always finding something to do, no matter where our heads were at.

I remember putting too much pepper on my spaghetti and you never letting me live it down. :)

I remember the guinea pigs. thats all i have to say.

I remember driving to your house for the first time and your mum being so confused cause she didn't know who's car was out the front (didn't help that i sometimes had mine and sometimes had mums car)

I remember you telling me that for years you thought my eyes were green, me telling you that they were brown and us coming to the conclusion they were hazel.

I remember my 8th birthday, we went and saw George of the Jungle (in the cinema!) and went to Pizza Hut.

I remember you always being a grammar nazi about everything i ever wrote, and me constantly forgetting it.

I remember giving you advice, watching when you didn't take it, and biting my tongue instead of saying 'i told you so'.

I remember just listening.

I remember sharing the same bed for years.

I remember you getting a new bed cause 'we' broke it. (and this one was almost long enough for me)

I remember when you told me you really were moving, that it wasn't gonna be like other times, you were actually gonna go.

I remember getting the email that you had sold our house (you know it was never just your house).

I remember sneaking away to the markets and eating fairy floss, pancakes and taking corny photos.

I remember Gypsy barking and backing away, barking and backing away, then giving up all together.

I remember getting roses from you one valentines day, not only did i love them, but i really liked the look on the mean girls face when i walked right past her with half a dozen roses. btw she only had 3.

I remember making faces at each other through the big window of preschool when we got bored.

I remember that no matter what was going on with you, you always had time for me. even when we didn't go to the same school or when we wouldn't see each other for weeks. no matter what we were still best friends.

and you always remember that no matter how much of a horrid best friends i'm being, not replying or taking forever to do so, i'm thinking about you everyday and our promise all those years ago about how we would be each others maids of honour.

I love you GBrown and miss you so much!

an unintentional post.

so here i am talking about my life and the things that happen. and a friend of mine does exactly the same thing but on facebook. and i can tell you she absolutely makes my day. her view on things is hilarious. for example, i posted one day that i was doing 7 things at once, she then replied that if i was 'octo-katie' i could do all 7 and still have one hand free... the thought of me with another 6 arms still cracks me up now.

anyway, so on facebook she started saying how uninteresting her life would be if she was organised and did things when she was supposed to. and its true, her life would be much less entertaining for people who read her status updates (like me, another example: (...) was half expecting the fish she just dissected to burst into verses of Bob Marely... dissapointingly it was too busy being a dead fish to be a singing fish.) classic! anyway the conversation between me, her and anther girl ended with then being superheros, i'm a famous singer/ their manager, we all get free food to eat and when they are not frighting crime in whichever town i happen to be performing in, they are singing back up for me. and together we are called Keepers of Harmony!

what can i say, its never impossible to have fun (just got reprimanded for saying that- crime fighting is not fun!) with people halfway across the world!

Till next time
Katie
xo

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

that darn cat!!!

so i had the absolute life scared out of me today. i was sitting on our couch and out of the corner of my eye, i notice the cat, lucy, climbing up a tree. as strange as this seems, it is actually fairly normal (don't ask me why but i have seen her do it several times). i didn't think much of it, just went back to watching tv.

next thing i know she is running down the stairs... inside the house...
i jumped about a mile, did about 3 double takes, and totally freaked cause i swore i saw her OUTSIDE climbing a tree, and i had not let her in at any of the doors (in fact i had not even gotten up to do anything, so there was no possible way that i could have let her in, and none of the doors were open). but there she was INSIDE the house, eating food from her feeder... so with my heart pounding (and unfortunately didn't bring anything heavy with me) i went upstairs to see how the hell she managed to get inside from the roof. (that is where she tends to climb onto), i went into all the rooms, no windows were open, no doors were open, nothing that lucy could even climb into/ onto even if she wanted to. finally i found where she got in, the window in the spare room was open and the fly screen was off (i didn't notice it in my first round of checking), she climbed up the tree outside that widow and then climbed through the window, ran down the stairs and scared the life out of me!

now you may be wondering why i had such a strong reaction to lucy's comings and goings, and the mystery of it. well i was watching Criminal Mind's, its a crime show (yes, i've picked back up my obsession with crime shows here too, but no City Homicide- boo!) and this particular episode the bad guy would come into the house, and murder you while you slept. and the bad guy got in via an open window! i was the only one in the house (and now i'm creeping myself out cause again i'm the only one in the house- well only adult, the kids are asleep upstairs- and its just past midnight!), and the house being made of wood and stone creaks and groans every now and then. i have managed to figure out what are footsteps upstairs/ around the house and what are creaks and groans, but sometimes they are a little tricky to figure out.
so needless to say i was freaked out when lucy came running down the stairs.

anyway, now that i have my life back (once i realised it was only lucy, it was all good)

Till next time
Katie
xo