This is Perth

oops...i bought more dresses

I own an inordinate amount of dresses. This is mainly because I don't really feel comfortable in pants, the only pants I own are jeans.

I am in the process of going through my wardrobe and putting the dresses I haven't worn for ages or don't fit anymore on ebay. Through this process I have discovered that I am weirdly attached to my clothing, I am a hoarder!

Despite my good intentions of getting rid of clothes I have just this moment bought two more dresses... I think I am addicted. This seems to be a consistent pattern, regardless of my financial situation!

Here are the latest buys (the girl in the picture isn't me):

I *almost* bought this dress for a ridiculous amount of money, but it only came in XS. This is probably a sign. BUT LOOK HOW CUTE IT IS!

Damn my impulsivity!

When it is better not to speak: Stupid celebrity quotes

"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that but not with all those flies and death and stuff"

- Mariah Carey

"I think gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman"
- Arnold Schwarzenegger

"I've never really wanted to go to Japan. Simply because I don’t like eating fish. And I know that's very popular out there in Africa"

- Britney Spears

"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life."
- Brooke Shields

"I think that the film 'Clueless' was very deep. I think it was deep in the way that it was very light. I think lightness has to come from a very deep place if it's true lightness."
- Alicia Silverstone

"What's Walmart? Do they sell, like, wall stuff?"

- Paris Hilton

"So, where’s the Cannes Film Festival being held this year?”
- Christina Aguilera

"I find it a bid sad that there is no photo of me at the museum at Checkpoint Charlie."

- David Hasselfhoff. Hoff, you can't credit yourself with the fall of the Berlin wall! The video for 'Jump in my Car' is pretty ace though.

"All of a sudden you’re like the Bin Laden of America. Osama Bin Laden is the only one who knows what I’m going through."

- R.Kelly. Dude, really?

Paul Keating Insults Archive

A friend just posted this on her facebook:

http://www.webcity.com.au/keating/

Fantastic.

Things I have bought in the last week that I did not need but bought anyway

Picture

This week I have been in a fragile spendthrift mood (retail therapy anyone?)

This, coupled with my visit to the new Kit Cosmetics store in the city spelt instant trouble...

1. Poppy Lipstick Queen Lipstick in 'Sinner.' The best red. I have the lipliner too. Why do I keep buying shades of red lipstick that are essentially the same? Poppy lipsticks are the best.

2. Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Anti-crease eye shadow primer. This probably seems like a ridiculous waste of money but it is the besssst. You put it on before eye shadow/eyeliner and then you will have NO SMUDGES, woo!

3. Kit Cosmetics concealer brush. This picture isn't the actual brush but they look pretty similar. I don't link rubbing under my eyes with my hands. This brush blends much better than just moving concealer around with your finger. Better, more natural coverage.

4. Polka dot bow headband. Sort of like this picture except the band is thinner and the bow is floppy. Very cute but I will probably never wear this in public.

5. Bourjois So Delicate velvet finish lipcream. What can I say, I'm a sucker for lip colour! I wanted to see what the velvet finish was like. I really like it, except that it has no stayput, I thought it would because of the velvet finish but it wipes right off. I will probably buy another colour of this though, it looks really natural.

6. CDs. Paul Dempsey 'Everything is True' and Neutral Milk Hotel 'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.' Paul Dempsey is rugged and handsome and has a 'makes me weak at the knees' voice with beautifully touching songwriting. His first solo album is lovely. The Neutral Milk Hotel cd was just a replacement for the copy I lost. I don't like having burnt cds when I'm in my car, it feels wrong.

7. Ped Egg. The advertising sucked me in, that lady's feet look so darn smooth! My sister told me I was an idiot and not to buy one but THEN I went to the shops around the corner and they were selling them at a stand for FIVE BUCKS. My feet are smoother but it's not revolutionary. Glad I didn't pay thirty.

So that is my week in retail.

MORE UNNECESSARY PURCHASES PROBABLY COMING SOON!

Things I will probably do today to avoid what I should be doing

Ah, procrastination you are an old friend together with another personal favourite, laziness. Today I am not even trying to do uni work, despite my best intentions and "To Do List" writing. Here is what I will probably be doing instead:

1. Blog stalking - I like reading interesting girls' blogs. These are my new favourites:

Pretentious and Pop

Yes and Yes

The Naked Redhead

2. Checking my email/phone messages every other minute waiting for the real estate agent to tell me whether my application for the perfectly located house was accepted. It is starting to feel a bit like a dysfunctional 'waiting for him to call' relationship. Has anyone seen that episode of 30 rock where Lemon applies for the apartment and calls them repeatedly? That is essentially me right now.

3. Checking facebook too often to see if anyone has done anything remotely interesting in my news feed. This rarely happens. Facebook, you are making me boring.

4. Finding the energy to get out of my pyjamas and drop my film off to be developed. I'm not overly optimistic about this one...

5. Finding the energy to get out of my pyjamas and pick up the parcel from the post office I missed yesterday. This is a dress I ordered about a month ago. It is black, 3/4 sleeves sitting just below the knee with a sort of turtleneck. It is very librarian, I thought it would be good for prac.

6. Napping. I sleep way, way, wayyyyy too much. I get about 7-10 hours a night but I always wake up tired. A friend recently said that this was psychological. Pfft. That pissed me off.

So there you have it. My day of many accomplishments. If you work really hard, one day you too could be this successful!

Weekend Away

Double click image to view full size.

This weekend just past I went down to Margaret River (about a 3.5 hour drive south of Perth) with some friends for two nights. I had a good time, wish I could have been away longer.

In other news, finding housemates and applying for rental properties is a bitch.

first lomos

When I was in Amsterdam I bought the Oktomat (pictured above). I have been lusting after this for quite a while. A lot of my first role of film came out really blurry, even though the instructions say you can move the actual camera, I think it is better for focus if you get your subject to move instead and hold the camera still. The sound it makes when you take a picture is the BEST!

Here are some not entirely blurry ones...

                             

                                                  

                                        

There are some more on my flickr if you are interested.

Past the Mission

I got back from Europe about a week ago. Overall it was fantastic, though a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. If you click on the photo above you can view the larger version. I plan to get my lomography film developed this week sometime.

So now I am back to reality and am not really myself, everything bad seems to be happening at once (isn't it always the way?). I guess it will get better eventually.

I am very behind with uni and still pretty demotivated, I just can't seem to make myself get up in the morning. I've never been an early morning person but this getting ridiculous. Morning people how do you do it?!

Good night, I am off to catch up study...

Pet peeve: Weak handshakes

Image from here

Research shows that it takes between 3 and 90 seconds for an individual to form a first impression of someone. After that, other information presented is filtered through this initial impression. Prejudiced? Maybe. But we all do it. As the saying goes "you never get a second chance to make a first impression."

What can influence this first impression? This brings me to the subject of this post: the importance of a firm handshake. Having a firm handshake is vital to making a good first impression, and communicates professionalism and confidence as research out of the University of Alabama has shown (Chaplin, 2001, see a basic version here). Men and women with firm handshakes are evaluated more positively than those with limp handshakes and are seen to be more extroverted and open. Some may argue that emphasising handshakes as important promotes males as dominant in the business world, however, Chaplin's research demonstrated that women with firm handshakes were evaluated as positively as men.

Pet peeve: I think that this research can be generalised to a certain extent outside the business world. I cannot stand being introduced to someone, offering my hand to shake theirs and finding that they are a) surprised or even laugh and b) they offer a pathetically limp version of a shake, with no eye contact. I interpret this as being rude and occasionally arrogant.

I find this to be particularly common in late teens/twenty something hipster boys and girls, maybe trying to come across as cool or cute? It doesn't. I understand that in some situations an individual may simply be shy, but it is worth remembering that an impression is being formed and putting in the effort to make a polite greeting. Practicing is important.

Here are some tips:

1. MAKE EYE CONTACT. I cannot stress this enough, I could devote a blog to this but no-one would read it but me :)

2. Offer a firm handshake. Extend your hand and grip the other person's hand where the web of your thumbs meet for 3-4 seconds, while shaking the hand. The handshake should end before the introduction.

3. Offer a handshake whenever you:

a) Meet someone for the first time

b) Begin or end a meeting

c) Complete a business transaction

d) Leave a social or professional event

(clearly these are context dependent)

Practice makes perfect!

What is your opinion of weak handshakes? Is it rude or does it not matter?