Australian, mate.

A lot of people from around the world, Americans and English mostly, say they love Australian accents. However, it's been my experience and same with some friends, that a lot of the time people can't tell where we are from or they can't understand what we're trying to say. This mostly happens in the US, well not to me yet as I haven't been there but two friends that have just returned from there had this experience. One of them, while in Vegas, said that a lot of people didn't know if she was English or Irish and when she said she was Australian they said she didn't sound anything like Steve Irwin (thankfully!) Another, in NY, said that he had so much trouble, especially in McDonalds that he'd just end up pointing and saying ' a number two meal thanks' . I find this hilarious. Aren't we all speaking the same language? When I've spoken to relatives on the phone that live in Florida they laugh at my accent and think its great and pass the phone around to hear the Aussie accent, I've never had trouble with people not understanding me, but I wonder if in America this will happen. My friend said that in NY he'd try to use the word 'mate' in the hope of people realising where he was from.Not that we use it that much here. Well I don't, but most guys do. When I was in Europe a lot of people said I sounded English without the snobby type accent (sorry Brits I love it so don't be offended!). I'm trying to step outside my Aussie accent bubble to see what we'd sound like to a foreign person.. It's like British english but a lot smoother and no intonation, we do shorten words a lot and some time skip over parts of words altogether, but at the end of the day I think we do OK. I think we personally speak a lot clearer than other English speaking countries -like the cockney Brit accent, of the southern American accent, (that I looove. I wish we'd say 'Y'all' and 'Ma'am') I love those accents though and I will speak to anyone with a british or American accent for as long as possible just to hear them speak. I just hope they can undersand me in return.Right-o mate?

Always the way..

Weekend: well I had a hectic but wonderful weekend. The time spent in the south coast was fabulous, even for two days, and the puppy was adorable, I couldn't help but post a photo of her here, isn't she divine? She was soo playful, and so cute, I could have taken her home! Don't think our kitty would have liked that though.
Birthday celebrations were great, my sis loved her handbag and a good time was had by all..I am still in shock she's getting older. I still see her as my baby sister I used to pick up from school and walk home every day.
Today's been a hectic morning, why is it that bad things happen at the worst possible time? I slept so badly because I ate so much at dinner! so this morning I was exhausted and grumpy as most are on Monday mornings, not my mum of coruse, she' s such a morning person, and I really am not. As I was walking to my car to drive to work i stepped on dog doo, did not notice, got it all over my car and only noticed when I was about to drive off and I went to change gears. It has also been raining heavily all night, and it still is so, needless to say it was a mess. I was tired, sick and now I felt even more like gagging! Then driving to work someone cut in front of me before i turned, I went to go around them, cut a corner drove over the kerb and my car gave a loud thud, so it was not pretty.
Well, italians say it's good luck , but I am waiting for it, right now it's the worst of all gloomy mondays! where is spring?

Dressing..

More on my shopping expedition..this is the dress I'm getting! I say getting because I am waiting a few weeks as to not impulse buy, I don't need it right now anyway because it's not hot enough for it.. That's not me in the photo by the way :) This is from the website of the shop I am getting the dress from... ohh I just can't wait for summery days when I don't have to wear a coat and scarf and winter shoes, I am soo sick of those dark colours, it's been a long winter. On other shopping news, one of my best friends that's in Asia on a work/holiday trip bought me a pair of gold thongs! yeay... can't wait. ok better stop all the shop talk or this is going to turn into a shopping blog!! and i am really not one of those people that shop like crazy, I didn't even buy anything this winter..so I guess that's why I'm going a bit nuts for summer.
On other non shopping news..It's friday baby! can't wait for the weekend, to give my sis her present and celebrate her bday, as well as I can't wait to visit the puppy and my boyfriends parents, ok not necessarily in that order. :) will take some pics and post them here on monday !
have a good weekend all...

Sunny days..

Despite that it's only just the end of spring it's only getting a little warmer now...it's been like 17-20C every day and highly windy so I can't wait until it gets a warmer (that 40C weather is heaven for me, I know I'm weird, but I was born on a hot day in the middle of summer if that explains it), today it's meant to be 27C so I'm hanging out for it..
I thought I'd put up a pretty photo of the Sydney harbour to inspire spring!

I'm also looking around at the new season's clothes and shoes, I love all the bright colours and the comeback of white dresses and gold shoes! it's all very island-exotic style and I love it! It will go really well with the humid, hot weather we have over here, I can't wait.

I am so tired lately. I have no idea what it is, wether it's the month or the change in weather, I don't know..I have been taking all my iron tablets and vitamins despite all the havoc they wreak on my stomach, but I still feel exhausted. Here's to hoping it all goes away very soon!!
My boyfriends parents got a new puppy, so we're going there Firiday nite and coming back sunday..they live on the south coast so I'm really excited, because it's beautiful down there -- I still hold that the best beaches in Australia are the ones on the south coast, less tourist and they're just as white and sandy as North Queensland, but without the deadly jellyfish-- and it will be like a small mini break. If that makes sense!

Sunday is my gorgeous sister's birthday! she's 22. That freaks me out! I feel like I am 22, let alone the fact that my little sister all grown up. Not supposed to happen. I hope she likes her present, won't mention it here in case she's reading this..

It's thursday baby! come on weekend...

Another victory!

My team won last nite in broomball, I should say our team, I am part of it. Hooray for us! We're still at the top of the comp and undefeated. As always, I feel like I didn't play hard enough and get annoyed at all the passes I miss or if I can't get the ball off people fast enough. It's a tricky sport to play, slippery, yet fast and, by God, extremely tiring! But the adrenalin rush is overwhelming, I love it, it's like skiing. My team mates tell me I am getting better, this is a huge compliment, as they're all great players and most of them have been playing for 5 years plus and I've only played 5 games! I wish I could play more than once a week, I'm sure it would do wonders for my figure as well as nothing makes me as happy as playing broomball lately, well no other sport that is! We have a two week break and I"m really going to miss it, here's to training hard so I can run faster, I have a treadmill at home for the love of God, I need to get my self into gear :)
I am starting to plan what beautiful summery things I can take on my holiday, it feels so far away but I like planning , it reminds me when I was at uni planning all that I would do after exams, and planning my study timetable (that I never stuck to) in different colours, it was lovely!

I saw these gorgeous pair of shoes yesterday, but the price tag is a bit steep....I might look around see if I can find a cheaper, similar pair..
I also want to get one of those floaty summer white dresses, but, this new season comes with a massive price tag, aren't summer clothes meant to be cheaper?

Bag it right

I have an obsession with handbags lately. I don't know why, it's not like I ever change my handbag! I've gotten so lazy with the amount of stuff I have in my trusty, black leather Jag handbag, that I hardly every swap it around. I have about two shelves full of old and some new handbags I don't use, but seeing as spring just started here and the gorgeous bright colours are in, taking over dull browns and black from winter, I can't wait to get me some of that! hehe. I especially saw a gorgeous bag in Vogue, from Oroton, in pink. I am obsessed with pink, I can't deny it..not lolly, loud tacky pink, but delicate feminine pink..I love it..Anyway I saw this bag today as I dragged my dutiful boyfriend around in search for a bday present for my sis..The bag was $600AUD, so not the wisest of all purchases, and I refrained..in any case, I think for that amount I could probably buy two or three of my favourite handbags in the word...
They come from an Australian designer called spencer and rutherford
who are just amazing...if you love feminine, pretty, quirky bags...something that looks like you picked it up at an exclusive Parisian boutique but for a fraction of the price, then go forth and shop!!
Here's a photo of one of their handbags I own that I LOVE, I have to share this..














Aussie fashion, and accessories at its' best..
Now don't get me started on Sass and Bide, because then I will never be able to save for anything if I keep spending money on clothes ..but my sass and bide jeans are my favourite item of clothing!
Go forth and shop for me..

Cruel joke..

I've been working quite hard at my job lately, I would like to change my job description from technical writer to 'tech writer with extras' because I somehow seem to be responsible for testing, or things not going right, etc. I dont' mind I mean, I love my job, the people I work with, my boss is really nice and a smart arse so he's always joking around and making us laugh..but when the going gets tough and its around release time, you'll know about it.
It's all the ups and downs of full time working life, I guess I'm trying to adjust. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and think 'only if I were still at uni and I was too tired to go to my lecture I could sleep in..but now I can't'. It is an effort to get up early, get ready, make yourself look hafl presentable and be awake enough to drive the 25kms to my job, in peak hour traffic. But I'm very thankful and lucky in what I have..it just feels like, out of nowhere I'm a grown up in a grown up world? No, that can't be right!
I'm still surprised to be working in an R and D enviroment, in electronics, for a huge electronics company, I mean who would have thought? I guess that's the beauty of life, you'll never know where it will take you. But I do wonder if sometimes I am just not doing enough or I don't know enough, but I guess this kind of anxiety is present with everybody..I get asked questions sometimes that I feel I should know or should be working on, and this new job has taught me so much, so quickly that it is sometimes hard to keep up.
I get asked why things don't work or if I know how to fix it, or if I remember, way back when 6 months ago when i first wrote the first draft whether this and this happened...sometimes I want to scream...I think it's a cruel joke that fate has on me in making me work with all these engineers...I did a comp sci./humanties degree (six plus years of uni!!!!!! yikes) and whereas I do think that my qualifications suit me well for my job, ie. I can write well and I understand technical stuff, Engineering is one of the hardest degrees you can do, there's a reason why I didn't do it, and I still find it hard to understand.
Not to mention that engineers speak another language and live on a differend dimension. I should know, my Dad is an engineer and I grew up with him pulling things apart, most of my friends are engineers and we had classes together.
I heaved a sigh of releif when I left uni thinking, that's it no more engineers! yeay!
Was I wrong!
I"m deciphering them on a daily basis, trying to put their jargon into english and write instructions for their super complex products that get updated on a weekly basis, I can barely keep up!
Oh well, what's life if not waking up one day and realising where you are, feeling like it came out of nowhere? It's one learning experience after the other!
And fate will play its jokes on you..that, is the one thing you can count on.

Bundle of nerves..

It's amazing how much impact money has on our lives.. i know that seems kind of obvious but if you think about it the best things we have and can get don't (or shouldn't!) invovle any money. Hugs from loved ones, spending time with friends, sitting in the sunshine and admiring the beauty all around you... Yet, at the moment whilst there are so many things hanging around me money-wise that it's making me soo nervous. I have to take a step back and think, well it's not the most important thing in life, and despite all the hassles I am so lucky to have around me everything that I have.

The holiday is booked and should be off to Vanuatu in November! yeah baby! i can't wait... Last holiday I had was on a houseboat and despite the fun and adventures I really want something more luxurious and less stressful next time, so a five star island resort should do it!!( I must say most of the mishaps on the boat were my fault) But I have never been to a luxurious resort before, so I am really really excited and I really hope it works out well, God knows my boyfriend and I need the time to relax after a few stressful months.

To add to my stress this morning, Broomball is on tonite!! YIKES!! I am so not mentally prepared for it! i just rang my boyfriend in a panic and he laughed and goes 'babe, next time you ring me to tell me that something really really bad has happened please make sure it's something serious, don't scare me like that!'

SO can I help it that my Italian and French backgrounds give me a flair for the overdramatic?

Well, I want to write this here today because I have exactly two months to prep myself for the holiday..my resolutions are to a: lose weight (winter kilos and all extras!!) so i can somehow fit into a nice pair of swimmers and b. save money! Yes it sounds like those New Years resolutions that you never keep but I have already made conscious steps to eat healthier and better everyday, something tells me that saving is going to be my biggest hurdle.

See how we go, fingers crossed!!

After the storm..

I am thankfully feeling a lot more clear headed than I was when I wrote my last post..which I think really helped to clear my mind..I've had a productive weekend of getting things done around the house and car and a poker night at my boyfriends house..ok the boys played poker while us girls watch a Will and Grace marathon on Arena, on Foxtel :) But it was good to chill out..It has been raining all weekend and it is so much colder than last week..back to winter weather? who knows..but I do know it's meant to be spring so hurry up and get here!
Today is also father's day here in Oz...I haven't spoken to my Dad in a long time, but I do wish him a happy father's day, in absence of many things ...
I hate Sunday nites in a way because it' s just prepping yourself for another week at work..or uni or whatever you may dread ahead...but I've started playing Broomball on Monday nites so I'm quite excited...it's a lot of excercise, I am in a fabulous team and a lot of fun. I can't remember the last time I played sport since I was in high school and was quite serious about hockey. Broomball is quite a novice concept here in Oz but my boyfriend introduced me to it, I played once and loved it so now I'm kind of hooked. I'm not usually good at sport so I'm going to take full advantage of the fact that I haven't been sliding on my butt from one end of the ice rink to the other just yet and that I've managed to play OK...here's to hoping it gets better and I can be of more use to my team!! At the end of the day it's a lot of fun and a LOT of excercise, not hard to play either so I suggest if it's around your area..give it a go!!!