Adventures of a Lab-goddess

Back in Australia....

2010-01-23T11:36:00.002+11:00

And where has summer gone? Its fuckin cold, thats what it is. gone are my plans for shorts, singlets and minidresses. Instead I'm wrapped up in distinctly un-chic fluffy blue bed-socks and a massive purple robe.

Add to that a lab that is supposedly 'environmentally friendly' and thus has no heating, and you have a very cold shrunken little lab goddess.

The weather fairies are promising me a warmer day today, perhaps in honour of my birth. AS THEY SHOULD

I can't wait to take over the world - i'll be the best little dictator there ever was. Everyone will celebrate Sheri-day. Whether they like it or not

whats really under the hijab

2010-01-13T00:49:00.000+11:00

Sexiness for everyone from Glow Berlin on Vimeo.

Thigh High boots

2010-01-10T20:26:00.003+11:00

I am a firm convert to thigh high boots. I loved them when I saw them in Rodarte's show, and lusted when I saw them in Willow. They don't seem to have filtered down into high street fashion yet, and I am loath to spend too much on a trend based fashion item, so I'll be keeping an eye out in singapore next week!

These are droolworthy (*drools*)

The ever present plastic bottle. And the Nappy

2010-01-10T04:13:00.002+11:00

So today, a lot of my rellies and I went to Vilingili - the plan was that we would go for a swim, have brekkie and come back to Male'. However, life being what it is and due to the fact that things rarely go to plan, this didn't happen.

When we got to Vilingili, the first thing we noticed was how disgusting the beach was. Plastic bottles, some filled with unidentifiable yellow fluid (Not taking bets on what this was) lay strewn across the beach. Underneath trees lay the remnants of Fridays picnickers. Half eaten 'bai parcels' and helembelihui mingled with the ubiquitous supari packet. And the beach's crowning glory: Used diapers filled with shit, not even buried in the sand and floating in the sea.

We were so disgusted. We couldn't even get ourselves to put our things down. Luckily for us (and rather unfortunately for him), a guy from the island office walked past. One of my cousins knew him and went and talked to him. 10 minutes later, the guy came back with a wheel barrow, 2 rakes and a dustpan. All 18 of us got to work. The little ones picked up empty wrappers, while the rest of us targeted the bottles and nappies.

All in all, it took us 1/2 an hour to clean up that entire stretch of beach, yknow the one that starts near the jetty and ends near the police koshi side.

And just as we picked up the last water bottle, a group of giggly teen girls walked past, taking turns to swig water from a plastic bottle, and uncaring just threw it down near our feet.

I nearly yelled at them. My cousin gave me a warning look. And then he politely told them to take their shit with them.

I don't understand how people can just dump rubbish everywhere.

Inflatable>you

2010-01-08T02:13:00.002+11:00

wacking waving inflatable flailing arm tube man
wacking waving inflatable flailing arm tube man
wacking waving inflatable flailing arm tube man
wacking waving inflatable flailing arm tube man!!!!

bit of randomness before I head off for this so called family dinner.

(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, search for "wacking waving inflatable flailing arm tube man" in youtube)

A lack of awesome

2010-01-07T06:28:00.002+11:00

Bear with me - I'm feeling a bit emo tonight.

Have you ever felt like you were average? Yknow, averagely good at school, average at extracurricular stuff, average at playing instruments, average at sports.

I have, still do. Take my stint learning piano. I had a teacher who came every day, but I never got beyond playing a few chords.

I studied in India for two years, but never did learn malayalam,even though I was stuck in a hostel and heard it day in and out.

I was ok at studies, a straight A student but never in the top ten

Sports and me are NOT on a first name basis.

I have no hobbies that I stick to (unlike my brother who taught himself how to play guitar and is awesome at it, and also is a fantastic photographer). Oh sure, I dabble in everything, but I fear I am jack of all trades, but master of none.

/emo

I might go listen to some dark depressing metal now.

woohoo, I has internet!

2010-01-06T01:10:00.002+11:00

Silly person who lives near me has unsecured wireless internet :D YAY. I type this as I laze on my bed (rather lazily I may add).

I got stood up last night, so no caffeine/chatting for me. Instead I got to watch a rather depressing movie about a prison, while aimlessly surfing the internet. Its kinda sad really. Here I am, in the Maldives, the so-called paradise on earth, where tourists pay gazillions of dollars to come visit, and I HAVE NOTHING TO DO.

I've gone fishing (night)
I've gone to a resort
I've gone to an inhabited rural island
I've gone to an uninhabited island
I've stared at extremists and pointed and laughed
Assorted water sports
The ubiquitous coffee at night (basically an excuse to sit in a cafe nursing a single cuppa while chatting with friends)

so what else can I do in Male'? Any suggestions?

another reason why...

2010-01-04T06:34:00.002+11:00

I hate extremists.

Heard on the radio today:

You may be a murderer or child rapist, but as long as you pray 5 times a day, you'll (eventually) go to heaven. However, if you are a charity-giving-kind-etc person but you miss prayers, you're going straight to hell baby, no forgiveness.

Riiiight.

I'm back from my little NYE sojourn bitchez. Back to exciting Male'. Apparently a bit of the island fell off into the sea yesterday. Right near my favourite coffee spot (Sea horse? Sea house? whatever). We shall investigate tomorrow. By We I mean my multiple personalities and maybe someone else. If I feel like having company that is.

nyawww, a wedding

2009-12-28T06:13:00.001+11:00

Just got back from one of my cousins weddings - had an awesome time, but even at this momentous occasion, I could not escape the gloom and doom that is extremism.

Idiot extremist relative (IER): "Oh so what are you doing these days?"

Me: "(sigh I know whats coming here) post grad"

IER: "Why do you want to study - females should stay at home, take care of the family blah blah (insert chauvinistic crap), wear buruga, you dress too seductively"

Me: "(blank stare) its because I don't want to depend on men, and also, I dont believe in the buruga and neither do my parents"

IER: "THATS TALKING LIKE AN INFIDEL"

Me: (wtf stare)

BEARDED EXTREMISTS PISS ME OFF

2009-12-24T12:20:00.000+11:00

Specially when they give me weird looks and mutter amongst themselves because SHOCK , HORROR, I dare to wear shorts in tropical Maldives.

Oh sorry Mr. Fanatic, shall I fetch my stinky black polyester tent? Y'know, the one that is COMPLETELY unsuitable for Maldivian weather?

No thanks.

I shall continue to flaunt my knee caps, and attract you with my knobbly charms, for I am a DEMON WOMAN. DIEEEEeeeee

opshopping. or not

2009-09-06T18:05:00.001+10:00

Mousie and I decided to go op shopping today. Unfortunately, all the opshops were shut. Brilliant scientists that we are, we used our mad powers of deduction to deduce that most opshops are run by christian charities. Most practising christians are usually at church on a sunday morning. therefore going opshopping on a sunday morning is well...very un-scientist of us.

We ended up at chaddy instead. Hurray for consumerism.

You stay classy san diego!

2009-09-01T21:45:00.002+10:00

I am trying to (unsuccessfully) fill in my lab book. any scientist out there knows what a tedious/boring/stupid job this is, and I have become very adept at procrastinating when I am supposedly filling in my lab book. yay :D

Life has been such a bore recently. Go to the lab at around 7am, back around 7pm, weekends spent at home. I have no life. Or maybe this is one of those lows.

need to get back to book. only one month more to fill in. aargh

but on the upside; San diego and Italy next year :D WOOO

Things

2009-05-18T21:31:00.002+10:00

I am grumpy

why am I grumpy

Things keep getting moved around

Why are things being moved around?

They've lived there for 2 years or more.

And yet new person feels the compulsion to move them to different and random spots

eg: the opened mail from the lounge somehow ended up in the kitchen in a drawer with the tea towels

w
t
f
.

urge to punch things in head = rising

Also, who the fuck leaves all the windows wide open WITH THE CENTRAL HEATING ON?

gah.

I think I might go to bed now.

recession, hollywood style

2009-04-10T21:22:00.002+10:00

Clearly they're cutting down on story writers and screenplay writers in an effort to beat the recession hollywood style; Does the new Zac Efron vehicle '17 again' remind anyone of that cute Jennifer Garner flick that came out a few years ago, "13 going on 30"? Its almost the same, just in reverse! and with cute boy instead of cute girl!

13 going on 30:

17 again.

She made up a life - but why?

2009-04-10T10:49:00.002+10:00

On an online forum I frequent, we recently had a bit of a debacle regarding a new member. This forum is a fashion forum, and has a number of threads revolving around the lines of "what outfit I wore today" - and new member (lets call her horse&dog shall we?) started posting in it a few weeks ago.

from what we could gather, she was an 18yr old year 12er, living alone (???) in a house in melbourne, who had mega rich parents who lived in a farm on the outskirts of melbourne, a horse-dog and a dog-horse (even she couldnt keep this bit straight), and a wardrobe out of net-a-porter. She owned a brand new range rover, and said that her parents didn't pay for her wardrobe, and that she paid for it herself by working at maccas (her first reply) and a few replies later this changed to "I work at a boutique". Mcdonalds is a bit different to a boutique, but ok, maybe the poor thing was just a bit confused.

Now you may be wondering why I am talking about this at all, but think about this; more and more we are an online society - sure we meet in real life (IRL), but we use facebook to set up events, we set up blind dates online, and we find support groups and make friendships online; often at forums for people with common interests, like said forum at which this incident happened. When this is the case, and people with fake personas come into play, it can be very damaging to peoples trust, and affects other people who may be more genuine.

As it was, I think most people who read horse&dogs posts realised that she was a bit far fetched - most of us were waiting to hear that her bf was a well known footy/rugby player (inside joke). What is ridiculous though is how much she protested when we gently questioned her; instant giveaway.

Moral of the story? If you're gonna make up a fake persona, get the details right, and maybe write it down so you can remember it too. Oh, and dont say your entire wardrobe is 5000$ dresses from NAP. No one has this, unless you're victoria beckham.

RAGE

2009-02-20T18:28:00.002+11:00

Rage: angry fury; violent anger

So ends the second week of work. My friend at work said there is always a period of intense rage when you return to work following a long relaxing holiday. And rage there was. It felt like it was a new year, but nothing had changed. My supervisor was still taking liberties he shouldn't, and annoying me with his lack of involvement. I stalked around yesterday in a blind rage, near snapping at anyone who attempted to say something stupid to me.

So I went home. Stopped at the shops on the way home, bought some green tea, made a huge pot at home, and just...relaxed. Stared out the window and came to terms with returning to work.

It made such a big difference! Getting back to work today, I felt like I drank away all my bad karma. I even managed to get back into my work and get tonnes done today. And now I am at home, relaxing with more tea, and a few episodes of torchwood before I start work on my presentation for monday...I suppose a friday night could be worse spent.

lawls

2009-02-11T23:47:00.001+11:00

a lawl for yall

It seems like I haven't even been away

2009-02-11T21:52:00.002+11:00

First few days back at work and it feels like I haven't even left. Work picked up right where I left it, no slow easing back into it. Monday was a full on 2 day experiment that had been scheduled in my name. I only found out about it when I came in at 8am. Of course, this was one of those collaborative experiments that someone else was doing part of, so I couldn't even put it off and get organized. Oh no. Straight back into it.

ah well. back to gossip girl I guess

At last, some good customer service

2009-02-02T02:49:00.007+11:00

As some of you may know, I left the Maldives last night for Singapore, on my way back to australia. I could probably now pass as a fairly experienced traveller, given that I have been shuttling in between countries by myself for the last 16 years. Usually I travel SQ, mainly because of the ease in terms of connection (MLE-SIN-MEL) and exceptional customer service...at every SQ office except the hulhule check in desk. Don't get me wrong, theyre usually polite if brusque, and don't give me a hard time about a few kilos excess. Its just that they don't measure up to SQ's other international staff.

Last night though, an incident happened that made me shed a happy tear; finally, some integrity in maldivian service!

We were all lined up, waiting to check in. I was at the internet check-in line, as I had already checked in and picked my seat - just needed to drop off my bags. A tourist was ahead of me being served. Just as they finished and were walking off, this loud, rude maldivian guy barged in front of me to the counter. He was wearing the uniform of a nearby resort, and loudly demanded that the staff member put his tourists through first "as they were very important". I was about to tell him that there was a queue and he was welcome to join it when the maldivian supervisor interrupted him and told him to go join another queue, as this was for internet check-ins only.

Yay.

5 minutes later, I was getting my boarding pass when I saw the resort fella go up to the supervisor and say

"hey, why don't you do me a favour; these tourists are 15kgs over-weight in their luggage, why dont you put them through for free?"

Supervisor: "I'm sorry sir, but I can't do that. I can put through about 5kgs for free like I do for a lot of other travellers, but 15? I'm sorry"

Resort guy: "C'mon just do it for me, I'll make it worth your while *winks*"

Supervisor: "If I did that for everyone who asked me to, the plane wouldn't take off. The excess baggage office is there *points*"

Good to see that not all people can be bought.

Why do Maldivians always complain?

2009-02-02T02:49:00.005+11:00

Lawl. They complain when they don't get flats, and then complain when they do.

Aih foaraa hisaabah huriHAAAA eccheh

Hulhumale' Winners Complain About Down Payment
29 January 2009
Aishath Shazra
print

A number of Hulhumale’ flat lottery winners have complained the Rf100,000 (US$7,843) down payment for the apartments is too high, with many saying it will be impossible to pay the money without resorting to loans.

Speaking to Minivan News, one winner, Fareehsa, 31, a working mother who currently shares a small flat with her parents, said, “I am extremely happy to have won the flat but I have not given much thought on how to pay the down payment.

“I am against borrowing money, but I if I have no other choice, that’s what I have to do.”

But the deputy director of HDC, Nuha Mohamed, has said it is important to remember the development project is a non-profit venture: “We have just included the construction cost and the cost of land in the pricing.”

She said the HDC had received “some” complaints about the down payment and the issue was raised on the night of the draw. “The ministry of housing has said it will try to lower the down payment amount,” she added.

Another winner, a 28-year-old woman who wishes to remain anonymous, said although she had won a two-bedroom apartment she might be forced to give one room to “whoever can make the payment”.

At present, she lives with her mother and six others in the 400 ft² house and since she got married, her mother has been sharing a room with her sister.

“I am lucky to have won the flat,” she said, “but I should be able to afford it. Let’s see how the government can make this affordable for us.”

In addition to the down payment, she said the selection process for the lottery remained unclear. “My half-sister is in the same situation as me. Her dad’s house is 100ft², has two floors and he lives with his wife and kids.

“From this house she probably only owns a space the size of a tile, yet she wasn’t chosen for the lottery.”

As a result, many have complained that some people may have provided false information in order to be chosen for the lottery. On this point, Nuha said the HDC was currently in the process of verifying information given by winners.

“We had over 8,000 applicants so we waited to confirm the information after the draw. It’s easier to verify the information of a smaller number of people.

“We are consulting with various government institutions like the municipality to verify everything. Each category has 50 people on the waiting list, so if the information provided is incorrect, someone else will get chosen”.

After confirming the information, the deadline for the down payment will be announced, she added.

Hulhumalé is built on reclaimed land and was completed in 2002. The 188-hectare island was designed with the intention of housing 60,000 inhabitants from the capital Malé.

HDC allocated 488 newly built flats to the winners of a lottery draw and the organisation estimates 4,000 people will move into the flats.

The apartments, which fall into the category of the Social Housing Scheme, consist of two- and three-bedroom flats.

The flats are handed over to the winners after the down payment, which is 20 per cent of the total price. The remainder will be repaid in monthly installments for the next 20 years.

Schweet? PWEET

2009-01-30T07:02:00.001+11:00

Yknow, if I read one more blog where they use the word "Schweet", I'm going to hurl. And then stab the author in the eye with a pencil

Islam and hypocrisy

2009-01-29T16:20:00.002+11:00

My family prides themselves on being moderate. Sure, they pray, but 'we're not like those extremists, oh no! And yet, a conversation at the breakfast table today had me speechless.

A close family friend (non-muslim) was visiting, and we were talking about the world at large, as we usually do at these sorts of gatherings. The talk inevitably turned to our favourite topics; economics, politics and religion. We were talking about how the current recession would hit the Maldives hard, because of us importing practically everything, and because of the Rufiyya, that really should be devalued but isn't. Our friend is an exporter from overseas, and had come to see if he could drum up business, as in the last few months, orders from the Maldives had practically dried up. Smart arse that I am, I said that "well, being good muslims, perhaps we should go back to goat-herding. I hear it's really lucrative". I wasn't prepared for the fact that my family (particularly dad) would take this completely seriously. Sarcasm was NOT noted. Dad started going on about how "blah blah in times of need blah blah animal husbandry blah blah anyway thats how the prophet lived blah"

Point taken about farming being an excellent way to survive a recession. However, following on from this, someone else mentioned the current furor over the prophets bride, Aisha, and whether she was a minor. I immediately remembered the story about the girl from the atolls. 12 years old and raped in her bed by 4 adults holding an axe. These men received a lenient punishment because the judge thought that as this young girl (who was being 1. physically threatened by 4 grown men with an axe and 2. shit scared) didn't scream, she was 'ASKING FOR IT'

ASKING FOR IT

I mentioned this story to my audience, and all of a sudden, the crowd went wild, as they say. Dad was the loudest of all. He immediately took the stance that "there are many girls like that in Male who misbehave" and that "they walk around in short skirts and lipstick". Oh yeah. Just because some chicks in Male who are young have one boyfriend or make out with them means that this girl in an Atoll was ASKING FOR IT from 4 grown men. At once. In her family home.

so she was asking for it? This 12 year old girl? Whether the story I related was accurate or not was another question. What troubled me was this; my father, a normally sane, moderate, modern man, who was kind, charitable etc...was taking the same stance as one would imagine a fundamentalist would take; just because it was a woman who was the victim.

At that point (following several minutes of heated argument), I knew there was no point in trying to convince him. All I can do is make sure that my younger brother NEVER learns this attitude.

I think I'm still in shock.

I'm back...

2009-01-29T02:15:00.004+11:00

Long hiatus from posting. I have this terrible habit of not sticking with things...I know that thats no excuse, and that the true blogger finds some time, any time to blog, but I just couldn't be bothered. To tell you the truth, I've always found it hard to be open about my life, and since interesting blogs are just that; the mundane aspects of life, I find it hard to share this with the world. How can the coffee that I drank today be of any interest to people, I think. But I digress. A new year, new beginnings, and here I am, back where I started last year.

I'm currently at the tail end of my holiday in the Maldives. This trip has been one of the best trips ever. Perhaps its because it was so short, perhaps because old friendships were renewed and new ones forged. Either way, my return to australia is tinged with sadness, because never before have I felt like I truly belonged.

I suppose these things are better in small doses. The Maldives has changed so much since I left back in 2000. Buildings are bigger, the shops are shinier, but at the same time, people are ruder. Its now dangerous to walk around at night by yourself or even with a friend. Drug addicts line darkened streets where the government installed street lights have been shattered by bricks, all so that shady deals can be done under the secrecy of darkness. Policemen, perhaps still burdened by some of the more absurd 'human rights' rules set by the previous regime remain unable to cope with the crime here in the capital. They saunter around trying to look in control, but more often than not can be found guarding places that are least likely to be trouble spots. Last night, on the way back from a late coffee with a friend, we saw a couple of policemen guarding...a tree.

The landslide election victory for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) late last year made many people think that everything would change. Our tiny nation has never seen multiple parties before. So many choices, so many stances. Pro-westernisation, Pro-islam-extreemism, Pro this, Pro that. We heard it all during election time, and it seemed like everywhere where Mohamed Nasheed ('Anni') of the MDP went, there was an air of hope, a feeling that maybe this time, we would get it right. The previous regime had its time in the sun, but the problem, like with so many men, was that he didn't know when to step down. Nepotism, greed and sloth got the better of him, and instead of being a symbol of prosperity to us all, he is now our shame.

Unfortunately, 3 months into Anni's government, and nothing seems to have changed. Admittedly, this is not very long, but at least there should be talk of change. Instead, there appear to be broken promises.

1. A university to be situated within Theemuge, the presidential palace. Instead, 2 government offices have been moved into this 45M Dollar palace, build of marble and the sweat of expat workers.

2. Job security: Already, 1000 existing jobs in the Home ministry are being dissolved.

3. A 'new maldives': Anni's appointments to the cabinet seem random, as if they have been made without examining the appointees past experience. The minister in charge of The Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture is a previously practicing dentist. What is he going to do, check the teeth of the watermelons? The one obvious appointee is the Health Minister, Dr Aminath Jameel, who did her PhD in geriatric studies. Of course the one appointee that had everyone's tongues wagging was the man now in charge of our nations defence; the same man who sold us out back in 1988.

Time will tell, and for the sake of the Maldives, I really do hope Anni and his new government succeed. But for now, I remain skeptical.

Untitled

2008-09-10T22:14:00.002+10:00

Wow. Its been a while. Fantastic weather today wasn't it? Guess what.

I had the day off. Mwuahahahaha. And I spent it getting my visa stamped onto my passport (allowed to stay till 2013, yay!), having lunch with my lovely girlfriends in this awesome open air cafe near Parliament station, strolling the streets and lanes of Melbourne, not really shopping, more window shopping. And to finish off my lovely relaxing day, an ice-cream with a waffle cone. Yum.

Mouse and I have been attempting to jog three times a week. So far we're averaging 1 and a 1/2. Partly to be blamed on crazy schedules and bad weather. Getting there though

Have a ball this weekend, at the Melbourne Aquarium. Its all very exciting - they've opened up all three levels for us. The theme for the ball is Atlantis, and I have no idea what to wear. I think I'm a little too old to show up in a shell bra and tail, or a sheet/toga. A shopping trip might be in order, but I am seriously lacking in inspiration. As far as I can see, I can go two ways - either all roman-togaish (I don't know why I associate this with Atlantis, but I do) or sea-people. I turned to the internet for some inspiration:

Paul & Joe, Piccoli silk dress,

Nina Ricci, Layered tunic dress

Matthew Williamson, Islay tiered goddess dress

Marchesa, Tiered organza gown

Applique Rope Dress

Thayer King Dress

[Pictures from Net-a-porter.com and www.maximillia.com]

So help me dear bloggers. That little cut and paste episode didn't really help me figure anything out. What should a short, brown skinned size 8 chick go for.

Finally - exercise

2008-08-20T20:17:00.003+10:00

Two girls
One footy oval
1 hour of bitching about labs
alternate laps of walking fast and jogging (at the start)
More bitching

7 laps (yes mousie, I sat and recalled)

=twitchy legs and tired sleepy Lab Goddess

funneh

2008-08-18T22:10:00.000+10:00

Just read this comic and had a giggle. I had to share:

One day at a time

2008-08-16T21:16:00.002+10:00

Its been coming a while now, but more and more - I find myself craving a healthier lifestyle. I don't exercise (gymwise) except to take my dog for long walks, and walk everywhere instead of driving. When I use public transport, I always get off early so I have further to walk. I wouldn't say I'm an unhealthy weight, in fact - I wouldn't want to lose weight kilo-wise. Maybe just gain some muscle...I find that the hardest thing for me is the motivation to go out for a run when I've just come home from the lab around 6:30 or 7, when its cold and dark and rapist-friendliesh. Is that even a word?

Anyway, I think I need to work on motivation. Get my arse moving so to speak. Maybe I could try getting up early? This fiendish melbourne weather is not very conducive to Sheri-getting-her-arse-moving. Or maybe I'm just looking for excuses.

Another thing I need to change is my diet. I don't have an unhealthy diet..most of my plate is usually steamed veggies, and I limit my fast food intake. Of course, the caffeine loaded sugar bombs also known as my daily 5 coffees don't help, but I've cut down from 2 spoons of sugar to 1/2, so I'm working on that! But the one thing..no..make that 2 things I can't seem to give up/decrease intake of are chocolate and cheese. My Achilles heel(s?)

Any tips and tricks appreciated. Detailed guides on "Mind over Cheese" will also be accepted

Jason Mraz - so fuckin fantastic

2008-08-13T20:33:00.002+10:00

I've been a J-Mraz fan for ages, and its great to see that he's catching on, and becoming popular. Except for the fact that now I can't buy tickets to his shows in melbourne because they sell out so fast. :(

Just got his new album though - We Sing, We Dance, We steal things, and after listening to it a few times, I have to say its awesome! Go JM!

My health check went fine - I had to undress three times though. You'd think they'd stream line everything so you'd only have to undress once. Sigh. Now the waiting. Might be a month to three months before I get an outcome. EEK

Henna on my hair

2008-08-12T21:16:00.001+10:00

As above. I keep dripping everywhere. Too much coconut oil I think. Hopefully when I wash it off tomorrow morning, my hair is luscious and stuff.

stressed

2008-08-10T21:21:00.003+10:00

because tomorrow I need to go hand in my visa application. I hope australia lets me stay. I'm ever so good.

I just bought this Tim O'Connor dress. Any styling suggestions?

Improv - it rocks

2008-08-07T23:05:00.000+10:00

New shoes!

2008-08-04T19:42:00.004+10:00

A few weeks ago the director (hereafter referred to as "D") came into my cubicle and asked me if I would mind accompanying her to a schmoozy luncheon as the token student. Of course I agreed. 5 course gourmet meal, the chance to meet some of the most generous donors to our area of research? Dressing up!?!?! yes, Yes, YES!

So last Friday, the two of us got into D's enviro friendly Prius and started making our way to the city, and our Collins street venue. D had reminded me the night before "No short skirts S! And remember to impress!", so of course I ran off to the shops after work to find something lunch appropriate. I found the perfect office dress at target (haha again yes I know) - a puff sleeved scoop necked affair, in a tweed like material, fully lined, below the knee (!!), demure looking self coloured bow belt, and most importantly, it fit like it was made for me. No pics I'm afraid - you'll realise why soon.

Anyway, I ended up wearing the dress with a black snug sheer knit skivvy underneath, black 70denier stockings with polka dots, black mary jane wedges and a classic black winter coat with waist tie. Lunch was a success, and I had the most divine sweet potato and relish entrée ever! Helps when the chairman hosting the lunch runs a billion dollar company ;)

After lunch, me and D decided that it was too late to bother going back to work (was 3:15), so we went shopping! Not together of course - I don't think I can afford the places she shops at. I didn't even expect to find anything - was just killing time till 5, I had a 30th to get to in Balaclava/Chapel St - when I found them.

mmm. I think I'm in love. again. Although I need ideas other than black opaques so I don't end up looking stumpy legged. Any suggestions?

After that, I caught the train to Balaclava, was walking down the ramp from the station when I skidded! Cobbled ramps and high heels do not mix. I fell on my knees, ripped my stockings, and bled a bit on the lining of my pretty new dress (which is now being dry cleaned :( I suck at getting blood stains out). The rest of the night thankfully went off well, although I ended up having a very early night

Today, D told me that she and the chairman were really impressed with me (yay) and that one of the major donors was very keen on talking to me again (yayyay!)

good start to week. considering I did sfa today. yay for birthday morning tea and lunch. (not mine)

Also an apology

2008-07-16T23:17:00.000+10:00

I've been so very slack with my outfit postings. Promise, will try to get back into it, although you really haven't missed much. I've been living in tshirts and jeans and my massive hooded witchery jacket for warmth.

Is anyone else over Lindsay Hohan

2008-07-16T22:50:00.005+10:00

No I mean seriously. I was reading The Age today, and what do I see?

"Lindsay admits gay relationship"

apparently old Sam Ronson finally gave her a 'Commitment ring'

Ok Linds. We get it already. YOU'RE GAY. Now can you please shut up and go away? Please?

[Disclaimer: I have nothing against gay people. I love gay people. I just hate people who use lifestyle choices as an excuse to get famous]

I used to be a huge Hohan fan, back in the days of The Parent trap, Freaky Friday and Mean Girls. Y'know, back when she was a natural redhead. Remember? (walk down memory lane coming right up:

aaand then it started going downhill. Like vertically. 90 degrees. Drugs. Arrests. Sticking knife in mouth. Flashing the old fire crotch. Is-she-a-lesbian-or-not?

I realise that Sam is fully sick, and I wish them all the best. But isn't it time poor Linds stopped attention whoring and just...I dunno...retired? Try and salvage whats left of her life?

Do you know whos to blame for the train-wreck-formerly-known-as-Li-Lo?

this woman

this woman, who is now repeating the sins of her past with her younger spawn

Doesn't she know when to give up?

[In case you don't know what I'm talking about, Dina Lohan (lilos mum) has just started a new 'reality' show with her 15 year old daughter, Ali Lohan]

Rant over. In sciencey news, I have started writing my first paper :D many moments of wiggly happiness (yay paper. paper means publishing. publishing means I can do talks at conferences. Conferences means travelling overseas. Overseas means SHOPPING! YAAAY) and sciencey despair as I try to put on paper many months of work. erk.

getting a car

2008-07-02T21:15:00.004+10:00

I've always been a public transport person. Its nice, you meet people and talk, or if you'd rather not, are free to stare out the window and ponder the meaning of life while listening to your ipod. Its cheap(ish), environmentally friendly and easy to use. The only thing that shits me though, is the inconsistency. Melbournes Metlink/Connex officially sucks. I can't cound the number of times I've been left at the bus stop even after flagging down a bus - ok in summer, but terrible in winter. Not to mention the terrible attitudes of the bus drivers. I realise its not the greatest job in the world, but a smile/nod/wave when I say G'day would be nice.

And so, with me over the whole PT scene, I've decided to invest in a car. Behold:

Volkswagen Golf TDI GT Sport, diesel engine (hurray for 5L to 100km and better for the environment than petrol). probably going to get the red one (I don't like white/silver, he doesnt like black) with leather seats (mmm heated seats). We drove one down to cobram (3 hours!) and it was amazing. Such an easy ride, even on bumpy roads, and so zippy! Acceleration was outta this world considering its a small car. Another great thing was the space. Plenty of space in this car, and all this without sacrificing boot space. I think I'm in love

movies and stuff

2008-05-28T18:01:00.004+10:00

I haven't been to see a movie for ages (I think the last one I saw was transformers), so when I realised that Indiana Jones was coming out, I prodded the housemates into going to see it at La premiere Chadstone (hurray for tight arse tuesdays! 20$ for a ticket and all you can eat popcorn and drinks!!!)

The movie started off fantastic - Harrison Ford is hilarious as an ageing Indi, and Shia LeBeouf's grease-monkey antics make him a great side kick to Indi's rugged act. Of course, like any movie which George Lucas has a hand in writing, there were several wtf bits where the action was fantastic, but the stunts more than made up for this. Overall, a rollicking good time of a movie, although I'm not sure I would have gone to see it at the movies had I the benefit of hindsight.

Meanwhile, in other things, I've been crazy busy at work. I literally have had no life, and have been living in jeans and trackydaks (gasp!) hence the lack of fash updates.

Is anyone else getting excited about 5 June 2008?

No idea what I'm talking about? Where have you been living?

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shittiest day ever,

2008-05-13T23:01:00.003+10:00

man, I just had the worst day ever. Started a western (my first have just watched one before), got up to loading the samples before realising they were too concentrated and I hadn't boiled them with bmercap , had to go back and figure out dilutions, stared at the numbers for 15minutes not really seeing anything before my supervisor rescued me. Then had a mini breakdown when he asked me if everything was alright (my mum visited for a week last week from overseas, just left on sat, my dad had a head on collision on his motorbike, being stressed out trying to get paper out before our competition scoops out) and dropped my lab book and ran out needing a coffee. Western was ok after that, but then started getting worried about my project being taken over by my 2nd supervisor and his team because mine is part of his overall area, and is the current focus of my lab director (ie she wants results asap and doesn't care how) so talked to both supervisors about my fears (they calmed me down, saying that once this first paper was out, I would be going in a very different direction to 2nd supervisor, and will not be in trouble of being downgraded to masters/kicked out because uni thinks im not doing enough). To top it all off, I went to the bathroom around 4 (still hadn't had lunch), just as I was about to sit down, I had a plop - the white gold pendant that mum gave me for my 21st had just fallen into the toilet Luckily there was another lady in the toilet - set her to guard it and went off to get gloves and disinfectant

shitty day. ended up getting quite a bit of work done after everyone left for home though, and am still going great guns (just got 2 pages of lit review done, yay, considering I'm only 3 months into the phd)

is it really weird that i still love science/phding

Ps; sorry for the little rant/essay. I just needed to get it out

Had my graduation on thursday, yay, we got to wear a hat. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a pic with the fabulous Mousie, although I caught up with her at the Post-graduation drinks on Saturday (LMAO at her saying she has no fash sense). TGIF have the most awesome potato skins (drool) and massive cocktails! I can't believe I've never been before.

outfit from saturday:

Pink and more pink...but what did I really wear?

2008-04-30T18:37:00.003+10:00

6 degrees celsius when I left home this morning! Brrrrrrrrr

What I started off wearing:

Of course once I stepped out and realised how cold it was, I ran back in to change. Finally ended up wearing a less colourful but warmer outfit

gunmetal grey puffy sleeved knit under
matte silver floral embossed tunic
2x cable knit opaques
knee length fitted military-like jacket (black)
same shoes as in picture

While on my lunch break, I saw shoes I'd been lusting over a few weeks ago. They were 7o, but had been reduced to 29$. After a few minutes of haggling (they had a small spot of white paint that I easily scratched off as I walked out) with the shop owner, she sold them to me for 15$. Life is awesome with shoes :D

[Disclaimer: I have crappy photoshopping skillz. please ignore.]

Cold snap! Woot!

2008-04-29T21:10:00.002+10:00

Yay, finally, weather where I can break out the layers, gloves, scarfs, all my favourite things. Was channelling a bit of blair (gossip girl) with my outfit today. You can't see, but I was also wearing a black thick headband with a flowery ribbon bit.

So upper east sider.

xoxo
Sheri

Geekiness

2008-04-27T21:08:00.002+10:00

I spent today writing bits of my thesis intro and working. All the forced geekiness of course included moments staring out my window day dreaming about fashion. Sometimes I think I might be in the wrong field. Of course one thing led to another, and I ended up on my favourite geek-site, looking and geek jewellery. Check out some of the cutest nerdy things you'll ever see! You'll certainly stand out. Go being unique!

Broken Image Necklace ($19.99)

Sterling silver caffeine molecule necklace ($84.99)

Molecular earings($29.99)

Aiyaiyaiyai

2008-04-19T11:46:00.003+10:00

I'm still sick!! This is the worst flu in the world. Gastro flu apparently. I've been living in my pjs the last few days, so no What I Wore updates. Fashionwise, I haven't even had the energy to crawl down to my tv and FTV, so unfortunately no brilliant insights into something fashion related either.
All I have to do is Mousies tag quiz. so here goes.

5 things found in my bag:
- Mobile
- Wallet
- Camera
- Hand moisturiser
- Lip balm

5 things found in my wallet:
- Coins
- Cards
- Money
- 2xpanadol
- health insurance card

5 favorite things in my room :
- My computers (1x desktop, 1xlaptop, courtesy of the lab :D)
- Painting from ben of a wintery waterfall. He didn't paint it, he bought it from a real(!) artist, and it was part of my birthday present this year
- Peacock batik hanging, belonged to mum until I swiped it from her. absolutely heart this
- shoe collection (nuff said)
- day bed. really a sofa bed, but I covered it in big fluffy cushions and spreads. Its where I curl up with books to read on a cold winters day

5 things I always wanted to do:
-become vegetarian (i love meat far too much to commit though)
-be succesful
-go travelling
-be paid to go travelling
-write a best selling childrens series ala JK Rowlings.

5 things I'm currently into :
- Photography
- Matching my shoes and bag
- I has cheezeburger (haha snaps mousie)
- anime
- plants/gardening (but I've always been into this)

5 presents you wish for:
I can't think of anything I really want. I've either got everything I want already, or the things I want aren't things I really want to talk about. deep family stuff...

The person who tagged you is :
- Mousie

Your 5 impressions of him/her :
- Quiet irl, but a loudmouth online. possibly true of her in real life, but since we spend a lot more time talking online/blogwise than irl :P i dont know
- hotter than she gives herself credit for.
- funny as blogger.
- exercise mad.
- (mad) scientist.

Tagging:

a_dreamer
Super Kawaii Mama
Jen
4 inch heels only
Style On track

I've been tagged!!! ARRRRGH

2008-04-15T17:33:00.002+10:00

..by the lovely a_dreamer!

Here are the rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules in your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

quirks. right

1. I eat the crust off sandwiches first, and then eat the centre
2. Pickles, tomato and onion, yes, Lettuce, HELL NO.
3. 65% of my wardrobe is black, 5% is purple.
4. I almost never try on clothes before I buy, since I'm pretty good at gauging sizes.
5. I know most of melbournes public transport system by heart.
6. I love eating milo powder thats been left outside to harden for an hour or so.

Tagging:

Super Kawaii Mama
Shoes mend hearts
awayfromblue
Mousie's House
Jen
4 inch heels only

Androgyny everywhere

2008-04-14T19:44:00.005+10:00

I feel the love - I really do. Thank you for the get well messages everyone. I'm still feeling terrible, but at least the creative juices seem to be flowing again. House S4 is playing in the background, I've just had some awesome Beef Vindaloo and my cough and flu meds seem to be working. Perfect.

Anyway, I woke up this morning with body aches , a headache, sore throat and a blocked up nose. After dosing up with Panadol, caffeine and a bowl of Cocopops, I contemplated my wardrobe. You know those days when you can't decide what to wear? This wasn't one of those days. I knew exactly what I wanted - to dress up uber-put-together so I wouldn't collapse at work. If I could have, I would have stayed at home, with a huge pot of Chai tea and the TV remote. Daytime soap repeats galore. But of course, this was the one Monday I couldn't miss (experiments to be set up) and the coldest Melbourne Monday yet. So I picked out my best 'this-will-bolster-me' outfit.

Looking at my outfit today, I realised that I was channelling a bit of this seasons androgyny trend. Admittedly, it doesn't look as good on my 5ft 3 frame as on a super tall model.

Alexander Wang

Threeasfour (fall 08)

Y-3

This seasons tuxedo trend also ties in with this, a simple blazer with pared down clean black lines. Such a fun trend for winter. I might use this in more outfits over the next few weeks.

Have a good week everyone :)

Feeling washed out

2008-04-09T21:32:00.003+10:00

The lab is being a complete drag. Maybe its something thats going around (like the flu), because Mousie seems to be suffering from something similar. It got to the point where we were so bored, we started throwing the amazing flying screaming monkey around the office. Some of the post docs weren't amused lol.

Even my outfit today was uninspiring, so I'll just put up what I wore yesterday. I feel fat.

Just one of those days/weeks. I'll try put something more interesting up in a day or two.

Polyvore is so much fun

2008-04-07T19:20:00.003+10:00

I spend way too much time on Polyvore playing with the Infinity Wardrobe.

Tune into Kerri-Anne this morning!

2008-04-07T07:33:00.002+10:00

The wonderful Imelda from www.imelda.com.au will be telling Australia all about shoes this morning on Mornings with Kerri-Anne at 9am on channel 9. Imelda has got the hottest collection of shoes to share with us on the show, so don't miss out, or you WILL be sorry!

(Don't get too stressed out about missing it because of piddling things such as work though - I believe Imelda may put up a clip of the show on her blog, so check it out there in a few days)

Stars replace skulls

2008-04-05T18:44:00.007+11:00

Does everyone remember the skulduggery of last winter? It started way back in 2005, and slowly diffused its way down to become a A/W 2006-7 trend over here in australia, culminating in a copy of that Alexander McQueen scarf in every high-street store from Sportsgirl to Supre.

So everyone got over stars, moved onto summer and fluro. It seemed like summer would never end, but with the last few weeks of cold weather, its clear that Winters back , and so are this years on-everyone trend: stars.

Stars have been lurking around runways for a few seasons, but have only recently begun to really show up on the street. Chanel did stars in a subdued manner, with tiny white stars awash on a background of navy blue - reminiscent of the stars and stripes perhaps?

Yves Saint Laurent used stars from top to bottom

Miumiu had it going on in 2006 with their gorgeous star print dresses (drool)

and then finally:

Of course once Kate Moss stepped out in stars, the seal of approval was stamped on this particular trend. Although stars haven't shown up in the trend-based shops yet, Bardot has gotten a head start with their star print pleated pussy-bow blouse (two trends in one!) available online here

Bardot star print blouse, AU$69.95

update: Leighton Meester (of Gossip Girl fame) on the red carpet in a starry dress (pic from fabsugar)

Comme des Garçons For H&M

2008-04-04T08:00:00.004+11:00

Oh. My. God.

Comme des Garçons for H&M!!!!

Avantgarde japanese designer Rei Kawakubo's label, Comme des Garçons is doing a capsule collection for H&M, releasing in November 2008, coinciding with the opening of H&M's first stores in Japan (in Ginza and Harajuku). The collection will also be available at other H&M stores

The lable is famous for an androgynous, stark, edward scissorhands sort of aesthetic, and will likely produce men's, women's and children's wear as well as accessories and a unisex perfume for the H&M collaboration. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get my boganny little hands on this collection. Online shopping to the rescue!!!

Of course, CDG is a bit kooky and unusual - it'll be interesting how the deconstruction and craziness translates into high-street collection. The only question that remains is; WHEN ARE THEY COMING TO AUSTRALIA!?!

Comme des Garcons RTW:

Who the fuck is Jenny Bannister?

2008-04-03T07:54:00.004+11:00

No seriously. I'd never heard of her until ACA and today tonight did their Zac Posen for Target stories (Must have run out of "Oh noes the azns are taking our jobs" angles) - Jenny Bannister was quoted as leaving the following rather choice comments.

"I doubt you can even buy his real label here in Australia," Jenny said. "If you could, it would be in a very expensive boutique, where Target customers would dare not enter."

"I don't think they're going to be loading up the supermarket trolley, with their boyfriend riding shotgun - as someone said for the Stella McCartney range - because it's sort of an unknown quantity,"

Melbourne fashion designer Jenny Bannister said she expected the Posen range to be "a bit of a flop" because he did not have "bogan appeal".

"The Stella McCartney collection was a great example of the uneducated running off, thinking they were getting a name brand, with some rubbish made in China," Bannister said.

"The little girls who go shopping at Target don't know who he is," she said.

I'm sorry, excuse me? Uneducated? LITTLE GIRLS? FFS WOMAN, WAKE UP TO THE WORLD!!! Has she not been into a target for 30 years? Admittedly, she looks pretty old, but to say that target is only shopped by bogans and the uneducated is a bit ridiculous. And anyway, a lot of bogans are smart too. The funny thing is, she's probably jealous that designers like Yeojin Bae and Alice Mccall have been asked to design for target, thus reaching a wider audience (who might like the designs so much they go buy the real deal later on). The fact is, most people at target shop there because the clothes are affordable yet of decent fabrics and construction (better than most hoity toity chapel street boutiques I'd say) and are bang on with most trends while still remaining cheap. Would you really have paid more than 50$ for last seasons bubble skirt? I don't think so.

The other funny thing is that Jenny Bannisters clothes look a lot like Supre's clothes or GASPs clothes. In fact, the only people I can see buying or wearing her clothes are the Cashed Up Bogan/teeny bopper types who she decries. Isn't that a tiny bit ironic? Now, since there hasn't been a ZP vs JB fight on TV yet, I decided I'd do a ANTM type walk off...of their collections! And just to be fair to JB (so she doesnt feel like her names been taken in vain), I'll use ZPs main line, and not the For 'Targey' one.

JENNY BANNISTER

ZAC POSEN

I think the pictures say it all. Who is winning for you?

Don't forget: Zac Posen for Target on April 3

2008-04-01T21:48:00.004+11:00

Latest designer to sign up for Targets 'Designers for Target' line is Zac Posen. Designer to the stars, Zac's high-street line seems to be tailored for a more mature customer - I must say going by the pictures on the website, the designs don't look that great. I will definitely have to see this in store to pass judgement.

Of course, once there are reductions, I might be tempted to buy one or two pieces either way- I simply don't want to spend 200$ on a dress just because its Zac Posen (fortarget). We'll see. I'm praying the tailoring and fabrics are nice - Stella Mccartney for target was terrible. There was only one nice piece - the swing coat (which I own in black). Sizes were all wonky and don't get me started on the shoddy work. Here's to more DFT lines! I can't wait till they feature someone like Camilla & Marc or Thurley.

Some of the pieces I might be interested in (pending reductions hehe)

Brocade Trim Ottoman Dress

Pleated Georgette Shirt (In whisper white)

Ponti Dress (maybe in black)

Wide Lapel Fitted Jacket
Can't decide between the coffee and the black. decisions decisions.

Floral/nature trend

2008-03-31T20:54:00.010+11:00

I've been slightly busy the last few days. Lots of social commitments and work and issues at home meant I had precious little time to do have 'me' time, and unload my brain (read pour-heart-into-blog) Had a drinks thing on thursday, pub night on friday, earth hour celebration thing on saturday and worked all day sunday. By the time today rolled around I was wrecked. Having a temp housemate who doesn't give us full rent (long story) has also meant that our finances are a bit tight this month, and that leaves precious little for shopping. Thank god (or the flying spaghetti monster depending on your religious views) for Ebay. I'm always one for a bargain, and when I saw this brand new dainty navy and cream floral shirtdress going at a dollar, I couldn't resist! A few minutes of frantic clicking later, and she was mine:

This was all early in the morning, as I was having my ritualistic 6:30am cup of tea - waking up for me is an hour long process. I need it to get my brain alert, and my mind moving, and most importantly, to set the pace of my day - calmly. Anyway, work passed by uneventfully, the exciting bit came when I arrived home, to find another ebay find in my post box!

Got this gorgeous floral wrap dress for the total of 6$ including postage - brand new with tags! Tried it on and it was a match made in heaven! Can you see a bit of a theme happening with the floral stuff? Its actually big currently in the Spring/Summer 2008 northern hemisphere collections - no reason why we can't adapt it for winter wear! Opaques, this seasons tough leather cropped jacket, some high high ankle boots and you're all set to go. Meanwhile, here are some pics from the runway to inspire

CLICK ON PICS FOR BETTER RES

Oscar de la renta

Matthew Williamson (how gorge is that hood?)

Karen Walker

koi suwannagate (in love with this collection)

Issac Mizrahi

the fabrics looks so floaty in this gorgeous collection

Missoni

John Galliano

and then there's that Balenciaga dress which I won't bother posting a picture of (If you're really curious and have no idea what I'm talking about, click on the link)

so there you have it. Floral is in. Get in while you can, because in spring, supre will be all over it like a nasty rash.

a-thrifting we will go

2008-03-26T15:15:00.005+11:00

Went op-shopping today, at savers dandenong. Didn't expect to find anything, but its those days when you actually do score! Found a silver matte Helmut Lang high waisted skirt ($4)

pocket detail:

and a brown/beige Daniel Hechter herringbone patterned boys blazer (fits snug with 3/4 sleeves on me) for $10. very happy.

Oh. and also got the Yeojin Bae for target floral one shouldered dress for...

*drumroll*

THREE FRICKIN DOLLARS!

all in all, a fairly satisfying days op shopping :) Now I'm at home enjoying the rain (yay!) with a cup of steaming hot tea, my legs up, watching the tudors sex it up ;)

hahaha geeks beware!

2008-03-26T01:38:00.002+11:00

Bargain, Bargain, where art thou Bargain?

2008-03-25T20:40:00.004+11:00

So B's (bf) parents are down in melbourne for easter weekend. B and his dad went off to play golf (roll eyes) while me and his mum, A opted for the more sane, smarter version of walking many many miles; shopping :D We went to Direct Factory Outlets Cheltenham, with the shop till you drop mindset. Unfortunately, DFO had other plans for us.

2 hours of shopping, and we found nothing. Socks and a pair of tights do not count ok? We were looking for fashiony bargains! nothing!! nada. zip. Its like a flock of fashionista vultures descended upon the stores and cleaned them out. Even Tony Bianco, where I can usually count on finding at least one pair of shoes that I like had nothing. Very dissapointing. Managed to find something for B though - pair of shorts. And then, as we were walking out to go to the car, we saw the new Puma outlet. Yes, its not really fashion, but a girl needs her tracksuit bottoms as well. And Voila! Bargaintastic! Bought a pair of gaucho cut lounge pants, 12$ down from 40, a pair of full length chocolate velour with pink lining tracksuit bottoms (very juicy, lol) 15$ down from $55! At least I didn't leave the shops empty handed!

Feeling a bit sick now actually - I think I over indulged at dinner. Slabs of meat just don't do it for me anymore. I would have killed for some salad and calamari. Just chilling out, trying on my new extremely comfy velour pants and watching episode 1 of The Tudors. Mein gott, this is one sexy series. Jonathan Rhys Meyers makes an incredibly gorgeous, hot blooded King Henry, and the bbc-ish style of cinematography is hooking me in already. More on this another day, once I've finished drooling

so what I wore to the shops and dinner:

cotton on skinny indigo jeans (getting old, but so comfy-about to rip at the knee :S)
LE target purple pleated blouse
black tuxedo jacket with 3/4 sleeves
silver/white crackled leather platforms (the platform bit and heels are matte silver)
black mesh clutch with essentials (cards, lip balm and phone) - didn't feel like lugging excess crap around today
Silver ring and tan glass bangle

Close up of blouse:

gold/silver/platinum Periodic Rings for your inner chem geek

2008-03-24T01:20:00.000+11:00

How fabulous are these gold/silver/platinum Periodic rings? A husband+wife team based in brooklyn/US designed these blingtastic rings, starting at US$205. I could totally see myself rocking the platinum one. If only I had a spare $3000 or so...

Wooohoo! Long weekend :D

2008-03-21T13:28:00.000+11:00

at least, the long weekend is here! Considering thursday was the last day of work, I probably shouldn't have done much, but I did. harvested three mice, and did my array analysis. Did leave work early though, so yay. Went home first, and then decided to head to chadstone for some shoppery. I was expecting chaddy to be very crowded, but there was next to no one there! Anyway, got back around 10, went straight to bed and only woke up at 11 :o I feel so lazy!

wore yesterday:

red and white tiny floral print shirt with ruching around bust, tucked into
LE target black boxpleat skirt
sheer black stockings with seam up back (not in pic because I changed into this when I got to work - so cold :S )
grey patent mary janes
black 3/4 sleeve opera jacket with embossed black floral print, knee length

Finally some autumn weather

2008-03-19T17:57:00.000+11:00

wearing
white sheer t shirt with silver foil print tucked messily into
army green mini tulip skirt, with
sheer black stockings with velvet polka dots on them.
Black patent almond toed shoes with a felt camellia,
black 3/4 sleeve tuxedo jacket inside where the a/c is still blasting away,
silver link ring, glass tan bangle and watch

finally got my array results, and I have array spots! yay! my experiment worked :D

hot T_T

2008-03-16T14:05:00.000+11:00

feel like I'm channelling an olsen twin

wearing:
denim cut-off short shorts
plaid red/green/blue shirt with sleeves rolled up, tucked in at the back messily
white framed aviator sunnies
black dragonfly sandals

its so hot :'( I'm just lolling in my room trying to stay cool before I go for work at three. at least theres a/c there

2008-03-14T22:27:00.000+11:00

bought a tuxedo jacket like the one kate moss is wearing for 20$ today (from temt), so stoked :D That pretty much wraps up my winter shopping - might buy some tan flat boots if I find them, but I'm not fussed.

what else...going to the mordialloc food and wine festival tomorrow, so I'll see if I can get some piccies. It was 42 degrees C today. Argh.

have a good weekend all :D

pay-day and spend-day

2008-03-12T21:38:00.000+11:00

Had lunch with naomi this arvo. Its so nice having her working near me, means I can go bug her a lot :D yay! also got my lab book and plan for the rest of the month sorted out. Really pushing to get my paper out, so need to work, work, WORRRK!

Got my first scholarship payment today, and also went and spent a fair amount of $$ at...target. Don't worry, I didn't spend my living money - this was actually money I've been carrying around since I got back, that I got for my birthday (ah generous parents, aunts and foster sisters. I love you.) I also love target. Its the only place I seem to spend at lately. They've come out with a new 'Limited Editions' range, full of silk, merino wool and cashmere. Gorgeous designs and very nicely priced for student types like me. anyway, what I bought:

Pleat Panel short sleeved blouse in grape

Long line tie waist trench coat in grape

Fluted neck sleeveless top in cyclamen

sleeveless fluted neck woven dress in black

I'll probably go back for the cashmere wrap, but Target Chaddy hadn't gotten them in yet. Oh well. maybe next time.

Outfit today:

Blue wrap dress with white delicate flower pattern
silver chain necklace with glass pendants connected (5 in a row)
seafoam green round toed heels
darker shade of shoes cardi inside the building

Domo arigato Mr Roboto

2008-03-11T22:33:00.000+11:00

The evolution of dance

This video is hilarious - one man doing tens of different styles of dances spanning across decades. watch it, and don't feel too bad if you can remember doing some of them when you were in school. (I used to do a mean Thriller)

grrr

2008-03-11T08:54:00.000+11:00

m back at the lab and quite pissed off at TNT. How does it make sense that they only deliver during business hours when no one is at home, and then refuse to tell me whether they will come in the morning or afternoon, thus forcing me to take an entire day off

wearing

cream button up pencil skirt with two rows of black buttons in front
black satin cap sleeved shirt tucked in
thick bright orange waist belt with silver clasp
black patent pointy flats

have a good tuesday all

dinner at akari japanese, Brunswick st, fitzroy

2008-03-08T10:39:00.000+11:00

outfit: black draped sleeve jersey dress (above the knee) with scalloped hem and khaki applique on hem (whew!)
silver belt knotted at waist
gunmetal grey sparkly flats
silver snakeskin bag + bling

went to dinner at akari last night with friends from interstate + a few from here who I haven't seen in a while. Had a really yummy beef Okonomiyaki and a lot of laughs. Couldn't finish the meal though, it was huge! 11.90 for such a huge dish is alright - in future I might just get one to share. the okonomiyaki was topped with hanakatsuo (dancing fish flakes) which are uber-thin shavings of smoked tuna, so thin that they move with the steam coming off the pancake.

Although a little on the exxy side, the food was extremely yummy - the only problem was service was very slow.

Also ran into fiona (how random!) on swanston street while I was hurrying to the tram to get to akari. anyway, got back pretty late, and more or less passed out in bed. woke up just now (aaaaahhh :D) and I'm now pondering whether to go shopping or not....hmmm....

WWW.MYCANVASCARD.COM.AU

2008-03-06T23:32:00.000+11:00

yes ok. complete sheep. and a sucker for marketing too (but we all knew that already). This offer is actually pretty good - cheap ms office ultimate (want to congratulate the genius who thought of that ;) ) - 75$ forever, 25$ to try for a year. I bet this promotion is sponsored by contiki holidays. hang on. contiki? doesnt microsoft have oodles and bucketloads of $$$?

whatever

go visit www.mycanvascard.com.au and www.itsnotcheating.com.au/

chaddy vip night = meh

2008-03-05T21:48:00.000+11:00

mood: tired
outfit: indigo blue Yeojin Bae for target butterfly sleeve dress
cracked leather white round toe platforms with silver heels
silver bag/jewellery

didn't buy anything from the vip night except a pretty cheapo necklace from Mouche (love this shop) hung out with prue and roxy watching a fashion show there (the vip night is for Melbourne fash week) and bitching about all the outfits (serious lack of droolability) and the number of gay guys who rocked up

Don't forget to turn out your lights

2008-03-04T22:12:00.001+11:00

attempting to be healthy

2008-03-04T20:18:00.000+11:00

mood: meh
outfit: Witchery White puffsleeved shirt with purple pinstripes under black v neck vest
Target black core straight leg pants
black patent pointy flats
silver bag/bling

so cbf;d today. went to the bank only to be told there would be more delays with my car loan because they fucked something up. whatever. I just want my friggin car, ok? Work passed uneventfully, trizoled up all my prostate lobes so I can do RNA extraction tomorrow, reminds me, gotta book oven/tube rolling thing. Realised that tomorrow nights a VIP night at chaddy because of Melbourne fashion week, so going with Prue to see all the pretty clothes (maybe do some shopping. maybe). Bought fruits and bag of almonds to put on my desk for nibbling instead of bag of M&Ms in an effort to become more healthy. Also bought sandwich stuff so I can make my own healthy lunches at work (!!!)

now just watching bleach, chilling out, trying to figure out what to say in group meeting tomorrow. urk.

lulz

2008-03-03T22:37:00.000+11:00

Mood: optimistic/giggly
outfit: indigo silk blouse with crotchet neck, cap sleeves, waist tie tucked into
black flared jersey skirt
bright orange wide elastic waist belt on top
black point patent flats
cream snakeskin hairband
silver bag, jewellery

Had after-work coffee with Naomi (who is working at mimr now) and dinner with Romy. Really was too tired but realised I was starting to make excuses. Remember the new years resolution. Also, started my 'b&s-get-fit' program today.3km and we were puffed. anyway, hopefully we can get to 5 and sustain this week.

lol@shihad. frankston. classy. I'm almost tempted to go.

first day of work/can't eat

2008-03-02T20:17:00.002+11:00

eversince i landed in melbourne, I'm finding it really hard to eat. I force myself to have little nibbles of food, but don't have an appetite. Had a bbq/birthday party yesterday. Ate half a sausage and half a slice of bread but couldn't make myself eat the rest. Maybe I'm allergic to meat. Haven't eaten anything all day except a sandwich around midday and still am not hungry. maybe I'll just go to bed. whatever. so over 'it', although I have nfi what 'it' is. maybe its just that I feel like I'm the one constantly saying "lets do this/that" to friends who always seem to have something better to do when crunch time comes.

I'm sure I'll get out of this feeling sorry for myself phase shortly.

oh and had my first day as store manager today. woo. I has panic button. plus I got to see cute hawthorn footy players.

I shop too much

2008-02-29T22:30:00.000+11:00

Mood: tired but happy (see shopping endorphins)
Outfit:
Grey/white striped racerback under
yellow sheer l/s knit top
tan belt on
Navy skinny jeans cuffed at ankle
silvery white ballet flats
black slouchy hoody
silver bag+ usual jewellery

Had another long day today. 11 mice to kill, going to uni to finally drop off schol forms, and then went to chaddy afterwards for haircut, grocery buying and a bit of cheapo shopping. too tired to describe day

Purchases
+cream/taupe snakeskin like hairband $2.00
+black s/s t shirt with ribcage and heart print $5.00 (Target)
+black kohl eye liner $2.00
+Sugarbaby bright red lipstick $4.50
+Sugarbaby 'Glamourpuss' luminous cream foundation $4.50
+Witchery L/s fur padded parka $119.00 (got discount on it)

Total: $137.00

btw its not like i spend like this all the time. I'm just stocking up on winter clothes/ lab friendly things while I have some spare cash. Next big purchase is car, after that, I'm done.

!@&@#&T@&!@!!!!

2008-02-29T01:53:00.000+11:00

fuckin hell. I promised myself an early night

Good night

(2am)

car loan baby

2008-02-28T20:08:00.000+11:00

mood: cheerful

Outfit:
indigo puffsleeved shirt with ties at sleeves under
black racerback wool vest
dirty denim skinny jeans cuffed at ankle
black round toed wedges with bow on side
brown/rust pashmina looped around neck
cadbury purple blazer
usual silver ring, crystal studs, watch and golden brown thick glass bangle

today was spent running up and down. first had to go into uni to get my scholarshop commencement forms signed by the faculty research officer-person. website said they normally have lunch break at 1, so got there at 12. Office was locked, lights were off. ok. thought maybe they were at lunch. went and hung out in campus centre with dinesh and his friends. beef bulgogi for lunch, yummy! went back to office at 1:15. lights still off. wtf. hang around till 2. still no one. start to get pissed off. need to get form signed and take to MRGS before 4. sigh. finally someone shows up at 2.30. "Long lunch :D" she says. whatever. at least leave a sign will you!

hand her form, beg for signature. just one sign. "Oh I've gotta call your supervisor and ask her something before i can sign". Er. supervisor in meeting for 1 hour. FUCKIN HELL. taking form over to MRGS now delayed till Friday morning. sigh. Rush to bus loop to go to NAB chaddy for car loan interview

got there, was kept waiting for 1/2 an hour even though I made an appointment and I WAS 5 minutes EARLY. Get told I pass the interview, but "Please fill in more forms and bring them back tomorrow with copies of pay slips/ enrolment. sigh.

hopefully I can get my loan+car within 2 weeks. I don't think I can stand much more of this PT shit.

Purchases today

+Beef bulgogi for lunch $6.50

+Black 'core' pants, Target, $31.99
+black plain puff sleeved shirt, Target, $21.00
+Magenta satin cap sleeved shirt with waist tie, Temt, $9.00
+White shirt with navy pin stripes, Temt, $9.00
+Sugarbaby Complexion Perfection face powder, Target, $4.50
+Sugarbaby lip glaze in 'lana', Target, $4.50

Total: $86.49

Gulp. I justified it by realising that I own no trousers. only jeans. and I need work shirts...don't I?

Gastro sucks

2008-02-27T19:53:00.000+11:00

As in title: gastro sucks. I've only been in melbourne for 2 days, and already my stomach, she rebels! Anyway, landed on sunday night, stayed up all night because of jet laggyness, went into the lab straight away on monday morning because I wanted to get my schol payments sorted out (moniez!!!) - straight away bumped into H (one of the RAs and the scariest person there) "oh my S, you've put on weight!"

T_T

and here I thought I'd actually maintained/lost a kg or so. no matter. walk into supervisors office.

G: *gasp of shock* YOU CAME BACK!?!?!

Me: of course I did

G:*grabs my head and plants two kisses on each cheek*

me: *wtf face*

she prods me to go to other supervisors office. he *boings* and grabs me and bear hugs :S

seriously. its like ive been gone for years or something.

anyway, jumping straight into things i guess. still no clear idea about what my phd project is, doing a few more expts for hons stuff to publish in higher impact factor journal, so stuck with that for the next month or so. also have to look after/show Quiet Boy (new hons student) how to kill/chop mice up, and how to do other things around lab. woo.

dinner was chicken sausage, mashed potatoes and veggys. ugh. didnt really feel hungry so pushed everything around and then threw food away. Bad Bad S.

annd...since I finally started watching naruto during these hols (bandwagon? late? anyone?) and am waiting for the latest release from dattebayo, i thought i might as well start on bleach. why is it i watch insanely popular things loong after they show up?

upto episode 6 now. lol. long way to go

mood today: couldnt be f***ed

outfit today:organic cotton white "the future is green" t shirt (target buy, 5$!!!)
Lee bootcut jeans
black almond toe ballet flats
rust, red and brown scarf around neck

2008-02-10T16:08:00.000+11:00

Went for a walk in villingili. The kids decided to gather tonnes of these flowers and arrange them in designs on the beach "so it looks pretty"

2008-02-09T19:40:00.000+11:00

view from villingili beach this morning

Professor Randy Pausch

2008-02-08T04:44:00.000+11:00

If you have a spare hour or so, watch this:

All grown up

2008-01-21T02:36:00.000+11:00

my gorgeous god daughter. She's just gone to grade 4 and still likes me to carry her like a baby at times...

early morning sea bath mmmmmm

2008-01-19T16:52:00.000+11:00

Woke up early this morning to go to Vilingili. We (my family and my god daughter S's family) were planning on leaving here at 6. Of course that didnt happen, and by the time we actually got to the ferry it was almost 7. Luckily, the next ferry was only a minute or so away, and a short 10 min ride later we were there.

We had so much fun splashing around! S insisted I teach her how to float, which ended up hilarious as each time she tried, her cousin N would jump on her or splash water. After a nice long swim, we all went and showered and had breakfast, sooo yummy! farata, buns, black tea and this delicious fish/potato curry. mmmmm. What is it about sea baths that make people so hungry! We only just got home (its almost 11am) and I feel completely refreshed and energized! definitely going sea bathing again next weekend. I'd forgotten how much I love it.

reminds me. I will be 24 in a few days. how time flies - i feel like I only just had my 21st :S

Holidays in Male' - tres boring?

2008-01-14T15:45:00.002+11:00

continuing on from before:

so dad wasn't very happy at the thought of me spending another 3 years far away in australia. He wants me to get married! *shudder* Not that I'm against marriage, I'm just too young for it. Besides which, I want to do a phd. So dad agreed, but I could see from the look on his face that he was incredibly sad. I can understand why too, but chances like this don't come up twice in a lifetime. Its just something I've gotta do. Sooo I am.

What else...I've grown so annoyed at the english newspaper back home - they do direct translations from dhivehi, and it sounds so stupid, so I've volunteered to do the Dhiv-english translations while I'm in Male'. Also, my friend A and me have decided to stop organizing catch-ups with certain friends whenever we come to Male'. I hate people who say they'll come, and then cancel at the last minute, and do this every single fucking time we organise something. One had a legitimate excuse, but Im over this happening all the time. if they aren't interested, neither are we. sucks to them

There really isnt much to do in Male' aside from hingaalan dhiyun or coffee... I think the staff at Seahouse dread seeing me and A whenever we come now, because we only order coffee but sit there for ages. Oh well. I've got naruto to keep me occupied while I'm in Male, and at least we finally have broadband! yay!

New Years etc

2008-01-14T15:22:00.000+11:00

So I've been fairly busy since I got home. First of all as soon as I got home my brother was leaving to go back to S'pore in a week, so we spent the whole week hanging out with each other. Lots of coffee drinking, photo taking (he's pretty good, check his flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/maldiviandude/ ) and then it was time for him to go :( This is the first holiday where we didn't fight with each other, and when it was just lots of fun.

I also celebrated new years at home, just had a quiet one in with the family, specially since its been a year since I've seen them. It was nice but bittersweet (keep reading). I've also come up with my one and only new years resolution:

Keep in touch with friends, reply to all emails and sms's

This is something that I find incredibly hard to do. I've never been one for emails - I find face to face talking so much better - not something that works well when youre thousands of kms apart. Oh well, see how we go

Once little brother left, it was time to tell the paternal one about my scholarships and wanting to do phd. needless to say, he was pretty happy about the schols, but at the same time was iffy about the whole thing

Its Over

2007-12-17T22:37:00.000+11:00

Its done...

MIPS and MGS

2007-12-17T14:49:00.001+11:00

so so so very very happy :D

Insane shopping antics

2007-11-30T00:45:00.000+11:00

Sooo I went a bit nuts at target.

I got this dress in violet and tan

I also got this one and the belt :

And then I got this one :
I couldn't resist. When the yeojin bae for target collection first came out 2 months ago, I eyed these three dresses, but decided that at $130 a pop I just couldn't afford it. But then I dropped into target on sunday and lo behold; they'd all been reduced to 49$. It was fate. Meant to Be.

now theyre all sitting in my closet and I feel happy. and poorer.

and yay, I got an H1. Now for the agonising wait for scholarships.

How good is your vocab? if you're good enough, you could feed the world

2007-11-13T13:50:00.000+11:00

Just saw this link on a forum I frequent (click on the banner)

Where every word you guess right donates 10 grains of rice through the UN to end world hunger.

10grains of rice isn't a lot, but when you think of thousands of people feverishly clicking on words, that makes a lot of rice. Sponsored by companies such as Amex, Raddisson hotels and itunes, the website says its donated 1,330,639,890 grains of rice so far. Seems fairly legit, and is a good way to both procrastinate and do some good at the same time. What are you waiting for?

Seminar 2

2007-11-08T20:56:00.002+11:00

Earlier today, I received a mysterious sms from my friend the Phd student:

"Come to the lab! Your results for the talk are here on your desk!"

My heart started pounding. Slowly, I got dressed, picked up my bag and keys, locked the house and made my way towards the bus stop. I sat on the bus mulling over the possibilities; What would I do if I'd failed? Could I still get an overall H1? What do they call those tasty berries that grow on trees?

Finally, I arrived at my building. I crept in through the side door, and slinked up the fire stairs. Warily, I peered around corners to make sure no one I knew was around. The coast was clear! A quick sprint to my cubicle, and there it was; a large sealed envelope.

"Open it!" Urged my friend. I stared at it; this insignificant little envelope held the key to my cosmos. I heaved a sigh, folded the envelope up and shoved it into my bag.

"There's no point" I muttered, and left the lab. My heart was heavy and my mind was spinning. There was only one thing left to do. Retail therapy.

As I wandered the golden walkways of Chadstone, I soon forgot the trials and tribulations of honours. Several hours, dollars and shopping bags later, I was elbow deep amongst the robert robert shoes at myer when B found me.

"So? What mark did you get?"

"I don't know" I replied, as reality began to sink back in. "And I don't really want to know either".

"Pfft, let me see. I won't tell you" he said, and reached for the envelope. As he ripped it apart, and stared at it wordlessly, I couldn't hold back any longer. I grabbed the sheet from him, and stared at my mark.

An H1.

Making progress...

2007-10-11T11:14:00.000+10:00

Fact 1: I think I know which apoptotic pathway my chemical uses.

Fact 2: I do my best work between 1am and 4am

Fact 3: MS word sucks and is incredibly user-unfriendly

2007-10-09T20:38:00.000+10:00

I think I just broke Pubmed

2007-10-09T12:48:00.000+10:00

HAHAHAHA

P (my friend/phd student) told S that I wasn't coming in today because G wanted me to go to her house and S's reply was "Good, at least I don't have to deal with it then"

WTF?

I really don't need his petty shit right now. Its not my fault that he's a shit supervisor, and that his boss knows it now. And apparently G changed our meeting place to her office instead of her house now, except people kinda forgot to let me know, if not for P telling me, I wouldve been on my way to East Malvern.

When alone in the hills, with the wind in your face...

2007-10-09T12:21:00.000+10:00

So yesterday, my other supervisor (y'know, the one who is in charge of the lab), G, decided to take over supervising my thesis. This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that main supervisor S decided not to come in yesterday. And hasn't really been giving me much advice besides from being a scientific thesaurus when I give him drafts to read. G asked me to come in to her office around 4 just to 'have a little chat'. Walked in, and little chat turned into her re-organising my entire results section, and telling me that I needed to do more counting. 10 days before my thesis is due. Right. And then she told me not to stress. :|

So today, I am working from home, attempting to get all the changes G recommended in done in a day wouldnt have seemed as impossible if she didn't also ask me to change all my graphs. sigh. I've been working on it since this am, and I feel like I've made no headway. S is being a bit stand-offish as well, he probably I thought I complained about him to G, which I didn't. Did I mention I was a bit over lab politics? Anyway, I need to get my shit together, and finish my work by 4ish, because G wants me to come to her house (!) so we can go over the changes again.

I cannot wait for these 10 days to be over (blog title).

I'll still have my talk to do, but nothing compares to this. I can't even describe how stressed I am. I dream about my thesis. I sleep my thesis. I eat my thesis. And when this is over, I'm going to BURN my thesis.

First postings

2007-09-22T21:43:00.000+10:00

I keep starting up blogs everywhere, and generally tend to stop posting after a while. Don't know what it is - although it possibly has something to do with the fact that I get bored fast. I like new, exciting things, and throw myself into them whole heartedly, but after I've explored it thoroughly, I toss it away. So sad.

but anyway, life as a labmonkette is stressful. and at the same time rewaarding I guess, if you sit down and think about ripple effect kinda things. I have less than a month left till thesis due date, and am lagging so far behind wrt actually having anything publishable. Results for proliferation (or lack thereof, yes, but sfa on apoptosis! aargh! Working on the thesis though, and have made progress - 38 pages of 50 done, and I feel I will be done with lab work this week, provided tomorrows array experiment works, in which case I can sit at home and just write write write.

Its a pity I can't write about my experiments in more detail, but part of the fun of this honours year has been the fact that my project revolves around this awesome new compound produced by a german pharmaceutical company.

so anyway, I have to go into the lab tomorrow morning around 10 to continue an experiment I started on thursday! I must say, hours are shit for research, although you sort of can plan ahead and make it so your hours aren't as bad. sigh.