:D :D
( Woot! )

So that I remember:

Fly to Bangkok over two days: $300

Spend the day in Bangkok, overnight train to Chiang Mai: $50

Stay in Chiang Mai: $11 each/night at Awana House. Three days.

Bus to Sukhothai: $10ish

Stay one night in Sukhothai: $10ish each at Sabaidee Guesthouse.

Bus to Bangkok: $10ish

Stay in Bangkok: $22ish each a night at Rikka Inn, three nights.

Fly to Phuket: $60ish.

Boat to Ko Phi Phi Don: $15

Stay in Ko Phi Phi Don: $30ish a night each at The White for three nights.

Boat to Phuket: $15

Stay in Phuket: $20ish a night at Karon Living Room for one night.

Fly from Phuket back to Mackay: $300.

Total: $979.

Have to look into: Attraction costs, budget for daily travel and food, spending money, vaccines, travel insurance and passport.

In the last three months I have:

• Worked two jobs.
• Started back at Uni.
• Been diagnosed with anxiety.
• Withdrawn from Uni.
• Been to an awesome wedding.
• Given a speech without throwing up after.
• Caught up with friends in Melbourne and Adelaide.
• Been diagnosed with depression.
• Decided to save for an overseas trip (again).

Still trying to get my head around a lot of it. I've known that I've had problems since I was in primary school, but to give it a name is kind of scary. I'm seeing someone about it now though and trialling an antidepressant. I was terrified I'd end up like Alex (he's been on them for years now) and never get off them, but my guy has promised that as we work through things he'll keep a close eye on how I'm going, and once I start handling things better work me off them.

My memory is so shot now, it's unbelievable. My life seems to be constant double-checking and lists at the moment.

Had to buy a pillbox because of it. Am now taking four pills (hayfever meds, the pill, multi-vit and anti-depressant), a berocca and a nasal spray each morning. I kind of feel like my Nanna with the amount of stuff I have to take haha.

My list for today:

1. Get my script for the pill filled.
2. Buy more telfast.
3. Buy a hat.
4. Scope out a new battery for my mobile.
5. Do the same for a car kit.
6. Get a diary/planner so at least my lists are organised. Remember to keep it in the car or somewhere.
7. Get a hat.

Feeling kinda queasy in the stomach, but apparently that's a normal thing with the antidepressant and should settle over the next few days.

Stealing Briony's computer to make a post, ho ho ho.

In Melbourne at the moment - arrived Sunday, taxi'd to Briony's place and dumped my stuff and then promptly hopped on a tram and spent a lovely couple of hours at Luna Park.

Monday was spent shopping - new pants, a few things for Briony for the wedding and I finally got to visit a Lush store. More shopping today (for the stuff we forgot yesterday) and we head off to Adelaide tomorrow. We're having Indian tonight (yay, there's no Indian place in Mackay) with churros for dessert and gonna dye my hair red. :D

I spent a LOT at the Lush store. But oh my god, there's some really nifty stuff in there.

I got:

An Emperor of Ice Cream buttercream
A King of Skin body butter
Curly Wurly shampoo
Coolaulin conditioner
Godiva shampoo/conditioner bar
A Geo Phyzz bath bomb
A Sakura bath bomb
A Ceridwen's Cauldron bath melt
A Sweet Japanese Girl cleanser.

And also rouge henna. Gonna dye my hair red with it tonight. :D Very exciting. Never dyed my hair before cause the idea of using a bunch of chemicals scares me. Hopefully it comes out well!

Gotta say I am completely in love with everything I've tried so far. And oh my GOD Curly Wurly and Coolaulin are just...I want to eat my hair, and it feels so soft and light it's just lovely.

I've been wearing glasses a long time.

Since the start of grade three (should have been grade two) - so around fourteen years. Doesn't sound like much when I put it like that, but that's around two thirds of my life, and pretty much most of my memory.

I like wearing glasses. A lot of kids won't wear them or hate them, but that was never me. Getting new glasses was always exciting.

There is one thing I hate about glasses though.

The COST.

My god, it can be insane. Even if you have private health insurance, to get any decent-looking glasses it can add up pretty quickly. I honestly wouldn't be able to handle the cost without insurance to be quite honest.

Anyway - cost means I have one pair of glasses that I use for at least two years (usually three), at which point they need to be replaced since they frames are chipped, scratched or keep dropping lenses. I have to wear them all day every day, and I'm not exactly gentle with them.

My parents went to Vietnam last year though, and got me a pair of glasses from over there. $50, and they look pretty damn awesome.

Since then, I've looked around for a way to get them at a somewhat similar price. What can I say, I'm a cheapskate. :P But when I have to wear them all day every day, I'd like to have a few different choices.

I took the plunge last Monday and ordered a pair of glasses from www.zennioptical.com. I'd poked around on the net and come up with mixed reviews - the prescription wasn't right because it hadn't been entered correctly and that hadn't been picked up on, they took ages to arrive, they were good quality, they were bad, some loved them, some hated them...

In the end I decided that I may as well see for myself.

So, I ordered:

Lens and frame: $19US
Anti-reflection coating: $4.95US
Transition Lenses: $39US
Postage: $9US

Total cost came to around $90AUD. I entered my script, address and bank details and hit 'submit' before I could wuss out.

Well, today they arrived.

Since I ordered after 5pm on the Monday,. that's basically 5 business days. Pretty good, I was surprised to see them turn up so fast.

Case is okay, not brilliant but I have plenty laying around anyway and I don't use them unless I need to pack them for some reason.

These are the glasses I got, in the black/bugandy colour.

Good god are they awesome.

These are actually the first pair of metal glasses I've been able to put on and wear without any adjustment at all, which meant I got to wear them to work (yay!).

The quality is good -  they don't feel like they're going to fall apart or break, the lenses are held securely in the frames and the arms aren't too loose or tight.

The transition lenses are PERFECT for me. I dislike using sunglasses because, apart from having to buy prescription ones (that's me being cheap again) I find them too dark. Transition lenses don't go as dark as normal tinted sunglasses, so I still feel like I'm seeing fine, but my eyes don't strain themselves when there's a lot of light about. They're good for driving too - I'd read a few places saying that they didn't change in the car, but mine did to a very comfortable level.

The frames are distinctive and I would go so far as to say HAWT. I'm completely in love here. They're awesome.

As for the actual lenses- usually I find when I'm changing to new glasses there's an adjustment period, even when they're using the same script. These are spot on perfect though - if I didn't know better I'd say that I was still using my old glasses. There are no scratches on the lenses, they don't seem to pick up smears easily and I didn't notice any particularly harsh glare after swapping over to them when driving at night.

I think I may order myself a few more pairs without the transitions - frames with lenses start at $8US, so there's a few pairs I'm eyeing off now.

I just thought I'd share my experiences and the website, since a lot of people on my friends list wear glasses. xD It's nice to be able to get a new pair of glasses without paying through the nose for them.

For Minnas~

( Behind the linkiedoo )

So I'm planning to move at the end of the year.

Each time I do this, it results in a panic two or three weeks before it happens.

Why?

Because I HOARD.

I can't help it. I'm a chronic 'but I might need it' person.

Which is kind of funny cause I earn money by cleaning up after other people, and I can get very particular about the state of kitchens and to a certain extent bathrooms.

I've decided to (attempt) to be more prepared this time. Which means that my room is getting...

A DEEP CLEAN.

It's going to happen over several weeks, but I'm trying to throw out stuff that I don't use.

So far, I've reduced 3 full drawers down to half a drawer.

I've got the top shelf of my wardrobe to do, the space between the two chest of drawers in the wardrobe, under my bed, the space between my bed and the window and my desk to do.

My goal is to have my stuff reduced down enough so that I can fit the majority of what I'm taking into my car, including bird cages and Trouble.

It's going to be interesting to see how close I can get.

For serious!

So considering the economic situation it looks like I'm going to be going straight into my postgrad next year.

It's either that or find a full-time job and work for a year, but I'd only want to do that in some place that isn't Mackay.

I'm thinking of doing it at USQ - they have one of the widest selections of grades available (early childhood, primary, middle school, high school, 11-12 from memory) and it's on offer at Toowoomba campus, which puts me close to Brisbane for weekend visits but far enough outside that rent isn't insane and the air is cleaner so I'm less likely to get sick from dying sinuses.

Post-grad dip will cost me around $4200. I'm gonna budget another $1000 for moving, and $1000 for buying house things like a bed and such.

Anything extra I can save will go toward rent - hopefully I'll be able to pay a certain amount up-front (3 or 6 months).

Through centrelink I should get $240 a week between study assistance and rent assistance. There are nine houses available at the moment in Toowoomba that specifically say pets are allowed for $200 or under a week, and about that much again that look like the kind of place where they would be, but hasn't had it specifically stated. No sharing necessary, and I'll be able to bring my birds by the looks.

So hopefully Centrelink will be able to cover rent and bills, and I should be able to find a job that covers petrol and food ($100ish minimum a week between the two - that's like 5 hours casual work).

My leave got approved!

I am going to Melbourne~. Leaving on the 23rd of February and getting back the 2nd of March.

While there, I plan on dragging Briony along to Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne Aquarium, Luna Park and a chocolate tour!

(Peeee ess: Total entry costs are $128.05 so you know Briony~).

I am going to go fun stuff!

And go shopping!

And probably completely tire myself out and make myself sick but it will be so WORTH IT.

God I'm glad I get to leave Mackay for a while. >_<

Watch this to see why.

It's $450.

Waaaaaaaaay too much to spend on something like that.

And yet it seems to be becoming more and more likely. D:

So it's Christmas Eve and for some reason I'm still awake (late hours at work lately...). I've just finished cooking the last dish for tomorrow, and am waiting for it to cool so I can pop it in the fridge.

Briony went vego a while ago, but my family (our collective selves being rather forgetful) didn't remember this until Saturday. And since Mum and Dad are busy and I tend to enjoy cooking anyway, I said that I'd organise I few main-dish alternatives for Briony to have.

The first one, my pumpkin, spinach and fetta slice was made today before work, with pak choi substituted for spinach since the shops had run out (Oops!). That one is tried and tested, and very very tasty.

I'm quite proud of my other one though - it's one I dreamed up myself, so I really wasn't sure how it would work. My tastebuds say yummy though, so I'm hoping Briony's agree. It's parsnip and broccoli in a camembert and white wine sauce, the recipe of which can be found here.

I hope that everyone has a great time, whether you're celebrating Christmas, Solstice, having a break from work... :D Be safe and be happy!

I'm looking at going overseas at the end of next year - probably to Vietnam, although if anyone has any suggestions of interesting, cheap and safe countries to visit I'll look into them.

At the moment I want to do Hanoi, a two-day visit to Halong Bay (overnighting on a junk!), a couple of days around Sapa and a visit to Hoi An. I'm looking at around two weeks, and about $3000 between flights, hotels, food and spending money.

At the moment I'm planning on going alone, which Mum is making a bit of a D: face at. If anyone is interested in doing the trip with me, let me know. XD

So I've been working extra which on the downside means I'm very tired (I am not a night person damnit! I was not built to be finishing work at midnight :( ) but I'm getting some extra monies which is always nice!

So today I spent around $100 on some shiny new bird toys. :D

For the budgies I got:

http://myparrotshop.com/hanging-toys/beaded-cholla/prod_93.html
http://myparrotshop.com/hanging-toys/yucca-stack-bird-kabob-small/prod_462.html
3 http://myparrotshop.com/hanging-toys/little-discus/prod_286.html
http://myparrotshop.com/hanging-toys/ginger-crunch/prod_70.html

And Trouble is getting:

http://myparrotshop.com/hanging-toys/beaded-cholla/prod_93.html
http://myparrotshop.com/hanging-toys/butterfly-effect/prod_72.html
http://myparrotshop.com/hanging-toys/popsicle-treat/prod_62.html
http://myparrotshop.com/hanging-toys/little-discus/prod_286.html
http://myparrotshop.com/hanging-toys/ginger-crunch/prod_70.html
http://myparrotshop.com/hanging-toys/demurely-wiffle-ish/prod_67.html
http://myparrotshop.com/hanging-toys/squidalicious-baby/prod_268.html

I ordered them express post, and hopefully they'll be sent today so maybe if I'm really REALLY lucky they'll arrive before Christmas - if not before, then very shortly after.

Christmas tree is up!

Going to be making rum balls and shortbread soon. :D

So so so so so tired.

Don't even know how I'm managing to function at the moment.

LAPTOPLAPTOPLAPTOPLAPTOPLAPTOPLAPTOPLAPTOP!!!!!!!!!!

So most everyone knows that I've been looking around at laptops with a view to buying one for around six months now. First I had to pay off my car, and then just as I broke the $1000 savings barrier (I seem to have trouble getting to the 00....point when I'm saving) I had doctors appointments and rego and clothing breaking etc etc... :(

Some people (Tam in particular has been subject to these rants) will also be aware that the laptop that I want tends to have the price and gear in it changed just as I seem to be approaching 'Hey I could maybe get that soon'. Invariably the price goes up and the amount of awesome in it goes down.

This happened today (AGAIN), but there was some awesome I found to counteract it.

That awesome is this: http://configure.ap.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=au&cs=aubsd1&fb=1&l=en&oc=R521107AU&s=bsd

So basically I can get what I wanted with a smaller screen (may be better since I was planning on eventually getting a monitor for home use and a keyboard anyway...), a better processor, equal ram and an 8400gt instead of an 8600gt.

Between the $100 off, the $200 off on upgrades and the 5% discount Mum can get me through work it comes down to $1410.

I have $900. When I get paid (available as of Wednesday morning) I'll have $1100.

Offer ends Thursday.

Alex and Mum both agreed to lend me the money! 

:D :D :D :D

I'll be paying them back the extra $$ over three or four weeks depending on Christmas shopping etc.

But OMGOMGOMG~

New computer!

I've not had a shiny new computer all for myself since I moved to Brisbane. So happy!

It'll be all new and sparkling with that 'fresh out of the packaging' smell and nothing on it and it won't slow down incredibly and restart whenever it gets hot and and and...


EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~~

I'm also getting a debit card - I may end up playing WoW again since if I put it on the card I'll be able to cancel subscription when it's coming up to assessment, and it's not as expensive as buying gamecards. Plus that way I can just take a break for a month or so (which is nice) and then not have to pay for two months when I'm not sure I'll play that long...

SO. EXCITED. OH MY GOD.

EDIT: Link doesn't show the changes I made: 2.5ghz processor, 4 gig ram, 320gig hdd.

Apparently I can last approximately six months in Mackay before I start getting twitchy.

Earliest I can travel though is January, depending on work and money and Uni. Sigh.

I kind of want to go to a theme park, simply because my sinuses won't kill each time I go on a ride that goes slightly fast. That'd be kind of cool.

Mum has also kind of agreed to teach me to sew - there's something specifically I want to make, and hopefully it'll be finished by this time next year but I'd also like to just be able to make my own clothes. Mackay is mostly surf shops and just...bleh.

Need to buy new bras. Sigh. Apparently Rivers is having a sale though, and they mistyped on the catalogue so they have to sell them for the price advertised ($1.90). I expect they'll be mostly fairly shit if there are any in my size, but a few fairly shit bras for around the house wouldn't go astray, haha.

I want to try screenprinting - it looks like fun and I could make shirts with things I like on them. :3