Category Archives: Nothing in Particular

5-Year Ausiversary

As of last week, I have been in Brisbane for five years. FIVE. YEARS. I believe that this takes the record as the longest I’ve been in any one spot since high school.

I’ve found it a bit funny as I’ve tried to reflect back to my feelings at the time. I was in love and excited about the adventurous possibilities. I couldn’t wait to explore and settle in and pick up the accent. I looked forward to warmth and tropical weather and ocean and kangaroos. I couldn’t wait to be with my future husband and his family and make friends who might find me to be as exotic as I found him in America.

Wow, I could hardly have been more disillusioned, and culture shock is a real b*tch.

[NOTE: That's the extent of what I've had saved in draft for over a week now. I was going to try and elaborate a little more on how things have changed, but I don't really know what to say. Things here are good. I am pretty much enjoying myself daily.]

(Us at the beach on the Sunshine Coast. There’s also a cute photo of me & Tash from the same day here.)

Posted in Nothing in Particular, Photographing.

Tagged with Australian, immigrating, photo.

No comments

By Danielle – 3 October 2010
Recent Discoveries

♥ Smaggle – Inspiring good style and great living.

♥ Lushlee – Ooo, she links to beautiful things. Like Cabbages and Roses… I need a bigger wardrobe!

I’m having an exceptionally bad Monday, so I think I might tuck into the archives of those two for a while!

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with linking.

No comments

By Danielle – 20 September 2010
Back to Life, Back to Reality

Some fun things I’ve been experiencing lately in no particular order:

* Pyrophone Juggernaut @ the Valley Fiesta – We were just walking through Chinatown when this giant metal ship came to life with music. It was mesmerizing.

* PocketlMusiclatlthelManalBar – Saturday was a whole day of 8-bit computer game music. (Video montage here. That’s me in the white tights against the left wall at about :26.)

* Tomorrow When the War Began: The Movie – My North American people probably won’t know about this one, but hopefully it will be released there sometime. This movie was based on a book that is apparently part of the curriculum at many schools here in Australia. I knew nothing about it, but I have a total soft spot for stories where teens band together to kick some butt. (Band of the Hand, anyone?)

I haven’t enjoyed a movie so much in a long time. We’ve seen a lot of good films lately, but in terms of mindless enjoyment, this one takes the cake. I hate spoilers and don’t want to give much away, but this teaser trailer below does a good job of setting the mood without giving away all the major plot points like the official trailer does.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with watching.

No comments

By Danielle – 14 September 2010
Happy Blogiversary to Me?

Last night I was finally changing my wall calendar over to September. (Hey, that’s my life lately.) And I realized that I missed my blogiversary. I don’t know if this past year should really count, and I haven’t been very committed to it… but here’s to 9 years.

That’s sort of part of my secret from the last post. I have a domain that I’m not using. I’m planning on packing up shop here at some point and starting up over there. But life is happening, and I’m obviously in no rush.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with blogging.

No comments

By Danielle – 14 September 2010
*crickets*

Well, it sure has been a while, huh?
I was in a bit of a funk, if you will.
But I’ve got some plans now and hopefully there will be some changes around here.
It’s time for a bit of redecorating.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

1 comment

By Danielle – 10 August 2010
Scampers

We’ve found a stray kitten. Well, it found us. It was at the end of the driveway behind a bin last night mewing in the rain. He’s maybe three months old, not too scrawny, but has fleas a-plenty. He had a couple cuts on his rear that we wiped clean, and then we reluctantly put him back in case he has a home to get back to.

But this morning, he was outside the kitchen door waiting for a hand-out. We left for the day, and he was still there when we got home tonight.

We’ll get him a flea treatment and call the shelters and put up signs at the local shops tomorrow. However, I’m happy to take him into our home if no one responds. He really has a sweet disposition, and we’d been talking about going to the shelters after Christmas to adopt anyway.

Get Kitten Toysat Amazon.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with Chucky, photo.

No comments

By Danielle – 27 December 2009
Christmas Birthdays

My love spoiled me completely though, so I can’t complain. Woke up Christmas morning to a birthday card with tickets for us to see James Taylor in April. I cried. Couldn’t be more thrilled!

** Get Carole King & James Taylor at Amazon.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with music snobbery.

No comments

By Danielle – 27 December 2009
Move in the Right Direction

I’ve sort of got it in my head that I want to move everything over to my own domain. But I can’t for the life of me think of anything that summarizes me enough to want it to be the domain. So I’m stuck.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with blogging.

3 comments

By Danielle – 29 August 2009
No. No, I Didn’t.

Thesaurus.dictionary.com thought I was looking for something else:

Like we don’t have big enough complexes from childhood as it is…

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with funny.

1 comment

By Danielle – 29 August 2009
Live and Learn

So next time we go away for two months, I’m going to throw away all the food in the pantry BEFORE we leave. That will save me the trouble of doing so when I get home. Mmm, yeah. We had some uninvited housesitters. Nasty.

** Get Anchor Hocking glass storage containers at Amazon

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with home.

No comments

By Danielle – 17 August 2009
Money, Money, Money… Must Be Funny

Last night we pulled out The Money Drawer. We throw all of our loose change into a drawer at the end of the day. We’ve been accumulating for years, only taking out the gold coins when we’re desperate. I’ve been worried about losing the bottom of the drawer, because it was so heavy it could hardly be pulled out anymore.

At our bank, they want you to count out the coins and put them into bags before you bring them in. So we watched Wipeout and sorted coins until we ran out of bags. What you see below is $1000 in $1, $2 or 50¢ coins. One THOUSAND dollars. In CHANGE. That was sitting in a drawer in our house.

And that’s not even all of it. We have a ton more $1 coins. And then there’s all of the 20¢, 10¢, & 5¢ coins to go. I’d bet there’s at least another $500 at least. I feel a bit like someone with a mattress full of cash, but it’s a nice little stash to deposit right before we go on holidays!

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with Australian, home, living, photo.

1 comment

By Danielle – 8 June 2009
Three Years and Counting…

It’s so hard to believe we were married three years ago. In some ways, it feels like it has been forever, and in other ways, it feels like just yesterday. I think we’re just lucky that we remembered our anniversary at all. I guess neither of us are super-sentimental in that regard.

He slipped an orange gerbera onto my desk when I wasn’t looking this morning. And we’re going for a little tapas lunch at Simpatico today. Then on Friday we head to our little getaway for a long weekend. We’re staying at Glass on Glasshouse. It looks absolutely perfect and peaceful. I’ll let you know!

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with in love, living.

2 comments

By Danielle – 27 May 2009
Survey Says…

Last July, I wrote about this survey place I found called PureProfile. I signed up and have been slowly ticking up the cash in 10-cent intervals. (Actually for a survey, I usually get $2.)

The reason I mention it again is just because the other day I took a survey about plastic shopping bags. And then on Friday I happened to see the results of the survey written up in an article in the Courier Mail.

“The survey found that 83 per cent of Australians want a national ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags, while 79 per cent of respondents want electronic waste to be barred from landfills.”

Look at me contributing! So yeah, it’s been interesting, and I’ve made an easy $60 so far. If you want to sign up, you can use my referral number to show some love.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with linking, random.

No comments

By Danielle – 23 May 2009
Everyone Makes Mistakes

I’m not always the master genius of spelling and punctuation, but I’m still recovering from the heart attack I had when I saw this birthday card at Officeworks the other day:

I’ve only ever taken about three photos with my phone due to the poor quality, but this situation warranted an exception.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with random.

3 comments

By Danielle – 16 May 2009
Lost in Translation

woop woop (whup whup)
n. the middle of nowhere
“They’re going out to Woop Woop for a camping weekend.”

I think this is my first Lost in Translation for the year, and it’s probably because the Australian slang is becoming so familiar to me. (One might say TOO familiar.) I used “woop woop” in conversation today, and my colleague didn’t blink an eye even though I felt quite proud of myself.

He then asked what the American equivalent would be, and I can’t even think of one! Is there one? All I can think of is a rather rude acronym involving Egypt, but I feel like there IS a common one out there that I’d use in front of my mother. Help me, people!

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with a stranger in a strange land, American, Australian, Lost in Translation.

5 comments

By Danielle – 1 May 2009
Maps Schmaps

My photo of the Chinese lanterns at the Chinese New Year celebration got used in the Street Parties section of the Brisbane Schmap guide.

Cool… I guess?

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with random.

No comments

By Danielle – 1 May 2009
Pain in the Neck

Two days ago I woke up with a horrible pain in my neck. I don’t know if I just slept wrong or if the new chilly weather at night cramped me up, but I haven’t been able to turn my head for two days. I’m starting to feel kind of silly. Any of my chiropractor and/or massage therapist friends out there have any advice?

** Check out Sonoma Lavender Heat Wrap at Amazon for your aches and pains.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with home, living.

No comments

By Danielle – 19 April 2009
Funny Business

A couple weeks ago, after months and months of meetings and coffees and chit-chats and note-making, we finally (mostly) launched our business. It has kind of gone without fanfare, because nothing has really changed. We are just now in charge of making the graphics department grow wings.

I’ve been a little busy with all that, but I think we’re all starting to breathe a sigh of relief. Yay.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with working.

No comments

By Danielle – 1 April 2009
Stuff and Stuff

I’ve got some transcript work again which is keeping me busy. Today was filled with the discovery of Heracleion. Next up a doco on the seven wonders of the ancient world. Woo!

Ahead of a busy weekend, we decided to head to South Bank for dinner at Ginga, our favourite! Then we had a stroll through the markets, and I ended up buying a big, floppy sun hat from this beautiful Serbian woman.

And I’ll leave you with a song I can’t stop playing. Some say it’s very Kate Bush. Hans says it’s Clannad-y. And I hear Fleetwood Mac. Whatever it is, I like it.

Bat For Lashes – Daniel (HD) on Vimeo.

** Check out the Bat for Lashes Store at Amazon.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with music snobbery, random, shopping.

1 comment

By Danielle – 27 March 2009
Perplexing Packages

My mind is exploding from two packages sent in the mail — one received and one not.

First, I woke up this morning to find a package from my uncle. Inside was a DVD. Cannot get the DVD to play anywhere. Suspect a bad burn, but am dying to know what was worth sticking in the mail. My mom said that my grandma also got one which didn’t play, however neither they nor my siblings got one. Hmm…

And then the other package was an order I placed in January for the non-toxic flea spray that we have tried in the past. It still hadn’t arrived as of this week, and I thought I had given it enough time to make it through customs and all that. So I emailed the company to see if they could look up the tracking information for me.

This morning I had an email saying that they had credited my card back and asked to let them know if we eventually receive it, and they will charge my card again.

Umm… but… I kind of just want the flea spray.

So now I’m weirded out. I feel like our relationship is over, like we’ve broken up through email. Do I place another order? Do I have to source another company who sells it? Do I write back and clarify? Did I ever imply that I didn’t want my order? Is it because they’re British?

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with random.

No comments

By Danielle – 12 March 2009
Computer Woes All Over Again

Remember a couple of days when I broke my computer? Well, I thought I had tricked it into working by creating a new user profile. And for a few days, it magically worked with no issues. Until it realized it was being fooled, and now it doesn’t work again much at all. iTunes and LOTRO are the only programs that don’t seem to crash it… which is great if I was after a gaming/music-listening machine, but I have needs, people. Internet needs.

Hubby is gung-ho about getting me a new laptop, but the one he’s looking at for me seems to have some heat issues. (As though my other one didn’t already have heat issues, this one gets up to 10 degrees hotter in some places.)

While I ultimately just want a computer that works, I’m finding all kinds of joy in finding the hilarity in the situation.

Me: Hey, can you preheat the oven to Dell Laptop for me?

Him: Do you know if it’s supposed to be cooler today?
Me: It’s going to be Dell Laptop until this afternoon, unless it rains.

Him: But it’s so much cheaper than the other ones with the same specs.
Me: Yes, but have you considered how much the skin grafts for my legs are going to be?

*sigh* I laugh, because otherwise I’d cry. My poor baby is dead.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with geeky, living.

No comments

By Danielle – 7 March 2009
February Finale

Well the album writing challenge is complete. The guys are off mastering it today… which means I get to use the computer that works!

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with living, music snobbery.

No comments

By Danielle – 28 February 2009
I’m Not Down with the Sickness

Because I am totally awesome and stuff, I got me a computer virus last night. Fun times ensued. And though the virus is now gone, a possible pre-existing condition has flared, and the computer will no longer boot on command. It’s more of a “I’ll start when I’m good and ready, thank you very much, and that may not actually be today” sort of situation.

So I pretty much want to die, because I have three years of non-backed-up photos and video on there. (I AM aware that this makes me a stupid person. Please don’t leave comments to remind me.)

There is hope, because the one time it did start again, I was able to burn off one year of photos. So at least I know things are still there and in tact. I just won’t breathe easily until they are all safe and sound on a drive that ISN’T going into self-destruct.

I was going to get a little Lacie Rugged drive to take to the States, so I can copy over all my cds. Looks like I may get it sooner than later. (Plus it’s orange. How cute!

** Check out LaCie backup drives at Amazon.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with linking, living.

2 comments

By Danielle – 23 February 2009
Let’s Hear it for the Boys

Due to that aforementioned lack of concentration, I have been watching a bit more television… at volume levels so low, I am becoming an expert in lip-reading… but more television than I might otherwise, nonetheless.

This is the reason I watched the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal from beginning to end the other night. I’ve mentioned before that my grandpa was and my dad is on the volunteer fire department. My brother was going to go for it as well before he lost half his hearing in the accident.

That said, I have such a heart for those out there putting their lives at risk to help try and save others. Not just them, but their families too. The people who give them a kiss as they leave the house, knowing the danger their loved one faces head on.

When we heard that Coles was donating their profits last Friday, we rearranged our grocery shopping day. We don’t even usually go there, but it was great to stock up on pretty much everything we normally use knowing that the profit was going to the Red Cross. (Granted, my pantry overfloweth now, but we’ll deal.) So anyway, I just read that they made $4,870,889. So great. Press release PDF.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with living, shopping.

No comments

By Danielle – 15 February 2009
A Conversation

Him: Oh look, Flying High is on.
Me: Uh, no. It’s Airplane!
Him: What was your sequel called?
Me: Airplane 2?
Him: Yeah, ours is called Flying High 2.

So I look it up. Sure enough, it has two names. Then I proceeding to rock myself and think of my happy place. It’s times like this when the subtle differences between our countries make me think I’m losing my mind.

Posted in Nothing in Particular.

Tagged with a stranger in a strange land, watching.

No comments

By Danielle – 15 February 2009

Category Archives: Nothing in Particular

Subscribe

About oh I am

Archives