so, i had already decided to write about my next dream before i went to bed last night.

i've been known to wake myself up, crying or talking in my sleep.

this morning, i woke up first, then i cried.

i dreamt about my armenian grandfather, he passed away two years ago this october. i think i may have yet to reach some kind of closure... in my dream he was teaching me how to drive manual. we went to billings bridge shopping mall from my childhood. i dreamt of their basement. of how elizabeth used to smoke. this isn't the first time i've dreamt of john. he doesn't speak in my dreams... i would like to hear his voice again...

i feel a bit of a mess again. not as bad as monday, after all it is *friday*.
this has always happened to me. a dream can make or break my day... even my next few days. it's because my dreams are so vivid, so detailed. i get in trouble at home for sleeping in too much or going for naps on weekends... j doesn't realize it's cause i love my dreams so much. there are some dreams that i never want to wake up from. others that i wake myself up from. dreams that disappear. dreams that linger. recurring dreams and dream themes. or that dream that i used to have as a kid, with the giant roll of static, that would always wake me up at exactly midnight.



dream a little dream of me

my dreams have been particularly haunting of late… i woke up this morning mumbling something about midgets. then the night before involved a shotgun wedding, two grooms, a missing veil, mermaids, walruses and talking cockroaches going on about the gauze in the first aid kit. c’était tellement bizzare. might reconsider keeping a dream log… the problem is that i would have to write upon awakening otherwise risk losing the interesting detail… i suppose a brief outline would suffice, enough of a reminder to fill in detail later. i’m already taking my temperature as i wake so it’s not too much of a stretch.

morning ramblings. sweet caffeine not kicked in. addicted to tea. among other things… jean luc was saying that he only had one bad thing that he does (smoking) and since it’s his only bad thing, he doesn’t see why he should give it up. i was trying not to tally up how many bad things i do, but i guess badness is in the eye of the beholder.

am i the see-no-evil monkey? cheeky.

tuesday was pretty much a write off as i still hadn’t recovered from the shock of monday. even my yoga class was too crowded for comfort. usually i thoroughly enjoy my tuesday evening yoga sessions but i had a mental block and was being overly critical of teaching styles… force of habit? then i spent the bus ride home listening to the stills and missing montreal sorely. mostly the music. the heartbeat of the city. live shows, dressing up, my wyf, my best friends, the trouble i got into and the trouble i didn’t… *sigh* ..it was one of those days..

but wednesday shall be different! start the day with some stretching, put on my cutie pie skirt, my heels and some lipstick. shake out the cobwebs and off we go!

it’s all downhill ‘til the weekend!

i think i’ll be a rock star this weekend... on verrons!

i don't think it is possible to feel perfectly fabulous on a monday.

there is just something about weekends, perhaps you let your guard down a bit and then

WHAM! you're slammed back into the week, reality sets in as you stare vacantly into a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear.

and you're often late. or sluggish. or daydreamy.

i was the last two today, a bit sloth like but still singing to myself when no one was around...

then it rained. and i didn't have my umbrella. or my cute raincoat. or a pair of shoes that wanted to get wet (despite having 3 pairs at work). so my feet got wet.
and i listened to the cure.

when i got home, i took a hot shower and decided it was a very good evening to make a big soup.
i can smell it simmering now.

i'd almost forgotten how therapeutic cooking can be.

peeling the skins of fresh cloves of garlic
the smell of raw cauliflower
karapincha

the mechanical ease of the knife slitting open a bell pepper, seeds spilling out onto the cutting board
stained water flowing down the drain as cool water runs over potatoes: rich, red earth: fingers scrubbing gently

onion tears

i'm not even hungry, it's a soup for the soul.

bon appetit

thirllseeker

i think i need a t-shirt that advertises how much i love cheap thrills... well, not always cheap ones! i love being spoilt as much as the next girl... if not more.

had an absolutely fantastic weekend!!! butterflies-in-my-stomach, voyons!

today i was taken to dreamworld, the theme park near where i live. i went on rides like you wouldn't believe this weekend!

the picture is of me making a koala very happy. i like being the koala's *little trophy* ;)

j almost bought tickets to the big brother thingy. he obviously hasn't been reading my posts. i think i would have refused, on principle. if i'm not the star of the show, i don't want to be on it.!

too much to take in though... need some help processing it all! someone abroad is getting a call soon!! -XO-best girls -XO-, when are you free for a chat?!

kiss me... i'll kiss you back!

>>> YEAH! it's friday! c'mon weekend :) (and not too late either, work looks like it'll be a doozie today!)

>>> c'mon aussie... game on as i type-ity type

>>> saw adam sandler's new movie click... liked it, a bit mushy but... y'all know how much i like adam sandler ;) *gigglegiggle*

>>> last night, ouch, intensegiggling... wearing a skirt today!

>>> am i getting a craving for some latin dancing...? will need new shoes again!

>>> jean luc shall work his magic ce soir... ouai!

>>> painted my cute little toes according to above, kim'swedding-red

>>> going shopping tonight too, what a girly girl!

>>> have an awesome day n' a fantabulous weekend! gros bisous -xxx-

damnit.

i'd forgotten all about my superpowers and wasn't paying attention to where i was aiming.

now i'm in for it...

wow. i'm up early. lovely.

i was reading the newspaper this morning and just as i flipped to the weather page to see what today's forecast was, rain on the tin roof answered me. hmph. i think i can deal despite the same predictions week long... and we're *only* tuesday... as long as j sticks to the eleventh commandment: 'thou shalt not steal thy wife's spiffy new umbrella'

i may have to break out the rain boots, my ninja-style galoshes with the camel toes!

weekend looks nice at least ;)

so, the salon downstairs from where i work has just been revamped; taken over from something that old ladies went to and turned into something a little more promising. especially because it was taken over by a french man. french men can do the best things to hair... among other body parts...*sigh*....*gasp*...*moan* ... where am i? right. his name is jean-paul ... or was it jean-luc? whatever. what's important is that he's not the hussy that massacred my hair last time. i told her what i wanted, she kept saying how it was going to be easy, no problem. now i know that i have to be as prepared here as i was in japan... pictures and colour samples... but most importantly, to never shut up once. just keep talking and if you suspect your stylist of being misguided, for hair's sake: speak up!!!

i was skype-ing with my aunty and telling her about my torturous ordeal... actually the salon experience itself was fine, it was the ensuing home remedies that were traumatizing (like being 15 all over again)... and i was inspired to take a few pictures for her. and for you. this is me with my hair fixed up. i'm still not 100% groovy with it but it'll do!


i am not sure salon-ing is for me in the end. just a cut and a blow should do me, i've had too many foul times in those stupid chairs and no number of scalp massages or frayednervecalming glasses of wine (though that did help!) can remedy the disappointment of going home with an expensive head of unsightly hair. colouring is now out, unless jean-paul/luc can bring it back to it's natural colour when my roots start showing...

another thing i've gone off is TV. i think i just killed more brain cells in one episode of big brother than in all my years of hardcore partying.
except maybe the tequilla tent at fuji rock. i was so braindead after that... funnily enough, i got engaged two weeks later. hmmm... heehee! ;)

seriously, i am cutting out tv. except of course the good shows like desperate housewives (apparently i missed a really good one last week!), lost (even though i'm kind of over it cause the hot doctor isn't putting out), simpsons (which i'm never home for anyways), south park, striperella and anything else that may be construed as educational... like the brazil matches in the world cup!

i think that's it for things i want to lay off of at the moment... all my other naughty habits i am quite happy with!

what are *you* renouncing?

now for some brain drain... random thoughts by em handy. :P



new yummy smell: earl grey tea




i had a sister, i could've sworn it. lizard-breath why don't you get a webcam already??








i'm really bad at keeping in touch, i'm so sorry (but not to you liz, *you* get better means of communication girl.)




on thursday i visit sahra... deep breath & intensegiggling! now i have developed a bad habit of making what i call my 'brazilian face'. that's when something's so far from funny, might even be sad or painful, and i smile really big & seemingly happily. not gaining me sympathy.







queensland is up 14 points in this crazy state of origins game. arthur next door painted his face. i might go over there and take his picture, he looks so cute!





my marathonkitty blog needs work. i haven't been doing much of that lately. it did cross my mind when i woke up too early this morning. perhaps the views of common suburbia aren't as inspiring as miyajima from the bridges that i ran on for the past 3 or 4 years. i probably should run, i know it makes me feel good... it is pretty cold here in the mornings. i could see my breath when i left home today! we'll see. with j's new job, i might just be waking up bright and early more often. yep. and yep.





my kitty keeps meeowing to go outside but mommy here is trying to teach her that only slutsandwhores go out after dark. silly kitty... ma 'tite cocotte.







queensland's up 20 nil. arthur's gonna be stoked! i'm getting my camera poised by the door for the next try!





just took a photo of myself (see?) and i look just like my bro from a certain angle... freaky! i reckon he's hairier than me though... i call this one 'empaulmorph'.









i'm actually doing a whole bunch of things and sometimes wandering over to the computer to write my random thoughts.





queensland won 30-6 a while ago, i went over and took this photo of arthur. he looked adorable!









sleep overtaking me... night night...

good morning world...































while my kitty sleeps
the warm bed remains unmade

i could crawl back in...



---a haiku by me---

shit.

heading into the city to watch the game

AUSTRALIA VS JAPAN

(i've got a hundred bucks riding on japan!)

nippon! chachacha! ;)

---- she being Brand ----

she being Brand

-new;and you
know consequently a
little stiff i was
careful of her and(having

thoroughly oiled the universal
joint tested my gas felt of
her radiator made sure her springs were O.

K.)i went right to it flooded-the-carburetor cranked her

up,slipped the
clutch(and then somehow got into reverse she
kicked what
the hell)next
minute i was back in neutral tried and

again slo-wly;bare,ly nudg. ing(my

lev-er Right-
oh and her gears being in
A 1 shape passed
from low through
second-in-to-high like
greasedlightning)just as we turned the corner of Divinity

avenue i touched the accelerator and give

her the juice,good

(it

was the first ride and believe i we was
happy to see how nice she acted right up to
the last minute coming back down by the Public
Gardens i slammed on

the
internalexpanding
&
externalcontracting
brakes Bothatonce and

brought allofher tremB
-ling
to a:dead.

stand-
;Still)

ee cummings

"i have a hangover"

david...

how could you not be a fan?

i think i just fell in love... thank you f.!

tee hee!

i love the city.

give me bright lights and dirty gutters any day...

we went to the local pub tonight because i polished off too much of a bottle of wine (as usual) tonight and wanted to socialize... not even 10:30 and they're closing because there isn't enough business.

the photo is of me being bored.

bored. uninterested and unimpressed. just impress me already. i am tired of trying to impress everyone else!

but next weekend kassie is in from perth and we're going to spend the night in noosa partay-ing. it'll be good to have a girlfriend with a bit of history..

see y'all soon hopefully! -xxx-

this is how i would like my weekend to look



{i know what i want but have a hard time asking for it}

ooooo! i went shopping tonight!!!

<-- [meet "shop 'til you drop barbie"]

shopping followed by a nice dinner, wine... i spent almost 200$ ... what more could a girl want?

(and those of you who know me well are all coming up with some pretty racy answers to that last question!)

but seriously, i saw some *unbelievably* strong examples of really bad fashion in Myers (デパト) tonight.

obviously *i* found some cute little numbers: three tops, a black pencil skirt, a big splurge at origins on facial delights and a pair of meeow-licious shades to fuel my fetish... i was physically held down in the sunglasses section because i was ready to leave with five pairs!

the only thing i couldn't find was a pair of boots that i was willing to add to my wardrobe. boots are such a commitment. they say so much about your sense of style. i am still recovering from the last ones i had (the stars)!

today was a very good day overall. i had fun, smiled a lot, caught a few butterflies... ;)

now, if i had a vcr and a proper couch, i would curl up on it and pop in breakfast at tiffany's with another glass of vino... but i don't have a vcr and i have to go to work tomorrow! c'est la vie.

{can't wait to show off my new threads!}

so, i didn't know my emails were still being sent from 'honeymoon heaven'.
i've now changed that... honeymoon's over, honey.

i can't help it but i always get really excited on sundays 'cause monday night is desperate housewives. 8:40pm on channel seven.

tv is weird. i haven't had it for all those years in japan and it's neat to have the option. i've almost finished OD-ing on it. not quite. simpsons is actually on everyday at 6pm. too bad i'm never home. good thing i don't own a vcr.

matt's looking for jobs tonight. he's calling out names of suburbs as i sit here typing. there are some weird ones like jindalee and moorooka and idooroopilly... and usually they're not pronounced how they're spelt. makes it fun when i have to give referals to practitioners in those wacky neighbourhoods!

i did nothing today. it was good. i might soak my feet tonight. i need a pedicure, my poor feet have been in sandals for almost 12 months and are suffering. no longer the soft, pretty little things they used to be. sniff. lots of work for my pumice stone (if i ever find where i packed it) , either that or some poor pedicurist is gonna hate me.

i'm off to look for jobs as a flight attendant before i think more about signing up for the school. let me know if you have any ideas on this! i think i am leaning more towards the hairdressing though, it's a bit more adaptable to ageing which, as much as i plan on NOT doing, i might succumb to in the very, very distant future.

just for the fun of it, i'm going to post a yummy recipe for you... a friend of mine mentioned mabo tofu the other day and i'm just going to throw my recipe out there for tastiness' sake!

Mabo Tofu (vegan)

* 1 tblsp corn or soy oil
* 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
* 1 clove garlic, crushed
* 1/4 cup minced leeks, scallions, or onions
* 1 tsp minced red chillies
* 4 Shiitake, soaked and sliced
* 1/2 cup water, stock, or dashi
* 1 1/2 tsp sake
* 2 1/2 tsp shoyu
* 1/2 tsp salt
* dash of sansho or 7-spice chili powder
* 1 1/2 tsp ketchup
* 24 oz tofu, cut into pieces 1 1/4" square by 1/2" thick
* 2 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tblsp water
* 1 tblsp minced leek or scallion greens

Heat wok or skillet and coat with both types of oil. Add garlic, leeks, and chilies, stir fry over high heat for 15 seconds. Reduce heat to medium, add Shiitake, and saute for 1 minute. Add dashi and next five ingrdients, bring to boil, and cook for 30 seconds. Add tofu and return to boil. Stir in dissolved cornstarch and simmer until thick. Serve hot, garnished with the greens. Serves 2... enjoy!

oh wow.

it seems like a lifetime ago that i wrote that last post...

where am i now? what am i doing?

where the bloody hell are *you*?

where to start, what to say...

let's go with boing basics, it may be all i can handle to divulge at this time!

i have a job, i am a receptionist at the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association. i answer the phone and say "AACMA National Office, this is Emily speaking." i always try to be genki and generally people like me. the job is, well, a job. my boss is pretty psychotic, which is always fun, and it's a very small office with only 5 employees (including aforementioned crazy boss). all women, not a great way to meet heaps of new people. but i shall perservere.

i'm struggling with this australian accent thing, part of me thinks it's cute, part of me thinks it's crass (that would be the british part!). i'm trying not to swear as much as i hear, attempting to retain some of that japanese soft-spoken quality!

minou is adorable still, she is an indoor-outdoor kat now (mommy almost had a heart attack the first day pussy went out to play). she's only killed one bird so far, a rainbow lorikeet. serves it right because they are so noisy and heaven knows we get enough of them round the feeder every morning, sqwaking at 7AM! but she still snuggles at night, which, if you will look over to your right hand side, you will notice it is very very chilly in the dark hours here!

matt is studying hard. nuff said.

i've put on 40 kg since we moved here.

(not really but some of you were probably secretly amused to think that i had!)

i would finish telling you all about vietnam and cambodia but, well, i'm not in the mood and like i said, it feels like a lifetime ago. not a mere six months. what could possibly have changed in six months? don't know how this all happened...

i'm being cryptic and i don't apologise.

here follows a sequence of numbers that you can unwravel to find out my hidden meaning...

18 33 11 24 30 11 14 18 32 25 28 13 15

i'm reading the da vinci code and feeling cheeky ;)

i don't think i even have a picture to post with this entry... that seems unfair though because i am finally writing from my own computer. i'll scrounge one up for you!

i miss all my friends. i've noticed that i think of friends from canada as much as i think of the ones from japan... you'd think i'd have gotten used to being far away from them after so long! i miss my support group in japan... all my girls and our girly things.
i don't miss the shopping. i am having a lot of fun shopping here! well, actually, maybe on some days, i miss the cool familiarity of Tenmaya in AlPark, or the underground web of Shareo, or being able to pick up a new item in many shop windows with just a glance from across the street. ok, so i do kind of miss the shopping!

i slept 10 hours last night, i had weird dreams full of acupuncturists.

and today we went to a career expo at the convention centre in south brisbane. i looked into hairdressing (couldn't you just picture me owning my own little salon and getting to have girlie girly time all day?!?) and was very VERY tempted by the idea of flight attendant school... need to research that last one a bit but, seeing as how my friends and family are so scattered all over the world, wouldn't it be fun!?

oh, and all of you people who live all over the world, download skype and we'll talk for free. flo and i just talked for almost an hour, it was a riot and we didn't have to pay for it. my skype name is misstalksalot so just add me as a contact and i will begin turning the program on while i'm at home. yay!

so i did scrounge up a picture before posting this post... Fukumi? no! Fukuyu!