^ visual think map (via mry pwrs)

Listening to: Oregon Girl - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.
Drinking: Fuze.

I went to visit Susy at Bird In The Hand zine distro today and she very kindly donated me a whole bunch of stamps (I've used quite a few already). She received her brand new pair of roller derby skates while I was there and they were aaamazing; white with bright pink wheels. If I can think of a plan to afford it, I think Roller Derby sounds grand. I picked up a bunch of zines and I went to visit my ma at her work and she bought me delicious lunch. My mum said she hated the 'a hamburger stops a beating heart' sticker. Tomorrow I have to go buy her a mini wheelie bin from Office Works and wheel it through the city to her work, ha.



Zines:
☂ Adventure time by Maddy Phelan
☂ Diayr II by Jenii
☂ July 25 by Amanda
☂ Feels Like Friday by Ivana Stab

Two items received from Lauren today (who is about to launch her own mail blog very soon);

^ The envelope features some great old stamps.


^ I love the stamps on this one too, and the mail man label!


^ Contents of the above envelope. Two postcards, some stickers, a letter and a great letter-themed card.

Bits:
☂ Amazing paper-cut artworks by Peter Callesen;



☂ I love this concept, by Simon Evans;


☂ A great article about handwriting.
☂ Milkcrate Digest blog - a blog dedicated entirely to milk crates (via Susy).
☂ 10 ways to infuse your work with your personality by Keri Smith, an old post, but a good one.

I still keep doing a double take whenever I see the date with '2010' at the end.

Ideas for tattoos I'd like to get (but probably never will);
☂ The world-travelling garden gnome from Amelie.
☂ A polaroid.
☂ The ampersand (&) from the cover of the book 'Figs & Phantoms'
☂ The alphabet around my ankle
☂ An umbrella
☂ A leaf
☂ A semi colon
☂ The planets in order of distance from sun and to scale.

Also, I'm not much of a Woody Allen fan, but I did like this quote I found;

“In my next life I want to live my life backwards. You start out dead and get that out of the way. Then you wake up in an old people’s home feeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, and then when you start work, you get a gold watch and a party on your first day. You work for 40 years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement. You party, drink alcohol, and are generally promiscuous, then you are ready for high school. You then go to primary school, you become a kid, you play. You have no responsibilities, you become a baby until you are born. And then you spend your last 9 months floating in luxurious spa-like conditions with central heating and room service on tap, larger quarters every day and then Voila! You finish off as an orgasm!”

Today I made a trip to the post office (with about half the pile I have to send) with stamp money kindly donated by C;

^ sem.

:(		:)
✖ Phone bill		✔ Lovely mail
✖ Lack of health		✔ Lovely boy
✖ Lack of motivation		✔ Lovely friends
✖ Money woes		✔ Lovely family

And now to help quash the gloominess, here is a badly disguised wish list;


^ Lobster pad, by Linda & Harriet.


^ Par Avion / Silkscreened Boy with Airplane - Kraft by Humunuku


^ A Gentleman's Notecard Set by Little Red Fox


^ Piggies in ruby and lavender card set by Linda & Harriet.


^ Stamp set - Western Style Moustaches (Large) by Girl On The Rocks.


^ love / spoon / letterpress card by Louella Press.


^ The Small Object Labels & Stickers from Fred Flare.


^ This Is Not A Book by Keri Smith.

Here's a list of ways to cure hiccups I made several years ago:

• drink a teaspoon of vinegar.
• drink water out of the wrong side of a glass.
• yell or sing as loud as you can.
• get someone to drop an ice cube down your back.
  
• eat a spoonful of sugar.
• make yourself sneeze.
• blow up a balloon.
  
• plug your ears with your fingers and drink through a straw.
• pinch the middle of your palm as hard as you can.
• eat a wedge of lemon.
• somebody unexpectedly pulls out a fifty dollar note and says "if you can hiccup again I'll give you fifty dollars" (my mum did this to me).
  
• eat a teaspoon of peanut butter.
• recite "the litany against hiccups" – as follows;
  

I must not hiccup.
hiccups are the lung-killers.
hiccups are the little deaths that bring total obliteration.
I will face my hiccups.
I will permit them to pass over me and through me.
and when they has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see their path.
where the hiccups have gone there will be nothing.
only I will remain.

The latter is the weirdest I've heard.
Can you think of any really strange ones to add?

New TV obsession: Breaking Bad. Doug lent it to me.

Yesterday Doug and I went for a swim at the famed Newcastle Bogey Hole. As the council is apparently intending to develop the site, I'd like to try to go there once a week until that happens. There's even a Facebook group in it's honour;


^ img credit; mark snelson.


^ img credit.


^ from above, img credit.


^ img credit; andy gock.

^ Atherton Lin (via we love you so)

Listening to: Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band - Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me.
Eating: Eggs on toast.
Wishing: I could go swimming today.

I am a little miffed (I like that word) today because I have a pile of... *counts*... exactly 20 letters and postcards sitting beside me, some that have been sitting there for over a month, written, sealed, finished and waiting for stamps and I haven't been able to afford any! This is why I should really post letters one by one, as I write them, so that I don't end up going to the post office on the day I get paid with an armful of mail and come out $40 poorer. Oh well. If I owe you a letter and it's late, I do apologise - it is probably written and waiting to be posted. They'll all get to their destinations at some point. And sadly, glorious plans of going swimming today have been foiled by C being called into work. Boo! I did get some great mail today though;

Here's some wonderful incoming I received today;


Isn't this the loveliest postcard ever? Kindly sent to me by Megan. She's doing a great little giveaway on her blog this month, get in on it!




A great letter from Stephanie from Lunsh - the back features the list of 10 people she'd invite to a dinner party I requested.




Another great piece of mail from Garci.


A sweet letter from Laurine in France.




And a wonderful package full of goodies from Bruno in Brazil.

And some outgoing;




Metallic envelopes never scan well. You can actually see yourself in these envelopes.




A long overdue letter to Missive Maven.

Here's a really boring list of things I need to do before I go back to university:

• Sort through internet bookmarks, cull.
• Stretch, every day.
  
• Respond to all of my current mail (12)
  
• Pay my $28 library fine.
• Sort through my Google Reader, cull.
• Call my brother, visit.
• Buy credit.
• Make Doug take me to the ocean baths one night each week while it's hot.

:)