Stranded in the open sea

I know this post might come off a bit "dear diary", but, dear diary, I've been feeling glum. The new job is going well, but I can't stop thinking about how it's kinda fucked up that all this money budgeted for "Indigenous Australians" is actually going to fancy buildings and over-paid public servants in Canberra. I mean, you could feed an Aboriginal child well for a week with the money I make in one hour of sitting in a comfy chair in a warm office, researching stuff, typing stuff, drinking tea, chatting with co-workers, sneakly checking my facebook... I know I really shouldn't complain, and I guess my young, idealistic self is simply discovering the absurdity of bureaucracy, but still, it gets you down... It also kind of motivates me to go out into the world and do something at least a tiny bit tangible.

I've been trying to get started on my thesis again. Really, I have. But I've kind of forgotten what it's about and don't really know where to begin. And really, the last thing I feel like after a long day at the office is more research and more typing. The first thing I feel like is Arrested Development. I think I want to marry George Michael Bluth. I just love his little shirts and the way he calls his grandparents "Pop-pop" and "Gangy"...


My firefox keeps on doing that annoying thing where it opens a "Find" box whenever I strike the apostrophe key. Ugh.

In other, more uplifting (superficial) news, this job has meant that I have finally been able to buy my three favourite albums of the year so far:

Beach House's Devotion

Beach House - You Came to Me (Mp3)

Beach House - Gila (Mp3)

The Dodos' Visiter

The Dodos - Undeclared (Mp3)

The Dodos - Ashley (Mp3)

Fleet Foxes' Self Titled
(featuring beautiful artwork by Pieter Bruegel the Elder)

Fleet Foxes - Quiet Houses (Mp3)

Fleet Foxes - Meadowlarks (Mp3)

The last two arrived in the mail today from Amazon with the following personal message - from the lovely gentleman friend who did the ordering - on the front:
maybe now you don't have to buy a boy from korea?
(which was, in fact, a response to this blog post)

I can only wonder what the postie must have thought...

NB: for more fabulous work from The Dodos and Fleet Foxes, see this post.

Morning Mix

The Pillowig by Youn Joo Paek

This is the mix I've been waking up to lately, which, thanks to my shiny new job, has been a little earlier than ideal. In fact, prior to said job, mornings scarcely existed to me at all, so you can understand, friends, that I might need something extra special to make rolling out of bed bearable.

So this is my version of a strong cup of coffee, without the unpleasant aftertaste or mid-morn crash, and has become part of my rather sacred morning ritual. It may or may not have been produced by someone with whom I may or may not be in an intimate relationship of sorts, but I promise that I'm only posting it because I simply love it, and want to share it with you, my lovelies. May it impart a touch of magic to your mornings* too.

Tracklist:
1. The Dixie Cups - Iko Iko
2. Ratatat - Wildcat
3. CocoRosie - Rainbow Warriors
4. Chromatics - I Want Your Love
5. Chicks on Speed- Wordy Rappinghood
6. Glass Candy - Miss Broadway
7. Belle and Sebastian - Your Cover's Blown
8. Hercules and Love Affair (feat. Antony) - Blind
9. Chromatics - Hands in the Dark
10. Mu - Destroying Human Nature
11. Cut Copy - Future

Tom Tomz - Micromix (Mega Upload - left click through to link, follow instructions).


*The Morning Mix is also advisable taken at any time of day.

Lettuce be lovers.

(1)

These pictures are pretty and so are you.

(2)

(3)

Oops, how did that get in there?

Till next time sweet loves,

Jaimie.

xoxo

Vintage Finds

I couldn't resist sharing these adorable antique tea cups I bought from Down Memory Lane -- a Number One Millionaire Favorite -- yesterday. Aren't they just darling?

Kanako Sasaki, and a lament for the end of youth.

Tomorrow I enter the world of full time work. Tomorrow my six months of dreamy, goverment funded unemployment ends. And, to be honest, I'm a touch nervous. Plus, I'm just downright lazy and the thought of having to get up at 7:30am every morning makes me feel a little weepy. On top of all of that, the thought of somehow having to shuffle a 4000 word essay, and after that the first chapter of my thesis, around full time work while my dearest and nearest (including my two fellow millionaires) are off in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia shopping at Top Shop and visiting my beloved Chatuchak market without me almost makes me wail.

This job is an amazing oppurtunity (not to mention the pay - much of which I've already spent pre-emptively) and one which I'm still pinching myself at having recieved. I'm just not sure if I'm ready for the real world yet, you know? I still feel like such a little girl. A lazy little girl, who enjoys sleeping in, daytime television and baking whenever she feels like it.

In an effort to procrastinate from said 4000 word essay, and to soothe my worrysome soul, I thought I would share some gorgeous images from Japanese photographer Kanako Sasaki. His works kind of remind me of Haruki Murakami's novels (if you haven't read any of them, you should. Start with The Wind Up Bird Chronical or Kafka on the Shore, or if you're pushed for time, his short stories), not because they're both Japanese, but because of something of the quiet mystery, and often almost surreal quality of these photographs, a quality which is also captured beautifully in Murakami's prose.

Yellow Leotard from the Wanderlust series

Morning from the Wanderlust Series

Angela, Wein, Austrial from the World of Groping Series

Ieva, Riga, Latvia from the World of Groping Series

Afternoon # 28 from the Test Height Size Series

Afternoon # 35 from the Test Height Size Series

Hapo2

Tonight, my mood is black

Picture found at this street art site.

I'll be honest with you dearest readers, i'm not very happy tonight. I'm in a very dark mood after a nasty shift at work and my thoughts are being clouded by some not so great personal stuff.

A few years ago when 'black' moods were common, i used to find salvation in Post Secret. Though maybe a little cliched now, Post Secret is a blog where people send decorated post cards revealing a secret they've been keeping which they've told no one else. I used to find myself identifying with different secrets and i used the site to shift the focus of my egomaniacal thinking. I find the honesty of the secrets very refreshing, as when you find something you identify with, for a few moments you know that you are completely understood, even if by someone you'll never meet. It's a very special thing to have when feeling utterly alone.

Post Secret was also a source of hope and inspiration for me. The joy that is conveyed through some of the post cards is inspiring, fuel used to help me strive towards achieving the same degree of happiness.

Tonight, for whatever reason, i found some of my favourite secrets that i'd saved for a rainy day. I hope you enjoy them and if you're in a dark and stormy place, take solace in the fact that there are lots of us out in boats battling the same storm, the clouds are just too thick for us to see each other.

Wild, white horses. They will take me away.

Now to reclaim a little of the street cred i let gurgle down the drain from my last post...

This is an amazing cover by Radiohead of 'The Rip', one of my favourite songs from what is currently my favourite album of the year, 'Third' by Portishead.

I feel 'The Rip' has qualities that are similar to aspects of Radiohead, maybe that's why i love it so much. What do you all think?

And just to ensure I've redeemed myself enough, this remix of 'Nude' by Radiohead will turn your brain to mush. It's incredible...

Thanks IGIF for the heads up.

The Rip- Portishead.


Big Ideas (don't get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.