Halek's blog

Polyvorous

Today I would like to share with you my love of Polyvore

It started with the glasses (of course) and grew from there. I would love to wear something like this to work. Check out the lunch box! Too cute. Gala Darling I shake my fist at you for introducing me to such an addictive site!

So at the moment I am house hunting. Joy! I can't wait to be back in Melbourne but this whole housing thing is quite stressful. There is so much competition it hurts. I get very attatched to houses very quickly so every rejection is heartbreak.

To distract myself from the stress I've been plotting things I want to do once I'm in the city. Admittedly a lot of them are just things I've been too lazy to do in the past. 

• Start an vocal group
• Get swing dancing lessons
• Learn to cook vegetarian meals
• Go running frequently
• Learn more chords on the mandolin
• Meditate
• Play lawn bowls competitively
• Drink more water
• Develop my own style
• Design glasses
• Eat more fresh fruit and vegies
• Sew a red riding hood
• Read more comics
• Buy a digital camera
• Get out more!

Anyone have any suggestions on what type of camera? I want something thats small enough to carry with me everywhere. I was thinking perhaps a Canon Ixus... 

I'm struggling to decide on a model/colours for my new pair of specs! There are just too many options. I'm going to get one of Roger Henley's frames custom made in whatever colours I choose. It will most likely be one of my boss' designs, they are so unique. I adore my work! So many pretty glasses! I've decided to go for a frame with a little more depth than before. Narrow frames are definitely on the way out: Presbyopes rejoice! I've come to realise that shallow frames make my eyes look small. I'm thinking a salmon colour frame front just for something different. It's so exciting to be able to have a pair of specs custom made!

That's all from me for now. I have a kitten in need of attention.

If you're into it...

On Saturday night I drank alcohol for the first time in 8 months and it was a great success! No stomach pain at all! It was a very fun night out dancing with Jessie and Laura. 

Haley and Laura - Guitar Virtuosos

Before the drinking commenced Jess and I went to Polly on Brunswick Street. Such a gorgeous place! The lighting, the wallpaper, the upholstry, the sleezy bar staff... Okay so the latter wasn't part of the gorgeous but you get the idea!

The good 'ol Crotchtester captivated our attention for most of the night. Fabulous music, the Boosh playing with subtitles and my first well deserved 2 pots and 2 pints of beer... what more could I ask for? Okay, so I didn't ask for scary mutton chops man or even scarier pink-fishnet-bag-of-oranges-bum woman but they at least added to the character... or something. I don't know, I just looked the other way.

In other news, I just used my vocabulary to donate 2200 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program and you can too!

Free Rice!

Another fabulous thing I have discovered on the World Wide Web of Wonderment is the fabulous boots and bags of Helena - Angelique. Gosh! The quirky prettiness of it all...

More pretties that are closer to home can be found at Melbourne based online shop Fallow Gift Boutique. I adore the work of fellow Frankie forum goer Kelly Smith and was very excited to see her work there. Her website is completely adorable and link-worthy too!

Oh the things I would buy if I had money... It's going to be a very tight Christmas yet again. I'm making the most of it regardless! I'm looking forward to making some tasty treats for this Friday's Christmas party.

I have read 2 comic books lately that I adored! The first book of both Promethea and Fables. Can you tell I have a week spot for twists on fairy tales? Oh Jessie, you have such good taste. 

I'm planning to sew myself a big hooded red cape for Legacy. That'll keep me warm and whimsical on camp!

To finish off I'll leave you with a very catchy song that was in my head when I woke up... I hate to think what I was possibly dreaming about! In the buff/Being rude/Doing stuff/With the food? Eek.

Flight of the Conchords - If You're Into It

Spectacle of the Day - Zenka

Zenka frames are the most creative designs I have seen in quite some time! Oh the innovation... So pretty much the concept is (as far as I can gather, the site is in French) that there is a basic frame structure holding the lenses but this base has numerous add ons to completely change the look. I don't mean in a "oh look, I can change the temples!" kind of way but a "oh look, I can add a new frame front as well as temples!" kind of way... They have to be seen to be believed! Therefore I will remain in disbelief until I see solid evidence infront of me!

Okay, so I believe it. It's genius. Pure genius. So simple. I want one. Who knows what the quality is like... but it is a European frame which gives it some promise!

I'm very very excited.

Have a look for yourself!

I gotta gets me an Evolutyp!

Zenka

Vox Hunt: Commercial Appeal

The IT Crowd - New Emergency Number

Audio/Video: Share a great use of a song in a commercial.

Well THAT'S easy to remember!

Digging in the Dirt

Halek

Dirtyheart

Vox Hunt: The Good Doctor

David Tennant - The 10th Doctor

Show us your favorite doctor.

There is no other doctor quite like The Doctor...

Babel's Who Tribute: DAVID TENNANT

Night Walking

I enjoy walking at night. There's such a stillness in the air. 

Tonight the ground was wet and the air was moist. Not raining, just lightly dripping. My jeans soaked up the water like a sponge as my toes squelched against my havaianas. At first I thought that I should roll up my jeans to avoid them getting too wet. Why? I'm only going to exchange them for pyjamas when I get home anyway. Instead I kept walking, enjoying the feeling of the water against my skin. I couldn't see the puddles for the darkness. I didn't mind. It's nice to feel the splash against my ankle. I've spent all my time indoors lately, night air tastes so pure. 

I only walked a block but it was enough to make me feel... refreshed. For those two minutes I forgot about my stomach bleeding inside me and my intestines tying themselves in knots. I was reminded of Legacy, walking to the beach late at night. The only sounds rustling leaves, my footsteps on the path and my lungs absorbing the sea breeze. I know I'm surrounded by life and activity but right at this moment all I'm aware of is my own thoughts and sensations. Nature whispers in my ear. It tells me a secret I will never forget.

Vox Hunt: Hope for the Future

Show us a politician who gives you hope.

KEVIN07!

The Chaser - Stairway to Kevin (Kevin Rudd Song)

Ode To Frankie

Well it has been a month. I kept looking at my page waiting for it to update itself. Silly I know. The second post is intimidating. Will it meet my expectations? Will it spoil the fresh clean slate I've created? Of course it will, that's the point. An empty notebook is one of the most beautiful pieces of literature. It cannot be judged, it's the potential it holds that makes it perfect. A blank canvas is eternal. A filled one is finite. Geez I talk some rubbish.

So anyway, moving on. I've created my own banner, of which I am very proud. It makes this place feel like home. It's the reason I feel I can come and write here at last. It's no longer someone else's space I'm intruding upon. It's my own. I like it.

Speaking of virtual places which feel like home, I have found another. A forum. The first forum I have joined. Frankie is a magazine I hold close to my soul. It's words and images inspire me every second month. One horrible lonely day was saved when I remembered that they hosted a forum. I wrote a letter to my dear Frankie to thank her, it went a little something like this:

"My dearest Frankie,

Last week I had to have a biopsy done... of my intestines. This involved 2 days of a no-fat no-fibre no-dairy diet and cocktails of lemon flavoured laxatives prior to my procedure. I turned to the TV to entertain me and all I got were ads for chocolate pudding and that horrible "Bacon! Bacon! Bacon!" jingle. So instead I reached for you, Frankie, and was comforted by Mia Timpano's abuse of the "deranged American burger clown". The following hours were spent glued to the toilet seat with you keeping me company. I stayed at my Mum's house after hospital on 2 conditions; that she brought me my cat and my Frankie. I read every word of you and studied every picture over the next 24 hours. I was house-bound for several days, too ill to go anywhere. I was bored out of my mind. I perused the MyFace worlds but they just didn't do it for me. Then it occured to me: You have a forum! I have since been hooked. It's so nice to talk to like-minded folk and forget about my troubles. So thank you Frankie. Thanks for being there even when you've run out of words.

Haley.

PS: I left out one of my post-biopsy conditions... a burger from Maccas. Damn burger clown and his brainwashing ways."

As you can tell by the subject matter, I'm still not well. Number One on my list is still a work in progress. The biopsy results came back as "inconclusive". Since then I've had an ultra-sound and a gut-full of the same old ill feeling while I await my next appointment with the Mr Gastroenterologist.

I've been song-writing a bit lately. Mostly lyrics, sometimes music. My favourite line I have written this week is "My surface is yours to skim". There's more to it of course, but that's my current favourite phrase.

I'll leave you with a lovely piece of comedy from the talented Vince Noir...

mighty boosh

A Good Cry

I have just finished watching My Life Without Me for the first time. My face, previously dehydrated, is now soggy with tears. It was such a beautiful film. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. Sure, you'll be crying by the end, but it's worth it. Besides, to quote my favourite film character:

Sam

"I look forward to a good cry, it feels pretty good".

So the tears are drying and leaving that film below my eyes that cracks when I blink. I'm not crying too much these days, which is surprising really given my life has really gone off track this last month or so. I'm ill, but I'm dealing with it. I'm unemployed, but by choice until I recover. I'm miles away from my friends, but my Mum is around the corner and she stays up late at night playing Rory McLeod and Fleetwood Mac records with me to cheer me up. This isn't where I had planned to be, but I'm determined to overcome my illness and come out of it with a new motivation to do the things I always say I want to do (but never do). I tend to live my life through compromises, I tell myself that if one thing is going right in my life then everything else is allowed to suffer. This isn't a bad way of living really, sometimes it's the only way. I do think, though, that I need to stop being complacent and attempt to get everything in my life going great. I figure if attempting to reach all my crazy goals brings me happiness then it's the best way to live, despite the outcome. I'm rambling.

I've come to Vox for a fresh start. I haven't written properly since my days at A Peculiar Smile + A Freudian Slipper. It's time to rectify that. I'm climbing out of my rut and onto my Tapestry.

I'm setting myself goals to at least begin to put into motion. I write myself lists like this all the time, but they're always written on bits of paper I lose or forget about. So here it is, with the World Wide Web as my witness, my list of goals (in no particular order):

Beatrix

1. Get healthy
2. Make lots of glasses
3. Learn new things
4. Finish making my handbag
5. See my friends more
6. Get fabulous housemates for me and Beatrix to play with
7. Join/start an a'cappella group
8. Play lawn bowls competitively
9. Write more letters
10. Write more in general
11. Get out more
12. Work on my design sketches
13. Figure out exactly what foods I need to avoid for a happy stomach
14. Visit Brad and Shelli in Queensland
15. Go on the 10 day vipassana camp
16. Reduce the amount of medications I have to take if possible
17. Think of a really good Christmas present to get Mum
18. Save some money
19. Spend more time on the sewing machine

So there you have it. I need to sleep now.