i'm getting an iphone on thursday.

i have no particular reason to have picked the iphone. i'm not an applephile or anything, i just like how they look and some of the functions i've seen. i'm not a very big phonephile either and i just can't get behind getting all that worked up about the pro vs anti iphone arguments. i just don't mind spending the next two years of my life with one. i am excited about having GPS because as bne would love to tell you...i have no idea about directions, ever. i get lost all the time. also, i give people directions to our place, using the infamous oxford tavern topless bar/strip club as a starting point and let me tell you, it has been awkward on many occasions when i say 'you know the ox? well, you will know it, it has flashing lights shaped like naked chicks. also, big signs for jelly wrestling. i think that's on tuesdays...' and on the weekend bne got angry and told me to stop doing that. i thought he meant stop telling people all about the strip club, but apparently i had sent someone about three suburbs out of their way by using the ox as a starting point so...

my current phone doesn't get mms and stores about 30 messages at a time and my contract is due to run out, so i thought, what the hey? may as well.

i hate picking new phones and new plans and providers. it's like airlines. someone hates every single option you can possibly choose and they make it sound like it'll be the end of you if you make the wrong choice. so i booked an appointment with apple and i'm going in on thursday to get them to do all the setting up for me and to turn off the internet roaming, because as much as i would love a $1000+ phone bill, i should be sensible.

i have my plan picked, and my provider and my phone, so iphone owners, what else do i need to look out for that causes you to go over your cap? friendly advice wanted!

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/16/theroadtohogwartscom-win-a-trip-to-opening-of-wizarding-world-of-harry-potter

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/16/director-chris-columbus-reflects-on-trio-and-the-first-two-harry-potter-films

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/16/four-new-videos-from-making-of-dvds-half-blood-prince-casting-the-trio

sometimes reading the sydney morning herald can be really confusing. especially if i didn't get to sleep until about 1:30am and was wide awake again at 6:30am...like most days of my life.

so! this morning, i did that thing where i'm feel immense guilt because i checked facebook and twitter and blogs before i remembered news existed. i actually do that every morning, always with the guilt. but this morning i was like 'huh? HUH?!'

because i saw this:



i'm not going to read the article, i'm choosing to believe peter roebuck is suggesting brett lee is going to become a real gypsy, with a caravan, a propensity for booze and perhaps the suggestion of a dark magical power. also, i choose to believe that the poll has one question: 'do you believe that when brett lee becomes a real life gypsy, he will speak like mickey o'neil in snatch? yes or no'.

moving on.

i also saw this:


and i thought, why the fuck is michael lohan, father of that wayward hollywood teen, lindsay, reporting on israel?!
sorry peter hartcher, i'm sure the resemblance is merely a product of my sleep deprived brain.
NO IT'S NOT!

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/16/half-blood-prince-dvd-released-today-in-india

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/16/video-tom-felton-talks-half-blood-prince-deathly-hallows-on-gmtv

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/16/harry-potter-spells-application-now-available

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/16/new-video-interview-with-actor-rupert-grint

http://www.sendspace.com/file/c75o37

Taken from a video I shot of myself recording. HEAVILY cut. Freakily difficult, the song. Can't play it once as whole without mistakes. Oh well, only ever started practising an hour ago or so.

"Thanks for such an excellent session of modeling. You really inspired people to get into it....and sparked their creativity..."

Shane thinks I look "sad" as in "unhappy" on the latest photos on Facebook that I was tagged on.

Strange. Because I was actually happy, had a great day! I was sunburnt though and it was pitchblack except for the constant bright flashes of the camera!

I have spent the past month stressing about today. Today was the day that I would see my STAT results. Today was the day that I would know whether I did well enough to get into uni. But it turns out STAT results do not equal ENTER ranking and I need to wait a whole 'nother month to get that. Frustration ahoy. Plus my results were posted to me last week anyway, so all that stress about Nov 16th suddenly became null and void upon opening the letter.

Of course, the actual results mean pretty much bollocks because my ranking will be scaled upwards for being mature age, and either up or down depending on the marks of all the VCE kiddies. So my new stress date is Dec 14th. And after that, Jan 18th when placement offers are made. Right now, I'm just focussing on the fact that I flipping aced the written English exam and got a percentile ranking of 94. It's true, I am better than 94% of people who sat the written English exam for the past handful of years. Pretty chuffed with that. My multiple choice percentile ranking wasn't as great but it was definitely passable. Still, 94%. Very happy there.

I celebrated those magical numbers by heading off to the hairdressers on Saturday where I proceeded to be transformed into a Marie Fredriksson look-alike. It's the shortest my hair has ever been, and I am loving the almost complete lack of effort involved in styling it. It's essentially just always done. Finally, hair that is interesting, awesome, and requires sweet Fanny Adams time and effort to achieve. Noice.

In other news, I fear I am becoming one of those people that put lip balm on every few minutes. I recently purchased this from The Lock Works (aka The Place Where Hairdresser Kat Makes My Hair Awesome). Yes, you read that correctly, it is Black Forest Cake flavoured lip balm, made locally using fair trade and certified organic products. I don't usually go in for that sort of bollocks, I'm more of a "carry a tub of vaseline around for when I remember to use it on my lips" kinda gal, but this stuff is amazing. Also the tin is tres cute. I suspect I will soon be purchasing other flavours and I'll end up being the 20-something girl with the bag full of lip balms and more keyrings than keys who says 'totes' too much.

PS: New Super Mario Brothers for Wii is pretty awesome. A bit harder than previous Marios but with some really cool add ins - am loving the levels where every 20 seconds or so a breeze comes and pushes you along, and I can't wait to pick up a penguin suit.

I guess I'll call myself ultra-intro-novice in the backpacking department.

My family and I used to camp a lot, and this occasionally included backpacking. I am hoping to start re-acquiring my skills so that I can start backpacking again when I go to college (hopefully in northern California).

So, that said, I'm wondering where to learn more. I have First Aid/CPR/Lifeguard/SCUBA certifications, and I was thinking I'd get one that involves wilderness problems specifically just to try to keep prepared for the particular circumstances. But I'm more worried about getting a heavy tent by accident. Or a tent I can't even set up.

Also, does anyone know of any good camping/backpacking meet-up groups? Other than my family, I don't have people to go with. Obviously if planning a backpacking trip that might take a few days (or just being away a few days) traveling alone, especially as a beginner, could be very stupid.

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/2009/11/sunday-secrets_15.html

TOOOOOOT!

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2009/11/14/australian-road-to-hogwarts-hbp-dvd-contest-opens

The first stop on our holiday was the Zig Zag Railway in the Blue Mountains.

It was so exciting. I had been on a steam train when I was a little kid, but Sasha hadn't. We had big grins on our faces the whole morning. The scenery was gorgeous and it was so much fun to see the old engine being filled up with water and coal and to hear it breathing and puffing steam.


The steam engine pulling into Clarence station.


The engine getting filled up with coal for the trip down the Zig Zag Railway.

Photos to come. :)

Hi all

I'm going to ask what might be a really dumb question, but I really can't see the answer on my own....

I've been looking at various websites for reasonably priced hotels in New York City. I'm planning to travel there with a friend next summer and, as we're planning to stay for a week or so, we don''t want to stay in a hostel as we usually would. We're still looking to keep it as reasonable as possible though, and having our own bathroom and bed each (as opposed to bunk beds) is a must. However when i've been looking at various hotels on websites they never say whether the rooms include a bathroom or not. Is this common? If it doesn't mention a bathroom can I assume that there will not be one?

Secondly, can anyone recommend any decent hotels in NYC? I know it's a big place so all I can really say is that we'd like to be as central as possible but also keep it as reasonable as possible. If anyone has stayed in a particularly nice place recently could you possibly share?

Many thanks