Mourning another holiday gone....

School gets so busy during the term and it gets hard to fit in time for a lot of things. So I'm posting some random pics from this holiday. Not a lot really, just some highlights. I have so much marking to do before the term starts...... depressing to the max.....

 He's such a big kid. I love him.

A very confusing tree.

 This is cute. The sculpture is called "Mirroring"

 Boobies......

Mother and son bonding. I am such a creepy papparazzi person....

 These paper weaved flowers are touring the world. They're made by Filipino women from Manila. It's meant to highlight the ecological damage to Manila's waterways and is meant to send a message to the world about taking care of the environment. If you ever visit Manila or anywhere in the Philippines and see the waterways, they are absolutely disgusting. Maybe the flowers should stay in the Philippines so that it can deliver the environmental message to the Filipinos (... whatever... you were thinking it....hehe).

 Really pretty rock sculpture that people were encouraged to play on.

 This is a slit drum from the Island of Ambrym in Vanuatu. Eric and I went there for our one year Wedding anniversary and saw the other two slit drums left behind. It is a huge statue-like wooden thing. Eric and I have one in our living room but a smaller version of this one.

 Satyr: Always creeps me out a little bit. He reminds me of Mr Tumnus the fawn from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe..... I found him a little creepy too hahahaha.

 Creepppppyyyyy smile....

 3 year anniversary date with my Eric. Nothing too flash but spent the whole day with him.

 I was meant to diet but how could I resist Max Brenner. Seriously.... Banana crepes with icecream and a chocolate soufle..... I was so high on sugar after this.

 THREE YEARS!

 We were meant to head off the the city and eat a cockle bay wharf but I had a monstrous headache. Love Outback though so we ate there instead.

 How rude is my date aye?? hahaha

 Fried awesomness of bushies...

 This is my "Heyyy... they didn't give us corn bread" face..... so I complained (sort of) when the waiter came and gave us our mains.

 I always get this....

 He always gets this.

 This garden salad really sucked.

 But at least we got the corn bread eventually hahahahaha

Yummmyyyy.... found a nice cafe in Westmead and the chef came up and spoke to us about the flavours he made. These were awesome... I liked it better than Adriano Zumbo.

Excuse my flat butt, but how awesome are my Doc Martens?

 My sister's stupid hands in the background hahah

I was tossing up between Docs or a new Oroton bag and because winter is fast approaching and my current Oroton bag is beautiful (haha!), I took the boots because the Oroton bag I wanted was a little too expensive and Eric and I are saving up for something important (I'm still waiting for good sales at Oroton.).  Eric got these boots for me as an anniversary present and they were still bloody expensive but totally worth the bucks spent.

 Excuse the daggy white shirt.

I love them. I grew up in the 90s and this was all the rage with the grungy teens in my youth. And though I loved me some grunge (Nirvana still rocks my socks); I was more hip hop / kepper girl (tragic I know). Being a Filipino teen wearing grunge just didn't mesh in those days.


These boots are absolute classics.

3 years and counting. ....

I cannot believe it's been 3 years since....

...the best day of my life......

To end a crappy week......

So stressful this week with exams and marking. I totally deserved new boots from Sportsgirl. Will be awesome to wear in winter. Best of all they are leather and super comfortable.

The art of small talk.

I suck at small talk. And for the people who know me it may come as a surprise (or not) since I am quite loud and extroverted. But when I talk to strangers in any situation, I am always awkward and fidgety. I stammer, avoid eye contact and I try to find a way to cut the conversation short to escape from continuing a rather mundane and pointless chat about any random topic.

My husband on the other hand, is fantastic at it. His body language is open, he is friendly and funny and charming. Blah. Eric always laughs when he watches me talk to shop assistants and other strangers. I have been trying; actively trying to improve my skills in small talk and I have made some improvement:

Went to the coffee place for a late night run and had a really nice conversation with 2 barristas. It was pleasant and there was laughter. It wasn't the usual forced and awkward conversation I usually have which always lacks genuineness. It was short, sweet and amusing. I wish Eric saw me then.

I am such a loser hahahahah !

The day.....

I've had a horrid day. I don't get many of these but they can be emotionally draining and it keeps me up. I wish I weren't so emotional. I wish I were one of those people who could let certain things slide off me rather than bruise me. I hate being fragile. I hate confrontation. I hate being miserable.

 

A coffee would be great right now (preferably Gloria Jeans. Starbucks coffee is totally disgusting).

I hate days like this...... It is 11:55pm.... another 5  minutes and I need to get over it and sleep.

My book purchases are a reflection of my history "nerdness".....

..I don't care. I'm a history teacher. Did my postgrad in Education with a History major.  While getting my Public Relations degree I did a minor in Arts, History, Politics and Philosophy. I did both Ancient and Modern History in High School. I've always been interested in the past. I've always been a history nerd. So it's no surprise that somehow I "fell into" this job haha.

I stumbled upon a little bookshop with fantastic books at really reasonable prices.

I love big hardcover books.  The pages are thick and are always full of pictures. I got a book called, "Australia's Yesterdays".

 I hate when my students groan at how boring Australian History is. I just tell them to get over it. If you live in Australia, you've got to know its history. Everybody around the world knows their country's history.

Federation. This should be celebrated as the 'real" Australia day (Unfortunately it occurred on New Years day in 1901 so we'd lose a public holiday). The reason why the students find it boring is that Australia achieved federation with diplomacy rather than a war (like the USA). Not many students know that the first Prime Minister was Sir Edmund Barton. They all know the first US President was George Washington. Weird huh? Like I said, the USA had the War of Independence which led to their federation. War is more exciting than debating. I think my students should be proud of the fact that their country was born without bloodshed.

One of Australia's greatest sporting heroes: A horse named Phar Lap. By the way, would you call him a New Zealander or an Australian?

I had to add this. The 1920s was a period of prosperity until the crash of 1929 which caused the Great Depression. I love the dresses these women are wearing. Have a look at the details on their shoes (look at their heels) and look at the hat on the women on the left. The dresses are stunning.

I find it amazing that Australia, being such a wealthy country was very much like a third world country throughout the 30s. Many of the working class were begging for food and money and would walk from town to town looking for work. Shanty towns were set up around the major cities. When I see images from the Great Depression in Australia, I think of the Philippines.

 

Another hardcover book. I love crime and punishment. The chapters here have the most well known criminals and crimes in history. I love the fact that it has a lot of contemporary news articles and photographs.

Al Capone or "Scarface". one of the most famous gangland overlords in history. He was involved in the St Valentine's day massacre in which he eliminated his rivals. He was also involved in illegal activities such as prostitution and bootlegging (in the prohibition era). Interestingly, he made huge charity donations with the money he made illegally. Funnily enough, he was arrested for tax evasion rather than the more serious crimes he committed.

Charles Manson and "Family": The Sharon Tate murder. Look at how mad his eyes are. He is one scary, insane murderer.

Ted Bundy: Arguably the most infamous serial killer.

 

"All I need in this life of sin, is me and my girlfriend": Bonnie and Clyde.

These are fantastic books. They are great resources for school and a damned good read with great pictures and information.