just a minute in july.

I thought I’d extend this monthly segment – adding in a few new questions and a selfie every month. I’m not usually a selfie person, but it might be fun to document the passing of time.

Wearing: anything to keep me warm! It’s currently a balmy 3 degrees C at 10am in Melbourne. It’s been cold, guys. Usually, my weekend wardrobe includes jeans, boots, a jumper, and my new(ish) favourite jacket from Bronze Snake Shop.

Following: I’m loving folkmagazine on Instagram at present, and have been searching through the pages of AWTW blog for inspiration.

Bookmarking: HA! This is my latest bookmark. That’s embarrassing.

Excited for: our trip back to Adelaide in August! It’s been way too long, and I need to see the sea.

Planning: to go op-shopping this weekend. Yay! (Also trying to imagine what my life will look like once I’ve finished my degree… I’m pretty excited for that.)

Feeling: tired, content, grateful.

Wanting: an Aeropress. Some new jumpers. A new camera lens. My tax money to come through. To travel.

Grateful for: my job, the sunshine, my Rufus.

Watching: Entourage (don’t judge me) and Penny Dreadful. We also recently finished Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Best Ink, and Ink Master.

Reading: I’m re-reading the Fables comics, and have Under the Tuscan Sun bookmarked by my bed.

Drinking: lots of green tea! Red wine. And occasionally a coffee.

Listening: Mind Over Matter by Young the Giant, Yearling XL by Ace Reporter, and Pools by Glass Animals, just to name a few. 

Loving: the sunshine today! I can handle the cold; but I’m a misery guts when the sun isn’t out.

just a minute in September.

Watching: We’re a bit restless in the TV department; switching between Under the Dome, Suits, and Broadchurch. I have to say I’m enjoying them all! Broadchurch and Under the Dome have me anxiously awaiting the next episodes, as always.

Reading: My chemistry text book! Travel guides mostly… old Kinfolk magazines, Women’s Health… I’ve started reading a novel called Burial Rites, which has started off well! I’m just finding it difficult to keep my head in one space at the moment. Although I’m only studying one subject per semester, uni is still always on the back of my mind. I just want to be a qualified Nutritionist already, damnit! 

Drinking: Heeeeeaps of this tea. I’ve also started back with the coffee cravings, and I’m enjoying as much water as my body can handle. 

Listening: I’m on a huge The National binge lately! I’ve been truly, awfully anxious and The National seems to calm me down. Rufus and I are going to a Kvelertak gig tonight, which should be fun – I love a bit of hard rock! 

Loving: I’m just super in love with my own life right now. Rufus has me feeling like a giddy 16-year-old and Jango is cuter than a damn button, with his two little lopped ears. I love the longer days that Spring is bringing – it’s depressing to leave work at 6:30pm when it’s dark outside. No more! I’m also loving our weekend adventures, which I’m proud to say I’ve been documenting quite nicely! 

The photo above is from this time last year (approximately). We’d just arrived home from our American Adventure before we headed off to the middle of nowhere to visit our friends in Andamooka. I’ve noticed that our selfies always look the same: Rufus is a babe and I look like a gremlin. Oh, well. He looks happy, so it’s good enough for me!

just a minute in May/June.

Watching: Throughout May, Rufus and I went through a Face Off binge; have you seen it? It’s a reality show about special effects make up – reality TV at it’s finest. We’re currently re-watching all the Harry Potter movies, and we’re also catching up on It’s Always Sunny and the new season of Arrested Development – ALL of the laughs! 

Reading: Since last we spoke, I finished The Time Traveller’s Wife, The Happiness Project (which I highly recommend), and John Dies At The End. I’m currently reading Pump Six; a collection of short stories by Paolo Bacigalupi (whom I raved about here) – my favourite author who we were lucky enough to see at Comic Con last year!

Drinking: Tea: lots and lots of tea. ‘Tis the season!

Listening: A mixtape that Rufus made for my birthday! I’ve listened to it over and over…

Loving: The gift that Rufus and I bought each other for our anniversary: a beautiful art print by our favourite artist James Jean. It was a little expensive, but it’s a beautiful investment that really makes me realise the permanency of our relationship. 

just a minute in December.

I love reading other bloggers’ Just a Minute segments and thought I’d play along – I’m thinking of keeping it as a regular monthly segment throughout 2013! I’d love to read some of your answers too, so let me know if you do join in!

Watching: Rufus and I only have a couple of hours with each other at night, after he finishes work and before he falls asleep. We’re currently filling those hours with Doctor Who, and I’m loving it!

Reading: Finishing up Life of Pi. I’ve found it to be an interesting read, but not a real page-turner. It’s dragging on for me a little at the moment, but I’m almost finished! Next I think I’ll start on Embassytown by China Mieville.

Drinking: My usual smoothies for lunch, lots of coffee at the cafe, and not nearly enough water. And with all the illnesses going around at the moment, I’m trying to keep my green tea intake high!

Listening: I’ve never been a fan of She and Him before, but lately I’ve found myself craving the sound of her unusual vocals. The Christmas album is a good one!

Loving: Brainstorming gift ideas, ticking things off to-do lists, and the anticipation of new chapters in new places (more on that one later)! Oh, and 2-and-a-half years on and I’m still giddy in love: that’s pretty fantastic.

san diego comic con: day 3.

despite our logging onto the ticketing website within seconds of the release, we didn’t manage to get tickets to day 3 of Comic Con. but that’s okay! we ended up having so much fun scoping out all the free things to do outside of the convention. we even got to sleep in until 8am! we ate waffles for breakfast and I managed to find a good coffee before we set off for the day – our first stop: the children’s museum for the Adventure Time treasure hunt! 

we met some cool people – Double Rainbow Guy, Guillermo del Toro – danced to some cool chip tunes and a pirate band, ate a lot of free food (chocolate chip cookies, fruit kebabs, m&ms, cupcakes, icecream…) and scored a lot of free merchandise (t-shirts, stickers, posters, hats…), and if we had been more patient we could have also met Quentin Tarantino… but we weren’t. Rufus was also randomly interviewed for an X Box commercial (which I won’t embarrass him by posting here) – that was pretty fun.

we went to Wet Willie’s for dinner, where we sampled daiquiris with nerdy names (I had the Superman, Rufus the Iron Man). I ate the salad with blue cheese and beans, while Rufus went with a chicken wrap with fries. we got home, had a shower, and at 9:30pm (yes, that evening) went back to the convention centre to camp out overnight for entry to the panels* the following day.

*I feel I should mention why we had to camp out every night for access to the panels. These halls only hold a certain number of people – a couple of thousand – though there are hundreds of thousands of attendees at Comic Con. A lot of these attendees are die-hard fans of the shows (read; Comic Con Day 2), and this particular day’s panel attracted a special kind of die-hard fan: the Doctor Who fans. To make certain we would be able to get in to see the Fringe and Supernatural panels, which were on earlier in the day, we had to beat all the Doctor Who fans, who would get into the hall early, and sit through panels they weren’t all that passionate about just to make sure they saw the Doctor Who panel. I know, I know… it’s cutthroat.

san diego comic con; day 2.

AT 3AM I MET JOSS WHEDON! we were lining up at the ungodly hour when Joss (Mr. Whedon?) started walking down the line to meet the dedicated fans. we hugged for the photo and he said I was cute and if it hadn’t been 3am and dark, he would have noticed that I was blushing so hard I looked like a firetruck. we were up so early to ensure we got in to see the most important panel of the convention; the Firefly panel (directed by Joss), so this really was the most perfect, wonderful turn of events.

the panel was one of the most beautiful, intense experiences of my life. Firefly is such a perfect show, and I – along with the thousands of other attendees – are heartbroken (that seems to be the only word that is remotely fitting) beyond words that the show was cancelled; I felt as if they’d taken away a part of my life. there was so much energy and emotion in the room; we were all – both the audience and the panelists on stage – sobbing. I can’t really explain what went on that day; you really had to be there, in it. but at the end of the discussion – as we were all standing and clapping and cheering and weeping – one of the women near me grabbed my hand and squeezed it. and through her streaming tears smiled the most comforting, friendly smile: we were in this crazy, emotional, weird thing together.

and then we ate awesome food for dinner. we also saw some other panels – Community, which was absolutely hilarious and I am in love with Alison Brie and Danny Pudi, and The Legend of Korra, which is a great TV show whose predecessor is one of the most touching and special animated shows I have ever seen. by this time, Comic Con had already run out of the special Batman t-shirt I had wanted. so, you know, it was an emotional day.

I have to ask: is my nerd showing? do you think I’m weird now? do you still like me? do you want to be friends anymore? and have you ever been so ‘into’ a TV series that you cried when it ended (or done anything else as crazy as I described above)?