I’m back. Well, not really. Actually, I don’t know. I’m back now, as in the immediate point in time in which I am writing this and you are reading this (which will be now + x amount of time).

ANYWAY.

I FINISHED MY DEGREE.

I know, right? Who would have thought that I’d actually not follow through on my angst and agony and claw my way out of the muck that is the Bachelor of Pharmacy?

Okay, so nobody really expected me to. But I’ve FINISHED. FOUR YEARS of my life have gone by and I’ve finally managed to accomplish something. I’m only 50% done, though, or 80%, depending on how you look at it. I’ve still got my intern year to go and if I don’t do that, then I’m not a pharmacist.

Boo-fricking-hoo, I’ve got another year to go. This shit never ends!!

But still. I FINISHED MY DEGREE. Yeah. No, I can’t say it enough. For the past two-and-a-half years I’ve seriously considered pursuing another profession. (Is English a profession? I kid.) For the past two-and-a-half years I’ve cried and raged and cried some more and then raged at the fact that I was crying some more… I think I’m glad I stuck it out so that I could say I did actually accomplish something. It feels like closure, like I closed that door and am moving forward in the hallway towards the next door, which is being a pharmacist. At the same time, I do feel a little bit of a loosened leash, and hopefully I’ll have more time to pursue things I actually enjoy doing (or, horrors, I wonder if I’ll end up enjoying being an intern?). We shall see.

In the meantime, I’ve started yet another pet project, Running Lambs, which is something undefined for the moment. A second project has been germinating for the past month and a half, but I won’t elaborate more on that yet because it’s 95% likely to fall through.

Blogging doesn’t hold as much of my interest as it did before. Psych me out, psychological peoples.

Love and other drugs (can’t wait for this movie),
Chloe

In an attempt to humour my burgeoning Type A attention span (flitting, stressed out, impatient, short bursts of intense concentration), I am conducting a small experiment.

http://canihavemycoatbackplease.tumblr.com

Tumblr seems more suited for “people on the go”, who I used to call “Blackberry people”, but seeing as I only have two basic-function cell phones and an iPod Touch and I can’t stick them together to make a Blackberry, that name’s out. Anyway, I should be back here for the occasional text-bomb.

See you all there and back,
Chloe

Work is going pretty all right, though. I always have a stress/internal panic before going in, and when the shift’s over I wonder why I was so worried. Damn these insecurities about my abilities. I bet I’m actually awesome but just don’t even know it. I want to go to English school.

I probably didn’t ever blog about it, but I bought a Vivitar PN2011 a while back and just finished the first trial roll of film (Fujifilm Fujicolor Superia 400) last Wednesday at Pharmacy Dodgeball. I’m such a 2000s baby even though I was born in the 80s… I had no idea how to rewind the film and that I had to push a little button (about the size of a reset button but protruding from the camera body), so when the film seemed to be taking AGES to finish rewinding, I decided to open the damn thing and, long story short, I ended up exposing the last 10 cm of film for about two minutes. It will be pretty interesting to see the end results. I can’t wait to get the roll developed, that’s for sure.

There’re a bunch of mods you can do on the PN2011 that enables stuff like exposure and shutter speed mods, but I’m afraid of stuffing it up so I haven’t bothered for now.

Speaking of film, I don’t know what Kodak Chrome Elite 100 film is (well, some quick Google-Fu explains that it gives extremely fine grain, sharp and deeply saturated photos, and is slide film which means that the negative is actually a positive – so the pictures are in colour on the film and you have to, like, reverse develop them or something), but this guy has used a Nikon FM2 and a roll of the aforementioned, and has come out with these beautiful photographs. Everybody is talking about this guy and that photo post (it’s been on the WordPress Freshly Pressed page), and you know why? Because it’s awesome.

And now for some Random Music Wednesday, Weekend (mini)Edition:

New track from Lupe Fiasco! I honestly don’t think this man can go wrong musically.

I rediscovered Great Northern’s debut, Trading Twilight for Daylight, the other day and this song’s been haunting my brain ever since:

Last but not least, I would be remiss if I didn’t blog about that song everyone’s been talking about (I haven’t linked to the official video so it’s safer for work, if you were so inclined to read my blog while there)…

Love everyone but the people you hate,
Chloe

I prefer Lupe’s version, hands down. I admit bias because I love Lupe Fiasco’s voice; he is one of my favourite hip-hop artists (it’s basically him, Kanye, and Eminem) and I’d never heard anything by B.o.B before. It’s always hard to choose between two versions of a song with a great hook and potential, but I really love how it’s slowed and stripped down, and way more poetic and meaningful. It’s a sincere, honest love song, without the player vibe of B.o.B’s to detract from it. I also think Lupe’s version has superior lyricism; I love word play and pop culture references, and while this one is a bit dated now, you have to admit that it’s clever:

We’re like Williams and Woods on tour / Now that’s love above par, ooh

B.o.B’s spin on this song is a lot more mainstream, and that’s what makes it more appealing than Lupe’s. It’s faster, and really plays to what makes a #1 hit nowadays. In my opinion, that’s being able to spin this song in a club and everyone would dance and maybe sing along – you can’t do that with Lupe’s version; the emotion is too raw and the energy’s not there – however, we have to keep in mind that Lupe’s version wasn’t the final product, it was unmastered and not meant for public consumption. It sounds like B.o.B’s having a lot of fun with it, and while that’s not to say Lupe didn’t have fun with his either, I don’t think hip-hop ballads really get through to the mainstream unless it really has something going for it — take Outkast’s “Hey Ya”, for example: dark, quite intense lyricism masked by that catchy tune.

I can imagine Lupe’s version being the last track on an album: the song that has a different feel, a different colour to the rest of the album, and if well done it’s the best song on the record, but would never be released as a single. It’s not as cluttered as B.o.B’s, and I’m the type to be more attracted to the “less is more” sentiment.

Decide for yourselves below:

Lupe’s version:

B.o.B’s version:

Facebook tells me it’s your birthday today! No, I’m not ashamed to say that I’m terrible at remembering birthdays or even knowing them in the first place. The fact that it is your 18th birthday is great, because you can now actually pretend to be an adult! Do you remember that time I still lived in Malaysia and we used to go for “ikan bakar” and Jason had chili on his hands and rubbed his eye? Because I do. I’ll always remember that night when I think of you guys. Now that you’re an “adult”, we can make a new ikan bakar memory but at a bar or a club, because you can go to those now! Next time I see you we are definitely having some alcohol together. Nothing crazy. Just a celebration of you unlocking a badge of sorts. And now that you have this very important badge, people are going to try to take advantage of your having it, but you have to be good and stab them in the eye with the sharp bit so they know not to mess with your adult self.

I can’t wait for our next adventure. All of us will be adults, so they’ll be a whole new chapter of adventures. Unless we go to America, where you’re still not an adult. So we’ll just hold off on America for a few more years, but that’s okay, because we’re going to London next. I hope that still happens. Otherwise you can just move your bum and come down to NZ and have a good time.

Three cheers for you and a cheer for Facebook as well, turns out it is useful for something after all. Happy birthday!

Chloe

You guys, it makes me feel so good. A memory isn’t enough for today. I need, like, I need to be able to save today like you would maybe cut out the date in the calendar and stick it into a scrapbook.

Also, I got my internship mostly sorted (unrelated to today but still a little bit related because it’s all pharmacy). It’s great to have that weight off my shoulders. I wish I could say I chose it, but it really just fell into my lap, and I’m glad it did before I accepted other sites because so far it’s looking like the best fit EVER for me. I’ll do work towards my internship but I’ll still have time for other things that interest me because it won’t be a typical 9-5 week. I really don’t want this one to fall through.

TODAY, you guys. I scratched the car and it’s a “blemish” on an otherwise very satisfactory day but, really, meh. It’s a ’97 Starlet… I just gave it a few racing stripes down the side, is all.

“But much, or all, depends upon the story of their former lives, the period passed before they lived together, that feverish dream called youth.”

I had my annual (traditional?) birthday dinner last Friday, and afterward we went to the Ivory Lounge for a bit. Geoff and I later went to Cassette #9 in town, to see the Glass Owls headline their E.P release party. The formalities: Glass Owls are a four-piece from Howick, Auckland, and have been plying their musical trade for years prior to the pressing and release of Dead Love, their debut E.P. Tomas Nelson plays the adorable Casiotone and guitar and provides lead vocals; Anthony Metcalf wields the lead guitar and backs the vocals; Chris Pearce commands the bass, and Cameron Allan does various things with the drum kit (mostly plays them).

I liked what I heard, which is always a good thing, so I bought the EP, which is the decent thing to do when you like a band’s music. Dead Love offers six songs, including the requisite song-named-after-a-girl “Sarah”, which starts off as a slow, acoustic jam (featuring clarinet!) and later culminates in a frenetic explosion of guitar and drums, which ends up overshadowing the poignant start; subsequent replays have me wishing for the 3:01 mark. Dead Love goes from strength to strength, the opener “Griffin Boy” reminiscent of the Artic Monkeys (etc) with Metcalf’s jangling guitar hooks. Nelson carries the record with a voice that is understated yet strong and articulate; he sounded great on Friday night, especially in “No Avail”, which is why I was slightly disappointed to hear an effects-laden version of the chorus on Dead Love.

Closer “Summer Girl” earns my Last Track award and is the highlight of the EP, the lovechild of grunge and indie pop — there’s probably a genre for that, where you can picture yourself driving down Mission Bay with the windows down, watching the people frolick in the sun and surf.

Dead Love is an outstanding effort by the Glass Owls. 4 stars out of 5. Hooray!

The report was tremendous. It bounded out of my hand, forced itself thro’ the window, & broke the lead & 2 panes of glass. My hand felt quite stunned for some time.

The report was TREMENDOUS! The gun BOUNDED out of her hand! It’s so emotive and at the same time I feel it is quite understated. I also love the fact that she says her “hand felt quite stunned” about the whole thing… I imagine that if I’d fired a gun which BOUNDED out of my hand and proceeded to break an entire window, it’d be more than my hand which was stunned.

Another sentence I love:

This adventure has passed off more satisfactorily than I expected.

Can you imagine going somewhere with (maybe low) expectations and it going better than you had thought, and ending your journal entry with the above excerpt? I keep picturing Anne Lister dictating, not writing in, her journal while pacing, very straight-backed, around her chambers, commenting in the most detached manner about how the “adventure” (which was actually her going to visit someone) went a lot better than she’d expected. I don’t know. I just love how something exciting or pleasurable would be described in such a restrained manner. I have chortled a lot while reading this book.

She writes about everything; it’s really quite amazing. I can’t imagine writing every day in a journal about the most banal of events that happen to me. An excerpt of a possible journal of mine would probably read as such:

Tuesday 29 June. Auckland.
Woken up early morn (around 8:30) by a foreign sound in my bedroom. Put on the spectacles and attempted to place the origin. I think it may have been an insect, a cicada or somesuch, trapped in the bookshelf wanting to get out. It ceased after an hour or two. Departed warmth of mattress and duvet at a little past 11. Prepared for university, upon arrival returned a couple of books and discovered that computers were being replaced in the IC, thus unable to work as desired. Meeting for HealtheX booklet went well. Walked to City campus, stopping for a hot chocolate along the way and happened to meet Ming. Confirmed plans for lunch on Thursday. Whiled away the time before dinner. Currently attempting to restore musical contents to iPod. Mother entered the room and bemoaned the state of disarray. I must say it suits me quite well, though to quote Anne Lister, “the general rummage among my letters & papers takes a great deal of time & puts me sadly out of my way — but as I have never had my things fairly set to rights as they ought to be, ’tis high time to begin if I mean to get it done in my lifetime.” Today began a pleasurable day, with the sun out and a chance to exercise. As wont to Auckland, the wind swept in late afternoon but now the evening has settled. Looks to be another average night.

Some music recs coming your way: “Wasted Daylight” by Stars, off their latest record The Five Ghosts. Tomorrow resumes Random Music Wednesday, featuring local band Glass Owls who released their EP just this past Friday.

And, YAY Germany! They never let me down. Sorry, England. It sucks that you have the most passionate and insane football fans, yet your national team is the most self-centred one that plays as if there is only 1 person on a team…

*Notwithstanding that those 9 months will be accompanied by some other crazy shiz.