Unfortunately one of the friends present is extremely blunt and told her to shove the sushi up where the sun don’t shine.

two. I had two haircuts this week. One to realise that there are a lot of bimbo, unworthy hairdressers in the city who aren’t worth tipping or making incredibly inane small talk with, and who are a disgrace to their trade; the other to find out that I love my boyfriend’s hairstylist. Yes you read it right, he doesn’t go to a barber. I love my new hairdresser. I’ve accompanied Matthew to a few haircuts before and have always admired her spunky style.

three. On Friday I tripped on the stiff pointy toe of my leather shoe and managed to emerge almost unscathed from tumbling down six or seven steps to lie crying on the staircase landing below. Both ankles were effectively sprained, thankfully everywhere else seemed okay. Made it home in shoes mentioned above with a supportive boyfriend who bought me dinner, albeit lamenting along the way that had just spent some money repairing and reinforcing those shoes a week ago.

I wanted to take a photo of my swollen ankles and those murderous shoes but Matthew shoved them in the bin as soon as we got home. I’m still wondering how I fell without hurting my head or back.

His fur is his get-out-of-jail-free card.

Chicago and Manhattan, by Ork Posters!

I love the San Francisco poster the most, even though I’ve never been there but hopefully will in the near future. (via i love typography)

Instead I settled for something that I’ve had my eye on for a long time:

Get Lost by Douglas Wilson, at the Keep Calm Gallery. (images from Keep Calm Gallery)

Matthew and I are fond of maps. We bought one in Bangkok that helped greatly with transport; it had circled locations and scribbles by people we’d met along the way. Adamant that I’d forgotten to bring it back to Sydney, Matthew insisted on a framed map for our place. I happened to be browsing the Keep Calm Gallery one day and decided to get the Get Lost poster instead of Rarely (which I still love and want to own very soon).

The Get Lost posters are hand letterpressed by Douglas Wilson onto old maps of the UK. The idea of combining a map and letterpress thrills me to the very bone.

Oh Sydney, I truly detested your dirty ways today. Pollution, cigarette smoke, inconsiderate people, nasty traffic, you had it all. During my mad dash from the corner of Woolworths to Queen Victoria Building, then to David Jones and onward to St James station, you seemed so lofty in your towering skyscrapers that contrasted with the dreams and hopes of your people strolling aimlessly below. I shouldn’t say “your people”, because honestly you are made up of mostly your people, and partly their people. I know I belong in the latter, but it doesn’t stop me from embracing your way of life and trying to adapt as best as I can.

But the more I analyse the process of creating a photographic image, the less magical it feels. There’s so much to consider: light, framing, exposure especially. Things assumed to be automatic after a few years with a film camera that gave me no idea of what to expect. The camera is after all a mechanical tool, albeit extremely intelligent in these days.

It’s time to hold the reins tighter, exercise more control and use the camera and stop expecting random surprises. It’s time to make things happen, but improvement or unexpected results are welcome to occur despite extreme control.

Definitely am going back to the Oxfam shop for more fair-trade items. It’s a treasure trove of decorative and functional items from various countries, handmade of course. They also stock fair-trade ground coffee packs, honey and chocolate.

Darrell Lea hard-boiled candy, sitting on Matthew’s desk.

I’m catching up on magazines, Matthew’s playing the ever addictive World of Warcraft, it’s sunny outside and I couldn’t be happier.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

The women have come a long way in establishing themselves in their careers and friendships, and this movie wraps up everything they’ve been through together in a neat bow; they have earned the right to brandish their names around like a brand and buy three thousand dollar bags for their personal assistants. On the visceral level, I completely relate.

On the intellectual level I still see it as a marketing and advertising avalanche. I see the film as it is: made by people riding on the success of its popular TV series, half for the money, half for the fun of it, mostly to answer fans’ questions about what happened after the last episode in season six.

Some favourite moments (spoiler alert!). Avert your eyes if you’re reading this from your feed reader:

• I thought Kristin Davis was fabulous as Charlotte. Just as in the series but a little quirkier, especially in her strong defence of Carrie. Her comic timing couldn’t be better, and I loved the little bit about her doubts with running, about jeopardising the pregnancy and finally gaining the confidence to do what she loves every day.
• The wedding cars scene was so heavy on the emotions, I teared a little. It encapsulated Carrie’s doubts about Big’s commitment since season one.
• Loved how Anthony called the bridesmaids “Black”, “Blue” and “Red”.
• Miranda’s back and forth dilemma with Steve presented a reflection of the real-life dilemma of infidelity: whether to shove away from your partner and be stung forever, or to sum up courage and try to make it work with “the one”.
• I honestly thought Samantha was the weakest character. The girls exclaimed or screamed each time she returned, which was about every fifteen to twenty minutes. Her lines weren’t as caustic, my favourite part was probably the gaining weight by “not eating Dante’s dick”!
• Last scene at City Hall was great. Carrie wore the suit and it was just her and Big. Plus the girls.
• Overall it satisfied and probably silenced the long-time fan in me. It was like sitting through an extended episode with references to each character’s quirks. I love that they kept the style of the original series intact. Don’t see the need for another sequel, but I won’t complain if it comes up.

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So… what do others think?

Working in a photography studio has forced me to rethink the process of photography. A lot. In summary, a studio environment is very different to that of a hobbyist in the sense that the former is extremely fast-paced and things need to be done all the time: photos have to be post-processed, proofed, printed, proofed again, and sent to sub-contractors for framing/mounting. There is no chance to get it wrong, but fortunately digital photography has made it extremely easy to take hundreds of photos and choose the top ten percent. It’s extremely stressful most of the time, deadlines loom and expectations are high.

I had been intimidated by the more seasoned photographers, as they have built a good collection of work that represent perfect execution and an established train of thought leading up to execution. Working with such people should mean that I’m inspired to take more photographs, but no, such was my feeling of intimidation and ineptitude that I procrastinated greatly, choosing to post-process and manage job files all day long instead of spending half that time practising and executing what I’d watched and learnt, had been taught to do with much attention to detail.

It was the feeling of severely low self-confidence, that I would never take photographs like that because I’m too much of a perfectionist to even hop up the first rung of the ladder, choosing only to hold it steady for those who were halfway or even near the top. Practice makes perfect, and I really should practise lots because these are days without deadlines; when those days of project briefs and deadlines arrive I have to be, must be wholly prepared.

Here’s to more days of practice, especially after next week when my schedule clears up dramatically at the end of the semester. As said before, it’s been stressful trying to split my time between study and work, so hopefully the spirit of determination returns and brings something good soon.