Here are some of the pics that I have take with my Iphone. They have gone through various photo apps like CameraBag and ToyCamera. I also have my eyes on the new updated QuadCamera which is now ready for the 3.0 software. These photos are very lomo, crappy camera-esque.

Driving down Foveux st in Surry Hills. I felt like we were heading on a stairway to heaven.

One of the many side sreets in Newtown. Even though it is a narrow street, they are always packed with cars. Thats the urbanised beauty of Newtown.

Nepalese Kitchen in Surry Hills. Quite a small restaurant but beautifully laid out.

View from my balcony in Newtown, just before sunset.

Following from the sunset pic above. The colours of the sky, very very beautiful.

One of the many trees in Centennial Park

Lunch in Walsh Bay, a rich port overlooking expensive boats.

The haze on Oxford St. Party central, yet disturbing.

Old room in Marrickville, building was quite old.

Pupsit, one of the designer toy that my boyfriend likes to buy me.

I first saw the gorgeous, uber-cool Daisy Lowe on the cover of ID in a slightly loved up, naked photo shoot with her then boyfriend and I was hooked!

I bet these shots will totally make you understood why:

I know, I know I have somewhat been neglecting my blog. But I’ve been a busy little bee with a new job, a sometimes weekend retail job and a freelance gig on the side. Phew! It seems a lot on paper but I think some of my neglectfulness is due to a new found laziness that comes with running around trying to fit too many things in one day. Sometimes you just need to chill even though you know that you don’t have any time for it! So hopefully this determination to start blogging continues and as such brings me to the focus of this post – PNAN Youth Arts Festival.

I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside a friend who I met as a gangly 17 year old! Fortunately he’s no longer gangly but a project manager for the PNAN Youth Arts Festival. This is essentially a competition involving 3 categories – film, design and writing. The PNAN competition is to create awareness for youths involving a theme from alcohol and drugs perspective. Nick has done a hard job to encourage and bring aboard big name sponsors (EMI, Rolling Stones Magazine) to support and judge the winning entries. This is an awesome way to get your art exposed to big name industry people. Also you can score over $15,000 worth of cash and prizes. Not bad if you consider yourself a struggling artist, auteur, creator. Check out the website here:

PNAN Website

I’ve spent my Christmas break up in Gloucester this year with Evan and his family. Gloucester is approximately 5 hours from Sydney and is a little but thriving country town with over 4000 in population (the sign on the road said 2,500 but is old by now). Ev’s dad has built a small shack up on his farm which spans over 60 hectares. It is a comfortable shack offering the necessary amenites like kitchen, shower and a outdoor toilet that does not flush! Also powering the shack is a running generator and a water tank that collects fresh rainwater to be used in the kitchen and shower. Built by hand by a pilot by trade, it was an impressive shack - probably a bit better than what most people live off.

The shack is situated deep inside the property and a car made for tough terrain is highly recommended. Driving over 2 running rivers and a small cliffside is an exciting but scary adventure. A sigh of relief is felt everytime I pass the entry to the shack!

I am definitely not a country girl so it took me a couple of days to get adjusted to the shack. Insects especially spiders are my worst enemy and if one ever comes within a metre of me, I certainly don’t hesitate to get the Mortein spray out. Life at Gloucester is definitely wild but beautiful with animals like platypus, parrots, possums, red belly snake, leeches and country rats all roaming free and undisturbed. Luckily I didn’t get to see that much wild animals except for little joeys and blood sucking anorexic little leeches. But from that experience I’ve learned to have a little tolerance of insects!

Going out without television, laptop, internet and a mobile reception is tough. But there is something in the fresh country air that makes you want to sleep for long hours, have regular siestas and be lazy and slow. I’ve stocked up on a generous pile of reading material - Frankie, IDN, Rush and BRW - while there and bitten into the Hunter S Thompson biography. Day adventures included going to the Lookout which is reaching a very high mountain and the rainforest where Evan got attacked by leeches. Eeek.

Gloucester’s thriving CBD is charming and has all the shops you could think of fitted into one main road. And within the span of that main road is 2 pubs! For more information please visit the Gloucester website. From what I’ve seen its a great place to get away from the bustling, polluted city. Unfortunately, I came back feeling sick with the flu!

Casey’s dog Lewis who is smart and very cheeky!

The farm was overgrown with weed and not a tamed farm. If you look closely, a spider has made its web on the weed.

Spotted a ladybug on its climb

Wild but beautiful

This is one of the views from the Look Out. We had to walk down a bit of a slippery slope but once there the view is absolutely amazing. Breathtaking!

Overturned a stone and found white sugar ants

This is the river which runs beside the shack. After hesitating to swim in the river, the hot weather got the better of me and I had a swim. It is deceptively deep. One of the most refreshing swims I’ve had in a long time.

This is the river path that we have to cross to get to the shack

I shot this while we were waiting to see the playtpus come out. They never did and the spiders were in full force so I didn’t stay too long.

A tree from the rainforest

The rainforest has a life of its own. It was overgrown and walking anywhere increased your chances of getting a leech sucking on you for dear life!

Lewis loved the fact that he had all this land to explore!

The clothes line amongst the stunning backdrop. Reading from the verandah with this view in site was a site to gasp at

We had evening campfires as its got quite cold during the night and hot during the day. The stars were plenty and massive!

I had to take a psychometric test yesterday as part of a application process for a mega company. During the test I kept wondering why the bother to take the effort to do a test. Isn’t a degree more than enough or experience in a professional field enough? I guess not. Big companies love putting their wanna-be-employees through such gruelling tests to determine that they are in fact of the right attitude and mind for the company.

Having done a year of psychology and came out of that with the fact that IQ tests cannot test intelligence. So with this thought in mind, I prepared for the psychometric test. Google psychometric test and you can find dozens of sample test but none of them really match up to what the real thing is. I did a sample Quantas test which was very very similar to the real psychometric test.

There are 4 main components to the psychometric test I undertook - the personality, the verbal, the numerical and the diagrammatic. The personality test is choosing a scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree on a statement they put forward. This is meant to give them personality character build to ensure that they aren’t hiring depressed, lazy people. Seriously, a statement such as “I am constantly depressed” makes me wonder who in their right mind going for a job would put Strongly Agree? Well people do sometimes amaze you…

The next part is the Critical Reasoning test. First was the verbal test where you are given a passage, they give you a statement and you have to judge whether it is true, not true or unable to say depending on the passage. I had to read some of the questions twice because the way that they worded the statement is misleading. I nearly ran out of time for this one since I had to answer the questions in 19 mins.

Next was the numerical test which I found the most difficult. I have not done any difficult maths equation except for adding and subtracting since I graduated from high school - 3 years ago! The questions are anything but straight forward, and your mind is left to think of a way to answer the question. I ran out of time and guessed the last few questions.

Next was the diagrammatic and spatial test where you are given a set of diagrams and you have to determine the next diagram. This is what I excel at the most - probably because we are female and love deducing things. I did this test with over 5 mins left to spare.

Overall, I was not completely confident with the result, but then I get invited to the next round so something must have gone right, or it must have been my lucky day!

I am not one to follow labels, or buy garments because its from a label. But a few weeks ago while working at a retail store in Paddington, a customer came in and tried on a dress with a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes she just bought on sale at David Jones. I fell instantly in love with them, and they left a last impression on me that I had to post about it, and have some pictures that I can at least ease a bit of my jealousy off.

One of the girls that I used to work with at the retail store, was a buyer in her Norwegian homeland. She said that she used to literally get pairs of expensive shoes given to her so that she would stock those brands at the shop. Well anyways, she accumulated hundreds of shoes and when she moved to Australia, she ended up giving lucious pairs of Jimmy Choos to her friends. Oh what an indulgence!

If shoes could kill…I think this picture does not do justice to how these look amazingly in real life.

The zip is the best part of the shoes…I have an infatuation with zips

Other than that shoe, I really do not have an obsession with the other shows spotted on the Jimmy Choo website.

I am absolutely exhausted after a full day of scouring Sydney’s markets for some inspiration perhaps. Starting around the corner from Evan’s place is Surry Hill’s infamous little markets, held on the first Saturday of every month.

The Surry Hills Markets have been an integral part of the Surry Hills community since 1981. In response to community consultations, the Markets were set up to trade in recycled, second hand or hand made goods, distinguishing them from other community markets.

The original concept was to offer a focus for Surry Hills which was experiencing rapid changes in local population, and to provide an opportunity for local & other low-income earners to make additional money. Over the years, Surry Hills has continued to be ever-changing, and the Market now provides an opportunity for locals and visitors to experience the unique diversity of our area. A visit to the Surry Hills Market, either as a buyer or seller, is a reminder that the notion of a community market is still viable in the rapidly changing inner-city environment.
Read More..

On the corner of Crown and Collin St, Surry Hills markets are a local attraction transforming the park into a little corner filled with racks of vintage gear and attractive people hunting for a bargain. The scene is filled with lots and lots of clothes from vintage, second hand and the start up designer. Shoes, art works adorn the ground along with random findings as people basked in the humid heat. After nearly suffering from heat exhaustion, I unfortunately left empty handed but there were definitely some handbags there that made it difficult to.

I strangely fell in love with the tacky flower print of this dress and the black bustier.

Alyssa went crazy over this hat as it reminded her off her unforgettable fashionable school days!

Intriguing and sensual

More pics…

Moving on from the Surry Hills Market, we embarked upon the Oxford Art Market Day. I find markets situated in pubs a funny feeling (e.g. Fringe Markets) and this was no exception. This was the opening of the Oxford Art market:

On the first Saturday of every month, the Oxford Art Factory will act as the platform and exhibition space for Sydney’s established and emerging artists to sell their work.

The Art Market offers diverse, original and affordable art to be purchased by YOU. This event also allows you to relax with your friends, have a drink, surf the net (bring your laptop - wireless supplied) and hang out with our city’s creative talent! All during the day, all under one roof!

Sydney’s first Art Market is an opportunity for you to support the art community; all you have to do is remember when it’s on… The first Saturday of every month, from 11am to 5pm. - Oxford Art Factory

Aside from the fantastic initiatives for artist, the cold and sterile atmosphere at Oxford Art certainly did not make it welcoming and friendly. I am hoping that they will get more artists involved as the art works on sale weren’t exactly enticing.

One of Pigeon Boy’s drawing. Don’t ask - I didn’t bother to ask how he got his name…

The artist, going under the name of Pigeon Boy was creating some art pieces on show for a small donation.

Cute perspex necklace. Alyssa ended up purchasing a fang necklace for a friend’s birthday who is obsessed with fangs. Great find!

I loved the display in the corner of the Oxford Art where the warm ambient light gave the art on display the needed warmth!

More pics:

After a stint in Newtown’s Pho hotspot, Finder’s Keepers at Carriageworks was our next stop. This certainly was the highlight for the day with talented and emerging artists selling their artworks. My friend Alex was there selling her Daze t-shirt line which was nearly sold out by the time we got there. The market was buzzing with people of all ages. To highlight the popularity of it, the Carriageworks’ cafe ran out of food! There were a great range of little pieces on offer with an open atmosphere. Such a shame that Finders Keepers is not open regularly.

These occasional markets, originally run under the name Hope Street markets, have been growing for more than a year now and exemplify the rise of curious, alternative artsy things such as pillowslips sewn from vintage fabrics that are then hand-painted, and jewellery featuring tiny, framed cross-stitch. Sydney Morning Herald

While walking from Newtown to Carriagworks via Wilson St (now one of my loved streets in Sydney) we stumbled upon a unusual building. The striking coloured exterior amongst the residential area surely made it worthwhile to get a picture of. They manufacture and sell tables, I think, but I may be wrong.

One of Alex’s Daze T-shirts. Very bold but cool designs. View more designs..

More pics:

Unfortunately, I didn’t purchase any market knick knacks (thanks to my tight budget schedule) but I did get an earlier chrissy present courtesy of Evan – Rayban sunglasses. After going through a few cheap knock offs of the infamous Wayfarer, a genuine pair seemed fitting. At $240.00 it wasn’t exactly the cheapest pair nor was it the most expensive pair. The design is a bit more square than the usual Rayban shape which suited me fine. The classic shape doesn’t fair well with my face shape but the square ones faired better. Now, lets hope that I do not break or lose them..

Bob Dylan’s famous Rayban moment

Talk about being impulsive, in the span of 10 minutes (time included to purchase a domain and hosting) I ventured into the now-conventional world of having a personal blog. I think I have finally passed the stage where I was over looking and scrutinising every little css and php code (thanks to uni’s gruelling last few assignments) that I decided to finally get in touch with my creative bone.

I don’t consider myself a great writer, or a writer at all, but I think the opportunity to hack into another wordpress design appealed to me. And in that spontaneous moments that stirs inside me, I decided to release some of my so called ‘knowledge’ into whoever will read this blog. I’m new to this game where I am quite usually am happy to sit along and be a reader of many many blogs that my igoogle is filled with.

The idea to call this blog Norwegian Wood is by far not based on ideas or some higher form of stupid wanky intentions that I simply do not care to justify. I like the sound of it. The Beatles have a song called Norwegian Wood and Haruki Marukami has a book called Norwegian Wood which is about the Beatles song Norwegian Wood. I intend to read that book as I am a fan of Marukami’s tales of spiritual/sexual awakenings/journeys.

The Beatles in their Norwegian Wood heyday

Haruki Marukami’s Norwegian Wood which is on my to read list

On the subject of being impulsive, I paid Borders a visit as I have come to realise that without uni I have a damn lot of time to spend – not really actually, I guess I like the idea of having time to waste. I managed to pick up some cheap foreign movies and some surprisingly cheap cheap novels. Bargain bin treasures included Wong Kar-Wai’s In The Mood For Love and Godard’s Vivre Sa Vie. Scored!

One of the beautiful scenes from In The Mood For Love

A scene from Vivre Sa Vie (My Life to Live)

Penguin’s new take on popular cult novels is basically “intelligent books at a low price”. That price happens to be $9.95. Absolute bargain for Hunter S. Thompson’s Kingdom of Fear and Jonathon Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated! How can you go wrong with titles that are cult classics as well as quality design? That was the best $41.88 spent at Borders. Have a look at some of the delicious titles on offer for just under a lunch meal:

http://www.popularpenguins.com/