Ruby Velour overhaul

I have been thinking about my blog lately and how I do not write here as much as I’d like. It’s not as if I don’t have a lot to say (because I do) but because I’m never quite sure what I should be writing and whether or not I sound stupid, boring or irrelevant. So there have been many times where I have started to write then scrapped it, thinking I need to write some lavish big entry that’s all clever and thought-provoking and going to be linked-to by everyone on the internet.

Well as I was reading Obnoxious Owl today (a newly discovered and instantly loved blog by a loud and proud Saffa-Aussie) I realised I was doing it all wrong. Almost nothing of what I say in real life is thought provoking, in fact most of it involves angry ranting, fist shaking, witty commentary and general nonsense. So why is that not translating here? WELL MATIES THAT IS GOING TO CHANGE! I am going to write here more often, daily if possible, and it will be a mixture of what I have already been doing combined with more angry rants, witty observations, more silly commentary and general hilarity that I like to fill my regular, daily life with anyway!

Starting NOW! It’s a new year soon and so I ought to make some resolutions. Well I don’t have to and actually never have before but I feel the need to this year because this was NOT my year at all and 2010 sounds like a damn fine to start resolvin’ some shit.

Be honest, up-front and communicate a LOT more.
I am notoriously bad at this. I bottle things up until I get some serious rage happening and blow up at the wrong people. I had a huge explosion last night about something that had been building up for many months, if I’d nipped it in the bud like a sensible person then I would have saved myself a lot of grief and as for last night, a lot of tears. I also need to stop with my lying and be honest – mostly with myself. Lies are like poison and I’ve been poisoning myself an those closest to me for a long time now. It’s gotta stop!

Get healthy, get fit and lose weight.
Oh yes, that ol’ chestnut. This year I got really fit and a hell of a lot healthier. Unfortunately that does not automatically mean weight loss. I wish I could come to terms with my body shape/size but I can’t so I want to shed a few kilo’s in 2010 and maybe even go down a dress size. I won’t do the starvation diet thing like in 2008 where I did lose a lot of weight (god I got hot) because clearly it didn’t last. It’s all about hard work and changing your lifestyle and I will achieve this in 2010!

Get a fantastic new job.
In 2010 I plan to get a new job where I will be happy. This will mean either something along the lines of my previous job but with a better work environment and more potential for development and career advancement, as well as a snazzy job title (I found a few ad’s for jobs that fit this criteria and am super excited) or else a job that pays well, treats their staff excellently and keeps me sane. A job that fits all of the above would ROCK MY WORLD!

Stop abusing my credit card.
Holy shit I am the WORST at this. I’ll stop using it for ages then BAM I start again and lose all control. In 2010 I vow not to use it unless in dire circumstances. I will not keep it in my purse and will keep it locked away for absolute emergencies only. I will also pay it off as quickly as possible too so that I will have one less debt hanging over my head.

Spend less, save more.
I have ended the year with a spectacular amount of spending but I need to cut down. I know I will never, ever stop my excessive shopping but I can curb them and make compromises. No new shoes unless I am willing to get rid of a pair I have at home. Likewise with clothing. I need to use that money and save it up because I wnat to travel next year – Japan again and maybe the USA/Canada if I am lucky!

Take more photos.
I don’t know why or when this happened but I’ve stopped taking photos and it’s so sad! I used to be the queen of excessive photos and now I barely take any and rarely find myself cropping up in anyone elses either. This is ridiculous! I need as much photo evidence of my good looks and youthful vigor as possible while I still got it! I also have my new pink Holga camera too, so I have NO excuses any more!

Go to as many festivals and gigs as possible.
I know this directly goes against my plan to spend less/save more but I missed out on alot of festivals and gig this year and I refuse to do so in 2010 because I LOVE them! I’ve already planned to go to Lily Allen/Calvin Harris/Dizzee Rascal, Good Vibrations (in Sydney), Soundwave, Future Music, Lady Gaga and that’s just in January to March!

Until next year, ya’ll!

The first step is admitting you have a problem

I am a shopaholic. I am completely addicted to it and imagine it’ll be my demise eventually. I love the feeling of buying something new. Usually something I don’t need like a new dress or pair of shoes In fact it’s almost always a new dress or pair of shoes). Unfortunately for me I don’t tend to suffer from buyers remorse either, so whenever I buy something I technically couldn’t afford or don’t need or if I buy something for me when I should be buying something for someone else, I don’t get  that feeling of regret afterwards that most people suffer which prevents them from doing this too often. Abd pangs of buyers remorse I do feel is usually fixed by buying something else.

Christmas time is the worst because I can control myself when not in shopping environments (ie. I don’t feel the urge to go to the shops to buy a new dress when at home, it only happens when I am at the shops and the dress is in front of me) but as I am now thrusting myself in these environments constantly, I find myself buying random things that I really do not need and not buying presents for others! It’s ridiculous! I guess I am also lucky that I am usually a spend-thrift shopper and rarely buy anything that isn’t on sale. I am also a pro at finding amazing bargains and saving a lot o money on an item that could have cost me a fortune. Though this tends to encourage me to just buy more stuff which kind of negates my good work at finding bargains in the first place :/

A lot of the time I find myself using going shopping as a means of “retail therapy” when I am sad or angry or otherwise feeling upset in some way. Even as I am wandering around the shops looking for something to waste my money on, I wonder to myself if this is going to help me, because it’s obviously not going to stop or fix whatever is making me sad/angry and so is there any point to this exercise? But the buzz I get when I buy something nice that was completely unplanned (and almost always totally unnecessary) casts those doubts aside and I feel great for a few hours.

Apparently it’s a real problem too, though I don’t think I am quite as bad  as how they’re describing t on the Wikipedia page (though I am prepared to admit as an addict I may not be aware if the extent of my problem). I was never a spoiled kid so I never got a toy to shut me up during a  tantrum or to make me feel better because my parents weren’t there for me growing up. I do know my mum used retail therapy to cheer herself up, so my only guess is that I learned this from her from an early age and started applying it to myself when I was old enough to buy my own things.  I’m not blaming mum for it, after all there are many worse ways to cope with stress (ie. drinking, drugs, violence etc) but I really wish I knew how to defeat this!

Does anyone else suffer from Oniomania or do you now someone who does? Do you have ways to overcome your addiction to shopping or do you have ways to cope with it? I’d love to be able to go to a shopping center and walk past a sale rack and not hover around it for 20 minutes, trying to talk myself out of buying a dress that’s really cute and 50% of when I should be saving my money or am running horribly late.

I want TWO presents, you guys!

I am a December baby. It sucks. Not only is it generally a bad month to be born in, the date of my birthday is especially crap. December 23rd. It’s two days before Christmas and usually the last day people have to finish off all of their Christmas shopping and the last day before OMG CHRISTMAS TIME fever really sets in, if it hasn’t all ready. No one wants to celebrate a birthday with such a huge holiday coming up so inevitably most people tend to forget all about my birthday. For years I used to celebrate my birthday a week or two before the 23rd to make it easier or all, but I’d always get the “It’s not really your birthday today” remarks when I’d expect preferential treatment so I’d wait til my actual birthday and then get “We already celebrated your birthday, also it’s pretty much Christmas now and we’re too busy”.

I am not trying to guilt ya’ll about my birthday and its unfortunate timing, but rather wanted to give a shout out to all of those people out there with birthdays close to Christmas (unless they’re from December 27th onwards as you reap the benefits of Boxing day sales so you’re lucky and I hate you). It ain’t easy spending a whole year without presents and then getting them all at once, even if people do make a big deal about not combining them (though truth be told, if that means getting a super-big present instead of two smaller, less-than-thrilling presents then I don’t mind at all!) and it ain’t easy having your birthday forgotten because some long-haired religious dude from 2000 years ago may or may not have been born on the 25th.

Black with diamante hearts

Nail change! The teddy bears lasted three weeks so it was definitely time for a change. I got my nails done in black and then added these amazing diamante heart stickers which I bought in Tokyo. They’re really, really 3D so I am hoping I don’t lose any of the jewels for their duration as they’re so cute and I want them to last for as long as possible.

Today I am going to Stereosonic today (an electronic dance music festival, featuring artists like Axwell, Fedde le Grand, Deadmau5, Chicane, Bloody Beetroots etc) so I am dressed all in pink and black to match the nails :D