March.

Is it March yet?
My bag should be ready, the Fuji S2500HD will be out, my second GBM and Otterbox Defender iPhone case (courtesy of Alex Dixon, thank you dear) will be here, the 3 Pokemon games from Hong Kong should be here, I'll be on pay&go on the iPhone so saving money, and the uk pricings for the iPad should be revealed.
So hurry up and be next month already!

Sweeeetness!

Today's post was a joyous collection of jiffy bags; Yoshi's Island, Tony Hawk and Dragonball Adventure, plus the Guildhall notebooks for my mum and I. Now the only games I'm waiting for are the 3 Pokemon ones from Hong Kong (Ruby, Fire Red & Crystal) which according to an email received this morning have now been posted, and the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, which should be here tomorrow, in theory.

I've tested out all three games that arrived today, and Yoshi's Island really is the cutest thing ever! The graphics are so cute, the noises are so cute, and, in the words of @Abcmsaj - its got Yoshi in it for fucks sakes! :)

Tony Hawk's is pretty fun too, but I'm going to have to get used to the controls on it methinks. Dragonball Adventure is nothing too strenuous, just general kiling fun :)

So now I'm OH SO eagerly awaiting the Pokemon games and hoping the Hong Kong postal service gets a wiggle on.

War.

I won the bidding war on Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team :D

So that's another one to add to the list of parcels I'm waiting for now.

Still massively debating whether or not to buy that other Gameboy Micro from my friend, its a blue one and I expect its in quite good condition as he says he didn't use it much as he got it just before the DS came out. Not that there's anything wrong with the silver one I've just got, its just that it is a bit scratched, and as I've said before, I'm thinking in terms of Australia too. Think I might haggle with him.

EDIT: I have offered him £15 :)

Gameboy Micro - Pic-cha!

So this morning the doorbell rang, I ran for the door, signed the electric thingy, ran into the living room with my parcel in hand, ripped off the copious amounts of parcel tape, and lo and behold, I beheld my Gameboy Micro in silver with games :)

All the games pictured, apart from Rayman 3, came with the console. I've had a little go on each of them, and the first thing I know is that I havent a CLUE what I'm doing on the Yu-Gi-Oh games, so I dont expect they'll be getting much play time. Spiderman 3 is really cute, kitsch and fun, and Crash Nitro Kart is going to get some play time for sure.

Rayman 3 arrived with the normal post, and its awesome. Another one that I'll definately been getting some time on.

I've charged it too, though it had obviously been pretty much fully charged recently as it didnt take long for the blue charging lights to go out, which is good. I'll be taking it with me and playing it in the car while I sit and wait for my appointment.

And now I'm just waiting on all the other games - Tony Hawk 4, Avatar: Last Airbender, FIFA 06, Dragonball Advanced Adventure and all the Pokemon games. I haven't actually paid for the Pokemon games yet, as I requested a total from him and was waiting on a reply regarding postage. I got the reply this morning and sods law he said that he'd be able to give a £5 postage discount when I buy 5 games, which of course was the original plan but I decided to give up on. The cost of the Pokemon games and p&p is roughly £25 whereas it'd cost £35 if I got Fire Emblem and Zelda: Minish Cap as well, but I decided I'd just go for the Pokemon games. I'll have enough games as it is without Zelda and Fire Emblem so its all okay now. Even though I've probably spent nigh on £40 on games by now.

The only other thing I'm thinking about now is buying another GBM, in blue, from a friend on Facebook. I know, I know, but in terms of Australia it might be handy to have two, especially for the plane journeys, in case I run out of battery. Plus, ITS BLUE. He's asked £20 but if I can whittle him down to £15 I think I might just go for it to be honest, what do you all think dear readers?

So hell yeah I'm happy right now, 'cos I have a cute little GBM :)

H.x

Woohoo!

I literally just yelled "Woohoo" a few minutes ago; Why? Because I won Yoshi's Island for my GBM :D I am now, as my dad oh-so hilariously pointed out, "the proud owner of 2 Yoshi's" - My rabbit and the game.

So I have now purchased and am waiting for:

- FIFA 06

- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

- Avatar: The Last Airbender

- Rayman 3

- Dragonball Advanced Adventure

- Pokemon Ruby

- Pokemon Fire Red

- Pokemon Crystal

- Yu-Gi-Oh Stairway to Destined Duel

- Yu-Gi-Oh Reshef of Destruction

- Crash Nitro Kart

- Spiderman 3

All of which makes me a very happy - yet slightly poorer- bunny. (Oh the irony - rabbit - Yoshi - happy bunny... never mind).

Now I just can't wait for them all to get here so I can waste more valuable Wuthering Heights/Jane Eyre essay time playing on them. The console bundle (including the last 4 games) should hopefully get here tomorrow, which means having to get up early as its coming via Recorded Signed For delivery, but in this case I so don't mind. If it does get here tomorrow, it'll be great for another ridiculous reason - I have my counselling appointment tomorrow and normally have about half an hour to kill after I've parked, and I normally take a book but the book I'm reading is too big to fit in a cool little bag my dad was getting rid of but I have commandeered, whereas the GBM will fit. I know - I'm such an excitable loser of a geek sometimes all of the time. I cant help it. Nowadays when I get focused and excited about something, I do tend to pour all of my energy into it. I think its because I have no social life and nothing else to get excited about that I go ever so slightly overboard. Oh well :)

Notebook geek.

Yes I am an utter notebook notebook/stationary geek, as you should well know by now.

I thought I'd be super cool today and introduce you to my four favourite of the many notebooks waiting to be used, because I really am just, that, cool.
First off, I'm currently using a hardcover pocket ruled Moleskine, and a ruled pocket Moleskine Cahier for my day to day scribbles.

Top left is the Alwych notebook; cute little size, feels perfect in the hand, nice spaced lines on nice thickness paper, and the edges of all the pages are blue. I kind of dont want to use it, because I'll feel like I'm marring it.

Top right is a cheap police style flip top hardcover notebook I picked up from The Range randomly the other week. The pages are a bit rougher than in any of the other ones, and I'm not entirely sure what I'd use it for as I'm used to using normal left spine notebooks. Perhaps I'll use it Australia...although thats kind of what the Ciak and Moleskine's are for.

Bottom left is a pocket SOFTcover ruled Moleskine, which I'm very excited about using, because I'm used to the hardcover Moleys so know more or less what I'm in for. Will be interesting to see how well the softer cover holds up to being bashed around though.

And finally, the Pocket Guildhall notebook. Essentially a version of the Moleskine, but I'm excited about using it anyway. It looks slightly cooler in my opinion, what with the stitching around the edges of the cover, which is slightly softer and slippy-er than the Moleskine's cover. The lines inside are slightly different too, with a top line you can actually use, and nice spacing.

I've also got another one of these on order on its way :)

So yes, notebook geek = me.

Gamezzz.

Now have;

- Rayman 3

- Dragonball Aventure

- Yu-Gi-Oh ...destined duel

- Yu-Gi-Oh Reshef of destruction

- Crash Nitro Kart

- Spiderman 3

for definate on the gbm.

I'm still waiting on a reply email from the guy in Hong Kong about the others, which is fucking annoying seeing as the items finish this evening. I could just risk it, buy them all and then negotiate a p&p discount, but I'd rather not. Just check your emails mate!

Kerching.

I so need to stop spending money. But I so cant.

Had a nice reminder from mum and dad though that it is in fact my birthday in a few months, so I'll be getting some money then I expect :) Silly me for forgetting.

eBay is just my life at the minute.

:/

And now I've seen screenshots of Yoshi's Island and NEED it.

Gameboy Gamezzzzz :)

So having now won a Gameboy Micro on eBay, I'm going nuts regarding games.
The console comes with: Spiderman 3, Yu-Gi-Oh Stairway to Destined Duel, Yu-Gi-Oh Reshef of Destruction and Crash Nitro Kart
No idea if the Yu-Gi-Oh ones are gonna be any good at all, but I'm excited about Spiderman and Crash Nitro Kart.
I've also bought Rayman 3 on eBay and that's meant to be a good game, and I'm apparently winning the bidding on Dragon Ball Z Adventure, which if it goes cheap then fine, but it does look quite cool.
Now the thing is money really. While each game isnt exactly mega bucks, it does all mount up, and though I've got a bit more money at the moment its not a bottomless pit, for shame. The other thing to consider is whether or not its worth it as I may only play each game once, but the way I figure is that if I do play it and then dont want it, well, that's what eBay is for, right?

So, the games that are currently enticing me;
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 - cos it looks fun
- FIFA 06 - a football timewaster is always a good buy
- Avatar: The Last Airbender - looks cute, cool, and fun
- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - never played Zelda and want to
- Fire Emblem - apparently a great game and it looks gorgeous

And of course, some Pokemon games;
- Ruby
- FireRed
- Crystal
EDIT: - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red Team - get to BE a pokemon! So cute!

The last 5 on the list are all available from a guy in Hong Kong, so I'm thinking a postage discount should clearly be on offer if I do go for the 5 of them, and the other 3 are from the same person in the UK too, but as its free p&p, not an issue.

So I'm wondering if anyone reading this has any experience with any of the above? Am I making a mistake by even thinking about any of those games? Of course, Mr Alex Dixon and @Remy_Foster have told me what they can about the Pokemon games, thank you boys, but if anyone else has any opinions please feel free :)

Oh yes, and I've also changed my blog theme yet again.
Obviously.

:D

A picture of all the important gadgets for Australia ;)



Starting at the top:
I have an iPhone, but am debating whether or not to unlock it before I go so I can put an Australian SIM in it, or to get the Blackberry. The former is the cheaper option, but the latter is the geekiest/gadgetiest.
I also already have my trusty iPod 80gb, but for the next couple of weeks I need to make a start on putting all of my CD's on it, and I can then sell all the CD's on MusicMagpie.com.

The Ciak, Moleskine and Uni Ball Jetstream pens are all sitting happily on my desk, and because I got 3-packs of both types of pen I've been happily using both for my musings, scribbles and every day life. Yes I'm a stationary freak, but these really are gorgeous pens to write with.
The Gameboy Micro I've just paid for on eBay and have been emailed to say it'll be sent out on Monday. Managed to get a good bundle on eBay - the console, cases and 4 games for about £30 - good when you consider there aren't masses of these around and they do tend to go for about £30-£40 anyway.

The Polaroid PoGo is also sitting happily with the journals and pens, along with a few packs of films.
The Freeloader is something I'm borowing from my auntie for the trip, so when we all go up to London in May to pick my sister up from the airport I'll grab that and check we've got all the connections we need and eBay for the ones we're missing.

Now, the camera.
I've been wanting something a bit more substantial, a step up from the point and shoot affairs I've always had, but not as expensive and knowledge-heavy as a DSLR, for a while now and started looking into it a few months back. Now in general, I'm camera thick, but after a lot of research I decided I liked the look of the Fuji bridge cameras, which have massive optical zoom lengths and afford a bit more creativity with more manual controls. I stumbled upon the Fuji S2000HD, which had another draw for me over the other Fuji models in my price range: HD video recording. So I decided I'd go for that one and then I can sell my old camcorder for a (little) extra cash. However, my dad then noticed (on his rifling through the Argos catalogue for his FIRST digital camera, bless) that Argos had listed the Fuji S2500HD, the upgrade to the S2000HD. After yet more research I discovered that Fuji had announced new models, among them the S2500HD, but they weren't yet on sale anywhere. More research yeilded the knowledge that Argos were expecting a delivery of the new model on 17th March. When I saw the S2500HD in the catalogue I knew I didn't want to just go and buy it without looking, so waiting was inevitable, as I'd want to maybe wait and see some of the reviews or at least hold it myself and see if they've made any changes to the body from the S2000HD. I'm hoping they haven't. THEN we found out that the Devon Camera Center is apparently getting them in next weekend!!!! Therefore, next weekend it is :)

Obviously, I don't have an iPad yet. But I will have one. Oh yes. The thinking is (for Oz in particular) that we might need a laptop of some kind while we're over there, if only for storage of photos etc, but any one of our laptops would take up a huge chunk of travel weight, so something smaller is needed. When the iPad appeared, I had my solution. It's light enough and slim enough, and with the camera connection kit we'll be able to free up memory cards left right and center, wherever we are. Plus, it's amazing :)

And the bag? You may remember my interest and consequently my wallets' displeasure in the Saddleback Leather company, and then my later wondrous discovery of a (very) local leather bag maker. I went to visit him, showed him the modifications I wanted after perusing both his website and my imagination, and an agreement was reached. He said it should be ready around about the end of February/beginning of March, so it shouldn't be long now, happily.

Obviously I left off all the little gagets, such as camera memory cards, batteries, cables, chargers and pouches for all said little stuff, etc.

So all I have to do now is wait for deliveries (which reminds me, I ordered a rectractable iPod cable the other week and it's still not here...harumph) and monitor my money. I've enough to buy the camera and have a bit left over, which could be more if my stuff on eBay sells, if I sell the camcorder and Magpie the CD's.

:)

Exciting stuff eh?
(I know you hope that was sarcastic. It wasn't.)

H.x

Update.

Afternoon all. Apologies for not having posted for so long, been rather busy.
The past few weeks have been a bit...meh. The depression hit with a vengeance again a couple of weeks back, and I had a weird episode/fit on Sunday night, meaning that I am now back on anti-depressants (which is a medicine at the moment and tastes VILE) and am going to have to have a brainwave scan.

College work is coming along nicely, although I'm still struggling with it, my tutor is pleased with my progress and keeps telling me to believe her when she says I'm doing well... I'm trying to! The other side of the college work is going into college, which I've been finding very difficult due to my growing agrophobia and paranoia - being in public is funtimes for me! But I'm getting there; each time I go in I find it a bit easier. I've finished one bit of coursework and am starting the next, which is a bit achievement for me.

Money wise life is going good; I managed to sell the 2 guitars, amp and keyboard, all in total for around about a cool £400 which has certainly boosted my bank account. I'm thinking of selling my video camera to get a bit more money too. All of which means I have enough money for a new camera :) I'm loving the look of the Fuji bridge cameras, specifically the S2000HD, and its new upgrade the S2500HD. The S2500HD is in the Argos catalogue but not actually released yet, but the Devon Camera Centre is apparently getting the model in stock in just 2 weeks :D its around £200 and I cant wait.
I was also going to upgrade my iPhone 3G to the 3GS when my contract runs out in April, but seeing as there are so many rumours of an iPhone 4G coming out in September, I'm thinking that it would be more prudent to just stick with the 3G for now, especially seeing as I'm going to need/want to pick up another phone/Blackberry for when we're in Australia, AND gonna want to get the iPad, it seems financially sensible to wait. I guess my brother will have to wait a bit longer for my iPhone.

In terms of all the gadgets and what not for Australia, the list is ticking off nicely!
I've ordered a leather bag from a local leather man, I've got the travel journal and yet MORE pens, (the Uni Ball jetstream SX-210 and SXN-217, both BRILLIANT pens) and I've also now got my Polaroid PoGo!!!! (And spare films. Ha.) I'm also waiting for the retractable iPod cable I've ordered which will be a great space saver whilst travelling, and my Guildhall pocket notebook, another essential for while I'm away in terms of verse writing.
I cant wait for my bag to be finished, shouldnt be much longer now though :)

So all in all things are ok. The diet is coming along ok, I'm back on medication, money is sorting itself out, and gadgets are rolling in :)

H.x

GTD etc.

A post of abbreviations. That saying is so true - why is abbreviation such a long word?

Anyway, much besides the point.

I've been doing some research into David Allen's 'Getting Things Done' system, and have just ordered his book to see what all the fuss is about. More to the point, I've been researching the GTD-spawned Hipster PDA and all the variations of it, especially those using Moleskines. On the one hand, they're brilliant. On the other hand, they're dead confusing and I'm not sure if I've technically got enough going on in my life to warrant using the system, but I want to, if that makes sense?
I've almost finished the Moleskine I'm on, and the Cahier too, so I'll be due a new notebook, but the problem is I've just ordered a Guildhall notebook and I think I might want to use that one next, so I'll have to wait. I'm not sure which will get here first to be honest, David Allen's book or the notebook, so I'm in a bit of a quandry.

I wont know til I get and read the book if I really need to use the system, or any parts of it like a lot of others, but I also think I do, but am not sure how to apply it to my life just yet.
So I'm annoyed, because believe it or not I like organization and I want a bit more of it in my life right now. So I'm waiting, and thinking, and attempting to sort out whether it'll be right for me.

These are just some of the links I've been checking out as research, to give you an idea of the sort of thing I'm actually on about;

Create a Moleskine PDA: The Student Hack

Hacking a GTD Moleskine

PigPogPDA

The Moleskine Multi-Tab Hack

Pocket Diary Moleskine Hack

Does anyone have any experience with the GTD system or the Hipster PDA?

I'd love to hear from you if you do.

H.x

Australia wantings - the leather bag.

Ok so I made a list of all the things I want for Oz, and despite all my plans (which I still haven't posted yet) I now can't stop myself from looking into things in more detail as if I have all the money in the world.

Most importantly, the bag. The Saddleback Leather Company's Dark Tobacco Briefcase, to be more precise. There are reviews here and here, and despite the drawbacks, I've fallen in love. Check out the Saddleback Leather Company site to bask in the full leathery glory, but this is the one I've fallen in love with:


The pictures on the first link of the interior show just the kind of thing I'd be using it for.
But yes, the drawbacks are the price and the weight. Part of me thinks that $530/roughly£320, while steep anyway, might actually indeed be a fair price for something of apparent quality and durability, that will last, that I can consider as more of an investment... but then I think of the weight. The size I like weighs 6.5lbs with nothing in it! Can I physically even carry that? And with things in? As I grow up will I become strong enough to carry it?!?
But it's SOOOOOOO gorgeous, and although some of the pockets might not be 100% what I had in mind, they're 90% there. Another option would be to actually buy some thinner, lighter leather and make one myself, but I wouldn't really have a clue what I'm doing.
When it looks THAT gorgeous, can you blame me for wanting one? I could always sell a kidney I suppose...

And as for the travel journal and stationary... As I say, the trip is 6 months away, and I have vastly more important thins to be thinking about between now and then, but did you really think that logic was going to stop me from looking? No, of course not. So I did. The notebook I thought would be perfect, isn't, and I have currently not found the perfect one

I know I'm just being typical stupid impatient me, but hell, I'm excited!!!

H.x

Plans.

So now I have plans.
After 3 hours in a cafe with my mother, I have plans.
I have plans and a more regimented time table, if you will, in which to do things.
I have goals, and aims. Clear ones.
They

First off: Weight.
I need to start losing on average between 5-7lbs every week for the next 20 weeks for me to feel happy and comfortable, to get back down to my happiest weight.
We're going to plan weekly menus that I will stick to, as well as a slow-but-steadily-increasing exercise plan. I'm starting with 10-15mins every day on our cool little stepper machine thing, (not just a step) then working my way to more time on it per day, as well as weekly badminton with the parent again.

Secondly: Money.
Basically I have a fair sized list of things I want to get/take with me to Australia, as you've seen, and in order to do that, I need money. As I said in my last post, I do have some things I can sell; 2 guitars (NOT my baby though, my electro-acoustic), a keyboard, CD's, a huge box of PC software worth £200 upwards from my uncle (long story - not stolen or pirated though, the real deal) and my old camcorder. But I cant rely on selling things as a source of income, so I need a job. Mum and I worked out that, on the basis of my old job (though obviously anything I earn will be dependant on whatever shifts are available in a new job), if I work 3x a 3hr shift a week (could easily do more) for the next 20 weeks, I can earn £900. Which is for me, a starting point, an aim in terms of income.

Thirdly: College.
In the next 6 months I will have to sit 3 exams, 2 of which are resits. I have a lot of revision to do. For English Literature, I have an essay to write, as well as poetry and drama text revision to do for the exam. As I started a lot of that when I was actually at college full time, I have a lot of notes to draw from.
Politics and Drama are a slightly different matter though as I wasnt at college when the work was being done in preparation for the exams. The politics exam though basically require me to read through the text book, and I have a friend who did the AS last year too that I will soon be asking if she has any notes or practice exam questions etc, especially ones she got marked and did well on so I know what I'm supposed to be doing.
The drama exam is going to be slightly more difficult to prepare for, as I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. Again, I will be calling on the assistance of two friends who were in my tutor group to ask them for any notes and exemplar essays they have from last year.
Once I have assembled as much help as possible, the leg work is down to me.

In general, what I need is structure. I need something more regimented to help me get back control of my life, something I've simply not had for the last year. We're planning a weekly menu each week (starting Wednesdays, our 'weigh day') and sticking to it in the form of a laminated sheet on the fridge, and I have a daily plan of activities on another laminate sheet on the fridge too. This all means I have much more structure to my days :)

So yes, this means good news I'm hoping :)

H.x

Australian wantings, now with pictures :)

So as you know, in 6 months time my parents and I are going to Australia to visit my sister and see the huge land mass :D
Almost as soon as the flights were booked, after being home less than 5 minutes, I was already diving into eBay and Amazon etc and my imagination was playing havoc with my empty wallet.

So basically, this is the list of all the things my tiny, tiny mind is telling me I would love to take to Australia with me :)

• Leather bag.
Seen some really nice ones online, I'm thinking over-the-shoulder, darkish leather, kind of rustic distressed look with room enough for all this other stuff. It needs to have lots of little pockets, but not too many. The perfect amount. Unfortunately, leather costs. Even more unfortunately, the bag in my mind clearly doesn't exist; unless you count the Saddleback Leather Briefcase, left, which costs about £350.

• Digital Camera.

Well my Casio Exilim EX-Z1080 10mpx camera is less than 6 months old and works a charm so I'm happy with that :) Love this bad boy. I'm no photography pro but this takes a sweet picture. Might need spare batteries and memory cards though.

• Laptop/netbook.

Of course, I already have a laptop. In fact, I own two. The three of us in total own 4 laptops between us so you wouldn't think it'd be a problem, right? Well, you're right and you're wrong. First off, size wise my MacBook is probably best suited to the journey, but as it's the older white MacBook it's not exactly feather-light. So weight wise, dads would be best suited, and in terms of price his is the cheapest too so if anything were to happen to it, it's the easiest to replace. However, my inclination, in a perfect world (and this is just my Australia Wanting remember), would be to buy a cheap, possibly second hand from eBay, basic netbook thing to take with us and then sell when we get back. But then we all sit and think, well, do we really need to take one at all? Mum says yes: she can barely go one week without checking her facebook let alone 7! So it requires thinking. Ouch.

• Polaroid camera - One600? SX-70?

Had a real craving for one of these for SO long now. There's something about the charm of those photos, and the simplicity of taking them. Plus, the photos are great for what I have in mind by way of a travel journal (more on that later.) Been looking at two models; the One600 which was the last mass produced Polaroid camera, therefore a bit more modern and sturdy/portable/less fragile, or; the SX-70, a very early model (not sure how early) that's apparently quite sought after but there's a few of on eBay.

• Polaroid PoGo.

Basically the modern reincarnation of the Polaroid cameras of old. Can't be bothered to link you but google it, it's amazing. Size of an iPhone, prints photos in 60seconds, doesn't use ink, (ZINK technology) and the films are self adhesive on the back, yet another advantage for my Aussy photo journalling needs. Around £100 new, Amazon marketplace has them for £22.51 :D especially appealling seeing as the technically superior Fujifilm Pivi is an £100+ import.

• Video camera.

Technically yes, I already have one, and though there's nothing wrong with it, it's so out of date already. I'd love to be able to capture Australia in all it's HD glory, rather than on the one I've got which is slightly grainy looking now. Sanyo VHC-FH1 HD looks good, and £350 on Amazon, but definately needs more looking into.

• iPod :)

OBVIOUSLY. Two lots of 12hr plane rides just to get down under, not to mention the other 6hr flights across Oz, the 2 day Ghan train and the same two 12hr flights home! Not that my parents are so boring I'm going to want to constantly drown them out, but y'know, fair's fair. Does mean I may possibly need to invest in some superior headphones, but in that long run that'd just seem a waste of money.

• Moblie phone.
Yes I have an iPhone, but no I won't be able to use it out there: A) I'll have upgraded to the 3GS by then and B) it'll only be a few months old so there's no way I'm jailbreaking it, and most importantly C) there is no way in HELL I'm paying O2's international roaming charges for 7weeks, especially not when I'll be texting mostly within Oz. We're going to buy Australian SIM cards over there, but obviously although mum and dad will be able to use their own phones fine, my iPhone and I will fail. Hence, I am also looking at Blackberry's on eBay. Plus I want a Blackberry as well as my iPhone anyway :P Specifically the Curve 8900, cos its hot :D

• And last but by no means least: Travel journal.
Some of you may know of my love of Moleskine notebooks and my general borderline-creepy love of all things stationary, but perhaps not of my love of the idea of photo journalling. I say the idea because as of yet my past attempts have ended up being rather neglected. There's an awesome blog at moleskine.vox by this guy who is a creative genius in my eyes when it comes to stationary and journalling. It's not even especially obvious, or even intentional perhaps, but to me there is something so innately and intrinsically cool and artistic about the perfect notebook and pens and such like. Even his handwriting is amazing to me. And he's SO organized! It makes me and my flittish, haphazard ways a little jealous actually. Anyway, partially from his own work and partially from a magazine he talked about and scanned in, I was inspired into trying again when I go to Australia. It'll be the perfect opportunity; sun, sea, sand, Aires Rock, Palm Beach, NEIGHBOURS :D. I can snap away on my digital camera at scenic sweeping outback, Polaroid pwn the Sydney Opera House, and then when we stop at a cafe for lunch or something, I can PoGo my pictures and stick it all in. I can cover the page with glue, grab a handful or sand and take some of the outback home with me. I can really keep track of this once in a lifetime opportunity (that I actually do hope to repeat but still, I'm more likely to keep on top of it on holiday with my parents than travelling with friends in years to come.) Napkins from restaurants will no doubt go in there, cards from hotels we stay at, etc etc. I really want to remember it. Of course, I'll have to be careful not to spend so much time travel journalling that I miss out on anything actually worth journalling. Same goes for filming, though mum seems to want me to film every minute of it.
Now, as any self respecting person will know (:P) the perfect journal needs the perfect pen. And glues. And pencils for sketches. And more pens in case the other pen runs out. And a perfect pencil case for all of the above. So for the next 6 months I will be on the hunt for my perfect travel journal and stationary. I can't wait :)

So that's my ideal Australia wish list, and at the moment it is very much a wish list; with me myself earning no money and anything my parents earn now basically going into the Oz trip, there are a hell of a lot of if's and but's. Firstly I'm going to try and get a job soon hopefully, if I can actually do it. If I cant yet, I suppose there's always my savings if I'm simply overcome with desire for some items, and I can pay myself back when I do get a job as it were. As I say; if's, but's and even a fair few maybe's in there too!
Plus, I've got plenty of shit I can sell.

So there you have it. One long, approximately £800 long list.

If anyone can help me out with any of the items in any way, do please let me know! :D

H.x