GET TO THE CHOPPER

OMG I actually saw Arnold Schwarzenegger!  Actually, not even 10m away.  In the flesh.  He's in Australia doing, well I don't really know, but he came to a gym in the western suburbs to give a talk. It was a kind of, well, inspirational.  I was surprisingly in awe of Arnie, standing there, chatting away about his life.  I kept having to remind myself to listen to what he was saying because I kept getting distracted by the fact that it was Arnie!!!

We know how to welcome them in the West!

Anyway, so Arnie came to a gym near me, which is apparently the largest gym in the Southern hemisphere.  Go figure.

We only bought general admin tickets, because while I'm a huge fan, I'm not quite a VIP-$700-ticket fan.

There were about 1000 peeps in the crowd, but even then we were only 10m away from the Governator.  I took my super duper zoom lens with me, and got a few snaps of his royal Schwarzenegger-ness.

It was kind of funny to watch all the cameras and phones come out when Arnie first appeared.  I'm not making fun - I was one of them!

So I mentioned the talk was inspirational.  He gave a talk about his 5 steps to sucess, which weren't mind shatteringly novel, but coming from such an impressive figure, I found his words to be particularly weighty.  Here are his 5 steps to success, with some of the messages that particularly struck in my mind, albeit paraphrased below.

Arnie's 5 steps to success

1. Have a vision

If you don't have a vision with yourself you will just be floating.  With every rep I did, every set, I was thinking about lifting a trophy.

2. Think big

You can't fail from aiming high.  Even if you fail, as long as you get up that's not a failure. 

3. Ignore the naysayers

They told me not to be an actor because I had too many muscles, they said I looked like a monster.  They said I had a crazy accent, but it made me the perfect terminator because I sounded like a robot.

4. Work your ass off

You sleep for 6 hours, what are you going to do with the other 18 hours of your day?  Oh you want to sleep for 8 hours?  Well I sleep faster than you.

That's Danny Green there interviewing Arnie, for all you boxing aficionados. 

5. Give back

Give back to those less fortunate, share your success and it will make you happier.

Happily, he also spoke about his movies and answered some questions.  I took a short video of him talking about the formulation of his most famous line.  Danny Green was so cute totally fanboying over Arnie, describing to him his favourite scene from Commando.  (You can also hear me laugh when Danny Green says "let off some steam Bennett")

He also gave a shorter version of his steps to success:

1. have 20 inch biceps
2. have a charming Austrian accent
3. be able to kill a predator with your bare hands

Someone had an Arnie doll! 

I found him charming, very articulate, engagingly funny and really inspirational.  Arnie was extremely down to Earth, ready to make fun of himself, his 'crazy accent' and his ridiculous last name, 'what is it, Schnitzel?'  He also spoke about the importance of being happy, and only doing things which make you happy.   I'm already feeling more positive and enthused about changes I can make to contribute to my own success!

Do you have a favourite Arnie movie?  I'm a huge fan of Last Action Hero and Total Recall.  I feel an Arnie-a-thon coming on!

~Tan

P.s.  my friend showed me this video recently, and it needs to be included with this post!

market loot and a craft rant

So I went to a craft market over the weekend.  I always want to take nice photos, but I always feel awkward, like the stall watching me, stealing their ideas. Which to be Frank, I kinda am. Not really though. I just personally have a real problem with buying stuff I know I could make myself. Plus I am a real tight arse.

Practically the only photo I took inside the market - really fab location eh?

I mean, look a this.

I was in Bendigo - I had to take a drop into the mills and the wonderful bargain room. All of this cost me under $25!  That red yarn?  $1.50 per 50g!  Because it's dyed unevenly?  More like charmingly variegated I say!

Anyway, craft markets.  I do find them inspirational.  And I did buy some stuff. See? 

Doily bag and brooch from wink & bid, and 'I tram Melbourne' postcards from, hilariously, I Tram Melbourne.  How does one tram Melbourne?  Does it mean you travel on trams?  Weird.  I didn't buy The Kitten, she just likes to get in on the action.

They make me anxious though.  Craft markets.  I can just feel the stall holders watching me inspect their lovingly (well, maybe, I'll come back to that) crafted items, waiting for me too ooh and aah over their stuff, when secretly I am totally judging them based on their craft skills, plotting and planning projects in my head.  Projects that will be much better executed and that will only cost me a fraction of the price.  I am so totally unimpressed with most things I see at craft markets.  They are generally not new ideas nor is much of the stuff made particularly well.  Even the brooch I did buy seemed quite flimsy (but for $6 I shouldn't really complain). 

Outside the town hall, feeling better about getting the camera out.

For example, I inspected some hand knit hats.  The owner dropped her knitting (she was knitting while running her stall), and jumped up "oh you can try it on!"  I swiftly declined. I didn't say that I could make it myself, and was merely inspecting her work.  She was charging something like $60 per hat and they pretty shoddily made with some god awful yarn to boot!!  Which brings me to the making.   I have a couple of friends who have experience in crafting for cash, and the impression I get is that once you are forced to churn out high enough volumes for the store, you don't enjoy crafting any more.  

Finally, I did not see anything at this craft market that I hadn't seen on pinterest before.  So really, maybe I shouldn't feel bad for taking inspiration, or 'stealing' ideas.  I'm certainly not going to be running my own store - what a bore!  I'm still not convinced that it's ok to take photos though.

So, there you have it.  This post was a bit pointless, other than to show off my loot.

Not really a dog person, but look at her jumper!

What do you think of craft markets?

~Tan

cuteness update

I'm sure you're wondering how The Kitten is going right?

Don't worry, she's still cute.  

~Tan

oh I do like to be beside the seaside

Yes, I use cheesy lyrics as a post title.  Sue me.

Really love the way this turned out.  Just in time for winter which is hitting hard at the moment.

I headed down to the closest seaside to my house to model this FO, Altona beach.  Partner acted as my photographer on this occasion, insisting on leaving the camera on 'Auto'.  I think the photos are great anyway!  Don't let the sun fool you - it was fucking cold and we literally jumped back in the car after taking these.  Luckily I had appropriate knitted accessories - what a crazy random happenstance!

Patterns:  

• Ships and Seaside cowl.  This was one of those patterns that I coveted the first time I saw it, then filed it away for future reference.  Then I remembered about a particular yarn in my stash, cast on, and it was all over in a matter of days.  It's essentially a knit loop.  I enjoyed making it very much as you can just see yourself wearing it, it knits up so fast.  I only had the two colours, so didn't follow the stripe sequence, but I would love to make another of these as per the pattern.  The kitchener stitch didn't bother me at all, and any errors I may have made (as if I made any!) are hidden in the fuzziness of the yarn. 
• Mario slouch hat.  My execution of this pattern was far from elegant, but I think it looks fine and is entirely wearable. I like it with the cowl, not to matchy-matchy.  Knit up in a couple of nights. 

Yarn:  Touch Yarns Brushed Solid, a 12ply super hairy Merino/Mohair blend.  Still feels a bit scratchy on my skin, but I'm not too precious about that.  Very warm.  I had 300g worth and had enough left after the cowl to make two hats!  You can apparently make a whole cardigan with one skein of this beast of a yarn, it goes on and on and on.  Oh, and I'm sure this goes without saying but it sheds like a mo-fo.

Ravelled here

~Tan

p.s. I'm sure you'd also like the the lyrics to I do like to be beside the seaside. You're welcome.  I especially like "Tiddely-om-pom-pom!"

-Linking with-
Tami's Amis FO Fridays | Fiber Arts Fridays at Wisdom Begins in Wonder | Natural Suburbia for Creative Fridays | I've Made Friday at SusanD1408 Crochet Addict | I ♥ Fridays at Petals to Picots

for better or worse

A phrase that applies to marriage and knitting.

Not my marriage, no way!  But every time a friend announces their impending nuptials, I offer my services to produce a pretty wedding shawl.  In the current case, my friend has instead requested a shawl-as-a-wedding-gift, rather than a wedding shawl.  This is a top idea, as the shawl should turn out to be much more versatile and wearable.

As my friend has chosen both the yarn and the pattern, I have no qualms about recording the progress of said shawl on my lil blog.  Furthermore, I'm not sure how often friend frequents me here (hiya nusm if you're reading!!). 

So, the chosen pattern is Hanami Shawl and the yarn is Handmaiden Fine Yarn, Seasilk in colourway moondust.  Ugh the colour makes me sick, how fucking beautiful is it?  I'm not a huge fan of pale colours on myself, but these are definitely nusm's colours.

Here is a very unimpressive shot of my first 10-ish rows. Also my really shoddily wound ball (the silk was so slippery it kept slipping so I gave up).  I think I need to go down a needle size, it feels a bit flappy and loose.  I'm going to knit the first repeat and then re-evaluate.  Or maybe I should just learn how to measure gauge already!  sheesh.

This project is challenging for me as it's mostly charted.  I don't know how I am going to manage knitting on the train.  Any tips?  I think I might print a copy of the pattern smaller so I can easily refer to it rather than pulling out a big A4 piece of paper every 3 seconds.

The deadline is the start of November, do you think I'll make it??

~Tan

Linking to- WIP Wednesday (Tami's Amis) | WIP Wednesday (Ambassador Crochet) | Yarn Along (Small Things) | Keep Calm and Craft On {Crafting on} (Frontier Dreams) | What you doing Wednesday (SusanD1408 Crochet Addict) | Hookin on Hump Day (My Merry Messy Life) | Muster Party (Fluster Buster)

regular correspondence

I am addicted to love postcrossing.

One of the many reasons for my affection is finding people like my new penpal Anna. She is from the Saratov region of Russia.  She is the most kind and thoughtful person I've ever had the pleasure of corresponding with.  We have a bit of a deal now.  She collects stamps.  Every month or so, I send her an envelope including a few postcards and stamps, and she sends one right back!  She's actually ahead of me in the sending game - sometimes sending me two in the time it takes me to get one in the post!

And she doesn't just settle with stamps - here are the contents of a few of her envelopes.  Yes, that's tea!  And stickers!

In the Christmas card she also translated the message!

Envelope 2, more great stamps, postcards, tea, stickers and fliers for movies in Russian!

Envelope no 3, postcards (look at the cat one omg), stickers and a little magnetic calendar!

I've been trying to make up for her awesome parcels with some awesomeness of my own.  Tea, a koala magnet, rad postcards and aussie alphabet stickers!

Does anyone have any other suggestions of things I could easily fit into an envelope and send to my penpal?  I must out-awesome her (because obviously it's a competition!).

~Tan

Tanya does movies: May

May was a much better month for movies.  Last month has been unintentionally characterised as a horror month!

Evil Dead (2013)
Bloody Australia, they only showed this in one cinema in the state!  We had to trek into Carlton (gross) to see this highly anticipated masterpiece.  It did not disappoint and was easily the most gruesome and terrifying movie I have seen in an age.  The effects were horribly realistic and it didn't try to rip off the original, even though it was fun to see how the original had been reinterpreted.  Make sure you stay until after the credits for a real treat too!

The Fly (1986)
Jeff Goldblum is the bomb.  He was so adorable and creepy in this movie.  Fantasmagorical effects, and a riveting story, how had I not seen this before?  Shameful really.

Hansel and Gretel:  Witch Hunters (2013)
I thought this was gong to be horrendous, but it actually wasn't that bad. Enjoyable with some pretty gruesome effects, which I find absolutely delightful (see above).  Great popcorn movie.

Warm Bodies (2013)
Another movie I approached with extremely low expectations, and was pleasantly surprised.  There were a lot of great things about this movie:  John Malcovich, the reasons given why zombies eat brains, the way the zombies communicated with each other.  I found myself thoroughly entertained.

Just Married (2003)
This hardly counts as I caught it on TV one night and barely paid attention.  But I don't think you can expect much more from this kind of movie.  I like it when Ashton Kutcher gets enraged and starts yelling, and how great was Brittany Murphy?  Her performance was comedy gold.  Sad really.

So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)
HAHAHAHAHA.  Classic Mike Myers.  I forget about him, and then you see his comedy, and you're like 'oh yeah, that guy is pretty funny'.  Good little film.

Kingpin (1996)
You only need one reason to watch this movie, and that reason is Bill Murray.  Woody Harrelson is good too, but Bill Murray steals the show (as usual). Nobody plays a sleazy narcissist like Murray.  Also, intense sports movies about weird sports are humorous.

I Didn't Come Here to Die (2010)
Super cheaply made B-movie with surprisingly good effects.  I won't give you any spoilers, but yeah even though you don't go somewhere to die, you can't always have things your way.  The story was really dumb and the acting was almost as terrible.  A fun movie in any case.

Cockneys v Zombies (2012)
Again, I didn't pay attention to this one properly (was crocheting) but again, I don't think you need to.  I could tell it was hi-lar-i-ous and made very well too.  Very polished. 

Pumping Iron (1977)
Does this count as a movie?  I'm counting it.  I'm preparing myself to see ARNIE IN PERSON so thought I best watch him in his hay-day.  Just wow, he was totally unbeatable.  Honestly though, seeing all those muscles made me pretty uncomfortable.  I just feel like, how is that even possible without some sort of voodoo.  Do not like.

Identity Thief (2013)
Will somebody please give me that hour and a half of my life back?  My lord what a terrible movie, and coming from me that is saying something, because I will watch anything (as you may have noticed).  Ugh.  Like, the main character changes everything about him on a whim, all of a sudden?  Why?  Yes, it's a dumb comedy, but still.

Blade (1998)
Was only half watching when Partner put this on, but it's a good movie eh?  Bloody, good action, Wesley Snipes kickin' butt like a mo-fo.

Serenity (2005)
I'm a leaf on the wind!!!!  Just re-watched Firefly for the umpteenth time, so naturally I had to finish my depression off with Serenity.  Any Browncoats out there reading my blog?  If you are reading my blog and you're not a Browncoat, why not?  Go and watch Firefly and then come back.  Kthanksbye.

The Exorcist (1973)
I hadn't seen this before.  I wish I could go back to that beautiful time.  Why does this movie have the following that it does?  Wow, it was just awful.  And I'm not talking about crappy-B-movie-it's-so-bad-it's-good awful, but just shoddy.  It was too long and so boring.  When they finally go to the possession parts, they were good!  But everything leading up to that... sheesh.  Scenes weren't connected, I was given information I didn't know what to do with.  It just didn't work.  Lord, exorcise this movie from my memory.  Well, there were some cool quotes though - mainly the profanity that came out of Regan when possessed!

And the pick of the month.... EVIL DEAD! 

~Tan


All pictures randomly found on etsy.  Click the picture to see the original listing.