Money and happiness

Sometimes, being lazy can really pay off.

Remember several months ago when I posted a picture of my UK tax return? I went to the bank in March to ask about depositing it, but I never actually got around to doing so. I was going to check exchange rates, but forgot to do so for four months. When I finally remembered to a few weeks ago, I found that the Australian dollar had dropped lower than it's been for a year. It was at its highest for the year in April. I kicked myself for not depositing the check back in April.

Well, the chunk of savings that I had after I quit my job in May have finally run out, so I decided to check the rates again today. No change, really. The dollar is still weak. And then I realised I was looking at the exchange rate backwards. I was going from AUD to GBP, and $1 is about 0.59 pence. But my check is in GBP, and will be converted to AUD, at a current rate of about $1.65 per £1! In April, that was only $1.45 per £1. It's not a massive difference, really, but I would have made $100 less, and every dollar helps. Which means that actually, now is the best time for me to deposit my check. I rushed straight to the bank after realising this. Yay for money! It maybe can't buy you happiness, but as kikki.K like to point out, it can buy you stationery, and that's almost the same thing. Also, better vision. I need new glasses and contact lenses, and this money will really help. I have a totally unrealistic expectation that new contact lenses will improve my softball skillz significantly. We'll see.

My totally awesome tat

My new favourite possession

I saw this phone case the other day and totally fell in love. I showed it to Hugh and without a word, he pulled out his wallet and handed me cash. It makes me smile every time I pull out my phone.

Lovely memories

I just found this photo and I had to share it, though Hugh might not be happy about it.  It's from before we were officially dating, and I have very happy memories of this night.

Hugh hosted a dinner party for his coworkers and made a delicious Beef Wellington. Obviously, there was also wine involved. Then a few of us went for cocktails at Dragonfly. At one point, Hugh was coming back from getting drinks at the bar, and he was squeezing behind my chair to get to his. He put his hands on my shoulders and gave me a mini-massage, and I almost melted into a puddle.

Applying for jobs still sucks

Since my work and holiday visa has expired, and I'm on a bridging visa with no work restrictions, it's time to get back into the workforce! Or to try, at any rate. But I've been avoiding applying for jobs all week, a) because there aren't many, and b) because the ones being advertised require more than I have to offer. I know I should apply anyway, but it's hard to work up the motivation, and the courage, when you have submit a resume, cover letter, and a separate document addressing how you meet each of the selection criteria. Especially when I don't meet the selection criteria. It's all about bull-shitting and talking myself up, and I hate that. I know my worth, and I don't think that I under-value myself, I just don't see why I should have to try to over-value myself. They should hire me just because I'm hard-working and have lots of research experience and my previous employers think I'm awesome! Who cares if I have a high-level knowledge of mental disorders affecting young people?? Oh, that's what the job is all about? Well, I guess I can see how I'd need that...

Anyway, I'm reading Women and Money by Suze Orman instead of doing my job application (I am, of course, also taking a break to blog...) And I started thinking. When I see a job advertisement, even one that sounds like EXACTLY what I want to do, one that Hugh has sent me saying "You have to apply for this!" I immediately scroll down to the "essential criteria" section so that I can rule the job out right off the bat. I want to know the worst from the beginning. But perhaps that's not the right attitude? Perhaps that is thinking negatively, rather than thinking positively, which is what I'm trying to be better at.

When we were in school, my sisters and I used to worry constantly about our grades. If we had a test coming up, we would massively stress out the night before. Sometimes, our mom would try to convince us we were fine, that we would pass the test with a decent score (we always did, after all.) Other times, she would ask, "What's the worst thing that could possibly happen if you fail this test?" My sisters usually got the point of the game, and would say things like, "I suppose it's just one score out of the whole year, and I can make up for a low score by studying harder for the next test." My answers, generally squeezed in between hyperventilated breaths, were more like, "I'llflunkthetestI'llflunktheclassI'llbeheldbackayearNocollegeswillacceptmeI'llbeforcedtoworkatMcDonald'sbuttheshameofflippingburgerswilldrivememadandI'llbecomehomelessandhavetoliveonthestreetswhereI'lldieof tuberculosis!" So the game didn't really work for me. I might have a small issue with perspective...

So I was thinking about this job application, and obviously the worst thing that could happen, which in reality is probably what will happen, is that I'll spend some time and energy filling out the application and talking myself up, they'll see I don't have enough experience, and they'll throw my application away. That's not very motivating. But what about the best thing that could possibly happen?

The best thing that could happen would be I'd spend some time and energy filling out the application, they'll realise they haven't had an applicant with the experience they're looking for, but that I have some really strong experience and I learn quickly, they'll hire me, I'll be working full time and earning $62,000 a year, Hugh and I won't have to worry about cash for visiting the US in October or Italy next year, and we can move into a nicer place where we can have a kitten and I can buy yarn, lots and lots of yarn!!! So this will be my new mantra, because what better motivation could there be in the world than yarn and kittens?

From the library

 
More lovely books from the library! I probably would have bypassed A Life in Frocks if I hadn't noticed the name Kelly Doust under the title. I would have assumed it was some silly, superfluous book written by a woman who cares about nothing that exists outside the world of fashion. But Kelly Doust is a crafter, and crafters aren't dull or superficial! The author of The Crafty Minx, The Crafty Kid, and The Crafty Minx at Home, her craft projects are modern and bright and fun. And the illustrations in A Life in Frocks swayed me, as well. Cowboy boots in the inside cover? Yes, please!

I am not disappointed. Kelly's writing voice is super approachable and relatable, as well as self-deprecating. She loves fashion and describes some of her most memorable ensembles over the course of her life, but she's not a one-trick pony. It's far from being her only love. She just loves the opportunity that fashion offers to change one's look (and outlook) from day to day. I enjoyed the book, as someone who has always felt like a fashion-failure, but who has always wished she could understand that world a little better. Kelly doesn't advocate certain looks, or learning how to accessorise. She simply advocates wearing what you love, what makes you feel like you can take on the world.

Everything Oz is super cute. It's a bunch of Wizard of Oz-themed crafting projects. I saw it months ago in a shop and wished I could afford to buy it. But the chances of me actually making any of the items in the book, which aren't particularly practical, are slim. And more for kids, really.

Most ridiculous shoes ever

John, your comment about being bikini-ready made me laugh out loud.

Guys, I bought the most ridiculous pair of shoes yesterday. I can't remember who noticed them first, but I think I picked them up as a joke to show Hugh, and he was like, "You should try them on."

When we visited Melbourne in January for his interview, he bought me a "going out" outfit. It was a shiny black tank top and a gold sequin mini skirt, because life is better with sparkles. But I don't have any shoes that look good with the outfit. I thought some leather booties would look good, so I've been keeping my eye out for a cute pair. Instead, we bought a pair of gold, wedge-heeled, hi-top sneakers. That's right, Kusems L. Poppington now owns wedge-heeled hi-top sneakers. What has gotten into me??

We both agree that they are beyond ridiculous, but we both kind of love them, too! I just need to find a non-heeled version for Hugh ;-)

1000 Steps

I joined a hiking club! Can you believe that? First softball, now hiking. You'd almost get the impression that I like being active.

I joined my first hike on Monday. It was in the Dandenongs, a little mountain range on the outer edges of the greater Melbourne area. (I think. Don't quote me on that information.) I caught a commuter train to the start of the hike and met up with the rest of the group. We were climbing a track called The 1000 Steps, though the others informed me that it's really only about 750 steps.

I quite like hiking, compared to jogging or running, which I passionately despise. But I'm out of shape, and it wasn't long before the rest of the group had disappeared and left me huffing and puffing at a snail's pace up those 750 steps. Meanwhile, lithe young ladies in exercise gear jogged past me.

When we reached the top, there was an option to hike back down and go home, or continue on a longer track for the next several hours. I was the only one to choose home. It's important to know one's limits! And it did afford me a nice walk through peaceful woods.

Well, somewhat peaceful. Now and again, a branch would creak threateningly. A few weeks ago, when we were in Adelaide, I had dinner with my friend and her new man. Her man carried a pager, a satellite phone, and a iPhone which all kept bleeping at him. It seems he is a weekend volunteer for tree-clearing services, and there were some felled branches that needed attention. I commented that I found that odd, given the weather. It had rained very heavily the previous day, but there hadn't been any wind to speak of. Was the rain causing branches to fall? They explained to me that gum trees drop their branches willy-nilly, whenever they want. Tree-clearing services operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So yeah, good information to know as you walk through a forest of eucalyptus trees...

A little bit of research tells me that these trees are giant mountain ash trees, or eucalyptus regnans. The tallest living tree of this species is the third tallest (living) tree in the world, but historical records indicate that there used to be an even taller one, giving the species the potential to be the tallest in the world. Hard to say for sure, but it certainly competes with the redwoods and other western U.S. giants.

Recycled yarn

I was in the mood yesterday to do some second-hand store trawling, but I've been to our local Salvo's (Salvation Army)  recently and there's never much there. So I caught a bus to the Salvo's in Brunswick East, which someone recommended.

First, I found a pair of daimty purple and black heels, in my size, which might be just the thing for Amy and Diana's wedding.

Then I found some melamine souvenir ring dishes from Malta. One in particular caught my eye and I figured I could use it on my dresser to hold all the random bits that inevitably collect there. It has a photo of a sunshiney scene with palm trees. That makes me happy.

Then I found a knit sweater that I thought was rather ugly, but which was made with a cool rose-and-metallic yarn that is just what I've been looking for! I've been seeing lots online about unpicking op shop sweaters to recycle the wool, so I've had my eye out lately. Patons has a great chunky wool with metallic bits called Stella that I quite like, but the balls are $7.99 each. While that's actually really cheap for yarn, it still means I'd have to pay about $60 for enough to make a sweater. But here was a sweater's worth of metallic yarn for $6.99! I couldn't pass that up.

This sweater was actually hand-knit by someone. It doesn't have manufacturer's tags or anything, and that hole on the front is an error, not a rip. It made me feel a little bad undoing it, but the maker (or recipient?) obviously wasn't very happy with it, and I am providing an opportunity for it to be reincarnated. Lots of love surely went into it, and it deserves to be pretty and appreciated.

I spent the evening unpicking it all, then I soaked my hanks in hot water with a bit of shampoo. I meant to only soak for a couple hours, but I forgot about it and left it for ages. Makes no difference, though. Now the hanks are drying in our dish drying rack ;-)

From the library

I love libraries. I don't know why more people don't use them. They're great!

I grabbed this little stack of books as things to flip through during quiet moments, to get inspiration.

I have flipped through Things I Love several times in book stores, hoping that it would be a crafting book (it always seems to be located with the crafting books), and I always return it to the shelves slightly disappointed. But when I saw it on the library shelf, I decided to give it a proper going through, because a) it's free! and b) design books are great for inspiration and just general ogling of pretty things. It is a pretty cool book. Morton separates it into four sections: houses I love, things I love, people I love, and tasks I love (or something like that, can't remember what it was called, but it's a section with great tips for styling.)

D.E.S.I.G.N. really impressed me. I think it is aimed at kids, but not so obviously that adults can't enjoy it as a coffee table book. It is illustrated throughout and features 69 pieces of instantly recognisable furniture or home wares that have changed the way people think about how functional items should look. There's the lips couch, bean bag chairs, the egg chair, the indestructible IKEA couch, even a sofa made to feel like you're sitting in a patch of giant grass. It was a good reminder that some of the world's most common funky furniture was once an impossible or unlikely idea in a brilliant designer's head. D.E.S.I.G.N. would be a great book for any school library to get kids' creative juices flowing.
 

Op Shop Chic was not so much my taste. It was a bit more granny than I like my crafting books to be and involved a lot of ideas like, "Buy vintage fabric from a charity shop" (not really that easy to do). Then, "If it's a tea towel, turn it into a pillow. If it's a sheet, turn it into a tea towel!"