have we aged??

l-r (kath, mammafungster, ivan, me & mich)

this is a funny pic my sister kath dug up... it was taken when the fams and i went to do a bridgeclimb... circa 2001... when my sister shaz & matt got married. ( i sound so bogan!)
anyhoo... according to my 2yearold nephew (soon to be 2-- going on 20!)... he recognised kath and called out 'yee yee'! (chinese term for 'younger aunty')... awww...

so has us chongs aged at all??

scary thought. i dont think i look much different! perhaps my hair has grown?? :P ha!

Perhaps mum's 'shady' shades is indicative of the era... she has alot 'groovier' glasses of late! ha! and she's not wearing her 'like a tiger' t-shirt! :P

compare with previous post with pic taken with my sisters

brain freeze and favourite icecream

i've decided that this is my new hobbie.

Eating ICECREAM!!!!!

icecream + daytime tv + no job = lifelongdream!

Vans Random Quiz

If YOU are bored... lets see how well you know me!!!!!

Click Here to take VANS RANDOM QUIZ (on facebook!

blogthings. life seems to pass by on this website!

You Are 60% Weird

You're so weird, you think you're *totally* normal. Right? But you wig out even the biggest of circus freaks!

How Weird Are You?

You Are a Realist

You don't see the glass as half empty or half full. You see what's exactly in the glass. You never try to make a bad situation seem better than it is... But you also never sabotage any good things you have going on. You are brutally honest in your assessments of situations - and this always seems to help you cope.

Are You An Optimist or Pessimist?

Your Japanese Name Is...

Naoko Kawashi

What's your Japanese Name?

Your Elf Name Is...

Booty Helper

What's Your Elf Name?

Your Hillbilly Name Is...

Molly Sue Hill

Hillbilly Name Generator

is this blogthing going to help me get a job?

***Your Career Type: Artistic***


You are expressive, original, and independent.
Your talents lie in your artistic abilities: creative writing, drama, crafts, music, or art.

You would make an excellent:

Actor - Art Teacher - Book Editor Clothes Designer - Comedian - Composer Dancer - DJ - Graphic Designer Illustrator - Musician - Sculptor

The worst career options for your are conventional careers, like bank teller or secretary.




What's Your Ideal Career?

***You Have A Type B+ Personality***

due to boredom and all round 'holiday-ness'...
I have succombed to trying out 'blogthings' quizzes-- as inspired by Gee-banger (dude!)

I think for me... i used to be a Type A personality.

Can a person 'change' personalities? cos according to this... Im a B+!?! HA!

I think its called... 'chilling out'....

***You Have A Type B+ Personality***


You're a pro at going with the flow
You love to kick back and take in everything life has to offer
A total joy to be around, people crave your stability.

While you're totally laid back, you can have bouts of hyperactivity.
Get into a project you love, and you won't stop until it's done
You're passionate - just selective about your passions


Do You Have a Type A Personality?

hanging with the golden oldies...

Hiya Peeps.

I have a funny story to tell:

No, I have not had the priveledge of being offered a 'senior's' card...
although i did feel a significant ' generational gap' yesterday, when in fact my dear mother bought me a a ticket to none other than the:

Louis Armstrong Tribute- at the Cremorne Orpheum. (Matinee of course!)

With the movie 'High Society' following a very awesome 5 piece jazz band playing all Louis' hits and even some Gershwin snuck in!

Put it this way, Aunty Iris said to me during the interval... 'Vanora... are you the only young person here in the cinema?'.... which indeed in all truth, i answered 'Yes'... I was the only person in practically the whole room without either a) a blue rinse b) a walking stick c) a seniors card!

although i wouldnt scoff at having any of those if the need ever arose!!!! hahah

I must say I do love the Golden Oldies, to the surprise of Aunty Iris and Mum proudly persisting that 'Yes, Vanora loves the old songs and she plays the piano and the saxophone'! (my secret wish in the past was to become KennyG... ok... i think i 'over' shared this time!) ha!

Considering the majority of Louis' hits were from the 1950s... I do know that I have a love for anything 'Golden' and 'Oldie'.

I am not ashamed!!!!!

Plus, who doesnt think that Grace Kelly is one of the most beautiful women to have ever graced the big screen? She is immaculately beautiful!!! No wonder she was so famous!!!


Anyhoo-- that is my 2cents now...

I am going to go do some painting now.

Such is the life of the unemployed!!

Anyone got a dollar? $$?!!

(so sad!!)

bitchin & moanin.

ok peeps.
the vanster doesnt ordinarily bitch & moan about much... life is TOO short for THAT!
however...

WHO THE F$%^ snapped and broke off my LEFT sided WINDSCREEN WIPER today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was having a very pleasant meal with my favourite people (see facebook-- my new obsession!) at Bills in Woolhara.

Some JACKASS decided to SNAP OFF MY WINDSCREEN WIPER!?! WOT THE F!?!

lets just say. Van is NOT HAPPY JAN. and this definately is the windscreen wiper that has broken the camels back!!!!!!!!!

ps. photo inset is not of actual car! (it is NOT snowing in Sydney-- altho sometimes i wish it did!)

sydney ferries. eh hmm...

...... HELP!

What Rad Pool Tricks!

im just one step closer...

ok dudes. so i am on a journey.

the tides are turning and the sun is shining right back at me!

its been about 6 weeks since I have worked fulltime in a 'permie' (no, not my hair... a permanent job!)

Its been interesting....

hmmm....

this chit-chatting with the van-nee has become somewhat much more serious of late...

as i contemplate life, where i'm at... what to do... how to pay bills, how to find bills! (my house has looked like a BOMB has exploded-- well, not my loungeroom, but its getting there!)---

so where is God in all this?

As a devoted God 'botherer' (as i have been called at somepoint).... hehe.... i tend to pray lots in times of joy and even more during the 'down' times.

but my question is... how do you handle the 'down' times?

what is a 'down' time anyways? (not to be confused with 'downtown'... a bad 70's hit)

because you can see it one of 2 ways...

1) a time to rest, re-couperate... regroup, re-focus, re-energise... re-hope?!

or
2) whinge, whine, get pissed off (majorly) at how badly life has 'turned out'... and think that the world somehow owes you something when things dont go 'your way'... whatever the heck that means!?

i'd like to say that its easier to choose 2. and most often, this is the gut/ knee jerk reaction to life's battles and difficulties.

Its a lot easier to get angry, its a lot easier to get the temperature rising on your forehead as you look to puff yourself up at all the indignancies that have 'come against you'... when you fact... perhaps the crap just comes...

and we just have to learn to 'deal with it'.

so what does it mean to 'deal with it?'...

id like to think that dealing with 'stuff'... when life gets severely crapazoidal (not to be confused with trapezoidal-- which i think has something to do with pythagoras (hehe)

WHAT DO WE FREAKIN DO THEN?

There has to be a better way.

Ok. I pray.

For real.

For most however, that answer isnt 'good enough'.

But what does 'praying' actually try to achieve anyways?

Does it point to
1) A God that seeks to have a personal relationship with his creation...
2) A God that wants us to talk to him
3) A God that desires to see his creation seek him first
4) to recognise that we are human and that we need God
5) to understand that the dynamics of a world that is seemingly destroying itself... and that there must be a higher power involved in all this... and that he can hopefully make it better

These are just some really basic ideas on what i have learned and perceive as praying...

i have found a great website that has some really inspiring quotes that may help you on your journey should you start considering 'chatting' to God. And yes, you may feel like you're talking to yourself initially, but he is there. Really. He is!


He who has learned to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy and happy life.

William Law

I always wanted a STARWARS profile...

***Your Star Wars Name And Title***


Your Star Wars Name: Vanfu Yehon

Your Star Wars Title: Gnucho of Rehtse


What Is Your Star Wars Name and Title?
http://www.blogthings.com/starwarsnameandtitlegenerator/


I found these pics on my computer the other day. They were never meant to be seen in public... but i think time has lapsed enough now that its safe to presume that the Tanmeister and Bailey will be O.K. with seeing themselves (and with me) in this light!

Just a bit of background... Salee and I pre-planned to dress as Chewy and Darth to welcome Bailey to Sydney (her first visit)... a couple of years ago. We should have charged some tourists that asked to take pictures of us as we rocked up to the Virgin Blue domestic Airport terminal... but heck. We had fun getting ready... it was HILARIOUS. Memories!!!!! I miss both the Tanster AND Bailey! We will see eachother again soon.... xoxo :D

Happy Mother's Day... now what planet am i from?

.... Someone shorter than me? Minime?

Hey dudes.
Meet Speedy.
She loves what i love... and well... she's the new HOT flatmate!
Come and say Hello Nurse!

Connection Group- I miss you Gooses'! :P

"Where there is no belief in the soul, there is very little drama… Either one is serious about salvation or one is not. And it is well to realise that the maximum amount of seriousness admits the maximum amount of comedy. Only if we are secure in our beliefs can we see the comical side of the universe." ~Flannery O'Connor

Speedy & Van-s Hats!

i love my sisters :D

this was taken at darling harbour december 2006.
(l-r- Kath, Mich, Shaz, me)

ALF... Whatever happened to the 80's alien?

Did he just shrink back with all the other 80's styled bad perms, oversized tshirts and belts… fluoro coloured socks with flat shoes and the mainstreaming of the 'mullet'?

I actually HATED the show ALF. I thought he was just creepy…… I mean. Its one thing to LOVE sesame street muppets ( a dream of mine was to become a muppeteer at one stage)… however.. Alf's insatiable desire to eat cats… and bad table manners… it made a whole generation of tv sitcoms think twice about introducing a puppet into the real world…. Imagine life for Gary Coleman if he was a puppet instead of a legalised midget? (ahem, I'm not being very politically correct)… ' WHATCHA talkin' about WILLIS?'….

Crazy.

Did I mention other 80's faux pas that should not have been allowed into society? It included… skinny jeans and high waisted grey stonewash (ew)…. Plus… mismatching bright coloured tshirts…. Oversized perms or shortened hair for chicks… anything stilletto-ee with patent leather (ahem….)

Well. If the ladiez havent already noticed, the fashions have turned that direction…

I mean, I am not an exception to reviving the patent leather… I did buy a pair of cool black patent leather shoes in New York… but they're not stilleto… so I think I'm ok for not trying to look like a hooker… or the glamourising of prostitution ala Julia Roberts in 'Pretty Woman'…

Speaking of Pretty women… I watched ' Bring it On' dvd (or 'deeweedee' if you are trying chinglish for the first time!) last nite with Kat and Esther… I liked the lines about ' Big Red'… " she puts the ITCH in B**&^!"… too funny.

…
Anyhoo...
Other 80's movies that I do have time for though… although not her final prom dress… Molly Ringwald starring in 'Pretty in Pink.'… you do know that the only reason I actually really love that film is my big crush on 'Andrew McCarthy'. He appears to be a dag at first… but if you watch the movie, he's actually a really good guy in the end! He doesn’t care so much that despite the fact that she's from the 'wrong side' of the tracks… as opposed to his 'pedigree'… that she's actually not all that attractive?

But goes to show even James Spader couldn’t have her… and he plays a real A** in the film…. Ok.

I think I'm getting way too into these 80's movies review…

Other favourite films I must highlight are these:

Girls just want to have fun
The Breakfast Club
Back to the Future
Sixteen Candles
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure… ( I have a funny story about watching this a few years ago with some year 7-8 kids on a ski camp… boy did this movie look CHEAP. They HATED it!!!)

Weekend at Bernies
(not to mention Terminator haha- Linda hamilton with a perm!--)'
Superman Episode 24
Not to mention Star Wars...

Any other cheeze ball spoofs you guys are into? What's your favourite cheezy movie? I've had a mental blank for further 80's movies.. Refresh my memory!!!

Who to marry?

I personally like the very first quote. It involves chips & dip. If only it was that easy huh? haha :P

Who to marry

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. -- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who theyre going to marry.
God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with. -- Kristen, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then. -- Camille, age 10

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids. -- Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

Both don't want any more kids. -- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough. -- Lynnette, age 8 (isnt she a treasure)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that Usually gets
them interested enough to go for a second date. -- Martin, age 10

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?

I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the
Newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns. -- Craig, age9

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?

When theyre rich. -- Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldnt want to mess with
that. - - Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, Then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do. -- Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

It's better for girls to be Single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them. -- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there? --
Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favorite is........
HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump
truck. -- Ricky, age 10

this is a real bus. my sister saw it in germany!

i kid you not. she said it wasn't meant to offend!!! HOW WUDE! haha

journalism 101.

ok peeps.

tonite: 2nd class in journalism. i think i have found my calling! aside from secret aspirations to be jana wendt... or perhaps even andrew denton... the artform and occupation known as 'journalism' is beginning to come to form in my mind... and considerably as an occupation! if anything.... i have always wanted to work in media/communications as a journalist. i think i forgot about it or something... as i went off on a tangent with design and arts studies or something or rather. but heck. i love writing! who doesnt? and its great to be able to review writing... critique it and consider what makes such interesting journalistic pieces. very exciting.

plus. it doesnt hurt that i have a possible 'foot in the door' with my pending interview at acp next week... we'll see how it goes!!! yay!!

things are looking up.

its all good.

Be glad of life,

Be glad of life,

Because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars; to be satisfied with your posessions; to despise nothing in the world except falshood and meanness, and to fear nothing except cowardice; to be governed by your admirations rather than by your disgusts; to covet nothing that is your neighbor's except his kindness of heart and gentelness of manners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends… and to spend as much time as you can, with body and with spirit. These are little guideposts on the footpath to peace. (henry van dyke).

Famous Resurrections...

Hmmm..

i thought i mite reflect on some famous 'resurrections' ... in my life... here we go....



1) i prayed that someone i knew would have a MILLI VANILLI cd. Matt has one. WHAT A CHAMPION. If you want to 'blame it on the rain'... i got it going 'orn' in my car if you want to cruise around with me!? (chap!?-- it helps with my 6 speaker BOSE soundsystem! YES!)

2)crocheting. whoever said it was out of fashion?

3)painting and photography and writing. I just started a journalism course. its AWESOME.

4) reading. LOTS. of books. mostly theological ones at the moment. i like reading books about God. The information/knowledge/relationship building... its ENDLESS!

5) exercising. im still jogging. i LOVE jogging. cremorne point is still rockin!

6) NEW FLATMATE. -- Speedy Gonzales (her last name is Gonzales) :P
Fresh season. Fresh Start. May is gonna go OFF!

7) Fresh revelations... and reflections of the past... but not letting it bind you into negative thinking for the future... (is that really a resurrection? i feel like my life is replaying events from a few years ago.... strange... bizarre)... but you dont have to re-live them like you did the in the past... you have choices to respond differently... positively to similar circumstances that may be replaying!?

8) MY WINTER CLOTHES. I love resurrecting my BEANIES. oh wow. I always 'treat' myself each winter to add a new beanie to the collection. IT is one item of clothing i just cant live without during the woolie months--- oh... i bought new moo cow uggs. they are AWESOME. go woolies!

9) My electric blanket. Need i say more?

10) The ultimate Resurrection. JC on Calvary. Do you believe?

bored at work...

Ok. So… what does one do without internet access?
You have to be a little bit more cunning to enjoy the lack of stimulation and the amount of bald headed, white haired chaps with shorts and long socks are PLENTIFUL here at my current posting of temp work.

But seriously… when you encounter people named DIDLEY… you do wonder?? Huh? I didn’t even think I heard him correctly at first… I thought he said GIDLEY. And with a last name ( I think its safe to presume he wont be reading my blog!) McCulloch… what a FUNNY NAME!! HAHAH

That’s the thing about working at reception for some places… you meet ALL sorts of strange types! HA!!!

So…. What to do then aye?

Anyhoo.. Without having to entertain myself at the thought of a chicken's head exploding when one sings too high! (which I would admit… is a HILARIOUS thought)… especially when one has to sing high notes in church!! (oh, and no one booed me off stage last nite… woohoo!!)

oh... my sister gave me an excellent idea... to form an excel spreadsheet of my potential itinerary for Africa! YAY!

I've taken it a step further... i've colour coded it! Oh the FUN you can have when left to your own devices!

again...

stay in skool kids! love yas! xo