Frangipani Princess

Book Review: Strictly Confidential

2012-01-29T11:43:00.000+11:00

Although I want to be a journalist, the world of PR has always interested me. From my first week of work experience back in 2009 when I witnessed bag after bag of product being shipped in from PR companies around the city, I was fascinated with what goes on behind the scenes of the PR world. Especially what goes on behind the scenes of Sweaty Betty PR, the name which seemed to be splashed across the majority of the bags landing on mag desks.

I followed the PR company closely on twitter, and last year was overjoyed to hear that company founder, Roxy Jacenko, was writing a book about the world of PR. Earlier this month her debut novel "Strictly Confidential" was released, and gives a (fictional) look into the behind the scenes of Sydney PR.

The novel follows Jazzy Lou, who at the start is an assistant to an evil PR guru by the name of Diane Wilderstein. After a few mistakes that are totally not her fault, she finds herself fired, so Jazzy Lou decides to take the plunge and create her own PR Company - Queen Bee. We get to witness the ups and downs of creating a PR company from scratch, and the true reality of the industry - apparently it's not all celebrities and five star events!

I can only assume that though it's a fictional novel, it's based largely on Roxy's own experiences starting Sweaty Betty PR at just twenty-four years old. There are many things in the book that ring true to reality, such as the "Coco Man Of The Year Awards" which are rather similar to the "Cleo Bachelor Of The Year Awards" which Sweaty Betty helps create in the real world.

It's an easy, entertaining read, but there were a few things in it that left me feeling a bit uneasy. Throughout the book, so much emphasis is placed on physical beauty, being skinny, and looking your absolute best. It's heavily implied (if not frequently stated) numerous times that you have to be tiny, successful, and from a good background to make it anywhere in the industry. I don't care if it's what really happens, we should be trying to encourage diversity and talent, not size zero and pretty blondes. For girls interested in a career in PR or the media who read this book, it plants negative thoughts into their heads about what they will have to become to succeed. We shouldn't be making girls feel they have to be a barbie clone to make it in their chosen career, and I think it's not great on Roxy's behalf that she's encouraging that. Especially since last year she gave birth to a little girl - is she going to bring up little Pixie with the belief that you have to be pretty and skinny to succeed? I also wasn't a fan of the trivialisation of Jazzy Lou's addiction to Nurofen - again, not sending the best message to readers.

If you can look past the sour taste the body image parts leave in your mouth, you're left with an addictive read about an industry that the general population doesn't really know much about. If you're interested in Media or PR, or just want an easy end-of-summer read, pick up Strictly Confidential from your local bookstore today.

It's been titled 'A Jazzy Lou Novel' as they hope that it will be successful enough for a series to follow. The story ends on a slight cliffhanger, so we can only keep our fingers crossed that we'll get to read more about the (not-so) glamourous world of PR in the coming months/years.

Rating - 6.5/10
Pages - 262
Author - Roxy Jacenko
Publisher - Allen & Unwin
RRP - $24.99

frangipani princess xoxo

Movie Review: A Few Best Men

2012-01-28T21:57:00.002+11:00

I love British movies and I love Australian movies. Not for the same reasons; I love British movies because whenever they open their mouths it's heaven, but I love Australian movies because nine times out of ten they're so horrible all you can do is laugh.
When I first saw the trailer for "A Few Best Men" and saw that it was both British AND Australian, I knew I had to go see it. The fact that the main character was the extremely attractive Xavier Samuel, and one of his best friends was the guy who played Colin, God Of Sex from Love Actually had nothing at all to do with it.

The basic plot of the movie is that David goes backpacking and ends up in Tuvalu (fun fact from geography: the main income for Tuvalu is selling the web address ending .tv to things like Disney) where he meets the lovely and Australian Mia. They have a whirlwind romance and end up engaged. David heads back to England to tell his best friends that they're going to Australia so he can get married, much to their protests. His best friends are slightly dysfunctional (to say the least) and Mia's father is a senator and her family super wealthy. They don't really mix, and hilarity ensures.

There are more highlights than you can poke a stick at, but one of my personal favourites was Olivia Newton-John as the high-on-cocaine mother-in-law leading the YMCA at the wedding reception. Another stand-out was the best man's speech which managed to make our slightly shady past as a colony of England hysterical.

It's a movie that can only truly be appreciated by Australians, because so many of the jokes are based on us laughing at ourselves. I think if you showed the movie to an American they would just look at you with a blank face.

My cinema was full, and all spent most of the ninety minute film in stitches. I know there's a gazillion good movies out at the moment (of course everything good comes out when I have to start year twelve) so you have a lot to choose from, but if you're after a good laugh, definitely head to see this. If you don't leave with a massive smile on your face, you should probably have a hard look at yourself. It's a definite ten out of ten for me, though there are few bits that might make you uncomfortable if you're seeing it with your parents, so I'd think about heading with friends.

A Few Best Men is rated MA15+ and is out in cinemas nationally.

frangipani princess xoxo

Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars

2012-01-27T18:21:00.001+11:00

If you ask me who my favourite author is, I won't even hesitate before telling you "John Green". As much as I love Harry Potter, my favourite books will always be those written by John, in particular his first, Looking For Alaska. I have laughed and cried (and cried, and cried) my way through all of his books, so when I heard he was releasing a new novel I pre-ordered it the moment it was available and began to wait with eager anticipation.

John's new book is called "The Fault In Our Stars" and was finally released in early January. Being in France, I only got my hands on it today (I was so eager that as my pre-ordered copy hadn't arrived I bought another copy from my local bookstore) and I devoured it in just over two hours. It left me sobbing and wishing that John could create real life seventeen year old boys for me, rather than just fictional ones.

The Fault In Our Stars follows the story of sixteen year old Hazel who is dying of cancer. One day at the support group she begrudgingly attends, she meets Augustus Waters and from that moment, nothing is the same.

The Fault In Our Stars is not just a cancer novel, though all the teenage characters it contains do have cancer of some variety. It's a novel about living and loving to your fullest, and about the pain, heartbreak, and most importantly, joy, that life can bring.

The book gets its name from a Shakespeare quote which reads "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/But in ourselves" which John expands on in the novel by adding "Easy enough to say when you're a Roman nobleman (or Shakespeare!), but there is no shortage of fault to be found amid our stars."

In looking for Alaska there is the line "...but I loved her present tense" and there is a shout-out to this in TFIOS with the line "I love you present tense". I think it's a cute reference for those readers who adore John's books enough to pick it up.

My favourite idea from the book was "some infinities are bigger than other infinities". It was a recurring theme throughout the novel and fitted the theme beautifully. Infinity, or forever, are just words we throw around but this novel made you think about the true reality behind them and what they mean to different people.

The Fault In Our Stars made me laugh, cry, and fall in love with fictional characters and I hold absolutely no regrets about any of the above. I live-texted my reading to Toong, as she read the book earlier in the week, and she will vouch that most of my texts were along the lines of "I'm just so in love with Augustus Waters", "Why can't real guys be Augustus Waters", and "WHY WOULD JOHN WANT TO BREAK MY HEART LIKE THIS?" I recommend John's books to anyone who will listen (and I also heartily recommend his youtube channel) and TFIOS is no exception to this. I think Alaska will always be my favourite, but this is a super close second, if not equal first. It makes you confront the reality of life in a brilliant way, something which is very rare to find in a young adult book these days.

If you see The Fault In Our Stars anywhere, buy it. Buy it. BUY IT. I got my copy today for $20 and it is $20 that I don't regret spending at all. I plan on re-reading it ASAP or maybe just listening to the audio-book version I have, which is read by John Green himself (I cannot wait to hear him narrate a story told by a sixteen year old girl).

I read a lot of Young Adult books (I get sent them to review for here, and believe me, it's a massive pile that I have at the moment to write up) but it's very rare that I read a YA book that contains so much beauty, emotion and perfection. Most are more concerned with vampires or shallow romance than amazing truths. John Green is my hero, and I cannot recommend anything he does enough.

The Fault In Our Stars is available in all good bookstores now for around $20. It is published by Penguin, and I give it a definite 10/10 and beg you to consider reading it.

frangipani princess xoxo

I'm home

2012-01-25T16:48:00.001+11:00

I'm home.

After three freezing but wonderful weeks in France, I'm back to the reality of an Australian summer the week before year twelve officially begins.

I had an amazing time overseas, with lots of learning, sightseeing, and fear-overcoming occurring. I made lovely new friends (who knew juniors didn't actually bite?!), got to go back to Disneyland (and went on every ride) and ate more crepes than were probably good for my health. I missed Australia lots, but France will always hold a special place in my heart (though after meeting some Irish teens at the youth hostel we stayed at in Paris, I'm thinking I may have to head to Ireland on my next trip).

I hope you haven't missed me too much, and that those of you who are on holidays have been having a fabulous time.

I'll be returning to FP this week, however I have a mountain of homework, and with school beginning again on Monday, posts may be slightly sporadic until I get on top of things. I have some books and movies to review though, so there will be some pop-culture goodness around.

Just as a side note, has anyone watched the new season of Sherlock? I'm halfway through the second episode and am falling even further in love with it - something I thought was impossible!

frangipani princess xoxo

A Small Break

2011-12-30T18:00:00.000+11:00

Tomorrow, in what is turning out to be a bit of a tradition, I am heading to France for most of January. I'm going on a school trip to attend a language school for two weeks (and then to spend one week living it up in Paris). My mum has convinced me to leave my beloved laptop at home (I can feel the pains of our heartbreaking withdrawal already), and while we are promised internet time, I'm going to take the time as a bit of a holiday from blogging (unless something super exciting happens and I just have to let you all know).

I hope you all have an absolutely amazing new year, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for making Frangipani Princess what it has been in 2011. Whether you're a new reader, or have been around since the beginning, I appreciate you more than you can understand. Blogging has brought me so many opportunities, not only to do and receive amazing things, but also to meet absolutely amazing people. 2012 is a big year for me, personally, with year twelve and my HSC and all that jazz, but at this time I have no plans to abandon my blog. Posts will probably be a lot less frequent, especially as September draws closer, but this blog has been my baby for nearly five years and a few little exams aren't going to stop me from taking care of it. I hope you all choose to stick around to see what FP has to offer in 2012, and remember, if you ever have any suggestions, opinions, love what I do and want to give me stuff, or just want to chat, I'm always around to email, to tweet, or through my comments.

May 2012 be a wonderful year for all of you.

Much love,

frangipani princess xoxo

Frangipani Princess will be back to regular posting from approximately the 24th of January.

Boxing Day Movie Reviews

2011-12-29T21:50:00.000+11:00

I'm not a frequent visitor to the cinema. Since moving to my current town, I go more often than I used to, but by more often I mean once every few months instead of once a year. However, somehow I have managed to see three movies in the last three days.

The first film I saw was War Horse. As someone with a keen interest in World War One and British people, I thought it would be quite interesting viewing, and I'm sure it could have been if I had been able to see through my tears. While my sobs didn't quite reach the levels they did in HPDHp2 or The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, they were constant and horrible. The film was beautiful, but heartbreaking. It's one of those movies that would be all too easy to turn off if watching on a dvd (much like Schindler's List), so I'd go see it at a cinema. It's painful in parts, but the end result is beautiful and worth your money (and time - the film goes for nearly two and a half hours!).

My second trip to the movies was a stark contrast to the first, with a viewing of New Years Eve. I'm a sucker for corny movies, and for Zefron, so this film had me in love with it before I even stepped foot in the cinemas. It's basically Valentine's Day, but on New Years Eve, and is adorably cute and contains total eye candy in the form of John Bon Jovi (shut up.) and Zefron, amongst many others. It will leave you excited for this Saturday night, and for all the potential that a new year brings.

My third, and final (at least until I get home from france), viewing was of The Iron Lady. When I went to see Billy Elliot a few years ago the Margaret Thatcher references went right over my head, but the three years since then my worldly political knowledge has grown (only if that growth is very minor) and seeing trailers for the film in my other two visits made me interested in what the movie would be like. My friend Miki and I decided to head and see it tonight, and we enjoyed it, even if we were the only people under fifty in the cinema. Okay, by 'enjoyed it', I mean our hearts were shattered into a million little pieces, but it was amazing cinema. It was a different kind of sad to War Horse, a more inevitable "this could be me". Meryl Streep did an amazing job portraying the former Prime Minister, though for all you non-political fans out there (like myself!) the film is based around Margaret as she is now - frail, elderly and suffering from dementia - with flash backs to her political past. It's more emotional than political, which is what makes it so brilliant. It's not one to go see with your friends (if you're looking for a girl's night out, New Years Eve is the one to hit up), but for a cute movie date with your mum, or just to learn more about the world, go see it.

I would recommend all three movies for everyone, but knowing the demographic of this blog, I would say if you can only see one, New Years Eve is the one to go for. It's light-hearted, adorable, and has a brilliant cast, and you'll (mostly) get through it without crying. If you're looking for something intense and painful, see War Horse, and if you're looking for something educational and heartbreaking, see The Iron Lady. While New Years Eve will likely be forgotten soon after it leaves the cinema, War Horse and The Iron Lady have real staying power, and critics are already loudly whispering about Oscar hopes for the two. They're movies that you should see, even if they're not fun and games during the viewing.

frangipani princess xoxo

New On Girl With A Satchel

2011-12-22T08:35:00.001+11:00

My final column for 2011, titled Teen Girl With A Satchel on The Year Of The Boy Band has now been posted on GWAS. In the column, I reflect on the year that was 2011 both for me, and for the world of teen pop-culture.

I am forever grateful to Erica for giving me the opportunity to share my writing with her readers, and for being an inspiring, lovely mentor to me.
Check it out and tell me if I've missed any of your favourite pop-cultural events of 2011.

frangipani princess xoxo

Forever Yours Times Fourteen

2011-12-21T09:09:00.001+11:00

You might remember that a few weeks ago I posted about Alex Day's new song "Forever Yours". I love it, and him, an awful lot, so when he announced that he was releasing not one, not two, but fourteen different versions of it to try and crack the Christmas charts and raise money for charity, I decided to do all I can to help. Alex is most famous for his Alex Reads Twilight videos, but his channel "Nerimon" also has lots of subscribers, and he is a talented singer and member of Chameleon Circuit (the awesome Doctor Who band).
All the versions are available on iTunes, and while he is British, he is raising money for World Vision Australia which is pretty awesome. He managed to reach number 4 in the British iTunes charts, plus numerous radio charts earlier in the week, and is now sitting comfortably in the top ten. In Australia he's in the top fifty in the pop charts, which is pretty impressive.
His ultimate aim is to make the British Christmas number 1, or just to make the iTunes number one, as it would be a first for an unsigned artist.
The versions are all very different, from an instrumental, to an electronic/dubstep remix, so when you download all the versions you'll be getting your moneys worth.
Alex is well deserving of the support and publicity he is receiving, and will only continue to receive when his best friend Charlie McDonnell (charlieissocoollike on youtube) releases his remix of the song this week.
The songs will only be available until Christmas eve, so get buying now. All the versions contribute to the position of Forever Yours on the charts, and all proceeds will go to World Vision.

It's an amazing song, and amazing cause, and an amazing guy, and I am so, so proud of him. Youtubers really can change the world (see also: Project For Awesome which has raised nearly $70,000 for charity this week).

frangipani princess xoxo

Compare-A-Holic

2011-12-18T20:47:00.004+11:00

I spend outrageous amounts of my time comparing myself to other people. This is a terrible habit to have, because no matter how often I do it, it does not change anything. I don't really do it with things like appearances or personality (although I am a teenage girl, so it does happen) but I devote way too much time to comparing results at school. Anyone unlucky enough to sit with me in class/at lunch/in free periods will be able to tell you that I spend 99% of my time stressing about marks and how many people are going to beat me. And when people do beat me, as inevitably must happen sometimes, I obsess over the fact that they're better than me, and how I can improve because there is obviously something fundamentally wrong with me if I'm being beaten.

One of my close friends, Kate, has had enough of me complaining about my results and so her new favourite thing to remind me is that I can only ever be me. It's like, no matter how hard you close your eyes and wish to be Selena Gomez, when you open your eyes you're still going to be you. So no matter how hard I close my eyes and wish for my name to be at the top of the rank sheet, or to see the best mark on my page, unless I've actually put the work in and succeeded, it's not going to change anything. I can spend every lesson of every day complaining about marks and ranks and ATARs and whatever else I word-vomit about, but it's not going to change the fact that I can only achieve what I am capable of. We're not all able to get full marks all the time. We're not all going to get 99.95. Some people are, but they are the minority, not us. Just like we can't all be famous, or rich, or dating a Jonas Brother, we can't all be super geniuses. All we can do is do the best with what God gave us, and be thankful for what we do have.

I'm wasting my life comparing myself to other people, because it's never going to change anything. The sooner I realise that I am me, and all I can do is my best, regardless of how that compares to the best of the person next to me, the happier I will be.

Year twelve is the most stressful year of school, and I am only making it worse for myself by freaking out about things that I cannot change. My best is my best, not anyone else's, and as long as I am reaching my own potential, I should be proud. Yes, it is frustrating and annoying when some people manage to get amazing marks all the time with seemingly no work, but that is their life, and not mine. I need to realise that God has given us all different strengths and skills. We are all unique people wonderfully made to reach our own heights and to follow our own perfectly mapped out paths. We all have an amazing destination awaiting us, and by looking sideways instead of forwards, we are only delaying our trip. We only need to worry about ourselves, because our own lives are the only ones we have the ability to change.

frangipani princess xoxo

School Is Eating My Holidays

2011-12-17T11:49:00.002+11:00

In primary school, December was a month spent colouring in, watching movies, and making Christmas decorations. It was the best month of the year. That all changed once you got to high school, but you were lucky enough to get the last fortnight or so before the summer holidays to bludge and watch as many vaguely-subject related movies as you liked. Teachers had written your reports, there were no more marks for the year, and they were looking forward to six weeks of freedom as much as you were (if not more, as I've discovered growing up with teacher-parents).
Year eleven - at least in NSW - is entirely different.

It was our last day of the school year yesterday, and yet, it felt like any other day of the year. Apart from a class party in Ancient History, it could very well have been any other day of the year. I even had an assessment task! We had completed other tasks in recent weeks and were told we'd have to wait until after the holidays to get back our marks. We received holiday homework. It was like a foreign world. From the way the teachers were talking, it was like they were just giving us six weeks of at home study instead of an actual break from school.

I'm heading to France on NYE with my school for three weeks, and as my to-do list grew, and grew, and grew, I began to panic. I have two weeks until I leave the country, how am I meant to achieve everything I need to get done, find time to relax, work (I'll need some spending money to blow on the Champs Elysees and at Disneyland!), and manage to you know, actually catch up with family and celebrate Christmas.

Year twelve, I know you've only just started, but I'm really not into you. Are you going to eat up the next ten months as much as you're eating up my last summer holidays of high school? Not fair, education system, not fair. Of course, I could not study and spend my holidays on the beach and shopping like so many of my younger schoolmates will be, but with ATARs being released in the past week, and seeing my older friends either be ecstatic or disappointed, I realise that this time next year when I'm finally free, I won't regret all the work I put into year twelve at all.

frangipani princess xoxo

A Little Less Wise

2011-12-09T18:11:00.001+11:00

I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday; all four in one lovely operation. I didn't think it would be that bad, I mean, I was in and out of the day surgery clinic in four hours, and after an ankle reconstruction, surely anything else would be a walk in the park?
Apparently teeth extraction is not a walk in the park, especially when combined with general anaesthetic.
At first, you get the twelve or so hours of mouth-numbness which makes talking and drinking near impossibilities, and don't even get me started on trying to swallow tablets and the amount I managed to dribble. By the time the numbness wears off, you're ready to welcome feeling with open arms...until you realise that feeling equals pain.
The other terrible bit about wisdom tooth extraction is that you can't eat solid food. I hadn't realised how much of an issue this would be until I began craving a hamburger and all I could eat was...yogurt. Soft food is fun for about two minutes and then all you want is a piece of toast, or a packet of chips. It's only been twenty-four hours since I got home, but I have never missed actual food so much in my life. Apparently I have to wait at least another two or three days before I can even attempt solids, and that is a very depressing thought.
I currently look like a chipmunk, but I do get to spend the next couple of days in bed with no responsibilities. Hello watching Friday Night Lights all weekend.
I'm going to get maccas sundaes for dinner (I'm healthy) and send mum to the baby food aisle to hopefully get something close to edible for the rest of the time.
Having wisdom teeth hurt, but having them out hurt so much more. Hopefully the pain doesn't last much longer, and I can eat my much-craved for solids again soon. I don't think anything will taste as amazing as the first time I get to eat something not mushy.

frangipani princess xoxo

Daily Dose Of 1D

2011-12-07T15:52:00.001+11:00

The One Thing acoustic version is quite possibly one of the most amazing things I have ever heard. It will give you an eargasm. I just love these boys so much.

I especially like that they all get solos in this song. Just so amazing.

frangipani princess xoxo

Pretty Excited For Boxing Day

2011-12-07T08:03:00.001+11:00

Just to see what comes after this:
I can't wait for the return of Doctor Who in "The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe", which airs at 7.30pm on the 26th of December here in Australia. I'm especially excited as this will be my first Christmas special to air while I'm actually a fan. Are you as pumped as I am?

frangipani princess xoxo

Book Review: The Double Shadow

2011-12-04T15:12:00.001+11:00

We all dream of a perfect world, a world where our favourite memories and our happiest days are replayed over and over again. A world without sadness, or pain.

Arnold Ruben just wants what is best for his daughter, Amaryllis. After surviving the First World War, he doesn't want her to ever have to experience any of the horrors he witnessed, so he begins to dream of a utopian society where she could only live through the happiest memories of her life. As her seventeenth birthday draws near, so too does World War Two and Arnold puts the finishing touches on his life's work, set to be activated on Amaryllis' birthday - The Memory Machine.

Amaryllis has never felt much of a connection to her father, not since her mysterious accident as a young child which landed her in a private clinic in Switzerland. She rebels against the boarding schools her father sends her to, and after making a mistake which changes her life forever, she gets expelled from her school only to be informed that she must now complete home-schooling. To make matters worse, she has to complete her education with the lowly cook's son, Ezra. As the weeks pass, however, she finds herself forming a connection with the younger boy, and though Ezra can't explain why, he's strangely fascinated by her too.

Everything changes, however, when Amaryllis wakes up in a strange room in a desolate landscape, with only a strange soldier and a glowing green light for company. A little girl haunts her with memories she would rather forget, and gives her a strange double shadow. She wants the cake boy, but she can't remember his name, until he shows up in her confusing world with plans to save her.

The Double Shadow is an addictive mystery read that will remind you that if you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise. It has the perfect mix of romance, storyline, thoughtfulness, sadness, and joy that will make it stay with you long after you turn the final page. It's another Young Adult book without any vampires (or wizards, or supernatural creatures of any kind!) which will always be refreshing, and comes from the award winning author of I, Coriander. If you're looking for a read this summer that's a little bit different, make sure you check out The Double Shadow at your local book store.

Author: Sally Gardner
Published: December 2011
Published By: Hachette Australia
RRP: $22.99
Pages: 352 (my review copy)
Rating: 8/10

frangipani princess xoxo

I Can't Stop Listening To

2011-12-04T14:57:00.001+11:00

"Forever Yours" by Alex Day. It's just so catchy, and reminds me of my BFF Eternally. The video for it also reminds me how much I want a boyfriend like Alex or Charlie. If only I was British (or boys in my town were hot and nerdy).

I've also had One Direction's debut album "Up All Night" on repeat for the past week, and there's not a single song I don't adore. Expect a full review soon, hopefully with confirmed news of an Australian tour!

frangipani princess xoxo

Things I Hate

2011-11-29T20:20:00.001+11:00

Tomorrow morning I am going on school camp. I am not a fan of school camp, especially compulsory school camps run by pdh teachers in which you have to pack all your own cutlery and there are threats of abseiling. Not. A. Fan. At. All.

I am also not a fan of compulsory karaoke.

And being put in groups with kids from my year that I don't know (and please don't tell me it's a chance to get to know them).

And having to be put on cooking duty.

And the stress of dress up nights.

And just generally everything about the next three days.

If it ends without tears, it will be a miracle.

Yes, I'm a negative nancy, but you would be too if you were in my shoes.

See you on the flipside.

frangipani princess xoxo

Nick Jonas

2011-11-28T20:05:00.001+11:00

Is in Sydney (you can find photographic proof here)
I am feeling all the feelings right now.
Mainly heartbreak, because I am six hours away from his beautiful face.
So close, yet so far.

I feel like I'm fifteen again. Wow. This is as bad as that time Joe was in Sydney and I couldn't get to him. Except minus the tears. I guess that's maturity?

I am freaking out. We are in the same time zone. The same state. This is the closest we have ever been. YOU GUYS DON'T UNDERSTAND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS.

Come visit me, Nick? Leave Delta behind though, our love needs to blossom on it's own. Forget year twelve, we can have curly haired babies and spend the rest of our lives living a happily ever after.

frangipani princess xoxo

File Under

2011-11-28T08:06:00.001+11:00

Things I Wish Would Happen At My 18th Birthday Party But Can't Because I Live In Australia:

frangipani princess xoxo

In Defence Of Pansy Parkinson

2011-11-24T21:55:00.001+11:00

Pansy Parkinson is one of my favourite characters in Harry Potter. Yes, while this is partly FanFiction and my love of Scarley Byrne speaking, I honestly believe she deserves more respect than she currently gets. In a famous quote, JK Rowling said, "Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons", indicating there is something horribly wrong with being Pansy. In the context of the quote, I do understand where she is coming from, but within the context of the entire series, I feel she is overly harsh on Pansy, therefore making 99% of those who read/watch it hate her on principle.

To begin with, she is constantly referred to as "pug-faced", which is a horrible thing to call any eleven year old. We shouldn't judge people based on their appearance, so to repeatedly have her called "pug-faced" as a negative is horrible.

To understand my support of Pansy, I think everyone needs to step back and take a look at what her life must be like. She's grown up in a family of Death Eaters (or at least, supporters of the Dark Arts), and has spent her younger years in the company of people such as the Malfoys. She goes to Hogwarts, is sorted into Slytherin, and then by no fault of her own is surrounded by other children who have grown up in the same family situation as herself. She jumps into house loyalty, and yes while that involves being mean to Gryffindors, we can't forget that our "wonderful" Gryffindors are rather horrible about the Slytherins too. She gets a crush on Draco Malfoy, because he's kind of the epitome of everything her family always supported, and he's cute, and he's there, and maybe for a while they find love. In the series, this is portrayed as a negative, but how can anyone finding love be a bad thing? Why should we hate this poor girl just because from the perspective of the protagonist, her boyfriend is 'evil'. He's just as much of a misunderstood teenager as she is! They don't deserve our hate. JK Rowling once said that Draco and Pansy didn't end up together because she didn't like either of them enough for that, which I think is a horrible reason. I love what JK has given us, but sometimes her decisions just anger me.

The other - and main reason - people have for hating Pansy is that in The Deathly Hallows she tries to convince McGonagall to send Harry to Voldemort. I want you to just imagine her situation for a second. She's scared, so scared. People are dying everywhere, there's the potential for more people to die, she's sick of fighting, sick of evil, and then there's a solution to everything right in front of her. This boy who has never been particularly nice to her or anyone else in her house, and if he just goes to Voldemort, they all get to live. It's selfish, yes, but she's tired and frightened and other people are thinking it and it just comes out. It doesn't make her a bad person - it makes her human.

Pansy is just a misunderstood teenager, who, like so many other Slytherin characters, gets the wrong end of the stick because they were sorted Green, not Scarlett. She's loyal, and kind, and most likely lots of fun, but because we see her through Gryffindor tinted glasses, she's portrayed as an evil bitch, which couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, she makes mistakes, but don't we all? We shouldn't hold her circumstances against her.

I'm all for Pansy Parkinson appreciation, and I think more people should be too.

frangipani princess xoxo

Self Confidence Through Boy Bands

2011-11-23T15:52:00.001+11:00

One Direction seems to be everywhere lately (I will admit in my hipster-ness I kind of wish that every twelve year old in the country wasn't in love with them. They were mine first, dammit!) and the song that is catapulting them to fame is "What Makes You Beautiful". If you haven't heard the song (what rock have you been living under?!), it's basically telling a girl that she's beautiful because she doesn't flaunt it (lyrics: Everyone else in the room can see it, everyone else but you. Baby you light up my world like nobody else, the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed. When you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell you don't know, you don't know you're beautiful. That's what makes you beautiful.). No teen girl feels beautiful all the time, so to hear that gorgeous teen guys like 1D will love you anyway is great.

Likewise, one of my other favourite boy bands, Big Time Rush, have released their new album 'Elevate' this week. I don't have my hands on the full album yet, but today everyone was tweeting about a song called 'Cover Girl' so I had to locate it and have a listen. In the tradition of WMYB, Cover Girl is an ode to a girl's inner-beauty. (Some lyrics: I don't know why you always get so insecure, I wish you could what I see when you're looking in the mirror.....Got a heart of gold, a perfect original, wish you would stop being so hard on yourself for a while. And when I see that face, I'd try a thousand ways, I would do anything to make you smile. Cause you're my cover, cover girl). It is the most amazing song ever, and I have had it on repeat all afternoon. It's songs like these that make me proud to be a Disney and Boy Band fangirl. Spreading brilliant messages makes the world a better place.

One of the reasons I fell in love with The Jonas Brothers all those years ago was that they preached self-love and acceptance, and sang about more than the importance of being 'hot'. Society has these ideals - and while they appear to be slowly changing, they are still there - that you have to be skinny, and dress a certain way, and look a certain way, or you will never be loved. Girls fill their heads with these ideals, and then it gets bad. When bands with such influence sing about a different side of things, it helps girls to begin to realise that they are able to feel beautiful and be loved even if they don't look like the girls in magazines.

On a related note, this is why Curt Mega ("Nick") is my favourite Warbler (read from bottom):

Inspirational dudes are awesome.

frangipani princess xoxo

When I Grow Up

2011-11-21T19:32:00.001+11:00

I would very much like to be Taylor Swift.

frangipani princess xoxo

Movie Review: Breaking Dawn Part One

2011-11-20T16:43:00.001+11:00

When I was thirteen, I adored Twilight. I was an absolutely over-the-top obsessed fangirl who lived and breathed Edward and Bella. And then one day I woke up and realised the series was actually kind of terrible. I turned from twi-hard to twi-hater almost overnight, and for the last three years I have made fun of it at every possible chance.

That said, after being so in love with something, you feel a bit of a connection to it - even in hatred - so when Breaking Dawn Part One was finally released earlier this week, there was a part of me that just had to go. I decided the best way to go about the embarrassing experience would be to look at it from a curious viewpoint, rather than a critically judgmental one. I went in with a plan to examine the reactions of the twelve year olds and to just look at the film through the eyes of someone interested in the amazing hype that surrounds the series. So that's what I did.

I'm going to start by saying I didn't actually hate the movie. The opening section - I'm not sure how long it went for but it would have been the first half hour or forty-five minutes - was actually really enjoyable. The wedding was beautiful, the ceremony was hilarious, and there was a part of me that was able to remember just why it had gained my love so easily back in year seven. Things, of course, took a turn for the worse once she got pregnant, and the film was a bloody slope of downhill until Edward ripped the demon baby out with his teeth and Jacob decided he was in love with it. That part of the film was quite possibly one of the worst in cinematic history.

But remember, I said I was looking at this as a curious social spectator, so I stopped myself judging what I was seeing on the screen and began to look around the cinema. There were twelve-year-olds sobbing, and others staring at the screen with wide-eyed expressions and whispering to their friends "I want a love like that". It brought me back to my initial reactions to the series, and my thoughts on it post-twihard phase. Just like it was all too easy to get caught up in the love Edward and Bella shared, and to be able to imagine yourself as Bella and dream of the day you get your own perfect guy, it's also too easy to look at it from an overly critical perspective. Yes, it's rather terribly written, and yes, there are some creepily abusive aspects to their relationship, but we're not really achieving anything by standing around and declaring "HE STOLE THE MOTOR FROM HER CAR". Twilight is a phenomenon, the kind that is very rarely seen or rivalled, and no matter how much we may find it flawed, it has to at least have levels of decency to be this successful. Even if we don't agree with anything Stephenie Meyer wrote, her combination of character and idea made something magical, and it has captured the hearts and minds of millions of people, from pre-teens to fifty-somethings.
I'm doing my Extension Two English Major Work on Harry Potter (well, The Hero in Myth - Harry Potter and Modern Mythology) and while researching topics and existing works, it interested me to discover that for every positive review or analysis, there was a negative one. As a Potterhead, it's simple for me to dismiss such ideas as "insane", but for Twihards, my views on their love must seem just as crazy. When you love something, you're blinded to the negatives and criticisms of it, because you're too involved. Just like when you hate something, you're blinded to the positives of it. Sometimes I think we all need to learn to find a nice grey area and be able to appreciate both sides of every story.

After the movie finished, I was waiting in the lobby for my brother and I began eavesdropping on some of my fellow Breaking-Dawn viewers. The response from them was almost overwhelmingly positive. They felt the film had done the book justice, and I have to agree with them. The book was terrible, the idea was terrible, but the film did the best with what it was given (blood drinking from a milkshake cup and all) and made a decent, if not drawn out, adaptation.

I'm glad I went to see it, mainly because it's one of those cultural things that you can say you've been to and in ten years when someone says, "remember when everyone was obsessed with that Twilight thing?" you can laugh and admit you saw them all in the cinema. I'm also glad I saw it because it has made me question my black-and-white views of the massive hype surrounding the saga. It's an interesting topic - as obsessions and fandom in general are - and I think we all need to learn to be a bit more open to other people's views. At the end of the day, who are we to say our views and opinions are any more valid than the twelve year old's sitting next to us at the cinema?

Breaking Dawn is in cinemas everywhere now.

frangipani princess xoxo

Frangi Playlist

2011-11-18T17:02:00.001+11:00

Here's a look at what I've been blasting lately:

After discovering the joys of the radio after getting my Ps, I went to JB Hi Fi the other day and bought a whole lot of CDs I've been meaning to get for ages and finally updated my iTunes library. Just as a side note, because I'm totally tech-clueless, I still have a first generation iPod nano and apparently they may catch fire, so Apple is giving away free replacements. Just a little bit of a win.

What tunes have you been listening to lately?

frangipani princess xoxo

A Post About Old Friends Feat. Lots Of Rhetorical Questions

2011-11-16T08:18:00.001+11:00

On Monday I went to Sydney to a HSC English study day. Also in attendance at the event were two girls I had gone to primary school with, and yet not seen in years. We arranged to meet up (through the joys of facebook) and have a catch up. One of the girls was my close neighbour for seven years, and so I had seen her in the past year or two, and yet the other girl, despite being close aged six, I hadn't seen for eight years.

It's amazing how people change.

When I think of us back as year two students, I wonder if our eight year old selves ever contemplated how we'd turn out at seventeen. We were so similar, and yet so different. I could still see parts of their kindergarten selves in their personality, and I wondered if they could see the same in me. Was I anything like the hyperactive smarty-pants they remember from back in the day? Would they have recognised me in the street if we hadn't stayed in touch? If I hadn't moved, would we have stayed friends?

I began to think about all the ways I have changed in the last ten years. All the obsessions I've had, all the friends I've made and lost. All the achievements, regrets, disappointments. Would I have changed as much if I'd never moved? Am I a product of my various towns and schools? Or would I always have ended up like this? We were all similar aged eight, and now I'm still almost identical to one of them, right down to loving Doctor Who and not doing any maths or science subjects.

We had our school's year twelve graduation assembly yesterday, and as I watched all I could think was, "In one year, that will be me". It then made me start thinking about what it would be like to meet my current classmates again in nine or ten years time. Would there be more or less of a change between 17-26 than there was between 8-17? Would I still have anything in common with those I currently spend all day with? Or will I not even remember their names?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

frangipani princess xoxo

Book Review: The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight

2011-11-14T07:05:00.000+11:00

I have flown many, many times by myself, both on domestic and international flights. Every single time, however, I have been seated either next to an old lady, or a fat man. Each time I get on a plane, I cross my fingers that I will be seated next to a gorgeous, single, boy around my age, but each time I am disappointed. It seems things like that only happen in movies, or books.

In "The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight", Hadley misses her plane by four minutes, and then by sheer coincidence meets the amazing Oliver and ends up sitting next to him on her flight from America to England to attend her father's wedding. Hadley and Oliver bond straight away, and soon find themselves wondering whether love at first sight is possible. They give each other comfort on what they are both expecting to be the worst day of their lives, and over the 24hr period in which the book is set, you will find yourself beginning to believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

While the book is probably outstandingly cliche, it's part of what makes it such a cute read. You start wondering about fate and destiny, and hoping that the next time you get on a plane, your very own Oliver will be waiting in the seat next to you.

"The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight" was an amazing read that I couldn't put down. You had to keep reading to find out what would happen next, and whether Hadley and Oliver would find their happily ever after. Hadley is a perfect protagonist, and the kind of girl you could imagine being your best friend. A brilliant addition to the YA genre, when it's released early next year, make sure you grab a copy.

Author: Jennifer E. Smith
RRP: $22.99
Published By: Headline
Published On: 10th January 2012
Pages: 215
Rating: 9/10

frangipani princess xoxo

Fourteen

2011-11-12T06:50:00.001+11:00

When I was fourteen, I was hardcore in love with The Jonas Brothers. I had over 200 posters of them on my wall, they were all I listened to, I was a member of every online forum and group possible about them...they were practically all I talked about. These were the days before Justin Bieber was a thing, but you could think of me as on-par with the most intense Beliebers of today (okay, I exaggerate, I would never have like, sent death threats to their girlfriends or anything, although I did hate their exes on principal for them). My fourteen (and originally thirteen, then fifteen, and sixteen) year old heart broke continuously as The Jonas Brothers continued to ignore us in world tours. I remember sobbing hysterically in my bedroom in early 2009 because Joe Jonas came to Sydney on a personal trip and mum wouldn't let me go stalk him, and I realised that it would likely be the only time a Jonas would hit up Australia. Eventually as 2009 continued, Bieber developed a fan base and Kevin got married and Nick released plans for a solo album, and before we knew it, it was 2010 and JB weren't really a thing any more.

I still love them with all my heart, but I've been forced to move on with my obsessions, as it's a bit hard to intensely love a group who don't really do much. As most of you would know, my newest JB-filler is One Direction. I love everything about the largely teen British boy band, but as they grow in popularity, especially here in Australia, I can't help but notice my age. My twitter feed is filled with retweets from Sony, radio stations, magazines, and 1D themselves of girls with names like "mrsharrystyles" or "1Dloverforever" and I just sit back and think...where did my dedication go? When I was fifteen, I was named one of the 25 biggest Jonas fans in Australia, I would have done anything for those boys, and yet, over time, you have to grow up and realise you can't be a fangirl forever. Well, you can, but not to the same level.

Last night a rumour started on twitter that 1D would be heading Down Under in March, and all the hardcore Directioners started trending topics and tweeting 1D, and it made me so sad. It was acceptable for these girls to be doing that, these fourteen year olds with nothing to worry about except which celebrity they'll spam on that particular day. As much as I would love to be them, love to be in the wave of young-teens in this 1D craze who can devote everything they have to tweets and campaigns and fansites, my real life has to get in the way.

I think there comes a day in every fangirl's life where they wake up and realise they're not fourteen anymore, and they have to act differently. I am closer to my eighteenth birthday than I am to my seventeenth, and I don't even want to think about the fact that it's almost been four years since I was fourteen. My days are now spent with piles of homework, major work researching, and HSC preparation. I barely have time to breathe, let alone find the time to dedicate myself to fangirling. It's also a bit weirder if you're almost eighteen and have a twitter name like "marryme1D" than if you do the same thing at fourteen. It makes me sad, because it's only the hardcore fans that ever really get noticed, and even though I don't have time to be their number one Australian fansite, I still love them an awful lot and would love nothing more than to be noticed, and to be able to meet them.

I think I'm saddest because I never got the chance to be the insane fan at a Jonas concert. My best fangirl years were spent on a band that never left the other side of the world, and I suppose a bit of jealousy comes into play for the fangirls of today. Bieber came to Australia. 1D are supposedly coming to Australia. Every group seems to be more popular here than my beloved JB ever were, and I just wish I had a chance to do it all again. Not that I would change anything about my JB years, but I just wish I could be fourteen again right now, just for a while, so I could have one last go at being an intensely addicted fan before I hit adulthood and my obsessions become even less socially acceptable than they are now.

If you're fourteen and reading this, or even if you're twelve, thirteen, or fifteen, make the most of it while you can. Obsess over everything. Have fun. Be the biggest fan you can be, cos one day you'll wake up in year twelve and realise just how much is devastatingly now behind you.

frangipani princess xoxo

Developing Social Skills

2011-11-10T20:38:00.001+11:00

I've never been much of a social person. On a Friday or Saturday night, you're more likely to find me curled up in bed with a good book or watching a chick flick than you are at any raging teen party. It's like when God was handing out personality traits, he just skipped right over the social one when he got to me. I prefer hanging with a few friends than being at a party with heaps of people I don't really know/like.
My parents are going to Sydney this weekend and leaving my brother and I here alone. I told them that I was going to have a raging party, and they just laughed at me because they know that there's about as much chance of that happening as me suddenly growing wings.

In the last few weeks, however, I have begun to develop a bit more of a social life. Granted, it's with only two or three people, but I've actually been leaving the house on weekends, and a few weeks ago, I didn't get home until *gasp* 11.30pm on a Friday night. My parents were so proud.
I think getting my Ps has aided in this new found interest in going out, as now I can just drive myself wherever, whenever, instead of waiting for my parents to do it. It's not like I'm hitting up raging parties, but I go to the movies, or to Cold Rock, or just have sleepovers, and it's really fun.

I've been a bit of a social recluse for so long that I had almost given up hope of ever being someone who leaves the house in high school. I'm a bit of a stereotypical nerd in that regard. I'm finding that as I'm getting older and getting more responsibility, however, that I'm enjoying doing things with other people more. I only get to be in year twelve once, and so I may as well try and make the most of it with memories and friendships that I can look back on fondly. As easy as it is, I think I may regret spending every Friday night of my final year of high school in bed by 9pm.

I know I'm never going to be a social butterfly. I've accepted that I'm never going to win any popularity awards, or be invited to all the 'cool' parties. I used to let that get to me, and think that if I couldn't be like all the people who did, I may as well just not leave the house. If you can't beat them, why bother trying? I now realise that that was a stupid way to think, and have changed my views so I know that just because you don't get to go to all the parties everyone talks about of a Monday, it doesn't mean you can't have your own fun of a weekend. In the words of Hannah Montana (are we getting a feeling of why I don't get party invites?), Life's what you make it so let's make it rock!

frangipani princess xoxo

What I've Been Watching

2011-11-06T08:54:00.003+11:00

Some youtube clips that have been aiding in my procrastination from the ever-growing pile of year twelve work that seems to be defining my life lately:

Gay Pirates - Cosmo Jarvis:
We were listening to random music at lunch the other day and one of my friends started playing this song. It's completely adorable and addictive, and one of my new favourites.

4 Chord Pop Songs - Axis Of Awesome:
I saw a clip on tumblr the other day of a girl playing all these different pop songs with the same four chords, but then my friend Kate showed me this video with the same concept, but just so much cooler.

He's Only Fourteen - Sammy J and Randy:
I love Sammy J and Randy so much, and I saw this song posted on their facebook last week. It was originally on Good News World, and you'll understand it most if you're an Aussie. Make sure you watch until the very end.

frangipani princess xoxo

Book Review: The Violet Eden Chapters

2011-11-01T19:20:00.004+11:00

I was sent the first book in The Violet Eden Chapters, Embrace, last year. I chucked it on my pile of books to read (which is about as tall as I am, though that might not be saying much) and didn't think much of it, as sadly often happens to many books I get sent as I just don't have time to read all of them (I really wish I did). A few months later, however, I got sent the sequel, Enticed, which made me slightly more interested, but still, it got chucked on the pile. The blurb sounded very fantasy and there's only so much of that you can take. Last month, however, I was sent the third book in the series, Emblaze, and decided enough was enough and I had to start reading. I ended up reading Embrace in one night, it was that addictive.

The series begins with Violet Eden on the eve of her seventeenth birthday. She thinks she has a pretty normal life, living with her often-absent father after the death of her mother soon after her birth, attending school, and hanging out with her best friend, Steph. She's hardcore crushing on her training buddy turned close friend Lincoln, and thinks something might be about to happen. But then weird things start happening, and charismatic Phoenix appears, and soon nothing is what it seems and Violet begins to question everything. It turns out she's a Grigori - a half angel, half human warrior destined to fight 'exiles', or fallen angels. As Embrace turns into Enticed, Violet has some hard decisions to make, and a lot to learn. The journey doesn't get any easier as we head into Emblaze though, with an end of the world prophecy leading Violet and her fighting friends straight to the entrance of hell.

Besides the obvious fantasy genre of the novels, it is brilliantly romance fuelled. There's angst, unrequited love, forbidden love, soul mates, and just general cuteness. Think Twilight, but more believable and awesome.

I love reading YA novels, but often get sick of their repetitiveness, so The Violet Eden Chapters pleasantly surprised me with their take on the current trend. I'm just disappointed I have to wait an entire year to read the fourth book!

The Violet Eden Chapters are written by Jessica Shirvington, an Aussie writer (brilliant!), and the first three are now available where all good books are sold. Check them out for an addictive Summer read!

Published By: Hachette Australia
RRP: $24.99 (Emblaze, though others should be approximately the same)
Pages: 409 (Emblaze, but again, others should be approx. the same)
Rating: 8/10

You Won't Believe I'm Saying This

2011-10-30T20:04:00.000+11:00

It pains me to write this post, because to quote John Green's Looking For Alaska, "I hated sports. I hated sports, and I hated people who played them, and I hated people who watched
them, and I hated people who didn’t hate people who watched or played them."

Despite playing numerous sports when I was younger, I have never been someone who could be described as 'sporty' or 'athletic'. I believe the terms more widely used are 'severely uncoordinated' and 'exceptionally lazy'. As quidditch doesn't actually exist (and don't give me crap about 'quidditch' played at various universities - if the broomstick doesn't fly, I can't be bothered with it), I have spent my life content with the idea that all sport is stupid and happiness comes from a good television show and a fast internet connection. Blessed with a naturally fast metabolism, I have been lucky enough to remain skinny despite never exercising and eating outrageous amounts of junk food. However, in the last couple of months, I sought Doctor's help after being constantly stressed out. Their number one piece of advice to me was to make sure I exercised for at least an hour every day. An hour. Every. Day. They explained that exercising for an hour releases extra Serotonin to your brain for the next twenty-four hours, therefore calming you down and making you happier. I grumbled at hearing this, but my parents dragged me to the gym every night and after a few weeks, I began noticing amazing differences; not only did I have heaps more energy, I found myself a lot calmer and just generally in a better mood.

It really isn't that much effort on my behalf, I just blast music on various pieces of exercise equipment and before I know it, my hour is up. My mum thinks I'm not working hard enough, however, so from Wednesday she's got me booked in with a *shudder* personal trainer. Exercising seemed like such a big thing before I actually started, and sitting at home on my computer seemed like such a better idea, but I have noticed such a change in my mood and fitness levels I can't stop recommending it. Like I said before, the word best used to describe me a few months ago was LAZY, so for this change around in such a small amount of time is nothing short of a miracle. If you're like me and view exercise like a vampire views sunlight, just try and give it a go. You will be amazed. If you don't live near a gym, or don't want to dish out money for one (they are so expensive!), try just walking more often (the outside air is an added health bonus. Oh gosh...it's like I don't even know myself any more!) or as it's coming up to summer, hit the pool.

As I'm going into year twelve, stress and anxiety are high factors I have to monitor, and I'm sure many of you are in the same boat as me. Left unchecked, they can have terrible consequences, so if there's something so easy as logging off line for an hour and getting some muscles working, I'm definitely in for it. Also, not only does it help keep your mind in tip-top shape, it of course helps you get a rocking body for summer.

frangipani princess xoxo

Vietnam

2011-10-26T13:27:00.001+11:00

As I've already written about on GWAS, my three week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia was a life changing experience. I went over not quite knowing what to expect, but everything we did was so amazing I doubt I could have imagined it beforehand anyway.

We started the trip in Siem Reap, which is usually a lovely city which we are able to spend lots of time shopping and exploring. However, the entire city flooded for the three days we spent there. We were still able to visit Angkor Wat, but the majority of our time was spent inside the hotel. It wasn't a bad experience, different, yes, but it showed us what people are capable of. Floods of the same level in Australia would have caused mass panic, but in Cambodia the people just went on with their everyday lives, riding their push bikes through thigh deep flood water and continuing with what they have to do to survive.

I'll admit that I'm a bit of a selfish person. Well, I was a bit of a selfish person before I went to Vietnam. I was concerned with my money and my internet and my awesome life, but didn't actually realise how lucky I was. Visiting orphanages, and just seeing people in general in the streets, changed that thought process pretty darn quickly. I was brought to tears spending time with children in an orphanage in Hoi An. Children who receive less than $30 a month from the government. Children who will never experience a proper education, or the internet, or even the simple joys of trash tv. It broke my heart. I work for around 4hrs every week and receive $50 for that. I used to complain constantly about needing more money, needing more things, more, more, more. Since I've come home I have stopped doing that. Gosh, the fact that I will have been on three international flights this year alone, more than any of the people I met in Vietnam will have in their entire lives (and more than many Australians will have in their entire lives) should be enough for me to constantly praise God for how amazing my life is. I am so lucky, but it took this trip for me to realise it. I never wanted to go volunteering for a gap year. The thought of sub-standard toilets, no wi-fi, limited electricity and basic food made me wrinkle my nose in disgust. But now I realise that I have the option to have these perfect amenities, to be sitting here right now typing this on a macbook pro in a big room in my beautiful house, and so many people in our world couldn't even dream of that. It is my responsibility to try and give back a bit. Sure, nobody likes using pit-toilets, but for all the people I met, that was their life. They don't have an option. I need to go and help them, give a little back, try and pay it forward.

The main focus of our trip was history. 50% of our HSC is on Indochina, and so going over there and visiting battlefields and war museums would help bring it to life for us. I was almost sick visiting the war museum in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and looking at the horrible effects of Agent Orange, but the part of the trip that really brought the reality of war home for me was visiting Long Tan. We had a mini ceremony, and lay flowers in groups of four. As we stood in the rubber plantation, realising with horror the stark cover the trees gave, a friend and I noticed four boys from our group standing at the cross. At the same moment, we exclaimed that those boys, the same boys who minutes before had been mucking around on the back seat of a bus, were just one year younger than many of the men who fought and died where we were standing at that moment. Those boys were so young, so carefree, to think that being born forty years late was the only thing stopping them from being one of the boys we were paying tribute to. You can read about war as much as you like, but until you stand there and realise the true reality of what happened, it's just not the same. As we drove away from Long Tan my teacher started playing I Was Only Nineteen. That song has never been sadder to me as in that moment.

One of my favourite aspects of the trip was that it allowed me to get to know some of my classmates. Even though I have been at my school for the equivalent of a year now, I still don't know lots of people, or only vaguely know them. We all bonded on the trip in a way that can only come through shared experiences. Our little insular world was not without fights and tears (I believe every girl cried at least once) but we all got to know each other better and I know I definitely got closer to a few friends. Late night room visits, hostage situations in rainy days in hotels, six hour bus trips, free time in towns...so many opportunities to get to know people on awesome levels. Coming back to Australia was weird, with all the people who hadn't been on the trip suddenly mixed in, but even though we may not all talk or hang out every day like we did overseas, we all still have been through something that connects us forever.

The trip was something I will never, ever forget. Apart from the harsh realisations I was forced to make, and the maturing I did, the trip was also filled with so much fun. We had custom clothing made, custom shoes made, stayed in beach resorts, ate at amazing restaurants (and not so amazing restaurants. The four straight days of Seafood almost killed me!), and just generally had a ball. I am so thankful to have had an opportunity to experience this, and encourage anyone given a similar opportunity to take it with both hands. I was a bit reluctant to go, but was one of the best things I have ever done.

frangipani princess xoxo

Round-Up (Because I Need A Time Turner To Be Able To Blog Properly)

2011-10-23T21:42:00.000+11:00

I am the world's worst blogger, and time manager, and so FP has been a little quiet of late. Fear not, I am planning a come back, but for now, here's what's been happening in my world:

Erica kindly posted some reflections I had on my trip to Vietnam. I talk about how it made me realise how lucky I am to have my life, and how selfish I can often be. I will be posting about it here soon, but for now, read what I had to say here: http://girlwithasatchel.blogspot.com/2011/10/teen-girl-with-satchel-reflections-on.html
Even though my first attempt ended in tears, on Friday I re-attempted my driving test and somehow managed to pass. I was so scared beforehand, but it just goes to show, even if you're not naturally good at something, with enough dedication and effort, you will eventually succeed. Falling and failing hurts, but the only way to stop the pain is if you get up and keep trying.
I saw The Three Muskateers yesterday. I wasn't expecting much, but it was so bad it was kind of brilliant. Logan Lerman was perfect, as usual, and the Muskateers had that hot old British man thing going on (I mean, what!?), plus the king of France was the most hilarious character ever. It probably isn't worth the exorbitant price of a 3D ticket, but if you see it on DVD in a few months, check it out for lots of laughs.
Part of the reason for my extended absences around these parts is that I've turned over a new leaf for year twelve and am cutting back on my internet usage extensively. I've been learning a lot about myself lately, and Vietnam helped me a lot with that, and in my soul searching I have discovered that hiding away for up to nine hours a day on the internet is not a healthy thing to be doing, so I've started exercising more, and spending time outside, and with my family and friends in real life. This next year is going to be one of the biggest ever, and I need to have the best possible mentality to get through it in one awesome piece.
As a reward for getting my Ps, on Friday my mum bought me a fish. I've wanted a fish forever - in fact, I wanted three and was going to name them after a combination of the Jonas Brothers and the Golden Trio. Unfortunately, the lady at the pet store crushed my dreams by telling me goldfish were the worst type of fish to get, and they would just die and it would be a waste of time and money to buy one of them, let alone three, and encouraged me to buy a fighting fish. They were pretty, so I agreed. Of course, being fighting fish, I could only get one, but because I have amazing friends, it has a pretty awesome name. I won't tell you the whole name, as it contains inside jokes that wouldn't be awesome to anyone else, but an abridged version is Sir Nicholas Malfoy. He's pretty much the coolest fish ever, and I just really hope I can manage to keep him alive.
I'm going to see Josh Thomas on Friday night. I'm very excited about this, and therefore have been loudly gushing about him whenever someone even vaguely mentions his name. This will be my third time seeing him live, and I cannot wait. Melinda Buttle is opening for him, and I'm pumped to see her live as well. They'll probably complain about how much of a hole my town is on twitter, but I don't care, because they're going to be here, and that's all that matters.

Check back soon, because I promise I will post again in the very near future.

frangipani princess xoxo

The Return Of FP

2011-10-16T19:36:00.001+11:00

So I'm back.
I'm sorry my absence was longer than expected - I got home last Monday but then started year twelve on Tuesday and just getting back into the swing of everything has left me with no time for anything.

My trip to Vietnam was one of the greatest things I have ever done. I learned so much, and just not about history. Being over there, seeing the things we saw, and experiencing the things we did taught me so much about my life, and just how lucky I am. It was a brilliant experience, and I am a changed person because of it. I plan on posting more about my trip later this week.

Here's a quick catch up on what else has been happening with me in terms of pop-culture addictions:

Currently:

Watching - Merlin Season Four, Glee Season Three, Doctor Who Season Six (I am yet to watch the finale, even though it is downloaded and waiting for me on my laptop. I wish there were more hours in a day!)

Reading - The Violet Eden Chronicles. I'm currently on book three, Emblaze (released last week via Hachette Australia) and it is beyond addicting. Will review in depth once I finish.

Listening To - One Direction, Glee Soundtrack (Darren singing Last Friday Night = Perfection), Hot Chelle Rae, Ocean Grove

Frustratingly Dying Of Jealousy Because Of - Evanna Lynch, Scarley Byrne and Colin Morgan, AKA three of my favourite people ever, are all going to be at Supanova in Brisbane in just under three weeks. The problem is I live 1379km from Brisbane, and one just completed overseas trip and one upcoming overseas trip means my parents are less than willing to pay for airfares and accommodation. So close, yet so far. I am devastated guys, devastated.

Normal posting will resume from now, however, as I am starting my year twelve work load, it may be slightly more sporadic than in years gone by.
Speaking of year twelve, best of luck to everyone about to begin their HSC/VCE/IB/etc. You can do it!

frangipani princess xoxo

Vietnam-Bound (and an interview with Christa Black!)

2011-09-20T21:03:00.000+10:00

The past year has quite possibly been the busiest year of my life, and just because I have a zillion tv shows that I want to sit down and watch, it's decided to, if possible, get busier. Tomorrow afternoon - after I finish my two most dreaded exams - I am getting on a bus with forty-ish of my history classmates and driving to Melbourne. Once we get to Melbourne, we're getting on a plane to Singapore, and from Singapore, we're going to Cambodia. Just for fun, after a few days, we're then going to Vietnam. We'll be gone for three weeks, and I am extremely excited. Other than the obvious history-related war museum attending and Ho Chi Minh body viewing, we're also riding elephants, going snorkling, to mud baths, and shopping. Lots of shopping.

While I've done my fair share of traveling, I have never really been to Asia. We spent three days in Singapore a few years ago, but Singapore doesn't really count because it's pretty Westernised. I'm looking forward to experiencing a different side to the world, and experiencing some new things. It will also be my first time traveling with my friends (well, friends I haven't met while traveling), so that should be pretty fun (unless we all go stir crazy and murder each other).

As exciting as this all is for me, it means I'll have pretty limited internet access until the middle of October. That more than likely means very minimal blogging from my side of cyberspace. Try not to miss me too much, and make sure you have a fun three weeks yourselves. I'll be back before you know it with lots of stories to tell, so make sure you don't abandon me before then.

As a reward for being such awesome readers, here's a link to my Teen Girl With A Satchel column for this month, in which I interview one of my favourite people ever, Christa Black. After I get back from my trip I'll also have more on Christa and her awesome book, God Loves Ugly, which, I'm not even kidding, has changed my life.
Read my post here :)

See you soon!
frangipani princess xoxo

Some Study Time Amusement

2011-09-19T13:01:00.002+10:00

I'm halfway through my exams at the moment, but am absolutely hopeless at studying. Last night I was complaining to a friend about having to learn the Roman Emperors for Ancient History, and she linked me to this video for a bit of study related entertainment:

The evil emperors are my favourite kind to learn about (every aspect of Elagabalus will never not be hilarious) and so it had my attention straight away, but then I started watching it and I just couldn't stop. It is so bad, it is actually the funniest thing I have seen in a long time (including this. If you click that link, please don't think I'm a horrible person for laughing hysterically). It didn't help me much for my Ancient exam today (it was so horrible I never want to talk about it again), but it was so funny I decided everyone should get to see it. Any other Roman Emperor nerds out there? (Just me? ....okay.)

Just for fun, and because I've decided Horrible Histories is my new favourite thing ever, here's "Spartan High School Musical". It's so funny, it hurts.

frangipani princess xoxo

The Next Best Thing To New Jonas Music

2011-09-15T15:30:00.000+10:00

It's no secret that I love the Jonas Brothers, and if you've been reading FP for a few years, you'd also know that obsession extended onto their band. Their backing band comprised of Garbo, Jack, Ryan, and (No Way!) John Taylor, and they were pretty epic people just as part of JB. But then, they decided they would form their own band, and call it Bulldozer. They didn't end up calling themselves Bulldozer, instead going with Ocean Grove Band after the place where they created their music, but this year they finally made real on their threat and released two 'solo' EPs.

I followed them on twitter, but for some reason I never bothered actually listening to their music. If you'd asked me, I would have told you I was an Ocean Grove fan, based solely on the fact of who they are, but I couldn't have recognised one of their songs if you'd paid me a million dollars.

The other day, however, Toong and I were discussing Garbo's recent engagement, and she said she'd heard some of their stuff and they weren't bad, so I decided to finally listen for myself. It was so much love, it wasn't even funny. I immediately downloaded both of their EPs and they have been on repeat (in amongst my One Direction, of course) since then. My personal favourite songs are The Best (the lyrics "They said you'd never make it, and now they're obsessed" are the greatest things ever) and We're Still Breathing. They've released an official video for I Want You In Love, though, so that's the one I'm sharing with you today. Just watch, and soak up their awesomeness. Enjoy!

Ocean Grove are pretty much the next best thing to having new Jonas music (though don't get me wrong, their sound is nothing like that of good ol' JB). And don't say "What about Joe's new song/CD" because I may hit you. Those songs and that new video for Just In Love make me incredibly frustrated and it's best if I say no more on the matter. I still love Joe with all of my heart, I'm just not a big fan of what's he's doing at the moment.
But back to Ocean Grove! They are beyond awesome/you should listen/fall in love with them/etc/etc.

frangipani princess xoxo

Boy Bands Make The World Go 'Round

2011-09-14T15:28:00.001+10:00

Boy bands are like oxygen to me; I basically need them to survive. There's just something about them that makes me fall head over heels in love and blast their songs on repeat forever. The humble boy band has been a little missing in action in recent years, overtaken by rappers, or solo artists, and this makes me sad, so when I discovered One Direction the other day, it was like all my fangirl Christmas's had come at once.

credit

One Direction (1D), comprised of five 17-19 year old British boys, rose to fame on last year's British X Factor (British X Factor must be the greatest thing ever. First Jedward, now One Direction...Why can't our version be epic like theirs?!) and have released their first single this week. Harry, Louis, Zayn, Niall, and Liam all auditioned separately for the show, but were then thrown together as a group and hit it off big-time.

credit

Their debut single, "What Makes You Beautiful" hit number one on the UK iTunes chart within hours of being released, and the film clip has had 6.8million views in less than a month. Check it out:

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/font&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

I just love them so much. Now they just need to come to Australia and ~~fall in love with me~~ release some more super cool music and my boy band loving heart will be satisfied.

frangipani princess xoxo

Self Doubt, Magazine Dreams, and Baby Steps

2011-09-12T18:47:00.002+10:00

Last week I went to the oral surgeon (wisdom teeth are my newest enemies) and he asked me what I wanted to do once I finished school. I told him that I planned to complete an education degree at Sydney University and become an English and History teacher, because in that moment, that's exactly what I wanted to do with myself.
As anyone who has ever read this blog would know, I have wanted to work in magazines for as long as I can remember. There was never a Plan B. I started this blog a week after my thirteenth birthday to get my name out there, and began work experience just after I turned fifteen. I have spent the last four years doing everything in my power to become known as a journo-in-waiting.

And then I started doubting myself.

Suddenly my brain decided to think on the negative side of, well, everything. It started to remind me continuously of the small number of mag jobs that exist, the high ATARs required to get into media courses, and hey, just for fun, how much better everyone is than me when it comes to coming up with story ideas, and you know, actually writing. I became utterly convinced that I would never make it, so my brain took the next step and began to think, why even try? I stopped reading magazines. I began listening to my classmates when they told me that my future careers wouldn't benefit the world and that I should rethink what I wanted to do. I looked into other career paths and decided teaching would be perfect for me. I could further my love of English, and who wouldn't love every weekend free, twelve weeks of holidays a year, and a set hour work day?

You guys may have noticed my blogging has decreased over the last month or two. Blame it on the self doubt. My inspiration ran dry. I couldn't think of anything to blog about, nor could I even make myself slightly motivated to try and come up with something. I could no longer see a point in trying to produce something quality, because, let's face it, it's not like it was going to get me anywhere.

As far as I was concerned, I was just another girl with journo dreams. One of many with her sights set on the top of a masthead, but just one of many who was going to end up bitterly disappointed.

Today I got the new issue of Dolly magazine in the mail, and instead of throwing it onto the ever increasing pile of unopened magazines that have begun to accumulate on the floor of my room, I decided to flick through it. As soon as I opened the glossy cover, I was hit with a wave of emotion. I suddenly remembered everything I loved about magazines. No matter how hard I pushed them into a box and out of my mind, they were a part of me.

Maybe I won't get the ATAR needed to get into a media course (the fact that I'm writing this instead of studying for my exams which begin on Wednesday is a fair indication that I'm not likely to). Maybe I won't ever get an internship. Maybe I will never get my break, or my foot in the door. Maybe I will end up a replica of my parents - teaching in a small town high school, married to a colleague, happy, but frustrated with the vast majority of my students. Maybe magazines will never be a part of my life the way younger me expected them to be. Or maybe they will. The thing is, if I give up now, it will never happen. If I focus on teaching, I will never end up a journalist. If I don't try, nothing will ever happen. Sure, maybe I won't be good enough, but at the end of the day, it's trying that counts. I can't expect my dreams to come true without effort, nor can I expect them to come true if I flee at the first sign of doubt or rejection. I don't want to find myself in twenty years watching students talk about their dreams for the future and feel the bitter pang of regret because I let my dreams pass me by.
God has a plan for my life, and I need to learn to trust in that plan. I hope it includes magazines, because I just feel so at home whether I'm reading them, or on work experience at one of their offices, or following a journo on twitter and reading all about their exciting days.

I have a long way to go (with the HSC being the first hurdle I must face) but self-doubt has never been a helpful friend. The journey to overcoming self doubt is possibly longer than the journey to my mag dreams (or maybe the two are actually one), and at the moment I'm taking baby steps. But even baby steps will one day allow you to reach your destination, so I hope you stick with me as I take some shaky first steps towards mine.

frangipani princess xoxo

Ways In Which I Am Like Cher From Clueless (AKA That Time I Failed My Driving Test)

2011-09-09T17:52:00.001+10:00

A lot of things come easily to me in life, and I guess I'm very lucky for that. I can sit down and write a perfect essay without even thinking, I can get high marks in every subject with minimal study, I can learn new skills at work in the smallest amount of time...I just generally can do things well without much effort. And then came along driving. I have a bit of a trouble with practical things, and a short attention span, so driving was never going to be a piece of cake for me. The whole remembering which side is left and which is right thing, and the remembering to check all the mirrors thing, and the remembering to you know, put the car in Drive thing, just didn't work very well for me. It took me a lot of practicing, and a lot of practicing, and a lot of practicing to be even average at it.

But finally, after a zillion hours with my driving instructor and even more with my poor parents, I was ready to go for the test.

And I failed.

I felt a lot like Cher in Clueless when she goes back to her house after her driving test, and Josh and Tai ask her, "How does it feel to be a licensed driver?" and she has to reply, "I wouldn't know, I failed."

I'm not used to failing, and it sucked. I had done everything perfectly, except I managed to royally screw up my parallel park which is an Instant Fail. Again, to take words from Cher, "(when it comes to parking) What's the point? Everywhere you go has valet.". I knew I had failed as soon as I did it, but hearing the instructor officially tell me when I got back to the RTA was a painful blow. I am so used to just getting, and being good at everything, so to have to work so, so hard on driving only to have it blow up in my face hurt. It was a completely foreign feeling to me.

They say when you're trying to get pregnant, all you notice is other pregnant ladies and babies. I'm getting like that with P Plates. They're all I notice, anywhere, and if I'm not seeing cars proudly displaying their red plates, I'm seeing what feels like everyone on facebook announcing their success. Even though I know it's not true, everybody in the world except me seems to be driving around by themselves.

Much like when I had to get back on the public speaking horse, I am not going to let this one failure get me down (no matter how hard I threw my Learner license across my room when I got back home). I have rebooked my test for five weeks time (I have to wait until I get back from my three week trip to Vietnam) and as scary as the thought of failing again seems, I have to try again. No matter how much I hate it (because I really do not enjoy driving at all), driving is a life skill I need to have. I can't be stuck on those damned L plates forever.
The fail rate for my town is 47%, so I know that I'm not alone in my lack of P plate gaining (even though everyone seems to be passing first go lately). I was visibly upset when I re-entered the RTA after my test, and so a man asked my mum if I had failed my P's. When she replied that I thought I had, he asked how many times I had failed previously. When she told him that it was my first try, he scoffed and said I had nothing to worry about yet. I have heard stories about people failing upwards of five times, and it just reiterates the point that even if you do keep failing, you eventually have to pass. The point isn't in worrying about the number of 'failed' slips you receive, it's in keeping on going back and trying again.

Even though I cried a fair bit this afternoon, and then stocked up on fast food and chocolate to drown my sorrows in calories, I need to keep reminding myself that this failing my driving test does not make me a failure. I am good at other things, and being able to drive is not going to help me pass my exams next week, so I need to be thankful that I at least have skills in something that counts.

frangipani princess xoxo

Some Fandom Collision For Your Tuesday Night

2011-08-30T21:35:00.001+10:00

I love it when my fandoms collide, and my favourite fandom collision of the moment is that of Harry Potter and Team Starkid. It was always going to happen, but now it has, it is just the greatest thing ever.

It started off at LeakyCon when they began to hang out with Evanna Lynch (aka Luna Lovegood and my favourite female Harry Potter cast member) and Scarlett Byrne (aka Pansy Parkinson in the later movies). Those meetings lead to an awesome friendship and now we get to have tweets like:

There are heaps more but I'm lazy and cannot be bothered going back ages in Evy's timeline.

Continuing the tradition, the other day, our favourite Glee/Starkid fandom collider DCriss tweeted this brilliant picture:

And then earlier today Katie Leung (who is so much cooler than her onscreen character Cho) joined in the party by adding:

It just makes me so happy. I would love to be at some of their joint parties. Seriously. Think of all the fun and Harry Potter references that would be made. Sigh. Such brilliance should almost be illegal.

frangipani princess xoxo
ps. I have three assessment tasks and seven exams in the next three weeks, but I'll try and update as much as possible!

New Who

2011-08-28T12:49:00.000+10:00

Sometimes it's weird for me to realise that I've only been a Whovian for a few months. I fell hard and fast into this fandom, and I won't be trying to find a way out of it anytime soon, which is why I was so excited for the mid-season 6 hiatus to finally be over this morning (my time).
Those of you who watch would know that "A Good Man Goes To War", the episode before the hiatus, left us with a rather large (though some, and I include myself in that, may say predictable) revelation. We hoped that today's episode, titled "Let's Kill Hitler", may begin to explain some of the things that left us reeling.

Well. It certainly did it's job.

Those who have ever listened to one of my rants would know that while some of my all time episodes of Doctor Who from seasons 1-4 were written by Steven Moffat, I think he's absolutely butchering everything as head writer for seasons 5 and 6. That said, today's episode was written by him and it was...amazing. It was funny and awesome but still answered questions and cleared up a few things, and it had some absolutely brilliant lines. I won't spoil anything for those Aussie's who aren't impatient like me and thus are waiting for next Saturday night to view it, but I will say that Alex Kingston needs to win all the awards, and that the cameos we were looking forward to were disappointing in one way, and yet heartbreakingly brilliant in another.
Of course, it didn't clear everything up because there's still the rest of the season for that, but it left us with an appetite for more Who.

I'm the first to admit I'm not a massive fan of this season's storyline, but this episode made me like it just a little bit more.

New Doctor Who just makes me so happy. And so annoyed that I'm going to be in Vietnam when the season finale is on. That's so not fair.

frangipani princess xoxo

Pottermore: Take Two

2011-08-26T19:08:00.003+10:00

Early this morning I drowsily let my dog out of my room and decided to check my emails before heading back to sleep. With one eye shut, I began to dose off until my inbox loaded, and sitting bright and shiny at the top of the list was an acceptance email from Pottermore. I was awake, out of bed, in the house and in front of my computer in record time. I was beyond excited.
I was even more excited when Toong came online soon after and had her email too. We were going through it together.

I won't spoil anything for those of you who aren't in yet, but it's absolutely brilliant.
One of my favourite parts has been shopping in Diagon Alley, and being fitted for my wand. For those of you who are curious, my wand is:
9 3/4" Pine with Unicorn core, Unyielding.
Toong got to the sorting before me, and I waited just as nervous as she was for her result. When she declared that she was Slytherin, her second choice after Ravenclaw, I was happy for her, but jealous just in case she had gotten in and I wouldn't. Finally I skipped ahead to reach the sorting before having to leave for school, and it was with a stomach full of butterflies that I clicked the button to begin the sorting. I knew that whatever this quiz told me was law; it had been written by Queen Rowling, the sorting hat herself, and there were no arguments or going back.
I went through the questions (which, without giving anything away, were rather interesting) selecting those based on my honest answers, not those which I thought would help me get into a particular house (it didn't work at all for Evanna Lynch, so it wouldn't work for me) and my nervous anticipation grew and grew. Finally, I clicked an answer and everything turned green. I had been sorted into SLYTHERIN! I actually did a happy dance. Toong and I then celebrated our new housemate-ness together, and our joy at being in the "coolest and edgiest house" (according to the extra info written by J.K herself). I had a lucky break though, Quack, the most Slytherin of Slytherins, got sorted into Hufflepuff, which we all had a good laugh about (sorry hun!).

Pottermore is brilliant. That's all I can say. I suck at potions (I may or may not have blown up a cauldron or two), and I'm not the best at actually finding the things in each section, but I love reading all the extra information, and as all my friends seemed to get in today as well, I'm having a great time getting around with them.

If you're in, add me as "HallowRune144", and tell me how amazing it is in the comments!

Happy Pottermore-ing!

frangipani princess xoxo

The Quiet Place (And Why I Desperately Need One)

2011-08-23T20:44:00.000+10:00

Sometimes I get a bit addicted to the internet. I use it as a kind of escape from school and The Real World, and before I know it I've been spending upwards of seven hours a day online. The other day I was browsing Tumblr (surprise, surprise) when I saw a link that said "Just Click This". Because I like clicking things, I clicked it, and what I found actually kind of changed my life.
Okay. Maybe it wasn't that drastic. But it did make me think (and cry. I will admit I shed a tear. Or lots of tears.)

The link I clicked on was this, and it took me to a website called "The Quiet Place".
Basically, The Quiet Place aims to spread the message that in this crazy world of technology and social networking, we sometimes forget to take a break and go and relax in our quiet place. To take a break and get our thoughts together without the worries of who just commented on your status, or who sent you a message on tumblr, or who your new follower on twitter is.

My life is ruled by technology, I will admit that now, so when the Quiet Place told me that everything that my life is ruled by are just "meaningless little things", the thought really hit home. I started crying, as I mentioned earlier, because I realised that I was devoting my life to basically what amounts to seeing what funny gifs and memes people would put on the internet next. I can tell you everything you need to know about celebrity and fandom (and everything you never thought you needed to know), but I was, and still am to a degree, beginning to lose track of myself. I would wake up, go on the internet, rush out the door to school, check the internet while I walked on my phone, get to school, check internet in all my breaks, go home, go on the internet, go to bed, check the internet one last time before sleep, sleep, repeat. It was a terrible cycle of addiction. I was enjoying myself, but when your life is run by social networking sites, you don't have any time to see what is actually going on with you and the real world.

This year has not been the best year for me. I have had a few mini-meltdowns, and while school was partly to blame for this, I think a large part was also the fact that by spending all my time online, I was neglecting to take five minutes out to sit down and read a book, or to start knitting again (as my friend Adro told me, I am actually 80 years old). I wasn't giving myself enough time to breathe and relax. Sure, I wasn't doing a lot online, but there was always a site to check, or a status to update, and none of it was really contributing to my self-esteem, or perception-of-self.

The Quiet Place, while just being one more website that I ironically discovered through a social networking site, was a wake-up call I desperately needed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not quitting the internet, far from it. I'm just finally realising that to get through the next year and a half without any major break-downs, sometimes I need to turn off my macbook and pick up a book, or go to bed with all technology left in my house instead of in my room. Sometimes it's fun to bake some brownies instead of look at pictures of them on tumblr, or actually talk to my friends in real life instead of @replying them on twitter. While I will probably always be an internet-addict, I think I'm finally learning to appreciate the value of a quiet place.

frangipani princess xoxo

A Rare Post About Sport

2011-08-19T22:53:00.002+10:00

In English today, we were beginning to learn about the concept of Belonging. We spoke about different ways you can belong, what you can belong to, and the opposites of belonging. The first thing that popped into my head was "fandom", but I soon tuned out of the discussion because it was Friday and I was bored. I vaguely remembered him mentioning sports, but as everyone would know, sport and I do not exactly mix very well, so I wasn't exactly riveted.

Fast forward until earlier tonight and I found myself at AAMI Park watching the Storm take on my mighty Dragons. You see, when I say I don't like sport, I'm excluding my beloved rugby team, because I mean, when you're named after something, you kind of have to adore it for life. The Dragons rarely play in Melbourne, so when they do we usually take the chance to go and cheer them on. The thing about Melbourne, though, is it's a long way from Sydney, so at an average away game down here numbers of fans are very, very low, and numbers of Storm supporters are very, very high. This leads to an awful lot of solidarity and belonging, and it's brilliant. You walk past someone else dressed in red and white, and they give you a thumbs up, cheer, or high five you. You've never seen them before, and you'll never see them again, but in that moment, you're both St. George fans, and that's all that matters. When something goes wrong, or right, during the game, you can look across the arena and see other fans yelling, or booing, or putting their heads in their hands in dismay. You feel like you're not alone, 'cos even though you may be in the vast minority in the sea of purple, you belong. You can, of course, argue a fair case for a football game being a prime example of alienation as well. Walking past Storm supporter after Storm supporter who laughs, boos, or shakes their head at you reminds you that you're in hostile territory, and not exactly welcomed with open arms.

We disgustingly lost the game tonight, but belonging came back into play when we were exiting the stadium. Other fans wearing Red Vs were there to discuss the horrible outcome and console us, and everyone else. Amongst the cheering purple crowd watching the cup being presented to our enemy, we could find solace in the fact that as a Dragons (or any other sports) fan you're not alone, you belong, and that your fellow Dragons Fans will be there through thick and thin to give you a place where you're always welcome.

I guess it's like I said the other day, fandom and sport really aren't that different. They're both a bit like families, and it's always great to belong to one of those.

frangipani princess xoxo

Notes From FP

2011-08-16T22:44:00.001+10:00

I currently have eight assignments due, and zero blogging inspiration, so I may only be around sporadically over the next week or so.
Stick with me, guys, and while I'm busy, just DFTBA <3

frangipani princess xoxo

An Anniversary

2011-08-14T19:38:00.001+10:00

Exactly one year ago today I got on a plane by myself and flew to France for six months. Most of you would have read along with my adventures back then, but if you didn't and want to know What Happened Next, you can catch up on my 'Reflections' here, here, and here.

I just can't believe it was an entire year ago.

Some parts of me don't want it to be a year ago, because soon it will be a year since I said goodbye to friends made at camp, and I miss them, but what are you going to do? With time-zones and different continents and commitments to life in general, sometimes it's hard to stay in touch with people you only spent two weeks with, no matter how brilliant a time you had, or how many memories you made.

A year is a big milestone. It means I've been back in Australia for as long as I was in France for, which is kind of a scary thought. Because those six months felt like a lifetime, but these six months have been a blur of assessment due dates and test results and promises to skype people 'as soon as we both have a spare five minutes'. I grew and changed so much in the six months I was over there, but in these six months the only thing that's grown is my obsessions (can you believe that it's only since I've been home that I've been in love with Doctor Who?!)

It will soon be a year since I met all my 'French' friends. As in, my friends who lived in my town in France but really come from various other countries that are not France. That's a big deal. Those girls are like parts of me. I can't imagine a time in my life that I didn't know them, and I doubt there'll be another time in my life when I don't. They are what made my time in France fabulous, brilliant, amazing, special, and every other adjective you can think of, so I decided the best way to continue this post was to share some of my favourite pictures with you.

I would love to include more photos, as I took thousands and thousands, but really all the special stories and moments they capture only matter to me and the few in them. You guys will never fully be able to understand the stories behind the split second smiles. Going through my photos just then made me start crying, because France changed me. It was the hardest, but best thing I have ever done in my life, and I miss it so much.

One of my best friends Ell is heading over to France for six months later this week, and I hope that she has an experience that allows her to grow as a person and have as much fun as I did. Because as much as I bitched about being over, and no matter how sad I got, I had so much fun. There were days I laughed until I cried, afternoon junk food binges that saw us all walking away with many extra kilos, inside jokes, random moments, just so much that made it...absolutely perfect in it's imperfection.

France me manque beacuoup. Mes amis, je t'aime, et vous me manque beaucoup beaucoup beacoup aussi.

frangipani princess xoxo
ps. If that French is incorrect...I honestly do not care.

Glee! Live The 3D Concert Movie Review

2011-08-11T20:43:00.000+10:00

This afternoon I went with a Gleek friend to see "Glee! Live the 3D Concert Movie". I went in with high expectations, because let's face it, Glee with Darren Criss in 3D cannot go wrong. My expectations were more than surpassed.

Every single second of the movie was flawless. Absolutely flawless. The film included videos of performances from their live concert, plus backstage footage of the actors-in-character, and then, they also featured three teens who had had their lives changed by Glee: A little-person who was on her school's cheer squad, a girl with Aspergers, and a gay guy who was outed against his will in year eight. It really added to the story and proved how Glee has the ability to influence all of our lives in a positive way. Of course, Mini Warbler (aka the little boy I want to adopt right now) also played a major role, and many other fans also had minor parts. It was amazing.

If I had to pick some, the main downsides to the film would have to be the lack of Klaine interaction (No skit included. Boo! Hiss!), and Gwyneth Paltrow making a majorly awkward on-stage cameo. Other than those two rather minor things, I am in love with the film. There were bits that made me cry, bits that made me cheer, and bits that made me clutch at my heart and wish Darren Criss really was singing to me.

The next best thing for us who weren't lucky enough to have the actual Glee! Live Concerts in our countries, the Glee! 3D Concert Movie is a must see for Gleeks of all ages and genders. It will be enjoyed by everyone and will definitely make you want to see it again and again, and pray that the DVD is released quickly. I, for one, will definitely be heading out to see it again, but I'll have to be quick as it has a limited release date of two weeks.

Glee! Live the 3D Concert Movie is out now in cinemas everywhere. Go see it, and then tell me how much you want Darren Criss to make your teenage dreams come true.

frangipani princess xoxo

Tsweezy

2011-08-10T21:53:00.000+10:00

Taylor Swift, AKA my favourite female singer ever, is coming back to Australia! Just in time for my eighteenth birthday, as well. The Dailty Telegraph reports that Tswizzle will be making her third trip down under in March, with concerts (amongst others) in Sydney on the 9th and Melbourne on the 13th. 13 is Taylor's lucky number, so obviously her concert in Melbs is going to be the greatest thing ever.
I went to Taylor's 'Fearless' tour early last year, and it was the most amazing thing ever. I cannot wait to go to this one. I am beyond jumping-up-and-down in my seat excited. My biggest goal is to somehow secure a Meet and Greet. I'm going to get standing tickets, because you have more of a chance of getting a T-Party invite in GA, and then I don't know. I will do anything, and I mean anything for a chance to meet her. It's like my biggest goal in life right now. If anyone knows how to achieve this, I will give you my first born child for information. Seriously.

Tickets go on sale to the general public at 9am on Friday the 26th of August, but there's an Amex pre-sale (whatever Amex is. Some kind of credit card?) from next Tuesday, and then a Ticketek pre-sale from 1pm Wednesday the 24th. Unless Amex turns into a Visa pre-sale like for Miley, I'll be getting my tickets on the Wednesday.

You guys. I am so excited right now. Totally going to go and have a Tsweezy sing along in my bedroom to celebrate.

Are you totally pumped that the brilliant Ms. Swift will once again be gracing our shores?

frangipani princess xoxo

Still Got Legs (and if you've still got ears you should listen to this album)

2011-08-07T17:52:00.002+10:00

It's no secret that I'm in love with Charlie McDonnell and his band 'Chameleon Circuit', so when I heard they were releasing a second album I was beyond excited. A follow up to their 2009 self-titled album, 'Still Got Legs' picks up the story where the last one left off ('Journey's End', if you were wondering).

With songs such as 'Knock Four Times', 'The Doctor is Dying' and 'The Sound of Drums' we can heartbreakingly say goodbye to David, and then with the comedic song 'Still Not Ginger' we can welcome Matt.
The fifteen song album follows the story from David's final specials (The Doctor is Dying features his devastating lines "I don't want to go") right through until the last episode of season five with the song 'The Big Bang Two'.
Fans of the show will be able to tell that many of the lyrics used in the songs are actual lines from the song, or at least paraphrased storylines. My favourite song on the album is 'Kiss The Girl', which tells the story of 'The Lodger' from Craig's perspective. It's so adorable, and is like the entire 40minute episode in a handy 3minute song summary. 'Travelling Man' is another favourite, mainly because it makes reference to my favourite Christopher Eccleston episodes 'The Empty Child' and 'The Doctor Dances' with the lines ("There comes a time, time lord, when every boy must learn how to dance...just this once, everybody lives"). The whole album is brilliant though, and does the Trock genre proud (as it should, as they kind of invented it).
The title 'Still Got Legs' is a reference to their song 'Still Not Ginger' which is based on the David-to-Matt regeneration and includes the line "Legs? Still got legs".
At ComicCon a few weeks ago a fan asked Matt Smith and the rest of the Doctor Who cast what they thought about the album. You can watch their awesome response here.
'Still Got Legs' is available on iTunes (screenshot above) for $16.99 or from DFTBA Records for a $12 hard copy (plus postage).

frangipani princess xoxo

Book Review: A Straight Line To My Heart

2011-08-04T19:01:00.001+10:00

I've mentioned before that I get a little attached to fictional worlds, so when I opened "A Straight Line To My Heart" by Bill Codon and found the following opening lines, I knew it would be love:

"There's nothing quite as good as folding up into a book and shutting the world outside. If I pick the right one I can be beautiful, or fall in love, or live happily ever after. Maybe even all three."

Tiff and her best friend Kayla have just finished year twelve and are being faced with the scary thought of having to enter The Real World. Tiff gets work experience at the local paper and has her fingers crossed that it will lead to a job, even if it's not exactly what she expected it to be. Kayla just wants a job, a future, even if she is a bit scared she'll end up like her slightly alcoholic mother 'Inky', nicknamed because of her 'incubator' like way of bearing lots and lots of children.
Tiff lives with Reggie, the only grandad she's ever known, but he suddenly quits smoking and Tiff gets worried that something will happen to him, and her brother-type has a girlfriend and she's just a little bit scared she'll be forgotten. Throw in Davey, the first boy who's ever paid her any attention, and Tiff's in for a hell of a week.

While reading "A Straight Line To My Heart", I felt like I was Tiff. Swap around the family situations a bit, and move me back to my old (more) rural town and we could be twins. Tiff's first person narration was so relatable, and drew you straight into the story, and you found you didn't want to leave. Initially you think Tiff and Kayla are just two regular teens, but as the book continues you find out more about their stories, and discover that maybe meeting them we'd think they were a little rough, and a little bit from the wrong side of the tracks. What this story does brilliantly, however, is show that despite their backgrounds, they still have hopes, dreams, and fears, and at the end of the day, just want their happily ever after.

"A Straight Line To My Heart" is one of the best books I've read in a long, long time. It's Australian, which is a bonus, and is also one of a few Young Adult fiction books that includes absolutely no super-natural themes. Don't let the 'YA' title put you off though, it's definitely a novel that people of all ages could fall in love with (my fifty-something year old mum just finished it and now can't stop raving about it either). Prime Minister Literary Award winning Bill Codon has delivered an outstanding novel, and you should all race out to grab a copy.

Rating: 5/5
Author: Bill Codon
Published By: Allen&Unwin (Children Division)
Published On: 1st August 2011
Pages: 228
RRP: $17.99

frangipani princess xoxo

Fandom

2011-08-02T20:37:00.003+10:00

FANDOM noun [fan-duhm]
"The community that surrounds a tv show/movie/book etc. Fanfiction writers, artists, poets, and cosplayers are all members of that fandom."
source

I can't remember a time in my life that I haven't loved things in an almost obsessive manner, but I haven't always been a member of fandoms. The first fandom I joined was Harry Potter, but it wasn't until I was in late Primary School. As you all know, I've loved the books forever, but I didn't actively play a role in the fandom until I was around eleven or twelve. I didn't take sorting hat quizzes and read fanfiction and have ship wars and just generally obsess with other people until that point. Once I discovered the wonder that was taking part in fandom, I couldn't stop. My list just grew, and grew, and continues to grow to this day. I can no longer just watch a show, or read a book series, and go 'yeah, that was good', I have to follow a million 'fyeah' blogs devoted to it on tumblr, and find like-minded fans, and develop favourite ships, and download zillions of graphics to sub-folders on my computer.

In my free period at school yesterday I was trying to explain my fear of the Pottermore Sorting. My friends simply looked at me like I was crazy, and said (and I quote), "That is the saddest thing I have ever heard". Unfortunately, the word 'sad' was used in a "you are absolutely pathetic" way, as opposed to a "My heart is breaking over the fact you might become a Gryffindor".

While I do have a few IRL friends who are as into Fandom as I am, the vast majority are sadly not. If someone is not in Fandom (which goes hand-in-hand with what I said about fanfiction a week or two ago) they will just not get how great it is. Just telling someone that a Voldemort/Socially-Awkward-Penguin crossover meme is hilarious is not enough, they have to be at the level of dedication to the book/movie/band/tv show/etc. that they will find it hilarious. The same goes for ships and head-canon; if someone is just a casual enjoyer of something, they will not get your level of dedication and will not be able (or more precisely, want to) take part in your conversations. You learn to keep your mouth shut (or not, if you're me) around those who do not fall in love with fictional characters and dream of men in blue boxes, because it really just leads to odd looks and alienation.

Thankfully, that's where the internet steps in. Going back to my adventures in Pottermore, I was much less alone when it came to my fear of The Sorting when it came to Twitter.

A quick look at Tumblr also saw many breakdowns and intense conversations. It was brilliant. As I mentioned before, sometimes being the only Fangirl in a wide radius can lead to feelings of alienation, and that's where the internet is so amazing. People (mainly my mother) accuse me of being too addicted and dependant upon the interwebs, but it's one place where you fit in, one place where there are other people who would go without sleep to sign up for a website, or to buy tickets to a show, or to discuss theories and spoilers and everything else. You belong and you can't tell me that feelings of belonging are a negative thing.

I often get told that I should get off the net and into the real world and find some 'real people' to talk to, and some 'real interests' to spend my time on. The way I see it, however, is if you enjoy and are good at sport you will go to a sports specific school or join sports clubs and spend your days training and playing. While I suck at sport, I am good at Fandom, so why shouldn't the same rules apply to me? Those who can kick a ball are allowed to devote their lives to the game, and to only talk about the game, and play the game, and basically have everything revolve around the game. No-one blinks an eye at them. There is no difference between that and being obsessed with Doctor Who, or Harry Potter, or The Jonas Brothers (or all of the above). I can hear you all thinking, "But Georgie, sport is HEALTHY! Spending all day on the internet isn't!" and all I can say back is, as long as I go to the gym regularly and walk to school, and keep up my (rather good) marks at school, how is it any different? I have spare time, instead of spending it running around a field, I choose to spend it in Fandom. It's an interest, just like sport, or music, or art, or whatever else you may be into. I shouldn't be ostracised because I became a fangirl instead of a sports star. In fact, most guys are fanboys for sport. With their fantasy football leagues, and their conversations, and their footy tipping, they're identical to us Fandom Dwellers, but seem to think because they worship men in short-shorts instead of some college kids who put on plays about Harry Potter, they're better than us.

When I interviewed Lauren Rae Orsini, a journalist dedicated to fandom, she had the following to say about just why she loves it so much:
"I love how fans can take the creators original premise and turn it into an entire culture. For example, if you think about it, Harry Potter is just a series of books and movies. It’s the fans that make it legendary, with their fanart and fanfiction and handcrafted House scarves. Their tribute bands, like Harry and the Potters, and their tribute films, like Potter Puppet Pals. Their forums for discussing theories about the books and their costumes at the midnight movie releases."

That quote basically sums up my feelings. Without fans and fandom, Harry Potter would just be another seven books on the shelf. The fans made it brilliant and amazing and everything it is today. Fandom makes the entertainment world go 'round, and it's about time it gets the respect it deserves. Sure, a lot of people in Fandoms are nerds, but as The Vlogbrothers constantly tell us, being a Nerd is the best thing to be. As John says, "...nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. Hank, when people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’."

World, it's time Fandom got some respect. If you're reading this and aren't into Fandom, what are you doing with your life? I mean, honestly. It's fun, and we have some pretty awesome people over here. Charlie proves that nerds way into fandom are no longer fat creepy guys in lycra suits. They can be cute, and British, and definitely future husband material (side note: loving Charlie is kind of like Fandom inception. Because he (and Chameleon Circuit) are a Fandom inside a Fandom. See the kinds of epic things that go on?!) The only thing you'll regret about Fandom is not taking part in it, so pick a Fandom (or five) and get into it! You can thank me later.

frangipani princess xoxo

Pottermore

2011-07-31T20:15:00.001+10:00

Last month, we were told that J.K Rowling had a big announcement. We all waited with bated breath, and finally it was revealed - Pottermore, a new interactive encyclopaedia-esque website would be coming our way. Every member of the fandom was excited, but then the downside was revealed. Registration would not open until July 31st (Harry and J.K's birthday), and the website wouldn't open for real until October.

Finally, July 31st dawned. I was staying with my Marauder's at Toong's house and as soon as we woke, we jumped online to find out what was happening. All we could find is that there would be some 'Magical Quills' to find over the next week. To get early registration, you had to be in the first lot of fans to solve the clue on one of the days and then find the Quill. The Hufflepuff's amongst us were in luck. We were not told when the first clue would be revealed, but tumblr went crazy with anticipation. Finally, at 6pm Australian time, the clue was revealed. I, of course, was at the supermarket, but because I have the greatest best friend ever, she told me the answer and I got through the registration. Unfortunately, the automatically generated usernames given to me were rather terrible, but I decided upon HallowRune144. My friend Adro got to be QuaffleStar. I have never been so jealous.

Unfortunately, the wait was not yet over. You had to then get a verification email to confirm your registration. Mine took over an hour to arrive. I was holding my breath, equal parts paranoid that I'd entered the wrong email, or that they'd decided not to accept me after all. But finally it came, and I clicked the link to find this page:

A slight let down, as we were not quite in yet. That said, the October 2011 is not for us early registrants. We will receive our second email anytime between tomorrow and the 30th of September. Once we get that email, we will be in. I really hope I get mine sooner rather than later, but of course, knowing my luck, I'll be one of the last to get in.

Of course, getting in brings with it a whole new set of problems. Namely, the Official Pottermore Sorting. As anyone who knows me would be aware, I consider myself a Slytherclaw, AKA a Slytherin/Ravenclaw hybrid. I guess I'm more Slytherin, because I'm witty and sly, but still quite intelligent. The problem is, this quiz was written by J.K Rowling. You can only take it once. It's the most intense sorting quiz ever, and each person gets an individual quiz. What happens if it sorts me into Hufflepuff? Or even worse, what if it sorts me into Gryffindor?! I don't know if I'll be able to cope. My whole identity will be pulled from underneath my feet. I'll have to re-evaluate everything I've ever thought about myself. I don't even want to think about it.

The anticipation of finally being let is is kind of killing me, but thankfully twitter and tumblr are full of like-minded fangirls. The conversations going around tonight are absolutely brilliant, and make me so happy to be a part of this Fandom.

Fingers crossed we all get our emails soon guys!

frangipani princess xoxo

Frangi Playlist + Excuses For Not Blogging

2011-07-28T18:42:00.005+10:00

In life, we all have up times, and down times. The up times, of course are where everything is going well and we're happy. The down times are the opposite. When we're teenagers, these can feel so much bigger, because, let's face it, we teens love to make everything extremely dramatic. Even if we are making mountains out of molehills, at the time, those mountains seem pretty darn big and unconquerable to us. They're scary, and there's nothing worse than having to face one.
This week I've been having a bit of a down time; just one of those weeks where everything would have been vastly improved if I had been able to stay in bed. A combination of zero self-cofidence, some average school results, and some general worries about the future have just led to me not wanting to face the world. That's not the best mindset to be in, however, especially with school and work and a million other things to do, so I enlisted the aid of some music (and Christa Black's book God Loves Ugly, but more on that soon) to help me get through the day without a breakdown.
Here's what I've been listening to:

Skyscraper - Demi Lovato

Demi's story is particularly inspiring to me, and this song captures her journey perfectly. The first time I watched the video, I cried and cried and cried. It's scarily relatable, but super inspiring. I can't get it off repeat. I have so much respect for Demi. So. Much. Respect.

F***kin' Perfect - P!nk

This song always plays when I'm at work, and the chorus (and the whole song) is amazing. My favourite line is 'Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel like you're nothing, you are perfect to me'.

Tied Together With A Smile - Taylor Swift

In my opinion, this is definitely one of Tsweezy's most underrated songs. The song opens with the line 'It seems the only one who doesn't see your beauty is the face in the mirror, looking back at you.' and while it's not so inspirational, it definitely tells a story ever teen girl with self-esteem issues can relate to.

Also Making The Playlist:
Mean - Taylor Swift (because who doesn't like to think that silly bitches will always be pathetic and alone in life?)
Time Bomb (acoustic version) - All Time Low (because it's super addictive and my favourite song on the album)
Long Live - Taylor Swift (because I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you)
Stolen - Dashboard Confessional (because I want to steal a guy's heart and have him sing a cute song about it)
Menstrual Minstrel - Darren Criss (because who doesn't want to hear DCriss sing about periods? But shhh he doesn't want the song out so you didn't hear about it from me)

frangipani princess xoxo
ps. More blogging when I'm in a better mood
pps. I interviewed awesome fandom blogger Lauren Rae Orsini for GWAS, which you can read here :)

Big Time Rush Appreciation Post

2011-07-23T16:51:00.003+10:00

I lead a Big Time Rush Appreciation Life, so I thought I may as well dedicate a post to their absolute brilliance.
For those of you who are not aware of the brilliance that is BTR, they're a boy band from America who were made famous through starring in a show of the same name on Nickelodeon. The band was created for the show, though like Hannah Montana etc. they perform as the band outside of it. The band is comprised of Logan Henderson (aka my future husband), Carlos Pena Jr, James Maslow and Kendall Schmidt, who are all aged 20 or 21. This is them:

(L-R) James, Logan and Kendall. Carlos pictured on top.

BTR are hilarious, talented and outrageously attractive. All of their songs have been featured on their show, though they have separate film clips. This song is my favourite:

Aren't you just falling further and further in love with them by the second?

Big Time Rush airs on Nickelodeon at random times, but I know it's usually on around 2pm on a weekend, with a few episodes aired at a time. They also have a few longer episodes, such as 'Big Time Beach Party' in which Russell Brand guest stars. The show is rather hilarious (unless you're my parents who continuously tell me it's pathetic) and all the supporting characters are super likeable. It's kind of like JONAS before it went to LA and got lame.

We all know I have a severe weakness for anything resembling a boy band (and I stand by the fact that in this month's DOLLY magazine half the groups they listed in 'boy bands around the world' are not actually boy bands. There is a difference between a Boy Band and a musical group comprised of guys. Get it together.) and will fall in love with them the second they hit my radar, but I swear I'd love Big Time Rush even if I wasn't addicted to the genre. Watch the clip, google their pics, check out their show, and fall in love, but just remember Logan is mine.

frangipani princess xoxo

Friday Night Musings On Being Single

2011-07-22T20:51:00.004+10:00

It's a quarter past eight on a Friday night and this is me:

Yes, I am in bed, with my dog, because obviously I am the queen of social lives. Right now I could tell you that I'm sick, and have been all week, and so am not up to going out and partying hard with the rest of my classmates, but we all know I'm kidding no one by saying that. This tweet just further reiterates the point that though I may not be well tonight, my Friday nights are never spent being social in the actual world.

I plan to spend the rest of tonight watching Easy A and then, in the grand tradition of Georgie's Friday Nights, reading fanfiction. My dog (Daisy, if you were wondering) loves a good chick flick.

At seventeen, I'm happy to live like this, but sometimes I wonder if my lack of a social life is the greatest factor in my lack of a love life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those girls who's desperate to have a boyfriend, but when someone asks you who you like and the first fifty names to run through your head are either famous or fictional, it can make you a bit sad. I adore celebrities and pop-culture, as all of you would know, but Draco Malfoy is never going to take me on a super romantic date. I can love Darren Criss with all of my heart, but he is never going to write a song for me. I can have a hardcore crush on Nick Jonas, but at the end of the day, he's just not going to reciprocate.

I think a lot of my problem is that I don't just want a high school relationship like a lot of my friends and classmates have. Well, I want a high school relationship, but I want the guy to be outrageously romantic and amazing and just like prince charming but in super attractive classmate form. Could impossible expectations possibly be another reason why I'm terminally single?
There's a song I love by All Time Low called 'Remembering Sunday' and there's a lyric in it which says:
"Even though she doesn't believe in love, he's determined to call her bluff"
And to me, that sums up the kind of guy I want. A guy who's so into you, so in love with you, that he'll do anything to make you see how amazing he is and make you fall in love with him too. Edit: I've just finished Easy A, and I felt like adding that I want a guy like Todd. A guy who's just brilliant and perfect and forms his own opinions of you, no matter what the rest of the world is saying, and who will just be there for you whilst remaining super sexy. That kind of guy. End edit.
So many guys at school are just sleazy and after sex, or are just generally idiots. I know I'm generalising in a massive way here, but find me a sweet, attractive, romantic guy in high school who also happens to be single and straight, and well, I'll be super shocked. And if you did find one, chances are he wouldn't look twice at me due to my lack of attractiveness, my social awkwardness and my complete nerdiness. Why oh why couldn't Charlie McDonnell be five years younger, Australian and at my high school?!

I think we should start a new TV show. Instead of The Farmer Wants A Wife, it should be The Blogger Wants A Boyfriend. Hot nerds (oxymoron?) could audition and we could go on cute dates to the library (bonus points if he's as attractive as hot library boy in The Story Of Us) and swap fandom recommendations. Then we could bake cookies and watch Harry Potter together whilst picking apart all the stupid changes they made from the books (yep, I'm definitely sensing that unrealistic expectations is a major factor in my singledom).

I do know that one day my prince will come, and that he will be just as amazing as all my dreams. He might not come in high school (I may cry if I get to graduation and still haven't been kissed though), and he may not tick all my boxes (I'm totally happy to bake a cake if cookies aren't his thing), but he'll be perfect in his own way and I just need to snuggle down in my doona and spend a few more lonely Friday nights waiting for him.

frangipani princess xoxo

Fanfiction 101

2011-07-21T18:18:00.005+10:00

I'm a little bit addicted to FanFiction, as most of you would be aware. It's kind of like my default action on the internet. Bored? Read a fic. Procrastinating? Read a fic. Should be sleeping? Read a fic. The thing about fanfiction, however, is you need to be careful who you mention it in front of in real life. As I've learnt the hard way, you get a weird look (or ten) when you mention reading fics in actual conversation. Especially if you happen to also mention the fic was based around a romantic relationship between two male characters (slash).

I think the reason most people get weirded out by fics, however, is that they just don't know what they're really like. They assume they must all be totally creepy, or badly written, or just full of sex, and while yes, you can find those sort of fics in abundance, there are also some brilliant ones out there. Of course, people might also get weirded out because they're just not a fangirl, but I like to pretend that kind of person doesn't exist. With the end of Harry Potter hitting us like a tonne of bricks, more and more people are turning to fics to help fill the hole. If you're feeling the pain, or are at all interested in giving fics a go, I've put together a bit of a "Here's What You Need To Know About FanFiction" post, so read on:

VOCAB:
Canon: What happens and is true in the actual books. So, if you're reading a canon Harry Potter fic, Harry will verse Voldemort in a final battle after a Horcrux hunt in seventh year, all the same characters will die, etc. etc. Canon is usually used in reference to couples, so a couple who are together in the book/tv show/movie will be referred to as canon in fics. So in HP, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Lily/James etc. etc. are all canon couples.
Slash: A pairing with two members of the same sex. These are very popular amongst fic readers and will be found in every genre. In Harry Potter, the main slash pairings are Draco/Harry and Remus/Sirius. There's also femme!slash, which is slash but with girls. This isn't as popular, and as I don't read it, I can't tell you how much of it exists. For those of you who don't want to read slash, don't worry, plenty of 'het' or straight fics exist.
Pairing: The main couple(s) the story revolves around. Most fics will be centered around a central pairing, but there are some 'friendship' fics out there.
OTP: One True Pairing. Most fic readers have at least one of these. It's pretty much you're all time favourite couples, or the couples you read the most fics about.
Couple Name: Often a pairing will be referred to by their couple name, which is their two regular names smooshed together. For example, Draco/Harry = Drarry, Merlin/Arthur = Merthur, Blaine/Kurt = Blurt. A lot of pairings will have two couple names, for example 'Blurt' is often referred to as 'Klaine'.
AU: Alternate Universe. Basically a story that is set somewhere outside what is canon. So like a Merlin fic happening in a modern day high school, or a Harry Potter fic without magic.
Rating: Every fic will be given a rating. It varies from site to site, but on fanfiction.net they use letters. A 'K' will be pretty low key on the romance/violence/bad themes scale, whereas an 'M' could contain bad language, pretty explicit sex scenes, heavy violence, etc. etc. You can search via rating, so if you don't want the hardcore stuff, just exclude the higher ratings from your search.
Smut: A fic that is pretty much pure sex. They can get very dirty, so if that's not you're thing, just avoid any with 'smut' in the description.
Crack!Fic: Fic written for laughs.

WHERE TO START:

The best place to start, in my opinion, would be FanFiction.net. They have hundreds of thousands of fics for every fandom you could ever think of. The site is really easy to use and the search functions are great. There's honestly hundreds of sites out there though, and one of the other major sites is LiveJournal, but I find it a bit hard to navigate if you don't end up there via link or google.
If you're new to fics and don't quite know what you're interested in, pick your fandom and have a browse. I'd probably stay away from slash fics just until you've read a few, just so you don't jump in the deep end and scare yourself off.
Try and search for fics that have been Completed, because waiting around for Works In Progress (WIPs) can get really annoying, especially if they never end up being finished.
Read around on tumblr and fan forums to find some Fandom favourites.
Try out a few different genres. Some people only like reading 'fluff' or romance, but others love 'angst' and 'hurt/comfort'. Personally, I love it all, depending on my mood, but every person is different.
At first it's kind of trial and error with badly written fics, but if you stick to ones with lots of reviews and a well written summary, you should be fine.

MY FAVOURITES:
Note, most of these will be slash. I'll post the fandom and pairing after the link.

The Break Up Box - Merlin. Arthur/Merlin. Modern!AU
The Super Confidential Diary Of Harry Potter - Harry Potter. No specific pairing but gay characters mentioned. Crack!fic.
Beyond Words - Harry Potter. Snape/Harry. AU post-battle.
Only We See The Similarities - Harry Potter. Albus Severus/Scorpius. Next Generation.
The Slytherin Hufflepuff - Harry Potter. Albus Severus/Scorpius. Next Generation.
The Haunting - Harry Potter. Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy. 8th Year fic.
What's Past Is Prologue - Merlin. Arthur/Merlin. Modern!AU
P.S. I Love You - Harry Potter. Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy. Post-Hogwarts.
You Want To Make A Memory? - Harry Potter. Multiple Marauders-era couples. Marauders.
Merlin Academia Rec List - Merlin. Arthur/Merlin. Modern!AU with an academic focus (aka, one or both of them are uni students/tutors/etc.)
Three Cheers To Fatherhood - Harry Potter. Albus Severus/Scorpius. Harry/Draco. Next Gen, but with a focus on post-Hogwarts Harry etc. too.
Dalton - Glee. Blaine/Kurt. This is pretty famous in the fandom, but I'm yet to read more than a few chapters.
Kurt/Blaine FanFiction Recs - I don't have any other specific favourites for Blurt/Klaine, but here's an extensive Rec list.

I have many more favourites, so if you want some more, just let me know!

Hope you enjoy, let me know you're favourites, and you can thank me later :P

frangipani princess xoxo

Tenth Doctor: The Musical

2011-07-18T10:13:00.004+10:00

In a last minute effort to get in some quality procrastination before school starts tomorrow, I decided to begin re-watching Doctor Who. One thing led to another, and soon I was watching "Tenth Doctor: The Musical".

I don't know why I put myself through these things; this was like all four seasons of pain and heartbreak in one handy seven minute video. It is one of the greatest things you will ever watch though, especially if you're a Ten fan (Nine also makes some appearances), but my gosh, I was sobbing by the end.

The soundtrack is brilliant, the memories are brilliant and the whole thing just reminds me why Doctor Who is pretty much the greatest show ever.

Watch it and enjoy, but be warned, you'll need the tissue box handy (or maybe that's just me getting way too attached to fictional characters again. But come on! Rose didn't want to leave, Donna didn't want to forget and Ten just didn't want to go! How can that not make you cry?!).

frangipani princess xoxo

In This Month's DOLLY...

2011-07-17T15:37:00.001+10:00

You may just see someone you recognise. (August 2011 issue)

Going without negativity for a week was quite a challenge, and until I was asked to do it, I hadn't realised just how 'glass-half-empty' and gossip-centric I was. It was a great experience though, and I'm so grateful for the blog publicity. Getting to go to Sydney at the end of May and taking part in the photo-shoot was lots and lots of fun as well, though I don't think I'll be becoming a model any time soon.

Thank you so much to Jess and the entire team at DOLLY for allowing me to take part in the challenge, it was a great opportunity, and I'm so thankful to have been given it.

frangipani princess xoxo

It All Ends: Part Two

2011-07-14T22:28:00.003+10:00

It’s all over. I have seen Harry Potter andthe Deathly Hallows Part Two. There will never be any new Potter anything, andI am devastated. After the jump, read all about my thoughts on the movie, andjust how hard it made me cry…

I left the cinema at half past two onWednesday morning hysterically sobbing. I had cried in all the appropriateplaces during the movie: The depressing dialogue between Fred and George?Check. The deaths? Check. Snape’s memories? (Quadruple) Check. The ResurrectionStone scene? Check. I laughed at all the appropriate places, cheered at theappropriate places, and then managed to sob like a baby just when it was anappropriate to smile. I hadn’t planned on crying during the ending. Sure, Ijoked about leaving the cinema in tears and the final credits breaking myheart, but I never thought I actually would. Then the second last scene startedplaying and I felt the tears pricking the back of my eyes and then the epiloguestarted and I started crying. Soon I was in hysterics and my face was brightred from crying and snot was running down my face and all I could say was “it’sover” in between shaky breaths as tears continued to poor out of my eyes. I wasevery bit the mess. I didn’t stop crying for a good forty minutes, and, ofcourse, my parents were ever so supportive. My dad responded to my snivelingrepetitions of “it’s over” with “Of course it’s over, we wouldn’t be leavingthe cinema otherwise” and my mum merely threw tissues in my general directionand told me to stop making a fool of myself. It had just hit me in the mostpainful way that there would be no more Potter. It actually hurt, it felt likesomeone had torn my heart (Side note, has everyone seen the Deathly Hallows parody of ‘Halo’? There’s a lyric in it that says “I like Voldemort, cause my soul’s being torn apart” and that sums up my feelings exactly). It was likenothing else I’d ever experienced, and the only response I could think of wasto sob and sob and sob.

That all said, the movie was brilliant. I’mnot exactly a fan of the Potter films, but they definitely saved the best forlast. Dame Maggie Smith as McGonagall was a hands-down stand-out, although shewas eclipsed by Matt Lewis as Neville Longbottom who definitely took out the‘biggest bamf ever’ award. (Side note: Everyone is saying how attractive Mattis these days. Am I the only one who had noticed this before?) Helena BonhamCarter as Hermione being Bellatrix should also win all the awards ever. Thatwas some absolutely amazing acting.

While they didn’t stick exactly to the bookand there were some bits that annoyed me, it really had the perfect mix ofhumour, battle, and storyline. Snape’s Memories were the most beautiful thingsin the world (I was so worried they would screw them up, but they were perfect),and they included my favourite line of the whole book (“Not my daughter, youbitch!) much to the applause and cheers of the theatre. The film was a perfectway to end the series, although Voldemort’s life wasn’t ended in the mostspectacular way. It almost was an anti-climax, especially after such a massivebuild up.

There were a few things I didn’t like, suchas The Grey Lady (what was wrong with how they used to show the ghosts?!), thelack of death portrayal, and the lack of Teddy Lupin but then randomlymentioning him at one point. Either include him, or don’t. Don’t confuseeveryone who hasn’t read the books by randomly bringing him up when nopregnancy or baby is shown, and no teenager is shown in the epilogue.

Some bits were changed from the books, ofcourse, but after the random burning down of the Burrow in the sixth film, it takesa lot to annoy me enough to rant about it.

I’m seeing it again with some of thebesties on Saturday afternoon, and hopefully I’ll manage to keep my emotions slightlymore in check. I’ll probably still shed tears over the sheer clichéd horriblenessof the epilogue (“you were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts, AlbusSeverus, and one of them was a Slytherin and he was one of the bravest men Ihave ever met” LOL Harry let’s forget that you hated Snape for seven years witha burning conviction. And good god, what kind of meds was Ginny doped up onwhen she let you name him Albus Severus?!).

It’s All Ended, and my heart has beenshattered, but I need to pick up the pieces, fake a smile through the pain, andI guess all that’s left to say is “Thanks for the memories, Mr. Potter, it’sbeen a blast.”

frangipani princess xoxo

It All Ends: Part One

2011-07-12T07:07:00.001+10:00

Harry Potter has been the one constant in my life. Okay. There have been a few other constants, but the point is that I cannot remember a time in my life when there was no Harry Potter. There hasn't been a time that Hogwarts was not a part of my vocabulary, where I didn't want to be Hermione, when I didn't know all the rules of Quidditch. My mum read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to my brother when it was very first released in Australia; I would have been four or five. I haven't stopped loving it and obsessing over it. They say you're too into something when you start dreaming about it. The first nightmare I can remember having, and the one that stays with me most vividly to this day, was one that I had when I was five and I was being chased through the Hogwarts' Dungeons by Voldemort. Obviously I was always going to be a Potterhead.

I remember crying over the fact that my brother would turn eleven before me, crying because Emma Watson got cast as Hermione and I didn't, crying because I would never be British and therefore would never be a part of the cast. Five of the books were released prior to my eleventh birthday, with the build up to the sixth being around the same time as said birthday, and even though I was particularly bright for my age, there was still a part of me convinced that I would be getting an owl inviting me to leave the dull world of fifth grade Australian education and go and experience Hogwarts. (Side Note: The characters always seemed so old, but now, and some could say fittingly, I'm the same age as Harry in this final movie. As I said yesterday, I'm not ready to feel so old. Harry was saving the wizarding world at seventeen, I'm still trying to survive high school. I could as much battle an evil wizard as fly. But I digress.) Harry Potter has been my entire life. My entire childhood (side note, it annoys me that everyone is saying that on facebook when half of them haven't even read the books, but we'll save that rant for another day). My everything.

Tonight, it all ends.

I have tickets for the midnight screening - due to age and/or being overseas, my first ever midnight screening - and am already heartbroken. All week (and longer, if I'm totally honest), I've been dreading tonight. Dreading going to the movie. Dreading logging online and seeing stuff about the movie. I've avoided everything from the premiere. Avoided people talking about the movie full stop. I've even avoided looking at promotional posters. I can't cope with the fact that by this time tomorrow, I will never see any more Harry Potter movies.

Some people - my father included - have told me to stop being so stupid, especially since I've read the book more than five times (it's my least favourite and haven't read it as often as the others) and know exactly what's going to happen. That is true, I know who will die, I know who will win, I know who will live 'happily ever after' (inverted commas cos the epilogue sucks) nineteen years later. I've read it all. I know the story. What I don't know is how it will be played out on the big screen. What they'll change. What they'll add. How they'll interpret it. It will also be so much more intense actually seeing all the deaths, the battles, the everything. It's one thing to read about your favourite characters (potentially) dying, it's a whole other to actually see it. To hear the soundtrack. To listen to it all. I'm going to be a wreck. From the very moment the lights dim and the title appears all I'll be able to think is "there'll never be another new Harry Potter title" while tears run down my cheeks, and it will be downhill from there, until the final credits roll and I'll be stuck to my chair, sobbing, because it's freaking over.

You guys, I don't want it to be over.

As Oliver Boyd sings in End Of An Era, "And I know it's only a story but for so many it's more than that. It's a world all of it's own where we want to put on that sorting hat. And I will miss the train ride in, and the pranks pulled by the twins, though it's nowhere I have been, I'll keep on smiling from the times I've had with them."

He also sings, "Don't you ever wonder what will happen when it ends? How will we let go of the ones that we call friends?" and to that, Mr. Boyd, all I can say is I honestly don't know, or want to know, and I really wish I didn't have to find out in a mere matter of hours.

frangipani princess xoxo
ps. It All Ends: Part Two will be posted tomorrow after I've seen the movie. Further reflections etcetera. Any spoilers after a jump, of course.

Suddenly, I'm getting old

2011-07-11T19:13:00.002+10:00

I've been seventeen for almost four months now, but just how old seventeen is kind of hasn't really sunk in until the last couple of days. I caught up with an old friend yesterday and we were discussing her upcoming (well, kind of) eighteenth birthday. She happily reminded me that I could almost begin planning my own eighteenth, as it's 'just' eight months away. I knew I was turning eighteen next year, but until that conversation, I just hadn't realised that wow, in single digit months, I'll be a legal adult.

As long time readers would know, I'm not exactly someone who acts like an adult. People often tell me I'm super mature and an 'old soul', but I'm more at home dreaming of prince charming and watching the Disney channel than I am at a party or seriously thinking about life as an adult. Just thinking about having to do my own washing and cleaning makes me break out in a cold sweat.

I realised yesterday that I'm not ready to become an adult. It feels like yesterday I was turning thirteen, and now suddenly, the future is rushing up on me. I'm having serious discussions about university courses and college applications and the hsc, and even though that's all a year away for me, it's crashing towards me like an out of control train.

I've always been so sure of what I want to do with my life. So very sure, in fact, that I started this blog the week of my thirteenth birthday so that I could get noticed by people in 'the industry'. I went for my first week of work experience at a rather young fifteen, and now they can't get rid of me (this may or may not be my fourth week at DOLLY). I've had my university course picked out since I was eleven, my college chosen before I even hit double digits. And yet, as it's now just around the corner, I'm having a crisis. I realise that I'm getting old. That there are people working in magazines that are mere years older than me. That Leni, the lovely online editor at DOLLY, is the same age as my brother, and it feels like he only just graduated high school. As the future looms, I'm wanting to screech on the brakes because what if I don't get the ATAR to get into Sydney Uni? What if I get rejected from Wesley? What if I don't get an internship? What if I never get a magazine job? WHAT IF?!

I know living my life under the threat of 'what if' is not a very good way to live. I know I have the ability and the potential to do whatever I set my mind to. I know that once I actually pick a section of journalism I want to work in (Features? Sub-editing? Entertainment? Online? SO MANY CHOICES!), there is a chance that I will one day be able to work in it. I know I'm just as capable as everyone else, if not more so, and I have some pretty good contacts, but somehow it all seemed easier when I first dreamed it up as a pre-tween. When it was a dream, it was such a lovely thing to think about, but now it's time to actually start making it happen. Well, not really. Now it's the time to start working at school and work out which subjects to drop and which extensions to pick up and which study camps I'm going to go to next year and how I can stay in touch with the mag-contacts I have under my mum's strict 'no work experience in year twelve' rule and just generally survive the next sixteen months.

Fingers crossed for me, guys. It's soon time for me to jump in the deep end, and I've just been reminded that I haven't got any floaties.

frangipani princess xoxo

I'm Back

2011-07-08T19:31:00.002+10:00

That was a slightly unexpected absence, sorry guys. I came up to Sydney last Sunday but at the last minute was encouraged not to bring my laptop. Six whole days without my laptop? Craziness! But I survived (thanks immensely to my beloved phone), and have now been reunited with my darling macbook pro.
I just finished Work Experience at Girlfriend. It was a brilliant week, and I loved seeing how one of my favourite magazines gets put together. I was lucky enough to be on with two other absolutely lovely workies as well. Shout outs to Shirley and Sophie :D
After work experience every day, plus commuting to/from Gosford from Wednesday, I'm a little bit tired, but for something completely different, I'm going to Sydney with the family tomorrow for the weekend. And then back again on Monday to start another week at DOLLY. Add in midnight screenings of Harry Potter and assignments and I really don't have time to breathe these holidays!
That all said, I'll be posting a lot more regularly than I have in the last week (uh, that is, more than Not At All). Stick around guys, I have some cool posts planned for you soon (potentially. If I finish all my homework and get my act together.)

Much Love!

frangipani princess xoxo

Book Review: Jessie Hearts NYC

2011-07-02T08:13:00.000+10:00

Most girls would be lying if they said they didn't dream of falling in love in New York City. There's something so glamorous about the East Coast city, and the thought of finding a cute guy to stroll through Central Park or go to a show on Broadway with would be a bit of a fairytale come true.

credit

British BFFs Emma and Jessie are lucky enough to go to New York for the Summer to stay with Jessie's playwright mum. Jessie has just broken up with a not-so-dream guy and has her eye set on her mum's lead cast member, Ben. Both girls are obsessed with the famous city, and can't wait to explore every detail of it (and hope to meet a few other cute guys along the way).
Finn is a New York local, desperately in love with his best friend's girlfriend. His controlling parents and grandma are trying to force him to follow his father's shoes into insurance, but all he wants to be is an architect.
A series of weird coincidences see Jessie and Finn continue to run into each other in a city of eight million people. Will they find love? Will Jessie be brave enough to tell her parents she wants to stay in NYC? Will Finn man up and tell his parents he wants to change majors? You'll have to read brand new YA novel "Jessie Hearts NYC" to find out...

Jessie Hearts NYC is a cute, easy read with alternating perspectives that you won't want to put down. Filled with amazing descriptions of New York, by the end you'll be wishing your mum lived on Broadway so you could jump on a plane with your BFF and find your own Finn. Of course, some bits are super cliched, but it's a teen romance set in New York, so it's kind of expected.
It's a brilliant holiday read, and a perfect change from a lot of the Supernatural-themed YA books that seem to be plaguing the genre at the moment. I definitely recommend it to all teen girls (or anyone who's a fan of the YA genre!).

Rating: 4.5/5
Author: Keris Stainton
Pages: 255 (plus four pages of Keris Stainton's 'New York Top Fives'!)
RRP: $16.99
Publisher: Orchard Books

frangipani princess xoxo

July 2011 Girlfriend Mini Review

2011-06-29T20:32:00.002+10:00

In five days I'm heading back to Girlfriend HQ for a week of work experience, so I decided to do a quick review of their July Issue.

Cover Girl: Emma Watson
Theme: Formal
Front Of Mag Features: "What A Girl Wants", "Why Kissing Is Good For You", "Mind Your Manners", "The Secret", "The School Of Second Chances", "Not To Be Rude, But Are You Being Stupid?" and "The Parent Survival Guide"
Highlights:

Darren Criss poster. I get so proud every time I see him in magazines or somewhere exciting online. He's getting so big, and I couldn't be happier for him.
Mention of Team Starkid in "Harry Potter's Over, Now What?" page
Selena Gomez interview in which she says she hopes to come to Australia next year (oh please, please, please come true)
Emma Watson on the cover. Golly gosh I love that girl.
"How Hot Is It When Guys..." includes pictures of DCriss and Nick Jonas, amongst many other cuties, and cool reasons like "are sweet to their grandparents" and "read".

Lowlights:

Every second page being something about a formal. I get that they have to cater to the readers who are doing a formal, but the majority of teens only have a formal in year twelve (yes, some do have one in year ten, but not every school), and let's face it, it's a rare year twelve student who would be still reading Girlfriend. Maybe cut back just a little bit, GF.
In "This Month" they have a picture of the Elder Wand and call it "Harry's Wand". I mean, Harry does end up with it, but it's not ~his~ wand. Small facts, I know, but just slightly annoying.
Formal Movie Faux Pas. The whole tone of this feature didn't sit right with me, but I was rather annoyed when they said "A Mathlete Will Most Likely Never Win Prom Queen" and went on to explain that prom queens were popular and beautiful. Way to make all your more intellectual readers feel like crap, GF. I know you went on to say that the prom queen's looks will fade and the nerds will be "investment bankers with sweet rides", but that's stereotyping at it's highest. You just...shouldn't have included that one.

Rating: 3.5/5 - Buy it for the Darren Criss poster, if nothing else.
Price: $7.95
Freebie: Beanie
(I did have scans to add, but the photo-uploader is being annoying, sorry).

I can't wait for my week at GFHQ (and, uh, my week at DOLLY the week after), and I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes :)

frangipani princess xoxo

Fandoms For F*ck H8

2011-06-27T22:16:00.001+10:00

As most of you would be aware, on Saturday New York passed the Gay Marriage act. This makes me super happy, for while I am straight myself, I am a firm believer in equality for all. I have friends who are gay, relatives who are gay, and, of course, I adore gay celebrities (and uh, fictional characters). While Australia sits over here with it's backwards laws on equality, I found myself wishing there was something that I could do to show my support. That's where Fandoms Against H8 stepped in. We all know I love a nerdy fandom shirt, so to combine my love of these with supporting equality, well, I was sold. Here are some of my favourites:

buy

Basically, there are a whole heap of shirts (and hoodies, and badges, etc. etc.) for every super popular fandom with slash ships (though you can request others). You buy them, get to wear a totally brilliant shirt, and then part of the proceeds goes towards the fight against hate. Such a perfect concept.
I really, really want to buy the three above, but I'm poor at the moment and currently saving for two overseas trips in the coming months, plus two weeks in Sydney starting next week. My finger might just slip on the 'add to basket' and 'checkout' buttons as a special end of term treat in the next few days though...

frangipani princess xoxo

Featuring Frangipani Princess

2011-06-25T13:13:00.001+10:00

I always feel honoured when people decide they like Frangipani Princess, and even more so when they decide to say something nice about it on their blog, in their magazine, or on their radio show.
This week, I was chosen by Camilla, who blogs over at Girls Are Made From Pepsi to be her 'Lady Of The Week'. She had some super nice things to say about me, which you can check out below.

Jennifer Reid from Life's Like A Cupcake, also contacted me this week asking if I'd be happy to be featured in her 'Best Of The Blogs' segment on Christian radio station Hope103.2FM. I jumped at the chance, and filled out some quick questions for the review, and was overjoyed at the final product. You can see the review on Jennifer's blog here, or listen to the podcast, here.

Thank you so much to both Jennifer and Camilla, I really appreciate it.

If you would like to feature Frangipani Princess in your space, or would just like to hear my views on something, I can always be contacted here :)

frangipani princess xoxo

Miley Cyrus: Gypsy Heart Tour

2011-06-24T18:41:00.000+10:00

For the last four and a bit years, I have been a Miley Cyrus fan. There have been times when she has done things that have made me begin to question why I adore her so much, but then I listen to her music or watch Hannah Montana and my love returns. When I heard she was coming to Australia, I jumped up and down and squealed in excitement. Disney stars never come to Australia, so I couldn't believe I would finally be seeing one of them in concert. I bought tickets for myself, Toong, Tam, and one of Tam's friends, in the very first pre-sale back in April and then waited with eager anticipation for the day to arrive. Yesterday, it finally did. All week I had been flailing in excitement whenever I thought about it, and even the eight hour round trip that didn't get me home til 3.30am couldn't deter just how much I was looking forward to the concert.

Miley is not Hannah Montana anymore. You are more likely to see her in her underwear than you are fully clothed, but I knew this. Arriving at Rod Laver Arena and seeing thousands of mothers and their under-twelve children, though, made me begin to wonder if the majority of the world had missed this memo. While Miley was absolutely brilliant and everything I could have ever dreamed of (well, it only could have been better if it had been the Best Of Both Worlds concert in which the Jonas Brothers opened, but as I'm not in the possession of a TARDIS or a Time Turner, we'll just have to let that one be), the Gypsy Heart Tour was definitely not child friendly. Miley spent more than half the concert in various states of undress, often gyrating around a dancer or a walking stick, and she sang songs that would have gone right over the heads of most of the concert attendees. I could only laugh when she began singing "Bad Reputation", something which could be argued to be the current soundtrack to her laugh.

Her cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" should have never been allowed on the set list, but I could hardly contain my excitement when I heard the opening bars of "7 Things". The crowd went wild for "Every Rose Has It's Thorn", "Party In The USA" and "The Climb", although I suppose there wasn't really a song that the sold-out crowd didn't adore. The same can't be said for opening act Michael Paynter, who was annoyingly repetitive and, well, just generally annoying.

Miley didn't interact with the audience very much (unlike Taylor Swift last year who spent forever telling cute little stories and such), and said "y'all" an annoying lot, but I suppose she is from the South and it is to be expected. She barely paused for breath; one song would end and the intro to the next would start, save the minor gaps between her five or six costume changes, but it created an awesome atmosphere. Unlike her previous tour, The Gypsy Heart Tour did not include elaborately theatrical sets; it was just Miley, a band, some dancers, and a stage. With lots of lights and giant screens, of course. Our seats were in the first row of the Upper section of Rod Laver, but we could still see everything really well (although it wasn't the ideal place to take close-up pictures, as the ones I've included prove).

For a teenage Miley fan like myself, who knew all her songs and the covers she performed, and understood that she wouldn't be fully dressed for most of the concert, it was brilliant, amazing, fantastic...I would go again, and again and again. For the little girls in the audience - many of whom fell asleep even before the encore - it was a bit of a waste of money, and just generally inappropriate. Surely mothers know how to google these things before dropping hundreds and hundreds of dollars on tickets?
I think I preferred Tsweezy's "Fearless" tour (can she pleasepleaseplease come back?!), but then again, the two concerts were very different and can't really be compared. I adored them both in their own ways.

Now if only other Disney (or, you know, previously Disney) stars would follow her lead and come and tour. Jonas Brothers, I'm especially looking at you.

frangipani princess xoxo

Go Back To Where You Came From

2011-06-22T21:50:00.000+10:00

I have never been one to watch SBS. I prefer the superficial easy watching of Nickelodeon and Disney and shows on the BBC. Yesterday, however, my Geography teacher begged us to watch "Go Back To Where You Came From" and I reluctantly agreed. I didn't know what to expect from the show, never really having an interest in Refugees and Asylum Seekers. I have known that they're there, of course, but have never cared enough to form an opinion over the subject. I sat down and found myself on the verge of tears. I was absolutely heartbroken, especially when half the group was sent to a family of refugees in my town. As I watched, I thought of the new girls who have just started at my school, moving from Zimbabwe to seek a better life. It hit home hard, and I suddenly realised how much I just want them to all come and live here.
I don't really know what else to say on the subject. It's so emotional and...I don't even know. If you haven't been watching, promise you'll tune in tomorrow night at 8.30pm for the final part (unless you'll be joining me at the Miley Cyrus concert!). Every Australian should watch. I can't even explain how powerful and brilliant it is.

frangipani princess xoxo

My New Favourite Memes

2011-06-18T07:05:00.000+10:00

(Note: None of these images are mine and they belong to the websites to which I have linked. Go follow them, they're awesome.)

Fandom Fox:

Shipper Squirrel

frangipani princess xoxo
ps. For more meme goodness, you should check out The Forward Forum. It's compiled by Millie and brings the lols.

Final Deathly Hallows Trailer

2011-06-17T18:16:00.002+10:00

I have no words for this, only tears.

"You'll stay with me?" "Always." "Until the end"
Twenty Six days guys. Twenty Six days until it's all over. I can't cope right now.

frangipani princess xoxo

Conquering The Horse (AKA The End Of Public Speaking)

2011-06-17T17:49:00.000+10:00

They say when you fall off a horse you have to get back on. That horse hurt you like hell, and you're scared of getting back on incase it happens again, but still, you have to do it. My 'horse' was the Sydney Morning Herald Public Speaking Competition. I fell off it last year and hit the ground hard. I was sad and sorry and never wanted to see the bloody horse again. My teachers begged me to enter again this year, so I did. After all, the local round was a mere foal in comparison to the big horse. Falling off it couldn't hurt me, in a way I almost wanted to fall. Falling would mean avoiding the big horse, and goodness, the further away I stayed from that monstrous thing the better.

Unfortunately my name was called as the winner, so the horse reared nearer and I wanted to turn and run, scared out of my wits. I didn't want to go, I would do anything in power to avoid going. Surely I would just fall off again. I cried, begged my mum not to make me go. I cried some more. Then, I was getting on a plane to Sydney. Extreme anxiety had been plaguing me the week prior to my flight. I would wake up in the middle of the night, imagining being back in the room, being back at the scene of my injury. I didn't want to go. I barely slept last night, the night before the competition, imagining everything that could go wrong. I banned my parents from mentioning it at all, I almost vomited in the taxi on the way to the school. And suddenly, I was back. Memories flooded my mind and all I wanted to do was run. But I went in. I sat through the ten speeches before mine. I got up and gave my long term speech. No one laughed at my jokes, but it was over. I stood with the other contestants whilst they bragged about their schools, their achievements, their plans to be things I didn't even know existed. I stood there while they agreed my speech was 'amusing' but that none of their friends use text speak (my topic), and while they looked down their nose and asked me how being a journalist would contribute to society.

I still wanted to run.

Then it was impromptu time. Impromptu was the horse that had bucked me off so severely last year. I thought I was going to be sick. It was going to happen again, I knew it. My brain was screaming "GET OUT OF THERE!" but I stayed.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, it was my turn to enter the room. And I knew stuff about the topic! I was so proud of myself. The horse wasn't going to get the better of me this time! I stood at the front of the hall, and I talked my heart out. The boy after me interpreted the topic ("The Cutting Edge") in a completely different way, but I didn't care. It was over. My public speaking career was finally over. I was still on the horse and could safely dismount. Instead of running out in tears like last year, this year I was able to walk out with my head held high. I knew I hadn't made the top six (out of twenty four), but I didn't want to. I had conquered my fear. I had got back on that horse and ridden without falling, and I was so proud of myself. I may not had crossed the finish line first, but that wasn't the point. All I could have done was my best, and I'm satisfied I did just that. I got up there and talked about things I'm passionate about. While it may not have been politics or climate change or any other serious topic public speakers are so keen on ranting about in monotones, it was what made me happy, and I think I did it well.

My love for public speaking had ended long ago, but I'm glad I was given this final chance to go out on a good note. Public Speaking, once again, I'd just like to thank you for the memories. We've had a great time, and maybe we'll meet again in the future.

frangipani princess xoxo

June Teen GWAS

2011-06-15T21:32:00.000+10:00

My June column for Girl With A Satchel is now up. This month, I talk Harry Potter, Public Speaking and photo-shoots for DOLLY magazine. You can read all about it here.

frangipani princess xoxo

Harry Potter And The Levels Of Darkness

2011-06-13T20:50:00.000+10:00

I have never been a massive fan of the Harry Potter movies. I love the entire cast more than most people can begin to fathom, but I just love the books so much and the films just kind of ruin them. They add bits and take away bits and change things that just shouldn't have been changed. It frustrates me no end, and leaves me sitting there raging to anyone who will listen. Other than when they come out at the cinema, I rarely watch the movies. I own all of them (and numerous copies of some) but they're not my first choice for a movie night. The last time I watched most of them was early last year when Toong and I had a marathon.

In the lead up to Deathly Hallows Part Two (one month today!), my local cinema is showing one movie per week. I missed Philosopher's Stone because no one told me it was on (and then missed it on tv on Friday night for the same reason), but watched my extended-edition dvd the other night. Then yesterday, I went and saw Chamber Of Secrets at the movies. Being used to watching the newer movies, I was shocked at how light the older movies were. There was so much hope and joy, and even though Voldy would come along and try to ruin everything, there was just so much innocence and that happy ending feeling. There was no continuation of evil that started at the end of the fourth but really kicked it up from the end of the fifth. There was no angst. No death. The endings brought tears of joy to your eyes, instead of tears of heartbreak, because everything was just so perfect.

In a way, it was almost painful watching them knowing everything about the overall ending. Painful seeing Fred laughing. Painful seeing Dobby. Painful seeing annoying fangirl!Ginny and realising that the epilogue from hell is almost upon us. Painful seeing Snape. Oh gosh, it was painful seeing Snape.

I know Harry Potter had to get darker. I know it had to lead up to the confrontation we'll be seeing next month. I know that people had to die, no matter how much I loved them, because if they didn't, if there was no battle, we'd end up with Breaking Dawn. I understand why it had to continue the way it did, but a small part of me would have been happy if it had stayed at the level of the earlier books. If the evil didn't progress past what an eleven year old could defeat. If Draco's worst decision was stealing a Christmas present and over exaggerating an injury, and if Snape's worst move was taking too many points of Gryffindor. If everyone lived happily ever after (though without the Epilogue From Hell) and just enjoyed Hogwarts like the Marauders were able to. Admit it, you think it would kind of be really cool if they were just chilling at Hogwarts without Voldemort being around every corner, and could just have regular lives with the addition of magic and an epic castle. Maybe that's just the fanfiction lover in me coming out though...

frangipani princess xoxo

Life Is Hectic

2011-06-09T18:52:00.000+10:00

Sorry I've been a little Missing In Action this week guys. Suddenly I've found myself with a million assessment tasks to work on, and shifts at work to complete to save money for not only my upcoming weeks in Sydney, but also my just-around-the-corner trips to Vietnam and France. I had the regional debating finals today, which we won, so in the next few weeks we'll start the State Semi-Final process, and then next Friday I also have the State Semi-Final for the SMH public speaking competition in Sydney. Combine all that with regular class work, including before and after school classes a few days a week, and I barely have time to breathe, let alone blog.
I'll hopefully have more time to blog soon, so don't abandon me just yet.
Damn senior school getting in the way of my Very Important Hobbies.

frangipani princess xoxo

My Favourite Ad

2011-06-05T14:07:00.001+10:00

Twix - Pause Like You Mean It.

It makes me laugh every time it comes on tv. And makes me want to suck helium and sing, even though it says 'please do not attempt'...

frangipani princess xoxo

Of Pre-Release Anticipation And Who The Hell Is River Song

2011-06-04T23:14:00.000+10:00

When you become a member of a fandom, you become emotionally attached to everything. You become obsessive in the lead up to a big episode, or the next book in a series. What will happen? you find yourself compulsively thinking. You contemplate just what will come next. What will happen to your favourite characters. How everything will work out.

Back in the good old days when there were still Harry Potter books being released, the anticipation would almost kill me. I remember being so nervous in the weeks leading up to their release, frightened about what the fates of my favourite characters would be, and then forcing my mum to drive me up to four hours return to get a copy of my book as soon as it was physically possible. In the weeks leading up to the release of The Deathly Hallows I read so many theories and spoilers, it wasn't even funny. As much as it pains me to admit, I was much the same in the lead up to the release of Breaking Dawn. The day before it came out, all I thought about was who Bella would pick.

And now I'm the same for Doctor Who. As a fairly new member of the fandom, this is my first season where I've actually had to wait for episodes. Although I did watch episodes of season five on tv, I wasn't emotionally invested in them. After really getting into it, I then went back and watched all of the seasons, but because I had them on my laptop, there was no waiting for cliffhangers. No year long gaps between seasons. Everything was right there, and if I was desperate to know something I was yet to see, there were friends to ask or websites containing all the spoilers I could ever want. This season, however, is different. This season I'm painfully waiting the week long gaps between each episode. I have to endure not knowing what will happen next, and it's killing me. This is possibly the worst season for it too, with more than just the regular 'two-parters' of seasons gone by. This season there's a whole big storyline and more cliffhangers than you could poke a stick at.

The first episode of Doctor Who I ever saw had River Song in it. I had no idea what was going on in the episode, so I texted Quack asking for answers. My biggest question was "Who is River Song?". Quack couldn't answer, because you don't know who River Song is. She is just there and plays some big part in The Doctor's life and is constantly saying "spoilers, sweetie", but apart from being an archaeologist in jail for murder, with a time-line running in reverse to The Doctor, we know nothing of her identity. Until tomorrow, that is. I do not like River Song as a character at all. She's annoying and frustrating and just makes me want to slap her, and yet, here I am, desperate to know who she is. Over the last few weeks, I've spent more time than I care to admit googling theories and spoilers and information, trying to piece together what is going on in this season. River's story is a mystery that has driven the fandom crazy for three years (I guess my one year wait is nothing to complain about!), and in just a few hours, it will be solved. Well, it will be as solved as much as a massive cliffhanger (with the next episode not being until Spring Australian time) written by Steven Moffat could possibly explain/solve anything. It is said that in the final few moments of the episode, we will learn her identity and then, BAM, three month wait. There is so much speculation about who she is, some of which makes me sad, some of which makes me happy, and some of which just disappoints me. I'm sure whatever Moffat has install for us tomorrow will be completely insane and what none of us were expecting, though he does say once we watch the episode, we'll realise that we've known who she is from the beginning. Whatever that means.

Whenever the episode you've been waiting for airs, or the book is released, and you watch or read it, you sometimes feel empty. The build up has been there for months. You've devoted hours and hours and hours of your life to theories and thoughts and head-canon, and then suddenly it's all over. You're left with canon, and we all know canon can often leave a dirty taste in your mouth. You've spent so much time speculating, then suddenly there's nothing left to do anymore because the truth is out there. You sit there, and ponder what to do with your life now that it's all over. After The Deathly Hallows was released, I actually took around a year off from Harry Potter in general, as I suddenly knew everything that would ever be canon, and it saddened me. There was no more "I wonder if this will happen", because all was out there. I think that's why I love fan-fiction so much, because it allows the stories to live on in different ways, and people to keep rejected theories alive with wonderful tales of what might have been.

I often wonder what non-fangirls do with their lives, without theories and character speculation to spend weeks on. It must be weird. Surely they must feel like they have a hole in their lives. No amount of social interaction could fill the gaps in my life created by fandoms. You just become such a part of it, it becomes a major section of your life. But that's another point for another day, so for now, I'm going to sleep, with the child-like belief from Christmas Eve and birthdays that going to sleep early(ish for a Saturday) will make morning come faster. With morning comes River Song's identity, and though part of me doesn't want it to arrive as what will I do with my life once I know who she is, I'm really just dying from the anticipation of it all.

frangipani princess xoxo
ps. By the time most of you read this the episode will have aired. Can we please keep her identity out of comments, as it won't air in a lot of places for a week or so, and nobody wants spoilers, sweetie.

Review Roundup

2011-06-03T18:06:00.000+10:00

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I'm very late to the party, but the BBC series 'Sherlock' is one of the greatest things I've ever seen. Written by Steven Moffat, current head writer of Doctor Who, series one encompasses three 1.5hr long episodes following Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in modern day London. It is pure brilliance, and I cannot wait for the second series which is currently being written/filmed. 5/5

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I'd been meaning to read 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' for quite a while, and I finally got around to it last weekend. It follows the story of 'Charlie' as he writes letter to an anonymous friend of a friend, describing his life. It's a coming of age story that features love, homosexuality, drugs, alcohol, abuse, and high school in general, and it's one of the best books I've read in a long time. The movie adaption is currently being made with Logan Lerman as Charlie, and Emma Watson as his love interest, Sam. It should be very interesting, and it's a very different role for Emma. 4/5

Josh Thomas and Tom Ward are back podcasting again, with season three, episode one of 'Josh Thomas and Friend' now available on iTunes. After a hiatus of around a year, the two best friends are as hilarious as ever, spending eighteen minutes talking about everything and anything. Just a warning, as brilliant as they are, some of the things they discuss may be a bit awkward to listen to if your parents can hear. Hopefully season three contains more episodes than season two (like, three), because they really are super entertaining. 4/5.

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Four episodes in, 'Angry Boys' just isn't doing it for me. I tried to like it, I really did, but I'm just not enjoying it. I continue to watch (Glee takes precedence though), but I just don't find myself laughing; I'm more likely to be cringing at Chris Lilley's desperate attempts to push boundaries and be hardcore. In my opinion, while it's watchable and makes for good television, it's just not Summer Heights High (and yes, I know that wasn't the aim, and it was meant to be different etc. etc, SHH was just so much better to watch). I'll keep watching, as it can only get better. Angry Boys airs 9pm Wednesday on ABC1. 2.5/5.

frangipani princess xoxo

One Happily Ever After, Please

2011-06-01T23:35:00.000+10:00

"You know I just wanted to be Cinderella, just for one night. One night where a guy would look at me under those corny crepe paper streamers and say, "You look so beautiful", and then he would grab my hand and ask me to dance."

The above quote was spoken by Mercedes in the "Prom Queen" episode of Glee which aired tonight in Australia. While watching it, all I could think was "I want a prom, I want a prom, I want a prom", but when I thought about it, I realised I didn't really because I wouldn't have a date.

Most people would try and tell me that having a date doesn't matter, and that being with your friends and having a good time is what's important. I'm not saying it's not. I have friends who had brilliant times at proms doing it that way, but like Mercedes, I would just want to have the whole magical experience. Feel like a princess in a big, pretty dress, and walk down to meet my date who would tie a corsage onto my wrist, and we would pose for cheesy photos and then go and slow dance and just have a fairytale night. In my head, it plays out like a movie, because let's face it, that's all it's ever going to be. The truth of the matter is there is no way I could get a date to a prom if one was offered. Life is not Glee, it is not a cheesy teen rom-com, and it's certainly not a fairy tale. High school is not filled with gorgeous boys with hearts of gold waiting to make your life magical. It's not filled with sexy boys next door, and attractive new guys are as rare as hens teeth. It is filled with nerds who look nothing like the ones in Taylor Swift's video for 'The Story Of Us', and boys who think getting drunk is all that matters, and other boys who think sex is the most important thing in the world. Sometimes they're a combination of the three. Maybe there are others out there, but I'm yet to find them, and even if I did, none of them look twice at an insane fangirl like yours truly. Depressing thoughts? Definitely, but sometimes you just get sick of being alone.

I adore fairytales and every Disney movie imaginable where there is that happily ever after moment. Especially in movies such as A Cinderella Story, gosh they make me cry tears of joy. Is the fact that I want one of my own really too much to ask for? Our society has become so cynical that they would have you believe that it's impossible, because moments like that don't exist in reality. But I believe they do. They have to. So I'll keep waiting with bated breath, because one day, my prince will come.

frangipani princess xoxo

Avoidance Is Becoming An Issue

2011-05-31T18:41:00.000+10:00

I'm beginning to realise I have a rather large problem with avoidance. I don't mean procrastination. Charlie clearly defines what procrastination is in this video, and believe me, what I do goes above and beyond that. I'm sure my problems started by procrastinating. You know, watching TV instead of doing my homework, going to the movies to put off study for a test, the usual. They have, however, reached a scary point. A point where I put things off until I get sick to the stomach thinking about them, and if anyone mentions them, or the date they're due or are happening, I physically cannot stand to be there any longer. I have, on a few occasions at home, actually put my fingers in my ears and screamed 'lalalala' when my parents have tried to talk to me about upcoming events. Don't get me wrong, I always end up doing them, and doing them well, but in those few weeks before they have to be done, it's hell for me. I'm not like this for every single assessment task, just ones I worry about or that are really big. If it's something I enjoy, I'll get it done straight away, but if I don't necessarily enjoy it or a ranking is in jeopardy, I freak. The same goes for public speaking competitions. Just try and mention my speech for my upcoming state semi-final around me, I dare you.

To me, if I ignore that something exists, push it to the back of my mind and just don't think about it, the problem will go away. Illogical thinking? Definitely. But it seems to keep me calm.
I've always had a bit of a problem with anxiety; I stress a lot and worry insane amounts about insignificant events. I guess this is just a further growth of those issues. The internet and my laptop don't exactly help, it's just so easy for me to turn on technology and escape the real world. I know it's not healthy, especially with year twelve and all the assessment tasks and exams it entails just around the corner, so do any of you guys have any tips for dealing with stress? What can I do so that I don't freak out about upcoming tasks and events, and not avoid them to the point of meltdown?

frangipani princess xoxo

An Open Letter To Triple J Fans

2011-05-30T20:39:00.000+10:00

Dear Triple J Fans,

I have a problem with you. Not all of you, of course, I'm sure some of you manage to be perfectly normal members of society, but a growing majority of you feel the need to be superior bastards, and I'm getting sick of it. You listen to a specific radio station. Good for you! My radio station of choice has always been Radio Disney. The difference between you and me, however, is that I don't feel the need to shove Radio Disney everyone's throats and scoff at them when they tell me they don't listen to it. I don't think I'm a better person for listening to it. I don't look down on people who choose to have other musical interests. I know Radio Disney isn't for everyone, it's my personal choice, and just like I realise that, you too should realise that listening to Triple J is not something that has to be listened to if a person is to be considered cool.

Once upon a time listening to Triple J was something extremely ~alternative~, but now because of the stupid rise in the number of ~hipsters~, it's popularity has risen to an almost mainstream level. You don't want to admit that though, you like to think you're so special. Unfortunately for you, your 'indie' music is nothing special these days and you're not as alternative and 'hipster' as you would like us to think you are. Five years ago, maybe admitting to liking Triple J would have set you apart from your peers. Today, however, it just gets you shoved into the sheep pen with everyone else. I really hope you wake up and realise that you're just as mainstream as everyone else, because really, your assumed superiority is driving me crazy. Hilariously, the music I blast and you scoff at me for it being so commercial and bubblegum pop, is actually more alternative than the stuff you listen to.

I don't understand why you can't just accept that there are different types of music and be done with it. Why must you feel that what you listen to is what's best? What is so good about the songs that fill your iPod that you feel you have been given a right to move straight to the head of the music hierarchy. Why, by being a fan of one silly little radio station, do you act like you're the gods of the musical world? We're all entitled to our own opinions, but I know that liking the Jonas Brother's doesn't make me any better than my friends who like Lady Gaga, or my friends that like Keith Urban, or my friends that like Screamo. In a way, I'm starting to believe it does make me better than you, though, because at least I'm not ashamed of my 'uncool' interests and am able to have fun and experience the full range of the musical world.

Actually, what I'm most curious about, dear Triple J fans, is whether you'll be so loyal to your beloved station once the hipster trend moves on. Once big glasses and vintage and triangles are no longer what makes you cool, will you move on to the next big thing, or remain true to the definition of your subculture and stick with it? Once something has replaced the Angus and Julia Stone's and the Jezebels', will you pretend that you never liked them and change the dial on your radio, or will you keep attending the gigs in your ~awesome~ underground venues? I think we all know the answer, whether you choose to admit it or not.

So keep listening to your beloved station, fans, I can't stop you. But next time you give me a condescending look when I tell you I'm going to a Miley Cyrus concert, or make a snide remark about the artists in my 'most played' list, I may just have a few unfriendly things to say in return. I don't like your music, in case I haven't made that obvious, but until now I've kept quiet. Just know that won't be continuing unless you all grow up and give me the same respect in return.

Yours,

frangipani princess xoxo

Stories Of Strangers

2011-05-29T22:51:00.000+10:00

Lately, when I've been in busy public places, I've been thinking about all the people I see and what their lives are like. I know there's a game you can play where you come up with people's life stories, and you try and outdo your friends by making everyone drug dealers, or prostitutes, but I don't mean it like that. I mean I've been looking at them and wondering what their life is legitimately like.

We pass so many random people, especially in a city like Sydney or Melbourne, and most of the time don't think twice about them. These last few weeks, I've been pondering whether they have a best friend, or whether their group is fighting. Whether they have a boyfriend, or girlfriend, or whether they've just had their heart broken. What their last facebook status was, how many facebook friends they have. What their favourite subject is. Which contact they text the most. I know it sounds kind of creepy when I type it out like that, but for some reason it only just hit me that everyone I pass has a life. I've always kind of lived in this self centered bubble where my life matters, but everyone else is just there. Extras in the movie of my life: you see them, but they don't have a story. Then I finally realised that, hey, they all have a life too, and suddenly I'm fascinated.

Everyone I see in a day has a room in a house that they can call their own. I pass them on the street, or in the supermarket, or at the movies and I might spend a split second critiquing their appearance or listening to their conversation, but then as quickly as I noticed them - if I noticed them at all - I've forgotten everything about them. In that moment which revolves around them, I would never assume they had a Zefron shrine in the back corner of their room, or that their wall contains mounted versions of all the Harry Potter wands, or that they still have all their stuffed toys on their bed. I would also never contemplate whether they cry themselves to sleep, or whether they sometimes squeal with excitement, even if their in a public place. The thought of them having a favourite food, or movie, or holiday location, doesn't even enter my brain. They occupy my entire mind for a whole moment, and yet I will never know anything about them.

In a way, this makes me sad. Everyday we must see all these amazing people and not realise it. People who will one day do amazing things. People who are currently doing amazing things. People who are just brilliant in every way. People who could be our best friends, or our soul-mates. I do believe, though, that if you're meant to know someone, they will find a way into your life. I have friends who after months of friendship, we discovered that we were once at the same party or event. My parents have friends now that they went to school with forty years ago and lost all contact with, only to grow up and have kids on the same football team, or in the same class, in a location hundreds and hundreds of kilometres from their shared hometowns.
While I don't necessarily believe in the idea of one single soul-mate for everyone (although it is an awfully lovely idea), I do believe there are a certain number of people out there that we are destined to know. That no matter what happens, they will find a way into our lives and make us better people for it. Maybe today we might accidentally bump into them at a fast food store, but in ten years time they could be our closest confidante. We stand behind them today in a line for a ride at a theme park, but end up working at the same desk years in the future.

So while people may pass me on the street and not realise that I know all the words to every song by the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift, that I refuse to eat anything that comes from a pig, that I run a blog, or that my three closest friends and I call ourselves 'The Marauders', from now on I'll be trying to work out their life story and hoping that if it's super interesting, that one day I'll be able to hear the real version from them myself.

frangipani princess xoxo

Review Roundup

2011-05-27T17:21:00.000+10:00

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The Girlfriend June 2011 issue is now on sale with Taylor Swift gracing the cover. The issue, described as 'the issue you voted for', isn't the best I've ever read. Maybe it was a lack of Rob (something I'll sadly have to get used to), or maybe it was a lack of interesting and unique features. Some of the features included "Hate The Way You Lie", "Thank You For Being A Friend", and "Thank You Mr Wrong". Lots of cute posters (including one of semi-shirtless Alex Pettyfer. Yum Yum), and comes with free nail polishes. $7.95 from everywhere mags are sold.
3/5 stars.

Pirates Of The Caribbean 4 was definitely an improvement on the third instalment. With no Orlando Bloom, it was slightly lacking in eye-candy, but Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow was as brilliant as ever. It wasn't the most amazing film I've ever seen, but it was the fourth film in the series, so it was to be expected. It follows the story of Cpt Jack and some of his Pirate buddies as they race the Spanish and the English to find the fountain of youth. If you're not busy seeing The Hangover Two, it's a nice time killer, even if, like me, you only see it for some Johnny Depp goodness. 3/5 stars.

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Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver, tells the story of a popular girl who is killed in a car accident only to wake up again on the morning of the same day. Sam is forced to live the day of her death over and over again, desperately trying to change events so she survives. It has a great message of the effects we have on people without realising, and how changing one event can change everything. It's an easy read, but really good.
Out now everywhere.
4.5/5 stars.

Lady Gaga's new album 'Born This Way' was released on Monday and my mum, who has obviously been living under the biggest rock in the world, was not really aware of her existence until then. She watched a Channel V special on her as we ate breakfast at McDonalds, and then demanded we rush off and buy the album. I've never been Gaga's biggest fan, though I do enjoy a few of her songs from her earlier albums. The songs on Born This Way aren't as good, in my opinion, but there are a few I found myself hitting replay on. My personal favourite is 'Highway Unicorn', just because it has the word Unicorn in the title. The standard version of the album is available for around $22, though I'm sure you can hear all the songs on the radio and on tv. If Gaga is good at one thing, it's gaining exposure. 2.5/5 stars.

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The new season (six) of Doctor Who has been airing for around a month now and I'm having a bit of a love-hate relationship with it. On one hand, the Neil Gaiman's episode 'The Doctor's Wife' was one of my all-time favourites, but on the other hand, this whole series long storyline and focus on River Song is kind of driving me crazy. It's an unpopular opinion, but I really don't like what Steven Moffat is doing to the show. I'm nostalgic for the glorious Russell T Davies eps, where everything was beautiful all the time, and no time-laws were broken, and Matt Smith wasn't there making the Doctor a superficial nine year old. Sigh. But still, I am enjoying it in general because it is Doctor Who, and you all should watch. For Australian's, it's on 7.30pm Saturday nights on ABC, and then replayed at 5.45pm (I think) Sunday nights on the same channel. If you want to get in on it, I'd be sure to watch this week as it's the first part of a to-be-continued. Oh, for the days when a to-be-continued was the only time there was an ongoing storyline. 3.5/5

Is there anything you'd like me to include in these new weekly reviews? A focus on books, or movies, or music? Or just like I have done today with a bit of everything?

frangipani princess xoxo

Blogging Dilemma

2011-05-26T18:15:00.000+10:00

I'm having a bit of a dilemma with my blogging at the moment. I love blogging, and I love you all for reading, but I kind of feel like I'm all over the place. That my posts are random and unrelated, and that it's not a good thing. Lately my blog stats have shown that my hits are slowly declining, so I decided that I should try and do something about it.
Should I focus more on celebrities? On magazines? On longer posts and personal stories? On faith? On reviews?
Should I try and do a more structured version of what I'm doing? As in, certain posts on certain days?
Help me improve!
What makes you want to keep coming back to Frangipani Princess, or not come back?

frangipani princess xoxo