You know why I respect animal lovers more than other people? They know how to really feel. They think and see through the eyes of the animals. And that isn't something that is common among people. This is something I read on the news today that was really touching. I connected so much to it because of all my babies that I've rescued off the streets. Sanka and Bagheera were hardly a week old when Mum and I found them. Without a thought of who, what, when or where, we brought them home. Karma had a rapidly spreading infection which was absolutely shocking for a new born pup. Mocha was bitten and scared. Spock used to hide in a house under construction and rummage for food everyday in the local trash bins. And today? They've taken my bean bag, my food and pretty much the rest of my house. Nothing has made me happier. =) Sam Simon, the co-creator of one of the greatest TV shows of all time, 'The Simpsons', is terminally ill. You'd think that people, especially the rich kind, with a terminal disease would spend their money doing whatever it is that their heart desires before the die. This man, who earns in millions, is donating his ENTIRE FORTUNE to charity. All of it. He doesn't need to do that. He can have everything he wants. The whole world probably. Yet, he's giving hope to those without a voice. An avid supporter of animal rights, and having made an abundant number of donations to PETA, this is what Simon says;
“One of the things about animal rights, which is not the only thing that I care about in this world, is that your money can bring success,” he said. “I see results. There is stuff happening, really good stuff, every week. I'm not sure you get that with a lot of disease charities.” So much respect for you man. I hope the world has more people like you out there. God bless you.
So I'm finally here. Back home. I cannot even begin to describe how it feels. It's only been four days and yet it feels like years! But Sydney always has that effect on a person. At least it does on me. You can see the attachment. I've been sleeping at decent hours except once or twice where I've been my usual owl-ish self and people keep pinging me on whatsapp and are surprised that they do in fact get a reply. Why you may ask? Because I was awake with no jet lag. I've heard these jet lag stories time and again and always wondered, is it real? I've always felt it was more of a psychological scapegoat used by people to catch a few extra zzzz's.
As a result of my travels, I thought it important to share with all you lovely people the importance of certain things while travelling to ensure a safe trip without feeling the need to shoves pringles up peoples noses and pretend like you have Tourettes to use that as a reason to express what you really think of your fellow travelers. I absolutely love travelling, it's what I want to do whenever I have enough loot. I did want to rob an Indian bank before I got here but then the Rupee is dropping value like birds with diarrhea plus I didn't have enough time to plan that out.
RULE # 1: Ensure you possess an abundant amount of chocolate at all times during travel
Food is life. I live to eat. Therefore it is important that I have. And I don't know why the Gods or any form of divinity can give me decent, edible food while I'm travelling. On my way to Sydney this time, they served me some big yellow lump which I didn't even try finding out about. I felt better not knowing. Oh not to forget the excessive amounts of leaves because i specified vegetarian food. yup. if it's vegetarian throw in some grass and any leaf because really, that's what satisfies our hungryass bellies. goddamit. The sausages my flight buddy got didn't look any more appetizing. CHOCOLATE. is the way to go. Or smores. anything with an acceptable cocoa content.
RULE # 2: Carry blow-upable cushions with you as an extra seat.
So, I got stuck next to a fat person. Again. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against people with weighty problems, but HOW DO THEY FIND ME. My rather inspiring individual occupied his seat, his arm rest and pretty much half of my seat as well, which left me and my sweet cheeks to hang off rather unfortunately off what was left of my seat. I resorted to using my creativity and imagining a fluffy cush for my tush for three hours. Very hard with gravity's existence.
RULE #3: Make sure you have enough tiny objects to stuff inside your ears because THEY LIED ABOUT COTTON.
Every time man. Every single bloody time. Either I get stuck to noisy rambling babbling little anklebiters that cry because they have no control over their excretory system or I get stuck near people that have no control over their respiratory system. Chennai, India to Bangkok, Thailand. 3 hours. I had the good fortune of sitting near a gentleman that as I mentioned occupied his seat as well as mine and if that wasn't enough of a good start to my new life, he also snored. And by snore, I mean I was surprised the flight even moved due to the inner force within. This man would be a contender for a Tornado IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE. I could even hear him over the the blaring growls of Dimmu Borgir, which I eventually had to turn down because I didn't want to end up deaf on my first day of work.
RULE#4:Always carry a toothbrush in your backpack. You don't want to be scaring off the rest of your travel mates.
Also, I had a 15 minute conversation with an air hostess about teeth and how I have perfect teeth to become an air hostess. Thank goodness she came talked to me after I was done brushing. You never know where cleanliness can get you. RULE#5: Carry the bare minimum. Emphasis on the mini.
I kid you not when I say this. I threw out/gave away 90% of my stuff before moving back here. I basically have 20 pieces of clothing, my hard drives, my phone and laptop, my earrings and rings and my whale. And that's all I own. I cannot even begin to tell you how liberating it is to get rid of all the crap that you don't actually use or need but just keep around because you're a sentimental douche. Take only what you need when you go some place, undies, preferably some clothes and a pogo stick. Hey, you'll save cash on travel! Try and fit everything into one bag like Merlin did.
RULE#6: Loo Roll. Tissue Paper. Anything that's an arse wipe. (pun intended)
Because many public toilets in public places do not believe in the concepts of sanitary or hygiene.
RULE#7:Window seat? Ensure you have a bladder with the capacity of a camel's hump.
I love looking out the window during take off and landing. I also love drinking the constant servings of orange juice and red wine in addition to the 56,000 gallons of water I drink. Therefore I am not entitled to a window seat because life is just unfair sometimes. I wish my belly button actually served some real purpose as a button to switch on and switch off certain goings-on deep within. If you know what I mean.
RULE #8: Airport staff don't normally possess a sense of humour. Therefore bring out the whoopee cushions.
Personally this is something I wanted to try but I still haven't had the chance to. You know when they open your bags to snoop around and find something to trip on you about? Hide said whoopee cushion under something right at the bottom but make sure it's in pressable distance and BAM. or should I say BOOM. faux flatulence = funny = possible smile from an airport human.
RULE#9: Never lose your patience with said airport humans.
They pulled me aside at the airport because I'm an Aussie citizen and started questioning me despite the fact that I had provided all the necessary documents that they want for no reason. They ticked me off so much that I almost came close to telling one of them that if I press one of my piercings I'll set a bomb off. Although I'm quite sure that wouldn't have got me very far.
RULE #10: Four wheel bags? God-send.
I spent an hour just walking so I could roll my bag around the airport. Plus they don't lag behind like those lame two-wheeler ones.
The moment I heard the name, I knew I'd love the band for better or for worse, till death do us part. I was only aware of the fact that they were an indie rock band. I had never heard any of their music. This was a few months ago. And I was right on time. Imagine Dragons released their debut album, 'Night Visions', in September 2012 and oh my word, it is a musical treat for the ears. I'm sure you've come across the track 'Radioactive', floating around somewhere on a website you visit more than your relatives. If you haven't, you're missing out, because they're a band that just grows on you. As I'm sure is the case with many people oblivious to the existence of this band prior to this pretty awesome album, Imagine Dragons made themselves heard with the radio hit 'Radioactive' and that's when my ears in particular perked up.
Night Visions kicks off with the increasingly famous, bassy 'Radioactive', which features in the Assassin's Creed III trailer. An absolutely stunning song. A beautiful, soft intro, backed by the subtle sounds of pianos with the dramatic inhalation, simple yet thought- provoking lyrics, powerful drum beats and a catchy rhythm that will keep you tapping your feet and fingers till the very end. When I first heard this song I honestly thought it was 'The Killers', Dan Reynolds sounds so insanely similar to Brandon Flowers, and the music has a lot of similarities to that of The Killers as well as the music coming close to that of Coldplay. Definitely my favourite track off this album. Trust me, two listens to this song and you start blaring the chorus, I'M RADIOACTIVE, I'M RADIOACTIVE. 'Tiptoe' is a fun song, melodic synth sounds, a nice groovy rhythmic chorus, definitely gets you shaking your head to the beat. The next track, 'It's Time', is my second favourite track off of this album, if I'm not mistaken has the banjo going on throughout the length of the song. A catchy folk/pop number with yet another undeniably positive feeling that it emanates especially with all the clappy beats. Definitely this albums strong point!
'Demons' is an absolutely beautiful track, one of the more emotional ones with deep and expressive lyrics and proves the strong vocals of Dan Reynolds. The song really gets you a tad bit goosebumpy with the buildup to the chorus. Following that is another favourite of mine, the easygoing, pop tune, 'On Top of The World', which featured in 'The Croods'. Personally, I love this song. It's fun, upbeat, a completely feel-good song that's bound to get your attention, as is the case with most of the songs in this album. You know the kind of songs to which you just shake your head from side to side and then randomly yell out the chorus? Here's our winner. The background music has a nice reggae sort of flow going along with the clap sounds.
Amsterdam, the next track is a soft one, good pace, strong vocals and lyrics that I found to be very touching and emotional. Actually, all the songs on this album have simple and meaningful lyrics that make a lot of sense when you tune in and listen intently. Hear me is a good track too with the drums setting a good beat but not their best. It's get a tad bit boring although I do like the chorus, which proves the simplicity of Dan's husky voice.
Every Night gives off a nice fresh feeling, soft and slow. Towards the middle of the song, there are these awesome deep priest like hymn sounds which make it really fancy. In other words, it's such a cute song, definitely one I'd sing to the lucky son of a gun that I fall for. Watch out boy!
Bleeding Out, gets the album up and running again after the few slower songs, with those clap sounds returning, dramatic love-song type lyrics, an extremely catchy chorus, another one I really like off of Night Visions. Underdog is a fun, easy listening, sing along song but not the best as it doesn't prove the sheer unique creativity of this band as much as some of the other tracks do.
Nothing Left To Say/ Rocks the last track on the album is pleasant yet strong medley, again with nice lyrics, an atmospheric feel, the organs giving it a nice strong touch, an upbeat rhythm, probably the cherry on top! An enjoyable balance of fast and melodic, the song slows down mid-way, which is a little too long for my liking but eventually picks up speed with Rocks which is yet again a fun track with beautiful vocals making you picture an exotic island inhabited by enthusiastic tribals.
Imagine Dragons, as far as I'm concerned have definitely made an impression in the music world with their unique and unorthodox sounds, you can't really put their music into a specific type. I'm surprised how much I really like this album, which is an interesting mix of indie and pop or if it is in fact an indie-pop album, because you never know these days, put two words together and boom! New genre HOLLER. I think for a young band releasing it's debut album, it's brilliant. Of course, it has it's downsides of being slightly repetitive in some tracks and may get boring at times but do give it a chance. There is definitely something for everyone on Night Visions.
Oh you know what's even better? THEY'RE COMING TO AUSTRALIA!
EXCITE. Check them out!
Thursday, 18 July 2013
ME ON THE FLIGHT TO BANGKOK:
HOW I FELT AFTER SAID DRINK:
ON THE FLIGHT FROM BANGKOK TO SYDNEY:
WHEN I GOT MY FREE SPICY RICE CRACKERS AND RED WINE:
AFTER 2 HOURS AND NO TV:
AFTER 4:
WHEN I SPOTTED A CUTE AUSSIE GUY WHO SHARED MY IPOD:
