Miss Yolie

2012-01-26T08:27:00.000+08:00

Australia Day 2012

Today I am reflecting on the true custodians of this wide brown land who were oppressed in the name of imperialism, the young men & women who went to far off lands to fight for freedom and never came home, those that have lost their lives or livelihoods battling natural disasters in this nation of extremes, the children born & bred here, and all that have come to this beautiful country in search of a better life for themselves and their families. I also hope that those that harbor bigotry one day come to the realisation that we are really all the same.
Happy Australia Day & Happy Triple J Hottest 100 Countdown day!

2012-01-07T17:14:00.000+08:00

My Triple J Hottest 100 list of 2011

It's probably no surprise to those that know me that I love music. I also love Triple J. It's a radio station I've been listening to since I was 12 (more than half my life). I spoke to Rosie on Super Request when I was 19, and again at 21. I've voted in every single Hottest 100 since the turn of the century. Why do I love it? I love the polarising variety of what is played & voted for, I love the focus on Australian music (we underrate our homegrown talent in my opinion, which is why I was so happy that Kimbra and Gotye are getting the recognition they deserve - they are both fantastic & I have no doubt if you pricked them with a pin, they'd both bleed music).

Here is my Hottest 100 2011 list. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed listening to and discovering these gems.

10. Cosmo Jarvis - Gay Pirates

I was listening to Triple J through my phone headphones while walking home from the bus stop one day and it literally stopped me in my tracks. I'm not ashamed to admit a tear or two fell at the end of this heartwrenchingly written story in a song. I love the highschool-play feel of the video too.

9. Seeker Lover Keeper - Light All My Lights

Blogger is not letting me post the YouTube video direct, so you'll have to click on the link below.

Seeker Lover Keeper - Light All My Lights

Sally Seltman, Sarah Blasko & Holly Throsby. For an Australian female indie music lover like myself, it's a heavenly combination. The harmonies in this song are like flying on the winds of beauty.

8. Calvin Harris - Bounce

This song just makes me want to move my booty on the dance floor & raise my hands in the air like I just don't care. Enough said.

7. Ball Park Music - It's Nice to Be Alive

It's the lyrics of this song that seduced me, so I'm going to post them in entirety. They may be simple, but they've lifted me from the depths of despair a few time over the last few months or so since I first heard it while getting ready for work in the morning. It puts a smile on my face I can't shake for the rest of the day.

Boring as bat-s**t you people make me feel so
Curious and I don’t know why

You think you’ll end up in the sky

Happy as Larry and riding sheep on clouds, well,
I’d prefer your enthusiasm, while you’re here with me
So stop! Don’t get carried a-way
Darlin’ don’t you understand that every time we wave our hands
We’re, we’re fucking a-mazing
We dropped down from some other dimension,
Just to be with you

Don’t stress
That’s dumb
I’m here, and it’s nice to be alive

Chill out,
It’s alright

kiss me,
It’s nice to be alive

Lovers need lovers and I’m impressed by all the goods out on display
I don’t know what to say
I’m thinking, I’m thinking
I’d prefer your enthusiasm,
While you’re here with me

It’s nice to be alive
It’s nice to be alive
It’s nice to be alive

6. Lanie Lane - Ain't Hungry

This lady is a perfectly packaged concoction of cute, sweet, naughty, kooky, mysterious, sexy and talented. The delivery of her vocals is like pouring chocolate sauce in my ears. Early rock 'n' roll, blues & rockabilly seriously rocks my socks. Also, pinup-meets-cowgirl styling. Yes please.

5. Arctic Monkeys - Black Treacle

There appears to be no official video yet for this song. So here's just the song:

I haven't yet had the pleasure of seeing Arctic Monkeys live yet, but I have a feeling I may just have heart palpitations if I do.

4. 360 - Killer

Another homegrown talent who I've come to love this past year. There's passion in the way this Aussie hiphop MC creates music, it draws me in & his honesty makes me want to be mates with him. And he's just so fucking COOL.

Another video you'll have to click the link for:

360 - Killer

3. The Black Keys - Lonely Boy

Old school perfection. I have to tap my feet & fingers to this every time I hear it, and I can't ever get sick of it. I don't mind when it gets stuck in my head for days. BRING IT.

2. Gotye - Somebody that I Used To Know (Ft. Kimbra)

This song has become so mainstream now, everyone knows it. I had my heart stolen by Gotye a while ago and I'll always love this man. His music is true escapism for me.

1. Kimbra - Good Intent

Well here it is folks. My #1 song of 2011. Kimbra is... well, she's... I can't honestly describe her with words. Shall I describe her through interpretive dance?

Music like this is why I love living.

Also my biggest girl crush since Eliza Dushku in True Lies when I was 14.

Please be my lady love, Kimbra. ♥

For me, it's been one of the best years for music in Australia. There are a lot of artists paying tribute to styles of old and putting modern twists on them, and those exploring entirely new territory. I feel so luck to be alive right here, right now to experience it.

Miss Yolie xx

Saskia and Rahelja

2011-08-03T22:10:00.000+08:00

For a while I've been wanting to start incorporating my (very amateur) creative writing into my blog. When I write, the words tend to flow easier for me if I use a pen rather than a keyboard. So, some of this has been written in notebooks and on scraps of paper here and there, when I wake up or however I can get it down when it comes to me in a coffee shop or on a train. I feel as though I'm trying to get across a kind of childlike wonder and a sense of freedom in these words. I might continue it at a later date, or I might leave the two women to form lives together in your imagination :)

SASKIA AND RAHELJA

Looking down at the gleaming waterhole below, she briefly wondered what lay beneath it's silky surface before Saskia took her hand and gently pulled her off the edge of the sturdy rock's edge. They plunged into the velvety warm water, falling deeper until all they could see above them was bubbles and scattering fish. Finally, after what seemed an eternity beneath the translucent blanket, they could push themselves upwards towards the baking sun.

Saskia's laughing voice pierced through her consciousness as though she was trying to pull Rahelja out of a deep dream. "Hmmmmmmmmm?" She smiled and closed her eyes. She wanted to stay in the moment a while longer, savouring the feeling of freedom, intense joy and delight that the water dripping over her dark brown body provided her senses.

"I said, do you want to open the lunch box now or later? Jeez it's like I don't even exist! Who ya thinkin' about, Anita or Em? They both have eyes for you..." She playfully splashed in Rahelja's general direction, and the sparkling water, although flying high in the air between them, barely dropped a drip near her. Rahelja's ice blue eyes changed with her suddenly playful mood and sparkled as vividly as the water Saskia lazily splashed about in.

She moved slowly and stealthily over to Saskia, who by now had started floating leisurely with her eyes closed, humming softly. Her long cherry hair billowed out behind her under the surface of the water - she could see tiny cream coloured fish darting in and out of her curls. Her pale skin, below her neck, took on an unearthly blue tinge. She looks like some kind of dangerously mesmerising mermaid queen, thought Rahelja, with a sharp intake of breath at the sight.

Recapturing her playful mood, she drew up next to Saskia. She readied her hands beneath the blue-tinged body, and at once tipped Saskia over. She dived underneath her and the two women momentarily held a position imititating the "Ying Yang" sign, Saskia's head at Rahelja's feet & Rahelja at Saskia's. Rahelja could see the long bright white scar that ran the length of Saskia's right leg, from a cycling accident when she was 15. She was riding in a group of 10, and only 5 survived the bloody chaos that followed when the semi-trailer had hit them on the long winding desert road. One of those lost was Saskia's childhood sweetheart, Melanie. Saskia had told her about it beside a campfire while battling tears and Rahelja had held her through the cold night, as if her touch could burn all the stabbingly painful memories into non-existence. Rahelja turned around and kissed Saskia in the last few moments of breath they had left. Then they both quickly twisted away from eachother to tumble and rise, coming together above the surface with heads touching.

There was no need for words now. Lunch was forgotten. The two beauties, the pale redhead with the scarred heart, and the dark, blue-eyed daughter of the desert, held hands and walked slowly up the bank and through the gum trees to where they laid their campsite two hours before.

******************************************************************

The winds of change

2011-07-23T20:56:00.001+08:00

A lot has happened since my last glowy post. In one scary, violent night (involving my poor defenseless cat), my relationship with the man I thought was amazing and wonderful a month ago ended abruptly. After I said I was leaving due to his treatment of my cat and myself, I found myself physically removed by him from the house, on the street with nothing but my phone, my kitty and my handbag, in my pyjamas, in the middle of winter. Not the most fun Friday night I've ever had.

I'm going to find it so hard to trust again. When you meet someone, and they seem to be everything you want, how can you foresee that things could go horribly, terribly wrong? What signs are there, that scream to you "stay away"? This is the second time I have been involved in a relationship with a man that turned violent. The first time, there were many signs. I stayed because he made me feel like no one would want me, that I had no one who cared for me, and couldn't survive on my own. I was young, naive, mixed up in something I couldn't control or escape from until I finally managed to be persuaded by someone who had come back into my life to leave forever and never look back. But this time? I couldn't read the signs if they were there, at the time. It's only since we got back from Thailand that things started getting weird. Now I look back though, I realise that he did have a controlling streak. But it wasn't enough for me to think "One day this man is going to push me into a corner so I can't move, after kicking my cat & saying he'll break his ribs next time then physically remove me from the house". He says I pushed him to it because I suffered from depression (after having a few things in my life happen that overwhelmed me). Yet I was never violent to him or nagging (not that nagging warrants violence), I just happened to not agree with some things he did or said and was sad sometimes. Years ago I would have thought I deserved it, but now I do not. Leon (my kitty) certainly doesn't.

Yet I now question my instincts. My intelligence. My judgement. I'm going to be much more wary when I meet people, let them in to my world and open my soul.

Today is a new day, I've just turned 30... a new decade of possibilities. And this time, I won't be letting any person control my destiny. It's mine, and it's now. I have a lot to look forward to, and a lot to learn from.

The land of a thousand smiles

2011-06-23T11:33:00.000+08:00

On Thursday, 9th June, 2011, 1 week before my 30th birthday, I embarked on my very first overseas trip.

A massive stroke of generosity from a good friend for my birthday present last year (a promise to pay for my airfares to Thailand whenever I chose to go) meant that for the first time, after years of never really rising my head enough above water financially to warrant spending money on an overseas holiday (and my parents always had way more important things to spend money on like food, clothes on our backs and a good education), I could finally realise my long-held dream of catapulting myself out of my well-formed comfort zone and leaving the shores of Australia to experience an entirely new culture & way of life. I did originally intend on going on my own, when I was a single gal, and was fully prepared to book myself a "package holiday", the type that takes you to the touristy places where mostly Westerners hang out at their spakling blue hotel pools for most of their trip, as I didn't know anything about the country or the best places to experience the true Thailand. But after a while with my new boyfriend Maurice, we decided that he would come with me, as he wanted to revisit Thailand anyway (he's been 4 times) and also he knew the best locations to go that weren't too commercial & touristy. We still wanted to visit Bangkok though, for the shopping and a bit of action, so we decided to spend a few days in the busy city and around 5 days on the island of Koh Phangyan near Koh Samui.

So at around dawn we set off from Perth to Kuala Lumpur, in transit to Bangkok. We'd decided about a week before to bring our flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui forward a day to have more time relaxing in paradise on the island. I took some Kwell tablets as I get motion sickness (also slight claustrophobia and phobia of heights!!!), and was fine for the first flight. The next flight to Bangkok was on a smaller plane which experience a little turbulence and despite taking more Kwells before it, I was awfully sick... which carried on to the long taxi drive from the airport weaving in & out of Bangkok's evening peak hour traffic (which is crazy & chaotic but somehow works, people drive like they are all part of one big snake). So unfortunately my first day in Bangkok was not the best, after a quick visit to a restaurant for food and a cocktail near our guesthouse, I ended up having to spend my evening (the busiest & most entertaining time in Bangkok) lying on the guesthouse room bed nursing a sore tummy & pounding head. I was still excited to be there though :) But was pretty frustrated that I couldn't experience it that night. I told Maurice to head out though as I knew he wanted to get out there amongst it. The next morning I feel right as rain and was raring to go :)

As we only had one day in Bangkok until we came back for a few days after the island, we didn't achieve a lot the next day. A bit of clothes shopping as we'd only brought one outfit each in our cabin luggage over, and.... FOOD. So much amazing food. I was in awe of the freshness of everything... fruit, seafood, vegies... there isn't a lot of longterm cold storage in Thailand and so fresh food is bought by locals from stalls on the street. Everything I tasted was like a rainbow in my mouth. The best & freshest seafood Tom Yum soup I've ever tasted, the sweetest mango & pineapple fruit shakes ever, yummy Pad Thai, fried rice of awesomeness, green curry & fluffy white rice to die for.

The one thing that really stood out for me that first day in Bangkok was the friendliness and politeness of the locals. There were of course some that were only being nice to try & scam you (like, unfortunately, some of the Tuk Tuk drivers who say that they will take you to a tourist landmark like a temple or market for a stupidly cheap price but who work for unsavoury tour businesses who charge you phenomenal prices and often won't deliver on the services you've paid for). But on the whole I found a people who were happy and polite despite their sometimes poor circumstances, who smiled, laughed, bowed and shook your hand. I never once saw a child who cried or screamed or threw a tantrum. Waiters & salespersons seemed happy to be there, unlike some Perth hospitality workers who act as though it is an inconvenience to actually have to serve you. When the monsoon rain came in the afternoon, as it often does this time of year, the shopkeepers & stall owners simply attached clear plastic sheeting to what they needed to protect from the water, and continued their laughing conversations.

The next morning we head off once more to the airport for our flight to Koh Samui ("Koh" in Thai means "island"). We arrived at Koh Samui airport at around 8am, and I gawked a little... it looks more like a fancy tropical island hotel rather than an airport! :) While asking an airport staff member where we could catch a ferry to Koh Phangyan, an Aussie couple happened to overhear us & told us that they had a courtesy speedboat waiting provided by their Koh Phangyan hotel with room for 6 on board, and we could catch a (free) lift with them! Score. The speedboat ride was so much fun. As soon as we pulled off from Koh Samui and the mountainous smaller islands came into sight rising out of the turquoise water, I felt the biggest weight come off my shoulders. Every unlucky, bad thing that had happened in my life up until now, all my worries, all my doubts and tribulations, just seemed pale and insignificant, petty even, compared to this natural paradise.

We arrived in Haad Rin, the developed & commercial tourist-based beach on Koh Phangyan, and caught a boat taxi pretty much straight away to a beach on another part of the island. A day after staying in a cabin on the hills near that beach, we realised that we misinterpreted the map that a friend of Maurice's had given us to what he told us was the most amazing area of the island... it was actually another bay around the corner we were supposed to be at, so we caught a boat taxi there & realised that we had hit gold... the true meaning of paradise.

Now, I'm not going to tell you the names of the two beaches we stayed at during our time on Koh Phangyan ;) as they are both relatively non-commercialised, more reasonably-priced, and less popular with hoardes of Western tourists, than Haad Rin, and so for the sake of them staying that way, you will need to do some investigating yourself if you are serious about wanting to visit these places :)

Our time on the island is something I will never ever forget. I felt like I was dreaming... In fact, it was my dream, I dreamed about visiting a place like this a thousand or more times in my dreams over the last 30 years. Everything there is so perfect. We paid the equivalent of about $20 a night to stay in a cabin literally a stone's throw from the beach. The bay water is the colour of a Blue Topaz stone, with boats captained by smiling Thai men slowly & lazily cruising in & out of the beach with their few passengers & supplies. You can walk out 50 metres from the beach and the warm smoothly lapping water will only reach your waist. The weather was a steady 25-30 degrees Celsius the whole time we were there, with a light warm drizzle or two. The food (yes a lot of this blog post is going to be about the Thai food :P ... oh my goodness, the food, was divine. I existed on mainly a seafood diet the entire time I was on the island. Big, plump, juicy, tasty prawns, the most tender squid I've ever sunk my teeth into, subtly seasoned fish that melted in your mouth. I digressed one day and had a chicken schnitzel sandwich & chips cos I was craving them *guilty* :P but holy carp it was the best sandwich & chips I've ever had. Mangoes, rambutans & fresh coconut juice (both of which I tried for the first time and LOVED), lychees and more delicious fruit shakes... we also ended up buying our own (very cheap!) bottle of Sang Som rum & mango/pineapple/papaya/coconut juice, paired with a bucket of ice from the cabin reception bar, to make cocktails.

We also attended a couple of parties on the island, one on the Wednesday night at our little secluded hideaway bay at a bar literally built on a rock overlooking the beach accessible via a rickety (but surprisingly stable) bridge, and tiny stairs built into the rocks. As someone who inherited a slight fear of heights from my mother, you can understand that this was a gargantuan feat for me... another first :) We partied at that bar until sunset, I even got a little dance out of Maurice who usually isn't the dancing kind ;) It was truly awesome, everyone who was there was having the greatest time.

On Thursday night, the night I was to turn 30, we caught a boat taxi back to Haad Rin for Full Moon Party celebrations. The beach was teeming with Western tourists. There were flame throwers & jugglers, thumping house music, cocktail bucket stalls (with advertising slogans written on the front of their kiosks like "F*** my bucket", "Emily f*** my sex bucket", "F***ing strong bucket" etc... haha... bizarre but hilarious). Also I've never seen so much fluro in all my life! There were stalls & shops with body paint that glowed in the dark & blacklights, fluro hats, necklaces, bikinis, t-shirts & bags. Once again everyone there was so happy, and I had the best birthday I've ever had seeing in my 30th year at that beach party, with the man I love.

The next day, after savouring a few hours lazing on the beach, we boated it over to Koh Samui then caught the plane back to Bangkok, arriving again in the evening. I didn't suffer from motion sickness this time so we had a pleasant evening eating at a little restaurant off the beaten track which served delicious duck and fish dishes, and a few cocktails. We stayed at a very clean and lovely airconditioned hotel room with a pool on the roof for the equivalent of around $25 a night! The next couple of days we spent doing some serious shopping for t-shirts & jeans for Maurice (for the fist time I saw his amazing haggling talent at work!!), a few makeup & skincare items for me - saving myself hundreds of dollars, and gifts for friends & family. We also visited fresh food markets, Chinatown, and the Gems Tower & Government Gem Factory both which left me in awe!

On our last full day there we took the backpack we purchased at a store the first time we were in Bangkok before going to the islands, back to see if we could get an exchange as the zip had stopped working. In true Thai style, after a lot of discussion and realising that he would lose face if he didn't do something, the salesperson and his colleague took us with the bag to a guy with a stall on the street to get the zip fixed. This proved to be a pretty funny experience as when we went back to the guy on the street to pick up our fixed bag (he did an amazing job by the way), we found out him and his friend were Italian, and he'd spent some time in Australia working as a farm hand. We had a pretty interesting conversation with them both (I talked to his friend about Italy and the place my family is from, Calabria), and he proceeded to tell me just before we took our leave that I had eyes like the Mona Lisa. A character indeed :)

One night we walked down Khaosan Road, the mecca of tourist shopping in Bangkok, which was a plethora of exotic sights, sounds & smells. We dodged tuk-tuk drivers and club employees telling us about "Ping-Pong shows, puh puh!" And I have to say, I did fall in girl-crush with many a Thai girl dressed to the nines or in promotion girl outfits for the clubs. You know what made them most attractive? Their smiles :D

Our last day in Thailand was spent savouring the food (of course :P), drinking 50 cent amazing tasting Thai iced coffee, and shopping for a few last items to take home with us. Maurice once again haggled his way into several budget purchases, more t-shirts for himself and some really great gifts.

With mixed feelings about leaving, as I was starting to miss my kitty Leon and our own bed & shower, but didn't want our awesome holiday to end, we left Bangkok for Kuala Lumpur where we spent a few hours before heading back to Wintery Perth.

The experience has changed me, for the better. It was a true perspective enhancer... I see things in a more positive light, and things I once thought important enough to worry me silly now seem petty. I feel refreshed, relaxed and revitalised, and ready to take on anything life throws at me. The only thing is... now I have the travel bug! As soon as I can once more afford to do so, I'm flying off into the sunrise again...

Yolie xx

P.S. If you want to see more photos from our trip, they're here on my Flickr :)

The Beaux Arts Ball - Accepted artist/model application

2011-06-22T18:13:00.000+08:00

Soooooo. I just got accepted to create & model my "Charlie Vamp" outfit (inspired by Louise Brooks) idea for the Beaux Arts Ball in Perth on 6th August :D

Any makeup & hair artists who are interested in collaborating, please contact me :) Also, as I'll be purchasing items myself (including hiring a black short wig) to create my outfit, if anyone has a few dollars they'd like to contribute, please click the donate button on my homepage. Thanks!!!

Here was my application:

"CHARLIE VAMP
Charlie Vamp is a voluptuous, brash, sexy dame with mysterious black eyes. She wears the blackest velvet like it was melted chocolate draped over her. Men (and women) want her and gals want to be her, and she knows it. She daintily taps her martini glass with a nail perfectly painted in the darkest of red, to match her pouting lips. A pointed shoe moves with the sound of the jazz saxophone.

My outfit will be a draping black velvet/faux velvet evening gown. I have access to makeup artists and a wig seller who will help me to create the Charleston vamp look I
aim for. If I am unable to procure a makeup artist, I will be doing my own, which I have several years experience doing for myself and in cosmetic consultant positions. I’ve attached photos encapsulating the brash, sexy, wild, optimistic feel of the fashions and styles of the time. My greatgrandmother was a vamp in the 1920’s and I’ve always wanted to
pay tribute to her personality by re-creating her look. I will be wearing the outfit myself: I also have experience modelling and am creative in my gestures and poses."

------------- I'm so excited!!! --------------

Yolie xx

Facebook debate about the 0.5% levy to be added to Australian income tax for those earning over $50,000 & 1% for those earning over $100,000, to assist in rebuilding infrastructure in Qld & surrounds due to the recent floods

2011-01-27T15:40:00.000+08:00

The status update that started it all...

Facebook debater 1
"So people chose to live in areas that cannot be insured for flood damage because property is cheap... and now I have to pay more because of it? Get fucked Gillard."

- ME
  What if they've lived there their whole life, couldn't afford to move, didn't have insurance because they couldn't afford the premiums for flood damage... What are we supposed to do, leave them to fend for themselves? We *should* be looking after our own. It's only $1/$2 a week. We got off quite lightly in my opinion. Just saying.
- ME
  Also, natural disasters can happen anywhere. Just because we live in Perth doesn't mean we are immune to them.
- Facebook debater 2
  
  The whole point of insurance is to mitigate against risk. If you take a high risk, you pay more. If you can't afford to take the risk, don't do it. Defeats the purpose for some of us to pay premiums, and others get free ride. This event was predictable, they should have insured for it.
- Facebook debater 1
  
  There are areas there that cannot be insured for flood, even for extra. Christ, if these people could get insurance but genuinely couldn't afford it then I would be a little more sympathetic. But most of the area CANNOT BE INSURED because it is a known high risk area. So now I have to pay more tax for the government to act as Queensland's insurance provider. Ahh me Labor government, running this country into the ground every time they get up in the morning. The handouts courtesy of Kevin Dudd would've come in handy right about now...
- Facebook debater 1
  
  PS - Yolie... the floods in Carnarvon, making our vegetables and other food products twice the price. I can't afford to eat now. Where's my Labor government handout? That's right, I don't get one because I live in a state with the highest percentage of income earners. So my dollars go elsewhere. As for looking after "my own", I will hand out money over fist to any Western Australian in serious need. The rest of the country can get fucked, because we gets raped to prop them up for everything else as it is. /rant
- ME
  
  People earning over $50,000 are paying an extra couple of dollars in tax. It's not exactly going to run our country into the ground as you say.
  I think maybe you're underestimating the cost of the damage.
  Extra tax would have had to have been in place to cover the insurance they should have prepared for anywal?
  The lack of compassion I am seeing because of this small increase is disheartening.
- ME
  I agree that Carnarvon needs funds also, but the cost of the damage in Qld is much, much higher.
- Facebook debater 1
  
  My lack of compassion is about the same as the level of stupidity shown by some of the people choosing to live in high risk non-insurable areas :P
- ME
  
  http://blogs.crikey.com.au/thestump/2011/01/27/flood-levy-the-best-packaging-from-labor-for-a-long-while/
- ME
  Most of Australia is "high risk"
- Facebook debater 1
  Most of Australia can still be insured for extra :)
- ME So what you're saying is that people who can't afford insurance or live in high risk areas shouldn't receive assistance in times of natural disasters? Because without the levy the level of assistance would be significantly lower. Wow, if we take that view then we're screwed when bushfires become the norm in metro/southern WA due to climate change & insurance premiums inevitably rise.
  The levy is also only for the 2011/2012 financial year. $50. I spend more on makeup of a month.
- Facebook debater 1
  That's what they say... I bet it doesn't get lifted. It's almost $800 for the year for me. FML.
- ME
  Yes? And you can't afford that on ~$100,000 a year? I earn less than the $50,000 threshold but I'd still be willing to pay the $1 a week to help out my fellow countrymen.
  Please reserve"FML" for situations where your life actually sucks, like losing a loved one or having everything you own destroyed by a fatal wall of water. K thanks.
- ...also in regards to K Rudd's bonus, I truly believe that his cash injection into our economy saved us from the worst effects of the financial crisis, such as the US has experienced... We would be a lot worse off if he hadn't. It allowed employers to keep workers and eased strain on credit debt. I used it to pay off a loan.
- Facebook debater 2
  
  I don't know where you got the idea I have no compassion for these people. I'm not against us giving them money if they use it in a way that will stop it from happening again. I'm against giving them money to rebuild the same so that in 25 years from now a bunch of kids can be killed and people's possessions destroyed, just so that we can all feel good about helping out.
  
  As for bushfires, it's disgusting that homeowners and their local councils choose their lifestyle over the risks they cause to firemen, their neighbours, their kids etc. If climate change is making it worse, shouldn't we be proactive about stopping people dying?
- Facebook debater 3
  
  I agree.. once a tax is imposed, its never lifted. I'd bet my life on the fact that this flood levy will never go away.
  
  The other dumb thing about imposing it as a tax is the poor QLD'ers who its supposed to be helping will cop it too and have to pay to help themselves.
  
  I'm all for helping people, but give them a loan, not a gift of my money. Federal loans can come out of the federal coffers, not out of my tax dollars. Like you've said, its a known high risk area and this type of event has been predicted - if the insurance companies won't insure against it they can obviously see its coming :)
  
  I too am sick of WA being taxed to death to support the rest of the country, and getting a significantly smaller share of federal funding. Its not just the Labor government that does this either, Liberals are just as guilty.
- ME
  um, "the poor QLD'ers who its supposed to be helping will cop it too and have to pay to help themselves"?? Julia has made it clear that those affected by the floods will not have to pay the levy.
  Have either of you actually done research for this levy or are you both just knee-jerk reacting to "omg we have to pay a dollar a week".
  Also, it is not "just so that we can all feel good about helping out", it's a practical solution to fix things right now... Re-locating all the people who can't afford to move would cost just as much? The tax is A THIRD of total government funding for rebuilding infrastructure. The rest is being sourced from reduced spending and non-essential projects. Where else is the money going to come from? "Federal coffers" - do you not think that if the government had billions of dollars SPARE (and yes, the damage bill is BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, then they'd use that?
  FFS. I give up.
  I thought our nation's people had more common sense and intelligence.
  Obviously not.
  
  Facebook debater 3
  
  ‎1: Last time I read about it, your best friend Julia hadn't stated that those effected won't cop the tax. Does this include the poor WA'ers that everyone has forgotten about? or do we have to fund our own flood relief too?
  
  2: Its a fair and reasonable position to take on ANY new tax claimed as temporary that its a bad thing as it wont go away. Have you paid attention to the last 50 years of Australian politics and government taxation policy?
  
  3: I really do feel for the people of QLD, and I'm all for helping out where practical and getting QLD back to normal, however, as an already highly taxed citizen of Australia, I object to any additional tax imposed on me for anything. The federal government has plenty of money in the bank. Sure, give them 2/3 of what they are planning, but fuck off this tax and replace it with a federally funded loan to the state of QLD.
  
  4: You're entitled to your own opinion, and so are the rest of us. Quite frankly after your thinly veiled personal attacks on everyone that disagrees with your position, questioning common sense and intelligence, makes you sound like you've either run out of valid things to argue, or you're just a child who likes to rant on the interwebs. Either way, I don't particularly care.
  
  ME
  
  I'm stating fact. My arguement IS valid. I'm not attacking anyone personally. I stand up for what I believe in. So that makes me a ranting child? LOL.
  Thanks for playing.
  
  ME
  You might want to actually know what you are talking about before you debate something like this. Julia has said several times that those who have/will be receiving govt assistance for the flooding won't be paying the tax. Research, my friend, it's a wonder.
  
  Facebook debater 2
  
  What does it mean to fix things now? Does it mean restore things to the way they were before the floods, or make it so that more people won't die or lose everything in the future?
  
  I have no objection to my money being put to good use. If we are going to go through this in another few years with more dead people and billions of dollars in damage, then I don't consider that good use.
  
  Facebook debater 3
  
  You think your argument is valid, and sure, you might have a few points, but nothing you say will convince me that I should pay more tax ever.
  
  I'm an already over-taxed citizen with a pretty decent handle on current events. I vote no on the referendum for more tax.. oh wait, what? no referendum? I don't have a choice? oh fuck.
  
  obviously I've hit a nerve with you. 3 posts from you in the space of a minute continuing to try and justify your position.
  
  I seriously can't be bothered continuing this discussion with you. Obviously you have formed your opinions, as have I and there is no middle ground.
  
  Get back to work. I'm sure you have better things to do than argue on the internet. Its what I intend to do :)
  
  ME
  
  I do have better things to do but when I feel strongly about something I get passionate about it, as obviously you do too.
  Do not condescend me.
  I'm attempting to make you understand that this levy is necessary.And when I see efforts to assist people who are in need, being thwarted by those who obviously earn more than the average person, and who I am assuming have all the trappings and gadgets of modern life, spend money on things with motors and shiny things and things we don't NEED, but take for granted, I get on my soapbox.
  And I'm proud that I have that stubbornness. I'd rather that than be a good little girl and stay quiet about things that I believe in. I will not be silenced by any man.
  You have a good afternoon.
  
  Facebook debater 4
  so I am guessing R when the baby is born and you get the baby bonus or A takes paid maternity leave provided by the government you will be too proud to take it as after all why should we pay for your choice to have a baby!!!!!!!!! After all it is only 1 or 2 a week!!!
  
  Facebook debater 3
  haha.. dont condescend me either :P
  
  I wont be silenced by any woman on a soap box :D
  
  I will have a good afternoon, thanks, you too.
  
  Karen: baby bonus and maternity leave is a different story. its paid to everyone irrespective of which flood prone area they choose to live in. Level playing ground thats well established :D
  
  I'm sure R would forego the bonus/payment if his taxable earnings were reduced by the same figure.
  
  ME
  Well we'll just have to agree to disagree then :) My argument is just as valid as yours. I wasn't the one that called you a ranting child simply for having a debate :P
  
  Facebook debater 3
  
  omg, you don't shutup and insist on having the last word, don't you?
  
  I wasn't the one that accused everyone else of lacking intellect and common sense.
  
  Facebook debater 4
  Yes S they are and they are also something we pay for that is wrong yet people still take it and dont complain.....but lets face it we dont live in a perfect world and some people dont have the luxury of high incomes,choices and others live were they can afford and pray that natural disasters are something they never have to live thru
  
  Facebook debater 4
  
  I feel for you R as you have a higher paying job and work hard but maybe we should look into more important things like the stupiditiy of child support .....I personally would hope that if this ever happen to us in Perth the nation would help us out in the same manner
  
  ME
  I said that about intellect and common sense a) because of the views I'm seeing about the levy (by mainly high-income-earning privileged men); and b) because of the fact that it appeared that a few people on here had not checked facts before entering into a debate.
  And yes I am hard to shut up, when I feel as though it's something that needs to be said. I don't care about having the last word; I just try to open apparently narrow-minded people's minds to a compassionate state of being.
  That's all.
  
  Facebook debater 5
  
  K you do realize why they are paying a baby bonus right? It's not as a Handout. The gov needs to stop the aging population as they need younger Generation of workers to support the baby boomers when they retire
  
  You see they spent too much money on social welfare because there idiots and now need new tax payers to help fund it.
  
  Here's an idea to every state hell to every person in the world
  
  START SAVING YOUR OWN MONEY and quit reaching into MY pocket when you didn't
  
  Facebook debater 5
  
  Incidentally a high income is not a luxury
  
  It's something you hAve to fight and study and sacrifice your free time and work hard for
  
  Facebook debater 4
  very true P by no means making light of the hard work required by someone who works hard and studies hard to get ahead in life but some people dont have it or the opportunities it what I meant
  
  Facebook debater 1
  
  ‎+1 P. you've hit the nail on the head.
  
  As for high-income-earning privileged men - its not our fault we've managed to get better paying jobs than some. Perhaps it was our education or our smarts that got us where we are today. If you don't like capitalism, try moving to a communist society like Russia or Mainland China. Perhaps the lesser educated poor men there will be more of a pushover.
  
  ME
  
  It's called social responsibility P. Would YOU be able to pay for everything lost and start over again if you lost everything you own?
  
  All this kerfuffle over the amount of money per week you probably find in the back of your couch or spend on coffee every morning. And the money is going to people that really need it, it's not as though the money is going to those that don't need it. Why can't we all band together as a nation to help, instead of squabbling over $2 a week?!
  Slightly pathetic. Just sayin'.
  Man, lucky it's quiet in the office today :P
  
  ***What do you think about the levy?***

SKIN DEEP

2010-12-20T11:45:00.000+08:00

Skin Deep, a documentary my Uncle, Franco di Chiera directed at the end of last year, will screen on SBS One, Sunday 2 January, 8.30pm as part of the series "Secrets of the Human Body".

"For hundreds of years, human skin colour has been used as a marker of race. Now, science is uncovering the intricate relationship between skin colour and environment.

When our ancient ancestors in Equatorial Africa lost their body hair and ventured out into the open savannah, their skin had to become dark to resist strong UV radiation. Perfectly adapted to the environment, the black skin of Africans is one of Nature’s greatest achievements for the survival of the human species.

In SKIN DEEP, Penn State University anthropologist Nina Jablonski proposes a startling new explanation as to why human skin has so many colours. Her research suggests that pigmentation did not evolve to prevent skin cancer, but primarily to help the human body maintain the right balance of two crucial vitamins essential for reproduction and body development. As a result, skin colour developed as a perfect compromise: allowing enough sunlight to stimulate the production of Vitamin D, but screening the body from harmful rays that destroy folic acid – a vitamin necessary for reproductive success.

Focusing on ground-breaking research and personal accounts of scientists around the world, SKIN DEEP reveals that the evolution of skin colour is solely an adaptation to the environment. It drives home a powerful message: judging people on the basis of colour is not only morally unacceptable, it is scientifically wrong."

"The concept of ancient human ancestry is extremely powerful, as demonstrated by the number of people who ventured out into storms to attend the evening. The formal feedback we received has been overwhelmingly positive, and there have been some wonderful references to how the screening of SKIN DEEP tied the evening together. Well deserved praise for a film that captures the mystery of the human journey." - Steve Kern, the RiAus Senior Programs Co-ordinator, Science Exchange, Adelaide

My Uncle says about making the documentary: "The subject of this this film means a lot to me and making it was both a joy and a revelation. I hope you can catch it and find it an uplifting way to start the New Year - celebrating the "human rainbow"."

Here is the trailer, and here is the SBS Website for the "Secrets of the Human Body" series.

Worth a watch! :)

Yolie xx

What's your nationality?

2010-11-24T13:03:00.001+08:00

I'm a mix of Italian, English and Spanish.
Going to spit out some of my family history here cos a) I'm on my lunch break & bored & b) I find it interesting, others may or may not :)
My father's parents (both passed) were Italian, although my dad was born here after my grandmother Carmela (who sadly passed away at 40 when my father was 10) migrated with her 3 small children in 1955 to join my Grandpop Luigi in Waroona who had already come over here in 1926 (they met when he went back there to visit in 1948).
My mother is English, born in Essex. The family came over here in 1964, when mum was 6, then back to England in 1966 & back here on a migrant ship in 1970. Grandad passed away when I was 9, and was a prisoner of war in Germany in WW2.
My great-great-grandmother on my English grandad's side was Spanish.
Early next year I want to enrol in a Spanish dancing & Flamenco course :)

what do you want to know?

Donations

2010-09-24T11:56:00.000+08:00

You will notice that I now have a donate button on my blog. Your donation, however small, will help to go towards things like costumes for my Solo Burlesque course and graduation show, travel and accomodation to Sydney if I make it to the finals in January for Miss Alternative, photos for my portfolio, and possibly other lessons/courses in singing, dancing and Event Management eventually if I have enough funds. Thank you so much for your support!

Miss Yolie xx

Five favourite albums (today)

2010-08-26T14:22:00.000+08:00

Was asked this question on Formspring today, it got me thinking. And now I want to go home and listen to them all on repeat:

"Top 5 albums, ever!"

Oh I hate these "top something" questions when it's about music... my tastes & what I like are constantly changing depending on my mood!

If I MUST, here's a top 5 list of some of my favourite albums I can think of off the top of my head right now (in no particular order):

Jeff Buckley - Grace

This got me through many a tough moment. I allow myself to let go and be carried away by Jeff's soaring vocals, and the instrumental genius that is this timeless album. I love Lilac Wine. It's just so sweet and beautiful, yet sensual and potent. Like Jeff was.

Fiona Apple - Tidal

I still can't believe she was only 18 when she wrote this. Listening to the articulate way she pours her lyrics into our ears with her liquid-silk voice, it feels like she's had several decades of life experience. I could never, ever get sick of this album. I listen to it almost weekly.

Gomez - Liquid Skin

Such a full, round sound. This is my Sunday morning nightie & slippers, coffee scent & sunshine album.

Portishead - Dummy

The 90's: Memories of lovers long gone, learning my way in the world, whisperings in the dark at house parties, sharing dreams, touching and loving and holding and wishing..... these are all the things this album reminds me of.

Birds of Tokyo - Universes

One of the best live bands I've had the pleasure of seeing. They had the the entire crowd in the palm of their hands...clapping, jumping and dancing. The intensity of their performance stirs something primal in me. As does Ian Kenny. I also love Karnivool equally.

This will most certainly change tomorrow.

Yolie xx

Can you help give Pirate a new home?

2010-07-15T10:11:00.000+08:00

I discovered this little man when a friend shared her friend's post about him on facebook.

I really, REALLY wish I could give him a new home but alas, the inadequately-fenced courtyard at my home does not allow me to.

He is an Australian bulldog. He is deaf. He is a gorgeous dog, immunised and free.

If you, or someone you know can give Pirate a loving, safe, happy new home, please email me at yolielollie@gmail.com.

Thank you.

Yolie xx

UPDATE: I've been given some more information about Pirate from the friend of the person that bred him:

"The owner at the moment is my friend Rama who bred him. Someone else bought him but returned him when they discovered he was deaf. Rama will probably end up keeping him if a home isn't found however as she has two other dogs (girls for breeding) she would prefer to find him another home. I am just trying to help because while he is young he has a good chance of being adopted. He would need to be trained using hand signals. At the moment he is living in Wyndham Vale which is out west near Werribee."

Please let me know if you or someone you know can give him a home! Thank you.

Who's the sexiest man alive?

2010-07-13T14:46:00.001+08:00

Johnny Depp. With Emile Hirsch a close second.

Go on, ask me that thing you want to know....you know you want to ;)

When was the last time you gave flowers?

2010-07-13T14:38:00.001+08:00

About a month or so ago. To myself :)

Go on, ask me that thing you want to know....you know you want to ;)

"I'm cold" - What if you didn't have a home to go to?

2010-07-01T11:53:00.000+08:00

Hi all, I need your help to raise funds for Mission Australia.
Perth recorded it's 8th bitterly cold night last night.
Imagine what it would be like to have nowhere warm for you and your family to spend the night?
Mission Australia ensure that funds go where they are really needed, to those that are in desperate need of help.
Please donate even just $5 to my Mission Australia Winter Sleepout fundraising page - it all adds up!
Thank you.

Happy Endings - From Sleeping Beauty to Sookie Stackhouse

2010-06-27T17:09:00.000+08:00

For a short time as a child, I imagined myself as a fairy princess bride. Complete with white chariot and prince charming, led by white unicorns with glossy manes & shimmering horns. Later in my childhood as I became well-read, this fantasy changed to me as a warrior princess, destroying evil as I encountered it and saving the innocent.

The main common similarity in all my childhood fantasties was a happy ending.

I learnt to read at an early age, mum says around 2 & a half years old I was starting to read bedtime stories with her. As I got older, I discovered words of magic & mystery hidden between pages & quickly learnt that I could use the stories as an escape from my sometimes tough and lonely upbringing. With parents who worked two jobs sometimes & who moved town every year or two, gypsy-like, I was always the "new girl" and subjected to sporadic bullying and cruel social-shunning if I wasn't what some of the kids thought was "cool" at the time. So, I learnt to withdraw from the stress with the help of my beloved stories.

Every book I read had a "happily-ever-after" ending. The boy got the girl; the girl got the boy. Lost children were reunited with their loved ones; no one ever got seriously hurt. Everybody lived; everybody got what they wanted - if they were the "good guys", that is.

Recently I started reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels, the base for the True Blood television series. The story has made me think about these happy endings we take for granted. Sookie's situation is far from a fairytale. There is no traditional garden-variety happy ending for her as there is for Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, the children from the Narnia novels and even for Bella of Twilight.

Sookie will never share a lover's breakfast with Bill; she'll never awaken in his arms as the first light crawls through the bedroom curtains. They'll never go on an afternoon picnic together, or walk along the beach at sunrise. Bill will never grow old with Sookie, they will never have biological children. They will always will in danger of ending up scapregoats of the violent "fang-hater" mobs as a Vampire and his "fang-banger."

Sookie has no family left except her brother; Bill's dies a hundred or more years before he met her.

Bella, on the other hand, has it all: a Vampire who sparkles instead of burns in the sunlight. He is able to give her a child. They are not hunted by religious fanatics.

Twilight is a fairytale; True Blood is not. And yet, Sookie's story seems to have more substance, more romance: despite her & Bill's differences, despite their trials, they manage to keep their unconditional, passionate love alive. It shows, to me, that you can still be happy, without a traditional "happy ending."

Just another makeup tutorial - how I do my makeup for nights out

2010-06-03T11:49:00.000+08:00

I've had several ladies and some guys in the last few months ask me for advice on makeup. Especially eye makeup. I've been wearing some kind of makeup since I was 12 thanks to my ex-model & make-up artist mother. I was also a cosmetics & skincare consultant for several years.

Having said that, I like to have at least one or two make-up free days a week, to let my skin breathe. Remember to remove at least eye makeup before bed (face wipes are quick & easy) - I admit I have been guilty of leaving my eye makeup on and it's not a good feeling in the morning.

This is how I do my makeup for nights out, hope it helps!

- apply face moisturiser & eye cream, making sure all absorbed. This gives a good base for your makeup.

- apply foundation with clean fingers, blend blend blend around hairline & chin so you have no line. I also pat it after applying with my fingers so I have no streaks.

- In the palm of your hand, blend 50-50 foundation and concealer. I do this so that it gives a very blended look i.e. you don't have really light under eyes & dark rest of face. PAT on concealer under eyes and on eyelids and any blemishes or red spots with your ring finger, blending thoroughly. I pat a little on my nose too for extra staying power.

- Use large powder brush to apply face powder in a downwards fashion, brushing over entire face to set foundation. Use a powder sponge/puff to lightly pat a little powder under eyes to set concealer. I also brush a little mineral reflective, shimmery powder over cheekbones & under eyes to give that 'luminous' look if you have any.

- apply a light eyeshadow over lid, blending thoroughly. This is the point where I would apply false eyelashes if you want to.

- using one hand to pull skin tight at edge of eyelid, use a steady other hand to apply black eyeliner thickly (pencil or liquid) from inner corner of upper eyelid close to lashes to outer edge, flicking up slightly at outer edge. You can make the flick dramatic like an Amy Winehouse cat-eye, or a little flick. If you're using liquid eyeliner, let dry before next step (I use a hand fan to make it dry quicker!) I then use a cotton tip dipped in face powder to clean up any messies and to create a smooth clean line. If I'm using pencil liner, I also use the tip of an eyeshadow applicator (I use the double-edged ones) to apply black or brown eyeshadow over the line to give a 'smudged' look.

- if I want a very dark smoky eye look, I apply black pencil eyeliner on bottom lashes as well, only on outer corners (about half way) to 'open up' my eyes and give them an almond-shaped look. Smudge with method above (with tip of applicator dipped in dark eyeshadow). Once again, clean up any messies with a cotton tip dipped in face powder or light eyeshadow.

- use flat edged eyeshadow applicator to apply a shimmery eyeshadow in any colour you like above (not over!) your eyeliner on your top lid and in the crease of your eye. Apply a light taupe coloured eyeshadow on brow bone & blend well with your ring finger. At this stage I like to define my eyebrows with a brown eyebrow pencil (brown eyeliner if that's all I've got!) and an eyebrow brush sprayed with a little hairspray to keep hairs in place.

- apply 3 coats (yes, 3!!!) of a budgeproof or waterproof thickening, curling mascara to top lashes, letting dry between coats. Use a back & forth motion on outer eyelashes to make them nice & fluttery :) apply a little mascara on bottom lashes.

- use a medium-sized blush brush to apply a pinky shade of powder blush to apples of cheeks (I smile at myself in the mirror when doing it!) then up & over cheekbones. I apply blush quite liberally at night because of the dimmed light which is different to daylight. If it looks too dark, brush a little face powder over it.

- apply lip gloss or lipliner & lipstick depending on your mood (If I'm using liquid liner just on top lashes I like to use lipstick - tip, apply concealer to lips beforehand for staying power, but if I'm doing the smoky dark eye thing with eye pencil & eyeshadow I just wear lip gloss)

And you're done!

I like to keep my hair simple and low-maintenance. Smooth & straight always looks good, with a pretty headband or hair clip. Or let it dry naturally, twisting hair in your fingers as it dries. Hair serum is my friend.

Yolie xx

MSN LOLS 31/5/10

2010-06-02T14:09:00.000+08:00

Alex says:

whats with the status?

U'Llynda says:

it's a song by M.I.A.

Alex says:

monkeys in aquariums?

U'Llynda says:

haha nooooo

Alex says:

mammoths inside amphibians?

men inducing anacondas?

U'Llynda says:

haha

keep going

gold

Alex says:

ummm

marmosets inciting arsonists?

U'Llynda says:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.I.A._(artist)

bahahahaha what's a marmoset??

Alex says:

its a little.... doodie

U'Llynda says:

a doodie?

Alex says:

http://www.google.com/images?oe=UTF-8&gfns=1&q=marmoset&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

U'Llynda says:

!!!!!!
they're adorable!

Alex says:

how the hell did you now know about them?

too busy looking at stupid female vocalists it seems

U'Llynda says:

hmmmmm. i really don't know. and SHUDDUP

Alex says:

lol

but yeah its them

and they incite arsonists

U'Llynda says:

right

they wouldn't hurt a blow fly..... I want one! *explodes in a mess of cuteness & rainbows*

Alex says:

of course they wouldnt
thats why they incite others

U'Llynda says:

i don't think so

they don't have a gram of evil in them

Alex says:

they do

thats why there's so many

no one EVER suspects them

YOU'RE FALLING INTO THEIR TRAP SPAZ

COME BACK

U'Llynda says:

LOL

ok I've now had the giggles for a total of 3.162 hours today thanks to you (figure may or may not be completely made up)

Alex says:

okay

well, you best stop distracting me with all your marmoset facts and fallacies

i have work to do

U'Llynda says:

so do I

bye

Adore Midori Cocktail Competition Entry - "THE GREEN EMPRESS"

2010-05-12T11:44:00.000+08:00

I just entered this cocktail in to an Adore Midori competition to win a Midori cocktail kit. I just created it off the top of my head, so this has not been tried & tested (yet). Feel free to do so & let me know what it's like!

20ml Midori
20ml Sake
20ml Vodka... See More
10m fresh lemon juice, chilled
Champagne or sparkling wine, chilled
Sliced Kiwi fruit or spiraled lime rind to garnish

Use a GREEN cocktail swizzle stick to mix the Midori, Sake, Vodka & lemon juice in 2 tall champagne glasses. Drop a couple of slices of Kiwi fruit or spiraled lime rind into glasses. Top with Champagne/sparkling wine. Garnish with a slice of Kiwi fruit/spiraled lime over side of glasses & the green swizzle stick.

A Thousandfold

2010-03-25T14:10:00.000+08:00

372 days ago, I joined Twitter.

I initially joined because I read about a lot of musicians and actors I was a fan of posting competitions and announcements of albums and tours exclusively through their Twitter accounts. I think I had about 5 followers in the first week, mostly spambots, and one @grum.

I had no idea that there was such a large Perth Twitter community until @grum convinced me to attend my very first @PTUB (Perth Twitter Underground Brigade) meetup. I met a handful of intelligent, intriguing, fun people that night and then realised that Twitter would be the perfect opportunity to meet some new people after leaving a very unhealthy relationship and pruning the tree of people I knew back then who were a terribly bad influence on me.

A few months in, I was entrenched in this exciting new world....I also realised there was also a dark side to it in the form of "haters", and those that sought the wrong kind of attention, which I made the decision to ignore. I met more and more wonderful, amazing people from all walks of life with much to share and much to learn from.

So we come to today, and I now have over a thousand followers (probably half of whom are spambots lol), some of whom have been there for me to share my sorrow on my darker days, and to celebrate my joy at achieving things I never thought I would a year ago. Some are now my dearest friends, and others I am beginning to have the pleasure of getting to know them better.

My thousandth follower was a Victorian called @jaseygalore - I was pleasantly surprised that a) he was a real live person and not a spammymcspamspambot b) he's Australian and c) quite a bloody good photographer!

I made a promise yesterday that I would do something special for my thousandth follower, so here it is in the form of a hastily written poem in my lunch break today :)

Hope you like, @jaseygalore :D

"A THOUSANDFOLD"

So I woke up this morning, and what sights did I see?
I did not see a tweeting bird on my windowsill;
There was no cute kitty trying to catch said tweeting bird, much to my sorrow.
BUT I saw nine hundred and ninety six Twitter followers looking back at me.

The next time I looked, I saw a thousand and one
It was more than likely that the thousandth was a spammymcspamspambot
But - could it be?! Could the thousandth actually be a real live tweeeting PERSON?
I clicked on his name, the blogless @jaseygalore, and he seemed quite fun.

His Van Gogh profile background spoke of his love of art to me.
And the photos on his Flickr page - well, they had me spellbound
Especially the one aptly titled "Flathead Cat Head".
I have a bit of an obsession with moody pet photography, you see.

Welcome to my online world, @jaseygalore
Strap yourself in, my dear boy
And get ready to take a trip on the rollercoaster that is my life
This past year there has been sorrow....but mostly joy, thanks to the people I adore.

And so I lament the continuing absence of a feline presence in my household.
At the same time, however, I count my blessings for the wonderful people I have met
In this past year - all through the typing of less than 140 words.
Al the tweet tweet tweeters that chose to follow me! Me, I be a lucky girl, I be a lucky girl a thousandfold.

Guinness World Record Attempt - Call For Sponsorship

2010-03-11T12:44:00.000+08:00



Hi all! I'm taking part in the Guinness World Record attempt listed below. I'm doing it to boost my confidence, be a part of something historic and part of something that supports a worthwhile cancer charity. All I need from you is to sponsor me & donate as little as a few dollars (tax deductible), which will go straight to the 'Strike a Chord for Cancer' Charity. If you can help me out, please email me at yolielollie@gmail.com or comment on this post with your email address for bank deposit details. If you require a receipt, please let me know and I can organise for one to be sent out to you, with a little thankyou note from me :) Thank you kindly. -U'Llynda aka Yolie

Date:     Saturday, April 17, 2010
Time:     1:00pm - 2:00pm
Location:     Bell Tower, Perth

YELLOW EMPIRE IS BREAKING A GUINNESS WORLD RECORD
APRIL 17 2010
“BIGGEST SWIMWEAR PHOTO SHOOT”

The Concept & Our Goals
Yellow Empire is attempting to break a Guiness World Record (GWR) currently recorded under the category title of ‘Largest Swimsuit Photo Shoot’.

On April 17, 2010 our goal is to assemble 2000 ladies in front of Perth’s biggest tourist icon - The Bell Tower, for the Photo Shoot. We will attempt to better the record set in Russia on the 19th July 2008, at Riviera Central Beach in Sochi where 1923 ladies broke the previous record of 1010 ladies in Sydney on the 22nd of October 2007, at Bondi Beach.

The attempt was created by Cosmopolitan Magazine and corporately supported by Gillette Venus Breeze ladies razors. Yellow Empire is looking to recruit 2000 women open to ALL AGES (girls under the age of 18 must parent or guardian authorisation) with an emphasis on allowing absolutely any female to enter and be apart of this exciting record.

Below is an article from the Daily Telegraph
A new Guiness World Record was set recently when 1923 Russian Cosmo girls in colourful bikinis formed the words 'Cosmo.ru" with their bodies in the sand.

How Were Helping Charity
Yellow Empire is putting the challenge forward to the female public of Perth.

Challenge 1 - Be a part of this 'Record Breaking First' for Perth
Challenge 2 - Raise money and support the 'Strike a Chord for Cancer' Charity

All entrants will pay $20 to enter the record-breaking attempt. Each entrant will then have the option to seek the support of friends and family to ‘Sponsor” them in there bid to raise money for ‘Strike a Chord For Cancer’ and complete the GWR attempt. 100% of raised funds go directly to ‘Strike a Chord for Cancer’ and is tax deductible.

How We Get Attention
The Yellow Empire GWR attempt will be held on Saturday the 17th of April 2010, the same day as the opening of the Red Bull Air Races. This will ensure we receive and utilize the local, national and international coverage media coverage on hand to cover the Race. We will also create a relationship with Perth’s premier radio station to cover the event live and assist with the marketing and promotion of the event 2 weeks prior to the attempt. Additionally, we have a team dedicated to getting this out to as many of Perth’s ‘Hotspots’ as possible. From Fremantle to Mindari Keys, the Yellow Empire GWR marketing material will be found at many of the major shopping centers, social venues, coffee shops and retail hubs as possible. We have also created an online presence through facebook, twitter and LinkedIn to make sure we don’t miss anyone.

The Participants
The participants will range from ages 18 and above with a focus on making it completely open to any female. Participants can enter as an individual or as apart of a corporate syndicate. All participants will pay a $20 entrance fee. Participants then have the option to seek fund raising support from family, friends and corporates as recognition for their involvement and completion of the attempt. Each participant will receive a limited edition, one of a kind piece of swimwear for the event valued at $120 as well as a gift bag filled with products from supporters of the attempt.

The Celebration
We will then create a Celebration Event post shoot for monies raised for charity and the new record at the Perth Convention Centre. Here we will see all of the participants come back and enjoy a top end music line up, food and drinks. We will invite the public to come in and celebrate our achievement.

Internationally recognized Swimwear Company, Blue Glue, have come onboard as our first Supporting partner and will be providing a ‘one of a kind’ event designed and limited edition piece of swimwear for the attempt.

More info here: www.recordbreakers.com.au/swimsuit/

formspring.me

2010-01-07T16:59:00.001+08:00

Go on, ask me that thing you want to know....you know you want to ;) http://formspring.me/missyolie

And the winner is......

2009-12-10T18:35:00.000+08:00

With my partner Al as a witness (and using his hat to put everybody's names in to), I have drawn the winner of my $80 Buyster Lighting voucher blog giveaway.....

And the winner is *drum roll* MANDY!!!

Yay! Congratulations Mandy, you'll be getting an email from me very soon.

Thanks for entering everyone! ♥

Lover's Diary Entry

2009-12-03T12:02:00.000+08:00

The wonderful Liv Bambola published my Lover's Diary entry today! Here it is on her site.

How I Came To Love You

You are healing the pain of my past.
The mental scars left from injuries inflicted
by someone so careless
are gradually fading because you are with me.

When I first met you,
I was mesmerised by your river-coloured eyes
The way they stared into mine
like you were reading my soul.

I was seduced by your dark skin and long black locks.
I also loved your tattoos & facial fuzz
(I love rubbing my cheek against yours)
To me, you looked like a character from a warrior fantasy novel.

As we got to know eachother
I became seduced by your sharp mind
Your passion, your inner strength, your self discipline
And the way you smiled at me knowingly & mischeviously.

When I told you about what had happened to me
What I'd seen, what I'd done
You didn't walk away, you listed patiently, then
you let my tears flow onto your strong shoulders

You told me it was going to be alright from here on in
And that you wouldn't leave me

I started to fall in love
with everything you are
and the way you loved everything about me.

You don't try to change me
but instead you encourage me to begin to love myself
Find happiness in life
and move on from the past.

I know it won't be a fairytale
we will have our ups and downs.
But I know that we will get through it all together

Because you love me
And I adore you
My Dark Warrior Prince.

Buyster Lighting Giveaway!

2009-11-26T14:29:00.000+08:00

The fabulous folk at Buyster Lighting have been kind enough to offer one of my readers an $80.00 gift voucher for their site! Just in time for Christmas! ♥

They even have a no questions asked 30 day return policy, and make you an offer if you've seen one of their items somewhere else at a better price.

Check out some of their gorgeous lighting:

Crompton Lighting - Mini Chandelier in Satin Chrome
Features: Three light mini chandelier, satin chrome finish, white bell alabaster glass
$79.00

Baymark - Tiffany Turtle Lamp, Orange Glass Shade

Handcrafted using the same techniques that were developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany in the early 1900s. This beautiful Tiffany-style piece contains hand-cut pieces of stained glass, each wrapped in fine copper foil and soldered.

$79.00

And for those hot summer nights outdoors:

Havit - Tivah Two Light Adjustable Outdoor Wall Pillar Light in Black

Features: Two light adjustable outdoor wall pillar light, Ecofriendly, aluminium poly construction, high output reflector to maximize light

$89.00 (Original Price: $95.00)

All you have to do to win the $80.00 gift voucher is leave a comment on this post or follow my blog using Google Friend Connect before Thursday 10th December and the winner will be drawn randomly. Get to it!

Good luck all, and also please note this is only open to Australian residents as Buyster only ship within Australia.

Miss Yolie

Saskia and Rahelja

The winds of change

The land of a thousand smiles

The Beaux Arts Ball - Accepted artist/model application

Facebook debate about the 0.5% levy to be added to Australian income tax for those earning over $50,000 & 1% for those earning over $100,000, to assist in rebuilding infrastructure in Qld & surrounds due to the recent floods

The status update that started it all... Facebook debater 1"So people chose to live in areas that cannot be insured for flood damage because property is cheap... and now I have to pay more because of it? Get fucked Gillard."

SKIN DEEP

What's your nationality?

Donations

Five favourite albums (today)

Can you help give Pirate a new home?

Who's the sexiest man alive?

When was the last time you gave flowers?

"I'm cold" - What if you didn't have a home to go to?

Happy Endings - From Sleeping Beauty to Sookie Stackhouse

Just another makeup tutorial - how I do my makeup for nights out

MSN LOLS 31/5/10

Adore Midori Cocktail Competition Entry - "THE GREEN EMPRESS"

A Thousandfold

Guinness World Record Attempt - Call For Sponsorship

formspring.me

And the winner is......

Lover's Diary Entry

Buyster Lighting Giveaway!

The status update that started it all...

Facebook debater 1
"So people chose to live in areas that cannot be insured for flood damage because property is cheap... and now I have to pay more because of it? Get fucked Gillard."