Ski Camp (Before)

I'm off on ski camp today with the school I work for. The above photo is from last year's ski camp with one of my best friends, Beck. I'll be looking after a group of year 10 children, skiing and cross-country skiing as well as orienteering and, for one night, camping out near snow. It's going to be freeeeeezing, but it was so much fun last year, I hope it's just as good this time around.

I'll be sure to write about how it went and any crazy shenanigans (unlikely given it's a school camp) that occurred upon return next week.

An eventful weekend.

The Queen's birthday long weekend was fast-paced and full of fun. A friend from Scots, Claire, came to stay with my family and I, so we made an effort to pack as much into those four days as possible.

Friday evening consisted of a drinks party at my house, mainly for all of my Mum's friends, but there was good food and wine, and we stayed there until about 8.30pm, when we ventured to Neutral Bay to a friend's gathering. The crowd we were with were really nice, though not necessarily people I usually hang out with. They were into alternative music and had lots of tattoos and piercings, but it was fun getting out of my normal social groups and I met some new people.

Saturday Claire and I woke up and went for a run along Manly beach, which was a great start to the day. We then decided we would do something a little bit different, so we drove to Glebe and had a really lovely time walking around Glebe's markets, looking at the amazing stalls with hand-made jewelry and uniquely designed clothing, though there was also lots of bric-a-brac. Gypsy Kings-esque music played as we had our lunch on the grass in the markets, and it was a very cool way to spend our afternoon. We had coffee in a very chic little cafe, and next door to it was the most incredible patisserie I've seen (apart from those in France).

Sunday we walked my dog and, on four hours sleep, we were pretty exhausted. We watched a really great british movie, An Education, which I would thoroughly recommend. We cooked dinner for my family: chilli, garlic and spinach prawn tagliatelle, followed by an apricot crumble. Yum. An early night followed, as we had a very early morning the next day.

Monday morning saw Claire and I waking up at 3.20am so as to travel to Darling Harbour to watch the Socceroos vs. Germany in the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The above photo shows the crowds that were around us! The atmosphere was very exciting and there were 25,000 people there, although it was such a disappointing game and the temperature was extremely cold. We returned home by 7.30am, had a bit of a nap, and then at about midday we went for a beautiful walk from Harbord Diggers to Curl Curl, and back again.

It was a jam-packed weekend but it was lots of fun and I'm glad we were able to explore Sydney a little bit as, generally, when I am home I don't make much effort to get out of my area and explore other places.

The Hills

Only recently, with exams and assessments for the most part out of the picture, I have developed a dangerous addiction to the Hills. It's not quality television, that's for certain, but it is entertaining and highly glamorous.

The Hills provides an insight into the lives of four girls; Heidi Montag, Lauren Conrad, Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port (she's my favourite). The four girls live in Los Angeles, California and work in events, fashion and music PR. They drive Mercedes and BMWs and have their own personal trainers, get their hair done and go shopping as they please. Their lives are interesting, but also very superficial.

I suppose it's fascinating seeing what the lives of the rich and famous are like. Sure, the girls work hard. Lauren and Whitney are interns at Teen Vogue, Audrina works 9-6pm and Heidi works ridiculous hours at night clubs running events. It seems to me like they've been given their amazing jobs either because their parents are 'somebodies', or because of the coverage their companies will receive from being on MTV's reality TV show.

The girls aren't incredibly bright (bar Whitney) and don't have the best work ethic, so you wonder how they are excused when, for example, they allow their friends to crash important nightclub events or they just don't bother showing up when they're supposed to be working.

They have obnoxious boyfriends and their apartments are furnished extravagantly, but you can't help but wonder whether they are completely oblivious to the real world and what it's like to pay bills and to have real problems and responsibilities. For the most part, it's all about feuds between friends and "loyalty" between guys.

But maybe that's the reason it's such compulsive viewing; you can escape your daily life for that of the rich and famous and, after twenty minutes of the Hollywood lifestyle, you can return to your bedroom refreshed and with your dignity in-tact.

I've just finished Season Three and I can assure you, I'll be finished the next season in no time at all.

Photo courtesy of: http://imagineannie.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/the-hills-400a-0822071.jpeg

How I love Snoop Dogg.

I just wanted to express my amusement at Snoop Dogg. I know he's supposed to be very cool, but to me, he's just funny. He composes his own porn music - how talented - but he hasn't got that gangsta feel to him like Usher or Jay Z. Regardless, I love this song, and really enjoyed watching the performance of California Girls at the MTV Awards 2010.