First book (kind of) review on here

So it has been a very long while since I've read a book. I'm ashamed to say how long, but coming exam time naturally leaves me wanting to revisit old hobbies and other creative outlets that have been repressed since uni. My favourite kind of books during these dark times are them apocalyptic, end-of-the-world kinda stories where there are no exams, assessments no careers to worry about. Nope just plain survival (lucky bastards). It's a great escape from the just-as-grim reality of having to study.

So I read the synopsis for Warm Bodies (no it's not an erotic novel, geez) by Isaac Marion. Human civilisation coming to its end, check. An unlikely romance, check. And most importantly, zombies. Check. It was the perfect book. Long story short zombie (named R) falls in love with a girl (forgot her name already) whose boyfriend he just ate and they go through trying to survive in first his then her world etc etc. It's gory at some bits but I've definitely read worse. Example, Cell by Stephen King. Got up to page 10 and then threw it across the room and was left traumatized and in shock for a good 5 minutes. Anyway, somehow the author managed to pull it off. I mean, upon first time reading the premise for the novel you'd think it was either a) hilarious. Sounds so bad it must be good or b) Twilight but with zombies.
It was neither. It was well written, thought provoking and touching. Only thing that annoyed me was the main chick. She was alright at times but other times she was so preachy and borderline hipster and just went on about The Beatles. We get it, you have good taste in music even in this desolate world. Good for you.

If you're looking for a bit of horror, a bit of romance and above all something to distract you from studying for exams, this is the book for you. There's also a movie coming out next year starring Nicholas Hoult (from Skins) as our hero 'R'. Exciting stuff.

Oh bloody 'ell

I accidentally deleted all my photos on my blog. I know no one is over here nowadays but still :'(
RIP the picture Amanda made for me that was a love heart outta my name and the photo of the rubber and pencil. R.I.P.

It was fun. (Alright, alright I will try to avoid the puns)

I think every few years or so a band comes along and turns my world upside down with kick ass lyrics and sound. So last night at the Hi-Fi Bar I saw the band fun. which are most well known from We Are Young thanks to Glee. And it makes me so happy how much success they've had since. Fun. is similar to my love Jack's Mannequin with the whole former band on hiatus/practically broken up thing and the whole indie pop thing going on. They even supported Jack's a few years ago! If you haven't heard of them I'd suggest having a listen to their albums. They have so much variation that no song sounds the same and are so special for different reasons but are interconnected at the same time.

Lead singer Nate jumped in dancing and jumping in his suspenders like a kid. Oh man he is just nothing short of awesome. And being a Mark Wahlberg/Matt Damon/Kevin Bacon fan that I am the fact that Nate's a look-a-like I kinda do find him attractive hehe. The songs they played was a good balance of the first and second album. They sound amazing live, energetic and connected with the crowd really well. They sound exactly as they do in the album :) The other band members also are amazing vocalists. The audience were brilliant and knew the songs and were really enthusiastic which is always a plus. I've decided that the Hi-Fi bar is my favourite concert venue because it is so small that it feels like a bunch of friends getting together to celebrate good music (I've probably written that in a past blog somewhere but really, it is an awesome venue and everyone gets to see the stage from where they're standing all concert venues should be like that). 

Highlights: 

Some of my favourite songs: Stars, Walking the Dog, The Gambler, Some Nights, Carry On, All the Pretty Girls (it's just the cutest song!), Take Your Time. I could go on. They were all so good!

-Nate struggling to take his shoes off

-The little jamming bits between the bassist and guitar

It was pretty much the perfect night of entertainment. And now I feel sad because all the dates within the next 3-4 months on my calendar are assessment due dates :( 

...but at least I can have some 'fun' in between. OKAY I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF. I KNOW IT WASN'T EVEN GOOD.

Marianne goes to see The Temper Trap

So it has been a while since my last concert (Andrew McMahon which was last February...). Too long actually that it felt like I was experiencing everything for the first time again when I saw The Temper Trap last night. But there were some things I had learnt from the last time I was at the Forum that I knew for next time. For one: Arrive reasonably early. Do not at any cost be late. Two: wear comfy ass shoes. Three: There is a ledge by the barrier. Do not trip on the ledge and fall on the lesbians (refer to the Tegan and Sara post if you don't know what I'm talking about).

(Edit: Whoops I realised I hadn't mentioned about the lesbians. Well everyone at the concert had the same haircut as Tegan and Sara if you get me...anyway we were rushing to the front row that I didn't see the ledge by the barrier that my foot got left behind by the ledge as I fell face first onto a bunch of lesbians at the front and grabbed their whole bodies to break my fall. They just turned around looking pissed off and went 'There's always one'.)

With these pieces of advice that I left on a little post-it somewhere in my mind last time I was all set to go for a perfect night with The Temper Trap. It went by so perfectly that we were second in line with the perfect view right at the front middle:

Photo courtesy of my band buddy Jade

Alright so I'll try to make this short.
Things I noticed:
-Dougy's shirt had little love hearts.
-The warm up band Seekae?'s drummer/vocalist looks and dresses like Andrew McMahon (he was pretty good looking hehe). Besides that, I didn't like their performance not my cup o' tea.

Highlights:
-Everytime Dougy picked up an instrument; tambourine, guitar, drums
-Everytime Dougy danced. So unique and trancing
-The bassist who got so into it
-Love Lost, Down River, Science of Fear, The Drum Song, Soldier On. Okay, pretty much every song.
- The moment I heard the intro to Sweet Disposition. Just hearing it that moment that's been part of my life that is so familiar being played live in front of me...really unexplainable experience.

Lowlights:
The guys behind us were really annoying. They rested their hands on my shoulder, used my back as drums and just got up against me like every inch of their body against mine which normally I don't mind at concerts but it just wasn't the right kinda mood to do it.

Anyway, to sum it up The Temper Trap are an awesome band live. Dougy's voice is absolutely one of a kind. So freaking insanely unbelievably etc etc good. And he performed so comfortably with or without an instrument. Just wow. There were some awkward parts where I didn't know some songs from the new album that all I could do was bop around hoping they weren't looking at me not knowing the words. Also I would've liked a little more interaction from the band like a bit of talking between songs or maybe a funny story or something. But it felt like a special show because they are Melbourne boys and apparently The Forum is one of their favourite places to perform (according to Jade) :P The lighting, instruments and incredible vocals make for a surreal performance that is so amazing that you totally forget you have exams in a couple of weeks and are meant to be studying but it doesn't matter because it is so totally worth it.

My thoughts on God

I think my attitude towards Catholicism has changed a lot in the last few years. Back in high school I was more dedicated, I would pray every night for about 10 minutes before bed and go to church because I felt like I had to and those that claimed that they were Catholic but didn't go to church every week I would wonder why they even bothered calling themselves that.

Now I admit my views on religions is not as black and white. It used to be 'Hey, follow these specific set of rules and I'll guarantee you'll get a spot in heaven.' Now the rules seem less significant. I'm not talking about the Golden Rule but the kind that tell you to go to church every week, confess your sins to the priest and you'll be absolved, even something as mandatory as making the sign of the cross before prayer. It all seems more trivial to me now. And there are so many views the Catholic Church has I do not agree with, and I just find the reasoning so stupid that I feel like if God could speak he'd agree that yeah, they are stupid and find it embarrassing they'd use his name behind it.

My relationship with God has changed. I don't fear him anymore, I talk to him more often in my head throughout the day like a friend than I did reciting prayers to what felt like distant being who was watching and judging my every move. When I feel like I've done something wrong I ask Him straight up to forgive me. Even when I pass the altar when people kneel respectfully, I'd instead give it a wink or a knowing nod or my signature pointing with two hands move (subtly of course haha). During church I'd just blank out and be bored, and I'd imagine God sitting there next to me thinking how much the organ drags out and also hoping the pointless mass would end sooner. He's the kind of cool guy who just wants you to be happy and make others happy. Yeah, this could be a phase, it may not be the kind of God that I'm told to worship but it's the God that I feel is in my heart.

Wow, this turned into a serious kinda blog. Sorry I bored you with this topic.

Marianne's back to blogging

My mum was telling me of this story of my dad's that I thought was pretty cool so I've decided to write it out to share...if anyone still reads this blog. I KNOW I KNOW I'm terrible at committing to things. And if there are people who care I'M SORRY. I love you, and thank each and every one of you who have taken even just 30 seconds to skim over anything that I've even written on here about me, my thoughts and my less than average life. 

 So anyway, years ago back when my older sister was still in primary school, my dad woke up in the middle of the night startled by the dream he just had. So much that he woke up my mum who was asleep next to him. To give a bit of context my dad went to military school in Vietnam where they slept in bunk beds and all that. The guy that slept above my dad on the top bunk, let's call him John, became good friends with my dad. John was one of the few people my dad actually liked, being humble and kind and an overall top bloke. But when he left Vietnam to Australia with my mum and his family, he hadn't heard from him again, not knowing where he was going or if he was even still alive.

Dad: I've just had the weirdest dream. I was back in my bed in military school sleeping when John starts peeing on the top bunk so much that it starts seeping through the mattress and falling on me like rain. 

Mum mumbling into her pillow: That's great.

Dad: Weird thing is I haven't thought about John in years!

Mum: yep. *falls back asleep*

The next morning my dad dropped off my sister at school and went into a bakery, having a craving for those Vietnamese bread rolls. Next to him he saw a man that looked somewhat familiar. He wasn't sure but he had to ask.

Dad: Excuse me, does your name happen to be John?

The man turn towards my dad with a look of absolute astonishment. 

John: TIEN?! (that's my dad's name by the way)

Dad: This is unbelievable. I just had a dream about you last night and now here you are!

So it turned out, that of all the countries in the world they ended up at, of all the cities, and of all the bakeries and the exact time the universe was able to unite two old friends back together several years later. 

That's pretty amazing.

Things I ponder about during church

I’ve always wondered about this invisible counter that’s existed throughout my life. One that was counting the number of people that I’ve talked to, number of people I’ve been attracted to, number of people who’ve passed by and thought I was pretty (which seriously would probably be under 2 where they’re totally drunk at the time), number of people who’ve been to my facebook page, number of people who’ve noticed one of my eyes being rounder than the other, number of times i’ve looked in the mirror and thought I looked decent (which would again, probably be less than a handful), number of hours I've done exams, number of hours I've spent waiting for the train and so on. It'd just be cool to see a counter that knew the exact number. Well, to me anyway. No point to this blog. Just being bored while I wait for my nails to dry.