Marianne...goes to the gym?!

Even though this body of mine is 21 years old it certainly doesn't feel like it at the moment. I mean, I should be at the prime years of my life right now! And I don't want to feel lethargic and tired all the time anymore. So, I decided to put my bitterness of the trend aside and try to be a little more open minded about the whole gym craze that everyone (and by everyone I mean a few people on Instagram and Tumblr) loves so much that it's become pretty much a lifestyle for some (or at least appears that way). Because you know, even though some people come off as conceited and aggressive..ly determined with their attitude towards it you have to admit that they seem to have a shitload of energy.

Okay okay, the title of this post is not entirely true since I haven't actually stepped foot in an actual gym area but I've taken a few group exercise classes to motivate me to push harder. I mean, avoiding the public humiliation of looking unfit and being singled out by your instructor in front of a bunch of strangers is a great motivator.

But then there are shitty things about the setup of of these classes such as not getting the moves while everyone else does so it feels like you've just accidentally walked into a dance rehearsal, bumping into people, limited space, the fear of accidentally punching someone, the fear of accidentally punching yourself, standing next to a person who sweats so much you're afraid that you'll slip on it, the smell of that sweat etc. And that's just the cardio classes. The yoga/pilates ones are killer because everyone looks like the type of people who can bend themselves into a pretzel while I can't even touch my toes or keep my legs straight. But you know, I'm glad I decided to try something new and I kind of like it too. I feel bad that I judged people on it.

The way the universe works

Why is it that when I decide to leave the house for five minutes in my home clothes teamed up with something like my thongs or my old daggy sneakers to run a quick errand like buying some milk in the middle of the night or getting some takeaway I always have to bump into someone I know?

Food Talk

A friend of mine were talking when they said that at her restaurant they sometimes add chicken stock to their vegetarian rice. I thought this was sort of disturbing and told them that it was unethical to do that. The reason I thought this is if something claimed on a menu as vegetarian, I would expect that everything in that dish would contain absolutely no meat products. They disagreed saying that not every detail can't be mentioned in a menu and that it was the responsibility of the customer to ask about everything they order about their diet concerns and at a Chinese restaurant customers should expect that they use meat in everything. I guess if someone had a nut allergy they would ask about every dish they order but I don't know if this is the same issue or not. Either way it makes me think of all the vegetarians that left that restaurant thinking that they had a meal that aligned with their ethics when really they unknowingly just had a sauce that came from stewed chicken bones because like me, they assumed 'vegetarian' means no meat. I don't know, am I just being too PC?

The tale of the four eyed freak

Back in primary to high school I really hated having to wear glasses all the time since I felt like they pigeonholed me into the Asian nerd category. But in a way I kind of liked my face to be defined by the thick ass plastic frames I wore since it was nice to be able to hide behind them looking like my friends and not have my face exposed. Come university I decided it needed to shed from this loser nerd/looking like a fob identity that was probably all in my head and try light thin frames that didn't take over my face and wear contacts as much as possible.
And now eyeglasses are more than ever become a trendy fashion accessory, a choice to wear for people blessed with 20/20 vision and for some reason that really annoys me. You know, that hot-but-quirky-nerd look started by Zooey Dechaneslelleal. What really annoys me is I've changed back to the black frames and I can't bloody pull off the hot-but-quirky look. I JUST LOOK LIKE THE NERD I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ONLY EMPHASIZED BECAUSE THESE LENSES ARE MASSIVE.

Spoiled

So there I was enjoying Masterchef when the flames appear on the screen and the usual ads such as the one with the winner of Masterchef Professionals with about zero tv charisma talking about how he can't live without his 'Stickmaster' (which when he pronounces it sounds like dickmaster hawhaw) and Curtis Stone with his next uncomfortable-looking guest start rolling as expected. And then (THANK YOU CHANNEL TEN) an ad for the tv show Elementary (which I am a couple of episodes behind in) springs up with that breathy horny lady voiceover reading out the big ass text plastering the biggest spoiler of the series. Not only that but they did the same thing again the next week with an even bigger spoiler.

Can't a lil ol' simpleton gal watch her reality cooking tv shows without having to fear her experience for another tv show is ruined?! I mean, aside from the News, Masterchef is the only tv show I actually watch in real-time tv and this is how they treat meh?? I know they want to rope in more viewers but (not to be dramatic) I mean come on guys, at least wait a few weeks before you DEMOLISH ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING I EXIST FOR YOU MONSTERS HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT

Update on me

This past week I have cleaned my room, sorted my closet out and even cleaned out my inbox (3000+ useless unread emails!). And I feel like my life is coming together just from that. I'm also going to try to be more healthy. No no, I'm not jumping into that whole gym trend. But I will be working on getting fitter in my own way. And I'm also taking more time on improving my skin care routine and maybe work on a new everyday makeup look.

Anyway, all these things I'm working on is really to distract me from my real problems which is MARIANNE WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE?!

So I have to have a title now?

You've changed blogger/blogspot. You've changed.

It is 5:16am

I like to think of myself as the typical uni student. That is, I leave things to the last minute and have been doing so for my entire life. It's not the ideal kind of approach to life but hey, whatever gets you to the destination right? I've come to the conclusion that there are two kinds of people. So imagine all of us students in a race and the flare goes off. We have

1. The Marathon Runners: These people start the race when the flare goes off. They pace themselves over the 3km distance. They give more time to relax and think about their strategy. They give themselves time to take breaks to sip a cup of Gatorade on the side and check out the scenery. They might even finish the race early and take the time to retrace their footsteps. 

Time taken to finish the race: 

 ~30 minutes (look okay, I've never run a marathon before so I have no idea what the average jogging distance is. Actually I don't know why I even included an analogy of a race since I'm allergic to running but all well, I've gone this far.)

Result: Good
Well done, you will probably succeed in life you son of a bitch.

2. The Sprinters: So the flare goes off, you choke the marathon runners' dust. No biggie, you have plenty of time to finish the race. You make it a priority to lie down at the starting line and bask in the sun's rays. It's all rainbows and ponies until you check your watch. OH CRAP WHERE DID THE TIME GO. The adrenaline rush kicks in. You drink the crap out of your four-pack of energy drink and run. Run like you have never run before. Got a cramp in your leg? Too bad, you gotta keep running. You have no time to look back (although for some reason you still think that watching the latest episode of Game of Thrones is a priority). You have to finish that 3km race buddy, no matter how much blood, sweat and tears is dripping. You make it to end of the race on time. Just.

Time taken to finish the race: 

~1-2 minutes

Result: Can range from disastrous to good
But probably could have been so much better if you put in the time and effort the marathon runners did. You now need the ambos to help you recover from the trauma you did to yourself and you swear you will never repeat your life's mistakes again (but you will). But hey, some people produce the best kind of work under the pressure (no sources, or examples, pulling this fact out of my butt). 

Anyway, I should probably get back to my lecture. And yeah, I took the time in the middle of my race to write this blog. 

Lasts

Right now I'm pretty fascinated by reading up on what people on death row pick as their last meal. It kinda shows that they were human once who enjoyed human things. I mean food is something everyone has in common that even the most evil of people at one point of their lives enjoyed or even have sentimentality towards. It's kind of creepy. And eating their last meal, knowing it's their last is kind of like accepting their fate that they're going to die and will probably be the last choice they'll ever make. Some interesting ones include a man who requested 2 pints of mint choc chip ice cream, a meal that included watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy, a packet of jolly ranchers, an unpitted olive (who was then buried with the pit), birthday cake with candles, and a cup of coffee.

Anyway, if I knowingly knew it was my last meal I'd have the following:
A large slice of Hawaiian pizza with mushroom topping
My mum's bun rieu
A slice of Victoria sponge cake with pistachio ice cream
A choc peanut butter and caramel shake
Green tea

What about you?

Delaying things

I know, imaginative title of the post I have here. Peaked your curiosity with it didn't I? Be kind, I am a little rusty with the whole blogging thing. Anyway, I tolds you all I'd be blogging again! I tolds ya, I tolds ya I did! I went against the odds and proved you all wrong motherflippers!! *flips the table over* Sorry, sorry got a little too excited there.
So right now I am currently on house/library lockdown for exam time and been eating chocolate and coffee as my main energy source. I've also been finding more creative ways to avoid studying within the confines in my room such as: googling what kinda fruit can I slap on my face to improve my skin, using Paint to work out the best kind of shape for my brows, going online shopping to figure out what I want to reward myself with for studying before I even begin studying , reading plots of movies/tv shows I'm not interested in watching and learning song lyrics. And then when I realise it's 12am I surrender, plan on an early start the next day, go to bed and turn on an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern to sleep to, but leads to me wanting to watch other episodes and next thing I know it's 2am and I'm looking up where all the kids from School of Rock are now. Good movie.

Marianne Makes a Comeback

I decided I will start blogging again...mostly because I'm supposed to be studying for my exam that's in a week. Anyway, imma start with a fresh new look here and get this ball a rollin'.

Stay tuned non-existent followers.

The Temper Trap, a concert review

I'm quite proud of this review for a concert I wrote for one of my subjects so thought I'd share it with ya here. Also the aim of the review is to tie it to the characteristics of rock and other genres we learnt in the subject, audience, song structure and stuff like that so if you're wondering why I get all specific about certain things that's why. Even though I stayed up till 4am trying to edit/cut it down to the word limit I actually did enjoy this assignment since I really love The Temper Trap and trying to analyze their music really helped me appreciate what great musicians they are. I mean, I know I love music but trying to understand the root of it all really strengthened my relationship with it. It also helped me brush up on my writing skills and creativity since me no do proper writing anymo coz science.

Concert Review: The Temper Trap

written by Marianne Nguyen

When a band that has toured the world arrives back home to perform in the humble city of which they began, there is an apparent gratitude and enthusiasm that exudes from the musicians’ performance that makes for a momentous experience. Such was the case for the rock band The Temper Trap when they performed at Festival Hall on the 24^th of April. This Melbourne band comprises of four key members assigned to typical instruments involved in the rock genre; drums, bass guitar, guitar, and vocals (with occasional keyboard). Together they played a combination of tracks to achieve atmospheric music distinct to the band’s sound. This partly goes to the lead singer, Dougy Mandagi’s, unique virtuosic falsetto, a signature trademark attributing to the band’s success.

The atmospheric sound was established from the first note of the opening song ‘Love Lost,’ played from the echoing organ sound of the keyboard filling the room, comparable to a gospel song. Building upon this allusion, the congregation of music-lovers united in a participation of syncopated claps to provide the backbeat. The ecclesiastical lead singer preached in his ethereal voice messages of hope and love in his lyrics, a universal relevance especially among the youth. The song then erupted into a polyphonic symphony of rock instruments bringing in the guitar, bass and drums entering the chorus. This pattern was repeated until the layering of guitar and drums built-up to the bridge where the pattern was broken with increasing crescendo of vocals and faster paced rhythm provided by the instruments. Most songs followed a similar trend of a verse- chorus -bridge structure. The night reached its pinnacle from the encore, the fan favourite “Sweet Disposition.” The loudest reaction came as soon as the recognizable guitar line echoed. The audience sang along to the well known short-phrased lyrics like an anthem as Mandagi directed his microphone back and forth to the crowd, a connection between the performers and listeners established in call and response.

The guitar drove the melody for most of the songs, as heard in the song ‘Soldier On,’ whose haunting repetitive rhythm of the guitar complemented Mandagi’s equivalently eerily sung lyrics. This, coupled with Mandagi’s vast vocal range laced in powerful emotions expressed in high pitch florid vocals was reminiscent of the moaning and wailing often heard in country blues music. Other uptempo songs with a cheerful melody were juxtaposed with bleak lyrics, which gave greater depth to the songs. The drums played an important role in many songs giving powerful energy by providing a pounding backbeat, an attribute of rock music.  Guitar solos were also a common feature in the songs. Differing from the classic rock genre, the band occasionally played synthesizers from the keyboard recognizable in the pop genre. This added another layer to achieving the atmospheric sound and allowed songs to become more appeasable to the wider younger audiences who grew up listening to popular synthesized music.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Temper Trap’s concert and was impressed by their stage presence by their ability to express heartfelt emotion. I was reminded by how much I enjoy the beaming energy of live music that cannot be encapsulated in a recording.

As I was more attentive than usual at this concert, I became more appreciative of the attention to detail that musicians have in creating a song; from the lyrical musings to the thoughtful melody in order to convey a story or evoke an emotion. This appreciation was felt unanimously, as I looked around a venue filled with gleaming strangers singing, dancing and jumping with one another united by the euphoric atmosphere created by the music. It was then that I was reminded by how powerful a connection with music could be. 

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