Blogs That Were Not Meant to Be

Let’s face it, I’m not the most consistent blogger.

Maybe I was when I first started this site but as the story goes, life took over and I gradually stopped finding time to sit down and write down my thoughts. You see, I’m a perfectionist, so writing a blog means setting aside 2/3 undisturbed hours to churn out 1000 coherent words.

I was looking through my drafts today and felt a twang of guilt for all the posts that never made it further than a few sentences or even a title. There’s 10 of them in total and they’re either not relevant anymore or I just can’t remember the story tied to them, but I figure I could use this blog to give them one last breath of life until they’re eternally trashed.

So, without further ado, here are some blogs that never came to fruition:

1. Australia’s Household Pest

This post didn’t progress further than a title but I drafted it in the Summer of 2016 so I’m assuming I was talking about ants or flies? We’ll never know.

2. The Psychology of a Like

“Talk about the pressure of getting likes on FB/Insta”

A sentence was as far as this blog went at the start of 2016 but I remember it being something I really wanted to talk about. It was just after I had spent a Summer working in social media and wanted to talk about why people were so obsessed with vanity metrics. However, it was such a big topic to tackle that I never really sat down to pour out my feelings on paper and now there’s thousands of articles out about it. Maybe I’ll gather my thoughts one day…

3. Untitled

“How fucking ridiculous – http://www.buzzfeed.com/juliegerstein/products-women-have-been-told-to-buy-so-men-dont-rape-the#.jpVRnJXoQM”

I came across this article in Feb 2016 and it made me so mad that I just had to write a post about it. Even reading it now angers me, no woman should have to act or dress a certain way to avoid being raped. It’s not on us to protect ourselves, it’s on men to JUST. NOT. RAPE. Anyway, I’m not going to get into it now but seeing as how I drafted that post at 2:45am in the morning I’m assuming I just fell asleep out of sheer frustration.

4. Makeup Post

“My mum is beautiful. At least that’s what our local butcher tells her on our weekly visits.”

Ah yes, just a month after the last draft, this was going to be a post around the pressure on women to wear make up. Again, another big topic to tackle. I’m pretty sure the butcher still flirts with my mum on the weekends #gomum.

5. Back to Square One

“Internship – week 1Tuesday:

Super nervous, sat in lobby waiting for Sam. Was met by Sam who was so casual and chill, was shown to my own desk. Watched internal video filming (met Jess and Julian). Was invited out for lunch by 2 ladies. Worked on BMW MINI David Flack vscocam editing.

Thursday:

Helped find influencers. Met Georgie, Mary. Ellen sent me the digital process, and got me my own Mac. Lunch with Georgie (apparently I made a really good impression). Sat in on Priceline debrief meeting for ‘May Beautiful’ campaign, ‘best industry meeting’ quote from me which Lena knows me by. Rosé wine at 5, OC talk. Filmed L plate interview. Plan to come in Friday 1-6pm (ditching pop music lecture)

(Mum told me to watch the intern this evening, no time but it is a must)

Friday:

Came from uni, worked on vcsocam editing, got my own access card, phone, email and personal computer account set up. Drinks cart and sushi. Lady in the elevator home complimented me on my skirt :3″

Aw, my first week interning at Ogilvy, how cute. This is another post I wish I’d finished because those first few weeks at a new workplace are so important and can really mould your whole experience during your time there. I started this one in March 2016 and interned for 6 months before I scored a proper role there which I wrote about here.  

6. An Act a Day

“Helping people warms my heart. From random acts of kindness to helping Sonia with her piano homework to picking up a pen for a random who accidentally dropped it; I love it all.

That’s why I want to share some recent act of kindness I’ve performed/received:- Olimpa on the train, wanted a Mac, helped her find the right model
PS. Shoutout to the random guy on the bus today who yelled out that I’d left my purse behind when I got off. PLUS an even bigger shoutout to Tyler who noticed that I’d dropped my phone on the floor and forgot to pick it up after today’s lecture (phone > purse #priorities)”

Random acts of kindness are still a big thing for me. I even started a tumblr blog about them in April 2016 #solegit. I think I only made 3 posts on there too whoops. 

7. Is Uni Really Necessary?

“You know what I don’t get? Why people struggle through 3/4 year uni courses that they hate. I mean, it’s your money, time effort and ultimately, life. Why would you waste 3 years of it doing something that you dread waking up to each morning?Call me naive, but I believe that you should always do what you love. Unhappy with your course? Transfer. Unhappy with your job? Quit. Of course there are many factors that determine why a person may be unhappy with their current situation, but surely you won’t find happiness in a course you absolutely despise?^ I started writing this blog post 5 months ago before uni even started for the year, and now I have the urge to keep adding to it so here goes:

It’s now week 8 of uni and we’re getting down to the nitty gritty.”

Yep, I still agree that uni isn’t the be-all, end-all for everyone after highschool. Some people just aren’t suited to that education style and others don’t even need a degree to excel in their chosen career. If there’s anything my internships taught me, it’s that learning on the job is just as, if not more, important than a formal education.

8. The Ultimate Study Sesh

“Today I was meant to study. I got up at 8:30am and helped mum get Sonia ready for school. I ate a wholesome breakfast and even made my bed. But then I decided to finish watching the last 10 minutes of Lifestyle’s hit drama ‘Unreal’ and that’s when my study plans went to shit.Fast forward 6 hours later and I just finished watching the season finale of the first season. Don’t ask me why or how, but over the course of this morning/afternoon I completely fell down the reality TV rabbit hole and got sucked into the addictive drama of the show’s unpredictable world. It offered me an escape from the mundane readings and tasks inflicted upon me by my university tutors and gave me the opportunity to catch a glimpse into the ridiculous world of reality television.

Of course, I know that ‘Unreal’ exaggerates a lot of scenarios and pushes the boundaries of what can even be shown on national TV, but it still really interests me. I mean, when else would I be able to actually see some of the scandalous things that go on behind the scenes and feel like I’m sitting alongside the executive producer and the crew as they film each episode? It’s almost like I’m ghosting a film.

Ah yes, I have my Television Popular Culture class to thank for this post. I still can’t believe that one of my assignments was to literally spend hours watching reality TV that I actually enjoyed… wow, incredible. 

9. Untitled

“It feels like yonks since I’ve last posted, and man oh man has life changed. I worked full time at Ogilvy over the summer, almost died trying to touch glow worms in New Zealand and somehow managed to bludge my way through 8 weeks of Uni. I got another tattoo, and nabbed a spot on the New York study tour these Winter holidays, all while binge-watching a plethora of new shows and movies.”

I started writing this blog in March 2017 and I really wish I’d finished it because so much happened over that Summer. My next blog wasn’t until after I returned from my study tour in July so I guess that semester will remain a mystery outside the fragmented memories in my brain.

10. Tattoo Removal at 21

What a great draft to end on, a mere title yet again. This is also a post that I’m saving for sometime this year or next when the process is finally finished…. almost 2 years and counting RIP.

And that’s it! It kinda felt liberating to send each draft to the trash when I was done writing about them. Here’s to a new decade with more posts and less drafts!

Adios Amigos *insert trash emoji*

Subs vs Dubs

Growing up, I always watched movies and shows with subtitles.

I mean, I didn’t really have a choice since the subtitle button on our remote was broken and there was no way of turning them off, but I actually preferred them. However, over the years I had to accept that most people found subtitles annoying so I adapted my viewing habits with others, but at home I gave the subtitles free reign.

Being a pretty fast reader has always helped and it came in pretty handy at uni last year when we had to watch episodes of ‘If You Are The One’ for an assignment. If you haven’t heard of this show, you’re in for a treat. Basically, it’s a Chinese dating show where one guy has to impress 24 women who get to reject him on national TV. Exhilarating stuff.

Here’s a 30 second clip to give you an idea of why I love it – the girls can be so brutal:

While my classmates complained about having to read the subtitles, I secretly enjoyed it and fell in love with the show over the course of the month. It got to a point where I actively set myself alarms to watch this oddly hilarious show on SBS at 4:30pm every day.

Since then, I’ve developed a keen interest in foreign shows on Netflix. Tonight, I decided to look over my Netflix activity the past year and realised that I’ve watched a lot more shows that I realised, here’s my list to date:

• Elite (Spanish)
• Money Heist (Spanish)
• 3% (Portuguese)
• The Chalet (French)
• Orbiter 9 (Spanish)
• The Many Faces of Ito (Japanese)
• Call my Agent (French)

It all started with ‘The Many Faces of Ito’, a Japanese Netflix original show about “a thirty-something rom-com screenwriter who manipulates four love-sick women for their stories under the guise of giving them romantic advice” (thanks Wikipedia, couldn’t have summarised it better myself). The whole series was so different to any type of rom-com I’d watched before and gave me a newfound appreciation of Japanese culture and dating practices.

Hold up, I just realised that I lied. ‘The Many Faces of Ito’ wasn’t the first foreign show I watched on Netflix, it was ‘3%’. Anyone who knows me well has heard me rant about how much I love this show. So much so that I watched the first series twice for the same uni subject I mentioned earlier and wrote a blog series as one of the main characters. I was tempted to write it in Portuguese for authenticity but I didn’t trust Google Translate to get it right.

I’d write all about ‘3%’ and why I love it so much but long story short, it’s dystopian show set in a future where 20 year olds have to solve a series of challenges that could get them a ticket to a holy land called the Offshore. Everyone else lives in extreme poverty and, you guessed it, only 3% of the population gets to live in the Offshore. I’ve got to restrain myself from writing more about it but I 1000% recommend it to absolutely everyone.

Okay, I’ve slightly deferred from the point of this blog but so far I’ve only explained part of the reason why I love watching foreign shows with subtitles. The main reason is because I love listening to people speak in their native language. Spanish and French are such beautiful languages and I could never give up an opportunity to listen to them being spoken fluently. Learning Spanish has always been a dream of mine so maybe this is a gateway to getting that under way¿

Just listen to the first 5 seconds of this and tell me you aren’t seduced:

The other option when watching these shows is to have them dubbed (to put a different soundtrack over the original one ie. English). Personally, I can’t stand it. The fact that the voices don’t synch with what the actors are saying and the weird accents are just too much for me to handle. I recently watched the second season of 3% dubbed with a friend  and it honestly ruined the show for me #sacrificesmustbemade I went back a week later and binged it all in Portuguese 😅

I get why people do it, I do, but if there’s one thing I can ask you to do is a) watch the trailer of one of the shows I listed and b) watch it in its native language. Yes, I know that’s two things but you can’t have one without the other! Anyway, I’m off to Google stalk my new favourite Spanish actor Jaime Laurent (who’s in both Money Heist and Elite) and find a new foreign show to watch.

Adios amigos *insert TV emoji*

 

Live Stream Madness

So it’s 1:15am and I should definitely have been asleep over 2 hours ago but I just witnessed the most epic live stream of my life and need to ramble a bit about it before I completely crash! #getreadyforlotsofexclamationmarks

Bit of a back story:

Since my last blog post about coming home from my trip to the states I’ve been getting really into watching travel vloggers on YouTube and following their escapades around the world. One of these bloggers is an awesome chick named Aly who runs a channel called Psycho Traveller. I stumbled across her account on a whim and instantly fell in love with her crazy personality and infectious positivity. She spoke so passionately and honestly in all of her videos that I couldn’t help spending the following 4 hours attempting to watch all of them and turned on YouTube notifications for the first time in my life. Now, I’ll admit that I’m not a huge YouTube fan but when it comes to Aly’s videos, I’m absolutely hooked – so turning on notifs was a huge step forward for me.

Fast forward a few weeks to tonight, and I’m about 3 hours deep into an intense House marathon (another great love I’ve recently discovered). Suddenly, I got a notification saying that Aly was starting a live stream, so I decided to ditch my binge to see what all the fuss was about.

Man oh man, it was honestly the best decision I’ve made all week.

What started as an intimate chat between Aly and a handful of us (including myself #fangirlingactivated) turned into the most epic episode of the ‘Everywhere Challenge’ held yet. For those wondering whether you should know what I’m talking about don’t worry, I had no idea what this challenge was before I heard about it in this live stream. It’s something that Aly came up with where she goes onto Skyscanner (an A+ cheap flight booking site) and puts her flight destination as ‘everywhere’. The site then finds the cheapest flights from Budapest, where Aly’s currently living, and she LIVE BOOKS A FLIGHT! That right, a flight is booked right before your eyes and you even get to vote from the top 3 locations to help pick a winner.

During all this, there’s a live comments section where people from around the world go crazy and yell out random things and suggestions. I knew that the comments section can go crazy but man, I was not expecting what happened next.

So a whole bunch of people kept mentioning that Skyscanner should sponsor Aly because of all the shoutouts she gives them in her live streams. Of course we all agreed, so when one guy suggested that we should all tweet Skyscanner requesting them to check out Aly’s video we jumped straight on board. (This explains why all of my Aussie Survivor tweets were interrupted with a random flight one).

@Skyscanner you guys should sponsor @PsychoTraveller – she gives you a shoutout in every live stream she does! 🙌

— Katia Rapota (@Katia_Rapota) July 31, 2017

Hey! What's happened?
– Jen

— Skyscanner (@Skyscanner) July 31, 2017

A lovely lady from Skyscanner started liking our tweets which was awesome and we all had a great laugh about it on the stream. I actually joked that someone from Skyscanner could be watching the video without us knowing and NEK MINUT, SKYSCANNER JOINED THE YOUTUBE LIVE STREAM!

The community manager who’d been creeping on our tweets decided to hop on over to the stream and get involved with the conversation. It was a dream come true.

With the pressure on, we convinced Aly to do the Everywhere Challenge and ended up voting between Brussels, Milan and Nuremberg. If anyone plans to watch the stream, I won’t tell you which city won, but it definitely didn’t disappoint (not that any European city could).

All seemed to be going well until Aly got into the nitty gritty of booking her flights and instead of being 30 pounds return it ended up being closer to 150 pounds for her + her boyfriend Scott. Being a budget traveller, this was not an ideal situation (as there’s still accomodation, activities and transport to factor in) so she was almost about to throw in the towel when suddenly people started to use YouTube’s SuperChat feature to send her money; talk about community spirit! It was only $5 to $20 here or there but it was amazing to see people want to help Aly so badly.

After a few donations and many thank you’s the impossible happened.

A little icon popped up showing that someone had donated 100 pounds… and that someone was Skyscanner itself.

I had to refresh my browser a few times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating but nope there it was, an amazing sum of money to help Aly’s trip come true! It was such a touching moment to see her reaction when she realised what had happened – it almost had me tearing up. Heck, people commented that they were crying and everyone was definitely experiencing all the feels.

After we all calmed down and thanked our #le-JEN-dary friend from Skyscanner profusely, Aly finally bought the tickets and confirmed the trip. *Cue us going wild in the comments section yet again*

I still can’t believe how this live stream’s unfolded and I’m so glad that I was there from the beginning. Moral of the story: Always watch your favourite vlogger’s live streams, even if you’re half asleep or at work (as some people were).

Sorry if this post is all over the place, I’m so jumpy from all the unnecessary adrenaline coursing through my veins and extremely sleep deprived too.

I’d highly recommend checking out Aly’s channel Psycho Traveller and of course Skyscanner for all of your cheapo flight needs! #notsponsored #nooneevenreadsmyblog. I know I’ll be browsing it when planning my next European escapade – which I’ll actually post about soon. #staytuned

In the meantime, go boil the kettle and check out tonight’s live stream with a nice cuppa:

Adios Amigos *insert YouTube emoji*

Werk Werk Werk

So today’s the big day, my first day working at a part-time job in a proper advertising agency. To be honest, I have no idea what I’m doing.

I mean, I’ve been a Social Media Manager before, but for a much smaller agency where assistance was much more readily available and I had a supervisor who helped me with my tasks for the first week. Of course, I have that here in my new job, but unfortunately one supervisor is away in New Zealand for the week, and the other is in Sydney. I could just ring the one in Sydney, but my phone phobia is telling me otherwise.

I relate with this stock photo on a deeply personal level

So what do I do?

Well, I have a task list to complete for my first 3 days until someone can help give me a bit of guidance, but until then I’m just winging it. At the moment, I’ve checked and updated all of my emails and started to work through the list, but it’s a bit challenging when you don’t have the access codes to half the things on it. I’m pretty much waiting for the Sydney boss to fly down next week to show me how to do everything and basically teach me how to adult. Until then, I’ve just received a little ‘Welcome to Ogilvy’ care package with an instruction manual and a few other things to read so HALLELUJAH I have something to do.

I guess the first week of a new job is always a tad confusing and all over the place, so I should just expect it and go with the flow. As a side note, it’s funny to think that no one in the office knows that I got the job so they probably think that I’m still the social intern who’s been coming in randomly throughout the year. I’m glad that I have 3 full days a week to settle in and get to know how things get done around here. That’s if I even make it through my first week without stuffing up somehow and melting into a hopeless puddle on the floor.

All jokes aside, I’m really excited that I get to work at such an awesome agency. I’ve already been welcomed into the Social team through a stream of memes and GIFs, so I think I’m going to fit in just fine.

TLDR; ADULTING IS DAUNTING AND I’M NOT SURE HOW I’LL GO BUT I’M JUST PUTTING 100% INTO IT AND WISHING FOR THE BEST.

Adios Amigos *Insert obligatory tweet reference and twitter emoji*

Pumped to be officially joining the @OgilvyAus team as a Social Media Community Manager today 🎉

— Katia Rapota (@Katia_Rapota) August 24, 2016

Pond-Jumping

You know what I realised today? We spend our whole lives pond-jumping. Now, I don’t mean this in a literal sense, although I did just find out that it’s an actual threat to the koi fish population according to Google. But no, I’m talking about pond-jumping in a metaphorical sense.

I’m sure that you’ve all heard the expression about ‘being a small fish in a big pond’ before, and this is the type of pond that I’m referring to. It’s the one that everyone finds themselves within no matter what occupation they have. Whether you’re a student scaling the education system or an adult growing your career within a business, we’re all really just fish swimming around in different ponds.

For most people, that ‘little fish in a big pond’ saying first comes into play when we start primary school as an eager little prep student. We’re seen as these small, naive and vulnerable creatures who will ultimately grow into big strong fish by the time we’re in Year 6. But then we enter high school, and it’s back to being that small fish amongst the sea of older students once again. Sure, we know much more than we did when we were in prep, but the idea still stands. That transition from primary school to high school is one of the first big ‘pond jumps’ we make in life.

From then on, and as we enter the workplace and start changing jobs, things can become a little bit more difficult. By the time we’ve climbed the ranks of high school and started to excel in our part-time jobs, we soon discover that we’re no longer small fish. In fact, we realise that we’ve morphed into the medium and big fish that we once admired in the very same pond we landed in all those years ago. As Year 12’s we are given the authority to decide where we want our lives to go and are tested on our knowledge of certain subjects to affirm our status and rank as the pond’s ‘top dogs’.

But then it happens again, we jump into another pond – university. Well, some of us do. Others decide to stay in our part-time jobs and keep growing within that pond into more senior positions. For those passionate individuals, pond-loyalty is obviously quite a strong trait which allows them to grow within the safety of an environment which they’re familiar with. Whereas in my experience, it can be very easy to get lost as a little fish in the big sea of university.

Sometimes I feel like I’m not actually learning as much in uni as I did in high school. I often find myself struggling to find the motivation to head in for a full day of classes and equally complain about having to trek a whole hour into the city for a mere 1hr lecture #priorities. But anyway, I digress. As I was saying, life is about jumping from pond to pond, and I think that although it can be daunting to leap into a new one, it can also be highly beneficial too.

For example, when I got my first internship at a social media agency, I was partially scared about actually helping out in a proper agency; but also very excited. Although it was a relatively small agency, I was still the least experienced there and found myself in a whole new type of pond. As I learnt more and more about the wonderful world of social media and grew my skills I found myself working there over the summer as a proper account manager. So in fish-terms, I had grown into a medium fish in this relatively small pond.

Whilst I loved working there and could have happily stayed on full-time, I knew that I had to swim on back to uni to continue my studies and get my degree. However, as fate would have it, I was soon given the opportunity to intern under the social media strategist at one of my favourite global ad agencies in Melbourne, ‘Ogilvy and Mather’. Talk about a big pond.

I decided to tackle both uni and my internship at the same time, with a cafe job on the side to make a bit of moolah. Whilst balancing everything was a bit of a struggle at times, I really loved the challenge and knew that it was the best way for me to keep growing within the industry. Transitioning from a small agency to a big one was an interesting experience for me. Although I had 4 months of social media account management under my belt, it seemed to dissolve as I moved back to an intern position at a much larger agency; and with it went my medium fish status. I didn’t mind being the small fish again though, as it let me learn the ins and outs of a multi-department workplace which I’ll definitely have to face again in the future.

And now that brings me to my current work/uni pond position. It turns out that both of my internships and social media work have actually helped my prove myself within Ogilvy as I was just offered a part-time ‘Social Media Community Manager’ position #fancytitlecomeatme. It’s a bit of a weird situation because I’ll be doing all of the tasks that a normal social media account manager would (ie. creating content, posting on accounts, replying to comments and generating reports) but I’m a bit too young and inexperienced to be awarded that title in such a big agency. Actually no, maybe my situation should be labelled as ‘ironic’ since I’ve been an account manager before? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Whatever the label, I’m just really happy that I’ve got the job and I’m finally going to be a small part of this big agency #suchexcite.

Although I didn’t have a specific intention for writing this post, I hope it gets you thinking about the pond that you’re in and whether you’re going to grow in it or immerse yourself in a completely new one. Because hey, who knows? Maybe you’ll jump into this pond with me and end up being my boss one day 😉

Adios Amigos *insert fish emoji*

P.S. Today’s shoutout goes to a certain motivational fish who managed to traverse across ponds and seas without ever giving up or complaining:

For reference, Marlin is me when I have to get at 7am for uni and work. 

P.P.S. After sharing this with my close friend Steph for her opinion, I feel like her reply deserves a mention in this post too:

#preachitsteph

 

 

Another One Bites the Dust

Um guys, I just realised that I’ll officially be halfway through my degree by the end of tomorrow. Just let that sink in…

Yes, this is a pun – a terrible one at that.

Hilarious, I know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

No but seriously, I can’t believe that it’s already the end of semester 1. I feel like the last 3 weeks have flown by like a pigeon on speed (pretty sure that’s the first time anyone’s legitimately used that simile in a sentence #alwaysafirst), and I’m the cat that’s desperately trying to catch it (I honestly have no idea if that sentence made sense – it’s the end of the semester, give me a break)

In between Europe prep, uni stress and interning shenanigans I’ve honestly been too busy to sit down and write a quality blog post, let alone spend hours doing nothing for the sake of having a deep, eye-opening internal reflection. I mean, I could spend this blog post doing just that, but I reckon I’ll have more than enough time to reflect on the first leg of my 22hr flight to London in just 12 days 😉 Yes, that was a shameless nod to the fact that I’ll be jetting off towards sunnier lands in less than two weeks heheh.

Anyway, since it’s the end of the semester and I’m procrastinating doing two 30 page readings for my final pop music quiz tomorrow, I figured tonight would be a great time to update y’all on my life.

• I don’t think I ended up blogging about this, but for the past 3 months I’ve been undertaking a social media internship at Ogilvy and Mather (one of the biggest advertising agencies in Australia). Again, I can’t believe that it’s gone so quickly because I’ve loved absolutely every moment I’ve had there and will cherish every memory for years to come. I might continue interning there next semester, but it depends on my timetable and how a few other things pan out within the next few weeks.

• I have eaten a grand total of 12 doughnuts from Doughnut Time since I first laid eyes upon their heavenly selection of beautiful treats. Since my first post, two new stores (in Degraves Street and somewhere in Fitzroy) have opened up, which has made it even harder to resist grabbing a doughnut when I’m in those areas. I’ve actually started documenting every doughnut I get and the stories behind them so STAY TUNED FOR A MASTER DOUGHNUT POST!

• I FINALLY discovered what’s been upsetting my stomach after 3 rounds of pointless hydrogen breath testing and one very effective blood allergy test. Ready for this? Turns out that I’m severely intolerant to yeast and cashews, mid-intolerant to eggs, dairy and wheat + mildly intolerant to potatoes, corn, rye and durum wheat. WHAT THE FUCK STOMACH?! When I got my results I thought ‘this is it, this is the day I die’ (more like ‘wtf do I eat now?’) but I’ve actually been managing to eat proper non-irritant food since I found out. Granted, I can’t have doughnuts anymore or my beloved bread, but I’ve accepted that sacrifices must be made.

• My latest TV series obsession has been with ‘The 100’. After 1.5 weeks of avid watching, I just finally finished the second season today and now I have to wait until we reinstall Norton security on my Mac so that I can dive into the depths of online streaming yet again.

• This Sunday, my ultimate volunteering experience will come true when I help lead tea tasting + making workshops at the official Melbourne Tea Festival! For anyone who knows me – or has noticed my blog name + tea references throughout my posts – you’ll get why this is such a big deal for me.

• After just over a year of endless driving and having to rewrite my whole logbook from scratch, I finally got my P’s about 3 weeks ago and I’ve been loving driving ever since. I remember everyone telling me that once I get my licence, I’ll find it impossible not to drive everywhere, and believe me, they were speaking the truth. I’m just borrowing Dad’s car for now, but man it’s been a lifesaver.

Alrighty, that’s all the big stuff for now so I’ll wrap this post up before I crash for the night. Since most of my posts are written around the 2/3am mark, I’m surprised that it’s only just hit 12am, but I’m honestly so exhausted right now that I feel like I’m about to black out.

Adios Amigos *insert bread emoji*

P.S. Shoutout to Hannah Friebel for reminding me what a simile was. Thanks to you, I narrowly avoided accidentally calling my pigeon comparison an ‘idiom’ instead.

Observing Life

I love people-watching. In fact, I’m doing it right now.

If you stood at the corner of La Trobe and Swanston streets, you’d see me sitting on the bench propped on the outskirts of the State Library Lawn. I’ve just finished 3 hours of back-to-back classes and am killing some time before I head to interning. I’m happily tapping away at my keyboard, only glancing down every few seconds to make sure that what I’m writing is making sense, and taking in my serene surroundings .

Here’s what I see:

• A girl just passed me wearing all-black with her bright blue bob tucked away under the rim of her black bowler hat. She looks like she’s in her early 20’s and fits the stereotypical look of an ‘arts’ student. 
• Another girl with a tattoo outline of Africa on the back of her arm just sat down on the steps in front of me. Her hair has been ombre’d from a chocolate brown to a golden honey blonde and her dark navy leather backpack has a burgundy pom pom accessory hanging from it. —> A very flamboyant dark-skinned guy, who I assume is her friend, just ran up to her yelling ‘OMG GUUUUURL’ and the two embraced in a warm hug.
• An old Asian man just mounted one of the green benches next to the lights and is hopelessly trying to summon a taxi.
• A caucasian man with softly tousled hair crosses in front of me carrying a Nike box. He’s wearing round black-rimmed glasses and reminds me of bit of James Potter (from the Harry Potter series). If I had to guess his profession, I’d bet my money on him being a writer
• An elderly couple wearing backpacks and holding hands are being guided towards the intersection by a young man with a map. The couple are squabbling in French whilst the man eagerly waves his hands around a gestures to the monuments around him. 
• An elderly black man wearing a cream suit and a black cap just stumbled up the stairs humming to himself.
• A large group of tradies just sauntered down Swanston street in their matching tan Timberland boots.
• A person sporting a mid-length beard just crossed the street with their long brown hair tied back in single thick braid. They were wearing a bright azure blue t-shirt with thin pink glasses and khaki pants which has honestly confused the heck out of me when it comes to determining their gender. All I’ve got to say is, YOU DO YOU COOL PERSON!
• A short girl with a bright purple bob just powered across the path in front of me on her way to Melbourne Central station (I know this because she told this to someone that she was speaking to on the phone). She has a medium black and white koi tattoo on the back of her lower right leg and seems to be in quite a hurry. I hope she got where she was going on time.
• The huge flock of pigeons which have been eyeing me up for the past 20 minutes have finally encircled me and accepted me as one of their own. I’m going to assume that it’s because I’ve been sitting here motionless for the past 20 minutes and not because I smell like a pigeon.
• A guy in his early 20’s swiftly mounted his skateboard and glided away after crossing the intersection. No hesitation, no nervous glances, he popped down the board and away he went.
• An african american man wearing a mustard-yellow t-shirt, faded red jeans and tan boots just crossed the road. His whole outfit is my aesthetic personified.
• There’s a businessman on the phone pacing the green grass of the library law. He’s obviously very stressed as the poor grass in getting an absolute hammering #onelikeoneprayerforthegrass

It’s now been half an hour and I’ve probably laid eyes on a thousand people. If I could type fast enough to document them all, I would – because all of them are so unique and amazing in their own way. Who knows what experiences, stories and knowledge they bring to this world, I hope that one day I can talk to some of them and discover their stories (yes, like Brandon from HONY).

Okay, I’m going to stop being all deep and meaningful now and get my ass into gear before I’m late for interning. That said, has been a really relaxing, fun and eye-opening experience, so my message to you is this: Sit down and people-watch. Not because you have to, not because I told you, but to see what kind of weird and wonderful people you live with in your city. It’s such a simple and sincere act which can end up being moving, insightful, inspirational or just plain boring sometimes. What you make of it is up to you.

Adios Amigos *Insert eyes emoji*

Triangles Are My Favourite Shape

So you know how I mentioned wanting to get a tattoo in my last post? Well I kinda sorta actually FINALLY got one yesterday *insert shocked emoji*

THAT’S RIGHT, I GOT MY FIRST FREAKING TATTOO! THIS IS NOT A DRILL PEOPLE, I AIN’T FUCKING WITH NO PENS ANYMORE – I HAVE THE REAL DEAL ON MY BODY FOR LIFE! I’M GOING TO SEE IT MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT UNTIL THE DAY I DIE.

Okay, now that I feel like I’ve sufficiently emphasised my point through the elaborate use of caps, I’ll calm down and go into a little bit of detail.

So, if you’ve been keeping up with my ramblings over the past few months, you would know that I’ve hinted at getting a tattoo for a while now. It’s something that I’ve wanted for just over 2 years now and I sorta feel silly deliberating over something so small for such a long time, but I guess I had to be 100% sure before I took the plunge.

Oh yeah, I should probably show you what I actually got before I start incessantly rambling about it:

 

TA-DA! ∆

Disclaimer: That picture was taken approximately 2 hours after I had it done, so of course it’s going to look red and swollen and rough around the edges (don’t hate on my baby).

I’m not sure whether you’re all interested hearing a big ol’ spiel about the process of actually getting it but basically I rocked up at ‘No Regrets Electric Tattoo’ in Chelsea on Saturday (20/2) and officially booked in for Monday (22/2) at 6pm. Two days later, I was lying on a bed with a random dude inserting ink into my arm via a menacing buzzing machine. Needless to say, I can see how that scenario would scare the living shit out of any normal person. Yet, I was surprisingly okay during the whole spectacle.

I brought along one of my closest friends, Bian-CA, who also happens to be an even bigger perfectionist than me, to make sure that the tatt looked perfect and to ensure that I didn’t get too intimidated by the whole experience to settle with something I was unhappy with.

Anyway, once Dane (the awesome tattoo artist who’d been highly suggested by Anthea from work) and I had decided on the size and placement of my tatt, we got down to the actual nerve-wracking act. I’d read up on pain zones and braced for the worst, but honestly, I didn’t feel any pain at all. I just felt like I was being stung over and over by a few tiny mosquitos (which I joked about when I was getting it done) for about 10 minutes until it was finally over.

When I first looked at the finished product, the only thing that crossed my mind was ‘Fuck, the lines are too thick.’ Legit, that’s pretty much all I could focus on. Now, to an outsider this probably sounds like I was being overly dramatic and freaking out for no reason (which of course I was) but to put it in perspective, I’d always dreamed of having a nice dainty pen-thin tattoo.

Here’s a photo of what I wanted vs what I ended up getting:

Hopefully now you can see why I might have initially freaked out a bit (only internally of course)

After leaving the parlour and sending a mysterious #noregrets snapchat of my bandaged wrist, I finally had some peace and quiet to sit down and actually process what had happened. Surprisingly, I didn’t cry about the whole line-thickness debacle (mainly because Bianca had assured 100 times that the lines still looked really clean, sharp and nice). However, there was a point where I did get a tad emotional before I finally decided to stop being a sook and embrace it for what it was.

It’s now a day later and I’ve decided that I love it.

Although this post has focused more on the whole experience of getting my tattoo, rather than its’ actual meaning, I don’t think I need to delve into into the mushy stuff too much. Long story short, the triangle is a tribute to my favourite band Alt-J and the overall impact that music has had on my life.

SO YEAH, THAT’S THAT!

I guess now I just have to look after it and channel my inner-vampire for the next few weeks until it’s safe to expose my lovely little tatt to the sun. In the meantime, I’ll be on the lookout for a really butch gang to join and a nice ol’ motorcycle to cruise around in #thuglyfe.

Adios Amigos! *instead of inserting an emoji, try holding down Alt and J at the same time on your keyboard to see what comes up*

P.S. Today’s shoutout goes to Bianca’s boyfriend Tim who managed to drive us from Bentleigh East to Chelsea at the speed of light during peak-hour traffic to get us there (almost) on time. Gracias señor, couldn’t have done it without you.

 

It’s Been Two Weeks

It’s been two weeks, and I STILL haven’t been privy Andy Warhol/Ai Weiwei’s seemingly spectacular exhibition at the NGV yet *sad face*. I also haven’t had the spare time or motivation to spend 2/3 hours writing up a proper new blog post because that shit takes serious concentration. Granted, I’ve written 2/3 drafts, but I haven’t had the chance to sit down and spend some quality time on this blog. (I’m sorry it’s not you, it’s me, I promise)

With that said, here’s an update on what’s been going on in the last few weeks:

– On Australia Day, I took a day trip with the fam-bam down to Red Hill on our quest to find the perfect punnet of strawberries. We made a pitstop at Mt Martha beach on the way, and I swear we bought out half a cherry orchard on the way there when we stopped at the ‘Ripe n Ready’ cherry farm. I was the designated driver for the day, so I managed to clock up 4 hours of driving experience! #gettingthereslowly

I may have gone back for seconds… or thirds

– A few days later I FINALLY visited the infamous Doughnut time in Top Shop Emporium with Hannah. I’m actually considering making a separate post about this experience because it was heavenly and so aesthetically pleasing and delicious 😍 JUST LOOK AT THEM ALL! We had their new vegan donut called  ‘Glen Coco’ (All of their doughnuts have hilarious names, see below)

– Courteney and I made a sequel to a truly tremendous ‘Snapchat Concert’ we made two years ago. This probably sounds like such a trivial point in the scheme of things, but once you watch the video you’ll understand why (post about it coming soon I promise, with BOTH the original and updated concerts).

– I had an epic catch-up with my uni friends after almost 4 months of being heart-wrenchingly separated by a sea of suburbs and 2 train lines. We all ventured into the Queen Victoria night markets where we indulged in some spectacular sangria, got henna tattoos and somehow ended up in a penthouse drinking wine on a Wednesday night #rebellious. On that note, I think I should mention that I’m planning to get my REAL tattoo soon #staytuned.

Such henna, so design, very friends, wow

ft. 5/7 of our ‘Ad Squat’ (No, that’s not a typo) 

– I caught up with my uber-awesome friend Liz, with whom I experienced my first visit to Melbourne’s cat cafe. That’s right. A cafe full of cats. Just… Cats… Everywhere – it was so peaceful, and they were all adorable, and the whole experience was just bliss.

– I’ve recently been chosen to be a student ambassador for TongLn – a new online marketplace for students to sell, buy and trade their books/clothes/accessories. I heard about the opportunity through RMIT’s career hub newsletter last week (which pops up periodically in my inbox and I usually ignore) and lo and behold, a week later I was officially welcomed to the team. I could rave about it for a plethora of paragraphs, but for the sake of your sanity I’ll keep this point short and sweet in lieu of a full blog post on this topic.

So yeah that’s life at the moment, thrilling, tiring, and ever-changing. I have a few exciting things planned for the next few weeks (including the start of Uni after my 4-month hiatus) so keep your eyes peeled (Wow, what a disturbing mental image).

Wait! Holy shit I forgot to add that I WON TWO TICKETS TO ATTEND A CHEESE FESTIVAL NEXT FRIDAY! You’re probably sitting there thinking ‘oh lawd, how sad must her life be if she’s getting this excited about a cheese festival’, but hear me out!

The ‘Cheese Please’ festival features a “delicious line-up of champion cheeses from the winners of the 2016 Australian Grand Dairy Awards” ie. people who know their cheese. When I heard that ONLY 100 people would get a ticket to this free event I crossed all of my fingers and toes before entering the draw to win 2 exclusive tickets.  After putting my heart on the line I had to wait an agonising 3 weeks before I was told whether my cheese dreams would be fulfilled. I’d actually forgotten about the whole thing until I checked the ‘promotions’ part of my inbox yesterday where I was blessed to find a congratulatory email waiting for me!

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT that’s enough from me for today – hopefully this post makes up for the past two post-less weeks.

Adios Amigos *insert cheese emoji*

PS. Today’s shoutout goes to my current idol Gabby who QUIT HER SHIT JOB TODAY AFTER THREE YEARS! YES GABBY YES, I AM SO DAMN PROUD OF YOU! Y’all have to drop what you’re doing and read her ‘McFired’ post, I promise it’ll be the highlight of your night: http://bit.ly/McFired

Work Like a Boss

Okay ladies and gents, get ready for one of my most controversial posts yet: Hating your job.

I feel like this post has to start with a *Disclaimer in case any work colleagues/ex-bosses read it thinking it’s about one of my latest jobs. Dear Sir/Ma’am, I can assure you that it’s probably not (except my shitty job in Year 9 where I had to work unpaid overtime each consecutive Thursday evening). I’ve never elaborated on it before, but until working at Sierra Tango Restaurant, I’d had a pretty shit streak with jobs.

Since entering the workforce as a naive Year 9 student, I’ve had trouble just ‘accepting’ some of the disadvantages that seem to come with working in hospitality. Things like working an extra half hour unpaid overtime and not being paid penalty rates have always left me questioning ‘But Why?’ Why don’t I make more on Sundays? Why am I being underpaid? Why can’t I take a full hour break after working for 6 hours straight, why does it only have to be 30 minutes? Over the last 5 years of work, I’ve come to realise that I’m not the only one asking these questions on a regular basis.

Everyone loves a good rant, especially when it’s about job dissatisfaction in the fast food industry. Usually, when the issue of ‘shit I hate at work’ comes up in a group chat, it takes less than 10 seconds for someone to chime in with an ‘omg same’ and ‘I agree 100%’. It’s kinda sad that we all bond through this mutual frustration with our jobs and the unfair/downright stupid things we have to do sometimes. I’ve heard about workplaces which don’t give their workers proper breaks, don’t pay superannuation, and emotionally manipulate their employees into covering shifts. On what planet is ANY of that okay?

I feel like there’s a list of shit that hospitality workers put up with, so I’m going to summarise it here:

• Working unpaid overtime.
  After an 8 hour shift, the last thing anyone wants to hear is ‘Oh, can you stay back for a bit to clean the oven because I forgot to do it earlier.’ 5 minutes may be fine, but when that ‘bit’ turns into just under an hour, it’s definitely not okay. People have lives outside of work, and would rather spend precious time with their friends > the oven they’ve spent the last hour bonding with.
• Being underpaid.
  This point actually grinds my goat so much that I could make a separate post for it. Don’t worry though, I shall summarise it here. There are things called ‘Awards’ and ‘Agreements’, which dictate the minimum amount you should be paid in pretty much any industry. Meaning: There’s absolutely no excuse for you to be underpaid; you’ve got legal documents backing you up. If you want to check how much you should be paid, follow this link and prepare to be amazed (or reassured if you’re being paid enough).
• Not being given an adequate lunch break.
  The store’s busy, I get it. But if you were promised your lunch break at 1pm and it’s now 2pm and you can feel your stomach eating itself, you deserve a break. I mean c’mon, just because the customers are hungry, doesn’t mean that the person behind the counter isn’t hungry too. Many people get up at insane hours of the morning to make their open shifts (ie. my friend who gets up at 4am to make it to work by 6am) and usually get hungry like, you know… normal people. Legally, there are a certain amount of hours that you have to work to earn an unpaid lunch break, but 99% of the time you should at least have a 10 minute rest break at 4-5hrs. Don’t quote me on this though, check it out for your award here.

Look, there’s a difference between staying back after your shift ends because you’re truly enjoying your job, or because you haven’t finished closing and are worried about the keeping your job if you don’t stay back. THAT’S NOT OKAY. You should never feel threatened at work. You should never just brush off unfair treatment with a laugh or smile, especially if it’s surrounding a serious issue such as workplace bullying or mistreatment. More often than not, you’re not the only one who’s unhappy with what’s going on, which is why talking to other employees in privacy can help.

It’s fair to assume that most people don’t like confrontation, which is why most of us just suck it up and accept that ‘that’s how things work’. Call me crazy, but I’m not one to sit down quietly and conform to unfair working conditions. This is why nothing angers me more than learning that a friend is being treated unfairly at work. THAT. SHIT. GETS. ME. MAD! Like when people watch men skin dogs alive in an animal cruelty video and want to singlehandedly murder all of the abusers, that’s how I feel towards some people’s bosses when I hear how badly they treat their employees *Insert murderous smiley face*. What’s worse is that I know there’s nothing I can do but lend a shoulder to cry on and offer a word of advice. Gosh, I’m like a crusader for the people; what a great title to have.

Seriously though, If there’s a issue that is being overlooked DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! I know it’s a lot easier said than done, but no one should have to suffer in silence. When I say issue, I seriously mean ALL issues, big and small. Whilst there are definitely things out of your control (such as crap christmas music, and being asked to empty the bins during your shift) there are some things that just aren’t okay.

Communication is key to turning your workplace from hell to heaven *insert angel emoji*. Don’t think that just because you’re one person trying to make a change nothing will come from it. Trust me, if enough people complain to management about an issue, sooner or later they’ll sit up and have to deal with it.  After all, how can your boss know that you all hate hearing Mariah Carey’s ‘All I want for Christmas’ blasting out of the speakers mid-May for no apparent reason each year?

That’s all for tonight Amigos, this Señorita has to get her beauty sleep before the insanity of Australia day *insert Australian flag emoji*. Adios Amigos!

P.S. If you ever need help with work advice feel free to hit me up. I’ve heard enough shit to have a solution for practically anything!