Lili Wilkinson

Simmone Howell asks what I have in my handbag, and I respond:

This is actually my standby handbag. My proper one is bigger, but the zip is broken and it is off being fixed.

Contents (clockwise from top left):

-Moleskine notebook, for writing thoughts

-wallet

-One Big Damn Puzzler, which is so far a very entertaining read

-glasses case (containing reading glasses)

-two pens, one pink for signing, one with a sekrit USB stick in the middle.

-smartcard for access to work.

-Asproclear

-iPhone earbuds (the iPhone itself is being used to take the photo)

-lipstick (salmon) and lipgloss (something Japanese and pink)

-pink Raybans

-20c in change

-book of stamps

-keys

-earphone splitter thing in case Michael and I both want to listen to something.

What’s in YOUR handbag? (or manbag)

This is a meme that’s been doing the rounds. First lines from published works and WIPs.

Published books

Scatterheart

The turnkey pushed Hannah into the cell, and clanged the door shut behind her.

Joan of Arc

Today they burn the witch.

The (Not Quite) Perfect Boyfriend

Sometimes I wish I could just grow down and go back to primary school.

Forthcoming books

Pink

‘You’re leaving?’ Chloe dropped my hand.

Angel Fish

A boy has come to Machery. I think he might be an angel.

Work in progress

(as yet untitled)

On entering the Melbourne Natural History Museum’s department of Preparation on the morning of January 18, at approximately 9:25, Beatrice May Ross noticed six unusual things, all of which turned out to be of utmost significance.

• Lili needs pins and numbers.
• Lili looks like she’s driving an invisible car.
• Lili says that he has robust eyebrows, just like her father’s.
• Lili wants the banana cake.
• Lili does not drink, no longer smokes, would like to have children some day, and considers herself a non-radical feminist.
• Lili hates the dog that shakes its head. She has now ripped its head off.
• Lili asks Jack to teach her rabbit. [Legend reference ftw!]
• Lili likes to dig.
• Lili eats every two hours, we are sending you news of our tumultuous day yesterday.
• Lili wears her harness with pride and that “she thinks it’s her swimsuit as she proudly wears it to the beach.
• Lili was arrested for practicing Falun Gong exercises with other.
• Lili loves the rain.

(Here is John Green’s original version and also Hank’s video version. Facilitated by the Nerdfighters Meme Generator)

Here’s my attempt at Penni’s Things to do in Melbourne for (almost) Free Meme.

1. Kirsty already mentioned the State Library of Victoria, but I’m going to get specific and mention the SLV’s Mirror of the World exhibition. It’s in the gallery above the Domed Reading Room, and is all about the history of books and ideas. It’s got some very old things (the oldest is a 4000 year old cuniform tablet, plus lots of illuminated manuscripts), some very beautiful things, and some very interesting things. As an added bonus, you can go upstairs to the Changing Face of Victoria, an exhibition on the history of our state, including Ned Kelly’s armour, some hair from Bourke and Wills’ camel, and Hoddle’s chain.

2. The Nicholas building (cnr Swanston and Flinders Lane) is one of my favourite buildings in the city. It was built for Alfred Nicholas in 1926. Nicholas was the guy who reinvented Aspirin after the Nazis “lost” the recipe. The Nicholas building is one of the last buildings in Melbourne to have a real “lift lady” who pulls the lever and makes the lift go up and down*. The Nicholas building is home to many crazy, eccentric artists and workshops, as well as the Victorian Writers Centre, and (my favourite) Buttonmania, home to the best button sale around.

3. The Alfred Nicholas Memorial Garden. Yep, same guy. Very nice fancypants gardens in the Dandenongs. I think there is actually an entry fee, but it’s an honour system, so if you are so stumped for cash you can’t pony up the $6, I’m sure Alfred won’t mind.

4. The Farmer’s Market at the Collingwood Children’s Farm in Abbotsford. It’s $2 for adults and free for kids, which includes a whole day’s access to the farm. The market is lovely, and the farm is full of cows and pigs and chickens and horses and other things to pat and smell. It’s on the second Saturday of each month.

5. The Abbotsford Convent. Absolutely one of my favourite places in Melbourne. It’s right next door to the Children’s Farm, so you can absolutely make a day of it. There’s a great Sunday Arts Market on the first Sunday of each month, as well as a Shirt and Skirt fashion market at the same time. But mostly it’s just lovely to walk around the beautiful gardens, look at the buildings, wander down to the river…

_______________
*Eagle-eyed readers will recognise this lift, and the Nicholas Building, in The (Not Quite) Perfect Boyfriend.

I just read and adored E Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, so much so that I have stolen this meme from E’s blog in the hope that some of her genius will rub off on me.

1. Do you like blue cheese?

Oh, yes. Especially mixed in with mac and cheese, a tin of tuna, some fried onion and some frozen peas. Nommy.

2. Have you ever smoked?

Not in the sense that would have made me a smoker. I have tried it. Didn’t like it. Stinky.

3. Do you own a gun?

No. Can you tell this meme originated in the US?

4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? 

Also a US question. We don’t has a Kool Aid in the Land of Oz. But a quick trip to Wikipedia has informed me that it was originally called “Fruit Smack”, which seems somehow appropriate given the whole Jonestown thing. Having said that, further Wikipediaing has revealed that the Jim Jones mass suicide thing was actually Flavor Aid, not Kool Aid.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?

Nope. Nor dentist. Going to the dentist is kind of like paying a nice man $200 to tell you how perfect you are. Worth every penny. 

6. What do you think of hot dogs?

I confess I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about hot dogs. But I do like a good sausage-in-bread.

7. Favorite Christmas movie?

The Muppet Christmas Carol

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?

Black English Breakfast tea.

9. Can you do push ups?

Yes. Will I? Absolutely not.

10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? 

A brass locket shaped like a book with a page of Through the Looking Glass inside.

11. Favorite hobby?

Reading. Closely followed by television, procrastination, crochet and sass.

12. Do you have A.D.D.?

It doesn’t appear so.

13. Do you wear glasses/contacts?

Glasses for reading and other close work.

14. Middle name?

Mei-Ling.

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?

My finger hurts. It’s very cold today. Is it Sunday-nap-time?

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?

Water. Tea. Red wine.

17. Current worry?

The Inkys/my latest novel/global warming

18. Current hate right now?

a) People who use “learning” as a noun, ie. “I think the potential for learnings are high”

b) The film I saw yesterday.

19. Favorite place to be?

Right here. Couch. Home.

20. How did you bring in the new year?

I dragged my fractured foot and me to my parents’ place by the beach and sweltered.

21. Where would you like to go? 

The North Fitzroy Star for a cosy dinner with my favourite peeps. I am lucky.

22. Name three people who will complete this? 

You, you, and you, over there, up the back.

23. Do you own slippers? 

Am wearing Ugg Boots right now. They make my feet happy.

24. What shirt are you wearing?

A pink cashmere jumper purchased at UNIQLO New York.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?

No. Sticky. But my new sheets are some kind of Palestinian uber-cotton that is so soft it could be satin.

26. Can you whistle?

Yes, to Figgy’s delight.

27. Favorite color?

Depends what for. Clothes? I’m wearing a lot of blue. Crockery? White. Lipstick? I have a peachy one I’m very fond of. Wine? Always red.

28. Would you be a pirate?

Not the peg-legged, scurvy, aaarrrgggh kind of pirate. But it is possible that I have, in the past, engaged in activities that might legally make me a pirate. I may do those things again. Maybe. Officer.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower?

Usually whatever my iPod alarm woke me up with. This morning it was What Is This Feeling from Wicked.

30. Favorite Girl’s Name?

I’m not great with girl’s names. I like Ingrid. And Evelyn.

31. Favorite boy’s name? 

I rather ironically have a thing for Biblical boy’s names. Caleb, Elias, Gabriel, Gideon, Isaac, Micah, Reuben. And I also like Finnegan and Finbar.

32. What’s in your pocket right now? 

Nothing. Girls and pockets don’t mix.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? 

Looking at the stupid photos we took last night at the pub, which were “stills” from dreadful telemovies. You know, like the one where the heiress left all her money to the pool-boy who then murdered her but her seven-year-old nephew witnessed the whole thing and dropped his salamander? Or the one with the bulimic figure-skater? Or the girl who got sent to prison after murdering her parents and then got abused by her warden?

34. What vehicle do you drive? 

I own a dark green Suzuki hatchbacky thing. But I don’t drive it very often.

35. Worst injury you’ve ever had? 

Dad and I had a bike accident when I was 4 that involved a really steep hill and a gravel pit, and resulted in the breaking of Dad’s collarbone and 7 stitches in my forehead. Wanna see my scar?

36. Do you love where you live? 

Yes. My house, my suburb, my city, my country. Sometimes I don’t necessarily love all the other people who share it with me, but that’s why I’m currently living alone.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house?

One. I am morally opposed to TV in bedrooms. Except when the Olympics are on, then it’s allowed.

What a good meme nicked from Penni!

How to play:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

It is Sunday, so it is time for a Meme. This one is stealed from Penni.

The usual iTunes on Shuffle thing. No cheating. If my life were a movie, this would be the soundtrack:

Opening Credits
Thanks a Lot by Third Eye Blind

hmm, not really a cheery one, but at least there are zombies

Waking Up
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band by The Beatles
it was twenty years ago today…

First Day At School
Just B’Cos, Machine Gun Fellatio
I see your shape in the crowd
I turn to know where you are
But all around is a stage of high-density housing

Falling In Love
Hernando’s Hideaway by Doris Day (from The Pyjama Game)
I know a dark, secluded place
a place where no one knows your face
a glass of wine, a strong embrace.

I’m going to fall in love in a speakeasy!

Fight Song
Happy Feet by Kermit the Frog

can’t you imagine him kicking someone in the head to this?

Breaking Up
The More You Ignore Me by The Smiths
Beware! I bear more grudges
Than lonely high court judges

Prom
A Little Less Conversation by Elvis (via JXL)
A little more action, please!

Life
Great Southern Land by Icehouse
so you look into the land and it will tell you a story
story ’bout a journey ended long ago
if you listen to the motion of the wind in the mountains
maybe you can hear them talking like I do

Mental Breakdown
Dive by David Bridie
the ocean is rising, i feel the water storming in
the ocean is waiting, it’s waiting for me to dive right in

Driving
Sparks by The Who

Flashback
A Menuetto from the Bach Cello Suites, performed by YoYo Ma

Getting back together
Wingspan, by Cymbals.
Spread your wings so wide / Free your mind

Wedding
There is a Light that Never Goes Out, Neil Finn
And if a double decker bus kills the both of us
Today by your side, is such a heavenly way to die

If i ever get married, this is totally going on the playlist.

Birth of Child
Caroline by Old Crow Medicine Show
They say you were born in St. Claire’s hospital
I say you were born up in the sky
You come floatin’ down over New Orleans
To the sweet green levee on the river side
And your voice chirped like old squeaky shoes

Final Battle
Sad Professor, by REM.
Dear Readers, I’m not sure where I’m heading
I’ve gotten lost before.
I’ve woke up stone drunk face-down on the floor.

Death Scene
Every Day Is Like Sunday by Morrissey
This is the coastal town
That they forgot to close down
Armageddon – come armageddon!
Come, armageddon! come!

Funeral Song
Sing by the Sesame Street Kids.
Sing, Sing a Song. Sing out loud. Sing out Strong.
Sing of good things, not bad.
Sing of happy, not sad.

wow. i totally want that at my funeral!

End Credits
Calling all Angels, KD Lang and Jane Siberry
but if you could…do you think you would
trade in all the pain and suffering?
ah, but then you’d miss
the beauty of the light upon this earth
and the sweetness of the leaving

Hmm. Doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a feel-good romcom type of film/life. Oh well.