Right in front of us

Today, I am 23 years old. Imagine that. I've polled my friends and apparently it is still too early for a mid-life crisis, so I'll put that off for another couple of years. All in all, it's been a fabulous weekend. I feel very loved and grateful for everyone in my life - general good vibes for all!

Things kicked off on Friday night with Em. Dinner in Newtown followed by dessert at what has officially become my favourite cafe, and then on to the Factory for Cute is what we aim for. We wasted as much time as we could hoping to miss the opening bands, but this didn't quite work out and we still had to sit through two of them. Not that opening bands are terrible things to be avoided just...well, we're jaded, what can we say. We were both very taken aback by the age of the audience - on average they appeared to be about fourteen - and spent much time reminiscing about days when we were still that naive/excitable/embarrassing. Maybe not doing as much reminiscing as lamenting. Cute had undergone complete line-up changes in the five years since we'd first gotten into them, so we actually had no idea what the current band looked like and that in itself led to some amusement. It is fair to say neither of us had very high expectations, and it is also fair to say we were both very pleasantly surprised. It really was a wonderfully fun show, comprising of mostly first album songs we had been dying to hear. Shaant was channeling Tyson Ritter in his performance and he was completely manic captivating. I still cannot believe how blue his eyes are. Jaw on floor. I have no idea who the rest of the band are, but they are all very good and the bass player is all sorts of adorable. As bass players inevitably seem to be. So yes, it may have been five years late, but it was a fun gig and well worth the wait.

[from here]

I gathered the willing on Saturday morning for a road trip up the coast. Arguing with the GPS aside - "it's the scenic route!" - we arrived at a sunny, tranquil, very windy Palm Beach just in time for lunch. What followed was a lazy afternoon of sitting about, laughing (a lot), playing cards and taking far, far, faaaar too many photos. Memorable quotes include:

"I don't know what I use, I just walk in and some gay guy tells me to try this make-up and I say ok."
"I'm full." (Randomly interjected by Em as Roze and I were mid friendly disagreement)
"We have achieved our goals!"
"I'm so wise."
"It's a heli that copters!"

Hmm. These were all much funnier at the time. Anyway, following the blissful madness, we packed up and headed back to mine where we consumed yet more junk food (namely pringles and chocolate) and watched Beauty & the Beast. As you do.





It was so much fun. I'm glad that after years of wanting to do so, we finally managed to get to Palm Beach.

As for my actual birthday, it has been very mellow and spent in the company of the parentals. We had a lovely brunch, and then mum and I spent much of the day shopping. I'm not one to make a big fuss over my birthday, and honestly, when I have these gorgeous laid-back weekends, I don't see why I should. It's much more me, isn't it?

Once again, big thanks to everyone for all the kind messages. Now time for some more writing!

Music: Existentialism on prom night - Straylight Run
Mood: Happy