Walking into the noisy Sydney Writers’Festival Zine Fair at the MCA there was a genuine marketing-free buzz as cool kids, comic book guys and crazy-haired writers pawed over tiny paper creations.
There was so much love, passion, anger and cheekiness in the diverse range of zines as zinesters sold, traded and talked zines on a fantastic sunny Sydney winter’s day.
Scrabble letters and cutting board
“Where the hell did all these people come from?”
This is what I’m screaming in my mind as I push onto a Bankstown Line train that was delayed for 15 minutes making me eventually an hour late for work.
I live in the inner west and work in North Ryde.
It’s a long way to travel every day. Actually I did a similar commute in Germany between the cities of Bonn and Cologne.
I hate commuting.
Before all this commuting madness I walked 30 minutes to work and back.
Not now.
Nearly every website you visit has the option to sign-up for their newsletter, Facebook page, or RSS and Twitter feed. Put your ear to the digital train tracks of e-marketing and you’ll hear the distant rumble of free product trials, exclusive member offers, competitions with cash prizes, shopper rewards, 2-for-1 deals and even 98% off The Secrets to Money-Making Success!
But you have to join up, right? And I bet when that question pops up, “Would you like to receive our newsletter?” you probably pause and ask yourself, “Do I really want more junk mail in my Inbox every day?”
Ok, so this post is really for girly-girls.
Rosemount Australian Fashion Week, where Australia’s top designers showed off their latest collections at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, just finished. There were some spectacular looking models and clothes there.
But I can’t afford that super cute Gail Sorronda dress even if it’s discounted from $920 to $460. And forget those delightfully tiny tailored Gary Bigeni lilac wool shorts for $363.
If you are a sensible shopper you should already have good fashion basics in your wardrobe.
So the cheapest thing you can do to look good for less is to check out photos and videos of the current collections to see what are the latest hair, make-up and fashion trends. Then copy them.
That’s how simple my beauty on a budget is because you probably just blew your last $200 on those little suede ankle boots in charcoal blue with the wooden heels, didn’t you?
I spent the first couple of weeks back in Sydney sleeping in my friends’ spare rooms. Unfortunately, or fortunately, my family don’t live in Sydney so living rent free with them wasn’t an option. I was so grateful for everyone’s hospitality but I thought I’d be permanently debilitated sleeping on lumpy and leaky air beds I shared with their molting pets.
After a month or so of being the third wheel with the couples I was staying with I house-sat for other friends while I tried to save bond money for my own place. I was gobsmacked that rents in Sydney had skyrocketed so high in 3 years and it was hard finding affordable places to rent in areas I’d lived in and liked before.
As I lay on a hissing plastic bed slowly sinking to the floor I had to find other cheaper housing options in Sydney fast.
Cats love when strangers come and stay because there are more places to sleep