New York Photo Diary 1.0

On my first day pondering around the streets of New York, I did a mini explore of my suburb. I could see how one could fall in love with this city that never sleeps. Central Park is absolutely magical, the trees, the water, and the people who jog along the foot path in the early hours of the morning - it is all so refreshing. Being a newbie to New York, I definitely had high expectations after seeing how it all is in the movie screens - and I am not going to lie, the houses, the city, everything is the same, minus the drama portrayed in the movies and TV Shows. The first picture here is the picture of the Metropolitan Art Museum of New York, a definite must for art-goers. Second picture is self explanatory - Laduree is macaroon heaven for macaroon lovers like myself. Third picture, is a picture I took on my walk through central park, amazing right? and last but not least, a picture of the surrounding suburbs of where I am living right now on the Upper West Side, reminds me of the movies! 

Stay tuned for the next photo diary! x

T - 10 days until New York City.

Enough said. 

My excitement is over-brewing. But until then, please excuse my absence as I drown myself in studying for Finals. If you too, currently reading this, are in the middle of exams. You should get back to it and stop procastinating ;) 

Good Luck!

Love AOCS x

Why you should travel

I have had numerous strangers, even friends to this day, that asks: Why do you travel so much? How do you have money to travel so much? Do you work? To the first I answer, why not. To the latter two,  I answer, yes, I do work, I am also a Full Time Uni Student! However, I am also a freak when it comes to looking after my money. What I too suggest, is for you to organize a budget plan, sounds cliche, but it works, trust me.

Photo: On top of the Willis Tower - Taken on my recent trip to Chicago, USA

Often I hear back the fatal words:

• Yeah, but… what about debt?
• Yeah, but… what about my job?
• Yeah, but… what about my boyfriend (or dog or car or whatever)?

“Yeah, but…” is pernicious. Because it makes it sound like we have the best of intentions when really we are just too scared to do what we should. It allows us to be cowards, while sounding noble.

Most people I know who waited to travel the world never did. Conversely, plenty of people who waited for grad school or a steady job and traveled still did those things — eventually. Be careful of the yeah-but. The yeah-but will kill your dreams.

The life you’ve always wanted

When you get older, life seems to just sort of happen to you. Your youth is a time of total empowerment. You get to do what you want.

But as you mature and gain new responsibilities, you have to be very intentional about making sure you don’t lose sight of what’s important.

So if you still have a reasonable amount of control over your circumstances, you should do what really matters. Because life won’t always be just about you.

During early adulthood, your worldview is still being formed. It’s important to steward this time — to give yourself opportunities to grow. A good way to do that is to travel.

So, young person, travel. Travel wide and far. Travel boldly. Travel with full abandon.

You will regret few risks you take when it comes to this. I promise you that. There are three reasons to travel while you’re young:

1. Traveling teaches you to live an adventure

When you look back on your life, you will have moments of which you are proud and maybe a few you regret. It’s likely that the following won’t be on the latter list:

• Hired a boat and sailed on the waters of Beijing
• Tried eating "Snail" for the first time.
• Rode in a 4WD in a desserted desert in Dubai
• Tour around and through the USA by car.

They’re not on mine (fun fact: I’ve done all of the above). So what, then, will be? What choices will you regret making? Holding back. Being afraid. Making excuses. Not taking more risks. Waiting.

While you’re young, you should travel. You should take the time to see the world and taste the fullness of life. It’s worth whatever investment or money or sacrifice of time that may be required on your part.

This is not about being a tourist. It’s about experiencing true risk and adventure so you don’t have to live in fear for the rest of your life.

2. Traveling helps you encounter compassion

In your youth, you will make choices that will define you. The disciplines you begin now will be with you for the rest of your life.

Traveling will change you like little else can. It will put you in places that will force you to care for issues that are bigger than you.

If you go to southeast Asia, you may encounter the slave trade. If eastern Europe, you may see the effects of genocide and religious persecution. If Haiti, you’ll witness the the ugly side Western paternalism.

Your heart will break.

You will begin to understand that the world is both a big and small place. You will have a new-found respect for the pain and suffering that over half of the world takes for granted on a daily basis.

And you will feel more connected to your fellow human beings in a deep and lasting way. You will learn to care.

3. Traveling allows you to get some culture

While you’re still young, you should get cultured. Get to know the world and the magnificent people that fill it. There’s nothing quite like walking alongside the Colosseum or seeing Michelangelo’s David in person.

I can describe the city of San Juan and its amazing beaches and historic sites to you, but you really have to see it for yourself to experience it. You can read all the books in the world about the Great Wall of China or The Louvre, but being there is a different story.

The world is a stunning place, full of outstanding works of art. See it. Do this while you’re still young. Do not squander the time. You will never have it again.

You have a crucial opportunity to invest in the next season of your life now. Whatever you sow, you will eventually reap. Please. For your sake, dothis. Because you won’t always be young. And life won’t always be just about you.

So travel. Experience the world for all it’s worth. Become a person of culture, adventure, and compassion.

“What if I’m not young?”

Travel, anyway. It may not be easy to do, but find a way to get out of your comfort zone. It’s really never too late.

But if you haven’t gotten sucked into the routine of life yet, I implore you — travel. It will never be easier than it is right now for you to do that which really matters.

time and karma

 Here is some food for thought:

"When a bird is alive...It eats Ants,
When the bird is dead… Ants eat the bird. One tree makes a million match sticks… But only one match stick is needed to burn a million trees...

You may be powerful today… But Remember, Time is more powerful than you.

Have a good day readers x

aje mbfw

Sophistication and glamour.
are the words I would use to describe Aje's cute collection for 13/14. x

Spring.. finally.

Ah, Spring. Glad you could make it!

Miami Pt. 2

Miami Pt 2! 

Here are some of my favourite snaps in Part 2 of my mini photo diary for Miami, Florida. The final picture is the view from my room at the Mondrian South Beach - I highly recommend this gorgeous hotel/residence if you do decide to hit up Miami. Breath-taking pool and lounge area and the service is immaculate. 

As I said in my previous post, Miami isn't all about the partying and nightlife. However if you are a wild cat here are some nightclubs I recommend and loved in Miami: Liv Nightclub; STORY Miami; Bamboo Nightclub; Mynt; Mansion Miami. Going out time unlike Australia is not until around 1am.. at least. And make sure you dress to impress, because dress codes are strict! 

Now back to what I was saying: If you have a bit more time on your hands to hang around in Miami, let me remind you that you are only a mere 5 hour drive from Orlando (home to Universal Studios and.. wait for it.. DISNEYLAND) and also a 4 hour drive from Tampa, right near the gulf of Mexico. There are also bikes for hire almost everywhere in Miami. If you are a bit of a bike rider, hire a bike and have a ride around South Beach and around Washington Av, Lincoln St and Ocean Dr. Shopping to me personally was OK, nothing you dont get in any other big American City, Victoria Secret, Abercrombie, Sephora, all lie within Lincoln and Washington Ave. Restaurants are also everywhere. One of my favourites would have to be Baoli - if you are lucky enough you might even spot a famous face! I unfortunately missed out on seeing Leonardo Di Caprio, apparently he decided to come to the restaurant the night after I did. He must have missed the memo.

Bars light up at night on Ocean Dr. Monday to Sunday. Ocean Dr is also the home to the late Versace himself. Although you cannot go into the house itself, a lot of people can still take photos at the front door of the house at the gate! 

Ultra was definitely one of the highlights for me during my stay in Miami. The whole city centre transformed into an arena to house some of the world's biggest Djs, including Swedish House Mafia, Alesso, Hardwell, Porter Robinson, Kaskade, Carl Cox, David Guetta, the list goes on. For more - stayed tuned on one of the next posts featuring photos from the Festival itself! 

For now, it is back to hitting le books. BRB

AOCS x

Miami Pt. 1

I apologise for the belated upload. Above are Part 1 of my mini photo diary from Miami Florida, USA. We were first greeted by overclouding weather, but this quickly drifted away, leaving us with a beautiful bewildering 7 day spring break! 

The Sun said good night each day with a beautiful pink and red tinge in the sky. Although Miami is known for its never-ending night festivities through out the week (yes you can party all week long!) - the city itself is beautiful and deserves some exploring. Make sure you bring sun block, (mistake which I had to learn the hard way) - the sun there is probably worse than it is in Australia! Eppp! 

(Wearing: Camilla Kaftan; Bag - Louis Vuitton; Sunglasses - Prada Round Baroque Sunglasses) 

"Busy"

 If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the stock response is a kind of congratulation: “That’s a good problem to have,” or “Better than the opposite.”

Notice it isn’t generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in [a hospital's intensive care unit] or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy they are; what those people are is not busy but tired. Exhausted. Dead on their feet. It’s almost always people whose lamented busyness is purely self-imposed: work and obligations they’ve taken on voluntarily, classes and activities they’ve “encouraged” their kids to participate in. They’re busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they’re addicted to busyness and dread what they might have to face in its absence.

Almost everyone I know is busy. They feel anxious and guilty when they aren’t either working or doing something to promote their work. They schedule in time with friends the way students with 4.0 [grade point average] make sure to sign up for community service because it looks good on their college applications. I recently wrote a friend to ask if he wanted to do something this week, and he answered that he didn’t have a lot of time but if something was going on to let him know and maybe he could ditch work for a few hours. I wanted to clarify that my question had not been a preliminary heads-up to some future invitation; this was the invitation. But his busyness was like some vast churning noise through which he was shouting out at me, and I gave up trying to shout back over it.

Even children are busy now, scheduled down to the half-hour with classes and extracurricular activities. They come home at the end of the day as tired as grown-ups. I was a member of the latchkey generation and had three hours of totally unstructured, largely unsupervised time every afternoon, time I used to do everything from surfing the World Book Encyclopedia to making animated films to getting together with friends in the woods to chuck dirt clods directly into one another’s eyes, all of which provided me with important skills and insights that remain valuable to this day. Those free hours became the model for how I wanted to live the rest of my life.

The present hysteria is not a necessary or inevitable condition of life; it’s something we’ve chosen, if only by our acquiescence to it. Not long ago I Skyped with a friend who was driven out of the city by high rent and now has an artist’s residency in a small town in the south of France. She described herself as happy and relaxed for the first time in years. She still gets her work done, but it doesn’t consume her entire day and brain. She says it feels like college — she has a big circle of friends who all go out to the cafe together every night. She has a boyfriend again. (She once ruefully summarized dating in New York: “Everyone’s too busy and everyone thinks they can do better.”) What she had mistakenly assumed was her personality — driven, cranky, anxious and sad — turned out to be a deformative effect of her environment. It’s not as if any of us wants to live like this, any more than any one person wants to be part of a traffic jam or stadium trampling or the hierarchy of cruelty in high school — it’s something we collectively force one another to do.

Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day. I once knew a woman who interned at a magazine where she wasn’t allowed to take lunch hours out, lest she be urgently needed for some reason. This was an entertainment magazine whose raison d’être was [rendered obsolete] when “menu” buttons appeared on [TV remote controls], so it’s hard to see this pretense of indispensability as anything other than a form of institutional self-delusion. More and more people in this country no longer make or do anything tangible; if your job wasn’t performed by a cat or a boa constrictor in a Richard Scarry book I’m not sure I believe it’s necessary. I can’t help but wonder whether all this histrionic exhaustion isn’t a way of covering up the fact that most of what we do doesn’t matter.

I am not busy. I am the laziest ambitious person I know. Like most writers, I feel like a reprobate who does not deserve to live on any day that I do not write, but I also feel that four or five hours is enough to earn my stay on the planet for one more day. On the best ordinary days of my life, I write in the morning, go for a long bike ride and run errands in the afternoon, and in the evening I see friends, read or watch a movie. This, it seems to me, is a sane and pleasant pace for a day. And if you call me up and ask whether I won’t maybe blow off work and check out the new American Wing at the [Metropolitan Museum of Art] or ogle girls in Central Park or just drink chilled pink minty cocktails all day long, I will say, what time?

But just in the last few months, I’ve insidiously started, because of professional obligations, to become busy. For the first time I was able to tell people, with a straight face, that I was “too busy” to do this or that thing they wanted me to do. I could see why people enjoy this complaint; it makes you feel important, sought-after and put-upon. Except that I hate actually being busy. Every morning my in-box was full of e-mails asking me to do things I did not want to do or presenting me with problems that I now had to solve. It got more and more intolerable until finally I fled town to the Undisclosed Location from which I’m writing this.

Here I am largely unmolested by obligations. There is no TV. I go a week at a time without seeing anyone I know. I’ve remembered about buttercups, stink bugs and the stars. I read. And I’m finally getting some real writing done for the first time in months. It’s hard to find anything to say about life without immersing yourself in the world, but it’s also just about impossible to figure out what it might be, or how best to say it, without getting the hell out of it again.

Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done. “Idle dreaming is often of the essence of what we do,” wrote Thomas Pynchon in his essay on sloth. Archimedes’ “Eureka” in the bath, Newton’s apple, Jekyll & Hyde and the benzene ring: history is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments and dreams. It almost makes you wonder whether loafers, goldbricks and no-accounts aren’t responsible for more of the world’s great ideas, inventions and masterpieces than the hardworking.

“The goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play. That’s why we have to destroy the present politico-economic system.” This may sound like the pronouncement of some bong-smoking anarchist, but it was actually Arthur C. Clarke, who found time between scuba diving and pinball games to write “Childhood’s End” and think up communications satellites. My old colleague Ted Rall recently wrote a column proposing that we divorce income from work and give each citizen a guaranteed paycheck, which sounds like the kind of lunatic notion that’ll be considered a basic human right in about a century, like abolition, universal suffrage and eight-hour workdays. The Puritans turned work into a virtue, evidently forgetting that God invented it as a punishment.

Perhaps the world would soon slide to ruin if everyone behaved as I do. But I would suggest that an ideal human life lies somewhere between my own defiant indolence and the rest of the world’s endless frenetic hustle. My role is just to be a bad influence, the kid standing outside the classroom window making faces at you at your desk, urging you to just this once make some excuse and get out of there, come outside and play. My own resolute idleness has mostly been a luxury rather than a virtue, but I did make a conscious decision, a long time ago, to choose time over money, since I’ve always understood that the best investment of my limited time on earth was to spend it with people I love. I suppose it’s possible I’ll lie on my deathbed regretting that I didn’t work harder and say everything I had to say, but I think what I’ll really wish is that I could have one more beer with Chris, another long talk with Megan, one last good hard laugh with Boyd. Life is too short to be busy. »

misguided

"People will hate you, rate you, shake you, and break you. But how strong you stand is what makes you." - Unknown

According to the Psychoanalytic theory developed by the well known Psychology scholar Sigmund Freud, whenever one makes an acquaintance, there is an immediate flood of perceptions about this newly encountered person. This includes things such as physical characteristics, interests, estimates of various personality traits, and other impressions about his or her nature. These newly unconscious impressions in our heads, are associated with many past personal experiences and encounters, especially with members of our family. In other words, I guess it can be said that from the similarity of a part, the new person is given the whole characteristics of the past figure. 

But - whilst this reaction and distortion may be helpful in establishing a close-nitted relationship with great rapidity, it too can just as likely cause the coldness and withdrawal, depending on the nature of the past relationships from which the transference has been made. I guess this is where the thin line is drawn. Where the line divides between those who we are able to entrust our emotions to and those who we know, we cannot. 

Miami

Hello from Miami FL.

girls

Girlfriends x Wine x Steak - I am not sure whether there is a better equation. 

Below are some happy snaps taken at the Brassire in Central West End, St Louis. An exquisite and cute little french restaurant. (Highly recommend!) 

The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love. - 
Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr.

Sometimes when you are just that little homesick, surrounding yourself with some good company, chats, giggles and good food is really all you need. - Who can say no to good food right??





Tomorrow - MIAMI! Stay tuned for some pictures. 

PS. Sorry for the minimal post. 

Happy Spring Break! 

Love AOCS x

paradox of our time

Welcome to the Paradox of our Time;

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less healthiness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less appeasement; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill. 

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology has brought this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit delete...

Socks!

Too cute to not share. x

"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world. Not even our troubles." ~ Charles Chaplin 

Double posting it today. 

This picture, taken on my plane ride from Hong Kong to Beijing a couple of months ago went un-posted because I didn't think it was all that too special. Upon stumbling on the picture again today, (whilst procrastinating) I began to see, just how blissful and quiet this unknown place in the middle of China is. 

Where is this place? No pollution, no crowds, nothing technological, no one to be seen; just a realm of peacefulness, serendipity and scenery. 

How nice would it be to live in a world where there was no hatred, no jealousy, and no war?

Too often, I think - we get caught up on the why's, the why not's, and the what if's. But life wasn't made to be fair. You aren't always going to get what you hoped for, and heaven doesn't always come to those who wait.  

Just because you are there for someone no matter what, it doesn't mean they will be there in open-arm loving care, when the scenario is turned around.

Act without expectation.

Time; like the sifting of flour, slips fast behind our eyes, yet always, always - there are residues of un-sifted grains that are left behind. Despite moving forward each day, whether in learning, forgiving, loving or forgetting, there will always be residues and memories left within our minds. 

But sometimes, we must discard this residue. 

Do more of what makes you happy. 

A lot of people often ask me, why travel so much? My answer? This world is your oyster. There is so much to see, experience, and endure about this fantastical place - why stay in your comfort zone? 

men&bows

 

Old fashion suit and ties are great according to the latest JT Song, but maybe I am a little vintage and swoon still, over a fit jacket and a cute bow tie on a guy. Definitely adds a feminine touch (in a good way!) to a corporate and sexy man! 

Hope you are all well x

summer

barrister's ball

(Wearing: Leopard Kaftan by Camilla, Celine Clutch, Thomas Sabo Black Bracelet with Wings Charm) 

One thing I enjoy most about still being in University are formals, balls, and the social events with some lovely company. Above are some picture from the recent WashU Bar Ball for Law Students. I had a great night! 

I have officially passed the One Month mark in living in the US and I will have to honestly say I am really have an amazing time (learning that I can barely cook) and meeting some wonderful people. 

Today I bought my one way ticket to New York after the classes finish in May.

Then I will be spending around 30 days travelling around the marvellous USA! Eeeee! Excited. 

I hope you have all been well. 

Love AOCS x

Nom om om

Ahhhh I am never going to get sick of this.

What do YOU like on your Froyo?

Gaga

Last weekend, I went to the Lady GAGA Concert in St Louis, USA with my wonderful roomies. After what it had seemed to have been a 342974389 hour wait, it all became worth it when the concert begun. Darkness, tight leather, colour, and "Wild" would be the words I'd use to describe the night. She put on an extraordinary performance and the following photos do little justice to even begin to justify her amazing-ness. 

The concert went for almost 3 and a half hours, and after it finished, St Louis was greeted with a massive snow storm (final photo). 

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