Dear Sydney,
We need to talk. I know, you've received a lot of these letters from people saying the same thing and I swore a while ago that they were idiots. I swore I would never write a letter like this to you but lately Sydney, I feel like we're in a lot of trouble. I feel like we've been in a relationship for the last ten years and right now all you're doing is taking without giving.
You know we've been here before. You know that we've broken up a few times. Back in 2008 I accidentally moved to you. How does a person accidentally move? Well basically in 2006 the idea was put into my head and then two years later, after someone I know was murdered and a couple of people I knew moved to Sydney I thought, sure, why not. I'll move to Sydney and I did. I spent four months in King's Cross and it was great but it was missing one thing. It was missing my friends and I had a horrible employer with a toxic culture so I left you. I said I'd be back though.
18 months later back in December 2009 I decided I wanted to give you another chance as my friends had moved to Sydney and I was glad we were back together Sydney. I was stoked. We were together longer this time around but I wasn't getting where I wanted with work and the money was average, and once again, I missed my friends. By August 2010 they'd left and Sydney isn't the easiest place to make new friends in.
I spent four months back in Auckland, yes you'll have noticed there's a pattern. It's like you're the abusive boyfriend that's so captivating that I'm so drawn to and so attracted to and Auckland is the faithful husband (and funnily I actually did marry Auckland on January 20th 2006 at Cafe Cima on High Street in Auckland City, I lost our marriage license though) but I wasn't feeling it, so a few months later I went back to Sydney.
This time I did things differently.
I went back with a job lined up and another friend had also moved to Sydney but we fell out so once again I was on the outer. Long story short, that job wasn't for me and then I had a bad run so once again, I went back to Auckland.
Auckland was okay to me. I had a job I loved in Auckland but the department started announcing redundancies so I knew it was time to get back to you and I started applying for jobs. In the end I got a job offer but it fell through so I had to stay in Auckland. Luckily I'd been with my employer for nearly three years so when I asked for a transfer to Sydney the answer was yes and so I moved back. That was Christmas Eve 2013 and I felt like I'd come home. I was relieved to be back living in you Sydney.
But over the last few years you've shown yourself to be cold and heartless. You may know to party on New Year's Eve and you may have awesome beaches and a harbour, but when it comes to character and soul Sydney, sadly, you have none. At first I thought it was just one of my friends (yes one of the few friends I've made here) but it's not. It's YOU Sydney. You're the problem. You're the one who is cold. You're the one who doesn't care about people. You're the one who chews them up and spits them out. You're the one who abuses everyone who lives in you.
And well Sydney, I hate saying this because I still love you but part of me really wants to break up with you and get back together with Auckland. Auckland's not perfect, not by a long shot and there are still a lot of things I love about you Sydney but you just have no heart. You're not happy. I've spoken to a few Aucklanders over the last couple of weeks and I've been amazed at the warmth and friendliness they've shown. They actually smile. They actually laugh. They're human. You're not.
I get that you're international and you want to be the best, but it is actually possible to be the best and to have a heart, but you don't seem to understand that Sydney.
Then there's the guys. I dated a lot of guys in Auckland and I mean A LOT, and I never struck what I've struck here. Now I may be pickier but Auckland guys don't expect you to drop everything and they actually make an effort. They actually care. They're not arrogant and don't get me wrong Sydney, arrogance can be appealing in a lot of ways. It's one of the reasons I love you but lately it's starting to become more like abuse.
You haven't given me any good memories that don't involve my friends from Auckland and you haven't shown me any warmth.
I don't want to break up with you Sydney. I do still love you and I know you have a lot to offer but unless you make some changes then I'm going to have to break up with you because this isn't good for me. I need a city that's always there for me, that I can trust and Auckland has always shown himself to be trustworthy. Even though I often break up with Auckland he's always willing to take me back and right now he and I are talking about getting back together. We're just working out whether or not we want to give eachother another chance.
So Sydney, what I'm saying I guess is this, you need to make some changes and be kinder and more human or we're going to have to break up.
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Music Review: P!nk - Qudos Bank Arena - 11th August 2018
This year there have been so many international superstars coming to Australia to play for their adoring fans. One such superstar is P!nk whose career started 18 years ago in the year 2000 when she released her debut album, Can't Take Me Home. Since then she has gone on to release six more albums, including her latest album including Beautiful Trauma which has already spawned four singles including What About Us and Revenge (featuring Eminem).
Now as you can imagine, after an 18 year career a lot of fans are going to want to go to the show and that means it's going to be hard, if not impossible to get tickets. For a few months I had tried and tried to get tickets but was unable to. Then one night I checked and snapped up a C Reserve ticket which was located in the front row of the third elevation at Qudos Bank Arena. I often buy tickets in the third elevation and being a few rows further forward makes such a huge difference to the experience that you have at the show.
There were questions over whether or not she would be able to perform given she'd had to postpone four shows during the week due to a stomach bug. Luckily she was better in time for Saturday night's show, which is the only show I had been able to get seating for.
I arrived at Qudos Bank Arena and the opening act was Australian band, The Rubens who have been around since 2011 and had hits on the Aria Charts.
Normally I'm not a fan of support acts and endure them, but The Rubens definitely impressed. They had charisma, stage presence and their music was actually good. Their vocals and energy was brilliant. It was a great way to get warmed up for the main event.
After their set finished, a DJ from the USA, Kidcupup performed. He was awful. At one point he was so bad I actually had to walk out and when I walked back in had to put my earphones in. He was so bad he actually hurt my ears. Not only were his mixes awful, he had an annoying personality and his stage presence was zero.
Fortunately his set didn't last long and there was a brief break before P!nk came out onto the stage. She came out swinging from a chandelier and opened with Get the Party Stated from her 2001 album Missundaztood. She then dove into the title track of her new album and tour, Beautiful Trauma.
The stage design was absolutely brilliant. It was filled with pink and there were plenty of dancers. Unlike other shows I've been to recently, P!nk's show was a performance, a real spectacle and high energy.
She later sung fan favourites, Just Like a Pill and Who Knew which really showcased her voice. It's one thing to hear P!nk on the radio but it's another to hear her in real life.
During the show she covered 90s anthems, Smells like Teen Spirit (Nirvana) and Just a Girl (No Doubt) before launching into hits Just Give Me a Reason and Try from her album The Truth About Love. During the former, her co singer, Nate Ruse appeared by television to sing his parts as he has done in other P!nk tours.
Aside from the great singing, the show itself was brilliant. The next part of the show opened with a fun video titled, Revengeland which was designed to take the audience on a journey about all the angst you go through when a relationship ends. There were blow up characters on the stage while P!nk sung.
Then during the song, Just Like Fire there were actual pyrotechnics in the chorus and even though I was in the front row of the third elevation, I could actually feel the fire where I was sitting. It was such a cool effect.
Like most celebrities, P!nk did make the show political prior to singing What About Us. I could have done without it but I won't hold it against her. She also sung a reflective song from her new album, Barbies, which is about how she wishes she could go back to playing with her Barbies before she had responsibilities.
During a P!nk show her dancers, band and back up singers are basically her family and at one minute she introduced them all on stage and then brought her daughter Willow up on stage. I didn't get a picture because the moment was so brief but it was pretty cool.
In all of P!nk's shows she swings from a bungee cord over the audience and thanks everyone for being at the show, so I'd been looking forward to this. The crowd went absolutely wild during the encore of So What and it was extremely awesome just to see what she's capable of.
There was a brief pause when she went off stage and then she returned for an accoustic rendition of Glitter in the Air from her fifth studio album, Funhouse.
Having been a fan of P!nk for 18 years it was awesome to see her live and I would have to give her a 5/5.
I'll be posting a review after her friend, Katy Perry performs on Tuesday as well.
Now as you can imagine, after an 18 year career a lot of fans are going to want to go to the show and that means it's going to be hard, if not impossible to get tickets. For a few months I had tried and tried to get tickets but was unable to. Then one night I checked and snapped up a C Reserve ticket which was located in the front row of the third elevation at Qudos Bank Arena. I often buy tickets in the third elevation and being a few rows further forward makes such a huge difference to the experience that you have at the show.
There were questions over whether or not she would be able to perform given she'd had to postpone four shows during the week due to a stomach bug. Luckily she was better in time for Saturday night's show, which is the only show I had been able to get seating for.
I arrived at Qudos Bank Arena and the opening act was Australian band, The Rubens who have been around since 2011 and had hits on the Aria Charts.
Normally I'm not a fan of support acts and endure them, but The Rubens definitely impressed. They had charisma, stage presence and their music was actually good. Their vocals and energy was brilliant. It was a great way to get warmed up for the main event.
After their set finished, a DJ from the USA, Kidcupup performed. He was awful. At one point he was so bad I actually had to walk out and when I walked back in had to put my earphones in. He was so bad he actually hurt my ears. Not only were his mixes awful, he had an annoying personality and his stage presence was zero.
Fortunately his set didn't last long and there was a brief break before P!nk came out onto the stage. She came out swinging from a chandelier and opened with Get the Party Stated from her 2001 album Missundaztood. She then dove into the title track of her new album and tour, Beautiful Trauma.
The stage design was absolutely brilliant. It was filled with pink and there were plenty of dancers. Unlike other shows I've been to recently, P!nk's show was a performance, a real spectacle and high energy.
She later sung fan favourites, Just Like a Pill and Who Knew which really showcased her voice. It's one thing to hear P!nk on the radio but it's another to hear her in real life.
During the show she covered 90s anthems, Smells like Teen Spirit (Nirvana) and Just a Girl (No Doubt) before launching into hits Just Give Me a Reason and Try from her album The Truth About Love. During the former, her co singer, Nate Ruse appeared by television to sing his parts as he has done in other P!nk tours.
Aside from the great singing, the show itself was brilliant. The next part of the show opened with a fun video titled, Revengeland which was designed to take the audience on a journey about all the angst you go through when a relationship ends. There were blow up characters on the stage while P!nk sung.
Then during the song, Just Like Fire there were actual pyrotechnics in the chorus and even though I was in the front row of the third elevation, I could actually feel the fire where I was sitting. It was such a cool effect.
Like most celebrities, P!nk did make the show political prior to singing What About Us. I could have done without it but I won't hold it against her. She also sung a reflective song from her new album, Barbies, which is about how she wishes she could go back to playing with her Barbies before she had responsibilities.
During a P!nk show her dancers, band and back up singers are basically her family and at one minute she introduced them all on stage and then brought her daughter Willow up on stage. I didn't get a picture because the moment was so brief but it was pretty cool.
In all of P!nk's shows she swings from a bungee cord over the audience and thanks everyone for being at the show, so I'd been looking forward to this. The crowd went absolutely wild during the encore of So What and it was extremely awesome just to see what she's capable of.
There was a brief pause when she went off stage and then she returned for an accoustic rendition of Glitter in the Air from her fifth studio album, Funhouse.
Having been a fan of P!nk for 18 years it was awesome to see her live and I would have to give her a 5/5.
I'll be posting a review after her friend, Katy Perry performs on Tuesday as well.
Sunday, August 5, 2018
What people don't tell you about Botox - why you can't just stop with one area
If you've been reading my blog then you would no doubt have read that I've recently joined decided to have cosmetic injections and joined the Botox Club. You may have also previously read that this is basically a 90 degree turn, I'd say 180 but I was never opposed to the idea of Botox in the first place. It was sort of something that I was open to but doubted I would ever get, or something I would do later rather than this young.
Then one day I was taking a selfie and I noticed that my forehead had started to develop lines. I'm not the type of person to sit back and do nothing if I don't like something so instantly Botox came to mind and I started researching it. As you know, I ended up having the treatment.
Of course though, when you have Botox you can't just have one area done so I ended up having the sides of my eyes done (I don't like the term that's most commonly used) and was also able to have what was a very, very minor frown line done as well.
I tracked the results over two weeks and looked to watch the lines disappear. It's pretty awesome to watch the difference become more and more noticeable.
I was scheduled to have a two week check up yesterday but a couple of days after my first session decided to change my appointment and have some more injections in my bunny lines and while I was there I also had my forehead and either side of my eyes topped up. I got the bunny lines done because a lot of people don't have them done and so their face looks unbalanced because one part of it has no lines and the other parts do have lines.
It's really cool to think that one minute you can have several lines on the face and then after a few minutes of injections they'll be gone within a couple of weeks and last for up to six months, depending on your body's physiology. Some people will need to get reinjected every three months, while others will be okay getting reinjected every six months. It also depends on what you want for your appearance.
There are of course a couple of things that people don't tell you before Botox and that is that after you treat one or two areas you'll start to notice lines and imperfections in others, so you need to be aware of that before you start because once you notice them you'll want to fix them. For example, I originally only wanted to get my forehead done, and so far I've had my forehead, sides of eyes and bunny lines done. For those unaware of what they are, I've attached a picture of bunny lines below.
Source: https://www.mamamia.com.au/botox-bunny-lines/
Next up I'll be getting the lines above my lip done. These are known as smoker's lines and here is a picture below.
Source: https://www.cosmosclinic.com.au/face/lips/smokers-wrinkles/
Please note that the above picture is only shown for illustration purposes. The smokers lines in the above picture were not treated with Botox. They were treated with dermal fillers, which some people prefer.
You can however treat these lines with Botox however a smaller dosage will be used due to being a sensitive area.
Basically, the rule with Botox is this: if the line is caused by movement then it can be treated with Botox. If however it is a static line and a result of lost moisture and collagen then it needs to be treated with dermal fillers or another way. Botox will not work on static lines.
And this brings me back to the point I was orginally making. Once you treat one area you will want to treat other areas so you've got to be willing to do that otherwise your face will look unbalanced. Imagine having no lines in your upper face but then a stack of lines in the bottom of your face. It would be a telltale sign that you had, had cosmetic procedures.
The key to good cosmetic enhancements is to keep it looking natural.
That sort of brings me to my next point as well. different treatments are used for different areas. If, after having Botox you find yourself getting irritated with the static lines on your face then you will decide that you want to have fillers done. Fillers are about double the price of Botox however they do last double, sometimes triple the length of time, so you've got to be willing to commit to ongoing treatments.
Now, some of you might be reading this thinking, "you started and you were just going to get your forehead done and now you're getting other things done, where will you stop?", well to answer that question, the answer is, Botox and Fillers are my limit. I have absolutely no desire to have lip enhancements. I like having thin lips. I have literally no desire to have a nose job. I like my nose and it has this cool scar from when I was two years old and went through a glass window. I wouldn't have breast implants done because I'm a runner and I've always actually preferred being smaller. It makes life easier. I wouldn't have liposuction done because it would be cheating (I was going to have laser lipo done a few years back but cancelled the appointment because it would've been cheating) and I wouldn't have a butt lift because that's just ridiculous.
Botox and cheek/eye trough (bags under the eyes) are where I would get my fillers done, so that, and Botox is where I draw the line, and dying my hair (I'll be starting that again in a few weeks but that's also because I stopped for a couple of years to give my hair a break from the bleach and so that the next time I did it I would achieve a better result).
If you do decide to get cosmetic enhancements then the best thing to do is keep it natural. Focus on being the best version of yourself and turning back the clock rather than trying to look fake, besides, cosmetic enhancements can only do so much and there are some things you can't change. Even if you had a butt lift, or liposuction, you still can't change your body shape. Some things can be changed, but others can't. You've gotta know the difference and know your limits.
And my limit is Botox and fillers for the eye troughs and cheeks as well as bleaching my hair.
Then one day I was taking a selfie and I noticed that my forehead had started to develop lines. I'm not the type of person to sit back and do nothing if I don't like something so instantly Botox came to mind and I started researching it. As you know, I ended up having the treatment.
Of course though, when you have Botox you can't just have one area done so I ended up having the sides of my eyes done (I don't like the term that's most commonly used) and was also able to have what was a very, very minor frown line done as well.
I tracked the results over two weeks and looked to watch the lines disappear. It's pretty awesome to watch the difference become more and more noticeable.
I was scheduled to have a two week check up yesterday but a couple of days after my first session decided to change my appointment and have some more injections in my bunny lines and while I was there I also had my forehead and either side of my eyes topped up. I got the bunny lines done because a lot of people don't have them done and so their face looks unbalanced because one part of it has no lines and the other parts do have lines.
It's really cool to think that one minute you can have several lines on the face and then after a few minutes of injections they'll be gone within a couple of weeks and last for up to six months, depending on your body's physiology. Some people will need to get reinjected every three months, while others will be okay getting reinjected every six months. It also depends on what you want for your appearance.
There are of course a couple of things that people don't tell you before Botox and that is that after you treat one or two areas you'll start to notice lines and imperfections in others, so you need to be aware of that before you start because once you notice them you'll want to fix them. For example, I originally only wanted to get my forehead done, and so far I've had my forehead, sides of eyes and bunny lines done. For those unaware of what they are, I've attached a picture of bunny lines below.
Next up I'll be getting the lines above my lip done. These are known as smoker's lines and here is a picture below.
Please note that the above picture is only shown for illustration purposes. The smokers lines in the above picture were not treated with Botox. They were treated with dermal fillers, which some people prefer.
You can however treat these lines with Botox however a smaller dosage will be used due to being a sensitive area.
Basically, the rule with Botox is this: if the line is caused by movement then it can be treated with Botox. If however it is a static line and a result of lost moisture and collagen then it needs to be treated with dermal fillers or another way. Botox will not work on static lines.
And this brings me back to the point I was orginally making. Once you treat one area you will want to treat other areas so you've got to be willing to do that otherwise your face will look unbalanced. Imagine having no lines in your upper face but then a stack of lines in the bottom of your face. It would be a telltale sign that you had, had cosmetic procedures.
The key to good cosmetic enhancements is to keep it looking natural.
That sort of brings me to my next point as well. different treatments are used for different areas. If, after having Botox you find yourself getting irritated with the static lines on your face then you will decide that you want to have fillers done. Fillers are about double the price of Botox however they do last double, sometimes triple the length of time, so you've got to be willing to commit to ongoing treatments.
Now, some of you might be reading this thinking, "you started and you were just going to get your forehead done and now you're getting other things done, where will you stop?", well to answer that question, the answer is, Botox and Fillers are my limit. I have absolutely no desire to have lip enhancements. I like having thin lips. I have literally no desire to have a nose job. I like my nose and it has this cool scar from when I was two years old and went through a glass window. I wouldn't have breast implants done because I'm a runner and I've always actually preferred being smaller. It makes life easier. I wouldn't have liposuction done because it would be cheating (I was going to have laser lipo done a few years back but cancelled the appointment because it would've been cheating) and I wouldn't have a butt lift because that's just ridiculous.
Botox and cheek/eye trough (bags under the eyes) are where I would get my fillers done, so that, and Botox is where I draw the line, and dying my hair (I'll be starting that again in a few weeks but that's also because I stopped for a couple of years to give my hair a break from the bleach and so that the next time I did it I would achieve a better result).
If you do decide to get cosmetic enhancements then the best thing to do is keep it natural. Focus on being the best version of yourself and turning back the clock rather than trying to look fake, besides, cosmetic enhancements can only do so much and there are some things you can't change. Even if you had a butt lift, or liposuction, you still can't change your body shape. Some things can be changed, but others can't. You've gotta know the difference and know your limits.
And my limit is Botox and fillers for the eye troughs and cheeks as well as bleaching my hair.
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