Notes from October

It's officially the end of October, the best month of all! The warmest mid-season and the less rainy one as well. How can you hate it? Of course, if you live in Australia it's spring, which means it's a pollen fest, but we'll survive, between a sniffle and a sneeze. Also, Halloween, dress-up parties, warm days, and my birthday.

A fashion exhibition from the Dior Heritage Paris collection came to Melbourne and I could almost see Carrie Bradshaw in every dress, frolicking under the Eiffel Tower. The boyfriend paid undoubtedly more attention to the exhibition's light fixtures than the dresses, and he admitted now he gets why girls would get bored at car shows, caring more about the models' makeup and dresses than the cars on display. Teaching experience nonetheless!

Unfortunately, I am taking a break from Improv. Level 3 was way harder than I expected and my classmates were so great there was barely anything else I could have added to a scene to improve it! I wasn't being shy, I was in awe. I will be focusing more on D&D until next term.

Going up:

• JOHN GALLIANO FOR DIOR A/W 2005. This is quite niche, I realise that, but how can't you love a collection that explicitly references the workroom dressmaker's dummy, with lengthy swathes of tulle and taffeta pinned to foundations of nude corsetry. A reflection on the process of creation and on the languishing art of couture. Here's a video of the runway that checks all the boxes of my ideal aesthetics.
• LADY GAGA. After watching her documentary on Netflix, titled 'Five foot two', I finally understood the concept behind her latest album 'Joanne' and I have been listening to it non-stop the whole month. I did find the documentary very apologetic, in a way. Before that, to be honest, I wasn't  completely sold on 'Perfect Illusion', far from the Mother Monster I remembered. I feel like she wanted her fans to know that the physical pain and emotional struggle she is facing each day heavily influenced the sound of 'Joanne'. The documentary was a bit of a disclaimer, a key to put the CD in perspective.
• BIRTHDAY. I haven't planned anything for my birthday this year, which was on Monday the 23rd, and I ended up celebrating five days in a row! Most celebrations were unexpected and highly appreciated! Shout-out to my mum for making this possible.

Going down:

• GIFT CARD PRESSURE. Don't get me wrong, Gift Cards are definitely 'going up', but a strange thing happens inside my head whenever I get one, so that I feel morally obliged to spend it on the absolute best item I can possibly find. So I keep it, waiting for that perfect item. Then I realise almost a year has passed and I have few weeks before said Gift Card expires, and I still wonder: should I buy things I really want but don't really need? Or should I get that useful item that I will use every day but isn't exciting?
• GERMS. I was in the skincare section at the drugstore, checking out ingredients and pretending to know what I was reading, when I smell a flowery scent and after that I hear cardboard noises, and one lady that was standing behind me the whole time puts a packaged cream back on the shelf. I turn around to see her still rubbing her hands on her face. My expression didn't conceal my shock. She opened a face cream jar and scooped some out to test it on the spot. I didn't think people did that! I don't want a stranger's hands in a new face cream. That is so gross!
• LABELS. Here's the situation, if  someone asks me what Tumblr is, my first unfiltered answer is: it's like Instagram but for socially challenged people. Mind you, I am on Tumblr and I love it and Tumblr people are my people. How am I supposed to know that sitting right next to me there is someone whose Tumblr is only about cats from the internet, who might take my answer as an offence? Also, wouldn't that just reinforce my definition?

Links worth clicking:

• Beauty mistakes we all have done in our twenties.
• Sometimes it's good to relax and let yourself feel bored.
• How to be one of those 'put together' people.
• Clutter is not only physical but digital too.
• How to stop comparing yourself to others.
• Culture shock and how it can change your life for the better.
• Think before you speak is still a valid rule.
• Very entertaining reflection on true friendship.
• Life lessons you wish you learned sooner in life.
• Stop trying to get your shit together at once.

Image: via