Sunday, September 29, 2013

You'll be skipping

Anna,

I am wondering what you are doing now and imagining all the feelings that you would be having this moment. It's not hard to imagine because I vividly remember being at the airport, London bound, April 2011.
 
Feeling a little sorry for myself because I'm all alone. Feeling uncertain because I've never been to London. Feeling sad because I made friendships that I didn't want to end. Feeling lost because I didn't know where I belonged. Not having a place to stay, not knowing whether I would find work, not knowing anyone, not knowing what will happen.  And the more time I sat there by myself, and the closer I was to being on that plane, I realised, I knew absolutely nothing!!!

The unknown. That part is the most terrifying. But soon enough, or perhaps you've already realised it, that even though NOTHING is guaranteed,  ANYTHING IS possible! You plan flights and accommodation, but what you won't be able to plan, is the best part. The wonderful people you'll meet and the memories you'll have. Some of your best memories will be like shooting stars. They'll   fall out of nowhere and leave you mesmerised. If I know you well, you won't just leave a trail. You'll be skipping with glee and merriment as you leave that trail.

So it's you that will be in Singapore reading this blog this time around. And it's this blog that I'm grateful we've started.  As quoted from your first ever blog to me, things you said that seems fitting for me to copy and paste for you this time around.

"I miss that nervous feeling of the unknown. There is nothing for you to lose, you just have a whole lot of experiences and new friendships to gain!"

 "You are doing what a lot of us only wish to do."

" I am so jealous of you and will live vicariously through your stories."



I'm glad we met for one last time that afternoon :) It was wonderful. Goodbye for now and safe travels from Perth and from me xxx

Inspiration

Hi Chia!

I'm going nuts with the posts!

As I am doing my last minute clean up before I leave, I found this quote in my notebook that I wrote earlier this year when I was at work. I was so in awe at past Anna's insight of what was to come, that I wrote it out again today to reaffirm its positivity in my mind:




Some people may think I'm a failure for resigning and walking away from law . Some may think I'm irresponsible for not using my money for a deposit on a house but on a 6 months trip. Others may think I'm nuts for starting acting and seeing where it takes me, with no real end goal or idea on how it's going to turn out. For all I know I may just end up as a marine biologist or do something in marketing or communications.

Whatever it is; whatever choice I make, it's going to be mine. If it's a choice that leads me down an unexplored route, so long as it's going to be one that makes me feel happy, I will put on my trekking boots and damn well make sure I leave a trail. :)

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Last time together

Hi Chia

Thank you so much for driving all the way from Narrogin to see me before I head off. It was so good to see you, and it was great to have our deep and meaningfuls one last time.





Loves yous! :)

Friday, September 27, 2013

Lunch with parents

Hey Chia!

Double post for you today! So I have just returned from lunch with the parents. Took them to Sayers Sister, where we went last time and they loved it! They've never been there before.











I've made a little film of our outing together. You can see it here: http://directr.co/m/4o8nuw

:)

2 more sleeps!

Hi Chia!

Wow memories from Narrogin! Thanks for posting up the pic! :)

It has been a while since I've seen a baking post! So I was very happy to see your cake!

So, time is ticking and all of a sudden I only have two more sleep in Perth before I go. I am still in disbelief that we are going actually. Perhaps it is because we've been planning it for a while now, or perhaps it is because I have been unemployed for three months and every day is a holiday to me? I don't know. Whatever the reason is, I am a mixture of disbelief and anticipation.

I've been busy re-packing my bag. I've been sitting on my carpet floor looking at each item and thinking really hard as to whether I need to bring it. Questions such as, 'will I be using this?','how often will I be using this?' and 'will I regret not bringing this?'

I am currently at 13kg. I am trying to get lighter. I must say though, 13kg for a 6 month trip seems ok right? RIGHT?



I've also been catching up with friends for one last hurrah! Here's some lippy pics of a girly date at Jamie's Italian on Wednesday night!




There's a long story behind these photos, but ultimately, it seems that I don't have the most luscious lips of the group *cries*. No matter how hard I tried, my lips were just thin. Ahaha! The winner clearly goes to Els.

Besides catching up with people, Kev and I have been working on a blog for our travels. Don't worry! I'll post up on both blogs! The blog will be at kastepoutside.wordpress.com . We haven't posted anything yet, except for the welcome post... but soon.. soon we will be up and running!

Today, the plan is to go and have lunch with my parents for my mom's birthday. We will be eating at Sayer's sister! Then I need to drive to Curtin University to pick up a mobile phone case from Shaz. My parents will be coming along on the drive... hahaa oh noes.. long drive.

I then will continue packing and start cleaning up my room!

OH! Also! I forgot! I've started to make tiny films on my iphone with this cool app called Directr! It's really neat, and I like the idea of directing my tiny films! Check out my page here: http://directr.co/annasasson 

This will keep my toes in the whole 'film' and acting industry. I will try to keep my creativity up while travelling! 

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Look what I have!


A silly pic of us at Foxes Lair from the last time you were here. Miss you xxx

Four more days

That is how many teaching days I have left until the term break.

I woke up at 2am this morning thinking about the school camp. What have I forgotten? What other items do the children need to bring? Have I confirmed numbers for catering? Have I booked all venues? I had to force myself to leave those thoughts to rest and eventually went back to sleep.

But at 5am I couldn't sleep any longer so I went in Crazy Cooking Chia mode. I made yogurt scones (which fell flat and looked terrible but tasted great!), orange and poppy seed cake (this turned out light and oh so divine!) and I tried out a new recipe for walnut and oat vegetarian burgers (in the fridge and will be rolled into patties and pan fried for lunch).

Unlike today, yesterday's weather was glorious. In the afternoon I went for a walk to Foxes Lair, the same place we went when you came here. I've caught the cold thanks to being out in the rain during Friday's sports carnival and should've been resting but I really needed to get out. It was just what I needed.

Peace and clarity.

And I started feeling happy again. The wildflowers and a couple of ducks swimming in the abandoned pit made me breathe a great sigh of thankfulness for all the little beautiful things that comes with Spring and nature.














Wednesday, September 18, 2013

12 more days

Aw Chia!

Your posts made me smile! I had a great time walking with you at Kings Park last week.

While the rest of Perth was busy working, we chatted and enjoyed the vibrant colours of the wild flowers in the warm spring sun!








I still can't believe that Kev and I will be leaving soon. We have semi packed and are now ensuring we have everything we need for the next 6 months - travel undies, cameras, chargers, clothes for summer and clothes for a very cold winter.

I'm waiting on things to come in the mail too such as a rashie vest for the Maldives and a lifeproof iPhone case which is water, sand and snow proof. I hope they arrive before we leave.

My mind has become focused on the trip now, and so with the acting thing, I've stopped auditioning for roles. However, I still have one more speaking role to film on this coming Monday. It's for an ECU short film. I play a nursing student :) so I'm also going to have to learn the lines for that.

Last Saturday I had my first speaking role. It was pretty cool and pretty exciting. I was a little nervous because usually as an extra the camera sees you but isn't focused on you. So admittedly the first few moments were a little intimidating. However, I enjoyed every moment of it. I spoke to the director about my lines, and he said that he wanted to change them. After discussing what he wanted, the change made sense and so after that I had to really try to change my mindset as I had prepared the role with a different 'reaction' in mind.

I had 3 or 4 takes before the director got what he wanted. I wasn't used to that. I automatically started telling myself off in my head for having to have more than 1 take. But after my last take, the director said I was really good, so after hearing that I had to start telling myself to let it go and just be happy with what I had done.

So with that role and the role on Monday completed, I'll have a few speaking parts under my belt before I leave. I will have extra roles and a voice over role too. Hopefully this will give me something to show for if I have the chance to audition for something during my travels :)


When will I?

Evening Anna!

The pictures that we took over the weekend make me smile. I'm going to miss you so much when you're gone. I wonder, when will be the next time I have brunch with you? Or go for a walk or a d & m in Kings Park?

So much has happened the last month I haven't had time to reflect. It's scary because suddenly it all comes to a screeching halt and what you thought you had in mind isn't the case anymore. And here I am thinking of a plan.

And here I am lying in bed. Telling you that I'll miss you. And then I'm going to read this book that a friend recommended. Philosophy! Who would've thought?









Sunday, September 8, 2013

Cake to decorate

I spent too much time with this cake. Took more time decorating it than baking it! My house mate thought I was mad. Standing in the kitchen, spatula in hand, rotating the cake around and around and repositioning the chocolate shards (which I tried to make but ended in a mess). Then removing them and eventually settling for strawberries instead. It's a chocolate and coffee cake and usually I can't stand decorations that don't compliment the flavour of the cake but in this case the strawberries really needed to be there to add colour.

I brought it to school and the ladies seemed to love it. Phew! I did have SaraLee apple Danish and ice cream as the back up plan. That's the problem with baking a whole cake, you can't taste it without obvious chunks missing.

In case you miss me, I've thrown in a pic of yours truly. It's been difficult getting out of bed and soldiering on when it's cold. This was me on a good morning to work. So glad it's heading towards longer days and Spring!

It's not long until you embark on your adventure of a life time! I'm so envious. I wish I could do something similar. That wanderlust feeling has slowly crept back. When the day isn't so crazy, I often find myself daydreaming about random places I've been and wishing I could be back there again. I know I'll miss you but I'm counting on updates here ;)

Have a lovely weekend :)