I’m so excited that I got sorted into Gryffindor! I think I have an amazing wand as well, that actually represents myself as a person (Forer effect). Ebony with dragon core, eleven and three quarter inches, reasonably supple. From the additional content provided by JK Rowling, this combination means:

This jet-black wand wood has an impressive appearance and reputation, being highly suited to all manner of combative magic, and to Transfiguration. Ebony is happiest in the hand of those with the courage to be themselves. Frequently non-conformist, highly individual or comfortable with the status of outsider, ebony wand owners have been found both among the ranks of the Order of the Phoenix and among the Death Eaters. In my experience the ebony wand’s perfect match is one who will hold fast to his or her beliefs, no matter what the external pressure, and will not be swayed lightly from their purpose.

As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.

I’m not that far into the Pottermore experience at the moment (what with the whole sexy times thing, and the moving thing), but from what I’ve experienced so far, the whole website has just completely blown my mind. I loved McGonagall’s back story, and can’t wait to get further into the book to explore – I’m only up to Chapter Nine at the moment.

However now that I’m moving to a city that I’ve only ever navigated with public transport before (and even then, primarily only in the central business/shopping/tourist district), I can see the need for a GPS device. The question is which device I choose – an actual separate GPS device, or whether I take advantage of my iPhone‘s capabilities and simply buy the TomTom application and use my phone as a GPS.

I can see the pros and cons of both. I particularly like the minimalist nature of having everything in the one device…why buy more things when you can simply buy the application? But what do you think? If you’ve got one, did you opt for a separate GPS device, or have you downloaded an app to your smartphone? I’d love some input before I fork out the dollars.

As for the movie itself…I cried. There was laughter and love, but it was mostly tears. I feel like a part of my childhood has died with the series. How do you even begin to say goodbye to something that has been part of your life for so long? That’s part of the reason I’m so excited about Pottermore – it’s an opportunity to revisit a part of my life in an entirely new format. It would be like falling in love all over again.

I had a pretty warm and fuzzy last week of July as well.

A friend introduced me to the term butterface when she came over to watch the Royal Wedding footage with me. It’s essentially the new version of a Monet from the 1995 movie Clueless: “It’s like the painting. Seen from far away, it’s okay; but up close, it’s a big ol’ mess.” Or as my friend explained it, “She’s got a nice body, but her face (butterface)…”.

This was, by the way, in reference to Pippa Middleton. Nice body apparently (though I think she’s a bit too thin, but it seems like it runs in the family), but her face…

It reminds me actually of something an older woman once told me – that once you get past a certain age, you have to decide whether to sacrifice your body, or your face. You either keep your figure but show every wrinkle on your face, or you get plump to fill out the wrinkles. Or I guess, you stay thin and opt for Botox to fill out the wrinkles.

For some time, I contemplated getting an iPad – I wanted something lightweight that I could just lounge about on the couch with. Then I considered building a desktop computer – something with a bit of grunt and power behind it so I could do more complicated things like getting back into design with the full Adobe Creative Suite. In the end, I’ve settled for a new Samsung 15.6 inch laptop, from which I’m currently blogging. I’m not particularly good with technical specifications, but I do understand that the following is considered pretty decent – 8GB RAM, 500MB disk space, 1GB graphics, and probably other stuff that I’ve either forgotten or discounted as being irrelevant to my needs. I paid $841AUD for the laptop ($30AUD off the listed discounted price), and bullied the salesperson into giving me $70AUD off the extended two year warranty, and $70AUD off a leather trimmed carry tote. All up, I paid $990AUD for my new laptop and accessories.

It’s worked out cheaper than both the iPad and custom building a desktop and purchasing related accessories (keyboard, mouse, screen, etc). It has more grunt and power than the iPad, and more flexibility than a desktop. I’m pretty satisfied with the purchase, but no doubt the real test of how good it is will come further down the line when I start playing endless hours of SimCity. For now at least, I can say goodbye to toting a heavy laptop every day on the train, and leave it at work where it should stay!

In other news, I will be somewhat scarce over the next week or so. I’m staying in a hotel in the city over the next three days as I run a two day conference and associated social events (7am – 11pm working days!) for disability sector workers. I’m actually rather excited about it – the theme this year is Human Rights and we’ve managed to secure both the Australian of the Year (philanthropist and advocate Simon McKeon) and the Senior Australian of the Year (2010 Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with a Disability, Professor Ron McCallum) as our two major keynote speakers. Later in the week, I’m going overnight to Swan Hill to run and participate in the rural community’s Harmony Day celebrations to celebrate cultural diversity and individual achievement against the odds.

Oh and in even more unrelated news, I went and saw Usher last night. Unfortunately there was no backstage loving to be had. I have screamed myself hoarse though, and have high hopes for the next time he’s in Australia. As I said on Facebook, my aim in life now is to be the girl on stage licking his chest at his next concert. I will make it happen.

I went to the Broadway production of Hairspray on Tuesday night. It was genuinely one of the most engaging and fun experiences of my life. I knew I would enjoy the show as I loved the movie, and know all the songs by heart. What I didn’t anticipate was how well the story translated to stage and live action. I was up and dancing in my seat throughout the show…yes, I was one of those annoying people in the audience.

It’s such a shame that I don’t get to go to the theatre as often as I would like. The last time I went was to Chicago, and that was almost two years ago now.

The main problem is that the cheapest stage show tickets in Australia for these big musicals regularly cost around $120AUD each. I don’t know how much they cost in America, but if they’re anything like concert tickets, shows like this cost about double the price you would pay in America. It makes a certain type of sense I guess – when bands bring shows to Australia, their own costs increase as they have to pay to fly their crew and all their equipment halfway across the road. It would be the same for stage shows.

In fact, the only reason I even went to see Hairspray is because I managed to get half price tickets ($66 per ticket for the upper balcony) through one of my daily deal websites. Without that discount, there was no way I could afford to go to a stage show like Hairspray…it simply wouldn’t fit within my monthly budget. Let’s just hope I manage to get similarly cheap tickets to Mary Poppins and Rock of Ages as well, as I’m dying to see those shows!

I had enough – it’d gone far enough that my cousin noticed his comments and contacted me with her concerns. I brought it to the attention of my parents (they were horrified and lectured him about how such comments and attitudes will never make him any friends) and I gave him two options – to either delete his Facebook account and give up his electronics for three months (iPod touch, phone, Wii, flat screen TV), or to post an apology on his account. He opted for the latter, so I drafted the following for him:

I apologise to everyone I’ve insulted on FB recently. I recognise that I disrespected the girls of MacRobertson Girl’s. I apologise to those attending Wellington Secondary College for my boasting comments about Melbourne High and my own intelligence. If I ever insult anyone again, please bring it to the attention of my sister Amanda Chan and she will ensure I receive appropriate punishment.

He needs to learn humility and modesty. I can only hope that this drums some sense into him as his unacceptable conduct is pointed out in front of his peers. If he’s old enough to make such comments in a public arena, he’s old enough to accept responsibility for any consequences arising from such comments. He also knows that his profile is now mine to monitor (with my parents approval) – one more false step and there’ll be further consequences.

Well, this Gen Y isn’t like that. I can think of a million and one things I can do and have done that my mother had never done, and will never do:

1. Speak multiple languages well
2. Travel independently
3. Graduate from high school and university
4. Move out of the family home and live in a de facto relationship before marriage
5. Work in a non-menial skilled professional job
6. Make my life easier through the use of technology
7. Be the main breadwinner
8. and much much more…

In addition to all the above, I can do all the things listed in the article – I can maintain a plant (if not grow from a cutting), iron, cook, sew a button and a hem, roast a chicken, and bake. I can clean extremely well, cook edible food, and keep within a modest budget. I personally think I do much better than women of previous generations!

Question of the Week: What can you do that your mother couldn’t do? What can your mother do that you can’t?

I think what affected me most was the fact that I knew what would happen to the people in this film. Colin Firth would die twenty five years later. Helena Bonham Carter would live to the ripe age of a hundred and two and have a neat half dozen grandchildren. The elder daughter would grow up to be one of the most remarkable monarchs of the twentieth century. It’s this knowledge of history that makes me view such a movie not so much a movie and more of a dramatised documentary with extremely good looking people.

I thought the costuming was remarkable. It’s really quite a shame that we don’t dress in such a tailored and well-turned-out manner these days – it really makes one yearn for the more ‘proper’ days when going out into company necessitated putting your best foot forward and making the best possible first impression. If only we could somehow start a fashion revolution – where everyone actually starts making an effort instead of just throwing on a T-shirt and jeans in the morning. Of course having said that, I’m currently typing this dressed in a extra extra large men’s Tshirt and wearing no pants. The irony!

On a nearly irrelevant end note – who recognised Mr. Collins from BBC’s Pride & Prejudice early on in the film? Jennifer Ehle was in the movie too. It was almost like a BBCP&P reunion!

I’ve just watched Tangled. The role of the ‘mother’ Gothel (e.g. evil old witch who stole the baby) was actually quite disgusting, in the way she belittled Rapunzel and quite literally imprisoned her in a tower, locked away from the world. Her catchphrase was: Mother knows best, listen to your mother.

It reminds me actually of the recent article by Amy Chua in the Wall Street Journal. For those who haven’t heard of it, there’s been a huge controversy around some of the ideas espoused in the article – largely that children need constant browbeating and social deprivation in order to achieve academically.

There are certain ideas that I agree with in the article. I learnt discipline and academic responsibility from a very young age, sometimes through corporal punishment. By instilling self discipline in me from a young age, my parents gave me the tools I needed to continue that throughout my life – I credit my current work ethic and level of personal responsibility to my parents. I don’t think that I could have achieved (or continue to achieve) what I have and what I do if I’d had parents who’d been more lax or more indulgent. They gave me the focus from a young age that I needed to succeed in life.

I believe that parents have a responsibility to provide their children with these important personality characteristics: work ethic, personal responsibility, discipline, a desire to reach for the stars and to achieve. Sometimes, being a tough parent is what it takes to instill these qualities in your child so that they have the tools they need to succeed in life. Sometimes, you need to be a Tiger Mother. You just have to find the balance between disciplining your child, instilling regular routines, and allowing a reasonable amount of socialisation and extracurricular activities.

That’s precisely what Gothel didn’t allow Rapunzel, and that’s why she was an evil witch. =P