WE'VE GOT THE FEVER TO TELL

Mindin' my own business, eating pasta salad and listening to this,

then next thing you know, it's fuckin' snowing in October.

I mean why?

YOU'RE STANDING ON MY NECK PT. 2

So Jane Lane it is. It's cheaper, since I pretty much already dress like that. I'm heading over to my aunt's place in Wimbledon in 15 minutes to go pick up my boots and the fake earrings that'll go all the way up my ear (most of my shit is STILL stacked up in boxes in her back room. Anyone have a car?). Then all I need is a black bob wig which I'll cut straight and some maroon-ish lipstick. I ain't Asian, so sue me.

But the funniest thing happened today. I went out to buy groceries and an engagement card for two lovely friends and guess what I find hanging in the WINDOW of Oxfam? I swear. I think Daria was a real person, then she died and her mom decided it was too painful to keep her stuff so she dropped off all her clothes at Oxfam on Putney High Street. I found her green jacket. It was 5 pounds (should I repeat that?). Anyway, I instantly saw it as a sign so I bought it, but then after I did my shopping, I returned it because I realised I would have to buy a black pleated skirt, a wig, AND glasses, whilst for Jane, I pretty much just had to show up. Plus, I would never wear that green jacket again. ever.

So, what else..? Turns out Young's paid me after all, no fuss included after I quit abruptly. good good. And...I'll soon be writing for this new online magazine! Not paid, but whatever. It's based in the Bay so maybe I can work for them after I graduate and move to the US? Maybe? Who knows. I just think this is good.

One of the college bars is having a Halloween thing tonight and my friend who's DJing from 8-10 is pleading for someone to keep him company so I might go along with my Burmese friend, if only she would text me back. If she doesn't, last resort would be 11. I really just feel like doing something tonight. DO SOMETHING TONIGHT! ALL OF YOU! BE FUCKING SPONTANEOUS! I LOVE TONIGHT!

That wasn't me. That was Starbucks.

YOU'RE STANDING ON MY NECK

Friday....needless to say.

P.S. la la LA la la...

YOU'VE BEEN CAST ALL BY YOURSELF

Lovely friend T-Mac in America : i am watching Skins and totally thinking that is how you live!

CAN'T SEEM TO GIVE IT UP

I'm really worried about my signature pair of black Converse. They're dying. They were my very first pair and have been around the world and back with me; they've braved everything from high school to mosh pits, so naturally, this is happening:

I decided to cheer them (and myself) up by giving it a sort of bright orange facelift. And today, I took them on their first 'new and improved' spin on Putney High Street paired with my black skinny jeans, flannel shirt and navy blue blazer (very sexy androgynous). And what do you know? First step off the bus and chicks on their cellphones are telling their friends on the line to hold just to say how much they fucking dig my laces! "River Island hun," I'd say with the most ridiculous grin. I bought a few flashy pairs. A pair of two different colours was something like £2? They're a lot sturdier than the ratty pink ribbons I had in them before, and seemingly a lot more open to outsider compliments. Good good.

I also impulsively bought this jacket from them that was on sale. Looking at it, I probably totally would not have picked it up, but I threw it on quickly, scrunched up the sleeves and it's the best damn thing! And warm too, so won't go to waste this Fall.

Anyway, on to the main event. Taking my sneakers for an outing today was actually me heading over to Starbucks to do a couple hours of undisturbed coursework, since I spent the entire weekend partying and sleeping. So I set up shop in a cozy corner with my laptop and books, but my Iced Chai Tea Latte (get on it!) was making a mess so I had to quickly run back to the little extras table and grab a couple napkins. 15 seconds tops. When I got back to my table, my laptop was gone.
I
SHIT
YOU
NOT!

This Indian guy next to me slowly calculated what happened after taking in my petrified/mortified/oh-fuck-ified features. We stared at each other wordlessly.

"Who took it?" I said, with a mission gearing up in my eyes.
He jumped up all Superhero fuelled, went out the back with me. We looked up and down the street. No one in sight. He held me back with his arm, "You stay here. I'll get him. I saw what he looks like."

Well cool.

I watched his things and watched him walk to the end of the street. Then, at the corner, he put his finger up at me, telling me to wait, then he sped off running. I can't tell you how freaky that moment was for me, watching him run after this guy I couldn't see, who was coolly trudging up the High Street with his new mini Sony Vaio, skull sticker included. I surprised myself by not being selfish and thinking about what I would do without that laptop, but rather, worrying about the guy getting into some confrontation with the thief. But sure enough, he came back unscathed, with my laptop!

After blurting out way too many 'Thank You's, 'Sorry's, 'I'm a careless stupid twat's, I asked him what happened. He said he'd seen the guy around there before. He's sort of Putney Starbuck's regular bum, and he comes in sometimes to beg customers for money. Guess he just saw an opportunity. Well, good for him. WANKER!!!

But seriously, if I ever see that BEAUTIFUL GUY again, I will buy him copious amounts of Starbucks and give him a blowjob. bad joke. But I swear. I could've given him anything just then. WHOEVER YOU ARE! MILLEFOIS MERCI AND I LOVE YOU! Chivalry is almost dead; ALMOST!

...stay tuned for more adventures with Kara and her bright orange laces.

NIGHT SHIFT

I guess I'm still upset over not getting that Zara coat before I left Abu Dhabi. It so starkly resembled this Westwood one. Perfect, non? Love this set. Totally all over the 'splash of colour' idea.

...and this is just me missing wearing light clothing, drinking green tea frappes and hanging out in L.A.

I'm listening to Siouxsie and the Banshees radio - Bauhaus, The Cure, Alien Sex Fiend, The Creatures et al. Talking to Panda on Skype. He's looking for an apartment for us. I'm supposed to wake up in 40 minutes to go run errands before class. I'm also going to see if I'm going to get paid from the job I just abruptly quit. It would be nice, but I doubt.

ONLY AT NIGHT TIME I SEE YOU, IN DARKNESS I FEEL YOU

I can't for the life of me figure out where I was when this was going on RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE IN MARCH! I know for a fact I was finished with all coursework by April 29th. How. is. it. possible. that. I. was. not. the. one. making. this. video? Won't happen again, of course. Siouxsie is a must-see. Anyways, this is 'Night Shift', one of my faves (although the track I have sounds completely different), and, appropriately, I can't sleep to save my life. It is something past 8am. All manner of things going on today; snowboarding, live bands, Gap, money, feathers, cowboys and indians. I kid you not. HEY! Let's see who can have the better weekend! Ok, go!

LOVE AND SOME VERSES

Having a relatively chill Wednesday evening making failed Mixwit tapes, job hunting and trying (and failing) to get this

and this

out of my head, all while under the covers. Loves it. Hope you guys are having a good week!

LET'S END IT ON THIS

I like these. Rumi from Fashion Toast is selling them on her online store Treasure Chest Vintage. It's only at $66 right now. Hurry!

UPDATE!!!: I decided I hate these after all, so much so that I want no association with them on my blog, but oh well, it's up there, can't be arsed. They're too new looking and the studs look cheap. But, if it tickles your fancy, then I put it up especially for you. Fuckin' knock yourself out while I listen to The Smiths and enjoy my work-free Wednesday night.

ALL I WANTED WAS THE SIMPLE THINGS

HI! 3 things happened to me today:
a) my mom totally saved my broke black ass and wired me £200.
b) my university finally cleared my check and gave me back my £ 77.66 discount for paying in total.
c) the campus ATM swallowed my card.

CAN'T HAVE IT ALL, CAN YOU!?

ETSY PT. 2: WITH COMMENTARY..AND LINKS!

Someone totally swooped down with a vengeance on those AMAZING boots I posted last time from Etsy. I was backtracking just now to find it for the lovely Jen, but it's gone already! (SORRY! Unless it was you yourself who nicked them, then goodie! If not, I actually found a possible replacement below). It's funny, because when I laid eyes on them, they were practically calling out to her in like...fuckin Motorhead lyrics or something lol.

Anyways, I won't be a bad blogger this time, and have incorporated links to go with these lovely vintage Etsy finds for your feet. The last time I was just really ill and lethargic, and possibly subconsciously jealous that I couldn't purchase any of the goodies myself, being credit-card-less (AND NOW DEBIT-CARD-LESS AS WELL ACTUALLY!). So sorry about that.

How incredibly playful are these jazz flats? I can see myself running to a lecture in these. Or not *mopes*

Well these three are just inexplicably killer, the third being my breakfast, lunch and dinner, EASILY! Go, go, and BRING TO ME!

I'm not quite sure why I posted these because pointed heels now kind of make me want to keel over and die several times simultaneously, but the heel bit is interesting.

Jen's make-do pair...maybe? yeah? no?

And then lastly, I just really dug these Steampunk gaiters. Sick!

THE WORLD IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE MADE OF THIS

I quit my job.
Here's a really epic Etsy round-up from the Vintage section:

TAKE A DEEP BREATH CUZ WE JUST GOT STARTED

"Hi Kara,

We got your message yesterday it was just too busy to reply. We appreciate you have a lot of work on at the moment and would like you to consider your position here as we really need staff who can commit and be here for their shifts as it puts added pressure on those staff that are here. We have taken you off the rota this week in order for you to make a decision."

ONE DAY I SLOWLY FLOATED AWAY

What's even weirder than my last post is the confession I'm about to make in this one. Hope it doesn't have you running for the hills. There is this show I used to watch as a kid on Sunday afternoons...Maybe it was for lack of better things on TV on Sundays, which was normally devoted to religious worship on the airwaves, but I'm pretty sure I could've found a great novel on my shelf to read if I was bored. So I guess I wasn't bored and actually really enjoyed it. It was called 'Aum Namah Shivaya'; sort of like the Hindu version of biblical stories, I think. And to tell you how great YouTube is, I found some episodes but now that I'm older they're so tedious to go through. It's so drawn out, and tragically corny, but there were some cool moments i.e. tons of people's heads getting sawn off by flying weapons and really great outfits (would kill for every single piece in the show!).

This bit is the honeymoon of Sati and Shiv though, which I thought was funny. It's basically the sex scene. The two people dancing (A.K.A. artistically 'doing it') are Rati and her husband who were basically sent from the Universe to go and instigate Shiv and Sati's 'family life'. Loves it. Read the lyrics too.

My brother and I would just sit in front the TV on Sunday afternoons with whatever baked goodies we made earlier with our mother, and wait for the eerily awesome soundtrack to start up (It's good. I love anything in minor chords. It sounds so full of...doom). We were basically eventually brain-washed into chanting 'Aum Namah Shivaya' without knowing it, or what IT meant. And now, years later, I'm doing it again after reading that awesome book Eat Pray Love (Read it full stop).

Actually, now that I think of it, the perfect example for what this show really is can be surmised from Devendra Banhart's 'Carmensita' music video, which basically mocks the shit out of it.

I don't know what brought this on, i.e. weird posts on Hinduism. Maybe because Divali/Diwali (my favourite holiday in all the world!) is coming around again (Oct. 28th), I started thinking about the awesome times I had lighting deyas/fireworks/fire crackers/anything that does something cool with fire with my Catholic family and Hindu friends back home in Trinidad, stuffing myself silly with gulab jamun, barfi, kulfi, ras malai, kurma, rasgulla, prasad (GOD BLESS YOU!), pumpkin, channa and buss-up shut (sp?)...FUCK. ME. I. MISS. TRINIDAD.

Apart from the feeling of left-out-ness you get when quietly observing your Hindu friends Aum-Namah-Shivaya-ing for eons about how great their two dozen deities are, it is seriously the best celebration ever; glittery, beaded, jingly, vividly coloured saris and my bangles clanging from wrist to elbow, cute little bindi falling off my forehead from the sweat of running around in the moonlight around the deya displays, and having extras stuck to a little sheet of cardboard in my pocket (because you can't NOT have a bindi); being afraid your bright orange silk skirt with intricately patterned trimmings will catch on fire; hearing the next day on the news that at LEAST 2 houses were burnt to nothingness due to lights displays. I know, not exactly righteous but when things go well, it's like what I'd expect a successful family Christmas to be like (seeing as my Christmases never are).

Anyway, so, maybe it's the small percentage of Indian in me, but I've always had a thing for Hinduism and Indian culture (actually, Asian culture on a whole). I collect the elaborate jewelry (both my grad pictures have me in bangles, ear lobe drooping earrings and those pieces that drip down the centre-part of your hair and glitter to rest on your forehead), spent whole afternoons adorning my notebooks with their signature colourful plumage, Om symbols and lotus designs, frequented Bollywood movies at the drive-thru with friends, looked into taking Classical Indian Dance lessons, was asked by one partner during sex to take off the silver bell anklets adorning my feet because their jingling was bordering on annoying (I know, TMI, but necessary for my point, yes?) I. am. a. freak. for. everything. they. churn. out. in. India.

So it's only fitting that I should want to study Hinduism, i.e. buy a ridonculously large book on it, adore it from cover to cover, and pick up and follow any customs that can work themselves into my current lifestyle. I already occasionally practise mantras, and can totally nail a non-wobbly shoulder stand (I do yoga; so much so that my last job was helping hand at a bikram yoga studio). But I'd love to get that much further into the nitty gritty of the thing, Hinduism, that is. It's so...colourful. Plus all the gods and goddesses look so content and...stoned. I love how it's so clear that they're enjoying life, animal parts included or not (have a look for yourself in my last post. Are they not?). No harm in wanting to enjoy life.

Anyway, so here's a link for Diwali celebrations in London this year. When Panda visited me last year we went to the celebrations in Trafalgar Square (they're on tomorrow this year) and it kinda sucked, but maybe I'll check out one of the other events this year; and maybe I'll buy deyas and indian sweets and clean my room and chant all on my lonesome in my dorm room (with the window open, of course. The fire alarms are over-sensitive). But I truly think your best bet is to go to Trinidad lol.

I love Hindu portraits. Is that weird?

SHE SAID SHE CAME FROM CELL BLOCK 3

Um, this girl like this is by far one of the most beautiful things I've seen. I want to be this. What is this? I saved this picture (whose source is unknown but which was stolen from Fashion Pirates) as themeaningoffashion.

Yesterday I went to an 80's Uni party and dressed up 80's Madonna style with my mom's old bustier, black body con mini skirt, lace leggings, ray ban's, dangly skeleton earring in one ear, safety pin in the other - everything. It was an epicly masterful look for a) an impromptu one, and b) a costume. Sorry I have no pictures, just fond memories, but I will, without a doubt, wear the outfit again, and maybe capture the moment to share with you too.

I went with my Burmese friend and we literally just danced the night away, with little £1 shot-dunking/desperate giggly bush-peeing moments in between. I got drunk. I certainly got flirted with, since I refused to do the leg-warmers/leotard/sweatband/neon look (stick a finger down my throat). We got invited to a party. We don't know the details, but she has the guy's number. She showed me a sparkly thing on her ring finger that made us go for more £1 shots, and made me think abt my own non-existent sparkly finger cluster (cue sad face). But, honey, that wasn't only drunkenness swimming in my eyes last night. I'm so happy for u!

Do you remember my flatmates names? (11 - cool new girlfriend next door, S&M - two inseperable guys in our block). 11 got so smashed last night she decided to have a competition with her friend to see who could make out with more guys. And this really surprised me, but she won, seeing as she begged her gay friend for his tongue, then when S&M and I were making drunken noodles in the kitchen with stolen utensils/pots, we bumped into her on the hallway stairs ripping the face off of this other flatmate I never mentioned because he's just sort of lame to talk about. I don't know his door number. Lemme check. 6. Right.

So we invited him up to the common room to drink and talk shit with us until we all dropped like flies between the hours of 4 and 6am. S&M slept in our lounge on a mattress, across the hall from my room. Apparently M doesn't have a place to live and just moves around coolly with his mattress from room to room. He currently resides in S's dorm. M kept asking me for a cuddle, and other weirdities (yeah, dibs on that word). He wanted to 'see' my room as well and wouldn't give me a chance to get changed out of my 80's garb. He also told me, when we were walking home from the party, that he hasn't slept with anyone in ages, and decided to strip in front of the group to settle into his mattress for the night while we were all still hanging out in there. 11 tried to show me some non-existent boner. She can be so fucking weird when she drinks. She was trying to get M and I to hook up. I nearly back-handed her, but then I figured it would be a long way to go before I won't have to deal with her ever again, seeing as we JUST moved into halls together. I did call her out on it publicly though, to the semi-shock of everyone else around. Whatev...just because he's black doesn't mean he's my automatic pick in the circle. Yeah, I said that too.

S&M might even still be across the hall in the lounge at this very moment, among the alcoholic wreckage that me and 11 now have to clean; who knows... I haven't left my room yet. I'm sick as a dog, and am afraid to venture out in case I feel the urge to spend money I nearly don't have (£25 in my VERY ACCOMMODATING bank account). I don't even have money for bus fare to get to work today, which works out quite well since I had to call in sick anyways. This is turning out to be one major weekend.

Exuent to homework.

UNTIL HER SOUL FELL NEXT TO ME

[One I stole from Knight Cat, who in turn stole it from someone else I don't care to backtrack and find; the other is from Garance]

Just two girls epitomizing the word perfection for me as of late; the second more than the first because of the septum piercing, which (don't say it!) I am contemplating...

Bitches. I hate how I can never look this good no matter how closely my clothes resemble theirs. I would rip my hair out but it's already out. I would spend my money on the exact replicas but it's already spent. Settling back into the collegiate swing of things is an expensive venture.
Bed.

AT LEAST TONIGHT IT SHOULD BE SO

I was supposed to meet The South Africans (new co-worker couple) at the bar tonight; well, the female half because her man's working but we're both off and we get 5% discounts and Thursday night draws questionable crowds. But I stayed home instead to:

a) save some money, even though I should be getting paid tomorrow/today, but let's first see about that, yes? Then, enter weekend carnage.

b) read some more of 'The God of Small Things', which is slowly stepping up its intriguing literary game. Good for it. I was beginning to wonder what the Booker Prize was really on about!

c) read up on a Mr. Andrew Keen's whinings and pinings in 'Cult of the Amateur' -stuff on the rise of bloggers and un-professional, uninformed citizen journalists like myself/yourself, as well as the plight of professional journalism (believe me, the statistics are appalling), proper knowledge and the human attention span, all compliments of the internet. It's for my 'Writing for the Internet' class, and after just the introduction, it's making me a slightly changed user; but maybe that's because he calls us monkeys. Not on.

d) listen to Cocteau Twins, The XX, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Rancid and X

e) pig out on cheesy garlic bread and crispy mushrooms (hmm, it's not really pigging out if there are mushrooms involved, is it? BUT, it WAS breaded) - the delivery guy said I looked different from the last time he saw me. He said I look much sexier. I'm only the messenger, but I reckon it's the easily combable hair and newly waxed eyebrows. That's what 70 pounds gets you, eh?

f) enjoy the working heater in my room, now here, and here to stay, thanks to my firm correspondence

g) give my friend my blessing to get the violin F-holes tattoo I have

h)research US work permits for the near/distant/whichever way you see it future...yeah, more on this some other time i.e. when I actually have a clear morning view of 2009 on the horizon, yuh know?

MY HEART AIN'T DEAD CUZ IT KEEPS ON LOVIN'

Browsed weheartit.com for vintage/mock vintage photos and ogled myself to sleep. Beautiful. Got home from work a few hours ago. It's nearly 4am and I have yet to pick up my laundry from the dryer which is MILES away in the cold, then place my one now clean sheet set on my bare single bed, and lay me down to sleep. But right now, I'm compiling a 3:40am bibliography and writing Panda.

SLEEP WELL!