mcalex's abode

Ever get the feeling that you're losing yourself? I have been flat out for a long time and pulled in so many different directions; that's why I haven't been here. Or anywhere really. And if you ask me what I've been doing, I can't really say. I've been under a lot of stress at work as well.

My personal life is busy, my work life is busy and my fandom life is kinda busy - I'm not really in any active fandoms but I have shows that I just adore and characters that I love.

( Collapse )

Anyway, let me know if anyone reads this; any shows you're watching, who's hot etc.

And Yes, I saw X-men and I enjoyed it :)

Mr Benedict Cumberbatch is currently in Australia and has been appearing at some conventions and Q&A.

I saw him yesterday with derry667 and another friend. This was her first foray into anything fandom-y.



I actually have a lot of pics but I already got so many hits from one tumblr post that I'm overwhelmed by responses!

( Collapse )

It's now nearly 4am and I am stil awake so here's my new year greetings to everyone.

I hope that 2014 is a good year for all and everything that can go well does happen :)



click on the pic for a bigger version

Hello, all? How is everyone? Well, can't believe that another year has passed and even Xmas is over! I'm rather looking forward to Sherlock after that Many Happy Returns preview vid and the interactive trailer on the BBC website!

Thanks machinistm and ladysunflow for your lovely cards! :)

Of course, we also had a new Doctor in the last ep; and I loved it. I was going to burst out in tears but I think that he did it in a way that took my mind off losing Matt Smith. I am rather looking forward to seeing Peter Capaldi next year! For some reason I've taken to watching old eps of Greatest American Hero and it dawned on me that Ralph and Bill are like an old married couple and I wonder if back then, there were people slashing them!

( Collapse )

Anyway, before xmas, I went on a small vacation. Spent 5 days on a tropical island off the coast of Queensland, ie Magnetic Island. I did nothing (had no computer access) but read, swim and sleep a lot! And watch a lot of commercial TV which made me hate Australian TV even more!

Whilst there, I got to hug a koala as well (something I haven't done since high school when I used to visit the koala park near my home).



( Collapse )

Currently I'm on a free account; choosing not to get a paid LJ account because I don't spend much time here. I'm more of a lurker than a poster...

This weekend, I was invited to the residence of the Consul-General of Sydney for a special event; a tea ceremony (Chadou) in honour of Naomi Campbell. I have done work/promotion for the Japanese government in the past through being a fomer participant of the JET Programme.

I wasn't even aware that Naomi Campbell was in Sydney since I don't watch Aussie TV much... but since it was a free invitation and I have been to the Consul-General's place a few times, I thought why not! I also had no idea that Naomi has a charity, Fashion for Relief and she raised funds for many other causes. Anyway, she arrived late and left soon after the tea ceremony; there really wasn't much time to mingle but she mostly chatted with the Consul-General, his wife, and the varoius people from the Urasenke (this is a Japanese organisation that specialise in teaching/educating about the Tea Ceremony).

There were a couple of journalists and photographers from the western and Japanese media, Naomi's local PR man and some members of her entourage who came in a separate car from her to the event, never said anything and then left.

I don't know much about Naomi Campbell but I was surprised that her charity raised nearly $350,000 for the tsunami victims and she is now working to raise more funds for the more recent disasters and on-going for for the Haitian earthquake.



I haven't posted pics of her with anyone else out of courtesy but there are a few in the press/net of her and consul-general's wife and a member of the Urasenke.

I'm hoping to send out some Xmas cards this year, so if you're interested, please comment with your contact details!

I hope to send them by next week...

Sydney gets a fair share of celebs! I don't see most of them (eg never saw Keanu Reaves, Ewan MacGregor, Angelina Jolie etc when they were living here) and I've been to cons and queued at movie premieres.

But Tom Hiddleston gets a big tick in my book for being a really nice bloke and all-round Mr nice guy! He did a free signing session at Kinokuniya in the city. I couldn't queue for the free passes to the autographs and photos (only 150 were given out) as I was at work, but after work, I stopped by and glimpsed Mr Hiddleston. He was all smiles, dimples and all. Despite looking a bit tired, he was beaming!

Fans were allowed to pose and he sure did a lot of fun poses! He sang happy birthday to a few fans, had a fan sing to him, read a poem in Icelandic etc.

Here's Tom Hiddleston, on the phone to a fangirl's friend!


click on the pic for a slightly bigger version

( Collapse )

Well, I'm off to Hawaii in a couple of hours! It's a long-awaited holiday after surviving the financial year-end. I have a new boss and I think that the team is ok and will be in fine hands!

I might also be doing a lot of shopping if things are cheaper than Sydney... those of you who haven't been to Oz and live in the US have no idea how expensive things have become here! They are roughly twice as much or more than the prices in the US; hence that's why many Aussie travelers in the US love shopping. I honestly can't wait for the beach and exercising everyday!!! :)

Apart from the holiday, my life has been all about my nieces (being an aunt again) and getting to babysit every now and then. My youngest niece is about 2 months old and I really enjoy talking to her. She's so responsive to sounds and noise that when you talk to her, she responds with her own sounds.

TV shows wise, did anyone see the early release of Ironside? I gotta say, I loved the Raymond Burr version but I'm also enjoying Blair Underwood and I'm curious to see where they take it. I don't think I see a lot of characters on tv with disabilities (I don't watch Glee) but on British TV I see a few (New Tricks, Silent Witness) and I like to see a bigger variety of characters. The other show I'm really enjoying is the Kiwi TV series, The Almighty Johnsons which I think has a refreshing storyline, very interesting characters and a few twists here and there. I find Aussie TV too involved in silly reality shows and pseudo celebs.

Anyway, I'm off!

I'm currently here in Uluru, having a mini-break before year-end. Call it an early birthday pressie to myself. The air is drier, my sinuses have cleared and I can see so many stars in the beautiful sky - no city lights and you can see Orion's belt (I think).

The iphone photo is actually nicer but here's a photo I took at sunset just now (I drove there).


click on the pic for a bigger version

I had quite a lovely flight here; used some points to upgrade to business class, sat behind the cockpit and one of the pilots (he was actually there as an observer because there was a trainee pilot on board) sat next to me. We got to chatting about flying, the Air France aircrash... he used to be an airforce pilot. What a long and interesting history.

Anyway, time to take a warm bath, enjoy the night and head to bed as I want to see the sunrise tomorrow!

And I loved it! Totally wouldn't mind seeing it again!

It has made me nostalgic to see the old movies again! :)

I highly recommend Star Trek; I didn't know much about what was going to happen or who was guest starring so it was a pleasant surprise to see some of the guest stars. But overall, I was very satisfied and happy with how it went. As someone who's seen every Star Trek movie (the old ones, the Next Generation ones) and who's laughed and cried and loved all of them, I'm really enjoying JJ Abrams' interpretation of the new movies :)

I know that everyone is raving about Bennedict Cumberbatch being in it; and yes he's magnificent but my favourite character is Spock! I just love Zach Quinto's portrayal of him; and Scotty comes a very close second. OMG I just adore Simon Pegg and I can't wait to see his next movie World's End (which has Martin Freeman in it!!!).