Insta-life

Yes, I am one of those people who documents their lives through instagram.

 Yes, you can expect to see a lot more of this happening during my travels.

 Yes, I use hashtags in every post  #andiloveit

Yes, I probably use instagram a little too often.

 
 But no, I will not stop.

Feel free to follow my instagram feed for regular updates of my european adventures - kathrynheffernan - or un-follow me if you feel like the idea of this is extremely horrifying.
I won't be offended.
#Justkidding
#Iwillactuallybeextremelyoffended
#ifyoudontfollowmyinstagramweshouldprobablystopbeingfriends

The Problem

My big OE travel experience shall start March 2. 

I am excited out of my mind.

I want to go everywhere and see everything and meet everyone and learn everything and write it all, right here, as a database for my future career.

The problem? I don't have the habit of writing like I used to. 

I don't know where to start, what words to use, how to convey any emotion, or how to describe what I see, the way I was confident I could.

So I'll start here. Please bear with me. It may be terrible and it might be painful to read, but I know I need to start somewhere. Hopefully I'll fill my pages up with images to keep you all entertained and up to date with my travels. ♥ I'm excited to share it all with you. 

And so it begins......

*watch this space*

The Edge

"I want to think of dangerous and noble things to be light and frolicsome. I want to be improbable, beautiful, and afraid of nothing as though I had wings." 

Mary Oliver

I am afraid of many things. 

The dentist.

The doctor.

Heights.

Of the future. 

Of mistakes.

Of heartbreak.

Of forgetting.

Of being told that I'm unwell.
To go somewhere new.

To admit my faults.

To fail.

Of change.

But also of things staying the same.

 Of showing too much of myself.

And of not showing enough.

 To live life over the edge. 

But if I live life in fear. How will I enjoy any moment of it?

the EDGE from Piotr Kabat on Vimeo.

"The edge. There is no honest way to explain it. 

Because the only ones who know where it is, are the ones who have gone over. 

The others, the living, are those who push their control as far as they felt they could handle it, and then they pulled pack.

Or slowed down.

But the edge is still out there."

The Scared is Scared

This is gorgeous. Adorable. Absolutely loveable. 

It puts a smile on my face when my brain is having stupid attacks of emotion. 

Which is often.

So I watch this.

And I smile.
 Can this kid get any cuter or smarter????!

the Scared is scared from Bianca Giaever on Vimeo.

"If something feels like it's closing, you should just say

 'OK, I'm Fine'. 

I usually let it go and just think of something that I really like to do,

and you just think of something else, until the nervous has gone put of you. 

I let that thing disappear out of my head, 

out of my ears, 

out of my mouth.

When the scared feeling comes into you,

 the scared is scared of the things you like.

So I was scared of a monster, 

and I thought of pizza. 

And Juice. 

And some meringues.

And a cookie. 

Chocolate chip cookie. 

I mean OATMEAL cookie. 

And then I ate it all up. 

And some milk.

And the cookie was shaped like a piano, 

a keyboard I mean."

Beauty in the Sky

"We were shooting for a commercial with my DP waiting for an helicopter flying into the sunset, when thousands and thousands of birds came and made this incredible dance in the sky."

I wish to witness this some day.
It is absolutely stunning.

Always looking up. There is so much beauty in the sky.

A bird ballet | Music Video from Neels CASTILLON on Vimeo.

Creative Patience

Um. Yes.

Just yes. 

And the making of?
Yea, that's pretty 'yes' too.

I'm off to find me a coloured moleskine.

Paperman

This is a little bit adorable.

First-time director John Kahrs merges computer-generated and hand-drawn animation techniques in this beautiful animated, Oscar-nominated, short film, Paperman.

 In short, it's a story about the magic of that 'love at first sight' feeling.

While I've only posted the trailer, you should definitely watch the whole 6 mins here.
Enjoy.

 

Your song

I love a good Elton John classic as much as the next gal.

And this version just breaks my heart.

(I have a mini obsession with Ellie Goulding at this present moment in time)

Attempting to Run

I'm trying to be healthy and attempting to get fit.
I thought it was about time really.

Running scares me.

But they say you must face your fears.

So I downloaded an app called C25K which is designed to get my lazy ass of the couch, outta bed, and on the pavement to running my first 5k in 8 weeks.

And then maybe I'll run 10k, then who knows what else.

Wish me luck. 

There was a time where women running was unheard of, not allowed, bad for your health etc.

(I should have been born in that era.)

But I should be glad that others have struggled before me to make my new dream of fitness possible.

"The idea of running long distance was always considered very questionable for women because, 

you know, 

an arduous activity would mean that you were

going to get big legs...

grow a mustache...

hair on your chest...

your uterus was going to fall out..." 

Katherine Switzer

Coffee Understands

It's safe to say that I might have a little addiction.

I love my coffee.

And I have absolutely no plans to give it up.

I will keep on drinking.

Just as the rest of the world plans to too.

As I work through a few tough moments in life and attempt to answer some of the harder questions it seems to be asking, I take comfort in knowing that I have a nice hot cup of coffee to help me through. 

New

A New Year.
New city.

New Travels.

New memories.

New job. 

New tears.

New smiles.

New experiences.

New laughs.

New opportunities.

New fears.

New posts.

New dreams.

New photos.

And new addictions to instagram.

(I don't know what it is about posting my photos on instagram that's so enjoyable.

But I do love documenting moments through photography and showing the world)

Plenty of 'new' to last through the year and to share here, with you.

So far, so good.

Fuck That Shit

This. Is. Insane.
 

 

What would bring a person to want to do this? 

Yes, I want to see this. 

But No, I do not EVER see myself walking it.

I can't even imagine it being created.

 "El Caminito del Rey", or  "King’s Pathway", is a 110 year old dilapidated walkway over 330 feet above the ground in El Chorro, Spain. It was originally built in 1905 for workers to travel between two hydroelectric power plants.

I think its safe to say that is it the scariest walk to work one could ever endure.

And has been named the most dangerous pathway in the world.

For good reason too.

Just looking at images of it makes me nervous.

 I just have three words to say...

Fuck. That. Shit.

Portrait Line Up

These amazing images were created by Blommers/Schumm for Hector magazine.

Wonderful portraits disguised as lined images.

I'm impressed.

Hint: tilt your screen back, squint your eyes, or view from afar.

Same Love

I'd just like to say that Macklemore is a genius.

 I laugh, I sing along, and I think.

This particular piece tells a beautiful story of same sex love.

So effective. And stunning. 

 And listen to/watch Thrift Shop. It's my favourite.

Wonderful World of Wearable Arts

It's that time of year again.

When all the shops in the city dress up their window displays with the most wonderful mixture of crazy and creative to take part in the Wonderful World of Wearable Arts.

Although I was not lucky enough to grab (or afford) tickets for this magnificent event this year, the street displays always brighten up my daily journey.

But I have forgotten to charge my camera...

So these images have been stolen.

(thanks Weird in Welly)

And I'm on a hunt to find more beautiful displays.

This is bound to excite my window shopping craze.

Also, in the spirit of WOW,

although not connected in any way...

this video is awesome.

You should watch it.

Empire State of Pen

I'm in the process of trying to save money for a year of traveling and attempting to plan my trip.

But I kept getting distracted with other things that are taking up my time in life right now.

Each time I think about the different places I want to see and the possibilities open for discovery it brings me back to my time in New York.

I hope I end up loving all the places I see as much as I loved New York.
(I also wish I could draw these cities, like Patrick Vale (below) but for now I'll just rely on photos for memories)

Feeling Inside for Cure Kids

(This is me, supporting red nose day throgh my facebook profile picture, with use of a facebook app)

 I've just recently celebrated my 23rd Birthday.

It was wonderful. 

One of my early birthdays, I was possible turning 6 or 7, was on Red Nose Day and we got to dress up in red for a day at school and donate to Cure Kids with a gold coin donation. 

And that is the last Red Nose Day I remember.

This year, when I heard they were doing Comedy for Cure Kids I got far too excited.

Unfortunately I was out celebrating my birthday on the night of it aired so I ended up watching it ondemand last night. 

And I laughed the whole way through, and donated for the cause. 

 Flight of the Concords also contributed with the creation of a new, wonderful, hilarious, amazing new song, which I just HAD to share! I love how they combine all the children's lyrics.. watch to see what I mean.

Enjoy it.. Laugh... check out Cure Kids, and donate...

text cure to 933 (automatic $3 donation)

Feel inside (and stuff like that)

How to be Famous

My friend posted this on her facebook page this morning and I couldn't help but reblog it.

It made me laugh. 

How people act around the 'famous' is hilarious in itself,

and this video steps it up a notch.

Music A Bit Different