Well that was unexpected

It would be selfish of me not to share this ad with you guys. Be sure to watch it all the way to the end. Hope you like it :)



Love, Noeline
xox

Grammar Lesson

Love, Noeline
xox

"Quieres ser mi amigo?"

A friend and I were talking the other day about our upcoming move to Spain next year. “I need to learn how to make new friends,” she said.

"Me too!" I chorused. Mind you, we’re third year university students about to turn 21.

"How are we supposed to make friends with Spanish speaking people, when we can’t even make friends with people in our own language?"

"I know! I’m so frigid when it comes to making friends. I never make the first move. I’m so scared of rejection. What if I ask another girl out for coffee after class and she says no? I swear, how do other people do it?"

"And it’s so bad because people see me with friends that I’m already comfortable with, and with them I’m so loud. But when then they meet me I’m shy and they think I’m being snobby, but I’m not!"

So here’s to my friend and I hardening the fuck up. Wish us luck.

Love, Noeline
xox

Pandora: making unforgettable moments memorable

If life has such unforgettable moments, why do you need overpriced Pandora charms to remind you of them?




Love, Noeline
xox

Protection. Part II

So in my previous blog we established that pre-nups are contracts drawn between people about to get married. They outline the conditions of a potential divorce, such as property settlement, child custody and/or financial division.

Similarly, financial agreements (FA’s) are contracts drawn between a couple about to enter a de-facto relationship (whereby a couple live together but aren’t married).

In March of last year, amendments were made to the Family Law Act which subjected de-facto couples (heterosexual and homosexual) to the same legal repercussions as married couples in the event of a relationship breakdown.

"Each party [in a de-facto relationship was thus] responsible for the debts they bring to the table and... leave with the assets they brought in," writes financialagreements.com.au

So apart from a marriage certificate, what then legally separates married couples from de-factos? And as lines between the two become blurred, where does it leave them? Will it promote marriage? Or discourage people from moving in together?

Instead of waiting to get married before moving in together, people used de-facto relationships as a way of trialling marriage. Crosswalk.com states that "the number of marriages preceded by cohabitation rose from about 10 percent in 1965 to over 50 percent by 1994." Could those days be fading too?

Or more importantly, does Generation Y even care [yet]? According to financialagreements.com.au, "issues about dividing property... might not concern a younger couple, but many older established couples who may have significant assets or children from an earlier relationship, may enter cohabitation a little more cautiously."

What I have noticed though is that people my age who support the idea of financial agreements and pre-nups are often accused of being pessimistic - but I think they’re just being realistic. And realistically, shit happens. As R.P. Emery and Associates puts it: they "see it as a form of insurance -- a legally binding safety net which they hope to never need."

Love, Noeline
xox

A thing for chandeliers

Love, Noeline
xox

Protection. Part I

Prior to getting married, a pre-nuptial agreement (also known as a pre-nup) is a contract that sets out the conditions of divorce - such as property settlement, child custody and/or financial division.

According to MyDivorce.com.au, Australians have begun to marry less and divorce more. If this is reality then why are prenuptial agreements still so taboo?

First of all, there’s the stigma that pre-nups undermine the sanctity of marriage, especially since you promised God to stay with that person for richer, for poorer... till death do us part. But at the same time I don’t think God condones unhappy, destructive marriages either.

Why do airlines make us sit through safety demonstrations? Why do we get told to back up our computer files? Why do we get vaccinated before traveling overseas? Why do we put on sunscreen? Why do we wear seat belts? Why do we swim between the flags? Just in case.

It doesn’t mean we know the plane will crash. It doesn’t mean we think the computer will crash either. It doesn’t mean we’re definitely going to catch a disease. It doesn’t mean we’re definitely going to get skin cancer. It doesn’t mean we’re hoping to get into a car accident. It doesn’t mean everyone drowns. But just in case.

I’m not saying that people should use pre-nuptial agreements to traipse in and out of marriages as they please. I still think it should be a last resort.

But it would be naïve to think that selfishness, revenge and/or greed never get the better of people - leaving others with next to nothing.

"If you have your own business or professional practice, a premarital agreement can protect that interest so that the business or practice is not divided and subject to the control or involvement of your former spouse upon divorce.

"If one spouse has significantly more debt than the other, a premarital agreement can protect the debt-free spouse from having to assume the obligations of the other.

"If you plan to give up a lucrative career after the marriage, a premarital agreement can ensure that you will be compensated for that sacrifice if the marriage does not last" (FindLaw).

Like condoms, pre-nups might be unromantic and ruin the mood. But in the grand scheme of things romance is only part of what it means to live. And to use romance as the basis for financial dealings like the joint ownership of such big assets like property and bank accounts doesn’t seem like a wise thing to do.

"In the "honeymoon" stage of a relationship, one spouse may agree to terms that are not in his or her best interests because he or she is "too in love" to be concerned about the financial aspects and can't imagine the union coming to an untimely end" (FindLaw).

Some kind folks offered me their opinions on Facebook. Here they are:

- I think it’s up to the couple. As for a Catholic myself, divorce is not acceptable. If you marry someone you should know that you want to be with that person for life. So I guess in my case a pre-nup wouldn’t be needed.

- Pre-nups right if you're filthy rich, unfaithful and/or untrustworthy!

- Pre-nups exist for practicality's sake, we want to protect our assets post marriage. Nevertheless, it takes out the romance out of a wedding and makes a business dealing out of it - so I believe that it is wrong in that sense. Marrying someone is a risk you have to take - if you love someone, then you would be willing to give your all, right? After marriage - when you don't love each other anymore, then that is when you do the awful dealings.

- Yes, pre-nups are a must! Especially if you’re marrying a loser, more especially if he has any dosh!

- Pre-nups carry a negative connotation. It looks like a prick husband ripping the wife off or a pre-jynx that it'll end up in divorce.

What do you think?

Love, Noeline
xox

Shapes

Arnott's Shapes prides itself on it's slogan: 'Flavour you can see'.


But as the years go by it seems they're getting stingier and stingier on the flavour.

I remember being in primary school and having a packet of these for lunch. The best part wasn't really the biscuit itself - but the seasoning left over at the end. I miss those days.

Love, Noeline
xox

Sleep Paralysis

The first time it happened I was a little girl of about seven years. I woke up in the middle of the night unable to move, unable to breathe. “So this is what it feels like to die,” I thought. Come on, breathe. Just when I thought my lungs had given up due to lack of oxygen, I found myself violently gasping for air.

The second time it happened, I was twenty. I woke up to the feeling of someone pushing down on me, holding me down towards the bed. Fuck off. Get the fuck off me. I couldn’t move. I said, fuck off. Let go. Eventually, whatever it was, did. And my body jolted into freedom.

Under European and African folklore, an "old hag" was sitting on me. According to Asian culture, a ghost was pressing down on my body. The Hmong people call this ghost the "crushing demon" – and people have often attributed it with a childlike figure sitting on their chest. Muslims associate sleep paralysis with evil jinns brought on through the curses of enemies – requiring exorcisms. Today, they are often taken for alleged alien abductions. I like to think of myself as non-superstitious, and luckily there is a logical explanation.

There are five sleep stages. The last of these is called REM (Rapid Eye Movement). As a natural part of REM, the body goes into a state of muscle paralysis. Sleep paralysis occurs when people wake up during REM – fully conscious but unable to move.

Like dreams and nightmares, they can be accompanied by hallucinations. These are known as night terrors. As you saw earlier, these lead to different cultures producing their own folktales.

Possible (physiological) causes include sleeping on your back, sleep deprivation, irregular sleeping patterns, stress, and excessive alcohol consumption.

They say most people will suffer from sleep paralysis at least once or twice in their lifetimes. Let’s hope I’ve paid my sleep paralysis dues.

The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli (1781)

Love, Noeline
xox

I Am Thankful

FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME,
NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH
WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS
I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN
CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

- Unknown