In a scene from the movie Kill Bill, Vol. 1, Uma Thurman’s character, a trained assassin, manages to wake from a coma, kill two people and escape from a hospital without the use of her legs.  Her legs have atrophied during her four-year coma, and though she’s able to harness her upper body strength to hoist her body into and out of a wheelchair and then into the backseat of a truck, she is unable to drive said truck or carry out her revenge plot on the people who wronged her until she can manage to calm down and focus on moving her legs.  And the movement of her legs begin with a single action at one of the smallest parts of her lower limb, her big toe.  As she meditates in the back of the truck, she tells herself over and over to “wiggle your big toe.”  Wise words from a Tarantino script, right?

There are 178 days until I undertake one of the most grueling practices known to man (or woman).  The Medical School Admissions Test, or MCAT as it is affectionately known by college juniors and seniors everywhere, is one of the most feared standardized tests on the planet.  I should know.  I, too, took this test years ago as a junior and senior in college.  I know.  You’re asking yourself, if it’s so bad why am I taking it again?  Am I some sort of masochist?  No. Well, maybe, but that’s a conversation for another time!

Well, the answer is pretty obvious. While I did, in fact, take the MCAT years ago and even matriculate into medical school, I did not come out on the other side with a degree in medicine.  I did come away with a consolation prize valued to date at about $37,000, however!  (Again, it’s a story for another time!) No.  I am taking the MCAT again in 178 days because I intend to do what science fiction movies thrive on–turn back the hands of time.  Now, I do not purport that I have mastered time travel.  Indeed, this blog would be totally unnecessary if I had!  I am simply saying that after over a decade of pretending that I am satisfied with my first pass at med school and don’t care that I failed to achieve my dream of becoming a physician I have stopped lying … to myself.  I must go back to medical school.  I must become a physician.  I must be crazy to do this on the other side of 30, right?

Maybe.  But I’m sure many of the luxuries we enjoy in this life today were created by people thought to be crazy by the nay-sayers of the world.  Besides that, I’ll take crazy over cowardly any day.  I’ve spent far too much time rationalizing not going back–husband, kids, feigned disinterest–but that’s more tiresome than just studying for the damn test and jumping through all the hoops.  I am not afraid to start over, and it’s probably a good idea that I do so.  The medicine game has changed, and so have I.  I am older, but I’m also wiser and more knowledgeable about the world.  I possess very little of the naiveté that enveloped me as a young college graduate.  That’s a good thing.  I’m focused and can once again see myself being hooded at a graduation ceremony and hear people calling me doctor.  But before I live the dream, I have to do what Uma’s character had to do.  I have to accept my situation as it is and focus on each task in order. I can’t graduate before I attend a medical school.  I can’t attend medical school before I interview.  I can’t interview before I take the MCAT.  I can’t take the MCAT before I study.

178 days until the MCAT.

(Deeply inhaling and exhaling through my nose.)

Tell myself repeatedly in soothing tones, “Wiggle your big toe.”

Loverage is a term I got from the book, The One Minute Millionaire by Mark Victor Hansen.  The book stated that in order to become rich, do what you love to do and do what you are passionate about.  Thomas Edison said it best: “I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.”

That is LifeStyle living folks, doing what we love to do and getting paid for doing it.  Tiger Woods plays golf, NBA players love to play basketball and they earn a ton of money doing it, actors love to perform, and entrepreneurs provides good products and services the masses can use and get paid a lot for doing it. Entrepreneurs love to make money!

I had an aha moment the other night.  We had an early Thanksgiving meal and of course we were asked what we were thankful for.  Certainly, I am thankful for the really blessed life I am living right now and I realized that for the first time in my life, I have a clear direction of what kind of life I want to live, the kind of LifeStyle I want to live and I build it by doing something I am so passionate doing; I’m in the business for people who love helping people.  I help people and I get paid doing it.  Now that is Loverage!!!!

What are you passionate about doing?  And how can we make money doing what we love to do?  In the words of Art Williams, just Do IT!

Milk Fashion are offering a massive 20% off EVERYTHING in store including sale items! Sale starts today, Monday 23 November, and goes for one week so get to it if you like labels such as One Teaspoon, Ben Sherman, Wish, Cooper St, Ladakh, Grab, Seduce….

Shop 1, 80 Scarborough Beach Road, Scarborough WA
08 9341 1266

C.I.C.L.E. -Cyclists Initiating Change thru Live Exchange-

What better way to get around congested LA than a bike?  Seriously, it can take the same time, or less (always depends on that damn traffic), and who are we?  It’s a great way to help make your funemploymnt status last because you’re not spending any $s.  Let’s face it, you’re getting to places on your own manpower and covering your cardio at the gym you will no longer need!

If you don’t already bike, start today and check out C.I.C.L.E. for resources, bike maps, biking groups, tips, events, etc.!

In fact, tomorrow, check out their Urban Expeditions: The Tweed, Moxie & Mustache Ride:

The Tweed, Moxie & Mustache Ride @ Union Station

]]> http://funemployd.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/sections/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:05:09 +0000 funemployd http://funemployd.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/sections/

What to cover here?  Areas thinking of covering:

• Make it Monday
• Tuesday Tuneage
• Consume it Wednesday… Wednesday Wasteland?  Catchy Title?
• Weekly Thursday
• Find it Friday… what’s out there to explore?
• Stats on Sat…. what’s happening in our economy?

Then of course the occasional fun:

• Promos
• Share it… Rideshare
• Randoms

If you haven’t already discovered ‘myfashiefix’ then this is a perfect introduction for all FVTF casualties! Head to www.myfashiefix.blogspot.com for some amazing fashion at easy-on-the-wallet prices. And to top it off the lovely team at myfashiefix are offering 20% off your purchase when you quote “Fall Victim To Fashion”. Myfashiefix is also a local Perth blog and blog store so show some support to them and your wardrobe and get buying!

Mwah
xx

Mr. Do, you've done it again!

What’s not to love about Mr. Do!?

• It’s a handful of my favourite arcade games thrown into a blender – Dig Dug, Pac-Man and Burger Time, to my mind – and the result is pure game.

He may not look like much, but he's got it where it counts.

• The Can-Can blares triumphantly as Mr. Do cheekily evades his pursuers, digging cherries from the earth and dropping apples on those unfortunate enough to straggle behind.
• Mr. Do can be successfully controlled with one hand, leaving the other hand free for sipping gingerbread lattes, as I have done for this review.
• There’s so much to do in each bite-sized level!  And while I don’t pretend to understand much of what is going on here, it’s all so goddamn glorious.

Doitdoitdoitdoitdoit.

Do it.

Since our kids were little, we’ve bought a game each year for Thanksgiving.  It was a tradition that came from my husband’s family.  His grandparents gave them a new game every year when they came for Thanksgiving dinner.

Since everyone is on a holiday from school and work, a new game is always a hit over the long weekend and perfect cold weather entertainment.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Blokus is pretty much our favorite game.  It appealed to our kids when they were as young as 5, and to my husband and I as well.  There aren’t a lot of games that can span that age gap (believe me!)

Blokus is strategic, competitive, and really fun.  My husband and son play to block their opponents, my girls and I play to keep our options open.  Does this say anything about Mars vs. Venus?

Either way you play, this is an addicting game.   The only drawback is you can only have up to 4 players, so someone always has to sit out…usually a parent.

Sleeping Queens is another family favorite.  Take one look at the box and you might think this game only appeals to the feminine members of my family.  Not so.  My husband and son enjoy it just as much as the girls.  Playing this game, you might be amazed that it was invented by a 6 year old girl!   I am.  It is clever and fun and one of our first choices for many a game night.  It can be played with 2 to 5 players which is perfect for our family.

And last but not least, is Qwirkle.  We got this game last year and loved playing it all through the Holiday season.  Game play is sort of like dominoes… or Scrabble, but Qwirkle can be played and enjoyed by young and old.

I am trying to decide what to get for this year’s Thanksgiving game.  I am thinking an oldie but goodie.   My childhood favorite was Clue.  My family also loved Rummikub and Uno.  My husband is sort of leaning toward Jenga.

I’ve also heard great things about Ticket to Ride and Quiddler.  If you have any games your family loves, let me know.  I’m running out of time to find something!

YES! One of my all time favorites.  I think this came out right when I was studying for finals – awesome/inspiring study break.  I love the fluidity of this piece and that combination of sexy with fast movements.  It just looks so natural with this song, doesn’t it?  It’s like a story that just keeps building up.  And that blond girl in the front?! Amazing. Trust me, you’ll recognize her. Great picks Mr. Daniel.

Wow!  Less than 2 months of www.fallvictimtofashion.com and we have had over 1000 views already!  Thank you all for your support of the site.  You keep visiting – I’ll keep posting = its a match made in (fashion) heaven.

Don’t forget if you have anything to contribute; events, sales, new collections, new stores…then please let me know!!

Love your work,

Bec AKA The First Casualty

xox

SATURDAY, FIFTH OF DECEMBER, 10.30AM – 5.00PM

Inglewood vintage purveyors Winifred & Bance know all too well that most women and men are guilty of holding onto garments they never wear. To remedy this unnecessary wardrobe hoarding, they’ve devised a clever plan to help the residents of Perth offload their unwanted vintage and retro garments to new owners and their wardrobes.

The Winifred & Bance Yard Sale will see an array of market stalls set up at 850 Beaufort Street, Inglewood, offering up vintage threads, retro fanfare, tasty treats, second-hand garments and many more bits and bobs, in a fun market environment. As music eminates from the Winifred & Bance storefront, shoppers will be able to peruse old and new and get a head-start on Christmas shopping.

Individuals interested in having their own stall at the Yard Sale simply need to pay $20 to sell their wares to the public, and BYO tables/racks. Entry is free. Contact info@winifredandbance or call (08) 9473 0390 for more information.

To find out more about Winifred & Bance, jump online to winifredandbance.com.

I have walked up and down Rokeby Road so many times over the past 5 years and am still suprised by what stores I haven’t seen yet. Trapeze is one of these. I was under the impression that the store was suited toward a slightly older age bracket than my own so I never stopped to venture in until this little snapper of a dress caught my eye in the window and after taking the time to head in I was pleasantly suprised by how many other gorgeous dresses are in store for all ages.

They also have stores in Floreat and Midland.

So I’m locked out of a mates house in East Perth the other day when I spot some hot frocks, balloons, and truckload of sassy sequins just round the corner. Should I, shouldn’t I, what if its a private opening? Stuff it, it looks exciting anyway, I’ll give it a go. THANK GOD I DID. What I found was something close to what I imagine fashion heaven to look like. Racks of beautiful Australian designed clothing; Bec & Bridge, Camilla, Lisa Ho, Aurelio Costarella, Wayne Cooper (the list goes on!), cabinets of stunning jewellery, beautiful wooden floors, gorgeous staff and to top it off BAM a glass of champagne in my hand – its the stores birthday too – great timing. Oh and did I mention there is a second level…stop it!!