"My head torch does exactly the same thing anyway."

Source: pinterest

Yesterday, I had to write up a bio for a little project I'm involved in (that shall be launching November 1 - remember that date!), and in it, I mention the many journals I have stacked in a pile on my bookshelf, filled with words from different times of my life. It made me a little curious, so I picked one up and opened to the first page.

"Tuesday, 16 January 2012.

Today, something truly astounding has happened. I've realised the only two things I want are a functioning body and a regular job.

My birthday is coming up and there is genuinely nothing that I want, except perhaps a lamp, but I can do without one. My head torch does exactly the same thing anyway."

I think it's time for me to start cutting back, because if that isn't content, I don't know what is.

Op Shop Shoot: TanyaVolt Photography Part 1

I was expecting all of my Op Shop Shoots to be comprised of pictures shot on my iPhone. It works - the cameras on these handy little devices are pretty impressive, but then my friend Tanya of TanyaVolt Photography asked if I wanted to do a shoot with her. Seriously guys, she is incredible! I'm so excited to finally be sharing the results with you!! Check out her website (here) and her facebook (here), you know you want to!!

Oh and a handy tip - try clicking on the pictures. They look much nicer that way :)

Cord Jacket: $8 from the Salvos Fremantle
Blouse: $4 from the Salvos Perth
Necklace: from India
Jeans: by Cheap Monday

Top: stolen from my Madre :P

Jacket: $35 from Vinnies Fremantle
Dress: $8 from the Salvos Perth
Shoes: Keds, borrowed from Nageena

I'm not sure if you can tell from these and my other Op Shop Shoots, but I'm developing a serious collection of op shopped/second hand/thrifted clothing. It's almost rare these days that whatever I choose to wear for the day doesn't feature something second hand. You should all seriously consider doing an Op Shop Challenge, if only for a month! I'm starting to think that even after this challenge is over, I'll favour op shops over chains & department stores, or little boutiques even - they are just so much fun!!

More photos to come in a few days.

Have a grand weekend everyone!!
Rhi :)

PS. Don't forget to check out Tanya's photog. pages!! 

Pause. Breathe.

I feel like this space has been lost to the realm of iPhonography. I have been writing a lot lately, but I'm not willing to put most of it on this space yet. There was a beautiful moment the other day though when the weather was stunning and all I could do was think of Sam. I wished I could have taken a leaf out of his book and sat under the stars, but instead I rushed inside to write down his story.

*   *   *   *   *

Andrei Tarkovsky
via pinterest

The smell of wet earth rose to meet him. It dripped off of the wiry clothesline and seeped out of the dirt into the thick, pungent air. As he walked back into the house the smell found his nostrils.

Pause.

Breathe.

Sam turned around. Walked over to the garden and heaved the wondrous aroma in as deep as it would go. Only a few days of hot, summery weather and already the earth had dried and cracked. The late shower had surprised the land. The roads would be slick and slippery tonight, and the sky clear and blue in the morning before the summer haze truly set in.

Sam couldn't bear to leave this moment. The peace. The stillness. He walked out and over the overrun brick path that ran past the pillars of the veranda and let his body move towards the ground. His back against the thickset wooden support, he looked up at the cloudy sky, a few stars, a few glimpses of heaven, shining brightly through.

It was late. He should be asleep. But, with the warm light of the passageway dimly falling through the crumbling fly wire door, Sam knew he had to share this moment of peace with a land who was revelling in a moment that it was coming to remember would soon be very rare.

He closed his eyes, drew the smell further into his body and looked again at the stars, the branches of an old tree glistening in the forefront and the thought of his younger brothers and sisters breathing soundly asleep inside putting him at ease.

Sour Face.

Probably my favourite thing about working in a lolly (candy) shop is when a customer asks me if I have anything really sour. "How sour?" I ask. Most of them tell me the sourest thing I have, because nothing has ever been too sour for them, so I give them a piece of Mega Sour candy (such an inventive name!) and prepare to laugh. Their faces pucker up, they start to squirm & jump up & down, and I even had someone run around the shop once while the effect wore off, and then they look really excited, buy a packet or two and leave a happy customer.

After going through this all with a customer last week and laughing so hard cause this guy's reaction was so good, I decided to let more people experience the joy and bought a bag for myself. I spent the next day offering my friends a 'cherry lolly' (technically it's true) and taking photos of their reactions.

Turns out half of my friends are more hardcore than any of my customers, but it still made for a lot of laughs and some entertaining photos :D

1 / Nageena. I missed the best part of this one's reaction because I was laughing so much. Sorry guys :P

2 + 3 + 4 / Couchman + Greeney + Rob. These guys all knew what was coming.

5 + 6 / Tim + Tom. I think Tim braved a second one?

7 / Toni. Even when she's pulling faces, she's still a babe.

8 / Karim. Favourite reaction of the day!

And just to be fair, because I have a couple lollies still left, here's a photo of what my face looks like after I brave a mega sour :D

Hope this little piece of frivolity brightened your day!

Over and out.

Rhi :)

Bits and Pieces.

A new (regular) segment following in the footsteps of many rad blogs out there, that is devoted to sharing photos of the weekend that was, and which shall also serve as a proverbial kick up the butt to take more photos... Hopefully soon on something that isn't my iPhone (the Pentax is still having problems. It'll get there! One day!) :P

Taken by Nageena :)

Lauren's rad outfit. Isn't she a babe?
Dress: vintage from Fi & Co.
Bag: passed down from her Ma :)

Also also taken by Nageena!

1 / Windy City
2 / Vintage apron lovin'.
3 / Tiny little cake for a tiny little coffee. Planning something exciting @ the Grumpy Sailor
4 / So good that the caption had to be kept with the photo! :P
5 / Spring is here :)
6 / Baristas hands - completely in love with this photo
7 / Another tiny little coffee, this time at my other regular coffee haunt, Black Cherries.
8 + 9 / We decided eating a whole baguette with nothing else was a good idea. Turns out it wasn't.

Hope you all had lovely weekends! What'd you get up to? Regale me with fun stories!!

Over and out.
Rhi :)

Op Shop Shoot: Doc Martens & a Woollen Vest.

Yesterday, while wandering through the streets of Fremantle with my rad friend, Lauren, I realised that this amazing exposed brick wall (hipster heaven!) that's usually surrounded by cars (stupid carparks) was completely free and open, just waiting to be photographed! And because I'm yet to feature either of these two items (vest & docs) in an Op Shop Shoot, we really couldn't pass up the opportunity...even though I am fairly sure I look exactly like my mum in that first photo :P

Top: Borrowed from Mum.
Shorts: Sportsgirl (bought new a few years ago).

Vest: $14 from Good Sammys Subiaco

Docs: $65 from KooKooKachoo Vintage
i.e. the rad shop curated by the lady behind the Moptop
I have pretty much refused to take these shoes off since I got them :P

Cheers to Lauren for being so awesome and not being afraid to look ridiculous taking photos of me with an iPhone in public places :P

There's some photos of her rad outfit to come in the next day or two (and fingers crossed the results of an epic Op Shop Shoot I did with an (actual!) photographer friend a few weeks ago as well) :D

Hope you're weekends have all been filled with spontaneity and fun times :)

Over and out.
Rhi :)

Bloglovin'.

I finally bit the bullet and got bloglovin'.
Follow me people!! Grazie :)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Also, I bought tickets to see this band yesterday. I'm so excited!



Rhi xx

PS. I shall be back later today with the results of a spontaneous Op Shop Shoot. Make sure you check it out! :D

The bracelet that comes back.

As my poor dear mother could tell you, or as a good many of my friends could corroborate, I have an impressive knack for losing things, or leaving them in the wrong place at the wrong time and ending up with a few pieces of it instead. But there is one thing I own that always seems to come back to me.

The amount of times I have stressed out that this thing, a bracelet, has gone, sighed to myself and moved on only to have it magically appear somewhere is impressive. A friend once found it on the pavement at uni, picked it up and wore it around for a day or two. That time, I really lost hope but in a few days time, there it was around his wrist.

Attachment to what are, essentially, material objects has always seemed a bit odd to me, but then when things become sentimental that feeling gets confused, and I don't quite know what to do because I pride myself on accepting that the materialistic parts of life are exactly that. And with this particular bracelet, well... It means a lot.

Asides from the part where it always returns, it signifies a perfect moment in time. I got it when I was really struggling with life. Everything seemed to be going wrong and I couldn't quite figure out how to wade through all the mess, and my faith in the people around me was waning.

And then, on a warm spring night, while I was sitting in a courtyard eating tapas at a quirky little restaurant with my family, a young & mighty attractive German guy asked me if I wanted to buy a bracelet for charity. He was backpacking around Australia selling these little trinkets for children in Cambodia. He knew it probably wasn't the most efficient way to help but he wanted to travel and when the opportunity to help people while he was at it arose, he went for it.

We parted ways, my family told me I was stupid for not getting his number (and really, I probably was), but I was quite happy with my little bracelet to remind me that no matter how bad things get, there's always these little moments of perfection that make life grand.

I know it's silly. It's a strange story that would probably be embarrassing if I let it be, but looking at this bracelet that always comes back to me, and remembering that particular night, has helped me through a couple of years that were more difficult than I ever imagined life could be.

And now that things generally seem to be on the up? Well, it's still a fun reminder of a little moment of perfection. The little moments that make this life so beautiful.

The Lowdown: September 18

Woah I'm back! It's been a crazy week and a bit. I'm getting a whole load of mixed opinions from various doctors. There is nerve damage, there isn't nerve damage, I will play my cello, I won't play my cello, they look awkward and don't respond or they just stare at me blankly and ask what EDS is.

I am, however, feeling a lot better. Thanks for all the kind words here and elsewhere. It has really meant a lot :)

For the first time I gave my photo-taking away at Lowdown this morning, because my flash was on (I blame Nageena) and I didn't realise. Safe to say, I got a lot of confused but entertaining looks :P

How scary does the guy in the back look? :P

I'll be back with something more substantial soon!

Over and out.
Rhi :)

Ehlers-Danlos: The Story Behind Dislocato-Girl

There is a part of my life that has become so integral to who I am today, that I cannot even fathom what I would be without it, yet that I wish would just go away already. It's an odd feeling. For one part, I feel I have grown to be a person that I am largely able to respect and feel I can be comfortable with because of it, but for the other, well... Put frankly, I am over it.

For those who know me in real life, you can probably guess what it is, but for those who I am so blessed to have following along from all different parts of the world, I imagine you have no idea what I am talking about.

Seeing as I finally received a diagnosis yesterday, after a whole life of trying to get doctors to take me seriously, and seeing as this blog is my space and I have a feeling that it is something that will come up every now and again, I have decided to share a little bit about this thing that I just discovered is the cause of my many joint problems, called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and what it has meant to me.

Because of Ehlers-Danlos, I have often had to be dependant on others (arguably a good thing, but something that I hate nonetheless), I've spent a good portion of my life somewhat injured and I have struggled with depression. But I have also had to learn to trust myself, I've learnt the value of good friends & a supportive family, and I've learnt to appreciate all the small glories that life throws our way, like letting a glimpse of sun, when otherwise the weather is horribly cloudy, make my day.

Ehlers-Danlos is a genetic issue that covers a wide spectrum of problems, and I'm sitting somewhere in the middle. I should consider myself lucky because thankfully I don't have the heart problems associated with severe Ehlers-Danlos - which I think surprised the specialist somewhat - but right now, that's a bit of a big ask.

The main problem for me is the hyper mobility - my ligaments are basically so long that they don't hold my joints in place, and because doctors didn't particularly believe me when I was younger, and just told me to stop playing sport (torture to an adventurous person like me) instead of properly diagnosing it, the muscles stopped holding my joints together as well, and things started to go pop.

Because of how 'stretchy' I am, I could walk around with a dislocated kneecap and move my shoulder when it wasn't where it was meant to be, which isn't meant to be possible, and so still not many specialists believed me, but eventually, I found the right people.

I've had multiple scans, surgeries and other things since, not to mention my mad skills on crutches and my collection of colourfully decorated slings. And then I finally thought I was getting better. My knees and one of my shoulders seem to have been fixed up nicely, but the other shoulder (and a few 'un-surgerised' joints, but I ignore those) has struggled. It's the most important shoulder to me - strange phrase, I know - because I use it to write, to cook, to do just about everything else with, but more importantly, it's that arm/shoulder that is responsible for holding the bow to play my cello with.

I found out yesterday that the reason it doesn't seem to get much better is that I've done some pretty shocking nerve damage to it, and so getting it well enough to play my cello again is probably not that likely. It's safe to say, I'm feeling pretty rough.

The good news is that with some new, schmancy & expensive running shoes, and two pairs of specialist orthotics, I'll be able to run again, and I might even get to go surfing, maybe, but I just really wanted to hear that I'd be able to get back into cello. To be able to sit down and play & practice for an hour at a time, even half an hour, is a dream for me! But right now it seems fairly far out of reach.

So there it is. I'm not writing this for sympathy or pity - I've had far too much of these in my life time and I'm over it. Right now, I just wanted to be treated like any other person, well, that's how I've always wanted to be treated really. But I did want to share with you what is a big part of my life, and let you know that right now I'm feeling a little raw, and so it might be a bit quiet on this space for another week or two while I come to grips with a few things (although, now that I've said that, I'll probably suddenly get thousands of blog-related ideas) :P

Told you I've got mad skills on crutches!!
Ignoring the hip I dislocated, and having some fun at uni this week :P

Hope you're all well :)

Over and out.
Rhi xx

"And so he picked up his feet and began to run."

It was the calm before the downpour. The clouds arched across the sky from a tinted static brown to a moody grey-blue, the sun revealing itself through a patch of blinding white light. Sam looked at the old trees lining the street that were beginning to shiver with anticipation, or was it fear? His eyes lit up with the slowly building, beautiful tension, and so, with the wind suddenly whipping itself through his hair, he picked up his feet and began to run.

Le Fotografie: Radio Silence

Even though the title of this blog is Radio Silence, I have to say, I'm going to try and put a stop to it!

Life has just become a bit hectic this week, and unfortunately blogging has taken the back foot. I've picked up a lot more hours at work, uni is starting to get down to business - research essays need to be thought of and other assignments are already due - and then I injured myself yesterday, tried to sleep it off and when that didn't work, spent more than a few hours in hospital which has meant that for most of today I have somewhat resembled a zombie.

Still, all is good! I'm on crutches for a few days and my brain is rather addled, but it was a new experience for me to be taken seriously - something that I'm hoping to explain on this space more within the next week or two, because it's bound to pop up every now and then.

I have a newfound love for these sandals.
They are very easy to get on, despite being unable to move my leg :P

In the meantime, and as I attempt to write up some of my Do What You Love dreams without giving too much away, I shall revert to my usual 'le fotografie' posts :P

Jacob's Ladder.
Unless you're super fit, I'd advise you avoid this very large set of stairs.
 I was puffing less than halfway up :P 

One of the University's resident peacocks.

Birthday celebrations that started with a run through the pouring rain :D

How great is Nageena's skirt??

Really, I should name these 'iPhonography', because that's what they are, but I am hoping to get my first roll of film developed this week after I screwed the last roll up, so then the name will be more suited!

Wish me luck, and I hope you all have a great week! :)

Over and out.
Rhi :) xx