Square eyes

• Your favourite character from a TV show

I always choose my favourite TV characters based 100% on their acting talent. I'll admire those who are babes, or who I can identify with, but the most important element for me is an actor's ability to make me cry. I'm not that tough or anything; I cry at Extreme Makeover The Home Edition every week, and even Neighbours on-screen deaths get me sniffling. But when there's no one dying, and a character's just going through something dramatic and intense and emotional... if they can make me cry over their personal anguish then I fall in love. My top two are from what are, in my opinion, the best shows on TV; Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) from Dexter and Walter (Bryan Cranston) from Breaking Bad.

Katherine Moennig

Kate Moennig on Dexter. Happy happy happy days.

Five O'Clock World

My work faces, in no particular order other than aesthetic. Cheerful, tired, stressed, content...
I set up a savings account yesterday (FINALLY!) mainly so I'll make a real effort in saving up spending money for our Australian holiday next month. I am beyond excited. I've never ever been anywhere but right here in New Zealand, and even then I get excited about any old road trip or weekend away.

We are staying at the Mantra Phoenician for three nights and it feels like winning the Lotto.

I paid for my new Passport today (which features a new-but-equally-as-hideous-as-the-old photo), and I set aside the first $100 into my savings account for spending money. I think I can probably manage to save between $500-1000, if I'm really disciplined.

I should explain; I got a Passport as it was a requirement for the Flight Attending training I did in 2007. But then my health turned to shit and I dropped out, so never used it.

I got a free trial at Exodus gym, so I'm going along tomorrow evening to have a look around. I've never been to a gym in my life, and I'm so unfit it's horrific, so it should be pretty much hell. I'm not seriously concerned about my size at this stage... but it would still be nice to get my summer-body back as soon as possible (which is nothing exceptional either, but it's all relative...) I don't see myself quitting smoking anytime soon, so I've been thinking more and more about how I should at least start eating healthy and exercising. This should be a good opportunity to get my ass into gear about it.

Tonight Charlie and I are going to the preview screening of The Town, thanks to Greer on Twitter. Charlie was unconvinced until I mentioned that Blake Lively's in it.

One of my weekly highlights is each new episode of Dexter being released. Spoilers in the form of speculation ahead. S05E03 was the best so far this season- finally it's getting intense again. Jennifer Carpenter as Deb continues to blow my mind. I should really investigate the few other things she's done (except White Chicks. Poor woman.) And what's the story with Harrison's Nanny? Surely such an important new character will have some unexpected tie to the existing plot, or bring in some dramatic new storyline. I read a comment on the show's Facebook page suggesting she could be Lila's mother, but that seems a bit weak to me- having an Irish mother and an English daughter (presumably- we're never told for sure, but that's what her accent sounds like) seems like a big unnecessary detail to explain. But who can guess? I'm looking forward to seeing more of Julia Stiles next week. She's the first actor on Dexter that I've previously seen in other roles, so I really hope I can disassociate her from "Kat" and "Sara" and "Imogen".

I just IMDb-ed her to find her Save the Last Dance character's name, and ohmygosh! She's playing Esther in an upcoming adaptation of The Bell Jar! This is possibly old news, I don't know. How exciting! They better not water anything down to get a younger audience (see: The Time Traveler's Wife and The Lovely Bones)... it has the potential to be one incredible film.

Day 6, 7 & 8 of 30

I've been useless at keeping up to date with this self-set challenge! I had a busy weekend, and have just been feeling really lazy and uninspired... sitting down to do artwork feels like a big chore, I end up rushing, and the results are less than desirable. Hopefully things will settle down later in the week. Our flights are now booked for our trip to Australia in November, so I'm mega excited! And after I finish this post, Charlie and I will be watching E1 of Dexter S5, which I have been dying with excitement over for months now. Without further ado...

• Your favourite hot drink
• Your earliest childhood memory

My favourite hot drink is a Mojo Coffee flat white. If I'm forced to get a flat white from anywhere else, I usually add a shot of hazelnut syrup, so that if their coffee is shit then it's still drinkable!

The childhood memory I consider to be my earliest is more of a feeling than a memory. I remember drawing a colourful rainbow, houses and a bear over two pages of my story writing exercise book at primary school. I remember running out of time to get the actual story written, and having the most horrible fear of my teacher coming to see my story and getting angry at me. I don't remember getting told off about it, so either I was worrying about nothing, or the teacher went so apeshit that I've suppressed the memory...