cyberspace junkyard

It's been a hard decision to make but...

As of today (Wednesday, September 18, 2002), I will no longer be updating cyberspace junkyard. *sniff sniff*

Ha ha

Made ya look! =)

Friday Five - grrrr

Grrrr cos I'm late and grrr cos when when all else fails, just ask questions about school.

Uh huh

1. What was/is your favorite subject in school? Why?
I love music, but music was my least favourite subject at school. and I hated geography. Oh, whoops - this is meant to be my favourite.... !! heehee
I loved languages - studied Indonesian (6 years), French (alas, just one year) and German (3 years). There's just something about a country's culture and history that is so wrapped up in their language. Wonder what that says about Australia, huh? And I have a good memory, so learning all that vocabulary was pretty easy.

2. Who was your favorite teacher? Why?
Mrs Wright. She was my Year 3 and Year 6 teacher and the one who constantly encouraged me to excel.
My least favourite was Mr Munns (music at various times in high school) - who always called me an underachiever.

3. What is your favorite memory of school?
Friends - no question about it. Especially the times spent with my "quartet" - Di, Trac and Ratsie.

4. What was your favorite recess game?
Well, in primary school it was probably the "rescue the princess" game which we invented in which we would take turns to be tied up at the lavender tree near the playground and then rescue each other valiantly. Also, I was in a pop group in Year 4 called the "Primary Pink Panthers". That was *ahem* fun.

5. What did you hate most about school?
Handing in assignments. Hate assignments. Love exams though.

Beauty

Well, someone in China wants to know about Clinique Moisture On Call, cos I was second in this search!

As you do.

Not in the mood

Don't much feel like blogging.

I could talk, but I'd have nothing to say.

On a sleepier note though - yesterday I had a record 14 hours sleep. A 4 hour nap in the afternoon, a 2 hour nap later in the evening on the couch and then actually went to bed at 11pm, not getting up until 7am this morning! Guess those nightly 5-6 hour sleeps finally caught up with me!

Word Quota

I've definitely hit my word quota for the day. Don't think I have much brain power left to blog much sensibly, as I've pretty much been on the phone for most of the past 5 hours.

It's all for an excellent reason though - my amateur evangelistic Christian CD project is finally getting off the ground. I've called everyone who has previously said they would like to be involved in producing the CD (no mean feat for me - I don't really like the phone that much!) and the production team and schedule for the next nine months is taking shape.

How do I possibly write about it? I'm too excited!

This is an excerpt from an email I wrote to someone recently about it...

The idea of the CD is that is will be something that churches can "give away" to non-Christian friends and family. The first 6-7 songs will be focussing on different aspects of the gospel and the last 7-8 will be focussing on Christian responses to the gospel. The booklet that will be included as the CD cover will have little explanations that you usually find describing why we picked each song etc, but is really intended to be a gospel tract of sorts. To top it all off, we are planning a launch party, to which everyone involved with the CD can invite as many friends and family as possible. Most of the songs from the CD will be performed live, with an interweaving MC style intro again to present the gospel as clearly as possible in the context of a CD launch. Everyone will also walk away with a free copy of the CD and churches will be able to buy groups of 10 CDs for $50 or some such amount to cover the cost of actually producing all the copies.

Phew! God's timing is just awesome though. As some of you know, a year ago, I would have been nowhere near the spiritual, emotional or logistical level needed to commit to this as a ministry. After all, this will be the next 9-12 months of my life and as such is something I'm passionately committed to!

I'd appreciate your prayers personally, as well as for everyone who is and will be involved in the future and just that God will be glorified in all this!

Teary-eyed

Cried twice on the ferry on the way to work today while reading Polgara the Sorceress. She is one of my all time favourite fantasy characters and so I just got caught up in her life story, all three thousand years of it! (The other favourite is Cailet from the Exiles series by Melanie Rawn)

*sigh*

BTW - the above link to the publication scrapbook is awesome, if you like that kind of thing. Especially this part that talks about how they designed the cover (used in the UK) which unfortunately didn't make it to Australia (we got a sub-standard version, alas)

On That Note

Excited I am!

Last night my acapella trio (we used to be a quartet but have lost 2 basses already and are on the hunt for our fourth member!) recorded a couple of tracks for a demo CD we're putting together for a wedding.It is always awesome to be singing again (I know, I know - I already sing at church, when I teach on Sundays, at friends' weddings as a soloist etc etc but it's something else again to be mixing around all those harmonies and creating a new arrangement of a song from scratch in one night!) and has inspired me to keep working on producing my pre-evangelistic Christian CD - which is really starting to take shape.

We recorded versions of "I Do" by 98 Degrees and "Every Promise", as well as including an old version of Sukiyaki that's from our original demo CD (2000). If I'm in the mood, I might even put a link here so you can have a bit of a listen!

 # posted by Vron @ 9:55 am

A New Self

Well, while last night's bible study with Kaz involved talking about throwing aside our old, selfish, sinful ways and wanting to want to put on our new selves, made righteous in Christ; today's lunchtime involved taking off my old, dry, clogged up top layer of skin cells and revealing nice, smooth, new skin!

Now, it's not really all that painful - just a little bit of cleansing gel, fruity acid peels, eyebrow waxing and fruit essence steaming, with a lovely scalp massage thrown in!

Yay! Fun to be a girl it is.

Rumination

From Websters...
Verb: ru·mi·nate
1 : to chew again what has been chewed slightly and swallowed : chew the cud
2 : to engage in contemplation : REFLECT

I haven't yet thought over all the many things I learnt at Women's Katoomba Convention over the weekend quite as much as a cow chewing and digesting its cud through its fourth stomach (getting all the goodness of out it) but I'm hoping to get there!

I was really encouraged by friends like Kaz and Clem posting up some of their thoughts and what they learned about "Peace in Chaos" as a Christian woman, so not wanting to overlap what they've already said here are some thoughts which particularly bowled me over... something personal for me to really chew over, but I hope you are encouraged too!

Rumination sparked off by Trish Johnson
John 15-16

1. God has an awesome green thumb! He tends and cares for us as His garden - branches whose life source stems from the true vine, Jesus Christ. Any gardener will tell you that pruning is essential and it struck me again why that is - pruning removes everything that will hinder a fruitful harvest. A question to ponder over is to realise and trust in how God is pruning me and to think about whether I'm resisting it - "I can't give that up" or "I can't do this or that".

2. Challenging myself to think about whether Christ is working in me or whether I myself am working, albeit "in His name". Just reminded again that it's all God, not us - even to the point where it becomes clear that God is glorified not through anything we've done but because He has worked in us and through us.

3. Being a rational person, it is good for me to sit down again and count the cost of being a Christian. The question posed was do we really want the joys of sharing with Christ? What are we willing to give up? It can be difficult as a Christian to see the light at the end of the tunnel and keep our focus on heavenly things because the world is just weighing us down and it becomes harder and harder for us to keep our heads above the surface let alone rise and walk with Him. In a way though, sometimes we just have to stop fighting it all and struggling and just trust that we can remain in Christ. As with a lifejacket, we can "bob to the surface", despite the maelstrom around us and truly attain "peace in chaos" by looking only unto Jesus. Another helpful thing for me to weigh up is not just the relative gains (eg a selfish need vs spend time reading God's word) but also the relative losses (eg what is losing a bit of time on the computer compared to spending an eternity without God's presence? How much do I really want to be watching this DVD if it means that I'm putting aside something which is of eternal and soul-wrenching significance?)

4. Thomas Kempsey, "A wise lover values not so much the gift of a lover but the love of a giver".

5. Am I praying in all circumstances? If peace is the possession of adequate or sufficient resources and I am trusting in God to give me peace, then that peace will carry me through and remain intact despite and throughout all circumstances.

Rumination sparked off by Greta Gaut
Psalm 131, 46, 119

1. Stillness is not just a bodily thing, but a complete attitude.

2. Busyness in our society has become a compliment. This really struck me because it is exactly why I hate it when people describe me as busy. I don't see it as a compliment at all. Ask any number of people I've spoken to recently, and they will tell you that I vehemently deny the fact that I'm "too busy" (at which they usually shake their heads in disbelief).

The fact is, I make time for what I think is important, and if that means cutting out some of the more trivial stuff for the sake of the gospel or for the sake of family or friends in need, then so be it. On the surface it might seem that I take on more of these "big activities" than most others (what I would call quality time) but it is completely at the expense of the littler things (or what fills up quantity time). So you see, it is all balanced.

Also, I have the resources to do that as well at the moment as I'm currently single. I can afford to divert my time to any number of things or people without feeling that I am committed wholly to any one thing or person. Is this just the way I am? Well, yes - because that is the situation I'm in. If I were in a different situation (say, married) then obviously my attitude to how I live my life and relate to people will change accordingly, because that would the situation that God has placed me at that time. It is all about trusting in where God is leading you and trying to respond to that in the most godly way possible. Oops, that turned into a rather lengthy digression, didn't it? My bad!

3. It's all about priorities - what we long for betrays what we value. Getting to know God by ruminating on His word is something that I want to put into my heart and put my heart into doing. Meditating in a Christian sense is not about emptying our minds, but rather filling our minds with God's word. If we internalise it, it will start to shape our every thought and action

Rumination sparked off by Elizabeth Foord
Living through the tough times - seminar

1. If your expectations are wrong, then disappointment affects us more. The Bible is realistic and practical, and we know that we can expect hardship and disappointment. We have to be realistic about the world we live in, the choices we make and the people around us.

2. We might not be able to choose our hardships, but we can choose how we react to it. The most striking reminder and reassurance for me here was thinking not about what's happening TO me, but what's happening IN me.

3. This earth is a temporary abode for us. Our focus has got to be on heaven, the glory which we know now in Christ and the glory that is to come when He is fully revealed. Sometimes we grow complacent and get rather settled in this world, and a sharp reminder, trial or troubles can serve to make sure our roots don't go down too deep!

Secrets

What is it about a secret that makes you want to tell everyone? Does labelling something as a secret automatically create an aura that transforms the mundane into the amazing?

It takes a rather pleasing amount of self-control to not blab. A certain sense of power that you know something that others don't, but will try their darndest to find out. Exhilarating it is! Hehe...

I'm organising CC's birthday this year and it is rather amusing keeping the "secret" from her (and practically everyone else).

Are you reading, this Clem?? *grin*

Anyway, I just thought it was interesting that sometimes knowing you have a secret is better than the secret itself.

An unwieldy grasp of the English language

Last few days, talking like this have I been.

Bizarre it is. Know not why like Yoda speak I do. Star Wars in cupboard has been. Light of day it has seen not.

Grasp of English language beyond me it seems.

Maltesers

Useless Fact about V #72

I've just concluded that Maltesers are my favourite chocolate. Probably because there's not much chocolate in them. I love chocolate ice cream, chocolate gelato, chocolate fudge sauce but don't like chocolate that much. Kinda like how I love the smell of good coffee, coffee-flavoured ice cream etc but hate drinking coffee.
Except I don't like the new Maltesers ice-cream (toffee flavoured with Maltesers through it) cos it's too sweet and the actual Malteser (is that the singular?) is not crumbly cos it's frozen solid. I must therefore conclude that I like the crumbly malty flavour of them. But I don't really like Horlicks, which is a purely malt drink.

Strange it is.

You can just file that away amongst your other useful facts about me.

Friday Five Rant Edition

An interesting one this week - had to really rack my brain for some of these answers, but loved the questions!

1. What is your biggest pet peeve? Why?
I have two and can't really pick which one irritates me more. Firstly, there's pessimism, because it's useless in light of God's grace. Secondly though, intolerance, because I'm really big on patience and second chances, knowing how much of that I've received from God too!

2. What irritating habits do you have?
Putting on lipstick, like, ALL the time. hee hee!
Gesturing wildly whenever I talk
Being a drama queen
Being completely obsessive about everything
Gee, I think I'll stop there!

3. Have you tried to change the irritating habits or just let them be?
Ummm... recognising them is as far as I've gotten, I think! Some of the bigger stuff has changed, like my famous short fuse of a few years ago which is now a long but highly-explosive fuse. Then again, I don't know if that's necessarily any better!

4. What grosses you out more than anything else? Why?
I don't think I'm interpreting this question correctly, but it's a texture as opposed to an object, habit or person.
You know when you glop lots of paint on a piece of paper (think kiddie art!) and it's too thick and then it dries and cracks? So you end up with a strange honeycomb pattern that's kinda scaly and really intricate? UGH! That soooooo gives me the shivers. There's a building that I walk past on the way to work that has huge bits of stone work that has a magnified version of that scaly, uneven honeycomb pattern and I practically have to cross to the other side of the road or at least turn my head away when I go past.
Oh yes, and worms, slugs and any other squishy kind of animal with no legs. I am really grossing myself out here.

5. What one thing can you never see yourself doing that other people do?
Settling for someone just because I want to get married.


Phew! Tough questions!

Fantasy Royalty

Those of you who are fans of fantasy books will know that some authors are considered royalty through sheer brilliance or popularity. Some I would consider as such are David Eddings, J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, Marion Zimmer Bradley etc

Well, one of them is coming to a Galaxy store near you!

Raymond E. Fiest (co-author of my favourite fantasy series - Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire and Mistress of the Empire) is coming to Sydney in September and he'll be at Galaxy for a book-signing. I don't know what he'll think of my well-loved (read: almost falling apart) copies but I'm definitely going to be there anyway!

Who's with me??

Cars, God and Whoop-Whoop

I was at a client presentation in Narellan for most of the day and have only just gotten back to the office. Narellan's somewhere out past Campbelltown. Joy. Grass and cows.

The financial advisor who was driving me to the presentation picked me up from home and as you can imagine, the trip to Narellan was rather lengthy! The trip out was the usual get-to-know-you talk (which actually ended in a raving about music session!). I mentioned several times that I was a Christian / went to church etc, but we didn't get into any serious conversation about it at that stage.

The trip back was the really challenging one. We started talking about how his car window got smashed and his work laptop stolen a few days ago. He said that he was "thanking God" that what happened, happened. I asked him what he meant and he said that it could have been worse - the car could have been stolen, the computer could have been his own, the window could have been uninsured etc - and that it served as a warning or a reminder to him to be more careful with things, but more than that, with his life in general. We started talking about this "reminder" and he said that he didn't know what it was - luck, karma or "someone up there".

I shared with him a little then about what I believe: that God is in control and that the life we live is more than just karma or luck. We discussed that we all have choices to make depending on what situation we're in - sure God knows every part of us and of our lives but He still gives us the choice, just like the initial choice we make to keep ignoring Him in our lives, or to believe that He has called us back to a relationship with Him, and He has made that possible through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.

I was again amazed that God can use even trivial situations like a car ride to open up conversation about Himself, and I'm really awed at how the discussion progressed - I felt like I could see it coming just around the corner (I kept getting a sense that the words I was saying were being guided and directed in a certain way). I guess that's just testament to how the Holy Spirit can actively work in us and through us! GOD IS GOOD!

V's Five Minute Wrap-Up

Finally saw Memento tonight - thanks for all those who recommended it!

I must say that I concentrated more than was wholesome and was taking mental notes the whole way through the movie. It was rather amusing at the end, cos the movie ended rather abruptly. I thought that I had missed a step, but started conjecturing on what I thought just happened. Then, just in case, we watched the last scene again and realised that the slightly scratched DVD had skipped about 30 CRUCIAL seconds!

Nice to know that if we'd written the movie, we would have written it the same way!

In any case, I concur - it was rather brilliant in its plot construction. Can't really say much else without giving it away! The acting was just right too - I say this because it wasn't distracting, "look-at-me" style acting but was a case of the actors lending their skills to help tell the story, which was the real star of the show.

You'll second guess yourself and all the characters, you'll think yourself silly trying to stay one step ahead and you'll whistle in admiration when all is revealed. Not bad at all!

Memento

I'm going to be watching this movie on DVD for the first time tonight. I'm quite looking forward to it! Friends have given it mixed reviews with the most common being "interesting", "weird", "clever", and "complex". I've been told that I have to concentrate the whole way through or I'll just get lost.

Knowing me, I'll probably get lost anyway. :)

Pop-ups!

It is now 1:10am and despite my better judgement and supposed need for sleep, I've just spent the last two hours creating a pop-up menu using javascript and mouseovers. What does that all mean?

Well, if you run your mouse over "more blogs" in the left column, then a little menu should pop-up! (please tell me if it doesn't work cos then after I beat my head against a brick wall and cry for a good half hour, I'll try to fix it...)

I had to do quite a bit of research and more crash courses in html and javascript, but I'm rather proud of it - even though it's such a tiny little thing! Some more research later on and then converting the absolute positioning to floating boxes and expand it to all the other lists of links. Gosh, even I don't know what I'm talking about!

*sigh* this is why I don't work in the IT programming industry

Spring is here

I'm wearing my first spring skirt of the season. Yay!

What defines a spring skirt? Well, it's not made out of wool, velvet, brocade, suede, leather or any other heavy winter fabric. In fact it's knee-length, light, airy, made from layered chiffon over polyester-crepe and teamed with bare legs and open-toe heeled sandals.

While all the guys have just tuned out completely, I'm sure the girls will join me in my little celebration. Yay!

Matching decor

Well, I've been a bit off-colour over the last few days, but that hasn't stopped me doing a crash course on style sheets, html, paint shop and the like. (My bro helped point out some of my little mistakes in exchange for me helping him study for his yearly exams!)

Well, my new blog design is going through some teething problems and like any other baby, is likely to do something new every day. It's my first time with style sheets or even graphics for that matter, so I'm going to keep experimenting...

In any case - my blog now matches the colours in my bedroom and bathroom, in commemoration of my official change in favourite colour from blue to garnet / burgundy / maroon / magenta or whatever you like to call it.

It's actually a sad day, cos blue has been my favourite colour ever since high school, and my Polgara days. To all you other blue-lovers out there though - it's a great colour and still second on my list!

Let me know what you think...

Three hats

Well, the Hats have just been awarded at the Good Food Guide 2003 awards. Being a bit of a foodie, I take the utmost interest. If only I can get around to visiting all these restaurants! (I have been to quite a few more than I had last year though, so I must be slowly climbing the ladder of food connoisseurism!)

Here's what they mean
Three hats
The food surprises in its originality, delights in its technique and is delivered by professionals who know exactly what temperature the oven is set at to prepare the slow-cooked duck and what the mystery ingredient is that makes it taste so sexy. When you as much as glance at the wine list a waiter or (even better) a sommelier is
suggesting not only a wine that's drinking well now but one you can afford. The interior is probably going to be fabulous, but it doesn't have to be.
Two hats
All of the above - just down a notch or two (in some cases, only a tiny notch). Professional service and seriously good flavours on the plate.
One hat
There is noticeable flair in the kitchen - good flavours and polished cooking techniques. Service is caring, if not always textbook perfect.
Unhatted
If it's in the Good Food Guide, we've been and are happy to recommend it (and we've been to plenty that missed out).

And here are the restaurants...

GOOD FOOD GUIDE 2003: THE HATS
Metropolitan:
Three hats
Claude's, MG Garage, Quay, Rockpool, Tetsuya's
Two hats
Aria, Banc, Bathers' Pavilion, bel mondo, Bistro Moncur, The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, Buon Rcordo, Celsius, Eleni's, Forty One, Guillaume at Bennelong, Longrain, Lucio's, Marque, Pier, Restaurant VII Sailors Thai, Salt, Sean's Panaroma
One hat
Alio, Aqua Dining, Aqua Luna, Becasse, Billy Kwong, Bistro Lulu, Cala Luna, Catalina Rose Bay, Certo Ristorante, Cottage Point Inn, Darling Mills, Elio, Fuel, Golden Century, Grappa, harbourkitchen&bar, Hugo's, Il Piave, Jaspers, Kam Fook, Kam Fook, Chatswood, L'Unico, Milsons, The Mixing Pot, Neptune Palace, Ocean King House, Oh! Calcutta!, Otto, Pavilion on the Park, Pello, Prime, Restaurant Balzac, Ristorante Riva, Sailors Thai Canteen, Sea Treasure, Tables, Tabou, The Wharf, XO, Ying's
Country:
Two hats
Atlantic, Fins, Vulcans
One hat
Aubergine, The Bantam Restaurant, Boomerang, The Cellar, Darley's at Lilianfels, dish, Echoes, Lolli Redini, Lorenzo's Diner, Neila, The Old George & Dragon, Ottoman Cuisine, Restaurant de Ville, Scott Street Restaurant, Selkirks, Silk's Brasserie, Solitary

Christians in the workplace...

I'm excited! I've just discovered a group of Christians who work for Westpac who meet at three different times and locations throughout the week for bible studies. Yay! I've had quite a few interesting conversations with Catholics, one extremely intelligent (and stubborn!) athiest and some people who respect that I'm a Christian but haven't really thought about it for themselves. I've never really found a Christian who works in close proximity to me though, that I would be able to encourage and share with as we witness to our colleagues.

It's great that not only do the bible study groups exist, but that they can openly advertise in our weekly staff newsletter. (I remember the last time I attempted to say something about the meaning of Christmas in a wider team email, I got severely flamed!)

Please pray for the group (I'll be going tomorrow to check it out) and also for all of us Christians in the workplace, uni-place and home-place!

Haloscan on its last legs?

Hmmm... it seems that Haloscan is not happy tonight and has just died on me. At first, CC couldn't see the comments, then they froze, then it timed out on me, then I couldn't see the comments.

Well, if it's not dying then I'll make sure it suffers a long slow death after the headache of trying to fix it tonight!

Ice creammmm

I've recently rediscovered Connoisseur Cookie Cream Concoction.

Oh bliss. Oh rapture. Oh joy.
It even beat the chocolate gelato I had at Bar Italia on Friday night.

Funny moment of the day

I was looking after a group of toddlers while their parents had their fortnightly bible study on Saturday afternoon. Of course, the day involved the usual rollicking fun and extreme levels of noise pollution but the funniest moment came towards the end of the 2 hours.

We were at the Tengs' home in Eastwood and 4 year old Brandon Teng (whom I was told is very territorial) had not spent the afternoon with us and was sulking a little bit outside. Cameron Honey (who has also just turned four) was cooking us all some pretend fish, rice, vegetables and goodness-know-what-else-he-put-in-the-concoction in a large plastic tub in Brandon's room. He was merrily mixing everything together when Brandon walks into the room and loudly announces that "that's the bowl that I vomit in when I'm sick."

Lovely. I was rolling around in laughter for the next several minutes, which is not exactly comfortable on a hardwood floor!

Eponine vs Cosette

I was at a wonderfully organised treasure hunt / picnic birthday do on Saturday. Dead tired from traipsing through half the city in pursuit of the two birthday girls and their "kidnapper" boyfriends and completely stuffed with picnic fare, I enjoyed a rousing discussion about my favourite musical - Les Miserables. The reason I love the musical that much more than the book by Victor Hugo is (a) because I like music and (b) because Eponine has a bigger and more heroic part in the musical.

All following comments are now referring to the musical...

Let me pause a moment to say that Cosette was not a very well-written part. Maybe it's cos the musical was conceived and written in French and the (I'm assuming) innocence and sweetness of the character was lost in its translation to English. Maybe it's because she really is ...

Okay, I'm back and have been mysteriously transported to my computer at work 16 hours later.

... annoyingly, cloyingly, sickeningly sweet. Eeew. People say I don't have a sentimental bone in my body but that isn't true! I cry in practically every single movie ever made. I sniffled in Mighty Ducks. I teared in Cool Runnings. Don't even get me started on Mr Holland's Opus or Joy Luck Club! I'm just really rational. And when I feel like I'm hopelessly lost and can't do anything about a situation or circumstance I find myself in, well it's usually because I'm not trusting God with it and I just haven't thought through it enough. There's no point crying over it.

Anyway, Cosette shows up, looks pretty and wins the guy. A few well-timed eyelash battings probably helped too. Not that Marius was really much of a guy to win in the first place. But that's another story.

Eponine on the other hand, really put her life, her relationship with her family and her better judgement on the line for Marius. (why couldn't she have had the good taste to fall in love with Enjolras, instead? Especially Anthony Warlow playing Enjolras. *ahem*... moving on)
Maybe Cosette wins in the looks department (probably because she's not dressed in rags and covered with dirt and street grime) but Eponine, street urchin though she was, was feisty, determined and backed up her words of love with action. Let's do a side by side...

Cosette
- has a long black dress with lacy, frilly bits
- lives in a big house
- has a seemingly respectable father
- says things like "in my life, there are times when I catch in the silence the sigh of a faraway song" and "I'm no longer alone now that love in my life is so near... find me now, find me here"
- leaves her love (Marius) to certain death on the barricade with promises of undying love to sustain him

Eponine
- has some rags. Oh, and a long overcoat. Oh yes, and a cap.
- practically lives on the street
- has a disreputable father, mother and a brave but unfortunate little brother (Gavroche)
- says things like "I'm gonna scream! I'm gonna warn them here!" and "One more day I'm on my own. One more day with him not caring. What a life I might have known but he never saw me there".
- risks her life by screaming to warn Marius and Cosette that her father and his gang are about to rob Val Jean's house. Puts aside her own feelings to show Marius where Cosette lives and later delivers a love letter from Marius to Cosette. Risks her life by joining Marius on the barricade.

Y'think my opinion is skewed much? ;)

Anyway, I think girls relate to Eponine because at one stage or another, we've all felt like she does. We've all done something completely irrational and out of the ordinary for someone we love. We've hidden the way we truly feel because we don't think we're worthy, or we're too shy, or we know that they're in love with someone else. We've accepted friendship from someone when we've truly wanted more just to be near them. Tis sad but true. While Eponine's fate is not for all of us, she does have words of wisdom for us that the Little Miss Rational in me embraces - without regret, without pain and without malice...

He was never mine to lose
Why regret what could not be
These are words he'll never say
Not to me, not for me

She always makes me think "You go, girl! We all know you deserved Marius but I never thought he deserved you!"