Yeah, it's been a while since the last post.
Suffice to say College is awesome- good people, good food, decent admin. Miserable Internet access, which has contributed to the lateness of this article. Nice location too- I've caught up with friends, made new ones & learnt all kinds of things about sleep deprivation & alcohol consumption that human beings should not be forced to know.
Classes are great, all my subjects are interesting (so far) & whilst I miss my family, guinea pig, speakers (have to use headphones) etc, the year is shaping up to be pretty good. Melbourne's amazing.
Anyway, I've got to keep this brief so just keep yourselves safe & I'll write again soon.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Farewell, Pivot City!!
Okay, in less the 48 hours I'm going to be living in Melbourne with a bunch of people I've never met in a room that may or may not come with a washbasin (as outlined in a letter from the College).
So today, I got a lot of the final stuff done. I've packed almost all my clothes. I've cleaned my guinea pig's hutch for the last time (I'm really going to miss her). I've archived over 37 hours of music to take with me. I walked the dog one last time. It's suprised me how difficult it was to do these things.
More importantly, I had my last try at finishing off the quarter of a bottle of vodka left that my parents don't want me to travel with.
Actually, the reason packing was so difficult came down to the rest of the family wanting to help. Wanting to help meant "trying to make you look respectable"- my torn jeans, graffited singlet, red woollen fingerless mittons, tweed trenchcoat etc are all staying home (I'll come back for them).
It seems the holidays are over. They've been pretty good. I had minor surgery, got to interview some pretty cool bands, played prog metal with friends, got a tie in chess (I normally lose), helped my grandfather put up walls, failed to get a job, read more horror stories than is healthy for you & had all my dreams come true at once in terms of where I'm going & what I'm about to do.
So why am I worried? Not sure. I just know I'm a tad freaked out.
Anyway, I did write a Valentine's Day post- it was terrible & no, you may not read it. However, I hope you'll all had a wonderful day, even if that meant crying in your pillow till you felt better.
Keep you posted how things work out at Melbourne Uni.
So today, I got a lot of the final stuff done. I've packed almost all my clothes. I've cleaned my guinea pig's hutch for the last time (I'm really going to miss her). I've archived over 37 hours of music to take with me. I walked the dog one last time. It's suprised me how difficult it was to do these things.
More importantly, I had my last try at finishing off the quarter of a bottle of vodka left that my parents don't want me to travel with.
Actually, the reason packing was so difficult came down to the rest of the family wanting to help. Wanting to help meant "trying to make you look respectable"- my torn jeans, graffited singlet, red woollen fingerless mittons, tweed trenchcoat etc are all staying home (I'll come back for them).
It seems the holidays are over. They've been pretty good. I had minor surgery, got to interview some pretty cool bands, played prog metal with friends, got a tie in chess (I normally lose), helped my grandfather put up walls, failed to get a job, read more horror stories than is healthy for you & had all my dreams come true at once in terms of where I'm going & what I'm about to do.
So why am I worried? Not sure. I just know I'm a tad freaked out.
Anyway, I did write a Valentine's Day post- it was terrible & no, you may not read it. However, I hope you'll all had a wonderful day, even if that meant crying in your pillow till you felt better.
Keep you posted how things work out at Melbourne Uni.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
"Pistols At Dawn, My Good Man!!"
After a frantic morning, the household has come to a standstill. Everyone is asleep, bar me. It's 2:30 in the afternoon. Silence is demanded- music, television, crockery destruction, air-horn practice, balloon surgery etc are all off limits.
Kinda nice actually. Frustrating, but nice.
Reading is still permitted. Graustark- amazing, absolutely brilliant. Romances aren't usually my thing but this has a ton of swashbuckling adventure thrown in & the romantic parts are stylised enough to be amusing. Which got me thinking.......
Duelling. Apparently, it's no longer legal to challenge someone to a duel. Maybe that's a good thing considering how easy it is to use fatal weapons these days. Any idiot with an AK-47 can do some serious damage. Mastery of the sabre is kind of useless when pistols are so effective- no misfires, more accurate, faster loading.....
But duelling had its benefits. In other times, politeness wasn't just a nice thing to have, it was a survival skill. If you weren't polite, someone might try to cut your throat open. People tried harder to get along with each other & settle things agreeably. If you ripped someone off, pushed in front of them at McDonalds or ran over their cat, you could very well end up in a coffin or at least with a nasty scar.
But now, people just sue other people. The lawyers get rich. The courts make ridiculous precedents that pervert justice for the next hundred years. Everyone's as rude and discourteous as they like. The phrase "so sue me" has entered the lexicon. Additionally, there's hundreds of ridiculous liability forms to fill out every time you try to do business with somebody. Rich companies can easily defeat individuals. There's no respect for other people.
Re-introducing formalised duelling is probably not a good idea. But after it's removal, there was nothing decent to replace it. With a shift in mainsteam thinking towards moral relativism ideas about of honour, right & wrong, even good manners have all become so hazy that its difficult to resolve conflict. Instead, it stagnates, bitter feelings drenching our society & corrupting the soul (this is only a slight exaggeration).
Okay, I'm just in love with the romantic image of the charming hero waving a rapier around & having absinthe parties in a cold stone castle on a dark, craggy cliff. Let me dream.
The family appears to be waking up. I must go.
Kinda nice actually. Frustrating, but nice.
Reading is still permitted. Graustark- amazing, absolutely brilliant. Romances aren't usually my thing but this has a ton of swashbuckling adventure thrown in & the romantic parts are stylised enough to be amusing. Which got me thinking.......
Duelling. Apparently, it's no longer legal to challenge someone to a duel. Maybe that's a good thing considering how easy it is to use fatal weapons these days. Any idiot with an AK-47 can do some serious damage. Mastery of the sabre is kind of useless when pistols are so effective- no misfires, more accurate, faster loading.....
But duelling had its benefits. In other times, politeness wasn't just a nice thing to have, it was a survival skill. If you weren't polite, someone might try to cut your throat open. People tried harder to get along with each other & settle things agreeably. If you ripped someone off, pushed in front of them at McDonalds or ran over their cat, you could very well end up in a coffin or at least with a nasty scar.
But now, people just sue other people. The lawyers get rich. The courts make ridiculous precedents that pervert justice for the next hundred years. Everyone's as rude and discourteous as they like. The phrase "so sue me" has entered the lexicon. Additionally, there's hundreds of ridiculous liability forms to fill out every time you try to do business with somebody. Rich companies can easily defeat individuals. There's no respect for other people.
Re-introducing formalised duelling is probably not a good idea. But after it's removal, there was nothing decent to replace it. With a shift in mainsteam thinking towards moral relativism ideas about of honour, right & wrong, even good manners have all become so hazy that its difficult to resolve conflict. Instead, it stagnates, bitter feelings drenching our society & corrupting the soul (this is only a slight exaggeration).
Okay, I'm just in love with the romantic image of the charming hero waving a rapier around & having absinthe parties in a cold stone castle on a dark, craggy cliff. Let me dream.
The family appears to be waking up. I must go.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Will Work For Gig Tickets.....
The end of high-school felt like a tumour removal. A little painful, perhaps, but also relieving. Now, as the summer holidays draw to a close & university approaches, I’ve started to reflect on my experiences these past few months. It’s not very inspiring.
A major goal was to find a job, get some experience & a little extra cash. I flunked. Horribly. After failing to get an interview in any of the positions I applied for- which ranged from retail, to customer service, to factory work, to hospitality- I attempted to get volunteer work. They haven’t called back to complete my training.
It appears no-one wants to employ me, even for free.
Okay, I do write for a magazine on a semi-freelance basis but that’s more a labour of love (which I’m grateful for). Granted, it’s not easy to get work in this town & even harder if you can only take casual positions. Still, my ego has taken quite a blow. I’d feel guilty getting a job for only two weeks then quitting because I have to skip town, so I’m at a bit of a loose end.
In the meantime, I’ve been aimlessly walking the dog, helping Ma with the housework, slowly working my way through a cheap bottle of vodka & writing. After reading one too many turn of the century (1800-1900) horror stories, I’ve found myself putting together an imaginary world in which to set short stories. It’s a little whacked up as of yet but I’ll keep you posted.
Anyway, I’m shortly headed to live on-rez in Melbourne, away from my family. Can’t say I’m not nervous but then again, I’m nervous about everything. There’s only three people I know at the whole university & only one I’m in contact with. All my other friends are scattered; Geelong, other parts of Melbourne, Singapore, France, Canada, Brisbane, Cambodia...... so this blog is kinda part commentary-on-life part keep in touch-with-friends. Anyone’s welcome to read & comment.
Take care, all.
A major goal was to find a job, get some experience & a little extra cash. I flunked. Horribly. After failing to get an interview in any of the positions I applied for- which ranged from retail, to customer service, to factory work, to hospitality- I attempted to get volunteer work. They haven’t called back to complete my training.
It appears no-one wants to employ me, even for free.
Okay, I do write for a magazine on a semi-freelance basis but that’s more a labour of love (which I’m grateful for). Granted, it’s not easy to get work in this town & even harder if you can only take casual positions. Still, my ego has taken quite a blow. I’d feel guilty getting a job for only two weeks then quitting because I have to skip town, so I’m at a bit of a loose end.
In the meantime, I’ve been aimlessly walking the dog, helping Ma with the housework, slowly working my way through a cheap bottle of vodka & writing. After reading one too many turn of the century (1800-1900) horror stories, I’ve found myself putting together an imaginary world in which to set short stories. It’s a little whacked up as of yet but I’ll keep you posted.
Anyway, I’m shortly headed to live on-rez in Melbourne, away from my family. Can’t say I’m not nervous but then again, I’m nervous about everything. There’s only three people I know at the whole university & only one I’m in contact with. All my other friends are scattered; Geelong, other parts of Melbourne, Singapore, France, Canada, Brisbane, Cambodia...... so this blog is kinda part commentary-on-life part keep in touch-with-friends. Anyone’s welcome to read & comment.
Take care, all.
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