I have work tomorrow and I should be sleeping. But I am not. Instead I am typing this while listening to my brother help a friend with uni work.
Just wanted to say that I experienced a moment of impulsiveness today when I watched some of the YT videos regarding NaNoWriMo*. Even though I decided ages ago I wasn't going to be writing this year, I changed my mind. Roughly five minutes later, I changed my mind again. As fantastic and valiant as this challenge is, it takes a lot of mental preparation. And with just under 2 days to go until it starts here, I'm way underprepared.
I mean, 50000 is a lot of words. And I'm not the kind of person who can just dive straight in and run with it. I need to think about it for ages, settle on an idea I like, and outline it pretty thoroughly ahead of time if I have any hope at all of winning**. So not this year.
Having said that, I fully support everyone who is embarking on NaNoWriMo in a couple of days time. Good luck to you, I wish you all speedy fingers and wordy minds. Type like the wind!
But yeah.
I was contemplating taking on a different month-long challenge... Vlogging every day, perhaps? I reckon maybe a video, and a blog post each and every day of the month of November. Because there are blog post ideas and video ideas circling in my head, and they need to see the light.
So what should I do? Leave a comment.
Have a good night/day/afternoon guys.
L
*for n00bs: NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month. It happens every year in November, and it's huge in these parts of the internet. So, if you're here reading my blog, you should have heard of it. If you haven't heard of it, where have you been, n00b? Living under a rock? (I'm kidding. I love you :D)
**for n00bs: winning = reaching the prescribed 50000 word count.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
It's not "Pass" or "Fail" anymore...
Hey guys.
I just got back from retaking my driving test. You'll know already if you are friends with me on Facebook or Twitter that, again, I didn't pass.
I know I already mentioned that I failed my driving test last time (obviously*, otherwise I wouldn't be retaking the test) (derp) but I didn't tell you guys how it went down. In short, it was probably one of the worst experiences of my young life. I had high hopes, I had worked hard, everyone pumped me up, I felt good vibes, and I honestly felt I was ready. Not to mention, I had a whole host of things planned for the rest of the week; all involving me being able to drive. So basically, the whole run-up was setting me up for a win, but I had no safety net.
Ten minutes into the test, we were back at the testing centre and the driving tester asked me if I knew what I did to make myself fail. Naturally, I had no clue. "Do you think I would have done the wrong thing if I knew it was wrong?!" is what I thought. Going over the speed limit is a critical error. I didn't see a 40 sign, and since unmarked roads are 50, I figured 47 was a safe speed. Instant fail. Basically, I crashed unceremoniously back down to earth. It hurt. I cried. It took a good week or two to get back on my feet.
So, what was different this time around? Well, my failure was not due to a sign that could have been more visible if they'd actually thought about where to put it. It was due to my own mistakes. My own shortcomings. Basically, this time, I was in control.
I think that was the biggest thing for me today. Last time, I felt like the carpet had been pulled out from under me. Like something else had pushed me over the edge. This time, I jumped. I also did a glorious swan dive on the way down, Pocahontas-style. It was more important for me to feel in control than to win. At least I failed on my terms. Now I have a mission; I have something to fix, and to build on, and improve.
Coming up to this one, I was really unsure how I would do. Well-meaning friends encouraged me, saying things like "You'll do great" and "You're a good driver, you'll pass", but my knee-jerk reaction was "You don't know that". Nothing was certain. After the first attempt, I couldn't find my grip.
What I'm trying to say is, although failing sucks, it was exactly what I needed to so. Successful people say that you need to fail in order to succeed. Failure is good for success, because failure teaches you what you need to know to succeed. So now, when someone says "You're gonna rock that test" I fully, 100% believe them, because I know what to do now.
I mean, it's still going to be a while before I can drive myself around, but I am now confident that I can work around it. Everything will be fine.
Thanks, btw if you're still reading this. It wasn't the most interesting or entertaining post. I just had to write it and share it. And I dunno. Maybe you got something out of it too. Or not. Whatever's cool.
*Is it weird that I can't hear the word "obviously" anymore without following it up with "we have a rapist in Lincoln Park"? I didn't think so...
I just got back from retaking my driving test. You'll know already if you are friends with me on Facebook or Twitter that, again, I didn't pass.
I know I already mentioned that I failed my driving test last time (obviously*, otherwise I wouldn't be retaking the test) (derp) but I didn't tell you guys how it went down. In short, it was probably one of the worst experiences of my young life. I had high hopes, I had worked hard, everyone pumped me up, I felt good vibes, and I honestly felt I was ready. Not to mention, I had a whole host of things planned for the rest of the week; all involving me being able to drive. So basically, the whole run-up was setting me up for a win, but I had no safety net.
Ten minutes into the test, we were back at the testing centre and the driving tester asked me if I knew what I did to make myself fail. Naturally, I had no clue. "Do you think I would have done the wrong thing if I knew it was wrong?!" is what I thought. Going over the speed limit is a critical error. I didn't see a 40 sign, and since unmarked roads are 50, I figured 47 was a safe speed. Instant fail. Basically, I crashed unceremoniously back down to earth. It hurt. I cried. It took a good week or two to get back on my feet.
So, what was different this time around? Well, my failure was not due to a sign that could have been more visible if they'd actually thought about where to put it. It was due to my own mistakes. My own shortcomings. Basically, this time, I was in control.
I think that was the biggest thing for me today. Last time, I felt like the carpet had been pulled out from under me. Like something else had pushed me over the edge. This time, I jumped. I also did a glorious swan dive on the way down, Pocahontas-style. It was more important for me to feel in control than to win. At least I failed on my terms. Now I have a mission; I have something to fix, and to build on, and improve.
Coming up to this one, I was really unsure how I would do. Well-meaning friends encouraged me, saying things like "You'll do great" and "You're a good driver, you'll pass", but my knee-jerk reaction was "You don't know that". Nothing was certain. After the first attempt, I couldn't find my grip.
What I'm trying to say is, although failing sucks, it was exactly what I needed to so. Successful people say that you need to fail in order to succeed. Failure is good for success, because failure teaches you what you need to know to succeed. So now, when someone says "You're gonna rock that test" I fully, 100% believe them, because I know what to do now.
I mean, it's still going to be a while before I can drive myself around, but I am now confident that I can work around it. Everything will be fine.
Thanks, btw if you're still reading this. It wasn't the most interesting or entertaining post. I just had to write it and share it. And I dunno. Maybe you got something out of it too. Or not. Whatever's cool.
*Is it weird that I can't hear the word "obviously" anymore without following it up with "we have a rapist in Lincoln Park"? I didn't think so...
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
HI EVERYBODY :D
I don't even need to start by saying it's been a while. You all know that. Right. Point acknowledged. Moving right along.
So, you're probably wondering, "what's been going on in Lucy's life all this time?", I mean, because that *is* why you read my blog, amirite?
And I intend to fill you in. In point form, because there's too damn much to type otherwise.
So, in the past few months, I:
- Went to China. Best 11 days or so of the year. The Great Wall was amazing, the Terracotta Soldiers were amazing, World Expo was amazing. There's not much that can top performing on the world stage.
- Did not continue studying. The funny thing about travelling is it tends to cost a lot of money. So by the time enrolment came around, I'd run out. :-/ Don't take this the wrong way though. I don't regret my decision in the slightest. I mean, I'd love to go back and study and get my diploma, but I'm also happy to do other things in the meantime while I scrounge and save.
- Moved out of home. Best and worst thing ever. Best because my mother is no longer breathing down my neck every second I'm in the house. Worse because financially, I've been far better. My current work situation isn't helping. But I won't bore you with the deets. I am looking for a new job though.
- Finished my 100 hours of driving practice (finally). Also, in the same category, I failed my driving test. I won't go into it, but it made me angry for a while, but I am getting over it. I have my next test in a couple of days, so here's hoping all the extra money i'm outlaying won't be wasted this time.
- Performed one of the best concerts ever: comprised entirely of music from Video Games. All of the music was new, so to get a good ten or eleven songs learnt in three months is a stellar effort. It *could* have been more polished*, but hey, considering the circumstances, we did a bloody good job. If you want, you can see video footage from the day here. There were loads of important people in attendance. People from our state professional orchestra, people from the gaming industry. And loads of gamers, of course. It was a big deal, because we're the first youth orchestra in our state to perform this kind of repertoire. Such a thrill to be a part of. Also, since I helped out with the visuals, I was given a Mario figurine. I'll post a pic later**
I think that's pretty much it. Doesn't sound like a lot, but time still seems to slip by.
Anyway, glad we had this chat. Now I can stop feeling guilty every time I look at the Blogger bookmark at the top of my screen (I use chrome). I might actually come back and do this more often. Would you like that?
I thought so.
Seeya soon :)
*I'm allowed to be critical, since I was there every step of the way.
**I'll probably just insert it into this post. Check back later?
Monday, June 28, 2010
CHINA!!!
It's only 2 days away now!!
Ten days of no facebook*, foreign cuisine, not enough sleep in hotel rooms with hardboard beds, sightseeing, shopping, bargaining, and the time of my life.
I will be posting photos to facebook upon my return. :D I'm also keeping a travel diary, some portions of which I may post here.
I really don't know what else to tell you about the trip at this stage. Did I already mention that I will be travelling with the Brisbane Regional Youth Orchestra, and that we will be performing at Shanghai Expo '10? Because we are.
I think that's it. I've been posting tonnes of china related status updates on FB, trying to get it all out of my system.
I don't post here that frequently to be missed for that length of time, but I figured you guys should know what's going on anyway.
Love you all, and will post again when I return!!
*Or any other social networking (including blogging) for that matter
Ten days of no facebook*, foreign cuisine, not enough sleep in hotel rooms with hardboard beds, sightseeing, shopping, bargaining, and the time of my life.
I will be posting photos to facebook upon my return. :D I'm also keeping a travel diary, some portions of which I may post here.
I really don't know what else to tell you about the trip at this stage. Did I already mention that I will be travelling with the Brisbane Regional Youth Orchestra, and that we will be performing at Shanghai Expo '10? Because we are.
I think that's it. I've been posting tonnes of china related status updates on FB, trying to get it all out of my system.
I don't post here that frequently to be missed for that length of time, but I figured you guys should know what's going on anyway.
Love you all, and will post again when I return!!
*Or any other social networking (including blogging) for that matter
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Mildred's Adventure
I figure after making such a huge deal of it you guys might want to see this. Let me know what you think.
SUCCESS!!!
Ok, so I WAS going to post about how much of a pain iMovie is for not importing my video tracks that I needed to edit, but THEN, I figured out how to do it! I am so unbelievably happy. I thought i'd have to submit raw files for my Type in Motion assessment on Monday. BUT NOW I DON'T HAVE TO!! YAY!
This post just shrunk dramatically in size...
I know, I'll tell you what I was going to write anyways.
So, if you read my recent post about my short animation of Mildred the Spider, you will know of my plans to continue animating and posting my beloved character on THIS CHANNEL.
If you haven't, I will fill you in now, although you're more than welcome to check it out after... or now if you want... i mean, I'm not your mum, I can't tell you what to do...
So, I had this animation assignment for my Photoshop class*. We were supposed to animate something around the theme of "Self Expression" which is code for "We couldn't be f***ed thinking of a stimulating topic, so we'll give you something loose and ambiguous to play with. Good Luck." As a result, I hated everything I came up with that came anywhere near matching the brief. It was only last Thursday (not the one just gone, the one before... the... 20th? Yes. The 20th) that I had an epiphany. With these new skills, to create basic** animations, I would animate one of my most beloved characters. Mildred the Spider.
If you haven't been subbed to my channel (no point now, I've deleted all my videos) or to my collab channel Snailmates (currently on extended hiatus) (not intentional, school just does these things) you will have heard of Mildred. In my very first vlog ever, I told the story of how I met Mildred. Oh, yes. It's true. She is based on a real-life spider.
Anyway, the story goes, she (this huge, massive, ginormous huntsman spider) (i can tell it was a girl, because only girl huntsman spiders grow to this size) snuck into my room whilst I was indulging in some late night YouTube bingeing (spelling?). I was watching the screen when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I ignored it at first but then it moved again. I looked and saw A DIRTY GREAT BIG FAT SPIDER. Right there. On my carpet. Thankfully I am not one to be scared off by such a thing, No. Bugs do not phase me***.
So, like the crafty, resourceful girl I am, I crept past, avoiding scaring it anymore (Fact: humans are bigger than spiders. Spiders move quickly when they are scared s**tless. Don't scare them, and they won't scare you. Unless you are a big baby. And I mean that in the most affectionate way) and I ran to the laundry to fetch the broom. Long story short, I managed to coax it onto the broom and I took it out to the garden. Spider stays alive. Bedroom becomes spider-free. Everybody wins.
This was not her first appearance in our house though. No. She'd snuck in once a few weeks before, when she was on the outside of the glass sliding door. Someone opened the door to let the dog/cat in/out, and she must've snuck in then; because next thing you know, she's on the inside of the sliding door. We did manage to get her out then, too. She was more subtle the next time, yet still she was caught out.
I'm not afraid of bugs/beetles/critters of the 6-8 leg variety. But at the same time, I recognise that killing them isn't always the solution. I like to keep them alive. I'm actually quite affectionate, when it comes to bugs, now i think of it. I suppose this is where the whole naming-and-personifying-bugs-and-other-various-critters thing stems from. Hence, Mildred. And Bob the Ladybug. And Cedric the Bee, and Linus the Snail (beloved mascot of the Snailmates) and Evangeline the Caterpillar. The family of bugs seems to grow with each letter sent between me and Sean and Beth, although not atm, since, like i said, hiatus.
I think it was only Cedric and Linus who didn't actually have a real-life counterpart. Or did they? I can't remember...
Anyway, I have been wanting to do stuff with this Mildred character for ages, and now, this assignment in all its glorious ambiguity provided me with the means and reason to do so.
Then, after I successfully finished my 31-second animation (limit was 30 seconds, but then, there were people who submitted 10 second clips when the minimum was 15 seconds. Pretty sure 1 second over is no crime) I attempted to upload to YouTube. No luck. I tried and tried to get iMovie to accept my .mov file, but it kept rejecting :(...
I then semi-successfully uploaded using QuickTime Player, but the first few seconds were obscured... which i had no explanation/fix for. It also cut off the last second or so... which was annoying because that was the part i put the most work into.
After messing around for ages, I discovered how to IMPORT the damn thing into iMovie, and now am able to fix everything. I haven't re-uploaded yet, because I want to make changes, and extend the story a little. It'll probably be about a minute long when I finish up. Then my brother will be composing a track for it... and only then will it be ready... I will be replacing the piece of poop version up now.
EDIT: am replacing it NOW. You can view the better version here
Anyway, it is really late and I've babbled way too much for someone who has to work in the morning. I'll be posting en masse when I finish assessment next friday :D. Including coursework! So you'll be able to see what I've been up to while I've been avoiding the internet.
I seriously miss this. Miss you all.
I'll be back soon.
-Lucy
*sidenote: my commitment to this class has wavered somewhat, with my whacked out sleeping patterns and way too much work to do on account of my amazing procrastination skills.
**and by basic, I mean "make images move across the screen". Nothing fancy schmancy. I mean, we were using Photoshop. Not exactly purpose-built for hardcore pro animation...
***Bar cockroaches which I don't find scary, either. They just gross me out.
This post just shrunk dramatically in size...
I know, I'll tell you what I was going to write anyways.
So, if you read my recent post about my short animation of Mildred the Spider, you will know of my plans to continue animating and posting my beloved character on THIS CHANNEL.
If you haven't, I will fill you in now, although you're more than welcome to check it out after... or now if you want... i mean, I'm not your mum, I can't tell you what to do...
So, I had this animation assignment for my Photoshop class*. We were supposed to animate something around the theme of "Self Expression" which is code for "We couldn't be f***ed thinking of a stimulating topic, so we'll give you something loose and ambiguous to play with. Good Luck." As a result, I hated everything I came up with that came anywhere near matching the brief. It was only last Thursday (not the one just gone, the one before... the... 20th? Yes. The 20th) that I had an epiphany. With these new skills, to create basic** animations, I would animate one of my most beloved characters. Mildred the Spider.
If you haven't been subbed to my channel (no point now, I've deleted all my videos) or to my collab channel Snailmates (currently on extended hiatus) (not intentional, school just does these things) you will have heard of Mildred. In my very first vlog ever, I told the story of how I met Mildred. Oh, yes. It's true. She is based on a real-life spider.
Anyway, the story goes, she (this huge, massive, ginormous huntsman spider) (i can tell it was a girl, because only girl huntsman spiders grow to this size) snuck into my room whilst I was indulging in some late night YouTube bingeing (spelling?). I was watching the screen when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I ignored it at first but then it moved again. I looked and saw A DIRTY GREAT BIG FAT SPIDER. Right there. On my carpet. Thankfully I am not one to be scared off by such a thing, No. Bugs do not phase me***.
So, like the crafty, resourceful girl I am, I crept past, avoiding scaring it anymore (Fact: humans are bigger than spiders. Spiders move quickly when they are scared s**tless. Don't scare them, and they won't scare you. Unless you are a big baby. And I mean that in the most affectionate way) and I ran to the laundry to fetch the broom. Long story short, I managed to coax it onto the broom and I took it out to the garden. Spider stays alive. Bedroom becomes spider-free. Everybody wins.
This was not her first appearance in our house though. No. She'd snuck in once a few weeks before, when she was on the outside of the glass sliding door. Someone opened the door to let the dog/cat in/out, and she must've snuck in then; because next thing you know, she's on the inside of the sliding door. We did manage to get her out then, too. She was more subtle the next time, yet still she was caught out.
I'm not afraid of bugs/beetles/critters of the 6-8 leg variety. But at the same time, I recognise that killing them isn't always the solution. I like to keep them alive. I'm actually quite affectionate, when it comes to bugs, now i think of it. I suppose this is where the whole naming-and-personifying-bugs-and-other-various-critters thing stems from. Hence, Mildred. And Bob the Ladybug. And Cedric the Bee, and Linus the Snail (beloved mascot of the Snailmates) and Evangeline the Caterpillar. The family of bugs seems to grow with each letter sent between me and Sean and Beth, although not atm, since, like i said, hiatus.
I think it was only Cedric and Linus who didn't actually have a real-life counterpart. Or did they? I can't remember...
Anyway, I have been wanting to do stuff with this Mildred character for ages, and now, this assignment in all its glorious ambiguity provided me with the means and reason to do so.
Then, after I successfully finished my 31-second animation (limit was 30 seconds, but then, there were people who submitted 10 second clips when the minimum was 15 seconds. Pretty sure 1 second over is no crime) I attempted to upload to YouTube. No luck. I tried and tried to get iMovie to accept my .mov file, but it kept rejecting :(...
I then semi-successfully uploaded using QuickTime Player, but the first few seconds were obscured... which i had no explanation/fix for. It also cut off the last second or so... which was annoying because that was the part i put the most work into.
After messing around for ages, I discovered how to IMPORT the damn thing into iMovie, and now am able to fix everything. I haven't re-uploaded yet, because I want to make changes, and extend the story a little. It'll probably be about a minute long when I finish up. Then my brother will be composing a track for it... and only then will it be ready... I will be replacing the piece of poop version up now.
EDIT: am replacing it NOW. You can view the better version here
Anyway, it is really late and I've babbled way too much for someone who has to work in the morning. I'll be posting en masse when I finish assessment next friday :D. Including coursework! So you'll be able to see what I've been up to while I've been avoiding the internet.
I seriously miss this. Miss you all.
I'll be back soon.
-Lucy
*sidenote: my commitment to this class has wavered somewhat, with my whacked out sleeping patterns and way too much work to do on account of my amazing procrastination skills.
**and by basic, I mean "make images move across the screen". Nothing fancy schmancy. I mean, we were using Photoshop. Not exactly purpose-built for hardcore pro animation...
***Bar cockroaches which I don't find scary, either. They just gross me out.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The little things...
So this may or may not come as a surprise but I am a closet fan of The OC. Do you remember that show? Got cancelled 3 1/2 years ago, angsty teen drama, not altogether different from Gossip Girl (funnily enough, created by the same guy) (Josh Schwartz, if you were wondering). Anyway, at the time, my obsession was as such that I forced myself to acquire the boxed sets. And by forced myself, I mean I couldn't stop myself.
It was just one of those things, and, apparently, at least to me, still is. For years, after me and a couple of friends from highschool who were equally obsessed had finished marathoning them, the DVDs sat in my bookshelf. Kind of like a secret shame. Something I saw as a thing of the past. A memento of my teen years, if you will. But, just recently, I've kind of rekindled this hidden passion.
Truthfully, I just polished off season 2. I nearly cried (again) when they staged an intervention to get Kirsten to go to rehab. I gasped in shock and called Marissa an idiot for shooting Tray. And it's funny. It's funny just how efficiently a tv show can throw some light down onto your own life. Shows you what you're missing. I don't mean drugs and alcoholism and extortion and the constant stream of drama that the characters seem doomed to endure; I mean the simple things like, a social life with a solid friend group equipped to deal with any and all crap that gets thrown their way. Like a rich private school education to ditch whenever I felt like to run off to the beach. Like enough money around to not need a job throughout said education. Like a bulletproof family. Like, dare I say it, a boyfriend.
Don't you just hate how good they seem to have everything? They make the hard stuff look breezy.
Or maybe, I dunno, maybe it really is easy. Is it? Because I wouldn't know. Bar like one guy who conveniently (for me, at least) asked me out in time for Formal, I've never had a boyfriend. I wouldn't know the first thing about relationships. I make excuses all the time. I'm too busy, I'm not ready, I still need space and time to figure stuff out... But I gotta say it. I want a boyfriend. I want to sit at family dinners with a partner there to back me up. To sit there with their arm around me while watching a movie (and I don't mean the classic smoothie yawn-hug either. Here's a clue: those don't work. Even if a girl really likes you, it's far too cheesy.) To enjoy the company of on long walks not necessarily at the beach. To make valentines day an exciting event to look forward to and enjoy instead of the most boring insufferable day of the year; a day to dread. To fight with over stupid stuff knowing that they won't leave over such a trivialities.
I don't actually know why the heck I am writing this here. I guess I figure no one I know in person will read it.
Man, I need a life. I wish study wasn't so crazy like all the time so I could actually have time for a social life. I wish there were people in my course who I actually wanted to hang out with.
Maybe this is stress. Maybe I'm burning out. I don't know, though either, or both for that matter, would not surprise me. I wish I had more focus, more motivation. I've only been to class like 2 days this week out of 5. On Tuesday I was actually sick, but the other days, I can't pass off so easy. Assignment deadlines approach thick and fast and my first reaction is to run and hide. Geez, Lucy. Way to prep yourself for a cutthroat industry. Cutting school, missing deadlines to watch the OC, sleeping all day after another killer allnighter. It's like I'm wallowing or something. But I can't, for the life of me figure out the reason.
Sorry guys. I know this post is a far cry from recent ones, but I'm actually a mess right now. Thanks for listening to me whine about my pathetic little life. You guys are troopers.
I should probably get some sleep...
- Posted using owl post from me pocket iParrot. Arrr
It was just one of those things, and, apparently, at least to me, still is. For years, after me and a couple of friends from highschool who were equally obsessed had finished marathoning them, the DVDs sat in my bookshelf. Kind of like a secret shame. Something I saw as a thing of the past. A memento of my teen years, if you will. But, just recently, I've kind of rekindled this hidden passion.
Truthfully, I just polished off season 2. I nearly cried (again) when they staged an intervention to get Kirsten to go to rehab. I gasped in shock and called Marissa an idiot for shooting Tray. And it's funny. It's funny just how efficiently a tv show can throw some light down onto your own life. Shows you what you're missing. I don't mean drugs and alcoholism and extortion and the constant stream of drama that the characters seem doomed to endure; I mean the simple things like, a social life with a solid friend group equipped to deal with any and all crap that gets thrown their way. Like a rich private school education to ditch whenever I felt like to run off to the beach. Like enough money around to not need a job throughout said education. Like a bulletproof family. Like, dare I say it, a boyfriend.
Don't you just hate how good they seem to have everything? They make the hard stuff look breezy.
Or maybe, I dunno, maybe it really is easy. Is it? Because I wouldn't know. Bar like one guy who conveniently (for me, at least) asked me out in time for Formal, I've never had a boyfriend. I wouldn't know the first thing about relationships. I make excuses all the time. I'm too busy, I'm not ready, I still need space and time to figure stuff out... But I gotta say it. I want a boyfriend. I want to sit at family dinners with a partner there to back me up. To sit there with their arm around me while watching a movie (and I don't mean the classic smoothie yawn-hug either. Here's a clue: those don't work. Even if a girl really likes you, it's far too cheesy.) To enjoy the company of on long walks not necessarily at the beach. To make valentines day an exciting event to look forward to and enjoy instead of the most boring insufferable day of the year; a day to dread. To fight with over stupid stuff knowing that they won't leave over such a trivialities.
I don't actually know why the heck I am writing this here. I guess I figure no one I know in person will read it.
Man, I need a life. I wish study wasn't so crazy like all the time so I could actually have time for a social life. I wish there were people in my course who I actually wanted to hang out with.
Maybe this is stress. Maybe I'm burning out. I don't know, though either, or both for that matter, would not surprise me. I wish I had more focus, more motivation. I've only been to class like 2 days this week out of 5. On Tuesday I was actually sick, but the other days, I can't pass off so easy. Assignment deadlines approach thick and fast and my first reaction is to run and hide. Geez, Lucy. Way to prep yourself for a cutthroat industry. Cutting school, missing deadlines to watch the OC, sleeping all day after another killer allnighter. It's like I'm wallowing or something. But I can't, for the life of me figure out the reason.
Sorry guys. I know this post is a far cry from recent ones, but I'm actually a mess right now. Thanks for listening to me whine about my pathetic little life. You guys are troopers.
I should probably get some sleep...
- Posted using owl post from me pocket iParrot. Arrr
Friday, May 21, 2010
Making Progress and Mildred's Channel
So, that brilliant idea I had before seems to be working.
If you're wondering what this master plan is, I shall explain, as I don't think I did a very good job of it in my last post.
For my photoshop class, I have an assignment to do utilising the "animation" function. The brief said it had to be based on a self portrait we did earlier in the semester. Since, even though I liked my work before, I only just passed, I didn't want to make the same mistakes over again. This left me with nothing to use. Literally nothing. Boring. And no matter what I did I could not think of any ideas that I really liked and knew I could execute well and be left with something I am proud of.
Eventually, I decided to scrap the idea altogether and go with something different. No more emo crapness. No more "expressssssss yourselfffff" bullcrap. No. Instead, I, wait for it...
I decided to animate Mildred the Spider.
Oh yeah. You read correctly. Mildred is GETTING HER OWN SHOW!
I got her a youtube channel to commemorate the occasion, so, if you want to subscribe to mildred's channel, I'm pretty sure she'll love you forever! Her channel is: www.youtube.com/user/mildredthespider
Omg, I need to get her a twitter too!
*EDIT: Mildred's twitter ID is @mildredspider. Follow her! Send her ideas and challenges!
This kind of thing takes forever, as I am learning. But, it's fun and rewarding :)
If you are a fan of Mildred, and want to see her do anything in particular (or any of her friends, for that matter) let her know, or leave it in the comments of this post.
I am stupidly excited about all of this... :D
Anyway... Progress is going well... I have between 10 and 15 seconds done, which meets minimum requirement. BUT I'm not stopping. I'm going to keep working on this until I am DONE.
If you're wondering what this master plan is, I shall explain, as I don't think I did a very good job of it in my last post.
For my photoshop class, I have an assignment to do utilising the "animation" function. The brief said it had to be based on a self portrait we did earlier in the semester. Since, even though I liked my work before, I only just passed, I didn't want to make the same mistakes over again. This left me with nothing to use. Literally nothing. Boring. And no matter what I did I could not think of any ideas that I really liked and knew I could execute well and be left with something I am proud of.
Eventually, I decided to scrap the idea altogether and go with something different. No more emo crapness. No more "expressssssss yourselfffff" bullcrap. No. Instead, I, wait for it...
I decided to animate Mildred the Spider.
Oh yeah. You read correctly. Mildred is GETTING HER OWN SHOW!
I got her a youtube channel to commemorate the occasion, so, if you want to subscribe to mildred's channel, I'm pretty sure she'll love you forever! Her channel is: www.youtube.com/user/mildredthespider
Omg, I need to get her a twitter too!
*EDIT: Mildred's twitter ID is @mildredspider. Follow her! Send her ideas and challenges!
This kind of thing takes forever, as I am learning. But, it's fun and rewarding :)
If you are a fan of Mildred, and want to see her do anything in particular (or any of her friends, for that matter) let her know, or leave it in the comments of this post.
I am stupidly excited about all of this... :D
Anyway... Progress is going well... I have between 10 and 15 seconds done, which meets minimum requirement. BUT I'm not stopping. I'm going to keep working on this until I am DONE.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The day my willpower died
So it seems that the more urgently something needs to get done, the less i want to do it, and the less power I have to make myself do it. I probably won't sleep tonight, as I have a huge photoshop assignment to do, which is actually a short animation. I'll probably post to youtube if I can figure out how to upload this particular filetype... but yeah.
It's supposed to be 15-30 seconds long, and I have had over 3 weeks to get this done, but so far I am up to a grand total of 2.9 seconds. I am not even one fifth of the way to fulfilling the minimum requirement.
AND YET here I am blogging. WHY am I doing this?
I may have an answer to that. (I am clearly going insane. Now I answer my own questions)
I am doing this because I need an outlet. There is no one here to talk to, and I skipped class today to work on this (well, it IS kind of urgent...) and I just need to say this to someone instead of thinking it over and over to myself. I gotta get it out of my system, so that I can continue to function long enough to get this assignment done.
So far I hate what I've done. It isn't any good, honestly. It's crap. I guess that's part of why it's so freaking hard to get through. I hate the topic, I hate the requirements, I hate my attempt. I want this over with, but I can't bring myself to do it. I didn't sign up to learn animation after all. Although, I might have been more excited about it if it were less "express yourself" and more "animate this:...". These assignment briefs just have no imagination.
I think that's the problem.
I might just start over. New angle. New attempt. Not like I'll be losing much.
Right.
Let's do this.
It's supposed to be 15-30 seconds long, and I have had over 3 weeks to get this done, but so far I am up to a grand total of 2.9 seconds. I am not even one fifth of the way to fulfilling the minimum requirement.
AND YET here I am blogging. WHY am I doing this?
I may have an answer to that. (I am clearly going insane. Now I answer my own questions)
I am doing this because I need an outlet. There is no one here to talk to, and I skipped class today to work on this (well, it IS kind of urgent...) and I just need to say this to someone instead of thinking it over and over to myself. I gotta get it out of my system, so that I can continue to function long enough to get this assignment done.
So far I hate what I've done. It isn't any good, honestly. It's crap. I guess that's part of why it's so freaking hard to get through. I hate the topic, I hate the requirements, I hate my attempt. I want this over with, but I can't bring myself to do it. I didn't sign up to learn animation after all. Although, I might have been more excited about it if it were less "express yourself" and more "animate this:...". These assignment briefs just have no imagination.
I think that's the problem.
I might just start over. New angle. New attempt. Not like I'll be losing much.
Right.
Let's do this.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
The Lacking
You, my dearest, ever-faithful readers, are probably wondering what this current lack of posts is all about*.
Well, allow me to enlighten you.
Aside from the usual (being far too busy to even think about blogging/being preoccupied/being lazy/yada yada yada...) there has been a lack of posts on this blog as a result of a lack of direction. I don't know where to take you with each post, so the posts just don't get written. As a wise blogger once said, it's just as important to know when not to hit that "new post" button. There's no point me typing away for no good reason. I could fill you in on the mundane and not-so-mundane details of my life and its happenings, but I don't feel like it right now. 11:30 on a thursday night, you'll have to excuse me.
I've been considering direction a lot lately. I think the lack of direction on this blog directly reflects the lack of direction in my life. I mean, sure. I'm studying a course I love, there must be some sort of direction involved there, right? Maybe. I mean, I had to know what area roughly to go into to pick my course... but like a great deal many other things in life, there are many many subdivisions and specialisations within my broad area of study**.
Who here knows it is a stressful thing to constantly worry about direction? I thought this gnawing feeling at the back of my mind would leave once I started study and was busy Going Somewhere, but it never. goes. away. Should I go into Illustration? if so, illustrating what? Botanical sketches? Children's books? Graphic Novels? What if I can't make enough money in that field? What then? Should I explore Web design as a back up? Should I sell vectors/stock photos/fonts? Will it be enough to get me by? Will I ever get a job in New York/London like I hope? Am I selfish for being so preoccupied by my career, and not worrying enough about charity/missionary work/whatever else God might have planned for me? Am I being frivolous by going on another trip to China instead of saving my pennies/paying off my car? Am I ever going to earn enough to move out of home? Will I ever reach my 100 hours of driving practice on my logbook and get my licence? What is all this worrying doing to my health/skin/face? Why can't I just give it to God and be done with it? Why is it so hard to stop worrying? How come, every time I stop worrying about something, something else comes up?
Then, there's questions like, will I ever get a boyfriend? Could I ever let myself love another person freely? Why the heck can't I just let go of whatever is stopping me? What the heck is this invisible roadblock anyway? Why am I completely unable to move forward?***
Yeah. I'm a mess.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am currently refraining from hitting that "new post" button every second day or so...
Trust me, this is a good thing.
I'll see you all again when my thoughts are arranged in a slightly more orderly fashion. Oh, and remind me to post pictures of my stuff. I'd love to hear what you all think.
*Ok, let's be honest, you're probably not wondering at all. You've probably completely forgotten this blog is even present on your blogroll, since nothing ever pops up on your google reader...
**Which is, for those of you who have forgotten/are new and haven't read back yet, Graphic Design.
Well, allow me to enlighten you.
Aside from the usual (being far too busy to even think about blogging/being preoccupied/being lazy/yada yada yada...) there has been a lack of posts on this blog as a result of a lack of direction. I don't know where to take you with each post, so the posts just don't get written. As a wise blogger once said, it's just as important to know when not to hit that "new post" button. There's no point me typing away for no good reason. I could fill you in on the mundane and not-so-mundane details of my life and its happenings, but I don't feel like it right now. 11:30 on a thursday night, you'll have to excuse me.
I've been considering direction a lot lately. I think the lack of direction on this blog directly reflects the lack of direction in my life. I mean, sure. I'm studying a course I love, there must be some sort of direction involved there, right? Maybe. I mean, I had to know what area roughly to go into to pick my course... but like a great deal many other things in life, there are many many subdivisions and specialisations within my broad area of study**.
Who here knows it is a stressful thing to constantly worry about direction? I thought this gnawing feeling at the back of my mind would leave once I started study and was busy Going Somewhere, but it never. goes. away. Should I go into Illustration? if so, illustrating what? Botanical sketches? Children's books? Graphic Novels? What if I can't make enough money in that field? What then? Should I explore Web design as a back up? Should I sell vectors/stock photos/fonts? Will it be enough to get me by? Will I ever get a job in New York/London like I hope? Am I selfish for being so preoccupied by my career, and not worrying enough about charity/missionary work/whatever else God might have planned for me? Am I being frivolous by going on another trip to China instead of saving my pennies/paying off my car? Am I ever going to earn enough to move out of home? Will I ever reach my 100 hours of driving practice on my logbook and get my licence? What is all this worrying doing to my health/skin/face? Why can't I just give it to God and be done with it? Why is it so hard to stop worrying? How come, every time I stop worrying about something, something else comes up?
Then, there's questions like, will I ever get a boyfriend? Could I ever let myself love another person freely? Why the heck can't I just let go of whatever is stopping me? What the heck is this invisible roadblock anyway? Why am I completely unable to move forward?***
Yeah. I'm a mess.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am currently refraining from hitting that "new post" button every second day or so...
Trust me, this is a good thing.
I'll see you all again when my thoughts are arranged in a slightly more orderly fashion. Oh, and remind me to post pictures of my stuff. I'd love to hear what you all think.
*Ok, let's be honest, you're probably not wondering at all. You've probably completely forgotten this blog is even present on your blogroll, since nothing ever pops up on your google reader...
**Which is, for those of you who have forgotten/are new and haven't read back yet, Graphic Design.
***I bet you got a headache just from trying to read all that. You deserve a medal for getting this far.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
My blog-as-a-method-of-procrastination reflex just kicked in.
I couldn't resist.
So, how are we all? Fantabulous I suppose? Great. So good to hear. I'm absolutely spiffing if you were wondering. 3 assignments due in the space of a week... It doesn't get much better than this. Especially considering how much work is yet to be done on them all. Don't you just love that feeling? But don't you?
Also, I'm incredibly tight on money due to being a full time student and also due to needing to pay for a trip to China in june/july, so what do I do? I pre-order a copy of Pokemon SoulSilver for DS (out this thursday) and buy a preowned copy of Super Mario DS (like Super Mario 64, but... yep, you guessed it, for DS. Aren't you glad I tell you these things? Where on earth would you all be without me? I tell ya)
You're probably all getting the feeling at this point that I haven't got any actual purpose for posting this body of meaningless text. I'm getting that feeling too. I just like posting stuff. And I like you guys for liking what I post. Yeah, you guys are a bit of alright.
I have got some small tidbits, I guess... like, ummm... Holidays are coming up! Easter holidays approach, guys! This means I will have time to sleep in and squeeze oranges (did I ever mention how much I like freshly squeezed orange juice? No? well, I do. But I won't drink stuff out of a bottle with the pulp take out. Yuck! So sour!) and breathe and do homework at a leisurely pace while the sun is up. Oh yes. A week of bliss. I AIM to redesign my blog somewhere in there too, and I'll try to post some of my work so far too, so you can see why you've all been missing me so much.
Easter holidays also mean lots of rabbit- and bilby- and egg-shaped chocolate. But not peeps. Apparently, us Aussies are too classy for sugar-coated, rabbit-shaped marshmallows. One day I'll try them, guys. One day. Highly likely in front of my computer, caught on my iSight camera, for purposes of editing and uploading for the enjoyment of perfect strangers. Are you looking forward to that day as much as I am? I bet you are.
*slips slowly into panic mode as it becomes clear that there is nothing left to say, and yet no way to wrap up the post* *frets* *backs slowly away from computer* *turns and runs* *screams maniacally* *runs out of breath* *calms down* *regains composure* *walks back to computer* *takes deep breath*
...
I guess I'll see you next time then.
Oh and PS. Congratulations to Nat and her holbsband, who have just found out they will soon be parents of their first child! Also, go follow Nat, she writes a killer blog.
I couldn't resist.
So, how are we all? Fantabulous I suppose? Great. So good to hear. I'm absolutely spiffing if you were wondering. 3 assignments due in the space of a week... It doesn't get much better than this. Especially considering how much work is yet to be done on them all. Don't you just love that feeling? But don't you?
Also, I'm incredibly tight on money due to being a full time student and also due to needing to pay for a trip to China in june/july, so what do I do? I pre-order a copy of Pokemon SoulSilver for DS (out this thursday) and buy a preowned copy of Super Mario DS (like Super Mario 64, but... yep, you guessed it, for DS. Aren't you glad I tell you these things? Where on earth would you all be without me? I tell ya)
You're probably all getting the feeling at this point that I haven't got any actual purpose for posting this body of meaningless text. I'm getting that feeling too. I just like posting stuff. And I like you guys for liking what I post. Yeah, you guys are a bit of alright.
I have got some small tidbits, I guess... like, ummm... Holidays are coming up! Easter holidays approach, guys! This means I will have time to sleep in and squeeze oranges (did I ever mention how much I like freshly squeezed orange juice? No? well, I do. But I won't drink stuff out of a bottle with the pulp take out. Yuck! So sour!) and breathe and do homework at a leisurely pace while the sun is up. Oh yes. A week of bliss. I AIM to redesign my blog somewhere in there too, and I'll try to post some of my work so far too, so you can see why you've all been missing me so much.
Easter holidays also mean lots of rabbit- and bilby- and egg-shaped chocolate. But not peeps. Apparently, us Aussies are too classy for sugar-coated, rabbit-shaped marshmallows. One day I'll try them, guys. One day. Highly likely in front of my computer, caught on my iSight camera, for purposes of editing and uploading for the enjoyment of perfect strangers. Are you looking forward to that day as much as I am? I bet you are.
*slips slowly into panic mode as it becomes clear that there is nothing left to say, and yet no way to wrap up the post* *frets* *backs slowly away from computer* *turns and runs* *screams maniacally* *runs out of breath* *calms down* *regains composure* *walks back to computer* *takes deep breath*
...
I guess I'll see you next time then.
Oh and PS. Congratulations to Nat and her holbsband, who have just found out they will soon be parents of their first child! Also, go follow Nat, she writes a killer blog.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Letter to my Blog Readers [insert heart here]
Hey Guys,
So I really don't want to just make this another maintenance-style, i'm-just-writing-something-to-give-you-something-to-read kind of blog post. In all honesty, for once I have the legitimate excuse of just being way too busy to blog. I haven't even had time to miss blogging. Until now. Right now, I am sitting outside on the patio, with my MacBook Pro waiting for someone else to get home so I can get inside because I have misplaced my house key. For now this is great. But. The light is already fading, and m battery is below 50%... It should last for a good while longer, but you never know.
I should really be spending this time working on my triptych self portrait due in a week (sounds like a fair bit of time doesn't it? Not really. Time seems to go faster when you have assignments for each of your five subjects and you work both days of your weekend). Or I could be starting my final versions of my pen and ink roses for my illustration class. Or I could be researching and compiling quotes and planning my essay for my Design History class. Or I could be finalising my designs for the album covers I am supposed to hand-render for Design Practices class. Or I could be designing my stamps for Typography. Or hanging out my washing. Or practicing for our upcoming Russian-themed concert with BRYO*.
But I'm not. I'm blogging.
Man I love blogging. I just wished I loved it enough to make it a more important factor of my life. I'm just really really focused right now on getting my career started, and I'm absolutely loving the near-total immersion in graphic design (I say near-total, and not total, because I still have orchestra rehearsal and work) and I think that blogging regularly would only serve to distract me from my school work, which is currently more important.
I guess what I am trying to say is Thanks. Thank you for staying loyal to my blog when not even I am. Even when the only content I post consists largely of gushy "I love blogging and always want to blog more but never do" sentiments. Even when my level of writing dips below abismal. Thank you for being interested, even when I am not always so interesting.
I don't really have all that much to say now. At least not anything I have time to sit and think about how I want to write about and then write about. My sister just got home. Time to go inside.
I'll make an effort to be back soon. I will. If I don't feel free to bombard my twitter to remind me.
Until then.
<3
*BRYO = Brisbane Regional Youth Orchestra. I'm travelling to ShangHai as a member of BRYO in June/July for an International Youth Music Festival in celebration of ShangHai's World Expo this year. You'll probably be hearing a fair bit more about this yet.
So I really don't want to just make this another maintenance-style, i'm-just-writing-something-to-give-you-something-to-read kind of blog post. In all honesty, for once I have the legitimate excuse of just being way too busy to blog. I haven't even had time to miss blogging. Until now. Right now, I am sitting outside on the patio, with my MacBook Pro waiting for someone else to get home so I can get inside because I have misplaced my house key. For now this is great. But. The light is already fading, and m battery is below 50%... It should last for a good while longer, but you never know.
I should really be spending this time working on my triptych self portrait due in a week (sounds like a fair bit of time doesn't it? Not really. Time seems to go faster when you have assignments for each of your five subjects and you work both days of your weekend). Or I could be starting my final versions of my pen and ink roses for my illustration class. Or I could be researching and compiling quotes and planning my essay for my Design History class. Or I could be finalising my designs for the album covers I am supposed to hand-render for Design Practices class. Or I could be designing my stamps for Typography. Or hanging out my washing. Or practicing for our upcoming Russian-themed concert with BRYO*.
But I'm not. I'm blogging.
Man I love blogging. I just wished I loved it enough to make it a more important factor of my life. I'm just really really focused right now on getting my career started, and I'm absolutely loving the near-total immersion in graphic design (I say near-total, and not total, because I still have orchestra rehearsal and work) and I think that blogging regularly would only serve to distract me from my school work, which is currently more important.
I guess what I am trying to say is Thanks. Thank you for staying loyal to my blog when not even I am. Even when the only content I post consists largely of gushy "I love blogging and always want to blog more but never do" sentiments. Even when my level of writing dips below abismal. Thank you for being interested, even when I am not always so interesting.
I don't really have all that much to say now. At least not anything I have time to sit and think about how I want to write about and then write about. My sister just got home. Time to go inside.
I'll make an effort to be back soon. I will. If I don't feel free to bombard my twitter to remind me.
Until then.
<3
*BRYO = Brisbane Regional Youth Orchestra. I'm travelling to ShangHai as a member of BRYO in June/July for an International Youth Music Festival in celebration of ShangHai's World Expo this year. You'll probably be hearing a fair bit more about this yet.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
School Assignments and Term Projects.
Hey guys.
So, surprise surprise, I fell off the horse again. BUT, do you know what the best thing to do when you fall off is? Get straight back on. Before fear/shame/whatever is stopping you sets in.
K, I'm done preaching... On to the blog post!
If you read my lil ol' blog here on a regular basis (that is, whenever I post something) you will know that my studies recommenced last week. I started a diploma of Graphic Design :D So far I absolutely love it. For once, starting something new I don't feel like the most awkward person on the planet, and I actually got excited every time we got a new assignment. I know right? I have been tol so many times that this enthusiasm quickly fades, but I am going to make a conscious effort not to let it wane. I want to get the ball rolling, and quickly, and I want it to keep up that momentum, if you follow. I know I chuck a lot of random metaphors into my blog posts, but I can't help it, it's just how I write, so you'll just have to roll with me.
ANYway, you guys are all smart, so I think I can safely assume that you all catch my drift.
I'd discuss my assignments with you now but 1. that would make for a very boring blog post, 2. I will show and tell them as I finish them; that way, I can show you the good ones and leave out the shockers, and 3. I am already tired, and don't have the mental patience to type it out for your reading pleasure (well, not just now anyway) You'll just have to wait to hear about them :D
Ok.
The other thing I wanted to talk about is what is happening at my young adult group at the moment. We've started these things called Term Projects. The reason for this is, often these days, kids and young adults will come along on a sunday night, encounter the Lord, and have an awesome time hanging out with everyone, but then they go home, and fall back into the same old life patterns and not really bring much of the awesome home with them. The idea is that with each term, or section of the year, we will be focusing on something different. The first of these started on Sunday night, and the topic is Love. Not just any love though, at least not in the sense often meant in popular culture (eg. I love my family, I love music, I love ice cream, I love that movie, etc) but God's love for us. One of the biggest points I got out of it was that real love is not just (as Chrishan puts it) something that we associate with a positive feeling or emotion. It is not necessarily something we feel for other people or things. Love starts with God. It is because He loved us that we are able to love. (see 1 John 4:7-12 (i'd type it in here but it's pretty long. Find the Message version here - first 2 paragraphs))
The aim is to become more loving people through a daily revision (or something) of what Love is (see here) and to try to show love more through our day-to-day lives, not just to those we love, but to our enemies too.
I personally really love that we are doing this, mainly because I was one of those kids who didn't bring the awesome home with me, and I find I kick myself a lot for not doing devotionals or praying enough - or at all - so this is something simple to start with, and build on.
I know this preachy style isn't what you guys are used to reading on here, but I just had to say what was on my heart, and, more importantly, I want to be able to track my progress somewhere. So, I will probably be writing about this kind of thing more often.
I know some people aren't entirely comfortable with this topic. It's touchy, and often controversial. I don't write this kind of thing here with the intention of stirring up a massive debate on beliefs, or religion or whatever. I don't do it with the intention of shoving it under your nose, or bible-bashing you, or anything else. I write about this because this is part of who I am. If this blog is going to stand a chance of accurately reflecting or representing my life, then I need to write about this every now and again.
I love and respect you all.
So, surprise surprise, I fell off the horse again. BUT, do you know what the best thing to do when you fall off is? Get straight back on. Before fear/shame/whatever is stopping you sets in.
K, I'm done preaching... On to the blog post!
If you read my lil ol' blog here on a regular basis (that is, whenever I post something) you will know that my studies recommenced last week. I started a diploma of Graphic Design :D So far I absolutely love it. For once, starting something new I don't feel like the most awkward person on the planet, and I actually got excited every time we got a new assignment. I know right? I have been tol so many times that this enthusiasm quickly fades, but I am going to make a conscious effort not to let it wane. I want to get the ball rolling, and quickly, and I want it to keep up that momentum, if you follow. I know I chuck a lot of random metaphors into my blog posts, but I can't help it, it's just how I write, so you'll just have to roll with me.
ANYway, you guys are all smart, so I think I can safely assume that you all catch my drift.
I'd discuss my assignments with you now but 1. that would make for a very boring blog post, 2. I will show and tell them as I finish them; that way, I can show you the good ones and leave out the shockers, and 3. I am already tired, and don't have the mental patience to type it out for your reading pleasure (well, not just now anyway) You'll just have to wait to hear about them :D
Ok.
The other thing I wanted to talk about is what is happening at my young adult group at the moment. We've started these things called Term Projects. The reason for this is, often these days, kids and young adults will come along on a sunday night, encounter the Lord, and have an awesome time hanging out with everyone, but then they go home, and fall back into the same old life patterns and not really bring much of the awesome home with them. The idea is that with each term, or section of the year, we will be focusing on something different. The first of these started on Sunday night, and the topic is Love. Not just any love though, at least not in the sense often meant in popular culture (eg. I love my family, I love music, I love ice cream, I love that movie, etc) but God's love for us. One of the biggest points I got out of it was that real love is not just (as Chrishan puts it) something that we associate with a positive feeling or emotion. It is not necessarily something we feel for other people or things. Love starts with God. It is because He loved us that we are able to love. (see 1 John 4:7-12 (i'd type it in here but it's pretty long. Find the Message version here - first 2 paragraphs))
The aim is to become more loving people through a daily revision (or something) of what Love is (see here) and to try to show love more through our day-to-day lives, not just to those we love, but to our enemies too.
I personally really love that we are doing this, mainly because I was one of those kids who didn't bring the awesome home with me, and I find I kick myself a lot for not doing devotionals or praying enough - or at all - so this is something simple to start with, and build on.
I know this preachy style isn't what you guys are used to reading on here, but I just had to say what was on my heart, and, more importantly, I want to be able to track my progress somewhere. So, I will probably be writing about this kind of thing more often.
I know some people aren't entirely comfortable with this topic. It's touchy, and often controversial. I don't write this kind of thing here with the intention of stirring up a massive debate on beliefs, or religion or whatever. I don't do it with the intention of shoving it under your nose, or bible-bashing you, or anything else. I write about this because this is part of who I am. If this blog is going to stand a chance of accurately reflecting or representing my life, then I need to write about this every now and again.
I love and respect you all.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!! *jumps on Marlin*
Wow. I'm going to start by saying just how glad I am to be going back to school.
I am SO glad to be back. SO glad.
Get ready guys. I'm about to take you on a journey with me, through My First Day Back At School.
Ready? Good
After waking up much earlier than I am used to (what is the meaning of this, 7am?!) I gulped down a hairy lemon, sipped a cup of tea made by my sister :) and showered, dressed and, well, I didn't eat. I skipped that part because I was too damned excited to think about doing anything else but get to school! ...and, I was running a wee bit late. Not to worry, though. Caught the eight o'clock bus in to the bus station, and transfered to an inbound express route there, and hey presto, twenty minutes later, I was there. I was at TAFE.
When I reached my building, I took about two minutes to see where each of my classes would be. Easy enough, they're mostly on the same level, right next to each other. Only one class (History of Design) is in the auditorium on the opposite side of the campus. Easy enough. Then I proceeded to spend the next ten minutes or so checking and replying to people on twitter, so as to avoid the awkward sitting-and-not-talking-to-classmates-I-have-yet-to-meet thing. My teacher/lecturer/tutor (not sure what to call him...) was there early, so I went in. There were already a handful of students seated at one of the tables, so I did what made the most sense; I joined them. Being the introverted creative types we were, no one was talking. I pretended to check my phone again, but the instructor started early. He turned out to be a pretty funny chap. Swiss born, still pronounces his rather colourful language in his lingering accent. He really likes to talk and retell war stories from back when he was a young GD. It's good though, because every story he tells is relevant.
Anyway, the class I had was Typography. Now, before you groan to yourself and think "Oh GAWD. How positively mind-numbing. Could there be a more boring topic to study on the face of the planet?" (to which I would answer: Yes. It's called Maths. Also Science, which, so the nerds INFORM me, is just applied Maths) it was actually really interesting. I'd go as far as saying it was fascinating. Now, for the sake of not stretching this post out too far (it's late already) I'll go into a more in-depth explanation of exactly WHAT typography is at a later date. Perhaps when my brain is a bit less fried.
We had a fairly long introductory discussion about Typography. I also took notes not only on the subject matter, but also some of the funny things that came out of my professors mouth (that's what I'll call him - Professor). Not necessarily the funniest things to read, but they were interesting/entertaining coming out of his mouth. Things like "Political correctness gives me the $%^!#". Describing one of the example typefaces (and keep in mind: it's JUST a font) (he'd probably deck me for saying that) he came out with "It's like getting your teeth pulled". I'll save up some more gems for later and distribute them evenly throughout this here blog at a later date. Maybe I'll add it as a treat at the bottom of my Monday posts (and possibly Tuesday as well... I have him then too). I got a real corker for the end of this one.
...Ok, maybe it's not THAT great... Could be more of a be-there kind of thing...
Anyway, then we took a break, I got a delicious-but-too-expensive-to-get-everyday, white-chocolate-and-raspberry muffin. I'm probably going to have to learn to make them. So gooood.
After break, we were shown a PowerPoint Presentation on the general awesomeness of Typography. Really. It was awesome. Then when the Slide Show of Awesome was complete, we were given our first assignment. A Self Portrait, using only typefaces. I'll definitely have to show you guys when it's done. I'm really looking forward to doing it.
I stayed behind after class to ask the Professor about possible pathways to the College of Art across the road (the very same institute I quit from at the end of 2008.) It seems if I manage to snag an offer (only 5 DipGD students will be made an offer), I will only need to take on one uni subject in second semester next year along with my Diploma studies. If I manage to do this, I can complete both a Diploma and a Degree in the same amount of time it usually takes to complete one degree (three years) So I'll be saving myself 2 years :). If I don't get it, I'm still considering study overseas, although there is still finances to take into account... We'll see, I suppose.
I have more stories of today to tell you all about, but they will have to wait.
ANYway, it's nearly 12, and I have class at nine. Time for sleeps.
Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow.
Nail colour: Still the ever-sexy Oscar Eveing.
Professorism: (in regards to McDonalds' brainwashing of innocent children's minds) "Those bastards are Perverts". Again, be-there thing. It was funny though, I promise.
T-Shirt Caption: [Picture: Loading bar at about 70% complete] THINKING... Please be patient
Did I ever mention how much I like T-shirt captions? I feel like I have brought this up before...
Submit your own, if you like.
I am SO glad to be back. SO glad.
Get ready guys. I'm about to take you on a journey with me, through My First Day Back At School.
Ready? Good
After waking up much earlier than I am used to (what is the meaning of this, 7am?!) I gulped down a hairy lemon, sipped a cup of tea made by my sister :) and showered, dressed and, well, I didn't eat. I skipped that part because I was too damned excited to think about doing anything else but get to school! ...and, I was running a wee bit late. Not to worry, though. Caught the eight o'clock bus in to the bus station, and transfered to an inbound express route there, and hey presto, twenty minutes later, I was there. I was at TAFE.
When I reached my building, I took about two minutes to see where each of my classes would be. Easy enough, they're mostly on the same level, right next to each other. Only one class (History of Design) is in the auditorium on the opposite side of the campus. Easy enough. Then I proceeded to spend the next ten minutes or so checking and replying to people on twitter, so as to avoid the awkward sitting-and-not-talking-to-classmates-I-have-yet-to-meet thing. My teacher/lecturer/tutor (not sure what to call him...) was there early, so I went in. There were already a handful of students seated at one of the tables, so I did what made the most sense; I joined them. Being the introverted creative types we were, no one was talking. I pretended to check my phone again, but the instructor started early. He turned out to be a pretty funny chap. Swiss born, still pronounces his rather colourful language in his lingering accent. He really likes to talk and retell war stories from back when he was a young GD. It's good though, because every story he tells is relevant.
Anyway, the class I had was Typography. Now, before you groan to yourself and think "Oh GAWD. How positively mind-numbing. Could there be a more boring topic to study on the face of the planet?" (to which I would answer: Yes. It's called Maths. Also Science, which, so the nerds INFORM me, is just applied Maths) it was actually really interesting. I'd go as far as saying it was fascinating. Now, for the sake of not stretching this post out too far (it's late already) I'll go into a more in-depth explanation of exactly WHAT typography is at a later date. Perhaps when my brain is a bit less fried.
We had a fairly long introductory discussion about Typography. I also took notes not only on the subject matter, but also some of the funny things that came out of my professors mouth (that's what I'll call him - Professor). Not necessarily the funniest things to read, but they were interesting/entertaining coming out of his mouth. Things like "Political correctness gives me the $%^!#". Describing one of the example typefaces (and keep in mind: it's JUST a font) (he'd probably deck me for saying that) he came out with "It's like getting your teeth pulled". I'll save up some more gems for later and distribute them evenly throughout this here blog at a later date. Maybe I'll add it as a treat at the bottom of my Monday posts (and possibly Tuesday as well... I have him then too). I got a real corker for the end of this one.
...Ok, maybe it's not THAT great... Could be more of a be-there kind of thing...
Anyway, then we took a break, I got a delicious-but-too-expensive-to-get-everyday, white-chocolate-and-raspberry muffin. I'm probably going to have to learn to make them. So gooood.
After break, we were shown a PowerPoint Presentation on the general awesomeness of Typography. Really. It was awesome. Then when the Slide Show of Awesome was complete, we were given our first assignment. A Self Portrait, using only typefaces. I'll definitely have to show you guys when it's done. I'm really looking forward to doing it.
I stayed behind after class to ask the Professor about possible pathways to the College of Art across the road (the very same institute I quit from at the end of 2008.) It seems if I manage to snag an offer (only 5 DipGD students will be made an offer), I will only need to take on one uni subject in second semester next year along with my Diploma studies. If I manage to do this, I can complete both a Diploma and a Degree in the same amount of time it usually takes to complete one degree (three years) So I'll be saving myself 2 years :). If I don't get it, I'm still considering study overseas, although there is still finances to take into account... We'll see, I suppose.
I have more stories of today to tell you all about, but they will have to wait.
ANYway, it's nearly 12, and I have class at nine. Time for sleeps.
Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow.
Nail colour: Still the ever-sexy Oscar Eveing.
Professorism: (in regards to McDonalds' brainwashing of innocent children's minds) "Those bastards are Perverts". Again, be-there thing. It was funny though, I promise.
T-Shirt Caption: [Picture: Loading bar at about 70% complete] THINKING... Please be patient
Did I ever mention how much I like T-shirt captions? I feel like I have brought this up before...
Submit your own, if you like.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Here, have a quickie...
This post will have to be hasty, sadly, as I'm already up late (ok, it's only 10:30pm, but i'm already sleepy, and my first class is 9am tomorrow :D).
Ugh. You know how you do that thing where you think of all these great things to blog about during the day, but by the time you sit down to write, the idea has flown away with no hope of returning. Like, when you take a bird out of its cage when it's not trained to not fly away and the cage is outside*... Yeah. I'm having one of those days. I can't remember what I used to do, but I know I was better at remembering stuff to write about. So, the bloggers among you out there... what are your techniques for holding onto noteworthy blogging topics?
I was going to do a whole lot more today than I ended up doing. I was woken by the rain coming down hard, and was lucky enough to get my window shut before it started pelting in my general direction. As for the rest of the day... I had porridge for the first time this year, I tidied my room on-and-off, so now it's semi-presentable. I still have heaps of organising to do; my desk is still covered in a moderate layer of junk/cd's/projects in a state of mid-completion. Once all that gets done, though, everything should be sweet.
My sister, who returned to school this week, was decorating her new timetable and student diary for the year, and requested to see my old ones. I took the opportunity to peruse them myself, and I gotta say, I was pretty dang awesome back in the day. My year 11 and 12 student diaries were the bomb. I could never have decorated my 8/9/10 diaries though, as I was in a class of snobby overachievers, and weekly diary checks were pretty much mandatory. Year 11 and 12 I had rehearsals every morning that checks were conducted, so being a creatively frustrated young artist, I made the most of the opportunity in front of me. I'll post pictures or maybe a video** of the offending articles soon. Seriously, I was some kind of genius.
ANYway, time for me to go get my act together, so tomorrow morning goes smoothly :)
Nail colour: Princessa Number 126: Oscar Evening
Subscribers: Still 26. Didn't see that one coming. -_-
Have a good day/afternoon/night guys. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow.
*this actually happened once to my sister. We'd had this yellow budgie for like, three weeks, and she absent-mindedly took it out of its cage to hold it, but forgot it was outside. In the immortal words of my younger sister, "Tweety did fly away easily"
**but not too soon. We have capped internet here, see, so until the new month starts, no uploady for me. :( meh.
Ugh. You know how you do that thing where you think of all these great things to blog about during the day, but by the time you sit down to write, the idea has flown away with no hope of returning. Like, when you take a bird out of its cage when it's not trained to not fly away and the cage is outside*... Yeah. I'm having one of those days. I can't remember what I used to do, but I know I was better at remembering stuff to write about. So, the bloggers among you out there... what are your techniques for holding onto noteworthy blogging topics?
I was going to do a whole lot more today than I ended up doing. I was woken by the rain coming down hard, and was lucky enough to get my window shut before it started pelting in my general direction. As for the rest of the day... I had porridge for the first time this year, I tidied my room on-and-off, so now it's semi-presentable. I still have heaps of organising to do; my desk is still covered in a moderate layer of junk/cd's/projects in a state of mid-completion. Once all that gets done, though, everything should be sweet.
My sister, who returned to school this week, was decorating her new timetable and student diary for the year, and requested to see my old ones. I took the opportunity to peruse them myself, and I gotta say, I was pretty dang awesome back in the day. My year 11 and 12 student diaries were the bomb. I could never have decorated my 8/9/10 diaries though, as I was in a class of snobby overachievers, and weekly diary checks were pretty much mandatory. Year 11 and 12 I had rehearsals every morning that checks were conducted, so being a creatively frustrated young artist, I made the most of the opportunity in front of me. I'll post pictures or maybe a video** of the offending articles soon. Seriously, I was some kind of genius.
ANYway, time for me to go get my act together, so tomorrow morning goes smoothly :)
Nail colour: Princessa Number 126: Oscar Evening
Subscribers: Still 26. Didn't see that one coming. -_-
Have a good day/afternoon/night guys. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow.
*this actually happened once to my sister. We'd had this yellow budgie for like, three weeks, and she absent-mindedly took it out of its cage to hold it, but forgot it was outside. In the immortal words of my younger sister, "Tweety did fly away easily"
**but not too soon. We have capped internet here, see, so until the new month starts, no uploady for me. :( meh.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Obligated and Loving It.
Right now, our house cat is sleeping on the floor in my room. It's rather adorable, yet not out of the ordinary, as most things she does are adorable. Except marking her territory on the carpet under my computer desk. And waking me at four in the morning. Other than that though, 100% irresistibly adorable.
Today was pretty good. I was VERY tired, but I woke up surprisingly early. Like, early enough that I was relieved that I could hit the snooze button without feeling guilty. I did get up though, and drank herbal tea (cranberry, raspberry, strawberry flavour. Best. Infusion. Ever.). I promptly got dressed and headed out to the bus stop. Halfway up the street, my lovely neighbours who were going to the shopping centre I work at stopped by the road to give me a lift. I think I scored the world's best neighbours. I was relieved, then, because I didn't have to rush to the bus stop in the heat, or run the risk of not making the bus and being obscenely late. To celebrate arriving at work a little early, I went to the food court and treated myself to hotcakes. They didn't have any plastic forks though, so I headed in to work to use the ones in the tearoom. Just as I got there, they were opening for the day, so sadly, I had to leave my scrumptious hotcakes and start work. One and a half long hours later, I was back in the tearoom eating breakfast/morning tea. Man, those hotcakes hit the spot. So good. Work was long though. No anecdotes of which to speak (like how I didn't end with a preposition there? Yeah. I got english skillz :P). Just a lot of hours punctuated by very little interesting matter at all. Although, one of the new girls (her name is Courtney) and I have established that we are pretty much the same person. Our mutual love of Jonas-Brothers-of-the-nineties-teeny-bopper-boy-band, Hanson cemented this theory. Remember Hanson? Mmm bop, doo be da ba doo op, etc? I was pretty much in love with Zac, the youngest one (I was eight, ok. Shush yo mouth) because not only was he this amazing kid who was world famous, (as far as I was concerned), talented (he played the freaking drums, ok), and he was only twelve. To top it all off, he wrote and recorded a song on Hanson's debut album to a girl called Lucy, and that just played BEAUTIFULLY to my eight-year-old fantasy.
ANYway*, Not much really noteworthy happened since. So, I just filled a blog post with "today was boring. it was slow. I was bored. Nothing happened." Are you still awake, faithful reader? If you are, congratulations. I was sure that would bore at least ninety percent of you to sleep.
It's not really noteworthy, but since I have nothing else to say, I'm going to tell you about this. Yesterday, after orientation, I bought myself a Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince calendar for 75% off. I thought this was awesome. Apparently my parents didn't agree. They both came into my room, on separate occasions, and told me that "that stuff is occult" and "you're back-sliding". Um, correct me if i'm wrong, but wasn't the whole Harry-Potter-Is-Evil over like, five years ago? Or longer, possibly, I can't be sure... Anyway, this really bugged me. It's not a big deal, but it bugged me.
Controversy aside, I really like this calendar. I doubt I will be using it for practical purposes much this year, but I'll probably end up keeping it for years to come. I did the same with a Pirates of the Caribbean calendar I received for christmas a few years back. I reached May, and there was a gorgeous picture of a brooding William Turner. Needless to say, I didn't change my calendar again for the rest of the year** XD
It's late now. Time for sleep. I was going to watch The Holiday, seeing as it is my last night to stay up late and do holiday things, as term starts the day after tomorrow. :D.'
So, have a good weekend, guys. May it be less boring than mine so far, anyway.
Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow.
Burritos: 1. I don't see this figure climbing any higher any time soon either. I've gone off them a bit.
Nail colour: Au Naturel, except for the thumb which features a new colour I tried at work today, and subsequently bought. I think it was called Oscar Evening (misspelled, it actually says "eveing") The brand is Princessa (some cheap brand) and the actual colour is a deep greyish purple. I love it.
Subscribers: Still 26. Like I expected it to rise in the space of one day in which I did not post a video.
The picture is one of my sister and I messing around on PhotoBooth... again... um, enjoy?
*I'm starting to think that any blog post on this blog is not complete without me starting a paragraph with ANYway...
**True story
Keeping my word, and Starting Anew
At long last. I said I'd be back today, and every day this week, and here I am. I am yet to return each day for the rest of this week, as those days have yet to arrive. This is beyond my control, malheureusement*, as I lack the ability to bend the time-space continuum.
ANYway...
The purpose of THIS post was to tell you ALL about my day.
Being too lazy to ACTUALLY check back and see what I wrote yesterday, I am relying purely on my memory when I say "I don't think I mentioned anything about what my plans were for today. So, I shall tell you now.
Today was my orientation day for my Diploma course in Graphic Design. I am really freaking excited. I woke up about 45 minutes later than intended, which in turn caused me to be ten minutes late for the start of orientation. No biggie** though, seeing as it was just your basic run-of-the-mill Here-are-our-safety-procedures-which-we-are-required-by-law-to-inform-you-of-but-couldn't-be-arsed-going-into-detail-about kind of speech. I didn't miss much. I did miss out on a seat though, as the auditorium was already packed. Then, after they showed us step by step how to enrol online (which I managed to figure out on my own over a month ago) (by this stage I was starting to think that these guys don't really give us much credit in the intelligence department. I took this as my cue to zone out). After about an hour of this, we split into our different courses and were introduced to our teachers and tutors. Again, more of your run-of-the-mill stuff. They then began a long process of taking headshots of each of us as a resource for them to help put names to faces. Because Graphic Design is a huge subject, this took ages. Also, there were other levels of study that went before Diploma students (Certificate 4, STEPS program highschool students) so it was a long wait. I amused myself by spinning and rolling on my computer chair. It was an effective in passing the time, so hey. I am still yet to make any actual friends, but there's plenty of time for the whole getting-to-know-you rigmarole. Then, after the photographing took place, I was done. So I went off to explore the campus that the teachers were too lazy to take us on a tour of. This restored my faith in their faith in our independence. So, where did I go, but the four-storeys-of-pure-nerdy-delight library. I love libraries. This one in particular has kept every issue of a foreign design magazine which I love but am too poor to afford, so I now have them all (nearly) at my very fingertips. *excitement* There is also a section dedicated to music. Not necessarily for study purposes, in fact, they said it was for our enjoyment. Guess who's going to be borrowing*** a heck of a lot of these? This girl right here. Man, My itunes will rock by the time I graduate :D. Then I figured out the printing system, printed my timetable, and left. The rest of the day was unmemorable.
Ok, upon revision none of that was really all that memorable either, but hey. It was fun to write. And that's kind of the point, isn't it? Plus, memorable or not, now I can look back and say "oh that's right. I remember that day at orientation now". And I have a certified record of the severity of my true nerdiness****.
I want to put some sort of count, or tag at the bottom of my posts now, hayleyghoover style. Burrito count? No, I don't eat burritos. Nail colour? I didn't wear nail polish today, though, I could just call that "au naturel". Subscribers? I don't post enough videos for that to really be of interest to anyone. I know we've already been through this, but I can't remember what I said/am too lazy to check. What kind of things should I put at the end of my posts?
I'll do those ones anyway, for now.
Burritos: 1 (from Oporto's. Was so full I couldn't finish it)
Nail colour: Au Naturel.
Subscribers: 26 (up 2 from last time I looked. I haven't posted on my personal channel in months. Where do they keep coming from?)
Maybe the subscriber one will encourage me to post videos on my channel? Would any of you like to see that? I actually tried challenging myself last year, saying I'd reward myself if I got to 100 video uploads with a Flip HD Camcorder. I. Want. One. Reckon I should give it a go this year?
That's enough for tonight. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow.
*It's FRENCH for Yoghurt! I mean, for 'unfortunately'. :P You know Yoplait actually convinced me as a kid that 'yoplait' was the actual french word for yoghurt. Imagine my embarrassment when I discovered in class that the ACTUAL word for yogurt in french was 'yaourt'. Tricky marketing people. *tsk tsk* I bet you didn't know that. You learn something new every day... unless of course, you already did know that. In which case, you should probably go somewhere else to learn your something-new for today. Sorry.
**Holy snood, Google Chrome recognises biggie as a legit dictionary word. No squiggly red underline. I'm impressed.
***And by borrowing, you of course know I mean pirating. I like pirating. I mean, stealing music is bad, and I don't condone it, but when you call it Pirating, that means I can officially call myself a Pirate. Now, that makes me feel badass.
****So apparently, Google Chrome recognises biggie as a legit dictionary word, but NOT nerdiness... um, did I miss something?
ANYway...
The purpose of THIS post was to tell you ALL about my day.
Being too lazy to ACTUALLY check back and see what I wrote yesterday, I am relying purely on my memory when I say "I don't think I mentioned anything about what my plans were for today. So, I shall tell you now.
Today was my orientation day for my Diploma course in Graphic Design. I am really freaking excited. I woke up about 45 minutes later than intended, which in turn caused me to be ten minutes late for the start of orientation. No biggie** though, seeing as it was just your basic run-of-the-mill Here-are-our-safety-procedures-which-we-are-required-by-law-to-inform-you-of-but-couldn't-be-arsed-going-into-detail-about kind of speech. I didn't miss much. I did miss out on a seat though, as the auditorium was already packed. Then, after they showed us step by step how to enrol online (which I managed to figure out on my own over a month ago) (by this stage I was starting to think that these guys don't really give us much credit in the intelligence department. I took this as my cue to zone out). After about an hour of this, we split into our different courses and were introduced to our teachers and tutors. Again, more of your run-of-the-mill stuff. They then began a long process of taking headshots of each of us as a resource for them to help put names to faces. Because Graphic Design is a huge subject, this took ages. Also, there were other levels of study that went before Diploma students (Certificate 4, STEPS program highschool students) so it was a long wait. I amused myself by spinning and rolling on my computer chair. It was an effective in passing the time, so hey. I am still yet to make any actual friends, but there's plenty of time for the whole getting-to-know-you rigmarole. Then, after the photographing took place, I was done. So I went off to explore the campus that the teachers were too lazy to take us on a tour of. This restored my faith in their faith in our independence. So, where did I go, but the four-storeys-of-pure-nerdy-delight library. I love libraries. This one in particular has kept every issue of a foreign design magazine which I love but am too poor to afford, so I now have them all (nearly) at my very fingertips. *excitement* There is also a section dedicated to music. Not necessarily for study purposes, in fact, they said it was for our enjoyment. Guess who's going to be borrowing*** a heck of a lot of these? This girl right here. Man, My itunes will rock by the time I graduate :D. Then I figured out the printing system, printed my timetable, and left. The rest of the day was unmemorable.
Ok, upon revision none of that was really all that memorable either, but hey. It was fun to write. And that's kind of the point, isn't it? Plus, memorable or not, now I can look back and say "oh that's right. I remember that day at orientation now". And I have a certified record of the severity of my true nerdiness****.
I want to put some sort of count, or tag at the bottom of my posts now, hayleyghoover style. Burrito count? No, I don't eat burritos. Nail colour? I didn't wear nail polish today, though, I could just call that "au naturel". Subscribers? I don't post enough videos for that to really be of interest to anyone. I know we've already been through this, but I can't remember what I said/am too lazy to check. What kind of things should I put at the end of my posts?
I'll do those ones anyway, for now.
Burritos: 1 (from Oporto's. Was so full I couldn't finish it)
Nail colour: Au Naturel.
Subscribers: 26 (up 2 from last time I looked. I haven't posted on my personal channel in months. Where do they keep coming from?)
Maybe the subscriber one will encourage me to post videos on my channel? Would any of you like to see that? I actually tried challenging myself last year, saying I'd reward myself if I got to 100 video uploads with a Flip HD Camcorder. I. Want. One. Reckon I should give it a go this year?
That's enough for tonight. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow.
*It's FRENCH for Yoghurt! I mean, for 'unfortunately'. :P You know Yoplait actually convinced me as a kid that 'yoplait' was the actual french word for yoghurt. Imagine my embarrassment when I discovered in class that the ACTUAL word for yogurt in french was 'yaourt'. Tricky marketing people. *tsk tsk* I bet you didn't know that. You learn something new every day... unless of course, you already did know that. In which case, you should probably go somewhere else to learn your something-new for today. Sorry.
**Holy snood, Google Chrome recognises biggie as a legit dictionary word. No squiggly red underline. I'm impressed.
***And by borrowing, you of course know I mean pirating. I like pirating. I mean, stealing music is bad, and I don't condone it, but when you call it Pirating, that means I can officially call myself a Pirate. Now, that makes me feel badass.
****So apparently, Google Chrome recognises biggie as a legit dictionary word, but NOT nerdiness... um, did I miss something?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
You don't even need to say it.
I know. I know. For all the times I mentioned* how much I love blogging in my last post, and for all the times I have resolved to blog more (because I just love it so damned much) I haven't done a whole lot of blogging.
I have been using Tumblr a little. I will discuss this in further depth when I am ready I suppose. I keep trying to set deadlines for myself, but, as you can well see, that didn't really work too well now, did it? I was thinking at the end of the month, or on the first day of a new month, but since the first of February is this Monday, and also the day I recommence my studies, sadly, I don't foresee a deadline met. Also, that doesn't give me long to make some decent use of Tumblr, because as yet, I have yet to post more than ten times. Considering just how easy it is to post, and indeed, repost on Tumblr, this is really just lazy. I know, every time I say this it loses impact.
BUT. My studies require me to do a lot of sitting in front of a computer. I am relatively sure that it won't be too difficult to procrastinate effectively**. I mean, how hard can it possibly be?
So, as per my New Years Resolution, I will be showing this blog more love.
I have more I could write about, but, since I have been so damned bad at this lately, I am thinking it's time for another Punishment Week***. Really, folks. If there is one piece of blogging wisdom I have gained, it is that no blog should be entered into lightly. A blog is more than a page of whim among a million in cyberspace. A blog is a commitment. It's a portal for interaction like no other. Like, on a scale of one to ten, one being Pet Sea Monkeys, ten being Marriage, I'd say a blog is around a six or seven. No joke. With a blog, you're not committing to a virtual page. You are committing beyond that, to each and every reader who reads, and returns to read, your blog. You commit to people.
I haven't been very committed to you guys at all, and for that, I apologise. If you follow me, you probably did it for a reason. Since I lost my blogging mojo, I have lost sight of what it is I write that keeps you, my followers**** returning to my little old page here.
So, aside from forcing myself back into this WONDERFUL habit, I need to know why you read this little virtual piece of me. Is it my random style of writing? Is it my sense of humour*****? Is it... could it be... the endless promises and failures to improve? Readers, I need to get inside your heads. I know this possibly sounds just *slightly* insecure, and maybe it is. Like I said, I've lost my mojo. I need a little help relocating my groove. Then, it should be sweet.
I have a fairly important life stage that I'd like to keep record of. It starts tomorrow, with orientation.
New leaf officially turned.
See you tomorrow.
*and by 'mentioned' i mean 'gushed about'
**now THERE'S two words you rarely see placed next to each other.
***You remember these, don't you? It was, admittedly, a while ago, back in my blogging prime, when I would post diligently every three days. Then, when my diligence slipped, I would PUNISH myself by making myself post every day for a week, on top of my OE3D commitments.
****Ohhh. That makes me feel POWERFUL. My followers. My minions. Oh, the possibilities... muahahahaha...
*****Not likely
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Blogging like a BOSS
Anyway, I was browsing away**, when my sister ran up to me and shoved this here bookazine*** into my then-empty hands. She proceeds to inform me that my mother had picked it up to look at, then my sister, knowing me as well as she does, instantly thought to show me. She was very right to show me too, as it contains so very much information on the topic of blogging. Now, I love to blog. It may not seem like it, looking at this here blogspot. True, i haven't shown my blog much love of late, but I still love to blog. Whether microblogging on Twitter, or developing an argumentative essay/reeaallly long rant to post, say, here, I love to pour my heart and soul out in word form into the interwebs. While I may not necessarily always commit to the task as much as I should/would like, I doubt it will ever be something that I abandon altogether. Aren't you guys glad to hear that? You should be... uh, that is to say, I would really really like it if that were the case *ahem*.
Being something that I love to do, blogging is an ability that I enjoy improving. So, naturally after seeing this, I whined to my mother, asking why she had picked it up in the first place, because now I had to buy it. There really was no way out of it. And so, I parted with twenty-five hard-earned dollars, and the bookazine became mine. As it turns out, it contains lots and lots**** of information about the different kinds of blogs available. Everything from Wordpress to Twitter has some sort of mention, and they're all assessed and compared. Loving blogging as much as I do, it made me realise just how little I know about the world I love so much (the world of blogging, that is xD)
So, I'm going on a kind of quest this year. I will be crash-testing all the different blogs listed in this here bookazine. Not that I don't already love Blogger. I do. It's just that, I made my blog here without so much as thinking about doing it anywhere else. They say all blog types have their advantages and disadvantages, but you never really know what's best for you until you try them all.
I will continue to post here. In fact, I'll probably use this blog as my home base, to keep you all in the loop. I've already ticked Blogger and Twitter off my list. Next: Tumblr. I've actually already set up a Tumblr account. I will probably report back here in about a week and let you guys know how it's going. In the meantime, if you already have one yourselves, follow my blog here
Happy blogging!
*Don't you just love the word "o'clock"? No one will explain what exactly goes between o and clock, but the apostrophe must stand for something, right? Nevertheless, every time I say it, I feel very piratey... although that might have something to do with me changing my Facebook language to English - Pirate, and recently completing a POTC marathon with my sister... *ponders*
**I browse like a BOSS. Especially in Borders.
***Like a magazine, but made with awesome instead of suck.
****and LOTS
Saturday, January 2, 2010
NEW YEARS and stuff...
So it's that time again.
Time to take stock, reset goals and all that lovely stuff.
So. Here Goes.
In 2009 I:
- Took a gap year (again)
- Turned 20.
- Worked towards items essential for my future (Macbook, car, etc)
- Bought a MacBook Pro (writing this post on the lovely machine right now)
- Decided what I wanted to do with my life (finally)
- Made friends both IRL and here online
- Joined endless websites on a whim, some of which lay completely forgotten about
- Attempted NaNoWriMo for the first time, and wrote 13000 words worth of my first novel
- Read more books than I could care to keep track of
- Attempted to keep a diary for every day (this lasted approximately 40 days)
- Attempted to blog every three days (again, this petered out after a few months)
- Was accepted into a Diploma of Graphic Design program starting this year (i.e. 2010)
- Did not rejoin my orchestra
- Did not take violin lessons
- Did not take dancing lessons
- Joined a collab channel on YouTube
This list is by no means exhaustive. It's just all I can remember right now.
In 2010, I resolve to:
- Rejoin my orchestra (with whom I will travel to Shang-Hai in june/july), and get back into dancing (violin lessons probably won't happen)
- Continue saving for a car
- Pick up diary writing again, only this time establish a specific purpose for writing, other than 'making myself'
- Get back into blogging. I miss this, guys. I think I forgot just how easy it is.
- Focus on my course, and not let trivial things pull me back from achieving my full potential
- Learn from my mistakes
- Get into the habit of finishing my projects, or at the very least seeing them through to as-close-to-completion-as-they-will-get
It's really late so I will leave it there.
Happy 2010 guys
Time to take stock, reset goals and all that lovely stuff.
So. Here Goes.
In 2009 I:
- Took a gap year (again)
- Turned 20.
- Worked towards items essential for my future (Macbook, car, etc)
- Bought a MacBook Pro (writing this post on the lovely machine right now)
- Decided what I wanted to do with my life (finally)
- Made friends both IRL and here online
- Joined endless websites on a whim, some of which lay completely forgotten about
- Attempted NaNoWriMo for the first time, and wrote 13000 words worth of my first novel
- Read more books than I could care to keep track of
- Attempted to keep a diary for every day (this lasted approximately 40 days)
- Attempted to blog every three days (again, this petered out after a few months)
- Was accepted into a Diploma of Graphic Design program starting this year (i.e. 2010)
- Did not rejoin my orchestra
- Did not take violin lessons
- Did not take dancing lessons
- Joined a collab channel on YouTube
This list is by no means exhaustive. It's just all I can remember right now.
In 2010, I resolve to:
- Rejoin my orchestra (with whom I will travel to Shang-Hai in june/july), and get back into dancing (violin lessons probably won't happen)
- Continue saving for a car
- Pick up diary writing again, only this time establish a specific purpose for writing, other than 'making myself'
- Get back into blogging. I miss this, guys. I think I forgot just how easy it is.
- Focus on my course, and not let trivial things pull me back from achieving my full potential
- Learn from my mistakes
- Get into the habit of finishing my projects, or at the very least seeing them through to as-close-to-completion-as-they-will-get
It's really late so I will leave it there.
Happy 2010 guys
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