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J O U R N A L
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Wednesday, July 31
[Reams of forms]posted by peter at 15:54 .......This afternoon I've been overwhelmed with forms: everything from casual employment contracts to access card applications. This sort of thing tends to stress me out, quite unnecessarily, and I think other people recognise that and respond in ways which tend to stress me out even more. Must be my genetic makeup. And then Security wouldn't accept one form because the lecturer had filled in his portion using pencil. More legwork. Luckily the school office was a nucleus of efficiency and I managed to process a number of things in the one location. The ladies who work there are so lovely, even though they were probably quite stressed themselves.
Anyway, I had my first tutor's meeting today, and I think I'm going to really enjoy taking Multimedia Concepts. The course seems well-organised (at least at this point) and I know when/what/how I have to deliver material. Could this be the first time I've tutored in a properly designed environment? We'll see.
Finally, why is it that there are ALWAYS shortages of readers for courses? Surely they can just look up on their stupid database how many students are taking each course, and then order that number of readers from the printers. I guess they run on some sort of statistically-determined number based on the assumption that x% of students won't bother purchasing each reader. Call me naive, but whatever system they use, it seems to fail year after year and we students suffer from the delay. Eek, I'm sounding like some sort of student's association spokesperson. Might climb off my soapbox now. But I promise you it was made of environmentally friendly materials.
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[Quit]posted by peter at 12:53 .......I've just quit one of my jobs. And my employer seemed to take it surprisingly well.
So now I'm back to two jobs, plus study. This, I think, will be far more manageable.
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[Benevolent superhero]posted by peter at 19:03 .......Why isn't the film Mothra available in Australia?
Similarly, why isn't the film Breaking the Waves available on DVD in Australia? It's my favourite film of all time and I can't get myself a copy, unless I purchase some freaky Scandinavian triple-pack.
I might have to.
[Restlessness]posted by peter at 18:45 .......This is such a cliche but Adelaide really does seem small upon return from Sydney. This isn't a bad thing in general, but with my current frame of mind it's a very bad thing indeed.
On a more positive note, the new version of my site has finally been indexed by Google! So, let's hope it's visitors ahoy! :)
[Living interstate]posted by peter at 09:29 .......Because I am becoming increasingly restless, I am considering, amongst other things, moving interstate next year. And I think I would choose Melbourne over Sydney. My cousin Lisa always says that Sydney has no soul, and whilst I don't agree with that, I really think that Melbourne is the better city. They are both incredibly expensive places to live, but I think I could live in a better location and have a more enjoyable lifestyle in Melbourne than I could in Sydney. The last thing I want to do is move to another city and live in suburbia. Yuck.
It just reinforces how good Adelaide is... the fact that I can afford to live one suburb away from the CBD whilst studying and working part time illustrates this clearly.
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[Yay!]posted by peter at 09:06 .......I am going to Sydney tomorrow!! How exciting! Who would have known I'd need my travel section again so soon? :)
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[Splendour]posted by peter at 21:21 .......Who wouldn't love a long lunch break? I took two hours today and used it very wisely, lunching with Jess, Melita, Lisa B and Nicky at Vego and Lovin' It. Then we strolled around Rundle St, with the result being my purchase of a terrific chocolate brown zip-up jacket with a design on the right sleeve. Thanks to everyone for pressuring me into adding yet another significant purchase to my already-strained credit card.
And along those lines, there is some possibility that I'll be heading over to Sydney this weekend. I'll find out tomorrow.
Finally, I have to wait another couple of weeks before I know whether my job will continue or end in the next few months. Obviously I'm hoping for the former, but it all depends on governmental funding allocations. Ah the life of a public servant.
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[Yuck]posted by peter at 13:46 .......The staying power of Echinacea is a wonder to behold. So effective, and to think I was such a skeptic! I hate having a cold. The inconvenience extends beyond basic personal discomfort – today it is preventing me from donating blood.
Semi-regularly, my friends and I meet up in the city, walk to the Blood Bank, have sizeable needles stuck in our arms and then lie there on the ultra-comfy mechanical recliner-rocker-ish chairs while the blood drains from our bodies. One such time the nurse stuck the needle underneath my vein, and then had to move the instrument around inside my arm in an attempt to puncture the said vein. Not a very comfortable experience, I might add.
But usually it is a (relatively) painless exercise that leaves me feeling lightheaded and occasionally bruised, but oh-so socially conscious.
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[The peppercorn fairy]posted by peter at 23:01 .......Somebody left three jars of peppercorns on our doorstep. Was this a gift, or is a more sinister force at work? Or have we just been paid a visit by the peppercorn fairy?
Well today was borderline perfect. Jess and I went to the perennially delicious Stirling Organic Market Cafe, before heading to Kitchenhand and making suitably tasty purchases. We then headed back to her place and watched Vanilla Sky, which was strange but ace, and also a whole host of lifestyle shows. The British Changing Rooms is so sensational, and I am completely infatuated with one of the presenters. As I am with Nigella Lawson. Even though she does prepare creepy meat dishes.
The day ended with hot chocolate at a cafe with Deb, Trish and Ange. How delightful.
[Food status]posted by peter at 10:53 .......One of the things I hate about returning home from anywhere is the complete lack of food in the house. Invariably I will have an abundance of single ingredients, eg. tinned lentils or weet-bix, but one cannot turn these ingredients alone into a meal. So I shall be strolling off to the supermarket very soon, as I have not even breakfasted yet. Which is possibly a recipe for hypoglycaemia.
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[Normality restored]posted by peter at 20:34 .......Sad, but true. I wish I was still overseas.
It seems that my 'Martha Stewart recommended' species of paperwhite jonquil is flowering merrily in our courtyart, but sadly the flowers emit a vile stench, reeking of death. What was Martha thinking? Hopefully the daffodils will prove less offensive.
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[Credit]posted by peter at 18:02 .......A credit for e-commerce technology is not to be sniffed at, given the amount of effort I put into it. There's no doubting the fact that it was one of the lamest, most poorly organised courses I've ever had the misfortune of studying.
Today's good news is that the ever-wonderful Jessica has obviously made contact with Sally and thus I will be able to see them all when I get back to Melbourne on Sunday. I won't attempt to explain the various threads and connections involved here.
I never want this holiday to end.
[TV]posted by peter at 07:31 .......They have really weird TV commercials here in NZ. I don't think they'd ever be allowed to screen them in Australia. Home safety reminder ads depict people falling over in the shower and twitching, or falling through plate glass coffee tables. Meanwhile a 'wear your seatbelt' commercial shows someone flying through the windscreen and crashing in a crumpled bloody heap on the bonnet of another car. Strangely effective advertising methinks.
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[Paris, Texas]posted by peter at 19:34 .......We came across a clothing store called ParisTexas here in Christchurch. I found the coolest jacket there. Thus a dilemma is born. The garment is neither particularly warm nor particularly well-made. Yet it is particularly expensive. I really want it. More than is healthy. If I decide not to buy it I'll probably regret it. But if I do buy it I won't be able to buy as much when I get back to Melbourne. So you can see where the difficulty lies.
I suppose it's good that I don't have more serious things to worry about.
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[Blue light]posted by peter at 14:09 .......It was a bit of a reality check last night when we made our way into a pub/club in Wanaka for dancing and a few drinks. The number of underage and barely-legal drinkers in the establishment was overwhelming, and their overtly repulsive and blatantly stupid behaviour made for a less than enjoyable evening. Incredibly lame music added fuel to the fire, and we made our way back to the apartment with some disappointment. Fortunately this neo-blue-light-disco was not our only destination – we had previously dined at a delicious Indian restaurant, and the local Brewskis made for some pleasant times. Sleep was required in any case.
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[Chill]posted by peter at 15:15 .......After talking to the ever-wonderful Melita, I've decided to not even think about what I'm going to do next year until uni finishes in November. Up until that time, I'm just going to do my best to retain my mental health and enjoy life.
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[Hurtle]posted by peter at 16:03 .......I must admit that I approached the New Zealand ski fields with some trepidation. However they proved to be just so fun. The day wasn't without its share of hissy fits, but that's to be expected. I want to throw at least three major hissy fits during this trip. I nearly chucked one last night when I became rather irate with a rude, arrogant shop assistant (so I don't know what my shoe size is in all the various international measures... why should I?), and there have been a number of other occasions where I have come frighteningly close.
Our very bohemian cheese and wine evening went very well last night. We've still got more than a platter's worth left, not to mention a tasty bottle of red wine. I don't see why there can't be another one tonight.
My gosh I am so tired I could die. And hungry. We're going out for dinner now.
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[Withdrawals]posted by peter at 17:30 .......I am so glad to be back in front of a computer with a net connection. I have seriously been craving the opportunity to check my email and update this blog for the last couple of days. New Zealand doesn't seem to be as 'online' as, say, Hong Kong, but I need to keep reminding myself that the wilderness is what I'm here for.
On that note, it's good that we're in the current vogue-wilderness of the world. However it is so culturally similar to Australia that it is difficult to believe that we are overseas. But I didn't expect anything else.
I do have stories to tell but they escape me now. Sandra's dog Molly licked my toothbrush before we left (yuck, straight in the bin), I forgot to pack my belt, we scored free drinks in Melbourne, the flight was vile and I've been out of my mind with tiredness. But it's been so so so so good. I do love to travel :)
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[Generation X]posted by peter at 11:59 .......Last night was the final generation x karaoke... at least for the time being. It's a bit of an end of an era really. I haven't been a karaoke stalwart for some time, but 1999 was a different story. In its original long-closed crusty venue upstairs off gouger street (stix... oh, the memories...) we ruled the microphones week after week. And probably acted very inappropriately as well.
Last night Jess and I sang REM's Shiny happy people and we won a cinema pass for our efforts.
I have to go immediately because I am simply procrastinating on packing for my trip. I'll be posting all the latest news in my travel section while I'm away.
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[A sudden turn]posted by peter at 09:17 .......I've been on the verge of a hissy fit all morning. Not because of anyone in particular; more because of people in general. Having left a trail of thinly disguised bitchiness in my wake, I've resolved to get a grip. Lunch with Melita will be a super way to reinvent my day.
One piece of good news is that everything is okay with the essay marking – I don't have to do it, thank goodness. The bad piece of news is that I'm at work after a restless night punctuated by the very loud slamming of doors.
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[Examined]posted by peter at 20:05 .......Really, I can't believe how bad I'm becoming. I actually left my exam early because I felt like going outside and talking. Who does that sort of thing? Instead of thoroughly checking through my answers and tweaking them into discursive excellence, I thought "hey, Pippa's outside, might go talk to her." Contrast this with my borderline-obsessive academic attitude of just a few years back. I used to actually study then. Not to mention complete tutorial work. But I think I'm happier now, so why bother changing anything?
After the exam I went for a beer with Josh and Pippa... then we went to Hungry Jacks. Being just short of the epitome of vileness (those stately arches claim that title), this fast food restaurant had not factored into my diet for a number of years. So I went the veggie burger and large fries. And who would have known it would be so delicious?
Finally, is it really cosmopolitan to walk around the business district carrying a soya flat white in a cardboard cup? I'm not so sure. I can't deny that I enjoy it – Starbucks and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf kept me alive in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore – but it always makes me feel either borderline pretentious or just completely lame. But hey, I was walking around that nucleus of pretentiousness we call Rundle St with Deb this morning (instead of studying for my exam), so maybe it was just the day for it.
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[Rickety]posted by peter at 22:33 .......Blogger is so unstable at the moment. It's not publishing my name at the bottom of my posts. It simply says posted by at 10:21 PM, completely omitting my name. And none of my archive templates are visible to me yet.
But that doesn't change how much I love it!!
[As a student...]posted by peter at 22:21 .......I think I have a right to be thoroughly jaded with university. After all, I have been attending for nearly five years now. Admittedly, I'm part time this year, which is the best study decision I've made in recent times (up there with dropping out of engineering and choosing not to do honours) – but given that an exam is looming tomorrow I am still experiencing stress and exasperation. For some reason I just cannot be bothered anymore. The course material isn't particularly difficult, and in theory it should be interesting, but it just isn't. So that makes exam revision even more of a chore.
One of the things sustaining me (apart from this obvious procrastination) is the thought of coffee with Pippa tomorrow, and then I'll hopefully meet Jess later. The New Zealand trip is less of a motivating factor than you might think... for example I'm more interested in my brand new backpack and thoughts of fresh snow than I am in e-commerce business models.
Onwards and onwards...
[Time]posted by peter at 16:24 .......I should now make it clear that the time displayed on this blog is half an hour behind the actual time here in Adelaide. Blogger doesn't seem to recognise Australian CST.
[End]posted by peter at 16:22 .......I love these last few minutes just before 5pm. Actually, why am I still here?
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[iBook]posted by peter at 21:51 .......I love the computer I'm using at the moment. Clearly I need to save up and purchase a similar notebook. Because then when I've finished using it, I can fold it up and put it in a drawer. I'm not big on the aesthetics of computer equipment. This one is white. I love it.
Poor old Angela is complaining about the cost of parking at her work. $5 for a 4-hour shift. Seems outrageous. And she works at night so therefore it's unrealistic and unsafe for her to catch public transport. Now she's talking about popcorn.
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