Yesterday was shocking. Absolutely horrible. Why? Well... on Saturday night I went to a friend's 21st. We got there late, and left (relatively) early... yet somehow I managed to drink 1 bottle of wine on my own, plus a glass of moscato. Hm.
When we got home, I fell into bed and then I remember moaning that I might need a bucket. Thankfully I didn't need it... until the next morning. My god - The whole of yesterday was spent trying to ignore the fact that I had absolutely nothing left in my stomach yet I really really felt that I was going to be sick again. 6 seperate occasions - each with at least 5 head-in-bucket moments.
I thought I might feel better if I rehydrated - but alas, my stomach did not agree, and up it came. Delightful isn't it?
Finally at about 7pm which was actually 8pm due to day light saving... I had some food. And it stayed down. I felt like I was going to vomit again... but didn't.
Then I watched Midsomer Murders, Compass, and a documentary on a violinist called Yehudi Menuin. These shows were actually all very good and served to improve the day as much as it could have been.
Then I went to bed.
End of terrible day, with a not so terrible ending.
Today I watched a video by Tom Milsom ... I think that everyone should watch it. It is very good. He is very articulate. (And quite a bit cute too). If you ever feel you want some cute/awesome music, he's good at that too.
Anyway. I'm going to attempt to make this day more productive and less vomit-y. I lost 1.5 kgs yesterday... better make up for it!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
This blog comes in 3 parts
1. Dr. Who
I have decided to jump on the bandwagon and finally watch the new series of Dr. Who. And it's awesome. I have been trying to trick Nannal in to buying them for me for ages, but he's lazy. So... well, itunes and illaglity are for me. I feel bad about the illegality bit, but hey - I don't get BBC or ABC so back off!
Anyway, I'm up to the 3rd season with Martha. I predict that by tomorrow, I will be up to date... which really tells you alot about my life at present...
2. Curtains
As mentioned (or gushed about, either way) in the last blog, I have NEW curtains. They are simply marvelous. I will find a picture and upload them. Sadly, we didn't have enough curtain tape to go the whole way so I presently have 3/4 of the curtains (i.e., one window has just one curtain, while the other has 2...). But it makes no difference! The floral is gone... GONE! (With the exception of the couches which are covered in the same material... but I have plans for them too... evil material must GO!)
See? Awesome plain old white. ^.^
3. Book challenges and teenagers
I have read 2 seperate blogs lately about book challenges in America. Both blogs were written by wonderful authors who I love and follow (through blogs, videos etc.) but are (as far as I know) unrelated in any way. However apparently the book challenge and ban issue has arisen again. The main argument that I have heard (from the sane side) is that parents who believe that their child should not be reading a certain book due to sexually explicit content (the major reason) or any other reason, have every right to prevent their child from reading it. But that is as far as it should go. Their child. Librarians are not just people who catalogue books, say "Sssh", or know where to put piles of books in shelves. Oh no! They know about books. They read books. And they know what is and is not appropriate for libraries.
Despite some sensationalist claims, a librarian will not put pornography on a shelf for teenagers. What they do, is chose books that may have sexual content for their broader themes. As teenagers in general are becoming aware of the sexual side of life, and are curious as to how it all fits together, so books that they read reflect this. If we were deprived of all reference to sexuality in books, we would be in the dark and thus more likely to go down the wrong path.
Some people think that just because we are exposed to something means that we are going to do it. Regardless of the context. My main example is "Looking for Alaska" by John Green (who is one of the authors who writes about this due to this book being challenged). Alaska is being challenged because it contains a scene that describes oral sex. Parents believe this is explicit, and in some cases refer to it as pornography. Green argues that in context the scene serves to portray casual sexual encounters in a wholly negative light. The scene is awkward and unsexy. It is also immediately followed by a genuine non-sexual interaction, which highlights the awkwardness and unsexiness of the oral sex scene. Authors do this all the time. Especially in teen novels.
I think this is because we remember our own first sexual encounters. We didn't know what to do. We didn't know where sex fits into a normal and healthy relationship. So we just ... gave it a go. With generally awkward results. I believe that if kids were to read Alaska, or any other novel like this, rather than being tempted to give awkward oral sex a go, they would be tempted to give genuine relationships a go.
Why? Because most kids are not dumb. Just like most adults are not dumb. Funny that, given that kids are just adults who haven't got out of school yet.* So if you think that teens are as easily led as sheep, then you are assuming that people in general are that too. If you think that kids aren't able to read critically, then perhaps you are assuming that you can't read critically. Can you pick up on the context and discern whether or not it is encouraging? I sure can. I don't watch a movie where drugs are being taken and illnesses caught, and no life lived and think "OH WOW! That looks like awesome fun!"
I don't watch crime shows or murder movies and think "Oh my. That looks so easy. Murder and crime are the way to go. They will serve all my problems."
I think that we are, and mostly always have been, pretty good at picking these things up. You know, since you first learnt the difference between "fiction" or "non-fiction". Since you first learnt right from wrong. And since you first learnt that you don't know everything, and you need to have peek into other people's lives (real or imagined) to better know the world around you.
Librarians know this. I think librarians are probably the most intelligent people... especially in high schools. Just like John Green goes on about all the time: you can't imagine a single person, or a group of people in an un-complex manner. "Teens are easily led" is as untrue a statement as "Cats are black". Sure, some teens may be easily led, and some cats may be black, but parents need to have faith in and understanding of their children, so that the decisions they make are the best for their child. No knee jerk reactions please. I don't want one mother, whose child is allegedly dumb, to decide what is right for all children. Lord knows that if I wasn't allowed to read the books that I read, I would have gone mad. I needed to see the world through books. I needed to comprehend human relationships outside of my little box in a country town, in a christian school. And the understanding that I came to as a result of my fictional explorations made me into the person I am today: the adult.
*I know there is quite a bit of difference between 15 year olds and 35 year olds, but when you really remember who you were at 15, was it that different to who you are now? Sure, you might have been less mature, more confident, more sure that you knew everything (on the surface at least) - but are you that different? No. Teens aren't a different species, no matter how far we try to distance ourselves from our teenage past.
Right. End of rant.
I had better go and watch Doctor Who: Season 3, Episode 7 "42".
xx
I have decided to jump on the bandwagon and finally watch the new series of Dr. Who. And it's awesome. I have been trying to trick Nannal in to buying them for me for ages, but he's lazy. So... well, itunes and illaglity are for me. I feel bad about the illegality bit, but hey - I don't get BBC or ABC so back off!
Anyway, I'm up to the 3rd season with Martha. I predict that by tomorrow, I will be up to date... which really tells you alot about my life at present...
2. Curtains
As mentioned (or gushed about, either way) in the last blog, I have NEW curtains. They are simply marvelous. I will find a picture and upload them. Sadly, we didn't have enough curtain tape to go the whole way so I presently have 3/4 of the curtains (i.e., one window has just one curtain, while the other has 2...). But it makes no difference! The floral is gone... GONE! (With the exception of the couches which are covered in the same material... but I have plans for them too... evil material must GO!)
See? Awesome plain old white. ^.^
3. Book challenges and teenagers
I have read 2 seperate blogs lately about book challenges in America. Both blogs were written by wonderful authors who I love and follow (through blogs, videos etc.) but are (as far as I know) unrelated in any way. However apparently the book challenge and ban issue has arisen again. The main argument that I have heard (from the sane side) is that parents who believe that their child should not be reading a certain book due to sexually explicit content (the major reason) or any other reason, have every right to prevent their child from reading it. But that is as far as it should go. Their child. Librarians are not just people who catalogue books, say "Sssh", or know where to put piles of books in shelves. Oh no! They know about books. They read books. And they know what is and is not appropriate for libraries.
Despite some sensationalist claims, a librarian will not put pornography on a shelf for teenagers. What they do, is chose books that may have sexual content for their broader themes. As teenagers in general are becoming aware of the sexual side of life, and are curious as to how it all fits together, so books that they read reflect this. If we were deprived of all reference to sexuality in books, we would be in the dark and thus more likely to go down the wrong path.
Some people think that just because we are exposed to something means that we are going to do it. Regardless of the context. My main example is "Looking for Alaska" by John Green (who is one of the authors who writes about this due to this book being challenged). Alaska is being challenged because it contains a scene that describes oral sex. Parents believe this is explicit, and in some cases refer to it as pornography. Green argues that in context the scene serves to portray casual sexual encounters in a wholly negative light. The scene is awkward and unsexy. It is also immediately followed by a genuine non-sexual interaction, which highlights the awkwardness and unsexiness of the oral sex scene. Authors do this all the time. Especially in teen novels.
I think this is because we remember our own first sexual encounters. We didn't know what to do. We didn't know where sex fits into a normal and healthy relationship. So we just ... gave it a go. With generally awkward results. I believe that if kids were to read Alaska, or any other novel like this, rather than being tempted to give awkward oral sex a go, they would be tempted to give genuine relationships a go.
Why? Because most kids are not dumb. Just like most adults are not dumb. Funny that, given that kids are just adults who haven't got out of school yet.* So if you think that teens are as easily led as sheep, then you are assuming that people in general are that too. If you think that kids aren't able to read critically, then perhaps you are assuming that you can't read critically. Can you pick up on the context and discern whether or not it is encouraging? I sure can. I don't watch a movie where drugs are being taken and illnesses caught, and no life lived and think "OH WOW! That looks like awesome fun!"
I don't watch crime shows or murder movies and think "Oh my. That looks so easy. Murder and crime are the way to go. They will serve all my problems."
I think that we are, and mostly always have been, pretty good at picking these things up. You know, since you first learnt the difference between "fiction" or "non-fiction". Since you first learnt right from wrong. And since you first learnt that you don't know everything, and you need to have peek into other people's lives (real or imagined) to better know the world around you.
Librarians know this. I think librarians are probably the most intelligent people... especially in high schools. Just like John Green goes on about all the time: you can't imagine a single person, or a group of people in an un-complex manner. "Teens are easily led" is as untrue a statement as "Cats are black". Sure, some teens may be easily led, and some cats may be black, but parents need to have faith in and understanding of their children, so that the decisions they make are the best for their child. No knee jerk reactions please. I don't want one mother, whose child is allegedly dumb, to decide what is right for all children. Lord knows that if I wasn't allowed to read the books that I read, I would have gone mad. I needed to see the world through books. I needed to comprehend human relationships outside of my little box in a country town, in a christian school. And the understanding that I came to as a result of my fictional explorations made me into the person I am today: the adult.
*I know there is quite a bit of difference between 15 year olds and 35 year olds, but when you really remember who you were at 15, was it that different to who you are now? Sure, you might have been less mature, more confident, more sure that you knew everything (on the surface at least) - but are you that different? No. Teens aren't a different species, no matter how far we try to distance ourselves from our teenage past.
Right. End of rant.
I had better go and watch Doctor Who: Season 3, Episode 7 "42".
xx
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Working working working...
Yesterday I worked at the Adelaide Arcade store from 8.30am to 5pm. Crazy shit for me! I'm used to little 5 hour shifts... And what's more, at Vic. Square, we have one little spiral stair case that you really only need to go up twice a shift. At Adelaide Arcade they have like 60 stairs that you go up to various levels multiple times... My legs! My calfs! eeeee! Ah its painfully obvious how unfit I am...
In other news, my Mum and my Sister (possibly) are coming over tomorrow to help me with putting the curtains in the curtain rods. I'm super excited! Yes, it sounds lame, but when you've been living with curtains that are SO floral and dark and blegh, the prospect of new WHITE curtains fills your heart with joy! The house will not have to be spotless to suggest a feeling of clean! Yay! That's the best kind of curtain.
That's them! The icky curtains! Taken when Nannal and i were on the way to a 20's party. Zoot suit!
Oh and in "Read 50 books in a year challenge" news, I am now onto Johnathan Kellerman's Twisted. Its very good so far. I wasn't sure it was going to draw me in when I started it, but lo and behold, the characters are making it interesting, if not the case yet (its crime).
Hmm... I think that is all I have to say. Sad isn't it?
Ooooh well.
Maybe next time I'll read a controversial news story and offer my opinion. Maybe I'll have read something other than fiction. You never know.
xx
In other news, my Mum and my Sister (possibly) are coming over tomorrow to help me with putting the curtains in the curtain rods. I'm super excited! Yes, it sounds lame, but when you've been living with curtains that are SO floral and dark and blegh, the prospect of new WHITE curtains fills your heart with joy! The house will not have to be spotless to suggest a feeling of clean! Yay! That's the best kind of curtain.
That's them! The icky curtains! Taken when Nannal and i were on the way to a 20's party. Zoot suit!Hmm... I think that is all I have to say. Sad isn't it?
Ooooh well.
Maybe next time I'll read a controversial news story and offer my opinion. Maybe I'll have read something other than fiction. You never know.
xx
Monday, September 7, 2009
The News... IN PICTURES!
An account of today in photos.
Taking pictures in the over exposure of mid-day. In between the pouring rain of course. Today was strange that way.
Showing off my new witches hat with my favourite Harry Potter book. Well, its a toss up between HBP and PS. ^.^
Me caught in a very pretty spider web! Oh noes! ... Yes, I love PhotoBooth.
Sun set over the vineyards and trees out the back of our place. I like clouds.... I can't help it.
From the opposite direction: the actual sun. Lovely isn't it?
Oh and here is a picture of the sunrise I took the other morning. ^.^
Taking pictures in the over exposure of mid-day. In between the pouring rain of course. Today was strange that way.
Showing off my new witches hat with my favourite Harry Potter book. Well, its a toss up between HBP and PS. ^.^
Me caught in a very pretty spider web! Oh noes! ... Yes, I love PhotoBooth.
Sun set over the vineyards and trees out the back of our place. I like clouds.... I can't help it.
From the opposite direction: the actual sun. Lovely isn't it?Oh and here is a picture of the sunrise I took the other morning. ^.^
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Totally missed August
So I did not blog at all last month. I suck. Never mind. It isn't as though anyone reads it, and I think I do it more to reassure myself that I can write more than just status updates these days.
Anyway, I actually do not have that much to write about at present. So I think I will use this space to outline a bit of a goal for myself. I think it is fair to say that I feel pretty directionless at the moment. Rather than being depressed about it though, I actually feel kind of free. I had wanted to go straight back into Anthropology next year and do a PhD., but now I'm not so sure, and the realisation that I might not do that has kind of opened a whole realm of possibility up for me mentally.
I think my most likely course of action will be to study a post-graduate diploma in criminology. It would be a very interesting topic for me, and one that could open up a lot of career opportunities. I would probably have to do it through the Open university, or I would have to move to Melbourne. I'm not fussed either way to be honest. I could continue working at Haigh's quite happily if I was studying again.
If I moved to Melbourne I might still work for Haigh's, considering they've 5 stores over there as well.
Another option that my Dad actually suggested, was to apply for a position in Canberra with one of a few government branches. That way I'd have a challenging job, live in a new place, and, should I want to continue study later on, the department might help me to do that.
So that's exciting! Of course I would love to continue my life as it is now, if I were satisfied with that, but I know I will get despondant again, and I need some goals and directions. All through our childhoods we are brought up with the idea of progress and of attaining higher levels, and so living a year with no goal other than to "have a year off" has been kind of odd. But not unenjoyable!
Hm... I think I'm off to go and look into the Open university for a bit...
xoxo
Anyway, I actually do not have that much to write about at present. So I think I will use this space to outline a bit of a goal for myself. I think it is fair to say that I feel pretty directionless at the moment. Rather than being depressed about it though, I actually feel kind of free. I had wanted to go straight back into Anthropology next year and do a PhD., but now I'm not so sure, and the realisation that I might not do that has kind of opened a whole realm of possibility up for me mentally.
I think my most likely course of action will be to study a post-graduate diploma in criminology. It would be a very interesting topic for me, and one that could open up a lot of career opportunities. I would probably have to do it through the Open university, or I would have to move to Melbourne. I'm not fussed either way to be honest. I could continue working at Haigh's quite happily if I was studying again.
If I moved to Melbourne I might still work for Haigh's, considering they've 5 stores over there as well.
Another option that my Dad actually suggested, was to apply for a position in Canberra with one of a few government branches. That way I'd have a challenging job, live in a new place, and, should I want to continue study later on, the department might help me to do that.
So that's exciting! Of course I would love to continue my life as it is now, if I were satisfied with that, but I know I will get despondant again, and I need some goals and directions. All through our childhoods we are brought up with the idea of progress and of attaining higher levels, and so living a year with no goal other than to "have a year off" has been kind of odd. But not unenjoyable!
Hm... I think I'm off to go and look into the Open university for a bit...
xoxo
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Kristina Horner, a youtube and wrock celebrity, recently wrote a blog that I found really interesting. Actually, I find most of her blogs really interesting because she is just such a normal person who leads a life that I am occasionally quite jealous of. But anyway, but to the blog - she was discussing the way that she is viewed as a youtube celebrity, and how the fact that she has loads of subscribers and makes videos about her life makes viewers believe that they have the right to comment on her life.
She sums it up well - if she asked what we think, or asked for advice, then we would be entitled to answer and give opinions. But in videos when she is just talking about her tour, or her car, or skymall products, comments about her relationship are uncalled for.
The idea of celebrity is a big mess anyway, in my opinion. But when you apply it to YouTube celebrity, it gets wierder. On YouTube, subscribers get to feel that they know the youtuber, especially if many of their videos fit into the 'vlog' category. I blogged about this before, but this leads to the feeling of a one way relationship that feels more like friendship than fandom. This alone makes the experience of both being a YouTube celeb AND a 'fan'/viewer/subscriber inherently different. Add to this the freedom of any viewer (whether regular or not) to comment on videos without restriction (well, unless it is spam or ridiculously explicit) leads to a space that enables the free performance of both "fandom" and hating.
Think about it - in real life, if you were speaking about something, or performing something, not everyone would come up to you and say "Wow that was great" - only a small percentage of brave people would. Even fewer would come up and say "Oh man, that was horrible" and I doubt anyone would say "Hey you know your boyfriend is like a foot shorter than you? Your relationship is therefore doomed". If they did I am sure they would get a very alarmed look and people would slowly back away from them...
On YouTube however, many more viewers feel inclined to comment because it is a free space. No one (virtually) is going to come up to you in real life and say "You are out of line!". Any resulting confrontation is confined to the computer which you can walk away from. But does that free space entitle us as viewers to use that freedom to comment on anything?
Kristina argues that it doesn't. And I would be inclined to agree. It comes down to respect really. Respect for a person's life with the understanding that just because they are opening their lives up in some small way or performance, does not mean they are now an open and free book for all to comment, scrutinise and change. Of course, in an ideal world we would all understand that and be as respectful to YouTubers as we are to our friends. Naturally, this world is not ideal and I think we will be hard pressed to stop people from feeling they have the liberty to comment on every aspect of someone who they have a relatively small understanding of personally.
The solution? No idea! But with Kristina I believe she is pretty well protected. Her subscribers are pretty loyal, and we tend to shout down (or thumbs down) overly rude or disrespectful comments rather rapidly...
Kristina's channel and blog.
She sums it up well - if she asked what we think, or asked for advice, then we would be entitled to answer and give opinions. But in videos when she is just talking about her tour, or her car, or skymall products, comments about her relationship are uncalled for.
The idea of celebrity is a big mess anyway, in my opinion. But when you apply it to YouTube celebrity, it gets wierder. On YouTube, subscribers get to feel that they know the youtuber, especially if many of their videos fit into the 'vlog' category. I blogged about this before, but this leads to the feeling of a one way relationship that feels more like friendship than fandom. This alone makes the experience of both being a YouTube celeb AND a 'fan'/viewer/subscriber inherently different. Add to this the freedom of any viewer (whether regular or not) to comment on videos without restriction (well, unless it is spam or ridiculously explicit) leads to a space that enables the free performance of both "fandom" and hating.
Think about it - in real life, if you were speaking about something, or performing something, not everyone would come up to you and say "Wow that was great" - only a small percentage of brave people would. Even fewer would come up and say "Oh man, that was horrible" and I doubt anyone would say "Hey you know your boyfriend is like a foot shorter than you? Your relationship is therefore doomed". If they did I am sure they would get a very alarmed look and people would slowly back away from them...
On YouTube however, many more viewers feel inclined to comment because it is a free space. No one (virtually) is going to come up to you in real life and say "You are out of line!". Any resulting confrontation is confined to the computer which you can walk away from. But does that free space entitle us as viewers to use that freedom to comment on anything?
Kristina argues that it doesn't. And I would be inclined to agree. It comes down to respect really. Respect for a person's life with the understanding that just because they are opening their lives up in some small way or performance, does not mean they are now an open and free book for all to comment, scrutinise and change. Of course, in an ideal world we would all understand that and be as respectful to YouTubers as we are to our friends. Naturally, this world is not ideal and I think we will be hard pressed to stop people from feeling they have the liberty to comment on every aspect of someone who they have a relatively small understanding of personally.
The solution? No idea! But with Kristina I believe she is pretty well protected. Her subscribers are pretty loyal, and we tend to shout down (or thumbs down) overly rude or disrespectful comments rather rapidly...
Kristina's channel and blog.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Boyfriend Blabber
WARNING: This post is not very interesting. I just feel like talking about my boyfriend... so... yeh!
Right. Well firstly, my boyfriend is lovely. He is hilarious, sweet, and affectionate. Plus he's incredibly good looking if you ask me, which doesn't hurt either. I know sometimes I let myself get overly dramatic and think that it isn't going to work out. And sometimes I realise that, you know - this is my first proper relationship! What are the chances of it working out? Which leads to freak out blogs and people worrying that things aren't all as chipper as they might seem.
The fact of the matter is though, I think that things as they are, it will work out. And sure, I might occasionally yearn for a passionate affair with someone who is completely not like Nannal but I really don't believe that comes from a place of unhappiness. That is more likely the old "The Grass is Always Greener" truth.
Nannal makes me laugh. He makes me feel beautiful. He makes me feel loved.
If this was even 50 years ago, the chances are that we'd be married now... But it isn't 50 years ago, and it isn't expected that we'll do it, so we won't. And I am actually ok with that. Sometimes I look at other people's weddings and I really do understand why people do it. And sometimes I think about what I would want for myself. But I am perfectly happy to save myself the trouble, and keep us as "basically married" rather than "actually married" lol. I never used to want to get married. I though it was an outdated convention that really had no place in a modern relationship... lol. But I guess my perspective has shifted and I have more respect for these things. So if Nannal suddenly got it into his head that it would be an awesome idea... I'd probably do it. Freaking out all the way, naturally...
That's the long and short of it. I guess what I need to do, is print off all this ... and everything that reminds me of why I love him, and stick it somewhere so when we have a fight, or when I feel all doom and gloom, I can read it and snap out of it. Because he is worth it. We are worth it.
Ok. Enough blabber. Its time for some coffee!
Right. Well firstly, my boyfriend is lovely. He is hilarious, sweet, and affectionate. Plus he's incredibly good looking if you ask me, which doesn't hurt either. I know sometimes I let myself get overly dramatic and think that it isn't going to work out. And sometimes I realise that, you know - this is my first proper relationship! What are the chances of it working out? Which leads to freak out blogs and people worrying that things aren't all as chipper as they might seem.
The fact of the matter is though, I think that things as they are, it will work out. And sure, I might occasionally yearn for a passionate affair with someone who is completely not like Nannal but I really don't believe that comes from a place of unhappiness. That is more likely the old "The Grass is Always Greener" truth.
Nannal makes me laugh. He makes me feel beautiful. He makes me feel loved.
If this was even 50 years ago, the chances are that we'd be married now... But it isn't 50 years ago, and it isn't expected that we'll do it, so we won't. And I am actually ok with that. Sometimes I look at other people's weddings and I really do understand why people do it. And sometimes I think about what I would want for myself. But I am perfectly happy to save myself the trouble, and keep us as "basically married" rather than "actually married" lol. I never used to want to get married. I though it was an outdated convention that really had no place in a modern relationship... lol. But I guess my perspective has shifted and I have more respect for these things. So if Nannal suddenly got it into his head that it would be an awesome idea... I'd probably do it. Freaking out all the way, naturally...
That's the long and short of it. I guess what I need to do, is print off all this ... and everything that reminds me of why I love him, and stick it somewhere so when we have a fight, or when I feel all doom and gloom, I can read it and snap out of it. Because he is worth it. We are worth it.
Ok. Enough blabber. Its time for some coffee!
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