Alex Post Uni

At one with nature

2009-10-01T23:13:00.000-07:00

I'm part way through my first adventures to the Australian bush.

Spent two nights in Brissy, saw two awesome gigs by Melbourne band The Melodics and partied with them, met some randoms from country NSW, and caught up with a friend who showed me around a bit. Then on Sunday I met my new family for the next two weeks - three guys from spain, three guys from Brisbane (one formerly from NSW), two Korean girls and our leader Tom who's from Nottingham. Everybody is pretty much in their twenties and the language barriers are lots of fun. There is also a leader who we meet each day who is based in Springsure for the whole project (eight weeks or so), who is also a real character. He is 40 I think, and awesome fun. He really gets into the fun of things, especially with the spaniards.

The 'bus' we were travelling in for two days turned out to be a 4x4 with bench seats in the back, for 10 people! The driver and a passenger in the front, and eight in the back with our knees up and our shoulders pressed together. It promised to be a long drive, but ended up being quite fun. It was a sort of blessing in disguise that we were all shoved in like that because we were forced to talk and make friends, and we had a lot of fun. I have invented "The Sprinsure Four-be" dance, in a similar vein to the "Melbourne Shuffle", it came from the way you dance when in the back of a four by four up hills and over very bumpy surfaces.

We spent one night in a caravan park, in three caravans. Then carried on our way, arriving at Springsure mid afternoon. Set up our new home in another caravan park, but this time in tents. I lucked into having a 3 man tent to myself, because I'm the only one with no friends and the leader has to be on his own due to policy. There are two to a three man tent otherwise. I'm sleeping on the floor with the ants and the dirt, but it's fabulous. I've been sleeping so well.

To summarise (local library has slow computers), we have spent this week trying to plant trees. There have been setbacks however beacuse there are local walabies eating all the fresh baby trees. We were going to try to get a fence built before planting any more, so went to maintain (water and replace dead) trees around the township on public land. The spaniards then devised a way of protecting the trees, so we went back to the national park to plant some more. Sure enough their method worked, but it requires cable ties, which we have run out of. So we've done some planting, some watering, a lot of bush bashing, and some nature spotting.

We've seen loads of walabies and kangaroos, an echidna, a possum (not exciting for those of us from Melbourne), a cane toad (not exciting for those from brissy), a green tree frog, a preying mantis, a lizard and finally on our last day at the Koala habitat, one Koala up a tree. They are really suffering from the drought so we didnt' think we'd see any.

We tend to start work at about 7.30 and finish anywhere between 12 and 3pm. Today was forecast to be 35 C so we left at 7 and finished at 12. It's bloody hot out there. I'm not used to it! I think the gradual build up to summer makes a big difference. Then in the afternoons we will hang out for a bit, maybe go and do somethng fun like lookouts, walks or swimming in a creek, then cook dinner and play cards. The Korean girls have been struggling with the conditions and keeping to themselves a lot, so its usually me and the boys playing poker or some other fun and games. They are such a cheeky bunch, so rude, so many swear words, crass humour, and all sorts of non-PC jokes. It's pretty funny, but thank god I got used to this kind of behaviour at uni! If I was here 4 years ago I wouldn't ahve coped with their antics, now I'm totally holding my own. Thanks guys! Only problem is that I can't play soccer. It's a shame they don't play AFL up here.

Tomorrow is nature Saturday, where we have a day off (dont' have to leave until 9am!! WOOT) and go to see some nature. Although, there is a total fire ban here and there is a blanket rule with the Conservation Volunteers that they don't go to rural places when there is risk of bushfires. It would be kinda crappy if we were caught in a bushfire and died, but I'm sure they will look after us. Last I heard they were speaking to authorities about what is ok for us to do.

So far so good, and I'm keen to do more of this sort of thing. It's been really good fun. Hard work at times, but overall just fun. It's enough work to make you feel good about yourself, and it's clear to see why it needs doing. Still a whole week to go though!

Busyness

2009-08-20T04:17:00.000-07:00

That's Busyness, not Business. I never noticed how similarly they are spelt.

Speaking of spelling, is it spelled or spelt? Spelt suggests the grain, but is in the dictionary with spell... and is spelled pronounced the same as spelt or not? Like says is pronounced 'sez' not 'sayes'. Any English teachers at the ready to help me out? *nudge, wink*

OK, on to the post...

I have potentially become busy. It's super duper exciting! After being ill last week and being totally unproductive, I followed some leads and am closer to being employed again. I have been clear with everyone that I start my new job in Feb, and that I plan to do some travelling, so it's all good.

The one I'm most excited about, which is actually going ahead, is making a website for a real live business! Well, it's a start up. But the company promises to be a great deal more than Joe's Fishing Supplies or something. This business owner knows the importance of quality and good design. It's really refreshing, and really exciting to be involved!

I haven't worked as an independent consultant before, so I have the right amount of anxiety about doing the right things and not getting caught out with something or other. That includes that feeling in the back of my mind that I'll screw it all up and ruin my reputation as a whiz bang professional web designer! Ha! 'As if you have that reputation', you say! Luckily (as long as I live up to it) I have been talked up to be a bit whiz bang. If all goes to plan I'll have my name behind a great site that I can point people to, and everyone will want one! Hello, side projects for the future!

The other really refreshing thing about it, is that I will be utilising open source materials rather than building from scratch. This will mean it will work better, look better, and be done in much less time. Overall the best approach for 'real life'. At uni we made everything from the code up, I suppose as a learning exercise. I appreciate the knowledge, but am really looking forward to a new approach.

Plans are emerging

2009-08-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

So I'm starting to form some ideas of what this six months (five left) is going to look like...

In September, I'm tossing up between two weeks in the NT on a conservation project with people from the CSIRO and indigenous rangers, monitoring ants; OR four weeks on a youth exchange with the California Conservation Corps who do lots of different conservation projects all year round. They both have limited places, apparently the NT one is very popular and the CA one won't go ahead if there aren't enough people... we will see what happens.

Then... I have a couple of girl friends who are interested in going on a holiday to Thailand. You know, the standard - get massages, manicures, pedicures, lay on the beach and go shopping sort of holiday. Sounds great to me!

Then... I'm working on some other girl friends to figure out if they want to come to Thailand as well, or anywhere else in Asia after that.

So it's taking shape. So far it's all fairly cheap and sounding really great. In the mean time I'm going to try to find some casual work (only 3 to 6 weeks worth though!) and make plans. I have a group interview tomorrow for some promotions work, which is usually pretty fun and they're not likely to get too sniffy if I leave really soon. Mind you, I'm not letting on about next years plans or even travel plans. I figure if someone was able to let me go after one week, I'm allowed to leave an unskilled job after a month.

I actually applied for this and another similar company after someone offered me a day's work filing. At first it seemed like a good way to waste a day and earn some cash, until I found out it was for $15 an hour. For filing. Which is boring. I decided to use the day to find some more interesting and better paid casual work, so voila... interview tomorrow.

I may also go resume dropping in cafes and bars around my area... they have high staff turnovers usually too. Although, I don't know how to make a resume for cafe and bar work any more. It's been years since I had any relevant experience! Which reminds me, I could apply for catering jobs too...

Peace, love and counting ants!

UPDATE: Crazy Ants is all booked out, now looking at Koalas in QLD instead...

Semester 2 Tutoring

2009-07-22T22:48:00.000-07:00

I'm really bummed that I didn't get to do tutoring this semester. Especially now that others are doing it for the first time and loving it.

Somehow my application didn't work in the system, which I didn't follow up on until too late because I got a confirmation email that it had worked. Instead it didn't work, and and my application didn't get considered. Especially bummed since I was encouraged and pushed into doing it, and once I had decided to was really really excited. I have always wanted to be a teacher (among other things) and I was super excited that I was going to be able to try it out.

Grump over.

Cooking up a storm

2009-07-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

I spent most of today cooking :-) Mostly to help out mum because she's going back to uni tomorrow and is not feeling good about it. But also because I want to practice!

I cooked a Quiche Lorraine (and a spare crust for another time), and a MASSIVE Lamb Casserole. It's the first time I've done either of them by myself, but have always helped and hung around while mum was making them. It's also the first time I've got down and dirty with raw red meat, cutting off the fat and handling it. I'm a little squirmish about raw meat I have to admit. I did OK though.

Here's a pic of the Quiche... It is a little burned at one edge, but it's mostly OK.

The Casserole isn't much to look at, but should taste great. About 3 hours in the oven once I'd done the preliminary cooking. Slow cooking is the bomb. :-D

Travel Plans

2009-07-19T00:30:00.000-07:00

So since Monday when I found out I could do any number of things for the next six months, I've been starting to think about things to do. I think travel is a good plan, and others certainly agree with me. The question is where and how?

My brother is going on a trip to L.A. next month, and so is a good friend of mine (with her brother and another friend I don't really know). I was thinking of tagging along with my brother and meeting up with my friend there. The only trouble is, both have planned these holidays long in advance, and I feel awkward jumping in on their plans. What a fantastic time to go to the USA for the first time though!

It turns out that brother dearest doesn't really feel comfortable with me tagging along, because it would be an extra burden to think about. I tried to convince him that all he needs to do is tell me his itinerary and where he is staying etc, and we could just hang out when he has time. No need to babysit me, just maybe introduce me to some friends and we can all do our thing side by side. I didn't get the best reaction from those suggestions and felt a bit dejected. I haven't approached said friend about the idea either because what if she isn't comfortable with me tagging along and is too nice to say so? I'm not sure yet how to approach it. I'm also not sure whether this is the right path to go down, maybe the states can wait.

The trouble for me with travelling is finding people to go with. Wiesel is busy with uni until November, and is so damned well travelled that he just isn't excited by it any more. He's leaving the UK today after spending two weeks in Sicily. Jealous! Other friends of course would be great to travel with, but not at short notice. I'm pretty free now to leave any time, give me a week or two to plan but then I can be off! I don't really want to wait until our summer, because I want to go somewhere warm and a lot of the world will be cold then.

The other big option I'm considering is doing a volunteering trip somewhere, that way I could travel alone, but be part of an organised group. That also removes the annoyance of holidays where you just walk around looking at stuff, and dont' really get an experience of the place and its culture and people. I can't tell you how nonplussed I am looking at churches and buildings all day long. It's very nice to look at them, but I'd much prefer meeting the locals and admiring the buildings etc in between the experiences.

So, I'm trying to pick the brains of all the people I can think of who would know about these organised volunteering trips. I so far have a little info, from quizzing a friend who did 'nam, and picked up a G.A.P. Adventures brochure from the travel agents, but their volunteering only goes as far as 2-8 days volunteering as part of a holiday. I'm thinking more like 1-2 months, where you can really absorb the culture and get to know the people you are volunteering with, and the locals.

My only requirements are somewhere warm, not too politically scary (no China or extreme muslim areas), and somewhere I haven't seen much of.

If you have any companies you've heard good things about, or have had any experience with please do share! I'm putting feelers out far and wide.

Happy News

2009-07-13T01:13:00.001-07:00

So, you know that big interview I attended on Friday? On the day the Vampires sucked my blood?

I got an offer!!!!

To start in Feb 2010, as a Project Coordinator.

I'm so happy and relieved! No more being depressed, scared or guilty!

Now to figure out what to do until then... I'm thinking a 3-4 month contract and then a trip OS? Any suggestions?

The Big Day

2009-07-10T18:01:00.000-07:00

I had a big interview day yesterday. Then gave blood (bad idea). I'm exhausted!

The interview day was from 8:30am to 3:00pm, we had lots of different tasks during the day. 2 hours of interviews on a circuit kind of set up, where we rotated to each new room to meet with a new interviewer - 4 in total. Some written tests, aptitude tests, group case studies with a presentation to the room, and a couple of talks from current graduates and people from the company. It wasn't at all as scary as I had dreaded, but it was very taxing.

I think I did alright, and they say there are enough roles for all eight of us who were there. My only concern is the mix between technical roles and project roles, and how many of us were interested and suited to which. One of the interviewers thought from my resume that I would be a technical candidate, so I hope I didn't put her off by saying I was more interested in people based work. I can't even remember what I said to each of them, there were so many repeated questions and so much to take in!

We should find out early next week, and I just wish I could switch off my mind until then. I'm so mentally exhausted and the more I think about it the less confident I am. I'm just so glad I've done all the bits where I have to appear confident!

Going to the Vampires (Red Cross) was a bad idea to do at the end of this day. Even my blood pressure was higher than normal, as well as my pulse. They nurse broke my vein the first time and I asked them to do the other arm instead of making another appointment, because it hurt and I was sure I wouldn't come back if I didn't do it straight away. I'm glad I did, because the second arm didn't hurt much at all, and is fine now. The first arm is still sore, so if I had been left with that I wouldn't be giving blood for a while now.

I also didn't handle it as well as I usually do. All the stress and anxiety was definitely the cause. The canteen lady told me I was looking pale and asked me to lie down, they were all asking if I was ok. I was ok, but I didn't feel myself. I wasn't going to feint I don't think. I still never have. I just wanted to be at home. I called my dad and nobody was in the city with a car, so I caught a tram home and got a seat. I was OK. I will know not to schedule a blood donation when I'm in a stressful time.

I am learning a lot of lessons this year!

I'm not sure what to do with my weekend. I want to relax, but I also want to take my mind off yesterday's interviews. I can't decide whether to get a pile of DVDs or go and hang out with some people.

Thanks to the shout-out from Cheryl, if I was the Alex she was talking about! There are so many that it's very likely that there is another Alex who needs to keep their head up...

Thanks to the encouragement from everyone too. It really means a lot. :)

Not so good

2009-07-07T23:08:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so I said I was handling this new unemployment a lot better than the last couple of times... But as it turns out I'm not handling it so well.

I have been going through all these stupid ideas in my head like: maybe I'll go overseas next week; maybe I'll just do some freelance web design; maybe I'll just be a tutor for a semester; maybe I should give that old dancing/modelling/acting thing another go; I should get a tattoo and a nose piercing; a new scooter will make everything better; what about a new laptop? Aaargh!

What I should be doing is just applying for more jobs. Let's be honest though, I'm scared of it all happening again. I'm scared of picking myself up and getting on track again, thinking everything is hunky-dory, and then having the carpet pulled from under my feet again. I feel a little paralysed at times thinking about it.

Still I have the logic in my mind that says this is no big deal and I will pick myself up again. But the emotional response, mixed in with some classical conditioning (every time you have a great job, it will disappear and you won't have it any more), is what's taking the lead right now.

Stuff

2009-07-06T04:37:00.000-07:00

Hey people who read my blog!

I haven't posted in a while because I don't want to complain, and have been pretty busy with those things I want to complain about! Let me fill you in a little...

1. My beloved employer closed down last month. :( I was fearing the worst for a number of weeks before we were told, but wasn't ready to bail. We were all given a month's notice and plenty of encouragement so it wasn't the end of the world. I spent a week feeling a bit lost but then got on the job applications and did OK. I just hope one day I will find as cool a bunch of people to work with.

2. I got a contract job, and after a really great first week (feeling a great sense of achievement getting stuck into some real work again) I was let go. I don't really want to go into the details (have told the story too many times over the weekend!), but lets just say if it were a full time position I would be fighting unfair dismissal. I am chalking it up to another life experience, something to learn and become tougher from. Something I'm really pleased about is that I have handled this third dismissal/rejection in a year a lot better than the last two. And I haven't taken it personally. Thank god that there are people I respect who have given me such good reviews about my work, otherwise I'd be hiding in a hole feeling awful.

That's the main events that have kept me from posting lately. I am now on the job hunt again, and the radio keeps telling me that the job ads are still decreasing. I have an interview on Friday though, so fingers crossed. I just want to get going so that I can be taken seriously with '2 years experience' or whatever number of years they care about.

In happy news, it was my birthday the other week and it was really great. We went to see a fabulous illusion show on Saturday night, along with dinner and drinks with various friends. I really love my friends. Aren't birthdays fabulous for appreciating your friends? They all come and make the effort to be there with you for your happy day, and you see people you don't regularly see.

Other happy things are:
1. I have been frequenting our new local cafe that's all by itself near the station. It is now the closest cafe to our house and the only one you can reach while waiting for a train. So cute and fabulous, and I'm glad to be supporting local businesses, especially in these hard times.

2. I got a piano! Well, an electric one, but it feels and sounds like a real one - I have it on good authority from a pianist! I am learning one song at the moment, and am looking into lessons. I have never played but always wanted to my whole life. Exciting times!

3. I finally made it clothes shopping today, got a great cardigan marked $70 for $14! And a cute jacket by a Melbourne designer. Started looking at leather bike jackets (Sorry Cheryl!) but the guy in the shop said that everyone is looking for small girls leather jackets and they go as soon as the come in. Maybe I should wait until they're out of fashion again. I won't give up yet though.

I hope to have some more to blog about soon. peace :)

PS I'm happy to go into more detail if anyone is curious, just email/message me if you are.

I'm Graduating!

2009-05-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

We have our graduation ceremony on Thursday this week. I'm really excited, but also nervous. I know it's just a formality, we stand around in silly capes and get handed a piece of paper that could have been mailed to us. Still, I like the idea of making an occasion of it. I want to dress up in a gown and have my photo taken, and put it on my wall. Silly, but why else would they have it? Clearly I'm not the only one.

Excitements

2009-05-04T22:30:00.001-07:00

Well, I think they're excitements anyway. I am finding it hard to find many others who are as excited as me, but that's fine.

What am I talking about? I bought two items from my wish list...

I got an iPod!! Woot! A black Nano. It's very pretty. The colour looks like gunmetal grey. It's also really awesome, aside from the list of apple annoyances of course. The best bits are...

- Having all my music with me so that when I think of a song I can play it in seconds.

- Looking at the cover art while the music is playing, because artists are not always medium specific. Musical artists always have some visual art to accompany their music, whether or not they made it. They at least commissioned or chose it. It adds to the experience.

- Podcasts and audio books are a lot easier to find and use, the iTunes store has all this stuff built in and presented in a really nice way. Of course podcasts are usually free, so I can use the store to collect things, without spending money.

- The feel of using the iPod adds to the aural and visual, the circular wheel that you touch, the weight of the buttons, the size and shape, and when no cover is on, the cool matte of the metal (or the soft sqeeziness of the silicone cover).

The worst bits I feel obliged to note, so as not to pretend I've been blinded by the marketing:

- iTunes Store REQUIRES a credit card number even if you haven't tried to buy anything yet. iTunes provides much more than selling things, and I don't intend to buy anything from the store (the hundreds I spent on the player and accessories is quite enough, thank you!). So it made me uncomfortable to enter my credit card number at this stage. I use a debit card for online purchases, so at least I can easily check my balance and I will notice if anything odd is happening. I doubt iTunes would take my money without me telling it to, but I am paranoid about these things.

- How can you ignore the non-standard cabling? No, I can't use the many USB cables I have lying around to charge it. No, I can't use a standard A/V cable to connect the device to my TV. Thankfully, the audio port is standard so yes, I can use my chosen headphones or speakers. I mean come-on! Is it really THAT important to sell all those adaptors and official accessories?

- Slight annoyance that I have to use one computer to manage my music, unless I continually update multiple libraries on different computers. It's OK, but I'd rather be sharing and caring between my various computers, family computer and boyfriend's computer.

The other excitement is that I got a hair straightener a few weeks ago. Didn't go for the GHD because my hair style is not $300 important to me. Instead I went for a lovely red Kodo Oasis for less than half the price, which has a strange fault of smudging the logo when it gets hot.... not something I would have expected from a high temperature product! It only happens when using the iron to curl, when the hot hair is being pulled along the outside of the tongs, over the printed logo. I took one back and they happily exchanged it, but the second one is doing it now and I CBF to be honest. The thing does its job very well, so I'm not that particular about the logo looking right. I am still quite baffled that they could make it this way though. I'm told it's the new brand and product from the people who used to make Muster straigteners, if anyone remembers those...

So there, I have shared the excitement of my new toys which I proudly bought myself. I hope that if you weren't interested you didn't read the post! That's the beauty of blogs. :-)

Vampires

2009-04-08T01:17:00.000-07:00

I gave blood today. That's all. Bye!

No, not really... I will talk about the vampires a little.

I was quite nervous, even though it's not that bad and I have donated before, it just isn't that nice to have needles stuck in you. Ever. Unless you're into that kind of thing, which I'm not. On top of the nervousness I was going to have to miss up to two hours of work because I had booked an appointment at 9:30am.

[interlude: there are cleaners in the office vacuuming my cubicle. AAAARRG!!! How am I supposed ot concentrate?!?!]

So I looked up to see if I could try to be seen earlier but they didn't open until 9:30, so I just showed up 10min early to be sure I was seen first. It all went well. My blood and heart were very healthy, which is a nice surprise because I'm usually a bit weak in those departments. A little under healthy iron levels, a little low blood pressure, a little high resting heart rate etc. Anywhoo, got the tick of approval from the Vampires so that was nice!

I came away feeling a bit low, more tired than feint so not really anything to worry about. I also came away with an unusually large bruise on my finger from the prick blood test they do first. Strange that it should bruise, and it's been bothering me for most of the day while typing, washing my hands etc. Again, nothing to complain or worry about but weird. I also got a keyring with my blood group on it. yay!

So that really is all, not much more than the first sentence eh?

Behaviour - Student vs Professional

2009-04-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

As a university student, you're expected to be dirty, messy, slack, irresponsible and outspoken. It is a welcome change when students are motivated and well behaved. The expectation is low, so it's easy to impress or stand out above the crowd. It's also easy and comfortable to act like a student, coming to class in your tracksuit, or hung over, or half asleep because you were up all night doing your assignment at the last minute. You especially don't have to be neat and tidy - chipped nail polish, smudged make up, torn jeans. It's all part of the student persona.

As a professional, you are working with adults who expect you to act like an adult. You aim to impress so that you can keep your job and hopefully get a promotion or a bonus once in a while. The expectations are high, because you're a qualified adult who's being paid to contribute to the company. You represent your company when you're out and about. You even represent your company when you're out and about online, and as we've seen in the news lately, you may be held fully accountable for things you do and say in your spare time.

I feel it's a whole other ball game, now that I'm considered a professional. I'm careful to wear appropriate clothes, because I want my colleagues to view me as smart and capable. And because I want to avoid the impression that I'm slack, unorganised, or the worst - a ditsy girl. I don't swear or whinge or put my feet on the table if I know anyone can see.

I've welcomed these changes, I feel like I'm stepping up to my responsibilities and earning my respect. I find it very interesting though, observing the people in each situation. now that I have experienced both (I had a long time ago, but I feel more immersed this time), I can see so clearly the differences between them.

Wish List

2009-03-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

I really should be working right now, but I'm struggling to concentrate. It's nearly lunch time after all. Maybe if I write down some of the things I'm thinking about I will be able to get back to it.

On the weekend I wrote down a wish-list of expensive items I really want to spend my money on. I had to write it down though because I keep thinking of them, and I have real difficulty parting with decent sums of money. Anything above $10 counts as decent in my book! In no particular order:

1. I-Pod nano - I have wanted one of these since forever, but always disliked the monopoly they seem to have of the music player market, and have always gone for a different brand. I also disliked the way they insist you use i-tunes and convert your music into an i-pod/i-tunes specific format (still haven't tried using i-tunes so can't be sure this is still the case). What I didn't realise was that the music player I last bought did the same bloody thing. The shop guy assured me that I could simply drag-and-drop my mp3s onto the player when i plugged it into my computer, but turns out he was wrong. I had to install specific software (one of the worst I have ever used!!) and import my music into this program, where it wants to convert them into its specific format. I didn't get on it quick enough to take the thing back and complain to the dude who sold it to me, so I have had this one for about 3 years. I even tried some cracked software to drag-and-drop, but that kinda failed a lot. Anyway, I still am having inner struggles about the move to apple, but I think it is in fact a superior product. Plus, I have to admit to myself that the look and feel of a thing is VERY important to me. And I don't think these beauties can be beaten in that department. I think I am going to surrender to the i-pod. Whether this will lead to a whole appleisation, I don't know. I hope not. Haven't decided on the colour yet though - thinking red or black. Your thoughts?

[Image courtesy of Polyvore]

2. In-ear headphones - It's about the quality. I like the convenience of earbud headphones, but you lose so much of the sound with the standard ones. Some tracks have the most beautiful sound to them, and on the train all i can hear is the words, not the total sound.

3. Trainers - as in those cool colourful ones - the vintage looking nikes, or the puma or asics ones. You know the sort. Functional yet cool. With a little more cushioning than converse or volleys. Mostly important because I can't stand the look (seriously, it hurts my eyes) of white sports trainers when you are not playing sport or in the gym, and most of my shoes are very impractical for walking any distance. I seriously wouldn't do well in the states, they love that look.

4. Bicycle - Like the beautiful ones they ride in Europe. Comfortable, relaxed, well made, and beautiful. These can get pricey, so I have to do a lot of shopping around.

[Image courtesy of Club Monaco]

5. Hair straightener - To replace the three duds I have collected over the years, all hand-me-downs or bargains, all pretty crap. To the dudes who think I already have straight hair - yes, I do, but straigteners don't just straighten, they style. I can go into detail if you wish to fully understand the ins and outs of girlies and our hair styles.

Through the Looking Glass

2009-03-05T18:33:00.000-08:00

I found this article from the New York Times through the decor8 blog, and really identified with it:

My Retail Job Keeps Me Sane (NYTimes)

Not that I have ever worked in Retail, or been an accomplished journalist or similar, but the concept of different expectations and perceptions in different positions is familiar. I have often been in a situation where I feel I'm leading a double life, and I'm so aware that one person has so many aspects that the people around you can rarely understand the depth of it.

Caitlin Kelly explains so well the different perceptions people can have of you that are governed by the situation you are currently in. While it is difficult to be treated poorly, I think in those situations it is comforting to know your own achievements outside of the current situation that these customers will never be aware of. It's a quiet achievement that isn't relevant here, and certainly isn't apparent, but it contributes a great deal to who you are.

In my case most of this feeling of through the looking glass is a past-present thing, and it shows up when keeping in contact with past. Old friends and activities that I occasionally come across or join in with, and in those settings I can't hope to explain what my present is like, because I remember how I saw people that weren't part of my world back then.

I also enjoy seeing both sides to a story. For example the way you fade into the background and carry out every order when you are serving drinks to a guest at a high class banquet hosted by a royal or high profile celebrity. Then compare this to when you are eating at a restaurant yourself (not nearly as fancy mind you) where the waiters lay out your napkin and crack pepper onto your dinner for you. It's nice to know that that waiter is a whole person with their own life outside of cracking pepper for you.

Suspiciously similar logos

2009-03-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

I was just browsing mobile phone network providers, and i came across one called gotalk. Now, I'm sure it isn't just me but i found their logo very familiar. My first thought was, isn't that a radio network's logo? Maybe they're affiliated? So I looked into it. The gotalk website doesn't mention anything about a broader organisation they're part of. On further inspection though, the logos aren't similar enough to come from the same company. I just wonder if they both came from some kind of template or suggestion? Maybe one saw the other and subliminally copied it? Anyway, there it is. I found it interesting.

Adblock Plus

2009-03-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

I installed Adblock Plus to Firefox and I'm amazed at the results. I imagined it would leave me with a box and some text instaed of the colourful ads, something like "This image has been blocked by Adblock Plus" but to my amazement it just takes them away. The text in a news article fills up the space that the ad took up!

Below are images from the same news article in IE and firefox with ABP turned on.

Notice how in the second image the text fills the space where the flashing advert was invading my article. And for those who wonder if its a descrepency in the browser rather than the add on, here is FF with ABP turned off:

I'm very pleased. Just wanted to share.

Bushfires + work = not compatible

2009-02-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately, and the ones I am most interested in are people's musings on the world around them. I feel nerdy enough in my work, so I'm not that interested in spending more time submerging myself into nerdy blogs. I'm totally over redecorating because it's taking way too long and all the decisions have been made, so I'm not that interested in the design or decorating blogs. So that leaves the musing blogs, as I like to call them. It is inspiring me to join these bloggers and muse about the world around Me.

This week I'm finding it hard to concentrate on work for two main reasons.

1 - Because Gaea (mother nature) is waging war against Victoria. Thousands are homeless, hundreds dead, and everybody is concerned. I have been reading the news online, watching the news at night, reading the paper in the morning about all the stories of personal loss and individuals stories about how they were caught in what could have been their graves, but the narrowly escaped. For some reason this is captivating me. Each time i read or hear somebody tell their personal story I'm brought to tears for their ordeal. I keep on bringing whatever it is I'm doing back to this - at least I have a home. All my work and stress seems immaterial when others have nothing left but insurance forms.

2 - The second reason is more positive. I'm going on holiday in two days! Friday afternoon my bf and I leave for England. England itself is not that exciting because we both have spent a lot of time there. The exciting bit is going somewhere far away, with free time, and catching up with people we don't see very often.

So back in the current real world, I have to finish of some work by thursday afternoon that I'm not that confident about, and am finding it hard to concentrate on. I will get it done, I know that. Thursday afternoon will come and I will have done my work and I will leave work to meet a mate for drinks, and I will be on my merry way. I just wish I would get on and do it so that the time would pass and I would get to that point sooner.

Also - I'm loving my job. I know it doesn't seem like it so much in this post, but overall it's great. It's exactly what I wanted to be doing after uni, once I figured out what I wanted to do. I feel so proud that in three years I have totally re-trained and have a new career. I am actually a professional. In three years. From zero to professional in three years! And it wasn't easy. So yay for me. I don't think others share my enthusiasm for the achievement, but I suppose all that matters is that I am proud, and my family and close friends are proud. They understand the hurdles I've passed.

Until next post
x alex

Back from my adventures

2009-01-03T17:32:00.000-08:00

So I arrived home last night from my New Years Eve adventures at Falls Festival with a detour to Shoreham. Prior to Falls I had spent 2 nights in Melbourne after being at Shoreham since before Christmas, so it feels as though I haven't really been home in two weeks.

I have picked up a throat and chest problem (I daren't say infection because I don't know if it's that bad), which is making sleeping bad. I'm still perfectly able, but feel a bit crappy.

The adventures were great fun. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time in the great outdoors, which is nice because I used to enjoy it a lot more when I was younger, but lately seem to prefer lazing about rather than getting out there and doing things. Camping was the most exciting, putting up a tent and sleeping in it... there's something about providing for ones self that is really rewarding. The Falls Festival went really well too, it was so well organised and I felt really safe. There weren't that many people who were rowdy enough to worry me, and there were plenty of staff shepherding us here and there and watching over us from the sidelines. On top of all that the bands were great! On the first night there were three bands in a row that I really like, and I found myself dancing away like a crazy woman. It was good for keeping warm. On NYE itself, I managed to drink too much and was almost out of steam by midnight. Franz Ferdinand were awesome though... I would definately like to go and see them at a show one day.

So now I have one week left before I start work, and I will try to make as much progress as possible on redecorating my room. Today I think I will pack away all my things from adventuring and put some things into boxes from my shelves etc.

Stairs

2008-12-15T15:56:00.001-08:00

I tried first last week, but I have tried a few times since to walk up the stairs to the other floors of our office instead of taking the lift. I plan my shoes and clothes so that it's possible (heels or sometimes girly flats can get dangerous). Today I jogged all the way from level 1 to level 8! Our highest floor is 12, so that is something to aim for.

Even though it's only a few minutes of exercise, I feel like i'm getting fit. My legs can certainly feel it, and my lungs certainly struggle too!

Stupid headset design

2008-12-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

Monday afternoon at the moment, and I have done one job. I installed the second attempt at a bluetooth headset for a PAs desk phone. The first one broke after one day of use. I think the problem is not necesarrily the user, but the research that when into buying the product. Clearly there are great pieces of hardware to make one's life easier, and this is not one of them. It is fragile and difficult to set up, let alone a stupid design. Let me paint you a picture...

The wireless bluetooth headset has a range of attachments for your preference, from the ear-clip style to the headband with one ear, to the adjustable headband style. Cool, user choice, pretty good ideas, fine. The headset sits on a dock to charge, which wires into a power pack (a big mo-fo to step down the power because it doesn't need much), as well as wiring into the desk phone. There are about 4 cables required on top of the single cable the phone uses. OK, so we have a bluetooth headset to reduce cabling... and have quadrupled the number of cables required?

But that isn't even the stupid part of the design... one of the cables leads to this mechanical device that you attach to your desk phone with double sided sticky pads (semi-permanently). What is this mechanical device for? Well, you may well ask... For a phone that is entirely capable of being used with a range of headsets and speaker phone, no need to raise the handset at all, this is laughable. This mechanical attachment raises the phones handset in order to answer the phone or even make a call. Once raised, the call goes through the handsfree base and via bluetooth to the headset. When the call is ended by pressing the button on the headset (or one on the base) the phone's handset is lowered and the call is ended.

Have you ever heard of something so ridiculous in this day and age? It's as though the headset is trying to accomodate for phone models pre 1995 or something! You know those old telstra phones with the big square buttons? The ones that you had to wire an answering machine to, or if you were special you could use some of telstras functions by pressing various number buttons.

Not only is this handset a very silly design, it was very difficult to figure out - apparently it took 4 guys in IT looking at it to figure it out in the first place.... although I do wonder if this was not due to its complicated nature, rather the tendancy for IT guys to refuse to use the instruction manual.... either way, not only that, but the headset was physically broken within one day of operation! It was the tiny connection between the dock and the headset that charges it - it had bent and snapped right off! We sent it right back and I installed the replacement today.

I told the PA to be very careful with it because it is fragile. I hope this is the last we hear of it.

Tech support

2008-12-09T15:26:00.000-08:00

This week I am filling in for a tech support person from my old workplace. The job is for two weeks, and involves installing computers, headsets, phones etc and solving peoples printer and general tech problems. There is also a service desk who take all the calls and deal with all things that can be done remotely, I am essentially the legs of the operation and do whatever needs doing in person.

I'm surprised at how easily I have slotted into the job, not having strictly done it before. I haven't found anything that I couldn't do past asking a simple question here or there and quite frankly it's a very boring job! I'm very glad this is two weeks, and that I have since learned about other jobs I can do so that I don't fall into a tech support career. It's fun hanging out with the nerds though :-)

The other thing I've found so far is how many people want to know where i've been, what I'm doing here now, and what my plans are now that uni is finished. It's the same questions every time: "Alex! I haven't seen you in a while, what have you been up to?" "Are you happy uni is finished?" "How long are you around for?" "What are your plans next?". I'm just thankful that I can tell them definitively that I have a job starting in January as a Business Analyst. A nice easy answer, instead of telling them i'm looking for work and feeling awkward about it.

I also realised that there are a number of people here that I don't like running into because they're nosey with no good intentions, and talking to them feels forced and awkward. On the other hand there are many who I am genuinely happy to see and catch up with. I'm glad to be here for a short time, and to know what's happening later. It's a nice clean progression.

Redecorations

2008-12-04T15:27:00.002-08:00

I am undertaking a number of big projects this summer, hopefully before I start working in a real job, but they may spill over into future weekend times.

The first, redecorating my childhood room at my folks place. I have lived away from home for almost 4 years now (with a few months here and there of rebounding), so it's time to turn it into a guest room. It's not mine any longer. Besides, when I do come and visit I'd at least like a double bed to sleep in!!

So the plan is as follows:

1. to chuck/store all of my posessions

2. pull out the built in desk, drawers and shelves

3. repaint - it has actually not been painted in 20 years, it still has just a white undercoat on the walls

4. re-floor - take up the coyer matting carpet which is horrible on bare feet, and put down wood or pretend wood floors

6. Put in a nice big bed, freestanding shelves and some nice antiquey things.

Currently we are making plans for what is going to happen, and I'm trying very hard to reduce my worldly goods. It is hard work. I have nowhere to put them, so i'm trying to get rid of as much as possible. A big one is throwing out my collection of DANCE Australia magazine... there's about three magazine holders full of them, but I just can't justify the space because i'm probably not going to read them again. It's really mentally difficult to get rid of this stuff you've held onto for years. In the keeps pile are all the programs from dance and theatre performances I've collected, magazines and newsletters that feature friends in them, and a big bunch of school work. I know the school stuff will reduce more in later years, but right now i can't bring myself to let them go. Thank god everything is done online these days!

I'm moving my desk area into my brother's room so that I have somewhere to work while I'm here. I think it'll be good to separate my concentrating space with the train wreck that will soon be this bedroom. Looking forward to things happening, maybe this weekend.

Domino's Pizza Post Eating

2008-12-04T15:27:00.001-08:00

So the Pizza wasn't that good, but the ordering system was fun. Probably won't use it again. Might try Pizza Hut's one next time.

Domino's are making my pizza online

2008-11-28T23:56:00.000-08:00

Domino's online store are making my pizza!!!

Wiesel and I were trying to find menus online so that we could order what we wanted for dinner tonight, and we came across "Order Online". So being the lovable geeks we are, we had to give it a go. It's a few dollars more expensive than picking it up from our local non-chain shop, but for the thrill of ordering online, and the luxury of cheesy crusts we gave it a go.

You are given the choice of credit card or cash on delivery, and we chose credit so that we don't have to go and get cash out. And once the order went through, they show us this beautiful flash animation of the status of our pizza!! First stage was "At store", then it progressed to "Making", and then "Cooking", all the while the clock ticking around and placing markers for each change.

The geek in the both of us is very excited watching this clock... I just hope the pizza is as technologically advanced as the ordering system!

On a side note, we started the same process through pizza hut first, but they wanted to charge 8 dollars for delivery, where Domino's included the delivery in the cost of the pizza. Came to the same price in the end, but the Domino's system is way cooler!

Week 13 is over

2008-10-19T04:38:00.000-07:00

I feel a bit weird not blogging this week, so i thought i might start a new blog. It's going to be about what happens after uni... Alex Post Uni. Although uni hasn't really finished yet, there are no more classes, and everything is drawing to an end. I'm thinking about the future and trying to come up with plans, but finding it very difficult. I don't think the next few months can really be planned because it depends so much on others.