I’m back =D

Hello all!

I know I havent posted in a while and it’s because of the assignments I had to get done. I really hope I did them well enough to get good grades =S. Anyways, I had a meeting with Adrian and while everyone will be having fun and kicking back during their winter break, looks like I’ll have my work cut out for me.

Here’s my to do list so far:-

- I need to get my 3 Plain Language Statements sorted out for the ethics form. I know I’ve really been dragging with this but the sooner I get this done, the better. When this is good and approved, I’ll be able to conduct surveys and what not. Priority level: Super high!

- I need to put up the knowledge nuggets for the rest of the personas and make them look fantastic. In doing this, I also need to narrow down the number of widgets there are on KT and make it really very basic so people wouldnt have a problem using it at first glance. Then maybe later on when people have gotten used to the structure, I’d maybe add one or two additional widgets sort of like to update the site.

- When everything is in, I’ll need to start doing ‘how-to’ videos using screencasts. Now, this is something I havent done before. I dont even know where to start when it comes to software. Any suggestions, readers? Well, if there isnt any feedback from this post, I guess I’ll try ‘Screenflow’. I need a screencasting software that allows me to take videos and use audio simultaneously; and it needs to be Mac compatible. =D

I think those are the priority tasks for now.

While doing all that in the first couple of weeks of the holiday, I think I need to get started on the exegesis writing process. It’s all moving so slowly (maybe because it’s only been a couple of days since I handed in my sem 1 assignments and I havent actually done anything productive yet). I just feel like vegging out for a bit but I dont know if I have that luxury. :S My sleeping pattern is on the blitz and everyone else has got World Cup Fever. Oh…and I cant stop playing WoW. AWESOME start to the working holiday =D

Enjoy your winter breaks everyone =D

Grey’s Anatomy Season Finale

I was taking some time away from doing work and I decided to watch the Grey’s Anatomy Season 6 Finale.

I started off thinking how the writers could top last year’s finale of Izzy’s cancer and George’s death. It would take soooo much to top that! If you havent watched the 2 hour finale yet and are a fan, please stop reading here.

Anyways, this 2 hour finale was packed with so much conflict, pregnancy then miscarriage, a resident doing an attending’s level surgery on the Chief of Medicine, friendships strengthened, friendships lost, relationships patched up and even a crash course on how to talk to a Gunman (did you know that you’re less likely to get shot if you spew details of your the little details of your life at gunpoint? I bet there’s something there to do about the guilt and the ability to relate to the potential victim).

If you want to read the write up of the last couple of episodes, you can find it here.

There was just so much crammed into those two episodes. It was AMAZING. I really didnt know whether to laugh, cry, or be scared. Now THAT is good scriptwriting! I felt myself rooting for people along the course of the episodes. I also felt myself analysing every little part of it and for the first time, I didnt feel like my analysis spoiled the show for me. I did realise though, that they killed off almost all the Mercy West staff members they introduced in the last season.

Oh what a rollercoaster ride! Life will never be as interesting as that. I’m glad for it as well. I dont think I’d ever want to be that scared in real life!

Lack of enthusiasm

I feel very unenthusiastic and much like I’m permanently procrastinating in getting started with any writing thus far. It really doesnt help that I have a partner that is really uninterested in my work – only coz he says that ‘it’s not in his field’. I suppose I probably asking the wrong person. I would’ve thought that he’d be slightly more interested (what with being a media student himself). Oh well, I guess I thought wrongly.

Anyways, with the final Comm Revs assignment, I was thinking of writing my essay based on mobile media. I have yet to decide what aspect I’ll be focusing on but I guess that will come pretty soon. For now, all I feel like doing is playing WoW but lucky me, it’s game maintenance time so I’m either forced to get some work done or go to bed. I think I’ll get some work done. Guilt will eat at me if I choose the latter anyways.

Also, I guess it’s time to find someone new to bounce ideas off. Any takers?

Oh no! Not you rainbow wheel!!

I couldnt really focus on anything yesterday so I went with AS to go watch a movie. We watched Date Night. It was SUPER hilarious!!!

For those who havent watched it yet, here’s the trailer!

The only reason why I watched the show was because I simply LOVE Tina Fey. She’s really awesome with humour. I saw a lot of her Liz Lemon character in this show. I guess that’s just how she is. Tina Fey and Steve Carrell had really good chemistry in the movie and it really felt that if they got married and had kids, they’d turn out like the kids in the movie. I give this movie an A-. The ‘-’ because I thought some parts were quite predictable. All in all it was a fun movie to watch when you dont feel like thinking.

Not another dent!! But it’s new!!

Ok..this may seem a bit over the top but I’ve just wrecked my tabletennis bat. Well..the red rubber sheet.

I know it may seem like just a little thing to a lot of people but to me it means money wasted. I’ve got quite a big tabletennis competition coming up in about a weeks time and I dont know if they will permit me to play with this. According to the ITTF rulebook:

“2.04.05  The blade, any layer within the blade and any layer of covering material or adhesive on a side used for striking the ball shall be continuous and of even thickness. “

I hope my at falls under this clause

“2.04.07.01  Slight deviations from continuity of surface or uniformity of colour due to accidental damage or wear may be allowed provided that they do not significantly change the characteristics of the surface.”

Man, I must sound like such a tabletennis nut right now. It’s just that the sheet of rubber is new and I was trying to be extra extra careful in removing it to reglue it. I guess I wasnt careful enough.

I normally use Butterfly Sriver but I’ve resorted to buying a cheaper version of this rubber sheet off ebay due to the lack of funds.

It’s not the same but I guess it’ll have to do since I’ve left my stock of Butterfly Sriver rubber sheets in Brunei.

I really hope it arrives in time for my competition.

Time to get some well deserved rest =D

The rule of threes in English writing suggests that things that come in threes are generally more satisfying, funnier or more effective than other number of things. It also states that the reader/audience is more likely to consume information or react better to information that’s written in groups of threes.

So is it really a coincidence that there are only three subjects in one semester – so that when assignment season comes around, you’d end up having to write articles/ assignments in threes as well ? Hahahah..I really might be stretching that theory quite a bit. But I definitely do feel more satisfied after completing 3 sets of assignments.

I somehow dont think I did my best work in the Draft Literature Review though. I know it could’ve been so much better. I had so many book references and not enough from Journal Articles and I’m pretty sure that this will be an issue for discussion in next week’s class. I really hope I dont fail though..:S. It probably doesnt seem like I put very much into the written piece, but I did. I was finally able to sleep for more than 4 hours today =D

Anyways, I think I should start coming up with background stories to my elgg personas =D

Cant believe Im so behind

It’s amazing how one week can totally upset the schedule I had set for myself at the beginning of the semester.Only now do I realise that I’m quite behind on my work – it’s safe to say I have my weekend cut out for me. I couldnt get so much of what I wanted to do done during the Easter break because I had to play the perfect host. I didnt even get to see my laptop very much.

Ahhh..anyways, I may as well just get on with it. Ranting will do no good. All I can do is apologize to my lecturers for being behind schedule and try my best to catch up.

So what do I need to do now before the end of the week ?

- sort out the wireless configurations on my mac so I can do work at Labsome without having to use the desktops.

- finish answering the learning contract questions for Transient Spaces

- do some reading up on Mamp and figure out how to use it properly before the meeting with Adrian.

I’m just really glad that I’ve got the Comm Rev essay over and done with. Thats one thing to take off the checklist =D

Whirlwind of a week

It’s been such a packed week – with the parents arriving, the PV meeting, my graduation, winery tours and 3 Easter Masses all in the same week. Now the family have gone, the apartment feels really quiet. Then again, that could be because it’s 8.25am and everyone else is still in bed. I had quite a fun week with the family but now it’s time to get back to work. The iCal hasn’t been touched in the past week and the to-do list has started to pile up quite a bit. It’s now time to divide, prioritise and initiate. I really hope I manage to get stuff done before the Easter break is over.

We went to the DFO at South Wharf yesterday thinking that 2 hours would be enough to cover the place. It wasnt. My sister barely got through half the shops in 2 hours. I think I have to pay the place another visit just before uni reopens. My sister liked the stuff I bought so much that she wanted it. Looks like I’ll have to go back and get something else. The sales are AWESOME at South Wharf =D I’ve eaten so much in the past week. We had Thai, Greek,Western and Korean food. It was all pretty awesome! We were intentionally trying to stay away from Chinese food because the parentals and the sister can easily find that cuisine in Singapore and Brunei.

Anyways, now that that’s over. It’s time to hit the books. I miss my family already (and their plane hasnt even taken off yet) =( <3

Distracted by the distraction of distraction

I really love that quote. I heard it from a professor at my housemate’s La Trobe University graduation. It really strikes a chord with me at the moment because I feel like Im starting to lag behind with work, even though I have to do lists to keep me in check. Now, it’s just a constant reminder of what I have yet to do.

Im finding it quite difficult balancing work and life because my housemate’s family is in melbourne for a couple of weeks and  I am obliged to help show them around. To make things worse, my family will be here two days after the housemate’s family leaves – for my Melbourne Uni graduation. Luckily they’ll only be here for a few days. That way, I may just be able to catch up in time for assignment hand ins. I feel like Im drowning.

Anyways, out of all the articles Adrian handed out in the previous week, I picked up the one entitled “An ecology of practices” by Isabelle Stengers. I found this reading slightly cryptic. In the reading, Stengers states that social technology would mean that we would have the power to manipulate everything in the name of human or social freedom (that is used in the creation of social media). This means that it has the power to connect people and provide information in social media forms to inform those who seek similar information.

We are all social beings. An easy way of producing an objective lowering of what we feel and think is to emphasize that what we claim as our is not ours at all, instead according to Pierre Bourdieu, it identifies us as part of the society. This means that when you are part of a society, this becomes a known fact.

Hail the size of GOLF BALLS!!!!

In all my years of being in Melbourne, I think this is the first time I’ve experienced hail the size of golf balls. I was just about to head out to a 21st when I heard hail stones pelt the pavement of the light well of my building. Insane! I spent a good 10 minutes staring at the balls of ice in disbelief. People back home would say this is sakai behaviour. Sakai basically means follower but in this context it means a person who is totally captivated by someone or something, to the point where he/she cant take his/her eyes off him/her/it. Well, you get my drift.

I managed to avoid the hail and rain but when I fiiiiinally got to the train station, turns out the whole train system was backed up. Mind you, I hardly ever take the train and this time there was about a 45 minute delay. I’m not too sure how normal that is. So when the train finally got going, all the trains on the city loop had to get diverted to Flinders St station. On the way there, it was like sitting on a tour bus where the driver was directing our attention to what seemed like cars parked on a shallow river bed that was filling up. I really feel for all those people who had their property damaged by the elements. The situation where the flood water levels reached the bottom of the side mirrors of the car really reminded me of the time it flooded really badly in Brunei and some cars even got swept away by the currents.

What I found funny is that, you dont have to be Bruneian to be sakai. Let me paint a picture for you. The train was packed way past capacity (everyone who was standing in the train were shoulder to shoulder). There was this couple standing in the middle of the train – A really tall Caucasian dude with his petite Japanese girlfriend (who was clinging on for dear life). When the train driver told us to look at the floating cars, she totally forgot about clinging to her boyfriend, pushed through a metre’s worth of people (there really wasn’t very much space)  and stared out the window with both palms and her nose on the glass. Needless to say, this got a lot of people’s attention as she was oohing and aahhhing all by her lonesome…her boyfriend tried to mask his embarrassment but didnt really do a very good job at it. His face turned a scarlet red.

I suppose the take-home message from all this is to be safe and stay indoors when the weather gets bad and make sure you insure your property. Global warming people…you can never be too prepared.