Monday, April 28, 2008

Dysphoric

I am so sad, so so sad...the end of Ashton X has arrived, and might I say ladies and gentlemen, what an incredible journey it was! Luke, the author, has an enviable talent and whatever inspired Asthon X, needs to be placed on a pedastool. Developing Ashton's character in rather intricate fashion, I fell in love with a fictional brother of a superhero...and I hate, hate Luke for taking that away from me!! Now I have to go back to living my life vicariously through television shows, rather than the Ashton X world I jumped into, unknowingly might I add. Luke giveth, and Luke taketh away!

However, despite the fact I really dislike the story ending - Luke has to be acknowledge for his great work and dedication. I know, myself, that I've undertaken the somewhat laborious task of trying to write a story. If the story was intended be any longer than a few thousand words, it never made it. I lose interest too quickly, it's like - because I know where the story is going, I'm bored! It's like when you re-read a book, that really wasn't that great the first time, so you never finish it. That's exactly what its like when I set out to write a story. So, I must give Luke credit for his perseverance. Oh god, how I hate that word... but I think that's for another blog.

So lately, I've been doing assignments and I'm thoroughly over it. I handed in my fifth assignment for the semester today, and given that I've been working on it through my ANZAC weekend and the week before it, I took a well deserved break tonight. That well deserved break consisted of watching the launch of Big Brother Australia 2008 - at which, I scoffed. Then watching Desperate Housewives, where Bree Vandercamp taught me an important lesson. "You can raise a mans hopes without ever satisfying them, I've been doing it all my life". What a glorious inspiration she is! Now, I'm watching Friends, writing this blog, annoying both Danny and Lee on msn with nudges and distracting them from their honest work (which I am pleading so vehemently for them to set aside).

There was a highlight to my weekend, however. Despite all the work I got done, I actually found time to make some goals for myself. While on the ABS website gathering "empirical evidence" for my pathetic HR research essay, I got distracted and ended up in the Careers section of the website. Of those who know me, and of those who read my first blog are all quite aware that I'm not really sure where I want my degree to take me. I've chosen my majors based on what I enjoyed and was good at, although neither were my first preference (I would have preferred Commercial Law, it's a useless major unless I'm doing accounting and finance, which I refuse to do). So, I looked at the Careers section and took a gander at their graduate positions, and I found myself interested - and just as equally shocked that I was mind you, in most of the graduate positions they were offering. It was then, that I decided, that's what I'm aiming for. I'm actually interested in what they have to offer, now its just up to me to get there. It might mean a move to Canberra when I graduate, which is most definitely a down side, but well worth it for the career. Hopefully this will be enough to motivate me to do more work - or at least, do quality work as opposed to the half-assed work I've been turning in.

On another note, having my wisdom teeth removed was possibly not the best move. While I know it is better in the long run for them having been removed, but right now I'm not feeling any benefit. Aside from the infection I got after them being removed, I'm still in pain! My teeth are still adjusting to the new space, which has lead to my gums being inflamed and I'm thoroughly over it because it's actually quite painful. On top of that, one of the holes hasn't even begun closing yet and that too is inflamed. To add insult to injury, the surgeon missed a part of one of wisdom teeth which is now deciding it wants to protude out of my gums - causing yet even more pain. However, multiple visits to my dentists and there is some hope for some temporary relief. I tell you what, if I end up not being able to afford my exchange trip next semester I'm blaming my teeth. I have spent, as well as my parents, thousands of dollars on them recently - all thanks to my wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth are the devil! ...Was that a disgusting paragraph?

Perhaps it's my Enya-tastic craze I'm having, but I find myself missing a lot of people lately. I can't seem to satisfy my desire to see Cazi and Nander, doesn't help Cazi's working like a black bitch (hah, oh wait, she is!), and Nanders too studious for his own good. I haven't had a good night out with them, and by good I mean ridiculously intoxicated night out, in quite some time. Both mine and Nander's birthdays are approaching, its the incredibly insignificant 20 - so I feel we should revert to tradition, hire a hotel room at Crown or Pacific International, drink copious amounts of jagermeister and vodka, head to Famous or some other club and dance our hearts out. In true tradition, if celebrating my birthday Nander will be hanging his head in the toilet before we had out, vice versa if celebrating his birthday. And to keep with tradition, I'll pike it really early (1 - 2 am) and I'll wake up when him and Cazi are getting back to the hotel. We'll get another few hours sleep before walking around the city aimlessly to ensure the alcohol is out of our systems to guarantee a safe drive home! I feel I'm in need of one of those times.

Speaking of my birthday, I don't know what I plan to do but I have a list of people I would like to see for my birthday. While that list is not conclusive, that is - there are other people I would like to see also, its just these people I have not seen in some time, or I don't feel I'm seeing enough of! I am a social person, I have huge demands on peoples times!
The list is as follows (in no particular order): Cazi, Nander, Emilee, Aaron, Andrew, Paul, Luke, Danny, Leigh, Jess, Jenny, Danni, Caity, Brigid, Teegy and Limor.
Again, this list is not conclusive - I'd like to see A LOT of people on my birthday!! Those people just fall in the category of "I'd better finally see you, or hang you with more, because I don't see you enough!".

I think that shall conclude this post. Yes, it shall.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Achieved

So, last week at Uni, during my Intermediate Microeconomics lecture - I realised...I know shit all! So began the freak out that I was going to fail Uni. However, now that I have officially completed the groundwork for my economics assignment, all that is left to do is to actually write it up - I don't feel like I'm going to fail...so much. Bearing in mind, I do part take in units other than Micro, I've still got quite a bit of work for those before I can rest easy. Despite the fact I feel those other 3 units have no value, whatsoever! Due to the fact that I am well on the way to knocking out the intense amount of assignments in the coming weeks, this blog does not have to be a melodramatic rant about how crap I am at life and how I'll achieve nothing and go nowhere! That was certainly the direction this blog was originally intended to take.

Instead of a rant, I shall detail the events - or highlights of the past few weeks. Two weeks ago, I went to see Holding the Man at the Malthouse in Melbourne. I was accompanied by Colin, Lee, Jono, Ian and Alana (the only one who I hadn't met before). Given that I had read, and adored, and read again - the delight that is Timothy Conigrave, I was fully aware I may be a blubbering mess by the end of it. That certainly proved true, however - there were some doubts along the way. I personally felt that the play failed to develop the relationship between Tim and John significantly, given they only kiss twice in the 3 hours and 25 minutes. While I'm not saying a kiss would suffice to establish the relationship better, it would have helped. There seemed to be a lack of desire from John, and yes he was hesitant - but it seemed one of the more detached relationships, which was certainly not the picture painted by Timothy in his memoirs. However, some of the techniques they used on stage to portray events - were amazing, even to me. Without special effects, it's amazing what they come up with and I was very much impressed. And I was certainly pleased to be able to place faces to the infamous Tim and John. It was overall a good adaptation, just needed work on the actual relationship - oh and the fact the actor playing Tim took almost the whole play to sound any older than the teenage Tim!

Lately, I've been working quite a bit. My last post neglected to mention anything about my employment, so I'll catch you up here. I work for Village Cinemas, in Gold Class. For the most part, I enjoy the job and the people are fantastic. The one thing I don't like about the job is the constant loss of weekends and thus, my ability to go out and socialise. By socialise, I mean binge drink. My job isn't actually bad at all, the pay is good and the working conditions are great compared to other Village sites. By that I mean, our site is bigger, newer and cleaner! I recently offered myself for consideration for a promotion, which I doubt I'll get for a few reasons - which I'll discuss momentarily. The promotion promises more money (which is helpful for someone wishing to go on exchange later this year), and more weekend work - most likely closes on Saturday nights - which promises less of a social life. Why do it to myself? I know. The main reasons I don't believe I'll get it, first and foremost is because I'll be disappearing in about 4 months to Canada, and won't return for another 5 months. That will certainly weigh heavily in their decision making. Aside from that, there are numerous candidates - just as capable, qualified and as willing as I am - if not exceeding my capabilities, that are just as good to fill the role. And, bonus for them is, they probably won't be disappearing on them for 5 months! So, my reasoning for applying was to indicate that I'm interested in going up, and at some point in my career with them - it might be relevant for them consider later on.

So, I'll move on now - to a more interesting topic, that is not work. Last Thursday night I ventured to IQ, for the first time in quite a while - I was not designated driver, and thus was able to binge drink until my heart was content. And content, was my heart - ladies and gentlemen. Thanks to Aaron driving me to IQ, and seeing some great people I haven't seen in some time. I'll take this time to mention those people. I got to see Tom, who is a filthy Kiwi for all purposes of this discussion, but he was great fun despite his clear inferiority to us Australians. IF you do not recognise this as light banter, I might encourage you to discontinue reading my blogs. I also got to see Luke, who is the author of the infamous AshtonX which you can access on my right sidebar (do it!). I also saw Danny, which is always good - despite the kidney punches. I saw Lee, although I think I sensed disappointment in how drunk I was :P. It was a great night - from what I remember. I remember drinking 3 vodka, cranberry and limes, a shot of Kruskovac, and shared two jugs of beer with Tom. Which I remember now, that I owe someone money...who was that? That was due to the ATM not working.

Friday was uneventful, I was looking forward to Saturday night where I was to celebrate the births of Laura and Darren. Saturday night was great - I got to see Cazi and Nander who I hadn't seen in some time, and got to spend some more drunken experiences with. It gave me the opportunity to catch up with Jenny from school, who I haven't spent much time talking to or seeing lately. I also got to see Kristy, which is always quality - she's a good laugh. I spent some time catching up with Cazi's parents and generally just being a whore with the crowd. Some highlights include beating Laura on singstar singing Alicia Keys Fallin' - I know, who woulda thunk it?! I also busted out some tunes with Cazi, and a few other people! It was great fun. And when we finally organised ourselves, we headed out to Frankston - Glacier, in fact - to continue the night of partying. Which was almost thwarted by ANZ's decision to not work! At 9 ATM's, I got the message 'Bank Unavailable'. Thus, the cost of our party continuing was born by others - as both me and Jenny were left fundless. Glacier was disappointing, small crowd and generally small venue with nothing fantastic to offer. It was however, a great night overall!

And I swear - you may have noticed the trend, I do have money! And I do not usually take advantage of friends paying for me! It's not my fault ATM's decided to be unreliable last week!
I must also make mention of Andrew before I finish this blog, I'm not sure what will satisfy him - but he has made it clear that my last blog didn't have enough of him (or any of him really) so I shall endeavour to make him more noticeable among my blogs. So, I'll inform you that today I didn't keep mine and Andrews long standing phone call appointment which lasts 12noon to about 12.45pm every Monday. It coincides with a break I don't usually share with other people, but today I did - so I neglected the phone call. I actually missed our phone call date - and will endeavour to replace it.

That is all - I don't think I need to write a thesis every post.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Pioneer

So to begin, I guess I must acknowledge that no originality on my part exists for the title of this blog. I have shamelessly stolen the title from a movie. I am no expert in copyright laws, but I doubt I'll be sued for it. But then again, perhaps I will.

I decided some time ago that I would begin a blog on blogspot. The biggest issue then became - what sort of blog would I write? I have friends, acquaintences and connections with an abundance of blogs on blogspot - and thus, have witnessed the many uses of a blog. That and I have a tendency to blogstalk-myspacestalk-facebookstalk, it's why they're there right? So, a friend of mine uses his blog to make instalments into a work in progress, known as ashtonx. I'm quite the fan of the story - and the writings not too shabby either. Another friend uses his to make random posts about random issues, sometimes to showcase his talent as a writer - oftimes to showcase his strong opinions, on the most mundane of issues. And many more examples exist for what a blog can be made into.

So, it is time now to decide what my blog will be. And that blog, ladies and gentleman, is going to be about me - my life. I know, how self-centred. But don't let that take you away from the awesomeness that will be The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Luke. Not only will this blog centre around me, because I'm that conceited, it will provide a social commentary of the not so intellectual kind, and at times I will delve into the random commentaries. I will let this blog become a place where I write anything I like! Yes, that beautiful concept known as freedom rears its ugly head. Notice how I said it was beautiful, then referred to it as having an ugly head? Does that make me profound or incredibly contradictory? You decide! SMS 131313! ...no really, don't. It counts for nothing and you'll be wasting credit.

Anyway, I suppose I should add something of substance to this first post. I find myself in a dilemma with what that substance should be... I mean, should I write about me - what I do, who I am...or should I just shoot straight into condemning the world to hell because they sin against my religion? I think it wise, or perhaps I'm just using sentences that sound smart, to begin by telling you all who I am and give that general about me section in more depth. Oh and I don't really have a problem talking about myself. Have you noticed that everyone says in 'About Me' sections, how much they hate talking about themselves? Then you meet them, and it's about the only thing they can talk about - talk about false advertisement!

I am Luke. If you hadn't already figured that out, I'm not sure you have the calibre required of readership of this blog. And yes, I'm aware that sounds incredibly elitist, but heres the kicker. I'm from Frankston - there's nothing elite about me. Ain't it just a scream? No I'm pretty much being a tool, which I often do - so it guess it fits in with the AboutMe. I am 19 - soon to be 20. And yes that is actually depressing - no longer a teenager, it seems as if I have nothing to look forward other than depressing age landmarks. That's probably just me being melodramatic. That's not really me...so strike that! I study Commerce - and yes I enjoy some parts of it, other parts not so much. Nothing I'm doing is incredibly difficult, sometimes the concepts and workload is intense but for the most part it's a breeze. I am yet, however, to decide if its right for me. By the time I decide, I would have most likely finished the degree and be working in a field when I realise that Journalism is where I want to go. It was one of my more serious ambitions in my younger years, but whatever happened to it I don't know. There's another thing about me, I've aspired to be so much and become so many different things and yet here I am in a Commerce degree, aiming to become an Economist - and that is not one ambition I had, not even in year 12 when I decided on Commerce because 'it made sense'.

I am undertaking said Commerce degree at Deakin University in Burwood. I love the campus and the atmosphere, and the few close friends I have made. When I was in Year 12, I hadn't even decided what course I wanted to get into. I had a general idea of what I was interested in, but no real clear course to head into. So I went to the one Open Day my roster would allow, which was at Deakin. Upon arriving at Deakin I immediately decided that's where I wanted to go. The staff were nice, the campus was pretty - for lack of a better word, and it just seemed me - or at least the atmosphere did. So it was after deciding I wanted to go to Deakin that I decided that Commerce or Commerce/Law would be what I intend to do. Then I began researching Commerce at other universities, for back up - and realised that I would only satisfy Deakin's entry requirements with the right ENTER score, because I lacked the forethought to be doing mathematics at a more difficult level than further! So it seemed at this point, that my path was clear. And with ENTER just shy of that asked for Commerce/Law, Commerce it was! And it took much encouragement from many mentors and friends, to get me through the first year. I'll have it known that first year commerce, is so ridiculously boring - the slitting the wrists concept seems fun!

So that accounts for my academic life. To move onto my social life; I am a homosexual. *GASP*. I know, right? And while that hardly satisfies what my social life entails, it has been one of the more exercised facades of my social life recently. Up until December of last year, despite being over 18 - I blatantly refused to enter the scene. After much protesting, begging and thoroughly being annoyed by one friend, who I won't name AARON, I made the venture. Since then, it has practically occupied my free time. Prior to that, I was very much into the straight nightlife and maintained close ties with quite a few friends from high school. While those ties strayed with my ventures, and with ventures of their own - I have only two close friends from High School who are, the most constant, grounded people in my life. And while they have suffered neglect from me disappearing into the 'gay world', they are still there - because that’s who they are. It doesn't matter what we're doing through, we're always there. It's that little blankey you couldn't part with as a child, I am proud to say I still have that little blankey - like I still have Cazi and Nander.

More on the topic of the gay world, Aaron introduced me to the scene - despite having some experience with it before, it was a totally different experience to what I was expecting. My views were contradicted and many values reconsidered, its taken quite some time to realise that those views and values need not have changed, as it was - the scene hadn't changed, I just saw it in a new light that is now beginning to fade. While I am thankful I have met some of the greatest people and friends you could ever ask for, there's always that side of the scene I struggle to participate in and that is enough to give anyone an inferior complex that you wear with you whenever you go. And...oh...my...god. This is me being melodramatic again.

Anyway, I think that's just about enough for today. This post is massive. Does this thing have spell-check? I hope so... I would be nothing without it!