The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Luke

Memories

2010-10-19T16:10:00.002+11:00

Hello blog! :)

It's been some time...

I felt the need to write about myself today, for some strange reason. I don't usually get too many urges to write any more. The full time work life takes those creative urges out of you. If for a moment you have that brief, fleeting urge, the corporate machine will suck it right out of you. Lovingly of course. The corporate machine is there looking over you, looking out for your best interests - career wise... Of course.

Anyway, I suppose some of my hesitation writing in this blog again has been a lack of any creative content to add compared to those I follow, and reminding me of a disconnection to those I followed, and treasured in one way or another.

My life however, needs some talking about because it's so mundane it calls true the explanation of this very blog.

My life has been centre around my boyfriend, and work. While I love them both, it's pretty much the same thing over and over again, and I am getting a little restless, looking for that thing to mix it up a little.

I learned recently though, that all my efforts are in vein. I don't know what happen to all my friendships I have spent a lot of time, and effort creating and maintaining but they have fallen off the universe? It makes one wonder that if it weren't for your effort, they would not have existed at all? That's a depressing train of thought.

Perhaps what I am experiencing is difference, the impact of change on relationships and the like. It bothers me that people I considered genuine friends no longer share an interest in my life and what I am doing. There are those, of course, who like me feel that something needs to be maintained, but too much has happened for our friendship to be anything near as great as it used to.

I admit, I have changed. One massive change has been my relationship, being the first serious, somewhat mature aged relationship. This occupies time, but it certainly doesn't occupy my attention. While I do, knowingly and willingly, avoid certain activities to be with the man, I do not intend or attempt to neglect those around me. I also don't think that my relationship, and my distraction with it, to be so intense that the decomposition of other relationships would take place. I think it merely an excuse, should they choose to actually justify it to me.

Another thing I tend to experience recently with friends, is that in all honesty, introducing them to other friends is an awful idea. Particularly if they get along like a house on fire. But be careful, that first time they meet they may appear to hate each other. Leave it that way, I promise. I didn't and I worked on it... now it's a friendship I'm barely a part of.

Anyway, I'm pretty much whining and complaining. And is there anything more unattractive? If you dislike the cards that have been dealt, put them back in the deck and try again...

Who

2009-11-04T19:23:00.000+11:00

I guess it’s kind of normal to feel like this, right? I mean… so much is ending, that obviously you’re going to be a bit pensive, morose and even a little depressingly reminiscent about your life? You look back at everything that has happened, all that you have done, and all that you have achieved. At the end of that… assessment, we shall call it, you feel just a little ripped off. Like, you had every opportunity there to take, and the willingness to take it, but something held you back? Because for some stupid reason, you let something insignificant, and temporary, blind your future goal. But when you finally reach that ‘future’ you think back, and hate yourself.

Regret is not necessarily healthy, but it has got to be normal. People always say live your life with no regrets. They are living in the now. Kudos. But when you’re living in tomorrow, you will look back at now and question if you could have been doing something different, something more worthwhile… something a little more stimulating, that could have improved your tomorrow, no? Is it not normal to make that kind of judgment?

So sure, another window will open, and another door will wait to be answered. Opportunity is always knocking they say. There is no point looking backwards, onwards and upwards! It is always positive, the future is always bright. Onwards and upwards! Well, what if? What if the future is not bright at all? What if because of your fallible decision-making skills, the future is nothing but a series of monotonous events you can predict even now? Forecasting the future is always imprecise, but what if the path you have ended up on, only goes one way…? What if there is no fork in the road to consider…? You can argue there always is, but a reasonable person will always choose the same ‘type’ of fork.

There’s no point getting down about it, they say. No point at all. Because you cannot change the past, you can only focus on your future, and making the most of it. Well what if your past, has literally destroyed your future? Naturally, you would live with regret. If you did not, then you are not human. Do not pretend to tell me you live with no regrets, when in fact, you simply must. Because you, like I, could not possibly be happy. For you, to be happy, would mean that you are content and comfortable with the way things are. This is a downright lie. How can you possibly ever be content with all that you have? What you have is never enough, there is always more.

The curse of the perfectionist is that nothing is ever good enough. And indeed, something can always be better, always be improved. The perfectionist thinks in these terms. They make great Quality Control managers. But in your own personal life, this school of thought is harmful. Being a perfectionist means that nothing, nothing in your life is ever going to be good enough. You will always be wanting more, because you know that there is more to have, a better quality of life that can be achieved. It might be Pareto improving, or it might not be, the quality of someone else’s life does not factor into your thought process – the simple fact of the matter is, there is always something better.
So on and on we go, where we stop nobody knows. Unless someone actually does, then that puts a bit of a spanner in the works. Oh hello formerly spoken of spanner, how are you today? Well, the time has come to put everything back into perspective again. I guess this means you must know what it is exactly you are putting into perspective…

When one does achieve what they have set out to, and achieved almost all facets of the goals they have established since they were a whippersnapper, one must set new goals. New goals that reflect who they have become. Begging the question, who have you become? Answer me this. The product of a capitalist system, driven by greed and personal gratification? Tick. The product of a financially questionable upbringing, compromising one’s own ability to manage money, despite education? Tick. The incapability to attracted, be attracted to, the right or sensible people? Tick. The ability to wing one’s way through life, and jump hurdles without knowing its height, length or width, unscathed? Tick. Thus, who have you become? What do all of these things tell you about oneself? I see luck, misfortune, depravity, ignorance, stupidity. I see coincidence, good fortune, good values. They are contradictory in nature, and in practice. Who have you become?

Advice

2009-10-12T19:21:00.002+11:00

Currently, I am taking the advice of two friends regarding a certain situation. I am a little apprehensive and uncomfortable following the advice. The advice in itself is logical, and makes complete sense; even from two different perspectives. But I can't help but feel uncomfortable with it.

One of the main reasons I don't really like taking peoples advice is because it tends to irk me the possibility that you are not being given this advice in good-faith. I don't doubt either of these people, honestly, but one of them certainly owes me nothing more than another party concerned, so there is the chance of a conflict of interest.

Another reason I don't like this particular advice, is because there is no real timeline. It could be endless, it could end up with what I view as undesirable consequences. These consequences could just be a fact of life, the way it should be, or whatever common, normal label you'd like to put on it. But I still don't like it, and don't want that outcome.

Following other people's advice comes with risks. For some reason, I am following this advice and taking these risks. I don't really like it. But oh well.

Slumber.

2009-10-09T03:01:00.002+11:00

And in the morn, I shall don clothes of mourning.
O slumber, why must I awake from thee?
You callously ripped the innocent, fondest of all dreams
From thy humble hands, leaving me in this state!

Ok, so yeah I do not know what is up with that... But I just woke up from the best dream I have ever had. I'm not going to go into detail, that would be sharing much more than I care to with the world... But rest assured it was an innocent dream, as opposed to an R rated dream. And I am actually in mourning for it. I am so depressed by the fact I cannot see the dream to its end. I hate that I woke up :(

It was simply refreshing have this dream. It played out much of what I have wanted to happen. It turned one of my day dreams into pure fantasy of the sub-conscious mind. It was utterly amazing. It's putting your wildest hopes, into a fantastical world where anything and everything can happen, not hindered by barriers of reality. Hence why it was so good. Things I just wish could happen, can just happen - and they did. Oh. I want to live in that dream.

TwentyTen

2009-09-23T22:38:00.003+10:00

Before I launch into this blog, I feel it worthy of noting that I am an incredibly poor student. Not poor in the financial sense, poor in the sense that I suck at studying, and doing assignments, I have no work ethic for Uni. I re-read my blogs today, and noticed that every semester I say... "I'm really not motivated this semester, need to pick up my game." It's when I re-read this that I realised, I have never once had a good 'game', at Uni at least. I've always been the average student who pulls off good marks with half-assed effort. Call me blessed if you will, but it certainly leads me to blame these marks for my lack of effort. If you are a Village person, this is my external locus of control speaking :P.

Anyway, the theme, purpose, and intent of this blog is to discuss New Years. This year I find myself in somewhat of a pickle with how I should bring in 2010. There are a number of reasons for this pickle, and I will detail them further, but I would like to also give you a bit of a run-down of the past few New Years Celebrations!

2008 - 2009
This New Year was spent in New York, in Times Square, the biggest party of the world!

2007 - 2008
I spent this with Aaron, crashing 'Green-shirt-Ben's' New Year party, and then going to some other random party in Dingley.

2006 - 2007
I think this New Year was spent with the 'Torquay Group' (Cazi, Nander, Katie, Jess C, Jess R, Kerry and Jenny) and their respective partners, I'm assuming. Pretty sure it was at Cazi's house.

2005 - 2006
This New Years was spent with the family (minus my sister who actually had a life), and a few family friends etc. that came over and made a street party out of the night.

And thus, my memory from hereon fades!

What can be taken from all of these past New Years is that I have always endeavoured to party, it's just been a question of the relative awesomeness of the partying. Without insult to the people who I spent them with, every single one of them sucked. What the hell is up with New Years being the most overrated party in the world!!! NEW YEARS SUCKED ABSOLUTE BALLS IN NEW YORK! It was freezing, thanks to the exclusion zone, I couldn't eat, drink (anything, not just alcohol), pee!!! It was horrible! While I loved the atmosphere of the city, it seriously sucked!

Since then, I decided that I need to have one awesome New Years. Just one, to make up for all of the rest. Therein lies my problem, or at least the beginning of my problems. I am determined to make this New Years amazing, but the people I envisioned myself spending New Years with have other plans which honestly, does not interest me one bit and I cannot think of a worse way to bring in 2010! Thus, I am now lost for what to do to make up for my lacking history of New Years Party's!

Solutions!?

Wondering

2009-09-05T01:07:00.000+10:00

I do have to wonder, at which point in the future will i stop allowing myself to be controlled by foolish and immature emotions?

I do apologise for the morose and melancholy blogs recently. Just had the thought, perhap epiphany even, that many important decisions in my life are governed by emotions, that frankly have no place in the decision making process. It has certainly led to irrational decisions, decisions that serve only social goals rather than the deeper personal ones. It irks me, yet I cannot seem to consciously avoid it.

So my followers, enlighten me. Have you found yourself in this position before? If you have, share your stories and perhaps even the secret to overcoming it! :P

Imminent

2009-08-28T00:23:00.000+10:00

Updating my blog is long overdue. I have neglected it for quite some time. In my defence, however, I would like to direct you all to my former post to give rise to this neglect. I have been overwhelmed, and inundated with work and uni for the past few months. On the upside, this is my last semester and ‘when I grow up’ is just a few weeks away. This is actually pretty daunting, and I am not as excited as I should be.

I have, with all honesty, been attempting to plan out the rest of my life. I have put in a lot of hard work trying to secure myself some semblance of a relevant role next year, but thus far been unsuccessful. Apparently a good academic average, no fails, extra-curricula’s, work experience, internship experience, exchange programs, mentor programs… aren’t enough. I am not, however, disenchanted. I know this is common; I am not personally affronted by this fact, just annoyed that I have put all this effort in to receive little or no response.

There is always a door that can open, having said that, and naturally I find myself in front of many doors simultaneously. I can assure you, my legs are aching with the strain this very moment! I have had some discussions with my current workplace, and even a former workplace about my career progression, and to an extent, there is some hope there. Not all is lost!

Bearing in mind my ideas for some travel next year, it probably is not ideal I get myself into a full-time job where taking a few weeks leave is going to be frowned upon. Thus, I think that I have at least come to a decision, that should I not get into a graduate program (of those that are left to get back to me), and should I not decide to continue studying, next year will be my year off. I have studied continuously since the very day I started in prep (for those of you internationals [i.e Kyle :P], this is our first year of primary school). That was, I believe, 1994. That is essentially 16 years of study, with no significant break. So I think taking that time is good for my health, and sanity.

An opportunity has arisen however, and I do find myself questioning whether or not I should take advantage of it. Of course, in a capitalist system we are often brought up with the mentality that it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and if we want to make it far in life, we need to seize opportunities that are good for us, and make our mark on the world. I do buy into this mentality, what can I say, I’m a product of the capitalist system… but I am struggling on carrying this out. This opportunity is a good one, and will add value to my degree should I take it, but it is at the cost of perhaps better suited, more deserving people not having this opportunity. This irks me.

In addition to that concern, there are some personal feelings in there with some (one) of these people. That adds to my frustration in making this decision. I was told today that in the end, I need to think for myself, but be ready to take the knives out of my back – because people will be waiting to do it. TO be honest, I could not care less about most of the knives. It is just the one that worries me, and one that will inevitably be pounded right through my spinal cord, piercing my lungs… And that pain is one I do not think I am mentally fit to take.

SO as you can see, the future is imminent. It is very daunting, and I am a little concerned. But I must say, I do want a break, I need it. That is a part of the plan!
Sorry again for the delay since my last posting, I assure you, I will make more of an effort! :)

Overwhelmed

2009-04-11T00:20:00.002+10:00

So I must apologise for the lack of blogging recently, and for those of you who have noticed, I did actually post something since Confessions of a Serial Dater #2. But, as you can see that post no longer exists...if I had the benefit of hindsight it would never have been posted.

To explain my unexplained absence from my blog, I will share with you all what has been, some of the most intense weeks of my life. First, I knew I was taking on quite a lot when this semester began. Being my final year, obviously I'm doing all of those things that add to the resume and make me a viable candidate for graduate positions. So amongst internships/volunteer work/casual job/classes/study/assignments ... I have had very little time.

To add to that, I had a very unfortunate experience, one that I would never like to relive or come across again. A friend of mine went under the radar, many weeks ago now, and among our circle of friends we were a bit concerned as it was very out of character. I knew he was a bit sick at the time, though he didn't seem that sick, so I did the hospital ring around to yield no results. Spoke to a number of people he was familar with, and even managed to get in contact with people I had only ever heard of but knew he was close to.

Unfortunately, it got to a point where I went to his house in the hope of finding something there, and what I found wasn't pleasing. Before you think I found his body or something, that's not quite right, what I did find was piled up newspapers, overfilling mailbox, and a car in the garage. The call was made to the police, not by me, I don't think I could have convinced myself that it was necessary, but lo and behold, he was found inside.

It was incredibly sad, as this was one of his worst fears living alone, that he wouldn't be found for days, or weeks. In our (his friends and I) defence, none of us wanted to believe this could have been the reason for him disconnecting from us all, we were all holding out some hope there was another reason.

So, the funeral was had, and it was very, very disheartening given the service hardly related to the person we knew. We then confirmed we would be having a memorial service, as he was a public figure among the gay community, and a very generous man in terms of his time and even with his money for many great causes in the gay community of Victoria. It was a very fitting night, albeit a bit expensive given the choice of venue, although I didn't spend too much.

In addition to all of this, I have been doing graduate applications like no tomorrow. I've been applying blindly to any graduate program, to increase my chance of having a job next year, given I finish my degree this year. So far, I have been selected to progress into the next stage for one of the programs, so here's hoping!

More recently, I have come to realise that I'm suffering some elaborate form of reverse culture shock. Naturally, I was prepared to some extent for a bit of culture shock coming home from Canada. I expected my friends would tire of me talking about Canada, and I understood that. Except that that's not so much an issue. I seem to have experienced some... hybrid version of this reverse culture shock. Rather than my friends being annoyed with me, I just can't seem to reconnect.

The foundations of these friendships have changed, or at least shifted to some degree, and I find myself; constantly, feeling the outcast. There is a number of reasons for this, but while my circle of friends is expanding and overlapping, most of my friends, regardless of which walk of my life they have come from, now have similar wants and desires. Except, they are the complete opposite of my wants and desires.

It's a bit depressing, but meh, I'll deal with it. In the meantime, I have no life. I live vicariously through friends who all seem to be doing exciting things, and I feel rather left behind... but anyway.

For those of you who want to know what happens to Johan, stay tuned, the update is coming.

Confessions of a Serial Dater #2

2009-03-06T14:31:00.002+11:00

OK, so this post isn't going to be as lighthearted as the previous, I'm trying to get this post done so as not to leave you guys hanging. I have about another 2 posts I want to put up really soon, and I don't want to inundate you all with 3 posts to read!

Anyway, after the first 'date' with S, I was convinced it went really well, and that this could actually turn into something. I even remember writing a very cryptic blog on myspace, back in the day, about that fact. Because should this turn into something, I would have been changing so many things about myself, and taking quite a few risks, to do it. I came to the decision that I would do it, I would take that risk, or as I put it in the blog, I was going to jump off that cliff and I was going to pray to God the water was deep enough.

That was probably the worst thing I could have done. I had pretty much mentally taking myself off the market, almost practically imagining I was in a relationship with the guy that I haven't even dated for the second time yet. Sound a bit needy? Well I am sure that's exactly how I came off...and everyone knows, no one likes a needy guy....

So we made the plans for the second date, we were going to go to the drive in. And I was pretty pumped, no matter how old school that date was going to be! Anyway, so I'm getting myself all prettyyy, and I get in my car which I had just cleaned (come on, there are few times when I bother to clean my car but if we're going to sit in it for a while watching a movie, I better make an effort!). I begin to drive to his place, which isn't that far from me but nor is it that close... I get a msg from S telling me to hold up a bit because he's running late.

If my addiction to Will and Grace had taught me nothing, then it's no wonder I was oblivious to the fact I was going to be blown off. And that is exactly what happened. I ended up driving around his area for a bit waiting for the msg to say, hey I'm ready... which never came.

I gave up after an hour or so after the movie was meant to start. Sad? Yes. Incredibly. Looking back, I feel like an absolute wanker. But hey. So I when I got him he explained what had happened etc. It was a perfectly reasonable excuse, of which I had no reason to doubt its truth, in fact, doubting it vocally would have made me seem like the biggest asshole known to man, but there are times you just know when they are using something legitimate to get out of something, and this was one of those times.

After our conversation on the phone, he told me had to go but would definitely call me back before he went to bed to make another date. I found myself hanging on my phone for a very long time, falling asleep on my bed in the clothes I'd been in all day, waking up periodically to check my phone. I gave up at 5am!

I didn't hear from him for a few weeks... I got the point.

In more recent news, I went on a date this week. So we'll see how that goes before I start blogging about it.

Confessions of a Serial Dater #1

2009-02-24T02:59:00.002+11:00

As promised, through the quirky, and most times intriguing blog In Search of Kyle, I am here to blog about some dating misadventures.

Let me introduce you to S, my date. S and I met in a rather, somewhat, odd fashion. Firstly, through a random add on myspace did I see his face and the like, but not once did we talk on the internet. We actually met face to face, totally by chance, at a local club, straight one, one very drunken night at the beginning of the mid-year break at Uni.

It was a rather awkward meeting, because in my drunken state I had the courage to wave to the guy who's face I had recognised from myspace. He, it seemed, had no idea who I was. Until later in the night, by which point I assume he was sufficiently more intoxicated, had the courage to come up to me and start a conversation. This began a series of endless messaging each other, talking on MSN messenger until unGodly hours of the morning, and on occasion, long and expensive phone calls.

So came the actual first date. Which is so memorable, it took me quite some time to recall the actual first date. Anyway, we decided that because both of our times were rather limited, and both of us as broke as all hell, we'd cheap it out, go hire movies, get some munchies from 24 hour Safeway, and chill back at his place.

I drove to his place, and met him in the sober-flesh, which was all well and good, he was as I remembered him (perhaps a little bit more effeminate). We then proceeded to get in his car, and drive to the video store. When the very first problem of the date became evident.

Problem one: I was far too comfortable talking to him, revealing many things one would never reveal on a first date. There's an episode of Will and Grace that captures this error perfectly, "you have to try not to scare him with all the crazy at once, you've got to get him in and release little bits of crazy over time."

After this realisation, I made every effort to limit how much I was willing to share with the guy. But then came the next problem.

Problem two: The video store was closed! Obviously in our dilly-dallying around, we totally forgot that we met up at like 9pm, and all video stores in our area close at 10pm... and by the time we got there it was well after.

Naturally, we then had to decide what we were going to do instead. S came up with a nice idea of just hanging out, chatting and getting to know each other. I thought this was cute, and totally deserved merit, and showed that I had found one of the few guys that didn't want just sex out of me.

So, of course we ended up not moving from the car park, and chose to just sit in his car talking for hours. When problem one re-visited, I pushed my qualms aside and figured that this is the guy I want to talk about this stuff with, and if I'm comfortable enough, it says something.

But then I realised the next problem.

Problem three: S was not responsive, nor reciprocal in the entire sharing of my life story. Sure it stands to reason, no one should be that comfortable. I should have taken this as a hint, that things were going a bit awry.

After seven, what I thought were successful, hours. Our 'date' ended. I left feeling elated, and really excited.

Stay tuned for what happens next.

Heatwave

2009-01-30T01:36:00.002+11:00

So, I figured I'd use my blog to bitch about the heat. There are many critics out there annoyed with us bitching about the heat, but the reality is, this is too hot for us and if you like it, go ahead and enjoy it. We don't like it, and there is little we can do to fix it, so our only option is to bitch! SO I WILL BITCH!

Anyway, Victoria overall has seen some painfully new records in the state, matching records from as far back as 1875. With temperatures hitting 46 degrees celsius, there is no wonder we are bitching. Might I also add that the majority of measuring stations for Meteorologists are actually in the shade? So, that isn't the actual temperature if you are out in the sun.

Along with this freakishly hot weather, many industries and services are struggling. Most notable are the Energy industry, and Public Transport. And you know what? There is no reason, in my opinion, that they should be struggling. There I said it. Most people are a bit understanding given these temperatures are rare. But with the threat of global warming, and the undeniable fact that Australia is a hot country, is no reason for any organisation to have a prepare for the worst scenario. And it is not as if any of this has not happened before, because it has, despite that, these industries are hideously under-prepared for these things to happen.

The Energy industry for example, struggled last summer when the mercury hit record highs for the summer of the year. Power outages resulted, leaving some homes without power for up to 24 hours, while workers were busying themselves replacing blown transformers, and powerstations operating at ten times their capacity.

Connex has come under fire for the hundreds of cancelled train services the past two days. Within reason however, leaving passengers stranded on outdoor platforms in the heat. Trains are breaking down, with air conditioned carriers struggling, and train tracks warping. Fair enough, this is fairly extreme, and unusual, but not unheard of .

Not only has this happened in Australia in the 1960's, and other more isolated incidences since then, but it has happened in Britain numerous years ago, and in other countries. All of which were a result of extreme temperatures that the lines just are not used to. I do not blame anyone for that, no one can really control that. But when extreme weather conditions are predicted, I don't think it is unreasonable for Connex to expect and be prepared for, such things to happen. As uncommon as it may be, given our countries climate and the unpredictability of Melbourne weather on any given day, businesses should always be prepared for the worst in terms of weather.

Adding to this is the threat of Global Warming,these are only issues we are likely to continue to see, as these 'extreme weather conditions' prevalent throughout the world are being attributed to it. Thus, it is high time the Energy Industry stopped cutting corners, upgrading powerstations that are long overdue, and re-allocating energy to different powerstations so that some are not operating above their capacity. There are options available to the Energy Industry to avoid times like these, and as economically unfeasible they are in the short-term, in the long-term with the threat of global warming, it is undeniably an investment.

For Connex, I don't expect given these conditions for things to be perfect. But there was a lack of preparation for a crisis like this to be dealt with. There is a complete lack of organisation at the moment within Connex, very few staff members know what is happening, let alone the passengers. Given the reasonable foreseeability, in my opinion, of this in extreme weather, they should be ready, and have on stand-by other transport options. It has happened before, its not common, but it is something that has happened ONLY in extreme weather conditions. So when such conditions are predicted they should be ready for this.

Another issue with Melbourne is undoubtedly the lowering levels of water. Forgive me for the dramatic comparison, but it's getting almost third-world! Our water, energy and access to public transport is being compromised!

I can handle heat, but the general lack of preparedness to deal with heat, I find shocking. I don't expect things to be perfect, nor for things to run totally smoothly. But we are a hot country, like the rest of the world, under the threat of Global Warming, with the resources, facilities, and capability to avoid such a gross mismanagement of a crisis.

I will reiterate, I don't expect perfection, but I expect better than surprise.

Australian

2009-01-22T10:39:00.004+11:00

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to update again, and I feel this may be a lengthy one.

As most of you avid readers and followers of my blog will now, I have returned to Australia from a five-month stint in Canada. I have now been home a week, and I am reminded of what it means to be an Australian, what it means to live in Australia, and all of things, I dislike about Australia.

Well, how to start this... obviously, the most significant change I had to get used to was the weather. I had gone from ridiculously cold (Ontario) to temperate (British Columbia) to extremely hot (NSW and Victoria). I survived the hottest day on record this summer, being only two days ago, and certainly not helped by the bushfires that consumed my suburb.

Thankfully, my house is OK, and everyone has survived. Unfortunately, one house (although not totally destroyed as a result of the fire) was damaged as a result. It was in this moment that I remembered what it was to be Australian, and what being an Australian entails. Bushfires!

Where I have lived my entire life, bushfires have been a harsh, unwelcomed reality of every day existence during the summer. For years we have set records for fires, in size, length, and in the size of the response from the Country Fire Authority (CFA). It's nothing to be proud of, yet it is one of those unfortunate facts.

Source: The Age, Photo by: Angela Wylie
While some, without naming names, will argue the actual threat to my home because it was apparently nowhere near me, I would like said person to have been here when my neighbours backyards were affected by embers causing spotfires. And to have the Council Rangers constantly surveying your property ever 15 to 20 minutes for spot fires, and to be told by Fireys that you should remain on high alert and be prepared to evacuate should the fire continue to burn out of control.

The Australian part however, was seen through the response of the residents, not so much the Fire Brigade. I am incredibly critical of their response on the day, I felt it was organised chaos, it was delayed, and Helitanker support was intermittent and insufficient. Yet, the residents, however Bogan the rest of Victoria think we are, supported and helped each other, throughout the entire time.

I knew nothing of the fire until my next door neighbour, who is new to me, bashed on my door interrupting my Wii bowling, to open the door to clouds of thick, black smoke, and the sight of flames that looked within touching distance. It was from that moment, that all of our neighbours who were home, rushed to scene of the fire because it was ridiculously close to residential areas. I witnessed people breaking into other peoples properties, not for the purpose of stealing or other sinister affair, but to ensure no one was inside, to take out peoples pets.

Law goes out the window in these emergencies, especially those of water restrictions as well. Currently, water restrictions are fairly tight here, and we're encouraged to use 155litres of water per person, per day. That definitely went out the window, and despite some spectator abuse, and disapproval in this (which I found extremely upsetting and unnecessarily rude).

Yet I was still amazed at the willingness of others to put themselves in face of flames, which my next door neighbour did to save a dog he heard barking from a backyard that was moments away from being wiped out by the quickly spreading fire. The instantaneous reaction to spot fires caused in the reserve behind our estate that bordered properties and infiltrated backyards, even without the residents being aware of it, or the CFA for that matter. The duty other residents assumed to secure other peoples houses for those who were not home... That is what it is be to Australian.

We were largely unprepared for a fire of this magnitude, that I will accept, its been years since one of this size and this ferocious. However, it is no excuse for the fire authorities to be unprepared either. I know and understand there were fires throughout Victoria on the day, but to have the two local fire stations totally void of any response for the first half an hour was a disgrace. To have one helitanker dropping water, was an issue. Everytime the tanker went to refill, the fire would spread quicker, and more ferociously.

Sure some of my facts could be wrong, but the Helitanker one is not, and the Fire Brigade response is certainly limited to what I could see...But from my perspective, at least where the main body of the fire was, our two stations were not present. My understanding is they were attending a fire a few suburbs over, obviously they can't leave a fire to burn, but nor should they ever leave a station completely unmanned for their area.

Since this fire, there have been others. So far there was one a suburb over in Langwarrin yesterday, that burnt 6 Hectares (1 Hectare more than Carrum Downs). That response was a lot more impressive, and a lot more organised. And again today, this morning, I was woken up by the helitanker response to another one in Carrum Downs. This could be as a result of still smoldering logs etc, that caught fire and spread, or someone came to finish the job, with whatever bush is left. Either way, today the response was more adequate, more timely, more impressive.

For those of you who don't know, FIRE is my deepest, and worst fear of all. As a child, the threat of bushfire was common, so you can imagine the torment I copped as a kid as a result of where we lived. But today, despite how irrational my fear may be, Fire is one thing I fear the most, above everything.

So to see my favourite Helitanker in the sky, was calming. He wasn't there on Monday, I know he was in Langwarrin yesterday, but seeing him today in Carrum Downs along with Mr. Shiny and New Victoria Helitanker, made me relaxed.

He is a beast, and while not as accurate as Mr Shiny and New, he carries more, and has saved this area numerous times to warrant such weird appreciation.

Day 1 and 2

2009-01-10T20:03:00.002+11:00

As it appears Kyle is documenting my time in Vancouver on his blog, I figure I should fill in some gaps. It appears that Kyle has skipped days 1 and 2, so I shall... make up for what he lacks. Hah.

Anyway, day 1 was pretty uneventful as I got into Vancouver, after some issues at JFK and a very long flight, all I wanted to do was sleep. So last thing I wanted was issues with the hotel booking, inevitably there were... but once that mishap was sorted, I got into my hotel room showered....and slept!!!
I made my way to McDonald's on Thurlow St off Robson, to ...'sustain' myself with a big mac. It was awesome!

That leads me to Day 2, as I pretty much slept on Day 1!

Day 2 wasn't very touristy, after craving Champagne for some time, I convinced Kyle to join me in a bottle, which turned out to be two, and with little food we were both a little hammered watching Canadian television shows. Was fun!

Other than that, Kyle has documented pretty much everything else of interest summarily...so there's no more too add!

Endings

2009-01-08T20:51:00.001+11:00

Oh, how I need to write. It’s been far too long, so I guess it’s blog time…it has been a month since my last entry, so it is well overdue.

Firstly, I’d like to direct you all to the fact that the genius who created Ashton X has added a …well I don’t really know what to call it, but I’ll say a teaser to his blog. Following that link, you can also follow the link to Creepy Lamingtons, Luke has also added a crazy short story to that. He’s been busy apparently!

Well, for those of you who are aware, I’ve been in Canada for the past few months. But those months abroad are coming to an end, quite quickly as well. I leave Canada in just a few days, and while I most definitely will be back, within a year I hope, I can’t help but be sad about that. As I look back on the time I’ve had over here, the fantastic people I have met, and the amazing cities, and countries, I have visited while here. These are most certainly untradeable memories, and every moment of my time here has come with no regrets, and no real…’if I do it again, I’d do…’

However, as I look forward in the coming weeks, I’m also excited to be going home. To have the comfort of my own bed, a kitchen that has food that I haven’t bought, the occasional (as in, when I am home) wholesome meal served to me… the little things! The friends I have missed, and wished were here experiencing all these wonderful things with me, the family, in particular my mother. I’m a mumma’s boy, through and through, I’m not ashamed to admit it.

This week has kind of been the buffer week between leaving the exchange environment and returning home, and it has been spent in Vancouver, one of my favourite cities of Canada. It’s up there with Montreal, I’m still torn. Thankfully, I have had met Kyle here, one of the avid blog readers of mine. Been very welcoming, and a great tour guide. Together, along with a few of his friends, we’ve been to a Poetry Slam (and interesting experience, if I do say so), and a comedy club. And I’ve seen some parts of Vancouver I don’t recall seeing in my brief visit prior to my exchange.

I get to see Ms. Clare, one of the Aussies who was on exchange with me, this Friday. As she comes to visit me in Vancouver, and perhaps see her brother. It’s ironic, I’m looking forward to seeing her so much, and so excited to have her company yet… she’s still going to be the first person I see post-exchange, once I’m at home. In fact, one week from the date I leave her in Vancouver, I’ll be at her house for her 21st!

Anyway, sorry for the short update, and lack of extremely interesting topic…just needed to write, and had no idea what to write about!

Gravenhurst

2008-12-09T06:15:00.005+11:00

Tim Horton's
"Every cup has a story"
Indeed, it is true as it seems every cup does have a story. The story behind this cup involves five ordinary Australians, living in Ontario, Canada on Exchange - finding the fabled glorious knee-deep snow. It was our mission, as such, to travel as far as needed to find a lot of snow.

The talk began on Monday, that week, two Aussies had brought about an idea to see real snow. By real, they meant snow other than the type they seem to get in the most southern point of Canada, in Windsor, Ontario. In Windsor, the snow is a bit different to what Canada is famous for (despite some of that fame being a misrepresentation of the country), in that it may snow heavily overnight, but by midday the next day it is nothing but slush and annoying puddles of water. The temperature in Windsor is so erratic, no snow has the opportunity to stay around for long. Given this, the two aforementioned Aussies decided it was high time to see the snow, at least knee-deep, more than what we naturally get on the Mountains in the Great Dividing Range of Australia.

The murmurs, talks and general rumble of the endeavour spread quickly through the horde of Exchange students here at the University of Windsor. It soon became apparent who were serious about discovering this snow. Not surprisingly, all the Australians on exchange were serious, and very willing to travel as far as necessary to see the snow. Conclusive enough, there were five Australians and five seats in the car...The trip was set. Friday night, after a certain interesting event that took place with some of these Australians (which many of you will learn of upon my return), we were to pick up the car from Windsor International Airport, and begin the journey to Muskoka, in northern Ontario.

All was fine, and unlike many roadtrips before it, there were no issues in hiring the car, no question, and no underage fee. It appears the Australian accent does buy you a few great deals, here and there. However, by the time we were all packed and ready to go, it was already late on Friday night, so we proposed to postpone the departure until bright and early (in fact not so bright, as it would still be dark) Saturday morning. All agreed that this was probably the safest option, given we intended to drive in the snow.

Saturday morning arrived, at 5:00am I find myself struggling to find the will to leave my warm and cosy bed, to shower. Once I convinced myself, I was ready and roaring to go. The road trip began at 6.30am on Saturday. After a long drive of about 7 hours, we found ourselves in Bracebridge, a town of Muskoka. We travelled along Santas' Village Road, next to a lake - through snow, and amazing scenery. The town was picturesque, the exact image that comes to mind when one usually thinks of Canada. We knew we had found what we were looking for, finding what was most likely a car park (we were not totally sure about this, there was much too much snow to really know for sure), we built a snow man, made snow angels, and had a snowball fight.

After frollicking and general frivolty in the car park of what could have been Santa's Village, we decided we would head off for lunch and to secure some accommodation for the evening. Given a slight mishap in our sense of direction, we ended up heading South (back the way we came), and instead of turning back we set our sights on staying, and eating in Gravenhurst, the first town of Muskoka. Finding a quaint pub in the centre of town in Gravenhurst, we ate a very hearty, and fulfilling meal with great, friendly service from a waitress with a truly Canadian accent. Inquiring about accommodation revealed to us that a cheap Hotel was nearby, and after trekking there through the snow we asked about availability. With luck there was one room left with just enough space for all five of us... at a rate of about one person (further proof that the Australian accent gets you a good deal).

After securing accommodation, and taking a siesta, we had a light dinner in the Restaurant attached to the Hotel, and made for some more snow fun. Sliding, skidding, jumping, throwing, angels, snow cones...all too much fun for Australians who have either seen little, or no snow! It was an amazing experience. From a distance, we could see rising out of rather deep snow a sign "Tim Horton's - Always Fresh". We would make that trek next, not really knowing where any of the roads were as they were covered in snow... we hiked our way there through the knee-deep sand of ice.

That was how the cups came into our hands, the cups of a Tim Horton's double-double. With the friendly assistance of the people of Gravenhurst, Muskoka, we had our picture taken as a group. Evidence of the story behind the cup... We came, saw and conquered the knee-deep fables of snow. And that is all that we did, the following morning at 9am...we were back on the road. It appeared to snow everywhere through Ontario that night, so we were very cautious on the road, so timing was not as good. However, we were fortunate enough not to be one of the seven accidents we saw that day.

That is the story of five Australians, finding snow. The story of our Cup.

Censorship

2008-11-13T15:50:00.002+11:00

It's time to bring out those debating shoes again, or more, the reasonable critic shoes. However, unreasonable, I may end up being.

Firstly, I would just like to say I am angry. I voted Kevin Rudd, and I am not ashamed to admit that, for the other option - was not at all desirable. But now, I'll end up with egg on my face. I have directly supported a political leader, in their endeavour to thrust religious, and self-righteous views onto us all.

I am fundamentally opposed to censorship of any kind, I don't believe it the right of the government to exercise our right to choose, on our behalf. Nor should anyone, remove our right to choose. While the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution does not stipulate such a right, explicitly or implicitly (by lack of a High Court ruling on the matter), these are rights generally thought to be, by most Australians, as basic and rightfully ours - regardless of institution or establishment. I am, admittedly, one of those who assume this as a right of my own, despite its lack of protection.

It seems incredibly backward, and incredibly insane, to block internet sites in any number, based on them being 'unwanted'. Given that no definition of the term 'unwanted' has been revealed by the government, I can't quite argue the logistics of it. However, I can say I am not comfortable with any person having the right to deem something as unwanted.

This is to prevent child pornography, and violent webpages being accessed, or at least that is what we are told. While I don't disagree with the concept of this, as these websites are abhorrent in many ways, and for many, many reasons... where will it stop? The only protection the High Court can give us is that our 'Freedom to Political Speech' is protected. Not our Freedom to Speech, just political speech.

I can't support anyone, government or individual in favour of this. It is honestly, an unnecessary, thoughtless, drain on federal funds. We are entering into a time of economic uncertainty, and the government is spending money on implementing software which doesn't guard against all avenues of child pornography, in fact it doesn't even guard against the number one avenue (in which 99.9% of child pornography is found).

Another down side is that it is likely to slow our internet speeds by up to 80%. Australia may be very advanced in some areas, for example, mobile phone technology. Being in Canada, I have learned that we're a little more ahead than Canada. But when it comes to the internet, we are very, very far behind. We already have slow, and extremely expensive internet. We are the only developed nation to have internet caps, and here we are slowing the internet down, on a mindless exercise. Particularly, given that Kevin07 was meant to implement policies in favour of improving national broadband.

And obviously, if the government are to be truly successful in restricting access to these websites, it should never publish them publicly. So that they can avoid being accessed even with the software, in case someone is smart enough to get through it (which most of us people who've ever used the internet for more than five minutes are). There's a giant issue with that, if we never know what we are not allowed to see, we are living in ignorance. I am not comfortable being ignorant. If I'm not allowed to access something, I want to know what it is I'm restricted from seeing, and for what reasons I cannot see it. On top of that, if there is no disclosure, how are we ever going to know if something that is very much 'wanted' has been deemed 'unwanted' by the powers that be?

Maybe I missed the memo, but when did Australia say it was OK, for the government to treat our country, and its people, like it belonged to them and it was for them to decide how to parent. When did it become OK, to realise the incredibly '1984' mentality in our Government?

It would be nice, but quite clearly not going to happen, for the Governor-General to step in, and not give assent to such legislation. Or simply depose of Kevin Rudd. Some people, in fact a lot, and many of which I know, would say this is going too far. But this idea, is going too far. Leave the censoring of unwanted material to ourselves, and the parents of young children. We are capable, have faith in your 'subjects'.

Mostly, ladies and gentlemen who read this from home, please don't sit back and let our government decide what we see. We already have enough censorship already, while you're at it, try and get rid of that too!

Attack

2008-11-06T11:49:00.002+11:00

So I am aware that I have not been maintaining my blog, even remotely, since I came to Canada. Possibly because I am sending mass emails, and I feel that simply copying these mass emails … is a bit of a cop out. I have wanted to write many things in my blog since I got here, but in amongst the crazy things I have been doing, and the stress and intense work load of an express semester (as a result of a faculty strike), I really haven't had much time.

What calls for a blog now, you ask. Well, I need to get something off my chest, and it isn’t exactly something that calls for a mass email or, more pointedly, is appropriate for a mass email. Sure, I could turn to one of my friends on exchange, but really…It’s not what I want to do.

So I’ll give you the low down. My residence is a really nice place, and the staff running it are really respectful and caring. My housemates generally, are a great bunch of people, and although many of us have a lot of differences in personality and opinions, we get along pretty well and I wouldn’t change my living arrangements because of them. Until now, that is.

In the past two weeks there has been…some questionable objects discovered in our house. And rather than beat around the bush, I’ll tell you and many of you (whoever bothers to read this, that is) would not be surprised. It was two used condoms. Sure enough, it is not all that surprising giving it is a student residence after all, and perhaps that is what prevents me from being totally grossed out. That, or something is wrong in my head, but I don’t think it’s that.

They were discovered in different places and at different times, and naturally, most of the house are offended and disgusted. And while I don’t really have the disgusted notion under my belt, I am offended that someone would disrespect our house like that, particularly if it is a resident. Upon finding the first one, our head of house asked us all, honestly, if we did it or knew anything about it. I answered honestly, in the same fashion in which I was asked, and bluntly said no.

Despite the fact I might not be totally revolted, I would never do it – because to me those things are extremely private. It’s not something I would want anyone else to see, that only comparison I can make to this is a girl leaving a used tampon out for the world to see. It’s not something any average girl would do, and in the same way, leaving a used condom out for the world to see is not something I’d do. I figure my house mates know me well enough to know that I am a clean guy, sure my room might be untidy, but while I have been here I have shown nothing but good hygiene. In fact, I am the cleanest person in the kitchen, my dishes are never left around and I always clean up immediately after myself (and unfortunately before I cook, or make any food).

Unfortunately however, my hygiene or more so, my personal integrity has come under question following the discovery of the second one. Admittedly, I got the impression my Head of House kind of thought it was me initially, I honestly thought I’d quashed that idea. But it was extremely disheartening to learn that, however diplomatic my housemate (and not the head of house mind you, he seems to be avoiding me at the moment) was in telling me, that my name seems to be coming up a bit as a suspect. No, beyond that, they are convinced it is me. Apparently I am the most sexually active housemate, or the most likely person to do it. From that I can gather two things… actually it kind of bounces back to the one.

Plain and simple, it’s because I’m gay, and I haven’t exactly hid that fact from my housemates. And while my housemate, as diplomatic as he was, assures me that this is not the case, I cannot think of any other reason for it. The assumption that I must be the most sexually active housemate must come from somewhere, and I have certainly not given any of them reason to believe I am having a lot of sex, or even sex in this house. While it’s only conjecture, I’m assuming it comes from the age-old stereotype that gays are promiscuous. Secondly, being the most likely person to do it, is an attack on me. Despite the fact that I don’t believe I’ve given any reason to warrant the accusation that I am disturbed enough to run around placing used condoms of mine anywhere, they seem to think so. That interlocks with what I was saying in the first place.

I keep repeating that my housemate was very diplomatic, that’s because I was impressed at the level of diplomacy I saw. It was, under any normal circumstances, something I would compliment him on. But not this time. Obviously, I responded just as tactfully as he did me. Naturally that means I hid my anger, and yes, hurt, at the accusation.

The point is, my housemates without me, at some point have come together and concluded that it must have been me (or, without seeming too convinced by this point, someone outside of the house). That is hurtful on so many levels. How can you live with people, who hold you with such little regard? Should I assume that for every disgusting thing that we are yet to see (or hopefully not see), that I am the likely suspect?

Apparently the college are going to be undertaking an investigation, I welcome that; I have absolutely nothing to hide. And I do hope that it is someone in this house, just so that they can be revealed to be the person they are convinced I am. In the meantime, I have a mid-term to study for, which I have been successfully distracted from as a result of a few tinges of anger and hurt.

Gah! I promise, I did like my housemates until now.

Arrival

2008-09-05T14:54:00.001+10:00

Hello all!
I have arrived in Windsor, my home for the next few months or so. It’s important that I stress to you that because it might be named Windsor, it does not quite carry the majestic undertone. Windsor is, at least it was by first impressions, a tiny sun-scorched town in south west Ontario, right on the border of Detroit. Thus, much of it appeared to be very ghetto! However, like my first impressions in Toronto, further discovery had me realize just what kind of city it is.
Windsor is indeed a small town, of sorts, but actually a lot larger than what we would call a small town. In fact, in terms of population it has twice the number of Frankston. Despite this however, it is still considered a small-town by Canadian standards. Basically Windsor is a University town, business thrives on patronage during semester, and all advertising it appears, is geared towards students. In fact, many places had welcome back students signs plastered around the front. This gives you an indication of the somewhat ‘dry’ summer they had.
In terms of weather... Windsor is infamous for actually being one of the hottest parts of Canada, yet also one of the coldest. Not only does it get to 30 degrees Celsius, it actually heads toward Melbourne summer weather of 40 degrees Celsius and more. In winter it snows, but often it actually gets too cold to snow.
So a few things... the drive to Windsor is as interesting as watching the clock tick by. Its all farmland between here and Toronto. Canadians are extremely polite, over here Australians are renowned for our laid back culture, and being easily approachable etc. May I just say, we are nothing on them. Even ‘gang’ types are friendly and would gladly help you if you were lost. Sometimes, you can walk through Windsor and think that at any time you could get shot. Seriously, the West is like ghetto town, however – its so ridiculously safe!
So I feel I need to elaborate on the safety of Windsor. Basically, Windsor is a border town – my room is literally about 100 metres from the US border...to Detroit. We all know the kind of rap Detroit has. Windsor basically doesn’t want to be associated with that kind of rap, and who can blame them? For that reason, police presence is amazing! On Saturday night we went ‘downtown’, and without a word of a lie, there was a police car with at least two police officers on each block of the strip. Also handy to note, there were also paramedics nearby. The mere presence and numbers act as a deterrent, and there is rarely any trouble except for the occasional overly intoxicated person who spends the night sobering up in a nice, cosy jail cell.
Life on res here at Windsor has been pretty crazy so far... I’m home from my third night of drinking, with plans to continue drinking the following night. So far, we’ve been ‘downtown’ which is the night club district, we went to a graffiti party held by the student alliance, and to a toga ‘kegger’ party tonight. Tomorrow night is ‘multi-level’ foam night. This is where the three levels of the student centre are filled with foam... pretty interesting!
Everyone I have made friends with here have been really amazing, Canadians are so polite, its astonishing. The other exchange students are really friendly, and we’re all helping each other out. In terms of accommodation, our rooms are excellent, but given that we are exchange students its not the most convenient housing. We have to supply a lot of our own cooking utensils, and the like...and such things are relatively annoying, particularly when you don’t have all that much room to take them home.
I mentioned my three nights of drinking, I would just like to point out that I am not drinking that much. For example, tonight I spent $8 on alcohol...admittedly alcohol is extremely cheap, and I was a tad tipsy... by no means was I going to be spending a night in a cosy jail cell!
Anyway, a few more things and I'll leave it. This is getting extremely long! Yesterday we had a Welcome Convocation, and if my camera was working properly I would show you all the craziness that it was. Unfortunately the building we were in wasn't exactly designed for photography. Basically the concept is similar to graduation, a little bit formal, but actually - really not. All first years gather in this hall, and they are arranged in the faculty that they are in. Exchange students are their own little group, so that was cool. The idea of this is to officially welcome and admit the students into the university, and its also a bit of a noise-off. It is a battle between which group can make the most noise, and which groups can insult the other in chants etc. It's just amazing, I wish I could remember some of the chants... they were hilarious. The only thing one I can remember is the chant from the engineering side of the room "We are, we are, we are the engineers...we can, we can, we can demolish 40 beers". The drama group made a chant that had everyone in fits of laughter, it was something about preferring to be dead than an engineer. The commerce group, which filled my heart with pride to hear their chant, which had something to do with the fact they'd all be working for them one day. It was pretty insane, and extremely fun!
Today my classes start and my first class is at 4pm, I finish at 10pm. I have never had such an odd timetable... but I will live I'm sure!

Anyway, this is enough!!!
Missing you all! (I swear!)

Hotel

2008-08-25T00:20:00.002+10:00

So!
I'm at a Hotel in Tullamarine, anticipating my flight at a ridiculously early hour...6am! I'm feeling a bit scared, a little bit excited...paranoid I've forgotten something. I'm also pretty tired, 6 hours til my flight leaves - not too sure if I should bother sleeping.

It doesn't feel real yet, I think...hrm!

Ok!
Speak to you all soon when I land!

Aftermath

2008-08-18T00:45:00.000+10:00

As most of you are aware, last night was dedicated to celebrating my departure to Canada for 6ish months, and to the 22nd birthday of one of my best friends Aaron. Naturally, such a momentous occassion cannot go un-posted/blogged/bulletinised. So, I have a few things to say about the night, a few thankyou messages and of course, photos to upload and share.

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone that came! Even if you were for the Aaron side of the party! It was an amazing night, and it was really great to catch up with so many people I haven't seen in some time, and just as good seeing all of those who I see more frequently. Many of you had to juggle plans, come after work, and even sacrifice other relatively important events to be there. I am truely thankful, and I really hope it was worth it for you. I would like to reiterate the fact that I had an amazing night, and apologise for my intoxication and any inappropriate behaviour that resulted!

I would also like to thank everyone that brought me gifts. For those of you that didn't, I will comment on the fact that I did not expect gifts, nor did I even realise farewells were a gift-giving affair. But that does not mean I did not appreciate the thoughtfulness, and the gifts themselves, that I received. The gifts I did receive will come in handy for in-flight entertainment, and for knowing where the hell I am going when I am in Canada!

Another thankyou to everyone who signed my card! It really is hilarious to read over, and just see how drunk some people were. Endless entertainment. There were a number of heartfelt messages that got me a little emotional, like I may have gotten at a few points in the night. Also to those who signed Aaron's as if it were mine, and vice versa, you need to learn to handle your alcohol better!!

The biggest thankyou of all however, goes to Aaron. It was Aaron's idea to have a joint party, for a number of reasons, and it was a great idea from the get-go. I had no reservations sharing a party with Aaron, simply because we share a lot of the same friends, and Aaron is a true friend and didn't hog the limelight!! Aaron was the mastermind, and executor of all the party plans. He did all the organising and my only input was financial, and buying ice. I feel I am in huge debt to him, not even I expected such an amazing set up. Thankyou also goes to his mother, who allowed all of us into her house, to farewell me and celebrate Aaron's birthday. Phil's mother also gets a mention for providing the mini quiches that I loved!

A few things I need to mention. There were a few serious conversations I had last night. Most of you who I shared these with would probably think I don't remember them. But for those of you who got these exclusive talks, I do remember, and I meant every word of what I said.

Thank you everyone for coming, giving me your well wishes, and the rest! I won't forget the night, despite my intoxication, and I won't forget any of you. I will be doing my best to keep in touch with everyone while I am overseas. I would also like to remind everyone that Aaron's actual birthday is this Monday, 18th of August... so, flood his inbox, phone and any other medium you can think of to wish him a happy birthday.
That is all.

Change

2008-08-06T18:05:00.003+10:00

Firstly, for those even remotely interested - I will be removing my Kinsmen of Aquium blog (my story blog) until I get momentum to keep going. Even though only the prologue is posted, and have written almost an entire bibles worth of story, I'm not liking where its going...so some changes will be made. Thus, the blog will shortly be removed.
Secondly, I'm leaving for Canada shortly - I have compiled a mailing list of people I'll be emailing with updates. Rest assured that if you haven't made it to the list (due to my oversight and severe lack of organisation) that updates will be available via blog. On that topic, I can't decide if I want to create a new blog just for Canada, or just use this blog.
Feedback on this thought anyone?

Anyway, that is all for now.

Anxious

2008-07-30T18:23:00.002+10:00

The 25th of August is getting ever-closer, and the date is daunting me. I am so worried about not being ready to leave the country for five months. I have barely been away from home for a weekend alone, I think schoolies week was possibly my longest period away from home without my parents. Naturally, I am beginning to stress. So now, I'm going to write a list of things I need to do, to organise, to get before I head overseas. Please, allow me to bore you with my list.

Buy new memory card(s) for digital camera and video camera
Buy new video camera case
Get new mobile phone! (this is something relatively new on my to do list, because my phone decided to go all crap on me today)
US Consulate interview! (gah, the effort)
Go to Deakin Education Abroad fair
Add my mother as a signatory to my bank account
Learn how to use Skype!
Create email group for people I want to keep updated
Buy travel socks!! (my mother is forcing me to)
Buy new digital camera case as well...
Convert some money!

Anyway, I can't think of anything else at this point...there is probably 20million things to add to that, but for now that will do...

Only 25 days!!!

Revelations

2008-07-05T11:46:00.002+10:00

OK, so completely neglecting my initial plan of a "friends" series of posts, I have begun my new story blog!
http://aquium.blogspot.com
For those of you who take the time to read it, please remember I am not a professional writer :P, just dabbling in the area. My inspiration for writing lies in the fact, that no story exists in this way. It is a story I want to read, it merges a lot of concepts and ideas from other movies and films I have picked up over the years. In that sense, its somewhat borrowed, but it is not so much that it is illegal. Certainly, it is not so 'borrowed' that the story could be read from a better writer. That is why, I wrote it...so I could read, something I want to read, but does not exist yet!

In other news, a very bitchy blog will arrive shortly. I am having conversations with the head of a particularly new political party that is gaining some ground in Australia, particularly with University students. It is bitchy because, what I believe are their core values, are heavily contradicted in their activity. And despite many of my friends being directly involved, I detest some of the things they do, and how blatantly ignorant they are of Australian law, and the implications of the Australian Consitution (the embedded Commonwealth one, not the state try-hard versions) both in terms of structure, and 'freedoms'. So, that is coming...but before I randomly blog with a point of view that could easily be disregarded for its lack of credibility, I am attempting a well-researched blog.

That is all for now!

Sadness

2008-06-30T08:13:00.002+10:00

Going against what was going to be a series of posts relating to friends, how I met them and what they mean to me, I have decided to post about something particularly current. Right now I am caring for my grandmother, while my Aunty and cousins go away for a few days to Queensland. I am only one day into my 6 day stint with her, and already I am going crazy.

For the most part, I grew up with grandmother as a very active, very intuitive and inspirational person. She was a headstrong woman, with a 'proper' answer to everything. She laid the foundation for much of my personal discovery. So, it is with great sadness I have had to witness the demise and diminuition of her mind, and her physical decline to the state known as 'frail'. She is 87 years of age, so it is not all that surprising, but it is a little saddening that she no longer knows who I am. I have already had that experience with a grandmother before, at least this time, my grandmother is threatening to throw a brick at me.

While I am up here, I have to know her routine, prepare her meals and get her places she needs to be. Unfortunately, my Aunty has neglected to let me know when things are happening. However, I do not have to worry about not being awake in time, a little furry annoyance by the name of 'Boots' takes care of that, waking me up at 5.30am!

This is an entirely weird experience, I used to spend a lot of time with my grandma, until things started going awry, and in the past few years I have mainly seen her hospital or at Christmas. She is too easily overwhelmed, so naturally we have had to cut back on how often we see her, less we disorient her further. That is disheartening in itself. Spending this, short week, with her will prove to be emotionally draining. This woman was my idol, for who she was and what she accomplished is amazing, her private wealth is a testament to that. If only she could remember the work she did for the government, for the company she is still technically a director of...

Anyway, that is someone else now, it is not the Tess I am with this week. The Tess I am with is constantly asking me where they are, and informing me she does not know where he is. I am assuming she is referring to my grandpa Des, who never had the opportunity to know. Although last night, she did ask if I was alone or will Des be coming. That was hard...

Jacquie

2008-06-16T00:07:00.001+10:00

“Okay everyone! What we’re going to do now…because you’re all first years, and probably don’t know each other – sit next to someone you don’t know!”
Upon hearing our instructions, both Natalie and I looked at each other anxiously, and around the bus to scout out people we would judge to be someone we could like. I spotted this one guy, in his tan pinstriped trousers and light pink dress shirt. Convinced I would be barking up the wrong tree, I shot my eyes towards the girl sitting next to him. Our eyes locked, this was it, this was the random I would be sitting next to for the bus trip to a place or places we did not know. She was tall, had long brown hair, sporting a dress featuring satin and many colours.
“So now the fun begins! To introduce yourself to your partner, exchange names and favourite sexual positions.”
“Wow…this is going to be awkward.” I gathered up the courage to speak to the girl.
“Aha…yeah. I’m Jacquie!” She responded, with a immense infectious smile.
“I’m Luke. So I guess you’re a first year… what course are you doing?” I ask.
“Science, what about you?”
“Commerce.” I nervously eavesdrop into others conversations around us, to see if they’re actually discussing sexual positions… to my shock, everyone was getting into the intimate details of their sexual fantasies, this was certainly…an interesting experience.
“Okay…so I guess we should discuss our favourite sexual positions?” I ask, the anxiety in my voice would have been ingenuous.
“So what is yours?” She shoots back.
Plucking the courage to respond honestly, I use my hands and inappropriate thrusts to depict my preferred position.
This resulted in a look of shock, and a fit of hysterics.

I never did find out Jacquie’s favourite position. Apparently, she was in too much shock at my honesty. That is the story of how I met Jacquie, on the O Week Mystery Bus Tour – and for those interested, that guy I thought was hot turned out to be her boyfriend. That night, turned into a great bonding experience. By that I mean, a truly inebriated affair held between Jacquie, her boyfriend at the time Andrew, Natalie and myself. In fact, my greatest achievement of that night was being named champion of the bus, which meant I was the drunkest and thus, people had to buy me drinks! In my drunken courage, I even took my top off on the dance floor at Metro. It was a great night had by all, and the beginning of an awesome friendship.

Attending the remaining O-Week festivities together with Jacquie, and all of the later Uni parties for the year, and even random Uni-bar nights – we had many drunken nights together, and even the more rare sober ones. I have even developed rapport with her cat Sassy, who at this point – has not scratched me since jumping on me one night in my sleep. Through Jacquie, I have met a lot of other great people, and done a lot of great things. These include but are not limited to people such as Carly, and great things such as working the corners of Hawthorn raising money for the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.

During the first year of Uni, I saw a lot of Jacquie – having semi-regular lunches and the like. Unfortunately, due to our timetables, catching up is a little more irregular, however I do appreciate the fact that we are able to pick up from where we left off!

Elated

2008-06-08T22:24:00.002+10:00

Thanks to Paul, I have decided that I shall keep my blogs brief. At least, I will make some vain attempt to keep them short. Particularly as this is merely an update, this should be brief. I can assure you, that nothing juicy will come from this blog. However - I have some very juicy, or at least a lot more interesting, blogs intended to start being published on here throughout the week. So check in bitches!

On Friday I paid a visit to my travel agent, to confirm my travel "itinerary" for Canada. Itinerary is in quotes as me and Lee had an argument as to the use of the word, and in his view, my "itinerary" is too incomplete to be called an itinerary. The itinerary is as follows:
MONDAY QANTAS AIRWAYS
25 AUG 08 -DEPART -MELBOURNE/TULLAMARINE A 0630 NON-STOP

25 AUG 08 -ARRIVE -SYDNEY/SYDNEY KINGSFORD 0750 01HRS 20MINS

MONDAY AIR CANADA
25 AUG 08 -DEPART -SYDNEY/SYDNEY KINGSFORD 1010 NON-STOP

25 AUG 08 -ARRIVE -VANCOUVER/VANCOUVER AIR 0710 14HRS 00MINS

WEDNESDAY AIR CANADA
27 AUG 08 -DEPART -VANCOUVER/VANCOUVER AIR 0930 NON-STOP

27 AUG 08 -ARRIVE -TORONTO/LESTER B PEARSO 1702 04HRS 32MINS

TRAVEL VIA OWN ARRANGEMENTS

SATURDAY AIR CANADA
03 JAN 09 -DEPART -NEW YORK/JOHN F KENNEDY 0720 NON-STOP

03 JAN 09 -ARRIVE -VANCOUVER/VANCOUVER AIR 1039 06HRS 19MINS

SUNDAY AIR CANADA
11 JAN 09 -DEPART -VANCOUVER/VANCOUVER AIR 2355 NON-STOP

13 JAN 09 -ARRIVE -SYDNEY/SYDNEY KINGSFORD 1000 15HRS 05MINS

TUESDAY QANTAS AIRWAYS
13 JAN 09 -DEPART -SYDNEY/SYDNEY KINGSFORD 1230 NON-STOP

13 JAN 09 -ARRIVE -MELBOURNE/TULLAMARINE A 1400 01HRS 30MINS

So, while some of you will skip past that - the short story is, I'm going to Vancouver, staying for a few days before heading to Toronto. Once in Toronto, I will be staying for a few days before making my way to Windsor for Uni. I'll be staying in Windsor, and travelling weekends, etc. to all different parts of Canada. Come end of semester, just after Christmas, we'll be making our way to New York to celebrate New Years. From New York I will be travelling back to Vancouver, staying for a week or so before heading home.

In other news, work has underpaid me yet again. Payroll can look forward to a nasty letter from me, which people from work are signing to go along with the letter. People doubt that the letter will actually achieve anything - however, I am sure the company will realise the need for them to improve to avoid being sued, or having a union on their ass.

I am also slowly approaching my exams, and am yet to put in some decent study. However, I'm not worried...mostly because I'm over caring, Canada is far too exciting. When I begin to stress, that is when the bulk of 'decent' studying will take place, so until then I am fairly relaxed. Other than that, not much is happening in my life. It is Nander's birthday tomorrow and at this point, I have only brought him one present - which is not enough, we have a habit of going all out for each others birthdays, so I need to get on that.

That is it for now!

Responsible

2008-05-26T19:43:00.003+10:00

This is one of the few blogs written quite some time before its actually posted. In fact, I wrote this on my break at uni a while ago, after a waste of time lecture, but I'll get back to that.

This morning I had an oral presentation, requiring me to wear a suit. Which is actually somewhat annoying, I've had plenty of stares - and still getting some as I sit here outside Cafe Ava writing in my fancy blue, grossly underused, lecture pad.

So I'm using this blog to bitch, whine, moan and complain - which is an area I'm most accomplished in, and as a gentle reminder to myseld. Which will become bleedingly obvious momentarily. Firstly, Luke! Start studying for exams! You have roughly 3 weeks for you're first exam and given your poor lecture attendance and some poor assignments marks, and despite awesome ones, you need to move your ass and actually do some work this semester.

OK so now that I'm done scolding myself for my general laziness and lack of ethic this semester, we shal move onto more juicy areas of my blog. As I mentioned earlier, I had an oral presentation this morning, and one thing really stuck in my craw.

Social responsibility is not exclusively an environmental concept. This morning I listened to four speeches about Social Responsibility - none of which adequately defined what it is, and all of which went off on uncharacterised tangents about environmental sustainability. This is a common misconception of corporate social responsility. It does include the evironment, but it is not equal to environmental sustainability - they are two distinctly different concepts.

Social responsibility refers to an organisations concern to the TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE. THat is profit, social impact and environmental impact. An organisation can be deemed socially responsible if they are achieving sustainable profit margings, whilst being at least reactive to its negative impacts on society and the environment, and goes further than mere legislative compliance in doing so.

Just because organisations may do something right by the environment, it does not make them socially responsible. The Body Shop is often used as an example of social responsibility. And undoubtedly, some of the work they do for society and the environment is fantastic, particularly for the Australian Indigenous communities.

However, I'd be one of the few people to argue it is not socially responsible. Primarily because of ownership. The Body Shop, more recently, became a subsidiary of L'Oreal, which is partly owned by Nestle - two of the most socially irresponsible organisations in our time. L'Oreal are doing no favours to wildlife, and Nestle are doing no favours to infants in Africa.

What I really want, is people to not look at organisations doing the right thing, but actually look at why. In my opinion, the why factor is what honestly determines social responsibility. The Body Shop's work with the Indigenous communities of Australia is more than admirable - but what impact were they having on the community to warrant the reaction? My research suggests nothing. Then you could easily argue that the Body Shop are being proactive. So, what future impact did the Body Shop expect to have on the indigenous? Again, research has yielded me nothing. So why then, are they doing it? It could be legitimate concern or a marketing strategy, either way it doesn't fall in the reals of social responsibility. This is what most people misunderstand about social responsibility. It has to be relevant to the business - not just a nice act.

Westpac is socially responsible in that they sacrificed profit, by signing an international agreement with other banks in the world, to not fund socially or environmentally questionnable ventures. This is because its one of the few banks that realise their funds are directly assisting negative environmental and social endeavours by organisations. It was reactive, not proactive as management theory encourages, but nonetheless it is an act by Westpac, that is socially responsible because the policy has actual relevance to the businesses environmental or social impact.

So I begin again, a few days later - and my position hasn't changed. People need to realise that for as long as the triple bottom line approach is the accepted defining factor behind social responsbility, the answer lies in the organisations actual impact or perceived impact. Terming an organisation socially responsible is inherently more difficult than simply analysing those nice things in which they commit themselves to.

So now we're doing back to the world of Luke. Currently my arm is sore from playing Wii tennis on Saturday night at Cazi's. The pain was only exacerbated by my exam paced handwriting when I wrote this blog.

Canada is not far away, and my questionnable account balance and general feeling of unpreparedness has me feeling a little scared. But I'm also extremely excited. For the update - my current plans of travel so far are;
Depart Melbourne - Arrive Vancouver, BC - staying in Vancouver for a few days before travelling on down...
Depart Vancouver - Arrive Toronto, ON - staying in the city for a few days as well before heading down to Windsor to begin my Semester abroad.
Once I'm in Windsor I'll probaby do some travel from there, but that's sketchy at this point - all I know is, I want to go to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, and I'm spending New Years in New York. And despite the legal drinking age, I intend on having the best New Years experience ever.

It's my 20th birthday on Wednesday. It's actually depressing. Given its proximity to exams, my options for celebrating are somewhat limited...However... I've never been one to study too far away from exams, I'm definitely pro-cramming.

This is sufficiently long enough an update, that is all.

Dysphoric

2008-04-28T23:56:00.003+10:00

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.

Achieved

2008-04-14T23:15:00.002+10:00

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.

Pioneer

2008-04-12T13:42:00.003+10:00

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!