...

*Phew* Good thing all confusions have been cleared up and misunderstandings resolved.

Misunderstandings = not good. Me not like.

Thursday night... getting a little bit apprehensive about things... and the "thing"...

Aijaa, better get back to procrastinating. I'm too nervous to write in my blog, anyhow.

In Sydney again...

Oooops... it's certainly been a few days since I last updated my beloved blog.. hmm... where to start. Last Wednesday was where I left off... where I was hopelessly waiting for people to send in submissions for network... everyone has been ok with it, within a 24 hour extending of the deadline... except... Treasury! Grr... why is it that people think that just because they are chasing up sponsors that immediately entitles them to an extension of some sort? That's just pathetic. I mean, everyone else pulls around their weight and meets deadlines! Grr.

Ok, but no biggie. Luckily my graphic designer is very competent, not to mention younger than me and Thai, so I can pretty much be sure that she'll be responsible and do what I tell her to, more or less.

Thursday... ohhh... LaTrobe Bar night. Definitely worth it, but getting no sleep wasn't very much fun. Literally no sleep. Straight to the airport after the party. Back to the party. I appear to be a weirdo magnet or something. Yet again. Well, this time wasn't so bad. I started talking to this LaTrobe guy about buddhism... then he goes "I want to show you my room" [shocked expression from me]. "I think you'll really like it"... erm. I wasn't exactly sure where this was going, and I think it must have shown on my face, so he goes "There's all this buddhist stuff in it, I mean!"... ok... Kelvin!!!! Guess who was my bodyguard all throughout the evening and up until the tram stop? Thanks Kelvin, yet again!

But the fun does not stop there. Empty tram. So why the hell did these guys choose to sit in the seats right next to mine? Weirdos. Then two of them left, and the remaining two decided also to come sit next to me and apologise for their friends' behaviour. Aijaijai... I couldn't care less.

When I finally got home, I had two hours to hurry up and pack, so obviously I forgot my phone charger. Yay yay.

I was going to get a shuttle bus to the airport from Spencer street, but then this cab driver who was there offered to take three of us there for 10 dollars each. So there's this big guy from New Zealand, a Japanese tourist, and me. Ok, so it's a little cramped in the back seat, but I couldn't help feeling that no matter how often I 'readjusted' my legs, this guy was still stroking it rather unaccidentally. But being who I am, I thought I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. Then at the airport, he asked when I was boarding - 7 - and then what I'd be doing until then... I said, "I'll probably be drinking a lot of coffee"... Him: "Hey! I wouldn't mind joining you for coffee!"... me: "Oh, ok... [when the hell did I invite you, you pervert?]"

So check-ins and introductions, then coffee done with, he needs to go board his plane. He gets up and goes "You know, I'd really like to kiss you now. Would that be allright?"

WHHHAAAAAT???

"Erm... NO. That's not alright"

"Oh, ok, have a nice flight to Sydney."

I swear. The world is full of weirdos. Where do they all come from and where the hell are they all going? This one was some sort of policy drafter (ie, law graduate) for vodafone.

People get kicks off all sorts of things, man.

Like Jesse's neighbour's cat. Now that I'm in Sydney, the highlight of my days has been watching the sadistic little creature, Elvis, chase around crickets in the backyard.

Feeling mentally drained... I've had too much 'intelligent conversation' the past few days and I just want to enjoy the simple things in life for a bit

You and me in five years? Never will happen. Sorry. The preconceived notion of me in five years is simply not a version of myself that I find plausible. Keep looking!

:)

My comments on prejudice.

This is what I wrote for my editorial, but I didn't write in my blog today, so it'll get a double life:

Put a STOP to prejudice

Once upon a time when I was six years old and moving to Ethiopia with my family, I held an inconsistent set of beliefs. I’m not saying that all my beliefs are consistent today, but what I believed then was an example of the absurd. I believed:

a) that Africa is one big desert
b) that there is no vegetation in Africa
c) that there are no cars
d) that the sky is cruel and cloudless, and that the sun is scorching
e) that all people in Africa live in trees, and so would my family

When we arrived in Ethiopia, the first thing I noticed were all the beautiful flowers lining the car-filled roads, the clear blue sky, and the smiling people (who did not live in trees!). Happily, I rid myself of those images quick-smart as we settled into living in the beautiful city of Adis Ababa in the year 1989. After that, moving to Zambia, then Kazakhstan, then Vietnam, Finland, Spain, and finally, to Australia, has been an experience happily free of twisted preconceptions.

I don’t know. Blame discovery channel. National Geographic. All those documentaries that focus on all the negative or quirky aspects of countries that aren’t thoroughly westernised. Whatever the cause, it’s painting a rather twisted view of the world.

Now, I’ll do myself a favour and forgive my preconceived notion and prejudice. After all, I was only six years old, and quite impressionable. What I don’t understand is how adults in this day and age fail to think for themselves and truly believe that all Africans are starving, or that all of Malaysia is just coconuts and beaches (Hello! These places all have an airport! How do you think all those visitors got there? An airport surrounded by beaches and huts, or by starving children??! And hey, they might not show it on the doco, but the camera crew is staying in the nearest five star hotel!)

Now surely, this is going to raise a few controversial eyebrows, but honestly, I think prejudice and racism is more inbuilt into a lot of people than they really want to admit. You’ve got the real, outspoken racists, who will openly tell you that their own race, skin colour and culture is supreme and greet you with nothing more than a series of taunts. Luckily, this has been a slowly dieing group from the days of Martin Luther King, Jr. to those of Nelson Mandela. However, the fight is not over. People may be too scared to voice their prejudices, but that doesn’t mean they are not there.

Here are a few questions I’ve been asked in the past few months, by educated adults:

1. “Are there proper hospitals in India?” (asked by a doctor!)
2. “So how do you get clean water when you are in Thailand?”
3. “Is it all ice and polar bears and in Finland?”
4. “Were there lions and giraffes in your backyard?” (I kid you not!)
5. “So how was living in all those countries, was it bad compared to Australia? It must be so nice for you living in a first world country now.”

So here’s my two cents worth at dispelling some myths:

1. India is known to have some of the best doctors and best hospitals in the world.
2. From the tap, or the supermarket.
3. Yes, in the winter. Perhaps in the zoo. And all the houses are built from ice.
4. Sure, but the dogs ate them. And I hate it when the rhinos tear up the flowerbeds. And the monkeys get jammed in the air-conditioning. Doh!
5. Is there some sort of objective measure of good that all countries are measure against? How can one country honestly be ‘bad’? What makes one country ‘better’ than another? Just as all people are different, so are countries. What I enjoy, you dislike. There are no definitive ‘good’ or ‘bad’ people or places.

Oy! People! Pick up a book! Cultural tolerance? Such a thing wouldn’t be necessary if we’d all make an effort to educate ourselves. Human understanding is what this world needs. Learn a little about your neighbours and maybe we can finally stop bring so ignorant.

*Phew* Just spent the last couple of hours designing the front cover for network magazine. I'm drained... still have to compile the magazine... I'm going to be up all night... all the submissions aren't even in yet (dammit, I hate it when people don't pay attention to their deadlines... GRRR!!!)

Have to write editorial... think I'll plagiarize myself and cut&paste from my blog... hehehe...

Will save me some time.

Nah. Just kidding... I'm not out of ideas yet!

Why don't I watch TV like normal people?

You know, I haven't actually turned on the TV for ten years, except to watch videos/dvds.

I have no clue what's going on in the world.

And instead of using that time I supposedly gain from not watching TV to do something productive, I choose instead to play around with photoshop...




Weirdo, anyone?

Dharma, disappointment, Ghandi and Yudhishtira

Sigh... no matter how much fun I've had with my branch, it doesn't appear that I can make people committed to a cause. It's sad.

I woke up at seven in the morning yesterday, to make the refreshments we promised to provide for the branch exec. I made 48 wraps, with avocado or chickpeas as the base, salad and asparagus, mushrooms or eggplant inside... took me ages! Then two capuses showed up after one. It was sad - especially since one of them came all the way from Bundoora for the meeting! And two campuses that RSVP'd didn't bother showing up. I received one apology the night before... the rest I assumed were coming because I didn't receive any apologies from them. People can be really inconsiderate.

The BOBs and I figured we should just resign, since nobody cares anyhow.

But later on, after watching catwoman with Doorshy, Kelvin, Kenny and Sarinda, me, Kelvin and Kenny sat down and had one loooong session with hot chocolate... we talked about a number of things, but among all these, was that no matter how little everyone cares about NLC, or how irresponsible and inconsiderate people are, our job isn't to babysit them. We're here taking advantage of our experience in Australia. You can go anywhere in the world to get a degree. What you get out of university may be a degree, but the true benefit lies in the network of future professionals that you build, and the skills you can learn, dealing with professionals and communicating with people. We are priviledged to be allowed to fulfil such a role - what other people think doesn't need to stop us from doing our best. Receiving no thanks is not the motivation for quitting - if people were harmed by it, that would be a reason to quit. However, the truth is that there is no reason to expect any thanks - it won't come unless you let people be harmed first. Do firefighters get thanks for being on call and trying to increase fire safety? No, they get thanked when they rescue a charred, nearly dead body from the ashes of a building.

Letting things decay is not a productive thing to do - I don't need the gratification that might come from people chasing after me to do my job. Honestly, I'm just thankful that I have the opportunity to improve myself, and perhaps to do my little bit in improving the lives of others.

Kelvin, Kelvin, Kelvin - again I have to thank you for being there for me. You are my rock! You always manage to cheer me up with the voice of reason...

And Nic, thanks for telling me not to be too disappointed, you're a lot more empathetic than I make you out to be sometimes...

And Ling, wow - you guys all showed your support, and I'm glad that the BOBs are working as a team! Having such a proactive bunch is brilliant!

And you... you know who you are - you're always there to show your support when I need you, although it'd be nice to hear from you more!

**********

This morning the tones of "La Cucaracha", as rendered by Trio Los Panchos woke me up as Ginny called me to go ... Grocery shopping!

At one p.m.!

My god, I'm really sleeping a lot nowadays! The more pressure I'm under, the more my body is crying out to me to take care of myself. I listen to it, and it really is paying off. I don't think I could do so much if I didn't take care of myself properly.

I have to write an essay on the final scene of the Mahabharata, and how I would stage it if I were to put on a production, given the state of the world today... Global destruction? Why does the Mahabharata still resonate with readers today? I found a great article comparing Mahatma Gandhi and Yudhishtira:




"Mahatma Gandhi was no Christian, and the Christians were amazed that
this should be so, for never in modern times had they seen any man
tread more faithfully in the footsteps of the Christ. Whence did he
derive his astonishing strength, and how was it that he alone could
transform a 'nation of slaves' into one of free, self-confident, and
self-sacrificing men? For Gandhi did not see himself primarily as the
architect of Indian independence from British rule but as the
liberator of the Indian spirit from the fetters of greed and anger,
hatred and despair...... He described himself as a sanatani Hindu, one
who follows the sanatana dharma, the eternal law once embodied in the
dharma-raja, Yudhishtira. And Gandhi's dilemma was the same as
Yudhishtira's: what and where was the sanatana dharma he claimed to
follow? Was it in his heart or was it in what the Brahmans
proclaimed?.....

.... The outraged conscience of Yudhishtira speaks through the lips of
Mahatma Gandhi. And Gandhi's God too is the God of Yudhishtira, not
the God of bhakti or of the philosophers. 'To me God is Truth and
Love; God is ethics and morality; God is fearlessness; God is the
source of Light and Life, and yet he is above and beyond all these.
God is conscience.' God is, in fact, what Gandhi in his heart feels
him to be: he is not the God of the law-books or even of the Vedas,
should these prove in conflict with the light within him.... Just as
Yudhishtira, after the conclusion of a triumphant war, could not rid
himself of the feeling of guilt and responsibility, so did Gandhi take
full responsibility for the eruption of violence that his Civil
Disobedience campaign had led to and against which he protested with
all his soul."


Yudhishtira's ascent to heaven

My assignment is to explore the possibilities for staging the final scene of the Mahabharata, the ascent of Yudhishtira and his faithful companion, a dog (really his father, Yamadharma, in disguise). A modern rendition of this with shots of Gandhi as the backdrop? Where Yudhishtira will not falter from his path of Dharma, and will not abandon those who love and support him, neither will Gandhi... Finally, Yudhishtira is liberated from the deception which is put to him as his final trial, and is allowed to rest eternally in heaven, as Gandhi, the modern day Yudhishtira, liberates India?

Hmmm... it's great to have finally found my inspiration!

Dinners and letters

What a day... I was going to avoid going to uni alltogether today, but upon checking my e-mail this morning, I discovered that I have yet another thing to add onto the agenda for tomorrow's branch exec.

But before I went into uni, I wrote a letter to my 'thing'... I am really crap at expressing emotions - for some reason I find myself able to express myself in writing more and more these days - not so good at having a conversation where I actually reveal anything about my emotions anymore.

Well, everyone to their own medium, huh?




I had Maggie, Daryl, Tiknee and her boyfriend over for dinner... it was nice to do something 'normal' for a change! But I forgot they all study law... so I didn't talk about NLC for once... but listened to them rant on about their law assignment instead!!




Also, I got an e-mail from my mom today (or rather, typed by my father after my mother wrote a letter). She had found the address of an old friend of mine from over ten years ago! Wow... time to write a letter (this a friend from back in the days when e-mail didn't exist in any commercial form!)




Time to get busy writing!

Of mice and liberty

Disclaimer: Overall, I had a happy childhood. My childhood has had no effect on the disturbed person I am nowadays. There are other factors that have contributed to that.

I think I've always been very concerned with rights and liberty. It's probably why I'm enjoying my philosophical studies so much, as well as fighting for international student rights here in Australia.

When I was two, and didn't yet speak a lot of words, my brother was charged with looking after the class mascot, a little mouse, over the summer break. This little mouse lived in a cage, and I found this quite objectionable, and I took the opportunity of freeing the little creature from its cage when nobody was looking.




Later on, after the mouse had been reunited with its abode, I was scolded, told that the mouse did not belong to me, and I was not to let it run loose again.

I did not, however, take any heed of these words, as I didn't believe that the mouse should have been in the cage. Thus, I repeated my rebellious acts. No matter where they moved the mouse to, I would find a way to reach it and free it.

Finally, exasperated, my mother asked me, "Why??"

I have no recollection of this, but my mother has told me, with an amused grin, that my reply to this, in very formal Thai - such that should not be coming from a two year old's mouth - and who knows where I picked up the words! - was:

"It demands liberty"

** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

I think, based on my deep-rooted notions of liberty for all, I think one day "when I grow up", I'd really like to work in the field of human rights... It might just be my calling...

That's if I ever decide to "grow up".

Oh wait... what am I saying? I think I already am working in that field... after all, what's NLC?

My first encounter with death...

...occurred when I was about two and a half.




My mother had two butterflies on the wall. The kind that are long dead and gone, impaled on a pin and mounted in a frame. I remember admiring them, and lacking a very well developed concept of depth, I assumed they were 'flattened' butterflies - just like the flowers my mother flattened between the pages of books.

I desperately wanted one of my own butterflies, because my mother didn't allow me to touch the ones that were on the wall. So, one day, I thought I'd go and flatten a butterfly so I could have my very own.

Off I marched into the springtime garden, the smoothest rocks I could find in either hand, and set off to find a butterfly that I would have for my own. It was not long before I spotted a small white butterfly, and after several attempts, I finally managed to trap it between the two rocks. I could hardly contain my excitement at the prospect at having captured a butterfly just like my mother's. A anticipatory grin on my face, I slowly pried the rocks apart to discover... death. It was at that moment, as the butterfly waved its little legs for the last time, its white wings crushed to a pulp, that I realised that it was no longer a butterfly. I ran crying back into the house, dismayed at what I had done.

It was from that day onwards that I started seeing 'dead people' in the house. Or perhaps it had been from earlier on, but I never recognised them as such. I didn't so much see them, as know where they were, and duly avoided them. In particular, one of the closets in the cellar contained a dead person, and I refused to look into it ever, to my parent's bemusement - and to this day, I have no idea what was actually contained in that closet.

Another place I found highly disconcerting is a blank wall on the third floor. I believe that's where the butterflies used to be. But for some reason, I get mixed memories of there having been a door there. I feared that spot in the corridor between my room and my parents. After the butterfly incident, my parents had to alter the walk-in closet in their bedroom to become a little annexe that I would sleep in. I slept there until I was six, when we moved to Ethiopia. The ghosts didn't bother me anymore, but a fear of the dark followed me until I was well into my teens.

My mother asked me once whether I remembered why I was so scared in the first house we lived in, and I told her "because there were dead people everywhere".

All split up

Man... what am I doing? I didn't go to uni again today, because I spent the whole day running around. I had to miss the election forum for the MUISS committee because I was on a campus visit to Bundoora in the morning... then I had a meeting with Aristotle about the public transport concession case in town afterwards... then I went to listen to his session on skilled migration... Been up since six fortyfive in the morning and I didn't have time to eat anything until two fortyfive... I think I'm getting sick, because I feel all stuffy and I've been fluctuating between too hot and too cold all day.

Life is going to hell again. Yay.

*stress stress stress*




I feel bad I wasn't there for Maggie, Yue Lin, Winson, Daryl, Paul, Song Yee and Halim today... Maggie was still stressed when I called her about half an hour ago to see how she did. Apparently, there was nobody running against them at all, something that hasn't happened in MUISS history.

Is it just me, or is student activism dieing? Atleast in Victoria, it appears to be... There was nobody running against me for the position of convenor... and for MUISS, there were originally no candidates for the positions of president and education... the would be gensec had to run for president, and a person who wasn't going to run ran for education... then the person who had originally wanted to do services and welfare ran for gensec!

Oh, well... I'm sure it'll grow on them. Hopefully they will be a proactive bunch and make my life easier!

Confusion

Oh boy. My parents must be getting so sick of me... yesterday I talked to him for one hour and to my mother for one hour in a fit of indecisiveness.



I've been worrying about my arts degree being totally worthless on its own, given my field of interest. So I whined at my dad about it for ages yesterday, until he got fed up and once again told me to go study economics. This time I actually listened to him, and went and looked up the double degree course, and spent until four thirty in the morning thinking about it. It looks like I'm in for an internal transfer again. *sigh*

But it doesn't seem too bad. Actually, I can see philosophy and politics being good backups for economics, so why not?

Now the only ting that is really confusing me is this proposition by my 'thing'? Basically, I like this idea... the only problem is this doubt in my mind, because I know he was dishonest to his previous girlfriend, and I was party to that. And that doesn't rest well with me morally: to trust or not to trust?




I want answers!!! Grrr!

(hey, this eye thing is pretty fun... I've just been experimenting with publishing parts of my face after mucking about with the brightness and contrast...teehee)

Yesterday I spoke too soon...

Why do I always end up at home at a ridiculous time if I go anywhere with Bernard?

I didn't get home until four thirty last night (and I only had one bloody mary!)... which meant that I woke up at almost one... then I spent the whole day procrastinating around two assignments. Only got one done. Instead of doing the other one, I called my parents and picked a fight with my dad, as I am apt to do.

It was the old "You should study business and economics" discussion again. Since I am having some trouble deciding what the hell it is that I want to study next year anyhow, I may as well humour him and go and see what is available under economics...

Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.




He's noticed a trait in me that he said he has himself - the enjoyment of a struggle, a challenge. He never excelled in what he enjoyed, and I don't seem to either. He excels in things that give him a challenge. Same here. We both seem to enjoy torturing ourselves. We had a good discussion around that.

The biting thing is that my dad really saw it coming that I wouldn't enjoy the formal study of music. Grr.

Dammit, why do parents have to be so perceptive?

***********

Today my 'thing' asked me about formalising this relationship... the whole boyfriend/girlfriend = relationship thing... I'm such a commitment phobic that it just scares the s**t out of me. I said I'd 'take it back to my caucus' and discuss it... But I kinda like the thought, scary as it is...


confused!!

Aaargh... I'm going to drive myself up the wall thinking about this, because it's something I do. I need to give an answer to any question I've been asked, and I'm not patient.

So ask me again...

Home sweet home

What amazing foresight I showed in getting a pack of cigarettes from 7-11 before retiring home yesterday. I haven't gotten out of bed all day except to eat and... erm... use the facilities. And I hear the weather outside is quite chilly today, so added bonus for that, too.

Definitely needed that bit of rest. Well... rest and rest... I spent the whole day fixing my PDA, so that now it won't matter even IF it decides to wipe out all my contacts again. Mwahahaha!!

What an utterly unproductive and wasted day! Cheers for that!

Strange but true

Hehe... This poster marked the beginning of a turbulent, yet overall great day. The day started off with a slight hangover because I'd been over at Ginny's place with a bottle of wine last night... we had a nice little gossip session and avoided talking about NLC as best we could.

This morning... ah. I was going to avoid going to uni alltogether, but I had some problems with my Finnish scholarship again, and had to go all the way to uni to pay ten bucks for a piece of paper to fax to Finland. But should be sorted now... or else I'll be very very very broke for the rest of the month.

I had Georg over for lunch and taught him some Finnish pronunciation because he's doing a few pieces by Yrjo Kilpinen. It was fun. Finnish does not have dipthongs the same way English does, and teaching Georg how to speak Finnish was like teaching a komodo dragon how to fly.

After that I went to the Swinburne 'Party of Nations', which was quite a lot of fun... I think we came up with the Victorian theme song for next NLCAC... "If there's something strange in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call.... N L C!!!" (as opposed to 'Ghostbusters')... so in other words, don't bother the NLC B.O.B.'s unless you see a ghost!

It was a great evening, and I felt very well cared for. I had a good talk with all the Swinburne people... Gavin was there, and also ... what was her name again..?? former president of Sisa from Japan... I don't know her name but we were meant for each other, man - she's so hot! I met some Thai people, too - it's always nice to keep in touch with 'home'. A few guys were fighting over who would have the honour of marrying me - that was really entertaining... I had a stalker for one point of the night... two actually... some guys I simply didn't know kept leeching on to me. Luckily, Kelvin was there to save me every time! Thanks my dearest! But then Kelvin couldn't do anything about Cavish's intensions of marriage, so I had to call the wedding off in the middle, to the very disappointed look from Kenny, who seemed to be enjoying the prospect of being the priest. Hehe... So as of yet, I'm apparently still unmarried an single! And ultimately, I think, against all convention of 'thingship', I am not really single, but 'reserved' for my 'thing'... Or what do you think of that, my dear?

But wow. I love you Victoria! You were really here for me tonight, and you don't know what that means to me!

Adjustment period

*phew*

I can't believe I'm finally starting to find my ground with NLC... it's been a long and gruelling process, but I think I've finally managed to strike a balance.

Uni... NLC... Network Magazine.... I've managed to do a pretty good job of ignoring my friends for the past month. But now I think I need to concentrate on reconstructing some bridges. Thyvane's been great. He understands the workload I'm going through, and he's been driving me from uni to town... Especially today. I had a meeting with the International Education Week Board in the morning, after which Thyvane drove me to uni... then after one hour, he drove me back into town for my meeting with DIMIA reference group meeting. Wow. That's great. It was just me and Chai at the meeting along with all the official government people, and I really feel that perhaps he's beginning to recognise that I'm really trying my best to do my job and step in as the new branch convenor, so definite shouts out to Chai!

I also managed to arrange a dinner date with Maggie and Daryl for next week Friday (with possible drinking 'repurcussions')... and a lunch session with Georg tomorrow, so that's great, too! Getting life back on its tracks... now when the hell am I going to have time to do my philosophy expository and drama storyboard, essay, and seminar starter presentation over the weekend?!

And for Sydney... boy do I have an interesting agenda. The first guy I ever French kissed, Ned, is moving to Sydney for a few months, starting from the 18th of September... so I'm really looking forward to seeing him after SEVEN years of seperation!! Wow! It's so amazing that all this social stuff is falling into place now. It's like it was all just waiting for me to get my life sorted out and balanced.




And... my thing... hmmmm... I think he left a really touching little message for me on my blog. My eyes started watering (although, in truth, that had to do with the fact that I was getting cigarette smoke in my eyes, although it's always nice to dramatise).

And... meh... it's not like everyone doesn't know what's going on anyhow, dammit. I think we should really lay our cards on the table and talk about where this is heading.

It's been a long day and I need some sleep... I've been up for well over 20 hours now, and running on less than four hours of sleep and very little nutrition and too much wine.

Aaaawww... P'Ed makes a wonderful father... 

Sand is such a happy little baby 

Little Sanders yet again, with his beautiful mother, P'Sally 

Teehee... Just felt like posting another (blurry) photo of myself 

I love this photo by Fabien 

Which way to outer space? 

A picture taken by a very dear friend... 

Procrastination

It seems that the more work I have to do, the more time I suddenly have for my dear blog. Which one might argue is not necessarily a very good thing. Or one would not have to argue that, because it also means that I'm not getting any work done and procrastinating more and more.

Today, instead of going to my pilates class, I spent two hours, sitting 'having coffee' with Brian and P'Pice... it's nice to have someone to speak Thai to. Besides, she's a funny little creature...

We spent all that time making fun on Brian for being so red... hehe... that came out of our previous, more heavy discussion on racism.

My drama tutorial was, once again, a complete waste of time... other than the fact that today we, as a class, confronted the tutor and kind of told her that we thought that she was full of shit (in not so harsh words, and expressing it in terms of 'the course', as opposed to her, personally - but I'm sure she kind of got the point, judging from the expression on her face by the end of class).

What shocks me is that I haven't actually read the Mahabarata, but my tutor seems to be turning to me to explain things to the class, which really shouldn't be the case. She doesn't know shit, and it seems that in this and the previous class, I'm explaining the concept of dharma and karma to the class whilst my tutor looks lost. This class, she actually says to me "I'm glad you're here to explain this to the class"...

WHAT??! Isn't she supposed to be the knowledgeable one here?? She's read the text and I have not!

I guess it's just because I've always had a lot of Indian friends and I must have sort of absorbed some culture from them... not to mention that I am buddhist and therefore don't need to study the concept of dharma and karma... But what the hell is so difficult about it?!

Ok.. enough ranting. Time to do linguistics assignment already...

Some Pictures of NLC Victoria

Former Branch Convenor Chai and Current GenSec Nic look doubtful... not enough beer yet. 


Ling, Education Officer, hasn't had a beer with us yet... 


Tenzing, Internal Auditor, prefers to snort his beer through straws... 


Kelvin, Liaison Officer and a beer - this is what the NLC-Victoria Branch is good at! 


Me, Maggie and Yue Lin at hand in brisbane NLCAC2004...

Stress!!

Aaargh... I'm offending people left and right... well... right, anyhow, geographically speaking... or more accurately, North-East. I think.

I managed to offend Jesse last weekend without really meaning to... fortunately we cleared it up over the phone...

The internet has been down, but fortunately we managed to sort it out now... after five days without the net at home!!!

Then I killed my computer last night and had to make a call to London to sort it out... long story...

Assignments, assignments, assignments!! Don't know where to start... less than 24 hours to due-date...

AAAARGH!!!

****

Ok, so this is seven and a half hours later and I actually managed to finish both my assignments... and here I was thinking that they'd be difficult. *sigh*. I need a proper challenge. NLC is keeping quiet at the moment, at least by my standards... or maybe it's just that you learn to never relax? Or to survive without the need to? I mean, instead of getting sleep over the weekend, I went out on Friday night and stayed up gossiping with Bernard until about five thirty in the morning...

Bernard 
then I woke up at seven thirty to go to DIMIA and get a working visa. Ok, admittedly, last night I managed to get some sleep, but otherwise...

Just because I think that my page deserves some eye candy, I'm putting in two old photos of my beautiful nephew sand when he was about two months old...


P'Ed and Sand 


Sand