... but I'm so glad that I have it back! :D It's been a little too long. I've missed so many people and just lost contact with so many people... I've been lucky enough to grab Gill, Manda and Je a lot already... I was able to finally get back in touch with a close friend from uni whom I've not had the chance to see in ages!
Ok, basics. Some catch up. The last 5 months or so have been pretty damn interesting... unfortunately, I don't actually have the time to go into too much detail (sure, that's gonna stop me!). Life's thrown its fair share of curveballs at me over that time, but thankfully, things are pretty good at the moment (now if I could just get over my crippling lack of motivation to get down to work already! Ugh).
I'm finally doing my journalism course, after waiting 4 years to get to it... and it's great! I love it! My tutor is really nice and extremely supportive and he's encouraged me to write up my article and send it in! Considering I was expecting all sorts of criticism for my idea (basically about inflating UAI cutoffs, their effect on school leavers and possible educational alternatives - outside of Oz, I don't know how much of that people'd understand) but he loved it! I'm working on it at the moment and I just have to finally get those interviews I need finished up :)
I'm only part time at uni now, with a very sweet 2-day week, so I'm looking for part time work at the moment. That search has been, well, less than successful. Thus far anyway. Weight Watchers and Thomson Legal & Regulatory have me on file (no word yet though) and I've applied for a couple places on Seek.com (fingers crossed on getting an interview!) but unfortunately, with regards to ads in the paper, I always get the paper too late in the day (after business hours). I call a half day late and people are telling me that the position has already been filled. I've decided to somehow snag the paper first thing and then exploit these places' clear need for someone now. Unfortunately, all the better jobs I'm suited for are full time.
Ah, c'est la vie.
At the moment, I've just got a temporary stint, filing at uni and still volunteering to be meeter and greeter at open days. I complain not, because UNSW is extraordinarily generous to its employees.
Late November, falling in line with this pc, my laptop decided it was time to call it quits and I lost a lot of writing. I wish I had meant it when I said I was going to put my writing on hiatus because then, maybe I wouldn't have lost so much. If there's anything I've learnt from this - besides the fact that I have a bizarre love/hate relationship with computers - it's backup, backup and backup! Now, I've got everything on the laptop (which we had fixed in January.. till then, no computer at all in the house), and two extra disks. I still doubt whether that's enough but... I'll live (I hope!).
I was really out of it during the following months (although there were some pretty good distractions... a bunch of 21sts (including my own), good ol' Christmas...). I lost an entire story, and huge chunks out of almost all the others. I justify my lack of floppy usage with the fact that I lost some assignments because of disks which suddenly stopped working for reasons unknown so I saw no point. Not till I could get some new ones anyway... plus, the laptop had been reliable to that point so I guess I got complacent about the whole thing. Pretty big mistake eh?
I tried writing by hand again (the keyboard has spoilt me. My handwriting isn't fast enough) and was able to punch out a few things. Re-writing is such a bitch though. I tried to stop thinking of it as re-writing but it's hard... you still can't help but think that what you are trying to write, is never going to be as good as what you had originally. Nevertheless, was finally able to 'rebuild on the ruins' as I kept putting it and, although not every lost scene has been rewritten, I've been able to write new ones quite well and begin new pieces :D Basically, I'm back on my way.
Coz I was sick most of the holidays (the heat! Bloody, ghastly hell, the heat!), I was only able to pursue those less strenuous activities... aside from trying to write (I just couldn't do it for a pretty long time) did a lot of sketching and drawing, got started on some new piano pieces, read a lot (got some excellent books for my birthday and Christmas... to name a few; On Writing, by Stephen King, Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, Catcher In The Rye, Gibran's The Prophet... I also got Tuesdays with Morrie but my friend forgot it the day of my 21st so she gave it to me last week at uni, meaning I haven't had the chance to read it yet... been too busy), and basically added to my movie collection (aahhh cable...).
Man... I knew the lack of time would do nothing. Ok, quickies:
- Chris, that talk finally happened. I'll email you as soon as I can with the details :D but I can tell you... so much weight off my shoulders! Hurrah! ;)
- Wedding notices! My friend Kirsty got married late last year and another friend of mine, Angela (Happy 20th darl and congrats!!), just got engaged. Angela and I were friends back when we were little and we've only just recently gotten back in touch... her daughter is so adorable! And pretty well-behaved for an almost 3 yr old!
Ok, ok, I think I'm gonna wrap this one up now. Focus! Assignments! I've been ODing on the net usage over the last couple days (catch up was necessary, as well as fixing up a few new things) and I'm trying to avoid that AOL warning that fires itself at any users that go over 95 hours in a month, giving us a 20minute time limit online :P
I just hope y'all are doing well :) Hmmm... maybe that would have sufficed as opposed to drivel above. Oh well, tough.
