Long time, no update so...

... here we go!

Another day at work and things are just peachy... and I actually mean that without sarcasm. All in all, it's looking to be a pretty easy day (hmmm, have I just cursed it? Ah well...) and well, gotta love that. Work has been pretty good and study is going very well :D

As to news? My gosh, is time flying because not only did I attend a baby shower on Saturday for one of my oldest friends (she's having another girl!), but that day, I also received the news that ANOTHER ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS IS GETTING MARRIED!! :D My gooosh, I'm so happy for her and her fiance... I'd seriously been waiting for this to happen for about a year but I still yelled like a banshee when she told me :D Man, so many of my old classmates are hitched or soon to be. Who'da thunk? Huzzah! I've been appointed chief hound on all things Wedding-y (first for me!) so this will be the first wedding in which I'm actually an active participant. At the moment, it looks be to be an April wedding so heaps to do! :D :D

As to the shower... well, that was one of the funniest one of those I've ever attended. Angel's got some really hilarious friends and I laughed most of the day away. The new baby (who Ange and Kyle have named Kayla) looks to be pretty set. Her older sister Chloe has made sure there are enough toys for her when she comes (which I think is very sweet considering Chloe is just 4) and the rest of us stocked them up with supplies :) Chloe is one of the most beautiful little things I've ever seen. She's also the spitting image of her mum so I guess that's no surprise. I was watching over her and our neighbour's grandson, Brandon, when the majority of the guests had left and they were a pretty good pair to look after. Very fair in play... at least up until the argument about which Batman movie to watch. I held them off until Kyle took control of the situation. Wow, is that guy good with kids. After Brandon had gone, I spent the rest of the night talking to Ange, with Chloe on my lap watching Batman Returns and at one point, seeing Kayla do something akin to a mexican wave :D I've never seen or felt a baby kicking before so that was pretty damn cool. So's being called, 'Auntie Jel'. At one point, Brandon accused my name of being a 'naughty word'... makes me wonder what Ed's been teaching the kid about me...

Meanwhile, the birthdays in my family are getting scarier and scarier... my bro is now 29 and my baby sister will be 15 in a month (meaning I'm 23 in a month and 2 days... hehehe, weird). When did everyone get so old?? Hehehe, I joke. December is THE month for birthdays in my family so lookin forward to it :D

And now, must head off to the Research Office to get some work knocked off. Hopefully, it's not another year or 2 before my next update on this thing.

'Ow, ow, ow...'

Am half dead after falling hard on my butt twice on the ice today. Can barely move and have hence run to the net for easy, effort free amusement. Unfortunately, this is being slightly interrupted by ma expressing her concern over my coccyx. I mind not. Finished my tax return tonight using e-tax for the first time so hurrah!

I want more Tosca Tango Orchestra!

Unfortunately, I recently read that they had broken up. Oh well, Glover Gill, great music, man! :D All his music made Waking Life that much more amazing to watch. Well, for now, I've just got to settle with the loverly samples they have onthe site. Oh, and here's the Waking Life soundtrack... there are samples there too :D

Hmmm... had many bits and pieces I wanted to put down here, but they seem to have plodded off for a bit... oh well, will just have to bung around on the keys for a while till it all comes out!

I've begun reading HBP... am I the last unspoiled reader? Should I keep my comments to myself for a while? I haven't read that far, really, but I like it already :D Hooks you in, it does :D And another thing that has me hooked at the moment... Arrested Development just started down here on the Comedy Channel. Usually, I don't like those types of comedies (eg. Curb Your Enthusiasm, et al) but this one kills me :D

Oh, Jessy, I really hope you're wrong about the SQ DVDs not coming out... I really do, because when I read Jo's post, I nearly jumped thinking, 'Yessss!!!!! Finally!' Where did you find that out?

I am a little on edge about the journo assignment I sent in on Saturday... I really, really suck at leads (very sad). I just do. I mean, I thought what I came out with was alright... but in the end, I just don't know. I guess I'll see what my tutor has to say. The assignment I'm on at the moment is an editing assignment. Now that, I can handle! Hopefully as well as I think I can anyway. Hmmm... that was a bad sentence. Noting that. Oh, and that was a fragment. Bugger. :P

Last night, after work (and when Jen was done with classes for the day) went out with Jen and some of her old work buddies from ING, down at City Hotel. They were all really nice :D Jen and I ended up having a major talkfest later... 'twas a nice end to what had earlier been a crappy day. 

Today is nice... calm, relaxing... hmmmm...

*goes off, humming to herself*

Nuts

Ok, by total accident, I'm thinking I got a bit spoiled on HBP. Damn... oh well. I guess I'll just have to see how it all goes about! 

Meanwhile, are there any drummers or guitarists in the house?

'Suddenly...'

'the wheels are in motion, and I-I-I-I, am willin' to sail any ocean...' yep... my 80s hitch is still going. That one's from Xanadu and it's a really sweet song.

I've done my load for the day and I'm just relaxing in the library again. I've got an assignment I want to submit tonight for Journo so that I'm on my way with it all again and I want to re-focus and do some brainstorming for some article ideas and some stories I want to write (or at least, try). It feels really good to have things rolling again... I've been stumbling around for a ridiculously long time now and it's about time things began to move forward again :) 

Last week was pretty cruisy... I only went in for one day so I've got some stuff to catch up on this week, which is good. Gives me something to do. Was tired as all hell that day though because we all left the house at around 5.30am in order to drop my dad and bro off at the airport. That meant I got into work around 2 hrs early, and no offices were open yet! I had to wait a bit before I could get started but in the end, I decided to clock out early. I was meeting up with Menchie anyway. She had another interview in the city and it's become the norm for her to drop in on me at work when she's done. 

Thursday night, a bunch of us went out to dinner at Parra and had a blast! My friend, Jennifer, brought her friend, Shay and the two of them combined is hilarious! I haven't laughed that hard in ages! Unfortunately, Reyna had to leave around 8.30 so she wasn't able to come with the rest of us to this Karaoke place not far from Westfield. I'd never been to one before, just used friends' sets at their houses, and then later, my family's one. That was a gag and a half. Thankfully the sound system was very kind because I usually don't like the sound of my voice, esp my singing voice, on a mic, but it didn't sound as off there which I'm sure, was a relief to the others!

Then on Friday, I met up with my friend Melissa (whom I fondly refer to as Mel C), whom I have not seen in ages! She will be heading off to WYD soon so it was good to get to see her before she left. We did do some window shopping (seeing as we were at Westfield) but for the most part, we gabbed, which was loverly in itself. We ended up having lunch with her friend Ashish (I'm totally guessing on the spelling there) who works at Myer. Funny guy. When she left, I went about and looked at books. I ended up buying Carrie and Danse Macabre, both by Stephen King (after much price checking!). HURRAH!!!!!!! However, it was only later that I realised that I could have used my Dymocks card. Unbelievable. When I left Pitcher, they gave me an awesome lot of farewell gifts. I got a Lucky Bamboo (yep, the customary plant/flowers - They refrained from giving me flowers because they knew I would kill anyone who dared). I also got a copy of The Firm (I'd recently read RD condensed versions of The Rainmaker and The Pelican Brief and I wanted to get more Grisham), the piano sheet music to the Forrest Gump Suite (beautiful!), and finally a $90 gift card for Dymocks. I was shocked out of my mind when I saw how much the card was for... and I missed out on getting to use it for the first time. No matter. Lots more books to buy! :D

It has taken me a month to finish AC's autobiography. Finished it up on the train in this morning and got started on The Moving Finger, which is pretty good so far. I still have a couple more to go through before I can get onto my new SK books, but that's just another thing to look forward to.

It's really quite odd, having only 3 people in the house. It's just me, Ma and Lourdes... Kristina's already back at Yarraton. It's nice and quiet, but at the same time, I can't stop myself from expecting to hear the jingle of the chimes on the front door as either my dad or my bro arrive home from work. I hope they're enjoying themselves up there :) Thursday night, while waiting for Menchie and her friends to close up Oporto before heading off home, I sent my bro a message saying,'Oy! You guys in Reno yet?' because he hadn't messaged as he said he would and as he did when they arrived in Auckland. He then called me up to tell me how things were, and also to tell me thanks for waking him up at 5.30 in the morning! Light sleeper, that one. I was very, very glad to hear from him though.

Bored at work...

Today has been one of those days I would classify as a good/bad day. Not done a lot, mainly because I covered my quota last week and left myself with almost nothing to do this week. But at the same time, everything else has worked out well. I spent a large portion of the morning reading the news and doing some general reading and research and as the girls have been home lately (school/uni holidays and all), it's been hard to do because I want to avoid fights about who gets to do what on the comp. 

There's also my dad to contend with (and I say that in the most respectful way possible), seeing as he likes to have Filipino radio from Inq7 (?) blasting all night long. What with all that's happening with GMA over there, this has been going on every single night for the last week and a half. I don't mean to sound like I don't care what is happening, but I have to admit, it's hard to get used to the announcer's voice... it's not the easiest on the ears, not to mention all the cheesy ads. 

However, soon he and my brother will be on their way to Arizona for my cousin, Don's wedding and then up to Toronto to visit one of my Ninongs and his family. I was seriously contemplating coming with them, but then realised that it would stuff me financially and it would be too much to ask that they pay for me. Plus (and correct me if you can see I'm wrong Jan) at this time of the year, I wonder if the heat would kill me. Especially in Arizona. I'd prefer to go in the winter. I've been looking up places in the country (mostly the Blue Mountains area) to visit but again, it's a little beyond my means at the moment, so I'm just saving up and biding my time. I was never a travelbug anyway, not like the rest of the family, so if I never leave Sydney or Australia, I really don't mind. 

Oh, and random info from one of the books I'm reading (Agatha Christie's autobiograpy), was that she used to be work at a hospital dispensary during the Great War, so she was essentially a pharmacist. No wonder she can write so well about the use of poisons and chemicals in her stories :D Meanwhile, the woman got more proposals than I could have ever imagined, although from the way in which she writes, it was the norm and thus, not all that extraordinary. I'm not finished yet, but it's a fab read. 

Hurrah for senseless babble!

Anxious

I've had one friend confirm he's ok (and am grateful grateful grateful)... just waiting for word from another. 

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of London and those with family and friends there. 

From everything I've seen and read thus far, can't help but admire the spirit of the people up there. They're so... together, in all senses of the word.

'Standing taaaaaaaall, on the wings of my dreams!'

It's a little strange trying to get back onto this thing, especially since my tendency, as of late, has been to completely avoid going online altogether for anything other than reading the news, doing research (which often means, reading the news) and keeping up with friends (which is still something I have only remained semi-successful in doing). Then again, considering the copious amount of time I can spend reading stuff online, well... really. 

Because I like to ramble, I thought I'd nip that in the bud right now. Mini update? Ok:

- After enjoying unemployment for a few weeks, I got a job back at my uni, UNSW, working in admin there and started at the end of May. The hours and rates are great and the work itself is not difficult at all although somewhat tedious at times. The tedium however, tends to be broken by the good number of people I get to talk to over the course of the day because essentially, I raid a lot of peoples' desks and the various staff members back at uni are a pretty friendly and humorous lot. I also get to see my friends who are still stuck at uni (well sort of, considering it's now holidays) and I've not really had the chance to do that in a really long time. 

- Outside of work, I'm pretty busy so the remaining days of the week are something for which I am freaking grateful. I'm slogging through my Journalism course and trying to read and write as much of everything as possible (as I have so been instructed by many). I'm considering maybe later coming back and doing an arts degree and studying history, english literature and politics but for now, I'll make do with what I can read on my own. I know I don't need a degree to study all this stuff, but it might be nice to go back to do some structured study in those areas. For now though, I'm just trying to keep up my own reading on them and that's cool too. I've still got my counselling diploma to get through as well so going back to uni is still a really distant possibility.

- (small woohoo here!) I'm also really glad to be able to do all of this from the comfort of my own room, which was a recent acquisition after years of nagging to get the hell away from sharing with my two sisters ;) Nah, we added an upper floor to the house. My room has the best view... my window overlooks the park behind our house where kids have soccer games almost every night and you can see the people playing tennis down at the courts... and in the distance (toward the west), you can see the mountains. Of course, they're really tiny from where we are, but it's still really pretty. 

That was all still somewhat rambly so yeah, sorry. Old habits die hard and all that hat.

Meanwhile, in rebuilding my old links since the multiple breakdowns of my computers, I've been catching up on places I used to visit all the time (incl. blogs, forums, etc) and while I've been doing that, I've also been adding a million and onenew links to the favourites list. Today I went a bit nuts when I found this site that has sound files of all these old 80s TV themes (the subject line is from the chorus for Perfect Strangers)! Hello childhood! I love that site and I love the person who put it all together coz that was the biggest trip back into my kiddy past... ::sigh:: I know, I'm a total dork and clearly a HUGE tv geek to be singing along to songs from TV that was on back when I was 4 or 5 years old. And I wonder why I've maintained an American accent down here... I still blame Sesame Street for that :D

Aside from that, I've finally had another look at Wil Wheaton's site, to which I was addicted a couple years back and am now officialy re-hooked. I love the way Wil writes and I just got this vid of him reading from one of his books at Gnomedex, 2004, and he's funny as and a lot of fun to watch. I'm still trying to get a hold of his books (and Sean Astin's as well). It's kinda weird to think about the whole Mary Sue thing with regards to him and Wesley back on TNG, but I admire the hell out of him now.

That all said, here I go a-plugging again :D





And now I'm off coz State of Origin 3 is about to start and it's 1-1 at the moment so tonight's game is anyone's game (not that a NSW whitewash wouldn't have been awesome, but we get what we get). 

Go the BLUES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, still alive... :P

Long time, no update. I'm in a rush so basics: quit my job, looking for part time work and back onto journo :D

Snagged from Gill:

1. Total number of films I own on dvd/video...
around the 200 mark...

2. The last film i bought:
Ages ago... Corrina, Corrina

3. The last film i watched: 
The Incredibles (not at the cinema... can't remember for the life of me, what I last saw at the cinema... )

4. Five films i watch a lot or that mean a lot to me: 
Little Women
While You Were Sleeping
Waking Life
Shawshank Redemption
Courage Under Fire

Aaah, the babbling brook...

Ok, first of all, hope everyone had a good Easter weekend :D I spent Sunday tasting wine up at the Hunter Valley with a friend and came to the solid conclusion that I am not a fan of the stuff, including the supposedly sweet, fruity wines. I'm no connoisseur and I wanted to laugh when this woman kept sticking her nose in her glass and talking about how you could smell passionfruit and a few other fruits... I took a whiff and my essentially inexperienced-with-wine nose could detect nothing but alco, which was basically enough to turn me off. Although, there were definitely times I was wishing I had, if anything, a Corona in my hand. That way I could be drinking something I could swallow and also keeping in the spirit of spirits.

Monday? Went shopping with Mel and ended up finding NESII for about $10. Sweet. Although NESII is nothing compared to the first one. But good ol' Foxtel's getting me that one for free (sort of). 

I don't know what more to say right now (although in the past, this has never tended to stop me from babbling on anyway and I doubt this occasion will prove any different). I suppose it doesn't help that it's past 3am down here and cognitive functioning is usually pretty sad around this time. Besides, not knowing what to say doesn't necessarily mean you don't have anything to say, it could also mean that you just can't pick and choose out of the mish that's mashing itself about your head. 

Yep, I would definitely pick number two on that one. This would probably entail a pending spurt of random rattle. Heh, what else am I good for?

I'm stuck for what to get Angela and Kyle for an engagement present. There are so many things you could possibly get, but then there's the matter of who'll get what... makes me appreciate registers all the more, especially since I'm altogether pretty bad with presents. Heh. I've got till Saturday, I'll think of something.

My second journo assignment continues to sit - not exactly untouched because I added to it earlier - forlornly on my laptop. It has been over a month. Man. I actually have an angle for the article now, but for some unknown reason, getting it all down is proving pretty damn hopeless right now. Considering the current time though, I'll just go with, 'there's always tomorrow'. Hopefully it's mailed before the end of the day (in other words, I need to get those journalistic juices pumping somehow before the day is out!). Hmm... I should take out the hopefully. That statement needs to be more resolute (hehe, does saying that work? Is it a start? Worth a shot I guess). 

That in mind, I would just like to say - bloody Sociology. :P Oh bugger, resolve ditched me pretty damn quickly! 'There's always tomorrow...'

My stats mid session is open book. God bless you Melanie... and thanks for being nice to my friends when you were on their honours panels.

Today was (again, considering the time) to be Jonathan Brandis' 28th birthday. I still get pretty damn upset when I think about what happened to him... of course, any case that's similar saddens me. Happy Birthday Jonathan. Wherever you are, here's to hoping you're happy.

There are a lot of people I miss big time, since I've gotten so behind online... all my FF buds (of course, minusing those I get to talk to pretty regularly on MSN ;)) basically. I've not gotten to talk to so many people for a helluva long time and emails are proving cumbersome. Plus, people are getting pretty busy about this time of year so...

Gah, that's enough whining for me. 

As it strikes 4 down here, I'm off to bed. I think I mentioned bodily rebellion in an earlier entry? Well, it's an all out war now and I'm pretty sure I'm losing so some defences need to be rebuilt.

Nighty night. :) 

PS. I know this was painful to read but I should get some allowances. It's 4.14am after all.

:D

Back in May, I applied for a freelance editing position and I was asked to send in a writing sample, which I promptly did. I never heard from them again so was left thinking, 'Ok... they didn't like it. That sucks. Oh well.' :P 

I just got an email from them, asking me to schedule a testing (they're in the US so it would have to be an online test)!!!

Yay!

That's all :)

PS. Apologies, to anyone concerned, for my (honest, yet tactless) slights against Latham and Kerry in my last post.

'PMS City, man...'

Mood swings here, there and all over the place. It ain't great, and it ain't pretty but damned if that's gonna stop me writing about whatever at the moment.

True, not the greatest way to sort of restart, or repost, in my LJ but it's a ready outlet at this point. Hey, hopefully I'll have calmed down by the end of the entry, trusting that writing maintains its tendency to get me from Point A (I'm-a-pissed-off/depressed-as/hormonal-as-dope) to point B (oh-wow-life's-not-the-raving-bitch-that-I-thought-it-was).

Beyond this paragraph, I'm not saying anything about work. Just. No. Point. Right now, I am completely and totally hormonal hence I could not hate it more. But that's now. Bah. 

::Catch Up:: What's happened since I last posted here? Howard won. Bush won. I was pretty glad that Howard won (Latham was nothing more than a baby-kissing crowd pleaser who just did not seem to be able to make up his mind about anything). As to Bush? Out of two men who freak me out, he freaked me out less. Kerry seemed to resemble Latham a little too much for my liking. I could be wrong. I speak only of my personal impressions. I mean, is it too much to ask for someone to have the capacity to MAKE UP THEIR MIND AND STICK TO IT PLEASE????? Ok, maybe it is. I'm still gonna ask though. Trying to follow all the ups and downs just makes me wanna throw.

Ach. Whine, whinge, grumble. Gotta stop... or at least, tone it down. 

::Home Front News:: One of my baby sisters (and by that, I mean, the 18 year old :P) had her graduation ceremony yesterday. I cannot believe it. She's 18!! She's out of school! She's going to uni!! How quickly did that all happen?? Four years ago, it was me. And hehe, nothing has changed. The ceremony, the dresses, the neverending speeches... nope, it's all the same. Except that my sis is taller than I was back then. :P

::Blood Boilers:: Along with a large portion of Australia at the moment, Idol's got me hooked. Anthony VS Casey. Honestly, I like them both. Despite his extremely pop-like style, I am an Anthony fan. His voice just plain kills. It's one of the best voices I've ever heard. Plus, despite the idea that people have deemed him arrogant, I've seen no real indication of that whatsoever. I especially did not see any of that supposed 'arrogance' when, for the first time ever, I watched him shake like a leaf during last night's show (ex-performance, thankfully) and, also for the first time ever, heard him slip on some notes. 

There is something about him though, that drives me mad and that would be the fact that, if he were to be able to alter just a few things in his performance style, he would kill. End of story. I don't care that what he likes is more pop than anything else. Do not care, plus I like a lot of stuff that is considered pop (I like depth in my music, yes, but just because I also enjoy stuff that requires little or no real thought, this does not give anyone leave to label me as vacuous or shallow). But man! Those damn cheesy looks and little performance quirks that Johnny Young specialised in teaching back in the 80s... they really have to die. I mean, just die. I understand that years of training when you were a little kid are hard to unlearn, but get those out of there and he'd be one helluva performer. I'm completely with Dicko on the frustration. The best and the worst in the comp (almost) are both in him and if he could just forget all that the 'great' JY taught him. That would be bloody, freaking awesome. Oh yeah, and lose some of that melisma. Not all, but it needs cutting. 

Combine his voice and dedication with Guy's emotional delivery. That would be amazing. 

That said, I love Casey. Great voice, great control and, from what I can see, cool personality. She still has that little bit of 'I'm so grunge, get me?' going on, but she's getting over it and I really like that. She is better than that. And for someone who so many have crticised in terms of physical appearance, I must say, she has really gorgeous eyes. It gets even better when they actually come to life while she's singing. People are right (Anthony included) when they say she has an amazing ability to bring real emotion into her songs and more of that ability than anyone else in the comp. I know maturity and age are a subjective matter, but she's done pretty bloody well for herself for a 16 year old. 

That she and Anthony are so obviously friends, and completely easy around one another, makes me even happier that they are the final two (kind of like Shannon and Guy, where Shannon = Casey, except I think Casey actually has talent). Had it been Courtney VS Anthony? I don't think it would have been as much fun to watch their antics. Last week's Inside Idol had me cracking up heaps! 

**Speaking of cracking up, I did a great deal of that watching Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, last Friday. Funny and sweet as hell, that movie is. :D 'Twas a great end, to a completely shithouse week.** 

Some of the stuff that people have said about both idol finalists... oh well. We are all entitled to our opinion (which I am overexercising at this point). I like them both and whosoever ends up winning, given that it is what they actually want, then I'll be happy. I only pity the fool that will have to record that hopeless song as their debut single. Wow. Craptacular as all hell. 

Ok, I think that Point B has finally been reached, even if possibly only temporarily. My only cripe right now is that no one is letting me get Guy's 'Kryptonite' and I've been trying to do so for ages now. 

::Odds and Ends:: Am currently reading Eudora Welty (a collection). And enjoying it. Makes me want to write more actually, and that's always good :)

Journo is getting back on track. Yay!

I have sworn off alcohol. Bring on the Coke! I am swapping the depressant (and believe me, it did!) for the not-so-stimulant. At least I get happy without getting ridiculous or ultimately depressed/humiliated.

I am finally getting my watch fixed (thanks to having a paycheque) after something like a year. 

I've been doing some drawing again. Hurrah! And getting to sit down at the piano a bit more too.

I shall reserve my work rant till after the departure of the buggered hormones. Once that occurs, there is a slight chance I may like it. Although, there is no need to hold breath. In fact, I advise against it.

I finally get to watch the last ep of Friends, next Monday. I was sad when it actually ended [cue reader's laughter], but this'll just cement it for me. 

Our house is getting redone and I'll finally be getting my own room. :) I'm 22 in less than a fortnight, 'tis about time, no?

Last Friday was the one year anniversary of the death of Jonathan Brandis. Rest In Peace

ETA: *Hurrah! I'm finally getting Kryptonite!*

Huzzah for Public Holidays! :D

It's 7.57am, Monday morning and I'm NOT on the train, getting to Strathfield and complaining about how annoying it is that Richmond trains aren't a priority to CityRail. 

All that adds up to a good morning :)

Of course, that then bodes the question of why exactly I'm already on this thing at that time of the morning and not sleeping in like I normally am when I don't need to go to work. Ah well, simple answer. Caught up on sleep most of the weekend and ended up waking up at around 4am, unable to get back to sleep so hopped online for a bit. 

Oh, thank you Queen Elizabeth by the way.

I'll say that this week is looking quite nice... Monday and Wednesday off. Work BBQ on Tuesday (for which I have to set up, but *shrug*). 

Despite the fact that I'm now permanent, I still don't know if I see myself being there for very long. It's a little scary to think that it wasn't that long ago that I was so damn happy I didn't get this job... only to find myself in it now. I think that the battle between the Realist and the Idealist in me has never raged on so hard as it has been for the last couple months. Then again, that could simply be seen as a mark of my lack of maturity. Up till now, major adjustments remained only so in name. I just took to things. Uni, for example. I never really thought it would be the case but once I began uni, it all seemed normal to me. Things just fell in and I liked that. 

What's happened since I began working has been pretty sad. Sad in the pathetic sense. Realist VS Idealist - day in, day out.

Without completely dissecting it all though, here's the final result:

The job is, objectively speaking, not that bad. And it pays. Depending on my mood (which is unfortunately, grossly unreliable), I either enjoy or loathe what I do, although essentially I know it's not so bad. It's just very far from anything I've ever wanted to do and not at all a place I'd like to remain in for the rest of my life. Plus, it eats away at whatever time I have in order to further pursue everything else I want to do.

But there you go. Not everybody loves their job and even fewer people get to do what they really want to do, and especially not straight away. Plus, it can't really be denied that counselling and journalism are not the most stable of occupations. I should just be thankful I have a source of income which isn't provided by the government and which I know will last. Not to say that I'll stop everything else, but take this whole thing for the good. If anything, it does bring me closer to PAYING for my journo and counselling courses so, in that sense, it's actually facilitating my goals, right? Money, time and effort... all necessary.

In terms of the corporate atmosphere? It's going to take some time to get used to (even more after a rather shameful display last Thursday, with some of the partners and some of the clients), but it'll happen eventually. Yes, yes, I remain the eternal optimist... after much painstaking whinging :P

I'm more than a little determined to get back on track with everyone though. Been sadly out of touch since I started working. Today, am beginning to work on fixing that so I'm meeting up with Esha, whom I haven't seen since her 21st! We're probably going to gab the day away but hey, that sounds good to me. :)

Oh that aside, have been for a while, but even moreso now, a major Anthony Callea fan. His rendition of 'The Prayer' was just downright awesome.

Shameless plug time! I'm sure y'all know the drill... right-click and save target as... :P If anyone's interested,
Anthony Callea - The Prayer.mp3

Continuing the snaggage...

I'm in no mood to write an all too serious post for now.

The Panthers/Bulldogs game is playing as I type. Finals footy is so damn stressful! Go the Panthers!!!! I'm hearing the rest of the family yelling at the TV and will soon be joining them :D

Anywho, here's what I snagged from Gill, and below, my answers (to prevent me having to post em all over :P Yeah, yeah... I'm a lazy sod. Like that's a surprise ;))

o name:
o age:
o where on earth do you live:
o reason behind your LJ username:
o five things you want to do/accomplish before you die:
o what makes you happy:
o what have you been listening to lately:
o do you enjoy reading my LJ:
o if so, why:
o interesting fact about you:
o are you in love at the moment:
o favourite destination:
o favourite quote:
o will you post this in your LJ:

>> RECOMMEND
o a movie (that amazes you - a beautiful movie):
o a book (that inspires you, and one you couldn't put down):
o a musical artist, song, or album:
o your favourite LJ user (not on my list already):

***

o name: Jelynn Millare
o age: 21
o where on earth do you live: Sydney, Australia
o reason behind your LJ username: The last syllable of my first name plus 'M'
o five things you want to do/accomplish before you die: live life fully, love with everything, help where I can, publish something beautiful... give all I can 
o what makes you happy: anything has that capacity
o what have you been listening to lately: whatever music I can... I've needed it
o do you enjoy reading my LJ: Jan - indeed I do (sorry I don't comment more hun!); May - I love reading your reviews darl; Gill - sometimes your LJ is my only link to you! Miss you heaps babe!
o if so, why: refer to above
o interesting fact about you: I'm moderately insane? Wait, that's more obvious than interesting :P
o are you in love at the moment: No
o favourite destination: lately, Nod
o favourite quote: oh man... which one? For now, will go with, 'You know, mean people suck.' Jason Behr, Roswell :P
o will you post this in your LJ: Will I? ;)

>> RECOMMEND
o a movie (that amazes you - a beautiful movie): Waking Life is still my current favourite... it's more stimulating than beautiful, but that in itself amazes me. 
o a book (that inspires you, and one you couldn't put down): Different Seasons, Stephen King
o a musical artist, song, or album: BoyzIIMen, A Praise Chorus - Jimmy Eat World, Fallen - Evanescence
o your favourite LJ user (not on my list already): Can't say I have one

Ah, fathers...

Go on, have a piece! :D

A toast to all of you having a great day (most probably, at your own expense) :D

And Paps, well, simply put... love ya.

Working stiff...

Meanwhile, am semi getting used to working at Pitcher. The job, I'm getting used to, but the people? And the atmosphere? Not so great. Not a welcoming or comfortable place at all. I've met one other person who agrees with me... and the guy who got the job before, Michael, has resigned and his last day was yesterday. He just finished high school last year and has done a bar course and he resigned because now, the lucky bastard is tending bar for Cirque Du Soleil while they're here in Sydney (which will be for the next three months!). He and Christine are the only two people around whom I feel really comfortable. My supervisor, Vicki, is pretty cool too. 

Not to say I've not spoken to a couple of nice people since I started there... but on the whole, the place is still really stiff. 

Thankful for the fact that I'm getting used to the job though :) And I guess I should give the people a little time before I keep calling em stiff and unfriendly :P

For now though, huzzah for weekends! :D

"My whole life flashed before my eyes!... It was really boring."

Man, that movie cracked me up big time :D

Meanwhile, Jo called me back and offered me a temp job for now and I'll be starting on Monday and working for a month. It's to cover for the Documents Coordinator, Lizzy, while she's on holiday. I'm currently sick with the very sudden onset of a cold, but hopefully it clears up a bit over the weekend. Goodbye late nights gabbin with Gill and Manda! Hello 6am starts! ;)

In the meantime, I'm still looking around for P/T work for when the month is over although Jo indicated that there was the possibility of another opening. We'll see how it goes.

As the class that I was told was supposed to happen last week, was in fact this Saturday, I have to prepare for that. I also have a friend's 22nd over at Pancakes on the Rocks on Sunday, but I may call to say I can't make it if I'm not feeling any better... I might even have to cancel on Saturday :( I don't want to get any of my kiddies sick!

Mel is leaving for the Phils on Saturday... going for a week. I'm hoping and praying she has a safe trip.

'Ow, ow, ow...' ;)

I am currently dealing with DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) for attempting to get a bit more active, after years of inactivity so well, it's pretty understandable. I've been making some rather laughable attempts at Capoeira (focusing on kicking mainly) and although I'm stuck aching like crazy, I'm happy to find that I can in fact, still execute a cartwheel and also that I can pull off a one hander! That was a nice surprise. Painful too. :P 

Outside of the sore points though, I will say this much. Skin feels much better and I feel better. I like that. :)

Phone Messages, a la my little sis...

Got onto the computer after getting home today to find this on the screen:

'Phone Messages

For Jelynn:
> Menchie called
> Clarkey called

For Everyone:
> We are getting new locks if we do not find the keys
> Check the car

For Everyone that Counts:
> We are having McDonalds for dinner

To Nobody:
> Get a life' 

I love you Duds. :)

:D - it's all I can do right now! :D

After almost two hours of utter frustration with UNSW admin for not getting our results emails out, Mel and I were able to check our results and as per usual, Mel kicked ass! Congrats to her! She was so sure she was going to fail her Bacteria and Disease course and in the end she got a high credit! :P 

As for me, I got a 69 in Stats!! Hurrah! :D After expecting less than 50, it just adds heaps to finding out I passed :D

So, now I'm finally sure, I'm GRADUATING! I've screamed myself stupid already (my brother jumped around the lounge room when he found out about his... how gender typical our reactions were :P) and in the process, I'm almost certain I blew out Mel's ear drums over the phone (she was the one who told me, 'dude, you got a 69!'). I don't know how long it's been since I last felt this happy... I've breathed numerous sighs of relief. :D

And now I apologise for my whininess about results to everyone to whom I've whined and ranted :P 

:D

Ah well... ;)

I had the longest, most convoluted entry written up. I'm now going to put up the pain free version.

Jo, Christina and Vicki deemed me overqualified for the position which, ultimately, was kitchen/boardroom maintenance/clerical support (the title changed from Admin Assistant to Kitchen Assistant/Admin Assistant) and chose someone just fresh out of school and who had just completed a bar course and thus they thought would be more suited to the job long term. In other words, they were afraid I'd bore quickly considering my degree and interests. Jo liked me though so if a position on her HR team opens up, she'll call me. I'm also allowed to email her about what type of position I would possibly like within the company and she'll see what she can do.

Mel was not surprised considering she continued to maintain that she didn't like the idea of me just doing the random stuff they didn't want to have to for themselves (which they had conveniently formed into a job) and my brother even said that he reckoned they were probably wondering why I applied to begin with. 

They're both sweet.

I no longer: 

- have to consider being out from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday
- have to buy work clothes
- have to memorise the tasks
- have to rearrange my schedule (for hospital or med)
- have to worry about whether or not this job was right for me

I now have:

- corporate interview experience (had never done one before)
- a connection within HR
- time to refocus on writing, Journo and Counselling and looking for a better suited job (poss. P/T)
- availability lest I need to redo the stats exam
- time to REST after the most hellish semester (from sem to exams to interview, non-stop worry)

I'm honestly relieved that I didn't get the job. I didn't want it forever and I was actually beginning to despise it in the time approaching the second interview. To have a steady job and paycheck woud have been great and all, but at least now I know it wasn't for me and now, I can stop using up time thinking about it and all the potential havoc it would wreak on my life. 

Now if only I could just keep things so simple all the time... I'd save a lot of time and energy.

'The University has the following Graduation Details registered for you:

You have been identified as a Potential graduand.

If you are eligible to graduate, you can update your record to indicate whether you will attend the ceremony and to change your ceremony to an overseas ceremony.

Checklist for Potential Graduands
Potential graduands should check that all their student record details, testamur details and graduation details are correct. Some graduands may need to arrange to defer their graduation and/or attend an overseas ceremony. All potential graduands should be aware of relevant dates and deadlines

Important Information for Graduating Students
Graduating students should be aware of dates and venues for graduations, who may attend graduations, as well as other details and requirements for attendance at graduation ceremonies. Students who cannot or did not attend their graduation ceremony should be aware of the correct procedures.

How do I hire my academic gown?' 

Just one more week of torture till results come out :P

Catch Up...

Ola! 

Ok, I'm still awaiting my results (and biting my nails in the meantime, ok not really)... the stats exam was horrendous, but at the same time I don't need much in order to pass... I need a bare 38% in the exam to pass. Hehehe, I'll find out soon enough.

I had a job interview with an accounting firm yesterday and it went really well :D My second interview is on Monday and so far, I'm liking my chances. It's a full time admin assistant position (I know, doesn't sound great, but considering how not so stable both journalism and counselling are, I need a more stable backer and in this position I have the opportunity to work up to HR). My interviewer yesterday, Jo, was so much nicer than I expected and she seems to like me :) Come Monday, I have to face the Admin Supervisor and the Financial Manager. 

I'd love to get the job but I'll admit, without it, there are still a lot of other avenues I can take. At the moment, I just want to know that I'll be graduating. 

In other news, The OC has just started here in Oz and I find myself hooked... Benjamin Mckenzie helps that out a little, I will admit ;) My sis beats me in the obsession department though... she's gone nutty for it! It's so funny to watch hehehe. Thirteen-year-olds, go figure lol.

Hope y'all are well! :hug:

How to make a lynnem

Ingredients: 3 parts competetiveness 5 parts humour 5 parts joy

Method: Stir together in a glass tumbler with a salted rim. Add a little cocktail umbrella and a dash of curiosity

Traffic Check

Subject? I just clicked the box and scrolled, finding that among the options and wondering... huh? I don't remember that... so slotted it in just 'cause.

Ma's back. Things are (sort of) back to normal... and I am numb. It's not a bad thing really, I mean, I don't mind it. I'm just... here. That's all. I'm recovering from the flu and looking forward to the time ahead.

Why? Just some good things to get down :)

- Tuesday was my last day of uni, forever. Hurrah!
- I just finished my last essay (Socio) which I will be handing in tomorrow
- I have 2 weeks to study for my one exam, which is Stats 

Graduation itself won't be until October and for now, I've got to work on making sure that I get to do so by that time, by not stuffing up stats again. I've got time though and a much clearer understanding of the stuff than I did last year (trying works... who knew?). Of course, considering back then I had 3 other psych subjects to contend with and only one socio subject this time around... anyway, getting that down perked me up actually... in fact...

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!! I'm done with uni! HURRAH!!!!!!

Ok. Dignity back? There we go. :)

On Tuesday, it was almost as though it was meant to be my last day... I ran into so many people I hadn't seen in ages and was able to give them the news and catch up... I'm sure I'll miss it, but right now, the only thing I know is that I am so damn glad I'm done :) I ended up having to stay late though, since I decided to wait for Mel to finish so we could leave together. Ended up having to help my friend Amanda (one of the thousands I know... it's like an invasion!) because she lost her wallet so the two of us were retracing her steps. Poor thing. Her keys were attached. Good thing though that the only contents of that wallet, were her keys and student card, void of address. 

Some friends are going to take me to lunch tomorrow as a mini celebration. Can't wait :)

ETA: it just occurred to me, I'd like to change my icon... anyone got any nice suggestions? I'm open :look: Kel, I think I shall rummage through those ones you made... so many! I only got through the first couple before realising I'd have to come back but the ones I saw looked lovely. Any Jon, Friends, AOGG or any random good pics are definitely welcome (I like your one Chris).