2010: Where did it go?

As if it is December 31st, 2010 as of this very moment... no way an entire year has passed. Just now I am reading my 2009 recap, and as I am reading it I can picture vividly my hands typing those words as if it was written only last week.

That's scary.

So... 2010, how did we go? I don't really know how to answer that.  Well, just after reading my 2009 recap... what has changed since last year? Sadly it appears not much at all.

Actually, and I apologize how bad this post is turning out, no flow what so ever lol, but oh well.  I was originally going to see how 2009 was, then compare it to 2010 to see on what level it has/hasn't improved.  As I was reading 2009 posts I realized... why even compare?  2009 is so far away now, I am such a different person, my life is completely different, everything has changed.

It was a nice realization.

The great thing about keeping this blog is that it allows me to look at my year like a time capsule, so, let's take a step through memory lane and see what I got up to in 2010 =)

There was heaps of awesome adventures and stories, first there was the Bonzai Tree fiasco at work, Sabbi's and mine escape from the terrifying Scouts camping trip, I was on TV, and the scarcely believable coincidental events like the time I met a girl at the cinemas or the time when the Universe was clearly against me for unknown reasons.

Then there was the events! The Taylor Swift concert, the Paramore concert and the times I got to stay in the city for a few nights for a conferences (here, here and here). Not to mention the holidays... Queensland in January, Cruise Ship in April, Thailand in June and a week in Sydney in December!

All this was squeezed in as I moved out of home with crazy housemates, got offered to and became a tutorer at my University to teach my very first class, topped off by attempting one of the greatest achievements of my life thus far... to successfully complete my Honours year at University (which I did =D).

So while 2010 wasn't the year I made new best friends, or found a new girlfriend, or decided what I really want to do for next year, it was instead the year I became more independent by moving out of home for the long run, got out to see the world more with my holidays, and completed my Honours degree to prove to myself that if I set my mind on something, I can do anything.

It was a tough year, there were certainly some stressful days (and nights) due to Uni, and some very lonely times as I left most of my friends behind, but hey, it is the end and I am still here, and I can realize now from my recap above that 2010, while not exactly what I had hoped for, still turned out pretty damn awesomely =)

Let's see what 2011 has in store... I have a strong feeling that it is going to be quite a lot more memorably then this year, trust me =P

Happy New Year everyone!

Very quiet, very loud

As I've always said, this blog is written purely for myself with no attempts to gain followers (which relax, is still true), I guess just today I've realized how quiet my little slice of the blogosphere really is.  Normally I don't care one bit, often times these posts are for my own accounts and don't really have an 'outside audience' mentality in mind when they are written, but today... this quietness of my blog has been realized to be pretty similar to my real life, and I hate that.

It's been a busy year and a half.  I broke up with my long term girlfriend, which then lead to a falling out with my best friend, then I moved out of home and away from my remaining friends so I could be closer to work and Uni. Since then my days were completely consumed with my Honours year of University.  After about 8 months of living away from friends now, and being single for over a year, I really thought by now I'd have a new group of friends and a new girlfriend.  8 months on however I've only gained about 2 good new friends and no prospects of a girlfriend.

The excuse, and my motivation, has mostly been the argument of 'Uni takes up too much of my time and effort to be worrying about friends and girlfriend right now'.  Which, as I did throw myself into my work and studies all year I guess you could say that's fair.  But... what about the things that happen by chance?  I can understand that by me not making the effort, new friends and girlfriend aren't likely going to happen, but what about those random circumstances where you just somehow fall into it? Surely more of those should of happened by now?

The problem with the above is that I am constantly thinking 'surely something good is going to come my way any day now'.  The days come, and the days pass, and I am continuing looking forever further and further into the future... which is not a good thing when I am turning a cringe worthy 23 next year.  Ha, yes I know, that is hardly old at all... I'll be honest when I say I have a bit of an obsessive phobia of growing old and missing out on opportunities and having regrets of all the things I never got to do.

Well, with that said, and with my University at an official end, I guess it is time to get these problems settled and my life in order once more.  So, what's on the agenda? Let's break it down I guess:

- Friends - There is no chance of me moving back home anytime soon, which means I will forever be away from my old best mates, slowly drifting further apart (I hate that...).  Time for new ones I guess, so, I should make an effort to connect better with the new ones I have made here (although they are no where near as cool as my old ones).

-Love - I have been single for... bit over a year now I think.  While I no longer feel I need a girlfriend, and can manage life on my own quite comfortably now, I would be lying if I said that it wouldn't be nice to have, especially with my lack of friends at the moment.  I can't stand loud music anymore therefore avoid clubs and loud bars/pubs, thus limiting one of the best opportunities to meet girls. In my day to day life I come across countless whilst just at shops, at Uni, through friends, I just seem to fail to capitalize on the opportunities, always walking away, shaking my head at myself in regret for letting another chance slip through my fingers.

-Future plans - Wow, well, I'm not sure, it hasn't really hit me that University has actually come to an end. I keep thinking that I am merely on summer holidays, awaiting the Uni year to begin next year all over.  But no, not this time. This time there is no Uni year to begin, it is just completely wide open, no dates to follow, people to contact about courses, topics to choose... it is whatever I want to choose to do. 

That's a little scary.

And there we go, summed up above is the three areas that at this point in time are of the most important.  I'm not really sure how to address all three, maybe I should just try to relax and take a week or 2 off from thinking about any of it, start it all come the new year.

Guess I will wait to see what happens.

Like always.

Sadly.

The End

The journey that was my University Honours year.

93 pages.

24,000 words.

Final year presentation complete.

The end.

Living the dream - Take three!

This is take three of my 'Living the Dream' series! A series where I get a step closer to my eventual dream of one day living in a city! A dream that, whilst originally expressed on this blog over a year ago now, has stuck with me even till now. In part one I got to spend 2 nights in Melbourne and part two I spent 1 night in Melbourne, which while was still an experience, I live only 30 minutes from Melbourne city therefore it wasn't that much a stretch.

This time however I was lucky enough to spend 3 nights in Sydney! It is only one state over from Melbourne (Australia), but it was still fairly foreign enough to get a much better idea of what moving to a city would actually be like. By foreign I mean in terms of the geography mostly (as I am not familiar with Sydney streets at all), and I guess 3 nights rather then 1 and 2 added to the immersion... yes I am aware I am still in the same country and the people are pretty much the same as back home haha.

Anyways, it was exciting nonetheless.  Spent 4 full days in Sydney on my own in a hotel right in the heart of the city.  Spent a day by Darling Harbour, then wonde... oh oh! I just remember one of the best parts of the entire trip!  The Powerhouse Museum! As I was lost somewhere I stumbled across the Powerhouse Museum, it looked alright when I checked out the website so thought I'd give it a go. Wow, is all I can say... I spent 4 hours there, they had some amazing exhibitions on global warming, the advancement of technology over the last 100 years, scenes depicting and describing some of the great discoveries and experiments in history... yes I am a huge nerd =)

Point is, if you ever go to Sydney, Australia, have a walk around Darling Harbour, then stop by the Powerhouse Museum.

The trip was funded by the conference I was attending, lately I have been right into iPhone development, so this conference (well, it was more like a workshop) was fantastic.  That lasted three days so I spent as much time as I could exploring, working in my hotel room, chatting to locals, just really trying to immerse myself and to create a better picture of how it would be like if I really do go move to New York like I currently plan to.

I feel lucky to have these opportunities =)  Below you will find some random shots I took while I was out and about.

Upon the eve

Well, here we are, the day before my thesis is due.

It was been quite a journey, it was good to document it as I went, it will be great to look over once all this is complete.  Although, to be fair, it isn't over yet, not quite anyway.

At this very moment in time I am at a pretty awesome 17,811 words and 75 pages.  It is by far the biggest piece of work I have ever for my studies, and from what is done so far I am actually rather proud of it to say the least.  As the title says, today marks the eve it the due date... will I finish?  Majority is complete, it really is just my Discussion chapter that needs completing (read: starting)... ha!

This week I made fantastic progress, managing 1,200 words on Thursday!

Friday I went terrible managing nearly no words due to a terrible headache I have been experiencing for quite some time now... which since yesterday is completely gone! The difference is amazing! Friday (well, the entire week really) was just so painful, it was impossible to write with a massive headache.  Yesterday (Saturday) I decided to wear my sunglasses while staring at the computer screen, thinking maybe the headache was caused by the excessive amount of time spent in front of computers lately... and it worked =D  With the headache gone I managed an awesome 1,200 words, with the finish line within grasp.

Over the weekend (yes, I spent my entire weekend at Uni also) I completed a pretty good 1,800 words, which sets me up fairly well for completion by (hopefully) tomorrow, if not then the next day. 

I suspect this will be my last post for a until then, the end is near!

Can't sleep...

Sigh... 1.30am on a Friday morning, all day I had a massive headache, could barely keep my eyes open, and now when it comes to night time I just as tired but can't bring myself to sleep.  Good job body, good to know you've got your self organized and under control after these 22 years...

My apologies... no surprise that I am a little grumpy right now, so I am guessing this post will double as a rant... hopefully to make me feel better.  Perhaps I am just stressed? My thesis is due in 4 days after all, but I'm not sure that is 100% the cause for this late hour blogging.  It is strange as that is most likely the reason, but I pause myself, take a breadth and try to unravel what's on my mind and thesis isn't really on the forefront.

Although stress can indeed work in mysterious ways.

I have had a lot of health issues of late also...which is making my thesis writing that much more difficult (related perhaps?).  Just been having big headaches and dizzyness periodically and seemingly randomly through the day.  About 2 months ago it began and lasted for 3 weeks... then like magic it just disappeared... but alas, as my shithouse luck would have it, it returned again about 5 days ago now and causes me a great deal of pain and discomfort.

What annoys me the most is how I spend a considerable amount of time, effort and money is taking care of myself, mostly in regards to my diet, to which seems to account for nothing.  I eat wholemeal bread instead of white, avoid sweets completely, am constantly eating a good variety of foods like tomato, tuna, lettuce, cheese, steaks, chicken, mushrooms, beans.  I had indoor soccer once a week, and caught the bus everyday for my weekly exercise, drink plenty of water, and besides the no more then once a week take out you could say I am definitely a healthy person.

So why can look at my housemates who eat junk nearly everyday, never any vegetables or fruit, are smokers, drink constantly... and they can sleep and wake up and be nice and awake for the day with no worries at all...

Anyways, oh well, whatever I guess.  I know things will get better, they always do.  I am feeling quite a bit better after one of my best mates just happened to still be awake also, so had a chat to him on msn.

One thing though... and this happens always really.  Times like this I really do hate being single.  What I wouldn't give to just have someone here by my side, even just to distract me from the tough issues, to maybe just be like 'hey, let's just go for a random drive', just to forget about everything even for a little while.  Which sure, I could do that on my own, but it isn't the same ha.

Got a busy 3 days ahead with Thesis being due Monday... wish me luck!

Final days!

Woah, what's this? Currently midnight on a Tuesday might, meaning my thesis is due in only 5 days!

Before I continue, I'd like to direct you to one of my all time favourite songs. Circa Survive - The Difference Between Medicine and Poison is in the Dose. Let it play in the background as you read the rest of the post, I am confident you won't be disappointed =)

Back to my thesis, is it time to freak out? Probably, although to stay rational my progress has actually been, believe it or not, going rather well.  Sweet!

From my last update, last Thursday to be exact,  I was at an average 11,179 words with 51 pages.  Since then my thesis epic has gone continued... wow, just remembered a conversation I was having with Lee today (the only other Honours student).  We were remembering how it was like back in March, when we first chose our topics and started the year.  We had no idea what so ever what to expect... was it to be hard? Impossible? Would we even make it!? It is so strange to be close to the end, to see the light, yet still sit here at this very minute, with all I have accomplished this entire year, and still not know what the next 5 days of my life are going to have in store for me.

Pretty amazing when you think about it.

Anyways, yes, sorry, got a little reminiscent there didn't I haha.  Yes so last Thursday is where I left off.  Over the weekend I forced myself into Uni... and wow was it hard.  Most weekends I don't usually have that much going on. Maybe a get together with some mates, or I'll go visit my parents... this weekend, the weekend I decide is dedicated to thesis writing, I suddenly turn into the most popular guy on Earth.

First a mate of mine wanted to go golfing, sorry no can do buddy I replied.  Then another mate calls, wants to see if I want to come over for a few drinks... sorry, already said no to golf, so I'll say no this also... thanks anyway! Wow, two invites on the same day, would of been a great weekend if I could have gone to both... oh well, this is one of those testing times, have to stay strong, it is short term pain for long term gain!  The next day, my newly gained friend Rob calls (I recently tried out for a band and got accepted)... "Dude, Harry (the guitarist) has finished his exams, we want to see if you wanna have a jam this weekend, get some beers, make a day of it"... aww man, that sounds way fun.  But, I held strong, saying I'll reschedule.  The importance placed on this weekend to write my thesis was immense... I knew that the progress (or lack of) on my thesis this weekend would make or break.

Saturday arrives, Rob comes down also to do some work.  We get some beers and pizza, turns into an awesome day of laughs with bursts of thesis writing. 5pm arrives... my mate Rod calls, reckon he has an awesome night planned with the boys... damn it! I never get to join the guys for a good night out anymore... that makes 4 invites on the one weekend (which is 3 - 4 more then any other weekend lol).

Long story short I managed an awesome 1,700 words over the weekend! Which I am rather proud of myself considering it was a weekend, I had to resists a heap of distractions, and I had downed 6 beers when I finally started writing ha!

So, well.  I am about to go to sleep, to wake up and repeat the cycle all over again.  Sophie (my amazing Honours supervisor) has returned from her two week holiday and has already been an amazing help.  Tomorrow will be important, I have 1 chapter to finish off (Results chapter) and start on my final chapter (Discussion chapter). If I can finish off Results chapter tomorrow, I should be set.

Wish me luck!

Thesis update

Just browsing my blog then, it appears (despite my strong desire to do so) I have failed in keeping a rolling documentation on the progress for completing my Honours thesis.  I know this doesn't make for particularly interesting reading for you readers, but as I have said many times I write this blog purely for myself, thus would like to document what is the most challenging task I have ever tackled.

My last update (all the way back on the 30th of October... nearly 3 weeks ago... ha!) I was at 4,100 words.  Keeping in mind that my thesis is due on the 29th of November...

*queue dramatic music* Dum dum duuummm!!!

Yeah... lame... I am extremely tired ha.

I have been keeping a mini log in the abstract section of my thesis, it reads like so:

1/11/2010 - 5,349 words, 28 pages… progressing too slowly…

7/11/2010 3.14pm – 7,718 words, 33 pages… hmm not bad for the week I guess. Still going far too slow =S

12/11/2010 8.48pm – 9,039 words, 40 pages… majority of pages gained was due to changing font size from 10 to 12 (as per the Honours guidelines).  Hmm.. roughly 1300 words done this week.  Not enough, should have been at least 2000.  Sigh.

14/11/2010 6.09pm – 10,252, 48 pages.  Lots of pages gained due to adding of appendices. I actually went pretty awesomely today and Friday night (see above)… managing around 500 words written (which for writing on a night after work, and writing on a Sunday, isn’t too bad).  

17/11/2010 3.59PM - 10,385, 49 pages. Even though it looks likes I have only managed 100 words since the 14th, I actually deleted about 300 words, then re-wrote another 400.  So have managed 400 yesterday... which is bad but it is progress nonetheless.

Which alas brings us to today, the 18th! For some reason I do my best work real late in the day... say 4pm to 9pm.  Keeping in mind I usually arrive at Uni around 11am... I spend a good 5 hours of procrastination.  Come about 5pm today though and I got a big breakthrough, managing to pump out about 800 words to bring my total to a pretty cool 11,179 words at 51 pages. 

If I can get out another 800 tomorrow, I will be well on track =)

I am seriously on the edge lately though... I am not quite stressing, but it seems like I will at any moment.  These next few days will be absolutely crucial, if I can managed to finish the chapter I am working tomorrow, and on the weekend get 70% of my final chapter done by Monday, I will be able to make it.  Sophie comes back on Monday from two weeks absence... I am desperately waiting her return, it has been quite difficult, but great for self improvement at the same time now that I think about it.

Anyways... I would of liked to have made this post more interesting and funny, but it is 12.36am and I am too tired.  I was going to save it and re-write it tomorrow when I am awake, but I guess posting it now it true documentation, showing how tired I am during these times.

Waiting patiently

 It has been quite some time.  Much longer then I would of thought, even by my standards. And definitely far longer then I am proud to admit.  Why has it taken so long?  I assume I shouldn't take it to heart... but to be honest it is becoming hard not to. 

I am rather numb, perhaps on purpose? It seems to help.  Momentarily at least. 

Most people say not to rush, just let things go, to see what happens... to that I say, for how long?  Besides, that appears to be what I have been doing, to varying degrees of success, all year.  "It will happen when you least expect it" is the common remark.  I guess the problems lies in the fact that I am always, to some extent, expecting it. 

The paradox that will be my undoing.

Some days it is fine, most days it is not.  The couple walking in front of me holding hands, the giggling pair at the back of the movie cinemas, the driver and his passenger in the car, the table for two at the restaurant.  I guess what makes it the worst is when friends have stories to tell (both good and bad) where I have none.

One day I can look back on days like this and things will be different.  Today is not that day.

P.S Picture above will have no significance to you, but means something to be.

So, what's new?

Quite a lot as it were, which is rather surprising as you'd think coming down to the 2 week mark of having my Thesis due there would be nothing extra going at all.  Alas, a lot has happened.  This will be a quick blog, only posting half for the fact that I would like to document the happenings of the week before I forget it all, and half because I just can't help myself really ha.

Indoor soccer finished for the season, we ended up 5th out of 6th on the ladder (which for a team that consists on non-soccer players, we were real happy with that ha!).  We even made it into the semi-finals (one game away from the Grand Final!)... which was lost but all good.  Unluckily for me... which I was not in the slightest surprised about really, is I hurt my knee badly on what was the Last. Game. Of. The. Season..!

Sigh ha.

Last Saturday I had an amazing day... I would hate to get ahead of myself here but I think it may actually be a bit of a life turning event really.  A 'butterfly effect' if you will, if luck would have it.  This year during my Honours year at Uni I met a guy called Rob, who is from the faculty of Psychology (I am from I.T).  It was just luck that our paths crossed really, we got along really well all semester.  A week or so ago Rob was telling me about his band (a side project he is working on), talking about their need for a new drummer.

"Hmm, Rod, did I ever tell you I was a drummer!?"

Long story short we organized a day where I could come down and jam with the band to see how we go, which went awesomely! I played better then I usually do, they loved my beats, the band members were really cool guys, it just fit really.  We played in a boathouse by the beach.  It just happened to be blue skies with the sun out that day, which we took full advantage of by having some beers and playing music right by the beach side... epic win =D

And with that I had one of my best days I have had... for a very long time that's for sure.  Mostly due the fact that, as I have mentioned throughout the year, I don't really have many good friends to hang with anymore.  The hint of being inducted into a group of really cool guys is quite exciting... but we shall see how we go.

Other then that I've been at Uni nearly every day since, chipping away at my thesis (which I will update soon).  Got a busy day tomorrow that has to be with my mates band Slightly Left of Centre... should be a fun day.

Well, I came to Uni on a Friday night, in an effort to get some thesis done.  Better get to it.

About to explode

Yikes... life is tough.  All of a sudden today I feel rather overwhelmed... I'm exhausted (didn't get much sleep last night due to housemates partying... on a weeknight...), I am stressed, stretched thin, balancing far too much with such little time with absolutely no help or anyone to turn to.  Some days, like today, I just hate the world in general, then regret all my interactions I have with people during the day because I know my demeanor was left to be desired, certainty not what that person deserved.

And it isn't just the fact that I have my thesis due (something I am way behind in)... there is just too much to do.  Work is going great, but I'm only half committed as Uni is always on my mind, then there is my health which I am barely managing to keep in check (feeling rather lethargic lately, suffering from dizzy spells and headaches randomly also)... then I've been in battles with my phone company, trying to get a damn new phone because my current one is just about dead... but they want to charge me $200 for leaving the contract 3 months early... sigh.

But, hell, I've been doing this amount of work since the beginning of the year.  I guess what really gets me the most is not having anyone to turn to, to bounce ideas off, to have a ear to complain to or wise words and advice to receive in return.

I think that can really make the world of difference... especially from the right person.  Or even just knowing that that is there for you when you need it can help also.

None of my friends or family even really know what I do.  Last week one of my best friends, as I was telling him what I've been working on at Uni lately, goes to me "Oh, are you doing Honours this year?".

I thought he was joking at first... I mean, how can it be October, and I have been Honours the entire year, and one of my better friends doesn't even know what I have been doing all this time?...

Sigh.

Last week a lucky charm my best friend Sabrina gave me at the start of the year finally broke.  It was some really cheap $2 thing, which according to Sabrina "gives the wearer great luck when it breaks".  I protested at first but she seemed to believe in it so I put it on my ankle and just forgot about it ever since.  Hers broke within the month, mine lasted 10 months... strange.  Anyways, it broke... and I guess after it had indeed lasted that long I kind of actually started to believe it might indeed bring some form of luck after all?

I guess work has improved greatly... and whilst my thesis is going terribly slow, it is at least moving forward and has a fair chunk done.  But... that's besides the point for me really, as it isn't work I really care about, nor my thesis.  The thing I want most out of anything I think is rather obvious... but I'd feel too much like a loser by actually typing out what it is so... yeah.

Sigh... it is already 12.58pm on a Tuesday... thesis is due in 4 weeks, and I am far too tired and downtrodden to get any substantial work done today.  Guess the day is still fairly young, we shall see what happens.  I've got a meeting with Sophie around 3.30... I chatted to her in the morning, she was her usual cool, bubbly self, and I was (due to the aforementioned above) pretty boring to be around... so I left in the hope I would be more cheery later on.

Here's hoping for better days.

The loop

It appears even in my rather frantic and neurotic state due to the stress that is writing an Honours thesis... I just can't bare to see my blog lay dormant.  Oh, also, this just occurred to me... I am sure everyone is sick of hearing about my Honours thesis by now ha! You know, my Honours thesis... as part of Honours for my University degree... that I have been doing since the start of the year... ok I will stop =P

Anyway in my sudden realization that the last few weeks has been dominated by talks of... you know what, in honesty it can't be helped.  I have my first official rough draft due this Tuesday, with the final published copy due by November 29.  That is not a lot of time at all.

Besides, I have always written this blog purely for myself (never in an attempt to gain followers), and I would like to document this journey to hopefully some day (in the relatively close future I would hope) be able to look back on this, and be proud of what I have accomplished.

Thus I would like to keep everyone (and myself) up to date.

With the typical me moment on Tuesday, resulting in (somehow) writing an awesome 1100 words on Wednesday, I started today (Saturday) with 4100 words in total. I had planned to spend the whole day with the objective of 500 words at minimum.... note to self: do not try and do Thesis work at my parents house.  There is just far too many distractions, food to eat, parents to argue with, lack of adequate work space... it has been a struggle just to sit down for 30 minutes without some kind of interuption. Sigh.

Oh well, I have another 2 hours before I have to head out (meeting a group of friends for dinner which should be awesome)... let's hope I can get that 500 words after all.

This is how you write a thesis!

On my continued quest to finish my Honours thesis by its deadline I am dedicating a few days of my week solely to its completion.  Yesterday's attempt... was a little unorthodox I admit, but highly effective!

Yesterday (Tuesday) marks a week since I really started writing my thesis.  At the start of the day I had around a meager 1000 words or so... the goal of the day was to not leave until 1000 words had been written.  Doable! (I thought).

It appears however, and this is easily backed up by many of my previous posts, is that I suffer from a severe case of procrastinitis (that word even made it into the urban dictionary, thus proving it is a very real disease =P). I even produced a documentary series of my struggle with the disease about a month ago when trying to write a report.

So, the goal was 1000 words... after sleeping in, getting to Uni late, chatting to Sophie for 2 hours, wandering around Uni, surfing the net, returning to Sophie's office again to chat some more, I had accomplished 200 words before heading home (booyah?). Upon arriving at home I figured I should have a relaxing night.  I made an awesome meal, sat down and had a beer... or two... or three. 

Four beers later I am buzzing immensely haha! I know, let's sit down and write my thesis!

...

I wake up the next day, not really sure what I got up to the night before...

Sigh, I wonder what damage I've managed to do in my drunken blur.  I open up my thesis, not sure what to expect... hmm, I actually have words written?  300 extra words!? Awesome!  Hang on, what's this part?.. they appear to be... song lyrics? Ha ha! Ok so 300 words minus the chorus of "Meatloaf - For Crying Out Loud" and it appears I actually managed to get a decent paragraph or two. 

A tad short of my 1000 word goal but words nonetheless.

I get to Uni, sit at my PC, hoping desperately that the day doesn't become a repeat to the previous.  By this stage I am looking at 2500 words in total... I need at minimum 5000 by the weeks end, preferably somewhere over 6000.  I check my emails before I begin the day.

What's this, two emails from myself? I vaguely remember sending them ha.  I open them up, they are links to published papers. Ok.. interesting... let's see if they at least have some kind of relevance to my research at least ha.  Interestingly enough, they do!  So much so in fact that that they are actually two of the most beneficial papers I have in my possession!

Wow, I can really use this stuff!

Long story short (after procrastinating until about 3pm), I left home at around 7pm with an impressive 1100 words written, bringing my total to a much more admirable 3500 words.

Now that's how you write a thesis!

Geelong

Sigh, I keep receiving fines lately... I received one for parking at my Uni without a parking ticket ($72) which I am still meaning to contest, I received the one I explain about below from my local council ($72), and just the other day I received a fine for not returning a book back to my Uni library in time ($110)... that is a lot of money for doing nothing ha.

Anyways, I am attempting to contest them all, starting with the one from my council. Basically a few weeks ago I received an official warning to remove my car from the nature strip, as I usually laeve it parked there which apparently is not allowed.  I then moved my car off the nature strip and onto the road... however I was lazy and parked on the road facing the opposite direction of the flow of traffic... thus receiving a $72 fine for that...

Here is what I wrote to them, I am quite proud of it actually and thought you readers might get a laugh out of it ha ha.

"On the 21/09/2010 I received an 'Official Warning' to remove my car from the nature strip of my house.  I wasn't aware that that was a law here in Geelong, so with no intentions to receive further fines nor disobey the law I promptly moved my car from the nature strip onto the road by simply reversing off the nature strip then onto the road.  My car then sat there idle as I went away for a conference. 

A few days later I then receive another infringement (the infringement in question) upon returning home!  I just think it is a little ridiculous that I was happy to obey the first infringement (once I was aware that I was disobeying the law) but then get slapped with a whopping $72 fine for an equally innocent offense. 

I am a Uni student, I try and drive my car as little as possible (opting to take the bus) as I struggle to work part time, pay rent and support myself financially.  To put simply I can't pay this fine easily.  On top of that, I fail to see how councils are to falsify their public image of 'revenue mongers' when they opt to charge their citizens with any fee they can.

Surely there are more pressing matters the council can concern themselves with.
http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2010/10/19/219691_news.html
http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2010/10/18/219571_news.html
http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2010/10/18/219531_news.html"

The links are articles from our local newspaper, linking to problems in our area that the council could instead be spending more time on ha ha! I thought it was a nice touch if I say so myself =)

Hopefully it gets me off the hook!

Cave dweller

It is an awesome sunny day today!  Sun is out, not too hot but not too cold, the gentlest of breezes, you couldn't ask for anything better on a Sunday, sweet!

Shame that I am stuck inside all day ha...

Surprisingly I have disciplined myself enough today to sit down and do some work on my Honours thesis... at the sacrifice of having to sit inside while the best day taunts me from my window.  I haven't achieved much to be honest, it is currently 4.16pm and thus far since waking up at 11.30am I have played 2 hours of Call of Duty, had breakfast, listened to music on YouTube for an hour, watched half a movie, and only managed to so far write 200 words.  Ha!

But, I am not annoyed nor disappointed with myself, because that is 200 words less to do, written on a day that I could of easily done other things.  As I blogged a few days ago I have changed my mentality in regards to writing my thesis, instead breaking it down into little daily 'word goals' to try to achieve. 

Today's goal was 400 words, I am confident that can be done =)

I have my first rough draft due November 2nd, that is only one week away.  After that my final copy is due November 29th... a little under 5 weeks.  That when you think about it is a very short amount of time... but I remain confident if I can continue to work on it constantly and consistently.

It pains me to see a nice day such as today drift by... but one month of suffering will be worth it in the long run I know.

Simple words

SMS received 8.50pm from Sophie: "How's the literature review going? ;). Good work on sorting your thesis structure out I look forward to reading it. Really do."

SMS sent 9.05pm from me: "hey hey, going good I reached my 1000 word goal, just left Uni then lol.  thanks so much for encouragement, means a lot to me =)"

SMS received 9.13pm from Sophie: "Good work! Yay. Well I believe you can be a published author with this work ;). Keep it up."

Simple words, completely out of the blue, can mean the world to someone.

And these words certainly did.

Thesis writing time

Today, thus far, has been a great although unproductive day.  It is currently 3.37pm Tuesday, I have been here (at Uni) since about midday with the intentions to spend the entire day writing my thesis.

Well, as I am sure you can guess from my terrible track record, I am yet to touch it lol.  I spent the last 3 hours chatting to an awesome new friend of mine Angel, one of my mates girlfriends.  She is really awesome, actually uses her brain for thinking, I find I can have great conversations about any topic, the more controversial or complicated the better. 

I really wish there were more people like that in the world.

Anyways, getting back to my topic in question... my thesis.  The process of my thesis has been going on for quite some time now, starting around March this year.  You can follow its process in its entirety here.  I myself refrain from reading it, as with only 4 weeks before my thesis is due, reading my past progress annoys me as I see all the countless, countless, hours I wasted over the months.  In essence I could of had it all finished by now and could be out enjoying full time work and guilt free weekends.

Instead, I am still here.  With all my assignments finished for the year this is the only thing holding me back.  It is my lazyness that forces me to still be here. 

My problem however has been an utter and complete lack of motivation to sit down and write it.  It is strange, because in all other aspects I have excelled.  I can, and gladly, do the researching, the surveys, the interviews, the presentations... it is just the act of sitting down and writing it that seems to get me stumped day after day.

Which is rather ironic as I seem to have no qualms writing pages upon pages on this blog haha.

Today, however, I think I might of cracked my problem.  The answer is untested as of yet, I will try it immediately after posting this.  I think my problem all this time is that I am great at small tasks, but terrible at large ones.  Solution?  Break it down!  With this new revelation in mind, I am going to put it to the test right this minute. 

As of 3.47pm, Tuesday, 19th of October, I have 395 words written.  I vow to have 1000 words before I head home tonight.  Could this be the answer I have been looking for?

Wish me luck!

Living the dream - Take two!

As I have expressed numerous times throughout my blogs life time, I have the desire to some day live in a city for a while.  I am not really sure of my exact reasons, in summary I guess I just enjoy the atmosphere that only a city can conjure.  The busy streets, the variety of people, the life style, who knows really.

Back in May I was lucky enough to stay in the city for two nights for a workshop with the Apple University Consortium (Mac OS development) as part of my Honours research and found the experience to be quite enlightening to how life in the city may really be like in reality.

Luckily I again had the chance to stay in the city, this time for a conference, again allowing me to experience the city life once more =D

This conference was similar to the workshop back in May, focusing heavily on the new developments for iPhone/iPad's (it was an Apple sponsored event), which links directly with my Honours research as well as what is fast becoming a rather enticing interest of mine.  I would also like to mention that this all happened 3 weeks ago, thus showing how ridiculously busy I am these days for it to take me this long ha ha.

The conference itself was amazing, we heard some amazing talks from industry professionals and iOS developers from a huge range of backgrounds covering all sorts of topics from in-depth talks about memory management using Cocoa, to some absolutely incredible (and well presented) presentations on user interface designs, game control theory and small business/freelance testimonies.

One of my favourite talks was from a guy called Andre Pang who currently works for Pixar.  He told us his amazing story of where he originally started to how he ended up working for Pixar, as well as some great stories about his experiences at Pixar and the things he had learned along the way (keeping in mind this guy is only around 26 years old, he has gone a long way at such a young age).  Andre gave some irreplaceable pieces of advice, my favourite quote from him that I actually try to live by ever since was:

"Be interested, not interesting"

Basically what that means is, everybody loves to talk about themselves.  Which when you think about it is so true. Heck, me writing these posts every week proves that I like talking about myself, much like every other blogger out there.  Which don't get me wrong, it isn't a bad thing by any means (within moderation of course).  Andre's point was, in life you should try to have a very open, enthusiastic and outgoing view in life, to be interested in things (sports, music, hobbies), so when you meet someone and they are talking about something, if you are interested in what they are talking about, that person obviously gets to talk more about it, and it is a win win for both sides.

Anyways that was a rather bad tangent but I hope you get the point.  I thought it was wise words at least =)

All in all it was a great couple of days.  I met this super awesome guy from Perth (he is 23, Australian, but has taught himself fluent Japanese, how cool is that!), made an awesome contact at another University who has offered to help with my Honours research, and our table at the quiz night somehow managed to actually win the quiz ha ha (won a $25 iTunes gift card, sweet!). To top it off, I went to the conference with my super awesome Honours supervisor Sophie, who I always love spending time with so it was awesome to hang out for two whole days =)

I have another conference planned for early December, it goes for 3 days but this time will be in Sydney for an entire week!  Then, next year? Who knows, but there are some big plans on the horizon let me say that much.

Conclusion

I would like to write this small post to bring this insanely hectic week to a closure... =)

I am rather numb today... it is currently 1.20pm Sunday and I sit at the dining room table at my parents house (came home for the weekend, Mum's home cooked meals are the best!), and as I look outside on this nice sunny day, and take humour from the fact that I only got out of bed about 30 minutes ago and am yet to have breakfast...  I take comfort in the fact that I have no more assignments to complete =)

Sweet!

Which is to say, to continue on from yesterdays post, that I did indeed manage to complete the presentation that was required.  Although it was ridiculously painful to do so haha.  From the day before I didn't get to bed till 4am, slept till 12.30pm Saturday, then spent roughly 2pm to 9pm finishing the presentation... ouch.

Hope and morale were pretty stretched over the last few days, I seriously was concerned that I may not be able to complete this last remaining assignment (as you can read here), and while I did manage to persevere and finish it, it was admittedly not my best work ha.  But oh well, I tried. 

I can now smile at the fact that I could spend the whole day doing absolutely nothing (which I fully intend to do), and not have guilt at the back of my mind from knowing I should be spending my time working on a piece of work from a looming deadline.  A deadline I am most likely ill prepared for haha.

It has been a long year, but it is not quite over.  My thesis is due in about 5 weeks, something I have been struggling to write all year now (I am sure you are noticing a pattern by now, me and time management aren't very good friends haha).

I think I might spend some time today researching for my plans for next year.  Something I have been doing throughout the year, but at least this time I won't feel guilty for doing so =)

The doom is...

Over! Nearly! Kind of..! Well about 80% complete! Kind of! More like %65!

It is currently 1.22am on Saturday morning... I am still at my University and have been since roughly 10am... that's 15 hours! The reason? An assignment of course.

A few days ago I posted with what appeared to be a rather bleak outlook in regards to this last ever University assignment I had left, standing between me and my graduation from Honours.  You can read about it here.  The outcome?  I completed it... should I celebrate?  Not really ha ha.

In all honesty the report was rubbish, 4,288 words of... who knows really ha ha.  Whenever I finish a big report such as this I refuse to re-read it after I have submitted it, because in doing so I know I will find mistakes, which will form regrets, that will cause me to stress. So, once something is complete I understand there is nothing I can do to change anything so I am content to just walk away and wait until a mark is released =)

Why however did I say that I am not quite complete?  Well annoyingly so the report wasn't the only criteria... I also have to prepare a 15 minute presentation, highlighting the steps I went through, what I discovered, my results... yeah crap like that.  Sigh!

Oh well, I will do it tomorrow... waaaay too tired to think clearly right now.  The end is near!

Offically doomed

I can't do it.  It pains me to say it, but it is in all likeliness the truth... I just cannot complete this last assignment that stands between me and graduation from my Honours degree.

Sigh.

For the entire year now I have embarked on quite the challenge, after successfully graduating from my degree last year (Information Technology, majoring in Games Design and Development) with great marks I decided that one more year of study was needed for numerous reasons, and decided to stay for a postgraduate degree (Honours). 

Thus far it has been going great, last semester I got HD's (High Distinctions, a grade of 80% or higher) across the board for every assignment, report, literature review... so yay for that =)  It seems however that that trend of high achievement may go out the window due to a failure of concentration on my part... 

You see, back at the start of the year I was able to choose 3 Masters classes as part of my Honours year.  Awesome I thought, who knows what cool things I can learn!  What's this, a subject called 'Recent Developments in I.T'?  How cool of a class does that sound! Oh, it is only offered in the second semester and it is highly recommended you complete all your classes in the first semester so you have the second semester completely free to work on your Thesis?  Aww but, but, but with a class title as cool as that I just HAVE to take it!  Done!  I am going to ignore all advice from people much wiser then I and leave the class until second semester anyway.  Brilliant idea!  How could I ever come to regret that...

Well, turns out in my naive haste I didn't read the fine print of what this apparently 'coolest class of them all' that was 'Recent Developments in IT' was really about... and didn't realize the whole semester is spent on the extremely tedious and boring subject of Data Mining... ouch. 

It has turned into one of my most complex, demanding classes I have ever taken in my life.

So here we come to the final week of the semester, I have the final assignment for this class (coupled with a 15 minute presentation) due this Friday... and I have absolutely no idea what I am meant to do.  I feel completely lost, with no one to turn to.  It scares me to think that my perfect record of never failing not one piece of work in my entire schooling to fail on the very last one!  And even if I somehow manage to pass, it will completely ruin my HD streak for this year, something I have strived for with great intensity since before I even began.

The possibility to graduate not just 'Information Technology with Honours'... but instead 'Information Technology with First class Honours'!


About 5 weeks ago the first assignment for this class was due, and we all know how ridiculous that turned out... yet I somehow (as you can read in the linked post) managed to throw together a report in one of my biggest efforts ever, achieving an acceptable 73% grade.  I have 3 days until this second assignment is due... can I repeat my previous feat?

I have doubts...

One thing that I pride myself on is the ability to somehow stand up victorious when the odds are incredibly against me.  I have managed this many times before, with this assignment being by far my toughest ever.  I am about to go home now as I am terribly tired from being here all day, I will be here first thing tomorrow morning, I have come too far to let this go to waste. 

It is going to be a long 3 days!

It hurts so much its funny

I can't stop laughing, which hurts so much to do so, which makes me laugh more...

At this moment as I attempt to type this I am in pain from head to toe.  Self inflected though so not to worry!  With summer just around the corner I have finally stepped up my work out routine... well, not 'stepped up' but rather 'started' would be a more accurate description. This happens every single year though, winter comes around and I laze about... it starts to warm up and I realize I am not the fit shape I was last summer strangely enough ha. 

Thus far this week I have had 2 gym work outs, a game of mixed indoor netball and my weekly mixed indoor soccer game... too much too fast I am thinking, my upper body is the sorest it has been in a long time indeed... I nearly had a car accident on the drive home because I can't turn my neck very much lol.  I'm not kidding when I say it literally brings pain just to breath.

Oh well, it will be worth it in the not so distant future =D

Although I am scared about trying to get out of bed tomorrow!

Speaking of indoor soccer however!  A month or so ago I started playing mixed indoor soccer and am enjoying it immensely.  I'll be honest and mention the fact that we lost 6 straight games in a row, but managed to win our first ever game last week, 6 to 5!  And to top it off we played fantastically tonight and won our second game ever (and in a row), 10 to 1!  Woo go team!

Although to be honest we are absolutely terrible, but we play it for the fun so win win really.

Hmm, other than that... well as always I guess there is heaps of news to speak of, but I try to limit how much I ramble on this blog so I refrain from mentioning them all.

Well today actually was a pretty good day now that I think about it.  Sophie came back (she was away for 2 days) so it was as always just amazing to catch up with her, and actually got some pretty awesome stuff settled in regards to my thesis... well, lack of thesis but it's getting there haha.  I'm stuck with a Masters class that I need to do in parallel with my thesis at the moment and with assignment 2 due in 2 weeks I figure I should get a move on with that... which means the thesis is on hold for the time being.

On the plus side though, for said assignment 2 that is due I am tasked with developing a 'Network Intrusion Detector'... yeah I don't really know what it is either so don't worry haha.  I started it today and am rather happy to say that I did some of the best computer programming I have ever done =D  It was clean, complex, effective... it was awesome.  Yep, I am a nerd!  It is just good to see that I am always improving and it makes me excited for what the future can bring.

Anyways, not much more to say really without rambling on.  I think I might do some stretches, put a movie on then just lie very still on my bed until I fall asleep ha ha...

Thesis writing

Energy is draining fast... or maybe there was none there to begin with.  With only 4 weeks until my Honours thesis is due I am still yet to write any substantial amount of words.  276 words so far to be exact... out of an approximate 20,000 needed.... yeah...

I expressed about a month ago that I was lacking my work motivation, although this happens every single year so I wasn't really concerned.  This year, however, isn't an ordinary year.  A thesis is not an ordinary piece of work.  In fact, it will be by far my biggest single piece of work I have ever done on my own in my entire life.

Wow... that's a scary realization.

Yes I know, 'what am I doing here writing this post instead of writing the thesis' you may be thinking.  Sometimes a bit of a word spill helps so I thought I would give it a go.  Besides, my hope is that in a months time I can look back on this post, with a completed thesis submitted, and reflect on the journey and be proud that I over came the hard days such as today.

It is strange though, and I think I wrote this on the post I linked above, but usually when this happens I usually somehow get into a working mode when I really need it and miraculously just pump out massive volumes of work in an impressive amount of time, always achieving a high grade.  What is different this time?  Is it a sense of overwhelming that is hindering me from even starting?  Or is it just the fact that I am lazy and I need to just sit myself down and force out some work?

The problem there is that all my best work is always done spontaneously.  You may recall that big literature review that I wrote up in only 1 day just last month.  3,500 words written in one day, on a topic I know nothing about, I am happy to announce that I got a Distinction for my efforts.  Thus proving I work best on the run.

But this is a thesis, no way could I knock it out in 1 day.  Nor even a week.  Hell, I am even pushing it to try and complete it in 1 month as it is.  And then days like this arrive where I take the day off work, have unlimited hours ahead of me, and I waste it listening to music, chatting on gchat or blogging.

Oh well, for some reason, I am still not worried... I think something is wrong with me ha.  I have 276 words done so far, let's get cracking.

Blogging for the sake of it

It appears to be a full week since my last post.  That's... odd.  Is something wrong?  Not really, same old ups and downs I guess so I thought I'd pass the time and do some random pointless blogging... yay?

The preceding week was in fact one of my busiest, which when every week is insanely hectic that is really saying something... but I am not going to elaborate as it wouldn't be interesting to anyone other than myself.  However, I do always say that I write this blog purely for myself (which is true), but I guess I am in a generous mood today and would like to keep this semi interesting?

Or maybe I will just ramble to waste some time =)

Yeah, that sounds much more fun.

So... what's on my mind?  Lots of things as always. First of all I am listening to this song that is simply amazing, people like that inspire me.  If you give it a listen you must at least listen to the end part from 5 minutes onwards as it gets absolutely epic.

Moving on.


Sigh... this is my forth attempt at blogging over the last few days... I just cannot seem to organize my thoughts enough to get a coherent piece of writing together.  I have 3 unpublished posts full of ramblings, with this post this very minute not turning out any better.  Should I take it as a sign?  Alright, let's try and dot down my thoughts in small blocks...

Ok, what is on my mind?

Well for starters, my friends suck.  Which is a shame because I don't have many good friends to begin with.  The other day I tried to get them all out for dinner on a Sunday night, keeping in mind that we are all at a very busy stage in our studies as our year is coming to an end.  Of course, it doesn't happen.  Why?  No reason really.  One said he would get back to me and didn't, the other had gone out the night before and was apparently too tired, there were a few others I didn't even bother asking.

It just frustrates and saddens me as I have been living out of home since March now, and my 'friends' haven't even been to my house once... nor have they come visit me (I live about 40 minutes drive from them now).  Yet I have many many times driven down to hang with them...

Continuing on with that topic... this semester I became a tutorer at my University, something I was extremely excited about in conjunction with being rather proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone.  It is now week 11 and with countless 'yeah man I will definitely come have a look at your class' promises from friends, none came. 

I am starting to see a pattern...

Last year, I broke up badly with my long term girlfriend and had a friendship ending argument with my best friend of 15 years.  Before that fateful day, they were my world.  Sure I had heaps of other friends but as I summed up in this post that I wrote a few months back, none of them were in the 'best friend you can rely on for anything' group that these two were.

Perhaps it was foolish to invest myself in only two people?  I don't know... all I know is that ever since then life has been very hollow that's for sure.

Now, in this present day, company is scarce.  I spend far to many hours at home just wasting time by watching TV shows or playing games, waiting until it is late enough for bed time just so I can go to sleep in anticipation for the next day where I usually have work or Uni to attend.  My weekends aren't much better... I am either hung over and just watch movies, or I bum around trying to find something to do. The worst thing is how fast this all changed... it wasn't so long ago I would have a flood of text messages arriving, parties to attend, movie nights, clubbing. Now I feel like a complete outsider looking in on my own circle of friends... I guess moving out of home to be 40 minutes away doesn't help, but I didn't have a choice with that.

Just another Monday night I guess...

It should be mentioned here that whilst I feel abandoned by most, there is one person who has always been there for me.  Straight after my departure from my ex-girlfriend and ex-bestfriend I became friends with a girl who was best friends with my ex.  It is beyond words how helpful she was, I seriously owe her my life.  She picks me up from my lows, encourages me to go higher in my highs, and all for nothing in return. She may drive me absolutely insane at times, but my debt to her is endless.  Sadly she lives nearly two hours away and has a busy life so we rarely get to hang out, but the friendship is strong none the less. 

I am a big believer in fate, especially with the whole 'you never know' motto.  Every night before bed I always wonder to myself if the following day will have something exciting in store for me... and then the day arrives.  Random events that only seem to happen to me occur, funny stories to tell are experienced, an achievement I am proud of is accomplished, a complex thought to debate is conjured, a worrying concern is surfaced, and after all that I get on the the bus ride home and reminisce about the days events... only to have no one to talk to about any of those things.

Then I sit at home, and just before I go to bed, I think about what the following day has in store for me...

Not really sure if I should post this.  It isn't interesting to anyone else, and I am definitely not trying for sympathy or anything of the sort.  I just get this way sometimes, completely complex and cluttered, so a good spill of the mind can help. I have been this way for a very long time though, my posts on this blog have evidence of this since the beginning.

I guess I just thought things would be different by now, you know?

Back from my party... yay.

This is kind of part two of my previous post, the one written and posted about say... 8 hours ago? Seen here.  From that post you will see the story of how I lost my phone, for it to be returned by the generosity of a very kind girl where I was able to arrange for myself to pick up my phone from her house, and that I was about to head out to a party.  One that I was in fact extremely looking forward too.

I was in somewhat of a hurry when I picked up the phone the other day and felt bad (cause, you know, it is not everyday that people give back a pretty decent phone when they could easily keep it themselves).  So on the way to my party I stopped by the supermarket for some supplies and grabbed a box of mixed chocolates, drove over to her house (unannounced) and did a bit of 'Hey, I didn't get to say thank you properly the other day, so I wanted you to have these chocolates and receive a proper thanks from me' kind of lame ass thing that I guess is kind of built within the person I am...

Thankfully it wasn't awkward at all and she was actually genuinely appreciative of the gesture.

So... we are now at 1.40am... I am back from my party very early.  Sigh... waste. of. time.  There was heaps of people, the food was good and so was the location... just I don't know.  There was hardly anyone I knew, it was absolutely freezing and all the people I did know left extremely early (around 11.30pm).  Problem is that I had had about 4 - 5 beers in anticipation of having a nice long night with my mates... which obviously meant that when they all left early and I was left with no one, I had to wonder around like a loser for a while to sober up enough to drive home.  Yay...

As fate would have it, just like countless posts of mine in the past, I yet again met someone amazing when I least expected it.  This has happened so many times in the last few months, most recently being the stunning girl who grabbed my entire attention for unknown reasons, someone I still think about today. Tonight, however, I think I met someone who was just... exactly perfect.  She was cool, casual, interesting, smart... she was just completely honest and so down to earth, whilst still being gorgeous and fun.  Sigh.  But, please, don't get me wrong, I don't just fall for any girl I meet, I in fact have quite high standards.  Standards high enough that I don't often meet many girls who meet those standards therefore it is monumental when I meet one that does... let alone surpasses them impressively.

I chatted to her for ages (I can talk to chicks when I really want to lol), it was an awesome conversation although slightly soiled because of the fact she had some drunk douche hanging around who I assume could be her boyfriend... although I could not see in any way how or why.  This girl (Amy) was the cousin of the birthday guy Mark.  Now, Mark's family has quite large noses and as myself, Amy and her douche boyfriend were looking through photo albums of the family the douche boyfriend goes "Haha, Mark has quite a large nose... Ha I can see where you get your big nose from Amy".

What... the...?

Amy just didn't really say anything, but you could tell she didn't approve (to which I don't blame her). It just annoys me so much that douche's like that have these rare, amazing, cool girlfriends while guys like me (the guys who take the time to say thanks to a stranger for returning their phone) get to have these meaningful conversations, laugh and connect with these cool girls... and then drive home by themselves.

I know my time will come soon enough, it is just so disheartening to see these apparent opportunities pass me by week after week.  Time for bed I guess.

Another 'typical me' moment

Hmm, not sure how I get myself into these messes.. but alas they happen, very frequently, it just seems to be 'my thing' to have the most unlikely, coincidental events to occur.  I shall keep this one quick.

You may recall a mere 4 days ago I was a little down at how bad my luck seems to be lately, well this week adds 2 unlucky events to the list, although technically one of those eventually becomes mute... kind of.  On the Tuesday just gone, the day that was pretty memorable on its own, I drove to Uni for a change because I was running late (I rarely drive).  I arrive at Uni... had no change in my wallet so I couldn't by a parking ticket and not enough time to park at the free carpark (which has to be about 500m from the campus) so I risked it and parked in the ticket only spaces opting to put an old parking ticket (back from June 6th hehe) upside down on my dashboard in the hopes to fool any inspectors.

Well yeah... apparently the parking inspectors caught onto my foolproof scheme and booked me an impressive $72... sigh!

The next day was to be a very busy day.  My plans were to spend all day at Uni, go home (by bus) around 4.30pm, get changed into gym clothes, drive Jade (my housemate) at myself back to Uni, meet my sister who goes to the same campus as me at 5pm so I could collect something off her and then arrive at Jade's and mines spin bike class session at 5.15pm.  Easily doable, I've cut plans way closer then that before!

That idea didn't work out so well.

Along comes 4.20pm... whoops, better check what time the bus leaves to go home... damn, leaves at 4.22pm, that gives me two minutes!  I can make it! I packed up my stuff, give a hurried goodbye to Lee, run down 3 flights of stares, across the campus oval, down an embankment, up the other side, across the road, up over a flower bed to see that the bus hadn't arrived... win!  And as a side note, my fitness is definitely improving, I ran brilliantly ha!

Panting and staggering I slow down to a walk, do my standard 3 pocket hand tap (phone, keys, wallet)... hang on, wheres my phone? Check my other pockets... no phone.  Damn, is it in my bag?  Nope.  Aww man, I must of left it on my desk!

Back I run over the flower bed, across the road, down the embankment, up the other side, across the campus oval, up 3 flights of stairs to arrive back at my office... to which it was not there.  I had cargo pants on that day, an undesired conclusion was forming... it must of fallen out of my pocket whilst I was running... sigh.

By this stage it is about 4.35pm... my sister is going to be calling me at 5pm to try see where to meet up, and my housemate Jade is most likely going to catch the bus into Uni, thinking I had instead decided to just meet her there!

After about 10 laps of the oval, accusing 2 separate people of finding my phone that turned out to be their own phones and many sighs, I couldn't find it anywhere. Luckily Lee was still around so I used his phone to get into contact with my sister so she can drive me home.  Quite a debacle indeed... luckily I was able to log onto Facebook and Jade was online so I could tell her the situation and warn her not to come by bus.

Upon my sister and myself walking towards her car however (after a few more unsuccessful searches of the oval)... her phone rings, it was me!  Well, my phone =P

"Hey, yeah ummm I found your phone on the oval" said the girl on the line.

"Oh that's way awesome!"

"Yeah haha, so, what do you want me to do with it?"

Now, I guess I have a slightly negative view of humanity at times, because I said this. "Oh.. well, could I have it back please?"  As if to imply that she was going to keep it ha?

She cracked up laughing "Haha of course you can!"

She gave me her address and my sister drove me over... I was in a hurry so regrettably only gave a very brief hi and thank you (sigh... should of started a convo...).  We raced home, I got changed and Jade and I decided to do the 6pm boxing class instead, so everything worked out in the end I guess!

But yeah... what a ridiculously crazy hour...

I am about to head out now to a party right this minute, I was thinking of stopping by her house and dropping off some chocolates or something to say thanks.  Not creepy, is it? lol.

The hilarious thing was, when I turned my phone on the next morning, there appeared a picture of her and her friend set as my phones background haha!  That was definitely epic to say the least =D