Paramore concert

Un-freakin-believeable =D I sit here now as I watch some of the recordings I took of the concert and it lets me re-live the awesome experience that was seeing Paramore play live.

I'll start off a little backwards here and mention a negative... it was way too short, a mere 1 hour and 20 minutes which is pretty poor. This was made worse because of the fact that they were so good and time definitely flies when your having fun... but besides that, I have nothing remaining but positivity!

I went with my good mate Martyn as we are both pretty big fans of the band, I remember the day we bought the tickets all the way back in November and it was a struggle to wait all this time as we counted down for the big day!

Now unlike the Taylor Swift concert that I went to a few weeks back, to which I complained that she didn't sing a few songs that I would of loved to hear, Paramore had no such problems in that regards. On the contrary it is safe to say that they played all my absolute favourites of theirs which just made the whole experience that much more outstanding!

Hayley Williams (the lead singer) is simply amazing, her voice is incredible! I said it about Taylor Swift, and I will say the same here, they are both the type of singer that can sing live just as good (if not better) then they do on their albums. Songs like 'Careful' and 'The only exception' that have a few long and high notes were sung with amazing precision.

I think my face nearly exploded from the smile that was on my face when they started playing 'The only exception' as that is one of my all time favourites, as well as 'Decode'! I was lucky enough to get a decent quality recording of 'Decode', 'Careful' and 'The only exception', I am listing to the recording of Decode at this very moment =P

Paramore are best known by their songs 'Misery Business', 'Decode' (as it is shamefully the theme song to Twilight) and 'Brick by Burning Brick' from their latest album. I am not much of a fan of their well known songs (I very rarely am for any band I like, strange), but most people usually are, so when they played 'Misery Business' it was so sweet how crazy the place went. Everyone went absolutely nuts, I think there was even a time in there when I was questioning the strength of the buildings foundations, wondering if it would collapse or not haha. Martyn and I only managed to get seats which turned out to be a bit of a bummer as the energy down on the floor looked amazing.

As with every concert I go to I always buy a band t-shirt (besides Taylor Swift that is lol). I know they are terribly over-priced but it is just the whole stigma of 'owning a shirt from the concert' that gets me every time haha.

All in all it was well worth it and Paramore have definitely secured their spot in my 'favourite bands of all time' list. Their new album 'Brand New Eyes' was on a continuous loop in my car for a solid 4 weeks, I highly recommend. If I had the chance to see them again I would.

Feel free to steal any pictures!

P.S Hayley is hot =)

'Instructional' Writing

I was searching my computer the other day and came across a bunch of stuff I wrote when I was back in Highscool. I came across this... interesting, piece of work I wrote in English. The task was to write an Instructional Writing piece, and.. I don't know, I guess I thought I was some kind of expert of girls lol?

I can't recall exactly when this was, either year 8 or 9, and I can't remember if it was before my first serious girlfriend or during. This is completely un-edited, word for word is original. I didn't want to post it but Sabbi and Martyn insisted. Enjoy lol.

Instructional Writing
'How to pick up a girl'
by Aaron

1) Present yourself nicely, pop your pimples, comb your hair, shine your shoes and finally brush your teeth.

2) Best to bring some friends along too, to pull you out if you get into trouble, like accidentally saying hi to someone who you thought was a woman from behind, but was a different story when they turned around, it can be dangerous out there.

3) Once you think your looking good enough, you probably wrong, so best to get a second opinion, remember first impressions count a lot to your unlucky victim.

3b) But getting the right opinion is very important, you don’t want someone who automatically thinks you are the most handsome in the world I.E YOUR MUM! You want someone who will be brutally honest, your mates!

4) Once you get bagged like crazy about how stupid and dorky you look, according to your mates, you then know you are right to go. Chicks love the look which guys think is dumb.

5) Get in your car and head off. But where to go? The destruction derby of course! Ha as if, for a good supply you’ll need to be a bit more adventurous, which means you need to go to a Night Club.

6) Now go to a fairly flash club, but not too flash. Once in, you’ll probably realize you have plenty to choose from, but also learn that you have plenty of competition. This means your going to have to stand out.

7) Stroll in and take a seat at the bar with your friends at your flank, and relax to take in your scenery to become better prepared. Take your pick on who to try your luck on first, but you better choose at least 5 possible candidates, because getting a girl is very tough indeed, so best to have back-ups for when you fail. Yes the truth hurts, you will fail!

8) Once you’ve chosen, there are a few steps to take. WAIT! You can’t go yet you fool!

b) Stay where you are. First, and most importantly, make sure she isn’t taken. One, it can make for an unnecessary embarrassment which isn’t the first impression we are hoping for. And two, also can course some unnecessary injuries.

c) Also see if she has girlfriends with her, which is most likely the case as they seem to travel in packs. If this is the case, best not to go in alone, it is hard enough to try and impress one girl, but that becomes extremely harder if you have to impress her friends too!

9) But first off, first impressions count a lot, so you’ll need to plan your pick-up line. Plan your pick-up line carefully, a classic line could be good, because it is proven to work but a new creative line could work wonders because it shows your different and ummm….exciting?

10) Once that is done, it is time to move in. If it is a group of girls, bring your friends along too, so they can distract the others while you can focus on your target. Unleash your line, but first say a friendly ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ if your not planning on using a line, other wise, start off with your line straight away. But please do not use something corny like ‘Hello baby, I got the engine running and it is hot for you’

11) Now, with that done, you’ll either get rejected, and if that is the case, you move on to your back-ups. But, if you were smooth enough to keep her interested for more then 3 seconds, your in! So don’t blow it yet. Stay interesting, you don’t want her to find out how much of a bore you are, so a little exaggeration here and there in your stories work a treat. A small sympathy story might be good to, but don’t over do it.

12) After a while of chatting, if everything is still going smoothly, ask her to dance, but make sure it is a song you can dance to, well dance good enough to that you aren’t stepping on her feet or elbowing her in the ribs. So, at the right moment, ask her, and lead her to the dance floor, only take her hand if she gives it to you, don’t want to move to fast, she’d freak out.

13) Now with this part, it all depends on how much of a skilled dancer you are, if you are, like most guys out there, very hopeless, then do not try anything even slightly fancy! It will most likely even up in tears. Stick to the basics, don’t get to far from her, but not too close, and don’t let those other shifty guys try and ask her to dance, you worked hard to get this far.

14) By this stage, if is still with you even after your dorky pick-up lines and jelly like dancing, you must of somehow made an impression on her! Continue chatting, and don’t do anything unless she suggests it.

And that is the end of the ‘How to pick up’ instruction manual.

I'm famous yet again!

It really seems like the world just can't get enough of me, I am popping up everywhere lately. Here's the latest!

First was what I know was not a coincidence, and my Facebook profile was on the Hamish and Andy.com website. Secondly I was awarded the highly prestigious and sort after award that is the Beautiful Blogger Award, it is awarded to 15 people each time to only the absolute best bloggers around so it is obviously a big deal, and now this!

In my most recent thrust into the spotlight, I was on TV!

That's just one step away from having my own talk show you know.

I'd like to thank me, myself and I, for just always being there, supporting me through the hard times. It isn't easy to become famous, it doesn't just happen you know, it's not like one day your just a simple average joe, then the next your a global phenomenon. Without you 3 to rely on, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Here are some screenshots of myself in the spot light. As you can see I was a guest star for the show, but I like to keep a low key to avoid the attention of my screaming fans:

Eating a hotdog on national TV, how many people do you know can say that! Damn I am classy.

Look at that good looking guy to the left in the hat with the sunglasses on his head! Oh wait, that's just me.

Please know that while I was jumping around with my goofy smile, I did not know that they were talking to a cancer survivor about cancer... my bad!

To view the whole film clip go here!

Who knows where I will be next.

Yes I am that awesome

Today I was lucky enough to receive an award for my obviously superior blogging abilities... about time. But, I guess even the greats of our times were not fully appreciated for the magnificent work they did on the get go... better late then never. In other words... yay me!

I am beautiful aren't I.

Basically the rules of this award are:
-You must be awesome. Check!
-Be a favourite blogger of the awarder. Check!
-Have a blog. Double check!
-Say thanks to the one who awarded you with the blog. In progress.
-Pass the award onto 15 others. In progress.

First on the agenda is to thank the person who presented and judged me worthy of the award, and that would be Martyn from Vegemite Saga! Thanks Martyn, I feel honoured! He writes some good stuff so I highly recommend having a look =)

Now the rule is to pass it onto 15 other bloggers that I feel deserve the award... but I think 15 is too many as it starts to loose its appeal when that many people are winning every time. It feels like when your in a poor sports team, and no matter that your team lost every game of the season in the most embarrassing way, you all get to walk away with a 'Participation award' so everyone can feel like a winner... Look mummy, I'm a winner! Not on my blog your not.

If your good, I will reward you =)

And my receivers in no particular order:

A Book Unfinished - A fantastic blog about all things books, literature, young adults, fiction, writing, publishing... you get the drift. She doesn't post very often but when she does it is guaranteed to leave you pondering and wanting more.

from cold to fire - A brand new blog that is only a few weeks old from the lovely Lauren. Her theme currently seems to be 'life' and she has a way to dive that little deeper to reveal what is under the surface and isn't afraid to share her inner thoughts and dreams.

Mr London Street - This guy is a legend of the blogging world with a legion of 1000+ followers. He is one of those bloggers that actually knows how to put words down on paper in a way that makes you feel a little lost whether it was his memory that was being told or if it was in fact one of your own memories.

Sabbii's Artwork - If you'd like to see some talent, this is the place to go. The artworks on this page look ridiculously good and if I didn't know this artist in real life I would question if it was indeed her own artwork and not artworks stolen from movies like Lord of the Rings.

Another Ninja in a Mazda - A great little known blog with completely random topics, it is always a good read to spice up your day. I am still laughing at the post 'Exit Row Hero'... classic.

I have some other bloggers that I really love but they have already won the award so I can't award it to them twice. You can find my absolute favourite blogs to follow on my sidebar, but a few especially outstanding ones are:

Hyperbole and a Half: This blog has made me cry with laughter in the past, I highly recommend (Spaghatta Nadle!)

Steam Me Up, Kid...: One of my all time favourites, some of her posts have made me literally fall out of my chair laughing!

plentymorefishoutofwater: Mr Fish is absolutely hilarious, I am confident you will like this blog as much as I do.

Well there you have it, my first award... I feel a little giddy!

An Honours meeting

Today was a great day, I had a meeting with my Honours supervisor to discuss and prepare what I will be doing for this year and ultimately what my thesis will be about.  Exciting stuff indeed =)

It also helps to have the best Honours supervisor ever, Sophie!  A supervisor is basically a member of the faculty who will work with you throughout the year, offering the usual like advice, tips and general collaboration.  I am very grateful to have her as she really knows her stuff, not to mention that she is damn awesome =)

For all who are out of the loop (yes my life is that exciting it requires it's own loop =P), I graduated from my University degree last year and have decided to go for Honours.  Hmm, but I guess that may be different to other counties, I am pretty sure Honours is the equivalent to a Masters degree elsewhere... but don't quote me on that.

Honours goes for an extra year and is counted as post-graduate study.  The way it goes is 3 years of study for a Bachelor degree, 4 years for Bachelor with Honours/Masters degree (there is a slight difference between the two) and then anywhere from 7 to 9 for a PhD (aka Doctorate) .  But again, don't quote me, the whole system is rather confusing and contradictory but I am confident it is the general idea at least =)

I decided to stay an extra year for a considerable amount of reasons, it was definitely not a decision taken lightly as choices now will affect my future drastically.

To begin with (but not a dominant factor) was that I really enjoyed my course from start to finish.  While we all have those moments and classes that suck the very life force from you, not to mention teaches that can have the same effect (it is hell on earth when the two are combined!), overall I enjoyed by far the majority of my time spent there.  This includes the teachers, students, subjects, topics and the work (both the practical and the theory), I found it rewarding, challenging (but not unreasonable) and at times a lot of fun.

Secondly is that I always put a lot of emphasis and thought on where I want to be in the future.  I have always had ambitions to make it big, live large and have no regrets when I turn 30 and look back at what I have previously done with my life.  Now when I say that, what may spring to mind are ambitions such as 'become a millionaire before turning 25, live in New York and own a boat'.  While that would be nice don't get me wrong lol, I have not set my sights that high, not at all (although I do plan to move to New York when I can).  I dream of smaller goals (that mean a lot to me) such as a job where I can travel, one where I can strive to rise a few ranks, one that I can be proud of.  Alas, jobs like these are hard to come by and are even harder to obtain, so a curriculum vitae with 'Graduated with a Bachelor of Information Technology with Honours' printed under education is another step to put myself a head above the rest.

Lastly and arguably most importantly (to me at least) is that, while I have finished a 3 year degree only a few months ago, I came out the end feeling that I hadn't learned as much as I should of.  I have expressed this concern to quite a few people (even fellow graduates) and everyone has assured me it is normal and not to worry.  My attempts to quell these thoughts however haven't left me entirely convinced that this is indeed completely normal, so I am hoping an extra year of both work and study will leave me feeling much more confident and satisfied in my abilities.

Regardless of my reasons, what have I got to lose?

Doing Honours is slightly different to a Bachelor degree in that your first semester consists of 4 subjects from the Masters degree (confusing I know, stay with me), with your second semester dedicated to your thesis.  A thesis with my understanding is a researched discussion about a set topic (usually related to your field of interest) detailing a question, theory or hypothesis with the aim to, in detail and backed by creditable research and evidence (either of your own accord or from reliable sources), come to a conclusion which may be a final answer or merely a suitable summary of your findings.

In other words, crap on for about 80 pages about a topic of your choosing =P  My apologies, I was practicing my 'thesis voice' lol.

It is rather exciting although could sound boring to most, but imagine having a finished piece of work of that magnitude complete, with the possibility for it to get published in a Journal for the world to see =)  That is something I will be striving for.

One last perk I will mention before I bore you no more.  As apart as being an Honours student, there is also the possibility of being a lecturer for some classes... how cool!  But equally scary at the same time..!  I was actually day dreaming about being a lecturer the other day but didn't know Honour students have the opportunity to do so.  It would be directly related to my field so technically I should know what I am going on about, and it will be for first year students which should make it easier even more so... plus it would look great on my resume'.  Hmm, think I could ramble on for an hour to some first years?  I seem to ramble pretty well on here lol.  Ok, I will suck in my nerves, I have decided I am going to do it =)

A huge year ahead, wish me luck!

Sabbi is trying to steal my fame!

Well well well, it appears ever since I became famous it has shown me who my real friends are...

Sabbi (who has far too many mentions on this blog... which I am starting to now realize was a mistake) is trying to steal the spotlight away from me to gain her own 'famous-ness'... traitor!  She just couldn't accept all the attention I gained from when I hit the spot light, there was literally 0's of people stopping me on the street, my phone was off the hook, I even had to change my identity...

 

This is how I now look... as you can see, it's not pretty.

I am telling you it is not as glamorous as it seems, the whole 'famous' thing... see that picture?  Note the giant scissors, they aren't for show let me say that much.  Those Samurai sword lessons definitely come in handy from time to time.  It you see me in the street, run.

But alas, Sabbi still thinks getting famous is a good idea so has opted to do something stupid like get herself in a business deal that could possibly see her very own design as the cover of an internationally selling new book... pfft... idiot.  It is a clearly a grab at attention seeking.  We will ignore you on purpose.  You can't grab fame, it must be earned.

I guess I should say... congratulations... as it could lead to her name underneath the authors with the title 'Illustrations by:' which would be seen by people from all around the world.  I guess she could put it on her resume' which would obviously be really impressive to have and will definitely help her for any future job prospects, as well as being a great story and a personal achievement to recall, and in short it could be the start of something amazing.  But yeah, whatever...

Do you really think you could hack it?  I think not!  Vote no for Sabbi!

--------------------

In all seriousness it sounds way cool, I even made a facebook page dedicated to her achievement, I think it sums it up nicely lol.

Click here for the 'Awesome' facebook profile (might need to login to Facebook to view the page)

Taylor Swift concert

=D

That is all.

Haha as if I could leave a post that short, you all know by now the subconscious rule I follow "if it isn't at least a page in length, it isn't a real post", or you could argue it is some kind of compulsion.  Regardless, it would be of great dis-respect to the great Taylor Swift if I didn't talk about her concert that I was luckily enough to attend the other night.

Which was awesome I must say first up =)

If you were to ask me what kind of music I generally like, I would mention bands the likes of Dream Evil, Rammstein, Taking Back Sunday, Rob Zombie, Slipknot, Circa Survive and my all time favourite of Blink 182.  If you know one or even some of those bands you will pick up rather quickly that they sound nothing like Taylor Swift lol.  So many people ask me, in a slightly concerned voice "Your going to Taylor Swift?... what, by choice?"

Yes, it was by choice.  I never have an answer really, but for some reason I really like her and her music =)  In my defence, I have had had 3 other male friends who have said to me that they wish they were going and if there were any tickets left, so yeah, take that judgmental readers =P

I went with Sabbi which always turns into a funny story to tell.  We wondered around like tourists in a foreign country as we tried to find out seats.  Eventually we narrowed it down and managed to find our row... then as you could guess came the highly awkward shuffle past the people who are already sitting down, while they frantically try to squash their legs, that were already cramped as it was, into an even smaller position then before, as you do the 'so so sorry', 'thanks so much', 'whoops was that your breast? my bad' routine...  funny thing was though as we shuffled along the row of seats we made it through the entire row and came out the other end to the stairs and noticed our seats were right there on the end haha!

Our seats turned out pretty good actually, especially as it was a completely sold out event within a matter of days of them going on sale.  We were right at the back but directly in front so with my glasses on it was a great view and the sound was nice and stereo.

My favourite part of the show would have to be when she played her classic songs.  Her first song of the night was 'You Belong With Me' which was absolutely fantastic to start off with!  The performance of 'Love Story' was amazing, hopefully I can post my recording of it on YouTube, it was really really well done.  The crowd as you would expect was going insane the entire time which was great because other peoples excitement and enthusiasm always rubs off on me.

I took some dodgy photos with my sisters camera, feel free to steal them if you so wish.  The guy next to me had a camera though rivaling that of a TV news crew!  In my photos you can just make out the colour of her dress, in this guy's shots I think you could count the freckles on her nose!

A highlight and definitely an unexpected but welcomed surprise of the night was when Taylor came out from one of the stairwell to preform a song mere meters from where Sabbi and I were sitting!  I would of loved to get closer but there was just no room, the entire stadium had crushed together to get a closer look.

The performance was simply awesome and what I loved most about it was the fact that she is only 20 years old and already has this much talent.  It will be exciting to see how she will improve over the next few years.  The amount of effort, training and preparations that goes into her show is very impressive to say the least.

My only disappointment of the night was the exclusion of some of the songs from her first album that I really wanted to hear.  She played some of the main ones such as 'Tim McGraw', 'Should've Said No' and 'Our Song'.  But where was 'Mary's Song' and of course 'I'm only me when I'm with you'?!  Ah well, can't have everything.

All in all it was an amazing night and was definitely worth it, the visuals were great (the stage completely changed for just about every song), it went for a respectable 1 hour and 50 minutes, it was a sellout crowd and Taylor is one of those performers that can actually sing live, some of the notes she held were incredible.  Plus she is pretty hot =P

Next up, Paramore!

Change of jobs?

Wow... this week just keeps on changing!  First there was dealing with Connor leaving, then there was the tough choices with moving out of home, now this.  In light of Connor's departure the morale at work has really dropped over the last few days.  It will recover eventually, just I don't think it can ever return to its former glory in full, but I guess that's life.

Anyways, Martyn (who seems to be taking Connor's departure on borderline man-crush lol), was on seek.com.au (a job search website) because 'work is now too boring to continue on and I may be interested in changing jobs' lol...

During his searches though he stumbled across a particularly good one which may be too good to pass up... yikes!

Currently I am a software developer for a pretty small company, which I do love but it doesn't offer any advancements options (which is something I would like to have the option of in my future jobs).  While having no advancement options has been perfectly fine while I was at University as I didn't really have the time available to strive to grow the ranks anyway, this is my last year of study so maybe it is time to start thinking about the next step in my career?

Ultimately my goal is to become a video games designer/developer... but that is a lot harder to get into then you might think, so that is a while off yet.  Besides, I have many other dreams that I want to pursue which may lead me away from that career path anyway =)

This job is titled Business Analyst... yes I know that sounds dreadfully boring by name, but in practice it is pretty awesome (I think...).  The reason why this job is so appealing though is because I would start as a junior position, which obviously implies there are senior positions =)  Something to strive for.  The other benefit is the location as their headquarters is in Torquay (located near Geelong, Victoria, Australia for my international readers lol).  Torquay is a fantastic place right by some of the best beaches Australia has to offer, I even considered living there over my summer break (which didn't end up happening lol).

Also (and this is a major point to take note of) the company I would be working for is Quiksilver Australia which is (as far as I know) a pretty large global brand.  This fits perfectly with my dream of moving to New York as I mentioned a while back.  Turns out getting a visa to be allowed into the US is a lot harder then I predicted lol.  But it can be made a lot easier if I already have a job lined up for me there.  Who knows, I could get this job, work hard for the next year, work my way up a little and possibly be eligible to transfer over to the states =)

So much to gain but equal amounts to lose.  I love my current job (well, kind of), plus I am starting my Honours degree this year, do I really want to risk leaving my great job for a potentially not so great one?  While also balancing all this with my University requirements?

The application had to be in by today so in an effort to buy myself some time I applied anyways and will see how it goes.  Hmm, all these monumental opportunities keep presenting itself lately, ones that will shape my future.  Do I go the safe route, stick with what I know?  Or do I take a leap, risk it all in the hope that it all turns out for the better?

Life is full of choices, and I am no where near wise enough to have the answers.  I guess making mistakes is to be expected and possibly even welcomed... has that just answered my question?

Only time will tell =)

Epic Toasted Sandwich Adventures! #1

I, like most other sane people on planet Earth, loves a toasted sandwich =D  Seriously I wonder why you would eat a non-toasted sandwich if the option of toasting it is available... well obviously some exceptions to that apply such as toasted lettuce which I do not recommend from previous experiences.

To show to the world my love of the Great Toasted Sandwich (yes it deserves capital letters to imply its significance) I am starting a new segment to document and of course, share my knowledge and experiences, into the science that is toasted sandwich making.

I have partitioned to the Universities for years that a course dedicated to this art is needed, but they still refuse, so alas I shall be your teacher.

Here at work Martyn and I (and the great Connor) are major fans of the Toasted Sandwich, but we are always striving to find something new, to enhance even further what is already a magnificent phenomenon.  The other day by chance (or fate even) a new recipe was thrown upon us by the most unlikely means that was just too good to pass up.

Martyn (who has his own blog here) uses Google Analytical which is a service that he uses to stalk his readers keep track on how many people visits his site (all 2 of them =P) , as well as how they came to be at his site (like, what link did they click that lead them to his blog).  Often times his blog is found as a result of a Google search (very weird searches lol)... and the other day he was found by searching for 'vegemite capsicum mushroom sandwich'.

At first we laughed as what a weird thing to search for, but then we realized that 'wow, that doesn't sound too bad!'  And so, we decided to make it.


Name: Vegemite, Capsicum and Mushroom Toasted Sandwich (TS)
Attempt to make: 1st attempt
Ingredients and order of said ingredients:
-Bread slice
-Vegemite spread
-Mustard (author's addition)
-Cheese x 1
-Capsicum (colour of your choice)
-Mushroom
-Raw onion (diced, author's addition)
-Vegemite spread (author's addition)
-Bread slice

Trust me, it tastes better then it looks.

Author's verdict: The vegemite over-powered the other ingredients a little so I would recommend to use a little less next time.  The mushroom went rather well toasted which I was a little surprised by, and matched well with the red capsicum and cheese, and in my opinion I thought the mustard was a great addition to add a whole new level of flavour to the already diverse range present.

Ways to improve: I would recommend to dice the capsicum as they are hard to break once you bite them and often come out whole.  As mentioned the vegemite was very potent so only a small spread is needed to get the desired affect.  The addition of some extra cheese might go well (possibly even some different varieties), as well as some different colour capsicums to extend the flavour range a little further, as well as a better sauce (I am unsure what as of yet, that's for next time though).

Rating: 3/5 Melted Cheeses

Moving out of home! (again...)

Well, I think I have finally overstayed my welcome at my parents house.  Last year I moved out of home for 6 months to be closer to work and Uni, an interesting experience to say the least.  I moved back home after my landlord kicked us out, with the original plan of staying for '6 weeks tops'... an entire Summer later I am still here haha... but with the Uni year about to start I think it's time I get my ass moving and start looking for a new place to live.  Sweet!

Living out of home is fantastic and I seriously recommend to any who have not done so yet (cough sabbi cough), not only is there the noticeable benefits such as, well the biggest one of all really that is FREEDOM, you will find ever slowly that it changes you for the better.  You start doing things differently then you remember, small things at first like managing your own dinners, organizing your time without your mum's help and persistence, keeping a supply of food available.

Before you know it you can cook things you've never even heard of before, your phone's alarm is your best friend and you can actually get up out of bed all on your own, and the people at the local supermarket know you by name lol.

It kind of hits you all at once (well at least it did for me)... it took a few months before it did.  You get home, your accustomed to it now so you were even organized enough to have the ingredients for dinner purchased the day before  You cook your own dinner (which you can now eat by the TV!  Unlike at home...), and as your washing your dishes (something you rarely did and always dreaded back at home) it kind of dawns on you that "Wow, I am out making it all on my own and am surprisingly doing an awesome job at it too!".

That's usually followed by a few beers just because you can =D

However... I hated my house mates in that house.  So many friends have moved out and they have awesome house mates!  One of my mates got a house warming party thrown for him when he moved in, another hangs with his house mates on the weekends at times, and I have heard plenty of stories where house mates have ended up best friends... mine however were dumbasses lol... but that's a story for another time.

The problem is like everything in my life it is never as simple as you would expect it to be.  This time I have two options:

-I can get a house with Jason (one of my best mates) and Massimo (a Uni friend of Jason and mine).  Now of course this would be damn awesome as how much fun would it be living with 2 good friends! Movie nights, trips to the pub, parties!  Although I have had a few people warn against this but I am ignoring them =P

-Move in with strangers.  Now this is what I did with my last house and it turned out terrible... but I have, as mentioned, heard of countless stories of friends who had awesome house mates and actually gained some friends out of it!  Tempting indeed.

So, I am at a crossroad.  Go the safe road and move with friends?  Or take the risk and move with strangers which could result in either terrible house mates (again), or gain some really cool friends out of it.  Choices choices, life is tough lol.

I am yet to decide... hopefully fate can decide for me =)

Farewell to a great friend

An era, one that I have grown with, has shaped me, that I have learned to cherish, has come to pass.  I have most likely mentioned this half a dozen times over the course of my blog (and I know I say it constantly in real life) but I really love my job.

To sum up briefly, I am a software developer for a small company.

It is a symbol of everything I want in life, as well as a testimony of everything I have worked for over the last few years in regards to my Uni degree, the extra work I put in.  It is rewarding, challenging and nearly the most fun thing you can be paid for.  Part of the reason I love it so much isn't so much the work, but the people.

It has been nearly 2 years since I began at my company, and it was exactly nearly 2 years and a week ago when Connor started working there as well.

Connor and I became good friends from the beginning, we had heaps in common, he was 1 year older then me so was perfect to chat to for advice on Uni, and was simply just great fun to be around.  In our early days we spent a lot of time swapping funny YouTube video clips, playing games on our breaks and whatever other pointless past times we could think of to make the day go that little bit faster.

Somewhere between that time a new guy started by the name of Frazier... long story short he was a douche and was not a fun addition to the office lol... so Connor and I stuck together still and I still continued to love my job (although not as much as I was soon about to!).  Eventually because of Fraziers' douche-y-ness he wasn't hired on when his contract expired so alas, he was gone once more and it was just Connor and I again.  Good times indeed.

But oh no!  With a spot now open it meant that inevitably we would need to hire yet again... I prayed he would fit in well.  Sadly my prayers were not answered and we were stuck with Martyn...

Haha jokes!  I know he reads this so I had to say it lol.

On the contrary, we were stuck with *Martyn =D  It had come to be, the trio was born.  The next 7 months or so were the most fun I had had in a very long time, the days at work just melted away!  In that time we invented numerous games involving a squishy ball, started the fantastic tradition of Pub Fridays (having a chicken parmigiana and beer during work hours tastes so good), laughed on an hourly basis and had morale in the office at the highest it has ever been the entire time I have worked here.

I went to bed genuinely looking forward to heading into work the next day, which has to be a very lucky thing to have indeed.  But, as all things in life (as I have learned especially last year), all things come to an inevitable end.  Connor due to his skills secured another, more prestigious job working for the government in Canberra as part as a post-graduation position.  His last day was Friday just gone, today is Monday morning, and I sit here in the office which I once knew to be my second home, which now feels cold, grey and unfamiliar.

It is the same four walls with my posters, same squeaky swivel chair, the all too familiar computer that restarts itself randomly, my keyboard with cheese stuck under the space bar, my phone with my name on it... these things that I once used to look at with comfort now seem anything but.

A new guy started today, he has some pretty big shoes to fill that's for sure.  I will give him a fair go of course, maybe things can work out after all... although I am not hopeful from my initial vibe.

Times are changing.



*Martyn also has a blog!  Read it here I recommend =)