| Validation is a long time coming |
[14 Nov 2007|11:44pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 thankful |
] |
I spent most of today cleaning out my study room, throwing away a lot of old school assignments and such. I read some of my ones for English and I noticed I kept getting the comment that I have "a strong sense of voice" and that I write "quite fluently".
I'm quite pleased about that. No, more than pleased... I'm downright relieved. As any writer is, I've always been iffy about my own writing, not believing it's all that good. I mean, I've never known whether I can even legitimately call myself a writer. Comments like that just confirm to me that I'm on the right track, that I shouldn't just give up, but keep going, keep honing my abilities. I know I have a way to go. I don't get nearly enough practice at writing to show much development.
I mean that's what I like about this blog. It's forcing me to actually sit down, every single day, and just do what a writer should do: WRITE. I sometimes feel a bit like a character in this online comic. He goes around telling everyone he's a rock star, listens to a lot of music, stands around with an electric guitar, writes lyrics... but he never actually performs on stage. Somehow all his buying into the hype is enough to convince him that he actually is a musician, when he's really just living the image.
Can I really call myself a writer? Every major thing I've written has always been inspired by someone else's universe, not a unique world I've created myself. I know I'm doing something right though, judging by the feedback. I mean my friend posted something I wrote for her work online and there were some really lovely comments about it. Gives me a little kick to know I'm actually reaching people.
Yet it's not enough for me to just bask in the warm glow of praise. I need to use it to fire my courage, my conviction, to take the next step into my own characters, my own stories. Will next year be my year, where I actually pen some of the ideas floating in my head? I hope so. I pray so. Will faith and belief be enough to carry me through? We'll see, we'll see...
|
|
| Do you want free rice? |
[13 Nov 2007|10:55pm] |
|
No, not for yourself! For the noble, perhaps over-idealistic purpose of ending world hunger. Check it out at the Free Rice website. You get to play a vocab game and for every word you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice through the UN to poorer nations. The game itself is kinda addictive, though I can't seem to get above Level 41.
You know, I've been eating it all my life, but it was only recently that I realised that the funny looking bits scattered in the rice we ate was barley! I just thought it was a different kind of rice, but no, my mum's been feeding us a variety of grains it seems. Makes me feel kinda like a chicken...
Anyway, I've been trying to limit my rice consumption in the interests of health. How is one supposed to stick to low-carb, low-GI foods when one is Asian? Rice is a staple part of our diet! Brown rice is nowhere near as nice as white rice either...
I really can't believe I spent a whole blog entry talking about rice. Then again, I didn't think you could have a 15 minute conversation about salt either. I've been proved wrong on both counts it seems...
|
|
| Goodbye Academia! |
[12 Nov 2007|08:33pm] |
Today, I finished my last university exam EVER. Well, maybe not forever, as I still see a postgrad course lurking in my future.... but still! No more frantically scribbling away during boring lectures, no more long, obscure readings, no more late-nighters and cramming for exams. I won't have to hear the names Foucault, Bourdieu or Habermas weekly. No more theory, hallelujah! Practical work all the way!
Oh, you academics. I've looked on you suspciously, been absolutely confused by you and dreaded meeting your work again. Yet I've also been inspired by your thought provoking words, been amused by the way you gleefully make up titles ('Look at moiye, Kimmie, look at moiye!' - not lying!), even fangirled you! How awesome a surname is Ben-Ze'ev (pronounced BEN-ZAY-EV)? How amazing is danah boyd for legally changing her name to all lower case? I can't believe Howard Rheingold paints shoes, SHOES I tell you!
University, I can't believe how much you have changed me. In the future, I think I'll discover more and more of what you've given me, things which maybe I don't see now. Farewell my sandstone protector, mentor, teacher, friend, I bid you adieu...
|
|
| Does this make me lame? |
[11 Nov 2007|08:42pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 blah |
] |
I have a confession to make. I watched "High School Musical" (no, that's not the confession part) and going I can't believe I'm watching this teenybopper crap, I'm in my 20s now dammit. Yet when I heard about the sequel, I found to my horror that I couldn't wait to watch it. What the hell was going on?
If this whole HSM thing was on 5 years ago, I think I probably would have loved it and would have gladly jumped on the bandwagon. I mean I adore musicals, I do - Grease, Moulin Rouge, hell even A Goofy Movie (it had great songs okay, leave me alone). So maybe that's why I find myself reluctantly dragged into the HSM phenomenon. Also, the main characters are so damn cute together. Damn them and their sickly sweet romance.
So yes, I've watched the second one now, but luckily I feel no excitement about the third one, phew. For surely that would get me the gold medal for ultimate lameness. If I don't have it already, of course...
Meh.
|
|
| The rapture is upon me |
[10 Nov 2007|10:36pm] |
Who will show me the beauty of poetry? I find it more through song and prose than through plain verse. Is that a shortcoming? Does that mean something is wrong with me?
I share with you now the only poem I have written that I feel is worthy to be shared. Read it at will.
Trapped
Imprisoned in the bars of my mind
Sinking deeper into
A place of
Broken hopes and broken dreams
Where fears are resurfaced
To fall gently onto
My outstretched hand
Like a snowflake from
The icy winter
While my prison grows darker...
|
|
| Welcome to the family |
[09 Nov 2007|08:42pm] |
This entry is dedicated to my sister's shiny new macbook. May you bring an end to her reigning monopoly on my laptop.
Work today was unexpectedly eventful... A new employee! An awesome marshmellow cake! The longest discussion on salt ever! Then there was the lunch time drama over ordering from a nearby cafe - somehow I ended up spending 20 minutes figuring out 8 people's orders (including my own), all under the watchful eyes of my boss. They had to carry it over in a big cardboard tray (previously the home of mangoes). That was the first and last time I dabble in office catering.
Also, have discovered hilarious new website that made my sister close her door to block out my endless giggling: Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures - I Can Has Cheezburger?
I leave you with a small selection to whet your appetite...
moar funny pictures
moar funny pictures
moar funny pictures
Bon Appetit!
|
|
| Follow the yellow brick road |
[08 Nov 2007|08:56pm] |
What an adventure I had today on my afternoon walk!
"It's only snakes on a plane, c'mon" graffiti! Tiny flitty birds! Disappearing squirrels! Friendly stray dogs! Getting lost and ending up back where I started! A waving child pushing a stroller the same size as he was!
If all my walks were as awash with pop culture references and wildlife, I'd probably be more likely to exercise. As it is, I'm determined to explore more of my area, it's so much fun to do and you end up finding the most unique little spots (mini forests woo).
Also, I bought a second hand bag today specifically for swimming... Surely this will inspire me to start going :)
Anyway, off to sneeze away during the latest "Heroes" episode!
|
|
| To travel across distant seas |
[07 Nov 2007|05:33pm] |
I strangely love holidays. Strangely, because even though I always come back from trips exhausted, ill, sunburnt and ultimately much poorer, I'm itching to set off again before long. There are so many places to travel in the world that I'm worried I'll never get to them all in my lifetime. That's the way I'm planning my future, by what holidays I'm going to take.
So at the end of this year, I'm going on the obligatory post-graduation trip to Europe. I'll be covering all of Western Europe plus Prague and I'm thrilled I'll get to visit so many different cities and cultures at once. I know it'll be physically tough - all the trekking, the cold weather, lugging my bags around - and I'm both looking forwad to it and dreading it at the same time. I'm only disappointed I won't get to visit Greece - how amazing that would be! I can always save that for another trip though ;)
I'm already thinking of where to go next year - Byron Bay for instance. I need to take a relaxing holiday, one where I get to just lie on the beach reading a book most of the time, occasionally doing something a bit more strenous like swimming or snorkelling, then retreating back to my cosy beach haven again. New Zealand is also on my list - Lord of the Rings tour, here I come!
In the future, I would love to go to Africa with my friend Meg - with our shared love for Egypt, we could tour the pyramids, then go on safari, photographing all the beautiful wildlife out there. Of course, I need to inform her about this first - she has no idea I'm planning her future for her :)
I want to travel for a particular purpose as well - shopping! I would go to Singapore or somewhere with an empty suitcase then just buy up big and come home with a whole new wardrobe. I wouldn't be able to go shopping for the next year, but it would be worth it :)
Also it would be amazing to visit the US, squeezing in daytime sight-seeing in between going to all these concerts by my favourite musicians at night. I would definitely spend some more time in New York though - a uni friend just went recently and she seemed to fall in love with it.
I want to follow one of my Chinese friends to China and force them to take me around everywhere, to visit Beijing, the Great Wall, go shopping, try out the local cuisine... then I'd take them to Korea with me and show them around. It would be such a fantastic cultural exhange :)
Of course, there's other Asian countries - I particularly want to visit Thailand (for the food!) and maybe even Japan, who knows! I'd like to go on a cruise too, visiting islands with beautiful clear waters.
I don't understand people who don't want to travel - there's so many amazing places out there, waiting to be explored. Who doesn't want to take a break from the daily grind, have a chance to unravel and ignore all the responsibilities and stresses of home? If there's anything that gives you greater understanding and resilience, leaves you with treasured memories and leads you on crazy adventures with unique characters, it is travelling.
|
|
| I have a headache |
[06 Nov 2007|07:14pm] |
It was Melbourne Cup today. My workmate won $3 in the intra-company betting sweeps. There was a mini-party in the other office (the more corporate one) and so we went to steal food and came back to our office. It started raining hard so our boss was stranded over there. I was happy and bludged off for awhile before he came back. I found the satellite photo of my house on Whereis. I was disappointed not to see Lucky on it, though he would only have appeared as a small white speck.
Time for dinner and a nap zzz...
|
|
| Watch where you're going |
[05 Nov 2007|09:51pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 sleepy |
] |
Do you get annoyed when everyone starts jumping on a bandwagon that you've been on for awhile already? I do, sort of. I'm glad when something I really like starts getting the recognition it deserves, yes, but then it becomes 'mainstream' and public property, up for everyone to rip into, and suddenly it's not so sacred anymore.
I'm especially wary of film adaptations of my favourite books. I'm so glad that "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" stayed true to the original book, it was wonderful to watch. Yet a story like that is ideal to film - a straight, linear narrative with universal and familiar themes.
That's why I'm so worried for "The Golden Compass" movie. For that series is much more complex than the Narnia books, both in its characters and plot, with controversial themes and lots more intrigue and ambiguity. I'm not so happy after seeing the trailer, for I didn't imagine some of the characters that way (though Nicole Kidman was a good casting decision). It seems they've gotten carried away with the epic fantasy elements, the talking animals, the adventures at sea, and forgotten that at heart it's the characters that count, their inner struggles, their achievements, their conflicts with others.
Yet I'm eagerly awaiting seeing this world I love come to life. I'm just hoping they don't kill it in the process.
|
|
| This is not the end |
[04 Nov 2007|07:51pm] |
Exam study is slowly driving me mad. I start off well, more or less dedicated and hardworking, but then the days start dragging on and you lose steam and start getting distracted and you just want it all to be over. Yesterday, I actually found myself sorting my backlog of weekend newspapers - talk about procrastination. Luckily though, two of my exams are on tomorrow (and what wonderful weather I shall have - rain, oh joy) and then I'll only have one left, my last university exam ever in fact! I'll be getting back into the routine next week anyway, going back to work, hopefully starting to swim regularly...
Boy, there's something wrong with the world when product placement invades your dreams. Interestingly, when I dream about 'home' or 'school', it's usually never my current house or university, but a previous house or primary school. So in my dream, I was at my old house and a van was driving around, throwing a multi-pack of JJ Chips (yes, the exact brand I tell you) in each yard. They passed my neighbour's house and I, watching from some sort of stairs nearby, seriously contemplated running next door and stealing their chips, before the van made its way to my house and I finally received my free chips. A happy ending for all.
Hmm, it seems my dreams are becoming alarmingly food-centric lately... I wonder what Freud would say to that? ;)
|
|
| A sorry state of affairs |
[03 Nov 2007|08:14pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 thoughtful |
] |
I read a quote from an actress today that made me sad and pity her greatly. She said that because she was a drug addict when she was younger, she has no interests now she is an adult.
No interests? I can't imagine a life like that. Nothing that gets you passionate, gets you fired up? Gives you a great range of experiences and achievements? She's missing out on what it is to be human, the very fact that we can have these deep abiding passions and interests around certain events and activities and hobbies. They give us joy, hope, pride, something to build our lives around.
Where would we be as a race without interests? If people didn't follow different paths into science or engineering or the arts? If people didn't follow their ideas about space travel, environmental conservation or portable technology? We wouldn't have the thriving, diverse, innovative world we live in today.
As fully thinking, feeling human beings, I think it's imperative to cultivate our interests, to feed the rich mental worlds that exist in our minds. For that's where all our creativity, our hopes, our "impossible" dreams come from. And look where that's brought us today - the ability to cross vast seas and lands, to send people up into space, to chat to someone from halfway across the globe.
There are so many more opportunities on offer than ever before and it seems a waste to let life just drift by without rushing out and grabbing some of those chances before they disappear.
|
|
| Have you seen this dog? |
[02 Nov 2007|05:45pm] |
WANTED
Lucky, the Lizard Killer
Killed: 2 blue-tongue lizards (the most recent just last week!)
Injured: 1 lizard. 1 Maltese terrier.
Don't be fooled by his "I'm a gentle soul who only wants to be loved" act! Can be identified by an inability to keep his head and body still when wagging his tail, and an inbuilt alarm clock mechanism (will whine daily at 5pm for his dinner).
Approach with caution!*
*If you're a lizard. Otherwise, he's a total pushover <3
|
|
| Truth is stranger than fiction |
[01 Nov 2007|09:30pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
amused |
] |
So last week sometime when I went for an afternoon walk, as I like to do, I passed an unchaperoned dog hanging around by the sidewalk. I stopped and looked at it and it looked back at me with its solemn eyes. It had a collar around its neck, so I bent down to check the tag and see if I could reunite it with its owner. For some reason, the owner felt the most logical name for a cute, little, black Scottish terrier puppy was Butch, complete with a collar that spelled out the name in diamante-covered letters. Why the bling? Was Butch destined to be a rapper? "Yo this is B-Dog, keeping it real in the Hills"?
Well, while Butch was very cutely peering up into my face with one paw on my knee, I checked the address on his tag. It turned out he lived on the very street I was walking along, so I thought hurrah, this is my big chance to rescue a lost dog. I called Butch to follow me, walked past some tall trees and lo and behold, it turned out we were right in front of his house. The trees had been obscuring my view of his owners, who were standing on the lawn. Talk about anti-climax.
Anyway, a random photo opportunity presented itself last week (as well) in the carpark of my local shopping centre:
So what do you do when you want to return a shopping trolley? Throw it over a wall into a tree, of course. The logic of some people... *shakes head*
And one last event in my week of strange happenings. As I was going to put a sock on one day, I felt something crinkly in the toe. Hmm, what's this? I asked myself. I took the sock off, turned it inside out and SOMETHING fell out... A DEAD MOTH! Screaming and generally very traumatised, I brought this to the attention of my mum who laughed at me. Apparently moths are attracted to dark clothes, like my black socks, when the laundry is hanging out to dry. But grah, such trauma! It was crinkly! Moths should not crinkle! And how did it manage to get past the peg into the toe of the sock? Those sneaky, dastardly things!
Well, so much for starting out on an intelligent and witty foot...
|
|
| Down the Rabbit-Hole |
[31 Oct 2007|09:17pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
optimistic |
] |
In anticipation of embarking on the National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) challenge tomorrow, I thought I'd do a little introductory entry.
Hi, I'm aseret (a moniker cleverly masking my real name muahaha!), a 22-year-old about to graduate from a media degree at university. I adore markets, food (especially anything with chilli), karaoke, reading and my dog, Lucky. I want to get into publishing and would love to have a best-selling novel someday.
So join me for the next month (and beyond), as I publish on everything and anything, from the most trivial and frivolous topics to serious, philosophical issues. You'll find humorous anecdotes, bizarre events, thoughtful analyses and debatable opinions. I hope you'll find this an amusing, thought-provoking, colourful, all around interesting and fascinating blog to read.
I'm looking forward to sharing my little corner of the Internet with you all!
Peace out,
aseret in wonderland
|
|