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Usually the following would get the opposite reaction -- in any other office -- but I know my supervisor wuffs me when he gives me a paper to write with less than a twenty-four hour deadline. He doesn't even have to say that he knows I'm capable. ♥

And then he had me present an update on our project at the larger group meeting, with little but a glance for warning at the meeting and you realise how much you know your colleagues when a single look says, "I'm about to call on you; I'll give you five minutes to put your thoughts together. Are you ready? You ready? And... go!"

It makes me wonder how much my own expression gives away. I wonder what my, "I can't believe you have me supervising the entire team when I'm the lowest officer here, but yes, I'm darn good at it" face looks like. Probably snooty.

Wow, it's past midnight, I'm still lounging on my couch in my dance clothes with the laptop, the Olympics blaring on the sister's plasma and America just handed us our ass in basketball, but you know what? This is quiet and wonderful contentment.

I haven't seen it yet cause I'm at work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on-GCp4lhOo

Originally published at Closed Doors. You can comment here or there.

I am sorry for the lack of updates. I have been so caught up with school and work (both of which are going into the overdrive this semester), that i am either sleeping 16 hours at a go when i can now, or i am just too fluffed out to be able to think.

School’s fine, other than obviously being hard. Techies drove me nuts, because they insisted that IT subjects are not “definitely” online. Pray, tell, then is it right to teach kids about computers with paper and pen? That one bit stressed me out for about a week and a half as most of my online assessment was about to be “late”, without me even having a look at it.

Work though, provided the worst stress factor. Don’t get me wrong, I am not so immature and disillusioned to think that work, no matter what type it is, will provide zero stress or zero form of work politics. I have worked long enough to know that even if I pose no form of threat (aka this will never be my career) whatsoever, and even if i am a casual worker, everyone and anyone can possibly have their knives out for me.

 

meanwhile, meet the new addition:

Oh, and the highly anticipated meeting:

I know, I said i wasn’t ready for a new bunny, what with how Fudge died and all. But really, can you resist it when a bunny kisses your hands?

I couldn’t.

In dot points to keep my thoughts together to try to make sense:
-I have decided that at the moment life does not get much better than a pot of tea and my lovely art history girls. I adore spending time with them (and therefore not doing homework) and we are planning a girls night soon which I am looking forward to a whole bunch!
-Today I dressed all floral-themed, with a floral skirt, lacy kind of top and a cute white rose clip, and white rose ring, as well as a bead necklace with adorable painted beads with flowers on. I love love love florals at the moment, they make me feel all delicious all day.
-I have decided that I don't hate tutorial presentations as much as I used to, when I don't talk a million miles an hour I am pretty articulate, no wonder I used to get picked for narrator in the school plays, when I am calm I can talk like a champ.
-Jacinta's 18th is coming up, which promises to be fun filled and grand and I look forward to it a whole lot!
-Sadly I need to clean my room, I have too many items of clothing and they are absolutely everywhere, mostly on the floor though. My desk looks like a paper and junk bomb went off on it, and maybe another one not long after the first. However I am enjoying life within the mess so maybe it will just have to hang around there a while, whether or not mum says something about it every day.
- Alannah Hill has a fabulous clutch that I saw in the Sun Herald's S section, and I can't find it online! The website stinks and is useless! And I really love the clutch, even if it is around $200. I also feel the need for some more Oroton belongings.
-Once again my homework level is appalling, however I'm enjoying not doing it so it can just stay not done, much like my room cleaning.
-APPLE CRUMBLE TONIGHT!

Ever done something you knew was stupid, really probably stupid, but did it anyway and you're not quite sure why?

So last week I picked up a Wii Fit. If you've been following my Twitter feed you'll know I've been enjoying it immensely. I've done about 6 days now of 30min per day and I'm sore all over, haha. It makes doing exercise fun, partly because of the game-like feel to it, and also because, well, I can just do it at home, don't have to drive to the gym or deal with other sweaty people and gross showers and stuff, and it's so easy to fit into my routine. I am starting to feel a pang of lack-of-wii when I haven't done it too!

Anyone else out there have one? How did you find it? Did you get fit? I'm not really looking to lose much weight (my BMI is about 22.4) but I need to get stronger and, well, fitter :) Let me know! I'll be sure to give you reasonably regular updates if you're interested.

While in Melbourne, Ryan and I spent about $100 each at the queer bookshop there. We should just buy them online in future, it's cheaper by like a way lot. Anyhow, I'm just getting around to reading the books now. PoMoSexuals was fun, in a light, fluffy, bite-sized way. Great for reading on the bus. I particularly enjoyed Pat Califia's article.

Reading Female Masculinity by Judith Halberstam now. I'm not very far in but it seems alright so far. I'm interested in seeing if she goes anywhere useful with the idea of creating "flamboyant nonce taxonomies."

I've just come back from dinner with Betty at Tosolini's.
Mum had said that Betty would lose money this month, so she's spending it instead to simulate the "money flow."
As Betty says, "This is why Chinese people have no money."
"Because they believe in these crazy karma fortune things?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah. Still, it's better to spend it than lose it."
"My point exactly."

( Gah, impulse shopping! )

Going to pick up my new bank card tomorrow, then my cheque from the ANU for $120 on Wednesday. Must also email Ross er: alternate address. Quoi d'autre? Oh! Phone Eastern Suburbs Community College re: German 2. And of course, speak to Jeremy re: ANU exchange, course requirements and accomodation. Busy busy busy. Only 3 hours of class tomorrow though, but need to catch up on 2 Phenomenology lectures (meaning 6 hours of work :X), 1 ethics lecture (Maybe 1 1/2 hours work?), maybe make an appointment with Peter and decidedly not think about crazy Jess and her mother-evading antics.

Poor Gabrielle. She's sick at the moment.

A big ol' pancake moon trails softly, soaking up the ghostly bright treacle sky. An inconsistent chill of an August breeze ruffles the hairs on the back of your neck as it churns the bubbly clouds that block the pallid twinkling of the skulking, buttery stars. Somewhere, a dog attempts to put an end to any mystery in the night-time as it cuts across the frosty air; but it stands as the only mark of civilisation in the ethereal gloaming.

A sudden gust brushes through your hair, an infinity of long dead cells swept forever along with it; headed off on their own towards bright new adventures. And, securely grounded upon the cool, worn rock which serves as a makeshift fallen log, you glance around. Surrounded by looming, glowering white trunks, twisted and variegated by the ravages of their chaotic lives, you experience a moment of perfect, peaceful clarity.

A wary roo refuses to share the moment, grazing with one eye fixed intently upon your still form. But then a stronger, icier wind buffets you from behind; ruffles and raises your clothes ever so softly, like a slightly prudish Marilyn Monroe, so as to tickle and caress the momentarily exposed underbelly. And you think to yourself that now might be a time to head home through the chill twilight. The plaintive bleating of a frustrated car horn breaks through the tranquillity then, instantly evaporating the fleeting Eden. But after all, life could never remain static, unchanging; it desires rather a constant state of flux. So you let the wind pull you along at its whim.

So yes, I spent hours and hours on this, when I should have been writing essays, doing uni readings, memorising a speech for this thursday, caring about uni.

I didn't do any of those things, I spent hours on a painting, so long that I might just be a little too emotionally invested in it (as such, I am refering to it as 'my baby', a worrying sign.)


( Panic at the Disco, epic canvas work, image under cut )


and now I need to head out to class. Enjoy my epic canvas, the white specks are just sunlight being picked up, my painting is not that half arsed promise.

Ok so time for a decent update. Last week I went up North (around Geraldton, Northampton, Kalbarri etc) with my two supervisors, four students who are being buttered up for honours, a post doc from Tassie and a new masters student (and for the record he is an ex exotic dancer!)
The purpose of the trip was to help my supervisor Ryan out with his phd (he looks at the drakea or hammer orchids (the crazy sexually deceptive ones) and had to mark some populations and collect thynnid wasps (the unwitting victims)) as well as to collect vouchers for florabase (herbarium here)and hand pollinate orchids so that their seed can later be collected or the millenium seedbank program at Kew gardens in London.
I can't be bothered uploading pictures here but I think the vast majority of you guys are on facebook so have a look for the new album there.

The week was just lovely as were the people, landscapes and most of all the flowers - although my supervisors do tease me mercilessly, especially when I'm tipsy (or worse - dratted red wine), but I suppose that's what I get for having supervisors 4 and 6 years old than me. Nevertheless, we get on very well and I occasionally get my own back! For instance, when Ryan (who comes across as a very blokey bloke - yet this image is ruined by his attending both Kylie Minogue and Christina Aguilera concerts and knowing the music of the tragic Bardot) was out catching his wasps he had to use a ridiculously huge butterfly net (about 40-45cm diametre). However, he only ever wandered around netting things in a very sensible manner so one night at dinner I told him (with the backing of at least 4 others ) that he wasn't doing it properly because someone with a net that size should be doing plenty of frolicking, if not a bit of prancing

After shaking his head at me for the best part of 5 minutes, I was told that he'd happily frolick provided that photos could be taken of me dressing up as a butterfly (with paper daisy antennae and wattle for wings) and being chased by him with the net.

Tragically the incident never occurred, it would have been worth it so observe the frolicking of such a soul but alas, it was not to be. :)

Random occurances
On the second day we were at a site near Northampton looking for a critically endangered species of Caladenia (spider orchids) when all of a sudden everyone heard a strange buzzing sound. Luckily we had enough time to see, what I assume was a migrating hive, and duck down as thousands and thousands of bees went over our heads and, very fortunately, didn't sting anyone. It was a really surreal and somewhat scary experience, something I always kind of expect to see in horror movies or something like that. I think the thing I found most fascinating was the fact that their high density made them look like a big black angry cloud.

I have gotten more of a tan in 5 days than I think I've ever succeeded in getting before. My watch tan is really terribly sexy at present.

Really roughing it (i.e. sleeping in a swag, setting up camp where there is a clearing) is very rewarding. Less rewarding is waking up with a frost over said swag and a lack of feeling in ones' feet.

Flies are very partial to the parts of Western Australia we inhabited. Especially noses and ears. Bleurgh

Ticks in WA are apparently harmless, this is a relief as I discovered I had one when I was getting changed into my swimmers and was surprised at what looked like a new mole I never knew I had. The little sod bit me about an inch below my bikini line (pervert) but luckily came out with minimal resistance.

I am apparently awesome or horrible at choosing off road driving music. Who would have thought that Soul Bossa Nova was an inappropriate choice? When the song finished I put on Metallica's "Fuel" which felt slightly more reasonable, but terribly cliche.

On the last camped near a hill and thought we could be just in time to make the sun set if we legged it up the hill. This meant being reckless and not following paths. I lament the face that I had on t-shirts and shorts. My arms and legs lament it more - why is WA bushland so scratchy???
That night we also decided to see what plant families provided the most satisfying experience on bonfires. Lilliaceae provides the highest intensity while Myrtaceae provides the best smell. Orchidaceae and Drosidaceae are just wimps. Sadly I can't remember the one that has the most satisfying crackling sound.

The Barber of Seville was wonderful last night - especially the set which was all based on Gaudi's art. I love Rossini :)

Oh and in exciting news, Brendan's year are going to be performing Rent next year! Yay!

Like wzdd and penelly I read a lot of things via RSS. Here are a few of my favourites!

Cute Overload is probably the cheesiest thing I read. But it's cute! Uh, yeah. Sometimes it goes a little overboard, but Meg has a good sense of humour and manages to take the piss out of people who actually squee like that over cutesy wutesy aminals. Enh!

Passive Aggressive Notes is a source of amusement to me. I especially love their rants against clipart, haha.

Epicurious is an awesome recipe & food porn site, and all the recipes are from magazines so they're made by real chef-y people, not just the recipezaar type groups of people who use crazy American shortcuts (like biscuit mixes, hamburger helper, etc.) for every meal.

Pink Tentacle is an interesting Japanese curio site. They've done pictorial histories of Japanese monsters, and have some beautiful photoblogs of urban scenery.

Mind Hacks doesn't seem to have a lot of commenters, but I really enjoy this blog, especially as a technology ethicist, it's prompted a few discussions on my own postgraduate blog, Wigs and Pens which I co-author with some other CAPPE postgrads.

IO9 is a fairly popular sci-fi site, and since I'm especially addicted to Battlestar Galactica recently, I totally dig it.

I read a couple of comics via RSS too: Penny Arcade, VG Cats, XKCD, and a couple of Final Fantasy XI ones that most people are probably not interested in (also one of them is currently hax0red and so I don't want people getting 0wned by linking to it, the other is by the VG Cats guy so you can get to it from there if you're interested).

I also read the BBC News and Wired News and a bunch of other random things like gaming sites (PAL GN & Joystiq), and blogs related to my research. But that's pretty nerdy ;) I'm always looking out for new & interesting blogs, so if you think I'd be interested in anything you read, let me know!

We went today to visit Cockatoo Island, former site of a colonial prison, turned private school for girls, turned prison again and ultimately became a shipyard for many of her majesty's ships.

Nowadays it's a protected heritage site and currently one of the locations hosting artist's submissions to the Biennale 2008 Exhibition. To be honest, I was more interested in the history of the island and buildings than the video art on display. It was more difficult to get around thanks to the swarms of seagulls nesting in every available nook and cawing like vicious harpies at the slightest motion. Alas, not a glimpse of a cockatoo the island was named after (but they congregate everywhere else, so I'll recover).

One of my foremost memories of cockatoos up close was an old friend who had one as a pet. I was quite fascinated to handle one up close, until it swooped in on the board during a round of Risk and destroyed our schemes for world domination by scattering our troops to the wind. It's quite surreal having a screaming match with a bird; the bird will almost definitely win.

Last night we gave the parents their surprise tickets to the Andrea Bocelli concert and I think they took it well. The shock of joy passed pretty quickly.

In the short term, Mage and I are trying (and failing) to plan our leave. She wants to go to Hawaii; I want to go skiing somewhere -- anywhere!

I'm also tossing up whether to read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. Any book that can get snatched up for a film within two years of publication must have good credits, even if the summaries scream of tried vampire soap opera. It must be the way she writes.... ?

I'm also waiting for the Men's 100M race of firework frenzy that will play sometime... any time this evening. I'm worried I'll walk away for a cup of tea and miss it, it's only a ten second event for goodness snake! I've been waiting three hours for a ten second event.

Back from a wonderful week orchiding
Will update more soon when am not dead nor having to worry about getting places in time to go to the Opera tonight.

Update will include things like: the black cloud of bees
the burning characteristics of different plant families
why running up a hill as the sun setting iwhilst wearing shorts is a bad idea (aka, why I look like I've been to bed with a bobcat)
why spider orchids, dragon orchids, snail orchids, hammer orchids and zebra orchids do not resemble the animals they are named after, but remain terribly funky nevertheless

Well. I finally bit the bullet and decided to post a full piece of my original writing on the Intarwebs.

Of course, I decided that the best course of action was to post on fictionslamming because I'm obviously masochistic.

So my application is here.

Otherwise:

Title: Fracture
Genre: Dystopian, science-fiction, I believe.
Word Count: 3588

( Fracture )

Whilst cleaning my room last weekend, I came across one of my old sketchbooks from 2005. At least, it must have been 2005 considering the content. I'm not sure if anyone beside inkflowers, magnolian_lily and cullens would find this even remotely interesting but I used to sketch lots of pictures for Illumine. Most of them are in another sketchbook (lost somewhere, behind a mountain of soft toys) but this one I especially liked:

( Slytherin Quidditch Team 1992; Flint, Bole, Derrick. )
Warning: It's a fairly large image.

I think I am stupid.

So hey, I need (oh so badly) opinions on my latest painting. I'm not going to get upset if you have something harsh to say, like you don't need to be a jerk clearly, but if you look at it, and spot something that needs fixing, please tell me? Whilst it's not too late to fix it.

( kinda image heavy... )