Merry May

Last day of uni on the twenty-ninth, glad to have this semester (almost) done.

Work, work, work at the moment.

However, more interestingly, today is the last day of May, the last day of Autumn, and tomorrow the first day of Winter.

Fast run through of May, yeah?

Early May, Dad's birthday, lots of a very filling cake... Mmmm... Cake...

Moreover, Jesus Christ Superstar. Show was fantastic. So hot, it almost caught fire.

Middle of May, Tash's party, with a guest appearance from Jesus.

Also: JD's birthday; Pancake Parlour; Shopping in th

e city; Cancer (boo!); Crepes; Movie night.

Work every Wednesday (I have not been outside during daylight hours on a Wednesday this month).

In addition, I turned twenty. Fun things of note: Suit and associated items; items for my cuffs; subscription to a magazine I was planning to buy a subscription to next month; fan controller (see picture); enough money to fill my car up four times (or enough for two and a bit months); cards; hugs; and well wishes.

Plan for June: Work every Wednesday, and most Friday's. Study hard for exams, especially Math and Electrical Systems. Relax before another hectic semester. Visit friends all over Melbourne. Fiddle. Invent something. Increase my average sentence length...

Hope you've all had an awesome May 2009; now onto Winter!

A word of thanks

I probably should have updated this a week or so ago, but I have been that busy. Mostly trying to help people actually, stuff I don't actually have to do, but am because it makes me feel like a better person (and it delays before I actually have to write something.).

What amazes me though are the so very few people that say "thanks" and actually mean it. Sure, we all say it. I bring someone something at work and I have the polite "Thanks, James" but has this person actually realised the time and effort I went to do find the box?

Yesterday, however, I was surprised by the first person who said "thank you" and actually sounded like they cared for the effort I'd gone to to help them. I was a wet, cold, Melbourne evening, and I was on my way home from work. It was the second time in two days I'd been caught in the rain; this time however, was neither fun nor enjoyable. As I squelched my way of the tram with other travellers, a man down the street caught my eye. He was blind, and had clearly lost his way. Not one person stopped as they trundled past him, so I did.

As a result, it took me an extra forty minutes to get home. I become even wetter, and I knew that I now had no chance of not getting sick (at the moment I'm suffering with a sore throat). And when we arrived at his destination, I received the first thanks in weeks that sounded honest. He shook my hands, told me he could never thank me enough, and that he would repay the favour someday, if he ever has the chance. It wasn't what he said, but the way he said it.

And as a result I'd like to expand my list of words that have lost all meaning due to abuse because of today's society: "Love," "Sorry," and now "Thank you." I try always to only ever use these words when I honestly mean them, and I hope you'll do likewise.

There have been plenty of times that I can think of when "Sorry" might have fixed it, or "Love" might have had a laugh, or "Thanks" would have been custom; but I have refrained from saying it, cause it wasn't what I truly meant.

So what I have I done since my last update?

Well, quite obviously, I had exams. Lots of fun there... Not...

Actually, lunch before exams was kinda awesome, much better than a bread roll, though I don't think eating at a fancy restaurant on Southbank is the best way to revise for Enterprise Engineering... I packed in work wherever possible between exams and I'm making some money now. Well, until uni goes back at least. Money's kinda very handy at the moment, especially with the cost of petrol and our trip away to Jervis Bay.

Trip away was much needed, and I really am glad we went. Had a couple of walks along the beach, and got to see someone special graduate from the Navy. Dyed Al's hair... again... Lounged on the couch, the bed, the floor. Watched Al speed at 130km/h, and listened to Ken get angry at him. Photo's are on Facebook if you'd like to see them. Most are of Izzy marching, which was great to watch, but it does all start to look the same after a few minutes. :P

The Sunset Parade wasn't as loud as I was expecting. Yes, I know that it was loud, and I know that we were told it was going to be extremely loud, but I did actually expect more noise. So I didn't jump out of my skin, like some people did. But watching the whole thing is definitely something I'd watch again (which is why we watched it twice).

And the Passing Out Parade lived up to expectations of people passing out. I think it was five in total. Three honourable mentions here:

1. To the person behind the crunching noise at they hit the ground. It carried quite a distance, and although there was no blood, it was great to hear.
   
2. To the person who passed out, but remained standing. Never seen it before, and probably never will, but serious points for that.
   
3. To Izzy, for swaying, turning pale, and wanting to vomit. You looked like you were next to hit the deck the whole parade, but you stuck through.
   

Overall, I knew where I should have parked my car!

The Ball was... Actually... I don't think there's a word for it, and because I'm in the habit of making words at the moment, I think that the Ball was benourable. Which is sort of like endurable, but only if you knew a portion of the people there. I just spent my time following the one person who might know people, and there was people following me accordingly. We all left early, only because the Ball was starting to get a touch benourable, and we'd be having much more fun at home with movies, coke and vodka.

And then since getting back, I've been back working again, and having quite a few late nights. I'm exhausted, why do you people keep me up so late? (Yes, I want to be asleep at 3.30am). So I'm working on more money before uni goes back, I need to save for a trip away to Hawaii in September. And a new desktop. And just save in general. You can never have too much money saved.

And I got my results today. I'm actually quite impressed. My average would be a distinction, if you balance the high distinction and the credit out. I'm a touch disappointed in my score in Math, but to be fair I don't show any working, so maybe it was deserved. Biggest surprise was Enterprise Engineering, which I'm beginning to think that if I'd actually handed in one preliminary assignment (no, I didn't hand in a single one, they counted for a total of 15%) then my score would have been in the late 90's. So the one class I expected to fail I got a High Distinction in, and the one class I expected to do really well in, I didn't do as well as I thought.

And as much as I hate writing, I'll try to update the blog soon, but I need something to write about first...

Take care, talk soon.

P. Sherman

Got up early Friday morning – 0330. Considering that I went to bed at 0100 I suppose I got a good night's sleep... I guess...

Cranked a uni assignment off and then head to the airport for a 0600 flight – joy! Well... I suppose I did pick it...

Had a whole row of seats to myself; centre, window and aisle. Didn't get a chance to have a sleep on the plane though, instead I transferred contacts from my old Nokia 6280 to my new Nokia 6110 Navigator. Yes, I now have two GPS units; one in my pocket and one in my car. I know which one I prefer too – Ken. There was nothing really that wrong with the 6280, I just didn't think that having loudspeaker on for every phone call was going to be appropriate, especially when around other people. Still have to get used to the new S60 interface, I much prefer the S40, basically because the S60 is so much slower. Damn Nokia you piss me off... I'll leave my hatred of PCSuite for another day...

Oh that's right, I was flying to Sydney, I nearly forgot what I was talking about there. :P

Arrived at whatever time I arrived and caught a train to the hotel. Ok, yes; we all bitch about Connex and how bad their service is, but CityRail is really hard to top. It cost me $50.50 for unlimited travel to and from the airport for a week, and unlimited travel around Sydney CBD for a week. When the lady at the counter did the calculations, it was going to cost $70 if I bought daily's instead. Ok, fine, as a tourist to the city I'll pay through my ass for the privilege to get to my hotel, thanks CityRail.

Then on the platform, I've found that rather than a screen that lists all the stations, it instead scrolls through them, with an accompanying voice (he sounds gay, like the rest of Sydney) reading out the list. Really frustrating to have to stand at this screen staring at it like an ape until your station appears. I much prefer the quick glance at Connex's screens, even if your train may not arrive. Fine, your service is on time, and fine, it's more reliable; but I really don't give a shit when I miss the next three trains trying to figure out if it goes where it wants it to go. Connex used to have three zones, but went down for simplicity. I've finally found where they put this extra zone. I think CityRail bought it off them. Honestly, they have something like seven zones! Anyone who says Connex is complicated and hard has never been to Sydney.

Oh and as a result their machines have a billion and one buttons on them, and force you to go through the alphabet in your head looking for the right station...

Ok, rant about trains is over.

Checked in early cause the room was ready early. Went and explored Sydney. The pushy bitch (the voice in the phone) kept misplacing me streets from where I was, if she could find a position in the first place. I'm learning to ignore her, and I could insert a sexist joke here, but thought better of it. Instead I just scrolled the map to find out where I was.

I ended up somehow getting stuck in the centre of the ANZAC day parade circle that went round the city, probably because I was lost. So I just found a place and stood there for the next five hours. There was a pub on the other side of the road, and celebrations there were very loud and alcoholic. Many passing parades were offered free beer from the patrons who had spilt out onto the road, and every band was yelled to "throw it up, throw it up" in reference to the baton they twirled and what not.

Later, after the parade had finished, there were enough cans on the ground to open up a new aluminium mine...

I however had gone in search of more important things. Found it, and went back to the hotel. Feel asleep for an hour, getting much needed rest, before heading to the station to go and find the person who I really missed – Izzy.

Finally found her, upon realisation that "clock tower" means the 20 meter tower sticking out of the ground, that thing looking like a clock tower; not that clock attached to the building above my head. Well, I don't normally look up in the city, the top of the buildings hurt my neck to look at. :P

So we did couple stuff for the rest of the day of course, as couples do. You know, shopping, walking, talking; that stuff... Went to Coles and bought the necessaries for the weekend: Coco-pops, milk, and pasta.

Couple stuff again for all of Saturday, I like the couple stuff, it's a lot more relaxing than my usual run round and try to find stuff. Ate when hungry, slept (or tried to) when tired, drank when thirsty. Spent part of the day searching for an ATM, eventually found one, and then of course they started popping up everywhere; when we weren't looking for one. Must be a Sydney thing, never had that problem in Melbourne.

Went and tried to see a movie that evening, but there was nothing good on. Sydney, why can't you just conform to Melbourne and call us the gods of entertainment, sport, restaurants and cafes. I couldn't find a single thing Sydney had going for it really.

Dinner, Nando's again, for something like the third time (nope, there's nowhere better to eat in Sydney). Not complaining though, I like Nando's (the company I was with was far better though).

Went out clubbing that night. First place was called 333, and I thought it was too dark, and the bartenders were boring; but they served me over other patrons because I'm a nice person. Had a great time meeting new people that night though, all the navy people (well, not all, some...). Only name I can remember though was Tash, and she was wearing purple. So if tash wants any chance of being remembered next time I meet her, I suggest she wears that same purple dress. :P

Moved along to the next club, as you do when you need a change of experience. The Brooklyn Pub had a guy with a metal detector which was a nice touch to the whole possibility of getting stabbed in Sydney experience. Place was basically a dance floor and a bar. Again, got served quickly because I'm nice. Stayed here longer than the first place, but only cause we were told to stay put while Tash went and found the next club; she never returned.

Hopped along to the third club. This time it was at Circular Quay, and you could watch the water as you drank (assuming you watch the water, and saw that ferry come in... :P). The bartender here was funny, and could flair really well, got my drinks quickly here and went and sat outside with Izzy. (No, I'm not telling you the secret to fast drinks at the bar). Nice champagne at this club, I know what my favourite way of drinking it was too...

Hotel time now, since it was technically Sunday, but we had to stop at McDonalds and the toilet on the way. McDonalds sells Mint Slice McFlurry's now if anyone has been out of contact from the world for the past few months.

Sunday morning (well, when we got out of bed), we did the whole pack-up hotel thing and left them our bags while we explored the city before I had to go home. Izzy got a new phone (after a frustrating "my employer has no telephone number" conversation the night before); a Nokia 6500 Slide. She believes her phone is better, and I believe mines better. We'll have to see which one ends up lasting longer I guess... Izzy got some hay fever tablets; she needed them. Only supposed to take one though... tut tut tut...

Eventually the time ran out again and it was time to come home. Airports again. My turn for a plane though.

Plane trip was loud, noisy, and the kid behind me enjoying kicking my seat.

Overall, getting abused by taxi drivers in Sydney (what? I'm from Melbourne, red flashing means it's ok to go; and here in Melbourne giving someone the finger is something of a sign of gratitude that you didn't actually hit me) wasn't what made the trip interesting; it was Izzy that did that. Really miss her...

Ok, some of you are strangling yourself or throwing up on the floor, I get it... I'll change the topic...

I'm glad to be back in Melbourne, but I just wish I'd brought everything back home with me.

P.S. In case you're wondering, I couldn't find 42 Wallaby Way; maybe next time.

Whoa... Busy!

Yeah, I've been busy with this, that and the other; hence a lack of updates. Basically, I blame uni for making me this busy. I only know one person that has more hours than me, and that's Luke, so he's the only one allowed to complain that I have it easy.

Quick summary of everything since the start of March:

• Uni started, you noticed from the last post.
• Izzy's birthday; she got shoes – lots of paper ones and one real pair.
• Anniversary.
• Mid-semester break, before I had even figured out this whole uni thing. Apparently, I'm halfway through the semester.
• Izzy came home for Easter, and lots of fun times ensued.
• I took a break from hospital this year, and decided that rolling round on the ground in pain can be left till later.
• Back to uni; and found that I wasn't halfway through, but only at the start still.
• Earth Hour; which I ended up leaving my lights off all night, cause I was having too much fun burning things to look at the time.
• Some other stuff that I've told myself doesn't need to be placed online, because it doesn't concern but a very limited few of you; but if you want a hint, it relates to last March.

That's basically it for the time being; if something interesting happens, like a bomb threat, I'll leave it for someone else to describe.

I'm going to go back to paying attention to this Physics lecture now...

Limited Information

Which pretty much sums up what photo's I can show you of Rosebud and our trip away.

Most of the pictures have been withheld, not because the actions depicted were illegal, just not required to tell a story...

So I was bartender, which was a lot of fun. Especially as Al paid for most of the alcohol... Cheers buddy... Amelia, Nick, Izzy and I went to the beach one day, which was a nice calming experience. Al and CVP stayed home to inspect the TV for subliminal messages, reports show that there several messages hidden, including a request from many for "MORE!!!"

Luke was our wonderful host, who ended up mowing the lawns himself. He didn't have to, but did it anyway... Sophie stayed a few days too, adding to our numbers, except in the mornings when she'd disappear for a few hours to check the surf. We had a water fight, and got pretty wet... We slept in, and stayed up late... We gave Al something of a male version of a make-over, with a new sleek black hair colour and a waxing of the back of his neck. Learnt some things about each other on "Truth or truth" night, cause no one could think of any dares (Though I've thought of several now that it's all over... I reckon watching Christiaan run up one of those hills would have been worth it).

Definitely a time worth remembering, plenty to take out of it...

And today we got our VCE results... Did almost exactly as I predicted, with two surprises:

One – English; I really kinda hate English, and sorta didn't try at all for it... So why the hell did I get a 39 for the subject???

Two – Electrotech; expected a little more from this one really, mainly because I know I'm better than the 43 I got. Though depending on the number of students that actually did Electrotech in the state, that 43 could still be the top grade (last year's top grade was 49, then 47, then 45, then 43).

Other subjects were really as expected, my 33 in Methods CAS got scaled up to a 40 and a 34 in Chemistry also went up to a 39.

Coupled with my subjects from last year, Biology and Geography, I pulled a solid 91.55 as my ENTER.

Which clearly fulfils my requirement of a 72.10 to get into Engineering at RMIT (it's the longest course name in the paper, if you want to know which Engineering).

Happy? Don't know... Hasn't sunk in yet... Maybe it never will... It is only four digits and a decimal place afterall... And if you don't get what you want this year, you do a year of something else and transfer... Doesn't count for anything really... Does it?

How much is that Doggie in the window?

So I've finished my exams now. If you ask me how I did in any of them, I've forgotten already... I've decided that there are better things in life than a high ENTER score. I do, however, need a high score, in more ways than one, and NONE of them to get into university. Now that it's done completely, finally and forever, I need to know I made the right choices this year for myself. I'm looking forward to getting blind drunk at the next available opportunity to celebrate choices, hopefully the right ones...

Ryan's Party was last night. Heaps of fun! I only have to say that without any bug stuff, without any vinegar, without jumping up and down like an idiot last night, I received one mozzie bite. Only one. On my thumb... Reinforcing my "soft skin" theory again...

But I've got a soft spot for our new puppy. He's a Cardigan Welsh Corgi (the same type the Queen breeds) and his name is Harry (Pedigree name: Cambrian Make My Day). He's full of energy and is bouncing off everything already. I'm going to have to hide my new shoes if I don't want them to become destroyed. Afrika is sceptical about the new arrival, but he'll just have to get used to the new fella, even if he shows Afrika up a few times. I've got photos of young Harry in the box just here, and some photos of Ryan's party down the very bottom.

I’m ready...

Wow... I'm graduating tonight...

It feels so weird, being that person you never thought you'd be, one of the members of the graduating class.

So today was my last day.

Final assembly, where we formed our circle and passed the colours, will remain with me forever, as will our final chapel service, where we belted out Jerusalem louder than I'd ever heard it before.

We spent a lot of time signing shirts. There's quite a few memorable ones:

"James, what a great name" –Pant

"I can feel your ass crack!" –Da only black guy in Methods CAS

"I'm... Sad..." –Ajit

"You dirty DOG!" - Ongas

"S.E.P.S" –Bevo

And a quote Matt could add to his blog: "There is nothing either good or bad – thinking makes it so" – Mr. P

And Picka's is right... It isn't good or bad that we are leaving, it's what we make of it after we are gone... If we choose to leave the school and never look back, so be it. But if we miss the place, we will return. To repeat someone's words from today: Haileybury has defined us, become a part of us, and everywhere we go from now on we take Haileybury with us.

I'm ready... Ready to say good bye, ready to leave school, ready to start the next chapter of my life book... But I'll never forget school and the way it has changed me.

New Boxes

Yawn! I feel nice and tired! And I know it was last night and my final speech night I'll be a part of, my final speech night that I'll walk across stage for... *tear...*

It wasn't until after I'd walked across stage twice and received all my awards that it fully set in how close to the end I am, how much I'll miss it all.

But now I have another decoration for my wall and a gold medal I apparently can't eat... The subject prize for VET Electrotechnology was no surprise for me, I thoroughly deserved it, being the top student in every aspect... But my high distinction was a little bit of a shock to me, because I didn't think I'd done all that well in some of my other subjects. A high distinction is defined at Haileybury as someone who manages to achieve a majority of A+'s throughout the year (Distinction is majority A's) and I hardly feel like a had a large proportion of A+'s... Though it could make sense considering I'm a member of Haileybury's Honours Society - with a total acheivements for the year of zero!

But the real shock to me was a Barney Allen Gold medal, for high performance in a number of areas around the school. I have Academic Honours, Drama Honours and Lawn Bowls Colours; which I'm led to believe is enough performance for a gold... Alastair got a silver, because he lacked a sport probably. Christiaan also did well, with the subject prize in Drama, which he was very impressed with (he is the best after all). Luke recieved one of the more... lethal... prizes of the night, with a trophy that's heavy enough to be a doorstop for his excellent contribution to the school, plus a Malthouse contribution to drama award (I feel like I'm missing something with Luke's prizes...). Our resident prefect, Matt, also wandered across the stage to receive a Editorial prize, plus a Citizenship prize.

And it seems that once again, the males at Haileybury have been discriminated against... Girls who received two prizes got two plaques, but males with two prizes (High Distinction and VET Electrotechnology) only got one...

But I forgive them for the fact they are in a new type of box to last year, more sturdy... And harder to open!!!

Mental Countdown

Is anyone else watching the days fly by before the end? Kinda sad isn't it...

I'm still not in the mindset that I'm at the end. It just doesn't seem as... final... as it's supposed to. I've been doing the same thing for thirteen years and now I'm at the end all of a sudden, and I feel like I'm being pushed of this plank...

Sure, I've had enough of school. Sure, I've had enough of these early mornings. Sure, I've had enough of putting of with bullshit from idiots.

But I haven't had enough of seeing my frineds everyday at school, and I don't think I'd ever get sick of it. It's always seemed like a part of our conversation is missing when someone isn't there to share it with us. It's that permanent feeling that I'm going to hate next year.

Okay, yeah, I'll make new friends, but I know that I'll never ever forget the ones that I met at school, they're the ones that change who your are. And I know that a day won't go by that I won't think of them.

They claim the whole purpose of going to school is to learn academically, to enrich your head with knowledge shared throughout generations, to learn the foundations of the knowledge that will make our society great... They are wrong... The whole purpose of schoool is to learn socially, to enrich your head with knowledge about others and their beliefs, to learn the foundations that won't just make our society great, but to make each and every person within it great, to make a person able to walk past a stanger to them and bid welcome and to create the one thing that no person in the world can truly succeed without... Friends...