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Monday, June 22nd, 2009
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7:36 pm - Safari 4
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I am very late to this, but it rocks. Top Sites is awesome. Temptation to get Chrome on grounds of google's general coolness has been squelched firmly.
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(comment on this)
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| Friday, June 12th, 2009
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6:57 pm - Old ff.net account...
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So, fanfiction.net keeps your old reviews in history for you to see. When I was thirteen, I apparently reviewed in netspeak and used as many as eight exclamation marks consecutively.
This is terrible.
At least the old fic has good spelling, punctuation, formatting etc. Even if I turned Methos into a bit of a Stu.
*goes back to pretending the old account doesn't exist*
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(comment on this)
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| Sunday, June 7th, 2009
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5:46 pm - Paintball
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| Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
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7:55 pm
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Six months have passed, so I suppose I'm due. More importantly, I have an essay to avoid writing. In accordance with the latter, I've been re-watching the House episode I found lurking in the depths of this computer, and was reminded of why I kept it through many attempts to make some space on the hard drive.
It's season 2 sometime, and my second reason for keeping it might be more memorable to House fans - it's the ep where House doses Wilson with amphetamines. Cracks me up every time. Anyway, the medical mystery is finally unravelled when House figures out that the girl's depressed and her ailments are a result of her suicide attempt. Why is she depressed? She doesn't know, she's just never been happy. When House tells her parents, the point is made that they cannot 'make' her happy. I will overlook the 'never' bit in favour of being gleeful about the absence of a reason. Because when someone tells a story about a depressed person, they always seem to have to rationalise it. I cannot say that 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' was ruined for me by this, because it's so good, but I was a bit disappointed, and I won't spoil you here (or not really, anyway), to find out that something had happened to change the narrator's behavior.
Of course, in real life often something does happen. I'm not disputing that. I'm saying, how do you deal, if you have the loving family and the stable childhood and nobody's died? How do you explain that to people? "What happened?" "Oh, I sort of lost my shit." "Why?" "Um, no apparent reason." "Something wrong with you then?" "Yeah, probably." That's how it goes in your head, and that's how it goes with marginally more civility with about half the people you tell. If you have good judgement about who to tell.
Damnit, this was going to be a brief criticism of the portrayal of depression in the media, and it turned cathartic. Ah well. I should add, the short story 'To Room Nineteen' by Doris Lessing is a powerful evocation of exactly this irrational depression I'm talking about, at its worst. The topic hasn't been avoided entirely. It's just that we tend to subscribe to this idea you get depressed because some particular thing happened, when the other kind is the one we need to get our heads around.
...I need an "unproductive" mood. This essay's a bloody beast.
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, March 21st, 2008
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12:07 am
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Suspicions confirmed. Having Bill Walker for English tutes is definitely going to be the best part of this semester. Last week, he refused to do the introducing-everybody-and-explaining-English thing that was dictated in favour of analysing poetry and laying down the law about using proper grammar. This week, I was not looking forward to talking about genre and trying to come up with a list of as many as I could think of. Didn't happen, despite the tute outline. We spent about twenty minutes on a Mill essay and then analysed more poetry. Next week, he's decided the assigned poem is boring so we're doing She Walks In Beauty instead. Eeeexcellent.
Now I just have to avoid being the class know-it-all. I learned a lot of technical poetry crap studying Latin in high school. We're learning scansion, which takes some getting used to, but I ask you, how can I not be a snob about this? It's all about identifying the stressed/unstressed syllables, and I first learned to do this is a language that is no longer spoken. Not that I was good at it, but it makes the English version a damn relief.
The practice essay's going to be scary. Glad it's just 600 words. I was thinking of that as measly, except I kind of have a long history of being terrified of essays. In an odd way. I can scribble something and it'll be fine, get a credit or distinction. But I never know how to make it better, so I never edit, and I'm usually getting so worked up about the whole thing that I push through it with as little thought as possible. I want to do better, but...I don't know. Going up the coast for easter, so hopefully I'll have started by the time I'm back.
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(12 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
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11:04 pm
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I know I never post, but momentous shit has happened:
28/1/08, 11:37pm:
Receive text from friend: You know portfolio essay* is due tomorrow, right?
*3500 word beast of bullshit explaining how I have developed as a medical student in the last two years and analysing my performance in assignments/projects/at hospital. If failed twice, no more med.
28/1/08, 11:38pm:
Remember how to breathe again. Brew a carafe of coffee.
28/1/08, 11:45pm through to 29/1/08, 5:38am
Redefine term 'eleventh hour' and submit essay in time (online).
10/3/08
Receive mark. I have failed. World implodes, I attempt to console myself with a brownie. Instead, I nearly break my teeth on the random chips of plastic in it.
11/3/08
Arrange to do the remedial work necessary for 2nd submission. Attempt to find the appointed portfolio advisor guy, but the guy in charge of portfolios doesn't know who he is and neither does the medical faculty office.
12/3/08
Find advisor guy by literally walking around med faculty asking people. Sit down and prepare to be blasted for not preparing enough for essay. Instead, after much umming and ahhing, he tells me there's been a mistake...
I PASSED AFTER ALL.
current mood:  ecstatic
current music: Hairdresser On Fire
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(comment on this)
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| Tuesday, June 13th, 2006
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12:55 am
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OMG WE WON! WE WON WE WON WE WON!
*slight shock*
I cannot BELIEVE it. Down one nil and with five minutes left we score TWICE!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOO!
current mood: ecstatic
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, June 6th, 2006
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11:45 am
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Today is apocalypse day, according to superstitious nutcases everywhere, but I could not care less, because I have a new leather jacket and chocolate cake. It's my birthday! I'm 19, so one year off being destined to be evil. Of course, according to my mother, this is a good thing as I need no help from the cosmos. I also had an 8am lecture, and it is pouring rain and freezing (or as freezing as Sydney gets. I'm sure there are people out there laughing at the notion of freezing cold Sydney). So that's not so good, but me and my new jacket are dealing.
And now for a Public Health expert tute (which goes in the 8am and rain column). Could be worse. I could have the statistics tute. This thing with statistics baffles me, actually. I mean, this is medicine. I understand that we deal with some statistics, but they're teaching us 7th grade stuff. We were actually given an equation for calculating averages. Come on. Has no one informed the lecturers that half of us, minimum, did the highest level of maths at school and did it very well? Not me, incidentally. But I was still bored to hell.
current mood:  happy
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, January 25th, 2006
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8:42 pm
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OH MY GOD.
I got into medicine! Second round offer! Got it by text message, after being informed that very, very few people drop out, and that second round offers would be released on Feb 2. I was absolutely shocked. I said 'Jesus Christ' and handed the phone to my friend, who got in on the first round. There was screaming and swearing. I'm still half in shock. I was completely resigned to International Studies. I'm even enrolled.
Wow.
current mood: ecstatic
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, January 19th, 2006
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10:32 pm
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Oh jesus. I found a huge spider just outside my bedroom. Happily, the smart little bugger ran away into the wall (renovations). I don't actually mind spiders, except for the part where it was huge and running around and ...okay, I'm a *little* bit scared of spiders.
And hoping he stays in the wall.
Oh well. He looked a little like a huntsman (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) tviokh, maybe I should send him to you); I know I don't have to worry, anyway, he wasn't a redback/funnelweb/white-tailed.
current mood:  nervous
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(comment on this)
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| Saturday, January 7th, 2006
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10:22 pm
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There is no justice. We sang three hymns a week at school (assembly and chapel). I finished school three months ago and have managed to avoid church. What do I get for my efforts? Sing a new song, sing a new song, and wait upon the promise of the Lord.
Must. Find. Ipod.
current mood:  annoyed
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(comment on this)
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| Sunday, October 2nd, 2005
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9:39 pm
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Wheee!
Just downloaded Lemmings. It is embarrassing how much fun this is.
current mood: gleeful
current music: Moonage Daydream
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, April 21st, 2005
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11:20 am
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( Religion Meme )
I love it. I'm Roman Catholic, and according to this thing, it's my third-least suitable religion. But I like being Catholic. I can just disagree with everything they say. Simple.
Now, must find out about this Liberal Quaker thing.
current mood: amused
current music: Modern Love - David Bowie
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, March 3rd, 2005
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6:40 pm
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| Tuesday, February 22nd, 2005
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3:09 pm
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JOY! ARRGH!
I can't take much more of this. Okay, she's a close friend at school *glances about* who may or may not read my LJ. She's stressing out and staying up practically all night every other day. It's a little better this week, but my inner pessimist says this is because we haven't got any assessments. She has to drop a unit; she won't decide and she's been driving herself nuts trying to keep up. And I'm getting frustrated to the point of being unfair, because several people, me included, are worried and trying to help her, but no, she won't be fucking helped.
It's not even that she disagrees with us - that's what gets to me, she actually agrees that she definitely has to drop something, for example, but after me and Tash draw up a whole list of pros and cons and discuss her strengths and everything, she just sat there and shrugged at it. So she has a non-assessable test in one and an assessment in the other this week, and she's ostensibly waiting for the results of each to decide, but I don't believe she'll actually decide.
And I do believe that it would be a bad thing to decide on. She's very good at both subjects; it's not a matter of marks, it's a matter of which one she is prepared to commit to. I personally think Ext 2 English suits her better, as opposed to Ext 2 Maths, plus she's a close friend, but at this rate I'll be happy to see her drop if she (chalk this one up to stress) takes her melodramatic, whinging bullshit with her.
I'm being unfair, I can feel it. I've been snapping at her whenever she says anything about it. It's her decision, I can't force it, I know she's like this and I don't normally grudge it. But I'm this close to climbing the walls.
Update: She has not decided. She shows no signs of doing so. And feckit, I'm not being unfair. She's unloading all of her stress onto me and another couple of girls, and being a drama queen about everything related to English. Will walk backwards to Burke if she's showed as much concern about how I'm going.
current mood: frustrated
current music: These Days - Powderfinger
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(comment on this)
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| Monday, February 7th, 2005
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11:54 am
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That's it. English is out to get me.
I have a 2000 word essay, 3 minute (ok, that's not too bad) speech, 1500 word set of letters, 2000 word draft proposal revisions, all due this week. Along with certain unnamed stresses. I'm going to fucking die. Before they're due, I mean. Even if I have to kill myself. There is a convenient six-storey drop from the top of the science building; the English building would be more appropriate, but it has four levels...I'd die if I went headfirst off a four-storey building, right?
Pity I'm at school. Wish I had an appropriately murderous icon.
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(comment on this)
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| Wednesday, January 26th, 2005
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6:57 pm
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Oh, bugger.
I hate my skin sometimes. I went to the beach today, not for that long, and I spent about twenty minutes slathering sunscreen on. Real hassle. It was a brand I knew, waterproof, I waited before swimming, just in case, because my skin is very pale and if it were any quicker to burn, I’d be a vampire. But I’m still burnt, so I think I give up. I dare it to peel, though, with the amount of aloe gel and moisturiser it's got on it.
Julia Gillard's not standing for Labor leadership. Unsurprisingly. I'd take her over Beasley, but I think people will vote for him first, and the Labor party definitely needs someone to pull it together.
Did an astrology meme. Can't be bothered to paste all of the results because twelve pictures is too much bother, even behind a cut. Came out very Scorpio, not very Gemini (my actual sign) and really, really, really not Leo. Shall have to look up typical Scorpio stuff. I'm not a horoscope devotee, but the personality stuff's vaguely interesting.
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(comment on this)
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| Friday, January 14th, 2005
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10:29 am
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M'God. The PCness is killing me.
Okay, I get that the whole Nazi/swastika thing is very sensitive for some people. Fair enough if you don't want people around you, your friends, etc, involving it in everyday situations. But this was hardly the same thing. It was a costume party. The swastika is just a symbol. God, say you dress up as Frankenstein, does that mean you support ethically questionable scientific research on humans, and/or murder of your creator's loved ones?
Oh, wait a second. I forgot about Jesus. Crucifixion. Right. Cool.
I'm so going as Lee Harvey Oswald next Halloween.
current mood: murderous...*glee*
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, January 13th, 2005
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2:37 pm
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Mmmm, laziness.
It's probably about 33 degrees today, and I'm sitting around in my swimmers drinking an iced coffee. Previous to this I had a swim and discovered that there were raspberries in the fridge. Life is good.
Before anyone's struck with the urge to ruin my day, I would like to add that this is, of course...
omitting the 7000 words of Latin work, three essays and speech for English, plus Physics and Maths revision, none of which have I done. Oh, and I still have a bit of translation to learn and research to do.
Bugger. Listing all that already has my stomach in knots. Off to summarise the Aeneid and try not to think about my draft proposal...except Su Min's just signed in, so there goes that idea. *sigh* Poor widdle work. It'll never get done.
What am I talking about? Poor me. If I don't do that draft before I get back to school, there'll be little bits of me all over the classroom, and one very gleeful teacher.
current mood: apprehensive
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| Tuesday, December 28th, 2004
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9:55 am
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Freck. There is snow in Thredbo, Perisher and Tassie. SNOW.
It is the middle of freakin' summer.
It is Australia. I mean, sure, there are places that get snow in the middle of summer, but Jesus. Not here.
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