The Reflections of a McVittie

2011 Running Season

2011-11-08T22:27:00.004+11:00

2011 Running Season

Entering the foray of competitive running last year, I set high standards for goals this year, and by the end I would have to say that it has been a success. I broke the PBs for the City2Surf and SMH Half Marathon comfortably with times of 1:10:45 and 1:46:36. The average pace set in both those races was 5:03 p/km.

I have to say that I’m somewhat disappointed that I didn’t extend this running further by entering into more events. I feel that I got too worked up about beating my lap times this year that I forgot to plan for the other events I planned to run such as the Blackmores Half Marathon, the Epping Queen’s Birthday Fun Run and the Run4Fun. Needless to say, this is something I wish to rectify for the 2012 season.

To ensure that my ability to run doesn’t stagnate, I have already commenced training for next year. So far, my training has had its ups and downs but I have kept in mind that the weather at the moment won’t give me any favours so the aim here is to build endurance for tougher conditions. Compared to the beginning of this year where I started training when the weather cooled down, this change will ensure that I won’t be surprised by any weather changes mid-race.

Pace will be another thing I will need to manage this year. In 2010, I undertook a longer training schedule compared to this year but came up with inferior times. Naturally this was a result of the excitement generated from running my first long distance races and forgetting to properly pace myself at the beginning of the race. This year, I was more familiar with the course so I was able to plan ahead and not waste exceeding amounts of energy in the first half of the race, thus explaining the significant cuts I made to my race times. Despite this, my pace is still being reduced as I run further. Contrary to the logic which states that you would get tired the longer you run, the best runners actually increase their pace in the second half of the race. This is something I will need to build up during training to further reduce my times. I am keeping in mind that the cuts I made between last year and this year were exceedingly high for the level of effort I put in between each season so I know I won’t be disillusioned when further reductions will be overshadowed by the most recent cuts.

Pre-match warm-ups are going to need a significant overhaul for this coming year. In both the SMH Half Marathon and the City2Surf, I got cramps in my lower legs which threatened to stop me in my tracks. My legs stiffened up and I had absolutely no chance at regaining the going pace quickly. In the Half Marathon, I could feel little niggles about 15km into the race but fortunately it only really hit me in the last 200m or so. In the City2Surf though, this happened roughly midway into the race and I had to slow down for the rest of the race or the chances of further cramps would have increased. Stretching prior to the race shouldn’t be overlooked and my water intake should be marginally increased to help solve this issue.

Furthermore, I am also considering joining a running club next year to get accustomed to new training techniques used by the elite runners. The prospect of regular races coming thick and fast is also appealing, but this must be considered well in-advance. I need to identify where I am come February/March when the running season tends to kick off. Entering into a new regime without further preparation may lead to injury and perhaps it could be a step I take after I run more than 2 competitive races per year. What I do know is that this running is something I enjoy and it’s a sport which I have knack to do relatively well in considering my fairly lax training schedules so there is certainly potential to improve here. So far I’ve had it easy so it is now time to ramp up the pressure. Let’s make 2012 a year to remember.

A Pet Hate | Obama's Week & After Bin Laden | Newcastle United | 2011 SMH Half Marathon

2011-05-06T18:47:00.004+10:00

A Pet Hate

As you may have gathered from some of my previous posts, I am a walking and running enthusiast. Reasons include:

fitness
zero or low cost
simple
not time consuming

Considering this, I find that when people obstruct me from partaking in such activities, this annoys me - as seen in this post from the past.

Umbrellas - useful things but they can really get on my nerves. Especially those really large ones with the pointy end. Now, this dislike of such umbrellas has nothing to do with their size or shape; rather the fact that people do not think when they hold such beasts.

When you walk with those umbrellas shut, please don't carry them horizontally (parallel to the ground) nor should you start swinging your arms about. There are places where I have to go in a short amount of time, and sometimes the footpath is not of a sufficient width to allow 2 lanes of people travelling in one direction at all times. These footpaths also may be busy during peak periods such as before/after lectures & tutorials at university.

For the love of god, please don't force me to walk so far behind you as the risk of being impaled by an umbrella in the nether regions is not one I wish to take, especially if you choose to stop walking suddenly (heaven forbid).

Hold your umbrella vertically next time and think of your fellow walkers.

Obama's Week & After Bin Laden

President Obama has had a great past week. With Obama releasing his long-form birth certificate in the public domain, hopefully he has stemmed the flow of utter rubbish flowing from the mouths of 'birthers', one of which would be that ginger nut, Donald Trump.

At the White House Correspondence Dinner, Obama preceded to slag off that wank stain that is Trump (with some help from Seth Meyers of SNL) by mocking his campaign for the Republican nomination for the 2012 Presidential Election. Trump got absolutely styled on and could only muster a frozen frown during the entire night. Owned, bitch.

But now we get to Osama Bin Laden. The head honcho of the 9/11 attacks and other atrocities under Al-Qaeda. As everyone knows, an operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan saw the elimination of a man who has avoided capture for the past decade. The news of his death was widely celebrated around the world, eerily in the same style seen by Islamists in the Middle East after compromising Western targets. We should not forget that the death of OBL is not the end of terrorism. If there is retribution from Al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups, it will be quite significant considering that we have essentially given the wasp's nest a big wack thus we must increase our weariness to what is happening around us. Arguably, in the short-term, the risk of imminent attack will be high so resting on our laurels is not an option.

What now? This may have been a good week for President Obama but the implications of making his next move the wrong move will be fatal. He has had a lift this week; not using it to his advantage will be disasterous.

Anyway this is simply a rehash of what's been said over the past few days so nothing new here guys. Move along.

Newcastle United

It has been a while since I written about my beloved Newcastle United. We returned to the Premier League with the goal of staying up. It looks like with 3 games to ago, we are indeed safe. At this stage of the season, two years ago, I was preparing for the onset of relegation. It happened, and as I predicted, it rejuvinated the club towards a new path.

At this stage, I wan to ask the same question. What is the future of Newcastle United looking like over the horizon? Let's look at what has happened this season in a nutshell:

The good:

Newcastle 6-0 Aston Villa - Our first home game of the season
Newcastle 5-1 Sunderland - A derby day for the history books
Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal - One of the greatest comebacks in Premier League history
Grabbing points from all of the Sky 4
The rise of Andy Carroll
Signing cracking players such as the Ben Arfa and Tiote
Staying in the top 10 for most of the season
Nolan & his goals
Leon Best silencing the doubters
The form of Joey Barton
Shane Ferguson playing in the first-team

and the bad:

Stevenage 3-2 Newcastle - Dumped out of the FA Cup by a League Two side
Losing winnable games convincingly against Stoke City, Bolton and West Brom
James Perch in his first run in the starting 11
The sale of Andy Carroll
Ben Arfa's double leg break at the hands of Nigel De Jong at the Eastlands
The players beginning their holidays early with awful performances at Blackpool and Liverpool (with Birmingham to come this weekend)
Sacking of Chris Hughton
Alan Pardew replacing Chrissy
Stephen Ireland doing jack shit

Strikers, strikers, strikers. We have no quality strikers with the departure of Carroll and avoiding the purchase of a top class striker is inexcusable. We have too many strikers which are absolute dross and we need to get rid. This must be top priority before the season begins. If we do not replace Carroll, we will be relegated.

We must ensure that the likes of Barton and Jose Enrique sign new contracts with the club. They are some of our better performers this season and to lose either would be a big loss. The cost of replacing them with a player of similar quality will be expensive while also running the risk of not blending with a content squad. With constant media speculation suggesting that Jose Enrique is wishing to leave the club for greener pastures, we need a top class LB which can support Gutierrez in a similar mould to that current partnership on the left, if the worst case scenario occurs. One of our strengths at the moment is our ability for our full backs and wingers to overlap allowing us to push up the pitch faster. Unfortunately, this is no secret so there are time where we need to pull it back into the middle and that is where our trouble lies.

In Nolan, we have a player who can find some great positions in the box to slot away goals and he is a strong leader on the pitch. That being said, he is a poor passer, doesn't have pace, struggles to set up runs for our strikers and so on. I can't speak for the players so I don't know how much of an effect he has by leading the team but I reckon that bringing in another midfielder in place of striker would be a decent move. Presuming that Ben Arfa is back starting at the beginning of next season, we can put him up top with a free role behind a striker allowing us to exert some creativity; something we have lacked a lot especially in the past few weeks. If needs must, Ireland can come back on loan as he didn't have much of a chance to show what he has to offer this season.

Anyway, these are the biggest issues I see with the club's players and our tactics on the pitch. It's up to Pards to spend that money entrusted to him wisely and this will make or break his trust with the fans. If he spends the money well, a lot of doubt which arose before and after his appointment as manager may have dissipated but he fails, it will be difficult to see how he can get the fans on his side in the future. Pardew was clearly not a popular appointment but pre-season will give him the chance to change that, if he wants it.

2011 SMH Half Marathon

Well it's that time again. With the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon only 8 days away, the adrenaline begins to kick in and I suddenly find that I can do anything. It's an awesome feeling lining up with thousands of other people, ready to go through an ordeal together and with that finish line comes the great relief.

The course for the Half Marathon has changed this year, with more of the city taken into consideration with the race as such converting into a one-lap race instead of a two-lap race. Running through The Rocks, Darling Harbour, Pyrmont, Circular Quay and the Royal Botanic Gardens on a frosty autumn morning is a surprising delight and thus you actually forget that you are running a distance equivalent to Epping to the Sydney CBD.

With a net time of 1:55:06 to beat, I am certainly going to be under pressure to run at my peak. Last time, the adrenaline really got to me so I went all out in the first lap but then the stress really got to me in the second as evident in my lap times. With a split time of 0:51:41 at the 10km mark and a split time of 0:57:19 at the 20km mark, I slowed down significantly for the second half of the race which is not recommended for people running at these distances. My goal for this half marathon is to maintain my pace over the entire race and I should be able to see myself cutting down my time considerably compared to if I decided to run the same way as last year.

Of course, this isn't the last race I will be entering this year. I have the City2Surf to contend with in August and the Half Marathon for the Sydney Running Festival in September so I have got my work cutout for me during the next few months. This is all in good fun so I look forward to putting myself through the physical strains to enjoy Sydney and its surrounds on those mornings - recognising what a great city we live in.

Incoming Delivery

2011-01-11T02:00:00.001+11:00

Prestige

2010-12-27T00:51:00.005+11:00

Prestige

I'm really looking forward to returning to university. That 2 month wait couldn't come any sooner. I have even resorted to lurking intermittently on the Bored of Studies to see if I can advise any prospective University of Sydney students. From what I have experienced over the past few weeks, I have unfortunately noticed a relatively high number of users asking whether they should base their first preference on either "prestige or course." Some users have even been offered scholarships at other universities yet hold the belief that the prestige of a university could be comparable.

It's important to make it clear that the prestige of a university MAY only sway opinions when seeking initial employment. If seeking employment after this point, employers look eagerly at what you have done in your professional career, not at what university you attended. Furthermore, this places greater impetus on students to undertake extra-curricular activities during their studies at university. Unless an employer is directly "affiliated" with a university (e.g. alumni), the only reason prestige may be taken into account is if two students are identically comparable in regards to their degree while only being differentiated by their university. Taking this into account, the effect of "prestige" can be negated by some extra effort applied to areas apart from academic achievement.

Now back to the case about these future university students. It is important for high school students to understand that choosing a university course should follow the same rules as choosing HSC courses. Choose a course which you know you will enjoy and can see its respective career prospects as appropriate to your plans. Any illusions that prestige holds much worth will only be sustained if you carry out a forgettable university career, which in most cases will put you at a disadvantage in the job market when it begins to get serious. Essentially what I'm trying to say is that prestige should not be an attractive characteristic to a university unless you see your next few years undertaking tertiary studies as a breeze. It won't be a breeze. Let me tell you that. Ensure that you choose a university and its respective course which is suitable to you. Don't waste your time. That's worth much more than prestige.

Howard | French Labour Policy

2010-10-28T23:34:00.004+11:00

Howard

If you are not aware of the event by now, a protester threw his shoes at Former Prime Minister John Howard on Q&A on Monday night. It angers me to see that there are some people who hold such animosity to a man who has retired from politics and has stepped away from public decision-making. What justifies throwing shoes at a 71 year old man who does not hold a position of power? I find it ironic that this protester believed it would be appropriate to throw his shoes at Mr Howard while arguing against the Iraq War. Did this man think out his actions? With such actions, he destroyed any credibility in his argument and proved that aggression is a means to an end.

Don't get me wrong, I respect people which protest against the social norms as it shows courage and bravery but this man was plain stupid. Let's hope this does not happen again.

French Labour Policy

The French Government is currently in the stages of implementing a shift of the country's retirement age from 60 to 62. It is evident that this is a necessary policy which must be established in France but such is the issue of demographic change that it will have to be similarly implemented in other countries. One does not need any economic understanding to identify that problem at hand.

As previously seen in the developed economies, a decline in the birth rate commonly occurs as the standard of living in a country rises (refer to the Demographic Transition Model). Similarly, a rise in the standard of living often means that a citizen's life span begins to increase. Here lies the problem. With a decline in the number of people born and an increase in the number of people retiring, there is a growing strain on the government to provide pensions for a non-productive part of the population. The decline in the birth rate is also significant as this increases the future tax burden on the next generations coming through into employment. A greater amount in tax being paid will decrease consumption from workers, stagnating economic growth in the process (not that Europe need more of that now). You might argue that transfer payments will still support essential retail industries such as groceries but the scope of purchases made by the elderly will be narrowed.

Such a problem has also been evident in various states in the USA with state governments previously dealing out exorbitant contracts to state employees such as the police. Often these state employees have been granted an early retirement (e.g. 50 y/o) and are granted significant pension payments. I am not saying that this isn't deserved. Such services provided by the police department and fire department are essential in keeping society safe at the risk of their own lives but it is the way in which compensation has been arranged which has been wasteful. Some states such as California are facing a budget crisis and outflows of cash to the elderly who do not generate tax income themselves isn't efficient in such situations.

Therefore, isn't it logical to raise the retirement age? In days gone by, the pension was established for individuals who reached an age which in today's terms anybody can reach provided good health. Taking France as an example again, the life expectancy is 77 years for men and 84 years for women. In this case, we see that the French government must dole out pensions to one individual for roughly 20 years without them producing any economic benefit to society themselves. Also take into account public health care costs and you can see that budget will be ballooning in the near future. It seems that Peter Costello was on the right track when he said "one for Mum, one for Dad, and one for the country." Following such a policy would allow an economy to stick to the replacement rate at the minimum and allow for some consistency in the allocation of tax payments. Personally, I believe that Australia's policy of compulsory superannuation payments has significantly reduced the risk of such a crisis occurring here provided steady growth in financial markets (but that is a whole different ball game)

So is it right for French workers to complain about raising the retirement age by only two years from 60 to 62 years? If President Sarkozy submits to the demands of the protesters, I honestly see a budget crisis looming for France. Of course there are other ways in which a government can prevent a budget from crashing like cutting public services or incurring more debt but to be honest, raising the retirement age is the most cost efficient solution for the government and the people.

I hope the French come to their senses soon enough.

Wash your hands please

2010-10-07T23:55:00.006+11:00

I've noticed a disturbing trend becoming prevalent at USYD among male students. There is an increasing tendency for guys to go to the toilet and not wash their hands. Straight in and straight out.

Guess what guys, unless you haven't heard, not washing your hands after going to the toilet is unhygienic. Who knows what could happen? You might pee on your hand or get a flick of shit on it instead. Are you guys really stupid enough to take a risk like that? If you're caught with urine or faeces on your hand, kiss your social life goodbye. Your life will never be the same.

During the mid-lecture break for ECON1002, I took the liberty to go to the Wentworth Building toilets. Quality toilets mind you, run by the union. Anyway, I whipped out my dick at the urinal to let out a good ol' golden stream. I could hear someone in a cubicle a few metres away, finishing up on his dump (I heard the toilet paper rustling). He opened the door and walked straight out. I did not have a chance to see who this unthoughtful person was but I suppose it was for the best. You don't really want to know who doesn't wash their hands, cleans their teeth every second day and showers only once week. These things are best left alone. No good can come from knowing.

Pick up your game guys, we can do better than this. You're letting the team down.

Life Checklist

2010-09-07T21:55:00.002+10:00

Own an Aston Martin

Win preselection for Bennelong

Write a resume

Get a summer job

Learn to solo skydive

Watch Newcastle United at St James Park

Go to Sweden

Go to Langholm

Achieve financial independence

Have Won Jae teach me how to snowboard

Winners of the 2010 Election | Dream | Many lulz

2010-08-31T16:11:00.010+10:00

Winners of the 2010 Election

Greens

A political party which in the past has been reserved for the most staunch environmentalists encountered a significant swing towards them during the past election. Was this a legitimate trend towards Australia's concern for environmental issues? Personally, I do not believe this is the case. To my knowledge, disillusionment was common among voters prior to this election, and the Greens provided an outlet for the public to vent their frustration without the belief they wasted their vote as a result of forgoing a vote to the big two.

Similarly, the Greens should be commended for winning the seat of Melbourne, their first seat in the House of Representatives. This is a coup for the party, asserting their position as the underrated force in Australian politics. The future of the Greens remains unchartered territory (for obvious reasons) so it is up to the party to utilise their newfound power in Australia to the best of their ability and for the common interest of their constituents.

Independents & their electorates

Australia's current status as a country possessing a hung parliament naturally provides these independent politicians the bargaining chips they need to mold their own policies into reality, for the benefit of their electorate. This is an opportunity that they can't forgo. Failing to benefit their own respective electorates will be seen as failure and as far as I'm concerned, will guarantee a loss at the next election. Both the Coalition and the Labor Party are willing to make concessions for these independent politicians to ensure they can form a minority government, so it isn't as if the demand is there. Such opportunities will be hard to come by again so this is it.

Coalition

Prior to the collapse of the ETS deal, the birth of the mining tax and the infamous assassination of Rudd, the Coalition was on the back foot. The Rudd government had governed in a period where Australia avoided recession and consequently must be credited for. Despite this, unnecessary in-party politics eventually led to the demise of Rudd and with that, the credibility of the Labor government to lead the country in a stable manner went straight out the window. The Coalition, under the leadership of Abbott miraculously closed the gap left at the 2007 federal election - a perfect example of how not to campaign. A mixture of luck and clever campaigning gave the Coalition the edge by election day to remove the mandate the Labor government had to run the country.

Politics

Confusion has reigned after the public has been asking what a hung parliament meant for Australia. One can look at the situation as a period of instability, a time in which inter-party quarrels will keep Australia at a stand-still. I tend to see this situation in a positive light though - an opportunity which should be grasped. This brings in a reign which will be defined by moderation and policies which will look to benefit the significant majority of Australians as a result of the compromises which must be made to satisfy the differing demands. A minority government is indeed difficult to manage and with that in mind, it is in the best interest to avoid making radical policy shifts and play a conservative strategy in parliament. Keep in mind that Oakeshott has been portrayed as a fool for thinking of bipartisan politics as a long-term solution so what do I know?

Dream

So basically I was going out for run up Carlingford Rd and ended up at Macquarie University - mind you not the MQ that we all know and love. For some reason the layout of the "main" building was extremely confusing with elevators and stairs everywhere. I eventually ended up on a level which had a room filled with American jocks (kind of like a display) and saw they were smoking weed [To this point I can't remember what I did]. He then offered me a blunt but then I denied. I told him he would need it more than me, and then I left.

What is this, I don't even.

Many lulz

Running Season 2010

2010-08-11T21:23:00.002+10:00

SMH Half Marathon (21.1km)

1:55:06

City2Surf (14km)

1:17:52

Newcastle United 09/10 Goals

2010-08-04T20:44:00.001+10:00

My take on Australia's environmental policy

2010-07-23T16:51:00.002+10:00

Using simple Keynesian economics, we can deduce that the majority of our energy sources such as coal and oil are going to increase in price as they are non-renewable - a continuing dip in supply and a steady growth in demand. It is unfortunate that the Labor Party believe that introducing an ETS to the people of Australia is the right way to go in terms of "solving" the issue of climate change.

In my personal opinion, wouldn't it be a better option to assist in the growth of renewable energy in Australia? Essentially we are buffering the inevitable future of electricity prices rising exponentially without such action while also reducing our CO2 emissions. Australia could also lead as a global role model in developing new forms of energy considering that our European and American counterparts have condemned their economies to stagnant "growth" over the next 5 years.

The Labor Party have simply failed to understand the true cost of employing an ETS to clean up our industries. It is clear that the Libs have taken the right tack on this issue in terms of financing clean energy funds. To be fair, I did initially believe the ETS would be a fair solution as it used "market forces" to find an efficient way of reducing our emissions but the incompetence and lack of coherence in the Labor Party has proven that they are absolutely inept at even discussing such an issue.

I see the fight against climate change as a lost battle. It is clear that Copenhagen reaped minimal reward and there are simply too many other issues out there for these countries to worry about to warrant a gamble on restraining climate change. I believe climate change is real but not necessarily of anthropogenic origin. Looking back in history, we've had fluctuations in climate throughout the world, clearly not caused by industry. It is selfish of the Labor Party to seek to create a policy which will increase the cost of living in Australia without actually solving the key issue.

Apologies for the wall of text, but it is great to get my opinion out there.

Semester 1 Retrospective

2010-07-13T23:54:00.003+10:00

The first semester of university was always going to bring a package of mixed emotions along with it. Prior to the semester commencing, I knew it would be a tough one. With 18 out of 24 credit points coming from the Faculty of Science (Geosciences, Biology & Mathematics), this was looking to be a struggle.

And indeed it was. As much as I like Geosciences, the scientific component of it isn't of much interest to me, to be honest. I preferred the last third of course which involved human geography, something I feel is much more important in the global context.

Biology was looking to be the wildcard of the semester. Having little experience apart from what we "learned" between year 7 and 10 - much time spent bludging =]

Entering Coop-Bookshop on the second day, I was faced with the colossus which is our textbook. Great way to leave a first impression. The real tiff I had with this course was the staff's organisation of unit of study. There was little dialogue between staff and student and I was extremely disappointed at not receiving our quiz results back quickly (if at all). How are we supposed to learn what our mistakes are if you don't tell us what we got wrong? It isn't like we put the wrong answers in for fun. We put them there in most cases because we generally believe it is the right answer.

Mathematics was my main weak point when undertaking the HSC last year. Sure, the normal Mathematics was fine, but Extension 1 was a catastrophe. To add to this, I had to do two units of Mathematics this semester and the next one which are worth 3CP each, hence doing 5 units this sem and next. Differential calculus...good god what the **** was that ****. Especially the second half of the semester - our lecturer spoke and wrote so fast it left no time to try and comprehend what she was saying. After the second lecture she held, about 90% of the audience were magically absent. Linear algebra was somewhat better as I felt it was simpler to understand and I didn't get absolute shockers of results for the quizzes.

The last 6 credit points were allocated to Microeconomics which I have to say was quite drab but nonetheless useful. The highlight was the anecdotes that Atta, our lecturer would tell the audience thereby making him the greatest stud to walk the halls of Merewether.

ECON1001 - 78 (D)

GEOS1001 - 67 (C)

BIOL1001 - 65 (C)

MATH1002 - 62 (P)

MATH1001 - 60 (P)

I have to say though, I've probably gained a great appreciation to how my studies can be explained in the real world. For example, I see myself applying concepts I've learned in ECON1001 to explain why I'm so annoying to my parents (obviously I've monopolised their role as parents hence reducing efficiency) or using reflecting on what I learned in BIOL1001 about genetics to understand how we can cure cancer. I haven't had such an "enlightening" before, especially not in high school. I guess it is a testament to how different university is to high school and perhaps how it can push through the brighter people who aren't experts at memorisation.

A difficult semester yet surely the most productive half year yet.

I hate...

2010-06-07T20:49:00.004+10:00

Cheaters

I score a great mark of 270/300 in the Human Environment quiz and now I feel like I'm under suspicion for cheating. An announcement was made on eLearning which spread the news that staff had found students in the earlier practicals had distributed the questions being circulated within the quiz to other students. Consequently the School of Geosciences has decided to invalidate the results on the quiz, arguably on justifiable grounds.

"Be aware that we can put together a list of students in classes later in the week who completed the quiz in unusually fast times and received near-perfect marks." - School of Geosciences

I completed this 30 question multiple-choice quiz in 9 minutes and 24 seconds - an average of 20 seconds per question. I'd have to agree that is quite an impressive time and mark when you look at the situation and to my memory I was the first person in my practical to leave the room but the quiz was so damn easy. The fact that students are under suspicion as a result of doing well on the basis that other students were stupid enough to copy questions down to spread is unjust. For what reason did they even copy them down? What did they have to gain? Why do these students even bother to pursue tertiary education?

I can't afford to be agitated like this 1 week before the final exams start. To know that my result will be scrutinised as a result of other students makes me absolutely furious. The absolute brain-dead nature of these students, their lack of discipline and disrespect to what education is about really gets on my nerves. I can only wish that those truly guilty of being academically dishonest are struck down by the authority of university and learn from their mistakes (something they seemingly are afraid to do at the present time). I hope these students grow up and mature in the near future - they'll be lost in the real world if they can't get their act together.

I hate...

2010-05-29T15:50:00.003+10:00

Slow Walkers

Some of the most annoying people to grace the Earth, especially if you go to University of Sydney. Most students which travel by train to University of Sydney walk through Lawson St. A bad thing about this particular street is that the path is quite narrow. Every single day, there are some students who take it upon themselves to form a group spanning the entire path, blocking anyone who needs to get somewhere quickly or even people travelling in the opposite direction.

MOVE OUT THE WAY!!! You've created a bottleneck which goes as far back as Redfern Station which slows people getting out of the station. You have plenty of time to chat once you walk out of Lawson St, just don't bloody do it there. You are the scourge of the Earth. I'll break your damn legs. It won't make much of a difference anyway, you haven't been using them in the first place.

Finshers 2010

2010-05-16T21:39:00.002+10:00

The collection and the run

2010-05-03T21:43:00.005+10:00

I bought the first part of my collection today. If you read the last post, it is pretty obvious what it would have been. I bought a Johnnie Walker Black Label (700mL) for $57.99. What I should have done though was go home and find out that BWS had a special on for two of either Johnnie Walker Black Label, Smirnoff Black Label or Bombay Sapphire for $80. Obviously my collection would be double what is now...but money is scarce so it wasn't so much of a loss. I won't make the same mistake next time though; I should check the specials.

The half marathon is 12 days away, the biggest physical test I've ever put myself through. To tie in with the purchase, I have decided to open the bottle of scotch as a celebration of the achievement in pushing oneself to such a limit. I look forward to savouring each drop (even though it will dehydrate me even further - poor move).

Sleep Paralysis | Liquor Collection

2010-04-26T22:12:00.006+10:00

Sleep Paralysis

I'm confident that I had my first episode of sleep paralysis last night. A clear off product of my years of sleeping late. It's a strange feeling. You're beginning to drift off and then suddenly you can't move. Your body begins to vibrate and you don't know how to move. You're stuck. A wave of fear envelops you. You feel like something extremely bad is going to happen and you try to hide from it.

Many people who have experienced sleep paralysis recount seeing a dark figure in their room. In this case, I didn't see any figure but it felt like something was closing in on me. Not physically, I couldn't see any figure as I said, but it felt like someone was coming to get me; take me away. It was quite a frightening experience.

I closed my eyes and soaked in the shaking and vibrations. I recognised that this was not a normal situation so I tried to take advantage of the situation. I attempted to create an out-of-body experience. Nonetheless, I tried but failed. Suddenly, everything was still and I could move. I was free.

Sleep paralysis is a strange phenomenon which occurs during the REM phase of sleep. Basically the gist of it is that your brain awakes from the REM sleep but the body remains paralysed (this is the case because you don't want to act out your dreams physically). A sense of danger commonly sweeps over the person affected, lasting a few seconds to a few minutes (in some extreme cases, it can last over an hour).

Liquor Collection

I'm also thinking of starting a liquor collection (Going against definition, I will include beer & wine). It gives me an opportunity to further appreciate the history and significance of alcohol in society; especially with many current brands being present for over a century (Johnnie Walker comes to mind). It also provides an interesting talking point when conversing with other connoisseurs.

A significant issue though is the cost. The outlay needed for a liquor cabinet and some drinks to start off will cost at least $1000. Clearly this would be a long term project. The upside though is I wouldn't have to constantly replenish stocks unless I have guests over constantly. These drinks won't be used for regular personal consumption as consequently it defeats the whole purpose.

I'll leave this post with a "commercial" produced by Johnnie Walker recounting the history of the product. Scotland <3

Promoted

2010-04-07T23:53:00.004+10:00

To be honest, I would have posted this last night, but I fell asleep under my desk so I didn't have the chance to. Anyway, as a result of Nottingham Forest's draw with Cardiff City on Tuesday morning (AEST), Newcastle United were promoted back to the Premier League. We've earned it.

José Enrique scores his first goal at St James Park

2010-03-30T23:09:00.000+11:00

Enrique vs Nottm Forest (March 2010)

Picturesque | 11 | SMH Half Marathon

2010-03-15T23:14:00.006+11:00

Picturesque

So I've started watching How I Met Your Mother again, specifically Season 1. I've noticed that despite the writers seeking to establish the characters of Ted, Robin, Marshall, Lily and Barney at such a frenetic pace, it is by far the best season.

There is this particular scene in Episode 13 where Ted recounts his meeting with Victoria at Claudia & Stewart's wedding. The thing which really got to me was after Ted recounted the story, he knew that he had to find her. The idea that they could "manufacture" an untarnished night was ridiculed and eventually they embraced - a mutual feeling between the two characters for longing.

In my personal opinion, a moment like that lays down the framework for a honest relationship which we would all like to pursue, amirite? Anyway, I just reckon out of Season 1 of HIMYM, that has to be the best scene.

11 games

"Look, even though this season is regarded as the one which will see Newcastle see its way down from been such a high profile club, I relish it. It's time to restablish and rebuild who we are." - 4th May 2009

I made this comment 3 games before our eventual relegation to the Coca-Cola Championship. I had no idea of what would come of relegation, and a season in the second-tier of English football but I knew that we would have to rebuild ourselves in some form.

Look at us now. We are at the top of the league with a 4 point gap over West Brom and a 9 point gap over Nottingham Forest. We have maintained a strong form over the entire sea son, with only 4 losses out of the 35 games played.

Coloccini, Guthrie, Carroll and Lovenkrands have flourished during this season and there is much hope that their form will carry over to the Premier League (presuming promotion). Canny signings such as Danny Simpson (from Manchester United), Wayne Routledge (from Queens Park Rang ers), Mike Williamson (from Portsmouth) and Peter Lovenkrands (on a free) have helped solidify our squad at a low cost. The winter transfer window was unbelievable - some sense came out of it.

My primary concern though is how we are going to per form in the Premier League. Our performances against Championship have being unconvincing in the most part so I question the strength of our squad at this present stage? What are we doing wrong? We'll leave that till the end of the season after I find out which league we are playing in next season.

SMH Half Marathon

So I got new shoes over the weekend. It was a purchase which was necessary. The rubber sole of the bottom of my right runner was peeling off and has caused problems, such as a scraping noise when I walk and difficulty getting my foot comfortably on the brakes while driving.

Big purchase, over $200 - didn't expect that. That being said , it has finally gotten me into the habit of running again. I made an impromptu call to Nathan on Saturday afternoon and off I went, another run after 6 months on the physio table, suffering from a case of laziness and a lack of motivation.

Anyway, I was checking Facebook out (as everyone does), and saw that Chonny (the well-known Youtube'r) put up a post saying he was participating in a run for Oxfam, an NGO. There and then, I made the correlation wit h the new shoes to reigniting the pursuit for an improvement on my running. I google'd something along the lines of "Sydney running," and came up with the SMH Half Marathon, which is held on the 16th of May. This was perfect.

A 21.1 km event of pure evil, held at 7:30AM through the Sydney CBD. I've never attempted travelling by foot for such a long distance so running will be a challenge but I have about two months to train for this. Much shorter than the time I had to train for the Cross Country events last year (which were a personal success for me). Besides, if that doesn't work out, I'll just 'Barney' it.

Dream (Part 2)

2010-03-10T17:10:00.002+11:00

Total change of course from the dream I had a few nights ago. This is random. Before reading this, I'll make it clear that I DO NOT condone racism of any form and this dream was a result of an aggregation of ideas I encountered on Tuesday without any particular form or order.

I was in the house, when suddenly an army of negro zombies started marching up the neighbours driveway. Presumably, I was aware that this would happen because I formed part of a council to repel these zombies and stop their Jewish commanders from causing greater harm. (Yes, I know this sounds so racist. =\)

I was then saved by a rodent turned man. The situation had reached breaking point, and this rodent man was what we needed. This ensured our survival but left the question of how the world could be saved from the newly-turned rogue militia.

The scene then changed and I found myself interviewing someone from Everton F.C. To be fair, I can't really remember what I interviewed that person about but there was banter pointed around in their direction as that is an integral key to the spirit of football. I left Everton's office feeling smug about how the interview went. I sauntered onto the green grass outside (a rough put together of the Quadrangle @ USYD).

Immediately following this, at the same location, I was cast the role of playing James Potter in the new film series about how Harry's parents grew up at Hogwarts. Paparazzi's were present, and I was oblivious to the reason to which I was put into this situation.

Eventually the cult of UNSW was defeated and the students there were integrated with USYD and our title as the most awesome university in Sydney was solidified once more. Victory had been achieved with minimal effort.

I also met Robert, an old friend at Epping station. The weirdest thing is I actually did meet him this morning at Redfern station. Dreams...total mind****.

Dream

2010-03-08T08:42:00.001+11:00

So I had this dream last night. It was about myself, a girl and travelling somewhere together. The interesting thing though was the fact that it she was quite similar to a girl who I've noticed at university who I am attracted to. Now needless to say, I've seen many attractive girls at uni...but this one. Wow! Seems perfect; fits the style I look for in a girl.

The thing is, why does she have to manifest my dreams as well? To be fair, I only recalled her face before we have the same lectures but now my mind has a mind of its own.

So from here, what should I do? I'm sure this is a harmless crush but so early into university? Argh!!! It's funny, before composing this post on my iPod, I thought to myself the doctrine I've held since early high school - "If you want a chance, you have go make that chance." At this point in time, I don't even know if I want that chance.

One thing I did use in the past was to make a commitment you wouldn't want to break; summoning self encouragement and motivation to achieve something you didn't think was possible. It has worked before so it should work again.

Boy, this post is a jumbled-up block of nonsense. I have no idea where I'm going with this. I'm guessing I just want to put my thoughts into the public domain to get it out of my system. The pursuit of desires, especially for myself, can end up very fickle. Who knows if I will think the same thing later today or tomorrow.

What I do know for sure is that my dreams can conjure up brilliant illusions that I wish not to get up from, whatever they may be. Let's hope that I can make one of those dreams a reality.

First Day of University

2010-03-01T22:21:00.003+11:00

Monday, 1 March 2010

The First Day

So today was the first day at the University of Sydney. My great grandfather taught there. My grandfather studied there. My father studied there. It is in my blood to be the next in line to carry on the uncelebrated tradition. I have arrived.

Looking over my timetable, I have to say I'm quite satisfied with how my days are going. Prior to starting, I was nervous about my maths and biology but once getting into the swing of things, I see them as opportunities. Suddenly my worries about my studies have dissipated. Unfortunately that may not be a good thing for my work rate - it may take a hit.

First lecture up was MATH1002 - Linear Algebra. Totally snubbed a pretty girl who said hello to me. What a **** up. Totally choked. On the other hand, found out that Linda and Patrick are in the same lectures so that was a pleasant surprise. Looking forward to catching up with them.

It was good to see that the campus was abuzz with excited voices returning from that long, near-4 month break. Prior to the lecture, I chose to explore a large part of the campus, getting a perspective of where I needed to go when I had to. I feel at home already.

Sidere mens eadem mutato

Pride & Joy

2010-02-05T20:44:00.002+11:00

The Contract Pen

Achievement Unlocked!

2010-01-20T20:59:00.002+11:00

Successfully received an offer for a Resource Economics degree at University of Sydney

Korea so far

2009-12-31T00:49:00.002+11:00

1) Lots of Koreans; like west side of Eastwood multiplied by a million

2) All cars are Korean except the two Lexuses, one Benz, one BMW, 2 VW I saw

3) Things are incredibly cheap

4) Cold

5) Lots of attractive women

6) Cold

7) Efficient subway system

8) Cold

HSC Results

2009-12-17T10:33:00.001+11:00

Hoorah!

2009-11-22T00:05:00.001+11:00

18 years old!!!

St James' Park

2009-11-11T23:03:00.002+11:00

Host: "What's the name of this stadium?"

Ginola: "St James' Park"

Host: "Well actually, sportsdirect.com@St James' Park"

Ginola: "St James' Park, and always will be"

Soon

2009-11-04T12:28:00.002+11:00

I will be on this flight soon enough. Pictures of my Korean cousins will follow. =D

The night before the HSC exam; Business Studies

2009-10-19T22:21:00.002+11:00

Feels kind of excited; Quiet confidence

They

2009-10-18T12:04:00.004+11:00

They thrust a spade into the barren earth

They dug up El Amarna's temple nave

They found the Knossos palace, Karong tombs,

Old Ur and Memphis, Tutankhamen's grave.

Swiftly years melted and the night of fog

That shrouded prehistoric man dissolved

Yet while They revive the vanished law and creed

Forge the fatal weapons of ancient battle day

Unheard They echo ancient wisdom when They plead

That those who split the atom should cleave the past and pray

And knowing well no suppliance will breathe in wind that blows

Over desolate earth when caveman turns the clay

And hoes an ornate Cross that ice-age froze

And wonders who, in the rain god's name, were They.

JOHN McVITTIE

Newcastle, Australia

New York Times; August 1952

Some more 펜지

2009-10-17T20:26:00.003+11:00

I am a genius!

2009-10-14T21:42:00.005+11:00

So I've noticed that this blog has a cyclical structure. I go through periods of posting over a short time period and then neglect it. I have found a way to ensure that there is something new on the blog at any time.

You may notice that I have embedded the live stream of P3 Sveriges Radio in the right hand corner of the blog. Consequently, I have established a new dynamic medium to which this blog can break all grounds.

I should stop now because I vowed that I would not actually talk about blogging in my blog but this change had to be stated. It's just that damn awesome.

P.S. It's pretty funny when music starts playing without knowing it's there, annoying the living daylights of people. I guess that's some additional motivation =D.

P.P.S. I realise that I visit my blog more because it is easier to listen to SR P3 this way than going to their website. Consequently, I predict an upswing in activity.

The Plan

2009-10-12T21:21:00.007+11:00

We all watch James Bond movies while wearing suits.

It's a foolproof plan!

Now a date must be set...

SYD to CCH / CCH to SYD

2009-09-28T22:25:00.005+10:00

Mandatory trip for next University break!!! Cheap as hell!

P.S. It's gone up by $20.15 since then. Quick quick quick! [15/10/09]

Shower Log

2009-09-28T22:13:00.003+10:00

Winter - Joshua Radin (3:25)

Everything Changes - Staind (3:55)

Jag Har Varit Vilsen, Lisa - Parken (2:47)

Ache

2009-09-28T21:34:00.006+10:00

7.05km of running, jogging and walking on Sunday. Well worth it though as I have the morning-after; the well-documented muscle ache. Good to get back into the regime.

Provided that the holidays are coming (bar the HSC preparation), I should have more time for this. Good to up the fitness before the HSC.

Turnbull vs Roosevelt

2009-09-23T22:10:00.012+10:00

One of Schyffert's best works; ENG translation

2009-09-23T21:48:00.003+10:00

Helping fellow brothers out; MUST WATCH

2009-09-22T20:44:00.002+10:00

Recount of the Geography Excursion

2009-07-03T00:46:00.001+10:00

Lexington: The underworked American | The Economist

2009-06-16T18:15:00.002+10:00

The underworked American

Jun 11th 2009
From The Economist print edition

Children are exceptions to the country’s work ethic

Illustration by KAL

AMERICANS like to think of themselves as martyrs to work. They delight in telling stories about their punishing hours, snatched holidays and ever-intrusive BlackBerrys. At this time of the year they marvel at the laziness of their European cousins, particularly the French. Did you know that the French take the whole of August off to recover from their 35-hour work weeks? Have you heard that they are so addicted to their holidays that they leave the sick to die and the dead to moulder?

There is an element of exaggeration in this, of course, and not just about French burial habits; studies show that Americans are less Stakhanovite than they think. Still, the average American gets only four weeks of paid leave a year compared with seven for the French and eight for the Germans. In Paris many shops simply close down for August; in Washington, where the weather is sweltering, they remain open, some for 24 hours a day.

But when it comes to the young the situation is reversed. American children have it easier than most other children in the world, including the supposedly lazy Europeans. They have one of the shortest school years anywhere, a mere 180 days compared with an average of 195 for OECD countries and more than 200 for East Asian countries. German children spend 20 more days in school than American ones, and South Koreans over a month more. Over 12 years, a 15-day deficit means American children lose out on 180 days of school, equivalent to an entire year.

American children also have one of the shortest school days, six-and-a-half hours, adding up to 32 hours a week. By contrast, the school week is 37 hours in Luxembourg, 44 in Belgium, 53 in Denmark and 60 in Sweden. On top of that, American children do only about an hour’s-worth of homework a day, a figure that stuns the Japanese and Chinese.

Americans also divide up their school time oddly. They cram the school day into the morning and early afternoon, and close their schools for three months in the summer. The country that tut-tuts at Europe’s mega-holidays thinks nothing of giving its children such a lazy summer. But the long summer vacation acts like a mental eraser, with the average child reportedly forgetting about a month’s-worth of instruction in many subjects and almost three times that in mathematics. American academics have even invented a term for this phenomenon, “summer learning loss”. This pedagogical understretch is exacerbating social inequalities. Poorer children frequently have no one to look after them in the long hours between the end of the school day and the end of the average working day. They are also particularly prone to learning loss. They fall behind by an average of over two months in their reading. Richer children actually improve their performance.

The understretch is also leaving American children ill-equipped to compete. They usually perform poorly in international educational tests, coming behind Asian countries that spend less on education but work their children harder. California’s state universities have to send over a third of their entering class to take remedial courses in English and maths. At least a third of successful PhD students come from abroad.

A growing number of politicians from both sides of the aisle are waking up to the problem. Barack Obama has urged school administrators to “rethink the school day”, arguing that “we can no longer afford an academic calendar designed for when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home ploughing the land at the end of each day.” Newt Gingrich has trumpeted a documentary arguing that Chinese and Indian children are much more academic than American ones.

These politicians have no shortage of evidence that America’s poor educational performance is weakening its economy. A recent report from McKinsey, a management consultancy, argues that the lagging performance of the country’s school pupils, particularly its poor and minority children, has wreaked more devastation on the economy than the current recession.

Learning the lesson

A growing number of schools are already doing what Mr Obama urges, and experimenting with lengthening the school day. About 1,000 of the country’s 90,000 schools have broken the shackles of the regular school day. In particular, charter schools in the Knowledge is Power Programme (KIPP) start the school day at 7.30am and end at 5pm, hold classes on some Saturdays and teach for a couple of weeks in the summer. All in all, KIPP students get about 60% more class time than their peers and routinely score better in tests.

Still, American schoolchildren are unlikely to end up working as hard as the French, let alone the South Koreans, any time soon. There are institutional reasons for this. The federal government has only a limited influence over the school system. Powerful interest groups, most notably the teachers’ unions, but also the summer-camp industry, have a vested interest in the status quo. But reformers are also up against powerful cultural forces.

One is sentimentality; the archetypical American child is Huckleberry Finn, who had little taste for formal education. Another is complacency. American parents have led grass-root protests against attempts to extend the school year into August or July, or to increase the amount of homework their little darlings have to do. They still find it hard to believe that all those Chinese students, beavering away at their books, will steal their children’s jobs. But Huckleberry Finn was published in 1884. And brain work is going the way of manual work, to whoever will provide the best value for money. The next time Americans make a joke about the Europeans and their taste for la dolce vita, they ought to take a look a bit closer to home.

Let's go to New Zealand

2009-06-14T23:15:00.003+10:00

Not joking. If we can get a few thousand ($3000 is more than adequate) during our first year of Uni, I reckon we can have an absolutely awesome holiday together. From experience, New Zealand is an absolutely insane place and it's ****ing cheap!

My Recount of Year 9 Camp (3/6/06)

2009-06-11T22:35:00.004+10:00

Well you have to admit that my ability to recollect events was quite impressive here. I dug this up as a way of reminisce about high school. Not very long left...=\
Oh yeah, I don't have to write anything except this intro so it's another cop-out on my behalf =]

CAMP 2006 - Narrabeen Sport & Rec

:-Just a note, I probably forgot some stuff so remind me and I will probably edit it-:

People in Cabin 8B - Me (of course), Chris, Jon, Peter, Kim, David, Justin, Tim C (9C), Tim C (9S), John

The last time I went to Narrabeen was in Year 5. I knew it would be interesting to see how the place had changed after 4 years.

When I arrived at school, Sepy and Janet were there. People started arriving around 5-10 minutes later. After a while I saw Chris over at the school, so then I crossed the road. Person after person started arriving. Jonathan arrived "lateish", even though he lives very nearby. Jon brought 8 bowls of noodles. He also brought a kettle to boil the water. But if I am to call Jon that, then Peter wouldn't be there at all. We waited for Peter, with the "occasional" comment on Carmen. Anyway once Peter arrived we got in roll call and then boarded the bus.

Peter and Chris didn't get on the 1st bus to Narrabeen. Why? I don't know. I guess they thought the first bus was full. There were seats there guys! On the way, I listened to my iPod. Tim had a hard time with my earphones. It's funny how bad people review it on Apple.com. Really people, you need to learn how to put it in your ear.

When we got off the bus, we took the luggage to the wall etc etc. When we down to the "bunker", Jon was very amused by Paul. Justin had proposed to call him "yab" (IGN Moderator). Jon kept saying that yab was going to cry when he spoke. The comments were quite interesting.

Ah, the cabins! The format of our cabin was exactly the same as it was in Year 5 apart from the rollerdoors not working. I took the "bed" location that I had 4 years ago. Yay! The race to the cabins were interesting. I can't believe that we don't have a key. In Year 5 we could use a key. Geez, give us a key and give the teachers skeleton keys. It was so annoying when mainstreams just storm in. How many times did that happen? Madu tried to take off with some of our food on like the first day, saying they had already ran out. Of course (at least I hope so), he wasn't serious. I kept telling people to close the damn door properly. Thank god nothing was stolen. Anyway, in that period of time, Justin found a spider and put it on a stick. He then chased everyone around with the spider on the end. If you know, you would expect Jonathan screaming and laughing at the same time. Always make these situations that much hilarious.

Anyway our first activity was Archery. We went down to the indoor one down the hill. I guess it was good. I remembered how to fire bow, when I thought I totally forgot. No bullseye, only 5 arrows shot, it was ok. I've gotten better than before. The targets were to close though.

Anyway lunch came, and then past so we went to our cabins. I had to untie the sleeping bag from my suitcase. Geez was that hard. Anyway we were watching Fear Factor on Fox 8. The TVs' there suck. What the hell is it with different cabins having different reception?

Our next activity was the "Ropes". Naturally for doing something like this I would have opted for high. Kim was my partner and yeah...Justin got really hyped up when I was putting on the harness, so he pulled the buckles very tight. Anyway I reakon the most annoying parts of the ropes was the bridge and the rock wall. I guess it seems higher than it looks from down there. I got stuck on the wall, so then I think I used the edge of the board or wire to get myself across. When I was at the ladder right at the end, I was like 6-9 rungs before the ground, and I didn't have anything clipped on. Yab though, thought that you need to be clipped on right till the ground. Geez, the damn clips are useless once you are down to a level like that. They aren't going to save your fall. Anyway when Kim went up he was shaking like hell on the bridge. Otherwise he was fine. Peter on the other hand didn't go up....? Why? I am sure you could have done that easily (disclude Carmen from this). What's wrong lol?

Watched wrestling. Lame how David and Justin kept saying it was fake. Seriously, everyone should know the storylines are scripted. Everyone should know the moves are all planned out. Everyone should know that moves are overdramaticised. To say it is fake though is incorrect. Yeah, the punches are probably fake, but punches isn't the basis of wrestling. The moves are done in a specfic way to reduce the impact. These wrestlers are really good athletes and to do what they do, fake or not it's a good achievement. Now to the comments that they are gay men touching each other - Look at amateur wrestling and tell me what is more gay.

Hmmm...what's next? Was it dinner after the free time? The dinner was pretty good. I probably ate too fast - probably from panic of holding everyone up. I think it was Tim Chan (9S)who was holding us up, but really no probs. The gravy was very good.

The stuff that Nathan did was pretty cool. That's some mad stuff you got there. The music suited, and you really knew what to do. Congrats!

Oh of course, the games night. I remember asking Tim a lot about the milk bottle game. We did that in Year 5. What we did was that we grabbed hold of a milk bottle (3L) and you hold onto the end of the rope which was connected to the bottle. You then threw it at the opposite sex. This starts a chain. Now, that would of been interesting. Anyway I guess the games were alright but they were too corny that I "pretended" to be out so we could just stand around and talk and stuff. I'll get you back Sepy for biffing me! ^^ Those tricks we were shown didn't work for me...those things never do (or maybe they used to...) There's this really funny trick we did in Year 5 which required reflexes. One was blindfolded and to catch something on the full 3 times. The 1st and 2nd time, it may have been a ruler or something. I don't know. Anyway on the 3rd time, they got like bread covered with jam and stuff. It was really hilarious when they did that. I guess you could say you trust Narrabeen to do these blindfoldings and make the volunteer make a fool of themselves. Anyway the supper kind of sucked and so on. We had a race to the cabin after that.

Usually the person who gets there first locks the others out for about 30 secs - 1 min. We watched TV and stuff and started eating some of our food. We played blackjack while using the minties and starbursts as our chips. Damn, Kim was freaking crazy. He sat like in the lucky corner. Practically every time someone was in that corner they got 21 without needing more cards. We saw this ep of Jerry Springer, where this guy was f***ing his daughter (prostitute) for 22 years. She was in her 30's. @_@

Anyway after a while we went to bed, and had our "DISCUSSION". "The discussion was really really really funny, where sometimes David woke up and got pissed off at me. Anyway questions such as: Who do you like?, Who is the "top" in our class :D (I had a top 3), do you jerk off, who do you think isn't a virgin in Year 9, you never know where camp can take me, I usually do this crap in camp, nowhere else - Those types of questions. That was just superb. I'm sure that some people told the truth and others didn't have the balls (no offense) to reveal all. We then started to tell each other that there was a vampire in the toilet and that kind of stuff. Peter then dared someone to go to the toilet with lights off and all, and stay there for 5 minutes. Everyone declined. Everyone was starting to get freaked out by then. Anyway after a while, we got to sleep. It would have been around 3:30AM.

Morning - Day 2: Nothing of interest really happened except David looked really wasted and stuff. He seems to be always like that at camps. Breakfast was ok. The nutrigrain didn't go soggy so that's a plus (Disclaimer: Cannot be accredited towards the Departement of Sports & Rec).

Kayaking/Canoing. This was really really really really X 10 cool. This is the sport I like. Kim and I worked pretty good in the 2-man kayak. We always seemed to be bumping into people in the beginning but soon enough we were up at the top of the pack, soon going to far. It's really good how yab explained the teambuilding skills and all that. No-one capsized to my memory. We have a race-off back to the docks. It was so close, we could have won that if the teacher didn't keep saying stop. Oh well, we agreed that Kim and I, David and Tim, and Justin (single kayak) came equal first. Geez was that competitive. My regards to all who participated. Good work.

After the kayaking we had another race to the cabin for the showers. Anyway I arrived first, and just went in to the shower wearing the clothes I had on. No-time to get the towel and all the clothes. That would have meant waiting 5-10 minutes. The shower was heaven. No, I didn't do another nude run to get my stuff. I "smartly" put on the boardshorts (only)and went to get my things. Andrew (C) has apparently been scarred enough. I pity you. -.-

Watched some TV and then went to lunch. The roll and stuff was ok. I was surprised they had garlic bread on a seeded roll. First time. Pasta was very odd. I don't understand what they did to it. I think they watered down the flavour of the sauce or something. We asked if we could go back to our cabins. We were allowed and that resulted in us getting like an extra 20-40 minutes of free time. Whoop-de-doo!

Ah! The leap of faith. No, I didn't do it. One reason, I didn't was because I thought I wouldn't make it. Another reason was that I hate the whole harness gig. They are so freaken annoying that you feel like you have no freedom when your are on the ground. I wouldn't be willing to wait a long while just to jump. I really felt I could use my time more enjoyably than jumping. Sure, you may say I am chicken and all that, but I didn't really feel like doing it. Waste of time, imo. Oh well. Tim's performance on the high ropes was crazy. It was like he doing a dance. He was swaying back and forward. It really was something which gave everyone a smile. Great work Tim.

Again, another race to the cabin with the first probably locking out the others. Justin got there first and he sat like under the door for I guess more grip. Anyway Peter came and he rammed himself through. Watched TV once again. Watched Simpsons and Futurama. Peter of course, kept wandering around outside. Only occasionally would you see him in the cabin. Oh well, personal choice then. Can't complain can I? Mainstreams charged in, pissed me off, went through the other door into 8A and then we made sure all the doors were locked. A lot of the guys had dinner duty so they were gone earlier.

We headed down to the bunker after leaving the cabin, not realising that we didn't have to be there. I mean we went down and there wasn't really anybody there, just some people mingling. We get dismissed from the bunker first, and we find that there is a ton of people already lining up or eating. No point in complaining. No complaints for dinner.
Everyone went down the the cabin (except for Peter and stuff) and watched TV and ate Kool Mints for time to go by. I doubt anything interesting happened in that time.

Trivia Night: Hell of a lot noisy. We seemed to be one of the few teams which were actually taking this night seriously, and not mucking about. Justin was tearing our sheet with the No.7 on it. I guess it was Justin's way of mentally stimulated throughout the night. The game was pretty tight, and stuff. If there were no bonus rounds, then I think we would have done better than we did.

After we finished, Kim, Justin, Jon, David, Justin, and I headed back to the cabin. Jon and I went to the toilet (different cubes)when we got back. I came out 2nd, and then when I exited out of the toilets, only Kim was sitting on the sofa and no-one was to be found. Kim and I just stayed in the cabin eating Kool mints while everyone was outside getting supper. Pwnt! Fear Factor was on at that time. Kim was engrossed with the TV and its powers.

Anyway after everyone got back, I felt bored and stuff so I went outside and started walking around. Tim was injured after jumping down the flight of stairs. Erm...lets see...oh yeah of course, we bumped into Lisa and Sepy while walking around. We walked around some more and found L & S taking photos of people outside Brookfield's cabin. I can't remember who was initially there at the start of the conversation but it wouldn't have really mattered as others joined while the convo remained at a "high standard". We questioned Hugh's intentions hanging around us within that time...Dom did that trick on drinking water and making it come out of his nose. I guess things like that can have its positives if you look at it that way. Quite interesting topics kept coming up but I barely can remember any of them. Great fun, it could have rivalled "The Discussion". It was really cool when the teachers came over. All the teachers were in a good mood at camp. That was really good. Near the beginning of the 9C (+Hugh?!?!) talk, I did the jump which Tim attempted. I landed pretty much ok except I landed part on my butt bone. The vid of me doing it looks retarteded, IMO. When I saw the footage, I saw that I was wearing my T-Shirt backwards for half the day, so I hurried back inside to change to what it should be. Ask others who were there about the convo or jump, wtvr. Lisa complained to Mr Lofts and stuff about the restrictions and all that crap. It's funny how all the teacher's really didn't give a damn about the rule. The only cared that they had to enforce it 'coz it's the "law". You could have a blog entry just on the discussions throughout camp but screw it, who would remember?

Erm, we went back into our cabin's at 10 because Mr Joseph was walking around telling people to. If he didn't say anything we probably would have stayed outside. We finished all our food while watching those celeb poker shows. The food this year, imo was less than we had last year. It didn't seem there was much depth in what we had. Tim Chan (9S) and John Kim were the first to go to bed at like 10:30 or something. John seemed quite tired over the 2 nights. Anyway this started to bore us so we wanted to do something else.

We then started playing Murder in the Dark. The first version we played was probably the normal one where one goes out, and the rest hides in the dark. That kind of got boring as it each round was so short. The next version we played was we turned the light on and we draped the guy in with their sleeping bag, blanket, towel, whatever. That was much more fun as it was slower, much more active, and hilarious. We kept doing that until Ms Mazzafero came in and told us to quiten down, and turn our main lights off. We discussed what we should do, and we decided we would simply play the thing with the lights off. That became more of a challenge as you would get confused. I figure that version was more fun than the previous versions.

After playing that for an hour or so we headed down to the common room to watch TV and start a game of blackjack again. We used the remaining minties and starbursts as chips again. This went on for like an hour I was getting bored and tired.

Then some fun started. People started to prank Jon's phone. Now we figured out that these were girls (and boys?) who were ringing up so we thought we would have some fun. We put the phone speaker and let our ideas go wild. Jon was mainly the speaker, but we all spit out some ideas out loud. We recorded the last 2 phone messages, so if anyone wants to hear it Jon has it on his phone. Geez, we laughed like hell when crazy comments were made. David actually gave us some good laughs (...finally...?). Questions were fired at them such as: Are you hookers? Will you come to our room? etc. On the last call it was ending up as if it was going to be phone sex. Of course, I had an important part at the end. I used Kim as the subject and built on from there. I don't think that Kim minded. Anyway strangely enough, the last we heard from them was, "Oh shit, Ms Hill" - They then hung up. We were like wtf, and we were discussing and listening to the playback of the convo.

We became tired, and everyone started deciding to head off to bed. The whole blackjack game, I guess was called off because of the hilarious distractions. Anyway everyone started settling into bed. I had to re-zip my sleeping bag as I unzipped it for M-D. People were getting pissed that the light was on so I zipped it up on the stairs to the common room. Anyway with me back, we decided we would be starting up another "Discussion" to get info on the people who slept early the night before. We didn't bother with Tim (9S) or John. They were asleep anyway. Kim seemed to have slept before the questions started. Justin and David were on the floor in their sleeping bag and blanket like hobos. We started firing questions at them, and they started firing questions at us. It was as good as the first night, but it was a good use of time.

When everyone was going to start to sleep, we heard 2 or more cars doing donuts, burning out or something down at the oval, or in that area. Geez, it was loud. It was really cool to as it started another small talk. Anyway people started to go to sleep. We slept earlier than last night. Usually that's a norm for camps anyway.

I think I woke up the next morning first. I just got up, and started to pack my sleeping bag. My sleeping bag is really good. No need to fold it at all, just stuff it into the bag. It's amazing how small it could go. It took me a while to get it in. I'm sure I did it faster the last year. People started to get up and start getting ready to go. The last time I checked the room, I saw minties and starbursts left in the room. Did anyone actually take it with them?

We had breakfast duty, but we still left like 5-10 minutes late. Breakfast duty was pretty much easy. Just setting up the cutlery and stuff on tables. Pretty much a bludge. I reakon it was probably easier than dinner but still I don't know as I wasn't there to do dinner.

We sat at our table for breakfast for a long while, to wait for the scullery (Y12) to get ready, and for others to finish to order them to clean their tables. Majority of the groups packed everything up by themselves but other retards didn't. That's ok though, the girls who also did breakfast duty were practically walking around doing it for us. We just hung around the door for everyone to finish.

We then went down to the bunker. Sepy and Lisa were taking photos of everyone. Everyone was in a big group. Anyway we had the abseiling next.

The abseiling was gay, but that was probably because I didn't do it. The same reasons kind of apply with what it was for the Leap of Faith. Waste of time, hate the harness (I would have probably gone down with just a rope), and I didn't want to finish the last day doing something like this. I would have rather wanted to lay back and talk to people. Hung around for a while. Chris, Jon, Tim, David, and Justin left earlier than us, to go on the oval. Kim and I then went after a while. Listened to music most of the time while people were abseiling. When we went down to the oval, the other guys were kicking the ball around, doing tricks with 'em, that kind of stuff. I accidentally kicked the ball right into the back of Peter's head. The ball freaken curved right into there. Hey, at least it wasn't the worst place it couldn't go.

Lunch: Best lunch, IMO out of the 3 days. I think it was my first time eating Mexican food, and I was impressed. I wouldn't mind having one right now. I split about 1mm of meat or sauce on my hoodie, so I totally just put it away. I seem to be very sensitive if something gets dirty even to that level, I put it away. I guess I suffered because it started getting cold but generally I was fine. Now what the hell was it with us having to wait that long outside? I mean we could have gone earlier or had longer activities. I guess it wasn't the teacher's fault. The times scheduled and the times predicted probably conflicted with each other to our inconvienience. Anyway it was pretty much boring after lunch.

Bus Trip back - Pretty good. I was worrying how I would get home by walking. Would my baggage fit? Would it annoy others? You know, that kind of stuff. Listened to music, pretended to sleep. I was kind of lost in the music, when my eyes were closed. It kind of flowed more strongly through my body. It felt as if there was an echo while listening. I guess it does make sense how if someone is blind their other senses work much more better. Same applies for animals. Anyway, it was funny how many people were asleep. I was tempted to sleep, but I knew I wouldn't be able to as I never have in vehicles (I think).

Hoorah (and damn) back at school, and heading home! Got my luggage back, and then went to catch the 501 from St. Charles. Walked with Jon half way. It was quite retarded how I had to get all my stuff up doing that method. Caught the 3:19 train from West Ryde to Epping. Walking home in the rain, while having luggage + sleeping bag wasn't that comfortable. Hey, least I survived, and I can't complain. It's already done...I arrived home.

Now, apparently, my dad was going to pick me up, but to my memory, we agreed that I was going to go home by myself. Another thing is that I noticed that I had got 3 ticks (at least) on me. Some advice to people who are going to that area again, Narrabeen and the surrounding suburbs, I like infested with ticks. Freaken hell, last time I went to Narrabeen for a Lunch or Dinner, I got 2 ticks (would have been a few years ago). These were quite big ones and I think I eliminated them.

Anyway Year 10 camp should be ok, except the reports that if it is the same places as last Year's 10 went, there will be no electricity. Please don't let us go there. I may go to Year 7's Peer Support Camp. I would just want to know who else would try out for it.

Hopefully you have enjoyed this hell of a long read, which I should really save before they scrap MSN Spaces to move it to the new system coming a long.

Peace Out ^^

Notes of myself at camp:

I seem to be unusually high, more ignorant, much more laidback and stuff at camp. I seem to get these dizzy feelings when I go to camps and stuff.

I feel that what I say and my soul "don't have a proper connection". I can say something, but a couple of seconds later feel no reason why I would have said that. It seems quite strange, and I can definately notice it isn't normal.

I can tell people stuff you wouldn't usually tell in other places because of a relaxed atmosphere and environment.

Confidence; Football Seasons, 14th Win and Michael McIntyre

2009-06-08T22:04:00.004+10:00

I hate it when we get assignments. Especially like our most recent set of assignments. Good gracious, why are there so many in Week 8? Ridiculous...why didn't the place some in Week 9 or even 10. Certainly subjects like Maths could have dealt with it being placed back to Week 10. How long does it take to mark Maths papers? We have an eleven week term dammit, where is the common sense?

All these assignments haven't being good for me. Business Studies and English are certainly good examples I could use. Business Studies...employment relations...good gracious, an assignment on a topic which I find the worst object of study created. Now I would have dealt with an examination following the standard format of a normal test but a research task...which is to be done in class...my god, they've spotted my weakness...the bastards. English as well, what the fuck is representation? Could they have made this module any more complicated? What the hell is the purpose of it? What am I actually supposed to do?

Nonetheless, thrown in with Economics, Geography (two subjects which redeem themselves because of how their awesomeness) and Maths, it is challenging the basic framework of my mental stability. Days spent trying to figure out where I should allocate my time...procrastination with a deluded purpose. Over this weekend, I amassed an amazing amount of courage to start both Business Studies and English and god did that feel good. I'm my old self again and I reckon I have a good chance of pulling through these next horror-filled weeks alive. Confidence is awesome.

So anyway, the football season is over. The leagues, the cups and Australia's campaign to reach the 2010 World Cup are now over. Hopefully that means that I can get earlier sleeps on Sunday mornings. Best case scenario, I won't even be awake early Sunday morning. Blast these time zones. Personally though, I'm not going to take all this as good news. Imminent transfers to and from Newcastle are roaring up. Bank on it that I'll be spending time on Wikipedia researching players who will be coming in, football never dies.

Congratulations to Roger Federer for earning his 14th career grand slam, equally Pete Sampras. Despite defeating Swede Robin Söderling, it is a true display of his character and his ability in the sport of tennis. The question remains, is he truly the best tennis player ever? That's for the pundits to decide.

I was watching BBC HD recently, and I came across a show called 'Live at the Apollo.' It was one of those televised stand up shows. The bloke strutting his comedic genius was Michael McIntyre, which I just found out tonight. Witty chap, he's got funny eyes, similar to an Asian...smart guy, he used it in one of his deliveries. Anyway, there's something about British humour I like. I'll have to say the odds of the reason being because of their accent is pretty high. You gotta love it. To top it all off, I imagined reciting this blog in the way he delivers his comedy. Beaut!

Anyway a video of one of his performances at the Hammersmith Apollo Theatre is included within this post.

May the force of a thousand suns be with you!

Jag Har Varit Vilsen, Lisa [by Parken]

2009-06-02T20:32:00.000+10:00

Down

2009-05-25T03:00:00.002+10:00

Newcastle United

2009-05-04T23:19:00.004+10:00

Reflections

I have to say that my first year as a real football fan has had its up and downs...more the downs. Newcastle United, a major draw card in the north east of England, referred to as one of the hotbeds of football.

It's amazing to see how far I've come. I remember the day in A9B when David told me that Kevin Keegan had left our club. 4th of September that was...I remember the day that Shearer was announced as interim manager 33 days ago...that was quite a day.

Here I am, on the 4th of May, 8 months since I decided that Newcastle was to be my team. Some ask me why I chose Newcastle. All I simply say is that it's closest to my home across the seas. But there's a question I should ask myself now. Was it really worth it?

At the moment, the Toon are 3 points off escaping the drop zone with only 3 games left. Clearly the worst team in form in the Premier League, I simply can't see us escaping the drop. Little did I know that this experience to the the pits of the English top flight would bring a self appreciation to what I see as support.

You know...I could have easily supported a successful club such as Manchester United or Chelsea yet I chose to stick with a big club in trouble. You may ask, why support a team who has being mediocre in the past few years. My answer to you is that there is a thrill to this type of support. It's exciting. Where's the fun supporting a team which you know will do well? I much rather support a team which is very volatile in its overall performance. It makes for more entertaining football.

The thing is...I was really dropped in the deep end. My first year and I'm in a relegation scrap. Where's my luck? I've seen the squad descend into shambles, not even the great Geordie legend that is Alan Shearer (best Newcastle and Prem. League scorer of all-time of course) can resurrect such a prestigious club from its bitter failures. Never have I seen such horrible performance from a team in my life. Watch the highlights for our recent game against Liverpool...you'll see what I mean.

Look, even though this season is regarded as the one which will see Newcastle see its way down from been such a high profile club, I relish it. It's time to restablish and rebuild who we are. This is not the time to hang onto the has-beings of the game (looking at you Butt and Duff), and certainly not the time to be putting dead weights into the starting eleven (Raylor, Nolan, Dukes, Coloccini, and pretty much every other NUFC player). The only promising performances I've seen have been from Beye, Bassong, Gutierrez and Harper. The rest of you can fuck off. Revitalisation. It's something we must find when we're in the Championship next season.

What is Newcastle United?
Who are we?
Who or what do we play for?
Where are we heading?

Big questions we must ask of ourselves before we can really mount a challenge to get back into the top flight.

Sure, there's the off-chance that we may avoid relegation by somehow grabbing a win. Maybe Boro will concede a penalty in the next game and it'll see us over Hull. Who knows? Is this opinion of mine going to change? Not at all. I see a bigger challenge for our management if we stay up. It is a major wake up call the fuckers running the club to really take a hard look and see what our aim is. It certainly isn't leaving the top tier. Time will tell...

You may have noticed that I keep referring to the club as "our" and "we". You may ask why I do this. It's because the club has become a part of my identity. I can go outside in my NUFC jersey and be proud for which club I support and the fact that I am a Geordie. This post isn't about what is right and what is wrong. It is about what everything in the club stands for. Newcastle has a massive following right across the world and we face our biggest challenge to date.

It's time to get behind our club and show the footballing world who we are. WE ARE THE GEORDIES! WE ARE THE TOON ARMY!

FUCK ASHLEY, FUCK THE MACKEMS

GO THE TOON!

My HSC Exam Timetable

2009-05-01T00:41:00.003+10:00

Perfect, absolutely perfect. Just noticed that Business Studies and English are adjacent but the revision timetable should be able to cover for that. Otherwise, top notch!

Tuesday, 20 October

Business Studies
9.25 am to 12.30 pm

Wednesday, 21 October

English (Standard) and English (Advanced) Paper 1 – Area of Study
9.20 am to 11.30 am

Friday, 23 October

English (Advanced) Paper 2 – Modules
9.25 am to 11.30 am

Tuesday, 27 October

Mathematics
9.25 am to 12.30 pm

Wednesday, 28 October

Mathematics Extension 1
9.25 am to 11.30 am

Thursday, 5 November

Economics
9.25 am to 12.30 pm

Thursday, 12 November

Geography
9.25 am to 12.30 pm

What a stunning image!

2009-04-25T23:37:00.006+10:00

Words can not describe the awe when I first saw this image. Everything is so right.

The Daily Show - The Stockholm Syndrome

2009-04-23T21:46:00.004+10:00

Basically this is a satirical view to which right-wingers in the United States (namely Fox News...usually is anyway...) are criticising the state bailouts of many firms within the country. Nonetheless, it's quite amusing seeing how they are criticising a country such as Sweden which has embraced an egalitarian model of economic and social policies and have being rather successful. Now personally, I wouldn't go to Sweden to try to achieve my goal of financial freedom as a result of this, but I still believe it is a great place to live.

Anyway I guess most of you know I'm posting this because it features Sweden, but nonetheless it is a rather good excuse for updating my blog which I have neglected ever since the disappointments of Newcastle's performance over the past few weeks. If we don't win our next match against Portsmouth, we're pretty much relegated unless we can steal win at Aston Villa which have had shite form.

Hej då

Shearer

2009-04-01T22:45:00.004+11:00

Theres only one Alan Shearer,
Walkin along singing a song,
Walking in a Shearer wonderland...

Jim #85981

2009-03-17T22:21:00.002+11:00

A lot happened and it gets difficult to explain as many things happened (12 hours of sleep does that).

One of the highlights though was when I was at the library. Packed with people, I was walked around in boxers with a can of VB in my hand (heaven forbid...=\). I was telling everyone that I wasn't wearing shorts but boxers. I also hid the VB under my arm when I left the library to avoid detection. Also, next to the elevator in E-Block, there was a tall tree with extremely thin branches, most likely the width of our fingers. Some kid someone how jumped onto it and was hanging from the top. That son of a bitch stole the show so as in dreams, I just stood back with the can and watched him jump down.

As for the rest of what happened in the multitude of dreams last night, you shall never know. I don't think there was sess though.

Tropfest '10 Brainstorm #1 - The Blatantly Obvious

2009-03-16T00:22:00.002+11:00

This is just an excuse to make a blog post

Photo Cap #1

2009-03-10T21:49:00.007+11:00

Nathan - "Tim...I don't think this can work between us. I've being having issues lately...tough tough issues...I'm having trouble working my issues out with my girlfriend. I haven't had the ability to come up with creative things to say to her, you know...like tell our story. It's difficult for me to decide how I can tell others about her because our bond is at such a level I might confuse other people. I don't think our relationship is like any other, do you understand? I don't think I have the ability to commit myself to such a task under these conditions...=\"

Tim (in his head) - "What's Nathan on? I only asked if I could borrow his phone"

Andrew (in his head) - "Yeeaaaah Baaaby!" *click*

These events may or may not have happened. You should not take the initiative to ask what the hell this is because you aren't going to get a straight answer.
^Authorised by the Nordstrom Centre Party, Uppsala^

My New Favourite Song

2009-03-08T22:02:00.009+11:00

Yeah, this song is pretty silly but I have to admit it's pretty catch. I like it! =D

RE: "My two cents- and a considerable bit more"

2009-02-25T00:36:00.001+11:00

Whenever I hear a someone diss the school and talk shit about it and whine, it gets on my nerves. Instead of complaining, take the initiative and try to do it yourself.

Make the claim you are doing this. Promise to everyone that you will do this. It decreases the chances of being lazy and ditching the idea.

At our school, there are too many kids which value study as their #1 priority regardless of what situation they are in. Some balance their opportunities, some don't take any at all.

My main problem is that people shouldn't be saying do this, do that, while not acting upon themselves to do it. It really separates who in the school has the ability to truly succeed in the world.

I have to agree that capitalism is the crux of development (ref. initiative). Under a socialist system, you begin to rely on the state for your needs, not taking the initiative do something about your situation. It isn't in human nature to submit to a greater force and let them rule your life. Humans survived through innovation and development. Socialism denies that quality which embodies who we are. Sure, socialism might create "equality" (if it works), and protect our "rights" but I feel it is better if we work as individuals and in groups to solve problems them saying "you almighty leader may fix all our problems." It's inhumane.

I came across an interesting thought today while reading the Economist. I was reading something about South American politics, possibly in Nicaragua and I thought of a different structure of government and its elections. Now we often come across people saying that the government promised this but they didn't deliver.

For example, in Australia we have two parties of significance. The Liberal Party and The Labor Party. Elections are decided on how each of these parties perform in their swing electorates.

Now, why not have this system? The current frontbench, against an offset of the major party and the opposition. It will give the initiative for the government to actually deliver some of their election promises earlier to give them a significant edge. Now of course, we may see that this could give the ruling frontbench more chance of satisfying the people as the others would be "all talk."

Now this isn't a practical system as of yet. It has major flaws while I obviously haven't found, I probably conveyed the message in an inaccurate way but I just want to open up the idea of how there are different ways in which we can promote initiative individually and socially as long as we find our reasons.

I've noticed these days that people don't like challenges. They don't want to approach an issue in an alternative way as it may require change. Look at the United States. Sure, Barack Obama may be an inspiration to hundreds of millions of people around the world but to what effect will his words actually bring about change which is outside his sphere of influence. Watch out for that.

Now I myself am infamous for avoiding challenges. My parents have known this for many years, and I usually give up very easily. But only if I truly believe that I want to do something, is there that off-chance that I may try. I just want to make it clear that there are times when I am all-talk and no action. I'm not a god-send who can solve the world's problems. I have many faults, as do you. Only if we find where we fail and then do something about it can we actually progress as people.

Initiative is the key to survival and success

Running

2009-02-24T22:30:00.002+11:00

Ever since the holidays, I've started a regular running routine which helps me improve my fitness. Despite believing that my fitness was up to scratch, I've noticed that by pushing myself I've being able to achieve much improved times. The course is approximately 3.55km.

For example, when I started I was getting over 20 minutes while pushing myself the hardest. After discovering a rhythm to the whole running process, I smashed my time and at the moment it is at 17:54:8 which is a great result.

I can't really say that this activity has become an addiction but has given me the opportunity do something which gets me out of the house regularly. It hasn't affected my academic results in a positive way as I'd like it (hasn't decreased it either) but it is something I'll probably follow for many years to come.

Short Films

2009-02-23T18:37:00.002+11:00

As you know, I went to Tropfest last night. I must say that it was true showcase of talent in Australia and I wish to go again next year to see another batch of 'em.

What is it with short films? How do they convey their message in such an effective way in such a short time span? Are they of any significance to us?

Anyway, I'm using this an excuse to put something up here as I've done jack all so it's nice to see some new writing. Feels like progress.

If you're interested to see any of the films, here's the link

Anyway I'll leave you with a song which was played during my favourite film.

Plans for the formal

2009-01-26T02:20:00.003+11:00

Yeah, it seems like I'm using my blog as a way to convey my plans for future. I like it like this though. It really gets the ideas out there My concern is if I'm actually going to run out of plans. I hope not!

Anyway, I was thinking about booking a room at a five-star hotel depending on how location permits. Now considering this is the Year 12 formal, it is necessary that the after-party activities are fun. I reckon that going back home after such a major event is a disrespect to the International Formal Organisation for Better Living so it is in my interests and maybe yours that it is a memorable night.

Discuss:

Five-star hotels

Where to go after the formal

Who you're taking to the formal

What you're wearing to the formal

Your projected sexiness level for the formal

Choice of transportation

What you'll be doing weeks after HSC is complete

Update #2?

2009-01-24T23:10:00.004+11:00

Ok, a few updates on my future plans. As of now, my Year 12 plan hasn't changed. Just manage my time better and allow for a more thorough assessment preparation. That in itself will get me through the HSC alone.

Now the first thing:

University Accomodation

As we can all conclude that as we approach our 18th, there's a sense of independence which dawns on us. Now sure, it does mean that we do have to look after ourselves but that in itself is a great opportunity for us to create our own environment. We also are able to learn how to live a life without depending on others to pick up after us. I'm obviously not suggesting that you are lazy but it allows us to do everything for ourselves. Big concern obviously would be the cash and Sydney's rental crisis. That is why I'm asking you guys if you'd be interested in sharing a rental property close to campus. Now I know that most of my readers are thinking of going to University of Sydney so this offer is primarily for you guys.

This in itself can not be sufficient enough to create rough plans or ideas but I'm just putting the idea out there. It's good to throw up alternative views, especially if you weren't thinking about it at first. There are many internal and external factors which can sway decisions but it's good to start preliminary "mind planning."

Sweden

Now as many of you already know, I'm interesting in going to Sweden for exchange during university. Many blog posts ago, I put forward the idea of going to Malmö Universitet but I have changed my mind as of now. I have now elected for Uppsala Universitet and Lund Universitet as my new choices. They fair better in the rankings and I've found out that they both also teach in English. This allows for a safety net if I haven't grasped the language well enough.

Anyway that's it for now. I still haven't finished that other quiz I was doing because of the assignments I've left until late but I know I'll do better under this pressure.

Ciao!

P.S. There's a dead bug IN my laptop monitor. I know this is going to annoy me for a long time. I'm that kind of person. =\

Loading...

2009-01-23T05:38:00.002+11:00

I'm in the process of completing another one of those quizzes. Yeah, just the standard ****. First light is here. Early morning skies are awesome. Don't you love nights though? For me, they're the times when I have the most active thoughts. The night genuinely holds all the answers for me. The night is awesome. I'd like to share it though.

100 Truths!

2009-01-23T01:04:00.001+11:00

I'm bored and I like doing these as I get the chance to publicly expose myself. My blog is kind of dead so I need a filler as well.

100 Truths!

Last beverage → Coca-Cola
Last phone call → Father
Last instant message → Kim
Last song you listened to → All I Ever Wanted - Basshunter
Last time you cried → Not sure

HAVE YOU EVER:
Dated someone twice → No
Been cheated on → Possibly
Kissed someone & regretted it → No
Lost someone special→ No

IN THE PAST MONTH HAVE YOU:
Fallen out of love → No
Laughed until you cried → No
Met someone who changed your life → Not in real. Robert Kiyosaki certainly altered by life plans dramatically though
Found out someone was talking about you → Yes
Have you kissed anyone on your top friends? → No
How many ppl on your top friends do you know in real life? Top friends as in?
How many kids do you want to have → One, Two or Three.
Do you have any pets → Maltese - Penji
Do you want to change your name → No
What time did you wake up today → 11ish
What were you doing at midnight last night → Watching the Tomic match
Name something you CANNOT wait for → I can wait for anything
Last time you saw your father → Probably an hour ago
What's one thing you wish you could change → Raise my eyebrows 5mm
Have you ever talked to a person named Tom → Yes, good ol' Perrins
What's getting on your nerves right now → Nothing
What's your real name → Andrew Kwang-Ok McVittie
Relationship Status → Single
Zodiac sign → Scorpio
Elementary/primary School → Eastwood Public School
Middle/secondary School → Ryde Secondary College
High School → Ryde Secondary College
Hair color → Brown
Long or short → In between
Are you a health freak → No
Righty or lefty → Righty

FIRSTS:
First surgery → Testicle [face_mischief]
First piercing → N/A
First best friend → Lachlan Daly
First sport you joined → Football
First pet → Penji
First vacation → South Korea
First crush → Can't remember that far back

CURRENTLY :
Eating → Nothing
Drinking → Nothing
Waiting → To finish this quiz

YOUR FUTURE :
Want kids? → Yes
Want to get married?→ Yes
Careers in mind? → Entrepreneur with an establishment in Resource Economics

HAVE YOU EVER:
Kissed a stranger → No
Drank hard liquor → No
Lost glasses/contacts → No
Ran away from home → No
Broken someone's heart → No
Been arrested → No
Turned someone down → No
Cried when someone died → No

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
Yourself → Yes
Miracles → Depends in which context
Love at first sight → Yes
Heaven → Sways; I find it difficult to believe that there's nothing after this life
Santa Claus → No
Kiss on the first date → If it's a first date and you don't really know the person, then no
Angels → Sways

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY :
Is there one person you want to be with right now? → No
Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time → No
Do you believe in God? → Sways

The Future; RROD; Wingsuiting

2009-01-09T21:09:00.003+11:00

I hate forgetting what I want to blog about so I pretty much write them down so I don't forget. There's probably more I've forgotten about but I think this is sufficient enough.

First off, I got the RROD. The horrible red rings of death which finally hit my Xbox 360, sending it to oblivion. I was so sure that I would be exempt from the plague but I thought wrong. This is a clear indication of how businesses trade off quality control for the cash. Quite interesting though. Many people argue the hardware failure detracts from the purchase of the 360 (hence choosing the PS3, btw the Wii isn't a real console) yet wouldn't the $1 billion MS used to cover the extended warranty for the problem be sufficient enough to solve the problem. Despite this, I credit Microsoft for releasing the Xbox 360 before its competitors to get a head start. I'm confident that this is the only reason the Xbox 360 hasn't been destroyed in the competition by the PS3. Anyway, I gotta send my Xbox 360 to repairs. =[

Wingsuiting, I saw that a flash video on Digg.com got many diggs so I decided to check it out. After watching it, I was captivated by the sport. To see that people were essentially flying, I knew this was something I had to do. I should start skydiving and bungee jumping. Perhaps I might do that if I go to New Zealand again. I certainly wouldn't do it here in Australia. New Zealand is a much more beautiful country so I reckon I'll enjoy it much more.

Now I found it much more appropriate to leave "the future" till last. So as some of you may know, I'm interested in pursuing a Bachelor of Resource Economics at the University of Sydney. I'll keep this simple...

What are you thinking of doing after 2009?

See ya!

10:42AM

2009-01-08T10:42:00.000+11:00

So instead of having one large post for today, I thought about splitting it up. I guess I'll just fill you in with what's happening at the moment.

At this current point in time, I am listing to Radio Sweden while planning out my Geography Assessment which is due in the first week of Term 1.

Anyway I decided not to sleep, as some of you may have noticed with my comments in blog posts. I found out that Jackass have some clips from each of their episodes on their website. I guess I watched Jackass for a few hours and w/e.

Also checked out the student newspaper in University of Sydney. This has really stimulated my interest in Varsity life and has boosted my motivation today.

Fill you in later =]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009-01-01T00:00:00.000+11:00

Hmmm....something I'd like to do

2008-12-24T05:30:00.003+11:00

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a masterpiece of a game. Here the soundtrack, absolutely magical. Traversing the country side with such beautiful music really conjures up amazing images and such of exploring fields dotted with trees, and archaic ruins.

Just listening through the soundtrack and looking out into the garden on this early summer morning is providing me with inspiration. How I'd like to find a retreat in the Scottish Highlands near the forests and just sit. Listen to the music and sit. Take it all in.

Anyway, I'm still testing out how long I can last without sleep. I've been waking up at 3PM after sleeping at 9AM. Haha, just realised it's through school hours. Anyway, I'll see how I go now. 14.5 hours at the moment

Here's the track "Minstrel's Lament" from the soundtrack

Fail

2008-12-22T16:49:00.002+11:00

Fell asleep during Half Time of the Newcastle/Tottenham match. What a pity...

Might give it a shot next Friday though. As for now, I'd like to have a few nights of "normal sleep"

I've been up for 31.75 hours

2008-12-22T00:45:00.002+11:00

Who knows where this is going to go?

Anyway, I'm just waiting up on the Newcastle Utd vs Tottenham match later this morning so that's why I'm up now. Just watching some football before the big one.

36 hours is my past record. I have a feeling I'm going to smash it this time.

I hope I don't go crazy =\

I'm doing alright I guess. I don't feel too tired. I've only had one cup of coffee and that was on Sunday morning. I have to admit that the sleep deprivation episode of Kenny vs Spenny was kind of the motivation for this personal feat I'm going to achieve.

I've got to plan what to do tomorrow though. Got to keep active; get out of the house. I can't stay in here. I know I'll most probably succumb to the demands of sleep. I'll update you on my situation later in the day!

Kids these days...

2008-12-20T00:45:00.003+11:00

Post from the Vestibule

Back when I was in 7th grade they had this thing on wb.com where you could print out this life-size poster of Amanda Bynes.

You would download the file, hit print, and it would spit out 30 pages that you had to tape together in order to form the whole image. I was so horny that I did it.

I didn't have any Scotch tape, so I had to walk to the gas station about 3/4 a mile away in order to get some. I was so horny though I didn't care.

So I locked myself in the computer room and printed out this file. It took about three hours because we had this old crappy Deskjet printer that took forever to print color stuff, not to mention that it used up an entire ink cartridge.

So it finally got done and I went up to my room and taped it together. It took a good hour to do it all properly.

Finally it was done.

I laid it on my bed and cut a hole where the vagina would be, then taped a Ziploc bag full of Vaseline to the back where the hole was in order to simulate a vagina.

I don't need to tell you guys it was amazing.

Then my mom found it under my bed a couple of weeks later.

Awkward.

-chickmagnet2888

Well...that's certainly...yeah...

It makes sense...

2008-12-18T01:20:00.002+11:00

Amazing...just amazing. I finally understand the Flag of the United Kingdom...****!

3-0

2008-12-15T02:25:00.002+11:00

We defeated Portsmouth 3-0. Wow...we finally won. Unbelievable...does this mean that Mr Piss-Poor Kinnear can actually grab a win for the 'Pies. I sure as hell hope this is the turning point and we lift ourselves from the bottom half of the league.

The Toon Army Celebrates!

Leave

2008-12-12T00:16:00.003+11:00

Damn, I want to leave Australia as soon as possible. I know that if I stay and trust myself to go do it during University holidays, I doubt it'll happen. I just get that feeling. I have a desire to go somewhere for at least two weeks after the HSC. Straight after all school formalities are done with (mostly examinations), I want to jet off.

Two weeks in Sweden would do it. Feels like my second home now. I know it is silly but that's what it has become. I can't really say what pulls me there. I guess it was just researching the place that got me hooked. One year ago, I would have never thought about myself being in this position. I probably would have made the mistake in distinguishing Sweden as Switzerland. Now, I actually care what happens there. I'm interested in what happens there. I'm attempting to pick up the language. I've grown an interest to learn even more languages. Why should language be a barrier in interacting with the billions of people in the world? Argh, I'm getting off topic here.

Well I guess I have to see what I can during the summer holidays which are coming soon. 3:00PM 19th December, the time when my opportunities are presented in front of me. It is my choice on whether or not I'll take the challenge and achieve something.

It's funny how easy it is to convince me. I did my Economics research task on Estonia and now I'm compelled to go there. I want to see how globalisation has transformed the post-Soviet bloc state into what it is labelled now as a "Baltic Tiger." Silly...but true.

I need to think deep before these coming holidays. How can approach it to reap the biggest rewards in the present and future. We only live once. I don't want to get a degree, have a career, retire and die. That's a wasted opportunity. Find what you really want to do, what ever it may be. We can do anything and it is our choice to make it a reality

.

Band of Brothers Intro

2008-12-06T22:12:00.003+11:00

No matter how many times I listen to this, I still find this opening to Band of Brothers extremely stirring. I suggest anyone who hasn't seen the series to go out and find someone with a copy. Also watch out for 'The Pacific' on Channel 7 next year as that will be the counterpart series to BoB. I guess this will just be a filler post until I can obtain some of the photos Nathan took on Tuesday.

Eh, my legs.

2008-12-01T21:51:00.003+11:00

My legs are aching from sitting down so much at the moment because I'm scanning all my bookwork. I guess that's what procrastination of remedial tasks such as this achieves. Oh well looks like I'll have to suck it up like the valiant heroic perfect man I am. =/

I reckon I did pretty well in my first English and Mathematics assessments for Year 12. I guess it's a good start to the HSC, hopefully boosting my confidence for the Business Studies and Mathematics Extension 1 assessments on Thursday.

It's good to know that the progress for the Epping bus has finally continued. Met up with a few guys from the STA and discussed how the next step should be approached. I'm quite optimistic about its establishment considering the change of transport arrangements next year (namely the trains).

I have a Geography excursion to Centennial Park and the Australian Museum so that should be good. I guess it helps being on a Thursday since I only miss out on 2 hours of work (considering Geography was scheduled for tomorrow anyway). Lets just hope that the weather isn't as hot as predicted tomorrow. Even though 30 degrees is average here during summer, it's a real bitch during something like this.

Weird, my right thigh feels tender. I guess that's one of the mysteries of life which don't want an answer allocated to it. Hold on...I didn't even ask a question. Legs, the biggest troublemakers of the Universe.

Anyway hopefully I can get some photos tomorrow to put on my blog. I haven't taken photos fore quite a while so it should be nice to start again. Pictures of yours truly will most likely appear. My illusiveness of new photos will be broken tomorrow...or at least I hope.

Hej Då~

ZZZZZZ

2008-11-20T23:08:00.002+11:00

Oh for crying out loud I feel so exhausted. Not physically, mind you but mentally. I can not bring myself to do any work tonight even though I know that will disadvantage me. I guess it's times like these where I should take it slow.

I've seen a rise in narcissism lately. I can't really say that it is appearing now, but I'm certainly noticing it strongly around now. It's pretty annoying and I don't like it. =[

Newcastle United are screwing up as of late. I can't believe we conceded a goal in the 2nd minute in our match against Wigan. Far out, our interim manager is full of fail. How the **** can we be doing so badly when we have a solid squad and history. Can't say we'll do much better against our game against Chelsea this Sunday. I hope we don't lose by a significant margin.

I'm satisfied that I've gotten my future prospects set up for the next 5 years. I guess the only thing I should now fix up is the time I have left during those years. Well I guess we'll see how that goes when we get there.

I have more to say but I don't remember it. That's rather disappointing but I guess that I'll feel some satisfaction that I won't have such a big gap between blogs. It would be nice to blog more.

Hej Då

Dreams

2008-11-09T23:29:00.003+11:00

Isn't it really disappointing when you realise that your dreams are better than the real life? I had quite an interesting dream last night entailing love, journeys, fun and friendship but when waking up, I realised that was only what I seek, not what I have.

How I'd love to go back to that dream. How I wish I was there forever. I wish I could find the people I dreamt about and meet them again. Yes, they do exist...it only stresses the longing for them.

But are these dreams telling me something? Sure, dreams are a muddled collection of the thoughts of the past day but then again...who's to say that I can't learn from them. Who knows, maybe someday that dream may resemble a real time in my life.

I guess that's all I can hope for. Just hope that someday I can find satisfaction in reliving my dreams. I know at this point in time, that there's nothing more that I'd rather do than say hello to my dear dream friends. We'll meet up again some other day mmkay =]

Laser Inc

2008-11-02T19:59:00.005+11:00

Palin'd

2008-10-22T23:12:00.005+11:00

28th March 2012

I went to the cinemas today. Nothing like some extremely entertaining comedy to lighten up the mood in such a boring town. Hell, while I was walking there I couldn't help but notice all the trees, cars, houses, people, shops, everything was the same. I made nothing much of it as it wasn't itching my mind.

Yeah, San Diego can be quite a boring place, contrary to popular belief. Is it really necessary to dispute the supremacy of Socal over Norcal? Aren't we all the bloody same? What's the point of pointing out the non-existent differences?

The line to the cinema was nowhere to be seen. The fact it was a Monday could explain that a lot, but it still felt somewhat eerie...yet it was almost comforting on the flipside. Ah $4 entry, how cheap that was. I was revelling in my glory as I walked in...what a strange thing to do. The strong smell of popcorn which can be found in many cinemas wasn't present today. Yeah, that's fucked up. Ever since "The-Day", things had never being the same.

I sat down in the cinema. No one else was here. Despite the emptiness, I still felt warm and comfortable that I was able to watch a movie without much disturbance. Perhaps that flickering in the corner could have stopped though...
Aha! No ads, I thought I'd never see the day. Ever since the depression of 2008, advertising levels fell. It was 'The-Day' which finished it all off though.

Ah, a spy flick - excellent. It had been quite a time since I had seen one and as a result the picture moving across the screen made me fall into a state of bliss. Pretty though right? The film, 'Journey to Underworld' starred Gergoro Simonov as the main protagonist, a Russian spy tasked to defeat undergroud capitalism in the 60's. Hold on...Russian? Am I not living in the great land of the free?

I have a confession to make. My feelings of my town are justifiable, not just a non-sensical interpretation of my dynamic emotional structure. 'The-Day' - 4th September 2009, the date we as Americans fucked ourselves over. The conflict between Russia and Georgia had hit breaking point and our invasion of Iran late the year before did not help. Everyone couldn't believe it themselves that we had intervened in a conflict and started another during a financial crisis comparable to the Great Depression. The media just payed it off as "necessary", constantly applauding Presiden Palin's actions for the people, "the average joe six pack". Quite unfortunate McCain died as a result of pneumonia isn't it"? How our health care has gone down the drain...even for Presidents...

Our weakness as a counry begain to show as cracks begain to appear in our international relations. Our inability to finance trade with China caused an allegiance change over night. The Chinese and Russians, former partners have created a union opposing the United States.

Yes, 'The-Day' was the day in which we were invaded without warning. What had we done wrong? A well placed nuclear attack on Chicago, Illinois had siabled our communation networks through whatever the Rusochinese possessed? Instantly, in a few months we were taken over by the Rusochinese and forced to pledge allegiance to their union. President Palin was sent back to Alaska in exile. Sure as hell convenient for the Russians to have her as a neighbour.

It's true, the trees are the same. cars, shops, everything is the same. To oppose our government, obviously both countries had to revert back to the hardline, communist political systems. As a result of the 'Cultural Evolution', suggsted by Chairman Kao, the United States has been hit by cultural genocide, obliterating such identity we possessed in the past. Trees uprooted, cars destroyed, shops ransacked, all part of the plan for our initiation into the union. Can't say it's that bad though. We have some beautiful Chinese Cedar planted along our streets. It's trully a stunning example of nature at work.

Objectifying against the regime wouldn't do much .We don't get persecuted for speaking out. The Rusochinese understood this as they knew they'd have to execute everyone of us. Pretty funny, huh? Our claim to fame and the reason for our survival is the fact we can't clothe our mouths.

A cultural wasteland we live in now. Absolutely obliterated by the billion strong force destroying what we stand for. I was not fazed by how this film ran though. Essentially it was a propaganda film for the Rusochinese Recruitment Alliance. Damn, do those guys know how to make a killer film.

I walked without the spring in my step when returning home. The days after the invasion soon got rid of it very fast. Our flag was pasted along every street. How I hated to see that flag. To suppress the morale of the people rising, the Russians placed a mockery of our good ol' Red White & Blue. Yes, the stripes remained the same but the same could not be said for the stars. They were replaced by the Hammer & Sickle. An object of taboo previously outlawed by the Bush government months before leaving office.

Home wasn't much different. Rusochinese propaganda blanketed the floor, walls and ceiling. We are surrounded by our new leaders whereever we go. They even watch us sleep yet without their eyes needing to be present.

I don't understand though how we could have been so stupid. Was it something wrong with our education system, was our drug culture to blame or did we simply have too many fucked up people in this country. The warning signs were there but we chose to ignore them. How in the world did we think we could place military facilities in Poland and get away with it? Obviously the Russians would have being pissed off at our passive intervention into the Georgian issue. Our mouths saved us from obliteration yet put us into cultural doom.

Absence of media is somewhat conforting. The Rusochinese TV shows aren't that bad. At least our new "rulers" know how to appease our greatest desires. I mean the media's behaviour up to "The-Day" was absolutely revolting. I can't even explain how bad it was. In my eyes, it's a closed book.

I understand that whoever might be reading this doesn't really have much knowledge of what's going in here. the fabrication by your media was arranged by your government through bilateral trade deals and militarial agreements to the Rusochinese Expeditiary Socialist Government For The Benefit Of The Better Known Universe And Beyond (RESGFTBOTBKUAB). I warn you all out there that it would be advisable to stay alert about foreign issues and your country's policies locally and internationally. Rumours circulating state that South Africa, Indonesia and Norway will be next unless allegiances change. Speak out, don't let this go by!

It is paramount that you do not leave such issues unturned. I myself hope we are taken over again. Mix things up a little. This Rusochinese thing is getting a long winded and boring. Why can't Iceland take us over. Hell, that'd be more interesting than thise borefest. Bah, I don't have the energy to carry on with this.

Fuck our history, it didn't get us anywhere but failure. Screw our archaic media. They misled us and became the tool of evil. I sure as hell hope that Sarah Palin enjoys her view over in Alaska. I heard you can see the Russian coast if you squint hard enough.

God speed children of the world...god speed...

Yeah, this is just a rewrite w/ a few edits of my response for Part 2 in the Extension English 1 exam. I'm tired yet alive. I'm going to take a shower. =]

Racism in Australia; Anti-American Sentiment; Marijuana

2008-09-23T00:06:00.004+10:00

So I've had quite an interesting night in terms of identifying myself and expressing personal views despite having to compose the 1500 word essay on tax reforms. Nonetheless, I reckon this has been more rewarding.

Racism in Australia

I've heard some individuals state that the general public HATES:

Asians
Aboriginals
Muslims

I for the love of me defended my stance the general public does not hate these minorities but it is understandable that there would be some sentiment against them. It is truly a shame such sentiments exist as in the end we are all HUMAN BEINGS. The ignorance of individuals to be racist against different people as a result of stereotypes truly disgusts me but in the end that's the nature of humans.

After this debate I had on the Vestibule, I'm encouraged to study this purported racism further. Maybe I might be able to incorporate this with the HSC Geography Course. We'll see what comes of it.

Anti-American Sentiment

As I stated before, different sentiments should not be the result of various stereotypes. A big characteristic I have seen on the Vestibule is the arrogance of American users. To them, they are the best in the world and everything in the world pertains from their actions/culture..etc. Despite addressing this, I have had various users which defy the stereotype I have encountered. Nonetheless, I still think the American culture and education system have damaged the global minds of the citizens. One user in particular user believed that the United States was so great that "its failure will bring down the whole world." As we know many countries have established themselves without having a significant dependence on the United States. He stated that a collapse in the US economy will basically **** up the whole world. HAHA, nice try!
Once again stereotypes are my main criticism here.

Legalisation of Marijuana

This issue is quite debatable and is quite actively discussed in the United States. Many users of marijuana state there are very little adverse health effects in comparision to common drugs such as alcohol. I mean really, can someone who's baked be drunk and kill someone? From what I've heard, no they can't. Lets look at the Netherlands as a model for legalisation. Marijuana has had little or no effect on the social behaviour there. Now it is vital that we actual look at why that it is the case and how the policy can be adopted worldwide. The chase on marijuana users by law makers and enforcers are wasting a large amount of money and in the end we can turn the tide by legalising and taxing it's use. What difference does marijuana have to cigarettes anyway? Pretty much no difference. Anyway hopefully an appropriate decision can be made on a large scale without having the issue subjected negatively to the media.

1971

2008-09-06T20:30:00.002+10:00

See the likeness?
Damn this photo is so awesome!

Shades of Grey

2008-09-01T19:34:00.003+10:00

So I've found "time" in which can resume my test drive of the whole binaural beats thing. Anyway I tried a AcidQH (QH being quick hit; often 10 minutes), at about 2:00AM. During the hit, I had the normal tremors and sense of entire swaying and such but nothing occurred which I would constitute being unique to a real acid trip.

Satisfied that I tried, I turned off my laptop and rest on bed to fall asleep. Funny enough, this is when I had a "moment." I stared at the curtain and suddenly there was this overwhelming feeling on insight. Although I couldn't physically see it, I could feel the contrast of grey shades and the waves it formed separating them. Captivated by such a strange moment, I couldn't move but after snapping out of it, I realised that this had to be an effect of the session.

Considering tomorrow is a strike day, and great opportunity to work on my SGP, I figure that I have some time tonight to muck around with the beats again. It's awesome how sound can have such effects on our brains...

If you're interested in trying out some binaural beats, contact me and I'll "hook you up." =)

All-Nighter!

2008-08-29T01:54:00.004+10:00

Yes, I'm pulling an all-nighter on a school night. Considering it is nearly 2:00AM and I don't feel tired enough to justify sleep, then I reckon I might as well go for it. I have to finish my Business Studies Assessment and Extension English Assessment so it's not like I'll go to sleep soon anyway.

Time to begin this experiment...ON A SCHOOL NIGHT!

Alright so I woke up on Thursday morning around 6:30AM
I've been up 21 1/2 hours.

Let's hope I don't die! =]

Edit: I failed around 4:00AM

Artist of the Week

2008-08-28T20:49:00.001+10:00

Laleh
(Laleh Pourkarim)

Live Music Video

2008-08-25T21:28:00.002+10:00

After accidentally breaking my iPod early last year, I haven't had the chance to listen to music in public. Things have changed and I finally participated in the activity again. Might I say, the long period of time between has created such a profound effect on how I interpret the music. For example, while walking I feel as if the music is representing my life, no matter how it can actually be interpreted. Music means more again.

I am also beginning my transition into a Swedish persona by ditching my Motorola for a Sony Ericsson. Soon enough, you'll be scared shitless. You'll see!

Coke...fark that was awesome. The tremors and the climax and the day after. Exciting. Unfortunately I haven't had the time to participate in further sessions but hopefully I will soon enough.

To conclude, a picture of my dog.

Lamp Post Worries

2008-08-11T23:04:00.003+10:00

Drifting and hazing
The crosses are flowing
Waving through each other like the fish in the sea
He grabs his hand but shakes away
What did he do to deserve this?

Why do they keep denying this?
The systematic problem that it is
The loving and desire are bringing all them down
Annihilating the truth

Lamp posts burst in the spiral of the night
But how did it really happen?
Did he get high on nothing?
Questions scream through the ever changing mind
Christ, what in the world was I thinking?

Brandishing the words against never ending tower
Lips burning from the inner passion
Crumbling away like the cliff against the sea
He flew and flew but he never found his light
Oh why did he have to burst the lamp post in the night?

He never regretted the fall from the start
But what was it like without it
He always depends on his psychonautic mind
Hey, is that even a word?

Doors closing
Doors fading
Walls closing
Walls fading

World, expanses right in front of me
Jeez, this song is rubbish

Thank you!

Calling all Swedes

2008-08-11T00:49:00.004+10:00

I'm currently looking for any Swede between 15-21 who is willing to help me plan my trip to Sweden in 2011. As I stated in a previous blog entry, the current plan is to study overseas in Sweden for 1 year but I still feel I should get to know the culture more intimately.

Anyway, if you're willing to help out a 16 year old Australian on his future voyage to your wonderful country, give me a shout on my email (it's in my profile) ASAP. Have a great day guys. =]

Forever

2008-08-10T12:00:00.003+10:00

I'll travel far to reach you
Going across the world to meet you
I'm holding you gently in my arms

The seas cannot divide us
Everyone will part without a fuss
And we're flying away

The fluttering in the wind
It's a sense of going in
Into our never ending love
Which will grow on & on

And I say, 'Hello Today'
Why did we have to meet so late?
But does it really matter?
If we're going to be together

Forever, and ever
Do not ponder on what they say
They have not experienced the day
When two shining doves
Express their ever undying love

Love never ends
We know that will never bend
'Cause even though others split apart
They didn't hold each others hearts
Hard enough
Hard enough
Hard enough

Even though we've never met
I'll make one final bet
It'll surprise us both
Even the the folks
'Cause we are for each other
No doubt, passionate lovers
Forever and ever

Eurasian Domination Tour!

2008-08-05T20:23:00.004+10:00

Give it time my friends.

2008-2011 - Australia

2011-2012 - Sweden

2012 - 20xx - Wherever our callings take us

Our race must grow and flourish to dominate. That is what we are designed for. Europe + Asia = Epic people.

=]

You know you’ve been in Sweden too long, when...

2008-07-28T00:36:00.001+10:00

It's acceptable to eat lunch at 11.00.
You think Leif 'Loket' Olsson is entertaining.
You rummage through your plastic bag collection to see which ones you should keep to take to the store and which can be sacrificed to garbage.
You associate pea soup with Thursday.
The first thing you do on entering a bank/post office/pharmacy etc. is look for the queue number machine.
You accept that you will have to queue to take a queue number.
A sharp intake of breath has become part of your vocabulary, as has the sound 'ahh'.
You associate Friday afternoon with a trip to system bolaget.
You think nothing of paying $50 for a bottle of 'cheap' spirits at system bolaget.
Silence is fun.
Your native language has seriously deteriorated; you begin to "eat medicine" and "hire videos".
Your front door step is beginning to resemble a shoe shop.
When a stranger on the street smiles at you, you assume that:
a. he is drunk;
b. he is insane;
c. he is American;
d. he is all of the above.
You stay home on Saturday night to watch Bingolotto.
It seems sensible that the age limit at Stockholm night clubs is 23 or 25.
The reason you take the ferry to Finland is:
a. duty free vodka
b. duty free beer
c. to party
The only reason for getting of the boat in Helsinki is to eat pizza.
It no longer seems excessive to spend $200 on alcohol in a single night.
The fact that all of the "v's" and the "w's" are together in the phone directory seems right.
You care who wins 'Expedition: Robinson'.
Your old habit of being "fashionably late" is no longer acceptable. You are always on time.
You no longer see any problem wearing white socks with loafers.
You know that "religious holiday" means "let's get pissed."
You are no longer scared of volvos and volvo drivers.
You have your own innebandy club.
You enjoy the taste of surströmming.
You find yourself debating the politics of Carl Bildt.
You use mmmm as a conversation filler.
An outside temperature of 9 degrees Celsius is mild.
When someone asks for "three cheers", you say "hoorah, hoorah, hoorah, hoorah".
You wear sandals with socks.
You eat jam with savoury dishes.
You have only two facial expressions, smiling or blank.
You think riding a racing bike in the snow is a perfectly sensible thing to do.
You think it's more fun to stay at home and drink then go out.
You wear warm clothing when it's 25 degrees plus in April - because it's April.
You wear shorts and t-shirt when it's barely 10 degrees in July - because it's July.
You get extremely annoyed when the bus is two minutes late.
You think women are more than equal than men and deserve to have better positions in the work place.
Your wife watches TV while you look after the kids.
You become a punctuality freak and dump your friends for being late more than once.
You spend the week's entertainment budget on a pack of cigarettes and a drink in Gamla Stan.
When a stranger asks you a question in the streets, you think it's normal to just keep walking, saying nothing.
You've been engaged for four years and don't have any plans to get married.
Americans start to look entertaining, witty and fun, and you just want to go to the U.S.A., travelling across country on a greyhound, because it's "romantic."
You and your friends know exactly the same information, and have the same attitudes and beliefs in the value of Social Democracy.
You lose any artistic talent whatsoever.
You think that if you smoke a joint you will wind up in an insane asylum. [or become a habitual criminal]
You seriously contemplate getting into S & M.
You wear a dress or skirt over your trousers and combine them with training shoes. [this is especially problematic if you're male]
You jot down 'fisk fingrar' on your shopping list.
You no longer look for Vegemite on supermarket shelves, even if it's your first time in that particular store.
You think black rimmed glasses are cool.
Your wardrobe now consists of 20 different shades of black and grey.
You get excited watching a bunch of lame 'celebrities' on a fortress island playing games that are about as intelligent as mud-wrestling.
You look forward to the next program about practical jokes done on lame celebrities/has-beens by other lame celebrities who don't really deserve air time.
It doesn't feel like lunch unless it's a hot, full course meal drenched in gravy.
You eat unlimited amounts of sausage products without worrying about your nitrate intake.
You think that an unripe wedge of tomato on a limp leaf of iceberg lettuce can be called a salad.
You don't question the concept of 'telephone time'.
It seems reasonable that no business can be conducted on Friday afternoons. [or the entire month of July]
You assume that anyone who apologises after bumping into you is a tourist.
You think it is normal that a huge restaurant has a smoking section which consists of three tables near the door.
You reach for your pocket 20 times a day as mobile phones ring all around you.
You actually care if your mobile phone meets the fashion standard - and so do your new Swedish friends!
It seems reasonable that even those asking you for money at T-centralen reach for their pocket as the melodic music of the Swedish mobile phone resounds.
You get into a Mercedes taxi cab and think nothing of it.
Paying $5 for a cup of coffee seems reasonable.
You understand that when a colleague asks you out for "a drink," it will probably be a long night with a severe hangover the next day.
You start to think that having a sauna in the nude with a bunch of strangers is a necessary part of daily life ... and a necessary part of business.
You believe that when you finally win your Nobel Prize, it is best to be modest and say "Oh really, it was nothing!"
You get offended if, at a dinner party, someone fails to look you in the eyes after raising their glass for a toast.
Seeing a young woman with lit candles stuck to her head no longer disturbs you.
You become extremely skilled at assembling pre-packaged furniture kits.
"Candles" are a permanent fixture on your weekly shopping list.
You get to the movies early so that you can watch the commercials.
Most of your friends have the same names and you must use both names to distinguish between them.

http://www.pauldickman.com/misc/sweden.php

Many Things =]

2008-07-18T02:11:00.016+10:00

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome the Pope to Sydney and I wish his stay here will be an experience which will be remembered by the many. I hope this chance will prevent the unnecessary bias directed at the church from falling out of ignorant mouths. Anyway enough of this negativity! It certainly does not promote the ideals of the Catholic Church.

An update on the Epping-RSC bus. Mr Hughes has arranged a meeting in August with John Watkins, Deputy Premier & Minister of Transport/Finance for NSW. This will allow the case to be brought to attention to our local member, therefore we will most likely have the momentum to sway State Transit's decision on the issue. To be honest, I see an Epping-RSC bus as an easy goal to achieve without his intervention but rest assure, this opportunity will continue the relationship between our local member and our school.

Now I'm going to use this space to document some rough plans for the future. I plan to achieve a UAI of at least 93 to "ensure" a position at the University of Sydney for a B Economics/B Social Science. Now considering that I see Scandinavians as a leader in sustainable development (in comparison to Australia), I am also thinking of becoming an exchange student at either Malmö or Lunds Universitet. I may also consider Norway as a possible destination, but I currently see Sweden as the most intriguing country.

Of course, I may be thinking real forward at the moment, but I personally think it is a good idea to get some sort of idea where I see myself in the next few years. As for me at this point in time, I'll get back to watching the U19 match of football between Spain & Hungary. Sure it isn't much, I mean I'd rather watch the San Diego Padres play a good game of baseball, but I rarely have that chance anyway considering the time zones or let alone have they been playing up to their potential...haha. And yes, I know I have a tendency to post my blogs up real late...

Over 12 hours!

2008-07-10T20:47:00.003+10:00

Christ sake, I've been at work for over 12 hours and there's still a few hours left.

Let me take this opportunity to tell you people out there which aspire to be lawyers that it is not worth the happiness you sacrifice. To work 12hr+ days, with the cycle repeating over and over even through the weekend is not healthy living.

I'm hungry and I'm sure I am developing a mild headache. Law is not what it is made out to be. Lets look at the rate of depression by occupation. According to Beyond Blue, individuals in law are most likely to be depressed. For example, Mr Dunlevy of the NSW Law Society stated that "for a long time, the Society has receieved anecdotal evidence from solicitors regarding the prevalence of depression."

Trust me, working in a law firm does grind your bones on a busy day. You have no time to do anything. It's work work work. You work serious overtime and you don't have sufficient time to rest to repeat the cycle. I warn any of you thinking of becoming lawyers, seek opinions from all those who are in law. Get their HONEST OPINION! If you don't truly understand the nature of the occupation, DO NOT DIG YOURSELF INTO THIS HOLE!

I love this Knocked Up Clip

2008-06-30T21:10:00.000+10:00

Bloody brilliant. What can I say...we need more pissed off Asian doctors in our hospitals.

DO NOT IDOLISE YOUR GENITALS!

2008-06-25T22:45:00.003+10:00

I just want to apologize in advance... my friend is stupid so this problem is stupid.

Anyway, I have a friend I've known since high school. Best way to describe him is a frat boy type who, for some reason, was obsessed with his penis. Not just staring at it and admiring obsessed with it, but was always proud at the fact that he wasn't circumcised.

He was one of those people who took great pride in his uncircumcised penis. He'd gloat to his guy friends about how he has more sensitivity when doing it (Supposedly, he read somewhere that men who are uncircumcised have 75% more feeling in the penis when getting it on) and how us unfortunate people that were circumcised were basically maimed and "missing out".

So anyway, I went over to his house earlier today and he's laughing and telling me about this one picture he found on 4chan. (I know... I know.) So I go and look at it and get kind of annoyed/worried that the picture he wanted to show me on 4chan was a penis. So our conversation basically goes something like this:

Me: What are you, gay? Why the heck would I want to see a penis.
Him: Dude, look at it! It's deformed as hell!
Me: What's wrong with it?
Him: It's weird at the end! Look at it.

At this point, I was weirded out that my friend wanted me to look at penis on 4chan, but at least it wasn't ******* loli hentai so I humored him.

Me: It's normal. Just uncircumcised.
Him: What the hell? They don't look like that.
Me: Yes... they do.

So we basically get into the gayest conversation ever and to make a long story short, he basically finds out that he actually is circumcised. Like the good friend that I am, I laugh and clown him for awhile but go home.

So about an hour ago, I get a call from his girlfriend at 2AM. She's screaming at me, cursing me, and telling me how I ruined my friends life. Apparently, after I left, this happened.

*Friend confronted and screamed at his Mom about how she could have circumcised him without permission. Mom kicked him out for the night.

*Comes to the girlfriend's house and cries for a few hours.

*Girlfriend fears he might go into depression.

*He doesn't want to have sex anymore.

So apparently, I'm a horrible friend and she doesn't want me to talk to him again ever. I mean, WTF? I'm 22 years old, I'm too old to be dealing with stupid crap like this. And who the hell places this much pride in his uncircumcised penis? Seriously?

I came across this post on the Vestibule and I thought this would do some good to you people out there who idolise their genitals. If you really have the need to worship your penis, at least make sure you know enough about it.

The Safin of Squash

2008-06-17T21:59:00.011+10:00

I proclaim myself, "The Safin of Squash." Named after the Russian tennis player Marat Safin who infamously has outbursts during frustrating plays, I believe the name suits me appropriately. The following pictures certainly support my statement.

P.S: As Chris reminded me, this is the second racquet I've destroyed

Child Labour...in Sydney?

2008-06-11T20:33:00.005+10:00

Sitting on the ground cross-legged.
Hunched over, hands busy
Paper on the floor, pen in hand
Marking continuously

Owner yelling at you for the most innane things
Lines aren't straight!
Insufficient use of resources!
No talking, no coughing, no sneezing.

Box after box, off the line
Demand, demand
Debt falling and rising
No end in sight...

No, this isn't a poem describing a hellish Economics class. This is my recount of the roleplaying I had to endure today at the World Vision Leadership Convention at Sydney Olympic Park.

Must I say, the individuals which helped organise the event had an extremely convincing demeanor when playing the "ruthless" Indian matchbox factory owner. Let me tell you, for 2 hours (yes really!), we were slaving away making matchboxes out of paper and my back ached like hell. Despite having such a remedial and stressful task put upon us, in reality, it was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in my life.

To truly understand what child labour is like in India was shocking. Sure, you may see images & footage of these events occuring yet it doesn't have the "oomph" compared to actually simulating their strenuous 16+ hour days. While drawing up the framework for the matchboxes, I simply could not remove from my mind the thought that this actually occurred in our world.

The rest of the day was filled with a Q&A session with a past child labourer from India & dynamic speeches by the MC and other members of World Vision. All in all, the world is simply not how we perceive it to be. Whenever you complain that your parents cheated you out of $20, or your asked to do the dishes, think about how there are an excessive amount of individuals who are forced to work as a result of outstanding debt and they receive only receive 50c a day for work which would break any teenager down to no return. If you realise how fortunate we are, compared to the large majority of the world, maybe we can accept what we have and actually strive to make the world a better place. Sure, that statement is over used but it doesn't lose any of its "lustre" after you experience first hand what horrors our fellow man are facing.

My Notebook & New Bus?

2008-06-04T01:08:00.005+10:00

Do you ever think about an awesome idea and then pledge to write it down, yet you forget? Fortunately, I went one step further and now I'm currently walking around with a notebook in my pants for easy access. Anyway, I'll pretty much be walking around with the story of my life. I can ensure you right now, all those ideas I come up with, they are going to get pushed and pushed until they are reality

Also, I'm currently in talks to introduce a bus route from Ryde Sec. to Epping & beyond. If somehow (god knows how...) you have wondered on to my blog and you would like this bus route established AND you haven't already signed the petition, send me an email or approach me at D-Block and I'll sign you up. Remember, this route is subject to change depending on student interest so get your voice heard. I sure as hell don't like the bulges we get on the bus as if we were living in Mumbai.

All the best to the guys & gals which have read my blog. More exciting things are on their way.

Hej då!~

Karaoke!

2008-05-31T23:21:00.005+10:00

Dammit, I've pretty much destroyed my voice after going spastic at karaoke tonight. I guess that's what you have to endure when you are do **** with a sore throat. Well worth 100'ding Never Gonna Give You Up.

My Fascination with the Swedes

2008-05-26T19:43:00.009+10:00

Hur mår du?

It's quite amazing how the Swedish people captivated me & urged me to learn about Sweden, the culture, the language, etc. Besides, I heard that Stockholm is a great place to hold out during the onsets of Global Warming. To be able to associate myself with the Swedes who take a great interest in preserving the environment really strikes a note with my passion.

DAMMIT SWEDEN, HERE I COME!!!

Tack, jag mår bra.

P.S I'll keep you updated on my transformation into a Aussie Korean Swede =)