One thing to say

Oh yes.

Actually, I have more than one thing to say, because there is no way I would have done that without loads of people encouraging me, supporting me, and maybe even bullying me :p

In particular, the amazing, wonderful, fabulously awesome Sarah, who inspired me to do this with the story of her friend. I had thought I was too busy but managed to prove to myself that actually, I'm not. Busyness is a rubbish excuse for not doing what you want to do. If something matters, you can make the time. I think that participating in NaNo has proved that to me, and I'm going to try to remember that if I can find time to work full time and still write 1,667 words a day, I can find time to do a whole lot of other things that I complain I don't have time to do.

Also thanks to fellow NaNo-ers Christine and Anna Grace, buzz cheer squad members Sheri (captain), Brandon, JJ, Doug, and Carolyn, and random other encouragers, in particular Luke, because he never encourages anyone so to find him encouraging me was quite a suprise, and Amelia, because she was the first of my local friends who actually knew was NaNo was. There are all sorts of other people who made comments on my facebook statuses encouraging me, or even just clicked 'like'. Seriously, that meant a lot and I hope you read this and know that I really do appreciate you!

50,022

a little bit of awesomeness to start your week

I found this on another blog a while ago. I have since rediscovered the song via the Glee soundtrack I mentioned on Friday.



I love this song. I can't wait to see Wicked in January. Woo! Sydney, here I come.

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Gleeeeeeeeeee!!!

In the spirit of true randomness, I would like to report that I bought the Glee soundtrack this morning. And now I am performing a move that I like to call 'chair dancing'. It is that weird sort of pretend dancing you do when you're sitting down. Well. I say 'you', but really I'm not sure if anyone but myself ever performs this particular piece of retardedness...

Gosh, the joy in this music. Even the sadder songs. It's just amazing. It makes me want to sing and dance and go CRAZY! Plus everyone singing on it has amazing voices which makes me go all melty.

Happy Friday, everyone!!!

8,485

NaNo, NaNo!

As you may have surmised, I have entered myself in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Sure, when it says 'National' it means America, but people all over the world are doing it including a small group in Adelaide.

I decided to do it on Sunday, after Sarah pointed out to me that if her dying friend could do it, so could I.

I have since discovered that the people running this thing are kind of cool. For instance, this appeared on the front page of the website when I visited today

'There's an old folk saying that goes: Whenever you delete a sentence in your NaNoWriMo novel, a NaNoWriMo angel loses its wings and plummets, screaming, to the ground.

Where it will likely require medical attention'

Clearly, these people get me :)

3,616 5015

tra la la...

Sarah called me awesome. Just about tops off my day, actually. It's been one of those weird days where nothing particularly good happened, but regardless I just feel like I had a great day. It started without enough sleep. Perhaps this is my problem. Perhaps I am getting too much sleep and that is throwing off my groove.

I'm sure November will fix that...frantic typing to prove to myself that I can write 50,000 words of fiction in the space of a simple month.

I think I'm mad. But a touch of madness might just be a good thing. Might just be what I'm needing at the moment. Things are feeling rather rut-like. And I hate ruts. And I hate how I feel when I'm in a rut. Getting out of it in time for the Christmas season seems like a good idea.

Wow. This was a really random blog. But random is good...

3,616

Nerding It Up

My friend Michelle blogs over at Nerd Nation . I studied third year anatomy with Michelle and half of my honours year as well. Well, I say 'studied'...those few months in a shared office often dissloved into bitching about faculty staff and drinking cider at the unibar whilst other people threw money off the balcony and ended up climbing onto the roof of the adjoining building. But that, I think is a story for another day. My point is that Michelle has started a science blog. She likes to research into things and educate people about them. Michelle is a nerd. As am I

I, however, channel my nerdiness into far less worthy efforts. Like the following YouTube clip



Because actually learning stuff is too much like hard work for a procrastinator like me. I prefer to enjoy other people's intelligence...

Phooey

I was going to do a photo dump of my weekend in the NT, but blogger is being a whiny little bitch and won't let me.

Grr.

I dunno. Come back in a few days and maybe I'll have gotten the stinking thing to work.

Thbbbbbt

Things about me

So. You've stumbled upon this blog. But just who is the mysterious 'rach' who posts these inane ramblings?

Well, to start with, this is a picture of my desk



So. Yes. I'm not the world's neatest person. But if I tidy it up I can't find anything, so it stays messy.

Speaking of my desk, this little fellow currently sits on it.



'Hello. My name is Julian. I am a stuffed dog'

Julian is a dog from Barcelona (the city, sadly, not the planet...) and he has no nose. Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke and it's still funny...

Next to my desk is this



Because I am a dancer. And a little bit artsy. And I like Ikea. So really, that simple black statue says quite a bit about me. Let alone the fact that I have another similar one on the other side...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnd that's enough about me. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of 'Rachel gets bored and takes stupid artsy photos with her iPhone and puts them on her blog in a fit of vanity!!!' Or not. Who knows if I'll ever again get bored and take stupid artsy photos with my iPhone and post them on my blog in a fit of vanity. Only time will tell.

going walkies

Yesterday I walked the 6 km city-to-bay fun run/walk in just over an hour. I am close to being the world's slowest walker on a normal day, so that time impressed me. My shin splints and hamstring cramps impress my slightly less, but they weren't really caused by the walk, they are a recurring issue.

Also the reading isn't going so well. It wasn't helped by picking two books that bored me to death. Neither had any charcters that I liked very much, and thus I didn't care what happened to them and so didn't really bother reading much. But, thanks to my super friend Ingrid I have copies of the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, so hopefully that makes for more compelling reading. Also, in about 10 days I am having a mini holiday so hopefully I can get a bit of reading done in that time too. Still, I've managed 8 books in the last 11 weeks which is much better than I've averaged in the last few years.

Something resembling athleticism, but not quite

So. I've decided to walk in the City to Bay this year. Only the 6 km one, cause I'm new at this whole charity fun walk thing and think I should ease in the soft way.

BUT please visit this page and sponsor me if you can. I would love to hand over some money to the leukaemia foundation on your behalf. It's one tiny way I can do something to help, I guess.

Otherwise...

Well, actually, nothing to report. My brother is home, I guess that's something. He brought with him a dog from Barcelona with no nose, and if you get why that is the awesome, then...well...good for you. If not, *sadface*, get some British SciFi into you, ASAP.

Socks

So. I love socks. Brightly coloured ones are my absolute favourites.

And now, I realise, they have a serious purpose.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/853911/trapped-girl-saved-by-pink-socks

Oh yes. If ever I get my head stuck between rocks at the beach, I'll be saved by my socks!!

Totally Awesome

Those who know and love me, or even just read this blog, will know that I have a love of all things Whovian.

I also like cake.

So when this came up on CakeWrecks, it simply begged to be posted on this set on inane ramblings I call a blog

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/08/sunday-sweets-doctor-who.html

Seriously. Check it out. Especially the last one. It is actually a TARDIS cake that is bigger on the inside.

something that bugs me

I just bought Kate Miller Heidke's new album, Curiouser. And there is something that annoys me. Curiouser is sitting around number 3 in the Australian charts at the moment. Everyone is saying how great this 'new' artist is.

Um. No. Actually, she has been around for a few years now. The only reason that she is currently popular and getting airplay is: one of her songs was used on Neighbours.

Ugh. Why does decent Australian talent only get exposure in conjunction with decidedly indecent Australian soap operas?

I like to pay out Americans for the fact they live in a country full of stupid people. Sadly, rather like swine flu, stupidity seems to be a worldwide pandemic...

failings.

I fail at blogging. Also, as I suspected might happen, I fail at being able to read books and work full time simultaneously.

So I am a week or so behind on my reading. It's not entirely my fault. The library took a week to get the book I reserved to me. But I could have gotten it read before now, if I didn't watch so much stinking TV...

But work is good, and interesting, and full of good people. That's about all you're getting from me on the work front, as reading other people's blogs has informed me that if you blog about work, you're liable to get fired. I think that this isn't something I want to have happen.

I also think that last sentence might be a grammatical nightmare. Meh.

I was SO right

You remember when, a few posts ago, I made the comment that now the first of my peers have gotten married, the rest are going to fall like flies?

Well. I was right. There was another engagement announcement today.

Funny thing is, it is a person I spoke to at the other wedding, who commented she was already sick of the 'so when is it going to be your turn' line.

See Garry? I'm not turning into you because of the one wedding I attended. It's because of the ridiculous amount of weddings coming up in the near future...

Books

The whole 'read a book a week thing' is going well. Except that I think I accidentally keep reading children's/teen's books...

My third book was 'The Princess Bride' by William Goldman. It was hysterically funny and clever. But is it really a proper grown up book? Probably not. But then again I don't consider myself a proper grown up so I guess it's not a big deal. I'd rather read lighter amusing books and keep reading them than get bogged down in the middle of a heavy story. It's probably a bit like my taste in TV and movies. I hate big dramatic Oscar winning movies. I want movies with laughs and explosions. You can make something that is funny, light and still occasionally has a message, or rips your guts out. Don't believe me? Watch a season of Scrubs or Doctor Who and tell me that it's not both hilarious and gut wrenching at the same time.

My current book is 'The Ruby in the Smoke' by Philip Pullman. I have seen the made-for-TV version of this and thought I should read the book. I was very put out to not be able to find it anywhere, until I realised that it was because it's in the 'Teen' section. Which is rubbish. Sure, the heroine is only 16 but it's Victorian England, 16 is practically middle aged.

Still. I'm sure it's 10000000000000000000 times more intelligent than that Twilight rubbish, and since people my own age and older rave about those book, I feel justfied in reading something supposedly aimed at the same age bracket. I might even get really adventurous and read the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy that people debate over at length. Just to see what all the fuss is about. For those that don't immediately see the connection, they are by the same author as 'The Ruby in the Smoke'. Just thought I'd clarify that.

Of Cats

I have, more than once on this blog, professed my love for a certain small furball called Astrid.



I mean, honestly, who wouldn't?

However, I would like to point out that as much as it is nice to be wanted by said small furball, trying to scratch your way though my door all night is NOT endearing...

A rather frightening realisation

On thursday I had to shop for a wedding present. It was amongst the most frustrating shopping I have ever had to do. Note to others who may be in this predicament: don't leave wedding present shopping til the last minute, and don't try to do it in the middle of the stocktake sales. Most of the good things on the registry will be gone and what hasn't been bought yet will be out of stock.

But that wasn't the frightening thing. Not really.

The frightening thing was that when I was at my most frustrated and felt like buying something really ridiculously inappropriate like a wheel of cheese, I had a revelation. I had officially started down the road of turning into my brother.

Seriously. A whole stack of my friends are getting married in the next 12-ish months. Which means in the 12 months after that, a whole stack more will be getting married. Weddings beget weddings, people. Once they start, they don't stop, until everyone but yourself is married.

That might sound bitter. It's not meant to. It's just a little scary. I realised as I went to the ceremony and reception yesterday that it was actually the first wedding reception I've been to for one of my peers.

Which means it's all downhill from here, I'm afraid...

p.s I love you, Garry, if you're reading this. I'm sure turning into you isn't such a terrible thing. The world only needs one of you, however, and this is what concerns me...

The first of many, hopefully...

So, last wednesday, the 1st of July, I decided that for the next year I will attempt to read a book a week, seeing as I have lost my love of reading and that bugs me. Unfortunately, my plans to start were somewhat hampered by a nasty cold which prevented a visit to the library. Thus, I started on the only book I could find which I knew I would finish but that I hadn't read. It was one of the Kathy Reichs books, as predictable and formulaic as they come. Thus, I can summarise a whole review in one word.

Meh.

I have now started on my next book, 'The Graveyard Story' by Neil Gaiman. I believe it's actually considered a children's book, but it was included by a Pajiban in their attempt to complete the Cannonball Read (100 books in a year, not something I'm prepared to try just yet) and I figured I'd give it a go.

I figured I'd at least start my reading with a few books I haven't read yet. Later on, if I get really busy and can't get to the Library or just don't have a lot of time to read, I may hit up the Harry Potter books again just to keep my numbers up. I don't consider this cheating, because re-reading them is better than not reading anything.

I'm prepared to take suggestions, but only to a degree. Anyone suggesting I read the 'Twilight' books with be taunted with words such as 'twatwaffle' and 'douchenozzle' and trust me, you don't want to be associated with people I label as such. Also, nothing in Old or Middle English. Late 19th century English is about as foreign as I can take.

I'm really hoping I can stick with this. I'm hoping the fact that I start work on Monday a) doesn't get in the way and b) helps establish a routine that might actually help my stick with this.

I'll also try to post some reviews, etc, but I'm not very good at writing such things so don't expect too much.

Oops

I should probably qualify my statements yesterday by making an exception - my friends are awesome people. I am lucky to have awesome friends who are fun to hang out with, laugh at my imaginary words, and tell me it's OK to be mad at douchenozzles and twatwaffles.

They will also indulge my habit of quoting Doctor Who. I think that makes them the most awesome friends ever. Especially when they join in...

A letter

To the people of planet earth.

Cut it out. Stop all the douchenozzlery. Quit being twatwaffles. Enough with the assholery. M-kay?

Sincerely,
Rachel.


p.s if you're thinking 'surely she doesn't mean me?', yes. Yes I do. ALL OF YOU! I'm this close to emancipating myself from the entire human race. I don't want to be a part of you any more.

Maybe I don't want to live in TV land, after all. Seems like a pretty crappy place, when you start to think about it...

Here's the thing. I watch a lot of television. Probably too much television. Also, a lot of crap television. It's probably almost a compulsion of mine. But, having watched a lot of television, I've discovered an interesting and perhaps disturbing trend when it comes to relationships between men and women on various TV shows.

There is a staple relationship often depicted on TV, and that is the one of pining. Longing. Etc. But here's the thing. When a man on TV pines over a woman (usually in silence, because that is, after all, the manly thing to do...) it's portayed as sweet, loyal, romantic etc etc. A man pining over a woman, however, must not even look at another woman, because then he's a bastard.

Flip genders, and it's a different story. A woman pining over a man who will never love her? She's pathetic. The only time it is acceptable for a woman to pine over a man is if he is the hottest one on her TV programme. She must accept that the longed for relationship is never going to happen, and find a hotter guy to fall in love with. Because of course, when she finds a hotter guy to go out with, other said guy will then of course work out he was in love with her after all. Then we'll end up with the scenario of my previous paragraph.

The thing is, we accept this. We accept that constancy in a man is a good thing, but bad for a woman. Is it any wonder we can't have true equality of the sexes when we're all prepared to put with this drivel?

Another random thought...

My dance classes are held at the Entertainment Centre. Which is fine, until there is a show on a Thursday night there, in which case the parking is mad. Also if it is a kid's show, like it was last night, there are many many small children around, doing their best to get hit by cars. Ugh

It all got me to thinking...the show was Disney Princesses on Ice. I think it would a much more interesting show if the 'ice' they referred to was actually crystal meth. Now THAT I'd pay to see.

In case you hadn't worked it out, I'm in a bit of a funny mood today...

A tragic day for music.

That's right, people. My iPod is being a pain. I have to completely restore it and resync ALL my music!

Wait, what did you think I meant?

New name, new look

You may have noticed that this blog looks very different now. That is, of course, assuming you've read it before. Which may be a big assumption. I think it is a fairly big assumption that anyone reads this blog much at all, actually.

Also, the title has changed. Because I figured I wasn't really posting anything that had anything to do with the former title. So I changed it to better reflect the content. Which is: two random words thrown together. See? Much more like what I post here.

Actually, it comes from the URL of this blog, because I had to find something unique. And stuck to the shelves above my desk is a butterfly whose wings are made of...wait for it...red feathers! It was the first thing that came into my head and was unique enough to work as the URL for this blog. But I think 'red feathers' has a nice sort of ring to it. And I have decided after years of um-ing and ah-ing that red is in fact my favourite colour. So it sort of fits with that too.

For anyone who cares...

I realised I never mentioned my end result for honours. Somehow, through the mystical wonders of the universe, I managed to scam 1st class. I think what they do is they have a bag of balls and, somewhat like a lottery, they pull your mark out of it. The bag has mostly balls marked '2A' and a couple marked '1st' and it's just luck of the draw...OK, so I'm sure my department aren't as unprofessional as that and I guess I deserved it. But anyone who reads this blog knows I spent a good deal of my time during honours reading news.ninemsn.com and posting random articles here...so I guess somewhere in there I managed to do some quality work and impress the powers that be.

So now I'm...waiting. I do have a job to start but that won't be til July so I have to work out some way to occupy myself in the mean time. Any ideas, feel free to comment...

Things that are awesome

Here's a list of things that I think are awesome. Well, OK, things that I think are awesome today.

My GP
Amazon.com
Roast Potatoes
The fact that Richard Hammond hosts a British children's science show.
The fact that the book from said British children't science show has been purchased for my cousin's birthday. Let the corruption begin!!

Next year, when she's ten, I'm seriously considering introducing her to the joys of Doctor Who. Not quite sure how that will go down with her mother...and it would probably be a bad idea to show her 'Blink'...but otherwise, I think it's my duty as cousin to bring her up in the ways of the Whovian.

Tomorrow is only a day away

This time tomorrow, I will be finished with honours. My seminar and defense will be over, I will have my mark, and will only have to make any spelling corrections etc and I can kiss this all goodbye. It's quite an awesome feeling, really, although I imagine the feeling of it actually being over will top this by approximately a million.

It does, however, mean that for the first time in 4 and a half years, I won't be a student anymore, at least for the time being. Sure, I'll keep getting student discounts until July when my student card expires, but I won't be a uni bum any more. I'm going to have to start living in the real world, where things like money and paying tax are important and inevitable. Sleeping til 10:30 on weekdays will probably be a thing of the past. Lunches at the Exeter will no longer be allowed to go on for 4 hours. Spending all day on Facebook will no longer cut it.

But you know what? I think that's OK. I think that I'm ready to enter the world of real, responsible adults, if only for a little while. It's scary, but people have faced much more frightening things than this in the past. It's the not the scariest thing I'll ever do.

I'm feeling the need to wrap this up with something horribly cliche. Like 'it's time to spread my wings and fly'...which is rubbish really, as I don't have wings. That'd be cool though, wouldn't it?

Pay it forward

Here are the rules:

The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a small gift from me within one month!

You must be willing to host a pay it forward too! As well as send the gifts out to your recipients within a month.

Post this same thing on your blog and then come back and leave a comment telling me you're in! Please remember to leave your e-mail!

things and stuff

I'm coming to the realisation that I'm really quite bad at this whole blogging thing. Still, I suppose the last month or so I have had an excuse. Before that? Not so much.

So, the evil thesis is done with at last. Sadly, not the evil honours programme. That has to wait another week or so. I have something ridiculous like 80 slides in my 30 minute seminar. Yeah. That's going to go down real well...

Last week was a bit of a trial for me, I have to say. A friend from my days in Darwin passed away quite suddenly. She was 21, and not living far from us here. Which would have been bad enough on its own. We then had her whole family come and stay with us, which meant the house was full of our grieving friends. Sharing a house with all that grief isn't the most fun experience, but we do what we can for our friends when they need us, right? Cause what else can you do...

It would also appear that I have a job lined up for when this is all done with. Not quite sure when it will start, but I'm happy because in these stupid economic times we live in, to find a job without even having to look for it is really quite unbelievable. It would appear that God does just have the most awesome timing. At least in this instance. Some other times really, I totally doubt His all knowing 'my timing is perfect' thing. But because of my recent fortune, I guess I'll let it slide.

What's getting me through at the moment

Stay strong
You are not lost
Come on and fix your eyes ahead
There's a new dawn to light our day, our day
We've gotta stay strong
You and I run
For the prize that lies ahead
We've come too far to lose our way, our way

Get up, there's further to go
Get up, there's more to be done
Get up, this witness is sure
Get up, this race can be won
This race can be won

We've gotta stay strong
You are not lost
Come on and fix your eyes ahead
Our Father's dawn will light our day, our day
Come on and stay strong
His grip is sure
And His patience still endures
There'll be no letting go today, no way

stupid suckfest of a life...thank you Newsboys for at least writing a song that keeps me going...

I'll write what is actually going on later...but for now, thesis is done, I have a job lined up, just waiting to complete my seminar and defense. And people die and that sucks.

bloody kiwis

Saw this on ninemsn news as I perused it this morning.

Cheeky beggars. It's an advertising campaign for people to go to Roturua...

It scrolls to the rotorua bit afterwards.

Who wants to bet it works 100x better than the Bingle fiasco?

Powerless

You know what I really hate?

I hate feeling powerless. I really hate it. I hate seeing people in situations I would love to change and having zero ability to do it. I especially hate when those people could do something about that situation themselves...but for some reason don't or feel they can't. But I still can't change the situation and it makes me so frustrated.

I guess it's related to another pet hate of mine - people who gripe on about a situation when they have the power to change it. And I think it's because so many things could be changed by just a small action, but too often we're too scared or too worried about what people will think of us if we do.

That said, I don't always practice what I preach. I let people walk all over me on occasions when I could easily stand up and say no. Sadly, I like people to like me, and don't like it when people don't like me. It makes me uncomfortable.

So. yes. Thesis writing. Procrastination, much?

And now, back to your regular scheduled programming

Seems I went a bit deep the last few days.

Not going to last, I'm afraid

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25249680-5014239,00.html

Bah hah hah
If you can't read it, follow the link.

Just a thought though. Hackers clearly must be very intelligent to be able to hack like this. So it strikes me that maybe, they could channel that intelligence into something more fruitfull, like, oh, I don't know, LEARNING TO SPELL?

Unless a grain of wheat falls

I've been feeling so many different things this week...frustrationg, sadness, joy...I often find it hard to put these things into words, which is why my blog largely consists of cute pictures and bizzare news stories.

Thankfully, there are people out there who are so much more eloquent than I am. One of those is Ann Siddall at the Stillpoint Spirituality Centre. We used this prayer in church this morning, and it helped me to sum up and let go of much of what has been on my mind.

Unless a grain of wheat falls

Redeeming God,
on these autumn days it is easy to see
how what was once so alive and fruitful
now falls to the ground and dies.
The seasons of the earth mirror
a reality we tend to resist.
May be wise in finding our way
through life’s many endings.

In the ending of death,
grant us the freedom to grieve,
and to honour what has been.

In the endings of broken relationships,
save us from bitterness, and
move us towards wholeness.

In the endings that are forced upon us,
may we have the strength to survive,
and the discernment to find the next step.

In the endings we have chosen,
but that others may not understand,
help us to act with love and compassion.

In the endings that are invited of us,
may we have the courage to let go,
and to relinquish graciously.

And in our remembering of Jesus’ words
about a grain of wheat falling to the earth,
may we always be attentive
to the hope of new life.
--Ann Siddall, Stillpoint Spirituality Centre

We also sang a song, one of my personal favourites, which was written by a friend of mine at an ending...and it always inspires me, but especially so this week. I've been thinking more on the death of Amanda (see previous post), and how if someone with her courage couldn't beat this evil we call cancer, what will happen to me if I should be so unfortunate to have something of that magnitude happen to me. And if I died, would there be posts on a dozen different blogs on the tragedy of my passing? Would people be so bereft at my death, even people who don't know me? I doubt it. But I can do what I can to attempt to brighten the lives of those around me. I think I need to be more conscious of these things.

Any way, this is the song.

Like a candle burning wildly
Raging soft agains the night
Spark that leaps to clear the shadows
Sending warm disturbing light
We are called to live the passion
Hope stands strong agains all pain
For it's only in the burning
That the candle shows its flame

Like a river running freely
Rapids swirl beside our feet
Swiftly flowing from the highlands
Comes to rest, still waters meet
All our journeys rising, falling
Taking turns we least expect
When the Spirit turns withing us
Know God's power through the test

Like and angel walking lightly
On this fragile earth of clay
Touching folk with raw compassion
Laughing, playing on the way
Freely living every moment
In the mystery of grace
Giving, dying, living, rising
See the beauty of God's grace

See the hope that burns in darkness
Show compassion strong and kind
Bind the hurt and broken hearted
Be God's hands and voice and eyes
Sing a new song every sunrise
Climb to places out of reach
Walk in freedom of God's spirit
As we die so we shall live

We are called to live the passion
Hope stands strong agains all pain
For it's only in the burning
That the candle shows its flame
--Craig Mitchell

Sadness in the internet age

For about the last year, I've been following the blog of a person I only really know as AlabamaPink. A commenter at another website I visit, I started following her blog when she was diagnosed with leukaemia.

About half an hour ago, I discovered she lost her fight. And I find I don't know what to feel. I never actually met this person, and unlike other people I have met online, I've never had a conversation with her, or exchanged emails. We weren't friends on Facebook. She quite probably didn't even know I existed, although I commented a few times on her blog.

Yet I feel utterly devastated.

Maybe it's because I know she leaves behind a three year old boy. Maybe it's just because she was so determined in her fight that I never thought she would succumb to the disease. Maybe it's the harsh reminder that for every glamourous celebrity we see on the news, with a fabulous wig and perfect teeth saying 'ooh look at me, I survived cancer, aren't I great?' there are people who suffer and die and we forget that.

Rest in Peace, AlabamaPink.

cuteness

Nothing to report, I just figured this monkey was so cute I had to share it...
source : http://news.ninemsn.com.au/glance/792870/tiny-elke-abandoned-by-mum

Please excuse me whilst I write my thesis

Dearest readers (all 3 or so of you)

My honours thesis is due in 5 weeks. Subsequently, all my writing ability is theoretically going into that until it is written.

Thus, there will be no real blogs for at least that time. Yeah, like there's been any for the last, oh I dunno, month or so anyway. This does not mean that random news stories won't keep appearing. Mostly because I find the real world so freaking hilarious.

Monkey Business

Monkey kills master with coconut

An overworked monkey has taken revenge on his owner, killing him with a coconut.

Thai man Leilit Janchoom, 48, forced the animal to retrieve the fruit which were then sold for about 10c each.

The monkey, named Brother Kwan, reportedly hated being forced to climb as high as 50m but was given beatings if he did not do as his master wished.

It is believed that the frustrated primate eventually snapped, launching a coconut at Janchoom from a high branch at the Thai province of Nakorn Sri Thammarat.

He died at the scene from a head injury.

Janchoom’s widow said that Brother Kwan "seemed lovable" when they bought him for about $275, UK newspaper The Telegraph reports.

It is not clear what happened to the animal after the attack.

Best. News story. EVAH

I know I've blogged a lot of crazy news stories. But this is by far the awesomest...

Dr Who Dalek found in pond

A Dalek from Dr Who was found submerged in a pond by volunteers enlisted to clear it of rubbish.

The group had already fished out an old table football game and a skateboard when they bumped into the Dalek head, which was covered in weeds.

Sales executive Marc Oakland was pushing a rake around the bed of the shallow pool when he found the object with its distinctive eye stalk.

The 42-year-old said: "I'd just shifted a tree branch with my foot when I noticed something dark and round slowly coming up to the surface.

"I got the shock of my life when a Dalek head bobbed up right in front of me.

"It must have been down there for some time because it was covered in mould and water weed, and had quite a bit of damage.

"One of the dome lights was smashed, but the eye-stalk was intact and the head and neck stayed in one piece as I carefully lifted it out."

Pond warden Tony Brown, 70, was leading the volunteer squad clearing dumped rubbish from the pond, near Beaulieu, Hants.

He said: "We made a very thorough search of the rest of the bottom of the pond and there were definitely no alien remnants lurking.

"We've all agreed it best to keep the pond's exact location under wraps.

"The last thing we want are sci-fi fans descending on the pond frantically seraching for other Dalek parts."

Mr Brown, who trained as a pond warden with Southern Water, has been helping clear out the area for the past eight years.

He said: "We've dredged up everything from shopping trolleys, toys, and bicycles.

"But this is the first time a Dalek's appeared. We have no idea how it ended up in there, or how long ago.

"We discovered the BBC often took the Daleks out on location for filming, and they travelled to Hampshire on at least one occasion in the 1980s, when Colin Baker played the Timelord.

"Who knows, this might be the remains of one of the originals from the old TV series. I'm told they they were built to last."

link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/4935903/Dr-Who-Dalek-found-in-pond.html

edit: wow...I just now realised that every single sentence of that fits on a single line...bloody tabloids...

Spiritual Atheism

http://www.pajiba.com/spiritual-atheism-buffy-angel-house-and-doctor-who.htm

Go read.

This is not to say I am suddenly an atheist, so don't go panicking about the state of my immortal soul.

I think there is a lot of truth in there about God. Which is odd, as it comes from an atheist.

A warning to those of you sensitive to strong language...it's in there. Don't say I didn't warn you.

also, in the comments section, you'll find the following joke. Which is awesome and I think sums things up very well.

'A man walks up to a famous athiest and announces, "I'm an athiest, too."
The famous athiest says, "Have you read the Bible?"
The man says, "No."
"Have you read the Koran?"
"No."
"Have your studied Hinduism or Buddism?"
"No."
The athiest says, "You are not an athiest. You are an ignoramus."'

no idea...

I feel like I'm living in a state of complete shock.

I mean, this is Australia. A few measly bushfires should not cut this deep.

Except usually, fires might kill, what, 10 people at most? A death toll of 65 and rising and I just can't even fathom what I'm supposed to think. What I'm supposed to feel. How I'm supposed to react. I can't believe the horror of what I'm seeing on the news.

And frankly, this week I refuse to watch even one current affairs show. If I have to listen to some stupid reporter ask someone who's house has burned to the ground while they watched 'So, how are you feeling right now' I might go over the edge. Smashing things would definitely be in order. Screaming obscenities at the TV is a given. I don't see how anyone without half an ounce of compassion and human decency could ask that of a person who has lost everything.

But then, less than an ounce of human decency is probably in the job specs for a reporter on 'A Current Affair'. Anymore and you wouldn't bother applying in the first place.

Oh, and if you're living under a rock (or maybe in Spain? America?), this is what I am talking about. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/744864/worst-day-in-history-vic-fires-kill-14

huh?

I blogged yesterday about the fact that reading the news whilst at uni wasn't really a good idea.

Except this morning I found this awesome headline...just a snippet. I had to take a screen shotBecause when we think of Michael Clarke, obviously the first association that comes into our heads is the fact that he is Lara Bingle's fiance...not that he is vice captain (actually at the moment I guess he is acting captain) of the Australian Cricket team. Because that is obviously less important than being engaged to the star of a failed tourism ad campaign.

Ah, ninemsn, you do constantly amuse me. Less roasting puppies alive, more stupid headlines like this, please...

Why procrastination is bad

Perhaps it is slightly contradictory to write a post about procrastination whilst I am in fact at uni. However, I have discovered in the past few weeks a drawback to one of my favourite forms of procrastinating at uni. Which is reading the news. You may have seen the results of this on my blog.

The thing about the news is...sometimes its ghastly. Really really horrifyingly why-would-anyone-do-that ghastly.

And when you're taking a break from work, reading about teenagers roasting puppies alive, or men throwing their 4 year old daughters off the Westgate bridge, or people kidnapping and eating children...well...it's not exactly incentive to do work. Or do anything, really. I hate the fact that I live in a world where people do these things. I also hate the fact that I live in a world where these things outnumber the genuninely good things people do. Or at least on news sites they do. Which leads me to hate the fact that I live in a world where apparently people would rather read about kids roasting puppies than they would about people doing good things.

It's enough to make a girl depressed, really...

Rant

I need a rant. There are several things I would like to rant about, but they may not be fit for the public domain. So I'm going to blog about something very Australian.

The Cricket.

No, not about the fact that we keep getting beaten. That is unfortunately inevitable if you play like a bunch of girls.

I'm going to rant about the double standards that have been evident this week.

It's fairly evident to me that Andrew Symonds has basically made a bit of a hash of it. He's a typical Aussie bloke who drinks a little more than he should, goes fishing and occasionally says something a bit off about the opposition. If this was the 70s, he'd be a national hero. To many, he probably is. The thing is, he said something he probably shouldn't have. I get that.

I also am familiar with the work of Roy and HG and know that if you go on their shows, whether radio or TV, you're going to say something stupid you regret later. It's that kind of show. Roy and HG have this way of goading you into saying stuff that maybe is better left unsaid.

And you end up left out of the squad for an international tour. Thems the breaks. You shouldn't, even in jest, bag out the opposing wicket keeper.

Nor should you accuse them of cheating. Yes, that's right, Daniel Vittori, I'm looking at you. How come Symonds can't make a joke, but you can in all seriousness call our wicket keeper's integrity into question, and get away with an apology via text message?

Because Roy doesn't exactly have a squeaky clean record, because he does things the traditional way. Which I'm not saying is right.

I'm just saying it's a double standard.

To me, this puts ol' Vittori right up there with the English and South African captains as the lords of Prawnville. This is something I have adapted from my brother, but by all accounts, he's right.

I don't even have words for this...

Gay penguins celebrate fatherhood, wedding

Two gay penguins have been given a wedding ceremony as a reward for their exceptional parenting skills.

The inseparable couple at China's Polarland Zoo were originally shunned for stealing chick eggs from fellow "heterosexual" penguins but have proved their nurturing skills with abandoned eggs, The Sun has reported.

"We decided to give them two eggs from another couple whose hatching ability had been poor and they’ve turned out to be the best parents in the whole zoo," a keeper from the Harbin zoo was quoted as saying.

"They have been a good couple and deserved their reward."

Their reward was a lavish wedding ceremony — complete with a soundtrack of the 'Wedding March' and a banquet of spring fish.

One was dressed in a tie while the other sported a red jacket.

The happy couple is not the first to defy penguins' tradition of lifelong "straight" partnerships.

A pair of chinstrap penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo made headlines in 2004 for their "ecstatic behavior" including entwining their necks, singing to each other and having sex.

Silo and Roy were devoted to each other for six years, even trying to incubate a rock by sitting on it.

When zookeepers gave them a real egg to look after they successfully raised a female chick, Tango.

source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/733873/gay-penguins-celebrate-fatherhood-wedding

25 things...

So, I got tagged in a facebook note...which said I should post 25 random things about myself, then tag 25 other people so they could learn 25 random facts about me. And I thought...'if I tag 25 random people, then 25 random people will be kinda pissed off at me. But if I post 25 random things on my blog, then only the 4 people who actually bother to read it will ever be bothered by it'.

So here goes.

1. I'm not sure I ever want to be anything other than a student...except I hate the part where I have no money and I don't actually want to be an academic...

2. I have terrible taste in movies and TV.

3. I like scarves. Scarves are great.

4. I secretly fantasise about being a presenter on Playschool, because I think it would be the best job ever to pretend to be a kid all the time.

5. Sometimes I get kinda bummed because I don't have a real nickname. They just never stick.

6. I know just about all the words to the 'Hairspray' soundtrack (see no. 2)

7. My favourite book is Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen...because it is so much cooler than all the others once you realise she is basically taking the piss out of the literature of the time. Plus it has the coolest male romantic lead ever.

8. I get really frustrated with all the ideas in my head that I can't put into practice

9. I was surprised to learn today that there are other girls my age who thinks that, actually, a lot of babies are kind of ugly. This was a refreshing thing to learn.

10. I think I'm too normal. That bugs me sometimes.

11. The most played song in my iTunes library is 'My Angel Put the Devil in Me'. That is sad on so many levels...and if you don't know why...well, that is also sad on many levels...

12. I really miss having Starbucks in Adelaide, if only for the frappucinos...

13. I regularly read through the Harry Potter novels, but I skip number 2 and number 5 because they are sooooooooooo boring.

14. I am really finicky about the pens I use. Seriously, it can take me half an hour to pick when pen I want to buy. And even after that it is likely I won't be happy with my choice. Which for someone who doesn't really write that much, seems silly really.

15. I regularly fall in love with fictional characters. But it's OK, I haven't read Twilight and never, ever intend to so you don't have to hate me.

16. When I get depressed, I like to look at the puppies in the window of the pet shop, even though I know that pet shops are evil establishments. When that fails, I look at teddy bears.

17. I regularly adopt close friends as siblings...

18. Despite being an intensely emotional person, I'm not very good at grieving. But that's OK, because I don't think many people are.

19. I have this weird double life, where I'm really lazy at home but not at work. At work or study I hate to be idle. When I come home I hate to have to do anything...

20. I wouldn't mind learning to play the bass guitar. But I would not like to be a bass guitarist. My brother has taught me there is a big difference.

21. I will randomly quote Doctor Who in everday life. You might not notice me doing this. If you don't notice, I secretly judge you...not so secretly now, I guess.

22. I get very frustrated about many things. Mostly, I get frustrated when I can't change the things that frustrate me. Oh yes. I'm that complicated.

23. I love tea. Plain old lipton black tea from a tea bag.

24. I do not, nor will I ever, understand the point of golf.

25. I can't believe I actually thought of 25 things to write. Usually, I'm really bad at writing about myself, hence why my blog is updated so infrequently.

Ugh

You know what would have been nice?

If someone told me that the company I ordered my mother's christmas present had gone into receivership...you know, BEFORE now. So I could have reordered it from somewhere else, oh, I don't know, A FEW FREAKING WEEKS AGO!

Curse you, global economic crisis.

You know what surprises me? How I lived my whole life before last year without a proper pet. I mean, I had birds that invariably died after a year or so, in varying states of gore. I had a couple of pet rocks. But due to enormous dogs next door, or the restrictions of college or renting, I never had a furry little fuzz ball of the canine or feline variety.

How did I cope? I'm not sure. Because for the last 3 weeks I haven't had my cat around because of holidays and damn, I miss that furrball. I've never really been a cat person but since the house I'm living in isn't really big enough for a dog, I decided to get a cat to provide some company when I'm home alone.

And I fell in love. I really really really love my cat.


and honestly, who wouldn't? You'd have to be the meanest cold hearted animal hater in the universe not to love that face...