A snippet from Module 2

Submitted my first assignment for my writing course this evening. Now just trying to do a little bit of the second assignment, then reward myself with some book shopping.

Not much to say tonight - just wanted to share a snippet from Module 2:

One thing is certain about writing and editing - there's never enough time, there's never enough pay and there's always far too much work.

Such a combination can result in even longer hours, working under pressure at a computer. This can be lethal to stress levels and health, if you let it. Try to negotiate realistic timelines and pay rates. Do some relaxation exercises or meditation to ensure you maintain an appropriate and relaxed attitude to your work.

Wow, man, I wish I had known this when I was much younger. Although, I think once you understand this needs to be done (as in, properly understand, not just recite textbook good advice), it gets easier to work it into your lifestyle.

I'm a little bit sick tonight. My throat is sore, mood is low, head tired and eyes a bit sensitive to light - whine whine whine. Looking forward to some slovenly rest shortly, then ten-pin bowling tomorrow, board games on Saturday and football on Sunday.

Hasta mañana, my friends. I leave you with this nice link:
http://sourcesofinsight.com/2010/04/21/the-elephant-and-the-rider/

Dinner at settlers

Typographic nightmare

Alpaca love

Burn off

Mm, giant bbq

I love a good breakfast pie

Mmmm... It's good to be a Friday.

if i may be self-helpy for a moment

It's tempting to lose sight of your vision for life as you find yourself consumed in Other People's Dreams and Other People's Projects. I am all for helping others. I am all for engaging in other people's projects - with awareness. But I think there's a danger in (myself and many of my helper-type peers) becoming so consumed with someone else's dream that we forget to pursue our own.

Excerpt from How to Create your Personal Manifesto, by happiness/socialmedia blogger Gwen Bell. I've not read much of her stuff, don't know how good she is, but this bit of text struck a chord for me.

I'm not usually comfortable with making sweeping statements on the kind of person I am (because no matter what I have to say about myself, I seem to prove it wrong - even if sometimes just by interpretation), but I think I might be one of those "helper-type" people - sad as it may be. It gets exhausting.

Along with Other People's Dreams and Other People's Projects, I know I've been susceptible in the past to getting caught up in Other People's Dramas. It's hard to say no to someone who says they're genuinely upset by a huge problem and really needs your help - sometimes it makes me blind for awhile to any actions that indicate they're not really that upset, the problem really isn't that big, and they want more attention than help. Whoooo, not meaning to sound cynical there, but you get the idea.

Anyway, I wanted to share in case any of you also get caught up in stuff like that, and could do with the mental stickynote. Props if you know how to deal with it, without turning apathetic and sadistic. Please share if you do. :)

For now, I'm enjoying the AoM How to Be Resilient guides, and whatever TED talks that Mark and Chips send me about brainology.

Burger, she wrote

I had a burger today. A lovely KFC burger and can of Mountain Dew for $4.95. Since that fateful hungover day, I've been waking up with a taste for fast food. There's a Hungry Jacks and KFC across the road from work, Jester's Pies round the corner, Macca's on the other side of the recreation centre...

Fffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuu... it's way too easy to eat badly, and I'm ashamed to not be above the cravings. There was really no excuse today. I wasn't hungover. It was mid-afternoon; I could have had sushi or a salad. I just... really wanted a burger.

But I spent the afternoon psyching myself up - "burger is fuel, burger is fuel" - and ran my heart out at football tonight. WE DIDN'T LOSE!! Drew 1-1 with the other team, who were clearly not thrilled that we weren't a walk in the park.

And now, I'm doing homework. Yeah, homework. I'm a sort-of student again. My employer has kindly offered to let me earn my Diploma of Professional Writing on the company dollar, as a personal development goal for this half.

Yeah, this half. I got my course materials today, which means I'm fitting a 10-month curriculum into the next 10 weeks. WHAT THE FUCK HEY.

Caning through this first tutorial, though. It's about the writing industry and personal workspace preferences, different categories and styles of writing. I'm really excited about this course. It's nice to be in student mode again; purposeful, looked after. I'll try to share bits and pieces as I go - hope you don't mind.

For my writer friends, here are a couple of questions from one of the tute sections - a self-awareness exercise:

Are you someone who works well with a deadline looming? Or does a deadline create confusion and panic?


Do you require silence when you work or do you prefer music or other sounds?


Do you like an open, wide space or one that is closed and cluttered?


Good night, everyone. :)

how to cure a hangover

1. drink a litre of tomato juice for breakfast.

2. get a jester's pie and coca-cola for second breakfast.

3. go to the physio and freeze your arse off on the ice pack.

4. eat a hungry jack's cheeseburger and 6 nuggets for lunch.

5. buy a towel and shower at work, because you smell like a vagabond.

6. go home and order a pizza and SET UP YOUR FETCH TV AAAAH!

7. record a documentary about animals with feelings on discovery channel.

8. wash your stanky hair.

9. eat pizza, watch ultimate fighter.

10. brush the cat.

11. forget about doing anything creative tonight.

12. watch niaal shoot yetis in uncharted 2.

13. maybe have a pot noodle later.

This old Mongoloid learned new things :)

Carn't sleep. Quick blogpost, then back to the effort.

Today was a stellar Monday, full of learnings and culture.

Listened to War of the Worlds - the drama and the play - simply
amayyyzing. What an inspiration. I have a bit of a thing for that old-
fashioned American accent; not sure what it's called - 'pan-American'
maybe. Whatever it is, very nice - makes me think of the old ideas of
'manliness': "sort out your shit and be respectable"; a very hard idea
to dislike!

On that note, I'm fascinated at the moment with what it means to be
ladylike or manly. The media-reinforced stereotypes of delicate
females and oppressive males seem way too impractical to be what's
really going on. Anyway, I don't have much to say on this just yet;
it's all still a soup of thoughts.

Had a cuppa with DJ NU's (soundcloud.com/djnu) housemate this evening.
Well, a cuppa and a good natter about work, girls, working out, going
out, gossip, drama - 20something stuff. He gave me a cute anecdote
about how boys only have a 4-point check for girls, to see if they're
worth going out with:

1. Is she all-right looking?
2. Is her personality okay?
3. Is she intelligent enough to have a conversation with? and
4. Does she have a job so she can buy her own shit?

There you go, ladies, secrets of men revealed lol!

Came home and caught up on all the Uncharted 2 story Niaal played
while I was out, then got wikijacked and ended up spending 2 hours
reading about Marco Polo, shield soldiers, the Dalai Lama and racial
genetics.

Turns out the word Negro has been hell outdated for hundreds of years;
instead use Congoid for west Africans and Capoid/Khoisam for south-
eastern Africans. The genetic group throughout Europe, northern Africa
and India were considered Caucasoids. And finally, us Asians are from
a group called Mongoloids.

## yeah laugh it up jerks -_- ##

Of course, because of rude people throughout history, those words can
be quite offensive. So if you're clever enough to remember them, be
clever enough to not use them offensively.

Learned many new things this evening, so I probably won't need to
learn more stuff for a few days. :) good night!

Sick, that.

Yeah, they're in there

You don't say...

Centipedes?