I'm living two lifestyles at the moment; a uni student and a zoo keeper. Even though I recently moved into my new apartment I find myself commuting back to my home in Pymble almost every day to feed and walk my dog. 'Why' you ask? Because my parents went to California on holiday the day Uni started, abandoning our precious 'Mooshy Pie' (the dogs name is actually "Molly", but because we call her so many nicknames, I doubt she even knows her own name). It's been a bit of a burden commuting between my house, my new apartment and Uni, but it's still been manageable - it would be wrong of me to say I'm getting no work done as a result, because I don't think I would have gotten work done regardless... also, for the most part, I think that the freedom I've got in my new apartment (even though I'm not there too often) is really rewarding.
Speaking of Freedom, the City2Surf is coming up next month and I plan to dress up as Brave Heart. The City2Surf is a huuuuuge quarter marathon (14km) which gets an output of about 70,000 people. I'm going to be at the front of the line dressed up in a Kilt with blue paint over half my face shouting out 'FREEEEDOOOMMMM' at the top of my lungs as soon as the gun goes off. Yeah, I know it's kinda lame, but it's something I really want to do. Between my constant snacking on junk food and watching TV on the couch, I've been training very hard for this event! I've also been on a downloading frenzy to get some good running music. Not gonna lie, Nicki Minaj is my number one heard artist on my iTunes right now... pretty sad, eh? 'Starshiiipps were meant to fllyyyyyyy' na na na na naaaa... lyrical genius...
Speaking of music, I've rediscovered Sail by Awolnation. For those who don't know, I went through a stage of addiction to this song back in the States. Good times. Just as a quick random segue; if you type in "sail cat" into youtube, you get an awesome vid of a cat acting in Sync with this song. I don't care how busy you are, watching a cat on the internet is definitively worth 5 minutes of your time.
Its strange how I unwilling create a link between songs I really like to memories of my past. ‘Float on’ by Modest mouse, ‘Sail’ by Awolnation, and (unfortunately) ‘rack city ‘by Tyga are songs which have engraved deep memories of exchange in my mind. I feel so bipolar after hearing one of these songs because I end up deeply reflecting on my exchange experience which totally alters my mood.
I promised myself I wouldn’t talk about exchange or alcohol in this blog post, but I guess it’s too late for that, eh? At the foundation day party at Uni yesterday, I ran into a friend who had also gone to America on exchange about a year ago. She’s been back in Australia for 6 months and she told me that the post depression doesn’t get any easier… fuck.
A good friend of mine, Kieran, is heading to UT in December to start a yearlong exchange there. That lucky fucker!! I’m caught between feeling really happy for him and also very jealous of him - which probably doesn’t help with my bi polar issues: p.
Back to Australia… I’m working on my Thesis this semester. I’m writing online tuition videos for 1st and 2nd year Uni students studying Statics and Dynamics. It’s rewarding and all, but it’s very tough and very time consuming. And the time I’m going to be spending on my Thesis will no doubt be in conflict with the time I’m going to be working at Grill’d.
Lastly, I’ve got a Skype interview with Schlumberger (an oil company) on Monday because I’m applying for an internship there over the summer. It’s pretty sad to think that work related Skype calls almost equal my social life Skype calls.
I’ve been practicing the guitar on and off for the last few weeks. It’s not working though because I sound like I am broken.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
JOB!
Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that I accepted for a job I applied for. Nope, it wasn't one of the internships, scholarship programs, or research projects. I'm a 'Grill'd' employee now! I'll be flipping burgers n' shit! I'm living the dream of becoming a high school drop out wearing a greasy wife beater. WOoh! I'll be working 15 hours/ week on top of Uni. That's 30 hours of Uni and work combined. I've also got to work on my Thesis on top of that! FUuuUUuUUUUkkk.
Uni starting soon
I think I'm the only person who reads this blog anymore so that gives me the invincibility to say ANYTHING I WANT regardless of how stupid it sounds!
1. I hate mayonnaise. It just tastes like pure fat...
2. An eating competition involving chocolate and some type of vodka paste will hit the world by storm in about a year.
3. I personally think rats are heaps cooler than mice. Just sayin'
Alright, where was I? Moving out! So I'm moving into my new dig tomorrow! It's with 4 Aussie blokes and a friend of mine from the village. This should be cool as hell! They're older than I am, and most of them are working full time so I don't expect it to be a massive party house, but it will be social and that sounds very appealing to me. I'm also living about 20m (44ft?) from the Reege (a semi awesome bar) and 30m (66ft?) from Maccas (McDonalds). So I'll be releasing the inner obese alcoholic within me.
UNSW, my Uni, is starting next week. I'm excited for it. I've had enough time off and I'm ready to get some studying done. I'm also very keen to meet new people around uni and socialize on campus a whole lot. I know that sounds almost sarcastic because my Uni is very antisocial compared to other campus's, but I'm completely serious! I want to chime into other social groups, make new friends and get more involved in different activities. I'm also doing my Thesis this semester, so it'll be good to have a refreshing social life to support me through it :)
Speaking of activities, ROWING WTF!? Every training sesh starts at 5:30am and about 1 hour drive away. This means I'd have to get up at 4:00am every morning to get a lift down to row. I want to row, but I don't want to put that much effort into it! I think it'll be so much easier if we just create an artificial river flowing through the middle of campus. Muay Thai is looking like a bad alternative too because UNSW doesn't offer it and there aren't any places which practice it nearby Uni. Why does my Uni not want me to get involved in sport!? :( I'm contemplating taking up boxing, but I don't want to graduate Uni with an IQ lower than 40 or a noticeable dent in my forehead - so maybe boxing isn't for me. Running is an option, but I was hoping for a more physically active and partially team based sport. I'm leaving myself with two options; volleyball and gymnastics. Gonna do some research into them later on today.
I've been practicing guitar a bit too. I'm so awful at it that I think someone calling me "bad" would be sugar coating it to spare my feelings. Still, I'm gonna persist, I think I'm getting better (well, I certainly couldn't get worse!).
I did it, I tried goon the other day. I couldn't resist the sweet texture and beautiful scent. Jokes. I wanted to get drunk, and that was the only alcohol the house had left. I did not miss Goon one bit while...
1. I hate mayonnaise. It just tastes like pure fat...
2. An eating competition involving chocolate and some type of vodka paste will hit the world by storm in about a year.
3. I personally think rats are heaps cooler than mice. Just sayin'
Alright, where was I? Moving out! So I'm moving into my new dig tomorrow! It's with 4 Aussie blokes and a friend of mine from the village. This should be cool as hell! They're older than I am, and most of them are working full time so I don't expect it to be a massive party house, but it will be social and that sounds very appealing to me. I'm also living about 20m (44ft?) from the Reege (a semi awesome bar) and 30m (66ft?) from Maccas (McDonalds). So I'll be releasing the inner obese alcoholic within me.
UNSW, my Uni, is starting next week. I'm excited for it. I've had enough time off and I'm ready to get some studying done. I'm also very keen to meet new people around uni and socialize on campus a whole lot. I know that sounds almost sarcastic because my Uni is very antisocial compared to other campus's, but I'm completely serious! I want to chime into other social groups, make new friends and get more involved in different activities. I'm also doing my Thesis this semester, so it'll be good to have a refreshing social life to support me through it :)
Speaking of activities, ROWING WTF!? Every training sesh starts at 5:30am and about 1 hour drive away. This means I'd have to get up at 4:00am every morning to get a lift down to row. I want to row, but I don't want to put that much effort into it! I think it'll be so much easier if we just create an artificial river flowing through the middle of campus. Muay Thai is looking like a bad alternative too because UNSW doesn't offer it and there aren't any places which practice it nearby Uni. Why does my Uni not want me to get involved in sport!? :( I'm contemplating taking up boxing, but I don't want to graduate Uni with an IQ lower than 40 or a noticeable dent in my forehead - so maybe boxing isn't for me. Running is an option, but I was hoping for a more physically active and partially team based sport. I'm leaving myself with two options; volleyball and gymnastics. Gonna do some research into them later on today.
I've been practicing guitar a bit too. I'm so awful at it that I think someone calling me "bad" would be sugar coating it to spare my feelings. Still, I'm gonna persist, I think I'm getting better (well, I certainly couldn't get worse!).
I did it, I tried goon the other day. I couldn't resist the sweet texture and beautiful scent. Jokes. I wanted to get drunk, and that was the only alcohol the house had left. I did not miss Goon one bit while...
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Treason
I'm stealing from the Government.
I'm applying for 'rent assist' from centerlink - the Australian welfare office. If I get it, which I should, I will be eligible for 100 $/week which will be very helpful for when I move out of home.
I tried tutoring Uni level Physics yesterday. I'd never tutored something of this level before. I loved the challenge! The bloke I tutored was smart and willing to learn which made the session very enjoyable. To be honest, I probably would have done the 2.5 hours for free. But the mum thought I did such a good job that I got paid 80 dollars from it! That's almost two cases of beer...
I talked to Heather today - a good American friend of mine that is now living in Australia. We bored Dave to death by reminiscing on US cultural norms and comparing them to Australia. Good times.
Dave and I have invented a new phase in our social group. At 2am, if we're still awake, we'll get changed in our dressing gowns and ugg boots and go walking around the neighborhood sipping tea. Two others have already gotten in on this! I love it. My brother thinks i'm retarded for doing it :p
Uni starts in a week and a half. I looking forward to it mainly for the intellectual challenge and so that I can meet new people :)
Finding a sport is turning out to be harder than expected. I may have to settle for a really dumb sport like bowls or something. It's a shame too because I really wanted to be physically active this semester.
I'm applying for 'rent assist' from centerlink - the Australian welfare office. If I get it, which I should, I will be eligible for 100 $/week which will be very helpful for when I move out of home.
I tried tutoring Uni level Physics yesterday. I'd never tutored something of this level before. I loved the challenge! The bloke I tutored was smart and willing to learn which made the session very enjoyable. To be honest, I probably would have done the 2.5 hours for free. But the mum thought I did such a good job that I got paid 80 dollars from it! That's almost two cases of beer...
I talked to Heather today - a good American friend of mine that is now living in Australia. We bored Dave to death by reminiscing on US cultural norms and comparing them to Australia. Good times.
Dave and I have invented a new phase in our social group. At 2am, if we're still awake, we'll get changed in our dressing gowns and ugg boots and go walking around the neighborhood sipping tea. Two others have already gotten in on this! I love it. My brother thinks i'm retarded for doing it :p
Uni starts in a week and a half. I looking forward to it mainly for the intellectual challenge and so that I can meet new people :)
Finding a sport is turning out to be harder than expected. I may have to settle for a really dumb sport like bowls or something. It's a shame too because I really wanted to be physically active this semester.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Adjusting to Oz
The most interesting thing happened today!!
Now that I've got your attention you can read about my day.
I've been apartment hunting a little in the last few days and came across a gold mine! It's a gold mine in two senses. In one way, it's bloody good - it's with 4 other Aussie blokes and a good mate of mine, it's right next to Uni and it's got a lot of good chill out furniture & space. In another sense, it's bloody expensive - It'll cost $200/week not including internet or food. And even though that's not too expensive compared to a lot of other places, it's only just within my budget. I'll probably move in to be honest!
To my surprise, I've been drinking a lot in the last 5 days. Every night there is a party in the village (college at my Uni). It's quite rewarding to know I still have good veteran friends at the village who will invite me to parties or small gatherings and will supply me with food/alcohol. I purchased two Vodka bottles from the airport on the 19th, and I went though 1 on the 1st Uni party. I'm trying to savor the 2nd one.
Two friends of mine in the village which I met about a week ago are actually American! One of them, Jamie, is from California and she's the most social person ever! It's such a relief to experience the energy from America. The other friends, Jada, is from Huston, Texas - she's super friendly and great to be around. They've both been here for 6 months on Exchange and they're preparing themselves to leave Australia tomorrow. We've been clubbing a few times though and that has been great fun. We can't help but let every conversation melt down into a reminiscing session about Texas. I told them that if I ever end up going back to the States I would 'see them if I see em' :p.
The economy is fucking up more and more here. My internship is in jeopardy. I work for Transfield Services in the Water department, but it looks like they're gonna loose their contract with Sydney Water which means I will be made redundant. Anticipating this I'm applying for other internships elsewhere. I'm even willing to work in Coles (crappy supermarket) or Woolworths (crappier supermarket)...
Spotify only got to Australia about two weeks ago. I've been listening to it non stop. I've got an American section on both my ipod and on spotify. It's such a diverse range of music. Half of it is relaxed country music. The other half is fast beat, misogynistic rap.
Slowly but surely I feel myself falling back into the shell I broke out of. I'm rediscovering old habits and getting comfortable being lazy. There are some things I'm doing more like; running, meeting up with different groups of friends etc etc. But it's not enough. I want to be a different person, but it's seeming like an impossible leap. To make things worse, I've still got certain people that I've met on my international journey plaguing my mind all the time, even though I'm sure they've probably forgotten about me...
But I don't want to end this blog on a pessimistic note! I've contacted the UNSW rowing group. I want to row competitively. I think it'll be great to get fit again and be part meaningful club.
Now that I've got your attention you can read about my day.
I've been apartment hunting a little in the last few days and came across a gold mine! It's a gold mine in two senses. In one way, it's bloody good - it's with 4 other Aussie blokes and a good mate of mine, it's right next to Uni and it's got a lot of good chill out furniture & space. In another sense, it's bloody expensive - It'll cost $200/week not including internet or food. And even though that's not too expensive compared to a lot of other places, it's only just within my budget. I'll probably move in to be honest!
To my surprise, I've been drinking a lot in the last 5 days. Every night there is a party in the village (college at my Uni). It's quite rewarding to know I still have good veteran friends at the village who will invite me to parties or small gatherings and will supply me with food/alcohol. I purchased two Vodka bottles from the airport on the 19th, and I went though 1 on the 1st Uni party. I'm trying to savor the 2nd one.
Two friends of mine in the village which I met about a week ago are actually American! One of them, Jamie, is from California and she's the most social person ever! It's such a relief to experience the energy from America. The other friends, Jada, is from Huston, Texas - she's super friendly and great to be around. They've both been here for 6 months on Exchange and they're preparing themselves to leave Australia tomorrow. We've been clubbing a few times though and that has been great fun. We can't help but let every conversation melt down into a reminiscing session about Texas. I told them that if I ever end up going back to the States I would 'see them if I see em' :p.
The economy is fucking up more and more here. My internship is in jeopardy. I work for Transfield Services in the Water department, but it looks like they're gonna loose their contract with Sydney Water which means I will be made redundant. Anticipating this I'm applying for other internships elsewhere. I'm even willing to work in Coles (crappy supermarket) or Woolworths (crappier supermarket)...
Spotify only got to Australia about two weeks ago. I've been listening to it non stop. I've got an American section on both my ipod and on spotify. It's such a diverse range of music. Half of it is relaxed country music. The other half is fast beat, misogynistic rap.
Slowly but surely I feel myself falling back into the shell I broke out of. I'm rediscovering old habits and getting comfortable being lazy. There are some things I'm doing more like; running, meeting up with different groups of friends etc etc. But it's not enough. I want to be a different person, but it's seeming like an impossible leap. To make things worse, I've still got certain people that I've met on my international journey plaguing my mind all the time, even though I'm sure they've probably forgotten about me...
But I don't want to end this blog on a pessimistic note! I've contacted the UNSW rowing group. I want to row competitively. I think it'll be great to get fit again and be part meaningful club.
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