November. Seriously.

I just realised today that it's almost November.

It seems like just a couple of days ago I was saying 'Ah man, it's October already'.

The weeks go by so slowly, but the year so quickly.

Word of the Day: November

Surprise Song Sunday: For Emma - Bon Iver

For all your lies,

Still very loveable.

Word of the Day: Loveable

Misfortunate.

A litany of misfortune yesterday (which I actually found quite funny):

1. My FIN test decided to call it halfway through yesterday. This unfortunate incident actually carried over to today, as I had to call the CA people and start doing it from where it left off.

2. My lunch came out last out of five people.

3. It was also very small.

4. It also didn't really taste that good.

5. I missed golf because nobody picked up their phone.

6. I paid $9 for parking, when Safeway had it for free.

7. There was no football on. Not sure if that's a Sunday thing or a Saturday thing. Whatever. Point being, it wasn't on.

On a happier note, most of that trail of destruction was counterbalanced by being in good company for the better part of the day, and, in the case of point 1, having awesome people help me through it.

Yep. Cool.

Word of the Day: Litany

Surprise Song Sunday: Shiver - Coldplay

So I look in your direction

But you pay me no attention

Do you?

Word of the Day: Shiver

Rectify. Coming up the spot looking extra fly.

Just now - literally, just now - realised that I haven't written anything funny for a while. Or even anything fun.

I guess it's just kind of reflective of where I am right now. Just not a whole lot of fun/ny stuff going on right now in my life.

It's not as doomy and gloomy as it sounds. On Saturday, I managed to cop some golf with some mates, and a half-day trip to Healesville with the family. My only slight, temporary regret was not going to the Melbourne show. Then I saw that lunch was not had until 1:30, and my regret was pared back significantly.

Even Wednesday night, with class running until 9 p.m., and getting drenched on the way back, after a day of work, it wasn't so bad. Got to hang out with friends that I hadn't seen in a while.

And even at work right now, the team I'm with is fairly awesome. We have random conversations about random, non-work-related things. It's almost like being back at uni. And I almost, almost, feel like I know what I'm doing, and I'm doing it more or less ahead of schedule.

But yeah, just kind of nothing that really jumps out like, woah, that was funny.

I'll work on it.

Word of the Day: Rectify

Silver linings make clouds heavy.

Just watched Silver Linings Playbook on a whim. Such a good movie, but far out.

Emotional self-torture.

Those kind of films should come with some sort of a warning label. Or something.

Word of the Day: Emotional

Surprise Song Sunday: Do I Wanna Know? - Arctic Monkeys

There's this tune I found that makes me think of you somehow

And I play it on repeat

Word of the Day: Arctic

Post-exam post

With the distraction of an exam out of the way, loneliness swiftly settles into my being. 

What a downer. 

Word of the Day: Downer

Surprise Song Sunday: End of Line - Daft Punk

I was listening to this song because it's cool, then I realised that it was sort of poignant.

Almost there.

Word of the Day: Poignant

Surprise Song Sunday: Still Into You - Paramore

For some strange reason, this song really resonates with me.

Word of the Day: You

Surprise Song Sunday: Panic Cord - Gabrielle Aplin

Maybe, I pulled the panic cord. 

Word of the Day: Panic

Surprise Song Sunday: Rocket Man - Elton John

Word of the Day: Rocket

Surprise Song Sunday: Still Into You - Paramore

After all this time

I'm still into you.

Word of the Day: You

Musical ignorance.

Music silences the crying of babies, the drone of the plane engine, the screeches of complaining women, the sighs of fed-up men, the inane updates from the captain about how, when, where, why this plane is delayed. 

And somewhat soothes the tiredness of my soul. 

Word of the Day: Delayed

Like a pie.

Bringing music with you on a long trip away is like bring a slice of home with you.

Word of the Day: Home

Surprise Song Sunday: Wonderwall - Oasis

Reposted for the nth time. Because #1 on the Triple J Hottest 100 ever in the history of music. Or something. And because today feels like a Wonderwally kind of day.

Word of the Day: Wonderwall

Surprise Song Sunday: Instant Crush - Daft Punk

Surprise Song Sunday was skipped last week due to my pre-occupation with absorbing the awesomeness of Random Access Memories.

Just kidding.

But not really.

A little time with you is all that I get. 

Best song on the album. 

Word of the Day: Crush

Surprise Song Sunday: Under Pressure - Queen

Under a little bit of pressure. Hopefully everything will resolve itself positively sooner rather than later.

Word of the Day: Pressure

Time lapse lifeography.

Unbelievably, it's already May. The fifth month of the year. Out of twelve months. Almost half way through.

Quite fortuitously, today, the 4th of May, is exactly two months since I started this job.

Feels like just yesterday when I was all like, where am I? Where am I supposed to be? What do I have to do next? Who do I talk to?

Quite a bit has happened since then. I'm on to my third client, learned a great deal, got most of my admin stuff under control, and I'm soon to enrol and begin my first CA subject. I've also gotten into Game of Thrones (so, like, I heard that winter is coming), Arsenal are a bit more on track than they were a few months ago, I've made a few friends, watched Iron Man 3 (good, good movie) and increased my hatred of public transport.

I'm enjoying it so far. There's been a few late ones, and a couple of people I didn't really get along with, but the great thing about audit is that these two variables generally don't persist for more than a few weeks.

Finishing late is usually attached to certain jobs. Likewise with people you don't get along with. Rotating jobs every few weeks lets me get away from both after a few weeks. Usually, anyway.

Even with the people I don't really get along with, I've sort of learned to not take it personally. I mean, some people make it personal, but I've just kind of tried to take the view that that's just how they are. Just not very personable. Or maybe it's the pressure from work. Anyway, I haven't had to work with a great deal of people like that. Maybe just a couple.

It's all a learning experience anyway. You learn to not be like that to someone when you're teaching them something. Also, angry/angsty feedback doesn't necessarily preclude it from being useful feedback. Just because someone pretty much labels you an idiot for stuffing something up, at least they've let you know that you've stuffed something up.

I'm also pretty pleased that the social calendar is picking up somewhat in the next couple of weeks. Kind of the storm before the storm. The social storm before the work storm. Or something.

Word of the Day: Thrones

Surprise Song Sunday: Back in Black - AC/DC

In celebration of Iron Man's return.

Word of the Day: Iron

Surprise Song Sunday: Get Lucky - Daft Punk feat. Pharrell

So funky. So fresh. Pharrell. Daft Punk. A match made in heaven.

Word of the Day: Funky

Surprise Song Sunday: Rocket Man - Elton John

Word of the Day: Rocket

Surprise Song Sunday: About A Girl - Nirvana

Still can't understand a freakin' word he's singing. Still love this song.

Word of the Day: Kurt

Imagine the kind of stuff I'd write after a few drinks.

It was only a four day working week, but for some bizarre reason, it feels like it's been a big one. The weekend I've got planned promises to be fairly big too.

Not 'big' in the, shall we say, classical sense. You know, get smashed, do some illegal things, maybe a couple of fights for good measure.

Big, as in, lots going on.

This week, I feel as if I've learnt a lot more about people. Reinforces the notion that you shouldn't write someone off before having at least known them for a couple of weeks. Sometimes longer. If you give it time, lots of people that you don't originally rate turn out to be quality people.

It's a bit mutual though. I find that if people invest a little in me, it usually works a lot better. Instead of me unidirectionally extending the cordial hand of potential friendship, these things happen a lot easier if it's a mutual handshake. Or at least a substantially mutual handshake.

Best analogy ever.

Getting to know people better also reveals things that you don't necessarily know about, or think about, and that are actually quite deep, interesting or eye-opening.

On a slightly related note, I've fallen in love again this week. As is customary, she's a bit weird. But so very cool.

How do I know it's love? Well, it's taking me a good ten minutes to fall asleep now instead of the customary one-and-a-half. If that isn't a sign, I don't know what is.

Word of the Day: Big

Surprise Song Sunday: That Girl - Justin Timberlake

Word of the Day: That

Spontaneous haiku.

Most of the best girls 

Are taken by other men. 

This really quite sucks. 

This complex concept has been developed over the past week. The brilliant idea of haiku-ing it was spontaneous. As in, I decided to do it after I decided to write this post. 

I might smash out a few more before too long.

Word of the Day: Haiku

Surprise Song Sunday: She's Out Of My Life - Michael Jackson

Word of the Day: Life

Surprise Song Sunday: Not Coming Home - Maroon 5

From a time when Maroon 5 were good.

Word of the Day: Good

Surprise Song Sunday: 'Til Kingdom Come - Coldplay

Steal my heart and hold my tongue.

I feel my time, my time has come.

Let me in, unlock the door.

I've never felt this way before.

The wheels just keep on turning,

The drummer begins to drum,

I don't know which way I'm going,

I don't know which way I've come.

Hold my head inside your hands,

I need someone who understands.

I need someone, someone who hears,

For you, I've waited all these years.

For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come.

Until my day, my day is done.

And say you'll come, and set me free,

Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

In your tears and in your blood,

In your fire and in your flood,

I hear you laugh, I heard you sing,

"I wouldn't change a single thing."

The wheels just keep on turning,

The drummers begin to drum,

I don't know which way I'm going,

I don't know what I've become.

For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come,

Until my days, my days are done.

Say you'll come and set me free,

Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

Pure poetry.

Word of the Day: Wait

Dichotomous.

There is an interesting contradiction in the biological construction of homo sapiens, an alleged result of evolution.

This contradiction is apparent in most of us. I am, of course, referring to the dichotomy of brains and brawn.

Over a period of a zillion years, or however long it was, the human race gradually mutated in such as to develop ever larger and more powerful brains. In this area, we are unparalleled in the animal kingdom. It is our competitive advantage. It has allowed is to colonise almost every part of the world, more or less safe from predators.

However, we have also not evolved to such a state that we no longer require physical exercise. We need it. We're not merely just brain machines. The rest of our physiological make-up is designed for physical exertion. We are incredibly weak and clumsy compared to most other animals, but we are not built for sedentary lifestyles. We become unhealthy without physical activity.

What's interesting about this is that most of our vocations involve choosing one or the other. The use of higher brain function or the utilisation of physical exertion. We spend 9 or 10 hours a day most of the week doing either one or the other. Very few people are in a job that utilises both.

It seems like such a shame.

Word of the Day: Exertion

Suprise Song Sunday: Where Are You Now? - Mumford & Sons

Where are you now?

Do you ever think of me

In the quiet, in the crowd.

Beautiful song. 

Work starts tomorrow. I think it just suddenly dawned on me today that I won't be having a weekday off for a while. And with that thought, I've started resenting shops and stuff that don't open on weekends. Or at least Saturdays. I can't actually think of any that don't open on either Saturday or Sunday off the top of my head, but when I do, I will resent them hard.

As far as pre-work-beginning weekends go, this one hasn't been bad at all. Or even a pre-work week.

On Monday, had lunch with Irene. Just like old times. We even visited uni for O-Week, to add in a bit of gut-wrenching nostalgia. 

On Tuesday, I got the more or less all-clear from the physio. So now my building of the muscle mass in the left leg is mostly up to me. 

Couple of days of not doing a great deal, then had pho dinner with honours friends. Good times, as always.  

Yesterday, played a bit of badminton with some mates, had a visit from an unexpected visitor at said game of badminton, played a bit of impromptu/unprecedented squash with said unexpected visitor, and had dessert with some mates.  

Today, went to eat pho lunch with family, then went to Vic Market. Finally got myself a double-sided sheep mug there, and got the craziest wooden turtle ever. I'd take you a photo, but it's too late. Got work tomorrow. I know, ironic. We ended by visiting Shoppingtown to pick Michelle up, and I stared at some awesome shoes in Aquila. Dinner was a delicious lamb fillet dinner cooked by my mother. Almost completely irrelevant, but whatever.  

All in all, pretty successful. Caught almost everyone that I wanted to catch before I started work. Hopefully I won't get busy too soon, and still be able to maintain a semblance of a social life. 

Time to become a productive member of the household, and the community. Yeah. Not pretentious or anything. 

Word of the Day: Resenting  

  

Change and notebooks.

I approach the official beginning of my working life with no little amount of trepidation. A little bit of exhilaration, but mostly trepidation. Expidation, if you will.

Most of it has revolved around a niggling anxiety regarding how everything will work out.

Will I still be able to maintain a semblance of a social life? Exercise? Family? Friends? Just casual leisure?

Some of it, I guess, is also dependant on others. Many of my friends, for example, also start full-time work now, or roughly now. So it's all well and good if I manage to make time for them, but it also relies on them making time for me.

I've sort of eased this slight worry with a large dose of que sera, sera. I've been thrown into situations previously where I've thought that there was no way I'd manage, and, while not always triumphing in a blaze of glory and awesome, I have by and large scraped by. Also, trying to not think about it also helps a bit.

A secondary element that has me slightly concerned is just the notion of change. I know it's an inevitable part of life, change is now the norm, we have to learn to adapt, blah blah blah. And, even if I do say so myself, I'm fairly good at adapting to change. That doesn't mean that I necessarily love getting thrust into entirely new environments and more or less fending for myself.

Again, I've tried to adopt a que sera, sera attitude about it all, with a larger dose of trying to not think about it.

I also feel as though I haven't really made the most of my holidays. Not enough travel and stuff. I hope I get time to do that later.

In happier news, I have resolved my notebook situation. I've acquired myself a snazzy new largish notebook for general note-taking purposes. It's from kikki.k, and really cool (found here). The paper's white, but edged with black so it looks like it's a black book full of black pages. But it's not!

Also, full leather. Except for the pages, obviously.

All black everything.

Boom! Yeah, deceptive.

I've also ordered some pocket Moleskine cahiers from Book Depository for a grand total of seven dollars something. They're fitting right into the inside pocket of my suit jacket, for on-the-go note-taking purposes. This was the main notebook issue that I'd been trying to resolve, as everything else is either too hard or too bulky for a suit jacket. For some reason, despite my being a Moleskine fanboy, I hadn't thought about getting one from them. Bizarre. But there it was, after hours of searching. It also didn't help that Book Depo had an inconsistent naming system, which led me to think there was only one colour (I know, calamity).

Mad as, and for a great price. The one on the right is the one I've ordered.

I love notebooks. There's just something really cool about them.

Word of the Day: Expidation

Surprise Song Sunday: I Need Your Love - Calvin Harris feat. Ellie Goulding

I don't normally do house and stuff, but this album is pretty madcore.

Word of the Day: Madcore

A belt doesn't suit me.

When one Google's random questions, the most inane debates become apparent.

This has sort of been on the edge of my consciousness for a while now, but what really brought the inanity of it all to my attention was my Googling of the following question the other day:

Should one always wear a belt with a suit?

Seemingly a mundane, trivial, and, dare I say it, not all too game-changing a question.

From the way people go on about it though, you'd think it was something of global significance.

You have two distinct camps of people. Those who think that belt loops should always be filled, and those that think that a belt ruins the clean, continuous lines of a suit.

Within these two groups, there are further divergences e.g. suspenders, no belt loops, get proper-fitting pants. I'm not going to bore you with details. You can always Google the debate yourself.

The point, in the absence of anything approaching one in this post, is that any topic that you deign to research throws up a plethora of opinions. It's just interesting to see how strongly people feel about such obscure topics. (They did feel strongly. There was mud-slinging, name-calling, and categorisation flying all over the place).

Anyway, I've decided to go beltless for the time being until either (a) I find a belt to my liking, within a reasonable price range, or (b) somebody tells me that I forgot to put on my belt. Ideally, I'd get rid of the belt loops, but I'm not that rich, hence the lack of belt. A prime example of a vicious cycle of pain and anguish.

I figure that whether or not somebody tells you you've forgotten your belt depends heavily on how the rest of you looks. You know, shirt, tie, the cut of your suit. I'm relying on relative well-cutness of my clothing to get me through this. In any event, it'll be an interesting social experiment. Actually, it may not be a social experiment. Just an experiment then.

Word of the Day: Belt

Surprise Song Sunday: More To Luv - Minnutes

Very floaty.

Word of the Day: Floaty

Surprise Song Sunday: Speak Softly Love - From the Godfather Part III

Exquisite.

Word of the Day: Exquisite

Profoundness from an unexpected source.

Just because she likes the same bizzaro crap you do doesn't mean she's your soul mate.  

Rachel Hansen, (500) Days of Summer

Word of the Day: Bizzaro

Surprise Song Sunday: Half The World Away - Oasis

I've been lost, I've been found, but I don't feel down. 

Word of the Day: Down

Delayed New Year's reflections.

I can't stand New Year's resolutions. It's like, if you're going to resolve to do something, why don't you just do it at any time?

Yeah, logic, wassup. 

Anyway, I'm more into the New Year's reflection. So I'm going to reflect away upon 2012. 

I can say, almost without reserve, that it was a good year. One of the best in living memory, in fact. Which isn't really saying a lot, since I can't really remember all that much before Year 7ish.

It's been packed so full of good stuff that it seemed so much longer than 365 days. I secured employment, finished Honours, lost a heap of weight, visited Europe, made a whole load of awesome new friends, watched many awesome movies, and generally just had stacks of fun. The only slight downer (kind of highlights how good most of the year was) was my knee operation, and subsequent placing in the seats for the Coldplay gig. 

I also learned a great deal. About humanity, about myself, and about those around me. Yeah, it sounds cliche, but it's also true. 

The 'girl situation' still hasn't been resolved, but whatever. I've also learned this year that fate, mixed in with a bit of tenacity and physical action, goes quite a long way. Usually, anyway. I say usually because it hasn't worked out so far, but who knows, it might one day. 

2013 hasn't gotten off to quite a good start. Visiting my grandma in hospital, etc. From where I'm sitting now, it's probably not going to be a fantastic year. Especially when compared to 2012. I could be wrong, and I hope I will be. I could get with the girl of my dreams, absolutely dominate the CA, not work 12-hour days, and still maintain a social life. My grandma could make a miraculous recovery. 

Who knows. It's like the start of a football season. Filled with optimism at the potential of the future, trying to quash the fear of potential pitfalls. I'll just try to play it as it comes.

Word of the Day: Good

Surprise Song Sunday: Home - Phillip Phillips

Just know you're not alone,

Cos I'm gonna make this place your home.

Totally un-American-Idol-like, totally beautiful. 

Word of the Day: Home