Super deep analysis.

There's an element of the human condition that's a bit sad, but also simultaneously excellent. I'm talking about Familiarity. 

Using Familiarity as the lens through which we sort people, humanity is divided into three types:

1. Those who we feel more fondness and respect for as we become more familiar with them, and get to understand and know them better. 

2. Those that we distance ourselves from (or should, but sometimes don't), whether consciously or unconsciously, because Familiarity reveals, for want of a better/less melodramatic phrase, their dark side. 

3. Those that we don't become familiar with at all. Apologies in advance to those 6.5 billion (and counting!) people. 

It seems an obvious thing, but it's sort of taken me a while to reach this conclusion. It kind of developed into a cohesive thought on Friday night. Of all times. Maybe my mind becomes more metaphysical when it's tired/stretched.  

I've never been one to sit down and really think about human relationships, in particular my relationships with other people. I usually just sort of let it all develop/maintain/die organically. I think actually dedicating time to thinking of these things, and in particular, bracketing people that you know into those three brackets, helps to assess which relationships are truly worthwhile, and worthwhile developing and maintaining, which ones need rectifying or management, and which definitely need to be terminated. 

On a slightly cheerier note, I've managed to catch the vast majority of my favourite people in the world over the past three days. Does wonders for the soul. And all this with another day of liberty to look forward to tomorrow.

On a definitely cheerier note, I managed to sneak pass in Taxation. 3/5. Almost through it. 

Word of the Day: Familiarity 

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

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

Of idiocy and beauty in Florence, and travelling with uni.

This morning, I did something that was simultaneously fun and ridiculously stupid in Florence.

In the words of Boromir, it was folly.

I was going to have a nice quiet one, visiting the statue of David, and not visit the Duomo, because I figured it would be much the same as every other Duomo. Also, I had slept about four hours because the Italian people partake in traditional car honking celebrations after their team wins a football match.

Of course, I ended up at the Duomo, and not seeing David.

Why?

The line for David was just not moving. Because I am an ultra-patient person, I left after 10 minutes of queue inaction.

I went to the Duomo, expecting maybe just to walk around inside, take a few good photos of stained glass and whatnot, and go home.

What I ended up doing was scaling a bazillion stairs, not knowing where it would stop, because I had no idea what people generally did at that place.

What people generally did was climb to the top of the place. By climbing the aforementioned one zillion steps.

The view at the top, however, made the trip almost worth it.

(I'll upload a pic a bit later maybe)

Truly breathtaking.

The way down wasn't as bad as expected either.

So after that, long story short, I more or less stumbled towards Prato and uni people.

So we haven't done much so far, except for wandering around Prato. The two people I was wandering with, Jamie (Melbourne High old boy - saw it from a mile away - seriously) and Louise, were quite swell, and the wandering was fairly good bonding time. Met a few more cool people at dinner, which was all good, and I look forward to doing more of the same over the next few days. Off to a good start already. Not that I expected anything less.

Word of the Day: Folly

Kony 2012

I don't profess to know a great deal about what's going on in Uganda, or, depending on who you're listening to, what's not going on in Uganda. So I'll give actually talking about Kony a fairly wide berth. 

What I would like to remark upon, purely as an observation, is how astounding this whole thing is. This 30-minute video has people deeply divided, with some jumping straight in and castigating Kony like he's personally wronged them and their entire family and ancestors, and some taking a wholier-than-thou 'educate yourself before you jump to conclusions' stance.

As I say, I don't know a great deal about this - in fact, I know next to nothing about most things in Africa - but I do find it annoying how some people actually think they can save the world from evil by sharing a video. I get that some people actually care, and there's nothing wrong with this video making you caring. I mean, we all have to learn about things from somewhere. But seriously, copying + pasting a letter and sending it to your local MP, sharing a video, or sharing a link, won't do very much if that's all you're going to do. 

It's especially annoying when the same people who think that Africa is a country are the people that start harping on about Kony and Uganda and whatnot. I don't know why, something about that just rankles with me. I guess it's that if you care about something, then care about it. Don't go running impromptu lectures about something that you've only just learned about through a YouTube video. 

I'm not really the saviour of the world either. I give to a few select charities a few times a year, because I believe in the work that they do, but I'm not really the volunteering type. So you could just dismiss all this as hypocritical old me ranting at people that actually care and stuff. 

Also equally annoying are the people that are all like 'fact, fact, fact', contradicting the Kony people. They, too, most likely just learned that Uganda is part of the African continent, and not another planet, and yet, they're teaching people all about the history of the Ugandan conflict. 

It's all just rather annoying. I wish they'd hurry up and sort Kony out. Because he is probably a morally bankrupt person, and also because many people have probably suffered at his hands, but also because then this whole thing will end sooner.

Word of the Day: Kony 

Last day of Undergrad (hopefully) Part II - Bad Stuff (Part 2 of a trilogy).

Yes, I've decided to make this a trilogy. For no particular reason, but also because I don't feel like writing that much in one go.

Anyway, the bad stuff that happened, and still does happen, at, or because of, uni.

While uni had many wonderful people, there were many, many bad eggs. Just people that generally grate on my nerves. There weren't so many at high school. Maybe because there were less people. But I'm just more inclined to think that people weren't so nerve-gratey.

Friends are generally quite hard to locate during breaks and stuff.

The workload is massive. I thought VCE was bad. It was easy in comparison to this stuff.

It's always windy. Always. Without fail.

Student politics. I don't want to vote for you. Or anyone else. Go away.

Parking prices. I'd rather not say how much exactly for a blue permit. It seems to make the pain more real.

Many first-year law students. Private school kids that love letting people know that they're doing law, and that they're rich. Not all of them. Most of my closest friends do Law, and they're pretty alright.

That's about all I can think of right now. I'm sure there are many more, but those are the things that stand out/come to mind right now.

So, next up, the final part of the trilogy: Momentous Moments. Until next time.

Word of the Day: Grate

I'm so happy, cos today, I found my friends. Or something like that.

Sigh. Uni resumes, and with it, all the fun and frivolity that normally comes with education.

So let us do another awesome rewind thing back to the start of the mid-sem break.

Friday
Went to see Nirvana with Zara and her friends. Quite a friendly bunch. Her friends, not Nirvana. Although I'm sure they're alright too. Or were alright. Whatever. Quite an enjoyable night out. Should do it again some time.

Nirvana was also good. Their gigs were...interesting. And loud. But mostly interesting.



Favourite song off the album.

Just got Nevermind today. Came included with the price of the ticket. Hence the extortionate prices.

Allow me to have a little rant about parcel delivery.

For some reason, despite there being people in my house 99.78% of the day, nobody ever seems to be able to receive the parcel.

I don't know what advantage they get from having me drive to the post office to pick it up, but it must be something, otherwise they wouldn't do it. I'll figure it out one day.

Also, Allmusic, or whoever it was that shipped it to me, is ridiculous. I ordered it on Saturday, they sent me an email on the following Friday to tell me that they had shipped it. It takes them a week to ship a CD. And then I have to go and get it on the following Tuesday. Almost a week-and-a-half to get a CD out to me. And then, it isn't even to me. I have to go get it. Which, if you think about it, is beyond stupid, because it's almost as inconvenient as driving out to buy it. It's slower too. And they wonder why people download music.

Saturday
Journeyed to the West Side with my loyal lackey, Banh, to attend Orrin's 21st. Was quite an enjoyable night. Orrin's girlfriend, Cathy, kept attacking me and imploring me to spin Simon Dinh's music, and not mine. She also found calling me Amy Huang hilariously funny. This is why you don't get drunk, children. Or, at least, if you're going to get drunk, make sure it's after a decent amount of alcohol, and not after 0.45 of a beer or whatever it was.

Also, don't be an annoying drunk.

Anyway, Simmo switched his music on, and, funnily enough, it was the same music that I had on. The min of a drunk person works in funny ways.

I also found out that taking photos at parties is great. It lets you slip away from people that you don't necessarily want to talk to, or if you just want a break, and to observe what other people are getting up to from a distance. Amazing.



Speaking of two-bob, Arsenal lost again. I'm getting pretty sick of us losing. I wish we'd win against someone decent once in a while.

Word of the Day: Frivolity

Disney rhymes with fizz knee. Bizarre.

Watching Disney songs being performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra last night made me realise how much I love old Disney films.

They have this magical ability to transport you to faraway places and times, and make you feel as though you're actually there. Similar, in a way, to Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and Ranger's Apprentice. The world's that they create, even in their book form, are astoundingly immersive and real.

Also, the humour. Most of the sophisticated humour is beyond the target audience of Disney flims (hence the use of sophisticated as the adjective here). Well, I know I didn't get/wouldn't have gotten 90% of the humour found in Disney films at the age of 6 or 7. And it's great. It's actually genuinely funny most of the time.

One of my biggest regrets (for want of a better word) is not being able to see (or, at least, not remembering having seen) any of these old Disney films in cinemas. You know, like Lion King, Aladdin, etc.

I also realised that my favourite one is The Lion King. The score and the songs match the film and its setting like tailor-made suits fit...the person that they were intended for. Yeah. Good analogy. But truly, it's great. The music with a Western twist, mainly through the lyrics. Actually, now that I think about it, the only part of the music that's really non-African is the lyrics. Oh, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight. Very well done.

They just don't make them like that anymore. No more singing, minimal emphasis on music. Good stuff - music, films, games, art, people - don't happen as frequently as they used to, probably because most of it's been done before. It's just harder to come up with something original now.

Here. Reminisce. A toast to the good old days.



Word of the Day: Disney

Jessica Wat-"else is"-on TV.

This is fairly ridiculous.

Okay, so this Jessica Watson is pretty good. Make that very good. Yes, she sailed around the world, and she's around the age where most kids would be in school getting educated.

And that's exactly the thing.

Kevin Rudd is now claiming she's a hero because she embarked on a recklessly dangerous round-the-world trip. Yes, she has guts, skill, courage, and motivation. But hero? Who has she saved exactly? What has she done for the world? Does it really warrant a national celebration to welcome her home?

I'm not debating that what she did is a fantastic achievement. It really is. And well done to her. Also, to her credit, she's kind of tried to shrug it all off. She sure as hell didn't ask for the whole of Sydney to turn out to welcome her home. I'm just saying that people, especially people that are in a position as powerful and influential as the Prime Minister, to consider carefully when they use the word 'hero'.

A hero, to me, is someone that has done something completely selfless, often with great risk to oneself, in order to help another person, or another entity e.g. a country, or a dog. As far as I know, this homemade definition of mine doesn't really apply to her.

There are plenty of actual heroes that we don't celebrate on national television. The guy who saved a whole bunch of lives by stopping a gunman a few years ago, for instance. Or the lawyer, and the backpacker guy who stood up for a woman when she was getting smashed by the bikie in a the CBD a while back. These are people that have stood up for a person, or for a group of people, who were in danger, without a thought for the dangers that they faced.

I think the word that Kevin Rudd would probably want to use is 'role model'. And even that would be stretching it very far. Do we really want young children looking up to her, and going "Oh, that seems like a good idea." A better move would've been not to roll out the red carpet and treat her like some national treasure in the first place.

Again, I'll reiterate that I don't dislike her. I don't know her as a person. She does seem quite modest, and her deeds are commendable and very special. I just don't think that a national holiday should be declared for the second Saturday of every May from this year forth to commemorate her homecoming.

Word of the Day: Hero

I used to love H.E.R.

I liked old Facebook. It encouraged the novel idea of writing on other people's walls, kind of like a free SMS service. It was fun, and made your wall all colourful.

Now people just comment. I don't think people new to Facebook even know what a wall-to-wall is. It's just old people like me. Now it's just turned into this sort of Twitter/Myspace thing. They're putting the emphasis on the stupidest things. Like joining pages, for example.

I don't know. I get annoyed by the weirdest things. This trend, for example.

I liked it better when it was just a simple, idiotic back-and-forth between Walls.

Ah, look at me. Reminiscing about old times already. And I'm not even 21. But the old times often seem to be the best times.

Word of the Day: Facebook

hkef;bqke;bfkq;bkl;n;b; rage.

Wow, I've blogged like every day of this week.

This is just another one to vent my frustration at people not picking up their phones. That's all there is to it really.

Oh, and why people are so hard to understand. Once again. I think I may have majorly annoyed someone, but I have no idea why, or if indeed, I have at all, owing to the aforementioned phenomenon.

This sucks.

End story.

Word of the Day: Frustration
Currently listening to: Hate by Jay-Z feat. Kanye.

Rationalise this!

Rationalising things hurts my head. Often there is no rational explanation for why people do the things they do. You try and rationalise, and often, you just end up going in circles.

So from now on, I'm keeping the rationalisation to a minimum. I'm just going to go with the flow. Stop trying to read other people's minds. Hopefully.

It kind of comes second-nature to me though. I just realised the other day that I have a very deep interest in analysing things, trying to see beyond the obvious or the exterior. Trying to see through all the hocus-pocus and lies. It's like a game I play. It's just fun, deconstructing things mentally.

But deconstructing people is a whole different ball game. Language and situations are alright. People are very, very difficult. Especially girls. If you try and deconstruct the way people act, you'll drive yourself nuts, like me. So no more. Hopefully.

Word of the Day: Deconstruct