So this is what it feels like...

Right. I've gone round the bend.

I've started giving bits of an assignment names like Oscar and Sunshine. Admittedly, the assignment in question is an installation of tiny clay gumdrop creatures, but still.

On getting to the station just in time to see my train pull away, my first thought was "oh good, time to finish reading that article for my tute on Wednesday."

Yep. I'm nuts.

This is a view likely to be shared with the people on the bus, train and station platform with me yesterday, because I was not wearing shoes when I made my journey home.

Tripping over and breaking your thong in half is quite embarrassing. Having to travel home from uni barefoot for 45 minutes on public transport as a result is mortifying.

Well, look who's back...

I have been ordered to start blogging again. So here I am, as per instructions. Blogging.
I have been told to "just spend 5 minutes a day letting us know what you're up to."

What am I up to?
Well, uni mostly. This week and next week are the pointy end of semester one, year four. So there be assignments in these here waters, yahr. I'm working on one for my assessment subject today. Gah.

Um, I also did some laundry this morning, which is not so commonplace an occurence as it may seem.

When I need a break from the assignment of doom, I'll probably check out last week's installment of FreakAngels, which is my favourite webcomic at the moment. If you haven't seen it before, start from the beginning.

Later on, I'll take my partially completed assignment to tutorial and get my tutor to tell me what's wrong with it. Then I'll go home and bring the laundry in, and make a small clay sculpture and go to bed.

she's baaaack...

H'lo. I'm at home! No more uni for me until March. (That is happiness.)
Flew home yesterday, via Adelaide. The airport is new and shiny, but utterly boring and ultimately, bland. Yeah, not huge fun for a four-hour stopover. But did I mention I'm home now? *squee*

All the math and english and other bits and pieces are finished, bar maybe having to e-mail my English course convenor because - I got 39/40 for my English Unit of Work! Chances are, I complained about it somewhat here while I was writing it, but the hard work and grumbling seemed to pay off.

So today, I need to buy a pillow, and see my friends' baby, and get started on some pics for a sims2 competition I really don't want to have to drop out of. I love to-do lists like that.

Catching Up

Well, I had a bit of a holiday from blogging, lazy me. But it just didn't seem like fun. Inspiration is a strange thing - sometimes I have it in buckets, other times not so much. And I'm terrified of the 'not so much' times - one of the reasons I'm not in a creative industry is that I can't abide the thought of building my life around inspiration only to one day, wake up with no ideas.

I enrolled for next semester's uni courses this morning, in an incredibly painful forty-five minute session in their online enrolment doover. I groaned, I wailed, I said "bugger." Not fun, kids.

My friends had a baby yesterday. Squee much? I went and bought him a book, and I'll probably mail it to them tomorrow, even though there is no way he'll be wanting to read it in the next two weeks before I get home and see them in person. It's a very cute book about puppy dogs. Also bought my littlest sister's Christmas pressie, but must be all shh on that front because it is a secret.

I'm hurriedly finishing this up now, because in about five minutes people will arrive to take me to Halloween at Movie World. Despite the fact that Halloween was actually yesterday. I'm sure it will be fun nonetheless. As far as I know, and despite my aunt's crazy schemes, we're not going costumed. Thank goodness.

Ooh, before I go, here be the cutest website in the world - the eLouai Doll Maker. I maded some dolls. It's addictive.

Wet and Bedraggled

Aaargh. Between God's gift of rain, and the way the world seems to segue into slow motion whenever I'm in a hurry, today has not been a particularly fun day.

I forgot the one dollar bag of popcorn for my English presentation this morning - left it at home on the bedroom floor - so had to run (really, run) from uni to the shops a half hour before our presentation started and spend eight dollars on more. Because if I went to Woolies there was not a chance I was getting back in time, but Kernels was empty. As it happened, I made it back with five minutes grace. Phew.
Longest. Twenty-five. Minutes. Of my life.

Aaaand my umbrella broke. Because today God's gift of rain came wrapped in cyclonesque winds.


(Sorry. I was boring yesterday and today I've just complained. Promise I'll do better tomorrow.)

Brain, come back... please...

Aargh. I've been a space case all day today.
I studied for four hours this morning, but only actually studied for about two. The rest of the time I was looking up Regina Spektor lyrics and thinking about making a Rose Walker sim. (My conclusions: I really, really want the Soviet Kitsch album, and will have to learn to recolour sim hair.)
Then this afternoon I missed the bus stop for uni. It's a really obvious bus stop that I've never ever missed. I wasn't even on the wrong bus.
When I actually got to uni, and got into my tute, I had a minor panic attack because everyone was already in groups for our group assessment task, and I didn't have a group. Except I did. I signed up in the first week.
Aargh.

Friday Things

This is the first day it's been cold enough up here to wear a winter coat - and I'm ecstatic. Walking to uni this morning in the sunshine and freezing wind, wearing my Favourite Purple Coat and listening to Regina Spektor, made me so happy I could feel it physically - that sharp, joyful constriction under the rib cage that makes you feel like you're about to lift off the ground.

I heart winter so so much.

Have finished assignment, but forgot integral pen-to-write-on-the-CD, so I'm stuck here till the bookshop opens at 2. Then I'll hand it in and go home and only have a science exam and freaky airport dreams to worry about.

I spent a very happy half hour last night playing the Impossible Quiz. So far I can only get to about question 52, though.

Overcast and Nightmaring

Well, it stopped raining, but the sun isn't shining either, so kind of the worst of both worlds, especially since the entirety of my wardrobe has been sitting on the clothesline since Tuesday morning (we don't have a dryer.) If it's still wet Saturday, I'll ring my aunt and see if I can borrow her dryer for the morning.

Nothing much happening my-ways, just assignmenting and Simming and reading-Harry-Pottering. My toddler twin sims grew up last night, and they make for very cute kiddies. The boy looks rather effeminate. I want to take piccies if I get enough of the behavior management assignment done first. I've got time to kill till nine-thirty tonight - stupid Channel Seven putting Heroes on before Lost rassum frassum.

I've had bad dreams about being stuck in Tullamarine Airport twice this week. Dreams about running from one end of the place to the other, sorting out baggage and flights and broken suitcases and delays - like all the worst airport experiences I've ever had put together. I'm not sure why. Usually if something is freaking me out, I lose sleep over it, rather than nightmaring. Also not sure why the whole thing is troubling me in the first place - I'm not expecting to have any difficulties, and even if I do in my experience the airplane people are pretty nice about fixing them up - either it's because I did actually end up missing my transfer and losing my luggage last time, or because I'm flying Rex the second leg of my journey this time, after I've had a year or two to get comfortable with O'Connor.
Sometimes I hate how the littlest things can throw me for a loop.

word, work

Gotta love that funky word of the day thingo. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a vibist. Who knew! Well, other than the vibists themselves, close friends and relatives, etc...
Have finished writing the Introduction and Rationale for this art assignment. Which basically means I've done all the work. Another hour and I'll have it knocked over and e-mailed off. Which will be nice.

Communion yesterday. My church up here only has communion quarterly; it's so nice when it does finally come around. At home it's monthly, which is really nice, alternating between morning and evening services. Good to be able to share communion at my home church more than once a year, which is what it would be if they did the quarterly thing as well. Good to be reminded a little more often - I don't think about Him as much as I should.

whew. it's over

So. After handing in art assignment yesterday, I finished off behaviour management and started printing out and putting together, only to discover I'd left my reference list on Grandma's computer. So, instead of wasting two hours going home and getting it and coming back, I wasted four hours putting it back together from in-text citations, often muttering things like "Barkley? Who on earth is Barkley? And where did I find him?" And the uni internet server went down. For an hour. So I couldn't access digitised readings I'd cited. And of course I had off-line copies of them - at home. Grr.

So after I handed that one in, I felt completely ready for something fun. So I went to see Tales from Earthsea at the Dendy - that's the new Studio Ghibli film, which unfortunately rates somewhere down in the Pom Poko doldrums for me. So disappointing, after Howl and Spirited Away. Not that it was bad - it just wasn't excellent. And I've read the books - I have a sneaking suspicion it's a lot less fun if you haven't. It didn't entirely make sense as it was.
But the ending wasn't entirely un-awesome.
Oh well.

the little uni student that could

Yesterday was exhausting. Apparently the preps were psycho, but I had lots of fun. Then I got home and kind of fell in a heap.
Just handed in my art assignment. It took 45 minutes to print and organise and bind and submit, which is yet another reminder that time never does what you want it to. Have to add some stuff from yesterday's prac to my behaviour management assignment, then I'll hand that in too. After presumably even longer printing and organising and binding and submitting. It's a hugely dense assignment for 1500 words, so everyone has like 17 appendices because they're not part of the word count.

Have figured out perfect presents for my brothers' birthday and mothers' day, but am not telling.

Happy Happy

Well, I got 25/30 for the assignment I forgot to hand in last week. So I'm feeling much happier with the world than I was an hour ago. If I believed in luck and made a habit of profanity, I'd say I was a lucky bastard.

I've posted quite a bit today and yesterday. Anyone would think I was avoiding something, like maybe a behaviour management assignment...

the end of things

So. No post yesterday, but this week I think I can forgive myself for missing a day or two: everything is due at uni, because we go on prac next week. So, sorry mister blog, I may neglect you but for good reason.
What has Alleliua been doing this weekend?
Alleliua finished her art assignment, even after she did the fun art bits, she did all the writing too.
Alleliua collected references for her behaviour management assignment.
Alleliua sang in church, and taught Sunday School.
Alleliua did not feed her little cousin sand. (It was an illustration on trust. If it had been a different cousin, I may well have chucked the illustration and given them a mouthful of grit.)
Alleliua, presumably, talked about herself in the third person. She likes doing that.

Today, I'm not wearing to uni my grey smock minidress with the big pockets and black opaque tights, because I couldn't answer the multiple choice question:
Does this outfit make me look:
a) Like a sexy mod throwback in style of Edie Sedgewick, etc.
b) Like a four-year-old on stilts. (Black tights make my legs look loooong. It would be a good look if I was skinny.)
c) Like someone forgot her pants when she walked out the door this morning.

Huh. So, jeans instead. Again.

Magic

So. Have worked on assignments, got writers' block, gone off and spent too much time at the Sims 2-related Place Which Must Not Be Named (pretty sure I can name it if I want to, I'm not in a paysite forum; I just like to call it that.) Yahr.
Then got guilty and went back and tried to work on my assignments some more and got writers block some more and played solitaire, badly, on the computer.
And this is just week 8.
My hair is acting like a bought one! Hooray! It so rarely plays by any kind of decent rules, this is worth posting about.
Went to the library with Grandma this morning and put four Fables tpbs and The Pinhoe Egg on hold. Fables because Dad bought one and I hate to be left out of these things (I've not quite forgiven Samurai Champloo yet) and because the whole concept sounds unbelievably cool. And it's been around for years. I have my head in the sand. And Egg because it's Diana Wynne Jones, and do I need any more reasons? I looooove Chrestomanci - I discovered DWJ after the Ghibli Howl's Moving Castle and never looked back but that shouldn't surprise anyone because I'm hugely obsessed with fantasy, especially fantasy for kids. I mean, I've re-read Narnia sooo many times (all of them. And Earthsea. And Tamora Pierce. And Harry Potter, and many more.)
And off on a different tangent again; I'm an avid reader of Harry Potter, but compare them to C.S. Lewis and poor Joanne Rowling doesn't have a leg to stand on. I mean, Dobby or Reepicheep? No contest. It'd be Reep every time, wouldn't it.
To think this post started with assignments.

Inconceivable

So. Firstly, prac was excellent today. Much, much better than last week. Partly because I'm not suffering PMT and partial catatonia, and partly because last week my prac teacher bailed me up and told me what I was doing wrong, so I could make an effort to right it today. I have a good prac teacher.

Secondly, after prac I had to run up to uni to hand in a hard copy, in hopes of rectifying the Stupid Assignment Mistake. Which is done. And I'm just glad it's done. And I'm hoping I don't fail. Because that would suck.

Lastly, Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles.

I'm reading The Princess Bride.

Post Number 50

First off, I should probably point out that I did not take the photographs or make the artworks in the slideshow below (in this post), I digitally manipulated them for a uni assignment. The original photographs of the original artwork are here, here, and here.




There was a bear on the train today.

Which is always nice.

Tonight I am, like Westley, mostly dead. I'm sure wheezing 'true love' is about all I can manage. My internal clock is readjusting to getting up in the morning...
Uni is going to be psycho the next three weeks. Assignments galore and all that jazz. But I've not died of uni yet, or even failed anything, so that're really all ok.
And my exam that I was worried about, I did ok in: two-three marks above average. Someone got eleven out of thirty; I don't envy them.

Huh. Didn't see that coming...

Every time at uni we have a mid-semester exam, I stress and worry and study lots of irrelevant extra information, only to discover that the exam is a) based solely on stuff covered in the lectures and tutes several times over, and b) a walk.
So this time, I think 'Ah, a mid-semester exam, thirty multiple choice questions, nothing to worry about.' I do a review of the base readings and lecture notes, and wander in feeling confident.
And then - BAM! - this is the hardest exam I've ever sat. And I'm sitting there going, 'But they're all phases! How can one of them not be a phase?!' and my stomach is sitting on the floor with my thongs...
Sometimes uni just floors me.

Blogging, Veeerrry Slloooowwlllly

So. I ate up all the fast internet. And then found that I really had quite a bit of uni stuff that I actually had to do, today, on the net. So I've been downloading one thing and going away and reading a story out of The Best of Will Eisner's The Spirit, and coming back and doing some uni stuff. It's working quite well.
Happily we should cycle back on to fast internet tonight sometime when the new month begins.
Other than that, our tickets to my cousins' school production of Les Miserables were dropped around. Which sounds like fun. I'm trying to read the book, but it's a pain. I'm stuck in the bit about Waterloo at the moment, so I'm not even very far in. But having finished it will be a triumph.
I bought Easter eggs for my Sunday School class yesterday. Far out. Easter eggs are expensive. I got most of them at the cheap shop, though, so it wasn't too bad. I don't know how my parents coped all these years.

Before I Breathe

So today is the day spent waiting before prac. My folders are organised, my clothes are clean, my call to the school is made. And I'm just... waiting.



Yesterday I handed in the assignment I was working on over the weekend, the environmental art one. I had a shadowy memory of a related Calvin and Hobbes in the back of my head, so I went to the searchable database and found it.

Also, here's a legible version.