Isobelle, disabled rights, Monica Gellar, and George R.R. Martin

My daughter is almost eight months old, and even now it's amazing to think that she exists. That she is alive, and is an extension of me. She's communicating more with grunts and sounds and cries, and she's laughing and paying attention to things. She interacts with toys and the people around her, and she loves to touch peoples faces. I've gotten used to being away from her now that I'm back at uni, but even so as soon as I see her when I get home I realise just how much I've missed her throughout the day. My fiancé watched her today and remarked upon how much she loves children's television. She has her favourite shows already, and always smiles and laughs when they are on. She loves Play School, Franklin, and Play School. I'd love to bring her to one of Giggle and Hoots shows one day when she gets a little older. I think she'd love it!

  My interview with Steve Davies, the local MP, went really well. Sometimes I stutter when I'm nervous because my mind is travelling a thousand k's an hour, but this time while I was nervous, I was also relaxed. Steve was a really nice guy, and I got to see a personal side of him that I didn't know about. I didn't realise he was so supportive of disabled rights. At the moment I'm just putting together the transcript, and then afterward I might share the interview through Twitter or Facebook. I was surprised that while interviewing someone was kind of scary, it was also exciting. I can't wait for my next interview.

  Uni is going well. I had such a fun time at my negotiation tutorial. I think I'm going to enjoy the subject as it progresses. I was initially apprehensive about role-play, but I found that I quickly slipped into the team leader position very easily, which surprised me. I realised that I'm like a saner version of Monica Gellar - I want to take control of things, but I love to include other people. Weird. I look forward to exploring that side of me! But I wont be wearing a fat suit!

  I started reading 'A Clash of Kings' by George R.R. Martin! As I'm up to date with the television series, I already know what happens, however the book just deepens my feelings for the characters, be it hatred or love. Mostly hatred. Especially for Joffrey. I already know what's going to happen to him, as I accidently viewed a spoiler a while ago, and it just makes me anxious to know who will gain the Iron Throne. I want Daenerys Targaryen to take it, however I also think Renly Baratheon has a decent claim. I think it would be great to start up the Targaryen dynasty again! I understand that the mad king had to be dethroned, but the seat should have been saved for the heir. One of my favourite quotes by Daenerys is 'If I look back, I am lost'. It is such a powerful expression. I really want to read up to where the television series is, but I'm not sure I can read so fast. I am also wondering what is going to happen when the television series and the book series meet. Everyone knows that it takes George R.R. Martin literally a decade to write a book. I guess HBO could finish the series off with Martin's notes, but it wouldn't be the same. Let's hope he doesn't get writers block!

This is what I want to see!


           

                                                                                                                                                               The Photo of the day is........


Black Books.....such a good series. I wish they made more!

Claire

Uni, Steve Davies, Aspergers, and St. Paul

So it's Friday, and I have finished my first week back at uni. I'm already exhausted. I don't know why I went back. Who needs an education? George Bush obviously didn't have one, and he was the President of the United States! I'm so tired, both mentally and physically. I've started one of my assignments, although I am still unsure of what it's actually about. The topic is 'If you are proactive about strategic choice, you are much more likely to get what you want than if you want for the other to initiate action' (Lewicki, Hiam and Olander 2007:28). Discuss this view. Do you agree/disagree? Why/not? Support your answer with reference to the relevant negotiation literature and the negotiation exercises you have experiences.'......what the hell? On one hand I've kind of grasped the concept of what it means, but on the other I feel like jumping into a fire pit full of burning embers. It is such a full on question for the first day! I've never studied this before - how am I supposed to know what the hell it means? (Ok, so, I understand what it means, but still!!...) And don't even get me started on my human rights assignment. I seriously have no clue there. A girl I befriended has already gathered notes and research and I'm still scratching my head in confusion. I don't know why I enroll in such academic subjects. It's not like I can just whip something up the night before - I've actually got to research. Why I didn't study childcare is beyond me. I have never wanted to do it, but think about how easy it would be!! Instead I study business, employment relations, and international relations, and have to watch videos of people dying in third world countries. I don't know what is wrong with me sometimes!


The one thing I am excited (albeit scared of) is my news and politics subject. I have to write a university news story! I've decided to write about disabled university students, and I have already set up a meeting with a local MP Steve Davies for an interview in three days, but I have no idea what I am going to talk about, and I am scared of approaching disabled uni students! What if they are offended by my story? I have only done this sort of thing once before, but never on a university level. I am seriously shitting myself. Quite literally. I can't eat because I'm so nervous, and I'm getting tingly feelings in my legs. Maybe I'm having a stroke. That would be better that interviewing the MP!! I don't know how I got the courage to call his secretary. I must be sick. It's gotta be the onset of my stroke, I just know it! I got the idea for writing about disabled uni students after watching Q and A and learning that some politicians have Aspergers Syndrome. I think it shows that anyone can be a politician. I have Epilepsy, but it's not like it's a major hindrance. I just have the worst memory of all time. I can remember long passages of text, and books, and movies, but not what I had for breakfast, or appointment times. I am seriously the most forgetful person of all time. Anyway, I hope my interview goes well. I am terrified about meeting Steve Davies, but I guess I've gotta suck it up!

Today in my Human Rights class we were learning about genealogy, and how accidents and contingency creates your family tree. I learned that we are all born from random events and accidents, and that we assume history is on track, we think human rights are timeless, enduring, and stable. But genealogy disrupts this, as people are made from accidents, not fate, nor destiny. We learned about the Stoics, and how they were the first people to talk about Cosmopolitanism - not the magazine - but the idea of people who dream about a world without borders, a global world. We also learned about St Paul, or just 'Paul', as my lecturer likes to refer to him as. Paul says that we are all one, regardless of our dividing factors. He was that first person to talk about equality, and to regard women and slaves the same as free men. I thought that was interesting to learn, but it was odd that my tutor didn't think of him as a saint. It was just strange.

Anyway, I think my mind is just full of academic mumbo jumbo at the moment. I am so tired, but I made the decision to return full time, so I have to live with the consequences! Even if I feel like napping in the Goanna Lounge. I wonder why they call it the Goanna Lounge. I haven't seen any Goanna's there. I've seen wild bush turkeys and ibis's, but no goanna's. Maybe I should get a goanna and put it in the lounge. Hehe.

The photo of the week is.....






      
Craig Nicholls. Awesome singer from The Vines. Has Aspergers! Yet so cool ^.^

Supanova, painkillers, Spics and Specs, and prancercise

This year I'm thinking about dressing up at Supanova. Last year I dressed as Elspeth from the Obernewyn Chronicles, though this time I'd like go full on in costume. Not just a few things hastily slapped together, but something that takes dedication. At first I thought of dressing as a cenobite from Clive Barker's Hellraiser. Something like this:


I suppose it wouldn't be too hard. I've already shaved parts of my head, so I can just do it again, find some leathers, and paint my face white. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but it always seemed too hard. I assume everyone spends hundreds of dollars on their costumes, but I'm sure I can whip something up. As long as I look pretty scary, it should be good.

   I love Supanova. It's such a great way to bring like-minded people together. This year, the Brisbane Supanova has a great selection of guests! The one's I'm looking forward to seeing are:

• Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones, Death at a Funeral, X-Men: Days of Future Past 

• Sean Maher - Simon Tamm from Firefly and Serenity

• Rachel McFarlane - Hayley from American Dad

• George R.R. Martin - Author of Game of Thrones 

It's going to be so awesome! It's great because the Gold Coast Supanova usually gets all the good guests, but this year Brisbane seems so exciting! I'd love it if Anne Rice and Clive Barker came to Australia, but I don't think they would :/

  I watched a show tonight on  SBS one called Pain, Pus, and Poison. It explained the origin of pain relief. The presenter, Michael Mosley, actually tries all of the archaic medicines himself. It's awesome! It was really insightful to see how modern medicines came to be. I can't imagine testing them all, not knowing how they were going to react. In the beginning of the show, Mosley pokes a needle through his hand, pushing it in one side, and watching it emerge out of the other. He almost faints, but because his body is full of painkillers, his hand is numb, so he feels nothing. It was amazing to watch. It was really interesting learning about the medical science that produced the modern medicine of today. Mosley talked about the times before anesthetic was introduced to surgery, and how patients had to bite down on leather straps as the doctors saw off peoples arms. The most interesting part of the show was the insight into Morphine, and how chemists discovered that plants and herbs had healing powers. But one of the most surprising things was when Mosley used the medicines on himself. It was a really interesting show, and I'm looking forward to watching the nest installment.

  One of the things I'm annoyed about is the return of Spics and Specs. It's been on hiatus for a while, but when it returns, it won't have the original cast of Adam Hills and regular team captains Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough. I think it would redeem itself if Stephen Fry hosted it. While I can't imagine it without Adam Hills, Stephen Fry would be an amazing replacement. However, as long as Barry Morgan is involved, I suppose it doesn't matter. 


Barry Morgan is hilarious! In any case, it'll be good to see quality TV again!

One of the more disturbing trends at the moment seems to be prancercise, made popular by Joanna Rohrback. The camel-toed woman pretty much looks like she escaped from the circus, or the looney bin. The sixty year old retired social worker prances around wearing spandex pants, a cardigan, and tennis shoes. For those who don't know what this zany exercise is,  'Prancercise' is a 'springy, rhythmic way of moving forward, similar to a horse's gait and ideally induced by elation,' according to a website for the routine. The whole thing is laughably wrong. Imagine seeing this woman galloping towards you...

It's terrifying, right?

The photo of the day is....

 
 Don't forget to watch the new series!

Claire

The internet, university, grammar, and content writing.

One of the things that surprises me the most is how annoyed I get at the most trivial of things. I get so pissed off by things that are smaller than the tiniest speck of dirt in retrospect to the mountains of worries that concern myself with every day. For instance, it took me two hours to sign into this account tonight. Google has decided that tonight is the night it will forget to take its medication, as no matter how many times I entered my password and supplied numerous email addresses and safety questions, it simply would not let me access my account. I blame it Google Chrome. I don't know what I did to deserve its wrath. Did I leave its grandmother at the bakery again? Did it find me stealing it's Kleenex toilet paper to swap it with 100% recycled paper? Isn't an annoying crying baby enough? Sometimes I just don't know anymore. Why can't the internet just leave me alone?

  I suppose the internet is everywhere now. Every one has a smart phone. If you can't check your email in under ten seconds via your smart phone, then you're not getting that 10% off your new shoes. I tried to sign in, but it wouldn't let me. And I even paid my phone bill! It must because I don't use Apple products. See, this is how Chrome gets back at me! Because I use Android instead of Apple it makes me use Internet Explorer instead of Google Chrome. What a bastard. It sounds like an alcoholic Irish bookstore owner taking his revenge on an old man trying to by David Copperfield for the full price.

  I am going back to uni next week. I've had six months off to care for my daughter. I'm excited to go back, and yet dreading it at the same time. I'm not the type of person who has a lovely group of uni friends, who meets up with them at the uni bar for a drink or two, or who hangs out at the library two hours after their last class to chat about foreign policies. I'm the type of person who will get their work done during a break, is too poor to drink at the uni bar, so has someone else buy them a few drinks and some nachos, is the only person who orders El Diablo pizza, and catches the bus home. I want to socialise and have a wonderful group of uni friends and protest about the shadow minister, and even though I'm studying politics subjects and I should care about these things, I really don't. I just want to get on that stupid bus and go home.

  It's funny being a pregnant uni student. Six months ago I searched the campus for someone else like me. Someone I could talk to about studying with a mutant inside my stomach, but the only person I could talk to was the tutorial teacher from my least favourite class. On the outside she seemed like a bitch, but on the inside, she was actually really nice. She was just firm and strict, I guess. Everybody thought I was eighteen and just out of high school. They didn't notice that I couldn't care less if I was late to class, and wasn't eager to talk about managerial concepts in the workplace. I was more interested in hating on the government. Plus, management concepts could drive even the most happiest person to the grave.

  I'm happy to return to study, but then I think to myself, what is the point? Am I going to get a good job? I don't even have a good job at the moment, so what will a Business degree do for me? All I want to do is sell my books and create a content writing business. Can that be so hard? Well, yes. Yes, it can be. You see, not a lot of people even know what content writing is. When I tell them what I do for a living they look at me as though it's my job to catch fish from the local watering hole to feed my village. As soon as you tell someone you write for a living they immediately judge you and think you're doing an arts degree. As if an arts degree ever did anything for anyone! The world is all about money and politics, and if you don't know about one or have another, you've basically got nothing going for you. Even if your multi-coloured beard is in the Guinness Book of World Records. I was thinking that getting an ABN would make me more professional, but would it really? I have my own cards, but does anyone actually care about them? Cards are for stock brokers in Brooks Brothers suits, not uni students with toddlers.

  In reflection of the six months I have spent out of uni, I think I have spent at least 70% writing articles and content for people who would never appreciate the time I take out of my day to write for them. 10% worrying about gaining weight. 10% writing my new and amazing novel. And 10% of my time annoyed at the sheer hopelessness of peoples grammar. Sometimes I really worry about humanity. It's always going to be I before e except after c. There is a difference between there, their, and they're. There is such a thing as a semi-colon (and it has nothing to do with a colonoscopy). I know I shouldn't get so worked up about these things, but they are important, aren't they? The English language is so messed up that grammar is one of the only things that saves it.

  I wish that everything would just fall into place, but I know that it wont, because life is not that boring. Life is exciting. I have a wonderful fiancé who complains about lag in Call of Duty. I have a beautiful daughter who, in an attempt to crawl, is an expert at doing the worm. And I have friends in a variety of different states who I wish I could visit every day. Why are plane trips in Australia so expensive? You'd expect airlines would want to bring people together, not keep them apart. Maybe they should chat up some call girls for some advice? I know I would.

The photo of the day is...



Clive Barker! I just want to high five him. Maybe have him read to me. I don't know. Whatever it is, I bet it'll be erotic.

Kevin Rudd, vacuum cleaners, giant sandwiches, and Torchwood.

Kevin Rudd has plans to change the constitution to formally recognise the indigenous people of Australia. It seems to be his comeback début from his highly successful first album, 'The Apology'. However, I don't really see anything coming out of this. As much as I support Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister, it seems like he has, once again, taken too much onto his plate. First he retook the Australian Labor Party, and now he's making changes to the federal constitution of Australia. There's no stopping him! Speaking of things that can't be stopped - the assortment of crazy names for Kate Middleton and and Prince William's baby. People are actually betting about it, with one of the more popular names being - and this is serious - Frogmella. Oh look, there's little Frogmella eating her little triangle cucumber sandwiches. See how cute she looks at her first day of school - in the school room of the palace. Can't have any other little kids pushing her over and making her scrape her knees!

In case you didn't hear about it in the news, the guy who masterminded the 9/11 attacks wants to design a vacuum cleaner. Imagine that - from terrorist attack to vacuum cleaner. It must be a seriously evil domestic appliance! And the guy must be a serious psycho to want to design a vacuum cleaner. I always imagined people who design vacuum cleaners are boring, grey, and drab. I mean, what would make them want to design a vacuum designer in the first place? Especially if you have such excellent terrorism skills. I'd expect they'd be better suited to a temp job. Everyone knows people in temp jobs are depressed.

Have you ever noticed that chefs make such gigantic sandwiches that you just cant eat? I can just imagine Kate Middleton ordering a massive cucumber sandwich and having to cut it up in little pieces because she can't fit it in her mouth. What is the point of a sandwich so big you require utensils? Do club sandwiches suddenly transform into something other than a sandwich? And what exactly is a sandwich? Two slices of bread and a slice of meat in between? Or a tower of different types of meats and vegetables slapped together? It totally revolutionises the meaning of a sandwich. I can't imagine Kate Middleton eating a royal cucumber sandwich. It's got to be illegal for a royal to open their mouth up wider than a certain amount. Anyone with photoshop skills could use it to their advantage.

At the moment I'm watching Torchwood. The show is amazing! I like it so much more than Doctor Who. It's more centred around human emotion than aliens, and even though Doctor Who has some emotional episodes, like when The Doctor left Rose, Torchwood focuses more on relationships. I think that's what makes it such a great series. It's not just about aliens and time travel - it's about how we react to it all. I don't know whether I like Jack more than the Doctor. He is such an enigma. Another reason why I like Torchwood more is because it's more grittier. People kill their wives. Men kill little kids. Mothers let go of their prams, causing them to run into cars. Doctor Who has a kind of barrier to it, where Torchwood doesn't.

The photo of the day is....da da da daaaaa....


<3 <3 Jack and Ianto. The ultimate bromance.

Stress, books, sarcasm, and Asian divers

People say that the way to combat stress is to have self-compassion, to remember the 'big picture', to rely on routines, and to keep using positive self-talk to make yourself feel better. But sometimes these things just don't work. Instead of laughing at idiot children's TV shows, or trying to entertain my daughter, I just keep feeling the hole in my stomach grow bigger and bigger. I keep thinking of the dreams I had about taking off and travelling around the country alone - all of which I can never do now. When you begin a family you become something more, something bigger. Your life becomes something better, something brighter. And yet there are always those dark moments that keep bringing you down. Sometimes these things just happen whether you like them or not, and yet you've just got to get over that hill and keep on walking.

Reading is a great way to combat stress. It takes you away from your problem to far away places, it educates people in a fun and exciting way, it inspires you when you have writers block, and reminds people about their youth. Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl remind me of primary school teaches and memorable students. Teenage fiction novels make me think of the days laying in bed in the early hours of the morning imagining a life that would never happen. Reading encourages discussion and friendship. Reading makes me happy and sad all at the same time. It makes me angry and remorseful. But it never makes me stressed.

The important thing to do when you are stressed is to celebrate humour. Be sarcastic. Be mean. People say that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but it is simply another form of intelligent humour. Sarcasm is a great way to make stupid and officious people more self-aware and less likely to be stupid and officious in the future. Sarcasm can be a great way to let off some steam, and reading sarcastic and humorous stories can often make you feel better. It reminds you that your life is not so bad, and that all of your stress doesn't need to get to you. There's always a pirate out there without a peg leg, a sailor with sea sickness, and a little kid who's hidden their mothers lingerie. There's ten different types of humour.

1) Laugh-at-life humour - you just broke your ankle while chasing a rabid dog away from an old lady? Oh well.
2) Bonding-in-the-moment humour - you remind your friend about the stains on her brothers underwear before she tosses you out of the Ferris wheel for using her hair-dryer. 
3) Slapstick comedy - admit it - you've thrown a flaming bag of dog shit at your ex-boyfriends house. 
4) Sarcasm - (ME!) You're unnecessarily mean for the sake of making your day better. Did you see that little old lady trip over and flash her knickers? You didn't? Don't worry, I took at least ten photos for Facebook. 
5) Self-depreciation humour - does my ass look big in this? Of course it does, I'm a walrus! 
6) Dry/deadpan humour - you're British on the inside. You can tell someone they've got a period stain on their white pants without cracking a smile. (ALSO ME!)
7) Witty humour - you're the reincarnation of Chandler Bing. The best at one-liners and a bit of a know-it-all.
8) Jokes at others expense - you're mean and you show it. See that blonde woman hobbling down the road? Of course you have. You referred to her as Yellowbeard ten minutes ago. 
9) Bathroom humour - farts and shit and dirty jokes. You can wipe the floor clean with your toilet humour. 
10) Quirky cultural references - you're Abed Nadir from Community. A bit of an outsider, you love pop culture and integrate it into your every day life. 

Stress doesn't have to be a bad thing. When you're stressed, think of something funny. Like Asian divers:


Remind yourself that this isn't your boyfriend:


And be grateful you don't look like this:


The next time you're feeling down, draw penises on politicians faces in the newspaper. Remind yourself that Julia Gillard isn't Prime Minister any more, and that Dr. Seuss wrote a book about nudist sisters.


The photo of the day is......



Green Arrow! Made so much better by John Barrowman!

Claire