My first day wrapped up into 3 minutes. :)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mauLrnb2gM]
Wellington, New Zealand – Day One Video
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Category Archives: Yes I AM a nerd… well … I’m nerd-ISH
Goals vs. Direction & SYTYCD Slideshow – YAY!!!
Having goals and having direction in life are not one-in-the-same. I am GREAT at making, working toward, and achieving goals. But direction? Well THAT my friends is an entirely different matter. In THAT particular realm of existence, I have none.
I could recite some scholarly psychological reasons for my lack of direction, I could offer some heart-wrenching excuses – but the fact of the matter is – doing such will not get me any closer to finding my life’s compass than I was before. And this is a very big problem.
I began my Australian journey long before I had ever considered Sydney as a place to live. It began with a sense of unrest. An unspoken yet annoyingly nagging feeling that I needed to be somewhere else, doing something else. I didn’t know where, I didn’t know what, I didn’t know why or how. I only knew that 1. change was necessary, 2. it needed to be big, and 3. it needed to be international.
Other than this my only main life goals were a post-graduate education and hopefully a job doing something I enjoy. So that was it. I tried to envision a more concrete “5 year plan” like WHAT I should major in or WHAT I would like to do as a career but I didn’t even know if I liked sushi, or what was my favorite flavor of gelato! Not that this mattered – the point was I had no idea what I wanted. It seems a funny thing happens when the unexpected becomes the goal – suddenly it becomes very difficult to want or plan anything – those wants or plans can’t be “unexpected” if they’re planned can they?
So I strolled along the avenues of my life, searching for open doors to take me from my street into a world unknown. I figured eventually I’d discover a path and it would just “work out.” When I found the door to Australia open, I ran inside and locked the door behind me. No turning back.
INTERMISSION: I’ve decided to fulfill my promise and post pics from SYTYCD!!! Be warned – they’re pretty flippin amazing 
– though the end of the slideshow got a little messed up – but hey – c’est la vie.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xer812o26tk]
Ok – back to it. There was just one little problem – I still had no idea what I was going to do. I only knew WHERE I was going to do “it.” I had reached my “goal” – big, international change with a bonus helping of post-graduate education – but I had no direction. Peace and Conflict seemed a noble and worthwhile goal – until I discovered that the walls of that hallway were painted with hypocrisy, agendas, and lack of structure.
I backed out of that one and thought “Hmm – Digital Communication sounds nice. Digital IS the way of the future and communication is my thing.” But today as I was doing my research I was told DO NOT MAJOR IN ANYTHING COMMUNICATION- or at least not if you have to pay for it. My source was quite reputable, he recently retired from being the President of a broadcasting company. His opinion is that my degree would be the worst investment and biggest waste of money ever. How’s that for reassuring?
MINI BREAK 
Here is a clip from the show … watch for us on the lefthand balcony of the stage. This was my fave performance and you can totally see us!!! Here is Gianne and BJ. (skip to like 1 minute in to avoid the boring talking part.)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI78q-9YY4U]
And now I’m left wondering what the use of goals are if you have no direction. And though of course, indirectly, the whole purpose of this “unexpected” thing was to discover my unexpected but entirely desirable “direction in life” – but I fear I’m as far away from that goal as I ever have been.
I guess the good news is that along the way I’ve learned some pretty amazing things and revived a few old goals – like the whole R word which leads to the L word which leads to the M word (shudder) I didn’t have that in the 5, 10 OR 20 year plan – NOW – well … I am still not planning on it – but I definitely wouldn’t mind considering it.
WHICH BTW – The FM gave me a spreadsheet-ish breakdown of the differences between a DB (like Captain Charisma or U.D.B.) and a nice guy (like the dude from the party on Sunday or potentially CC+4 or Ben but since FM hasn’t met those boys he isn’t willing to call them nice yet.) SO I will post the differences tomorrow.
As well as my view of boys who use emoticons.
AND TO MAKE THIS THE LONGEST POST IN THE WORLD (not so large exaggeration) here’s a sucky one in which we are in MOST of … Talia and Emmanuel (skip like before …)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9Jn4qDt9wY]
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Nerdy, Social Butterfly Pioneer Discovers Top 30 Novels in History
First and foremost, thank you to everyone who left comments on my last post and for the emails and IMs!!! Everything said was soooo helpful!! This is a BIG decision and I only have 6 days to decide so it was nice to get input. THANK YOU!!! One particular thing said by Emily really touched home with me, “Crying doesn’t make you weak; it makes you human.” That’s something I need to remember.
Today, in an attempt to figure things out, I met with the Director of the Dig. Comm Dept. It was encouraging AND discouraging all rolled up into one! Oh boy – what a trip. Ok so the bad news is apparently this is a brand new program and as such they have no support staff, no internships, and no clue. The good news is that BECAUSE this is a brand new program I can turn it into whatever I would like. CC+4′s encouraging words were, “Sounds like you’re going to have to be your own Pioneer. All the great ones are. No worries. You are the one who is going to make your career not the classes at school.” He’s right. And I guess great minds think alike because I had already discussed with the Director which classes outside of the department I would like to take AND the possibility of my heading up a committee or club for the department. lol. A nerdy, social butterfly pioneer. Hmm … I guess it could be worse.
In social butterfly news – Captain Charisma wants to catch-up tomorrow. And then I’m supposed to catch-up with the Ultimate D.B. on Friday (though FM says it doesn’t matter how much UDB tries – he shouldn’t get another chance – we’ll see…) Sunday I’ve been invited to a couple parties. Oh and today, besides playing Dr. Phil to some girl he had a crush on during a short cruise over a month ago, (poor CC+4 – he can’t seem to get rid of me) CC+4 put me on to the song “Hot Thing” by Talib Kweli – it’s hot.
In nerdy news - tonight – instead of watching TV like normal people do – I took Modern Library’s Top 100 Novels in History and cross referenced it with Radcliffe’s Top 100 Novels in History. By assigning numerical values to each list I discovered the Top 30 Great Novels in History (the lists only had 44 in common and the last 14 weren’t ranked particularly high.) SO – yeah – fascinating isn’t it? Oh wait …
FYI – I plan on reading all 30 – or re-reading as the case will be with a few of them. Here’s the list for my fellow readers – ordered according to ranking:
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Ulysses by James Joyce
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
- The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
- Native Son by Richard Wright
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
- As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
- The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
- All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
- Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
- A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
- On the Road by Jack Kerouac
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Howards End by E.M. Forster
- Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
- The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
- The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
- An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Have a happy day! I haven’t forgotten about pics for SYTYCD – I’ll try and get to that tomorrow.
A new superhero power
I should really start keeping track of how many cool super hero powers I have. I figured out another one the other day. And then of course – let us not forget that I have SUPERHUMAN PERIPHERAL SPIDER RADAR VISION which is about the coolest thing evah (spelled “ever” in the U.S.) (read about it HERE – oh lol. And no I’m NOT graceful.)
Anyway – today I am happy to announce that I have discovered I have Extraordinary Obvious Pocket Locating Pow-ah (Power). Are you impressed? Because you should be. You see, as I mentioned in the linked post above, superhero powers that are a mouthful to say are better than those that are not. And that means Extraordinary Obvious Pocket Locating Pow-ah is awesome by the title ALONE. HOWEVER that’s not the ONLY reason why this power is so flipping sweet. No no, this power rocks because it gives me the ability to hide/store stuff – like cool superhero stuff – like lipgloss.
Want to know how I discovered this cool power? I found a “new” pocket on one of my skirts today and then – the VERY SAME DAY (which is still today) – I discovered that the “decorative” pocket on my super fly new hat is actually functional! Decorative AND useful. How cool is that?
So anyway – that’s my BIG news for today. Extraordinary Obvious Pocket Locating Pow-ah. I can’t really top that. It’s just too cool. Oh wait – omgosh – I ALMOST forgot! I can’t TOP that but I do have other important news. I’ve fallen in love with lychees. Have you ever had a lychee? (spelled “litchi” in the U.S.) YUM. I LUV them.
Ok – better start my homework. I’m the only one in my group who does the reading so I have to do 3x as much. Have a happy Friday! And please feel sorry for me as it’s going to be a scor-cha tomorrow (spelled “omgosh it’s so hot I think I’m going to die” in the U.S.) with temps close to like 1,000,000 Celsius and at least 134% humidity. That’s hot. So hot I won’t be able to wear my super fly new hat. 
But hey – at least I’m a superhero. 
Do YOU have any cool superhero pow-ahs?
Writing Prompt: 2nd person narrative – direct commands to self
In case I still haven’t found an internet connection … here is a true story written a little differently.
The assignment: 2nd person narrative – direct commands to self.
Pull into your parking spot. Jump out of the car. Hurry, you’re running late. Wait! Don’t forget to lint brush.
Let your love for your dogs who shed incredible amounts of fur show in your face as you think about all the hair you have to remove from your pants. Remember they are worth the extra fuss and the few stray hairs that the lint brush never gets.
Now, quickly throw the lint brush back in the car and grab your keys which you left in the ignition. Try not to be so ungraceful. Secure your badge. Straighten up! Press the “lock” button on your key remote at least twenty times. Maybe try to remember to replace the battery soon!
Work it while you walk because … try as you may … you were totally ungraceful when you were grabbing your keys from outside the car, struggling around the steering wheel and then grabbing for stuff on the passenger seat – all without actually having your body in the car.
Move those hips – you have some making up to do!!! Don’t look behind you because the super hottie is RIGHT THERE!
Wave good morning to the security guard. Move in closer for a more formal hello. Glance over your shoulder to see where super hottie ended up. Look away! Look away! Say goodbye to the security guard and smile to yourself because super hottie wasn’t only looking at you when you glanced over your shoulder but he was laughing at you too. Feel content that you entertain him because any attention is better than no attention. Be grateful that he at least notices you.
Also, make a mental note to be more graceful when you are in a hurry. Do the math in your head and realize he would have seen the dance you did while lint brushing your butt. And then recognize that he would have also watched you wrestle with the steering wheel and witnessed you fall over yourself to get your stuff out of your car.
Pick up the pace to make it to the elevator. Be aware that super hottie totally just slowed down for you to catch up. Smile politely at him as you walk past him. Act like you don’t notice he slowed down to walk with you. Remain mysterious.
Be self conscious that you missed a few stray hairs on the back of your black pants as you wait for the elevator. Try not to fidget because super hottie is standing DIRECTLY behind you.
Graciously thank super hottie for being a gentleman when he extends his arm toward the open elevator right next to him, signaling for you to go first.
For real – stop fidgeting, you’ve been alone in the elevator with him before. Cast a quick glance in his direction and then look straight forward. Don’t let your eyes falter. Keep your eyes on the door, he’s closer than you were aware and he will notice if you look at him again… and he probably noticed the quick glance you threw in his direction already.
Breathe. Remember to breathe. Count the floors silently as you pass them. Take a deep breath – it’s ok that it’s taking 40 times longer to get to your floor than usual. Don’t lose your patience just because you’re nervous. Be aware that you’re about to hit his floor but don’t look at him. Stop turning your head in his direction. Wait … stop looking at him. Don’t make eye contact. Hey – stop making eye contact. Don’t smile! STOP SMILING!
Well don’t be surprised that he’s talking to you now. And make sure that he doesn’t see the shocked jubilation all over your face.
Analyze his smirk… it’s teasing … perfect. Look at him innocently. Observe his voice, smooth and deep, “So… Dog or a cat?” Comprehend the question. Really do try not to blush!
Answer, “Two dogs actually.” Smile coyly. Now ramble because you’re nervous, “Kind of a lot but that’s what lint brushes are for. They work ya know?” Feel dumb because you just said something dumb.
Experience relief as he gives you a happy smile and nods his head in affirmation while saying, “Yep.”
Say goodbye as he exits the elevator. Allow the feeling of elation to sink in because he talked to you. Shake your head softly in disbelief and smile as the elevator continues to your floor. Sigh because he’s so adorable.
Marvel that you keep getting stuck in the same elevator with him but be cautious not to label it fate just yet – although it really is amazing that out of the thousands of people in the building he is the only one you happen to ride the elevator with time and time again.
Dream about the next time you will see him. Hope it will be soon.