Spiders, Spiders, Spiders

So Plinky wants to test my fear of spiders today. What would I do if I found one in my bedroom?



I am just throwing it out there but I am thankfully not afraid of spiders. Well not in and of themselves like so many people seem to be. I don't have an issue with spiders, snakes, bees, jellyfish etc... Ok I do have a bit of a thing about jellyfish... But it isn't the animals that scare me - I do however have an intense fear of pain though. And therefore the thought of being bitten/stung by any such creatures is not high on my things I do for fun list.

Spider Caught in the Flash

So my reaction to having a big spider in my room? Well if I am aware of anything other than a daddy long legs in my room I would much prefer to get rid of it... I am however perfectly capable of getting rid of it myself... Be that standing on it or catching it with paper and taking it outside... Catching it is of course my first option...



Oh and if it is a spider on the scale of 'it would easier to herd it out than pick it up' well I stop liking spiders at that point... If it is more than 2 inches it is about to become somebody else's problem... I take this to be one of the benefits of being female - somebody else will do it, and it is perfectly acceptable to freak out and expect them to. :P



But anyway I prefer spiders where they belong - out in the garden and not in my bed.

Deal Breakers

Fun times... Plinky really does get harder with time - I stop having things to say... I have chosen this topic - not because I am particularly knowledgeable but because I am refusing to answer any of the Halloween topics of the last couple of days... I have done Halloween twice and twice only... when I lived in the US... and I disagree with the american holiday being celebrated by Australians...



I managed to say all that without mentioning the topic that I had chosen. My old high school english teacher would fail me for such a terrible introductory paragraph. At any rate this topic is top 5 dating deal breakers .



I am not a hundred percent what dating deal breakers is refering to... The things that have you saying no to the first date... or the things that once you have found out about it its just a no go from there? I suppose it is a combination of the two isn't it.



Now I'm sure I have mentioned this before... but my dating experience is very, very limited. I don't know if its cuz I'm picky... or just plain unattractive :P. Its not either of them... Dating just isn't something that has featured high on my priorities list - though it creeps ever higher these days.



Well here is my list of deal breakers - I will of course start with the easy ones :) and go from there

In a relationship
Yeah well - this isn't what I'd call a particular unique kind of deal breaker. Nobody wants a guy willing to string his girls along.... Well I don't know maybe there is some out there - particularly of my own age group - not looking for something serious or exclusive

Not A Christian
Here may be the chief cause of my dating opportunities being slim on the ground. I don't mind but this is one of the biggest things for me - I don't date non-christian guys... We just don't have the same outlook on life. So although I have often met attractive (and I am refering to beyond looks attractive) non-christian guys I couldn't ever consider dating them.

Bad Mouth
I couldn't think of a good description of this one - its funny that in shortening it to 'bad mouth' it now covers both the personality and the physical dislikes. Yes mouths bother me - i either like a mouth or i don't... irritating teeth or lips... I dislike having to watch it when I'm talking to it let alone ever contemplating kissing it...

But that is petty - what I was actually referring to here is a guy who bad mouths girls... Yes I know that plenty of them do it... but describing other girls as sluts (with more derogatory language than that) around me... I don't think talking like that is helpful or acceptable - this isn't to say I mind swearing - i do afterall swear a little too fluently myself - but swearing AT a person is a little bit different

Height
Yeah well every girl has to have a petty one doesn't she? It works to my advantage that this isn't entirely uncommon. Most women prefer a guy who is taller than she is and a lot of guys before the girl shorter. Of course at 5'10" I knock out a few more people than my friends at 5'4" but I am not an overly tall woman by most standards.

Social Butterflies
This is more than just being turned off by the person who is willing to be social with anybody and everybody in a room of people... I have met a guy or two who do that that I would happily date... because it all comes down to how I feel when they do it. I am a naturally reclusive person however I am much more outgoing that I appear in the loud crowds. I need people but I struggle to engage with the people.



Social butterflies make me feel like I can't know them because they are all show. Everybody is their best friend but nobody can ever know anything. Perhaps a better heading for this would be genuine. If I can't feel like they are sharing themself with me I can't share myself with them - and then what would a dating relationship achieve?



At the other end of this I admit to generally being attracted to introverts. I always have been - although it leads to complications with never knowing precisely what they think... I can't even describe exactly what it is but probably because I am quite introverted I get to be the extrovert in the situation...

I'm Too Slack to be Superstitious

Black Cat

Yes I know its a picture of a black cat... But before you get all excited with the 'I totally know your superstition' look on your face I am going to state outright that I am not superstitious... I am a lover of the coincidence and entertained by the extreme but I am not a believer.



Before I actually get entirely off topic I think it is probably important that I define for myself exactly what superstitious is... I mean yes I know the word and can use it in a sentence but honestly because I clump it all together in my mind is superstitious the same as believing in conspiracy theory? Well according to the all knowing dictionary.com superstious belief is - a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge, in or of the ominous significance of a particular thing, circumstance, occurrence, proceeding, or the like... I figure that means the both fit...



Which is good because conspiracy theory is at least as much fun as old wife tale superstition. However my answer is still no... I can't say I follow any particularly dominant conspiracy theories - I am perfectly willing to believe man has been on the moon and Elvis is in fact dead...



As for other superstitions... basically they all take entirely too much effort for me... I mean I don't have lucky underwear or a lucky number? hows that for having to remember it every time you want to use it... I have standardised my Keno numbers but it doesn't really count - it streamlines the process that way and if they were to win while I wasn't betting on them I'd want to kick myself...



I wouldn't want to walk through life like I was walking on a bed of nails... I have enough issues with the dark, and groups of people, and telephones without needed to add a personification of the 'unknown' in the form of bad luck or good luck. (Yes I am one of the most on-edge people I have ever met).



But I do love superstition in the way many people do... It is HILARIOUS when it just WORKS! You know that that ladder had nothing to do with their failure, that knocking wood and jinx won't change anything and stepping on a crack will lead to no backs being broken... Its still to talk about if the coincidence does happen... That is my way of being superstitious - it makes a great story but it is far too hassling to try and be 'superstitious' about something - or anything...

The Neighbour I Am

Ah. For the first time in two weeks I actually can summon the enthusiasm to compose a plinky post. This (I swear) has nothing to do with the fact that I have a computer science assignment which I should be doing at this moment. - As a completely random side note I am currently using my Opensuse USB from my assignment (at least I got that far) and my Firefox on here is defaulted to use the Italian dictionary... Makes spell check rather ineffective I'll have to change that.



Anyway if I am going to procrastinate in this manner I should at least get back on topic. That being Am I a good neighbour? and of course WHY?



I am an alright neighbour. Actually by some standards I suppose I could almost be considered a great neighbour. When I think of many of the traditional complaints of university residents - well I don't fit into most of those categories.



I don't have a penchant for heavy metal - or any music at ridiculous volumes, I am not an excessive gamer, I am not nocturnal and am personally a stickler for the 'silent hours' (2200-0600) (0900 on weekends). I don't play musical instruments in my bedroom. As an engineering student I study, or at the very least pro-actively procrastinating much of the time. I don't host parties seeing how many people I could fit into this single room. Perhaps importantly I don't have, nor have any desire to have, a frat buddy (boyfriend) with whom I have noisy sex at all hours of the day and night.



At the same time, it really depends what kind of neighbour you are looking for. I am a relatively passive, keep to myself type but I am known to door knock my neighbours (generally only well into the 'silent hours') for being loud in their own rooms. I am sorry but I can only listen to zelda theme music through the wall while trying to sleep for so long before I go completely insane.

Hallway

Basically everybody is looking for neighbours in a slightly different way. It depends on where you are in your life. I am looking for something different in my uni res than I will in neighbours when I am married with a family. But I expect that so would my neighbours.



I suppose most people are looking to have neighbours that fall into one of two categories.



The non-existent. Whether you've been lucky enough to score a big lot or a hallway with a few empty rooms few people complain about the neighbours who aren't there. This also includes neighbours that do exist but are never home and even when they are so insignificant that can pretty well be ignored (this is perhaps the category I fit into best).



OR. The Convenience Friends. These are the people you have lots in common with. These are the true neighbours. The ones you get to know and get to love. The ones you really could go over to and ask for a cup of sugar while you are baking. To use a more relevant analogy for myself the ones you could ask about a question you don't understand or query about tomorrow's schedule.



Most people quietly hope for the convenience friend but are willing to settle for the non-existent. Not that that's a sure fast rule, I mean I know plenty of people who do it completely the other way and to some extent stage of life effects what kind of neighbour you are looking for. Families benefit from convenience while many workaholics would prefer no neighbours - not that they would know being 'non-existent' themselves.



Around here (the res) it is important to have convenience friends. Because friends of convenience become the closest friends you have. It gets less important year after year, now we all have established friend circles. But year one, day one, your neighbours are often the ones who will define your university experience, affect the rest of your life.



I, to this point, have been lucky in not having bad neighbours. Well not counting one of the ones from last year (thankfully she had a boyfriend so was sometimes non-existent) who was quite possibly bi-polar. I guess all I can hope is that that remains the same for next year (my last year at the res). And after that... who knows? I guess work will make me non-existent for several years after that so it really isn't important for me.



Neighbours. You can either live with them or live without them, but some, some you will wish didn't live at all...

Three Songs I Have Been Known to Stick on Repeat

It has been a while since I have had time for a good ole plinky post... I am consequently several days out of the loop. The good thing about that is you get be picky about which one you answer without having to go searching through the older ones... Though searching through the really old ones can actually be a lot of fun I admit.



Today I'm doing. Three Songs You Never Get Sick Of.



As a topic this one is pretty hard for me. I am a music kind of person, as many people are. I don't have hugely strong preferences. Well I do, I like country, contemporary christian, showtunes and a smattering of anything (and everything ) else.



Beyond that - as with anybody I guess I have those songs I like more than others... But generally there is more than 1... and I get tired of most songs after a certain time period - no matter how good they are...



So looking for some long term favourites I struggled a little... too many which were too similiar for me to decide between... Nevertheless I did - a little by representing different categories of the songs I listen to again and again... and a little but picking the songs which I've known myself to repeat constantly...

Barry Manilow by Can't Smile Without You

I don't know what it is about this song. Perhaps a little bit the lovey-dovey romantic within the lyrics... A lot more the fact that I can sing along to it with easy... In fact all of the sings I've picked out are songs I can sing along to... But this one specifically... This is my shower song - nothing I like better than singing Can't Smile Without You while I wash my hair.

Casting Crowns by If We Are The Body

I love my contemporary Christian. In particular I love this song because it is about reaching out. Reaching out to fellow christians, reaching out to non-christians, showing your faith, showing Jeus, by loving the people around you. Which makes it a really good anti-loneliness song... Many many days of playing it on repeat last year when I was getting through a particularly lonely time.

Wrong Girl by Dianna Corcoran

Okay... This one was harder to pick. Rather it being specifically this song I have a short list of 10 or so girl-centric country songs which I use to raise my spirits. A couple of the others include Summer by the Sunny Cowgirls, Not Your Cinderella by Catherine Britt and Good Girl by Amber Lawrence. The thing they all have in common is they are guy free and very upbeat... and of course I can sing along to any of them when I choose. I'd recommend that as a fun time playlist for any country loving single girl.

Brains Beat Beauty

Ah finally a plinky post that I can get a bit of mental traction on. Uni work is reaching that crunch time it always gets to just before a break. As such I have a 3000 word essay that needs completing this weekend. Therefore of course I have some time to be wasting my brain on intellectual plinky debates.



Would you rather be super intelligent or extremely good looking?



Gee Plinky you're going to make it difficult to not be stereotypical or clique today. In an all of one and none of the other context I'm happy enough to side with super intelligent.



However this answer I am going to say is the dominant response as acceptable to our society. Humanity is not allowed to openly admit to being superficial. Nobody is going to admit that they wouldn't want to sacrifice their great body for the knowledge to help or hinder the world.



In fact of the 8 previous answers I have checked out only one person admitted to preferring to take looks. They figured while smart people would have the ability to know the answers to life, the universe and everything the good looking people simply wouldn't think to wonder about it.



So I think this a topic where a large percentage of people would answer very hypocritically. How can you say you would rather be intelligent than pretty when you decided against doing anything more demanding than arts at uni and spend $30 a week on your fingernails?

Equation

At this point I am going to reference the picture and say I am reckoning this a statistics calculation though I couldn't say for sure it not being my own picture... But if that isn't suggesting I already fall towards the intelligent rather than good looking side I don't know.



In another way to answer the question. If I'm going to do it on an 'out of ten' scale ie if my intelligence is a 9/10 my looks are a 1/10 etc. I'm probably going to go with intelligence of 8/10 and looks 2/10.



I have no great aspirations to be Einstein or the person who works out the specifics of putting an artificial atmosphere on the moon - not that I wouldn't want to reap the benefits and live on the moon =P. People who are that smart are weird - hell I'm not even that smart and I'm weird so I figure they are probably going to worse.



Also a small part of me would like to be able to face myself in the mirror every morning. Plus it gives me a head start over all the people with perfect intelligence who have perfect ugliness as well. Don't be denying it - all those 'extremely good looking' would be judging on looks and somebody needs to be able to tell them what's going on in the world.



Honestly looks are fairly low on my list of things to do. I don't like judging books by their covers - I generally at least wait until they've opened their mouths. But for extended periods of time there is little I can stand more than dumb people - I'd hate to sacrifice my natural ability to think about things to be just another pretty face.



This is when I think about the book I am reading at the moment 'Brave New World'. Not for the first time but certainly for the first time in a long time. There is a superficial society. The illusion of high intelligence which covers superficiality. Everybody knows lots of stuff but nobody has the ability to think, to question. Nobody is intelligent.



Interestingly the main character is intelligent. He knows something about this world isn't right - something isn't going deep enough. Coincidentally he is ugly - remarkably so for his Alpha-Plus caste status. Too short, too scrawny. I'd rather be him than any of the other beautiful people in that dystopia.

Loving a Bit Of Romance

So... Apparently Plinky wants me to get romantic today. Write a passage in the style of a romance novel. Little do they know that that is my most fluent genre... Possibly it is my only genre - I can't say anything else appeals to me - unless of course I can read romance into it :P. This isn't to say this will be a work of art but hey... should be fun.



Sarah stared at the distorted reflection of an elegant and distinctly feminine woman in stained glass panelling of the church. I can't believe she's making me wear this, she thought as her hand sub-consciously worried the loose curls which brushed across her shoulders.



She was much more at home in a pair of overalls, her hair locked tight against her skull. It was more convenient, more comfortable. She was a mechanic by trade and to be perfectly honest she would much rather be checking beneath the hood of the mustang they'd arrived at the church in than preparing to walk down that aisle. Thank God there was nobody from her normal life around to see her today.



Now it seemed everything was ready for the bridesmaids. Except for the dress, this is was straight-forward enough, Jessie first, then Sarah and finally their father and Olivia. As Sarah moved to her position she was reminded that the dress wasn't the only thing she didn't normally wear.



'Dammit Olivia, but these shoes are going to kill me before the day is through.' She attempted in hushed tones to break the nervous tension that was building around the bride.



'Sarah. Think of it this way if you trip and fall on your arse its not your wedding you ruin.'



Still, Sarah crossed her fingers to herself as she took the first step. And the second. The slow procession time made this shoe thing pretty easy. After a metre of two she was into the rhythm enough to look around discretely at the family, the groom, the groomsman...



Woah. What was he doing here? What was he doing here as THE BEST MAN? How was he in any way connected to Olivia's about-to-be husband Matthew?

"Wow--even on my wedding day, this is pretty cool!"

Sarah tried to convince herself to breathe. How could Matt's big brother Jonno and Jonathan P. Walters the third or the three-hundred and second of whatever retarded number he had after his name be one and the same?



Sarah admitted she had been a little bit taken by him the first couple of times they had met. Until he had made the move, and she unwittingly had fallen for it. Who knew that could be a bad thing? Suddenly he'd gone from this nice, attractive man to a man-eating businessman with nothi...



Sarah felt herself starting to topple. Its funny how in these situations time always slows down to a crawl as though it doesn't want you to miss a single second. Staring at the small step at the front of the church she couldn't help but curse inwardly that she had gotten so close to making it.



Unfortunately there had been no magical gust of wind or man's arms to appear from nowhere and save her. She hit the deck, and hit the deck hard, most would claim it had been the most complete face-plant they had seen in a while.



She was still regaining her wits when she felt strong arms reaching out to right her. Unfortunately she knew those arms. Fast enough to inflict whiplash on top of all her other injuries her head snapped around to death stare her would-be helper. Only she got distracted by the compassion in his eyes and the hint of a smile on his lips...

Hitting Up The Reruns

Wow. So it is currently a long time since this plinky prompt was posted. Unfortunately the last couple haven't been particularly suited to me. I can't remember a good strong case of dejavu (though I have done it before) and I have no great interest in children's books. So instead I figured I'll talk about reruns.



I love a good rerun. I guess most people do. However I don't actually watch that much television these days. I couldn't tell you what is on at the 8.30 time slot on any channel on any night of the week. In fact they could have changed the time for the news and I wouldn't know it... its has been weeks (provided you count the half an hour watching 'its academic' in the common room (a childrens 4pm quiz show) if not its been far longer).



However to kick-off my list of programs I can watch again and again (typically on my computer or via dvd) I am going to say the one show who I can guarantee is still on at 5pm every weekday...

M*A*S*H*
I always loved M*A*S*H*. I don't even know what it is about it that makes it so easy to just watch and watch. Even when you know most of the jokes and the outcome of every story line its just a good time. I must not be alone in this, it has managed to run perpetually for as long as I can remember - round and round in circles. It will be a sad day when MASH is kicked off air.

House
It isn't quite old enough that reruns typically get played on tv (unless its a football night) but I am happy enough to watch through the episodes again and again via DVD. I just love watching the character of House and how he interacts with everybody around him... it doesn't get old.

Dad's Army
I'm starting to see a pattern here. I watch a lot of old war time sit coms... Perhaps that's why I joined the military... I hope not it certainly isn't a particularly good reflection of it. Though at times - maybe it is.



Basically I don't watch that much TV at all. This list was surprisingly hard to come up with. There are other shows which I watch on and off... But there is no 'if its on I'll watch it feel about them'... I'd much rather be reading a good cheap mills and boon a second time...

The Morning So Far: My First Flat

So I read this plinky topic a first time last night... but the statement 'your morning so far' didn't really fit with me... It had been tempting though because yesterday morning began at midnight still awake and waiting for my relief from the watch duty so I could go to bed... Nevertheless that is no longer 'my morning so far' so I'll describe this morning instead.



The trick? Plinky wants me to do it in third person.

tire change

The alarm, more correctly the radio, broke through the general silence. There was no signs of life in the uni accommodation region - nobody in their right mind interrupts the sleep of others before 8 on a Sunday. Still the alarm rang.



With a crack of a single eye, mind protesting, she confirmed that the time was still 0750. Not surprising considering she was the one who had set the alarm not 12 hours before. Just the same that time seemed so much less reasonable in the morning light.



She had her friend to meet up with but knowing that Steph had been out until unknown hours... she wouldn't be up and adams for long to come. Snooze for the win. Worst case? The girl had taken her phone off silent before bed specifically for her friend to contact her... she had predicted her own response to the alarm.



A number of snooze alarms later the phone rang. To herself she conceded it probably was a reasonable time to get up now. Dressed and downstairs in a matter of minutes. She took in the slightly panda-eyed appearance of her friend and knew a big breakfast was in order. To the cafe district.



The drive to the cafes involved driving through the construction chaos of what was once a simple roundabout. The construction work had been therefore so long (as is always the way with roadwork) that it was simply all in a days drive. Until what felt like a pot hole. A hell of a pot hole considering she hadn't been driving anywhere near the only visable pot holes on the road.



Apart from a brief comment about the pot hole both girls switched back to thoughts of breakfast until about 2 minutes down the road the car started to feel funny... Now she'd never personally had a flat before but she had been in the car when somebody else had had one. This sounded suspiciously like that moment...



A brief and to the point 'Damn it' proceeded the girls pulling over and discovering a very flat tyre. Problem. Neither girl had EVER had to change a tyre before. Unfortunately it isn't a skill women are particularly well known for. They must have looked very lost and unsure of what to do though because they got the attention of a couple out for a jog.



Thank God for that jogger, he knew exactly what to do. He took care of it almost without assistance from either girl. Something about having a pink car must give away the aura that 'this driver is pretty much helpless in a car crisis'. Fantastic :).



Alls well that ends well... They got to breakfast thanks to the very lame looking spare... All that's left to do is fix it all up later this week... Turns out they had run over a nail... stupid construction zone.

Qualities of Me... A Full 10

List your 10 best qualities. Its funny. And its not just me. Everybody struggles with this. I hope everybody has put modesty on their list if they've run out of other things to put. Though I reckon even some people who couldn't come up with 10 probably wouldn't consider themselves modest (and rightly so).



What is it about people asking other people for qualities? Qualities of a good leader, qualities of a good person, qualities that make a good friend or a good relationship. Nobody knows. Hell even the words are open to interpretation. Nobody seems to get quite the same definition of integrity. Loyalty seems to make sense and then somebody suggests that being disloyal isn't being disloyal... then what is loyalty? and is it what you meant.



So anyway my list... This will be interesting. I am going to go for the full 10 count if it kills me...

Determination
Put it this way.... Would I be doing a full 10 count if I wasn't determined.

I Go With The Flow
I am an epic stress bunny or I would have used the word relaxed but basically in most things I am able to not be too flustered by whether we catch the bus or decide to hire a cab (to use a mundane example).

Punctuality
I do NOT like being late. In fact I prefer to be 5 minutes early. If you tell me to be somewhere I will be there. End of story.

Dependable
I was torn between using the word loyalty and the word dependable here. Basically if you need me to do something I will do it. If I can't do it I will be endless apologetic and supportive of either getting somebody else to do it or finding an alternative. But generally.. I will be there for you.

My Sense Of Humour
So I may make myself laugh perhaps more frequently than I ever make my audience. That's Ok because I enjoy it. The people close to me get it... even if they only get the weirdness of it and not the genuine humour I get out of it. Generally though... they think it is funny to. My sense of humour is a good quality because it is unique but I definitely have one.

Spontaneity
This is an entertaining one. I am about as original as a four legged chair. I am terrible for habit forming and have an excessively addictive personality. So why spontaneity? Well how is it spontaneous if that is what you do all the time? Predictably spontaneous is not fun at all... I am spontaneous in that every so often I just do something... not because it makes sense simply because I can.

I know the balance of Cleanliness
We all know that cleanliness is next to godliness... yeah well it happens to be one of those false gods where you have to sacrifice virgins frequently. Being too clean is frustrating... or perhaps more it is that expecting OTHER people to be that clean is frustrating. I love a clean home... certainly I do my own cleaning chores frequently enough. But I will wear my jeans more than once without washing them and know that if I don't vacuum daily the sky will not fall down... balance - i like it.

Honesty
I am... generally... honest. In my work, in my opinions, in my life. I am one of those people who can tend towards a bit blunt at times... but not too often for it to cause issues. I generally try to make education comments about whatever situation I happen to be in.

I Don't Hate or Hold Grudges
Hate is such an ugly emotional state. I consider myself very fortunate to not be so inclined to hate frequently or easily other people. My internal mind is occasionally judgemental but I rarely so much as comment about it. I can work with most people, handle the people everybody else hates relatively well. People can piss me off occasionally but I never hold that against somebody. Why? 'Jesus said, "This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you."' Jn. 14.22

Unique
Because I don't think I have mentioned this word more than once or twice I figure it can be a quality of its own. I am unique... mind you everybody is unique so wouldn't it be more unique to actually BE normal? Perhaps but it wouldn't be nearly as fun... there is much more variety available to a person who's unique. I am me, and by me I mean the part of who I am that can't be quantified or even properly qualified.

Movies Get to Me

By now I'm sure everybody is well versed in the fact that I hate being forced to choose something when there isn't going to be a clear cut response. Today even less than most days. Plinky is asking 'What movie always makes you cry?'. Are you kidding me? Am I the only person who has difficulty answering this question?



Why do I have trouble answering this question? Every movie that is the least bit sad will make me cry.



Its strange really. I tend to be rather under-emotional about life. I simply don't care enough to be bothered in some instances, care a lot but am incapable of effectively expressing it in most other situations. The minor afflictions like somebody speaking harshly to me on an off day is far more likely to make me cry than death or significantly bad news.



As for other peoples feelings... Yes I am the awkward friend who sort of watches and maybe pats you in that detached and very unhelpful manner. I do try to avoid emotional outbursts of my friends because it makes me feel quite incompetent. And yet? For some random movie character, hell CARTOON character, I'll well up for the littlest thing.



So movies that make me cry. The list would be endless so I am simply going to pick a couple of recent ones or stand out successes (failures really I hate being sad for such a long period of time).

1. Toy Story 3. Was so sad, and interestingly not just at the end. I cried for both the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes of this one. This movie is not pitched at children. It is for the viewers of the first Toy Story and most significantly the kids who were the first Toy Story watchers. The ones who are the same age as the boy. Its very sweet... A little too sweet for my tear ducts.



2. All Disney Movies. It is pathetic. But the love scene or the family death scene of just about every Disney movie ever created has made me cry over the years. Something about cartoons gives me the disconnectedness to get that little bit too involved with the characters. Things like Bambi? The worst for it.



3. P.S. I Love you. No. I flat out refuse to ever watch this movie EVER again. I watched it the first time. That was a mistake. I have never had such a heart wrenching time in the cinema. I cried continuously. I am not good with the love/death combination.

Things like The Notebook as well? Nope. I simply don't watch them. The bitter in the bittersweet is too much for me to handle. You watch movies (at least I watch movies) to feel good. If you feel bad something is not right.



Basically most movies can make me cry at some point. However so long as my cheeks are dry by the end of it I'm not to bad for it. And so long as I manage to not have to make noise when I cry. the scene has been going that little bit too long when I have to take the drawn out I was crying and therefore not breathing breath... =) I love a happy movie instead.

Hello Again

Hello my most dear and darling one,

I've been pondering again. I think this is a largely a defensive mechanism against the depression that comes from being incompetent with creatures of the opposite sex. Nevertheless the thought of you does provide comfort. Today I am curious about your personality. Are you like every Joel I've ever known? Or perhaps more of the extroverted variety like Fred (he's about the only extroverted personality I genuinely like the majority of the time)?

I find personalities intriguing. Even more intriguing is how the personalities interact. Most of the people I like best have my personality type. Even if I am not aware of it at the time. Not that means I am expecting you to be exactly like me. Personality types are too generalised to suggest that. I am one of the most highly stressed (therefore emotional) T personalities I know but just the same I am most definitely a T. By T I am referring to the Myers Briggs personality typings. The third set thinking vs feeling.

I can't imagine you being a feeling. Or a J. The one thing I doubt to the extreme. That you would be an extreme J-type personality. And yet... I think some of my biggest crushes have been on J-type personalities. We'll keep that one under wraps.

Ok I give up. I am just going to sulk to you about my current love-life dilemmas. How do you date? Clearly you know, if I am going to marry you surely we've dated? I'd simply ask my future self but that would be cheating, she already knows how this particular event of my life turns out. Who knows maybe you do too... but to even think of the possibility would be to allow the romantic side of my brain too much of a free leash.

Anyway back to the problem at hand. How do you show somebody that you like them, that you would like to be more than friends? Wow I feel like I am talking in cliques... I feel like I am trying to stare down a brick wall... Should I try kicking the wall? How do you go about kicking a brick wall? Did you make the first move in our relationship? Or did I give the wall kicking a shot?

My biggest fear is do I want to? Joel, yeah I'll use his name because we are all thinking it anyway, is one of my closest friends... I am not entirely sure he realises this. To sacrifice that for stating I like him and having him freak out and avoid me... That is about the only relationship lesson I did learn in high school... That would kill me.

But I am sick of just being somebody he talks to on Tuesday nights after our meetings. Dammit I want an excuse to see him, to talk to him, to have his undivided attention for a small amount of EVERY day. I want to be allowed to show that I favour him over most other people (I am pretty sure I do this to a certain extent now anyway). I want... well I almost don't know what I want... I want him...

This must be weird for you. Me fawning over some other guy. Sorry about that. I can guarantee you that I felt this way about you too :P. Just not at this point of my life...

Love you

Preschool War Stories

Ever have that moment when you look at a question and think 'I have the most awesome automatic answer to that question?'. Well I am having one of those moments with Plinky today (I just wish I could have another of these moments when I get to that maths test on wedenesday).



The question is 'What is your earliest memory?'. This is fun because it has a story linked to it. You know those stories which your parents tell repeatedly because they are humorous (and more than a little embarrassing?). At the same time I can be sure that my memory doesn't have anything to do with the story... I hate when people claim to have memories which are clearly just an ingrained family story - what you have is a memory of a story about an event not of the event itself.



The story revolves around cutting paper. However my memory is less defined than that. My memory relates to the colouring in table at my kindergarten, that word means different things to different people in this case I'm talking about 3 years of age.



In my memory I am sitting at the table doing art the the way all normal small children do. Most significantly I remember the little boy beside me, his name was John. Anyway so I'm there doing my craft and the teacher comes up to me and (without memory of the exact conversation) tells me I'm not allowed to do craft any more, I need to go and do some other activity. Why me? What am I doing that is so wrong? JOHN doesn't have to go and be shown the puzzles. HE gets to keep colouring. All these years later this is still a perfectly vivid memory.

Marica's entertainment

Now I thought about this from time to time for years. As you do with all memories, particularly the ones where you have been wronged in some way or another. The was always that unanswered question 'Why me and not John?'.



I would have been about 14 when my mother solved this question for me. She was the reason I had been taken away from the crafts table, she had requested through the kindy staff that I be persuaded to do something else with my time at kindy. Why? I had been cutting paper for 8 weeks. As in scissors in hand cutting paper into smaller and smaller pieces. Pretty well all day every day.



It was the kind of kindy where they let the children 'choose their own adventure' I guess you could say. Children were allowed to decide what they wanted to do. Supported and supervised but never pressured outside of the 'lets go outside, lets go inside, lets eat now' sort of routine matters. For me that had until my mothers intervention consisted solely of cutting paper.



The strangest thing perhaps is I have no recollection of the the paper cutting. Only the shock and frustration of not being allowed at the colouring in table. I can only remember that John was colouring in. Nothing about small pieces of paper or of me having been doing anything different to him anywhere in my memory.



So there you go. Mental scarring which traces all the way back to kindergarten ;P. To think both myself and my mum remembered the event without realising that the other person knew anything of it. That is both my earliest memory and coolest proof that I have always been a bit weird.

I Believe

Plinky... not one for keeping to polite dinner table conversation. Today's topic is 'Would you describe yourself as spiritual, religious, or something else?'. Now I am not usually one to shy away from the good old dinner table picker. In our mess the more often you can bring up the topics of 'sex, politics and religion' the better, though perhaps most frequently the first one.



I suppose with this one you really have to jump in head first with your pick. For me I'd say I something else. I have a faith, I am convinced, I am convicted but I am not religion nor to I like the airy fairy connotations I get when people use the word 'spiritual'. Put simply I am a Christian. I have little to do with the denomination debate and less to do with the concept of religion.



If I was trying to be religious I would be failing to be a Christian. And right about now I have 90% of the universe against me. Some because I am claiming a faith in God and Jesus without claiming a faith in tiresome dedication to the church by-laws others because I am claiming to be Christian at all.

The Island Cross

I am actually finding this pretty difficult. Writing about my beliefs on a free-to-air blog (not that many people read it I'm sure). Its not that I am not open with my faith, or that people will judge me without knowing me because of it. It is that maybe the way I explain something isn't just right, maybe I use a word that people don't like and that will blame my God and the very concept of Christianity for it.



To get on the the prompt points 'How did you form your beliefs?'. Well some parts of Christianity are big on the huge and fancy testimonial. Not that they aren't inspiring and powerful - it is always great to hear about somebody on the edge of breakdown turning to Christ and being restored. No Christian influence in their life until that moment where they suddenly realised God's grace and what it means.



For me though my greatest conviction came not through the big story but through knowing that I don't need the big story. When I stopped needing to compare myself with others. I grew up in a Christian home. I went to a Christian primary school, and attended Sunday School, and listened to Christian songs in the car. I was memory versed and parabled and had been in the Christmas play. Basically I had all the luxuries, was it just a product of my childhood that I would be a Christian too?



Some kids from Christian homes still do the great turn around. They think it is all boring, the rebel, refuse to attend and then turn back to Christ. I didn't do that. As I got older it just made more sense. For me God is and I never needed to question it. So my Christian story came in the knowing that Jesus died for me, for knowing that while I am a Sinner, while I could never measure up, he took my punishment.



And by knowing this that I don't need to measure up, my story doesn't have to be flashy, I don't need to remember the moment it happened down to the second. I live for Christ because Christ died for me. Its that simple. Living for Christ doesn't mean tiptoeing around the planet, it doesn't mean being a teetotaller or judging those around me for their 'wicked' ways. I live to love, to serve, and to be a living testimony to the love of Christ in my life.



To emphasise the don't be tiptoeing around the planet - I JOINED THE MILITARY of all professions. There is an entire debate topic in whether or not Christians should serve in the military but beyond that. It certainly doesn't make me less Christian. In fact it is one of the best things that ever happened for me as a Christian. I can't say that my faith would be as strong as it is now without the Christian fellowship I belong to now. Goes to show God works, God calls, and He will save.



Without God, without Jesus, without the cross, I would be dead.



For our sake he made him sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. -- 2 Cor 5:21

Wait... That's The End?

Ok... So I clearly I misinterpreted the plinky prompt for today. The prompter said 'Discuss a book that left you disappointed'. Which my initial reaction (which is often the one I choose to write on because its quicker) was to right about a book that left me disappointed but was not necessarily disappointing.



But doesn't one equate to the other? Well I don't think so not. There is no requirement for a disappointing book to leave you disappointed (wouldn't you be glad it was over with at least?). More significantly, a fantastic book can quite possibly leave you disappointed, you can believe that after all that the author would choose to end it like that. Or maybe you didn't want it to end at all.

The book I always think of when I think of random endings is To Kill A Mockingbird. I will admit here and now before people get their knickers in knots that it has been MANY years since I read this book and had this experience and it is quite possible that it has become a little hazy and poorly remembered.



I can recall getting to the end of the book and thinking 'That is a really strange place to stop.' It just sort of ended, though I had this feeling I hadn't gotten to the end of the story. It put it in the words of the plinky prompt 'I was disappointed'.



I sorted out the reason for the abrupt ending. You had to recall the identified reason for the story at all. Although it was intrinsically about the racial court case and various racial divides that wasn't the purpose for the story. Well it is but then that is the why its considered such good literature I suppose.



The book is from the perspective of the little girl, whose name I have long since forgotten, Scout? perhaps. It is really irrelevant. What isn't irrelevant is that she explains early on about her family etc. In particular her older brother and the fact that his arm doesn't hang straight, pretty sure it is that is always thumb of the hand away from the body (also irrelevant). She says that there is a story behind why his arm hangs that way - and then proceeds to tell it.



And that is why the story ends where it does. Though I was a little bit disappointed I can understand the construct after I think about it.



Bonus Prize for the people looking for dud books (why you want to read dud books I don't understand). I hated the final Harry Potter book. In fact I generally disliked the last 3 (so 5,6 and 7 for those who can't count). After the movies become popular I found that the writing in the books changed. And I hated the movies so by the time the seventh book came out... the Harry Potter I had read and loved in the earliest books had been completely put to death.



But more significantly so had the writing style. The final books are even WRITTEN like they were intended for movie production. Because of this a lot of the intermittent moments captured in the earlier books. If you don't believe me you only have to look at the way the later novels shrink. And its not because their story lines are any less detailed. They leave out the quirkiness and admittedly the innocence the early books had. In all I was very disappointed.

Dear Bob

Is it possible? Apparently there is a number of girls and young women who do it. Write to their future husbands... Is that lame? More importantly it is possible? And if it is... isn't it depressing? Well I shall endeavour to find out I guess and give it a try.

Dear Joe (I'd have used Bob but that was already taken by some author... along with Hey Jude and Dear John)

Though I am quitely hopeful that your name is not Joe. It isn't that I have especially high hopes for the non-existant relationship I am in at the moment but rather that Joe... I don't know I've never met a Joe I was especially fond of. Probably all the safer for naming you it then wouldn't want to be showing undue favouritism within my friends.

With the contemplation of writing to a future spouse comes all of the obvious questions. How did we met? What do you do for a living - are you in the military? Do I know you now? What colour are your eyes? Are you taller than me? and perhaps most significantly - do you exist at all? I'd question your faith but I am sure, more sure than anything else, that you would be christian, that is one of my must haves.

Knowing my usual outspokenness with people I am close to I doubt that you can be reading this to find out something that you haven't known previously. Assuming I don't change drastically the me you know is probably the same purple loving, romance reading stresser sitting in front of my keyboard right now. I have few secrets, even fewer which I could post to an internet blog =P.

So if I have nothing to tell why write? I don't know why others write to their future spouses but I am almost certain I can say safely that it is NEVER for the spouse. You are the bystander in the contemplation of my mental state. An end point to help me get through the here and now. A reminder not to tie myself in knots with my hopeless (though I am always resolute that they aren't completely hopeless I'm sure you will be one of them someday) crushes. A reminder that these things happen in God's time and not my own time.

At the moment I am really struggling with a deep set loneliness. My entire career plan seems to have backfired. I generally play it down but one of my biggest reasons for taking this path is the living arrangements. I figured by living 24-7 in relatively small communities I could prevent myself being lonely. Unfortunately I didn't think to factor in social lives and the fact that other people seem to be so much more socially adept than I am.

Significantly introverted with a strong need for company - I never said I was an easy to please personality. Unfortunately around here it is far to easy to not have company, who knew. Around here it is exactly like high school only this time I don't have Steph. I am very glad for my section mates but they aren't the bare-all and care-all friends.

A little part of me is struggling with personal identity. Which is bad, we do it often enough in church and bible study for me to know that I should derive my identity from my faith and hope in Christ but... I am so used to being the smart one in high school. By being the smart one I was known to the majority of my year level. Here  I am average... and often the one who stresses out but gets good marks (therefore the person who complains for no reason). There is a reason, I either know what I am doing or I don't... and more than often I don't these days.

How do you put up with me? What about me makes me attractive to you? I am weird, an epic fraidy cat, who always asks the dumb questions, who's foot is perpetually lodged in my own mouth. I'm overweight and under fit. I am hopeless at attempting to comfort another person yet I am always seeking reassurance for the ridiculous, yet often go completely off my rocker and completely beyond reason. I am almost 20 years of age and have been asked out a total of two times, one of which was a joke about formal another of which I backed out of because it was inappropriate. To date I have hopelessly crushed on no less than 5 guys. One of which was for the entire duration of high school - and that ended oh so well.

At this point in my life I want you to be Joel... obviously not the high school one rather the one I have a major crush on... I want this to be over and I want to have the companion that my personality longs for. Somehow I don't think this is going to be that easy.

Anyway... I will remind myself that God has a plan for my life.
God never changes his mind about the people he calls or the gifts that he gives them. Romans 11:29

For the love that will we have in the future,

Peaches

Hah! I Told You So, Or Did You Tell Me?

Ok 'Oh Plinky, my Plinky' today you want an I told you so moment. Or more specifically a Hah! I told you so. It is important not to leave out the Hah! I guess because it changes the statement entirely. I told you so moments are dime a dozen. Hah! I told you so. Has that extra implication that somebody had dug themselves a hole or made an absolute ass of themselves prior to the great realisation.



I love a good Hah! (as I will refer to these moments from now on). They are not about the important life and death situations but far more likely the 'I reckon you are wrong about why that their cone is blue and the rest are orange.' or perhaps 'I know you are going to admit that you can't do that eventually.' (The do is something lame and random like balancing a spoon on your nose never anything where that statement would be cruel).



However the object was to describe a Hah! moment I had recently. Firstly I am not sure whether this intended to be me getting somebody else or them getting me. I am going to go with the most obvious choice would be a moment when I got them... Therefore I will for the sake of inconvenience chose the other alternative.

Bakery

That moment when you realise you have just dug yourself a hole so deep there is no option left but to jump in and over yourself up to be buried in it. My friend is responsible for food at my university christian fellowship and he is a little bit of a scrooge. This isn't necessarily bad, nobody really wants to waste food. However sometimes it means he is a little bit ruthless about getting rid of the final snacks of food.



The other day it was mini muffins (it wasn't but the word for what they were I can't spell and am therefore forced to change this minor detail). Regardless, he wanted me to eat one and I refused, and refused profusely at that. I was sure that if he went around the room again he would get rid of that lone 'muffin' and therefore getting me out of eating it.



Unfortunately it came back. Apparently every person in the room managed to have a better excuse than me for why they didn't want to eat it. I nevertheless wasn't relenting easily. So I came up with really extravagant arguments why I shouldn't be required to eat it. Yet after one or two minutes I could feel that knot tightening. A second or two later I was left to hang, caught out by my own ultimatum (it was a very minor ultimatum of course) and forced to eat it. I believe the statement was 'I told you you'd eat it.' but there was definitely a Hah! going on in his eyes. Such is life I suppose... thankfully in this case losing was perhaps as sweet as victory.



For an added bonus 'Hah! I told you so.' from my end? Telling a friend that we had definitely gotten a lab timetable sheet in physics class. More specifically that he had attended the wrong lab week. Seems minor but trust me it was hilarious how doubting he was. After discussing (arguing) with me for a number of minutes he had to get the confirmation of no fewer than 2 other members of the class before he believed me. At which point the 'I told you so' was very satisfying...



They both seem really minor but honestly? The best Hah! moments are minor... That's what allows them to be truly hilarious :P I've had some absolute ringers but these ones are the most recent so i'm sorry if you're disappointed. Such is life.

Not A Scene For Romance... Or Perhaps...

Oh fun times Plinky... Describe the community you live in, as if it were the setting for a book. I wouldn't call myself a very good writer most of the time but I have often written a beginning... Though I have never contemplated setting a book here. It isn't really the environment for a romance.



Concrete building after concrete building. Each as bland as the next. For an outsider the only distinguishing marks the name on the sign outside each of the buildings identical stairways. Reading those signs, somebody must have had a sorry sense of humour. Best House, Little House, Cobby House names which emphasised the dullness of the buildings rather than providing any sense of character.



Every person confined to the weather worn concrete creation was lured there under false pretences. Most want to leave, few do. Few escape the prison of concrete. Here is a place of boredom masked with descriptions of professionalism, debauchery justified by the desire to relax and frustration created by the requirement to excel.

The place has all the facilities a human should desire. A large mess hall serving three warm meals a day, television to be watched freely, sporting fields by the dozen and a well stocked gymnasium. There is nothing openly missing, nothing which has been designated as off-limits or confiscated. Yet nobody lives there without a sense of loss. All acknowledge that the place has let them keep their humanity, keep their luxuries but that it all has come at a very great cost.



The weather is bad, though on a good day the grass invites the trees paint a beautiful picture against the blue, blue sky. Nobody notices. Nature is a background, a foil for making the place appear more bearable to outsiders. The grass is beautiful because it is untouched, to sit or to walk upon it would be sacrilege.



The rules of this place may seem strange to one not part of this place. Requesting to another person simply to be allowed to go into town is standard. To drink alcohol within the buildings or to leave your room untidy has similiar outcomes. Rarely a week goes without persons charged and punished to sweep the open-air car parks, polish brass flagpoles and photocopy pointless documents.



This is a place of indoctrination. People come to it everyday fresh-faced kids and they don't even know when it happens. The place which they learn to hate becomes everything. Every decision they make, every conversation they have, every plan that they make becomes based around the place. What of these people? What of the people who call this place home?

What's More Important - I'm Not Sure Either Is

Hello my most darling blinky. I am sure when I look back to contemplate why it is I fail my physics test on Monday I will probably blame my procrastinating ways on here. Please remind me at that point that I am writing because I am stuck and my head hurts more than I am writing because I wilfully wish to procrastinate.



I am not sure how much I take a liking to today's topic though. What's more important, where you live or what you do for a living? I'm not entirely sure if what you are asking is a chicken or the egg question of a question of my personal values and what I value more.



I suggest chicken or the egg because what you do for a living controls where you live and it is a widely held social opinion that where you live controls what you do for a living. I am certainly of the opinion that what you do for a living has a much more concrete connection on where you live than the other way around but certainly there is some impact on what you do for a living based on where you live. You don't get many professional fisherman in the middle of the dessert.



In short, which one has the greater controlling factor on the other I'm going to say what you do for a living... but that is probably not what the question is asking you.

Shanghai day 9, Apartment Building

Ok what is most important to me personally - where I live or what I do? Is it ok to say neither? I am much more inclined towards it being WHY I do it and WHO I do it with. I've lived in everything from single room with shared facilities to a 4 room cottage in North Carolina with my mum and brother to my family's home in suburban Caboolture. I have to say that neither geographical location nor physical space or 'stuff' has much to do with it.



What I do for a living, its handy and certainly I couldn't live very well without it, even my location of where I live is dependent on my job. To quit would be to move. Nobody goes to work and has a good day vs a bad day over the amount of money they earn - unless you work for commission then the two concepts probably do overlap. A good day at work is more meaningful that that - and if its not for you I recommend you find a new job.



A good day at work as often as not for me is achieving something productive, or sometimes simply having a good conversation with a friend is enough to lift my day up. Certainly not getting into trouble and not encountering some new assignment or whatever makes it good.



I'm going to cut myself short at the this point to get back to work but put simply. I work to have money, to live freely, and so long as I have a bed, a computer, food and good company I'll be happy enough where-ever I am. Though Australia is my first preference of course. A beautiful eucalypt against a rich blue sky there isn't any view better... Life is short and heaven is better than anything I could have upon this earth. Friends are the ones who stand the most chance of being forever.

The Many Levels of Swearer

Where do I stand on bad language? It has been a while since I have looked a plinky with both the time and the inclination to write - and I scored an awesome topic. To swear or not to swear.



Well I think it is a little bit more gray scale than the black and white picture they are trying to put it here. In the words of the plinky prompt Some people love to swear. For others it makes them cringe. There are far more levels to it than that - take it from somebody in a profession of heavy swearing.



So for the rest of this post I am going to show you the different levels of swearing that I see in my daily life and I am going to explain why I don't give a rats about swearing anymore. Why I do it perhaps more than many but less than so many more.

The levels of swearing - I think I'll start at the bottom.



Oh Ye of Innocent Ears These are the people so far at the bottom of the swearing food chain it is pretty much completely over their heads. They will know a couple of swear words (and cringe when they hear them) but there will also be many more which provided the swearer uses it fluently they won't understand the word or realise that it is swearing.



Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice Well... minus the spice... These are the well behaved misses (I'm sorry but I simply haven't met a guy with this kind of perspective on swearing) who keep rough enough company to have heard most swear words. However they refuse to let anybody get away with one little word without a page long in depth complaint about how bad using that word is.



The Conscientious Objectors You'll probably never hear these guys (and by guys I do mean both men and women ok) let a swear word drop but they see the sense in just letting the words flow around them. They may occasionally object to significant unnecessary swearing but more often than not they just leave people to their own expressive devices.



Stressed-Out Swearer These are some of the more fun swearers. After all when you make them swear you know you've gotten them to stress out, freak out or get frustrated. This is probably a subgroup of the 'Conscientious Objector'. They try hard not to but in the end they can't help it.



Social Swearer These guys will swear in the right (or should that be wrong) company. They wouldn't normally say it but they don't mind their friends swearing and more than that they don't mind doing it a little themselves. Though they try to constrain themselves in more generalised company.



Consistent Swearer These guys don't live and breath swear words but you are pretty well guaranteed to hear one or two while you are talking to them. They will have particular uses for each of their swear words and as such will just use them much the way they would use any other word in their vocabulary.





The Chain Swearer You've heard of the chain smoker? These are the chain swearers. They use swear words about as often as they use normal language. Hell if you think about it you can't even work out how they FIT that many swear words into such a short sentence.



Me... While I'd like to say I am a Conscientious Objector... I was once upon a time now I am a Consistent Swearer. Though I would like to suggest that is a rather broad category and I hang about at the bottom end. Sometimes when people use swear words unnecessarily I will speak up against it... but that is very rarely after all I use them rather too frequently myself to get mad at others.



I guess I slipped into the habit because I hated the overreaction of some Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice people and I at the time failed to see the middle ground Conscientious Objector option. It was a reasonable slow slide after being surround by a group of people made predominately of the last two categories... I know a number of chain swearers.



I'd love to stop swearing... it makes me feel a little bit guilty when I think about how much more I swear compared with most of my friends - I don't mind swearing but I would prefer not to be 'the swearer'. However stopping swearing is like trying to train your self out of using the word 'like' in a sentence (Yes I know I am speaking about a specifically gen Y language construct there) - I like mean using it like like like like... you know how it sounds and I admit to still having the occasionally extra like though I was never particularly bad for it and I trained it out many years ago...

The Trick is Knowing What you Learned...

Something I learned recently... really? You couldn't be more vague could you plinky. The only challenging part about this particular topic is the number one. One thing I learned recently. I could list a hundred things easily but to narrow the list to one would require thought - and more importantly a worthy topic...



Thinking...



Nope I give up. I will provide two or three things I have learnt in the last week.

Ghetto angular data collection

Electro-magnetics makes my head spin. I know I know bad form for the electrical engineering student to admit this one. I had one of my friends explain our lesson the other day to me in such dumb terms I think I did something similar in grade 10 physics (and back then I was top of the class I feel inclined to add). It is very much a 'mighty have fallen' feeling for me. Not because I am full of myself simply because in the way of all high level students you come to rely on your ability to comprehend things... On a high note I can now do the right hand rule... that has to be something ;p. (I suppose that counts for a second thing I learnt)



That ethical theory is entertainingly ridiculous. One of those subjects that uni says you have to do but you don't want to do. I have learnt about utilitarianism (lets party hardy guys), Kantian Ethics (how would you like it if that happened to you?) and Virtue theory (be a good person (or simply think of a good person) to make good decisions)... There may have been more to it... but really I just like that different theories can give some ridiculous answers to some ethical dilemmas...



Sitting with the guy I have a hopeless crush on is just as exciting now as it was in high school. There isn't really much to this one. Except to say... I wish I was past these kinds of things but apparently I am not.



Onenote is useful for more than screen clippings. Seriously? I love having a touchscreen laptop. Best thing I accidentally bought on a whim and a lot more useful that some teach yourself spanish cds... Yes I know I need to control my spending sprees... Nevertheless... I don't get it out often but sometimes (and for obvious reasons) I need to use a computer without the procrastination tool that is internet. But I have had it out (the only copy I currently have of the physics text in electronic) and much fun to be had I must say lol... I think I still prefer post its though...



And finally, with direct and shameless reference to some of the other answers to this plinky question some people don't get better at telling you 'what they learnt today' with age. By that I am referring to the age old 'What did you learn at school today?' question that no child who is relatively normal will have an answer to. (Well small children do I guess regaling you with tales of playing with the blocks but then the question is more what did you DO today.)



To all those people still unable to decide something they learnt today... I learnt that such-and-such clique is true - I think in 90% of cases this is a lie... you may have reaffirmed the fact but really? you totally already knew that... If you want to do that at least make it entertaining. 'Today I learnt that toast doesn't land butter side up every time - however the ten second rule can always apply.' Gross but it would have made me smile (as a note I don't eat toast... or even bread very often and certainly not today).

In The Dark Of The Night

It is getting harder to make time for this kind of time wasting since the uni session is really getting going... Never the less some topics are interesting enough (and I have more spare time on wednesdays than any other day) to make it worth my while.



Thunderstorm arrives, power outage! How do you occupy your time?



Fun times... First off I am guessing that this is wanting me to think after dark power out. You realise thunderstorms are often an afternoon event and excepting for gloom you could get away with continuing to do any number of activities except computer/playstation/wii/television etc... Some would say it is going back to the dark ages (hahah... oh i crack myself up sometimes).



Never the less your run of the mill power outage which occurs somewhere between 6-9 at night (i'm going to be honest and say that after about 9 at night you simply go to bed and assume all power will be restored come morning). I am thankfully not one of those poor soles cursed with an intense fear of storms. It is amazing how many people get antsy when the thunder starts rolling and I am talking about adults here.



Now I am pretty sure a previous era of human would suggest going for the candles as a first option. Not anymore. That is why everybody has a mobile phone isn't it? Sure if you do happen to have some industrial candles lying around it might be nice for some more long term light but most of those bidly decorative ones i don't think are worth the effort.

Power Outage..

Lets not get the opinion I am not a fan of light though. I am a real big fan of light... and I have a sizeable dislike for the dark. I don't generally go so far as to use the word fear. After all 5 year olds have a fear of the dark. It just makes me even more jumpy than usual and yes I do (when I am outside) feel the need to check over my shoulder every few steps. I am fine in most peoples and certainly my own room.



But before I digress too far. Occupying my time. Well I could get my sound powered home phone out and ring one of my other friends who still also has one (whether you use it as your main phone or as an emergency phone) and laugh about all our friends with digital phones who are now cut off... Well I am guessing their mobiles still work... Well that ruins my fun now doesn't it.



Basically when the lights go out. You just don't do anything. You sort of sit there thinking to yourself - are they going to come back on? When they don't you think that again and wait again... and that cycle continues for a good 15-30 seconds longer, if you really want the power back.



After this point you call out to anybody and everybody who is in the house. Just in case in the 2 seconds in which the lights when off everybody in the world except you died - who knows that is a plausible reason for a power out if you ask me. You usually group together... in the kitchen... I don't know why... probably because you are looking for those candles I already said you don't need.



After the point at which you have realised you no longer remember where the emergency candles are or simply could no longer be bothered to find the matches you now realise were not kept with said emergency candles, you just talk. If the storms a good one you sit by a window and watch it for a bit. But generally though it depends on the people specifically but they give up small talk and random chatter and go their separate ways (very very slowly) to bed. Probably getting lost at least once on the way.



So in the most general sense - when the power goes out.... I go to bed!

And The Eyes Have It

Eyes have to be one of the coolest body parts and not just because without them you'd lose one of your senses... I am not saying that isn't a really cool feature. They are some of the most detailed passive sensors on the planet - certainly camera technologies still stuggles with the elusive 3D we take for granted with our eyes.



More than all that. Eyes are simply so integral to human iterations. You can communicate so much with your eyes. Making eye contact or intentionally avoiding eye contact tells the person you are talking to... and often even the other people around you... more than you really wanted to give away.



Certainly I feel like I am giving entirely too much away when my eyes connect with a certain male friend of mine. One of my friends noted our verifiable staring contest during a game of cards not long back and I have become entirely too aware of it. I don't like not knowing how much he can discern from my eyes.



Of course sometimes you want to give all away. For instance when you are clearly frustrated with a person.What's guaranteed to make my eyes roll?

Apparently I used to be worse at the ole eye roll. But then I think the height of most people's eye roll days occur during high school. I know my younger brother is the worst for it.... I can certainly tell you what makes his eye's roll... Just about anything our mum has to say will set that off.



My own eye rolling tendencies are not as obvious. Then I have been told numerous times by my mum that I have an expressive face in general. Eye rolling just isn't one of the things I utilise I on a regular basis. But certainly stupid people saying stupid things a second or third time is liable to make me roll my eyes... though twitching my lower eye-lid is much more likely...



When I actually roll my eyes? When I am reading a book... in fact this is probably the most genuine and frequent eye-rolling. Anybody who can read a romance novel without rolling their eyes or all out burying their head in a pillow to prevent the horribly cliqued (or just plain ridiculous) words... Well to be perfectly honest I don't believe you. I am a great lover of the romance genre but it is hard not to throw away the book at times to prevent the horror of the outrageous.



Other times I roll my eyes. When somebody is rude to my face. Not necessarily the best plan because it only serves to piss them off more... So I do it less than I used to. Still when somebody has done something clearly wrong and decides to give me a chew out. I can't help myself. It is my You are clearly a bitch and I'm not listening reaction.



Nevertheless there are far more interesting things to be done with eyes. Reflect your unspoken emotions whether to show sympathy or beg for forgiveness. To show somebody you love them or let your hatred show without having to resort to actions or harsh words. Eyes can be used in so many ways... I am certainly glad I have them ;P

Not A Prophetic Dreamer

Ok Plinky... I'm a little bit disappointed in this topic. I am not saying it is not possible. But to imply that every member of the human race has had a prophetic dream is expecting a little much. Experienced de ja vu (however thats spelt) yes but recall of a specific memory or dream in which it has happened before sadly not.



Describe a dream that you have had that was prophetic in nature. Perhaps you are expecting me to have dreamed the September Eleven bombings as a 10 year old child? Or maybe have predicted winning some award at the high school assembly (I did randomly do that once but it wasn't a dream merely a bizarre thought so I don't think that counts). Apparently I got it simply so the house leader could put a face to a name.



Never the less I don't have actual dreams that are prophetic in nature. Why? Probably because if my dreams came true life would be entirely too weird. To illustrate this I will describe instead my most bizarre dream of this year.

broken mario kart

I am going to go ahead and assume anybody who has managed to stumble upon this piece of goodness in the wide wonderful web knows what Mario Kart is. Car racing computer game favoured by children and the children-at-heart around the world. With me so far?



Everybody who has ever played these games will know the hard levels. For the various Mario Kart reincarnates there are slightly different levels but the one thing the hard levels have in common is generally the much larger proportionality of meaningless points, jumps and potential free falls. High lights I would say were the Yoshi track (where there is a maze of potential roads provided you don't fall off), the donkey kong levels where it flies you to the top of the hill and you ride back down (is it my memory or has there been more than one of these tracks?) and the rainbow road - everybody has at least tried to make that darn short cut.



Anyway back to my dream. The donkey kong level is important. I didn't dream about it specifically but it was definitely a donkey kong level. I was driving up and a round a hill and there was a really big barrel on my left at one point (yes it was a remarkably vivid dream which i remembered when i woke up).



So I was driving my kart... it was one of the latest generation karts cuz i had a double partner but I can't remember who it was... I just know they were throwing bananas on the road at one point. And I was looking for my dogs... I think this was my brains way of missing my pugs who still live at home while I am not.



I was racing some undetermined enemy to get my dogs as well as needing to get them off the road before they were run over or something similar. So for a while it is simply a Mario Kart race. Then I spot them.. or at least one of them... She is easy enough to get to. The other one however is around up the corner.



I spot her. It is going to involve a rather detailed manoeuvre to get to her though. She is on another track which is running off to my left and she is heading the other direction. There is one place where I can switch tracks. A small break in the barbed wire fence (yep... the rabbit proof fence is making an appearance - perhaps not quite) coming up on my left and I have to get through it or my enemy will have killed my pet.



Wait a second where did Sady go? I have lost the first dog I picked up... Nevertheless wherever she has disappeared to she must be safe for she is no longer relevant. I go into this amazing drift manoeuvre my tire sparks are blue, then red... I am going to make it through this gap... and I wake up...



You can understand I really REALLY wanted to go back to sleep that night... I don't remember them often but the dreams I do remember are nothing if not elaborate.

Lollies and Chocolates... and Bears Oh My!

Plinky... your killing me here... What is your favourite comfort food, and why? I am making a concerted effort to eat healthy at the moment. I don't call it dieting I am not eating less or much differently. Perhaps a good term for it would be retraining. I am retraining myself to few junk food as an almost never food rather than an almost everyday food - that is all.



Still having to pick my favourite comfort food when I have been trying NOT to think about these kinds of foods for just over a week (my friend tells me it gets easier after 3 weeks and I hope she is telling the truth) its pretty hard. Already I want to eat the caramello koala I have in my cupboard. I won't though.



Not that that is my favourite comfort food. Actually I am not sure if I have a favourite comfort food. I have a lot of different ones depending on my mood, why I am needing the comfort food, what is available in the general vicinity. At this point I admit to being an emotional eater, and a pretty bad one at that.



Funnily enough I did a brief on emotional eating and lifestyle diseases only yesterday with our fitness instructors. This seems to be the week for targeting my emotional eater tendencies.

Chocolate pieces

Well I am probably going to have to say that most often my comfort food is chocolate. Everybody knows that all the fun chemicals in chocolate generally make you feel pretty good - and most people eat it enough that their body knows that too. I have a particular weakness for coconut chocolate (coconut rough or similar) but I will happily eat most - I mean who wouldn't?



Just the same I often crave for food which is not chocolate. I am not referring to a particular food that happens to not be chocolate; literally a food which is not chocolate. At those times I simply don't want the texture of chocolate rather something more crunchy and generally go for the good ole packet of salt and vinegar chips.



I am going to stop now before I break down and am forced to comfort myself with my delightful caramello koala. I just hope that reading these answers don't make you feel in need of some pick me up comfort... be strong!