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 |   Nothing official here; just come chill! |
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Welcome! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Welcome to my little Den! Here you'll find all sorts of things- mostly blog challenges, but mixed in, you'll notice:  I'm a bit of a fangirl  My life is very busy I enjoy using emoticons  I don't tend to swear, but stuff happens. |
| What is your "philosophy of life"...the idea that guides the way you live? And why have you chosen it? Hmmm well, as suggested by Kit  , "Plushies (and dolls) are people too!"No, seriously, they are! I love mine like they're my own children. Okay, I don't have kids and I'm probably much too young to have kids anyways, but hey it's good practice for when I do, right? Also, I have so many plushies- not just here in Aus, but in the States as well. And I love them all! There's a couple pictures of my bed in the US on my Facebook, if you dig back far enough- they're from high school, and since then I've only collected more. They all have their own names and personalities, like real people. Hence, my philosophy! Let's use Nellie as an example. She's a bear I have from my childhood. She's a clingy one and I hug her to sleep most nights when I'm in Aus because she loves her hugs! Then there's Show, who was my first doll. She's made of plastic, and I'm pretty sure she's supposed to be a knockoff Kewpie doll, but Mom thought she was the spitting image of me at the time of purchase, that she HAD to buy the doll. She's a feisty doll, though, so don't let her cute looks fool you- she'll lecture anyone and everyone who's nearby, regardless of whether they'll listen. Her two favorite topics of late are "you can only have one bestie" and "licking is not an acceptable form of showing affection!" And don't ever call her a baby, because you'll definitely set her off.  Yeah, so that's my philosophy, and how I go through life!  Oh, and I promise I'm 100% sane and definitely not a plushie-crazy girl. |
| Talk Tuesday! Well, the presidential election is today in the United States...one of the most polarizing and controversial elections in recent history. As an American citizen, how concerned are you about the outcome of this election? And for our global friends, what does this mean for you and your nation? Hmm I guess I can answer on both accounts, seeing that I'm currently not in the US and won't be for a while, though I am a US citizen. Soo: those who know me well, know that I don't do politics. As in, I have zero interest in it and try to avoid it at all costs. This election really has been no different- I mean, towards the end of the school year in the US, we had a BAMP reunion and somebody brought up politics- at which point I tried to find a nice way to leave, but was actually unsuccessful.  Ummmm as to my concern about the results, I'd say I'm mildly concerned? I mean, I see that if Trump were President, there would probably be major problems in terms of further travels overseas and such because nobody's going to want to host someone from a country where the leader plans to build a wall all along their southern border, right?  I honestly don't know what this means for Australia, though. I know one of the former Prime Ministers was supporting Trump? Or he said something in support of Trump. I saw a brief headline about it, though I forget his name- the one before Malcolm Turnbull (the current PM) and right after Julia Gillard. Tony Abbot- I swear I know more about Aussie politics/government than I do about the American system. Well, I know more politicians, at least- I mentioned I got a picture with the President of the Victorian Legislative Council, right?  and he talked to me. Can't say I've talked to any American politicians, though we did get a picture with a senator(?) when I was doing Pressfriends in high school. *just checked, it was a senator- Senator Ted Lieu- at our "Thank you" banquet/event in senior year.Just realized I don't think I actually answered the question... Well I just took a peek at US-Aus relations, and they seem decently friendly. So depending on who wins the election, I tihnk things could go rather wayward rather quickly if Trump were to win, but if Hillary won, I don't really know what would happen. And I think I'd prefer that, to wayward relations! |
Yep, I'm done for tonight, and hopefully, if I have time tomorrow morning before leaving, I'll have time to look through my notes one more time to refresh everything. Final is at 8:30 am which is insanely early, but I've set an alarm- though I should probably set multiple ones- to make sure I'm up on time. Gonna wear my Delta concert T-shirt to the final for good vibes and happy memories. I'm actually wearing it right now as PJs, so it'll be one less thing to change into in terms of clothes tomorrow morning.  I got through all the readings and took notes on the abstract, intro, and conclusion,  and skimmed weeks 1-4 of the lecture slides. The test is all multiple-choice so that means the answer is right there on the paper- I've just got to choose the right one. Annnd then I'm going back to bouncefit again tomorrow (yippee, more jumping around!  ) and on Thursday morning, I'll hopefully get to see everyone *coughs* Cute Guy *coughs* again, and say hi to them before I dash off to my own flight and meet them an hour later in Tas.  Yay for positive thinking before sleeping and a final! |
| Singer Joni Mitchell, born on this day back in 1943, once said "Chase away the demons, and they will take the angels with them." What do you think about this? Is it necessary to have demons, if only to keep the angels around? My first reaction was "No, I completely disagree!" And I realized I could get all religious about it, so if you're not interested, skip down to the not-religious part. Religious explanation (to the best of my limited ability): In life, there's always the good and the bad- things that have positive energy associated with it, and things that have negative energy associated with it. In general, you're going to wanna gravitate more towards the positive energy, because things with negative energy can mess you up. Like, bad things happen because your positive/negative energy balance is out of whack. With that said, to rebalance the positive, you'd meditate, copy sutras, etc, because those are calming things to do and can make you feel more peaceful, which would re-raise your positive energy levels. So what I'm trying to get at is, from a religious view, to keep the angels, you need to rid the demons first, because if not, those demons can eat you alive. Look at Heath Ledger- he's the first example that came to mind because I remember Mom saying that his role as Joker really did him in. Taken from Wikipedia: "Ledger told Sarah Lyall in their New York Times interview that he viewed The Dark Knight's Joker as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy"."  yeah, that. How is that not a scary thing to portray? I think it would mess with anybody's mind to play a character like that. I'd say those are all the "demons", and they definitely ate him alive. So no, it's not good to have demons at all, because they can turn what angels you have into demons as well. That's also why we don't do Halloween. But I think that's another thing for another day.  Yeah, so for those not interested in the religion part (or if you've just finished) here's the non-religious part: I still disagree. Yes, you can't have the good without the bad, and you don't know what's good until you've had the bad, and all that, but I'd still rather not have the demons. I mean, yeah, you might need them for comparison, but definitely not at the same time. That just makes things too confusing and I think it worsens the situation! So I think, once you've had your demons, it's time to let them go and embrace the angels. Doesn't mean you should completely forget them, because they've got some valuable lessons, but once those demons pass, don't try to hold on! Also: [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] Lyrics here  I feel like the whole song's about finding an angel after facing her demons, and I thought it'd be appropriate for the post today. |
| THE SUNDAY NEWS! This Sunday, your challenge is to pick a news story and start a conversation about it. What are your thoughts on the subject? Do you feel that others will agree? If so, why? If not, why not? Well, I'm in Australia, so my news is going to be Australian. Malcom Turnbull (PM) wants to ditch the 5c coin . I don't blame him, actually! I've wondered about the usefulness of this coin, as well. I get it back from the grocery store every now and then, and then when I do, I try to use it ASAP because I can't put it on my MyKi, and somehow whatever I end up buying ends up with a balance that rounds up or down to the next 10. Yeah, we don't have 1c coins, so if something ends up costing 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents, you round down to 0 or 5, but if it costs 3, 4, 8, or 9, it gets rounded up if you're paying in cash.Yeah, so the 5-cent coin: I vote for ditching it! Either that, or start letting me use it in the machines, because my train/tram fare is usually $1.95- and what's the point of making it that if I can't even top it up with 5c coins? The only place I know that accepts 5c coins still is the supermarket. or when you're paying cash in person. So either abolish that coin or start making use of it. From the government's perspective, if it costs more than its actually worth to make the coin, I don't see why they'd keep it. Plus, if they stop making it, maybe they'll have more money to work with and actually lower some of the prices in this country for once. Especially shipping costs! |
| You're in charge of building the ideal robot- the robot science fiction has been telling us for decades is eventually gonna exist. What is it going to look like, how is it going to function, and what role will it play in your day-to-day existence...complementary, or otherwise? Well, with me currently writing this so I don't need to study for finals, I do obviously wish I had a robot to replace me to do all my school work- it'd get me 100%s, A+s and H1s on all my assignments and tests, while I sit back and enjoy life. Or get a job so I actually have some sort of disposable income I can use on myself. Then I could travel around the world and meet all my WdC friends, and stalk my family when they're traveling and I'm not....  And I could be nocturnal all I wanted because I don't have to worry about school- and then I can do voice chats with my friends, go out and follow Delta Goodrem around Australia (yes, I would be that type of fangirl, if I had the money, means, and time!) and get a selfie with her after every show. So going back to the prompt (and not derailing at Delta Goodrem again )this robot would have to look like me, of course, if they were to do my exams and such for me, because the supervisors seem to be very strict about that- they check your ID and everything to make sure you're you and not someone else pretending to be you. So they'd be a smarter version of me, who would actually pay attention in class and such so that, once more, I can relax and go bouncing around on trampolines and celebrity-spotting, and set-touring for House Husbands or Neighbours. Or WdC-ing, of course, but I do need my exercise and drama, so . |
| On this day in 1981, the second scheduled flight of the space shuttle Columbia was halted with only 31 seconds left in the countdown. Has there ever been a situation that you went through a lot of trouble trying to pull off (or really looked forward to) only to see it cancelled at the last minute? How did you feel about it, and was it, in retrospect, a good or bad decision? *sighs* I thought of Michael Flatley right away. Back in March, when he was supposed to have that show in LA, and Mom finally agreed to take me after weeks (literally!) of begging, because uncle said he'd pay for it as my 20th birthday present, and I was over the moon. And then, two days before the show, he cancelled the performance. Without any official reason. I posted on their Facebook page and got those automatic responses back- for questions and inquiries, please contact us at this email. So I did. And they never replied me! Even up to now, there's been no official explanation as to why they cancelled the show, though Mom suspects it's because they couldn't sell enough tickets. And seeing that it was the Staples Center, that's a rather large stadium to fill- even if it's your final tour and you've been around for, like, 30-odd years.  I know there were quite a few vocal people on Facebook who were disappointed about it (including me!) but nobody issued any official statement, still. And now he's opened some sort of Irish-Dancing Academy or something from what I see on FB, but still nothing about the show. Yeah, so to get back to the prompt- obviously I was rather disappointed, and I tried to get Mom to take me to the San Diego show, but that was too far for her and it just didn't happen. I don't even remember what uncle tried to get me, instead- it was probably something like a bag or another thing similar because he's terrible at thinking up of presents. Yeah, so thank you, Michael Flatley, for being a jerk and cancelling your show, and leaving me and Mom disappointed, and Uncle all flustered because he was then left without a present. It was a terrible decision on your part. |
| What is the difference between 'judging' someone and simply 'disagreeing' with someone? Is it possible to let someone know you disagree with them without judging them? Well just a disclaimer- it's 4:07 am here so I'm prone to typos and not making sense. I'll fix whatever Grammarly can catch but that's about the extent of my proofreading right now. *deep breath* Here's my basic stance: I like the "simply" part of this prompt because that's what disagreeing should be- a difference of opinion. And anyone should be free to have a different opinion than that of the person next to them, or of any other person. Where I get annoyed is when you judge- that's when things get messy, I think. That's when (let's hope I can phrase this right and well) you're passing an opinion on the other person based on their opinion because they disagree with you. I know I said I'm trying to let go, but when I was in BAMP, there was this ongoing thing where I wouldn't say anything because I could never find a time to cut in- without cutting off someone else- to say my two cents, and by the time there was a time, the topic would be long forgotten. So out of that came a "joke" of sorts, that I'm "silently judging" everyone. "You're just silently judging us right now, aren't you?" "I feel like she's just silently judging us right now", etc. And it didn't mean much to me at the time- to be fair, maybe I was judging them a bit- Tamara on her lack of manners and false airs, mostly, but if I was in a particularly foul mood, I could be judging the whole meeting as a waste of time. I mean I didn't get to say my piece, ever, so why would it be a good use of three hours of my week to listen to people banter about ideas and when I try to get my opinion out, be cut off by someone else, or be called out for being judgey? Can you disagree without judging? I want to say I think so. If we stick to the definitions above (now I feel like I'm writing an essay!), "Can you have a difference of opinion without passing an opinion on the other person because of this difference?" Wordy, yeah. Maybe I'm just a judgey person, now, if we're going by the literal definitions, because you're gonna have an opinion on the other person's different opinion. So maybe let's edit that a little bit- you alter your view of the person who disagrees with you. I'm running through examples in my head and trying to see if they'd work. Mom and I have very different tastes in music- I like country music and a pretty odd mix of other stuff, like Fall Out Boy and Delta Goodrem. But she's all for the 70s and 80s and pretty much everything else I don't like: "Cake by the Ocean," ( I found that out today ) "Somebody I Used to Know", and a mix of other stuff. Do I judge her for it? Do I change my opinion of her? Not necessarily, but I know not to be around when she's in the mood for some music. Is that judging? I don't *think* so, but I guess the line is just really blurred now. |
| November 1 would've been Tuesday.... And I was probably anxiously watching Twitter and hoping for more Delta news. Anyways, no more Delta for now.  (for now, being the operative phrase here)So my essay was due on Monday night, which meant that Tuesday left me with time to actually do stuff that wasn't really school-related, like wrap up "Invalid Item" (it's still waiting on payments from one person I think) and get the judging done for the 13 days of Halloween. And I think I decided to put my foot down about NaNo and not do it- I already pulled out of the Write-A-Thon a few days prior to the 1st, but I was all "Ahhh I don't want to drop out!" and now I'm glad I did, because there's absolutely no way I would've survived Bouncefit, the Delta concert, a final, AND NaNo all at the same time. Buuut next week I'm gonna do a double bounce session- one for Bouncefit and one Free Jump session. Because, well, it's gonna be free! Just gotta check which is more expensive and buy the cheaper one first. *checks* Wow, with the student discount, it's $11 for a free jump session! hmmm actually, I need to use the code online to book a session, and the code doesn't expire until March 2017. Yay, I can still bounce in the new year! |
Hmmm, day 15 was the 30th. *checks calendar* Sunday... I recovered from Bouncefit that day. Apparently 4 days is an adequate amount of time to be sore, because when I went back on Wednesday, I saw the instructor again and he was rather surprised I returned for another session. And he asked how I fared during the week, so I told him I was better on Sunday, and he said that wasn't too bad. So, hey, Sunday was recovery day, at which point, I was like, "Hmm, I miss being sore. Looks like I'll be going back on Wednesday." And I did go back! (see "Invalid Entry" )So I'm actually quite glad I tried something new, because it's a super fun way to get exercise and meet new people. Plus, it's kinda like you're flying, even if it's only for a couple seconds. And it's a pretty cool feeling, if you ask me! |
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