This is going to be a long summer... was cool this morning, it even friggen rained... but in the afternoon, its hot again... stupid Melbourne weather... there is no explanation for why it is so (this is targetted at this person who asked me to explain it the other day :P) Its just the way it is...

Few things from today so far, went to get charcoal chicken from the usual place in Glen Wav for lunch... their chips standards have dropped... they just don't taste as good as they used to... but at least they were nice enough to give me 2 legs in my half chicken.. heh... still doesn't beat Legs and Breasts for roast chickens though. I think I've patronised the Glen Waverley chicken place since like... uhh.. year 10... that was like almost 10 years ago now... the person who served me was a "chickenologist"... :D lol... I had to smile at that...

You wonder why people get the wrong impression that Australia is full of bigots and racists when you see "SARS is great, its killing potential immigrants" as a bumper sticker... obviously some hoons (P platers I might add) from the country because they also had B&S, we'll fight to keep it... *sigh* Bah... kinda funny still though, now that I think of it... I guess not many of the so called "asian invasion" people will see that... heh

Oh wait, one other thing... was at Crown Towers (aka clown towers :P) and Grant Hackett came back from going out... and Ian Thorpe went out... this morning on the news, they were saying both of them were *sick*... hahah.... I don't think they would be out and about if they were *sick*...

Yesterday was a pretty good day, warm and not too hot (not that I was outside during the day) and achieved quite a bit... had what was meant to be 2 x 1 hr meetings which ended up being something like a 4.5 hour meeting, but it was good to get through some of the cases. We built up a big backlog and needed to clear it pretty fast considering we're meant to have results out in just over a week's time. Got invited to a "thank you" lunch at the other office on Monday so thats a good thing, slacking off for a bit during the day :P Also got some new responsibilities at the meeting to run some database queries... glad that they recognise that I can do that for them :)

Last night went to meet up with people from RBJ: Will (who I had met before), David, Su Ann and Raelene. Went for dinner in Lygon St, at one of the "usual" cafes there (usual for me as I must have been there so many times during uni) and the Gelati at "the" place. No idea what the name is, but that place is an institution... lol

Today, so far, gone out to look at a few houses, saw one that we like, and its actually not that far from where I live now... which is a good thing I guess. Price is a bit high but I guess that is to be expected around here. Some of the others were "really" bad... like, it would be easier to knock down everything inside the house and start the floor plan again! You really do get what you pay for. Just depends if you have the money to pay for it... hahah

Yay, long days... the sun was almost all the way down by the time I left work... wasn't that far up when I went to work... *sigh* Next week is going to be a killer... I have 5 meetings that I have to attend in five days.. all on the same topic... It took until 7:30pm tonight to do all the stuff that we have to do for tomorrow's meeting (2 part meeting, 1-2p and 4-5p), which is the second one already. Apparently its better than last year, we only have about half the number of cases that need to be considered! Oh, it looks like I'm on track to work 93.5 hours this fortnight, starting Monday this week... crap...

Been thinking a lot about friendships lately and how important they are in my life. I don't have many close friends, those that I would trust with my deepest thoughts and secrets. Those that give me advice that I depend on. It comes up as I am seriously trying to think of ways to get a job overseas. I don't know, it will just be so hard to say goodbye... not knowing when you will be able to just sit around and chat with them again. I know there is email, but its just not the same... I think I'm just going to have to find out what happens... well.. IF it happens... maybe I will find a career path here and be happy. Maybe...

Finally some good news...
The assignment I submitted on Friday has been marked already. Mainly because I couldn't be bothered connecting to the vpn to submit so I just emailed it to my lecturer. He marked it instead of giving it to the tutor... and I got a Distinction... I didn't think it was worth that much :D Keeps my hopes up of getting a decent final mark for the subject. I need it to bring my average up a bit more... I think its 69.something at the moment, just a few percentage points short of a Distinction average... need that... looks better on applications :P

Work today was pretty average, still catching up... my boss made a comment that I'm not sure about when he was signing my timesheet... he said that I worked a lot of hours... not sure whether he was saying I should be more efficient or just work less... I mean, the work is there to be done, and its not going away if I work less... Should hopefully catch up with everything by tomorrow (providing it doesn't pile up even more so tomorrow) and now just preparing for meetings and the like for Friday and all next week...

The last few days has just been disappointment after disappointment... I need to get rid of this built up anger (?) or is it just bitterness... I don't know how I'm going to get through this week. Endless things that are important to someone, but they just seem so unimportant to me now... even though the evil one made me a "directional" CD... I still have no direction, and it seems that I have less now than before... life just sucks at this time...

I dunno, it was going to happen and I probably already knew it... but when it does, it just makes you feel... like crap... and there is nothing that I can do to make it better, time heals all wounds apparently, but maybe this can't be healed... maybe its not a wound... maybe it is just my imagination of how things are meant to be, and now they probably won't be, then... yeah... there's nothing there... blankness and darkness... *sigh*

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Bah!... apparently I'm just boring... well.. I guess its true in some ways... my life is fairly routine at the moment, work, home and all that... uni just finished, so now I have just two things left... kind of depressing isn't it? :P I'm just so waiting for a "decision" on... career mainly, other stuff too... what is more depressing is that Friday, I was told... we really want to keep you, and we are going to create a role that you would want, BUT we have to take the redeployed people first... *sigh* back of the queue again.. :( maybe they can pull some strings, but we will have to wait... (see, the waiting thing again.. bah)

Phew... finally submitted the assignment... after some last minute mucking around changing things and adding a bit more stuff to it, I decided to submit it, not exactly the best looking assignment I think but... its done! yeahhhhh! woohooo! :) Now off to catch a few hours sleep before going back to work and trying to catch up on work... at least its Friday tomorrow!

Big lightning strike, nice and close... a bit too close maybe and the house is shaking... the first spring/summer storm has just hit... maybe it will bring relief from the heat that was today. Arrrgh, disturbing me when I am trying to complete my stupid assignment :P

Bah... Crystal Analysis is such a bad tool for developing reports, can't change anything, not even the background... Done one to the standard that I want to, might be taking some time off soon if I can't get them done tomorrow night. Most of the stuff is transferrable, just making sure that I display the right data is the time consuming part. Having screen designs and thinking about it beforehand helps :) so all that time that I have spent on the train actually is productive :D

Whoa.. what a day... there was the strike on today and I was early to work... real early... 7:45am... I actually had to run for the train as there was an announcement saying the train going to Glen Waverley (which would be the next one to go back into the city) was cancelled :( Made it with about a minute to spare :) So got there early, no picket lines... apparently they started at 8am... slackers :D

Had heaps to do today, just general stuff, plus I had to do some screen designs for my assignment :) That is moving along ok I guess, have to really get a move on though. Another 90 hour fortnight coming up, total now stands at 55 hours :(

Mmmmmm... instant noodles... can't remember when I last had that for lunch... but it was gooood :)

Very quiet in the city today, except for the screaming kids (and family) in the Bourke St Mall where they had some Christmas thing on... went to Melbourne Uni... haven't walked around there for ages and was talking on the phone when I took the pic :P ... second pic is in the Fitzroy gardens near where I parked my car today, the path ahead is paved and ready for me (metaphorically speaking)? At least it turned out to be sunny in the afternoon :)

  

Bit better today... only woke up at 7am... lol... meant to go into the city to look for some clothes for work, mainly "cooler" (as in temperature) pants for the summer ahead. Not so sure as its a dreary day today, after the heat and sunshine of yesterday... and I think its only going to get hotter for summer :(

Just two or three more reports to do for my assignment, just a matter of formatting and presenting the reports nicely now... technically the data is all there, just the user interface is... uhh.. non existent at the moment :D Must get assignment done and finished soon... oh.. and the documentation. Well, I guess all documentation for IT projects is about the same... retrospective, post-implementation documentation is the way to go! :P

Got an email from Chris last night saying he is flying out to Thailand and Japan for a week long business trip... wow... so good, he gets to spend next weekend free in Tokyo. He is soooo lucky! :)

Ok, now I'm just stuck in a cycle... a pattern of waking up super early... to get to work.. only... someone didn't tell my body clock it is SATURDAY today... woke up at the usual time, about 6:30am or so... and now its just before 8am and I've started the washing machine and am trying to work some more on my assignment... hmm... oh.. its 35 degrees and the picture on the right was taken this morning... even caught a plane way up in the sky (its just a black dot in the pic)... now.. lets get this assignment happening

So, there is a strike on Monday... guess that I still have to go to work. They will even be picketing the precinct apparently... this will be interesting. The last time I was "involved" in a picket line required some serious pushing (it was the World Economic Forum, way back in 2000) and eventually just giving up trying to get into work. I'm sure it won't come to that on Monday, but you never know what will happen. It just sad that it had to come to this. *sigh*

Finally got cracking on the assignment, and most of what I could do (without the license for the report creating software... still) I have done. Just a matter of getting some help on the "finer" parts of the assignment. I'm hoping to do well, but with the way things are at work, I won't spend enough time on it and just "finish it off" to get it out of the way. I really should put in more effort..... tsk tsk :P Looks like I will go to the other office to do at least some work tomorrow... its going to be like 35 degrees before a change blows in... and we don't have A/C at home :( The only good thing is that I don't have to wear a shirt and tie :)

Yay... first real summery day... 31 degrees, sunny and looking fine... meanwhile, back in reality, I'm stuck in the office... probably head out to have a walk around in a little while :)

I think I jinxed myself when I said it wouldn't be busy... :( Ended up having to organise stuff for another training meeting, this time two at the same time on different floors *sigh* Finally organised everything and got back to finishing what I was doing.. why do people always fax after 5pm and expect a response the next day... *bleh* so yeah, I've done something like 37 hours in 4 days, I'm hoping it will be a shortish (read: normal) day tomorrow!

Hmm.. all quiet in the office... its like that... morning peak, lull during the day, and the afternoon peak. Sitting in the lull at the moment, its just lasted a bit longer than I thought that it would. This time yesterday I was running around madly trying to organise stuff for a training meeting at 5pm. That and the fact that I had work to do as well made it a most tiring day. Just calm seas at the moment today though :) One more day and its the weekend, where *hopefully* I won't be in the office, don't know about my chances, but at least we're on top of things so far :)

Oh, one more thing... Kat finally wrote back to me when I wrote to her about the fires in LA a few weeks back.. sheesh.. took her time about it :P

A hectic few days at work. Lots of catching up to do with the work... luckily nothing went badly in the last two days. There was a silence for most of the day in the office. Allowed me to get on with work without being bothered =) Found out yesterday that they called my boss on Friday to check on my reference, which was good. Today I got an email asking whether I still wanted to be in the DOTARS graduate recruitment program. Not sure if I will get anywhere with that but at least its still an open door, rather than all the closed ones that I have gotten so far.

Finally getting the license for the software that I am going to use for the project. One of my classmates is going to hopefully help me to finish off some of the other parts before I have to use the software to produce the reports. Hope to get it done in my spare time at nights, considering I will be busy again this weekend...

Had a good night last night, dinner, pool and a movie... just the 3 guys from uni! =) Knox O-Zone (no suggestions what that could mean =P) is pretty good, must be making some good money. Kind of like a Chapel St in the eastern suburbs... too many teenagers though =D Had dinner at one of the restaurants/cafes there called Nudle... not bad, I guess you get what you pay for! Played pool at.. uhh. Players? I think that is what the place is called. They asked us for ID... I mean.. geez.. we're only 25! so sad... oh well... we just looked at him blankly, wondering why but we gave him IDs... *sigh*

Saw Intolerable Cruelty later on and, well, it was a good film... George and Catherine... lol... typical American film with an ending that was also "typical" =D Now trying to do some of this assignment that is due in 2 weeks.. I dunno... guess I want to make a big effort for this one last assignment. Been actually thinking about how to do it... now that the exam and the interview are over, I have no excuse not to work on it =D

Man... tomorrow is Monday, work... at least I was able to delete uhh.. read my email from home so I kind of know what to expect... except those folders that I can't access from home... they are usually the "main" problem ones... All I can say is... I get paid this week and after spending money like it was going out of fashion this week, I will be glad for my bank account to increase in balance =)

Wheee... went out with Nick and Chris tonight to the Knox O-zone thingy... it was pretty good... will post some more when I wake up =P

Wow, quite a busy few days... and thats just at work...
Tuesday was a public holiday, so I stuck to my plan and studied.... probably not as much as I would like, but I did actually study! =D
Wednesday, long day at work... almost 8am-6pm... got handed quite a few little things to do so time went by quite quickly... that was good though.
Yesterday... ok day, had a bit to do at work... had the tax office grad job interview... that went for like 1hr 20 mins... it was ok though.. I hope I did alright in it...
Today exam... I was completely unmotivated/unfazed by the fact that I had an exam today. Went to the city to look at PDAs, then went to have lunch with my mum at her work place (the other office where I work) then went to the computer labs at uni for about 20 mins... It was weird to say the least... went there, did the exam, left about 10 mins before the end and came home... just as if it was another normal day...

So there ends (hopefully) my university exam career. No real sense of achievement... probably more so when I graduate... wear the funny hat and get my piece of paper to hang next to my current one =D Oh, and for the first time in a looong time... I did less than 40 hours this week =P (not really fair as I only worked 3 days and took 3 hours off yesterday)

Hmm.. won't be updating much in the next few days... just trying to concentrate on studying in my free time. So busy at work, had to drop off some more stuff on the way home last night, so that was another diversion. I have been out there too many times in the last week =D Its ok, guess its a bit of a change and get to talk to the people out there! =)

I must say that the msn group the lecturer set up has proved most useful in getting answers to the previous exam questions... although its only part of it. Some of the stuff my fellow students have provided are... well... not exactly the same as my opinion. I guess it doesn't help to get another view on things! =) Off to study...

A new month already... *sigh* time is moving on.... did I see some Christmas decorations already.. arrghh... It still feels like winter though... cold, rain, wind, sun... typical Melbourne =P Went to Chris' house yesterday just for a bit of a chat and catch up... its going to be the first year in something like 16 that he is not going away in January with his family. All because he is now working and all that... I know that things change, but I guess that when long running traditions are broken, you notice it the most. Not that we have any traditions that we adhere to per se...

Finally did some productive studying this weekend. Read up on 3 of the 5 questions I will be preparing for. Going to do the other 2 tonight and tomorrow. Spend Cup day writing actual sample solutions to those questions, then still have Wednesday and Thursday to review and do some follow up research if needed. Oh, that and do my application for the A/P job (which I have open now and am currently finishing, I hope) and prepare for the interview on Thursday afternoon. All planned out, just like that, but somehow (cynical I guess) I have a feeling it will be Thursday evening and I will still be writing out sample solutions (maybe I just know myself too well)... Oh well, there's at least a plan and some motivation for study... much better than last week! =)