Looking at Distant Things

Exams are over. Well, it was over back on Wednesday, and I've been spending the days catching up on some reading that I had to give up.

Seriously, if I had the time and the money and the means, I'd probably do nothing but buy and read books. But I don't. Still, it's my way way of relaxing. Sitting down and reading a good books or two. Right now, I'm reading this book called Life in Vietnam: through a looking-glass darkly by Nguyen Ngoc Phach. It's about, well, life in Vietnam obviously, but after the war when the Communists took over government. It's written in English but it also has these short poems called vè. I use the term poems loosely as the vè were mainly written by average people criticising the government. Some of them make a surprisingly lot of sense and some at applicable to the modern day, despite being written some hundreds of years ago. It has English translations and explanations so it's understandable. If you're Viet, you should read this.

I spent most of the morning, cleaning up my room. It was pretty messy, since I practice the First Available Surface filing method, so my table was covered in stacks of papers and folders, and a good portion of the floor as well. I even broke open my computer case and spent some time to get rid of all the dust inside. Unfortunately, one of the fans has developed this annoying whirr. I can't do much about it. Maybe a can of compressed air to get at the dust in those hard to reach places.

Tomorrow I am uncapped so let the bandwidth flow! Also the season finale of Doctor Who season 3 hits the air. I can't wait for it. The last episode ended on a massive cliffhanger, so I'm stoked.

Besides that, nothing else is happening. I have clinical placement, but that's like a week away. Lesley has been thinking about grabbing a group of people to go watch the live action Transformers, and if it happens then I'm in. Oh Transformers...now that was a pretty good show. The newer shows nowadays kinda suck. Like the Pokemon on Channel Ten. The basic premise of the group showing up, then Team Rocket trying to mess things up, is still the same since the very first episode of Pokemon. I reckon they should drop Ash and co and make a totally new series with new characters. A massive reboot, so to say.

Back to reading.

The Sound of Drums

Close. So close to the end of exams. Then twelve days of holidays, then a week of clinical practice, then another week of holidays, then back to uni.

Last exam is medical radiation physics. It won't go too bad. I had Radiobiology exam yesterday and sucked big time. I only knew a handful of answers and the rest were more on instinct and luck. MC questions are both a blessing and a curse in my opinion. When you know the answers, it's easy, but when you don't it comes down to probability and instinct. You look at the answers and you get the feeling that C must be right. That's probably the most useful tip that one can get for doing MCQ. Your first instinct is usually right. Remember all those MCQ we had to do since the beginning. It was a lot. I remember around the late days of primary school and the early days to high school, there were all these little tips and rules to MCQ. Some useful, most...not really. The correct answer is always B. Take a guess, there's a 25% chance you'll get it right. Three identical answers (B,B,B etc) is usually the limit and the if the next answer is thought to be the same, then something has gone wrong...unless the answers are deliberately the same for four in a row to psych you out...those were the days.

Despite the cappage, I've managed to downloading ep 12 of Doctor Who. I won't spoil it, but it an amazing episode and is filled with all this info about the Time Lords, their home planet, some of their customs. And the season finale looks dam amazing. Then gone. With exception of the Christmas Special, there won't be any Doctor Who eps until season 4 next year, starting sometimes in April/May.

I have obtained Simcity DS, but have yet to play it. Simcity 2000 was probably the first real game that I actually bought. And it was so interesting. Acting as mayor, trying to build a prosperous city while keeping the people happy and avoiding disasters. It started to get more complex from then on. Simcity 3000 was pretty good and I haven't tried Simicty 4. Simcity 2000 was designed by Will Wright, the same dude behind The Sims. Now that was quite addictive. And while both games were great, the publication of so many expansion packs seem to be more of a money grab by EA than anything else. But there's no denying it was one hell of a game.

No news on the job front. I've sent my resume almost 3 weeks back to a potential employer and they haven't replied. Their website is still "Coming Soon", so I'll wait it out. If it goes online and there is still no word, then I'm off to find another potential job. I wish I had a stable income of cash.

*sigh*

If wishes were fishes, then we'd all cast nets.

I put the Laughter in Slaughter

Three exams down, and three left to go. I have Human Biology, Radiobiology and Medical Radiation Physics. Radiobiology is going to be the tough one. I hated all lectures, cos the lecturer was so-so. I swear the book is a better alternative.

I told myself that I would start studying a month before the actual exams. Well that fucking worked. I find myself studying like a crazy man a week before the actual exams. Arrgh, so much for trying to improve myself. But I think I'll pass. Probably Credit, may even Distinction. Anyway the weather has been acting up lately so staying indoors and warm, nose deep in books and notes is still a preferable idea.

Still sitting around, studying while chomping on some chocolate and slamming down shots of Coke is not going to make my body healthy. If there is one thing I truly believe in, it's that as you go through the University of Life, you must have a PhD in Getting the Fuck Away when Shit Happens. And you're gonna have trouble getting the fuck away on chocolate and Coke. Motivation. I need some of that. As soon as the 300 DVD comes out, I'm on it like stink on cheese. It's probably the most manly, testosterone laden piece of work since...since a whole lot of other manly things. I'd probably won't be Spartan, I would be able to run like the wind whenever trouble hits.

After the aforementioned exams, of course.

Ahem.

How do you guys dream? I occasionally get these weird, surreal dreams that make me wonder whether I should write them down and make a book or something. Like how a giant octopus is ravaging the beaches, how sentient spotches of colour ink are disrupting the world's electricity supply, or how there's a group of teenagers caught in a world of time travel, big explosions and sexual tension. I don't know about other people, but when I dream, it's deadly real except for the fact that there is actually no sound, but I can understand what people are saying as if there was sound. Makes sense? No? Don't worry.

Doctor Who season 3 is beginning to come to an end. Two more episodes before the season ends. The 11th episode is an absolute blast. With the revelation of another Time Lord. But I won't say who. I know a few people eagerly awaiting the ABC to start showing some Who action, but dammit, get cable and download the episodes.

Read Tales of MU. It's worth it and addictive as crack.

More cramming. Onwards.

I didn't start this fire

Why am I posting this blog at 6am-ish in the morning? Because I was a moron. I fell asleep after lunch for a 2-hour sleep because I was hella tired from studying. Then I went to sleep earlier than usual at just past 10pm. Then my body kicked my awake at 4am. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't. No matter how much I tossed and turned, I couldn't get any shut eye. So much for sleeping in on the weekends.

I'd probably study some more and maybe get started on those anatomy sample exams. First exam is my Preparation for Practice (DR) on the 19th. I'm pretty sure I can handle the MCQ but it's the short-response that has me somewhat worried. I should try to find some sample exams or something.

That's one thing I'd wish was more prevalent. Past papers like from the past five years or something, but since there are like a gazillion courses at a tertiary level, I don't see it happening. That's one thing I liked (if you could use the word) about the HSC. You could buy a book with all the past papers since like 1988 or something. I think that these past papers helped me get a decent mark for the HSC or at least the confidence to walk in and tackle the damn papers.

Despite some procrastination on my part, studying is going fairly well. I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to get distinctions for all of them but I won't fail. Of course, there is a little thing that has been distracting me: Tales of MU. It's a story-in-progress about a student in her first year at a magical university (hence the MU) where the students include nymphs, centaurs, elves and other fantasy creatures, as well as humans. It's updating daily and it is addictive as crack. This author can write, and write really well. Seriously I would kill to write as well as that. Plus the bite-sized pieces are enough to fire you up and getting all excited about the next piece. So yeah, check it out.

Clinical is getting me all worked up. Its exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. Sure this will be the first time I get to go to real work setting, but then performing the procedures on a real person is different to doing it on a human analog. I shiver from anticipation and a little fear. Well, it will be fun I'm sure.

Weather is pissing me off. It rains hardcore then freezes over at night. Usually, right now the sun is beginning to rise so there is a hint of light, but looking out my window, it's almost pitch black.

Damn it all.

The War on War

Updates will become sporadic as I study up for my end of semester exams, but I'll post the occasional post maybe with a picture or Youtube video.

Joined Facebook at the behest of Jimmy. His claim of 25% of Seftoners are facebooked was strong, although I'm not sure everyone is active. Well, it does seem to be more of a way to keep a thread of contact between old friends.

Managed to get Halo 2 to work and I'm a bit disappointed. It was a lazy port from the Xbox straight to Vista with very little changes. The fact that you have to pay a monthly fee to play online multiplayer does hurt, but I hear good things about it. Maybe a month as a trial or something.

Weather has been swinging about lately and now it's getting colder. To be honest, I actually prefer the rain. Because the clouds ensures that the heat (or what little of it) doesn't escape into the sky and so it's a tiny bit warmer. Now with the few days of clear skys, it's nice in the mornings but colder at night.

Oh, and here's a little something for gamers out there.

Sometimes even lawyers need lawyers.

Well, no more lectures because the first semester of university is over. Not really. There are still exams to be held. I was freaking out a minute or fifteen when I realised that I knew what day and times my exams were on, but not the exact place. Yes, I know it is held in the campus, duh, just not the exact rooms. But a quick trip to MyUni cleared it up and I can now focus even more on studying.

I've been invited to a BBQ this Sunday along with the whole family, but unless the rain decides to stop, I don't have much hope. Unless the location has a veranda, then maybe. Still, whenever I'm invited to a BBQ, I momentarily cringe. Without exception, all the BBQs I have attended, with the exception of my own, seem to stuff up the food. Not all the food is bad per se, but some people don't know who to do a BBQ properly. At best, you get slightly raw meat. The worst? I went to a BBQ where the host had trouble with the wind, because the gas BBQ couldn't get hot enough. So the food was massively undercooked. So he cranked it up to the redline and everything was massively overcooked. Maybe it's just the Asian families I've been to that can't do a BBQ properly. You go to an Aussie's place, and you can almost guarantee that they'll do a decent BBQ.

On another train of thought, I remember one of the lecturers encouraging us to make friends or maintain friendships with people who are studying different courses. To have a big picture of what other professions and courses are going to be like or something. That said I keeping forgetting to ask for neuroscience notes, because everyone I talk to about neuroscience says it's a bitch, while the few scraps of info I have on it sounds interesting. Maybe it sounds interesting because I don't have to actually study for a test on it. Anyway, Jack sent me an essay on this family law case and it was an interesting read. In a nutshell, the husband sues the wife because two of their children aren't his and she deceived him by not telling him and as a result he suffered mental and psychiatric trauma as a result. He lost because the judges decided that he really had no reason to suspect anything before the paternity test and that the wife keeping quiet didn't count as deceit. So the tort failed. Despite the 10000 words and 8 pages, it was an interesting read. Still I don't know why Jack asked me to edit it. I'm going to be a radiographer, not a lawyer. Still, interesting and thought provoking stuff.

And finally, Nam has jumping onto the blogging bandwagon. A bit late maybe, but it seems regularly updated for now. Go read it. Because reading blogs actually helps to complete your work faster. Seriously.

Marching On

Now entering the final week of the semester, the days have become more focused on study. No one wants to fail their end of semesters.

Clinical briefing today for MRS. It was basically checking that you have all the required items like CPR cert, PRM, vaccination etc. It took up the better part of 2 hours almost. It really depended on what line you decided to join and when you joined it. I joined a line where the checking was quick and very brief. The guy was like, "yep, yep, you got everything." I'm not sure if he actually saw some of the certs that people were trying to show him. There was also a quick test on the clinical practice. But it was a bit hard, and didn't focus on the ethic and legal side of things, which everyone studied like hell because it's like the largest part of the unit.

Some good news now. My group mark for our presentation on infection control was scored 19/22. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Despite the slowly increasing workload, I'm still managing to keep up with House and Doctor Who. Did you know that Torchwood, a Doctor Who spinoff, is going to appear on Channel Ten? The sole reason I believe is that one of the main characters is Captain Jack Harkness. Because if you call him Captain Jack it almost like Captain Jack Sparrow. I want to watch the third Pirates of the Carribean, but it's been getting rather poor reviews. I'm a pretty shallow movie viewer. I really liked all three movies, and didn't really get why everyone seems to dislike it. Bah.

Back to study.

Ever pulled teeth out of a chicken?

Sorru about the lack of updates. I've been capped for the past two weeks and you can't imagine how painfully slow it was. Plus catching up on work and revision required me to log onto USyd's WebCT which was downright slow. Moving on...

I now know where I'm going for clinical practice. From the 9th to the 13th July, I'll be at Westmead Hospital, which is suprisingly close to Parramatta. While it's nice to know where I'll be going I am a little bit apprehensive about the whole thing. Still, I'm sure it'll be fun and I'll learn a whole bunch of stuff.

Lectures, as all university students know, can be quite boring depending on the lecturer and/or the subject matter. My lectures on radiation protection can be said to be quite boring, mainly because the subject is a bit dry. So the lecture is kinda boring, unless the lecturer goes of on a tangent. On one lecture we were talking about non-ionising radiation, specifically lasers and their class. The higher the class, the more powerful it is. Australia supposedly bans class 3 lasers for personal use, but one can easily buy one off Ebay. The funny thing was the lecturer joked that he bought such a laser to aim at the naval base nearby and see how long it takes for them to respond. Hopefully, not that quickly.

I'm also one of those people joining the ranks of "I want money, but don't have a job". I haven't been searching jobs all that zealously though, but having some extra money seems like a good thing, right about now.

So everyone, keep it up and try not to fail. I know several who came into hair's width of failing. I came damn close to failing. Too close.

Let's take it slow...

I'm capped. Stop. Will post more later. Stop. Still here. Stop. Painful. Stop. Please let the pain. Stop.

Impossible Dream

Here's a little quote off Serena's blog

drummer of the doors, john densmore said this (in regards to rejecting an offer by cadillac for 15 million dollars to use a doors song in their commercial): "People lost their virginity to this music, got high for the first time to this music. I've had people say kids died in Vietnam istening to this music, other people say they know someone who didn't commit suicide because of this music…. On stage, when we played these songs, they felt mysterious and magic. That's not for rent."

The point being that music is something quite wonderful. Now there's plenty of music, that while are really good and all, just seem rather poppy. The music is nice for entertainment and that's about it. But in the ocean of sugary pop songs and repetitive beats, there are these songs that are fucking amazing. That these songs are mysterious, magical and powerful. Honestly I've never been into the whole "powerful, life-changing music" thing.

But.

This Honda advert pops up with what I feel as the most inspirational song ever. Holy crap. I'm going all sappy over a song that was written for a music back in 1965. Check out the ad below. This is one hell of a melding between video and music. Damn inspirational.



The song is The Impossible Dream, sung by Andy Williams.

All Power to the Imagination!

I beat Sophia in Brain Age. Granted the challenge was 30 simple calculations. Still, they can be tough stuff if you let your skills erode. I've being clocking in the 30-40 second range and the first time Sophia did the challenge she was in the minutes range. Unfortunately, Sophia can still claim the crown for Mario Kart DS, however, I'm not losing that badly. I think I have the mechanics worked out better and finished the game in the 50cc stage. Now up to 100cc and beyond.

That said, Brain Age is quite an interesting game. It's rival, Big Brain Academy, is a bit more colorful, but Brain Age has this cultish feel, as Sophia pointed out. To call it a game would be a tad incorrect. It's something you can give to a non-gamer and they would have a nice time playing. Mario Kart is relatively simplistic, but the mechanics of drifting, powersliding and getting the speed boost out of it is quite challenging. You really have to play the tracks several times to get a handle on when and where to drift. Next time, Sophia, I'm going to win.

Presentation is going well. My group has finished our slides and speeches and the final version has been tentatively named the HD version. No, not a High Definition Powerpoint presentation. A High Distinction Powerpoint presentation. A bit ambitious? A bit early? Perhaps, but we're not going to fail with this.

Playing Phoenix Wright Justice For All and Advance Wars Dual Strike. Dual Strike, for all its cartoony graphics, is starting to prove quite a challenge. Strategy fans should try and get a copy.

No uni tomorrow. Hell yeah. How about I make this post up to ya, eh?

Whatever Will Be, Will Be

I picked up my M3 Simply from the post office at 9am. I rushed home to test it out and it is some mad shit. Playing roms perfectly with no hitch, man, now that's $39 well spent. I just tested some video clip on it as well. It runs fine, although the sound is a bit scratched, probably to the smallish speakers. But it's pretty cool.

In a quick dicussion with a friend of mine, he stated that the Nintendo DS is crap because it has shit graphics, as compared to the Sony PSP. While I'll refrain from bagging out the PSP and putting the DS on a pedestal, I can't help but feel that he is misinformed. Games are not about graphics. The most important thing that makes or breaks a game is the gameplay. Yes, the graphics, story, etc of the game are important, but if you are not having fun playing a game with crap gameplay even with the latest graphics and whatnot. Tetris was a major game. It was addictive. Even now you can find freeware versions of Tetris floating around with people still playing them. Compared to today, it has shit graphics, but does that automatically make it a shit game? No.

Actually, that rant was supposed to be way longer, but it soon became a "DS is the best! PSP is crap!" kinda thing. Both handhelds have their pros and cons, and well, I'm naturally biased towards the DS.

And did you hear? Some teenage girl in the US is sueing her school, because they showed "Brokeback Mountain" and it has caused her grave psychological damage. WTF? Psychological damage? She's a teenager, so she knows about homosexuality, and I fail to see what could cause grave psychological damage in the film. It's not some hardcore gay porn film that involves death and blood. Kinda pisses me off that some people make a huge deal about something trivial. Only in the US, eh?

Anatomy exam results came back and I'm a bit down. I didn't fail. I passed. But I didn't get a great mark. Still that balances out the good feelings of my previous exam of 96.3%. Well, it was only a half-yearly, so I'm determined to do better for the yearly exam.

Like, zomg, the end scene for the dubbed english Naruto series. So it'll be really popular.

I have been the dullest of stars.

Just loving my DS at the moment. So it's a bit tough trying to maintain an even balance of uni work and gaming, but I've been leaning towards work more than gaming. I can save at any time, so it doesn't really matter. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney is finished and I have to say that it is an amazing game. 4.5 out 5. It can be fiendishly difficult though, especially the last two cases and you will either do a lot of reloading your save game or checking out a walkthrough for hints. But it's a cool game, nice graphics, great music and awesome gameplay. As soon as my M3 DS Simply arrives, I'm getting the sequel, Justice For All.

Uni has been good. With most of the basics out of the way, some of the work is getting interesting. We're doing theory work for doing chest and wrist x-rays and it changes some preconceptions. I used to think that D.R was a simple job with lots of button pushing, but that's only true for the regular cases. There will be cases that conventional techiques can't accomodate, so we have to compromise. Like people with arthritis in the hands can place their hands flat on the cassette, so they have to hold their hands upwards in a "ballcatchers" position. Not a perfect diagnostic image, but decent enough so the doctors can diagnose.

Oh yeah, CPR certification today. It only went for aboout 3 hours. It's hella easy. It used to be a whole lot detailed and harder but because there were different procedures for adults, kids and infants and a lot of exceptions to when to perform CPR, the CPR procedure has been trimmed down, so it's really easy. DangerResponseAirwayBreathingCompression. 2 breaths for every 30 compressions. 100 compressions in a minute. Keep going until you're physically unable to continue, the ambos take over, or a doctor or similar says the victim is dead. The test was a bit of a joke. Anyone with a bit of common sense would have aced it. So now I wait for my certificate to come in.

My exam results for homeostatsis, cell and basic chem came back at 96.3% which is pretty good. 12 people hit 100%. So still good overall.

And I'm continuing to blog. At least twice a week. Until next time.

Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.
- William Hazlitt

Breath by breath, Death by death

My copy of Advance Wars: Dual Strike arrived today! It only took 5 days, but it was kinda my fault since I transferred the money before they gave me an ID number to put on the direct deposit. My M3 Simply, which will allow we to play downloaded games, music and whatnot, is currently on the move and will land in my lap in 2 days or so I hope.

I had my radiation protection test today. I say test, but it was only 10 MCQ with 40 minutes to do it. I finished in around 10 and left soon afterwards, only to realise I answered one of the question wrong. That's because initially you couldn't leave so I had to wait for 10 minutes before the dude changed his mind. So during that time I started to question myself. Damn. Oh well, 9/10 is still good.

Saw Land today at around noon. She was about to have her first anatomy lab session. Said hello and asked a bit about how the med course was going. I tried to see if I could find Jessica Nghiem as well, but couldn't find her.

Had my D.R prac on how to take an x-ray of a hand. It all seems pretty simply, but the lecturer had a whole bunch of tips that made the whole process even simpler, with less chance of mistakes. The key was to start off doing the right thing and everything else flowed from that. Then we got into groups and started doing it for real. It did seem scary at first, because there were all these settings, but for hands there is pretty narrow range of settings, so it went cool. The best number to get was 2.1 for the exposure index, in other words a perfect shot. Our first attempt was 2.5, but the second one was probably better since we had more accurate settings. Didn't get a chance to check out our second attempt though. Bummer.

Now to finish off Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney!

Too looney for uni

So after my anatomy exam, to build up some cheer (because I reckon I did crap), I dashed over to Parramatta and bought myself a Nintendo DS Lite and Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney. The console is much better than I ever anticipated, the touch screen, the dual screen...It's pretty awesome. And Ace Attorney is a fun game. You gather clues and defend your client in court. It's so fun when you find a contradiction and yell out "OBJECTION!".

As you can see it's a white DS, because all they had at the time was white and pink. I would have prefered black but it's not really important.

The new DS Lite is balanced out but the fact that my chair has decided to put out its spine. I've been using this chair for nigh on 4 years, swivelling back and forth, rolling from desk to computer in many a late night assignment or whatnot. The screw has busted it self to pieces so this is what you get.
DS time baby!

The more alternatives, the more difficult the choice.

The decision has been made.

I will be buying a Nintendo DS Lite.

Thanks, but no thanks Jimmy, I'll handle this transaction.

And 17 Seftoners on Facebook? You reckon it's worth joining?

When the dagger digs too deep

Funniest thing happened today during our anatomy lecture. The topic is respiratory physiology and we're talking about lung cancer. Our lecturer is saying that when smokers have a bad cough and it goes on for several months, it's a possible sign of lung cancer, someone in the room blurts out "Oh shit..." quietly but distinctly. Everyone starts laughing and even the lecturer is grinning. I mean, that's some perfect timing and emotion right there.

The other smokers in the room might be getting uncomfortable, but I doubt they'll quit. I have nothing against smokers really. If they know the risks and they keep smoking, well, it's their body. We can tell them all the risks but it's to them to quit. Though I do wonder why people do smoke, regardless of the risks? Social reasons? Peer pressure? Looking cool?

Anatomy exam is going to be tough. I'm studying as best I can, but I'm not that confident. I'll probably pass but definitely not a distinction or anything.

I would really like a DS. I'm deciding whether to actually buy one or not. One part of me says go for it, the other parts starts weighing up the pros, cons, expenses and alternatives. I might get it. Or maybe not.

We were supposed to have a radiation protection lecture today, but our lecturer totally forgot about it. He was so into helping some third-year student that he lost track of time. And he didn't realise that he had a lecture tomorrow either! At least our protection test will be scaled down since there's no way now to get all the lectures done on time.

Until next time.

MCCCXXXVII

The mid-semester exams are making everyone serious. People now spend their time studying or discussing the subject. Even I have been spending some extra study time in the library. Woah!

Human Biology test today, encompassing the cell homeostatis and basic chem. It's probably the easiest test, we'll ever have. Only 40 minutes and all multiple choice questions. I'm a bit worried about the anatomy test, since there is a shitload of muscles and ligaments to remember. It's a week from now, so that gives me some time to study.

What I am going to do these weekends is to clean up my computer. I have all this stuff accumulated on my hard drive over the years. My Documents is so messy I have trouble finding stuff and don't even talk about my downloads folder. Some cleaning and a little defrag.


No updates for a while eh? Between the studying and being on the razor's edge of being capped, the internet has been ignored for quite some time. It slightly safer to use the net, only since my limits reset next month, which is like 3 sleeps away. So until then, no Naruto, no Bleach, no House and no Doctor Who. I've only missed a week or so, I'll probably be fine.

Study, study study....

I've divided by zero! Oh shi-

Haven't blogged recently, so sorry about that. Mid-semester exams are ninja-ing towards me, and I have to start taking some action before I get ninja-ed.

Since yesterday, most of the lectures have finished early, mainly due to the lecturers tying up odds and ends in preparation of exams. Coming back from the break was such a slog. Once you get used to lounging around at home, having to wake up and get to Uni on time so that you don't miss that essential lecture becomes hard. But there are some lectures that I don't want to miss and there are some that I can, so eventually things will balance out.

Work on our group presentation is progressing well, if slowly. Apparently other groups haven't even started. Things will get complicated nearer to the due date, so that's why our group is (attempting) to start now, to lay down the framework, so after exams, we can get this thing done.

Back to study now. Unfortunately, cramming is much less effective now, and I have a lot of shit to revise. So here's a little something for the short post:

Prepare for Glory

The mini-reunion was...well...mini. I guess sloppy organisational work, and private work prevented more people from attending. But just because it was small, didn't mean that the entire day was wasted.

So only eight people showed up, including me:

• Jack
• Lesley
• Alex
• Charles
• Kathy
• Land

On the way to the movies, we shared tales and stories from uni, and there was quite a nice representation of the unis Seftoners went to, USyd, UNSW, UWS and MacU. We had 3 Com/Laws, 1 Engo, 1 Pharm and 1 Med. But enough of that. What happened?

300 happened, that's what. This is not really a film that you would analyse about the plot, characters or symbolism. This is a movie to be enjoyed with your brain switched off and taking the delights of the raw, visceral action onscreen. I found 300 to match the hype. It is an excellent action movie with some witty dialogue. And it looks and sounds fucking gorgeous! Best line of the movie? There's plenty, but for me personally, is when Leonidas starts to walk off to talk to Xerxes and he says There's no reason we can't be civil, is there? and one of the Spartans replies Not at all, my lord while plunging his spear into the chest of a wounded Persian.

After we finished watching the movie, we walked down to Market City, and stopped by the food court. A whole bunch of food on offer, but I bought a kebab and chips. You can't go wrong with kebabs unless you OD on the garlic sauce. More talking this time, everyone was sharing their experiences about driving, with everyone present either has the Ls or Ps. Apparently, Lesley's tutor class thinks he's gay, because of the whole skirt dancing thing at the concert.

Galaxyworld was next but not a lot of money was spent. We did the rounds and the girls managed to racked up like 100-something tickets. I went to one of the games and on my second try managed to score 500 tickets. Phuong, if you're reading this, it was that Wheel of Fortune game. Added with some other tickets I think the final reading was like 600-something tickets. My tokens were gone by then though. Well another day.

From there, we walked to Central and headed off, getting off at our respective stations. Seriously, I would mind another day like this (with more people maybe) but that's maybe later down the track. It's just interesting to hear other people's uni experiences and catch up with some old friends. Maybe near the end of the year or something. We can organise something bigger.

When 300 comes out on DVD, I'm buying it. Seriously, it's a keeper.

200 posts on this blog. Quite a long time, considering the length of other Seftoner blogs. Hopefully, this will keep going for a while longer.