Snug

It's rainy and cold and horrible outside, and I feel crampy and yuck, so I've ordered pizza and intend to devour it while watching X-men 2, and then probably go and read Hobb.

Yeah, that does make it all better, actually.

Warning: This Post May Get You Injured

The top ten things to say to Connex inspectors who ask you for your ticket:

- I will not tolerate your insolence!
- The voices in my head told me I didn't need one for the Mothership.
- Ke?
- I'm actually an android, and the Connex website told me I could travel for free.
- Come closer, I'm about to chuck.
- Do you have a ticket?
- No, thanks.
- It's against my religion.
- Can I jig for my fare?
- I AM SPARTACUS!

Ink

I've been thinking about tattoos.

I've wanted one for years, but every time I think I have what I want in my head, it turns out to maybe not be exactly what I want. There are two possibly designs that I think I will probably get at one point, but one of them I'm planning to get on my forearm, and I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for that yet. Maybe at a later date, but perhaps I should start small.

I thought about getting a couple of lines of poetry on one of my shoulder blades for a while. I even booked in to have a chat with an artist. She wasn't sure that she could do what I wanted, and suggested a few other designs that I wasn't too keen on. I mean, I'm not going to try to get an impossible tattoo, but after watching episodes of Miami Ink (thanks to cousin Tim) I'm pretty sure I'm not asking too much. Maybe I need to sit down and chat about it with someone else. That, or move the design around a little.

It's so hard to choose! It's always going to be my downfall, I think, when it comes to this. Because I keep changing my mind, and I'm never sure... And sure is something that you need to be to get a tattoo.

I do want one, though. Maybe I'll re-work my poetry idea for a while. I'm thinking that in-between my shoulder blades might be good...

Maybe I should just get one of these t-shirts...

Oh My God...

I just found another reason to love Muse.

Here is Dominic Howard playing in a Spidey costume.



That. Is. So. Cool. And yeah, it really is him. Really really.

Thwipp!

And... I'm Back.

Whew. I am SO looking forward to my next couple of days off.

Placement was all pretty good in the end. I pretty much followed the pattern of days that I detailed in my last entries, so I won't bore you by going through all of that again. It's funny, as much as I like to get in and actually be doing things, I think I learned a lot by just sitting and watching. Sure, I was a little impatient at times, but really, I was there to watch and get a feel for things, so they had no obligation to make it what I would have absolutely adored (such as getting some time on air, or doing a bit more vocal work, or that sort of thing).

I learned so much about production, it's actually embarassing how shit I was before. I think a couple of the sweepers I randomly threw together will being going to air, which rocks. You really don't get to sit and play in a production studio very often, so that was really, really good.

One thing placement really hammered home is how good my course is for getting a job. It really is totally relevant to the actual industry, which I must admit I was a tiny bit dubious of in the beginning. I feel like going out and seeing it all about mid-way through was really bloody good. I think I'd be quite happy to work in radio, thank you very much.

Anyone want to hire me? *grin*

And now, I can sleep in. Bliss!

Archives

I've just been looking through some of the pieces that I've written within the last few months, and I'm rather amused at what I'm finding here. I was going to write myself a piece that I've had marinating in my brain for a few weeks now (and as I was encouraged to write it this morning, I've had some new ideas) but I'm not exactly in the mood right this minute. Perhaps I should have tackled it earlier.

Anyway, back to the things I've discovered. One is a piece that started off being completely random, and then somehow magically turned itself into a Pirates of the Carribean fic. Hee hee hee, how often does that happen? A sample:

There was grit beneath his toes. His boots lay abandoned a few metres away, scuffed and forlorn. Behind him, he knew that the fire was kicking up sparks, sending little glowing ashes high into the cool air, where they winked out, defeated. Jack could feel the warmth on his back, the heat soaking though his shirt, pressing on the back of his neck like the breath of a lover. The night was chill and clear, the stars scattered over the deep sky like a handful or three of carelessly flung sand.

A bottle of wine with at least another glass in it was sunk into the sand at his side, like a faithful dog possessed of boundless loyalty. The smooth green glass looked black, but the burgundy wine was darker still. It was a good red wine, rich on the tongue and complex in its aftertaste. It asked no questions; it simply provided an alternative to thinking about the answers. He rested his hand on it for a moment, considering, then sprawled deeper into the sand, knowing that it was going to stick to his skin and stain him with the tang of salt.

There was, curiously enough for a beach, no waves crashing onto the shore, no seagulls screaming through the air. The water was almost still in this sheltered cove, which was a shame. He did so enjoy listening to the boom of the waves, the thunder of the surf greedily streaking up the sand before curling under itself in defeat.

Last time he’d been on this very same beach, it had been a lot different. There had been no warm body on the other side of the fire. He looked over to Elizabeth, her head pillowed on her arms like a child, snoring like his meanest crewmember. The gently born girls always did let their walls down after a few drinks. For a moment he considered waking her up, but no, that could wait. Besides, if they ever got off this spit of sand, the liaison would mean a world of trouble, because the girls could never keep it quiet and it would ruin everything with Will.

Ah, Will. Jack smirked. He hoisted the bottle of wine into the air in silent salute and grinned at the horizon. He downed a swallow and clapped the cork back into the bottle, dropping it carelessly into the sand where it lay, the liquid rolling in its glass prison. The poor boy had been so flustered after that first kiss. It had followed their first duel, if Jack remembered correctly. The damn blacksmith’s boy had nearly killed him a dozen times that day. He’d had such a righteous indignation burning in his eyes while he was hacking to and fro with those plain, sharp blades!


Seriously. Where did that come from?

And then I found something that I bashed out after inspiration hit me. Some of that:

My girlfriend Christie gave me his number after she’d had the accident. She swore black and blue that he made the pain vanish. Disappear. She was walking again in weeks, after the doctors told her she’d be lucky to ever get out of bed. I saw her after his visit, she walked like she hadn’t since she was sixteen, with her shoulders thrown back and that lump missing from her shoulders. I’ve known Christie for years; she’s always had posture like she’s been punched in the stomach.

That was what finally convinced me to give him – the European, a try. I followed him down a corridor that smelled faintly of cats and vodka, into a tiny kitchen with barely enough room for a little table and one chair. He gestured me into it, busying himself over the teapot. I winced as I sunk into the chair, my back letting out an audible click. The European grimaced and flapped his hands, making soothing noises like one would to a panicked horse. He turned and he poured me some tea into a mug with a clown in it. It smelled delicious, of all kinds of spices and richness that I never got out of my Lipton tea bags. I looked around for milk and sugar, but he just gave me a smile, telling me to drink. I did, and it turns out that whatever he poured me was good enough without all of that.

I actually really like this. It isn't too bad for something that I just pulled out of the air...

Hmm. Now, back to work on what I was supposed to be writing...

Autumn Wedding

This is my favourite photo of Mum and Rick from the wedding.

They make a great couple, eh?

Aircheck

I got a copy of the ad that I'm in! OK, OK, so I'm pretty much doing backing vocals for it, but we've all got to start somewhere, right? Besides, I think it sounds cool, so there.

Black Swan Ad

I've also got a bunch of me reading bits of the news (which hasn't gone to air, but I wrote some of the on-air news today) and a few sweepers that I invented that sound oh-so commerical. The Synner in me is almost ashamed.

Placement - Day 2&3

Well, yesterday I got to muck around in production for a while, which was rather cool. I've learned so much about using Audition, so now my promos and other bits and pieces will sound 100% better. I even got to do the backing vocals on an ad that went to air (and it sounded totally hot). Lots of fun and very cool.

Today there wasn't much action, although the news department was busy as hell because of the train crash. I did a lot of sitting and watching, which is all well and good. I do like actually doing constructive things, though. Hopefully I'll get some more fun things to do this week, like voicing some ads.

Bloody tired. I think the early mornings are starting to show. Getting up an hour and a half before dawn? Ack. Still, at least I have the weekend off. Sort of. Well, I'm working eight hours Saturday... (Soldier on, soldier on.) Seriously, Sunday, I'm doing nothing at all.

Ash and I went horse riding today, which was nice. We went to a place called Iron Bark. My horse was called Copper, and kept trying to bite the other horses and hated having a short rein. Ash rode one called Dusty, who was rather a nicer beast. We ambled in the bush for about an hour, then went back. Very relaxing and lovely.

I feel so drained. I've been going to bed at about 8 or 9 but still... Sleepy. Need more sleep before I start dancing naked in fountains shouting 'I am the Lizard Queen!'

Placement - Day 1

To begin with, I was actually surprisingly OK with getting up at 6. I think my body coped merely to be perverse. Anyway, I was out the door and on my way to the station in no time. The walk was actually quite nice, as for some reason, it wasn't horribly cold. I think our apartment in Melbourne is actually colder...

So, I arrived at the station and tried to work the buzzer/intercom thing. I don't think I actually managed, but eventually someone came out and got me. I spent about an hour being shown around and sitting in the studio of 3BO, which was cool.

One of the first things Cogho (the main announcer in the mornings, I guess) did was give me homework on behalf of Pete. Bloody Pete! I mentally waved a fist and started transcribing news into beats to be read on-air. It was before 8am, so my brain was a bit sludgy, and not in the mood for homework, but I somehow managed.

At some point Alex arrived, looking tired. Poor Alex. *grin*

Oh, also, being in the studio meant answering the phones a few times... Which was scary. After that, I was shooed into the production studio to have a mess around with the computers. After being told not to mess with the on-air log (which was on the computer I was using... eep... I could just see me fucking up the entire broadcast accidently...) I played with some audio and put some music under some station promos. I also looked through the music library on the system. My lord, but there are a lot of Beatles songs... (And how funny, as many a time on the bus from high school listening to Star FM I had longed to get into the logs and delete 'Jessie's Girl.') To my delight, they had Starlight. Which I played a number of times over the very loud speakers. Huzzah.

Eventually, someone came into the production studio with something to do. I pretty much sat and watched and got a comprehensive Audition tutorial, which most of the time had me gaping slightly and nodding. It was actually pretty fun watching the production. Also, it made me feel quite ashamed of my own modest efforts... I suppose you can only get better, right?

Soon after that (about 12ish) I was told that I could head off. Tomorrow I'm helping with news, so have to be there at 6. Blah. Early! But still, at least I get to do cool stuff. More production tomorrow, I think, as well as some creative writing.

Wouldn't it be nice if I scored a job writing copy somewhere? I mean, actually using my degree? Shock, horror.

Techs and Jocks and Radio People

Here we have it, Swinburne's finest radio talent. *grin* Yeah, this was taken at the start of the year, before assignments made us all old and haggard.



If you look closely, you might just make out that I'm wearing a Muse t-shirt...

Proof

Tonight:

- I got my new BSG patch from Patchgeeks.com!

- I'm listening to George RR Martin's reading and Q&A from his Second Life appearance!

- I'm eyeing the fresh shiny BSG DVDs that Q sent me!

Yep. I'm a nerd. And I'm happy.