So how the hell am I?

I'm pretty good, thank you.

Wow, so, it's my birthday coming up. Odd. I feel strangely relieved to be turning twenty-three. It's almost as if I'm catching up to something. Maybe it's because I'm always slightly surprised that I'm twenty-two. It seems so awfully young. And yes, of course, I am awfully young, in the grand scheme of things, but... I somehow feel older than that. Maybe I feel that way because of certain experiences that I've had in my life that have no doubt influenced aspects of my character. I don't know. But it'll be good to catch up, even if I'm making it all up in my head.

Also, just so you know, I'm writing this very late at night, so please excuse any oddness in my ramblings.

I had another training session at Triple M today, and it went wonderfully. The last one was mostly watching the drive show coming in from Sydney, and my teacher person showing us how to time in the local news and traffic and commercials. I think it sounds harder than it is (now that I've done a bit more) but basically Sydney will send a pulse down the line which will trigger off, say, the traffic bed. (The traffic bed has an intro, and then runs under the pre-recorded traffic that you have to time in to the second.) You basically make sure that there is enough time in your scheduled ads, and insert the updated traffic, and time in news on the hour...

Yeah, so today I was basically doing that. And I didn't fuck it up! In fact, my teacher was telling me that I was doing really well. So I guess I'll have a few more training sessions to make sure I know what to do should things go horribly wrong, and then I'll actually start doing it properly. So that's rather exciting!

Also, I seem to be drenching myself in new music, and it's fabulous. Plenty of new albums to listen to. I'm really enjoying bits and pieces of Regina Spektor, actually, as well as finally getting around to giving Sarah Blasko a proper run. Not to mention the Air I'm currently quite addicted to. Oh, and Belle and Sebastian are getting a fair trot. Don't Leave the Light on Baby if You're Feeling Sinister is a new favourite song. I'm yet to listen to the VAST and Pendulum I stole from Q, but I'll get there. I did get fed rather a lot when I was up the other weekend.

This is turning into much rambling, and it is getting kind of late. Off to bed I go, I think. Oh, and I must send another round of birthday invitations around... If you're reading this and I forget you, and you have my email address, poke me. Because you're most likely invited.

G'night, internets.

Muse!

Warning: The end of this post contains a smoking photo of one Matthew Bellamy. Be warned.

I have a proper file with a whole lot of song-by-song squee, not to mention the fact that I shall steal some of the photos that Q took (and some of them are completely spectacular, which Sky can testify to) and I'll put all of that up on here, but right now? Mini-squee, because Butterflies and Hurricanes just came on the iPod that I'm listening to, and it's making me go all shivery with remembering the concert(s).

Hands down, the greatest shows I've ever seen. I'm getting goosebumps just listening back to B&H, and I've heard this album version probably a million times. Ah, last night was just... Matt was completely mind-blowing, and the crowd was massive, and I screamed myself hoarse. They did Ruled by Secrecy (which they didn't do in Melbourne because there was something wrong with the piano) and it was so beautiful I was shivering. And Bliss! All day Q and I were saying how awesome it would be if they played it, and they did! The track opens with harps, but when Matt plays it live he does the intro on guitar, which might throw people off if they haven't heard the live version before. Opening notes? That was Q and I going crazy. And every single person around me was jumping and singing along so loudly that it should be physically impossible.

Yes, I have a new Happy Place, and that place is Bliss. My god, it was spectacular.

Anyway, I'm still in Newcastle, due to head home tomorrow. In case you're not familiar with my horrible beginning to the weekend, I shall fill you in, bullet-point style, mang.

- Q and I missed our flight to Newcastle, by 10 minutes, and they sure as hell didn't get us on another. Or refund us or anything like that. Gah. Fuck you, Jetstar.

- We paid over $200 each for new flights to Sydney. But isn't Sydney hours away from Newcastle, you say? Why yes, yes it is. But there's a train. Well, not really, but you'll see.

- While waiting in the airport, I discovered that my iPod completely reset itself, erasing some 800 songs, most of which I don't have on my computer at home, or the CD is in a box somewhere. Fucking great.

- Track work! Yes, glorious track work meant that we had to take a bus from somewhere to somewhere (the names will come to me later) which took about five hours instead of a gloriously fast train. And parts of those five hours were spent hanging out at a dodgy train station with a violent drunk guy who kept hurling abuse at the rail guy who was trying to organise everything. Oh, and we asked someone if the bus that was about to leave was the one we needed to catch, and he said no. Turns out he was wrong, and we would have been stuck there for another hour. But we got a bus, anyway.

- On said bus, my wallet fell out of my bag as I was putting luggage up on a rack (which of course I didn't realise at the time) and was hence picked up by someone. Someone who decided to keep my $5 and multitude of cards and souvenirs. Bastards.

So, that was luck abandoning me completely, hand in hand with my wallet, apparently.

But then there was Muse, and I was completely blown away with how brilliant the whole thing is. And did I mention that Matt looked jaw-droppingly sexy on Saturday night? Well, he did. Yes, I'm gay, but man. I would have turned for him in a second.

I'll leave you with photographic proof, shall I?



Oh yes, play that guitar, you astonishingly talented little man. Play.

And I'm Done!

!

!!

I'm finished the course! I'm not completely covered in stress (as I have been for the last two days - and stock take at work today really didn't help...)

I've just been out for a wonderful meal with my Uncle and Cousin, who I never see, and the meal was just glorious (Trenta Cucina, you're the best, Ash and Kate know what I'm talking about, remember the banana lasagne, guys?) And wine! Tasty wine!

And I sent off an email that officially marked the last thing I had to do for my course! I'm done! It's actually starting to sink in, now... Wow, I'm so happy that I'm finished, in a way, because I feel like I've learned so much and met so many awesome people, and I'm sort of over doing mountains of work...

Aaaah, I've been a ranty ball of stress (which is pretty rare) for the last two days, but now I'm magnificent.



Huzzah! I'm done! I'm finished! Celebrate with me!

Late Nights

I have heavenly Mint Mix tea, and I'm listening to lovely relaxing Radiohead (No Surprises, currently) and even though I've completely fallen behind with NaNoWriMo, that's OK. I really needed to focus on the completion of my course work the last few days, and who knows, maybe I'll go crazy and make 50k this year, anyway.

The thing I'm writing is actually sort of interesting. I must stop borrowing concepts from GRRM, although I only realised I was doing it after the fact. Yeah, it's all his fault for being spectacular, I say. Re-reading A Game of Thrones at the moment, and ah, it's so so so good. So, I think I'll have to keep working on it, whether it counts as NaNo or not. Because I do want to get my work out there, and I do want to grow as a writer. And I'll never get there if I don't try, will I? So that's what I'll do, I'll complete a manuscript, and work on it until I'm perfectly satisfied, and I'll remember everything Miss Snark taught me.

And then I'll make it. It's going to happen, I somehow know it will. And that is a spectacular feeling.

It's funny, I think finishing up with radio production is only highlighting the fact that I can do anything I want from here on out. It's a remarkable feeling, really, the thought that I could go anywhere, do anything, learn anything else I want to. And yes, one day I will do a masters or a doctorate in Literature. See that? That's a promise.

I'm going to turn off Radiohead and go to bed now. *yawn* Before I get too ahead of myself, here.

Syn

I'm finally getting back into the live radio saddle, having put my hand up for a Cup Day shift at SYN907 tomorrow. It's seriously been ages! But it'll be good, because I might be able to use some of it for a demo. Awesome.

If you'd like to listen along, jump onto the SYN website and click on the 'Play Now' option. I'll be starting at 1pm, Melbourne time and rocking along until 3. I might just invite a radio buddy to come and play with me, so have a listen, it'll be great fun!