October 14, 2008
· Filed under Uni stuff
It’s now officially 7 big sleeps until I hand in my thesis. It’s so far 76 pages long and according to my ‘to-do’ list, I’m about 3 days ahead of schedule!!
Yesterday was a massive productive day which was fantastic, although it also included losing some work because I’m so pararnoid about saving the same document in multiple places that somehow I lost the jolly thing. Fortunately I’d saved the individual elements of the document as well and just had to put them back together *phew!*. As well as that there seems to be some sort of virus on my little flash drive stick and I can’t transfer anything off it. So! I’m trying my best not to panic…but I’m hoping and praying that it either miraculously starts working again or I can somehow hook this laptop up to a printer when it comes time to print everything.
I’m feeling a little bit strange. This entire year of uni has been dedicated to next Wednesday and all of a sudden it’s very close. While I’m very happy about the fact that I’m ahead of schedule- I most certainly need to be if my supervisor decides next Tues to re-structure my thesis as happened when the mid-year lit review was due. Looking back it was the best thing she could’ve done…but my nerves have a memory and DO NOT want to go through that again! haha.
So not only am I mentally preparing myself to finish this year’s work in a matter of days, I now also have the prospect of full-time employment very soon after! For months I’ve been contemplating/stressing about having 4 months of ‘holidays’ while still surviving on very little paid work. However last week I was offered a research assistant position at uni starting a week and a half after I hand my thesis in. Of course I took it straight away as it’s my foot in the door to future work as a lecturer/policy advisor or wherever I’m led. BUT!!! 5 days a week?? It’ll be 4 days at uni and I’ve been able to keep my one shift at my existing work which is nice as a backup. But I’ve never worked 5 days a week in my life!! It’s a rather daunting prospect 
. I realise many people may scoff about now and make some comment like ‘eesh have you never lived in the real world?’ and I would quite honestly reply…’no actually- I’ve been safely cocooned in the comfort that is the education lifestyle that has defined my existence every year since I was 5′.
So yes…life is changing rather drastically. And recently I’ve felt just so looked after. While I’ve been quite sick for a while and had mini-disasters plague this entire year, I’ve also had prayers- small and big- answered left right and centre. It’s good.
October 7, 2008
· Filed under Dancing, Hehehe
I mentioned in my last post that I’d tell the story about how I got this nomination to the ‘logies’ of the dancing world recently. I wouldn’t call myself a ‘dancer’ as such, but I do regularly participate in dancing. So I guess if I got over my insecurities about not being technically ‘good’ at dancing, I may allow myself to call myself a dancer. Gosh! Complicated thought processes eh?
Anyway…recently I completed my bronze medals (the easiest level in ballroom) in both Latin American and New Vogue styles. For Latin I received a Highly Commended Pass (86-90%) and for NV I received a High Distinction (90-95%). I was super happy- I don’t dance to get good marks and after a few stuff ups in my exam I was going to be happy with a pass…so I was pleasantly surprised 
. One of my adjudicators even wrote on the bottom of my sheet that I am ‘a diamond that just needs a little polish’ haha. I find it all a bit funny really- I dance for fun and exercise… not to compete or be judged.
The best thing about doing these medal things is that after the stress of being adjudicated they have these ‘Cabaret nights’ where you go and dance your feet off for a good 5 hours straight and you’re presented with your little trophy and marks. So last Saturday night I went to Cabaret night expecting to have a break from study and do my best to dance so much that I could barely walk anymore (aim well and truely acheived…which was to be expected :p). Anyway at one stage of the night I was sitting (not by choice…but because we had to sit down while they did some speeches etc) and I was half chatting with a friend/half staring at the ceiling in the big dance studio we were at when all of a sudden my name was called out. Those two words took a few seconds to register in my head and after some firm nudges from the person sitting next to me and a ‘Ruth! Get up- they called your name!’ I tentatively stood up, made sure my dress was in tact (it’d been giving me some grief the whole evening) and made my very nervous shuffle across the massive dance floor up to the front. Turns out I’d been selected to win the ‘Bronze Achiever Award’ for the best dancer in my level for the term. I was super amazed/bewhildered/excited and beaming from ear to ear and giggling profusely all at the same time. I didn’t even know that such an award existed so the surprise was the best part of it.
I should probably explain the Logies reference. The thing with this Bronze Achiever award is that it makes me a nominee for an ‘Aurora Award’- try saying that 5 times quickly!! But yes anyway I’d go to this big night and kind of like the Brownlow count, the Bronze Achievers from across the terms would be voted for and one would win overall. Thing is, apparently you can’t win unless you go, and the tickets are a ‘meager’ $155 each for the night. Which includes a 3 course meal and in my case I’d most likely be paying for everyone else’s alcohol. One of the other ‘perks’ is having a red-carpet interview at 4pm before the night begins. It all sounds very flash and over-rated and to be honest…not at all how I’d want to spend $155. Fortunately I’ll be enjoying the beach at Philip Island that weekend anyway so I had a great excuse why I couldn’t go hehe.
Anyway that’s my exciting story for the week. Back to thesis-ing…and dreaming about dancing.
October 7, 2008
· Filed under Faith, I'm avoiding study..., Not happy Jan (it deserves its own category), Over-analysis, Random, Uni stuff
It is now day 4 in a row of unproductive days. Not completely unproductive…but I don’t feel as though I have enough to show for what I’ve been doing. I have to present my findings in 3 days. THREE DAYS. Oh it’s painful. Painfully painful! All I want to do is dance (oh…that reminds me I’ll have to post on my nomination for the ‘logies’ of dancing soon- what a joke)…but yes because of course that’s going to lead to the career of my dreams! It’s typical though…at this time it’s usual for the most abstract of things to start taking over my brain and convincing me that they’re the most important things I should be thinking of right at this minute…as compared to writing a thesis.
I lay awake in bed last night for 3 whole hours- THREE long, agonising hours- before I got to sleep and in the end only managed about 4 hours shuteye, and the night before that I slept for 13 hours straight without waking once- much to my disgust. This is unusual!! Not only are sleeping patterns up the creek…but I no longer like food. Vegemite toast and extra salted peanuts can at times be forced down, but otherwise it doesn’t take much more than a spoonful of breakfast cereal to remind me that the digestive system has a wonderful feature called regurgitation. Lovely.
I feel like I’m being tempted in the desert. No I’m not likening myself to Jesus…I just empathise with him right now. He had a big job to do and all these enticing things were there for the picking, but he abstained. Well I wish I could say I was as noble, holy and able to ignore the lure of the grass on the other side. My defenses are weak at the moment- I can tell. The idea of things that usually seem absurd are all of a sudden ‘not so bad- surely?’. *sigh*
Oh great! Chainsaws have started singing their sweet tune next door. Perfect study noise.
