viciousdisorder

Book meme

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:48:59 GMT

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed.
Does that make you an average person?

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicise those you intend to read.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame - I think I may have
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy - So I can say I have
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy - Started it during one boring year assembly. Or was that a class we were sent to the library in?
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen - started it. couldn't finish it cause I hated the protaginist
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas - although maybe not for a while, given how difficult his writing style can be to get through.
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell - Alex has a copy. So if I do need something to read this may yet be an option.
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden - started it, hopefully will finish it.
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding - started it. felt too sick to finish it. Maybe one day.
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl - probably my favourite book as a kid .
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding - it's waiting on my bookshelf.
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt - this title sounds good.
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie - I want to read other works by him. Not necessarily this one.

Total (fully) read: 31 (I think)

Catch up

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:51:08 GMT

Blegh, haven't updated in so long, and given that I'm currently updating because I don't even have the energy to walk downstairs to get myself a drink this post may end up slightly odd. It may also contain some comments that may offend. Don't think they should, but just warning everyone cause I'm unlikely to be good at self monitoring tonight.

My parents are back from Europe. They got back sunday after the long weekend. And then this afternoon my inlaws flew out to Europe. And in *counts* 22 days time Alex and I fly out... not to Europe straight away unfortunately, but it should still be OK. Yes I'm counting down the days.

A patient brought me roses today. A patient who is 99 years old, and honestly is in better spirits and health than some of my 70-something year old patients. He calls his hearing aids his "Vivien aids" which his daughter explained was his way of recognising the effort I'd made to getting them right for him. Of course I've only seen him 3 times after V** left, so I find it funny that I get the recognition but V** didn't.

I've also had a lot of dissatisfied patients/clients of V** since he left. Not in the same way as the M*** patients/clients were unhappy (which was mostly a lack of time spent with them - or not quality time anyway). V**'s patients/clients tend to have been fitted inappropriately. Why would you fit someone with 10+ years experience to one form of hearing aids with something completely different and expect them to love it (and I don't just mean BTE(Behind the Ear) to ITE (In the Ear) styles). Some might, but in general nope... Bet he didn't even think about it anyway. The more I see of his work the more dodgey it seems. He also blatently lied to one patient, who called just before V** went on to a different company telling them "no there's noone else at Precision Hearing who can deal with that kind of hearing aid". Idiot man.

Balance/Diagnostic assessments are fun. Listening to people trying to count down from 500 in multiples of 7 whilst trying not to blink, and whilst having warm/cold air put in their ears is interesting too. I mean I'd suck at it too, but I would hope I'd be better than one client today who was along the lines of "500... 490...uhh 493 uhh.... 400 uhh 394" Hmm so yes... she reached zero a lot sooner than I was expecting.
But then this afternoon - when I was supposed to be seeing the 99 year old - one of the ENTs rang up and asked me to do an emergency Balance assessment - Calorics only. He told me exactly what he wanted, and sent the patient in. I did it, sent the patient back around, only for him to call up and ask was I having a moment of Altizmer's (?sp) as I'd done the complete opposite to what he wanted (although thinking back on it, I'm sure I did the right thing). Still... my answer to him was "don't say that, I've been like this since birth" and then later when I ran the results in at 5:20pm I said I was having a seniors moment ... and mentioned I haven't even had my 25th birthday yet.

Also people are starting to guess my age up lately. I had two people say late 20s and another say 30 years old in the last 2 weeks or 3. But then, all of them are in the context of work so maybe people just go from my qualifications - which admittedly when I write it looks like two masters degrees. I'm still young enough to get carded trying to cross the gaming floor at StarCity.

Our house is looking better. We discovered a leak, from the shower into the wall cavity that is between our ensuite and main bathroom. Alex pulled/cut the jiprock off a couple of days before the long weekend. Then on the weekend we had a carpenter come and remove the rotten wood and replace it with new stuff, and properly reseal the problem spot, so that it won't happen again. Then Alex and I spent a couple of hours collecting a third of a new door frame, and on Sunday Dad and Alex put the new part of the door frame back in, put the new jiprock on, and put the skirting board back in place. It needs to be primed and painted still, but it looks like it should be fixed/finished before we go away. And as the carpenter said, we were lucky to catch it when we did. Too much longer and it probably would have caused far more extensive damage including to the ceiling of the floor below the bathroom.

Right, and now that I've rambled enough. I think I shall go have some milk.

Christmas presents

Fri, 16 May 2008 12:59:16 GMT

Feel free to skip all this... It's not life shattering... It's not amazingly profound...

Today I received my final present that was a part of my Christmas present last year :P Yes, I know I'm 24 ... rapidly approaching 25 ... and I still get Christmas presents so I should shut up and count my blessings.

Still, to explain. I've wanted a push bike for a while now. In-laws saw the subway promotion last year, buy x much of their product and contribute $x more and they'll give you a reasonably decent bike.

Anyway, said bike was supposed to arrive before Christmas. Didn't happen... and as per the first paragraph of this post, it finally arrived today, after many times contacting the promotors and comments about how it would arrive soon.

After we got home tonight, Alex put it together for me (brakes needed attaching and wiring in), and I've been on a couple of laps up and down our street.

It's been a while since I've ridden a bike, so it was a bit wobbly at first. And I managed to get my skirt caught amongst the wires/brakes in the back wheel too (although thankfully that didn't impair me until I tried to get off - after already stopping).

I'm really hoping that actually having a bike will encourage me to go out and get exercise. We'll see how it goes. I'm already considering going for a ride tomorrow. Only given that it's been so long I don't know how long I can go riding for before I'll be too tired... and I don't want to ride such a distance only to realise I'm too exhausted to get home again. Still I'm excited. Well see how well I do tomorrow, assuming I go out.

Harry Potter musings

Tue, 13 May 2008 12:41:32 GMT

It's nice having someone who you can talk fandom with. Or as tonight decended into... creating a Harry Potter based version of the "I've Never" drinking game*.

I've never cosplayed to the fandom.
I've never wished a spell were real when one would really be useful in a particular situation.
I've never wanted to use an unforgiveable.
I've never played Quidditch.
I've never thought about being sorted in more than one house.
I've never had the Harry Potter series invade my dreams at night.
I've never seen someone on the street and thought they look a lot like a character, rather than the actor who plays the character.
I've never wanted a house elf.
I've never stayed up way past my bed time reading the books.
I've never stayed up way past my bed time reading fanfics.

and the statement which started it all... I've never referred to Lord Voldermort as You Know Who

I'll add more if the list continues to grow.

* Which incidently , I've never actually played :P

Oh, and I will try update this thing a little more regularly... if anyone cares for me to do so... or wants to check I'm still alive.

Meme tag-gage

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:39:07 GMT

The Instructions:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4-7 sentences on your LJ along with these instructions.
5. Don't dig for the "coolest" or "most intellectual-sounding" book in your collection! (You were thinking about it, weren't you?) Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag five people.

The text:
Auditory communication is so unrewarding to him that he has not worn an aid for several years. His reading is at the 11 year old level, and it gives him pleasure, which television listening does not.

This case illustrates one of the fundamental principles in differential diagnosis: that peripheral hearing loss and central disorders are two separate entities but that they may both exist in the same individual. If tests for auditory acuity show reduced hearing , it is due to a true peripheral lesion, not to a central one. Brent's final diagnosis was "audtory verbal agnosia and visual agnosia for any rapid denotation movements" - all this in addition to a peripheral hearing loss. Each problem must be treated for its own needs, and the combination of problems should, in this case, have been identified sooner.

Taken from: Northern, J.L. & Downs, M.P. (1991). Hearing in Children (4th ed.) Williams & Wilkins: Baltimore

Those Tagged:
Whomsoever feels like doing it.

And yes I am a nerd, and the two closest books (and one journal volume) were audiology related. The next closest would then have been The Dictionary of Imaginary Places or Northern Lights

I suppose I'm doubly the nerd because I wrote the above reference without having to check how to write it according to APA format. Although I might be wrong about whether the place of publication or the publisher comes first... I always forget that ;)

Good News Week - the TV show that is

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 08:24:47 GMT

OMG... I have the biggest smile on my face right now. Alex a little while ago called me down to watch a commercial on TV, which is odd in and of itself as he normally skips them. But I'm glad he didn't skip this one.

Apparently, come the 11th of Feb, 2008 at 9pm Good News Week is returning to channel 10. Now I wish it were returning to the ABC... but I will settle for channel 10... especially if the show is as good as it used to be all those years ago... It was Paul who did the talk-over on the ad, so I'm assuming he'll at least be back. I do kinda hope the co-hosts are still Mikey Robins and Julie McCrossin (or at least others who are as good as these two were).

So, wow... I'm excited... I might actually be watching a bit of TV this year... Doctor Who, Good News Week, Top Gear,....... I think I've forgotten the one other TV show I watch(1).

Anyway, I shall shut up, and eagerly await it's return.

(1) - I forgot NCIS... Alex however remembered for me so all is good.

101 in 1001 days

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 08:23:32 GMT

So, rather than do new years resolutions... I came across this instead. I like the idea of specific goals, I like the idea of taking the extra time to do it.

Of course I'm lazy... I'm not joining a community... I'll just post my list here, and maybe gradually update as I do things.

Health & Fitness
1)Two bike rides a week (3x)
2)Spend at least 20 minutes with punching bag per week (4x)
3)At least one week of no junk food (4x)
4)Eat at least 5 servings of fruit and/or vegetables every day for a week
5)Stretch until I can reach my toes
6)Go iceskating
7)Weigh 50kgs
~~8)Complete my adult immunisation~~ well not the flu cause that's annual... and I've decided against getting the cervical cancer one for at least a few more years (until we know better possible side effects)

Beauty
9)Get a hair cut (3x)
10) **Personal**
11) Get fingernails done at a salon
~~12) Buy a new pair of work shoes~~ Although I'm not sure how long they are going to last.... especially when the heels keep getting stuck when I'm walking
13) Buy two new dresses
14) Be scratch free for a month
15) Have eyebrows plucked
16) Find a new pair of default earrings

Around the home
17) Get a kitchen hutch
18) Hang up my own photos around the house
19) Dust house at least twice a week (4x)
20) Keep ironing pile to only one weeks worth
21) Finish dishwasher
22) Clean study at least once a week – for four weeks consecutively
23) Take old clothes to charity bin
24) Sort out wardrobe
25) Paint back rooms
26) Plant at least one tree
27) Cook at least twice a week (3x)
28) Get home pest sprayed (2x)
29) Make at least one roast dinner
30) Spend a day working in the garden (6x)
~~31) Tidy my desk drawers~~ This actually happened when I built my new bookshelves... suddenly I had room for things.
32) Bake a cake from scratch (3x)
33) Buy (or make) a piece of art for home

Out of the house
34) Go somewhere in Sydney I’ve never been before
35) Go for a walk in the rain
36) Visit at least two other states (ie not NSW)
37) Go on a bridge climb
38) Visit a cemetery
39) Spend a day taking photos around the city
40) Go geocaching
41) Go to at least one art exhibition
42) Eat at a restaurant – just because
43) See an F1 or WRC event live
44) Go to at least two weddings
45) Visit at least 3 foreign countries

At work
46) Supervise at least one person doing the audiology degree
47) Contribute to one published paper
48) Wear make up to work (12x)

Things to learn
49) Learn at least five new English words
50) Learn at least twenty foreign words
51) Learn to play two songs on the guitar
52) Learn at least two jrock songs off by heart
53) Learn some basic mechanics for the car (changing the tires, oil, battery, brakes) ... learnt about engine coolant this week
54) Learn at least twenty unix commands and use them
55) Learn to juggle
56) Memorise a column of the periodic table
57) Learn a poem off by heart
58) Do at least one course of formal study

To Do With Others
59) Attend at least one Christmas and one Easter Service
~~60) Go see at least two movies with friends~~ I'm amazed. I've done this already, and it's only been a month
61) Get to church for at least four weeks in a row
62) Go to trivia at least once a month
63) Go out to dinner with Alex (3x)
64) Watch at least one hour of TV with Alex without complaining (4x)
65) Meet at least two people doing family tree
66) Invite at least five people to lunch or dinner
67) **Personal**
68) Get to at least one HGHS speech day
69) Meet at least one online friend
70) Smile at a stranger
71) Join a bible study

For Others
72) Give money to at least two charities
73) Call or write to grandma and grandpa once a month
74) Get at least five people’s presents to them on time
75) Finish mum’s website
76) Write Alex a letter just because (2x)
77) Invite parents to dinner at least twice

For Fun
78) Update blogs twice a month (at least) for six months
79) Complete one 5 way sudoku in the SMH
80) Get guitar tuned
81) Write at least one multi-chapter fanfic
82) Read at least one book a month I'm actually ahead on this, having read two books already and we're not even half way through January
83) Compile full genealogy report and print This is becoming easier. I've just handed my father all my notes (that are in no particular order) and told him if he wants me to update it he can sort it out for me
84) Buy at least one non Japanese cd
85) Read at least 10 books of the bible
86) Write a fandom essay
87) Begin to use entropy
88) Rewrite Ext. English 1 essay
89) Listen to at least four new bands
90) Make at least one item of clothing
91) Watch at least one season of old doctor who
92) Restart an old hobby
93) Borrow a book from a library
94) Start and finish one series of novels
95) Help build a computer
96) Drive a manual car
97) Ride a horse
98) Eat something I normally wouldn’t eat

Other
99) Keep phone bill under $20
100) Think of something in 2009
101) Think of something in 2010

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 09:20:32 GMT

So, I know this is incredibly too early to be thinking about Christmas presents... but some of the presents have to go interstate, others to what is pretty much the other side of the world... and I don't want to have to buy 24 presents in the last weekend before Christmas....

But unfortunately there's a problem of being stuck for ideas... particularly for the junior cousins... (Which yes everyone is telling me I *don't* have to buy for, even though I *want* to buy for)...

So I'm looking for suggestions about what might make a cool present for the following people (or even what would make a dreadful present so I know what to avoid)...

From oldest to youngest

Girl - 17 nearly 18 years
Girl - 16 years
Girl - 13 years
Girl - 12 years
Girl - 8 years
Girl - 8 years
Girl - 8 years
Girl - 6 years
Boy - 6 years
Boy - just over a year
Boy - almost 1 year

Please feel free to leave a comment... doesn't even matter how expensive or not they are... If I like an idea but it costs too much I'll work out some way to make it cheaper.

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:31:52 GMT

Dear Hotmail,

stop trying to do new and impressive things.
face it ... you've sold your soul to microsoft... it's never coming back...
and like all microsoft products it means you're never going to work as well as you once did, before you upgraded to these new fancy feature.

No love,
me.

On reading

Wed, 30 May 2007 12:20:37 GMT

Having moved, and left behind the frantic study associated with university degrees, I have seemingly rediscovered the joys of one of my favourite past-times. It's been made even easier by the length of the train trip which is enough to read 50-70 pages of most novels (including novels based around the events of WWI) in the 40-70 minute trip.

Since the urge came to me the other day I have read:
Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett
Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett
Regeneration - Pat Barker
and now I'm 2/3 the way through The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

It's been quite wonderful rediscovering books again. And I'm quite glad I stopped English in year 12, because it means I can read a lot *without* trying to analyse it at the same time.

Of course there is a downside. Namely, that if I continue to read at the pace I'm reading (where a book normally rarely lasts me two days) my "to be read" pile is going to be quickly diminished. So I guess what I'm asking for is suggestions of authors I should be looking to read... or at least looking for in a book shop to decide if they make suitable companions on the train(1).

And yes Regi, I know I could work on your reviews... but you shall have to give me other author's names as well.

___
(1) Something not like Battle Royale, which would disturb most (if not all) commuters who tried to read over my shoulder.

Mon, 28 May 2007 11:27:33 GMT

So, I'm still here (1), we've moved (2), I've worked out which trains I need to get(3), most things have a home too(4).

Our first offical visitors were my parents, sister and her husband for mother's day. And our second group came last saturday ... a group of friends we know from church. Both worked well... although it's easier to squish people closer when they're blood relations(5). Alex insisted the second of these two counts as a house warming(6).

Unfortunately the house is still not *quite* at a point where I'm happy taking photos(7)

Anyway unfortunately I'm too tired(8) to think of anything particularly more interesting to write.

And so good night!(9)

_______________
(1) nearly typed "I'm not dead" ... but that has a whole 'nother association now :) *blames regi*
(2) and are only now informing various government agencies... like the RTA/AEC(2a)
(2a) AEC = Australian Electoral Commission
(3) only been late to work once... but still beat my supervisor ;)
(4) or will when I make more bookshelves
(5) I hope I will be able to use this most recent experience to convince Alex to get a bigger table
(6) it really doesn't(6a)
(6a) but it probably makes him feel better.
(7) maybe this weekend. which gives me enough time maybe...
(8) this may be due to not being able to sleep between 3 and 6am today, and then heading off to work.
(9) or whatever is the appropriate time-related phrase in your time zone.

Packing

Wed, 02 May 2007 13:10:19 GMT

Well packing has started in earnest tonight.
Especially knowing that the house will be ours on friday. Meep!

So tonight I packed the pantry (mostly), and almost all of our big bookshelf, whilst Alex packed up his study.

The big bookshelf still has some shakespeare plays, one autobiography, one historical fiction novel, and a lot of academic/nerdish type books (mostly mine) still to pack. Still there's 6 boxes packed up so far (5 of them scifi/fantasy, 1 children's books).

Of the house there is 42 boxes packed - including one suitcase.
Considering how many more rooms there are to pack ... (the family room, the kitchen - including crockery and glasswear, my study, my part of the bedroom, the bathroom) ... I'm not sure even if we had enough boxes we'd be ready on friday. So I suppose it's a good thing that my sister isn't ready to move in here just yet.

We haven't actually labled the boxes yet either though, so we should probably do that tomorrow. But at least the different areas have been placed in different areas (admittedly not corresponding with what is packed within the box).

Anyway I think it is time for a shower (to undust) and then bed time.
I apologise if this entry is slightly incoherent... the dust is getting to me it seems.

Our house.

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 08:18:10 GMT

Alex and I went back to look at the house we are buying today. And I took both the camera and measuring tape with me today. So now I can put up photos of the house here.

If you want more photos go here: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v259/viciousdisorder/ourhouse/
But there are some underneath the cut below too.

Obligatory from street looking at house. Yeah, it's McMansion-ish, but less so than some, and there is both front and back yard too.

Combined lounge and dining, or at least the "formal" lounge and dining I believe. This is the wall I plan to put my big bookshelf on.

The informal lounge and dining (or meals area) ... you can see the kitchen just peaking in beside the meals area.

There's even space under the stairs. Alex intends to put our various servers there.

Main bedroom from two different angles

Ensuite bathroom, off main bedroom.

Open floor plan study area - which is across from main bedroom.

The other three bedrooms, only one doesn't have a wardrobe.

The other upstairs bathroom.

The back-yard, from two different angles. Including a not so impressed to be photographed Alex.

I hope I didn't kill anyone's internet connection...

What next? The boxes of our packing? And the efforts of our moving?
Ah well... we shall see.

Good News, Other News, Other Other News

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:46:52 GMT

The Good News
So for some reason over Easter I got bored enough that I decided I was capable enough to re-code my personal website pretty much from scratch. (Yes boredom makes me believe I can do many things).

But suprisingly (or perhaps not considering my evenings are no longer filled with uni work) I did actually manage to do the planned overhaul. It was done by tonight - so less than a week after I decided to do it.
Well there's one thing not done. But that will rely on Alex finding a program he wrote for my birthday a year or two ago (and the information he needs to extract from being up to date).

If you have any desire to have a look: www.viciousdisorder.net

The Other News
I think everyone knows I didn't pass one uni subject. And got stuck doing it over summer. Did I tell people though that my lecturer's promised me that I would (assuming I passed) graduate with my peers? Well they did...

Only I called the uni this week to find out what was happening. Graduation being in less than 2 weeks, and I hadn't heard anything. Only to be told... oh sorry, you need to see if you're eligible for graduation. Maybe talk to your lecturer. So I called lecturer - let her do the run around.

Then when she got back to me the answer was "oh well your results were submitted about a month too late to graduate with everyone else." Great, just great. I said I'd happily start my summer course in december, rather than mid Jan. And there were 2-3 weeks where I was waiting to do my final exam (because I was waiting on my "classmate" to finish her clinical placements).

So yes, not feeling particularly happy with the university at this time. Or at least not my lecturers...
And I'm trying to work out how/what I'll do about graduation as well... Maybe go - sit in audience - steal/borrow a friend's robe to have some photos with my parents (on the day with everyone else)... Then offically graduate in absentia from my ceremony that is to be held in May.

The Other, Other News
My supervisor comes back from India tomorrow - she's been gone 2 weeks. I'm a little worried about what she'll have to say about my reports/files etc... even though I've had the other clinician check over everything I've done. My supervisor keeps telling me I should do my reports differently (different wordings etc) and sometimes interprets things differently, which is kind of stupid cause she says "this is the US way" and I'm thinking "hang on this is the Australian way, and we're actually in Australia here".

But anyway yes, a little nervous. But I hope she'll be happy.

Forgive me for not updating sooner...

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 09:55:51 GMT

Or: The House Saga resolves.

Alex and I had planned to buy a house - the one I posted pictures of not that long ago, we organised a building/pest inspection after our offer was accepted. Then when that was done we signed the contract and waited.

And waited.

Two weeks after (with no contact) we'd signed the contract we got a call from the agent. The vendor is considering another offer from a developer/the family is putting pressure on him to sell to the developer... can he have another 2 weeks to make up his mind. We said he could have 24hours...
By 24 hours vendor hadn't made up his mind... Alex and I said fine, and walked away.

Which meant the weekend after we had to go back to the house hunting. We weren't expecting miracles, but decided we'd look just at a couple in Kellyville. About ~10mins drive from the other place, about 30mins drive from where we're currently living.

Well we only looked at one place at 3:15pm (Saturday). We walked out and made an offer. By 7pm that night our offer was accepted. The next day (Sunday) we put down a interest of sale which is 0.25% of the price. We also signed a contract that day. The day after that (Monday) the vendor's signed the contract.
On Thursday that week we gave the deposit (10% of the price).
Since then we've had building/pest inspection done (much less to do in this house than the other one), and got the bank loan approval offically organised (bank asked again were we sure we didn't want to borrow *more* money).

/\ That all happened about two weeks ago. Which means that tomorrow marks the start of the third week of the 6 week period before settlement date. In just over a month Alex and I will have a house.

I'd love to show you pictures... but I'm obviously too slow... the advertising pictures are all down now.
Still we intend to go back and see the house sometime this week, and I will take pictures then.

To describe the house...
It is a little McMansion like... but less so than other newer developments in Kellyville. It's about 8 years old, has ducted air conditioning, some wooden floorboards, has a laundry (the one we were stuffed around on didn't really).There is an alarm that isn't working (but at least it looks good to the insurance people).

There's 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2 car (electric) garage, with an additional study nook.

And you can find it on a map of the hills district/whereis... which certainly isn't true of all Kellyville. It's got a little patch of bush to look out on. And although there's a fairly main road behind it, the one lane bridge down the road means that there won't be *that* much traffic going by.

And if you've read all that you'll know what's happening in our house hunting situation.

Supanova + Jenny Fallon Oh My!

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 19:53:44 GMT

Well I hadn't been sure I was going to go to Supanova this year, but now I suppose I must. At least if they keep the same special guests as Brisbane I must (which unfortunately there's no real guarantee they will). And I must find some purple to wear as well..

After all it's not every day Overlady Jenny (aka Jennifer Fallon) comes to visit. I wonder if Jenny has fangirls (and boys) like one of those special guests did last year... ^__^ Could be cool, and highly amusing.

Weee! Now I'm grateful for waking up at 6am - just because it gave me time to realise this.

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 12:10:20 GMT

Well considering my msn name/handle at the moment I suppose for prosperity sakes I ought to make a mention of a couple of the events of the last week, or last week and a bit. I'll put it as close to a summary as possible. There's stuff that's happened with the house too, but if you want to know that read the comments of the entry before this...

Tuesday 20th - Apply for another job, may as well apply although they'd prefer experience they don't actually require OHS provider number or a CCP (both of which I'll be eligible for in about a year).

Thurs 22nd - Final Exam (I hoped) for CAUD 817. Didn't feel like it went that badly, there were a couple of things I wasn't sure about... but it was ok. If I passed it, I would be done with uni. The lecturers tell me I'll know my results soon.

Thurs 22nd - Also am invited that day for an interview for the job I applied for on Tuesday. Am suprised but say ok, and hope I pass the exam. After a couple of changes for interview time (by company not me) we agree on Wed. 28th.

Wed 28th 9am - Email lecturer hoping to find out results. Am told "... in the midst of of finalisng this. You will receive word very shortly". Hmm we'll ignore the fact she's already had a week for only 2 students... surely it's not *that* hard.

Wed 28th 1:30 - (well I arrived quite a bit before that) interview for job. In an hour long interview we were less than 30minutes into it before it was obvious I had the job. I can't really explain it, but there's a difference between asking "tell us about some of your best clinical experiences" or "how did you deal with an emotional client" and "do you have a problem with walk-in clinics, even if this means at the expense of your lunch times". The interview ended with the business manager and I discussing salary etc

Thurs 1st - Copy of contract emailed to me. Ended up ringing lecturer - worried cause I'd said I could start as soon as they wanted me (during interview) and if I hadn't passed then that would be a lie. Lecturer told me I had, and that she'd been about to email me.

Friday 2nd - Enjoyed last day of university holiday process... included watching a friend shop, and doing the grocery shopping myself. Oh and took dad to the station (and picked him up later) so that he could go into the city and sign the contract for his new job that he'd been offered that morning.

I'm pretty excited about this job. Let me try to explain...In my field there's four major kinds of areas you can work in. Paediatrics (kids), hearing aids, hearing assessments (which are done before hearing aid fittings, but can also be more involved for things like one sided tinnitus), and balance assessments.

Australian Hearing (the gov agency) is the only ones allowed to fit hearing aids to kids etc (unless the parents choose otherwise), but other clinics are allowed to test them. Hearing aids are done by a lot of private companies - and Australian Hearing - and is where the money is, but a lot of hospitals don't do it. Basic hearing assessments are done everywhere, more advanced ones are only done at hospitals and less of the private clinics (never at Aus Hearing). Balance tests are often *only* done at hospitals and very, very few private clinics.

So basically this job will allow me to work across all fields. Which is wonderful... I would like to eventually work with kids and hearing aid fittings for them (remember only a job Aus Hearing people - who have been specially trained further - can do) - so this is definitely a good job to start with and use as a way into that.

Still... The idea of working 9-5:15 every day 5 days a week is a little daunting. As is entering the real working world. I'm glad to be done with uni (for now anyway, until my brain decides to put itself through more torture), and to be able to earn some money... But the thought of working is also more than a little daunting.

I don't know what I need to take with me for work though.
Pens? Books for reference? Paper?
I don't know whether I'll be getting my own computer for writing reports... or if I do something else...
Hmm methinks a journal/notebook to make notes of the proceedures involved would be good too.

Does anyone (if anyone has read all this, or otherwise) have any suggestions of other things I should be aware of/ take with me come monday?

Update on Thesis

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:16:27 GMT

I suppose I should put this here, seeing as this is the journal I updated my thesis drafts to. And seeing as this is the conclusion of my thesis at this time (pending me emailing my lecturer to check and see what should have been done differently).

Last friday I went to university to meet one lecturer, as another task I also dropped in on my supervisor for my thesis so I could get him to sign off on my ethics. Not really suprising but when I got to his office he wasn't there... I rang his mobile, he said to get the key and let myself in, I did, and while I was waiting for him I saw...

My thesis, well the second to last version I submitted.
And I had a chance to flick through about 2/3 - 3/4 of it before the supervisor came up to the room.

But on the front cover was this (in my supervisors/markers handwriting):
Good but no abstract and no info on conductive losss cases.
Should be included.
Add as appendix.
Marks 75/80 if ok.

I *don't* actually know what my final mark was on my submission, and I only ended up with a credit for the subject. But knowing my supervisor gave my project a high distinction (it works out to over 93%) - even if he may have marked more lienently that he would have otherwise - is fantastic. It would be my highest university mark ever (where I actually know the mark) for an assignment.

So a big cheers (oh goodness Alex is infecting me again with British-isms) to everyone who made read it and made comments. And especially, thank you Regi for all your efforts too.

Reflections...

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 01:12:03 GMT

I may have never lived in a warzone. Never heard the sound of air-raid sirens or even air-craft flying over head and worried for my safety. I am so immensly glad for that. But, you know helicopters in summer have a somewhat similar effect on me.

There's a bushfire not that far from me. It could be as little as 3kms away as the crow flies. Admittedly between the bushfire and me is many, many houses... and it's not in a valley that connects to the one at the bottom of my street... but nevertheless the constant sound of helicopters flying low overhead concerns me. As does the emergency vechile sirens that I hear at least once every half hour.

I remember as a child having blackened leaves falling in my back yard, and barely being able to breathe because of the smoke. This is not even nearly as bad. I can breathe pretty easily when I go outside, and the sky is mostly clear except when you look to the north-west of my house.

It's crazy I know. I'm so grateful for the effort that is being put into controlling this blaze, but you know, it's still scary. The sense of being on edge constantly. Thinking about past experiences, thinking about the future. They've closed the two main ways north now. I'm not sure about the third... Depends where they've closed one of the others I suppose. There's no reason *yet* to worry about it, but I'm already thinking should I pack a box or two - either to give myself peace of mind, or for that "just in case".

*sighs* You know until this happened I had actually thought we might get away with this summer not being too bad. I know there's been a lot of bushfires in other places... But the gorge and berowra and several other places have been fine this year. So yeah, I was quite happy, I thought we'd get through summer just maybe - even if there hasn't been anything close to enough rain.
Guess not.

Busy me

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 21:30:52 GMT

I feel bad cause I haven't updated here in a while.
After Christmas (as well as a week or two before) I was working for mum as a receptionist. I'd forgotten (almost) how nice it feels to be able to contribute your own money for things... Namely in my case: Rent and food purchases. Such a sad little life I lead.

But since Jan 8 I haven't been working for mum so much... Cause my summer course offically has begun. At this stage I've had several clinics, I have to write a reflection for each day I'm at clinic, I will have to write a reflective essay. And I have an exam which is a very big unknown atm.

Actually I'm supposed to be at clinic today.
Only I'm not. Because that feeling of something stuck in my throat (causing pain when swallowing) is still present, as it has been since about 4 or 5pm yesterday. It even woke me up last night at about 2am. It isn't as bad now, but I can't swallow without wincing, and when I first woke up today (at 6am - so as to get ready for clinic) I couldn't even speak in a whisper without it hurting. I can now, but I *don't* want to try and speak so loudly (as you have to for clients with hearing problems) on this pain. I probably could, but the idea just doesn't seem appealing.

A little Christmas note

Sun, 24 Dec 2006 21:20:33 GMT

To those who don't celebrate Christmas... ignore this...

Dear Friends,

Wishing you all a lovely and happy Christmas.
May the day be special to you for whatever reason...

Your friend,
vive

(Not my image!)

Thesis thinking. (Again)

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 11:02:19 GMT

Well there'd been a little bit of contention over my thesis... I submitted it a week after my classmates, with personal approval for that from my supervisor.
I then had nothing to do but study for exams, and wait to hear back.

So, about a week ago my classmates all get their thesis back with corrections to make before the final submission. I don't.
I wait a few days, and on Nov 29 (two days before the thesis was due) I emailed Philip (supervisor) to find out what's happening to find out he's overseas (again! - this makes 4 or 5 times this year). So then I'm sitting there wondering what is going to happen to my thesis, any corrections, my marks, etc...
I emailed the other main supervisor, and it seems she was able to get onto Philip thankfully.

She forwarded me his response tonight (at about 6pm)...

Dear Vive,

I marked your project write up and though that it was very good, but I
want you to add an appendix, before I give it a grade.
Please include the results you got from the experimental part of the
work and include at least a page to explain what you did and how it
might be improved upon. It need not be too elaborate, but you did this
work and we should mention it.
I know you will feel that it is it will be pretty rough, but I think
we should have it included.
This will add to the value of the work an will be useful if you, or
someone else, carries on with it later.
This will mean you get an I grade in the meantime, but if you make the
amendment soon, you will be OK to graduate with the others.

Kind regards
Philip

The appendix was something I did consider including, but decided I didn't have the time/motivation to include it... nor was I sure I should.
But I think I should be able to get it over and done, and edited by next Monday - which is when the supervisor (who isn't Philip) has asked to have it submitted by.

Ok I can't think of anything much more to say...
So I think instead I'll shut up and go and finish sorting out some more christmas presents. ^__^
(I plan to start the thesis appendix tomorrow)

Christmas Quiz

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 21:55:39 GMT

(with apologies to people for whom Christmas has no relevance)
And taken from Eneit

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Never had Egg Nog, and hot chocolate just doesn't sound appealing admist 35-40+ degree celcius heat.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa's presents are in a stocking, not necessarily wrapped but not visable either.
My parents used to use different wrapping paper, and dad would get a neighbour to write on the tag too when we were little.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
I prefer the look of white lights... but hung coloured lights inside at roof level last year which I think looked very nice.
I don't hand lights outside the house though.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
I wouldn't even know where to get it... well without heading to the bush.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
December 14 at the earliest... except for cards.
Mainly so Alex can have his birthday without it being surrounded by Christmas things.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
This sounds oddly similar to Eneit's... a duck roll (boned, then stuffed with a row of cherries running down the middle) eaten cold.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child
I really don't remember... how bad is that?

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Haha, I'll still say I believe in Santa if it'll get me gifts... and it does.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Only on Christmas morning...
Well it used to be one present before church, and then no more until about 2-3pm.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Assuming we organise getting a Christmas tree... with tinsel and some ornaments given to us by Alex's sister last year...
Although I'd love to use a different colour scheme... or steal some ornaments from my parents

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
I like snow... Just never experienced enough of it to form a love/hate judgement.

12. Can you ice skate?
Yes... not that I do that at Christmas often... unless it's indoors... as a way to escape the heat

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Honestly *hangs head* no.
I've been given many wonderful things over the years, and I tend not to remember when I got things... or who gave them to me.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Firstly the religous aspects... So I guess this shouldn't be so much a holiday (for me) but a time of reflection.
But I also like spoiling friends and making them happy... so that might be considered important too.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Ice cream and (home made) custard!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Its on its way to being tradition... which is having friends around for christmas lunch sometime before Christmas day.

17. What tops your tree?
Honestly no idea... I've only done a tree once in the last 2 years, and I don't remember what we put on top.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Giving (well mostly)... especially wrapping presents beautifully and then giving.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song(s)?
The Christian based ones... Only not when they are played in shopping centres... cause that's just irritating.
My favourite would have to be Once in Royal David's city, cause I love still being able to sing the alto part.

20. Candy Canes! yuck or yummy?
One peppermint candy cane Christmas morning is normally enough to last me th whole year.

21. Fave Christmas Movie?
Honestly this is one thing I don't have... I never really got the concept of Christmas movies...
I was more likely to be reading rather than watching TV
That and we only had a betamax as a kid, so I never could hire films anyway.

Christmas thinking ... #2

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 10:22:43 GMT

Wishlist

Ok the basic premise is something like what is set out in the steps below...
Only slightly different in that this is especially done with a mindset of there have been people asking me what I would like for Christmas.

STEP ONE
- Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related to really big. The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

- If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you. [Note: Your home address is not required!]

- Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ, so that the holiday joy will spread.

STEP TWO
- Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:

- If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call. There are no guarantees with this project, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

Books - they don't have to be new copies
Warrior - J. Fallon
War Lord - J. Fallon
Briar Rose - J. Yolen
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Library at night - A. Manguel
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places - A. Manguel
Party Politics in the Age of Caesar - Lily Ross Taylor.
Bilingual Japanese-English dictionary

Manga
Chobits - vol 7 & 8
Tokyo Babylon - vol 8

Jrock
Janne Da Arc's albums: DNA, Resist, GAIA, Dearly
B'z album: The best pleasure II
Bump of Chicken album: yggdrasil

Other Music - or ripped copies thereof
The Living End : Roll on, Modern Artilery, State of Emergency
Garbage: Bleed Like Me, Beautiful Garbage
Coldplay : Rush of Blood to the Head, X&Y
Powderfinger : Internationalist
Midnight Oil : 20,000 Watt RSL

Fandom Things
More happy icons relating to various fandoms
A new LJ layout

Other Things
Voucher for CD Japan
Unused 24 or 36exp. colour film
Fine tip black pens - the kind you find in coles/woolworths etc
~~Coloured gel ink pens~~
~~2007 Diary ~A5 size~~
2007 Wall Calander (preferably of plants or landscapes)
3m black satin type material (the polyester version is fine)
~~New bud headphones for discman~~
Scrapbooking glue... or some kind of glue that sticks photos to albums

Christmas Thinking... #1

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 01:54:35 GMT

Ok, I know not *everyone* on my LJ list celebrates Christmas...

But if you would like a Christmas card (or general non-Christmas card) sent to you could you please reply to this post with your address. (And a name if you don't just want it to your LJ name.) The comments will be screened so not everyone can see them.

Would I like cards in return? Yes...
But you don't have to feel obligated to do so.

I'll put my christmas wishlist in a seperate entry... And no I don't expect people to get me things from there either.