It seems the teaching method does work and I had nothing to fear about my exam. It was the second easiest one I've ever taken; the first being a legal writing exam which was just 30 multiple choice questions about grammar. We had all finished after about 15 minutes and had to sit around waiting for the half hour mark so we could leave. Hello, HD. But that's not what I came here to write about...
Kevin Rudd will be giving an address at UWA on Friday afternoon. I received an email invitation several hours ago and was instantly excited. I have very mixed feelings about the man. On one hand, I bitched about so many things he did as Prime Minister. I hated his attitude, I hated his smug smile, and I hated how he often acted like a complete diva. But on the other hand, I've actually developed quite a soft spot for him now that he's no longer running the show. He did do a lot of fantastic things as PM, like apologising to the stolen generation and getting us safely through the GFC. And, of course, the way he was stabbed in the back by Julia Gillard was enough to elicit some sympathy from even the most conservative of Australians. I find him a lot more endearing now that I know we aren't all in his possible somewhat psychotic hands. Foreign Affairs is what he's suited to and I'd be very interested to hear what he has to say.
Unfortunately though, I have an exam that afternoon. The address is at 12.30 and my exam isn't until 2, but I'm really going to need all the time I can get to study. So I'm very torn as to whether or not I should go. I have until 5pm tomorrow to RSVP but if I do go, I don't want to leave it too late because seats are limited. I don't know. When am I going to have another chance to be that close to a former Prime Minister? I think I should probably sleep on it.
That said though, it was announced earlier tonight that Rudd has pulled out of the APEC meeting later this week due to a respiratory illness. But that news was released at about the same time as I received the email, so I'm not sure whether he's even still coming here. If you're too sick to travel, then you're too sick to travel, right? It's not going to look good for him if he skips one event and attends another, is it? My right-wing acquaintances are already jumping on it, claiming he's shirking his responsibilities and will be seen as snubbing Japan (where he's quite unpopular) again. So I'm hoping that the talk will have to be postponed. At least then I'll be able to attend guilt-free.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
|
By:
Nikki
Sunday, November 7, 2010
|
By:
Nikki
You retain 80% of information when you're teaching it to others, right?
If it's true that teaching others is the best way to learn, then I ought to be an expert by now. My exams start tomorrow - two on the same day! - and I've spent more of the last week teaching than studying. Some friends and I organised a study group to meet Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday and I thought that would be a good opportunity to catch up on the things I wasn't so sure of. But it turned out everybody knew less than I did and I spent all of my time explaining things. No offence to any of them, of course, because I can understand how some of the concepts would be difficult to grasp. Not to mention I love helping others out and if they can do better because of me, that's fantastic. But now I'm sitting here going, "Shit, do I actually know enough for the exam?" Blogging about it obviously isn't the best way to find out and potentially rectify the problem, I know, but that's beside the point.
I suppose I ought to get back to it though. It's 10pm and I still have so much more work to do, and I've completely forgotten what I actually came here to blog about in the first place. I guess it'll just have to wait. Until when, I'm not sure, because it's going to be one hell of a week. The joys of university, huh?
I suppose I ought to get back to it though. It's 10pm and I still have so much more work to do, and I've completely forgotten what I actually came here to blog about in the first place. I guess it'll just have to wait. Until when, I'm not sure, because it's going to be one hell of a week. The joys of university, huh?
Friday, November 5, 2010
|
By:
Nikki
Day 30: Your favorite song
I can never choose a favourite song, sorry. How about my current favourite band instead?
(Remind me not do to this in my exams, by the way. "I can't answer your question so I'll replace it with one that suits me instead." Bad.)
I change favourite bands almost as often as I change my underwear, so this probably won't last, but it's currently Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio. They're a Swedish neofolky, experimental, industrialish band - it's hard to say because those genres always tend to flow together. A lot of the music has an unusually soft martial industrial feel to it, but the lyrics are about things like sex, BDSM, and heathenism. You know, the sexy, interesting stuff that you wouldn't play for the children. And, although he's not the most attractive of men, Tomas Pettersson's vocals are strangely alluring.
They're definitely not going to be everybody's cup of tea, but youtube them anyway. You might be surprised.
And wow, with this post my 30 Day Challenge is finally complete. I was sure I'd get bored and give up halfway through, but I've stuck it out and here I am. The blogging habit is certainly well on its way to forming: it's always in the back of my mind when I'm out during the day. So I think that's a pretty good sign. Now I'll hopefully have more time to write about more interesting things, rather than these lame questions. Was nice knowing you, 30DC!
(Remind me not do to this in my exams, by the way. "I can't answer your question so I'll replace it with one that suits me instead." Bad.)
I change favourite bands almost as often as I change my underwear, so this probably won't last, but it's currently Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio. They're a Swedish neofolky, experimental, industrialish band - it's hard to say because those genres always tend to flow together. A lot of the music has an unusually soft martial industrial feel to it, but the lyrics are about things like sex, BDSM, and heathenism. You know, the sexy, interesting stuff that you wouldn't play for the children. And, although he's not the most attractive of men, Tomas Pettersson's vocals are strangely alluring.
They're definitely not going to be everybody's cup of tea, but youtube them anyway. You might be surprised.
And wow, with this post my 30 Day Challenge is finally complete. I was sure I'd get bored and give up halfway through, but I've stuck it out and here I am. The blogging habit is certainly well on its way to forming: it's always in the back of my mind when I'm out during the day. So I think that's a pretty good sign. Now I'll hopefully have more time to write about more interesting things, rather than these lame questions. Was nice knowing you, 30DC!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
|
By:
Nikki
Day 29: In this past month, what have you learned
What have I learnt? A lot.
But nothing deep about myself or the universe or the future, just ... stuff. When you go to uni every day, you're bound to be learning something, no? I've learnt how to diagnose aphasias, some theories of international relations and international law, a whole lot about different cultures, that I'm terrible at any sort of economics, some interesting stuff about people's love lives, and also that it feels awesome to stand at the podium in a lecture theatre. Nothing incredibly exciting.
Oh, and I almost forgot: I've also learnt that as brilliant as I may be at lying, I am an awful actor. It's not something I enjoy doing, but sometimes when there's something you want, it helps to dumb yourself down a bit. I know that probably sounds terrible, but it reminds me of the lyric from Working Class Hero: "They hate if you're clever and despise a fool". Sometimes you just have to find that middle ground. And it seems I'm not very good at that at all.
But nothing deep about myself or the universe or the future, just ... stuff. When you go to uni every day, you're bound to be learning something, no? I've learnt how to diagnose aphasias, some theories of international relations and international law, a whole lot about different cultures, that I'm terrible at any sort of economics, some interesting stuff about people's love lives, and also that it feels awesome to stand at the podium in a lecture theatre. Nothing incredibly exciting.
Oh, and I almost forgot: I've also learnt that as brilliant as I may be at lying, I am an awful actor. It's not something I enjoy doing, but sometimes when there's something you want, it helps to dumb yourself down a bit. I know that probably sounds terrible, but it reminds me of the lyric from Working Class Hero: "They hate if you're clever and despise a fool". Sometimes you just have to find that middle ground. And it seems I'm not very good at that at all.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
|
By:
Nikki
Day 28: A picture of you from last year and now, how have you changed since then?
I realise this is the same photo I have over there --> but I chose it because it's almost exactly a year old. It's from Halloween last year, which also happened to be Pride. Always happy to support our queer friends, my best friend and I headed out to the Court for the party. I was dressed up in this adorable fraulein costume, which was seemingly not as short (and probably not as cute) on me as it is on that model. I have a lollipop in my mouth because they were handing them out for free and who can resist free sugary stuff? Unfortunately though, we had got our hopes up too high for the night and, after retreating to Rosie O'Grady's for a while, we went home fairly disappointed. As for a photo of me now ... hold on, I'll just snap one:
.jpg)
There we go. Hello! Yes, my room is a bit of a mess. That's pretty typical.
So, how have I changed? That's hard to say. I apparently haven't kicked my habit of falling for unavailable men, nor of procrastinating. But I suppose the most obvious thing is that I'm so much happier now. This time last year I was anxious, bored with everything, and had no idea where I was going. Now I've got where I wanted and I'm far happier. I have many more friends that I've made at UWA, and they help keep me sane too. I'd also like to think I'm a lot more knowledgeable. I look back at the things I said and wrote and wonder what on earth I was thinking. God, I said some stupid things. And I was so ignorant! Of course, I'll probably look back at myself next year and say the same thing about 2010 me, but for now I feel like I'm doing well.
With that knowledge has also come a greater understanding of who I am and what I stand for. Even last year, I was pretty apathetic about things like politics and religion. I had opinions, sure - I've always had plenty of those - but I wasn't really prepared to back them up and do much with them. Now I'm studying politics, as well as actively engaging with like-minded people. It feels so much better to actually be involved in these sorts of things. Being sure about where I stand and willing to voice my opinions is a good feeling.
But other than that, I'm pretty much the same person. I have the same close friends, live in the same house, enjoy a lot of the same things, still giggle about immature things at times, still have to wage a mental battle with myself to leave my comfortable bed each morning, and still refuse to wear pants. Yep, same old Nikki.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
|
By:
Nikki
Day 27: Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
I'm fairly sure I covered this in my very first 30DC entry.
I'm doing this because I needed something to motivate me to blog often. Every other blog I've had has died because I got too lazy to write, and I don't want that to happen again. We've all heard that saying that it takes 21 days to form a habit. It actually takes considerably longer than that, but I'd say 30 days is a pretty good start towards it. If I can get into the habit of blogging every day, then I'll actually be able to discuss all of the interesting things I find and weird things that run through my mind. I won't have to put them off due to laziness and then forget completely.
So that's really it. I can't say the questions particularly appealed to me or anything; in fact, I'm actually finding them quite dull and annoying. I just want to be forced to write because apparently I'm no good at forcing myself.
I'm doing this because I needed something to motivate me to blog often. Every other blog I've had has died because I got too lazy to write, and I don't want that to happen again. We've all heard that saying that it takes 21 days to form a habit. It actually takes considerably longer than that, but I'd say 30 days is a pretty good start towards it. If I can get into the habit of blogging every day, then I'll actually be able to discuss all of the interesting things I find and weird things that run through my mind. I won't have to put them off due to laziness and then forget completely.
So that's really it. I can't say the questions particularly appealed to me or anything; in fact, I'm actually finding them quite dull and annoying. I just want to be forced to write because apparently I'm no good at forcing myself.
Monday, November 1, 2010
|
By:
Nikki
Day 26: What do you think about your friends
This is a ridiculous question. I think they're fantastic, of course.
I can't write a whole lot because I'm buried under a pile of exam revision right now, but they're pretty darn awesome. There are different ones for different occasions, for different conversations, for different bitchy rants. There are close ones, not so close ones, and ones who simply serve a purpose by being in the right place at the right time. But I love them all. They keep life interesting and they keep me entertained, and that's as much as I can ask for.
I can't write a whole lot because I'm buried under a pile of exam revision right now, but they're pretty darn awesome. There are different ones for different occasions, for different conversations, for different bitchy rants. There are close ones, not so close ones, and ones who simply serve a purpose by being in the right place at the right time. But I love them all. They keep life interesting and they keep me entertained, and that's as much as I can ask for.
So you want to get a PhD in the humanities?
I came across this video the other day and as much as it made me giggle, it also hit home a little.
I plan on doing a PhD but I'm constantly worried that I'll be wasting a big chunk of my life and then not have anything to do with it afterwards. What topic will I choose? How will I survive? Am I going to have to do shitty retail work to support myself? What if I lose interest halfway through? Who would want to employ a linguistics PhD? What would I do? Or, before all of that, will I even manage to get in? And hell, I haven't even thought about Honours yet. There are just so many things I'm unsure of.
But all of that said, I know that academia is very different here in Australia than it is elsewhere in the world, especially America. According to Wikipedia (I know, collective mediocrity, shh), Australian professors are the highest paid in the world, and we still seem to have a healthy respect for academics. While Americans are deriding academics as crazy Marxists who are leeching off the government, we are still throwing huge amounts of money into research funding, which is fantastic.
I also haven't seen the same sort of competition and hopelessness in grad students. Of course, this is only based on what I've seen and heard (and I could be way off), but there seem to be a lot more opportunities here. Morale of PhD students is generally high, the money situation is better, and job opportunities seem more, well, existent. Not to say it's not still a difficult few years of your life, full of stress and criticism and wondering where the hell you're going to end up, but I feel better knowing I'm in Australia. And if you actually can get a job at a university (which is my aim), one look at the salary scale on any university website shows that you certainly won't be living off mi goreng anymore.
Furthermore, I wouldn't be like the student in the video. I'm making the effort to get to know the relevant lecturers and professors so that if I ever need any sort of academic reference, I won't be that C-student they've never seen or heard from before. I'll be the one they recognise instantly as that interested girl who got HDs. In high school, or even in my last degree, I would have laughed and cringed at the idea of being that student. In fact, in the entire four years I spent at Murdoch, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I ever spoke to one of my professors after class or during their office hours. But I've blown that number out of the water each semester this year and not only does it feel good to have a decent relationship with my teachers, my grades are all the better for it. And it's not just about using them for my own success, absolutely not. They have actually been worth getting to know too. Maybe it's simply that I'm more enthusiastic and I'm projecting, but they all seem happier, friendlier, funnier, and genuinely more passionate about their fields here, with more time for their students. And that's exactly what you look for in a teacher.
I've also had an offer from a lecturer at another university to help put me in touch with useful people in the area of computational linguistics, after I voiced an interest in natural language processing. Unfortunately, I'm not particularly good with programming and I don't have any concrete ideas about areas of study, but it's still very early days and I may well take him up on it eventually. Psycholinguistics is another area I'm interested in, and that's the type of thing where there's always research to be done, so there's another idea. Either way, it's nice to know there are plenty of options out there.
See, I've psyched myself up now and I feel much better. Maybe there isn't so much to worry about after all. Not that I should even be worrying about all of these things yet anyway, but it's never too early to start looking to the future, right?
I plan on doing a PhD but I'm constantly worried that I'll be wasting a big chunk of my life and then not have anything to do with it afterwards. What topic will I choose? How will I survive? Am I going to have to do shitty retail work to support myself? What if I lose interest halfway through? Who would want to employ a linguistics PhD? What would I do? Or, before all of that, will I even manage to get in? And hell, I haven't even thought about Honours yet. There are just so many things I'm unsure of.
But all of that said, I know that academia is very different here in Australia than it is elsewhere in the world, especially America. According to Wikipedia (I know, collective mediocrity, shh), Australian professors are the highest paid in the world, and we still seem to have a healthy respect for academics. While Americans are deriding academics as crazy Marxists who are leeching off the government, we are still throwing huge amounts of money into research funding, which is fantastic.
I also haven't seen the same sort of competition and hopelessness in grad students. Of course, this is only based on what I've seen and heard (and I could be way off), but there seem to be a lot more opportunities here. Morale of PhD students is generally high, the money situation is better, and job opportunities seem more, well, existent. Not to say it's not still a difficult few years of your life, full of stress and criticism and wondering where the hell you're going to end up, but I feel better knowing I'm in Australia. And if you actually can get a job at a university (which is my aim), one look at the salary scale on any university website shows that you certainly won't be living off mi goreng anymore.
Furthermore, I wouldn't be like the student in the video. I'm making the effort to get to know the relevant lecturers and professors so that if I ever need any sort of academic reference, I won't be that C-student they've never seen or heard from before. I'll be the one they recognise instantly as that interested girl who got HDs. In high school, or even in my last degree, I would have laughed and cringed at the idea of being that student. In fact, in the entire four years I spent at Murdoch, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I ever spoke to one of my professors after class or during their office hours. But I've blown that number out of the water each semester this year and not only does it feel good to have a decent relationship with my teachers, my grades are all the better for it. And it's not just about using them for my own success, absolutely not. They have actually been worth getting to know too. Maybe it's simply that I'm more enthusiastic and I'm projecting, but they all seem happier, friendlier, funnier, and genuinely more passionate about their fields here, with more time for their students. And that's exactly what you look for in a teacher.
I've also had an offer from a lecturer at another university to help put me in touch with useful people in the area of computational linguistics, after I voiced an interest in natural language processing. Unfortunately, I'm not particularly good with programming and I don't have any concrete ideas about areas of study, but it's still very early days and I may well take him up on it eventually. Psycholinguistics is another area I'm interested in, and that's the type of thing where there's always research to be done, so there's another idea. Either way, it's nice to know there are plenty of options out there.
See, I've psyched myself up now and I feel much better. Maybe there isn't so much to worry about after all. Not that I should even be worrying about all of these things yet anyway, but it's never too early to start looking to the future, right?
Sunday, October 31, 2010
|
By:
Nikki
Day 25: What I would find in your bag
I must confess I've been looking forward to this one. My bag is a minefield and I'm very curious to see what strange, forgotten things I'll find in there. Also, it forces me to actually clean it out. Here we go:
- Drink bottle
- Hair brush (which means I 've been rocking the bed hair look since Thursday afternoon)
- Deoderant - spray and roll-on
- Wallet
- Phone
- Uni notebooks (need those for exam study tonight)
- Book on aphasias (must remember to take that back to the library)
- Deck of cards
- Brown Brotha: a cork from a bottle of Zibibbo with a midori bottle top for a hat and a face/suit drawn on
- Pressed powder and a large brush
- Small pack of bandaids
- Feminine hygiene products
- Purple and blue eyeshadows
- Paracetamol
- Ginkgo Forte (before you berate me for using herbal crap, they give me an awesome high)
- Lip gloss and lib balm
- Chewing gum
- A whole bunch of old receipts, wrappers, tissues, shopping lists, parking tickets, notes etc. (all dumped in the bin now)
- Mini ruler
- Assortment of pens, including bright pink and purple one that all of my tutors should now recognise as mine
- iPod
- A die (I have no idea either)
Saturday, October 30, 2010
|
By:
Nikki
Day 24: A letter to your parents
Dear mum and dad,
Thank you for being amazing parents. Thank you for doing everything in your power to make sure I had a fantastic childhood. Thank you for teaching me to think for myself and question everything. Thank you for always pushing that little more when I was being lazy or stubborn. Thank you for entertaining all of my ideas and listening to everything I have to say, because I know nobody will ever listen and care the way you do. Thank you for helping me out whenever I've needed help, whether it be financial, academic, or just someone to drive all the way up into the hills to pick my paraletic arse up from a party in the middle of the night. Thank you for teaching me to be a good person with decent manners and a healthy respect for other people. And most of all, thank you for always supporting me, no matter what. I may have made a lot of good decisions but I know I've also made a lot of bad ones, and you've respected all of them, stood by me, and let me learn my lessons in my own way. I'm so grateful for all of that. I could never be the person I am today if it weren't for you.
I'm sorry that I'm such a lazy bitch sometimes. Actually, most of the time. I'm sorry that I don't always tell you everything that's going on in my life. I'm sorry that I've lied to you about certain things over the years. I'm sorry that I'm so terrible at sticking with things and that I've probably wasted a lot of your money on badly thought out pursuits. I'm sorry that I can often be selfish and forget about others. And I'm sorry that it's such an effort to get me to do the jobs I'm supposed to do. BUUUT you'll be happy to know that I'm about to get up and actually do the dishes right now. See, these things do get done eventually!
Love you both,
Nikki
xxx
Thank you for being amazing parents. Thank you for doing everything in your power to make sure I had a fantastic childhood. Thank you for teaching me to think for myself and question everything. Thank you for always pushing that little more when I was being lazy or stubborn. Thank you for entertaining all of my ideas and listening to everything I have to say, because I know nobody will ever listen and care the way you do. Thank you for helping me out whenever I've needed help, whether it be financial, academic, or just someone to drive all the way up into the hills to pick my paraletic arse up from a party in the middle of the night. Thank you for teaching me to be a good person with decent manners and a healthy respect for other people. And most of all, thank you for always supporting me, no matter what. I may have made a lot of good decisions but I know I've also made a lot of bad ones, and you've respected all of them, stood by me, and let me learn my lessons in my own way. I'm so grateful for all of that. I could never be the person I am today if it weren't for you.
I'm sorry that I'm such a lazy bitch sometimes. Actually, most of the time. I'm sorry that I don't always tell you everything that's going on in my life. I'm sorry that I've lied to you about certain things over the years. I'm sorry that I'm so terrible at sticking with things and that I've probably wasted a lot of your money on badly thought out pursuits. I'm sorry that I can often be selfish and forget about others. And I'm sorry that it's such an effort to get me to do the jobs I'm supposed to do. BUUUT you'll be happy to know that I'm about to get up and actually do the dishes right now. See, these things do get done eventually!
Love you both,
Nikki
xxx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Me
- Nikki
-
23 year old student of linguistics, political science and international relations at UWA. Atheist. Psych grad. Devil's advocate.
Lover of language and languages, politics, psychology, anthropology, reason, tennis, dogs, foreign films, classical music, champagne, and procrastination.
Hater of religion, economics, cats, and RWNJs.