I don't care how lame this sounds ... a top secret spy in the CIA. Yes, I'm sticking with the term 'spy' because 'intelligence officer' just doesn't sound as exciting. And I'm saying CIA because ASIS doesn't seem to have the same appeal. Everyone knows the CIA is where it's at.
It was always my dream to be a spy and travel the world masquerading as someone I'm not in order to elicit important information from others. What a lifestyle. I know it wouldn't be all action and jetsetting, but I can handle the desk job part in exchange for some excitement like that. Also, getting to be privy to secret information and knowing things that others aren't allowed to know ... doesn't that just sound amazing?
My dreams are still filled with top secret missions, and running for my life from masked gunmen. While my friends are dreaming about sleeping with celebrities, I'm dreaming about advanced computer hacking programs, classified documents, intricate cover stories, walking straight into danger and then talking my way out of it, and exciting action scenes that could be straight out of a Hollywood movie. It's probably because my real life is so mundane. I love what I'm studying at university - god, do I ever - but I just need some more excitement. And what better to provide that excitement than working for the CIA?
Is the spy lifestyle really like that? Is it really as exciting as they show on television? Probably not, but I'd sure love to have a day to find out.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
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By:
Nikki
Friday, October 22, 2010
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By:
Nikki
Day 16: Another picture of yourself
This photo always manages to make me laugh. It was taken back in our year 12 drama class while we were rehearsing for a performance, which turned out to be terrible. It was set in a psychiatric institution and my character was having flashbacks to a war where her parents and siblings were taken away, while the rest of the characters had their own crazy delusions. I can't even remember much of the plot, but a friend and I originally wrote a lot of it, only to have it changed significantly by our teacher and others. The whole thing was very symbolic and the above photo comes from a scene where everyone was wrapping me up in some cloth. I just popped a friend's pair of aviators on, got someone to take a photo, and it ended up looking even funnier than I'd imagined. And yep, that was a pretty typical day in drama.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
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By:
Nikki
Day 15: Put you ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
At least this is an easy one today.
*gets ipod out*
1. Sleipnir - Manowar
2. Tribute - Tenacious D
3. Vuelve - La Oreja De Van Gogh
4. 9 Crimes - Damien Rice
5. Uprising - Muse
6. On Ne Changera Rien - Pleymo
7. Blue - A Perfect Circle
8. You Raise Me Up - Westlife
9. Isabel - Il Divo
10. Forget December - Something Corporate
There we go!
I think that's pretty representative of my music too, which was convenient. A bit of power metal, a bit of foreign stuff, some pop, some rock, and a couple of things that are hard to classify. Nice.
*gets ipod out*
1. Sleipnir - Manowar
2. Tribute - Tenacious D
3. Vuelve - La Oreja De Van Gogh
4. 9 Crimes - Damien Rice
5. Uprising - Muse
6. On Ne Changera Rien - Pleymo
7. Blue - A Perfect Circle
8. You Raise Me Up - Westlife
9. Isabel - Il Divo
10. Forget December - Something Corporate
There we go!
I think that's pretty representative of my music too, which was convenient. A bit of power metal, a bit of foreign stuff, some pop, some rock, and a couple of things that are hard to classify. Nice.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
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By:
Nikki
Day 14: A picture of you and your family
Again, I have to skip.
I don't have any photos of me and my family because my mum refuses to let anyone take a photo of her. I think the only thing even close to a family photo is one of my dad, brother, uncle, and me at Christmas about 10 years ago ... and I wouldn't have a clue where to find that.
Also, speaking of my uncle, I just found out he had a stroke today. So even if I could find a photo, forgive me for not being in the mood to write a lot. He may be a complete arsehole, but he's still my mum's brother. And as much as she despises him, I know it will still kill her when she gets home and finds out. Family is family, after all. So I just feel for her at the moment.
On a less compassionate note, I'm trying to do an assignment on aphasia at the moment, and now all I can think about is if he'll have some form of it because of the stroke, and if I'll be able to diagnose it. I know that probably sounds incredibly heartless, but I can't help my inquisitive scientific mind. You see what you're doing to me, linguistics?
I don't have any photos of me and my family because my mum refuses to let anyone take a photo of her. I think the only thing even close to a family photo is one of my dad, brother, uncle, and me at Christmas about 10 years ago ... and I wouldn't have a clue where to find that.
Also, speaking of my uncle, I just found out he had a stroke today. So even if I could find a photo, forgive me for not being in the mood to write a lot. He may be a complete arsehole, but he's still my mum's brother. And as much as she despises him, I know it will still kill her when she gets home and finds out. Family is family, after all. So I just feel for her at the moment.
On a less compassionate note, I'm trying to do an assignment on aphasia at the moment, and now all I can think about is if he'll have some form of it because of the stroke, and if I'll be able to diagnose it. I know that probably sounds incredibly heartless, but I can't help my inquisitive scientific mind. You see what you're doing to me, linguistics?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
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By:
Nikki
How progressive are you?
A lot of interesting things pop up in my twitter feed and this was one of them:
How Progressive Are You?
It's 40 statements and you just decide how strongly you agree or disagree with each. Simple. You receive a score out of 400 at the end so that obviously means you're getting a score out of 10 for each answer. I would debate the reliability of that sort of scale: just because I don't throw myself so completely and passionately behind an idea so as to pick 0 or 10 doesn't mean I'm less progressive on that point than someone else who does. And that's pretty typical for me - I leave myself open for doubt and it's very rare that I'll ever choose the most extreme answer on any sort of questionaire. But I digress. You're going to find that sort of thing with all internet quizzes anyway. Maybe I'm less INTJ than the internet tells me too...
I scored 293, which apparently makes me "very progressive". I wouldn't argue with that. There seem to be a few examples "change for the sake of change" floating around at the moment and those grind my gears a bit, but for the most part I think we need to bemoving forward (damn you, Julia) progressing as a society and that means a whole lot of things need to be addressed. Gay people are still rallying for equal rights, public hospitals are overflowing and nobody's doing anything about it, the divide between rich and poor is ever-growing, refugees are being kept in prison camps, and don't even get me started on that Queensland couple who faced trial for procuring an abortion and the government's refusal to change the laws. What century are we supposedly living in here?
Back on the topic of the quiz though, it was interesting to see the averages of other groups. Unfortunately, it's American though, so the scores are likely to be more on the conservative side than what you'd find here in Australia. At the bottom of the scale, conservative Republicans averaged a score of 160.6, while Liberal Democrats topped it at 247.1. Women (214.3) were more progressive than men (204.3), while Latinos (228.4) and African Americans (224.3) scored higher than Whites (203.7). What I found most interesting about that result is that Latinos and African Americans are typically more religious than their white counterparts, so their progressivism is somewhat surprising. Perhaps it's that they tend to be the ones who are disadvantaged by America's often backwards society, whereas whites enjoy a more privileged existence in which capitalism and social conservatism is less of a hindrance. Pure speculation, of course, but it's one suggestion.
Incidentally, the results also demonstrated that those with a post-graduate education were more progressive (227.0) than those who had completed only high school or less (206.4). But, as we already know from those conservatives who claim they'd rather their children were educated by the first 50 people in the phonebook than by the liberal staff at Harvard, higher education does make you more progressive. What a surprise.
How Progressive Are You?
It's 40 statements and you just decide how strongly you agree or disagree with each. Simple. You receive a score out of 400 at the end so that obviously means you're getting a score out of 10 for each answer. I would debate the reliability of that sort of scale: just because I don't throw myself so completely and passionately behind an idea so as to pick 0 or 10 doesn't mean I'm less progressive on that point than someone else who does. And that's pretty typical for me - I leave myself open for doubt and it's very rare that I'll ever choose the most extreme answer on any sort of questionaire. But I digress. You're going to find that sort of thing with all internet quizzes anyway. Maybe I'm less INTJ than the internet tells me too...
I scored 293, which apparently makes me "very progressive". I wouldn't argue with that. There seem to be a few examples "change for the sake of change" floating around at the moment and those grind my gears a bit, but for the most part I think we need to be
Back on the topic of the quiz though, it was interesting to see the averages of other groups. Unfortunately, it's American though, so the scores are likely to be more on the conservative side than what you'd find here in Australia. At the bottom of the scale, conservative Republicans averaged a score of 160.6, while Liberal Democrats topped it at 247.1. Women (214.3) were more progressive than men (204.3), while Latinos (228.4) and African Americans (224.3) scored higher than Whites (203.7). What I found most interesting about that result is that Latinos and African Americans are typically more religious than their white counterparts, so their progressivism is somewhat surprising. Perhaps it's that they tend to be the ones who are disadvantaged by America's often backwards society, whereas whites enjoy a more privileged existence in which capitalism and social conservatism is less of a hindrance. Pure speculation, of course, but it's one suggestion.
Incidentally, the results also demonstrated that those with a post-graduate education were more progressive (227.0) than those who had completed only high school or less (206.4). But, as we already know from those conservatives who claim they'd rather their children were educated by the first 50 people in the phonebook than by the liberal staff at Harvard, higher education does make you more progressive. What a surprise.
Day 13: A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
*sigh*
Another task that I can't really do. Nobody has hurt me recently. In fact, nobody has hurt me in a very, very long time. Except for me, of course. It seems that I'm my own worst enemy. Writing a letter to myself would be kind of weird and would probably just say, "Dear Nikki, you're an idiot and you need to start making more responsible decisions if you ever want to get anywhere in life. Love, Nikki", so that would be pointless.
So I'm skipping this one and am planning to post something else instead. At least I'm still acknowledging today's task and am doing so within the time limit, so I'm not really losing, right?
Another task that I can't really do. Nobody has hurt me recently. In fact, nobody has hurt me in a very, very long time. Except for me, of course. It seems that I'm my own worst enemy. Writing a letter to myself would be kind of weird and would probably just say, "Dear Nikki, you're an idiot and you need to start making more responsible decisions if you ever want to get anywhere in life. Love, Nikki", so that would be pointless.
So I'm skipping this one and am planning to post something else instead. At least I'm still acknowledging today's task and am doing so within the time limit, so I'm not really losing, right?
Monday, October 18, 2010
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By:
Nikki
Day 12: How you found out about blogging and why you have one
How did I find out about blogging? That's like asking how I found out about the internet. It's just always been there, hasn't it? If I had think about it though, I'd say my earliest recollection of blogs would be from when I was back in high school. Year 9, I think. One of my friends had a LiveJournal and, somehow, the idea of pouring one's life out for the entire world to read appealed to me too. So I created one too. I suppose mostly I was just interested in reading what said friend had written in his: he was far more candid there than he ever was in person, and I've always enjoyed seeing how different people's online personas are. People are far more honest on the internet, whether it's because they think their real-life friends will never read it, or that they simply don't care because they don't ever have to make eye contact with anyone while doing so.
But on the other hand, I also wanted a more permanent record of my life. Even if I'd ever bothered to write in a hardcopy diary (which I'd be incapable of because I edit far too much), it probably would have been lost along the way. And what good are memories, really? They're so flawed and it's easy to forget the true ones and invent false ones. Not to mention they're a poor reminder of what you were feeling at any given time. So that's why I started my first blog.
Looking at it now though, I don't know what I was thinking. It's terribly written, full of netspeak, and I've found at least one incorrect use of "your" and "you're". How embarrassing for somebody who now prides herself on her grammar. Fortunately, my subsequent blogs have been a little more tolerable. In the meantime, I've had a myspace blog, another LJ, a blog on a forum I frequent, and now this one. Apparently I've had this account for over two years, so obviously I had intended to start writing it sooner too.
Back to the reasons though. I'd like to say I still blog because I want a record of my life, and perhaps that's true to some extent, but these days I just like to talk about things. My internal monologue takes the form of a blog and it only makes sense to actually get it down. I want somewhere to write about all of the things that interest me - even if it is an eclectic mix - and have people read it. It doesn't even matter if it's only a few random people from around the world who will never actually comment. Most people I know aren't that interested in the same things I am and are probably sick of hearing all the random little facts about language, the brain, and humanity that I'm always coming out with. So here I am in my own little corner of the internet, writing about nothing significant and hoping that I can actually keep it up for more than a few months this time.
But on the other hand, I also wanted a more permanent record of my life. Even if I'd ever bothered to write in a hardcopy diary (which I'd be incapable of because I edit far too much), it probably would have been lost along the way. And what good are memories, really? They're so flawed and it's easy to forget the true ones and invent false ones. Not to mention they're a poor reminder of what you were feeling at any given time. So that's why I started my first blog.
Looking at it now though, I don't know what I was thinking. It's terribly written, full of netspeak, and I've found at least one incorrect use of "your" and "you're". How embarrassing for somebody who now prides herself on her grammar. Fortunately, my subsequent blogs have been a little more tolerable. In the meantime, I've had a myspace blog, another LJ, a blog on a forum I frequent, and now this one. Apparently I've had this account for over two years, so obviously I had intended to start writing it sooner too.
Back to the reasons though. I'd like to say I still blog because I want a record of my life, and perhaps that's true to some extent, but these days I just like to talk about things. My internal monologue takes the form of a blog and it only makes sense to actually get it down. I want somewhere to write about all of the things that interest me - even if it is an eclectic mix - and have people read it. It doesn't even matter if it's only a few random people from around the world who will never actually comment. Most people I know aren't that interested in the same things I am and are probably sick of hearing all the random little facts about language, the brain, and humanity that I'm always coming out with. So here I am in my own little corner of the internet, writing about nothing significant and hoping that I can actually keep it up for more than a few months this time.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
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By:
Nikki
Day 11: Another picture of you and your friends
While I was searching through my photos, I came across this one and just had to use it:
This was from our high school performance of the The Grinch. Except in our case, it was "The Grynch With a 'Y' Who Stole Christmas in July". Yup, very lame. I'd like to say that the experience was a lot of fun, but it was actually a nightmare. Nobody ever had any enthusiasm, it was impossible to get anyone to do what they were supposed to, and people always found things to complain about. I think we were all glad to finally have it over with in the end. At least the costumes were delightfully camp, I suppose. And being out on stage in front of everyone is always a great experience ... even when you're dressed in colours that should never be seen together and dancing around like a fool. I kind of miss that.
Oh, and no, I'm not that much shorter than everyone else - I'm just the only one not wearing shoes!
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| Chad, Me, Shannon, David |
Oh, and no, I'm not that much shorter than everyone else - I'm just the only one not wearing shoes!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
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By:
Nikki
Day 10: Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad
Ugh, these are the sorts of questions I hate. And since I'm on the laptop at the moment, I won't be able to go through my itunes library, so this will probably be a poor effort.
When I'm happy, I love upbeat music. This is often new-ish stuff with a heavy beat and simple lyrics. Just turn on Nova and that'll give you a pretty good idea. I also love foreign music and tend to fall back to a few favourites: Junge by Die Ärzte, Primavera Anticipada by Laura Pausini & James Blunt, Inolvidable by Reik,
When I'm happy, I love upbeat music. This is often new-ish stuff with a heavy beat and simple lyrics. Just turn on Nova and that'll give you a pretty good idea. I also love foreign music and tend to fall back to a few favourites: Junge by Die Ärzte, Primavera Anticipada by Laura Pausini & James Blunt, Inolvidable by Reik,
Friday, October 15, 2010
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By:
Nikki
Day 9: Something you're proud of in the past few days
I have no idea.
I've done absolutely nothing of significance in the last few days. I've been so busy with uni work that I've had no time to do anything exciting or worthy of pride. And even then, I can't even be proud of doing a good job on uni work, because I haven't. I haven't been able to motivate myself to do much and tonight was supposed to be my crack-down night. Hah.
So instead of being proud of myself, I'm proud of all of the Australian athletes who competed in the Commonwealth Games and helped us run away with the competition. They weren't all necessarily the most sportsmanly, but they were brilliant and really did our country proud. Bringing home 177 medals, 74 of which were gold, is a fantastic achievement for the team. I know it's not as big as the Olympics and a lot of people didn't care about it, but I did and it's always lovely to see international competition of such a high standard.
It's also nice to see an event not dominated by the Americans or Chinese, where we actually stand a chance :) Good on you, guys!
I've done absolutely nothing of significance in the last few days. I've been so busy with uni work that I've had no time to do anything exciting or worthy of pride. And even then, I can't even be proud of doing a good job on uni work, because I haven't. I haven't been able to motivate myself to do much and tonight was supposed to be my crack-down night. Hah.
So instead of being proud of myself, I'm proud of all of the Australian athletes who competed in the Commonwealth Games and helped us run away with the competition. They weren't all necessarily the most sportsmanly, but they were brilliant and really did our country proud. Bringing home 177 medals, 74 of which were gold, is a fantastic achievement for the team. I know it's not as big as the Olympics and a lot of people didn't care about it, but I did and it's always lovely to see international competition of such a high standard.
It's also nice to see an event not dominated by the Americans or Chinese, where we actually stand a chance :) Good on you, guys!
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About Me
- Nikki
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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.