Every Aching Wound Will Cauterize And Bruise

[I Fell In Love Without You – Motion City Soundtrack]

Trying to write a few more posts, seeing as people actually read these. I cannot re-iterate enough that if you don’t comment, I just assume no one reads it (the increasing blog hits are MAGIC).

So today I had a pretty full day, which made up for the lack of anything previously. I went to brunch at Pancake Parlor (first time there) with my 12I group from highschool, and saw April for the first time in what felt like months. Because I had another lunch date later, I opted to only order a coffee (still, as you can guess, I ate food off people’s plates). The coffee was stronger than my usual competence, so by the time we left Pancake Parlor at around 11:30, I was positively buzzing.

For some odd reason, it’s hard to put into words why brunch was good, but it was. Nothing spectacular happened, no amazing revelations were announced, and it wasn’t like I haven’t hung out with these people (bar, as I said before, April) for ages, but for that period of time, it actually felt like we were going out as a group on a no-school day – an illusion shattered pretty quickly when we started discussing timetables and visiting each other’s universities.

At around 1, Lily showed up for our lunch, so after having various restaurant suggestions shot down, we decided to go to Dessert House to eat. We ate for maybe an hour (and the food was worse than I remembered, which was saddening, and salty), and when we went back out to go to JB for an errand, we ran into my 12I group at the lights. There was a fun/awkward moment when I stood right next to them as if I belonged, and then they told me to go away. Har-har hilarious.

I’d recently gotten the $7 movie voucher and was itching it use it up, so I somehow convinced Lily to see a movie. Unfortunately, I had to print out the movie voucher, so we went to State Library to use the printers, except when I plugged my USB in it won’t register. After deciding on No Strings Attached, and noting that it wouldn’t start for over an hour, we went to Melb Uni to print the voucher off at the library.

The Bailleiu Library is under construction, and I looked pretty noob in my own university getting lost trying to find the other entrance. We spent some time in the library just browsing the internet (there is a symposium (HA SPELLED IT RIGHT) for screen and TV stuff, including a talk with the WRITER OF DEXTER, so I’m totally gunning for that). We made it back to Melb Central just in time for the movie, because we just HAD TO check Facebook one last time. (By ‘we’, I meant Lily.)

The movie was pretty enjoyable – I wouldn’t say astounding, especially compared to Black Swan – and it had some pretty good laughs (my favorite being the period-mix-CD that Ashton made for Natalie – never memorized their character names. Andy and Emma or something) with a slightly-too-sweet-and-cliche ending. I wouldn’t say it’s a must-see, but if you’re in the mood for some light-hearted laughs (with a slightly awkward sex scene at the start, I mean I couldn’t stop comparing Ashton to Mila…), it’s a good choice.

I suppose it’s a pretty good way to spend my last day of holidays (weekends don’t count). Here’s to Easter! Oof.

Alex.

By The Door, But It’s Locked

[She Falls Asleep (Part 2) – McFly]

I haven’t written in over a week. But I feel like I must write today, not for the sake of writing, but for the sake of documenting the stuff that’s been happening in the world in these last few days.

The two biggest events of today would be the “unrest” (more like political massacre) in Libya, and the earthquake that hit Christchurch.

I don’t know, in detail, all that’s happening in Libya at the moment – when anything has political influences behind it, the real story is almost impossible to pinpoint, especially when social media has had its way with it – but the basics, and the human-interest details, are hard to suppress: people who are protesting for their rights are being shot down on the streets. Communication is being cut off and shut down.

On top of that, Christchurch has experience a 6.5 magnitude earthquake, just 5 months after the previous earthquake. The relief felt the last time at the lack of deaths seem bitterly redundant now, as the earthquake hit during the busy lunchtime. As a cameraman was on site filming a man who had been injured, there was a terrible shudder and a scream, and the camera swung around in time to see the Christchurch Catheral’s spire crumble and shatter onto the ground, blowing up more dust, and possibly crushing more people.

I can’t help but try to feel the situation as if I were in it. I try to picture a group of protesters on the streets being gunned down right before me by the government who is meant to protect us. I can’t even start to conjure up the anger and the terror that these people have been feeling for days, because it just doesn’t happen in my society. And it shouldn’t happen in theirs. It’s 2011, righteousness is no longer defined by government laws, and yet the Libyan government is taking their power of the law as permission to kill anyone who challenges that power. Why would you kill your own people? Why would anyone kill someone of their own kind for no reason other than that they disagree with you?

And I try to imagine my beloved city in ruins, as Christchurch is. I try to think about St Paul’s Cathedral that I passed everyday for four years cracked and broken, and I try to imagine places which I frequent as if it were my second home destroyed. The glass in Melbourne Central’s spire would all be shattered, the metal structure warped and barely hanging on. The clock under which many many social outings started would have been shaken off its bolts and crushed anyone who was waiting for a friend underneath it. God knows what would be happening in the underground train tunnels – people stuck in carriages without knowing how bad things are, or if they’d even be found any time soon. The tram tracks on Swanston Street would be strewn with trams and cars which were abandoned, and people would be clambering over them trying to get away from the still falling debris from unstable buildings on either side. Everywhere, distraught and shocked city-goers – it was lunch hour, Swanston Street would have been completely packed – would be desperately trying to get a signal to call the person that is first on their mind, to try to get a message out that they’re okay, and willing the message to arrive that their loved ones are okay. Just thinking about this is making breathing difficult.

It is saying something that I can relate and am more shocked by the earthquake. Like I said before, I can’t even start to feel what the Libyans are feeling. I feel lucky that I can’t relate to the Libyans, because it means I am actually safe in Australia, but at the same time I feel disgusted that there are situations that are so horrifyingly mind-blowing that someone can’t even relate to it.

Writing about it, and letting people know what’s going on, that is a part of – and possibly all that – I can do for the awful situation in Libya. I can’t physically contribute towards stopping a bullet from ripping a body in half, or preventing it from happening again. I can only just talk about it.

Alex.

The Rumor’s Spreading Around That She Cooks In The Nude

[5 Colors In Her Hair – McFly]

So on Friday I went to do a volunteer stint for Good Vibrations Festival, doing site setup. I got rostered an 8:00 – 1:00 shift, and since it was at the city I had to wake up at 5:30. Basically, the day started off with a groan.

So I had a hurried breakfast because I was running slightly late, and then got driven to the train station (okay, I admit, my parents worked just as hard that day as I did, they had to get up at the same time). It became ridiculously clear how early I was when I walked past the newsagency guy opening his store, and then as my train pulled away from the station, I heard the birds stir awake.

When I arrived at Flemington Racecourse, it started to rain a little, but I was smart and I wore a cap so I wouldn’t get sunburnt (and whatdya know, it worked), so I decided to tough it out. Little did I know that it would basically start pissing rain for the next hour or so, and it was a HUGE piss the sky took.

After being inducted and getting to wear my first hi-vis vest, I got grouped with 3 other people. We got led to some containers, where the signs for toilets and bars and whatnot were stored. I took the time to notice that the guy supervising my group looked like Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds, except he wasn’t as smart, or smart at all, and he was a lot more well built.

Unfortunately, Reid (his name was actually Morty but I like Reid) went off to supervise another group, and my group worked with this guy called Ben. He and his crew partner Sean told us that we had to put up the entrance gate signs. So we went to one of the gates, and it started pouring earnestly. Luckily I was in the car, but two of my group got drenched.

Anyway, it was a pretty boring day so basically fast forward 3 hours and tedious walking back and forth to fasten stupid signs on gates that weren’t even ready, we were given a break. One of the girls in my group found out that I wasn’t planning to actually go to the festival using the free ticket we get given, so she offered to buy it off me. I supposed that a third of the ticket price is a cheap deal, but I was going to not get any money anyway.

Finally, at 1, we got signed out. I really hope other jobs are more exciting than this one, but it WAS interesting to see the venue get set up. I went to have lunch, and decided to treat myself to some McNuggets before I get sick of looking at them, and wolfed down 10 of them. The guilt was quickly quietened by the reminder that I hadn’t eaten anything but 2 slices of toast and water since 5:30.

I basically passed out to sleep at 10:30 later that night. I don’t think it was the best way to do it, but at least this deal got my sleeping pattern back to normal.

Alex.

You Never Ever Leave My Mind

[Hello – Hawk Nelson]

Today, the weather pointed at knife at me and told me to give up all my money now or else.

I went to MSAC today to talk to hopeful Yr 12s at MacRob about choosing Uni courses. That conference/talk in itself was anticlimactic and slightly humiliating (Annie and I, being Media and Communications students, got put in a group of Creative Arts, and it took us 2 talks to realize we didn’t belong). But the stuff that happened before and after it is blog-worthy.

Met up with my MacRob group at Melb Central and had lunch with them, and one of the exchange students from Yr 11 (I think it was just before I started blogging here so I don’t think I mentioned them at all) from Japan came down to visit so her and her host-sister came to have lunch with us. Dani and D.P. showed up to say hi, and they turned out be wearing matching skirts/dresses. Dani was trying to do something to her heels to make it stick, so she got band-aids, and felt it necessary to stick one of them onto my arm hairs.

We ate KFC (which I am currently regretting, my stomach hurts), and Bel and I put some of Tiffany’s sushi wasabi into my gravy. Makes instant Asian cuisine.

We went to MSAC and had the talk. There isn’t much to say except I GOT THE SCHOOL SPOON! My life goal is now actually (slightly/partially) complete. Also, at this point in the day, hugging people started to sound like velcro, because everyone was covered in a nice glazing of sweat.

After the MSAC talk, we made our way back into the CBD for me to finally get Annie her present, then for Bel to run some errands. We took whatever aircon’d place we could find, and groaned in disgust every time we had to leave.

Finally, it was time for my McDonald’s interview. I realized that my Asian blood ran strong in me when I showed up to the place 50 minutes early. Thankfully, the manager/hirer was actually free after her current interviewee, so I got snuck in early. Basic questions done, Kate (the hirer) looks at me and says, “well, I won’t make you wait the week I’ll tell you now, the job’s yours. I just have to find someone to train you.”

SO, YES, I FINALLY found a job! My standards for my money earning sources have dropped so much that I am actually completely over the moon about this. It won’t be easy, because the location is not near my house, but hey, I should start shouldering responsibility! Now to wait for my training to start. In the meantime, I have my vollie job at GVF next Friday.

Hopefully the weather won’t be like it was today. It started pouring sheets of water earlier, and my house, as strong as it usually is, started leaking.

Take care, everyone, and hope the weather eases up soon!

Alex.