2013 is nearly over…

Well with 2013 nearly over, embarking on a new journey seems written in the stars and in my life. Travelling has become a big focus for me recently, yet again travel to the East Coast beckons.

This is a year of rebirth for me, moving toward my next goal, its tiring. But what I am enjoying is reflecting on all that 2013 and previous years right back to being 18 have given me.

24 hours I will be sitting on a plane waiting to travel the 2800 miles to my new location for the next few months. It will be a struggle but its something I am prepared to give my all. Now to finally tell my family what is happening, on the day of my departure, not looking forward to it at all.

 

Generation Z is always connected …

“Generation Z is always connect

Reference: BETHANY HIATT, The West Australian Updated September 15, 2013, 2:27 pm

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/18937016/generation-z-is-always-connected/

This….really, not again! For once finding that one exact scholarly paper for a submission and this one needs to pop up.

This year is looking slim, but where is that one academic paper that will bounce my research proposal into play. Firstly the cost benefits of doing a research degree appeal to me, hello zero. The cost of education in Australia suffers many disparities and thus a predetermined amount will be repaid over time, hopefully within this decade.

Living in a rural setting to become socially isolated in an electronic cottage for some becomes part of one’s habitus. For generation Z, those aged now between 4 and 18 its all documented.

At least not all my dumb stuff is online, some ‘proof’ only lies in memories, maybe one significant moment in a photo album.

But with everything at their fingertips a post in a Teacher support group asked a class, “Me (to my 8th graders on an enrichment half day at warm up time): “So, this teacher group I belonged to had a post about kids not getting the right answer to a problem and I want to know if it’s your generation or if it was a local problem.”
Them (in the palm of my hand and intrigued): “What problem?”
Me: “What is the correct response to this statement: I’ve got chills.”
One boy, questioning and with a grin, “They’re multiplying?” Me: smiles
Two girls, in song, “And I’m losing control….” Me: “There’s hope for your generation, now let’s get started.” So, to the earlier poster, my experiment proved it was an aberration. This generation does know the “classics”. “

Spring has sprung!

It has officially sprung in my neck of the woods, which for the first time has co-existed with the dreaded ‘Spring Clean’. Where I live it is the ONLY sensible time to be doing major clean ups. The weather generally works with you and attire is easy and comfortable to wear.

Spring is a great time of year, but I am always partial to a good summer but it needs to be an enjoyable, relaxing one where I get to bask in the heat. Even a summer rain at the right time is a welcome relief especially when my body is not coping.

Career direction and life planning also seem to be happening now. It’s a whirlwind of activity which my body is resisting. It’s very manic, and my body is responding with butterflies interchanged with stomach knots.

21st Century Dilemna

I’m been defriended on Facebook. **Shock *** Gasp *** Horror

In all honesty is refreshing, someone has taken the time to sweep through their friend list and cull. Seriously do they ‘all’ have to be there? My ex-facebook friend had flowers as her public display. It was refreshing to see a spring clean happen without any hoopla or public statements.

Guess for me it is more about updating lists. I don’t defriend because the horror stories of how it ruined someones life is out there for the whole world to see. People stay my friend but I adjust the level of access they have to things.

No hot water

It really is an inconvenience having to drive 20km round trip to belong to the section of the population who bathe properly on a regular basis.  Where is my hot water system?? At least I don’t have to socialize as we have been able to commandeer a bathroom but I live in the 21st Century, I need running hot and cold water, sewage connect, a machine that washes clothing and a machine that connects me to the internet. I will survive.

On a side note, lets discuss my windscreen, excellent its replaced but why don’t my windscreen wipers wipe and could you pop my review mirror on. Really not up for the 80km+ round trip for you to put it on at your workshop, especially as there are two cars that need their review mirrors stuck back on.

If I was going to live without my own private conveniences for showering, it is better being in my swag in beautiful warm 21 to 27 degree weather. Listening to excellent music attending a festival. But alas that is 10 more days away!!! Then I wouldn’t care too much about the showering facilities, its a festival! So my bet with you,universe, is my next private showering facilities be when I change hemispheres and then resort to sharing bathing rooms?

Convenience and reliability, really not too much to ask. But I’m fearing after 20 days touring foreign lands, immersing myself in culture, where things work the way they should, this spot I call home (freezing and landlocked or stinking hot and landlocked) might need more than just whipping into shape.

Clutter Free – Becoming a reality.

Its true, throughout my life I have been surrounded by clutter and I hoard. Not insane, get in the health department but still no where near acceptable. There is photographic evidence of how the ‘dumping zone’ was from various different times over the last 5 or so years.

This time my mindset towards the clutter (I’m being nice to myself) has changed. I no longer want to hoard it. I want it stored, but easily accessible. Its time to embrace the 21st century technology but also retain the old, which has started with me connecting a dialup internet account again in 2013!!!

‘The Workshop” has been reclaimed by 1/4 or 25%. There are now two functional workspaces, some wall decoration being the photographs that never see the light of day. The big achievement is ‘The Library” which currently is a drawer in a horrible grey filing cabinet, but in my head, it is this beautiful matching bookcases, colour co-ordinated magazine holders, with a old fashioned card system as well as electronic searching database. Oh yes it is a grand “Library”.

“The Electronic” is now stopping paper, particularly in finance not being handled twice. The mail becomes a PDF file and the original marked and filed immediately.

Finally my ruthlessness, sees “The Green Barrel” go off for its second turn to visit the incinerator. Cleansing to just rid yourself of everything allows a weight to be lifted off your shoulders. It really does help that after spending 2010 to 2012  co-ordinating 10 change of address cards, across two states, the paperwork does tend to get behind and build up.

It’s onwards and upwards… to conquer the mountain of paperwork, with alcoholic beverage in hand to make the world a better place.

 

Fast Forward .. 2013

Well I have found a link to this blog and decided to bring it back to life again. Why start somewhere new….again.

Update …

Qualified Secondary Teacher – Registered in 2 states. 

VET – Cert IV TAE or TAA or what ever you call it. Need to do Adult learning module to stay registered past 2014(?) and get more industry experience GGGRRRR

Bach Arts (Internet Comms) – Oh how I have missed having fun studying

Location – Farm

Employment – None

Children – None

Cat x 1 & Dog x 1 (same as 2011)

Travel: 2011 – Fiji; 2012 – Nullabor, QLD, Cambodia; 2013 – South Korea & Bali – in only 2 short weeks!!!!!!!

A day to remember

In Australia the 11/11 is Remembrance Day, where we pause at 11am to remember those who have fallen fighting for our country. I did appreciate that today that the commercial radio station I was listening to had 1 minute silence and then played the last post, it was moving and very symbolic of how important this day is in Australia.

Today whilst an important national day will also be remembered by me as the day that my husband allowed me to take a solo holiday.

As I type this post (badly because I have fake nails on for a friends wedding in a week), I am sitting at the airport waiting to take the first of 3 flights, which in approximately 15 hours will land me in Fiji.

I am off to relax, with a book, maybe a laptop and think and ponder and just unwind. It is the first time I have traveled solo in over a decade.

I better log off, boarding starts in 10 minutes and I like to be looking semi organised.

Stalker book…

Well this is what many people refer to as Facebook and to be honest it really is a stalkers paradise. Just this morning I decided to search up someone… and then clicked through to find his wife who politely left a large chunk of her photo’s open for the world to see. Whilst they were just general photo’s of a holiday and furbabies it was a bit weird being able to look at their photo’s and see what they had been up to. I am not the type of friend who you introduce to your wife especially when you have been indulging with a bit of marriage counselling with their husband (and thanks to stalker book discovered they have been married 1 year). So whilst we can never be “friends” in an open online medium I can still keep tabs and see what is happening. Unfortunately whilst using the subscribe feature would be useful this would allow for those people to see that I have subscribed, so I won’t be using that feature to stalk.

This really made me consider how dangerous Facebook can actually be and will have to again review my online friends as well as my security settings with the 100th change to them since I joined.

Now the reason for me stalking was well, there isn’t no reason except my male friend prides himself on being right … and unfortunately he was right over this Qantas dispute and thus I am going to have to eat my words, as I believed his flight would be delayed. I hate being wrong more than he does, so eating my words is seriously going to suck, and he won’t let me forget it. I was hoping to find something to use against his position of I am always right.. guess not.

From someone who is pretty internet savvy, and has been able to work out many of the “new” security settings being installed, this last update has me stumped and seems very complicated to get it set just how I want it / how I used to have it. Well that will be another lost night trying to fix the stupid settings. But let this be a warning to those… Facebook is an online medium and if you put it out there and don’t lock down your security, people will start peeping over the fence to see what they can see.

Bored… bored… bored in the concrete jungle

Well I know that we normally sing, George, George, George of the jungle look out for that tree, but with a lack of trees and no one here called George but we do have a bored in residence I thought it might make a catchy title for today’s blog post. My work is completely dull, there is no other way to describe my position… actually there is another way… seat warmer! I keep this seat warm and that is about it. Answer the odd phone call were 99% of the calls really don’t want our office and people just keep hanging up. I create maybe one document a day… and spend most of my time surfing the net and listening to the radio.

My life has been dull and the highlight of my Thursday night is doing at least two loads of laundry to be caught up and have clean clothes to wear to work on Friday. So really there isn’t anything exciting to report. My final unit is worse than pulling hen’s teeth…. for those studying the last unit is the hardest… not because of the subject matter but because after all these years working towards the goal, you get over it, and I am over it. On the sad side there the oncampus students I am living with are all starting to move out, of course it’s always the fun ones that move first.

As this year starts to wind up I am hoping to find a cheap getaway holiday to somewhere warm and sunny for a week to give myself a week of relaxation, whilst completing my final uni assignments. I doubt it will actually happen but you never know my luck, maybe I will find that cheap overseas getaway in the sun and bash out my last few assessments so I can finish the study period early rather than later. Still need to register for my degree, so I better get onto that quick smart, with only a few weeks to go before the uni year is finished.

Well guess I should go back to pretending to do some work, it is what they are paying me for. Going to try and bunk off work two hours early tomorrow… there is a really good game of rugby starting at 230pm.