and then there's Blake (In stereo where available)

Today I'm sending my application for work in Korea. Yes it's the very same one I was supposed to send last year before the hiccup regarding my degree. It has been sitting next to me for a few days, completed, just waiting for me to send it to the consulate in Canberra. I wonder where my persistence to procrastinate comes from?

Hopefully the company will respond to me before June but I do expect they might just collect and sit on the applications until the cut-off date. I shouldn't worry about my chances of being accepted because it seems a sure thing. But it is impossible to sit back and not worry a little. If this application gets rejected I'll probably lose the plot and start madly hunting for alternative private schools to employ me. All my eggs are in this one basket.

Lately, everything rattling around in my mind before going to sleep is about preparing for August/September. I make lists in my head and think of everything I should be doing.
Sell:
» iMac
» iBook
» Wii
» anything else I don't need.

Get:
» university degree
» graduate loan
» macBook
» work contract
» travel related gear.

Start living.
It's not too much for a 5 month plan.


Toni, do that face again.
*screenshot*
cooooool
There is nothing quite like the awesomeness of video conversations with far off friends via iChat. Peter is only 30 kilometres away in another suburb but funky lil' Toni is 7,550 kilometres away in another country! Technology is great. Working technology is even better. I wholeheartedly approve of the quality (much better than Skype), not to mention the ease of use. I look forward to one day trying a 4-way conversation.

I can only hope this shameless iChat endorsement will by chance score me a free macBook from the nice Apple people.

We have been going out for coffee for almost three years now. It's funny how our situations back then just fell into place for us to discover we both enjoyed sitting at a cafe and conversing about what is on our mind. Now here we are, still enjoying ourselves and driving even further than before for our enjoyment.

We had just sat down at The Moon on Saturday when I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. For a moment I freaked out (-1 manliness) but then I noticed that it was Tiffy. Running into somebody I know is a notable event because it rarely happens to me. Due to this rareness there is no schema in my mind for the brief hi/bye style of conversation. I think I talk to much in that situation and unintentionally keep the person around for much longer than they anticipated. Whoops.

Today I said good bye to Toni by organising a farewell lunch for us. We ate at The Lucky Shag. My BLT was fine, nothing amazing, and thus I deem it to be overpriced.

I'm always complaining about people leaving (mostly complaining to myself) but only because I am not leaving too. It's a little baffling to think that if I didn't screw up my degree then I would have been booked on that same flight as Toni. Oh well, there's no rush. Good things come to those that wait . . etc.

I am sunburnt.

Here I go once again publicly admitting another foul in my life. I watched an episode of America's Next Top Model ^[#]. The mind-fuck is still to come - I liked it. This is worrisome regardless of whether the feeling is fleeting or not. I blame everyone I know on livejournal for this, yes I blame you!
Secretly, whilst huddled on the couch, I started browsing youtube for Top Model 'best of' clips. It didn't take long before I delved further into the World Wide Web and came across elysesewell. She is a former contestant of ANTM who appears to be the shit as far as blogging models (or model bloggers?) are concerned.
What has become of me? Why can't I look away? You are probably thinking that I'm attracted to the girls but you're 95% wrong! This has very little to do with levels of attraction - they're models - a vast percentage of them will never wander anywhere near my fanatical sarong fantasies. What grabbed my attention was how the girls picked for this show have egos made from industrial vats of piss and vinegar. The bitchiness is what I thrive on, and I have inevitably lost points of my humanity because of this. Oh reality television, you have taken another unsuspecting victim. Please may you have the decency to release me from your digitally broadcasted claws.

In news more meaningful to the life of Blake: Toni is leaving me the country next week to teach children in the land of the morning calm. The plan is to join her sometime later this year but we (you, me, and Curtin University of Technology) all know what I'm like with linearly formatted plans. My future is written in pencil and the eraser on the end has been worn down to a near unusable not-quite-twenty-six-year-old protuberance.

Ever wondered what time of the day I am?
Wonder no longer!

Today I sent off my passport papers, got a police clearance, and organised a medical examination for Friday. This is all in preparation for an application to work overseas. It is about time I began to try and secure myself work for next year. Toni and her willingness to apply for work in Korea with me made my choices much simpler. There are many steps to make the application successful and it will be a long time yet before we even get to the interview process. This is a positive step in the right direction and it's good to have a goal.

Only six weeks of university classes remain. Knowing that the end is near is both a comfort and a burden. It's actually quite brutal at the moment. My two standard units aren't a worry but the language units are destroying me. You cram as much as you can into you mind and hope you can sort out the mess when it counts.

Today was fun and somewhat eventful in its own little way. Three compliments were given to me, successfully putting me in a good mood.

Like last week I was up early to battle the morning traffic. I did not have class until 1500 but I was going in to pick up Nuala for another run to the Red Cross. While at uni I gave Toni her birthday present, the Monster Lights I bought back in January for her. Weeena was also present and complimented me by saying I looked really good. I believe I've grown my winter coat because she said my hair was darker. Toni mentioned the possibility of going to South Korea next year which of course makes my future plans wobble again.

It was amusing that some of the ladies at the Red Cross remember who I am. Most of them do a little squint and then say hello to me. The nurses who don't know me all harassed me since I wasn't donating and only watching/providing moral support. By the end I was ready to whip out my next appointment card so I could prove I was coming in next month.

Before going to lunch I ran into Steph, a soul who I almost never see around anymore. She ever so briefly mentioned my beardedness. I cannot correctly remember if she said it was good but I scored it as a compliment nonetheless.

I had KFC for lunch, an irregular indulgence for me these days. It was worth it and a good choice for lunch that I would not have thought of on my own. This was after I had spent a quick hour in the labs finishing a Korean writing task. Nuala said my writing looked good, like a Korean person had written it. I'd never heard that before but I accepted it as a compliment because I have never been confident in my Korean penmanship.

Before my first class Siobhan suddenly appeared, her class was apparently adjacent to mine. It was good to have a nice yet brief 'hello' once again. I swear she was a bit taller than what my memories tell me.

It was now 1500 and my classes were beginning. Of course by this time I had used a lot of my daily energy. On what? I had gone for a walk around the campus. You know, for exercise. The following three hours were spent keeping my eyes open.

Had a good time catching up with the uni ladies last night. Toni gave me a gift from NZ. It escapes my mind what it actually is so I will just say, green-rock-necklace-thinger.
While watching Iron Chef Marie had her partner in life (and possibly crime), Iron Chef Jamie, put together many pizza's of the yummy variety.
After some general tomfoolery we ventured to the moon and pulled Peter into it at the last moment. It was a joyous time for all.

I like nicknames but I lack the life skill of coming up with positively fantastic names. Still, I am glad I am not the worst. This is represented by the following blurry picture of a received sms.
( smser )

( +4 )

We are going again this Wednesday with more people. Should be fun.

Finally! They are here. I picked out a few to throw up on here and I'll add captions to each. Oh and none of these pics were taken by me.

Lets start with everyone trying to look sexy. We all suck at the sexy look.

Toni, Noriko, Saki, Tien, Me, Rowena. yeah. so sexy.
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