Awkward class moment

The stress from school has been consistently rising now for a little while because I realise more and more that I have a lot to do in not a lot of time.  It mainly comes from my own problem with procrastination.  I would rather chat to friends and family back home rather than start working on schoolwork. 

With this in mind I had a dream the other night where I had to stand at the front of my class and answer questions on a project I had not yet finished. (The real life project for this class is due in three weeks) Anyways, in the dream I was being humiliated by my lecturer for not having the project completed even though it was not due yet. 

Last night I am sitting outside the classroom in the little waiting area. I started talking to one of my classmates about the dream saying "I had this dream last night where John (our lecturer) was in my dream....." at which she replies "you know he is sitting right over there right and can hear you?" No I did not know this. I then had to start over and quickly tell the dream, but I don't think he got what it was about.  I'm pretty sure my lecturer now thinks I was dreaming about him when in reality I was dreaming about being publicly humiliated by him in front of the whole class.

Awesome. What a nice and embarrassing way to spend the next couple of hours in class.

Who knew birds like sugar?

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the Art Gallery of New South Wales as part of an assignment for one of my classes. While I was there I thought I'd take a tea break at the cafe. Since the day was so nice I decided I would enjoy my tea sitting at a table outside.

My tea came with two packets of sugar which I had to keep away from the birds who kept eyeing them. Obviously I did not do a good job because this little guy got a hold of one of the packets and ate it.

It was amazing to watch him open the packet of sugar and then tilt it to get the sugar to spill out into his mouth. It was very clear he had done this before. Luckily I had my camera with me to take a quick shot. Too bad I didn't catch it on video, because it was really funny.

I bet he was up all night from all that sugar!!

Lent update

I must say I am very proud of myself for how my Lent sacrifices are going.  Besides the cookies I ate at the very beginning (remember it was a life or death situation) I have not cheated! 

Don't let me fool you, it has been extremely hard.  I thought alcohol was going to be harder than sweets, but I was wrong. It is amazing how often you come into contact with sugary sweet delights. Either at stores, cafes, or people offering them to you, sweets are EVERYWHERE!  So many times I have finished dinner and wanted "a little something sweet" but cannot have it.  My roommate Lizzy has really been putting me to the test, besides the devil like tiramisu she made, she made yummy looking pistachio cookies that I really want. They are currently sitting out on the table and I have to avert my eyes each time I pass.  So sad. 

Again I thought alcohol would be the hardest to give up, but really it hasn't been.  I guess it is because Adsy doesn't drink that much, and we don't go out to pubs or bars a lot either.  Those two things make it much easier to give up alcohol because I am not around it.

Anyway not that any of you really care about this, but I am proud of myself. Now only 17 more days to go!

Arts Interview

Many of you have probably seen my posts on Facebook and even Twitter (which I never use) about a thing called arts interview.  Arts interview is the brainchild of one of my past lecturers who wanted to bring more discussion into the Australian arts industry.  To do this she and another woman Kim recruited students like myself to help bring this project to light, and arts interview was born.  

What we hope to accomplish at arts interview is to interview people all across diverse art practices from high level executives of big arts companies to emerging practicing artists.  Every month is linked with an arts management theme in which each interview is centered around.  For example, the blog went live in March and the theme was should the arts act like a business? and April's theme is collaboration, etc.

I am very excited to be apart of this project.  I think it will be very helpful and inspiring to those in the arts community.  For myself it will also be beneficial for networking opportunities in and around Australia.  Maybe one day I'll start up an arts interview America edition!

P.S. I started this project back in February, but the reason I am just now posting is because my first interview was posted yesterday! Yippee be sure to check it out at www.artsinterview.com

Barbie Girl Jr.

UNSW has a school of Optometry which offers free eye exams to all students. Seeing as I have never had my eyes properly checked and I have been getting headaches after reading or looking at the computer I decided it was about time to get my eyes examined.

After going through the longest eye exam ever (at least they were thorough) I was told I should get some reading glasses.  Here are a few pictures of my new glasses that Adsy helped me pick out (no I did not get the big black ones he made me try on, and then posted on Facebook). 

On a side note:when I was picking them out I kept laughing because I have a pair of Vans shoes that look just like these glasses. Obviously that did not matter, because I got them anyway! 

                      

If I didn't look enough like her already, now I look even more like my Mom!!

Didn't you know you are supposed to match your reading glasses to your shoes?

As you can see I had a lot of fun taking pictures of my new glasses.

I have had these glasses since last Friday and I love them.  It took a little while to get used to them as I have never had to have glasses, but I can tell they help a lot. Now I can sit on the computer and read for hours without having to worry about straining my eyes to see! Lets just hope I don't lose or break them! 

Close Call!!

I'm a student, I should get student rates too!

Being a student I still get to enjoy the benefits of student or concession discounts, except when it comes to traveling around Australia.  For whatever reason the Australian government feels that international students should not be allowed to enjoy this benefit of getting discounted rates on buses, trains, etc. My personal opinion of why the government does this is that international students are more likely to travel so they (Aussie Gov) will get more money if they don't allow international students concessions on travel. In order to get the rate you have to be an Australian student with a special sticker on your ID which you get through the school. 

Even though I am an international student I still buy the "concession" rate bus tickets. Before you judge, let me tell you they are half the price of the full fare tickets.  For someone who pays a ton to attend school over here, and who also doesn't have a steady income I think it is only fair to get the student rate.  I am a student, it only makes sense.

Anyways, yesterday I got on the bus from Uni to make my way home.  I dipped my student bus ticket and sat down.  As I sat down I saw three transportation officers run to get on the bus to fine anyone not using the right ticket.  I freaked out.  The fine is around $200 and I really didn't want to get one.  I got to the front of the bus to get off right as one got on.  He asked to see my ticket and student card.  I felt the fine coming my way, then he told me I need to go get my sticker from the University.  I got off the bus, ran and purchased a regular ticket, and made my way home with no fines.  I was lucky, but I might not be next time. Maybe I should save myself the hassle and start purchasing full fare tickets. 

Or better yet, maybe I should find someone to get me a sticker for my ID!!

The Devil takes many forms, including yummy desserts!

Tiramisu, the Devil's dessert

For Lent this year I decided to be a little more challenging than usual, some years I do not sacrifice anything, so this year I decided to give up alcohol, sweets, and restrict myself to one coffee a day.  I am seven days in and so far so good, it has not been too hard.  However, there was a little incident with a cookie last Saturday, but I did not realize I had eaten it until 20 minutes after it happened. Afterwards Adsy and I both agreed it was a life or death situation, I become an angry tiger when I'm hungry.... In the words of my sister, "You didn't realize you had cheated so it doesn't count!" Thanks Anna for allowing Lent to fit my lifestyle. 

So what does tiramisu have to do with my Lenten sacrifice? Well last night my Indonesian roommate, Lizzi, made tiramisu.  Do I need to remind you what the ingredients are for tiramisu? Coffee, rum, and lots and lots of sugar.  All of my sacrifices rolled into one deliciously prepared dessert!  Adsy found it particularly amusing that this had happened and was a little too delighted that I couldn't have any.  More for him.  

To tell you the truth, it didn't even bother me too much. Yes, I would have loved to have some freshly homemade tiramisu, but not so bad as to break Lent. Now, only 38 more days to go!  

P.S. Randomly, I dreamt of drinking a gigantic cup of coffee last night.  Funny thing is that is the one thing I haven't totally given up, but restricted.  I must really love my coffee!