Buckle up kiddies, this is gonna be a long one.

I realise that I have subjected my blog and accompanying Web site to shameless neglect. I last blogged in November 2007. Since then, quite a lot of things have happened.

I have a feeling that very few people are actually interested in my blog, but updating it helps me to remember things that have occurred. A snapshot in time, if you will.

Justin Timberlake’s concert:

A few days after my last blog, I attended the Justin Timberlake concert at Rod Laver Arena. It was the best concert I’ve been to so far (apart from Live at the Chapel, but that was a very special, once-in-a-lifetime case). It was absolutely dynamite. I went with my best guy friend, Matt. Matt is lucky that he only gets mentioned by name because I could literally write pages about our “friendship” dynamic!

The concert really made me appreciate what a good album FutureSex/LoveSounds really is - and it hasn’t left my car stereo for quite a while! I got quite a lot of photos but none of them are actually any good.

On the university front:

I had an exam the day after the concert (joy) at 9:30 AM (cruel), but out of all my exams, it’s the one I did the best on, despite really not studying due to anticipation of the concert (go figure). I passed everything (even Psych, but I’m sure I failed both exams).

I also successfully transferred out of my Psych course because stats suck and blow at the same time, and I’m only doing HRM now. It’s actually a relief to be out of Psych. I’m sure people enjoy it and good luck to them, but I don’t do well doing stuff I absolutely hate (like stats, for example). I still don’t escape stats totally in HRM, but it’s only a semester of business stats, as opposed to four consecutive years of the shit.

I got credit for all the subjects I did, which means I’m set to graduate a semester earlier than I would have ordinarily - all going well (read: I pass everything first go). It also means that last year wasn’t a total waste. All shades of win, in my opinion.

Bitchcake on wheels:

In December, I attempted my licence test. However, like the Korean test missile a couple of years ago, I failed soon into flight. About two minutes into flight. I apparently didn’t give way to someone attempting to drive into VicRoads. An immediate fail.

However, the extortive cost of the test, lesson beforehand and having my instructor with me pissed me off more than did failing, to be honest. It was like two hundred bucks and I fail two minutes in, and my parents still have to fork out? I was also pretty much set up to fail, since the area I did it in has notoriously stupid drivers, is near a massive roundabout and a shopping centre, and it was fairly close to Christmas. There was nobody who left for their tests that day who didn’t come back very hastily after leaving VicRoads. Coincidence? I think not.

But at last, I finally passed my test on 12 February this year. The funniest part was that as soon as I got to the driveway of VicRoads, tester in tow, I got into the same situation as I was in my first test. The tester finally asked me why I wasn’t driving out, and I said: “This is how I failed last time, I apparently didn’t give way to someone coming into VicRoads, and I will be damned if I fail for the same reason again!” She laughed and said, “OK, fair enough, but please go now”. So I did. I lost about six points during the assessment, but passed.

Driving is still a novelty at the moment. I really like having that independence, and I love my car because it is such win.

What I Did This Summer:

I spent quite a lot of my holidays at my friends’ houses, which was great fun for the most part. Sometimes it got a bit “samey”, you know, but it was great to get out. The most fun was Matt’s house. Use your imagination.

Christmas was pretty good. My mother and I picked out some non-alcoholic wine. She forgot to chill it in time for the meal and instead resorted to putting it in the freezer. Twenty minutes later, we hear this huge BANG when we try to open it. The bottle implodes and spews faux red fury. It was hilarious. We don’t let mum chill wine (fake or real) anymore!

I went to the movies a few times as well. I saw Juno twice (an absolutely fantastic movie, and Michael Cera can knock me up any day!) and August Rush, which was too high on the schmaltz factor for me, and that Highmore kid annoys me somewhat. Robin Williams was really creepy in it too, but it’s nice to see that Keri Russell has moved on to ventures other than Felicity and The Mickey Mouse Club.

Back to uni again:

I started uni two weeks ago, I’m now in my third week, but next week is the last week before my two-week mid-semester break. It’s tiring more than anything, although I feel much more at home in business lectures and tutes than I did in my arts lectures and tutes.

The only thing weighing on my mind at the moment with uni is probably my troubles in economics, which have probably stemmed from dropping maths like a hot potato after finishing remedial maths at the end of Year 10. I haven’t felt the panic of not understanding something that others seem to understand since Year 9 maths, which was really when the whole house of cards really collapsed. It’s panic on a smaller scale, but it’s still panic. I don’t like it.

Gamer chick and fangirl:

I have rediscovered my Nintendo DS and its many-fold joys after buying something that I won’t name, but suffice it to say that I have a lot of games now. To think I took back Animal Crossing: Wild World for a refund when I bought it! FEWL! I’m addicted.

I also am currently enjoying Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and recently finished Another Code: Two Memories. I’m trying a lot of games that I wouldn’t otherwise have even picked up.

With Phoenix Wright, does anyone else enjoy yelling “OBJECTION!”, “HOLD IT!” and “TAKE THAT!” into the DS’s microphone? How fun is it?!

I’m planning on visiting the Game On exhibit at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) sometime soon. It looks like an awesome retrospective of games. I’m no hardcore gamer, but it could still be interesting, and watching my friends get so excited about stuff like this is a bit of a kick for me, especially since I was the one who told them about it for the most part. I’m also going to try and get to the Supanova pop culture expo, which is a huge multi-fandom convention held at the same place my university exams are (now that’s odd).

I think that’s about it for now, and this blog is way too long. I have got to learn to spread these out into more parts, rather than posting epic novels the size of Homer’s Iliad.

OK, that’s an exaggeration, but reading such a long entry must be pretty tiresome. I’ll try and split them up.