Don't be a Jerk, it's Christmas.

Shopping centres, in general, are hell.

But we're approaching that special time of year when they just get so much worse. And there's nothing like working in one to make you hate all of humanity while you hold out for the end of the holiday season.
Common sense just seems to fail a lot of people when it comes to the holidays and shopping centres.
The worst is probably the people who think that there's no better place for a conversation then the middle of the walkway. Really guys? I mean, come on. Literally everyone hates you. You're a jerk. There's a special place in hell reserved for people like you.
Those people are also the same people that turn into bat shit crazy motherfuckers in the car park. It's been a nice change this year not having a car and so not having to deal with the whole parking situation at Christmas. I'm not sure if this applies to other shopping centres, but the one I work in has a designated 'staff parking' area that is a million miles away from the shops and late at night the walk back to the car is really nice if you want to get mugged. So thanks, centre management, but if I had a car, I probably wouldn't be parking it there.
On the topic of the shopping centre I work in, there was a big blow up about how there were no Christmas trees and how it was political correctness gone mad. I don't know how this whole thing came about but if anyone who was raging on about it, if they had maybe taken the time to have a look around before going on a rant about how people are ruining their Australian way of life, they probably would've noticed that there are Christmas trees all around the shopping centre. And a nativity scene. It really doesn't get much more Christian than a nativity scene so maybe these people just need to calm down.
Next time you're out buying Christmas presents, just spare a thought for the people behind the counter. As shit as it can get having to navigate the crowds and the lines, just remember, you're not the one that has to deal with all the people. And crazy motherfuckers not understanding that their coffee might take five minutes because there are people everywhere.

This might be my last post before Christmas, so if it is I hope you all enjoy yourselves, and get to spend it with the people that matter most to you. Stay safe.
Merry Christmas.
And I'll leave you with this.
I'll also add a disclaimer: I don't know any rights to spongebob squarepants or this song.

new again.

So it's been a while.
Life keeps getting in the way of my ability to spend time writing. But now I find myself with nothing but time. Not just because uni is done until March.
On that note for a second.
I must be one of few people who prefers being in session rather than out of it. I would prefer to have a million things to do rather than nothing. So the thought of having until March with nothing on scares the hell out of me.
And now I'm not sleeping.
It's been about a week now. I sleep about an hour a night. Two if I'm lucky. It's an odd feeling. But mostly it's just boring as all hell. There's nothing on tv but infomercials. But read a book I hear you saying. Tried that. I read a book cover to cover. twice. in one night. Then I read Dickens, still nothing. If Dickens can't put me to sleep I don't really know what to do.
I'm keeping this one short. But I kind of just wanted to say that the blog will be changing a bit. There'll still be the usual self deprecation and running social commentary, so never fear.
I hope you're all well.
I've missed you.

Brad.

P.S. if you haven't yet, see The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It's still absolutely perfect even after the third time.

Are You Okay?

Sorry for the gap in posting. All my assessments started piling up and I didn't really have much time for anything except uni, work, and occasionally sleep.
But I wanted to make the time to write this post.

Today is RUOK Day, and it encourages people to connect with their family, friends and colleagues to ask how they're going, and make sure that they're okay. It's important that we ask this question because sometimes it isn't easy to tell people that you're not doing so great. Whether it be because you don't want to be a burden on someone, or you feel like your problems can't be solved by anyone but yourself, it's important that we ask each other this question, because we have a habit of internalising our problems. And something small can manifest itself into something big. Or we might not be able to see our way out of a problem on our own.

1 in 5 Australians will experience depression in their life time. 4% of us will experience a major depressive illness each year. 64 000 Australians try to take their life each year, with the highest rate of attempts being men aged 15-24. It's important that those around you know that they're able to talk to someone, and by simply asking how someone is going you could save their life.

I've seen a lot of people talk about how stupid an idea it is, and that it isn't something that should only be asked one day out of the year. If you haven't lived through or had someone close to you suffer from depression, or attempted suicide, it's easy to trivialise the situation, and saying things like 'people just need to get over it' or 'harden the fuck up' tend to make the situation worse than it already was. But it is true, asking someone if they're okay isn't something that should be limited to one day of the year. Look out for your family and friends, if you notice a change in their demeanour ask how they're going.

And to you reading this, are you okay?

I hope that you're all well, and please, take the time to ask someone how they are doing.

organisation win.

I was recently reprimanded for being inconsistent with my uploads and it got me thinking about how I generally fail when it comes to being organised at life.
It probably won't come as a shock to most that I pretty much suck at remembering when I'm supposed to be doing things. A sore point with most of the people in my life, because it generally means they've shown up somewhere we agreed to meet, called me to ask where I am, and then I pretend that I totally knew that we were meeting and I'm only just around the corner.
It's the same reason why I always answer the door in my pyjamas. I forget people are supposed to be coming over. (okay that and my pyjamas are just comfortable so fuck you, don't hate me just cos you've been forced into wearing acceptable clothes for three in the afternoon).

The only problem is, while it is generally understood by friends that they should probably remind me that we have plans to do things, or make sure I write it down, it doesn't go down so well when it comes to making sure I have my shit together for uni. and work. and paying bills.
The way I remember that I should probably pay my phone bill is that something in the back of my mind goes 'hey I didn't have this much money this time last month! I wonder why that is. then after about half an hour of trying to work it out I realise that I should check to see if I have a bill due.

To counter my inability to retain simple pieces of information like dates, and when things in my life are supposed to happen, I tried having a white board. which was great at first. I wrote everything I had to do on it. and got this great sense of satisfaction from ticking shit off it. then I wanted that feeling to last so I didn't bother wiping stuff off the board. I was all like fuck yeah look at what I accomplished. then I ran out of room to write new things on. and the whole system fell apart.
After that, I decided to give a diary a go. this is still my current approach but it isn't really working out that well for me. I either forget to write things in my diary, or I do and then lose it.

On the topic of not being able to retain information. I went out a few nights ago and was introduced to a group of people that all knew each other. How the fuck am I expected to remember everyones names? And then it gets worse because they all remember your name and start showing off being like so Brad what do you do. and I just sit there hoping no one realises I haven't referred to anyone by their name the whole night. It seems though that as soon as someone goes to tell me their name my whole brain just shuts down for two seconds and it's like a gap in the conversation.
I just don't know how to fix it.


If you have any organisation tips I would appreciate it. Or even if you have any tips on helping me retain information.

Some things that you should probably check out if you haven't already:

Leigh Sales owned the shit out of Tony Abbott on the 730 report last night. It is one of the best ways to spend twelve minutes (don't be crass, that doesn't take anywhere near twelve minutes)
A trailer was released for the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who.
actually cannot wait for this. if you have strong negative feelings towards Doctor Who, probably steer clear of reading anything I post after the 1st September. Also please get out of my life.

I also finished looking for alaska yesterday. Really enjoyed it. John Green is incredible. just the whole book was brilliant.
Because I didn't read many books last year, I set myself a challenge to read at the very least a book a month. I know it seems incredibly easy but when you spend most of your time having to read, sometimes reading isn't a fun way to relax.
Looking for Alaska was the tenth book I've read. the others were:
The Fault in Our Stars
The Reader
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Animal Farm
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
The Slap
Fahrenheit 451.

If you've read them let me know what you thought.
I may write something about them in the near future. Kind of depends on what my assessment schedule is like. Which I don't know at the moment because I can't find my diary. Winner.

I don't really know.

so I said that the next blog post I wrote would be about atheism.
I lied.
I am in the process of writing it though. It's just not done yet.
but now it's Friday night and despite plans of trivia and beer, I am stuck at home with no rum and limited supplies of tea.
I thought I was completely out but I ended up finding a small box that past Brad had hidden in the back of the cupboard for such an occasion. I'm prepared. or really weird. either/or really.

I don't really have a topic to write about in this post so if you want to stop here I won't blame you. tune in next time when I ramble about a particular point rather than sweet fuck all.

But a few things happened in the past week.

Firstly, it looks like I'll be moving out of home at the end of the year. This wasn't really spurred on by anything, other than the incredibly convenience of moving forty minutes closer to uni, and the need to get some independence. So if you have any advice I would appreciate it.

I'm hesitant to put this next one in because I don't know how long it'll last but, I stopped smoking. again. Funnily enough it was on the same day that the high court made its decision on plain packaging. but the main reason wasn't that I couldn't really justify the cost. When I tell people that they seem to jump straight to oh my god how can you say that that is the main reason, what about all the adverse health risks! yes, I understand the risks of smoking. but the health risks aren't really immediate. I can notice when I'm flat broke straight away. At the moment I feel fine. I guess I'll see how it goes over the next few days.

I don't have lymphatic cancer! (I probably never did but kate put the idea in my head)
So four weeks ago I notice this lump on my neck, who we're calling Sally (I didn't pick the name). After waiting to see if she'd go down on her own, and an ultrasound later, they seem to think it's just a swollen gland/lymph node they just aren't sure why. Having a conversation with a friend she told me that when the same thing happened to her they thought it could be lymphatic cancer. I'm already a big fan of self diagnosis using good old dr google, so with these two things in mind, I was convinced for about three hours that I had cancer.

I also started reading 'looking for alaska' by john green.
I'll reserve judgement until the end, but at the moment I really like it.
But then I haven't come across something of his that I didn't like.

If you stayed this far, then I'm sorry and thank you.
I'll get something that goes somewhere up in a few days.

Soundwave Announcements, New Doctor Who, Tattoos, and How I Won't Fail Uni this Semester (Probably)

So the Soundwave lineup was announced today and I thought it was pretty sick.
But my new found attempt at being frugal means that I can't justify spending $187 and a booking fee to see a handful of bands that I would love to see, and have to deal with thousands of people. So I figure I'll wait for the side waves and go bat shit crazy then (if motion city soundtrack do a sideshow I will probably punch someone from excitement).
And as always, there's a fuckload of people talking about how shit the lineup is. It has a pretty simple solution, don't go. I don't understand why so many people have taken so much time out of their lives to complain about shit that doesn't need to affect them.
That seems to be something I've encountered a lot lately. People just need to calm down and realise that most of the shit that they let ruin their day would probably not affect them at all.
I don't know, it's just strange. But we all do it, myself included.

Three weeks into the semester and I've managed to stay on top of all my work. It's actually fucking amazing. Although I don't think it'll last long. It's partly because my legal theory teacher expects very little from our generation, so out of spite I'm doing all the work so that I can prove her wrong. All in all, not a bad system. Atleast the work is getting done. But I've not actually met someone who is that condescending towards an entire group of people that she doesn't know. It's so frustrating. But hopefully she stops painting us all with the same brush.

The two most exciting things in my life right now are the fact that Doctor Who is returning soon, and I'm scheduled in for my leg piece next month!
All the trailers (all two of them) for the new series of Doctor Who look amazing. I am way too excited. And devastated at the same time. Amy and Rory's last episode will probably put me in some kind of emotional wreck (for those of you who remember what I was like after the Six Feet Under final, I imagine I'll be exactly the same, if not worse). But that aside, it's going to be amazing.
I also had a consult today for my leg piece out at Surrey Hills. Ridiculously keen, and I'll try and get some photos up when the artist sends me the final sketches.

Sorry again for the sporadic uploads.
I've started writing another post about finishing Farenheit 451, and my new found appreciation for distopian fiction, so if I finish it I'll post that up soon.

Also started reading the God Delusion. So far it's really good. Richard Dawkins is hilarious.

Upon Returning to Uni

So after working 45 hours a week for four weeks, the holidays have finally drawn to a close. I always knew I would never come out of them feeling more relaxed, but I figured I’d be richer, if a little worse for wear.

Alas no, for anyone who has seen me with any money, no matter the amount, you all know that I get too excited by not being broke. So despite working to the point where my legs were probably going to up and quit, I decided I’d much prefer to buy shiny new things rather than be mature and save. Do I regret it? Well I’m still a week out of being paid yet so I’m not entirely broke, and I’m sure future Brad won’t mind living like a hobo until he gets paid again. Speaking of living like a hobo I kind of resemble a homeless person at the moment. Not intentionally, I just kind of forgot to look at myself before leaving the house and I guess you could say I look acceptably disheveled or homeless. Being sans coffee, and thus having a crazy look in my eye, I think we’ll opt for homeless.

But I digress, needing to only buy two textbooks this semester I figured I’d probably be up for about $150, and I wasn’t far off, it was gonna cost me $170. But I think I may have been a bit overwhelmed by all the books and stationery that were surrounding me.  $230 later and I have my textbooks, a legal dictionary, notebooks, pens, highlighters, new sleeves for my folder and coffee. I’m probably too excited about the prospect of new stationery but it’s probably one of my favorite things about the semester starting.

So while I’m having the greatest time ever highlighting everything that moves, I’m certain that future Brad will appreciate having pages of notebooks that are unusable while he is living off of sheets of paper cos he can’t afford a meal.

I also managed to get roped into helping out with in2uni today, which is a program where primary school kids come down to the uni and basically get told how great it is to learn things. My efforts lasted an hour and involved helping out with a game of trivia. One of the questions was 'what is the third book in the harry potter series' one of the children in the second group responded with 'who reads harry potter?' I'm sorry but that kid has clearly had the shittest childhood. Which we may have told him in a sort of roundabout way? Really? You've never read harry potter? But they all knew who wrote twilight? No hope for these children at all. They may as well just give up on life now.

But I scored a free lunch out of it so I guess it wasn't all too bad. And by scored a free lunch, I'm not entirely sure that I was supposed to be fed, but I saw a whole box of sandwiches and thought what the hell these kids are never gonna eat all those vegetarian sandwiches. 

I managed to surprise myself by actually attending uni today at all. It was only meant to be for a one hour lecture but I managed to fit that in as well as the volunteering and catching up with some people. And now I get to spend the evening reading up on legal theory and practicing my very poor French.

Do I win uni now?