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.