Friend Flow Chart

Copying

friend flow chart

Some explanation – for the sake of simplicity, i didn’t include everyone I know, just those that are friends and are likely to see this =) The “…” signifies various multitudes of people at uni in my course. The greyed out ones in italics were those people who provided key contacts, but have since lost contact.

And the grey dotted border signifies the met-in-high-school/uni divide. With the exception of Annie inside the line, and conversely work people, there’s a bit of a generic rule that applies to this divide…

(if I’ve missed you… >.>)

Don’t buy a MacBook

Some days I want to, some days I don’t – for various reasons. But it’s becoming fairly obvious that the MacBook is not Apple’s finest. Don’t buy it; wait and see if Apple acknowledges for once they have problems.

21st Feedback?

It may seem like a long way off, but I’ve got to start planning my 21st birthday party already. I’ll be in London on my actual birthday, so I’ve pretty much got to have everything organised before I leave so that I can have one as soon as I get back. Which will be like November, but that’s for another day.

So what I wanted to know was, from your own 21sts, what’s the feedback? What works? Formal, casual, theme, random, event, dinner, music, etc? I’ve been leaning towards formal for a while, mainly because I love the whole atmosphere of a formal setting, but I don’t know how popular it will end up being. I’ve been to a mix of parties, but would like a little perspective from those who’ve gone through the process themselves, so that I can make a more informed decision.

Joga Bonito lost

It’d be suffice to say it’s over for the Aussies, that the World Cup has reverted to being a foreign oddity, and perhaps we’ll do better next time. Ah well. But no, fair sirs and madams, that is surely incorrect! This is a one-eyed supporter here, doing what one-eyed supporters do best! Blame-shift!

Ah, the Italians. Famed for their defensive play, coming up against the rampaging underdogs of the tournament, the Aussies. Joga Bonito, the beautiful game as the Brazillians call it, was demonstrated in their own way, the Australian Way. And in the end, the better team on the day did not win, because it came down to the running theme of this tournament, the Referee.

The referees haven’t had a good run this year. They’re supposed to be cracking down, but have done it in so many incoherent and eccentric ways that one really has to question what playbook they are following. This World Cup, the “favourites” have had an extremely good run, being favoured by decisions almost 2 to 1. Sure enough, it would be a truism to say that referees decided the game, because referees enforce rules and thus always decide the outcome of the game. But what this one-eyed supporter wants to know is: when will they finally get rid of the blatant diving? There are some players out there that would be freely certified for SCUBA licenses!

And so it was that the Australians’ fate was decided in the very last minute of the match. It was a hard tackle, no doubt, but that’s the way the game goes when the Aussies play. But to see someone so valliantly going out of their way to obey the laws of physics, and then those of the theater (“thou shalt ham it up”) meant that in the end, joga bonito, the way the game should be played, ultimately lost.

Coda of fairness: If the Aussies really were that good, they would have earlier in the match. The Italians had every right to play defensively; it is their style, and there was a very harsh straight red card. But I still wonder how much more exciting, more pleasingly fantastic the game would have been had the referee held on to his whistle and extra time came into effect. To have it wrenched away in the last minute… heart-breaking.

I wonder…

… if the stories I’m attracted to, the ones of unrequited, star-crossed love and poignant misunderstandings, shape my view of things somehow, so those stories that bore me, the stories of love requited, of complications sorted, those stories and the aspects that make up their core are somehow ignored; that somewhere in there, I’m really just a sucker for melodrama of the highest order.

Nah, who am I kidding? Oh right, myself.

Random thought: If ‘un’ indicates the opposite, then surely the opposite of ‘understanding’ is ‘derstanding’?

Feel free to ignore this. All of it.

Attn: New People Catching The Train

Dear all new people catching the train,

Yes, I realise that the price of petrol has gone significantly higher, and it’s now much more cost effective to catch the train than sit for an hour in traffic. Welcome to the public transport system, we’re (kinda) glad to have you here – more money in the form of more tickets can only mean good things for all our heavily subsidised public transport. However, as a regular train user, I would be neglectful if I did not bring to your attention a few things… just to keep us all happy. It’s for the good of all, you understand of course.

Ways to make everyone’s journey easier:

  • Don’t wait until the last minute to get up and run for the doors.
  • Wait for people to get off the train before getting on. The train will wait.
  • If someone who knows the timetable is running to make their train, don’t stand in their way.
  • Your bag/purse/laptop/newspaper does not deserve a seat. Neither does your umbrella, espcially so if it’s wet. The floor or your lap is perfectly acceptable.
  • Reading a broadsheet newspaper in morning peak is a no-no, unless you’re a master of newspaper origami. A master.
  • Don’t stand in the stairwell. Don’t stand in the door when people are trying to get out – hop out, hop back in, the train will not leave with you standing just outside the door.

Ways to avoid potentially looking stupid:

  • Work out which way the ticket goes into the gate first. No-one in the morning peak will appreciate you trying to work it out at the gate.
  • Ladies, the train is not a powder room. Applying lipstick is acceptable, basic facial make-up is borderline. Do not pluck eyebrows, apply mascara, or use a battery-powered curling iron to maintain that hairstyle. It’s really not a good look. Guys… no, don’t do it. If you’re doing to apply any makeup at all, do so in the privacy in your own house.
  • Don’t try to change from comfortable clothing into businesswear halfway in. I don’t know what you did in your car, but this isn’t an overnight flight or something.
  • Do not eat your breakfast on the train unless it is small and manageable. This means no cereal. Under any circumstances.
  • Follow the cue of regular passengers when it comes to picking the door to stand in front of, if you’re in that much of a rush.
  • Don’t loudly complain on the phone that you’re “surrounded by people” on the train. Public transport, buddy.
  • In fact, just don’t use the phone for anything longer than a 2 minute call. We don’t necessarily want to hear what Louise got up to last night, as saucy and unbelievable as it might be.
  • Occasionally though we might. Just not in the morning though. That’s just distracting.
  • Remember: left side of the stairs, please.

Simple things here people!