Let’s think the unthinkable, let’s do the undoable, let’s prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.

WFT-II was the only British software company that could be mentioned in the same sentence as such major U.S. companies as Microsoft or Lotus. The sentence would probably run along the lines of “WFT-II, unlike such major U.S. companies as Microsoft or Lotus …” but it was a start.

It was his subconscious which told him this – that infuriating part of a person’s brain which never responds to interrogation, merely gives little meaningful nudges and then sits humming quietly to itself, saying nothing.

Dennis Hutch had stepped up into the top seat when its founder had died of a lethal overdose of brick wall, taken while under the influence of a Ferrari and a bottle of tequila.

I am rarely happier than when spending entire day programming my computer to perform automatically a task that it would otherwise take me a good ten seconds to do by hand.

All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others.

A learning experience is one of those things that says, ‘You know that thing you just did? Don’t do that.’

Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so.

– Douglas Adams

My sister is having a helluva time deciding between Medicine and Dentistry. Factors favour each differently, with Med having the edge at the moment. One of her main concerns with Medicine, though, is that it will take such a long time – it’ll be approximately 12 to 13 years before she’s fully qualified, either as an independent GP or a specialist. Dentistry, on the other hand, takes less time, but the factor of which city is also in the mix – Melbourne is a lot more familiar, and all the trappings with that would smooth life.

So which to choose? I’d not be wanting to make that decision either, with all the questions she’s put up.

One thing, however, that she’s been putting up as a factor against choosing Med – the length of time – is something that’s got me thinking. What’s the rush, I ask? What is it, ultimately, that we are here for? The convention amongst “our generation” seems to be get through university with a degree and be working by 23, to live a templated life, reaching milestones as set by our peers. Why should the prospect of an extended learning process to qualify for a highly specialised and highly valued career path be something that we fear for the time it will take out of “life”?

The question I ask is: What else have you got planned?

It’s not really appropriate for me to say that an extended learning process is ok, though, because I’m one of the ultimate examples of exactly the opposite. But I still ask: what’s the rush?

It’s raining cats and dogs and possibly even hamsters. It’s a day when you get up, look out the window and rollover back into bed. You hear all over the radio that “the rain is good for the dams!” but sometimes you just want it to rain like this for a week straight so the environmental scare-mongers might just shut the hell up.

My mood always sucks on days like this.

Stories abound of people getting mugged just for having those famous white headphones, so I went hunting last week for a new pair. That and I had medical advice that I better switch away from the in-ear headphones, meaning my choices were in the over-the-ear range. I strayed for all of 2 minutes into the sound-cancelling zone; the sound cancelling really does work, but gods, the price. THE PRICE, MAN. $250 for a pair of headphones that are as chunky as my attempts to chop up onions?! (woo bad mixed metaphor~)

In the end, I paid much-too-much anyway ($60) for this pair. I’ve always wanted to get the “street style” ones, mainly because the over-head band just wouldn’t cut it (bad past experience), and I couldn’t find any other style really. The first thought: oh, my, god, these things are sexy. the sound is so sexy. it’s like i’m hearing things i’ve never heard before, probably indicating they’re better than my computer speakers. no real surprise there, since i spent more on them than the computer speakers, but still. This was soon after followed by other thoughts, like “They barely fit on my big head” and “hey, I’ll get even more noticed now than the ubiquotous whities” and “well it increases the ‘pod’s battery life because i only need volume at a quarter”, and also “wow my ears aren’t cold anymore!”

Suffice to say, good money well spent, but completely missing the point of not getting mugged. Ah well, at least the doctor will be happy.

Just saw my sister’s year 12 formal (= kinda prom) pics. How quick the little ones grow up! T.T

Maaaan do I feel old.

It’s the perverse, dark satisfaction you feel when you see right through someone’s act – it’s a evil, delicious knowledge, of just knowing that you know this person is acting, and hamming it up. If you could, you’d watch the reactions of those around, to see if anyone is fooled, to nod knowingly at the other people who perceive the fakery. But you can’t, because you can’t look away from the slow motion train wreck you can see unfolding. And you know when the moment comes you’ll laugh and you’ll sigh and say “i told you so,” and then you’ll cackle evilly. Because you’re human, and humans carry grudges, and it’s marvellous to see the begruged spiral themselves out of control.

You want to say more, but can’t without saying too much. Suffice to say, there’s a cynical smirk on your face.

It’s funny how when you find yourself with little to do, you get more agitated than when you have more than enough or too much to do. How it makes you feel guilty to say that “no, I’m not actually that busy at work…”. I suppose in the times when everything is hectic and it feels like there’s nowhere near enough hours in the day, that I’d look on times like these as idyllic paradise(s). But in the middle of it, it’s a different outlook…

To draw a bad analogy, it’s like going on holiday to a tropical resort – from a distance, it all looks marvellous, sunshine and lollipops in more than just the metaphorical sense. But when you’re there, the sun is just a little too hot, the air a little too humid and, ah fudgesticks, you just dropped your lollipop on the hot tar.

I’ll go find something to do now.

… 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.

There’s a frustration to his expression. He reaches and reaches for the right words to express the meaning behind his thoughts, but seems the message lost too easily in the endless words he seeks to communicate it. He wonders if there is a language that can accurately express what he wants, why it is that thoughts can’t be said as easily as they can be created. It’s a barrier to finding his place in the world, to finding those who understand him and those he can understand.

He occasionally wonders if he is alone in this, or if the whole world was the same and because of that no-one could realise they weren’t alone.

Fleeting glimpses of stories pass, objects of beauty, poignance and complexity created and destroyed simultaneously in every moment. The ability to capture and express these stories, so that others may glimpse the beat at the heart of the universe. Perception defines reality, not the other way around, and it is the ability to express it that raises one up from the mediocre to the magnificant, from relegated to respected.

If only he could find a way to express but one of the stories, completely and elegantly.

Some of you may have seen this email before; supposedly, it’s got the wisdom of the Dalai Lama in it & what-not, and part of it is organising a list of animals “by your preference”. If you’ve ever been asked a question which is more random or left-field than that, let me know.

The idea is that these animals reflect your priorities in life. Somehow. Let’s go through this list. If you don’t want to be spoilt for when this email pops in your inbox, look away now.

Ok now the freaks are gone, we can get on with things.

• Cow: represents Career. I dunno, cows never represented much to me. Some might consider cows “food”, or perhaps “milk”, or even “environment”, but Career? I’m noticing something with these animals – they’re all from the chinese zodiac (aren’t they? Tiger throws out “common domestic animals”). Maybe this email was written in 3000 BC when cows were pretty integral to careers in ye olde China. Wild guess here.
• Tiger: represents Pride. Hmm, maybe. If you’re a hunter, having a tiger’s head over your hearth is one of those matters of pride, but quite clearly over the years has had an effect on the tigers themselves. And if you’re going to say pride, why not say Lion? King of the jungle et al? Feeds back into that idea of the Chinese zodiac, y’see? Either way, I don’t buy how a tiger is somehow linked to your perception of pride, especially in the era of emails
• Sheep: represents Love. If there was one animal I had to say did not represent love in any way shape or form, sheep would pretty much have to be it. I don’t know about you, but an animal which is reknowned for its uncanny ability to look like all the other animals of its species doesn’t exactly put me the romancing frame of mind. Maybe something in the Chinese zodiac suggests sheep are particularly associated with love & all that, but it’d have to be a bit of a curveball. To say the least.
• Horse: represents Family. See, sheep I might have bought here. Cow, even, what with the whole herds. But Horse? Family? That’s illegal practically everywhere you go, my friend. That Chinese Zodiac has got something to answer for.
• Pig: represents Money. Greed, gluttony, piggy banks… ok, this one I can kinda buy. But since I can’t make a joke about the chinese zodiac here, I’m just going to say: what happend to the other 7 animals?

Next week: my next random email in my inbox! =)