I have a secret to share. Well, it's not really a secret, unless you've never been in this position, but I'll tell you anyway: job hunting sucks.
It may be one of the greatest evils on planet Earth. Right up there with maths. And mosquitoes (can someone please tell me what purpose these things serve? I can think of none except to torture humanity).
It's not just the actual act of looking for jobs that is so horrible...although, it's not really fun and it is so easy to procrastinate that task in favour of fun things like reading about the tropes that appear in your favourite books, movies and TV shows (seriously, I've become somewhat addicted to this lately).
And yes, writing the applications isn't much fun either, although if you're looking for a job in a certain field, you can kind of copy and paste and just change certain things to apply for that specific job.
No, the worst part is the rejection letters. They come in the mail, in their little innocent envelopes, and if they have a logo on them, you just know immediately. And what was exciting for a moment (because who doesn't like getting mail? What could it be? A present? A cheque? Don't laugh, that did happen to me the other week, much to my joy) becomes a giant, soul-crushing, taunting... thing.
It just taunts you, like a giant YOU SUCK from the universe, and you really do feel like you suck, once you get more than a dozen of them.
It is hopelessly discouraging and the urge to just give in and stop applying is there, don't get me wrong. But I have no desire to be one of the many unemployed, living off Centrelink.
School starts next week, and yes, I am still unemployed. I'm hoping to get some casual work and/or tutoring once school actually starts; but I'm also looking at other things. I have many exciting things planned for 2013, many interstate, which requires money. And I really don't want to be back living at home and sharing a room with my brother for too much longer.
At first, I was really against even the thought of applying for any job that wasn't teaching related. Because to me, it kind of felt like giving up. I have this beautiful Diploma of Education, and I'm not going to use it?
However, now I'm at the stage where I'm looking past that. It's not a desperation thing (although having any job sounds good at this time), but I'm just starting to see that there are some opportunities and paths that I wouldn't mind exploring- even if they don't involve a classroom.
For example, writing. I love writing. I have since I was 6, and it's been a happy escape for me ever since then. And whilst I can admit that it's not perfect and can definitely be better, I can also admit that I'm good at it. I have many lovely friends who give me greater compliments than "good", but I'm not a good judge of that! (I'm a perfectionist, I admit it).
If I had the chance to work in an area somehow related to writing or books, I might have died and gone to heaven. I love teaching, I do, and I can see myself doing it for 20 or 30 years. But I'm only 22. I've done one year, and I'm accepting and realising now that I don't have to do those 20 or 30 years in the classroom full-time right now.
I'm not giving up on teaching in any way, but I'm just saying I'm not opposed to exploring other avenues in the next year or so. It would give me some great life experiences and new skills and allow me to meet new people.
Food for thought, I suppose. (Note to self: It may be a good idea to stop thinking after 11 pm. It leads to rambling).
WARNING: May be spoilers for The Hobbit. No, there are definitely spoilers. You've been warned.
Last night I went and saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I went with my dad, which was awesome because we saw each of the Lord of the Rings movies together, just the two of us (except the third one when my 7 year old brother decided he wanted to come too and ruined the tradition. I'm kidding... kinda).
We'd discussed it before whether we wanted to see the movie or not, because dad wasn't sure if he really wanted to see it given they stretched a tiny book into three movies; and me.... well, truthfully, I haven't read all of The Hobbit. I started, but I read Lord of the Rings first, so found it kind of boring. Especially when the whole plot of The Hobbit, is summarised at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, in "A note about Hobbits".
But anyway, we saw it last night. And I loved it. Although I'm not sure what the point for the next two movies will be. Wasn't the whole point of the book to tell how Bilbo got the One Ring? And they've already covered that now! They have the whole dragon thing left, so that's one movie, which makes two. Still one short...
But nonetheless, I thought it was a great movie. And here are my thoughts, maybe not so much in order:
I loved how they set the movie up, with Bilbo beginning to write his book, There and Back Again: A Hobbit's Tale by Bilbo Baggins (yes, I know the title), as doing preparations for his 111th birthday party that night, which of course is where Lord of the Rings begins. Which means we see Frodo! I was so excited to see him I could have cried. So the movie(s) is really Old Bilbo writing his story, like a giant flashback. But it really helped (for me at least) to have it linked with LOTR. If they had just started telling the story of The Hobbit, I don't know if I would have been able to get into it as much from the beginning. Seeing Frodo helped too, it actually felt like a prequel and not just another film set in Middle Earth.
There were a few characters and references that pop up to help keep this link going and I loved it. Like Elrond, Galadriel, Gandalf (duh) and the Morgul Blade- yep, like the one that stabs Frodo in LOTR. But it does make you want to rewatch LOTR!
I want to be an Elf and live in Rivendell. OK, I don't have to be an Elf, but I definitely want to live in Rivendell. It's so damn beautiful.
I love it when Smeagol/Gollum has conversations with himself and his two sides bicker and converse. It's so funny, and the Smeagol side is kinda adorable. Like a puppy or a kid. When he and Bilbo are doing the riddle contest? Gollum says a riddle, and as Bilbo is thinking, Smeagol pipes up with "we know! We know!" LOL
It's not a hilarious movie, but there are funny moments. Just helps to lighten the mood a little.
I did laugh at the end when Bilbo's like "I'm sure the worst is behind us." And I"m like, "Dude, you have 2 more movies. That's highly doubtful."
Also when Thorin is talking about the Pale Orc, and he's "He died long ago." Gandalf got this look, and I'm like "Yeah, he's not dead."
And I love that the dragon, (who we haven't actually seen yet, just a bit of eye, nose and tail- very good technique to build suspense), sleeps under a pile of gold. And seeing that, made an awesome ending for the first part.
Gandalf is seriously badass. That's all.
I can't work out if Sauraman is evil already, or if he was already a jerk before he turned. He was very insistent that nothing weird/creepy is going on. Covering for himself, or just a personality flaw?
Oh, and the giant spiders are back! Thankfully we didn't see much, but still... I hate them.
I think that's about it. I seriously either didn't realise or forgot how much of a LOTR geek I am!
I was trying to remember which LOTR characters they're bringing back. Frodo (hoping we'll see him again, like at the end of the 3rd part to bookend the film), Legolas (yay! Can't wait to see him!), Elrond, Galadriel, Sauraman, Gandalf... did I miss anyone?
I kinda wish Aragorn was coming back. Because I love him. And Viggo Morteson is hot.
I have 2 younger sisters and a younger brother. They are 21, 17 and 16 respectively. I love being a big sister, and as much as they bug me (because that's what siblings do), I love them heaps. I always try hard to be a good sister.
Saturday is my sister's 21st birthday party. It's a garden party and the theme is pastels. I don't usually wear pastels, so I've been searching for a dress for about a week.
I finally bought one on Monday afternoon.
Excuse the hair- I'd just gotten off a plane.
Well, today I got a text message from my sister saying "please don't wear that dress to my party. You always do this. It's my 21st and can I please just have this one to be individual and different. I am very upset."
I was most confused by the "you always do this" because I wasn't exactly sure what is is I apparently "always" do.
So, I rang her and was told that she'd had her outfit planned for months, which I just found out, is mint green and white. I told her, truthfully, I had no knowledge of what she'd planned to wear, literally until I'd gotten her text message.
Then I asked what she meant by "you always do this."
Her answer was that "whenever I have something, you and N (our other sister) always get something similar."
This is not true, at least in my case. But her thing is that when she likes a movie, actor, TV show, clothing style, etc no one, specifically us, is supposed to like the same thing.
If I buy/like something it usually has two reactions:
1. "That's stupid/sucks."
2. "You can't like that, I like that."
First of all, this is ridiculous. I don't care if people or my siblings like the same things I do, in fact, I like sharing my interests with them.
And secondly, we share genes!! It's not impossible that we have similar tastes in some stuff. There's also plenty of stuff we don't have in common, but it's at the stage now where it is assumed anything I like is immediately "stupid."
I was (and still am) actually hurt by this. She does tend to have the mentality that she is the centre of the universe at times, and it's upsetting.
Most of all, I feel like everything I do goes unappreciated. As I said, I try really hard to be a good sister. And I don't even get a thank you.
I don't choose to like things because she does. I like what I like. I can't help that if she likes it also.
I just bought the box series of a TV show that I like, but have never really seen much of. When I showed her, she called me an "interest thief", because she also likes that show.
This is also the sister who last week called me "emotionally unstable" because I cry in books, movies, TV shows, etc. Well, I cry a lot.
My sister thinks the only acceptable reasons for crying is if someone dies or about things such as prejudice and war.
I asked her if she'd never cried in a song, and she said she had if it was a Christian song and it moved her to tears.
I debated whether or not to blog about this, because honestly, it feels like I'm being petty. But I just needed to get this off my chest.
It really upset me, that she feels like she can tell me what to like; or that she got upset with me for wearing a dress when I had no idea she was planning on wearing something a similar colour, or I wouldn't have bought it.
Today nominations were announced for the 6th Annual Wicked Awards on fanfiction.net.
And I was honoured and touched by the amount of nominations I recieved, and in some cases, pleasantly surprised!
Thank you to everyone who nominated me or one of my stories. It really means a lot to me that you guys like reading them, and honestly, it's super exciting and humbling to even be nominated.
Here is the link to the full list of nominations, but as per request by a friend, who asked "which categories/stories are you nominated in for when I go to vote?" here is my list:
Best Author
Best Angst Author
Best AU (Out of the Blue)
Best Drabble/Oneshot (Public Enemy Number One) [This was the pleasant surprise, but I'm thrillified!]
Best General (You've Got Mail)
Best Fiyeraba (Stranger to Myself)
(Out of the Blue)
(You've Got Mail)
(40 Weeks)
Best Overall Fic (Out of the Blue)
(Stranger to Myself)
(You've Got Mail)
Thank you again to everyone who nominated me! You all totally made my day!
There's a lot of things we take for granted, living in the 21st Century. Especially Generation Y- like the internet. Technology. Not dying of the plague/measles/TB, you get my drift.
And whoever realised using leeches on sick people was a bad idea? I can not express enough words of gratitude.
So I thought a good way to start off 2013 was to thank the people that have created or led the way to things in life that I am a fan of. From the little things to the big things that I hold dear in my life.
So here we go: [Please Note: The identity of all these people is not actually known. I'm just putting good thoughts out in the universe]. 1. The person who thought of hot showers:Who ever it was who first realised warm water was a lot more comfortable to bathe in than cold water, thank you! Heat= Good. Especially in winter, nothing beats a hot shower/bath (I am aware some people don't like baths, because to quote my sister "it's like bathing in your own filth". She would not have survived a few hundred years ago).
Fun Fact: Did you know that brides started carrying bouquets when they got married in the 14th century to cover up BO? People didn't bathe that much, but they would in May. So June was the month for weddings, because people still smelt relatively OK by then.
2. The person who first made chocolate:I used to have a T-shirt that said "Save the Earth- it's the only planet that has chocolate" It was a case of "that's funny, because it's true." Well, to be fair, we don't know if another planet has chocolate... or maybe there's a planet made of chocolate...that would be awesome.... Sorry, having visions of that Simpsons clip about chocolate land!
The internet (i.e. Wikipedia) tells me that chocolate appeared around 1100 BC by the Aztecs, and then the Europeans sweetened it with sugar and fat. So to that little Aztec person who first picked up a cocoa bean and said "let's eat this"- Thank you! Where would I be without you?
I would be hungry. And we would be short a food group. (Chocolate is a food group, right?)
3. The first person to play music:Music is the soundtrack to our lives... which sounds incredibly cheesy, I know, but it's true! How many times can you associate a song with a memory before anything else? How many times have you put song lyrics as your Facebook status, because they say it way better than you ever could? How many songs are in your iTunes library, just because you heard it somewhere and it got stuck in your head until you had to buy it?
And sometimes getting a song in your head is not helpful, or the song that randomly pops in to visit makes no sense to the situation/conversation at all (e.g. I had 'Popular' from Wicked stuck in my head during the intermission of Annie. No clue why). What's worse is when it's only a few lines of the song that go around and around your head until you want to scream, because you just can't remember what comes after "I threw a wish in a well/don't ask me I'll never tell/I looked to you as I fell/ And now you're in my way."
But how does that ABBA song go?
And I've often wondered, how did it all start? Who found out that nothing can capture a heart Like a melody can? Well, whoever it was, I'm a fan
Enough said, really. Am I right?
4. The first person who hugged someone: I like hugs. I love hugs. I don't get enough hugs. I am aware not everyone feels this way (when my grandfather died I tried to hug my sister and she punched me in the stomach- literally).
But I love them. They're comforting. When it's cold in winter, they keep you warm for a moment, and they're medically good for you! (Thank you, Grey's Anatomy for that fun fact!)
And I'm pretty sure hugging has been around since the beginning of time. But I'm also pretty sure many things were around at the beginning of time (or later) that we don't do anymore (see mention of leeches, above). But I'm really glad hugging stuck it out.
Especially in this day and age, when there's so much political correctness over who to hug, when to hug, how to hug, how long to hug for... you get the point.
Actually, one of the great things about moving out for the first time last year, was that I got more hugs from my family and friends. (And more "I love you's" but that's a different point).
So whoever first hugged another person, thank you. And on a similar notion- I enjoy this guy's thinking. There needs to be more hugs in the world!
5. Whoever decided fanfiction was not weird and was an actual thing: The first time I used to dream out alternate endings to my favourite books in my head, making up my own stories, I thought I was weird. It wasn't until I was in Year 12 that I realised it was an actual thing. People were writing these down and other people were reading them. It had a name. Well, I felt relieved.
Fanfiction gets an unfair stigma for either being thought of as poorly written stuff by 12 year olds, or things like 50 Shades of Grey. And yes, there is much of that, in both categories. There is countless stories for every pairing you can imagine and think "who writes this stuff?" There is, apparently, thousands of fics where the heroine (who bares a striking and uncanny resemblance to the author) meets a celebrity who falls madly in love with them at first sight and they live happily ever after. Personally, I've never understood how people can write fictional stories about real people. But that's just me.
But there is good stuff there- if you can find it. And there's times it seems the more popular a fandom becomes, the more the quality of fanfiction available within that fandom drops.
But I've made some great friends through fanfiction. It's a great way to practice writing within different genres, rather than creating a whole new world and getting people to invest in that. And it's a great way to answer those unanswered questions readers/viewers have (what happened after Elphaba and Fiyero left Oz in Wicked? What if Quinn had never gotten pregnant on Glee? What if Bella had picked Jacob instead of Edward? You get my point).
That being said, I still haven't told my parents I write it.
6. Jack Dorsey: (Yes, we're up to the people who's names I know now). Who is Jack Dorsey, you may ask? He is the Mark Zuckerberg of Twitter... in other words, the guy who created it.
Now, I have Facebook and have since 2008. It's enabled me to keep in touch with people from high school and university, find people from primary school, and people who similarly "like" everything from Wicked: The musical to Sizzler's Cheesy Toast (am I right? Delicious).
But for some reason, I really latched onto Twitter in 2009 (I think.I'm a little fuzzy on dates). And 26, 572 tweets later, I am on it a lot.
Why? Well, confession: I joined twitter because I knew some of my favourite celebrities had accounts (Delta Goodrem and Rove, mostly at the time). And it mostly stayed there for a while. Then I started making friends on twitter. Then I made more. Then I got a tweet from Alyson Hannigan (American Pie, Buffy, How I met your mother) for my 20th birthday.
Since then, I've been lucky enough to get tweets from a few celebrities and heaps of Australian theatre people. Most importantly, I have the most amazing friends all over the world. And getting to have conversations over social media with people on the other side of the world who are reading my Wicked fanfiction and saying lovely things, makes me feel incredibly blessed.
And now I'm being followed by Greg Page, the original Yellow Wiggle. We've come a long way, my friends.
My inner child is thrilled
7. JK Rowling: Seriously, if you don't know who this is.... you don't deserve these words. I was 10 years old when my mum caught an interview with Jo (she lets her fans can call her Jo- it's a thing) not long before Goblet of Fire came out, and she and my Dad bought me the first two books.
In hindsight, this was interesting. My parents had never read or heard of Harry Potter before this interview, and were not of the habit of buying me two books for no reason in the middle of the year. Usually it was "wait until Christmas/birthday and ask for it then). So, it must have been fate.
Because I fell immediately in love with the Wizarding World and Hogwarts. I saw bits of me in Harry, and a lot of me in Hermione. And the rest is history.
It is funny though, that my parents would never buy me any Harry Potter merchandise, thinking I'd grow out of it and then be stuck with all this stuff. Yet here it is, 13 years later and I'm still a fan. Dude, I just got through bragging that a (now former *sob*) Wiggle follows me on Twitter. You don't think a 7 series books about the ultimate battle between good and evil is going to stand the test of time? Who looks silly now?
But honestly, Harry Potter has led me to some amazing friends. I've learned a lot (I once guessed a question about animals right at a trivia night because it was asking about "lupines". Lupine= Lupin. See that?). And it never, never, never gets old no matter how many times you read it. And I have read it a lot.
Harry has been there for me through everything. And I'm pretty sure it always will be. I'm so grateful Jo got this random idea on a train one day and decided to write it down.
8. Stephen Schwartz: I know what people are going to say. If I'm about to go on a spiel about how I'm grateful for Wicked, shouldn't I be thanking Gregory Maguire instead? Because if there was no book, there'd be no musical.
This is true. However... I didn't really like the book. If before I knew the musical existed, someone had handed me the book and said "Hey, you like The Wizard of Oz. (I do). Read this book called Wicked."
I would not have liked it. I may not have even finished it, and just been stuck on my initial reaction of "what the actual hell?"
The book was kinda weird. And depressing.
The musical is happy (well, the ending is that kind of bittersweet happy, but still). It is funny. And has many Wizard of Oz references. And has Defying Gravity. And the characterisation of Elphaba is different. Several times in the show, I saw myself in Elphaba. That never happened reading the book.
And everything I love Wicked for, is because of Stephen Schwartz. And it's not just that I've made many friends through Wicked (I have- thank you, Jack Dorsey!), or it's inspired over 20 Wicked fanfictions (see #5), or that I now know, admire, have met and have tweets from many Australian (and international) theatre actors; but the fact that every time something new grabs me. It still speaks to me, still moves me.
I don't know a single person who even if they saw but didn't like the show (and who are these people, really?), was not awed and moved by Defying Gravity.
