Sydney Life

So the holidays are officially over, which means that I have to get myself organised. I have done a few things to get to this ideal stage of productivity. I have bought a five subject notebook from Kikki K - Swedish paper goods just seem much nicer than any other type. In my uni career I have used many different types of books for writing in - starting with, first year, the free ones from the Co-op bookshop (I'm not sure that this happens anymore), and then graduating to small Moleskine notebooks filled with black felt tip scrawl, which worked well because I could put them in any size bag and they looked so artsy I was delighted to go to class just so I could show them off. Anyway, I then moved on to multiple-subject notebooks with internal dividers - I have never used a ring-bind folder at uni, they are far too bulky and annoying and as an arts student I rarely get sheets anyway. One semester I did get a few sheets so I bought some simple display folders to store them in. And now I have one from Kikki K, and it is green, and its pristine white pages and classy index page make me happy with anticipation.

Then, today, I finished my scarf. I was knitting a scarf, because I am a grandma. It is pink, and so are the needles. I refused to stop knitting the scarf even though I snapped one of the needles in half (masking tape! go!) and it was almost three metres long. And now it is done and I feel like I have achieved something productive over the holidays, which is very important for me. I submitted work to Hermes, which is good, even though I wasn't particularly happy with what I sent in and comparitively I have not really written a lot of creative writing things this year at all. I booked my flights to and from Byron Bay next weekend for Splendour in the Grass (which, due to uni connections, I am going to for free as long as I take some photos as 'work') and I have written a few articles for The Brag, a street press newspaper. I have watched all of the Alien movies (which I have been meaning to do for ages) and read a couple of books (though I wish I had read more). I have bought my text books and readers, or at least the ones that were available, and I did this early because the lines get crazy long and it becomes stressful and horrible, which is not what book shopping should be like. I have printed out a few copies of my timetable from MyUni because I know I will lose them as the semester goes on and I have organised myself in to what I hope will be a good routine for the rest of the semester.

But most of all, over the holidays, I have endeavoured to learn things. I am one of those people who loves learning new stuff and so I am usually quite bored and understimulated during the holidays. Enter, iTunes store - podcasts. What use are they, you ask? Well. Podcasts can teach you pretty much anything you want. I no longer take Philosophy subjects at university, so I listen to podcasts about philosophy instead. I like ABC's The Philosopher's Zone and lectures from Stanford University which are available through iTunes U, where lectures from big American universities are broadcasted for free. Stanford, MIT, Duke, whatever - you can listen to lectures on Economics to Philosophy to Digital Media to Politics. And that's just university education - I belive in knowing other things too. I am subscribed to podcasts that teach me how to knit, how to speak french, podcasts that review movies and recommend books, podcasts from ABC TV and more. My iPod is filled with knowledge, which is calming for someone like me.

I downloaded an audiobook - this was a new experience for me. I recommend it if you are too tired to keep your eyes open but still want to know things. I listened to The Logic of Life by Tim Harford, which is about rational economics. Anyone who knows me will know that this is not the kind of thing I am normally in to, but I listened to this nine hour recording of Harford's work in about two days and proceeded to talk to as many people as possible about the applications of game theory to dating situations and various other strange, un-Amelia topics.

Of course, you can always read your texts over the holidays. For me, though, my subjects are more theoretical than ever before and I don't have any novels to get through at all, which is good because I am then allowed to read my own books, which I have struggled to do in the first semester.

Also, a heads-up for anyone who is interested in hearing amazing authors speak - Germaine Greer and David Sedaris are both speaking at Gleebooks in August, so check out their website for tickets (only $12 for students). There are so many ways that you can educate yourself outside of uni classes, so get on them - it will make you a better person, in my opinion. And you'll have more to talk about and more to think about and more to write about in your essays, diaries or memoirs, whatever. Of course, you could just sit around on facebook and eat chocolate, and that would be OK too. Boats and floating and what not. Stay cool.