Sydney Life

Apologies for the lack of entries! Things became rather busy. Let me explain.

I took four subjects last semester because I want to finish my undergraduate degree this year (so I can do any of a few things that I have planned, including - fix up some health problems, travel to London, move to Melbourne, get a full time job, etc.) As a consequence of this decision, I was busy. Very busy. I chose subjects that required a lot of reading and even more thought - third year English subjects especially, and pre-Honours subjects. If you are looking to do honours make sure you find out what is required from the faculty or department that you are studying under. You probably need to complete the requirements for a major and a bit more, and possibly take some specific subjects that teach you about research or other things necessary for an honours degree.

With just over a month to go before my honours thesis is due (34 days to be exact – not that I’m counting), reality has hit. Smack bang in the middle of my head, in a mind-numbing way that only a 20, 000 word limit can. So, just like the flowers are emerging in the glorious weather of spring I thought I’d emerge from my hermit-like world to reflect a bit on honours - what it is, why people do it, and how on earth I got here.

If you had told me in second year that there would be a time in my university life that I would make it through four weeks of semester having only visited Manning Bar twice, I would have laughed in the face of your naivety. Manning was my second home, for lazy lunches in the sunshine, afternoons that drift into evenings on the balcony, or concerts & club events that rock the stage. I knew the tech guys, the bar manager, the Access office crew, and the guy who booked the gigs. You could go alone and know there’d be someone there to talk to. We’d catch up and joke about our growing qualification… a Masters in Manning.

It’s twenty to midnight and I cannot help plunging into an existential crisis, the kind you are far more prone to when it’s so quiet you can hear the fridge humming and the crickets outside. But it’s not the silence that’s killing me, its what’s sitting across from me on the couch….

Some may call it ‘child’s play’ but I wonder whether there is a level of skill you loose as you grow older. Not everything can get better, more sophisticated, and developed, can it?

I have to find some excuse or scientific explanation for the fact that I am an absolute failure at “Bop it”. As I desperately grab at the buttons on this battery operated children’s game I keep one ear cocked for any sounds of stirring from the kids I am babysitting. I have saved my tomfoolery for after I put them to bed, and thank god because my highest score seems to have stagnated on 9. Which makes me feel like a right twit when you put it into context - the young one now slumbering (in a room decorated with frog pictures) has his highest score set at 188.

Today's riddle:

What is:
- 130 pages long?
- has a word count of 21813?
- includes over 140 000 characters?
- references 110 items of primary sources, and 147 secondary sources?

MY THESIS!

As an Honours student, I have devoted a sizeable chunk of my year to studying in Fisher Library.

I use the computer labs there, I search for books there, I look up journal articles online, and as an added bonus, I am able to order books from other libraries if the Fish doesn't carry them.

This process is called Document Delivery, and today, I'm going to tell you all about the man who runs the DD show: Rod.

My thesis is due in less than two months.

My body has been replaced by ten buckets of stress and a half a dozen bits of nervous wreck.

When you were a child and someone asked you "what do you want to do when you grow up", did you ever answer: "I want to change the world"?

I have. And one thing you quickly learn about social change is that sometimes the biggest changes happen because of the actions of a small few...