Well, after reading this, (if that isn’t readable without a subscription, go get one now), I decided I should attempt to revive this blog! Especially considering I won’t be worrying about anything work-related within the next... 24 hours, at least.
What has happened over the past 6 months? Let’s see. I traveled overseas for 3 weeks without my parents. To Europe, specifically. I entered the senior school. BP ruined everything. And we have our first female PM.
Europe... I really regret not writing about it months earlier, while the memories were fresh. Thinking about it now, it feels a bit like a fantastic dream. Certain events are still vivid, but the whole experience seems somehow quite remote. That’s what 6 months of senior school does to you, I suppose. But it was all so new and exciting and just a little bit scary, I did things I never thought I’d do and it was over in no time at all. (Don’t misinterpret that, I’m still a virgin lol). There was snow and mulled wine and dancing unashamedly to club hits. Snuggling and socializing at 1 in the morning, high on a mixture of cider and adrenalin. Hostels with free wireless connectivity and no towels, hitting the sack at 3 A.M with feet on fire and brain barely functioning, finding ourselves in the lobby at 7:00 the next morning wondering why the hell we were there. There was the guy who barged into our room and verbally abused us in Hungarian. We watched BNP member Nick Griffin give this speech at a sitting of the EU Parliament. Some of us visited Dachau concentration camp, that was a sobering experience I don’t think I’ll ever forget. We became addicted to the creepy games and dirty talk, the political sparring and politically incorrect jokes, we really grew to love each other. Three weeks, then we returned to our respective states, our respective lives. Now, I think I realize why distance kills relationships. In general that is, not romantic ones. It’s not so much about the physicality, it’s about not being able to do things together. Znot that those relationships have been killed, exactly, but it’s been hard to keep them alive. I miss them, I really do. Shared interests aren’t everything, but they certainly count for something.
2/3 of year 11 is done. My work ethic has barely improved, nor my exam results, but at least I enjoy the majority of my subjects. My teachers are excellent, as are most of my classes and courses, and I don’t have to put up with Geo, Maths or the Chem/Phys elements of Science. Or Australian History. I will admit, the workload is getting a bit crazy. You know you’re in the senior school when you have 5+ assessments in one week and they still refuse to call it assessment week... But I actually love being a senior. Many of the teachers really do treat us quite differently, they’re generally far less suspicious and give us the benefit of the doubt, as well as a bit more respect. It’s sudden rather than gradual, the uniform makes all the difference. I don’t like that particular aspect of it, it encourages pigeonholing on the part of the staff, complacency on the part of the seniors and resentment on the part of the juniors. Scholastic/social hierarchies, yay.
BP? Check this out. That is all.
Julia Gillard! Yes, I think she’ll be a better PM. Yes, she has two X chromosomes and thus it is a historic occasion. Yes, I believe she has a better chance of keeping that crazy creature Abbott out of power. But yes, I also think that all the people, particularly Labor supporters, who have dismissed Kevin without an ounce of pity, are heartless individuals devoid of common decency. Just because Julia is a better PM, that doesn’t make what was done to him OK. Just because he fell short of everyone’s expectations, that doesn’t mean he deserved it. Those faceless factional powerbrokers who installed our first female PM? They were the ones who pressured Rudd into scrapping the ETS. He was a centralist, and the one time he submitted to the demands of his fellow cabinet members...
He was a fence-sitter, a populist, a centralist and by many accounts he possessed quite a foul temper and mouth. But he led Labor to victory in 2007. However much he wasn’t, or didn’t, or couldn’t, I think he deserves some respect and sympathy. Even from the feminists who, in their excitement over Gillard, have forgotten that it was once a choice between Rudd and Abbott. Abbott, the staunch conservative who opposes abortion, premarital sex and no-fault divorce. Argh, I’m sure you lefties can spare some of that compassion which drives you to scream down politically incorrect satirists you don’t understand. Even my decidedly conservative Dad felt sorry for Kevin!
To end on a more light-hearted note, check this awesome YouTube video out!
And for now, adieu.
