Gasping.

Hello! Yes I am still alive and haven't disappeared into oblivion although I have felt like that has been the case for the last few weeks. I have been in such a flurry of packing/moving/o-weeking/organising stuff that I haven't been able to find the time to update my blog! Ok I lied, I could have done it the other night, buuuut we had a season 4 Gossip Girl marathon instead. Because I have so much to say and it's all going to come tumbling out in horribly mumbled and ugly sentences, (see?!) I will list the most significant events of the past weeks in a few dot points.

1. Moved to Townsville. Massive change in so many ways. The direction and focus of my life has been completely shifted in the last few weeks. I am surrounded by all these new people, places and things to do and I'm going crazy just trying to take it all in. I'm staying at St Mark's College on campus, which is fun but can also be a bit rowdy. The wing I am in is co-ed, so I have not yet managed to escape from living with smelly boys :P. It's amazing how close you get to people when you live with them. I have known everyone for just over a week and already I feel so comfortable around them and we are starting to have this big college family. It's great! The food is good, people complain about it but really it's just basic meals. 
2. Started classes. For anyone who doesn't know, I'm studying Med, with 220 other first year students. I thought that I knew a fair bit about the course before I moved here, but as I am learning more about it, I am loving it more and more. It's like no other course in Australia, we get clinical experience from our first year- our first few weeks!-which is something that other uni students from other places don't get until they're in their third of fourth years. We do clinical placements and hands on work alongside learning all the theory, and there is a hospital for us to train at literally adjacent to the uni. We have all these brand new facilities and 24 hour study labs which we have key card access to. I don't know why I would want to get up and study at 3am, but I know that the option is there if i choose to take it! Yesterday we had our first class in the anatomy lab which is amazing. We painted the bones and muscles on various body parts, got introduced to what we will be studying this year, and we even got to experience what we are in for with real dead people's limbs. How morbid is that? But it was creepy-cool. 
3. Joined a million clubs. There are sooo many clubs that you can get involved with and I pretty much signed up for everything except for the army. There are so many volunteer opportunities in the local community working with disadvantaged kids, people with all kinds of ailments and diseases, and also heaps of international volunteer organisations. I am about to apply for a 2 week placement every year for 4 years in a town in remote Australia. We had a lecture on it today and I would absolutely love to have the opportunity to do something like that. 
4. Partied our way through O-week. We had jelly wrestling, 4am wake up calls for exercises in the mud, a toga party, nights at the uni club (across the road :S), cricket matches, competitions, slip and slide, ice skating, lawn bowls, and last night a hollywood themed pub crawl. I went as Luna Lovegood- though she isn't very 'hollywood' you pretty much just had to be in a costume of some kind to qualify. I managed to dress in my own clothes and pass it off as a costume which was super handy. 

Ok so I have to go because I joined the gym at uni (which is incredible, btw) and we are going to a class tonight before water polo. What? Yes. I said water polo. Undeterred by the fact that I can barely swim and that I have little to no hand eye co ordination, I thought that I would give it a shot anyway. If I don't do it now, I don't think I ever will. So wish me luck, and I will let you know how everything goes; hopefully in a bit more depth next time. Hope you are having an amazing February!

Never thought I would cry over a rap song.

But I guess change is in the air. A few days ago, Louis came out of his room to show me a song he had written about me. He had rapped a few lines of it to me in the car the week before (true gangsta style), and he was proud to show me the finished product. I barely got halfway through it, and I was bawling my eyes out. Not so much for the poetic beauty of his language (he has the tendency to 'sample' lyrics from his favourite songs), but because he is aware of so much more than I give him credit for. All the things that I thought he never realised and never cared about were right there on the page, and I will never forget it. Here is some of what he wrote...

(This one is just after I had my teeth out :S)
Dear Sister;
Yeah, my sister had her teeth pulled out,
so I gotta put in and help her out,
try not to get to that point where I make her shout.
She is like my Mum, making me dinner,
playing downball in the sun, we both gettin' thinner.
The day is coming,
the day that I'm dreading,
when she moves out,
now that's gonna make me shout, shout
loud on these papers while I express myself,
before I wreck myself, just writing rhymes for you
you know for you sister.

You make me laugh,
you say 'fuck off' when I fart,
I love you and I'm eternally grateful,
for having you as my sister,
yeah I'm gonna miss ya
when you're gone, I be in mourn
Just in my room, listening to beats
But you watch, we'll prove them wrong Char,
I'll make my own beats, and don't worry;
I'll make my own sheets on my bed.
I gotta get these people outta my head
yeah, and not let them tread on me.
Just give 'em all I got,
Cos yeah it's worth a shot.
Why not?

Growing Up;
Growing up on a farm,
you helped me out by holding me in your arms.
Now I'm sayin' thank you, for everything you have done
and for everything that's yet to come.
It's you that helped me be who I am right now, and
I'll always remember you and those memories just chillin' on the swings with you, Char.
Yeah I mean this, I love you.

The feelings I have for you are true,
and I know I have been rude to you, but listen;
this song is for you.

You have changed me from a boy to a man,
and I thank you for helping me be who I am.
Yeah it's true, thanks to you
I got rid of those voices in my head saying I'm a fail,
guess I don't have to go to jail no more.
When anything is wrong you know it;
I may be as slow as a snail but I'll get there.

I hope I'll be as successful as you,
and not just be a fool like I used to,
I look up to you every day,
I wouldn't be here like this if I didn't have you, hey

Shit. If you know then,
all I'm tryin' to say is I love you
respect you, please don't go
but you have to, I wish you wouldn't and you couldn't
Don't forget to call, cos you know I'm gonna miss ya'
My favourite sister.


Doesn't it just melt your heart? As much as we fight, there is nothing in the world I wouldn't do for him, for anyone in my family. Aw look, now I've gone and got all emotional. Time to peace out before your opinion of me goes out the window. But first, a little challenge; before the day is over, tell someone how much they mean to you, how important they are in your life. Call your family just to say you love them, or tell a friend how amazing they are. Surprise someone by thanking them for something that made a difference in your life, and try to make a difference in theirs. Just make someone smile, I guarantee you'll go to sleep with warmth in your heart.

Is Paris Hilton Pregnant? Does anybody care?

If my life goes according to plan, this will be the last week that I ever live at home, ever. It's exciting and daunting and sad and inspiring all at once, and I can't help but feel everything at the same time. I feel like I just got back and now I'm going again (probably because that's exactly what's happening) and I don't know what to think about it. This year has gone by so quickly, and I'm told that they only get quicker as you grow older. It's so crazy, my life is flashing past and I'm so completely powerless. It's kind of like I have spent the last 12 months touching a series of portkeys, blink once and school is back but I'm not going, turn around and I'm in America, woop I'm home again, then I'm getting off the plane in Hanoi before you can say 'ben trovato'. It's that feeling of being pulled across great distances by a rope around your middle, not ever quite sure which way is up, but just trying to stay on your feet as it all goes spinning past. And it's always forwards, onwards. In the past two years I feel like I have spent most of it saying goodbye to people I love, and the next week is going to be no exception.

New Old Things!

As most of you will remember, I worked at a vintage/pre-loved clothing store a bit last year which I absolutely loved. Well, I went in to visit the lady who owns it the other day, and she asked me if I would come in one day and set up a facebook page for the shop. So I went in there today for literally about 2 hours to sort it out, mind the shop for a bit and have a sneaky look at all her new stuff. As I was roaming around, I spied some white lace poking out from between a mass of colours in the vintage cabinet. I pretty much sprinted across the floor and as I pulled it out of the cupboard I nearly fainted. It was beautiful, completely covered in delicate lace, with elbow length sleeves and a full skirt. "I actually thought of you when I got that one" she said, and explained that an old lady had brought it in just before Christmas because she didn't want to give it to an op shop. And then, wait for it, ohmygosh she offered to give it to me in exchange for helping her out!! A $60 vintage lace dress for 2 hours work aarrghhjfgkblefulr!!! She said that heaps of people have come in and wanted to try it on, but it hasn't suited or fit anyone. IT FIT ME PERFECTLY! I was like;

Unfortunately, the man at the camera shop declared my camera officially dead, so the only photos I could get of it had to be on Louie's ipod...

                                            

Isn't it amazing? Sorry about the bad photo quality, but I will take some more when I get a new camera.

Speaking of new cameras, I found this little one hiding at the back of an op shop last week...

 

It's in great condition aside from the dust, and I checked the internet to find out that you can order film for about 11 bucks a roll. So excited to try it out! Eeep! Want to know the best part? It cost me all of 50c. Aaaand they're selling on ebay at the moment for $30-$50. Yep :) I also bought this cd called "complete 90's volume 5" even though it was scratched beyond comprehension. Imagine my surprise when I put it on in the car and the spice girls started blasting out of my speakers. What an incredible day, and an incredible way to spend a dollar ;)

Quote of the week.

“Harry Potter is all about confronting fears, finding inner strength, and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.”

—	Stephen King. Freaking YES.