Vacant Mind

2011-05-08 How politics neglects feelings May 18th, 2011

http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2011/05/bbg_20110508.mp3

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Paul Nicklen: Tales of ice-bound wonderlands May 18th, 2011

http://www.metachannels.com/episodes/play/14386601.mp4?apikey=e96703dbeaf5751f743d9e4a132b6eaddb7fabd9

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The transportation rule January 19th, 2010

When going to to see friends it will depend on which friend we are going to see to determine who will drive.

Standard logical rule that I believe has always existed: My friend then I drive to and from venue. Her friend then she will drive to and from the venue.

Actual rule that does exist: No matter where we are going I will always drive, if it is my friend I have to drive because it is my friend and she shouldn’t have to drive. If it is her friend then I have to drive because she wants to drink and doesn’t like driving at night.

Warning: Questioning the rule will result in anger, possible silence and statements of me being difficult

Tags: rules
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The draft printing rule January 19th, 2010

When printing documents that are only required for reference you must use the draft printing feature. This will ensure that we save as much ink as possible. Time since ink cartridges were bought: 6 months

Tags: rules
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The man with 4 brothers who are all different July 15th, 2009

I sighed and exhaled audibly through my mouth, internally it was a sign of my frustration and nervousness, I had an job interview later that day and was a little worried trying to remember everything that I studied.

The guy sitting next to me asked ‘sounds like you have a tough day?’ I responded with ‘nar, just a long one mate, that’s all’

I noticed that he had an interesting ring on his finger, maybe a skull and cross but didn’t get a good look, further long on his forearm there were more linked metal and silver chains. He looked sort of like a bikie without the facial hair, tattoos or attitude. He just seemed like someone who wanted to talk.

So he talked, I learned about his brothers, how all four of them were different, careers, physical appearance, some alive some dead but still a part of him. I learned about his sister in laws how they were different. Eventually we got onto his interest of what attracts people to one another, how nothing is as it seems on the outside. How so true I thought to myself. It was about this point that my stop came up (I was only traveling from one end to another end of Collins street)

I find the city interesting, not only for the places that abound.

Tags: melbourne, Tram Stories, transport
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The health kick June 26th, 2009

So staying true to my new year resolutions I’ve done none of them…well I’m approaching them slower than I thought I would. I have done the health kick thing, if I have learned anything from my past attempts is that I have to do changes slowly instead of a big bang approach.

They have worked, changing breakfast from anything-that-I-can-eat-in-a-hurry to oats and honey in the morning has kept me full at lunchtime. Cooked chicken and salad/pita for lunch with a protein snake at about 3pm has keep my energy levels up longer than normal.

But my biggest problem is also my most fatal, will and determination is that seems to be holding me back, that when things go crazy for a bit (fight with the partner, tough work day) I let my guard down and let the food in. It is this excat problem which has lead me to this predicment in the first place. It’s this realisation that I’ve ready many times and seen more often that not which has finally dawned on me.

This will be harder than I thought.

Tags: Diet, Resolutions 2009
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The trouble with good neighbours April 27th, 2009

So it was a big night, an unexpected big night.

I got home late, when I wasn’t supposed to, I had told the fiance with every good intention that I would be home earlier than the 5 hours that I actually got home by taxi. I had driven the car to the station that night because I to believe that I would be home by 9pm.

So when I got up the next morning, obviously nervous about the telling off that I would get, which I got I realised that I also had to go and get my car, what was also lucky was that my fiance hadn’t noticed that my car was missing. So off I went, by bus, under the guise that I was dropping off some dry cleaning. Everything worked perfectly, I returned in my car and no one was the wiser.

That was until the next day or so when one of our neighbours came by, a family friend of the fiance. When it was mentioned that I was seen walking to the bus stop carrying clothes and why I was doing such a thing. My story had to come undone.

That’s the trouble with good neighbors.

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Busy Trains March 3rd, 2009

I know that people harp on about the crowded, late and generally rubbish service of Melbourne’s train network, but I’ve got another complaint that is more close to my heart, and like the normal problems I’ve had to compensate to work my way around it.

School children…hundreds of them, unavoidable, loud, obnoxis, intrusive, space hogs. They are everywhere and they take up so much space, funnily enough the girls tend to be fine, nothing wrong with them as they fit in like any other normal passenger (besides being numerous amounts of them) It’s the boys that are the uncomfortable part, they push, get in the way, are rude, and when you have just woken up and all you want to do is try to relax before a busy day at work is need a buch of boys screaming about something or other. But they all take up copious amounts of room which cout towards trains being late due to numours people but also school bags blocking doors.

I just realised how old that last paragraph made me sound, I shall say no more to what I’ve already stated.

So how do I get around the problem, I catch a earlier train, like most things there is always a solution.

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New Year Resolutions January 2nd, 2009

I’m sure that everyone is doing them, so why not me:

• Sell a print or digital of one of my photographs
• Do more photography, I enjoy it and find it relaxing, so why not
• Loose 10kg, get to size 34 pants, 15% body fat
• Start a small home business (photography or computer fix/repair)
• Get a job that I want
• Find and buy into a managed fun that has regular savings
• Find and buy shares into company
• Build the network that I’ve been thinking about
• Read 2 books per month
• Write more (journal and blog)
• Practice meditation
• See my friends more regularly
• Join the 365 project – take a photo per day
• Take a photo of myself everyday
• Build a stronger relationship with my fiance
• Continue to understand and believe in myself more
• Dig into my family history and record it – family tree with stories
• Learn a second language or two
• Ride to work or at least half way or to the station
• Learn to cook…better
• Develop a ‘early riser’ routine

I don’t know if I will get to them all or any of them. I’ve got it out there at least, out of my mind.

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Job Swapping November 11th, 2008

The fiance (former g/f) is a teacher, but a teacher for autistic kids. It’s one of those things that you fall into, I don’t think that she chose it per say but she seems to like it…I think.

While my job may not be a teachers job in the way that I look after or teach people things, I like to think that I face my own stress as well. When seriously compared (or she is a better story teller) my things don’t matter. It’s amazing how your problems can seem the worst in the world and then when someone else puts them in perspective with their story. Stories of kids going crazy in the classroom, parents dealing with the mentally disabled children and the general teacher gossip that goes around.

I wondering what it would be like teaching children, everyone things that they would be good, I’m sure that I would be alright but who knows. Not me, I’m actually quite scared of children…well teaching them…parenting them. I like the bit where you can take them have fun with them and give them back. There is none of that with teaching, you have to be tough and kind as well.

I wonder what she would be like in my job, the daily stress of last minute requests, the strategy meetings, the juggling multiple projects, the pressure of the projects the constant meetings.

It’s amzing the amount of misgiving that people from different professions have about each other is amazing, I admit that I was one of those that would tease teachers from afar, but now having the experice of living with one makes me realise how much they actually go though. To be fair listening the primary/junior secondary school kids on the train maked me want to tape their mouths shut and staple their bags to them. I couldn’t possibly deal with because of a profession – I have a hard enough time dealing with the animals that I work with.

It’s with this same perspective that I look at all other people with a jobs – waiters, cooks, lawyers, train drivers, police, trades people – they all deal with the stress of their own type.

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