|
||||||
2004 Diary Archive 29.11.2004 - All Alone ....
This has got to be the most depressing time of year - I finished exams a week and a half ago but I have to hang around here waiting for everyone else to finish and get their asses out of res!! Thank goodness Joanie was here up until Sunday or I would've gone crazy by now!! Sadly the last friendly face (Sé) left this morning so I really am alone now with the few arbos still left in res. Oh well ... can't really complain - only one more day to go!!
Also, Bryan finished his exams about half an hour ago so at least he's free to entertain me now. I think we're doing a video and popcorn night tonight. And then we're off early Wednesday morning! I'm getting really excited now - it's been ages since I've had a proper holiday at home. And we've got 5 kittens waiting at home as well as a new dog!! (A golden retriever called Jasper.) So home's gonna be quite different!
I'm also stopping in Natal for a couple of days on the way back home. It's Bowlzie's birthday on Thursday so I'm going to spend Wednesday and Thursday night with her before heading home Friday. I haven't really had to say goodbye to anyone yet because they're all coming to the dinner but it's going to be quite sad on Friday to say cheers. Although I'm gonna see them all again in Cape Town for the REM concert in March!!!
Anyway, I must get back to sorting my life out. (If you're bored you can check out the website I've just designed for my IS Class.) C Ya!
19.11.2004 - Finished Xams ...
... forever, and ever, and ever!!!
01.11.2004 - It's Over!!
My I.S Course (apart from the exams) is finally over!!! Such a great feeling! We handed in our research last week Monday and today we had our final presentations of our projects. I'm feeling pretty good about everything - I think I did well in my research (but who really knows) and, while our project isn't perfect, the presentation still went better than expected. So, I'm not complaining - just such a relief to have it all out the way so I can concentrate on exams. I've got a pretty cool timetable again this semester:
Exam Timetable Date AM PM 10 Nov Network Administration 17 Nov IS Management 19 Nov E-Learning Plenty of time to study so hopefully life won't be too stressful over the next few weeks. We have our final IS dinner tomorrow night which should be fun and then I guess I'll try and get down to some studying on Wednesday. Will keep you posted about how exams are going!
21.10.2004 - 02:58am
Well, here I am sitting in front of my PC in a really poor attempt to do some work on my research paper! I didn't go out tonight because I really wanted to get my research done and handed in to my supervisor tomorrow. I shouldn't have bothered! I only really started working at midnight - if you can call it 'working'. So far I've written exactly 7 lines!!!
I guess that means that I should seriously get down to writing now but of course I'm just finding every possible other little thing to do instead! That's why I thought I'd better take a moment to update this site - I see it's been almost a month since I've done anything!!!
I've been having a really awesome time - I've done the bare minimum of work since lectures ended. The only stuff I've worked on is project-related - and I've done no research! There've been a number of drunken evenings this last month - some more so than others - but all great fun! I'm looking forward to the vac now but I'm definitely going to be sad to leave Rhodes and everybody here behind.
Well, can't think of much else to talk about right now. I guess I'll just get back to my research and wait for inspiration to strike!
31.09.2004 - Breaking News!!!
I got a job! I got a job! I got a job! I got a job! I got a job! I got a job! I got a job! I got a job! I got a job! I got a job!
BSG just phoned an hour or so ago and they're going to make me a job offer! They're sending the contract through to me next week! Woweee! Tonight is DEFINITELY gonna be a biggie!!
31.09.2004 - Lectures Over Foreva!!!
That's right - no more lectures for me ever!! I had my last one on Wednesday and now it's just research, project work, and exams left! I've decided to celebrate this new found freedom by not going in to the labs at all today!! (I had to go yesterday 'cos I had a job interview, but no responsibilities today!) So, as far as I'm concerned it's a long weekend!!
Had an excellent night on Wednesday. Unda Da Tree had a male stripper organised - best laugh I've had in a while. The poor guy was so not hot and revealed WAY too much!! But it was great - seriously entertaining! I was all for a biggie but sadly had to switch to water and make my way home at 1am or so 'cos of my BSG interview the next morning. (By the way, I think it went OK but will just have to wait and see - it's out of my hands now.)
Hopefully tonight is going to be HUGE. Unda Da Tree are having a special - R40 to walk in the door but as much free cider, beer, spirit + mix, as you want all night!! Can't wait!! I need to celebrate this whole lectures being finished thing! So, will let you know how it all goes. ;)
27.09.2004 - Some good, some bad
The great, wonderful, exciting news is that I've made it through to the final round of interviews with BSG!! So think of me on Thursday morning - I know I'll be s***ting myself!! This interview is with the Director of the company, and one of his executives, so it's scary stuff! But whatever happens - at least I made it this far - I'm obviously not entirely worthless!
The worst news of the week is that I received a statement from Mount Snow Sports Medicine - they're saying that I didn't notify my insurance company when I broke my wrist in January and that therefore I am responsible for the bill - US$764!!! So of course I am now panicking!! I can't afford that much money! (And yes - I did notify the insurance company!!) So I'm going to be doing some frantic phoning tomorrow to try and sort this problem out! (I think I've found the case reference number so hopefully that'll prove to the insurance company that I did actually notify them at the time!) I'll let you know how it works out ... I could be a very sad, poor individual in a couple of weeks time!
Apart from stressing over finances I had a pretty good weekend. It was Bryan's 21st birthday on Saturday so that was rather debaucherous - he was tarred and feathered by his friends and looked ridiculous! (Photos hopefully coming soon.) So, it was definitely a goodie - I was hanging really badly yesterday and was pretty pathetic - I didn't get any work done which meant today has been hectic!! But now it's nearly over, and I'm dying to crawl into bed, so ... nitey nite!
22.09.2004 - Fourth Term
Wow it's been ages since I've written anything here - guess I've just been busy. Well, we're now into the fourth and final term of my university career!! The vac was fun (I didn't actually get one but I managed to take the whole of last weekend off and spend it with the folks in Port Alfred). It's Bryan's 21st birthday this coming Saturday but we celebrated it last weekend while the folks were here - what a pissup! Must've been hell for the neighbours! Didn't get much sleep at all this weekend so I'm now exhausted and could do with a vac!!
I had my second interview with BSG yesterday. It really wasn't great! :( To begin with I had to give a 10min presentation and I think I rushed that a bit because I was too nervous. Also, I'm used to presenting standing up with a projector and everything but all they had was a laptop and I had to sit across the table from them to present - it was very awkward and threw me off a bit. But the other people from my class who were also interviewed felt exactly the same way so at least I'm not the only one! Anyway the next 45mins weren't so great either! I had to read and answer questions on 3 scenarios and there was even a bit of role-playing! So all in all the verdict is - dodgy!! I really don't think I have much hope of making it through to the third round. But I'll find out tomorrow - that's when they said that they'd get back to us!!
Otherwise, not much to report. I'm looking forward to finishing up here but at the same time I'm pretty anxious about what I'm going to do next year. It's pretty scary to think about - I'm not ready to leave home!!! (I mean I know I'm hardly ever at home but I haven't technically left home yet ... and I don't want to!!) At the same time though - I'm dying for the end of the year to arrive so that we can head off to the States on our big family holiday - it's going to be awesome!!
Well, that's it for today. I'm sure I'll be back on here tomorrow though to let you know how things went with BSG - although I'm really not feeling good about the whole thing so I don't think I'm going to have good news to report! Well, til then ...
26.08.2004 - work, work, work, work ...
It feels like that's all I've been doing for the past 4 weeks!!! I've only been out 3 times this whole term - once for Loo's 21st, once over Trivarsity, and then last night for Sé and Heather's birthdays at the Rat. I think I'm about to start cracking under the pressure!! But maybe not - hopefully the worst is already over. I finally got my literature review for my research essay done. I handed it in last Monday, much to my relief, and was pleasantly surprised that I got a pretty good mark! Which means that I shouldn't have to work that hard for the next hand-in - fantastic! Anyway, enough about work ...
I have been trying to think about my future and whether I'm ever going to get a job. So far I've applied to 4 places: SARS, BSG, Accenture, and Unilever. First the bad news: I was totally bounced by Accenture - they didn't even want to interview me - but luckily I didn't want to work there anyway, I was honestly just applying in the hopes of getting some interview experience - oh well ... I haven't yet heard anything from Unilever, SARS is still in the works - on our internship they hinted that they wanted to hire us but no news yet, and BSG is looking vaguely hopeful at the mo - I had an interview with them a couple of weeks ago and they phoned yesterday to say I've made it through to the second round of interviews!! Very exciting but I don't wanna get my hopes up or anything - there's still a long way to go and a whole heap of great candidates to try and get past. But, I would really like to work for either SARS or BSG so hold thumbs for me!!
Well, not much else right now except ... it's Debbie's birthday tomorrow: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEBS!!!
06.08.2004 - a quick movie guide...
Guyz I'm so excited!! I just found out that they're making a Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy movie!! It's gonna be released in 2005!! (I'm a bit of a fan - in case you hadn't noticed). I just watched the teaser for it - awesome! Can't wait!! Also currently scheduled for release in 2005 is The Ring 2!!! (<-- Freaky website!). Next year's gonna be a goodie!
What else??? Hmmmmm ... 2005 seems to be the year of the sequel (or prequel in some cases)...
- The Goonies 2
- Herbie: Fully Loaded
- Miss Congeniality 2
- Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalo
- Star Wars: Episode III
- Batman Begins
- Mission Impossible 3
- Indiana Jones 4
- Rush Hour 3
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Die Hard 4: Die Hardest
- Jurassic Park IV
- Superman
As for this year?? I just can't wait to see The Grudge (which is coming out at last!!), The Bourne Supremacy, Catwoman, and I, Robot (I read the book back in school so I'm keen to see what they've done with it). 28.07.2004 - o Prime Circle o
Very very exciting - I finally got a chance to see Prime Circle live last night!! (For those of you who don't know - they're a South African group who are pretty big at the moment - they're really good!) They were playing at Die Taphuijs on both Monday night and last night so any slight chance that I might've got started on some research went right out the window!!
Pam, Dori, Xanthe and I went together and we were so lucky - ticket sales started at 5pm and were finished by 5.20pm - but we managed to schneaky schneaky our way in because Bryan (my brother) works there.
Anyway, they were really awesome - fantastic live!! And Bryan was so sweet - he organised for me to meet the lead singer and the bass player! (It was a little bit arb - because I didn't really know what to say to them - but still so cool of Bryan to set it up.) Thanx Bryan!!! Plus, Bryan also got me a pressie ... an autographed poster of the group!! It's up on my wall right now!
Had an excellent night - was feeling a bit fragile today though! (After Prime Circle we went to The Rat for a bit and met up with other peops from res. Then home to bed.) But, I think that's going to be my last night out for a bit - I really must get down to some work, This is definitely going to be the most hectic term this year. And I need to get as much done as possible before Trivarsity!!
25.07.2004 - Back to Reality!
Thought I'd have a nice lie-in this morning only to be woken up at 7.30am by people wanting their room keys!! (The joys of being a sub-warden!) The thing is - I know it's my job and that I get paid for it but people are just so damn rude! There was no "sorry to wake you up" just "i need my room key!" - not even a thank you!!
Anyway, what can you do! Well, instead of working this morning - like I was supposed to - I have been updating this site. So there are a whole bunch of new photos for you to see! They're all from the last few weeks in Pretoria and Jo'burg. Just to set the scene for those of you who don't know: 4 of us from my class (Meenal, Caroline, Yash, and myself) had a four week internship with the South African Revenue Service over the vac. We were joined by Patrick, who's from Rhodes East London, so all 5 of us lived together for a month. It was very cool. Then our whole class, who were on internships at companies all over the place, got together this past week for our Industry Visit in Jo'burg.
So that's where all the photos are from!
OK, must go work now. Cheers!
24.07.2004 - Back in GTown
Ok, I know I said that I wasn't really looking forward to the internship but as it turns out I had an awesome time! I'm so so glad I did it. I don't know how much of the actual work was that meaningful or anything but that wasn't important. I loved SARS, loved Pretoria and got to meet some fantastic people! If for some reason I do get a job offer from SARS I will definitely have to give it a lot of thought. I'm still very keen to go overseas but a job at SARS would be a great opportunity - especially since I'm sure I'd be happy there. (I'm actually missing it already and we only left a week ago!!) But, I mustn't count my chickens ... for all I know SARS doesn't want me anyway.
Unfortunately I haven't really been on holiday since leaving SARS ... our class went on a week's industry visit to Jo'burg instead. We went to a whole bunch of companies: ABSA, Accenture, Siemens, BSG, Telkom, Didata, SARS and UTI Sun Couriers. It was mostly incredibly boring! We had to sit through masses of presentations - most of which were a bit much! But there were some really interesting ones and some of the companies themselves were pretty cool. I'm definitely keen to apply to a couple of them. The whole visit was also a really good chance to get an inside look at some of the companies and to suss out what their work environments, etc. are like. So from that point of view the whole week was really worthwhile.
Anyway, I'm now back at Rhodes - sitting in res as I write this. Bryan and I drove into GTown today - it was a pretty quick, uneventful trip from Jo'burg - no breakdowns or anything like that for a change! I'm kind of excited to be back - I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone (they all start arriving tomorrow) but I'm not looking forward to the work side of things. (As per usual!) Our literature reviews for our research essays are due in a couple of weeks and I've done nothing since handing in my proposal in April!!! So, the next few weeks have to be spent on intensive grafting!!
Well, my bed is really calling me right now. It's been a long day and it's nearly 11pm already. If I don't log off now I know I'm going to end up sitting here all night updating my site - it's so great to be back on ResNet!!!!!!!
11.07.2004 - C'est tout bon.
Well, the last couple of weeks have been pretty busy and exciting. Work started out a bit boring and slow but things have really picked up in the last few weeks. We're not doing the most exciting work ever but they've been keeping us busy which is fantastic. Also, every Friday the department we work in has a 2 hour training session and this week Meenal and I got to do the presentations!! It was a bit stressful but really cool at the same time. And I think we did a pretty good job of it. (Well Meenal did anyway.)
We each had to present for half an hour - and in case anyone cares - mine was on Rational Unified Process (RUP), which we've done in class before so at least I kind of knew what I was doing, and Meenal's was on Six Sigma. The whole department, managers et al, were there so it was very cool. Meenal and I have also been put in charge of building an online version of the department's monthly morale survey so that's been quite fun to fiddle around with as well.
Also, big exciting drama - my car was broken into last week Friday!! It happened at about 3.30am: the buggas smashed one of the little triangular windows and took my radio and speakers!!! So, things were looking a bit bleak - especially since I then drove home to Swaziland for the weekend with no music in the car!!! And I can't afford another one - especially since I might be going overseas at the end of the year and so wouldn't be using the car anyway. I'm sure you feel my pain!!! I was just picturing the very quiet 10 hour drive back to Grahamstown!! But I must be the luckiest person ever - when I got back on Sunday the B&B people told me that they would pay for everything!! So they footed the bill for the new window and they put a new CD player and speakers in for me on Wednesday!!!! How cool is that!!
Had the coolest day yesterday - we went ice skating!! I've been twice before, years ago, but I've been dying to go again - I love it!! Anyway, we spent about 2 hours at the rink and I only fell 4 times which I thought was fairly decent. (My ass is pretty sore today though!!!) Then we came home and Patrick and I got stuck into a couple of bottles of wine! Anyway, by the time 6pm came around we had run dry and decided to make a trip to the bottle store for some vodka - only to discover that for some very strange reason all the bottle stores around here close at 5pm!!!! So we were forced to change tactics and pinch a bottle of vodka out of the booze cabinet here at the B&B. (Don't worry - I'm not a thief - we did tell someone and we're gonna go shopping tomorrow and buy a replacement bottle.) So anyway, we had a great evening - we went out to a cool place called Rhapsody's [group photo] and I had a Long Island Iced Tea for the first time ever, and then we went to The DropZone again which was pretty cool.
Otherwise I've mostly been living the quiet B&B life. I've made a vague attempt to work on my language skills while I'm here - René has tried to improve my Afrikaans but I don't think I've made much progress! I've only added like two phrases to my existing repertoire! I can now say Werk is vervelig (Work is boring) and Ek maak net 'n graapie (I'm just joking). Anyway, I thought I'd better write them down somewhere quickly before I forget them! Don't ask me if my spelling is right - I wouldn't have a clue! There's also a guest here who's from Burundi so he's trying to work on my French but I'm just as pathetic at it as ever! I'm definitely not very gifted in the language department!
Anyway, I think that's just about all my news - in any case I've definitely written enough for one day! Will have to pop down to the Internet café later to upload this and check my hotmail account - hopefully somebody loves me!
27.06.2004 - Goeie Dag van Pretoria!
Yes, I did actually finally make it to Pretoria. The whole internship thing eventually came together - much to my surprise - and here I am.
As far as accommodation is concerned - life is wonderful!! We really landed with our bums in the butter this time. SARS is paying for the 5 of us to stay in a really nice larny guest house: The Rose. I have my own room with en suite bathroom, a tv with m-net et al, and I have my bed made and room cleaned for me every day!! Then of course there's the cooked breakfast every morning and the chocolate on my pillow every night!! As if this isn't enough already, SARS has also hired us a car to use for the month (a very nice Nissan Almera) and they're paying us a salary on top of that!
The people at the B&B are pretty cool too: the one lady is a bit anal but there's another girl that works here, René, who's about our age and she's fantastic - a really great person. She lets us use the kitchen to cook our own supper and stuff, and she often saves us stuff from when she's been cooking meals for other guests (she's a qualified chef!). So, in general life is pretty good ...
... except for one little problem. Work is soooooooooo boring!! The week started off ok but the last few days have been absolute killers!! It's just that so far they haven't really had anything for us to do - so I spend pretty much every day reading a couple of documents and then staring at the wall until 4pm when it's time to go home. (That's one great thing though - everyone is really relaxed about work hours - I can take lunch whenever I feel like it and then I'm done by 4pm!!) There are some really cool people working at SARS as well and it's a fantastic work environment - so I just hope that when the new week starts tomorrow I'll actually start doing something productive.
Pretoria itself has been great to see. I'd never been here before so I was expecting something a lot like Jo'burg. But it's really different - much much nicer. It's very Afrikaans though - we went out on Wednesday night (to this place called The DropZone) and I don't think I heard a single person speaking english.
We spent the day at the zoo yesterday which was really pleasant. Some of the more interesting animals were the Kodiak bears, the kangaroos, and the Red Pandas. There was also the most beautiful tiger there - I took masses of photos of it! We also spotted Nemo and Dori at the aquarium and the ugliest fish ever!!!
Anyway, I'm supposed to be working on my Research Essay right now - not updating my website - so I'd better say auf wiedersehen for now. (Although, knowing me, I'm probably just going to play computer games anyway!)
13.06.2004 - What now?
I think this site is finally pretty much complete and up-to-date. Which is a pity because I still feel like working on it!! I love writing HTML - I can sit in front of a computer for hours trying to get a page just right. (That's why I find it strange that I battle with programming so much.) I don't think you can really call HTML a proper programming language - it's way too easy - but it still involves the same kind of thinking and basic problem-solving. (At least I think it does.)
Anyway, enuff rambling. I guess I'll just have to keep myself busy by updating this page as often as possible. Which is pretty tough at the moment because I don't have anything too newsworthy. I'm phoning my parents tonight so hopefully I'll get some more details about our Christmas overseas trip and then I can write all about that.
I still don't have any news regarding my internship with SARS (no - it's not just a disease). I spent the whole of Friday afternoon trying to get hold of them to get some more details - like, when am I supposed to be starting? and where will I live? I finally got as far as discovering that they have found us accommodation (where? I don't know) and that they'll get hold of us on Monday with all the facts.
So at the moment I'm going to plan as though I'm leaving Grahamstown on Tuesday morning (as I suspect the first day of the internship is Thursday and I have to get all the way to Pretoria before then.) I'm hoping desperately that I'll have regular access to the Internet and email while I'm there - I don't know how I'll cope otherwise!!! But just prepare yourselves for the possibility of not hearing from me for a few weeks. I know it'll be tough (especially since I've become so verbose over exam time) but I'm sure you'll all cope! :-)
(Actually I guess most of you are probably thinking things like "Yay", "What utter bliss", and "no more annoying emails!").
Anyhow, I must head for bed - it's now 3.30am and I have to be up before 10am to play squash with Sim. This promises to be a very interesting event as I haven't played since sometime last year!!! (Terrible I know but after starting the year with a fractured wrist - and obviously not being able to play - I never seemed to get back into it.)
Well, nitey nite all. Catch you on the morrow!
11.06.2004 - Stress Free Zone!
Exams are over!!! I'm so happy!! Although thankfully exams were nowhere near as stressful as usual this year. I think partly because I don't really care anymore and partly because they just don't count that much towards my final mark this year. I mean the programming exam only counts 4% to my end of year mark. So if I barely passed I'll have 2% and if I did pretty well I'll have 3%. Not really much of an incentive to study now is it!?
Well, what do you think of the new site design? I was so bored of the old one and itching to write some HTML so here's the result!! I'm happy but we'll just have to wait and see how long it lasts before I get tired of it again.
Not much by way of news - still waiting to hear back from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) about the details of my internship. It's apparently supposed to start sometime next week but I've heard nothing from them so I'm actually starting to think about saying stuff it and going home for the vac instead!!
I would get started on the whole story about my overseas trip that's planned for the end of the year but it's now 4.30am (I've been up all night re-building this site) and I need to hit the sack!! So it'll have to wait til next time - which I'm sure will be very soon as I don't have much else to do!!
Tchus! 25.05.2004 - Exams are looming!
Well, the sad fact of life at the moment is that exams are only just over a week away. I have supposedly got plenty of time to study as I've finished my lectures for the semester but sadly this is not the case. We've got masses to do for our sysdev projects (as the next iteration is due Friday) and I've got to squeeze some research in somewhere as well. Talk about a stress fest!!
Otherwise life is good. I've been going out quite a bit lately which has been fun - although it means I have been neglecting my work a little!! Also, having 24hour access to Internet from my room is a really bad thing!! There have been many 2am online gaming sessions!
Well, must go. I'll try and get the rest of my US photos up in the next couple of weeks - probably just after exams are over.
Ciao for now!
19.05.2004 - C#: C'est Fini!
We finished our programming module today!!! Definitely celebration time! I don't know if I could've coped if it'd gone on much longer. We had masses of work to do and it was all due in today. So, it's been a bit of a strain but now it's done.
The fantastic, amazing, incredible news is that I have my new computer (I'm typing on it right now) and I now have 24 hour access to the Internet from my room!! It's great but terrible at the same time because I know I'm not going to get any work done! Although it may mean that I update this site more regularly. I have already begun work on a webpage with photos from my trip to the States. It's not complete yet but the Vermont photos are up so if you want to check them out you can click here. I still have to do the New York and Florida pages though.
On the Internship front - I am feeling extremely unwanted. I have an interview with SARS (South African Revenue Service) on Thursday but it's basically happening because SARS are prepared to take 10 students from our class when in fact there are only 6 of us left who haven't been placed! So they're basically stuck with me!
Not much other news except that life in res is picking up. I had a huge night a couple of Friday's ago - got horribly drunk and ended up home by 11pm hugging the toilet bowl! What a great night though - it was well worth it.
Anyway, I must head to bed now before I pass out from exhaustion at the keyboard!
Auf Wiedersehen!
05.05.2004 - C# ???
We've finally started our programming module so I am supposedly learning how to code using C# in Microsoft's .Net framework ... whatever that means! I thought I was slowly but surely getting the hang of some simple coding, and I actually understood most of yesterday's lecture, right up until he told us that for homework he wanted us to try and "serialise to XML". Don't worry, I'm just as confused as you (unless there are any hardcore programmers among you)! I've been through the readings on the subject and haven't really been enlightened at all. Oh well ... hopefully I'll pick it up in today's lecture.
I've been feeling a little despondent lately. Our class are all supposed to be doing an internship in Jo'burg over the next vac so we all had to send our CVs off to the various companies who were offering places. Anyway, I haven't heard from a single one of them - and I think quite a few people in the class have been placed already. I'm starting to think there's no way I'll ever get an internship let alone a proper job!! (But I suppose that's a blessing in disguise - it means I'll be free to travel around the world without being tied to a regular job!) I chatted to Debs the other day and she's planning on travelling next year so it would be really cool if we could do it together.
Not much else happening. I bought a new computer last week Monday, they told me it will be ready this Friday so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. As soon as I get it I can get ResNet sorted out in my room and I'll have 24hour access to Internet and email!! Can't wait! I'll have to take some time out and work on this site - maybe give it a bit of a facelift and add a bunch of pics.
Anyway, gotta go now - it's time for today's programming lecture. Hopefully by the end of it I'll know what this serialisation stuff is all about!
27.04.2004 - 22
As of the 23rd of April 2004 I have now reached the ripe old age of 22!
And I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to find I had a great birthday this year! I thought the whole thing was going to be slightly depressing since most of my good friends have departed for greener pastures while I'm still stuck at Rhodes. However, I ended up having a fantastic weekend and over the last few days I've been such a great mood!! (Unusual for me - I'm normally stressed and grumpy!) I need to have a birthday more often! Also I think the good mood is very much due to the fact that I haven't been too snowed under with work lately.
Anyway ... back to my birthday!
I ended up very spontaneously going out on Thursday night (after inter-res table tennis) with a group of crazy (but lovely) people from my res and that was interesting to say the least! With the way Bowlzie drives I didn't think I was going to make it to 22! I then took the entire day off on Friday (yippee) and went out to lunch with Sim. (I've now discovered the joys of the sandwiches from Juice Bar!) Next on the agenda was pre-drinks in my room - I had a few peops over for dom pedros (Amarula and ice cream - not whiskey) before going out. Well, it turned out to be a pretty big night (thanks in large part to Loo!! Although she redeemed herself by getting me home safely!) and needless to say I was a bit shaky on Saturday morning!! But I dragged myself out to lunch with Loo, my brother, and his girlfriend Kim, which turned out to be very pleasant although I felt a bit queasy afterwards! (I was compelled to spend the rest of the afternoon in bed with a book!) Then Siobhan and I rounded off the day by going out to movies on Saturday evening.
So, all in all, it was an awesome weekend and I feel like I've done my fair share of birthday partying for the year! I really just want to say thanx so much to everyone who phoned, emailed, smsed or mailed me!! It means so much to know you were thinking of me!
19.04.2004 - Robyn's Bane!
I'm embarassed to see that once again it's been a whole month since I updated the site - whoops! And once again what has spurred me to actually sit down and write something?
P r o c r a s t i n a t i o n!! - I think if there's one word in the whole world to describe me -"procrastinator" is it!! (And this is going to read just like a repeat of my entry on the 8th of March!) Research sux!! Big time!! It is 1.30am and here I am sitting in the computer lab yet again, staring at the computer screen and hoping that somehow the words will just pop up there on their own! (Unfortunately, not going to happen!) And this time I'm here all on my ace - everyone else has gone home already!!
At the moment this research proposal is the bane of my existence! It's the real deal that's due tomorrow and I've had the whole week to work on it and yet here I am ... Not that I haven't tried all week - I have - it's just that I'm not the world's greatest researcher, just the mere mention of the word research makes my brain freeze up! I'm actually really cross with myself at the moment because no matter how good my intentions are I always end up doing this to myself and it's not good!
Well ... in other news ...
We've just had our Easter break so I was able to go home for 12 days - that was really cool. I did absolutely nothing and it was just great to be at home and see my mum and dad and not have to worry about work!! (Although maybe if I had worried a bit more about work I wouldn't be sitting at this desk right now!)
And as for the Counting Crows concert last term (as mentioned in my previous entry) it was great!! Bryan and I were right up near the front (about 3 people back) so we had a clear view of everything which was fantastic. Anywhere else in the world and you'd have to pay a lot more than R135 to get that close to the stage!! And Just Jinger were INCREDIBLE!! I know I said that I wasn't all that excited to see them play but they turned out to be amazing. We knew nearly all of their songs and they did the most awesome bongo drum routine I have ever seen!!
The Counting Crows themselves were also really cool but unfortunately I didn't know enough of their songs. I know a few of their big hits and then I know most of the stuff off the Hard Candy album but I'm not too familiar with any of their other albums which was a pity. But their performance was excellent.
The only problem with the whole evening was that it had to be just about the hottest day we've had all year and it was an indoor venue!! It was a killer - everyone was all sweaty and gross! I heard of a couple of people who passed out during the evening. But I guess it was worth it!
Anyway, it's now 2am and I still haven't got any further with my proposal so I'd better say adieu!
11.03.2004 - Counting Crows!
This time next week I'm off to see my first real live concert ever!!! The Counting Crows are doing a tour of South Africa and for some strange reason they are going to be playing in PE so for the first time ever there's a concert that's close enough for us poor Rhodes students to get to!! I bought tickets about a month ago so the wait has been killing me!
Unfortunately the concert is on a Thursday night and I've got lectures that I just cannot miss on Friday morning so we're going to have to drive back straight after the show. But I think it's worth it!
Just Jinger are going to be the opening act and while they're not my favourite SA band ever (I was hoping and praying that Prime Circle would get the gig) - I'm sure they're still going to be pretty good!
Otherwise, life is fine - nothing newsworthy. In case you're wondering - I did end up pulling an all-nighter on that draft research proposal and finally ended up handing in a total piece of crap! It was just a bunch of words strung together in half-sentences in a vain attempt to fill at least 5 pages!! I shudder to think of the mark I'm going to get!! Oh well ...
Anyway, for now it's back to work - I don't actually have anything formal to hand in at the moment but I think I'd better start trying to get some extra work done on this whole research thing - that way maybe my actual research proposal will be barely worth reading!
08.03.2004 - Research Sux!
It's 1.20am. I'm sitting in the IS labs staring at my computer. There are only two of us still left in here struggling with our research proposals. I suspect that I have probably still got the most left to do out of the whole class. I'm seriously considering just not doing it and begging for another day's grace. The only thing stopping me is that I've already stuffed up my Sunday evening and I know that if I don't do it now I'll just end up pulling an all-nighter on Monday as well! :(
The worst thing is that I've hardly even started the proposal and I really just don't know what to write - I think I'm going to have a breakdown at some stage before morning!! I don't even know if I've still got enough time left to do it - lectures start at 8am.
Research sux. It just does.
02.03.2004 - Work, work & more work.
Ok, well I'm feeling guilty that I haven't updated this page in 2 months... but at least I have emailed almost everyone I know. So everyone should be pretty much caught up on what's been up in my life over the Christmas vac - If you haven't heard from me at all, sorry!!!
For those who I may not have mentioned this to - I made it into I.S IV!!! Someone told me that the toughest part of I.S Honours was getting in - I think he lied. We've done nothing but work since I've been back, I constantly feel swamped and I'm stressed about the research essay we have to do. In fact, life would be much brighter without the research part!! Research and I do not mix well together and now I have to have my draft proposal in on Monday - I haven't even decided what I'm going to research yet!!! (And I started looking for something 2 weeks ago!!)
Actually, I exaggerate - I have got one glimmer of an idea but I'm just not sure if it's any good or if I'm even really interested in it. (You have to try and find something you're interested in especially since you're stuck with it for the rest of the year!) So anyway, my idea is:
'How are consumer perceptions of internet security affecting the growth of e-commerce?'It's a very rough research question and still needs some fine-tuning but I'm hoping it'll do.Beyond all that - great excitment in res, we've finally got ResNet!! They hooked us up last night and so by the time I get back to my room today it should (hopefully) be working!! Now I just need to find some money to upgrade my computer into a supa-dupa web-surfing machine!! And I guess it also means that since I'll have access to internet and email in my room, 24/7, you'll all hear from me more often - yay for you!!!!
So, til my next update - straight from my room to you - au revoir!
07.01.2004 - Happy 2004!
Well, I hope everyone has had a great festive season with lots of partying and mayhem! Unfortunately I've had a very hardworking holiday season since it's the busiest time of year for the ski resorts and we've been working almost non-stop. I had Christmas Eve off which was cool but I worked Christmas Day and New Year's Eve which was not so great. But, I'm not much of a Christmas or New Year's person so it wasn't all that bad either. At least I was making money!
I went skiing yesterday for the 3rd time - I finally got a chance to book a group lesson. Unfortunately it was a bit of a waste of time as I'd already picked up all the same tips from Wendy and so didn't really learn anything new. However, it wasn't a complete waste of an afternoon as at least I finally managed to get some more skiing in. I think I'm definitely ready to leave the baby slope behind me now so next time I get the chance to go skiing I'm heading right up to the summit!
I'm hoping to go for snowboarding lessons tomorrow if the weather isn't too bad. Apparently it's going to be really cold (about -10 degrees F, I'm not too sure what that is in degrees C but it's way below 0. I think that 32 degrees F is equal to 0 degrees C so I can only imagine how cold -10 is going to be!!) Anyway, I have promised Roberta, a Brazilian girl that I work with, that as long as it's not raining we'll go for two snowboarding lessons tomorrow.
Then, even more exciting news, we're off to Florida on Sunday night! Buzzy, the guy we live with, is a travel agent and he has organised a cheap trip for us to Orlando. So we are off to DisneyWorld!! I don't know yet whether we're going to spend more time at Universal Studios or Disney - they're both really expensive to get into and we're only there for 3 days so we won't have time to see everything. But I can't wait!!
Mickey here we come!
DIARY ARCHIVES
2003
2002
Back to Diary
meHappy
© 2004, by Robs