New Things

What-ho my faithful readers? No seriously, I'm consistently impressed with you for showing an interest in my life, even when I'm all mopey about it and talk in weird Charlie and Lola-style sentences. Good news for today is that things have been going pretty well the past few days and I have new things to report! "Good things" = "new things". That is the equation we use here.

I've been reading a junkload of Questionable Content lately, thanks to my friend James. I really identify with the main character, Marten. I even used to look like him back when I had black hair. I kind of miss my black hair. I might try it out again after VidCon. It will probably be temporary dye though, because growing out black hair is a total bitch.

I've been spending an embarrassing amount of time on Tumblr recently. My excuse is that it keeps me generally up-to-speed on internet culture. Like, who would have known Keanu Reeves was a meme now? I don't hang out on 4Chan and pretty soon I won't even be able to because of the Australian government censorwall, so this is a pretty good alternative to that. Plus, there's less porn. Usually. It also inspires me to make images like this:

and that's got to be a good thing, right? Um, Margaret Thatcher is now a meme. *cough*

Right now I'm listening to Mockingbird by Derek Webb. I mean, sure, I've been listening to Under Lights and Wires by Sandra McCracken pretty much nonstop this weekend, but I hung out with my friend Andrew today and we discovered a mutual love for Mockingbird, so I'm listening to it again, now.

I've gotta say, normally I kind of inwardly smirk when I hear people say that such-and-such and album "changed my life". I mean, there are a lot of albums I love dearly, but I can't really say that any of them have actually changed my life. Mockingbird, however, is the exception. It came along at a crucial time in my life and really articulated a lot of things I was thinking about war, religion and politics. Songs like My Enemies Are Men Like Me gave me the vocabulary to express how I felt about President Bush, Iraq and social justice.

Similarly, Webb's song American Flag Umbrella off his latest album, Stockholm Syndrome is ringing true with how I feel about Obama, even though I think it's really a song about American culture generally.

It's times like this I wish I knew how to play the guitar. I would completely thrash some soulful, protest folk right now.

OKAY WOW I did not actually talk about what I came here to talk about today. What I actually want to talk about is how I'm going to start volunteering at Juice 107.3 again. The Program Director sent me a Facebook message saying that if I come in for more training, I'll be able to have my own show. Huzzah on-air experience!

Also also VidCon is completely not very far away! It is sort of unnerving how not-far away it actually is. But first (the cat is just freshly out of its bag!) my Scottish friend Liam is coming to stay for a few days. I have to come up with lots of things to keep him occupied while he's here. I will probably take him up to Brisbane on my day off from work. Yesyesyes.

And that, I think, is a very good blog post.

I'm reading John

"He told me everything I ever did"

I'm afraid of what he might tell me. What things have I done that I haven't wanted to deal with, then forgotten about? Thank God that "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

I guess that's my thought for the day.

Slowing Down

Well, I refused to write in this blog while I was feeling bad and now I am here writing in the blog while I'm feeling comparatively-not-as-bad-as-I-was-feeling-not-all-that-long-ago. I'd hate for you to think that I live a private, sulky life when I'm not performing for the internet, but when I come here to talk about what's been going on and there's been nothing going on... well. It makes you think, "What am I doing with my life?" and the answer is usually the same: looking for a full-time job, working at the book store, same old same old.

I've been trying to organise adventures overseas after I come back from VidCon, but so far all those plans have been foiled. I'm thinking maybe I should just intentionally slow down for a bit and stay put on the Gold Coast. I applied for a job at the Apple Store the other day. If I can land that job and get off Newstart Allowance I'll just do that for a while. I'll do that and focus on video production and volunteering more of my time at church. Maybe I can lead a small group again. That'd be good.

Then again, maybe I'll meet someone at VidCon who'll give me a job in online video production. Ha. It seems like such an outlandish long shot I daren't hope for it. But I can't hope but hope.

Oh good grief, this is so depressing. I suppose in a lot of ways I'm just waiting for VidCon to roll around. I'm purposely not doing anything exciting before then just so I'm saving money. My hope is that I won't be broke when I come back. Then I can figure out what I want to do with myself.

Actually, secretly, awfully, tonight I had a mad-hatter plan to intern for Rocketboom. Unfortunately I don't think it's doable. I checked out the visas and it looks like you've got to start within 12 months of graduating from your tertiary programme. I just won't be able to jump through all the hoops (let alone earn enough to live off) to manage it. Oh America, your visas are so restrictive. Maybe I'll email them about it anyway, just too see what happens.

OR does anyone know of any comparable video podcasts based in the United Kingdom? The UK is MUCH easier for me to get into. I've also thought (in my my fruitier flights of fancy) of setting up my own online production company with friends. I wonder how you'd do such a thing.

Ha. So much for intentionally slowing down. Really truly though, slowing down is what I'm planning for. Maybe that's synonymous for giving up. I don't think so. I hope not anyway.