Time To Grow Up??

Sometimes I just cannot believe how douchebag-y some people can be.
There is this small population of the world that truly believe they are the only important people on the planet. They have no regard for the feelings or even opinions of others, as long as they themselves are happy and get a laugh out of things.
Just because you feel a certain way about something, doesn't make you superior to anyone else. Sometimes it can make you an outsider.
Which is what you are.
Enjoy.

Review & Summary of Special Topics: Tourism & the Media

This semester of Tourism and the Media has been really enjoyable. I think I was especially interested in it because my major research project on film-induced tourism is very closely related.

It was a good insight into the more 'behind the scenes' issues of filming and destinations, and will probably make me think a lot more when I watch movies now, especially about locations of filming and the image of the destination that I'm left with at the end of the film. Already when watching movies, I see locations and wonder if they're really where the story says it is, and often will watch through the credits to see if the filmed locations are mentioned. This is probably something that the film companies don't really want people doing, but I can't help it now!

It's also been interesting to learn more about destination image and the many different ways that it can be communicated in the media, through guidebooks, travel writing, film, television, music, literature, art, even theme parks.

I'm not really sure what else to write... Seems I've covered everything already in my other quite long journals (oops), so I think all there is left to say is thanks for an enjoyable and informative semester!

xox

Authenticity as the Holy Grail of Film Tourism

This week we had a guest speaker, Anne Buchmann, to talk about authenticity in film tourism, specifically relating to Lord of the Rings tours in New Zealand. This was a really interesting class, especially hearing from someone who has spent so much time researching in the one country, and also someone who is quite young and new(ish) to the research/academic scene.

I liked the fact that Anne identified that film tourists to New Zealand wanted to experience both the 'real' NZ and also the more 'fantastical' Middle-Earth... They expected to see both in the one place. It was also interesting to learn that most people going on the tours had only seen the movies one or two times, if that, and less had read Tolkien's book. Therefore, none of the film tourists saw themselves as film fanatics, even though they have come from far and wide to witness something they've seen in a film. I wonder if there is ever a point where someone believes that they're now a film fanatic...?

Anne also noted that they anticipated an authentic and sincere experience, which is interesting, the notion of someone wanting an 'authentic' experience of an 'imaginary' world. Sorta seems like the two might cancel each other out... It was also interesting hearing what the tour groups considered authentic, from being influenced by the 'making of' videos from the LOTR dvds, and other clips on New Zealand. They enjoyed meeting people that were extras in the films, especially if they were in their 'authentic' costumes, which mostly were just made out of fabric and plastic, so really, weren't real at all.

It was a great insight into the minds of tourists in a tour group, and raised some interesting points about authenticity and people's perceptions and expectations.

This is the second last reflective journal entry that I have to write! The last one is just a summary and final reflections on the subject, then I can hand it in and cross off one more assignment from the to do list! Exciting times!

xox

The One You Knew

I'm leaving but don't worry 
I'll be back again
You're always right here

And you're grieving but don't hurry to your pack of friends
I'll stay 
It's clear

The one you knew from your love 
I grew into complete and whole 
And the way I justify
It's my way to control love everlasting 

I see your sweater rests upon your bed 
Reminds me of home
It can't be any better than it is in my head 
I'm blinded by roam

The one you knew from your love 
I grew into complete and whole 
And the way I justify 
It's my way to control 

There's only one way I know how to do this 
Stay here and help me live through this and I'll always be 

The one you knew from your love 
I grew into complete and whole 
And the way I justify 
It's my way to control love everlasting.

The Outback and Westerns

Today's seminar was taken by a different lecturer - Warwick Frost. He's a really interesting lecturer and I found myself concentrating nearly the whole seminar!

Anyway, we spoke firstly about the Australian Outback and it's use and portrayal in films. The main theme was the fact that there is really no definition for what the Outback actually is. As Warwick said, it's a very subjective concept, and can probably be interpreted in many ways. I'm really glad that we talked about the fact that the Outback is not the same as 'The Bush'... because I sometimes get annoyed when people think they are the same thing. Mostly because they are total opposites in environmental terms. Maybe the only thing similar they have in common is the distance from urban areas.

I also thought it was amazing that so many films set in the outback had such a similar premise: a visitor to the outback (though generally not just a tourist, and usually someone foreign than Australian) comes in search of something/someone etc, had adventures/gets into some danger in the Outback, and then leaves a different person/transformed from their bad habits. This type of film must be popular if so many have used basically the same structure to the movie.

The idea of the Outback being an experience that could be 'life changing' is another concept that seems a little bit silly at first, but the more you think about it, the more potential it has to conjure those feelings in people. Through many of the films that are set in the Outback, it seems as though there is almost a guarantee that you will have a life changing experience if you travel out there. In his book on his Australian travels, Bill Bryson talks about Uluru, and how connected he felt with the rock when he finally saw it with his own eyes. The feeling that he describes isn't quite as extreme as 'life changing', but it still shows a certain gain from being there.

I think, maybe instead of being life changing, the Outback might fit more into the category of 'the sublime', just from what I've read in Alain De Botton's The Art of Travel. It sorta seems as if the vast, empty, but oddly beautiful landscape would fit well within the category of the sublime, though I don't know enough about the concept to be sure.

In regards to Western films: they're not really the type of films that I'm attracted to or would enjoy too much. I also think that it's interesting that many of the westerns have very similar recurring themes... Sometimes I wonder if fans ever get sick of the same types of scenes or scenery shown. Although I guess when you think of romantic comedies or dramas, they tend to also have recurring themes, or structures, and have a few main locations that they are set in, and I continuously enjoy watching them.

Anyway, that'll do for now... Pretty sure I only have 2 more posts to do for this subject. At the moment, it's heads down, bums up trying to get the assignments done in good time. I really don't want to be stressing right up until the last minute, although at the moment I seem to be going at a good pace to have plenty of time for fixing last minute details and everything. I already know the result of one subject this semester, which is 77 overall, one I'm fairly happy with. Hopefully I can do just as well in the rest of them... Fingers crossed!

xox

Travel Writing.

This week I finally bought the text book for this subject, so now can include things from the book in these posts, which I was meant to do for all of them... Oh well. I also had about one minute of excitement when I found out that the bookshop had a massive sale and that text books were going out for around $4.50... Alas, the one I needed was at it's original (ridiculous) price of $66.95. I should probably make sure I delete this part of the post before I send it to the lecturer, though, since it's her book we had to buy and she probably was involved in the price setting! Anyway...

Onto today's topic: Travel Writing. Was a pretty interesting topic, I thought. What was most surprising is that books like travel guides, and blogs by travelers aren't said to be forms of travel writing. I wonder who exactly came up with that rule, and whether it is widely accepted. If it is by Fussel, as on the seminar notes, then the date is nearly 30 years old! I have a feeling a lot has changed in that time, that could possibly change the meaning of 'travel book' to encompass more styles. Personally, I love looking through books like the Lonely Planet guides, especially for the vivid, beautiful photos and pictures they always display. One of my favourite books at home is my copy of The Travel Book, by Lonely Planet, which has sort of like a biography for every country in the world. Just reading through the quick snippets of information and a glancing at the few stunning pictures, and I'm ready to go there. But I guess even though it's they're books of writing about travel, they aren't classified as types of travel writing, because they haven't really got a distinctive narrative: there is no voice to the pieces. Though I think that just because they aren't classed exactly as travel books, does not mean that they can't influence people to go to the places they are about.

I think I'm much more partial to the travel writing of today, rather than that of the Victorian age, where all information was conveyed through scientific facts and blatant observations. Although, back then I suppose that a lot of the world was still 'undiscovered' and needed to be cataloged in that way in order for other, non-scientific people to be able to venture out and create their own perspectives on the new places. But, now that the whole world has been 'discovered' so to speak, it's much more appropriate to write about travel through thoughts, ideas, recommendations, or personal perspectives... At least, they're more enjoyable and interesting to read for non-scientific people.

I can also see a vague distinction between travelers who write and travel writers, where travel writers are probably more likely to write to a wider audience, and include reflections on specific places, and perhaps highlight areas that were of particular importance or relevance to them. If I was someone who was writing while traveling, I think the entries would probably read more like a diary, with accounts of what I'd done that day etc, mostly intended for myself upon return and to remember the trip by. Other than maybe family and friends, no one else would ever read what I'd written.

Lastly, I think Bill Bryson is a very talented writer, from the 2 books I've read of his. It seems that he knows how to connect with his audience through the writing, and I think that is very necessary if the end result is to convince people to visit the same places. If not, then people have read an interesting and humorous book about a foreign (or not so well-known) land that might just get them thinking.

Anyway, that'll do again. I can't publish this post til I've written about the previous seminar, cause I skipped one... So hopefully it shouldn't be too long. I'd better get my act together! Hermit-ville starts now!

xox

Australia (The Movie) and TV Travel

This week's seminar was on the movie Australia, and it's use in promoting the country, as well as the many different types of travel shows that are on television nowadays.

The first thing that struck me about this topic, was the fact that up until the movie 'Australia', the country's marketing bodies decided that it was too complex to promote tourism through films, even though a number of great movies were made in Australia that would have had the potential to entice tourists here. Crocodile Dundee and the Mad Max films were pretty big successes overseas, and could probably have been major draw cards to the country had a tourism campaign for Australia been attached to their release.

Maybe Tourism Australia and the previous marketing bodies before that organisation had just decided they weren't going to pursue tourism campaigns through films, but when a blockbuster movie came along with superstar lead actors and director, and with the actual name of the country as the film's title, the opportunity was just too good to pass up. Especially, I imagine, with all the publicity that the country would get as a result of the film: international eyes on the country and its stars, the country's name repeated multiple times in every interview to describe the film itself, and the fact that most of the stars, director and crew were Australian, and the landmark locations where filming took place.

I felt quite proud when I heard that Tourism Australia is known to be quite innovative in the destination advertising they employ. For all the criticism they get for some of their advertisements and campaigns, at least they are trying new ideas and working out which ones do and don't work. I also think that the way the newest advertisements were done was better than expected. I like the fact that, instead of using clips from the film or the major stars, the ads were based on only one theme of the movie, one that many international markets (and probably many national markets as well) wouldn't have heard of before. Everyone knows to come to Australia to see the kangaroos, koalas, Uluru, the bridge and Opera House, but the concept of the 'walkabout' is probably far less known, and the ability to 'arrive' as one thing and 'depart' as something completely different, might be appealing to many people. I think the use of visual emotional rhetoric is very clever... and if none of these appeal to people to watch the ads, then the fact that they were written and produced by Baz Luhrmann will most likely push them to press play/keep watching the television.

I think the amount of travel shows on TV (whether commercial, combined, incidental or accidental) is amazing. Just watching free-to-air TV on a Sunday afternoon and there are at least 4 different travel shows on, with even more during the weeknights. Then there's pay-TV! The notion is obviously a popular one. People like watching attractive hosts visiting beautiful places, eating delicious food, meeting the quirky locals, and partaking in the great activities that are available wherever they happen to be. I don't think I ever realised just how many different shows there actually are! And they must have the ability to generate sales or at least awareness for the places that they promote, because all of the shows are still airing, and destination are still asking them to come and feature their area on television.

It might be a hard thing to measure, though. Obviously if people call the numbers that are always displayed on the screen at the time of the hard sell (how to get there, where to stay, how much, etc), then that's an easy measure. But how many people would watch the shows, and then forget about the destination until they decide to go on a holiday, and one from the program is on the top of their mind, but they don't book through the same method as was outlined during the show. It seems that they might be more about creating awareness and eliciting curiosity than gaining actual sales straight away.

I also like the idea of movie maps and guide books specifically developed to show people where certain filming takes place or is inspired from. It seems a shame that the Australian version of a movie map developed by Denise Corrigan wasn't the great success it could have been. I think people would be very interested in that sort of thing in Australia. I think it would also be quite popular if the major guide book publishers put out their own version of movie maps, or movie guide books, rather than just leaving the specific movie fans to create their own (even though some of these have been very successful). Maybe an organisation like the Lonely Planet could collaborate with people already very knowledgable about film locations, such as the person behind the 'Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations' website. The creator calls the site a Film Locations Travel Guide, so having the information in both website and actual book form might prove popular and get awareness about these amazing places out into the world.

*On closer inspection, it seems the man behind the website has already produced his own book that does just what I've suggested*.

Finally catching up with these silly journal entries! At least there's a few more I can cross off the list... Not long to go now!!

Back to work.
xox

Film Studio Theme Parks & Runaway Productions

This week's seminar was on film studio theme parks, and the frontstage/backstage components of the parks.

Theme parks always used to be so exciting and wondrous when I was young; they seemed to be places where dreams came true, and where you could be anything you wanted. Of course, back then, I had no idea of everything that was behind the building and running of theme parks. Nowadays, I like to think that I'm at least a little bit smarter (!), and so can understand all the different elements of a theme park, such as staff dressed up as characters, and the whole 'staged authenticity' of creating a dream world, while keeping the tourists in the main areas, and not letting them see what goes on behind the curtains. Somehow, I sort of wish I still wasn't able to comprehend all that operational side, because it definitely takes away from the magic of the place. Although, maybe once you're there, it's much easier to get swept up in the excitement and forget that people have directed your every move.

The concept of front stage and back stage elements at a film studio theme park becomes very complex and almost confusing to someone who's never thought about it before... There are so many different types of encounters, especially when considering the nine classifications by Pearce, that I wonder if even the staff of the parks understand the complexity of it all, and can identify which area they are working in at all times.

I also find it tricky to come to terms with the concept that film studio theme parks are built as a way to show outsiders what goes on inside the walls of the studios, but the majority of the attractions within the park aren't real at all. It's the whole idea of the theme park being a real-life representation of something that was fantasy in the first place. I wonder if maybe sometimes, it's better to leave things like that to the imaginations of people, rather than try to tell or show them how it would be in real life, if the fantasy world exists.

I also think that theme parks must have a close tie with the film studios that run them. I think it's amazing that a number of films were written and created to support rides and attractions that already existed at Disneyland.

Secondly, I think the concept of runaway film locations is a tricky one. On the one hand, it makes sense to film something in a different location to where the story is set if the actual location cannot support what the film needs, either financially, or logistically. But then again if there is no real reason to film in an alternate location then I think it's a little unfair to the original destination, especially if the film could result in tourist dollars for the location. It might just be me, but sometimes I feel a bit cheated when I find out that a movie that I think has been filmed in one place, is actually in another, especially if I felt some sort of connection with the scenery I saw. At the same time, though, I know that films are very rarely authentic, especially those that are more the blockbuster type than the historical type.

Another thought I had about this issue, is if there is any tourism as a result of the film, where would they visit... the actual location that the movie was filmed, or the destination that was named/portrayed in the film? I'm not sure which I'd choose... It would probably depend on whether I was more attracted to the storyline, or the scenery shown throughout.


I think I'll post this now, because it's been hanging around for ages, but I'm pretty sure that I'm meant to be reading the text book too, and talking about things from there, which I haven't bought yet :S So I'll do that maybe next week and then I can complete these next two posts properly!

Peace.

Asian Film-Induced Tourism: Hallyu - The Korean Wave

This week's topic was Asian film-induced tourism, focusing on The Korean Wave, and a little on Bollywood and Indian film and tourism.

This seminar was a bit of an eye-opener, as I guess I'm fairly ignorant in noticing that other countries and cultures have their own popular cultures. Sometimes I think that because Australia is so heavily influenced by American culture, media, films, TV shows, news, information etc, that all the other countries are as well. Which really shows my lack of thinking, I think. Of course Asia is going to have a different culture, different media, and different celebrities to idolise.

I actually really like the name of the Korean Wave to describe the pop culture that is so popular in Asia, although the original name from the Chinese media of cold wave seems more negative as opposed to a positive and accepted pop culture. I also really enjoyed watching the episode of 'Winter Sonata', especially since I'm the type of person who is easily sucked into a new storyline, and can see why the series was so popular throughout Asia. I think it's also interesting to be able to watch a TV show that displays another culture acting out their day-to-day activities, since Australian free-to-air TV pretty much only shows the one culture over all of the hundreds of television series that are aired every year.

I'm just visiting the official site of Korea tourism now, and one of the links under Sights, Activities & Events, takes you 'filming location tours' which gives you the option to look at either drama sets or movie sets, both of which have over 20 different sets to choose from that show comprehensive information about the films and shows, stills from filming and matched locations. I don't think many other official tourism destination websites would base information so heavily around the popular culture TV series and films that are produced within the country.

I think for the tourism website to be able to post photos from the films and series', then they would have to have a good reciprocal with the TV and film studios, since sometimes they may want to keep filming locations secret to keep the mystery of the program. In Australia, the USA or the UK, it might be more difficult to negotiate with the studios to display such extensive information about the shows on external websites, especially if the websites give away plot details or have the potential to 'spoil' the show or film for future watchers, which the Korean site does.

Anyway, that'll do for this week. We don't have a seminar next week, so I probably wont write here, though I think I have to for the actual assessment piece. I think we're also about half way through the semester, which is scary... I have so much more work to do in a short amount of time. Better get my act together. Until next time.

Xoxox

The Effects of Film Tourism on Host Communities

This week was a continuation of thinking about the film industry, and the effects of filming in small communities.

We started talking about communities, and all the different types of people that can be affected by film tourism. The point was raised that non-residents are still an important part of a community and can be affected by impacts just as much as those who live there. That's a thought I kinda never considered, that the people who regularly visit or stay in a place are going to be affected by change too. That made me think of a place that my family goes every single year over the Christmas holidays... It's the most beautiful caravan park on the beach that is hidden away from everything, so much that only people researching that very area for places to stay would find out about it. Personally, I would hate it if suddenly the area became highlighted by a movie or tv series, and start to change in atmosphere and population.

I think the copyright issue is also an interesting one. It just seems so greedy of film companies to not allow some towns to use the name or develop their own merchandise to roll off the popularity of whatever movie or show was filmed there. As was talked about, I think it's much more important for small towns and communities to be able benefit in some way from their region being used for mass media.... If they want to. I think this is more of an issue than we have talked about. I mean, some places would absolutely love to have more visitors and their town showed on a national or international scale, but what about the places that don't want more people to come visiting? Are they the ones who refuse to allow film companies to shoot in their region? Is that something they can control, or can studios go over a local council to get approval from a higher governance if they really want to? Maybe this is where the social responsibility comes in. I'm guessing film companies are always very careful to make sure nothing bad about them comes out in the media, so maybe they would just accept if a town refuses them permission to film there.

In regards to community support from tv and film companies, for those regions being negatively impacted on by film-induced tourism, I think that the studios need to understand that they are the reason for the increased tourism. They are the influence for people to visit in the first place, and so need to provide ongoing community support, long after they have finished filming and started on the next project.

This seminar definitely highlighted the real importance of tv and film companies promoting corporate social responsibility, and providing support for communities that may not be able to handle film-induced tourism. I think in the long run, if these multi-billion dollar companies are seen to be helping not just themselves, but also those places that have helped them become so successful, then people will have a positive feeling towards them and the film or tv product that they create.

The Film & Tourism Industries

This week's seminar was based on the structures of both the film and tourism industries, as a way of determining how different they are and the many levels to go through when working together.

It was funny how the class initially found it fairly difficult to identify how the tourism industry is structured and where their funding comes from, since we pretty much all just finished a business in tourism degree. I dunno, maybe I didn't pay enough attention in some of our undergrad classes, but I sorta found it hard to think of the different organisations and activities that happen under the Public Sector and the Industry Sector. But as soon as government activities were identified as the public sector, it was easy to think of the types of jobs the government does. Often that annoys me a lot, where I have no idea of the right answer to a question until I get a fairly large prompt or clue. I think it's a weakness in my learning skills, since I can't come up with an answer from my own head without help. It makes me more frustrated with others in the class are really good at that kind of thing.

Anyway, I was pretty interested in learning how the film industry is structured, because it's not something I often think about... It's more about the particlar films that come out of the studios, rather than how they came to be. I also had no idea that the distribution companies have so much power: they pretty much can decide whether a film is going to be a blockbuster, or a flop.
Was also interesting to hear that often distribution companies can dictate to filmmakers the type of content that is to be shown in the movie...

In the case of the Swedish films that were most popular in Germany. We talked about how the distribution companies over there demanded that all films coming out of Sweden have a very Swedish feel to them, with lots of scenic views and particular Swedish landmarks identified, since they were the things that Germans loved most about the films. It did make me wonder if the Swedish people seeing the finished products ever got sick of always seeing the same landmarks or countryside portrayed in the film.

I know that when I see an Australian movie, I tend to get sick of always seeing the same scenes over and over, like the Opera House, or Sydney Harbour Bridge, or Uluru. Instead, I like to see places that I have been before that aren't hugely prominent, but that are still great representations of the country I live in. I think that showing all different locations in films is a much better way of showcasing a country, even if it is in a film that isn't actively trying to promote a destination in any way. It's better than always seeing the same icons or places, and having audiences thinking that they're all a country has to offer.

The idea of film and tourim also helping each other out is another one that makes sense. Tourism bodies or organisations located in destinations are going to know the most picturesque or scenic places to shoot a film, and can probably find a destination within their region to fit most aspects of a film, whether they need beachfront, forest, jungle, alpine areas, urban settings or any number of other options. Therefore, tourism organisations can help find these areas in conjunction with the film location scouts, and might also be able to help them get council approval or after-hours access to attractions.
In return, film crews will know how to best display the destinations that they have been provided with, and can probably help to create marketing opportunities for a region, particularly if it's a smaller city that doesn't have a huge budget or knowledge of tourism marketing.

Anyway, I think I'm rambling a bit here, which I'm not meant to do. Hopefully I'll be able to clean these up a bit before submitting them for assessment.
Until next seminar...!

Xox

Tourism and the Media

Hmm, I think I'm getting sick... Great timing considering I just finished holidays and am back at uni. Boo-urns.

Anyway, that's not what I'm here to talk about. For the tourism and the media class this semester, one of the assessment pieces is to write a reflective journal each week. It's worth 40% of our overall mark, which is kind of awesome, because I tend to be good at writing reflective things. As long as I pay attention in classes and actually have something to think about.

So I will start with today, which was the first class, and probably more brief than other seminars will be. I'm just going over the slides now, to refresh my memory (even though the class was only this morning!)

We started out with a discussion of media, and how some of the world's greatest pilgrimage and tourism sites were established through the written, illustrated and oral media. I guess this makes sense, especially in the ancient times, before there were advertisements and TV and the internet to let people know what was out there. All people had to inspire them were the stories and experiences that were shared upon the return of travellers. I guess no one really knew what was outside their own cities, until someone else went to find out, and then came back to tell of what they'd seen.

I think the quote about popular culture is also an interesting one:

"Popular culture is a dangerous category as it implies the existence of another culture which is either unpopular, or elitist, or both"

We wondered whether mass media might be a better term for popular culture, instead. Whenever I hear the term popular culture, I always think of really big brands, for some reason, it's always Nike... I know there is so much more that the term refers to, but I just always think of the 'popular kids', going around, drinking coke, and wearing their Nike shoes... Actually, looking at that sort of seems more like something that would fit the late '80s or early '90s! I guess nowadays, they'd be walking around with their iPhones on Facebook wearing scarves and vests and stuff and drinking Red Bull... I dunno.

Other things we talked about were the aspects of 'Beauty, Wellbeing, Aesthetics & Art', and how, maybe not so much today, but in the 18th and 19th centuries, people would travel to a destination just because they saw a beautiful painting or read a lovely poem that represented that place. I think it seems amazing that people were so trusting of the author or painter, who may have had their own style of writing or painting that represented the place incorrectly, or enhanced what would have been an ordinary scene, into one that promotes travel.
I think now that photographs exist, it's a bit easier to tell what a destination looks like for real... Although that does prompt me to think that it might not be true... especially with the existence of photo altering programs like PhotoShop, where people can digitally enhance a photo that might be a bit bland in colour, to the brightest and happiest looking scene possible. Perhaps the truest representations of scenes were from authors and painters, who probably wouldn't have thought to change the entire feel and look of the scene they are influenced by...

I must admit, though, I am one to look at a photo and immediately be attracted to a destination, even if I'm certain it's been doctored or enhanced for that very reason. Most of the time I think that if a photo is worth taking of a place, then it's probably worth me visiting it, although some people take photos of the strangest things while on holiday, so maybe not...

Okay, well I think that's enough for this week's journal. I'm not sure if we have to comment on everything covered in the seminar, though I'm guessing not. Sorry to the one person who actually sometimes reads these, but this post is pretty much only for me (well, and my lecturer when I post it in the actual part we're supposed to).

I'll write again next week, I guess!

xox

Old School

Someone... or something... doesn't want me to go into my old Courtie Enterprises blog page through MSN... I've been trying to get to it all day, but for some reason, the page never loads. It loaded just before, and I managed to catch a glimpse of the page, but then firefox crashed mysteriously. Very annoying! It's not like it's vital I get in there though, sometimes I just get in the mood to read some old blogs. Lord knows I posted enough to keep me reading for days.
I dunno, it's nice sometimes to be able to step back in time and read something meaningless about a random day in year 12. I remember I used to talk about what I had for lunch even...

And a lot of the time the point of the blog wasn't to tell anything really deep or meaningful, it was to get home after school and read the comments people had posted in reply to what I'd written. That was always the best part. Although I think I used the blog to take out a lot of my anger when I was annoyed or frustrated or feeling down. Song lyrics were a big hit, and then they developed into games of 'guess the lyric'... that was fun too, especially if you weren't allowed to use google to search for them. That was just cheating!

But like I said, I don't know why I sometimes get urges to read what I was thinking or feeling or doing back then... They really work at taking me to another time, and sometimes afterwards I actually have to remind myself that I'm in the present day and different things are happening now. Often it's a relief to remember that. Then I wont read them for a long time. I hope I'm able to log back in eventually. Not that I absolutely have to, it's just nice to know all that information about myself is still there, any time I want to read it.

More Than You Think You Are

It's been an age...

Time definitely gets away from you when there's a routine, week in, week out. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I love routine. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty averse to change at the best of times! Anyway, that's what life has been like lately... nice and routine. Of course, the things that happen day to day are always different, but it's the structure of the week that makes the time go so fast. Monday to Wednesday = uni classes, and usually assignment doing during the night. Then it comes to Wednesday afternoon and it feels like there's some freedom ahead. Til I remember the next assignment is due Monday, and then the last 2 days of the week turn into a mix of getting things done at home, and working on assignments. Then comes Friday night, and the best part of the week. Unfortunately, that always goes the quickest, and before we know it, it's Sunday night and we're back to hating the world. Then we do the week all over again! I'm not sure what I'm getting at here, or whether I really had any point at all, other than that time goes so quickly.

I had a presentation today, which I'd worked on quite a lot over the past few days, but which I was also pretty nervous about. I kept thinking that the topic I'd chosen wasn't right, and that I'd critiqued it all wrong. But today, I talked slowly, evenly, didn't stress, and the best part was that the lecturer (who is sort of a weird kind of genius) actually said he found it very interesting, and that it was a great topic to choose. That made me feel pretty good, because it's always scary to have your work analysed in front of the whole class! So that was my day today.

I guess there's not really a theme to this post... Or maybe the theme is haphazard in itself.

It's weird not talking to someone who you normally talk to every day... I find it quite unnerving. It's not like I have to know where he is, or what he's doing at every point of the day, but not even getting to say hi seems odd. I guess I just don't like the fact that he is pretty much unreachable, and I am the same for him. Silly things we come to depend on!

I'm also wondering if my current method of dealing with uni work is going to keep being effective for the entire duration of the course. At the moment, I'm just taking one assignment at a time, and barely thinking about others until the first is due. Take this week, for example. All I've been thinking about since the last assignment was due on the 27/4, is this presentation that I did today. Even though I've got another assignment due on Monday, I haven't even begun to think about what I'm going to do for it. I was planning on doing this for the rest of the semester at least, and see how I go. I think it might work up until the assignments start getting longer and more involved, and also due all around the same time... Then I will probably start to stress a little bit more, but that will only be for a couple of weeks, and then it will be done. Good plan.

Hmm, just found out that a guy from Britan won the Best Job In The World competition, to be island caretaker (and promoter) for Hamilton Island and the ones surrounding it. It's a sweet deal, he gets a 6 month contract, with a salary of AU$150,000, and all he has to do is live on Hamilton Island, write weekly blogs and video diaries about his experiences, and basically continually promote the Whitsunday's (without seeming to) for 6 months! It's amazing and I wish I could have done that!

Anyway, back to reality. I should get some homework done seeing as I'll be working all day tomorrow and half the day Friday. I'm so glad I've got 3 shifts this week, the money situation was getting dire... But these ones should help a bit with the things coming up that I have to pay for. So this is farewell for now, and I promise that next post should have a real theme, or at least something interesting to talk about :P

Xox

NewNewNewNew!

That's right... I'm writing this to you from a new laptop!! Okay, so I may have gone overboard with the excitedness about this new toy, but it's just my very (very) late birthday present (from the last two birthdays!), so I've been waiting a while for it. It's so cool... all HP and shiny and smooth to look at and use, and the best part? I actually LIKE typing on the keyboard!! I was so worried about that, because I hate laptop keyboards generally, but this one I'm really loving and wont have a problem with at all. It's silver. There are cool lights on it too and touch buttons and stuff. At the moment I'm only planning on using it for uni work and to take places, so am only transferring a select few items from my desktop (which I will still keep in action for a while... mostly to download things and play games etc). I've also been quite harsh in the music that I've transferred over... Only the best ones, or the ones I think I might want to listen to while on the go. I definitely wont be connecting my ipod to this computer until the very last day of my old one's existence in my room. I'm just excited, I guess! It'll wear off... eventually.

In other news... Easter has come and gone, and I've eaten lots of chocolate, and still have some left to go... It was a great weekend, the 4 days went on for ages, and I had some good times with my most favourite people. It is annoying though, when holidays like that make me feel like they can go on forever, and that life could always be that lazy and happy and not include work or other annoying things like that!

Anyway, should keep this post short, I'm feeling ill again from eating more honey baked ham Kettle chips... They're just so good! Mmm this laptop is all warm, it'll keep my hands nice and toasty when the cold weather really hits. Today was windy but no rain. I'm waiting for the rain.

Peace out.
Xox

Needs Improvement

I'm not dealing with things very well this week. It's annoying because I'm not sure why that is. I think it's just that the holidays are looming, and I feel like I need the time at home to just chill and also to get everything back in order. Over the course of the term I've let things slide downhill, like readings and keeping up to date with uni stuff, and feeling on top of everything. But I think that as it's gone on, and the content is getting more involved, I've slowed down with understanding it all. Plus I totally write off the weekends (which, in my opinion, is fantastic), so sometimes haven't gotten myself organised for Mondays, which leaks into Tuesdays, and then the whole week seems like it's a big rush. I think it's also because there's another assignment due this week, which is proving difficult to understand and know what's relevant to write. I got my first assignment back yesterday, which I thought I hadn't done all that well in, but actually got 12/15 or 82%, so that was mildly encouraging. But once again I feel like I'm just getting a little snowed under.

Not to mention that lately I seem to explode at every little thing someone says to me at home... It's not giving me a good reputation around the house, since everyone's afraid I'm going to go off at them for making a little joke. Even I know that I'm overreacting, but it still comes out of me! I'm sure it's just related to the stress and fear of not having enough time to finish this assignment well, and the fact that I don't know what I should be doing doesn't help. I'm the sort of person who needs specific guidelines or be told the steps to be able to do something well! So when the question says to be creative and interpret it in your own way, I'm kinda left flailing! Wish I wasn't like that.

Hmm, I also wish that I wasn't always complaining! I know there are things to be looking forward to (they're the reason time seems to be going by at a snail's pace), but there's also uncertainties about those things too! I LIKE HAVING PLANS!!! But unfortunately, I always think of something to plan far too late to actually do something about it. Then I'm just left disappointed. Much like this stupid stimulus, which I'm almost certain now I wont be getting. The government are so tricky, wording the criteria so that everyone believes one thing, then when the time comes, they are told another that you'd need a doctorate in tricky government wording to have picked up on! Sneaky butt-faces.

Anyway, I should probably attempt to actually open the assignment file and pretend to do some work. Make myself feel better (or more likely, worse). Sorry this has been another depressing post, I'll try to have some positive ones soon!

Xox

Procrastination

I'm avoiding an assignment.

It's only the second one of the year and I'm already sick of doing them! Actually that's not entirely true. I'm liking getting to think again, it's just a bit tricky trying to do something that I don't really know anything about. I'm supposed to be critiquing a journal article, and I've done the easy parts, and one of the hard parts. There's one hard part to go, but it's just hard when there's no direction to follow. I suppose I should have done the sensible thing and asked Alastair to read over my draft today, but he'd already read so many people's and I felt bad making him stay behind longer. Plus I hate having people read my work, especially when I'm sitting right next to them. It's fairly daunting! I think everyone's in the same boat though (would wanna be a big boat!!), which always makes me feel better. Oh well, I only have to write about 350 more words, and it can't be that hard to think of problems/gaps in the article!

In other news, the end of next week is Easter and the 4 day break! Which is doubly awesome because I have two more weeks off after that. Well, only one really, because the other is when we go on our field trip to Beechworth and the wine regions. That should be fun fun fun. And i'm hoping that the government aren't being sneaky when they say that the stimulus money is being delivered next monday. I can't wait to finally be able to buy something for myself that doesn't consist of food or petrol. Because that's about all I've been getting myself lately... Okay, occasionally there might be a random bit of chocolate in there somewhere, or some ice cream, but they aren't anything substantial and I want new things, dammit!! Plus I want to buy someone else some things! Birthday soon, anyone? Oh yes! That's going to be lots of fun, I've got a few cool ideas, although I'm cutting it fine, April totally sprang up on us! Pretty soon it'll be winter and I'll be thinking about skiing and snow and mountains and scarves and snuggling and the like. Why do lots of good things start with the letter S?
Snow.
Sand.
Sun.
Sea.
Snuggles.
Skiing.
Snowmen.
Snowballs (okay so i'm cheating with using the same word... but I say it still counts).
Spas.
Singing.
Summer.
Spring.
Stop this train.
Spongebob...

Haha okay I'll stop now.

I think my problem is that I can't really do any constructive work at night time... unless it's due the next day. There's just too many distractions around that I let myself be distracted by. Like someone's watching TV, so i'll just go out and have a little look, or i'll decide my ipod needs charging, and spend a while making a new playlist on iTunes, or I'll find facebook, or decide I can write much more on a blog, or i'll pretend to get hungry and i'll go and find some stupid food to eat, and figure that while I'm eating, I might as well watch the latest How I Met Your Mother. Then, before I know it, it's 9.30pm and I'm getting sleepy and all hopes of getting anything proper written is gone, because, of course, it'll be time for a shower, and then i'll be all snuggly and warm and just decide to hop into bed for an early night, and then repeat the whole process over again the next night! My only hope is to get the work done on Thursdays and Fridays, preferably in the morning, because I seem to be at my most workable then.

And so now, without even breaking a sweat (not that I do when I type normally, it's just a figure of speech), I've written double the amount here that I need to write to finish off this assignment!

It's ludicrous. And I will never change.

Nighty night!

untitled.

I love you.

That is all.

TEX

So we've been asked to write informal journals of some sort, for one of the new units at uni - The Tourism Experience. It's not going to be read by anyone at the uni, but basically I think it's just for our own sake, to record our thought processes, and any important themes or issues we may have picked up on in the seminars.

I really liked today's one. It was on the anthropology of tourism, though I think anthropology in general really interests me... For anyone who doesn't know, anthropology literally means the study of mankind. Basically it's all about why people do the things they do, what motivates and influences their decisions etc. It's fascinating how there can be so many areas to study on the one person or people, and how in-depth anthropologists go just to find out a tiny detail that can help them understand the human race.

Some of the key issues today that we were asked to think about included the difference between a tourist and a traveller, as well as the difference between tourism and travel.
The way I thought of it was that a tourist generally wants to see one or two main sites or destinations when they journey somewhere, while a traveller wants to see everything along the way, and will keep travelling indefinitely. Someone else said that tourism is seen as the mass form of people moving from place to place, while travellers are more likely to be adventure seekers, and will want to visit places more 'off the beaten track'; likely to travel alone or in small groups, rather than sticking with the mass crowds that generate tourism. It's sort of hard to express what I'm thinking of in actual words, but I suppose I'd better get used to at least trying to do it effectively!

The first assessment task for the masters course is due on Monday. It's already so different, with the amount of reading needed to be done before even starting to search for information relevant to the actual topic. It's also very much left to us to sort of make our own judgement on a lot of things, which scares me a little as I generally need a bit of guidance to help me on my way. But it's something else to learn, I guess.

I'm not sure if this is what Gary wanted when he said to keep a journal, but it'll do for now. I probably will appreciate that I've done this, at the end of the year, so I can look back and see how far I've come (if I last the whole time, that is!)

And now, off to bed.

Mmmm

I love Sara Lee's 'Rocky Road Overload' ice cream. I think it may even be my favourite ice cream ever. And I've had a lot of ice cream in my time. The best part is the raspberry swirls that you occasionally come across... They're so rare, but I think that's why they're the best part, because you never know when you'll get a tiny hit of it!

Wow, I just realised that this thing saves itself as it goes along... Now that's handy. Too many times have I written something hugely long, like an email on facebook, only to accidentally press the back button somehow, before posting it and losing the entire thing. And we all know that the second attempt (if you can even be bothered writing again) is never quite as funny or brilliant as the first.

So here I am, writing a blog again. In no way is this a medium to get back at anyone, and I'm not even really copying anything that might already exist, because I've really always wanted to get back into blog writing. I think I'll use this as a way of documenting the year, since it's rather important, as opposed to writing in a diary or something. Plus I figure if I don't post the link anywhere, then it's pretty much like writing in a diary anyway, as no one will know it exists! Well, maybe someone. But that's only because I'll show him.

I've always said it, but I like typing. I especially like typing in this little text box, the default font is lovely. Hehe... lovely. Well, I can tell that I'm going to be good friends with this outlet, and I hope I have time to contribute effectively over the next few months. It's going to be full-on, that's for sure. We even used some coloured pencils and did some drawings in one of our classes today! Who's ever heard of doing colouring during a masters unit?! It was fun though. Tomorrow is the class I think I'm most looking forward to. It's going to be really hard, mostly because of the standard the lecturers expect from us, but I hope that the content is interesting enough to keep me excited about trying that little bit harder. I want to be good at something, and I hope I don't let myself down.

Anyway, must hit the hay... Getting up before 8 is tricky when I've been on holidays for the past 4 months, and used to sleeping in til at least 10! But I'm glad I get to do something with my days again, and am looking forward to the routine.

Good to meet you, Mr. Blog. I think we can be great buddies.

Til next time... xox

It's my turn now....

... Oh yes.