Broken hill holidays

Well it's been too long since I wrote a decent blog post.. At the moment I'm sitting in the backyard and it is super windy. I was in the hammock but I was scared the breeze would blow me right out.. The sun is nice and hot and the wind is cold so my body doesn't really know what's what. Anyway Ill tell ya about some of the things I've been doin eh?

It's summer holidays! I am still out in broken hill.. The musical is finished, I've been playing squash, doing some screen printing with my step mum and sister, playing board games, going caroling, swimming, drinking lots of cups of tea and reading good books.


Gib and I made a version of his board game the other day. It's called the animal game.. We made all the pieces and the board and the box for it to go in, it took forever but was so much fun! Since then he's been thinking about other board games a lot and we've messed around making new characters and he even started testing out making moulds for the pieces. I love making stuff.

Oh I went swimming at the local pool yesterday.. I was happily floating along looking at the bottom and saw this funny little shape. I swam over to it and was like "hey what's this?" I picked it up and it was SQUISHY and I figured out it was a POO sitting on the bottom of the pool and inwardly screamed and swam away. I told the pool people and they came with a giant net and fished it out. I CAN'T BELIEVE I TOUCHED A POO.

So.. That was fun.

Hm ok my neck is getting sore from typing on my iPod. I might go now.

sorry

I am not much of a poster lately - sorry! My brain just feels soggy or something...

But I am alive and in Broken Hill..

Here's a short list of some things I've done/seen so far in my holidays-

1. Got filmed on the streets of Broken Hill by the Amazing Race people (realised afterwards I was wearing my sunglasses with only one arm.. D'oh!)

2. Went down a mine, got to wear a cool miners hat.

3. Watched 'The THING from outer space'

4. Played squash and RAN on a TREADMILL

5. Did some screen printing with my sister Rach

6. Moved out of my house

7. Lay on the ground on the road looking at stars with someone lovely

8. Got a 6 pack for $5 (thank you Woolworth's for stuffing up)

9. Watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 x 2

10. Got stuck in a traffic jam in DUBBO for ages

11. Played a board game called 'Ticket to Ride'

12. Read a play called 'The Surprise' by G. K Chesterton (It's pretty good!)

13. Played a game of softball (and struck out twice)

14. Played 'Animal Crossing' on the Wii

15. Went for Coffee with Rachie

16. Hoe'd the backyard (a bit)

17. Got investigated by a Camel (It tried to eat me)

18. Watched a sunset on the roof of a house

19. Looked at a rainbow with a good friend

20. Ate a kebab while out to Lunch with Mel

Yay times!

Post-exam

I'M FINISHED! and THIS is how my face ACTUALLY looks!

About three hours..

There are about three hour left of Uni for the year :) In little under an hour I will start my last (and only) exam and then I am done! I could be using these last valuable minutes to study but I would rather write a blog post..

The other day I made a RAD stamp. I was just about to take a picture of it to post up here.. But I just broke it. Now it says 'Ral" How annoying. I will make another one! Here it is:

Here is a pictographic representation of how excited I am about this exam:
























And here is one of how I will feel after the exam:





















Gosh.. Where did all those chins come from?

I actually wrote a song to help me remember stuff for this exam. I might upload it later so you can all enjoy it and get more educated.

I better go.

i'm a tiny bit proud of myself

Hey ya'll
Tonight I made a BOOK!

Yeah sorry the image is sideways..


I bound the pages using a sort of coptic binding process.. I don't have any of the right tools though so I had to improvise a little. I also made the cover! Yay.. The pictures on the cover were scabbed from an old old kids book.

I'm looking forward to learning how to do this stuff properly. It was pretty fun. If I was a more organised sort of person I would have documented the process and prepared a tutorial.. Maybe I will make one when I get my head around it a bit more. I totally didn't do it the right way and I'm pretty sure this will fall apart very quickly but.. Yep!

lols

Don't you love these online chat moments??

Friend: ok whats the joke?

Me: ok but you gotta say it out loud to yourself or brenda or it wont make sense

Friend: ok

Me: What kind of bee's make Milk?
Me: bees*

Friend: i dont get it

Me: (oh that was a spelling correction)
Me: boobies! bahahhahaha..

Friend: (sweat emoticon)

Me: lol whaaat
Me: still dont get it?

Friend: yep
Friend: no i dont

Me: Q. What sort of bees make milk
A. Boobies (boo-bees)
Me: thats why you gotta say it out loud
Me: ahhhhh lol its so awkward when jokes dont work

Friend: ok (thumbs down emoticon)

Me: bahaha
Me: *cough* hrmm yes well anyway

Friend: love you Hannah Bye

The problem. You need. The Result.

Sourced from "Open Here - The Art of Instructional Design" by Paul Mijksenaar and Piet Westendorp

Cousin

My cousin Katie has been visiting for the week and gee it's been nice having her around!! We haven't done a whole lot. Just chilling out, watching movies, getting coffee, we went to an art galley.. It's been really lovely. If you see her down the street you should give her a high five for being such an awesome person.

I love that cousins exists. The thought that katies mum and mum are sisters, and that her and I are connected by blood.. I dunno it just sort of wows me sometimes. Families are cool things.

Gilbert and I played at a cafe last night. I really enjoy singing with Gilbert. It was hard to hear ourselves over the cafe noises and being behind the speaker, that was the only bummy thing about the experience. Other than that I thought it was really good! I still haven't totally mastered singing and drumming at the same time though :p

I did some recording in the blue mountains recently with this friend of a friend. I now have a little cd of rough mixes of what we got done :) it's just got to be mixed now. God bless Kate for making it happen. Thank you!

Anyway just a brief update.
Han

2 weeks

Two weeks left of classes before the exam period.. Before the end of my first year of uni! Isn't that mad! I don't quite believe it. What a surprising year. It still doesn't seem quite real.

I have been a bit too soggy of brain to post anything interesting lately.. Right now especially so i might go to sleep.


-----------------------
Taxes are a silly thing for a dog to do...
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har har har har

Hehe.. Sorry I just think this is so funny..

Prints

I am doing a Print Making course at the moment.. It's all pretty new to me, but I really like it! Here is some of the stuff I've done.

Monoprint
















Drypoint


















Screen Print











Up next is etching! w00!

Purple Monster

Here is an assignment I'm working on. It's a website..I just spent ages figuring out how its going to look. Now I have to come up with information to put in it *bleh* That is the annoying part.

The basic idea (sort of.. I haven't really figured it out. I've just been having fun with the visuals..) is the 'purple monster' being the recycling bin (In a pretend world where they are purple? Mine sure isn't purple..) with info about what to recycle. And then I will talk about Glass and Plastic and which is 'better' for the environment. Of course they're both good, but which one uses more energy to produce and recycle and ra ra ra ra ra.. I have to pick a side.

My approach doesn't really make much sense buuuut I wanted to play with monster pictures. The information will be a bit crap, but I'll pass.

I like the 'Purple Monster says:" part.. I'm going to have him saying lots of random quotes to do with recycling.

FLIP I love that font!

Images sourced from Getty images.. I wish I was cool enough to draw monsters like that!

P.S Fellow Vis Comm students - don't steal my idea! :)

Thanks

Thank you for warm beds
Thank you for pillows and blankets
Thank you for good music
Thank you for old friends
Thank you for new ones
Thank you for my education
Thank you for a guitar to play
Thank you for chili and lemon
Thank you for helpful, kind and patient people all around
Thank you that I have all I need
Thank you for mystery - old and new
Thank you for my bike
Thank you for Polly
Thank you for antibiotics
Thank you for books
Thank you for animation
Thank you for second hand clothes
Thank you for house mates
Thank you for coffee
Thank you for sisters and brothers
And mothers and fathers
Thank you for babies
Thank you for ink
Thank you for busking and harmonies


It's too easy for me to not see all the good stuff.. so there is some stuff from the last few weeks that I feel like thanking someone for.



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Taxes are a silly thing for a dog to do...
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tests

tests

Busking

Busking on Darby at tonight was great! We made enough (split three ways) to make a dint on the parking fine I got yesterday which is GREAT. Singing with people is so fun. I gotta remember that it's not really about getting money, it's about sharing a song with someone. Or even if no one listens.. Music is just so great and good for your soul anyway!

The money IS nice and useful though..

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Taxes are a silly thing for a dog to do...
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Assignments

Things are starting to speed up over my way. Assignments deadlines are trickling steadily in.. Some floating past unattended to. I had one due on Monday I got an extension for as i've been pretty crook for about the last month with an antibiotic resistant infection of some sort.. It turned into pneumonia but I'm on the right drugs now and starting to feel stacks better! Which is tops!

Another was due today that I didn't get an extension for in time. It will just have to be late. Both of these assignments are essays. Something in me just doesn't cope with writing essays. I love and enjoy working really hard on my other design assignments.. Ones that involve creating something or developing a concept or whatever but essays just make me want to throw myself on the floor like a child and start screaming in protest! How can I overcome this? How can I develop the discipline necessary? How can I switch off that voice of protest in my head and concentrate?

A part of it is fear I bet. Just being scared of having to form coherent sentences, spell correctly and use punctuation appropriately. I know it sounds crazy but it's true! It's just not stuff I feel confident about!

A part of it is also an anxiety related to my understanding of the question. Feeling like I don't understand the question sends me into an irrational and disabling panic followed by a mess of self-pity. "i must be a complete idiot not to understand this." There is nothing quite like the frustration that comes with really wanting to do your job but not knowing what it is..

Anywho.. All the fear and anxiety really isn't doing me any favours. Does worrying ever help? All I can do is manageable chunks and ask questions, not give panic room to move, stay rational and remember that I'm still okay and worth something as a person even if I'm terrible at writing essays. Lowering expectations couldn't hurt too I guess.

It is 3am and I have stopped working, I'm going to sleep..

Can't aleep

This is silly... Where are you sleep?

Printerssssssss

I'm Iearning about printers in this lecture and it's fascinating!! No, seriously it is! Have you ever thought about printers?? Ahmazing...

Location:University

Sprocket

I am sitting in sprocket in town enjoying a nice soy flat white. I am quite sure the rest of the customers must be quite annoyed at my constant coughing by now. I know I am sick of being so congested. I finally gave in and bought some cough medicine (thanks Mel).

I can't stop thinking about the face you can't help but pull when you cough.. It's funny that the concern that my face looks silly as I cough is more prominent in my head whilst I am in public than the concern that I could infect people.. Hah! That's pretty sad.

It is dreamy living so close to the uni now. I have been riding my bike to class :D It feels like utter luxury to be able to go home between classes and eat a meal/have a nap.

Another 'amazing' thing I have discovered decently is the game Harvest Moon. A pretty silly game but highly addictive. I think most of the joy in it for me is the sitting around with Mandie and Anneliese (sorry if that's spelled wrong) watching each other play, commenting on stuff (ooo jamie has three hearts for you!) and hearing one or the other of us say in turn "ok, just one more day then I'm going to bed."

I can't believe it's already almost halfway through semester. That's nuts.

Ok I think I'll be off now. Good pie!

Side side note

Ok yes I see a spelling error but have no idea how to use this crazy app to edit posts..

How ironee

Punch u ation

Just a side note for those disgusted by my poor use on punctuation/grammar/the english language in general-- Sorry.

If anyone had a handy guide to punctuation I could carry around in my pocket that'd be really swell.

ipoo touch

Hey, just testing an app for writing blog posts on my ipoo..

I'm in bed at the new house I am living in :) it is very nice to be living with people again. Especially these people!

We went dumpster diving tonight! Got a good haul! I'd never done it before.. I think one of the girls set an alarm off heheh.. It was funny running away in the dark, giggling, with bags full of rubbishy treasure..

Anyway.. I shall sleep now. This app seems alright.

Bye

what I did at Uni today...

Holidars

This is the picture I mentioned earlier...
I dunno who that guy is.

Some things I love about my car

Hey y'all!
Ok so I kind of failed in the regular updates over the holidays department. But I do have a cool drawing that pretty much has explains all the rest of what I got upto. Well.. Sort of. Ok maybe 20% of what I got upto. ANYWAY I will be posting it soon.

One thing I can tell you is that I bought a car! It is a very nice car (in my opinion). His name is Bernard and he is an 85 Toyota corolla :) Here is a list of some of the things I love about Bernard:-
-The way his petrol guage swings from emtpy to full to empty to full again within the space of 2 minutes. I like to think that it's like he is a puppy wagging his tail.
- The way his entire "body" starts to shake and shudder when he reaches a speed greater than 95km per hour.
- The way his inside door handle on the right hand side rattles violently whenever he is idling. It makes a pleasnt sound not unlike purring.
- The funny little extra mirror attatched to part of his main side rear view mirror which is severly scratched so as to actually impede vision in what turns out to be an important area. You're so cheeky Bernard!
- The way his speakers crackle merrily when playing any song with even a slight amount of bass
But most of all
-His $500 price tag

I love you Bernard!

Holidays: Part 3

Holidays: Part 2

We left for Broken hill at roughly 3:20am this morning. We hit a roo approximately 5:30am. We were picked up by the N.R.M.A man around 8am. We met with Jo's Dad and ate breakfast at a cafe in Nyngan around 9am. I booked a bus ticket to Broken Hill from Nyngan around 10:30am. Dad and Jo and Morris left with Jo's Dad around 12pm. I went back into the cafe we had breakfasted in and ordered another around 12:05pm. This coffee isn't as nice as the first one.

I will catch a bus at around 4:15pm. What can I do until then? Write this blog.. Then what?? Who knows. I will arrive in Broken Hill around 11pm. Rachie will finish work around 12am

The sign outside of this cafe says "Come in and try a burger the way they used to be before McDonalds stuffed 'em up" ehehehe!

Holidays: Part 1

Hello! Welcome to what will probably be a mixture of insanely boring and moderately interesting posts I will make while on my 2 month holiday! I'd like to say that I will post everyday.. But we all know this wont happen.

Man oh man it is good to finish. I submitted my last assignment on Tuesday - 65 self portraits. The last week has been a blur of paint, ink, charcoal, facebook, star trek, wine, friends, music, late nights and crazy sleep ins. I had a bunch of people around last Saturday to hangout and draw - it was really fun! Soph and Gilbert brought bacon! Nice! Some more peoples dropped around the next day too which was really good - total study incentive. I'd kind of been sitting on my bum on Facebook till they arrived..

At the moment I am sitting on the floor at my friend Rachaels house in Newtown! Yipee! It is great to see her, she is one of my favorite people. Polly and I are both here.. I took her cage apart and stashed it in the bottom of my bag, and she sat on my shoulder while I caught the train. We catch another train/bus to Dubbo tomorrow. Hopefully she will be as well behaved tomorrow as the was tonight and not try going exploring while I am napping on the journey.

Dad if you're reading this tune out for a second. I got a bit lost in Newtown tonight. I went to Rachaels workplace - a nearby pub - to grab her house key and got confused on the way back. A trip that should have taken 5 minutes took about 45. Rgh. Thank goodness for the helpful people lurking on the dark streets of Darlington at midnight who gave me directions.

What else happened.. Oh yeah on journey down the train stopped at Hornsby station for about 15 minutes. I didn't really understand what was going on until I saw a crowd of security officers and cityrail people flocking out of one particular carriage ushering two slightly blood covered young men yelling their heads off with them.. I guess they had a disagreement?

Tomorrow - Dubbos! Familys! Samaras and Jethros! Haases! Lauras? Cold temperatures! w000! Then on Saturday BROKEN HILL! oOO...

Riddle

Hey everyone! Guess what I'm on????

Here's a clue:


-Hannah

Guilty

Hello.. You cannot be surprised that I have gathered you all here today, as many of you were in my house the day my kettle was kidnapped. I had my suspicions from the start but no proof to back them up.. Until this morning..

I knew it was not Sophie or her friend or Skye as I definitely made cups of tea after they left.
I did not think it was Mel or Pat as I watched them to the door and didn't see them with it.
I could have been Gilbert as he had a big green bag it would have easily hidden in.
I did not think it was Jasmine K as she knows how important a kettle is in making coffee, and wouldn't deprive me of it.

So based on what I knew my remaining suspects were: Gilbert, Anneleise, Belinda, Josiah, Dane and Mandie. I had at this time one main suspect..But no way of proving anything..

The following morning after the kidnapping I received this email -
_______________________________________________

From: shortnstout@exterminator.net

Sunderland,

1. Google George Harry Sanders then take a look around your house.

2. Proof of life will be sent soon

3. A list of demands will be issued shortly after contact has been made
________________________________________________

I Googled the name. Apparently George Harry Sanders wrote 'I'm a little teapot'. This got me thinking.. Who of those people would know who wrote 'I'm a little teapot'? Maybe my suspect had an accomplice? Or maybe they just made good use of Google.

Getting some help from my IT team I discovered that the email had come from an AOL account. Who did I know that would bother going and making an AOL account? And why AOL? Why not just hotmail? This helped me discount one or two people from my list. The email was also from someone using Dodo internet...... Interesting.. While this wasn't conclusive evidence, it did strengthen the case against my main suspect. I wrote a response to the email saying "Dodo's are extinct for a reason." and continued my investigation.

I received another email later that day. This one arrived from a different source - presumably because they now knew I was on to them and their ISP.. They were obviously scared and intimidated by my Poirot-like investigation skills because they started making threats.
_________________________________________

From: shortnstout@exterminator.net


With that attitude maybe a kettle will soon be too

_________________________________________

This email only further assured me that my suspicions were correct. BUT I still had no proof.. Until now. I received this email this morning.

_________________________________________

From: shortnstout@exterminator.net

Your lack of compassion is astounding. Maybe these images will turn your hardened heart.
Just think of your poor kettle boiling in fear as the train of terror tears down the track, whistling out your name to come and save her.

we require 2 blocks of chocolate for the safe return
________________________________________

Little did the kidnapper know that I now had him right where I wanted him.. He had inadvertently provided me with the evidence I needed. These days images such as this contain within them data about the camera that took them. The shutter speed, the aperture, the ISO AND the software in the camera that took it. I looked at this data and saw "Software: DSRL-A550" In other words... THIS CAMERA --
There was only ONE person in that room with this camera. None other then DANE PROCTER! Seen here with the aforementioned camera.


In the words of Belinda Malone- "Mr. Procter, consider yourself under arrest for the kidnapping of the said kettle, you have the right to remain embarrassed for all to see. Your offense has rendered you a public thief, you will now be under constant surveillance as you attend gatherings of various social groups, all onlookers will forever consider you in suspicion..."

For extra awesomeness....

If people do actually build that marble mover successfully.. I will totally give an awesome mystery prize to the coolest one!

A little challenge

Hello! These are some possibleeeeeiiii veerrry confusing instructions for building a marble mover using only foamcore and pins. Build this if you can/dare! You will need a good stanley (is that how you spell it?) knife, a cutting mat, a ruler, pencil and some sweet pins! Oh and I guess you'll also need some mad instruction understanding skills and the ability to read my mind to get what the heck i'm trying to describe to you.

If you manage it - send me a photo! If you either don't manage it or don't attempt it - I won't be surprised!

Click the images to see a bigger version.


In other news - The end of semester draws ever nearerer. I've got a test for photography, some drawings to hand in and a presentation to do tomorrow, an two visual diaries to hand in on Thurs and Fri and then i'm done! I think.

Ahh i think there is a class in here better go. Byes

You're invited..

Week 12

The end of semester is in sight. I have all my photo's printed and almost mounted; I have 2 presentations about half done; I have all 20 of my nude pictures drawn; and two attempted reworkings in the style of Renee French; I have a draft of my poster ready to show my tute; and I have 2 visual diaries pretty much up to date.. O.k. I can do this.

NEWS!!

News just in: Hannah has an angry uterus!


DON'T LOOK INTO IT'S EYES! IT MAY APPEAR CALM (CONTENT EVEN) BUT IT ISN'T...

Fancy Pantsy

Me again!

I have many assignments due in the next few weeks, but they are all pretty fun! I get to tell people about the photographer Tom Wood, who took pictures on buses in Liverpool among other things; I get to hand in my photos inspired by him which means getting them properly printed and mounted which is exciting; I get to rework one of my naked-people sketches in the style of Renee French ( see link below I think ) as well and handing in other naked pictures and 65 self portraits (not naked); I get to design a poster advertising an avant garde fashion show and I get to do a test!!!! How fun is that!?!

I am really looking forward to the break though :/

Right now I am waiting to pick up a camera. I wish I could have it all weekend but I can't.


The ict building here is so weird. There are these cold feeling little stone courtyard that I'm assuming are supposed to be nice and relaxing but aren't really because everything is cold white stone or concrete. This one even has a little tree all buried in stone. Maybe it's supposed to be oriental? And it's so QUIET. I kind of wantto have a pretend embarrasing convesation on my phone so the noise will carry all over the building and make everyone feel awkward.

Oh man, I have dvd's to return :( sorry blockbuster!

Ok bye now!

Waiting

Hey kids! I am really bored. I am waiting outside the office of one of my tutes to present my ideas for the latest assignment and have them ripped into tiny pieces and possibley eaten before my eyes.

In other news, I skipped breakfast this morning in order to get here in time to sit on my bum for 45 minutes feeling hungry and not seeing my tute. Blah.

Crunchy nut cornflakes would be good right about now..

Anyway I don't really want to just winge. So here is a positive haiku:

as I sit and wait
I'll thank god for a moment
of peace and quiet

bye

Some things that make me feel happy

1. Walking through Coles with a packet of pads, throwing them high up into the air and catching them again. This makes me smile with glee! Sorry fellas if you can't handle the word p@d because it makes you think of the word p3r10D which is just GROSS ALRIGHT, SO DON'T EVEN SAY THAT WORD!! Just imagine I said 'spanner' or 'meat pie' instead ok?



Well.. Actually that's about it for today.

Go look

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/






If you don't like swears - Watch out..

HA HAAAAA

This is a rough representation of the silly mobile I had to construct for an assignment..

Designerks

Ettore Sottsass! I will find out your secrets no matter how hard you try to hide them in philosophic babel!

Kaity

Dear Everyone

Kaity just tried to break my finger with her claw toes! Don't mess with her ok? She will hold you in a headlock with her big toes and poke you in the eyes with her pinky toes, whilst simultaneously texting Adam Gilchrist and making pancakes with the remaining 6 middle toes.. She is one serious lady.

You have been warned..

Hannah

Thankyou

To the random man who gave me $5 yesterday - Thankyou! I didn't have the heart to tell you that I wasn't actually busking - I was just hangin out on the street playing guitar waiting for my friends to arrive.. Your money was well spent on Curry! Thankyou!

And to the lady in the pub yesterday - Happy Birthday :) I hope you liked the song!

I can't believe I didn't realize that my last post was my one hundredth post. That's what my dashboard is telling me anyway, but I don't know that I believe it. I'm writing this from the free iPod touch I got when I bought the mac mini I have yet to write an irritated rant about. Today is Tuesday. Tuesday is my big day. It starts with a photography lecture, followed by a design process tute, followed by a stupidly long break, followed by a drawing tute, followed by choir!
Very busy day.

Today I have an assignment due for design process. Every one in the class got given two words and was required to create two objects that could communicate the two words via touch alone. It's really hard!

Later today in my drawing tute I have a review of my work so far.. How scary! I wonder whether it will be like a reality tv show with a panel of judges... I hope not.

It's actually really hard to keep track of what I've already written in this post on the iPod.

I am in a photography lecture and we are watching a video about ansel Adams- a photographer. Holy molybdenum I wish I had a digital slr.

I'd better start paying attention..

Things I did

Hello campers!
I am at uni today. True story.

This week I have: had adventures with centrelink, a haircut, bought a stupidly big monitor, completed three assignments, eaten a baguette, got a killer pair of heels (as in for real they will probably kill me), seen my friend Kate, recieved back the only surviving product from my January recording session with Chris gilespie, had a nap with my rat, succeded in making the funny smell in my bathroom go away (it's not what you think), chased up various cornerstone course convenors about assignments that I have in fact handed in (I think), sung in Latin, officially sucked at drawing in perspective, had 2 awkward conversations with 2 seperate much loved friends, slept in... And um.. Embarassed myself in public numerous times (pushing doors that say pull.. That sort of thing).

So now it's Friday and I'm tired!

Finished

I've got two words for you...

I

HAVE

FINISHED!

sick 1.2

Well I didn't spew on anyone which is great. In fact I didn't spew at all!

I am now officially 'resting my voice' though. sooo.. yeah

The singing lady said that I speak at too low a pitch! And that's possibly straining something. Interesting...

Anyway..
Bye-Pie

sick

I am sittin in a hallway on the 3rd level of the conservatorium (is that even how you spell it? I have no idea..) here in Newcastle. I am waiting to meet with my choir teacher/instructor/whateveryoucallit. Obviously i'm down with all the music lingo..

Anyway I feel quite sick. I feel like if I start singing stuff other than music is going to come shooting out of my mouth. My eyes feel like little congested sponges weighed down with too much luggage. My legs are thinking about the walk from the bus stop to my flat after choir tonight and threatening to pack it in all together. A conversation with my brain might look something like this:

You: Hello Hannah's brain
Brain:
You: Hannah's brain?
Brain: sorry what? did you say something?
You: Just saying hey! Whatcha doin?
Brain: Oh.. cool.. hey! Um, yeah.. i'm.. I'm.. just a sec...

*long silence*

When I meet with my choir teacher/instructor/whateveryoucallit she is going to teach me some things about breathing correctly and the art of being LOUD. There is a musical term for it but.. Um.. I thought i'd just keep it simple for ya'll.

M.I.A just erupted onto my ipod. Yip-hee!

4 x Uni Assignments
4 x Cornerstone Assignments.

Can I do them?

YES I CAN.

Someone, anyone.. offer me a prize for doing the Cornerstone assignments!

Byeeeee singing/possibly hurling time!

money

So, I think I might be getting a significant wad of cash some times soon.. What would you do with $4000?

a) Go overseas in your Uni break
b) Buy a Macbook
c) Get a car
d) Save it for something important
c) Other (please specify)

Caroline Chisholm

I have been reading a lot about Caroline Chisholm lately. Why? Because I have been learning about the contributions of Christians to the formation and development of what we benefit from as citizens of Australia today. I've only just started reading about it but i'm already surprised by how much I didn't know, how much of a contribution Christianity has actually made to the formation of this country that I've taken for granted.

I'll be the first to say that Christians aren't perfect, and in regards to Australia – Yeah there were some pretty ugly stuff ups along the way. But I actually want to focus on the positive today (for a change!). There were numerous Christian Men and Women who worked very hard to see the Kingdom blossom in colonial Australia, and who had a real impact. Caroline Chisholm is one of these people.

But who is Caroline Chisholm? Here are some random facts:

• They call her 'the emigrants friend'.
• The Catholic Church wants to have her canonised.
• It's said that the character of Mrs Jellyby from Charles Dickens 'Bleak House'- a 'telescopic philanthropist' who fails to live up to her duties at home - was based in part on the woman Chisholm.

But who is she? Well, have a look at this:

If you were alive and observant before 1992, you may recognise this old Australian $5 note featuring Caroline Chisholm. She was the first women who wasn't a monarch to appear on Australian currency. She featured on the note for 20 years. She was immortalised in this fashion in honour of the huge amount of work she put in improving the lives of immigrants to Australia.

She was- by the sounds of it- a very practical woman. When she saw a need she was willing to get in there herself and do something about it. Her great great Grandson Don Chisholm said of her,

“... she was intensely practical so when she came to talk to a bureaucrat or Government official, they were always amazed first of all by how practical she was and secondly as to what she'd already done before she got in their door..”

Sounds like she made it easier to make things easier for people.

The quote I have most often found of hers during the period of my research is this,

“I promise to know neither country nor creed, but to serve all justly and impartially."

In an unsettled period of sectarianism and interdenominational angst, she had an ability to look past differences in belief to the reality of human need in colonial Australia, and that was what enabled her to make a real difference.

The Background stuff

Caroline was born in Wootton, England (yeah I had no idea where it was either) to a well-to-do pig farmer and land owner. She was one in a large family. As a kid she was pretty good at Math and French. It seems her family was quite hospitable (a streak that ran also through Caroline in adulthood as we will learn), they made a habit of opening their home to rich and poor.

When she was 22 she married Captain Archibald Chisholm. I did a google image search for “Archibald Chisholm” and came up with this:

But I suspect that isn't him. Actually I'm certain it's not. He was 13 years her senior, a Catholic and a Scot. She became a Catholic after him. Archibald was posted to India in 1832, and Caroline joined him a year later.

While in India...

Caroline felt concerned about the welfare of the wives and children of the soldiers in Madras. Many were poor and taken advantage of - driven to prostitution and other crimes. In an effort to improve their lives Caroline sought permission from the Governor to start a school which would give young women practical education. She succeeded and in 1834 started The Female School of Industry for the Daughters of European Soldiers.

On to Australi-land

Caroline arrived in Australia in 1838. Here is a small picture of what was happening in Australia at the time:

Seriously though things such as Sir George Gipps being the Governor of NSW were happening. There was controversy about education- should denominational schools continue receiving money from the government or should funding instead go entirely to national schools? There were issues with land boundaries and squatters and the treatment of Aborigines. More Immigrants arriving all the while.

When Caroline arrived it wasn't long before she became concerned by what she saw around her. She was disturbed by the number of immigrants – men and women – who were destitute, living on the streets and involved in crime. She was especially worried for the girls, who were particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in that context.

After a considerable effort of her part Caroline secured permission from Govener Gipps to turn an Immigration Barracks building into a home for those girls who had none. It was called the Female Immigrants Home and it served as a safe place and a new beginning for lots of people. Caroline looked for long term living situations and work for many of these girls. The home was up and running - in the first two years she found jobs and homes for at least a thousand people - within three years of her arrival in Australia. It was able to close in 1842 due to its enormous success. Even after the close of the home Caroline kept helping men, women and even entire families settle in Australia. Between 1841 and 1844 she assisted some 14,000 people.

Read this:

"I would like a building to house these girls. I'm willing to work hard, assist in any way, give my time freely, provided such a home for young girls becomes a reality."

Caroline had a certain way of operating. She always seemed to be very personally involved (to the extent of personally escorting young ladies to their new jobs in the country) in her projects, giving a lot of time and energy in seeing them through.

Caroline of Many Hats..

Here are some other things Caroline was a part of:

One Hat - After the close of the Women's home Caroline and Archibald continued to help settle people. During this time the pair (then retired) gathered statements from settlers about what life in Australia was like. These testimonies were used to encourage and give information to those back home considering immigration to Australia. Caroline went back to England in 1846 as an advocate and 'publicist' for Australia. She helped establish a society that worked to send groups of families to Australia – dispatching some 3000 in 5 years. Through lobbying, she also gained free passage for immigrants wives and children.

Two Hat- While in England she chartered and personally supervised (to the extent of choosing a doctor to be in charge of the rations) the embarkment of a ship – 'Slains Castle' – which left for Australia in 1850.

Three Hat- Back in Australia the Gold Rush hit. Concerned for the hordes of people flocking to Victoria in search of Gold, Caroline lobbied the government to set up shelters alongside the roads to the gold fields.

Four- Caroline's lobbying efforts also turned to the unlocking of the lands (significant amounts being wrapped up by squatters) She believed that if many farmers could be settled on their own small farms the overall wealth and well being of society would improve.

Being the young woman I am, it can be all too easy for me to forget the difference one person, one woman, can make in the big scheme of things. Caroline Chisholm is to me a very encouraging example of what God can accomplished through willing people. It is after all less about what I can do, but what God can do through me if I submit myself to being used for his purposes. Caroline submitted her skills, time and health to the service of God and achieved good things for this country. I am very grateful.

I'd like to finish this blog off with a short story about Caroline that I read recently. She has been running the Female Emigrants home for a few months, it's believed this story takes place in 1942. A 15 year old girl, fresh off a ship has been swept away by a young man.. Caroline - concerned for her safety - goes in search of her...I am of course, rewriting and simplifying the story so bear with me.

The ship arrived and Caroline heard there had been some flirtation on board. A group of girls had been sent to her at the home, but one was missing. It turned out that a man had picked her up in a boat shortly after she left the ship. Caroline knew where the two had gone, so heading toward the jetty she hired a boat and began a search. At their destination Caroline disembarked with a little difficulty, and began looking for the girl on foot. Upon discovering the pair, Carolina urged the girl to return with her. The girl laughed and told Caroline that she hadn't come this far (to Australia) to be treated like a child. Her 'partner' arrogantly suggested Caroline leave. Caroline's response was to say that if he gave the girl up now he wouldn't have to reap the consequences of the alternative. He asked what consequences. She replied 'First, when I leave here, I shall report at Capt. Browns Office that a girl from ship ___, (who is underage) is here. I shall then call at the 'Herald' Office, and the “Gazette” Office, and state all I know. I shall then report the circumstances to Mr. Mereweather, the immigration agent, when nothing more will be necessary for me to do: what steps he may feel justified in taking, I know not, but I can assure you the Press of Sydney wont spare you.”

The young man, scared out of his wits let the girl go with Caroline. Before the two left he stopped Caroline to tell her the girl was an innocent one, and assisted her into the boat.

Must.. Not.. Say.. Girl Power!

Hannah

Bibliography

http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogCa-Ch.html#chisholm1
http://www.mrschisholm.com/history.htm
http://museumvictoria.com.au/treasures/record.aspx?PID=2&Path=1&img=2
http://www.australiantales.com/caroline-chisholm/
http://www.carolinechisholm.org.au/about/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE1145b.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Chisholm
http://www.whitehat.com.au/australia/People/Chisholm.asp
http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010208b.htm

Breward. L, A History of the Australian Churches, Allen and Unwin 1993
Piggin. S, Evangelical Christianity in Australia: Spirit, Word and World, Oxford University Press 1996

cray-see

home alone

I am home alone.. Which is normal. I am usually at home alone due to the fact that I live alone. I have the radio on most of the time to make it not so quiet. I keep the doors and windows open so noises from outside can come inside with me. I keep Polly on my shoulder most of the time. She and the TV provide movement, giving my eyes something to look at that isn't caused by me.

I have three mirrors in my house.. Which I like sometimes and not others. It is handy at the moment as I have 65 self portraits to draw in the next few weeks and the accessibility of the mirrors makes that one less thing I need to worry about. So I spend copious amounts of time sitting in my house with the radio on, the rat on my shoulder, doors open, staring at myself and trying to copy down what I see onto a bit of paper. Needless to say I get sick of looking at myself :|

So I like going to the Uni campus. Even if it's just being able to experience the movement and sound and smells of other living bodies. Even if I do just keep my headphones in my ears and watch sometimes (is that creepy?)

Hehehe

sleep

I slept an insane amount yesterday.. I came home from uni and had a nap at 2pm. I didn't wake up till 8pm at least... Then I had some dinner and went back to bed. Didn't wake up till 9am this morning. Crazy town!

It's my first day!

Actually, I lie. Yesterday was my first day.. Today is my second day. Tomorrow will be my third day.

"First day of what?" You might ask..
"You knowwwwww." I will smile in response.
"Um.. No?", you will reply blankly.
"Oh.." I will probably stutter, "University."
"Ohh Ok."

Anyway.. Let me tell you about my first day of UNIVERSITY! My Bachelor of Visual Communication Design to be exact.

I arrived super early thinking it would take me forever to find my first class. WRONG! I found it within three minutes and spent the next 45 watching other people find it within three minutes. There was this moment where I was thinking to myself, "I feel like I'm at school.. Except I don't have to wear any clothes [Insert 5 second delay] I mean Uniform!" Then I started laughing to myself and looking like an insane person.

Later that day I went to my first Drawing lecture. (Samara, if you're reading this I want you to know I am pronouncing it the CORRECT way - Draw-ing. Not draw-ring.) I'm so excited and terrified of this class! A sensation heightened by our lecturer announcing that we have 65 self-portraits to come up with in the next 12 weeks. Graaahhh! I don't actually need to panic though. I think they just want us to get over ourselves and get into drawing regularly and experimenting. Which is great!

I then trekked into town to buy art supplies. NOTE: Art supplies are friggin expensive!

Now my second day of Uni has looked like this so far:

8:55 - Wake up. Realise I'm supposed to be at my first lecture in 5 minutes and swear loudly.(sorry kiddies)
9:11 - Watch the bus pulling up to the bus stop... Run like crazy to catch it.
9:12 - Tell the bus driver I love him. Receive a blank stare from the bus driver. Laugh awkwardly, dip my ticket and sit down.. Up the back.
9:19 - Wander anxiously around the GP building looking for the right room. Team up with a girl who is looking for the same room and wander together.
9:20 - Open a door nervously and peek in. Close it again and ask the girl if she thinks this is the right room.
9:21 - Open the door again. Ask the lecturer if this is indeed room 201. Yes it is.
9:21 and 20 seconds - Commence the 'walk of shame' before 50 people to our seats.
10:10 - FIND A TOILET!
11:00 - Sit in this little cafe writing this blog.
11:01 - Wonder if our shared experience of the 'walk of shame' means that girl and I are friends?



Tonight I will set my alarm properly.. Actually I don't have Uni tomorrow so stuff that.

ho ho ho I think I'm soo funny...

The Goonion people actually told me they're not all about Goon.. I can be a member and drink whatever I like.

Still don't really want to be a member :/

Hannah

clerb

Today I joined these clerbs:

The Anime Clerb
The Labor Clerrrbb
and
The Cyclist Clerb!

I also scored these free things:
1 x Tin of Baked Beans
1 x Ruler
1 x Pen
1 x Weird bag
1 x Student Diary
2 x Anime Clerb Badges
1 x Pear
1 x Ice Block
1 x Sausage Sizzle sausage
1 x Icey with Red Flavoring
1 x Giant Calendar thingy
100 x random pamphlets about various societies/clerbs/associations

YAY FOR O WEEK! I understand now why it is an exciting time.

Also.. A letter to the Goonion:

Dear Goonion,

I am writing to thank you for your kind invitation to join the Goonion for the low, low price of six dollars. In the mass of stalls that filled the Brennan Room, I could have easily walked past the giant, red "I HEART GOON" flag that emblazoned yours had you not offered a friendly hand of help and guidance to me today. I too appreciate the majesty that is Goon and feel excited about all it has to offer the students of Newcastle University, not only this year but in the years to come. I believe there is great potential for Goon to have a wide reaching influence throughout our country.

But unfortunately and tragically, I cannot accept your offer.. As I am staying the heck away from Goon.. Forever.

Sincerely and respectfully yours,
Hannah.

New

O.k it's high time I got off my lazy horse and wrote a post.

It has been approximately one week since I moved to Newcastle.. I just attempted to draw a little picture of my flat in paint but it was excruciating.. and my graphics tablet is being naughty.. So I gave up.

This flat is basically 2 rooms.. One dedicated to the bedroom (it's massive.. so I can chuck some couches in here at some point too) and the other is the kitchen/dining room. There also is a teeny bathroom off that room..

I've got everything I need now pretty much. SO HAPPY to finally have a fridge.

I'm liking it so far :) I have never lived alone before! I'm sure I will get lonely at some point.

Anyway! I've applied for a thouussaannnddd (in a Chris Cuddy voice) jobs in the last week. No luck yet though. Thats alright.

It's O WEEK PEOPLES! APPARENTLY THAT'S EXCITING! I'm not exactly sure what I am supposed to do in this week or where I am supposed to go...

So.. yep. Bit uninspired as to what else to write.. So I might go. Just a bit brain dead I think.

pies
Hannah

not ready

I'm moving to Newcastle tomorrow.. I'm not ready! I have no energy to write a proper blog about it though.

Finding Comfort

All I am doing is to ask people to face the facts - to understand the questions which Christianity claims to answer. And they are very terrifying facts. I wish it were possible to say something more agreeable. But I must say what I think true. Of course, I quite agree that the Christian religion is, in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort. But it does not begin in comfort; it begins in the dismay I have been describing, and it is of no use at all trying to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay. In religion, as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth - only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair. - C.S Lewis, Mere Christianity

soon

soon i'll have an ocean
and a field of yellow lights
a thousand other bodies
to sleep near me at night

soon i'll have a family
of strangers on the bus
a shifting house, the resting place
of oil stains and rust

soon i'll have a small room
a place in which to hide
but i'll let some of the others
that I meet there come inside

soon we'll go together
as we have so often done
and you'll show me how the small parts
come together into one

iPoo 1.2

I scratched the iPoo.. Guess i'll have to keep it! :)

ooo-knee

I got into Uni! Yay!

iPoo

I have a confession to make.. The other day I walked in the Dick Smith and bought and iPod nano. I am giving it 14 days to prove itself. If it doesn't bring the good stuff i'm taking it BACK! HEAR THAT IPOD! i'M TALKING TO YOU!

*cough* Anyway.. I have been against iPods since they first appeared everywhere in High School. The way Apple tries to make it impossible to use anything but iTunes bugs me. The whole consumerist-ness of the iPod craze, all the accessories and the way they advertise bugs me. How sexy and sheek they are bugs me.

But "Ha Ha!", I thought as I walked in to Dick Smiths, "I will buy one while they are on special and find the way NOT to use iTunes!". My Dad has an iPod (which never ceases to shock me) and he figured out a way to do it. Why cant i?

I did a bunch of research and there ARE programs that can deal with iPods --- of an older generation or different models! I found NOTHING that could do iPod Nano 5th Gen in Kubuntu Linux. Amarok (my music program) would pretend it was doing something, and it WOULD actually put the songs on the iPod.. But Apple has done tricky things with the way it does the database (or something) and the iPod refused to see the songs that were on there. As far as it was concerned there was NOTHIN!! I literally spend an entire day trying to figure it out.

Anyway, what I ended up doing (which is insane), was install VirtualBox and installing Vista on the virtual machine. Then installed iTunes on Vista. So I'm running iTunes inside of Vista installed on a virtual computer INSIDE Linux.

Far out Apple - Cant you make it a little easier? You're missing out on customers by making it so friggin hard for Linux users (aka. people who don't want to be done over by Windows or monopolist b@$%@rds like YOU) to use iPods.

Hahaha this post has been fun! I've never had a rant post before!

Anyway VirtualBox worked a treat.. My iPoo is now chockablock full of music :)

But you're not out of the woods YET iPoo.. You've got 10 days..

-Hannah

one more time

Just in case you all didn't see how cute this was the first time!











It makes me do an involuntary "Guhuhuhhh!" every time I see it.

recorrdding

Yesterday I drove in convoy to the Blue Mountains to do some recording with Chris Gillespie! He has a nice little set up in his house.

It went really well. We arrived very hot and sweaty.. I sat on a chair with my guitar and he adjusted all the microphones around me. We did some sound checks then he told me to just go for it. I was a bit nervous - just hoping my voice would behave itself and I wouldn't make any major stuff ups. The last thing I wanted was to have to do lots of retakes of the same song... The longer I played the sweatier I got (It was crazy!). BUT - We got 5 songs down! All done in one take! Which was great. I did make one or two stuff ups but they're get-away-withable.

The sound was reaaalllyy nice! We went over a couple of them and did harmonies. Chris added some beeaauuttiifull guitar parts over the top of one of them, and is even going to put some double bass to another! Cooool!

Anyway, I just have to wait a while now for Chris to send the master. Exciting :) Thanks for recording me Chris!! Thanks for organising it Kate!!! And generally being VERY kind and encouraging and helping me take risks with my music.

-Hannah

go to bed now

Last night I slept on a camping mat on the kitchen floor. I would like to do a month of sleeping on a mat in an empty room with a wooden floor and one big window and a tree outside who's silhouette I could see through half of the window at night.. That'd be interesting.

My house-sitting days are coming to an end. I will do a big clean of this place tomorrow!

I'm so sleepy. Night

Ode to a Bird

Oh little brown bird! You died too young..
I'm sorry you were caught by the furry black cat! I'm sorry he bit you and made you bleed. I'm sorry he broke your wing. I'm sorry he presented you to me as a gift, dropping you on the cold tiled floor before my feet this afternoon. I'm sorry I couldn't make you better. I'm sorry you were scared and in pain. And I'm sorry I had to chop off your head with a hammer a chisel to end your suffering... Please rest in peace in the backyard.