Burn With Me

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:10:54 GMT

Geez, England is dark (and cold, but that was a given).

I woke up at 11am today and it was already looking like 6pm in Australia.

I've been to England 4 times: was born here, came at Christmas when I was 4 and came in September when I was 19. This is some new experience for me. I think it's cool that the sights out the car window in England in the winter are akin to the sights out the car window in Australia in the summer - all that brown from trees losing leaves :P

Hedges are also funny during the winter.

I really need to go out walking and take tons of pictures with my new camera and then put them on facebook.

I went outside today after getting here yesterday at midday and sleeping for about 14 hours. I put a blanket around me over my jacket and went out into the backyard. I went to the fish pond and took off the blanket - then put it back on quickly. I came back inside when my bare feet started to freeze. It's all very amusing to me.

I think I like England better during the autumn, but this is fun too.

Dust Storms Are Fun

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:49:03 GMT

I live in Metropolitan Sydney.
I know what some of you who haven't been to Australia might think of our little country - desert, desert, bushland, outback, stereotype, stereotype, snakes, spiders, hopefully you think about awesome beaches.

I live in a city with big buildings, I live in the middle of somewhere, not the middle of nowhere. I've only ever seen snakes at snake shows and animal parks, I'm not too bothered by spiders - I see a big one probably every six months (only seen the deadly ones in wildlife parks), I live nowhere near the bush, so I don't get affected by bushfires and I've never seen a desert in my life.

So when a big dust storm hits, even though I live in Australia and you'd think I've seen it before, I really haven't.

It was pretty awesome - though made it a little hard to breathe and made everything dirty.

So, to see the absolute coolness that was the Sydney sky this morning, check this out.

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:49:01 GMT

You looked under the cut... now aren't you disappointed?

I don't get new userpics often

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:59:44 GMT

So in commemoration of this, I give you: Squid thingy!

Well, I don't give it to you, but I'm using it.

Yes, I am being boring, but it's my journal, sometimes you have to make a useless post or ~~two~~ a hundred.

And for anyone who's interested, it's from Order of the Stick, a webcomic that I suggest you read for the laughs and breaking the fourth wall.
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0001.html
~~warning: may contain extreme nerdiness relating to d&d~~
Don't let what it's about put you off, it's funny regardless of prior knowledge (I don't have any idea what it's going on about sometimes)

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:34:00 GMT

Someday I really desperately want to get something published as a writer so that I can feel as if people care about what I say.

I really need to get back into writing fanfiction (as soon as all this uni stuff is outta the way).

And I need to start playing D&D again as well.

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:58:28 GMT

This is me, not doing either of my two essays (one of which is due... today and the other Wednesday) or studying for the in-class test I have Thursday.

Woe is me for suddenly finding fanfiction again... woe is me for finding internet games/Sailor Moon DVDs and various other things to make sure I've done absolutely no work at all this semester.

I should make a list of things I haven't done, just for procrastination's sake (keep in mind I'm in week 6 this week):

- Read The Passion by Jeanette Winterson for week 2
- Done any of the Editing Style Manual chapter readings for any week
- Done any of the Avant-Guarde readings for theory
- Read Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and Jane Eyre for week 5
- Had a 1500 word essay written for week 5
- Written any questions to ask an editor
- Read Silk by Alessandro ... uh... whatever his name is and The Reader by... someone for the next couple of weeks
- Finished writing this essay on the Dadaists for Wednesday (which is incidentally tomorrow now)

Bleh. I'm sure there is more. Is there any doubt in anyone's mind as to whether university is the place for me or not? Boo me.

Most people in my theory class hate the Dadaists, but I'm intrigued by their useless poetry, lack of concrete imagery or any meaning in their works whatsoever. I mean, Tristan Tzara came up with such wonderful lines as
"Dada is life without slippers or parallels; it is against and for unity and definitely against the future; we know wisely that our brains will become downy pillows"
How awesome is that?
~~Maybe~~ I'm just insane.

Tea. That's what I need at 2am. Not sleep. Tea. I'd get crap sleep anyway, have to get up at 6am to go to Wollongong... maybe I should pack rather than make LJ posts

One day I'm going to get back to Livejournal again

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:01:19 GMT

Geez, I'm just a ~~walking~~ writing cliche, aren't I?

Uh... post... something to post...

I've been checking out your posts, my F-list-ers. I just haven't really been able to think of anything good to say seeing as how it would have been like "sorry I haven't been in touch for so long" thereby making my comment on your post about me...

Life? Life is... can't think of anything witty to say about that, either.
Been living away from home for the sake of uni in Wollongong - though I'm only there half the time. When was my last post? March? Wow, I'd barely moved out then, so here's the story of that:
I moved to Wollongong, but I couldn't stay down there. I need the people I know and love to be around - plus, my family has separation anxiety when one of us leaves for any amount of time - the longest I've ever been away from home was the 6 weeks I spent in England, and that was WITH my Mum and brother. My older brother moved out once, but he was gone for about two months before he was back. So I come back pretty much every weekend. I hate Wollongong anyway. I don't think I could stay there for more than a couple of weeks without coming back to Sydney. I refer to my place in Wollongong as "the place I sleep when I go to uni"

While last semester I was doing four classes and was there four days (so just not Wednesday, though I never really went to uni on Monday anyways). I went down to Wollongong sometime on Monday and came back to Sydney Friday night. This semester I'm doing three classes - Tuesday to Thursday, so I go down with a friend Tuesday morning and come back Thursday night. My poor, long-suffering housemate. I think she'll be so much better off finding a new person to live with next year. While I'm sure I'm lovely in a clean-the-kitchen and non-confrontationist way, I'm hardly ever there, and when I am I'm in my room sleeping. I wonder how normal she thinks I am (although that's a bit of a loaded question. We're both writers, we're both insane).

And uni?
I've been thinking about it for a while, but I'm going to leave my degree unfinished. I'm not cut out for this long-haul of education. I can't do another year (and skimping out on a class this semester means I'll have to do at least another half a year on top of the third year if I do continue.)
I've gone slowly downhill and I've thought long and hard about whether uni is really where I want to be, and the answer to that thought is: no. No I don't want to be at uni, no I don't want to put my working life on hold any longer - I was a bookkeeper before I was a uni student, and I can just go back to that. I do have three years of varied experience in the job I'm doing.
No to mention this semester was everything I wanted from uni after my original goal about finding out more about my writing and making actual writer friends - extended prose and editing classes. ... Editing is as awesome as promised (though extreme in the assessments) while prose is... the biggest let-down ever.
I don't even have to actually write a novel for prose, just an outline and one chapter. I shall be writing this novella anyways, and hopefully post it (friends-locked, of course) onto my LJ.

So, what got me back onto Livejournal is what got me onto livejournal in the first place: fanfiction. This time... Sailor Moon. (which I bought all of on DVD). Fanfiction led me back to badfic_quotes (which, if you haven't ever checked out and you like a laugh at bad grammar and it's effects on meaning, I really suggest you do so), which made me feel guilty about neglecting my F-list, which made me finally post again coz I realised I couldn't think of any comments to make on your journals.

Hopefully now I'll make regular updates, and comment on your journals at least somewhat regularly (This is, after all, the time I set apart to do my assessments)

Damn

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:06:56 GMT

I've been away for quite some time. Not for any particular reason.. Or maybe the reason is the lack of easy access to an internet connection. My internet usage has been based on necessity of communication and my mobile.

I've just started a new uni semester. Second year Creative Writing, yay. I have my third class in half an hour (though it won't be that by the time I finish typing this).
Because I skipped so many things last year, this year I moved down to Wollongong (ie, I'm not a 3 hour public transport journey away any more) which means I had to quit my job (for the second time). I have no money coming in, but hopefully the government will give me some while I study. I am also looking to work at Subway again *shudder* I do have a year's experience there anyway. Wollongong has a terribly high youth unemployment rate, which always made me worried at moving down here (as well as the fact that I'm not too fond of Wollongong.)

Uh... other stuff? I have no more life. I go to uni, I used to work a day a week. I'm pretty much the biggest bludger out. I did absolutely nothing those 3 months I was off uni.

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:15:35 GMT

I don't know if I have a hectic life, or I just waste my life away... wait, yes I do. My life is the opposite of hectic. I sleep most of the time. Okay, so there could be some underlying medical problem there, but meh, what do I care, really?

I suppose I spend most of my time not on the internet keeping up with all those friendships I've managed to gather up but keep forgetting I have. They're just so hard to keep track of sometimes, I forget how many people I really have to remember I know.

Went on a camp last week, that was fun. Except what I mean by fun was that it was really not all that fun, but I went away for a week.
I was sick. Started the Thursday before I went on camp. I found it hard to get myself out of bed thursday morning, ended up getting to uni later than I meant to (not that I really had anything to do here) and therefore I didn't do so much of my assessment that was due the next day. I did get to see my friend Paul, though, and I achieved my overall end to the excursion, which was to meet up with my friend Karina so that I could stay with her the night and maybe not get up so early the next morning. I had an evil night, full of sore throats and coughing, and I woke up just that little bit worse for wear. Of course, then I had to go to uni, do a poetry class that starts at 9.30am and right after that a prose class, hang around till 5.30pm and then catch the bus home. By 5.30 I could barely keep myself upright, I called my brother to come pick me up from the train station (it was his birthday, too) and then we went to Dan Murphys to get some alchomahol and I got some red bull to keep me awake for the rest of the night. We met up with some friends at our house, we got ready to go out and then went to a non-seedy club in Sydney where they play 80s music :p
I had two panadol, a red bull and half a vodka cruiser and I felt ready to face the night. Unfortunately, I wore the wrong shoes, causing myself to have a blister just underneath my toes on each foot, meaning I couldn't really dance and just stood around wincing for most of the night. The photos make it look like I had fun, though, and I suppose I did.
We stayed over my boyfriend's place that night, then had to go on the camp the next day. He hadn't worked out sleeping arrangements, I pointed to a bed and declared that I would sleep there, then I slumped on it in my clothes and conked out right away.
The next day, we were meant to be somewhere an hour away from my house at 12pm. Course, Damien didn't feel like packing right away, and even though he was up before I was at 8am, we didn't leave his place until about 11. I still had to get to my house and pack, not having been home more than an hour since Thursday morning, and I took my time. Then we had to go shopping for stuff we didn't have, such as sunscreen (it hasn't really been sunny at all since February) and coke (because who can go on a camp without coke) and I needed panadol and other such necessities for the week ahead.
When we got to the campsite it was 2pm. Good thing the campers weren't going to be there until 5. I felt like crap, of course. I then spent the week intermittently in bed when I had planned to do an assessment. sometimes with a fever, sometimes just watching Jeremiah. I didn't spend all that much time getting to know the campers, and in some ways I'm really glad of that. Most of them were more than a little bratty, being 17-18 years old, they truly believed that it was not our right as leaders to tell them what to do and when to go to bed and so complained at everything we ever told them to do (and that was the stuff their parents had paid for them to come do)
At the end of the week, us leaders read the feedback forms they filled out. Iike to call them hate-mail. None were specifically directed at me, but there were some names mentioned in this hate-mail, and one comment from someone that she heard one of the groups I was the leader of really sucked. This hate mail was quite discouraging. Thing is, only about half of it was bad, the rest just answered yes and no so much that it was not terribly comforting in amonst all this stong-feeling feedback that told us how much we sucked and shouldn't have been treating them like 5-year-olds.
Friday we got back home. Damien found out he had accidentally stolen someone's bag, so we had to go on an hour-long car ride to give it to the director of the camp so he could return it to its rightful owner. I was still sick. I was pretty much unfeeling and drugged up on panadol and neurofen (they don't react together, so I could take both) pretty much 24/7.
The next day my Mum and two of my brothers left to go to England for a month, I had a friend's birthday celebration to go to (I couldn't possibly skip it because I don't usually see her at all). Sunday I slept for most of the day and went to Church, but left pretty much straight away because I was feeling so awful. Monday was a public holiday, so we played some card games at a friend's place. And on Tuesday my scriptwriting assessment was due and I hadn't actually started it, never mind finished it, so now I have to go hand in a doctor's certificate to say that I've been sick and should be granted special consideration to hand it in later.

Damn, that was a ramble. I didn't even get to talk about how my friends and my boyfriend eat up all of my time, but oh well. If you could be bothered to read all of that, then you're a braver person than me, but I had to write something about the horrible couple of weeks I've had.

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:22:10 GMT

I have now gone two Mondays without any sleep at all.

Last Monday I had a theory essay to do, and with my party, I hadn't had time over the weekend, so I did it sunday night, meaning I went to uni at 6am having done nothing on my bed but read crap about madame bovary and write an essay.

Yesterday I was doing what should have been three assessments, but ended up just being one - a tutorial presentation for theory on The Picture of Dorian Gray. The lecturer was sick, so there was no lecture or tutorial, which meant that I didn't have to stay up for that, and I could have worked harder on my monologue (which sucked, btw) or my prose piece, which was actually due last friday... sigh... I just suck at uni.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:08:25 GMT

Wow, I've been missing for... way too long.
I miss my internet.
Well, not really. I miss LJ. Facebook is so much easier to jump onto for 10mins, while checking LJ takes hours.
And how did I get 29 emails in my mail.com inbox!!!! oh, they were mostly from facebook. I get it now. STOP SPAMMING ME!

Uh...
I got a twitter account
Yes, I'm insane. I also have 5 email addresses, so sue me for having a twitter and a LJ and facebook... and a myspace that I don't use... and I think Bebo thinks I'm using it...

And onto the reason why I have said twitter account:
one Felicia Day (who is my favouritest person atm) who has a twitter account.
Can't watch Dr. Horrible... uh... 20* times in 2 weeks and not be in awe of Nathan Fillion, Felcia Day and be in love with Neil Patrick Harris (come back David, I love yooooouuuuu**)
and anyway, Felicia Day. I mean, she played Penny so sweetly, and I loved to hear her sing every time I watched Dr Horrible. Then I checked out an interview with her about Dr Horrible and she seemed so nice and genuine...
and then I found out she acted in another web series, The Guild (GO WATCH IT www.watchtheguild.com) and then I found out she is not only adorable, but funny... and THEN I found out she is a writer. THEN I found out she produced her web series that she wrote (see The Guild) and THEN (or maybe before most of those) I found out she played the violin - I LOVE THE VIOLIN.
and she's a big geek/nerd (whatever you're inclined to call someone like me) and she played WOW (which I don't) but The Guild reminds me of how weird people who play D&D are too.

Oh, and on that note:
I play Dungeons and Dragons now!
Anyone who was in doubt of my supreme geekiness, now fall to your knees and ask for forgiveness.
Anyone who does not think that starting to play one game of D&D is geeky... I started weeks ago (I'm on level 2 now) and I have ANOTHER game starting on sunday... and I might learn how to be a dungeon master be involved in a third game.
and I bought figurines to use on the board for my characters...
and I want my own set of dice...

And it is my birthday on Tuesday. 21 at last! Means I get to have my 21st on Saturday (which is incidentally tomorrow) although I also have assessments to do that would be better off done before saturday night... (not a chance. geeky, yes. model student, no.)

Oh, and before I forget.

"Thank you Hammer Man, I don't think I can
Explain how important it was that you stopped that van.
I would be splattered
I'd be smashed into debris
Thank you sir for saving me"

*possibly not an overestimation
** I may now like Neil Patrick Harris more than DT *lets out a weird, gurgling sound because she is so very confused.*

sigh

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:53:24 GMT

Camps. Woah. Always a strange feeling getting back from camps.

Gosh, the camp I went on was absolutely awesome!

It was an Anglican Youthworks HSC Study camp. I've never really realised how much a leader can be encouraged by a student before. I went on a Study camp two years ago, and to be honest, it wasn't the best experience of my life, no matter if it was a good thing for me to be doing, but this one... No matter how much stuff I know I did wrong while I was there, it was such an awesome week, filled with awesome year 12 students studying for the biggest exams of their lives so far. :)

I need to go back out now, so just to get all my feelings out, I'll be writing a second entry about it when I get home and have some time. I just needed to express how great I feel right now.

God is so, so, so, so great.

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:10:09 GMT

Saw this on jaceyangel's journal, so I couldn't resist

When you see this post, quote from Doctor Who on your LJ

"It's my timey-whimey detector. Goes ding when there's stuff. Also, can boil an egg at 30 paces - whether you want it to or not, actually. I've learn to stay away from hens. It's not pretty when they blow."

~~I may have gotten some of that quote slightly wrong.~~

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:39:55 GMT

Stolen from christn7

Let others know a little more about yourself, repost this with your name followed by "ology".

Lauraology

TECHNOLOGY

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?

I would like to say it was something intelligent. A wallpaper collage of many, many Doctor Who icons

Q. How many televisions do you have in your house?

7

BIOLOGY

Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?

Right-handed - the fun, same-as-everyone-else hand.

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?

Nope

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?

I lifted... a bag with six litres of milk in it today... I don't think that counts as 'heavy'

Q. Have you ever been knocked out?

No

BULLSHITOLOGY

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?

No

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?

I don't think I would. I used to want to. Wait! I'd change my middle name to Violet, coz that's my nan's name and Mum said it was that or the one I have and I told her I would have preferred Violet. If I didn't like it, at least I would console myself that it was a family member's name. This one is not a family member's name and I hate it (well, not hate, I'm not 5. Dislike).... Before I went on that tangent I was going to say that my name is going to change anyway. Being a woman, it is tradition to change your name to that of your husband (that is, if he knows what his surname is legally.)

Q. What colour do you think looks best on you?

I think purple. But I don't much know anything that looks good on anyone, never mind me.

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item?

Nope

DAREOLOGY

Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?

I think I would.

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?

Nope

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000

Argh. Tough question. It wouldn't be easy, but... I was going to say 'I guess I would.' But NEVER? ... Yeah, I'd still read other's and comment, though. Comments are fun.

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?

Nope

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?

Yeah

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?

Nope

DUMBOLOGY

Q: What is in your left pocket?

A receipt. It is for the foam mattress I bought today. It was $10

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?

Good? Yes. Great? No

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?

Why are they the only two options? We have something that looks like wood, but it is not and we have carpet in the bedrooms.

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?

Who, as a rule, sits in the shower? I do when I'm feeling ill (therefore I spent about 20mins sitting in the shower today)

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?

Three, I think. But that is only because I never throw anything away. One that I actually wear, and then, very rarely.
Technically, you could also say that I do not own any FLIP FLOPS at all. What a pitiful name. We call them thongs (and thongs are g-strings). Much better system.

LASTOLOGY

Q: Last person who texted you?

Oooh. I just looked at my phone and I have a message. It's from my boyfriend. He asks if I'm dying. It was sent 3 1/2 hours ago.

Q: Last person who called you?

My friend Beth did. It was her birthday and she was asking if I was going out (me being sick and all). I don't get many phone calls.

Q: Person you hugged?

My boyfriend. Last night. I need a hug :(

FAVOURITOLOGY

Q: Number?

3

Q: Season?

Might be spring. Or else it is summer. Just not winter. I hate the cold.

Q: Colour?

Yellow

CURRENTOLOGY

Q: Missing someone?

Yes :'(

Q: Mood?

Sick. Which is a mood when it affects your thoughts. I can't think straight.

Q: Listening to?

I hardly ever listen to music, and now is no exception. I like the quiet. I'm listening to the humming of the two laptops and a computer, the clicking of my typing and my own thoughts

Q: Watching?

Soon I will be watching 20 to 1 karaoke classics

Q: Worrying about?

Missing classes coz I'm sick (and lazy)

Q: Wearing?

Blue jeans, a yellow top (wrong for the weather) and a brown hoodie

RANDOMOLOGY

Q: First place you went this morning?

*Is embarassed* To my laptop, which was in the computer room.

Q: What can you not wait to do?

Go to my friend's place this weekend. Doctor Who Marathon!!

Q: Do you smile often?

No, I really don't.

Q: Are you a friendly person?

Depends who you talk to. I would think so, but I believe others think not.

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:52:14 GMT

So... I decided to post my script.

Yesterday I had a terrible knock to my confidence in my writing skill. The first assessment I had to hand in, a prose piece of 1000 words. Now, I would have thought that for a prose piece I would have gotten a decent mark, since that's my thing, but no. First assessment task, easiest marking, already workshopped it in class: 65%. What the heck is that? To say I'm disappointed is an understatement.

So here is my poor, poor script since you asked. I'm worried that some of the scenes don't quite run on from each other the way I want them to.

INT. WAREHOUSE DAY

ALEX stands in the middle of an empty warehouse. Her footsteps echo as she paces around, deep in thought.

JOEL enters and approaches her and when Alex turns to face him, he salutes.

JOEL
(Excitedly)
We got one!

ALEX
(Sighing)
Not another rabbit, I hope.

JOEL
(Sarcastically)
Haha. That’s funny. Catching rabbits does make this war seem distant, Alex, but-

ALEX
(Irritated)
How many times do I have to tell you not to call me by my first name, soldier? If this was a camp on the front lines...

JOEL
Sorry, sorry. Officer Hastain. This isn’t exactly a camp on the war front and we’re not known for following protocol.

ALEX
(smiling a little)
No. We’re not are we.
(Shakes head)
So what’s your report, soldier?

JOEL
We caught an enemy soldier.

ALEX
A serious report, Joel.

JOEL
I am a hundred percent serious, ma’am

ALEX
(Disbelieving)
You caught one of the reds?

JOEL
As surely as I stand before you as part of the green army

ALEX
What was he doing all the way out here? Spying?

JOEL
Well, we haven’t been able to get anything out of him yet. He demanded to see the leader of this base. But just between you and me, Officer Hastian...
(Whispering)
He looked lost.

ALEX
(Disappointed)
Just a rookie soldier who got lost? Damn, thought this would be my chance to make enough of a breakthrough to get me back on the front line.
(Sighing)
Bring him into the interrogation room, then. He might still have something.

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM DAY

A young man dressed in a red uniform, DAN, sits on a chair, handcuffed to a table in the middle of the room. A MALE SOLDIER stands over him.

Alex opens the door with a creak and enters, staring down at her clipboard. When she looks up, her eyes move to the soldier’s and she nods. The soldier removes Dan’s handcuffs then leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Alex sits across from Dan at the table. She still hasn’t looked at him.

ALEX
Hopefully this is going to be quick and painless. Don’t make this too complicated and I can get back to more important matters.

DAN
I’m not important, then? Your men haven’t deemed me as a threat?

Alex looked sharply up at him and he cringed.

DAN
(Continuing quickly)
Yeah, I was hoping for the painless option, too.

Alex looks at Dan for a few seconds. She looks him up and down, taking in his appearance.

INT. CELL NIGHT

Dan sits on the floor against the wall in his cell. Alex enters with her clipboard and takes a seat on the bench.

Neither one of them talks, and when Alex looks over to Dan, he turns his head to look at the wall. When Dan finally returns the gaze, the two stare at one another for more time than is appropriate. Alex looks down to her clipboard.

ALEX
How long have you been a part of the red army?

DAN
(Nonchalantly)
Not long. In fact, you could say that I am not technically part of the army.

ALEX
So then what were you doing out here in the middle of nowhere in enemy territory?

DAN
I... kinda got lost.
(Hangs head)
(continues jokingly)
I didn’t ask for directions. Your typical male, right?

Alex glances over her clipboard at him disbelievingly.

DAN
(Continuing)
We were never introduced. My name’s Dan.

ALEX
(Stiffly)
Officer Hastian

DAN
(Teasing)
Oh come on, you can share your first name, can’t you?

Dan moves closer to Alex and sits on the bench beside her.

DAN
(Whispering)
Or is that classified?

ALEX
It’s Alex.

DAN
Short for Alexandra?

ALEX
Yes, but I don’t use...
(pause)
We’re in the middle of an interrogation here, Dan. We’re not meant to be friendly with one another.

DAN
(Sheepishly)
Oh, sorry. I’m not used to it. This is my first one, you know.

He gave her a charming smile and Alex tried to hide the fact that her cheeks were getting hot and red. She stood up abruptly.

             DAN
             (Continuing)
             Though if I’m going to be here for a while, I thought that it would be nicer if we were    friends.

INT. MESS HALL DAY

SOLDIERS in green uniforms sit at benches eating their food. Alex and Joel sit at a table alone.

JOEL
Come on, Alex. Don’t you see he’s into you?

ALEX
Of course I can see it, Joel.
(lowers voice)
I’ve been flirting, too.
(louder again)
And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me by my first name in front of anyone? What if there was a surprise inspection of this camp?

JOEL
(Sarcastically)
Because the General is so worried about what we’re doing out here? Didn’t he stick you this far out so that you wouldn’t be in his way?

ALEX
Look, I’m not an invalid

JOEL
No, but you got yourself injured. How can you expect an old friend to put you back in the action?

INT. CELL NIGHT

Dan and Alex sit side-by-side on Dan’s bed. They speak in hushed tones.

DAN
I can’t betray my own army and defect.

ALEX
Well, you’re still talking to me, listening to reason, which must mean that you want me to... leave with you. You know I can’t. I can’t ever fight for or even go along with anything that your people believe in because I don’t believe it myself. Then there’s the issue that I am a friend of the General’s. He’s the reason I got this job in the first place.

DAN
(Sarcastically)
And a cushy job it is, too. Maybe this is why we were on different sides of the war in the first place.

ALEX
I guess.

Alex stood up slowly and exited the room.

INT CELL DAY

ALEX
Why don’t you just tell me what is such a great cause that you are unable to defect, Dan?

DAN
It’s not that I believe that we are more right than you. It’s just that I have to be loyal. There’s no other choice.

ALEX
What does that mean? Are they threatening their soldiers now? You’ll have complete protection here, so there’s no need to worry about that.

DAN
You know it is not that. The red army honourably protects the king, and no one can betray the one they call their king.

ALEX
Why do you call him your king? He’s cruel and deceitful and-

DAN
Is that what you’ve been told? If he’s like that then why do so many people follow him without question?

ALEX
This conversation is going nowhere. I’m sorry that you can’t betray your king because of some misplaced loyalty.

DAN
I’m sorry you have to make up excuses for why you can’t follow a king.

Alex sighs, stands and heads for the door.

             DAN
             (hissing)
             Wait.

ALEX
Yes?

DAN
Can I tell you a secret?

ALEX
(Intrigued)
What?

DAN
A secret. Meaning you can’t ever tell anyone else.

Alex reapproached him, standing above him, then kneeling and taking his hand.

ALEX
I swear.

Dan leans in and whispers something into Alex’s ear. As he speaks, Alex develops a look of horror and when he finally pulls away, Alex nearly topples backwards in her haste to move away from him. She stands and moves to the far corner of the cell, watching him.

             ALEX
             (Stuttering)
             You – you – you’re –lying.

She inches towards the door, keeping her eyes on Dan, who hasn’t moved at all.

             ALEX
             (Continuing)
             There’s no way... Oh crap .

Alex opens the door and hurriedly escapes.

INT. OFFICE DAY

Joel, ANOTHER SOLDIER and Alex all sit in the room, Alex on one side of the desk and the other two sit across from her.

JOEL
Tell us what he said to you.

ALEX
Look, he made me swear that I wouldn’t tell anyone, so I can’t. It’s not of military importance.

Joel gets out of his seat and walks around the desk. He grabs Alex and slams her up against the window, pinning her there.

ALEX
What are you doing? Stand down.

JOEL
I have orders to torture the information out of you if need be. Don’t make me do it.

ALEX
Stand down, Soldier
(softer)
Joel, please stop.

JOEL
Look. If he told you something important, then we need to know.

ALEX
I already told you that it’s not important. I swear to you as your friend that it is not important.

The second soldier got out of his chair brandishing a torture device. He approached and held it to Alex’s face.

ALEX
Come on guys. Seriously. Don’t make me break my promise.

Alex whimpered as a buzzing sound filled the air and the device was held to her neck.

             ALEX
             (Whispering)
             He told me he loved me.

Tears slide down Alex’s face. Joel let go of her and she slid down the wall. There was a moment of awkwardness before Joel turned to the other soldier and they shared a high-five.

JOEL
Told you we could scare her into telling us.

Alex gives them a fake smile.

ALEX
Very funny, guys. I knew you weren’t going to do it.

JOEL
You know, Alex. We can take advantage of this situation. You can pretend you love him back, tell him you’ll break him out and go with him like he keeps asking you. It may make him tell us something he had forgotten before.

ALEX
(Smiling darkly)
Great. I was sick of this flirting game, anyway.

INT. CELL DAY

Alex kneels in front of Dan as he sits on his bed.

ALEX
Do you trust me?

DAN
Is there a reason I shouldn’t, Alex?

ALEX
Because I’m going to break you out and come with you.

DAN
(looking up nervously)
Can they hear this conversation?

ALEX
Its being recorded, but no one will look at it until tomorrow after we’re long gone.

DAN
Okay. But what reason could I possibly have not to trust you?

ALEX
I might lie to you. You have to tell me everything, though. Everything. You get it?

postpostpostpostpost

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:53:02 GMT

Well, I just felt like posting.
Not for any reason at all except that I am bored.

I'm trying to think of something interesting in my life that is actually worth posting about that anyone may want to read....
Well, for one of my classes at uni I'm finally writing a script. Script writing is so much fun. It is ambiguous and completely up to the way the reader interprets the voice. Fun, fun, fun. Specially for a suspense writer like me. The character's motivations are not as on-the-surface when you're not writing what they're thinking.
I'll post this script-in-the-making if anyone wants to read it or thinks they could give me some pointers. My layout is kinda funky and I can't seem to make it look pretty no matter how much I try.
Heehee. The other thing I love about scripts is the lack of description. Woo for no huge descriptions about what shade of green the leaf is and exactly HOW one's face contorts into a look of shock.

Upon reflection about scripts, though. They're lots of fun, and my opinion may change as I go through the course and do 'writing for stage and screen' next semester, but I am a prose writer at heart. I do way too much internal dialogue and reflections on life to be so vague as a script.
I'm a prose writer at heart. So far my thoughts on my writing haven't changed. I still hate poetry, still am not the best at description and still feel the overwhelming urge to want to be an author, no matter how unattainable that dream may be (specially in Australia.)

Well, that's my little ramble about my writing :)
Makes me feel better. I feel slightly less bored now.

surprises (or not)

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:01:16 GMT

I avoided my fandom like the plague when I leant that there was a rumour out.

Of course, the only thing that could stir up the fandom as much as it had done was the return of Billy Piper.
So although I guessed that was the case, I kept away from any spoilers at all, meaning it was just so much easier to stay away from everything than to sift through everything for spoiler warnings (keeping in mind that after a while it was no longer considered a spoiler)

They say ignorance is bliss, and I was blissfully unaware of the true extent of the spoilers. Although I had an educated guess, nothing was certain, which meant I was not eagerly anticipating the return of Doctor Who. I wasn't having sleepless nights wondering how they were going to bring Rose back and I was trying to ignore the fact that it would be coming out soon so that I wouldn't be aching for it to come back.

Strangely enough, though, I wasn't surprised when I saw Rose. I don't know if my brothers were when they saw it, but I sure wasn't. All I had to exclaim about was the return of the beautiful Doomsday music, something I had to show off from my soundtrack straight after we watched the ep (just in case my brothers didn't know how smart I was).

So... I guess it is a return to fandom for me. Hooray! Not right at the moment, though, it being 12am and I have to go to uni tomorrow morning.

Uni... uni, uni, uni.
Today I had an epiphany about why I'm at uni.
I mean, I know how to write already, and all of this theoretical stuff is just driving me absolutely nuts. I hated English when I was at school, so this course taking that deadly path is not something I'm really in for.
See, I have this lecturer, and she was talking passionately about the work she is finishing at the moment. And that's when I thought it:
I'm there for the passion.
I've always had a passion for writing, and the thing about the uni course is that it inspires me to stretch my limits. I'm not learning anything particuarly interesting, but I'm finding myself again in my writing and it is marvellous.
Theory is still boring as hell, but I am so grateful for the lecturer I have on Wednesdays and her passion.
And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE hanging out with other writers. Who knew that in real life, writers could be so wonderful? I love to spend time with others who share my passion. I love making new friends, and they want to read my work! Feeding my ego, woo!

Well, I'll keep you posted, look into actually paying attention to LJ once more, and I'll get back into writing. As I write this, my computer is downloading MS Office, so I'll finally have MS Word again.

Love you all!

Good night all. I'm ready for a brand new season of fandom
:) :D :)

starting a new chapter of my life...

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:41:33 GMT

So, yeah. On Thursday I went out to Wollongong to go to my uni orientation day thingy for creative writing.

Course, I missed my bus. Didn't study that bus timetable well enough, I'm afraid.
So, I had to catch the train to Wollongong, and unfortunately, the train takes 3 hours to get there.
I was meant to be there at 9.30am, left home at 6.20am and ended up at uni at about 11...
Good thing I didn't go to work that day otherwise I would have been making that massive, whopping mistake on Monday, which is my first day of uni classes, and that really would not be fun.

In my infinite forgetfullness, I forgot to enroll in my tutorials when the enrolments opened on Thursday night. So now I am in a tutorial that is slightly too late for my bus home. I'm really not sure what I'm going to do about that. Probably plead with the lecturer for the earlier one (though that tutorial will still only finish 5 minutes before my bus leaves from the other side of the university campus.)

In happier news, though. My friend dragged me off to something called 'unistarter's day' yesterday. It was a meeting thing for the Wollongong ECU (evangelical christian union) and I met some people, thereby making me feel slightly less daunted by the prospect of uni life and having no friends (since pretty much all my friends nowadays are from my church).
Met someone doing my course, which is exciting. Course, she's doing a double degree of Jornalism and Creative Writing, (ie, much, much more intelligent than me) but she is like me. It's cool. She's from Darwin. A DOCTOR WHO FAN!!!!!!! Amazing. My first uni friend who is a DW fan. I didn't even lead to that. We were talking about our writing and how I do sci-fi/fantasy and she said that she likes Doctor Who, which lead me to talking about my TARDIS keychain and my sonic screwdriver torch. and my box sets. She's even an old school fan....
Okay, she's from Darwin, too. Which is pretty cool. We spent awhile talking about he differences between our education systems (she may just think I am some kind of weird, hyperactive nerd. Lol)

As per the rules of the game...

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:58:37 GMT

I just lost.

Now... anyone who read this, you're gonna have to ask me why because now, as per the rules of the game, I have to explain 'the game' to you.

That is all

Stolen from the lovely amberwind's journal...

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 05:53:57 GMT

IF YOU'RE ON MY FRIENDS LIST, I want to know 36 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, or if we already know everything about each other. Short and sweet is fine ... You're on my list, so I want to know you better!

BE HONEST! COPY FROM HERE IN YOUR COMMENT AND ADD YOUR ANSWERS.

1) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
A.

2) What was your dream growing up?
A.

3) What talent do you wish you had?
A.

4) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
A.

5) Favorite vegetable?
A.

6) What was the last book you read?
A.

7) What zodiac sign are you?
A.

8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
A.

9) Worst Habit?
A.

10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
A.

11) What is your favorite sport?
A.

12) Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?
A.

13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
A.

14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
A.

15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
A.

16) Do you have any pets?
A.

17) What if i showed up at your house unexpectedly?
A.

18) What was your first impression of me?
A.

19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
A.

20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
A.

21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
A.

22) What color eyes do you have?
A.

23) Ever been arrested?
A.

24) Bottle or can soda?
A.

25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
A.

27) What's your favorite place to hang at?
A.

28) Do you believe in ghosts?
A.

29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
A.

30) Do you swear a lot?
A.

31) Biggest pet peeve?
A.

32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
A.

33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
A.

35) Do you believe in God?
A.

36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?
A.

ahhh, screwy

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:33:05 GMT

I started to get the nagging need to read fanfiction again (I guess I can blame many things, from getting into my uni course to that forum I started to frequent on fanfiction.net due to a PM I was sent)
and now, NOW I can't remember what fics I was reading the last time I was hanging around in the fandom (I've still been skipping the spoilers, btw - though of course I've got an idea, probably a full-blown knowledge, of what's going on - but I haven't seen any spoilers nonetheless. lol)
and I am entirely confused and don't know where to start looking for my Doctor/Rose fix. I'll need to go REALLY far back on the comms I am a part of, so if anyone can suggest some good fic, I'd be grateful

EDIT -
Oh, and I finally got through all the emails in one of my email addresses. It looks normal. You can see the bottom of the page! You can see the last email without moving to a different page!!!
Now... for that hotmail address... some other week, maybe. care2 took me long enough

MIA

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:12:56 GMT

Warning: This may be long and tedious... or it may not. Depends on how much of a rant I go on

So... Christmas. Gosh. Seems like so long ago now... Uh... I got to sing at our carols service on 16th December. Just me. On stage. In a dress. Singing 5 verses of Once In Royal David's City. I refused to move from my spot against the wall for all the songs and acts before mine. Aren't I brave? Lol. On stage my right leg refused to stop shaking, so I leant on my left leg. Nobody noticed. They were all looking at my pretty smile and my pretty dress (gag) and listening to my pretty voice...

Yeah, so Christmas... Trying to remember that far back (even though I just thought further back). Got up, opened presents. I got a dvd rack because my desk was getting sick of the pile that was there. I got Life on Mars season1. I don't remember anything else.
Oooh. Oooh. I remember Christmas Eve. We went to Church, then went out driving to see Christmas lights. Due to p-plate laws we couldn't be out driving past 11pm. Anyways, we went to a local estate, singing Disney Musical Songs all the way. Didn't see much in the way of exciting Christmas displays, but we marvelled at the size and beauty of the houses there. Lol. Lame. Haha. I sang at the Christmas Eve service, too. Not by myself, but I LOVE the Christmas carols.

Christmas Day we had lunch and then my mother went to work... I probably went back to bed.
Boxing day we went to see a movie with a friend (we being my bro Scott and I). We saw Enchanted, then went to our close family friend's place. Played the nintendo 64, played the nintendo wii, played taboo, ate, drank (coke) and were Merry.
(NB. There is no family Christmas for us as all our extended family is in England or over the other side of the country... or just really can't be bothered to keep in contact with us anyway)

27th December at 10.00pm Scott, Nathanael (friend), Sarah (another friend) and I got on a bus to
Queensland. Queensland is the state next to NSW. It was a 14hr bus trip. 15 since we got there late.
So we stayed in an apartment in Broadbeach, close to Surfer's Paradise, on the Gold Coast in Queensland where their car registration plates declare "Queensland: The Sunshine State"
Basically, it rained. Pretty much the whole time we were there.
We went to the theme parks, did night walks along the beach, went shopping (quite a bit).
All the New Years Eve fireworks along the Gold Coast were cancelled due to the wind.

We all got annoyed with one another, never went for a swim on the beach, but enjoyed the two water parks and the others made use of the pool.
We left Queensland at 3.30pm Saturday 12th January and got back to Sydney the next morning at 6.30am. I slept all day, went to Church (got annoyed with the guy who told me I was meant to be singing because I didn't have a roster before I left).
Then, of course, I had to go to work the next day.
Oh yeah, and while it was blistering hot in Sydney while I was in Queensland, Sunday was scorching hot, but since then it has been raining... sigh...

Ha! Almost forgot. I'm going to uni! Going to the University of Wollongong to do Creative Writing. Wow. It's still kinda hitting me. And just writing that down now... wow... crazy.

And I made my first internet purchase yesterday. Season 1 of Life on Mars has 8 episodes! I'm dying to see the last season now, so I ordered it! Yay! I'll see it before it screens in Australia!
Had to pay almost $60.00 for it, too... but I'm kind of obsessed right now (having watched it for the first time in the last 3 days after work)

The internet is still not working on my laptop. Does when I plug it in to the internet connection, so there's either something wrong with my wireless card or the wireless internet connection.
I'll see if I can check up on what you guys have been up to.

hmm... would have preferred firefly, but meh

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:50:14 GMT

Which sci-fi crew would you best fit in with? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Moya (Farscape)

You are surrounded by muppets. But that is okay because they are your friends and have shown many times that they can be trusted. Now if only you could stop being bothered about wormholes.

Moya (Farscape)

88%

Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)

75%

Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)

75%

Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

69%

Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)

69%

Enterprise D (Star Trek)

56%

Serenity (Firefly)

56%

Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)

56%

Deep Space Nine (Star Trek)

56%

Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica)

50%

SG-1 (Stargate)

50%

FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files)

44%

Bebop (Cowboy Bebop)

38%

something

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:38:15 GMT

Okay, so I don't know how many people have really noticed I have been 'missing' from LJ lately. Maybe if you have, you just noticed that I am no longer replying to posts and maybe that just makes you think I've stopped reading a certain fanfiction or watching a certain comm or whatever.

Yeah, I've still got internet problems, been stealing my little bro's connecter thingy (I am SO technically minded when it comes to computer stuff) sometimes, but then I just check emails or hang around on facebook.
The thing other than the internet is time. You know when it just hits you that you're basically wasting your life on the internet?
Well, I never had that thought personally, but I miss reading fanfiction and other people's posts about their lives and random stuff that happens and whatever, so I do not think that LJ is a waste of time, it is still totally awesome.

So, in my absence from the fandom, LJ and most communication with people other than those I already see at least once a week, I understand that some big news has come about.
Today I went through my Flist and read some stuff. I'm not going any further, because I just got up to the mass amount of spoiler posts, and I even yelled at my Dad the other day for even daring to mention anything about the next season of DW

I'm not even thinking about checking out the comms I am a part of. I dread to think how much I will read if I go through it all, and if I didn't think I was wasting my life before, I would most definitely think so AFTER that.

Hmm, so, life outside the internet. I have a friend who is quite obviously trying to kill me (in an I've-never-done-so-much-in-my-life good kind of way), a brother who is now clamouring for what little time I may actually have with comments like "I have fully booked your weekend" and, of course, work. I shall be working until the 24th December... sigh.

Oh, and my interview, I had my uni interview on the 28th November. I think it sucked. A thought which I have been told off for having and telling other people, but the truth is, what I really want to YELL at people is that I don't know "how it went". I have the feeling inside of me, all in my head, that I was crap. And that is not up to anyone else's standards, just mine. I don't know exactly what the interviewers were looking for, I don't know what was going through the interviewers minds. Heck, I don't even know what I said. So basically I don't know, and if you want to argue with me or ask why I think I sucked, please keep that in mind.

Ahh, and holiday in Queensland. Why must people depress me so? I ask about 5 times whether the people who were coming were really, truely going to come or not and then they end up saying to me (this week) "I can't afford it"
Now, I'm not trying to be nasty in trying to make this person come now, because she said she would. I even asked her last week if she was definitely coming.
Also, I haven't got all the money for it. Yes, At some point, I will need some of the money back that I paid to the Real Estate Agent to get the place we're staying. If you didn't want to pay, then why say you were coming?
AND I have no idea how we're getting there. For those that aren't completely sure how big Australia is or where I live in relation to Queensland's Gold Coast, it takes about 14 hours to drive there. While we're there, it will take about a 20min drive to get to the theme parks, so I would like to actually have a car there rather than take public transport, something we can't do if we take a train or plane there. And we actually need a car. I've asked my Dad to get a new one, even offered to pay it off, so I need an answer from him by this weekend or else someone's parents won't let her come. (Why do I even bother asking people for a definite answer in the first place?)

And because I've been sitting at work here writing this, it is now 5.34pm (I finish at 5), I have missed two buses to get home and I'm hungry. I also haven't finished the mail and I have to walk all the way to the post office to post an express post. My desk is a mess too, and I am shaking (more than usual because I usually shake) and one of my work peers has pointed out I should see a doctor because a 22-year-old friend of hers was recently diagnosed with parkinsons. I haven't been to the doctor since I was in school. Gah. Sorry. I will leave now.

Stuff

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:11:35 GMT

You know you're just a little bit mental when you turn the kettle on AFTER you make your tea. Then tell it you didn't want it on, then proceed to call the kettle a weirdo.

Ooooh. Ooooh. Speaking of mental, I got a letter from Wollongong Uni (yes, the one I applied to) to ask me to come in for an interview. I am one step closer to getting into uni, and my portfolio couldn't possibly have sucked as badly as I thought.
Mwaha. I hope they know what they're getting themselves into. I'm planning on taking a backpack full of my work. Maybe my laptop too. (since most of what I have written over the course of my life has been hand written, not typed.)
My mother suggested that I take the first story any of us can remember me writing, in primary school we were imitating Aboriginal Dreamtime stories and I wrote one titled 'How the Dolphin got it's Fin'
Yes, I used to like dolphins. Very much. A monkey also starred in said story. I remember it gained me a lot of praise. I think it was a little try-hardy (and I do remember being a little over the top with my writing of it. Hose Pipe Flower. Pffft) I'm thinking it is maybe a good idea because I can show these interviewers that no matter how bad I am at identifying styles and techniques and whatever, I am a dedicated writer and have never wanted to be anything else.
Oh, and speaking of never wanting to be anything else, I think I may need to breach the subject with my boss seeing as how I have to take Wednesday 28th November off to go to this interview and I want the chance to ask him if he may consider taking me on part time...

My internet still doesn't work. I don't get how it can work one day and then just not the next. It is not the internet connection, because it works for everyone else. It is not a virus, we have established that... *sighs*
I have actually been getting on the internet at home for short periods, but due to circumstances out of my control (ie. obsession) I have been watching Avatar rather than coming onto livejournal. Ever seen Avatar, the LAst Airbender ? Tis great. I recommend it. You can even watch it on the internet. There are a couple of sites, I've been using
www.watch-avatar.com

And you wonder why I have been going insane lately? I blame facebook, mostly. Maybe my friends. Definitely one specific friend. If you're reading this, you know who you are. Passing your craziness onto me. Now you'll never get rid of me!!!!
Ooooh. and how excellent is the new series of Heroes?
And it is getting closer to Christmas *dances awkwardly*
Almost time for the singing.
And if you missed it last year, that means the Aussie Jingle bells!
Maybe THAT's why I'm insane.
Or maybe it was the 1/2 carona, smirnoff double black, three cowboy shots and jager bomb I had on Friday night. (Which, of course, was just to get me to dance. I don't think I would have otherwise.) Don't go look in the photos for the retro club... I looked terrible. I mostly had my mouth open in all the shots we got with my camera. Talk about looking drunk.

Haha. Time to get back to work. I have this teensy weensy bit of mail to do by 5pm (it now being 4.10pm)

And now this is me, signing off and promising that one day I will start looking at your journals reguarly again.