So, four months since I last blogged and what's changed?

I've finished all the work for the TAFE course (looking forward to next year already) though I still have classes on this Tuesday and Thursday, then I'm off to the US (or more specificly New York and Los Angeles) for almost three weeks.

Still doing the 5am starts at Coles (those three weeks away will be heavenly)

Gaming wise I've gotten my 360's online hooked up and running. Also began on a backlog of 360 games I had but hadn't started yet (because I'd lent the console to a friend afew months prior).

My Wii is finally getting some loving (mysister had this console for a while, I bought a whole lot of stuff in GAME's mid-year sale and am only now finally getting to play them). Super Mario Galaxy is the only 3D Mario game so far that I absolutely love, I can finally see why it got all those perfect scores back in 2007.

PS3 is still the preffered console (Black Ops was the game of the moment, but I'm probably not gonna do any gaming at all before I leave, still have to pack my bags and stuff).

This blog is quite random now that I look at it. It's like my thoughts are a ping pong ball going back and forth. Might end it here actually, got nothing much else to ay right now

So I'm sitting here, bored, on a lovely Saturday night. An onslaught of 21st birthday parties await over the next few weeks. I got a most unusual text yesterday, 'twas my boss wondering if I'd like this coming Sunday off. This was odd for two reasons:

1. She never wants me to take time off.
2. I have the next two weekends after this one already booked off for the 21sts I mentioned earlier

With these in mind I realised she must have an ulterior motive, and she did, I'm now working Mondy instead of tomorrow. It's less pay but I'm fine with it as I'm quite drained from this past week. Don't get me wrong, I've done next to nothing but I'm finding it quite draining regardless.

Not much has happened in the...7 and a half months since I last blogged.

Most notably I've started a course in Professional Wriitng and Editing at the local TAFE. A few of you may remember my short stint in IT at RMIT from last year and how I absolutely hated it. Writing is what I've always wanted to do and I'm thoroughly enjoying this course. I've learned so much in the three or four months since it began and I've made some awesome new friends. Because it's a course requirement to actualy have our writing workshopped I've also become much better at sharing my work in public, not gonna post anything hre yet though. When one of my pieces was used as part of a training exercise for the TAFEs Drama department I was pretty happy though.

Still working at Coles (with the stupid 5am shifts, although they have cut the midday weekend shifts which is fantastic). It's alright and it's good pay, I just hate the early starts. Because of these however, I have found myself quite often drifting into this alternate world where I'm a few years older and a struggling writer in LA...well I was struggling until recently where I sold a script to Warner Bros. This world I've made is ridiculously detailed. I should consider making it into a piece of literature one day, it has a fully fleshed out timeline for about 4 months, more then enough to do a story. It also has bits and bobs from before and after this four months...yes it's very weird.

Still living at home. I'm currently planning a trip to Japan which I'm looking forward to A LOT.

My favourite currently running show (well not anymore) LOST has begun and finished it's final season since my last blog. I honestly hated the first episode of this season but it grew on me considerably and I am in love with the ending they chose for the show. I could watch the last ten minutes any time and stil get emotional. This season has been nominated for 13 Emmy's, 7 of which were for the final episode specificly, which is hilarious to me because techically, since it went for two and a half hours, it should not be able to be nominated (Rules state that only up to a two hour version, of a regular one hour show, can be nominated, they made an exception for LOST though).

I've been gaming less this year then normal, I have recently discovered the whimsy of the brilliant Monkey Island series though, so I'm loving that.

I think I'll leave it here for now. Next time I may go into more details about my home life and possibly what movies I've seen over the last half year.

So I bid you all farewell, and wish you a god morning, god afternoon and good night

-Matt

...to soak up the sun in Vanuatu

Later

This is more or less just a list I'm making for myself that I have in a place where I can always access it.

PS2:
ICO (never really got into it but want to finish one day)
Hitman Trilogy (still on the first (technically second) game, it's good but I got stuck on a mission)
Psychonauts (hilartious game I haven't played in years, got stuck on a boss fight)
Persona 3 (love it but never finished it)
Persona 4 (haven't even started yet)
Yakuza 2 (Great game, slowly making my way through, should be finished by the time Yakuza 3 is tranlated though lol)

360:
Crackdown (I play it in bursts)
Eternal Sonata (an RPG I never got into that heavily and sort of overlooked, have seen the opening cutscene)
LEGO Indian Jones (started playing around the time I reverted back to my PS3)
LOST (hate the puzzles in this game and lost interest)
Lost Odyssey (currently stuck in a temple)
Mass Effect (love the story but could never dig the gameplay due to framerate issues)
Perfect Dark Zero (found it really meh)

GameCube:
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (left it for unkown reasons, probably trying to make sure everyone lives to the end)

GBA:
Golden Sun (fantastic RPG, got quite far but never finished

PSP (only got it last month but am still playing it often so I won't list these games yet)

Wii:
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Never got into the Wii controls for it, if I could revert to a GameCube controller I would finish it)
Paper Mario (Great RPG, just never finished it unfortunately, got it about the time I mvoed on from my Wii to the PS3)

PS3:
Batman Arkham Asylum (only have a few challenge maps to beat to get the Platinum, but I'm not very good at the combat ones)
Bioshock (Beaten the single-player, don't really feel compelled to go back to it, is near the bottom of my list)
Brutal Legend (got it a few days ago, only just getting into it)
Burnout Paradise (A few Smashes here and there to collect
Dead Space (really enjoy it, finished the story mode, shall attempt to Platinum it later on down the track)
Far Cry 2 (a great little FPS that has been squashed by upcoming games)
GTA IV (Trophies came out after I beat the game so I lost interest in my trophy run quickly, have beaten it enough for me to be happy)
Various Guitar Hero games (lots of work on these games)
Killzone 2: A few chapters away from completeing the main story, may try for a few multiplayer trophies but the game didn't really grab me)
Prince of Persia (fun little game, started again to get the rest of the trophies, got distracted by Uncharted 2)
Resident Evil 5 (Attempted playthrough on the hardest difficulty and got my butt handed to me)
Resistance 2 (good game, finished the campaign once, never really touched the multiplayer)
Singstar games (good for drunken evenings)
SEGA MegaDrive collection (I mainly stuck to the games I know)
Tomb Raider: Underworld (just could not get into this game, kept seeing it as a horrible version of Uncharted)
Uncharted 2 (currently at 50% of trophies, shall finish it off soon enough)
Valkyria Chronicles (I like it enough, but when it comes to actually playing it some more I can't be bothered)
Wanted: Weapons of Fate (good game, short, probably won't go back for trophies)
inFamous (haven't finished the campaign yet, let alone begun an evil campaign)

Games coming in by the end of the year:
Demon's Souls
Fallout 3 GOTY
Bordrlands
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
Modern Warfare 2
Assassins Creed II
Tekken 6
GTA: Episodes From Liberty City

Yep, lots of gaming on my end

Lately I've found myself getting more and more into Batman, wanting to know more about the characters and the Batman world itself. I was browsing Amazon and noticed that they have the complete series in a neat little gift-set thing

Now it's my birthday in a week and a half and my parents are wondering what I want and this immediately springs to mind. I know I watched a few episodes many years ago and I think I enjoyed it. Anyway, I'm wondering if any of you guys have watched the series and if you think it's worth a purchase.

Who wants to do me a really big favour and sum up all the big gaming news of the last two weeks?

So after taking your advice and giving COD4 Multiplayer some proper loving I've come to the conclusion that you were correct, it is awesome and damn addictive.

That is all.

So, around a week and a half ago I started buy The Simpsons DVD sets because Target had them on the cheap. I've been (what I thought was) slowly making my way through them until I sat down and calculated just how long I had watched the show over the past week and a half. I'll point out now that I do ride an exercise bike for an hour a day while watching the DVDs at some point so not all the time is wasted I suppose

I calculated I've watched 90 episodes, at roughly 20 minutes an episode this equals 1800 minutes, which is 30 hours. So, I've had the DVDs for 10 days so that's over 1/10th of the time I've had them. I work most mornings 5-9 and then the rest of my day is free, because all my friends are at Uni or working then I entetain myself with the Internet, gaming or the DVDs.

So, upon this revelation I've decided I need some new hobbies. I have some unfinished books I could read (I used to read a few chapters a night but I stopped for some reason). So, what hobbies apart from those I have, do you have? I'm starting a short course at the end of this month but that's only ne night a week. So, basically, I have too much time to kill.

So, I've been at university for two weeks and I've come to a realisation: The people and teachers are great and I get on really well with them. This however is where my joy of going to university ends. Let me explain.

Two weeks ago, in one of my comments on one of my blogs, I decided that althouugh the Orientation left me somewhat disappointed I'd stick with it in the hopes it would improve. It did as I got to know people. Unfortunately my love for the classes themselves did not grow. At the end of Week One I figured I'd give it a chance for the next few weeks as they're probably just starting us off on easy, basic stuff. At the end of Week Two things haven't improved.

I just find all my classes so boring and I lose attention very quickly. I've come to the conclusion that I was really doing this course because of the careers it can lead into. At the same time I decided that I can't keep doing this course if I hate it, I can't have a career, regardless of how much I get paid, if I hate it. In the words of Tim from The Office "It's better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb then halfway up one you don't".

One good thing this experience has reignited in me is my passion for writing. During one of my classes I was so bored I had time to think and I finally overcame the writer's block I've had for a few months now. By the end of that one hour class I had scripted a fair chunk of a screenplay I've been stuck on for months.

-------

On the brighter side I now have a job again. I imagine I'll work here for the year and enrol in a new class for next year. There's also some small courses at the local TAFE that genuinely intrigue me that I'll probably do over the year. And hopefully, by the end of the year, I'll have finished this screenplay.

So, 3rd day in and people begin to get social (mainly due to the Communication class we're all in). This was good as we learnt a lot about each other. We partnered off and had a set of questions. We asked our partner the questions and then we had to introduce them to the class, it's an interesting method, I've never seen it before.

So because of this I've become friends with the guy I was partnered with. Class finished 45 mminutes early (for no good reason) and most of the class walked off Those of us that stayed ended up sitting and chatting til the next class and my friend list tripled lol, so now Uni's not looking too bad.

So in the end I'm glad I've stuck with it.

Today was the day I had orientation for university. I went into today ready to start afresh after my experience here last week (which, although wasn't bad, wasn't that great). Were my efforts rewarded? Read on to find out...

I arrive to the same room of students as during orientation but there are some new faces dotted around the room. We wait for around 10 minutes before being led into a classroom and told to sign in and collect some documents. I sitat a table of 4 other students. The teacher (who is ourclass co-ordinator) begins going around the room, making us say our names and where we're from, etc. He then gives us a few minutes to talk to the person next to us. I get on well with the guy next to me, he's from Indonesia and doesn't speak much English which is fine. This is the last time I talk to him today.

Typical introduction to the course talks transpire and we're then taken on a tour of the University. We then break for lunch. Now this was when I was planning on making lots of friends (I had this crazy idea we'd eat together), but, to my disappointment, everyone goes seperate ways and ends up eating by themselves.

We meet up again an hour later outside a lecture theatre. Only one of my classmates is there so I figure this is a great opportunity. It is and we quickly become friends. Class reconveens I go the rest of the way without talking to anyone. It's at this stage, as I learn more and more about the course, that maybe it's not the right thing for me. So with this in mind, and my severe lack of friends here, I'm seriously considering droping out of the course. The co-ordinator mentions that we can pull outuntil the 31st of March, after this time we have to pay all the fees if we pull out.

So here I am, ranting and raving (I really sound like a whinger from these blogs lol). After talking to some friends earlier tonight I've decided I'll at least go and do this course for a while and make my decision further down the road. Here's hoping it's better then I'm currently expecting.

Again, the title says it all really.

Gave her the tablets and stuff last night and today she's as good as new.

Consider me relieved. And again, to all the people who said stuff, thanks.

Well, the title explains it all really. She's an 11-year old Golden Retriever

Around 2 weeks ago, I woke up, gave my dog (Ellie) her food and she wouldn't eat it. She just sat there staring at me. I left it for a while as she was still drinking so I figured she just wasn't hungry. That evening she still hadn't eaten. We booked her in for the vet the next day.

I wake up and she wolfs down her food. The appointment is cancelled and we go on living our lives.

Yesterday, the same thing happens. I figure it's the same as before and leave her. By the end of the day she isn't moving like she normally does and seems very lathargic. She's booked in for the vet and I put her to bed where she just stares at her dog biscuit she gets before going to bed.

This continues today where she's not eating. The appointment isn't until the afternoon and I'm home all day. She just lies around, looking disheartened. By now she's lacking the energy she normally has.

We take her to the vet and she (the vet) finds some blood in her urine. She injects Elie with some antibiotics and gives us some tablets and other stuff we're meant to give her from tomorrow. She suggests trying to feed her some rice and steamed vegetables.

We arrive home and I make the food for her. She sniffs it out but won't eat any of it. I put her to bed and now I'm waiting for tomorrow when I can give her some of the medicine.

I went through a very similar thing with my cat last June, she was a few years older and we had to have her put down. I'm hoping it's not the same with Ellie.

To those who read this I thankyou, I just had to let this out somewhere.

As none of you will know, As I've never mentioned it on here, today was the day I had to go to RMIT University in Melbourne to enrol in my class for this year. My dad decided to come along for the ride.

I arrive at the train station, get tickets, board the train, listen to my iPod for an hour while my dad tries to sleep but learns he can't do this on a moving train (which is fair enough). The train, which was meant to stop via Melbourne Central Station, fails to do so and we end up at Flinders Street station, which isn't so bad as it's just one street to walk down to my Uni, but it's a long one. This is when the heat kicks in.

Foolishly I brought a jumper/jacket thing with me which I quickly stow away in my backpack. It's about an hour until I'm meant to be there so my dad and I decide to stop off at a bakery for lunch, this was great as the place was air-conditioned and the food was good. We continue on our merry way and we pass the EB on Swanston (Swanson?) Street, the one that has the Nintendo Experience. I make a mental note about coming back here on the way home.

We arrive 15 minutes early so we wait in the lobby for a bit. There are other people in my class there. Cue the most uncomfortable silence ever. It's at this point that I should mention I'm doing an IT course. My class consists of the stereotypical IT guy (I'm not having a go, I'm exactly like them lol): Silent, in their own world, keeps to themself.

We're all called into the computer lab to do the enrolment proper. My dad decides to tag along (which is fair enough as I have vision problems and he's just there to double check what I'm putting in as details, etc). So, after the teachers introduce themselves, we begin going through the enrolment process. This is simple enough, ecept my dad clicks on the wrong thing and we have to start the whole process again. Now I love my dad, but he is somewhat computer illiterate lol.

So that's all done and dusted and he decides to do some shopping. We agree to meet back at Flinders Street in an hour and I make my way back to the EB. The Nintendo Experience is a lot nicer then I was expecting, a wonderful layout, very clean. This can be said for the whole store, it's rather large compared to your typical EB. Unfortunately they have no copies of Valkyria Chronicles (a sub reason for me visiting).

I being to look for the HMV store that I swear is on Burke Street but it's nowhere to be found. I walk up both sides of the street but to no avail. I go to Myer's Basement and find a copy of Tenacious D: The Complete Master Works 2 which I quickly buy.

It's now time to go to the station, of course, me being me, I manage to get lost in the city. After 20 minutes of wandering in the heat I find the station. We go in, the train pulls up followed by an announcement "This train is not picking up any passengers". Our train arrives 10 minutes later and we board. I turn on my iPod and enjoy a pleasantly cool ride home.

Congratulations to anyone that read all that