Getting there

I've written more to my novel. It's technically day 41 and I have an accumulated a word count of 54,497. The thing is - I don't want to rush an ending just so I have something to take out to my brothers for x-mas. He's keen to read it along with a few other people I'm happy to show it to. But I don't want to share a piece of work that has a nice pace to it, only to have it rushed and kinda 'thrown' together ending.

My mum asked me today (I'm currently at her place for the weekend) if I'd finished the story. I told her no, she asked how much longer did I think it would take, and I said I wasn't sure, maybe a few more weeks seeing as Christmas is coming. She seemed disappointed that I'd not have it finished in time to get out to see my brother for x-mas. I told her it wouldn't matter he'd not have time to read it anyway! So I'd rather wait and finish it the way I want too, than rush it and have a wad of paper that I might be able to physically hand to my brother, but with all the stuff going on surrounding x-mas and new year he won't have time to pick it up and read it. I'd rather wait and post it out to him say at the end of January.

This brings me to books. Most people read books, but I want to know if others are like me and have a few books on the go at one time, or if they just settle in on one and read it from cover to cover and move on? The reason why I have a few different books on the go is that I look at them kinda like a TV series, in that you get bits of it at a time, before waiting a week to get more. I'm like that with chapters. I might read four chapters of one book, then not pick that book up for another week, but in between I've read a chapter or two from another book, and so on. I generally have two to three on the go.

Which brings me to this question. Is that just me? or are there others out there that do that? The ONLY person I know who does this is a friend of my fathers who has books for certain places. He has a book in the kitchen he reads while he eats, one in bed, and one in the car which travels with him should he go to a doctors appointment or something, but always remains in the car for a time filler. So when people ask me 'what are you reading?' and I'll generally name two books, they always look at me in a confused way and always say - How are you reading two books at once? I sometimes think in their minds they see me holding up two books and reading them simultaneously! Some people are a little special I guess.

Anyway I'll leave you to ponder your reading routine. I look forward to your responses.

That's all I've got.

Post # 24 Techno Purchase

I bought an Ipod Touch 8Gig today :) It was sooo shiny out of the box, now it's shiny and smudged with my fingerprints all over it :P I'll have to look at getting a little cover thing for it. But I worked out how to get the IP address of the Ipod so I could add the address to my secure wireless network, and now I can surf the net get the news etc all in the palm of my hand. My brother has an Iphone which he raves about - I can't afford a plan to get an Iphone so my old Nokia is plugging through. But I'm really happy with my purchase. I had an Ipod Nanno when they first came out back in 2005 and I had endless trouble with it, however *touch wood* this new generation will prevent any issues with it. Well I hope it will at least.

I got a lot of reading done for Uni today. I didn't turn my PC on until after 2pm, as I found that if I try to study with my PC right there I get pulled into it's gravity field of procrastination and I end up on youtube or various other websites that have nothing to do with the unit material I need to read to pass this degree. So I've decided that I'm going to spend the mornings up until lunch reading, and then the afternoons typing up the stuff I need to type up (essay's etc) then in the evenings I'm free to do whatever I want online - Youtube Twitter etc and not feel as though I'm being a pitiful student.

My drive to the next town this afternoon was an 'experience' I live in the boonies and so I need to drive about 30mins to the next town that has real stores, like the one I bought my Ipod from. However on the way I was caught up in the middle of a high-speed pursuit between a 'civilian' and a 'police' car - it was all very exciting and the police officers finally caught the speeding car. On my way home though a huge truck came around this bend and decided he needed some of the road I was driving on so at 100km/ph I slowed rather quickly and pulled off the road somewhat, so as I didn't become this trucks new hood ornament!

I'm off to watch a movie, it's Friday night - that's a free pass from Uni work in my books.

That's all I've got.

Post # 15 Colour Change

Change is as good as a holiday *Cliché number one* so they say. I'd still like a holiday though. I've gone from the deep depressive black layout for this blog to this new colour template. I'm not sure what I think of it yet, if it's not grown on me by BEDA post #20 I'll change it again.

I'm on here writing this when I should be doing readings for Uni. I am the queen of procrastination, and I'll only have myself to blame when I fall behind, or fail this semester. My heart just dosen't seem to be in it this time round :( Last year was tough, but I really enjoyed it. This year, it just seems, like a chore somehow. Though don't get me wrong - it sure beats the hell out of working 9-5 (With the exception of the money thing!) But money can't buy you happiness *Cliché number two*

It's just gone 12pm here - so I'll get this posted, wander off and see what I can find to eat for lunch, then get into this reading. Properly Which means I'll have to turn my computer off, as it's like a distraction magnet right now. I just spent half an hour checking out all the places I've lived in, in Brisbane on google maps! Talk about time wasting, it was interesting though :)

That's all I've got.

Caution brick wall ahead

I've not only hit the brick wall - its landed me on my unmotivated arse! I just can't get my head into study right now which isn't a good thing as I've got a shit load of stuff to write / hand in / research / insert long list here!

I guess once some of the more 'crap' assignments are out of the way. I might be able to either break through the brick wall, or go over the top of it.

I've *almost* finished Jane Eyre *Thankfully* When you read a book you have no real interest in, it just seems to drag on and on and on! It removes the enjoyment out of reading! I hope the next book we have to read Mrs Dalloway is better than the 401 pages of Jane Eyre, which I hardly remember anything of. I'm off to finish those two remaining chapters!

That's all I've got.

Information Overload

So I'm doing three classes. I was doing four but dropped one. Why I can hear you enquire? Well the amount of reading was the main reason why I dropped a class. Myself and my friend Craig worked out that for each class there are 100 pages of 'course' material to read each week. So 300 pages for three classes. On top of that one class has compulsory 'book' reading. I got through the Tempest this week, though I'm still a little hazy on the details! Jane Eyre is on the list for this week.

I'm struggling to juggle my time to get all the readings done then on top of that participate in the online forums which consists of 'short, sharp and detailed' responses to the readings and also some other 'questions' the tutors feel are relevant to the topic that week.

No answer no participation mark - fail!

I'll get through it, however the information is coming so thick and fast that I can't remember the stuff I've just read not 20min ago. There's going to be a bus on it's way to struggle town in the next 3 months whilst I get this semester out of the way.

Was I under the delusion that Uni was a 'fun' experience?

That's all I've got

Reading

I'm a slow reader. Super slow. I received the list of books for one of my classes yesterday they are as follows:

Jane Eyre
The Tempest
Mrs Dalloway
Wide Sargasso Sea
Flaubert's Parrot

Five books FIVE and that's just one class, not including weekly readings etc. If I start today I 'might' have the books finished by the end of semester. (20 weeks) Not sure I'll have them read in time to write the 5 essays about them all!

Five books which I've never read before. On the up side. At least I can add them to the list of books I've read in my lifetime which isn't that many considering my age!


Semester one 2009 officially kicks off on Monday the 23rd of Feb the day after my birthday. I'll clearly be spending all my 'free' time reading if I'm to ever get through these books.

That's all I've got.