It's all over.. almost

Well I've had a pretty up-and-down week. I have had 5 SACs this week and with being sick and having various errands to run it was pretty darn stressful. But I'm happy to report that I came out alive. According to my diary the last week is the most stressful week I'll have this year. All of us were crazily stressed - one of my friends even wanted to eat a stick.
Last Monday when my Specialist Maths teacher was dropping me home she told me the amount of rain that was recorded for Victoria's May - a measly 3mm, 47mm below the May's monthly average. This is definitely a true indication of drought. In fact, if you look up at the sky on a clear day you will notice that the air is tinged red or orange. The orange you see are dust particles from the ground that are collected from wind. This only happens because the ground is cracked and dry.
Anyway, last Thursday, I went to the city after school to look for a birthday present for mum, have lunch with dad and meet up with Amee. Do you know what happened? The heavens opened up. Umbrellas served a purpose for once - they were no longer dust collectors or decorative ornaments for they had their 15 minutes of fame on Melbourne's streets.
I wish it would rain more. The sounds of rain pitter-pattering on a rooftop will relax any 5-SAC week.

Pseudo-emergency!

So, I'm about to head off to the doctor's. Too bad it wasn't an emergency.

Bad shoes, bad hats

Today was a day full of attempting to shop. No shopping was actually done. It definitely was fun. During our adventure we came across some curiosities and pure ugliness. A picture says a thousand words, so three pictures might say three thousand? You decide.

I have a busy week ahead of me so my blog posts won't have much content. It would be nice if you guys stay tuned, ja? :)

Bleeding zits and linguistics

Lets start off with an MSN conversation I was having with a good friend during the wee hours of the morning. It is pretty much how my day started.

Sure, it sounds disgusting, but it was absolutely hilarious for the both of us. It made me wonder how much of an influence tone has on language. When I think 'tonal language' I think of Chinese. Incorrect tones could change the entire meaning of the sentence. For example: 

• 可口可乐 (kěkǒukělè) - Coca Cola
  
• 克扣可叻 (Kèkòu kě lè) - Deductions can be smart
  

I cannot vouch for the translation for the second one, even if it was done by the almighty Google, but it gets to the point. Of course the Chinese have different tones for different characters but if you slip up a couple of tones, correct interpretation can be difficult. Also, it's not like chinese characters come out of your mouth when you attempt to speak chinese, just like what happens in comics, just for the sake of being understood properly.

Then again, written language can also be questionable. I'll leave you with this one. :)

Critical Error!

To those of you who could not comment my blog, try now. I have fixed the settings so it will WORK. :D

Edit: Credits to Norman after he threatened me with a flaming pikachu. ;)

Coffee and donuts

My day started off pretty depressing. My first look outside revealed a cold and foggy day. Driving to school revealed morning traffic and a 30 minute late start to my first class. You'd be insane to think that my day could get better.

I should be admitted to a mental hospital. The start of my day may have sounded bleak but it surprisingly picked up towards the end. But it only picked up once I had coffee and donuts.

The said consumed products made me feel; like a stereotyped police officer and; appreciatively content with my day. As an upcoming university student I'm starting to realise I'll be spending more money on coffee than I would on petrol. But no matter how much I spend on coffee my body knows that caffeine is a god-send. My constant need for caffeine has earned me a reputation at my local Gloria Jean's - they all know that Randolf orders a large caramel latte.

I guess the lovely staff at Gloria Jean's know how to save me a breath or two.

Philanthropic miscellaneousness

I know that the name looks and sounds confusing, perhaps totally random. You will, however, understand the reference to 'Telescopic Philanthropy' if you are unfortunate enough to have read Bleak House. Basically, the chapter expresses Charles Dickens' disdain towards 'bad philanthropy' through a character named Mrs. Jellyby, a mother who neglects to prioritise efficiently; raising charity for the people of Borrioboola-Gha is clearly more important than family. Mrs. Jellyby wishes for other people to donate to the cause, not paying a penny from her own piggy bank, but insinuates that she wishes to be recognised in her community. She spends most of her time looking after the Borrioboola-Gha tribes-people than she does looking after her family.

Charitable donations have increased exponentially since the 1980s and is continuing to grow at an unprecedented rate. The shift of intergenerational wealth is, perhaps coincidentally, equally unprecendented. As someone who does not earn half as much as an ordinary other, it is still understandable as to why the community would wish to donate for causes, no matter how heavily institutionalised these causes are. However, it was only until recently, after Dickens shined the light in the right direction, I have realised what philanthropy is.

Although Dickens wrote Bleak House over 150 years ago he has succesfully prophesied issues that skew the true meaning of philanthropy. Angelina Jolie and her wish for a rainbow family is one instance where 'bad philanthropy' is being practiced. Yes, she has good intentions by 'rescuing' these children but does she also have an ulterior motive? Perhaps I am being presumptuous, but it irks me to hear about her newest adoption. What's next, adopting a martian baby found by the newest NASA mission? She differs from Mrs. Jellyby in terms of family but whether or not Angelina Jolie wishes to extend her recognition on the world stage is questionable.

Perhaps if she adopted me then I'll be happy to edit this blog post and say otherwise.

Flargh

It has been 2 hours of frustration. Who would have thought that creating a blog for the first time would be even more confusing than Facebook. Time to dust away the cobwebs around my HTML knowledge - Randy will be practicing for blogspot!

Thanks to Norman for his wisdom and photoshop 'talents' shown above!

Purple monkey dishwashers

Hello world of virtual reality and realistic virtualism. So, I'm new to blogging. I'm sad to say that the creation of my blog was out of impulse - a poor excuse for a new procrastination tool. The idea of a blog has always appealed to me even if the material conception was only 10 minutes ago.

I'll be sure to update if anyone bothers to follow!