Some new developments.

So. Awesome people.

For a little while now, I've been looking for a job. Partly because I want a job that I'm a bit better at/am more happy with than my current job (not that I don't like the job, but it is a bit of a downer when you know you're the worst one at it); partly so I could actually save up some money to get my own place sometime soonish; and partly because my uni degree was finishing up, so something a trifle more regular would be cool.

The main problems were that I had a) basically no experience; and b) basically no qualifications. I mean, I've done stuff, and I've learned stuff, but not really relevant stuff to jobs, in the main. So when I see a job, and I think, "Oh, that one looks good!" I click on it and see - requires 5 years of relevant experience and a degree in whatsisname. Twas a bit annoying.

But.

Then I managed to chance across this other one. It was a two year trainee position, that gave you Cert III/IV in Outdoor Recreation. With a company that did treks and such. I looked them up, and discovered that the guy who founded and ran the company had actually worked at my old high school. (Among other things, he ran the Chess Club while he was there. Twas good.) So that was interesting.

So I got in touch with him, asked him a few questions about the position, went back and forth a couple of times. Eventually sent him along my resume. A bit later - early this month, I think - he rang me up and asked me to come in for an interview. I'd actually only just woken up, so that was somewhat interesting. Thankfully, I'm a bit of a morning person, I can wake up in a snap if I need to. So I went to the interview.

It was at a place about half an hour away from where I live, and a nice scenic drive. The place it was was essentially a warehouse/shed type shenanigan, with an office rigged up the top. He and his office-person (can't remember her name) did the interview, and it went pretty well. I've had a total of two interviews before this one; one lasted less than a minute and only had a couple of questions, the other was pretty laidback. And, to be honest, this one was too, to a degree. Not in the sense that they weren't taking it seriously, but in the sense that they didn't try and make it too business-like. They were quite relatable, which was good. I fuddled round a bit (apparently, spellcheck accepts fuddled, but not relatable; I think there is a problem here), but I tried to be honest. True, I probably focussed on some things more than others; but not in such a way that would say I was someone that I wasn't. And, in a couple of places, I did say that I wasn't too great at something.

But I think it went pretty well. I went out of there feeling quite positive, and went over to Common Grounds Cafe for morning tea. (Had a macadamia and apple slice/cake type thing, was delicious!)

And then, last Friday, I get another call, offering me a job.

:D

I think you can guess as to my response.

I was a bit hyper after that. I recall possibly jumping around a bit. Or, at least, being quite bouncy.

It's a full time job, five days a week. I start on January the 22nd, and it's with these guys here: http://www.boomerangadventures.com.au/ And it's going to be awesome :D

Oh, and God seems to like changing things round a bit, just when you get used to them. After all, if you get too comfy, you're not really learning, are you? :)

Thoughts on friends.

I've been spending a bit of today just watching Dr Who. Because there was a lot of episodes on TV, so was just watching them one after the other. Then lunch interrupted it, though, which meant that when I got back, it was in the middle of an episode. No good coming in in the middle of an episode, particularly for drama type stuff. So I just wandered around. There wasn't much else around to do, so my mind started to do what it likes to do when I'm not doing much. It started drifting. Off to things that get me somewhat depressed.

As such, I thought I'd come on here and chat to a friend of mine, who's generally pretty good to chat to for this sort of thing, even just to keep me distracted. But they weren't on, which was a bit annoying. What they had done, however, was put up a few posts since I'd been on last. So I went and read those. And I was interested to note that they basically had the same effect - well, not exactly the same - but they cheered me up, and distracted me a bit.

I suppose that made me think that that's, perhaps, a good way of telling how well you relate to someone - if they can cheer you up even by the breadcrumbs they leave behind - maybe not even ones specifically for you - then actually interacting with them must be pretty darn good. Just a thought.

All the best for all the rest.

Sorry I haven't posted up recently. Been busy here in Perth. In Perth, actually, it's not Christmas Day yet.

I'm sitting outside, there's a nice cool breeze blowing; I've got a great view of the city, the river, the sky. The latter is quite spectacular at the moment, actually.

I'm aware that some of you may not be having Christmasses as nice as mine. Perhaps your family don't get along, or you don't get along with them. Perhaps a sadness of late still hangs over you. Perhaps you don't have Christmas.

But whatever the case; I pray that you, and those around you, will have the best of times; both now, and ongoing.

Have a good one. :)

The Search For Happiness.

Sorry I didn't get this post up sooner, guys; I was away for one week, and then this past week I've had various things happening - actually had an interview for a job, and will be let know shortly if that works out! :D So that's pretty cool. And it's sounding like a really nice job as well. But more info on that soon, hopefully. Back to what this post is actually about.

Happiness is a great thing to have. It can, however, be somewhat difficult to keep at times; remaining optimistic through troubled times is tricky at best. And happiness can come from so many different places, for so many different people: sometimes its in circumstances, in actions, in people, in objects, in places - it can be so varied that its a bit hard to pin down. That's not necessarily a bad thing, of course; sometimes things need to be like that, and if we try to pin them down, they lose a lot of what makes them so amazing.

If you see happiness as the most important thing, you can take a couple of different approaches; you can try to chase after it, or let it come to you. I'll elaborate a bit on them both.

People, generally speaking, are pretty aware of what things make them happy. If they think being happy is important, often they'll simply doing it by having a lot of those things; whether that means doing the same thing many times, having large amounts of something, being around a particular person a lot, going to a place frequently - there are different individualities and specifities, but essentially, they're the same. Seeking out, chasing after happiness.
And the problem with that approach is that, after you start doing the same thing, or having the same thing, quite often - it begins to grow a bit more tedious. That's just the nature of us as people - we like new things, something original and different. Perhaps if that in itself is what gives you happiness, you might do a bit better; but even then, I think it wouldn't last. It wouldn't be able to keep you through the tough times. That's the problem with this sort of happiness; you instigate it, so if you can't do that, it fails very quickly.

But what if you don't do that?

Well, you can do something a bit different. Instead of searching for happiness, you let it come to you. It's other-centred, rather than self-centred. In serving, helping and loving others, they will often do the same back to you; and in this, a greater happiness can be found than any that could by searching for it yourself.

So, in summary; happiness is fantastic, as long as you aren't going about it the wrong way.

I am heading off to Perth this Tuesday afternoon; I may be able to get up my next post before then, but if not, the last two in this series I'll do over there.

The Strength of Self.

We live in a very individualistic society. Well, that's assuming that you people reading this come from a Western background. But even if you don't, those ideas are spreading and filtering more into the Eastern, and other more group-oriented societies.

As such, a heck of a lot of importance is placed upon the individual. Their freedom; their rights; their independence. It's this last one that has been highlighted in this instance.

Independence is an interesting idea. The word is quite simple; the "in-" prefix, usually rendering the opposite meaning of something, or not-something; and then "dependence", or the degree to which one relies upon others for basic needs and supplies. So, essentially, it's saying that you don't rely on other people for anything.

Now, in a lot of ways, that's a great thing to have. Being a teenager, living at home, barely scraping enough to get through the week - it feels good when I can pay for things by myself. When I can do my own work, that sort of thing. And independence is a good thing to develop, so that you're not being demanding of other people, and just draining them rather than contributing yourself.

However, that can be taken to a bit of an extreme. You can get the idea that you need to do everything completely by yourself; that asking for any help is weak, and that friends are just for those who can't fend for themselves. News Flash: Nobody can, all the time. Some people can do so more than others, true. But we all have spots where we need help. A hand to lift us up.

It seems to be a popular idea - well, I shouldn't use that word. That would suggest that people like it. Common, that works better.

It seems to be a common idea that people are always alone. No matter how many are near them, how many friends they have, they are always alone.

Two things to say to that.
Firstly, God's always there, so nobody is ever alone. Yes, he's always watching, whatever you happening to be doing at the time. And people get worried about Big Brother... Thankfully, he's not Zeus. Otherwise we'd all be shocking human crispies by now.
Secondly, if you're not into the whole "God" thing - then, even when nobody is physically there with you; they're still with you in your mind.  You have a connection, that means that even if they are gone, they can still be with you. I know that I'm never alone, and I won't be dying alone; even if there's no one there. Actually, I'm glad they aren't all there, because you'd need a cathedral or two to fit them all. Maybe a small football field. Football, not soccer. :P

So, to sum up. Individual independence is good, but don't get obsessed over it.

Double Decade.

Today, I turned twenty.

That's pretty cool.

Was going to write something deep and meaningful and such, but hey, that'll do nicely.

;)

Words of Wisdom.

Before we take a look into the various benefits of wisdom, let's first attempt to define it. One simple way I've seen it is explained is something like this: Knowledge x Experience = Wisdom. General rule of thumb. Seems to work fairly well. Doesn't mean that if you're young, you automatically have no wisdom, and if you're old, you automatically have heaps. It's experience, not time.

The longing after wisdom has been a long-time goal of man; often because wisdom brings with it many people seeking your counsel, and often also a high position within society. Recognition and status; they are usually what has been sought after, much more than the wisdom in itself. All too often, it has been only a means to an end.

However, not always; history tells us of some wise men who were ridiculed or hated by society. Plato, of course, is the best example here; he even described himself as the stinging gnat on the backside of the horse of Athens.

Wisdom, it would seem, however, changes significantly with the times. Things that were called wise by Plato may well not be called as such today - and quite certainly vice versa. For example, phrases like "Greed is good," or "The more you have, the happier you'll be," or even "Look out for no. 1 - yourself!" are all coined by a consumerist market. They're not words of wisdom, they're selling points. Though, for all we know, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," could originally have come from a fruit seller. So perhaps wisdom in itself doesn't change - but what is called wise may.

As such, if you do put wisdom as your most important object, or goal; make sure it is not simply worldly wisdom, or wisdom that is created by men who are trying to create some increased cash flow to their pockets. Find true wisdom. That is a worthy goal.

Matters of some importance.

I'm using this post for two different things, to kill the proverbial double avians with the singular geological formation.

Firstly, had a couple of things happen lately in regards to music. Someone's gotten in touch with me about writing some score for a short film; someone else has gotten in touch with me about doing some music together, with YouTubes in mind; and then there's the possibility that one of my projects for uni could have a bit of further application. Which is cool. Takes up more of my time without really adding to the bank balance, true, but hopefully they'll lead to other opportunities, which will lead to more, etc. Snowballing is the idea. But we'll see how that goes.

Also, going to do a little mini-series, similar to one I did towards the end of last year, again based on different people's responses to a question. The question, in this instance, is asking what idea or quality they consider to be most important to them. In that itself, of course, different people will interpret it differently - primarily in what they consider "important" to mean in this context. Some will take it to mean that which is most basic; that which is primary (that is, without it, other things do not work); that which is central; that which is concentrated upon, or given attention to - many different meanings can be taken.

I got a few more answers than last time. Because of the nature of the question, in this case, there's not so much a 'right' answer; I might agree with some more than others, but I can't really present my view as being more 'right'. As such, here are some of the answers I received: wisdom; individual independence; trust; quidditch (There's a troll! Troll, in the dungeon! :P); integrity; honesty; and happiness. (Trust and happiness were both suggested by the one person, but I'm separating them here for now.) I'm not planning to do a post on Quidditch, interesting as I'm sure that would be. Honesty, trust and integrity are quite linked together, so I might actually tackle them in the one post. The rest I'll do as well. So that'll make four posts, plus I'll do one at the end on my answer. If you saw my final answer from my last mini-series, you'll probably be able to guess the lines along which this one will be as well.

Multi-faceted.

I've mentioned before that I'm quite complex; there's a lot to my personality. Sometimes it feels a bit like the Yu-Gi-Oh! episode where his two personalities are shown as two realms - one like a child's bedroom, the other an Escherian realm of sorts.

But I had the idea, at one point, of writing a book which had a short story based around each aspect of my personality; each route I could take. I came up with 31 different options that were completely viable and unique, straight off the top of my head. I'm already thinking of more. And each of them, really, could be a book in themselves. A million possible futures.

Of course, if you believe the 'many worlds' theory, then all of them will occur in different tangential timestreams or some such. Every single possibility accounted for. So, in some possible world out there, maybe I'd even be married by now. I've got some friends that are, or that got married when they were younger than I am now. So if that theory's right, then there'd be a few of those.

It's an interesting idea. But not one I plan to pursue. I like to live in what actually is, not in a million and one "what if?"s. Otherwise, I'd never make it through the day. The possibilities and opportunities in this world, and what I have, are already enough to swamp me many times over. God is good!

Birds of a feather.

There are two sayings that go around, that seem to be almost contrary to each other: "birds of a feather flock together," and "opposites attract,". One seems to be saying that relationships are based on commonalities, while the other seems to suggest that people who are very different find themselves drawn together.

According to a lecture I had in first year psychology, the former is true of long-lasting relationships; the latter more of short, more spontaneous ones. That doesn't mean that you have to be similar to have a relationship with someone else; it just helps sometimes.

But imagine if there was no-one like you. In the world, you were completely unique, in at least something; you couldn't relate to anyone else about it, because it was just you. Then, you'd feel alone. And we're social creatures. Some people try to fight that, but it's innate. We're designed to be together, not apart. Not by ourselves. Interdependent, not independent.

Just a thought I had. Which actually gives me an idea for a next post, or perhaps a mini-series...we'll see what happens.