My mum recently got a new phone which is exactly the same as mine – a Samsung Galaxy Ace. Well, mine is on the Froyo build and hers is on Gingerbread, which is a newer Android version. I actually noticed the difference in the user interface as soon as I checked out her phone, but I didn’t really give it much thought. Well, duh, the OS versions are different…
Anyway, that aside, teaching my mum to use a smartphone after having one with a keypad began horridly and only went downhill from there. She keeps getting stuck. I honestly don’t blame her; she sure knows how to use a touchscreen device (she uses a register at work) but I think that she just struggles getting used to one in which you can scroll and zoom and not just tap imaginary flat buttons. Many times I’ve had to teach my parents how to use some new piece of technology (or even less new, like my dad having trouble with most computers that aren’t his) and I feel a bit sorry for them, but I can’t help but become irritated. Of course, born in this new generation, and having a brother four years younger than me but also tech-savvy – having an immediate interaction with new technology is not really surprising.
It isn’t just parents or any “older” person who struggles, though – for I’ve been through the same states of confusion and worry when I’ve had to deal with a new piece of technology. I think my mum must think, “This phone is smarter than me, I wonder what it’ll do next.” Of course she doesn’t think it’ll make the perfect cup of tea, and for heaven’s sake, if she had an iPhone, she’d be asking Siri to make her coffee all the time – but she still remains in that state most of us are in when we encounter a new device, or even an operating system or, heck, a vehicle. On that note of Siri, by the way, our Samsungs also have the ability to understand our voices and print out in text exactly what we are saying.
For my mum, not so much. A garbled line of “the boy and then merry pool” was the phone’s translation to “Brandon is very rude”. I repeated this statement, with an equal amount of jest, to the phone, and it printed exactly, “Brandon is very rude”. It could be due to the fact that my mum has a slight accent, but let me tell you, she was amused by the phone’s interpretation of her words, and I proceeded to amuse her by beatboxing into the microphone, only to have it print “boobs boobs boobs boobs boobs boobs boobs”.
As I was saying, any new device. My boss is used to using a Mac, so of course when he encountered my highly-customised laptop with touchpad turned off, left handed mouse, RocketDock and just insanity everywhere, he got madly confused. Quite similarly, I was too, when I used his iMac and tried to scroll and it kept scrolling the wrong way. But, neither my boss or myself are “old”, and even the elderly will learn if they are keen enough. Somewhere down the line my mum will learn how to use her phone.
Today though, I simply cannot explain how she recharged her phone credit a month ago and claimed that it worked, when today she found that she didn’t have enough phone credit to call or message anyone. I found that she had in fact not charged her phone credit at all, at which point I requested her credit voucher (I used to get so annoyed that she kept those things, but now I’m thinking, thank goodness she did it just this one time) and tried it myself. She must not have done it correctly the first time because this time it actually recharged.
I have to say, she doesn’t seem all that happy with Optus‘ customer service because she was hung up on twice while on the phone. I don’t know – both times, she was in the middle of talking. Her question had been answered, vaguely, and she was just repeating to check… and it was as if the person on the other end was sick of her babbling on or something?
Well, either way, I’m still going to Optus because I like their packages and they can actually give me internet data.
I think this is the fourth year in a row that I’ve blogged on Christmas day. It would have been six, but in 2007, I went overseas to visit family and didn’t have internet access for most of the time there, so I wasn’t able to write a post wishing anyone a good Christmas. My WordPress posts only go as far back as 2009, though.
As usual, I stayed at home. It was quite the tradition to go to a family friend’s house and join in celebrations, but everyone has been rather busy for the past couple of years so no one has held the annual Christmas parties that were “a thing” back when I was in primary school and early high school. Now that most of the children are older, it becomes more of a social gathering where everyone wants to find out what everyone’s sons and daughters are doing and parents have the opportunity to brag about their youngest child doing accelerated geography. I am that proud of Brandon that I am honoured to be his older sister and I feel like it’s worth mentioning how much of a smart cookie he is.
We were chatting to our neighbours (an elderly couple) earlier this evening and they congratulated us on passing milestones in our education. For me, that would be a Bachelor degree, and Brandon, his junior School Certificate. We got into talking about jobs and what we enjoyed doing or studying or were good at, and since we’re both really good with computers (though different sides of the spectrum, I might add, since Brandon is a video and gaming whiz and I’m a web whiz), they said they should call us when they have a problem with their computer. My mum made a point that my brother is on the computer a lot, but he still does well at school – even better than I did at his age, might I add – and I felt the need to throw in the comment that if he was a snack he’d be a cookie with glasses.
My mum really liked her present! I got her a silicone-covered porcelain cup for her coffee and a home journal with tips on how to maintain a lovely home. Unfortunately the cup had a chip in the rim that I didn’t notice, so she wants me to try and get a refund. I don’t have a receipt though – so hopefully I can get it exchanged at least, because she really loves it. She said she was very touched that I got her a gift. As I’ve mentioned in previous Christmas posts, Christmas isn’t much of a thing for our busy family.
I got my dad a huge book of sudoku puzzles. I hope that lasts him the year, haha! My brother was very happy with his $50 credit for arcade games.
I think I’ve spoiled myself enough for Christmas by buying notebooks and things earlier this month, not to mention tickets to shows… so I’m relieved I didn’t get too many gifts. James gave me a lovely bangle and my neighbour gave me a diary. Next week though, my dad is probably going to buy me an LCD monitor for me to use along with my laptop. I have been stuck with a CRT for years, which can damage my laptop if I use it with it. I am hoping to trash my CRT too – the technology is ridiculously old. And I’ll have more space on my desk with a new monitor.
I also wanted to shout out to my awesome friend Dylan – it’s his birthday today. He’s also able to come with me to the Jebediah concert so I’m so thankful for that. I would have hated to go alone, prepared as I was.
I have added two premade layouts called Rose and Dirt, and that completes the Pastel Collection series of seven. I am working on a new series which should be released by next week. I might release one a day – who knows. Seven are in the series too, and they have varying styles and colours. I hope they become really popular so stay tuned.
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas if you do celebrate it, and happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends, and happy holiday season to everyone else. Much love.
Over the past few days following the Bob Evans show – and honestly, I insist on calling him Kevin Mitchell because Bob Evans is just a ridiculous pseudonym that people from America tend to laugh at – I’ve been loving his music even more. Doing the old celebrity stalk is not really a part of my daily routine, but you know there are multiple spam lands scattered across the internet where you can ogle over your favourite celebrities in image and moving picture form.1 I adore his music and I’ve just been immersed in it completely lately, to the point where his band Jebediah have made it to my top artists in Last.fm. You know how I said my mum grounded me from going to Jebediah when I’d won the tickets?
Well, suck it up baby, because I’m going to see them next Thursday. I’ve purchased my ticket already and don’t have a friend to accompany me. I’ve asked a few, and if Seb is unable to go, there’s a good chance I’m going alone. That’ll be a new experience, but the only thing I’m worrying about is getting to the station when it’s rather late. I might have to hail a taxi/cab if I miss the latest buses.
Lilian and I hung out in the city yesterday. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t too pleasant and we actually encountered a lot of rain along the way. It started raining in the morning and that wasn’t a good outlook for the rest of the day. We spent most of the day indoors anyway, browsing the shops. Mostly the cute shops that sold stationery and notebooks. Lilian bought some post-it notes, after some boys from her class thought it would be funny to waste all her post-it notes writing silly things and sticking them everywhere. I thought only fifth-graders did that…
I spent a long time trying to decide which notebooks to get, but we decided to come back in case I spotted notebooks I liked elsewhere. I am quite bad with notebooks, as I sometimes buy very cute ones I look forward to using but eventually deem too cute to use. This time I promise I’ll use the three notebooks I bought. I do look forward to using them and I will use them.
I also managed to buy Christmas presents for my parents. I settled on a home journal with tips and things for my mum, but changed my mind when I found a thermos designed like a paper coffee cup. Unfortunately the bookstore I bought the book from didn’t accept refunds. I might just give it to my mum anyway. I got my dad a huge sudoku puzzle book because he likes those. I just need to wrap the presents. They’re simply hidden under my bed.
We ate at a restaurant called Meeting Point. I’m happy we ate somewhere new because I like eating at new restaurants. That’s another restaurant visited out of 10 – my goal on my 101 in 1001 list is to visit ten new ones. In the past week I’ve also managed to cross off 1) not swearing for a month and 2) having a dinner date with James. Awesome stuff. Lilian and I had the same pork bento box and as usual, we took photos of our food. I know it’s rather pointless to take photos of food as you’re going to eat it anyway, and it’s “just food”, but I love documenting my days.
As per our tradition we got sticker photos in the photo booth and decorated them. The first few times we ever did this, we went crazy with the digital decorations. Now we’ve sort of lost creativity – or maybe it’s just that we think simple is best and we try not to decorate them too much. Hahaha.
Since I didn’t want my family seeing the presents I was carrying, I chose to catch the bus home. It was my only option otherwise. Unfortunately it was not the best option as it was pouring down with rain. I did have an umbrella, but it wasn’t useful. The wind was blowing all the rain in one direction and that was unfortunately towards me. I managed to keep my face from getting wet by holding my umbrella on an angle, but it was not very cool that the rain completely wet my boots and legs. I was wearing tights and my boots were made of leather, but I still got soaked through to the point I felt that horrid squelch in my toes.
Eek.
Everyone knows I’m just talking about Tumblr, right? ↩
Lilian. My best friend. We haven’t seen each other since – I can’t even remember now. I think the last time I saw her was when I visited her university while I had a five-hour break at university. We talk all the time, but we need to hang out some time too.
James. I haven’t seen him since university ended, which really was quite some time ago. It’s long for us – because usually we get by with seeing each other once a week. I’m seeing him tomorrow though. I’m going to the Explosions in the Sky show, which should be amazing. The show is apparently sold out, so I’m glad we got tickets early. James will be picking me up from home and we’ll be going to a train station with parking, then catching a train to the venue. I’ve read many reviews about Explosions in the Sky being the “best concert” some have been to, and the crowd behaved so well that sometimes people forgot they were there. I won’t truly know until I see for myself. I’m excited but a bit nervous at the same time because I’m not quite sure what to expect. All the shows I’ve been to so far have been very different. I guess different is good – but not knowing what to expect always makes me a bit nervous.
My long hair. I was just looking back on my old videos that I recorded, and my hair was so long. It was layered and I had a side fringe, and now it’s so much shorter and I have a straight fringe. I’m keeping the straight fringe for a while, because I absolutely hate how a side fringe grows out. I really want to grow my hair a lot before I decide to get it layered.
Ballet. I just didn’t have the time to keep teaching so I stopped. I reached what I call the better end… which wasn’t the real end of the journey, but it was an end for me. A qualified student teacher, I’m really happy with how far I went with that. I’ve participated in so many activities from my childhood up until now, and I’ve never really fully mastered any of them except ballet. I loved ballet so much that I chose to continue it even though I stopped my other dance styles, and even though I took a break from ballet, I went back. I remember crying before I went back because I realised how much it meant to me. I miss it now simply because I haven’t had the time to dance even for fun, my pointe shoes don’t fit so well anymore, and I’ve lost a lot of the strength I had in my muscles. I still have a dancer’s legs, but I cramp a bit more easily and I need to regain the strength in my calves.
Sushi. I haven’t had it in a while, and I just miss it so much. Since my appetite has been a bit of a mess since I started taking antidepressants, I’ve only been eating fruit and small meals of pasta and vegetables. I feel like eating really light stuff a lot of the time.
The bloggers that stopped blogging. Gillian, Swetlana, Kat, just to name a few. The blogging world isn’t what it was before. A lot of the people I know stopped blogging or disappeared. Every now and then I remember them and how fun it was having them around. Now I only see them on Twitter, or they’ve just disappeared.
The patience to do pixel art. I honestly don’t know how I had the patience. I did a lot of this back in 2006, and though I wasn’t that good, I eventually improved. But pixel art took so long; it took up so much of my time. A lot of people were so much better than me, their pixels were perfect to every detail. I admired those people very much but I soon moved into designing more textured layouts with brushes… and I was much better at scribbling and drawing and doodling. I deleted the pixels page from my website today without any regrets. I would love to try my hand at pixelling again, but I honestly do think I’ve lost the patience.
My two dogs. I didn’t own them for a long time, but I loved them so much. As a family, we were just far too busy and returned the dogs to the original owner – a family friend – who gave them loving new homes.
Indonesia. (Just a little bit.) It shocks me that I’m writing this, but even though I claim to hate the country in which my parents were born, I sometimes like a fair bit about it. I hated people making sexual comments about me in the street, and I hated the toilets and the smell and the pollution and the traffic, but I miss the food stalls, especially the bakso soup (meatballs) and the noodles, and I miss just glancing in the shops even if I didn’t want to buy anything. I also miss my cousins and the routine of waking up early and… I don’t know how to word the rest.
Work. I know I worked just yesterday, but I miss it.
I have often cried from happiness, which I understand that not many people can do, or have experienced. I’ve had a couple of people find it strange and wonder how it feels, and I find it exceptionally hard to describe. I’m sure most people know what it’s like when you cry of sadness, so here is my attempt at writing about it in comparison.
It feels so, so overwhelming. I’ve never been drunk, but perhaps there could be some kind of connection with the feelings experienced. It feels overwhelming to the point where I can’t really breathe or feel anything and I can’t move. I sort of lose control of my body. Every time this has happened I’ve actually been alone, so I haven’t had the feeling of someone patting my back and making me feel “better” – or in this case, since I’m “happy crying”, just sort of calm me down.
I don’t make a sound when I cry of happiness, which I think is what happens in most cases. When I hear men on the radio propose to their girlfriends, there is often silence from their end as the radio host exclaims, “She’s crying! You’re shocked, are you alright?” That silence is there, alright. I don’t remember the first time I cried of happiness but it was a couple of years ago. I had known that when crying from sadness, often you can sob, or wail, but when you cry of happiness you don’t really make a sound. At least – I haven’t, but I’m sure it’ll be the same for other people.
If you’ve ever watched a musician on stage thank their fans so much for their support, and talk about how much writing music means to them (or something along those lines) and you feel so touched that you get teary… I suppose “happy crying” is a bit like that, but to a greater degree. You don’t feel an ounce of sadness at all. The same way scenes in movies tug at your heartstrings and make you go “aww”, I suppose crying of happiness is the greater form of that.
Either way, happy crying has become part of my mood swings recently, and it frustrates me because this happens immediately after I get upset. I attempt to cheer myself up and by thinking of things that make me happy immediately after getting upset, I suppose it’s a bit like a shock to my nerves and emotions.
I suppose many people also wonder what makes me have these kinds of emotions. It’s just – it’s the little things. Doing well in something. Appreciating my family and friends. I don’t have many friends, and I appreciate them all, and I will take great care to list my close friends: James, Lilian, Seb, Mike, Dylan, Fern, Johnny, Rachel, Ryan – but in all honesty, I can’t list every single person I appreciate, yet those are some I have had some amazing times with and when I’m down, I just think about those times and they put a smile on my face.
Next week I am going to the hospital for some testing. I volunteered to take part in a depression study. I really want to be a part of something that can help people with the same problem that I have. I actually hope I won’t get put on medication because after some thought, I know I don’t like depending on medication, and knowing that I’ve gotten through a lot of things on my own or with other people’s support, I think I can go on doing it. Maybe I can talk to my study doctor about it on the day.
I also have a job interview on Friday, for a web design company. If I’m not successful in getting a job they may offer me an internship, which I believe will still be beneficial to sharpen my skills.
Also, I still haven’t received my tickets to see Australian rock band Jebediah yet. The guy who was supposed to get in touch with me never did, so the competition coordinator had to email someone else. I hope that she replies soon so I know when I can pick up tickets and such. The show is on Saturday.
Today is Wednesday – the day I had university in the evenings all of this semester. This evening I thought I had forgotten to go to university when I realised that it was all over. Am I sad? I don’t know. All I know is that I’ll miss people, like I always do.
He’s also able to come with me to the Jebediah concert so I’m so thankful for that. I would have hated to go alone, prepared as I was. 
All I know is that I’ll miss people, like I always do.