Showing off

Bedouin Soundclash @ NXNE SXSW BBQ from NOW Magazine on Vimeo.

Just found this on the net, not that I was googling or anything.. This is Bedouin Soundclash at SXSW in Austin Texas, scarcely two weeks after we saw them in Melbourne and hung out with them over the two nights. See the trumpet player? Cute no? Heh. I'll leave it at that ;)

I can't wait to see what happens next

I am so tired that I had to put down my newest edition of Delicious because I was literally falling asleep while turning the pages. The tiredness comes as a result of a change of pace in my work life where I've gone from working between 12 and 20 hours a week at Ikea to somewhere around 35-40 this week. The reason for this is that I've started working in the lighting department as well as on cashline, and when we get the new self-serve express checkouts I'll also be helping to supervise them. This is all such a "so what?" thing to most people I know, but in my jobs I've always cruised along, laying low and just getting the job done.

For me to actually stand up and make the effort to apply for new positions and learn a new department is a huge thing for me. I've always turned down supervisor positions in my previous jobs because I didn't want to complicate the job for myself. It also takes me up a rung in the Ikea hierarchy where being a check-out chick was really the bottom rung. Suddenly I'm trusted with a work phone and I get to use the computers in management, it's all very exciting for me!

I guess the underlying reason for all of this is not only to earn extra money by monopolising over two departments, but also to challenge myself and force myself to continue learning while I'm waiting to go over to Japan. Oh yes that plan is still very much there. In fact tomorrow I might even call up and enquire about that TEFL course so I can finally get the plans in motion. I'm excited to be making plans and taking chances and pushing myself, for such a long time I have just 'settled' for everything in my life. Other than moving to Melbourne I don't think I've really done anything that amazing in my life, so this is my chance to shake things up! Keep pushing me people, I think I'll need a nudge every now and then when I hesitate and lean towards the familiar rather than the unknown.

My title and the inspiration for this post comes from a post by Orangette which made me think about the wonderful things that I've been planning :)

Oh and I graduated, finally! Check out me and my bro being tools before the ceremony:

Big Decisions

My new friends, Bedouin Soundclash (should I mention the free ticket to Soundwave?)

It's been a long time between cups of tea (metaphorically of course) and I'm really sorry for that. It's not like nothing interesting has happened to me, I hung out with a band for two days and turned 22, I just haven't been able to find the words to describe it all. The bushfires silenced me and since then I've been trying to reassess and re-evaluate the things that are most important to me as a person (as if I don't do enough of that already). I'm trying to spend less time worrying about the superficial crap that usually fills my mind and get to the real root of my happiness (or unhappiness).

I really want to thank everyone who took the time to comment on my last post, I really appreciate that other people would admit to feeling the same way that I so often do. I love that there are so many like-minded people in the blogworld and that it is so much easier to connect with people like myself through the internet. I still have a yearning to search for 'my people' in the real world though, and I've decided that the first step towards this is to immerse myself in a completely new and foreign culture. Like Japan. The connection isn't obvious, I know, but the idea is to take myself out of my comfort zone and try something totally and completely different and see how it affects me and how I grow as a result of it. Once I truly know myself, then I can find people who get me. Does that make sense?

So the idea is to teach English in Japan for one year and if I really enjoy teaching then I can always come home and do a Dip Ed to become a fully qualified teacher. As always I'm full of big dreams and no action, so my next step is to book the Teaching English as a Foreign Language course and get myself a job placement. It's a big, scary, insane step, but I really feel like it's something I have to do. Hopefully putting this plan out there on the big wide web will hold me somewhat accountable, don't let me talk myself out it!