748 TV Screens!

Before I get into this post I reckon you're all dying to know how I went on my mid-semester test last night, so I thought I'd end the torment of uncertainty that you're all no doubt experiencing! It was one of those tests where it was hard to gauge how well you did. So I pretty much have no idea whether I did shockingly bad, incredibly good or somewhere in the middle. To the people who sent me good luck messages thank you!! It was really cool of you to think of me like that. I'll most likely post my result on here when I get it (about a week or two I'm guessing) to satisfy those who are curious about how I went.

Finished uni at 12.00 today and ended up heading into the city. Now, I dont go to the city all that much besides going to the football every now and then so I was kind of wide-eyed like a little kid at some of the things I saw. Revolving doors were one such thing that amused me, except I didnt get to walk around and around in them like you see people do in cartoons and stuff... Guess theres always another time! Appropriately, to suit my somewhat childish behaviour, I bought myself an ice cream. (City ice cream is not too bad! It gets... 4 Dale Cones out of 5. I eat a lot of ice cream so I think I'm allowed to give ratings.)

Now, the important topic TV! We found ourselves at the TV50 exhibition at Fed Square, which is celebrating 50 years of TV in Australia. It's pretty damn cool! It's actually an interesting exhibition, and yeah, I'm not an exhibition person at all, so that says something. Anyway, when you walk in down on the bottom level you wont believe your eyes - there is a wall that stretches on and on with literally hundreds of TV screens on it. 748 in total we were told by some helpful information person, who had clearly been asked that question too many times. There was also a lot of interactive stuff, and things like the $200,000 Deal or No Deal briefcase, the baby doll with no eyes from that old show Lift Off, etc etc. There were also these little booth-like things where you could watch some (slightly bizarre but often humorous) student films. I highly recommend people stop by if they get the chance. Especially if you love TV as much as I do. Yep, I am prone to the occasional TV hug; we have a new flashy big LCD one, which is harder to hug properly, but way cool!

Two more interesting things about Fed Square:
1. Most people may already know this but theres a humungous screen on one of the walls showing a section of Fed Square in real time. I walked past through that area a few times to see what I looked like on TV. I probably looked like a tool, but I don't care - it was fun!
2. Also, there's a scrolling Optus message-board thingo on the other side of Fed Square that you can send messages to and see them scroll across the wall. I thought that was really awesome. Naturally, we tried it out and got a kick out of it.

Anyway, after a fantastic time in the city, I came home, had dinner and went to the gym for about an hour.

Soon I'll do a post about my trip away to Sorrento, where I went with some friends in the break between semesters. I figure it's something different, and hence hopefully interesting!

Dale.
Wishing he was constantly "being pushed down stairs". ;-)

Shaun

My thoughts are with you. Get better soon. I know you're probably not feeling great about stuff at the moment, but things WILL get better. You'll be alright. A millionaire before the age of 21; I predicted that back in primary school (and how often am I wrong? :-P)

Rest up, physically and mentally.

Speak to you soon; maybe even see you at the gym when you're back up to it.

- "Soaps".

Study, Tennis, Thanks & Buses

Disappointing!

My run of consecutive daily posts ended yesterday. The reason for this was because I had uni from 10-6, and then spent most of last night studying for that macroeconomics mid-semester test I've mentioned that's on tonight. It starts at 6.50 (my brain will be dead by then most likely) and goes until 8.00. I thought Id do a post before I leave for uni, so that my mind gets a break from Aggregate Supply Curves, Interest Rates and Labour Productivity. Dont know how many classes Ill actually go to today (still not fully prepared yet, and have already missed a Business Law tutorial), but I figure if I need to ask questions it would be easier if I was at uni and not at home.

Now I owe some thanks to the people who were messaging me last night - if it weren't for them I' probably be in an economics induced coma, rocking back and forth constantly muttering words like 'expenditure multiplier' and 'net present value'. So thanks Kate and Adam, you kept me as sane as possible. See? Be nice to me and you get a mention on my blog! In that case I guess I should also thank Jamie for his blog comments, it's good to actually know that someone thinks enough of these to make the effort to comment. You rock dude.

So if I did blog yesterday it would have been about tennis on Monday night. We lost... again. Its annoying though because we have so much potential. We could easily have won the majority of our matches but things just dont quite come together properly on the night. I lost with Luke in a nail-biting tiebreaker (8-10), won with Vanessa 6-2, and lost with Lauren 3-6. The fact that our opponents are generally rather old is also a little aggravating, but I have learnt something from this. Old people can be crafty! They're constantly surprising me with their antics and un-stereotypical behaviour.

Lost my wallet for about 20 minutes after tennis on Monday night too, thankfully I found it in the carpark when I returned. Got quite stressed in the meantime though! Amusingly mum began to fret, saying "oh no, well have to get the locks changed if you dont find it." I could imagine her pacing anxiously while I went to go look for it. Good old mum!

So it's time to leave... And Im a bit worried still. Stupid nerves! Thanks for wishing me well everyone, I know I'll be in your thoughts. :-P

Hope to see those of you I haven't seen for a while soon. And for those of you who I don't know or haven't met, hope everything's going really well for you (and keep reading my blog!).
Thanks.

To the bus stop I go!

Dale. (A bit frazzled)

The Metro - Part 2

Previously on Dale's Saturday Night Out: Dale and the gang had headed into the bustling city to get their groove on at The Metro nightclub. They entered the impressively large venue and Dale bumped into a few interesting characters from his past. Drinking began, and the probability that Dale would bust some moves on the dance floor was looking more and more likely...

The music at The Metro also rocked. I like rock and dance music, and the DJs were playing the type of dance that I really like. So after I finished my vodka and lime thingemo and the others had finished their beer, we headed downstairs to take a place on the now thriving dance floor. We were a bit slow to get started, much like an old lawnmower (and no I didn't do the lawnmower dance move), but eventually we were dancing, and most of us danced pretty well. I think we had consumed just enough alcohol to lose our inhibitions, but not so much that we had lost control of our balance or co-ordination!

Anyway, the atmosphere was mad, and dancing continued. Basically the only interruptions to the dancing were to retrieve more alcohol. Occasionally we'd venture upstairs to sit for a bit and get our breath back (and purchase more alcohol from the upstairs bar!). Needless to say a few hours into the night I was pretty smashed. From our vantage point upstairs we had an awesome view, especially when the firestick people and the man who did fancy gymnastic stuff on what looked liked a giant curtain draped from the ceiling performed their visually pleasing acts.

A few more things from the night:
I remember my friends (Paul and Jamie in particular) telling me put your f***ing phone away!! on numerous occasions. They think that all I do when I go places is message other people. I admit I do do it a lot, but it doesnt stop me from enjoying myself like they think it does.

I had a brush with fame!! Boyd & Stingray from the TV show 'Neighbours' came up and talked to me for a bit! Well by 'talked to me' I mean 'asked me two questions' about the third level of the place and whether it was open. I replied helpfully, "Nah I dont think so mate" to Stingray because he was the one who asked me the question. He thanked me and patted me on the arm before he and Boyd walked off somewhere else. Yep, famous actor types like to associate with me it seems. He could of asked any one of the hundreds (maybe even thousands) of other people, but no he chose me!





Losing and finding people was also fun; especially because I was a bit wobbly and in high spirits. Surprisingly I always managed to find who I was looking for reasonably quickly, and without falling over!

Paul, Jase, Jamie and I left the Metro for some food at about 2ish.. I think? We found ourselves at Hungry Jacks ordering fries and burgers. It was strange, I knew I was a drunk but I still tried to put on my best sober façade for the Hungry Jacks workers, as if I would offend them if they could tell I had been drinking. Anyway, Jamie and Jase went back in but Paul and I decided to leave. Despite being a bit out of it I could tell he wasnt having the best time, even though he kept saying that he didnt mind how late I wanted to stay. So we made our way back to the car (me still yet to fall over or even stumble!), got in, and he drove me home while I struggled to keep my eyes open. Got home, messaged a little, then slept deeply.

And that concludes my (somewhat lacking) description of how my Saturday night transpired.

Dale.

Most likely heading back to The Metro next weekend for Karen's birthday!
(Come one, come all even if you dont know Karen a good time shall be had by most!)

The Metro - Part 1

I went out last night! Ok, so it's not that exciting, but I haven't been out clubbing for a while, so I was pretty amped about it. The place was The Metro on Bourke Street, and the company was people from my last school; Knox.

At 6.00pm last night I had no plans at all, so things came together pretty damn quick. It was hurriedly organised over msn and a few text messages. It was good, because I'd been itching for a night out for a little while, one where I would actually get to drink. Anyway, there were complications about how we were gonna get there. At this stage I only knew that Paul, Sara, Sandi, Chung and Lizzie were going besides Paul, not my usual crowd but that didn't really matter to me. Paul generously offered to drive me, and I protested half-heartedly, as any polite person would, but he said he didn't mind as long as I drove him next time. So he picked me up at about 8.30 and we made our way toward the city. I hadn't seen Paul for a little while, but you wouldn't have been able to tell we got along swimmingly as always.

We parked in a complex on Little Collins Street, and as we got there a bit early (9ish and we were meeting people at 9.30) we walked around a bit first. It was good because it gave me the chance to get some credit for my phone, and gum for my mouth. Surprisingly I found that I recognised a few landmarks (my knowledge of getting around the city is pretty much non-existent). I saw Her Majesty's Theatre where I watched The Lion King (how cultured of me!), the Spaghetti Tree; a restaurant that I went to for my cousins 18th family birthday celebration, a Hungry Jacks that I was sure Id been in before, and Chinatown which I'd walked through a few times. The amount of 7 elevens in the city is utterly ridiculous! I tried to count how many I saw. Think I got up to five, not counting the other convenience stores exactly like 7 elevens, and that was just in 2 or 3 blocks. Crazy I tells ya!

So Paul and I went to wait in line after a little while, and pretty much as soon as we got on the end of the line we see Jamie, Jase, Steve and Shilan get out of a taxi (also from Knox; the same Jamie and Steve that punish me at the gym). This was good, because I'm a lot closer to them than the others that were going to come. After a brief conversation and mild surprise on their behalf to see me there, we jumped out of the general admission line and into the guest list one. Steve came up with a master plan of conning the bouncer, which somehow worked (hey, yeah we're all on... Kyles and... Lexi's list). So we got in, got stamped, and didnt have to pay an entry fee. Steve is quite the handy person to have around!

Never having been to the metro before I didn't know what to expect, so when I walked in and saw the size of the place, I had to do a double take. The place is huge! Way bigger than anywhere else I'd been before (nightclub-wise, that is). Not only that but it had two levels, and the layout was just so open - it was awesome! Especially once it got packed, the atmosphere was amazing. Almost as soon as we walked in Steve bought a round of shots for everyone, except Paul obviously. I dont know what the shot was, but I was surprised because it tasted really nice. I was all ready to cringe at the taste, but didnt have to! We then went and checked out the place, which took a while because of its hugeness. On the way though, I ran into people I knew from primary school. How they remembered me I have no idea, although I was yellow house captain in grade six (:-p), but it was good to see them again, even though our conversations were fairly brief.

Anyway, we decided to stay upstairs for a little while, as it was still a bit quiet down (you can see downstairs from upstairs through giant glass windows) and Shilan bought everyone a drink. Like me he hates beer, so he got everyone else some kind of Asian beer, and him and me a glass of vodka & lime or something, oh and Paul a red bull (which I think he had 5 of over the entire night - no chance of him falling asleep at the wheel driving me home!). I sipped away at my drink, beginning to feel the effects already (my liver sucks, I'm a very cheap date drinks-wise lol), and starting to dance a little...

Expect Part 2 tomorrow, if I can still remember the stuff that happened!

Umpiring & Irking

Must... do... a post...

Got up at 7.30 this morning - please, hold your applause until the end - for umpiring. It was an under 18's match, The Basin v Forest Hill, played in Mitcham. I knew a fair few of the Forest Hill players because they were in the year below me at school last year (and in the school footy team with me), so on a few occasions I was a bit lenient towards them. That's wrong of me I know, but I'm just a boundary umpire, and there's only so much of an impact I can have on a match! "What? Out of bounds? Not from where I was standing.." *whistles* Unfortunately FH lost, but they get a second chance because they finished first on the ladder.

Most of the umpires I was with were pretty good. But there was one of the field umpires who really got under my skin. He didn't do or say anything to give me a proper reason to dislike him.. he's just one of those few people who I can't stand to be around. A few times when I passed the ball back to him I threw it a little hard.. at his head. :smile: I think in his case it might have been his apparent arrogance or bloated sense of self importance. Anyway, he just irked me, and now I've vented my frustration.

For the rest of today I've just been studying and watching the kangaroos lose to hawthorn. I have a mid semester test for macroeconomics on wednesday night. To say that I have a lot to do still would be an understatement of rather large proportions. So at 6.50 on wednesday night if everyone who reads this could please try to telepathically send me their combined knowledge of economics, it would be just great!

I feel I should impart some wisdom... but I'm worried about forgetting everything if I do. So just pretend I said something wise. That ok? Awesome.

Dale.

Trying to prevent knowledge leaking out from his brain.

You may applaud now.

Myself & Communication

I'll get straight into this one. This is something that I've noticed about myself, and I'd be curious to find out if it's the same for other people too.

Say someone is talking to someone else; does the method of communication have any bearing on the conversation? Or the personality that each person exhibits? For example, when I'm talking to someone face to face I'm a bit more reserved and introverted, but when I'm talking to that person on msn I'm generally more confident and outgoing. Then again, that isn't always true. Like when I'm around people that I really like/trust I feel I'm being more of my true self than in any other situation. However there aren't many of those people in my life at the moment.

I guess I raised another issue there; when is someone completely being themselves? And is it possible to be your true self all the time, through all types of communication? I guess that depends on the effectiveness of methods of communication to convey meaning and emotion. Based on that, you'd have to say that it is easiest to see and get a feel for a person talking face to face with them. And if the person is a little shy in social situations (like me), I suppose that they are being their true selves; not putting on an act, even though they may be restrained by a lack of confidence for example.

So does the semi-boost of confidence that I get from msn mean that Im being more myself or less? ARGH!! Confusing! I think I delved a bit deep into serious issues here, because my brain is starting to hurt...

That's it. I know I didnt come to any real conclusions, but I hope I've given you something mildly interesting to think about.

Dale.

Three for Three

"3 blogs in 3 days??" you ask incredulously.

"Yes." I reply.
"Ok.." you respond, wondering if I have a life at all.

Wassup homies?

I do have a life, it's just that this has become a part of it lately. I'm liking it a lot. Possibly because I have myspace friends now! Go Dale!

Was thinking about what kind of post to do... I had one lined up that was a bit more exploratory, but I figured two of those in a row would be too much, so I'll do it next time. Bet you ANY money that I'll forget what it is when I go to write about it next time.

But anyway, I'm at uni again, just had a Business & Economic Statistics tute (if you're wondering, it's about as riveting as it sounds), and am about to head off to the lecture at 1.00. The lecturer is a new one, and he's a little bit imposing, loud etc. Which is good, because it actually makes the lectures semi-interesting when he threatens to kick somebody out. :)

Goin to the gym this arvo when I get home. Joined up about 2 months ago to try and become less stick-like. It feels good that I'm doing something to improve myself. I've had help motivation & training-wise from Steve and Jamie (who went to school with me). They always do their best to make sure that I'm hurting as much as possible after each session ("tell your mum you love her cos you're gonna die of gym pain tonight dale!).. they're such nice people don't ya think?

Anyway, better head off. I'll try to find an interesting picture to add to this later.

Until next time!

Oh and I swear I'll never say the words"wassup" or "homies" again. :)

Contemplations

Hi again,

I know it was only last night that I did my last blog, but I just found out my Business Law tute has been cancelled and I've got 2 hours to spare. So I'm at uni in the library, with the sound of people tapping on keyboards and hushed polite conversation surrounding me.

I figure everyone does a 'contemplative' post every once in a while, and I am in that kind of weird thinky mood that I sometimes get into, so I thought I'd give it a go. I'll keep it short 'n snappy.

Ok, here goes... I recently found out that someone I'm just getting to know (person a) knows someone else I know (person b), but I don't know how well they know each other... confused yet? :) This would be okay normally, except that person b and I have a strange relationship to say the least, and I'm slightly worried it might affect things between me & person a. I'm probably just being paranoid, but if a & b are close, it could change things (that I don't want changed!).

I guess what I'm trying to get at is; should the result/outcome of a previous relationship (and I use that term lightly) influence the course of a totally different one? Or should the new relationship be totally independant of it all, and taken for what it is? I think it's obvious that I have a somewhat biased view... But if you have any solutions/suggestions/answers to my ponderings could you please let me know?

Ok! Now that's over with, here are two more things to learn about me:
1) I play comp tennis on monday nights (and am up for the challenge of some healthy competition if someone wants to test their abilities against the next slightly less full-on lleyton hewitt)
2) 'Stratton' is my middle name. It's a family tradition thing. All of the men on my dad's side of the family have it; brother, cousin, uncle, grandpa. I used to hate it cos it was different, but now I actually quite like it.

That's all for now,

Dale.

Howdy

Howdy,

It's 11.38pm on Tuesday the 22nd of August 2006, and I'm writing my first ever Blog. Like you (assuming people actually read this!), I'm wondering exactly why I'm doing it too. To be honest I'm not sure. I mean I know there were a few influencing factors (some of them people) but yeah not entirely sure at this stage. Maybe I'll find out as I do more and more of these. Make that if I do more and more of these. I have a habit of not following things through properly sometimes. A bit of not-so-gentle shoving in the right direction will generally get me back on track though, so feel free to threaten me somehow if I dont do a post for a while. Threats of physical violence generally work, so too a lot of other things actually. So yeah, all you bullies out there (or non-bullies who feel like releasing their inner-bully) you're actually my friends in an ironic way, as you well help me to achieve my goals!

I just finished some accounting tute work actually. Well, I only did a half-assed effort, but that's better than a non-existent one, which has been the case quite often for me over the last few weeks. I'm studying commerce at Monash University. I struggle to find motivation sometimes. Admittedly, I find the course content dull to say the least. Thankfully I've been blessed with a high tolerance for uninteresting things. Wait, based on that maybe I should be an accountant after all! Haha nah, I cant see myself doing that kind of thing. Then again I cant really see myself doing any kind of realistic thing (unrealistically I still want to create/write/star in a successful TV show that takes the world by storm!). For now I'm just happy to be skating through and somehow passing everything. Stupid brain.. Figure out what you want! Im open to suggestions though, whether you know me or not. Seriously, help me out people! From garbologist to rocket scientist (not trying to insult the intelligence/importance of garbos.. I'm sure there are some quite intelligent ones out there), send us your ideas. Lines close in about 5 years, so hurry!

Gonna read and then sleep now, but it was nice letting you get to know me a little. Hopefully I havent been as boring as certain boring things that I can't think of at the moment.

Look forward to letting you get to know me better as I try to understand myself a bit better too.

Dale.