I may not be religious, but…

Thank god that is over. What a miserable day. First, the final exam for me with 141. What a mess. Precedent and Judicial reasoning no sweat, but what was with that interpretation question?? did anyone else find you could have written for 3 hours on that question alone. I did all of those freakin past exam paper questions and not one of them was as long as the exam one. talk about misrepresenation!

And then after that, after hanging around my post office box like a bad smell for the past week waiting for some feedback for my 141 assignment, i finished my exam (frustrated), walked to my post office box and there the freaking thing was. Opened it up, red scrawl all over it (yes Alistair, i’m assuming it belongs to you and yes Peter i know he can read this). What a way to end first semester. Then to top it all off, i had to run back from my post office box with someone of a lump in my throat just in time to sit down with my first patient. I was so worked up that when my first patient told me she hadn’t been flossing (like i’ve been telling her to do for the last 2 years), i could have knocked out all her teeth. Problem solved. Much easier than ridiculously long statutory interpretation questions.

A romatic getaway with LIAM

Typical. the week before an exam i’m finally beginning to enjoy 142. Sounds like what a scorned woman would say about a man “just when you begin to like them, they run off and start letting other people enjoy them and leave you stranded with all these questions.”  I do still have a preference for 141 (affectionately known as LIAM). All my friends think i have a boyfriend named liam because i keep telling them i can’t go out with them ‘because of liam.’ It’s been very useful to date. All those things you don’t really want to go to (like your Uncle’s 50th), can now be avoided by saying ‘gotta hit the books.’ When i go home to my parents house, as long as i continually look busy reading books, my mother keeps bringing me food. Classic. I’m sucking this one for all its worth.

However an interesting thing happened on Saturday night. Poker night with some friends. They all got smashed, i got tipsy, and when it came to be 1am i stood up, swaying slightly, and said ‘I have to go to bed, uni in the morning’. Then an onslaught of abuse and ‘you’ve gone soft’ assaulted my ears. I then ever so elegantly (throwing my empty wine glass/plastic tumbler into the corner of the room), replied ‘Listen here you bunch of troglodytes. When you all have driving convictions and assault charges and need my help, you’ll be thankful i didn’t wash away all my brain cells with Wine.’ I then promptly fell into my bedroom door, climbed into bed fully clothed and put my earphones in and listen to the sweet sound of Christine Campbell’s tutorials about the doctrine of precedent. Christine, if you are reading this, I think you should go into relaxation therapy. Your voice puts me to sleep.  

Now instead of focusing on studying, I am using my time planning my semester break. Oh the places I’m going to go and the things I’m going to do. Nothing will stop me- I’m taking Christine off my Ipod and putting something a little more upbeat. A nice little Alice Cooper rendition called “School’s Out” comes to mind J  

 

A month of Lazy Sundays

wow… just handed in my 141 assignment and i feel very liberated to say the least. In fact, in celebration, my roommate and i are going out for a beer after work. She is also celebrating because i’ve been insufferable for the past 3 months and now she gets a slight break. So we are going out for a beer… and i don’t even drink beer. But there is some sense of achievement to be celebrated and its too early in the week for Champagne. Champagne gets opened on the 12th of June at 11am.

I do have to say i am slightly more impressed with my second (external) assignment effort for 142. Namely because i wasn’t feeling largely nauseated when i submitted it. However, now it’s time to put the blinkers on to help me try to concentrate on finishing the work and studying. But how can one study with so much distraction? All the ‘quality’ t.v that is on at the moment has actually intrigued me. I, like the other 500,000 idiots, tuned into the first night of big brother 08 and i would like to comment: “Different Show: I Don’t Think So” (Shakes head like peroxide jackie and Kyle ’sold out’ Sandilands). I’m wondering if the executives for BB get together in a conference room and say “ok, lets see if we can get the most annoying group of people yet”. The they proceed to stuff it with the visually annoying (blonde haired waif), Physically annoying (you feel an overwhelming desire to slap that Corey kids face off) and of course they abuse your ears with that voice that reminds me of homer simpson pretending to be marge. And if that isn’t enough, the insult all intelligent people by sticking in a law student who has the communication skills of a gnat and an 18 yr old top heavy fembot who think that because she wears glasses and reads she’s intelligent. Pfft…

So fascinating t.v aside, I have to try to regroup and prepare for the 2 big days in June. For now, im going to practice on my glass lifting skills at the local watering hole.

 

long weekend, long face

I think I’m getting an ulcer. I also think I’m going to have a brain aneurysm. Perhaps also I am suffering from a severe case of hypochondria.

I never get sick. And when I do get sick, I would have to be dying not to go to work. Well after not missing a day of work for over 3 years, I have officially had not one, but TWO sick days. Suffice to say that I think they were legitimate and if you don’t believe me, the nurses at the local hospital will tell you how after 2 days I told them if they don’t let me out, I was going to climb out the window and take the drip with me. I didn’t mind the drip… saline makes you feel gooooooood.

Apparently I had a case of giardia which upon consulting the oracle that is Wikipedia I found out to be basically bacteria in your stomach. I was so violently ill that when I finally went to the doctor I was told I was so dehydrated that I had no saliva. I felt very handicapped having no saliva. My job revolves around saliva so when someone tells you that you don’t have it, you feel a little naked. It didn’t help that I had re-occurring bouts of it either, so basically I’ve lived on maxalon for quite some time and lost some weight, (which being a female, is not such a problem).

I managed to scrape together something that resembled an assignment for 142 but submitted it with my eyes closed and a sinking feeling. And then rolls around the External Attendance School. Oh joy. Here I am, completely unprepared to answer any questions relating to the last 2 weeks material, let alone be ahead of the game (they wanted to go through week 11 material in 141- NOTE: If you are up to week 11 material, you need a social life or a long hard look in the mirror).

To my delight about 90% of everyone else were behind also so I would like to take this opportunity to thank those useless/lazy/busy/sick people out there who made me feel more comfortable about being behind. A small collection of girls and I devised a plan for the 142 Tute- Answer early and answer loud. After discovering that the 18yr old girl (who clearly just left school) must have overheard our plan because she nearly deafened the rest of us with her opinions on restorative justice, I decided maybe not so ‘loud’, but rather ‘early’ was the key.

So now instead of partying like normal people do on long weekends, I’m in catch up mode in order to make up for my pitiful excuse of an assignment on the rule of law.  

 

To blog or not to blog…

Why is no-one blogging? Are we all too busy with assignments? Well just in case any or everybody is feeling the same way, when Rachel from 142 wants me to refer to the application, implementation and operation of the rule of law, i’m going to refer her to my solution- A big box of chocolates and a nice glass of baileys on the rocks… mmmmmmmmmmm…..

Enlightened Beings don’t do assignments…

Well in true procrastination-Carrie style… I’ve been hanging out at the Blue Mountains for 5 days over the Easter weekend. I do think though that my holiday had the best intentions. You see I went up there to learn how to meditate. Believe it or not, but I have been learning Insight Meditation from a Monk… yes, a real Buddhist Monk. How exciting! My intentions were that I heard meditation was supposed to help you concentrate and at any rate, the peace and quiet would help me to do some Uni work. Well upon arrival, they recommended that we turn off our phones and make a conscious effort not to read as it can prevent effective meditation. Now here was my excuse not to feel obliged to do uni work. It would almost have been rude for me to pick up a book (well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!)

 

So for 5 days I took a 9 precept vow to not eat between the hours of 12pm and 12 am and to maintain noble silence. I don’t know how ‘noble’ it actually is but basically it means that the only person you are allowed to talk to is the Monk. Now you will be surprised how difficult that is, especially when you are silence impaired like I am. If I had a twin, they would be name Loquacious.  So what started out on a Friday as being “Oh my, what have I gotten myself into? Why do these Hippie people insist on eating no meat and why the hell can’t I talk to someone about how crap I feel?” turned to “Oh god please don’t tell me its Monday and I have to go back.” Can I put “enlightenment” down as an excuse for late submission of my external exercise and legal citation exercise?

She’ll be comin round the mountain…

Break out your speed cameras … I’m coming to Brisbane. In  rare moment in life i get the opportunity to be in Brisneyland during the week. I have a two day course on Practice Management on Wednesday/Thursday and then a Minimal Intervention Dentistry seminar on Friday (snore!) Incidentally i am also going to see Maximo Park play at the Tiv on Thursday night (YAYYYYY!) I almost died last year when they came on a freakin week night and i had to work. So this ‘being in brisvegas on a wednesday night’ puts me in a rather interesting position of actually being able to attend a lecture/tute… this may not seem that interesting to some of you internals out there but i am going to grab the closest Tutor i can find and corner them into answering some questions for me

Having said that, i need some imput as to who’s tute i should army crawl into.. any ideas? Here are the options:

Michael Godfrey

Clive Porritt

Kevin Martin

Please submit your answers with proper reasoning, such as “He can’t be cornered,” or “he is a mute and can’t answer your questions.”

On another more interesting point, i was wondering if someone wanted to meet up so i don’t have to sit like a nigel in the back corner. Im assuming that as it is the 3rd week that in true high school fashion, people have already split off into their little groups (pretty annoying girls who know all the answers; mature age, non descript students hiding at the back; cute boys wearing nice clothes etc etc). So if anyone wants to put a face to my name (because i’m very sorry Peter- i still haven’t got around to finding an appropriate picture of me yet) just send me an email and we can arrange a time etc.

carrie_a_bag@hotmail.com

Lullaby and goodnight

Previously, I have been a person that has had difficulty sleeping. I used to be one of those people that toss and turn in bed, consider getting up for a warm cup of milk and then thinking that sounds to childish go back to bed. You know that point in the middle of the night where you start saying in your head “even if I go to sleep now I will only get three hours of sleep” and then the idea of a codeine overdose or mallet contusion doesn’t seem as unappealing as it would in the daylight hours? That was me in a past life. I sometimes watch Johnny Depp in “From Hell” and think about what a delight it would be to find a bottle of Absinthe, an appropriate spoon and a small Bunsen burner in my bedroom at about 3 in the morning. And then I start thinking about Johnny Depp in general and once again in can’t sleep.

 

However, for about the last 3 weeks I have been sleeping like a drunken homeless bum in the Botanical Gardens. In the words of a psychopathic Edward Norton from fight club, “Babies don’t sleep this well.” I’m not suggesting that my personality has split but I have merely worked out the way to drift into the land of slumber- the “Legal Institutions and Methods” textbook. I’m very sorry Misters Macadam and Pyke but every time I pick that book up, I inadvertently go to sleep. It’s like the words hum a lullaby in my head and my eyelids become heavy, my head starts to nod and then I fall asleep with a book on my face.

 

So all those insomniacs out there don’t rush off to doctors, sleep clinics, valerian root fields or the hardware store to buy a mallet, walk into the QUT bookstore and purchase this book- it does wonders.

 

NOTE: Do not read in a public place or it is likely you may fall asleep spontaneously and start drooling on the shoulder of the person sitting next to you. Macadam and Pyke accept no responsibility for loss of dignity in this respect.

Always let your conscience be your guide…

I have this very strange realisation that my life is about 2 change…

 

About 4 months ago I started seeing a financial planner. We discussed the usual things a money person would discuss with a shop-a-holic such as I that no money does not grow on trees… only debt grows… and it’s very quick to occur on Mastercards. So, in response to this meeting where he tells me I’m going to be a gazillionaire because of him, I have since changed my ways. I am now a responsible member of society with a new found ‘Financial Conscience’. In the weeks leading up to Orientation I had ordered my study guides etc and started delving into the world of law. The more I read the more I felt guilty about my misspent youth and namely, my misspent drivers licence points…

 

To clue you all in- I am an external student and live a brisk 3.5 hour drive away from Brisbane in the small town of Chinchilla. I was sent here by the 5 star health service that is Queensland Health as a part of a Rural Scholarship scheme. After graduating in 2004 I started work 4 days after receiving my marks and let me tell you I had many reservations about leaving my beautiful Queenslander in East Brisbane for whatever was to lay before me. Now because Chinchilla has a severely limited gene pool (I don’t care who’s reading this- you know it’s true!) and subsequently a rather interesting array of inhabitants, I find myself wanting for much more than my co-residents can offer me. So just about every other weekend I can be found on the Warrego highway after 5 on a Friday heading to Brisbane.

 

Now if you average that out, I spend about 168 hours on the road to Brisbane each year and have to travel about 18,200km to Brisbane each year alone. What I guess I’m trying to say is that I aim to get it done as quickly as I can. And in pursuit for the fastest Chinchilla to Brisbane time without breaking the land speed record or ending up in gaol, (which incidentally is 2hours 40 mins) I find myself in situations with police officers who can’t either grasp my mathematical handicap or are just plain mean.

 

In all this reading and preparation about ‘ethics’ and having a ‘moral centre’ I have now found that I have started to develop a ‘Legal Conscience.’ Now I’m a woman of resources. I think outside the square. When the jury of my legal conscious sits in my head and says ‘no more speeding’, I have thought around this process. Most would stop speeding. Some would stop driving. Me- I asked my mum to drive me down and back for orientation to save me the internal battle. Now I only have to deal with the external battle of studying in this discipline.