Graduate Diploma of Information Technology

Graduate Diploma of Information Technology

Originally uploaded by collective.dust

After 3 long years I have finally graduated with my Graduate Diploma of Information Technology from CSU.

As usual we were bending the space time continuum to make the afternoon ceremony at CSU campus in Wagga Wagga. A very efficient process of paying, kitting up in a black robe, fancy hood and mortar board only took 5 minutes and I was allocated to my seat waiting for the ceremony to begin.

After some welcoming words and an extended flute recital I was up and ‘doffing’ my cap to Chancellor and walking away with that piece of paper in my hands. That piece of paper represents 3 years of my family putting up with many late nights, a stressed out Daddy at assignment and Exam time and alot of blood sweat and tears. So a big big thank you to my wife and daughter for the support and encouragement to accomplish this, I couldn’t have done it without them.

I was in two minds about attending, but as H reminded me, ‘You don’t graduate everyday’. I must admit I did feel a great sense of pride and achievement when receiving the certificate.

Would I do it again? Not right away, ask me in about 10 years

 

Presenting Mr and Mrs O’Neill

Presenting Mr and Mrs O’Neill

Originally uploaded by collective.dust

A big congratulations to Peter and Claire on their wedding day. It was a wonderful day that will hold many fond memories.

Of course the 2 days leading up to the big event were filled with last minute details and stresses - namely a car company that were not going to honour their agreement of hiring the 3 Audi A6’s only the day before! But then everything just fitted into place and all the hard work in preparing paid off.

A traditional church ceremony for 400 at Trinity’s in Adelaide, photos at Botanic Park and the beach at Grange followed by a superb reception at Classics Restaurant topped off a wonderful day.

The bridal party took a leisurely blat through the Adelaide hills at 2:00am in the 3 Audi’s, just to see what all the fuss was about.

 

8 things you didn’t know about me

Ok so I got tagged by Ruth Ellison for the ‘8 things you don’t know about me’ meme.

The rules are pretty straight forward:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules
2. List EIGHT random facts about yourself
3. Tag EIGHT people at the end of your post and list their names
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged

So here goes. I’m fairly new to blogging so linking to 8 other people is going to be a bit difficult at this stage. Anyway on with the random facts:

1. I was born in Australia and was adopted by my Japanese Mother and Australian Father. I have only recently discovered that my biological parents are Chinese. Wow can you say ‘multicultural’?

2. I grew up in the Bega valley where I distinctly remember being one of only 2 Asian students attending High School. Needless to say I copped a bit of flack (from a few small minded individuals) due to my ethnic roots but overall it was a great place to grow up. I don’t think I really appreciated how beautiful that part of the world is until I moved away to undertake studies in Environmental Science in Canberra.

3. I dig coffee - now there’s a gem for you. More specifically I really enjoy making espressos. My wife was kind enough to buy me a coffee machine a few years ago and I think I have spent every weekend since then to produce the best espresso’s that I can. Sure it takes me 5 minutes to produce a single latte and sometimes they turn out …well, crap, but once in a while it all just comes together. There’s something mesmerising when an espresso shot is poured and it looks like honey.

4. I love fly-fishing. It’s one of those hobbies that appeals to people, like me, who dig accessory sports. There’s plenty of expensive gear and gadgets to be purchased, all in the pursuit of outwitting a trout. If I’m completely honest I rarely catch any trout and the one’s that feel sorry for me and decide to take the fly are released to fight another day. Fly-fishing really provides the perfect excuse to go to the Snowy Mountains at least once a year where we meet up with an old friend from high school at Lake Crakenback resort in between Jindabyne and Thredbo. I love this part of Australia, clear air, beautiful rivers and streams, snow and of course the mountains. Fly-fishing also allows me to enjoy all that natural beauty in the secure feeling that only a pair of rubber pants can provide

5. I have a bit of a fascination with watches and watch design, I particularly like chronographs my favourite brand is Tag Heuer. Unfortunately my job doesn’t pay well enough that I can buy the real thing, (although we did splurge one Christmas and got ‘H’ a real Tag Heuer). I do however have a couple of ‘good’ quality copies, thanks to friends travelling through Hong Kong. They’re a bit more affordable and I like to mix them up bit during the week.

6. I really dig SHAG (JoSH AGle’s) art, we have one limited edition print of ‘Vinegar Girl‘ which is a limited edition lithograph print of the first neon sign in Melbourne. My friend Pete originally got us onto SHAG and since then ‘A’s God parents have bought 2 other SHAG prints. The web doesn’t really do the prints any justice check out Outre Gallery next time you’re in Melbourne or Sydney to see the real thing.

7. I was into body piercing in my mid twenties, tongue, nipple and navel….only navel remains.

8. I also had long hair for a while…it was bad, and I was always getting cornered by dodgy people asking me if I could sell them drugs. I was channelling some serious Triad style back in the day.

Ok so there you have it, I was going to tag Patrick Kennedy but in the time it has taken me to get back to this post he’s already been tagged. I’ll have to build up my contacts a bit more for next time.

 

Cloverfield movie

Wow been absolutely flat out with work to post lately, but I just had time to watch a new movie called ‘Cloverfield’ produced by Josh Abrams. Can’t elaborate too much at this stage but if you ever got into an episode of ‘Lost’ and can handle the documentary style camera work of ‘The Blair Witch Project’ then this movie should keep you engaged for just over an hour.

Check out the Cloverfield trailer at apple.com

 

I Am Legend

The movie adaptation of ‘I Am Legend’ based on the novel by Richard Matheson was good in parts but I think really missed the mark with the ending.

I read ‘I Am Legend’ in 1999 and it was one of the most memorable stories I have come across. I remember being engrossed in Robert Neville’s plight as he struggled as the sole survivor of a virus that had turned humans into ‘vampire’ like creatures. What really made this story memorable for me is the way that Richard Matheson ended ‘I Am Legend’ and made the reader question their ideas of normality. I think that the ending in the novel added so much more meaning to the title compared to the movie. That being said I thought Will Smith did a pretty good job portraying Neville’s character.

I guess most people would prefer a ‘Hollywood ending’ but in this case it really loses the significance and central message of the novel.If you get the chance to read the novel, you won’t be disappointed.

   

 

Where you live

People who moan about where they live really p*sses me off.

Take for instance our neighbours. The first thing this lady asks me when we meet is whether I could mow their lawn on a regular basis just because I happen to be doing ours! I mean come on, we’ve only just met and you’re asking me to be your gardner?

Just recently she bails up ‘H’ and starts dumping about how she hates Canberra, it’s too hot, it’s too cold, the people are so unfriendly, there’s nothing to do here yadda yadda yadda. She then starts on the whole; ‘back in Sydney’ it is so much more sophisticated, we have a 3 bedroom apartment with no yard but the postcode is to die for…”

Here’s my thoughts, if you want to moan about the place where you live, at least be sensitive enough to realise that other people have chosen to live there and are doing so quite happily. Moaning about it is not going to make you any friends. If you need to vent then do it to your friends who can sympathise with your predicament.

Also, you made the choice to live here so you only have yourself to blame. If it’s too hot or cold, fine, go back to where you came from and leave the rest of us to enjoy our lives without having to hear about your grievances. And I’m sorry, but if you need to be constantly stimulated then you probably need to get a hobby, do some exercise, read a book or use the miniscule amount of imagination you might still posses. I mean yes it’s Canberra and it may not have the bright lights of the City but we do have most things that keep people amused, cinema’s, good food, places to go out, recreational activites out the yin yang oh and all the same chain retail shops that are in Sydney….but hey if that’s not enough for you, then go back to where you would prefer to be.

Oh can I speak from experience? No I’ve never lived in Sydney, nor do I care too, I’m perfectly happy with living in Canberra. ‘H’ on the other hand has lived in Sydney for 10 years, she loved it, and before moving here thought Canberra would be too slow, but ask her now and she would never go back to Sydney.

Phwoar that feels better getting that out…

 

Boxing Day sales

Yoshikin ‘Global’ knife block

Originally uploaded by collective.dust

Another first…we finally got to attend the Boxing Day sales. Got 35% off this set of Yoshikin ‘Global’ knives. We’ve had a single ‘Global’ knife for ages and had been wanting to get the set for a while now, they make food preparation so easy and they look cool too. It’s nice having the right tools for the job. I really like the clean one piece design of the ‘Global’ knives, especially the grip pattern and the shape of the handles. They are nicely weighted and are balanced with sand in the handles. (which you can hear when you shake them). Now…where is that learning to cook website?

 

Christmas Day

Wow, this is the first time we have ever woken up in our own house for Christmas. That probably doesn’t sound very exciting but believe me after having to always madly pack up and travel on Christmas eve, it is a luxury that I can certainly get use to. This is the first year that ‘A’ is really aware of Christmas, Santa Claus and of course pressies. So ‘H’ and I stayed up late wrapping Santa’s pressies, filling Christmas stockings and adding the final touches to pull off the greatest deception …er I mean traditions known to man. I even took a page out of my parents book and left the roof access panel ajar. ‘A’ left a plate containing some Christmas cake, a glass of milk and a carrot (for the reindeers) next to the tree and was suprised to find an empty glass, cake crumbs and the tip of the carrot remaining this morning.
What followed was some serious unwrapping of gifts. I have a suspicion that Nickelodeon’s share price just went through the roof according to the amount of Dora merchandise that is strewn throughout the house. Santa was good to me this year with a new pair of TLD XC gloves, Five-Ten Impact riding shoes, Summer Heights High DVD, new clothes and an Origami calendar. Now I need to get out for a spin to test the new gear for a review.

 

Christmas baubles

Christmas bauble

Originally uploaded by collective.dust

Here’s a cool idea that ‘H’ suggested we try. Each Christmas we each get to choose 2 Christmas decorations to hang on the tree. Here’s my first choice; a funky anodised aluminium star. Check flickr for ‘H’ and A’s selections. Merry Christmas

 

Final results, I’m Graduating!

Just got an e-mail from CSU with my final unit results for my Grad Dip in IT. Got a HD and that means I am graduating!
It’s been a long hard 3 years, especially for ‘H’ and ‘A’ and I couldn’t have got through without them. Anyway all the hard work is starting to pay off as I have moved careers and it has really stoked the fire in terms of being inspired. Also means I have some free time again woohoo!