When the Cheshire emerges...

As well as TINAB, I'm completing a summer list and have gotten a few things ticked off. Receipts from as early as 2003 have been cleaned out, but more importantly the missing pieces of my Cut Print Review collage have been slotted in. My photo of the day shows my wall feature with all the films I've reviewed/opinionated(!) on since I started writing for the site about 15 months ago:



To other tasks, and after a really slack three days I decided to make use of my bus trip to work and do another entry. This one really intrigued me and I wasn't sure whether I'd fill the page with my answers. But as per usual with these things, I was struggling for room. Page 192 was about 'a parallel universe'; what would my world be like if everything was the opposite of what it is now?...

Instead of a mum, dad and brother I'd have a dad, mum and sister. I would be a PR graduate rather than a journalist. I would loathe movies and TV. If hospitality's the opposite of retail then that's what I'd be working in. I'd have a long-term boyfriend. Both my grandpas would've seen me grow up and graduate. Overseas trips would be the norm. I wouldn't have tears welling up while writing this. Wouldn't be writing this on the bus either (like I was supposed to). I'd be the youngest child. All my closest friends would be male. I would be male. Does this mean I'd be a version of my brother? I'd rarely go to concerts. I'd hate Kylie, Gyroscope, etc. My playing sport of choice would be AFL or (gasp) netball. I wouldn't have loving, hilarious friends. I'd hate Facebook and Twitter. I'd have hated uni. I'd be Italian or American - depends on what you view as opposite. Wouldn't have woken up with cramps in my legs this morning. Really wouldn't like hanging out with the family. I'd be the youngest of my cousins, and the same gender as most. Other things I won't mention here. I wouldn't have an interesting life. Because I do have an interesting life.


Yesterday's (Day 12) 21st ended up being a good night. However, it must be noted as the first I'd managed to experience so far with a stripper show (unbeknownst to the lad in front of family :/ ). It was really something. Below are Penny and Jana during the show. Impressed? Hm. Awkward? Just a little:




Today ended up having a series of known events but with random consquences. Had to go to church... turns out Croydon has a new priest flown in from Melbourne with plans to shake things up to get the young people back in. More English (very handy), no candles at the front (gasp!) and the guts to shut the old ladies up. There was an outraged lady screaming outside after and it was intense. Afterwards, one of my 2nd cousins (he's 2) would hardly let go of my legs and proceed to dribble all over my jeans. Ew. And then I had my Fresh Xmas BBQ, where there was a good amount of cricket and for some, rowboat rides in the lake. Today's photo is of Meg supposedly having enough (but really trying to push their boat over the completely shallow part). At least there's no chance of drowning!


There is interest in completing a group task tomorrow night... oh how that would balance out my tasks to date!

COUNT:
Pages in progress: 62
Pages completed: 1, 8-9, 7, 88, 124, 192
Pages completed by others: 7 (Spratt, 1-12-09)

Ok, so this could be the most pointless blog in history (because I haven't done any extra tasks - major sadness.) but as part of completing the book, I am determined to show every photo for this month. So here goes.

While I realise it's the 10th I don't think having six days worth of content is viable here. Day 5 was a day I'd been looking forward to for months. Had no work, and an afternoon full of good vibes and plenty of dancing. But not at Stereosonic like the rest of Adelaide. I was where those NOT at Stereo were - A Day on the Green at Peter Lehmann Wines in the Barossa Valley.

Why would I, a 20-year-old, go there over Stereo? Well, these tickets went on sale months before, and I wasn't going to miss out on the first Australian tour The B-52's have done in my lifetime. That's right, the Rock Lobster and Love Shack people. They're still around. And they kick arse. With Mental As Anything and The Proclaimers as supports it was actually a really well-rounded show. We had a very large group of Scots next to us who knew all the words to every Proclaimers song... when 500 Miles came on my auntie and I went down the aisle to where a few of them were waving their Scottish flag and grabbed it. We were all singing (horribly I might add), waving the flag and it was the funniest thing I've done in ages.

My latest TINAB task came a bit before this (for I still had it in full view of course)... page 124: 'This is a MOMENT IN TIME. This day will never happen again. Document it's passing.' So I wrote:

"Red Red Wine by UB40's blasting over the speakers at A Day on the Green in between Mental As Anything and The Proclaimers and everyone's singing along. I'm to Mum's right and Angela, Toula and Tanya's left; we're chilling with riesling, food and anticipation for The B-52's!"

I would've missed the day if I'd written about it all. But the concert was rad, they played most of my favourites, and to hear Love Shack live, my fave song of ALL TIME, was incredible. To say I went nuts is an understatement. And Rock Lobster as the encore went OFF. The photo pick for the day is hard (there's a particularly funny one involving chocolate) but below is of the band, as close as I could get before the reserved seating. I've just realised the idiot in the cap is very reminiscent of the puppet from Hey Hey It's Saturday. Gilbert?



All in all, it was an amazingly awesome day with the (family) girls, with perfect weather and great atmosphere.

Day 6 wasn't very eventful but the photo shows my excitement from the concert continuing. Worn this T-shirt twice already... <3 id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413403952931941698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUVwhbd8u4lSoxTFJGCi-nH-54JExRrDcEXq3DGvwyuyQsvFESelt2D_oooc1wN38No9VcbpqU6Tm1ZDqMZQezuuwcu7o6KYVoDPP4QCFFghXmYpkqtwLl9MYWfGEQymhMO2X/s320/IMG_1554.JPG" border="0">
Day 7: same, but it marked the last day of my first challenge. During the week of placing TINAB in full view, it's gone with me to work, the gym, a festival, The Ed, coffee, the movies, and Fresh at least. Here we had a minor water spillage (sssh!) but TINAB was spared. Anyway, the studio is my photographic choice for this day so you can see where the magic comes from!

I really need to get cracking on these tasks. But so little time! Doing this AND the contents of my list aren't happening at a great pace :/ Having said that, stuff is getting done. So that has to be positive.

COUNT:
Pages in progress: 62
Pages completed: 1, 8-9, 7, 88, 124
Pages completed by others: 7 (Spratt, 1-12-09)

So the past two days have been hectic. Just a bit. No additional tasks were done yesterday because of commitments. However, my first stop of the day provided the perfect photo op:

So I have begun my summer quest to complete This Is Not A Book (TINAB). And the one thing that's sticking in my head and won't leave until I remember right now is: how much I would regret using a pen to write in there. A pencil is what I need. Oh the days of writing in pencil. As my new workmate Regina put it, who writes with the lead after they get their pen licence? Me now, that's who.

My Melbourne 'Unies' trip let me discover many things. One of those was this grand new release 'book' called This Is Not A Book. Funny that I discover it in a bookstore away from home, but I couldn't resist. It was staring at me from the counter. It was red, and had a scribbled title which intrigued me. And I hadn't bought a book in ages (from an actual bookstore). So I bought it.

And it's not a book. Might be in the shape of one, but it's telling me it could be something that could change my life. A series of 'tasks' fill the pages, asking you to do things outside the square. What a perfect way to spend the summer. And summer it is... fitting that I decide to grab it this morning and realise it's December 1st. Woah. December. The first 'official' day of summer. Sweet.

I've yet to look through it all but thought I'd be logical to start with and begin on page 1. The task is as follows:

This is an inconvenience. Take This Is Not A Book everywhere you go for one week. You must place it in full view at all times.

So if you see a red book poking out of my bag or on the table over the next 7 days you know why. And I'm daring you not to be curious. The goal is to get through everything in the next few months. You can help me if you wish. Because this thing with pages that apparently isn't what it's meant to be is sticking around.

November hasn't ended yet but it feels like it's ended up as being one of the craziest months of my life. Not only because it's signalled the end of uni, or that many are hitting the big 2-1 by now (I still have a fair way to go on that front) - but lots just seems to be happening.

Fair enough, November brings the start to the silly season with Adelaide's Christmas Pageant. This year I experienced the Melbourne version briefly but realised that Melbourne's always that busy anyway. Man I love that place. Our 'Unies' trip was a great way to let off a bit of steam, and although it was my third trip there for 2009 I still learnt more about the city. It's amazing.

So I wrote a list, right. Ha, total change of subject... A list of things to do in the summer that could be my last as I currently know it. It includes the usuals of shows to watch/books to read, but also things outside of my box. Like learning how to cook with the easy cookbook Steph bought me for my birthday, learning a language, and de-cluttering my room. I guess you'd call them life skills, preparing me for something beyond studying. Looking at it Blu-Tacked on my wall, there's a lot there. To be fair, I seemingly have months to complete it. But the prospect of that scares me a little. Then it begs the question: do I really want to find a 'real' job straight away?

It appears there could be a potential prospect coming my way... and whether that leads into something or not, I need to be ready for it. November's shown me I can deal with lots of things, but landing a full-time job would be all new territory. Being thrown in the deep end for me is nothing new now but it still shakes me up. Am I reeeeally ready?

Yes, by Totally Wild I am talking about the TV show. I'm currently halfway through a week of work experience at Adelaide's Channel Ten studios, and today was the first of two days in the Children's Unit, which holds one of three Totally Wild bases (Brisbane's the HQ and Melbourne plays a small role too).

To say I had a different experience to the general newsroom is an understatement. Today was one of the most fun days I've had in ages. Fun normal days that is (which I guess doesn't count parties/pub crawls etc. which lately have raised the bar). TW's feature format

First was overlay footage of two dogs for Bondi Vet (produced interstate); we had to get a Jack Russell (named Jack haha) to drink out of a swimming pool. It took us at least half an hour. Even then we only got a bit of footage and ended up getting him to drink out of a bowl. Turns out he likes chicken. Talk about never working with animals...

Our main story of the day was on arborists, who prune trees without harming them, etc. Standing in the wind for about 3.5 hours wasn't too ideal, but seeing Colin (the presenter) and Matt (cameraman) being harnessed and lifted 12m up a 30m redgum tree to get an interview was pretty awesome. Then I got my 15 minutes of fame. No, I did not go up the tree. Although that would've been pretty fun. But I'M IN THE STORY! With LINES!

I was 'Sarah', Colin's past love interest (fabricated for purposes of childish humour) who's curious about what he's doing up a tree. But I reject his invitation for a milkshake because I'm 'more into TV presenters'. It was so much fun; Colin, Matt and soundman Savvy are champs and I couldn't stop laughing as Colin was shouting after me from the tree with a broken voice. Hilarious. Won't be on air for about 2 months, but I'm glad I've got something to show for my work experience now (because I can't shoot a news story)!

After going out on politics/education-related interviews with the seriously awesome journos Daniela and Jemma, and the Totally Wild gang today, I understand the different types of news journos can present. Absolutely loving this week. It's getting better and better! Although I'll be sussing out why I was given what I think was a (mediocre) latte instead of a chai...

To put it bluntly I got a small kick in the guts this morning. How interesting that the impression you get from someone or something at the time really does amount to nothing in the end...



Internship went well. Sent an email to them last week; still in contact, but what does it matter? Someone who went to the other SA newsroom was notified of an unadvertised internship for where I went, applied and got the gig.



I'm surprised that I'm not too bitter about it. Thought I'd feel more personally affected. But it's made me realise that we really are in it to win it. It is a competition. And although I've done my fair share to stay strong in the ranks, I feel a bit lost in the big pool. Am I just a small fish in the big pond? Do I not have enough 'bitch'?

It's just one of many things I've been given to think about this past week. So much crap I have to filter through...

Britney's ACTUALLY making the effort and coming to Adelaide. OM-frickin'-G. Yes, there was some slight disbelief (and then squealing) this morning as I found Mum's hand-written note on the kitchen table but it's all over everywhere and everyone so it's not a hoax! How exciting!!! Will be taking many steps to ensure I get tickets...

Hm, I may be proc... NO. I'm not procrastinating because I've rung people for my Digital story, sent plenty of emails/texts and watched quite possibly the funniest ep of My Name Is Earl EVER (where they reveal Darnell's past as Harry Monroe) and it's only just hit midday. So I've already done plenty of shit and I'm going to do more. Woo! On a ROLL!

Peace out.

Within 21 or so hours I've managed 7 votes for my Opera internship entry. Not bad methinks. Not bad at all. But let the campaigning continue!

I've entered a comp to win a six-month internship with Opera Software in OSLO, NORWAY! Only thing is, I need major votes (70 +) and it closes on Friday...

Sign up for an account in my.opera.com, then go to the link below and look for Katiinkaa's 'Opera For Dummies'. Click on the gold star tab on the page to 'favourite' it and that’s it! Just keep the account for a few weeks, pleeeeeease!!!

And give me feedback if you actually read it. Cheers folks.

Link to the entrants' page: http://my.opera.com/community/competition/internship/view.dml.

Just entered the Opera Software internship competition... hope they put it in contention. Waiting with bated breath, time is of the essence.

No joke. Really. And within a day of it being possible too. Man, things travel fast on the Web. But as I checked my Facebook last night I get a wall post from my dear friend Steph (of the wonderful blog mayhem&miscellany) simply saying 'dude, you're on Wikipedia'.

A what what?

Turns out my Bandslam review, only posted on CPR yesterday, has already been immortalised in citizen encyclopaedic history. That is, as long as I print a copy before it gets changed - because it could happen. Some huge fan's obviously gone through every review released before the film comes out in the US (out here in Oz today) and quoted us all. My final verdict was the quote chosen, as follows:

"Katina Vangopoulos of Cut Print Preview (sic), however, gave the film a three out of five stars rating, stating that Bandslam offers a decent music lesson among the teenage angst. There’s not as much cheese here but be wary of your threshold." (Link #45)

This person needs better editing skills but nonetheless... THEY SPELT MY NAME RIGHT! Haha, people find that the hardest of all, funny then how they added an extra letter to Review.

This film is probably going to be fairly massive in the States because they love this kind of thing. It's actually not a piece of shit, even with Vanessa Hudgens, whose singing is kept to a minimum and the spotlight's shared.

Here is the link to my new-found Internet fame: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandslam
And here is the link to the review itself: http://cutprintreview.com/reviews/3-stars/bandslam-review/

Already have major assignments to be thinking about. A TV story, a VJ story and a few print stories. Not to mention filming for assessment next week when I take ten minutes just to check the camera's set up correctly. Oh oh.

2 reviews for the website to be written. Reviews written: 0

At least radio's on the up - Fresh shift went much better today, only had a few technical glitches that weren't my fault! Sounded slightly congested though. Eeeeewwwww.

THEN there's the MEAA Student Day on Wednesday where I have to sell myself to industry professionals - really should've made the effort to make business cards like my tutor said. Oh well. With any luck my persuasive charm could be enough. HA! Hardly.

JK's Wedding Dance. If you're not one of the 14 million worldwide yet to watch it, shame on you. This isn't just a funny clip... it's being used by Jill and Kevin to raise awareness for violence, which is a great thing.

I always knew Chris Brown's 'Forever' was destined for greatness because it's one of the most friendly and uplifting songs in recent times (well, I reckon anyway). What hope it brings seeing a bridal party enjoying the start of a marital journey by dancing down the altar. Plus the fat handstand guy is awesome.

The Aussie Dancing With The Stars just did a re-enactment, and it really showed that anyone can do a fun dance. But it's not some pointless thing is it? The fact everyone loves it and there are versions popping up everywhere suggests it's a metaphor for hope. How awesome.

Ok, so if we go on Sydney time that means the working day has started. 8 hours to go until my fate is sealed. Worst thing is I'm expecting another important call so I'm going to be on edge all day.

Can you imagine if I get a call from the ABC at 5 to 5? Now that would be the most brilliant thing in the world. Either way, after today I can't worry anymore. But fingers are still crossed!

Ok, so there's only a few days left to anxiously wait for a phone call/email from ABC3 if we were considered to be suitable as new presenters. I'm getting more and more nervous. It's unlikely we'll be considered because of the sheer enormity of interest - over 5000 people applied!!! But there's still a glimmer of hope. It's only Tuesday night. Have just under 72 hours!

It's cool that they keep our details on file for two years after though, I'd love to work for the ABC in just about any capacity. But the op to work on ABC3 would be amazing. At least Penny and I can say we gave it a red-hot go. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so I guess what rejects you gives you more experience doesn't it?

Last day as an official teenager ('twenteen' is a debatable term but one I will stick by) and really wasn't sure how to go out with a bang. Was cold and wet outside so couldn't reeeally do much. Biggest idea was throwing toys around at Toys 'R' Us to get a kick out of trashing the old workplace... That's fairly mean though, most of the order's changed by now.

Managed to watch the rest of Weird Science, a John Hughes offering that while not as good as The Breakfast Club et al (but really, how can you beat THAT?) managed to be less serious about teen tribulations and more about the laughable side and the ludiocrity of growing up. By the way is ludiocrity actually a word?

That at least managed to cheer me up; before I read about the 17 year old guy that beat Aussie Jesse Martin's record of sailing around the world solo youngest. He said that teenagers should be looked at within a better light... Well, at least those not on World's Strictest Parents should be anyway. But I never did anything adventurous like that. Heck, I never threw one of the typical house parties, it just wasn't how I rolled. Have achieved a lot but there are some things I'll never know.

Does being 20 mean I have to grow up? Hope not, I'd like to think there'a still plenty of childishness in me for the right moments! Think one of the things that's useful for is being excited about birthdays. Why do we fear it more as we get older? Why do we let the fear take control? Humph, not sounding like a carefree teen there am I?

So we come to Sunday. The trip home. I had moved out of my room on Saturday night to accommodate for family friends who were passing through to Melbourne; Tigger's looking at me probably knowing I shouldn't be in Mel's bed. Felt sad as I left the house, it had a real homely feel and I'd enjoyed my stay. Glad they kept the food from the care package I brought up, otherwise Mum would've killed me!

The road trip with Mel ended up being an awesome day. Took our time for a safer trip, Mel had promised we'd go through Penola so we stopped to see Mary Mackillop's school. We'd gotten there during mass (being a Sunday morning) and as such was the only time the tour wasn't open. Pity, but I did get a few photos through the window. This is the chick they want to consider a saint. She taught in country SA. That's unreal. Penola's lovely, I got coconut roughs from the sweet shop that I can feel rotting my teeth and we encountered a headless bride that moved and talked. It was almost lifesize; she was holding her head by the hair and if you pushed the button on her hand she moved from side to side saying some weirrrrd shit. "I just wanted this day to be... perfect *sobs*". It was so loud, and in a secluded part of the store it was the creeeepiest thing in the world. Wish I took a photo...

Passed a lovely cottage just outside Padthaway, Mel had always wanted to have a look. We turned back and went in the estate. It was for Padthaway Wines and we ended up spending an hour in their cellar on a wine tasting journey. The woman was amazingly knowledgable and we learnt a lot. Not to mention that the wine was incredibly good. They sell their stuff at the Ed's cellar so think there will be a trip there in the near future.

Weird guy in Tailem Bend's Subway that spilt Coke all over the door was the only other major thing. Lotta singing, lotta chips and almond bread consumed and some hours later we were back. Still feel weird being home. Although I was excited to see that my tickets for My Sister's Keeper had come in the mail. And as I was alerted to by Mel I've never been away from my family this long. Good to see familiar faces. Missed everyone. Found myself back at Macca's with the girls just before (minus Nav who's left for Singapore. Major sadness.) and it almost feels like I never left. Just feel I had a lot of stories to tell and something to show for it. Great experience, so so happy I went down there for my internship. Would gladly go again. Hope Erin has a good week for hers this week! Feel a bit worldly having travelled a bit more than normal in 2009. Although that only stretches across two states I've learnt different things on every trip and it helps me grow. The trip to the Mount most certainly did.

Nelly Furtado put it so well! I'm going to try and condense this into the shortest nutshell possible so it's not too much of a windy bore.

So I'm home now, still awake after a long day. My weekend was awesome and I can't believe my Mt Gambier trip is all over. I was slack writing last night because there wasn't enough time! However, I did the following:

Went to the community markets they hold every Saturday morning... bought a 'lucky rock' for $1 (!) but was shattered that the stall I would've spent a fortune at was closed. It had a selection of 300+ movie posters and one of Charlie Chaplin's 'City Lights' was displayed. Was practically in tears. Total jip. Mel took me to their main op shop and was heavily tempted to buy a dress but stopped myself. Discovered I was on the hunt for a beanie (to watch the hockey later on) and Mel found a vodka Cruiser one that was so classy. Er, not. Bought Mel a Wicker Bear collectable to add to her collection from an antique store, bought myself my souvenir pin (yay!), and then there was the Cave Gardens...

Mt Gambier has numerous sinkholes, this one in the middle of the town. A real shame that someone had dumped a rubbish bin off the lookout, it's such a beautiful form of nature. These male tourists with kids were also there but wasn't really paying attention to them until the Scottish accent asks me where I go after I die. Uh, what? I thought you were mocking preachers when you gave Mel the pamphlet. Got to be kidding me. Said I hope there's an upstairs, gives me the pamphlet too and we skidaddle right outta there. How uncomfortable.

See Mel's bridal dress, no time to try it on because a chick Mel happens to know was being helped and gave us daggers... must've heard Mel saying she'd hate to be a pregnant bride. As I found out, that's the Mount for ya. Met fellow bridesmaid Petra for the first time with her bf, 4 of us went shopping in 'the mall' (their Centro) and I found a beanie! Well, one of the cool hat-beanies from Just Jeans, it's awesome. Lunch was at Sorrento's, chicken risotto = amazing. Great great food.

Other sights included the Centenary Tower (but only the base, it was raining so we couldn't make the trek up for the view), Valley Lake and surrounds (in which we were inside a VOLCANO!). Mel was the most knowledgable tour guide, she told me about the lava rocks, the lake, the histories, it was so great. Even personal stuff like her schools kept me occupied. Sat night was James' hockey game - WestPort vs Redbacks (in which came his first goal in 3 years - to say both he and us went nuts was an understatement). Quite fun although we were in the minority of supporters and the score was 3-3. Would like to see more hockey. Found out the whole Kelly family's played for West at some point, it's in the blood!

Ended the day losing my American Pie virginity. Not enlightened or proud but now I don't have to face people who can't believe I haven't seen such a generic film. Thought it'd be funnier - Sex Drive was hilarious. I thought AP started the trend...

I'm done. That's it. And I happen to be really sad about it. Last day at Win today was filled with excitement, gossip and major last-minute drama.

The rest of yesterday proved quite insightful. Said my thanks to Stuart coz he wasn't there today, he specifically said I was 'refreshing' because the 2nd yr Melbourne journo student was a disaster - had no idea and didn't want to be there. On the other hand I structure stories and handle myself well and he was impressed. Excellent. Grey's finale was SO sad, still managed to cry although I knew what was happening, but that was balanced by the hilarity of my host family who are very entertaining.

Last night's minimum was -1 degrees. So waking up to 2 degree cold and ice on Mel's car was to be expected. Get to the newsroom and newsreader Sharny is acting Chief of Staff. Talk about a lot on your plate. She also did three stories for the day... MY story was on the Blue Lake BMX Club who have 16 ppl going to the World Champs, which are being held in Adelaide next week. It was pretty neat, I spoke to a guy in his 30s and 2 11 yo girls - most of them are kids. Did a really cool stand-up with the bikes whizzing past me on the track bumps and got a decent story. Sharny didn't change any of my structure and was impressed with how I work independently. I was repeatedly told how impressive I was, surprised my ego didn't go into overdrive. Mel and I have been the best of the lot so far! But it's a good thing, means if I keep in touch I won't be such a pain in being persistent for a job.

Got my DVD with the stories on it so I'm pretty chuffed. But my goodbyes to a few of the crew were a bit awkward because the bulletin was going to air with fear of a possible lawsuit. One story had a supposedly defamatory shot but the whole bulletin would've had to be pulled if it had to be edited. So major drama. In the middle of my day was lunch (hot dog w/cheese and a dim sim for $3 a steal) and another wander past the Blue Lake where I met a solo Brazilian traveller. Took a photo for him. He was friendly. On my walk back a guy was scrubbing the golden arches that were spray painted on the footpath. Yes, I'm talking the Maccas logo here. My day ended with meeting some of Mel's extended family over dinner and a broken vodka bottle...

Not that anyone cares, but my dressy shoes are making my toes sore. Pain is beauty in looking glam for the cameras. I'm not actually going to BE in front of the camera in tonight's bulletin, but you have to keep up appearances! Although my mug is invisible, I am involved in TWO of the stories. That's one whole story more than yesterday!

Had an abrupt awakening this morning when I felt some weight suddenly on my bed. Open my eyes to see these big eyes looking at me. Casey had decided to become my personal alarm clock - I half screamed and both Casey and Tigger scurried out of the room. How the hell did the cats get in my room when the door was closed?! And not to mention it was 7am - but that ended up being a blessing in disguise, I needed that extra time up. Found out later that Tigger can actually reach up and pull the door handles down. Smart bugger. Thought I was getting used to living with pets...

So to my stories! Went into the main street of Mt Gambier this morning to get some vox pops (general public opinions in front of the camera) on what people think of the proposed laws to crush hoon drivers' seized cars. Wasn't too hard actually, most were keen on speaking to me and I got a good mix of people. Some little kids missed out on their TV opportunity because their mum flat-out refused to go on camera. Poor buggers, they just wanted to be famous. All the story is is pretty much these voxys... I just say 2 pars before and after them to tie it all up. Got some good quotes though, and I apparently did a good job!

That was in between my sports story (!), covering hockey results from the weekend because Kristy was away again today. They spread it out here because there's not much mid-week sporting news in these parts. Stuart asked me if I liked sports (uh, YES!) and I was set to do a netball story. Mentioned I'd done Sports Journalism at uni and after I admitted I wasn't keen on netball he switched me to hockey! I had fragments of footage from the WestPort v Tigers Div1 men's nail-biter and a contact number to find out how the game went down. I didn't even know where the teams were based! Turns out the contact was WestPort's manager and they lost the game (3-4...) so I felt bad when I asked him about good players in the opposition... awkward.

There was only one of the goals caught on camera so I was struggling to find good footage. The info I got on WestPort's best player being sent off twice was awesome but we had no visuals!!! So I did the best I could with what I had and I'll be seeing how it all turned out soon... got good constructive criticism as well, I had made it more print and less TVish by not having it chronologically. He kept practically all my wording though, just switched it around.

Final of Grey's tonight, can't wait to sit down and have a glass of wine and enjoy it! I'm shocked that it's Thursday already though, that means I only have 1 day of story-making left! And Lennon's! Sadness. I'm really having fun here. Lennon's is a great foodie too - $2 Chiko roll for a late lunch hit the sweet spot!

And that is the best compliment I can give in these Edward-obsessed times. HP6 was amazing. The best yet. Funny with the increase in romance, a total prat in Cormac McLaggen who I'd forgotten about until rediscovering the book last week, and a really well condensed and flowing plot.

A sold-out session in front of the Oatmill Cinema's biggest screen meant we had to line up for good seats the old school way. No allocated seats, it's all about the dedication in these parts. Wasn't long ago that city folk were the same...

I swear every single person sighed at the end because they wanted more. Best one yet. I for one can't WAIT to see it again. I want my chance to be an extra in The Deathly Hallows dammit!

On a different note, went to get late dinner at the Red Rooster, we thought it was closed and almost had a fit. I'm talking 8:30pm here. We got in to order though and because they had just mopped, Mel thought the slippery floor would be useful to recreate the moonwalk. We must've looked so cool for the teenage kids that had walked in, doing the slick moves and ruining their cleaned floors in one go. Ahahaha. Oops.

Oh btw, I DID see a possum last night at the sinkhole. Just one. But it could well have killed us for the apple pieces we were feeding it. Anyway, so I'm in the newsroom atm, this is usually the boring part of the day because journos are writing up their stories. I only had one to do so I'm done. Could have a late lunch but I'm lazy and don't wanna ask if I can actually venture out. The point is that I've done a story!!!!! Sure, it's not hard-hitting news but it's hopefully still awesome.

Knew today was going to be productive. Parkinson was interviewed on Sunrise and his journalist tips were a good omen. Plus I was entering day 3 and figured it'd just be cruel if I hadn't had a chance by now. Get here, Kristy (sports chick) hasn't shown up. We find out at 2 or so that she's been in the hospital waiting line all day, poor thing. I should do an investigation into that, why the system's a load of crap...

While I didn't replace her with the sport, my story was on a firefighters assessment where they use breathing apparatus in smoke-filled situations. Couldn't film much inside the house they used - couldn't see more than 6 inches ahead! Their task was to get the dummies to safety and dinner plates stood in for holes in the ground... The masks were huge and they had thermal imaging cameras too. Simple fluff piece but interviewed the Regional Training Co-ordinator (yes, important) and a firefighter.

Took me 2.5 hrs to pick the footage and write it up, which is from lack of expertise/practice, but I had time. Stuart (chief of staff) looked it over, chopped and changed it but said my piece-to-camera was really good and the story was excellent. His words! Reckons he only shuffled things around and didn't have to do much. I thought he was doing a lot...

Did the voiceovers fairly quickly and that went fine. Was surprised my p-t-c went okay, did freak out to myself because I struggled when trying to write it at one point and on the field there's limited time. Glad it wasn't too important a story otherwise there would've been a different effect. I won't see the final product until I watch it back at Mel's later (yes, I'm taping it but will get it on DVD after the week) so I have no idea how it looks.

Seeing Harry Potter tonight... what a perfect way to end the day. It's been pretty a cruisy intro to TV reporting, but am hoping by Friday to get much better at structuring my stories. Practice makes perfect!

I've seen more of Masterchef these past few days than throughout the past 3 months but I can totally see how people are addicted to it. Tensions are certainly high, think I've picked the right time to tune in.

No story for me today, am hoping for tomorrow. Saw more of what I'll be doing though so I feel slightly more prepared. The system makes the scripting easy, and the editors actually do all the cutting so I don't have to sit there and do it.

Went to a farm outside of Naracoorte to see a Field Day for Prime SAMM - sheep. Their specialty was Merino sheep imported from South Africa that are primarily bred for meat instead of wool. Some of them weighed over 130 kgs and one was bought for something crazy like $5000. A family had travelled from the Mid-North to see these sheep, people were coming from all around. Also met a 12-yr-old kid in Naracoorte who's been selected for the national u-13 baseball team and is going the Cal someone world championships. Naracoorte's an hr away from Mt. Gambier so there was a lot of travelling again today.

Lunch was a quick stop at the Naracoorte bakery on the way home, awesome steak and mushroom pie. Pastry was amazing. Masterchef made us all hungry so we just had ice-cream with Ice Magic. Mmmm... But importantly on today still, saw the bulletins filmed from inside the actual studio. Sat in the sports seat for most of it, the autocues are so cool. The cameras are robotic so its only the presenter in there and they communicate through earpieces. Bit disappointed that I didn't get to read off it. Would've been fun.

In other news, the ABC3 application was SENT! I'm yet to see the final product but I trust that Penny has shown PK as an awesome duo - really, we're too cool for school. So excited since I found out about the presenting opportunity, got me through exam period and the fact I got up off my bum and did it makes me happy. Won't have to wait long to see if we were considered, will know by the 31st. Think we're going to the sinkhole again to suss out the possums. It's called the Umpherston Sinkhole!

Well, day 1 has now come and gone and I can reveal that I'm in for a lot in the next few days. Stories are definitely happening, and another chance to experience the country life has given me added interest. Win-TV at Mt Gambier cover stories as far as Kingston, Keith and Robe and they also do the newsreading for the Loxton bulletin which covers the Riverland...

My day today was fairly breezy. Went to a property in the Bray district outside of Robe where the dirt road off the highway led you nowhere for at least 5 minutes. Talk about the longest driveway ever. There'd been storm damage over the weekend that uprooted 40-yr-old pine trees and ripped a huge shed apart. This ended up being the top story (just quietly I think it was a slow news day)... It was great to see something in action though, gives me a well-deserved reminder as to why I want to do this. TV's always been up there so I'm hoping that this'll give me my best practise yet.

So the place was over an hr away. Yeah, that means I spent 2 hrs in the back of the Win van. Bumpy ride, but I became so tired I started falling asleep. This continued well into the afternoon in the office and in the control rm as i watched the newsreading. I wasn't bored though I swear!!! It was just really tiring.

Lunch was good, I navigated my way thru the streets and I ate my chicken salad roll with the Blue Lake in front of me. So peaceful. Attempted to upload a photo but that didn't work because the file was huge... Mel took me to the famous sinkhole before too but there were no possums! They were hiding, but the place is beautiful.

Ok ok, so that's all for now. Mum tried calling me only six times before so I figured I'd give an update. Until tomorrow...

I've seen more of SA this year than I have my whole life... first Kadina for the work experience at their paper and now to Mt Gambier where I'm doing my internship at Win-TV. Have a 5-6hr bus ride ahead of me. May update this again if I'm bored. But I'm kinda excited. And nervous. Still have to get ready...

Michael Jackson's ghost is roaming around Neverland. That is the freakiest shit ever. I reckon there's gotta be some truth to this - it was captured on CNN cameras live. Why would Larry King lie? And why is there another ghostly image behind Jermaine in his interview on NBC?

The most watched version (link provided) has stuff added in that adds to the creepiness of the whole thing. You don't know whether to laugh or cry. Oh man, this is not going anywhere, huh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Am67-Sew7k

Audrey Tautou is not the only young French actress around. This is Virginie Ledoyen. So I saw three films of hers this week unexpectedly and as she has been at the forefront of well, everything, I've found out that she's one classy actress.

Oddly enough, not one of these three films was 'The Beach' (yes, the one with Leo DiCaprio). I will watch that one day though, if only for the reason of seeing how All Saints' 'Pure Shores' is used in it...

Tuesday: went to the media screening of My Friends, My Loves for CPR and didn't realise who she was until she popped up on screen. The frustration of her character was good, but I also saw a hint of a comedic side.

Thursday: saw Shall We Kiss? because I had free tickets (boo-yah! Thanks AFI!)... it's a screwball comedy, but she played it so straight! So so cool was she, seems to have a down-to-earth elegance about her, even if her hair is sometimes not that great.

Thursday night/Friday: 8 Femmes happened to be on SBS, figured 'why not make it a hat-trick?'. Now, this film has a stellar cast including Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert, and is a very kooky musical-mystery, but Ledoyen just pulled it off, no dramas. She does serious in strange environments very well and comes off differently each time. Plus her singing turn is the highlight of the solos. Not necessarily voice-wise, but fun nonetheless.

Don't get me wrong. I love Audrey Tautou. And I can say now, having seen a decent amount of French cinema, that I enjoy their films for all its love-focused stories. But it's good to discover more, and Ledoyen is great. I don't like to use the word 'classy' too much, but she really is. Think I said in one of my reviews that she typifies the strong-yet-fragile Frenchwoman. Still stand by that.

The French will probably think I'm stupid for not knowing this already, but hey, to Australia it's foreign cinema and we don't get too much of it -but we do get more French films than any other non-English countries...

I'm all Frenched out for this week. Major movie swampage indeed. But I can never stay away for too long.

Thought I'd try mobile blogging so I can blog on the go, linking everything together seems to be the key to smooth sailing! What's essentially a diary entry published to the world through an email on the phone... Alexander Graeme Bell would be astonished at how his invention has evolved and what it's created. I'm astonished by all this cool integration as it is and I live in this age! Hm. I'm keen to see how this turns out on the computer screen now...

The idea of childhood has been fairly rampant for me in the past week, as it likely has for most of us. Strong emotions of sadness and exultation have come through different outlets, each more random than the next.

Michael Jackson's death for one has brought such a strong emotional response across the world. Now, I know I shouldn't be surprised, but for some reason I really am astonished at the coverage and just how important people regarded him. Although we're being reminded constantly about the true reason for his popularity (his music), this is amidst what the media portrayed him as during the last decade or two of his life - Wacko Jacko. Re-reading about his struggle during childhood and how his personality remained linked to the child in him in adulthood makes you question the accusations made against him. Could someone with the mindset of a 12-year-old really be capable of paedophilia? Hardly it seems, but as with much of his life we'll never really know. From a budding journalist's perspective, I do want to say that I'm not sure if Mike Amor's opinion on Weekend Sunrise was called for (he suggested MJ was a great artist but not a great man). A bit of objectivity is needed, even with celebrity deaths, right?

On a happier note, the release of Transformers 2 continues the love for toy/hero adaptations. Had to wait 90 mins before we could get seats but what fun that film was! Although slightly drawn out and not with the most fleshed out of plots, Shia LeBeouf = excellent and Optimus Prime is a TANK! There's so much divided opinion over this movie which I also find really interesting, but it's Bay doing what he knows best - mindless explosions!

While on the childhood topic, I thought I had lost an important piece of mine yesterday when I was told that my 30-odd Disney video (yes, tapes) collection had been pawned off at Cash Converters. Needless to say I was hugely surprised at how much this affected me. They were a staple of my childhood, all watched repeatedly and I now realise how huge Disney films were for me as a kid. Found out soon after that I was being had, my gullibility the target of my father's idea of fun. I should've really known better. Another lesson learned in the arguably childish life we live.