When the Cheshire emerges...

Before the week that was, I just have to say... Pharrell's hat. Wow.

we did it we did it RT @MTVNews: Who won the #GRAMMYs? Duh, @Pharrellhat. #infogrammys pic.twitter.com/EGHf5DYQZP
— Pharrell's Hat (@Pharrellhat) January 27, 2014

Well, I'm still excited I have Instagram a month in (follow me by all means, @katiinkaa01), but really, not being able to embed photos to show you is a bit of a pain in the neck.

So you'll just have to follow the links.

Elcho Island #Galiwinku #NTAustralia #TopEnd http://t.co/Rs93333QPr
— Katina V (@Katiinkaa) January 20, 2014

A day on Elcho Island as Indigenous Affairs minister Nigel Scullion talked with #Galiwinku residents… http://t.co/yaAEyk17XF
— Katina V (@Katiinkaa) January 20, 2014

The pictures show my day at Arnhem Land's Elcho Island, which is my first proper trip for work. I had to fly on a plane to get there! It was also my first day as the education reporter, as I'll be focusing on that round as well as general news stories from now on.

It was really great to get to a remote part of the Northern Territory - and Australia. I was there while the Galiwin'ku community received a visit by federal Indigenous Affairs minister Nigel Scullion, who had been in talks with an elder from a group of Yolngu communities. They have been discussing the options for getting children to attend school - in Galiwin'ku there's a five-year average of about 52 per cent attendance - and that's for the kids that are enrolled, there are still lots more that have never been to school.

For me, it was just great to get to talk to some locals. I got a little bit of an insight into a different way of life, saw why there's such a need to push education in certain areas, and saw how a community is easily brought together (literally - the meeting was organised by someone talking over a massive PA system and everyone converged onto a public space).

I thought it was so important I suggested my American friend Luke get a copy of my paper while he was visiting Uluru during his current trip across Australia. Although he couldn't buy one, he did see my work. Thanks mate.

Ahh! This is so cool! I am finally in the same region as my Aussie friend @Katiinkaa's newspaper is distributed! :-) pic.twitter.com/jgjIkXPsJV
— Luke Fritz (@LukeFritz64) January 21, 2014

The power of news...

Wow. Can I just say: TGIF.

Before I leave work for the night (because it's my new home for blog-writing with my wishy-washy internet), I finally want to address the Australian Open properly.

***

1. How good are the Special K duo?

Nick Kyrgios was outstanding last night. It doesn't matter that he lost or that Benoit Paire is really irritating with his hot-headed nature. What matters is that Kyrgios clearly has the talent and skill to get to the cream of the crop. He just needs more miles in his legs. #NKrising indeed.

Thanasi Kokkinakis will develop in time too. He should be happy with his score against Rafael Nadal, and with good mate Kyrgios by his side will have a lot to look forward to in coming years.

Bottom line: Greek and Gold Day (as it was coined on Seven) showed promise. Opa!

Photo: SMH

2. Pink is the new black.

Seriously. Everyone's getting involved. And I really like it. Sam Stosur looks great in this bright ensemble, while plenty of the guys are opting for pink sneakers. Patterns too for that matter.



3. I'm on a plane for the mens' final.

How does that work? I'm off to Brisbane for a wedding next weekend, which is extremely exciting. The day after is Australia Day, and I thought that if I left pretty late I get to actually do something over there for most of the day. Plus I start at 11 the next day, which works in my favour.

It was only after booking the flight that I realised my mistake. It will be well into the game by the time I board, but that's the best bit. So (for now) I'm a little bit annoyed.

I got told by three people today that I essentially don't know how to do my job. At least two of the three were trying to give me constructive criticism (I think), but it still felt pretty shit.

And none of them were in my workplace, which makes it even worse. After a morning of rushing around (including what I hope is my very last visit to Telstra at Casuarina Square - that place is seriously messed up), I just didn't want to start my workday off with that shit.

***

Got caught w a smile on my face unearthing these. Time to unleash @MenzFruChocs power on the newsroom #chocolate #yum pic.twitter.com/o55aYEKdwR
— Katina V (@Katiinkaa) January 15, 2014

I made the afternoon a bit lighter though, sharing some Fruchoc love with my office. I'd done this in Dubbo before where no one really knew about them, and got a good reaction. Most here in Darwin were stumped, but for those that actually knew of the Fruchoc power their faces lit up. It made me happy that they were happy. Such is the magic these chocolates provide...

Today it was wet in Darwin. 25 degrees.

Today it was hot in Adelaide. 45 degrees.

WHAT?!

We're getting the rains off winds from a tropical low, and the south-east of Australia's getting a really rude heatwave.

This is such a weird reversal, I'm tripping. I was a bit cold today to be honest, which was even more weird.

***

Speaking of, I can't believe I was at the Australian Open a whole year ago. And with the heat, I'm kind of glad I'm not there right now. Last year was bearable at least.

Hoping to get back into regular Storify feeds this year. Just depends on how my internet at home goes because it's a tempramental bugger...

Some things just seem to be really difficult.

I had a hard day yesterday. I shouldn't blame Darwin, but I really feel that just sometimes there's such a thing as being too laidback. People slip up.

Then there's the whole having a Citroen thing. Yes, having a French car is an ongoing problem for me because living somewhere outside a major metropolitan city with it gets me puzzled looks and general confusion all round. All the time. And it's a frickin' hassle.

I thought I'd do the right thing and give up my NSW plates. Establish myself as a Territorian in licence and registration. Forever hold Australia's peace and the rest of it. It shouldn't have been that difficult. But it was.

They couldn't find my compliance plate in the inspection because the woman had never inspected a Citroen befrore (I'm not joking). Nothing against her at all, and to be fair it was hidden in the most stupid of places, but it just took forever. Then I had to replace my two front tyres. That was fine though, saw that coming. But an extra $250 out of my pocket.

Then I got my licence and switched my plates. Went to unscrew the front plate - and there's no holes for my new standard ones. So they're now on my dashboard. Can't drive my car though because I've effectively surrendered my insurance/CTP and NO ONE'S OPEN ON SATURDAY MORNINGS for me to get help with new insurance. At least in Dubbo I could actually go to NRMA if I needed to... ridiculous.

So I can't drive my car. Can't fix my plates until I can drive my car. Oh, and I also CAN'T DRINK if I wanted to drive anyway because there's some condition printed on my licence saying I'm allowed zero blood alcohol content. I've been on my full licence for five years. What the heck's that about? So I have to go back and get that fixed. And probably get a new photo, which sucks because I kind of like this one. Pain.

This weekend's the first time I've had two consecutive days off since before Christmas Day, and I'm just about transportless. Pain.

FLO RIDA!

Man, I asked you to stop with the covers a year ago now. And you've gone and done it again.

Photo: youtube.com

I know you've had How I Feel out for a while now, and it's gone well enough for you. But I've been busy.

I just want to say that it's not doing you any favours for credibility or your style. Whether you care about this I don't know (to be honest, I don't think you do), but what about respect?

See, now you've gone and tampered with a real classic. You're not the first with this song, and you won't be the last, but with your run of mashups/covers/whatever you want to call them it's been tiresome for a long time and you just need to stop.

You need to promise yourself you'll go to remake obsession rehab and clean yourself up.