Well, I had the money yesterday, so I exchanged it for this:

Specifically, a Nikon D60, which is one of their entry-level DSLRs, along with 18-55 and 55-200 mm lenses. Even after a brief play with it, I wish I’d done this a year or two ago.

Should be good for my upcoming trip to Latvia and parts beyond in July. More details on that soon. You know, whenever we figure out where the hell we’re actually going. Current candidates include Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Should be fun.

For the record, that’s not my bear. I was involved in the tie situation, however.

I got a real, paying job, which I start on Monday. It’s a Perl <insert inarticulate grumble here> programming role (people in Perth probably already know who it’s with just based on that). I’ll likely post more details on that when I figure out what it’s really all about. For now, it just feels strange to be going back to full-time work after 54 weeks out of the saddle.

After dithering on the subject, I did end up signing up for a Graduate Certificate in film stuff. I only have time to do one unit a semester, but that’s enough to keep the creative juices going. I hope. First project: a music video, due in about three weeks, give or take. Now I just have to resist the urge to do everything in stop motion.

Frustratingly, not only am I still not allowed to drive after my overly dramatic collapse in Melbourne in January — barrels of fun when you live in the sticks with wildly inadequate public transport — but I haven’t even had the required follow-up with a neurologist yet. (I have, however, had all the requisite tests, and everything has apparently come back normal. Yes, that means I now have scientific proof that I actually have a brain.) Most of the neurologists in Perth have, as a minimum, three month waiting lists even for private patients, and having found one who didn’t have such a long waiting list and who had a good reputation, he’s since cancelled my appointment six times. We’re going for number seven tomorrow, and if it doesn’t go ahead, it’s going to be mighty awkward mighty fast with my forthcoming work commitments to schedule another appointment — with him or anyone else.

Truthfully, given the difficulty I’ve had getting places since I got back from Melbourne (friends and family have been good, but there’s only so much you can ask), I’ve spent entirely too much time at home feeling sorry for myself in the last few weeks, and not enough time doing stuff. Including blogging. Really, it’s time to kick myself out of this funk. So, to summarise this self-indulgent post:

…because, hey, it beats the hell out of just watching TV all day.

Base image Mastermind Azrael taken by Kjirstin, and used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic licence.

Fortunately, today’s been a much better day. Since I’d already spent the money on a ticket, I decided to go to the Big Day Out for a little while this afternoon. I got there just in time to see Regurgitator and left after seeing Arcade Fire, not wanting to push my luck too far. It’s the first time I’ve seen Arcade Fire live, and it was everything I could have hoped for and more. Against that, Flemington Racecourse was warm, very dusty, and almost totally devoid of shade. I’ll just make sure I’m back in Perth for the Claremont Showgrounds show next year.

Tomorrow: Miniconfs! No idea which one I’m going to yet, but it should be fun anyway.

For the record, I ended up with three distinctions and a high distinction for the semester, so I’m pretty happy with how things worked out. As for finally being done, I’m deliriously happy.

Long story short: I was sent out a paper ticket for the Malaysian Airlines legs of my trip from Singapore to Shanghai and return. For whatever reason, I never received said paper ticket, and laboured under the misapprehension that it was an e-ticket. Wackiness ensued when I came to check in this morning — although I had a confirmation number from Malaysian Airlines, they (understandably) wouldn’t let me on the flight without the expected paper ticket. It’s mostly my own fault for not re-reading the fine print on the itinerary more closely (it does say paper ticket

under the additional charges section at the end which, frankly, I ignored when I first read it, since I figured it was just taxes — that is the only place it’s mentioned, though), but it does leave a slight lingering sense of general irritation. (Certainly not at Malaysian Airlines or Expedia, though, who both pulled out the stops to make sure I got to Shanghai as quickly as possible. This isn’t like my infamous missed flight in Beijing, which I maintain was Air China’s fault to this day.)

Anyway, once the rescheduled flights were sorted out this morning, I ended up with several hours to kill in Singapore. I decided to hop down to the Hive Backpackers, which is where I’m staying on the way back, and managed to secure a single room for the afternoon to get a bit of sleep courtesy of the helpful staff there. They then excelled themselves by giving me some tips on good places to try in Little India for dinner, which resulted in my enjoying an excellent rogan josh.

Random notes before I go back towards my departure gate:

• I saw a guy on a Segway this morning here at the airport. Yes, really. He didn’t appear to be doing it for any work-related reason, either.
• Starbucks hasn’t improved.
• Bus drivers + torrential rain + overflowing stormwater drains + crosswalks = drenched jeans. I’m not sure they’ll be dry when I get to Shanghai tomorrow morning.
• I’m really dreading my next phone bill. The roaming charges are going to be enormous.
• Two nights of red-eyes in a row split by only about four or five hours of sleep isn’t going to do a lot for my ability to be coherent tomorrow for the first day of the study trip programme. It’s a full day, too — I might have to see if I can beg out of the acrobatics show tomorrow evening to catch up on my sleep.
• The free Internet access here at Changi is pretty sweet, particularly with the array of laptop stations available with Ethernet cables and power points.

Now, off to Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai! Again!