Almost there...

3 papers down and one more to go. The exams are a pain in the neck in more than one way. I had to forego a trip to Canberra for a Presidents' VSU Summit which was scheduled for the week prior to my Applied Pharmacotherapeutics paper. I also had to miss the NUS Education Conference in Perth which is going on as I am typing this. What a shame. Oh well, once my final paper is over this Saturday I will be flying straight off to Newcastle via Sydney for the NLC Annual Conference.

It's been a rather happy week for me. I received a letter from the Malaysian Consulate in Sydney formally congratulating me on my election as President of the Students Association (see left).

Also, the Vice-Chancellor of my university recently received an invitation to send delegates from the uni to a conference in Canberra to be held in September. The uni was willing to pay travel costs but not the registration fees ($750). They asked each division to submit nominees. I decided to try asking the PVC of my division if she would be willing to nominate me as a delegate. Just received her reply today confirming she is willing to cover the $750! I'll just need to prepare a report upon conclusion of the conference.

Alright, wasted enough time. Need to get back to studying (and packing)!

Just for fun 2...

Alright, this is the first time I've made two posts in a day. But there were some new tests so I just couldn't resist. I wonder how accurate they really are...

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to obedience and warmth.

In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved.

You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.

In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

The True You

You want your girlfriend or boyfriend to be more relaxed, calm, and composed.

With respect to money, you spend whatever you have.

You think good luck doesn't exist - reality is built on practicalities.

The hidden side of your personality tends to be satisfied to care for things with a minimal amount of effort.

You are tend to think about others' feelings a lot, perhaps because you are so eager to be liked.

When it comes to finding a romantic partner, you don't have any particular type in mind, but you are inclined to look for someone who will say yes when you ask him / her out.

Who's the True You?

Slow and Steady

Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment. They expect you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it.

How Do People See You?

Your Dominant Thinking Style:

Modifying Super logical and rational, you consider every fact available to you. You don't make rash decisions and are rarely moved by emotion. You prefer what's known and proven - to the new and untested. You tend to ground those around you and add stability.

Your Secondary Thinking Style:

Exploring You thrive on the unknown and unpredictable. Novelty is your middle name. You are a challenger. You tend to challenge common assumptions and beliefs. An expert inventor and problem solver, you approach everything from new angles. You show people how to question their models of the world.

What's Your Thinking Style?

Coping...?

The past week was my final week of the semester. Exams are now exactly in a week. Obviously being the last week of the semester, I had an assignment and a counselling test to get through. Things have died down since everyone is facing exams. I had to forego a trip to Canberra this coming week just so that I have enough time to study. What a shame, I really wanted to see the place. Anyhow, for some reason or other I have been empowered with a feeling of confidence this week ever since my meeting with the politician on Monday. It seemed to be the spark that relit my fire that was sort of dimming for a while now (mainly due to fatigue I guess). Good timing though. I really need it for my exams.

There was no real outcry from my Council for not informing everyone of the politician's visit. After all, there was no time to do so and we had to limit our contingent. Aaron was the only exception. He spent quite some time whinging about how he was the Branch Director of my campus and he should have been told etc. He seems to think that he is really important and good. What a self-indulgent fool. Doesn't he know how pathetic he looked doing that in Council? He's still young and has a lot to learn. Some of those lessons he needs to learn fast are those of humility and patience.

I have been worried about my small tests for quite a while now. However, I managed to do well in all of them (which is not very common for me as I am usually a person who only does well in the finals)! Hopefully this run carries on for the exams. I'll have to send thanks upstairs for the assistance given to me when taking those tests. I was also a little worried about my counselling test yesterday but in the end, I think I did very well. I'm not usually worried about oral tests since I'm generally confident and enjoy speaking. However the problem with this one was that you needed to know your stuff and remember a whole bunch of facts.

For the moment I guess I'm coping. But I still have so much to do with so little time left. I'm not sure I can finish studying in time. But I have to. No choice there. I need to dig deep and pull out every ounce of motivation available. Once this is over I can enjoy myself doing things I really like (politics in Newcastle then relaxation in Sydney)!

Can I save it...?

Today was a significant day for myself and my Students Association. I managed to set up a meeting with a high-ranking member of the Liberal Party to discuss the issue of VSU and its impacts on the students in my university. I've been trying hard to set up such a meeting and am probably the only person who has managed to do this (with some help of course). He was only staying for an hour and a half so I made sure we planned everything nicely to ensure we got all that we wanted to tell him prepared to present to him before he left. Mondays are usually a full day of lectures for me. 9am to the latest 5pm without a lunch break in between. I had to dash out of class early just to ensure our final preparations were in order and that we were ready to receive him when he arrived. I was quite surprised at his demeanour when he arrived. He acted rather eccentric and effeminate which was quite interesting. I heard that he changes completely on the floor though. He is a politician after all. Anyways, we began with a chat and a short presentation about the structure and activities of our Association and highlighted significant achievements we have made over the years. After that we took him along for a campus tour to show him first hand what students use and what services we provide. We ended with a short lunch and that was when things started to get interesting. Well, we went on about how important our services are and the detrimental effects the WA model of VSU would bring upon our students. Our main fighting points were that we did not place a focus on politics and that our main concern was for the basic services that would potentially be lost under VSU. He then asked whether we were affiliated with the National Union of Students (NUS), which we of course replied in the affirmative. It was then that he started pushing the fact that we were supporting a political cause and that the NUS spent $400,000 on a Labor Party campaign in the previous Federal Elections and how they were not happy that one of their candidates lost her seat due to that campaign. Well, my Equity and Welfare VP and I both went on about how I put up a recommendation of disaffiliation earlier in the year and that it was something that was considered. Anyhow, the discussion proceeded further but it was clear that the main reason for VSU was to destroy the NUS as it was more or less a front for the Labor Party. He seemed in agreement of our push for the Victorian model of VSU but when asked whether he would support such an amendment, he went so far as to say that the legislatioon would be put into the Senate as is and that any amendments would have to come in the Senate itself. We're quite willing to compromise with the Victorian model because although it takes away the politics, it still allows the Association to provide those basic services to students, services that are very much required. I was quite happy with the outcome of the meeting. I mean, yes it probably didn't make a difference as he gave us the impression that he wouldn't change his mind. Nevertheless we have done our jobs and that is really the best we can do. We got the message across. That's the important thing. It still leaves me wondering whether or not I am capable of saving our Association. Regardless, I have to keep on fighting. If not for my sake then for the sake of those who depend on the Association. Also when he was leaving, he made a passing comment to me that our Association was the only one he decided to visit which was quite an "honour" to us.

That meeting left me feeling pretty comfortable and confident with myself. I must say that I felt confident in putting my point across and dealing with blunt criticisms from a politician very well. I mean, these politicians must be very good at arguing their case (or else they wouldn't be in their positions) and I felt I did well in the manner in which I conducted myself and led the discussion. It's going to prepare me for another meeting I am expecting in about a week's time. That one is going to be a tough one. I'm going straight into the lion's den. Well, that will probably be one of my toughest tests yet but I will give it my all and hopefully get a positive outcome.

There was one other thing today though that sort of brought me down to earth. Sometimes you do all you can to help someone out and you think you've made some progress. But then, you realise that the person may not have listened at all or that the person does not want to make that effort to change. It gets difficult after a while. When you repeat the same thing that you know will benefit the person. But then the person doesn't listen. Then again, am I being too proud by thinking that my effort really can make a difference? Is the person not listening because he/she does not feel that what I am saying is useful? What do you do when you really want to help someone, and you do all you can to help the person, and you know that you can help the person; but then the person doesn't want to acknowledge that help? Do you just leave the person be and say, "I did what I can"? Or do we continue trying to help? I would probably go for the latter option. However I must admit that it is frustrating to keep having to repeat yourself or spend time trying to fix something that refuses to be fixed. I could very well just let go but something inside tells me that I will do more harm by letting go. Oh well, I guess I'll have to keep trying. After all: if at first you don't succeed; try, try and try again!

Driving down Life Lane...

I haven't been blogging for a while. It's getting busier every day and the exams are just around the corner. I haven't even been able to make it into office much. I got hit by the flu last week and had a terrible spell of symptoms the night before my Pharmacology test (which constitutes 15% of the overall mark) causing me to literally have to drag myself to the exam hall. I was worried that I'd screw up the paper as I was not feeling good at all. Why didn't I just submit a sickie? Well, I had to make a presentation to the Academic Board in the evening so it would not look right if I skipped the test but made it for the meeting. It wasn't the end of the world if I didn't give that presentation but I felt it was a matter that simply could not wait any longer. It all worked out in the end with me being able to give a reasonably good presentation and also discovering yesterday that I did quite well for my test!

Last weekend was more or less spent on NLC matters with the Education Conference on Saturday and the Annual Conference the next day. The Education Conference went very well and it was pleasing to see delegates from my uni/caucus making up the numbers for attendance. 23 people to be exact. I kept rubbing it in to the Adelaide Uni and Flinders ISO Presidents. I was made a member of the panel for a VSU forum and although I felt I could have done better, it went well and I received a bottle of red wine for my efforts (complements the bottle of white wine I won at the jazz bar!). The Annual Conference was more of a shame. The President for the ISO of one of the unis promised to attend the conference and we needed him to reach quorum. However the joker turned off his phone on Sunday morning and we couldn't contact him at all. What ensued was a wild trip to his apartment area with us shouting his name at the top of our lungs and our most skillful driver reversing into a gutter. Oh well, at least we got through all of that. Went for a movie later with a classmate. It lasted an hour at most and was rather boring though it picked up in the end (according to my classmate). Another weekend wasted.

What can I say, it's been a tiring day. I spent more or less the whole day in office though I managed to go out for lunch, dinner and a coffee with different friends. There's a lot going on in my mind as a result of certain online conversations I have been having with a friend but I just can't think of how to summarize it so I'll make some analogies.

It's interesting how some people put up a high wall so as to prevent people from looking past it and seeing the true character of the person. However once even a small crack appears, it then becomes easy to see through it all. The main obstacle is looking for that crack, or making it appear. If a person wants to hide something, probably one of the best ways is to build a wall, but ensure that there are a lot of other obstacles in the way. Things that divert attention away from the wall or block it from full view. This will make people look in the wrong direction and sometimes not even notice there is a wall. Never let people see that you are building a wall. Plant some bushes, turn the directional arrows to the wrong directions, install a maze or even create multiple pseudo-walls. There are so many ways to prevent people from seeing who you are. But then again one may ask; "What is the point of it all?" A lot of people want to hide their true selves and not let others see it. There may be various reasons for this behaviour. I guess the main point is that if you want to hide it, go ahead and hide it. Just make sure that it doesn't look too obvious that you are trying to hide it. The more you draw attention to it, the more likely it is that a crack will be found or made.

Doesn't mean much does it? It's not supposed to. It will be interesting for people who adopt this practice but may be completely useless for those who are true to themselves and others. Nevertheless there will always be a side of us that we never show to others. Sometimes for the better. Other times though, it may be for the worse...