Hmmm. I know I should be updating but I'm not really sure what to say! A lot has been happening but it's always so much of a hassle to arrange photos and so on that I never post it. Last semester was INSANELY busy, mainly coz 8 out of our 9 assignments were pratical group work, AND I was working on a feature film - which means 3 months of continuous work, that started off as weekends but the last month and half was every day of the week. In May we did night shoots and I had my university projects to film so I had a lot of days when I'd film all day for uni and all night for the feature. It shouldn't be humanly possible! No, honestly, I don't know how I survived that. End of June and beginning of July I went to the States. Family-wise, it was the best trip out there ever. It really felt like Eric was trying not to have an argument/fight. The last news I had heard before heading over there was that Ali was clean and vastly improving so I was really looking forward to spending proper time with her again but when I got there I found out she'd relapsed a month before and was barely living at the house again so I only saw her about twice in the whole trip. America-wise, this was the worst trip. I flew Brisbane-LA-Salt Lake City-Minneapolis and by the time the plane touched down in Minne, I'd had as much 'America' as I could stand. When I was living in Bahrain, going to the States was a little like going to civilization (broadband, movies released on time, shopping, TV) but now I'm in Aus and we have all that. And then some. And without the added annoyance of Americans. Last year I didn't notice as much coz I was still new to Aus when I went to the States (for 10 days only!) but this year I've got so used to the Brisbane way of life that America was really awful. Despite the good family vibe of the whole trip, Eric still pulled the rug out. We're at the airport and I'm about to go through the security checkpoint. I hug Tricia goodbye and then hug Eric goodbye and pick up my bags and Eric says: "Well I guess the next time we'll see you will be at your wedding!". What was that?! He then says that he won't pay for me to come out and visit him anymore seeing as I obviously don't want to. Oh dear. Now I still do have reasons to go out there: Eric got me a green card but I have to enter the USA once every year in order to keep it, plus my laptop is a Region 1 DVD player and I prefer to buy my DVDs in the US (cheaper too), and I really like spending time with Tricia. But, obviously, I don’t (and won’t for the next decade probably) have enough money for a trip to the States. Even Tricia seemed shocked by what he said so he obviously hadn’t talked it over with her. And what a time. I had to go coz the plane was boarding and we had to leave it like that! Since then I’ve had about three emails from them in as many months so I don’t know what will happen with that. After all the hustle and bustle of last semester, this one is really laid-back. Or I’m really laid-back about it, one or the other. I’ve had to catch up a list of To Do things since February but I’ve finally had some free time! I got the Halo PC game for my birthday (in theory, my mum sent me money for my 20th and I bought the game) so I played that twice, plus finished FF8 on the PC and started FF7 (I’m in Mt Corel on Disc One). Great use of time, hey? Oh, and for anyone interested or even remotely aware of Halo, there is an absolutely fantastic online machinima series: www.redvsblue.com. I have all 4 seasons, and they’re just starting Season 5! I met up with Chris, David and Jess McGloughlin last week to go to Seaworld on the Gold Coast. I have loads of pics which I might upload if I can get some time at uni – the home computer is on dial up and just takes too long. It was a good day though, great to catch up with everyone! I’ve been to quite a few performances this year, Nickelback I did post about before but I also went to… Vicky is going to be so jealous… a Boy From Oz performance starring Hugh Jackman! It was really, really good – not so much for the Peter Allen biography and songs, but for Hughie’s performance. Sometimes in the middle of a song he’d stop and start improvising stuff. I went on the afternoon of the Queensland General Election and he started to talk about that – making jokes about the Coalition Party. Peter Allen was a bisexual and I think Hugh should play a bisexual in a film coz he was just so perfect at it. By the intermission I’d forgotten that it was Hughie coz he played the part so well – all through the improves it was ‘Peter Allen’ talking and not Hugh. Case in point: he was talking about Aussies in Hollywood and people in the audience were yelling out names, someone said ‘Hugh Jackman’ and Hugh-Allen said “Oh yes, that hunk with the claws and the spandex. I luuurve the spandex.” It was a great night! One particular bit he did where he came down into the audience right before the intermission (and lapdanced a guy) was just so hilarious that I had tears streaming down my face! Hmmm… I think that’s a good enough update for now, but I’ll leave you with a pic from Boy From Oz!  Hughie opened the show by descending from the ceiling on a white piano in this outfit.
 
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Go son!