After long flights and bus trips, I finally made it to Monkey Mia last night (here). It’s over two years since I was last here, but it doesn’t feel like it at all, it’s like those years never happened. Everything seems to be the same.

I think this trip is going to inspire a lot of thinking, for me, about big life things and what I should do next. I’m already making lists. When I was little, I think this is the life I thought I wanted, the one that my friends here are living. They are working on their PhD’s and spilt their time between home and here in the field studying the animals. I’m not sure if it’s just me getting older, but I am starting to feel like that’s maybe not what I want now. Maybe if it had happened that way for me when I was younger, but now I want to settle a bit, and feel at home somewhere. The problem is what kind of job can I get that will allow me to do this, but not drive me crazy with boredom.

I spent the bus trip listening to the podfic version of [Bad username: ”jjtaylor”]’s Gerard Way’s (Vampire) Detective Agency and it was great!! I’m not usually into audiobooks, but I really enjoyed this. I can’t wait to read the sequel (and also the sequel to The Old Straight Track for that matter).

I’m definitely feeling the withdrawal from the internet...I can’t check all my usual sites, no lj, twitter etc (I couldn’t even get the BBC news site to load this morning, so I have no clue what is happening in the world). I don’t want to miss anything interesting! I mean, what if MCR announce a UK tour and tickets go on sale and I miss them?! Or what if there are more crazy band shenanigans, or amazing fics or, or, or....? Yeah, I know – step away from the computer and go and enjoy the sun and the dolphins!

I leave for Australia tomorrow...think I am all set (hope I am all set). The jitters have set in so I am attempting to distract myself by watching Studio 60 (not entirely successfully).

Not too sure how well I am gonna cope being cut off from my broadband connection. I have been spoiled with 24 hr accesss and now I'm going back to very limited dial up. On the plus side I will have a lot of fic to catch up on when I return to the world of high speed internet.

Also on the plus side, this will be my world for the next 3 months:

After a little encouragement from yan_tan_tether and _emeraldgreen, I'm attempting to actually use this LJ other than to lurk all over the place. So here goes nothing...

Last day at work today, which was very weird and kinda anti-climatic. But, I did come home to an email from the friend I am going to work with in Australia, which made me feel better and a bit less nervous about the whole trip. I then spent about 2 hours looking through photos from my last trip to Oz/NZ and got very nostalgic.

Re: the Patrick shenanigans...am I understanding this correctly - he was arrested because he didn't have a California license and for this his bail was set at $15 000. I fully admit I know very little about the US legal system, but this seems a bit excessive, no? Good thing he's a rock star, huh?

The next few days are going to be pretty busy getting organised to go to Australia (I fly on Monday!!), so of course I am spending tonight on the hunt for new fic to read. Obviously the best use of my time.

Like a lot of people my age, I grew up with Michael Jackson, and have remained a fan to this day despite my changing tastes in music. Naturally, I was so, so sad to hear that he had died. It was like losing a part of my childhood.

During the memorial service, the mention that these London gigs would have been his triumphant return...I so want to believe that. How amazing would that have been, for them to be phenomenal shows, as good as his heyday. That really got me, that now that can never happen.

Also of course seeing how devastated his family are, I think I sometimes forgot how close the Jackson family are.

As I'm sure many people will agree, MJ's daughter was just heartbreaking. And kind of doubly so for me, because she is just a little girl who lost her dad, and that hits way too close to home for me. Way too close.

I'll always remember him and always love his music. I doubt there will ever be a time when I don't listen to it.

Rest in Peace, Michael.

Despite bexless posting the final installment of her Unholyverse trilogy and new fandom fics from the most unlikely source (American Idol, seriously, wtf?!), there has been somewhat of a fic drought of late (understandable , though it is) . Until today.

First of all, the porn battle has begun again.

Add to that the lovely fic, Into this Dream by reni_days, I just finished and the Journalist!Patrick AU by linzeestyle (I seriously love linzeestyle's Pete/Patrick better than anyone else's).

And of course, the reason for the aforementioned drought, bandombigbang kicks off tomorrow. I am way to excited about this. In all the glee of new!fic! I completely over-looked all the mixes and art that will accompany them. <333.

I am going to be be such a happy bunny for the next few weeks, despite how crappy things are at work :D.

Given how much I moan about this job and how much I hate being stuck where I am, it should be no brainer when I am offered 3 months in Australia studying dolphins, i would go, right? But then there's the whole argument that it's too short term and not a proper job as such and once it was finished I'd be right back where I am only without a job that pays well for what it is. So, do I choose option 1 where i leave the job I hate, get myself back into the field I want to work in which will at best (however unlikely) lead to something longer term, or at worst give me 3 months work experience with a reputable research group in Oz? Or option 2, in a uncertain work climate stay with the paying job that is completely unrelated to anything I have studied?

In a way i am fortunate that I am in a position where I don't have any other responsibilities which could stop me from going; no rent or mortgage, no boyfriend or family. But I still don't know how wise it is. I worry that I would just be running away because I (still) can't face adult responsibilities, but then if I stay it could just be because it is the 'safe', less scary route. In a lot of ways what I want from life has shifted, in that I would like my own home, a dog, basically somewhere to belong. But I haven't been able to get that where I am at the moment and I doubt not going to Oz would really help me get there. So, if I were to go, I would be unsettled for the next while, and it would delay me setting up a proper home for myself a little, but maybe that's okay?

Add to the mix the upheaval at work at the moment, which has been topped off today by my boss being made redundant somewhat unexpectedly (we all pretty much thought it would be me). I feel awful for my boss (who is also a friend) and guilty because I know there is a pretty high chance I am gonna leave soon and do this Australia thing.

Thought I would write something here, I mean I obviously don't update this thing, but I figured since I'd been commenting on a few posts and fics etc lately, I should have something here in case someone wants to find out who this random person is. I know the journal looks abandoned, but there really is someone here!

I'm pretty much a full on lurker, but that has more to do with not having established a flist who would potentially read any entries, and feeling kinda stupid making posts with actual content for no one to read, than anything else. I dunno, I don't write fic, or make fanart or anything of that sort to contribute so mostly I just make do lurking. I just haven't figured out how to cross that line from random stranger commenting, to something more interactive ;)

So anyway if you get a random comment from me, or maybe I even friend you or something...hi there, obviously, I like something you posted! Feel free to say hello, or not, whatever.

Why do I live in the UK? Why can I not see the new MCR video? Why is my life so unfair?!

Help?

01. Answer each of the questions below the cut using the Flickr search engine.
02. Choose a photo from the first three pages.
03. Copy the URL of your favorite photos here.
04. Then share with the world.

01. First Name: Jen
02. Favorite Food: fajitas
03. Hometown: Edinburgh
04. Favorite Color: Blue
05. Celebrity Crush: Ewan McGregor
06. Favorite Drink: Irn Bru
07. Dream Vacation: New Zealand
08. Favorite Dessert: Lemon Cheesecake
09. What I Want To Be When I Grow Up: happy
10. What I Love Most In The World: My friends
11. One Word That Describes Me: loyal
12. My LiveJournal Name: barelyable





1. jen's beautiful card, 2. Cooking Fajitas, 3. Jack and The Brolly., 4. . dreaming, 5. Ewan Wonderland mag, 6. Irn Bru, 7. New Zealand the place to be, 8. 12th March 2008 / Day 72 (437), 9. It's Superman!, 10. Wall Of Peace, 11. walk out to winter (365-115), 12. Guy Bryant: His story of the Exploration of the Cracks

Yes you did!

President Barack Obama.







Thank you <3