Fabulous Friday: Five Ways to De-Stress During Exams

For those who have clicked on this because you're avoiding looking at your study material... this is for you :)

It is that time of year again! Final assignments, exams, the pointy end of the semester stick...Your stress levels may be mounting and you realise just how much you missed all semester.  Even if you're all over it, something about exam block clogs pores and leads to internal panic...

It doesn't have to be that way! Here are a five quick tips to get you through the end of semester stress period:

1. Get out and move!

One thing that has a tendency to evaporate during an exam block is people's commitment to exercise.  When you realise you have X amount of hours left before an exam, spending an hour running around doesn't seem like good value...

But it is! Take half an hour out of your morning or evening, go for a run, skip, do random push ups, kick or throw a ball around - that change of scenery and the release of endorphins which will definitely help your mood and give you a burst of motivation for the remainder of the study period.

Dosage: Daily or every two days is recommended.

2. Clear your commitments

Let people know that you won't be readily available for the next little while.

Give people advanced notice if you have commitments that you won't be readily available.  Set up an automatic reply on your email.  Most of your friends are probably in the same boat so they will should understand.  If you can take time off work, it is probably a good idea.

It helps when you can be focused on your study rather than being pulled away by various other commitments, breaking your concentration.  It's all about being in the study zone.  

Dosage: Take a large dosage of commitment clearing at the beginning and it should last a couple of weeks.  Supplement the study zone with a teaspoon of sweet tunes.

3. Get a decent amount of sleep. ESPECIALLY the night before.

Rule of thumb? Try to get at least 7 + hours of sleep the night before the exam. Even if you don't know the content, your brain will work MUCH better with the little that it knows if you are well rested than if you are zombie-walking-sleep-deprived.

When you get to that point in the early hours of the morning where your brain doesn't seem to absorb anything and you've re-read the same line five times...cut your losses and head to bed.  You'll be much more efficient in the morning :)

It's called sharpening the saw.

[box] Stephen Covey tells the story of meeting someone who has been sawing down a tree for more than 5 hours. When you suggest that they take a break and sharpen their saw so the job might go faster they tell you they don't have time to sharpen the saw because they're too busy sawing! (From 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) [/box]

4. Try to eat decent food.

It helps.  It will also reduce guilt down the line.

Recommended study foods for brain and waistband purposes: Fish, nuts, vegetables, whole grains, apples and berries.  Here's a good source.

Oh yeah and dark chocolate...

Essentially, don't live on noodles.  If you must, at least add frozen vegies to make it slightly nutritious.

Dosage: Regular meals are recommended.  Don't forget to keep a water bottle with you at all times! It's all about hydration.  

5. You only need to know 85% of the content for a HD.

You can't learn it all.

One of the best pieces of advice that I was ever given about exams was that even the High Distinction grade isn't 100%.  Why?

Because there is just so much content, you can't realistically be expected to learn and remember it all.

It's actually a freeing concept.  Be strategic in your study.  Will hours spent learning how to manually multiply 4 x 4 matrices actually give you a decent percentage increase on the exam?  Perhaps those four hours are better spent bedding down that other concept that you weren't too sure about...

So learn what you need to and can in the time you are given, but realise that it isn't the end of the world if you don't know every single thing.  It'll be right :)

So study hard, but not too hard.  I can honestly barely remember what I got for most of my subjects, let alone individual exams.  It's not the end of the world (although it may feel like it).  Just do your best...and enjoy ;)

See you at the other end!

1 Year Anniversary! Top 10 posts of last 12 months

Can you believe it has been an entire 12 months since this blog began?

It has been an exciting year of growth and development so thank you all for sharing that journey.

There have been over 4100 unique visitors over the past year, with over 12,000 page views. Thank you for taking the time to engage! That is pretty awesome! :)

Also, thank you all for reading and being part of this community! I hope that we can continue to grow together, debate and discuss, reflect and learn from one another.

To celebrate, here is a little walk down memory lane: the top 10 posts of the last 12 months! Enjoy!!

1. Women in the East, Women in the West - Finding the Middle Ground

This was written after returning from four months in Sudan, visiting family, studying formal Arabic at university and going through a very profound reflective period. Profound mostly because it opened up perspectives that I hadn't truly considered or interrogated before and provided much food for thought. That experience will continue to inform the way I understand society and place equal value in both Eastern and Western experiences.

2. Please explain why my clothing choice matters to you?

Another reflection from the East/West point of intersection, written after a strangely affecting incident at the Brisbane Airport. It was really an inconsequential incident in its own right, but brought up many questions afterward as to the symbolism of dress and the lack of nuanced understanding that sometimes rears its head in our society.

3. Shoot the Messenger

Essentially a review on an interesting film about war photographers. Asking the question - should the photographer or journalist simply put aside their moral obligation as humans to report?

4. Sudan Revolts

The page that talks the Sudanese Revolts of 2012. Reflections, thoughts, links, advice... unfortunately the attempted coup was decisively shut down but it was interestined to see the other part of the battle nonetheless.

5. Cultural Sh-Sh-Shock: Part 2

Yet another post about the cultural differences I observed on my trip to Sudan and noting a few of the aspects of cultural shock that I encountered, particularly the difference between expectations for men and women.

6. Study Secrets to Ace Your Exams (Part 1)

These are honestly the tips and tricks that got me through University and allowed me to (Alhamdulilah/thank God!) graduate with first class honours while doing all - or many - of the other things that were important, including Youth Without Borders, the UQ Racing team and much more. Part two is still on its way.

7. Book Review: Adam Parr's "The Art of War"

A review about a well presented book written during a very interesting time in Formula 1 politics and management. Well worth reading.

8. 10 Useful Brain Sharpening Websites for 2013

The title says it all. A toolbox full of links that will help you keep your brain KEEEEEN!

9. Drilling Diaries

Less and post and more a category, this ranked in 9th and is essentially links to all the crazy stories and conversations that I have while working out in the oil and gas rigs in Australia.

10. The Innocence of Who?

A post written in the aftermath of 'The Innocence of Muslims' video. A brief look at why this sort of reaction is common and perhaps what we as a society can do to change it.

I honestly really look forward to the next 12 months with you all, and can't wait!

Moving past the 'Faceless Victims' mentality.

 

How are we all this week? I have been slightly AWOL, mostly as I no longer have an operational laptop. Interesting learning how dependant I had become on a piece of machinery...anyhow, enough about me!

***

In the wake of the London attack last week alluded to here, Mohamed Ghilan published this interesting piece named 'Faceless Victims'. His lanugage is a little aggresive but he makes a pertinent point:

As if the “American” label grants him [Abdulrahman, an American boy who was killed by a drone strike] some sanctity as a human being that the innocent others killed with him, and thousands of non-American innocents killed in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Myanmar, Palestine, etc. don’t have the right to.

This is not about comparing casualties. It’s about indiscriminate humanization [emphasis added].

Unless we recognize that it’s humans, not dehumanized statistics, who suffer on both sides of armed conflicts, we can forget about obtaining peace at any time in the future. As long as we continue to discuss these matters with tribalist language that qualifies the importance of one’s life based on nationality, we will always view the alien other in terms that denies them what we grant for ourselves. Abdulrahman al-Awlaki is only one example of many.

The sanctity of human life should transcend religion, politics, economics, and state interests. Humans suffer on both sides of war, but we only pay attention to one side while we ignore the other. We need to stop viewing people in economic terms or as means towards political ends, and to make the public equally relate to those who fall as victims to human madness by giving them faces.

His comment rings true.

A deep frustration for the migrant and culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Western nations such as Australia is the portrayal in their new adopted countries of their communities 'back home'.

This is particularly grating for the younger generation that has grown up in the West. How does one reconcile the fact that they see themselves as Australian in every way (in language, accent, cultural norms and behaviour) with the fact that the country sees those who look like them as 'the other'?

The dehumanising of the 'enemy' is a common and well established tactic in warfare. It is easier to see the enemy as an object, a one dimensional evil. This allows you to forget that they are people, with lives, hopes, dreams, expectations, flaws, just like you or your neighbour.

Until there is true understanding of the other, not a superficial picture painted by those in power, but a deep, nuanced understanding of the people on the other side of the conflict, as Ghilan says, there will never be peace. It is only through understanding and empathy that we can start striving towards common goals.

It is for this reason that I personally, am not a fan of aggressive - be it verbal, or physical - attacks of the 'West', of whomever is deemed the 'enemy'. Yes, actions on both (or all) sides of a conflict are horrific, but if we buy into a cycle of anger and revenge, there will be no relief. We must learn to forgive.

Easier said than done of course, but there are many examples of the success of forgiveness.

Nelson Mandela was released after 27 - take a moment to think how long 27 actually is - years of jail and forgave his captors.

It was this attitude and actions such as this that led to the fall of the apartheid.

"When a deep injury is done to us, we never heal until we forgive." - Nelson Mandela

The Prophet Mohammed (SAW) who many Muslims strive to emulate, was also renowned for forgiveness, particularly towards non-Muslims, regardless of the suffering inflicted on him. His visit to the city of Taif, where the gangs of the town drove him out and stoned him for his message, is one such example. After this particular incident, all his words were:

"Oh Allah, guide these people, as they did not know what they were doing".

If we are to create change, we must speak to the hearts of others. Only by bringing people on the journey with us, forgiving and showing true mercy, can anything change.

There is a reason all the wise people of the world talk about the power of forgiveness. We would do well to heed their words.

Insane, sickening attacks: Let's not let 'them' win.

This article in The Conversation strikes an appropriate tone: Terror on the Streets of London, but don't jump to conclusions yet.

If you haven't heard yet, there has been a random and vicious attack in broad daylight on the streets of London, where a man (believed to be a soldier) has been hacked to death in a busy street.

Aljazeera has more details here: 'Soldier hacked to in London'.

The incident is being called a 'terrorist attack', the likes of which 'we have seen before' by news and politicians in the UK (that quote by London Mayer, Boris Johnson).

***

This is a sickening, terrible attack and one that is sure to garner much media attention, speculation and a strong backlash in London itself due to the demographics of the super-metropolis. It is interesting that even though atrocities are being committed in Syria daily, we become desensitised...

...but the streets of London are not a warzone, and the attack happened near the gates of a primary school.

***

For those who will premetively speculate or link the attack to Islam, stop.

We (as a society in general) must not let sick violence hijack our peace and work towards harmony. We (as Muslims) must not let people commit terror in the name of the religion that we believe in and stay silent.

Islam explicitly forbids killing innocents.

"Nor take life -- which Allah has made sacred -- except for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, we have given his heir authority (to demand retaliation or to forgive): but let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking life, for he is helped (by the Law)." [Quran 17:33]

Thus the term 'Muslim Terrorist' is an oxy moron (see more on this here).

It is a shame that every time there is attack we (as Muslims) must go on the offensive, denying any link, defending our religion. It is frustrating that we must constantly justify our way of life and our beliefs.

Unfortunately though, this seems to be the status quo.

In a world where Islam and the cultures of the East are 'Othered' and misunderstood, is it the responsibility of Muslims living in the West to educate on the true values underpinning the religion? Perhaps. But it can also be exhausting.

In the Aljazeera article, a Muslim resident of the area echoed similar sentiments:

"This has nothing to do with Islam, this has nothing to do with our religion. This has nothing to do with Allah," he said. It's heartbreaking, it's heartbreaking."

Defenses aside though, the purpose of the attack is still unconfirmed.

I think a harder question that must be asked though is why.

Why do young men feel the need to commit such acts of terror??

What sickness is in our society, what are we missing, that allows such motivations to exist and fester into action? Be it the numerous shootings in the United States or even Norway, to the hacking attack in London; these are not the results of well balanced and harmonious communities.

Is it foreign policy stances? Is it family structures and issues growing up? Is it lack of support and understanding as a society as to what young men are experiencing? Is it mental health or the lack thereof? Is it misunderstanding? A combination of all the above?

These are the hard questions that need to be asked if we truly want to work towards preventing and eliminating sickness and violence in our socities.

*Featured photo from Twitter (@BietLe_)

Excited? The Sydney Writers' Festival is on!

The Sydney Writers' Festival looks insanely awesome this year!! Are you going to be there?

There are the likes of Barack Obama's Chief Digital Strategist, Anne Summers, Ruby Wax, Slam Poetry... ahhhh! I am so excited!

Are you going to be there? Who are you excited to see??

If you are free and around, maybe you can pop by and check out lil ol' me talking about big ol' issues like Women and Power and a "young lady's survival guide to life on the rigs"...

Should be fun ;)

V8s: 2013 Austin Preview

The V8s are heading stateside! Check out my preview of the weekend on Richard's F1...

Links, Links, Links!! 12th May 2013

Happy Mother's Day all! Check out the links for the week...

Do you pay for newspapers or any news? Do you want to? News Limited has a paywall dilemma trying to deal with it...

[box] This announcement is their epitaph. It suggests that News Limited really sees little future in hard copy newspapers. They will continue until their revenue falls to a point where they are unprofitable. Then they will die. But don’t worry: you can always switch to news+.[/box]

Society seems obsessed with the concept of "happiness".  It would seem the "happiest people pursue the most difficult problems".  I think it comes to finding meaning in life... "For many social entrepreneurs, happiness comes from the feeling they are making a difference."

Has the Carbon Tax actually worked? I missed this earlier, but it seems Australia's emissions are at 10 year low...What does this mean for the industry? Stretching this out a little further, what does it mean for the thousands of engineering students training in Australia every year in response to the "engineering - skill - shortage"?

[box] Australia's greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation have fallen to a 10-year low as coal-fired power slumped to its lowest level in a decade, a new report says. At the same time, the share of renewable energy in the National Electricity Market (NEM) has soared beyond 12 per cent and looks set to continue rising.[/box]

An amazingly honest piece about what Depression is like.  Many of us have family and friends who go through this, and it is a difficult thing as a bystander to understand.  It is really interesting to read a piece that provides an insight into a struggle that afflicts so many.

Anil Dash talks about privacy through identity control and asks the question, who owns your identity right now?  His blog is an interesting mix of technology and pop culture and worth a read.

Imran Khan - the Pakistani ex-Cricket Captain writes some interesting words on 'selective Islam' and the spiritual journey. 

[box] To understand why the west is so keen on secularism, one should go to places like Cordoba in Spain and see torture apparatus used during Spanish Inquisition. Also the persecution of scientists as heretics by the clergy and convinced the Europeans that all religions are regressive. However, the biggest factor that drove people like me away from religion was the selective Islam practised by most of its preachers. In other words, there was a huge difference between what they practised and what they preached. Also, rather than explaining the philosophy behind the religion, there was an over emphasis on rituals.  ... I feel there are certain western countries with far more Islamic traits than us, especially in the way they protect the rights of their citizens, or for that matter their justice system. In fact some of the finest individuals I know live there.[/box]

An interesting piece from the blogger at mamamia.com, Rosie Waterland on being fat and deciding to go on the self worth diet.  Worth a read! 

Tune of the day: Janelle Monae is a funky lady indeed.

Study Secrets to Ace Your Exams (PART 1!)

 

Engineering was fun, but hell. Balancing a full mechanical engineering load with various other things was never easy…

Fortunately though, I learnt a few tricks along the way that helped.

Here are a few to get you started – tips that may be able to help you study more efficiently and get you through an exam block with your sanity intact.

1. Plan your study period at the BEGINNING of SWOTVAC and put it up on your WALL.

Day 1 of SWOTVAC? By and large, one achieves pretty much nothing.  That’s okay.

USE the first day to FULLY PLAN OUT your exam block. 

This includes:

ONE. Picking your study station for the next three weeks. YOU WILL LIVE THERE. Ideally a quiet place (if that is your thing), with enough space for all your gear and where you can set up uninterrupted for hours on end. Your bed is not a good study station.  Don't mix sleep and study.

TWO. Write down your study schedule (see point two) AND PUT IT ON YOUR WALL.  Split it up PER DAY.

THREE. Print off the tutorials/lectures/whatever else you will need in advance (download that TV series…)

Now at least you are all set for the block and you can feel like you have achieved something. Take the day off. 

2. Plan study for your exams BACKWARDS.

Say you have exams A, B, C and D in that order.  Study for D first, then C, then B, then A.

That way, when you have JUST finished studying A, you will do the exam, rather than study for it first and then forget everything you’ve learnt by the time the exam comes around.  After A, study for B (and if you have time, C)…and so on and so forth.  Put this schedule on your wall (see point 1).

Here’s a little example - you get the first Saturday and Sunday off as a treat ^^:

 

3. Work in 30 Minute Blocks and TIME YOURSELF

Sometimes we I have the attention span of a goldfish.  The moment I would sit down to study, I would suddenly remember my desk needs cleaning, emails need replying, dishes need washing… you get the gist.

To make it less daunting to sit down and START (and then actually do something!), aim for 30 minute blocks of UNINTERRUPTED study.

Switch your phone off, close Facebook (use Leechblock if you have to!), shut down your email (and maybe even disconnect the internet?!)…just for half an hour.

It will be hard at first, as your mind won’t be used to concentrating for that long.  After half an hour though, give yourself a break. Leave the desk, talk to someone, walk around…then come back for another half an hour.

By working in short uninterrupted spurts, you are much more efficient at actually learning, and your mind can concentrate a lot better – and possibly for longer.

I like to think also that sometimes information needs to marinate a little (my brain = tender lamb chops) so that I can actually understand it.  By taking breaks, it gives my brain muscle time to marinate and rest. 

Also, it’s gratifying to know that half an hour was PURE STUDY.

You can also use this timer :)

 

4. Schedule in breaks

Pick a night a week. I always took Friday nights off.

Not only should you give your brain a break every half an hour or so, but you should also have a “break day” every week of your exam block.  Even if it isn’t an entire day but an evening or morning, force yourself to leave your desk and get some fresh air.

Even the week before my thesis was due, I took Friday night off.  I shut my books/computer at 3pm and didn’t look at anything until the next day.  It’s an important part of being healthy; a change of scenery will not only refresh you but motivate you for the next burst.

As the weeks roll on by, don’t be afraid to take a break for a couple of hours a day, to do something different.  Your brain will thank you.

Just try not to have a break too often – and don’t forget to stick to the plan…! :P

5. Give yourself a daily hours study goal and STICK WITH IT!

When I first started timing myself, I realised I would work only 30% of the time I sat at my desk. 

Lord know what I would do – surf the net, read the news, watch series (every exam block would be a new series…).

The best cure? Giving myself a goal of the number of hours that day I wanted to study (PURE ACTUAL STUDY) and sticking with it.

When I started this, I realised I was sitting at my desk all day and doing only about 3 hours.  By the end of fourth year though, an average study day was probably 5 – 6 hours.

A really good day? 8 hours.

Thesis due next week? 10.

Once my daily goal was done, I was off the hook for the rest of the day (a good incentive to get the hours out early…).

But remember, you can’t cheat! Time the number of hours that you actually study for.  If you pick up the phone? STOP THE CLOCK. Open Facebook? STOP THE CLOCK. 

It’s a brutally honest way of showing yourself how much time you actually study and once you have a baseline you can work from there.  Don’t get disenchanted, just keep working at it.

***

Part 2 of Study Secrets will be out at some point in the future! Stay tuned…but in the meantime please share – what are your tips to get you through your exam blocks?

The FIFO Life: Part 1

 

My feet crunch on the gravel as I slowly make my way up the hill from the rig.  It's been a good 12 hour shift, a standard 'tour', as we call it.

It's a Saturday night, the last slivers of sunlight fading away over the horizon.

I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh  // And I sold my soul with my cigarettes to the black market man  // I've had the Vietnam cold turkey  // From the ocean to the Silver City  // And it's only other vets could understand...

The almost-tinny tunes of Cold Chisel rise and fall with my step as I clutch my phone in my hand while I run.  I really need to get running pants with pockets in them...

As I look around, it strikes me that I really truly am, in the middle of nowhere.  As the hum of the diesel generators of the rigs fade away, I put my finger over the speakers on my phone to muffle the tune.  Sounds of wildlife - birds, crickets, cows - emerge from the paddock around me.

The land is far from silent.

It occurs to me that I travel on these dirt roads every day yet fail to notice, isolated as I am behind the wheel of a 4WD...

I'm not an amazing runner - that was always my brother's domain in the family - but I trudge on, eventually switching on my very-fashionable headlamp to illuminate my path.  I look up and the light glints in the eyes of the herd of cows ahead.

They are startled and confused, freezing in the light.  'What is this biped doing in our midst?' I read in their eyes...

The herd runs with me, and there is a moment of random, pure joy.

It's an interesting feeling, running with a group of animals.

***

I make it back to the camp eventually, breathless but energised.  It isn't until a few hours later that I am told running in the paddock is explicitly forbidden.

The Health and Safety Officer delivering the news is contrite.

'Don't shoot the messenger darl, rules are rules.  Trust me, if it was up to us - well, it's nice having a girl run around here I'll tell you that! It's just the way it is. You might roll your ankle or get bitten by a snake.  Can you imagine the paperwork?'

The rules and regulations of occupational health and safety, and the concerns of liability, compensation and duty of care strike again.

***

It's Saturday night, and I'm sitting outside my 3 x 4m room on the cement step, making a few calls.

Friends and family answer, and their news is either non existent ('How was your week?' 'Oh, fine, nothing happened'), or awesome ('OMG-I WISH-YOU-WERE-HERE-IT-WAS-AMAZING' delivered in one breath).

Both are bittersweet.

Because you do know things happened that week, but the daily motions of life don't always translate over the phone.

Because you know that whatever it was, it was probably amazing.

But you spend more than 80% of your time living with strangers...

---

The FIFO Life is a series of moments experienced during the Fly-In, Fly-Out (FIFO) life of working on the oil and gas rigs.  Amorphous, random, and usually written on a whim, these are moments that encapsulate the emotion of a strange sort of a life.

Links, Links, Links!! 5th May 2013

A stunning way to tell a story. Check out this audition on the X Factor.

What have you been up to this week? It's been a crazy one on this end...I had this interview come out on Radio National about the piece in the Griffith Review, learnt a fair bit about training someone and read many analyses about the reaction to the Boston Bombings (a few of which I have included below).  Enough about me though...here are some of the bits and bobs which caught my eye this week.

---

Paul Grahams words on finding your purpose and doing what you love (via Brain Pickings).

What you should not do, I think, is worry about the opinion of anyone beyond your friends. You shouldn’t worry about prestige. Prestige is the opinion of the rest of the world.

Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. It causes you to work not on what you like, but what you’d like to like.

---

Terrorism and other religions...

[box] Contrary to what is alleged by bigots like Bill Maher, Muslims are not more violent than people of other religions. Murder rates in most of the Muslim world are very low compared to the United States.[/box]

An amazing piece on moderation versus extremism.

[box] The Quran and the Hadith very clearly and explicitly warn against extremism in matters of religion...In the Quran God says, ‘Do not commit excess in your religion.’ According to a report in the Sahih Ibn Majah, the Prophet Muhammad is said to have remarked ‘O People! Save yourselves from excess in religion, because earlier communities were destroyed […] due to excess in religion’[/box]

It is this that I wish people remembered.

This a beautiful piece written by artist James Rhodes...

[box]The government is cutting music programmes in schools and slashing Arts grants as gleefully as a morbidly American kid in Baskin Robbins. So if only to stick it to the man, isn't it worth fighting back in some small way? So write your damn book. Learn a Chopin prelude, get all Jackson Pollock with the kids, spend a few hours writing a Haiku. Do it because it counts even without the fanfare, the money, the fame and Heat photo-shoots that all our children now think they're now entitled to because Harry Styles has done it.[/box]

Very cool Facebook page, Room for Debate - it is the exact kind of space I would like to encourage and grow...They are currently talking about whether the Hijab is worth fighting for?

[box] ...aside from the racial overtones when mostly white Western women are trying to “save” mostly non-white non-Western women, Femen activists have insulted the group they claim to care about. A campaign against the hijab is an attack on Islam instead of on patriarchy itself, effectively marginalizing all those women who choose to seek their rights in an Islamic context.[/box]

An MUST read by Mohamed Ghilan on "The Irony of Muslim Terrorism". I've just discovered his blog and I am sold.

[box] The matter is not about Islam. A closer investigation of Islam through proper methods of study and proper contextualisation will reveal that it is impossible for anyone to conclude any room for justifying, let alone do it in the name of Islam, the indiscriminate killing of innocent people on the streets. What we are dealing with are the repercussions of political decisions and historical forces that gave rise to insane acts by misguided Muslims who think they are serving Islam and Muslims.[/box]

A really well presented piece by Stella Young on the Politics of Exclusion, something I know about perhaps from one angle but not from this particular angle - that of disability and the invisibility it renders...

I posted this during the week but it is worth a conversation - diversity in motorsport.  Will Buxton writes an awesome piece on this...

I have to include this amazing spoken word video. It's rather viral at the moment (includes swear words). Seriously though, watch it. A letter to JK Rowling from Cho Chang.

Here are some equally interesting critiques, all which bring up interesting points (this is just one example) and it is good to see the poet has engaged with them via her tumblr.  I think pieces like this are extremely important and a healthy part of the public sphere of debate.  Clearly, there are many critiques, but what this has achieved is highlighted a problematic discourse and created a catalyst - a conversation through which we as a society can dismantle and tackle the issue.  How can issues ever be resolved if they are not talked about? 

For a bit of fun, check out these awesome LEGO CREATIONS!

Enjoy your Sunday!

V8s: 2013 Chill Perth 360 Preview on Richard's F1

Are you excited about this weekend's V8 round  in Perth? Check out my preview of the Chilli Perth 360 on Richard's F1 here! A few of my recent posts on Richard's F1 are also worth checking out - Shell 'shells' out for DJR, and Nissan finalises its enduro line up!

Enjoy the weekend all!

Crazy Rig Conversations: Part 3

So, life on the rigs never stops with the amusement! This series, 'Crazy Rig Conversations', chronicles a few of the G to PG rated things that get said on a rig in an everyday context that make me internally chuckle in disbelief and misguided mirth. Enjoy...

NB: Generally, each person is referred to as ‘old mate’, or OM for short.  ’Old Mate’ is Australian for ‘that random dude’, or someone whose name you have forgotten.

***

OM: Oh it's good you're back on shift. The other guy was too hard to understand, I could never get what he was sayin' over the radio.

Me: Oh, was he talking too fast? Sometimes he talks too fast...

OM: Oh nah, he just talks too Asian. It's like COPYYY, and he's like *puts on an unidentifiable ethnic accent* "wha?! wha?!*

***

During a long winded, mostly joking argument with a roughneck about women are in general, he comes back with this:

OM1: Listen Yassmin, men were created first. Women? They were an afterthought, and only made for company.

In hindsight, I should have said something like "Oh yea? We were just version 2.0, the latest edition...but at the time I was too busy scoffing.

***

I asked someone how they got to their position, as I usually do. Had they been on the rigs for long, etc.

OM2: Oh yeah, I've been around for a while. But you know, I just kinda slept my way to the top. Even from school, that's how I got my grades you know, and I mean I was Captain of the Rugby team and ripped and all that, so it was no wonder with all those young teachers and that... yeah.  Just kept doing it, and it worked for me ya know?

Well, that was one bit of career advice I was not going to take...

***

OM3 is the Aussiest bloke around.  He starts off this conversation very clearly telling me about how he doesn't really subscribe to any type of religion.  I braced myself, and got my comedy-wit boots on!

OM3: So, like, do you hang around only African people living in, like, your own world that has nothing to do with the rest of society?

Me: No, well that's not how I see it, and most of my friends are from everywhere because I went to a Christian [ecumenical] high school...

OM3: Oh okay, so you don't get together and do like, bomb throwing practice or anything?

Me: Oh... nah not really...

OM3 starts laughing.

Me: ...but of course, if that was something you were interested in.. ;) [I start laughing, he sort of stops.]

[and now I am worried I have jokingly written this on the internet, I am so going to be tracked by some sort of law enforcement]

At the end of the conversation, which was surprisingly quite detailed and extensive about what we Muslims do, where I pray and what I eat etc, OM3 starts to leave.  He stands at the door and turns around, cheekily.

OM3: Now I'm gonna tell all my mates I spent time hanging round a Mozzie! Doing crazy practice throws!

***

If you haven't seen it yet, check out my interview on the ABC with The World - it was quite exciting and an honour to be on the show!

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