Perks of Being a Tyneesha – Three Bloggies & an Eclipse

Welcome back, nosy friends and foe! It is once again time to share personal information about my life online.

This is the second-ever instalment of this series. If you read the last one, I congratulate you because it was pretty lengthy. I didn’t even want to read it, and I wrote it. Luckily, the last month or so of my life has been far less eventful. I will once again divide it into subheadings, though… for those who love to learn but hate to read.

The end of the university semester (+ Bloggies)

It’s the end of the uni semester, so I had a bunch of assignments due – two of which I was supposed to have been working on throughout the whole semester. But, of course, I left them to the last minute. So it’s been a lot of screen-time.

I do four subjects per semester, and I don’t have exams, so instead, I just have a bunch of assignments due in the last few weeks of the semester.

I had a radio package due, for which I decided to look into ADHD in adult women. So I made a post on a Facebook swap and sell page, requesting interviews, and wound up with over forty responses. I was only supposed to have two interviews done for this 6 min long audio segment, but I didn’t want to waste the good response, so I set up a Google Form.

It’s safe to say I’ll be doing some more in-depth work around the topic, with help from those people and their experiences. But, of course, when I have time and are free from the restraints of marking criteria. Regardless, I suppose that means that I was involved in my first radio broadcast, even if only my classmates listened.

Suppose you keep up with my blog fairly regularly. In that case, it’s hard to miss my posts about Oddly Specific Playlists, a Digital Artifact that I started up last year and decided to continue on for this semester. A DA is like a major work – I was supposed to work on it every week, but I did not. So I did heaps of work in the week leading up to its final hand-in. I think I’ll let OSP die and come up with a more manageable DA for next semester.

I also had a research project that I was supposed to be working on all semester but did 90% of the work two days before it was due. We were supposed to choose a research topic and gather data for the final opinion piece. I did mine about the rise of interest in astrology through the pandemic. Much to my surprise, I won a Bloggie for that.

What is a Bloggie, you ask?

Well, at the end of every semester, the students and professors from BCM (bachelor of communications and media) hold an award ceremony. It’s not usually done in person, but they had a whole award ceremony at the uni bar this time.

I didn’t expect to win anything. I was busy that day, pouring my time into my assignments, so I didn’t go down. They streamed the event on Twitch, though, so I put the live stream on while I got my projects done. Much to my surprise, I won three Bloggies. One for the best research report, one for best WordPress design, and another for best #FEFO moment. I have no idea what the latter was about, but I was the only person who got three, so I won’t argue it. I want to thank everyone who congratulated me for doing what I would consider the bare minimum.

I got to put ‘three-time Bloggie award winner’ in my uni Twitter bio and assert dominance and prestige. I was also nominated for the best blog post, specifically my post about Vaporwave, but lost out. I did put a lot of effort into that post, though, so it was welcome credit.

The lunar eclipse

Anyway, outside of school, there’s been a few things going on. I’m sure you remember the lunar eclipse the other week. I did not get any outstanding photos of it, but I did end up with someone else’s blood on me. I swear, I didn’t murder anyone or perform any sort of ritual.

There was just an intoxicated lad with a bleeding wound. I was sitting on the path outside my apartment, foolishly trying to stabilise my hand-held camera enough to get a clear shot. Two guys who I’m assuming I’ve met at some stage walked past. One of them was clearly quite drunk and apparently bleeding. He stopped in front of Caitlin and I, just saying hi, but he couldn’t remember my name and was trying to guess it. His friend kept reminding him that he needed to get home and that he was bleeding, but I didn’t notice until after he had bled on my phone and jacket sleeve.

Of course, this lunar eclipse happened in the middle of the oh-so-dreaded Mercury retrograde. I don’t care if you don’t believe in astrology; you can’t deny that the last few weeks have felt a little funky. This is especially true for Mercury-ruled signs, namely Virgo and Gemini. The good thing about Mercury retrograde, though, is that it’s a great time to push for change. By the end of this particularly lengthy retrograde, the stars will have set you back on the right path. So embrace the chaos, ya’ll.

My first published article

If you know what Medium is, you’re cool, and we can be friends. If not, allow me to explain. It’s basically long-form Twitter… or like… WordPress but as a news site. People post articles about absolutely anything. Anyway, a few months back I was invited to write for a publication on there called “An Idea“, and this month my first article was published! It’s on here too, it’s basically just a rant about the education system, but check it out on Medium if you like.

Reviewing Routine by AMARNA

I also had the absolute pleasure of helping with the release of local Sydney band AMARNA’s first single. James messaged me a few days before the release, told me he’d read some of my work, and that he liked the way I write about music. Then, he sent me the track and asked me to review it to help promote the track. I was in the middle of getting three assignments done at once, but I made time because I thought it was possibly the coolest thing Twitter has done for me.

In general, there’s just been a heap of great music coming out. I’ll make a playlist of my recent favs and attach it here to prove my point.

It’s safe to expect some more music reviews this year. At this point last year, I was pulling my hair out for some fresh tunes. It’s late (very late, for some, Lorde, I’m looking at you), but it’s very much welcomed.

Winter is here

This is not a life event. I just hate winter, and since it’s recently gotten very cold, I thought I should mention it in angst. I hate being cold; I don’t understand people who romanticise the hot chocolate reading in front of the fire thing. I don’t really like hot drinks, and I only have a bar heater, and I have to move and go outside to make dopamine. I hate having to wear a jacket and shoes. It’s not a vibe; it’s not for me. Thus, I will henceforth go into grumpy hibernation.

I’ve been driving

As the subtitle ever so vaguely suggests, I’ve done some more driving. This might seem like a strange thing to frame as an accolade, being that I’m 20 and should not feel achieved for driving somewhere. However, as we know, I crashed my car in February, and it was quite traumatic. I took over two years to get my red P’s simply because I was too scared of driving. That was in an auto. That was before I got hit by a truck. Now, I’d like to say I’m a tad less scared of driving after being a LOT more nervous for a while.

I drove home to Dubbo last week, and thank God I made it without so much of an almost accident. Going home was good. Dubbo moves further on up in the world the longer I’m away. They have a bubble tea place now, and they’re doing way too many roadworks.

I also have been making an effort to drive around more in Wollongong, but of course, I decide I want to go home, and suddenly there’s a COVID case. So I come back to the gong, and now we’re in a mini lockdown again. It’s starting to feel personal, man. But that’s another post for another time.

An assortment of concluding thoughts

It’s a peculiar time to be alive and be 20-something. I saw this Tweet the other day, and honestly, that’s exactly how it is, except we’re also at that age in a post-pandemic world. So it can be tough to feel achieved and fulfilled in that particular scenario.

But, chin up, push on, she’ll be right. I hope that the retrograde treated you well; I’m really sorry if you’re a Virgo or Gemini sun/moon/mercury… hang in there, gang. But as I said before, it is a great time to push for change. So, if you’re reading this in the daytime, go outside, dude. Wear a mask if that is the law, though.