New Year, New Websites: Taylor Swift, A Much Needed Update & 2024!

Hello hello, I’ve got a bit of info to unload. Sit tight!

First & Foremost – Happy New Year!

I stopped dumping all my thoughts on here a little while before Christmas. So first off, Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Valentine’s Day, Happy Era’s Tour, so on. Happy Holidays!

We went home to Dubbo for Christmas. Since it was my girlfriend’s first time in the undoubtedly thriving metropolitan city of Dubbo, we had to tick off the bucket list. Dubbo Zoo, Sandy Beach, Wellington Caves, The Pastoral Hotel, Orana Mall, the whole nine yards. We fed the giraffes and saw the sights. It was nice to be home for a little while and catch up with everyone.

We attempted to go camping in Jindabyne over the New Year period – but cut our trip a day short because of a mysterious illness that made its way through the tent. May or may not have been coronavirus, but no harm done. We went on a quest to buy me some pants (I didn’t think it would be cold) and went kayaking on an enormous lake. It was a lot of fun, despite the phlegm of it all.

Soon after the holiday season came the traditional air of “I’m not quite sure what I’m meant to be doing” that you get in late January. I was trying to figure out what the rest of my year might look like, while being unsure if I could renew my lease at our house and extend my contract at Women Illawarra for another year. Naturally, things fall into place and all turns out well – it was a celebrated yes on both fronts.

This brings me to New Websites…

During the “I’m not sure what to do now” period, I found time to perform one important task – a website refresh. It’s been a lot of time and energy re-working these, but I’m glad it is done, because it needed to be. I quickly become ashamed and disinterested in my work and hobbies when they’re not pretty to look at and are easy to use. They’re all easier to use and better to look at, as of today. I’ll run you through the changes real quick.

Tyneesha.com

This one needed a re-do, mostly because it was so cluttered. It’s hosted a whole 4 years’ worth of my uni work, and with that chapter ending, I thought it best to clean up. I’ve had this blog for years and years, even before uni and I’ve not been particularly sure on its overall direction in that time. When I was a teenager, it was like a really obnoxious diary, when I started uni it was a bit of a storage space, when we went through lockdown it was a void to scream into – and now I suppose it’s free to just be a blog. I grew up, and it’s gotta grow up with me, right? You might notice that there’s no flashy widgets or sections on the home page now – it’s just a blog grid. And I think that’s beautiful. I re-wrote the about page, and that gets bit more specific, so feel free to check that out if you’re ever writing some sort of expose!

Neesh Photography

The more keen onlookers among you might recall that this website is only a year or so old. Dad helped me set it up when I got serious about photography – but in honesty it was a rushed job and I didn’t really know what I wanted from it. I didn’t particularly know what I was doing, or what the website needed to look like. It needed a test-run, and the last year of work has well and truly provided that. I wound up hating the font we originally used – so fixing that up was very important to me. The layout of some pages of the original site was somehow both cluttered and awkwardly empty. The site overall wasn’t as useable and pleasant as it is now. I was still fiddling with different aesthetic choices and it came out messy. But I think it’s fixed now, and it’s updated with a bunch of new, better photos. You could have a look around if you wanted! No pressure!

Resume

There wasn’t really anything wrong with this – it looks almost the same, it was just in need of a content-update. I have achieved many things in the past couple of years, and I refuse to be cheated out of my right to boast!

Journalism Internship & Finishing Uni

I’ve taken up an internship at The Illawarra Flame, which is really exciting for me! It’ll help me finish that pesky journalism degree. I am not a huge fan of the big scary news scene – I didn’t want to have to go off to work and write stories about death and taxes. The Flame is really community focused. They tend to write about nice, bright, interesting local people and topics. I wrote an art and culture story about an upcoming Jazz show in Wollongong, and that was fun. It’s going to mean I’ll be busy juggling uni, work and this internship, but I’m excited anyway.

I’ve got to do 6 subjects at uni this year to finish my degrees. I’ve done all of my core subjects barring the internship subject. Last year I thought I’d fill these subjects by doing a second major in Screen Media. I’ve since changed my mind, and instead I’ve just picked a handful of random elective subjects that I’m sure I’ll find fun and hopefully easy enough. I don’t need to be stressed in my last year. Screen Media was supposed to be chill and silly, as apposed to doing another major like marketing. Honestly, though, it was hard. It was a lot more work than other subjects I’ve done at uni. I’m very proud of the work I produced last year through those subjects – a documentary, some really beautiful videos, and a fun interactive art installation. I got to play with videography and I did a lot of my assignments in a way that was just based on celebrating my friends and family, so it was rewarding, but it took a lot of my time.

This year I’ve enrolled to do some intro to photography subjects – which I’m hoping will be fairly cruisy for me. They might challenge me to take photos in a new way – not work, not personal enrichment, but a secret third thing! Either way, at least I know I’ll like it. I’ve also enrolled in a visual design subject – which I’m not sure will be easy for me (I’m a Canva girl first and foremost) but maybe they’ll teach me more about Photoshop (why is it so confusing to use). Lastly, I’ve enrolled in a cultural studies subject, which just sounded like I’d like it from the description. I might do exams for the first time since highschool! Who knows!

Hottest 100 was Weird

I know Triple J’s Hottest 100 was a while ago now – I’m sure those who paid attention know that Doja Cat took the win. I really don’t have many thoughts on that – at the end of the day, people voted for it. It’s an interesting reflection of the industry right now. I am, however, upset at how low Boygenius ranked. On the matter of Boygenius, in general, I’ve been burned recently. They’ve finished up their tour of The Record and announced their hiatus. I’m sure it’s not permenant and I’m excited for new solo Lucy Dacus music – but I am cut that they didn’t come to Australia.

Also, a lot of the songs in the countdown were ones that I just didn’t know at all – that might be because I majoritively use spotify. It could also be a sign that I am aging prematurely. I had a fun day anyway.

Some thoughts ahead of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

I do love Taylor Swift, I don’t think it’s a secret – but I would like to extend a supportive nod to those of us who at once stage did feel it neccessary to keep our love of Taylor Swift a secret. I’m going to see her Sydney show next week, and I’m very excited for that, but I am absolutely hating the marketing of it all. The ginormous nature of this tour is mind blowing. The whole world is invested and every company in the world is seemingly trying to profit from supporting it. My girlfriend and I went to see the tour movie some months ago, and the cinema full of little girls got up and went down the front to jump up and down in front of the screen like they were front row at the concert. That made me sob! It’s beautiful and it’s confusing. Being someone who’s paid such close attention to Swift’s career since I was about 8 years old, I’ve got a lot of mixed feelings on the matter but I suppose even those who like her out of irony now are valid in throwing their money around for something they want to be a part of. I’m entirely sure that I’ll forget my distaste for capitalism the moment I see her. I will be taking my little sister, it’s her first concert, I’m not sure she’s prepared for the amount of crying I’ll be doing.

Also, there’s this

I’ve made my 2024 pinterest board and spotify playlist. Recently the great Gregory Alan Isakov put out a lovely cover of Radiohead’s No Suprises, so at least listen to that because it’s great!

Anyway, that’s about all from me, thanks for reading! Bye!