Thinking Big

Updating this has been at the back of my mind for the last week, but I have been rather time-poor. In amongst work, socialising, and hammering Fifa 11 I haven't had the chance to piece together an articulate entry, so you get this instead.

I've always considered myself a bit of a social media whore. I've kept my life relatively public since 2001 and have traversed the online landscape, with ICQ, discovering forums back in 2005, and even online dating (can't post links to that from work but I would be game).

I've kept it relatively stable these days and have learned some lessons. You'll notice I don't mention anybody else's name in this blog, and I'm a bit more polite on this than I am on Inthemix. I guess you get a feel for what you can or can't say across social media and what the effects are.

Or so I thought.

Three things happened over the weekend that made me reassess my social media presence, and made it seem quite small by comparison to others. The first, was my uploading my first Youtube video. There was a call-to-action through work for a video entry telling your (interesting) story to try and get a trip to New York. Being the game person I am, I submitted an entry recalling my attempts to get into media, and eventual success and struggles. It can be seen here. (Sorry can't be bothered looking at how to embed video).

Feeling aspirational, I checked out what other people have done. I stumbled across communitychannel. This was nothing short of awesome. Natalie Tran has built a cult following across the Internet by sharing skits and self-deprecating witticisms and broadcasting them for all the world to see. It's the number one channel in Australia for Youtube and in the Top 50 for the world. The level of overshare is epic, maybe not as protruding as some of my online gaffes, but definitely more endearing.

The third thing that happened was seeing The Social Network. Now let's face it. I'm ambitious but I'm never going to catch up to Mark Zuckerberg. I openly self-cringed when I saw the opening scenes of him blogging about his ex-girlfriend. Ah, my OpenDiary anyone? I pretty much did the same thing to my ex and others. Sorry about that folks - we live and learn!

So what did these three revelatory explorations facilitate for an aspirational social media whore? Do I need to ramp it up? Should I start a video blog? Can there ever really be too much online Marshy/Marshwah?

I'm thinking... nah, and if anything the combination of the above three experiences has only spurred me on to do more.

Run for cover motherfucker ;-)

My Baseline is Increasing

We all have a baseline.

And a lot of my friends would think of basslines when I mention them. But while basslines do tend to enhance my contentment levels as a dance music fan, I'm more talking about the a sense of wellbeing and contentment overall.

My baseline is increasing.

It's a gradual thing. But yep, I'm pretty sure that I'm finding basic things more enjoyable than two, five, or even ten years ago. I read the other day that you are at your happiest when you are 50, and while Google doesn't turn up a conclusive answer, I'm definitely nodding my head in some form of agreement.

When I first moved to Sydney, I had a couple of mates come up and stay, and I debated with one of them.

"Surely your twenties are the best, it's when you can party as an adult and not feel guilty."

"Nup", my friend emphatically stated, "as a 30-odd year-old I can confidently state the last year has been the best of my life."

I guess these little musings augur well for me then. And reiterate what I'm saying. As my life's progressing, I'm just finding more to find delight in.

And that's not really a bad thing at all.

The Grass Is Greener

I'm updating from my new desk. Well it doesn't feel as new as it did, given that I've been here five weeks, but it's quite alright.

Virtually all of my friends have asked me at some stage how I feel about my role now that I've made the leap over, and my answer usually comes in repeated iterations of two key words: love it, love it, love it.

I'm voyeuristic-ally vindicated. Pleasantly perplexed. Obviously obfuscating. It doesn't really matter what alliteration I throw into this entry, one fact remains the same, I'm happy to be here. Any tentative misgivings I had about moving to Sydney have ebbed away, I've reached my goal, and now I need to shift the goal posts further.

The Summer's in. I saw the personal trainer this morning. I've been going twice a week for the past four weeks. It's expensive, and I'm going to lose my bet, but I've definitely made a change for the better, and have made a habit adjustment for the better. My next little goal is to start cycling to work again, as we're in a different location, the light's better now, and it should be easier to reach from where I am. Let's hope I don't get clipped by a taxi again!

The writing's taking a backseat while I settle into my new role. I took a term off as I didn't want the distraction of something else while I was still finding my feet, but now that I'm back in alignment I'm looking forward to getting back into it. I should get credit for one of my subjects so will start on second year subjects next term. Bring it on I say.

Life-wise, I'm loving it. I'm in a good place at the moment, getting out and about with new and old friends and really nailing the work/life balance thing. This weekend we have a long weekend, I'm looking forward to watching an epic AFL grand final, getting some errands done, and then letting it all hang loose at Godskitchen - a trance music event that will have plenty of visuals.

I've got a good feeling about the rest of the year, I can feel some good energy coming my way.

Watch this space.

Getting Off One Train, and Jumping On Another

It is with a bittersweet taste that I write this entry. And I’m not just referring to the beer that’s in my mouth. I’m sitting at my work desk with the intentions of updating my blog, and I’m not at a loss of words to say what I want to say but am more feeling an underlying reluctance.

I’m glad to be leaving.

I don’t leave with bad blood or any ill will towards anyone I’ve worked here with but overall, after seven weeks of waiting to start a job that I wanted to start the second I got the offer, I’m glad to be leaving.

Now that’s said, I can get the other tidbits out of the way. I’m not going back to uni next term. With the start of the new job will come increased scrutiny, workload, and pressure. While I bit off more than I can chew this semester I’m still proud of my accomplishments. But going into a new job and trying to study at the same time just doesn’t seem like a good idea. Add to that I should get credit for the fourth subject (Journalism) in this course thanks to my undergrad degree – and I’ll have a Graduate Certificate in Arts (Writing). Not bad for six months.

What this does do, is open up the opportunity to commence the book again. It’s been on hiatus for the last six months and I’m really keen to sink my teeth in again. I’ve been thinking about how I can develop it and there is two things that stick in mind. The first is about what’s already been accomplished, and I think it could benefit from a re-write, I’m literally going to force myself to print out the work and re-type it word for word but in a more succinct/detailed style. I know this is a paradox – but there are passages that can benefit from culling, and there are passages that could benefit from much more detail. I’ve received a lot of feedback from the people I’ve chosen to share it with and the overwhelming message I’m receiving is ‘needs more detail!’ So that’s what I intend to do.

The second element is a bit more risqué, and could annoy family and my more conservative friends. That will be a more no-holds barred take on what’s happened since Perth and I’m not going to shy away from details about certain things. I’ve had quite a long time to think about it, and the book in its current state would be an omission of the whole story if I chose to end it where it lies. I think it would benefit from hearing what’s happened to me and where I’m at now.

The trouble is – is it interesting enough to be a book? Based on my past six months of thinking and learning with the Masters, I think it is, and I can’t wait to get stuck into some more writing. My trick of heading to Kiama for some coastal and Marshy time may be realised again sooner rather than later. I’m actually thinking next weekend would be a good time as it’s easier to make plans and stick to them before other things arise.

I’ll keep you posted on how I go.

The Life Plan

So I'm in for a busy week or so as I try and round off the end of this semester for uni. I've got two major assessments due on Monday and am looking to knock them on the head. I'm prepared though, and provided I don't get too distracted on the weekend it should allow me to see them through.

I'm writing from my beloved Melbourne this time. It's my last day of leave here and part of a "mini" holiday I am privy to before I begin my new job. I've got just over four weeks left in the old one before I jump straight in. To say I'm looking forward to it is an understatement of gargantuan proportions.

While I've been staying here I've been assessing what the next steps are with the whole life thing. I've come to a few conclusions. I'm gunning for Thailand in late November this year. That's a given. I haven't been overseas yet, have some of my best friends over there and I'm running out of excuses and youth. This is a no-brainer. The next steps for me career-wise are set in stone as well. I'm an account manager. I moved to Sydney with the objective of becoming one and I've nailed it. I'm looking forward to consolidating on what I've achieved and throwing myself into an industry that I've worked hard to thrive in. It will be challenging but that's what I signed up for when I moved to Sydney. So I guess in a way that's a no-brainer too.

The third phase of this will be an extended jaunt overseas. After this stage of my career I want to work abroad. In Europe specifically. I'm going to do the party thing, the working thing, the exploring yourself thing. And it's going to be everything I imagined and more. Of this I am sure. I'll miss my friends, but a perennial side-effect of staying in Australia has meant that more often than not I have friends abroad as well that I miss seeing, and this time I'll be the one that will be missed. Plus there's bound to be friends abroad around the same time. Of this I am even more sure.

I don't know how long phase three of the plan will be. It's hard to mete out these kind of things. And it would be foolish to. I'm measuring out a piece of string and leaving it at that.

Then, placed tentatively at the back of my mind, is the decision about where to settle down afterwards. Provided I return, I see myself either buying a property in the inner-West of Sydney, or plonking myself into an apartment in Melbourne's Southbank. Both options are attractive to me, and it will really hinge on where my friends are around that time and who I keep in touch with.

I came to Melbourne not really knowing what to expect or whether I'd arrive at these conclusions, but coming back home has really proven a catalyst for articulating what I plan to do with my life. Seeing friends and family again has helped facilitate this, and it feels good to have an idea of where I want to go with my life after all these years.

There's a whole myriad of things that could go wrong. My love life, the ever-present bipolar, unforeseen tragedies... but that's what makes life exciting, and I'm not in a hurry to predict whether I'll be spouting the same self-revelatory epiphanies in a year's time.

But it will be interesting nonetheless.

Rejection and Aspiration

Sunday afternoon and I'm sitting here listening to the progressive tunes of Sasha Le Monnier. I got some sets off a friend and haven't been listening to much else since. I'm loving it.

So I missed out on the scholarship I mentioned. The whole process was quite rewarding though in that it put me on the spot. I had to format and edit my manuscript into a presentable form, and also come up with two pages on why I thought it was worthy of being published. While the brief suggested that it wasn't a pitch - it felt like one - so much so that I was enthused enough to go approach some literary agents about my script.

I looked up some Australian agents and came across this site, the Australian Literary Agents Association and emailed a few of the representatives with the contact details supplied. I'm not sure what I was expecting, and knew that it's quite hard to get an agent, but the responses were still pretty discouraging! My favourite response was in reply to my email about my story being one that needs to be told:

“Yes these are stories that need to be told but unfortunately publishers don't. Sorry I can't help.”

A bit of a crash back to reality for this lofty, aspiring author. I'll get there though.

In other news I have a new job! It's all happened rather quickly, but it's exciting all the same. I'll now be moving to another agency as a digital account manager. Back in '06 I wrote about my attempts to get into advertising, and back then I was entertaining the first thoughts of moving to Sydney. Two years later I did move, and two years later I've achieved my goal of becoming an account manager. Now that I've got there I need to move the goalposts! The next big milestone will be international travel - I'm still gunning for Thailand late November and hopefully the new role will allow it - I'm crossing my fingers!

Writing-wise uni has taken over. I'm doing two subjects this semester and proving quite tough. I've dedicated today to get some more done. I'm keeping afloat, it's just my affinity for having fun on the weekend does eat into my study time.

I have to wait quite a while before I start my role thanks to my current job stipulating an eight-week waiting period in the contract. Not to worry though, it will be good to have a protracted send-off from a company I've loved working for before I take the next steps into a new and challenging job.

Long Weekend

It wasn't until this afternoon that I realised I hadn't had face-to-face contact with anyone since Friday night. After I chatted to my housemate and exchanged pleasantries, I went back to my room realising that I do this every now and then.

When I was living at college, surrounded by some 250 people 24/7, these times were few and far between. "Marshtime" my neighbour would say as I returned from a day's retreat. Yesterday was "Marshtime" and it has been a while since such a day has occurred.

I've had another couple of weigh-ins since my last entry. I've now put away 5.5kg. I'm feeling good about things, but beginning to realise that it's only going to get tougher. Whenever I'm training and thinking: hey, I'm feeling kind of fit now, some trigger will be set off making me realise I've got a long way to go. Whether that be panting after a long set of stairs, getting absolutely hammered by my personal trainer, or even looking at my paunch in the reflection of a shop window. I'll get there though, I've got resolve.

The other day I received in the mail confirmation of receipt of my scholarship application. My book's taken a backseat for the last month or so as I focus my efforts on winning this thing. I got my application done and posted it off, I find out if I'm shortlisted on the 30th of this month. I don't know what to expect really. I've put a lot of work into the manuscript and think it will one day make a great read. Whether or not it is deserving of editorial accolade and praise is another matter, and I have absolutely zero idea about the competition out there. All I know is that I'm competing with any number of Australians under the age of 30 who can write either fiction or non-fiction. I'd love to get some sort of editorial assistance regardless.

Uni has also taken a backseat, I've just begun the second semester and am getting off to a slow start. I will catch up tomorrow after watching our Socceroos take on Germany in this year's World Cup. It's hard not to get swept away in the excitement and spectacle, and for me I like this event much better than the Olympics. It seems more pure, more on the line, than the bloated extravaganza that features equestrian, badminton and table-tennis.

Another little writing exercise I have to fret over, outside of professional and academic pursuits, is a little ditty for next weekend's cocktail party. Three (;-) good friends are hosting it under the moniker: Erotic Fan Fiction. Some people are expected to contribute, including my good self.

I've got an inkling of what I'm going to write about, Sandra Sully Solo-Session has a nice ring to it I think. Will I be game to post the end-result up here?