A piece I did on Popmundo... Real life's gonna be that much harder.

The flickering pink neon sign of Club 74 creaks as the wind picks up, then dies down again. The lone bouncer at the back entrance pulls his coat tighter around his ample girth.

Everyone's entering by the front, but occasionally someone wanders by.

Get past the bouncer and step in through the door, and you're soon lost in the maze of passages that run backstage.

In a dingy dressing room, looking very much at odds with the fittings, is Audrey Page, all 5 feet 6 of her.

She’s far from home and her children, and it’s almost Christmas.

Technicians and backup singers rush past the open door, but no one gives her a second look.

Why should they? They know her simply as Audacity.

We’re in downtown Berlin and in these parts, everyone has a story, so few stop to listen. No one is here by choice, most can’t wait to leave.

Audrey was married once, to a 20 stone bruiser by the name of Harley. The attraction died two weeks after the ceremony. She stayed for 7 more years.

Then one night, she’d had enough.

Enough of his whoring and boozing ways. Enough of his indifferent attitude and abusive behaviour. Enough of all that crap.

She packed her eight kids into the truck and drove off into the night. Turned on to the freeway and just drove on and on. Never stopped, never looked back. Till they ran out of gas. Then they hitchhiked.

It’s been more than 3 years to the day. Now she fights hard to make a living. For her kids, for herself.

Backstage, she’s Audrey who puts on a brave front and misses her children.

But when the lights come on and the bass kicks in, she’s Audacity, all 5 foot 6 of punk ‘tude.

It's been one hectic week, but there's one final hurdle to cross before the week officially draws to a close and I can start preparing for next week's assignments. Been having irregular sleeping hours of late as I've been forced to churn out work right before the deadlines. It's like they lull you into a relaxed state of mind with the Easter Break, then they hit you... hard.

Had to hand in my Social Relations Assignment on Monday a 5pm. I only got it done at 8am, then handed it up and went to sleep. Searching for secondary sources can be hard, and when they insist on academic texts, it can be a bitch. I don't know how many dead links and useless stuff I went through. And I don't see the point of putting the names of articles on Informit, only to inform me (ha!) that it's not in the database. Newspaper article headings on Mediascan are pointless too.

They had this video archive presentation on Tuesday. A total waste of time. Could have skipped that to do something else and wouldn't have missed anything important. They were like "Oh our archive in Canberra has all these videos." And they showed us quite a few clips. Then the one hour lecture was up. Interesting, but quite useless.

There was a PR test on Wednesday morning at 9.30am. Studied hard for it on Tuesday but it was a total letdown. Not that it was really difficult, but rather too easy. I think we all overestimated it. I think I got two questions wrong, but no biggie, the rest were correct I believe. 18/20 is fine with me. Good thing was, we were free to go after the test, which gave me 2 hours before the Philosophy lecture. Gotta love stuff like that.

Today was the Social Relations presentation at 10.30am. We were supposed to do a slideshow on our previous assignment that we had handed in on Monday. I worked till around 4am before going to bed. Woke at 9.45am, rushed out some notes to read from then headed over to class. The class was supposed to write feedback for the various presentations and most told me I spoke too fast. Sorry lah. My Engrish presentation skill very the lau pok. But then again, I thought the point was to provide feedback on the material, not the presentation? Quite a few pieces said they thought that my research into the secondary sources was very indepth. Perhaps my hour poring over the sources weren't in vain. Then again, I'd done it from 1-5am on a Monday morning, so it wasn't really indepth, more a case of being able to find the correct points in an article and twisting it to my needs. My favourite comment? Just two words on the A4 sheet of paper: "Very vague." Oh the irony, I expect you're talking about your own comment there haha.

So after it was done, we trooped up to the gallery up in Collins Street to take a look at photographs of Melbourne done by Mark Strizic. Alvin Ang (our tutor) made it sound like it was his own idea to bring us up on an impromptu field trip to see something he'd found in his own personal time, but when we came out of the exhibition... lo and behold, another Social Relations class with their tutor haha.

After that, went out for lunch at Chomp Chomp with Ron and Lynette and two others (can't remember names yet, sorry!). The place serves Singaporean food and you know it's a good sign when they actually spell the dish names correctly and there's no mention of "Singaporean fried rice". I tried the Hainanese Chicken Rice Dish (A$7.80) an Iced Milo. The girls have been here for more than a year since they attended Trinity and they said they came here a lot then. One had the Chicken Rice too, while Lynette had the Tom Yum and Vegetable Soup with Noodles (huge bowl, huge serving, lots of soup). Boy from Thailand (He who wrote the "too vague" comment, can't remember name :P) ordered BBQ Pork with rice. But I think they took the "Char" in Char Siew a bit too literally. Ron got the Claypot dish. Food wasn't bad and my Iced Milo turned out to be a Milo Dinosaur. Really filling even though the portion didn't look all that large. A few of them didn't finish. Ron still owes me A$13.80 (Note to self too hehe). Lynette says they only sell Milo in Asian groceries. That's why I haven't been able to find 'em. She also says they're pretty expensive. Meh.

After brunch, it was time to head back home. Feeling pretty tired already and crashed on the bed once I'd reached the apartment. Dreamed of dead babies in jars, lined up on shelves. Now what does that mean?

More weather reports yes. That's either a sign that I'm too busy or that there's absolutely nothing else to talk about. Anyway I got up today looked out of the window today to see that a thick fog had decended over the city centre. I hadn't slept a jot while working on the Social Relations assignment and it's infernal bibilography all through the night so I had to get away from the laptop screen. I pulled out my camera, went downstairs and snapped off a few shots. Luckily, I'd bundled myself in a few layers (still sans hot shower you see) but I could see my breath for the first time since arriving in Melbourne. Cold. Everyone around me was huddling deep into their sweaters and hugging bags close to them. Cars had turned on their hazard lights as they made their way around still-empty streets. Pigeons flocked around the green lawn in front of the State Library as the fog visibly moved in and settled. More pictures after the jump.

Assignment is due at 5pm. Thankfully I'm almost done. One down, plenty more to go. I need my sleep!!!

Saturday 12:45pm. Deadlines approaching. Too many assignments jostling for your attention. What's there to do? Time to knuckle down.

I'm at Swanston Library now, as I was yesterday, attempting to grapple with the beast that's Social Relations. The trouble's gotta be with the secondary sources. At least one academic source each? That's tough. I'll update you as I go along.

12: 50. I've chosen a deserted corner of the library, second floor. There's a spacious table and a powerpoint. Library seems to be less crowded today. People probably stay away on the weekends. The place closes at 5. I've gotta get this done. No one's around here at the moment. Just how I like it.

13.30 Enter Ron Yap. Back from the vet. Apparently the dog and girlfriend takes precedence over a fast-due assignment. He's even further behind then me. At least I can snigger at his progress and make myself feel better. The going is pretty slow at the moment.

16.30 One article done! Two more to go. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. But at least what's done looks pretty impressive. Now I just need to replicate it twice more. Too bad the library's closing. Think I'll head back to the apartment.

Anyone lulled into believing that the past two days of warm sunny mild weather meant T-shirts and shorts for the rest of the week was in for a shock today as the cold front moved in. I went out around noon and the it was right chilly. Blustery, cold day. The wind was whipping past you, pressing your clothes into your skin, reaching chilly fingers out to you and raising goosebumps on your skin. It was nice weather for a short walk but by the time I'd reached the University grounds, my fingers were frozen. 9-20 degrees tomorrow. Better put on an extra layer. Break's over and it's time for classes again. Assignment deadlines coming straight up. Just the way you like it.

And when you fall through the cracks
into a world you've never been
it's a whole new beginning
in a weird brand new skin

No one knows where it'll end
this unwelcome journey just began
but I'll warn you first and foremost
you'll learn pretty quick to be a man

For you fall through the cracks
into London Below
welcome to the darkness my friend
where the days come and go but never end

You'll confront your worst fears
those of a man you hardly knew
he was you once and young
but your memories are hazy and few

If you fall through the cracks
and hope is but a distant thought
remember my words
run and don't ever get caught

Yepp you read it right. Finally, you can post whatever's on your mind under each new post, thanks to Chris, who spent the early part of Good Friday grinding his teeth on the html code.

This place looks really unfamiliar... Haha. I know I haven't been on here for a few days now, but I've been really busy with the last assignment. Not so much working on it, then just generally feeling lazy. The night after I'd handed it up, it was as though there was all this pent up energy released, I was literally bouncing off the walls.

The rainfront finally broke through this morning. Rain had been promised since the start of the week, and rain came finally. Delayed but certainly welcome.

Interview your subject, then write a short profile on him or her. Make sure there is a good angle and an engaging opening.

When the clock on the mantelpiece struck nine every morning, young Nick D would pick up his backpack, kiss his mum goodbye and step out the front door. As he skipped down the front yard and out of the gate, Nick would glance up the street and sure enough, two small forms would be seen turning the corner and trotting down the sidewalk. The three would exchange exuberant high fives in the way only five year old boys would and by the time they reached the school at the end of the street, they would number six. The year was 1994 and Nick was enrolled in the local primary school in Camberwell.

Over the next seven years, the surrounding area changed. Parks sprung up as houses were torn down and rebuilt. Front lawns bloomed with flowers while backyards started getting a little cluttered, but for the six fast friends, the morning ritual remained intact. They would meet up in the parks over the weekends, hanging out among the swings in the playgrounds, without a care in the world besides the next episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Then came the teenage years, when a trip to high school meant taking the public transport every morning. But some things remain the same, and when Nick boarded the bus, he knew he’d see those familiar faces he’d been seeing more than half his life. Hanging out in the parks gave way to crashing out at each other’s houses, while the TV shows lost out to Indy Rock tunes played at full volume.

Nick said he never gave much thought to whether they’d ever drift apart. It was just the sort of playground friendship that is often formed over a love of baseball or perhaps a shared passion for practical jokes. But stay together they did, and when fifteen year old Nick found a job working aisles at Target and the supervisor put out an advert for more employees, it was only natural that he roped in his mates.

Now twenty and studying at RMIT, Nick acknowledges that it has become harder to meet up. But still the six young men try their best, taking time out to bond over drinks at St Kilda’s every Saturday night. While the talk might turn to career opportunities or girls, some things never change. For if you squint really hard and forget where you are for a moment, you might just make out six little boys swapping Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cards over cans of Cola.

Tutor's comments:
hi zee, this has a good angle and it is great how it runs throughout the whole profile. What it is missing is a nut par at the top which directs readers to the point of the piece early on. Some of the language is a bit wordy too you could be more concise and I will go through this in the lecture next week and give you some tips on how to edit.

The second paragraph has some good C+A sentence structure(see Power Prose chapter 2): Over the next seven years, the surrounding area changed. Parks sprung up as houses were torn down and rebuilt. Front lawns bloomed with flowers while backyards started getting a little cluttered. But for the six fast friends, the morning ritual remained intact. They would meet up in the parks over the weekends, hanging out among the swings in the playgrounds, without a care in the world besides the next episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. THIS IS GOOD GRAMMAR.

FYI: I didn't really read Power Prose Chapter 2 :P

I think I'm quite at ease in Melbourne. Sure, most things are still foreign, and some will probably continue staying so for awhile. But hell yeah, it's one big new experience. So how's classes so far? Hmm. Tough question. I love Professional Writing, I'm cool with Social Relations, kinda bored with Public Relations, and can't get my head around Philosophy sometimes.

Assignments and deadlines are just making their entrances. It's been awhile since I've had to face up to such things. I remember back in Primary School, I was simply horrible at handing up homework. Back then, those occasions when I was supposed to hand 'em up were the most unbearable of all. And yet, I still continued missing deadlines. There's something about me and procrastination, even at such a young age.

So far, it's been okay. One informal Social Relations first draft handed in (an easy do it right and you pass). There's some kind of MCQ test for PR after the Easter Break (gotta love 7 days of freedom out of nowhere), while PW has a first draft of a personal column (more on that later) due this Monday which is really soon. I'm sure I'll start panicking sometime in the near future. Social Relations requires a short assignment as a follow up to the first. Well, we thought it was short. 200 words each for three communication articles, how hard can it be? I mean it's not that long, is it? Wrong. We're supposed to add on 400 words of annotated bibliography. For each article. Yepp, the biblio' is longer than the actual article. Simply amazing.

Philosophy is the kicker. I'm supposed to be doing a presentation before the tutorial group sometime in Week 8, on this chap named Derrida. Apparently, he's some French postmodern philosopher (who didn't like being named so according to his wiki) and as far as I can tell, he came up with something called "Deconstruction". No it's not the process of tearing a building down. Har har. That's all I can tell you so far, because everytime I make up my mind to sit down and actually do some research, I read a few sentences and then fall asleep. True story.

Oh. And just the last lecture, we got handed an innocent white sheet of paper. I mean, all the lecture notes and readings handed out in Philosophy lectures are in yellow sheets, so this was something different. How true. It listed out all the essay questions we could choose from. Deadline? 23rd April. Thanks everybody, 3 weeks to write 1200-1500 words on something I have absolutely no idea about. Yay?

So back to the personal column. What am I going to write about? Hmm, I mentioned my first trip on a Melbourne train that day in practical on a lark and everybody just presumed I'd be writing about that for my column. Apparently, it sounds interesting and really informative. Not really though. So to save my bacon, this Saturday, I'll be taking the train to nowhere in particular. I'll just board it and go whizzing about, taking notes and snapping pictures and hopefully I'll find my way home full of new ideas.

Or maybe I'll end up in Bundoora at the stroke of midnight, lost and hungry.

Time really flashes pass. I think it was just awhile ago when I was marvelling at how I'd been in this country for a month. Well guess what? It's now a month and a half, we're in April. I was just moaning about the start of the schoolweek and now it's the weekend. It's like life's in fast forward or something.

They had this movie screening downstairs tonight showing Jim Carey's Yes Man. And of course I said Yes to it (Lame, I know but can't resist). Someone remarked that Zooey Deschanel kinda looks like Meg Ryan. Speaking of which, what happened to Meg Ryan?

P.S Just got feedback from the tutor for my personal profile first draft submission! Been waiting for weeks :) I'll post the whole thing after this.