You Have A Choice No Matter What

I'm not sure what it is about the middle of the year that causes people so much anxiety. After reaching the end of financial year, reality starts to sink in that the year is already half over and you start to wonder what you've actually achieved since January.

All those idealistic wide eyed dreams and plans set at the beginning of the year always seems to hold so much glimmer and excitement... Then before you know it, *bam*, August hits and suddenly there you are... wondering where on earth all that time went!

“Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans.” – John Lennon

After taking a much needed step back, I've actually realised that my next 6 months actually hold more exciting opportunity than ever before. While there has been a lot of uncertainty regarding the second half of 2009, I’ve realised how lucky I really am!

In the next 6 months I could be:

• working + visiting Singapore + starting post grad
• moving to Sydney + starting new job + starting post grad
• going on 6 week DT + visiting Singapore + starting post grad
• starting volunteer work + starting a post grad
• curing my itchy feet syndrome and travelling overseas

... or ideally some other combination of all of the above plus more.

No matter how confuzzling things may initially appear, there is always a solution!

Let Yourself Feel

let yourself feel. from Esteban Diácono on Vimeo.

How Organised Consumer Purchasing Can Change Business

How Organized Consumer Purchasing Can Change Business from carrotmob on Vimeo.

Thanks to Gabi for sharing this with me.

Carrotmob is a method of activism that leverages consumer power to make the most socially-responsible business practices also the most profitable choices. Businesses compete with one another to see who can do the most good, and then a big mob of consumers buys products in order to reward whichever business made the strongest commitment to improve the world. It’s the opposite of a boycott.

In essence:

1. Businesses compete with how much good they are willing to do
2. Consumers choose one business they want to reward
3. Consumers support that business by making coordinated purchases
4. The most responsible business gets rich
5. Consumers buy things they would buy anyway, but by organising themselves, they change the world!

The Things People Do...

It's interesting how people have different coping mechanisms in response to situations that present themselves.

I've realised that when I'm confused or trying to work out a pressing concern in my head, the thinking process tends to manifest through cleaning... yepup, scrubbing, vacuuming, tidying, throwing things out, reorganising, washing...

There has to be something said about the catharsis of cleaning. Tidy desk = clear mind perhaps?

In a similar, but not directly related note I remember while in uni cleaning during STUVAC... once I even moved a massive decade old relic of a fridge from one end of the kitchen to the other.

Hmm, the word "avoidance" pops into mind...

On the plus side, the apartment has never looked cleaner.

The Reason for Study

In looking forward and exploring the potential of going back to school, I'm back to the beginning in thinking about what to study and why?

In my research I've stumbled upon the following article from The Age: "We must nurture the humanities"

"Australian universities need to do much more to fulfil their most important role: teaching students to think for themselves."

"The idea of a liberal arts education goes back more than 2000 years to Plato's Academy. It holds that an educated citizen in a free society should have a grounding in philosophy, history, literature, the sciences, maths, foreign languages, politics and fine arts...This kind of education does not train you in a profession, but it gives you an intellectual foundation to use throughout your life, whether you decide to go into medicine, law, business, engineering, or any other occupation.”

Definitely food for thought. The search continues...

Bad Mouth Ad

Thanks to Nic for making me aware of this one.

Saatchi & Saatchi’s United Nations ad, ‘Bad Mouth’, challenges the racist attitudes behind vilification in Australia.

The Girl Effect