Masterchef + Murdoch = Joyness!!

Except I think you need to live in the village....

This proves yet again how much awesomeness can come out of Murdoch. Okay, so a previous student never won an Oscar (but I'm pretty sure someone from Murdoch was nominated?) but Callum from Masterchef is giving the student village free cooking lessons! Eeep! Makes me wish I was a student living on campus.

You can read allllllll about it here: http://media.murdoch.edu.au/callum-from-masterchef-comes-to-murdoch?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d6dac8b7a908437,0

Exemption Outcome....

EXEMPT!

What a relief!! I am officially graduating University. It was a little up in the air before I received this e-mail. The possibility of preparing yourself to go back after thinking it's all over is just unbearable. It reminds me of that scene in Despicable Me when the evil villain sees a boy crying over an ice cream, so he gives him a balloon, and then he pops the balloon.



This is only for 2/3 subjects, but seeing as I didn't use my workplace unit for these exemptions I will now automatically be exempt from the third. Confused? Here's how it works.

If you successfully complete a workplace unit at Murdoch that coincides with your degree it will replace a core unit. As for the other two units, well...  i'm going to put that down to a damn good exemption letter (and maybe good grades, also maybe the professor was just in a really good mood....).

I stressed for weeks over how I was going to word this letter. How would I address the person I was talking to? How am I going to show I deserve to be exempt? How am I going to phrase "can I be exempt" without sounding pushy? The worst thing was there were no guidelines to writing this kind of letter. Until now.

Due to the amount of hair and sleep I lost over how to write an exemption letter, and no matter how much you google or search the Murdoch site you will not receive any help, I have decided to provide my own how to guide.

How To Write A Killer Exemption Letter:

• Keep it formal - Address the person your talking to formally. For instance, don't say "hi" or "hey". Try going with "dear" and finish off with "yours sincerely". It's a bit of an over kill, but it's better to be over formal than under formal. Also, make sure you use the right title for whomever your addressing. For example "Associate Professor Terrence Lee". Then when they reply with something more simple, you can use that in the future.
  
  
• Demonstrate why you should be exempt - Have you completed several units that correlate with the core unit you have left over? Do you believe you've learnt everything you can on the subject? Ultimately it's up to the person your writing to decide if you've satisfied course requirements, but it doesn't hurt to give your own example.
  
  
• Provide a copy of your academic record - Be prepared for the first reply to ask for this. I wasn't to sure where to get this from. I ended up going into my units and taking a screen capture of my unit results.
  
  

It's not much, so here's a template as well.

If your not to sure whether or not you have any core units left over it's best to ask a question through MyAnswers. They will usually get back to you within a couple of days if your submitting the question during a teaching week.

Good luck with the rest of your studies! And a BIG congrats to all those graduating with me this year :)

Can I be exempt?

It sounds simple, but the title for this blog is one of the hardest lines I have ever had to write. Not in the context of a blog title though...

In order to graduate from Murdoch at the end of this semester, which is only 5 study weeks away (eek!! :D), I need to be granted exemption from 3 subjects. 2 belong to my media degree and 1 belongs to my public relations degree. I've set out an e-mail that explains why I think I should be exempt, but I just can't seem to close it. Do I simply say "due to the above, I believe I should be exempt" or should I be less pushy and write something along the lines of "is it possible for me to be exempt?"

I spent so much time on this letter, that I'm now sure I've missed the deadline. At least according to the Murdoch website. This is something MyAnswers didn't prepare me for. I'm kind of disappointed if this is the case. I would have expected MyAnswers to tell me there was a deadline, rather than just telling me I needed to write a letter to my academic chairs. There's also the fact that there are no guidelines to writing a letter for exemption. It's not such a big deal, but this is a pretty important letter. The outcome of this letter means the difference of me graduating at the end of this year, or half way through next year. Last year I was all "it'll be fine, I'll take this extra unit and if I have to come back I'll have to come back." I thought it would be fun finishing half way through the year, that way I wouldn't be committed to finding a job straight away and would be fresh from 6 months off when I started looking in the new year. But freedom is ever so close right now and I'm fed up with my casual wage and work hours which see that I remain broke for a good majority of the uni semester.

It's true what they say. The final semester is the hardest. I'm getting lazier with my assignments, and slacker with my study schedule. It's like knowing you're prison sentence will end in 6 months, but you dig you're way out anyway. Because it's so close you can't stand it! Okay... maybe that's an exaggeration... but 15 years of school with no more than a 2 month break once a year kind of does your head in.

I WANT TO GRADUATE NOW!!
So please please please Murdoch let me graduate this year! Otherwise I just might cry...

I'm going to go and watch 30 Rock now and procrastinate calm down :)

I'm lonely, and my phone just went flat.

Yeah the title pretty much says it all. It's 4 in the afternoon, my class finished an hour ago, I was meant to meet a friend who didn't show, and now I'm on the library computers blogging. I really forgot what waiting around on campus alone was like. I thought I had so many friends to hang out with, but reality is... everyone goes home at the end of the day.

The only reason I'm hanging around is because Powderfinger's concert starts at 6pm. So I couldn't be bothered driving back to Mandurah and then heading back upto Perth. Consequently I'm stuck at Murdoch, which is the perfect excuse to practice some study. But no... I choose procrastination, every time.

So here I am alone... and I'm thinking this isn't so bad. I'm chilling in the cafeteria, I'm messaging friends checking facebook and then... my phone goes flat. Great, now what? Wouldn't it be awesome if they charged your phone on campus? Yes it would. So I think maybe, just maybe, Murdoch offers this great service.Well... they don't. Murdoch you have failed me!!

I hereby propose that Murdoch offer a phone charging service, instead of having to pay $37 for a energiser battery charger. We are university students, some of us rarely find the time for work, or if your like me your work just doesn't give you hours because your uni schedule doesn't fit in with theirs. So why should we pay $40 (almost) for a service that could well be free. I'm not saying that this service should be free, but if it was like $2 per phone charge that would be pretty reasonable. It would be awesome if it was free... like at southbound. Then again we could all remember to bring phone chargers to uni just in case something like this happens. But that's not the point. The point is that there is an oppurtunity for Murdoch to become extra awesome, and I think they should act on it.

Murals ahoy!

So I managed to grab some pics of the new artworks in the Economics Commerce and Law courtyard, and boy was I impressed. Kyle Hughes-Odgers is pretty talented, he's manage to convert a once empty space into an inviting environment.

If you haven't had the pleasure of stumbling across the new murals here's some pics for you to peruse over in the mean time. I strongly recommend you take a detour down to the ECL courtyard the next time your on campus, it's much more than just paintings. Try figure out if you can decipher a story. A friend of mine looked at the painting with bottles hanging down and said she thought it was about catching the tears of the characters in the other paintings.

Open Day!

I've never been to a university Open Day before, not even Murdoch's. Before I came to university I had no real aspirations of studying again after high school, so Sunday was a new experience.

I was surprised at how much fun the people around me were having, as I was kinda bored. It probably would have been a different story if I had gone with friends, or if I was actually interested in finding out about a course to study.

There was a bunch of fun things set up that day to keep everyone entertained. There were rides, live music, festival food, and nova radio even made an appearance. I spent most of my time at the live music tent, but I did wonder down to the science and media buildings. The science section was interesting, there were little tents set up with a bunch of hands on fun. At the media end of campus there was a red carpet set up with people taking your photo as you walked past. Just before you reached the red carpet, however, there was a giant blow up whale shark. It was probably a litlle smaller than life size, but it was pretty darn close.

One of my favourite things about campus that day was the student centre. The glass doors, that I once thought were windows, had opened up and chairs had been placed outside to make for a super inviting environment. Why can't they do this all the time? Or at least during summer. Actually let's just make campus like Open Day every day. We can have tables and chairs on bush court, a live music tent, people wearing red and white shirts to help when you get lost, and show rides. Who wouldn't want to be on campus then?!

But seriously, the tables and chairs on bush court are a super awesome idea *hint hint Murdoch*.

Murdoch revamp!

Here's a nice little video of the artwork that will soon be on its way to the courtyard just outside the library in the ECL section of murdoch.

It's been directed by Chad Peacock  and showcases Kyle Hughes-Odgers new artwork installation which is apart of the 'Murdoch University Art Collection'.

Construction was meant to start this weekend so if your on campus at all, head down and take a peek!


help is on the way from Chad Peacock on Vimeo.

A change is a comin'.

Time to get excited because big things are happening at Murdoch.

Murdoch University have called upon an internationally recognised artist to help vamp up the ECL area on campus. Many of you probably have lectures here every semester and have noticed it's a pretty empty shell. In order to help make it an inviting environment, artist Kyle Hughes-Odgers has painted a mural which will give new life to the ECL area as a part of the 'Murdoch Art Collection'.

Along with a funky new look, there were will be the added convenience of wireless Internet. Pretty cool huh? So now we can just hang out outside the lecture theatres with our laptops instead of trekking it to the library and back!

Installation should begin this Saturday, and in between now and then I've got a pretty awesome video to share with you guys. Or you could start googling now, here's an extra hint: 'creepy'. Happy searching!

Is it week 14 yet?

Hasn't week 3 come around fast? I've been meaning to write a couple of blogs since first week, it's not like I haven't had much to talk about, I just didn't notice time flying by.

The last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic. I missed the first week because I had tonsillitis, turns out I had actually had it for 6 weeks, so I should have been on bed rest before semester started again. Missing the first week of semester isn't really a huge deal in terms of study load, but I did notice some drastic changes in the second week. Firstly, I didn't have a unit guide for any of my units. My friend manage to save me 1 guide, but that didn't help me with the other 2. So now I'm left with two options, a) read about the week's requirements online, or, b) print out a unit guide. Seeing as my printer is out of ink, I've been going with option a and it hasn't been that bad. Secondly, all my unit readers and prescribed readings were sold out, bar one book which I bought. This is pretty lucky, because I couldn't afford to buy more than one anyway, but it's been a real struggle keeping up to date with my readings. Usually I'll read a book on the train on my way to uni, now I need to sit at a computer. I shouldn't really complain, it's not like I can't access the readings at all, but the other day I read 29 pages on Global Media Industries in an hour because the book belonged to the restricted section. I've never felt so accomplished, and I was so prepared for class this week. So maybe not having the book is a bit of a blessing.

One thing I'm noticing about the end of third year though, is that tutors and lecturers expect a lot more from you, and why shouldn't they? For instance, I have a 2000 word essay due in just over a week. I have had 2 lectures and 1 class on the subject and I'm expected to do the rest of the research myself. Usually classes will help you out a little more by giving you a but more notice or loading you up with tips. I'm not too shocked that I'm expected to be independent, I'm just surprised. This is the first semester I've been told that I should know these things by now, that I've enough practice writing essays and that I should just be able to write one without notice. I suppose this is the kind of thing that will happen when I finally leave University and get a real job, so I'm glad it's happening.

So that's enough of an update for now! I hope I'm not scaring any high schoolers away from university, it takes 3 years for it to finally get hard and even then it's pretty bearable. I hope your all heading to open day on Sunday! It should be a whole lotta fun, and there are some awesome local bands playing. Hope to see you all there!

Jess.

Free Showing of An Inconvenient Truth!

If you haven't already noticed, Murdoch's pretty keen on being green. Recycling bins everywhere, a recycling feature, special green days and now a free movie showing the impact humans are having on the world.

An Inconvenient Truth will be screened for free over two weeks starting August 17th during campus free-time. The movie will be shown in half hour segments starting at 12:30pm in ECL2 (Here's a map: http://www.murdoch.edu.au/maps/murdoch/theatre/ECL2).

Although the screening is free a gold coin donation toward the guild is being encouraged. This will help fund a 5kW solar system to produce renewable energy for the guild building.

I haven't seen this movie since high school, but I can still remember it's key messages. If your a climate change sceptic or interested in finding out what the whole 'global warming' issue is about then I highly recommend seeing this movie. It's impact is undeniable.

Quick update + upcoming Murdoch events.

I've just been having a look at the online unit guides for my classes this semester and checking out the kind of assignments I need to do. The doctor insisted I take this week off uni as I've still got a pretty bad case of tonsillitis. So scrolling through the unit guide for New Media Technologies I come across the big assignment that's worth 30% of my grade. I couldn't help but laugh when I read that the big assignment was to create and maintain a blog. I've been doing this for about a year now, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of grade I end up with. Aside from this every other unit insists I write an essay or campaign plan (what's new PR?!).

Setting aside study commitments Murdoch have some interesting events coming up. On the 15th of August they are holding a Fun Run. You can choose to run either 4km or 8km on the new Bush Court Sports Field. All it costs is a gold coin donation and you get a free running shirt. Registrations close this Friday so get to it here: http://www.murdoch.edu.au/City-to-Surf-2010/Murdoch-Fun-Run/.

Then on the 22nd you can look forward to the Murdoch Open Day which promises fantastic live music, help with choosing what to study and the chance to explore what student life is really like. For more information on the day check out the official site here: http://www.murdoch.edu.au/Openyourmind/?cid=od2010_homepage_onb&bnr=y.

Festival day tomorrow!

The second Murdoch semester officially starts today, and I just know everyone's excited to get back to the books. In honour of a new semester the Murdoch guild are throwing a festival tomorrow! Complete with bands, free coffee, and  stalls. Only financial guild members receive free coffee, so the rest of us will have to bring a flask or donate to one of the lovely cafes on campus. The stalls will feature a bunch of clubs and societies around campus. If you're interested in signing up to a club then be sure to check them out tomorrow morning after 9am.

A bunch of fantastic Perth bands will be playing some sweet music tomorrow morning from 9:20am. Helping keep you awake will be Ruby Boots, Hunting Huxley, The Love Junkies and One Tiger Down. These bands are well worth a look, so come down tomorrow and support some local music! Also, the Red Bull DJ will be spinning a few tunes between sets. The guild have arranged a bunch of activities and other festival cliché's to make the day complete. The FREE activities you will find on campus tomorrow include Laser Skirmish, a Bouncy Castle, the Gladiator Challenge, Horizontal Bungee, and the Wrecking Ball. I honestly have no idea what half these things are, so I think I'll have to pop down and have a look myself tomorrow! And like all good festivals there will be fairy floss, ice cream, popcorn and slushies.

So if you're on campus for class tomorrow morning make sure you duck into bush court and check out some splendid local music and enjoy what the guild has on offer. Also if you don't have class, I recommend popping down to Murdoch. Sounds like it could be fun day. :)

The food of students?

Yes that's a lasagne sandwich. Not something I would pay 2 pounds fifty to eat, maybe not even something you could pay me 100 bucks to eat. This little beauty can be found in tesco supermarkets in the UK. Did I say little beauty? It contains 24g of fat and is the equivalent of eating two McDonald's cheeseburgers. I'd rather those cheeseburgers any day.

Thoughts?

I can tell that we are gonna be friends...

Finding inspiration to write blogs about my uni life is a little hard while on holidays. I could probably list all of the amazing and interesting things I've been upto recently, but the truth is their not that amazing or interesting. The other day, however, I went to see Little Red play at Amplifier Bar in Perth. I've never been to Amplifier before, so that was a little bit exciting. With me was my friend Steff, who helped me out tons in the blogging competition last year.

Steff and I met in the second semester of our first year at Murdoch. We happened to be studying several units together and became really good friends. That summer she let me tag along with her friends and camp at Southbound with them. Last week we caught up on our holidays and saw a concert together. I guess where I'm going with this is that I've made a friend for life at university. When I first went to uni it was like I moved towns and was starting school all over again. Living in Mandurah all the schools in the area are connected. I started off at North Mandurah Primary School, then headed to Mandurah High School with a bunch of other year 7 students. At Mandurah High I made new friends from other primary schools, we then moved onto Mandurah Senior College together. So needless to say that when I reached Murdoch knowing only 8 students from high school, things were going to be extremely different.

If you've ever changed schools before, you might be used to making new friends. But if, like me, you never changed schools things might be harder. University isn't too much different to high school in terms of meeting people. By the end of your first year you would have met a bunch of new people studying the same thing as you. The great thing about the people you meet is that you will most likely have things in common, because you're studying the same degree. Another plus is the thousands of people that attend uni, well at least it seems like there are thousands of people. You will probably come across a few similar faces while walking the halls, but mostly you'll see a hundred different faces each day. It can be daunting starting out somewhere new, but just think of all the other first years going through the same thing as you.

7 Hours without the internet.

It’s true how they say “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. I rushed home from work today eager to jump on-line to check my e-mails, and of course facebook. But there was just one little problem... the internet wasn’t working. The internet had been down for most of the day, and we couldn’t access it at work either. I must admit I was a little shocked; turns out I rely pretty heavily on the internet these days. I don’t even spend that much time on the computer, now that I’m on uni holidays. But the afternoon is the time of day I like to check my e-mail and facebook updates, you know... before MasterChef starts at 7:30. When I think about it there is a million other things I could be doing right now, it’s not like we’ve lost power. This would be the perfect time to finish that first book from the twilight series that I’ve spent the last 6 months trying to get through, yes it really is that painful. I could spend some time with the numerous game consoles we have in the house playing Mario Kart (Wii), Guitar Hero (Nintendo DS), Whirly Word (iPod touch), or the Sims (PC). I could even learn a new song on the keyboard or guitar, maybe even bake something. But instead I’m sitting at my computer writing a blog post, a digital journal entry that will later need to be posted on-line.

Murdoch now offering Mid year enrolments!

In the spirit of Murdoch offering mid year enrolments I've been asked to write about the topics that some people find daunting about university. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about student budgets and how tough they can be. I can't believe its been that long since I last wrote a blog! Lets just say that things have been pretty hectic lately. So I think now is a good time to describe how time consuming a University degree can be.
I have always had a job while I've been at uni, except for a couple of months last year. The strange thing about this was that I received better grades in the first semester while I was working, than I did in the second semester when I wasn't. I think I became so used to juggling two commitments at once, that when one went I away I became a little lost. This past semester has been my busiest in 2 and a half years. I was studying two units on campus, one off campus as a work placement unit (intern-ship at Sunset Events), a casual job at Michael Hill, managing this blog, and starting a website for the youth of Mandurah. Even I'm a little amazed at how I juggled these things.

Attending university can be a bit of a time-eater, but it should't mean you need to miss out on a social life or work. As I mentioned in my last blog having a job will help you to cover the costs of your daily life on campus (There's nothing worse than craving caffeine and being broke!). It probably isn't ideal to work full time and study full time, if you do this please leave me a comment telling me how the heck you manage that. (Seriously!) My best friend works part-time and studies full time. She seems to handle these two well. I have a casual job, so some weeks I only work 2 days. I think its the ideal set up as I can attend uni on campus, work a couple of days, and still have a day for study. Some weeks I don't always want to spend my day off studying so instead of hanging out with friends in between classes I'll go to the library and catch up on readings.

At Murdoch you can study full time, part time or externally. If you have a bunch of commitments that prevent you from studying on campus then external studies is a fantastic option. For more information on flexible learning options check out the Murdoch website here: http://www.murdoch.edu.au/Future-students/Domestic-students/Deciding-what-to-study/Flexible-learning-options/

A university degree will always be daunting at first, and I must admit there are times during the semester when I get a little freaked out. But the experience is worth it. On campus life is so rewarding as is meeting like minded people studying the same thing as you. So if you can, give studying on campus a go!

Jess.

Students + Money = Tough Times.

This is probably a topic I would love a lecture about, actually make that a unit. (There really should be units providing guides on "How to Survive at Uni") I'm probably the last person in the world who should be giving financial advice. For example, Currently I just received a very small pay check for last weeks work, I have been given no work shifts this week, and I will not be paid for next weeks work until the week after. So it is safe to say that by then my funds would have well and truly dried up. Do I do anything differently? No. Today, as usual, I went to the ANZ ATM and took out $20 for lunch. I won't spend that $20 solely on food, but it's no longer in the bank... it's in my wallet. The last place money wants to be is in my wallet, because it won't stay there long.
For the benefit of you ,and myself, I've knocked up a list of the things we could do during our daily routine at University to save a bit of cash. (Also, my mums a financial advisor so I may of received a little help...)

• Pack lunch - I cannot stress to you enough how much money you will save by bringing lunch. I usually pack my lunch for the first half of the semester and succumb to buying lunch in the second half. Do not give into temptation!
• Use a pencil case - Pencil Case's ensure that our pens and pencils have a home. When we are finished with our pens and pencils, they return to their home. If they don't go home, they are lost... forever. Think now of all the pens you've 'misplaced' in the past year. Yeah, and how many have you bought? That's what I thought. We're more likely to lose a pen than use it until it runs out of ink. Therefore, buying a pencil case is good for the economy. (Well, you're economy at least).
• Use Public Transport - It's good for your wallet and the environment! Plus, Murdoch is so close to the train station it's not funny. Seriously. On that note, if you don't have a smartrider - get one! We're entitled to student fees and sometimes I even score a free day! I have no idea how it works, I just know its worth it.
• Don't carry lose change - Keep it in a piggy bank. It's way too easy to walk past the vending machine and buy that block of handsome looking chocolate... so delicately wrapped by cadbury... just begging to be eaten... No!
• Get a job - You may hate the idea, and it's a little bit of extra stress on top of study, but its well worth eliminating the stress that will come with being broke.
• If you live out of home, shop wisely - This one's from mum. She recommends buying the specials and all those '2 for 1' deals. She also thinks you should 'make a budget and stick to it' - like that will ever happen, but you can at least try =]

While I was writing this my friend just came back from the printer in the library. "Jess! Someones fallen asleep". I asked her to take a photo for my blog - she said that would be weird. I agree. But as you can see, the semester has definitely taken its toll.

On that note, I best get back to study! Good luck with exams!

New Timetable webpage.

Huzzah!

Murdoch are indeed brilliant - and I think sometimes they can read our minds.

Check out their latest invention which helps compile a timetable for all your units. I don't know about you, but every semester I always plan to make a coloured time table so I always remember my class times. It never happens, but now! I might just have a fancy timetable =]

http://timetables.murdoch.edu.au/teaching/

Procrasta-eating.

My friend Steff has just coined the term' procrasta-eating'. I was procrastinating with a friend on-line today and we were talking about how much food we had eaten just so we could not study while we ate. I ate more food today then I have eaten all week. I even ate when I wasn't hungry, just because it was something to do. Even as we speak I am thinking of making myself an ice cream before I continue to finish my assignment.

Read what she has to say here: http://steffwantssugar.blogspot.com/2010/05/bedom-procrasta-eating.html

Do you procrasta-eat?

One Week To Go...

It is true that the end of semester is very hectic. I am suffering bitter disappointment this week at the fact that I must hand in an assignment 2 days before its due date. It's not just a little assignment either - it's the biggest assignment of the semester. Stupidly, however, I have devoted my time to a group assignment - which I deemed to be more important.

The group assignment is due tomorrow, and I'm pretty much ready to roll with that. Then on Tuesday I have a test for a unit I have attended about 5/13 lectures for. I do have a good excuse though, my lecturer just sums up the weeks readings in the lectures. It seems a little pointless to go if I'm not learning anything new. But I do have to study for Tuesdays' test, because I've gotten a bit behind on my readings. Terrible, terrible time management on my behalf. Then it will be Wednesday. I have already anticipated a break down for that day. I'm working a 13 hour shift on Thursday, which means I will leave home at 7:45 and won't get home until 9:30 - if I'm lucky. So I will be knackered by Thursday night and the last thing I want to do is finish an assignment. Then it's off to Sunset Events on Friday for my final day as an Intern, and after that I'm off to the Murdoch end of semester party at the Tav. I've never been to one of these before so I'm quite looking forward to it. But nevertheless this means I need to hand in my assignment on Wednesday night which includes a 2000 word report and at least three written tactics for a media kit(i.e a media release or feature story). I hope all of you are a bit further ahead in your work then me - I just never learn.

In other news, however, Murdoch had a 'No Cars on Campus Day'. What an awesome idea! I wasn't affected at all unfortunately as I don't attend uni on Thursdays and even if I did it would be on public transport anyway. Apparently it actually worked, though, and people left their cars at home. There was a little stall outside the library all week letting students know how they can travel to uni without their car. It would be interesting to see if anyone leaves their car at home in the future and follows their new public transport regime on a daily basis.

In other news, I went to Groovin' the Moo yesterday. But I didn't just go to Groovin' the Moo, I worked at Groovin' the Moo. Not only did I work there, but I worked on the artist desk... with a triple A pass. Yeah... it was pretty cool. Unfortunately, all the artists were really cool so there was no divatude to combat. Which meant my day was pretty boring, and cold. So I ended up going for a wonder around the festival grounds and meeting up with a few friends. We had a little boogy to Grinspoon and Empire of the Sun, before Vampire Weekend came on. I didn't take many photos yesterday but I took a few of Vampire Weekend. There a few highlights yesterday that will leave me fairly happy for a while (despite my disappointment at missing Vampire Weekend at Metro City tonight, Gah!). Here's a list of what made my day and what access to the backstage area is really like:

• Exchanging a simple 'Hi' with Lisa Mitchell's drummer. He is by far my favourite drummer - he just dresses so well all the time...

• Empire of the Sun. If you didn't see their set - you missed out big time! Luke Steele is one musical genius and he sure knows how to impress. By the way - those dancers? Freaking awesome!

• Watching the first three songs of Vampire Weekends set from the photo pit. It was a little awkward with the crowd right behind us... but totally awesome!! We then went to the back of the crowd and danced the night away to the rest of their set. Dancing to A-punk live was absolutely amazing!

• Almost walking into Daniel Johns while looking for my friend - I was about 30cms away from looking like the biggest douche ever. He's about a foot or two taller than me so I doubt he would have noticed... but still... it would have been awkward.

• Having Ezra walk past and actually look at me instead of ignoring us - I can now die happy after a single eye exchange.

• The after party. I walk in and the first thing I see is Daniel Johns tearing up the dance floor. Free drinks for all and bumping elbows with a bunch of amazing musicians. By far the best party I've been to in a while.

• One last thing - surviving the ride home. Driving alone down a country highway that has beware of Kangaroo signs every kilometre, just a bit nerve racking. But I made it, without falling asleep at the wheel.

Let's hope this final week goes according to plan and I don't fail anything. *fingers crossed*

Good luck everyone!

Jess.