The week was Pure AwesomeSauce.

It was liberating, free. I was untied from most communication. No @ replies, no-one “liking” my statuses every few minutes. At one point I even found myself reading a newspaper at the coffee shop. Not bad.

I spent many solemn moments with myself, unable to contact the outside world [apart from the archaic SMS technology on my phone]. My mind would stop to ponder about the most unusual things [what is the meaning of life, why is the sky blue, is there a good recycled toilet-paper option?]. I was alone with myself, Just me and my thoughts.

But was my week more productive, was it “better” without twitter? I would have to say no. I quite enjoy my twitter friendships. The jokes, the long @reply trails, the informative articles and blogs. I love finding out whats happening on the other side of the world, as it happens.

Sure, I didnt wake up to a plethora of messages each morning [which was rather liberating]. But I also didn’t get to connect, love and grow with the people in my world like I normally do. In my view it can be fun to know what movie your boss just walked out of, and it certainly is great to follow your leader’s messages throughout the week and not just on a sunday.

Twitter adds value to my life. It’s the connection to my friends when I normally wouldn’t be able to connect.

Its the sauce on my steak. It’s the cheese in my cake. Its a little extra spice that makes existence extra-nice. Its the… well you get the idea.

Verdict: Im twitter-whipped [twipped?]

Oh, and here are some of the things I didn’t get to share with you over the last week:

- I said HELLO to a lady walking her dog outside our house. She ignored me. I said HELLO again, a little louder this time. She proceeded to turn her head way from me.

My imagination visualised me reversing over her pooch with my mitsubishi mirage. My logic kicked in and told me not to, however pleasing it may be.

- I found a new Jason Mraz album [Its not “new” per se, but it was to me] [itunes — tracks 13 to 26]

- I had several hundred philosophical thoughts worth sharing. I have since forgotten almost all of them.

- I rendered a video with media offline. it went live. snap. quality control?

- A dead man put out a movie. #zombie? #MJ

- #NoGlee #NoHouse = #SadAlex

- “thankfully we’ve only got lower limb injuries” — [news.com.au]

- The internet had a birthday

- I lost my “Blu ray virginity” to star-trek. it was FLIPPING AWESOME.

- I NEED one of these [immerz.com]

- I definatly DO NOT need to go bunjee jumping in Acapulco

1. “How would you like your hair cut today, sir?”. Is the one-word sentence “shorter” an acceptable answer? I would imagine most men would have no idea how to describe their desired hair style [or if they know their desired hairstyle]. Occasionally the hairdresser will produce a sheet of haistyles (modelled on people who have perfect bone structure). Dismayed by the pictures [“these wouldn’t look good on me”], I describe “shorter” using phrases like “not too short on top, short on the sides, can you thin it out?”
2. Clipper numbers. “Will a number 4 be OK?”. I don’t know. Its just a number. Am I supposed to know the answer to this? Furthermore, is it OK to request a size 4 and then discover that it needs to be a 3 later on in the haircut, is that offensive?
3. Side burns - Do i keep them or get rid of them? I mean, who thinks about their side-burns? Its not exactly something you ponder each day [Oh…look at his side-burns, I WISH that I had side-bruns like that!]
4. The paper-ring around the neck. It’s just a little too creepy, and that scraping noise it makes when it scratches your beard is INTOLERABLE. Like fingernails on a chalkboard. <sarcasm>Although the cape is über-stylish. I have to hold myself back from enquiring where I could purchase one.</sarcasm>
5. “How does this look?” the haridresser will enquire, while holding a mirror at the back of my head. This is the ONLY time I ever see the back of my head, I’m not even sure what it’s supposed to look like. I try to look at my hair but can only wonder where that extra-freckel came from. And before I know it the surreal moment is over and the mirror is whisked-away.
6. “What kind of product would you like in your hair?” — uhh.…pick one. I’m not going to use it again anyway. Do I LOOK like a man who uses product?
7. A new haircut never looks good. Ever. The dissatisfaction level with the end result is always high (but not high enough to complain). Its too short, too long, the sides arent just right. I decide that it will be OK, it will grow out soon anyway.
8. “Did you get a haircut?” friends enquire. No. I have a rare degenerative disease where my hair will shorten itself periodically.
9. Two weeks later my hair looks great. Always. This is part of  newtons-law.
10. Three weeks later I dont care.
11. Four weeks later people (those people) start making comments about the fact that I need a haircut.

There are support-groups for people like me, who are traumatised by the process of a bad-haircut. Would anyone like to join me?

ENFJ (Extraversion, iNtuition, Feeling, Judgment)

You are warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. You are highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. You find potential in everyone, and want to help others fulfill their potential. You may act as a catalyst for individual and group growth. You are loyal, and are responsive to praise and criticism. You are sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership.

Famous people with your same ENFJ personality include: Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Dick Van Dyke, Diane Sawyer, Peyton Manning, Pete Sampras, Johnny Depp, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

My workmates complain that I move files, or worse, delete them. I dont deny it, often my response is “well it wasnt in the right place!”

My old blog frustrated me. Not the blog itself, but just the fact that it was so “off-to-the-side-and-out-of-sight”. It was just another part of my online personality: twitter, facebook, mobileme, tumblr and wordpress.

That blog has died my friends.

I now have an integrated “lifestream” feed on my blog page [okay, so all this hype for a lifestream panel]. I used to use tumblr to share links to cool pages, twitter to share witty remarks + inisghtful thoughts and facebook to share photos [and status updates with not-so-web-savvy friends].

Now when i find a useful link, I post it here. Attach a small caption explaining my opinion, and press share. Twitter and facebook are updated, and my friends can also take a moment to peruse my latest twitter feed, other useful links + posts and my photos.

No more having 4 different services to serve the same purpose. It is all coming together here. Its not quite finished yet, but almost.

You can expect to find more links, more news, more images, more tips, here. Along with more of me. More organised.

More OCD compatible.

I’ve maintained almost twitter silence (a twhisper as it may be) over the last week, and the same on facebook and the blogosphere. My email account however tells a different story. In between my daily frantic “change this”, “add that” and “how soon can this change be rendered” emails there were a few gems of comedy delivered by David Blackburn, one of our new college students. I would have to say these photos brought a moment of sanity (or insanity?) to a hectic week. So with no further ‘ado, enjoy!

[View with PicLens]

]]> http://blog.cvitanovic.com/2009/04/glass-and-a-half-of-fun/feed/ 1 http://blog.cvitanovic.com/2009/01/9-goals-for-09/ http://blog.cvitanovic.com/2009/01/9-goals-for-09/#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:16:45 +0000 admin http://aussiecheckers.wordpress.com/?p=57 Okay, it’s that time of the year again: new years resolutions. Foolish and ambitious goals you set yourself in january, only to find out by mid february that these were merely empty promises and unrealistic expectations you placed upon yourself.

Seriously though, I’ve tried to make mine as realistic as possible, I really want to achieve these by the end of the year! Here goes…

01 \\ write a movie review.
I always love the tedious and mentally exhausting articles that critics write before the release of a movie. My favourite recently has been for the flick “the day the earth stood still” for which the critique was “an interesting story however the writers should not have taken the title so seriously: the story did not need to stand still for the entirity of the movie”.
I can only dream of writing something so witty and derogatary about a multi-million dollar blockbuster…

02 \\ take dancing lessons
When it comes to the art of dancing I have two left feet, who, despite their best intentions, simply do not make the cut on the dance floor. 2009 is the year to rectify this terrible plight, and I plan to do so by taking dancing lessons… Well at least one dancing lesson. We’ll see how it goes.

03 \\ read 12 (fairly) thick books
Reading expands the mind, and mine sure could use some expanding. I would love to get back into the habit of reading novels (a habit I have not been acquainted with since high school). Expand the vocabulary, increase the imagination and inspire the thought process. Any suggestions?

04 \\ evangelise
I would be honoured to be able to bring the Gospel to someone in need, to share the good news. I’m a fairly shy person naturally so this can be quite a challenge for me. Let’s start by being the hands and feet of Jesus.

05 \\ Budget
Now that I have a fulltime job and I am blessed to be on a salary, I can really start budgeting and planning for the future. I have several financial goals, including paying off my college debt and saving for a USA holiday, and these won’t come to pass without some financial discipline…And taking home packed lunches to work. I spend a fortune on food at work.

06 \\ start an exercise routine
By mid year I would like to have a regular and set exercise routine. Also to have some kind of diet/meal plan would be beneficial. Would like to lose about 15/20 kgs over the year.

07 \\ pray and journal more
Who doesn’t this apply to, seriously. “Pray constantly without ceasing” — like any of us actually live up to that day by day. I really want to focus on praying and reading my bible much more this year, along with journalling daily. I used to journal, but stopped, and now (mainly due to the fact that I’m male and we generally find that kind of thing hard) I keep procrastinating and putting it off.

08 \\ climb the Sydney harbour bridge
Legally of course, on one if those tours. It’s been on my to-do list for a very long time, since I was a child. 09 is the year this dream comes true.

09 \\ make a new friend
Just one. A deep and meaningful friendship that will last a lifetime.

If there was one other goal it would be to blog more! I’m aiming for once a fortnight at the moment so we’ll see how that goes.

One assessment coming up is our 3 minute short film, for our location camera class. The theme is “mercy and compassion”, although this is just a starting point.

One of my ideas so far is to follow a homeless man for a day, documentary style. It would be done in the style of the cpmpassion documentary played at conference. I’m not so sure of the exact story yet, or even if I want to run with this idea.

I do know the following: I don’t want this to be a throw-away project. I want it to mean something. There has been a lot of talk of getting the best projects submitted to the Australian Christian channel for broadcast. Plus, over conference I developed dome great connections with GodTV, which is had a potential audience of a few hundred million. Who knows where it could end up, and who’s life it will impact.

So here is a call for suggestions — what ideas do you associate with mercy and compassion? What message can be comnunicated in a 3 minute story that can change the world? Please email, facebook or comment me any ideas your have.

If you were to ask me that one question, i would simply answer “around”. which is precisely where i have been. 

Hiding at the college library doing assessments, moving house, mid-semester break. It has been a busy and fun time.

College is doing well, we have roughly 27 assessments due in roughly 27 days, but I was smart and completed a quite a few in advance. Thats not to say that I don’t have a multitude to tackle now. There are actually a few videos i have been editing i will be able to post soon, to share with you all. Might be my first post on youtube?

I am now the proud owner of a picasa web album, which you can view here[http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/alex.cvitanovic]. Or, for all you web-savvy users the RSS is available here[feed://picasaweb.google.co.uk/data/feed/base/user/alex.cvitanovic?kind=album&alt=rss&hl=en_GB&access=public]. I will definately be updating that frequently with all my photos. I have just been getting into HDR photography, so you might see some of my first HDR works on there too. 

Mid semester break was great, just got back today. tonight. 11pm. Ben and I had a very relaxing week in Port Stephens, checking out the local wildlife (birdwatching, midnight kangaroo hunting…the usual) and eating great steak. The weather was actually quite cold, but sunny, not great weather for beaches.

Thats all from me, I have to go do assessments.

[Only 46 days to conference!]

Chains be Broken,

Lives be Healed,

Eyes be opened,

Christ is revealed”

That would have to be one of my favorite poems at the moment. Written by Brooke Fraser of course. The rest of the song talks about waiting on the lord — “As surely as the sun will rise you’ll come to us” is one of the ways the bible comforts us in our daily search for God. Sometimes He seems so distant and out of reach (yes, even when your at hillsong) and everything in life becomes so frustrating. Recently I’ve been learning how to lay my problems before the Lord and praise Him no matter what.

God has challenged me financially — each week I have been getting by with a few cents to spare. My car is always scraping empty towards the end of the week, the cupboard is bare come Wednesday morning. But thats okay. Rarely do I despair, for I know the Lord is my provider. I know that in my time of need, he will provide. Sometimes bad things happen and people say “where was God?” — but the bible talks of God responding to His people when they praised Him (yes, even through the difficult times). Lifting an offering of praise becomes easier each time I do it. At first I was angry with God, then a little confused, now i realise that I need to Praise Him for who He is and not for what He does.

Only when we learn to praise God for who He is, only then will His love be greatly revealed to us.