freshbytes

So I, along with 43 of my classmates, graduated last thursday.

Truth be told - it was a real anti-climax. Wow, I’ve graduated.

However - five things have come of this.

Firstly, I managed to pick up three awards. Stewardship in Physics, Excellence in Computer Science, and Excellence in Maths Applied. Now really - 5 minutes prior to the awards, I was having massive panic attacks if I didn’t win any awards - I would have been bitterly disappointed if I didn’t get any. However, as the time drew nearer, I figured that it didn’t matter if I didn’t get any awards, because, well, they’re just not as important as friendships and so on.
As it turns out, I managed to snag three awards. Afterwards - Chris J (the co-founder of this site), congratulated me on the Computer Science award, saying that I “fully deserve it”. Now, had our roles been reversed, I don’t know that I would have done the same thing. Sound familiar? Again, my moral compass points in a different direction to those around me. I’m not a hugely BAD person - just one who is a little selfish.

Secondly - friends like Chris J are awesome. I’m hugely glad to have friends like him - they’ll criticise you for pretty much anything, bag the crap out of you for no apparent reason, but at the end of the day - they’re good guys, and that’s all that matters.

Thirdly - it’s almost surreal to think that I won’t see any of those people again. Sure, we’ll facebook each other (facebook rulez, btw - sure, it maykes ppl talk lyke dis), but apart from that - very little face time, as I like to call it.

Fourthly - it’s awesome to think that we’re such a tightly knit group. Together, we’ve experience such delights as Adam vd B, Steven W, Rob M, and a whole heap of other people as well. Calvin 2008 was the only year group to have Miss v R as a teacher in 3rd grade, and really - that was awesome. At the graduation ceremony, we could all peg who was going to get what award, especially for the Art awards, all rounder awards, Long Tan awards, and so on. It’s this kind of close-knit group that will keep most of our friendships intact, even as we drift away from each other physically.

If I see you in the street, I’ll try and say hello, or at least tip my head in your direction, give you a smile, or whatever I do. If I don’t, leave nasty comments on my Facebook Wall, and I’ll endeavour to do better next time.

I think that’s about it. If you’ve got anything decent to say, stick it in the comments, please.

So, this morning I went to a particular church in Launceston. It was different, to say the least.

Before I go into it, I’d like to explain what church actually is…

To me, church is a place of worship. You go there, once a week or more, to worship God. It doesn’t matter how you do it - praise, prayer, reading - it’s just important that you do.

Now I have nothing against church, don’t get me wrong. Church is an excellent way to get back in step with God.

However - the church that I went to in Launceston was a little different to what I am used to. Martin did actually warn me that it was a little more traditional than your average church, and yeah - it was quite traditional indeed.

Usually, the churches I go to have songs that the congregation are expected to sing (loudly, and badly), as do most churches. However - most churches I go to don’t sing those songs acapella. The church that I went to in Launnie, however, did.

It was a really different experience for me - sure, in our congregation we have sung select verses acapella, but really - three whole songs? And the praise itself weren’t even songs - they were psalms. Maybe that’s how we as a people were supposed to do it, but anyway… Maybe it’s because they have an American pastor. All that funky choir stuff and all that.

Right - the message (sermon, talk, word, whatever you prefer) was also good. However - again, there were major differences. It’s definitely possible that I wasn’t listening properly (considering the lack of sleep), but it seemed like there was no real points made in the message, and it was more of a meander through the reading than anything else.

When points were made, little anecdotes were rarely made. I will say that there was at least one decent anecdote that I could actually apply to the real world (”Paul didn’t tell the people that they needed the latest CDs, the latest computers, but that they needed prayer” - or something along those lines), but apart from that - nothing. Emphasis on certain key points would have proved beneficial, in this writer’s opinion anyway. At the end of the service, I didn’t feel like I could really take anything away from it and apply it to my daily life. I’m not saying I want more “lukewarm Christian” speeches - but the sermon could have been better, to say the least.

I feel bad about writing such negative thoughts about that church - which included thinking “The 19th century called, they want their church service back”. Sooo harsh.

After the service, the people came up to us and talked about stuff - which was nice. They certainly seemed to be nice people, but they were mostly retirees. Again - I have no issue with retirees, it’s just that most of the congregations I go to are new families or young couples. I was the 4th or 5th youngest person there, for sure.

Anyway - it looks like my definition of church needs a little work. I know what I like in a church, though, and it was definitely not what I experienced this morning in Launceston. Still, thanks for the experience, Martin.

Now I’ll just go back to my Hillsong/Planetshakers-inspired generation of church. I’m fine with the odd classic hymn, but psalms? They freak me out, especially when sung acapella. Maybe it’s just ‘cos I don’t have such a great singing voice.

Anyway, I might put more up here later in the week about our trip to Devonport - but for now, it’s comments below for you.

There are just some things that go together to make a rough morning.

I had a rough morning the other day, and it wasn’t very nice. Rough mornings, by definition, aren’t usually very nice, but this was really not very nice.

So it went a little like this:

Finding clothes to wear is a chore for me. Usually, they’re in the wash, or have just been hung out to dry - at the precise moment that I decide I’m going to wear them. On that rough morning, it turned out that my OTHER set of work clothes were just hung out to dry - and this was after I had been wearing my other set for the past few days. ARGH!

Socks - these too are an issue. Is it too much to expect that you have at least one pair of matching black socks at any one time? I managed to have at least one pair when I was at school! What happened to those?!

Right. So as the clothing dilemma was being fixed, I found that there was nothing to pack for lunch. As you may know, I pack lunch to save money, and that just wasn’t possible this morning. My dad had to cook some bacon and eggs stuff for me to take, which I appreciated immensely. Thanks, Dad! In reality, though, I don’t think it’s too much to expect that the pantry is well stocked with food at all times.

Anyway, so after fixing my lunch, I then had to figure out how to catch a bus from Hobart into Kingston so that I would make it in time for youth, which starts at six. Work ends at 5:30, and it takes about an hour (allowing for detours, etc) for a bus from town to get into Kingston. See my issue? IF ONLY the bus timetables were readable by people who didn’t have PHD’s in at least 6 different fields. I mean, is it really too much to expect that a bus timetable is laid out in such a way as to even an idiot (like me, who’s having a rough morning) can understand? Or maybe the Metro website just needs a better design… I know that there are buses leaving from Franklin Square Stop P in town to get to Blackmans Bay/Kingston roughly every hour, but NO! Not according to the Metro website, anyway.

It’s also no consolation that the bus situation on weekends is even worse. Seriously.

So as I was getting ready for work, I had to brush my teeth, as you do every other morning. There was just one problem: toothpaste, or lack thereof. I mean, toothpaste, for crying out loud! How can you not have toothpaste! Is it too much to expect some toothpaste in your whole house for you to brush your teeth with?!

So even though my eggs were cooked sunny-side up, I didn’t feel too sunny that morning. It wasn’t a very nice feeling.

After finding some clothes, packing my lunch, and brushing my teeth as best I could without toothpaste, I managed to get to work. I’m proud to say that whatever happened at home didn’t affect my work at all - I was a genius as always.

I also managed to catch a bus from town into Kingston after work finished. The bus left town, and arrived in Kingston about 6-ish. Which was fine, because I had already changed and everything. So my mum picked me up, dropped me off at SCC, and it was there that I learnt to dance with a man, (cheers, Nathan), and dance the “strip the willow” dance. Bush dancing was exactly what I needed after a rough morning - however, I can think of one other thing that would have made it even better.

So I guess the moral of the story is to: a) do your own laundry, b) buy your own food, c) rely on luck for catching the right bus.

Comments below.

So, I’m done.

No more school, ever.

We’re going to be continuing with the “I don’t want to leave school” theme, ‘cos after reading some comments on previous “I don’t want to leave” posts, I found I have some more things to say…(a rare occurence, indeed).

So if you’re too lazy to click the links, Jawapro said:

What’s really odd is coming back to your old school after a few years have passed. There’s a few faces you remember (who were much younger when you were at school) but it’s just not the same.

5 or 6 years later - and so much has changed that it’s hard to imagine. Teachers have moved on - classes have changed buildings (so has one of my old schools) - and only the very youngest people you knew are still around as students. It’s quite moving - and slightly depressing. That place you remember as being the best part of your life (if it was) no longer exists, and never will again.

I’m not sure if this is true, but really. I’d hate to see Calvin turn into some unrecognisable place, just another blot on the kingston landscape.

Now that school’s over (for college students, as well as year 10s), I have a lot of time to do a couple of things that need to be done.

I have made a facebook account. You can search for me, I’m Benny Ling, obviously. Add me as a friend, invite me to join a cool group, whatever.

I’ve heard that Social Networking is the best thing since sliced bread… I’ve also heard that it’s highly overrated.

I won’t make my decision until I’ve experienced more of facebook, though. It’s currently very cool, and a HUGE step in terms of interacting with friends. All sorts of friends.

I’m yet to figure out any sort of “facebook code of conduct”, which contain rules on who you can become friends with, what sorts of groups you can join, etc. Actually - I just saw this on Digg: Facebook Etiquette: Five Dos and Don’ts. Nice! Perfect timing. After looking over the list, I realise that it’s more or less common sense anyway - the only things I didn’t know where about business friends… Pfft.

Initial impressions of facebook include: hard to get used to. Complex interface makes simple tasks more complicated than they have to be. Far too many configurable options. A hell of a lot of Ajax and Javascript powers those pages. After a full day of facebooking, still unsure about certain features. Still unsure about the chat system. Ram usage high, or that could just be me. Facebook app on iPhone is awesome. Don’t understand how people would use both Twitter + facebook at the same time - seems like an overkill of social networking, if you ask me…

Oh well. The night is still young.

A quick shout out to Joe W - congrats on your 18th. Hope you didn’t get too smashed.

Radi8 news: apparently, my non-attendance has been marked. Apologies - I was working.

Our Year 12 Leavers Dinner is tomorrow night. Should be good. Afterparty? Meh. Pics to come (either on facebook or here, haven’t quite decided yet). Also need a camera.

I think that’s it. Comments below.

Heheh - two exams today, so this post is brought to you by the freshbytes lackeys who seem to have nothing else to do but study… Apologies for not putting it up sooner, I wanted to get some sleep.

You hear the horror stories about how calculators can die suddenly due to a loss of power during end-of-year exams, and you worry.

You hear how harsh the TQA are on spontaneous calculator battery death (as we’ll call it), and how they don’t tolerate any excuses for spontaneous calculator battery death.

You hear how someone was sitting on an EA before they went into the exam, but are now only going to get an SA because they suffered spontaneous calculator battery death.

Well, okay - so I made that last one up, but I’m sure it has happened to someone, somewhere at sometime in the past!

Right - so I wasn’t going to let that happen for me. No way. I needed as many points as I could get, and spontaneous calculator battery death would just lead to a whole world of pain - namely, year 13 at Calvin (that, in and of itself wouldn’t be so bad, but having to do year 13 in the first place would be)….

Anyway, as you shop for batteries, there are a lot of questions to be pondered, such as:

• What brand of batteries should I get?
  This question is quite important as if you’re paying for the brand, then you’re doing it wrong, especially when it comes to mundane things like batteries. I managed to pick some nice red evereadys as they have worked well for me in the past - and if good performance is for this particular brand, that’ll bring me back to that brand, time and time again.

• How many should I buy?
  This is also an important question - if you have other devices in your house that use a large number of specialised batteries, you should probably buy them in bulk so that you always have some of those batteries on hand when you need them. Running out of batteries sucks at the best of times, and well, you can never have too many batteries! Of course, there is a limit, so don’t rush out and buy cartons of batteries - after all, you need to be realistic.
  I ended up going for an 8-pack of AAA’s as they were on special.

• Should I buy rechargeable batteries?
  If you’re asking yourself this question, you probably should - provided you’re prepared to lay out the extra initial cost of the rechargeables, as well as a charger if you don’t already have one… Supposedly rechageables are more cost effective, but in reality, you’re paying for the power that you use to charge them, too!
  I didn’t buy rechargeables as the batteries were for a caluclator - and I’ll probably use it once every couple of months after exams are over.

Anyways, that’s about the end of my battery-buying advice. If you’ve got any more tips that you feel I’ve missed, then shout out in comments!

As for school, well, I’m smack bang in the middle of exams. Chemistry was last Friday, and I’ve got Maths Applied and Computer Science tomorrow (Monday). Thursday sees the Physics exam, and after that - the Magazine needs to be done, I’ll work a heap, and work on a couple of projects I’ve got planned… Yeah, my holidays are fairly jam-packed as is.

On the Radi8 front, we should have a couple of good events to finish up the year with, which should be good.

The song for this week is Michael Buble’s Everything - from his album Call Me Irresponsible. If you’ve got iTunes, hit the links - they’ll take you to the correct iTunes Music Store page.

Other that that, I’ve got nothing.

Comments below.

Right - as a sort of payback for the abysmal 50th post here on freshbytes, I’d like to try and write something a little better now that I’ve got some sleep, and also because I”ve got some study out of the way.

Righto - so I’d just like to open by saying that I’m not a fan of leaving Calvin. It’s been more than fantastic, and many people will tell you that your school life is the better part of your life. For me, I feel like there won’t be too many events which eclipse the pure awesomeness of your school, and especially your high school.

Having been a Calvin-ite for all my schooling years I feel like there’s this connection to the place which will always be there - as it should be!

I was asked by a colleague (who also went to Calvin, incidentally) if I shed any tears at the final assembly. I didn’t, but I’m sure that some of last year’s year 12’s did, and some of the girls this year were on the verge… Anyway, my colleague - he’s a man’s man. They kind that drink intense amounts of beer, go on massive outdoor treks, party hard, etc. I was actually surprised that he, of all people would have been one of the ones to get all emotional at something like your last assembly.

Perhaps the difference between us was the fact that he shed tears - and I didn’t, so maybe that’s why I’ll keep hanging on for a long period of time. I have no idea whether he wants to go back or not - but I am dammed sure I do.

So I read somewhere that people might not remember what you said, or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel - and I just thought that was incredibly profound.

Now, how have I made people feel? Once you ask yourself that question, you’ll know how you stand when you meet your friends in the street.

I know that I’ll have made some people feel awkward. Awkward silences can do that, as can incredibly-long, over-stretched relationships (or lack thereof) that have just peetered out (yes, that is a word) into the void… My fault, not theirs.

I also know that I’ll have made some people feel relaxed. Don’t feel obligated to to say anything when you’re around me - we can just sit, each to their own thoughts, and just “be”.

Maybe that’s the kind of person I am - if so, I can live with that

Regrets? Sure. I don’t think I know anybody who wouldn’t do it all again differently - at one point or another, we’ve all stuffed up in our life and for some, that can have real consequences - but for others, it’s mainly stuff that that they wouldn’t have done again.

Would I have started my own website had I had the chance? By all means, yes. A hundred times, yes.

Would I have spoken more had the time called for it? Probably.

Would I have bought black forest cake for a certain someone again? Definitely. A hundred thousand times yes.

In the end, it is about the choices that we’ve made, and it is those very same choices that will shape how we are as human beings - and I feel that Calvin has played a huge part in how those choices have affected my life.

Comments below.