Will’s View

I’ve never really been one for cleaning. There are those people that are somewhat regimented in their approach to cleanliness, with regular cleaning schedules, and a somewhat worrying affinity for tidiness. I’m not one of these, as many of you will know, but I think it’s about time I changed my tune.

Whilst waiting for lunch to cook this afternoon, I wandered around and decided to do some absent-minded cleaning and tidying. One of the first places I went was the couch, as it’s a place where I spend a large amount of time anyway, so it may as well be in a somewhat tidy state. As usual with me and cleaning, I started off easy, just brushing down the arms, and making sure there wasn’t any offensive detritus around.

During this admittedly half-arsed effort, one of my housemates came to see how I was doing. “Damn,” I said to myself “Now I need to look like I’m actually cleaning!”. So, in an attempt to look busy, I took the cushions off the couch and proceeded to look like I was making sure there was nothing too gross there. Then lo and behold, there was a shiny $2 coin! I quickly pocketed it (as any good student would) and continued my charade of looking like I was cleaning, with the housemate none the wiser.

So I think it’s about time I changed my outlook on cleaning. Maybe that $2 coin was a sign to tell me that I should curb my untidy ways, throw off the shackles of the messy student life, and start to become a constructive and responsible member of society. Or it was just a lucky break. I like that option better.

--> I’ve never really been one for cleaning. There are those people that are somewhat regimented in their approach to cleanliness, with regular cleaning schedules, and a somewhat worrying affinity for tidiness. I’m not one of these, as many of you will know, but I think it’s about time I changed my tune. Whilst waiting for lunch to cook this afternoon, I wandered around and decided to do some absent-minded cleaning and tidying. One of the first places I (More...)

Whilst walking through the hallowed courtyards of The University of Melbourne this evening, I was struck by the number of chalked advertisements on the pavement. Several of these span several square metres, and must have taken an army of volunteers quite some time to prepare. Given the University’s new push for its students to ‘dreamlarge’, I can somewhat understand this phenomenon.

But the thing that I was most struck by was my ability to tell which chalked arrows and hastily scrawled chalkings were still relevant. After so many years of wandering over freshly defaced courtyards, one gets to know the ‘look’ of a recent chalking: the chalk dust still settling on the paving stones; the vivid greens and blues still prominent; and the lack of chalky footprints leading away from it. I think one develops this skill out of necessity after turning up to a couple of free barbecues one or two days late, and then trying to cover up the fact you feel stupid by suddenly finding something fascinating and important to do, over there.

One cannot only tell the age of a chalking, but also the amount of enthusiasm used to generate it in the first place. Enthusiastic crowds will make sure the lines are clear, and the colours vivid. These groups usually have large amounts of labour to devote to this process too, which helps. The engineers, however, tend to have hurriedly fashioned chalkings, often with spelling or grammar mistakes. This, I believe, is due to their overwhelming desire to be somewhere else. Namely, the pub.

All in all, chalking is a necessary part of uni life, but I think I should really find a hobby.

--> Whilst walking through the hallowed courtyards of The University of Melbourne this evening, I was struck by the number of chalked advertisements on the pavement. Several of these span several square metres, and must have taken an army of volunteers quite some time to prepare. Given the University’s new push for its students to ‘dreamlarge’, I can somewhat understand this phenomenon. But the thing that I was most struck by was my ability to tell which chalked arrows (More...)

All great things have their imitations and spin offs. The iPhone has the t-phone; Friends (a dubious example) had Joey (it was a sad, sad day, I know); and now willMidgley.com has davidSobey.com.

The only problem is, I feel somewhat eclipsed by my new rival. Whereas I can barely muster enough to fill a couple of paragraphs every now and then, his witty commentary goes on for pages. I primarily write in somewhat overly-formal, stuffy English, whereas this young dynamo has managed to master “…malay, tamil, mandarin, and english”. I have numerous cluttering attachments and add-ons, and Mr. Sobey has a clean, streamlined (albeit default) website. Now I know how Michael Schumacher felt when he decided that he had to retire. Maybe it’s time to put this old war horse out to pasture.

--> All great things have their imitations and spin offs. The iPhone has the t-phone; Friends (a dubious example) had Joey (it was a sad, sad day, I know); and now willMidgley.com has davidSobey.com. The only problem is, I feel somewhat eclipsed by my new rival. Whereas I can barely muster enough to fill a couple of paragraphs every now and then, his witty commentary goes on for pages. I primarily write in somewhat overly-formal, stuffy English, whereas this young dynamo has managed to master “…malay, tamil, mandarin, and english”. I have numerous cluttering attachments and add-ons, and Mr. Sobey has a clean, streamlined (albeit default) website. Now I know how Michael Schumacher felt when he decided that he had to retire. Maybe it’s time to put this old war horse out to pasture.

I have finally made the transition to being moderately technically minded. I changed a bike tyre. Well, technically all I did was change the inner tube, but tyre sounds more impressive.For some people, changing a bike tyre might not seem like a particularly daunting task. But for me it was symbolic. Symbolic of my evolution into an engineer with some (albeit small) degree of hands-on technical skill.

I wasn’t completely ignorant going into this process. I was well acquainted with bicycle spokes thanks to a second year design course where we talked about the varying forces a spoke encounters through an entire revolution. It was rivetting, I can assure you.

But this was a real, hands-0n kind of task. The ones which are so rarely found within my chosen areas of study. The sort of things where you can come out of the garage with oily greasy hands, use the laundry detergent to clean them (because nothing else will work), and feel like you have contributed something to the world. The sort of things that justify, nay, require at least some degree of swearing, and some hastily improvised tool (mine was a spoon in lieu of a tyre iron). The kind of think that means you have to go into a hardware store of some variety, and order a part like you know what you’re talking about, in a tone which says “I know what I’m talking about”.

After much swearing and de-greasing of hands, the inner tube was changed and inflated. But I’m reasonably sure I could do it in a fraction of the time next time. What a learning experience huh?

--> I have finally made the transition to being moderately technically minded. I changed a bike tyre. Well, technically all I did was change the inner tube, but tyre sounds more impressive.For some people, changing a bike tyre might not seem like a particularly daunting task. But for me it was symbolic. Symbolic of my evolution into an engineer with some (albeit small) degree of hands-on technical skill. I wasn’t completely ignorant going into this process. I was well (More...)