A Let Down You Can Count On

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Yesterday I went to this event called Edcamp Santiago. It was quite interesting for me to go to, as I had never been to something like it. They called it an “unconference”. So basically anyone who arrives in the morning can say- ok I will do a presentation.

I did my presentation on some ideas I have about sports and language, which is something I want to develop a lot more here in Chile.

During the week I will write some more developed notes on what I presented about, as really I just made it up on the spot. My basic ideas were about using games and sports to learn to count, identify parts of the body, and also that people really identify with their favourite players- as in, they know EVERYTHING about them.

So what I am hoping is that I can build up on that a bit more and power on from there. In my masters, which begins at the end of next month, the next subject is about Practice Led Research. That is something that I still don’t really understand, but these ideas on sport and language are going to form the backbone of my studies, and hopefully that will be acceptable.

I was talking to a footbag pal in Colombia, though I have not actually met him yet, and was telling him about some of my ideas, he was saying, these are really great etc, and I told him, this year I want to change these ideas to more than just up in the air plans, I want to make them reality.

Oh yeah, from next month I am going to be one of the editors on the I Love Chile website. The biggest benefit of that is I will be earning some money. Unfortunately salaries are low in Chile, and the fact is I could earn three times as much back home in Australia on the dole, but I really believe in this project a lot, and I think it has a big future.

The other project I am going to do is this Streets of Santiago project, that’s just a personal kind of mission, and it does kind of fit in with the I Love Chile, but it’s a project I thought of just a couple of days after arriving, and that one is going to be my baby. I bought a domain name for it the other day, though I have not yet prepared my site. I just bought the domain because I was telling a fair few people my ideas and I didn’t want them to steal it.

Also I am going to keep doing my weekly Footbag interview, although I would like it to be more than once per week. So I have started getting in touch with a few more players, and will continue to build up some more throughout the week.

I finished the year (ie on the new years night) in a really negative mindframe, so I have tried lately to just be really positive, and I think it’s going well. Francisca also has a cool project of her own which she is developing.

Speaking of positive things, lunch is ready.

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Oh yeah, it was my birthday the other day, the day we flew in. Friday. I had a really nice time. Just got together with a few mates, got some cheap steak and beers. The last few years actually, I have just got together with maybe 5 or 6 pals and had a good time, not a rager or anything, but a good time all the same. Today at dinner (an excellent baked dinner, onya Grandma), dessert was a cake. It was also Grandpa’s birthday last week, so celebrations all round!

Tomorrow we’re meeting a friend of mine I haven’t seen in years. I am writing a project for one of my uni assignments, it’s a blog all related to memories. Different concepts of memory and different triggers, combined with personal experiences and pictures/video etc. I am doing two subjects this semester, the first is “Online Writing” and the other is “Writing and New Media”. Once doing these two, I will have two more subjects remaining and then I will be a Master (of nothing really…).

Anyhow, I’m really liking the New Media subject, but the online writing is more about the theory of “electronic literature” ie: the worst. However, I’m thinking about preparing some kind of online choose your own adventure style story, where the main character starts out as a kid in high school, and potentially a star footbag player. There will be other options too, possibly including becoming a rockstar and death at 27. There is a 3000 word limit, so I guess I have to consider that in my different angles. I am thinking of the idea of (completely stealing from the later Tony Hawk games) meeting characters which are star players, and your decision affecting where the story goes.

We also went to this Bastardfest the other day. Oh, that was yesterday actually. We saw Ignite The Ibex first up, they’re one of the few metal bands in Australia, especially recent additions to the metal landscape, that I have been impressed with. After that we met with Viv and Bret and got some mexican food then drank some beers.

When we came back this band “Band of Isildur” were playing. They were this paint wearing style of metal band. Paddy told me they had been sitting in the back room while those guys were getting prepared, and Kelly was playing some Grinspoon on the acoustic. I said the best part would have been if they started singing along.

I Exist played next, they were pretty good, though not particularly different to any other time that I have seen them. More hair windmills in the crowd I guess. They got plenty of heads banging, but honestly, Ignite The Ibex had a better response.

There were plenty more bands to play, but I was starting to feel not all that great. With the fact I was in hospital last week, when Francisca said, hey I don’t want to stay here til midnight, I said, no worries, let’s go now. So I could have seen Psycroptic, Extortion, Bloodduster, Pod People. However, I’ve seen all those bands before, and it’s not like I actively listen to, and the main bands I went to see, had already played. So essentially we paid a lot to watch a couple of bands, but those bands were pretty good.

We are planning on staying in Sydney for about another week. I saw that there could be an opportunity to go to a NSW Cup game- North Sydney Bears vs Newtown Jets…may go along.

Tomorrow we are having dinner with my Nanna…maybe there will be another cake!