Molkington and Adieu

In the face of our last lecture, we were blessed with the presence of Steve "Molk" Molkington, and entertaining IT professional who had a pretty significant mid-life crisis.  He's now the creator of MolksTVTalk, a website about television. Simple, but effective. By effective, I mean effective in terms of branding yourself. 


That's what I think his main message was, we can start being journalists now, we can make a blog, such as this one, and do what we want with it. We can fill it with our interests, our opinions, our photos, and if we can manage to attract others with the same interests and opinions, then that's a bonus. We can start now. 


We can use the internet as a portfolio, we can make ourselves look better than other applicants in the face of a new employer. New media is a jump-start in narrowing down what we want from our career, we can focus it, mold it ourselves, none of this being confined by mass media. Partly because it inspires a sense of freedom in terms of what you want to do, but also because you don't need them. Twitter, for one example, allows you to connect directly with the people you want to interview, to the information you want. It helps you advertise your 'portfolio' for that matter. 


Molks said some things that I am likely not to forget anytime soon:
-Build your brand
-Have and ego
-Don't be a Richard Wilkins (Amen)
-When your opinion is valid, you've made it.


One thing Molks said though, spun me right back to Lecture 1. He said that his website doesn't pay the bills.
Again I had this feeling like there is a real chance I will get this degree and be left with nothing. However, maybe this is what he is saying, start now and you'll have a better chance. This is exactly what I have been doing since that first day, planning, blogging, tweeting, not only to connect, but to tailor my career. 


Some of you may have noticed that, compared to some, my twitter is more active, or rather, more free. I find many have fallen into the trap of only saying "Things they're meant to say cos' it's a journalism twitter account." I have totally disregarded that, and have said what I want, tried to be funny, stalked Harry Styles, and talked to people I admire. It feels like an achievement, in an odd way, to be part of Twitter, to have followers, retweets, favourites. I won't stop anytime soon.


While I may not continue with this blog, I will certainly be on the blogsphere. 
Aesthetic Revolutions is a fashion/beauty project between myself, and a friend. We aren't sure we have enough time, we aren't sure if it will monetise, and we sure as hell aren't certain people will like it. But we're going to give it one hell of a go.


Might see you in the future. 
http://aesthetic-revolution.blogspot.com.au/


-Shannen.

Top 5 Youtube Channels To Subscribe To

1. dailygrace
Not only is she hilarious, she uploads everyday, 5 days a week. That's commitment.

2. DomMazzetti
Meathead. Excellent actor and his channel is consistent and well thought out. Everything is quality.

3. Kassemg
Has a series of 'channels' within the one.  A million side projects. He even dabbles in reporting on Venice Beach.

4. Danisnotonfire
Dropped out of university to focus on Youtube. Great example of success no matter your life choice.

5. YOMYOMF
A collaborative channel with the big names of Youtube. Currently uploading a series called "Internet Icon." It's filmed as though it was broadcast. The future of entertainment just might be Youtube.

While initially this was an excuse to show of my excellent taste in channels, these people are actually the faces of new media, and they are successful because they know how it works.


-Shannen

Agenda Setting

Update: Since I posted the spiel on my unfortunate living circumstances, Marine has moved out, and everyone has decided to leave in the next few weeks. In the days following, I did what any mature, 18 year old would do, I told on Steve, to my Dad, and it was more like sobbing. However, thanks to his excellent 'being scary' skills, I get to stay, and I can't decide if I should be relieved/ disgruntled. 


Journalism Stuff:

Agenda setting is all about constructing the public's opinion through mediated means. This entails that, while reality ( social life outside the media) exists, media has in some way constructed this understanding of the social world. It's a scary thought.


Essentially, the media follows this motto: The more coverage, the more important to the people. It is in this way they shape what we perceive to be important. I mean, if it's being reported on, it's just GOT to be newsworthy right?


An important concept in terms of Agenda Setting is the 4 agenda's themselves:


1. Public Agenda: Topics we think are important as media consumers.
2. Policy Agenda: The issues/policies/legislation top decision makers think matter.
3. Corporate Agenda: What big business thinks is important.
4. Media Agenda:  Issues discussed in the media.


These all work together to, I guess, determine what we watch and how and when we watch it. 


But the thing with the mass media is that, obviously, they don't just report 'reality' they filter and shape it.
An early theory was that humans are like robots, and to that all I can say is, we wish. However, Harold Lasswell's Hypodermic Needle Model, literally suggests  that the media "injects" direct influence into us, the viewer. Which, for all intents and purposes, makes sense, but look at the bloody picture that was used to represent it:

This 'robot' theory is essentially suggesting that audiences can't critically think, that we are moldable, and it does nothing for the media's god-complex. 


It has also been said, by a Walter Lippmann, that the media creates images in our minds, like propaganda. This concept, but also the concept of agenda setting, is up by social theorist, Michel Foucalt, who suggested that not only do social norms and expectations restrict and limit an individual, but the way we act is also determined by our institutions. He talks about how we, the public, have no power, (against media in this case) because we are under surveillance - much like being targeted as an audience. 


As an optimist, and because I refuse to accept the fact that we are mindless dopes, I prefer what Michel de Certeau says about 'social control.' His theory is about how people negotiate in everyday life, how those with more power (media) control us, and the strategies tactics we employ to stop it. 


However, there are two main types of agenda setting theory, that while don't go into as much communicative detail, provide a strong foundation about how it works.

1st level:  Is about the transfer of the importance of the issues. Media suggest WHAT should be focused on.
2nd level: The media suggests HOW people should think about the issue.


While agenda setting does alot of things to us, it also affects itself in terms of elite media sources, so think BBC and ABC News, setting the agenda for lesser media. 


In saying this, this 'lesser media' is much more filtered in terms of appealing to all audiences, so they don't get as much 'real news' as the 'big-guys.' Media seems to be not only choosing what people/media outlets should care about, but who should care about what. As Noam Chomsky cheekily put it,

"Mass Media are trying to divert people from the real news, getting them out of the way by distracting them with celebrities and sex scandals... The serious stuff is for the big guys, don't you worry about that." It's all a bit patronising really, and I am having none of it.


Now, if agenda setting didn't seem mean enough, there is a whole agenda setting gang to not only narrow down what agenda setting is, but it outline how it works. 


1. Media Gate Keeping-
How individuals control the flow of messages through a communication channel.
2. Media Advocacy -The purposeful promotion of a message.
3. Agenda Cutting -
The truth/reality in the world isn't represented and thus forgotten. (Bieber's New haircut vs. AIDS)
4. Agenda Surfing -"Bandwagon Effect." Media follows or rides on the wave of what the media elite make news.
5. The Diffusion of News -
How news is communicated to the public - who, when, why, how.
6. Portrayal of an Issue - Different angels to take on a story/group of people. Alters public perception.
7.  Media Dependence -The more dependent on media, the more susceptible to agenda setting.

Agenda setting might seem a bit diabolical, but I will admit that it does have some strengths.
1. Explains why people think certain things as important. (Important social information.)
2. Predicts that if exposed to the same media, people may regard the same issues as important.
3. Organises existing knowledge of the affects of the media.
4. Can be proven false. (See #2)

The 24 Hour News Cycle.

New media provides an outlet for faster production, and therefore more news gets deemed newsworthy. It is because of this fact, the fact that we just have so much news that we want to take in, that mass media just can't help themselves. 




Sorry this is such a drawn out lecture guys, but agenda setting is REALLY interesting and SUPER important.

-Shannen

Now and then, when I'm watching the news, I often catch myself wondering how I'm being positioned.  

Look

Can we all just appreciate this for a second?

I am going to try and recreate this look, not only for the purposes of this blog, but to see if it is indeed possible to achieve the look without it costing and arm, a leg, blood, kidneys.

To challange myself further. I attempted to "Get the look" from the nearest shopping centre. I think got the jist of it, limiting yourself to one location proved harder than first thought- it was slim pickings. However, one thing is for certain, whatever colours you choose, have got to be reflected in the pants. Teal isn't cutting it!  Go for a  fuchsia.  

In all, copying a look from a celebrity is hard, and sure to be disappointing - adjust it. 

 Online shopping, I love you so god-damned much. 

-Shannen

Top 5 People to Follow on Twitter

1. @robdelaney

Totally inappropriate / Unhinged. 


"White people who smoke menthols will stab you & then go to a movie."

2. @kassemg

Comedian/Beautiful


"Just pulled over to instagram. I'd rather eat a face than continue living as this monster."

3. @mrsrupertpupkin

Lonely/ Has a cat so isn't really that lonely.

"You say "Stop telling everyone we're dating," I say "Po-tah-to."

4. @JoshThomas87

Negative muscle-mass meets awkward humor.

"OK. I was just propositioned by a lot of teenagers. I really hope I'm not on some sort of list now."

5. @RaginBotanist

A 25-year-old / Doesn't know how to do his taxes.


"Being really good at beekeeping is such a single-edged sword"

-Shannen

Top Five Blogs

1.  http://www.27bslash6.com/

This Australian guy has two published best sellers. It's legit.

2.  http://www.dlisted.com/

Slamming pop-culture like there's no tomorrow.

3.  http://hellogiggles.com/

Collab of sassy female writers.  

4.  http://dulcecandy.com/

Look-books, fashion shoots and clothes that cost more than your house. 

5   http://www.amarixe.com

Makeup, colour swatches, nail varnish, makeup, stunning hair, swatches, makeup.

-Shannen

.  

Investigative Journalism

Investigative Journalism is intelligent,intuitive,informed, the best career ever, intimate and invested.
This feels like a compliment.

Investigative Journalists have codes, if you will, to work by. They seem pretty sacred, but in truth, they encompass the key traits of being a good person, andstriving to do your best.

1. Be involved, make a substantial effort, take the time to do a good job.
2. Holds wrong-doings up for scrutiny by the public.
3. Social Justice. Power to the powerless, voice to the voiceless.
4. 4th Estate. Balance out the power of the government by interrogation and questioning.

Dr Redman brought up the concept of "Shoe Leather Journalism." By this he meant, getting outside, walking around, wearing out your shoes to get the story. This struck me, I mean, I knew getting into journalism would mean doing interviews and the like, but to be honest, it is quite possible to erase this whole 'active' part of journalism from the process, however sad that may be. You can skip it all together by pressing a blue button that says "Tweet." It seems new media has it's downfalls.

The point here though, is that journalists should be cutting through the agenda, escaping the media and it's restrictions to get the facts. There have been countless trail blazers in this campaign to cut through the crap, the most modern, and perhaps the most universal is Julian Assange, founder of Wiki-Leaks.

He was enacting the 4th estate, holding these discrepancies up for scrutiny by the internet. He is also a prime example of being committed to a cause, to balancing out the power - and he was charged for doing so. In the words of Sarah Palin before his arrest, " Hunt down Assange like Osama." This coming from someone who "Can see Russia from her house," I am not likely to advocate his arrest, but it does suggest that investigative journalism is a commitment. Some may argue this 'journalism,' because Wiki-leaks is just a bunch of stuff, and they are right, it isn't the classical sense of Journalism, but what is in this new media world?

The future of investigative journalism, is blossoming, especially in the local media sphere.
If we check facts, assume nothing, and expect whistle blowers to go crazy, we can be successful in investigative journalism. Interviews, observations, documents are all things we are sure to encounter on our quest for a story, and a quest it will be, with online news threatening the classical investigator, as do empty news rooms, and the growth of PR. Here's hoping we won't be arrested.

-Shannen

News Values

To be honest, I watched this lecture about 2 weeks ago online, and if this seems a little jumbled, it's because past me left present me lots of lovely little captions in my notes that either made no sense or are surrounded by doodles of flowers and notes that say "Look on lecture slides" I hate mysssseeeelf.


News Values, News Values, where to begin.


They are the importance placed on a story by a media outlet, and the attention that story receives from an audience. It's all about newsworthiness and agenda setting, which I will eventually dedicate an entire post to.


The In's and Out's of News Values:


- Impact- Things that are exciting, make you look twice. Say, "Gee Whiz!"
- Audience Identification- Topics that are interesting to said audience, relatable, localised. Targeted.
- Pragmatics- How ethical/factual/practical is the story?
- Source Influence- Public relations influences Journalism, it controls it, for 'the better.' Does the story comply with PR practices?


Now, there are two very important questions.


Are news values the same across news services?
Are they the same across different countries/ cultures?


Clearly the answer is NO to both, and the reason is simple. Localisation. What appeals to one demographic or locality does not appeal/ have any relevance to another. People are interested in what is around them first and foremost, we, as a society are narrow minded in this way, and media outlets use this to their advantage. If we revisit an earlier concept from this course, "If it bleeds, it leads"  and substitute it for "If it's local, it leads", we can understand localisation's importance in the media sphere.


Again, a core concept of this course can be built upon to explain current topics. The inverted pyramid can be called on to understand the process of determining newsworthiness - 5W's&H is of higher value than the other components of a story, and will be chosen first and foremost for its succinctness - this is why Twitter is at the top of the pyramid. This may also have connotations with Western news/values; we value quick and concise information at our fingertips.


Moving on.


Stemming from this concept, is the notion of Professor Johan Galtung & Ruge's quest to discover common factors/agendas that attributed to particular stories becoming headlines. Newsworthiness. In short, they came up with 12 - everything from proximity to uniqueness, and since this lists creation, it seems like every man and his dog has tried their best to shorten it. Golding and Elliot had a crack in 1979 (11 news values), then it was O'Neill and Harcup (10), followed by Murray and Masterson in 1995 (6) and finally (hopefully) Judy McGregor in 2002 at a very short four! Seems to me that everyone is in a scramble to define news values, but haven't really done anything spectacular that Galtung & Rude hadn't already done.


Apparently this blatant time-wasting isn't the only threat to newsworthiness, so is:




•Journalism / Commercialization
of media and social life
•Journalism / Public Relations
•Journalism’s ideals /
Journalism’s reality




These three above are known as the three tensions of newsworthiness, and they go hand in hand with the problems facing such worthiness:




• PR
• Crap Journalism
• Hyper-Commercialisation


The harsh realities is, with this rapid journalism, and the 24 hour news cycle, journalism is getting worse because there is just not enough time, and we fall into this trap of reusing PR releases, all the while we are nestling in the corrupt clutches of large media corporations who will stop at nothing to assure that loyalty, fact checking and giving voices to the voiceless will never be associated with journalism, (Sorry Rupey'.)

This is the price we pay for technology, for Twitter, for Facebook, for what we want.


So, what do I think tomorrow holds for news values? What do I think is newsworthy?
I'm torn. You see, while I strongly believe news should be accessible, technologically driven (for convenience) and fast, a part of me wishes that the core foundations, the bed rock of journalism should value things it did in the early days. It should be about the audience, what they need to know, or what the journalists think they should know, none of this PR crap. And while I love to indulge in the latest celebrity scandal, you can't justify it as something the audience wants, and you can't justify it in terms of journalism.


If you are having trouble understanding newsworthiness, maybe you should consider it from the other end of the spectrum. Think of a slow news day, and the sort of crap that makes it onto the front page; this is the full effect of newsworthiness, and in turn, news values.


-Shannen

Top Five Parfumes'

1. Opium, Yves Saint Laurent

2.  Red Door, Elizabeth Arden

3. Hypnotic Poison, Dior

4. Green Tea, Elizabeth Arden

5.  M, Mariah Carey

Ethics

Week 8’s lecture started off with trying to gage what we perceive to be ethical in terms of Australian advertising. As people, with hearts, with courage and with brains (for the most part), we all have some sort of moral compass. The exercise was also a good indicator of which of us were burgeoning sociopaths, who would eventually end up on the news for some god-awful crime.  I mean, I for one found most of these hilarious:

 But lets be realistic, just because I laughed at these tacky ad’s doesn't mean I'm going to hell, it’s more likely I'm going to hell because I'm a spiteful person that says horrible things about people.

...

 What became clear during this exercise however, was that ethics in journalism is about what's right and wrong, black and white, in good taste or bad. Trouble is, these can be confused with what is just plain tacky. Fear not! There is a whole bunch of riveting ethical theories and paradigms to make sure we don’t over step the line.

Deontology:

Deontology is the black and white approach, meaning, there is a definite wrong and a definite right, and if you follow the rules, priniciples and duties deontology sets out, you will no doubt be on the ethical right. Of course this ideal is embedded in society through the law. However, with all theories and rules, loopholes and questions can be posed. One such example, as mentioned in the lecture, was that, while some laws allow the ownership of guns, this may in fact mean that they are giving them the option to kill people. Following the rules, following the ethical compass is a choice.

Consequentialism:

Consequentialism essentially means, that as long as you get the outcome you want, it does not matter how you got there – the end justifies the means. Getting the ‘right’ outcome is the only objective. To extend on this, consequentialism concerns what is right, and what people think is right – this finding its foundations in what we have been told is right by society. With this comes the capacity for values to change, perhaps one day something bad, may be deemed ethical.

Virtue Ethics:

The easiest way to understand virtue ethics, for me at least, is to see it as what we, as people with learned attitudes, values and beliefs, see as good or moral behaviour. It is the characteristic trait of  good habits (or internal values) we hold as people- courage, temperance, or a sense of justice. Reasoning in virtue ethics is not based on external values (i.e. Neo- Aristotelianism) that are out of date in society.This, however, makes room for the sociopaths and sadists of this world, people lacking any sort of moral compass, to make ‘ethical’ decisions. These habits of behaviour form the “Golden mean” of behaviour. For example, one should be have a sense of justice, but justice is the mid way point between injustice (over-zealous and excessive law) , and the injustice of lawlessness.

...

Of course there are many codes that govern ethics, but in the words of Dr Redman, “We are drowning in ethics codes, what we aren’t drowning in, is people of good character.”

In my opinion, the black and white approach is too absolute, in the journalistic world there is bound to be grey areas, more so than any black or white. On the other end of the spectrum, we have journalists who will stop at nothing, step over everyone, loose dignity and respect for a breaking story. I will strive to refrain.  I feel as though, to be a good journalist, hell, a good person, we shouldn't live by these absolutes, and rather, rely on our character, our sense of person, to encompass 'goodness.' It’s all very simple really.

-Shannen

Beware: Share Housing Part 2

So, Steve comes blundering down the stairs, and catches site of Dan, and abruptly asks,
 "Who are you?" By this point I had backed into my room.
"Just a friend of Marines, yeah."
"Right, get out." To which Dan replied with a very confused "What?"
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" (Someones obviously neglected to tell him that we pay the rent.) It's to my understanding from what I could hear, that Dan was trying to put his shoes on, which Steve was having none of, and proceeded to throw his shoes out of the house, and then Dan himself.  Now, his wife Rose was watching the whole time, not saying a word.(We all believe she is being compliant for fear & for the babies sake.)

Leaning out of my window, I tell Dan to come over. I jumped out of my window, and we had a chat about whats going on, he was pretty rattled after being thrown outside. We could see through the window in the kitchen that Steve had Marine (All 5 foot 4 inches of her) essentially pinned  to the wall shouting at her for being disrespectful and putting stress on his wife, and his baby ( Who we constantly reminded has problems, and how the pregnancy has been a struggle, which is in itself a very sad thing) and how if the baby did not survive, it would be thanks to Marine, and the stress she had imposed on Rose. Blaming a student for their misfortune. Classic.  In my opinion, there would have been no stress, if they had
 1. Given the $200 back to Soo and Elisa.
 2. Been fair with the rent.
 3. Not have come down and made a fuss out of something that could have been resolved with a simple sit down conversation like 'ADULTS' and soon to be 'PARENTS'. Blaming someone on the death of a child is apparently a sign of maturity. 

The storm was over now. Marine was crying, she had been inside by herself for 20 minutes while Steve reved her. To be honest, I would have gone in there, but after his reaction to Dan, I was being cautious. 

To make matters worse, the same night, Steve and Rose sent out emails to everyone that directed all of us to leave the house by June 30th, right smack-bang during end of semester assessment/beginning of exams, giving us no time to look for alternative accommodation. To make it even more sly, they said that if we didn't want to leave, we had to sign a contract that locked us into staying until November 2012. 'They wanted to start fresh, kick everyone out, clean slate.' Yep, that's the best way to resolve an issue - ignore it, and kick it to the curb before end of semester. I however, happen to be leaving for Darwin on the 21st of June, but they expressed that the contract was to signed by June 1st, which means I have even less time to decide if I EVEN WANT TO STAY after all this nonsense, let alone be in town to find somewhere to rest my bloody head at night. 

In a snap of their fingers, they have turned this issue around on us, throwing words around like disrespectful, uncleanly (Exam week/end of assement is a hetic time, soz if there are a few dishes in the sink), and forcing us to feel guilty about the death of one their unborn babies, and in turn endangering the life of the other. 

Steve has yet to comment on the RTA situtation, but I have no doubt he will, Marine is leaving shortly, and I have 2 weeks in the middle of exams to find accommodation. 

To end things on a slightly lighter note, I'm happy to say that Marine has embarked on a new mission, a mission to be be sickly sweet and nice to everyone in order "to counterbalance his presence in the world." 

To think, all of this could have been avoided with a contract, and a bit of god-damned maturity. So thanks to this drama, my coursework has taken a back-seat, hence late posting. Perfect. My apologies. 

- Shannen 

A valuable experience. 

Beware: Share Housing Part 1

To begin, I thought I'd just attach a little disclaimer. This blog post might veer off into the realm of 'too much information.' Fear not males, I will not be discussing the intricacies of womanly life, I will be discussing something personal that has happened in my life recently, and by discussing I mean bitching, and by personal I mean this is my blog AND I'LL DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT. xoxox.

To begin. Instead of forking out 7 grand for one semester of college, I thought I'd be smart and save $ by going into privately owned share housing. I am an idiot.


When I arrived to this Brisbane house, I was fresh out of Mackay, didn't know a thing about living without my parents and  was seemingly lulled into a false sense of comfort by the owners of this accommodation - lets call them Rose and Steve for anonymities sake. Sure enough as soon as I sat down with them at the kitchen table, they went through the agreed upon rent, $160 per week. Fine. However, they had neglected to mention the extra $25 dollars a month they wanted for 'supplies.' Fair Enough. Then they made it very clear that they did not accept payment weekly, it was monthly. Of course, the advertisement had said weekly, although this didn't make me too anxious, that was until they told me they calculated it not every 4 weeks, but based on the full year. This means I had to pay the maximum amount they could squeeze out of me. Not happy. However, semester was starting and I seriously had no choice. Luckily for me, my father pays the rent, God bless him.

After a few weeks I started to become friends with my roomates: Marine, Elisa, Vy, Soo and Kevin.

All was well and good, until Elisa and Soo decided the monthly rate was too expensive (for students who get only get $1000 in schloarship per month), and they wanted to leave, however, this, according to Rose and Steve, was 'breaking the contract.' Now, it should be clear that there was no contract. In fact, every single one of us found out that prior to moving in, we had asked them if there was a contract to be signed, to which they replied with a 'No, don't worry about it" attitude. This is the least legitimate business practice ever, and yet I was so wrapped up about university life, and the fact that they seemed like such nice people, that I didn't question it. I should have. 

So, lets talk about Soo. Korean girl, super sweet little thing, wouldn't hurt a fly, you know the type. She expressed her desire to leave 3 weeks in advance. One thing lead to another and Steve had sent her  a barage of rude emails, the very last one may have been one of the most racist things I have ever read in my entire life. I won't go into specifics, I'm sure you get the drift, and to add to this ignorance, he had accused her of lying about her financial situation. Charming. Around the same time, Elisa, a Brazillian girl, expressed her desire to leave for the same reasons. Sure enough, an influx of spiteful emails came her way, although funnily enough, they were more ( although not much more) respectful than those sent to Soo.

Now before I go any further, I should make it clear that on arrival, each of us had to pay a $200 key deposit, that was to be returned upon leaving, IF the room we occupied was clean and undamaged. It should also be noted that this wasn't expressed in any form of contract, it was simply in email. (Which all of us have since saved to a USB device.)

Now, although these two rooms were left emaculate upon departure, the $200 was not returned to either of my friends, because they 'broke the contract.' This is where it gets confusing. There was no contract for starters, but the problem now lies in the fact that, it was a 'deposit', not a bond. Now, I'm no real estate proficianado, but according to Steve, this meant that the money didnt HAVE to be returned, they return it out of ' the kindness of their hearts.' 

So as you can imagine, a bad taste has been left in our mouths about the whole situation. Elisa has since filed a complaint with the RTA (With whom Rose and Steve AREN'T EVEN REGISTERED!), who has blocked their advertising on the UQ rentals site. Drama, Drama. 

So, since then we have recieved two new housemates, and Marine, who is actually my best friend in this house, is set to head home to France end of this semester. Which is all well and good. Thing is, her exams finish early, and she has no need to stay the entire month of June, and it's ridiculous that she should have to pay a full months rent, which is upwards of $700 when she is staying for literally a week and a bit of June. Knowing the reaction she would get, she emailed Steve and Rose, and asked them if she could just pay the amount of a week and a half. They told her to pay $350 BY TOMORROW. Clearly this was not only unfair, but a little rude to expect a student, let alone anyone, to pull $350 out of thin air within a few hours notice. So she didn't. Come the first of this month, she only paid the amount of money that calcualted to a week and a half, without telling them. Now, before people start thinking this is starting to sound a little off,  and that perhaps Marine should have been a bit more adult about the whole situation, perhaps she should have just paid the rent and not asked for trouble. This may be, but the reaction of Steve and Rose that followed was unreasonable, and quite frankly, childish. 

On the topic of being childish, and although this may be a terrible linking sentence, Steve and Rose are set to have a child early August. Now, what I have neglected to tell you is that the house boasts a lovely little staircase that links their house (upstairs) to ours (downstairs) which they frequent too often considering that they have their own entrance upstairs. It is an invasion. They are a constant in our lives and said staircase is set to be an even bigger problem. There is no door at the top of it, and as you can imagine when things are loud upstairs we can hear them, and with a screaming child, it is set to get worse.

 I digress, a few days after Marine transferred the amount of money, Steve sent her an email saying that she was to be out by 5pm that day (He had sent it at 11am), and if she wasn't, they would forcibly remove her and her belongings. A complete over reaction. By 5pm Marine had actually brought her friend Dan over because she was honest to God frightened of Steve (He is a big man, morbidly obese, but he could defintly pack a punch) because we know him to be quite volatile, throwing plates upstairs and yelling profanities. 

Part 2 of this Epic rant will be be posted in the coming hours. 

Oh Brother

Matt Corby

Brother