The Sarabellum

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:34:00 GMT

I am officially home! The end!

Sydney: Day 11 (a.k.a. "Catch a wave and you're sittin' on top of the world.")

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:54:38 GMT

What the Beach Boys said is true. When you are learning to surf and catch a wave, you feel so amazing. Sadly, I really suck at surfing. It was heaps of fun, but I was only able to stand up once, for like one second. I can tell that I was improving though. It's very fun to swim on a surf board too because you go so fast, and it's always nice to mess around in the water with things that float. There were no sharks, dolphins, fish or any other visible marine life, but there was a lot of seaweed. I am less afraid of seaweed if I am wearing a wetsuit (I have a wonderful wetsuit-induced farmer's tan now), for some reason, but it is still not something I like stepping in. I am a bit crispy, and a lot exhausted, but it was very fun and I feel like I learned things.
Tonight is Linda's last night here, so we're going to dinner again. Tomorrow I will probably take slowly, and I'm getting a pedicure at 2:00. I really feel sorry for the poor cosmetology student who will be dealing with my feet... Maybe they'll take one look and turn me away! Whatever. $20 saved, if that happens. I should probably spend the rest of the day packing my bags in a more conducive manner, and maybe go to Markets by Moonlight at the Rocks. Saturday I'd like to use to explore one of the Sydney suburbs - Glebe. From what I can gather, it seems to be an artsier area, but I can't tell for sure. Hope it's worth it.
Then, of course, on Sunday I leave! Finally! I'll spend 2 days in LA with my godfather and then back to good ol' Ohio. It's been fun, and I wouldn't take back any of it (I think...), but I will be very very very very very very very very very very very happy to go home and see my family and eat good food and own pets and have plants in my room and everything.

Edit: Linda and I met up and I had the most amazing Subway sub I have ever had. Nothing was especially different about it, but it was DELICIOUS. Spicy Italian with Caesar dressing... mmm... Then we saw "Couples Retreat" and it was just the dose of good ol' American humor I needed. I used to really hate Vince Vaughn, but I like him more and more with each successive film. Now I am back at the hostel and I am ready to pass the heck out. Good thing I don't have to wake up until noon (although I'll wake up at 8:00am anyway. Stupid wacked-out internal clock.).

Sydney: Day 10

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:06:44 GMT

This morning, Linda and I got up early and went on a trip to the Blue Mountains. It was really neat. We saw kangaroos in the wild and even a kookaburra sitting in a gum tree (sadly, there was a lack of gumdrops...). Lunch, a bit of hiking, rode the steepest railway in the world (50-something degree angle!). Unfortunately, I was told by the receptionist that I would be back around 5:30pm, but it turned out that I wouldn't be back 'til 7pm. This wouldn't have been a problem, except that I had a ticket to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra performance of Russian things which was to start at 8pm (and I didn't want to go in my sweaty hiking clothes). Fortunately, after one of the most nerve-wracking car rides in my life (just because I was anxious), I got back to the hostel at 7pm, changed clothes faster than I ever have in my life, and ran to the subway. I made it to the Opera House with perfect timing and enjoyed the show. The inside of the concert hall is gorgeous, especially the ceiling. It's like buttery palm trees. When I post my illegal pictures, you'll understand. Now, however, I am absolutely exhausted, and I'm going to do surfing lessons tomorrow! This, I'm sure, will prove to be highly entertaining.

Sydney: Day 9 (and feeling fine)

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:54:55 GMT

As you may well know, today is my Australian/New Zealandish birthday. Since I skipped a day coming here though, technically I am only 19 and 364 days today, so my real birthday is tomorrow. Yay for the 2-day birthday extravaganza! My presents to myself include: Trip to the Blue Mountains and the Sydney Symphony tomorrow, and Surfing Lessons (a.k.a. Sara-Makes-A-Fool-Of-Herself-AND-Gets-Eaten-By-Sharks Lessons) Thursday, possibly. Today I spent worrying that Linda's plane had crashed somewhere in the Tasman Sea and that she was unable to text me of her arrival because she was busy drowning. In fact, she was busy napping. So while I waited, I baked cookies, watched TV and cooked 2 zucchini as my lunch. Mmmm. Oh, and hung my laundry up to dry since the stupid dryer didn't dry my stuff all the way. Grr. And I think it stained one of my new shirts. Double Grr. And I seem to have lost some of my jewelry. Very very Grr. And my entire body is peeling. Not Grr, but still not very attractive.
ANYHOW, very soon I will be meeting with Linda to go out to dinner, which will be good. It'll be SO nice to have a friend here. Now to continue the search for my necklaces. Onward!

Sydney: Day 8 (is for great-ish)

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:54:01 GMT

Ok, now that I have all the misery out of my system, today was quite nice. I started with a delicious lemon tart thing, which I ate on the way (by ferry) to Manly Beach. I found a new book at the exchange and it was nice to lie on the beach and read. I can feel productive without being productive. It's great! For dinner I GOT 2 ZUCCHINI FOR $0.97(!!!) and cooked one to eat with my ravioli. It turned out really well! The book is finished, I watched "The Big Bang Theory" (TV show about nerds) for the first time, and now "The Mentalist". Tomorrow is my birthday, although it doesn't feel like it, and Linda gets here! Yay! Company!
So, sorry for my breakdown, but things are looking up.

Sydney: Day 7 (is for suckage)

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:05:31 GMT

I want to go home. I am done being here, and alone, and broke, and blistered. Today I toured the Government House (NSW Governor's former residence) and walked around the Art Gallery of NSW. Both were very nice. I have more blisters. I had a gross pasty for lunch. The worst ever. It was full of rice instead of potatoes and had stupid bell peppers in it. A heinous crime against pasties everywhere, if you ask me. And the hostel is out of laundry detergent and I have no clean clothes. I did, however, have my first cookie-dough ice cream in 5 months. So delicious. Amen for Baskin Robbins.
Discovery of the day - the bathrooms in the Botanic Gardens have little yellow metal boxes to allow you to dispose of your syringes safely.

Edit: I tried to watch Psych on my computer and it didn't work, then I regretted my decision not to try kangaroo meat, then I wanted to work on my platypus bead thing but was sexiled from my hostel room, meaning I was forced to watch Max Payne which is an awful awful movie, and my head hurt a lot. Dinner went ok. I did some sort of cooked asparagus, pine nut, carrot mixture topped with cranberries and blue cheese. I JUST WANT TO DO MY LAUNDRY.

Sydney: Day 6

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:49:52 GMT

...was lame. Ok, it started out fine. I went to the weekend market at The Rocks, which was good. I bought christmas ornaments, at Mom's request, although we need more ornaments like a hole in the head. I also got myself a painted wooden wombat. It is muy adorable. I did a self-guided walking tour of the area, which was ok, although sort of boring. I had a coupon to Wagamama noodle bar for lunch, and, being incompetent at finding things, walked 10000 blocks to get there, and then realized I'd lost the coupon along the way. I had some sort of soup thing, which was good, but it would've been better if I'd gotten $4 off. I am so sick of spending money. I feel like a black hole. I can't wait to work again. I think I am going to spend more money and have a $10 steak dinner. Maybe then I can convince myself not to have more ice cream... I am ready to go home.

Sydney: Day 5

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:51:15 GMT

Woke up. Got out of bed. Dragged a [brush] across my head.
Had brunch. Decided to go to the zoo. Caught the train and the ferry to the zoo. Zooed it up.
ADMISSION WAS $40. HIGHWAY ROBBERY. It was a nice zoo, and I saw a really cool bird show, featuring some black-winged doodleybuzzard (can't remember its real name) that is one of 2 bird species to use rocks to break open eggs and we got a demonstration and it was really cool. (I know it probably bothers the heck out of my older readers, but I do know how to be grammatically correct, I just like having sentences that go ____ and _____ and ______ and ______ and ____ because I'm in my first childhood.) There were also these weird Asian Catbears (not their real names. It started with a B...) that were adorable. ...Ok, it's a binturong, and it didn't come up when I searched "Asian catbear" so I had to go find its name on the zoo website and then looked it up and all the results included the name "bearcat"...great. Here is a picture - http://www.columbiabc.edu/images/.xvpics/Bintourong2.jpg So cute! I saw another platypus, and some penguins, one of which was being silly and trying to eat his own bubbles. I didn't see the baby elephant, but was sort of pressed for time, having woken up late and not actually getting to the zoo until 2 (it closes at 5). I left on the 5:00 ferry, after buying a Taronga Zoo sticker, featuring their adorable platypus logo (http://www.thunderjetboat.com.au/images/content/Image/Taronga%20zoo%20logo.jpg), and riding the Sky Safari cable car (Free with admission! Darn right with what I paid...). All in all a good time, although it would have been better if it was not as overcast and if I had people with me. I am tired of being alone. Pasty and a salad for dinner, and another mint chocolate chip milkshake for dessert. That part should probably not happen any more...
Also, I am in love with lemon tart things now (another thing I don't need to be eating). I have had 2 so far, and they are really good. There is the most adorable pastry shop down the street (I think it's called Croissant d'Or or something like that) and the one I had today was from there and it said "Citron", which I assume is French for "lemon", on it in chocolatey cursive writing.
Speaking of French, I find that I am getting more and more intolerant (specifically towards foreign languages) as this trip goes on. I am hoping it's just because I want to go home and not that my character is being changed for the worse.

Sydney: Days 2 - 4

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:35:30 GMT

On my Tuesday, your Monday, I went to the famous Bondi Beach. It was amazing. As a landlocked Midwestern girl, I am amazed by beaches in the same way that I am amazed by mountains, and the Great Lakes don't count. I mean they do, but they're not the same as ocean beaches. Anywho, I did apply sunscreen, but I forgot how hard it is to apply sunscreen to one's own back, and didn't want to ask a stranger (because that would be creepy) etc. etc. and now I am viciously burned. Skin cancer, here I come. But it was totally worth it. I made good progress on my book and, hopefully, my little neurons are synthesizing seratonin as fast as their enzymes can carry them. I'm not sure that makes sense. Whatever. I did go in the water, which was cold and salty and also inhabited by fish. This was not ok. Water with people is not supposed to also have fish in it, and even though I could sort of see the fish, I couldn't see them all the time and I have fish fear. Say it: "Cray-zee."

Wednesday I intended to see both the Australian Museum and the NSW Art Gallery, but only made it to the former. I had a giant blister on the ball of my left foot, which has since turned bloody and been drained and all sorts of fun stuff. Anyway, the pain from that, plus sunburn pain, prompted me to go have a lie down after the first museum. The museum was pretty good. No Te Papa, but it had plenty of skeletons and a nice exhibit on threatened Australian species. I learned that wombats have cubic poop, and that there used to be a giant prehistoric duck that is now commonly known as "Demon Duck of Doom". The gift shop sold ice-cube trays that make ice-cubes shaped like dinosaur bones (making them not really ice-cubes anymore...), and I didn't buy one, but I will when I have my own kitchen and have the need for ice...in novelty shapes. That evening, I was invited to a club called "The Bank" for free drinks (which were disgusting, seriously) with a bunch of fellow hostelers. I finally got to wear my "nightclub appropriate shirt", making that purchase not a complete waste! At first it was awkward because I didn't really know anyone, but alcohol being the wonderful social lubricant that it is, people and I ended up talking and it was fun. I walked home, bought delicious Indian food on the way, and ate it outside when I realized I'd forgotten my key card. Eventually I caught the door as some other people were leaving. Perfect.

Today, I did more museum-like things and am now pretty much museum-ed out. I started at the Sydney Aquarium, which was pretty cool. I saw platypuses! They are so cute. That will be my next atypical stuffed-animal purchase. There were also dugongs (adorable), octopi, jellyfish, sharks, stingrays and millions of irritating school children. Admission was also absurdly expensive. $25 WITH a 20% off coupon! Ridiculous. Afterward, I went to the (FREE, THANK GOODNESS) National Maritime Museum, which was nice. Way less kids. I went on a free tour, which was pretty boring, but I went back and read 100000000 plaques and am now totally done with museums for the next few days. Interestingly, Australia seems to be the country of kidnapping. Aboriginal kids were kidnapped to raise them "properly" in Christianity and whatnot, British kids were kidnapped to be trained on these farms to provide a new generation of white workers for the colony... What next?! American tourists kidnapped to be properly raised as white workers... All very interesting. On the good side, I FINALLY HAD A MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP MILKSHAKE! So good. I didn't realize how much I'd missed them. No Graeter's, of course, but delicious.

Now it is raining. It was awesome, because literally 2 minutes after I walked in the door of my hostel, there was this enormous thunderclap (also the first thunder I've heard since I left the States), and it started raining. Great timing on my part!

The hostel internet does not seem to like my attempts to upload photos, but if I'm successful I'll post the link to the album.

Things left to do: NSW Art Gallery, Zoo, Blue Mountains, Bondi Beach again.
Any other suggestions?

Sydney: Day 1

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:00:45 GMT

I am already sunburned. Yay! (sarcasm) Fortunately I brought some aloe lotion, despite not having sunscreen (I bought some when I got back, don't worry).
I spent today on an epic walk around the Sydney Botanic Gardens, involving passing by the Government House (which I'll go back and tour on Friday), the Conservatorium of Music (not joking, that's what it's called and I am never saying just "Conservatory" again) and the Sydney Opera House (the most photographed building in the southern hemisphere). The Sydney Symphony will be doing some performances in the Opera House for a mere $35 while I'm here, so I was thinking about getting a ticket to go see one of those. It could be fun and would give me an excuse to wear my nice clothes (I hate packing things for nothing).
I spent approximately 1 billion hours in the gardens, not because of their coolness (they were really awesome), but because the place is a freaking maze. Also, THERE ARE SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOOS EVERYWHERE AND THEY WILL EAT BREAD OUT OF YOUR HAND AND THERE ARE ALSO LITERALLY 10-11,000 GIANT FRUIT BATS THAT HAVE WINGSPANS OF UP TO 1.2 METRES AND THEY ARE REALLY CREEPY LOOKING WHEN THEY'RE ALL ROOSTING TOGETHER IN THE TREES AND THERE ARE URBAN PARROTS AND GIANT IBIS THINGS AND IT'S SO CRAZY. I'm loving it so far.
Tomorrow I am thinking about going to the beach. I am very excited because I found a good book at the hostel book exchange thing and I can go to the beach and swim and get more sunburned and read my book. I am also enjoying cooking for myself. ASPARAGUS WAS ONLY $1.89 A BUNCH! I <3 Asparagus. Tonight I had ravioli and one of my favorite salads (baby spinach with dried cranberries, blue cheese, pine nuts and vinaigrette dressing) with some sort of frozen mango thing for desert. It was mostly delicious.

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:14:00 GMT

In other news, since the library is closed and I have no money to buy new books, I've been reading my travel journal, which dates back to my Nuestra Cabana trip (Mexico) in '05. Jeez, I was one angsty 15-year-old. Sorry, everyone.

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:12:18 GMT

Dear Everyone,
Sorry that I have not posted in approximately forever. It's been nothing but busy-ness. First finals, then a last-minute road trip, then packing, now leaving. I fly to Sydney tomorrow (although for a large portion of the day I thought I was leaving today) and will be there until November 22nd. Sadly, no snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef as originally planned, but I am determined to have a relaxing vacation where I sleep in the same place every night. In any case, I'm having trouble keeping this updated, as well as my personal journal, but I did just add a tonne of photos to the following album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114138&id=511052206&l=dc8a858a72
Hopefully I'll have time in Sydney to update everything and give you more details on all the goings-on here and there and everywhere. If not, you'll just have to track my jet-lagged self down on November 24th (when I finally reach Ohio again) and beat them out of me. Yay!

Greymouth: Where there really is nothing to do.

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:21:23 GMT

Sorry it's been so long. Everything in the world was due this past week, including two Knox-related applications (Green Oaks Term and Ford Fellowship). Now all I have left is a presentation on the fungus that causes Eucalyptus rust and a project due for Landscape Design (and 3 finals, but those aren't for a while).
This weekend, Alison and I took the TranzScenic train across the South Island to Greymouth. The trip was beautiful, although the group of singing, hand-clapping hyperactive Asians next to us was less than enjoyable. All sorts of mountains and gullies and snow on the ground and tunnels. Greymouth is pretty much one street, at least, all of it worth seeing. We stayed in this adorable hostel, Global Village, which was built on the slopes down to a river, so most of it was below street level. They decorated it with all sorts of African objects and it was a really neat atmosphere. We toured the Monteith's Brewery, home of one of the best ciders I've ever had, glanced in an art gallery, had lunch on the riverfront, cooked pizza for dinner, went to a jade workshop/place and hopped on the train back to Christchurch. The train ride back was better because we spent the whole time outside on the observation deck taking pictures once we found out that our entire car would be filled by another loud, beer-filled, Asian tourist group. I felt bad for the English/Kiwi couple sitting across from us because they spent the whole time trying to sleep, but couldn't. When we got back, we had dinner at the ever-delicious Tandoori Palace.
All in all, a good trip. Photos will appear in the "Weekends are for Wandering" album eventually.

(http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114138&id=511052206&l=dc8a858a72)

Quail Island

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:31:54 GMT

Saturday morning at 8am we left for Quail Island. It was good to get off campus, although I always get stressed out when we hang out with non-Lincoln AustraLearn kids. Fortunately I handled it better than I anticipated. Quail Island is great. It used to be a leper colony, a quarantine station for humans and animals, and a training area for the animals used on Antarctic expeditions. Now it features a lighthouse-keeper's cottage (moved from a different island for preservation?) and a ship graveyard where ships were intentionally scuttled. It's the perfect size to be manageable, with a walk around the whole island only taking 2.5 hours.
Our work was pretty grueling. Not the tree-planting I'd envisioned. We started by painting the cottage and the Heritage Center. I learned that not everyone is born knowing how to paint like a normal person. Then we collected rocks that had been washed away from the anti-erosion walls around the island and returned them to their point of origin. I didn't mind the work, I was glad I could help, but what really made me mad was how everyone else would not stop whining/slacking/doing a shoddy job. Hello, people, you are the ones who signed up for this. Sure, we are not directly killing possums or something, but we are helping nonetheless. Can you please take some pride in your work? The next day we did some trail maintenance and I took out all my aggression with a grub hoe (a magical tool, unfortunately I took it out on dirt and not on the people in question). By then I was really happy to be heading back to Lincoln and my unfinished Ecology paper. Overall, it had its ups and downs. The food was good, thankfully.

Right now I am pretty homesick. I think it's because I have a giant paper due Monday, and a paper and practical exam on Tuesday. I'm super super stressed and getting paranoid that people don't like me/are excluding me from things. I need to be productive but I can't seem to scrounge up the motivation. I also have the study break coming up and I was intending to travel, but the idea of planning more trips makes me want to cry. Alison and I are taking the TranzAlpine train to Greymouth the weekend after next and I already screwed up the hostel booking and am now probably getting charged $80 for one night (2 people) instead of $40. I know it's only money, but it's one more nail in the coffin of me being totally and utterly frustrated with myself.

Miss you all.

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:15:24 GMT

Jeez, sorry it's been so long. Time is moving way more quickly here, probably because the work is piling on. Only three weeks of class left! AAAAHHHHH!

Anyways, two weekends ago I went snowboarding on Mt.Hutt again. It was fun, but the snow was really soft, making it all the harder for me to move around. I was actually able to take pictures this time, which was good, but I haven't had time to post them, of course.
Last weekend, the AustraLearn kids, including myself went to Wellington to see the All Blacks v. Australia match. Both the game and the city were amazing. We saw Te Papa, the museum you could spend days in, and the botanical gardens, complete with a ride on the cable car. I am apparently the mediator of the group, which is nice, but stressful sometimes.
Last night I drove on the left hand side of the road for the first time! It wasn't all that bad. The scariest part was the roundabouts. Admittedly, I wasn't expecting/wanting my first driving experience to be as the designated driver for a bunch of rowdy college kids, but everything worked out fine.
This weekend, the AustraLearners and I are off to Quail Island for some conservation-type stuff. I am awake all too early, and my body hurts from the 3-hour workout I did Thursday so I don't know how much good I'll be. I would be a lot more excited about the trip if I didn't have a paper due Monday, but I guess that's life.

Hopefully I'll find more time to update/post pictures in the future!

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:50:36 GMT

28/08/09
Right now I am in my hostel room listening to two boys from England talk about their experiences with brothels. Sketchy and gross. Apparently I am going to be referred to as "States". Oh, now we've moved on to STDs. What fun!
Anywho, today was el dia de White Island! My luck with all things unrelated to marine mammals has held, and the weather cooperated, making White Island a go! (All the more magical since people have been trying to go for the last 4 days with no luck!) Woke up early, made english muffins with eggs and jam for breakfast, and caught the shuttle to Whakatane. The driver was nice, the Canadian on the shuttle with me was irritating. After an hour and twenty minutes we arrived at the dock. The boat was more posh than I'd expected. They served us soup on the way there, which was funny because the boat was rocking too much to drink it. I was sitting next to an Australian family for a while, but their daughter felt/got seasick so they went inside. The ride there took about 2.5 hours and we saw gannets and two dolphins! The island was amazing. It's sort of crescent-like in topography, and, due to oxidation and such, the rocks are all sorts of crazy colors that I don't feel my camera really captured. You land on the island at this red/yellow concrete dock and find yourself looking at the ruins of an old sulfur processing facility. The whole island is covered in ash, sand, gravel... on up to boulders, and is steaming from points all over. There is a system of waterways with milky blue water that will clean the tarnish off a penny (I have one I dipped in, but you can't tell anymore even though I tried to preserve it), and the main crater holds a big, bright green lake! The pH of the lake used to be -0.6! There are also various smaller craters with ashy/mud stuff bubbling away. The island is monitored with cameras (to look for topography changes) and seismographs (sensitive enough to feel when swells hit). Eerily the island has seen a lot of death, from the 10 sulfur miners who died in a lahar (I think... The only survivor was the cat), to a man who may have committed suicide while working (they found his boots outside of a vent, and that's all). It was really a great experience overall, and I refuse to regret a single penny of it! Dinner was at (not-so)Amazing Thai, with an ice cream cone for dessert. Note: Why do all kiwis think global warming is a hoax/conspiracy/propaganda?

29/08/09
I can finally breathe again after what became a very stressful day. This morning I caught the bus to the Agrodome in time for the 9:30am sheep shearing show. The show was excellent. It featured 19 sheep breeds, a display of herding by strong-eyed and barking dogs, shearing, and cow milking. At the very end, volunteers (including me) got to feed some lambs. The host was hilarious and the whole thing was definitely worth the price of admission. I also got to see the carding machine at work and met several new puppies, which were for sale. I am so starved for affection from/towards other living objects in my vicinity that having to leave the puppies almost made me cry. I was going to buy some carded wool for the spinners in my life, but I had no idea what amount/type would be useful. After the Agrodome, I Zorbed. It was amazing, and slightly scary. I was strapped to the wall of a rubber ball suspended inside a larger rubber ball and rolled down a hill. Due to the suspension, I think, it felt like I was bouncing, making me afraid that I would bounce into the road and in front of a truck. But I didn't bounce and everything was fine...until the bus back to town was late. I ordered a taxi, and then, of course, it showed up. Only by praying to every power ever did the bus get back in time for me to grab my luggage and a pie and get to the bus out of town. Whew. The ride was uneventful. Turangi is nothing. There is nothing to do and nowhere to go. My hostel is the worst so far and I had a big paranoid attack that I was going to be murdered. Needless to say, I wasn't. Nothing is open, and the things that are have super specific hours. For dinner I got a pizza (I'd been craving one, although apparently they don't make pizzas with just cheese or just pepperoni here) and ate it while watching some US sitcom in the ultra-sketchy tv lounge. I finished "Deep Fear" and traded it in to the book exchange for "The Chest With A Secret" by Yvonne de Bremond d'Ars, which appears to have been published in 1962. There was a note in it listing 9 excuses for why "Marist" didn't win. At the top it says 21-14-51 which can't be a date unless the second # isn't 14. I don't understand.

30/08/09
Another early morning. I headed off to Tongariro National Park via Bruce and his shuttle. What crappy weather. For the morning it was chilly and foggy. After I finished the Taranaki Falls track, I started on the Tama Lakes track, but it was extra foggy and not clearly marked, so I decided to be safer and go back. I contemplated doing the Silica Rapids track, but by that point it had started raining, so I browsed the gift shop, had lunch, and watched the entirety of every informational film in the visitors center while waiting for the shuttle to come at 3pm. I have learned that backpacking really isn't my style. I'm not into dying in the wilderness from hypothermia. Camping is fine, hiking is fine (although I'm way out of shape), but backpacking is very no. Tongariro is beautiful though. The forested pares are rife with more lichens and mosses than I ever imagined, and every surface is covered in life. Even the brush on the plains-y areas is detailed and interesting if you look closely. I found myself exclaiming "I love plants!" to myself many times. There are rivers and streams everywhere, and the falls were nice. I'll have to come back sometime in better weather and better company. After I got back to the hostel, I changed into my pjs and finished The Chest With A Secret. It was pretty good. I guess I'm a sucker for books written from the perspective of practical, upper-class women in the era of "having a Season in London" etc? I'm going to return it tomorrow, which pains me (Patty's daughter? Get rid of a book?! NEVER!), but I don't need the extra weight. Hopefully the neighborhood bookstore will be open tomorrow and I can get a replacement. My bus comes at 1:35pm. Not soon enough, if you ask me. Turangi worries me, and I'm excited and relieved to move on to the wine tours and aquariums of Napier, and then back to home-sweet-Lincoln! I never thought I'd miss it so.

31/08/09
Since I went to bed around 7:30pm, obviously I didn't sleep past 7am. Crap. I was hoping to sleep away until 9 so I only had to occupy myself for 4.5 hours before my bus. I got up, packed, ate breakfast, packed more, returned my book, and checked out. Dropped my bags at the iSite, used 20 min of internet, went to the bookstore, paid way too much for a new book, went to the library and made it to chapter 18 of Lionboy, grabbed a toasted sandwich with egg, cheese, tomato and onion (delicious!), and headed to the bus. I didn't realize that I would have a 3-hour layover in Taupo before my connection, though. Blah. I just want to sleep, not that I'd be able to on the bus anyway. Update: I am a genius! I went to the Taupo museum, not a block away from the bus stop, until they closed at 4:30, and then finished Lionboy at the Taupo library! After that, I grabbed some not-good scrolls and waited for the bus. It's fortunate that I did, since it was way early. Lionboy was excellent (another piece of evidence that Mom only recommends good books, don't tell her that). The bus ride was not excellent, although it was funny that the driver was singing along to his music. My hostel is nice, the desk man, Bob, is hilarious and jolly. I took a shower and started my laundry. I'm very excited for Napier! Tomorrow I'm going to do the aquarium and work on booking a wine tour! And yay for Art Deco!

01/09/09
Today was mostly unplanned, but worked out well in the end. I started at the National Aquarium, which was sadly mediocre. It did have an interesting display about the amateur paleontologist who discovered the 1st evidence of NZ land dinosaurs. From there, I perused the iSite and got a pie, which I proceeded to burn my mouth upon. I was going to eat it in the central park/square area, but a creepy guy was making the rounds. Then I went to the museum. It was quite nice. Lots of Maori stuff, a weird exhibit from the Artists in the Arctic program, and a really good display on the earthquake. I took an Art Deco walking tour at 2pm. I was the only one on the tour, which was really nice. I feel all knowledgeable. Napier really is a beautiful city. I'm very glad I came. I bought a poster and fell in love with a tea set in the window. I have decided to buy part of it later. After the tour I went back to the museum to finish watching the "Survivor Stories" documentary. When I got back to the hostel, I helped Bob send his first-ever text (which read "congratulations on getting my first-ever text!" or something like that). He really is a funny guy. He invited me to volunteer with DOC on Thursday, but I can't and I'm sad. It would involve pulling up invasives too. Stupid bus leaving at stupid 9am. I had dinner at an excellent Turkish place called Kilim. I had a mozzarella and egg pide (like a pizza) and the BEST baklava EVER. So delicious. I might go back tomorrow. It's weird that there's no pattern to restaurants here. I never know if I should wait to be seated, or pay at the counter, or what. I wonder what happens when Kiwis eat in the states... I feel like I should have more commentary in here on NZ in general, but I always forget what I had to say. I really should make a habit of writing it down. Tomorrow I hope to do a wine tour! How sophisticated! Also, I started The Last Dickens (my new book) and I'm really enjoying it so far!

02/09/09
This morning I walked around the city and took pictures of some of the buildings. I bought the cream and sugar set that I fell in love with yesterday. At 1pm, I joined Vince (and his World of Wine) for a Hawke's Bay wine tour. It was good fun, for the most part. Marie, the Dane from my room, Jack and Linda, a Chicago-Australian couple, Heike, a German woman, and Chiang(?), another Australian lady, and myself all piled into a van and tasted at 4 different wineries. Marie was great, and we hope to meet up in Wellington in a few weeks. Heike was very matter-of-fact, sometimes hilariously so. Chiang seemed to know her stuff, but spent the whole time laughing at one thing or another. Jack and Linda were....awkward. Jack reminded me a bit of a snobbier, pushier Uncle Tim, but not unlikeably so. He was very outgoing at first, but as Linda got drunker he got more reserved. She was very frustrated about being shushed all the time, and went as far as to joke about Jack making moves on Marie, which made me horribly uncomfortable, but she insisted she was joking. Vince, our guide, was great, and reminiscent of Danny DeVito, but taller. He catered to everyone's tastes, picking up on me not liking reds (I don't. No doubt about it anymore.), etc. The most fascinating parts to me were 1) the number of wine types, fermenting methods, etc. and 2) the measures some wineries are taking to be earth/people friendly. The 1st winery we went to is all organic, and the 3rd has a program where they use local produce and feature the farmers on the labels. Really neat idea. I have learned that Zinfandels are not made in NZ, making Sauvingon Blanc probably my favorite white here, although we tried some interesting Viogniers. Unfortunately, I started feeling nauseous pretty early on. The whole thing made me feel pretty fancy though, despite not knowing at thing about wine or how to properly taste it. I went back to Kilim for dinner, too tired and hungry to search for somewhere new. I don't like babaganush, but the fries hit the spot. I took home some baklava for breakfast tomorrow.

03/09/09
Woke up, packed, ate bread with jam and baklava for breakfast.
Walked to bus stop, sat for an hour.
Got on bus, finished The Last Dickens (excellent).
Got off bus, had samosas, nan, and gelato.
Got back on bus, emotional breakdown.
Got off bus (for good), concluded it was too hard to find Marie with all my luggage, headed to airport.
Bought Hungry Ghosts from the store, read half of it and had to return it (illegal me) because it was too horribly upsetting. Good cover though.
Listened to music/played games on iPod.
Boarded plane, updated journal.
Caught bus to Lincoln, picked up key from security.
Pillow missing, but HOME HOME HOME!

The end.

The post(s) you've all been waiting for! (I can dream, right?)

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:44:05 GMT

21/08/09
Today, after the most stressful 4 days ever, I caught a plane and went to Auckland in order to start my spring break money-spending extravaganza! Lincoln apparently didn't want me to leave and showed its love by having the cleaner lock me out of my room when I was supposed to be getting my stuff and leaving. The check-in and flight were routine - no lost luggage, fiery crashes, etc. I arrived in Auckland around 3:50pm, caught the Airbus to my hostel (the driver got lost? How reassuring...), and checked in. Kelsey, Michael, Sarah and I met up for dinner and exploring. I had a delicious caesar salad at the Queen's Ferry Hotel on Vulcan St. It made me realize how much I've missed normal salad dressing and grilled chicken. We followed that with a walk in/through (but not up) the Sky Tower and watched a hilariously bad informational video about Auckland. Afterward we went back to Vulcan St. to have delicious Belgian waffles with dark chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream. There is a girl hacking her lungs out in my hostel room. She'd better not make me sick!

22/08/09
I spent most of today (a.k.a. until 2pm) wandering around with Kelsey and Michael. We started the day at a tiny farmers' market behind the Britomart station. It was puny compared to the one in Dunedin. I attribute it to the distance most farmers probably have to drive to get there. After that we wandered aimlessly along the pier. It was a gorgeous day. I went to see the art gallery later. Turns out the main gallery is under construction until 2011, but I went to the New Gallery and saw one exhibit on art about Maori history, and another on Rita Langham (?), which I, surprisingly, liked. After a trip to the free internet at the library, the three of us went to lunch at a nice French cafe (I had tortellini and a crepe) and then went our separate ways. I visited Albert Park, which was gorgeous, and then caught a bus out to One Tree Hill. It used to have a kauri tree on top, which was cut down and replaced with a pine by the British, which was cut down around 9 years ago. Soem sort of land dispute, I think. Anyway, there's a giant memorial obelisk at the top of the hill, sheep all over the hill (with adorable lambs in tow), and the Stardome Observatory (and awesome playground with a zip line) at the bottom of the hill. I saw two planetarium shows: one on "the race to space" (interesting to see an unbiased view of the Cold War), and one on "the sky tonight" (now I can identify Scorpius and find south using the Southern Cross). I caught the bus home, had a not-so-good kebab and some delicious gelato, and now it is very much time for bed.

23/08/09
Today has been busy. Woke up at 9 to check out by 10. Walked down to Britomart and caught a bus to the zoo! The zoo was perfect except that the penguins weren't out. I saw lions, tigers, giraffes, zebras, red pandas, kiwis, other birds, elephants, hippos, sea lions, everything! The nearby park is also gorgeous. I got back to Auckland in time to check my e-mail, book a hostel, grab my luggage and head to the bus. The bus ride went smoothly, although I didn't feel very good during it, which has been happening all too much lately. Maybe it's stress. A french girl, Alice, on the bus didn't have anywhere to stay so I let her into my dorm, figuring she could settle things with reception in the morning. In exchange, I guess, she made me some pasta with tuna. I think I actually like tuna. Alice is nice and is going into publishing. She wants to do books that expose kids to other cultures. Quite admirable. We met a Brit, Carrie, who's a bit insane (just really focused on her personal problems). We must've talked with her for a couple of hours, "talked with" being used loosely since Alice and I maybe said 100 words collectively! It was nice to actually meet fellow hostel-stayers though.

24/08/09
I realized, today, how well things have been going for me. The whole deal with Alice worked out, I got a free night with my YHA membership, I finished breakfast just in time to go on a sea kayaking trip, and everything in Auckland went off without a hitch. I can only hope it keeps up! Sea kayaking was great. We landed on two islands, and played frisbee on the first, and hiked to the summit of the second. I was accompanied on the trip by two Germans (Florian and...a name I'd never heard before and have now forgotten) and a Colombian woman (Olivia, very reminiscent of Yolanda). She had a blast, and you couldn't help but smile. The Germans, although nice, spent most of it worrying about getting sick. I combined both, and loved it, while being terrified that I'd get left behind when my arms finally fell off. It didn't help that everyone else was in 2-person kayaks with me on my own. Our guide, whose name was either Dan or Dave, really epitomized kiwiness to me. Loves the outdoors, "rich with happiness, not money", laid back, loves NZ, eager to talk, eager to listen. He really did his best to keep everyone happy and motivated, and recommended Cape Reinga and some islands (the Whitsundays?) off Australia to me. I used his personal kayak (which he refers to as if it's a woman), which was scary, but I didn't damage it at all in the end. After kayaking I decided to walk over to Waitangi, but got caught in a downpour on the way. I stopped under a balcony and ran into two of my hostel-mates. A storeowner lent me an umbrella and we headed to Woolworths (groceries) and then back to the hostel. I dried off in time to meet up with Kelsey and Michael for dinner at Alfresco's (burger and a beer), and, afterward, we made sundaes and watched netball. Netball is interesting because it's like basketball, but sans backboard, dribbling and entertainment value. I found it fascinating, but totally anticlimactic. It seems that the rules are "any time you have the ball, no one can hassle you in any way". Points are scored so often that they're pretty much meaningless. Sadly, NZ lost, but not by much.

25/08/09
Today was....a day. Steve picked the three of us up at 10am and we drove up to see the kauris. He borrowed his dad's giant red Chevy pickup and we felt all sorts of American. Tane Mahuta (the largest living, in terms of biomass) was amazing, but so was another kauri, which is the widest living. 16m girth! I just can't comprehend how they could last so long and survive at that size, especially since they have hardly any leaves! I wish we had been able to go up to them, but sadly the walkways kept us well back...and the two-fences-with-8ft-of-barbed-wire-in-between system helped. From the kauri forest we went to a beach access to drive on the beach a ways, but proceeded to get stuck in the sand. What a fiasco. Eventually a man with a tractor got us out, but it was grim. Thank goodness the tide was on its way out! From there we headed back to Steve's family's dairy farm in Whangarei. We watched the cows get milked and played with some of the calves. I like calves. They were hungry though, and kept nudging and nipping us in search of food. I finally let one suck on my hand to calm it down. Unfortunately, we were introduced to the behind-the-scenes of dairy farming via the stack of dead male calves (waste of resources). Very sad. We had dinner there, with Steve's dad, who's a really cool old guy. Apparently Steve's the first in his family to go to uni, not that that matters. We had to scrounge for ingredients , but made a good meal out of pasta with mince, salad and vegetables. Afterward, Steve drove us back to Paihia. Kelsey and Michael leave tomorrow, thank goodness. Things seem to work better when I'm on my own.

26/08/09
Today was a pretty chill day, pun intended, oh ho ho! I woke up this morning, laid around for another hour, arranged laundry, internet and bay tour/cruise, went to the treaty grounds and Woolworths, wandered, dillied, dallied, had lunch, took a nap, and all before noon! At noon I put my laundry in and watched some of Mrs.Doubtfire (classic). The cruise started at 1:30 and I sat on the very top behind some elderly folks (ok, not elderly, but that irriating age before elderly where they should've learned how to use their $600 camera before they left their home planet instead of whining about how it doesn't work right). Anyways, it was freezing, windy, etc. and we didn't see dolphins or the Hole in the Rock. I did enjoy myself, though. I didn't realize how expansive the Bay of Islands is (144 islands). It's very interesting geologically and historically. One island used to be owned by the guy behind Camel cigarettes, another was the site of a massacre of Maoris by some stupid Frenchmen (they blatantly disregarded Maori traditions/requests and were then upset that the Maori killed 11 of their men), and yet another (or maybe it was a bay...) was where the first European children born in NZ were born. It would've been more fun to do the tour with friends, but oh well. I did get to see some gannets! Of course, I forgot to look at their tails to determine species. I only wrote 2500 words about it, you know. Definitely one of the brighter crayons in the box over here. After the cruise I didn't do anything else touristy. Laundry, packing, watched the end of Charlotte's Web (and cried when Charlotte died), made myself mac and cheese with tuna for dinner. Right now it's pouring. Looks like I'm leaving just in time.

27/08/09
The bus ride to Rotorua went off without a hitch, and Paihia said goodbye with a lovely sunrise. I stressed a bit about whether or not I'd be able to make it to White Island from Rotorua, but I can, and will, as long as the weather cooperates. If not, I'll just spend a lovely day at the Agrodome. After checking into the very new YHA Treks hostel, I spent some wonderful time on the internet catching up on everything. I followed that with nachos, baked plantains and sopapillas at a a latin place called Sabroso's. Amazing. I was craving some good Latin food. Pak 'n' Save next for breakfast items (including eggs!), and then a beautiful (until the school tour group showed up) two hours at the Polynesian Spa (thermal pools). It was especially gorgeous because the light, cold rain made the water steam and glitter, and you could look at all the lights across the lake. Now I'm back in my room, all cozy and tired-like, so I'm going to get to reading my new book (only $2.50NZ!) and then sleep and dream of volcanoes.

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:35:28 GMT

Hey everybody!
Sorry it's been so long, but I've been on spring break, traveling around the North Island. It's going to take a bit for me to process and journalize everything, but here is a link to my photos from the trip:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=103925&id=511052206&l=5dd763bab4

And here is a link to all my photos of NZ so far:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90426&id=511052206&l=6ce7422c6b

Let me know if they don't work.

International Night

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:37:49 GMT

I've found that I am definitely not racist because I hate all people equally (NOT REALLY, but I sure feel like it right now). I will provide you with an outline of the last 7 hours.
2:45 - I show up at the cafeteria. We are supposed to meet at 3, but I figured I'd get there a bit early in case I can get things started. Turns out I can't get things started so I wait around until...
3:00 - No one has showed up. I text Kelsey (the one who has coordinated our role in all this) asking where she is. She is getting the recipe. Why didn't she get the recipe before the actual meeting time? I don't know. I wait and then it's...
3:13 - Rachel has shown up, but no Kelsey yet. We decide to go in and see what the table situation is. Apparently it's "claim whatever you want", but since we weren't there at 9am like every other country, our options are limited. We throw our coats over the best remaining tables. Finally it's...
3:20 - Kelsey shows up and immediately switches into controlling mode. Admittedly, we wouldn't have gotten much done without her pestering the cooking staff all the time, but I tend to enjoy being treated like a competent human being. Maybe I'm spoiled that way. Cooking begins. We're making cornbread (with honey butter? no idea where that came from) and root beer floats as our American foods, the latter of which turns out to be so American that root beer can not be gotten in NZ. I suggest that we opt for Coke/Fanta floats instead, and we do (which end up being really popular). At first only 3 of us are there, which was fine and yet everyone else is complaining about why no one else has showed up (which I think is crap because who was the only one on time? Me. And who's complaining? Not me.), but slowly more and more people show up until no one has anything to do. Our table gets stolen by the Germans. We get a new table. I take out the first tray of cornbread to find that that table has also been stolen. I drag over a pathetic round table from the cafe. Pretty much everything is ready by...
5:00 - The doors, I mean, floodgates open. Apparently all of NZ has come to this event. Everyone else immediately abandons the table to get food so I am left explaining to people what things are and restocking the table and such. Not that I mind this. What I mind is that when everyone gets back, I go see if there's anything I feel like eating, and when I return there are all of 2 floats on the table. Hello people, we have like 5 trays of floats back there. You must be able to see them because you're using them as a place to set your plates. I find all of 3 things that look vaguely appetizing. One of them was AWESOME. It's called Rodgrode Med Flode and is essentially warm berry blend served with cream. Amazing. It was extra amazing because I have a song called Rodgrode Med Flode that I've always liked and now I know what it means and what it means is deliciousness. That was pretty much the highlight of my evening. Eventually we ran out of floats and since I didn't need to be there restocking,...
6:30-ish - I go to clean. I figure that since the cafeteria people have been kind enough to give us their kitchen and tools and ovens and things, we are probably expected to clean up. I am also sick of people and I don't like crowds, so the empty kitchen was nice. There was also this female cook that cussed like a sailor who I liked, but she left pretty early on. So I proceeded to wipe the counters, sweep the floor, take all the dirty trays to the dishwasher (considering we cooked for 300, it was a lot), crush all the cardboard boxes, and deal with the trash. This was just in the area that we worked, although I did stray a bit into Nepal's side of the room. Apparently the cooks were all shocked that a student was actually helping to clean up, so I felt kind of good about that. At...
7:00 - The performance had started. I was still cleaning. No problem. But I did get kind of mad when I left to find that the table hadn't been cleaned up either. So I cleaned that, mostly, too. I packed up the leftover cornbread, stole myself a Fanta, and finally, sweaty, greasy, etc.y, went to see the remainder of the performance, which I got to around...
7:20 - It had its ups and downs. There was a pretty good performance by the Lincoln Dance Group (Irish, Hip Hop, and Tahitian?), a nice Indian performance that was made all the better by the 20-or-so Indian men having a full-on party in the back of the room, screaming, clapping, cheering, whistling, and, finally, Simon the Bagpiper who always plays in Cathedral Square but apparently goes here. I was thinking of asking him to give me lessons. There were also some really awful/embarrassing performances, such as the one (the only one) given by Americans, in which Brian and Andy dressed up in fake beards, a prison suit (Brian), and overalls (Andy) to sing us some country. The music was pretty good, but I wish they could've just worn normal clothes. During intermission I talked to Mike, who is nice, and the only one who knows I was sick yesterday (because he's in the class I threw up after), and he was nice and cheered me up a bit. I never want to see anyone else ever again. I got back to my room by...
9:58 - and I wrote this novel to Nathan until...
10:19 - And then I realized I could just post it here to save me the trouble of writing a whole new rant.
The end.
I've also decided that I like cooking, I just have mostly no idea how to do it.

Welcome to Vomitopia

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:30:19 GMT

The trash can is my new best friend. Apparently I still don't have swine flu, according to the nurse. Food poisoning perhaps?

Pictures

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:16:22 GMT

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:25:49 GMT

Hello again. It's been a while.
I have compiled a short list of random things about NZ:
1. Massive hedges. As in, taller-than-a-charter-bus massive. And very well kept, I might add.
2. Tic-Tac-Toe = Naughts and Crosses
3. Sales tax is included in the price, and the smallest coin is 10 cents. This doesn't mean that things are priced in 10 cent increments - they just round at the register.
4. No one parties on Friday nights. Every other night of the week it's fine, but on Fridays you have to keep quiet so the rugby and netball players can rest up for their Saturday games.
5. People ask "How 'ya goin'?" instead of "How's it going?" or "How're you doing?". What am I supposed to answer? Quickly? Straight?

I'm sure it will be extended in the future.

In other news, things have been happening. I think a list will be the best way for me to cover it all.
1. New Zealand Film Festival: So far I've seen three films. Ponyo is the newest Miyazaki animation, and the story of a goldfish who becomes human so she can be friends with the boy who saved her. Excellent, as usual. Mary and Max (claymation) is the somewhat-dark story of a little Australian Girl who corresponds with the man at the address she tore out of a NY phone book because she doesn't have friends. Funny at times, and an overall happy ending, but also pretty depressing. Camino (Spanish) is a commentary (more of an attack, really) on Opus Dei and tells the story of a girl martyr whose overzealous mother pretty much lets her die. Terribly sad, but really good.
2. Other movies: Finally saw The Hangover with my new friend Alison (My Canadian lab partner) and her kiwi friend Louise (yes! a kiwi! finally!). I'm not saying it's a cinematic masterpiece ('cause it's really not), but it was the perfect thing to get me out of my stressed-out funk.
3. Hanmer Springs: On Sunday we took a trip to Hanmer, which boasts some hot springs. It was amazing, and only $14NZ. I had a delicious beef and guinness pie for dinner.
4. Landform Island: The new LASC project is to design an island for a client who wants to get away from it all. It's been pretty fun so far. We built a sketch model, and I just turned in my contour plan today. The next step is a master plan.
5. Sickness: I was up the other night until 3-4am because I couldn't stop coughing and I would suddenly get really hot, but then cool down, only to get really hot again. I went to the doctor and they didn't say anything about swine flu, but gave me a prescription for codeine-filled cough syrup. It works pretty darn well.
6. Test: My first test is in an hour and a half. It's for Fungal Ecology and I'm pretty terrified. I've studied, and I think I get most of it, but I have no idea how specific I need to be and I don't remember any of the case studies. I'm sure I'll do fine, and if not, it's not like it counts towards my GPA (this is not to say that I'm not going to do my best).
7. International Week: Each dinner this week has had a different theme. Monday was Scottish (complete with haggis - gag), Tuesday was Indian, and Wednesday was Greek (with the best baclava ever). Saturday, I think, is International Night and the Americans are making cornbread and root beer floats as our "traditional foods". Can anyone tell me foods that are actually "American"?
8. New Marketing: The university just changed their slogan to "LAND where you want to be" so now there are big posters with the letters L A N and D on them all around campus. Someone took a bunch and arranged them to spell ALADDIN outside the accommodation office, and it's pretty great.
9. Cheesymite Pinwheels: My new staple for when they're out of cheese scones. They're essentially coils of pastry with cheese and marmite (NZ vegemite) between the coils. Delicious.
10. Hip Hop: is way fun, despite the fact that I look like a fool.
11. Morus Serrator: I turned in a 2,700 word paper on the Australasian Gannet last week. We used this program called Turnitin which essentially tells you how much you've "plagiarized". It's really amusing because it highlights "copied" phrases, but they're always like "the gannet is" and "it has [blank], which are [blank] and [blank]" (the "blank" parts are words that don't get highlighted by the program). So my paper's similarity index is 20%, but only 1% from any given source. It's weird. In other ECOL related news, right now we're doing some stuff with Excel and I am rocking its socks off. I never realized how much I know about Excel and am thanking the powers that be for having been taught how to use it. My friends who are creative writing and film majors are absolutely overwhelmed by the whole business.

I think that's all for now. Gotta go study.

Spring Break '09 Round 2?

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:59:54 GMT

My spring break starts in 2 weeks and I am at a complete loss for where and how to spend it. Any suggestions?

Dollars and Disease

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 10:01:38 GMT

Today I spent unprecedented amounts of money. As in hundreds of dollars. This is absolutely unheard of for me and I can't process it. I feel so irresponsible, but I'm trying to live a little. At least one hundred of it was on presents for others. A considerable chunk of it was on some good Merrell hiking shoes. Most of the rest was plane/train/ferry tickets so I can go see the All Blacks play in Wellington in September.

In other news, I am feeling all sorts of nauseous and, since going to the doctor (to get my ankle looked at - it's fine, tendonitis) and seeing the swine flu isolation room, I'm getting really paranoid. The last thing I need is to be really sick.

In still more news, I saw my first live kiwi today! It was in a native-animals-exhibit-thing, so it's not as awesome as seeing one in the wild, but it was adorable to a probably-illegal degree.

So wrong, and yet so right?

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:41:27 GMT

Today I lost my flash drive. It's unnamed, which is funny since every day I pass at least 2 signs saying "BE SURE TO NAME YOUR FLASH DRIVE" and I think about how I would do that if I ever used my flash drive. And then today I do, and I lose it. Ha ha ha, good one, world.
This has led me to realize that every day, at least one thing goes wrong. It may be that I miss a meal (the cafeteria hours are absurdly short), I lose an argument, I get blisters, I misplace something, etc. It's usually not anything really bad, but there's always something.
There's a part of me that really hates this. I mean, no one likes to have bad things happen to them, no matter how small. There's also a part of me that sort of appreciates this. I think it keeps me from getting too cocky. And maybe it'll increase my enjoyment of the days when nothing gets screwed up.

In unrelated news, my landscape design project is finally done! I think it went pretty well. I still have to do 4 full-page sketches of it for Monday, but I think that'll go ok. Unfortunately, my next big thing is a 2,000 word paper on the Australasian Gannet (Morus serrator) due Friday. They gave us a template that we have to use, which is nice, but they just gave us the big "YOU MUST CITE EVERYTHING OR YOU WILL BE EXPELLED AND SENT TO THE DEPTHS OF HELL" talk so I'm nervous all over again.