"Suspended clear in the sky are the words that we sing in our dreams." ~oasis

I know I haven't updated since I got home; I've been incredibly busy. There's no way I can cover everything that's happened in the past month, but I guess I'll give an overview!

I saw U2 at Madison Square Garden two nights in a row (11/21 and 11/22), once from a seat and once from the floor. On the floor I was in the front row directly on the rail. It was perfect. I have some AMAZING pictures that I may post later. I was thisclose to Bono. So yeah, I can't even describe what a great experience those concerts were. And they played some of my absolute favorite songs ever, so I was thrilled. I got to stay with my friend who lives in the city, and it was great to see her. And I made a new friend, too, which is always good.

Thanksgiving was also great. I love Thanksgiving. Every year my big family squeezes about 50 people into a New York City apartment, which is so much fun. I got to catch up with all my cousins and I stuffed myself with wonderful, homemade food that I missed so much while in NZ.


I've been substitute teaching basically every day since I've been home. I mostly stick to my old high school. I've reconnected with my old teachers, which is interesting and fun. It's so strange to be "on their side" now. I sit in the faculty room during lunch and listen to them talk, which is fascinating to me, because you don't really know much about your teacher's lives while you're their student. I see a completely different side of them now.

What else...I'm sure there's more, but I'm distracted right now. Kim and I are going to see Pride and Prejudice soon. I'm sooo glad she's here, because I don't know what I would do without her. All my other friends are at schools far away!

Oh, another thing! I got my housing assignment for next semester. I'm living in a converted North Court lounge with 5 other girls. None of whom I know. Should be interesting.

"Can't sing but I've got soul..." ~u2

I thought this last week would be nice and relaxing, but I've actually been running around a lot. I've had to do all these little errands like closing my bank account and my library account, dropping off clothes at the salvation army, mailing a box of stuff home, dropping off keys...don't even get me started on packing. It is physically impossible to fit five months of your life into one suitcase and a backpack. Impossible.

Despite all my running around, the past few weeks have been really, really great. I've been incredibly happy. The weather is beautiful and I spend a lot of time walking around outside. This morning Nicole and I had brunch at this really great restaurant. I got chocolate pancakes wrapped in fruit salad and cream, and I think it was the best meal I've had since I've been here.

I got my ear pierced (the cartiledge), and it really hurts. More than my other 4 holes did. I'm afraid it'll hurt for awhile.

I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow. I've spent five months of my life here, and it's so strange to think that I may never come back. I'm really, really going to miss it.

There are things I'm looking forward to at home, the main thing being U2. I got a GA ticket for 11/22!!! I know most of you have no idea how amazing that is, but they've been going for thousands of dollars on eBay and I scored one for $75. On what will hopefully be the best night of the tour, the last show at Madison Square Garden. I'm also going the night before. So seeing U2 twice in two days will be pretty exciting, especially from the floor on the second night. I can't wait.

“Please don’t put your life in the hands of a rock ‘n roll band who’ll throw it all away.” ~oasis

See? I warned you. Another quote from the same song. I love that quote. But now I’ve moved on to the album Don’t Believe the Truth (that’s their newest one). It’s not bad; probably their best since Morning Glory. There are a few really good songs on it.

I just took my history exam, so now I only have one final exam left! It’s for my education class and it’s on Monday and it’ll be hard but I really don’t care anymore.

Perrine left, so now it’s just me and the boys in the flat. It’s weird without her.

“Slip inside the eye of your mind, don’t you know you might find a better place to play? You said that you’d never been, but all the things that you’ve seen will slowly fade away.” ~oasis

I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that I’m leaving so soon. In less than a week I’ll be finished with finals, and in less than two weeks I leave Dunedin. I’m trying to really appreciate the time that I have left here, because I know I’ll miss it when I get home. I know this is really strange, but I was thinking about being at home and missing certain things here. I’m already anticipating what I know I’ll feel once I leave. I was sunbathing on the deck today and I felt this overwhelming sense of melancholy simply knowing that in a few weeks I’ll be back in winter. So I’m trying to soak in everything before I go. I can’t adequately explain what my mind is going through, but it’s strange knowing that I’ve spent so much time here and I’ll be completely removed from it so soon.

Tomorrow’s Perrine’s last day here, and then for the next week it’ll just be me and the boys. I’ll miss her.

I’ve been listening to (What’s the story) Morning Glory? lately. I think it’s because I’m in a nostalgic mood (the fact that it’s nostalgia for a place I haven’t left yet is irrelevant), and this album throws me back into the mid ‘90s. I go through musical phases (of different lengths) where I’ll listen to one band, one album, or even sometimes one song nonstop. So you may be getting Oasis quotes as openers for the next few entries, depending on how long this phase lasts. Maybe even from the same song. I can't stop listening to it, it's addicting.

“I want the world to know that so many times I’ve wrestled with your angels.” ~anika moa

Yesterday was Halloween. They don’t really celebrate Halloween here, which is a little disappointing. I bought myself a Cadbury bar to celebrate. Last night the boys and I stayed in and watched Mission Impossible. We’ve been doing lots of lazing around and watching TV/movies. Final exam time here is much less stressful than at Richmond. I like it.
I leave in 10 days. That’s really scary.

“I'm not the only one starin' at the sun, Afraid of what you'd find if you took a look inside. Not just deaf and dumb, I'm staring at the sun, Not the only one who's happy to go blind.” ~u2

I had my Victorian Literature final exam on Tuesday and I think I did okay. It was identifying and explaining 8 quotes and writing 3 essays. I know I IDed all the quotes correctly, which I was proud about because I studied a lot for that section. I’m just glad that it’s over with. I still haven’t started studying for my next exam. It’s not until next Friday though, which gives me some time.

It’s been absolutely beautiful here this week. Yesterday I went to the beach and actually went swimming in the ocean. The beach is so close (about 5 minutes away) that I have to take advantage of it while I still can. Today I went running in the botanical garden. All the flowers are in bloom and it’s amazing. I’m really, really enjoying myself now that summer is here and classes are over. It’s going to be hard to leave.

Here’s the funny moment of the day:
Scott gets lots of phone calls. He’s pretty popular. I’d say he gets about 10 phone calls a day; I’m not exaggerating. Since the beginning of the semester, whenever the phone rings, Matt says out loud to those of us in the flat, “Scott’s hotline, how may I help you?” He doesn’t actually say that when he answers the phone, but he jokes about it every time the phone rings. It got old about two weeks into the semester, but he still does it. So today the phone rang, and Matt said to those of us in the room (Scott, Rich and me), “Scott’s hotline, how may I help you?” So Scott answered the phone, and he said in his most serious voice possible, “Matt’s brothel, how may I help you?” It was hilarious. And the person calling turned out to be looking for Perrine, not for Scott, which is usually the case. I got a good laugh out of it. I think it was one of those things where you had to be there, but I’m telling you it was really funny.

Oh, congrats to the White Sox. Although it should have been the Braves (who will win next year). I’m just glad Houston lost.

“It’s a beautiful day, don’t let it go to waste.” ~u2

Tomorrow is my first final exam, and my hardest (Victorian literature). So today was spent cramming. Despite that, and despite the fact that I got sunburned and am now a lobster, it was a really good day. It was beautiful outside, so Rich, Scott, Matt and I sat outside on our deck and studied. You can’t help but be happy in weather like today’s, no matter what you’re doing.

I had a deep-fried Moro bar today, and I think it was the best thing I’ve ever tasted. A Moro bar is like a Milky Way but richer and much tastier. It was coated in this batter and then deep-fried, and it was ssoooo good. I can’t even put into words how amazing it was.

Here’s the boys (Rich, Scott, and Matt) studying today. This is a funny picture of them.

“Soma is what they would take when hard times opened their eyes. Saw pain in a new way, high stakes for a few names, racing with sun beams, losing against their dreams in your eyes.” ~the strokes

You won’t even believe what a master of procrastination I am. I’ve been in my room for ages, trying to make myself study, and I just can’t do it. I’ve begun to rely on desperate measures. In the past couple of days I have resorted to reading (not a book related to school), listening to music, watching dvds, and after doing all that I ran out of ideas. So today I started doing backbends. BACKBENDS. So I wouldn’t have to study. And now my head hurts because I landed on it (backbends are hard).

The other day my friends and I walked around the botanical garden for a few hours. I can’t tell you how amazing it is to have the largest botanical garden in NZ in my backyard. All the flowers have just bloomed and it’s absolutely beautiful. I love just walking around there; it’s such a huge garden that there are always new places to explore. I keep finding new areas and new paths that I’ve never seen before. It’s really easy to get lost in the garden, which I’ve done a few times, but it’s an adventure when you have no idea where you are. Sometimes I feel like I’ve stepped into The Secret Garden.

I watch Desperate Housewives every week here. We’re still in the first season. George, the crazy pharmacist who’s in love with Bree and ends up killing her husband, has just been introduced. Roger Bart is very good at playing a creepy character, but in reality he’s really nice. So here’s a picture (because I haven’t posted one in a long time), of me and Roger Bart (it’s from a few years ago).

“so I check the weather wherever you are, ‘cause I wanna know if you can see the stars tonight.” ~john mayer

Classes are over! Yay! They ended last Wednesday. Now all I have to worry about are finals. The time has flown by while I’ve been here.

It’s going to be hard to leave. This has been like the first semester of college. You don’t know anyone when you arrive (well, you don’t know that many people). So you get to know people and forge relationships. It takes a while, though. You drift apart from some people who you initially think will be your best friends. And you find the people that you really connect with and get to know them pretty well. Over time, you develop a group of people that you love and that you depend on. Except you don’t establish those really strong connections until the end of the semester, because it takes a while to create bonds like that. In the first semester at Richmond, I knew that I would have four more years with the new friends that I was making. Here, I know I’ll have to leave my best friends and that I’ll never see some of them ever again. That’s hard to deal with.

I’ve been listening to Julia Murney and Sutton Foster’s version of “I Know Him so Well” and it’s so beautiful it breaks my heart. I just listen to it over and over. I’d love to see a Broadway revival of that show (Chess). I know it didn't do so well last time, but with a good director I think it could be a success. I saw it on Saturday at a local theatre. It wasn't the best production, not exactly Broadway caliber (which is what I'm used to), but just getting to listen to that music was great.

I should be studying, but instead I've been watching Gilmore Girls dvds for the past 5 days since classes ended. I have no will power.

"I do not, for one, think that the problem was that the band was down. I think that the problem *may* have been that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being crushed by a dwarf." ~this is spinal tap

I’ve watched this movie so many times for my essay, and that line cracks me up every time. I love the way he says it; his delivery is impeccable.

I’m still sick. And now everyone else in my flat is getting sick. Last night Scott and I watched Freaky Friday, and we must have been a funny sight (or sound, actually). We coughed and sniffled through the whole thing. I kept laughing, I’m not sure why, I found it a lot funnier than I should have. Laughter is contagious, so I think my laughing made Scott laugh. Laughing made us cough even more. It was awful.

“These empty metaphors, they’re all in vain, like ‘can’t you see the grass is greener where it rains?’” ~bell x1

I’m obsessed with that song; it’s absolutely brilliant. The lyrics are amazing. It’s so clever, and I love the allusions. I notice something new every time I listen to it. It’s Bell X1’s best song by far, but it shows that they have potential. They could be big if they keep writing songs like that. Fun fact that you probably didn’t know: they’re Damien Rice’s former band.

I love my brother. It’s funny; we only started getting along after I left for college. I guess it’s easier to get frustrated with someone when they’re around you all the time, and now that we’re apart we don’t have as much to argue about. I think I was pretty mean to him when we were growing up. I remember this one time when I threw a ping-pong paddle at his head. He ducked and the paddle made a huge dent in the wall. I threw it pretty hard; it’s a good thing he ducked.

Last night Nicole and I saw a movie called “The Honeymooners.” We went to the theater thinking they would be showing the old Goldie Hawn/Steve Martin movie with that title. It was actually this indie Irish film. I liked it, though. This theater is cool; it’s in an old church, and they have huge, comfy pillows that you can sit on as well as these giant couches. And there’s never anybody there, which is nice. They show independent films and foreign films and old movies.

"We couldn’t all be cowboys, So some of us are clowns. Some of us are dancers on the midway, We roam from town to town. I hope that everybody can find a little flame. Me, I say my prayers, then I just light myself on fire, And I walk out on the wire once again..." ~counting crows

I'm sick. It's awful. My head feels like it's going to explode, my nose won't stop running, and my throat feels like it's closed up. I just want to lay in bed all day. Fortunately I don't have all that much to do, so laying in bed all day is actually a feasible option. I have three more days of classes, and we're basically just reviewing for final exams in all of my classes. I have an essay due on Friday, but that's the only work I have due before the semester ends. I know I've mentioned this essay before, but I'll mention it again because I think it's so cool.

I have to write 1500 words on the movie "This is Spinal Tap." It's worth 50% of my grade. How awesome is that?! I've watched the movie over and over because I'm supposed to focus on details, and it just gets funnier and funnier every time. The Music Industry is the best class ever.

Bono didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm disappointed. He was one of the top contenders for it. Maybe next year. In six weeks I'll be seeing U2 at MSG again, and I can't wait. My U2 girls are seeing them this week, and I'm so jealous. I wish I were there with them. It's really hard to be over here while they're seeing U2 together. I'm glad I'm here and I love it here, but right now I'm sad that my study-abroading is preventing me from being with them.

I think I'll go crawl into bed now.

“Fading everything to black and blue, you look a lot like you’d shatter in the blink of an eye, but you keep sailing right on through.” ~counting crows

I’m such a moody person. This morning I was the happiest person in the world and this afternoon I burst into tears and couldn’t stop crying. It was over the littlest thing, too. Why does that happen? I’m going to try to capture my happiness from this morning to make myself stop crying. So here’s what I was thinking as I walked home today:
I love it here.
I love living in a city. I love the fact that I’m not in a bubble. Campus is part of the city, it’s not isolated. I can walk anywhere I need to go. And it’s a nice city, too. There aren’t any really tall buildings, and the buildings are all different colors (my window overlooks this one building that’s painted purple, lime green, and bright blue).
I love living in a beautiful house with my friends.
I love my room. It’s painted light blue (even the ceiling), has a pale blue carpet, and blue comforters (yes, more than one: I’ve mentioned it’s cold here). This is all perfect for me because I love blue. My room is not traditionally shaped, which I love. The ceiling is slanted and there’s a skylight over my bed, which is a big, comfy double bed. In front of my desk there’s a huge window that overlooks the city. I can also glimpse the ocean from my window. I’ve gradually added decorations to my walls and now it looks perfect. I’ve got pictures, cards people have sent me, and pages from magazines hanging up. This room is my haven. I love being able to escape here when I don’t feel like talking to anyone.
I love not being overwhelmed with work. It makes me feel like I actually have a life because I have time to do other things and I’m not always worried about school. The fact that my grades don’t transfer back also makes me less stressed (even though I’m doing really well in all my classes anyway).
I love the chocolate here.
I love how everything’s really cheap.
I love that I can listen to Counting Crows and feel at home, even though I’m halfway across the world.
I feel better now.

“Be nice to your parents, be nice to yourselves, and never, ever cut your own bangs.” ~lauren graham

I think I cut my own bangs once. Or maybe I’m remembering when my brother cut his. Either way, I remember it being a disaster.
I need to start making some money. There are so many Broadway shows that I want to see when I get home, and I definitely can’t afford them all. I already have tickets to “See What I Wanna See” (although that’s actually off-bway) and “The Woman in White” (luckily the tickets for that show were a gift and I didn’t have to pay for them). I also want to see “Sweeney Todd” and “The Color Purple” in the fall. They better have some kind of rush/SRO policy. I think I’ll have to wait to see “The Pajama Game” until spring break next year. “The Odd Couple” isn’t looking possible. But that’s okay with me, because I saw Nathan and Matthew together in “The Producers” twice, and I’m thinking “The Odd Couple” is going to be pretty similar except without music (not the story, but the characters and the humor). I know most of you don’t care about this, though, so I’ll move on.

I’ve been in a serious procrastination slump lately. It’s awful. I can’t make myself work. And I only have five days left of classes, so it’s not like I have a lot of time to mess around. After classes end I have two weeks before my first final exam, so that would be the time to get lazy, not now.

It’s supposed to snow tomorrow. What’s up with that?! Winter is finished here; it’s officially been spring for more than a month. I was really hoping to get some warm weather before I come home to a U.S. winter, but that’s not looking so good. I hate the fact that I’m missing summer altogether.

“Go ahead and laugh all you want, I got my philosophy. And I trust it like the ground, That's why my philosophy Keeps me walking when I'm falling down.” ~ben folds

I have six days left of classes. How amazing is that? I have one more essay to write and one more test to take, and then all I have left is final exams. Which are all worth 50% of my grade. Which is somewhat scary. The essay I have to write is for my Music Industry class, and I have to analyze the movie “This is Spinal Tap.” I have to watch it multiple times in order to pick up on the little details, but I don’t think it’s possible to get sick of that movie because it’s so hilarious. It makes me laugh like crazy every time I watch it. I love it.

It’s amazing how quickly your mood can change. Or maybe I’m just a moody person. I was so happy, and then I watched my dvd of the Rent performance on the Today Show. I knew it would make me cry but I watched it anyway, and of course it did make me cry. I don’t know how I’ll get through the movie when it comes out. I’ll be sobbing through the whole thing. Anyway, back to the moods thing. It’s funny how the smallest thing can completely change your mindset. If I’m sad, there are a few songs that I usually listen to that will pick me right up. It’s amazing how music can do that.

The people next door are having a party and it is insanely loud. Like “I-can-hear-the-lyrics-to-the-music-they’re-playing” loud. I don’t know how I’ll ever get to sleep. I was invited but I’m too tired to go. I wonder when it’ll end. It’s already midnight and we have to set our clocks forward tonight, meaning it’s even later and I’ll lose an hour of sleep. Yuck.

I've discovered that no one plans ahead here. I just bought a ticket to the closing night of Chess (the musical) at a local theatre (the performance is in 2 weeks), and my seat is front row center. How amazing is that? I'm excited, I looooove this show; the music is brilliant. It'll be interesting with Kiwi accents.

“We all go a little mad sometimes.” ~psycho

Rich got back from the duathalon World Championships a couple days ago; he got 31st in the world, which is really, really good. He trains so much that he deserved to do well. He was gone for about a week, and I missed him.

Last night Rich’s running team had a Quiz Show fundraiser. He somehow convinced me to be on a team with him and his buddy. Most of the questions had to do with New Zealand so I wasn’t much help, but it was still fun. It was at a bar, and the three of us finished three pitchers of beer during the competition, so that loosened me up. And we didn’t finish last, which we were proud of. It wasn’t fun getting up at 7:30am the next morning for class, but I was glad I went.

Tonight Rich, Matt, Perrine and I had dessert at this restaurant called Tull (named after Jethro) that specializes in dessert. It was really good. Matt and Rich each got a Chocolate Massacre, which is a plate of three of their desserts. They got certificates for finishing it; it was huge. I would have tried it if I liked coffee (one of the desserts had coffee flavoring) and if it were a little cheaper ($15 is a lot to blow on one dessert). It was a good restaurant, though. And now I'm stuffed.

“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!” ~the princess bride

I LOVE that movie.
Have I mentioned I’ve been really happy lately? Everything’s been going well. Of course that always makes me nervous, because I keep expecting something bad to happen. But, for now, I’m extremely content.
Of course there are little moments of unhappiness, though. I’ve become addicted to New Zealand Idol, and the girl I wanted to win got voted off last night. All the judges agreed that she was by far the best singer out of the group and that she should have won the entire thing, but the stupid teeny-boppers who are voting seem to prefer the few hot guys that are left, despite the fact that they can’t sing. I’m very bitter about this. Yes, the guys are hot, but this girl has one of the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard. Hopefully she’ll get a record deal anyway. I was seriously almost in tears; that’s how mad I was. I definitely would have cried if my flatmates weren’t there. So I don’t think I’ll watch the show anymore. It will just anger me even further, and I don’t need that. I’d like to maintain my general state of happiness.
The one other factor that detracts slightly from my good mood is schoolwork. I have an essay due on Thursday for Victorian Literature. I talked to my lecturer about it and he convinced me to go in a slightly different direction than I was planning. It made sense to me while we were talking, but now I’m thinking that he really didn’t understand my idea and I might have been better off not taking his advice. But I can’t change it now because I’ve gone too far with this and I’d have to basically scrap the whole thing and start over, and I don’t want to do that. So I’ve got to figure out a way to make this theory hold up. Which is proving to be very tricky.

“I want the fairytale.” ~pretty woman

I HAVE A NEW BABY COUSIN! I’m excited. I’m pretty sure this’ll be the last cousin I get; my aunts and uncles are getting old. I have 10 cousins now, and I’m the oldest. My new cousin’s name is Chase. I can’t wait to see him. I’m so happy!

“I think people should mate for life, like pigeons or Catholics.” ~manhattan

heehee. Woody Allen is funny. I love the implication that Catholics aren’t people.
In my New Zealand Society & Religion class, I’m learning all about the history of religious tension in NZ (there’s lots of it). It’s such an interesting class. It’s a little difficult for me, though, because I don’t know anything about NZ history, and it’s sort of assumed that you already know all that. But I got an A+ on my presentation, so I’m coping pretty well I guess! We’ll see if I still feel that way after I get my essay back (that’s worth 40% of my grade. Gulp.)

So I’m very popular now. Last night three different people/groups of people wanted to hang out with me. Aren’t I cool? (don’t answer that). But I’m still boring at heart, so I went for the low-key option of going out for coffee (or hot chocolate for me because I don’t drink coffee) and seeing a movie with my friend Nicole. Anyway, this coffee place that we went to is amazing. They serve the drinks (coffee, hot chocolate, etc.) in soup bowls. My hot chocolate was like chocolate soup; I ate it with a spoon. And it was soooo good.
This morning I had brunch with the girls next door. They cooked eggs, french toast, and Swedish pancakes (one of the girls is Swedish). It was incredibly tasty. And we watched The Italian Job as we ate.
I have an essay to write this weekend and a book to read and I’ve done nothing. Tonight I’m hanging out with Nicole again. I figure that I need to have some fun while I’m here. My grades won’t transfer back, so I just need to pass all my classes and I’ll get credit for them. I’m not exactly slacking, but I’m less stressed and more willing to have fun than at Richmond. And I like it.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ~ferris bueller’s day off

I’m going crazy. I was walking home from class this morning and I stopped because I thought I left my umbrella in the classroom. So I turned around to go back and get it, and finally realized that it was raining and I was using my umbrella. I WAS HOLDING MY UMBRELLA OVER MY HEAD AS I WALKED BACK TO GET IT. At least I realized it before I got back to the classroom. I’m losing my mind.

I love getting emails from best friends. It’s seriously pathetic how excited I was when I got one today. If anyone reading this wants to write to me, please do. I love getting emails. I’m awful at writing them, but I love reading them. So if you’re looking for someone who will listen to you vent or if you just want to recap what’s going on in your life, I’m your girl.

“Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world I feel like I can’t take it, like my heart’s going to cave in.” ~american beauty

I found this file saved on my computer; it’s the 400 best movie quotes of all time. 400 is a lot. I was reading through it as a form of procrastination yesterday. Anyway, I’ll use some of my favorites as my opening quotes for the next few entries.

Today was my last day of history tutorials. It’ll be nice to have that extra hour every week. Did I ever mention that my tutor, Jennie, looks exactly like Eden Espinosa? She does. I think that’s cool. And she gave me an A+ on my presentation, which is also very cool. I was so nervous about that.

I only have 3 weeks left of classes; that’s really amazing to me. I still have 2 months here, though. Finals are spread out over a month, which is both good and bad.

I’m still adjusting to the fact that we call our lecturers and tutors by their first names. Calling my teachers John, Tom, Jane, and Rob is still strange to me. In fact, I can’t bring myself to do it.

I just found out that my education advisor back at Richmond, who is also my favorite professor from that department, isn’t there anymore. It surprised me. Wouldn’t she have known that at the end of last semester, and shouldn’t she have told me then? I was planning on emailing her and telling her what’s been going on over here because she told me to keep her updated, and now I get an email from the education department saying that she’s gone and that I’ve been assigned a new advisor. I’m bummed about it; I used to love talking to her. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t try to email her yet.

Matt’s hogging the internet and it’s pissing me off. I want to go to bed but I can’t because I need to email myself an essay so that I can print it tomorrow from a computer lab (I don’t have a printer here). So I have to wait for him to get offline. I hate sharing dial-up internet access with four other people. Anyway, that’s why I’m rambling here. I’m typing this entry in Word and waiting for the internet. I’m trying to keep myself occupied. And I’m getting grumpy. I think I’ll go bug him again and tell him to hurry up.

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed the smorgasbord that is today’s entry. Start preparing yourself for tomorrow’s great movie quote.

“You’re a doll.” ~jeff goldblum (speaking to me)

Today was another really good day. Despite the fact that it snowed. It was, however, a sad day in New York, due to the closing performance of The Pillowman. The Pillowman was, in my biased opinion, the best play on Broadway. The script is absolutely brilliant, the actors gave amazing performances, and it’s a shame that it closed today. So, in honor of the show, here’s a couple pictures of two of its talented stars.

I know, I know, I post this Billy Crudup picture all the time, but can you blame me?! Isn’t he gorgeous? He’s such a talented actor. He’s done some great films (Almost Famous, Big Fish, Stage Beauty) and, despite what’s been going on in his personal life over the past couple of years, I can’t help but love him.

And Jeff Goldblum. I can’t say enough about him. He’s such a funny actor, he’s got great comedic timing, but more importantly, he seems like a really classy guy. So farewell to The Pillowman, and hopefully it will someday return to Broadway so that more people can appreciate its genius.

“Here’s your sign.” ~bill engvall

Last night I watched the Blue Collar Comedy Tour dvd and I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. It was hi-larious. I think things are much funnier when you’re watching them with other people who think they’re funny. I was with some friends who are all American girls (except for one Swede) and two of them have seen it many times before; they love it. So they’d start to laugh when a funny part was coming up and that would make me start to giggle simply because I knew a good joke was coming on. Laughter is infectious. So anyway, I recommend watching that, especially with some friends who will appreciate the humor.

The NZ election was last night, and the candidate that I preferred won, so I’m happy. It was really close; she only won by 1.1%. Yep, the Prime Minster is a woman. And she was just reelected to her third term. I saw her speak at our school a few weeks ago, which was cool. I love how none of the Kiwis I know attended her speech. And they’re the ones that can vote, not me. I think I followed the election more closely than most New Zealanders. It was really interesting to me; it’s very different than the American system. I won’t bore you with the details, but it’s pretty complicated. You can form coalitions with other parties (there are lots of political parties). Most Kiwis admit that it’s pretty screwed up. And the debates here are crazy! There’s hardly any structure. The moderator will ask a question and the candidates will just go at each other. They’re not given specified time to talk, it’s more like a conversation, so they’ll start yelling at each other and talking over each other and the audience yells at both of them. After a while the moderator will decide that they’ve screamed at each other enough and will ask a new question, and they’ll go at each other again.

“My dad wonders why I choose to be like this, but the truth is, you have no choice, and that’s what makes you feel like killing yourself…Telling me I can do anything I want is like pulling the plug out of the bath and then telling the water it can go anywhere it wants. Try it, and see what happens.” ~nick hornby

Don’t worry, I don’t feel like killing myself because of the fact that I can’t change who I am. I just think that’s a really interesting analogy.
I’m having such a good, relaxing weekend. Last week I had two essays due and two presentations, and it feels soooo good to be finished with all that. I went to a really fun party last night and got to unwind. Tonight I’m going out for Thai food with some friends. I’ve never had Thai food and I’m a really picky eater, so I’m not sure why I agreed to go, but I figure I should be adventuresome. So I’ll tell y’all how it is.

“It’s music rage, which is like road rage, only more righteous. When you get road rage, a tiny part of you knows you’re being a jerk, but when you get music rage, you’re carrying out the will of God, and God wants these people dead.” ~nick hornby

I love this quote. I’ve definitely experienced music rage before. When I just want to shake someone and say to them, Why don’t you get it? Why hasn’t music changed your life like it has mine? Luckily I’m good at restraining myself.

I have an essay due on Friday that’s worth 40% of my grade. I haven’t started it. Today I opened up Word and wrote my name; that was as far as I got. Instead I listened to Bare. It made me cry; it always does.

This week is a crazy one. I have two presentations and two essays due. I’ll be glad when it’s over. Even though I’ll have more work to do next week.

I turned on the TV today (despite all the work I have to do) and the first episode of Party of Five was on. They all looked so incredibly young. That was a good show.

“If you haven’t heard him…man, it’s like he boiled down all the melancholy in the world, all the bruises and all the f**ked up dreams you’ve let go, and poured the essence into a little tiny bottle and corked it up. And when he starts to play and sing, he takes the cork out, and you can smell it. You’re pinned into your seat, as if it’s a wall of noise, but it’s not-it’s still, and quiet, and you don’t want to breathe in case you frighten it away.” ~nick hornby

That quote is about Nick Drake, but it can apply to lots of musicians. Well, maybe not lots. More like a select few. It’s hard to create music that meaningful. But when you do…it can knock people off their feet. If those people are willing to listen for the melancholy.

I have discovered that I’m a housewife at heart (but I’d like to think I’m not desperate). I love cleaning and cooking. I was mopping today and I actually liked it. It gave me such a sense of accomplishment.

I have also realized that I’m really happy right now. I know that can change in an instant, but I just feel incredibly content. Today I was sitting in the living room with Matt and Rich and the door was open and the sun was shining in (our front door is a sliding glass door). We weren’t talking; Rich was reading the paper and Matt and I were snacking. And I felt so peaceful and…happy. For no reason. But it was cool. And it made me realize that I really do love it here.

“People go on about places like Starbucks being all unpersonal and all that, but what if that’s what you want? I’d be lost if JJ and people like that got their way, and there was nothing unpersonal in the world. I like to know that there are big places without windows where no one gives a s**t. You need confidence to go into small places with regular customers-small bookshops and small music shops and small restaurants and cafes. I’m happiest in the Virgin Megastore and Borders and Starbucks and PizzaExpress, where no one gives a s**t, and no one knows who you are. My mum and dad are always going on about how soulless those places are, and I’m like, Der. That’s the point.” ~nick hornby

This is Nick Hornby week. Which means every day that I post I’ll start with one of his quotes. I love today’s quote. That’s exactly how I feel; I get uncomfortable in those small stores. I love getting lost in a store. There’s no pressure on you when no one notices you. Yes, I’m anti-social and I never quite feel completely comfortable around people (those I like, those I don’t like, those I know, those I don’t know), but at least someone understands. Never mind the fact that those feelings are shared by a character who tries to kill herself. The point is, the novelist wrote that, and even if he doesn’t feel that way and is just giving those ideas to one of his characters, he was able to articulate the feeling and had to think of it in the first place.

Have you ever heard the question, Do you have a different personality when you speak a different language? I’ve thought about it before, and lately I’ve come back to it. As I’ve been getting to know Perrine over the past few months, I’ve discovered that she’s really funny. And I think she must be even funnier in French, her native language. She’s got pretty good English, but she seems somewhat reserved and uncomfortable and worried whether or not she’s saying the correct thing when she speaks in English. Now that she’s been here a while and I’ve spent more time with her, she’s been opening up more. And she’s absolutely hilarious. And I know she must be even funnier when she’s speaking in French because she’s more comfortable with the language. I’ve seen her with French friends and, even though I usually can’t understand everything she says, I can see a difference. She talks a lot, she speaks incredibly quickly, and she laughs more. So I can understand why people have said that you have different personalities in different languages. I would slightly amend that statement, however, to say that your true personality is best expressed in the language with which you’re most comfortable. It’s interesting.

Ooh, guess what? PATTI SMITH IS OPENING FOR U2 IN NOVEMBER! I'm excited to see her. She's much better than some of the other opening acts for this leg of the tour (and needless to say she's also a lot better than the opening act for the first leg of the tour).

The women's final of the U.S. Open is starting now. I want Clijsters to win so badly. But I know not to get my hopes up.

"As my memory rests but never forgets what I lost, Wake me up when september ends." ~green day

In my Education class today we had a guest speaker who spent some time in NYC as a literary consultant. She really pissed me off. She worked in the Bronx for a few months. I know the educational system there isn't perfect, but it still really annoyed me to hear someone else (particularly a foreigner who only spent a few months there) criticise it (which is mainly what she did). And I think the class got the idea that the entire American public education system is like that (in shambles), which it isn't. She didn't even live in the Bronx, she lived in Manhattan. You can't fully understand the system when you don't even live in the same environment where the kids come from and when you don't even spend an entire school year there. I know that I haven't experienced that school system yet, but I know I'll be teaching and living in NYC (probably one of the outer boroughs) right after I graduate college. Anyway, she pissed me off. But I didn't say anything.

It's really difficult to write an essay with a partner. I'm working on that now and I've learned that I'm an independent worker and I'm not very patient. My partner is one of my friends and I get along with her and I really like her, but it's still hard. She's been typing, and I'm used to typing and revising as I go along but it's harder to do that now. I'm used to doing projects together, but not writing 5-page essays. I suppose it's a learning experience that will develop my cooperation skills.

I'm in love with Nick Hornby. Add him to my list of future husbands. I don't know how I'll manage to marry all of them. But he's definitely on my list. He's a genius. Never mind that he's a middle-aged Londoner who doesn't know I exist and who is probably married (I don't know if he is, though. I'll pretend he's not). I want someone like him who's witty and articulate and hilarious and who "gets" me (isn't it funny that I feel like he "gets" me and we've never met?). I'm afraid I'll never be satisfied if I don't marry a famous novelist or a rock star or something like that. I've got to lower my standards, because I don't think Nick Hornby will be knocking on my door any day soon. Besides, it seems like those famous geniuses (writers, musicians, etc.) are the ones who are often troubled. Like the amazing qualities that make them so appealing are the ones that end up bringing them down and making them miserable and misunderstood. So I should probably try to find a normal, average, happy bloke and be satisfied with interacting with those extraordinary guys through their art (reading their books, listening to their music, etc.).

Oh, and another thing. I can't stand Andre Agassi. Robby Ginepri better beat him in the next round (I've met Robby and he's a nice guy).

And another thing. I'm in a computer lab right now, and there's only one other person in here (which normally would be a miracle, except it's pretty late right now) and she's talking to herself. Which is a little creepy. She keeps mumbling things and seems to be getting really worked up.

And one more thing. I'm obsessed with eBay. Someone needs to keep me away from that site. I've spent way too much money there, especially lately considering the fact that I haven't made any money in a while and am spending lots of it. That is all. For real. I think.

"And if you jump, you just might fall..." ~u2

I'll start to post pictures of my mid-semester break. So here are some bungy jumping pictures. I'll post a sequence of them. The first one is a far-away view of the bridge, the next one is me jumping (check out my perfect dive), the third is me bouncing back up after being dunked in the water, and the last one is me falling back down.






By the way, the comment on my last entry was so comforting. I really needed that reminder of the effects of the huge amounts of junk food I've eaten in the last week. *eye roll*

“He looks at her and he says, ‘We’re going to a party. It’s a birthday party. It’s your birthday party. Happy birthday, darlin’.” ~bright eyes

I love that song. I love that album. I love that band. I wish they would open for U2. Still waiting for an announcement on the opening act for my show(s). It should be soon.

Thanks to everyone who’s sent me happy birthday wishes. It was very sweet of you all. :-)

It’s funny how the littlest things can be so important. A simple ‘Happy Birthday’ sign from my flatmates made me so happy this morning. I didn’t think they’d even remember my birthday because it’s the last day of the holidays and they’re all getting ready to go back to school. It was my turn to cook tonight but instead they took me out to dinner. Then we drove up to a great lookout of the city; it was absolutely beautiful to see all the lights of Dunedin. Back at the flat we had one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever had. They got it from this really fancy bakery in town, and it was soooo rich. Matt tried to convince me to go out to the bars tonight but I wasn’t in the mood, so we stayed in and watched the movie A View From the Top. It turned out to be a really good day. Almost as fun as my kidnapping on my birthday last year. I’ve only lived with and known these people for two months, but they’re like my family here and they were really great today.
I got some great birthday presents from the fam. The O.C. complete season 1 dvds, tickets to “The Woman in White” on Broadway for when I get home (2nd row!), and other Broadway-related stuff like a few cast recordings and a great book on the history of Broadway.
I can’t believe I only have 6 more weeks of classes here. It’s gone by pretty quickly. I think I’ll miss it when I go back home, even though right now I do miss a lot back in the U.S. I’m weird like that; I’m never satisfied with what I have at the time. I guess it’s kind of like “you never know what you have until you lose it.” Right now I appreciate everything back at home that I usually take for granted, and when I’m back there, I’ll begin to appreciate the amazing opportunities I have here.

"They're singing, "Happy Birthday," You just wanna lay down and cry..." ~jonathan larson (tick, tick...boom!)

It just turned midnight here, so I'm officially 21 (well, I guess so, although it's not September 4th in the U.S. yet). I'm not sure what I'm doing tomorrow (or today I guess). Probably just work. I go back to school on Monday and I did nothing over the break. I said goodbye to my family awhile ago, and I miss them already. We celebrated my birthday tonight because their flight is early tomorrow morning so I won’t see them before they go. We had a great week, though. I want to try and write down everything we did, mostly for my own purposes (because I know I’ll forget and I want to remember). Perrine came with us on our vacation, and it was great to have her there. She’s my best friend here. I miss all my friends back home; everyone's back at Richmond now, and I wonder what I'm missing. To cheer myself up I'm recapping my week.
Saturday: We saw the All Blacks play South Africa in a rugby match. It was so much fun to watch, even if we all didn’t really understand everything. They do the wave here, except everyone throws beer cans in the air when it gets to them, and beer showers down over the crowd. It was gross, but sort of funny.
Sunday: We drove to Te Anau, a really cute little town. We stopped at the Lord of the Rings filming site for Fanghorn Forest. That night we went on a glowworm tour, which was cool. We took a boat inside a cave, and there were glowworms hanging from the ceiling. They looked like stars. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures, so you'll have to imagine it for yourself.
Monday: We took a ferry up Milford Sound. It was absolutely amazing. There are lots of Lord of the Rings filming sites there; I think they were Isengard, Rivendell, and some others that I don’t remember. We saw dolphins and seals and the most beautiful scenery.
Tuesday: We went to Queenstown, a beautiful town. I went bungy jumping, at the site of the first bungy jump ever, where it was invented. It was so much fun. I’m an adventurous person, I love doing stuff like that, but even I had butterflies as I looked over the edge before I jumped. It was scary. The jump was over the river that was used as the River Anduin in the Lord of the Rings. I asked to touch the water with my hands, but they miscalculated and I ended up being dunked from the waist up. And remember it’s winter here. The water was freezing, but I didn’t even feel it until after the jump. It was such an exhilarating experience. My mom and my brother jumped as well. My dad did paragliding instead.
Wednesday: Skiing! In August! On Brett’s 18th birthday. The snow wasn’t great. We’re all good skiers (we mostly stick to black diamonds; I’ve been skiing since I could walk) and there weren’t many good black diamond (expert) runs open. In the morning there was lots of ice and by afternoon it was mostly slush. But we skied a full day and it was still fun.
Thursday: Jet-boating up the Dart River, then funyaking down. The wind was incredibly strong and it blew dust on us the whole time. I’m still picking sand out of my ears. I had to close my eyes during most of the funyaking as I paddled. But it was absolutely beautiful. More Lord of the Rings sites there, and sites where they filmed the new The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe movie coming out in December. NZ is so amazingly beautiful, like nowhere else in the world, so it’s the perfect setting for those fantasy locations like Narnia.
Friday: Arrowtown then back to Dunedin. In Arrowtown we saw my favorite Lord of the Rings site, the Ford of Bruinen. That’s where Arwen (Liv Tyler) rode on horseback across the river carrying Frodo in the first film.
Saturday (today): the Otago Penninsula. We saw penguins! Yellow eyed penguins, the rarest kind in the world (only found here) and blue penguins, the smallest kind in the world. We got so incredibly close to them. We also saw seals.
Tomorrow I’ll post pictures. Now I’m tired.

“In August and everything after, I’m after everything.” ~counting crows

My family’s here! I can’t even tell you how happy I am. I won’t update for a while because we’ll be traveling, but when I get back I’ll add a nice, long entry.

I had the strangest dreams last night.
In one of them, I was at my first practice back at Richmond Synchro after being abroad. The girls tried to drown me; they held me underwater, but I eventually managed to break free and swim to the surface. Afterwards, they gave me a list of things they didn’t like about me as their excuse for trying to murder me. I think a lot of the things were real insecurities that I have about myself, but some of the things were just plain stupid, like, “Your hair is too dark.” ?!?!?! Anyway, it was weird.
In another dream, Rich’s mom took over our flat and cooked Christmas dinner. She used up all my vodka (I was mad at her for that) and made all these pitchers of this drink that were scattered around the flat; there were literally about 100 pitchers, positioned all over the place, mostly on the floor. How bizarre is that?
Any dream analysts out there?

"When everything gets lonely I can be my own best friend. I get a coffee and the paper; have my own conversations With the sidewalk and the pigeons and my window reflection." ~bright eyes


I haven't updated in a while. Last week was a busy one. It feels good to be finished with it, though. My music industry test was a little tricky but I think I did okay, and my English essay was…well, it was complete. I never know how to judge how well I’ll do on those things, and when I do have a feeling about it, I’m usually completely wrong. So we’ll see.

If you’re ever looking for a good movie to make fun of, watch The Mothman Prophesies. Rich and I watched it last night, and the only thing that made it bearable was the fact that we tore it apart as it was going on. It was actually fun. There are just so many inconsistencies and impossible events that make it completely laughable. I could list them all for you but I won’t. It suffices to say that it was poorly written, poorly made, and I can’t believe those actors would ever even consider being a part of such a piece of trash. Especially Laura Linney. She’s an absolutely amazing actress, she’s an Oscar nominee and a Tony nominee, and why she would take such an underdeveloped role as that character is beyond me. And her southern accent is atrocious. The worst attempt at a southern accent that I’ve ever heard. No, I take that back. She’s on par with Nicole Kidman in Cold Mountain. In other words, pretty awful.

My family gets here on Friday and I cannot wait. We're going to a rugby game; the New Zealand national team is playing the South African national team. It's a big game, and I know it'll be fun. We'll be here in Dunedin for a few days and we'll explore the area, especially the penninsula (there's lots of penguins and seals, and an albatross colony). Then we'll go to Milford Sound (supposedly one of the most beautiful places in the world if not the most) and Queenstown. I'm really looking forward to that. We'll go skiing there, and that area is where lots of The Lord of the Rings was filmed, so we'll go on some hiking trails exploring that area. The valley where the big battle was filmed is there. I'm excited to see it. Perrine's coming with us to the rugby game and to Queenstown, and I think it'll be fun to have her with us. They'll be here for my brother's birthday (next Wednesday) and they leave on the morning of my birthday (next Sunday), so I'm glad I'll get to celebrate both of those days with them. We've both got 'milestone' birthdays; he's turning 18 and I'm turning 21. It's funny; he would be able to drink here on his birthday because the drinking age is 18. I'm pretty sure he won't, though. :-)

"Somethin' filled up my heart with nothin', someone told me not to cry. But now that I'm older my heart's colder and I can see that it's a lie." ~the arcade fire

The Arcade Fire is one of the names floating around as an opener for the 3d leg of the U2 tour. I would absolutely love that, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

I hate how all this work seems to sneak up on me and culminate in a crazy week of tests, papers, and projects. I've had no assignments for the past 6 weeks, and all of a sudden I have three due in one week. If I were better at staying on top of things and working ahead, it would be fine. But, like most college students, I'm a procrastinator. I turned in my education journal yesterday, and it was good to get that off my hands. For this week I still have to worry about a test on Thursday and a paper due on Friday.
Yesterday I went to talk to my English professor about the paper due on Friday. I talked to him for over an hour. I think that's the longest conversation I've had with anyone since I've been here. I've never felt completely comfortable going to any of my professors at Richmond; I usually come away from those meetings feeling stupid and even more confused than before. I don't know why this guy was so easy to talk to, but it really felt great to just be able to brainstorm and feed off of each other's ideas related to the poem I'm writing about. I still don't know how my essay will turn out, but I really needed that intellectual conversation. Strangely enough, he's American. It was nice to talk to another American. It made me feel at home.

“Stars, in your multitude, scarce to be counted, filling the darkness with order and light, you are the sentinels, silent and sure, keeping watch in the night, keeping watch in the night.” ~les miserables

I’m in a Les Miz mood. Want to hear something funny? I saw Ricky Martin in Les Miz, before he was famous. He was Marius. I discovered that while going through my Playbills awhile ago. I wish I remembered his performance. That was the first time I saw the show, though, which was when I was pretty young, so I can’t remember what I thought of him. And no one knew who he was then. I guess it's not so surprising; he seems like a sucker for tight pants.

All the boys are gone this weekend, so it’s just Perrine and I. Scott goes skiing every weekend (actually, every Wednesday through Sunday), so it’s not unusual that he’s gone. Rich and Matt went to Queenstown to go skiing this weekend; they invited me but I have too much work to do. I’m going skiing in two weeks, anyway. So it’s just the girls.

We went to Pizza Hut last night. Heh. I found that so strange, to be in a Pizza Hut halfway around the world. It seems like such an American institution. I would have preferred to eat at some local place, but they don’t have Pizza Hut in France and Perrine’s never been, so she wanted to go. It was actually a really good deal. We each paid about US$8 for all-you-can-eat from the salad bar, pizza bar, and dessert bar. I ate way too much. What I love here is that, when you’re in a restaurant/bar/etc., if the menu says something is, say, $10, that’s exactly how much you pay. No tax, no tip. It’s great.

I know I complain about how cold it is a lot, so I want to share this quote with you to prove that it’s not just me being a wimp. This is from the ‘Letter from the Editor’ in The Critic, the school’s weekly magazine. By the way, I’m sorry to say that it puts The Collegian to shame. Anyway, here’s the quote:
“Last year, a study found that the average temperature inside student flats was well below the level recommended by the World Health Organisation, was frequently colder than the outside temperature, and was often lower than 2 degrees – colder than the inside of your fridge.”

"And so she woke up, woke up from where she was lying still. Said, I gotta do something about where we're going. Step on a steam train, step out of the driving rain. Maybe run from the darkness in the night." ~u2

My mom sent me the Live 8 dvds that she recorded for me! It's, like, 12 hours of pure music because it's the version that they aired the week after the concert, with no commercials or commentators. I got through one disc and I still have to watch the other one. I'm in a U2 mood, so here's some Bono pictures for my U2 gals who may or may not have discovered this blog.
A crappy screen cap I took from Live 8:


And a return to that old, famous photo of Bono and Liam Gallagher:


There were some rumors about Oasis opening for U2 at MSG in the fall, but I don't think it'll happen. That would have been amazing. I'm still waiting to hear who we'll get as an opening act. Whoever it is, I'm willing to bet that they'll be better than Kings of Leon, who opened for them on the first leg of this tour. I didn't mind them, but I think U2 could have done a lot better. I would have liked them more if I could understand the lyrics. All the words except for the occasional expletive were utterly incomprehensible.

One bad thing about Dunedin is the wind. It's always windy here. In summer I can imagine that being nice, but in winter it's awful. It rained today, and wind and rain make a terrible combination. The wind has destroyed two of my umbrellas already, so now I've given up on using one at all. They don't do anything here anyway. Because of the wind, the rain comes at you from all angles. It slants in sideways, pours from up above, and even seems to rise up from the ground. You'll still be soaking wet even with an umbrella. And it was SO cold today that the rain felt like ice. I think it was about 40 degrees. I wish it would have snowed instead.

"I walked across an empty land, I knew the pathway like the back of my hand. I felt the earth beneath my feet, Sat by the river and it made me complete." ~keane

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. I had a good weekend. :-) I'm getting to know people better.
I have to go work on an essay now (the thought of writing an essay in August just seems wrong to me, even if it definitely does not feel like August outside; it's supposed to snow tomorrow). Anyway, in my procrastination I just thought I'd pop in here and, if anyone is actually reading this, let them know that I'm alive and having fun. That is all for today. :-)

"We are nowhere, and it’s now. We are nowhere, and it’s now. You took a ten-minute dream in the passenger's seat, While the world it was flying by. I haven’t been gone very long, But it feels like a lifetime." ~bright eyes

I really, really want to be in New York today. Or tomorrow, I think. I guess it's best to say I want to be in NYC on Thursday (it's already Thursday here, but I think it's still Wednesday at home). There's some stuff that I'm really bummed about missing. I know, I know, I'm in New Zealand and this is a lifetime opportunity, blahblahblah. I'm still having trouble dealing with missing some things that are important to me. Maybe I'll eat some amazing New Zealand chocolate to make myself feel better. You can't get that in New York. But I'm still moving to NYC the second after I graduate and I'm on my own.

I love talking to Rich, he always cheers me up. He's funny. And he's so easy-going and friendly that it's really easy to have a conversation with him. I'd say, out of all my flatmates, I get along with him the best. Perrine's up there, too, but sometimes we have a hard time communicating because of the language barrier, even though her English is pretty good. Rich really reminds me of Brett (my brother). They don't look exactly alike, but somehow their facial expressions seem so similar. When I'm talking to Rich, I watch his face really closely and I feel like I'm looking at my brother. Which is comforting to me. I'll try to get a picture of Rich so you can call me crazy for noting a resemblance between the two.

"All I ever wanted was to be near a face, In the morning, In the morning. After the operation, my heart will become erased, And I will miss you, I will miss you." ~anika moa

Anika Moa is a really, really talented New Zealand artist that I just discovered. The first time I heard that song I was hooked; it's so beautiful. So of course I did some research on her. Here's a funny part of an article that I found:

Her latest album, Stolen Hill, begins and ends with two short Maori songs. Imagine the reaction that would get in the American market, I suggest. "They'd be like, 'Those bloody Ma-oris," she laughs. "But that's not going to happen. I would never, ever sell my album to that kind of market. 'Cause they just wouldn't [expletive] accept it. They'd fire it back at us."

Too bad she feels that way. I'll definitely buy her album while I'm here. She shouldn't be so quick to judge Americans. Maybe it wouldn't fit into the mainstream American market, but I bet it would find it's own audience, especially if publicized correctly. At any rate, I don't think she should discount America as a market so quickly.

They have Raspberry Coke here, which really excited me. Raspberry is my favorite flavor; I'm obsessed with anything raspberry. I tried Raspberry Coke for the first time today, and I was sadly disappointed. It was pretty bad. It didn't taste like raspberry at all.

I watch Almost Famous all the time; I could probably recite the whole movie for you. It's my favorite movie ever. I was in a "mood" today so I watched it for the gazillionth time. It always cheers me up. I feel like we need a reappearance of this lovely picture. I've posted it in another entry here, but I love it so much that I'll post it again. It's of me and the star of Almost Famous, Mr. Russell Hammond himself, Billy Crudup (in my opinion, looking much better than he looks in that movie; the long hair doesn't really do it for me, though I think he's gorgeous no matter what). I love how that single piece of his hair is sticking up.

"How does it feel? How does it feel To be on your own, With no direction home, Like a complete unknown, Like a rolling stone?" ~bob dylan

Have I mentioned how much I love my Music Industry class? For the past two days we've been watching music videos from glam rock bands. We're studying glam rock as a case study of how an artist creates an image and attempts to appeal to a specific audience. It's so interesting. We get to watch David Bowie, Kiss, T-Rex, Sweet, and all these other bands in action. It's funny that I opened this entry with a Dylan quote, because he was one of those opposed to glam rock, about as far away from it as you can get. I'm not a huge fan of most glam rock acts, I tend to side with the true rock 'n rollers in that battle (and it was basically a battle at one point in time), but now I think it's interesting how the boundaries have continuously been blurred.
Sorry to ramble on, I know most of you don't care. I'll move on. The thing is, I don't really have anything else to talk about. Oh, I went swimming yesterday. I finally found a pool that's open. I don't think I'll go that often because a.) it's a 45-minute walk, and b.) it costs $5 to get in. But I really needed that swim. It was worth the hour-and-a-half of walking there and back and the $5. And they have a jacuzzi! It was so nice to just sit there and relax and be warm for once. I'm always cold here, always. So that hot tub made my day. I'll probably go every once in a while. I'm feeling really lazy here. I don't exercise (usually swimming is my exercise), and I eat a lot. The chocolate is just way too good here. I don't even want to know how much weight I've gained. Okay, that's all for now.

"The good times are killing me. Here we go! Got dirt, got air, got water and I know you can carry on. Shrug off shortsighted false excitement and oh what can I say? Have one, have twenty more "one mores" and oh it does not relent. The good times are killing me." ~modest mouse

I went to church this morning; I found a Presbyterian church here that I love. It's really small, and the people are incredibly nice. It's mostly an older population. Today I sat with a retired minister and his wife and I talked to them for a long time after the service, about all kinds of things. Everyone's so friendly here.

It's my turn to cook tonight, and I'm making pizza. I know, what a cop-out, right? It was Scott's idea when I couldn't think of anything else. And everyone loves pizza.

I talked to my parents today; I haven't talked to them in a while and it was good to hear their voices. I can't wait 'til my family gets here. One more month. I miss them a lot.

Going to the grocery store here is so much fun. I mean the actual walk to the grocery store, not the shopping part (though I like that, too). There's a botanical garden directly behind my flat, and I walk through it to get there. It's perfect; it's about a 20-minute walk through the gardens and I emerge directly in front of the store. I probably look pretty strange walking back through the gardens carrying my grocery bags because everyone else is there hiking and exploring with their families, but I don't care. Have I mentioned how beautiful it is here?

"Just get the world off your shoulders, And close your pretty blue eyes. Hey monkey, what's life without an occasional surprise? Got nowhere but home to go, Got Ben Folds on my radio right now. I'm in trouble for the things I need, Hey monkey don't you want to be needed, too?" ~counting crows

Fun fact: That song is about Courteney Cox Arquette (she was just Courteney Cox when it was written, though).
Another fun fact: Adam Duritz has dated 2 Friends cast members (Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston).
I wish I could remember academic information as easily as I remember stupid music facts. I can rattle off more than you'd ever want to know about a good number of bands, but ask me to remember a few historical dates and I'm useless.
I love my friends. Especially the ones who send me real mail. And the ones who haven't forgotten about me. I think I take them for granted a lot, but I really am so glad that certain people are in my life. :-)
I also love my hot water bottle. That's an amazing invention. It stays warm for, like, 12 hours. I don't know how it does that.

"With the windows clear and the mannequins eyes, Do they all look like mine? You know you could, I wish you would, Come pick me up..." ~ryan adams

That is quite possibly the saddest song I've ever heard, but it's so beautiful. It's a shame Ryan Adams can't get his act together (read my Rolling Stone entry from a while back). Counting Crows do a great cover of that song, too. It's especially enhanced by Adam Duritz's comments on how miserable and horrifying life is.
The other day Matt took Perrine and I up to Mt. Cargill, where there's a great lookout. I'll post one picture (I took tons, but it takes forever to upload them). It was really beautiful.

I need to take some pictures of my flatmates to show you guys. I've posted one with Perrine, but I don't have any of the guys yet. I'll work on it.

"But when we're broken, we hate to be broken. It's hard enough to breathe in and out, Or is hard enough to come down from the clouds. Did you ever find your way back home?" ~adam pascal

I miss home. I miss New York, I miss my family, I miss my friends, I miss my dog, I miss my room, I miss my house...I feel like I'm missing out on everything. I've been in a funk I guess. I wouldn't exactly say I'm homesick...it's more like I'm...tense, because I'm afraid things are slipping away from me. My friend sent me a message trying to make me feel better, and it made me cry. But in a good way. It really made my day. It just felt so good to know that someone cares about me. I really, really needed that. So thanks. :-)
Here's a picture of Josie, my baby. I miss her.


Today just got better and better, starting with that message, and now I feel pretty good. Matt was at a wine & cheese event tonight and came home really, really drunk. It was fun to talk to him. I'll get to make fun of him tomorrow morning because of it.

Tomorrow night I have my own wine & cheese event to go to (although I plan on arriving home much less intoxicated than Matt did tonight). It's with the mentor program, which is a group of International students and Kiwi mentors that have been assigned to them. I find it strange that most of the events organized through the program are centered around alcohol; I wouldn't expect that of school events. But the drinking age is 18 and drinking seems to be a major part of social life here, so I guess it's a cultural thing. It's just interesting.

My family's coming to visit in a month and I can't wait. It's when I have a week off of school. We're going to see a rugby match, it's New Zealand's national team against South Africa's national team. Perrine's coming with us to that. And we're going skiing in Queenstown, where I also want to go bungi (sp?) jumping (this is where it originated) or sky diving. I'm really excited to see them.

"You, you're not allowed, You're uninvited, An unfortunate slight." ~alanis morissette

Oh. My. Gosh. Why do I get myself into these situations? This guy from my Music Industry class is exhibiting some seriously stalkerish behavior. I won’t go into all the details because you don’t need to hear about all that and I don’t feel like explaining everything, but I’ll give an example: he called me 6 times today. 6 times. In one day. He won’t leave me alone. I’m really bad at rejection and I don’t know how to get him off my back. I told him I have a boyfriend back at home (I lied), but he still doesn’t get it and won’t leave me alone. I guess I was too nice because I told him that I’d still like to be his friend (I didn’t want to hurt his feelings), but he still hasn’t let up since then. He’s planning trips to the movies and wants me to come over so he can cook me dinner and wants to take me out to the bars here…I’m having trouble coming up with excuses. And now my favorite class ever has lowered in value because he’s in it and I’ll have to deal with him everyday. There are a few guys I’ve met here that I definitely wouldn’t mind going out with, but he’s just not one of them. I’m just not attracted to him. And I don’t know how to get rid of him without making the rest of the semester in that class awkward. Any suggestions (or commiseration) would be appreciated.

Okay, I'm adding an update. You know how I said he called me 6 times in one day? Make that 7. And HE TOLD ME HE LOVES ME. And, when I was speechless, he had the nerve to ask if I loved him. I don't believe this. I've done nothing to lead him on, I've told him I don't like him, I told him I love my boyfriend (my nonexistent boyfriend, but he doesn't know that), and I've been increasingly cold and distant with him. And he won't leave me alone. I do everything I can to avoid him, but I don't want to have to be on guard all the time. My flatmates are being cool (even though Matt and Rich tease me about it) by telling him I'm not home whenever he calls. But I can't deal with this much longer.

"I wanna fly, and never come down, And I live my life, and have friends around. We never change do we? No, no, We never learned to bleed, So I wanna live in a wooden house, Making more friends would be easy." ~coldplay

Wanna see a funny picture? It's a screen shot from the Coldplay concert I went to; if you watched it on TV, this is a snapshot of what you saw (basically, me looking like an idiot). Can you see me? I'm the loser drooling over Chris Martin while he's right in front of me.


Today's a picture day. A lot has gone on in the past few days but I don't really feel like writing about it (not that it's bad stuff, it's actually been some really fun things, but I'm just not in a writing mood). So here ya go, some photos from a hike I went on. I didn't feel like being around people, so I snuck out to go on my own little hike (actually, it wasn't little, it took me 6 hours). Just me and my iPod. I love listening to my iPod on shuffle; the order of songs is always so amusing. At one point the sequence went like this: Bright Eyes, Blink 182, Joni Mitchell, Violent Femmes, Counting Crows...your mind gets into one mood based on the song and then it suddenly switches gears when a completely different style of music comes on. I love it. So I had a great time on my hike; I felt like I was in The Lord of the Rings. I know it was filmed somewhere on the south island of New Zealand (which is where I am), and based on the scenery I felt like I had stepped directly into the movie.
A view of Dunedin (the city where I live):

Another view (you can see the Southern Alps in the upper right hand corner if you look closely):

A miserable attempt at self-portraiture (have I mentioned that the wind here is insane? especially on top of a mountain):

"We take all kinda pills That give us all kinda thrills, But the thrill we’ve never known Is the thrill that it gets ya When you get your picture On the cover of the rolling stone." ~Poison

I'm not sure if the American Rolling Stone is the same as the Australian version, but if it is, you should go out and buy it because it will give you the best laugh you've had in ages. It seriously had some of the funniest stuff I've read in a while. First, there's an article on Rivers Cuomo (from Weezer), and he's one of the strangest people in the world. He's been celibate for the last two years and is really dedicated to all this crazy meditation stuff; I've heard weird things about him, and this article furthered his characterization as an incredibly interesting and unfathomable person. I don't know how Weezer has stuck together for so long because it sounds like no one gets along with Rivers. But they still make great music, so I guess that's why they're still together.
Then there's an interview with Ryan Adams. Now, everyone knows Ryan Adams hates interviews; there have been some pretty funny ones in the past. But this one is right up there with the worst of them. That guy only gets crazier and crazier. I saw him in concert two years ago, before he fell into the downward spiral that he's in now, and he seemed pretty normal. Since he fell off the stage in the middle of a concert due to intoxication and broke his wrist, he's just gotten worse. I can't even count how many times he curses in the interview. It's a phone interview, and he abruptly leaves midway through, giving the phone to his drummer. He comes back later and takes the phone again, saying, "Hello? I'm better. I was half asleep, I was literally dreaming when they took the phone in my bunk. Listen, do me a favour and don't pull any quotes of me talking about like, 'I'm physical karma and I'm going to bust the journalist's tooth out.' I know, in some way, it would make for good print, but I was just being cranky. I bet you're cranky when you wake up too." Unfortunately for him (and fortunately for readers), they printed all his ramblings about how he hates journalists and about wanting to punch them and how he harasses them. It's great.
Finally, there's an interview with Coldplay. I love Coldplay, I've been rambling about how I was less than a foot away from Chris Martin since that concert, but this really gets me. Here's a snippet of them talking:
Jon Buckland (Coldplay's guitarist): We've got nothing to fear. Except fear itself.
Chris Martin: Yeah. Except for fear itself...What film is that from? 'Nothing to fear except fear itself.' I like that.
Seriously? I mean, I know he's not American, but "what film is that from?"???? I don't expect him to know everything about American political history, but that quote is a pretty famous one from a pretty famous speech by a pretty famous President.
Anyway, the new issue of Rolling Stone is highly amusing and interesting. There's a really good article about Oasis, too.

I finished the newest Harry Potter; I read it all weekend. I loved it, because I love Harry Potter, but I didn't like it as much as the 4th and 5th books. I thought it was predictable; I immediately guessed who the half-blood prince was and I also predicted some other main plot elements that I won't spoil for those who haven't read it yet. I cried a little, but not as much as I did during the 6th book. It just made me more excited for the 7th book. That one will be good. I can't wait.

"I recommend biting off more than you can chew to anyone, I certainly do. I recommend sticking your foot in your mouth at anytime, Feel free. Throw it down (the caution blocks you from the wind), Hold it up (to the rays), You wait and see when the smoke clears..."~alanis morissette

I finally finished downloading the recording of the Alanis Jagged Little Pill Acoustic concert that I went to. I cried while I was listening to it. I'm not sure why, I guess I was just in a really vulnerable mood. It's not the best recording, but I thought it was a really great concert so it got to me. That was such a fun spur-of-the-moment thing, and I love surprises like that. Nicole managed to score a pair of tickets for less than half of face value the day of the concert. I wasn't anticipating it at all, so I wasn't wondering what songs she would perform or anything like that. The fact that she sang every single song from Jagged Little Pill made it really cool for me. I think that was the first album I ever bought for myself. Anyway, I've already rambled on about this concert so I'll stop now. I'm just really glad to have the recording.
This morning Perrine and I went to the Cadbury Carnival, which was a bit of a let-down. I did get my picture taken with a giant panda, though. Here ya go, me and Perrine with the panda:

On the way home from the grocery store this evening, Rich and Matt decided to take me to see the steepest street in the world (it's in the Guinness Book of World Records). It was reallllyyyy steep. We turned onto it and I looked up in awe, then Matt started driving up it. I didn't think we would make it. Then once we got to the top, he turned around and drove right back down. It was pretty cool. People live up there; I can't imagine driving up that street every day. It's officially the steepest street in the world! Anyway, it was a fun experience. I'll have to go back and get a picture of it.

"Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air. And feather canyons everywhere, I’ve looked at clouds that way. But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone. So many things I would have done but clouds got in my way. I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now, From up and down, and still somehow It’s cloud illusions I recall. I really don’t know clouds at all." ~joni mitchell

I have pictures! It takes about 10 minutes to upload one photo with this miserably slow internet connection, so I'm only posting a few (I've taken tons). Here they are.
My flat from the outside (the middle one):

The view upon entering the flat (part of the kitchen and living room:

My room:

The view from my window (it's much prettier on a nicer day):

The view from the top of the hill on which my flat is situated:

Pretty scenery:

The ocean (see the people down there? That look like specks? I was down there when it started raining and hailing like crazy. You can read my lovely account of it a few posts back):
Reading Harry Potter a day before everyone in the U.S. got it:


Okay, that's all for now. Tomorrow morning Perrine and I are going to a chocolate bruch at the Cadbury Carnival. :-)

“’Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, this life.” ~the verve

Did anyone see Richard Ashcroft performing that song with Coldplay on Live8? It was pretty cool. Have I mentioned how much I love Coldplay? My love for them skyrocketed after I won tickets to the MTV LiveLeak concert and was less than a foot away from Chris Martin (if you don’t know the story, read my second entry in here, it'll be under the June archive).
Last night our flat went to a party at Matt’s friend’s flat. It was really fun; I played a lot of cards and met some cool people. I met a guy from New Jersey. Today (Friday) I don’t have class so I slept in really late and basically haven’t gotten out of bed all day except to go downstairs and get some food. It’s been raining on and off all day and that puts me in a stay-inside-and-bum-around mood. I don’t know what I’m doing tonight, probably just hanging out here. This coming week is the Cadbury Chocolate Festival, which sounds exciting. There’s a Cadbury factory here (I love walking by it and smelling the chocolate), and throughout the week there are going to be chocolate-themed events going on. I really don’t need to be eating any chocolate, but it’s SO good here.

“Radio turns to gold, And paves the way To find my home, When I'm alone…Oh no, here I go my friend, I'm repeating, But the heart is for bleeding. And I've said all I can say, I am retreating, on my way. Music box, play my song I'll sing along To that bitterly sweet tone, When I'm alone...” ~carbon leaf

It’s an absolutely beautiful day here; it must be at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s amazing how quickly the weather can change. Yesterday it was snowing, today it feels like spring, and tomorrow it will probably be snowing or hailing again. I walked around a lot (for hours) because I couldn’t bear to stay inside. I ran into Nicole and we walked around for a while. Apparently every month the school has a rummage sale of everything left in the lost and found. It was going on today so we checked it out (didn’t buy anything, though). School hasn’t gotten really busy yet. Tutorials haven’t even started, and I have a little reading to do so far, but not much. It’s a lot different here; so much of the focus is on final exams. In all of my classes the final exam is worth at least 50% of my grade, usually more. There really aren’t any assignments throughout the semester. I don’t like that so much. It seems harder to stay motivated and involved when you’re not being assessed on what you learn as you go along. It’s an interesting change, though, and I like experiencing another country’s educational system.
I’m waiting for Matt to get off the internet (I’m typing this in Word); I have a feeling that he’ll be a while. He’s already been on it for what seems like forever. Arg. Alright, I’m giving up and I’m off to read Mary Barton (for Victorian lit.). It’s not due for a couple of weeks I think, but I have to get ahead because after this weekend I will be devoting myself entirely to the new Harry Potter. I pre-ordered it from the local bookstore so I’ll get it on Saturday and won’t put it down until I’ve finished it. You have no idea how excited I am. Yes, I am obsessed and proud of it. I cannot rave enough about the genius and magic that is Harry Potter.

“As we drive along this road called life, occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost. And when that happens, I guess she has to let go of the ‘coulda, shoulda, woulda,’ buckle up and just keep going.” ~sex and the city

The Kiwis are here! Matt and Rich arrived on Sunday, and I’m really glad to have them; the flat feels complete now. They’re both very friendly. Rich is training for the duathlon World Championships in September; he’s quite an athlete (the duathalon is like the triathlon except without the swimming, so it’s biking and running). He’s off running or biking a lot. We seem to have similar schedules, so I’ve gotten to know him a little bit while hanging around the flat. He’s really funny. They both seem like great guys. And we have a cooking schedule; we each cook dinner once a week (on the weekends we fend for ourselves). It’s nice to not have to worry about what to do for dinner every night. And I already love sitting down and eating together, it feels like a family. So flatting is going really well.

My classes are going well as well. The Music Industry is the best class ever; I already know it’ll be my favorite class I take in college. The tutor (that’s what they call the professor) is amazing. He’s a bass player and has played with some really famous names. He’s played with and is really good friends with Pete Townsend, for one. How cool is that?! I love going to class and listening to him talk about what is, to me, the most interesting stuff in the world. And get this: our final exam is writing an essay about the movie “This is Spinal Tap.” Writing about an awesome movie is something I would do for fun! Anyway, I love it.
My Victorian Literature class seems like it’ll be really interesting, but difficult. We’re reading some good books, though, like The Woman in White, so I think I’ll like the class.
New Zealand Society and Religion will definitely be very challenging, especially because I know nothing about New Zealand history (which you’re kind of expected to know when you’re taking a 300-level course). But the tutor is a really cool guy; he seemed drunk in class. He’s so energetic and I know he’ll keep me interested. He promised to enrage us all multiple times, and I like that.
I haven’t had The Reading Process yet (I have it later this afternoon), but I’ll let y’all know how it goes. I was going to go out and buy my books, but it started snowing so I decided to stay in here for now. Maybe tomorrow.

Random Revelation: New Zealand accents are really difficult to understand (much moreso than Australian accents).

“Why do we play with fire, why do we run our finger through the flame?
Why do we nod our heads although we know the boss is wrong as rain?
Why should we blaze a trail when the well-worn path seems safe and so inviting?
What does it take to wake up a generation?
How can you make someone take off and fly?
Why would we rather put ourselves through hell than sleep alone at night?
Why do we follow leaders who never lead?
Why does it take catastrophe to start a revolution if we’re so free, tell me why, someone tell me why so many people bleed.” ~an assortment of questions to ponder from Tick, Tick…BOOM!

Scott, Sam, Everett, and Carter (all Middlebury guys) are hanging out downstairs. I was down there with them for a while but the conversation got too guy-oriented for me, so I’m hiding out up here. Sam is the only one in their group who I feel like I can really talk to. I’m spending way too much up here writing, and I really have nothing to write about because I’m up here all the time. What a paradox. I know no one will end up reading all of this, so I’m basically writing it for myself. I don’t know what to do with all my free time. I really do make an effort to get out, though. This morning I went to the farmer’s market with Nicole and her flatmate. It was really cool; I bought lots of fresh food at really cheap prices. They have it every Saturday, so I’ll definitely go back. And I’ve gone out at night a few times with people; there are lots of bars around here. I finished the two books I brought with me. I listen to too much music. I’m in love with music. Right now I’m listening to Tick, Tick…BOOM! It always makes me want to cry (but I never do) because it makes me think about Jonathan Larson. It’s a really good show.
My courses and my schedule were confirmed, so here’s what I’m taking: Victorian Literature (English), The Reading Process (Education), New Zealand Society and Religion (History), and The Music Industry (Music). The first three all count towards my major and minors, which is good. They all sound fun to me. I actually am pretty excited for classes to start. The earliest I start is at 9am, which isn’t so bad, and I have no classes on Fridays, which is great for weekend trips.
I should be able to post all this soon because I registered my computer with the school’s network. Once it clears, I’ll be able to plug my laptop in at the library and connect to the Internet there. I’m not sure if I’ll end up getting Internet service in the flat. Scott and I were looking into installing it, but now he’s talking about getting wireless service for himself, which won’t work for my computer. It’ll probably be good for me to not have Internet access here, because if I did it would just give me another excuse to stay in my room and be anti-social. I think the rugby game is on tv now, so I’ll go be social and watch some of it with the guys. I used to play rugby at camp, and I was pretty good at it. I was really good, actually.

Random Revelation: I hope 30/14 isn’t so difficult for me. Hm, that doesn't sound as cool as 30/90 (go buy the TTB cast recording if you don’t get that reference).

“Didn’t have a camera by my side this time, Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes. Maybe I will tell you all about it when I’m in the mood to lose my way with words….Today I finally overcame trying to fit the world inside a picture frame. Maybe I will tell you all about it when I’m in the mood to lose my way but let me say you should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes, it brought me back to life. You’ll be with me next time I go outside, no more 3x5s.” ~john mayer

I have a feeling this is going to be a really long entry, so sit tight.
Today was the trip to the peninsula. All the International students (about 500 of us) piled on multiple buses and they drove us out there. The trip only furthered my inkling that this is the most beautiful place in the world. We went to an albatross colony (the only place in the world where albatross rest on the mainland) and to a few beaches and just drove around the hills. The buses were on different rotations so that we weren’t all at the same place at once. Here’s some picture highlights, even though they don’t adequately capture the beauty. We were all in awe.

It was a beautiful day for most of the trip. Then when we were at the last beach, it started pouring. Now, to get to this beach, we had to walk down this long trail and down a huge hill of sand. I mean huge. It took twenty minutes to get down to the beach. When it started raining, we had to walk back up to the road and to the bus (the uphill trip was much longer). So I found myself climbing up this mountain of sand in the pouring rain. It was raining so hard it was horizontal rain at one point. And then, when I was about halfway to the bus, it started hailing. It really hurt my face, so I turned around and walked uphill backwards. I had to stop a few times because it was coming down so hard and I couldn’t even move because I was going against it. By the time I made it up to the bus, I was completely soaked. My shoes were filled with water, my jeans were drenched and dripping, and I was just a complete mess. And I couldn’t even go home to get warm and dry (not that I can ever get warm in the flat) because we had to go to a “barbeque” (in quotes because Kiwis really don’t know how to throw a proper BBQ). But even though I was wet and uncomfortable and freezing for the rest of the time, it was actually a really fun day. I made a new friend, a “real” friend. I’ve met so many people here and have had the same exact conversation with each of them (What’s your name? Where are you from? What year are you? What are you studying? Why did you decide to come here? Do you like it so far? Who do you live with? Etc.) but haven’t really made any true connections that I know will last (besides with Perrine hopefully). But Nicole and I got along well and we’re going to the farmer’s market together tomorrow. So I’m happy I met her. It made the trip worthwhile.
We had a party at our flat tonight, and I had an awesome time. We played Screw the Dealer (not usually my favorite game) and Spoons. Luckily Bobby (he goes to Richmond) was the unlucky dealer of the night instead of me. There were lots of people crammed into our flat, and usually big parties aren’t my thing, but this one was different. I found my own little niche of people to hang out with and had a good time. Now the flat is a mess (we’ve got about 100 beer cans and bottles strewn around the living room/kitchen and a few spills on the carpet) but I don’t mind cleaning it up.
Storytime: I know I’ve been complaining about the cold weather non-stop, but it’s hard to ignore. Anyway, it made me think about the coldest I’ve ever been. January 11th, 2004. The coldest day of the year in NYC. Also the day (or night, I guess) that I camped outside for SNL tickets. Don’t I have perfect timing? It was one degree outside. Looking back, I realize how insanely stupid I was in my preparations. I was wearing long johns (top and bottom), jeans, a shirt, a sweater, and a jacket. A lot of layers, but not nearly enough for staying outside all night in 1-degree weather. I think I had a blanket and a cushion to sit on. I had forgot to bring a hat into the city so Uncle Don gave me one before I left for Rockefeller Center, and I left it in the cab. So my head wasn’t covered, which I think was my worst mistake. Anyway, I froze. I can’t even describe how cold I was. I’ve never been that cold before and I hope I never am again. It hurt to move my body, but I made myself jump around every once in a while. Carrie and I tried to keep each other occupied by talking nonstop and by making each other laugh, but it didn’t help much. We camped outside Friday night because on Saturday morning at 7am they gave out stand-by tickets for that night. After they gave out the tickets (well, they were actually just numbers) I went back to Don and Sheila’s apartment and slept. I turned the heat all the way up (you can control the heat in the individual rooms) and piled tons of blankets on me. It took me a couple hours to thaw out. I actually felt like I was thawing. My body gradually got less stiff. When the heat had actually warmed me up a little, my body stung. You know when a part of your body falls asleep and then it stings when you start moving it again? My whole body felt like that, like I was being pricked all over with pins and needles. It was the strangest sensation. My body was still sore more than twelve hours later, when we had to go back to get in line for the show. I think it was worth it, although I’m not sure I did at the time. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, and I got to see a really good show. It was the first show after the winter hiatus, so they had lots of material to work with. Britney Spears’ wedding (her first one, the quickie one followed by an immediate divorce) was one highlight. And it was Jimmy Fallon’s last season, so I’m glad I caught him before he left. Anyway, that’s the coldest I’ve ever been, even though this feels almost as bad because it never ends.

Random Revelation: I got nothin’.