“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.