One year!

So...we finally reached that landmark occasion that means I'm in my longest relationship ever by far. I got 12 roses :)
Which were absolutely GORGEOUS and smelt fantastic. I have hung them out to dry so I can keep them FOREVER - moohaha!

Anyway, as with everything anniversary related I wasn't actually allowed to know what we were doing until Sunday. So I have to admit I WAS surprised when Isaac showed up - in his DAD'S car - and whisked me an hour out of town for lunch.

His dad's car, by the way, is a 2006 Ford Territory with all sorts of flash things like dual climate control. See:

My temperature is on the left and his is on the right. It also tells you how much fuel you're consuming and has an alarm when the fuel light is on and tells you how much further you can go with the amount of fuel you have left.

Flash.

He was a little put out that the weather had looked unpromising in the morning because we were actually supposed to fly out to a top secret location and have the car waiting to drive us to lunch. Unfortunately we couldn't fly - but we're going for a scenic tour next weekend!!!

We ended up at Terrace Downs for lunch.

It's really really pretty out there - and the food was good too! And not too pricey. We had campfire bread with smoked sheep cheddar and wild rosemary and garlic dip to start and it was SO GOOD. And the mains were even better. Isaac had salmon and I had lamb shank braised in beer and root vegetables served with mashed kumara and honey-glazed carrots and parsnip. SO GOOD. And raspberry creme brulee for dessert. Yummy.

It seemed a bit of a waste to have driven all that way into the high country and not do a little driving so we drove out to Coleridge. I'd been to the lake before but not actually out to the village. The lake - as I recall - is gorgeous. The village - to quote Borat - "not so much".

The toilets were seriously creepy!!! They were set off the road and surrounded - and I am not kidding about this - by a swamp! It was cold and damp and when you opened the door to actually go into the toilet building it was completely dark and all I could see was toilet paper on the floor. There could have been all kinds of mass murderers in there!!!

What's even worse is that because I refused to pee there - we drove up to the lodge to see if the friendly high country lodge people would allow us to use their toilets and the lodge man was not only incredibly rude he didn't even offer his toilet. He just told us to drive back to the scary public ones!!!

What kind of customer service is that??? Thanks to his rudeness, if I am EVER in the Lake Coleridge area again I would rather stay in a TENT than in their crappy lodge.

Dick.

We did attempt to find the lake. But the route we took had the worst signage ever. The first sign we saw said that the lake was 7kms away. The next sign we saw said that it was 14kms away. Over 20kms later we still hadn't gotten to the freaking lake and the car was running out of petrol!

AND being the big-ass 4wd (that I got to drive from Methvan to Rolleston - scary!) that it was we really couldn't risk not having any petrol and being stuck in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we had pretty scenery to admire! And I managed to get a number of photos:

The roof racks :)

Crazy driver :)

Man candy :)

Awww....Isaac's nose looks huge in this photo - it's not really that big.

Sun setting on the horizon...pretty!

Our petrol worries meant that instead of going the direct route home we had to make a rather round trip via Methven. We ended up having tea there - in a really nice pub/restaurant called "The Blue Pub" It was brilliant because it just wasn't TOO pubby and the atmosphere was nice and the food was absolutely FANTASTIC. I had venison and Isaac had steak. (The entire trip was basically one of eating!) And to top it off - we had an entertainment book voucher for a free main meal and the girl took off the more expensive one so it was only $24 for a meal for both of us!!!!

It was awesome. We did miss an entire day of church though, which made me feel rather heathenish. But I made up for it by being at church for arts school tonight. Good fun :)

Annnnd...I bought a fender bass off trademe!! It's a complete bass/case/strap/amp pack for only $500 - for a FENDER. I get it on Thursday because they're dropping it off and I'm stoked. Louis might buy my old one which would be good. But yeah - a FENDER.

Awesome :)

Hrm...

So, interview seemed to go ok. Excepting for the fact that he asked me if I was creative and interested in creative things and I said "yes" (because I am) and then he talked about how that was a concern because they needed someone who could do things in an orderly fashion and be organized.

But he was friendly and so was the receptionist and the place seemed nice. So yeah. Who knows, we had a nice wee chat and he said they'd be in touch.

I know I could so easily do it, but do I want it????

Job hunt?

I have a job interview tomorrow for a Media Planning job!!!

Wikipedia says:

"Media Planner is a job title in an advertising agency responsible for selecting media for advertisement placement on behalf of their clients. The main aim of a Media Planner is to assist their client in achieving business objectives through their advertising budgets by recommending the best possible use of various media platforms available to advertisers. Their roles may include analysing target audiences, keeping abreast of media developments, reading market trends and understanding motivations of consumers (often including psychology and neuroscience).

Traditionally, the role of the media planner was quite close to that of the Media Buyer, the obvious distinction being that the planner would devise a plan for advertising and the buyer would negotiate with the Media Owner on things such as rates, copy deadlines, placement etc. The role of the modern media planner is more wide reaching however. Today many agencies are actually eschewing the job title of 'media planner' in favour of titles such as communications planner, brand planner or strategist. This reflects the shift away from 'traditional' media planning to a more holistic approach, with the planner now having to consider (as well as standard above-the-line channels such as TV, print, radio and outdoor) PR, below-the-line channels, in-store, digital media, product placement and other emerging communications channels all for the purpose of ensuring the client's advertising budget is well spent as well as adhering to the overall marketing strategy devised by marketing consultants or the client themselves. Their expanded job scope has thus made more demands of their time, placing them in immensely pressured situations matched by the states faced by their creative (copywriters and art directors) counterparts. Media planners have otherwise thought to have been in a far more relaxed working environment.

Media Planners tend to work very closely with client marketing departments, and the creative advertising agency to develop their recommendations."

It's over in Ferrymead and it requires me to dress neatly. Me, who goes to work in jeans on a daily basis...

I don't know if I'm qualified for a job like this - but they must have liked my CV.

I'm a little scared...

I love Brooke

Posting before work again eh?

Thank God for half days :) AND short weeks. I wish there were more short weeks in the world. I wish there were more weeks like this one in other words! Of course, it's only Monday morning and I haven't actually set foot in work yet.

A lot can still go wrong...

But we shall be positive about this!

Or, in Hiro Nakamura's words: "YATTA!!!!"

Actually...he wouldn't, because that would be incorrect Japanese, but that's besides the point. I needed a reason to reference Hiro. And I have.

Anyway, the weekend was good. Mainly hung out with Jen and Jem and Mel and Lou. We actually had a lot of fun - despite Louis being half asleep on the couch for most of the conversation. Then on Sunday the girls and Louis (for obvious reasons) went to the wedding expo at the convention centre. Jennifer and I were a little put out that we didn't get hot pink "I'm getting married!" stickers like Mel did. But we got over it.

It was quite exciting really. It's like gathering up just about everything you can possibly think of to do with weddings (from financial advisers to stag night planners), putting them in one room and letting a whole lot of newly engaged couples (and hangers-on) run amok.

Oh, and there was free bubbly.

And when we were done at the expo we went over the the Crowne Plaza and got them to show us their presidential suite. A room of the likes we will never see again. It had two stories!!! And a telescope!!

Yeah, not too sure why the telescope was there either.

It was also $2000 a night. In low season.

Yeah.

But then again, it also had a twin shower and spa bath.

Conclusion: if I was getting married and didn't want a dress I could get the presidential suite at the Crowne Plaza.

It's freezing

I've been awake approx an hour. The temperature (according to my handy firefox bar...) is 9 degrees. It was 7 when I woke up.

Brrrr!!!

It's the weekend and I really can't be bothered getting out of bed. Luckily for me I decide whether or not Saturday tennis is happening and I've decided...NOT.

(Yeah...I've seen Borat too often too recently...but it's so FUNNY.)

Err...anyway...I'm looking forward to the next week. Specifically, I'm looking forward to the fact that I'm only working Monday and Tuesday. That's right, next weekend, I get a 5 day weekend! Except that now that website work is picking up I'll probably be working anyway.

Spent most of yesterday working on a wedding photographer's website. It's fun because she has many pretty pictures. So there should be a new site there soon. And hopefully it means more work for me because she's looking for someone to do some retouching and stuff.

Things I CAN do.

And hopefully things that will help me leave work. I like my independence and the lack of the 9-5.30. Yes.

Well...I suppose I should get up and make cheesecake :)

Bass geek

Haha, I have two basses. At least till Sunday :) Soraya's working tonight and doesn't want to leave her bass in the car in town. Which is fair enough. Which means I have her bass and lead.

Also fun because her bass has three pickups instead of two like mine.

I really want a bass with three pickups. But I've only just paid off the HP on my current bass and I haven't actually paid off my laptop yet.

Do I really need this much technology??? Lol.

I also need to buy a new lead for the gat as my lead is crappy and short. Apparently you can get them for $18 at rockshop. So I shall have to check it out, possibly tomorrow. In the meantime I shall have to content myself with looking at bass auctions on trademe.



First lesson with Todd in about three weeks. Man I'm an idiot. I haven't really been practicing and it shows. Grrr. Anyway, I feel motivated again. It sucks when Arts School isn't on!

Bodycare @ Redcliffs

For Christmas Isaac got me a spa voucher encompassing a facial, eyelash tint and full body massage at Body Care at Redcliffs. Of course, me being me I didn't actually book it in till now. But that's okay.

Anyway, I'd never had a facial before so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. But the lady there was lovely - we basically talked just about the entire time! And I never do that, not with the people who cut my hair or the doctor or anything. She was brilliant too. It was possibly the best thing that's ever been done to me.

I got to go into this darkened, low lit room and lie down on this bed with an electric blanket on and a duvet - both VERY good things as it was freezing on Friday. It was possibly the most relaxing thing I'd ever done. She just massaged, moisturised and steam cleansed. The massage in particular was VERY good. On top of the eyelash tint I got my eyebrows done as well, which was a change!

I wasn't too convinced on the eye tint as I'd never had one done before and I always assumed that they were really for light-eyelashed people so that they didn't have to use mascara. But apparently the tips of your lashes get bleached in the sun! Who knew??? Anyway, since Isaac had technically paid for it all, I got it done too. It's not supposed to sting unless you're tired or your eyes are particularly fluttery. Unfortunately for me, I was tired and it hurt like hell. Fortunately I only had to endure it for 10 mins. It was similar to chinese water torture - which I have never experienced.

But, my lashes did appear darker. And, as that was the only truly painful part of the morning I decided that it was worth it. That and the fact that my skin was so incredibly soft after it all. It was amazing! It all felt really REALLY good.

The lady that owns the place is lovely too. She was possibly the easiest stranger to talk to in the world. We talked about EVERYTHING. Her kids, how she lived overseas, how I found uni...the works!

If anyone is interested, the bodycare website is here. They have a range of gift vouchers, including one for men. Yes, for those in Christchurch iteself, Redcliffs is a bit of a drive, but there's nothing nicer than being pampered by the sea. It's totally worth the drive :)

I'm going for my massage on Thursday and I'm already looking forward to it!

I love holidays :)

ESPECIALLY when holidays are up in the mountains with a view like this!!! Pretty right? It's the sun setting over the mountain. First afternoon there we decided that a little walk would be timely so that we could familarise ourselves with the countryside...

Mmm...look at the view...
Heh heh...what a poser :)

Jennifer tries to find huhu grubs

We had no luck with the grubs - thankfully! - but I did manage to get a stunning shot of the broken tree:

See? Pretty cool, huh?
In fact, I got many, many pretty pictures :)

We were really on the hunt for an elusive river. I don't know how it started. But we heard it and then we decided we had to find it...

We did find it in the end but it was more of an alpine stream than a raging river...


"Four teenagers wandered upstream on easter friday in the Alpine village of Mt Lyford. They forgot to calculate for nightfall and found themselves wandering onwards into the dark...lost FOREVER."

Which is how our story COULD have played out. Thankfully we are sensible and headed home not long after the upstream trek!


We did have some gorgeous views out there though! It was awesome getting away from civilization for a couple of days. We walked and picnicked and slept in and read books and/or trashy magazines. Great fun!!!

And it's not half bad being greeted with a view like this at 9.30 in the morning either!!

We also found a playground...

Hehehe...even the dog managed the slide :)

Puppy!!

Our *ahem*healthy*ahem* picnic. (That's Cointreau chocolate right there!)

'Nuff said :) - excepting that my hair looks red - which it's not!

After much walking we discovered ourselves on "One Ball Track" (haha!)

So, am now home and tired. (Surprisingly!) And I should really get my "a into g" and unpack or do something. But instead am eating tinned spag and typing out cheesecake recipies from old editions of Next Magazine and waiting for the boy to come by.

Hmmm...a nap would also be nice!

Camp...or lack thereof

I've never had a year not being at easter camp over easter. Well, actually I have. But not anything I can remember. Which is weird, because the majority of my years have been not at camp.

But still. As I sit here eating lukewarm toast and drinking coffee I can't help thinking...this is much better than camp. Camping in tents has never been my forte. And at EC I'd probably have been woken up over an hour ago after having spent a rather cold night in a sleeping bag surrounded by teenagers. I wouldn't be showering, but I'd at least make the trek to the loos to do my teeth and face after pulling on tons of layers first.

Then I'd be surrounded my excitable teenagers all day long.

And that's fine. Camp is awesome and I've always had a great time there. Isaac and I probably wouldn't be going out if it wasn't for EC last year.

But I'm glad I'm home and heading out of town for the weekend. Even if it is a "family" event. It should still be fun.

And after the week I've had, I deserve it :)

April Fools!!! (Or a post about pasta...)

I made lasagna last week. And I took photos and totally forgot to post them!!! Haha. So here you go...meat sauce :)

Meat and pasta...side by side. Soon they will be as one. It's like marriage, really. Except with meat and veges and pasta. So, not really like marriage at all. Except that it's good. Um...yeah.
Mmmm...pasta and cheese and you can just see the meat etc peeking through. I'm getting hungry now!!!!

Almost complete. That is it for the picspam. But believe me, it was GOOD. Mmmm...makes me wish I had lasagna now. I have been in bed almost all afternoon. Hence the insane.

Also...check this out - I totally did the layout! Yeah!