Feels like summer

Chucks are so hot right now...

Seriously, I love this country. I don't think I'll ever leave for good. Did I mention today is the "official" last day of winter?

Again..

Road tripping again. Too bad it's raining. Days off are magic!!!

Culture

So, been thinking lately about issues of culture and whatnot. This mixing cultures in relationships instead always what it's cracked up to be.

I think I'm quite lucky. My parents are pretty hip and "with it" in terms of adapting, I guess. They absolutely love the boy. I think they would prefer to spend an evening with the boy rather than with me. And when I'm here I never, ever feel like I'm "in between" two cultures.

But I'm a little concerned about what will happen when we head away at the end of the year. I don't know how to be "in between". Usually when I'm here, I choose one side and when I'm not here I choose the other side. Silly, right? I guess it's better than not knowing where you stand!

It's going to be harder with my family there. Not that I don't love my family or anything, but family always complicates things. Mainly because they won't "get it". (Yes, I am putting a lot of things in quotes - I am basically like The Press on any given day) And as much as I'd like them to get it they probably won't. Because they are who they are.

I'd like to think that one side of the family will be more understanding (so to speak) because there is already interracial mixing within it. And hopefully this will be the case. But if it's not...what then? Will it just be this incredibly awkward time? I hope not. Because that would probably be the worst month ever.

It's not just that. I was talking to a friend of mine (also Asian, but she's been here about as long as I have) about how Asian people just seem to have these expectations of young people. Like they expect you to be well on the road to getting married by your early-mid twenties. Which may or may not be a good thing. But when it doesn't work out you attain this cultural stigma. (So to speak!) Every time I have been back there people ask me if I have a boyfriend - like that's all there is to me. This time when I go back I'm gonna say "YES and here he is." Because inevitably what follows that question (when I reply with a 'no') is "So...do you think you'd prefer to go out with a white person or an Asian person?"

Perhaps this is my form of rebellion.

But to tell you the truth, I wouldn't care if he was PURPLE or multicoloured or a slimy green colour. I don't think people get that.

I guess culture is what you make of it and what you identify with. And really, is it such a bad thing that what I identify with is completely different to what you identify with?

And on that note I'd better go to work :P

Saturday Driving

Little River

On a rather spur of the moment idea we drove to Akaroa with Jem & Jen yesterday. It was great fun. We had AWESOME weather (nice and sunny for the end of winter) and made lots of stops. (Also fun...)

I think I can see Akaroa from here!!

Seriously, after the fiendishly stressful week I've had, getting out of town and enjoying the sunshine seemed like the BEST idea ever. There's nothing quite like a roadtrip (albeit for about an hour) with good friends, good food, good sounds and even better drink!

We stopped at the Hilltop for some rather obligatory photos:

I am just so delighted I get to hug Jennifer...

We are all facing into the sun, so if we're squinty, that's why! Or maybe I am just squinty. Maybe because I am Asian. Argh! Haha.

After many, many stops - toilets, walking around Little River and looking at the shops, at the cheese store to buy fancy cheese - we actually did make it to Akaroa and to a rather picturesque spot for lunch.

Blue, blue ocean. It made me want to go swimming!

Cheers!

Isaac picked the wine - the cheapest in the barrel AND Australian to boot, but it was actually really good. It went down a little TOO easily. Muwhaha.

Silly...

Anyway, fun family driving. Hehee. Then it was the beach (cold!!), the shops and more sun and then the long drive home and to find tea.

It was a FANTASTIC way to spend a day. I even managed to make a lunchtime playlist and we brought the ipod speakers.

And just like that the weekend is over. It is surely depressing that another week of work awaits me. Luckily it is a short week and I do not have to be at work for another four days after that. Yay.

Amazon recently sent me an email asking me to rate my experience with a seller. But I haven't received the CD yet. (Michael Buble) Which concerns me a little, normally I never worry about buying from the marketplace as they are usually prompter than Amazon itself. But now I am beginning to think that I should be worried. Hm.

We are the shadows...

Run Fatboy Run

The most pointless post ever

I am on bathroom this week. I hate cleaning the bathroom. You would think it would be the cleanest room in the house with all the people who get clean in there. But nooooo...

Instead we have....

SOAP SCUM!!!



Ewww...right?? (Incidentally, this is not our bathroom. We do not have nice tiles, nor a tub, and if our bathroom were that filthy I'd be horrified...)

Even the thing that is supposed to clean us is filthy!!!!

Gross...

The cookie crumbles

Today has actually been one of the not better days of my life.

If you haven't guessed by the lack of updates for the past couple of weeks before this one, life is BUSY. Insanely so.

Today I had every intention of finishing the editing of a video that I'm doing for a friend. She needed it done by today because it's for her boyfriend's birthday and they leave for Nelson tonight. Naturally, today is the one day that my login at the computer at church keeps failing.

Because I am stupid, I just saved to the default location on the computer that Premiere picked for me. (i.e. - My Documents) What I didn't realise is that by doing that, whenever I log on and off, the computer has to pull all the work I've done off the network.

Hence, now takes close to an hour to log on and off. Of course I only learnt this 10 minutes ago and now I am at home after apologising profusely to said friend and just feeling terrible in general because they have a nice, sparkly, only-three-months new relationship and of course she wanted everything to be perfect and I feel like the biggest loser in the world for letting her down.

Naturally.

I just feel like I have been racing around all week with meetings and trying to get videos done for various people (that I now can't get to) and work work WORK. I have a bass lesson today and I don't even want to go to that. I just feel exhausted and all I want to do is SIT.

I might go for a drive in the rain instead. I just feel like I need some space and this may be the only time to get some as the weekend is busy as well.

Random photos from poker:

Oh multicoloured chips

Jennifer thinks her three pair should win :)

We are poker pros.

That is all. Now, if only I could get hold of Toddy...

At it again

Well...Sue Bradford, the perpertrator of the anti-smacking bill is at it again. Will the woman never learn?? Actually, it's more like, "will New Zealand never learn?" We seem to constantly be supporting her stupidity. Well, the goverment is anyway. And as we know the government is not really a true representation of NZ anyway.

They've just passed a bill that "provides for 16 and 17-year-old workers to move on to adult rates after 200 hours of work." Sounds nice, doesn't it? By the same token, now that I've worked at my job for over year my pay should go up by at least 65% - brilliant isn't it?

I don't think the youth work rate is that low. $9 an hour is pretty damn good, it's better than what a lot of us started on and we managed fine. The truth is, most 16-17 year olds live at home, don't pay rent and don't have regular bills. The only thing they'd pay for is whatever it is they'd pay to go out and have fun. They don't need that much money. And I'm seriously doubtful that most 16-17 year olds are responsible enough to manage money that well anyway.

Furthermore, what self respecting employer is going to employ a teenager when they can employ an adult at the same price? The whole point of the youth rate being lower is that employers will only hire young people if they can work them harder and pay them less.

Don't tell me I'm being unfair and cynical because it's true! Youth rates suck because that is the nature of life. Teenagers don't need to work to survive in the world, they work to support their social lives and (hopefully) to learn the value of a dollar.

Plus, by encouraging them to go out and work more we're also encouraging them to quit school earlier. RESULTING IN MORE UNDER-EDUCATED PEOPLE!!! Think about it, if you were 16 years of age, old enough to leave school, absolutely HATE school because, well...it's school and you have the option of getting a job and earning as much as an adult does in 200 days then wouldn't you?

I mean, really. There are no logical teenagers in the world.

This can only be detrimental to our society.

Party on

Well...I survived. Really, I feel like this a big achievement for me. Isaac's friends aren't particularly welcoming to, well, me and so managing to actually be at a party with them and JUST them for an hour and a half is a HUGE achievement.

Especially with "she-who-must-not-be-named" there, being annoying and loud and whatnot. I think she knows that I don't like her ever since she emailed me. Anyway, she ignored the fact that I was there and I ignored the fact she was there and that's probably preferable at this stage.

I've decided that I don't really care if they like me or not. I have my own friends who do like me. And Isaac stresses everytime I have to go anywhere with his friends and I'd rather he didn't do that.

Long story short: I will always prefer hanging out with my mates. But if I have to I can probably manage to spend more time with Isaac's friends. Maybe I will bring a book to future parties, it would probably be more welcoming.

I'd also like to point out that I do not force myself on people. UNLIKE someone else.

Sven and the weekend

Weekend, weekend, weekend.

Sometimes it feels a little like Monday comes too soon. Maybe it's just that the weekend was pretty spectacular. Exhausting, but spectacular.

Naturally, I have no photos to prove said spectacular weekend. Oh, the irony. Isaac has finally bought a car - which I am excited about, mainly because it has a cd player with a remote. Now, I know the ipod is versatile and etc but there's something to be said for CD players and headunits.

Sven...I have stolen pictures from TradeMe as it is raining now

Sven again...

And I have my car back which is a bonus - especially since it was sleeting today when I drove to work. Brrrr...

Anyway, made the drive out to Women's Camp friday afternoon which was good fun. We had a convoy of about four cars and stopped in Darfield to pick up tea courtesy of Aunty Kate - very nice of her as there were 8 of us so tea wasn't cheap! Got out there just as it was getting dark, set up the sound system, attempted to sort out the power point and had a small panic attack when the amp I'd borrowed from DT didn't turn on. Luckily for me Maria pointed out that I hadn't turned it on at the wall. Duh! (And I'm supposed to be the technically minded one...)

Managed to get everything set up and pretend like I'd managed a sound check - as it turns out it's not easy to sound check AND be part of the band. Haha, now we know why people don't do it! But the music was great. Well, it wasn't the best musically ever, but it was fun and people seemed to be connecting so we couldn't really ask for more really!

Was hoping to be away by 10 but the reality was that I go away at twenty to eleven. Eeek! It wasn't my fault, had to show Nadine how to work the desk and Maria how to set up the powerpoint. Plus I'd had to rework all my timings for a slide show I'd done. AND THEN got caught up with Jo and Kate discussing childbirth.

There are too many babies about these days!!! Another one born on Saturday...Ashton Oliver Renault. He's gonna be a wee cutie too given how good looking Amber and Shane are. Plus, he'll have Braxton genes and the whole damn family is good looking.

Got dragged out of bed at approx 9.30 the next morning by Melsy, who'd come over to drop off beer for that night. Without even showering we were off to the Bendon sale - where I splurged a whole $20 on knickers. Thanks to Mel we were there just about as when the store opened so no queues! Then we went baby clothes shopping for Micah. I swear I could have bought out the entire shop. It was just so CUTE. Lookit what I bought:

Baby clothes!!!

Pirate boy :)

Stripy!!!

Hat...it's SO cute

BANDANNA!

It almost makes me want to have babies. If not for the horror childbirth stories I've been hearing lately...

The nacho nighters came round later that night, Louis had managed to injure his knee yet AGAIN playing soccer and I made lasagne with fresh pasta! SO good. Mmmm... Jem made Warwick's mousse and Mel brought nibbles and we were generally silly and revelled in the role reversal that meant that the girls were drinking beer and the boys red wine. Good times.

And now it's back to work. And oh, how cold it is in the NCC today. All the new desks by the windows must not be blocking the heat anymore because the partitions are lower. Brrr...I just wish it would snow and be done with it! And after all the warm weather we've been having too!

Just quickly...

"Oh no, you never let go through the calm and through the storm."

Yeah, yeah I know it's been over a week. It's been a crazy, busy week though! Last weekend was boot camp for us CM guys. Was great to see Wayne and Libby again.

Look there they are in black and white!! Wayne's cut his hair since this picture though!

(Jem has just lost his socks and this amuses me...)

Anyway, it was really good fun but hard work. Which I guess is the definition of a "boot camp". But there was a lot of thought provoking stuff thrown in as well which made me, well...think. Teehee.

I love those guys, they are truly, truly, awesome people with such amazing hearts. And for me personally getting to meet them and sing/play with them and learn from them was a HUGE blessing and an answer to a prayer I'd prayed about 5 years ago.

Anyway...better go start the day :)

Hmmm...work and relationships :P

I hate people who are in a hurry at work. They border on the point of rudeness. People should just get the fact that we have certain things we HAVE to say (stupid though that may be) and be patient about it.

It's just one of those little annoyances about life I guess.

Just like it must be nice living at your boyfriends house - WITH his parents and sibling, IN the spare bedroom - and have his sister cook dinner and breakfast for you.

I mean, seriously???

AND working together as well! (To sound like a character out of Grey's) Seriously!

It's just a LITTLE much. I spend a lot of time with Isaac, I see him every day - not the least because there's only one car between us and so he takes me to work every morning and picks me up at night. But he does not live out of a suitcase in the spare room in the flat. (We don't have a spare room but this is besides the point.) Nor do I sit on his knee at breaktimes AT WORK. How incredibly unprofessional is that?? Not to mention kind of gross for the rest of us who have to work here...

It just seems a little obsessive is all. Whenever I see them they don't seem to be talking or doing any thing. They just hold hands. Not that I have anything against hand holding - it's a very nice thing at the best of times. It's just...excessive. And every time I see them things seem to be awkward like I don't really know what to say.

Argh. I don't know. It's just...weird.

In any case, work is entertaining. We recieved an email from a very angry/abusing American customer today. Obviously not a very bright one as she probably should have realised that the .co.nz on the end of our email address means that we actually have nothing to do with Officemax in the US at all. Stupid, stupid woman.