The World Of Jadeey: January 2008



It's my birthday!

Thursday, January 31, 2008
Yeah, so it's my birthday and I'm excited. Did anyone guess that already? :-)

Thank you to all who have txted, called and emailed to wish me a happy birthday. I feel very loved. Kat pointed out that she didn't need to be reminded in 3 different posts and I'm sure it's the same for most of you. However, this way no-one has any excuses for forgetting (unless, of course, they don't read my blog) so I can ridicule them for forgetting to my hearts content!

I'm just hanging out at dad's waiting for him to get home from work. We're heading down to Wellington for dinner with the family. Awesome.

It is also Justin Timberlake's birthday today. Clearly we are meant to be! (Sorry Corrina, Kat and Shera - I'll share. Maybe.)

Cricket and American politics

Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Haha this post is about two things, cricket and American politics. Sam, I think that means you might be the only person who is interested in both topics. Hopefully the rest of you will like one or the other. If not, I've written another post about mowing the lawn and one about the fact that it is my birthday so hopefully there's something for everyone today.

Most of you know I am currently hating New Zealand Cricket quite a lot. In fact, it is at the point where I barely watch any cricket anymore. This is not something that is going to last, without doubt I'll go back to watching lots of cricket again soon, but for now I can't bring myself to watch it with as much passion and commitment as I used to.

However, I do still follow cricket news and I'm going to now give my opinions on it because, well, I'm like that.

First up, we are quickly losing some of our best players because New Zealand Cricket are a bunch of arrogant fuckers who won't get their heads out of their asses long enough to make a decision that actually benefits New Zealand cricket. They have made the decision that any cricketers who sign with the rebel Indian League won't be considered for selection for New Zealand ever again. Fine, I can understand the logic but when we have Shane Bond and Kyle Mills signing with them I think something needs to be done. Find a way to keep them. I don't give a fuck what it is, just do it. Sure, we don't have the money to offer them an equal amount of cash but I'm sure cash isn't the only reason they're going. They say it is but I find that hard to believe when the non-rebel Indian League is offering only slightly less money and you can still play for New Zealand if you sign with them instead. I don't think it's a stretch to say that what Shane Bond and Kyle Mills are really doing it (even if they are still too loyal to actually say it to the media) is saying a big 'fuck you' to NZ Cricket by signing with the rebels. And, lets face it, NZ Cricket thoroughly deserve it.

New Zealand finally selected Jesse Ryder to play for New Zealand today, in the upcoming Twenty20 series against England. I've been waiting for Ryder to get selected for a long time. In a move I don't fully understand they have selected him this year, when his average is shit, rather than last year when his average was outstanding. I'm thinking they are going with potential and reputation rather than current form. Probably not the best idea, if he's out of form then what use is he? I'm hoping (but not really confident) that they have some plan to get him back into form before the first match. Still, I can't help being pleased that he's been selected since I've been waiting so long. It should have been last year but I'll take this year, even if he isn't in the best form.

They have also selected Tim Southee. Now, I don't know much about this guy other than that he is only 19, plays for Northern Districts and is a medium-fast bowler. His averages seem pretty good and I'm quite looking forward to watching him.

Onto politics. I was playing swingball today with my nephew when I did a really big swing with my bat but completely missed the ball and got a bit off-balance. My nephew then made a comment that really interested me. He either said "That was silly, just like that dumb Iraqi bomber" or "That was silly, just like that dumb Barack Obama". I honestly don't know which it was that he said. I'm hoping Iraqi bomber since I don't want my nephew to turn out to be a dirty Tory!

It interests me that we are hearing about the primary results everyday on our news but we are mainly hearing about the Democratic candidates rather than the Republican candidates. I'm not sure why this is, perhaps because the race between Clinton and Obama (and lets face it, it really is only between those two) is far more interesting than what's going on with the Republican candidates. Or, perhaps it because New Zealander's are just smart and left-wing. (Unfortunately I think that theory is going to be shot down during our own election since I think that bloody National is going to win.)

I was watching the news tonight and they were talking about Helen Clark wanting to have 16 and 17 year olds only being able to leave high school if they are going into an apprenticeship or training programme of some kind. Personally I think it's a great idea. Then they interviewed bloody John Key about why he thought it was a stupid idea. I hate that guy and disagreed completely with what he was saying but he sure knows how to talk. People are going to vote for him without even knowing what he's really saying just because he's a good talker. I hate that!

I've got lots of people telling me that it's time for a change anyway, that you don't want the same Government in for too long but I firmly disagree. I could perhaps agree back when we used First Past the Post but with MMP, no way. With the way our government works now they don't have total power so things stay a lot more even. I will always be happy as long as we have a left-wing government. I will never be happy with a right-wing government. That's a fact.

Okay, enough rambling from me. Don't forget my birthday (only a few hours away now - the 31st Jan) I expect to hear from everyone. :P

My birthday!!!!

Tomorrow is my birthday. I turn 26. I expect many texts, emails and phone calls. No excuses.

Mowing the lawn

Mowing the lawn always reverts me straight back to childhood. When I was a kid I didn't have to mow the lawn often but I had to do it occasionally. Now, anyone who has been to the house I lived in as a kid knows that mowing the lawn isn't as simple as it sounds. We lived on a farm and our front lawn was HUGE, it was also very hilly. Believe me - it wasn't pleasant to mow. When I had to do it I was pretty sulky about the whole thing.

Since I've been flatting I've managed to live in flats where the landlord mows the lawn. I'm staying with my dad at the moment though and part of the agreement of me living here for cheap is that I keep the lawn mowed. I decided to do it this evening since I have no desire to mow the lawn on my birthday (tomorrow!) but the whole time I found myself thinking nasty thoughts about how much I hate doing it. Basically, I had an adult sulk about it. (Thankfully the lawn here isn't as horrible to mow as the farm lawn. It's just a wee bit hilly and is pretty small. So not much to complain about at all really.

It's almost my birthday!!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008
It's my birthday on Thursday. I'm extremely excited! I thought I wouldn't be since I don't like getting ever closer to 30, but it turns out I was wrong and now that it's almost here I'm very excited.

In terms of party I'm just having a family dinner. My brother and his fiancé are down for the Sevens so it's a proper family dinner rather than just with me and my parents. I can't even remember the last time my brother was in Wellington for my birthday but I suspect it was my 21st so that's doubly awesome.

I had something far more interesting to talk about than my birthday but I can't for the life of me remember what it was right now. If I remember I'll come back and make another post.

Nephews and grammar

Monday, January 28, 2008
I looked after my nephew for the day today because my mum was still in Wellington getting some stuff done that she hadn't been able to do due to looking after said nephew for the past 6 weeks. We had fun, we went to the beach this morning and swam for a couple of hours. We came back to the house and played a little bit of playstation then went to the shop for an icecream. Amazingly, that was about all we had time for in the day after you add time for breakfast and time for lunch. I wouldn't want to do it everyday (so clearly I'm not ready for motherhood) but it was fun for today.

I've been sitting here for the past half hour trying desperately to figure out exactly when to use 'effect' and when to use 'affect'. I half know, I think I get it right the majority of the time but it still confuses me. Actually, I don't think anyone gets it right EVERY time. It's one of those ridiculously confusing ones that you can argue over for ages. (heh or that's what I'm telling myself right now anyway.)

Okay, I have to go read my dad's latest assignment for his post-grad diploma and give him feedback.

I'm a cry-baby

Sunday, January 27, 2008
FINALLY the broadband is working at my dad’s beach house. (where I’m living during the week until I start my course.)

I don’t have a lot to say today, I spent most of the day watching dvds. It was fun.

It’s weird, I’ve been really sensitive the last little while. For the past couple of years I’ve been more sensitive than I used to be, I easily get close to tears during movies, but recently it’s been ridiculous. EVERYTHING is getting me close to crying. TV shows, movies and even ads! I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to blame hormones. I don’t know why my hormones are making me so close to tears all the time, I’m certainly not pregnant or depressed. Ah well. It’s actually kind of funny, especially when an ad almost makes me cry!

Okay, I’m going to bed now. Sorry this has been completely boring but that’s just the way it is.

Arcade machines and writers strikes

Saturday, January 26, 2008
My flatmate's arcade machine is getting cooler and cooler. He's added to the array of arcade games by adding a Sega Master System emulator which means we now have games like Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Paperboy and Sonic the Hedgehog. He's going to add a Nintendo Entertainment System emulator next (Kat, I'll make sure it's done by your visit!) so we can have Super Mario Brothers et al. He's also going to be adding jukebox capabilities. All in all, arcade machine = awesome!

I've heard major rumblings that the writers strike is getting close to over. Lionsgate signed an independent agreement with the WGA yesterday and their writers are back at work. Other, bigger, studios probably won't follow suit with individual agreements but hopefully it is a sign of a good collective agreement being on it's way. Fingers crossed.

I wanted to write about how much I enjoyed a couple of movies I watched the other day, Sweeney Todd and Charlie Wilson's War, but I'm a bit tired to properly review them right now. I will say this though, they are both fucking awesome! Go see them! Now!

So freaking scary!

Friday, January 25, 2008
Something awful happened today, I had the worst 20 minutes I can think of in my entire life. I lost my seven year old nephew. Well, my mum and I both lost my nephew.

We were at the mall and looking in the bookshop. Lincoln knows he's allowed to wander around the shop but is not to leave. Mum and I finished up and looked around for Linc. Neither of us could see him so we split up (not at all worried) to look around the whole shop. He wasn't there. We looked again. Definitely not there. Now we started to get worried.

We looked around just outside the shop and there was no sign of him. I told mum to wait outside the shop and I went and talked to security. They started a hunt through the mall to find him. We panicked. 15 minutes passed and there was still no sign of him. We panicked. Mum kept waiting outside the shop and I kept waiting with security. We panicked.

Suddenly, Lincoln wandered out of the bookshop. He was confused and a little worried since he'd been happily reading a book when he realised we were no longer in the shop. Mum saw him as soon as he got to the door and swooped on him. She started to cry with relief and that made poor Lincoln cry, even though he didn't know why he was crying. Mum let security know and they let me know. I came back and didn't let Linc go for at least a minute!

Lincoln was very apologetic. We told him he'd been doing the exact right thing by staying in the shop so he had no reason to be sorry. Gorgeous little guy that he is he said "I know but I'm still sorry you were scared!" My god it was awful. We decided that he must have still been wandering around the shop at the time we were first looking for him, because both mum and I went up and down every aisle.

It made me think though, we only lost him for 20 minutes and were pretty confident that he'd be okay and that he wouldn't leave the mall. We were still panicked but not as much as we could have been. But imagine if your kid just didn't come home from school one day. Imagine if your child was really lost and you were imagining them with a horrible person who's only intention is to hurt your baby, the person you want to protect more than anyone else in the world. Imagine if, as you imagined your child with that person, you knew that it was actually a strong possibility. I can't think of anything worse and my heart goes out to all the families in the world that have to suffer that.

I sit here tonight very relieved that my Linc is safe.

Disgusting people

Thursday, January 24, 2008
All too often people disgust me.

Last night on the news they showed Heath Ledger's body being removed from the apartment in which he died. I couldn't even look I was so disgusted that they were showing it, sure they body was in a body bag but still! I've since heard that there are pictures of his body bag all over the internet. Why would anyone want to look at pictures of that? Yeah a photo of Heath Ledger's body bag, that'd make a nice desktop background! Not.

Even more disgusting than that is Fred Phelps. This man plans to have his "church" turn up at Heath Ledger's funeral to protest it. Protesting a funeral? WHAT THE FUCK? Their reason for protesting his funeral just makes it even worse, because he portrayed a gay man in Brokeback Mountain.

Oh for FUCK SAKE! The man is dead! No matter how much you hate something that someone did it's not acceptable to protest a funeral. It makes me sick!

A bit of research made me even more sick about this Fred Phelps guy. Apparently his "church" has also protested dead US troops because they are out fighting for a country that supports gay people. I cannot believe there are people out there who are this small-minded and prejudice. It's awful.

RIP Heath Ledger

Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Heath Ledger died today. Of course, everyone who reads this will already know that, it's big news, but it makes me sad so I want to talk about it.

I feel kind of guilty writing about this though since I didn't write about Sir Edmund Hillary's death. I kept meaning to write about it but never got around to it. That was sad too, he was a really great man. Someone on the radio said he was the greatest New Zealander we've ever had and that could actually be the truth, I certainly can't think of anyone else off the top of my head.

Anyway, Heath Ledger's family apparently found out about his death by hearing it on the radio. How horrible is that! I mean, I'm sure they were semi-used to hearing about him on the radio and on tv (as used to that as you could ever get anyway, it'd always be a little bit strange) but hearing about his death that way is just awful.

10 Things I Hate About You, A Knights Tale and Brokeback Mountain are actually 3 of my favourite films. (Favourite in a very long list but they are still up there - 10 Things is the film I turn to every time I want to watch something but can't decide on anything. It's completely my fallback option since I never get sick of it.) I always rated him very highly as an actor and liked him a lot. It certainly didn't hurt that he came from Australia which made him seem a little more accessible than American actors.

I have to admit to a shockingly selfish thought I had soon after finding out - the worry that Dark Knight hadn't finished filming yet. It has. I'm glad not only because I want to see it because it's nice that we'll have such a fantastic film to showcase his talent in a couple of months. When I saw the trailer the first thing I thought (after BATMAN!!!!) was that, if I didn't already know Heath Ledger played The Joker, I would never have believed it. He looks fantastic and I think he's going to be amazing in it.

Anyway, there's only so much rambling about a celebrity I can do so I'll leave this here.

RIP

Good old university

Tuesday, January 22, 2008
I had an interesting day today. I went into town with Ingrid because I needed to go and finalise my enrolment for my course. We had to go through the interview process and get accepted before actually enrolling properly, I'm guessing because there would be no point processing the enrolment if you're not accepted. Anyway, I headed into town with her and up to the university. I was going to then walk down the hill to Whitireia (which is where I'll be studying) while she was in class. Unfortunately it was raining pretty hard so I decided not to walk down after all. I'm going to do it tomorrow instead.

So, I went to Ingrid's class with her instead. This was the first time in over 2 years that I'd been to a class and I really enjoyed it! I even took 2 pages of notes! I really enjoyed myself.

We cooked a stir-fry for dinner and are now watching A Clockwork Orange since Ingrid has to watch it for class. I haven't watched it since I studied it for film class a few years ago. It turns out I remember it quite well though since I'm remembering to close my eyes at all the right points!

Pretty much all about poo

Monday, January 21, 2008
I'm too tired to make up clever jokes about American political candidates today. I have no idea why I'm suddenly exhausted today, but I really am.

Anyway, I was doing some surfing today and I started reading about funny/embarrassing things that have happen to people. It's surprising the number of them that are about poo. In fact, it's unbelievable the amount that are about poo. I'm serious, I don't believe it. I'm sure people are just making up the same stupid poo stories. Let's face it, anything involving poo in front of someone is embarrassing so if you really want to post an embarrassing story but haven't had anything particularly embarrassing happen to you then you might as well make it about poo.

I will summarise a few for you just for fun.

This girl, we shall call her Emma, was going on a date with a guy she'd had her eye on for a long time. They went out for a lovely dinner of curry and were having a fantastic time. (You could see where this is going already even if I hadn't mentioned it was about poo right?) After their dinner they decided to go for a walk in some sort of wooded area. (Forest, park, something like that. I forget. It's not important) Emma is feeling a tad sick but doesn't want the date to end so just ignores it. A bit later on, as they are still walking through the wooded area, she needs to fart. Of course, she doesn't want to do this in front of the guy so she holds it in for a bit. They come to a fence which they decide to climb. She convinces him to go first and decides to let the fart out as she climbs over. Unfortunately she doesn't just let out fart but a whole lot of diarrhoea too. That was the last time she saw the guy.


Another girl, we'll call her Betty, got a new job. She was really excited and went out to celebrate with a nice, hot curry. (Anyone see where this is going? Go on, do ya!?!) She started the new job the next day and was feeling a bit funky from the curry but wasn't about to miss her first day. (Why on earth was her first day the very next day after getting the job? No job I've ever got is that fast!) She wore a lovely, thin dress and looked very pretty, which was excellent since her boss was a hottie. (naturally) Part way through the day she got in the elevator and really needed to fart (sensing a pattern? anyone?) so, since she was alone, decided to let it rip. Unfortunately (and obviously to all who are reading) poo also came out and ran all down her legs. (Good old diarrohoea!) Just then the elevator doors opened and who should be standing on the other side but her hot boss. What a surprise.

Just one more....

This guy, lets call him Neil, was at a party. The girl he'd had a crush on for ages but was too shy to approach was there too and he was hoping to make a good impression. For lunch that day he'd had a nice curry (for fuck sake!!) and wasn't feeling so great but figured alcohol would make him forget he was feeling sick. (Yeah, there's a good idea. Neil's a smarty, that's for sure.) So, he was at the party and had a few drinks under his belt and was finally talking to the girl he liked. She said something HILARIOUS and Neil started laughing and laughing. He was laughing so hard he was rolling all over the floor. Suddenly, to his horror, he realised he'd been laughing so hard he'd poohed lovely, diarrohoea-ey poo everywhere. He never did ask that girl out.


The moral of these stories? Don't eat curry seems to be a common one. Or, perhaps, go home when you are feeling a bit sick after eating said curry!

Well, that was exciting. Catch y'all tomorrow.

Computer games and Tui ads

Sunday, January 20, 2008
Ingrid and I decided to use our flatmates arcade machine to clock Bubble Bobble last night. We got stuck on level 72 and couldn't get any further. It was disappointing. I think the game itself was as disgusted with us as we were with ourselves because it threw a fit after we'd been trying level 72 for about 10 minutes and told us it was game over. This is weird because we have unlimited credits so should have been able to just keep going. Ah well.

Also, I was playing a really old version of Lemmings (Lemmings Tribes to be exact) and I couldn't get past the second level! How embarrassing is that! I truly cannot figure out how to save those little guys despite finishing the game in my youth. (Do you like how I said that, my youth, cos I'm so old right. Heh, well I do turn 26 in 11 days so I am getting on a bit)

Because I have WAY too much time on my hands, like to think I'm funny and like to give the impression that I'm up to date with current international events, I made a Tui Ad. Here it is:



If I can think of something clever I'll do a Huckabee one tomorrow. (From what I can tell his campaign slogan is 'Enough is enough' which doesn't work so well with the 'Yeah Right' of a Tui ad.) Then one day I might even be completely original and make a joke I haven't stolen from someone else!

Ghosts

Saturday, January 19, 2008
I'm sure I've already mentioned about the ghosts in our flat, particularly the one in our room. If not I'll do a quick recap right now.

Ghost 1 - in our bedroom (funny that I call it 'our' room when I'm just crashing in it for a little while. :P )
There will often be the smell of burning in the room with no identifiable source. If you leave the room the smell will instantly disappear. As well as this, occasionally if you wake up in the middle of the night you will be able to feel a presence, it feels very harmless but is definitely there. If the cat happens to be in the room when you feel this presence he is pretty much guaranteed to be staring (and I mean staring, sitting bolt upright just staring) in the direction you can feel the presence.

I used to be able to feel it and smell the smoke when I lived here. I told Ingrid when she moved in that I thought there was a ghost and told her about the smoke smell. It took her living here a few months before she smelt it too but when she did she said it was unmistakable. I hadn't told her about the presence in the middle of the night because I didn't want to scare her but she then told me about feeling it and having Felix staring at it.


Ghost 2 - fairly new and in the hall
The presence of this ghost is fairly new. When I first lived here I was never aware of it but now I definitely am. It just paces up and down the hall from what we can tell. If you are in the lounge you will sometimes hear footsteps going up and down the hall. This has happened when all three of us are in the lounge so it's definitely none of us and has happened when there is no-one else home. All three of us have heard them when we've been on our own so it isn't just one person's imagination.

Anyway, last night I could not sleep because of the ghost. All night long I had dreams about it. I had one particularly vivid one at about 5am. I dreamt (or perhaps it was actually happening but that thought scares me too much so I'm going to go with I dreamt it) that I would think things about the ghost and it would confirm or deny them for me by making me start to shiver and have a sick feeling if I was wrong or not doing anything to me if I was right. I can't actually remember any of the things I was having confirmed or denied but it was pretty freaky. I certainly didn't have a good sleep!

Heh also, I had a dream that the ghost was writing her name on the wall for me. Just as she started to write it Ingrid must have stretched or something because she suddenly pulled my hair. It gave me the biggest fright EVER!! It's pretty funny when I think about it now though. :-)

Back home

Friday, January 18, 2008
I'm back in Wellington! And I have big, big news.

I got accepted onto the publishing course I applied for! Woo! This is particularly cool since only 12 people a year get accepted and we had to go through an interview and stuff. Anyway, I got accepted so it looks like I'm going to be a student again.

I've signed up for my student allowance and am about to start looking for a part-time job. Ridiculously I have to declare the interest from my savings as earnings. That particularly sucks since I won't be spending my interest. Ah well.

I'm really excited though. I thought I wanted a full-time job more because I wanted the money but the idea of having a job I don't actually enjoy is not a good one. Going back to study and doing something I actually really WANT to do is far better. But man it's going to be a challenge. The course is lectures 9am - midday Monday - Friday and afternoons are spent doing group work. It's going to be full on! (Which is the reason for the student allowance.)

But yeah, it's very cool and I'm very happy right now. :-)

Day four

Do you think that sometimes when you are sitting on hold the person at the other end is actually just pretending you are on hold and is just listening to what you say as you wait? I wonder this because I’ve spent a lot of time on hold today trying to get my dad’s broadband hooked up. While I’ve been on hold I’ve had conversations with my nephew and with my mum. None of these conversations have been particularly exciting but it got me thinking about other people sitting on hold.

I know that when I’m on hold with a company that has the radio playing (or coke who have their ad repeated over and over again) it’s very tempting to sing along. I bet people give in to that urge and sing along all the time. Man, that’d be hilarious to listen to as a bored help-desk worker. If there was a way to play the hold music for people but listen in without them knowing at the same time then I can guarantee I’d take full advantage of that!

I bet lots of dirty stuff happens to. You’re sitting there with your new husband or wife and suddenly realise that, as you wait on hold to get the power connected to your new house, you have a whole lot of spare time. Well, what would you do? Yeah I think you know! Now, personally I wouldn’t be as keen on the listening to people having sex as I was to listening to someone sing. In fact, I wouldn’t be keen on listening to them having sex at all. But I bet some people would, some people definitely would.

There you go, something to think about next time you are entertaining yourself while on hold!

Oh my god! Hold the phone. (wow, talk about your lame puns) I just realised that ‘entertaining yourself’ probably happens a lot while you are on hold too. I bet heaps of people masturbate! Well that’s just gross. I hope no-one is listening to that!

Day three

I was standing on the beach this evening watching the sun go down. It was beautiful, I can see why people say a moonlit walking along the beach is romantic. Although, personally I’d prefer at sunset rather than once it’s actually dark. But maybe that’s just me.

As I was standing there contemplating the beauty of it all I started thinking. I gazed up and down the beach and suddenly I could see it. I mean really see it, right there before my eyes.

The writer in me was happy. I love to be able to visualise stuff and have an idea hit me that strongly. The romantic in me was sad because it’s not a happy idea. That’s okay though. So far I only know the beginning and the middle. The ending isn’t set yet so, you never know, it could end up a happy ending after all.

The rest of the day was frustrating. I was so badly sunburnt on Monday that I haven’t been able to leave the house. It’s too hot to wear jeans but I can’t let my legs get in the sun. It’s not the worst sunburn in the world, not even close, but it sure does hurt!

Gah I’ve just realised my feet are all sandy so I better go give them a wash before I get sand all through my bed.

Day two

I’ve realised that I talk about my family a lot in my blog but my family are actually quite confusing so I’ve decided to dedicate today’s blog to explaining my family.

Okay, first my mum was engaged to a man named Jeff. They had a son, my half-brother (but always referred to as my brother) Matthew. Matthew lived with his dad once mum and his dad broke up. The only time I’ve actually lived in the same house as him was when I was 11 and he was 19. He lived with us for a year or so while he saved some money.

Jeff remarried a woman name Margaret and they had 3 children, Shane, Gene and Cassie. They are absolutely no relation to me and I refer to them (mainly because it confuses people and amuses me) as my brother’s brothers and sister.

Before he met my mum, my dad was married to a woman named Geraldine (gross name). They got married very young (19) and I think that was the main thing that was wrong with their marriage, although I’m not sure since I’ve never asked.

My mum and dad met and a few years later I was born. My parents have never married although they have a completely monogamous relationship. Until I was 12 my parents lived together. Then, when I was 12, my dad got a job in Napier but my mum didn’t want to move there and neither did I. So, my mum and I stayed in Wellington and my dad moved to Napier. He came home every weekend to visit and called every single morning and every single night. These actions proved (although I didn’t really need the proof as I’ve always idolised my father) what an amazing man my father is. My parents were having big problems around this time, the distance was hard on them, but he still made the 4-hour drive down to visit every Friday night and the 4-hour drive back home again on the Sunday night. Some of those visits he and my mum wouldn’t even be talking and the visit was solely to spend time with me.

A few years after that my dad got a job in Palmerston North. This was better since it made the travel distance far easier. A couple of years after that he moved back to Wellington. (All with the same company) After living in Wellington for a while he was offered a transfer to Napier again. He decided to take it but, again, my mum decided to stay in Wellington. (I’d moved out of home by this time) Once again dad made the trip between Napier and Wellington every week, or sometimes mum would make the trip up there. The not living together really seems to work for them.

Now, my dad is working in Palmerston North again and we own a house in Waitarere Beach. This is where I will be spending my weeks until I find a job. Dad still goes back to Wellington every weekend so I’ll just be travelling back and forth with him so I can see my friends.

My brother recently got engaged to my nephew's mum. They had broken up shortly before she found out she was pregnant but just recently got back together and are happier than ever. It's awesome.

So there it is, the complexity that is my family explained!

Day one

Today was my first day up at the beach with the family. It was pretty good. I didn't get any of my story written because I was very busy playing with Lincoln and Karl. We spent heaps of time at the beach, I got very sunburnt which isn't cool at all. Tomorrow will have to be an inside day!

Other than that not a lot going on for me. Absolutely no internet here until the broadband gets installed in a couple of weeks. Oh well.

Anyway, sorry this is so lame but I've gotta go do the dishes now.

Oldies but goodies

Sunday, January 13, 2008
I've become obsessed with old video games. See, not having a job is BAD for me. I can easily fill in my days by reliving my childhood.

It all started when my flatmate (I should say ex-flatmate but I'm currently living at their place as often as I'm living at my parents) finally finished the arcade machine he's been building for the past year. It looks just like an old arcade machine but has every arcade game you could possibly think of on it. However, I was addicted to DOS games when I was a kid cos my family got a computer before Windows was cool.

So far I've found Commander Keen, Jazz Jackrabbit and Lemmings. It's exciting. All you need is a DOS emulator and you're good to go.

Okay, I have to leave this here, my dad's on his way to pick me up. Those of you I owe emails to, I'll write them this week and send 'em when I am re-connected to the internet. Promise!

Off to my dads

Saturday, January 12, 2008
I'm off to my dad's house tomorrow. Unfortunately, my nephew and his friend are also coming. This basically means that I will have no time to do any writing through the week and I'll be bored out of my brain watching them play playstation. It also means I'll be sleeping in the lounge which means early mornings waking up when they get up and come into the lounge (to play playstation).

Ah well. I'll live.

I doubt there'll be much blogging through the week. I've got very limited access to internet up there (also limited access to my cellphone unfortunately since there's no reception in the actual house) so i'll be blogging on the computer and uploading them when I get back to Wellington next week. We are getting broadband hooked up though so if it gets hooked up during the week then I'll post.

I know this has been a boring post but Ingrid is waiting to use my computer so I better leave this here. Hopefully throughout the week I'll coming up with some stunningly amazing stuff to write about!

Definitions

Friday, January 11, 2008
If you've been keeping up with my blog then you know I really like the website Urban Dictionary. It's fun because anyone who wants to can write a definition. There are a few rules but as long as you adhere to those then your definition will get published.

The definitions of my name are pretty funny.

My favourite is (because it is actually scarily true):

To not understand your whereabouts and to backtrack to get back to your original location.

Two parallel streets. You go east on one street, north to the parallel street and west. Rather than go south to get back to your original location, you go east, south, west. You pulled a holly.

I am notoriously bad with directions. I'll get lost even in a place i've been a million times. I will also take very complicated routes to get places just because I didn't think about other, easier, routes.


This one makes me laugh:

To have forbidden sex. Normally with an intern or minor.

"How did it go last night?"
"Let's just say I did the holly, if you know what I mean"



This one just confuses me:

To attack with brute political force.

"Hey Dude! Let's holly the crap out of the President!"


I also like looking up friends. Some of my friends have the COOLEST ones.

Kat
Term refering to the hottest woman in the room.

A: Dude, that chick is such a Kat!
B: Yeah, she's even got a Kat's ass!



Anthony
Sexy,Cute and all round smooth talker.

Anthony has been mentioned as one hunk of a Sex God.

Due to this increasingly used term for anyone being good in bed, it has made its self known within the streets!

Bird: Holy Hell, That was just one Anthony experience!
Dude: Oh i do my best ;)



Corrina
A label for a chick who is just plain absofuckinglutely fantastic, who everyone and I mean EVERYONE including your mom wants to bang. She's just got that universal appeal.

Cameron Diaz is such a corrina


And the funniest one ever:

Sam (I have 4 friends named Sam so this makes me particularly happy)
Sam means the name of one person who is:
Super
At
Masterbation

"I bet you're not Sam...like me"

Sleep talking

Thursday, January 10, 2008
2 posts in a day! Lucky readers!

I just remembered that I wanted to write about this and thought I should do it before I forgot again.

Sleeptalking is funny. Sleeptalking when you are awake (but still half asleep) is even funnier. Ingrid and I are sharing a bed at the moment since I'm crashing at her place. Last night we had some crazy conversations in the middle of the night.

The first one was when the cat decided he wanted to go outside. He was crying at the door and Ingrid let him out. He promptly started crying at the door to come back in but neither of us could be bothered opening the door to let him in. (He's fine out there - he always wants to go out and play at about 4am) I was slightly worried about his meowing for some reason and became convinced that it might be because he had a sore tummy.... Ingrid agreed with me that I was probably correct and we both fell back asleep. A sore tummy? Oh dear, what was I thinking? I mean, I guess cat's do get sore tummies at times but I don't know why I thought that, and I don't know why Ingrid agreed.

Throughout the night I woke up a couple of times because Ingrid was talking. I'd ask her what she was talking about and she'd say "oh I'm just trying to figure something out, don't worry." Trying to figure something out in the middle of the night? Hmmmm.

Yeah, it was all pretty amusing.

I also spent half the night scared of ghosts, I'm not sure why. We do actually have a ghost, 2 of them in fact, but I'm not usually scared of them so I don't know why I was last night.

The writers strike

I'm so tired of the damn writers strike! I just want the tv shows I love back. I'm addicted to tv, that's a fact. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any end in sight for the strike. The studios are greedy, selfish bastards who refuse to give the writer what they not only want but deserve.

I've heard so many people say that the writers are the ones being selfish and greedy but that's bullshit. A tiny percentage of writers get rich from what they do. The vast majority don't. You're considered lucky as a writer if you're successful enough to just scrape by on what you make. There are plenty of unlucky writers out there who have to have another job in order to survive.

This strike is about the majority or writers, the ones who aren't rich. They need the residuals that the studios are currently refusing to give in and allow. It's these residuals that most writers live on while they are busy writing and trying to sell their next script. I desperately want the strike to be over because I want my shows back but I don't want the writers to give in. Not at all. I hope they manage to stay strong until the studios cave and give the writers what they are asking for (which is a thoroughly reasonable figure), even if that means we don't get any new episodes on our screens for another 6-8 months. It'll suck but it'll be worth it in the long run.

Ah, young love!

Wednesday, January 09, 2008
I'm a very stubborn person by nature. I tend to always think I'm right. I don't always voice that opinion, I'm also all about keeping the peace unless it's necessary not to, but I usually have a very strong opinion about most things.

It always throws me through such a loop when I realise I'm wrong about something. It's not always a bad loop. No, yesterday a theory I'd had for over a year was proved incorrect and it shook me badly, but in a good way. I hadn't liked the theory but had been sure it was correct. Throughout last year I'd had tiny glimpses every now and then that perhaps I was wrong but I always stood strong in my opinion. Well now, shame on you Holly. You were wrong!

I went to a movie today and once it was over I walked back to my car. I arrived at my car, my pride and joy, to find two people making out on it. I was surprised, I didn't know these people at all. At first I thought perhaps it wasn't my car, black Levin's are common enough. A glance at the number plate revealed that it was definitely my car. I idly stood there wondering what to do. They weren't lying on it or anything but were leaning up against the drivers door - I'm guessing their car was the one next to mine.

I tried to be subtle at first. I tried a cough. No response. I tried a throat clear. Still no response. I tried an 'excuse me'. No bloody response! I pushed my alarm button to unlock my car. This makes a pretty loud beeping sound as it unlocks but no response! In desperation I held both buttons on my alarm beeper down to make the alarm actually go off. Finally, it actually worked! They looked around in surprise, I think they thought they'd set it off, and then promptly leaned up against the other car, the one I assume was theirs, and started making out again. I got in my car (through a tiny gap between my door and them) and drove away, they never once looked up. Ah to be young and in love! (Heh or totally deaf and oblivious to everything happening around you!

And then there was nothing to blog about

Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Argh I hate when I have nothing to blog about! This blogging every day game is all well and good when I can think of things to write but it's bloody annoying when I can't! I'm sorry to all of those people who come here just to brighten up their day and then find out that I've written a load of rubbish! :P

I have had a humbling couple of week since I've been back in Wellington. My nephew spends every school holidays with my parents so I've seen quite a bit of him over the last couple of weeks. (which is great since before this I haven't seen him since this time last year) Anyway, he's completely obsessed with the playstation so i've been playing against him. And losing. Badly.

Losing to a 7 year old is pretty embarrassing! And he's not even nice about it! I've been subjected to a barrage of "Shame Holly!" "You're useless!" "I kicked your bum!" "I killed you!" "You can't even beat me!" Yeah, my self-esteem and confidence in my video game ability has taken a thrashing. Luckily I can still beat him when it comes to tickle fights! I take solace in that fact!

Depressing thoughts and American politics

Monday, January 07, 2008
For once I wanna be the car crash not just the traffic jam

I’ve never been someone’s car crash, the most I’ve ever been is the traffic jam. That’s kind of a depressing thought. For once I want to be the car crash, the one that some guy falls head over heals for rather than just the traffic jam, the one they are with while they wait for someone better to come along.

I’m not blind, I have a mirror. I understand that I’m not the type of girl who is generally someone’s ‘car crash’ but I still want it to happen. The couple of times I thought that maybe it was going to work out, that someone actually seemed to want me as incredibly badly as I wanted them it turned out I was wrong. They wanted me for a little while but then changed their mind.

I guess it only has to happen once. I’ve seen the sense in that ever since the episode of Friends where the Ross in Rachel’s mind is trying to convince her that they should give it a go. She is arguing (in her head) that she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship when it ends. He (or really she, since it’s all in her head) asks why it has to end. She asks if he’s ever been in a relationship that didn’t end and he point out that it only has to happen once. So, maybe for me, the once is still on it’s way. I hope so. I’m sick of thinking I’m there and then realising I’m not. I’m sick of being crushed.

Arghh that’s a depressing topic. Let’s move on.

American politics… They interest me a lot. I find it very hard to follow the American political system, but from what I hear plenty of American’s can’t understand it either so I don’t need to feel too bad. Luckily I have a friend who is extremely good at explaining stuff to me. Every time I see something on the news that I don’t quite understand about the American political system I ask him and he explains it in easy to understand terms.

I’m very interested in the current Presidential race. I think everyone in the world should be as interested in the American Presidential race as they are in their own elections, it has almost as much, if not more impact on us all. Unfortunately a lot of people don’t even care about local politics let alone international politics. Yet, these people still complain whenever the government does something they don’t like. If you want to make a difference then do your research and vote people!!

I can’t vote for my choice of candidate in America, obviously, but that doesn’t stop me reading everything I can about what is going on over there. I like to be informed even when I can’t do anything with that information. As a left-wing supporter through and through I am more interested in who the candidate from the Democratic Party is going to be than the Republican Party. To be honest, I don’t actually know much about any of the Republican candidates. I know that one of them is named Huckabee (and I only remember that because of the Jude Law movie I Heart Huckabees) but that is about the extent of my knowledge.
I realise admitting I don’t know anything about the Republican Party candidates but saying that I hate them is a bit hypocritical, but I could honestly never bring myself to vote or support right-wing anyway. I’m a leftie through and through that’s for sure. Once the final candidates are chosen I will do a lot of reading about whoever the Republican candidate is but for the moment I don’t think I need to know.

I’m treading on dangerous ground here but I don’t care. This is my blog and I am free to say whatever I want on here. I don’t understand how anyone can vote right-wing! Yes, I understand that right-wing parties usually give plenty of benefits to business and rich people. I get that and can see that is why those people vote for them but I still don’t quite understand it. How could anyone be that selfish? Tax cuts for the high income earners while the low-income earners, the ones who actually need the tax breaks suffer. That’s hardly fair! I am happy to pay a bit more in tax if it means those who would otherwise not be able to afford adequate schooling, healthcare etc then can afford those things. I am sure as shit happy to pay more tax if it means that those who would otherwise not be able to afford adequate housing or food to eat get it!

Yes, it annoys me that plenty of people on a benefit in New Zealand probably don’t have to be. It annoys me that there are people out there using my tax to keep themselves in drugs and alcohol. It pisses me off completely. But, there are also people out there who are legitimately on benefits, who really couldn’t survive without that help from the government, from my tax. If there was a way to figure out who was legit and who wasn’t then that’d be great, but there’s not. When I think about how much tax I pay I think about those who actually need the money and choose to ignore the fact that there are others out there taking advantage. If I couldn’t do that then perhaps I would be more inclined to vote right-wing, but thankfully I can.

Okay, I have to go finish of my 1500 words of story for today.

No job

Sunday, January 06, 2008
I've got to say that I am quite enjoying having no job. I still don't actually feel unemployed, I just feel like I'm on holiday, but I'm enjoying the freedom. The weird thing is that I still have heaps to do. I haven't yet had time to just spend a day in bed, or a day playing playstation. For some reason my days are all full of stuff I need to get done. Admittedly most of that stuff is catching up with people I haven't seen since before I left for Auckland but still, I'm very busy!

As for the writing side of this break, I've sorted out a plan. I am going to write 1500 words a day, 5 days a week. That doesn't include this blog. I have to write 1500 actual story words. If I want to go back and edit stuff I've written other days that's fine too but I must write 1500 original words. It's going to be tough but I need to be disciplined or this whole break thing is pointless.

On the job front, I have actually been looking. I spent about an hour on job-seeking websites today but nothing struck me as the sort of job I'm looking for. I figure throughout January and February I'm allowed to be picky but in March I have to actually find something, even if it's just a temporary something.

Wow. Is everyone completely bored by this post? I am.

Pronunciation

Saturday, January 05, 2008
I was reading someone else's blog this morning and they were writing about pronunciation. Unfortunately I have now lost the link to the blog, but it rang very true with me and made me want to write about this topic myself.

As an avid reader I often stumble across new words, or names. As I'm happily reading to myself I come up with how I think the word, or name, should be said. It is always a complete shock to me when I discover that I have been reading it wrong all this time. It is also usually really hard to start reading it correctly in my head.

I've always had this problem, I guess most people do. I remember when I was a kid I would obsessively read Babysitter Club books. The sister of one of the babysitters, Claudia, was named Janine. Instead of reading Janine's name as Janine (jan-ine I used to read it (for reasons I cannot understand as Jane-inny. This is despite knowing someone named Janine!! I was eventually corrected but still continued to read it as Jane-inny for a long time in my head. However, I was always careful to make sure I said it correctly if I was talking about her or reading out loud.

A more recent example of me getting a name completely wrong (or names actually) is in Harry Potter. Hermione's name gave me a huge amount of problems and I still, very occasionally, say it wrong in my head when I read it. I was convinced that it was said herm-own. Thankfully this is a name most people had quite a bit of trouble with. Oddly enough I also got confused by Lucius Malfoy's name. I thought it was Lucas. I blame that one on reading too quickly though.

Then there are actual words. I was watching the Office recently (as I am wont to do) and Jim said the word apropos. He said it COMPLETELY differently to how I always say it in my head. It wasn't just the accent either - I've been getting it completely wrong for a long time. Thankfully I don't think it's a word I've ever used out loud, I hope not anyway! Unfortunately I can't remember how Jim said it and I can't remember what episode it was in to go back and check. So, if I am forced in the near future to use the word apropos in conversation then I am going to be in trouble! (Luckily it's unlikely that I will be required to say it.)

Another word I had trouble with for years, reading it completely differently in my head, was the word Aryan. (As in the Aryan race) I can't think exactly how I used to say it, something like are-yan. Heh, to be honest, I'm not one hundred percent sure I actually say it right now!

Okay that's all I've got in terms of examples right now. It is a dangerous thing though, when you consider yourself well-educated and then you go and mis-pronounce a word in conversation! So embarrassing.

Not a lot of anything

Friday, January 04, 2008
As you can see I've dispensed with the Office related titles. I'll go back to them I'm sure but I need a break from themed titles for a little while.

I'm going to the soccer tonight. It's the Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC. Sydney FC are one of the top-ranked teams in the league so it's unlikely we will win but it should be a good game. The Wellington Phoenix are actually a pretty good team and have been drawing in really big crowds for their matches. It's good to see soccer in NZ getting a really good go.

Other than that, as usual there is not a lot happening in my life. We're having a barbecue tomorrow night which should be fun. I've been hanging out with my nephew heaps and hanging out with friends heaps. It's been nice. Of course, I'm beginning to remember how much I hate job hunting. I'm not looking forward to having to get really serious about that. At the moment I'm just idly looking, it doesn't matter if I don't find anything just yet. Once the need to actually have a job sets in it's going to be a different story though.

As I said, today's post isn't really about a lot. Catch you all tomorrow :)

The worst movers in history

Thursday, January 03, 2008
So, as most of you know a few weeks ago I moved from Auckland to Wellington. Other than movers who break everything you own, I think I had the worst movers in history.

Tuesday was always my day off up at good ol' Sylvia Park. I was driving down on the Thursday of that week so I arranged the movers to come on Tuesday, my day off. It would mean that I would have no bed for two nights in my flat but I figured I could live with that. Tuesday morning dawned bright and early and I dragged my poor, tired body out of bed at 8am to ensure everything was ready for the movers arrival. I'd had my going away party the night before but purposely ensured I wasn't TOO late home so that I could get up in time for the movers. I hadn't actually been given a specific time that they would arrive but I was told it could be as early at 8.30am.

I tidied up a bit and waited. I continued waiting. And waiting. My flatmate got up. Friends came over. We watched Justin's concert DVD. We waited. At about lunchtime I gave them a call to see if I could get some idea of when they would be there. I was told they would check and call me back. At 4pm I called again and was told they were finishing up at another place and would be at my place next. At 5pm I called back again, knowing that I had to go out at 7pm. I was told it would be at least 7.30pm before they could get there because the other place was taking longer than they thought. I said that was impossible for me and organised for them to come at 8am Wednesday instead. This would mean I would be about half an hour late for work but I figured it was doable.

8am on Wednesday came and went. I sat and waited. They didn't show up. At 9am I called and explained that they were supposed to be there at 8am but they hadn't shown up. I was told I would be called back. An hour later I hadn't been called back so I rang again. I was told they should be there within the hour. An hour later they hadn't shown up so I called AGAIN. I explained that I was now VERY late for work and really needed an exact time. They again promised that it would be no more than an hour. Again they lied. My friend showed up at lunchtime and did not receive a very nice welcome from me. I heard her at the door and thought it was the movers. She got to see my disappointed face when I saw it wasn't the movers. (I felt very bad because I was actually very happy to see her just not so happy that my movers weren't there.)

My friend agreed to stay and wait for the movers so I could actually get to work. Before I left I tried to call one more time to see what was going on and to let them know that someone else would be there instead of me. I was told that the moving truck was there. I assured the guy (who I had now spoken to all day long and who was very lovely and sympathetic to my cause) that there were no movers in sight. He said he'd call me back in 5 minutes when he found out what was going on. He didn't lie! He actually did call me back! Unfortunately it was to say that the truck couldn't fit down our driveway so they needed to get another truck. It was going to be a couple of hours before that truck could get there. I was practically in tears by this point but I toddled off to work while my wonderful friend sat, with nothing to do, and waited.

I arrived home from work that day at 5.15pm. The movers had only just arrived!!! When I met them I could see why it had taken them all day. It took them about an hour to move my stuff. My stuff consisted of 6 boxes, a couch, 2 recliners, a washing machine and a tv. There is no way that should have taken an hour! (I actually think it was longer). Not only that but just before I got home my flatmate (who had arrived home just before the movers showed up) had to ring me because the movers were saying they couldn't get my couch out the door. My flatmate had assured them that the couch had been delivered to that flat, if it could get in then of course it could get out. I explained (in bad detail) how the delivery guys had got it through the door and she relayed this to the movers. The idiots had only tried one way to get it out and then given up.

To make matters worse, my flatmate found out a couple of days later that her iPod was missing. She didn't suspect the movers at first but then remembered it had been sitting on her dresser, right by her door, the day the movers came. She hadn't used it since. Stupid damn movers!!!

Oh, my parents are here. I will stop now.

ALVIN!!!!!!!

Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Alvin and the Chipmunks is quite possibly the best movie I have EVER seen. From the first strains of Daniel Powter's Bad Day sung by Alvin and co through to the final call of "ALVIN!!!!!" by Dave, it was love.

Yeah the movie was absolutely predictable, but those little chipmunks were cute beyond belief. Theodore was about the cutest little thing you can imagine. Heh and he was voiced by Jesse McCartney which just seems a bit odd, particularly since none of his songs were used. Alvin was voiced by Justin Long. I kinda like that they never used Jesse McCartney or Justin Long in the advertising. Usually in animated movies they are forever telling you who the voices are done by, but I had no idea until I was watching the film.

Ah yes. It really is love. We are seriously considering going back and watching it again this evening. And are almost definitely going to buy the playstation game when it comes out in a couple of weeks. Yay for Alvin and the Chipmunks!

Have you ever seen a burn victim?!?

Tuesday, January 01, 2008
I really wanted to do a great post today. Start the year off as I mean to go on and all that. Unfortunately I haven't had a lot of time today and it's now getting quite late.

I had a great New Years with my nephew. It was really nice to spend the time with him since I don't get to see him that often. Then, today we went and played a game of mini-golf and went to a movie. He told me I'm the best aunty ever! (Heh and he probably tells his other aunty that too but I don't care. I'm going to pretend he doesn't.)

I realised something yesterday. I didn't get sunburnt the ENTIRE year. Not once! Now, anyone who knows me knows what a miracle this is. Usually I'm the first to get burnt. In fact, usually I get burnt the moment I set foot in the sun. The truth is, I should have been a ginga but for some reason I don't have red hair. I do have the complexion of a ginga though and I burn quicker than you can say 'sunburn'.

Not 2007 though! In 2007 my skin was strong! It withstood the sun and, while I didn't tan, I didn't burn either. Not even when I went to a ODI cricket match and forgot sunscreen so was only applying it when I could get up the courage to ask those around me if I could bludge some. Good one skin! I salute you!