I DO Heart Huckabees

Again with the movies! Well, I saw I heart Huckabees last night. I absolutely and wholeheartedly loved it. It is my new favorite movie, shocking even me by blowing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind out of the water. It is also the most odd movie I have ever seen that still had logic to it. I know that it's been out in the States for quite some time, but it just came out in theatres here. Yes, but we had Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe days before the States. Oh, international media relations, you tricky, tricky beast. Some things that the movie taught me:
1) Jude Law's entire hotness is wrapped up in his accent and hearing him (although he did slip a few times) speak with an American accent made me dislike him. He's just annoying.
2) Any main male character who inquires about the philosophical side of life is immediately the new love of my life. I am a transparent, predictable little girl.
3) When you see movies that criticise certain aspects of American culture with non-Americans, they always look to see your reaction. It's like they need to see if it's okay to laugh, if it's a true commentary, etc. I am not going to be able to explain it to you, people. Laugh if you think it's funny.
4) I heard a young girl commenting on the all-star cast, "Well, it was all B-list actors, except for Jude Law, of course; he's in everything." Yeah, I totally always knew that Dustin Hoffman was a B-list actor. I mean, what has he even been in??
5) Evidently I'm old because I know that Dustin wasn't waiting for I heart Huckabees for his big break onto the big screen.
6) Don't read the reviews of movies you like. It got terrible reviews. I don't care. Still my favorite movie of all time; take that Ebert!

Napoleon Dynamite Quiz

Stolen from Lisa's blog:

Take the quiz!

You are Napoleon Dyanamite and a buttload of gangs
are trying to recruit you.

Holiday

This past week, the uni was on a week long holiday. How did I spend this holiday? For the most part, I studied my little butt off because that's what I do. Well, starting Thursday, I started actually doing fun things as well. A group of us had a girls' night out which was fun, but ended by consuming far too many girlie drinks containing milk and other non-alcoholic substances. I even took a picture that I was going to put up here, you know, to prove I had friends. But in true Annika style, there is no way I am publishing a picture where I have been drinking for any period of time. I look like a freak. :)

Then Friday, we even didn't work out. Oh my goodness. That's holiday. But Kelley and I, instead, went accidentally wandering around the city until we concluded the evening's activities with seeing Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe. I highly recommend it. I didn't even think I would like it based on previews, but I did. Also, I finally got one of the Dunedin/New Zealand classic jade necklaces. Mine is supposed to represent and protect growth, rebirth, new life... I can't imagine what drew me to it. I will put up a picture of it sometime when I am not leaving soon to work out.

Moral of the story? I may not have blogged a lot (sorry to worry you, Dad! ;) ) but I finally had a decent vacation without leaving home. Nice times, my friends. Too often we forget the intrigue that surrounds us daily for the attraction of far away places.

Knit-tastic

So I have begun to knit. This is my first ever scarf (please note lovely sheets). I realize that only old ladies knit, but only old ladies like to have coffee and butter pecan ice cream on Sundays for lunch. Only old ladies are allowed to watch bad soap operas and knit while drinking tea. And old ladies can, and usually do, have complete disregard for commonplace tact. I long to be an old lady. This is my first step. Also, I like the idea of not paying the Gap like forty bucks for a scarf that I could knit. I can and will get better and soon I will be clad in designer scarves, and everyone will be like, "I wanna be like Annika, I mean, how awesome is she?" And I'll just be eating my butter pecan ice cream and thinking, "You know it."

Gym Woes

So, the Americans continue their workout to soccer perfection regime. While we were there a few days ago, a fantail (a bird) was outside the windows in front of us. Kelley had introduced these birds to me on a walk through the botanical gardens. Evidently, these birds like to follow around people because of the bugs they kick up as they walk. They are extraordinarily friendly birds who flutter around you, much in the style usually assigned to butterflies. I am a bit creeped out by these birds, as they do have pointy beaks (all the better to pluck out my eyes), but they are nice and cute. Their tails are awesome, please view the included link. Remember, however, you easily distracted reader (and for shame) that here we are in the gym with open windows in front of us. I would also like to inform those of you who aren't familiar, New Zealanders don't have window screens. Here's a friendly little bird looking in from and open window. I kept freaking out, naturally, that the poor little thing would innocently come in and be battered by various cross trainers and treadmills with their moving parts and their running feet. Naturally, the bird was a lot smarter than I gave it credit for, fluttered around the window appreciating the attention it was getting and went on its way.

Today, my freak out was caused by the incompetent worker at Unipol. She insisted on cleaning the windows that are directly in front of and only about a foot away from the machines. Keep in mind that we go at one of the busiest times of day. She closed all the windows and started spraying them with cleaner. Did you not consider that I maybe relying quite heavily on air at this present moment?? I was just a second from fake-choking on cleanser when she re-opened the windows. She is the same precious worker who stood directly in front of Kelley's machine, so that if Kelley hadn't stopped moving the machine would have taken out the worker's knee. She was also the same worker who saw a friend in the room and went up and began talking to the poor wheezing friend for twenty minutes. Does this look like social hour to you? I hate that girl and girls like her. Sobering fact? She still got a job more easily than Kelley and me. Jerk. I hate school visas.

Signs

This is just one of the many signs that are found in the Leith. Just actually had my camera on me for once and thought my loyal bloggerettes (you) could catch a glimpse.

The Yes Men

I try not to make my blog a review of books, movies, or anything because we all know I would delve heavily into criticism about anything and everything I read, see, etc. Still, last night I went to see The Yes Men with my fellow American friend. It was great. It was a politically driven documentary that even included commentary by Michael Moore, but I loved it. I have issues with Michael Moore that don't really have anything to do with documentaries or even lefty documentaries on the whole. The point of the Yes Men is to make the masses question authoritative speakers. They do various political "Punked" episodes, if you will, and it is great to see the reactions of some of the most intelligent minds all over the world.

Basically, nothing I could tell you about this movie will do it justice. Go and see it and never believe anything you see or read again. To read more about the Yes Men and what they do, click on the title of this blog to see their website.

Tongue-tastic

I am not sure if these commercials are airing in the States, but I would assume they are. I am talking about the toothbrushes that have tongue cleaners on the back. Sure, sure the tongue can be the forgotten hygienic locale of the mouth. It is important for breath purposes to brush that little tongue of yours. However, let's analyze the tongue cleaner.

On the back of the brush portion, there is a rubber pad that has uneven surfaces to bests scrub the tongue. Well, you know what would be better than a rubber pad? The brush on the other side of the toothbrush! Fools! I am a fan of nice toothbrushes, but why waste money on a silly rubber pad to rub on your tongue? Seriously, people. Even I, the slave to marketing that I am, am able to see the wool being pulled over my eyes.

It's like getting a straight hair brush and a curly hair brush. Fools.

Banks Blow Monkey Butt

My new bank is going to be a shoebox under my bed. I haven't ever been fond of banks because I'm not very good with money. Still, I have made huge efforts to not suck with money and have been doing a pretty good job about it, if I do say so myself. Well, I got my tax refund (much anticipated) and went to put it in my offshore account. (Get it? I have a bank account outside of the States.... like mobsters! Call me Annika McMobboss.) They have a thing about out of the country checks, which is entirely understandable, but this is a check from Uncle Sam. I was hoping that they would assume that the US government would be able to hold up their end of the paying bargain. Evidently, no. So I told the bank teller, "Well, if you have to hold it for three weeks, then I'll just take it back and send it to my account in the States. Quicker, you know?" Still holding on to my check, she says,"Is it really that big of a deal to get the money right now?" In my head, I was thinking, well, I will have bills to pay next month and holding the check for three weeks might put me in an awkward situation. Plus, if you pay the bills early, you get a discount and I'd hate to miss... wait a minute. Out loud I said, "I don't know how that can possibly be of any concern to you. I'll take my check back now, please." She goes on to insist that I put the check in the bank and sit on it for three weeks because it's more responsible. I tell her that I wasn't looking for financial advice. Admittedly, I was starting to get testy. I had to basically yank the check out of her grubby little hand.

Then, my mom had sent me a rather generous gift herself, in the form of American currency which is surprisingly easy to deposit into an account. I asked her to just put that in the bank and I went on my way. Well, today, the money still hadn't cleared into my account. It was there, but not part of my available funds. I went to the bank to straighten it out and it turns out the teller had entered it as a check! It was easily fixed when I was there, but the wretch of a woman wanted me to wait three weeks to access my own freaking cash! What is wrong with people? Did it really annoy her that I was getting money from the US government? Is it really so wrong that I feel that if I have the check in my hand, I should be able to access the money immediately?

Banks suck. The only bank I'll ever love is M&I Bank in Wisconsin. They called me in Indiana once to let me know that my account in Wisconsin was in danger of overdrawing as a fee was going to be coming up in a week and I didn't have enough money in the account to cover it. They called because they knew I was a student, that I was out of state, and had a knack for overdrawing my account by annoying increments of 50 cents. That's banking, my friend, that's banking.

Sympathy Pains

Imagine that you're a teacher. Imagine you teach postgraduate work to teachers. How much does that have to suck, by nature? Teachers tend to feel in control in the classroom, and postgraduate teachers are clearly also invested in the lifelong pursuit of education and knowledge. We are super critical. I am not envious of people who have to teach in front of an audience of critically thinking peers.

Still. Knowing that this is your situation, wouldn't you try to compensate? I would try to be overprepared. Have plenty of different approaches lined up, appropriate readings, interesting discussion topics... The possibilities are endless. And yet.

After writing a paper for a recent class, we convened a few minutes before the professor and all discussed how awful the paper was. I actually said, "I found myself writing it the way she should have taught it to us. Maybe it'll help." That's harsh, and not uncommon. My peers, who average the approximate age of the professor, all find her lacking and try to help walk her through teaching. Subtlety is, of course, a priority. I just hope that someday I get some smart whippersnappers to keep me in my place and make me regret being so mean to such a well intentioned teacher.

Rain, Ice Cream and Lots of Moola

You know what's not fun? Trying to make a paper about a really boring topic not suck. Yeah, it's a lot harder than you'd think. I still like holing out in the library with coffee and hearing the rain. Actually, I believe today was divine intervention for me to get my paper done right. I know this because it stopped raining briefly... the time it took me to walk my paper from the library to its drop off point. Weird. Then, my day brightened considerably because I came home to find my tax return in the mailbox. Picture heavenly inspired music here. I walked all the way to the bank at like a minute to five, hoping it would still be open. It was, sadly but predictably, not.

Instead of "damning the man" as I might otherwise have been inclined, I decided to get an ice cream cone. I mean, c'mon. Paper's done way ahead of schedule, I'll be putting gross amounts of money into my account tomorrow, and it was a calm, light autumn rain. I have decided that I always want to remember Dunedin as I saw it this afternoon. Leaves crunching beneath hundreds of feet, a light enough rain that you wouldn't even bother using an umbrella, caramel cookie ice cream in your hand, it was great! It's interesting to see weather like that because it's a good opportunity to divide people into two mass groups (there are lots of these situations: people who like vanilla v. chocolate, pepsi v. coke, etc). People who slow down and people who speed up in this light rain. Half of the people slow down and enjoy the scenery, the ambiance of the landscape; half of the people speed up to get out of the blasted rain. Needless to say, I am one of the slower-downers.

So I encourage (or preach, as my dad would tend to believe :) ) everyone to slow down next time it starts raining. I am not encouraging enjoying a monsoon, but as Roger Miller says, "Some people walk in the rain... others just get wet." Why settle for getting wet?

Kiwis are Nice

When I had been here a short while, I thought the "really nice" rumour about Kiwis was a huge myth. Granted, people are nice, but no more nice than normal people. Some are mean, some are nice, much like the rest of humanity. Turns out, they had to prove me wrong. I got a letter from my energy provider just a few days after I had paid my bill. I thought there was some new additional charge I had to pay or something and opened it with all the bitterness one could reasonably expect. I will paraphrase the letter, as I don't have it anymore, but it basically said, "Sorry to clutter up your mailbox with more mail, but we wanted you to know that we are aware that you have choices available to you and we are glad you chose us. To thank you for that, we have just reviewed our prices and wanted to inform you of a decrease in rates. Sorry again for cluttering your mailbox."

What?? Who does that? Who lowers your rates, thanks its customers for being customers and apologizes for taking up the time and energy to do the aforementioned tasks? I wasn't even aware that I had chosen an energy provider. The only thought I had of my heat and electric is in terms of frugality (with the exception of occasionally scalding hot showers. ahhhhh....).

Well, New Zealand, you've impressed me with this general good nature at long last. Companies don't do that, but I'm sure glad you did.

Naysayers -- Where Were You?

I had the privilege to be raised in an era (and in a family) that encouraged doing anything you wanted to do. You could be anything if you set your mind to it, right? I could have been an astronaut, a cowboy, a princess or a Barbie. I could have been a doctor, a lawyer, a veterinarian, or I even coulda been a contender! (Hahahahhahahahhah.) All I was instructed to do what work hard not to eliminate my options before I met up with them and the world would be my oyster.

Now what? I have worked hard in school and in life to make sure I could do whatever it was that I wanted. All I really learned is that these kinds of things take time, energy, and paperwork so I find myself trying to decide what to do next. "You can do anything, Annika!" Yeah, well, where were my naysayers when I needed them? When I was told I couldn't pull off AP Physics, guess what? I did it. When that "open minded professor" told me I would never get an A in her class with my stubbornness, guess what? When I was told I wouldn't get into grad school, guess what? Well, unfortunately, all you naysayers have finally been convinced. So now what do I do? I tell people I want to go to London to teach and all I get in encouragement; I say I want to come back to the States, teach and take over the educational reform front, I only get encouragement. I could take a few years off and be a ski instructor in France (no, I just met a girl who did this while paying off school debts) and I bet I could get some supporters.

When you've been raised in an environment that challenged you to the limit, what do you do when you reach the top and find out you've still got options? All it takes is some time and I could go anywhere and do anything and it's the most frustrating situation I've ever known. I wish there was some dictator like force in my life to tell me... "Now, you go to Colorado and teach. I said, 'Go!'" Or whatever the instructions where. There is a quote (whoa, Annika has a quote?) that says, "Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." Oh Mrs. Roosevelt, you tells it like you sees it.

So what next? When have we made the last big move? The last big change? When do you fall into comfortable stagnation? When exactly is it that I've locked myself into a state/city/job/relationship that will last me the next 30 or so years? All I can say is "I don't wanna." Take that, Eleanor.

Going to Need a Psychic for this One

I had this dream last night that didn't seem that obviously transparent until I was telling my workout friend this morning. There was a whole plot leading up to this point, but I don't remember it. The part I remember begins with me realizing that my superfriends and I have somehow changed the present by messing with the past. I am now married to my archnemesis, Tom. We have a kid, Tom Jr. (Evidently, I am not creative with names in my sleep.) We realize what's going on, but the rest of the world doesn't. We then have to go to church where another archnemesis is. I went because I needed to figure out what was going on, and Tom Sr. went because you have to meet up with your old partners to figure things out. We get to church and someone asks, "Annika, where's the baby?" Crap. I pass the buck to Tom Sr. hoping he will figure out where this elusive baby is. Eventually, I realize that someone else at church had nameless female baby for whatever reason. I am holding the kid, when Tom Sr. comes in with a different baby. Good God. After we straighten out the baby fiasco, some time lapses. Tom Sr. and I figure out that Tom Jr. is evil like his daddy and nameless female baby is a good superbaby. They have little fights that are cute representations of good vs. evil.

Eventually, we have a dilemma: we want to settle down, but doing that means giving up on saving/destroying the world. (Tom is evil, after all.) But to go back to saving/destroying the world would mean going back into the past and making sure we didn't make babies. What do to do, what to do? Save the world while going on adventures or keeping evil Tom Jr. and superduper nameless female baby? Hmm... adventurous travelling or settling down with a family...

Sometimes even I hate how transparent I am. But no, to assure my loyal readership, I am not a superhero and no, I am not making babies with any archnemesises (yeah, it's a word because I made it a word) that I am aware of, anyhow.

Snerdley

I thought I might take a moment to tell you all about my new flatmate. He is Snerdley the Spider. I discovered that he was living with me the other night when he skittered out of my bathroom when I turned on the light. Snerdley is an ugly little SOB, and my initial reaction was to kill him. I don't like that it was my first thought. What had little Snerdley done to me? So, I decided to fight the urge and let him live. Spiders eat flies and other bugs I like less than spiders, so why not let him do his job? Still, Snerdley was ugly and scary and big, so I decided to give him a name that I couldn't possibly fear. I haven't seen Snerdley much since he moved in, which makes me ever happier that I didn't kill him.

I mean, honestly, why do we kill spiders? Are they planning a take over of the human race? Will they attack you in your sleep? We've all heard the urban legend about spiders laying eggs in your face and things, but have you ever had that happen? There is also that horrible fact that we eat some ridiculous amount of spiders because they crawl in our mouths while we sleep. Are spiders lying in wait for humans to sleep so they can commit suicide in our mouths? Even if I have eaten some spiders, am I any worse for having done it? For all I know, they're a good source of protein.

Granted, if I thought they had poisonous spiders in New Zealand, I would have reacted a bit differently. I read in a book once that there is nothing that is dangerous to humans in the whole of the country. I operate on the belief that this book didn't lie to me. Even if it did, Snerdley hasn't launched any attacks on me in my sleep or otherwise. Unless of course, he is living in my belly after having crawled down there last night, feeding on my leftover yogurt and muesli. Still, why should I care?

Moral of the story: stop the mass genocide of the spider; are you really that scared of a bug?

Theory on Life

I figured that since I wrote up my theory on sleeping, why not throw in another of Annika's Theories on Life? I think that life, in general, is not so bad. While that might seem obvious, a lot of us like to go on getting respect for living the lives that we do. My theory is that we all tacitly agree to pretend that life is worse than it is so that we can all pat each other on the backs. Now, do I not think there is poverty and pain on this planet? Of course there is, but I think there is also ridiculous wealth and prosperity as well. For people who have the privilege to live in the middle class sector of most countries, we have nothing to complain about.

I worked insane amounts of hours various summers to help pay for college. Most days, I would work a good fourteen hours a day. You know what? It wasn't that bad. I was the president of a sorority that was constantly getting in trouble and made me the spokesperson to people who were taping our phone conversations. Also, not actually that bad. I had a really lonely and depressing period of limbo before coming here to sunny Dunedin (you try telling friends and family that have real lives that you sleep on a couch and work in a bar -- but really, I am going to be doing something). Yeah, not that good, but not that bad. I had mono, not the really bad kind, but enough to miss a week of class. Not as bad as you'd think.

Granted, there are lots of people who suffer, etc, but I think the vast majority of us just like to hear a way to go for working insane amounts of hours. You want to hear that being sick must have sucked, that preparing for that meeting was probably awful. Truth is? We just want recognition. And that's Annika's Theory on Life.

Bit of a Nap

For some time, anyone who knew me would tell you that I am high-strung and anal, you know, in the good way. I suppose I wouldn't argue too much, but I would love to be more laid back. I have discovered that all these years of anal-retentitiveness were really just me being tired. I sleep a disgusting amount every day, which I am getting used to. Now, I am much more laid back. Granted, I still talk a lot, but that might just be part of my quirky, friendly personality. :) Right?

I think that the whole world needs much more sleep. Think about it -- if you had time for a nap before or after (or both!) that big test, the big presentation, the big meeting, the fight with the kids, or the significant other... wouldn't you be a much happier individual? By the end of my time here, I might not even have my legendary raccoon eyes. How will anyone know my dad and I are related though?? All joking aside, I think that in the hopes of ending all world hunger, wars, and petty girl fights everywhere, we should all take a super long nap today. If you can't manage the disgusting hours of sleep that I am privileged to on a regular basis, just try to do it once so that you can remember what it's like to be well rested. Don't set an alarm, just once. Just sleep!

C'mon, you know you wanna. You are getting sleepy.... Your eyelids are heavy...

Outraged

Since arriving here in sunny Dunedin (yes, that's a joke), I haven't had much need for being in a bad mood. However, I had one today. Computers are the devil. I have two reasons for this: Snood and blog viruses.

Do you all remember Snood? It was all the rage freshman year and then everyone just stopped playing it. Seeing as how my computers usually had a shelf life of two months (see? they've always hated me) so I never redownloaded this seemingly good game. I remembered it a few weeks ago and sought it out, however, and was loving it. It had, like it always had, cute reminders to register the game which costs money. After 100 games, it refused to let me play the ever-loved evil level. You have to buy the game to play it now!! This is the thanks Snood gives me? I refreshed memories of tons of friends who then proceeded to download it as well. I am a freaking Snood PR guru. I even considered not mentioning their name here because I didn't want to advertise for them for free anymore. Clearly, I kinda fell through on that zeal.

Then, I decided to look at other people's blogs for some good ideas and just to kill time I should spend reading educational research. I used the icon at the top that says "next blog". Firstly, just because I am in not-America, every blog it puts up is in some foreign language. Sweet. Secondly, I clicked that ill-fated button and the computer (I kid you not) started laughing at me and saying, "Haha, you have a virus!" Okay, so maybe it was a programme of the virus, but the sentiment was still there. Thankfully, since my last virus situation, I got top line virus protection which swooped and fixed my computer before any damage could be done. Still. I trusted you blogger!

I may start writing real letters and sending them all to you instead of using technology, but I rather predict another falling through in the zeal department. Instead, I'll just complain. :)

The Amazing Chameleon Woman

Another game of soccer, another loss. This was played against the top team of the league. Our first two games were against the top two teams and "baptism by fire" has been mentioned more than once. The whole thing has been a great learning experience, but I still have yet to sub out during a game. I also work harder than smarter at this point because of inexperience. What effect has this naivete cost me? I get hit a lot. I hit people a lot. Such is life.

However, in the middle of this past week I noticed weird coloring on my leg and it took me a while to recognize it as a bunch of little bruises. I also have a large bruise on my right arm and my feet are, again, falling apart. That was before this week's game. Now, in the hour since I've gotten home, I have already the makings of a bruise on my stoma-- I mean, rock hard abs, and two bruises on my chest that outline a couple of ribs pretty well. Who knows what new bruises will appear within the next week? I also enjoy getting all dolled up for church because I can wear a nice skirt and nice shoes and bruises everywhere. I feel hardcore. :)

The good news is that I played back today, meaning I wasn't playing midfield where you run constantly. The bad news is that the coach told me to let him know when I thought I was fit enough to play midfield regularly. "As soon as possible, preferably." Sweet. Soccer is taking over my life, but there are considerably worse addictions. I hope by the end of the season I am polka dotted with bruises. Eh, I thought being white was too boring anyway.

So Different, and Yet

Two fellow Americans and I decided to go to a rugby game last night. The whole of my social group was astounded that I had never been. I have been here for like two months after all. Well, I was all excited for this new and different game, but it turns out some things never change. For instance, we wanted to drink during rugby, but we are way too cheap to pay stadium prices. So we drank a bit while watching the kickoff (or whatever it's called) before planning on catching the bus to the stadium. Well, we needed to break some larger bills before we could get on the bus, so we stopped at the corner dairy and got ice cream. Naturally. Needless to say, by the time we got to the bus stop, we had missed the last bus. Anyone who knows me at all should not be shocked by this. What to do?

We went to a nearby pub and sat down near some boys and started with the, "So wait, the boys can run with the ball-y thing in their hands? Are you sure?" Immediately, we had a crew of guys teaching us the rules of rugby. You know what? Nothing beats watching an exciting game with friends and a few beers. Even if it is rugby. Now I have watched bits and pieces of rugby on TV, but Good God!! They literally have to tape down their ears to avoid getting them ripped off. Yeah, I said "avoid" because there's still no guarantee. It's a rough game that I don't think I should ever attempt playing. I may even find it more exciting to watch than American football. Keep the shocked gasps to yourself, I was never that big of a fan. :)

The whole evening was concluded with watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico with a bunch of a friend's neighbors. College kids are college kids the world round. And I think men everywhere are intimidated by the vast hotness of Johnny Depp because all guys joke around about how girls think he's so hot. Um, yes. He is. And you know it. In summary, a good night was had by all, and it was one of the first semi-random evenings that reminded me of my ever-random Valpo days. As an added bonus, maybe now my neighbors won't think I'm so hermit-tious. Sweet as.

Some Girls Have All the Luck

It all started when I was sitting at my computer and saw the McDuff's Brewery truck pull up. (No, I didn't make that brand up -- fun, hey?) Two men jumped out and rolled two kegs into my neighbors' flat. Well, it wasn't going to be a quiet night, but that kind of thing hasn't ever really bothered me. No worries, let the kids have a good time. I did however miss the protocol that we have always been good at: if you share an entire wall with a neighbor and are going to have a really loud party, you have the goodwill to let your neighbor know and invite them over. I fear I have become the old reclusive student that lives by herself and feeds the ducks. Sad.

Nonetheless, my eventful night of reading and watching TV went on without a hitch, except that I had the twinge of a headache coming on. As I am far too cheap to buy Advil or some equivalent, my strategy for fixing headaches is to ignore them. Usually this strategy works wonders. Unfortunately, this headache kept getting a little worse until I had that one evil creeping thought, "I wonder if this is going to turn into a migrai--" Boom! Migraine City! I had to turn my TV off and cover my head with pillows to drown out the party that wouldn't end. The pressure of the pillow felt like it was crushing my poor little head. No worries, though, that thought was pushed out by... that smell! What was it? Well, I debated between the water in the air (was the H2 contaminating my H2O??), my freshly laundered sheets smelling too clean, and the cotton fibers in my shirt. New strategy time. I decided to focus on every little thing that my senses were freaking out about in the hopes that I would pass out in sheer exhaustion. It worked and my last waking thought was focused on the drunk girl shouting along to that Moulin Rogue song while people clapped and laughed.

Stupid drunk kids. Lucky I didn't call the cops for a noise complaint. Fortunately, I am just the old reclusive duck feeder, not that girl who sucks and calls the cops.

Pictures!

Per the advice of my brother, I put some pictures up here to look at. However, I am new at this picture thing and am unable to put them all in one post. Sorry, kids, you'll have more to scroll through. These are, I would like to remind you, just a tasting of my pictures. If you go to my linked picture website, you will have more to look at. These particular pictures are of my recent holiday to Wanaka. I don't have any cool pictures of skydiving or anything because it was a pain to take a camera with you as you jumped 9000 ft. :) Hope you'll understand.



Lake Wanaka and its cool mountains and fog.

Picture #2

Even though my camera died on the horse riding trip, there's my horse eating next to the chicken. That's the scenery we rode through in the background.

Picture #3

Me holding up that massive pun on the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Water of Leith

What's that you say? You want another list?? Alright, but just this once... The Water of Leith, or The Leith as the kids call it, runs all through town. Frequently, kids like to throw stuff in it. Here's a list of things I have seen in The Leith since I got here.

-A couch.

-Matching sofa chair.

-A trolley (grocery cart).

-Motorcycle helmet.

-One muddy student.

-Several traffic signs.

-A toy boat.

-Several unidentifiable large pieces of wall or something.

-Ducks and gulls.

And I've only been here two months. Time will tell what other wonders get unearthed in The Leith.

...It Makes Me Dream

As I was walking home the other night, I looked up at the stars and realized I hadn't done this since I got here. At first, I was frustrated because obviously astronomy had taught me nothing because I couldn't identify one star. Then I remembered what my dad told me before I left, that I'd be seeing stars I had never seen before in my life. Well, that's pretty friggin' cool. I took a moment to look a little crazy as I stood in the middle of my street at night staring at the sky. I had a moment of what I like to call deja who? I've had several of these since I got here. One was when my friend and I were legitimately in a hostel talking about going skydiving the next day. I just stopped midsentence (yes, I can hear the jokes-- I do stop midsentence quite frequently) and was in shock. Who am I? When did I become the girl who didn't plan ahead enough to have to sneak into someplace for a place to sleep for the night? When did I become the girl who goes skydiving? All of a sudden, you feel this real distance from the person you've become. You feel almost like you've been watching a movie you've been acting in, but it's not actually your life.

I had another deja who moment staring up at those stars. Who is this girl staring at stars she's never seen? Who's this girl who moved to friggin' New Zealand?? Don't get me wrong, I am insanely happy here (money situation no longer plagues me; long story) but sometimes I am shock at the way that life turns out. I am also interested to hear if anyone else has ever had a deja who moment and if we can make that a term. I do hope we all have these moments because they also bring a twinge of pride. The reason I am so shocked at what I've done is because who woulda thought? Goes back to my favorite quote of the moment -- If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. (Thomas Edison)

PS- anyone who gets the reference of the title gets ten extra credit points...

I Heart Lists

First, I must apologize to Ally for using the dreaded "I heart..." but I love it. Sorry. :) It's been quite a while since I resorted to list form, but I will make a list of things that are different here in an effort to explain the subtle differences that create a little bit of a new world for me.

-Paper clips are in the shape of triangles, not ovalish like in the States.

-They don't have cute school supplies, mostly because it's in fact stupid to pay extra money for a pink notebook, instead of a standard one.

-They don't have fancy cars, they just have cars. For the same intention as above.

-I thought we had transitional weather in Wisconsin, which we do. Still, here, it changes from like hot and humid to monsoon in the time it takes me to take a shower.

-They idealize socialism. Not that uncommon, but it is back in the States.

-Parents fight to be more involved in the schools, not vice versa.

-They don't have central heating or cooling. They have heatpumps and open windows. It takes some adjusting.

-They eat pumpkin here, and their pumpkins have a grey peel. I know, it's sick. It almost stopped me from eating so much pumpkin soup. Almost.

-They also give money to schools that have religious affiliations.

-They have three channels and one mode of cable -- Sky. If you don't have Sky, you watch those three channels. They got the third channel sometime in the 80's.

That's all for now. Hope it's been informative and fun! ;)

Manna of the Gods

As a newly less than wealthy student, I felt the urge to encourage the widespread eating of rice. Adventures have their costs and because of my skydiving venture extravaganza, I don't get any more adventure for quite some time. Getting a job here is also exceedingly difficult. So while I savor the remnants of my super hard work for the past few months, I eat rice. I am certain that comfort will return to me eventually after I have a job. I also recall some stupid revelation about life in which I valued knowing what it was like to be full of rich food and also to appreciate starving. To feel real hunger. Turns out? Not as good as you'd think it would be. And I don't particularly feel that I am gaining perspective on life or anything either. Isn't that supposed to be the trade off?

Now to alleviate the fears of parental sorts that might read this -- I am not starving and far from starvation. But this is the closest I think I have ever been because I am trying to conserve, or ration, my food. Be proud, parental sorts, I have learned responsibility of finances. Naturally, and to be expected, I learned this right after I went on my little journey of spending money. I have no regrets... skydiving over the arguably most beautiful land in the world and eating rice or eating salmon.... hmmm.

10-0

Yes, that was the score of today's soccer game. No, we did not get any goals. Turns out we were not set to have our first game against the worst team in the league last year. No, no. We played the team that placed second. And by those standards, I think we did pretty well. Working out has finally paid off because I didn't sub out at all. Forty minutes is a long time to play for one half. Luckily, I really like the game and all my game-induced adrenaline of my youth is still there. My strength is really defense I think, although they like to make me run a lot in midfield. How do I manage to be good defensively? Well, naturally I throw my body in the path of the ball. I am not good at handling said ball, but frequently, it bounces off me with such force that it goes to the correct side of the field. I caught enough balls in the nether regions to make me question my ability to bear children in the future. I also took balls in the head (not on purpose), the shoulder, the thighs, the arm (again, not on purpose), and on several rare occasions, my feet! My feet, by the way, are falling apart. I seriously think I will have to get a foot transplant one of these days. No more cute shoes for me, they are ruining my life. Not to mention the soccer boots!

At least we look cute in our uniforms. :) I like to call us the Bees because our colors are yellow and black, but the team decided it sounded too nice. We have opted instead for yellow. Yeah, that totally doesn't sound nice and sunny. Ah well. Even if I can't move and the team did score ten goals on us, we still did awfully well and I am quite excited for us to be good. And! I am now an official soccer player because I bled. It's good to be me.