First, Jehovah's Witnesses came to my house. I mean, really? I guess I just didn't expect it. Nor did they expect me to tell them I was not only raised Christian, but had gone to school from basically birth on in a Christian environment. When asked if I was familiar with their faith, I had to respond that my family used to invite them in on regular basis. Or at least my brother. Freak. So that was random.
Then, a couple days ago, my friend told me that since she was going to London, she would give me her cell phone! For free!! See, they're really expensive here which was holding me back. And I love cell phones. I mean, I'll have to learn how to txt and all that poop, but I can deal. (Calling is still too expensive for me.) And I expected the phone to come in a few days, but bam, in the mailbox this morning! Yay!! So I have a phone. But I now have to learn the NZ way to have a phone. I mean, you don't have to get a bill; you do the prepaid thing. Which I have never done. Blissful learning experience.
UPDATE: Oh, and I'm officially old. While trying to figure out txt, I accidentally tried to send a message, I couldn't figure out how to use or turn off predictive texting, and eventually had to find the manual online. Not only did I read the manual extensively, I printed off appropriate sections. I am old. And, it's an old school Nokia. Like my first cell phone. I am old, old, old.
30 May 2006
Random Day
29 May 2006
Yes? No?
Are these in now? These cuties are from Target, available on their website. I would adore if rainboots came in style. I love them, but they seem very little girlish. However, I enjoy being girlie. And I hate wet feet. And barking dogs are cute. This is really win-win.
Workaholic
I've taken on a second job of filing. I, of course, love it. I am only in the beginning of training, but it seems that my best friends will be paperclips, staplers, stapler removers and Excel spreadsheets. I like all these things, though Excel and I still need to be better acquainted for my taste.
The filing system is, however, horrible. Due to many legit reasons, the files are merely stacked up in boxes rather than a filing cabinet. Lots of heavy lifting. It's okay, I can use the exercise. And the money. Oh yes, I do like money.
Marathon-itis
One of my favourite aspects of collegiate life, honestly, was the TV marathons we would have. I can remember one day of e-board training that was free -- we spent the whole day watching a Cribs marathon huddled under a blanket while we waited for the heater to warm up the apartment. I remember frequent Friends marathons. Sex and the City... forget about it.
Sometimes it was just movies, sometimes themed, sometimes not. But I miss it. There are a few good shows that I just missed bits of. Grey's Anatomy is one that I just started watching. While NZ is behind a bit, I still missed a bunch of the first season. I want that season back. Also, the OC is on at 7.30 (8.30??) on a Saturday night. I mean, come on. I have missed so many, I barely knew who Marissa's little sister was. I demand a marathon.
While I have to wait for my friends to be done with exams, I am already eagerly awaiting a marathon of Gilmore Girls. Or whatever else strikes me that day.
I heart Marathons. And it's probably VH1's fault. I love the 80's, 70's, and 90's did me in. So not my fault.
28 May 2006
If I Only Had the Money
One thing I like to say a lot in New Zealand is: "If I only had the money to do the start up, you know what I'd do here?" Here is today's example. Sushi is big here. I like sushi. But I don't like walking for like 20 minutes to get it - yes, because I'm lazy. I then remembered that college was great because of the amount of food you could get delivered to your door. Subs. That was the kicker. Who would have thought of it? But once they did, hundreds of sandwiches were being delivered to dorms at 2 in the morning, every morning. Genius.
My latest idea is that there should be sushi delivery, combining with the ice cream truck idea. Take an ice cream truck, but make it only fridge cold, rather than freezing. Have the stacks of sushi all ready to go. Then, have a guy on a car phone being told where to take the sushi. Genius. And I'd pay a little more to have it delivered. The stuff could be made ready in the back. I have seen small sushi stands in the mall; you don't need a lot of room to prepare. Genius.
Friggin' genius.
27 May 2006
The Things You Learn
Since I am oh so fond of lists, especially when summarising large amounts of time, away we go:
- It really is cold here. Damp and cold. Like a cave. Not just my flat, but some restaurants and hotels.
- I have adjusted to sub-zero temperatures and have ceased noticing when I can see my breath in my flat.
- Apparently, if you run the heater full time here, my flat grows mold (and quickly) because of the condensation formed.
- Queenstown is bloody beautiful. If I could move there tonight, I would.
- Wine tours are fun.
- Wine is fabulous.
- Some 6 dollar bottle of wine from the market rivaled the 39 dollar bottle we bought.
- My family will never stop having inside jokes that make us laugh hysterically and others shake their heads with wonder.
- We're still good at road trips; even on the other side of the road.
- Roundabouts make my dad sweat like a pig.
- Hot air balloon rides are like the parachute portion of sky diving.
- There are a lot of sheep in New Zealand. I mean, I already knew this, but man.
- Shags (mentioned in much earlier posts; the birds that are like half duck and can swim underwater) mate for life. It's adorable.
- My soccer team loves my family.
- I love my family.
- It's weird to send your whole family on a plane to the States when you're not on it.
- I cried equally as much while picking up and dropping off my family at the airport. A ton.
- For all the world traveling we've done, it's still fun to eat pizza, drink beer, and watch an old movie on TV together.
- I miss them.
More to come.
25 May 2006
And She Returns
Well, I'm back. The fam was dropped off to the airport, while I got all teary-like, this morning. Here's one picture from us hot air ballooning over Queenstown. More fun stuff to come, but I'm exhausted and my flat is in a state.
14 May 2006
What?!
We might get snow!! It's in the forecast. And this year, I'm high enough in the hills to see actually accumulated snow!
And I get the rental car today. Of course.
Clean Freak
My family gets here in t-minus 21 hours. Is my flat clean? Well. I mean. It's cleanish. I will do some more cleaning tonight, but Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives are on. I make no promises. :) But people from work have been asking me if my flat is clean.
I stated my philosophy. I think that my flat is cleanish. But it's sort of a dank with dusty corners kind of place. I have vacuumed and dusted, but it's small and accumulates dirt easily. So... are my dishes clean? Is the floor vacuumed? Is my bed made? The table cleared and my clothes safely in my closet? Yes. What more can I want? I got the comment: "If I was coming halfway around the world to see you and your place is dirty, I would be offended."
I responded: "Yes, my family is coming to see me. Not my flat, regardless of its cleanliness. And Luckily, my family are the kind of people who would not be offended by the state of my living quarters. I guess that's why we get along so well."
I miss my family. And the fact that cleanliness really isn't a big issue with us.
Dan Brown
So now I'm reading The DaVinci Code (as you do). I am glad that I'm reading it; my family is going to see the movie together when it comes out while they're here. And I'm glad I'm catching on the international best selling phenomenon, but I still can't figure out why it's so popular. I mean, don't get me wrong. I like it. It's good. I think so far (I have about 150 pages left) I still like Angels and Demons better but that's because I'm already sensing a pattern between the books. I have an idea of who the main bad guy in charge is based on how the first novel turned out. If that turns out to be true... I'll be a tad disappointed. If I can pick up the formula after 20 pages of the second book...
But still. I do enjoy it. They're hard books to put down. And that's always a plus. But I still feel like I've read more engaging books. I don't know. I think it's like anything else that's wildly popular. You hear so much about its success, when you finally see/hear/experience it yourself, it lacks something.
All this sounds like I don't like it!! I do, I really do. :)
13 May 2006
Congrats
Leif graduated!! He's an official lawyer now. So here's a classic Jorgensen family photo. At least two out of three people are looking at the camera (way to go, Dad). :) The only thing missing is... me. :( But that whole group is coming to see me in two days!!! 
And here's my little brother (who is neither younger nor smaller than me) being a grown up. Officially.
10 May 2006
Over It.
Yeah, so I'm over cleaning. I know, it really didn't take long. I am in a stretch of laziness however. I mean, the family (who will be here oh so soon) already know that I can be real messy at times. Why pretend otherwise? :) Also, because I know they're coming for a fun ten day extravaganza of activities that are neither work nor school related, I don't want to do either of them. I mean, work? For an hour a day? I can't be asked.
School? I am tired of browsing through state department of education websites. It's boring. I'd rather sit in bed and read for hours, then go to the art museum or something. Maybe see a movie? But it looks like rain today, so maybe just bed and book. Sounds cozy. Too bad it's not even 11am.
The sad bit is that I will (of course) immediately start cleaning after I post this. I'm a freak that way.
09 May 2006
I Love Vacuums
So I saw this episode of Oprah once that had people with super messy houses. They were actually perfectionists. When the mess got too big to fix, they just ignored it because what else could they do? I can understand these people. My flat was gross. Spiderwebs everywhere, dust everywhere, remnants of take out food and having people over. I mean, honestly. But I have no vacuum this year. Last year, one came with the flat (or the use of one did). This year, no such luck.
However, my boss came to my rescue and allowed me the use of a spare vacuum of his for a while. I vacuumed and the difference is amazing. I mean, a-mazing. First off, I could barely wait five minutes before starting up the vacuum. This proves I do have perfectionist in me. And I vacuumed for a solid 20 minutes. Let me reiterate that it's a small, small flat. And that was only in the lounge area. But the difference!!
I love vacuumed carpet. It just looks so nice. I know it borders on obsession-sounding here, but understand I've been in a dirty flat since January. It wasn't particularly clean when I moved in. So saints be praised, the flat is clean. And just in the nick of time. My family will be here by this time next week!
08 May 2006
Reason #147893 Why I'm Insane
I just remembered this dream I had last night. Or more, I just remembered my middle of the night adventures. Before I went to sleep, I discovered another huge spider in my room. Now, I like a certain kind of spider (the vagrant, mentioned in several blogs) because they like to flee from me. They are also mainly legs. This spider, the initial intruder that let me know how infested my flat was, is a tunnelweb and has a huge butt. Or whatever they call the butt-like things on spiders. Its massive body worries me. This results in less than restful sleep.
Still, I read until I was near passing out from exhaustion and fell asleep. Then I dreamt that I won 10,000 dollars. Well, naturally, I woke up just enough to think of what I'd do if I had ten thousand dollars. No, like really. I was budgeting my winnings that I was well aware didn't actually exist. Those are problems. Then, I could have sworn I heard rats in the ceiling. I guess this is a possibility. I had an entire issue of whether I thought that my upstairs neighbors smuggled in a cat (pets aren't allowed here), whether there were in fact rats, if they were rats or mice, and if I actually cared. I mean, I am pretty sure there aren't holes in my ceiling. But only pretty sure. Then I shook myself from my reverie and decided I should get up and go to the toilet or something. But then I remembered the movie, It. I haven't seen that movie in a long time. Actually, I haven't seen the movie since my brother conned me into watching it when I was little (probably the reason I still fear all scary movies to date). There is the one scene where blood bubbles out of the sink. What if blood bubbled out of the sink when I went to wash my hands?
Then I thought... well, would I be scared of it if it were daylight? Now, realistically, probably. But still, then I figured if I were a mythical thing designed to feed on people, I would make sure that I would especially come out if people were scared. It just makes sense. Like The Ring. Crap. Then I was thinking about the girl from that. Would she come out of my computer screen like she would a TV? I mean, does she really distinguish? Because that would really help me out. But then I remembered, why am I worrying about fictional things when there could be rats above my head? Then I remembered at my old house (the one in Tosa, for those keeping up with the rapid Jorgensen move-fest that has been the past few years) how either my dad or my brother (feeding on my easily scared thing) told me the attic was haunted. And I had a loft. I couldn't decide if the noises were squirrels or dead people. I was awfully close to that ceiling. Later, my dad told me that if there were dead people, they would have only been knee deep in house: it was a really short attic.
I wondered then if the rats would turn out to be only knee deep in my ceiling. Then I laughed, comforted, and fell asleep.
I told I was crazy. I didn't even remember this until now... before I head to bed again. Shoot.
07 May 2006
Friggin' MacGyver
I broke my headphones/microphone headset that turns my computer into a phone. It was dumb. I knew I might break them when I pulled on them, and yet I yanked away.
Luckily for all you chatty Kathys out there that I talk to, I managed to fix my headset with a post-it note and a polka dot piece of ribbon. That's right, I basically rule.
I should teach classes.
Migraine
I had a killer migraine today. While my upstairs neighbors decided to clean their flat, noisily. While Gilmore Girls was on. It was sad.
I had to hang out in that medicated state of not sleeping, not being awake in a dark cool room with probably too much headache medicine. It lasted as long as the spring cleaning upstairs and the Gilmore Girls hour. It was sad.
But I am better now! So I will be forced to read about the show online. So the same thing as watching it. :)
05 May 2006
Slugs
To unfortunately follow the post about raw fish, I will now switch quickly to slugs. Sorry.
I have become more than aware that New Zealand has lots of spiders, most of which live in my flat (poor family that is coming to see me soon - hope you like spiders). I was not aware, however, of the presence of slugs. I am sure I've seen slugs in my life. It just makes sense. They don't seem exotic, or even that gross. Well, they do now.
Spiders like to hang out in my mailbox. It's kind of gross. Like, you grab the wad of advertisements for furniture, jewelry, electronics, etc (like I can afford it) that you only want to throw away regardless. So you grab that wad and begin the walk to your outside garbage can. You look down, and a huge friggin' spider is scrambling toward your hand. You scream like a little girl and throw the mail to the ground, running away before you've even finished. No? Just me? Well, it only had to happen once or twice before I obsessively check and peer inside the mailbox before removing stuff. I thought I was safe. I checked, man, I checked. Then I went to turn over a flyer and touched a gooey mess of a slug's back. I screamed even louder than ever (embarrassingly while people were walking down the sidewalk) and threw it into the neighbor's yard. Oops. The slug was the size of my thumb. That seems unnecessarily large to me.
After fleeing to my flat and washing my hands numerous times while gagging (I don't do textures), I realised that I would still prefer slugs to spiders. If I just poured salt all around my flat, they wouldn't come in. Simple.
Stupid slugs. I am sick of nature already: give me a squeaky clean flat without a hint of a cobweb or fly anywhere.
04 May 2006
Food
Today was the first time I've ever eaten sushi. Now, I still think there is some general disagreement about what constitutes sushi. I think of it as large quantities of raw fish, which takes some mental mindset adjustment to launch into. Here in New Zealand, however, they have their own brand of sushi (much like American Chinese food is neither American nor Chinese, yet somehow brilliant). One of the most popular kinds is chicken teryaki(sp?). Cooked chicken. I mean, I won't complain; I'm not eating the chicken regardless, but it's a whole new game. I did go for the smoked salmon line because of the principle of the thing. My friend gently forced me into it. So I ate it. And... I loved it! :) I am quite sad that I have missed out on almost a year and half of this wonderful food. Luckily, there is a sushi shop near me and it's cheap and healthy. Mmm.
Also, while helping some friends shift flats, I got to partake in the best part of moving: the eating the takeout dinner in the middle of the floor together, beer in hand. Fun times. But while we were deciding what to get for everyone, the conversation turned to jam rap donuts. No one had ever heard of them, but upon hearing the description of them, I said, "Wait, do you mean jelly donuts? You don't have jelly donuts?!" I have never been much of a donut person, so I haven't delved into the donut choices here. Apparently, they don't have donuts of the filled variety. When we got to the fish and chip shop to get dinner, we did in fact see jam rap donuts on the menu. I did try one to see if it was the same; the dough bit was a bit off, but otherwise - jelly donut. Then I explained that we ate this for breakfast. Everyone was astounded. They are deep fried, sugary, and jam filled: clearly this is a dessert.
I explained that you didn't get to be the fattest nation in the world by only eating dessert after dinner.
03 May 2006
You Got Me.
I've taken a break with Vanity Fair. It just takes so long. Which is usually fine, but I have a couple books out from various libraries across town. Also, while I'm in the throes of research, I don't want a book that I have a rate of 30 pages an hour (okay, that's hyperbole, but barely). I jumped on the bandwagon of Dan Brown.
I am currently reading Angels and Demons. Much different than Thackeray, I can tell you that much. Since last night, I have read near 350 pages. Much different than Thackeray. I don't know why I thought that Brown's books where going to be denser. Yes, they have lots of little known info about art and history. But... I guess I mean that it isn't a profoundly difficult plot. It isn't hard to keep up or to predict the next move. That being said, I am highly entertained by it all. I have heard the Indiana Jones comparisons and those make sense to me now.
Sadly, that's what drove me to reading dear ol' Dan. Everyone else is doing it. Here's hoping people don't start jumping off bridges...
Plug for Travel Blogs
Well, I got my first email contact based on my blog. Sweet.
www.mylifeoftravel.com
They emailed me because they read my blog and it connects: travelers and bloggers. I am sure this was an empty attempt to make me mention them or make me read their site. Well, it worked. It was almost like fan mail. Almost.
Regardless, if you dig travel and blogs, you'd like the site. It's interesting, it's free, what's not to love?
02 May 2006
Ew?
I read this in an article today:
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A 33-year-old man in northern Malaysia has married
a 104-year-old woman, saying mutual respect and friendship had turned to love, a
news report said Tuesday.
It was Muhamad Noor Che Musa's first marriage and his wife's 21st,
according to The Star newspaper, which cited a report in the Malay-language
Harian Metro tabloid.
I mean, I don't like to say that age matters. I know that it doesn't always. I know you sometimes have your Anna Nicoles (and I still think she used him; but was it mutual using is the question?), but other times, age doesn't really matter. This made me question that statement. Her 21st? Good lord.
As my usual copout, I will just say it is "interesting". Full article here.
Gender Wars
I received this email joke today, which was apparently voted as women's favourite email joke (I was never asked to vote):"A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed home.
He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed:"Dear Lord: I go to work
every day and put in 8 hours while my wife merely stays at home. I want her to
know what I go through, so please allow her body to switch with mine for a day.
Amen. God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish. The next morning,
sure enough, the man awoke as a woman. He arose, cooked breakfast for his mate,
awakened the kids, set out their school clothes, fed them breakfast, packed
their lunches, drove them to school, came home and picked up the drycleaning,
took it to the cleaners and stopped at the bank to make a deposit, went grocery
shopping, then drove home to put away the groceries, paid the bills and balanced
the checkbook. He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog. Then it was
already 1 P.M. and he hurried to make the beds, do the laundry, vacuum, dust,
and sweep and mop the kitchen floor. Ran to the school to pick up the kids and
got into an argument with them on the way home. Set out milk and cookies and got
the kids organized to do their homework, then set up the ironing board and
watched TV while he did the ironing. At 4:30 he began peeling potatoes and
washing vegetables for salad, breaded the pork chops and snapped fresh beans for
supper. After supper, he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, folded
laundry, bathed the kids, and put them to bed. At 9 P.M. he was exhausted and,
though his daily chores weren't finished, he went to bed where he was expected
to make love, which he managed to get through without complaint. The next
morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said: Lord, I don't know
what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy my wife's being able to stay home
all day. Please, oh please, let us trade back." The Lord, in his infinite
wisdom, replied: "My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be
happy to change things back to the way they were."You'll just have to wait nine
months, though. You got pregnant last night."
Now, you may get a chuckle out of it. Personally, these jokes make me a little discouraged. First off, we've all seen the cartoons. The adults become kids and the kids become grown ups. The moral of the story is that everyone has difficulties that they go through. So, the woman might well have learned some lessons about having a career too. Those aren't so easy either, so I hear. Secondly, I have to give my family the respect it deserves. I can't relate to this joke. I have never experienced that household or known anyone else that did. By the first grade, I was making my own lunch. Before you yell at my mother, know that I criticised how she made me my lunch until one day she told me it was my job. We were both relieved. I washed my own clothes at age ten for similar reasons. We didn't have one person who did all the laundry, cooked all the meals, or cleaned the house. If you got home first, you made food. If laundry needed doing, you did it. If you dirtied something, you were expected to clean it up. Does that mean we had a peaceful household that ran smoothly and cleanly all the time? Of course not. But it was a team effort.
If being "the woman" is so hard because you have to make your kids beds every day, mop the kitchen floor every day, bathe the dog every day, and snap fresh beans for your dinner every day? Well, I just have no sympathy for you. If you like doing it, then you ought not complain. If you don't like doing it, make your kids make their own beds, deal with a bit of excess dirt on the floor and make normal people food.
I know it's just a joke. And I guess it's funny. But I'm glad I can't relate to it.
PS: sorry about the formatting. don't know how to fix it. it looks normal until i publish it. sorry.
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