Good day

Soundtrack: Kings of Convenience - I'd rather dance with you

After yesterday's sorrows, today proved to be a muuch better day. :) Actually I should have been studying hard out for my exam, but somehow I don't have the proper drive... It'll be fine though. Tomorrow should prove a more effective day (just keep saying that, Tina...)

So instead I spent the evening making Lasagna for my friends! Wuhu! And niice icecream with explicit sex talk afterwards... We know how to party.. lol Oh my god, !xobile

Oh well. better try get some sleep.

P...M...S?

I'm just sad right now.. sooo tired, had a hard night at work. Last night, Manuel decided to have a party, because he finished his last exam. (whee! Good on u manu!) Anyway, I was royally stressed out and kinda ran away from the whole thing... I had a crap as day yesterday. I had to get up at 2 to look at a flat, which prooved to be crap as usual, and because I didn't sleep enough I was too tired to study after I got back and decided to sleep. Woke up at 7pm and didn't get to do any studying again because of the party, on top of that all the ppl were giving me a hard time for working, saying that I was boring and that I should call in sick, and saying that I should give a fuck about this exam.. I am so stressed about this exam! the lecturer has a way of twisting the words in the questions so that I don't really know what it is he is asking for.. it is making me unsure and I cannot bring my dictionary because It doesn't do any good anyway.. So I ran away from the party. the whole day was whasted... Mark has left me in the search for the apartment.. I'm sick of the whole hunt now and will put it on hold till tuesday. I don't have time for this shit! Ahh....

On a brighter note:
I have confidence in this world now. It came to me on the bus. I suppose it was almost like a religious thing... suddenly, watching a traffic light on victoria street, I felt at home again. Not in Wellington(although this does feel like my home right now) but in the world. The world holds my soul at the moment, and I feel confident that anything I need will be given to me at the appropriate time, although I won't necessarily recognise it at once.. Sometime I miss having a religion to cling to, but then I have one of these moments, and it comes to me that I do have a religion. I do have a set of beliefs, I do believe in things that cannot be proved, but still it feels sooo obvious to me. It's good to have a purpose.
No regrets.

10 Things to appreciate on a rainy day

1. I don't have to go out if I don't want to
2. I can sleep till 5 ish
3. Having beers in the morning after a long night of work
4. Two wonderful flatmates
5. Being given the perfect opportunity to stay indoors and STUDY!
6. I will save money because I don't want to go shopping
7. Lots of friends live in the same building
8. If I get bored I can actually tidy my room
9. Croissants and cheese
10. I don't have to work tonite

Flat

I wish I could find a flat soon! I'm getting a bit tired of searching for a flat. I now know how to decifer flat adds:
Magnificent views = on top of a steep hill far away from supermarket
Large windows = Freezing in the winter
Suitable for up to 5 tenants = 3 at most!
Preferred tenants: Young profs = Old geezers with snug jobs
People have this image of what a student is like.. loud, messy, destructive, lazy... I don't really want to lower my standards, just because I'm now a student. I know I'm being demanding, wanting a mint flat without moist damage or shit-coloured walls, but I guess in reality we've got to be quite lucky to find something that will suit everyone. I passed on the one I liked cuz Loic didn't like the rooms. Ok, so one of them didn't have a door.. so what. I saw potential in that flat.. Just keep looking then. I've spent several hours flathunting this week. Maybe 2 hours revising for my exam... It's no good.

Goodbye Lene...

Gosh, what an unproductive day it has been today.. We had Lene's sendoff yesterday... :'( Wasn't feeling that great this morning. It is the official start of the leaving-season... ***SIGH*** She's the first one out, going travelling with her family for some days and then just coming back here for a few hours before leaving, so won't see her again in NZ. I'll miss you, babe. All the good times. Memories.

I miss myself the way I used to be at a certain point in time. At the same time, I do not wish go go backwards.. Strange dilemma. Have been working both Friday and Saturday night, now it's Sunday morning, and I'm chillin' with some beers before heading off to bed soon. Been a quiet night, thank goodness. Today there was a bunch of us who had like an official sendoff dinner for Lene. Damn, I hate these dinners. Novembers suck. This year I'll be saying goodbye to 4 friends: (cronologically) Lene, Peter, Elisabeth and Manuel. I hate saying goodbye to ppl. It's been a year and a half already, and I still miss the first people to leave Welli after getting to know them. All the small memories from when Feli and Regi were here... As I was sitting on the bus yesterday I was thinking about how different places in Welli reminds me of different ppl. I'll list them for you :)

Circa Theatre, Downstage and Bats Theatre: Felicia and Regina
The church on Dixon/Willis: Feli
The church on Church St: Regi
Espressoholic: Jo, Feli, Regi and Kuni
The Malthouse: Kunihiro!
Lambton Quay, outside Supré: Go
My room on 3rd floor in Vic house: Trong. (I miss u as a neighbour, Trong!)
The bench outside Pipitea/Havana: Anette
The Norwegian Consulate: Lene
The water purifier in Vic House/every shoe shop: Joanne
Strawberry fair: My girls ;)
Civic Square: Geeta
Shitty Okey's/the couch: Manuel
The bench on Manners and Willis/Lyall Bay parade: Peter
The bench in the Botanical garden: Elisabeth
Michael Fowler Centre: Travis
Te Aro: Tarz

There's more but I should go to bed.
Mmmm, memories. I carry you all in my heart.

2000 words in 12 hours.... a bit drained and terrified that this is a shit essay... Exam tomorrow! Whoa.. wish me luck... Tuesday! Can't wait for tuesday... maybe finally some shopping??

Wide awake

It's 8:15 am now, and unfortunately I'm wide awake. I have to sleep soon! I've slept about 4 hours the last two days... It's quite worrying. Work last night was quite interesting.. I had to kick someone out, and there was HEAPS of work to be done.. I don't really think about it, but I basically go for 8 hours doing physical labour.. Which to me is quite all right. Think about all the ppl all over the world who do physical labour, and if they're lucky they get paid $1 a day.. I'm working with a Somalian guy called Dayib. I really like him, he is nice to talk to, and he tells me about stuff that I'm curious about. He came here from Somalia about 2 years ago, and I'm learning lots of stuff about Somalia, about how he views his religion (it is Ramadan now), just things that you wonder about but don't talk about. He is a very strict Muslim, which to me is a bit frightening, but it is also really interesting to learn what it's all about, and he doesn't seem to hate people that are of different religions (not that I think that Muslims do, it's just an observation). I'd like to go to Africa sometime. It's nice to meet new people.

I'm sooo busy right now, so I'm sorry to all of yous who are trying to get me on MSN, trying to arrange lunch, trying to talk to me and stuff. I've got a test today, a huge test tomorrow, one essay due by Friday, another essay due on Monday and an exam on Monday. It's a lot... Come Tuesday morning after work, I'm finally going to be able to relax again. Gotta go and try to sleep now. Hopefully I can.

Drowning in assignments

Soundtrac: Technohead - hippie

Today I spent the day in Petone, doing field research for my hostel-assignment. Damn, that place felt lonely.... longing for something that it didn't have. I just wanted to go home after 2 hours.


: the view from... close to the place where I'm building it. This is Petone. The city centre, anyway.




It was a gorgeous day, however, and I actually found a suitable spot to plot my environmentally sustainable hostel. Whay!


This is a sad promenade... it's almost as thought the town has lost something that it once had, and is longing for it.


So, after wandering around for a total of 4 hours, I feel like I know what I need to know about the place. I don't know why ppl would want to come here though, even though there is an absolutely awesome hostel, the town hasn't got much to offer. Strange choice by the lecturer...





I want to go back over there!
Welli, my babe, I'll never leave you for Petone.

Quiz-night

Guess who won the international student's quiznight? that's right! I, Elisabeth, Manuel, Christiaan and Loic .Haha, it was good fun. We had an awesome team name: the Hoff. In the end we came in 8 points ahead of the second team (and yes, there were more than 2 teams..) Manuel even won us two mugs of free grog, and Eli almost won us two more. :) After that we went home and I baked too many buns... We still have some, they're not doing too ok. :D

Good news!

Soundtrack: Snap - The Power

I've got a job! I'm now working two nights a week at the YHA in Wellington, as night manager. It's not at luxurious as it sounds though.. most of the workload is doing the laundry, and then on top of that I'm responsible for about 300 sleeping ppl, secruity checks every now and then, late comers and check-outs in the morning. I think that two nights a week is quite appropriate, possibly I'd go mad if I had to do more laundry than that. On the good side, I get to walk ard with a walkie talkie and feel veery important (snort). ^_^ Oh well, we'll see. Maybe I'll try to get another job on top of that, preferably during daytime. But hey, I'm saved! No more saving (although I really should be concerned about my spending anyway.. heh).

bored

Yesterday we had dinner with all the Stafford-people. 'Twas nice to just sit and talk shit for hours while waiting for food.. We were supposed to meet up with Loic and some ppl, but since it took 3 hours for the food to be served we didn't make it. Oh well, it's not the last chance. Tuesday is the international quiz night again! the goal is to do better than last time!
It's been a while since I was this bored... It's Saturday and since I'm sick I decided to stay home. So, I thought it would be a good idea to call up some friends at home maybe, but guess what. No one in Norway is at home today. Not even mum!

I surreder. I'm gonna read the last chapter of marketing that I wanted to read in bed before falling asleep.

a HUGE pep talk to myself (and to you guys as well)

Make promises to yourself that you can keep, and keep them. Be true to yourself. Start where you actually are today, and take it one step of the time. Don't make plans that are unachievable. don't pursue visions and ideas that will in the end lead to unhappiness. Work hard to reach goals that you perceive as important for your development. Cry whenever you feel the need to, there is no point in holding back. Don't be afraid to show your friends that you care for them and love them. Don't think that love is something that is reserved for everyone else but you. Let go of your fears that are keeing you back. Live in the moment, look to the future, remember the past. Don't compromise your own needs to accommodate the needs you believe that other people have. Don't rely on other people for your happiness. Believe in karma, live by the golden rule. Good things will end, but good things will come. Don't keep yourself down. Everyone chooses their path in life, don't depend on someone else to find your path. But don't be afraid of walking where other people have walked before, if you're going the right way, any path is the right one. Live where happiness lives. Treasure small moments, but don't get caught up in them. Laugh when you say hello, cry when you say goodbye. Follow your instincts. What you need will be given to you when you need it. Trust life.

Travel itinerary time

I finally got round to ordering my trip next year, and already stuff was almost booked out... thank goodness that I had the sense to do it now and not wait. So, not confirmed yet, but I'll probably be going to Germany for a week to see Manuel's place n surroundings before heading for Singapore to see my friends(!) and then onwards to Melbourne and then back to good ol' Welli. It's a familiar route, but I really don't mind seeing Melbourne again, I'm thinking of doing the last year of my studies there even. Ugh, so much planning!!!

Other than that: It's SPRING!!!

Late Happy B-day, Feli!

As usual I'm a bit late, and you'll have to wait for the stuff to reach you.. have faith! Have patience! I did not forget!

I hope you are having an awesome time in Korea, dear! :) Can't believe how fast time has flied since we were all happily living together in Vic house..

Big Birthdayhug from Tina.

Cape Palliser

Soundtrack: Red Hot Chili Peppers - ...

I have news: I am NOT going out at all this weekend. Quite frankly, I'm too tired today, have had a long and eventful day. We (Me, Manuel, Peter and Lene) went for a daytrip to Cape Palliser, and had a joyous picnic among the seals. It was totally awesome, and once again I've managed to get a sunburn.. whay! This summer could prove to be quite a challenge for me I think..
Have to sleep now... sooooo tired. Couldn't sleep last night; heat, nightmares, strong winds, high heartrate... weird combination. Hopefully tonight I'll fall asleep witout complications. And tomorrow: More national parks! workworkwork! last day of the "holiday!"

Felicia!

I DID collect stamps! And glittered images, and notebooks, and stickers of various kinds, and napkins, and phonecards, and little stuffed animals that can clip onto stuff, and paperclips and hats and keychains (!), and Marbles!! yeah, and ponies, and ROCKS (I still do, actually lol), and those cards that you get when you graduate at home (russekort), and the kinder-surprise toys, and pencils/pens, newspaperclippings of my fav band, pins, postcards and letters from my 1000 penfriends haha... and magazines.. and I'm sure that I'm forgetting already lots of things that I tried to collect but never worked out. That's insane... my whole childhood I've been collecting useless stuff. No wonder my mum is begging me to throw away stuff every time I'm home.
It is actually quite nice to look back at my childhood and realise that I've been confused the whole time, it's not new at all!

Which is worse? not being able to verify, or verifying a negative?
I'm glad that some stories have a happy ending.

I'm starting to worry that my nightly trips to the botanical garden and the waterfront are not too safe ventures.. I'm good at worrying nowadays. I worry about the wellbeing of my friends more and more, even though it is not beneficial in any way. I worry that they might not eat properly, that they're depressed with schoolwork, that they make it safe home from town in the weekend...
I'm worried about my grandmother, whether she will stay alive until I come home, and then if she does get better I am worried about how I can make a difference in her life, improve her quality of life. It's quite a selfish thought to just think that she will be at peace when she goes, something should be done to make her feel at peace before she goes. And I don't know how I can do that from here. I used to be good at writing letters for her and I always remember to send her cards for xmas and stuff, but then it was brought to my attention by my uncle that she never reads them, and she never opens her mail. Since then I kinda gave up, and now it may be too late. Creative thinking - - creative thinking. No use in embracing all this negative energy, I'll let go


I distinctly remember giving this advice to a friend some years ago: The world will take care of itself if only I let it. Why can't I embrace that thought right now? Getting out of town next weekend will be good. I need to wash off all this noise and stuff, will be awesome I think.

boing whee

Soundtrack: Prodigy - out of space

uh oh... it seems I've lost my landline. I guess I do need some time away from the city... Today it seems that my brain is separate from my body, at least they cannot co-operate for long stretches of time. Strange... usually this happens when I want to get away from something or a situation.. Yeah, I think I do. I'm not comfortable in my head at all today, there's too much BS going on and I don't have too much control, which is probably why I just wish I was somewhere or someone else. I should run away from home :) Too bad I'm not dressed well enough to do that.

Dinnerparty and picnic.

Soundtrack: Yo Yo Ma: Bach - 6 suites for unac. Cello

Funny how so much of and average person's social-life relies on food..

Monday we had a huge dinnerparty here, something that was just going to be the three of us flatties plus three more ppl turned into twelve people during the course of the evening... And still we would have had food enough for at least five more people. Talk about overdoing it. It was nice though, getting a bunch of current and old flatties over.


Then on Wednesday I had my first picnic this year (weird eh.. considering we're eager picnicers) with Peter at Lyall Bay. He is a nice guy, reminds me a lot of René for some reason, so naturally I adore him. :) It was nice to sit at the beach, listening to the waves and talking about all kinds of stuff. The consequence: I've got a sunburn! It's not even spring yet! Something tells me that my SPF 130 will come in handy this summer.. ahem.
Today I've actually done some work. I know, it's pretty unbelievable, but I've been industrious and have been able to start my first assignment and am well on the way. Yay! Can't wait for Mozart on Saturday!