29.09.10

This evening has been one of those ones where it starts off pretty great and then escalates to full-blown awesomeness.

I went to Phil's songwriting/performance competition. The talent there was incredible. All of the musicians were so good. Janine Foster won. She was my second choice, after Phil of course (that's not just because he's my friend. His lyrics and dynamics or assembly or whatever you call it were freaking amazing). But Janine's voice gave me shivers. She was so happy and dancey and she talked! She doesn't do much of that onstage. I will be buying her EP for defs.

Anyhow, after this magnificent display of talent there was only one thing we could do. MEGA MAC CHALLENGE!!! Myself, Amy Ritchie, Rosie Nash and Belinda Cornish set of in my little car to Maccas. It was a struggle. Rosie finished first. There's so much meat! Now remorse is happening and it may even continue into the morning.

Having not had our fill of adventure, we decided that to celebrate Rosie's birthday we should go through a car wash. It wasn't open. The lights were on but it was just chirpin. We were so disgruntled that the man gave Rosie a free pie for her birthday. This almost made up for it.

We cruised for a bit with Amy making sure all the pedestrians knew about Rosie's special day. Some waved. Some ignored.

Frasers in Mt Eden closes at 12am on a Wednesday night. So don't go there after that time. We did.

It's ok though cos Rosie's place is good to chill in and there was fudge and freeness. We got cosy and displayed a bit of bra as a birthday treat. Milk was drunk and tea. Then it was decided that enough fun had been had.

As I dropped Belinda off there were suspicious looking people dooing suspicious looking things at her apartment. One tattoo covered man peered into our car. Not fun and unsafe for her to walk into. We drove around the block and a security man had arrived so we decided it was safe enough. Drama!

If you have read this far, I congratulate you. Top effort.

28.09.10

I caught the bus home from uni with Han. I missed chillin with him quite a bit. It was a reasonably uneventful journey. I learnt that bird is the word and I laughed a lot. Laughter is great. Usually I'm guaranteed to be laughing at least 70% of the time when I hang out with him. It is jolly.

27.09.10

It is so nice to be home.
I walked down to meet Amy in Mairangi Bay and it really was a sensory experience. I could feel the warm sun on my back and a light breeze was blowing the scent of flowers into my nostrils. The air is much purer here. I had missed that smell. I used to experience it on my way home from school every day.
It really is so good to be in New Zealand.

26.09.10

Seeing as I was greedy and gobbled up two 10ths of September, I had no 26th September. Instead I shall use this day to highlight impressions and memories of America.

- They have gross coffee. It's so strong and disgusting. On the last day I found a real one. There was a lot of rejoicing.

- Toilets have big water and a weird shape.

- Waiting for our shuttle at Sea World, Dan would ask Mum where she's from as groups of people walked past, to which she would reply, "I'm from Rrrruuussshhhhaaaaah," in the thickest accent possible.

- Pillowfights in hotel rooms.

- In Vegas there are people on every street corner handing out cards advertising 'hot chicks'. On guy offered Mum one and when she declined he replied, "20 minutes ma'am." She burst into giggles exclaiming, "What would I want a hot chick for?"

- Spending way too much money. Most of it on candy.

- The food tasted like Denny's constantly. It was yuck.

- Mum's terrifying driving. Freeways that go forever.

- Finding out I'm not actually 5'7" as I always though, but a measly 5'5" as I stood by the tallest man ever in Ripley's.

- 40 degrees in Vegas. Soooo nice.

- Never getting the hang of tipping. We made every effort not to. We hardly sat down and ate anywhere.

- Being relatively skinny.

- So much fog in San Fransisco. Actually so much. It was like a mist.

- In N Out Burger. So delicious and so cheap.

- Mum eating clam chowder in a sourdough bowl at every opportunity.

- "Shamu, Shamu!" Chanting to get splashed by him at Sea World.

- Spending time with Dan after too long being apart.

- Conning Mum into going on terrifying rides at California Adventure Park. SO MUCH FUN.



There are way more but I can't think of them all right now.

25.09.10

I find myself, once again in the Koru lounge at an airport, waiting for a flight. This time I am going home.

It has been a crazy two weeks, topped off with a very hectic day.

We hired a car today. Mum drove. It was a tad scary, I'll admit.

She did an amazing job. With Daniel, myself, and the GPS screaming at her sometimes, she mostly kept calm. Driving on the other side is no mean feat.

There were some tense situations with a bit of panic as we had no idea who gave way to who and why the cars disregarded the red lights.

We made it through. Only a 13hr plane journey between us and home. It is going to be nice to stand on Aotearoa soil once more.

24.09.10

Orcas and dolphins are majestic creatures. Today at Sea World I saw them glide, flip, flop, flap, jump, spin, wave and splash. One day I shall ride on a dolphin. I think it would be an amazing experience. It does look difficult though.

Sitting there watching it felt like a NZ summer. It was so hot and I could feel my skin crisping under the hot sun. Right now I am feeling the after affects. Mum and I got so burnt. We are very red. Not much fun. My pasty thighs have been hidden away for a long time. The exposure harmed them. It feels good in a way. Like Summer has begun.

I know this isn't true because tomorrow I shall fly home to blistering cold winds and rain. Lovely.

23.09.10

It's 11:19 and I am super dooper tired. The day has been mighty full.

We public transported it to Old Town San Diego which is a state park which has preserved the first settlement here from Mexico. It was pretty awesome. The roads are sand and buildings are rustic. It's what I imagine old Mexico is kinda like. They charged us horrendous prices for things but it was fun.
I love mexican goods and artwork. There was much fun to be had.

Then we caught the trolley (a small train) to the Mexican Border. Oh the faces you will see on the train. So many different people. Mum's got this annoying habit of always asking people where to go even if I've told her I'm sure. Twice in a row she asked and the reply was in Spanish, something to the effect of, "I don't understand sorry." It was embarassing and funny.

It was crazy that the border was right there. Only a fence and policemen divided two countries. I suppose it's strange for me because I live on an island not adjacent to any other country. I could have touched the fence. The Mexican flag was flying not far away and a big sign said "Tijuana". I would have loved to go there but we ran out of time and didn't have paperwork and Mum said no.

22.09.10

Tonight I shopped. I shopped so well.
The best part is when you get to the counter and heaps of it scans at way cheaper than the label. It makes me so happy.
So do new clothes.

21.09.10

I went on a rollercoaster today! A real one. It had a loop de loop!

Also on the Tower of Terror which drops you.

That feeling when you are weightless is the best. There is nothing like it.

I just want to go on faster, scarier rides now.

20.09.10

DISNEYLAND!!!

It is magical.

The best part about it was seeing the absolute joy on all of the little kids' faces as they rode around Alice's Wonderland or had their photo taken with Minnie Mouse. They were so full of excitement.

There was even a jedi training thing where they got a whole lot of kids onstage, gave them a robe and a lightsaber and taught them how to 'use the force'. They just loved their moment of fame when they got to fight Darth Vader.

Ahhh to be a kid.

19.09.10

Today I sat by a window either on a moving train or bus for hours on end.

Watching life whizz by you is a strange feeling. Really you're the one whizzing by but you feel almost stationary in your little capsule.

Its amazing how lost in thought you can become after staring at moving trees and fences for a while.

18.09.10

I have said it before but San Fran is a beautiful city.

I love the buildings. They are all crammed in next to each other, as if they are sucking in so they can fit. Many of them are painted pastel blues, pinks, even purple. There is so much history. I think they date back to the 1800s.

I can't stop taking photos of it all.

17.09.10

San Fransisco is an amazing city. The buildings are all different colours and the streets just follow the hills, no matter how steep.

Today we went to Alcatraz, the most infamous prison in the world. As I wandered down the corridors, listening to the audio tour, I tried to feel what it would have been like. There were so many bars! It would have been terrible to be a prisoner there. Only the worst of the worst were sent to Alkatraz.

The wardens had to be tough because the inmates definitely were.

I sat in the dining hall thinking about the history of the place. I love places with history. Those walls had seen stabbings, bloodshed, fistfights, chaos, punishment and a whole range of other things.

There was even a room where three men were held who had attempted to escape. In the ceiling was a hole from which officers dropped grenades on them. The floor had marks from the shells and there were dents in the wall. I was standing in the exact spot of their excecution.

Things like that just don't happen everyday.

16.09.10

When you've seen so many remarkable things in such a short space of time, a day which doesn't involve great chasms, circuses, lights or towers can seem a little average.

However, today I flew to San Fransisco. That in itself is a remarkable thing. The possibility of flight and all.

The thing that has struck me about SF so far is the number of homeless people. We walked past a whole lot of very poor people in line for the homeless shelter as we made our way to the hotel. It was so sad. They are on every street corner and lying in Union Square. I've seen people give them money and food.

I am so grateful for our welfare system in NZ. It really is up to the goodwill of the general public to keep the homeless fed and sheltered here.

15.09.10

Cirque du Soleil tonight was amazing. How they get their bodies to twist and turn is just incredible.

We saw "O" in which they have a huge pool of water in the stage and they have platforms rise out of it.

It really made me appreciate how beautiful the human body is, even if one guy kept dislocating his shoulders and doing weird stuff.

They did these huge dives into the pool. From really high. I almost couldn't watch.

14.09.10

Today I had my mind blown. I prepared my mind but it still got blown.

As I looked over the cliffs of the Grand Canyon all I could think of was WOW! What an incredible creator God we have.

The enormity of it all was incomprehensible. I don't know how anyone could look at the canyon and deny that someone had to have made it and all the other wonders of this world. It is just too magnificent to have happened by chance.

There were different layers of coloured rocks with huge ravenes and chasms.

I can't describe it adequately. Just come here for yourself.

13.09.10

I'm in VEGAS!!!

It is a whopping 37 degrees celcius, that's 100 farenheit. A ridiculous temperature if you ask me.

Walking down the Strip, which is the main road, was breathtaking. Everything is so large and so over the top. The hotels are mini cities. I don't know how they fill them all.

Far out it's awesome.

Disneyland for adults to be true.

12.09.10

Today we saw all the homes of the rich and famous. Jackie Chan, Beyonce, Al Pacino etc etc.
They are HUGE. Ridiculously huge.
It makes me think that there is just way too much greed going on in Hollywood. They work hard, yes but it is far too lavish.

And so much hype.

But still a lot of fun to ooh and ahh over, even if we could only see the front gate.

Oh! Mick Jagger was home! His Ferrari was parked outside his house.

11.09.10

Universal Studios today!!!
So much fun to be had. The log flume was about ten times more extreme than our Rainbows End one.
Mum bought the photo and we all look about to wet our pants.
I love that feeling when there's a sheer drop and your stomach shoots up to your heart. There is really nothing like it.

10.09.10 (again)

I got to do Friday 10th September all over again. It's a good thing too because much remarkableness has happened.
As the plane took off we left behind a twinkling Auckland. Lights were on all over the place and it looked amazing.
I wondered how many people were represented by each light I could soo. So many lives. So much beauty.
This was a contrast to the view I saw as we flew over LA. For ages it was just row upon row of houses, occaisionally broken up by the odd warehouse or stadium. It was a mass of brown and white with hardly any green.
I am so thankful that I get to live in beautiful NZ with parks and green!

Today I also saw my brother for the first time in 3 months. It was a joyful moment with an extra long hug. I missed him so much. It's so good to be in his presence again.

10.09.10

In approximately one hour I will be sitting on a big plane destined for the United States of America.

My current location is the Air NZ Koru Lounge where I am enjoying a casual GeeandTee before departure. It's good to have a mum with a gold card.

Airports are strange places. I think I dislike them. Things are dirty due to overuse and the air is stale.

They are sad places because of all the farewells.

They are also extremely joyful at the arrivals gate.

So much human emotion, pain, loss, excitement, and happiness all rolled up in one.

Yes, very strange places.

09.09.10

Today is Phil's birthday! To celebrate we had dinner at Nol Bu Ne, his restaurant in town. It was yum and there was great company. The cake was almost the best of my life. It was a coffee gateau and I ate too much of it.

Friends are freaking awesome. I have the best possible ones in the world. Honestly, I don't know how my life will go on for the next two weeks without them. I almost don't want to go away because I'll miss them too much. I'm kind of dreading it.
They are just so much fun. I am guaranteed a lot of laughs when chilling. And there are serious wisdom times too.

08.09.10

I have always kind of liked the idea of fighting guerilla style. It was ever since I read Tomorrow When the War Began. I likened myself to Ellie, who is pretty tough and resourceful when it comes to blowing stuff up and staying alive.

Today those dreams were shattered.

I am no Ellie.

This afternoon I played paintball. My aim was poor and I was too afraid of getting shot to risk much. Out of 200 shots, only about 5 were on target.

It was fun though. I am determined that next time I will be more gung-ho and not even flinch when I get shot.

07.09.10

One person can make a day remarkable.

Today that person was Tarien.

She made me brownies first of all.

Then she created a really fun game out of my needing to rev the car engine because of the battery. We had the windows down eyeing fellow drivers up while I revved really loudly. Then I pulled off super slowly. There was much giggling.

She also made the interaction in the drive-through very awkward. She even told the boy he had nice eyes. He was so taken aback.

To top it all off, on the way home in the car she was acting like a crazy person making all sorts of noises out the car window at people and dogs.

She's quality.

06.09.10

Today I have laughed a lot. A lot about nothing much.
It has been a good day because of it.
Even when things didn't go to plan or if I was a bit bored, there was still jovialness.

We should all laugh more often.

05.09.10

Far out God is awesome.

Tonight I gave a short message at our youth service and led into a time of response and communion. I was fretting so much. I was sitting up there while Willie and JD spoke, thinking of ways I could get out of it. I was shaking and had the worst butterflies of my life.

What if I opened my mouth and my voice failed?
What if I forget to say something really important?
What if I jumble all my words?
What if no one responds?

They were silly questions because we had just sang, "You'll Come". And He did.

People came up and took communion, grown men cried, and there was a genuine atmosphere of worship.

It reminded me that God is so faithful. He'll show up when He says He will and it'll be powerful.

I just am so grateful and humbled that He used me. Even in all my weakness and disbelief He used me.

He's that kind of God.

04.09.10

Victory for the Albany United Africans!!!

It really is such a good feeling to see your friends so full of joy. It's contagious.

As they held up the cup and had photos their faces were so delighted. It made me beam too.

EISH EISH AFRICA

03.09.10

WAFFLES!

I ate them for breakfast at Amy's house.
It was delicious.
I think the temperature this morning was below freezing so when I arrived we jumped in her bed and she read to us from The Bronze Horseman. It was cosy.
Friends.

02.09.10

This evening I went to Rosie's house with a bunch of girls from Northcote Baptist and we listened to the first of a four part sermon series on staying in love. It was pretty cool. Everyone was open and we chatted about it after. Then we prayed and for ages after anyone said anything we were still praying silently. It was so comfortable and no one jumped to say amen. We just chilled with God for a bit. I can't really describe it but it was remarkable.

01.09.10

Today was full of dates. There were five of them if you loosen the definition of a date.

9am: Emma
12pm: Sarah
1pm: Nana & Poppa
2pm: God
3pm: Michelle

They were all fantastic, however the best was definitely with God. Because of the spring wonderfulness I went to the beach and read the bible a bit. It was so cool to be reading and hear the ocean in the background. I then went on a little walk with my iPod and found a bridge over a stream. It was beautiful and secluded. I cant get it into my head how huge and awesome God is and yet at the same time he cares about each person so much. I really felt like I was chilling with Him just chatting and having a date. The best first day of Spring ever.

31.08.10

Today is the last day of Winter. This is fantastic news. To celebrate in true Winter style I watched Coffee Prince all day with Han. It was great. We set up the projector in the pad and had snacks.
What a journey. So many happenings. Watch it.

Also, this evening at Lifegroup I once again appreciated friends who are always there to help out. When you go through stuff it would suck bigtime if you didn't have friends, especially Christian ones there to help out and pray. I don't think I would be able to stay faithful to God without mine. They're pretty great.

After Lifegroup Han, Emily and I frollicked in my bed and judged each others' Tumblr dashboards. I love just chilling. I don't even mind that Han shed half his hair and scalp in my bed on purpose. Plus it's warm. I love getting into a warm bed.