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.

30.08.10

Driving by yourself can be a fantastic time for pondering and reflection.

Up until this evening I hadn't been alone in my car on the motorway for a very long time. I admit, not much pondering or reflection happened but I did turn up the music really loud and sang along, even made up some sweet harmonies. It's good when it's just you because you can belt it out all you like without having to consider anyone else.

Solitaryness can be very nice sometimes.

29.08.10

This evening was the Talent Quest at church. Far God has given people some amazing abilities. There was singing, dancing and even a circus act. It was so flippin awesome.

Before one of the girls went on she was so nervous so I got to pray with her. She did a flippin amazing job. She was the best in my opinion. Her dance was soooo good.

Afterwards a group of us went and danced in the back hall. We were learning the Single Ladies dance and it was hilarious. Even the boys did it. To a surprising standard actually.

Ahhh dancing is good for the soul.

28.08.10

So I'm filling up my water bottle when I spy an envelope addressed to me on the bench. It was a curious shape so I immediately ripped it open to discover a mix CD full of indie goodness.
Honestly, there are 20 ridiculously top notch songs. The taste is impeccable.
The only message with it was the word, "smile" in vivid on the case.
It sure did make me smile.
I reallyreallyreally just want to know who it is from now though. I have my suspicions.
I'ma keep the envelope so I can cross-check handwriting samples.

Receiving spontaneous gifts, especially in the post is one of the best things ever. They make you feel so special. I need to treat people like that a lot more.

27.08.10

I had millions of fun at LJ and Sophies 21st tonight. It was in such a good venue. Once we cranked the dancing it was really awesome. I love being a fool and not caring.

The best, most hilarious thing happened on our way home however. We left the 21st laden with platters full of sausage rolls. We must have looked a sight, most of us teetering on stillettos, trying hard enough to balance ourselves, let alone a huge plate of savouries.

The car ride was for the most part, pretty quiet. That was until one of us had the brilliant idea of tossing the mini quiches out the window at signs and cars. It started with just Amy in the passenger seat whooping and yelling as she missed practically everything she aimed for.

It wasn't long until we all had our windows down to fire pastry bombs at things.

The best shot was a cheesecake bite which planted itself on the brakelight of a car. It was very satisfying to see it land and stick there. I bet it hasn't even budged. That cheesecake is strong, gelatinous goodness.

26.08.10

Spring is so close!

Today I noticed so many trees that have just begun to blossom. The city is a much nicer place when there are flowers about. Each one smells so good too. You walk past and are hit by a delicious scent.

Isn't it strange how smells can bring back memories so powerfully. Also today as I was walking along and I smelt a strangely familiar smell. It took me a few seconds to place it. It reminded me of when I had rabbits as a little kid. Far out it was awesome. Such vivid recollection.

25.08.10

Today I embarked on another journey. The 1st Shop of the Coffee Prince. I can already tell it is going to be an amazing season. It's so difficult to stop. I have laughed out loud, almost cried and the subtitles aren't even that great.

Pretty much everything Korean is awesome.



P.S. He's a looker.

24.08.10

I had my remarkable moment for today planned. Before I went out I made my bed perfectly with clean sheets. It was going to be a glorious finale to a full-on day, especially given my freshly shaven legs. ALAS! Someone other than myself has rumbled in my bed thus separating the remarkable from the moment.

It is ok though because I had a most enjoyable evening catching up with old friends.

It was so refreshing. Sometimes I need Ana's enthusiasm and life to wake me up a bit. When life is getting dull I just need her to inspire me and make me laugh. It is such a blessing to have her in my life to be one of those people.

She has an incredible gift.

23.08.10

I just finished watching the fifth season of How I Met Your Mother. It is a thoroughly enjoyable tv show. I always appreciate when writers think about what's coming and what's passed in a series and use ongoing jokes.

HIMYM is very good at this. There have been many a chuckle.

Also, there's some good advice for living in there somewhere. Definitely not from Barney. He's got issues. But from the others some things can be learned about relationships and suchlike.

There is one theory about in every relationship there is one settler and one reacher. The reacher has ended up with someone who is out of their league and the settler has, well, settled for someone below theirs.
I can see some truth in this although I think that once you love someone there is none of that. You both feel like the reacher. Unlike Lily and Marshall who each thought they settled.

One more theory which was pretty good is titled 'on the hook'. It states that a person may be 'on someone's hook'. This occurs when on person strings along another, usually in order to get things like foot massages, chocolate cake, or like Robyn, laundry done by Bob the cameraman.
It's definitely difficult to tell if you're on the hook because of a level of infatuation you have developed for the other person. It's hard to know when you're being used.
It's can also be tough to determine if you've got someone on your hook. Sometimes it's unintentional and can feel good. But you have to be like Ted and let the other person know that nothing will happen between you.
Lily found this difficult and kept adding the "for now" to the end of that sentence. Wrong thing to say. Instead she needed to say, "never ever".

Thus concludes Dating 101 as told by How I Met Your Mother, delivered by Katie.

22.08.10

Lydia Cole is my friend on Facebook!

Following her beautiful set this afternoon at The Copper Room I worked up the courage to click that little button. She accepted!

That in itself is remarkable. However, her music is more so. I love how it pulls you in and has you feeling stuff and that. She is just so genuine and her lyrics are so simple and lovely.

I really, really want to get good at the guitar. I'm just too lazy. And writing songs. That'd be amazing. One day.

The afternoon was made even more enjoyable by the antics of a certain Han-Gyul Cho who entertained with Tabasco sauce and made his own work station at church complete with a cardboard computer. It was pretty impressive. I wonder how long it'll last after Debbie notices.

21.08.10

I fell in love with a song today. It happens sometimes. You just connect with it. The lyrics are beautiful. The melody is lovely. Listen.

20.08.10

Has anyone else noticed that this year is slipping away super duper fast?
It is ridiculous. Apparently as you get older time speeds up and suddenly you're 50! Wow.

On a completely unrelated note, I watched a film today. It was called The Road. At the end of it I felt like I had been to the gym. It was so full of suspense that my muscles still haven't relaxed from being all tensed up for almost two hours straight.
Besides that, Viggo is such a freaking good actor! And how it managed to be so beautiful and bleak all at the same time, I do not know.

It pretty much blew my mind.

19.08.10

This evening was freaking awesome.

I spent it with Amy Ritchie.

First of all we spent a couple of hours talking and chilling in her room which was absolutely lovely.

Then we decided we were hungry so off to Maccas we went and had Big Macs. I'd been craving that special sauce for weeks. That first bite was incredible. The experience was even better because we were at the beach, parked up in our spot on the boat ramp. It was like a summer night. Except it was cold.

Amy got out of the car, ran down to the sand and danced in front of the car. She was doing leaps and spins. It was hilarious. I laughed at least half of the calories from the burger off.

After we had both put on a show for each other it was time for Momos. On the way I remember saying, "wouldn't it be amazing to sit on the couches with our watermelon milkshakes AND have SuJu in the background?"

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED!

Momos had this awesome vibe. It was like a camp just before bedtime when everyone is having milo. People were playing board games and hanging out. Flip it was cool. And SuJu!!!

18.08.10

Some days are just better than others. For no real reason.

Today was one of those days.

A positive day.

Even the gross weather made me happy. It sounded so soothing on the roof.

17.08.10

Tonight at Lifegroup my caramel slice was very well received.
It made me feel so happy even though there was none left to take to work.
When you make something and then people rave it makes you feel so good.

16.08.10

You know that amazing feeling when you finish an assignment?

Yeah that's me now.

15.08.10

I just got home from church. It was amazing. Actually, this whole day has been amazing.
I've been feeling sick all week in anticipation for leading worship tonight.
It really stresses me out.
But this morning when I got out of bed I had this peace about the day. It's been incredible. I didn't stress out about running late this morning or getting notices done or even singing tonight.
It was all in God's capable hands and far out he came through.
I love it when God does that.
I am just reminded of how small I am and how small all my worries are compared to how freaking awesome he is.

14.08.10

In the wee hours of this morning I was playing the most hilarious game of Risk.
It was the Lord Of The Rings version.
Amy and Logan vs. Katie and Sophie.
There was so much cheating going on it was insane.
Sophie and I sucked at it though. We just kept giggling. The later it got the more cheating and giggling happened.
It was the best five-and-a-half-hours-long game I have ever played.

13.08.10

Today is Friday the 13th.

In other news...

I got new shoes!
They are spectacularly beautiful. It really is very sad how much it brightened my day. As soon as I got home I put them on my feet. Over my socks. This looked dreadful as they are sandals. Oh dear.

But really. Paulo Nutini was onto something when he sang that song about new shoes and how they make everything better.

Back In Black

I have recently been thinking how awesome this project was and how I miss noticing remarkable occurrences in my days.

Reading over my blog, I am amazed at how much of last year I had forgotten. The daily snippets were a reminder about God's power, blessing and creation. I hate to think how many awesome things have happened this year that are lost, fallen out of the back of my memory.

This is why I am going to start One Remarkable Year again, but this time it will be One Remarkable Life.

This is where I will document my days.

It will be casual and fun, mainly for my own enjoyment, but I hope that if anyone reads, they will be inspired not only to notice the remarkable but also to praise God because of it.

Katie

What's next???

Well, we are definitely well into 2010 by now and it pains me to say that I did not complete One Remarkable Year.

I am so utterly disappointed in myself. I was pretty close too.

From now on you can visit me at katiedid536.blogspot.com
I shall attempt to post semi-regularly and about semi-interesting things.

Farewell.

27.10.09

You know when you have a million things going over in your mind and it's just racing, preventing you from sleeping?
That's how it was when I laid in bed tonight.
Instead of sleeping I thought I had better put my brain to good use and I got up, sat at my computer and typed an essay.
I felt very proud and like a true uni student doing my essay at 2 in the morning.

26.10.09

I slept for soooo long today. It was crazy.
Sleep is an amazing thing. So refreshing.

25.10.09

Dan got baptised today out in the wide ocean. It was so awesome.
What an amazing setting for a baptism.
All his family came to see and it was special.
People said lovely things and then we went out into the sea and he got dunked.

24.10.09

There was such glorious weather today at Tawharanui. It was so gorgeous. It felt like Summer!
What a relief after we all thought it was going to be torrential like last year.

23.10.09

On the way to Tawharanui for Labour Weekend I could feel the stress fade away the further from home I got. It really was the best feeling ever.
Life felt more and more peaceful.
I didn't even realise how stressed I was until I felt it all drain away.

22.10.09

Tonight I went to Esther's house and we watched James Dean look hot in a film.
He's one mighty fine man.
Then we looked through her James Dean calendar which we pretended was their family album and were in fits of laughter at his bedroom eyes.
Esther is such fun.

21.10.09

Amy and I stopped for frozen cokes late last night.
Sometimes the only thing which will satisfy is a good fro' co' from Maccas.
We were going to park at the beach but there were millions of police.
Then we played Tik Tok and had a right giggle at the line, "the popos shut us down."
We are infinitely cool.

20.10.09

I woke up to the most beautiful text from Tarien this morning.
Things like that really brighten your day.
It put me in a good mood right from the beginning.

18.10.09

Ben's parents are away so we poured a whole lot of dishwashing liquid in his spa and created a whole heap of bubbles. It was a whole heap of fun.
The foam went everywhere.
It was a beautiful sight.

17.10.09

Sarah and Rose did it!
The leaped from a plan up high in the air.
I just filmed from the ground.
It certainly looked like a mixture of fun and absolute, sheer horror.
When they were gliding down it would have been the best feeling. Like in some small way you were defying gravity.
In your face, gravity.

16.10.09

Today Rose, Sarah and I set off on a great adventure to Pihea where they are going to jump out of a plane! Insane.
Anyway. Adventures are fun and I'm pretty excited and a tad worried for them.

15.10.09

This evening I went to see An Education. It was a very lovely movie.
It really made me think about life and why I'm doing what I'm doing. I totally agree with her decision to go to Paris. Why not take an opportunity like that?
Except maybe not with a seedy older man.
But yeah. I reckon the way life is and the expectation to go to uni to get a job to stay in it for the rest of your life is so silly. How dull.
LIVE!!!

13.10.09

I'm not sure what happened today that is remarkable.


That is the truth.

12.10.09

Term 4 has officially started. Holidays are over and everything is back up and running. It actually feels pretty good. I am ready. Bring it on Term!
I have even already made a song schedule for band and reorganized my folders.
Don't act like you're not impressed.

11.10.09

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.

This was a lazy one indeed.

I didn't go to church this morning.

Shocking!

But man it was good.

I jumped on my trampoline and did the washing.

It was fantastic.

Church tonight was great fun as well.

Friends are great.

Ahhh...life.

10.10.09

Dusk is a beautiful time of day. The sun was setting as I drove over the harbour bridge this evening. The sky was a beautiful orange colour which made everything else look so dull in comparison. The water was shimmering and the little island which looks like a mouse was just a black outline.
As I drove further, more colours were added to the sky. I was so distracted by the silhouettes of the trees and the pretty sky that I missed the turnoff and had to take the next one.
Never fear! Because, being the human compass that I am, I made it to Sarah's place going the back roads. I'm pretty proud actually.

09.10.09

Amy came over this evening. It really was lovely just to hang out. We watched two films and had a good old yarn.
If you ever think of watching Easy Virtue, don't. Colin Firth is the only good thing about that film. Jessica Biel kills everything, including the dog. She sits on it and crushes it with her J-Lo bum. Seriously, why did costume department give her those pants? Honestly. It was terrible.
But Amy is always good fun and even bad films can be entertaining in the right company.

08.10.09

My brother is eighteen today, can you believe it!?
I can't. It's awesome though because now he can come to gigs with me. Hurrah!
He's not home though because he's at Kidzcamp. They made him feel special I think. He got to kiss the fish and eat cake. They also got eighteen girls to give him a kiss. He would have enjoyed that.
He's cool is my brother. They've been eighteen glorious and fun years.

07.10.09

Today I was in the strangest mood.
First I cleaned my room,
Then I put out the washing,
Then I soaked some of my clothes,
Then I made dinner,
Then I cleaned up after.
How domestic is that!
It was a doing stuff day.
I also noticed that the shower is due for a clean.
That's as far as that got though.
There's always tomorrow.

06.10.09

This evening I went back to Kidzcamp for a farewell for Garth. He runs the whole show and he's up and leaving to Tauranga.
It was so weird to be back and see everyone again. I thought I wouldn't recognize any of the kids but it was all the same people, just a bit taller and older.
It was really awesome to hang out with friends I made there. Kidzcamps were always happy times. I met so many cool people. Some of my closest friends I met there.
After the speeches and stuff, while all the kids were going to bed, us visitors went over to the gym and played on the green machines.
It was fantastic. They are little pedalled kart things which are made for ten year olds. We squished into them and zoomed around, playing some sort of handball game which involved a lot of crashing into one another.
I can't believe how fun it was to be back there, playing the same games, with the same people, five years later.

05.10.09

Praying is awesome. Tonight was the prayer meeting at church. It was cool to sit with a group of people I don't interact with all that much and just pray. It's cool to hear what's on people's hearts and minds about the church.
It was a focus on children and youth so it suited me perfectly.
I must make more of an effort to get there each month.

04.10.09

It's school holidays!
Which means I got to join the big kids in the main service this morning.
It was so good just to sit back and enjoy the service. I had nothing to do with how it was put together and I could just take it all in.
Wahoo! It sure felt good.

03.10.09

This morning I did a most terrifying thing.
Debbie and I held a workshop at a conference.
It didn't go down too badly either, which is good.
I think we made it sound like we had masses of kids coming each Sunday and a super-ministry to beat all others.
We don't. There's no such thing as a super-ministry.
I realized just how lucky we are to be so supported by the rest of the church.
Kid's ministry can be ignored by people so often. It's seen just as a kind of babysitting service.
It's not!
But yes, many other churches don't place as much emphasis on it as we do so it's nice to be able to encourage those who are trying really hard to make things happen.

02.10.09

Ryan Reynolds can act. I realize he's done far too many romantic comedies for a good actor, but Chaos Theory isn't bad. He does well I think. He's not bad to look at either. Just sayin'.
Anyway, it was a pretty good film. You should also watch it if you haven't.
It's so good to see a film which ends with a happy family. The good old nuclear family. Warms the cockles of the heart. Usually these days the film ends with everyone happily separated. Goodness me. What is this world coming to?

01.10.09

If you haven't yet seen 500 Days Of Summer, you should. It is such a good film. The best I've seen in a while. It's hilarious and sweet. I don't know how to make it sound more enticing.
Just watch it.

30.09.09

This morning I got a call from Mum which woke me up. She told me that a Tsunami was coming. I jumped out of bed and sat at the window so I could watch the sea while refreshing Twitter, Facebook and Stuff.co.nz. It was so exciting. It was also the biggest anti-climax when 11:12 came around and Mikey Havoc announced on the radio that the Tsunami warning was cancelled when a wave which measured a whopping 40cm rolled onto a beach just up North. How disappointing.

29.09.09

Lifegroup was all about how glorious God is. It was flippen cool just seeing some of the verses in the bible which talk about God's glory or his character and putting it all together. Goodness me. Sometimes I think it's so easy to make God so small. He deserves waaaay more than we could ever give him. We can't worship enough. Mmmmm.

28.09.09

Tonight I went to the cinema. It's a fantastic thing to do.
I saw September Issue. It was good.
It confirmed how absolutely stupid fashion is. But then I love it because it's about art. It's expression. The photos are awesome. I love fashion photography. No matter how absurd it is, the pictures look amazing.

27.09.09

It's remarkable that I woke up at 7:30 this morning.
It's also remarkable that I'm still awake at 11:30.
But the most remarkable thing happened at about 8:00pm.
Ben was playing football after church when my brother jumped on his little toe. I don't think it was on purpose but that wasn't very comforting to Ben as he was in excruciating pain and his toe was jutting out at a strange angle. It looked so painful. It's weird. I couldn't imagine how much it hurt but I could definitely tell it did. I dunno about you but a strange sensation comes upon me when someone is in agony. I can't handle it. Heebyjeebyies.

26.09.09

Tonight I went to three 21sts. THREE! That's a ridiculous amount for one night.

Anyhow, I got home rather late and as I jumped into bed I noticed that mum had washed my sheets, made my bed AND put my electric blanket on.

It's my favourite part of the night. Almost.

The best was when the guys danced for Kelly. It was freaking hilarious. Words cannot describe, I'm sorry. You will forever be in the dark.

25.09.09

Today Dan was at Barbershop and I needed the car but he had parked it just by school so I walked to go pick it up.
It was so weird walking the same route as I used to every morning. I felt oddly nostalgic. I can't say I miss it really. All I could think was to wonder why I didn't get more fit walking up all of those hills and stairs.

24.09.09

I went to a gig tonight. A whole load of NZ bands played and it was really quiet cool.
My favourite by far was The Artisan Guns. They are so lovely. I loooove his voice. Honestly, I could listen to it for hours.

23.09.09

Baking is so much fun. I baked mini muffins this afternoon. They came out so weird. They were boysenberry, banana and white chocolate but the bananas had been frozen so they made the batter kind of brown and then when I added the berries it went the most foul colour.
They came out as a greeny, bluey, brown colour. It was really very odd.
They tasted yum though.
Mini muffins are fun. They are very cute.
But you have to be careful because it's so easy to eat a lot of them.

22.09.09

The glorious sun wash shining this afternoon.
I was either half an hour late for a lecture or half an hour early for a tutorial. It depends what way you look at it really. Glass half full or half empty kind of thing.
Anyway, I used my spare half hour to chill outside in the sun. It was warming my back as I sipped on my peach nata with pearls from Momo's. It was a lovely feeling.
Every time the sun creeped behind a cloud I shivered but it wasn't long until it emerged out the other side and heated me up.

21.09.09

Tonight we didn't have band practise because it's school holidays. Sometimes it's very refreshing to just take a break. Even if you spend it watching a bad film (Smart People).

20.09.09

This morning was chaotic. We had a food frenzy party at Promiseland. It was so much fun. We played many food-related games, iced biscuits, made funny faced desserts, and managed to get sprinkles everywhere. It was great.
I knew that the morning would be absolutely crazy so I just chilled and let it all unfold. It was great not to get panicy. We just had fun.
ALSO, the best part was when John gave the gospel message and there were six kids who responded. How cool is that!? That's the most exciting part.

19.09.09

Today I picked up Michelle and we went to church to make up 19 packets of instant dessert. Don't worry, we didn't eat it all. It's for Promiseland in the morning.
It was loads of fun making so much mess and just getting to hang out.
Michelle is really cool and she's easy to chill with. It was heaps of fun. And I got to help her procrastinate from doing homework. Wins all round.

18.09.09

I think it's good to start the day early. It puts you in the right frame of mind. I got up early and caught the bus into town. I was there at 7:30! This is amazing.
Things are just different at that time in the morning. The air is crisp, ready for the sun to come out and warm it up. The shops aren't open yet. Even the people are different. Hardly any students are up and Queen St is bustling with people buying coffees before work.
I was early for breakfast with Sarah so I bought a hot chocolate (with marshmallows) and just watched people rush by.
It was really most interesting.

17.09.09

Isn’t that period of time when the sun is preparing to set and the air turns slightly chilly so amazing. I love it..
I was in Albert Park this afternoon and it had been beautifully sunny all afternoon. All of a sudden at around 4:30 I noted the air change.
As I was walking through it felt so good to be outside and walking about. There were flowers and leaves on the trees and just the right amount of crispiness in the atmosphere.
Summer is coming!

16.09.09

As I was walking down Shortland St I saw a bunch of about 40 police men and women getting their photos taken in a little courtyard. When I got closer to them they started crossing over to my side of the road. I met up with the mob as we all turned into the entrance to the escalators to take us to the bottom of town.
It was so incredibly weird to see my reflection in the mirrors as we travelled down the escalators. I stood out so much. I was wearing red in a sea of blue.
It's not every day that you are surrounded by 40 odd police on your way home.
Maybe if you had just escaped from prison.

15.09.09

Tonight at Lifegroup a couple came to visit and share their wisdom. We were talking about what it really means to be a Christian, especially in our culture.
I loved just discussing current issues and learning about what they thought. Even though they are slightly older (a bit older than my parents) they were really contemporary, they understood where we are coming from. It was so great just to get some advice on how we can live out our faith.
Calling yourself a Christian is a HUGE responsibility. People already have preconceived notions about what the word means so you have to be careful how you use it.
I mean, it's bearing God's name. It's like having a different surname. Kind of. But yeah. You have to be so careful.
I think what it really boils down to is being able to say, like Paul, "follow my example as I follow the example of Christ."
How cool would it be to be able to say that and be confident in what you were saying.

14.09.09

Uni is back.
But it wasn't actually so bad. I felt pretty proud at getting through the whole day.
It was really nice to see everyone and to feel like I was part of the uniness again.
I'm going to make more of an effort to like it.
Here goes...

13.09.09

I was scrubbing the shower this afternoon and I was reminded of a time when Sundays used to be do-things-around-the-house day. We used to be knocking walls down, watching Dad dig trenches, banging nails in or just doing chores on Sundays when we were little.
I felt oddly reminiscent as I was squirting Shower Power everywhere. It felt kinda good to have that feeling back. Family Sundays are well-spent Sundays.

12.09.09

Isn't it great to hang out with old friends.
Tonight Esther came around and we drooled over Gerard Butler in The Phantom Of the Opera. He has an amazing voice. His face isn't that bad either, apart from the weird thing his lips do when he speaks.
Anyhow, my point is that it's nice to just be so comfortable with someone and so truthful. We talked for aaages before going to sleep. It felt great to have a good old heart to heart. Once in a while it's lovely to share everything with someone.

11.09.09

CAUTION: Parts of the following may or may not have been embellished c/o Daniel Ward.

My brother was awesome to me today. It's nice to know I'm related to pure fabulousity.


But no.

I watched The Kite Runner today. It's one of the best films I have ever seen. It was amazing. Just so beautiful. I feel like I understand the Arab culture a bit more. The kids are so gorgeous.
I love the way it was filmed too. The cinematography was subtle but it was beautiful.

10.09.09

Today there was a package come in the post. Mum brought it into my room and said it was addressed to me. I knew what it was and told her that I actually got it for her.
A month or so ago I was in a cafe in Mt Eden where I picked up a magazine all about chairs. I thought to myself, "Mum would really enjoy this because she loves chairs a hang of a lot."
Since then I did some research and tried to find out what the magazine was and where I could get it from.
Turns out it's called Design Folio and it was the first issue of the NZ magazine. It's pretty cool.
Giving it to Mum was the best though. It's so nice to surprise someone. Especially because I had put the effort into finding and ordering it.
Gift-giving is splendid.

09.09.09

This evening I had a terrible headache. It came from staring at a screen too long. It was the kind behind your eyes and in your temples.
It felt so good to lie in bed and close my eyes and feel the darkness surround me and my pain fade away.
Sleep is definitely the cure for square eyes.

08.09.09

Today I went through the prayer box we have at Promiseland and I always love reading what's really going on in the kid's hearts and minds. Today was no different.
There were some questions like "why dose God love us" (spelled like that).
There were prayers of thanks for healing in response to ones a week or so ago asking for healings.
There were prayers of thanking Jesus for being their "forever friend."
There were prayers thanking God for a bed and a house and family.
I love hearing them ask God for things but even more I love that they can recognize the blessings too.
Reading their prayers is so encouraging.
It's what makes me so excited to do my job.

07.09.09

Tonight at band everyone was not focussing at all. They were really all over the place. I let them be. It was actually quite fun. Barry kept being trouble and making everyone laugh when we were trying to do devotions. I couldn't be caught finding it too humorous or he'd try it again.
He did anyway.
Ahh well.
Sometimes it's good just to have fun and laugh together even if we don't get all that much practising in.

06.09.09

Father's Day!

I gave my dad a little package of goodies.

I also went to see my poppa who is in hospital because his legs won't move when he tells them to walk. I hate hospitals. They are so depressing. Especially on Father's Day. I only went to see him for a wee while and we were just chatting. It was so horrible telling him that it was time for me to leave. He tried to keep conversation going. Poor Pops. Hospitals aren't much fun. Not even with a remote for the bed which moves up and down. The novelty must wear off. He really appreciated the visit, I could tell. It felt good that I did end up going. I was trying to talk myself out of it because I hate hospitals so much. I'm glad it didn't work.

05.09.09

I am no longer a fiery red head.
My hair is a rich dark brown.
I quite like it. It's a change but it looks cool.
I love dying my hair. I thought it would be annoying once I started. I love the idea that it can make a person look so different.
Plus my hair was looking so terrible what with the regrowth so it was refreshing to have nice hair again.
Next colour = platinum blonde.

04.09.09

Everything I said yesterday is true. My life is consumed by Alias. I keep thinking there are agents lurking everywhere.

Anyhow, today I went to the bank and gave them the biggest cheque of my life. In truth, I'm not meant to spend it. It's for paying back uni fees BUT it still felt very cool.
I've been carrying it around for far too long. Now I can't lose it because its in the bank.

03.09.09

I started watching Alias today. It is amazing.
I used to watch it when I was at intermediate. I loved it. I would have to have silence while I watched it. If anyone so much as cleared their throat I would tell them not so politely to leave the room.
Nothing has changed.
Each episode is full of plot twists, intrigue and many cliffhangers. Oh the cliffhangers kill me.
When an episode finishes I cannot help but click into the next one. I can tell that my holidays are going to be consumed with Alias.
There are five seasons.

02.09.09

Giving gifts is such a cool thing to do.
Just ones which say thanks.
I did that this morning.
It felt really good to appreciate someone in that way.
It went down well too.
It just made me feel like I'd done something nice and people like to know that they are being recognized for what they do.

01.09.09

Today I have had the worst day of my life. That may seem melodramatic but it sure feels that way.
I dunno what went wrong. My theory is lack of sleep + hormones. It doesn't equal something fantastic. I've been so snappy and I even cried. What the heck!
Anyway, in an effort to calm myself down I put on the soothing tones of Taylor Swift and I made myself a hot vanilla drink. It was so amazing how much I calmed down.
Who woulda thought Taylor would have that effect

30.08.09

Tonight we had people over after church. It was so good to be doing that again. We watched Changeling and just hung out.
We used to do it all the time but then it just stopped so it felt good to be back in the swing of things.
Just chillin' is awesome.

29.08.09

Today, driving home from Sarah's I was stuck in traffic and I was crawling onto the onramp. Normally I would be doing 100km/h over that spot and it struck me how different things look at that speed.
I looked ahead of me and a few cars up someone was taking a photo. I looked at what he was photographing and I realised that it was beautiful in that spot with the cars and the city and the trees. I would never have seen it if I was going 100.
That's kind of an analogy for life too. Especially at the moment. Sould Out camp helped me to stop and find the beauty in people and in nature. It seems silly but everything has been going so fast lately.
There's my little spiel.

28.08.09

Tonight I stayed over at Sarah's flat. It was so funny. When we finally got to bed it was like our fourteen year old selves took over. We got all giggly and we talked about boys. It was quite hilarious.
I secretly think that whenever you have a slumber party it's like you get transported back into your early teens. We did anyway.

27.08.09

This morning when I woke up I had the best prayer time ever. I'm starting a prayer journal. I really hope I'll be able to keep this up. Morning devotions don't work easily but maybe I can get in a pattern.
They just start your day off on the right note and put you in such a good attitude for the day.

26.08.09

I discovered Little Boots today.
Every time I find a new artist or band to love I can't stop listening to them for a few days.
It's going to be like that this time.
She's so cool.
I love her popiness and her lyrics are sweet.

25.08.09

Tonight at lifegroup we had the most delectable cheesecake in the world. It really was delicious. Cheesecake is one of the most scrummy desserts on the face of the earth. The texture of this one was perfect and it just was so creamy and tasty.
Oh wow.

24.08.09

My friend, Ana turned 26 today. 26! But it's ok because no way does she look that old. Or act it actually. She's too much fun to be that old. She'll be so proud if she ever read this.
I think her birthday is a pretty remarkable occasion. We went out for dessert and there were heaps of people there. I'm glad too because she's a pretty remarkable person and deserves to feel special.

24.08.09

I love the feeling when something just becomes clear to you, something you've been confused about for ages.
It happened to me today.
It was the first of my extra Tongan tuition and I asked Melenaite to go through pronouns with me and when you use each one and where in a sentence.
It just clicked.
It was amazing.
I felt so good after that. Two semesters of struggling with it and now I have it down pat.
It's a great feeling.

23.08.09

So camp has been amazing. Honestly, I love these kids. They are loads of fun to hang with.
This morning worship was actually amazing. As it was the last morning of camp they had got to know the songs and they were singing so loud.
It was flippin cool to see some of them still at intermediate but having that real heart for worship. They really meant what they were singing.
It's so exciting to see because I love that I've been part of that journey. One girl who is in yr 8 now has been through Promiseland and I've watched as she's built up that passion for worship each Sunday.
What a privilege to see God at work in these kids lives. Ahhh man.

22.08.09

Today I preached my first sermon.
Except it wasn't really a sermon at all.
Let's call it a sermonette.
It went ok. I felt a little jumbled.
But yeah. I threw out some lollies which they seemed to enjoy. Made them a little excited though.
Mmmm.
I'm pretty proud of myself. For a first attempt it wasn't too shocking I don't think.

21.08.09

Today it felt like summer. The sun was shining. I love driving when it feels like that. It's so great to have the sun beating down on you.
I didn't even mind that I was wearing jeans and a winter top. It made me feel like summer had snuck up on me. I was so hot but it was a welcome change to the freezing cold of the past few months.

20.08.09

Today Amy baked cupcakes and I iced them. We took them in to some of the girls from church who were at school.
It was so weird to be back. My brother forced me to go see my old drama teacher, Mr Roberts (Robdog). He has a manky ginge beard now. It's bad.
It cracks me up that high school was such a made up world. It was this messed up hierarchy of social order and you are afraid to stick a toe out of line. I wish I had.
I know I haven't been out of school for long at all but it seems like eons ago I was wondering what the popular crew thought of me and I was so afraid not to break any rules.
It's crazy how much I was scared of the rules at school. It's so stupid now I look at it. Teachers hardly know. I'm pretty sure Amy and I weren't meant to be handing out cupcakes all over the school during lunchtime. It was fun though.
So many looks. People thought we were insane.
And they cut down the flagpole! They did a Hone Heke all up on my grill.
So much has changed.

19.08.09

I have been watching Ally McBeal Season 1.
It's the best sitcom ever. The only one to do with lawyers I will ever be into.
Apart from the fashion it's so fantastic (honestly, she wears suit jackets longer than her hemline). It's so witty. And just so nineties.
I couldn't stop watching till it finished.
I totally got sucked into the romantic drama. I'm so terrible for that.
If you ever get the chance, watch it.

18.08.09

I went to a pub quiz this evening. We severely lost. It was fun though.
It's so crazy to see what people know in the back of their minds. Jono surprised me by pulling out the title of an old 80s hit and my own father knew that it was Whitney Houston who got busted carrying marijuana into Hawaii.
Who woulda thought.
I was actually very impressed with him.
Odd surprises are the best.

17.08.09

I had the most glorious piece of carrot cake today.
It was simply amazing.
Remembering it is almost as good.
Almost.
I'm salivating.
It made the meeting far, far more endurable.
Although, meetings aren't too bad.
But that cake.
Oh man.

16.08.09

This afternoon was the church AGM.
AGMs are generally very interesting experiences. They are definitely dead boring for long stretches of time. But then it's usually worth all that when they get subjects of doctrine or music. Those two subjects are rather controversial at my church.
I was supervising the kids watching a movie during all this (We got through one and a half films) but I heard about it after.
I just love that everyone was congratulating one guy for standing up and sharing his mind. People were punching him on the shoulder and saying, "well done" and, "good on you." It was as if he had stuck it to the man.
I will never get church politics.

But it does amuse me.

15.08.09

Today was remarkable because I woke up around midday and had a lack-of-sleep bleary eyed headache for the first few hours afterwards.
I love that I actually got to bed late enough to cause one.
It felt so great to be tired for an actual reason.

Another remarkable thing about today is having friends over and singing along to Chicago, Moulin Rouge, and The Lion King. It's so great to have friends with which I don't care about what I look or sound like. It sure is fun.

Isn't Ewan McGregor such a looker?

14.08.09

I just got home from the BEST gig ever in the whole world. It was Teacups, Solomon, Phil Austen and the Bayonets, and The Great North.
What a lineup.
They were all amazing.
Plus I love going to Solomon gigs because there's the weirdest mixture of school and church friends and this time because of the other artists there were friends from all over there. Man it was cool.

My favourite was Phil Austen and the Bayonets. They were so mellow and so beautiful. I could have listened to them forever even though my feet were aching because of standing up too long.

Afterwards we chilled at Denny's. It really was a fantastic evening.

13.08.09

We had a reunion meeting for Tonga tonight. It was cool just to hang with the team again and reminisce. I quite enjoyed myself.
It's amazing to be able to share an experience like that with other people and know that we all grew and learned new things together.
Also, Shona made these amazing muffins. They were to die for. I couldn't believe myself. The whole plate was gone by the end of the meeting and there was quite a platter. I helped there a little bit. Undid all the good exercising.

12.08.09

I actually did some exercise today.

You should all be so proud.

I certainly am.

It felt so good.

I hurt now.

The good kind of hurt.

Exercise definitely makes you cheerful.

11.08.09

I watched Step Up 2 this afternoon and man they can dance. The last scene where they take to the streets is amazing.
I wish I could move like that. I'd like to think that if I had carried on with dancing and gotten really committed I could do it. I'd like to think so anyway.
It's amazing how they can combine classical and hip hop like that. It blows my mind. It's not in the final dance but yes. The main guy does it. Chase.

WATCH

10.08.09

This evening at band I handed out a new song, Happy Day by Tim Hughes and we worked on it most of the practise. By the time practise was over we almost had it down. It was such a cool feeling.
The song is awesome too. I can just feel that the kids are gonna love it. It has such powerful lyrics and not too much for them. Wooo!
I love making worship as a band. It's awesome cos when something sounds good or works out really well it's like glorifying God right there. I don't know how to explain it but it's cool.

09.08.09

I just got home from competing in my church Talent Quest. It was so much fun.
I forgot how much I love performing, even though I get so unbelievably nervous.
Dan and I performed a song. It was cool to be up there with him. He's so natural on stage.
It's so exhilarating!
Here's the original song. We added another verse.

08.08.09

Natalie Portman is gorgeous.
She's so bold. I looked her up on IMDB and she's said some pretty cool stuff.
If I was an actress I'd want to be like her.
I love how she shaved all her hair off and didn't even care.
If only more celebrities could be like her. They all just seem so self-obsessed and I bet old Nat isn't perfect but she knows that fame isn't everything and she doesn't do silly things to be in the spotlight.

Also, her face is nice. It was perfect for her role in Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium. One day I, too shall own a magic store.

Just. You. Wait.

07.08.09

Fridays are the best days ever. I don't have uni so I'm free to lay in and do whatever I please.
Today I went shopping with Mum.
I bought two dresses and some shoes. They are pretty dresses and practical shoes. Plus Mum was happy.
It's always nice to actually buy something when I go shopping. I usually look around, get daunted by price tags and tell myself I'll find something just as good at an op shop. That hardly ever happens.
But yes. Shop assistants kept commenting on how we were having a shopping day out. I felt so weird because it's not something I've thought of doing before. Shopping for a whole entire day just for fun. No thanks.
New stuff is always fun though. Especially trying it on when you get home with all different ensembles.

06.08.09

I think my hormones are getting the better of me because I shed a tear tonight during Anne Of Green Gables - the Sequel.
So shoot me.
It was just so happy when she FINALLY realises she's been in love with Gilbert all along.
They kiss and everything is better.
It's honestly the best cheer-up movie ever.
Everything is resolved in the best possible way, marriage for the two concerned is inevitable, and happiness and stability reigns again for Avonlea.
I feel positively uplifted.

05.08.09

I promised Ana I would write about her.

I went to the flat again tonight and cooked dinner. Thank goodness Kara was there to give some advice. It turned out ok.

Anyway, after dinner and a trip to the gas station to get ice creams, we got Ana's Skype up and running.

It was fun to chat for a while even though we were under the same roof. When it was time to go, she convinced me to keep my laptop on to see how far the wifi would go.

I was so impressed. I got all the way out onto the road and nearly 50m away. It was cool. Like Liz and Ana were in my car too, just chatting.

That was pretty exciting.

04.08.09

When I get my nose in a book (especially a trashy chick lit. novel) I become totally engrossed and can think of not much else. I extract myself from reality for a bit. That's why I got a little frustrated this afternoon when I was asked to go and help pick up a pool table for the spare room. It was up to such a good part in the book and it was so hard. I did my best not to grumble though and I was actually quite glad I went even though I wasn't much help. I should have played a game of pool with the boys but as soon as I got in the door I hurried to my room to pick up my book. I was impressed with my self-control.

03.08.09

We've been having technological problems at band lately and not being a technologically minded person, I don't know how to deal with it. So I called in JD to help out and he explained to David and I what we needed, how much approximately it would cost and all that. He then did our sound levels and made everything sound absolutely perfect. It was so good to sound like we were a proper band with everyone singing in the right place, no feedback from the wireless headsets and the perfect amount of volume. It's so encouraging when you can hear the potential your music has to sound even better.

02.08.09

This morning one boy from Promiseland handed Jessamy and I each a card quite sheepishly. He is so sweet. The envelope has chocolates stuck to it and he'd drawn pictures on it. Inside it he expressed how glad he was that we were home and that he'd missed us while we were in Tonga.
It felt so special to be appreciated like that. It makes me feel like we're doing something right when one of the kids begs his mum to make us something for when we get back.

01.08.09

This evening during a screening of Anne Of Green Gables Pt. 1 I fell into hysterics. It was hilarious. Without completely meaning to be I don't think. It was just how utterly cheesy and romanticized it all was. It was so quaint, the countryside and the innocence. It was fantastic. If it weren't for the horrible outfits some of them wore (I'm talking way too much lace and bows and puffy sleeves), I would so be there.

31.07.09

This was a stay-in-bed-and-read-all-day day. It was so amazing. I love just curling up under the blankets and slipping out of this world and into another for a little while. Books are amazing things. You can get so caught up in them. Kinda like films but you get to be the director.

30.07.09

I helped a girl at uni today. She was attempting to carry her bass (as in violin, not guitar) plus a stool up a hill. All I did was take the stool for her but she appreciated it. I love helping strangers out like that. It really brightens your day. I reckon I should do it more. You end up way better off, maybe even more so than the person you helped. Warm fuzzies all round.

29.07.09

Tonight I went to my friend's flat and cooked them dinner. It was actually very fun. I didn't kill them with my cooking either. I loved just hanging out and watching tv. It was really nice. I felt like I was a regular old flattie too. And it was great to cook them dinner. They'd all had hard days and I know they appreciated it.

28.07.09

At lifegroup tonight I found out that someone from church had got themselves in a whole heap of trouble. We were talking about prayer and intercession. I couldn't imagine what I'd do in these sorts of situations without being able to pray. I'd feel so helpless. I don't understand prayer but it's so awesome to be able to talk to God in such an intimate way.

27.07.09

Today I met with Olivia in my break. It was lovely that she could just sit in the commons with me while my laptop charged. She's so nice. Also, her last class was at 12 so she stayed in for 3 hours so we could hang. I felt so special.

26.07.09

I have written out this post once already and I only just realised it never posted so here we go again.

This morning it seemed like nothing would go right at Promiseland. Leaders called up sick at the last minute, technology didn't agree with me, DVD's didn't play, we didn't have the right leads. But in all that I discovered that making the service run the best or look the best didn't matter. What counted was that the leaders bond with the kids and that the kids know that they are loved and accepted when they come.

25.07.09

I love going to the theater. I saw Broken Embraces at the Civic tonight. I've never watched a film with so many people before. It was strange. But it was great. The screen was massive. It was such a cool experience. I kept getting distracted by the clouds that were being projected onto the ceiling. But yes. The film was long but good. I've never seen a Spanish language film and this didn't disappoint.

24.07.09

I'm trying out this thing where I only wash my hair every second day because it's better for it.
This is the second day so tonight I washed my hair. It was such a relief. Oh my word I could not wait.
It had got so yuck and it made me feel gross.
Blow drying it after my shower and seeing it all clean and shiny was a fantastic feeling. It's just so nice to have good hair. That's why bad hair days are such an issue.

23.07.09

Two remarkable things happened to make up for the lack thereof yesterday.

1: Mavis called! She's one of the girls from the church in Tonga. I really connected with her so it was so cool to hear her voice. It was so strange cos she was so quiet and I was on a bus, yelling into my phone in English scattered with Tongan. People must have thought I was insane. A lady did come sit down next to me though. Can't have been too bad.

2: Tonight was very rainy and very windy. I was driving, which was no mean feat, you can ask Sarah. It was a tad scary. Anyhow, I dropped her off at her car in the parking lot and the rain was doing something very cool on the tarmac. It looked kinda like a smoke machine but 50 times more exciting. The wind was sweeping it along the ground making ripples and waves. I would have loved to catch it on camera. I loved the way it swirled and moved. Freaking cool.

22.07.09

This day seemed pretty unremarkable.
I did allow my mother to purchase me a new item of clothing. At full price too! And from a real shop. It's been a while.
I love wearing new things. It makes me feel all fresh.
It's always a good day when you are wearing something brand spanking new.
That's a weird saying.

21.07.09

My remarkable moment for today is having the remarkable moments from the past three or so weeks done.
I'm up to date and it feels amazing.
Updating was such a daunting task as I had so many to do and the longer I put it off the more I had to do.
But it's done now!
Isn't accomplishing things such a fantastic feeling.
WOOO!

20.07.09

I have been dreading this day for three weeks. It was the day uni started again.
It wasn't as bad as I thought. I was pleasantly surprised.
I had a two hour theology lecture. It was like being in media but then he'd drop in something about God and I'd remember where I was. Pretty cool. We saw the opening sequence of Romeo and Juliet. The one with Leo. Such a fantastic film.
Anyway, yes. This course will be interesting. Liberal as. I dunno what to do. Oh well. Should be a challenge.

19.07.09

This morning was the leader's meeting for Promiseland.
I made the best caramel slice which I took.
It was scrummy.
So scrummy there was none left to take home.
That was sad.
Each bite was a little bit of heaven.
You wish you could have tried it.

18.07.09

I woke up bright and early this morning to get to the first training I have ever been part of running.
It was a bit scary seeing as I'm the youngest on the team at Promiseland (kid's church) and I'm in charge. I've got a great team though and their experience helps heaps.
It was so encouraging that the training went well. I got them all to fill in feedback forms and it was all so positive. Also, there were only a few people not there. It was such a great turn-out, even from the band!

Afterwards I took the band out to get dye and t-shirts to make new band ones. Tie-dying is high on my list of favourite activities. It was heaps of fun. We all worked together and made mess then cleaned it up and everyone's shirts look great. I love teamwork like that. Ahhh. Great day.

17.07.09

I hung out with Mum today.
We went to the mall.
I hate malls.
But hanging with Mum was great.
She's cool.
She's fun.
Especially when she's in one of her moods.
The silly ones.
And she giggles and giggles.

16.07.09

I went back to work today.
It was kinda cool to be back.
I liked to be thinking about NZ kids again and all the stuff that I needed to.
I think they missed me a bit too which is also a very nice feeling.
Ana texted me a few times and even said she wanted to see me. I miss her too.
Warm fuzzies all round.

15.07.09

This evening three great people graced my house with their presence, Esther, Michael and Jonathan. They were the first people outside of family I had seen since Tonga and it was fantastic to see them.
We watched One Hour Photo. It had no red though so when blood gushed out it was green. That was sort of frustrating. I'm glad the world has red. It would be too boring without it.
Also, I made dinner. The rice turned into one globby mess. They ate it though, without too much moaning. I appreciated that. the stir fry part was yum though. It was just the rice was mush. Oh well. It's cool to cook for friends. Even when it doesn't turn out quite right.

14.07.09

Climbing into my bed last night was amazing. I couldn't believe how soft it was. The sheets were clean and Mum had put the electric blanket on for my return. I felt like a princess. Those two factors make for a remarkable moment on a normal day, but having just shared an uncomfortable bed with Amy for two weeks, I really appreciated it ten times more.
Not that sharing a bed with Amy was a horrible experience. It was actually strange not having her there. It's a good thing I was so tired I just fell asleep straight away otherwise I may not have been able to drift off without out a few jokes and coughing fits.

13.07.09

It was definitely a bittersweet goodbye.
On the one hand I couldn't wait to get home and get better and have good sleeps and relax a bit but then I LOVE Tonga and everything that goes with so it was so hard to say goodbye.
I know I'll be back soon enough though and I can't wait.

12.07.09

We went to three churches again today. I don't know how we got through it all but we managed somehow.
The last church was an English congregation. We did our same programme there and it made me appreciate the outgoingness of the Tongans we had performed to previously because they were just so reserved. It was quite a disappointment.

I got talking to someone who had got her teaching qualifications in NZ and moved over to Tonga to teach primary kids. I think that would be so cool. Something to pray about.

11.07.09

This was a day of rest for us and oh man was it appreciated.
We just relaxed in town in a cafe and then headed back home to chill some more.
It was so nice not to have to do anything. I even wore shorts to town which was a tad scandalous now I think of. I showed my knees! Oh dear.
Oh well.
Yes.
Relaxation.
Mmmm.

10.07.09

We had a chance to do some door knocking today. Willie (one of our hosts) took us to one of the poorest villages, Popua, which is also where the holiday club was. We went from house to house chatting with them about God.
It was amazing. I was a tad nervous because I wasn't sure how it would all go down. Willie told me I was sharing my testimony first up so when the young Tongan guy opened the door I racked my brains to think how I could make my testimony apply to him. Praise God for giving me the words to speak because at the end of it he wanted to give his life to Jesus. Oh man that was cool. And at the first house!
It really made me feel like God was working through me and using me to share the gospel with this young guy. It was so awesome.

09.07.09

Today we had a jam-packed day but the thing that really impacted me the most was the thing that we did for the least amount of time.
We visited the special needs school for a little while and just hung out and painted faces. We did some songs and things but we wanted just to be friendly and interact personally with the kids. They were so gorgeous. It was such a happy place. Such a great environment.

There was this little girl called Lola-Katie who went straight for the microphone and picked it up and started swaying on the spot. In her head she was performing the biggest concert of her life. It was so sweet. After we finished the songs she did three great bows and looked very pleased with herself. As we went to leave she bolted out the door and jumped in our van. I'll never forget her expression of utter joy and mischief.

08.07.09

Today I came down with the flu. It's no good.
Anyway, Amy, Dan and I stayed at the house while everyone went to the bible study. We were meant to go to bed early and get better. However, there was a big concert being put on by the YWAM team on the field outside our bedroom window.
We got a little curious and decided to rebel and sneak out. It was fun. We wrapped up warm and sat and watched. It was really awesome but then...
The rest of our team came home early and decided to watch too. We got caught out.
It was fun though.
It was better that we were being rebellious on a mission trip.

07.07.09

This morning we caught a boat to a gorgeous little island called Pangaimotu. It was so pretty. The main island is nice but a tad polluted and rubbishy so this was amazing. There's something about the beautiful blue water. It's a colour which is so difficult to reproduce.

It wasn't all play and no work though because afterwards we went to Patangata which is a poor village right by the old rubbish dump site. I saw a little girl who I had made friends with a couple of years ago. It was so cool to see her again. She didn't recognise me at first but I think she did by the end. Oh man it was cool. I've been thinking about her and praying for her all this time so to see her again was just so awesome. I really hoped I would and it happened!

Me and Sionipa:

06.07.09

Wow. Wow. Wow.

Today we got to go around the island like tourists and experience a bit of the beauty and wonder of Tonga.

It was amazing.

We stood right on the edge of a cliff at the topmost part of Tonga and nothing (not even a barrier) was between us and the vast ocean and the massive drop below onto freaky rocks.

It was beautiful.

We also went to a cave where you could jump off one of the tope shelve things into the deep fresh water. I wasn't brave enough so I got in a more conventional way and perched on a stalagmite at the perfect height to sit on in the water. It was amazing. There was no natural light so the lanterns were reflecting off the water. I could see right down to the bottom it was so clear.

Isn't God so cool how he creates such beautiful places. That cave would have been sitting around in all it's glory for ages before people saw it. It's like God just made it for fun. How awesome is he!?

05.07.09

By this stage in the trip everyone is feeling quite weary. It's been all go the whole week and we haven't had too much time to just relax.
Today was no different. We had two church services to present at and a third to just attend.
The third was at the Tongan Revival Church. It was so refreshing just to be at a church with a bit of passion. It's cool that everyone worships differently and there's not one particular style but it was cool to be free to sing and pray and jump and worship without restraint. We all just needed it to revive our spirits.
God is so good how he knows just what we need and when and he just provides it.

04.07.09

Tongan choirs send chills down your spine. It's amazing when they sing.
We went to the prison this afternoon and they sang for us. Oh man. It was beautiful. The guy could sing so high. Flip it was cool. There was one guy who was the hugest man I have ever seen in my life. He was frightening. It's like all he has done his entire life is work out. On top of that he must have some giant blood. Crazy. I should have taken a photo of him.

03.07.09

We had our first night of the youth camp tonight.
Once again I have been blessed by the Tongan people.
They are so hospitable.
They put on massive feasts for us. I don't know how they afford it.
The best thing about this trip so far has been getting to know the girls from Touliki Gospel Chapel better. Last time I came it was like an initiation of the relationship but it's really special to be building upon that.
They are so gorgeous. They make us laugh so much. They have decided we are all fat and they have delivered a few of our babies so far. Even Amy! And she's tiny.

02.07.09

This morning we went to a little secluded beach called Secret Cove. It was stunning. White sand, crystal clear water...
We took a picnic breakfast and sat on the sand.
It was such an amazing feeling to be eating paw paw on a little beach with sand under my feet and looking out at the waves hitting the reef.

01.07.09

We did a programme at Lavenga Malie High School today. It was really great. We could have sung better but the drama went really well.
At the end one of the teachers got up and thanked us. We're talking a big Tongan man. He cried in front of the school. It was so touching. I'm not gonna lie, I welled up.
He said that the drama really moved him and the other aspects of the programme.
Praise God! May he use it powerfully each time we do it.

30.06.09

The kids here in Tonga are totally different to NZ kids. We did our first holiday club and it was just so awesome.
They are so open and just want to touch you and hug you and have your attention.
We did our programme in this beautiful woman named Toa's house. There is swamp literally a meter from the back door. The living conditions were so shocking and yet the kids who all lived in the same area were so joyful.
It blew us all away.
When we brought out the craft stuff and the lollies you should have seen their faces. It was amazing. It was as if they'd never seen anything like the colourful pipecleaners and pom poms in their lives.
They made me think that I should be so much more grateful for everything that I have. Flip.

29.06.09

We have FINALLY landed in Tonga.
Oh man what a journey.
We couldn't land because the clouds were so low so we flew to Fiji to wait a while. It was so great. Now I can say I've been to Fiji. No stamp on the passport though.
Being on top of the clouds is such an awesome feeling.
They look so beautiful. The way they form little puffs and are such a beautiful white. I love it.

28.06.09

It is 12:00am and I still haven't finished packing. I am going to get very little sleep before I have to be up and ready to go to Tonga.
It is rather exciting all this.
I love early morning flights. They just make you feel like you are going on the biggest adventure ever.
I cannot wait!

27.06.09

This fog is so beautiful.
I love driving in it. It makes things mysterious. Especially when accompanied by Trunk - Kings Of Leon.
I was dropping Amy home in it when we discovered a fun game.
I put the car in neutral to glide down the hill and then we decided we should see how far we got so we turned the corner and tried to get all the way to the beach. The car looked like it was going to come to a standstill so we both started jumping in our seats. It propelled the car forward and we even got over a speed bump.
We were in fits of laughter it was so much fun. We tried different locations in mairangi bay. We failed to get around the round about though. Ahhh what a hoot!

26.06.09

Oh man.
I bought the most delicious taste explosion in your mouth drink today. It was called Lychee Fusion.
I was a tad weary because yesterday I bought the most foul drink ever. I can't read the writing on it so I never know what I'll get but it tasted gross. Like burnt candy. I shudder to think.
That's why today's purchase was so much more appreciated.
It was amazing. Really.

In other news, Michael Jackson has died. I saw a giant burger doing the moonwalk on the pavement in tribute.

25.06.09

This has been the week for seeing people I haven't seen in ages.
I had coffee with Jess today.
I went to uni to study and as soon as I'd sat down and got out my laptop I got a call from Jess.
It was great.
She's just go sweet and happy that she makes me so happy.
I hadn't hung out with her one on one ever I don't think. We certainly have to more often.
It's always such a treat seeing people you haven't seen in a while, especially if the other alternative is studying.

24.06.09

Today I went to Esther's house and she, Jono (second mention!!!) and myself made lemon meringue pie and did a puzzle.
I say I was involved in making the pie but really I just offered my bowl licking services.
I have since learned you shouldn't lick the bowl because raw egg can give you salmonella poisoning. I will still do it in future however.
Anyway, it was lovely just to hang with them as I haven't seen them in so long.
Puzzles are also great fun and you can't beat lemon meringue pie.

23.06.09

This evening Mum and I decided to do some exercise so I was teaching her some pilates moves and then we were jumping around to Basshunter.
She made me laugh so hard. I couldn't do my exercises properly because she looked so darn funny.
In one move which is meant to be so graceful she looked like a toddler throwing a tantrum and then in another she looked like someone was tazering her.
Man was it a laugh.

22.06.09

The Spanish royals are in NZ!
I saw them!
Well not them actually but they were in the Fale when I walked past. I was wondering why there were so many police and guards around.
It was awesome.
I felt like I was in a movie.
There were all these Mercedes with tinted windows and these three VW vans which had stickers on the windshields saying "Royal Family." Soooo cool.
It was like the Princess Diaries.
There were these two girls outside the Fale office squealing and jumping around in a way which only Pacific Islanders can. It was so funny. Their joy was contagious.
I love that.

21.06.09

It's such a great feeling when something you've put so much work and effort into pays off fully.
This morning the kids did a skit/song thing for the main church and it was so darned cute.
They all dressed up as animals and sung a song and did actions.
Oh man was it great.
They did so well and I am so proud.
But yes.
It had the potential to be disastrous and it wasn't!
Praise God!

20.06.09

Tonight I stayed up way too late.
Sometimes it's nice just to be out and about knowing that you should really be in bed.
I felt badass.
Not really.
I was watching How To Lose a Guy In Ten Days at Kelly's place.
You know that groggy, tired, I just wanna sleep feeling? Yup.
But it was cool.
Have been too sensible as of late.

19.06.09

It's lovely just to have quality time with one's mother. I went to lunch and then Ike's Emporium and then church with mine today.
It was nice just to spend time doing stuff with her.
She's pretty swell is my mum.

18.06.09

Tonight I went to the scary washing machine auction closing charity party thing.

It was so cool to feel part of the action.

We took loads of photos of the machine.

It really was quite loud.

Lived up to the auction.

If you don't know what I'm talking about check out www.scarywashingmachine.com

I even touched it!

17.06.09

Today I FINALLY handed in my second assignment for Tongan 201.
It felt unbelievably good.
Like a whole weight off my shoulders.
Flip.
Why couldn't I just have done it earlier.
I'm so stupid.
But it was an amazing feeling.
I love Tongan.
One and a bit weeks!

16.06.09

I could not sleeeeeeep.
I have been so good for the last couple of nights too.
However, tonight I went to bed at 10:30 and was all snuggled up but my mind was racing. I kept thinking of things to do and people I needed to email. Goodness it was awful.
I got fed up at about 12:40 when I grabbed Adam and started surfing.
I got into an awesome conversation with a friend of mine. It was great to chat. She's one of those people with whom I always seem to have DMC's with. Mostly late at night. I feel as though I slam her all the time for stuff but she takes it and she seems to appreciate my honesty about life and God and such.
It's cool to have someone to be open about that sort of thing with.
I think that it was a divine appointment of sorts.
Although I am shattered right now.