6 Weeks to Christmas!

The last few months have been crazy. I have been busy and preoccupied with all different things.

A friend and I have been going to regular evening walks, and each time we get faster at the route we take. It is an amazing accomplishment.

I have been spending a lot of time out of the house. Spending time with friends and having a ball. Jaime, Rachel and I have been going out just about every Thursday night for the last month or so. We get dolled up and go dance the night away.

The Girls

In the past 2 months many things have happened. The first being the “Fight of the Century” which was the boxing match between David Tua and Shane Cameron. Cameron was knocked out in the first second of the second round. The second amazing thing to happen was “Bathurst” Sunday, the annual race between Ford and Holden. Holden were beauts and won, with Ford only getting one driver in the top 10.

On Friday I went to the Auckland Zoo with some friends and children. It was an awesome day. I was knackered by the end of it, but it was worth it.

  

And then last night I went to my friends engagement party. It was fun and exciting. They had a photo booth – so much fun. Music and Dancing and then out comes a chocolate fountain.

"You're the social bunny of the family..."

I remember about 3 years ago when mum was driving me to school one morning. I was going on about my up coming birthday and what I would like to do for it. I had always had a birthday party and I always had to have all my friends and family there.

"You're the social bunny of the family, Cheryl," my mother snickered. I didn't get what she really meant at the time. But over the last few years I have come to realise that I love to socialize. As much as I love my alone time, I love to get out and meet new people just as much.

The past couple of weeks have proven this to me. I have been out just about every night meeting new people, talking with new people and having fun in general.

I do not know what it is, probably the amazing weather we have been having, but I am just over the moon about everything at the moment.

I'm taking my best friend out for dinner tonight. It is her 19th birthday and because I love her I am going to make sure we have a blast.

7 Days Old

My birthday was amazing! I have not had that much fun in ages. I didn't have a care in the world, all I did was enjoy myself.

I got Monday off work for my actual birthday, so a friend took me out to lunch. We had chips and wedges, played some pool, chatted for hours, met heaps of new people and then at 10pm I went home. I did not want to wake up at 6am the next day to get ready for work. Mum had to drag me out of bed.

Tuesday was no fun. I was completely out of sync and things were just not going the way they should have been. I didn't really get back into the work groove until Friday - way too late!!!

This past weekend was a friends 25th so us girls got dressed up in our dresses and went out again. We told the boys we would be going out dancing later just so they would wear jeans and a nice shirt.

The last 7 day have been a blast - completely different. I can't wait for my birthday next year

Oh my!

It has been quite a depressing winter this year. We have had the coldest temperatures in nearly a century and it has rained cats and dogs five out of sever days.
So to brighten up my day I thought I would reminisce what summer is like. I found some pictures in an old work newsletter of the view we get from our balcony. I thought you might appreciate the amazing view we have all year round - that even in winter when it is raining and pouring and freezing, it is still brilliant.

Rangitoto Island

Takapuna Beach

Yes, I know, I am extremely lucky to see this on a daily basis. It is one of the many highlights of coming to work.

6 days, guessable hours and a few minutes

With around 150 hours left until I turn 19 I thought it might be an ideal time to write a post.
I am at work right now and started thinking about 18 things I had done in the past year that I have/had never done before. Some of them are just things a normal person does, but they are all bigish deals - theres a first time for everything, no matter how big, no matter how small. There are probably so many other things that I have done for the first time in the past year, but my memory is not big enough to hold them all in the easily remember section of my brain.

So here they are 18 things I have done in the last year that I had never done before -

1. Got my full license
2. Bought a car
3. Bought a laptop
4. Bought a bedroom dresser drawers set
5. Bought a television
6. Stayed in a job for more than a year
7. Went away for New Years
8. Went to Waiheke Island
9. Went to Christchurch
10. Kept a plant alive for longer than six months
11. Started paying a mobile phone plan
12. Started playing WOW
13. Kept my bedroom tidy for more than 2 weeks
14. House sat another person’s house
15. Tried Crème Brulee and realized it is amazing
16. Ate a meal at a vine yard
17. Rode a mechanical bull
18. Rode on a car ferry

So those are the 18 that I can remember. I think I will put a list like this together each year before my birthday. It will only become hard when I get close to the half a century age. But until then I look forward to writing one each year.

Lost at sea

The last couple of months have been crazy. It has been one thing after another. I wish I had been lost at sea the whole time.

First my Nana got really sick, well worse, so my Dad spent a month going back and forth between Wellington. It was hard on all of us and stressful for him.

Then it was my aunties 50th. My Nana appeared to be getting better so the majority of the family headed to Christchurch to celebrate with my Auntie and her family. After an amazing weekend in Christchurch, every flew back to their regular lives expecting not to be on a plane for another couple of months.

Less than a week after my aunties birthday my Nana passed away. This was the hardest part of all. You don't expect a lady who raised nine children, and countless others, to pass away so soon. Although she was in her mid nineties, she always seemed invincible.

She died exactly 13 years and 7 days after my Grand father.

The funeral was beautiful. She had asked that no one give a Eulogy, us grand children joked it was because she didn't want all nine children standing at the alter talking for hours. However, one of the priest doing the service, who had been a friend of her sons from childhood, told her she was wrong for requesting that and spoke about her. It was a short few moments, but it was just what was needed to be said.

After the funeral we celebrated her life like all Catholics do with a party. The woman inside, the men in the garage, and the grand children catching up. It was the longest amount of time all 9 children had been together for nearly 30 years.

We arrived back in Auckland and had much needed rest. My brother left for the USA 3 weeks later and I still wish I had been lost at sea the whole time.

Done & Dusted by a Third

So at the beginning of February I purchased some books for myself to read (The Showgirl and the Brumby, The Abortionists Daughter, Thirteen Wives). By the middle of February I had barely touched the first, so I set myself a goal - Finish all three by the end of May.

I must say. I've failed. I only just finished the first last week and have just started on the second. But I am quite glad I have at least completed the goal by a 1/3. I am actually looking forward to reading the third book. It is based on the LDS church. Its called "Thirteen Wives". I am interested to see how factual it is. The title is what first interested me and when I read the synopsis it intrigued me. It is set back many many years ago - back in the day Brigham Young - and I can't wait to get into it. First I had better get this second book read - also very interesting.

The goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year are being dusted off quite well. I have already completed 3 and started on the majority of the other 7.

Weather update: Crazy - Freezing to mildly warm, Spastic Rain - Pouring to nothing, and the worst sun strike in the mornings and afternoons - very unsafe for drivers.

Cheryl update: Pale - I really miss the sun, Cold - I miss summer in winter and miss winter in summer, and starting to get hungry - I best get back to work so I can make lunch time come sooner rather than later.

The Winds of April

Over the past couple of weeks the weather has gone from great to okay to yea I guess to nearly horrible. Since Monday we have not had one sunny day. Might not sound so terrible, but this is the first week since last winter that it has been like this all week. The wind is the worst part. It blows your hair around. Makes you even colder. And makes doors harder to open. So not cool.

I was kind of looking forward to winter. It wasn't going to be so hot and at least once you got inside the temperature would be decent. That is not the case. It is freezing! At night it is freezing! Walking from your car to you office building in the morning is freezing! It is just plain freezing!

I just can't win.

Other than the wind that past couple of weeks have been pretty good. My good friend and I have started doing exercise after work. We have been walking and doing a mix between Pilate's and cardio. The walks are so great, it is flat for about 3 kms and then you go down and hill for about a kilometre and then walk up one of the steepest hills in the area. But in the end you feel great because you have actually completed it. I have done the walk before with another friend. But my good friend and I managed to do the walk on Monday and Wednesday night.

I have also been looking into University options. I love my job and really don't want to leave, but I might have to for a while. But it will be awesome going to University. I am looking into doing a Bachelor of Information Technology (Computer Science).

For Easter weekend I finally went up to Whangerei. A nice not to long drive it beautiful weather. I went up with my good friend, her boyfriend and one of his friends. We stayed with my good friends parents. It was loads of fun. On the first night (Saturday) we played poker. It lasted until 4.30am with us four girls - My good friend, her mother and I - left. We all ended on good hands. I had a straight, my good friends mother had 3 Ace's, however it couldn't beat my good friends flush. After that little sleep we got that night, we spent Easter Sunday playing Yahtzee and watching movies. The drive back on Monday was quite nice as well.

This evening I am attending a friends engagement party. I am looking forward to it.

So that sums up how my April has been. It is nearing its end and I hope the sun eventually tells the coulds to move out of her way.

A first in New Zeland

Now I would love to say that it is the first time that one of my favorite people/celebrities etc. are going to visit New Zealand. But I can't.

On Tuesday the 3rd of March there was a stabbing at a school in Auckland - the city I live in. This is a very first for New Zealand. There have been two occasions in the past where there was some other violence in the classrooms of New Zealand schools, but nothing like this.

A teacher was stabbed in the back by a student while writing on the whiteboard. It really comes as a shock as this type of stuff doesn't happen in New Zealand. We don't have a police officers in our schools, we don't have security gates when entering schools, we don't have a high history of violence in school.

So that was a big event in my week. Although I did not attend the school where the stabbing took place it still came as a shock.

On a higher note. I managed to find a New Zealand confectionery website that sells milk duds, 5 boxes for $4.00. What a steal!

One of those days... One of those weeks

The hours seem to be multiplied by 5.

The minutes seem to be multiplied by 10.

And the days just don't seem to end.

It started with having a long weekend. Now by long I am not referring to a 3 or 4 day weekend. I mean a weekend full of fun and excitment, and as most know when a weekend is jam packed with those two attributes sleep is rare.

On Saturday it was my friends Hens Party. So Friday evening I was round at my cousins helping set up - blowing up lots of balloons and what-not. Saturday morning I was up bright and early, 9am, straight into the shower, quickly getting my things together and then off to my cousins to do some more work. Although, suprisingly, this work was the fun kind. After about 5 hours of work it was time to get all pretty in our dresses and makeup, and we can't forget the hair.

We were all ready to go, just had to wait for the mechanical bull to arrive and be set up and for all the guests to arrive before the Bride-To-Be. The Cheeky Bugger who arrived with the mechanical bull expected us pretty ladies - who had just spent about 2 hours getting ready - to help carry in the bull and set it up.

"Oh, I was expecting there to be some men here..." - The Cheeky Bugger.

The night did end up going off without a problem. Everyone had a load of fun riding the bull and interacting with other guests. We played some exciting games and eventually all went our seperate ways. The majority of us wenting partying up in Albany until about 2.30am and then a few of us headed of to town.

When I finally arrived home at 4.30am, I ate a pie and drank a glass of Chocolate milk and went to bed. Woke myself up at 9am to go get my stuff from my cousins and never went back to sleep that day until 9.30pm.

So really my week has been dragging on, so far, as I am exhausted. Self enflicted.

Hopefully the days will start to get shorter, otherwise I might just go crazy!

"Yea, I may be tired! But I want to stay up and watch Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters..." - Me.

Hello February!

Wow, another amount of time that seems to have gone so fast!
So maybe thats a good sign, my weeks have been full. Lots of parties and many occasions that have come and gone. Loads of fun!
I have watched High School Musical 3, Twiglight, Mama Mia, Australia and become a One Tree Hill addict.
I have saved my money and brought myself this wonderful laptop which I am typing this blog on right now.
I have been out for Thai, been to a house warming, a 21st brithday party, a pool party, been out on a boat and had two four day work weeks following the other.
I have had a cold, been recovering from a burst ear drum and broken my wrist.
I have met many new people and caught up with many from the past.
Its been one great month - a great start to 2009!
I can not wait for the rest of this year.

Its 09... already?

You always know it is coming, but it is really one of those events that just creeps up on you.
Although it is a great excuse not to go to work, it is also that time when you start to look back and think what have I really done with my year??
I know living as an exchange student in a different country is quite as achievement.
But that just means I have to do some even better this year.
All though I must say the year did start out better than last year, when I celebrated New Years at an ATM with two friends and the freezing snow.
This years New Years really started at Christmas.
After finishing work at 5pm on Christmas Eve I went home a spent the evening with Mum, Dad and my brother. We watched a movie and then went to bed around 9.
I woke up at 1am and decided it was 8am and time to open presents - my brother was not at all happy in my attempts to wake him up, and eventually my mum came down and sternly told me to go back to bed.. Whoops!
Christmas morning was Pancakes, Bacon and Eggs and a glass of top shelf bubbles, following our presents opening.
We all got pretty lucky - My parents brought me a necklace and my brother got me a car stereo, however, I was more interested in the chocolate from my sack, who doesn't love Belgium chocolate??
We left for our family late lunch/early dinner at my cousins house around 2pm, after having spent the morning on the couch watching another movie and slowly getting ready for the day.
Lunch at my cousins was were New Years started as my plans went from solid to liquid and it was time to arrange new ones.
I was originally going to go up North for a few nights and then go to Waiheke Island. However, the up North Plans got all jumbled and I got annoyed so they got cancelled and I went to Waiheke for 5 days not 2. (that's the quick easy version - the long one would be a never ending story)

The five days in Waiheke were so much fun. Spent with some great friends, doing some great activities - lazing around in the sun, going to the beach, playing singstar.

New Years Eve was not a repeat - This time I was on a balcony with close friends, listening to the count down, singing Auld Lang Syne and Toasting to the New Years, planning to make it the best that it can be.

Goals for the coming year? I have thought of a few, but at the moment I will think of them as wishes, and I can not tell my wishes otherwise they will not come true - or in this case be achieved!

Happy New Year all - may it be better than the rest and every thing you wish it to be!