Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Musings

My apologies to Daniel for not blogging this sooner. I am sorry to deprive you :P Life has been a hectic shamble the past week.

At approximately 3.30pm on Friday 23 November, myself, Jem and Katelyn rocked up to Trusts Stadium all the way out in Waitakere town, dressed in our finest...



Or something like that. A small crowd had already gathered and like them we were prepared with our line-waiting snacks. Everything was looking good until just before doors when the twiggy security guy decided everyone with a bag needed to be on the left side and everyone else on the right. Some pushing, shoving and jumping of barriers later and everyone was semi-sorted. We were told not to run and then told to sit down, taking me back to my primary school days. And then out of nowhere security jumps the barriers and there is a mad dash to stand up and get to the barrier. At this stage we were row 2 and ready to roll. Before The Checks even made it on stage the pushing started. Now I've been in a few mosh pits before so some pushing, sweating and extreme lack of personal space are a given... But this was worse. Once The Checks made it on stage the carnage began (actually I think the carnage began before they started). My ribs slowly became more and more crushed, to the point I thought they were going to pop out of my chest. Some idiot thought it was a great idea to shove his elbows into everyone. Some more pushing to try and make people fall over... Big security guy is standing on the barrier blocking all view of the stage... Spraying of some water to cool us down... Ribs becoming more crushed... More carnage... I give up and decide it's not worth it. Signal the big security guy... And unlike the others before me, I make a rather graceful exit. My hair was already everywhere after someone wacking my head on their way out over top of us. So big security guy grabs my arms, some useful person (few and far between where we were) pushes up from under my shoes and other not so big security guy grabs my jeans in almost a grope-fashion (which is preferable to flashing the crowd... like idiot girl in tiny denim short-shorts) and I make it over the barrier, bag still safely with me, shoes still on and security trying to give me a jacket that they assumed was mine. Then the "walk of shame" begins :P With the escort and every security guy asking if you're okay. Yes I'm not going to pass out, I just value my ribs and the ability to breathe.

Anyway eventually Jem made it out in similar fashion, Katelyn pushed her way out later. A bit further back, with some dancing space and we were sorted. Slightly lacking in a view due to the large number of tall males. So yeah, Muse sounded awesome... What I could see looked awesome. Having sweaty, topless adolescent males brushing past you... Not so awesome. Sanitiser please.



Lots of other madness happens over the weekend and then I eventually make it back to work on Tuesday. Tuesday morning my home PC decides to break... The part(s) in question are still available but are now more than what I originally paid and far more expensive than the latest so it looks like a new build is in order... And there goes more of my money. As if the weekend didn't make my credit card unhappy enough


Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Muse, geekdom and hiding from ho-ho-ho

My least favourite time of year is quickly approaching. But this year Toru and I are packing up for a few days and doing a 3-day kayak through the Abel Tasman. Fun times!

Ahhh Muse next Friday. And the "Osten invasion" as it is being called. It's going to be quite crazy next week, two people crashing on our floor for like 4 days and my parents are also in Aucks that weekend. I'm surprised I haven't worn all the Museness out of my iPod :D

I probably shouldn't admit to this but I dug out my old mic and got it working so now I can be a real geek and use voice chat in LOTRO... But I only tend to use it with my Kinship (yes okay this entire discussion is making me into more of a geek) which makes it okay because there are actually several females and there are Canadians. So it's all good!

Speaking of Canadians... well Canada... First our Canadian friend wins a NZ Herald trip to Vancouver that we also entered, then one of the students I work with wins a different competition which is also a trip to Vancouver that we had also entered. I give up... What are the odds?

Not much else to say, but thought I should say something since I haven't posted in awhile. If anyone wants to give me a trip to Montreal or Paris (or anywhere really, those just happen to be at the top of my list right now) I could not say no :P :P Yes, dream on... dream on

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Some luck or similar please

I really need something good to happen and instill some sense of optimism.

I'm sick of the buses... I'm sick of getting up 10mins earlier in the morning in an attempt to avoid waiting at the bus stop for all the buses that are running late. Or the ones that are so packed it takes half an hour to get to work.

I'm sick of this country...

I'm sick of people (well not all people but I can exaggerate). How do people actually get themselves dressed in the morning? It must be very difficult considering the amount of intelligence I see on a daily basis.

Yes I'm grouchy. All idiots will feel my wrath.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Blah...


.........................

Thursday, August 23, 2007

What I would give for a baseball bat...

I'm so sick of friggin incompetence and people getting involved in things that don't concern them. And I have to run around cleaning up the mess.

Urgh...

I want my Muse tickets already

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Are we really this stupid?


I really have to question where the common sense has gone when I see that on an item of clothing. Seriously??


So Daniel, Sarah, Toru and I went off to be cultured last night and saw King Lear. And I'm sure Daniel wants to be reminded that we all saw Sir Ian McKellen naked. I have learnt that close to 4 hours of Shakespeare in a warm, stuffy theatre after a couple of beers is just not for me. But in all seriousness, of all the opportunities to be cultured this was probably the best.

Muse are coming!!! I'm always in need of a concert :P Snow Patrol next month and then Muse in November.

I did an interview en francais this morning for a radio segment. Eek. I should've known I would have to do it in French but somehow I thought otherwise. Oh well, the other guy had more to say than me so I got off easy.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Same old, same old...

Yeah so I haven't written anything in awhile but it's all the same old crap these days. Unfortunately I seemed to have filled my spare time up a little too well, most likely in an attempt to compensate for other things, and now I feel like I hardly have any free time. And thus the vicious cycle of resentment begins...

So yeah, I'm still going to the gym 5 days a week, still going to my French classes (which is now just an "advanced class", mainly conversational) and hopefully going to work my way towards taking the TEF at the end of the year, still geeking it up and playing Lord of the Rings Online...

I managed to see three films at the film festival, and am proud to say that I went to three excellent movies (and considering the large number to choose from...). La Vie en Rose, Eagle vs Shark and Once. I had to put songs from "Once" on my iPod... Such a lovely film. Bless the Irish.

Isn't it fun when you almost literally walk into an ex at the pub and you get less acknowledgment than you would from a complete stranger. Awesome.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Snow Patrol tickets - hell yeah!

I wonder how long I can block out the world and stay in my happy little bubble after buying my Snow Patrol tickets in the members pre-sale.

Blaring music on my laptop just doesn't work... I shall find better speakers.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Oh to be a student again

I miss the days of free trips to student health. I still go there cos it's right above my office. Somehow I got away with not paying the last year... Now it's $30 for the one minute it takes to ask for a repeat prescription and them to print it. That's it... :( At least it's still only $3 per prescription.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Goodies

The news of upcoming concerts tends to put me in a pretty good mood and send me straight to my phone to drag Jemma in on the excitement. I just got an email saying Snow Patrol are coming (AGAIN!) and being as special as I am I have access to the pre-sale in a couple of weeks. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. And this time we don't have to take an hour bus ride to get to the venue.

I'm still waiting for all hell to break loose. It's going to be fun, I should get a hidden camera.

We (Toru and I) are hitting the slopes this weekend. Last week I decided (without realising how close this weekend was) that Toru and I should go to Whakapapa for our anniversary. Luckily it worked out okay and I still got us reasonably cheap accommodation only 20mins from the ski field.

My French lessons are over for now :( I have TEF preparation books on their way from amazon.fr and I will hopefully get my ass into gear and take the exam (not necessarily for the 1st and only time) later this year. Had a fun dinner with other French students on Friday night. My French teacher is great and wants me to do these exams and offered to buy me books (as in novels) when she's back home and said I was welcome to join her for a movie or two at the Film Festival.

Oh and I'm now First Aid certified. This does not give you any reason to hurt yourself in my company!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Oh I is bored

Toru is off being geeky somewhere so I too was going to be geeky and play computer games. But alas... I open it up and it starts its updates. 30 mins later and well "update game data: 943/3004".

And the internet just got boring. Probably has something to do with the fact that I spend most of the day online at work *le sigh*

Il fait froid...

Je suis un peu faim

Fin.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Geeking it up

We haven't really been doing a hell of a lot so the little I have done makes me feel like a geek. With such a large void left after all the season/series finales I have been playing Lord of the Rings Online quite a lot. Luckily Toru is finally, finally building his new computer this weekend, therefore we can now stop fighting over who gets to play games on my computer.

I finally gave in and got a new phone. I have miraculously lasted at least 2 years on my previous phone (has to be a record). The choices were many and expensive but in the end I managed to not break the bank too much (although the n95 and its maps were so appealing and the n76 just looks so sexy). So I've been slowly geeking it up and must begin the search for apps to put on it.


Our IT guy is on leave this week and I seem to have ended up with the role of temporary replacement. At least I get to bask in the glory of returning internet to the masses (even when mine never broke *bwahahaha*)

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

I am going to scream

seriously.....

I'm so sick of this crap.

I wish I didn't have to deal with people... particularly the annoying, dumb, no-common-sense type people

Thursday, May 17, 2007

*sigh*

Jericho, Studio 60 and Gilmore Girls... All gone.

If it's not reality tv then it doesn't stand much of a chance anymore

At least I still have Heroes. Ooo and Supernatural has been renewed.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Blah de blah

I've been in a real funk... There appears to be no end in sight.

*sigh* All of my shows are finishing this week/next week.

I'm getting my car soon... After so many years apart we shall be reunited. And then I have to stop thinking of it as my car.

Still doing my French classes on Thursday nights. Probably the only useful, productive thing I've been doing lately. Oh, that and the gym five days a week.

*sigh*

Saturday, May 05, 2007

I did have something...

I had something I was going to post the other day but I got bored and forgot. I haven't posted anything in awhile, maybe I will soon.

Until then, here's what I was busy doing last Sunday


Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Un grand repas au Bouchon

So on Friday night I headed off to Bouchon, a French restaurant and craperie in Kingsland, with one other person from my french class and a bunch from the beginners class. There was an unspoken rule (well it probably was said at some stage) amongst us that you had to order everything in French or you didn't get to eat. All fine and good unless your name is Maree. Now considering I'm still not supposed to be drinking at the moment, I went for a solitary glass of wine. I ordered in perfect French (yes I think highly of myself) but of course the one I picked was not available. So I pick another, that is also not available. Luckily I picked up that the waiter was suggesting another variety of Sauvignon for the same price so I didn't go thirsty. I still couldn't tell you the name but it was a French wine and it was very nice. So things are looking up... until I order my main and want it without the bacon. I confuse the poor waiter and then he explains that of course you can't not have the bacon because of the way it's made. So I went for the vege casserole which was awesome but I could only eat half of. I also luckily fully understood when the waiter gave it to me and warned that it was very, very hot. Fun times :) And we all go to pay for only what we ordered. That's my idea of a good night. No $50 salad for me....... I digress.

So yesterday we rocked up to Kat and Mike's wedding. The perfect excuse to break in my new TZ3 (my TZ1 is already sold and gone). You can see its glorious results here

Monday, March 26, 2007

do de do

It's nice to know that music still works as my escape from the world.

I wish my office door still locked from the inside so I could have a nap on my couch. 6 hours and 45 mins of work to go... I should go for a run

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Me and my gadgets

Yes me and my gadgets... Ever since the new Lumix TZ3 was announced I have wanted to upgrade to it from my current TZ1. After getting all sad about how it wasn't out here yet and nobody in NZ had a date for me, I looked at this US site (that appears to be quite popular amongst camera buying individuals) and realised they did international shipping. As soon as I did the currency conversion (including the large international shipping charge) I realised I would save myself approx $300 getting it sent over. Therefore, yes I have ordered it. 3-5 days shipping time apparently. Wicked.

Okay, you may now all comment about how sad I am etc but I saved $300 so :P

Monday, March 19, 2007

I hate daylight savings

I'm very grouchy this morning. This is what happens when you wake up at 6.30am instead of 7.30am and then can't get back to sleep because it is way too light outside. I usually leave at around 8am and it's usually slowly getting light. But no this morning it was midday type brightness. Hence I am very, very, very, very, very grouchy. The lights are not getting turned on in my office - it's far too bright.

So Round the Bays... I came, I saw, I ran (most of the time) and was done within an hour. That was the goal. Not bad for a first-timer and considering I don't usually run such distances.

I've just started reading King Lear in French. Should keep me occupied for awhile. Getting it into English is generally the easier part. Understanding the English... Let's just say it's been awhile since Bursary English and my Shakespeare skills aren't what they used to be :P

Monday, March 05, 2007

What's the haps?

well, not a lot that I'm aware of...

In two weeks I will be doing Round the Bays. Should be fun.

It sucks that everywhere I look there are airfares on special. I really wanna go but going alone doesn't sound like much fun to me.

Toru and I are off to the Coromandel for a couple of days over easter. Going to do some kayaking and probably sit around in cafes (what we do best).

Bivouac is having a sale at the moment so I finally, finally got the t-shirt I have wanted for a long time. It's red and has the now non-existent 2c coin on it. When unsuccessfully searching for a picture I discovered that they now also have one of the old 10c coins on one. Oh yeah, and they're made by Chalkydigits so I can say I supported buy NZ made.

I really should get my VCR fixed. I don't know why I'm avoiding it. Maybe it's because I hate spending money on such things.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Go Air NZ

There have been rumours all week but it is now apparently official. Air NZ will be flying Auckland to Vancouver (DIRECT) as of November. There are so many reasons why this is great...

Oh and talk about security at the concert being major buzz kill. They had people stationed in the upper tier seating with huge friggin laser pointers which they fixed on anyone they saw with a camera. The would keep it on them until security would make their way through the crowd to get the cameras. So uhhh I kept my camera in my bag.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Snow Patrol tonight!

Oh yes, it is Snow Patrol night. Although I still have a lovely 50min+ bus ride to look forward to. Why couldn't it be in the city?

1st years are really annoying. They get worse every year. It scares me that some of them were born in 1990.

It sucks being a one-person team at work, especially when I'm covering one position that I really can't cover. Joy.

Oh and Peter is getting all powerful and what not in Heroes. Ahhh, what would I do without my shows to watch?

Friday, February 16, 2007

Insanity...

For some odd reason I want to do the Round the Bays run... But I don't know if my knee is up to those distances again yet and I'd have nobody to keep me company. Everyone I know thinks running is a crazy thing to do.

Anyway so yes as of a few weeks ago I was able to start running again but with several restrictions. I still have to keep avoiding uneven surfaces and hills. I had to start off doing a 10min run in run/walk intervals but it's getting better. I had to be one of at least half of the people that gets some other knee problem as a result of having some other knee injury first. This one should clear up a lot quicker though - yay.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

So far so good

My email transferred seamlessly last night and now I can use a decent web email client. And my blog is now hosted with blogger rather than going via FTP to my ISP. Unfortunately this seems to mean I have a blogger toolbar at the top.

But at least the site didn't die :P

Monday, February 12, 2007

Just incase something dies

I'm going to move all domain stuff to something non-ISP based. Hopefully the transition will be painless but incase anything dies - it should be resolved soon enough.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Ewwwww... icky pants

There's sewerage or something running down half of the driveway and pooling up on the grass by the clotheslines and at the end of the driveway. Ick ick ick ick. The smell almost made me sick this morning and there are flies everywhere. The first two units have avoided it :( The rest of us are not so lucky but at least it is on the far side of the driveway.

I'll say it again - ick, ick, ick, ick, ick

I heard tools being used in the weekend hence I will blame the neighbours. Excellent... Always need someone to blame it on.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Comet Hunting

When I heard Comet McNaught was in town I just had to see it. Don't ask me why... Besides the fact that such a chance doesn't come around all that often. Being in Auckland with the crappy, non-summer weather lately there has been so much cloud cover I was worried I wouldn't get the chance. So last night Toru and I took our chances and went to the Mt Eden summit. We soon realised that everyone else had the same idea. I don't think the summit has ever seen so much action. Luckily my super parking skills were in full force and I spotted someone leaving. No reversing or three-point turning for us. No, no.


We found ourselves a good spot and got my camera all set up on the tripod. It was time to try out all those extra scene modes (in particular 'Starry sky' mode). After making some girls happy by confirming that yes that spot was in fact Venus and pointing out to some other guy the general direction in which the comet would appear, I took the chance to take many, many sunset photos and night shots of Mt Eden etc.


Then finally, as Venus disappeared into the smog and evil, dirty, looming clouds, it appeared! Yay! I hadn't just huddled under a blanket for a good 30-45mins for nothing. Maybe if the clouds hold off another night this week Toru and I can drive away from the city to get a better look. Light pollution is not our friend in such situations.



And since you have made it to the end of my very geeky post, here's a picture of Auckland City at night. It's my present to you :P



Oh and for those of you who want to let your inner geek out - there's more photos on flickr.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Sucky pants

So I have tonight and most of tomorrow to myself while Toru and his brother do geeky stuff, hence it was the perfect opportunity to convert a pile of stuff from VHS to DVD. All was going well and then I put in one video and all I get is a black screen. After a short while I decide the video is totally gone and oh well I'll live. So I move onto the next one and the screen is still black. So I put in one of the newest videos I have, just to be sure, and same thing. I have sound though? It doesn't matter whether I have the VCR going straight to the TV or through the DVD recorder.

So sucky pants!! It's already going to take me forever to convert stuff and now the VCR won't work properly.

Oddly enough I can still have tv going through the VCR fine. Maybe the heads need cleaning? But then why is there sound????

*edit*

Okay taken from Netguide.co.nz
"
WARNING: Depending on age and how well they’ve been stored, some of your VHS tapes may have deteriorated to the point where they are unplayable. The metal oxide on the tape surface detaches with age or damp storage, and may clog the playback head of your VCR You’ll know if you get sound but no picture. Cleaning this gunk from the head may be a professional job, and therefore costly. Before playing tapes, look through the window in the top of the cassette. If a white mould-like substance appears on the tape, it’s probably unplayable."

I don't remember seeing mould? And I had other videos play in there that were older than that one :( I want to cry... I guess I'll be going for a long walk tomorrow to find a tape cleaner - that is, if anyone still sells them

First the damn flies... now the spiders

Thursday, January 18, 2007

The lazy way

I finally got around to starting my big mission of converting all my old VHS tapes to DVD (or some sort of digital format). I tried Toru's gizmo thingy which was supposed to let me record onto my computer. But alas, it doesn't seem to work anymore. That was pretty much the only excuse I needed to be lazy and go out and buy a DVD recorder. Yay for the lazy way. Now I just need to find all the many hours I need to convert everything.

My knee didn't like moving offices. But my new office has a much nicer view, more room for me and less room for annoying visitors. But room for the nice ones :P

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

My search for hot chocolate is over

Anyone who knows me knows I drink hot chocolate. Anyone who knows me well enough knows I love dark, bittersweet chocolate the most. Today I had a meeting with the caterers to discuss menus for the year and was asked if I'd tried their new hot chocolate. When I said no they insisted on getting me one. It's pretty strong so I was asked if I wanted milk in it to dilute it down, which of course I refused. It's one of the best hot chocolates I've ever had. I've told them to expect me in there on a daily basis.

Mmmmmmmmmm... *snap back to reality* I will be on a sugar high for the rest of the morning

I have found my new obsession

Monday, January 08, 2007

More stupidities

So some idiot teenagers decided it would be a good idea to go down Baldwin St at 150km/h. Seriously?? Who in their right mind thinks that's a good idea. Then again many years ago someone thought it would be a good idea to go down Baldwin St in a wheelie bin. They did not live to tell the tale.

And oh yeah... soon every one of your fingers will be scanned when going to America and then made available internationally to intelligence agencies. Awesome. I will most certainly be finding another route to Canada, more so than before.

I will try to sit and enjoy my breakfast now... If that is possible.