Today was Aonghas's 20th birthday. Originally I didn't think we had anything planned except for a cake our mum bought from Pak n' Save, but it seemed as though this wasn't the case for others...
Aonghas and I had to lead children's worship in the morning and I ended up getting the kids to sing Happy Birthday to him (he probably expected it anyway since I've done it already once before!).
After children's worship, we went back into the hall for the main service. While there, I noticed a few of the guys weren't there and commented on it to Aonghas. We just assumed they were somewhere else rehearsing a scene from the church's Christmas play.
Sunday 28 November 2010
Saturday 27 November 2010
A Joint Party
Tonight was Yeeping and Alex's birthday party, a week after Zahir's (Alex's boyfriend) birthday party! Once again I spent most of the day after music teaching looking for birthday presents to buy for them before having to prepare. I ended up buying Yeeping this little mannequin earring holder (she's into fashion!), while I got Alex a psychedelic hippie van mug (she's into psychology!).
Originally Aonghas was going to give me a ride to the bar called 'The Lounge' in Mt Eden along with my friends Gwen and Zahir, but when I mentioned that I was going to the party to Angie at youth group the night before, she offered to give us all a ride which was nice of her!
She came over with Natasha and Zahir already in the car, and then we went off to pick up Gwen. We were the first people to get there along with Alex. Even Yeeping hadn't made it yet! We helped Alex carry the food inside and taste-test it ;) OK not really, but it looked really yummy! There were deep-fried wontons, mini spring rolls, cupcakes and little dumplings!
Something I realised as I was in the car was that I forgot to remove the price tag from one of the birthday presents! I rang my mum to check if she did as...she was sorta the one who wrapped the presents! She didn't realise there was one on the birthday present! I went over to the presents table and quietly took the present outside, carefully unwrapped the present and tried peeling the sticker off, only to be caught by Aone and Jenna who were just arriving! I joined them and went back in.
More people started arriving and I spent a bit of time by the food table having a bit to eat while catching up with some old Rutherford friends who were hanging around one corner of the room. I caught up a bit with my friend Gwen. We were dates for the night! haha I was also introduced to Chris, a guy who used to go to Rangeview Intermediate School who remembered me!
As the night wore on, more people showed up and 10.30pm crept up really fast! Time for birthday speeches! First Alex gave a birthday speech to Yeeping, followed by Elaine, a girl who also went to Rutherford who I didn't realise was Yeeping's cousin! Yeeping then returned the favour by giving a speech to Alex, followed by Chloe, one of Alex's best friends, and then finally Zahir, Alex's boyfriend delivered the final speech. His speech was an acrostic poem using Alex's name which I thought was quite nice! It really showed how well Zahir and Alex are made for each other, and it was really cool seeing just how well Zahir knows Alex!
After the speeches, a few more old Rutherford people came who I hadn't seen in a long time! Most of these ex-Rutherford people are from the year below me, except for Jane who was in my year. It felt like a mini-Rutherford reunion!
The music was pumping, people started dancing, and it was approaching midnight. Aonghas came to pick me up around midnight, and I also gave Gwen a ride home.
The only thing that's quite sad, is that when I tried transferring all the photos from the SD card to the computer, I couldn't find them anywhere! Either the card is faulty or our camera's starting to get old! I'm really gutted about that! Fortunately I filmed all the speeches on my iPod and Gwen has let me use her pics for this blog post! Thanks Gwen!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX AND YEEPING!
Originally Aonghas was going to give me a ride to the bar called 'The Lounge' in Mt Eden along with my friends Gwen and Zahir, but when I mentioned that I was going to the party to Angie at youth group the night before, she offered to give us all a ride which was nice of her!
She came over with Natasha and Zahir already in the car, and then we went off to pick up Gwen. We were the first people to get there along with Alex. Even Yeeping hadn't made it yet! We helped Alex carry the food inside and taste-test it ;) OK not really, but it looked really yummy! There were deep-fried wontons, mini spring rolls, cupcakes and little dumplings!
Something I realised as I was in the car was that I forgot to remove the price tag from one of the birthday presents! I rang my mum to check if she did as...she was sorta the one who wrapped the presents! She didn't realise there was one on the birthday present! I went over to the presents table and quietly took the present outside, carefully unwrapped the present and tried peeling the sticker off, only to be caught by Aone and Jenna who were just arriving! I joined them and went back in.
More people started arriving and I spent a bit of time by the food table having a bit to eat while catching up with some old Rutherford friends who were hanging around one corner of the room. I caught up a bit with my friend Gwen. We were dates for the night! haha I was also introduced to Chris, a guy who used to go to Rangeview Intermediate School who remembered me!As the night wore on, more people showed up and 10.30pm crept up really fast! Time for birthday speeches! First Alex gave a birthday speech to Yeeping, followed by Elaine, a girl who also went to Rutherford who I didn't realise was Yeeping's cousin! Yeeping then returned the favour by giving a speech to Alex, followed by Chloe, one of Alex's best friends, and then finally Zahir, Alex's boyfriend delivered the final speech. His speech was an acrostic poem using Alex's name which I thought was quite nice! It really showed how well Zahir and Alex are made for each other, and it was really cool seeing just how well Zahir knows Alex!
After the speeches, a few more old Rutherford people came who I hadn't seen in a long time! Most of these ex-Rutherford people are from the year below me, except for Jane who was in my year. It felt like a mini-Rutherford reunion!
The music was pumping, people started dancing, and it was approaching midnight. Aonghas came to pick me up around midnight, and I also gave Gwen a ride home.
The only thing that's quite sad, is that when I tried transferring all the photos from the SD card to the computer, I couldn't find them anywhere! Either the card is faulty or our camera's starting to get old! I'm really gutted about that! Fortunately I filmed all the speeches on my iPod and Gwen has let me use her pics for this blog post! Thanks Gwen!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX AND YEEPING!
I'm Graduating!
All my marks came back this afternoon, and....I'm graduating!! (OK so I kinda already knew that after attending Completion last Monday but at least this doubly confirms it!)
Overall my marks were a lot better than I thought they would be, because I was pretty much expecting to scrape by. I was hoping my research dissertation mark would be a bit better than it was, but I can't be too disappointed with it!
Now to wait for May graduation and hopefully my graduation teddy!
Pre-Concert Jitters
It's one week out from the end-of-year concert at the music school I teach, and so today I did what you could call a dress rehearsal with my students.
You'd have to say there were mixed results with the classes. I've got about six classes. Some were great, some needed a bit more work, and one class just kept speeding up in their pieces!
What will add extra risk to the recorder items next week, is that I will be getting all the students to come on stage right at the end of the recorder section of the concert to perform We Wish You a Merry Christmas. I've never done this before as they never practise together and I don't want to risk it. This year though I decided to risk it and try something different!
I always worry about how they'll go one week out from the concert, but they all usually manage to pull it off well so hopefully the same will happen again next week!
You'd have to say there were mixed results with the classes. I've got about six classes. Some were great, some needed a bit more work, and one class just kept speeding up in their pieces!
What will add extra risk to the recorder items next week, is that I will be getting all the students to come on stage right at the end of the recorder section of the concert to perform We Wish You a Merry Christmas. I've never done this before as they never practise together and I don't want to risk it. This year though I decided to risk it and try something different!
I always worry about how they'll go one week out from the concert, but they all usually manage to pull it off well so hopefully the same will happen again next week!
Monday 22 November 2010
Celebrating Completion
Sunday 21 November 2010
Zahir's 21st Birthday
Today was Zahir's 21st birthday. His birthday was a little while ago but he had to sit an exam on that day, so the celebrations had to be postponed for a little while!
I spent several hours before the party looking for a birthday present at Lynn Mall, and thought I might try the pharmacy as he studies pharmacology! The pharmacy assistant looked a bit thrown when I told her I was looking for a 21st birthday present! It turns out my 3rd year pharmacy friend Himesh works at that pharmacy too!
I spent several hours before the party looking for a birthday present at Lynn Mall, and thought I might try the pharmacy as he studies pharmacology! The pharmacy assistant looked a bit thrown when I told her I was looking for a 21st birthday present! It turns out my 3rd year pharmacy friend Himesh works at that pharmacy too!
Saturday 20 November 2010
'Tis the Season
Meglomaniac - Incubus
I have the morning off since there's a gala at the school I teach at, so out of boredom I'm finally going to try this...(I'm using the family computer by the way, so not all of the music is mine! ;) )
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME & ARTIST DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 20 friends
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. Have Fun! ..........
Wednesday 17 November 2010
A BBQ to Celebrate Hamish's Birthday
Today was Hamish's 24th birthday! Boy is he getting old. Even I'm starting to lose track of how old he is these days! Maybe I'm just getting old and forgetful.
Anyway we didn't do much in the morning as Hamish went into the city to get his exam results and Aonghas went back to his old school to watch one of his old teachers to get presented some award. I was left at home to do nothing...well that's not completely true, I washed the dishes!
When everyone came home though, we decided we'd finally have a go at having a barbeque in the backyard! Our mum had just recently bought one of those round charcoal BBQ sets, so we tried putting it together while our mum went out to buy some food.
Once we got it finished and our mum got back, we chucked in some charcoal and some newspaper and got a fire going. In hindsight newspaper wasn't the best thing to use as we had pieces of paper flying everywhere! Next time we'll have to use proper fire starter or whatever it's called.
We eventually got the fire going and started cooking!
The food was pretty good! We managed to cook some sausages, chicken hearts and vegetables before it got too late and the heat died down.
We'll have to do BBQs more often this season! Next time we'll probably start it earlier.
Tuesday 16 November 2010
My Last Dessert Club Event
I was asked to help out with decorations. Originally I was asked to come at around 2-3pm so I caught the bus to the city when I was told we would start decorating at 5.30pm! That meant I had plenty of time in the city to kill!
I came across this Earth From Above photography exhibition at Aotea Square which had all these amazing photos. After having a look at some of them, I went to the library to watch some more of my Asian drama before going to Wendy's to grab something to eat and then heading back up to K' Road for decorating!
The event was held at the Pull Bar, and I discovered it to be closed upon discovering it. I ended up just sitting at the bus stop...watching more drama, till one of the other Dessert Club guys came.
We had about an hour to decorate the bar with shiny purple material, fairy lights and some lanterns. Some of the committee members arrived later with plenty of yummy food and the DJ and chocolate fountain soon came too.
Once it was all done, we let everyone in! I just hung out with Harry and Sean, two of the committee members, playing pool with them before watching Joy sing a solo and then a duet with Sean. They were pretty good!
After their performances, I decided to get some food to eat. There was plenty of sushi, and a lot of fruit to dip in the massive chocolate fountain! I don't think I've seen one that big before!
I went back for seconds and thirds. I took a piece of sushi, thinking it had a large piece of meat on top of it. It turned out to be a large blob of wasabi sauce! I think it went straight to my head and I ended up trying to eat as much fruit as I could to cool myself down!
I didn't feel so great after that so I left a little early.
The final Dessert Club event was pretty successful and I'm really proud of what the Dessert Club committee has achieved this year. I'm going to miss being a part of the committee and the club that I've been associated with for the past four years, and even though I don't really want to leave, I think it's probably the best time to move on. The club's definitely in good hands, and I'm sure they'll do a good job keeping the club going for many years to come!
Sunday 14 November 2010
Out for Dinner
After church today my mum dragged me along with her to do some shopping at the nearby Kathmandu with some of her church friends. I would have much rather preferred to have stayed back at church and hang out with some friends, but she insisted on me coming with her, so I ended up tagging along.
Fortunately Winston and Nadine, along with Jessica and a couple of younger kids came so I had some people to talk to!
There was a big sale at Kathmandu, so the adults (a bit weird still calling them adults when technically I'm an adult now!) were looking at all the clothes and outdoor gear on sale. I had a quick look around before I got bored. Winston, Hamish and I decided to go to the nearby Rebel Sports store and two of the kids followed us. We had a wander around to look at the stuff while the kids played around. We eventually got to the foosball tables on sale and we ended up playing a bit of foosball on it using a ping-pong ball we found nearby! I kept looking over my shoulder just in case any of the storepeople came over and told us off!
After a while we decided to go back to Kathmandu, and when we thought they were almost ready to go, they ended up buying these outdoor folding chairs and tents! They only finally left the store when it closed!
A decision was then made on the spot that we would all go have dinner together! We went to a nearby restaurant where we had rice, sweet and sour chicken, lemon chicken and egg. Oh, and soup!
Once we finished dinner, we had a little walk to a nearby Chinese grocery store and then to Pak n' Save before heading our separate ways.
Well that was a different Sunday!
Fortunately Winston and Nadine, along with Jessica and a couple of younger kids came so I had some people to talk to!
There was a big sale at Kathmandu, so the adults (a bit weird still calling them adults when technically I'm an adult now!) were looking at all the clothes and outdoor gear on sale. I had a quick look around before I got bored. Winston, Hamish and I decided to go to the nearby Rebel Sports store and two of the kids followed us. We had a wander around to look at the stuff while the kids played around. We eventually got to the foosball tables on sale and we ended up playing a bit of foosball on it using a ping-pong ball we found nearby! I kept looking over my shoulder just in case any of the storepeople came over and told us off!
After a while we decided to go back to Kathmandu, and when we thought they were almost ready to go, they ended up buying these outdoor folding chairs and tents! They only finally left the store when it closed!
A decision was then made on the spot that we would all go have dinner together! We went to a nearby restaurant where we had rice, sweet and sour chicken, lemon chicken and egg. Oh, and soup!
Once we finished dinner, we had a little walk to a nearby Chinese grocery store and then to Pak n' Save before heading our separate ways.
So Long, Facial Hair
After my little fall last week and getting some facial injuries, I was told not to shave around those areas till they healed, and so I thought this was a good opportunity for me to see what I'd look like with facial hair! I pretty much shave everyday.
After a week of not shaving, some people at church noticed my hairiness! Funnily enough none of my students noticed!
I have to admit that it's a whole lot easier not bothering to shave and just letting it grow, although it feels a little weird for me.
Although I was planning on continuing to grow it right up till Completion Ceremony in a week's time, I finally decided to shave it all off this morning before church!
Saturday 13 November 2010
Guys Make the First Move!
So I was watching my Asian Drama Devil Beside You as you do when you have nothing to do and you're addicted to drama, and there's this guy who has trouble initiating things with his girlfriend, and got told by his grandma to make the first move!
It's kinda funny because lately everyone's been reminding me about this, peer pressuring/persuading/encouraging/motivating...whatever you like to call it...me to make the first move!
Sometimes I think what's the worst that can happen? Lose my dignity? But then I get the occasional reminder from my friend who brings me back to Earth, that it can make things weird or awkward, or wreck friendships!
I guess this makes life interesting doesn't it?
Friday 12 November 2010
Music Sale
I went to the Lewis Eady Clearance Sale this morning with the hope of picking up something cheap, in particular a trombone! The website advertised a cheap trombone, which would be good to learn on. Sadly they didn't have any!
I was also tempted by the slightly larger ukulele than the normal small size one, as it sounds a lot lower and could almost pass as a guitar! I gave up on guitar a while go because it was just too complicated, and learnt the ukulele instead. I didn't ended up buying the ukulele though.
My dad and Aonghas came away with two sets of drumsticks though!
I was also tempted by the slightly larger ukulele than the normal small size one, as it sounds a lot lower and could almost pass as a guitar! I gave up on guitar a while go because it was just too complicated, and learnt the ukulele instead. I didn't ended up buying the ukulele though.
My dad and Aonghas came away with two sets of drumsticks though!
Thursday 11 November 2010
Lucky I'm Not Still Studying
This morning I went to see a JP but got there too late, so instead went to the library beside it, and was surprised at how packed it was! All the seats were taken by school kids, even seats at library catalogues. There were kids sitting on the floor in between bookshelves as well! I'm so glad I've finished all my exams and don't have to study anymore!
I just hung around in the library for a while, looking for some books to read. I caught up with my youth group friends Grace and Andrew there!
After a while I decided it was time to go, since my brothers probably didn't know where I was! I went over to the music shop across the road to buy a couple guitar picks. Hopefully these are the right ones! I'm going to finally try to learn the guitar!
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Deep Fried Fun
We bought a mini deep fryer that was on discount in the weekend and tonight we finally got it out and tried it! I peeled some potatoes earlier and we we cut them to make fries. We also tried deep-frying fish and some prawn crackers!
The chips and prawn crackers tasted good! The fish sorta tasted like ordinary fish though.
Monday 8 November 2010
Calum vs Concrete
Yesterday I spent probably the longest time I've ever spent at church. We had church service in the morning, and because the Waitakere fireworks display was taking place across the road at the Trusts Stadium later that evening, a few of us just stayed behind at church to have a BBQ in the evening and then watch the fireworks after.
As most people left, Hamish and I stayed behind while our mum went out shopping with some others. Soon it was just me and this girl Jessica playing with my iPod until she had to go as well and I had to help someone out with a survey.
Soon it was time to get the BBQ set up and the food cooking! We had some sausages, meat and salad for dinner. Now this is where things started getting interesting...while we were eating, I jokingly challenged Joylynn (the minister's daughter) to eat a piece of meat in under 30 seconds, which...she failed!
As the day got darker, more people started arriving to have something to eat or just to see the fireworks. Because we had already eaten, we weren't doing much and so I light-heartedly challenged Joylynn to a sprint race in the car park. I thought this would be an easy way to beat someone, especially a 13 year old girl! It'd be easy, no sweat!
She accepted the challenge, and we lined up at one end of the car park. Hamish shouted
'GO!'
and we were off...although not for long for me though! I started to lean too far forward and lost my balance, ending up sliding on the concrete! I quickly got up to try catch up to Joylynn but she had already won. When I walked back to church, Aonghas looked at me in horror and when I got to the bathroom, I could see why..
As most people left, Hamish and I stayed behind while our mum went out shopping with some others. Soon it was just me and this girl Jessica playing with my iPod until she had to go as well and I had to help someone out with a survey.
Soon it was time to get the BBQ set up and the food cooking! We had some sausages, meat and salad for dinner. Now this is where things started getting interesting...while we were eating, I jokingly challenged Joylynn (the minister's daughter) to eat a piece of meat in under 30 seconds, which...she failed!
As the day got darker, more people started arriving to have something to eat or just to see the fireworks. Because we had already eaten, we weren't doing much and so I light-heartedly challenged Joylynn to a sprint race in the car park. I thought this would be an easy way to beat someone, especially a 13 year old girl! It'd be easy, no sweat!
She accepted the challenge, and we lined up at one end of the car park. Hamish shouted
'GO!'
and we were off...although not for long for me though! I started to lean too far forward and lost my balance, ending up sliding on the concrete! I quickly got up to try catch up to Joylynn but she had already won. When I walked back to church, Aonghas looked at me in horror and when I got to the bathroom, I could see why..
I had grazes to my face, arm, hands and legs! I had no idea what I was going to do! When I came out of the bathroom, fortunately Nadine, a pharmacist and Emily, another lady at church helped bandage me up with what they could find in the First Aid cabinet. They put antiseptic and saline on my wounds and then covered me up. I'm someone who can't stop laughing when in pain, so I was trying not to laugh!
I ended up watching the fireworks from outside the church foyer with Jireh, Joylynn's sister, who was also slightly injured from the indoor soccer game he had just returned from.
It was funny and a little embarrassing because people would come up to me and ask what happened, and I'd tell them that I had a little fall! I also had some kids who asked me what happened to my face!
Anyway, the fireworks eventually started, which is what we were there for! The fireworks were quite big and loud, but I'm not too sure if there was as much as last year? I can say that the fireworks were powerful enough to set off one car's alarm ten times though!
So it was an interesting way to end the fireworks season. Hopefully my injuries and my face will clear up by the Completion Ceremony without any scars left behind!
Saturday 6 November 2010
Backyard Fireworks
Our old neighbour Phillip and his fiancée Lee came up from Palmerston North to visit tonight. Usually we don't bother tidying our house because Phillip is used to seeing it in a mess, but because Lee was coming, we put in extra effort to tidy it up...or the lounge at least!
When I got home from my friend's BBQ, they were already at our house, so I just joined in their conversation before we all decided to go outside and set off some fireworks!
Phillip got out this large tube he nicknamed 'the bazooka'. When we first saw that, we first thought it would be finally mean massive fireworks, but then we discovered it was just a container for 12 smaller shots! That's OK though, as we set two or three off at the same time to double the fun!
All the bits and pieces from the fireworks were falling onto the neighbours' roofs, so I was hoping they wouldn't come out and complain!
Once we had set off all our fireworks, we went out to the front to light some smoke bomb things! It's been a long, long time since we last played with those! When we were younger those and sparklers would be the only things our parents would buy for Guy Fawkes Day!
Phillip will be back in a few weeks' time so we'll get to catch up more with him.
When I got home from my friend's BBQ, they were already at our house, so I just joined in their conversation before we all decided to go outside and set off some fireworks!
Phillip got out this large tube he nicknamed 'the bazooka'. When we first saw that, we first thought it would be finally mean massive fireworks, but then we discovered it was just a container for 12 smaller shots! That's OK though, as we set two or three off at the same time to double the fun!
All the bits and pieces from the fireworks were falling onto the neighbours' roofs, so I was hoping they wouldn't come out and complain!
Once we had set off all our fireworks, we went out to the front to light some smoke bomb things! It's been a long, long time since we last played with those! When we were younger those and sparklers would be the only things our parents would buy for Guy Fawkes Day!
A Birthday BBQ
Tonight I went to my old intermediate and high school friend Lindsey's house to attend a birthday barbecue for him. My mum originally suggested Aonghas drive me there, but I really wanted to practise driving on my own, so she reluctantly let me!
She had nothing to worry though as I drove about 50km/hr down the motorway thanks to a slow truck ahead of me! I was tempted to change lanes but I thought I'd rather get there late than crash and have my mum ban me from driving for the rest of my life.
It was a good old BBQ with Lindsey cooking the sausages (and they were quite nice sausages too!), his family there and Jane, one of our high school friends as well. I didn't recognise her at first since she had dyed her hair!
I gave Lindsey his birthday present that would hopefully make up for missing his 21st birthday last year (it was a Twister board game beach towel...you know so he can have some fun at the beach!)
We all had a bit to eat before the birthday cake was brought out and we all sang Happy Birthday to Lindsey!
I had to go not too long after as we had some guests over at home, but it was good fun being at Lindsey's. His family are quite fun and entertaining! May he have a great 22nd year!
Kicking Them Out!
You may remember the last time when I was teaching music and had to deal with some random kids who came into my classroom and started disrupting my class.Well there was potential for something similar to happen again today, but I was determined to deal with it early and avoid it.
I was teaching a student, when I saw a couple of kids come into the cloak bay carrying some sort of tube that looked like gift wrap from where I was. I wasn't sure if they had taken it from the cloak bay or not, so I went over to see what was going on and saw they were actually fireworks! They were outside though so I left them to it and continued teaching.
One kid came into my room though and when I asked him if he was here for something, he said he just wanted to listen. It was not long till he went over to the window and started shouting to his friends outside! That's when I asked him to leave. His friends entered the room and I asked them all to leave as they weren't here for music lessons and were distracting my lessons.
I managed to shepherd them out the door, and as soon as they were all out I locked the doors! They did bang on the door for a little while, but I was going to be teaching for another hour and I'm sure their attention span wasn't that long, so I wasn't too bothered. I saw them chuck the unlit fireworks onto the roof of a classroom before wandering off somewhere.
I think I'm finally being a man! Next time I shouldn't be so polite...
I was teaching a student, when I saw a couple of kids come into the cloak bay carrying some sort of tube that looked like gift wrap from where I was. I wasn't sure if they had taken it from the cloak bay or not, so I went over to see what was going on and saw they were actually fireworks! They were outside though so I left them to it and continued teaching.
One kid came into my room though and when I asked him if he was here for something, he said he just wanted to listen. It was not long till he went over to the window and started shouting to his friends outside! That's when I asked him to leave. His friends entered the room and I asked them all to leave as they weren't here for music lessons and were distracting my lessons.
I managed to shepherd them out the door, and as soon as they were all out I locked the doors! They did bang on the door for a little while, but I was going to be teaching for another hour and I'm sure their attention span wasn't that long, so I wasn't too bothered. I saw them chuck the unlit fireworks onto the roof of a classroom before wandering off somewhere.
I think I'm finally being a man! Next time I shouldn't be so polite...
Friday 5 November 2010
Setting off Fireworks
It's Guy Fawkes' Day today and tonight we got to light some fireworks after youth group! The other fellowship actually brought the fireworks and we sorta jumped in and joined them.
I have to say fireworks these days aren't as big and powerful as they used to be, thanks to constant regulation and those fools who can't use them safely and have ended up burning down houses.
While most of the fireworks we lit were either those mini fountains or those shots, we still were able to enjoy them and some of the guys created their own kind of fun by dancing around the fireworks or jumping over them!
Finally a Chinatown in Auckland!
Hamish finished his last exam today, and since Aonghas had his one and only exam the day before and I finished way back on Monday, my mum thought this afternoon would be a good chance for us all to go out together as a family since our dad had a day off work as well.We decided to check out the new Chinatown in East Tamaki, Auckland, as it's a relatively new place and we've never been there before.
We didn't set off till later in the day. We picked Hamish up along the way and very soon we were at CHINATOWN!!
It's not like other Chinatowns overseas, where it's a whole village. This one was more like a large warehouse with a huge grid of small stalls separated by what they called 'streets'. There was a stage and seating area in the centre of the building.
We had a look around, checking out all the stalls. A lot of stalls still weren't occupied, while other stalls were pretty empty. Many of them sold clothes, health products and some sold toys. I did see a stall selling Doraemon and Mashimaro graduation soft toys, which I really want for my graduation (if I do graduate that is!)There was still a bit of construction work going on around the place, so we're guessing the place isn't quite finished yet.
We were going to have dinner somewhere but couldn't find somewhere good and relatively cheap, so we ended up going back to Westcity in Henderson and just ate at the foodcourt before us brothers had to go off to youth group.
Getting Those Fingers Moving
Now that uni's over for now, I really should start practising my musical instruments again! I never really practised the strings too much in between lessons, but I used to practise the piano accordion almost everyday since it was my main instrument! I don't think I've played the accordion since my cousin Jeremy and Asumi's wedding in February (oh and maybe once for church sometime..)!
One piece I came across last night that would be cool to try on the piano accordion is this: Etude Op. 10 No. 5 (Black Key Etude) by Chopin. It'd probably be much harder having to play all the bass on the accordion but it would be pretty interesting and maybe sound good!
I've also had several long-standing music-related goals that I'd really like to finally accomplish before I get too old, such as:
One piece I came across last night that would be cool to try on the piano accordion is this: Etude Op. 10 No. 5 (Black Key Etude) by Chopin. It'd probably be much harder having to play all the bass on the accordion but it would be pretty interesting and maybe sound good!
I've also had several long-standing music-related goals that I'd really like to finally accomplish before I get too old, such as:
- Sit and pass Grade 8 in music theory
- Learn to play the guitar and piano
- Conduct an orchestra
- Compose some more music
OK last two are maybe out of my reach for now, but the first two are definitely high on my To-Do list! I've already started going through the Trinity Grade 8 Music Theory Workbook. The only difficulty for me is that I did music theory with ABRSM (many, many years ago!) up to grade 5, and so I'm not very accustomed to the Trinity syllabus. I'm considering purchasing the grade 6 and 7 workbooks to get me more up-to-speed, but I don't know how much I'm willing to spend on something I may not end up doing though!
I suppose I should get a music theory teacher, but that's another added cost, so if you have done music theory up to grade 8 in either ABRSM or Trinity, let me know!
Thursday 4 November 2010
PokeFail
I was incredibly bored tonight so I searched the net for all sorts of random stuff, and came across a pdf on Pokemon origami. I thought I'd have a go! After giving up on Pikachu, I decided to try something easier like Dugtrio. See if you can guess which one I made...
Tickets are Here!
My tickets to the Pharmacy Completion Ceremony have arrived in the mail! Now all I need to have done is passed my exams! Here's hoping!
Do Nice Guys Always Finish Last?
It got me thinking though, do nice guys always finish last?
Wednesday 3 November 2010
Thanking the Supervisors
This morning I went back in to uni to meet up with most of my research dissertation group to present our supervisors with a present and give them all the data and files we had relating to the research project.
I arrived late and missed the presentation of our lolly jars to the supervisors, but I did manage to be there for a bit of a chat with the supervisors.
After we transferred all our files onto their computer, we returned to the Grafton cafe just to hang out and have a chat. Jessica, one of my fellow group members bought us each a drink! I tried a 'Vienna', which I've never tried before! It was great to just have a chat about life and uni without having to worry about anything at all! Meanwhile, the 3rd years not too far away in the cafe were stressing about their oral exams today!
Apparently we'll find out TOMORROW if we have to do a resit on Monday! Fingers crossed I don't have to!
First Day of the End of my Life?
It was my first free day today and I did absolutely NOTHING! It may sound great especially after studying and exams, but I honestly had nothing to do! It did give me quite a bit to think about though...
Assuming I pass my exams, graduate and do my internship, where does my life go from there? I know my intern year will also involve assignments and exams to become a registered pharmacist, but what next? Does life become a repetitive chore in which I wake up, go to work, come home, sleep, wake up, go to work, come home, sleep...? I could have an aim of saving a million dollars by a certain age, but what am I going to do with that money? It all goes away when I die. I can't take it to Heaven with me.
I really don't want to live a meaningless life. My greatest fear is to get to an old age and realise I haven't achieved anything notable and that I haven't left an impression on anyone. I'd like to know that I've made a difference in people's lives...somehow, and that I mean something to someone.
I was asked for our annual Pharmag (pharmacy magazine) where I see myself in ten years' time and I jokingly said
'owning 15 pharmacies'
but what I really hope for in ten years' time is to BE somebody.
Assuming I pass my exams, graduate and do my internship, where does my life go from there? I know my intern year will also involve assignments and exams to become a registered pharmacist, but what next? Does life become a repetitive chore in which I wake up, go to work, come home, sleep, wake up, go to work, come home, sleep...? I could have an aim of saving a million dollars by a certain age, but what am I going to do with that money? It all goes away when I die. I can't take it to Heaven with me.
I really don't want to live a meaningless life. My greatest fear is to get to an old age and realise I haven't achieved anything notable and that I haven't left an impression on anyone. I'd like to know that I've made a difference in people's lives...somehow, and that I mean something to someone.
I was asked for our annual Pharmag (pharmacy magazine) where I see myself in ten years' time and I jokingly said
'owning 15 pharmacies'
but what I really hope for in ten years' time is to BE somebody.
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Loud Mouth
I always seem to say the wrong thing whenever I open my mouth! Before I have a chance to engage with my brain and think about what the ramifications of what I say are, I've already blurted it out and end up feeling really bad and regretting it! I need some gaffer tape!
Monday 1 November 2010
Please PLEASE be the Last!
This morning I had my PHARMACY408 OSCE (oral exam). I don't do so well in the dispensing lab and with this whole lab process as I always end up making stupid mistakes, or get criticised by the supervisors for one thing or the other.
I hadn't really done too much study in the weekend for it as I didn't really know how to, but it had to be done anyway! I was in the IC half an hour before the exam, and instead of studying I was reading the news on the internet!
It was finally time for the oral exam at 9.35am though! We were in the second lot of students going in. Last semester I was right at the end, but this time I was right at the beginning (it was sorted by alphabetical order).
I can't talk much about the case, only that it wasn't too bad. We were told in advance that we would be dispensing two products, but when I got to the doctor consultation station, I could only think of one drug to recommend!
I was recommending to the patient some suppositories to take for a condition though and couldn't think of too much counselling to give her, so I advised her not to put the suppositories in her mouth!
70 minutes later and the exam was over! We all had to remain in this room until everyone else in our session had done their exam, which meant we were stuck in that room till midday! They had King Arthur playing on the projector though which was quite depressing, especially for after exams.
When we were finally allowed out, I spent an hour or two uploading photos to Facebook before checking out sheet music in Central City Library (we can borrow books from there now thanks to the Supercity!!).
To finish off the day and mark what I hope was my last ever exam at uni, I went to McDonald's to try a McSnack Wrap Value Meal. I've tried a McSnack before and found it to be small, but that was quite a while ago and I couldn't remember. I thought I'd give it another chance! It is still quite small but I guess I can't expect kebab size though!
So that's it for uni...I hope! I'll find out this time next week!
I hadn't really done too much study in the weekend for it as I didn't really know how to, but it had to be done anyway! I was in the IC half an hour before the exam, and instead of studying I was reading the news on the internet!
It was finally time for the oral exam at 9.35am though! We were in the second lot of students going in. Last semester I was right at the end, but this time I was right at the beginning (it was sorted by alphabetical order).
I can't talk much about the case, only that it wasn't too bad. We were told in advance that we would be dispensing two products, but when I got to the doctor consultation station, I could only think of one drug to recommend!
I was recommending to the patient some suppositories to take for a condition though and couldn't think of too much counselling to give her, so I advised her not to put the suppositories in her mouth!
70 minutes later and the exam was over! We all had to remain in this room until everyone else in our session had done their exam, which meant we were stuck in that room till midday! They had King Arthur playing on the projector though which was quite depressing, especially for after exams.
When we were finally allowed out, I spent an hour or two uploading photos to Facebook before checking out sheet music in Central City Library (we can borrow books from there now thanks to the Supercity!!).
To finish off the day and mark what I hope was my last ever exam at uni, I went to McDonald's to try a McSnack Wrap Value Meal. I've tried a McSnack before and found it to be small, but that was quite a while ago and I couldn't remember. I thought I'd give it another chance! It is still quite small but I guess I can't expect kebab size though!
So that's it for uni...I hope! I'll find out this time next week!
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