Year in Review

It's time for my annual Year in Review, with the first sentence of the first post of each month, followed by a summary of that month

January

A year marred by earthquakes, a mining tragedy, and a death in the family is finally over. So long 2010, welcome 2011! 


- We hang out with the Tans, Chins and Chans
- We watch Tangled!
- The annual Children's Summer Programme is on, I dress up as Adam (of Adam and Eve fame)
- We hang out at the Chans' house and go exploring Henderson
- Chinese New Year festivals galore!
- We celebrate Harris's birthday at McDonald's, catch a guy sleeping on the toilet
- We celebrate Chen's 21st birthday!
- Witness a huge fireworks display over the waterfront to celebrate Auckland Anniversary

- Go blueberry picking with church friends

February

I finally have my Annual Practising Certificate to practise as an intern pharmacist!

- I become properly registered as an Intern Pharmacist and start my first day on the job
- Get my arms waxed by Carmen and Grace
- Celebrate Chinese New Year on Waitangi Day!
- Finally join the gym at uni
- Celebrate Scholastica's 21st birthday at a Thai restaurant
- Go minigolfing with the Tans, Tommy and Harris in Mission Bay
- Tim and Gabrielle get married!

March

Today after music classes my brothers and I decided to visit our old high school Rutherford College to check out the 50th Reunion. 

- Orientation Week at uni
- $1 Cheeseburger madness at McDonald's!
- Catch up with other interns at a birthday party in Mt Albert
- Get together with other viola players
- Lose Aonghas at the Lantern Festival
- Visit Rutherford College to attend the 50th reunion but can't find it...

April

It's been a rainy night tonight, and Aonghas was out doing some work while Hamish still hadn't come home from uni. It was soon 10.30pm, so my mum told me to text Hamish to find out where he was. 


- Hamish gets beaten up and punched in the face
- Celebrate Gwen's birthday 
- Aonghas drops the car keys down the drain
- Diane's boyfriend teaches me guitar
- We pig out on Good Friday and watch Tangled after the church service
- Go bush-walking through the Waitakere Ranges
- Get given a guide to dating!
- Get my graduation gown!
- Finally get my new glasses!

May

Today was finally my big day! It was to kick off with a breakfast in this giant marquee at uni for graduands and their families at 8am, but as usual our family set off from home late (like 7.50am late!) and were stuck in traffic!

- I finally graduate with a Bachelor of Pharmacy!
- I buy my mum electronic scales for Mother's Day
- I attend Overseas Christian Fellowship (OCF) for the first time
- We farewell Lindsey who is heading off to the UK
- Hang out with Ting Ting at Starbucks
- Watch Nick's short film at a screening at Toni and Evan's house
- We pig out on Burger Fuel during the 40 Hour Famine
- Assignmenting, assignmenting, assignmenting...

June

I've decided to expand my tastes and try a wider variety of food, so I went into this Asian bakery tonight and picked this strawberry milk cream bun...or something like that! It was pretty nice!


- My laptop dies the night before my assignment is due
- I try the infamous Double Down Burger
- Meet our...nephew (?) Vida for the first time
- Students start to drive me crazy
- We farewell Shen who leaves for Singapore
- Our Oddfellows Youth Group combines with Living Waters Fellowship
- We celebrate our dad's birthday by going out to dinner at Dynasty and having dessert at McDonald's
- Greg Laurie gives a very inspirational talk at the Auckland Harvest at Vector Arena
- The family basketball team take out the championship at the Massey Leisure Centre

July

It has been really quiet at work this week, but fortunately there's been enough to keep me busy throughout the day.


- Catch up with Angie and Gwen for Domino's for dinner
- Our youth group goes out to watch Kung Fu Panda 2
- The rain miraculously stops as we go to the zoo
- We celebrate Danielle's 21st and catch up with many old primary school friends
- I get my professional graduation photos
- Vodafone continues to screw me over

August

One of the ladies at work is leaving this week. She's been working at the pharmacy for many years now, so for all my workmates it'll be pretty sad. 

- One of the ladies at work leaves us
- Mobile internet on my phone finally works!
- RIP Jessica Hosking
- Our youth group does baking
- It snows in Auckland!!
- I attend UoA Epsom Campus Open Evening - seriously consider teaching
- UoA Courses and Careers Day and Andrew's 21st coincide!
- Get mistaken as someone's Samoan nephew

September

After music teaching I went to church to join in on the cleaning and packing up going on. The reason for this is our church is undergoing renovations, or more specifically re-cladding to fix up the leaks.


- Our youth group puts on a skit for Father's Day
- I reluctantly agree to financially contribute to UNICEF
- Aonghas and I perform in the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony!
- One of my students gives me a mooncake
- We pack up the church
- Celebrate Shrikkanth's 22nd (to make up for lack of 21st celebration)
- Natalie, Kunsala and I have our first study dinners
- We watch St Dominic's College's school production Thoroughly Modern Millie

October

On our way home after dropping Aonghas off at work in the city, we thought we'd stop by one of those discount stores and join in on the fun by buying a couple flags for our car! 

- We celebrate our manager's birthday at work with cake!
- The music school I teach at holds its end of year concert early, and my students make me proud
- I do an all-nighter to get all my internship paperwork done
- Our youth group learns a new game...PSYCHIATRIST!
- Oddfellows runs a baking sale at church as a building fundraiser
- I decide not to sit the internship exam next month
- My phone dies
- We buy a drum set, and I buy a Samsung Galaxy S2!
- Rugby World Cup Grand Final at Trusts Stadium -WILD!

November

Tonight the Andersons and the Brens all met together again for a big family dinner. There was a special reason for tonight's family dinner though - Martyn was bringing along Bronwyn (his new girlfriend) and her family along to meet all of us!

- We meet Martyn's partner for the first time
- I make my music theory students sit a mock exam
- NZ elections!
- I go check out the campsite with a few
- We celebrate Aonghas's 21st birthday at an Asian foodcourt

December

So in the past couple days, I've been made aware of all my faults by various people.


- We have a sleepover at Karvin's old house
- Some of my students give me Christmas presents (I love being a teacher at this time of year!)
- New Gabrielle plays her Chinese harp for us
- We finally get around to celebrating Aonghas's 21st birthday
-  We buy a new car!
- We catch up with Diane and Chen over minigolf
- The Oddfellows Band perform for the first time, and we exchange Secret Santa presents
- We celebrate Christmas at church in the morning, cousins for lunch, BBQ at Western Springs then waterfront in the evening
- We farewell Jireh at the airport

A Life Together

Congratulations to our cousin Martyn and his partner Bronwyn on announcing their plans to get married! 

Year in Review Survey

1.What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

I got my arms waxed (purely an experiment!), flew to and stayed at a different city all on my own, and visited Palmerston North for the first time!

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I think I kept the resolutions which involved making purchases, but most of them I failed...I'll post my New Year's Resolutions soon!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Greg's (my cousin) partner gave birth to a baby girl this year, naming her Vida (an almost-anagram of my late uncle/his father David)

Fiona (one of our youth group leaders married to On, another youth group leader) gave birth to Abigail

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Sadly Jessica Hosking passed away in France this year. While I wasn't exactly close to her, she was the daughter of my old swimming teacher, and was good friends with my cousins. Her passing away also came as quite a shock as it was completely unexpected.

5. What countries did you visit?

I didn't visit any other countries, but I did go down to Wellington for three days all on my own for a pharmacy internship training course. 

I also travelled by bus to Palmerston North with Hamish for Phillip's (our old neighbour) wedding in November. Passing through all the small towns was quite a good experience.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

I'm sure I said this last year but I'll say it again - full license! Oh...and maybe being able to travel overseas a bit more, more freedom and maybe...a significant other? haha

7. What date(s) from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Probably the day of the major Christchurch earthquake. I can't exactly remember what the date was, but I remember hearing about the earthquake on the radio while I was at work. My workmates checked the news on the internet and there were photos of buses crushed by falling debris. The effects of the earthquake are still being felt now.

Another one would probably be the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony. Participating in the ceremony will be something I'll always remember and treasure. The craziness on the waterfront afterwards was also something I'll probably never see again!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Oh this is quite hard. I think there was a dearth of achievements this year - maybe passing the big Assignment 3?

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not sitting the internship exam in November because I wasn't ready.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I think it was mainly just suffering from colds and my on-going cough. I'm sure I've had more colds this year than any other! Customers are probably to blame!

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I'd have to say my Samsung Galaxy S2 has been quite reliable so far, and it feels great being able to install any sized app I want, as well as being able to take good photos and videos! I've been neglecting my iPod Touch recently!

I also helped purchase a new car which is turning out to be a beauty!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

A few good friends who have constantly been there for me all year, texting me everyday, helping me get through everything. Thanks for not giving up on me guys!

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

I don't really want to be specific but there was one or two people I really struggled with this year, and I really have been doing my best to get along with and hope I treat them the best I can

14. Where did most of your money go?

While I made a bit more money this year, it meant I had to start paying my mum board!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

The Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony! I'm so glad I did it! I almost pulled out, as I didn't think I'd be able to get time off work to participate but I'm so glad I did now

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO 

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

happier or sadder?

I'd like to say happier but I don't really know. It's been a tough year, one that I'd like to forget more than remember.

thinner or fatter?

Definitely fatter! I'm sure I'm carrying around more tyres than before!

richer or poorer?

I guess I'd have to say richer financially but not by much!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Exercise, study, practising music, catching up with friends 

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Going on Facebook and eating junk food!

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

I spent the morning at church, lunch at the cousins, dinner/BBQ with church friends at Western Springs, and the evening with the family and Grace walking along the waterfront!

21. Who deleted question 21?

It wasn't me!

22. Did you fall in love in 2011?

I hope I didn't because it would have been unrequited love!

23. How many one-night stands?

Zero!

24. What was your favourite TV programme?

Hi! My Sweetheart, Amazing Race, and still Grey's Anatomy

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

I don't think so

26. What was the best book you read?

I guess I'll have to say Community Pharmacy by Paul Rutter became my best friend

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

David Guetta! Enough said. 

28. What did you want and get?

A new phone that I was actually happy with!

29. What did you want and not get?

Let's just say the right answer from someone

30. What was your favorite film of this year?

If going by movies I actually watched in the cinemas, then I'd have to say...TANGLED!!

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 22, and celebrated by going to Wendy's with the family and Jireh's family (sounds a lot like my birthday last year!), before going on to Westfield Albany to walk around.

32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

See question 29! Oh and also becoming a registered pharmacist so I could move on with my life

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

Tighter t-shirts, denim shorts and yellow shoes

34. What kept you sane?

A few good friends constantly texting me everyday, especially in the mornings before work

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

ooo tough one. I tried to live in reality a bit more so I don't think I was too fixated on any celebrity figure, but hey if they were hot, then I probably did fancy them! ;)

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

Charter schools. It's quite new but it's something I completely oppose.

37. Who did you miss?

My uncle

38. Who was the best new person you met? (as in someone I've met/gotten to know this year)

They're not exactly new but I've become really good friends with Eva and Rebecca this year. I'm so glad I've gotten heaps closer to them

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

In life there'll always be things you don't like doing, but they become essential. 

Life just keeps going. Get the most out of it, because before you know it, it will be gone

Life hasn't given up on you, so don't give up on life!

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

"It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday!"

Flying Off

Tonight members of our youth group got together at the airport to farewell Jireh and his family who are leaving for Singapore. Jireh won't be back for two years as he will undergo army training.

Jireh and I had to organise transport for the evening so I was hoping everyone would be able to get a ride to the airport. I think we just had enough seats!

Before we left, I had some business to settle with someone, and then Aonghas and I decided to spruce our new baby up before we picked people up in it, so we gave it a bit of a scrub and wiped the windows clean. I think it looked quite good afterwards!

We soon arrived at church, divided people up and left for the airport.

Aonghas's car and ours arrived half an hour before our parking was set to start, so we dropped off our passengers before driving off to the supermarket to wait for half an hour.

When we got to the airport, the Chans were already at the check-in counter, with a very long line behind them! It didn't take long for them to check in before they rejoined the rest of us standing around.

We then went upstairs to hang out by the shops. We just sat around talking, while the girls were playing I-Spy.

The guys soon felt like a big feast, so we headed over to KFC as you do, but it had just closed!

We moved over to McDonald's, where some of the girls bought a McFlurry (ice-cream), while us guys had proper meals like Big Macs, ice-cream sundaes and fries!

The pastor (Jireh's dad) soon indicated that it was time for them to board, so we grabbed what was left of our meal, and headed over to the departure gate where we took a few group photos, Jireh gave each of us a giant hug, and then we had to wave goodbye to them.

We ran over to the viewing area where we waited for them to pass through the duty-free shopping area. We saw them walk through and I think they were a bit lost! We exchanged waves, before they walked out of view.

Goodbye Jireh, we're going to miss you! We won't forget you, and don't forget us! We hope to see you again in two years' time!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g21nGy8jOgE)

Accordion Compilation

Grace, a talented artist, surprised us tonight by presenting Hamish with a drawing she had done of him playing the accordion! Now our set is complete! A year ago she did a drawing of Aonghas and me for Christmas.

Now we can hang them all up on the wall! Thanks heaps Grace!

A Facebook Status Year in Review

Here is a look back at 2011 through Facebook statuses:


January
Calum needs a distraction 
Thanks guys for all the birthday wishes! I'll thank you all very soon! 
Go Li Na! 


February
First day of work down...another 10 months to go? I'm counting down the days!
At least I can come home from work at night with the satisfaction of knowing I've possibly prevented another unwanted birth!
I've finally joined the gym after two years of saying I would! Muscles here I come! 
Five more days, here we go! 
Wow the gym really does make you feel better about yourself after a bad day at work!
Boo Valentine's Day! 
So quiet today I'm doing stretches in the dispensary 
Girls can be so MEEEEEAAAAN! 
Now whenever I see someone approaching me holding a white piece of paper, I just naturally assume they're coming to give me a prescription to dispense! 
So many first years on campus today! 
Calum smells funny after trying on all the different creams and lotions at work
So maybe uni starting up again wasn't something to look forward to...


March
Well 2011 is going to be a write-off, looking forward to 2012 now! 
Escaping my sheltered life 
My preceptor wants me to smile less...and stop walking into things 
One hour of Sesame Street is more than enough for one day! 


April
Sniffed a bit too much coal tar at work today 
Phew for the Breakers!
Calum Is trained and ready to sell Thin Lizzy! 
It's the never-ending nightmare :S


May
Calum has finally graduated! Thanks for all the wishes and those who came to take pics today, really appreciate it! 
Thanks for the peer pressure guys o.o 
Go Eurasians for winning Masterchef! 
Thanks a lot Ting Ting K for making me give in to the fries! :O 
Cold = Time to self-medicate!


June
Just finished watching another drama series, time to find one without 楊丞琳 Rainie Yang in it! 
Never thought I'd have to pull an all-nighter after graduating...
Slowest day ever! These uni holidays are going to go by very slowly... 


August
Come on Cerazette come back in stock tomorrow! Girls need their pills!
Can't believe the youth of today haven't heard of such pop legends as N'Sync, 5ive and the Backstreet Boys!
Thinking about what to do next year makes me feel like it's my last year at high school all over again!
Someone asked if I was their Samoan nephew today. Someone else asked if I was Middle-Eastern..


September
Yay for a day off! Time to sleep in!
Still waiting for the first upset of the World Cup!
Was wondering why my bank account was unusually low, then remembered it went to those poor kids I unintentionally sponsored! 


October
Preceptor asked me to check if a drug was available on PWR website, without thinking I went to Pricespy! 
Hoping this won't end up being an all-nighter! 
If SBW hadn't come on I don't know how the All Blacks could have won
Upgraded my phone to a Nokia 3315 8-) 
I forgive you Stephen Donald!! 


November
I have a GirlFriend now!!!! 
false alarm guys, sorry to disappoint you! (watch out guys I'm going to get you back!) 
Five minutes after we depart Huntly, bus driver : "did the person who went off to the toilet get back on board?" 
Was on the phone when it hung up and What Makes You Beautiful started playing...slightly disturbed! 
You'll push for a busway along the North Western Motorway, Phil Twyford? SOLD! 
Welcome back Winston Peters! (Too premature?) 


December
Burger King cures all pain 

Stuff Happens

Even when you think you've come to terms with something it still hurts quite a lot when it does actually happen.

Sparkling Clean (Almost)

My mum made me wash the house today, so I managed to do at least one side of it. You can notice the difference after the wash!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Christmas has definitely crept up on me this year! Usually I would have time to buy presents and send Christmas emails out to people, but this year has all been a rush! I don't know what it is, whether it's because of work, or because we just recently had church camp.

Regardless, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. May you use this day of non-commercial, rubbish television as an opportunity to spend more time with the family and enjoy their company, no matter how much you cannot tolerate them!

I'm not too sure what I've got planned for Christmas today except church, lunch with the family, and then possibly a BBQ with church friends. Hopefully we'll also be able to check out the Christmas lights around the city as well.

Anyway, have a great day today and I'll be sure to fill you in on how I spent Christmas Day in 2011.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkN5M-nJx6A)

Sharing the Love

Tonight was the last Oddfellows Youth Group for the night, and so we had a larger turnout than usual. That could also be attributed to the fact that we were exchanging Secret Santa gifts tonight as well! I had to organise it and so I was a little afraid that someone would receive two presents, or one person would get nothing. I got people to pick names and record them on a list without me knowing, so I didn't have any idea who had who!

We also decided to do something a little different for youth group worship too. I came up with an idea to form a band a couple weeks ago, as I knew it would be Jireh's last youth group and Jireh and I have always discussed and dreamt of having a band at church. I thought it would be a great idea to surprise him! We only had one practice a couple days ago though, so we weren't the most prepared. I had also spent most of the morning looking for a Secret Santa present, so I hadn't properly prepared a message to go along with the songs I was leading.

I was on bass guitar, but since I didn't have one at home and the last time I had practised on one was the first time at Grace's house, borrowing her brother's guitar! I just had to make it up on the spot!

I think we went OK, although the rest of the youth group (if you knew Oddfellows you'd think it was typical!) didn't show much enthusiasm. We sang You Won't Relent by Misty Edwards and Our God is Greater by Christ Tomlin to start off with, and they didn't sing too loudly. I could hear some people singing along to our last song Power of Your Love though, probably since they should be quite familiar with that song by now!

After worship, we all sat in a circle on stage to receive our Secret Santa presents! Quite a few people got soft toys.

Tim got a Doraemon soft toy (his favourite!), while some got necklaces, t-shirts/dresses and vouchers. I got Playboy cologne! Thanks Jenny! Apparently she had originally bought this t-shirt from Jay-Jays for me, but then saw me wearing it at camp!

The person I had to buy for was Lisa. I ended up getting her some jewellery. What was funny was that originally I had Jenny, and she had me, but Lisa asked if she could be included in Secret Santa, and so I gave her Jenny while I took Lisa!

We then went around the circle, sharing what we were grateful for this year. I said that I was grateful for friends and Oddfellows as they've given me a life this year, especially with full-time work.

We then finished the night with a farewell to Jireh. Some of us shared stories about him and what we've enjoyed and appreciated, and Jireh left us with a few words of advice about how we all should make time for God.

We presented our farewell present to him - a collage of past and current Oddfellows group photos, a Rugby World Cup soft toy with signatures on it, and a farewell card made by his sister Joylynn.

It was a great way to end the night and what made it even better was seeing one of the old Oddfellows members Brendan come to visit. We haven't seen him in quite a while! It's good to see that he's well.

Photos courtesy of Tim Sze

Banding Together

Aonghas and I have just come back from Grace's house where we got together with her brother Sam and also Jenny to have a go at playing some music. We're having a go at doing something different for our youth group. I don't want to say too much just yet just in case it falls through, but hopefully it works out and could be the start of something cool!

Grace's mum was kind enough to make us some fries half-way through too! (This will be the only photo I'll show!)

Putt Putt

My brothers and I finally caught up with our good friends Chen and his cousin Diane. He came over to pick us up, which I think must've been the first time he's driven us in his car! We went to pick Diane up before heading to a new Malaysian restaurant nearby where we had lunch.

The Malaysian restaurant we went to had just opened recently so we got a bit of a discount there. I ordered some sort of noodles that weren't too spicy, while Chen ordered the same thing but requested that it be made extra spicy!

Diane also ordered these deep-fried buns for us as well which tasted really good! 

Once we were all done with lunch, we jumped back in the car and made our way to Treasure Island Adventure Mini Golf which was literally just down the road from the airport. I have to say it is one impressive mini-golf course with waterfalls, rivers and a pirate ship!

There were two courses of 18 holes so we decided to do all 36 holes since we had all day and it was such good weather!

The first course was a lot easier. Most holes were Par 2, which means you should be able to get the ball in the hole in two putts. The rule was that you are only allowed a maximum of six putts if you are having trouble! There were a couple of holes I just couldn't get and ended up giving in!

While the holes were small, what made them trickier were the slopes and obstacles. Some had grave stones in the way, others had a crate. One hole had a gap in the middle with a river running underneath!

There were a couple of interesting holes which had a hole at the top leading to a hole down the bottom, while another had a tunnel with water running through it. You had to putt the ball into the tunnel and it would run down to the bottom near the hole. Another hole was inside a cave!

Aonghas and Chen came first equal in the first game, with Diane and me tied with each other. That meant it was ALL ON in the next game!

The second course was a bit more tricky but more interesting, and in the end Aonghas and Chen tied for first once again, while the competition got tight between Diane and me. In the last few holes she was leading by 7 shots, but as we got to the final hole, I was leading by so much that I couldn't lose to her! I had the chance to overtake Aonghas but I blew it!

Chen somehow got three holes-in-one while Diane got two (although I didn't manage to film hers!) and the rest of us maybe got one! 

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jG3ut3mKIc)

Once we putted our last putt, we took a few photos around the area before we left for this strawberry farm to try some natural strawberry ice-cream that Diane highly recommended. It did really taste good!

I even caught up with an old friend from Health Science who was working there. I thought he had left New Zealand! It turns out he made it into medicine in Sydney and is back in New Zealand on holiday! 

It was time to go home as Aonghas had to work in the evening, so we dropped Diane off and picked Rose up from work. 

It was a good catch-up with Diane and Chen, and I'm going to have to finish and actually give Diane the handmade 21st birthday present I still owe her!!  

Our New Baby

This is our new beauty, a Mitsubishi Lancer 1998! I found it on TradeMe earlier this week. Yesterday we went over to check it out. It turns out that it used to be a boy-racer car, but it's been un-boy-racered to the point that it is now legal!

While our mechanic friend recommended that it wasn't worth buying, Aonghas had already told the people that we would buy it, so here's hoping it was a good purchase!

Getting to Know You

Tonight we had a dinner together with my mum's church group at one of the aunties'/uncles' houses. There wasn't much food but at least some of our youth group friends were there so we were able to catch up.

We had to go off to youth group straight after anyway! We were going to do something special for youth group  worship tonight. Gabrielle, our newest member, can play the Chinese harp! She let me know at the sleepover last week, and offered to play for us this week so I jumped at the offer!

Meanwhile, Aonghas was meant to go pick Grace up after dropping us off at church. He went home to drop something off but locked the keys in the house! Fortunately our dad came home just in time to let him back in!

Back at church, I was wondering if Gabrielle would be coming, and so tried ringing her. Just as I did, she showed up! She unpacked her instrument and I introduced the first song that we would be singing - What a Friend we have in Jesus. As she started playing, we all weren't sure if she was just playing a different arrangement, and so we tried singing along to it. It was only when Jenny realised that she was playing a different version of the song that we understood why our lyrics didn't fit with what Gabrielle was playing! We listened to Gabrielle perform solo instead which was a treat!

We got to try her harp afterwards which was fun, especially when trying to play pop music on it!

It was activity night, and the last one that Jireh would be here for, so we let him lead it, and he ran a 'Mathex'-style quiz competition with questions based on fellow Oddfellows.

The first round required teams to describe what a randomly-selected photo shown on the large screen was all about. I had chosen some interesting ones for that one, like the following:

Other rounds required teams to come up with lists of names, to answer questions, and the last one was a quick-fire round.

Points were close, with only one point separating teams one and four! Jireh started offering huge amount of points for the last few questions and that saw team one end up winning!

Freezing Time

I've got today off work which has come at a good time as it is Aonghas's 21st birthday party tomorrow night and there is a lot of work to do.

We did a bit of filming for Aonghas's birthday video today, and all I can say is it involves a Time Machine Freezer...

New Facebook Profile!

The new Facebook profile design has arrived here in New Zealand!

I'm still trying to decide whether I like it or not though...