Tuesday, 26 November 2013
Sunday, 24 November 2013
Indian for Dinner
After church my mum wanted to return to Spotlight AGAIN with some other mothers at church, and so Hamish and I went to the nearby McDonalds with Winston to pass the time away. It was also hot, so we thought it'd be a good idea to get something cool to drink. I have to say the frozen Sprite with a choice of different syrups was actually quite good!
An hour had passed and Spotlight closed, forcing our parents out. That's when we decided to all go out to dinner together. Nadine and Winston had seen a voucher on Groupon for Indian buffet at a restaurant nearby, so they rang to book a table and bought the voucher on the spot.
The rules of the voucher were that it included appetizers which we had to finish, and each of us could choose a main. If we wanted another one, we would have to finish everything before we could get the next one.
We all thought, oh yep that's cool we can do that! Let me tell you though it was a lot more difficult than it seemed!
The appetizers came on platters. Each were for two people, so we got four platters. There were kebabs, sausages and samosas which tasted really good.
We then had to choose which main we wanted to start off with. I originally chose lamb mince balls, but was asked if I could choose something else, so I chose one called the Special Curry. I can't quite remember what was in it, except lamb and chicken.
Our mums didn't manage to finish their curry sauce, and so we thought we wouldn't be allowed seconds...even though we did feel quite full by then!
We asked the waiter who had been really nice all night if we could order seconds, and while initially pointing at our mums' curry bowls, told us not to worry and so we ordered two more mains.
We had run out of rice and so we ordered some more, and I had too much rice put on my bowl! I was so full! I managed to finish it all in the end though!
Overall it was a pretty good deal and a good meal, and we really enjoyed the service there! We usually go to Chinese places for dinner, so it was good to try something different. If you're looking for good service and good curry, check out Simply Spice Restaurant!
An hour had passed and Spotlight closed, forcing our parents out. That's when we decided to all go out to dinner together. Nadine and Winston had seen a voucher on Groupon for Indian buffet at a restaurant nearby, so they rang to book a table and bought the voucher on the spot.
The rules of the voucher were that it included appetizers which we had to finish, and each of us could choose a main. If we wanted another one, we would have to finish everything before we could get the next one.
We all thought, oh yep that's cool we can do that! Let me tell you though it was a lot more difficult than it seemed!
We then had to choose which main we wanted to start off with. I originally chose lamb mince balls, but was asked if I could choose something else, so I chose one called the Special Curry. I can't quite remember what was in it, except lamb and chicken.
It was quite good. We got a basket of naan bread, and bowls of rice to add the curry to. While others at their meet first and were left with bowls of sauce, I added my sauce to the rice and ate that first so that I was left with the meat last.
Our mums didn't manage to finish their curry sauce, and so we thought we wouldn't be allowed seconds...even though we did feel quite full by then!
We asked the waiter who had been really nice all night if we could order seconds, and while initially pointing at our mums' curry bowls, told us not to worry and so we ordered two more mains.
We had run out of rice and so we ordered some more, and I had too much rice put on my bowl! I was so full! I managed to finish it all in the end though!
Overall it was a pretty good deal and a good meal, and we really enjoyed the service there! We usually go to Chinese places for dinner, so it was good to try something different. If you're looking for good service and good curry, check out Simply Spice Restaurant!
Friday, 22 November 2013
Growing Taller
Unfortunately not me, but my sunflowers! :D
There's still now flowers, but at least they're growing taller! Now I just hope the wind doesn't blow them over or they snap...
Thursday, 21 November 2013
A Week of Openings and Reopenings
This week has seen the local Spotlight store reopen, and a new Countdown supermarket open. That all means one thing - sales!
Yesterday my mum went to the Spotlight sale while I was at the gym. I went to find her afterwards and was surprised to see how packed Spotlight was! I don't think I've ever seen it that crowded before. I have to admit they were mainly older aged people there.
The aisles were quite narrow, especially for trolleys so I asked my mum if I could go to McDonald's while she continued to shop. I know, I know, undoing all my gym work!
Anyway, I went to McDonald's for a little feed. The girl at the counter recognised me and asked how I was doing, and how my brothers were doing! I didn't recognise her, but I just assumed it was probably from the countless Friday nights we go to McDonald's after youth group that she knew me! Now that's what I call good customer service!
Today was the opening of another Countdown supermarket. There is now at least four Countdowns within five minute of our house! This is the supermarket I actually applied for a job at. Countdown is gradually rolling out in-store pharmacies, and so I applied for a pharmacist position there. I never heard back, so I thought it'd be interesting to see what it's like and who's working there.
Once again this supermarket was pretty crowded. It seemed as though the staff were all getting used to their new jobs as well.
I was driving my mum into the carpark and was indicating to turn into a carpark that just became free. A car came from around the corner and I thought I'd let it pass before I turned into the carpark. The next thing I knew was the car driving straight into my car park! How rude! My mum leaned over to honk the horn before I quickly drove off so no one could see me (this car park was right opposite the entrance!). We eventually found another car park.
There were quite a few good deal today: four cans of baked beans/spaghetti for $2, a carton of eight 1.5L Coke/Diet Coke bottles for $10. Some people loaded their trolleys up with cans! There was a limit of one Coke carton per customer, but I saw one couple who each had a trolley with at least three cartons each! I'm guessing they own a dairy...
I ended up getting separated from my mum and walked around the whole supermarket three times before finding her. She's kinda short so is not the easiest person to spot in a crowd!
At least we came away with a trolley full of food! That always makes me happy!
Yesterday my mum went to the Spotlight sale while I was at the gym. I went to find her afterwards and was surprised to see how packed Spotlight was! I don't think I've ever seen it that crowded before. I have to admit they were mainly older aged people there.
The aisles were quite narrow, especially for trolleys so I asked my mum if I could go to McDonald's while she continued to shop. I know, I know, undoing all my gym work!
Anyway, I went to McDonald's for a little feed. The girl at the counter recognised me and asked how I was doing, and how my brothers were doing! I didn't recognise her, but I just assumed it was probably from the countless Friday nights we go to McDonald's after youth group that she knew me! Now that's what I call good customer service!
Today was the opening of another Countdown supermarket. There is now at least four Countdowns within five minute of our house! This is the supermarket I actually applied for a job at. Countdown is gradually rolling out in-store pharmacies, and so I applied for a pharmacist position there. I never heard back, so I thought it'd be interesting to see what it's like and who's working there.
Once again this supermarket was pretty crowded. It seemed as though the staff were all getting used to their new jobs as well.
There were quite a few good deal today: four cans of baked beans/spaghetti for $2, a carton of eight 1.5L Coke/Diet Coke bottles for $10. Some people loaded their trolleys up with cans! There was a limit of one Coke carton per customer, but I saw one couple who each had a trolley with at least three cartons each! I'm guessing they own a dairy...
I ended up getting separated from my mum and walked around the whole supermarket three times before finding her. She's kinda short so is not the easiest person to spot in a crowd!
At least we came away with a trolley full of food! That always makes me happy!
Monday, 18 November 2013
Happy Belated Birthday Hamish!
Yesterday was actually Hamish's birthday, but because I was working all day and Aonghas had to work in the evening, we didn't get a chance to celebrate it. Usually our family goes out for dinner to celebrate.
We decided to go out for dinner tonight, since Aonghas has finished his uni job for the year which means he didn't have to work tonight. We were originally going to pick Hamish up from work, then go our favourite Chinese restaurant in Mt Albert, but we were having trouble getting in touch with Hamish. He's been having problems with his phone lately with the battery dying prematurely.
We only just managed to spot him waiting outside his work and picked him up, but by then it was quite late, so we changed our plans and went back to Carls Jr out west for dinner.
This would be the first time our dad had gone to Carls Jr! The burger I ordered was MASSIVE! I was definitely full afterwards!
Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAMISH!
We only just managed to spot him waiting outside his work and picked him up, but by then it was quite late, so we changed our plans and went back to Carls Jr out west for dinner.
This would be the first time our dad had gone to Carls Jr! The burger I ordered was MASSIVE! I was definitely full afterwards!
Saturday, 16 November 2013
Fireworks go off with a Bang!
Tonight was the annual Waitakere Fireworks display at the Trusts Stadium. It almost didn't happen and was originally postponed, but fortunately it was un-postponed!
It's too expensive for us to pay to go in and watch the fireworks, but we're lucky our church is right across the road, so we can just watch them from there.
We showed up at about 8pm after dinner. We were originally tossing up between going out for dinner to celebrate Hamish's birthday (which is tomorrow), or just to eat in and celebrate it another time. We ended up staying home for dinner.
It was only once the stunt planes flew noisily over our house in formation that we started realising we should really get a move on!
As we drove to church, there were quite a few people sitting on the banks opposite the stadium ready to watch the fireworks for free. There must be a lot of cheap people like us in West Auckland!
When we got to church, the other fellowship was already there playing games. There were a few people from my own fellowship who had already shown up and joined in with them.
They were all sitting in a circle playing this game called Do You Love Your Neighbour? If you say 'yes', everyone has to swap seats, and the last person standing is stuck in the middle. If you say 'no', then only the two people beside you have to swap seats and you have to try swap seats with them without being the last person standing. Sound confusing? It was for me the first few times!
We were about to play this other game which required us to get into several teams. We were then given a few Chinese characters. Each team member would pick one character and call it out right at the same time, and the opposing team would have to guess what Chinese characters had been said and then use them to make a sentence or phrase.
We didn't get too far before the fireworks were about to start and we all rushed outside!
The fireworks started off slow and small, but they started to get bigger and bigger. Once again, car alarms were set off, and despite our car being parked at the far end of the car park, I had the beeper to turn it off every once in a while!
I'll let the photos do the talking though.
It's too expensive for us to pay to go in and watch the fireworks, but we're lucky our church is right across the road, so we can just watch them from there.
We showed up at about 8pm after dinner. We were originally tossing up between going out for dinner to celebrate Hamish's birthday (which is tomorrow), or just to eat in and celebrate it another time. We ended up staying home for dinner.
It was only once the stunt planes flew noisily over our house in formation that we started realising we should really get a move on!
As we drove to church, there were quite a few people sitting on the banks opposite the stadium ready to watch the fireworks for free. There must be a lot of cheap people like us in West Auckland!
When we got to church, the other fellowship was already there playing games. There were a few people from my own fellowship who had already shown up and joined in with them.
They were all sitting in a circle playing this game called Do You Love Your Neighbour? If you say 'yes', everyone has to swap seats, and the last person standing is stuck in the middle. If you say 'no', then only the two people beside you have to swap seats and you have to try swap seats with them without being the last person standing. Sound confusing? It was for me the first few times!
We were about to play this other game which required us to get into several teams. We were then given a few Chinese characters. Each team member would pick one character and call it out right at the same time, and the opposing team would have to guess what Chinese characters had been said and then use them to make a sentence or phrase.
The fireworks started off slow and small, but they started to get bigger and bigger. Once again, car alarms were set off, and despite our car being parked at the far end of the car park, I had the beeper to turn it off every once in a while!
I'll let the photos do the talking though.
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Pentatonix Power!
I have to admit to a new addiction in the past few days..Pentatonix! With all my free time I've been watching YouTube videos, and I've been hooked on their videos!
For those who haven't heard of them before, they are a 5-person acapella group, who originally entered an American TV competition called The Sing-Off and they won.
This is one of my favourite performances..
They have even done a cover of Royals by our local heroine, Lorde!
The guys who do the low parts and the percussion are amazing! Now I'm really starting to sound like a fan boy! I definitely wouldn't complain if they decided to pay New Zealand a visit though.
Saturday, 2 November 2013
The Last of Uni...Again
I returned to uni this weekend for the final presentations of my postgrad course at university. I had one presentation to give on Saturday morning on a patient care plan, while my presentation on Sunday afternoon was on a clinical pharmacy service (I spoke on pharmacists being Quit Card providers).
I was quite anxious in the lead-up to the weekend, especially regarding my patient care plan as I had only just managed to get access to patient notes a week out after a two week fight with red tape. After reviewing the notes I only realised how much more there was to this case than I first expected! I was a little overwhelmed, and didn't know what to do!
Fortunately I managed to pull off a couple of over-nighters and come up with a care plan for this patient. I even managed some sleep the night before the presentation!
I was due to present early on the first Saturday morning. I started off a bit nervous, but pulled myself through. We had a time limit of 10 minutes, with a time penalty for every minute we spoke beyond 10 minutes 30 seconds. I had timed myself prior to the morning and my presentation was only nine minutes. I ended up speaking over time though! Yikes!
It was good to get it done early though, so I didn't have to worry for the rest of the day. I have to admit I was a bit tired though, and started dozing off a little! I was sitting at the back with one of my classmates.
He gave his presentation a little later in the afternoon, and after his presentation he told me he saw me dozing off during his presentation and tried to change the tone of his voice! I felt really bad about that! I bought myself a coffee at the next break to keep me awake for the rest of the afternoon! We didn't finish till 5.30pm, which meant a long nine hour day at uni!
The next day were the clinical pharmacy service presentations which were a bit more interesting to me. My presentation was right at the end of the day though, so I had a long wait. I was hoping to avoid going beyond the time limit this time though.
It was eventually my turn, and I gave my presentation. I ended up speaking for longer than yesterday! Noooo!!
At least it was all finally done. No more presentations, assignments or deadlines! Now the only thing to do is wait for the results to come out in about a month's time!
While I have been telling myself throughout this year that this will be the last time I go back to uni to study, I always find myself thinking about what I should study next! I think this time I should focus on finding a job first before considering any more study. I'm glad I did extra study this year though, as I have learnt quite a bit and it has helped me refresh my memory on quite a few things. I've also met quite a few cool people in my class!
Thursday, 24 October 2013
Feel the Power!
So it looks like I officially own a part of Meridian Energy, but maybe more than I wanted!
I applied for some shares on the website the day before the share offer, and put in the bank account number of my savings account.
It wasn't till the next morning when I contacted the bank just to double check something that I discovered that the savings account I entered wasn't suitable. When I asked them what I should do, they told me to just make another application with a different bank account number and the first application would just get declined. Apparently this was a common issue with the last Mighty River Power share offer.
I did that, but then the following day I discovered the amount of money from both applications had been taken from my bank account!
I soon got an email from the bank saying that usually the savings account I entered in my first share application doesn't usually allow direct debits, but they made an exception for everyone just this once.
Now I've got twice as many shares as I would have liked! Meridian Energy, you better perform well!
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Pushing It
After I had my one hour session with the trainer last Wednesday, I didn't return to the gym till Saturday because of work. Since then (excluding Sunday because of church!), I've been coming in every morning for at least an hour to work out. I've got to admit I've been feeling a little sore and tired afterwards (falling asleep in the afternoons!), but it's worth it!
It really has been making me feel more upbeat and happy, and it feels great that my body is getting a workout!
I bumped into my trainer again yesterday while I was working out, who said he had seen me working out and encouraged me to keep it up. He then introduced me to the abdominal crunch machine. Hopefully that'll give me some abs!
The trainer wants me to keep a diary of everything I eat :O Fortunately he wants me to start next week, so I might spend the last few days enjoying unhealthy food! Or maybe not...
Beach body beach body beach body!
Saturday, 12 October 2013
I Shall Call Him King Kong and He Shall Be Mine
A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to grow a plant.
Knowing me, I procrastinated and did nothing about it. Well, today I was quite bored and was about to walk to the nearby park and chill when I realised I still hadn't planted my seeds!
It was time to get my hands dirty! I found a large pot, filled it with some potting mix and planted a few seeds.
Surprisingly the seeds were blue! The pack does say they're not genetically modified though...
And all done! King Kong will soon be mine!
I want to grow a plant #newgoalAt the time I bought a pack of sunflower seeds. They were nicknamed 'King Kong' as they could apparently grow as tall as 5m!
— Calum Anderson (@euraznboy) September 29, 2013
Knowing me, I procrastinated and did nothing about it. Well, today I was quite bored and was about to walk to the nearby park and chill when I realised I still hadn't planted my seeds!
It was time to get my hands dirty! I found a large pot, filled it with some potting mix and planted a few seeds.
Surprisingly the seeds were blue! The pack does say they're not genetically modified though...
And all done! King Kong will soon be mine!
Friday, 11 October 2013
A Second Farewell
Today was the last day of regular work at my pharmacy, which made it slightly sad. I've been working at Apollo doing the afternoon till evening shifts on Thursdays and Fridays for most of this past year, as well as covering for people when needed. That has seen me work a few Saturday and Sunday afternoons as well.
I guess the farewell wasn't as sad as there was a sense of deja vu, since I had farewelled everyone at the end of my internship last year. They also might call me back to do some work when some of the pharmacists go on holiday in the coming months...that's if I haven't found another job before then!
I will miss working there regularly though. Working three days initially then two days a week worked out OK for me. I admit that working Friday nights meant I'd come late to youth group, but I had gotten used to it and adjusted to it. I actually enjoyed working Thursday and Friday nights with Moses, the intern as you get a bit more freedom and can also test yourself since you have to rely on yourself when you're the only pharmacist in charge there.
I'll miss everyone!
As everyone was leaving around 6pm, they were all saying their goodbyes to me and joking that the next time they see me I'll hopefully have muscles! My manager who has been pushing me to get my full license all year, then reminded me that I still hadn't gotten my full license yet! Oops! Well next time they see me, hopefully I'll have a license and muscles! My manager reckons the license may be easier for me to get than the muscles!
Once I finish my postgraduate study in a months' time, I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with myself till my next job comes about! I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the next chapter has in store for me. I have to admit I'm a little apprehensive, seeing as whatever job it may be, it will be the first job I wouldn't hve done my internship at, so it will be a little different. It will be a good challenge for me though, and I guess it will help me grow further as a pharmacist.
Thanks for everything though, Pharmacy@Apollo! I won't forget you guys!
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
Beach Body Here I Come
This morning I had my complementary one hour session with Monty, my personal trainer. He took me through some warm-up cardio exercises, along with some workouts using machines that would work my front and back, my biceps and triceps, as well as my abs.
My main goals at the gym are to get some abs, improve my posture (I hunch over too much) and to get some muscles!
The last time I joined a gym was the uni gym, and I didn't commit to it at all, only going there three times in the space of a year.
This time I'm going to do it right, and as my trainer has repeated to me to motivate me...
BEACH BODY, BEACH BODY, BEACH BODY!
My main goals at the gym are to get some abs, improve my posture (I hunch over too much) and to get some muscles!
The last time I joined a gym was the uni gym, and I didn't commit to it at all, only going there three times in the space of a year.
This time I'm going to do it right, and as my trainer has repeated to me to motivate me...
BEACH BODY, BEACH BODY, BEACH BODY!
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
Oh I Donated?
I just received this in the mail:
Uhh...you're welcome? I don't think I've ever made any donations to them!
Monday, 30 September 2013
Technology Fails Me Again
Once again I've been having problems with almost all the gadgets in my possession, to the point that I'm even considering crossing that path to Apple!
- My Sony Vaio laptop (had it for about three years):
Won't even boot up into Windows (we're talking Windows 8 here). When it does, it freezes, or I get a whole lot of notifications telling me various key files are missing. Admittedly my laptop was fine when it was running Windows 7, and Windows 8 up till the last couple weeks. I didn't exactly install Windows 8 properly though, having reformatted my laptop before realising that for Sony Vaio laptops you have to download some sort of install app that will sort out the drivers for you. In the end I had to install the drivers individually, missing some along the way.
Bottom line, my laptop is dying on me!
- My Galaxy Note 8 tablet (had it for a few months) :
Battery life is meant to be at least a day. Lately, the battery has been dying on me within an hour, sometimes in a matter of minutes! Just today, I turned it on after charging it, and I witnessed the battery drop from 100% to 65% within about two minutes! Fortunately I have warranty on it so I'll be taking it back tomorrow!
- My Samsung Galaxy S3 phone (had for just over a year):
I've had problems right from the start. From the LED light not working, to constant freezing problems, now my phone keeps overheating whenever I keep 3G on! I was originally waiting for the Note 3 but now I'm a bit weary of Samsung.
What's going on Samsung!
Now I'm considering buying a new laptop for under $2000. It looks like the options will be Macbook Air vs some Windows 8 ultrabook. Time to get investigating!
- My Sony Vaio laptop (had it for about three years):
Won't even boot up into Windows (we're talking Windows 8 here). When it does, it freezes, or I get a whole lot of notifications telling me various key files are missing. Admittedly my laptop was fine when it was running Windows 7, and Windows 8 up till the last couple weeks. I didn't exactly install Windows 8 properly though, having reformatted my laptop before realising that for Sony Vaio laptops you have to download some sort of install app that will sort out the drivers for you. In the end I had to install the drivers individually, missing some along the way.
Bottom line, my laptop is dying on me!
- My Galaxy Note 8 tablet (had it for a few months) :
Battery life is meant to be at least a day. Lately, the battery has been dying on me within an hour, sometimes in a matter of minutes! Just today, I turned it on after charging it, and I witnessed the battery drop from 100% to 65% within about two minutes! Fortunately I have warranty on it so I'll be taking it back tomorrow!
- My Samsung Galaxy S3 phone (had for just over a year):
I've had problems right from the start. From the LED light not working, to constant freezing problems, now my phone keeps overheating whenever I keep 3G on! I was originally waiting for the Note 3 but now I'm a bit weary of Samsung.
What's going on Samsung!
Now I'm considering buying a new laptop for under $2000. It looks like the options will be Macbook Air vs some Windows 8 ultrabook. Time to get investigating!
Don't Trust Kids with Whiteboard Markers
I've been trying to improve my fashion sense by wearing better clothes than just a t-shirt and shorts, which I guess isn't too hard to improve on...
This has seen me wearing pants at church recently, and today I thought I'd wear my mustard coloured chino's that I bought on sale at Hallenstein's (TMI) for only the second time.
Not a good idea around kids...
This little girl who had been scribbling all over the whiteboard with a red whiteboard marker in a room I was in ran up behind me and dotted me on the back of my pants! She then attempted to do more damage, and I had to restrain her and confiscate the whiteboard marker off her.
Unfortunately the damage was already done!
When I got home, I tried putting some washing powder on it and scrubbing with a toothbrush, but it's still there! What am I supposed to do now!
This has seen me wearing pants at church recently, and today I thought I'd wear my mustard coloured chino's that I bought on sale at Hallenstein's (TMI) for only the second time.
Not a good idea around kids...
This little girl who had been scribbling all over the whiteboard with a red whiteboard marker in a room I was in ran up behind me and dotted me on the back of my pants! She then attempted to do more damage, and I had to restrain her and confiscate the whiteboard marker off her.
Unfortunately the damage was already done!
When I got home, I tried putting some washing powder on it and scrubbing with a toothbrush, but it's still there! What am I supposed to do now!
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Working on That Asian Side of Me
Recently I've had a few people try to speak to me in Chinese, and after having tried to speak Chinese at the Mid-Autumn Festival and failed miserably, it's made me realise I've got to start working on my Chinese again!
I'm going to try start blogging on my Chinese blog to practise my Chinese, but beware: it's full of mistakes, so if you do actually understand it, feel free to have a read and correct me, or read and laugh if you prefer!
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Pub Quiz Round Two
Tonight I went with Chen for another round of pub quiz at The Dominion. This time around Hamish couldn't come along because of work, and Chen brought along Rose, his girlfriend.
Jenny and Michael, two of Chen's med school friends were back tonight, along with two new people, Anna, another med school friend and another guy who I think is a medical registrar. I didn't actually get his name!
This time around we had rounds such as 'Branded', 'Music', '50/50', 'It Takes Two to Tango'. I didn't feel as though I contributed as much this time around, but we seemed to do a bit better! At one point we were coming second!
We eventually settled for sixth place, which was a definite improvement over last week's 15th...ish.
The most amusing thing tonight thought was that our team name was meant to be called 'The Grand Round', but when we showed up, we saw the sign at our table
"The Glam Round"
Um.....but hey, I think it could actually catch on!
Jenny and Michael, two of Chen's med school friends were back tonight, along with two new people, Anna, another med school friend and another guy who I think is a medical registrar. I didn't actually get his name!
This time around we had rounds such as 'Branded', 'Music', '50/50', 'It Takes Two to Tango'. I didn't feel as though I contributed as much this time around, but we seemed to do a bit better! At one point we were coming second!
We eventually settled for sixth place, which was a definite improvement over last week's 15th...ish.
The most amusing thing tonight thought was that our team name was meant to be called 'The Grand Round', but when we showed up, we saw the sign at our table
"The Glam Round"
Um.....but hey, I think it could actually catch on!
Sunday, 15 September 2013
Mid-Autumn Festival Awks
The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival was being held across the road from our church at the Trusts Stadium today, and so after church we had a shorted choir rehearsal so that we could go across to check it out...or so I thought...
The minister's wife who is also in the choir showed everyone these cool little pens with a piece of paper you can pull out and it talks about God and Jesus. I initially thought...phew OK it's in Chinese. I'll be off the hook since I don't understand what's on the pen. That's when they showed the other side to reveal the English side!
I've never gone and done outreach before, as I never feel like I'm ready or would be able to say the right things, so I thought I might just give this time a pass as well.
When I got across to the stadium though, I found all the church people there and in the end they persuaded me to give it a go! They taught me how to say
'Happy Mid-Autumn Festival'
and
'Jesus loves you!'
in Chinese. I tried approaching some people and saying that to them as they walked by, but was completely ignored the first three times, as if I didn't even exist!
My first success was a little child. To be honest I just asked her if she would like a free pen!
I bumped into my old pharmacy friend Ai Ping and had a bit of a catch-up, which was pretty cool! She didn't want a pen!
Half way through, I realised I wasn't saying the right thing in Chinese to people, and then without thinking wished someone a Happy Chinese New Year!
Realising I was failing on my own, I decided to pair up with Antonia who did the talking and I handed out the pens. We were much more successful! I think people are more willing to listen to a girl than some ugly old guy like me!
When we had finally given everything out, it was time to go exploring! We went inside the stadium to check out what was going on, but it didn't seem as though much was actually happening. Everyone had gathered around the stage, but we couldn't tell what for.
We decided to go back outside and check out the food stalls. We caught up with Claire, someone we haven't seen in a while. It was so good catching up with people!
I was starting to get phone calls from the adults wanting their children back, so we had to rush to find something to eat. I offered to shout everyone squid, but it seemed as though every stall had sold out of squid! We eventually found a stall that sold it. It was a little spicy but it was OK!
Once we returned to church to reunite some of the people with their parents, we went back across the road to the festival, hoping for some discounts on food since it was almost the end of the festival. Sadly we were disappointed.
It's good to see WTV holding some Chinese festivals out west though. Usually they're held in the city or out in South Auckland. I don't think I'd ever seen as many Chinese people in one area in a long time as I did today! Hopefully there'll be more festivals to come!
I've never gone and done outreach before, as I never feel like I'm ready or would be able to say the right things, so I thought I might just give this time a pass as well.
When I got across to the stadium though, I found all the church people there and in the end they persuaded me to give it a go! They taught me how to say
'Happy Mid-Autumn Festival'
and
'Jesus loves you!'
in Chinese. I tried approaching some people and saying that to them as they walked by, but was completely ignored the first three times, as if I didn't even exist!
My first success was a little child. To be honest I just asked her if she would like a free pen!
I bumped into my old pharmacy friend Ai Ping and had a bit of a catch-up, which was pretty cool! She didn't want a pen!
Half way through, I realised I wasn't saying the right thing in Chinese to people, and then without thinking wished someone a Happy Chinese New Year!
Realising I was failing on my own, I decided to pair up with Antonia who did the talking and I handed out the pens. We were much more successful! I think people are more willing to listen to a girl than some ugly old guy like me!
When we had finally given everything out, it was time to go exploring! We went inside the stadium to check out what was going on, but it didn't seem as though much was actually happening. Everyone had gathered around the stage, but we couldn't tell what for.
We decided to go back outside and check out the food stalls. We caught up with Claire, someone we haven't seen in a while. It was so good catching up with people!
I was starting to get phone calls from the adults wanting their children back, so we had to rush to find something to eat. I offered to shout everyone squid, but it seemed as though every stall had sold out of squid! We eventually found a stall that sold it. It was a little spicy but it was OK!
Once we returned to church to reunite some of the people with their parents, we went back across the road to the festival, hoping for some discounts on food since it was almost the end of the festival. Sadly we were disappointed.
It's good to see WTV holding some Chinese festivals out west though. Usually they're held in the city or out in South Auckland. I don't think I'd ever seen as many Chinese people in one area in a long time as I did today! Hopefully there'll be more festivals to come!
Fire! Fire!
OK..not really, but we had the first fire evacuation practice at church that I can remember! Maybe I just can't remember any of the others, or maybe it's just because this is the first time I was actually directly involved in this one as one of the fire wardens.
I wasn't a very good one though...I was caught off-guard a little. The siren was meant to sound after the service at around 11.30. We were meant to be by the door we were looking after at that point, but I was packing up equipment from the English service when it sounded!
I rushed off to the door where Ben was (both Ben and I were together), and by then everyone had exited that door, so there wasn't really much more for me to do, except to show off my cool neon-orange armband!
Everyone had to evacuate to the carpark. It was only a few minutes before the all-clear was given and we could return.
I wasn't a very good one though...I was caught off-guard a little. The siren was meant to sound after the service at around 11.30. We were meant to be by the door we were looking after at that point, but I was packing up equipment from the English service when it sounded!
Everyone had to evacuate to the carpark. It was only a few minutes before the all-clear was given and we could return.
The Birth of our Worship Band
This morning our church held its first English service after break of just over a month due to the church's Mission month.
What was going to make this English service slightly more special was the fact that our 'worship band' would be doing worship for the first time! Usually our set up for worship is just the worship leader, two back-up singers and a pianist/keyboardist. Our group today consisted of me as the leader (and also playing the cajon - a drum that looks like a wooden box!), a back-up singer and two other singers on instruments, two keyboardists, a guitarist and a bass guitarist. We decided to use the first two English services to try out a few new arrangements and just see what we're capable of. I was to lead the first week, then Angie would lead next week.
The songs I picked to lead this time around were:
Blessed - Hillsong
Desert Song - Hillsong
Unending Love - Hillsong
How Great is our God - Chris Tomlin
To Be Like You - Hillsong
What was going to make this English service slightly more special was the fact that our 'worship band' would be doing worship for the first time! Usually our set up for worship is just the worship leader, two back-up singers and a pianist/keyboardist. Our group today consisted of me as the leader (and also playing the cajon - a drum that looks like a wooden box!), a back-up singer and two other singers on instruments, two keyboardists, a guitarist and a bass guitarist. We decided to use the first two English services to try out a few new arrangements and just see what we're capable of. I was to lead the first week, then Angie would lead next week.
The songs I picked to lead this time around were:
Blessed - Hillsong
Desert Song - Hillsong
Unending Love - Hillsong
How Great is our God - Chris Tomlin
To Be Like You - Hillsong
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zneDiI1-09o)
I've been struggling a little in the past couple weeks with a bit of a cold and a cough, thanks to overnighters trying to finish assignments, and I thought it was coming right just in time yesterday when I was just able to sing that last song To Be Like You, which goes up really high! However, I woke up this morning with the cough back again and my throat not feeling the greatest! I was quite anxious about it!
We had a bigger congregation than usual this morning. I noticed quite a few people from the Mandarin fellowship at our service, which must have been the first time for them! I was talking to one of them the day before at our rehearsal, light-heartedly saying they should come along and bring everyone from their fellowship. I didn't think it'd actually happen! There were also a few new people too which was quite cool!
10am was soon approaching, and we were frantically getting Aonghas and the others to play a little background music as everyone waited. There was a bit of an awkward silence till that happened!
Once it hit 10am though, it was time to go! I started off with a prayer, reading something I had prepared earlier on my tablet. As soon as I finished, the band came in, and as they were playing the intro, I was meant to say to everyone
"OK everyone let's all get on our feet, raise our hands, raise our voices and praise the Lord Almighty!"
Instead, what came out was
"OK everyone let's all get on our feet and raise our feet..."
That's when I quickly went into damage control mode to correct that just in time before the end of the intro and the beginning of the verse! At the same time my pdf file with the lyrics was on the wrong song and so on top of correcting myself, I was trying to swipe back to the correct song in my pdf file!
The rest of worship went a bit more smoothly.
During the sermon I was still worrying about the response song, which was To Be Like You (the one with the really high notes!). I was tossing up over whether to sing down low or just sing as is. In the end I sang as is and managed to get through it!
PHEW!
We made it through! Hopefully we can do this a bit more regularly! We've got next week to prepare for now though!
Saturday, 14 September 2013
Bye Bye Big Mac
All the vouchers have run out, and so no more free Big Macs!
Aonghas tried getting one on Thursday night, only to be told on the website that they had run out. Fortunately the night before I got another one, so I collected it last night and saved it for lunch today.
Bye bye Big Mac, we had a good run!
Aonghas tried getting one on Thursday night, only to be told on the website that they had run out. Fortunately the night before I got another one, so I collected it last night and saved it for lunch today.
Bye bye Big Mac, we had a good run!
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
Let's Get Quizzical!!
Our friend Chen is quite into trivia and during his travels has attended some pub quizzes. He invited us to come along to one tonight with a few of his med school friends.
I've only ever attended one pub quiz before, and it was quite interesting.
For those of you who don't know what a pub quiz is, you form a team, and there is a quiz master who asks the questions. There are several rounds, with each consisting of general knowledge questions of a certain topic.
We got to 'The Dominion' first (a pub down...Dominion Road!), where we ordered some food and waited for Chen's friends.
With half the team consisting of med students, a pharmacist and a commerce student, it was decided the team name was Gram Positive (science people will know what that is!)
There were eight rounds in the pub quiz, with topics on music, movies, arts and literature, geography, pot luck, believe it or not, scandals and Great Scott! (about anything related to Scott!). Each round was worth ten points, and we could choose two rounds in which our points would be worth double.
There were some interesting questions, and we didn't do badly for our first time. We came around 14th or 15th...out of about 20 teams. We were up against teams with older people, as well as a few teams with many more people.
We'll have to see if this becomes a regular occurrence!
I've only ever attended one pub quiz before, and it was quite interesting.
For those of you who don't know what a pub quiz is, you form a team, and there is a quiz master who asks the questions. There are several rounds, with each consisting of general knowledge questions of a certain topic.
We got to 'The Dominion' first (a pub down...Dominion Road!), where we ordered some food and waited for Chen's friends.
With half the team consisting of med students, a pharmacist and a commerce student, it was decided the team name was Gram Positive (science people will know what that is!)
There were eight rounds in the pub quiz, with topics on music, movies, arts and literature, geography, pot luck, believe it or not, scandals and Great Scott! (about anything related to Scott!). Each round was worth ten points, and we could choose two rounds in which our points would be worth double.
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