The Democratic Republic of Calum

Cooking Calamari

2012-01-30T22:43:00.002+13:00

Tonight we finally cooked the calamari the pharmacist at my work bought me for my birthday. It was quite easy to cook/fry, and it tasted quite good!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQaD5TKnUTE)

Calamari for Calum!

2012-01-26T18:38:00.000+13:00

Today the pharmacist at my work gave me a birthday present - Calamari!

That's her nickname for me, and because I told her I had never tried it before, she had bought a box of it for me! When I got to work, she grabbed it out of the freezer to show me!

Thanks so much Aula!

Toni Turning Chinese

2012-01-24T23:49:00.000+13:00

Tonight after work I met up with my high school friend Toni and a few others to farewell her, as she is leaving New Zealand for China next Monday to teach English over there!

I had some Burger King before I was going to meet them all at Shadows, the uni bar. As I was walking back up to uni though, I saw them walking down the road, and it turned out that Shadows was closed!

We all walked to some bar in Metro. When we got in and sat down, a staff member came over to tell us that they would be closing in 25 minutes! We would have to find somewhere else to go! There was only enough time for Evan, Toni's boyfriend and classmate, to have a game of pool!

Our third attempt to have a catch-up was at Father Ted's, an Irish pub. It was quite packed, probably because it was pub quiz night. We thought we might just enter a team! Our group was split into two, so all the high school friends of Toni's formed one group, along with a few others.

There were several sections to the pub quiz format. There was a section on movies/TV shows, sections 1 and 2 of Pot Luck, a page of logos we had to identify, and a section on music.

I have to admit I felt quite out of shape when hearing the questions and not being able to answer them! I was able to answer to a National Lampoon movie question, but for the rest of them we relied on Evan!

We got to the end of the questions, and handed them all in. We waited outside in the fresh air till an announcement was made on the winner of the pub quiz. We were expecting to come near the bottom, but as it turns out, we came second, only losing by ONE point! Maybe we should do this a bit more often!

Karaoke was just about to start, but it was getting late and I have work the next day, so I had to depart, but it was a good long-overdue catch-up with Toni and high school friends!

Hopefully Toni has a safe and life-changing experience in China! I'm sure she will gain so much out of it.

There goes another high school friend! Bye Toni!

Something Amazing

2012-01-22T22:06:00.000+13:00

This morning at church I got my second birthday present from Gabrielle and Tim:

Thanks guys! I've got more bedtime reading to do now!

What Birthday?

2012-01-21T23:22:00.000+13:00

So today was my birthday, but without Facebook's help you probably wouldn't have guessed it, seeing as I didn't do anything special at all to celebrate. Instead I spent the whole day helping Aonghas film a friend's friend's wedding. I guess that made it special in a way, in that I will always remember their wedding anniversary. I'll also remember my 23rd birthday as being at their wedding as well! I'll talk about the wedding in another post.

I admit I did start off my birthday at midnight feeling a little down, contemplating life and how old I've become without achieving much, etc. etc. By the end of the day after the wedding was over I was too tired to think about it!

Now time for the thank-you's! So thanks Harris, Mimi, Natalie, Kate, Jacky, Asal, Himesh, Angel, Ms Faaea-Semeatu, Ellyce, Kelvin, Amber, Nikki, Phillip, Irene, Scholastica, Megan, Adam, Ting Ting, Regina, Christine, Yoon, Rachel, Andrew, Anisha, Johnny, Caylee, Melissa, Ayesha, Edwin, Ji Eun, Julie H, Aula, Kaytee, Ashleigh, Xin-Yan, Megan J, Jane, Henry, Cathie, Arina, Julia, Esther, Larry, Karmun, Ruby, Zippo, Daniel, Richard, Ellen, Shen, Joylynn, Leo, Amanda, Yan Yan, Jade, Stella, Kevin, Julie K, Ruby, Joon, Jonathan, Paul H, Peter C, Cicily, Eddie, Sarena, Jenny, Yeeping, George, Amy, Tracy, Bettina, Dillon, Harjinder, Uncle John, Daisy, Kavi, Fraser, Jasmine, Amy C, Mubashra, Brit, Bliss, Tim S, Sonja, Maxine, Kunsala, Michael Z, , Emily, Sol, Hana, Shameela, Ruth, Dora, Grainam, Stephanie, Tyler, Steven P, Kathleen, Zahir, Winston, Joe, Grace, Sirianne, Timothy S, Michael Y, Hyun, Hannah S, Korina, Leonie, Nadine B, Wei, Cleo, Kassandra and Bronz for the birthday wishes on Facebook.

Thanks Alice and Cookie Bear for the birthday emails! It was really nice to get an email from Alice even while she's all the way in Australia! I ought to reply very soon!

Thanks too to Alex S, Antonia, Grace, Diane, Rebecca, Chen and Andrew for the birthday texts as well! Sadly my phone just had to start malfunctioning on my birthday, and I started to realise I wasn't receiving all the texts people were sending me! I'm in the process of sorting that out, so if you texted me and I haven't thanked you, it's probably because I didn't receive it :(

Anyway, without all the birthday wishes, my day would've been like any other, so thanks for them and for acknowledging my existence ;)

Hopefully I will have a chance to celebrate my birthday at least with the family sometime in the future.

An Unexpected Follower

2012-01-20T23:24:00.002+13:00

I was serving the last customer before closing the shop today, when the customer's friend exclaimed that she had read my blog! I was blown away!

I was trying to recognise her, just in case she was someone I knew from a long time ago, but I just couldn't put a name to the face and I was too ashamed to ask!

I didn't think anyone read this besides the few that I know of, and those spambots, so I guess that's kinda cool!

If you're reading this, random customer from today, HI!

I can now Leave the Country!

2012-01-17T23:26:00.000+13:00

My passport finally arrived in the mail today! It's all new and flash!

It's all colourful and prettiful inside, and you can't see the stubble on my face in my ID photo!

Switch Around

2012-01-15T18:33:00.000+13:00

This morning we had our monthly English service. This time I was being the usher, the first time I had held this position. All I had to do was hand our programmes, so it wasn't too bad! I felt sorry for the team leading worship though, as the keyboard was playing up again and they had to sing without it! It was the second time singing without the keyboard for On, and it meant all that practising the day before for Nadine was a waste!

After cleaning up the gym side of the church yesterday, today we stacked all the chairs in the church auditorium and shifted them into the gym, for what would be our makeshift auditorium for the next few months as the other side of the church gets repaired.

It wasn't too big of a job this time around, and we were done not too long after. Some of the people in our fellowship were having some Bible study meeting, so I was just playing around on the piano with Rebecca, Ben and Andrew till my mum decided it was time to go. Sadly we left just before the group finished and went to dinner, so we didn't join them!

Cleaning the Church

2012-01-14T23:22:00.000+13:00

The gym and kindergarten side of the church has almost been renovated, so we spent most of this weekend dusting the gym, shifting all the kindergarten furniture and equipment back into the renovated kindergarten, and unpacking stuff from the giant metal storage container.

Our first job was to shift all this stuff back into a shed, before moving kindergarten back into the renovated kindergarten. It was tiring work!

After that, we took out all the tables from the giant metal storage container and put them back together in the new classroom before it was time for the best part of the day - lunch!

My mum and a couple others had prepared sausages, vegetables and bread for us. There was quite a lot of sausages, so we got plenty to eat!

We did a bit more work after lunch, including shifting some of the playground equipment. Boy was that hard work!

We finally called it a day by 6pm and that's when Winston invited my brothers and I to go watch Tin Tin as he had won a double pass! When we got to Westgate, we discovered his double pass was only valid during the week. Fortunately, he tried asking if they would accept it and they kindly agreed to.

The movie was pretty good, and the animation was impressive! I won't say anymore to avoid spoiling it for anyone.

We finished off the night with dinner at Burger King where we ate and talked till late.

Skills that will make me a REAL Man (Updated)

2012-01-13T21:46:00.000+13:00

There are certain things a guy should be able to do (myself included) in order to become a REAL man who can live independently.

This is my checklist. I'm going to try accomplish them all by the end of this year:
- Wash clothes
- Iron clothes
- Cook
- Tie a tie
- Fix a car
- Perform the Heimlich
- Sew a button
- Know how to wear mens' cologne properly

Without being sexist, they sound like a lot of things females do, but I guess it's what makes a man a man right?

I'm sure there's more! I'll add some more as I think of any.

Update:

Thanks to some readers, here are some more things REAL men should know how to do:

- Swim
- Ride a horse
- Do archery (do you do archery, or do you...arch?)

My Dragon

2012-01-13T21:39:00.000+13:00

Call it an impulse buy or whatever you want, but I was at PB Tech and saw one of these USB drives, apparently a limited edition Chinese New Year Dragon! Because it's Chinese New Year and well...I'm a dragon...

Here he is!

I know I probably don't even need a USB drive (don't even ask me where my current one is!), but I couldn't resist!

Now let's just hope I don't lose his body!

Timely Teeth Clean

2012-01-12T21:54:00.004+13:00

This morning I got my teeth and jaw checked at Middlemore Hospital. It's my yearly check-up to see how my jaw is doing after I had surgery on it to correct it all those years ago.

Prior to getting this check-up, I was really worried that my teeth was so dirty that the orthodontist at Middlemore would be disappointed in me, so I was hellbent on getting my teeth cleaned by a hygienist. Because of full-time work though, I've never gotten around to getting it done, as I couldn't decide what was a reasonable price.

It was only yesterday, the day before, that I decided to do something about it. I tried ringing a couple of dentists in the city to see if they had any free spaces after work, but I found out that it would cost $260 for a clean! They had no free slots anyway.

The dentist in Henderson originally told me he could do mine for $150. From the free inspection he gave me, he also said I'd need two fillings which would cost $180 each as well! Aonghas tried calling them but they were all booked as well!

I asked my dad to try ring around while I was at work, and I was fortunate that a dentist in Glen Eden had a free slot after someone cancelled!

Straight after work, my parents took me to Glen Eden and I got my teeth cleaned. I have to say I didn't feel like eating after that, for fear of getting my teeth dirty again!

Today at Middlemore after inspecting my teeth, the orthodontist said my teeth were looking quite good! I had to admit to her that I just got them cleaned yesterday though. I got a few x-rays and photos taken.

I also mentioned to the orthodontist that a dentist said I'd need two fillings. She had a closer look at my x-rays and got some close-ups taken, and then concluded that I didn't really need them, not for at least another year anyway. That saves me $360!

A Card from Korea

2012-01-11T20:04:00.000+13:00

I got a surprise in the mail today. Ruby, one of my friends from high school posted a Christmas card to me all the way from Korea! She wrote a really nice letter inside for me too!

It's really cool getting letters from others. It doesn't happen very often, hardly ever actually! It's also cool keeping in touch with friends you haven't seen in years and who are also miles and miles away!

Thanks heaps Ruby!

Surprise Marriage

2012-01-09T20:11:00.000+13:00

As you may have read earlier, Martyn and Bronz only just recently announced their engagement to us. Today was the BIG day!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to the actual wedding at the registry office as it was during the day and I had to work, but my parents and brothers were able to attend though.

Apparently it was not a long ceremony with the registry lady asking Martyn and Bronz to repeat a few things before saying their 'I do's', exchanging rings and then the kiss.

I didn't miss out on everything though, as our family minus our dad (who had to work) attended the family dinner at Martyn's mum's house in South Auckland after work.

We don't visit Martyn's mum's side of the family that often, and so it was good meeting them and getting to know them a bit better.

We were one of the first people there and so we just waited around till everyone showed up. Some of our cousins came soon.

There were a few speeches made by parents of both of them, and others including our Aunty Noeline. After that, it was time for dinner! There was plenty of food to eat. Aonghas and I took our food outside to eat as there was more space, and ended up talking to Martyn's uncle.

We then returned inside to witness Martyn and Bronz cut the wedding cake, and then do some traditional Samoan dance. Despite Martyn's pleas, I think everyone was too shy to join in, except for our cousin Janice though!

Dessert was the last thing to do for the night, and just like dinner there was plenty of it!

I'm so happy for Martyn and Bronz! They look so happy together and with a baby on the way I'm sure they will make good parents!

Congratulations to the both of you!

Hello Hong Kong!

2012-01-07T21:46:00.000+13:00

I've just booked my flight to Hong Kong! I'll be flying Jestar (fingers crossed it won't be as bad as everyone says they are...at least for my flight anyway!) there and back, stopping over in Singapore for the night on the way there and for a few hours on the way back.

I was fortunate enough to get a week off work to go in the middle of February to go to Hong Kong, so that I can get my permanent identity card renewed.

Once I got the week off though, I then discovered how expensive airfares were! Return flights cost around $2000!

Fortunately I spotted the Jetstar flight for about $1500. I was a little weary though, with Jetstar's reputation and everything. I rang them a few times to ask them several questions, making sure I knew what they would charge for and what they didn't.

The flight doesn't include inflight entertainment or food. It'd cost me extra to choose my seat, and to board the plane earlier than everyone else. It's going to be a very boring, long flight! I'll have to buy some extra batteries for my phone!

My family will be flying on Air New Zealand, and because they aren't working and have more flexibility, they may stay a little bit longer. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up with a few people while in Singapore for the night though!

Three Simple Rules

2012-01-04T23:02:00.000+13:00

One of my friends on Facebook posted this as her status, and I found it to be quite true:

Three simple rules in life:

(1) If you do not go after what you want, you'll never have it.

(2) If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.

(3) If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.

Dropping Off the List

2012-01-04T19:35:00.000+13:00

The Top 100 Male and Female Baby Names for 2011 have been released.

Liam was the most popular name for baby boys for the second year in a row, with Joshua was second most popular and Oliver the third most popular for the second year in a row.

Ruby was the most popular name for baby girls, with Olivia and Sophie the second and third most popular respectively. Those three names were also the three most popular names for baby girls last year as well, just in a different order.

Now for the important ranking of Callum - not even in the Top 100 this year! This is after being ranked 78th last year, and as high as 53rd in 2006!

Hamish didn't make it in the Top 100 either, but Angus comes 66th.

The full list can be found here.

ID Change

2012-01-04T18:50:00.002+13:00

Today we had a go at taking our own passport photos at home so that we can finally renew them. I don't think they've been renewed since 1995 when we (or maybe I should say 'I') went to Hong Kong!

After seeing this, I started wondering what I used to look like in my old school ID photos! (2005 is missing somewhere...)

Pizza!

2012-01-02T22:59:00.000+13:00

Tonight we caught up with our old neighbour Phillip. It's the first time we've caught up with him since he got married. Instead of getting him to come over to our house, we asked if we could meet up with him, so we picked him up from his parents' house instead and we went off to fill the petrol.

From there, we didn't really know where we would go for dinner. La Porchetta just happened to be across the road, so we decided to go there! It's the first time I've been to the one in Henderson. I still remember when the building used to be occupied by Pizza Hut! Our family would go there once in a while when we were little kids! When we went in, I could remember where things used to be!

We didn't realise there would be a 15% surcharge because it's the Day-After-New-Year's-Day, and were considering leaving, but because none of us had been there before except for Aonghas, we decided we'd just try it.

It was quite busy tonight, something I didn't expect. Originally I was just going to order a medium-size pizza, but after Hamish chose a large size, I thought I might as well choose large as well! I got this pizza that has four different toppings.

The pizzas were quite good. Aonghas saw the waitress that he knows, and introduced her to us. She saw us and asked if we were the brothers people think are triplets! She reckoned Aonghas and I look similar, but not Hamish!

After dinner we went for a drive around the side streets before dropping Phillip off home and catching up with his brother Kenneth who decided not to join us!

New Years Dinner

2012-01-01T23:30:00.000+13:00

To celebrate New Years Day, our family went to our favourite Mt Albert BBQ Noodle House in...you guessed it, Mt Albert!

This time we avoided anything spicy and had a few dishes such as braised hapuka, Indonesian fried rice. It was quite nice this time. I got full after a while and we hadn't even finished the fried rice!

I think I'm getting fat now. What a way to start the New Year!

New Years Blowover

2012-01-01T18:27:00.000+13:00

I originally didn't have anything planned for New Years, but after a conversation with Chen, we got thinking, and ended up planning to have dinner followed by something else till midnight. We weren't too sure what we'd be doing till midnight but eventually we decided we'd go to this place that sells milk tea and hang out there till then.

Even though Aonghas was working till about 6.30, Chen, Rose, Diane, Hamish and I decided to meet up earlier to play a couple games of bowling till 8pm, when we had booked dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant.

Once again, competition was tense between Diane and me. I beat her at minigolf last time we met up. This time though she was wiping the floor at bowling! She won the first game and came second in the second game to Rose by one point!

My bowling game was not the best! It took me a while to get started and by the time I started knocking over a decent number of pins, it was too late!

After bowling, Diane left to go have dinner with...someone else...while we just drove down the road to the Vietnamese restaurant where we were going to have dinner. I had been there before, so this time instead of getting soup noodles I got a bowl of rice with chicken fillets (is that what they're called?).

We only had an hour to eat before the restaurant closed, but we managed to do it in 40 minutes!

Chen booked us a table at The Drinks Lounge, which is sort of like Momo Tea, or Hulucat Tea.

We drag-raced there...no not really but we got to the place early as well but our table was reserved so we had a seat, chose our drinks and then the guys indulged in a bit of ...24 o.O You know that game you played at primary school where you have to use four numbers and make 24 by adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing them? Some way to celebrate New Years' Eve, right?

They eventually made it through a deck of cards, and as soon as they were finished I jumped at the chance to play Love Jenga! It's like regular Jenga, except each block has a task or something for the person to do after they've pulled the block out of the tower. They were quite tame though, such as

'Say 'I love you' to someone of the opposite sex in another language'

'Let the person to the left of you look through your received calls log on your mobile phone'

'Call someone and say 'thank you' to them'

The first game didn't last too long after Hamish knocked it over, but the second game was so intense we forgot all about what was written on the blocks! Each time someone pulled a block out of the tower, we reckoned the next person would be the loser.

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

However, it just kept going and going and going until the tower was really tall! Eventually someone had to be the one to knock it down, and that person was...HAMISH!

We played one last game that Chen suggested, in which we paired up and had to write down five words that we associate with the word given and see how many words we have in common with our partner. That was quite an interesting game.

It was soon about ten minutes till midnight, and we couldn't see the Sky Tower from outside The Drinks Lounge, so we decided to all jump in Chen's car and drive towards the city as much as we could before the fireworks went off. Of course, we had to spot the Sky Tower first!

We were driving down Dominion Road and saw these people just standing on the side of the road, but couldn't figure out what they were looking at! We finally spotted the Sky Tower, but couldn't see the top of if or the fireworks shooting from it, as the clouds were low and we could only see changes of colour! Some anti-climax!

Chen continued to drive into the city, getting stuck in traffic down Queen Street. The street was partially closed off, and there was a lot of people around the place. There was a freaky-looking guy in a mask (I'm sure he's an Occupy Auckland protester) who was just standing casually on the side of the road, letting fireworks off!

We eventually made it back to Dominion Road, where our car was and we parted ways. We did stop at Burger King for a feed before heading home though, but as part of my New Years' Resolutions for 2012, I will try to make it one of the few times I'll be eating fast food this year!

Happy New Years 2012!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000+13:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

There are only two words I really need to say to describe how I felt about 2011:

GOOD RIDDENS!

Despite us winning the Rugby World Cup, me graduating and also participating in the Rugby World Cup, Aonghas turning 21 and....OK that's probably it...there wasn't much else to be too happy about.

Think about it...the Christchurch earthquake, the Japan earthquake, Rena...

I suppose it was a year that cruel people passed away such as Gaddafi, Kim Jong Un, and Osama Bin Laden.

Hopefully 2012, the year of the dragon will bring us much greater luck, peace and prosperity! Let's make next year a year of new beginnings and one that is even better than this one!

Now time to review my New Years' Resolutions:

- = Calum's 2011 New Years' Resolutions = -

(In no particular order...brace yourselves!)

1. Find a girlfriend (6th year I think 6 is a lucky number!)
FAIL - I did finally do something about someone after a long, long time, but it wasn't to be

2. Make two new friends or make two new close friends (i.e. get closer to them than before!)

YES - Rebecca and Eva have become two of my closest friends. I don't know what I'd do without Eva always being at the other end of a text, and Rebecca's craziness and the fact that she always seems to lose to me in challenges!

3. Keep my intern pharmacist job till the end of the year and become a registered pharmacist
SORT OF - I kept my intern pharmacist job, but I haven't become registered yet

4. Join the gym and at least get biceps! Abs are a bonus!
SORT OF - I did join the gym, but I'm pretty sure I'm flabbier than before!

5. Get my Full License
FAIL - Still on my restricted!

6. Buy a new car
YES - After the Nissan Pulsar (the first car I bought) died on us, we sought a new car, and I ended up contributing to buying a Mitsubishi Lancer!

7. Find and buy my dream phone
YES - Bought a Samsung Galaxy SII. That'll do for now!

8. Buy a new laptop
YES - Towards the end of this year after my terrible HP laptop finally died on me the night before my assignment was due, I converted to Sony Vaio

9. Make another short film with Aonghas
SORT OF - It wasn't entirely a short film, but we filmed a little bit for Aonghas' 21st video

10. Find a cause and support it (Open to interpretation!)
SORT OF - I did end up agreeing to make monthly contributions to UNICEF, and then to Aaron Ku, a missionary from our church. I'm probably going to cancel my contribution to UNICEF though.

11. Read the whole Bible!
FAIL - I have been slowly working through Genesis in Sunday School, but outside of that I haven't been as good as I'd have liked

12. Get baptised...if I feel I am ready
FAIL - Still not baptised, but maybe slowly getting closer to that moment

12. Sit a music theory/Chinese exam
FAIL - Self-explanatory

13. Get one of my music theory students to sit a music theory exam
SORT OF - Got my grade two music theory students to sit a mock theory exam. I guess that's as much as I could have hoped for

14. Decide what I want to do with my life after I (hopefully) complete my pharmacy internship
FAIL - Still haven't decided, but now I've got an extra half a year to decide

15. Grow some balls (that sounded wrong didn't it? Let me clarify - be more strict with my students and stop letting young girls walk all over me!)
SORT OF - I have been finding myself being a bit more stern when dealing with younger kids, especially my students. My patience has definitely been tested this year!

16. Find OLDER girls to hang out with (that also sounded wrong didn't it?)
SORT OF - I did have weekly catch-ups with two of my intern friends for a while, and did catch up with various friends from time to time. However, at church I'm still surrounded by younger girls. It might be time to look for other groups to hang out with!

17. Be more positive/optimistic, look more at people's strengths over their weaknesses, be appreciative of what I have and less jealous of others...you know all that good, happy stuff
SORT OF - I think I'm getting better! Maybe I'm setting my standards too high but I guess it's better to aim high and fall short

18. Do photo 365 (one photo a day)
FAIL - Completely forgot about this resolution!

19. Learn at least 3 new pieces on the accordion (as in classical pieces that require practice!)
FAIL - I don't think I've touched my accordion all year!

20. This should've come earlier but study Chinese and return to at least NCEA Level 3 Chinese level..and be more Chinese (throw that in as well)
FAIL - While I have attempted to learn Chinese in bits and bobs, I'm yet to return to NCEA Level 3 level!

So overall, the final count is:

Fulfilled New Years Resolutions: 4

Failed New Years Resolutions: 9

Partially Completed New Years Resolutions: 8

That gives me a 19% success rate, which is a -6% improvement over last year. I think it is time to make some changes and increase that success rate!

Here are my resolutions for this year!

- = Calum's 2012 New Years' Resolutions = -

(in no particular order)

1. Find a girlfriend (pretty much cut and paste now, but hey it's the year of the Dragon, and 7 is a lucky number!)

2. Make two new friends or two new close friends

3. Become a registered pharmacist

4. Visit the gym a bit more often than in 2011

5. Find another musical instrument to learn up to a grade 4-5 level

6. Buy a bass guitar, learn it properly and get the Oddfellows band going

7. Sit a grade 6 music theory exam (grade 6 at the very minimum!)

8. Follow a 365 day Bible reading plan

9. Have 3 completely new experiences in 2012 (i.e. do three things I've never done before in my life!)

10. Find a new social organisation/group to be a part of

11. Completely change my life (open to interpretation)

12. Attend a proper ongoing Chinese class

13. Travel to another city/town at least five times

14. Be happier with life (or just content if really struggling)

15. Pick up the piano accordion again, lean another song and trio with the brothers

16. Buy less junk food/takeaways

I will add to this list over the next few days as I come up with more!

Year in Review

2011-12-31T17:00:00.000+13:00

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

2011-12-29T20:14:00.001+13:00

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

Year in Review Survey

2011-12-29T20:09:00.000+13:00

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

2011-12-29T17:12:00.000+13:00

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

2011-12-29T01:42:00.000+13:00

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

2011-12-28T23:35:00.000+13:00

Here is a look back at 2011 through Facebook statuses:

January
Calum needs adistraction
Thanks guys for all the birthday wishes! I'll thank you all verysoon!
Go Li Na!

February
First day ofwork down...another 10 months to go? I'm counting down the days!
At least I can come home from work at night with the satisfactionof 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 gymreally does make you feel better about yourself after a bad day at work!
Boo Valentine's Day!
So quiet todayI'm doing stretches in the dispensary
Girls can be so MEEEEEAAAAN!
Now whenever I see someone approaching me holding a white piece ofpaper, I just naturally assume they're coming to give me a prescription todispense!
So many firstyears on campus today!
Calum smellsfunny after trying on all the different creams and lotions at work
So maybe uni starting up again wasn't something to look forwardto...

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

April
Sniffed a bittoo much coal tar at work today
Phew for theBreakers!
Calum Istrained and ready to sell Thin Lizzy!
It's the never-ending nightmare :S

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

June
Just finishedwatching 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 veryslowly...

August
Come onCerazette come back in stock tomorrow! Girls need their pills!
Can't believe the youth of today haven't heard of such pop legendsas N'Sync, 5ive and the Backstreet Boys!
Thinking about what to do next year makes me feel like it's mylast year at high school all over again!
Someone asked if I was their Samoan nephew today. Someone elseasked 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, thenremembered it went to those poor kids I unintentionally sponsored!

October
Preceptor asked me to check if a drug was available on PWRwebsite, 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 havewon
Upgraded my phone to a Nokia 3315 8-)
I forgive youStephen Donald!!

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

December
Burger King cures all pain

Stuff Happens

2011-12-28T15:29:00.000+13:00

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)

2011-12-26T19:28:00.000+13:00

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!

2011-12-25T00:05:00.000+13:00

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

2011-12-23T23:24:00.000+13:00

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

2011-12-21T19:27:00.000+13:00

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

2011-12-19T19:29:00.000+13:00

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

2011-12-16T12:25:00.000+13:00

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

2011-12-09T23:22:00.000+13:00

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

2011-12-09T18:01:00.000+13:00

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!

2011-12-07T22:13:00.001+13:00

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

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

The Final Lesson

2011-12-04T18:03:00.001+13:00

This weekend marked the last music lessons I had to teach for the year.

Yesterday after having spent all night awake at my youth group's sleepover to farewell Jireh, I was quite worn out when I had to go straight to the music school to teach the kids.

I spent most of the classes playing games with my students - Music Bingo! I tried to get my students to come up with a more interesting word than 'Bingo' to call out. One student came up with

'Mexico New Zealand All Blacks Binga Bingo!'

so that's what they shouted out when they thought they had won!

I did start to doze off in my last couple of classes, especially when I sat down to teach in one of my classes. We were playing Bingo, and I was calling out numbers when I started to drift a little, and said something like

'Fifteen.....to the waterfront....'

I think I realised what I had said after I snapped out of it and just hoped the students didn't notice!

It was a tad sad teaching the students this time around, as I knew that quite a few of my students won't be back next year. Most of my students were second year students and so I've taught them since they first started music. I've become quite proud of them, and it's such a shame to lose them so early! I know they won't be lost entirely, as they are all going on to learn other instruments such as the violin, flute and guitar and I've reminded them all to remember me when they become professional musicians, and to come say 'hi' to me whenever they're around, as I definitely won't forget them!

One message I left with them was that

'Perfect practice makes perfect'

no matter which musical instrument they learn. There's no point practising the wrong thing!

Two sisters I teach who are moving on to another instrument next year gave me a Christmas card and a present which was really nice of them! I haven't opened one of the presents yet, but they also gave me a snow globe, which is pretty cool!

The message they wrote on the card also meant a lot to me as well.

It was also the last lesson I was teaching at church today, and two of my students (brother and sister) gave me a present and card as well. I'll open the present on Christmas Day just so I'll have something to surprise me, but the card they gave me had quite a few amusing messages:

and my favourite...

Keeping Those Eyes Wide Open

2011-12-03T15:10:00.000+13:00

Last night our youth group had a sleepover at Karvin's old house (one of our youth group's leaders) as he's just moved houses and his house is currently empty. What a perfect opportunity to make the most of it! The sleepover was also a good occasion to farewell Jireh, even though he won't be leaving for another month.

We were late as usual, being one of the last to arrive. When we got there, the girls were doing up Rebecca's hair while the guys were hanging out together. We all hung out in the lounge with our sleeping bags in a separate bedroom while all the other rooms were bare.

We soon had dinner and there was plenty to eat! On and Fiona, who brought their daughter Abigail with them, brought some KFC while there was plenty of noodles, salad and deep-fried chicken!

The girls all sat together in the lounge to eat while the guys sat outside on the deck. I find it funny how after all this time, the guys and girls still segregate!

After dinner we all gathered in the lounge to start the proper youth group programme, which was Bible study for this week. Jenny and Eva led worship, and I was pleasantly surprised by how many people were actually singing!

Karvin then led us in Bible study, focusing on some verses in 2nd Timothy. We followed that by splitting into groups to discuss what we had just read. Our group, led by Gabrielle had to go into a separate room.

After our discussion and prayer requests, we had our first run-through of the song our youth group will be performing at camp, 'What Can I Give to the King'. Surprisingly everyone picked it up quite fast!

We only had to have a couple run-throughs before we finished the youth group programme for the night and it was free time till the morning!

The guys got their Playstation 3 out, while a few others got together to sing along to Cleo playing on the guitar, and others played cards or talked. As for me, I had to start on my reports for my students! I was going to have my last music classes for the year the next morning and I had left my reports to the last minute! A few of the girls helped me out with coming up with comments for my students! It made me sometimes wonder what my teachers at school did when coming up with comments for their students!

I eventually finished, and the guys decided to watch a movie. They chose some basketball documentary/movie. I didn't exactly follow it closely, and ended up catching up with Eva!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzDO1M7yYlo)

Once the movie finished, Eva made us some coffee to keep us going! The girls wanted a lighter movie to watch, so 500 Days of Summer it was! While the guys played cards, a few of us watched 500 Days of Summer. The first time I tried watching this movie on the bus I almost fell asleep, and I was almost about to again but I pulled through and got to the end!

Once the movie was over, I decided it was time to plan my music lessons! I decided I'd just make them all play my version of music Bingo! I also set myself the challenge of teaching Eva how to read music by the end of the sleepover. I think I achieved that in about 10 minutes. Hopefully she hasn't forgotten by now though!

The guys returned to playing Tekken on the Playstation as the sun rose! I was surprised at how soon it was! I guess that's Daylight Saving for you.

A few people didn't make it through the night and ended up sleeping on the couch. My brothers and I had to leave early to go to music lessons though. Boy did I feel wasted for the rest of the day though!

Full of Faults

2011-12-01T22:05:00.001+13:00

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

It's a little hard hearing bad things about you, but I've come to appreciate it when people are honest to me and tell me directly.

I know I've often been sad about the way things have turned out with friends, but now I'm fully aware that I must be just as bad. I guess it's what comes around, goes around!

I'll have to do better to be a better person and friend to people

Calling Dr Chen!

2011-11-30T21:27:00.001+13:00

Congratulations to my good friend Diane, who's passed all her exams in her fifth and final year of vet! All her years of hard work have finally paid off and she's finally going to become a fully-fled veterinarian!

Go you, Diane!

Celebrating Aonghas's 21st

2011-11-28T22:16:00.000+13:00

Aonghas has finally hit the 21 mark, and and so we decided to celebrate like only we know how - have dinner together!

Originally we were thinking about going to the place in Mt Albert that we always go to, but Aonghas wanted to try somewhere different, so we went to this food court in the CBD.

There were so many different food stalls to choose from, all with different types of food - Malaysian, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Indonesian and of course Chinese!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H7UJYPTqfo)

It took a while for all of us to choose what we wanted, but in the end we all made our own decisions. My dad went Malaysian, Hamish had Thai, Aonghas chose Korean, my mum had Chinese and I ended up having Japanese, or Teriyaki Salmon Don to be more specific!

Hamish struggled with his dish as it was quite spicy. He went back to ask for a cup of water, and an on-looker commented that he looked like he was struggling!

My dish tasted quite nice and there weren't any bones in my salmon! I had a hard time asking the lady before paying if there were any bones. She would just smile and say it was good. I don't think she understood me!

After dinner we decided to walk down Queen Street to Smith and Caughey's to check out the Christmas display with the moving dolls.

We got side-tracked by this new Japanese store along the way, that was still open at 9.30pm at night! It was sort of underground as we had to go down the stairs to check it out.

While we were there I skyped with Amy who was at the airport, about to depart for China! I was amazed at how well that went, considering I was using mobile internet and haven't had the best experience in the past.

After almost half an hour of wandering around the store, then waiting for our mum to wander around the store looking at stuff, we finally left the store and made our way to Smith and Caughey's.

I always like these displays they put up in their shop windows each year. They must spend quite a bit on them, but it really does get you into the Christmas spirit!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oovPK8YkIbE)

So hopefully Aonghas had a good birthday and a true start to adulthood. The celebration isn't over though. He'll probably have a proper celebration a little later on!

Camp Preview

2011-11-26T21:30:00.000+13:00

This afternoon I was invited to go over to Willow Park Christian Camp to check out the facilities just to get an idea of what we will be working with when our church has its camp there in a few weeks' time. I'm helping out with organising the camp concert along with Jenny and Gabrielle.

I was waiting for Derek, one of the camp co-ordinators, to pick me up from the city, when Jenny walked by with her boyfriend! She originally texted me telling me she couldn't make it! She asked me if I was meant to be going to visit the camp site, and when I told her I was waiting to be picked up, she decided to make a run for it!

Derek eventually picked me up and saved me from the crazy homeless guy lying on a nearby bench.

By the time we got to the camp site all the way in East Auckland, the weather was perfect! The camp site is situated beside a beach and so it was picture perfect. Walking around the site brought back memories of last year's camp (we had it at the same place).

We checked out the hall, the dining hall and the rooms before making a few arrangements. We all then decided to go out to have dinner before parting ways.

We had some food at this small Cantonese restaurant in Howick. I have to say it was a good experience. I usually eat the mainstream Chinese food, not the Chinese Chinese food!

Derek showed me 'Cantonese French Toast'! Basically it's two pieces of bread with peanut butter in the middle and butter on top all deep-fried. Oh, and don't forget to pour golden syrup on top of it!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk3jo-32bM4)

After dinner, we said bye-bye to Derek and I went off with Tim and Gabrielle. We decided to stop by the Pakuranga Night Market.

It was the first time I had checked it out and I have to say I enjoyed the atmosphere! It felt like the Lantern Festival but in a carpark!

There were heaps of people, heaps of stalls selling food, gifts, clothes, plants and other stuff. I'll have to persuade my family to check it out next weekend!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAG6TofGQzA)

Making it Count

2011-11-26T14:24:00.000+13:00

Today is Election Day, the day we can exercise our right to vote and decide on who will be in parliament for the next three years! It really seems a little pointless as National is most likely to romp back in to power.

After teaching music classes today I went with my mum and Aonghas to cast our votes. There was a polling booth at the school I teach, and that's where Hamish was working as an 'Issuing Officer', handing out voting forms to people.

Hamish didn't serve me but he served my mum. There were quite a few of them there! Aonghas and I voted in neighbouring booths, and even when I got to the booth I still hadn't decided which party I'd give my party vote to!

I ended up making a decision, but I won't declare how I voted here! As for whether I wanted to keep MMP or not, I voted to keep it. I really didn't have a chance to read up on the alternatives!

I really do want Labour to win, but I doubt they will (oops did I just reveal my political leanings?)

Ready, Set, Go!

2011-11-26T13:20:00.000+13:00

It's the second-to-last music lesson for 2011, and it was probably one of the breeziest days I've had in terms of teaching. I made my Grade Two music theory students to sit a 'mock' exam, using one of the past exam papers.

I only had to teach one class in the morning before the exam and so I just gave them Christmas carols. All the kids seemed to have learnt some other lyrics to Jingle Bells! It was about Santa Claus being too fat, and that I'm glad I'm not a reindeer who has to pull his sleigh!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF2fBLWAyrU)

I got Aonghas to direct my music theory students to another room and I joined them just before the exam started. I have to say it felt quite cool to be in a position of power, on the other side for once! I gave them a run down of the exam rules, and Aonghas wrote down times on the blackboard so he could cross off over time.

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

I went off to teach one of my music theory students who wasn't sitting the exam, and as I was teaching, apparently the students who sat the exam finished it in about 45 minutes, when there was one and a half hours allocated!

I'll have to start marking the papers, so I hope to see some good results, especially as the pass mark is 66!

Calum and Amy's Lunch

2011-11-25T22:19:00.000+13:00

Amy was in the city today and she had been pestering me to buy her Starbucks, so I met up with her during my lunch break (had to power-walk all the way from work to meet her!)

It was my shout since well...I'm a nice guy (fo sho!) so SHE CHOSE (just saying Amy, just saying) a Cranberry White Frappucino or something like that. I just decided to get the same thing.

We then went over to check out Occupy Auckland in Aotea Square and....stare at them...

Half an hour went by really fast so we walked back to my work so I could show her where the magic happened, and that's Calum and Amy's lunch for you!

Waste of a Day Off

2011-11-23T20:36:00.001+13:00

So while yesterday was a good day, today was a not so good day.

It started off good though! I woke up early despite going to bed at 3am last night (it must be a habit now!) and contacted a few dentists to find out how much it would cost to get my teeth cleaned. It turns out it would be around the $150 mark. One nearby dentist said they do a free consultation and then give you a quote, so I booked an appointment for 6.15pm later tonight.

I then thought I better go return my library books since they're due today so I can avoid getting another massive fine. I'm pretty sure I've paid over $50 worth of library book fines in the past year! I decided to drive to the library just so I could practise my driving skills, as you do.

I parked the car in the West City carpark, locked the car and was about to walk off. That's when I realised I was missing something...the car keys were still in the ignition!! Unfortunately I locked the car good so there was no way in!

I called Aonghas to see if there was a spare key at home, but my mum had gone out and had taken the set of keys with the spare! I tried calling my mum but she wasn't picking up her phone. Aonghas decided to ride his bike down to the place he thought she'd be, but her car wasn't there.

While I was waiting for him, I was standing on the path at a distance away from the car just so nobody thought I was leaving and also...so nobody could associate me with my poor parking skills!

He then rode over to meet me in the car park. We decided the only thing we could really do was to wait till our mum came home, so Aonghas got an extended parking permit from Customer Services inside the mall just so our car didn't get towed away (I only parked in a 90 minute spot!)

We just went back home, hoping no one would notice the key in the ignition and steal our car!

I had to walk down to the dentist later on in the day to get my teeth checked. After five minutes, the dentist told me I'd need a clean and TWO FILLINGS! I asked how much and he said $150 for the clean and $180 for each filling = over $500!!! Boy are dentists expensive!

A Good Day

2011-11-22T23:48:00.000+13:00

Today turned out to be a pretty good day at the office, for the following reasons:

- My boss not only asked me to once again buy her some miso soup, but she shouted me one too!
- I got told I get tomorrow off work!
- I got to spend the day blister-packing!

- Oh and I ate macaroni out of a jar for lunch...

To finish off this wonderful day, Jenny and I had dinner at Tim and Gabrielle's house to discuss the church camp concert as our youth group is in charge or organising it!

Aegyo!

2011-11-21T21:25:00.001+13:00

Apparently you need 'aegyo' to be a Korean pop star. If you don't know what 'aegyo' is, check this video out and search it up on Youtube. Even I don't fully understand what exactly it is...I think it's making a cute pose or something?

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfuQqpMeND8)

Yeah don't worry, I'm thinking WHAT THE HEEBY as well!

Anyway us Anderson brothers have been practising getting our 'aegyo' on so we can wow those judges!

HAMISH!

AONGHAS!!

And for mine...well I don't have an animation so you'll just have to imagine me doing one...

Oh and girls just to let you know we're still single and straight!

The Worm Hates You John Key

2011-11-21T21:15:00.001+13:00

The Ray Morgan Reactor, aka 'the Worm' featured in tonight's TV3 Election Debate between John Key and Phil Goff.

Basically, it is a line that shows the reaction of members of a studio audience as well as the home audience as the two party leaders speak. Home audience participants use an app downloaded on their smartphone while the studio audience use something similar.

I thought I'd participate and set the dial for whenever John Key spoke...

The Next Korean Pop Group

2011-11-20T20:55:00.000+13:00

So today after the church service some girls called me over and told me about some auditions that are going to be held next month in New Zealand to find the next big Korean pop group. That's when I thought...maybe I should give that a go!

The idea soon evolved into getting my brothers to join in on the act! I enlisted the help of the church dance expert Jessica who has studied all the famous Korean pop groups and their dances, and she told me she'd be keen to train us and teach us some dance moves

Apparently the audition will be held on the 10th December (on a Saturday..YUSSSS), and there are several categories - singing, dancing, acting/MC'ing and modelling. Originally I thought we'd have to both dance and sing, but I think we might just audition in the dance category!

The song Jessica will be teaching us is Hello by Shinee:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFFockslM-Y)

Don't think I'm joking about this, because I'm deadly serious! Sure, we'll have our hopes and dreams crushed when they realise we can't dance, but if we fail to be Korean pop stars we can always try out for NZ X-Factor next year!

Watch this space!

The Big Exam

2011-11-19T14:18:00.000+13:00

The early End-of-Year Concert at the music school I teach may be over, but for my second year music theory students, they have an exam to study for in a week's time!

None of them wanted to sit the actual ABRSM exam, so I decided I'd hold a 'mock' exam and get them to sit it under test conditions just to simulate an actual exam...and also partially for my own enjoyment! I'm just kidding.

Anyway I'm a little afraid as to how well they'll do. I've given them past papers to complete at home over the past few weeks, but only a couple of them have remembered to bring them to class for me to mark!

The last few weeks have been a bit of a rush, so despite having covered the whole syllabus, revision hasn't been ideal and I don't think the students have memorised the performance directions/symbols and Italian words completely!

I guess we'll have to see this Saturday! I've told them that the exam is one and a half hours long but they have to stay for at least 45 minutes, and use as much time to check, check, check and RE-CHECK!

Spicy Birthday Dinner

2011-11-17T23:08:00.000+13:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAMISH!

We decided to go to the restaurant in Mt Albert we regularly go to (the same one we went to just a few days ago on Sunday night!) to celebrate Hamish's 25th birthday after work.

We did visit Harvey Norman (or Andrew Norman as my dad likes to call it) to check out their special sale before we went though. Some salesman was trying to sell us an outdated laptop. What was worse was that it was a display model!

As he was talking, I started looking at the tablets and went to pick one up when I set the alarm off! That was embarrassing...

We went off to the small restaurant in Mt Albert. Our mum was a little more relaxed about what we chose, so we chose some fried squid and chicken. What we didn't pay enough attention to was the word SPICY that was in front of it on the menu! I was expecting mild, not super mild! Then again, I have a really low tolerance for spicy foods.

That was OK though, the food was still good and made us full!

Boy Hamish you're getting old!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjmTG0g8feI)

When We're Together Snowmen Come to Life

2011-11-14T19:55:00.000+13:00

I met up with Angie after work to check out a few shops and then to Starbucks as my treat since she had just finished her last exam, and that's where I tried this drink called the 'Gingerbread Latte'!

It tastes like gingerbread kisses!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5p0Fy0OE3w)

Hacked!

2011-11-06T21:16:00.001+13:00

This morning I had to lead children's worship, so I stayed up late last night till 3am practising a couple Chinese songs (looks like I'm not very good at dancing and singing at the same time, especially when I'm singing in Chinese!).

I also tried to come with something meaningful to link all the songs together instead of just singing one song after another:

In the Bible Jesus told his followers about two men. One was a wise man – he listened to Jesus and built his house on rocks. Another man was foolish – he didn’t listen to Jesus and he built his house on the sand. Who knows why he did, maybe he wanted to get a nice view of the ocean!
When the rain and the storm came along, the house that the wise man built on the rock stood firm and didn’t crumble. As for the foolish man’s house on the sand…well the rain came down and as the flood came up it washed his house away!
Jesus is the wise man who knows how to build good houses. More importantly, He knows the right way for us to live our lives, so if we listen to Him, we won't get into trouble like the wise man. If we ignore Jesus' wise instructions and try to live by our own rules, we may have a disaster and no one else will be able to help us.

SING WISE MAN BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON THE ROCKS

Hands up if you’ve ever felt saaaaad, like when when someone at school was being mean to you. You know, sometimes these kinds of things happen and you don’t know what to do, but one thing you can always rely on is Jesus being there for you, as long as you let him into your heart.
With Jesus in your heart, you can stay strong and overcome anything!
So the song we’re about to sing is about a time when Jesus got on a boat with some of his disciples. Now a storm came along and as Jesus slept in the boat, the disciples started to freak out! Jesus reassured them everything would be OK and Jesus being Jesus, he calmed the storm and everything was OK!

SING WITH CHRIST IN THE VESSEL

So when you don’t know what to do and you’re having a tough time, there will always be someone who can help you. He’s so great he created everything around you, the Earth, the stars, your mum, dad and even your cat!
Can anyone tell me who he is?

SING AH LORD GOD

God loves us so much and if we truly love him we should praise him. Make sure you let him into your heart, and love him with all you’ve got – pray to him and listen to what he wants you to do, as he knows what is best for you.

SING PRAISE HIM

Let me know what you think! The feedback I got from a couple of kids was they had learnt all this years ago! Well thank. You. Very. Much! Apparently my Chinese eeerrrrrmmm....I admit I forgot some of the Chinese words and mumbled through those songs. I told the kids to sing as loud as they could to cover me up!

Today was a special day, as it was Ada's farewell party after the service. Ada has been at our church for a long time, and was in fact Hamish and my first Sunday School teacher when we joined the church way back in 2002.

We sang a few songs to start off, then watched a photo slideshow which was quite touching (I was in one of the photos boo-yah!), before a few people came up to share their stories. (I'll post some photos as they become available)

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zgmSTl_CEI)

Us Oddfellows had to leave slightly early to help set up tables and food for afterwards. This is where it all started...I let someone play with my phone and they got into my Facebook account and posted stuff on my wall:

People were still commenting on it even after I posted that it was a hoax when I got home! I don't think someone's messed with any of my social networking accounts since a few years ago when SHE changed my Bebo page!

As for the food, it was very nice! It didn't last too long once everyone came out!

We all had a mass group photo with Ada, before smaller groups had photos with her. Our youth group and our family managed to get photos taken together with her.

She's not leaving immediately so there's still a little time to say our goodbyes to Ada but hopefully she will do well in Hong Kong. We'll miss her!

After teaching the kids music, a few of us went to a nearby Vietnamese restaurant for an early dinner (and when I say early I mean 4pm EARLY!). I had a big bowl of meat noodle soup and felt full after it, but right now I'm starving!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLZ13oG7iCM)

Growing the Family

2011-11-05T22:00:00.000+13:00

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!

Martyn and his girlfriend along with her two younger sisters made a surprise visit on the night of the Rugby World Cup Grand Final, seeing our house in all its messy glory!

Anyway, once again we all got bloated eating wonderfully yummy food. I tried to pace myself so I wouldn't get bloated too soon, but after two plates I was already quite full, and there was dessert to come!

I really love dessert. There's always nice cakes, truffles, jelly and ice-cream! I'm just always too full to enjoy it!

We went outside to light...or watch our cousin Graeme light some fireworks.

They were from The Warehouse though so....think little fountain fireworks and those 12 shot fireworks!

We did have fun with the sparklers though, attempting to spell words in photos with them!

It was a great night catching up with the whole family tonight, and we might just be able to add South African to the growing list of nationalities that make up our extended family!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZM6ANaWKq0)

And I thought I was Bad at Keeping Secrets

2011-10-25T23:39:00.000+13:00

So on Sunday night I was having this group conversation with guy A and B on Skype. Guy A knew something about me after one of my friends (who I trusted to keep a secret) TOLD him, and must've thought Guy B knew, so he started talking about it. Now Guy B knew!

Guy C later joined in on the conversation and asked what us three had been talking about. That's when Guy A told Guy C my secret!

The next thing I knew I was having this conversation with a girl on MSN, and she told me she knew my secret as she had some reliable sources. I had a feeling I might know who her 'sources' were, and asked this 'source'. I was correct. She told me this other girl knew!

It doesn't seem to be much of a secret anymore :S

So It Wasn't Broken Afterall..

2011-10-25T17:00:00.000+13:00

This weekend has been tough on me - my phone died on Sunday and I've been using Grace's old phone. Today though I put my foot down and decided that enough's enough! It's time to end this misery and buy a new phone!

It almost didn't happen yesterday though as I tried ringing the shop in the morning and only got the voicemail message. I was thinking that maybe the shop was closed due to Labour Day.

Later on in the day I decided to try again, and was surprised to have my call answered! They said they would be closing in half an hour. I grabbed Aonghas, jumped in the car and took off!

We only just got to the shop in North Shore just as it was about to close. You can now say hello to Samsung Galaxy S2!

Along the way home we stopped off at a KBB Music Store so that Aonghas could check out the electronic drums that were on sale, then badum before you know it, we were directed to their Henderson Rock Shop and ended up buying an electronic drum set!

We came home not knowing how to break the news to our parents that we had just bought a drum set. We didn't even know where we were going to put it yet either! We thought maybe we'd put it in our bedroom, so we told our parents when we got home that we were going to clean up our bedroom! They thought it was a little fishy that suddenly we were keen to tidy up the house.

You end up realising you can't hide anything from your parents, so by the end of the day we manned up and told our parents about the drum set!

Today I ended up passing on my old HTC Desire to Aonghas and told him that he could have it if he could get it to work, and he could then pass on his HTC Legend to Hamish so Hamish could finally jump on the Android bandwagon.

It turns out all Aonghas had to do was wipe the data (or something like that) and my (old) phone was working again! He rooted it like a true engineering student does and it's working and doing a lot more than I ever managed to make it do!

Back to the Future

2011-10-24T12:22:00.001+13:00

I've been saved! Grace lent me her old Sony Ericsson K700 phone to use till I get a new phone! It's brought back many memories of texting with a keypad! I'm slowly getting used to it again. Thanks heaps Grace you lifesaver!

Here's a little bit of Rugby World Cup magic I captured at the West Fanzone last night using this phone!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypcn9l2Fmo4)

A Day Without a Cellphone

2011-10-22T19:01:00.001+13:00

Yesterday I finally signed up to Vodafone's Smart $45 plan during my lunch break. I thought that it might take less time going into a shop and doing it in person, what with the credit check and everything. I was surprised at how fast it took for the credit check to be done!

I was asked to switch my phone off and turn it back on in ten minutes though, and this is when the problems started.

I turned it back on after work, and the HTC boot sound sounded, which I thought was weird as I had put the phone on mute. I then noticed all my text messages had disappeared.

It was not until I was on the bus that I decided to switch my phone off and back on when I started having real problems. My phone would show the HTC boot screen and make that sound, then it would go black and show the boot screen all over again. This would just continue in a loop! The unfortunate thing was that I was on the bus as this was happening, and it was embarrassing having this sound keeping on going! I had too many things in my hands to take the battery out and so I managed to endure the embarrassment and take the battery out once I got off the bus.

I was going to use my old Sony Ericsson K800i as a back-up phone for now, but I can't seem to find it, and the old Nokia 3315 phone doesn't seem to want to charge up! This meant I had/have no phone to use all day today!

I went out shopping with my mum, visiting a couple Chinese grocery stores and then Lynn Mall. I have to say it reminded me of back in the days before we used cellphones frequently to keep in touch with others. I felt a little isolated! I guess I did bond a bit more with my mum though...

Maybe this is just what I needed - an incentive to finally buy that new phone I've always wanted. Now the only decision to make is whether to get an iPhone, the Galaxy S2, or wait longer for a better phone!

A Difficult Decision

2011-10-20T23:34:00.000+13:00

At the beginning of the week my preceptor asked me again if I thought I'd be ready to sit my pharmacist registration exam on the 1st November, which is coming up in a little over a week. I don't think she reckons I'm ready, and that's why she asked me again.

She said I pretty much had two options:
- Sit the exam in a couple weeks, and if I fail then I'd have to continue my internship for another five months and pay ~$2000 to do so
- Don't sit the exam, and just work for another five months and sit the exam in May when I feel more ready, and pay only about $200 to do so.

Originally I had my mind set on finishing my internship by the end of the year and starting something new in 2012, and so having to work for another five months would throw me off my plans. After I talked to my parents and my preceptor though, I started to think that maybe another five months wouldn't be the end of the world. I would still be getting paid I suppose. I think my preceptor and parents want me to do another five months though, so maybe I might once again listen to my parents.

After going to the intern exam revison evening though my friends were telling me that I've spent ten months working as an intern and so I shouldn't waste this opportunity and I should just sit the exam. To be honest though, having to think about this dilemma has thrown me off my study and I don't think I'd be ready to sit the exam anymore.

Therefore I guess I'll be an intern for another five months...

Exam Revision Time

2011-10-18T00:09:00.000+13:00

Tonight I had an intern exam revision session in the pharmacy building at the Grafton Campus which brought back many memories of my time at uni up there.

One of the new buildings is almost finished and looks quite flash! I didn't get a chance to go in and have a look though since it was closed.

We got into three groups and went through some cases and learnt more about what to expect in the exam.

It was good seeing all the interns again, but the revision session has left me feeling a little anxious about the exam!

If Only I knew How to Cook

2011-10-17T23:23:00.000+13:00

Tonight I joined Natalie and Kunsala for our weekly study session, this week at Natalie's flat. Natalie and Kunsala were cooking while I was bringing the Diet Coke, chocolate and apple pie! I have to admit I felt a bit bad not being able to help in the kitchen! They were cooking butter chicken and it sure did smell and look good!

We ate the food along with a my very first papadum (I love that word!) before settling down to study while the apple pie sat in the oven to cook.

If only we kept an eye on that apple pie...It got burnt around the crust! That was OK that though, as we just ate the middle part of it and it still tasted good!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmXyHlb6ROk)

Baking for a Good Cause

2011-10-16T18:42:00.000+13:00

Today was our church's bake sale organised and run by our youth group. Yesterday Oddfellows were divided in three groups, each meeting at a different house to bake some food to sell today.

This morning we had English service and I was a back-up singer to On who was leading worship, while Cleo was on keyboard. The only problem was that the keyboard wasn't working! We ended up having to sing without music. The upside though was that we could hear everyone singing!

I also had to do the Bible reading as well. Talk about full-on Sunday!

Sunday School only lasted for 15 minutes since we had to leave early to prepare for the bake sale.

The bake sale was held outside the front entrance of our church since it was a sunny day today. We had rainbow cupcakes, caramel slices, ULTIMATE brownies, noodles, lollies, coffee and other food.

As soon as adult Sunday School finished, there was a stream of people coming out to buy food! Many of them gave us more money than we were asking for the food, telling us to keep the change! This is probably because it was all going to a good cause - our church building!

I didn't bring any money, so luckily my mum bought me some food. I tried the cookies and a curry puff, and I have to say they tasted really good! I wanted to try a rainbow cupcake, since the last time we tried baking rainbow cupcake at youth group was a fail, but they all sold out! I managed to save two caramel slices for Rebecca and me to have our next challenge! I had to put it on my 'tab' of course.

Eventually when our food started running out and it started to die down, we dropped our prices, kept pushing and eventually got rid of most of the food to raise a grand total of ~$1090!

Well done Oddfellows!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6zZzTuNZjY)

To finish off the day, I had my challenge with Rebecca - to see who could eat a caramel slice the fastest. I was even generous enough to give her a ten second head-start! The result was inconclusive though with the challenge sorta ending in...a tie...

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krFObwFD1b8)

Opening Ceremony Closure

2011-10-15T14:01:00.000+13:00

Today Aonghas and I got a large envelope each and inside it we found a Rugby World Cup 11 Certificate of Appreciation! This was for participating in the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony a few weeks ago.

We also got a programme, with photos of the main people involved and...the rest of us listed at the back! See if you can spot our names!

Flicking through the programme did bring back the memories!

In the meantime, GO THE ALL BLACKS!!

A Whole New Side

2011-10-15T12:25:00.002+13:00

We've been playing this game after youth group called Psychiatrist ever since Jenny introduced it to us that night we had to help clean the church. The game involves everyone who does know the rule sitting around the outside in the circle, and everyone who doesn't sitting in the middle. Those who don't know the rule have to ask any 'yes' or 'no' questions to those sitting in the circle to try determine what the rule is. If, after one person in the circle answers the question and someone else shouts

'PSYCHIATRIST'

then everyone in the circle has to get up and switch places. I won't say what the rule is or else it'll kill it for those who don't know, but it can get quite interesting as you get to know each other's secrets! We did have one game which kinda failed when the people asking questions started thinking tactically and started asking about clothes. That was a little boring for us...

However, we have uncovered a secret from one particular person and last night it felt as though I got to know a whole lot more about that person! I have to say it's a really good feeling when someone trusts you enough to open up to you. I admit to sometimes being too loose with my trust..(or is it my mouth?) and just blurting everything out and then realising I've said too much!

Yawn...

2011-10-13T02:40:00.003+13:00

I ended up leaving a lot of my paperwork till the last minute so it looks like I'll be staying up all night to get it done...

As part of my internship I have to submit documents every three months to the intern programme to be filed in my portfolio. This is the last lot I have to submit, so once I've finished it and sent it, I can completely focus on my exam which will be in a couple weeks' time!

Back to work!

Big 10,000

2011-10-12T23:37:00.000+13:00

We've reached 10,000! Woohoo!

An Early End of Year Concert

2011-10-08T19:57:00.000+13:00

Today was the big End of Year Concert at the music school I teach at. It's not really the end of the year as there is still Term Four to go, but because of renovations to the school hall and the November elections, it was decided to bring it forward to the end of Term Three.

I've been preparing my students for the past three weeks, trying to get them ready and so I was probably more nervous than they were before the concert!

I asked them all to get to the school half an hour before the concert as I wanted to have a run through with them. The recorders would be the first to perform, then the flutes and then the violins.

I got half of them to practise with Aonghas on the keyboard while I practised with the other half of them just to save time.

We only just had enough time to have a group photo before the concert started!

My first year students started off the concert, performing Easter Bunny, Playing in Parts and Two Birds Together. I was a little worried about them as one of them went camping and so missed last week's lesson. The most pleasant surprise was that they played very well!

My first second year class then performed Puff the Magic Dragon, Triplet Round and Little Brown Jug with Aonghas on keyboard. They also did very well which made me very proud, as they must've practised heaps over the past week!

My next second year class performed Donna Nobis Pacem, I Like the Flowers and When Johnny Comes Marching Home with Aonghas on keyboard.

My last second year class (who I've taught the treble recorder to) performed Scarborough Fair, Putta Nera Ballo Furlano and The World in Union (to get in the Rugby World Cup spirit!). The tunes involving all four of the different recorders sounded really neat!

To finish off the recorder section of the concert, I got all my students to come up to perform It's a Small World. Even though I had practised the song with everyone only once earlier this morning before the concert, they managed to pull it off! I was so proud of my students!

After the recorders were done, the flute students performed. Rebecca, Joylynn and Nadine who go to the same church as me all performed, and I also saw some of my ex-students which was really cool!

The violins finished off the concert. Nadine also learns violin so she performed with her class, and our class performed last.

It was really good to see all the students performing today and I was so proud of my recorder students! I had a lot of positive comments from parents and other teachers so I can relax a bit now, and just hope I don't lose too many students to other instruments next year!

Cake Does the Trick

2011-10-07T22:40:00.000+13:00

Tomorrow is the pharmacist manager at our pharmacy Aula's birthday, so the rest of us thought we'd surprise her with a birthday cake! Jenny, one of the pharmacy technicians bought a cake and we all shared the cost.

I think it made our pharmacist happy, because she offered to buy me a coffee or hot chocolate in the morning!

It made for a very easy-going day at work!

Happy Birthday Aula for tomorrow!

Joyboy's Birthday

2011-10-02T21:20:00.001+13:00

We had church service today and it was Joylynn's birthday, so I rushed to buy a cake for her in the morning before the service (OK well maybe just as it started!) and then returned to church. Fortunately I didn't miss too much.

When I got there though the hall was full and a certain someone was supposed to reserve a seat for me but didn't, so I ended up sitting by myself!

After service though we found Joylynn and were about to surprise her with the cake, but her dad (who's our church's pastor as well!) had also brought little cupcakes for her too! It looks like she was going to have a big feed today!

Catching the RWC Fever

2011-10-01T17:57:00.001+13:00

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 originally got just one silver fern flag but then our dad, who initially thought the whole idea was a waste of money, asked if there were any Scotland flags! We've got Scottish roots on his side of the family, you see.

Hopefully Scotland beat England tonight, so we can continue to fly the Scottish flag!

It's amazing just how many people are getting into the Rugby World Cup! We passed a KFC that has been decked out in black...

When we visited Geoff's Emporium which is full of costumes, it was really busy! I'm guessing everyone was preparing for the game tonight! I met up with Janey, an old Dessert Club Committee friend who is going to the game. Hopefully the weather holds up!

Thoroughly Modern Millie

2011-09-28T22:17:00.000+13:00

Tonight we went to St Dominics College to watch their school production 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' as one of our favourite friends Grace was guest starring on the keyboard and percussion! OK so she wasn't on stage but that was OK, we just wanted to support her!

It was the first time I've ever been to the school so it was interesting to see what it was like! I was afraid we wouldn't get there on time as I finished work at 6pm and it started an hour later, but fortunately the motorway wasn't that clogged and we got home in under half an hour!

We managed to get a good seat near the front where we could get a clear view of the stage and also Grace.

The story goes...

"It's a comedic romp through the roaring 1920s in New York, where Millie and her flapper friends hang out in the Priscilla Hotel (a boarding house for young ladies) and unbeknownst to them, are in frequent danger of being sold into white slavery in Hong Kong by their house mother Mrs Meers! "

Because the school is all girls, the guys were played by girls as well. I have to say the girls played the guy parts very convincingly! At times I forgot they were actually girls!

Grace's friend Sophie was in the play, playing one of two Asian henchmen. They were pretty funny, speaking in Cantonese with English subtitles on the projector screen (although I'm sure I heard a little bit of Mandarin along the way!).

The singing was also quite good too! They sounded professional at such a young age!

I'd have to say my favourite scene though was the elevator scene, when the two women jumped into the lift and two people standing on either side of the lift held signs saying

"First Floor", then
"Second Floor", then
"Third Floor" etc

as cheesy music played. It was pretty funny!

Another was the Speak Easy Dancers who did this really funny dance!

Oh and finally, I have to say the music was well done!

Overall I enjoyed the production. Well done to everyone who put it together!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2J_4XumQdA)

Our First Study Session

2011-09-26T22:13:00.000+13:00

Tonight I met up with my pharmacy/intern friends Natalie and Kunsala at Natalie's flat for our first study session. I got there a little late as I had to catch a bus and well..fell asleep along the way!

Natalie was cooking dinner for us tonight and had attempted a courgette quiche. She put it in the oven, and as it cooked we did a bit of study and munched on some chocolate.

Quite a few times we had a look at the quiche in the oven but it was a little runny, so we left it in for a little longer as we studied. It was still a little runny after a while, so we just chucked it in the microwave before just deciding to eat it!

It actually tasted pretty good! I always knew Natalie was talented! We had some salad along with it. I have to say that was probably the healthiest dinner I've had in a while!

I soon had to leave with Kunsala but it was a good first night of study together! We might make this a regular Monday night thing right up to the exam!

Singing Birthday

2011-09-24T21:37:00.000+12:00

It was Shrikkanth's birthday today and he was having a 22nd birthday party to make up for not having a 21st birthday party last year. By golly he's young! Most of us have already turned 22 and he's only turning 22 now!

Anyway, I had to teach music in the morning so I couldn't make it till the afternoon. When I got there, his friends were all in the lounge playing Singstar. It's been a long time since I last went to his house. I think the last time was way back in year nine in 2002, when a group of us had to create a short film about something to do with Ancient China. I wish we still had a copy of that!

While I recognised a few people's faces, I only really knew Grainam (intermediate school friend) and Sarena (intermediate-high school friend). Apparently the other high school friends had been and gone already!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoQMiXLWqp0)

There was still some food left so I had a bit to eat while catching up with Grainam and watching the singing going on.

As it got later, people started to leave until there were just a few of us left. We went into Shrikkanth's room to watch a few funny Youtube videos before it was time for me to go too.

Happy Birthday Shrikkanth!

Teaching More

2011-09-24T13:10:00.000+12:00

The End-of-Year Concert is only two weeks away and so today I used all my class-time to try prepare my students and finalise the programme. It's been a bit rushed this year with the concert at the end of Term 3/early October. It's usually at the beginning of December but because of the elections and renovations going on at the school it was decided that it would be brought forward. That means less preparation time!

Anyway, one of the parents approached me after class today, telling me that she had talked to some of the other parents and that they and their children all liked me. She said that recorder was sorta more of a beginner's instrument though, and was wondering if I taught any other instrument like flute etc. and that if I did, they would all follow me next year and learn from me! She had already talked to my supervisor who said she would discuss it with me.

The only problem is...the only other instruments I can play are the accordion and the string instruments, but there is already a violin teacher! I'm sure they wouldn't be interested in learning the piano accordion!

I really don't want to lose them as students though, and it would be good to teach students at a more advanced level though. I'm going to have to think of something before its too late!

Rugby Reunion

2011-09-11T21:19:00.000+12:00

Tonight all of us that participated in the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony choir got back together for one last time to have a feed, perform and watch other groups perform, as well as just catch up with each other.

We arrived slightly late and so some performances had already started. Lucky we didn't miss the food though! We were all asked to bring some finger food initially, but then that got changed to bringing some 'food'!

The food though was quite good though, and there was plenty of it! The people sure are generous! There was deep-fried chicken, pizza, snack food, plenty of cake and other dessert!

After we got to the front of the line we decided to get two bowls of food, one with dinner and one with dessert just in case it took too long for us to get back to the front of the line again!

Once we got our food, the performances from different groups continued. Most of the different groups were from the various churches.

One of the church groups were really good, as they all sang quite passionately and in harmony. I can't quite remember which church they were from though!

There were a few speeches from our casting co-ordinator Desiree and Drew, one of the guys in charge of the whole opening ceremony. He made a few jokes about us not having to hear his voice in our ears again (we had to wear ear-pieces when we were out in the stadium on the night!).

For each of the choir leaders they would put on some music with the leader coming up to dance, and anyone else who wanted to could come up and dance with him. I'm not too sure if it's a traditional/cultural thing or not?

To finish off the night we all regrouped and sang our version of 'World in Union' for one last time, sounding as good as always!

It was a good way to end, and I'm sure going to miss our involvement in the Rugby World Cup!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b3CptNePB8)

Closing Half the Church

2011-09-11T17:40:00.000+12:00

Today was the last time we could use half of the church before it would be closed off for renovations. That meant we had to do a bit more of a tidy up.

We had to pack everything up from the kindergarten and shift it to the classrooms at the back of our church that have now been converted into a make-shift kindergarten.

We also had to clean up the kitchen and get rid of some of the food. There were some expired Grain Waves, but they still tasted good so I ate them, but all the other kids wouldn't believe me and thought it was disgusting!

Anyway, that half of the church is now empty and ready to be shut off to public! I'm not too sure how it'll affect lunch and what people do after church since we have nowhere to eat anymore.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lotw_7f1TuE)

A Little Mooncake Gift

2011-09-10T23:53:00.001+12:00

Today after one of my classes I received a small gift from two of my students (who were sisters) - a mooncake! That was really nice of them!

I have to say this is one of the perks of being a teacher!

Opening Night

2011-09-09T15:48:00.001+12:00

3.46pm: Heaps of people already waiting at the Henderson train platform for the 9 minute-late train

4.06pm: Everyone is packed into the train like sardines!

4.15pm: Had to push, shove and step on toes to get off the train!

4.45pm: Going in now!

5.30pm: It's the last night and everyone's taking photos

5.45pm: Waiting in our dressing room 'VOM 2' with two hours to go!

6.50pm: Choir leader Ben gives us a pep talk before Choir 2 has to go out

7.10pm: We're lining up now, we can hear the huge crowd screaming and shouting!

7.25pm: Lining up in our Voms, 5 minutes to go!

7.30pm: Here we go! Broadcast commencing!

8.00pm:It's all over! A-Mazing! So many camera flashes and so much noise! It's a once in a lifetime experience! Now off to the city!

8.30pm: On the train to the city but a broken down train is blocking the tracks, had to get off at Newmarket!

8.50pm: Bus finally shows up. We had to persuade the bus driver to let us on for free, even showing him our RWC accreditation!

I'll type up a proper post on what actually went on a little later so stay tuned!

Going Mobile

2011-09-09T13:05:00.001+12:00

I just discovered the official Blogger app for iOS and Android which was released just recently, so I thought I'd test it out!

This was posted via the Android app!

The Final Touch-Up

2011-09-07T23:55:00.000+12:00

Tonight was the dress rehearsal for the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony. I can't say anything about what happened but let's just say I think Auckland and New Zealand are almost ready to put on a show like never before!

We were each given two tickets to give to family or friends to come watch the dress rehearsal, and so our mum, dad, Hamish and Aunty Noeline went to watch.

Later that night when we got home, I asked my mum what she thought, and she replied

"I thought it would be longer..."

Knowing her (and her Chinese ways), I had to remind her this was the Rugby World Cup, not the Beijing Olympics!

Doing it for the Kids?

2011-09-05T20:44:00.000+12:00

Today after work I made a stupid mistake...or a good deed depending on how you look at it.

I was walking towards the Central Public Library when this guy in a blue UNICEF jacket approached me and I stopped to say 'hi', which is pretty much an invitation for him to tell me all about his organisation and get me to donate money towards their cause...and that's exactly what they did.

Feeling a little bad and no longer able to use the excuse that I'm a poor uni student with no income coming in (why didn't I just lie? Why? WHY?), I ended up agreeing to sponsor for a month or two and see how it goes. My job ends in a month or two anyway, and I'll soon be the one needing sponsoring!

Anyway I guess I can feel a little better, knowing that I'm donating $20 towards (hopefully) a good cause.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-09-04T20:00:00.000+12:00

Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers and others out there!

This morning was a special Father's Day service at our church. Only the city church joined us since our church is about to undergo renovations.

Our youth group was going to perform our Father's Day skit at the service too - the one we only started preparing for a couple days ago!

I had to worry about getting through children's worship first though! I led the kids in singing a few songs about obeying your parents (aaahhh Father's Day theme huh? huh?) The only thing was I didn't realise some of the kids were from the city church who have never done some of the songs before. When I led one song, the kids just stood there staring at me as I sang and danced. I had to stop the song mid-way through and teach the kids the actions! Even after that they didn't really get into it! I just thought ooh well and moved on!

After that was all done, I returned to the main service where I listened for a while. I couldn't really focus as I was quite nervous about how this Father's Day skit would turn out. I was just waiting for the time to head off to prepare!

We all went into the library and I gave people clothes I found around home to use as costumes. The guys who were acting as fathers put talcum powder in their hair to grey it up and boy did we all look older!

Waiting backstage

It was finally time to go on stage!

Aonghas started playing the intro to our background music, the piano instrumental to A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton. The first scene with Tim and his 'wife' Stephanie giving birth started a little late as they missed their cue, but once they were out, we got going!

It went quite well with a few laughs thrown in - definitely good for 1-2 days' worth of rehearsals! All that worrying and stressing finally paid off; I'm glad I didn't cancel it in the end! I should really thank Jireh and Eva for helping me see it through to the end!

After the service we caught up with a few of the people from the Living Water Fellowship (from the city church). I feel ashamed as I couldn't quite remember some of their names, but they remembered ours! I did manage to figure out one of the girls' names -TIANA! I needed a bit of help from Andrew but I got there eventually.

Aonghas and I couldn't stay long though as we had to go off to another one of our 'music' rehearsals!

Packing Things Up

2011-09-03T21:00:00.000+12:00

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. It is all due to start in the next couple weeks and it is being done in halves.

The first half of the church building to be renovated is the gym side, so we had to pack everything up into two large containers sitting in the car park. This meant unscrewing tables, stacking and carrying chairs and moving all sorts of stuff.

When I got there everyone was having lunch outside - BBQ with sausages! I think I arrived at a good time! Afterwards it was time to get to work!

In between hard work our youth group got some time to rehearse our Father's Day skit which we will be performing tomorrow. We didn't have everyone there though so we just had to make do with what we had. There was some training thing going on in the main hall so we had to wait till 4pm to use it. Once they got out, we went in and practised for a couple of hours. I had to sort out some music with Aonghas and finally decided to settle on the piano instrumental to A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSRupPMzP6s)

I hope it works! Aonghas will just have to watch what is going on up on stage and extend parts to fit with what is going on.

To finish off the night, we all had dinner together which was made up of KFC, Pizza Hut and some takeaways!

While the adults (oh wait I'm one now too aren't I? Well the other adults!) did some more cleaning, we all decided to try this game Jenny taught us called 'Psychiatrist' in which everyone knows the rule of the game except the person/people in the middle of the circle who have to ask personal questions to those in the circle in order to figure out the rule. Let's just say we found out some interesting things about others...

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7BkCJhRpOY)

Don't Lie to the Kids...They Might Just Believe You

2011-09-03T12:45:00.000+12:00

I returned to music teaching this morning after a week off, and my first student (who is little girl) came in and her mum followed soon after. Her mum asked me

"I heard you got married?"

I looked at her blankly...

"You got married to Princess Consuela?"

That's when I realised what I had done! The week before when I told the students I wouldn't be teaching the following week, the girl must've asked me why and I must've joked that I was getting married to Princess Consuela Bananahammock (you'll have to watch Friends to get that one!)

Fortunately the girl's mum knew it was a joke too, and I told her I'd let her know when or if I actually did get married!

Father's Day Freak-Out

2011-09-01T23:48:00.000+12:00

So a few months ago it was agreed that it would be cool if our youth group could put on a performance for Father's Day. I suggested Jenny/Eva could be in charge of it since they did very well in putting together the Christmas play last year. The only thing was Jenny went off overseas to perform with her orchestra for a few weeks which meant she couldn't do it!

This meant it fell back onto me to sort things out once again. Originally Jireh and I decided it'd be easier to film a short movie, but after realising Aonghas and I will be missing church a few times in the lead-up to Father's Day due to some rehearsals, it wasn't looking promising. We then came up with an idea for a short skit which wouldn't take too much time to rehearse and organise. I wrote up the script earlier this week and now all we would need to do is rehearse it tomorrow night at youth group.

The only thing is we need people to show up or else we don't have a show! We didn't have the biggest turnout last week, so we just assigned parts to people who were there and filled the gaps with absent people. Just now though I've found out that several people won't be coming tomorrow night!

Add to that the fact that I still haven't decided which music to use for the skit, and have only sent some music I think might work to Tim (our youth group leader and piano maestro) to learn by tomorrow night...

I'm freaking out a little bit. I'm not one to give up on a project and I usually see things through, but I'm starting to think that we just might not have enough time this time. We'll have to see tonight.

Korean, Arab, Maori?

2011-08-28T22:00:00.000+12:00

Today I had to miss church (and a potluck lunch!) to attend a rehearsal at Mt Smart Stadium with Aonghas. Once again it's top secret!

It was so hot rehearsal had to be paused after someone fainted! They provided us with heaps of water though which was good. If only they gave us more than a muesli bar for a snack! Lunch wasn't too bad, consisting of a sandwich, muffin and orange, but because I missed breakfast I was still hungry after that!

The weirdest thing that happened to me today though was while I was lining up, a lady came up to me and asked

"Are you Samoan?"

I told her I wasn't, and she then apologised and said she thought I was her Samoan nephew and was coming over to say 'hi'! She realised though that he was a lot taller than me! Afterwards I told her I was half NZ half Chinese.

Later on, another guy asked me where I was from and so I told him. I asked him what he thought I was, and he told me he thought I was Arab or Middle-Eastern!

Careers and Birthdays

2011-08-27T22:00:00.000+12:00

I took a day off work (music teaching) today as Aonghas and I had a compulsory music rehearsal I had to attend over at Mt Smart Stadium (it's a secret right now!) which meant neither of us could teach. Fortunately the sun was out...maybe it came out a bit too much as I had to cover myself in sunblock to avoid getting burnt!

The rehearsal finished by midday which allowed Aonghas and I to make a trip back to the city to check out the University of Auckland Courses and Careers Day. We parked all the way down Symonds Street, which meant it was quite a walk to the university.

When we got there, I was surprised that there wasn't much going on in the Information Commons! It turned out that most of the displays and stands were over at the business and engineering buildings.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJJJfD3JrLw)

The business school had all their stands/displays at the ground level and I came across my good friend Alice who I haven't talked to in quite a while! It turns out she switched to 2degrees! No wonder I hardly receive txts from her these days! She was supposed to be providing advice to prospective students but I sorta hogged her for a little while, just to catch up with her and get a bit of business advice!

We then went downstairs so I could visit the pharmacy stand and ask about post-grad, which I'm considering doing next year. I think most of the students there were first or second year students with one third year student who said she recognised me as the one who works at the university pharmacy! Busted!!

They weren't able to help me out so I went over to the School of Graduate Studies stand where some people gave me some advice. I also checked out the law school and education faculty stands as well. It looks like I could study primary/intermediate school teaching if I want to next year (if I get accepted of course).

We were running out of time and Aonghas wanted to check out the engineering school. I have to say I was quite impressed with some of the projects on display - there was a mechanical fish, a few robots, a popcorn machine and a candy floss machine apparently powered by solar energy! I managed to get some popcorn and candy floss to eat which was a bonus!

We caught up with Grace and came across Jenny who was manning the Biomedical Engineering stall! We then went by the Gamja stall and bought some Gamja so Aonghas could try it out. We then had a little stroll down Queen Street, trying to find Andrew and Ben, as it was Andrew's 18th birthday today! He told us he was having a haircut, but by the time we got to the barber's he was gone.

We heard he was playing pool with his brother and mum, so on our way there we went to Wendy's to busy some food and sat in Aotea Square to eat before I tried looking for a cake to buy for him.

We finally caught up to them at the pool place and gave Andrew the cake which I hope he enjoyed! We watched him play pool for a little while before it was time to go!

(Brief) Moment of Fame

2011-08-18T22:56:00.004+12:00

I had a brief moment of fame today during my lunch break!

I was sitting outside in the Quad at uni today eating my lunch when this American guy walked by, saw me and asked if I worked at the chemist downstairs. When I told him that I did, he told me he recognised me as the guy who sold him his medicines!

That's the first time anyone has recognised me outside of the pharmacy! I have to say I was quite chuffed about that!

Anyway he sat down next to me and we had a bit of a chat getting to know one another.

Finally my job is helping me get to know people!

Back to the Gym

2011-08-18T04:00:00.000+12:00

I went back to the gym for the first time in a while tonight! It wasn't very busy tonight, probably since this week has been pretty cold. What made me really want to gym was the fact I ate McDonald's last weekend, and had Wendy's after attending the university teacher's college open day last night!

I used a few machines that hurt...I mean strained my arms and legs before went rowing on the machine for 10 minutes and cycling for 10 minutes!

By the end I was so sore in a thousand different places!

I caught up with Angie for the first time in a while afterwards and I shouted Dunkin' Donuts before we caught the bus home.

I think I just undid all my good work...

Looking at the Options

2011-08-17T22:27:00.013+12:00

Tonight after work I caught a bus to the University of Auckland Epsom Campus to check out the the Open Day at the campus as teaching is one option amongst others that I'm considering next year.

Because the bus came late, I only made it to the campus in time to sit in on a talk about secondary school teaching and studying towards a Graduate Diploma in Teaching. It sounded quite interesting, how you have to do two 6-7 week placements at two different high schools during the year. It would be kinda cool going back to my old school Rutherford College, or even being assigned another school!

At the end of the talk though, I told the speaker that I had a pharmacy degree and whether that would be OK. She told me though that they looked at pharmacy degrees as a problem as it wasn't completely aligned with a high school subject.

She reckoned that I'd have a better chance of being accepted if I spent a year doing a post-grad diploma in Science/Chemistry and then apply to do the teaching diploma in the following year, and because it's in chemistry I'd have a good shot at getting a scholarship which would cover costs for that year and enough spending money to cover the post-grad diploma costs.

I guess I can rule out studying teaching as an option for next year. I'll have to write a post about all my possible options a little later!

Let it Snow!

2011-08-16T21:10:00.002+12:00

It's been frfrfreeezing this week! Maybe it's Winter's last push before Spring comes in (next month right?).

I was seriously doubting Auckland's capability to snow till yesterday when I went out of the pharmacy for my lunch break and saw all these people standing outside taking photos of something! Being the curious person that I am, I went outside to investigate and found that it was snowing!

Now I'm not 100% sure it was snow...it could have been light hail or sleet or something else, but because we're in Auckland and it hasn't snowed since the 1930's or something like that and it's apparently a once-in-a-lifetime thing, I'll call it snow!

Tonight was even more freezing as I walked to the bus. I just felt like wrapping my scarf over my face!

All the windows in the bus were all fogged up too!

Cheers for the Cheeseburgers!

2011-08-14T23:27:00.000+12:00

You may recall a few months ago when McDonald's last offered $1 Cheeseburgers, we took advantage of this and went on a Cheeseburger-buying spree. Well, this time McDonald's has this promotion that runs till Wednesday where you have to check-in to McDonald's on Facebook and then show the person at the counter the 'online voucher'. You'll then be able to claim your $1 Cheeseburger.

My mum, Hamish and I went to McDonald's after church today with the Jireh and his family, and Tommy and his family. Since we were there, we thought we'd take advantage of this! It was quite a mission though with McDonald's free Wi-Fi not working on our iPod's! I had to resort to turning on my phone's mobile internet and then using my phone as a mobile hotspot to allow our iPod's to connect to the internet.

It was slow and painful, and my iPod was on the brink of dying but we made it! Jireh was the first to order, and when he showed the guy at the counter his iPod, the guy had no idea about the promotion and had to ask his manager. When his manager confirmed it, the guy asked Jireh how many Cheeseburgers he wanted! After Jireh was done, I asked for three Cheeseburgers and Hamish did too.

Later we picked Aonghas up from work and went back to McDonald's where he bought another five. We'll be having Cheeseburgers for the next few days!

You Never Know What's Around the Corner

2011-08-14T21:08:00.001+12:00

I've just finished watching another Chinese drama, Corner with Love (and no, Rainie Yang isn't in it! Show Luo who was in Hi! My Sweetheart is in it though) and it's made me think about quite a few things that are quite relevant to me right now, such as if you never try, you'll never know what could have been. That's something I've been told many times! This drama has only further reinforced the message.

Now time to find my next drama to watch!...or maybe I should start studying...

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u30KZqrkEGw)

Baking Time

2011-08-12T23:42:00.003+12:00

Tonight our youth group had another baking night for our activity night. Jireh and Grace organised everything, which is just as well since Grace is one of the baking enthusiasts in our youth group!

The original plan was to use this night as a test to see how well we could bake and whether our baking would be good enough to sell to church members so we could help fundraise for the church renovations.

We got there a little late as we had to pick up Cleo from the mall and also buy some self-raising flour (as we offered to bring that ingredient!). When we got there, everyone had already been split into groups, one group baking chocolate chip cookies, one group baking egg tarts, one baking red bean pastry puffs and one group baking rainbow cupcakes.

I was put into the red bean pastry puffs group, but Andrew, Amy and Antonia had pretty much finished by the time I joined. All I could help out with was poking holes into the pastry! We just passed the time making the most of the egg leftovers we had by putting it the microwave and making omelettes. I never knew it was that easy to make omelettes! I also discovered that Phillip is my jacket twin! We both have the exact same jackets and bought them from the same place!

The cookies were the first to go into the oven, and they looked good! There was one really huge cookie. If only all Subway cookies were that big! While they were in the oven, Amy, Antonia and I were trying to get make an omelette but the girls ended up burning it in the microwave! It tasted a little plasticky!

(http://youtu.be/NraVbIRO8UQ)

The egg tarts went in next and then it was the pastry puffs. The rainbow cupcakes went in last.

As they were in the oven, we decided to surprise Eva by singing her Happy Birthday and presenting her with a birthday cheesecake!

(http://youtu.be/N-1F5DG_fV0)

The rainbow cupcakes came out of the oven but they were burnt! It looks like whoever left them in must've got Celsius mixed up with Fahrenheit! Although we were initially disappointed and gutted, we soon discovered that the insides of the muffins still tasted good!

After a photo with all our food, it was time to eat! I only managed to try one of each (and maybe a second chocolate chip cookie) before it was enough for me. I didn't need dinner after that!

There was also this new girl Kathy who had joined us who was visiting us from America who shared with us what America is really like. It was quite interesting! She also can play some traditional Chinese instrument. It's just a shame she's returning to America next Saturday!

I think after a little bit of tweaking we should be ready to sell our baking to the church members!

(http://youtu.be/pgnJkmNOVhw)

Multiple Birthdays

2011-08-06T23:34:00.000+12:00

Tonight we went to our cousins' place to celebrate several birthdays in the family. In August our cousins Martyn, Greg, Graeme and our Aunty Noeline all have their birthdays quite close together. We decided to celebrate them all together at one dinner. It was just our luck that the dinner happened to be on the night the All Blacks played against the Wallabies, as our cousins have Sky TV!

We were all there except Martyn, as he was in hospital after getting an abscess on his chin! That was quite a shock as he had been in hospital since Wednesday and it was the first time we had heard of it! He has been isolated though and will have to have surgery some time though, but it sounds like he's doing OK.

The dinner made us all full as usual, with food such as chop sooey, fried rice and various kinds of meat. We all caught up as we ate dinner.

The birthday cake came out not too long after, probably so we could get it out and have dessert before the game started! The cake was a nice pink one. It's not good for you but I enjoyed the cream! While I managed to pace myself with dinner, I had one big bowl of dessert and went for seconds but didn't last very long! I was struggling to finish, but determined to eat it all so I wouldn't waste their food!

The rugby game then started and we were all cheering on the All Blacks except our Uncle Peter who wanted the Wallabies to win! Fortunately the All Blacks won and we all went home happy!