Mirror

Since I've started walking home from work, killing 5 birds with one stone so to speak, people have (of course) found out.  They see me in my lycra-type pants, baggy shirt, iPod ear buds hanging out my shirt and water bottle in hand, leaving the building into the (often) brilliant sunshine.

However.  I'm disappointed to find that the first thing they ask me, instead of something like "Do you enjoy your walking?" or "How far do you walk?", is more like something along the lines of "Have you lost weight?".

Now I know we live in a society where body image is everything.  But why do people assume that the only reason I've taken up walking is to lose weight?  I feel like I'm seeing myself in a mirror, but instead of reflecting the person I see myself to be, I see the person others perceive me to be.  Apparently that person is only as deep as the flesh on her body.  And that disappoints me.

Is it inconceivable that I may have other reasons for wanting to walk?  For me, it's about fitness, filling in time until my mum finishes work, fresh air, my good music, and fitness.  But above all, it's my stubbornness.  I'm too bloody stubborn to let my faulty legs dictate my life.  I will walk.  And I will fight them.  If I lose weight in the process, it's a bonus.

I guess I'm just disappointed that all people see me as is a girl who needs to lose weight in their eyes.

As a side note, today in New Zealand we have suffered a tragedy the likes of which has not been seen in at least 30 years.  On Friday there was an explosion at a mine on our South Islands West Coast.  It trapped 29 miners, and for the last 6 days, our whole population has held out hope that they survived and were waiting for us to rescue them.  Today there was a 2nd explosion, stronger than the first by far, and it burst through our remaining hope in finding these brave men alive.  There is no way anyone could have survived the 2nd explosion.  My heart goes out to the West Coast community who have been hit hard, losing 29 of their members, and NZ as a whole is grieving.

RIP Pike River Miners, 29 men who didn't deserve to have their lives snatched from them like this.

Baaaa

I may be from the country with the most sheep per capita in the world, but this in no way means I'm like a sheep.  Right now, you probably think I'm a bit mental, but I have a point.

Since when did it become cool to say awful things about someone, just because other people do?  And to relate this to current pop culture, I'm talking about people like Miley Cyrus, Nickelback and Justin Beiber.  (And no, they aren't the ones making those comments!)  I'm talking about TV shows like Glee.  I'm talking about things that people pretend to hate, to make themselves look cooler.

It has become fashionable to dislike them.  And that's just it.  The celebs, they are people.  They have feelings.  Don't hate for the sake of hating, to seem cool to other people.

It's okay to like something that others don't.  I mean heck, where would we be if we ALL liked the same things?!  It's what we like, what we immerse ourselves in, what we surround ourselves with, that make us who we are, and we certainly aren't all the same.

It's okay to say "FU. I'm going to like this band/TV show/movie/*insert anything else that gets hated on here* anyway, I don't care what you say"

So I'm just saying, I'm not a sheep.  In spite of people "hating", I am proud to say I like Miley Cyrus and her music, Nickelback is awesome, and no, I personally don't like Justin Bieber, but to each their own ae?

Oh.  And I LOVE Glee.

Starting Fresh

The other day, something clicked inside of me.  And I'm not talking about the joint popping noises that come as you get older (honestly, I'm not that old yet... it only happens once a day so far...!), nor am I talking about having a blond moment and that click when you realise it.  I'm talking about a new start.

This year has gone so fast (like I swear it was yesterday I was attending a work Christmas party...now I've been gone from that company for 6 months!) and so much has happened and changed.  And if that wasn't enough, I now have a new plan.

Now if you know me, then you know my plans.  I have all these stellar ideas (and yes, I'm vaguely biased) all the time. To the point where I have a notepad next to me on my desk at work in case I'm struck with brilliance.  Usually I write it down with the other 5 things I've thought of that day (I promise I do actually do work as well, but it can be a bit monotonous and my mind wanders!) and then when I get home I add it to my growing list of things to do/achieve/aim for/be/aspire to.

However. Nine times out of ten, nothing ever comes of these supposed strokes of brilliance/madness/whatever-you-want-to-call-it.  But the other day (I'm getting to the point, I promise) I came up with a plan, which I have put into action!

While my mum now finishes at 4pm instead of 2pm at work (we work at the same office, just different departments, so I get a ride with her in the am/pm) I am not contracted for those extra hours.  SO.  My plan was, and still is, that in the extra two hours (sometimes less if I do work a bit longer), I'm going to walk home.  To put this into perspective, my house is 20km (12.4 miles) away from my work.

And guess what...I DID IT!!!  For once in my life I came through with my idea.

I think I'm addicted to the walking.  In the sun.  Insteaed of hitting two birds with one stone, as the saying goes, I'm more like hitting 5.

1. I get to exercise/get fitter/hopefully lose weight (no reason not to exercise, no excuses, only myself to blame sort of thing).  I have nothing better to do while I wait for mum to finish work...so why the heck not.
2. I have the most kick-butt music playlist on my iPod to walk in time to.
3. Fresh New Zealand air.  Nothing quite like it.
4. I'm competitive with myself, so I like to try and get further every day in the same or less time.
5. The weather is unbe-freaking-lieveable.  I'm getting a tan while I do all of the above.

So why not. :D

I'll keep you posted on how it goes...  My stickable-ity is very fickle... I get bored easily. :P

Mamma Mia

Just a bit of fun, because I can, and sometimes, believe it or not, these can be funny!! :)

1. Put your iPod or other music player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!


IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Dangerous to Know (Hilary Duff)  Ask at your own risk?

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Brilliant Dance (Dashboard Confessional) I wish

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?  
Radio (The Corrs) Preferably not actually physically inside of them.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Suck My Kiss (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)  uhm wtf? I sincerely hope not.

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Don't Be Stupid, You Know I Love You (Shania Twain)  Naawwww

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Light In Your Eye (Sheryl Crow)

WHAT IS 2+2?
Lovefool (The Cardigans)  is it weird that I read that in a Mr T voice...?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
My Angel (Kellie Pickler)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Be Strong (Delta Goodrem)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Skinnydippin' (Vengaboys) ok I swear to God I only did that once, and it was only topless...wtf?

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Not Me, Not I (Delta Goodrem) Well that's reassuring... :/  ie anything except myself?

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
You Won't Find This (Carrie Underwood)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Boots & Boys (Ke$ha) okay that actually made me lol.  So unlikely.

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
My Vietnam (Pink)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Have You Met Miss Jones? (Robbie Williams)  I admit I would be a bit peeved they got my name wrong.

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Cheekah Bow Bow (That Computer Song)    (Vengaboys) I'm vaguely ashamed that their music has appeared twice now.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Cold as You (Taylor Swift)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?  
Little Wing (The Corrs)

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Take On Me (A-Ha)  It's true, I really do hate confrontation.

HOW WILL YOU DIE?  
That's Where You Take Me (Britney Spears)  Sounds like I'm going to be kidnapped or something like on the Lovely Bones.  Eep.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Mercy (Glee Cast)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
When I Think About Cheating (Gretchen Wilson) no, okay, it lies, the answer to this question made me laugh!  holy moly.

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY? 
Mobile (Avril Lavigne)

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?  
Ready To Love Again (Lady Antebellum)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Ma Philosophie (Amel Bent)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Starts With Goodbye (Carrie Underwood)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Nothin' New Under The Moon (LeAnn Rimes)

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
You're Beautiful (James Blunt)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Mamma Mia (ABBA)






Okay so basically, what I gather from that, is that its a whole lot of rubbish with a few funny coincidences, and it would have been better to use my favourite playlist rather than my entire music library (at least then I would know all the songs haha!)  Anyways I hope you enjoyed a few of them, and repost at your own peril... Pfft. :)

It's Days Like Today

I automatically buy two tickets to events, I don't want to go alone.  I want to go see the Fireworks tonight, but I have nobody to go with.  I know that being alone shouldn't stop me, but I don't fancy my chances alone in some places.

It makes me realise just how few friends I have.  Whether that is my fault or not, is yet to be decided.  I read a book when I was a teenager, about how to make friends.  Yes, my parents were (and most likely still are) concerned at my lack of friends.  It was an awful book.  Nothing remotely positive, and basically all it said was that it was all my fault, I'm useless, and I need to change myself completely for people to like me, because who I am, when I'm being myself, obviously isn't good enough, hence the lack of friends and the need to read said book.

As you can probably tell, I didn't give it a second thought, I threw that book in the trash, the only time I have ever done so - normally books are almost sacred to me but this one was in its rightful place in the bin. 

But now, I'm still without many friends, and while for the most part it doesn't bother me, as I am rather solitary as it is, I still wish I had a few more.  Maybe it's because the friends I do have are so amazing I don't need lots of friends I'm not that close to.  Who knows, but I'm kind of hoping to make a few more friends  when I start university.

PS my current friends are incredible, even if lots of them are thousands of miles away in gorgeous places like America, Germany and (not-so-far-away) Australia. :)  Maybe it seems I lack friends because none are in the same continent!!! Hahaha :D

Looking Forward

I have found that dwelling on boring lame things in my life right now never did anyone any good.  So now, I'm trying to look to the future, and all the amazing things I want to do, and goals I want to reach.  And I feel like writing a list on here, so that in 15 years time when I've finally settled down (or however long it takes!) I will be able to look back and tick things off the list.

So here is my "To Do List" for the next few years...

- Get good grades at university so that I can... (see next point!)

- Spend 6 months - 1 year attending the University of Montana as a university exchange program!

- Graduate University with a Degree (3 years total) 

{Bachelor of Art, Majors: Cultural Anthropology, Religious Studies.  Minors: French.}

- Go to England and apply to be a Contiki Site Rep and cross my fingers that having learned French will mean I get posted to Paris!!

- If that fails, I will try and be an au pair in France (6 months - 1 year)

- Come home to New Zealand and get a spiffing job that pays well, save hard, pay off any debt, and buy a house.  :)  Winning Lotto would help, but it's unlikely.

I LOVE Wellington, so I can imagine living here mainly.  But overseas would be cool too.  If I found a job over there related to my degree, paying well, nothing would stop me.  :)  I also love America, so would love to slot that in somewhere in my life too. :) 

So much living to do!  I can't wait.  Just have to get through university first!!  And if you're wondering about mentions of love interests, if it happens, it happens, and everything happens for a reason.  So I'm pretty cool about it right now.  You can't really plan these things.  

So come on life... bring. it. on!

Wondering

Why does my To Do List only ever seem to get longer, yet I always feel like I'm insanely busy??  I work a 6 hour day, 5 days a week, I get home at 2pm, yet I'm always doing something!

Yesterday was a communication shutdown fundraiser for Autism, and so instead of being online, I found myself baking a cake and a batch of chocolate chip cookies, and also cooking dinner.  I went to bed at 9.30pm and don't remember my dad getting home at 10.15pm.  Maybe the key to better sleep is to be so busy I fall into bed and am asleep before my head hits the pillow.

Time for round 2...