The ball

We just had our ball and it was pretty, it's theme was 'the secret garden'. Although it was missing a boy in a wheelchair like the book. There were fairy lights, strings of ivy and candles strung up around the beautiful old hotel room it was hosted in that had chandeliers and wooden floors to dance on. Myself and Kate took our time getting ready as it could be our last ball ever, and it turned out Chloe is a bit of a professional hair stylist in her spare time and curled my hair very skillfully.. though i then pinned it all over to one side of my head because 'why not'. Apparently it resembled Florence Welch from Florence and the machine's style when i added dark lips, a resemblance i'm quite happy with though i am not a red head <3 I do enjoy her music

We had quite some fun dancing all night and then out into town with the girls afterward, everywhere was fullest I'd ever seen it in town. We went to fever to dance on the lit up floor, someone grabbed me on the way out of there and attempted to perform a strange handshake with me involving spinning me around, knuckles and a slide-away handshake. Then we went to urban followed by metro where we danced to old music before the hungry ones took us through McDonald on the way home

 

Our RAs :)

Live band, they were pretty good

'bubbles' upon arrival

King and queen

Italy

I want to go to Italy
Everything i hear about it just increases that feeling
Language block, yes. But everyone there is so lovely and there will probably be a few scattered people who know English. The people are so friendly and loud, embracing others on the street and not at all the way we know it where eye-contact is awkward and everyone is so very judgmental.
New Zealand is apparently friendly seeming too? Italians leave us behind in the dust, their way of life is everything i would like mine to be. I love their food as well.

But the best part is this, http://searchingfortomorrow.com/posts/sleeping-in-italy
One of my favourite photographers, and a generally lovely person went there on a trip and took photos ... I want to jump on a plane there right now. I'm going to mention it around my family as often as possible even though my sister has already, for no good reason at all, decided she doesn't want to go there.

She sums it up for me better than i ever could:
"And no matter how many countless times I have visited Italy, their way of life always astounds me. It leaves me yearning for more, and that's what makes trips so special. When you leave feeling sad because you'll miss everything about it, and you know it's only a matter of time before you're back to explore again. The wetted appetite for more adventures, and that heroic stir in the stomach for journeying to a new place and loving it so deeply is what keeps some motivated. I feel it's possessed me too." - Kitty Gallannough

I miss Caitlin

I want to travel like Anna just did

and see Viv over summer <3

and so many many more people...

Holiday - Queenstown

SEASONS
Found the tumblr i created a little while ago http://itstruckachord.tumblr.com/ entitled Summer's coming..
clearly i was missing the heat. I certainly am now, i like summer and autumn best of the seasons.
In spring it rains all the time so we are huddled indoor by the fireplace, listening to it pat against the roof. Or pulling our faces deep inside a raincoat, believing it is still Winter and missing the small blooms on cherry blossom trees, for me cherry blossoms are the only tree around me that tells me what the season is.
In Autumn it turns all the colours of gold, crimson, and crispy brown, not many other trees in New Zealand do that... they're all evergreens.
BAD NEWS
It is winter now, my fingers are stiff and my knuckles are icy if i press them to my face, which makes typing uncomfortable. I've been told arthritis runs in the family, genetically i can see it's true:
ALL my grandparents have the condition and my dad is beginning to feel it. This is not what i want to hear as an 18 year old when everything i love to do uses my hands..
Already i have had a day where i used my hands for writing too much and by the end could not even hold my pen, i just thought i needed to change my study technique.

It is holidays for two weeks now, less than any other university.
I'm at the end of my second week.
We went to Queenstown for the first week and it was beautiful but i think we all need time apart after so many months of seeing each other almost every single day.. it's only natural. I haven't seen either Max or Kate much this week, though i would love to meet his puppy. I've just been relaxing.. and it is very nice.

Here are a few pictures from the week from Kate's camera and mine:

xx

Final

Final exam tomorrow! So excited.. then my hairs going to be dyed in a way it never has been before
Autumn colours
Chemistry was a little easier than expected :)

No idea where this came from, but i love it

I wonder what the strangest thing is that's been worn to an exam...
There's been people in pajamas in lectures

Rainy Day

Study technique: Turn all the lights out except your desk lamp. Even if you feel like you're sitting in a cave at 1pm, it focuses your attention on what the light IS shining on. Thanks Wong!


Ever since open day when it froze and rained and soaked us because Caitlin visited, it hasn't warmed up. Drinking hot drinks and the occasional noodles when they don't give us enough food and seconds time is years away, I even went and bought fruit to try feel healthier. The mandarins were amazing. I've tried to learn how to row and really didn't like it.. i wasn't very good at all, of course if i practiced i could get better at it.. but i really didn't like it, I was scared we would tip. It's just not for me :) Also learnt a little while ago to surf with Hayward, we got lessons for free and it was really fun, I managed to stand up on the board which is something i genuinely thought i'd never do. 
My heater keeps leaking on my bed and now it burned me when i touched it


A singer I like at the moment: Casey Abrams, 19 year old. Sweetest person ever with some sort of crazy talent that you don't expect. He even sang with Jack Black, and the judges used their idol save on him - have a flick through, not to everyone's taste


The only audition i've ever enjoyed watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-Eto8n-WJ4&feature=related
'Georgia on my mind'. You have to wait for it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI4RGwdEWZo&feature=BFa&list=LLD72QIttzYmK0rljM_Y4SfQ
Casey little thing called love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNCPzXavn5o&feature=BFa&list=LLD72QIttzYmK0rljM_Y4SfQ


I've been taking some photos to show what it's like at the moment, though no photos have yet/will ever be taken of myself dressed in fat pant, puffer jacket, fluffy hat, huge slippers with a mug of lemon and honey, which has been my classic take on girl-is-sick-and-has-exams-so-looking-nice-really-is-bullshit

Portrait made at the airport of Nirrimi
Incomplete.

From Judge

The last image is me today, that's my chemistry exam that i got to take home.. one huge pile of joy right there..


Time for Physics now

Doing and not doing things i want to

My first year at Uni, it's being a big one and small at the same time
In the middle of exams at the moment so have been confined to my room in comfy ugly clothes
These are big exams for me, never worked so hard for anything ever potentially? But i cannot focus on chemistry at the moment so i took a break to do something different.. blog.
I have been watching how i met your mother has been a little bit overwhelming lately and if i start, i can't stop watching till about 1am and i am no night owl.
I am a first year health sciences student. Lovely..
I wish i could draw more than i do, the only chance I've had was on the plane home and i didn't finish it, but it was fun
 














Then i drew a cartoon jaguar for Judge.


When i go home i plan to make slutty brownies http://www.thelondoner.me/2011/06/slutty-brownies.html ,sit in front of my fireplace with my cats, see my family who i miss at the moment.. they have been sending care packages too, catch up with Caitlin (with slutty brownies) and sleep. All of course after a week of skiing in Queenstown with Max and Kate which will be pretty fun, i miss the thrill of going as fast as you can down a slope, although my calves are happy being free of bruises! Apart from those two weeks of escape, life does seem a little on a set track at the moment.. so i'll have to see what i can do to rough it up a little. if i can't then it'll be: Try to pass ---> work over summer ---> study physiotheraphy ----> physiotherapist ----> work and work and work We'll see about that.

Jackmas

It was the time of Jack Foster's birthday party on Saturday the 28th, an event that is officially called Jackmas by all who know him.


We swam in the sea at midnight and a wave came racing up the beach and hit our things, so basically just my towel was wet. We thought Alex's jumper had been stolen by the sea but it was discovered that Mullet was using it as a towel but hadn't noticed it wasn't a towel..and that no, we hadn't scored an extra towel from no-where.
Met Dylan properly before he raced off after Olivia, he was the one who had sent me tricky texts off Alex's phone at their cocktail party asking me out, but i hadn't given them the expected 'interesting' text back because i had just woken up and was confused. Along with more people: Kirsty, Mishayla, Raydon (SO CHARLIE?)... along with his boss? Lucky to be working at such places where you can bring your boss to your 18th.


Kate and Jack FINALLY ARE OFFICIAL. He took her on a walk with the not-dog (extremely feminine not dog who is very small, has a palm tree for a tail and could a larger than a handbag dog. Jack also spent about 1 hour in the past 4 days with his dog, and had dripped egg in its hair which was still there even after we watched him scrub his dog with a scourer, poor thing.) ANYWAY.... to the beach and asked her out there, which is awesome and i would love to rave about it but i wasn't creepily there and so .... yes, sounds cute and awesome to me. Hat guessed the following day, and Caitlin guessed and called me over to inform me... then suddenly everyone knew :D
How nice