Christmas Time, Mistletoe and Wine...

Hi Everyone!

I do have some new photos to post, but time is running out before I head to Pewsey in Wiltshire for my Xmas holiday... I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I will get those photos up as early in 2010 as I can!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Diagnosed by my Mum...

Since I arrived in Wales 2 months ago, I have had a lot of trouble focusing, working, and sleeping. My mind is going a million miles an hour about this that and the other, and everything in between. At first I thought I was just tired, but things didn't change even when I worked hard at getting enough sleep. I went to the Doctor, who annoyingly told me I was anxious so I couldn't sleep, and tired so I couldn't focus. She prescribed me sleeping tablets, and said if that didn't fix everything then to come back and she would put me on anti-depressants. Even though I wasn't depressed, she was convinced I was anxious about something.

Not impressed - I'm not anxious! I just can't stop thinking! I'm thinking about all these new and exciting things that are happening in my life, and are going to be happening in the future! Then Mum pointed out something really obvious. I am super excited. Overexcited even. As in the hyperactive type child kind. At 23, that's me :D ... I'm currently working with more exercise, healthy diet, check lists, chamomile/peppermint/licorice root sleeping tea, relaxing hot showers, light reading, calming music, and relaxation tracks before bed. 70% of the time it works, the other 30% I am up til 3am tossing and turning. But 70% is an improvement yes?! Still struggling a bit during the day, but hey, lets just hope I grow out of it!

Today, as I was walking along the beach looking at some terrace houses and thinking "Wow! Look! I'm in Wales! Look! Those are British houses! I'm here, in Wales! Look! Wow!" (I'm not kidding, 2 months in and I am still that buzzy about just being here), it occurred to me that I should have seen this coming. I have always been fairly overwhelmed by the fact that human beings even exist, that I am even alive, so of course moving 20,000kms away from home and starting a new life was going to send my thoughts into overdrive. We can clearly conclude I think waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much. If anyone knows how to slow my brain down so it can actually focus on something please let me know! In the mean time, here's a picture I think depicts me fairly well...

Three O Nine AM

Dear Stupid Undergraduate Students that Live in Horton at Swansea University,

Please stop being complete douchebags and setting the fire alarms off at inconvenient times, such as 3am on a Wednesday morning. If you are unsure of how to avoid this, these tips may come in handy:

1) stop smoking in your room
2) shut the bathroom door when and after you shower (as it says on the back of the door, and you are told every time we congregate outside and the big red truck comes along)
3) stop spraying sprays in your bedroom (again, as you've been told)
4) stop breaking the fire alarm switches and setting them off
5) if you require any help following these handy hints, please don't hesitate to come and see me in room 503. I would be glad to teach you the lesson of how it's done.

Love and Kisses,

Your Friendly/Livid with Rage/Don't Mess with Me Neighbour,

Claire

xx

Video editing up a stooooorm

Hey everyone!

I just joined the radio station on campus here, I am hoping to be a music reviewer for them, should be great! If I suck at that, I will try to be in the events team, organising events and what not - you all know how much I love organising people and things! In the mean time, I have been putting together some catch up videos for Rotary - this first being posted onto my Rotary site www.RotaryScholarClaire.blogspot.com ... Check it out if you want to see me lisp my way through some blogs!

Had to post this photo as well, I was being a toitle.....

Oh, it has been so long...

I pretty much forgot I had a blog. I'm not so much a writer, just a talker. I need to start an audio blog. Anyway, NO RACH YOU GUys weRE'NT awkward to live with! I just got your msg now, but no, no no no. :D

So, I'm living in Rotorua, I turned 23 and had a kiddies party with a scavenger hunt and pass the parcel, I got a job (woohoo!) working as a polymer engineer (woohoo!) for the biopolymer network, based at Scion, and on Thursday I judged science fair. which was awesome. This is the worst written post ever. Today is my dads birthday and I have been sewing a skirt. For me, not him. I leave NZ in THREE weeks today! I had a leaving party and I was sad, but I will be seeing half the people tonight anyway. Life is epic.

The end. (gotta go, there's a party to attend)

i wish

I wish I had a lamborghini Galado....(sp?)

Or a ferrari enzo. Or maybe a just lots of money. My gosh unemployment gives you big dreams!

So the wedding is over - I officially have a sister-in-law, which makes Nikki my sister-in-law's sister. But I like to say I just got 6 new sisters and 2 new brothers, regardless of their law-ness and step-ness and almost-step-ness. Telling stories about your siblings when there is only one is boring. The ceremony was beautiful - I held it together and refrained from becoming the blubbering mess I usually am when I am happy, so that's good! Photo's will be on Nikki's page and we're all tagged on Chris's facebook, but my camera stayed in my bag at all times. Silly puppet. The reception was great also, I played some piano and Annabelle sang (we did Alicia Keys, No One) and Jute and Gaz seemed to really like it so that was good. This is the most boring account of a wedding ever. My creative writing skills SUCK. I think I am tired. It was an amazing day anyway.

BLAH.

I neeeeeeeeeed a job.

who are these people?

Who are these randoms signing my guest book? "arhiderrr"? Ah... Hi Dere? Yes? No?


Anyway, just thought I would update you on what's going on for me at the moment. So I've been in Wellington for 2 months now, and I am still unemployed. I have applied for every job under the sun that I think I could possibly not hate, using a variety of websites, newspapers, word-of-mouth and door-knocking methods. This recession SUCKS. There are zero jobs out there that my engineering degree is going to help me with, and apparently "a year and a bit" of Admin/Receptionist experience just doesn't cut it for an interview these days. And if you don't have your bar license or bar experience, how could you ever learn to work behind a bar?

...

So yesterday I jumped in my brothers '67 Cortina and we drove up to Rotorua with his fiancee, Juliet. The car was a little less than practical, with the following comments coming out of Gareth's mouth throughout the 7 hour drive...

( some of these may be slightly variated on what he actually said... )

- We can't have the front windows down over about 40 kmph because there's nothing holding the other windows in, and the pressure will cause them to fall out.

- That twangy noise is just the brake pedal.

- There's no seat belts in the back, but the fire extinguisher is just by your feet Claire.

- I don't actually know how fast we are going, because the speedo is really wrong. And it's in miles per hour so you have to convert it after that anyway.

- How many revs are we doing? I don't know, the rev meter doesn't work.

- What's that noise?

- Can you keep an eye on this oil gauge here? It can't go below 25. Although it does move a lot so only tell me if it stays there.

- We should probably get gas. I have no idea how much we have, the gauge doesn't work.

- I hope it doesn't start raining because this car leaks a whoooole lot.

- Turn the music down for a second, I need to listen to the weird noise the motor is making.

- I'm just going to pull over and advance the motor (some mechanic speak).

- You should probably learn how to use that fire extinguisher Claire.

- I need to turn the music up really loud because there's only speakers in the back and we can't hear it over the car noises. (this is how I got to enjoy extreme gangsta being blasted into my ears)

- Why is the motor ticking?

Then when it got dark...

- You can't really see much without the lights on full.

- Can you pass me my cellphone? I need to use it to periodically check the oil, fuel and speed because there are no dash lights.

- Did you guys hear that? Did you feel it or just hear it?

- Oh yeah, Claire, that seat is really bouncy. (I responded something about being on a trampoline)

Then when Juliet started driving...

- Jute, you can't use full lock to U-turn. Don't go anywhere near full lock.

- Every now and then, pull the steering wheel towards yourself, especially before you try to turn a corner. You don't have to hold it there, just pull it once.

When we finally made it to Rotorua, I got blinded by an exceptionally bright blue alarm light. Seriously, it illuminates me when I am standing halfway down the driveway.

And that's their wedding car! Hopefully it will be a bit more user friendly by then. All said, I did enjoy the ride up and it is an extremely cool car. I am sensing a bit of overuse of the word extreme at this point. Extreme.

So! I am now in Rotorua, where I will spend my days organising for the wedding and painting my parents rental house, and then the wedding is on Saturday, then I will (somehow) head back to Wellington where I THINK I have a job at The Realm Bar and Restaurant??? Not Sure. I hope so, I did a trial shift the other day and quite enjoyed it. That would be fabulous.

And Yes, I still have mached up toes from Wellington's pavements.

i am still alive :D

hi guys, just to let you know i am still around! Things got incredibly hectic - a very good friend of mine, Johny Jones, passed away on the 20th September, and from there I just ran on automatic. I have now completed my degree (i hope - exam marks are not in yet!), and have started full time work for a plastics company in Hamilton. It is brilliant, but i am fully fully fully busy, still teaching piano and about to get a weekend bar job as well. Then there's dancing, gym, and Rotary as well - no time for blogging.

I am now not moving to Melbourne in January, but rather staying in NZ (hopefully in Wellington) until I leave for Wales in August/September. Exciting!

xx

pathetic blog. do not read.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

I JUST WROTE AN ENTIRE BLOG AND FREAKEN DELETED IT! i am going to cry. seriously. i was just up to the part where i say i am having a shit evening. i swore even, that's how bad. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHH

but i feel i must update my avid readers. bullet point form?

Monday - 5 lab reports, in, good.

- 2am finish in computer lab working on comp game

Tuesday - 2 am finish in computer lab again

Wedneday - 5am finish in computer lab

Thursday - 3 hours sleep, catch bus to auckland

- see stell in her graduation gown and cap - yay! so proud of her! really made me think about how admirable it is to have a degree. yes you ashley.

- see mark and blake, mark graduating too. blake = loser like me.

- 15 mins sleep. hurray!

- off to stella's grad dinner at thai restaurant

- wine

- bed at midnight

Friday - awaken. catch ride to hamilton

- write report quickly

- give presentation on computer game

- spend 2 hours sorting leaves, bark, and wood from bags of mulched up tree. hurray. i love studying environmental engineering. This involved peeling sticks with a knife. that was pretty cool actually.

Saturday - shopping with alice

- hanging out with nolan

Sunday - tidy room - epic as. ie: desk still not done.

Monday - another day i was determined to make great. walk to school, and stayed, working, until 5pm. Got home, cooked dinner, wine, was great, until depression set in. got real lonely, had a bit of a bitch about everything, realised i was being a dork, and went back to just being lonely. wrote some poems - not really about being lonely, but oh well.

So the evening has turned out poo. I am sick of being single. 3 and a half years is too long. Where are all my boyfriends? where? Apply within.

-

EPIC WEEKEND

Hey! Hey HEY HEY!

I have had the most amazing weekend. On Friday night I went to see step up 2 (cheesey i know) with my friendy Jenna. On Saturday I volunteered at the Balloons Over Waikato event - i stopped traffic to help people cross the road he he - where the work I did raised money for Camp Quality, an organisation that helps children living with Cancer. Whilst I was doing this, I got a call from my one and only sibling, my brother Gareth. He asked me how I was, what I was up to, and then casually slipped in "Me and Jute are getting married!" !!!!!!! I am SO buzzing about it, my big brother proposed to his long-time girlfriend Juliet. She is amazing, I went to High School with her and she has grown into this person I have a lot of admiration for. Wedding will be next year some time, so I will have to fly back from Melbourne. YAY!!

Saturday night, I went to town with my friends Stella and Alice. That was an AWESOME night.

Many bars, many people. My dress was rather short. My arms are longer than it in fact. But it was very very fun and I felt great in it - I got quite a lot of male attention which was a real confidence booster even though it's really not the kind of attention I want. But I think it is really cool to have a night like that every now and again; I had been getting quite down on myself because even though I'm not the type to bring guys home, everytime I go out all my friends get hit on and I don't. I've been told that I look more like a Ms. Right than a Miss Right Now, and that guys out are looking for the latter. I'm glad I don't appear avaliable to every Tom, Dick, and Harry, but sometimes I wish boys would at least look twice! So I had a fabulous night on Saturday night in my little green dress, and I like to think I managed to maintain my dignity!

Thanks Alice for looking after me on Sunday and Thanks Stella for not fitting the little green dress - I do!!

xxooxx