just when i started to question it...

As some of you may know, my latest challenge has been the 12 month research Masters I'm doing in BioPolymers. Even fewer of you may know, that doing this has made me see clearer than ever that research is not for me, and I cannot wait to get out into industry and manufacturing/production (not to say I don't enjoy what I'm doing, I do). Seeing as I am nearing the end of my time at University and it's all getting intense and academically - thesis-y - insane, a small voice has developed in the back of my mind wondering if I might be a touch delusional with a "grass is greener" mentality. When I get into this so called idyllic industry setting, will I be satisfied with a business/science mix, or will I be business business business?

All has been settled.

I spent a few hours on the beach today reading a paper on oxo-degradable plastics. I am already one to choose biopolymers over plastics made from oils any day, but I still thought that oil-derived materials (eg: polyethylene) with additives that make them "biodegradable" were a heap better than those without the additives. WRONG. I won't go into it too much, but basically the overall impact on the environment is pretty much equal between them, and if it isn't equal, the ones with the pro-degradant additives are worse! It's mainly because the most damaging part is the producing and processing plastics from oil, and when you make them degrade faster they can't be reused or recycled, and usually end up not degrading fully because of environmental conditions.

The discovery of this little fact and my response to it has renewed my faith in a careers in polymers, instead of veering off into other manufacturing areas. So I'm really happy - the chemistry stuff still inspires me.

PS: if anyone knows any Summer places/jobs I could go for near Rotoma, let me know, I'm getting desperate! (Edgecumbe, Kawerau, Te Puke, Whakatane, Rotorua)

I am a happy chappy

Yo homies, what up?

I am just relaxing in my house, eating frozen raspberries, doing a bit of research work, and, until recently, was enjoying a nice cup of slim cappuccino mix. That was when I found great big lumps of crap strewn throughout said coffee. I am unimpressed Nestle, totally, utterly, UN-IM-PRESSED.

Pretty busy as of late, I know I always say that but this time it is true - This week I've got 2 Rotary presentations, a trip to a steel works, a short course on gas safety, sign up session for a Welsh language course, hiking club meeting, and on Sunday hopefully a hike from Chepstow to Tintern Abbey, a historical abbey on the border of Wales and England. I'm hoping to fit a game of squash or two in there somewhere as well! I have no more words, here is a photo of me falling into a pile of snow (always amusing) :

The Truth about Life in Wales...

Hello hello hello...

I suppose it is a good sign that I haven't written a decent post since before I left Wellington... shows I actually have a life. I thought it was only fair to have some sort of news here so when I tell my friends "I could write you a letter, but how about you just go read my blog? It has everything on it." I'm not lying so much as exaggerating the truth. Good.

So! My life in Wales is pretty exciting, if any of you get the chance to go overseas I would take it with both hands. In saying that, I would really recommend making sure you are at the right place in your life when you leave NZ though... I am fortunate enough to have the last 6 and a half years of my life consist of 2 terribly homesick years, 1 party year, 3 emotionally draining years at uni, and 8 months of getting used to the idea I would soon be 20,000 kms away from anyone i knew. So I was ready!

Obviously when I first got to the UK I was jetlagged, so didn't really know up from down (I was going to say left from right, but I get those confused 95% of the time jet lag or no jet lag). I switched into business mode straight away, and was really calm finding my way around heathrow airport. Except the ONE internet cafe they had was broken! I had to call my Papa at 5am NZ time to get him to log in to my email to get a reference code it turned out I didn't even need! Anyway, thanks daddy :D The next day, in Reading, I explored like a good tourist would. I took heaps of photos, because in my jetlagged state I couldn't decide what was good and what wasn't. The first 4 days in Swansea I was with Mair, the Rotary president of my club here. Anything she suggested, I just said yes to. I gave a 30 minute presentation to the club, but luckily it was about myself so I could wing it with the help of the slideshow I made. That weekend I was in the halls, but there was no one around. I went on a trip to the national botanical gardens of wales, not because I desperately wanted to see them, but because it was free and something to do. About this time I was ready to meet people and get into it!

Since then, I have joined the student radio station, the engineering society, been to leicester, mumbles, torquay, llanelli, have gotten books out of both the public library and the university library, been shopping several times, and am hoping to join the volleyball team. It is safe to say I am pretty much into it all over here. My best friends here are a pre-dental from Iowa, America, and an international development/politics from the Netherlands (that's Laura and Elise if you hear me talking about them again). I have met some other really cool people here as well, but not everyone can expect a shout out can they? Yesterday I spoke to my University supervisor, and I'm going to start experiments late next week. On Monday I move into my office in the Engineering department - I share it with 2 others, and our names are on the wall outside the door! I have my own key to that and the labs, as well as after-hours access to the building. Am I grown up or what?!

Rotary is going well too, I have already done 5 of my 10-15 activities for the year - 2 presentations and 3 visits (Scholar conference in Leicester, District conference in Torquay, the Swansea Coastguard with the Group Study Exchange (GSE) team from Adelaide, Australia), plus I have another 4 or so booked. My host counsellor here is amazing - her name is Gwenda and she works way too hard. She is a specialist nurse, and she is absolutely fabulous to have looking out for me. I also have the scholarship co-ordinator for the district, Gareth and his wife Jan, who are just so hospitable and fantastic to have around. Laura is another ambassadorial scholar - next week we are doing a joint presentation and we've decided to speak back and forth as opposed to one after the other - so I'll let you know how NZ stacks up next to America!

For Christmas I don't know what I am going to do yet - Elise is having a Christmas party in Swansea on xmas day, and i've been invited various other places with other people too (Mum and Dad's friends in Haverfordwest, Gwenda's family in Aberystwyth, London with another friend)... Elise and I are quite keen to head to either Ireland or Scotland for a few days over the xmas time, so that might happen too. I'm obviously not loaded with money at the moment, studying in a foreign country is not the lightest on the pocket :-) ... so I must choose my travels carefully! I'm pretty much just trying to meet people from different areas of the UK so I can stay with them! The scholar conference was pretty good for that, and a guy from London is here this weekend visiting Laura and I. Mainly Laura, as I am here typing this. But I will be on the d-floor tonight, I promise! The district conference meant we got to meet Emily, a scholar from Australia studying in Cardiff (capital of Wales for those of you that aren't good at Geography - and if you don't know where Wales is, go see Mr. Fleming). Laura and I are real keen to head over to see her - even though Cardiff is right there we haven't been yet!

Living in the halls is pretty lame, but in the mornings I open my curtains and if the sun is shining it is a beautiful view out over the ocean. No kidding - it really is amazing here! I have lots of photos of Stella and me on my walls, need to figure out where I can print some off of all you other people I also miss. I do miss you all, and I miss New Zealand too - I miss the fresian dairy cows, I miss the rangi-ness of NZ, the kiwi party scene. I've been really getting into Katchafire, the Black Seeds, and Fast Crew. I can't wait to go camping here, and see if it is like camping in NZ.

Beached Wale

I'm in Wales, Beaches! Oh I am hilarious. No internet at my house yet (by house I mean room on campus.... and noice room)... BUT I am here and I am happy!

GOodo! Photos and videos to follow :D

xox

MESSAGE FOR THOSE CRAFTY TYPES

http://www.wardroberefashion.net/

Especially for Nikki....

And also - I booked a one way ticket to London last night... I leave Saturday 12th September.

freeeeeeeeee!!

I HAVE HANDED IN MY ASSIGNMENT ON MALEIC ANHYDRIDE! TAKE THAT!

I am not expecting a good grade, but it was 39 pages of goodness pumped out in a week, so I gotta be pleased with that! I got it in at 4:53pm, 7 minutes before the deadline. Awesome effort I think :D

So now it is the weekend, and I have to do some knitting for Jenna's birthday on Thursday. I don't think she is a blog-follower, but just incase she is, I won't say what I am knitting her. I still owe her flatmate a pair of fingerless gloves for her 21st last year. Basically, I suck. On Saturday night Caleb and I are thinking of going to a social that our dance club is putting on. We went to dancing last night after missing 2 weeks, and we were out of practice! We picked up the new steps the class had learnt easily enough, but our technique was less than good. We've decided that as long as we practice, we can miss every 2nd or 3rd dance class, because we can pick up the steps so quickly. So we might go along this weekend to have a practice and watch some more talented dancers and just have something fun to do on a Saturday night that doesn't involve getting trashed and going clubbing.

The other crazy thing that's happened is that I have had my due dates confirmed for my research project. And they're extremely close. October 15th is my presentation date, and October 31st is when I have to hand in the written report. So I have to get the practical stuff done ASAP - I am going up to Clariant in Auckland in 2 weeks (22nd September) to do all my injection moulding, which means I have to do all my extruding next week. And there's still that 30page literature review I need to do.... I think I'll be needing hypermode.

Lastly, I want to prove how domesticated I am. After the week in Wellington with my favourite family flat, I decided I had to send them some chocolates... And then I decided I should make something. I didn't quite know what to make that would post well, but ended up choosing a non-cook option. See... see...

These are chocolate Oreo's, dipped in melted energy chocolate, and covered in hundreds and thousands.

I conveniently dropped some water in the chocolate when I had just melted a little bit... I couldn't let it go to waste... Please note the awesome apron made for me by the lovely Nikki.

And then I wrapped everything up all nicely, and did some other wrapping at the same time. Wrappity Wrap Wrap. It is also worth noting that there is 3-4 little packages nicely wrapped up inside that big one. I am the master wrapper.

It IS past my bedtime...

I just HAD to blog now... It's 10:04pm and I'm at Uni - been here since 8am this morning...

I mean I did go home in the middle of the day for a few hours but I did work there too! I have written 8 pages for my large assignment so far, I think I might just be able to pull this one off... Actually, I take that back, we're putting it into HYSYS (chemical engineering software) tomorrow and I think that is going to seriously upset me. Fingers crossed that the programme takes a liking to my random clicking and loud grunting...

Today has been another classic hypermode day, which is awesome. If I work like this for the next 6 weeks then I will be Miss I-have-a-degree-Ramson. Good idea! I think I will do that. I may also die of exhaustion, but at least not of wondering.

xx

Where Have I Been?

Good Evening!

I am currently abstaining from assignments and watching Batman Begins instead. It is rather entertaining, although watching Katie Holmes play a character I define as Maggie Gyllenhal is not so great. And I have a lot of work to do. Meh, it's only 9pm... Many ad breaks to go.

Today marks the last day of my University holidays, sadly. There are now only 6 weeks of school until I get down to some serious study for exams. I am SO over Uni, it is just a matter of holding on until I graduate. I think I can manage a few C's this semester :D

So I've had a week in Wellington with my brother, Jute, Nikki, Tobin, and Hannah. It was really awesome - we didn't do much, just hung out, did some study, went out for lunch... For once, I really do feel like I have had a break, although I am very stressed about the weeks ahead. I always say that! This semester has been the hardest of my whole 3 years at University though, and it always gets harder in the second half. Apologies for the whinging!

I got a hair cut. It has taken me a good 4 years to find a hair dresser that will do what I ask, and cut my fringe right. And she's in Wellington. Great. She is also Juliet's hairdresser so if any of you know my future sister-in-law, you'll know she often rocks a funky fringe, courtesy of Rosie at Zoar - Go there! This also means that I must return to Wellington to get another trim before I leave for Melbourne - oh, what a shame.

Mum and Dad came over today for Fathers Day and we went to Candyland. It was really disappointing - firstly, we'd missed the 2 shows they have on Sundays, the last being at 1pm. So all we got to see was the shop, which was about quarter full of products they don't even make themselves - Mayceys and RJ's and others. All of their chocolate was compound, yukky fatty stuff. Lastly, the entire building, inside and out, needed a thorough clean and perhaps a repaint. There are some awesome decorations there, but they are old and tired. It kind of made me want to buy the whole joint and do it up. I wish I was rich like Bruce Wayne.

Well, I think that is about all I can squirm up for now. I wish to stay up late and write a few assignments tonight but I am exhausted. Perhaps I will crash after Batman? Yes. I think so. Goodnight guys, perhaps next time I will be a more interesting blogger :D

the curse of being female

They found Deon on Thursday morning last week. Then I cried, it's real now. RIP DEON xx.

I have 2 tests this week worth 10% each, a report to write, and big assignment to work on, and two other assignments to get started. But I am in cruise mode. Hence the blogging at 11:45pm. I totally am not motivated at all for these University assessments. Although I should be, I need top marks to study in the UK. BUT I suppose the tests are only worth 10% each, and I'm a bright cookie, I should be able to pass just from going to lectures. So I'm only going to be missing out on 5% in each subject. I can handle that.

Now that that is sorted, let's discuss my social life. Chelsea turned 22 on Saturday, and I crocheted her a neck warmer in cream and dark olive. The two buttons I sewed on cost $7 A BUTTON! they were cool, but only from Spotlight so I am still shocked at the price. The neckwarmer turned out pretty cool though, I hope she wears it. Nikki - it was made of 50% wool so you should be proud of me :-) ... I also baked Chels a carrot cake to which I added a couple of tamarillo's as well. I love tamarillo's. Loving the baked goods idea for people's presents, so handy and economical. It's my dad's birthday this Friday, but his gift is already hanging out in Wellington at my brother's house - boys, you are lucky if you have sisters, I am always hooking Gaz up with presents for the 'rents! Although he did choose this one whilst I was down there, so big ups to him. Must be growing up. Jenny (Juliet and Nikki's mum) is having her 50th this weekend as well, on the same night as Debbie's 21st. So I will be late to yours Deb! And I don't think baked goods is going to cut it for you... I will have to see what other thrifty things I can come up with... help, Nikki?

I have heartburn. I get it pretty much every night if I stay up late. I should have some Quickeze handy but I am in denial that I even get heartburn. My heart can't get burned, it's made of Stainless Steel.

So this weekend just been I got to borrow my mum's car, the berocca tablet. It is a burnt orange Kea Rio, SPORTS EDITION! WOOOOHOOOO! After a few minutes I got used to the clutch and it was actually quite nice to drive. Did good at sober driving the troops into Rotorua town and back on Saturday night. The Pig was pretty good, and Chelsea and her friends had a weird game going where two teams tried to score as many points as possible in doing these little challenges. Most of the tasks involved members of the opposite sex, so I didn't really get too involved as I'm far too conservative! This poor guy was left extremely confused after one of the girls kissed him and then promptly turned her back on him. After 10 minutes of watching him stand there trying to get her attention, I had to apologise and explain to him it was a game and that he should forget about the girl. At which point he tried it on with me, so I ran away pretty quick. He was obviously a loser just out to score, but I still felt sorry for the guy. Unfortunately we got to Lava's after 1:30am so weren't allowed in. It is lame how Rotorua clubs shut at 3am, when I make the effort to go out to town I like the clubs to stay open til 5am! Anyway, will maybe be out again next Saturday after Debbatron's 21st, will be good to see Lava's again. I don't spend much time in Rotorua these days, and the only clubs I get to see are Wellington and Auckland. and Hamilton when Stell drags me out. I guess that's actually quite a lot. Hmmm.

Last night I got to talk to my other best friend, Luke, who lives just out of the Gold Coast in Australia. I haven't really really spoken to him in a few weeks, so it was awesome to talk about what's been going on in our lives etc. I didn't have much to suss out with him, getting the scholarship has made things relatively stress free! One thing I did realise though, is how picky I am with the boys I am attracted to. Obviously I am very picky with who I get into a serious relationship with, but even the boys that I want to go on dates with are few and far between. If the guy doesn't cut it, I am just a social retard with him. I mean, more of a social retard than I normally am. Actually, maybe there's no difference in my lack of social skills, but I definitely feel really uncomfortable when my gut is telling me that he's not awesome. Some of you that have met me may be a bit confused at me calling myself a social retard. You haven't seen me around boys I like - believe it or not, I am very shy! And I am blatently honest, and like to lay my cards on the table straight up front, which often leads to me blurting out inappropriate information 2 seconds after meeting a guy. I really should try to create some mystery one of these days.

Yesterday Jenna picked me up from the busstop and we went perfume smelling. She wants a new perfume to have as well as her signature one, Miracle by Lancome. I am also planning on picking up a second signature one when I head to Melbourne, so I did some choosing of my own. Jenna was not so successful, but I came away loving Cinema. Miss Dior Cherie is nice too. When I was in Melbourne last year my cousin Anna and I went to a perfume store, and after telling him I liked vanilla and this and that, a really helpful guy brought over some perfumes for me to try. His first two that he thought I would like were Vera Wang - Princess (my current signature perfume) and Cinema. So I guess he's pretty freaken awesome at his job, because more than a year later, they are still my top 2 frangrances ever. So I will stock up on those duty free :D. Also gotta grab some feijoa 42 below vodka when I go through, can't beat it!

I think that's about it for me, I've written quite a substantial blog this evening/morning!

Y'all want some news?

Kia Ora!

I am back! I am 22! I am still tired! My birthday was awesome - went out clubbing in wellington and wore this totally rocking top that my mum made, SO 80's! it is terrific. Then I spent the rest of the weekend and Monday in Wellington with Gareth, Juliet, Nikki, Tobin, Hannah, Chris, Stella, and ME! I got to see the wind turbine - so freaken awesome. I am heading down again on 28th August so will get to hang some more.

Unfortunately a friend of mine from high school, Deon Cowdrey, drowned on Saturday night 2nd August. Really gutted about that, and my heart really goes out to my friends that knew him better. He was definately a good guy. It hasn't really sunked in yet, perhaps because they haven't found the body yet. RIP Deon.

Uhh... now. Great news - Yesterday I got a huge scholarship to study overseas in 2010! It is awesome, I was concerned that I wasn't ready to study next year because I am feeling burnt out, but this way is perfect - I will take next year off to work in Melbourne, and then do one years study in the UK - perhaps Wales or Ireland, or England, or even European France!! SO EXCITING!!

So that's my news, good and bad. I am still sick at the moment, stupid cold has had me off uni for most of the week. I'm all blocked up and have a very sore head/eyes etc. BUT now I can focus on the rest of the semester without worrying about next year OR the year after - I WINNED!!

xx

I AM STRESSED

Hi guys - no news, I have been SO busy with school it's not funny. Tomorrow is my BIRTHDAY so I am taking the day off and heading to my brothers place in wellington, Stella is coming down too. Hopefully it will relax me and prepare me for the next 3 weeks, then it is semester break for 2 weeks :D ALTHOUGH i have a huge assignment to be done in that time. Hmmmm.... Last Semester at Uni, time for some fails??

xx

McUpdate

Hey everyone!

Just a quick blurb today. I have had a nice few days off - Saturday to Wednesday at my parents house visiting my cousin Anna from Australia who was staying at my Granmas. My Grandmother then fainted, and spent 3 nights in hospital - drama drama drama - was quite scary because it happened when Anna and I were in town with her, so I called the ambulance and got everything sorted out. Anyway, then Thursday I spent all day in the lab, before Friday I had my whole family + Anna (who is family) over for lunch at my house. Then we went and got professional photographs taken of our beautiful selves... yeah...

Then i have just spent the weekend chilling out, watching movies, getting ready for school tomorrow. Tomorrow is the start of a VERY busy semester which i am quite worried about, but i am sure i will be alright! have tightly scheduled in my class hours and I don't seem to have much room for exercising - which doesn't fit too well with my new "lose weight" plan. Which isn't so new after all, I am just trying to make it work... Anyway, we shall see.

So a friend and I are having new challenges each week - the following is NO TAKEAWAYS. Hmmmmm.....

Exciting week though, new classes, and on Saturday is the girls day out in Auckland - me, mum, jenna, her mum, her god mother, all going to Auckland to shop and then go to Cinderella on Ice !! Exciting! Then only the following weekend is Sarah's 21st, and then one more week until i fly to Wellington for my 22nd Birthday! HOORAH. Let's hope I have zero assignments then. I doubt it.

Oh I also made one and a half scarves - crochet - great to be back in to it :-)

Ok, gotta go, it's almost 10pm - my new bedtime. Hahaha

Right...

Updatalicious.

Apparently I need to update my blog. According to some beatnik. She doesn't know WHAT she is talking about - me? Update my blog? I shall put her out of my mind.

Now, in a completely unrelated subject, I have decided it is time to update my blog. I have had the last 3 days off, waiting for some chemicals to come into the lab so I can actually do some work. TODAY - they are here - I will pick them up this afternoon and place them in an easily accessible area of my laboratory, clearly labelled with my name and contact details. So for the last 3 days I haven't really done much - did some strenuous aerobics on Monday, followed by a good walk with my flatmate Rach. Tuesday I just sorted out some appointments (ie:booked the dentist) and then went to work. CRAP! I just remembered I have work this afternoon!!! How could I forget! Idiot! I have been off with Emma walking through the Hamilton Gardens this morning, and then came home and did some pilates. It is good to have time to exercise again.

The weekend was awesome - went to stella's mum's 50th ball at their house, worked the bar, drank a little too much sav, sang april sun in cuba with the live band, and then came back to hamilton in time to go out to lunch with alice on sunday. This weekend is Lauren's 21st so should be same story, minus the bar work and the singing. Although, you could twist my arm.... :D

Tonight I am going to the movies with my flat - we are seeing Kung Fu Panda. But now, I have half an hour to get to work and I am still in my work out clothes. Lame - o.

Ciao!! xx

Stupid Boy telling me I can't do what I want to do

After 2 and a half years of studying Engineering, I have come face to face with my first significant sexist encounter. This stupid boy told me....

1) I can't be an Engineer because I am doing a Bachelor of Science, even though I am going to do Honours, and then a PhD. So basically I will be the man. And I will be applying for ENGINEERING jobs. And the jobs I have already had have had the title "Engineering Student". But apparently I can't be an engineer.

2) I will never make it to a top management position within Engineering, because I am a woman. I can see where this opinion comes from, as women have the disadvantage of having a uterus, so even if they choose to put their kids into daycare at a young age, they still have to take off about 3 months per child. As I want many kids (read 4 or 5), and seeing as I am a fan of working on the mother-child bond, I think I will have to take 10 years or so out of my career - and this is quite a large chunk.

BUT I WILL FREAKEN MAKE IT TO THE TOP BECAUSE I AM GOING TO BE THE BEST.

So.... I am pretty mad about that, but at the same time happy that these issues have been brought up now, and in this way, so that I can quietly deal with it, so that when they come up when I am out in industry, I am more prepared. I hope. All is not lost - I have learned from today :D

my eyes are like sandpaper

ahhhhhh.... here i am, smack bang in the middle of the last week of Uni. My life has gotten very crowded as of late, which is not so good. However, I am doing okay. I kinda feel like I have taken an exceptionally large bite of a big sandwich, and I've been steadily chewing it for a while, and now I'm just at that last bit just before you take a huge gulp to get it down - where it's kinda a bit too much to swallow but you still try it, because you know that it will all be over soon.

Yes, that's exactly how I feel.

So I found a new procrastination tool. Last night I stayed up until almost 2am at Stella's house with her brother Nolan. I was working on a tree project report and he was writing dialogue in Spanish to speak in his oral exam this week. He had some words to look up, and during his procrastination, he found an awesome website that has a digitised human face and shoulders, that reads out excerpts in several different languages. It is SO cool! SO entertaining! We spent a good hour or so writing things in - pick-up lines, robotic words, gangsta words, funny sounding words, even Beastie Boys lyrics! Oh, and the Fresh Prince theme song. Unfortunately I have forgotten the website. No more procrastination for me.

Have a test on Friday, as well as a presentation. ARGH.

Onwards and Upwards I say!! HooRAH!!

Sad Bad news.

Good Morning!

Oh poos. Now it is 12pm and am just finishing up checking my emails and checking out 1-day, bebo, and facebook. OH facebook, haven't checked that one!

Anyway, now I'm just heading into my last 2 weeks of semester - so many assignments, many tests, a few presentations... and then a couple of weeks off before my 1 exam. And then it's research research research before back to Uni for my final semester of my degree! :-) Hurray!!

In bad news, I have been neglecting my craftiness - no knitting, no crochet. Actually have written a few poems so I guess that's cool. Just Uni is getting SO busy! so so busy! but not in a bad way, I am okay, the stress is not at breaking point yet!

In gooder news (yes, gooder, like gouda cheese), Luke is coming to stay! Luke is one of my 2 best friends - Stella being the other, with several other close friends! anyway, Luke is moving to the gold coast to live with his parents for a while, and I haven't seen him in ages already, so it is actually quite sad. But he will be arriving not this wednesday but the following one, or thursday, and then I will drive him up to Auckland on the Saturday night and watch him fly out :'(

I am actually going to be quite gutted. But I will deal with that at the time.

Now. Some terrible news. In 2006 I lived at Orchard Park at the University of Waikato - Uni flats. My flatmate was a guy called Benjamin Urry - a 2nd-3rd year accountant from Gisbourne. He was one of most loveliest guys I have ever met - always smiling, always caring. We lived together the entire school year, and have had the odd coffee and christmas card since then, although have not really been close friends. On Tuesday last week his body was found in a river between Napier and Gisbourne. There is not much information yet, but it is said he slipped, fell into the river, and drowned. Because I haven't talked to Ben in awhile, and we weren't all chummy, I am sad, but I am not devastated. The real tragedy is that Ben himself now has no future. He had big plans; he had just started his career in Tauranga, and I don't think he had met anyone to marry yet. He was the kind of guy that everyone just counts on to be there, and he deserved happiness. I am so ANGRY that all of this got stolen from him! And of course, my heart goes out to his parents and brothers. How utterly horrible.

RIP Ben - although your life on Earth was cut short, I hope things are bitch'n where you are. xx

fire ! pretty ! maths ! pretty ! ...?

Today i totally made fire at uni. My leaf-tree drying-then-burning-then-weighing-ash-to-get-calorific-values project is coming to fruition. Today I got to burn the first of 2 sets of tree matter - and oh did i burn them. I lined up all my crucibles in the furnace and got to watch them burn everytime i opened the door to get some out/put some in. The fire was so pretty! it was highly exciting! at first, i was a bit alarmed because i wasn't sure if things were supposed to actually be on fire, and i thought i might burn down the entire large scale lab. But then i realised that when you put dry leaves and wood at 500 degrees celcius, it is pretty obvious that they will catch fire. So once i figured my lecturer and the lab technician knew it would catch fire, and that this was normal, i had a ball! AND i get to do it again next tuesday with the second set! Hurray!!

Now. in other news. Go here. Totally. it is mind boggling. and reminds me why i want to be a philosopher.

http://polymathematics.typepad.com/polymath/2006/06/no_im_sorry_it_.html

even though i don't know how to be a philosopher. can you really get paid to think? i would earn mega-bucks, because i overthink everything.

Speed-dating? Speed-Blogging!

OLA!

hello friends of mine! So my tree project is going good, my computer game is finished and i am onto writing websites, and my research project is still at a standstill. The knitting and crochet are on hold, I have two Jodi Picoult books that are half-read, and I am trying to learn Latin on the side. My room is a pig-sty (as usual), my bedsheets need washing, the clothes on my floor need putting away, my desk needs ordering, and my "craft corner" in my wardrobe needs a huge overhaul. I have a stupid assignment on tidal energy that needs doing, and I still haven't figured out how many hours I have worked so I can put my payslip in. Boys=zero.

I should probably continue with my bid to get funding for 2009-Melbourne as well.

Fantastic Day - New Lease on Life?

Wow! I have had a fantastic day, and I put it down to a simple, yet life-changing strategy. Positive thinking. I'm serious. The other day, I was reading an article about a thing called "The Secret". It means that you can get whatever you want from the Universe, if you just ask for it. If you focus on the positive things, you will get more good stuff happen to you.

So... Today, I thought I would give it a try. Last night, I went to see Matchbox 20 play live at the Vector Arena in Auckland - it was AMAZING. Love them so much!! Aaaaaanyway, so I was quite tired this morning, but I wanted to give the day a go in spite of this. I got ready for school, even in time to walk the 40minutes instead of driving. Right from the word go, everything was good. I was able to shower in a short time. I found clothes I wanted to wear. My hair sat nicely. And as I was wandering through the picturesque research innovation park that stands between my house and my university, listening to my mp3 player, I decided that today was a going to be a great day. I walked with heaps of energy, i mostly had a smile on my face. I got to Uni and taught my morning lab - i had two cool groups of students to work with, and even though now I think about it, the labs didn't go the best, it seemed like they went really well. Then I walked home, smiling at every maintenance worker I saw in the research park- got some great smiles and waves back - enjoyed the sunshine, got my clothes off the line (they were dry!) and went to work this arvo - then made it back to uni to grab more notes, and then went to a friends house to catch up with a few good mates from high school i haven't hung out with in ages. Basically my entire day just had a huge happy spin on it - most things i did went great, and the things that didn't just seemed insignificant.

This is the way I want to Live my Life.

I wish...

This is me, officially not caring about University. You have dominated my life for so long, too long, and you plan on holding my full attention for years to come, you evil hussy! I NEED to be happy - to not have that niggly little voice at the back of my stomach, giving me nausea until ALL assignments are completed to A+ standard, ALL exams are A+ through, and ALL lab reports are A+ understood.

I want to be a B student, and I WANT TO LIKE IT!!

.....

who am I kidding? I'm screwed. I'm off to do an allnighter on a research Assignment. How surprising.