Can't blog, too much to do.

erraticism to ensue....

And while you're at it, could SOMEONE please fix the Suck Knob? It appears to be stuck on full.

I know you've heard it all before.....

So much to say....

Sang at Karaoke tonight, it was.... well...... its over. Phew

Carved my very first pumpkin tonight, and might I add, I completely kicked it's arse. Photos to follow.

Party fun-times tomorrow, so lets just see what madness ensues. Hours of fun, no doubt....

Welcome

Grace Lola Robertson, born at midday, 25th of October, 2007.

I have known her mother since I was 12 years old, which was really quite some time ago.....
I have so many good stories about Bee, I can't wait until Gracie gets old enough to hear them!
Things I am going to tell her when her ears are suitably equipped include: stories about the bucket in Amberley, letters from Bolivia, pics of her mother face down on the sofa in Wanaka..... oh too many to share with the internets!

But there is a brand new person in the world and I am very excited about it and its only 49 days until I am home so I can see her.

This blog brought to you by gushing with happiness, and secondary sponsors homesick and joyous news makes a nice change.

Windswept and Interesting



My nephew sent me this vid of Billy Connolly.
I laughed so hard I nearly puked.
One of the bajillion reasons why I love my nephew more than life itself is his comprehensive understanding of the fact that no matter how old you are, how much education you might have, or how sophisticated you might think you are, farts are still funny.

And now you have been educated, you are free to go.

I just stand by and let you fight your secret war

Reasons why I love Thursdays, by Claire.

- CSI
- at approximately 7pm today, I got out of my jammies, had a shower, and got changed into some clean jammies.
- I can do loads of work without feeling like I am working, because I am in my jammies.
- CSI
- No class, so I can work until 9pm and then do nowt.
- Did I mention the jammies?
-Also, there is this programme on CBS....what's it called? Oh yeah...... CSI. Fan geek much?

Also I know that Jorja Fox is leaving but due to events in tonight's episode and spoilers I have read, I refuse to believe the worst.....

These eyes are the eyes of the old

So, what's been going on then?
Well.

Last night, as part of the "reduce insane car insurance premiums by obtaining a New York licence" campaign, I had to sit through probably the dullest evening of my life. At one point I caught myself considering bashing my head against the desk (built for 12 year old kids, btw, with comfort-free plastic chair attached and not remotely suitable for my nearly six feet leggy frame) as to render myself unconscious to make the boredom end.

This officious little man spend the better part of 4 hours saying about 3 things. One: don't lose your little certificate, cos it costs $20 to get a new one. Two: you can book your road test online or on the phone. Three: on your road test, you will have to stop at a stop sign.

Needless to say, the boredom was interrupted only by continuous insults to my intelligence and the nearly 17 years that I have been driving.

Once the pandering to the lowest common denominator was done, he showed us a video. That was probably the highlight of the whole thing.

It was a "don't drink and drive or bad things will happen to you" movie, filmed in an A&E in Baltimore and featured lots of cool gory stuff like some guy whose leg had snapped in half, and shots of brains with stuff leaking out of them. Cool.

Unfortunately, I believe the video achieved a purpose not quite in line with its intended one. I suspect we were supposed to feel sympathy for these teenagers who got pissed and drove their cars and crashed. Yeah.....not so much.

This one kid drank a case of beer and then drove a 4 wheel farm bike into a tree. He bashed his head and had to have loads of surgery and months of rehabilitation and it was all very sad etc. Then, once he had recovered, he was off out with his mates again, drinking beer and riding farm bikes.

Sympathy gauge stuck on zero.

Perhaps this is cruel, but if a person gets deliberately wasted, chooses to drive a car or a farm bike or other vehicle type thing, then fucks themself up, then that is natural selection at work. Right there is Darwin's thesis in action.

If drunk drivers only fucked themselves up, then there would be no problem.
It when they kill other people on the road that the problem arises, when they make driving unsafe for the rest of us.

I wasn't going to drink and drive before I watched the movie, and I still won't drink and drive.
The only thing it achieved was to further reduce my sympathy (what's less than zero?) for the idiots who endanger the rest of us.

When the whole ordeal was over and I had my little certificate in hand, I stopped off at the supermarket and purchased a six pack of Smithwicks (mmmm. delicious Irish beer. I drank some and I didn't drive my car. See? Its that easy.) and a copy of The Greatest Movie Ever Made to celebrate having survived yet another level of US bureaucracy in action.

I can mock him because I am already there



Nicholas, Knicker-less, Nickel-arse....
He's thirty.
I can laugh because I am 31.
Here he is doing his best impression of a turtle, I believe at Il Casa d'Allan.

You're a dork and we loves you.

Ben, I believe you are next?.......

If my sister changes her name her initials will be E.M.O.

Today is indeed an auspicious day!!!
My sister (the next oldest up, me being the youngest) is getting married.
In Punta Arenas. That's in Chile, FYI.

We are going to video-conference it, via the marvels of Skype, so that my other sister, home in NZ, and I can be there digitally.
Holly suggested that we dress up, so I am going to put my party skirt on and go to her house and drink bubbly things. Ahh.... weddings.

So to all those boys who have been friends of mine over the years and have said to me "that sister of yours is a bit hot" I say now: you had your chance lads, and now its gone, for she is about to marry the coolest Chilean boy in the world.

If any of you happen to be partaking in a liquid refreshment this evening, I ask this of you.
First, raise a glass to my sister and her in-an-hour-and-a-half-will-be husband.

Secondly, and on a more poignant note, raise your glass to Shawn and his beloved late wife Lynette on their wedding anniversary, the first since her death.

Thanks.

Seriously. BOB FUCKING DYLAN!!!!!

What I did last night: had one of my life's wishes fulfilled.

Since I was about 14, I think, I have wanted to see Bob Dylan live. Thing is, I never thought I would be able to. One of the downsides to my beautiful South Pacific Island home is that music legends on tour are few and far between. Sometimes they will go to Auckland, or do a really expensive gig at some super-expensive resort in Queenstown, but its not often that we get a chance to see them.

However, now that I am living in New York, these things happen. So, last night I got in the car with some lovely people and we drove to Rochester and I had my little mind blown by the fact that I was sitting listening to BOB FUCKING DYLAN LIVE!!!
The Boy came with us, and confessed that he was more of a fan of the first act (who was awesome too, btw, and I will be buying his records no doubt, thank you Elvis Costello), once Dylan began he turned to me and said "Holy shit. That's Bob fucking Dylan" to which I replied I KNOW!!!!!!!

He played Rainy Day Woman, he played Desolation Row, he played a funked up blues version of Masters of War (and I died a little it was fucking epic) and closed with Blowing in the Wind.

I am still reeling from it. It will be a good few days before I can stop proclaiming BOB FUCKING DYLAN!
People here are decidedly underwhelmed by the prospect of seeing legends live, but for a wee lass from the other side of the world, its kind of a big deal.

Elvis Costello rocked my world too.

The sound of four million people in mourning

Yeah, fucking gutted.
I wanted to watch Richie's interview but stuff was misbehaving. Besides, it would probably just upset me more.

Le sigh.

As long as the French don't win. Or the Aussies. I told my sister that I would support the Springboks to win now, to which she responded that if I were to do so she would no longer communicate with me. So, go Argentina!!! It would be nice to see a non-six nations team take the Cup, and I loves me a good underdog, so Argies makes sense.

Of course, there is a lighter side, albeit not one that results in the men in black bringing home the Cup......
TradeMe: a source of hilarity no matter the occasion.
Hahaha. Choke stuck on full. I reckon that Rokocoko boy might be handy around the house.... perhaps I should put in a bid.
Do you think they would ship them to NY?

7.37am

I have less than 2 hours until my class and no I haven't quite finished the notes on my readings yet because I am a bad person and went to Ithaca last night to see Michael Franti and Spearhead instead of staying at home like a good nerd and doing schoolwork.
However, I am pleased to report that Mr Franti and friends FUCKING ROCKED MY WORLD, having spent most of the gig in the front few rows rocking out leaping up and down waving my hands in the air like I just don't care.
After the concert I declared my need for massive volumes of liquid refreshment in the form of water or similar, to which Paulie responded with the biggest bottle of gatorade one has ever seen. Of course I scoffed at our abilities to consume the entire thing; scoffing which I was gently reminded of about 30 minutes later when the whole thing was gone. Heh.

But now class is rapidly approaching and Sophie is barking and I am in need of more tea and a good hour's worth of last-minute-note-taking so that I don't make a complete arse of myself in front of my class mates.

Also, as it transpires, agricultural policy in developing African countries is more interesting than it sounds. Weird, I know.