Done and Dusted.

Flatmate found. We put the ad on and had a zillion people come and look (ok, around 20). It became almost like a comedy routine - we'd be just starting chit chat with one, and another would come to the door. So one of us would have to become the secondardy tour guide while one person held the fort. It was a team effort for a change though, which was nice. We had one guy come around that seriously slipped through the gaps and none of us could remember talking to previously at all.

Met lots of lovely folk. No serious weirdos, which is suprising for such a cheap room..... The worst was a guy who had his girlfriend in tow (doing some PDAs, a lot of hand holding etc) and explained that they were christian so couldn't live together because of family issues and really just wanted somewhere to store his stuff and sleep, but would be at her house most of the time....... Two Chileans (including the guy who owns the restaurant in Newtown - Ange and Cass, you know who I mean). A girl from my basketball team (who Clayton seriously thought was a guy until we assured him afterwards it wasn't - he was actually going to comment that 'Anabel' was an odd name for a guy).

So fun and games!

Our lucky new flatmate is Paul the Glassblower. Farm boy - so now we have Levin, Blenheim, the Hawkes Bay and Feilding all represented. Just call us 'Small Town NZ meets Hataitai'. He won over Reidun by making her listen to his cat purring on the phone last night. Clayton liked the fact that he was fairly sure this one actually was a guy. Be sure to make that clear if you ever have to introduce yourself to him.

* * *

Netball was rather heart breaking. But you can't complain about a good hard game. It really was goal for goal. I quite like a game like that where you have to keep the concentration levels up. And we can't blame anyone but ourselves for losing, which is humbling but better than being able to bitch about the ref etc.

And at least we get a Sunday off now.

* * *

All the kids were asking if I was all better today and peering at my eye. Quite sweet really.

* * *

I have a student working at Woolworths Kilbirnie who's going to short-change all the middle-aged Pakeha women with frizzy hair and glasses until she's got back all my money (she seemed a little shocked when I told her it'd be $700).

Good to have people on the inside.

* * *

Does anyone think that Ange is 'shy' and lacking in 'boldness'?

* * *

Cassie bought bridesmaid dresses already - and they're great! She can tick that one off the to-do list. I'm sure there'll be photos to come on her blog (though she promised not to put the ass shot up on there). I don't have ideal underwear on in the shot and will go on my 5kg bridesmaid diet before the wedding. Down from $190 each to $49 on sale. Can't pass up a deal like that!

I should have no problem pulling in it, if she has a good pool of single men there (that's my job as bridesmaid, is it not?).

* * *

Bed time. Night night.

B*TCH

Let me lay the foundations for my story.....

So I am bung. See my bung ankle in above photo (placed artfully by my iron mark). The bit where it balloons out usually goes inwards.

My eye is bung too. I went into work this morning and got sent home in case it's conjuntivitis or contagious. It's been like it for a couple of days (bit swollen, weepy, bloodshot). I had to teach one lesson before the reliever came, so I fashioned myself an eyepatch, but that's another story.

So here I am, this pathetic weepy eyed, limping shell of a person...... But I get to go home and have a day off work. Sweet! I offered to drop my flatmate in town for work then made my way to Kilbirnie Woolworths to get myself a treat for lunch......

As I drive into the carpark I notice it's quite full, so I'm driving along perusing for empty parks when suddenly I hear a loud scraping crashing noise to the left...... Somebody had backed out of their space right into the passenger side of my car.

I slow down and look back, and there are cars all around, so I decide to drive on a bit, park and come back.

Meanwhile the driver of the car gets out and comes down to where I parked. I get out and say, 'What happened there?' ... and then say, 'I've never had to do this before (mistake number 1?)...... She is very proactive. She starts asking for pen and paper and writes down her licence and insurance company for me (mistake number 2?). She takes the same details off me. She points out...

1) That she looked both ways before pulling out.

2) I must have been going fast for her to have not seen me..... 'You should drive slowly in a parking lot', she advises.....

3) That I should have seen her lights.

4) That her car isn't damaged - good thing about having a towbar. Looks like I'll have to get some panel beating though.

After all this I'm almost feeling guilty.... while I'm sure it's technically her fault, she's made me think that I must've been driving terribly! I thank her for the details and let her on her way.

Those of you who are more savy than me will see alarm bells right now.... I must admit I was naive and stupid.... she was a Pakeha middle aged woman. She seemed like somebody's mum.... she was giving ME sincere advice on how to drive more safely.... She'd been so proactive about coming over and getting my details and writing them down......

BUT....

I ring my insurance company and tell them the story, giving them her details. And it turns out.....

They're phoney! They're for a car that looks nothing like hers, registered to a man in Auckland who's not even with this company. Firstly that makes me angry because I have to pay lots more money on my excess ($700 since I'm only on my restricted). Secondly it pisses me off that people can be that mean and deceitful. Puts another chink in your faith in humanity! She seemed like a normal honest sort.........

Grrrr. I will not be so naive next time.

Things Fall Apart.

My body is going downhill! This year I've had hardly any periods of full fitness.

I had the bruised ribs, then the blisters, then the millions of itchy bites....

And today I have a sprained ankle and gummy conjunctivitis-ish eye. The worst thing is I literally fell over my own feet with nobody else around me, running back on defence. How hard is it to slow down and turn around without falling over!?!?! Harder than I thought, apparently. I have a nice wee bit of swelling after having continued playing the game (it would be too embarrassing to ask for a sub after falling over your own feet....... I had to act like nothing was wrong when I heaved myself back up to my feet.....).

I have to limp around with one eye closed. I look like a freak............ All I need is a humpback now.

Must be because I'm nearly 30.

Sam and Fish - did you notice a quick decline when you were 29? Or did you feel just fine?

And drink lots of wine.....

I feel naked....

... without my cellphone. I left it at work accidentally.

What if tonight was the night where I was going to get some fabulous and spontaneous one-off offer.... and I missed it.......

It could happen.

I'm anxious about it.

* * *

In other news, I got some girls at school to clean my car for me. They love having 'jobs' to do. And one of them did the front wheel-thingies a treat! They used to be kinda brown and rusty looking, now they shine and gleam. Check them out next time you see me in my 'ride'.

* * *

Finally waxed my legs so I can wear skirts and shorts again.

* * *

Quizzing tomorrow with flatmates most likely. All comers welcome (Sam - you still on nights?). Clayton swears he does the 5-minute quiz every day so he is primed and ready to lead the squad.

* * *

My winning streak is over. Michelle's team ruined it. Back to square one.

* * *

I know people born with extra thumbs or toes. It must be more common than I thought. And they're otherwise normal.....

* * *

I used to find Michael Rappaport sexy. I don't like him in The War at Home. He has eliminated himself from my Exemption List (published months ago on my blog). He's obnoxious. I know it's just acting.... but it has to come from somewhere real, doesn't it?

* * *

Someone I do still find sexy is Craig McMillan. Good to see him doing well again! He's so lovably streaky.

* * *

Did anyone else see that classic episode of Paul McKenna where one guy was hypnotised to believe he was a guru. And his one piece of wisdom he shared with everyone was 'You know that blue thing in the toilet - it's not an icy-pop'....?

We have something blue in our toilet. Every time you flush it's bright, bright blue. How sanitary!

There was also the 'You stole me eyebrows!' episode. Classic. And the 'I'm a mushroom - you're a mushroom - we're all mushrooms' skit was a goodie.

Times when it is inappropriate to text back in rhyming couplets....

My word of the week

Chutzpah!

Top Five Raw Vegetables

1) Baby Carrots.
2) Peas straight from the pod.
3) Radishes.
4) Cherry tomatoes.
5) Cucumber.

Five Wellington Eatery Recommendations

1) The margarita flavoured pizza at The Realm. Mmmmm.
2) Thursday through Saturday at Kai in the City. Live music and singalongs!
3) The chocolate cupcakes at Maranui Surf Club.
4) The chili iced coffee at Simply Paris. Iced Coffee Ole!
5) The vegetarian kebabs at the kebab place next to JJ Murphy's.

Five Things I Like in Clothes
1) Hidden pockets.
2) Head holes big enough to not mess my hair up on the way in or out.
3) Length.
4) Thumb holes.
5) Flattering necklines.

Five Summer Hassles

1) Socks that are dripping with sweat after sports.
2) Flies.
3) Melted chocolate in your car.
4) Squinting.
5) Loud cicadas.

Five Movies I was Pleasantly Surprised by

1) In her Shoes
2) Vanilla Sky
3) Sorority Girls
4) Best in Show
5) Anatomie

Five Things that Are Orange

1) Fish.
2) Carrots.
3) Pigott hair.
4) High vis gear.
5) Basketballs.

Weekend Goings On

The Posse and invited friends had a lovely time at Kai last night. Note Ange's short hair! Sam has a habit of surrounding himself by bevies.... My smile is the hugestest!

* * *

Weddings Galore!

I went to my good friends Lu and Clint's engagement party in Levin on Friday night. Took 2.5 hours to drive there (usually 1.5) in the stinking hot sun. But I cranked up my sing-along-car-cds and had a jolly good time!

It was an excellent excuse to pull out my impulse-buy-cocktail-dress and the food was gorgeous (neenish tarts and crostini with salmon and cream cheese).

I should have taken Clint's advice and used some of their insect repellant though....... I have dozens of bites which seem to be just coming into full force today. Even two on my buttocks, somehow....

This foot alone has 14 bites on it. If you were out with me last night you may have seen my rubbing my foot on things ... it may have looked odd....

Kai, bro

We took a posse of seven people out to Kai in the City last night on Marjorie Banks St in Mt Vic. It was delightful! The food was high quality and yummy and the atmosphere was very kiwi. There was a fulla on a guitar singing covers of songs we knew the words to and we all got handed the words to Pokarekareana (sp?) and had a good old sing-along.

I had Maori bread with dips (yum!) and the fish with hangi-mash and honey and aioli sauce (yum!) and chocolate pudding with berry compote and gourmet icecream (yum!). The kumara pie with icecream looked good too.

Then we ventured into town and went to a few bars for sensible drinks (not like last time!). I made everyone look at Pete's pictures in Deluxe - they seemed vaguely suspicious that we were taking photos. Here's the Mt Vic Honk Honk picture.

This is my new flatmate, Reidun, with her friends Sasha and Pete.

We discovered The Cavern which is a basement bar across from Vespa..... It plays Beatles and Elvis songs! That's right up my alley. Then me and Reidun continued on to Electric Avenue which looked like it could be good fun. She proposed an 80s party at our house followed by dancing there. Could be a goer! I own an asymmetrical top...

As a side note.... Reidun and I got home after midnight some time and decided to go check on Pete, since we never heard back from him and he was supposed to be at dinner with us. Picture us climbing up the path at the back of our flats (Reidun in high heels, both of us having had a few drinks) and peering through his windows, using my phone as a torch..... Funny picture and much potential for disaster. He wasn't there. We briefly feared being those flatmates on the news who said 'Well, we realised we hadn't seen him for a week..... but we weren't really worried until his rent didn't go through'.

He texted today and is just out of town. Phew.

One Love - but we're not the same.

Me and Sam and Fish. Sunny day and blanket. Watching the girls in short shorts and bikinis. Getting sunburnt hands. Henna on a fishfoot.

Reggae is the devil's music! I don't care what it's infused with.

* * *

Where's Katie???

Hi kids, can you spot Katie in the above picture?

Hint: She's wearing red and white stripes and sunglasses.

* * *

School started back today. It was ok.

My class seem decent with perhaps a few possible characters waiting to surface. Me and Girl-Sam were the two teachers meeting all the new students and their parents at the front gates. Having authority is a strange thing. We were the 'face' of the school. I did not abuse this authority, though Sam said to a poor wee lass 'You need to run up the driveway'..... and the girl actually did run. Sam's a PE teacher and always tells people to run.

I memorised all my class's names last night. I showed off my geeky skills by adding things like 'your name is second to last on the roll' and whenever anyone said a first name, I'd add the surname without even looking at the roll. When I also said, 'Oh - you live in Samoa St, don't you?' the word 'stalker' started to be bandied about by the peer support students.... but in a good way, I like to think..... :)

It restores my faith in the youth of today that one of them, in my 'getting to know you game' listed gospel as her favourite genre of singing. Bless! I thought they all liked the hippityhop and emo stuff.

It was blimin' hot. I see one advantage of working in a corporate job now - air conditioning, baby.

The Tides of Change

Bye Bye England

Englishmen 1, 2 and 3 left today. The car started (which is always touch and go) and was packed to capacity with gear. They are headed up the East Coast, with any luck, bound for Napier and Tauranga. I recommended Splash Planet for a good time.

They were top fellows. It was a nice chapter in the flatmate chronicles.

They said goodbye to the cat and took photos to remember it by.

Hello Canada

My Canadian flatmate is just putting up a display of his paintings at Deluxe Cafe tonight, running for the next two weeks. If you're there having a coffee, be sure to take note. I really like them - there's one painting of the inside of Fidel's which is just gorgeous and another one from inside the Mt Vic tunnel that is a yellowy-masterpiece.

Drinking

In true Simon-fashion let me state that I am never drinking again. I am struggling to remember why I seem to think getting drunk is fun......... right now it's just pain and a queezy tummy.

* * *

I have noted Morgue's meticulous love-making and Sam's hankering for skinny-dipping. There seems to be something in the air in blogland......

* * *

Internet Dating

Internet dating is proving fruitless. The two possibilities I had left simultaneously disappointed me. It seems that the guy who stood me up because he had alcohol poisoning was an indicator of the quality of men out there.......

The first possibility has overhauled his profile from a normal one to a 'looking for sexual encounters' one - I noticed this just after I had sent a message about cricket and clothes shopping. It's bizarre that he replied in much the same tone, just general chat - and yet his profile now has a photo of his naked torso. I can't reconcile that.

The second guy said to me, 'So when are we meeting up babe?'. Am I being overly fussy by vetoeing him purely on the basis of twice having tagged 'babe' onto the end of a comment and using terms like 'lol' too often???