My new sneakers are still awesome. By the way. I didn't want to buy 'netball' shoes on principle (I ain't no netballer) but it may have been a good recommendation by the pushy shop lady. My team-mate even commented on how bouncy they looked. (At first I thought she was only pointing out how new and white they looked, which was a fair comment - they glow like Michael Jackson's socks!)

I like my team this season - I'm mainly playing high post so I've become a jump-shooter again. In this grade they don't really defend high post too closely so I get heaps of open shots. One time I even shot a turn-around shot in rhythm (though that was in the low post.... but came from my increased shooting zen). Haven't done that in ages! The grade we were in last season was way too good - I was pressured and double-teamed pretty much every time I got the ball and hardly shot at all.

Now I'm a lazy-ass elbow-shootin' high-post again. The way I like it. I'm really quite a terrible low-post player.

We played a Chinese team tonight that had three ex-students of mine in it. I coached two of them in the Senior-B when they were at school. In the end we beat them pretty soundly with only six players..... That could partly be a sign of how rubbish my coaching was :)

* * *

I was all set to finish marking the drafts my students emailed me after school, and then go watch X-Factor....

.... when the last one I read through was full of stuff I suspected was plagarism. Grrr. Takes ages to try and prove plagarism if it's even reasonably clever. There goes my TV watching time.

DAMN YOU, GOOGLE! ONE DAY YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND, THE NEXT DAY YOU'RE MY ENEMY.

* * *

My cooking experiment has continued.

I made a chicken pilaf thingie with cranberries and pine nuts and white wine.

The first attempt tasted fine, but the rice was a gluggy mess (apparently not quite the texture I should've aimed for - it had perplexed me when the recipe said to 'fluff it up' and mine was a gluey hunk ..... and the chicken was bleeding a bit when I first cut into it.....). It passed for a bad risotto better than it passed for a pilaf.

The next attempt, however, was pretty awesome. I forgot to take a photo though, so you'll have to take my word for it. Good texture in the rice, I added the cranberries sooner so they plumped up better and the chicken was cooked just right.

See, my strategy is to buy enough for the whole recipe but only cook a half-dose each time. Gives me a chance to improve. Does mean I have to eat the same thing three or four nights in a row.....

BUT TAKE THAT, PILAF! You are now in my repertoire.

I got a 'Best of 85' mix CD from The Warehouse. It's full of classic syth-rock angst. It's got A-ha and Billy Idol.

Then in the middle of all that it's got 'I'm Walkin' on Sunshine'. I thought that was a bit of a weird and lame addition to my grunty car CD.

But.... to my surprise.... I am LOVING that song! It's the absolute best morning song. I love going to work after listening to it! The intro rocks.

I have it on repeat.

And don't it feel good!

* * *

I haven't come across anyone in my circles that isn't happy with Wellington's new mayor.

* * *

My new sneakers haven't given me blisters.

And I sneak around in them.

* * *

I made zucchini fritters from my recipe book. It's my new signature dish.

Paul Henry Rant - Victory for the People

I'm feeling quite chuffed that Paul Henry resigned.

In my mind he was fired (it makes me happier - I picture him being pushed down the plank to the sharks in the press gallery).

I think that it's unacceptable to make such public and blatantly racist remarks in any profession. I wouldn't even let school kids get away with making those comments without a wee lecture. A grown man has no excuse left. He knows exactly what he's doing and it's arrogance rather than a lack of self-control or a naive kind of ignorance that is the issue.

It boils down to some sort of public bullying. I think people who defend him with lines like 'he's only saying what most people think' forget that even if lots of people think those kinds of things they would express them in a more private context. A public forum (not to mention one governed by Standards and a Charter) is a situation that demands more discretion. It speaks for more than one person's opinion.

And what a public broadcaster deems as acceptable banter for its light-hearted morning shows is an indicator of what's acceptable banter for NZ society. It's not some extremest niche channel and it's not an adult-only time-slot. There is no warning saying 'content may offend some viewers'. There are gonna be kids watching.

And he's not a fictional character set up as a foil for a moral protagonist - he's a real person who writes his own scripts (or at least the ad lib bits, which is where he gets in trouble).

A few people I know (on Facebook mainly) have defended him - saying it's freedom of speech. I think freedom of speech is fine - but it has to exist on some kind of continuum with censorship. We do live in a world that tries to be civilised. Human nature is such that to be civilised we do need some rules and standards. People are flawed and lack self control and empathy.

Censorship steps in where people's emotional safety is threatened and freedom of speech comes into conflict with rights protected in the Bill of Rights. I might not have that exactly right, but it's essentially what makes us different from America (they have nothing that is higher than their freedom of speech - we do). In the case of TV it's the Broadcasting Standards Authority that steps in if something is not 'decent' or is 'offensive'. In reality, it is a body that doesn't have much teeth. It can make you publicly apologise.

A much more powerful tool in the age of capitalism is consumer demand. I think anti-Paul-Henry-ites were smart enough to see that the real way to TVNZ's heart was complaining to advertisers and threatening to boycott the other TV1 shows. While a lot of the people who were offended by Henry probably didn't even watch Breakfast, they make up a bigger percentage of the One News audience.

I think it's a sad thing that you have to go for the ratings-jugular in order to get a real reaction. It would be kinda nice if a bunch of people saying 'Oi - this guy is a racist jerk, take him off the air!' was enough but moral righteousness is very muffled in a consumer driven economy until it turns into some kind of dollar force. TVNZ does have a commercial impetus that is increasingly over-riding its cultural one.

It'll be interesting to discuss with my classes tomorrow, see what 'the youth' thinks.

Essentially he's the kinda guy that would've pissed me off at high school. In my experience, most of those guys have matured since then. Maybe not all. Arrogant git.

I wonder if Fox News is looking to hire...

Fixed a fuse all on my own.

And waterproofed some shoes (all these years I've never done it - I feel like a savage).

* * *

Yesterday my hands were really blue. I thought maybe it was my bad circulation. Thought maybe another fainting spell was coming on.

Was mildly concerned. Kept rubbing my hands together to warm them up and get circulation back.

Then I cooked dinner and they seemed to come right.

Then they turned blue again. Just as I was pointing out my blue hands to my flatmate I realised I had them palm down on my jeans. My new jeans.

New dark blue jeans = smurf hands. Apparently.

I cooked. Proper food. Using a recipe.

Kumara mash, sage and garlic pork steak, green apple and red onion salsa.

That's quite an effort for me!

* * *

It's fun seeing all the different types of dogs along Petone's foreshore. Today there was an Alsatian and a doberman and lots of others. Cassie's dogs are the bravest and busiest.

* * *

I think deers are the new owls of the fashion world.

* * *

I haven't quite convinced my head I have to go back to work on Monday. I still feel like it's holidays. I like being a lady of leisure. I stay up late, get up late, coffee a lot, read things. It's all very unstressful.

* * *

I like this time of year. I love my jandals. 7pm doesn't seem so late anymore.

* * *

I am not well informed enough to care who won the election. I like that John Banks lost.

* * *

Me and Michelle wanna do run-around stuff in the weekend. Like tennis. Or even Frisbee. It's kinda nice enough weather now. Might organise a Saturday avo tennis outing some time. I'm feeling suitably unfit, following my winter hibernation period.

* * *

If you see Cassie, she will preach to you about the fries at the Empire. Belgian fries, they're called, with mozzarella and gravy (a whole pool of it at the bottom of the bowl).

* * *

I have finally taken my camera in to get fixed (yes - that's why there have not been oodles of facebook photo tags of you and me in the last few months). I will hopefully be back and snapping away soon.
* * *
I always feel guilty going into shops and trying stuff on, but then not buying anything.

Hence, I must always buy something! Every shop I go into!

Something like that.

Today I bought heaps. It was my holiday blow-out.

• summer work shoes (my other slip-ons are actually starting to disintegrate from so much wear)
• sneakers (my other ones have so little grip that my feet totally slipped from under me at netball, like a cartoon character, I assed over)
• salon shampoo

Thus ends the list of things I actually needed to buy for practical reasons.
The shoes were $20 off because I have giant feet (apparently they discount size 11s so they can get rid of them since not many people have sasquach feet). And they threw in a pair of free ortho sandals (which are ugly as sin and I will never wear them - anyone need/want them?).

• a red sweater (I love red tops - they go awesome with jeans)
• a black dress (Ashley Fogel - down from $320 to $130 - my favourite purchase of the day - love the sale rack at Miss Wong and the fact that only trendy, skinny people shop there so big sizes often get left over)
• jeans (down from $175 to $70 - bargain - the shop lady said, 'We get these in for ladies with wider hips' - go Sable and Minx! - another score at Miss Wong)
• two necklaces (Goodness has super expensive clothes, but reasonable jewelry - a tip for keen shoppers - one has a picture of a deer on it, the other has a bow)

Thus ends the list of things I didn't 'need'. But, so be fair, all the clothes were on sale racks.

Though jeans are never a bad purchase. These ones are exactly like some other generously-hipped ones I have from the same brand, but a darker denim (and evidently pocket-less).


* * *

I am now hanging out for a reasonable time to buy my take-aways. Japanese night!

Japanese is practically not take-aways because it is so wholesome.

That's what I tell myself.

Basketball coaches from high-school should not be allowed to drag up unflattering teenage photos and put them on Facebook. It should be illegal.

You think you've buried those photos, then things like this happen (on top of your dad dragging them out at your 30th).

* * *

It's a tricky thing when a cafe expands. Parade has moved across the road, to the old tug-boat. It's lost its claustrophobic feel and you no longer have to queue out the door.

But for some reason today there were only middle-aged rich women doing luncheons and couples in matching Country Road outfits there. Maybe not quite the hip demographic I'm used to?

You can't lose with an ocean view though.

* * *

Cassie treated me to a double-birthday beauty afternoon. We got eyebrow shapes and tints, eyelash tints, a full body massage and mani and pedicures. I feel pretty now! Oh, so pretty.

That's my first full body massage. I was trying to not picture what she could see when she was doing the upper-thigh thing (that involved much jiggling). Definitely my least favourite body part. Felt much better when she unclasps my bra and moved onto the back.

Then I got Barbie-coral-pink nails (I'd asked for something subtle...) but I'm embracing them. I'm doing a whole pastel-look for the week. It's funny how our body can sense even microscopic changes. It felt really weird typing when I had just got home with my new nail polish on. Now the end bits are starting to chip away, so it feels normal again.

Then there's the comedic duck-walk you have to do when the toenail polish is drying, with the folded up paper towel between your toes.

Totally indulgent and a scrummy present. Thanks, Cass! It's good to be a girl. I've never liked my toenails more.

* * *

I'm into Series 3 of Mad Men - rocketing through! That Don Draper is a card.

It's really well made. I'd say I like it more than The Wire, which is smart but kinda bracing to watch at times. This show has the comedy as well as the darker bits. But it does the dark so well. While a lot of American shows are about building up chemistry between characters until they hook up, this one is more about the disintegration of relationships. Much more interesting to watch!

It has little cut-away scenes with no dialogue that are just meant to build up characters. Most shows wouldn't bother doing that. And the climaxes can just be little glances, rather than tad-dah moments. Betty Draper is interesting. On one level she's totally unlikeable - a horrible mother (sends the kids to watch TV most of the time) but kinda brave in her own way.

She's just found out Don's big secret (which has been building since series 1), so I must get back to watching!

* * *

I wonder how many other people have a PIN number on their ATM card that has a link to their teenage self. Mine's definitely teen-me. And that's all I'm saying, so nobody can rob me.

* * *

It's a sad, sad day when the Glee cast beat a Beatles record on the charts. Teenagers are morons these days. IT'S ALL AUTO-TUNED! ALL OF IT! AND THE ORIGNALS ARE WAY, WAY BETTER! It makes me angry.

Also Chris Carter makes me angry for saying his travel expenses were only focussed on 'cause he's gay. I think (from what I saw at the time) anyone who spent exhobitant amounts on their spouse travelleing was publicly called out for it.

That only person who ever seems to make an issue out of him being gay is himself. He's grasping at straws, or the media is purposely pushing that line of his into the headlines (which I guess would be the most homophobic thing happening).

* * *
And here are the only clues Cassie's giving me about my 'birthday surprise' tomorrow:
You will need to bring jandals

Have something to eat beforehand but not too much as you may feel ill later.

Shaving your legs and armpits could be an adavantage to make you more comfortable but if you run out of time...no real biggy

No makeup

Bring yourself and be excited...its going to be fun :)
Hmmmm. I think I'm going to be a model for a body-painter? That would be the weirdest present ever.

I love google-doctoring. I diagnosed someone at work with 'house-wive's knee' and figured out what kind of eczma I have on my hand and a cyst I had.

My latest google-doctoring has diagnosed me with Vasovagal Syncope. It's a fancy way of saying 'fainting'. I fainted for the first time ever on Friday. Having researched it (initially thinking it could have been a seizure, since I was shaking for 30 or so seconds) I realise I've almost fainted lots of times. Same signals.

This time I just ignored them for too long. It was an 'awkward' circumstance in which to faint.

Kinda funny though. Way more interesting than just fainting at the sight of blood (which doesn't bother me too much).

But thoroughly inappropriate to mention in a public forum.

It's a bit stink though - I liked being able to say I'd never fainted. Sounds way tougher.

* * *

Getting into BBQ season. Awesome! Cider time.

* * *

I have some buzz-bars in the freezer. Haven't had a frozer buzz-bar in ages. They're awesome.

* * *

I'm liking advertising at the moment. Watched this great multi-part doco from BBC on the history of PR and advertising (starting with Freud, moving into cigarette advertising and ending with recent election campaigns). Watch the Gruen Transfer most weeks. And have watched the first two seasons of Med Men.

Advertising is evil (which I realised as a Marketing major at uni) but fascinating.