More of my excess

I have no whiteboards at home. But I have over 30 whiteboard markers for some reason. Mostly taken from school. Accidentally.

1. Ants

Why are there ants on my laptop moniter? I keep killing them but they keep coming back. Just two at a time. No trail. Stealth.

I love that ants die so easily.

2. Frisbee

The season has started again. We had a 20-9 loss, which may sound bad but was actually ok.

We're usually playing teams that can pass the Frisbee the length of the field whereas we take a whole bunch of little passes. It's kinda like when you play an awesome 2 point shooting team in netball but pretty much stay with them (just scoring half the points cause you're only getting ones). We grafted pretty hard for our points and I'm sure there were lots of little mistakes we'll weed out as we get used to it again.

Having said that, I'm not implying that we stayed with them really. They were fitter, taller, more experienced and better. But I think they layed off us a bit of defence (either that or they're a pretty lazy team) so we got some passes strung together. We're all much, much better catchers than we used to be :)

Was nice to see Lew and Amelia again. And Mash gave us a bit of control on offence and a long-pass option (which led to a beautiful run by Lew for a point).

I had fun. I didn't like it too much when I had to chase the little red-shirt girl all over the field. But other than that it was fun. My body is built and conditioned to run exactly the length of a basketball court (and then rest for a minute). The field is twice that length. I wanted to stop half-way but the red-shirt girl kept running. Cruel. Bring on basketball season with dimensions I can handle at a sprint (or fast jog, at least).

I try to play by the motto 'rest on offence' but I just really can't keep up with those fit 'uns no matter how hard I try. Especially in current post-summer shape. Especially!

3. Nesting

I've started thinking more seriously about buying a house. I even went and got a pre-approved mortgage and stuff. I just have to be patient and wait for the right houses to come on the market. My heart in currently set on some kind of two bedroom cottage in Petone for under $400,000. I've seen a few such houses around in the last year or so of passively looking, so hopefully a few more come on the market soon.

In the mean-time I've started spending my disposable income on house stuff. I figure I could do that instead of buying dresses for a bit. I've just had two flatmates move out which has left a few things the flat needed. I usually resent buying stuff like that, but since it's stuff I'll have to buy anyhow it feels less painful to buy some now rather than have to spend thousands all at once when I buy a house. If I can do it bit by bit from my cheque account it will mean my deposit is bigger! I'll put off buying stuff that wears out quickly or needs to be the right size for the house (new manchester and couch).

I have bought

• a big wooden chopping board (one of those checkerboard ones 60% off at Nood)
• a few sharp knives
• a pots and pans set (60% off at Briscoes, bless them)
• a spice rack (one of those awesome magnetised ones)
• a pot-holder
• more giant plastic storage boxes with wheels and lids (to clean out my linen cupboard of crap)
• a rack to put letters, take-away menus etc in
• a dvd player for the lounge ($30 - can't be bothered buying a flash one til they come down in price)
• an iron ($19 from Briscoes down from $70)

I still have to buy the big lounge TV but I'll do that some time this week.

It's quite satisfying! My sharp utility knife is awesome. It cut through a pineapple like it was butter.

4. My Favourite Things

Right now I am loving soda water with lemon and lime cordial. And vanilla-custard flavoured yoghurt. And I'm looking forward to the Fashion Police Golden Globes special. Watching Fashion Police is one of my guilty pleasures.

5. Reading

I just finished reading 'Mister Pip'. It wasn't at all what I expected. It was very easy to read. I thought it was gonna be convoluted for some reason.

Now I have to re-read stuff I'm going to teach. And start planning and stuff. No more reading for leisure!

I have enjoyed using the Michelle Library and will be going back some time though. I don't think I've ever borrowed and returned books this quickly. It's a record.

No more pizzas please.

Me, Michelle and Janine all got multiple vouchers for $6 pizzas at the Craftsman. Great deal - but it really hasn't helped my post-Christmas healthy eat idea. I spose I could've just not eaten any of them (or maybe not the full half of the pizza that I consumed) .... but they were practically free! I can't say no to free food.

Today me and Janine went there for lunch. While we had our chicken, cranberry and camenbert, we played Scrabble.

She won.

I could've won but made a dumb move at the end. She also let me have 'quin' which may or may not be a 'real' word. But it got me lots of points!

* * *

TV Advice

After that she helped me go TV shopping. With Reidun moving, we'll be TV-less again.

I figure I'll buy a 32 incher. They seem to be around $600 to $900 which is all I want to spend.

Does anyone have any advice about what to look for? I went around four shops today taking notes. Here are my questions:

1. What brands are best? The first guy said he wouldn't get a Samsung, but the other two guys I asked said they were fine. LG, Panasonic and Sony seemed to be the other main ones. I don't think I'd go down to a super-cheap brand I'd never heard of.

2. Would you bother getting full HD? I couldn't see heaps of difference on some of the sets, but maybe a little. I'm tempted to get the 50Hz HD maybe.

3. LCD, LED or plasma? I figure I'll get LCD probably. If I stretched my budget to a 42 incher I'd have to decide though. The sales guy estimated that if I watch a lot of TV it might be up to $6 a week more power to have a plasma.

4. Any other features to look for? The first guy pointed out that some brands have USB ports that you can watch movies from - that sounds good. They all seem to be Freeview ready. To be honest, I'm not a super fancy TV watcher. I just wanna do the basics. But a TV that could watch movies from my laptop or external hard-drive really easily would be a bonus. I just bought an external hard-drive today so I'm gonna steal movies off people now.

* * *

For those of you who try to keep up with who my flatmates are (it can be confusing at times).... Reidun is moving out tomorrow having had a whirlwind job offer yesterday for a school up north. And Anthony moved in today. He seems nice. He's sporty so I may be able to make him fill in for our various teams. If he is worthy.

The changes are ringing! I'm gonna take the opportunity to do a bit of spring cleaning. Over the years lots of flatmates have left bits and pieces behind and I've never known if they were Reidun's or theirs. Now I'll be able to throw away pretty much anything that I don't want since Colleen doesn't have much stuff in the common areas and the new guy hasn't had time to spread out there yet either.

Might have to do a car-load to the dump, even. I've never done that!

If anyone is looking for a 'rustic' sleepout (no fancy stuff like bathrooms or kitchens, but it has electricity!) for $85 plus expenses... let me know :)

* * *

Indoor Land

First indoor netball game of 2011 played. We won. That was good because the other team had two players from Michelle's outdoor team (which I played a season of twilight with at the end of last year). We like beating her outdoor teammates especially. We were losing the first quarter so had to make a wee comeback, too.

I got quite tired trying to defend the crafty little Attack guy (the one Morgan has made 'friends' with so he has to be nice to him on court). He used his elbows and other body parts craftily so that you practically have to lean on him the whole game. I don't enjoy that kind of intimacy with non love interests.

I had to make Michelle swap positions after two quarters of it. Tactically that wasn't a great move 'cause me and Ben had finally figured out his game and were double teaming him pretty well, but I felt happier down in the land of Attack. Me and Brad tend to make it like a comedy show down there.

Defence is intense! Attack is slack!

* * *

And by the way, I have now added 'Cassie the Lap Bandit' to my blog list. It's my friend Cassie (who most of you know) and her blog about her lap band operation. She hasn't had it yet, so it's still build up (was supposed to have it, but it all went terribly wrong on the theatre table).

It's all kinda fascinating. She's also already lost 21kg just with the pre-op diets - legendary!

Grindhouse

I just watched the double feature of Death Proof and Planet Terror with Janine.

I liked them.

But you know how after you watch stuff like that, you end up kinda feeling like you're in the movie for the first few minutes afterwards... like you're in some kind of hyper reality? Death Proof is not a good movie to watch just before you have to drive home at 1am.

Me Plans

I'm officially getting my head into the zone where I'm ready to buy a house. It's taken a while.

The past year I've been looking on TradeMe religiously to get a feel for how much house you can get for your money in different suburbs.

But I haven't gone beyond that yet. I think I've been happy enough flatting where I am. My flatmates have been stable and nice and I like watching my money grow. I know when I buy a house it won't be nearly as close to the city, my bedroom won't be as sunny or massive and I'll be way, way poorer and will have to make an effort to not turn into a hermit. There will be compromises to make.

But now I'm ready to be a poor hermit. Most of my friends are already anyhow :) I think cheap, suburban fun is the name of the game in your mid-30s.

I've been talking to house-savvy friends to get advice on where to start and what to ask about. And next week I might actually go to the bank and get one of them pre-approved things so I have a proper budget.

I think I'll be aiming way under what they'll actually loan me anyway, so it won't be a problem. I want to pay somewhere under $400 a week mortgage. That's about what I've been saving, plus I've been paying rent on top of that. I think, according to the online mortgage calculators, I'll be looking for somewhere in the $350,000 to $400,000 range.

My dream house would be a two bedroom cottage in Petone. 90m square (or so). With a garage (off street park could suffice if it's not near the beach). Small backyard, but low maintenance (enough to sit outside or have a BBQ and a tiny vege and herb garden but not much more). Neutral and fresh interior. Not expecting anything flash for my budget - just tidy and not too outdated. Don't wanna have to do any work on it urgently. Character would be a bonus.

I want the second bedroom to be just for visitors or people who need a short-term crash-pad. Don't really want a permanent flatmate. I want it to just be Kate Land. Everything chosen, arranged and cleaned by me. No negotiation, compromises or walking on egg-shells. No feeling guilty for using up band-width watching YouTube videos or keeping my heater on because it's cold or leaving dishes on the bench for a day or two (though, am very keen to get another house with a dish-washer - they're essential!). White with splashes of red and other warm colours. Clean lines. Culture and pretty things dotted around on walls and bookshelves. Quirky and colourful cushions. Somewhere to hang coats. Coffee tables you can put your feet up on.

I'll need to buy a few new things straight away (maybe beforehand, depending on current flatmates dispersing):

• big TV
• washing machine and dryer
• vacuum (mine just broke)

Then there'll be other things I realise I need, but which aren't urgent such as:

• toaster and kettle
• a decent set of pots and pans
• bed for spare room
• new lounge suite (I've wanted this for a year or so but figure I'll wait to see what kind of space I have to work with - rather than accidentally get something that ends up being too big or the wrong colour)
• a robot dog

My mind-set has totally changed, though. I am getting excited rather than anxious about the prospect of buying a house. I am going to start stockpiling kitchen appliances I'll need at Briscoes sales and the like (just bought a spice rack and some knives today which I don't really need in current flatting situation, but I felt like 'nesting' 'cause I'd just had a two hour long lunch with Julie, talking about how to buy a house and stuff).
Who knows if it will take a month or a year. That's the scary bit.
I'm going to my first open home with Cassie along for emotional support on Sunday.

Gotta go to the museum some time soon. See the masters.

* * *

Have been eating breakfast at home and most other meals 'out' for the last few days.

Anther bag of salad-mix will be quietly wilting away in my fridge.

* * *

Sun. Cloud. Wind. Repeat. Weird summer weather cycle we're having. The wind is a bit crazy.

* * *

Me and Cass are guessing NCEA results come out next week or so. That's always interesting (and momentarily terrifying).

You get the same nervous feeling that kids get when they open their results (when you log into the all-seeing teacher-site where we can view results).

* * *

Wellington has been nice and quiet for the last couple of weeks. Would be quite lovely if it was always this populated. Except I'd like more of my cafes to be open at the same time.

* * *

Saw Harry Potter 7 and liked it. Didn't understand a lot of the technical stuff (not being a reader of the series in general) but was fun enough. You just need to know that Harry Potter = Frodo and Ron = Sam and Voldemort = Sauron.

* * *

Am really like Modern Family now that it's on every night. Ed O'Neill works well as a successful guy who gives good advice. Who woulda thought?

I also watched The Graduate all the way through for the first time the other night. I liked it. I like how 70s movies liked to have those slightly ambiguous endings. And a Simon and Garfunkel sound-track is a good thing. I grew up on them.

* * *

Must head to the LVN for a bit next week. Will wear my t-shirt. Wonder if people will think I'm a tourist. Maybe I'll carry a map and camera with me for effect.

* * *

Am now reading Middlesex. My second big-fat-book in a row!

This reading thing's a lark. And they don't even have any pictures in them either.

NYE Predictions for 2011

Here are our drunken new year's eve predictions (some are morbid, yes). We weren't allowed to say the same thing as anyone else. Since we were drunk, we didn't all answer each question 'cause our attention spans were not good.

What Famous People Will Die?
Michelle - Prince or Whitney Houston
Jon - Jack Nicholson
James - Lady Gaga or Beyonce
Cassie - Liz Taylor or Morgan Freeman
Kate - Paul McCartney
Brendan - Tom Cruise or Ian McThingie (the LOTR guy)

What Will be the Big Break-Up of the Year?
James - Nicole and Keith
Cassie - Brad and Angelina
Jon - Khloe and Lamar
Michelle - JayZ and Beyonce
Kate - Tom and Katie

Sum up 2010 in One Word
Cassie - Ass
James - Awesome
Jon - Poop
Michelle - Meh
Brendan - Sucked
Kate - Average

Event of the Year
Cassie - My Non-Op
Jon - Michael Jackson's Funeral
James - The Festival of James

Who Will Win the World Cup?
Kate - France
James - Australia
Jon - NZ
Cassie - South Africa
Brendan - England

I have officially lost track of what day of the week it is.

Hello 2011.

You look nice so far. Blue skies and a Glee marathon on TV.

* * *

I'm going to (in a direct doctor-speak quote from my GP) 'molly-coddle' my back for a bit. I think it needs a day in bed reading.

Enough of the tennis-playing and cross-town revelling. It's 33 years old now and starting to feel its age. Even though the face still looks under 25 (another direct quote).

Woke up a little hung-over today. Didn't get home til 6am or so. The sky was light. We closed the blinds quickly to hide the sunlight. Woke up very dry-mouthed. My voice was hoarse from something. My hair was sticky from something.

Me and Cassie got up slowly and had avocado and tomoto on toast.

Once my stomache had soaked up the remnants of alcohol, I went to get my car. Peered up at Michelle's and the blinds were all still down.

Would like some peanut butter icecream, please.