Don't make me use my handbag!
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Because you're mine, I walk the line
We have these birds that live around our house. I think they're Tuis (well, we definately have Tuis, I'm just not sure if this is them). They can imitate your bird-calls. Every now and then I'd find my Dad at the back door whistling a short tune at them. Half the time, the whistle it back (no, it's not the nextdoor neighbour with a similar idea). One of them has clearly been listening to a telephone ringing, because I keep hearing it. Frustratingly (ironically, Bing just called - we had a cool chat. Brendan's got a... girlfriend! No, not really.), it doesn't even sound anything like my phone.
Anyways, the title refers to the Skyline Walkway. The more impressive of my readers (and Bing) may remember its evilness from about 7 weeks ago, where I spent an hour one Sunday afternoon, lost in its bushes. I regained my courage and, as the last possible weekday I could do it, today, I conquered it. I more than conquered it. I obliterated it.
I know. I was impressed too. It's a 2 1/2 hour walk up and down a series of hills. I kept thinking of blog titles while I was walking (well, not the WHOLE time), but by the time I got home, I felt like dying. I was (am?) exhausted. And hideously sunburned (maybe I should spray on some Solarcaine... OR NOT!). And chafed. Interestingly so. In fact, I wanted to investigate my chafings while talking to Bing, but realised that's almost as bad as peeing on the phone. As in, when you're ON the phone, not... ah, fuggedaboutit. Oh, and I have a lot of blisters.
So, I feel good. Today is my 111th (eleventy-first) Birthday. At least, it's been that many days since I've been unemployed. Tomorrow, I work.
I had three showers yesterday. The morning shower, the post-exercise shower, and the post-sweaty-sweaty-sweaty-rehearsal shower. I've already hit two today, and I think it's gonna be another long, hard rehearsal tonight. But, you know. It's gotta be good for me. And my face.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Nought for three.
From the time I got dressed into my suit to the time I took it off was about 70 minutes. The interview lasted 15. It went well, for what it was. One of the interviewers wears the same suit as I do, which made for a nice wee interchange. But they started the interview with a surprising warning that the job - a legal executive/paralegal role - was not a job that would lead to a proper legal role. I'd be stuck filing documents by hand the whole time.
This surprised me - and later, my recruitment agent (who is investigating further) and my parents - because my r.a. had specifically mentioned (orally and in writing) that I wanted this job as a springboard to a legal counsel role. It all went downhill from there, as we saw that this would not be a suitable position. So I didn't need to use my 3 pages of interview notes, my "what is your biggest weakness?" answer, nor my "give us an example of problem-solving" throwing a sicky on my birthday quip.
In other news, the New Plymouth firm has similarly decided that they don't want a graduate lawyer any more. Now, I have two baskets in which I am currently carrying my eggs: the Napier position and the yet-to-be-offered Lower Hutt position.
And yet, even though doors are closing, hard, (and we all know what that means about windows...) I find myself more confident than ever that I will get the right job, in the right place, in the right time. I am surprisingly undisappointed ('appointed'?) at this morning's result. I put a lot of work into preparing, but I know that'll come in handy later. Perhaps I'm just happy because I'm not getting the job I don't want (which is easier than not getting the job you do want). So we'll see. Temp work starts on Thursday, which will be... um... Yeah. It will be (Qué sera, sera).
Monday, November 28, 2005
Thailand team has launched. Be checking the CEMissions page AND be praying, they're going to need it. Well, the prayer, not your checking of the page. I don't think that'll help them. But it might help your prayer. Or maybe it won't, because we don't know how we ought to pray anyway, but the Holy Spirit...
Let me start again.
Our chief weapons are fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency...
Okay, I hope that that's the last time I ever quote Monty Python on my blog.
I'm preparing for the job interview tomorrow. Which will be fine, I'm not anxious. Much. It would be nice to get it, though, y'know? Hence why I'm busy writing a large document of possible interview questions and answers. Next I will check the website and come up with my own questions.
Then I'll start being anxious.
Had a great day yesterday. Went to the Wellington Elim (International Elim, sorry) with Stacey (Jess' ex-flatty from Dunners), who's in town over Summer, with a fancy schmacny Deloittes job. Anyway, I really liked the service. I walked in and I could feel the difference... I'm not going to leap to any conclusions, but it did make me want to come back. So we'll see.
Then I had an excellent jam session on my electric (I ran into a classified site advertising for vocalists for Wellington bands... am considering the option). A few hours later I met up with Phil in Argentina. Well, in the house of the Argentinian ambassador, anyway. His (Argentinian) flatmate is friends with the ambassador's daughter. You'll be shocked to discover that it was an incredible house.
Anyway, us four and another girl (Indian?) hung out all afternoon and evening there. We watched THE HUMAN STAIN (Anthony Hopkins, Nicole K.. Interesting film, but very slow. With an unexpected (and hard to accept) twist), played pool (with Argentinian rules, which bite. I'm only saying that because it made me lose a game by sinking the black in the wrong hole. The other game I lost legitimately because I sunk the white. In the wrong hole. After missing the black completely. Losing aside, I was playing better than I have in a very long time) and Risk until after midnight.
Did I mention that I kicked butt at Risk? Oh yeah. I slaughtered. I decimated. I held Europe for almost the entire game, with a cannon on every border. In fact, I'm strongly tempted to use that as an example of my diplomacy skills for the job interview. It was helpful that Phil got killed off early, and so the girls took his 'advice' to work together against me as being a trap spawned by his bitterness. Muhuhuhahaha.
But I do feel rather bloated after all that Pizza (for dinner then, and the night before, and for lunch today!) and Coke, grapes, strawberries and strange green coconut-flavoured indestructible Vietnamese lollies. Ah, what can you do.
Purge! No, wait. :-)
Friday, November 25, 2005
What're the odds that I'll post this without coming up with a proper title? Ooh, 1:1.
Life is wonderful.
I'm just so full of peace and hope right now, it's awesome. I can't believe how incredible spending time with God can be right now, when I knuckle down and do it. And how much life would suck without it. I keep reading forums (Metafilter) that are majorly anti-Christian (often irrationally, but sometimes I can see that they've obviously thought long and hard about it), that keep posting arguments about why there is no God. If they could only hang out with God for a moment... wow. No more argument.
Anyway, I'm going to try and keep this short for the sake of my busy readers - or those without an attention span - who skim long posts. Dan and Dave have been staying and chéz Benton the last two nights, and it's been awesome. We haven't really DONE much, but we've hung out. Dave's been enjoying his Tawa College times - which he should talk about himself, but I have a feeling he may not blog before he flies away tomorrow.
That's a good point - the mission trip to Thailand starts tomorrow (I know, I thought it was supposed to be today too!), so be praying. And hopefully watching the CEMissions blog. Heh, emissions.
Dan and I went to the Lower Hutt shopping center yesterday. He got a haircut and I got some shoes. *Cough* Three pairs *cough*. The ladies would be proud. They were on specialm okay!? Three for $180... I'm lucky I didn't get six. But you can probably guess that that I was in a really good mood for the rest of the day. The three of us later met with Bing and Phil (who piked shortly after - because of a GIRL) for dinner and other assorted entertainments. Great fun.
And tonight we'll all be having our first Wellington life group. Which I'll probably blog about next time. Finally, I have a job interview at 9:45am on Tuesday, for an... interesting position. Which I would really love, I think. So please pray for me! Especially regarding the interview questions (such as: 'give us an example of when you successfully dealt with conflict, preferably in a work environment.' Dealing with conflict? Me? Eek!). Cheers; I'll let you know how it goes.
I'm currently reading (and re-reading: see the previous post) 12 books. Not counting devotionals and the Bible, etc. I mention it because it's probably an incredibly dumb way to approach reading, and because reading is largely the 'reason' for the incredible closeness I'm feeling to God right now. 'Reason' because reading's really only a pathway; the real connection is spiritual - it's just that the reading has opened me up to God in a new, fresh way. And I'm amazed, I guess. I've often heard that there are different spiritual pathways, but I didn't take that too seriously.
Lordy, I could talk for hours about all this. But I said I wouldn't. So I'll leave it here. Rock on.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Borderline
Some of you may remember, near the start of my season of unemployment (happy centenary for Sunday! I KNEW I'd forget!), I mentioned a prayer. I prayed that God would give me the desire and motivation to get a job, because I was enjoying unemployment too much. Well, that peaked this weekend. Or troughed. I was battling depression at one stage. But I know how to deal with that nowadays.
Anyways, I suddenly remembered that earlier prayer (which I don't regret, mind) and prayed a new prayer. I told God yesterday that I was so sick of unemployment and I wanted to work, and if He wanted me to experience that a bit deeper, I'd willingly bear it, but if it were in His will, please give me a job. And please give it to me tomorrow.
Well, whaddya know.
It's only a temp job ('only'!), in property law (not one of my preferred areas), on the Terrace (which I like), but that's a-okay with me. I'll still be looking for a proper job in the meantime, and earning a whopping $19 an hour (I'm guessing they give me more because of profs). From 1 December until 22 December (which is a Thursday, maybe they meant 23) - so any road trip plans are out until after Christmas (and I'm still waiting to hear about rehearsals for the Christmas-NYE period, which really needs a name).
I'm happy.
Speaking of plans, I'd love to know who's coming to Wellington, and when - and who's already here. Which reminds, I think it's about time to start Wellington life group... I'm expecting Carmi and Jeremy in early Dec, I've heard a rumour about Penny on Christmas day... I'm still hoping to get to Tauranga on Boxing Day, who'd be keen to come with? Who's going to be there anyways? I'm also hoping that I'd have a few days off (of rehearsals) afterwards, maybe we can do something in central North Island... thoughts, Aucklanders? Becs, I hear you've changed your plans (how rude!) and are going to HK for NYE, are you coming to NZ at all? Probably still for Christmas, but how long?
Questions, questions, questions.
Saw two movies recently. THUMBSUCKER and THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE. I'd recommend the first to some people (mainly for Keanu Reeves, which is a big surprise - the films a bit slow and meaningless, kinda like DONNY DARKO without the sci-fi-ness. Oh, and without the psycho killer dead bunny man on acid.), but I have mixed feelings toward the second. It's a freaky film, and not in a good way. It has good bits, but it was disturbing and too... simple, I guess. Like the director/scriptwriter didn't know whether he was making a horror, courtroom drama or religious film, and ended up with a mess that was really none of them.
Oh, and I saw SERENITY again. Because it was just as good the second time, I have to say it's better than KISS KISS BANG BANG. And, when watching it, even ignoring the (excellent) tv series, it stands by itself very well. It's definately one of the best scifi films I've seen in years.
Dan and Dave arrive tomorrow night, that'll be funky-cool (a phrase I haven't used in a while - so sorry. SO sorry, not 'so, sorry'). If a little crowded in here. As an aside, I'm not sure what to do with the money I'm about to earn. Should I spend it - or save it for travel? I need a new cellphone - but how many features do I want? Should I get one with organising capabilities, or a PDA? I'd like an iPod - or an mp3-playing cellphone? I'd love to get a laptop - but when can I justify that? Some clothes would be good - but do I need them? I'm chomping through books - but... wait, no but. I'll get some books. Today. I got a $50 Whitcoulls voucher from a Telecom competition the other day, and Whitcoulls has a 3 for 2 deal on selected items - including part one of Bob Dylan's autobiography.
But do I want to start buying things for myself this close to Christmas?
Speaking of books, I've just finished Brennan Manning's THE RAGAMUFFIN GOSPEL. And I'm going to read it again, right away. I never do that. Not with books, movies, songs, albums... So that says something. I've also just finished reading DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS and I'm starting Dostoeyevsky's THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV and LORD OF THE FLIES (er, not by Dostoeyevsky). And I'm still reading that blasted (excellent) Peter Sellers biography - page 360, or something, probably a quarter of the way through it.
As a final note - 7pm tonight (midnight her time) marks Abbey's 22nd birthday. She has requested e-mails. At the very least, send her one wishing her a happy birthday. That's not so hard, is it? ;-)
Then why do I have the nagging feeling that I'M going to forget???
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Confessions of an optimystic
Look, another neologism! But, like my previous favourite ("affluenza"), a quick google search finds that I am far from the first to coin it. Curses. Still, it's a fitting description of my faith, especially in light of Romans 8:28.
I've been thinking lately about my Christian walk, and about where Church fits in. I haven't reached any conclusions yet, but I'll try and describe some of what I'm thinking. I'll just mention again that my relationship with God has been really close back here in Wellington (contrary to my fears and my past experience), and strangely different from what is was in Dunedin.
To be honest, I think my faith is flourishing in isolation. Not so much isolation from other people, but isolation from the faith of other people. Because it's never been allowed to grow outside of the various boxes that I've put it in - I've always had the faith of others, and the structure of Elim and Cutting Edge, to shape it. Which, I hasten to add, has been so vital to its life and growth. I guess I'm coming to see that my faith is just that, MY faith. And that, to a large extent, we walk a path alone.
That said, there are enormous benefits to faith communities such as church. I love the church, and believe all Christians are supposed to belong to one. But my faith doesn't seem to fit with the church structure I'm used to (bear in mind, apart from various temporary church visits, during holidays, Elim Dunedin is the only church I've ever known - well, and City Church Wellington, I suppose, after 2 months).
What do I mean by that? Good question. This is where it gets foggy. Why do we go to church? Not why as in, why bother, but why as in to what end? I find teaching/preaching rather barren nowadays, and get most of my new ideas from books (when I say new ideas, I don't mean NEW - as in gnosticism - but new to me). I don't get into worship music like most people seem to (of course, worship is about giving to God, not getting; and yet, it seems that worship through other channels - tithing, obedience, contemplation - seems much more effective).
So I'm currently thinking that the kind of church that suits me is a much more intimate group of seekers who encourage and guide (and rebuke and challenge), but embrace different approaches. Basically, a life group. Or, perhaps, a different demonimation - like the Quakers(!).
Perhaps. These are still just thoughts to me.
I guess now I'm realising that my faith is, or seems, rather different than the faith of many of those in my current social/denominational grouping. And to be honest, that's quite a surprising - and a challenge. I'm wary of jumping to any conclusions or anything, especially because I'm still only a, what, 3 1/2 year old Christian. I should get a mentor (which was always one of those things that I was planning to do in Wellington).
I'm also quite aware that I've hardly mentioned what exactly I find different about the path I find myself led down and (what I see to be) the 'mainstream' pentecostal/evangelical (wait... what's the difference? Darn labels) path. It's kinda beyond description, but part of it seems to involve embracing ones' weaknesses/instabilities/fears/brokeness/sinfulness - not in the sense of 'giving into it/them', but accepting God's love in spite of it. I suppose you'd say that I'm finding a greater understanding of God's grace for me. Churches that I've seen seem to give grace a lot of lip-service, while still acting as if anything we do will make God happy in and of itself, or improve ourselves.
On the other hand, there are limits to the grace that I would give others. I'd love to think that I would be comfortable in an environment where I regularly had to interact (and thus give grace) to certain types of people. For example - to be painfully blunt - I would struggle to befriend a homeless person. Which is 'understandable', but terrible and completely hypocritical. But again - that's who I am. God still has grace for me.
I'm all over the place with this. Most of you are probably confused about what I'm ranting about, struggling to see a difference between the paths I describe. That's fine, and perhaps there isn't such a difference. Or perhaps the difference is not between approaches to faith (denominations), but between religion and faith. I'd appreciate your thoughts, as always. But I wanted it recorded and shared. Hopefully it'll make more sense as it comes through future blogs or interactions, or something.
Before I leave, here's an old (old!) sonnet by John Donne, that I studied in Form 4 English, but didn't mean anything until now:
HOLY SONNETS.
XIV.
Batter my heart, three-person'd God; for you
As yet but knock; breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Gelosia
I'm a jealous person. In many areas of life. It's a flaw, it's something I struggle with. It can be very destructive. But I'm learning that it can also be a useful tool - on myself. Because it reveals my true desires.
An example - I'm currently quite jealous of Big Sister's exploits in the States, and her acting school plans. It's no surprise, then, that soemthing like that is something that I want to do. That was an easy one; I already knew that. Likewise, jealous of my friends who get to travel (well, maybe not the missions teams, because they're more purposful and less touristy) because I want to. I'm jealous of people who love their jobs... et cetera.
And I'm surprisingly jealous of people who are pursuing film directing or acting. That shouldn't be a surprise, right? Well, it is. I guess it is my dream - my only dream, I think - but a dream that I surpress as impossible or inefficient or selfish or meaningless or anything that devalues it.
Maybe that's just a mood I'm in right now. I'm still sticking with law, anyway. But having that clear (ish) legal direction in mind makes the alternative that much more... real. Perhaps, at the end of two years' working in law, I'll find the desire to pursue film has grown to a point where I can't ignore it. Perhaps I'll make films while I work in law. Perhaps I'll find law so rewarding that I'll stick with that. Perhaps I can't think of the many possibilities for the next two years.
But I am happy to know - and report - that I DO want to be involved in film.
Maybe I need to save up to buy an editing computer...
Speaking of little dogs dressed in Aussie/NZ rugby shirts chasing balloons a clown throws across a faux-football field, we went to the circus last night. We being Lyds, Emma, Alice and her bf James, their friend Becs, Matt and Louise and their friend Chan. Of course. The circus being the Weber Bros. circus, in a Big Top in Titahi Bay (home of Michael Campbell's golf course). It was... bizarre. A good time was had by all. Except that little kid that one of the dogs almost attacked. Bad dog. Bad.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
I got a job!
... offer. Hehe. Which I turned down. I just thought I'd use that as my title because I've had a disturbing drop-off of readers lately. Possibly because I'm a little one-tracky at the moment. But it's true; I signed up with a legal temp agency and they offered me a (sweet) temp job that same day. I had to turn it down because of a conflict of interest with my full time recruiter, which is quite a shame. And complicated. Still, things seem to be happening... and I just got a phone call from my recruiter while writing this blog with some good news, but nothing worth mentioning. Yet.
And enough about jobs. What I really brought you here to tell you is that TRANSPORTER 2 bites. It really does. It finally put an end to my spree of fantastic movies (well, 2 fantastic movie - but I saw one of them twice!), and Phil and I had a hard time working out whether or not it was better than DOOM... ouch. At least Ceroc was fun last night (rehearsal got inexplicably cancelled) - a much younger crowd. But, at $15 a pop, it might be my last time... maybe.
Matt and Louise arrived in town yesterday, Matt is also joining the job-hunting gang. Apparently Dave O'Byrne got in over the weekend too. Oh, and Lyds and Emma came up with the Poyntons, and Alice and James are in town. So we're all (well, not Dave O'Byrne) going out to lunch. And dinner. Which is nice. And Dave P. and Dan are coming through next week, so, funky-cool.
I know I'll forget on the day itself, but this Sunday will mark my 100-day unemployment anniversary. Happy anniversary. :-) Right, sorry, I promised no more job-talk today. My bad.
It's strange - I DO have other stuff to talk about. God has been teaching me so much lately (especially through THE RAGAMUFFIN GOSPEL, by Brennan Manning - READ IT!!!), but I just don't feel the need to write about it. It's so hard to write about things in progress like that. Perhaps that's a metaphor for my life at the moment - it's a work-in-progress limbo state. And, when I say 'work' I don't mean like a job, because I said I wouldn't mention... oh beep.
I want to get a new cellphone (in fact, I may have won one from Telecom, but I don't like my chances). One that has an MP3 player. And can download movie trailers. Maybe I should treat myself to one. Or MAYBE I should make that my reward for getting work, like I did with my electric guitar. That could work.
SORRY! I keep SAYING that word! :-)
Hey, Rent comes out on Thursday in the states. That's cool beyond comprehension. I'm jealous. Jealous of THE STATES!
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
I'm a hungry hungry hippo.
I don't know what to blog about. Let's see if it'll just flow naturally. Ooh, but before I forget, here's another SERENITY spoiler:
Whenever I think of Serenity, I think of the deaths. But Kaylee and Simon getting together is pretty darn important, too. At the end of the film, at the funeral, Kaylee's wearing something with a chinese character on it. What's the translation? 'Marriage'...
Did that work? Thanks, Gustang.
I saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang again last night. [Cough]Alone[cough]. Obviously it wasn't as funny, but I think I appreciated it even more. "Yes, a talking monkey. From the future." And I'm willing to extend my recommendation of that movie beyond what I had previously said. I still won't go as far as saying everyone will enjoy it, but it's definately up there. You will probably regret not seeing it (especially on the big screen).
Interesting job scenario I'm in right now - I had an interview with a legal temp agency who wanted to hook me up with this excellent looking position (temp). But my other (full-time) recruiter had already contacted this organisation yesterday for another job (full-time) that I'm less likely to get. And they're not supposed to both put me forward, so I'm having to pass on the excellent part-time job. Oh well!
I should mention how HARD it was to build up the motivation to phone the temp recruiters. It literally took me hours. But I knew I had to do it, so I kept at it. It's humbling to see how weak I actually am in such areas.
My Mum's been down in Timaru since Thursday; she gets back this afternoon. It'll be good to have her back. Eek, but it does mean I should put out the washing. And do the dishes. 'Scuse me.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Enjoying Hell in Syn follows Serene Art. Then a Busy Bee called Calzone took his Kitty to Play in the Red Square.
Weird title?
Weird day.
So I went to Johnsonville at 3:30 yesterday. I had to pick up some newly framed items (a photograph by Jo and a photo of my admission to the bar) from Art for Art's Sake (Sharon's nemesis). Oh yeah, before I left home, I found a great job in Nelson that I'm looking at...
I then boosted into town to see the 4:15 showing of Serenity at Reading. Alone. But, as I was entering the Terrace Tunnel at 4pm, Phil called from his school/work and expressed an interest. So I raced to Wellington East Girls' to pick him up - getting lost inside the school - and we went to Reading. Every light and every other car on the road was against us, but we made it. There was a queue at the cinema, and we got in at 4:25 (just missing the start and the trailers - anyone know what trailers screened?).
Man. Serenity was worth the wait. I'm looking forward to seeing it at the cinema again (ooh, maybe I'll do a double-feature with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - even though there are plenty of movies I need to see for the FIRST time, and The Constant Gardener comes out this Thursday...). Everyone seemed to enjoy Serenity, which is a very good sign (imdb has it at 8.3 out of 10, which is really high, and it's ranked as the 197th best film ever! Not as good as BRAZIL, but better than TOY STORY, apparently... ). I don't know if it's better than Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, that's a tough call. I wonder how it did at the box office - the creator will make sequels if it does well.
The effects were great (the space battle; the 4:30 minute single take near the beginning), the lines and acting were perfect... mmm. And I thought the plot was very clever. I didn't stay until the end of the credits, but apparently a guitar plays the firefly theme tune, which I quoted in the title of my last post, and you can see and hear here. I'll stay for that next time.
And now for some invisitext spoilers - highlight to read them:
The deaths - man. Joss Whedon loves killing off characters for shock value. I saw Shepherd Book's death coming (he was a nice touch of faith, and wisdom, with a bit of mystery, but didn't really add much), although it still shocked me. Mr. Universe was another obvious one (I don't remember him from Firefly, though...). But WASH!? Man, that sucks. That really hurts. I should have seen it coming, though - Joss never allows relationships to last. Ever. He's publicly said that audiences don't want to see people comfortable in happy relationships, they want tragedy and strain. But... grr. I liked Wash. Who you may remember as Steve the Pirate from Dodgeball.
I did like the River storyline, and the Reavers, although it seemed to explain too much, leaving not much mystery (although what happened to the pair of blue-handed men from the series?). And the Reavers... man. We've hardly ever seen them before, but they WORKED. So, very satisfying.
No more spoilers. I loved that film. See it.
Phil and I were hoping to play Risk and eat pizza and have a quiet night in, but everyone piked on us. Punks. So we went to the Syn pub and ate Hell's Pizza. With some beer. Veeerrrry nice. We went to the video store afterwards, stopping off at Buzzy Bee's second hand book store, but decided against going home to watch a movie. So we went to a cafe, Calzone, and met a couple of Phil's friends, Toni and Ricky. Nice people, interesting. Arty - although not (we spent half the time there discussing why most art was pretentious, worthless trash - at least, they did, I didn't really participate in that conversation). Oh, and we hassled Phil about his approach to women, which is always a laugh.
Which lead to us meeting up with a friend of Phil's flatmate (an Argentinian girl) whom I have met once before, her friend (a gorgeous black Columbian model [think Naomi Campbell] who is studying to be an industrial engineer, and the friend's friend, a Mexican girl. We went to Kitty O'Sheas, migrated to Play (the Mexican wanted us to drink the $3 tequilas, which were grotty - luckily I was the self-designated driver, so I didn't get sucked in), and then went to Red Square (quite a stylish bar, actually).
Although I hate dancing - with good reason - I got into it by the end of the night. It was funny to see all the guys come up and hit on the Columbian girl, and quite... I dunno. When you're dancing with a stunner like her, and you're not trying or wanting to 'get anywhere' (if you'll excuse the term), you feel really... cool. In that kinda, "I'm with her" way. Heh, shallow, sure, but fun. And you get to laugh at all the desperate people trying to dance with her and get her number. It was nice. Especially because I was still in my casual clothes that I was wearing earlier, which must have looked... interesting.
So I got home at 3:45 am, 12 hours after I left. THAT was an interesting afternoon/evening. Tonight I'm going to see Little Shop of Horrors with my Dad after going to some restaurant(sorry, Bing, I felt I should spend some time with him, Mum's away again). Tomorrow I have church, rehearsal... it's quite a busy weekend. Which is nice.
Oh, many of you will know that I've had to resort to using a hammer to turn my computer on (my personal one - I spend most of my time on my Mum's laptop, like now) for a year or so now. It's finally killed it - the floppy drive got knocked loose and fell down inside the computer, which severed the wire that connected the power button to the motherboard (not the power supply, that's fine). Which should be easy to replace, if I can be bothered. I suppose I need to, although now that I bought the folks a DVD player, I only use it to keep my guitar tabs on... so I haven't been playing much guitar these past few days!
Right, that was a long post.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me.
OR: Serenity Later (it's a play on words, yeah? From Seinfeld??? Ah, fuggedaboutit).
I haven't seen Serenity yet. Maybe this afternoon. Rehearsal ran an hour over time last night, which was quite full on. And fun, I should add. Oh yeah, the title is from the firefly theme song. Which, I hear (or don't), isn't in the film. Big shame.
Um... yes. :-)
In other news, New Zealand has its lowest recorded unemployment rate ever, and the lowest in the OECD - 3.4%. Employers are having to look overseas for workers.
Bugger.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Now, I don't normally make unequivocal movie recommendations, saying that you MUST see so-and-so ("What's her face. The Ugly One!!!"). And this is no exception. BUT... it's awfully close. There are many of you to whom I WOULD physically coerce to see this movie (Jeremy, you listening???), but I am aware that there is a chance it may not hit a chord with everybody.
Okay, okay, slow down. Back track. Sam's off on one of his film-geek rants again. Well, yes and no. I don't like to exaggerate, and nor do I usually give glowing - nay, GUSHING - reviews once I've actually seen a geek-film. I mean, beforehand, I love to hype people and myself up, but I have to be honest, afterwards.
Wait a second, that wasn't backtracking... okay, so I heard about this film, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. It was one of the highlights of the 24 hour movie marathon that I missed (read: didn't attend). Movie websites are all talking about it, saying GO SEE IT, because it's not doing too well at the box office. I had no idea what it was about, except that it was a neo-noir film with Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Junior (directed by Shane Black, who wrote Lethal Weapon, Predator... etc). I didn't know what to expect when I saw it last night (Serenity Eve).
And that was probably an important factor. So I'm not going to give much away here. If you're expecting an intelligent film noir, well, it kinda is, but that's not the point. You won't be disappointed, just not impressed. And if you're expecting a comedy, again, things will be weird for you. Go in expecting nothing, except a movie that Sam loved.
It's possible one of the best movies of this year. I think - and this is a huge call for me - it's the most entertaining. See it. Period. Although, fair warning, there is some profanity, violence and nudity. But not heaps, and not in a really exploitative manner. And it may not suit some people.
Okay, if you really wanna know more, here's a LITTLE more. And a real blog afterwards.
...
I guess I'd call it LA Confidential meets Confessions of a Dangerous Mind meets Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Or something. Maybe with the Coen Brothers thrown in. Here's a quote - just the one - that might get you interested:
Perry Van Shrike: You're an idiot. You know that. You know if you looked in the dictionary next to the word "idiot" you know what you'll find?
Harry Lockhart: A picture of me?
Perry Van Shrike: No! The definition of the word "idiot". Which you are.
...
Okay, enough of that. If you see it, tell me what you think. I'd be keen to see it again, Wellingtonians. Though there are suddenly a bunch of films to see - I'll probably see Serenity tonight after rehearsal. Probably by myself. Which is fine fine finity fine-fine fine.
New Plymouth only has one cinema. That shook me for a while. But I've decided to proceed with applying for the job, so I'll keep you updated. Still praying about it, which is a little... inconclusive. Hehe. As are my feelings about it. I'm wondering if I want to go for the challenge, or maybe because I'm sick of Wellington (a possibility which surprised me).
Comment replies:
Jo - well, you could post the Rubik's cube for me if you want, or you could solve it yourself. :-)
Justin - I'm hoping they make a multiplayer version of it for over the net. The only advantage to the google map is that it's really a map of the world. Which is, like, cool. It's real.
Jess - special thanks to you for commenting twice. What a legend.
Jared - (Yeah, I'm just going for the J names) I can get you the Oscar footage, but I have no way of getting it off my camera. When are you due back up?
And thanks heaps for all your memories, those are incredible special. Aww. 14 different memories (actually 13, Gus is a slacker), some from people who don't generally comment. Awesomeness. Some notable omissions, though (CARMI!!!) Hehe.
Right, time to get to today's activities. I'm building up quite a nifty little to do list. Actually, good call, I'm going to turn that into a physical to do list. I'm sure I put my whiteboard around here somewhere... see ya!
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Monday, November 07, 2005
... oh.
Well, first up, the first "...oh" is regarding the comments from the last post. Really touching. I remember all those moments (except Aunt Donnave's !), and it's so, I dunno, sweet. "I'm glad I shared it with you," as the Lou Reed song goes. So, thank you. Feel free to comment if you haven't already.
Then there's the other "...oh". It's a job I'm considering (is anyone sick of me talking about jobs yet?), on the recommendation of my consultant. It's a litigation job, primarily in family law but also in civil and criminal law. While not perfect, it's the best I've seen so far. And it's in a small firm, so it'll be low stress/high variety. And good room for growth. There's only one thing that's stopping me from snatching it up, one reason I'm considering it carefully, one problem.
It's in New Plymouth.
I don't really now much about NP (I always used to get it confused with Palmerston North), except what Joe used to tell me. It's 4.5 hours' drive from Wellington, maybe 5 from Auckland (which would be great for catching up with people). I know no-one there.
At the moment, the idea is somewhat appealing to me. It'd be hard to leave with everyone expecting me to still be here next year - it'd be harder still to give up one of the few things I've been looking forward to about Wellington: those of you who are coming up.
On the other hand, there's not guarantee I'd get the job if I went for it, but the question still remains. Your thoughts?
Sunday, November 06, 2005
It's really over. Officially over. Over.
I've left Dunedin, haven't I? I've left Cutting Edge? I just watched the camera footage. Not easy. That era is over for me... sadly. It's no wonder everyone kept encouraging me to 'be strong and courageous' before I left - I never imagined how much I'd need it.
Mmm. But this is not going to be another one of those posts. Nor will it be like the last one, which I really don't like (can't quite work out why, though). Because, although things aren't as I would wish them, and although the future doesn't look as bright as it usually would (my fault for wearing shades, I guess), and although it seems like so much that I knew and loved has passed, yet I will praise the Lord my God.
On a more down-to-earth note, if nothing else, the one thing that is better in Wellington than it generally was in Dunedin is my relationship with God. We're closer. I'm more aware of, well, Him. His love, His grace.
Time to be still.
IF YOU READ THIS
If your eyes are passing over this right now, even if we don't speak often, please post a comment with a memory of you and me. It can be anything you want, either good or bad. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised, embarrassed, etc. about what people remember about you...
(Via)
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Dates, dates and dates...
Upon reading today's newspaper (no jobs for me - again!), I saw the ad for 'Serenity'. NEXT THURSDAY. Oh man, that snuck up on me. I don't know where I'm gonna find the Firefly DVDs to rent before I see it... or when I'll see it, if I'm busy next Thursday night. But it's gonna be good. I know some people have already seen it in Sneak Previews up in Auckland, and they want to see it again. So that's a good sign.
Also, the xtra.msn homepage had a link to the 'Rent' trailer as 'today's news', with a New Zealand release date of January 26. But NZcinema.co.nz (who e-mailed me this morning) says March 30. Either way, at least it's coming. Oh, and February 9 for 'Walk the Line'.
After all this, I remembered that tonight was the day I was planning on going to the 24 hour film festival. All of a sudden, I really wanted to go. I spent about 30 minutes agonising over the question of whether or not I should go (made worse by the fact that I'd have to go along AND cancel my fireworks plans with Bing, Phil and Sharon), before deciding that yes, I would go. I cancelled my plans and e-mailed the organiser to book a seat.
Why the change of mind? Because I like movies. And I am in Wellington. And this is a world-renowned film-geek event. And I would regret it. AND if I wanted to get into ANYTHING film-related, ever, I really should go to this. And it would help me meet people. And, darn it, it would be rad.
Just to check, I googled to see if I could find out the line-up of films (they don't release them beforehand, but the marathon did screen in Auckland last weekend, although there will be slight changes). I found a website that listed some of the films that would screen: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Descent, (possibly The Exorcism of Emily Rose), various old B-movies and The Devil's Rejects. Although it seemed like a fun list, this disuaded me. Firstly, it really does make it less fun knowing what you're seeing. Secondly, most of the movies I'd like to see I would (and will) see anyway. Thirdly, I REALLY DON'T WANT TO SEE The Devil's Rejects (Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses sequel) - although I'd be able to leave for that one.
So I'm not going.
There are quite a few things I regret about this decision (rumours of a King Kong preview, plus making film friends, etc.), but I think I made the right choice. And I get to hang out with my mates again - we had a great time at the Harlem Gospel Choir, it rocked. Very... well, it's what you'd expect. Tonight, we blow stuff up.
New King Kong Trailer!
In other news, I'm going to start looking for temp work. Probably as a legal secretary. Just while I wait. It would be nice to work for Weta, or something, but that seems unlikely. Unless... they called me up in the middle of the year (or was it last year?) and offered me a job. I'm sure I blogged about it, hopefully with a name, but I can't seem to find it (and search engines are hopeless!). Anyone got any idea when that was? Or of a good blogsearch engine?
Thursday, November 03, 2005
No nicks, I must have the nack!
The verdict is in - the Gillette Mach 3 Turbo is a very good razor. At first, it's very very weird, and it feels like shaving with a chainsaw. Which is fun in it's own way (the feeling, not actually shaving with a chainsaw. Although...) - it's a bit harder to tell whether an area has been shaved well enough all ready, because you don't get the same stubble-feedback that you would get without the full-on vibrations. But the end result is a close shave that was quite fun. Highly recommended.
I returned my DVDs yesterday and got 5 new ones. Isn't life exciting! :-) I didn't get through Raging Bull (another Scorsese I couldn't finish... that's three so far, counting the Bob Dylan one [well, I haven't started that one, but same thing]), but that's okay. So I got Season One of the Office (which I like, but only somewhat), Being There (another Peter Sellers movie), Barton Fink (another Coen Brothers' movie! These are all coincidences, I tell you!), The Doors film (another Oliver Stone!), and... flip, what was it? Ah yes, Omega Man (Charlton Heston - no link). Which is all exciting.
Last night, Phil and I went to a Ceroc course. Yep. $15, actually, not cheap. Fun, I guess. Everyone there was old, it was odd. I have mixed feelings about Ceroc. I enjoy it, but there's something about it that really bugs me. I can't put my finger on it. Ah well, it's a social thing, so it's fun. And it's good, because we're getting into dancing in Beauty and the Beast, so I should get myself all flexy.
I'm still a bit confused about what to do. I don't want to get tied down to a contract for some temp work and then get offered a job I consequently can't accept. Nor do I want to be doing a job just for the sake of it. I keep giving this up to God and then worrying about it when nothing seems to happen. Stupid, I know. I guess I have my parents to think about too, they seem to think I should be working. Gah.
...
Hmm... and now, after talking to Carmi, I reckon they're right. Heh, darn it. :-)
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Twenty minutes later...
It was a short interview. But not as scary as I had, well, feared. The people were nice, and seemed to like me. Indeed, the job almost fits me personally. Except that it's in the wrong area of law. So when I find out whether I'm offered the job next week, I'm not sure how to respond. My highly experienced law recruiter strongly advised against me taking it. I'm kinda siding with her. As time ticks by, it's getting a bit harder to say now. Beggars and choosing and all that.
I had a down weekend, I should add. It all piled up on me. It's funny how heavy nothingness can be. But I've been reassured (in a funny way) that this is all part of the plan, and knowing that is so helpful. I'm still not sure how to approach my free time, nor the job question, but it'll work out, I reckon.
I don't think I could have handled this two years ago.
In other news... oh, that's right. There isn't any. Hehe. Except that I'm going to the Harlem Gospel Choir ("Angels from Harlem" - U2) on Friday. And, although almost everything in me wants to go, I'm probably not going to the 24 hour movie marathon on Saturday night. Darn it. You win some, you lose some. But that's okay, because you were smart enough to invest the some that you won, and you're now earning sufficient divedends to counterbalance the lost of some that you have just fallen victim to. That's the long version of that saying.
No, really. True story. Trust me, I'm a lawyer.