had a lovely and interesting weekend with my sweetheart :)

on friday after sleeping off the migraine and spending the day plant shopping/gardening he came home with a surprise video and we had a surprise movie date at home (i love B.O.B.! anyone else love B.O.B.? he's hilarious!) and on Sat afternoon we went along to the aquarium on the peninsula which is run by the uni which i've always meant to visit. they were running a session on seaweed! there was an educational bit where we watched a doco and we were introduced to various species (apparently nz has 1000 species and there are many, many undiscovered/unnamed species in the world) including the famous nori (jap name)/karengo (maori name)/pophyra (scientific name) and the more common bladder kelp. and the "gorse of the sea" the wakame... i liked how they were categorised: the reds, the browns, and the greens. simple! and even better that other than being good for you, free for the picking, available year round etc etc, they are all (apparently) not poisonous so you don't even have to identify them to eat them. best!

we went to the touch pool to touch some species which had been collected for us and one of the staff showed us all the wonderful things that can be made with bull kelp and a knife - jandals, a bouncy rubber ball, a handbag etc

then we traipsed down to the shore (didn't bring my gum boots but neither did most people) to harvest some seaweed before heading back in to taste an amazing spread made with the tasty stuff. i was quite impressed with the variety of stuff you can make with this ingredient, i tasted oatmeal cookies, chocolate brownies, asian flavoured relish, cheese sticks, kelp scones, "shark teeth", fried kelp chips, it was also tasty served fresh on crackers with cream cheese (different sorts having their own taste and texture) and dried, it can be flaked as a condiment or ground as a flour substitute. fresh it is used as a vegetable substitute. it's incredible!

i can't wait for my next seaside trip after lik's exams with a big plastic bag or two! we came away with several sheets of recipes too :)

have made more progress in the garden and while nowhere as prolific as last year (well year two was famous for being full on) i think we're coming on nicely.

and as a last minute sponsored holiday we're heading back from 1-15 jan. it was %@&^$@#$ hard to book with tickets disappearing from right under our noses!!! but anyway we've got them so yay. it's time i reckon to meet up with some old friends!

We had a lovely long weekend in welly. Flew in on Thurs and enjoyed the warm weather for all but one day (sat). Did a bit of shopping (chalkydigits was having a sale and my sweet man bought my an organic cotton hoodie in "falafel" and i LOVE it! wearing it as i type now) but not too much. visited our by-now regular shao la joint and maxed out again. we're getting better at estimating our stomach capacities but when it comes to sio bak and roast duck, fat chance! it was yummy!

no pics sorry because we didn't bring the camera. we stayed in a nice studio apartment on the terrace which was a steal from wotif and great location although i think we have become soft. we found the city too noisy and well, city-ish! how! people from sg cannot handle welly? omg! too many sirens and things? luckily we were on the 13th floor but still. not exactly quiet. i found i really missed waking up to birdsong and peace and quiet.

the husband's exam went well too or better than he expected, he was so nervous before but all the prayer helped and God poured out lots of grace. as an aside my first result came back "provisionally", which apparently means pre-moderation. well, "provisionally" i got full marks for my exam! crazy! Glory to God, who doesn't do mediocrity. It wasn't me! You'd believe me if you saw my half-baked "study notes"... I am a grateful recipient of His grace!

No the garden didn't take over again while we were gone, ha! Mustn't let that happen again. Have also been recently been under the husband's influence quite engrossed in Battlestar galatica, despite my initial reservations and some very annoying blonds I find myself quite pulled into their lives.

We might go back to Singapore (yes, again, the old "maybe") so stay tuned.

We are enjoying being home very much. I honestly think our home is nicer than many hotels and holiday homes so if only we could bring it with us to new places that would be perfect. L is studying for another 2 weeks then he's done studying for the year. Yes only for the year. More next year! Will it ever stop yo I don't know.

That's the update for now! Back to my summer light reading. Tess of the D'Urbervilles anyone?

very full from dinner at Friendly Khmer Noodle House. yummy pad thai with no beansprouts! we're concerned about the level of MSG, which has caused us both sleepless nights recently, but I'm feeling ok for now so don't think about it until I have to. a few headachy days too. wonder if its got anything to do with running out of meds!

Have been having lots of weird and awful dreams. A few fitful restless nights recently. A few tired grumpy days. The days are counting down though. I wonder if when all this is over and I'm on holiday, will I mind the bad/cold weather still? Probably. It was down to like 6 degrees today! Spring! Hello!

I'm editing my final assignment, then I've got some notes to highlight for my open book exam, and preparation for the very last viva. sigh. not inspired.

anyway it's been ok. top on the list for things that help/sustain me = God. second is my sweet husband, and he's been soooo good and supportive and loving and caring even when I'm downright Miss Grumpy Pants. I know it, I feel it. I'm so blessed. (third is my laptop, which my husband bought for me!)

ok back to work. sigh.

Sitting in a tucked away corner in the library by myself and a whole lot of stuff. the girls who had been opposite me are now gone so it's nice and quiet. it's always nice and quiet in the library in the later part of the semester, which i enjoy. but i also find it slightly depressing to see cars filled with stuff leaving dunedin for the summer. and people pulling stuff and boxes out of flats. and more and more power points free in the library.

this semester i was so uninspired for my assignments. i only enjoyed writing one, and that one i think doesn't really fit the assessment outline. another one i rewrote in 3 hours in a burst of rage about my stupid lecturer who goes on and on about "don't use references from the internet, i'm biased against wikipedia etc..." and where are his references in the lectures from? #@$%$ internet @#$@ of course!!! this is my latest pet peeve. people who 1) are hypocrites about internet sources 2) are ignorant or lazy or slack about referencing. and about this i mean lecturers who reference this and that person (1965) or whatever, and i know for certain they never read the original document. because the document is like unpublished!!!! so how can you reference it? they have obviously read about so and so's theory in some other person's book, so reference that! SO ANNOYING! for this assignment i decided to get to the very root of the source, a certain Tuckman (1965). had to recall the book out from storage but i have it, the psychological bulletin from that year. and i'm sure NONE of the lecturers who throw this reference around have EVER read the actual article.

i'm sure lots of people just reference "so and so's lecture slides", which is to me sloppy, plus the lecturers are also (hypocritically again) always going on about "check your source! is it valid? is it reliable? primary source vs wikipedia etc etc...."

*rage*

and i'm whiny cos i have TWO very similar assignments about groups.

oh but it's turned out warm so i'm happy about that. and we did a mystery shop on a flash car just now so that was fun doing the test drive. and we get $70 for it! not bad for driving around in a flash sports car!

so my life has its redeeming features. well i know i have a great life. i'm just grumpy due to this assignment, so all the more i must finish it by hook or by crook, whatever that means. my poor man is taking much grumpiness from me these few weeks!

 The countdown has begun!

This is the last week of class (last day Thurs). Then next week it's study and assessment week. Got 3 assignments and 1 exam next week.
Then the week after, viva and another exam and another assignment.

But thanks to God this semester I'm well, not plagued by headaches, not stressed, I'm happy, the house is relatively tidy, I'm exercising at the gym regularly (very regularly for me, and seeing my endurance improve noticeably!).

I got my first result back for this semester - my DFO exam part A which is 40% of the grade. 
God generously gave me 78.5/80!  Amazing! Well it was an open book exam. No credit to me all to Him!

I'm going to get round to taking a picture of my turtleneck and I've got my hands into my new super chunky yarn that arrived from America on Saturday. I got 2 colours, two different brands to make a cardigan and a vest. Whee! Got massive needles too 15mm! Only $4.99 from spotlight.

I'm SO looking forward to these two weeks finishing then it's summer holidays! Got to get stuck in the garden again, got the ball rolling on the new kitchen, so many improvements to be made to the house. And a weekend in welly late November together, and other exciting things. 

Life rocks at the moment despite a heap of assignments and 2 exams to go. Life with God rocks!

 Was just in the tailor's shop to get the husband's pants back. There was a customer when I arrived and another as I was paying so our transaction was short and sweet. Normally when L is there she chatters on and on to him, but she doesn't really chatter to me when I'm by myself. Maybe it's because I don't give her any business (well I have before but not regularly like L) or maybe it's because she had plans to introduce her daughter to L but then he went and married me. Lol. 

Although she loves talking to L and I don't mind a quick interaction (cos what she normally talks about is her daughter, who's in med school, and the daughter's apparent lack of a boyfriend, about which L was supposed to be the solution I think, but this isn't going to happen anymore and maybe that's why she is less interested in talking to me, which is fine with me) she still wished me a good weekend as I left and I wished her the same. 

As I walked back up the hill I wondered to myself if the daughter actually knew about her mother's intentions (and L and I are both convinced the daughter probably has a boyfriend already, but maybe not one that the mother approves of, like a punky angmo not-doctor-to-be boy) and if she shared in her mother's wish. Anyway L and the daughter met before in hospital I think. I'm sure the mother would have raved about him too to her as she always raves about him to me when we're both there. That led onto wondering how many other girls would have liked to marry L. 

Apologies to them, because he's taken! By me! Wahahahaha!

50% of the placement is over as of today. I'm officially half way through (yes midway was a bit early).

the only other thing i wanted to say was that i came home today (i was first one home) to find a package leaning against the front door. it had a bright orange sticker on it that said "Fragile Avoid Heat"....


(what was it?)


... a box of 16 chocolates from de Spa Chocolatier in Christchurch, ordered by my sweet husband who heard me go on about my chocolate craving over the weekend (which by the way i'm sure is caused by my impending first-period-in-half-a-year, which i hope is also causing my bloatedness - i popped a button my work pants yesterday and had to sew it back on and reinforce the other one! ack!)


well thank God for picking me a house to live in that is not only 5 minutes from work, at the foot of gorgeous hills, but also features a front door that faces south, so that the whole house prevented any sun (and it was hot as today) from getting onto my little package of love. nothing is coincidental and blessings are never mediocre with this Father of ours! otherwise i might have come home to a sweet brown puddle to clean up.

had a nice long walk after i got home and opened my present :) then home for a lovely dinner, dessert and watched some tv, did some work. now with warm milk and biscuits in my tummy, i think i'm ready to crawl into bed. *yawn* 

Week 2 is over! So fast, as usual. Midway already yesterday, went okay but full steam ahead in the next three weeks to achieve all the objectives. One case study, one education session and one activity analysis. Hope the right clients pop up soon!

This week I did some MMSE on my own, some education sessions, some initial interviews, wrote some notes. Did more home visits, attended more equipment demonstrations. Didn't know they were using Tempur for pressure care now. Ha! 

Been cold, but fine and sunny in the daytime. No summery weather. Below zero temperatures at night.

Going out for drinks this evening with N. Tomorrow hopefully going for gentler walks in the hills if the weather is good. 

Progressing on my sweater.

Getting along well with flatmates and work mates. All going well. Pangs of missing the husband now and again, like everytime I walk through the old hospital (morning and evening) and smell patient dinners. 

Yesterday I decided to go for a long walk around the neighbourhood, round the cemetery and the long way to the shops. It was beautiful and inspiring, but I got bored 10 minutes into the walk and realised why. My sweetie wasn't beside me, that's why. So despite the sweet fragrance and lovely colours of spring, everything is just that wee bit duller when I'm not with him.
 

 last night after dinner i was about to take a shower when L came in and said, "We're having an earthquake." He took my free hand, (the other clutching my towel) and asked, "Can't you feel it?" A pause and then yes, I felt the house swaying. Not trembling like I'd once felt in Sg and not vibrating but a gentle sway, like we were on a boat, or like (which I earlier thought) I had had too much wine for dinner. "This feels just like when I'm drunk!" I informed him. He led me to the living room where we considered which table we should sit under (I read that in the event of an earthquake, stay under a doorway or a table). We have two hefty solid tables, my study table and the dining table. We decided the dining table was better (solid, space for two of us to stay together and towards the front of the house, which is upslope and hence less space under the house and more stable). 

For awhile nothing happened, and we wandered around the house together. I felt strange and small, like we could be wiped out anytime. I could have been found dead clutching a large purple towel! We decided to stay together for awhile so we went back into the kitchen where he had been putting food away. He told me he had seen the blinds move and then felt the movement and gone to look for me. While we watched, the blinds started moving again, ever so gently, as if there was a breeze, which there wasn't. In the living room, the pendant lights were swaying slightly, again as if there was a breeze, but nothing else moved. No glasses sliding off shelves or anything. It was weird and surreal because it was so slight, yet perceptible. Like a warning. 

L went to see if anything had been written about the earthquake but nothing had been yet. Not immediately, too early, I told him. I thanked God for protecting us and prayed for anyone who had been hurt. 

Today, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, there's news on the earthquake, which I'd forgotten until I read the txt from my best friend in sg. I reassured her we were fine. I went about my day productively, all the time knowing we could have easily been closer to the centre, and the swaying could have been less gentle, just by a slight bit we were spared. Everyday our lives are spared when others are taken. It's a miracle we live day after day, each day is a gift and a miracle. 

 We had a great time in Wellington just relaxing, eating, drinking, making merry etc. The apartment we stayed in was on the dock so that it was right smack in town and close to everything but minus the noise and traffic. It was a one bedroom, just the right size for us, with a lovely bathroom with underfloor heating. That, I will miss. Everything was so comfy it was impossible not to relax and be happy! We explored town well and truly, shopped a lot, ate amazing food and generally lived it up in the big city. Saw a play, a french film and a comedy improv at a bar. 

The day after we arrived home was our anniversary! After the week-long festivities, we decided to mark the day by going out for a nice dinner at a new flashy restaurant near our house. It didn't disappoint. We didn't take any pics of the food (we would look so unglam and everyone would stare!), or of ourselves (rain- and wind-swept and I remembered why Dunedin life is incompatible with dressing up and wearing makeup.) but we had a lovely time. And then we came home, sat in front of the fire with the rest of the bottle of wine we started at the restaurant and re-read our wedding vows to remind ourselves of what we committed to, and to try with renewed vigour to carry them out as best we can. I don't know what other people think of wedding vows, but they generally don't say "I promise to try and be a good spouse when I feel like it". Those would be easy to keep. But ours promise body and mind etc, very full on so I was glad we went over them. I think husbands and wives need to be reminded of what the promise was, in order to keep them. 

After the weekend L went back to work starting at a new clinic down the hill from us, and this chapter will see us save lots of petrol money cos he walks up and down the hill to/from work, and he also signed up at flashy Les Mills in town. I'll continue to patronise good ol' Unipol. I must say when we went with the free trial passes to Les Mills, I did miss Fitness First. This gym is probably the most flash but still a good long way from the flashy gyms in Singapore. Can't believe they used to even give out workout clothes and provide all kinds of toiletries! Are Singaporeans the most pampered or what! There's no reason why everyone who is a gym member in Singapore shouldn't be super fit! Well I found myself thinking if I didn't have to bring anything except my socks and shoes to the gym, which was the case in FF but no longer here, it would be so convenient to go all the time! Yeah right. I don't remember going that much, though who knows when I get used to this if I ever join a gym in Sg again I will be so awe struck by how convenient it is I'll go... all the time! 

This week I've been taking it easy and enjoying myself by doing whatever I feel like when it takes my fancy. No such luxury when term restarts! I've been making food, reading, doing chores around the house, lots of knitting (still working on that scarf but almost there!)...

Next week I should probably start shifting my body clock away from 10 or 11am getting up times and more towards 6 or 7am. Sigh. And maybe do some reading. The results are starting to come back to us and I hope that motivates me to work harder and prepare more for next sem, although I am fully aware none of this is of my own strength, but God's grace and blessings. When I am weak He is strong, hooray! There is hope for me yet.

Waiting for the firewood guy to deliver 5m3 of firewood but he hasn't rung. Didn't give me an ETA either so I've been pottering around the house within earshot of the phone. Later I'll make a shepherd's pie for dinner. :) This week is probably the most varied in terms of dinner menu cos I've got the time and energy (and equipment, I lately realised is very important) to make nice meals. We had pork-and-prawn dumplings with noodles in homemade chicken stock on Monday, then homemade pizza-from-scratch on Tuesday, then Coq au Vin last night with rice and roasted pumpkin last night, and shepherd's pie tonight. Tomorrow, possible a chicken pilaf or a Turkish lamb something-or-other with pita bread and yoghurt. Also did an Upside Down Apple Cake which tasted lovely but almost caused me a massive rage cos the cake refused to cook properly at first. And finally used up the last of the apples from our tree yesterday making dried apple rings for L to eat with cereal.

Productive and happy! :)

 Woke up to an unbelievable sight. a good 10cm of snow had remained from the snow overnight. dunedin never looks like this! looked and felt weird cos we are essentially like in a beach house with a couple of cm of wood between us and the thick blanket of snow. it's crazy! felt rather cut off from the world, especially since buses aren't running, and we don't have a radio at home, but got updates from the online local newspaper and friends. 

my viva exam was at first off, then on, then in the end i couldn't even make it into campus (which was closed, officially, i guess the lecturers have their own key and their own ideas) cos there are no buses and i certainly can't walk all the way there, not with this snow! but apparently in town it's clear on the ground now. well it's not here.

i know i'm not the only person stranded but i'm grumpy as hell about having to wait and see when i'll be rescheduled to. yes i have a bit more time to prepare but i'm over it and i want it to be done already!

grumpy as hell!

now i'm warm at least cos the husband came home at lunch (i wonder if he's worried at all about these road conditions - papers full of reports of accidents and how treacherous it is but he even offered to send me to school, except i wouldn't have anywhere to wait to be picked up cos the polytech is closed and the lib is also closing early today so i might be booted outside seeing as the husband always finishes work late) and started a fire and brought in another heater for my study. but i'm SO cranky.

i'm not inspired to work, nor to study for my upcoming exams. my life feels so messed up cos of today. i feel majorly thrown off. i'm GRUMPY!!!! yes yes yes don't tell me how lucky i am etc etc. I AM GRUMPY SO THERE!

alors, c'est aujourd'hui. mon chéri rentre! il fallait me réveiller tôt ce matin pour bosser mais je ne l'ai pas fait. pas assez tôt en tout cas. c'est pas ma faute! notre lit est trop confortable, c'est toujours une lutte pour nous lever.

ça ne fait que 5 nuits mais il me sens très long. je le trouve un peu difficile à croire que nous allons nous réunir ce soir. on va chez Plato pour dîner. un rendez-vous! 

ce sont les derniers jours avant le fin du semestre et il me reste pas beaucoup de temps. je travaillais lentement mais au moins je fais du progrès. j'ai quatre devoirs et deux examens, et puis c'est fini, on part d'ici jusqu'à la capitale pendant une semaine. Yay!

mais pour le moment, je travaille, et j'attends. loo dee doo dee doo.
 

 I suppose I should update.
Haven't achieved much since I got back, except spending a lot of time bonding with my husband :) 
Haven't studied, the garden is a shambles, did do some clearing up, cleaning/housework, have been doing a LOT of washing, which is great, and I knitted a beanie. Picture to come.

Been feeling very much unmotivated, until today. Finally my desperate prayers were answered and I feel renewed interest in life, strength, purpose and self-efficacy. Did all school and household filing/accounting and my desk is clear and ready to take on a new heap of papers and books in the coming weeks. There are 8 weeks til the winter holidays and only 5 of those have classes. Then it'll be assessments and assignments again. It all starts on Monday with a Fieldwork debrief, which is rather zo bo. Then Tues is off for studying, Wed pm exam, Thurs full day and Fri half day Ethics Workshops, whatever that means. I got this all off the draft timetable for next week. Hope that Fri pm stays free cos the man and I are heading away for the weekend woohoo!  Date! 

The weather is still rather good considering it's mid April. Had some wintry days but the temperatures are climbing this week to a high of 17 or 18 again max in the daytime, which is awesome! Sun energises me and gives me go, grey skies do not. And cold temperatures promote inertia and hibernation.

But alas no more hibernation from next week onwards! Body clock, no more slacking! Everyone, back to your positions, holidays are over. Back to school mode!

Made two savoury mince pies for dinner last night and had some leftover filling on potatoes from the garden. (Also used some in the Pureed Chicken and Roasted Pumpkin/Carrot/Garlic soup the night before.)  Considering we didn't plant any of them, God has been generously providing us with late, late potatoes. Since I got home we have had 3 big harvests. It's really fun and satisfying to harvest potatoes from the garden (well especially if you did plant them, which we didn't, so it's just fun for me) because unlike other crops which you eyeball from the time they are tiny and count each flower, leaf and fruit to reassure yourself they are growing, potatoes are a total surprise. You know how many plants there are, but not how many potatoes each will have. So on harvest day you just dig a bit, feel around a bit and one by one they pop up as pleasant little surprises. We have both yellow and red ones and they show up so well against the dark soil. It's lovely :)

Tonight we have another date. We used to go to the gym together before I went to Welly and since I got back as I said I have been super slack but on Wed I did a proper workout, by which I mean a sustained amount of time on cardio machines (30 minutes treadmill, 30 minutes cycle - thanks to iPod) and proper aching muscles the next day (chest, butt, arm - mmm!) from weights. I shall now endeavour to return to my previous routine of gymming every other day (with a measure of flexibility). So tonight after work we start with dinner together at home, then a gym date, then shower and head out for drinks. It's been awhile!

I'm soooo happy to be home again. Felt like I'd been away much, much longer than I actually have, and I think that's because I was so engaged in life in Welly, which is good, but it's even better being home with my sweetie again.

L was off yesterday so although the weather was horrible, we dressed sensibly and headed out after a long, slow morning together, into the country. Had a bit of a drive and then we went into town and mucked about. I love mucking about with him. We checked out the new mall (flash but still bare), went into some shops having sales and finally got him a black cardigan that I must say is rather metro, but of course looks good on him, and a slinky sleep top for me. Nice! Had a dinner date at my favourite restaurant then headed home early to spend more quality couple time together. It's been really enjoyable catching up and talking and enjoying each other's company knowing we don't have to say goodbye again for at least a few weeks. It's a luxury and a blessing to go to sleep together and wake up together and spend the day together. Today he's at work but it's a glorious sunshiney day and I'm making good use of it to unpack, do some washing, cleaning, spruce up the house a bit, not that he let it go to pot when I was away (and contrary to many women/wives warning me otherwise, I did not come home to a pigsty. My husband's not that kind of guy fortunately.) I came home to vacuumed rooms, a scrubbed bath (he knew that was high on my priority list post-journey), no heaps of dishes in the sink (instead they were clean in the dishwasher) and even some pretty tulips on my bedside table! Plus, bubbly in the fridge and chocolates in the bedroom. Mmmmm. *bliss out*

Today we had breakfast together and when he headed to work I began work too. Been rather productive in terms of housework. :) But not rushed or stressed, just cruising along. Which is great. We've also been blessed with another long weekend to look forward to, beginning this evening and lasting till Monday! I'm so glad I came home on Wed instead of Sunday, which was the original plan. I'm so glad my supervisor was leaving Welly on Wed so I could too (in fact we were on the same plane).

Wandered out into the garden to check things out earlier. The weeds are bigger so I know the soil's getting more fertile with all that compost we put on it. Ha. Well that's fine cos I'm not planting for awhile. We had some courgettes from the garden yesterday and today I might pick some tomatoes and bring them in to ripen since the heat isn't reliable (fine and sunny this weekend, but a max of 15 degrees - it's definitely autumn).

I also picked my first apple of the season from our tree out front. The apples are bigger and less diseased than last year, and I didn't do anything to it. Therefore I conclude that last year they didn't do so well because the previous owners had put chemicals on it and the tree was still trying to get over that, it's managed to do that and recover over this year so this season the apples are gorgeous! I ate the one I picked fresh off the tree, and it was delicious. Crunchy, sweet and tart. Lovely lovely lovely! Thank God for growing such beautiful yummy apples for us :)

Hopefully this weekend we can head out for a daytrip to a special place we discovered in summer out in the country. It's a beautiful spot by a river whose name we didn't know, so we named it after a black dog we saw splashing around in it. It's a great spot to sit and enjoy the view with a picnic! I've really missed L's cooking. Though I've eaten well in Welly and taken care of myself in terms of cooking proper dinners with lots of veggies and having lots of sleep, it can't beat having a gourmet meal cooked with style and love from the husband. He's really good at that. I always tell him I'll definitely come back to his restaurant again lol :p

Off to put out a second load of washing. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Today many years ago, He sent his only son Jesus to die and pay the price of our sins. So that we can celebrate the victory of Jesus' blood over death and destruction. I'm looking forward to celebrating with God's people on Resurrection Sunday.

Count your blessings, people!

Yesterday I didn't feel like I had any reflections to write. Which is a first. I often feel too lazy/confused to write them, but feeling like I haven't any, is still a first. Today, I feel the same.

I wonder if I am all reflected out with all the ethical issues I have been reflecting on.

I think after the follow up on Wed with S and seclusion policy, my brain is tired. Monday was a super long day, as in we left at 6pm. Tuesday was long in terms of there were 3 big goals and lots of travelling. Wednesday was long in terms of different foci during the day and having to switch from one mode to another to another. So somehow two days ago it felt like a Thurs, and yesterday felt like a Fri. But alas they are not. I still feel this weird time lapse/warp because even though I've felt like the wrong day for a couple of day, it's still persisting. It feels like a Saturday today and going into work is sure going to feel strange tomorrow, cos it's a feels-like-Sunday. I'm off! Like jetlagged except I haven't been on a plane. My body clock is a bit off. I find myself having dinner earlier and earlier and getting hungry earlier too, because the days are getting shorter and as it gets dark I get hungry for dinner. Daylight saving occurs this weekend, and I don't know the effect that will have on my body clock.

In other news, my real "last week" has begun. Today is my last Thursday and tomorrow will be my last Friday in Wellington. Tomorrow meeting a friend for dinner in town, for a break. Saturday, gotta prepare for my final assessment. Sunday, church, rest and possibly see the Impressionists at Te Papa finally, it's my last chance. Monday is my final assessment, then Tuesday, already booked up with appointments, Wednesday, one last supervision, possible drua in the morning, possible shared lunch, certainly leaving at 3pm to make my plane at 7pm.

Tick tick tick! I'll be home with my sweetie in no time at all. And that's a big bonus but I'll miss being part of the team here, it's been great :)

today is the start of the last lap to welly! i haven't found accommodation yet, but i feel unusually calm. not in my hands, i guess.

there are 3 big pieces of work for this coming week, and i've done one. that doesn't include weekly maintenance not-to-be-handed in work.

i think we could all benefit from a week's break before placement but alas that is not to be. good thing is that i'm definitely looking forward to it, i don't know what it will be like but my anxiety levels are low cos i know 1) it's not acute 2) i can do community 3) it won't be boring physical stuff ie equipment! and if i really think about it, it's not really 5 weeks. it's only 5x5 work days minus good friday = 24 actual work days. not a lot to build relationships with the team and clients or learn all i want to learn seeing this is my first mental health placement...

in the final stages of being sick, ie the long lasting cough and phlegmy rattle, but nothing life threatening.

i had a great birthday and felt really loved and remembered this year! started with 2 presents (cute bedroom slippers to replace my old ones and fancy toiletries) from the husband on the eve, then woke up on friday to 2 txt messages from my dad and a friend in sg. then a birthday song from Lik, which i think is the most important part to me, then off to school where one of my friends took it upon herself to tell everyone it was my birthday so because of my publicity manager i got lots of extra wishes. in class the lecturer even commented "i heard it was your birthday" and the class broke into song (i had that last year too) and then at lunch, this publicity manager friend bought me and another girl who turns 21 on monday "birthday coffees" from the cafe, then after class i hung out at the library working until the husband came to pick me up. we went for a dinner date at my current favourite place in dunedin, a japanese tapas bar with grilled, teppanyaki and deep fried delights. i LOVE that place! (we went there for v day too) and it's always good value for money too. then home and to bed early because this has been a long week for us. saturday, lik went to work and i stayed home feeling somewhat blue and tired. made a curry for the potluck and did some laundry and tried unsuccessfully to nap because i was so tired. finally sat down to do some work and lik came home early (surprise!) with a chocolate cake! yay! exactly what i was craving.. then at 6pm some friends came over and we had potluck dinner and drinks and chocolate cake and sat around talking for hours, ended much later than i expected seeing as we're oldies...

then today we slept in and woke up late together and had a nice breakfast. now we're sitting in the lounge with the fire going, about to do some work so we can play in the afternoon. i felt a distinct husband-deficiency this week since lik started his training and clinic work again, being far away during the day out of dunedin. but feeling somewhat topped up now, which is good. i'm away next sat! argh! it seems like there are so many things to do before that but yet it'll come so fast......