Since term ended I have had the opportunity to help a few friends move some stuff specifically they were leaving town and stuff had to be picked up to be moved to the Postshop for posting or our house for storage. When I was in the car with T and L, we found ourselves in situations which I told them would have warranted much honking, swearing and possibly other forms of road rage on the part of the other driver directed at me/us. Mostly due to bad driving on my part, though not deliberate malice. Possibly just lack of skill, which I fully admit.

I was telling them how kiwi drivers were in my opinion incredibly read unbelievably patient and nice. In no other country I've been in do you see a queue of cars waiting patiently while someone reverses or parks in the middle of peak hour traffic without so much as a honk. In fact, here a honk is a social sound, like "oh hey that's my friend" not "you @#$%#$%#!!!!!" like I used to know it. I still turn around in fear when someone honks at me in case I did something wrong.

L piped up that she thought kiwi drivers were absolutely awful! but admitted she hadn't anything to compare them to we had many situations that day in which I had the chance to say, "If we were in Singapore, that person would be honking and swearing loudly at us!!"

Today in G's car, while he tried to back the trailer into our not-the-most-wide driveway, he was a picture of calm, telling me about how you had to reverse the car the wrong way to start the trailer going the right way, etc.. and he tried a good many times amidst the usual busy afternoon traffic on our road before L advised him to stop. He seemed quite disappointed but agreed, saying it was fun.

Now, I was REALLY glad we were in dunedin cos if we were in singapore, trying to back a trailer onto a driveway in the middle of busy afternoon traffic both ways...........

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!

 L rightfully pointed out that not too long ago we were a relatively childless cell group. Well J was always there but usually asleep in his room when we came round. This past Tuesday there were 3 children, 1 toddler and 2 infants. !!!!! 

Infants were asleep, mostly. Toddler was simply lovely. He's my favourite little boy! And the 3 children were normal, I guess...

After that evening I decided I wasn't so clucky anymore. I can do babies and toddlers I think, but I don't have anything to say to a 7 year old or an 11 year old. 

Other random reflections/updates:

1) Boys are so rough! With each other, with sisters, with things
2) I think the age round about school age is the most annoying. The "I am so smart I know everything let me tell you" stage. Oh hang on, don't teenagers think the same? No teenagers probably think "I'm so smart I know everything shut up and go away". Charming.
3) I have 2 more weeks of class and then  Study & Assessment weeks. 4 weeks to the END but lots to do before that. my to do list is SOOO FRIGGIN LONG.
4) I want a dog. Anyone want to buy me a fence?
5) I've finished my turtleneck sweater but I'm too lazy to put it on and take a photo.
6) We have ceiling insulation! Govt gave us $1000 grant.
7) Moody, a bit.
8) I ordered interesting yarn from the US, can't wait for it to come! Two more projects in the pipeline. 
9) I got a coil put in last Wed. I survived! Going well so far.

 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!