2009 in Review

Each year, on the last day of the year, I round up the last year. The highs. the lows and the things that meant stuff to me. You can view the round up for 2007 here, and 2008 here.

Over the last few months I've been rather useless with updating this blog on a daily basis. I'm still trying, and the past few days have seen a lot of back posts appear so if you don't follow me on RSS, you may want to take a look back.

But regardless, on with the show...

367 posts as part of the project

Countless hours on Twitter, and immeasurable friendships and rewards as a result.

Four trips to Wellington

Favourite Posts of the Year

Sunset on the Sand - in which Kat watches the sun go down over the beach every day for 10 days and blogs the photos.

BDO hints and tips from a seasoned pro - exactly what it sounds like. Kat gives you her top hints for surviving the big day.

Retrospectively Wellington - 1000 words of praise for the fair city.

Saturday morning meetings - in which Kat met Helen Clark.

Fuck me that hurts! - In which Kat goes makeshift camping in her old flat as she organises the dissolving of a shonky living situation.

Supporting the economy - "but as long as I've got the nation-sized knickers on the dress looks fantastic."

Time Travel - Kat thinks of all the things she wishes she could tell her 12 year old self.

Graduation - the big day finally arrived.

On Flatting - Kat looks at flatting situations - good and bad - and decides she'd quite like to live by herself.

Giving it a Chance - Kat decides Auckland might not suck so much after all.

Life is Bigger, It's Bigger than You - Kat ponders religion and her spirituality.

Gym People - Kat discovers that even pretty people have their problems
Beenie Man: The Saga Endeth - In which Kat successfully calls her first major protest action to a close.

Just a Tip - Kat discovers her friend's true colours, and they ain't pretty.

Wellington Weekend - the final decision is made, Auckland it is.

Video of the Year

2009 will be known as...

The year I fell in love with an actual person, tweeted lots, and lost the ability to blog every day.

Simply put, for a lot of this year I've been too busy enjoying myself and living my life to write about it, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Cheers!

2009 in photographs

Each year I post a number of awesome photos. At the end of each year, it's become harder and harder to narrow down my favourites and thus, while there is a 'best of' blog coming tomorrow, this one contains some of my favourite photos and moments from throughout the year.

The first sunset of 2009

Bungy Jumping (click on the image to see a bigger version, my facials say it all)

Graduated!!

At the NZVMAs with Cate

Making scones with Josie, Josh and Cate

Anna driving down to Wellington over Labour Weekend

Wellington Harbour, Labour Weekend

Best of the Concerts

I've been to a number of concerts this year. What was my film-geeky thing has turned back into a music-geeky thing (I say 'back' because I haven't been a music geek in a number of years!) and I've been listening to a lot of new bands and seeing many of them live.

This year my biggest standouts would be Z-Trip, who I saw at The Big Day Out way back at the start of the year and who just completely reinvented how I saw music.

The Handsome Furs, who I saw at Bacco in August, were awesome too. They had such energy. Their music is good on the albums but AMAZING live. Would definitely rate as one of the best small-venue gigs I saw all year.

Another band I found at the Bacco Room were Why? who pulled off a tight and very impressive set. I was completely blown away by the technicality of their songs, which sounded exactly as they do recorded, but live - which is so much better.

And, finally, I have to put in Green Day. It was a dream come true to see them and they were epic. I just completely loved them.

In the next year I'm looking forward to Girl Talk, Peaches, Florence and the Machine and George Michael - and that's only looking forward through to March, perhaps best concerts of the year will need to become a yearly feature too!

Nothing post

This is a lazy post because today I am otherwise occupied and enjoying my Summer holiday.

Back to Auckland

It surprises me how much I enjoy coming back to Auckland these days. Yesterday I came back from Whangarei (round trip from my door to Whangarei and back was $5.20 thanks to the new $1 Intercity fares) and just before we got to the bridge I was looking at the harbour and I felt happy to be back.

Not the first time I've felt relief at getting back to Auckland, but it's certainly a new phenomenon.

Then I went shopping and filled the fridge and freezer with food, changed all the broken lightbulbs in the house, did the washing and cleaned the house.

Yes, I'm getting ready for a number of days of relaxation and not thinking about the dishes or the housework or where I'm going to eat, I'm just going to cruise.

Bliss.

Another year, another revision

Each year I revise my '101 Wishes' list on Boxing Day. You can view 2008's list here. The rules are simple - I can change any of the goals, except those that are crossed off but only on Boxing Day - it's cheating to make something a goal just before I do it! Tastes change, life changes, so do my goals. This is the list for 2010 (incidentally, the blue goals are the ones I achieved in the last 12 months and anything in red has been achieved since this post was published).

Art / Art History

1. Have a painting on public display
2. See the Mona Lisa
3. Own a really nice piece of art by someone other than me
4. See a piece of art by each of the Teenage Mutant Turtles’ namesakes (Mona Lisa OK for Leonardo, Sistine Chapel OK for Michelangelo)

Charity

5. Donate $100 to Canteen
6. Volunteer
7. Donate blood

Concerts / Music

8. See Radiohead live
9. See Green Day live
10. See The Gossip live
11. See Foo Fighters live
12. See Portishead live

Education

13. Learn Maori
14. Learn to surf
15. Learn to drive (and get my full drivers license)
16. Get a degree
17. Get my Masters
18. Get my PhD

Experiences

19. Order room service
    
20. Empty a mini bar
21. Fly first class
22. Go to Glastonbury
23. Go to Ocktoberfest
24. Go to Easter Island
    
25. Build a snowman
26. Experience a white Christmas
27. Go to Disneyland
28. Wear a diamond necklace
29. Pat an elephant
30. Drink French Champagne
31. Go to the Olympic Games
    
32. Take part in a protest
33. Go to the Harry Potter theme park in Orlando, Florida
    
34. Wear a designer dress
35. Spend a year in another country
    
36. Witness a historic event
37. Move out of Rocklands
38. Go out dancing all night

Friends and Family

39. Meet and marry my soul mate
40. Visit my grandparents
41. Find Steven More
42. Make friends with someone I don't like
43. Be able to recognise a liar

Health

44. Quit Smoking
45. Join a gym
46. Get down to size 14
47. Fix my teeth
48. Touch my toes without bending my knees

Material

49. Buy a bookcase
50. Buy a house
51. Buy a new computer
    
52. Be debt-free
53. Be 'comfortable' money-wise
54. Own a yellow drum set
55. Own a Nintendo Entertainment System

Music – See Concerts

Random

56. Write a short novel
57. Go drinking with a celebrity
    
58. See all the movies on the IMDB Top 250
59. Bake and decorate a tiered cake
60. Remember to buy fireworks before 5 November
61. Get a tattoo
62. Sew a shirt

Russia – See Travel – Russia

Travel - Asia

63. Explore China
64. Go to the Geisha Districts in Japan
65. See the Terracotta Army
66. See Tiananmen Square

Travel – Australia

67. Go diving at the Great Barrier Reef
68. See Adelaide
69. Go shopping in Sydney for a day
    
70. See Perth

Travel – Europe

71. Explore London
72. See Stonehenge
73. Go up the Eiffel Tower
    
74. See Much Ado About Nothing at the Globe Theatre
75. Visit Amsterdam

Travel – Italy

76. Explore Italy
77. See the Sistine Chapel
78. Learn Italian
79. See the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Travel – New York

80. See a Broadway musical
81. Go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
82. Welcome in a New Year at Times Square
    
83. Have a picnic in Central Park

Travel – New Zealand

84. See the South Island
85. Go snorkelling at Leigh Marine Reserve
86. Do the Tongariro Crossing
87. Go to Milford Sound
88. Take the Auckland-Wellington train
89. Walk the entire length of the Te Araroa track (although perhaps not in one go!)
    
90. Take the Greymouth-Christchurch train

Travel – Other

91. Drink tequila in Mexico
92. Holiday on a Pacific Island
93. Gamble in Vegas
94. Walk down Hollywood Boulevard
95. See the Amazon
96. Look at Russia from Alaska
97. Go to Emily Dickinson's birthplace
    

Travel – Russia / Russia

98. Read War and Peace
99. Read Anna Karenina
100. See Lenin's Mausoleum
101. Drink vodka in Russia

Christmas Day

Today was.... just like any other day actually.

I woke up early for a phone call, then went back to sleep, getting up at 11am. I made breakfast, had my coffee and it was almost 12 before Mum suggested we open the presents - I think it's a new family record.

That said, there was a good reason for it. The pile of presents was very small, and we pretty much all knew what was coming.

So I got my Big Day Out ticket, a movie trivia game, some vouchers and some cash. Nothing exciting but all appreciated.

Then we relaxed for a while, had the first swim of the summer in some amazingly clear water and had a light BBQ dinner with lamb shanks, warm roast vege salad and baby potatoes followed by fresh raspberries from the garden with ice cream.

I do love Christmas dinner at my parents. It's always fresh and delicious and it never makes you feel bloated.

After that I pretty much curled up and watched Christmas Day television. Much like yesterday, it wasn't exciting, but it was relaxing nonetheless.

Bay of Islands

Mum and I went to the Bay of Islands today. The original plan was to go for a ride through The Hole in the Rock, but unfortunately our first ride got cancelled due to an accident on another boat, and ourreplacement ride got cancelled because we were the only people on it!

So instead we pottered around Paihia and had pizza for lunch, then after the second ride was cancelled we were given complimentary passes for the Russell ferry, so we headed over there for an hour.

We wandered around - both places are very small and you can see each of them in maybe an hour - I bought some top-shelf olive oil, and then we headed back to Whangarei.

All in all relaxing. Not much went on, but really that's exactly how you want to spend Christmas Eve.

Catching up

I was supposed to go swimming today, but it's cloudy and overcast so I'm not.

Instead, I'm spending my time catching up with my blogs - I've almost completely caught up with every missed blog for the year. As I write this, there are only 4 missing. I've also completed the three regular posts I publish each year - my goal revision, my yearly photo-post and my yearly 'best of' post.

So, 4 more blogs and I'm up to date. Thank God for the Summer Holidays huh?

Home Sweet Home

It's been a year since I was last up here. I feel sad that I haven't been back more often.

It's so peaceful here. I know that I love it in Whangarei, but for some reason it doesn't come to mind as a place to go for a break. Go knows why, it's the best possible place to come for a break.

I have an entire level of the house to myself, with my own bathroom, there is plenty here to keep me busy, a fabulous emporium if I feel crafty or arty, an awesome secondhand bookshop, Mum feeds me good food, and the booze never runs out (and it's not the cheap stuff either).

Yesterday I got to raid the wine cellar, then we had dinner and Mum and I played Rummykub until bed. I've already got further in my book since I've been here than I have in the last fortnight back home and today we've been shopping and the fridge is stocked with all sorts of awesome yummies.

Tomorrow is set aside for the beach. I'll get to try out my new togs and maybe even get a bit brown (oh, who am I kidding? Pink.)

Goal for next year: get up here more often!!

Bargain

You know what rocks? $1 bus trips.

I'm not talking cross-town, I'm talking inter-city. As in Auckland to Whangarei for a buck. That's awesome.

Last week, just before I was going to book my bus ticket, I spotted a tweet announcing InterCity Bus were about to start releasing $1 bus fares on all services, as of 12pm the next day. I figured I could wait a day and try snag a bargain.

When 12pm came, I was ready and hit the button, and there they were - two $1 bus fares to bring me home to Whangarei for a few days over Christmas.

Today I took the first of those busses. It actually cost me more to get from my house to SkyCity than it did to get from Auckland to Whangarei. Purely brilliant.

Thanks InterCity, even with your crappy forced-stop "cafes", it's hard to complain about a $1 fare.

GREEN DAY!!!!!

Wow. Just simply, wow.

This weekend's been pretty awesome. Holly's been up and we've been hanging out, seeing Auckland and enjoying ourselves, but last night was definitely the main event because last night was Green Day and it freaking ROCKED.

Before the concert we grabbed pizza from Sal's Pizza. I'd been going on and on about it to Holly for a while so she was very keen to give it a go. I think she sees why I love it so much now. We ate it on the Britomart lawn, listening to the live music they had there before making our way to Vector for Green Day.

We were early, so when we got there there were some crazy lines. We decided to hang out and wait for them to subside a little before we went in and sat in the sun chatting. It was great to see her. Despite the fact we talk practically daily so it doesn't feel like we never see each other, it's always better when we actually do.

Then we decided to go in. I grabbed a program (actually more of a souvenir book and it cost $25, which was more than I wanted to pay but, well, it was Green Day. Sacrifices must be made), got drinks and went to find our seats.

We had good seats, but then again, I tend to find most seats at Vector are pretty great, and we settled in to watch the opening act, Calling All Cars. They were a good fit for opening (a three piece rock band from Melbourne) but they lacked the stage presence to get a venue like Vector rocking. Not only that but their lights were enough to cause migraines. For some reason they dedicated a song to their lighting guy... I'm not sure why, I'd have much rather have hit the lighting guy for making me ill. Thankfully it was a short set and soon we were watching the roadies put together the Green Day set.

I've probably said it before, but I tend to see bands for the drummers. I love Tré Cool, I think he's the most awesome guy. He has some brilliant beats and he's a total monkey. Love. Him. So naturally, I got very excited when I saw his drum set on stage. Yup, I'm a total geek.

Next thing we knew, a drunken pink rabbit was coming out on stage to entertain the crowd. God knows why they needed an opening act, the rabbit doing the YMCA live on stage more than got the crowd ready for the main act.

And then, the lights went down, the crowd went wild and we could hear Billy Joe singing Song of the Century, quickly followed by 21st Century Breakdown. I still stand by my earlier comments that this CD is not as good as previous ones, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it live. It was fantastic.

Every song was brilliant and the whole show was interactive. Billie Joe Armstrong got the crowd going nuts, ran a full round of the arena through the crowd, got people on stage, hit them with super soakers and a toilet roll gun, sent t-shirts firing into the crowd with a cannon, got a random guy on stage to sing... it was a 3 hour roller coaster of entertainment.

Even if you hate Green Day, you've got to give credit to a performer who can go three straight hours singing, jumping, running, yelling and giving one of the best shows I've ever seen.

But Green Day isn't all Billie Joe, Tré Cool got in there singing Dominated Love Slave (a personal favourite of mine), and monkeyed around with the crowd while Mike Dirnt did what he does best - rocked out.

Ever since I saw Bullet in a Bible, the DVD from the American Idiot tour, I've wanted to see Green Day live. Specifically I wanted to see that tour, but you know what? I got every hit I wanted to see (except Warning) and I had an amazing time. I've seen a few concerts in my life, but I don't think I've ever seen an act with that level of raw energy, with that level of audience participation (where do you see stage diving these days?) and with that quality of experience.

Best $100 I've spent, and possibly one of the best concerts of my life.

Epic, simply epic.

FYI

There is a post for today, but it's hidden in the Private Diaries.

Why?

I was introduced to Why? a while ago and immediately liked their sound. It's hard to explain, but for some reason it reminds me of 1998. The sound is reminiscent of a lot of stuff I used to listen to back then and, while I can't put my finger on exactly what it reminds me of, I'm into it.

So there was no hesitation in hauling my tired ass out on a school night last night to go and see them.

The opening act were terrible. They couldn't remember their lyrics and were reading them off scraps of paper, the sound was too loud and when half the bar empties to the smokers area en masse, you know the act is a stinker.

That said, Why? were freaking amazing.

I'd not noticed from the album I'd acquired how technically brilliant they were, but the group centers around a simply superb percussionist, and is complimented by talented musicians on keyboards, bass and guitar. Plus the lead singer did not miss a beat and had a great stage presence.

Apart from the fact I was completely shattered, the gig went off. The crowd loved them, the songs sounded brilliant and the atmosphere was awesome. The gig was at Bacco, which is a great venue for bands like this, and the whole thing was just great.

I got a couple of vids while I was there, check them out below and if you ever get to see Why?, I'd highly recommend you go. I've never in my life seen a tighter band. Simply amazing.

2 letters and it all changes

Today, my mother sent me a text which was supposed to say...

I remember when shop-persons used to ask at this time of year: "Would you like that gift-wrapped?". Now they ask; "Do you want to buy a plastic bag?"

Which is a witty observation, but it takes on an entirely different meaning when what she actually said was...

I remember when shop-persons used to ask at this time of year: "Would you like that gift-raped?". Now they ask; "Do you want to buy a plastic bag?"

Nothing like a bit of gift raping to make you feel like it's Christmas.

Planning Sydney

Anna and I sat down and started planning Sydney tonight. We've got our hotel booked, we've priced everything up and it's coming in at under what we thought it was going to be and it looks like we can fit in Wicked, Spring Awakening, George Michael and Mardi Gras. We do have to see Rufus Wainwright in Auckland before we go as he's sold out in Sydney, but that's OK, more time to enjoy our surroundings.

We're staying at Quest Potts Point which got a really positive write up in the Sunday Star-Times a few weeks ago. Apparently the internet isn't all that flash, but hey, we use the internet every day at home. Even geeks need to go offline once and a while!

So now we are organised with spreadsheets and Google Maps and our bookings have begun to be made... it's happening, I'm going to Sydney Baby!

Not quite here...

There is a post for today, but it's not on this blog.

Sorry, I know it sucks, but sections of my life just can't be put onto such an open forum. Some days I'm actually writing up to 3 blogs, but some days I only want to write one that won't fit into this particular forum.

Apology Y'all

I know, I've been beyond useless lately.

That said, there are actually drafts for most of the last week sitting there. They have topics, I've been up to things, there are photos, but I've been so busy at both work and in my personal life that I just haven't managed to put them all together, proof-read and post them.

It's also worth mentioning that I am writing, it's just a lot of it isn't fit to really be posted here. I have a few blogs all over the place. I'm still making the effort to blog daily, but given the nature of my life these days, not all of it is able to be put in such a public sphere with my name all over it.

So I apologise for the lack of blogs, and I promise they will be forthcoming over the next couple of weeks.

Sexy Recession

Tonight I went with a group of people from Twitter went to The Sexy Recession Cabaret at TAPAC in West Auckland.

It was my first cabaret but it was good fun. We started with some bubbles, then went inside and a couple of platters were delivered, then the show started, with soloists, nudity, women hanging from the roof on the silks, singing, tap dancing and a whole lot of interesting, flashy things happening all over the place.

It was like a giant selection of sexy entertainment happening all around me.

Overall, I'm enjoying this getting out more thing. There's no doubt I'm seeing a lot more live music, and this live theater stuff is also pretty fun too (I'd always thought it was, I'd just never had the motivation to actually go to these things). I don't see half as many movies as I used to, but the way I see it is that those movies will always be around - I can hire a DVD (or legally download or whatever) the movies coming out today in 20 years, but these concerts and shows are happening now, and I am lucky enough to experience these things with fantastic people.

Totally worth it.

10 Movies I'm glad NOT to see

In the last few months I've spent a lot of time going to gigs and hanging out with friends, which has meant I haven't been seeing as many movies as I'd like. That said, I'll always have movies you couldn't pay me to see.

So I thought it would be fun if I put up a list of the 10 movies I'm most glad I didn't see this year. In no particular order...

1. Dance Flick - Another Wayans disaster. Would somebody please stop giving them money?
2. The Pink Panther 2 - The first one was crap, why would you want to see a sequel to a crappy film? The chances of it being better are ridiculously small!
3. The Final Destination - I mean, really? First one wasn't too bad, but do we need three more sequels? Will Hollywood ever leave anything alone for Christ sake?
4. Year One - I will admit I did some research for this blog, but I didn't even need help adding this one to the list. So very, very, very glad my $16 went anywhere else.
5. Angels and Demons - Another one I knew off the top of my head. I'm not a Dan Brown fan (though I've read his first 4 books), and I'm eternally grateful I've never seen The DaVinci code. I came close to seeing this one, but thankfully I can say I didn't, and I'm glad.
6. Paul Blart: Mall Cop - The title alone sends me running.
7. New Moon - Maybe it's good, I don't know, but I'll happily live the rest of my life not knowing.
8. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - Ah Matthew McConaughy, when will you ever stop making crappy play-by-numbers romantic "comedies"?
9. Hannah Montana: The Movie - I was once forced to sit through the entire Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana concert in 3D. It was like the 7th Ring of Hell. I don't want to revisit that place. It was awful, the Jonas Brothers were there.
10. Land of the Lost - When will Will Ferrell crawl back into his cave? When?

The So-Bad-I-Didn't-Make-It-Past-The-15-Minute-Mark award goes to Confessions of a Shopaholic.

And having just given you 10 awful movies, here's one so bad I wish I had seen it, Knowing. All my friends said it was the worst movie they'd seen to that point in time. Call me curious. It's the train-wreck effect.

Finally, the worst movie I did see last year goes to... The Women. Boring, boring, boring!

And that's it. 10 movies I will be eternally thankful to never, ever see, one I can't even sit through, one I wish I'd had the guts to see and one I had the misfortune to pay full dollar for.

RnV no more

I've decided not to do Rhythm and Vines this year.

Ultimately, compared to festivals like the Big Day Out and Laneways, Rhythm and Vines has the weaker line up. That's not to say I wouldn't enjoy it, but when combined with the transport costs, accommodation and food, not to mention booze... well, it was going to be one expensive affair. Frankly, one that I couldn't justify with the line up.

So I've sold my ticket and I'll be hanging around Auckland. There are currently no plans as to what I'll actually end up doing, but I'm sure it'll be fine. It won't be the epic New Years I'd hoped for, but I'm sure it's going to be excellent nonetheless.

Social media generation

I've recently connected with someone on Facebook with whom I had the strangest crush on in high school.

This guy was kind of a magnet for me. He had a depreciating sense of humour and was the only person I let talk about my weight - even though I can't work out why when I think back, but at the time he managed to do it in a way that was both funny and didn't make me feel bad about myself.

Of all the crushes I've had over the years, he's always been one I've never quite managed to forget, so when he popped up as a Facebook suggestion, I jumped right on it.

As it turns out (and, let's face it, at my age it usually does) he's engaged and he's got his life - the strange thing about Facebook is that it allows you to look at people's lives and see what they're up to without even talking to them. All they have to do is confirm they know you and voila, there it all is.

Regardless, it's interesting to be connected with those strange enigmas from the past, to see what the exes and old crushes are up to without even having to ask. Interesting and scary - especially for someone like me who has a blog like this, which I know several ex-flames still follow.

Sometimes I wonder if it's a good thing. I've lost a lot of the desire to actually see these people in real life. The questions I'm curious about have all been answered. Not to mention I think we have all had the occasion where we have bumped into an old friend or casual acquaintance and been asked about some event in our lives which, as it turns out, they've discovered through being our friend on Facebook.

This is why I regularly clean out my Facebook friends, why my profile is pretty strictly controlled and why I try to watch what I say here, and on Twitter. I don't completely muzzle myself, but I am aware that this is my life, publicly available to anyone. It's a scary prospect.

Twinkling Lights

Tonight we went and saw the Telecom Christmas Tree and the Franklin Road lights. It was the first time I'd checked out either and it was really awesome. Below are some of the pics.

I hear the secrets that you keep, when you're talking in your sleep

Apparently I talk in my sleep.

Chances are this has been going on my entire life but now I have an audience, all sorts of strange things are coming out of my mouth.

Like the time I sat dead up and said "leave me alone, just don't touch me!" (not helped by the fact this was the first time it happened).

It goes further than just talking in my sleep, apparently my hands like to go wandering too.

Sometimes I'm completely asleep when it happens, sometimes I'm vaguely aware of it and it rings bells when I'm told about it the next day, and sometimes I wake up just as I do it and I realise just how stupid I sound.

It's a discovery that provides entertainment almost every night.

Room Service

Last night we stayed in a hotel.

When I joined Orcon, I got a free night in a hotel to play with. Originally I'd planned to use it on my last trip to Wellington, but with the Christmas Tweet up, Jarvis and an excellent night planned, it kind of fit in a great way.

I got to the hotel by myself after work and did what I always do when I get to a hotel - I got excited. Growing up, every holiday as a family involved staying with family. In fact, until my birthday last year I'd never even stayed in a hotel. Thus, they excite me greatly.

I got in, I found chocolate, a mini bar (and we all know how much I like the idea of a mini bar), a balcony, a giant bed and a shower... with jets!

I took a shower right then and there simply to play with the jets (and learned that if you have the jets on, you should be facing away from them) before getting dressed again and heading off to the Tweet Up and Jarvis Cocker.

After the concert, we arrived back, jumped into the wine we'd bought with us and decided to order room service. This in itself is a highlight because it's one of my 101 Goals to order room service (I mentioned the not-staying in hotels, right?) Unfortunately, it was quite late and the best things on the menu were fish and chips and ice cream which (when they finally turned up) were kinda disappointing, but still, goal crossed off the list.

I also added up the total cost of the mini bar, which would have come to just under $100. If I'd had $100, and if we'd actually been in a position to empty it, I totally would have. In the end, we settled with just taking a bottle of lemonade for hangovers in the morning.

The morning was spent enjoying the room before we had to leave for our late check out at 11am (if you didn't know, ask for late check out at every hotel you stay at. They'll probably give you an extra hour for free).

It was a good night. I love hotels. I like the crisp sheets, the showers with jets, and I love exploring the rooms. Surely, at some point in my life this excitement will wear off, but in the mean time I'll just let people laugh at me as I get excited over bars of soap, shower caps and jets.

Jarvis Cocker

Tonight I got to see Jarvis Cocker live and, well, I liked it.

My companions weren't as impressed as I was, but I liked the stage presence, the little chats he had with his audience, and the dancing... well, the New Zealand Herald summed up the dancing by describing it as a "Jagger-Cleese gene-splice", which I felt was absolutely an accurate description.

To be fair, I'm not a huge Jarvis fan. I'd heard good things about his concerts, the music I'd heard wasn't bad and I just figured "well, why not?" and headed along.

A little side note - I'd never been to The Powerstation before and I have to say I really like it as a venue. The venue would definitely be a factor in deciding to see more concerts there in the future.

I was there with Caine and Anna - both of whom are great concert companions. Caine led us to a fab spot at the front of the stage, where we got an amazing view of the man and his lanky form doing... well if you've never seen Jarvis' style of dancing, it's too difficult to explain, but it's memorable (even when your belly is full of the numerous beers downed prior to the concert at the National Tweet Up).

Ultimately, the only thing that let me down about this concert was that while I know, and enjoy Cocker's music, it doesn't fire up a passion within me. Some acts I've seen this year have fired that up within me having never heard them before, others I was passionate about before I saw them, and some have just completely failed. I enjoyed the concert, but I wasn't passionate about that music particularly.

Still, there's nothing like seeing live music, and I wasn't disappointed by the caliber of the performance. Where I felt it was lackluster, it was far more to do with my feelings towards Cocker's music than the performance itself. That's not to say I don't enjoy the music at all - Black Magic, Fat Children, I Never Said I was Deep and watching Cocker shake and shimmy to the opening song, Angela were all highlights. The only thing I regret was leaving before the encore of Running the World - one of the songs I was most excited to see.

Still, it was a great night, at a great venue, with great friends - and it's hard to regret something like that.

On working

So, I've decided to leave my job. Not because I hate it, or the people. Not because I'm having a rough time or because someone is awful to me, but because it's just time to move on.

I've learned a lot here, but it's time for new challenges and new directions.

But what do I want to do? Where do I want to move to?

Well first of all it has to be a workplace where I can bop around to songs from Glee in my seat without people looking at me like I'm a freak... no, I'm kidding... sort of. I do want somewhere relaxed, where the main priority is getting work done, not what you might do in the meantime (I work better when I'm multi tasking with something non-work to switch to occasionally to refresh myself). I want a job that keeps me busy, where I'm learning new things all the time.

I'd like a job with the occasional chance to travel and that pays me well, but those are bonuses, not needs.

I'd love something internet and new-media related.

Really, it's hard to imagine what kind of job I really want because the job I want is highly likely to be one I've never heard of.

Still, I'm on the look out, so if you hear of anything that sounds fun, starting in early to mid-March, send it through, it might just be the opportunity I'm looking for.

Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down

It struck me recently that it's been 10 years since I was at high school.

High school wasn't a fun time for me. I was filled with an idea that I was fat, ugly and worthless. Regardless of what I actually said or did at the time, that was how I actually felt. I wanted people to like me, to validate my existence. I tried to get people to like me, they did not, I felt worse.

As I moved up through high school I fell in with the other outcasts. We weren't the bottom of the rung but let's face it - I'm immortalised in the yearbook as being part of the chess club and for a while there we hung out outside the library. I was that kid, but I was never comfortable with being that person either.

I made friends outside of my own high school and I grew up and I moved away and I've got on with living my life, but it's quite amazing how the experiences I had in high school have stayed with me and continue to shape who I am and how I think about things.

The cruelty of 14 year old girls continues to feed my fears, the insecurity I felt continues to be part of me... Yet it's been 10 years since I tasted the sweet freedom that came from leaving.

I still remember my last day. The sky was bright blue, I remember the smells of the classrooms as I went and got my teacher's signatures on my leavers card. I remember the smell of the grass as I walked past the rugby field. I remember the smile on my face that was so big it hurt. I was leaving my own private hell hole.

10 years ago. Bloody oath.

Wellington Weekend

Well, overall my recent weekend in Wellington was... complete crap.

Firstly, I spent the entire weekend missing a particular someone back in Auckland, which cast a shadow on the whole weekend anyway, but combined with a lack of money (3 months straight of going to Wellington has left me skint) and a particularly nasty clash with friends, it just soured the whole thing.

And I've been thinking (and had been thinking before this weekend), why do I want to move back? Looking at the facts...

• My friends will still be my friends if I stay in Auckland - they've been my friends all this time despite an absence of 5 or so years.
• I have made friends since I've been here and all it would take is a little more effort and I could see them more often. Not only that, I've made a number of friends via Twitter, some I'm particularly close to.
• I have someone here, who means a lot to me.
• My family is here, or close.
  
• I can't afford to move.
• Am I really sick of Auckland or am I actually sick of my job? Analysing the facts, I've come to the conclusion that my plans to move to Wellington were based around wanting to change my job, not around wanting to move.
• What would I do in Wellington? I don't particularly want to work in the public sector or hospo and while the student life is tempting, I like the money I make in the real world, I like having weekends and a job, I'm not so keen on exams and I'm definitely not keen on making my student loan any bigger!
• The weather. Auckland is warm and I can use an umbrella when it rains. Wellington has a 9-month winter and when it rains, you get wet.

It's taken me a long time, but I'm kind of settled here. I quite like my house, and I like my friends and I like my life. Moving back feels like... well, moving backwards. This last trip kind of sealed something for me - 3 trips in as many months left me feeling very, very bored by the end of the last one. I'd done everything, seen everyone. I managed to do that in a week-long trip in September, and two long-weekends in October and November.

So why move? If the jobs I want, and the people I want to be with and the concerts and events I want to attend are all here, why move? If I can see everything and everyone I need to or want to see in Wellington over 4 or 5 days, why move?

Really, the answer was given to me over the weekend. For as long as things stay the way they are in my personal life, for as long as I am happy here, I'm staying in Auckland. If things change in the future, then I'll move forwards - and for the right reasons - not backwards for the wrong ones.