The world in 360°

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 10:30:00 +0000

OH MY GODDDDD!!!! I AM SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE AMAZING NEWS SOON :) :) :)

(NOT SORRY FOR THE INSANE AMOUNTS OF HAPPINESS ON THIS PAGE! DEAL WITH IT!!!!) NO ACTUALLY, CELEBRATE WITH ME!!!!!!!

____________________________

It’s holiday time baby! Time to whip out the good times and eat junk and sleep till noon and meet friends and do everything you couldn’t do during term time.

I don’t miss school much, but days like today are pretty hard to beat!

In Study period, it was basically bumming around for an hour. The guys were all huddled around the back of the classroom so I decided to waltz over and see what they were up to. Turns out they were playing poker!!! Of course, Megan can’t pass on poker so I joined them in their Texas Hold’em. They even ripped up little bits of paper, rolled them into balls and used them as chips!!! Boys…!

Finishing the Line

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:07:00 +0000

Bron: I LIKE BIGGG BUTTS AND I CAN NOT LIE, YOU OTHER BROTHERS CAN’T DENYYYY

Pause.

Megan: …WHEN A GIRL WALKS IN WITH AN ITTY BITTY WAIST

HAHAHAHA

Weekend Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 05:32:00 +0000

I LOVEEEE WEEKENDS SO MUCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I just feel like dancing and singing every time Friday afternoons roll around!!!! And negative people just don’t affect me when I’m on my weekend high! I am in an awesomeee mood right now with the beautiful weather and my Saturday!

Let’s back up: BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP (that’s the sound of a reversing truck!) HAhahaha you can tell what kind of high I’m in! ANYWAYYYYYYY… last FRIDAY! Bron & I went out to see the ballet we had been dreaming of watching since seeing a ballet troupe practice at the Sydney Opera House in December. LO BEHOLD, we see one being advertised and we hopped onto the net and booked ourselves a couple of cheap seats! AND even though they were cheap, we got great seats!! Right near the stage :) :) :)

MASSIVE picture of my nail colour for the ballet!

White wash on my face!

The ballet wasn’t very good even though it was our first one! (And I’m being gentle here because of the good mood) The first part was CRAP, the second part was GREAT, the last part was OKAY. (To sum them up in one word!). Oh well, it was an amazingggg night getting ready and actually ATTENDING a ballet and PEOPLE-WATCHING to see what all the cool cats were wearing! LOVEEE the long dresses and sophistication! (Just spelt sophistication with an “f”! HEARTS for spellcheck!!)

Okay, rattling onto the after ballet part – we traipsed towards the warmly lit STARBUCKS and settled in for a classic hot chocolate. Mmmmmmmmmmmm……! Perfection I tell ya mixed in with the sister chat and pretty ambience! What a FABULOUSSSS Friday out!!!

Sip!

Yums for Starbucks!

LAST SATURDAY – birthday BBQ!! Yay for old friends! Had a few old mateys from back in the day come over to catch up and chill. I love how comfortable we feel with each other – you know you’re comfortable when silences aren’t awkward! Even though we’ve all gone separate ways and don’t talk much when we don’t see each other, we still all AGREE that we’re each others’ best mates and we’re comfortable together. LOVE THE GIRLS!!! Pictionaryyyy, BBQ, CHIT-CHAT, BALLOONS, FUN :) xoxoxo!!!! ARGHHHH, thinking back makes me so happy! (We chugged down all the juices like the one on the right –> )

LizO loves my phone & Jing-Yuan love changing the songs on the iPod!

Sasha dearest, sorry I kinda interrupted your photo!

We love outdoor dinners with perfect evening sun

Cake time! I requested for Mum’s Custard Cake! Like THE best :)

The girls protecting my candles from the wind :) aww

With mum. Oooh look, the candle lights are reflecting on my sparkly top!

THIS FRIDAY (a.k.a yesterday!) – dinner with family & relatives! Had an aunty from OH CANADAAAAA (break out with the Canadian national anthem!) and we had a get together at a local restaurant. That was pretty good, although my defining “AWESOME weekend moment” was walking home. It was all quiet out and three of us were taking the chilly route home! I chased after the car and then skipped up the road. The cool Autumn breeze whipping at my ankles and bron & I laughing and chatting like we were the only ones in the world! AHHHHHHHH… weekends!!!!!!!!!!

SATURDAYYYYYY (a.k.a today!) – met up with my lovely corran ladies!!!!! OMG, I forgot how much I missed them until I spent the day with them!!!! Usually when we hang out, it’ll just be kinda comme ci, comme ca but today was friggin’ awesome!! So much more energy from the girls and laughter and chit-chat! We shared our stories of separation and how we’re all adapting. Then SHOPPING!!! WOOHOO!!!! NEW STUFF!! BIRTHDAY PRESSIES!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!!! LOVE THEM!!! (my friends I mean!) Ooh yeah, did I mention FROZEN COKES? We had some! It’s like being transported to primary school again when we’d order frozen cokes at the movies (why don’t they make them anymore???).

With our frozen cokes. Love the sparkly tops! Eek, high waisted denim shorts – there’s something new for me!

Oh Wow. I am TOO happy.

(P.S. excuse the exclamation marks – my fingers kinda got stuck on the SHIFT and “1” key on the keyboard!)

Inspiration: 26/03/10

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:06:00 +0000

I love my tumblr dashboard so much! It’s my inspiration bucket, my treasure chest, my fashion education, my photography love, my EVERYTHINGGGG rolled into one shiny homepage!! And usually I leave all my photo love on my tumblr and select a few photos for my “Things I Love Thursday” pictures……. BUTTTTTTTTTTTT I couldn’t resist today!!! I’m just too happy and there are just too many pretty, girly things to love. Here are a few!

Hot cross buns!

Chanel headband

D&G show!

Miranda Kerr

Sources: photo credit is given where possible

It’s Friday, ROAR!!!!

Optimism (& being 16)

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:58:00 +0000

People always ask me how I can be so optimistic and happy about life. The last person to ask me this was actually yesterday at school and I thought to myself: What’s there to be pessimistic about? Sure, bad things can happen to you and you can be sad, but why be pessimistic? Pessimism is your outlook on life – it affects bloody everything!!! It’s not the same as just being sad, everyone gets a grace period to be sad, but being negative on everything is just wrong! So keep a smile on your face guys!!! :)

Today’s my big SWEET 16 and all day I’ve been looking for that extra spark that I had from last year’s big day. I’ve been trying to find that truly euphoric feeling that lasted me the whole of my 15th birthday but I haven’t found it. Instead, I found more understanding and acceptance. And you know what? Turning 16 is even awesomer than turning 15!!!

I’m just chilling with my dad right now and literally ten minutes ago he shared a quote he read on the back of one of those amazing MAINFREIGHT trucks today. We both totally agree it’s a SUPER AWESOME quote:

“No one has ever gone blind looking at the bright side of life”

Cool eh? Anyway…………………

WOOHOO! 16 years old todayyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!

School + Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:07:00 +0000

I swear man, school completely kills my blogging spirit. I’ll be back when I’ve got my bloggin’ mojo back :)

Drunk on Feijoas

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:10:00 +0000

Bron: Mmmm… i loooooove the smell of these feijoas

Me: I know aye, it’s like getting drunk on their smell!

Bron: Mmm… I could just eat loads and loads of these……

Me: Same :)

Bron: I can’t believe I didn’t use to like them last time!!!

Me: Those were the good days!

Bron: It’s like you and avocados. NOWWW, you LOVE ‘em!

Me: Yep, those were your good days!

Hahahaha

I’m a convert! And so is she!!

Things I Like Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:52:00 +0000

Ooh exciting, it’s the middle of MARCH! And the weather is turning on us here in the Southern Hemisphere… it’ll soon be time to drag the winter warmies out and bundle ourselves into layers… toss a million scarves around our necks… with steaming hot drinks… and heater rooms… and comfort food… HOW did I manage to make Winter sound so appealing?!?! Okay, let’s get onto the sticky-sweet stuff! Things I’m liking this week:

Harry Potter – you can never go too long without another re-read of one of the Harry Potter books. Never get sick of it and there’s always something new to discover. I hope I’ll always be captivated by the J.K. Rowling’s magic and that I’ll never grow out of it… that way I know there’s always a perfect fantasy world to escape to.

Shared Lunch – cupcakes, muffins, chocolate, chippies, meringues, danish pastries, pizza bread, grapes – what’s not to love?

The Oscars – glamour, glitz & fashion. BUT on a little sour note for this Thursday, I can’t believe AVATAR didn’t win Best Picture or Best Director or whatever prize it missed out on to The Hurt Locker. Seriously, like NO.

A couple of my favourites

HOT CROSS BUNS! – obsession!!!!! It is an absolute necessity to have half a hot cross bun every single night. I freeze at the thought of Easter season being over and no more buns for me to devour. Not sure when this whole affair started because I didn’t really like them much before now.

Honourable Mentions – roasted almonds; nikon? (things change); glitter; cold windows; free-flowing traffic; slipping into my place; errands to run; Andrew Garcia on american idol; jaywalkers; totally rad actions; baking!; photo booths;

So ready for Friday and the weekend!

Women

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:45:00 +0000

Structured Discussions

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:31:00 +0000

I paused in front of the class. A thousand pairs of eyes peered at me, waiting. My heart beat raced and I spoke. For the next minute, my chest hurled out of my mouth while my fingers clasped over the folds of my notes. Calm down Megan I instructed myself. And I did. Apparently my heart decided to stop beating – self protection? I couldn’t hear the monstrosities that may have spurted from my lips, instead I focused on my flailing hands as they moved in front of me trying to prove a point. And all at once it was over. That was fast. Was it too fast? What did I forget?

It turned out, I was right on time. I didn’t speak too fast, but I did forget my most important point. Ah well, we never listen to the most vital things anyway.

Up with 3 balls in the Air

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 11:41:00 +0000

Since the start of the week with netball trials going on, I had to break my every-day blogging streak! AND… of course, that’s where it ended. But some exciting stuff has been going on, like… I LEARNT HOW TO JUGGLE!!!!

Like OMG, I LEARNT HOW TO JUGGLE!!!!! So here’s how it went down:

I was in TOK (Theory Of Knowledge) class and the teacher announces we’re going to be studying JUGGLING for the next week. Ooh, excited! We received all our info and web links and got cracking on learning the theory behind juggling, the history and science and all the rest of that, before he handed us juggling balls! And Voila! I learnt how to juggle! Two minutes – easy as that :) Haha, I’m sure you will be more convinced if I had proof to show you

Also, another exciting thing: because of the awesomeness that is IB, I started helping out at Community Dinners this week as a service. If you’re not sure what that is, it’s basically I volunteer to help out at a community centre once a week where we help serve food to people who don’t have much for dinner. It was my first time at the centre this week and it was a real eye-opener. The people were really inspirational (not meaning to be all cliché or anything) – the volunteers were AMAZING, and the actual people who came in for dinner were really friendly and you could see that the kids were all super upbeat and happy about life. But, the older women had a more ‘knowing’ look about them, they looked like they were mourning and suffering from the difficulties in life… here’s a little snippet from my CAS journal for IB:

“During my first community dinner, I began by watching the other volunteers work. They were all in a bit of a hustle and bustle, frantically buttering bread, cleaning dishes, setting out tables and running up and down the centre. I looked in awe as this very dedicated team worked to get food out to people who had none for themselves. This was when I decided I very much wanted to be a part of this. I wanted to spread the global importance of the work these people do. They could have very well done the accepted thing, and just sat around at home eating their own dinners, but they used their morals and ethics, and decided to help out. After dinner, I approached one of the ladies hurriedly washing dinners and asked her how to work the 2-minute dishwasher. She didn’t look very pleased that I had interrupted her or asked, but she gave me the information regardless, albeit without seeming happy about it. I was confused at this stage, because I just wanted to help out but then I realised that she had probably had a very difficult day and was just trying to get on with her dishes. Later, as I was clearing and loading the dishwasher simultaneously with a friend, I saw a couple of ladies standing near the kitchen drinking their coffees. They were looking at us, smiling, and talking about how appreciative they were to have us take a little load off their plate. And it was then that I felt so glad I could help in some way, even for the volunteers.”

Things I Have to Say Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:39:00 +0000

I am sleepy
It’s been an intense week
Felt short
Been busy
Updates in the weekend
Loads of tests/assignments/homework/oral
Tired.
So.
Tired.
Goodnight.

The ones that didn’t make it

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:14:00 +0000

Just realised there’s been a real lack of personal photos stomping over the blog lately (apart from holidays!) and that’s mainly because my everyday photos are winding up over at the Project 365 page. Nothing’s been updated there recently, because I haven’t been editing - it’s a LONG process when mixed in with school stuff. Sooooo, I’ve been going through the film roll looking for pictures that won’t end up in Project 365 and look decent without much editing. It’s a chore, I’ll give you that! Here’s what I’ve got:

First, we’ll take a leap back to CNY preparations -

I had the job of rolling the pineapple into the pastry, apparently the easiest role in our production line :)

Other cookies. The texture didn’t turn out for this one

This is at CNY eve where we had a little feast with some relatives. Left, is our “yee sarng” (YUM!) and right, is champagne opening!

Bron lit her heart shaped candles that night. They looked really romantic floating in their water dishes. Everyone expected them to blow out in the first minute, but at the end of the night, one was still glowing brightly!

CHINESE NEW YEAR! These ladies are looking pretty festive, don’t you think?

Pulled from facebook – cousins! Bron and I are even more festive-looking than the ladies

Our tomato patch has been growing swimmingly – we had fresh tomatoes the other day with our dinner and had plenty to spare!

A really beautiful sunset scene that would have made it into Project 365 had I been the one to take it! Dad’s photos are improving leaps and bounds

And this is my little pride and joy! The first 36 pictures of my Project 365 cropped into little squares in a pretty grid. I expect the next 36 to not be so nice. Some days there just seems to be NOTHING to photograph! And the next few rows after these ones will be hopelessly dull & uninteresting. BAH

A Dude called Dane

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:26:00 +0000

Arriving at school this morning was different to all the other mornings at Saint Kent’s so far. And that’s because as soon as I walk into the classroom - “OMG! Did you know DANE RUMBLE is coming to school today to perform?!?!?!”

“Who?”

“OMG!!! You don’t know who DANE RUMBLE is???” – insert shocked faces with gaping mouths here -

Yes, apparently some NZ guy called Dane Rumble was coming for a short concert at school as part of a competition on The Edge (radio station) won by a girl in my year. So for the whole morning, everyone will walk past and exclaim - “OMG, did you know DANE RUMBLE’s coming today???” and they would say “YES!! OMG!! I’m so excited!!”

So after much discussion about who he is and by trying to figure out his songs, I still had no clue who he was.

Lunch came, and we took up a spot in the quad where his band was set up. The music started and Dane Rumble came out, and they started playing. The crowd was pretty quiet at the beginning, but by the end everyone was clapping and jumping and screaming (probably trying to cover the school bell which rang a few times). After encores were had, I asked the girl next to me - “Did you know who he was?”

“Nope. Just found out about him today”

Felt better when she said that. It’s good to know I’m not the only one in the dark

i carry your heart with me

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:47:00 +0000

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

- e. e. cummings

Guess what I just watched.

Things I Like Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:19:00 +0000

Good evening to you too, oh-lovely-one! As you may be able to tell, I’m in an awesome Thursday mood. Life is starting to get on course, with less jerky movements at the head of this ship and the heavy winds are dying down too. Pardon the boat analogy, I’m getting a little ahead of myself :)

Let’s dip into my happy pot of goo:

Wearable Arts – har! Bet you never thought I’d get back into the costume creating world! Well, I am. Doing the IB diploma has got be signing up for things I would never have thought of doing before, or things I would LIKE to do, but never got round to doing. I love IB for doing this to me. And Wearable Arts is just another example. Plus, it’s awesome - I get to make a bunch of new friends!!!

Driving – wahoo! With my Restricted firmly on hand, I can now drive wherever I want! Yay for wheels – they’re like newborn legs to freedom!

Winter Olympics – have you guys been catching the coverage on the Olympics? If you haven’t, you should! I’ve been keeping a keen eye on the figure skating, bob-sledding, speed skating, biathlon, and whatever else has been on for the past couple of weeks. It’s so exciting! Especially the moment before an ice skater makes his/her big triple jump or what-not. I swear, my heart stops beating for a second.

Ball Anticipation – it’s so weird. School’s barely started and the girls are already nattering on about the ball. Yup, there’s already talk about dresses – what colour, design, length – ball dates, and the whole shenanigan. Girls. We’re crazy!

Honourable Mentions – nice smelling shampoo; graduation talk (already?); good days; bad days (it teaches me things); smiggle; fans (the type that keep you cool); netball season starting soon; finding out there’s only 4 more weeks of school till holidays!!!; new acquaintances; left over CNY cookies; making the best homemade sandwiches; independence; how ridiculous NZ is sometimes; not being glued to the internet; gardening, weeding, hoe-ing, plowing, raking, pitch-forking; feeling pride for the first time in a while.

I’ll catch you on the other side of the week!

Dear You,

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:14:00 +0000

Dear You,

Just want to let you know I’m thinking about you. Whatever hardships and pain you are going through, I am thinking of you. You are in my wishes and I hope you can feel it too :)

Love,

Megan

*This is for all of you, my dears.

Pathetic!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:50:00 +0000

I’m so pathetic!!! Can’t even go the day without internet to focus on homework. I’ll seriously have to start banning myself from the computer room. It does real damage because right now, it’s pretty late and I haven’t accomplished much yet!

Today, at school chapel, the Rev was talking about Lent and giving up a luxury you enjoy before Easter. I mean, you all know I’m not religious in that sense but I thought it was a good idea. Perhaps giving up the internet/facebook/youtube/tumblr (apart from email etc – god forbid!) would be beneficial to me. I think it’ll work for getting me on the right track with time management and homework and assignments and extra-curricular activities… right?

EEK! I need to do something about this, because it’s getting into a real problem! Maybe, my mind is still on holiday mode. How do I switch it off? IS THERE an off button???

Okay, it’s official. I HAVE to get my butt away from the computer. Starting with… finishing this blog post RIGHT NOW and doing my assignments/homework!!!!!!!!

GOODBYE COMPUTER!

(And you can SO tell I’m procrastinating by adding in all these extra sentences at the end).

Mt M2.

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:53:00 +0000

So, what’s the new sad, sorry explanation about the lack of blogging that comes every couple of weeks? Well, honestly school’s starting to get pretty busy and this weekend, we went CAMPING!!! Love that stuff.

Second time round for the year, and for this trip we drove to Mt. Maunganui for our annual mini-holiday. It was all a big rush and tumble out of school on Friday, a quick wash-up at home and the 3 hour journey began! Arriving at Mt. Maunganui is like soothing all the pain away. The waves and the beach pound all the troubles from the last month to some far distant place and I feel refreshed. Ready. The beach songs and guitar-playing warms my heart. And the wave-running cleanses everything.

Here are some quick pictures,

We spent the first evening on the beach

And Lydia tried her hand at light-painting

And we explored the beach

The next morning, we woke up early for a walk up Mt. Maunganui. The sunrise was just peaking up through the clouds and it wasn’t too hot yet!

Cute – Justin & Isaiah

Best photo from our camera – at the top of the mountain

For the remainder of the morning, we strolled around the town. The weather was beautiful, perfect for a weekend away!

A hearty breakfast after our walk

Here we are at a blow hole further down the beach

I think we were searching for ice-cream…

Nope, we were playing a game!

A very challenging one at that!

And we decided to play it again on some grass!

Kids

Searching for ice-cream here. Everyone is a little low on energy, because of the heat and the distance we had to walk to get to our cones!

Surfing dude

A tangled game

After our walk, we tramped back to camp and got ready for boogey-boarding!!! Woo-hoo!!! And for the remainder of the afternoon, we jumped on waves and rode them to the shore, squinting our eyes through salt-water and getting thrashed about by the sea.

We chilled out for the rest of the evening, and soaked up the beachy atmosphere …

This morning – caught Justin playing on an old-school gameboy :)

Okay, just have to pick up a few more photos from other people from boogey-boarding etc and we’re good to go!

It was time to pack up and leave our beloved, but not before a few last snaps!

Had to repeatedly take group photos because the guys wouldn’t smile… unfortunately, this was as far as we got! :

Love camping :)

Everyone should have a place like Mt. Maunganui to retreat to.

CNY 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:52:00 +0000

Happy Chinese New Year! May the year of the Tiger bring you health, happiness and prosperity.

Get the cards out, your spare change + your lucky red clothes and go gamble some!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!

Much love from all of us.

5-min Movie Review: Valentine’s Day

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:50:00 +0000

Valentine’s Day, Valentine’s Day. I’m all good for a rom-com but in this particular case, I was REALLY excited, because of the number of actors & actresses in this film. It’s insane! I didn’t expect much from the story itself (as in plot-wise) because seriously, how could you get a decent plot with SO many different characters? And I was right on that front.

Valentine’s Day is a super sweet movie about several New Yorker’s lives on the fated Valentine’s Day. It follows them through their troubles on this special day and how all their lives interlink. The story jumps about every couple of minutes to zoom onto another couple’s life, but surprisingly everything flows really well from scene-to-scene.

There are still unexpected surprises at the end of film which is great for a rom-com. OBVIOUSLY, lots of love scenes throughout the whole movie, and some good acting skills to boot (Ashton Kutcher’s & Julia Roberts’ acting were a couple of my favourites).

The only *almost cringe* actress was Taylor Swift. Buttttttttttt I suppose she is a singer and not an actress, so she’s exempted from my judgement! :)

SO… Sum-Up:

Plot development = 3/10
Sweetness factor = 8/10 (it’s a cheesy rom-com, what did you expect?)
Impact = 2/10
Predictability = 3/10 (rom-coms are predictable)
Surprise Factor = 7/10 (just contradicted above rating, but there are a couple of “Oh.” moments)
Characters = 10/10 (well duh, you never got bored of any character!)

Whatever my rating, I would still watch it to check out ALL the actors/actresses - I like the way it keeps changing! Plus, everybody could do with a bit more cheesiness in their lives :)

Update: 10/02/10

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:42:00 +0000

Soooooo, we’ve arrived at a dilemma. A most dreadful dilemma to boot.

Our Chinese New Year cookies are already running short!!!!! At first we thought we’d have plenty, we’d be overflowing for the next few weeks and it would be impossible to finish. NOW, a couple of the snacks looks like we could do with a top up! So, it’s back to the baking table in the next few days to prep more food. OH the trouble :)

If you’re looking for a school update, nothing much to report. Everybody keeps asking me how’s school, how do I like it, how is it compared to Corran, etc. So I thought I’d just give a quick note on that… My teachers are all pretty good as far as I can tell, only the odd Spanish teacher who isn’t floating my boat. Classes are still getting into the swing of things, nothing good ol’ megan can’t handle… yet. Socially speaking, it’s getting better and I’m making more friends but there’s definitely heaps of room for improvement in the next few weeks. BTW, athletics is tomorrow. Yay.

Anyone keen for last summer BBQ of the season? I am!!!

This I Love Thursday – GAH! Late…

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:40:00 +0000

M&Ms don’t get any better than this!

Okay, it’s official. I might just have to change this “Things I ____ Thursday” to Fridays. It’s simply not working for me!!! Thursday is such a hopeless day in the week because of busy school days, homework and what-not. So please forgive the lateness or absence of this section most weeks. Apart from that little off-note, let’s share the love for the past 7 days!

Watches – I had escaped the dreaded hold of the watch for the last 4/5 years, but it seems it is beginning to snake its way faithfully around my wrist again. That’s what new schools do to you. You clench fears of being late to class – your first classes, with new teachers and a new environment and you eventually resort to the trusty ol’ watch. But… I guess it’s a good thing.

CNY preparations! – like finally. We’ve started our first batch of Chinese New Year treats which is the fried sesame and seaweed snack! I don’t really know what it’s called but I do know it’s 100% addictive. As CNY is coming up so soon (next Saturday!!) we’re really gonna get stuck into the food business with baking sprees and cleaning preparations which are already underway.

The start of something new

Tall Lockers – exactly what you need when you’re hauling around 10 tonnes of books & stones. Lifesaver.

Creative writing – it’s so beautiful how words can be threaded into such elegant & fitting pieces. It seems like every word is examined, scrutinised and patted down into each sentence – just as gentle as when you’re tapping in the last piece of a puzzle. It’s tested 100 or so times in its placement and then made to look as if it were a half a minute job. Yeah right. Took you forever Mister, because such greatness is not a natural cause… or is that what they call talent?

Honourable Mentions: double period classes; sleeping early; custard buns like x10000000!; making ‘bucket lists’ – in Christian Ed class no less, fancy that!; self-esteem; neon green hula skirts – it was Swimming Sports today; bake-offs; Spanish class; long weekends; Big Spencer bears; “new beginnings”; Big Bang Theory; Big Bang Theory; Big Bang Theory. Always; new perfume smells; wearing my sparkly top – love; golden queen peaches; getting-to-know-each-other activities; weekends, they can not come soon enough;… and… peanut butter sandwiches.

Don’t think you’d be able to guess what’s in her hands… it’s shampoo!

Ok sunshine, time for bed!

Mish Mash – a new school, a cultural wedding & a camping trip

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:41:00 +0000

When you are living with dial-up speed internet, you know it’s the right time to jump start the blogging again! Let’s transport back to Friday morning – the start to school. Here’s some advice on how to spend your first day at a new school. Don’t do these things:

Don’t lose your voice two days beforehand…
And come to school with a croaky voice
Don’t freak out because Swimming Sports is coming up…
And so is Athletics
Don’t spend ten minutes walking to get into the school compound
Don’t turn up to the wrong math class… and sit through the whole thing
Don’t be surprised when boys make lame jokes and laugh at each other
Don’t use your lost voice as the ‘interesting fact about you’ in Econs
Don’t speak in little amounts… you won’t make new friends that way
Don’t look like you’ve been at the school FOREVERRRR… new students ask you for directions
Don’t neglect your school map… you just get lost
Don’t forget to eat your fruit… you’ll need the energy
Don’t forget to bring your laptop to school… you need it EVERY SINGLE DAY
Don’t breathe in at the end of the day… boys stink

And Don’t worry… there’s only ONE first day and it’s over really quick!

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Yeah, that’s pretty much how it went down with extra bits squished in between. Overall, the kids at the school are really friendly & sociable and the teachers seem great on first impression. The school is massive and like a maze to me right now, but I’ll get used to it. My main concern –as it was and still is- is making friends and fitting in. Now with the third day over, I still haven’t slotted myself into the web of groupings and social ranks. It’s proving a difficult chore and every scarce “Hi Megan” in class is like a little ball of hope. My candle flickering. But that’s only in class. Eating breaks are the most difficult… a more joyous update on this topic to come –hopefully.

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Let’s shuffle onto a lighter subject! Friday evening was *interesting* to say the least. Our family attended an Indian home wedding ceremony. The whole “different culture” aspect was kind of awkward but it was one big experience for bron & me! The henna was AWESOMEEEEE! And some little girl around 12 was doing the bride’s leg while her mum (presumably) was working away at the bride’s arm.

Getting ready

Here’s where the awkward part comes in (talk about AWKWARD FRIDAYS!)… well, we were the only Asians there (as in Chinese looking Asians) and we stood out. Like, a LOT. First of all, we weren’t wearing Indian saris, secondly we didn’t speak in any Indian dialect and most importantly – we have little Chinese slanted eyes!!! Everywhere we walked around the house, they would STARE!! Every minute we sat down, they would STARE. Every single second of every single minute we were there, They Would STARE!!!! Talk about feeling self-conscious!

Decorations outside

We held out until the end, chowed down a late Indian meal and then huddled back home.

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Ooh, this is cool. I have so many different parts to this blog post! Okay, what’s next?

CAMPING!!! Auckland Anniversary Weekend spells out our annual Miranda Camping Trip. Won’t go into much detail because it was plainly a ‘let’s get away and just chill’ type of holiday. It was pretty unpleasant bad weather for the whole weekend. Sure, it didn’t rain for that long, but it wasn’t insanely sunny either. Hence, the lack of photos for the trip (the yucky colours of the sky don’t make for nice photos).

We love our chicken wings!

The trip a lot of: munching of chips, soaking in the mineral pool three times a day, movie night in the tent, playing ball on the field and sleeping. Just what I needed after a hectic Friday!

Getting some shade from the rain :)

Project 365: JANUARY

noreply@blogger.com (Megan) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:13:00 +0000

Here’s the where the journey began :)

Don’t forget to click on each picture you want to see in a larger format (with slideshow!). It looks way awesome, I promise!

January

Day 1 - 3

Day 4 - 6

Day 7 -9

Day 10 - 12

Day 13 - 15

Day 16 - 18

Day 19 - 21

Day 22 - 24

Day 25 - 27

Day 28 - 30

Day 31

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