Film Festival fever

well I tried not to go as am trying to be good and save a little but to no avail. As always I was swept up in the tide of film festival fever. I did however only go to 4 which is rather a small number to the amount I have been known to see. I finally saw the movie to the crazy 80's book perfume and it was incredible I don't think apart from gone with the wind, and lord of the rings I have ever seen such a satisfying adaptation and it wasnt an easy one to portray as it is an extremely weird story of a murderer. I also saw a funny one in the vain of 4 weddings and a funeral called Death and a funeral that had the crowd in stitches. and two artsy fartsy ones called painted on film animation and one about Edith Collier a female nz painter from the early modernist period.

I also had the added treat of being reminded what a romantic and dreamlike place the civic is to see performances. (So good it even features in the movie king kong) pictures added.

Congrats to the Jordans

Well it is with a big smile on my face that I congratulate Sara and Jordy on the arrival of their second bambino Jack Henry Jordan Born on Tuesday 24th July. I can't wait to pop over and see him.

Pictures of my sisters house

It is out in the west in the Waitakere Ranges.

Which star do I look like?

www.myheritage.com

fun site to see which celebrity your face is most like.

Happy Birthday to all the July babies

Sara, Kevin, Sean and Hayley. Hope you all have a great day. Also goodluck to soon to be new july direen.

Just some nice pics I have taken

some are from the apartment in Viaduct Harbour others are trees from victoria park

What else...

Well I had a big surprise 2 weeks ago as Kev came to visit for a day so that was nice to see him.

I have also finally seen Harry potter 5 which I loved. Only down side was we had booked great seats and these kids had decided to take them so we had to play bad cop and tell them to bugger off. but was worth it for the good view.

I also saw Amazing grace with my dads rotary club which is a sad but very moving film about the slave trade in England.

I also saw nancy drew which was a bit of fun and had to see it as read so many of the books as a young girl.

Pic of my sisters cat they are so cute cute cute I had forgotten how much time wasting can be had playing with animals.

My sister has moved in

Well I have to say my sisters house move has to go down as one of the hardest I have ever heard of. Take two hoarders mix in the fact that one is a woodworker and they are both artists and you have amazing amount of stuff and fragile and heavy stuff at that. It took 3 trucks, 6 trailors, 10 carloads and alot of hard work to get it all out to her cabin and usually at night in a bush and the rain and freezing cold.

I know now I can survive any move. I did score some couches though for my living room so not all bad. Will send some pics when I have seen the place in daylight finally.

Blackouts and freelance

Well it has been school holidays so the streets are very quiet which is nice as I have been doing freelance for a company called Gibson Rusden based in the CBD and it means I can zip there in back in no time. I have also figured out that cars are cheaper than pub transport as I have worked out that a return trip city costs me $3 in petrol and $7 in allday parking vs $9 on the bus so sorry no competition and a 10 min taxi ride costs about $35 so way to dare.

I have had a great time freelancing as the team are really nice and I am doing fun jobs for Lion Nathan and the auckland mayor. But it was hard to make a good impression when on day two we had a massive storm which left my home in a blackout for 2 whole days so no straightening irons or showers or clean clothes very funny.

I think I am starting to think a drought is not so bad as atleast the weather seems fairly predictable and calm.

Another Haircut

So my hairdresser is slowly working on me she is a whizz at recognising the most attractive hairstyle for your face shape and complexion which for me is a long tapered bob and a reddish shade. I am not ready for short yet so we are taking baby steps.

Busy bee

Well I still don't have a fulltime job but I have been working like a crazy lady as have been doing heaps of babysitting, Helping Sean in Melbourne with surveys, working at my sisters gallery (of which the picture of the spunky girl in front of art is Chanty my little sis)and doing some freelance design for M&C saatchi and Rotary so maybe this is a good sign that something will happen soon.

Saw a great movie called other peoples lives about postwar east germany so something not as talked about as the war itself and as such more interesting for me especially as it happened in my lifetime. Then saw an average blockbuster in Fantastic 4 silver surfer Jessica looked too much like barbie and the whole story was a bit predictable.

Also I am very lucky as I am getting to stay in a very flash apartment in shed 23 in the Viaduct harbour for a week as it is owned by my sisters wonderful boss Jenny. So its been a bit of luxury waking up with the most amazing views and the buzz of the city on my doorstep.

Thanks Chanty and Jenny. xx

North Shore City in Blackout

Well I was studiously trying to rejig my CV for a management angle when low and behold the power went out. Luckily geek that I am I had a torch ready in both my rooms for just such occurances and helped mum and dad to get the candles and radio going.

Also got some neat shot of the city lights without those from the shore.

NEW ZEALAND HERALD
Tens of thousands of homes were plunged into darkness last night after an explosion at a substation caused a power cut that crippled Auckland's North Shore.

Lights on the Northern Motorway and harbour bridge were cut, as was power to homes and shops in many suburbs, including parts of Greenhithe and Albany.

Cameras monitoring the motorways and traffic lights were also affected, as were North Shore businesses, including cinemas, which lost power halfway through screenings.

Engineers were last night still investigating what caused the Wairau Rd substation blast, which happened at 7.43pm.

Power to about 30,000 homes was mostly restored by 8.20pm.

Bookclub

I am happy to say I have joined a bookclub through my friend Leanne and its great fun lots of girls get together and discuss the mammoth amount of books they have read from the communal collection. I normally read a book or two max per month but these ladies seem to get through up tp 12 - yeaks will have to pick up my pace.

Also they had a theme of something sweet so there was loads of yummy food to eat. I made stained glass cookies and if I do say so myself they were scrummy.

Creative Suite 3

Well can I just say wow wow wow. The updated tools that Adobe have come up with basically make the sky the limit and will once learned to memory make the time it takes to create amazing artwork miniscual. Oh if only I had a spare NZ$4,000 for a computer update and another spare NZ$2,000 for the programs. I take donations :)

Ambulances, Burgers and Shrek

Well I have had a busy wee weekend since I last blogged as Saturday I caught up with Grant - Kevs best friend and my old flatmate which was great to share the experiences of coming back to NZ after such a long break.

Then we had high dramas at night as mum was struck down with crazy pain so we popped her in an ambulance and sent her to A&E to be looked at - luckily after some awful pains it turned out to be a kidney stone and the horror had passed by 6am Sunday.

Then I went out to Burgerfuel for lunch the most amazing burger joint and had one called a bastard (1/3 lb ground beef, melted cheddar, beetroot, mango, avocado, bacon, salad, relish, aioli.) - barely fitted in my mouth and had crazy things in it.

Then it was off to see Shrek the third which had me rolling in my seat with laughter - I absolutely love Puss in Boots he is such a riot.

Oh and for all the you tube fans out there have a look at Battle at Kruger (A battle between a pride of lions, a herd of buffalo, and 2 crocodiles at a watering hole in South Africa's Kruger National Park while on safari) its the most incredible example of the survival in the wild I have ever seen.

Anyway tonight is my sisters-boyfriend Murray's 35th Birthday so must go help celebrate - Happy Birthday Murray

NZSO

So I still don't have a job but am getting loads of interviews so thats a good start. I have also managed to pick up a little work from my sister at the gallery and that with the babysitting and some potential work through Sean in Melbourne means I can afford to go out atleast once a week.

So this weeks treat was to go and see the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra last night. It was a really good performance with 3 pieces (DVORÁK Cello Concerto, NIELSEN Helios Overture , NIELSEN Symphony No 4 The Inextinguishable) and a feature of cello with touring artist GAUTIER CAPUÇON from France. He was just what you would expect from a classical muso long hair that he would maniacally flick with the powerful parts of the music and legs that would rock and tap. The conductor also seemed to be performing more of a modern dance than actually keeping time he was quite funny.

Whats been happening?

Well not much except lots of job searching - on the upside though I have been having alot of interviews and have even made it to round two with one company so keep your fingers crossed that this id the week of action. I am even turning into a bit of a networker and going to events to meet and greet very unlike me but the next one will be good as get to hear about the new creative suite program about to be launched.

I have also been doing lots of fun babysitiing with Mia and she is just starting to formulate words like hello, eye, nose, mouth so very very cute.

As for my cooking made my first ever stew last night and if I do say so myself was very nice and just right for a cold wet night.

What else? well I have been to see the movie history boys which was a bit of a laugh and full of lovely poetic phrases. Speaking of poetry mum is trying to suck me into the world of crosswords but I am afriad all they do is show me how much I don't know. my favourite question this week was what is the name for a whale with a massive horn on its nose? how on earth would I know that?

Anyway here are some pics of the amazing view from my parents house.

Mark Watson, My sis the home owner and curries

What Has been happening well - went out to see Pirates but couldn't get in so watched dreamgirls instead (which I thought was awful unless you are a major musicals fan).

Saturday had an amazing big breakfast at a local cafe to catch up with my friend Emma and then had lots of laughs on the last night of the comedy fest watching welsh man Mark Watson and his seven deadly sins with Hayley, Elisa and Sarah.

Sunday the big thing was my sister, dad and her boyfriend all went thirds in a house in the waitakeres for a steal so thats exciting. Also had a beautiful paneer and tikka curry dinner with Leanne.

Monday went to the doctor whilst its cheap on the community services card and was told I have perfect blood pressure and bubbles in my ear. Then went for a whirlwind drive to Tauranga with my dad - nice to get out and see a bit of the countryside.

Tuesday babysat Mia and am soon to be off to talk jobs at Saatchi and Saatchi - who would have thought.

Auckland Museum with Del, Milla and AJ

Well I had a job interview this morning which I think went OK - should find out tomorrow. The best part of the day though was spent with Del and her two kids wandering around Auckland museum. We had great fun exploring all the bugs and animal displays. Creating architectural pieces from blocks and watching the Maori cultural show. Oh and trying to decide who was the goodies and baddies in the war exhibition was a challenge.

The new wing to the building is pretty impressive it reminds me alot of the British museum.

Goodbye Bebe

This is for Nao and her family to Send you all my good thoughts in this sad time. I am really sorry for your loss. I am glad I was able to meet your wonderful dog Bebe and I know he will be missed. Look after yourselves. Here is my favourite photo.

Tanya