Yeah yeah yeah. I’m a lazy git and I know it. =P

Ok, now let me think, what’s happened over the past … (checks) … 3 months (wow it even feels like it’s been longer than that). Well, let’s look at the key points I guess.

Oh, but before I do, I have to say I think the arsonists that lit fires in Victoria (Australia) should be summarily shot. It’s mass murder on a grand scale and shows a severe lack of respect for anyone and anything. In fact, lets make arson a capital offence all round. Even the idiots here in NZ who set alight buildings that were part of the Whakapapa ski fields on Mt Ruapehu. F**king dropkicks, the lot of them.

Ok, and rant and on with the rest of it…

Christmas:

Christmas was pretty quiet. I spent lunch with my surrogate family (GlitterGirl will know who I’m talking about =P) which was nice. A good low stress affair really. Dinner at home alone infront of a movie was good too. I’m not a Christmas person really, too commercialised and all that junk. I did however get given a plant (which is still alive and sitting in my lounge), and a piece of neck jewlery stuff from my mother (Not sure what you’d call it exactly, but it’s not too shabby or feminine so my friends assure me lol).

New Years:

Ok, so this was a big one as such. I took 4 days out and went up to Auckland. Stayed with a good mate up there, and along with another good mate spent a nice few days.

Driving up was pretty crap weather. I probably averaged about 50km/h along the Taupo straights, a stretch renound for people being caught doing well in excess of 100km/h. The rain was so heavy that you could hardly see the road. Fortunaly the further north I went the better things got so it was actually quite plesent when I arrived in Auckland.

I got up there on the evening of the 30th after a stop part way up to meet some people I’d been chatting to digitally for a while. Dinner was shortly in order, followed by a walk up Mt Eden to play with a LASER! A movie or two when we got back ended the night.

New Years Eve… We bussed into Central Auckland and went for a little bit of a wander. Even sat and had a coffee at some nice little spot that was in what looked like a small lane way. While sitting there and with no small amount of convincing necissary I managed to talk the boys into a spot of rockclimbing. So back to camp and a quick phone around managed to find somewhere open! An hour or so out there and I had two new converts who apparently quite enjoyed the activity!

Home and showered then along with a few other vague aquaintances we spent New Years Eve at Oxygen, a rave setup by Incline events.

It was a pretty random evening. A bit of mucking around before we got in there delayed our arrival but we made it in by about 11:30. I was still stone cold sober but after the countdown and half the populace leaving I soon delt to that.

We partied away until about 5:30am New Years Day and then started the walk from K-Road back to Mt Eden. The rave closed at 6am and there wernt many left by the time we gapped it so we decided it wasn’t worth hanging around the extra half hour.

After an all too short sleep (I was up again at about 8:30) I downed a few coffees and waited for the others to emerge. Then we all headed out to the flat of one of the guys who had been at the rave with us and had a nice afternoon bbq.

Friday the 2nd marked my last day in Auckland, and was kicked off by one of my mates and I going and catching up with a guy I deal with lots for work but had never actually met. So managing to avoid most of the rain that was setting in we sat at one of the Mt Eden cafe’s and talked geek for a bit. Then back and pickup our 3rd and off for a late breakfast at Circus Circus.

Then it was all over. Back and pack the car and start the drive back home. It was a pretty uneventful trip except for it taking over an hour to get 11.1km’s through Taupo. Traffic along that stretch was TERRIBLE!

Since New Years:

Well it’s been pretty standard since then. The offices opened back up so back to the daily grind. I did go up to Auckland for the last weekend in January for a meeting, then came back via Wanganui to catch up with someone. I left work and headed up there around 11am Thursday, and got back to Napier about 3am Saturday morning. It was a long trip home!

Before heading up for that meeting, I sent off three photos of mine for a photography competition. I found out a couple of days ago that out of 450 entrants, a total of 85 awards were maid. One of which was an award of commendation to one of my pics!

Well known Diamond Harbour photographer and experienced judge Lynda Harper was most impressed with the variety and quality of images entered in the 2009 Focus on Flowers competition run by Carole and Frank Green in association with the Christchurch Garden City Trust’s Festival of Flowers. She felt it had been her hardest judging assignment ever. Display constraints allowed only a small percentage of the 450 entries to gain awards and thus many excellent images did not make the cut. – fusiontrust.co.nz

The three pics I put in were…

The first one (Makahu Farm) was the one that got the award. The last one, believe it or not, was taken in the middle of the day in a perfectly well lit room and has not had any editing except to correct the white balance. It was a fluke of light metering I guess you could say. All in all, having one chosen for display was more than I expected do I can’t complain about the result. =]

Yesterday:

Yesterday was Valentines day. Also known as National Singles Torture day. I pretty much avoided the world as much as possible by not leaving the house lol.

All in all I think Valentines has been made into commercial crap like most holidays, but I do miss having someone to setup elaborately simplistic romantic situations for. *sigh*

And of course I do miss GlitterGirl lots. :'(

Ok, so moving right along… I did end up watch “Changeling” on the night of valentines. It’s just hitting the cinemas I think. (Do yourself a favour and don’t ask how I watched a new release without leaving the house). Now, usually when films come out and people are raving that it’s a great movie I usually take a deep breath and brace myself before watching, and I’m usually left wanting more from the story. This time, I was pleasantly surprised. Be warned, the follosing may contain spoilers. =P

Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Angelina Jolie it’s a story set around the 1920’s in Los Angelies and inspired by a true story “Changeling” tells a story of Christine Collins (Jolie) and her battle with the police when her son goes missing. After a search the then extremely corrupt LAPD return a boy to her claiming that it’s her recently found son. Collins claims this isn’t true, but the police and various others try and convonce her that it is, finally resorting to trying to discredit her when she doesn’t accept it to be the truth. Of course she is correct and it’s one big setup, but the police have had enough bad press, and can’t afford to have this one go south on them too.

Over several months the story of a determined and strong willed mother continues, and with some support from some people who still have a moral compass pointed in the right direction, she triumphs over the lies, however sadly she ends the movie without being reunited by her son.

The only criticism of it that comes to mind is that Collins left her 9 year old son at home alone while she was at work… yet no one ever hinted that this may have not been a good decision. I don’t know, maybe I missed something, or maybe this was just common place. Who know’s. But that aside it was still a great watch, say around a 7 out of 10.

I think that’s pretty much all for now. If anyone is still reading thus far I’ll be highly impressed.

Oh, and Sarah, what comment do you refer to on my last post? I didn’t delete any from you… go make it again! I’m curious now!! =P