taking a deep breath and calming down

Why I am now feeling happier than I was on Wednesday:

- I am actually researching a fascinating topic. Took me a while to remember that, but now that my terror has cattle-prodded me into working hard, I am starting to get really excited.

- I am not stupid; I simply am TEACHABLE. A whole lot of empty space in my head is not a bad thing. It means I have a mind that is open to different possibilities and not decided already on one conclusion.

- I actually already know a lot about my topic, given that I looked at a very similar area last year, and so I am in a much better place than most other Masters students at the same stage as me.

- Being a florist is not as romantic as I had thought. Thanks to all the sensible people who commented on my last post, pointing out all the cons of getting up early, dealing with bridezillas, slicing one's hand open with thorns, etc.

- Some people want to give me money to study. They can't be completely mistaken in my abilities, because people don't give away money generously without being very careful about it.

- Although this stage of my study (reading what everyone else has written about this subject) is not always very fun or rewarding, the stage that comes next, and takes up most of my time (looking at primary documents) will be FANTASTIC. I hope.

SOS

Please, blogosphere, send me some love. I am feeling really, really dumb, and I have an impending sense of doom about the year ahead of me.

I have just sent my sister this text message: "Masters is HORRIBLE. I don't know how you got through a PhD. I just feel so stupid!"

She replied: "You've made it. That's the whole objective."

Why, why, didn't I become a florist? It was a perfectly reasonable fantasy. No, I had to do the "sensible" thing and come to university.

Meanwhile, I am drowning my sorrows in:

wine and Whittaker's hazelnut chocolate;

while cooking - rhubarb pie, my favourite.

It wasn't supposed to get burnt but it still tasted goooood, and made me feel slightly better.

accidental fortuitous irregularity

The word "random" being so 2001, this is a list of 25 Haphazard Things About Me or Somehow Related to Me or What I Am Thinking About Now. (Okay, so "haphazard" is not a perfect synonym, but that's all the thesaurus had. Neither is it a catchy little title. No excuses in that case.)

1. I used to play in a recorder quintet in Perth, Australia. The people whose house we practised in had a budgie who could whistle Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, and the budgie frequently joined in while we played.

2. I should be studying harder. But I'm not. It's going to take me a while to master this Masters thing (actually no pun intended) of self-motivated study.

3. I am listening to the new U2 album right now! No Line on the Horizon. I love it so far! My feeling is: still U2 produced by Brian Eno, but a developing sound. Contemporary but not too overtly fashionable. Very listenable. Rough-edged, which is how I like it. Creative vocals.

4. There is a guy at my church who is very goodlooking, in a very unconventional way. Although he's a very nice guy, we don't have much in common and I'm not interested, so there's no need for me to start behaving oddly, but it is nice to have some man candy around. Is that sexist?

5. I am hoping that this year I will be able to visit the UK for research purposes - there are two archives I would love to visit, one in London and one in Brighton. I won't be able to afford to do much stuff or stay for long but I'm hoping I'll have at least one or two weekends free to see something, and I've wanted to go to Bath for a long time, so that goes straight to the top of the list...

6. ... and, as it turns out, very fortuitously, at precisely the time I am planning to be in the UK (September), the Jane Austen Centre of Bath is holding a JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL!!! And, one of my best friends, who is a big Austen fan too, will be in the UK at the same time, exploring a little before she starts working in France! I think that constitutes clear guidance - I must go to the UK in September!

7. My name in Cyrillic alphabet is: ЭЛЕЙ

8. I have a god-daughter.

9. I keep having dreams about this one guy that I used to work with, and I can't figure out why. I actually told him about the first one of them, in which I got married to him and then he left me the next day for a man. He found it hilariously funny. But I thought it might be a bit much to try to explain why I've had at least five dreams featuring him since then.

10. I am currently reading The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis. Good book.

11. I have eleven nieces and nephews, all of whom I love very much but have taught me a lot. Namely, that parenthood is not something to be entered into lightly.

12. I tire easily of making lists and 25 is just too big a number. Let's make it twelve.

shameless self-promotion

Halfway Down the Stairs, the online writing magazine of which Stacy and I are editors, is out again!

This issue is themed "Twists of Fate" and is our biggest issue yet. Although I obviously liked all the fiction in there, as I am one of the people who decides whether we accept it or not, there is some work by our guest authors that I really think is brilliant writing, and we are privileged to be able to publish it. I hope you enjoy it!

on the radio

Five songs that I am loving at the moment.


"Get on your boots", U2.
Obviously I was always going to be excited by a new U2 single but I am not at all disappointed by this one, if that means anything! They're not losing It as they get older, in my opinion, yet neither are they doing quite the same old thing. It'll be exciting to see what the album's like.

"The Fear", Lily Allen.
It's great to see that Lily Allen is bringing us more of her quirky, irreverent and honest music but also developing her sound. I love the first single off her album - it's either incredibly ironic or incredibly self-aware, or maybe a little of both. I love that she can say things that are so much more interesting than the average pop song but she says them in such a fun way.
"Single Ladies", Beyoncé

I'm not normally a fan of Beyoncé, nor a fan of dancey-type music (unless we're talking ABBA) - but for some strange reason I love this song. It took me a while. At first whenever I heard it I wondered why on earth Beyoncé would record such a strange song, but now I really enjoy it every time I hear it. The video is also very cool.

"American Boy", Estelle feat. Kanye West
I think this has been around for a while now but I'm still listening to it avidly. This is such a cool British sort of hip hop - funky, carefree, restrained... One of the few songs featuring Kanye West in which I can see what all the fuss is about.

"My Delirium", Ladyhawke

This is a music style called "indie-disco" by iTunes (I personally wouldn't have a clue what it is!) that I find really interesting and fun, and I love this, Ladyhawke's second single. Good driving music, I would guess. Also a great, creative video. I would love to get the whole album, actually.

another meme

Remember the "YOUR NAME needs" meme? Here it is again, extended! [Just to set the record straight - I did not create this meme but borrowed it from elsewhere.] I typed the following beginnings into Google and found some interesting endings...

1. Allie looks like:
- a flat faced chicken.
- she's gone ten rounds with an unfriendly and lost.
- a cute little girl but also projects a calmness.

2. Allie likes:
- the new bookshelf. (very true)
- High School Musical. (untrue)
- balloons. (well, who doesn't?)

3. Allie says:
- keep our ears clean.
- everybody wants a thrill.
- she's not worried about the criticism.

4. Allie wants:
- to be in the Olympics. What child doesn't?
- you to be happy with every item you purchase. (Money back guarantee)
- to stay healthy, instead of eating peanuts. (Because peanuts are The ultimate temptation?)

5. Allie does:
- South America!
- the weather in a Spanish school project.
- nothing but play forum games all day long.

6. Allie hates:
- the vacuum cleaner. (So true)
- some of you. (Lies! All lies!)
- posers.

7. Allie can:
- run. (Like the wind. A really slow wind.)
- cater to almost any need BUT HEALTH ISSUES. Please do not request a spell for anything medical.
- convince you it's 8am when it's only 2:30am. (A useful skill, that.)

8. Allie goes:
- blonde.
- to the zoo.
-on strike, feeling overworked and underappreciated.

9. Allie is:
- tiniest little worker for God.
- a white flag.
- fat, illiterate.

10. Allie loves:
- dirt.
- the Isle of Skye.
- you, baby doll.

Pilgrims' Progress

I think I've blogged about this blog before, but once again I just have to share it with you all - Pilgrims' Progress is a blog written by a Kiwi family who are travelling the world on the cheap for a year. This may sound even more amazing when I mention the fact that they have eight children. Look up their blog for explanation on how it is being done, and how it is afforded, but their most recent post makes me want to drop everything and go to China. Check it out.

I am in the throes of a headcold at the moment. It makes me very depressed. Couple this with the fact that the university is mucking up my enrolment, yet again, and I may be living on my overdraft for the next month, and I am STRESSED. Pilgrims' Progress makes for a moment of glorious escapism - but it's all true.

(By the way, to see the text on this blog I have to scroll down quite a lot. It may be the same for you - don't give up! The blog IS there!)

a question for the habitually single girls and for the girls who used to be habitually single

Warning - this post is so sickly that I know I will regret it in the morning.

So! I'm not in a relationship now, I haven't been in a relationship for years, and the only relationship (singular) I have ever been in is just too embarrassing to think about.

It doesn't freak me out or anything, I'm not ashamed of it, etc., etc.

However, I've always assumed things would change eventually. Maybe one day, in the near or distant future (I'm not too worried which), I'll meet someone whom I will fall madly in love with.

But I'm starting to worry that I have a heart of stone, or that I'm more in love with the idea of being in love than with any actual human being - ALL of whom annoy me or repulse me too much before I've even considered the idea of dating them, unless I work myself up into a frenzy of "maybe-I-have-a-crush-on-them" whenever they're not around. (Of course, as soon as I get in a 5 metre radius of them it becomes very clear that I'm not interested.)

Please tell me - does anyone else feel this way? Or those of you who have fallen in love, did you ever feel this way?

come together

I have done this kind of meme once before, but decided it was high time for another musical meme after seeing on facebook the meme of a fellow blogger who shall remain nameless but who knows who she is (gosh this is getting complex). And this one does have different questions!

What does your music library say about you?

Put Your iTunes, winamp, mp3 player or whatever on SHUFFLE.
For each question, press the next button to get your answer (no cheating).
You must write down song/artist even if it doesn't make sense.
Include any comments in parenthesis.

1. What do your friends say about you? "Rockstar", Nickelback. (A more unlikely answer I have yet to see.)

2. How would your coworkers describe you? "Here I Am to Worship", Tim Hughes

3.How would you describe yourself? "Afloat", Evermore

4. What do you like in a romantic partner? "You're the One that I Want", John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John

5. How do you feel today? "Hurt", Johnny Cash

6. What is your life’s purpose? "Break it to Pieces", Freestyle

7.What is your motto? "I Will Follow Him", from Sister Act

8. What do you think about the most? "Yesterday", the Beatles (I love this, given that I am a history student)

9. What are you going to do on your next vacation? "Rumanian Folk Dances", Bartok (I wish)

10.What do you think of your first love/date? "For Unto Us a Child is Born", from Messiah (huh?)

11. What is your life story? "Still Alive", [my big brother] (Haha - that's a real testimony, isn't it?)

12. What did you do yesterday? "Love Me Like the World is Ending", Ben Lee

13. What do you think of when you see the person you like/love? "Sexual Revolution", Macy Gray (okaaaay)

14. What describes your wedding? "In memoriam", from Les Choristes (uh-oh...)

15. What will they play at your funeral? "Everloving", Moby

16. What is your obsession? "La Vie en Rose", Louis Armstrong

17. What is your biggest fear? "Weep You No More Sad Fountains", from Sense and Sensibility

18. What is your biggest secret? "Persuasion", Tim Finn

19. What is your biggest turn-on? "Ain't No Sunshine", Bill Withers (well, this was always going to be a weird answer, wasn't it?)

20. How do you describe your friends? "The Carnival of the Animals," Saint-Saens (I love this one)

21. What would you do with a million dollars? "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", U2

22. What is your opinion of sex? "La désillusion", from Les Choristes (another uh-oh)

23. What is your biggest regret? "Six Months in a Leaky Boat", Split Enz

24. What would you rather be doing right now? "I Love Paris", Ella Fitzgerald

25. What will you post this list as? "Come Together", Third Day

I tag anyone who wants to be tagged!

I find this funny

I was just looking at my statcounter page for this blog, because I am obsessed with myself (go on - admit it, you are too). And I discovered that I am quoted under "Latest commentary" on the Visit Hanmer Springs website, from back in July 2008 when I visited Hanmer and did a rather positive blog post about it.

I have never been called a "commentator" before. That makes me sound like a serious blogger or someone who writes one of those blogs that somehow people know about, and that is just too funny.

all grown up

I have moved out of home - GASP!

I am now a resident of Number X, XXX Street, along with four other girls - should be an interesting year! Surprisingly, I am having a lot of fun. I thought I would take a lot of adjusting, having to share the one shower with four other people, being around so many people all the time, after it just being me and Dad for several years now. But it's fine. I suspect all that will come later - what joy is in store for me!

I'm already a bit on edge, though. I used to live in the sleepiest neighbourhood in which I am sure there is not even a whiff of crime; suddenly I am pitchforked into the big bad suburb of Ilam, where professional robbers target student flats because students are usually at uni during the daytime and because there are usually several things like multiple laptops for the taking. Yesterday, one of the girls was home alone and someone knocked on the door. As she came to answer it, she saw a man through the window, but when she opened it, he was heading out onto the street. Suspicious? Creepy? I THINK SO! So today I was paranoid about not leaving the house unless someone else was here to make sure we don't have any scary robbers breaking in, and very, very soon I am going to get myself contents insurance.

On a more positive note, it is a whole lot of fun arranging my new room. I have a really big room that used to be a lounge, and apart from its one drawback (no storage eg wardrobe), it's GREAT having room to move, for the first time in five years! I was thinking maybe a paddling pool in the big space of carpet in the middle of the room? or fill the middle of the room ankle-deep with plastic balls, like at those playgrounds? Any more space-using suggestions, anyone? After all, I wouldn't want to be wasteful.

the final installment

We arrived for our final night of the road trip in Wanaka, a pleasant town on the side of a lake bearing the same name, which entertains skiiers in winter but right now is into all manner of water sports. Coming to Wanaka, it felt like we were definitely returning to civilisation - suddenly, we had electricity 24/7 if we wanted it, instead of the lights turning off at 10.30 when the generator stopped; we had boiling water on command, instead of having to boil it over a gas stove in a saucepan. I didn't really expect to enjoy Wanaka though. It felt like simply a stop on the road back to Christchurch, after a really great holiday. And after the spectacular scenery of Fiordland, the niceness of Wanaka seemed a bit tame.

However, after wandering round the shops for a while, I had to admit that civilisation was actually quite pleasant. And then after walking around the lake for an hour, yes, well, Wanaka is very pretty and actually quite scenic. Then, going for a bike ride on the cusp of the night - I like this place.

It's great biking around a lake at sunset. I should do it more often.

The next morning, it was packing up again and heading home. Should be depressing, but we were taking a pretty spectacular route. You may remember, in early November, that I took a trip with another friend into the Mackenzie Country - this time we were driving through there on our way back. But also, before we reached that area, we were driving through the Lindis Pass, which is incredibly fun to drive (easy but windy and doooowwwwn), and also amazing to look at. It looks nothing like the highway on either side but is a big clump of hills that look like someone has spread out a huge brown blanket over a few sleeping giants.

Then, onwards to Christchurch and home. I was not quite as depressed to be home as I thought I would be, as I was exhausted and I wanted to start eating food again that wasn't out of a can, but that was one heck of a holiday. Six tanks of petrol = $300, motor camp accomodation = $70, but Central Otago, Fiordland and Wanaka in five nights? Priceless.

of rivers, mountains and fiords

We find our heroines, Allie and Katie, leaving Central Otago and all its dryness for the wetness of the fiords of the south - well, so we heard, anyhow, for we managed to time our visit for two glorious days of fine weather, a rare phenomenon in Fiordland, even in summer. As we left Te Anau, the last town on our way, we took the road towards Milford Sound - a place which Rudyard Kipling once called the eighth wonder of the world. The road opened up before us and we couldn't help gasping.

We were on our way to Gunn's Camp, which is about forty minutes before Milford proper, down a long dirt road. The camp was possibly the coolest one I have ever stayed at. It looks like the huts have sat there unchanged for the past sixty, seventy years. In each hut is an old coal stove; the camp kitchen uses ancient old gas stoves; there are no microwaves, kettles or fridges; it's a primitive old camp that has a lot of character and also a lot of friendliness.

Once settled in, we continued down the road toward Milford Sound, through the Homer Tunnel which goes down through the mountain, and then pops out again high up, a strange feeling. Down, down on twisted roads, finally ending up at the sea, and at Milford Sound. Mitre Peak (in the picture below) is a famous image in New Zealand, but somehow seeing the photographs doesn't quite prepare you for the impressiveness of the real thing.

We booked tickets for a boat trip the next morning, and then made our way back to Gunn's, slowly, stopping at every little walk you can take through the rainforest to waterfalls, rivers and chasms. This is a place exploding with life.

The next morning, bright and early, we drove back to Milford to take our morning cruise at 8.55am. The boat we were on was the smallest of the options, and goes right out to the Tasman Sea to look back up the fiord. Free tea and coffee, mmMM. Waterfalls, seals sunning themselves on rocks, huge sheer mountains everywhere around you which somehow don't translate themselves onto film at all well - here is one of my best attempts:

The captain of the boat gives a bit of a commentary as we go; luckily, he has an incredibly dry wit and so it's all very interesting. He takes pleasure in taking the boat as close to the biggest waterfall as he possibly can, spraying, even soaking most of us who were brave enough to stay on the outside decks. Not recommended for winter, but a surprising thrill on this more sunny day. Finally we arrive back on shore. What to do now?

Well, climb a mountain, of course! The Routeburn Track, widely recognised as one of the Great Walks of New Zealand starts only ten minutes down the road from Gunn's. Although if you want to do the whole thing it takes several days and a bit of money for lodging in the huts, the first couple of hours take you up to Key Summit and to an amazing view. While the track was lovely, walking up throught the forest, once you get past the treeline it's just - WOW. And then once you reach the top, well, I could have sat there forever, gazing at everything around me. Definitely the highlight of the trip. I wouldn't say it was an easy walk for me, but all that just fell away once you reached the top, to views like these:

Eventually it was time to come down, and go back to Gunn's. The next morning, sadly, we had to go, but on the way out we were treated to Fiordland in cloud, a mysterious experience that we had so far missed.
Onwards to Wanaka...

escape!

Went away, took far too many photos, can't bear to share too few - so, over the next few days, I will be sharing parts of my latest wonderful adventure away! Hopefully you can bear with it.

Basically, I have just had a wonderful holiday between the end of my summer job and the start of my Masters. Very much needed, very much appreciated, and it almost didn't happen due to money issues. Thank goodness and my father, it did happen! My friend Katie and I managed to cram a heck of a lot into five nights, and here are the first two: Central Otago. In the middle of the south of the South Island, this is the area that is generally the hottest place in New Zealand in summer and the coldest in winter. Luckily for us, it was cloudy most of the time we were there and didn't get the hellish heat they had a few days before, up to 40 degrees celsius (or about 105 fahrenheit).

My sister happens to own a section in Oturehua, a tiny little place in Central Otago with a pub, a store, and not much else, and on this section sits their caravan. We stayed in the caravan for two nights, and explored this part of NZ.

One of the cool things about Central is the history. This is where gold was discovered in the nineteenth century, and miners flocked from around the world to make their fortunes. So wherever you go, you can easily come across ruined huts like the one above, standing on the side of the road and looking very picturesque. We wanted to go to a place called Bendigo which is full of them, but didn't have the time, unfortunately.

This is sweet little St Bathans, which overlooks a striking Blue Lake with white cliffs that were created by miners sluicing it. The little town itself is full of old character buildings, and if it is a little gimmicky/touristy I can't say I minded.

On our second day in Central, we biked part of the Otago Central Rail Trail, from Auripo Station to Omakau. That was about 17km of a 150km bike track which is becoming more and more of a must-do for tourists and also Kiwis, and definitely my highlight of the area. My favourite part was around the Poolburn Viaduct, where you cross a scary, clattering, tall bridge, and then bike through a few old rail tunnels. As you can see in the photo above, it's striking, rocky scenery, and a lot of fun.

After getting to Omakau, we had lunch, and then Katie, who is basically an ironman, sped all the way back to Auripo, while I explored the pretty little cemetery nearby.

Later that afternoon, we drove up to see the Poolburn Reservoir. For some reason I've wanted to see this for a while - it's a Lord of the Rings location, if you remember the village of Rohan, which the Orcs attack in The Two Towers, and a mother sends her two kids away on a horse to escape to Edoras. The drive up there (below) along a gravel road was amazing - rock formations rising up everywhere; angry, atmospheric looking clouds.

Poolburn Reservoir was rather nice itself, although it was a murky day, with its cute little cottages nestled among the rocks (below), but we had a rather strange experience there. I have never felt more like a city girl. Or maybe like a cast member of Lord of the Flies.

We wandered out of the car and away down to the waterfront, where we vaguely noticed a dad playing with his two kids. However, when we got closer, we realised they were having a mudfight, and the dad actually started egging his kids on to throw mud at us! "They look too clean; go on, go throw mud at them." The kids ran over, little monsters, and with looks of evil glee on their faces shouted in sing-song voices "Let's get them!!" while their dad split his sides laughing in the background.

Of course, we ended up speechless, with great lumps of mud stuck to us. I think the dad told us to lighten up but I have to say I think we took it pretty lightly, just walking away instead of telling him what we thought of his parenting skills. We went for a desultory walk around some of the reservoir, muttering about inbred hicks, a term I never thought I would use on someone but which had become utterly appropriate. What a bizarre experience.

Luckily the beautiful drive back to the main road calmed us down, and we went into Ranfurly, a small town, paid to have showers at the local motor camp, and got ourselves dinner at the tavern. By now it has become one of those weird experiences it's sort of fun to talk about but I would love to see how those kids turn out one day.

The next morning it was time to leave Central Otago, and it was on a happy note that we left - Central is a legendary place for stone fruit and cherries, and on the way out, we stopped in Cromwell, and picked up bags of ripe, juicy apricots and nectarines, which truly must be the food of the gods. I only wish we had bought more, we must have consumed them in about three hours flat.

Onwards to Fiordland and Milford Sound - but that's for tomorrow's blog post.

deathmatch

The Adversaries

The Killers. Indie rock. Hot Fuss, Sam's Town and Day and Age.

Duffy. Soul/pop/I don't even know what to label it. Rockferry.

The Fight

Allie's attendance at their concerts.

The Killers - Westpac Arena, Christchurch, March 31. $100.

Duffy - Christchurch Town Hall, April 2. $119.90.

The Problem

I'm a poor student and can only afford to go to one of the concerts, which are oh-so-annoyingly placed two days apart. I'm very tempted to go to both, because it's not like fantastic acts like this come to Christchurch all that often, but I don't think I can justify spending over $200 in one week on concerts.

For Duffy:

I actually like Duffy better than the Killers - everything she sings I like, whereas some of the Killers' songs do not interest me whatsoever.

For the Killers:

Although I like Duffy overall better than the Killers, there are some Killers songs which kick arse. And I suspect their concert would be more of a spectacle, more fun in the mosh pit.

Who is going down??? You decide.

from the arbiter of trends, to you

I think I could have a career writing for women's magazines...

What's Hot
1. McDonalds strawberry milkshakes. I don't know and I don't care how bad they are for me - they're cheap and goood, and it's hot outside, and I like studying in busy, noisy places that don't mind me buying one drink and sitting there for an hour.
2. The possibility of researching abroad in cool archives like this.
3. The new U2 single!!!! Yippee! For a while there I had thought I was losing my U2 obsession and suddenly I love 'em again.
4. Moving into a flat for the first time. Acquiring a life of my own.
5. Going camping!! Next week, in two of the coolest (or should I say hottest?) spots in New Zealand, with one of my best friends. Cheap holidays are great!
6. The Buskers' Festival. The centre of Christchurch is more bustling and fun at the moment than at any other time of the year.

And What's Not
1. Weather that is unbearably hot (and yes, I have noticed that I'm designating "hot" weather as "not hot")
2. The reality setting in that people don't want to give me free money to go research abroad unless I can justify it. And by justifying it, that means doing something politically correct or financially rewarding.
3. Moving out of home for the first time. Leaving my parent all on his own and feeling guilty.
4. Writing a research proposal. Not fun.
5. White-tail spiders finding ways to enter the house.

a selection of good reads

Just because I felt like it, I am here listing a few of my favourite books. These aren't necessarily in my group of absolute favourites (although a couple are) and you will have heard of or read most of them already, probably. But here is what I like about a random selection of good books.


The Tricksters, by Margaret Mahy
Now, this is a claim made by someone who isn't actually fully informed yet - but I think this novel is the best novel ever written by a New Zealander (let's qualify that by saying, of what I've read). I fully accept that not everyone would agree with me, but there it is. It is also, probably, among my top ten or twenty books ever.
Set at the beach during a New Zealand summer, starring a family that has been visited by three mysterious men, this is a book ostensibly written for teenagers which could rival most adults' novels in terms of skill. Mahy's writing style is just beautiful, and her plot imaginative, magical, intriguing; her characters so full-bodied it feels like you could reach out and touch them.

A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
A lot of people love this book, I know. And I no less. It's so clever. I love Burgess' creativity with his language, Nadsat, and for some horrible reason I love his main character (hero? anti-hero?) who shouldn't be loved, and I love the questions this raises.

Almost Heaven: Travels through the Backwoods of America, by Martin Fletcher
This is a book by a British journalist who travelled around the USA stopping in any tiny, insignificant place he came across and coming across the most interesting people and things. For someone from a country half a world away, it makes for bizarre and fascinating reading, but it's not a mean "let's-mock-America-in-all-its-weirdness" kind of book. It's simply fascinating.

Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray

This is probably my favourite classic novel, after Jane Austen's, and after Jane Eyre, or maybe equal with Jane Eyre. It's long - but it kept me engrossed easily. Thackeray's characters are interesting and flawed, he is an incredibly funny narrator, and there isn't an easy ending. His whole point is interesting:

This, dear friends and companions, is my amiable object – to walk with you through the Fair, to examine the shops and shows there; and that we should all come home after the flare, and the noise, and the gaiety, and be perfectly miserable in private.

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, by Bertolt Brecht

One of the few plays I would actually read for enjoyment, and a play that I really, really want to see. In fact, have any of you seen it? What was it like?

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

When I think "Russian literature", I think "huge". This, happily, is small. It's also a book that is a simply written, under-dramatic account of one day in the gulag for one insignificant man. Everything in it feels grey. There was nothing in it that stood out or begged attention, but for some reason I couldn't put it down. In fact, I finished it two minutes before we ate dinner, and after reading it, boiled potatoes tasted like the food of angels. It's that impacting a book.

The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis

An absolutely amazing book that must have taken quite some dedication to write. It's also one of those books that must be a book. No movie will ever manage to do justice to it; even an audiobook would fall short. Perhaps it's a mark of how true it rings that the demon Screwtape and the junior demon Wormwood can only be brought to life in our own minds, where we have heard them already.

Finally, The First World War, by Gerard J. De Groot

This was a set text for an undergraduate history paper I took in 2006, and one of the few history books I have ever read that was a pleasure to read. It seems wrong to say that, given that I am a history student, but I guess I could say this was an influential book for me, teaching me that history can be as alive as any novel if its scribe is any good.

I quote: As the Archduke passed by in his car, the first young assassin failed to get his revolver out of his pocket in time to get a clear shot. The second was spooked by the close proximity of a policeman, who would obviously have disapproved. The third lost his nerve when he saw the Duchess Sophie, sitting next to the Archduke. The fourth decided he was not cut out for the life of a terrorist and went home. The fifth threw his bomb, but missed. The sixth conspirator, Gavrilo Princip, heard the bomb, decided that the plot had succeeded, and sat down feeling smugly satisfied. He then saw the Archduke's car speed by and rued the passing of his heroic moment.
De Groot, as well as being a good writer, is very scholarly - it's not simply a popular picture book - and his conclusions are very interesting.

tripods are fantastic

I love having a tripod! I can finally take cool night-time shots. This was a fifteen-second exposure featuring a full moon and the Port Hills, from a road near my house. It was rather windy, hence the blurry grass.

2008

We have just had a 35 degree day. My goodness it's hot. (Translation for you fahrenheiters: that's 95 degrees.)

Right. Here is my attempt at copying Sara, who copied Stacy, who copied Beck.

2008, shown by the first sentence of the first blog post of every month. Like Sara, who changed that to the last sentence, I am going to bend the rules, and take my pick of either the first OR the last, depending on which I like the best.

2008 on Allie's blog:
There's this pizza chain in New Zealand called Hell. Of course, in this dreamworld there's no such thing as money! Everything I've written above is something I will try to keep in focus for the rest of my life. I'm a big fan of Georgette Heyer, especially her Regency novels. It really is difficult to pick out of the long list of books she wrote. That's not so bad when you're cuddled up in bed with several layers of bedding and an electric blanket! See the Northern Lights. Because I do this periodically. Why don't people learn from history? So, there has to be something you will enjoy! I'll be impressed if you've read all this. I would just find it too depressing.

:)

why oh why?

I have just decided to do a Masters degree. Eek!

It was always on the cards, but I didn't really make up my mind until this last week, and I was pretty blasé about it, considering it the safe option that logically followed my Honours year and wouldn't require much more pressure.

Have suddenly realised I am incredibly unintelligent when it comes to predicting my future. I am freaking out. When it comes down to it and I actually have to put some work into finding a topic, I realise that suddenly I am studying at an academic level at which originality is crucial, and all the topics I had in mind have been done already. I realise that I am plunging into a world where I will not be having weekly meetings with my supervisor, like last year, nor his constant guidance; where the entire Department of History staff are going to hear my proposal and grill me on it, in a few short weeks from now; where famous historians are going to read the end product (if, indeed, I finish) and tell me what's wrong with it. *long, drawn-out scream*

Why am I doing this to myself? What possesses people to take on postgraduate study? I have a horrible fear that suddenly everyone will realise that everything I've done so far that has turned out to be halfway good has been a complete fluke.