Monday, May 28, 2012
3 'trys' = ?
This past weekend we went out to try a new pub and watch the Hurricanes play the Rebels. Within the first twenty minutes our guys quickly scored several 'trys' and, at that point in the game, Savea had scored two of his own. I wondered out loud, "Do you think there's such a thing in rugby for three 'trys' like we have a 'hat trick' in hockey?". Tim and I were discussing the possibilities when Savea scored his third try of the game!! We cheered and then did a double take of sorts because we heard one of the announcers call his three 'trys' a 'hat trick'. Who knew that rugby would borrow a term from hockey?? We just had to laugh. :)
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Wicked Welly Weekend.....
Another week gone. Again I was suprised that I had arrived at Friday in what seemed like no time at all. Throughout the day I found that I was smiling to myself because I knew that this weekend was going to be awesome!
Friday evening we set off, with great anticipation, to see a performance by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra!! We were able to get good seats at a 2-for-1 price and couldn't wait to attend this event.
In a word: amazing. Opening with one of my favorites, Mozart's Symphony No. 38 in D major, we were showered with delicate, seamless notes, rich in acoustic flavor from a small group of musicians (about half of the entire orchestra). I've listened to Symphony No. 38 so many times over the years since I was a young musician but to hear it played by this group was nothing short of breathtaking. I don't think I've ever heard anything so beautiful in my entire life. It took me back to the years that I played the flute in elementary/middle/high school. And I was reminded of the most terrifying moment of my life thus far. As a freshmen in high school I was chosen to play a solo for an upcoming concert. I was terrified. No, petrified. My hands shaking even as I thought about going to class and having to play it for all my peers to hear. I even tried to get out of playing it, pleading with my teacher to assign it to someone else. In the end he never did. So there I was, the night of the concert, completely beside myself with fear. I remember walking out onto the stage with the rest of my peers, the glare of the spotlights in my eyes. We sat down and my mind went blank. The moment I had dreaded for months had arrived. We were about to start the song that contained my solo. No, we weren't about to begin it - I was. Only me. This wasn't the type of solo where the soloist is supported by a few others playing softly. No. This was me. All by myself. Just one little flute, played by someone who, at any moment, was about to die of fear. I remember that just before I began to play it was like my hearing had cut out. Think tunnel vision but for your ears. I heard nothing. I felt nothing. All I saw was the conductor's hands go up and it was time. Those hands came down and I began to play. Later my mom told me that those notes were solid and clear. Thankfully, they betrayed none of my fear and anxiety about this solo. So somehow I was able to coordinate the movements necessary to play the notes on the page. The funny part about this is that in all the nerve-wracking things I've had to do since then nothing has filled me with fear like that little solo. Not even my master's thesis defense. :)
The second movement was Alpine Symphony by Strauss. Compared to the delicate nature of the Mozart we heard earlier this piece took you through sections where you were on the edge of your seat almost straining to hear the notes that were played piano soft. Other sections assaulted you with intense sequences that seemed to crash over you like giant waves. And so it went vacillating between 'barely there' and cacophony; a crazy, interesting mixture all in a single movement.
After the symphony we strolled home, picked up indian takeout on the way and settled in to watch the Hurricanes on TV. With much excitement throughout the game we cheered on our guys and they came away with the win!! :)
Saturday morning while we were out and about attempting to run errands, on a whim, we stopped in at one the bowling alleys. We figured we would see if there was a lane available and there was!! So we donned our bowling shoes having to figure out our European shoe size (I'm a US 9, that is roughly a European 39) and found our lane. Numero six.
Our lane was right next to two lanes of guys in the midst of a stag (bachelor) party which made for some unexpected comedy. I was up to bowl first and right away I noticed that something was different but I couldn't figure out what it was exactly. After bowling a few frames I realized what was happening. Instead of a traditional pin-setter you might encounter in the US, the pins here in NZ (or at least at this bowling alley) are on strings. So when you bowl the machine just pulls the pins up by the strings and sets them down again, reset. Talk about strange. The best part was watching Timmy bowl because he's strong and can throw the ball quite fast. I thought he might break something (for the record when we participated in a bowling league in Bozeman he broke his bowling ball into two pieces). On multiple occasions he threw the ball so hard that the strings got tangled up and we had to have one of the employees untangled them so we could continue with our game. :) He also managed to ricochet pins into the strings of other pins which tricked the machine into giving him extra pins (points). An interesting experience....I'm sure we'll go again. This is also where I came across the square toilet that I put up in the last post.
That night we set off for the TSB Bank Arena to see our favorite rollerderby team, Smash Malice, take on Brutal Pageant! This time we had a better idea of the rules and the game was much easier to follow. Below you can see our girls coming on to the track for warm ups. And as Whip It's captain Maggie Mayhem says, 'Safety is sexy". The next photo shows the referees checking the players' equipment to make sure everyone is ready to play.
After the formalities the game was underway and we found that it was sufficiently challenging to take pictures of the players while they were moving. Below is one where you can see the two teams on the track just before a 'bout' begins.
In the end Smash Malice was victorious!!! The final score was outrageous: Smash Malice 204, Brutal Pageant 89. That means that Smash Malice is going to the final match next month!! And we will be there to cheer them on (hopefully to victory!). :) Who knew that we would find roller derby when we moved to NZ? Welly is full of fun surprises. :)
So symphony, rugby, bowling and roller derby.....such a fun way to spend a weekend with my best bud, Timmy! :)
Friday evening we set off, with great anticipation, to see a performance by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra!! We were able to get good seats at a 2-for-1 price and couldn't wait to attend this event.
The second movement was Alpine Symphony by Strauss. Compared to the delicate nature of the Mozart we heard earlier this piece took you through sections where you were on the edge of your seat almost straining to hear the notes that were played piano soft. Other sections assaulted you with intense sequences that seemed to crash over you like giant waves. And so it went vacillating between 'barely there' and cacophony; a crazy, interesting mixture all in a single movement.
After the symphony we strolled home, picked up indian takeout on the way and settled in to watch the Hurricanes on TV. With much excitement throughout the game we cheered on our guys and they came away with the win!! :)
Saturday morning while we were out and about attempting to run errands, on a whim, we stopped in at one the bowling alleys. We figured we would see if there was a lane available and there was!! So we donned our bowling shoes having to figure out our European shoe size (I'm a US 9, that is roughly a European 39) and found our lane. Numero six.
Our lane was right next to two lanes of guys in the midst of a stag (bachelor) party which made for some unexpected comedy. I was up to bowl first and right away I noticed that something was different but I couldn't figure out what it was exactly. After bowling a few frames I realized what was happening. Instead of a traditional pin-setter you might encounter in the US, the pins here in NZ (or at least at this bowling alley) are on strings. So when you bowl the machine just pulls the pins up by the strings and sets them down again, reset. Talk about strange. The best part was watching Timmy bowl because he's strong and can throw the ball quite fast. I thought he might break something (for the record when we participated in a bowling league in Bozeman he broke his bowling ball into two pieces). On multiple occasions he threw the ball so hard that the strings got tangled up and we had to have one of the employees untangled them so we could continue with our game. :) He also managed to ricochet pins into the strings of other pins which tricked the machine into giving him extra pins (points). An interesting experience....I'm sure we'll go again. This is also where I came across the square toilet that I put up in the last post.
That night we set off for the TSB Bank Arena to see our favorite rollerderby team, Smash Malice, take on Brutal Pageant! This time we had a better idea of the rules and the game was much easier to follow. Below you can see our girls coming on to the track for warm ups. And as Whip It's captain Maggie Mayhem says, 'Safety is sexy". The next photo shows the referees checking the players' equipment to make sure everyone is ready to play.
After the formalities the game was underway and we found that it was sufficiently challenging to take pictures of the players while they were moving. Below is one where you can see the two teams on the track just before a 'bout' begins.
In the end Smash Malice was victorious!!! The final score was outrageous: Smash Malice 204, Brutal Pageant 89. That means that Smash Malice is going to the final match next month!! And we will be there to cheer them on (hopefully to victory!). :) Who knew that we would find roller derby when we moved to NZ? Welly is full of fun surprises. :)
So symphony, rugby, bowling and roller derby.....such a fun way to spend a weekend with my best bud, Timmy! :)
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
And the winner is.....
I haven't participated in a science fair since grade school. In truth, I haven't thought about those days of growing hydroponic plants and crystal gardens in years. That is, until last week. Tim received an invite to serve as a judge for the Marsden School (all girls private prep school) Science Fair and forwarded it on to me to see if I was interested if they needed more judges. They did and so we agreed to judge along with two other students from Victoria.
We arrived at Marsden early this morning to a flurry of activity, received some brief instruction and were set loose to peruse the projects developed by the girls in year 9 (around 13~ years old). Shortly thereafter the girls came in to present their projects and we had the opportunity to ask them questions and assign marks. As we started to work our way through the aisles I was struck by how nervous the girls were around the four of us. My first thought was, "This is silly, why would anyone be nervous around me?". But as I thought about it more I realized that, if I were in their position, I would be shaking in my boots at the thought of being judged by a real scientist. I'm still not used to thinking of myself in that way because, even at this stage of my education, I feel as though I'm just beginning my career in science.
After reviewing all the projects we spent time considering which of the 45 would move on to the next round. In the end we sent 10 on and recommended another 7 for consideration. Before we left they gave us a lovely parting gift, Guylian chocolates! Yes!
All in all it we had a good time chatting with the students and working as a team to decide which were the best projects. We'd both like to do this again.....nerds! :)
We arrived at Marsden early this morning to a flurry of activity, received some brief instruction and were set loose to peruse the projects developed by the girls in year 9 (around 13~ years old). Shortly thereafter the girls came in to present their projects and we had the opportunity to ask them questions and assign marks. As we started to work our way through the aisles I was struck by how nervous the girls were around the four of us. My first thought was, "This is silly, why would anyone be nervous around me?". But as I thought about it more I realized that, if I were in their position, I would be shaking in my boots at the thought of being judged by a real scientist. I'm still not used to thinking of myself in that way because, even at this stage of my education, I feel as though I'm just beginning my career in science.
After reviewing all the projects we spent time considering which of the 45 would move on to the next round. In the end we sent 10 on and recommended another 7 for consideration. Before we left they gave us a lovely parting gift, Guylian chocolates! Yes!
All in all it we had a good time chatting with the students and working as a team to decide which were the best projects. We'd both like to do this again.....nerds! :)
Thursday, May 10, 2012
'Kiwi' Birthday.....
A few days ago I turned 29. One year ago I never would've guessed that by my next birthday I would be starting my PhD in New Zealand. And yet, here we are. Living in the US my birthday was always in the spring and ALWAYS corresponded with finals (sometimes for me, sometimes for Timmy and other times for both of us!). Here in Kiwiland there are no finals in sight (we are in the middle of the first trimester) and we've just settled into autumn. Cooler temps with increasing rain. Luckily, on my birthday, I awoke to sunny skies and beautiful temperatures. We were getting ready as usual and I went into the kitchen to grab a granola bar for the road. When I reached up to the top shelf for the box I noticed that there was something sticking out of it and here began my fun-filled, surprise-after-surprise birthday weekend. :) Upon closer inspection I saw that, in the box of granola bars, was a sweet pair of Outdoor Research mittens I'd been eyeing for the past month! But that's not all, I also found two tickets to the Hurricanes rugby match for that night!!
After trekking up the hill to campus I went to a lecture, taught a lab session, met with my advisor to discuss details for some preliminary lab work we want to start soon and went to a talk given by one of the guys who works in the same lab as Tim. Overall, a productive and enjoyable day at work. :) At the end of the day we sauntered down the hill and upon arriving home I was greeted by birthday flowers!! Later I found out that Tim had picked them out and arranged them himself! Mini cymbidium orchids with gerbera daisies, and gloriosa lillies finished off with bear grass - gorgeous and just the type of contemporary arrangement I would make myself. :) What can I say? Timmy is good!
After trekking up the hill to campus I went to a lecture, taught a lab session, met with my advisor to discuss details for some preliminary lab work we want to start soon and went to a talk given by one of the guys who works in the same lab as Tim. Overall, a productive and enjoyable day at work. :) At the end of the day we sauntered down the hill and upon arriving home I was greeted by birthday flowers!! Later I found out that Tim had picked them out and arranged them himself! Mini cymbidium orchids with gerbera daisies, and gloriosa lillies finished off with bear grass - gorgeous and just the type of contemporary arrangement I would make myself. :) What can I say? Timmy is good!
Although I was smitten with the flowers it was getting close to game time so we donned our gear and set off for the stadium. We had great seats, thanks to Timmy, and the game was awesome!!! In the end we won and my favorite player, Jason Eaton, scored the last 'try' (think touchdown in American football)!!! I turned to Tim and asked, "Did you arrange for that to happen?". It was just so perfect. :)
We floated home on the 'high' of winning and it was then that Timmy produced a birthday cake!! I almost cried at the 'sweetness' of the thought that went into it. It was a carrot cake from Arobake, a bakery we walk past everyday on the way to school. Now you have to understand that I've eaten carrot cake on many occasions but this carrot cake is the best I've ever had!! It's sooo good!!
With a belly full of scrumptuous carrot cake we watched We Bought a Zoo and crashed soon after. I was spent but, as you can imagine, very happy. :)
The next morning we slept in and woke up to the sound of our intercom. Tim was already getting out of bed and I said, "Maybe they're trying to deliver something to us". He sprung into action and raced outside to catch the delivery guy. Sure enough, he was just in time and came back into the apartment with a box from Amazon. He gave it to me to open and I found books!!! With book prices being so high here I've been buying books on our Kindle Fire instead of the hard copies. So getting real, hard copy books is a HUGE treat - I was so excited because two of them are graphic novels that are obscenenly expensive here so I figured I would have to put off reading them until I was stateside. Now I have the next two in the series and I couldn't be happier! Tim also got me a nonfiction book that's been on my wishlist for awhile - all seems right with the world when I have a stack of books to read. :)
After a little requisite reading we ventured out for the next round of birthday surprises. First, Timmy took me to get a crepe for brunch and we found a place to sit while we munched and enjoyed another beautiful day. It was then that he told me that he wanted to take me to Logan Brown, a very fancy restaurant just down the street from our house, for dinner. Then he said, "Well, I can't take you there unless you have some high heels because it's a fancy place." Sadly, when packing for the move none of my heels made the cut because most decisions came down to practicality. :) From there he wisked me downtown to hunt for the perfect pair of heels to wear for dinner. I was in heaven, I mean, admitted shoe girl here, I will always be happy when shopping for shoes. :) After a few stores we found what I was looking for: a strappy, black, Tony Bianco suede sandal. Feeling giddy (and silly) I knew they were 'the ones' for me as soon as I tried them on and walked around the store. We took them home and it wasn't too long before we were getting ready to go for our dinner reservation.
Logan Brown restaurant is a beautiful venue, an older, but very well maintained building with vaulted ceilings and a wine wall. Imagine a library with ceilings so tall that you need a rolling ladder to reach the highest shelves. Except this 'library' had shelves of wine instead of books complete with the rolling ladder. So cool! We were seated in a cozy corner and began to peruse the menu. I was anxious but intrigued when I saw the word "squid" amongst the entree offerings. After consulting with our server I summoned the courage and ordered the squid. In a word: delicious! I had a polenta dish for the main course with salad and truffle fries. In the end dessert was a beautifully arranged meringue with white chocolate - it was delicious but I have to admit that Timmy's was even better. He tried chocolate-chilli ice cream with chocolate cake and extra cream on the side. Extra cream? How can you go wrong. Dinner was an amazing experience and I know my description here is not doing it justice!
After dinner we walked a bit and then Tim handed me two Gold Lounge tickets to The Five Year Engagement. It had just come out and I really wanted to see it so I was super excited to see those tickets. And Gold Lounge no less. The Gold Lounge is a step above your average movie-going experience. In some of the theaters they have levels of elevated seating where you get your own leather recliner and the option to order drinks and snacks during the movie. As we were full from dinner we ordered some drinks for halfway through the movie and went in to find our seats. Before the movie started Timmy excused himself and was gone for a few minutes. I assumed that he had gone to the restroom but I was wrong. Just after the movie started a waiter arrived with an ice cream sundae and not realizing that Timmy had ordered it for me I almost sent it away! :) Whoops! I'm glad we got things sorted out because it was scrumptuous and we enjoyed every bite.
Walking home that night Timmy told me that there was one more birthday surprise that I would get the following morning! I was thinking, ohmygosh!! What else could he have planned?! The next morning arrived in a flash and I was curious to see what was next. We started off down Cuba Street and to my great delight Timmy pulled me into a store that I've wondered about so many times: Alistair's Music. I played the flute through elementary, middle and high school and always enjoyed it. Since then, for some time now, I've considered learning a new instrument. Now I know this will come as a surprise to, well, everyone but I've decided to switch instrumental families and learn a stringed instrument: the ukelele. Upon arriving at the store Timmy said that he had been in to talk with the owner, Alistair, and ask him about a beginner instrument for me and what we would need to do in order to get me started. Remember I'm a southpaw. He told me that they would be able to restring any uke of my choosing so I could learn how to play left handed. Walking by the shop so many times over the months we've been here I was certain that I knew which one I wanted - dark purple and black. But when I started comparing all the options I ended up choosing this wooden beauty and I love it!! For now I'm learning what I can from information I find online but I would like to take some lessons in the near future!!
So how do I sum up such a wonderful birthday weekend?! Timmy spent a lot of time thinking about how to make it all come together and all that work paid off: It's been the best birthday I've ever had!!! Thank you honey! It goes without saying but I'll say it anyway......YOU'RE THE BEST!! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)