make hay while the sun... shines?

I haven't updated for a few weeks due to extreme busy-ness. Here's the Cliff Notes version:

• Finished Honours degree. The last week involved a lot of tears, slamming of doors, "I can't do this" (and Jeremy's "yes you can"'s). But exams were done and that was that.
• Jeremy and I went out to dinner at Boulcott St Bistro to celebrate Honours being finished, and we drunk Champagne that was actually from France. It was delicious and I will never drink anything except Tattinger again! (I wish)
• I finished the last exam on Friday 3rd, and on Tuesday 6th started a new job through temp agency working as an EA to a Deputy Chief Executive of a government department. I'm making ridiculous amounts of money, and working ridiculous hours (10 a day, mostly), but the job is just for about six weeks so I'm trying to take advantage of the amazing experience (and cash) - make hay while the sun shines, and all that. Except it has rained all week.
• Above point means I leave home at 7:30am each morning and get home around 7:00pm. So when I do get home I just want to eat dinner, talk to Jeremy, and go to bed at 9:30pm. So that's what I do.
• Trip to L.A. is getting ever closer, and I am excited about that.
• My Mum has bought a new house, which we looked at pictures of on the internet, and it is very flash indeed, only about 2 years old. Can't wait to see it next time we are in Auckland!
• Had some friends from Dunedin for afternoon tea a few weeks ago, which was exciting. I made a chocolate mud cake from a recipe I found in a Donna Hay magazine, and it is probably the best cake I have ever made. Oh well Jeremy helped too so I guess it's probably the best cake we have ever made.
• Also had friends from Auckland for dessert the same night, and I made a baked cheesecake and an ice cream cake.
• Plans for the next few weeks include watching Jeremy sing in a concert, visiting a friend who has just moved here (and playing with her adorable little 1 1/2 year old boy), and a whole heap of work.

the beginning of the end

The last 24 hours have been filled with pieces of news that are sad and happy and exciting and disappointing. The sad news has been tainting the exciting, and the happy is vaguely connected to the disappointing, although the disappointing has been put aside in my head. Similarly, I will try to concentrate on the exciting rather than the sad, for the sake of the people effected by the sad...

After dinner last night, Jeremy and I went for a walk around Lyall Bay. I had discovered a secret path yesterday which isn't signposted, but it stretches from the bus-stop to our house, and is much quicker than the other way we walk home. However, it also involves the steepest set of stairs, possibly in the world. You can't even see the top steps when you are standing at the bottom! I'll try and take a photo, although it won't do it justice. However, the view over Lyall Bay is simply astounding and definitely worth the walk. So I showed Jeremy how to find the path, and then we walked down through Melrose, passing some nuns from the convent (who said hello to us - obviously not a silent order), along part of the beach, and then home. It took about an hour, and involved two serious hills, so we felt pleased with our efforts. When we got home, I tried on all my 'work' clothes to see if they still fit. It felt strange to be wearing dress pants and suit jackets and heels - I am going to try and add more dresses to my corporate wardrobe I think, because it'll just be my luck to get a job in an un-airconditioned office, which is very uncomfortable.

This weekend is shaping up to be the busiest in a long time:

Friday: Exam, class drinks in the post-grad bar, dinner
Saturday: Renovations to house, lots of baking, J has hockey practise, going out to dinner to celebrate finishing Uni, meeting up with friends from Auckland.
Sunday: Eastbourne Village fair, friends from Dunedin for afternoon tea, friends from Auckland for dessert.
Monday: Job hunting....

I had thought about organising a class party for afternoon tea on Saturday, but everyone was either going away or working, and after finding out how hectic our weekend is going to be, I'm now quite glad it was changed to Friday after the exam. Think how much baking I would have had to do, for a party of 8, a party of 4, and a party of 6! Plus Jeremy and I would have probably put on about 5 kilos eating all those treats. So I'm only going to be baking for two events. Luckily baking is one of my most favourite things in the world. And Jeremy is one of my other most favourite things, and he likes to eat my baking.

Now, I had better get back to my notes and revise a bit more before meeting Jeremy for lunch. It is a sunny day, so I think I'll suggest bagels in the sunshine and a walk around the waterfront. Yesterday afternoon I sat in the sun on the balcony and did my work; I even dragged a comfy chair outside! I could feel the vitamin D soaking into my sun-deprived bones..

out of the blue

Oh my goodness. Jeremy and I saw Out of the Blue last night; the film about the Aramoana shootings. Jeremy suggested we see the movie sometime at the Embassy (because who doesn't like seeing movies there?!), and on a whim I rung them up. They had a 9:10pm screening, and it was 8:30pm, so we decided to go, even though it was a school night. They were having a special for October; all tickets $10 to all sessions - it was the 31st of October, so we were pleased. But in retrospect, if the cinema had asked us to pay afterwards what we thought the movie was worth, I would have paid $20 for each of us.

I was totally blown away. The event happened on 13th November 1990. I very vaguely remember watching something on television about it; all I can recall is some aerial pictures from a helicopter over the town, possibly with men in black clothes running around. I'm sure my parents didn't let me know exactly what was going on, I was 6 years old after all. I never learned about the killings at school, but I knew a little about what happened.

The movie was one of the best I have seen in a long time. It's hard to say 'best' or 'good' or 'I enjoyed it', because it was so frightening, and chilling, and tragic, and many other things. Maybe it is like how I think that Clockwork Orange is a good movie, even though the subject matter is gruesome and horrific. Anyway, the director, Robert Sarkies (of Scarfies fame) did a fantastic job. I was also really impressed, funnily, by the composer. There were small bits of music, but it was mainly noise, which just got inside your head and made your ears hurt, but it really emphasised David Gray's mental decline, possibly one of the achievements of the film.

I try to steer clear of movies with guns and killings (unless maybe Shakespeare..), because I can't handle it. A warning - you do see some people get shot. I am pretty jumpy in these sort of movies, and every time a helicopter came onto the screen I leapt out of my seat, and every time the film cut from the dark silence of the land to the raging fire, I started - I think I was scaring the two teenage girls next to me with all my jumping about. I was holding Jeremy's hand pretty hard the whole time (and he was squeezing back, so I wasn't the only one effected!), in fact I think I'll probably never squeeze it that hard again, except possibly when giving birth...

I don't want to give anything away, because I want to encourage everyone to see it. But I just want to say that I was very impressed with the portrayal of David Gray, and how he was depicted so much like a human, rather than some monster - it would have been easy to demonise him. But Sarkies was very sensitive to the fact that he was someone who just had a few screws loose, and flipped out. I got the feeling that he just wanted to be left alone. The scene where he eats his supper and goes to sleep made me weep, and even now my eyes are tearing up at the thought. Gosh, it was astoundingly sad. I'm not excusing what he did, and neither does Sarkies, but it was a real reminder that he was just a man.

The actress who played Helen Dickson, Lois Lawn, apparently had never acted before, but she was fantastic. And it was a real treat to see all that lovely NZ scenery on the huge screen, the hills and coastline around Dunedin are just beautiful. It was funny to see all the 1990-era clothes and hear the music, what a blast from my past! The costume team did a great job.

The whole story is terribly tragic. 13 people died needlessly. The atmosphere of terror comes through so strongly. But Sarkies emphasises the huamnity of Gray; the motif of the waves suggested to me that the director was also aware that despite this terrible situation, the world will continue regardless. Eventually, there would be closure.

Jeremy and I talked about it late into the night, until well after midnight. I don't think that's just because I have studied film at University and I have a real passion for it (which Jeremy shares), but more from a desire to 'debrief' ourselves of what we had just seen. It's that kind of film.

If you are in NZ, or this movie travels around the film festivals, please see it. I feel it is important as part of our history in a New Zealand.