Bye Bye Winter, Hello Spring!

Spring is here! or at least i think it is. The trees are starting to have some colour in them and everything just looks so green and pretty! Now i was never one for bouquets of roses and what not. When a guy wanted to buy me flowers in Form 1, he sent his friend to ask me what kind of flowers I liked. I told him I like any flower as long as they stay on the ground with their stalks still in tact with the roots. Don't get me wrong, i think the act of a boy giving flowers to a girl (or vice versa, coz it seems the trend goes in reverse these days *ahem ahem*) is sweet. How that came about I wonder though. Because as a girl, I don't think we women like flowers all that much either. I never have any use for them. They wither and die after a few days. I hear some of you go "Hang it upside down and keep them as dried flowers! Spray fragrance on them!". Sure, but then what? Put them in a glass vase to gather dust. So it seems a bit silly to me to spend obscene amounts of cash on something that u dont get to keep in a drawer, or in a jewellery box or something. At least chocolates you can eat, then keep the box to store your letters. =)

But before i am attacked by my fellow women, and ambushed by the few who actually have bought me flowers before, i admit it's a thrill receiving them, and i appreciate them from the bottom of my heart. And that, I guess, is the sole function of flower giving. For the sender, it's to see the person's face light up and go all starry eyed, or to receive a text message filled with x's and o's and omg's and iloveu's. For the receiving end, it's the whole thrilling sensation knowing that this special person had thought of you, spent a crazy amount on you, and wants you to be happy.

But never never never because "girls like flowers". I guarantee you. And of course we say they're beautiful. It's what we were taught to say, and what florists are taught to perfect - to make them beautiful.

But wild flowers? I love them crazy. especially those that grow from grass, or weeds or stuff people pull away and get rid off. I dont have green fingers. And I don't know any other species of flowers except roses and orchids. Oh and Baby's Breath. But i can spot a pretty flower when I see one. Or a pretty clover, or even a funny shaped leaf. I love them all. And Auckland, apart from the gorgeous mountain views and amazing rainbows, has the most beautiful wild flowers.

Hello Spring!!

***

On other things, we did a lab test today for Exercise Prescription. It was the fitness assessment and we had to do all sorts of tests. Basically they test your strength, speed, flexibility and endurance. I thought the speed test and the shuttle run/beep test was really cool!the speed test is basically running at your top speed, and it'll be measured at distances 5m, 10m and 20m . so these little thingies here are set up along a line and they measure your speed! How cool is that? We each had 3 tries and i'm glad my results got faster n faster with each try. Here's my results in seconds..

Trial 1:
5 m - 1'23
10 m - 1'99
20 m - 3'46

Trial 2:
5 m - 1'19
10 m - 1'97
20 m - 3'44

Trial 3:
5 m - 1'17
10 m - 1'94
20 m - 3'38

Then we did the beep test. You can read more about this test here but it is basically a 20m running test. you run from point A to point B, according to a beep sound which comes from a CD. The beeps get faster and faster each level. Many organizations like the army and the navvy use this test to assess their recruits' fitness.
I thought i did alright, could've been better though. Because they split the group into 2 heats, and the first heat, this guy on the far inside managed to run up to level 13. He was the best in class. I was in the 2nd heat with 2 other girls and 2 guys. I was the best in my heat at level 9.8 but i stopped because the guy stopped right before me. I know i could've pushed myself more. Should have just hung on to make level 10...darn...

*shrugs*