the slightest thing

I could go on without a care
Just living life, sharing laughter,
I could be a completely new person,
Without a history or a past endeavour.

I could ride on motorbikes, as fast as light,
Sip on cocktails or pints of beer,
I could watch movies, have dinner,
And just be with him, have no fear.

I could get skinnier, laugh louder,
Eat more good food, live the life,
Let my hair down, hang loose,
Have fun without having to strive.

But the slightest thing from you,
The teeny tiniest detail,
That had nothing to do with me,
Just your name, on a page,
Or a picture of you,
Is enough to paralyse me,
With memories of once upon a time.

Bonjour!

My 2 week Easter break is about to come to an end and it has been quite a school break! I've been hanging out with so many cool people it's awesome! In all honesty, I did try pretty hard to study, but the discipline eludes me, as it always does, and so studies wise, it wasn't very productive. =\ BUT, life is about seizing opportunities...and in that sense, I've been doing pretty well. :D

I went on a trip with Elise and Henny, my flatmates. We did a short roadie to Paeroa, where we trekked to Karangahake Gorge. Then we drove to Coromandel town to spend the night. The next day we went to Cathedral Cove, which was another short trek to one of the loveliest beaches I know in North Island.When we came back, I went to meet Moïse for a cup of coffee. He is a traveller from France, stopping over in Auckland for 4 days, before he jets off to Tahiti to visit friends. When I first saw him, I almost gasped. Because I measured up to right below his shoulder. I've never felt so puny before, literally. But he was very warm and very nice to talk to. We ended up hanging out the next night (which was yesterday night) and the whole of today too.I went partying with the girls again last night, bringing Moïse along to Auckland's night scene. It's funny how this is becoming quite frequent for me now, seeing that I was the antithesis of clubbing not too long ago. Haha...guess perceptions can change. I still wouldn't club in downtown KL though, for the simple reason that parking is too expensive, and people who smoke are annoying. This time around I had a good night out with them. Because it's Easter today, clubs and bars turned the music off at midnight, so I called it a night early, while the others went on to the only 2 clubs left open in Auckland on the night before Easter.

I also hung out with Stan during the day. We watched the movie, The Town, which I highly recommend to everyone. Ben Affleck is so amazing, I might add. Stan's a cool dude who's from the NZ Army. We've been hanging out, not to mention he bootcamped my arse the other Sunday, leaving me with sore quads, biceps and lats for 2 days.

Today Moïse asked me if he could take me for a ride on his big bike! He rented one of those sports bike to tour Auckland, and I couldn't peel my eyes off it when I saw it. I was dying to ride on it, so when he asked if I'd like to go for a ride I was completely stoked! We rode to Piha, and I felt pretty cool for that 65 minute ride. hehe...I've got plans to buy me one now, when I make my millions next time. Imma get me a motorbike license and buy me a superbike. =)And to cap the night, Abby came by to chill and watch Slumdog Millionaire with me.

Looking back, I think I've had quite a couple of weeks. I'm surfing through the pictures on Facebook and I can't help smiling. It's funny. I think I'm finally having the time of my life here in Aucks. Life is finally looking peachy. =)

Sunday morning.

8.25 am. I'm happily chewing my Vogel's honey crumbed cereal. I got up at about 5 in the morning, hearing the drunken laughter of my flatmates as they stagger home from a night out in town. I'd lain in bed a little longer, just to catch a little more sleep. I drifted in and out of sleep, watching the sun rise in intermittently through my half closed eyelids. At 7.30 am my alarm rang, and I finally got out of bed. On the way to the bathroom, I saw her room door ajar, and she was sleeping, still clothed in her party dress, and in full make up. She heard, and opened her eyes, so I said "Hey, I heard u coming back. How was it?" In reply, she murmured in a slur "wegothomeat5....". I said "Ok, go to sleep, then". And she nodded and fell back to sleep, while I closed her door for her, just smiling to myself. Thank God I had not followed them out last night.

8.32 am. Cereal bowl's empty now. I caught a waft of a fragrance off my sweatshirt. His fragrance. He came over last night. Just to chat and have ice cream with me. I was already in my pyjama pants. It was nice, hanging out as friends. I think he's very nice when he's just a friend. He stayed for about an hour, had 3 scoops of ice cream, then hugged me and left. But his fragrance lingered on. And it was strangely comforting.

8.36 am. I need to cook dinner tonight for the French. I'm cooking chicken curry and chapati. Then, I'm baking chocolate cheesecake for dessert. I know, I rock ;) I need to get more ingredients though.

8.40 am. I commented on a photo of a friend of yours on Facebook. She replied, so I replied her this morning. Then it struck me that it was probably going to show up in your feed, if you do notice it. That made me worry for about a nanosecond. And then I figured you probably wouldn't be the least bit affected. Still, I wonder how you're doing.

8.43 am. I should get off.

People you meet along the way.

In life, (this is where I start to sound like I have lived a 100 years), we meet a lot of people along the way. For some of us, this is one of life's simple pleasures, for others, they beg to differ. To me, I've always kinda belonged to the first group. I enjoy meeting new faces, and talking about new things, and building friendships with people I find interesting. I am not a complete Barney the Dinosaur, where I actively go right up to someone and go "Hey! I'm Karen, and you are?" with a big grin plastered on my face. But I generally have no difficulty starting a conversation with a stranger if I felt compelled to.

Which is why I love being a personal trainer so much. I have met and formed some pretty neat friendships with some of my clients over here that I almost never ever dread going to work. And if i did, it was probably due to the fact that I've an assignment due soon or an exam to study for which I know could use the time I am at work, but in all honesty, I'd really much rather be at work than anywhere else in that situation.

So, the point of my extremely long winded and pathetic attempt at being philosophical introduction is, Nancy Hala. Nancy is one of my PT clients. She is one of the nicest, kindest, sweetest ladies I have ever met in my life. Seeing her again every time I come back from my Summer Break is usually the highlight of my being back to work. I started training her when I started working for Configure way back in July 2008. I saw her every week, and when she's not training one-on-one with me, she'd join my Fierce Fit classes, or my circuit classes. When I was training her, we work hard, but we share a lot of things with each other too. And I've seen her progress over the years. I've seen her shed the weight she wanted to lose, and saw the new clothes she bought for herself, and now she just looks amazing! She's basically glowing every time I see her now, it's so rewarding for me =)

This was back in 2008. When I get a picture with her now I will put it up.

And I just found out today, that she is moving to Australia. She's moving in June, because of a new job. And even though I am also leaving for good after her, just the thought of how our chapter is coming to an end kinda saddens me. I am very very pleased to have met Nancy. :) Definitely one of those I will truly miss when we bid farewell.

Halfway through, but nonethericher.

Week 6 of the Semester ended, and I am now at the start of my mid-term break. So yes, halfway through!

I've had quite a week. Busy with uni work as usual, but school aside, I encountered some events which gave me reason to think a little more. I think I try to lead a life that I think sounds cool and carefree, but in reality, I am quite rigid in my perceptions and I often find myself going back to what I find is comfortable and close to home. But, in saying that, saying goodbye to someone is never easy. And although it was brief and short-lived, I wouldn't say they were completely moments sans emotion. I guess for me, there are always strings attached.

I went out last night with the flatmates, hoping to re-enact the events of the Irish Pub night I had 2 weeks ago, because that was pretty fun. But it took all of the big bright flash of a hidden speed camera on the way to town to dampen my spirits for the next few hours. Everything didn't seem as fun after that. I thought the singer was pretty average, and the energy levels weren't quite there. I thought the pint I had tasted boring. I thought the crowd were kinda creepy, with a strange Italian man dancing with his mobile phone in his hand and secretly snapping photos of us behind him without realising his phone has a flash. I thought I heard "500 Miles" been sung 4 times last night. And overall, I just wasn't feeling it. To top it off, when I got back to the car, there was another ticket sitting on my wipers, for a parking fine, for "failing to produce evidence of parking payment". Sigh. Survival tip in Auckland city. ALWAYS CHECK THE PARKING METERS. And blimmin' 60 kph down the hill is speeding, to them.My car's a Toyota btw.
But there's an upside to my week! =) I joined Girls On Top, a running group which does 2 hour runs every second Thursday night. Last Thursday saw me running up through knee high grass, and bush whacking through forest reserves and everything at night! It was cold, and pretty brutal, but I loved it! Yesterday, I took part in a women's tri relay with Rozelle and Erin and we came in 1st place! And I was the fastest girl on the run! woohoo! And this morning, despite last night, I got up and went for a training session with Stan the army man. And it was epic! I think if I kept this up, I'm gonna be a lean mean machine soon!

Team Configure!

I'm not sure how I'm going to spend my 2 week break, aside from finishing my 2 lab reports, 1 math assignment, and study for 2 mid term exams coming up after the break. Oh and continuing my data processing for biomechanics in the lab. and working the extra hours at the gym. But I think I shall begin with chillaxing today. El cheapo. No money to go out anymore. =\

Wistful.

I'm sitting on my bed with my laptop on my lap. It feels good to be able to do this. I got my laptop a new China made battery, so now it can be charged up and will last for about 3 hours without me having to plug it in again. :D

I've had a crazy week last week. But it ended pretty well with the Tongariro Crossing to cap it off. If there's anything I truly love it would be hiking through mountains. I was completely at ease when I was doing the hike. It's like I left all my troubles behind in Auckland, and I went there feeling light as a feather.Today was full on. I left the house at 8 am, came back briefly at 12 for lunch, then I had to go off again, and I didn't get back till after 8 pm from work. Here's what I had for lunch. :) English spinach stirfried with garlic, and a chives omelette. Greens were from Lily's garden.
So right now I'm just bumming. Because my brain's fried, and I'm feeling rather wistful. I know it's my last semester, and I am very close to the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that I've only got 6 more academic weeks till I complete my degree. I know I can do this. But oh my God, I am so so so sick of it. I am so tired of everything! I long for the day I finish SO BADLY. There's still so much work to do! Yes the end is near, but there are still so many hurdles to cross, so many hills to climb!

If this were a spin class, I'm at the second last track, the one before the BIG POWER TRACK.
If this were a marathon, I'm doing my final 10 k in Kuala Lumpur, with that silly detour at the end of the race.

I. will. get. there.