tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54876187335477584892024-03-05T19:30:02.539-08:00Puncto reflexionisPuncto reflexionis is my place to reflect on life, happenings and general stuff that floats into my brainAMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-52959393804689173042013-01-14T13:06:00.000-08:002013-01-14T13:14:29.624-08:00New York New York<br />
Sorry this is so delayed - its the 14th already and this was about New Years - whoops!.<br />
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So we went to the Big Apple - the city that never sleeps on New Years Eve, flying in from Buffalo NY, where we drove from Toronto, leaving at about 1 am. I was knackered as and as you all know am not a functioning human being in the morning.<br />
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We got into JFK and decided instead of taking a cab, to tackle the subway. Funniest thing , honestly we could potentially have spent the whole 5 days or whathaveyou lost in the nether regions of the city. It wasn't too bad overall I've been in busier/worse systems - mind you I think alot of people may have been avoiding the subway.<br />
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I love New York. I truly believe that you know whether you will love a city or a place within a wee while of arriving there. Example - I love Paris, but I'm neither here nor there about London - I don't know why. So I love New York. There is an amazing vibe here in this city - and I realise it is New Years but I think the vibe and the energy would be here the whole time.<br />
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We headed onto one of our bus tours at lunchtime - this one was of Uptown (as in the Upper East Side). I did not have a scarf or a hat and it was cold, winter and an open air bus - but I had a great time having a look around places. The architecture in NY is amazing and there is so much history.<br />
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Our tour guide Daryll - was so funny - he was from Harlem I think and he was so funny he really made the tour. He was definitely different to the guide we had the next day who was Russian - so I shall call him Sergei for the purposes of this blog. Sergei wasn't funny - in fact he was racist and very rough - considering it was a tourist enterprise and there were people from all over the world there - anyway so everyone started laughing at things - he thought that we were laughing at his jokes but we weren't it was almost a laughter of awkwardness shared by all that just grew.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daryll</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smiths Bar - where John Lennon used to hang out and love the burgers at</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copa Cobana! Some of the most famous Latino singers have performed here - I always thought it was in Miami to be honest.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE stock photo of a New York apartment that you see so often in TV and movies</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see the Dutch influence strongly in the Upper West Side</td></tr>
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I also can't believe how many people they manage to fit into such a small place - it is a very structured city - I like it though - it makes sense.<br />
Amongst top cities sights that I got to see on the tour was the Dakota apartment building where John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived and in front of which Mark Chapman came up and shot John Lennon. Yoko Ono still lives there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dakota - where John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spot where Mark Chapman shot John Lennon - it has been said that if they had waited and not tried to move him to the car to get him to the hospital (waiting for first responders) then the bullet wouldn't have moved and it wouldn't have been fatal - and - heroin addiction withstanding we may still have John Lennon with us today.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Lennon and Yoko Ono's apartment - she still lives there</td></tr>
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We also got to go around Harlem which was interesting - now I just have to go to the Netherlands to see it's namesake Haarlem which would be cool.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently Chuck E Cheese was founded in Harlem - and a nation of obese children thank you.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Apollo is famous for kickstarting African American entertainment careers - Michael Jackson did his first performance here</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When Fidel Castro visited New York the Hotel Theresa was the only hotel he felt comfortable in - he liked being in Harlem. Cuba apparently has a high black population so it may have felt more like home to him - as well as being away from the political hoi polloi . Apparently he liked keeping live chickens in the hotel with him that caused a few problems.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVmc5ectHUtJbr3kObnXN0DYk2qP5m5LqmPjKRhE-EmTB3nMf37p0A09RuOqXKh4tU_wAGqFrn8nUj3YAVdrM7NMmH4WqyNrrrmGKGI-1jCN4szDYKutVwjv6apjfuwESsZXPwNB_uiKq/s1600/114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVmc5ectHUtJbr3kObnXN0DYk2qP5m5LqmPjKRhE-EmTB3nMf37p0A09RuOqXKh4tU_wAGqFrn8nUj3YAVdrM7NMmH4WqyNrrrmGKGI-1jCN4szDYKutVwjv6apjfuwESsZXPwNB_uiKq/s320/114.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brownstones - I didn't make it to Brooklyn where the Huxtables from the Cosby Show were based, but they lived in a house like the above. If you have a chance to read more about The Cosby Show it is pretty amazing they did alot for African American portrayal on TV - in a still very white dominated environment</td></tr>
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We were so cold that we hopped off at the Guggenheim which I wanted to go and see anyway. There was a Picasso exhibition on and a Kadinsky display . The Guggenheim goes around in a circular way up to the top - I think there is about 6 levels- it is a fascinating building and I really loved being able to meander around and take in the art work. I haven't been to an art gallery in a while so it was a treat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7o77FTrBavzdOU0kOj3UKyKtnAXWt6LmKD-exxwBqlZBjj_BdPIP7Q0NWH1elTsQOAFlkQiK8ai7gQ3bPXRQHxRqhZ4jBai7H2nCGJquwfbTVsosJSeTIGpf2bHn58GIpAksxs8IPh767/s1600/427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7o77FTrBavzdOU0kOj3UKyKtnAXWt6LmKD-exxwBqlZBjj_BdPIP7Q0NWH1elTsQOAFlkQiK8ai7gQ3bPXRQHxRqhZ4jBai7H2nCGJquwfbTVsosJSeTIGpf2bHn58GIpAksxs8IPh767/s320/427.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Guggenheim</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3lpgrf9hyphenhyphensWEXX4qQlUfGwTwdkZkyXWiLv-GlcMsG0J6KdgkC3OVeNey-YvBBYjzVbO6JG8cecajwvOVr1ZVzy4nddMlllca_6fvU3GitihfZULQ3tRpQ_i3CmFSW-UmkHYQCOf5NU8Y/s1600/428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3lpgrf9hyphenhyphensWEXX4qQlUfGwTwdkZkyXWiLv-GlcMsG0J6KdgkC3OVeNey-YvBBYjzVbO6JG8cecajwvOVr1ZVzy4nddMlllca_6fvU3GitihfZULQ3tRpQ_i3CmFSW-UmkHYQCOf5NU8Y/s320/428.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGJwdcnQJW4LQIvOH9lHeJI3ZxV72osCxxkIs3hcibKGa6NDzCu8XMQSLhkbg_wXDNlGgpVhMUIddBRIX5iotbzSKrwtvHw5gxKDveY-gQqm3eEb45KKYQQ5xgygHD9vIBc3bbCAlpQ1P/s1600/119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGJwdcnQJW4LQIvOH9lHeJI3ZxV72osCxxkIs3hcibKGa6NDzCu8XMQSLhkbg_wXDNlGgpVhMUIddBRIX5iotbzSKrwtvHw5gxKDveY-gQqm3eEb45KKYQQ5xgygHD9vIBc3bbCAlpQ1P/s320/119.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add caption</td></tr>
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This is the inside of the Guggenheim - it is an amazing building and fully circular. You can only take photos in the lobby and they have guards to stop you if you take them anywhere else which is great because flash photography etc can actually ruin the art work and is incredibly annoying - the tourists do it all the time in Italy, or they did when I was there and on works by the Masters - ignorance I tell you.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqi0G3WQFUDeBA2FGDSQ_qQ_eH0uvg_EUO488CH9kzS2q_RG4xI1sqyDGXTdE97Jkg4_e4kMBCxXzGDXB7VUPEuWXKLMCbhNwCx-Z26mrb29lEdkwh5cwGsO4CmlhvGsLZV8os74-t4uME/s1600/120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqi0G3WQFUDeBA2FGDSQ_qQ_eH0uvg_EUO488CH9kzS2q_RG4xI1sqyDGXTdE97Jkg4_e4kMBCxXzGDXB7VUPEuWXKLMCbhNwCx-Z26mrb29lEdkwh5cwGsO4CmlhvGsLZV8os74-t4uME/s320/120.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random things pulled from the river - that have been turned into art</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgli8QrfpQn2KTgqFPfVJIjsARucRDoG4KdugZRU1m6Cd4Te8sPAAwCfXrWtidhUJ9qb88UCC2vhtF6RriQeteIhdfx97Z-afKaUcs9rIlQVzDR1Xd00SYcMy2jDmR3CmVsd2ruznT0DOM2/s1600/123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgli8QrfpQn2KTgqFPfVJIjsARucRDoG4KdugZRU1m6Cd4Te8sPAAwCfXrWtidhUJ9qb88UCC2vhtF6RriQeteIhdfx97Z-afKaUcs9rIlQVzDR1Xd00SYcMy2jDmR3CmVsd2ruznT0DOM2/s320/123.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steps of the Met - where Blair Waldorf ran her queendom in Gossip Girl - I didn't make it in this time - something to do on my next visit.</td></tr>
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We went down to Times Square and wandered around the crowds that were gathering for the midnight ball drop. We grabbed some Greek at a local diner - DO NOT just get random glasses of wine in these places as I learnt they cost about the price of a meal and are not worth it haha.</div>
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The buzz in the city was amazing it was like everyone's adrenalin was pumping around their bodies, out of it, and into the very structure of the city itself.</div>
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Meandering back to the hotel from Times Square we stopped off at a bodega and bought some food supplies as hotel food is not worth it. Somehow the girl who was serving me - and who clearly wished she was ANYWHERE else managed to put someone else's chicken broth in my shopping. Random.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQARuNJjY5zYxATANej6A8N9dfrH4dxGPx-G_88kJxRzsXOufPYCPBiRXVr0rVuYhpW8O3jJBphK8YZCnoh_WiAS2O1NP3Fb3DabSeh63DvuTdLsX3aCnCJN-117QuOF3f5NFWx6QjfDCp/s1600/136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQARuNJjY5zYxATANej6A8N9dfrH4dxGPx-G_88kJxRzsXOufPYCPBiRXVr0rVuYhpW8O3jJBphK8YZCnoh_WiAS2O1NP3Fb3DabSeh63DvuTdLsX3aCnCJN-117QuOF3f5NFWx6QjfDCp/s320/136.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVALD9Zm4T6NhVApxCg3testUgq6ydQwbV9ycA2YKiCKwv3koAxHcY-zAavdv54o379-785xZfRYPFbrQPHq4R07O3cxbE7dETZ7HTAU9WzIXjuR38iRcmyG0U1qLb4CkZ4xp6xQUNMgS/s1600/138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVALD9Zm4T6NhVApxCg3testUgq6ydQwbV9ycA2YKiCKwv3koAxHcY-zAavdv54o379-785xZfRYPFbrQPHq4R07O3cxbE7dETZ7HTAU9WzIXjuR38iRcmyG0U1qLb4CkZ4xp6xQUNMgS/s320/138.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtouhi9Hc6BT9s64ovojlBcGbHD4KFq6DFZ8i4spkzG-uzYbUOVD7nucHmHfI0cM1LY7y7dRBNAtMc8wzHKR6HmJL_jHYeowZK9uhXX2NxR3cmKnxdb8o8L95KtDPoggXeG2JeY6hfm4Nq/s1600/142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtouhi9Hc6BT9s64ovojlBcGbHD4KFq6DFZ8i4spkzG-uzYbUOVD7nucHmHfI0cM1LY7y7dRBNAtMc8wzHKR6HmJL_jHYeowZK9uhXX2NxR3cmKnxdb8o8L95KtDPoggXeG2JeY6hfm4Nq/s320/142.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oh! I also managed to get a photo with a couple of NYPDs finest! Lovely lads - actually the cops here are very friendly and welcoming and patient in what must have been a particularly crowd stressful evening - at each section of heading into Times Square you had to show the contents of your bag and go through one of those handheld body scanners.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWElLPz0H4shAimwQZcUo2DdL_BgY9QlGDvXgEdzV8u3egLpsARykhFUYLUP6rhCIuECDBLtgzuLOC3N-9tANjCeQEwKV8oKC5FyOZ6NCy5TAsj9VF_HNrSe1wV1Ym0wpsMiPNlb6M0ht/s1600/149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWElLPz0H4shAimwQZcUo2DdL_BgY9QlGDvXgEdzV8u3egLpsARykhFUYLUP6rhCIuECDBLtgzuLOC3N-9tANjCeQEwKV8oKC5FyOZ6NCy5TAsj9VF_HNrSe1wV1Ym0wpsMiPNlb6M0ht/s320/149.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I will never complain about parking rates in Auckland every again that is NOT including tax</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ83RPrhzHc-QOEK78ZvdgMuprPyG5AoGPZ78T4aHoCLgJ00affFXC0dMkY9RFSYg3k_dZ9nH3FY2tGm8BYyfUBFzUZlZxlnzMH0pncZ5ULjGUKU5bTo7akEZ_k29SuOBplf4_0s8AO7mq/s1600/158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ83RPrhzHc-QOEK78ZvdgMuprPyG5AoGPZ78T4aHoCLgJ00affFXC0dMkY9RFSYg3k_dZ9nH3FY2tGm8BYyfUBFzUZlZxlnzMH0pncZ5ULjGUKU5bTo7akEZ_k29SuOBplf4_0s8AO7mq/s320/158.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful displays in the windows of Bergof Goodman</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKcEw4xHXfRFi2boJYAdVUCiOj1HQBJYC_wKalxthHrQeVvIHVoPm0MpnuvNTaN_xkzvhrdLoANbqx3EOySJzGlhgUvEACPZkrVSYAhH0QWRt8n_mWkCVmFoSYTsZztfBPppCxx1PGLfd/s1600/159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKcEw4xHXfRFi2boJYAdVUCiOj1HQBJYC_wKalxthHrQeVvIHVoPm0MpnuvNTaN_xkzvhrdLoANbqx3EOySJzGlhgUvEACPZkrVSYAhH0QWRt8n_mWkCVmFoSYTsZztfBPppCxx1PGLfd/s320/159.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixaUvPub9xW9ZtYObjwW_UWClsedKYe13JSDUlL9v2bjF1rBIKFCDhNFj-el_prd7Lk5-tywkIDFgbaP1U6KVqjbPWY8NhGtJkxtk5107cEr5LuZQv8aSzRJbv_bzmg3x0P3iahfQhZgzO/s1600/151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixaUvPub9xW9ZtYObjwW_UWClsedKYe13JSDUlL9v2bjF1rBIKFCDhNFj-el_prd7Lk5-tywkIDFgbaP1U6KVqjbPWY8NhGtJkxtk5107cEr5LuZQv8aSzRJbv_bzmg3x0P3iahfQhZgzO/s320/151.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My two New Yorks Finest - the cops in New York are very tourist friendly - there is pretty much one on every corner - not menacing just there to help and keep people calm. I have the greatest amount of respect for them - there are many good looking cops in NY also ladies.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitsp013MxMJqWAN3pDYy1DQK3nPkBOsIS71_jMKNjidVfory-gVCt5DRWh1fdPoAN_LQ4PyNMBFo9hTngxoYdo1cgyMLh2eJ8tBJeioRwi1vM0MpNqqHDxpQasxMC6fjniC_d6h8_SgfYW/s1600/161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitsp013MxMJqWAN3pDYy1DQK3nPkBOsIS71_jMKNjidVfory-gVCt5DRWh1fdPoAN_LQ4PyNMBFo9hTngxoYdo1cgyMLh2eJ8tBJeioRwi1vM0MpNqqHDxpQasxMC6fjniC_d6h8_SgfYW/s320/161.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random street artwork of a bull</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcqmuXmr2bqBNcZmdFZxKDNxpAXuRHVBIrhSJ6UvaucycthQFcn3OsWEeK-PneIqWai5FZHxOqdJzln2dZ9MXo65lDUgUtfbM9XQhlIakFWVmEKeQSw-NqMVrLD2yvgtOpiN3MYxM3hYL/s1600/165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcqmuXmr2bqBNcZmdFZxKDNxpAXuRHVBIrhSJ6UvaucycthQFcn3OsWEeK-PneIqWai5FZHxOqdJzln2dZ9MXo65lDUgUtfbM9XQhlIakFWVmEKeQSw-NqMVrLD2yvgtOpiN3MYxM3hYL/s320/165.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used the hotel dressing gown, slippers and all free toiletries of course!!! Love the free stuff!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOCACfFxZYJNg384dWzA7QOSFisqGohf3AKrLV_RP0yCYZqmDijFrcFrbtisEkPiPcmGIiTg_Xl0jneLu6fNn66j2yu3MMfPSwsBbN7PguLEEB-IgtaVbNLjmxJhlyylGhSgVUhmtFuMk/s1600/168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOCACfFxZYJNg384dWzA7QOSFisqGohf3AKrLV_RP0yCYZqmDijFrcFrbtisEkPiPcmGIiTg_Xl0jneLu6fNn66j2yu3MMfPSwsBbN7PguLEEB-IgtaVbNLjmxJhlyylGhSgVUhmtFuMk/s320/168.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fireworks over Central Park at midnight - unfortunately my little camera wasn't quite able to capture the shot I should have taken a video - but it lasted for over 10 minutes. I have yet to calculate or google how much that would have cost.</td></tr>
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The following day we took a bus tour of Downtown (Battery Park, Soho, Tribeca) and again I have to marvel at this city - with its amazing architecture and buildings and vibrancy. It is so different from one end to the other. We saw the areas of the city affected by Sandy and had a bus glimpse of Ground Zero - to be viewed the next day. I find it amazing how many hits this city has been given and yet it keeps on getting up and keeping on - pretty awesome really. There were still along of disaster relief trucks along the streets helping buildings clear up and rebuild.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrhDXDNjl_akOKy3qGVDwmlQRdd3gPsk-YBjTIcUEWcP1P-Eb5AotTUsBZ7AhzE4xzxaVZABXtUadvNYjAORpFlSkwDLziZ1F7ns8zTxmYQBikcXJG13AM3CbbzobKVQ_IKOe74XpzCXR/s1600/171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrhDXDNjl_akOKy3qGVDwmlQRdd3gPsk-YBjTIcUEWcP1P-Eb5AotTUsBZ7AhzE4xzxaVZABXtUadvNYjAORpFlSkwDLziZ1F7ns8zTxmYQBikcXJG13AM3CbbzobKVQ_IKOe74XpzCXR/s320/171.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first NY slice</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Empire State</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freedom Tower</td></tr>
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I have always been a little devil's advocate when it came to the 911 attacks - I didn't like how the entire country suddenly went on the attack and discredited so many innocent people for religion. I didn't agree with Gitmo. There were so many things I just loathed about America because of how they reacted - and continue to react.<br />
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What I learnt from NY is that NY is not really an American city per se. It is New York and they deal with things very differently to the rest of America - which is often led by Middle America and the Bible Belt. They get knocks, but they just get up, dust themselves off and keep on going. I think it comes from being such a heavily immigrant city. Unlike Toronto though New York has immigrants who seem to want to integrate. I've yet to really see that in Toronto. Sure there are Little Italy's, Chinatown, etc but on the whole the migration to the city seems more cohesive than in Toronto - they assume identities as New Yorkers first then their ethnicities second. In Toronto it is their ethnicities first and then they get around to being Torontons or Canadians which I think where the issue lies.<br />
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Anyway it was great to see the rebuilding being down - they may have taken down the towers but they didn't take down the people.<br />
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Day 3 saw us take a harbour tour of the going around the Eiffel Tower and Ellis Island – which were both closed due to Hurricane Sandy – boy this city has certainly taken its beatings but it keeps on getting up and getting on.<br />
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It was amazing to see the city from the water - and I nabbed myself a sweet little spot out the back - that is until a whole bunch of noisy Indians came and tried to take over my space and push me out. Hells to the no I stood my ground - I'm pretty sure they were pissed off with me but hey, they weren't speaking in English and they could work around me for their photos as I was there first - hold your ground I have learnt in these recent travels of mine!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Staten Island Ferry</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had to take a shot of the port!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellis Island</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellis Island processing</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the sections of the new towers going up I think there are four in total - I must do a bit more research on it</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love the blend of the old and new buildings in New York - the architecture reflects the influences over the last 200 odd years</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I forget what the name of this statue is</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brooklyn bridge</td></tr>
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We walked past Wall Street where the ghost of Gordon Ghecko resides whispering "greed is good" to anyone who will listen hahaha. It's actually a tiny street - it is called Wall Street<br />
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There are varying accounts about how the Dutch-named "de Waal Straat"[12] got its name. A generally accepted version is that the name of the street was derived from an earthen wall on the northern boundary of the New Amsterdam settlement, perhaps to protect against English colonial encroachment or incursions by native Americans. A conflicting explanation is that Wall Street was named after Walloons—possibly a Dutch abbreviation for Walloon being Waal.[13] Among the first settlers that embarked on the ship "Nieu Nederlandt" in 1624 were 30 Walloon families.<br />
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There are some great little churches and cemeteries around NY - they are very well maintained and are a lovely reminder of the people who are a part of the history of NY.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now - being the Law and Order geek I am I had to get a photo outside the courthouse which is the back drop in the series!</td></tr>
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In the afternoon Aunty and I headed to the Museum of Natural History. It was set up by Theodore Roosevelt and after visiting it, and reading a bit about him I am quite keen to read up more about him - he sounded like an amazing man, a great president , and a true thinker. I also visited because I really liked the movie Night at the Museum :-) Nothing came alive sadly, but I saw some lovely diamonds and precious stones which I wouldn't say no to - yes sir don't mind if I do!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teddy Roosevelt</td></tr>
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Below are four writings of Roosevelt's which adorn the walls of the lobby of the museum.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLG_LLyFbZViA75rIUEQ1oyQIVhAeBxCCUrno5eNnGeF6IeAJAxTKHEdGFofK-_sOjfRnUkf6kYA6lC7bSYDuAkcmangGjJNhFUdmjrridhB_fjHyRn4rnAfDwWKvDJLnHLEO8UaehZgoY/s1600/339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLG_LLyFbZViA75rIUEQ1oyQIVhAeBxCCUrno5eNnGeF6IeAJAxTKHEdGFofK-_sOjfRnUkf6kYA6lC7bSYDuAkcmangGjJNhFUdmjrridhB_fjHyRn4rnAfDwWKvDJLnHLEO8UaehZgoY/s320/339.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWR9mU9lC9-MoD6zG_N3wmDWESBkOM-onoRhJuZ31xkq_rW3lNBndffPBywBmeG5aNQHyOE18Z4TpNg2ZBdc4dmVGC5ayA2nG99yU7nyu0knHu6jyFN2YO-mihP_q26Erfdr3CBF0P_ots/s1600/349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWR9mU9lC9-MoD6zG_N3wmDWESBkOM-onoRhJuZ31xkq_rW3lNBndffPBywBmeG5aNQHyOE18Z4TpNg2ZBdc4dmVGC5ayA2nG99yU7nyu0knHu6jyFN2YO-mihP_q26Erfdr3CBF0P_ots/s320/349.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OlFW7ra2dNlq_atRuEj7fHzIPk8V-HleAKO8_EH6MaODXciLIUfkl-DuJ2pNaiayZjXqcgcnDCimfdePTYkBdd6d_53mzAVDRExn6jjZBxKBwvoZbktrzu1tcvjJ7KV7l9L7dF3QQTjO/s1600/350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OlFW7ra2dNlq_atRuEj7fHzIPk8V-HleAKO8_EH6MaODXciLIUfkl-DuJ2pNaiayZjXqcgcnDCimfdePTYkBdd6d_53mzAVDRExn6jjZBxKBwvoZbktrzu1tcvjJ7KV7l9L7dF3QQTjO/s320/350.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ok see the big dinosaur body in the previous picture - this is the head at the end. Tiniest thing ever!</td></tr>
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The below are mosaics in the subway station for the Museum of Natural History - I thought they were so pretty I had to take some photos.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYolEj-lsWQgcUlxiS3C-aSgayT421nm2aMoMfR-k70T2ZCxfqBG2782M0nVveZza13aI9_nN2SWLdpTxod1drk1OvM37xahe19jOE-kp4021gAzth8_5ccK6Pz5b7_AKWY2O-ldoUwpn/s1600/354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYolEj-lsWQgcUlxiS3C-aSgayT421nm2aMoMfR-k70T2ZCxfqBG2782M0nVveZza13aI9_nN2SWLdpTxod1drk1OvM37xahe19jOE-kp4021gAzth8_5ccK6Pz5b7_AKWY2O-ldoUwpn/s320/354.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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In the evening Jarred and went wandering around and I picked up a few New Yorky things and just had a feel for the nightlife.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlg3t80bo2g2KT0_ZXvO-LzODy5BeRqm3ghDfww76El-srn6KuEVTujA6WRQXZTb0LFhogzEyoK7uqtdLg2DCbjhtLRYIw_bbef4kMSV27vSVPElcE6tWhmkx-x_9szBwtBkj_XZ5sP3nP/s1600/366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlg3t80bo2g2KT0_ZXvO-LzODy5BeRqm3ghDfww76El-srn6KuEVTujA6WRQXZTb0LFhogzEyoK7uqtdLg2DCbjhtLRYIw_bbef4kMSV27vSVPElcE6tWhmkx-x_9szBwtBkj_XZ5sP3nP/s320/366.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forever 21 has a camera that shoots into the street capturing onlookers - then they write little comments next to people Jarred and I are in the bottom left of that big photo billboard can you spot us? I am in a red coat </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hYJJdmaouCW8-ZMk6Ju9lFlGTh_LDWOO9aLu467UWxFAmsYnCtOajYG18fiVxa8LTKAgxXlXFnmnP8v_d4whHvlQYKcgX0R25vA8rl0P9kH2Lw39OfC0VqkeixWksDRvXEfN5MMb9iso/s1600/365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hYJJdmaouCW8-ZMk6Ju9lFlGTh_LDWOO9aLu467UWxFAmsYnCtOajYG18fiVxa8LTKAgxXlXFnmnP8v_d4whHvlQYKcgX0R25vA8rl0P9kH2Lw39OfC0VqkeixWksDRvXEfN5MMb9iso/s320/365.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit closer in .....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNp9MTBlnEcMhLN61JWtH6ZdSSk2_rTvj_WZssKksabUzgjxvt-qe16l9SNqcLnDhabhjSuD87AEr8-XmD1sR-TS16ZDySU56vASATSwIZof8K0BWHQe8nUMhCa5XfwFnZF0dkYpExrYm-/s1600/368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNp9MTBlnEcMhLN61JWtH6ZdSSk2_rTvj_WZssKksabUzgjxvt-qe16l9SNqcLnDhabhjSuD87AEr8-XmD1sR-TS16ZDySU56vASATSwIZof8K0BWHQe8nUMhCa5XfwFnZF0dkYpExrYm-/s320/368.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Toys R Us there is a carousel! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_qIwIKdCKEgx8cSM2T6EOlFq2CzKs_VgOiMYI5AlCx4jbY1nJN1H1uMFcgux5QLhGRSFgjQedChzmlAfokYcF1MXC3e2KvmDw8AoHaz8kMYpTSIBUAoifh7DMfJR-TcbfyF7R5Ji3Qh8/s1600/370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_qIwIKdCKEgx8cSM2T6EOlFq2CzKs_VgOiMYI5AlCx4jbY1nJN1H1uMFcgux5QLhGRSFgjQedChzmlAfokYcF1MXC3e2KvmDw8AoHaz8kMYpTSIBUAoifh7DMfJR-TcbfyF7R5Ji3Qh8/s320/370.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo is specifically taken so I can tell my niece Ivy that I met Elmo and he sends his special love to her!</td></tr>
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Day 4 was our final day in New York (well full day anyhow). I really wanted to do three things on my last day - walk through Central Park, go to the Museum of the City of New York and go up the Empire State Building and view the city from there at nighttime.</div>
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Jarred and I headed out to walk from our hotel near Times Square across to the Museum which is on the Upper East Side - this was no mean feat may I say.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianMA2RsO9Snb8A4RI-WDV2-RXWFJDXc7RRtG_aJcpVYDdSjfJaM02aPNI4e4zmZmwtG3sgaMI26vN1awNzfVA7eRQ7xEc6uFG6dTkizSfb5fN6Z7WLuUOZHj0_ahHo7jFiE6Lyi_Y8Lgg/s1600/378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianMA2RsO9Snb8A4RI-WDV2-RXWFJDXc7RRtG_aJcpVYDdSjfJaM02aPNI4e4zmZmwtG3sgaMI26vN1awNzfVA7eRQ7xEc6uFG6dTkizSfb5fN6Z7WLuUOZHj0_ahHo7jFiE6Lyi_Y8Lgg/s320/378.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next time I will try attend one of these shows</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFpUB3m2eT1ODKzDjV95f7F32Ba4TwffkL8Jvvv6PT_3D5tyTjxQJ-SqLU-HI7pDWVGONzsNXGWnEkhiX3iiwn4zrNu3QzZR1GvHK0WNnsXx0bPzw-g-EtJoqnMIeZdSO2EZwfkePwanK/s1600/384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFpUB3m2eT1ODKzDjV95f7F32Ba4TwffkL8Jvvv6PT_3D5tyTjxQJ-SqLU-HI7pDWVGONzsNXGWnEkhiX3iiwn4zrNu3QzZR1GvHK0WNnsXx0bPzw-g-EtJoqnMIeZdSO2EZwfkePwanK/s320/384.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NY Street Food Truck</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pointing - makes everyone wonder what is up there</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbwrZFV4PvbGwkTmPlp_BMk7VKiJiQv5jKRJXEtvcInsnreEWGgdDj85KQAV-kLX5_s1bEd7jJLxP0Frpm6WckK_P5IKudtWyv3Am1N8yHXNGw9UsUFrejPYt6TOJo74TrmuuyGVTabJ1/s1600/394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbwrZFV4PvbGwkTmPlp_BMk7VKiJiQv5jKRJXEtvcInsnreEWGgdDj85KQAV-kLX5_s1bEd7jJLxP0Frpm6WckK_P5IKudtWyv3Am1N8yHXNGw9UsUFrejPYt6TOJo74TrmuuyGVTabJ1/s320/394.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These underpasses feature regularly in movies and TV shows - like Vanilla Sky</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hot dog in Central Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4nWk7tmQFZEUoeeiD1VsotZCyF2kSgjDGgwmduhc8nKCC8NObNc7_KCgVuaMQhKqKY1vFOHPd2F1r3SlyTTXTzK0YfFfQmU3ft9O37rvj_Kb336rOiP6KhUBc1N0U6BvOAMjhyphenhyphenkvun65/s1600/406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4nWk7tmQFZEUoeeiD1VsotZCyF2kSgjDGgwmduhc8nKCC8NObNc7_KCgVuaMQhKqKY1vFOHPd2F1r3SlyTTXTzK0YfFfQmU3ft9O37rvj_Kb336rOiP6KhUBc1N0U6BvOAMjhyphenhyphenkvun65/s320/406.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bethseda Fountain</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEguVhlbYZ_FF8nQV6UUv2VWx_OGAuyQEOzH9qgw6NnhnWWbwZVxLLcoyRtbblPkx9WUr_mHCkrwfGV2IHVl1_hRO9BCVTu3ggt55ilsHzmBzCj8OoZl9ul-QTKODyXex3bewkZoB_1vcn/s1600/408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEguVhlbYZ_FF8nQV6UUv2VWx_OGAuyQEOzH9qgw6NnhnWWbwZVxLLcoyRtbblPkx9WUr_mHCkrwfGV2IHVl1_hRO9BCVTu3ggt55ilsHzmBzCj8OoZl9ul-QTKODyXex3bewkZoB_1vcn/s320/408.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have so many layers on I look like a total tub in this I've just realised. Ah well</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Now they were playing a piece of music I absolutely love and for the life of me I can't remember the title. It sounded amazing in the hall though - great acoustics.</td></tr>
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Central Park is man - made and is absolutely massive. I think that it really does stop New York from becoming a concrete jungle - every New Yorker has access to it and there are some wonderful little sections in there - just like what you see in the movies.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mad Hatters Tea Party</td></tr>
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The Museum of the City of New York - was not really what I expected. There was a section on Staten Island, and a bit on the history of activism in New York as well as some other sectors. It was interesting although because I was with Jarred who is not a museum goer I didn't really get as much of a chance to just really see what I wanted to which was a shame but I'll google some more info on it and that will be good. Thank goodness for the internet.<br />
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Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to go up the Empire State building - but at least I have something on the top of my list for next time. For myself and New York - there will be a next time - I can't imagine not coming back here.<br />
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What a city, what an experience!AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-77266998939480689942012-12-24T14:35:00.001-08:002012-12-24T14:35:44.292-08:00Christmas EveSo its Christmas Eve and its not snowing. It would be nice if it was, but I look at Ida's pictures of -32 degrees and snow forever and I think - yes it is very pretty but also very very cold - so I'm good with not having the snow if it means I'm less cold - because it's still cold here.<br />
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My Mum and Dad rang from NZ, it was so lovely to hear their voices and I got to speak to my Uncle Ian (my dad's brother) and my Aunty Chris which was so nice - what a lovely treat for me! I'm really glad that my parents get to spend time with my Aunty and Uncle this Christmas. I think its been a long time since they have. I hope we all get to spend a Christmas together in the future! Maybe a hot Australian one with all my Petersen rellies.<br />
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I'm looking forward to Christmas tomorrow with my Aunty Tree, Uncle Lox and cousin Jazz. The tree is bearing up nicely and it is always so pretty with the presents underneath.<br />
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I bought some white rum to have with egg nog I've had to google how to drink it - I was going to try it warm but from what I can see on the internet - you should drink it cold.<br />
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Note - when did people start calling it the interweb? I have always called it the internet and suddenly I have started to hear it. I find it annoying. I don't know why I just do.<br />
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As I write this I am being very French, I am writing whilst drinking red wine - on a cold day and after two glasses (hearty glasses to be fair) my Asian side has kicked in and my face is rosy and warm. I would worry but then I think meh - its Christmas I've done a total of 3 plus hours of exercise today and I will sleep like a baby tonight.<br />
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Anyway I hope you all have had a super Christmas day, and have spent it with people you love. I love you all and I will update again soon xxxxxAMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-39809763931385139982012-12-18T16:57:00.001-08:002012-12-18T16:57:31.776-08:00Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree!And no I'm not referring to my aunty being seasonal. We've purchased the tree and I have now finally finished the decorating of it.<br />
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As we are in a condo we have a smaller tree and it sits up on the table - you have to say what type of tree you want here - not like in NZ where you just get what is there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVDkv2v-W1eJ6HET464boNHtExBYwBwHb111JICX5cy9Y0CX5S3bcPyJr13iYcVN-of20yABQo108SG7wPMVRbl5sbmIufqrDCC5k2gKtpBSWMp31o4jkyLV8BbuoziZfPxpz2cyU0bQL/s1600/IMG_0617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVDkv2v-W1eJ6HET464boNHtExBYwBwHb111JICX5cy9Y0CX5S3bcPyJr13iYcVN-of20yABQo108SG7wPMVRbl5sbmIufqrDCC5k2gKtpBSWMp31o4jkyLV8BbuoziZfPxpz2cyU0bQL/s200/IMG_0617.JPG" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">This is our actual tree</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Lk4RepUH12v-AymucynvpjP0JxpUdAKZeE5CSMF1tQmuhpfTfGPQBcY7sSeYAKejWOfFzFaqy8Bz2BW6d-gs8EEHeXZIsxnvD8GO0nlq7vDci284aszAc19L6sWgSo3uSBLpZJP3JBsK/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Lk4RepUH12v-AymucynvpjP0JxpUdAKZeE5CSMF1tQmuhpfTfGPQBcY7sSeYAKejWOfFzFaqy8Bz2BW6d-gs8EEHeXZIsxnvD8GO0nlq7vDci284aszAc19L6sWgSo3uSBLpZJP3JBsK/s200/images.jpg" width="127" /></a>Ours is a Fraser Fir - its quite cool actually the branches are really stiff and it almost looks too perfect to be real expect for the fact that it was balding a little around the top, but they all were - we bought some extra bits and pieces and I think it filled in quite well.<br />
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This is an Instagram piccie of the baubles. I'm really learning about Instagram it is actually a lot of fun - read good time waster when you are bored.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEirOWVXcaQsOZE3BnD4ZI9lXePSET_BjMd-3B6NTpKxkUxFUG2OWvFoS7mAaXWGsBp23jjwPdKRwHM1pinE9UjNuZVr40XXLbe2jC-XMli3e0JHRI54mynqrCwfcoOmGujKH1nLNK-3q/s1600/IMG_0625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEirOWVXcaQsOZE3BnD4ZI9lXePSET_BjMd-3B6NTpKxkUxFUG2OWvFoS7mAaXWGsBp23jjwPdKRwHM1pinE9UjNuZVr40XXLbe2jC-XMli3e0JHRI54mynqrCwfcoOmGujKH1nLNK-3q/s200/IMG_0625.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
I've been slack with the gifts this year - I'm still getting around to them. This will be the first year in MANY years where I am in a house that doesn't do stockings so I don't have run around like a maniac thinking about little gifts for everyone- although I actually like doing stockings I just haven't been as rushed this year so its a nice change.<br />
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It's about -1 degree at the moment - it will be cold for Christmas but we won't get snow in Toronto, mores the pity. We have the week in-between and then we head to New York for a few days. I bought a lovely pair of black leather gloves in preparation - again it will be cold but not snowing. I couldn't find my own black gloves which were all packed up before I left NZ. There is a leather shop here called Danier and honestly if I could buy everything in there I would.<br />
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Today (18 December) we went to see the movie the Life of Pi. Gosh you know I had a few tears in my eyes in that movie. What a beautiful concept, and what an interesting point that the movie makes on religion.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFKhbSjcdvoFXT-7SslEAHxM_jsacOlE7rvOOJA2sdZr2U6ouTXb2bAt4_SmVppZQQEWsyrvPfgcXRbGsbYDlmDwPwxkePtwyQfHcoh3S12mQO3TBsYiJi-Mt2iTr4zzKZhLfnhcOpEq_/s1600/download+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFKhbSjcdvoFXT-7SslEAHxM_jsacOlE7rvOOJA2sdZr2U6ouTXb2bAt4_SmVppZQQEWsyrvPfgcXRbGsbYDlmDwPwxkePtwyQfHcoh3S12mQO3TBsYiJi-Mt2iTr4zzKZhLfnhcOpEq_/s200/download+%25282%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a>I have to say that it is much sadder for me to think of animals dying than humans. I don't know why, my friend Jen reckons that it is because humans can speak for themselves. I think this is true but I think its because I think we are here to watch over animals and look after them.<br />
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I won't ruin the storyline for anyone who hasn't seen it yet - but if you do get a chance to see it in 3D then do it - there was a couple of scenes (I saw it in 2D) that would have been amazing in 3D.<br />
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The next movie I want to see is Parental Guidance - one of those Billy Chrystal movies. I suppose I should be heading off to the see The Hobbit , but I'm just not sure about that one. My father used to read me The Hobbit when I was younger in order to help me to go to sleep. I am just not sure if I want to change the memory of The Hobbit that I have in my mind with one I see on the screen. It was like when I saw the Narnia movies, after reading them endlessly as a child. The screen adaption, while amazing, just never quite compared to what I saw when I read the stories to myself in my own head.<br />
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I have two more weeks at my landlords place. It will be nice not lugging food to and from my aunty's place - as I am usually at my aunt's for lunch and dinner. I will be just across the hallway house sitting for Taro's mum as she is away in Indonesia.<br />
<br />AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-12637463637700687802012-12-14T12:12:00.003-08:002012-12-17T12:08:13.746-08:00Wiarton Take 2Headed back to Wiarton to see Jess - this time for about 12 days.<br />
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I came back in knowing people this time, and by people I mean the old fullas at the Legion which is the Canadian version of the RSA.</div>
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It was nice to see people again. I fell prey to the dreadful dreadful wine of the Legion and when you have a couple you think its ok and its really all downhill from there. I think I shall treat myself to champagne for New Years but apart from that the race is on to get to a suitable health level for when I return to NZ. </div>
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" /></a>My poor body also got fed wheat so it is very happy to be back in Toronto on my wheat free diet. If you want to learn more about the benefits of a wheat free diet you need to check out the book Wheat Belly.<br />
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Since I cut out wheat my acid reflux has gone away, my wheeziness and the majority of my sinus issues. Amazing! And I realise I sound like an infomercial but it really has made all the difference! My skin, which on a good day is great, has become even better!<br />
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Also while in Wiarton I saw their Santa Parade, which DID container a million and one clubs with old men, but no Santa.</div>
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Go figure.<br />
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The Ham and Turkey spin at the Legion was also on our social calendar (Jess works there and is a member hence why we spent time there). I won a huge ham on the bone, so now I just need to find a diabetic friendly glaze and we'll be away laughing.<br />
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We also had the chance to head into Owen Sound where I just had to , had to , get my hair cut at Walmart. I actually thought it would be terrible but it isn't bad and now I can say I can be white trash with the best of them!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgva-1zkYrL1p1ig4EO9oOXdM3eHmcfpfp56hxGFxujK-cjPKzfzD9WcrlkQZBlRwHGXml91lD9HAt-jrc3PG2q4UJ-qDsrrzo-M5a1B-iV8uE4ludmaG4D5oT4mlHUhC1MP37yWlGE2ar7/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgva-1zkYrL1p1ig4EO9oOXdM3eHmcfpfp56hxGFxujK-cjPKzfzD9WcrlkQZBlRwHGXml91lD9HAt-jrc3PG2q4UJ-qDsrrzo-M5a1B-iV8uE4ludmaG4D5oT4mlHUhC1MP37yWlGE2ar7/s200/1.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR1MNkfnWTJHiP9UcyNnXg8_tZjbmIPNAXUZkwVIxpgi1D0GfS8" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR1MNkfnWTJHiP9UcyNnXg8_tZjbmIPNAXUZkwVIxpgi1D0GfS8" width="200" /></a>We also had a nommy dinner of Japanese, I've not had decent Japanese in so long so I was very excited. I got to have my regular teriyaki chicken bento box.</div>
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Jess and I DID go and see Twilight - we were the only ones laughing so I'm thinking we weren't there for the same reasons everyone else was. </div>
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Jess , bless her, is a bit clumsy, the floor around us ended up looking like a popcorn machine had been attacked in it. I really wish I had taken a photo - it was EVERYWHERE.<br />
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Afterwards we headed off to the Festival of Northern Lights which was sooo pretty.</div>
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We also managed to dye our hair (and didn't ruin it), and attempt to put up her Christmas tree. You know when someone is so upset, and has been looking forward to something but the situation just goes from bad to comically tragic and you can't help but laugh. That's what happened here. </div>
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She expected the tree to be about 4 ft taller, and for all the lights to work. They kind of stopped halfway up. Ever the optimist Jess says, ah well , at least we can put the decorations up half the tree and fix the lights the next day. Alas, the ornaments didn't have the hangry on parts to them so she couldn't even do that. I felt terrible but could NOT for the life of me stop giggling.<br />
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It was nice to be back in Toronto again though, with my little routines. Tomorrow I am heading back to the gym I've not been in over 2 weeks and no doubt I shall kill myself on the cycling machine but I'm going to go ahead and do it anyway!!!<br />
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Aunty T and I are heading out to buy a real Christmas tree this week and I'm looking forward to decorating it.<br />
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It appears that my Christmas cards have all made it around the world which is awesome. Now I just need to finish my Christmas shopping and prepare for a feast!<br />
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I can't believe it's nearly the end of the year - and what a year it has been.</div>
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AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-25431949818839389122012-12-12T10:37:00.001-08:002012-12-12T10:37:51.044-08:00Oh crap I think I'm over my titleI don't know if I like my blog name anymore. It was so cool when I thought about it and I was clearly going through a Latin phase but I'm not sure now.<br />
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Just like Cougar Town I too am rethinking my title.<br />
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Oh well I'm sure it will work out - maybe I can rework to be less poncy.<br />
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRq6Brm5PlSaybjJPcVJw-E6qLmwBk3aG2KBBM8cYEaUOn53CRA" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRq6Brm5PlSaybjJPcVJw-E6qLmwBk3aG2KBBM8cYEaUOn53CRA" /></a>Meanwhile, I went to see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Clayton-Thomas" target="_blank">David Clayton Thomas</a> from Blood,Sweat and Tears. Now I'd not heard of him but he has worked with some of the top blues and rock stars of the 20 th century.<br />
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He was absolutely amazing- there is definitely something to be said about artists of today versus from the 60s etc.<br />
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Look at Bieber, or Minogue or any of the other "voice edit" wonders and it is all about the show. Take all the whistles away and many of them have no musical substance whatsoever. Sadly I think Bieber actually has talent - not Minogue though bleh!<br />
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It reminded me why my favorite band is still The Beatles - all these years later there music is still relevant and used as inspiration today and they used to just perform no dancing or light shows or what not.<br />
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I'm so excited as the entire remastered Beatles collection is now available on LP.<br />
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I've been up again in Wiarton with Jess. I have been there for 12 days. It was snowing a bit while I was up there and I tell you it does make it seem more Christmassy with all the decorations and the snow.<br />
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I'll update on that shortly as I need to download photos.<br />
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<br />AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-80897889514524655562012-11-26T18:54:00.004-08:002012-11-26T19:14:22.300-08:00No Mr. Bond I expect you to entertain me forever<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbh7Z3djpxI0m893nUdxrvM4HmrHf6uaVbSQ47IRKsah10KiRoYkWh87ia4cWrqOxYGJs2fatv2hIyyfXpUaBDP_heaQOJZZQIQo5W9EASES2bnpIZ6l8VFQmEILMPhhU6fauBAYh8x_B/s1600/daniel+craig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbh7Z3djpxI0m893nUdxrvM4HmrHf6uaVbSQ47IRKsah10KiRoYkWh87ia4cWrqOxYGJs2fatv2hIyyfXpUaBDP_heaQOJZZQIQo5W9EASES2bnpIZ6l8VFQmEILMPhhU6fauBAYh8x_B/s1600/daniel+craig.jpg" /></a>There is something to be said for a James Bond movie- you can never really be dissatisfied from it - mainly because you know, and will get ,what you are expecting from it each time.<br />
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I have previously warmed to Daniel Craig as 007, but I have to say after watching Skyfall my thaw is easing. I think it might be because in this movie we see a return to the style which has made Bond great - babes, cars, and plenty of good action. The other Bond chick could have been better written as a character but at least she was a pretty piece of tail to fall for 007.<br />
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I have to say the scene in Shanghai with the assassin had to be one of my favourites. In a nod to the style of Asian action movies we see a fight scene in shadow backlit and to me, the choreography of this particular fight scene was divine. It was like watching two beautiful dancers complete a sublime pas-de-deux and it just worked in its simplicity.<br />
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But there is a sense of stability in Bond movies and as we move from female M back to male M and with a fabulous new Q - I am already looking forward to the next one.<br />
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Anyway its great - go see it. And Daniel Craig has now eased into top 3 spot for hottest Bond in my opinion - just ever so slightly behind Connery and Brosnan. Maybe number 1 one day.<br />
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What else is new - oh I have finally realised why people call marujuana - skunk - because when you smell skunk it totally smells like pot, for like the first few seconds and then it just stinks.<br />
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I'm off to another concert this Wednesday - it is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Clayton-Thomas" target="_blank">David Clayton Thomas</a> who was in Blood, Sweat and Tears - which I've never heard of but hey we shall see how it goes. Experiencing new things is the modus operandi of this adventure that I am on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJg78bRCtnioAZKv13A_Z0aPoyN4VT8ZuhyOOXQlquxCwjXZpw4kU05YckD0ultN4mgeZrp6_vfEMMOIq1Wl-R9v0mMUUNFa9yAVT26zi2EwHiT7C4hssTUa9eOSaxDZ4pVi-y_fGDedi/s1600/jess+buell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJg78bRCtnioAZKv13A_Z0aPoyN4VT8ZuhyOOXQlquxCwjXZpw4kU05YckD0ultN4mgeZrp6_vfEMMOIq1Wl-R9v0mMUUNFa9yAVT26zi2EwHiT7C4hssTUa9eOSaxDZ4pVi-y_fGDedi/s1600/jess+buell.jpg" /></a>On Thursday I am off again to cause mischief up in Wiarton with Jess.This is Jess... I am really looking forward to seeing her again, and being around someone my own age who is just as mad and willing to do mad crazy things with me. Plus its snowing there and she lives right next to a hill so I'm thinking tobogganing in our future.<br />
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Also, the Festival of the Northern Lights is on up in Owen Sound and some beautiful hikes. I've figured out finally how to use Instagram so we will see if I can even get a photo out.<br />
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Oh AFTER I got absolutely raped by Rogers Wireless network here - god I miss NZ telco companies - people in NZ have NOOOOO idea how lucky they are with charges back home. I did one day roaming in the US and I barely used my wireless $280 USD BOOM! Rat fink bastards.<br />
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Aunty Tree is going to call them tomorrow for me - each month she does battle royale with Rogers and is really good at it - this is how BS their system is. Anyway I shall sign off for the night , and hopefully dream happy thoughts.<br />
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Talk to you soon xxxAMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-34030314217437427012012-11-19T14:54:00.001-08:002012-11-19T14:54:06.914-08:00Release the KraccunA weekend or so ago we all headed down to Ithaca in New York State to visit my cousin Jarred who attends <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University" target="_blank">Cornell University</a> which is part of the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League" target="_blank"> Ivy League</a> in the USA.<br />
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It is a beautiful drive down and we stopped off at some falls which freeze completely over in the height of winter.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Few gates open to get into the USA - many more back into Canada</td></tr>
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The Ivy League is an athletic conference composed of sports teams from eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group. The eight institutions are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University. The term Ivy League also has connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism.<br />
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<a href="http://www.cornell.edu/" target="_blank">Cornell University</a> was founded on April 27, 1865 as the result of a New York State (NYS) Senate bill that named the university as the state's land grant institution. Senator Ezra Cornell offered his farm in Ithaca, New York as a site and $500,000 of his personal fortune as an initial endowment. Fellow senator and experienced educator Andrew Dickson White agreed to be the first president.<br />
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It was great fun! We wandered around the campus and took a look and it is just beautiful I have to say .<br />
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We wandered around sorority row as I wanted to see if the houses really were like in the movies. There are some MAMMOTH ones there. I did spot a couple of sorority sisters or pledges or what have you but I think only in the movies are they the blonde picture perfects.<br />
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As a freshman at Cornell you have to live on campus, which I think is a rather nice idea as it means you get the chance to bond.<br />
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As a student in Auckland you tend to stay with people you know already, or in my case, you worked so much you don't really get a full uni experience so to speak - although I wouldn't change my experience for anything.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kappa Alpha something arather</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cornell basketball - we just snuck in whoops</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jazz and his BRIGHT blue sneakers</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honestly my family takes me to the nicest places. This is suicide bridge - apparently even alum come back to jump off it depressing yet committed I guess</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Safety barriers to ward off jumpers</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ezra Cornell statue with a sweatband around his head. Quite funny - the statues in Albert Park , Auckland always get cones put on their heads.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCGvo_R56EDZvKBIjyR-Mm_WKiMyhHmpm24OVayFoznKxKDvTxzxZXgswAp3bPmijo18Yud7Q5QXLkCRw7FNPQKQkXuuHxPmdIh8suUvj87mNoajduY55sPUTnihsXgl5wjHF3prHjpwH/s1600/Ithaca+054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCGvo_R56EDZvKBIjyR-Mm_WKiMyhHmpm24OVayFoznKxKDvTxzxZXgswAp3bPmijo18Yud7Q5QXLkCRw7FNPQKQkXuuHxPmdIh8suUvj87mNoajduY55sPUTnihsXgl5wjHF3prHjpwH/s320/Ithaca+054.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently this is some sort of love tree - you carve your initials and your beloved ones into the trunk. Poor tree</td></tr>
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My top highlights were:<br />
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The Harry Potter Library:it has little nooks and crannies and special little lights and the book shelves are so ornate. Occulus reparo indeed!<br />
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The Steel Herakles - giving new meaning to balls of steel. You have to love such an ostentatious display of testosterone!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saw this and immediately thought oo I hope I don't meet them later! Although I did.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No visit complete without American Football eh</td></tr>
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Then we headed to get some booze for the evening thinking we would just chill and watch tv while eating Japanese and having a few.<br />
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There is this awesome spiced rum that my cousin drinks called Kraccun - so of course I had to buy it and keep saying "RELEASE THE KRACCUN" until I think Jarred was going to duct tape my mouth shut.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEdd1nhIdbOSuY47xHZVeGK1zLAfydjQtSJ9Ome_8wem10P-vg4boElYid7u24VMa-6eS8_klIZluFS7NY2hN_bj0ipxC0kGJGI9fYX1f-xz8OvUGo5-ti1GBH66QuhB52PEaLRlLa6hY/s1600/Ithaca+072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEdd1nhIdbOSuY47xHZVeGK1zLAfydjQtSJ9Ome_8wem10P-vg4boElYid7u24VMa-6eS8_klIZluFS7NY2hN_bj0ipxC0kGJGI9fYX1f-xz8OvUGo5-ti1GBH66QuhB52PEaLRlLa6hY/s320/Ithaca+072.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About to RELEASE THE KRACCUN</td></tr>
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We also ended up going to a hip hop concert for a guy called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nas" target="_blank">Nas</a> which was well awesome. I did find it hilarious as I think by far I was the oldest person there although no one would have known! All the kids were filming the concert on their phones and I can't help but think that they are missing out on the experience by doing so.<br />
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Fuelled on the illusion that I was young we headed out to a local bar (bear in mind the legal age to drink is 21) and if I thought I was young I was quickly brought back down to earth as I found myself debating the rights of murderers to have fair representation with two Cornell visiting lecturers who were also lawyers. When you get hit on by someone who is 50 you know you just aren't young anymore. Or they are really gross. In this case, both statements were true, bleh.<br />
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I ignored my wheat free diet for the evening and Jarred and I went to this awesome burger place (I'm pretty sure it was about 2am) and hoed into one of the best burgers I have had in since, forever - and its been about 2 months since I've had a burger.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early morning, wine, Kraccun, and scotch. GIGGLES</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm gonna eat you little burger nom nom</td></tr>
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So , I had, as my cousin said I had to , partied like I was in my 20s. However , the next morning was the horrible reminder that I am no longer in my 20s but in my 30s because I was just sooooo tired. Sooo sooo tired.<br />
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But hey, once every blue moon it's not bad to let loose :-)AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-75901978139961623042012-11-06T11:49:00.001-08:002012-11-06T11:49:12.637-08:00My first pumpkin...and Justin Hines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have always wanted to carve a pumpkin - there is something so tween book about it - I used to read about carving in my Sweet Valley Twins books and Babysitters Club books and it always sounded like so much fun.</div>
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It was and it wasn't. The carving is fun, but the prep isn't really. I copied a design off a picture of one that I saw of another pumpkin and drew with washable black pen. But first you have to cut the top off and dig out all the seeds and clean the inside of the pumpkin.</div>
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Then following the design that has been drawn I got a super sharp knife and began carving away. There are special pumpkin carving knives, and IF I manage to find the right sort of pumpkin then I will buy one.</div>
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I managed to get the design cut out, and if I say so myself I love the outcome of my first ever pumpkin, I popped a tea light inside and voila!</div>
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Aunty Tree, Uncle Lox and I also went to a Justin Hines concert. Now Justin Hines is an artist that I have purchased one of his songs off iTunes without knowing who he was , I just liked the song.<br />
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The concert was held in Markham which is Justin's hometown. Uncle Lox actually used to know Justin when he was a little boy at school.<br />
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Now the thing about this artist is that his voice is amazing - but when you see him - you realise just what he had to overcome to be an artist - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Hines">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Hines</a><br />
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It is very noticeable and I would be lying if I said I wasn't , not put off, but distracted by his physical appearance. Just thoughts in my head leading towards things like - how amazing it was how much he had accomplished and his attitude towards life, how if we were in Nazi Germany or even in the Middle Ages he would have been euthanised and then we wouldn't have had this music. Yes, its far fetched considering back then they probably didn't have the medications anyway.<br />
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Anyway , check out his music, the concert was amazing, he is amazing, his music is amazing.<br />
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AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-15306275463610617312012-11-06T10:16:00.000-08:002012-11-06T10:16:01.412-08:00Nightlights and John Key's commentsRecently I haven't enjoyed writing my blog as much as I did in Sweden and I've realised why. I've been so focused on work, and other such stuff that my creative mojo has gone out the window, and I miss it.<div>
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I've made the decision to render myself poor and not find work, but enjoy being a tourist here in The Heartland Province a.k.a The Province of Opportunity (dated, official provincial slogan, formerly seen on provincial highway construction project signs).</div>
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So I have been wandering around the area alot more and once again making observations.</div>
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I love walking down Yonge Street after dark. Yonge Street is quite literally the longest street in North America - or so I have been told. I googled and confirmed it.</div>
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During the day it is not the best looking street, its businessy, and around my area it has a lot of Persian and Asian stores and rubbish which collects on the street and surrounds, a little slovenly in my honest opinion. At nighttime however it is like a different street.</div>
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As the less than fortunate in the looks department use make up to dress themselves up and sparkle, so Yonge Street uses the darkness in a similar way. With the lights, and the activity of people coming home, and going out for meals, the street takes on a fairytale quality and with the fine chill in the air walking down the street I feel like I am wandering in a music video, or movie montage. Particularly if I choose appropriate music.</div>
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Toronto has 3 million inhabitants, and many of them are immigrants. In fact, Toronto is the most ethnically diverse city in the world.</div>
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This has led to a couple of interesting things that I can note of, and again, these are my own observations, as I have to keep reminding people , things are different to each person.</div>
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I have noted that the food selection here is incredible. I have just started a new diet regime, actually I don't like the word diet, more because it sounds like a temporary thing to attempt to get into a bikini -for me this is a life change. I've been processed wheat free for about 2 weeks now and I have to say I would have done it earlier had I realised the impact it was having on me. But I digress and will get back to that in the future.</div>
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The food, there is, of course all manner of Asian food, of Persian food, and , one I definitely wish to try, Caribbean food. There is also an amazing selection of wheat-free, gluten free products, and include items like Ezekiel bread, which is now what I eat, which is not heavy like the selections we have in NZ and taste like normal bread, with the bonus of being less processed. It is made according to the Biblical recipe and in my humble opinion, I don't know how I could have survived on processed "normal" bread for so long.</div>
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There is nothing like a reformed "insert word here".</div>
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Click <a href="http://voices.yahoo.com/why-ezekiel-bread-healthy-2165174.html" target="_blank">here</a> to read a little on why Ezekiel bread is so healthy.</div>
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I've been keeping up with the news in New Zealand and the latest thing is apparently John Key saying something about a shirt being gay because it was red.</div>
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Now, because this is my personal blog and I can wax lyrical on what I like I shall say this. As a politician he probably should mind his words a little better, but I have to say that I use the word gay to describe something that is bad - like oh that's so gay that you split wine/vodka/milk (yeah right) on your shirt.</div>
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I am, by no means, a homophobe. Anyone who knows me knows this. However, when I was growing up , this was simply part of the slang that was there. Hell, I say it, then feel bad, then feel angry that I feel bad, then start an internal debate in my head about how the word gay originally was described as happy. Then I get annoyed at the PC bullshit of today, then I realise that without a bit of PC we would be stuck back in the 50s or earlier and I would hate for my gay friends to have to hide who they were or who they loved, etc. The place would also be rife with the likes of men like my ex Michael and no one wants that.</div>
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However it bothers me that people are so damn sensitive these days. It is just getting beyond the ridiculous, and we are going to end up paying for it you mark my words. </div>
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I like having a PM who is who he is. I would hate to have a constantly perfect political machine. That is not, what we as Kiwis, should be about. We need to learn to laugh a little more at who we are and just build a bridge and get over shit. I can't believe the amount of press this has gotten. Woopdef*ck </div>
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Enough ranting. What else - oh I need to still put photos on about my pumpkin and I went to see Justin Hines - this is alot of words though so I'll tee that up for tomorrow.</div>
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Until then xxx</div>
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AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-45260030822248727122012-11-05T12:03:00.001-08:002012-11-05T12:10:50.906-08:00Barb visits Toronto and too much chocolate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I got a care package!!! From my lovely friends the Hui's and in it I got pineapple lumps (nom) and Whittakers chocolate, which is my favourite brand of chocolate in the world, as well as other goodies and NZ magazines. It was so nice to get a little taste of home and I have to say did make me miss home!</div>
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I am not proud to say I basically ate the chocolate in one sitting. It was so morish I just couldn't NOT eat it!<br />
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Last week it was Halloween, the Canadians do not go all out like the Americans do, but they definitely do more than us Kiwis. I'd quite like to start doing more decorations at home in NZ I think. I'm not sure if they make pumpkins the same in NZ as they do here so that is something I am going to have to investigate.<br />
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Here are a few snaps from some houses along my street and neighbourhood.<br />
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My friend Barb was in town, actually she is originally my mum's friend but is mine too, she was the original "second mother" as I've known here my entire life!<br />
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Anyway it was not the loveliest of days in Toronto - and in fact we've been having a few shockers recently, I think its the sideways of being near Sandy.<br />
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Anyway we walked around in the retail concourse underground. I should probably explain that - the weather gets so bad and so cold here in Toronto that the centre of the city's retail district is all connected underground by what is called the Retail Concourse - you can stay underground for hours like a fashion addicted mole, popping up only every now and again. The subway is down there as well so there is no need to go up , except to remind yourself that fresh air is indeed cold and awesome.<br />
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They even had maps, thank goodness because Barb and I got a little lost, mainly my fault as I'd not done the whole network before.<br />
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We also purchased some gorgeous Danier leather jackets - that shop will be my downfall and my saviour!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil846ySZzIzYMaTSIK0l74nqzCQyE_pMuzHF0uJxSMJtokB9UR_BBOARJTMASOK6gHOEd-Mca6c2PTXkpVKygYC1r40rhbzWpeWZFzVcEe9uDLuAXCnKRocnRxb0kf38UvjGso_9jDA1HN/s1600/20121027_Barbie+037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil846ySZzIzYMaTSIK0l74nqzCQyE_pMuzHF0uJxSMJtokB9UR_BBOARJTMASOK6gHOEd-Mca6c2PTXkpVKygYC1r40rhbzWpeWZFzVcEe9uDLuAXCnKRocnRxb0kf38UvjGso_9jDA1HN/s320/20121027_Barbie+037.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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We also hit the CN Tower which said it was the tallest tower in the world for 37 years - but I thought the Sky Tower was tallest for a while, anyway those years overlapped so I shall have to look into that for sure.</div>
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It was great to see Barb and have an awesome day just wandering around, chatting, having a YUM steak up the tower for dinner and a couple of wines!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the Tower</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My butt isn't actually that big that's the bears knee</td></tr>
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Barb also brought over with her a Christmas cake from my mum which I carried around all day. It is bloody huge and heavy about 3 kgs and what a pain. It is so solid that it is currently sitting sideways in a cupboard and not dropping or moving an inch. It better be an awesome cake - considering I don't eat Christmas cake or wheat flour this is going to be an exception!<br />
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I've actually carved a pumpkin too for the first time but will explain more in my next update.</div>
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On a final note, Hurricane Sandy has been through and has caused more than a little devastation. I have to say that I hand it to the servicemen who guard the memorial to the unknown soldier - they stood their during the storm and he was not alone.</div>
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Of course I'm not sure what happened when the weather got worse and one would hope they would lead by example and not protect a monument over their own lives, but the initial thought was there.</div>
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AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-67227453745022180542012-10-25T09:56:00.001-07:002012-10-25T09:58:33.575-07:00Taro, Muscles and checking out a little bit of Toronto history<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Saturday Aunty Tree and I wandered into Toronto CBD and meandered around for a bit. We hit Chinatown but then I got hungry and when I get hungry I get grumpy - Ida will attest to this so we found a little restaurant and had some lunch.</div>
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Toronto does great food , and cheap. For $13 I got a meal that I would pay about $30 for in NZ, goats feta stuffed chicken breast with greens and mash. It was so good and I show you a picture of it but I ate it too quickly.</div>
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I'm keen to try Jamaican which I hear is amazing - but I'm holding off on this until Jazz comes back up from college.He was supposed to be here this weekend but Cornell just organises non stop exams and tests for them so he is studying for one of those. Although bless him, he thinks this is the time in his life where he will be the most stressed. </div>
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I hope to head down to Cornell, Ithaca to have a look around. Ithaca is meant to be absolutely lovely, of course its best to head down when the school has nothing on so that we can wander around, and Jarred can show us The Big Red (nickname for Cornell). I am definitely hitting the school shop and getting some hats and t-shirts, etc so proud of my cousin for making it through - any uni education is tough but at an Ivy League college - with the competitiveness, well I can only imagine how hard it can be. Plus, I've already stolen hoodies off him.</div>
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Anyway, we wandered around for a bit - there are some lovely old nooks of Toronto, as you can see in the picture below there are areas where they indicate whether a house is historic, and the cool thing is they note down the year , the inhabitant and their trade so you can really get a feel for the fact that history is a part of this city as it grows today.</div>
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In Chinatown, the street names are also written in Chinese.I would be interested to see if that started happening in Auckland. I imagine the Chinatown in Toronto has been settled for much much longer though. I have been told that there are literally very poor immigrants who sleep on mattresses and work in the sewing rooms - you know - like in an action movie when the good guys are chasing the bad guys and they always run through a Chinese restaurant and then out into an alley way and then back in through a room where about 10 old Chinese ladies are sewing.</div>
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I digress, we also went to visit<a href="http://www.campbellhousemuseum.ca/" target="_blank"> Campbell House</a>. We arrived just as a tour was starting. About five minutes in and I was ready to be rather rude to the know-it-all gentleman who was with us. The poor girl taking the tour was obviously new and clearly nervous and he was asking her all sorts of jerky questions that he already knew the answer to just to try and show off. Then he decided he was too good for the tour and walked out the front door - didn't even tell his (clearly patient and perhaps a sucker for punishment) wife that he was leaving and she only just noticed and followed him out only to walk back in to apologise and say they were leaving the tour.</div>
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Aunty and I being incredibly profound just said to the tour girl "you're lucky he has gone what a wanker" and proceeded to have a lovely tour.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I imagined myself in a beautiful ballgown gracefully descending down the stairs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2HtmlWeMTh3CMO6RX5kkDRgrlwI_N337dVrjQT1qNozPMfXhEAoBIXJ5Yr-gsieiGvPLUnVyPevfGa04jSfU_vkHEFqWZqvrvMueLPnpnQPaYZPtFVj9LhKcbatcswo3m4FRUFpRTK2s/s1600/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(30).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2HtmlWeMTh3CMO6RX5kkDRgrlwI_N337dVrjQT1qNozPMfXhEAoBIXJ5Yr-gsieiGvPLUnVyPevfGa04jSfU_vkHEFqWZqvrvMueLPnpnQPaYZPtFVj9LhKcbatcswo3m4FRUFpRTK2s/s320/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(30).JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My aunty likes to sit in windows. I think its genetic.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1ii_ACayQ4nDoN_ib8J8YGopCS4NkhOS9oNlvPmUDE4qHV9kDwhl6e6_Cm8VQ54GsSkIzv-cgMVdWiIRjnjCqjGaRpwH0reLbYI2ytl28rMYyOfYg0nStLsN3cHJncgQrjYTiF76rg48/s1600/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(28).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1ii_ACayQ4nDoN_ib8J8YGopCS4NkhOS9oNlvPmUDE4qHV9kDwhl6e6_Cm8VQ54GsSkIzv-cgMVdWiIRjnjCqjGaRpwH0reLbYI2ytl28rMYyOfYg0nStLsN3cHJncgQrjYTiF76rg48/s320/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(28).JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhhDR96V-uswRvv1MaknQTJLZZleC9xRe8gQ96FovIVRJ4A_Q1G1xhAMMLBY8GxeGD0a1I11rAMm_kLF-IRvj1bBbGhPlOlQDq6E3GtVUxnbtMSkoKb8uqw52y0GCKVKw-a_4peeOUJeE/s1600/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(31).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhhDR96V-uswRvv1MaknQTJLZZleC9xRe8gQ96FovIVRJ4A_Q1G1xhAMMLBY8GxeGD0a1I11rAMm_kLF-IRvj1bBbGhPlOlQDq6E3GtVUxnbtMSkoKb8uqw52y0GCKVKw-a_4peeOUJeE/s320/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(31).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the bath/shower. I do NOT think so.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8itf3ard14UYM_R9sSzoM-27hX6_JPtwcLQkGY7jikK422mpw2vKlVAD5RVI_0gbb7oPG0PiKwOnZOI3XyzQ4hfXlnYKiITno_FmABZH7Xp6B7l8qTb3BoXAk04XXiB4qDp7KWtu84I6Q/s1600/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(32).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8itf3ard14UYM_R9sSzoM-27hX6_JPtwcLQkGY7jikK422mpw2vKlVAD5RVI_0gbb7oPG0PiKwOnZOI3XyzQ4hfXlnYKiITno_FmABZH7Xp6B7l8qTb3BoXAk04XXiB4qDp7KWtu84I6Q/s320/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(32).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loving the four poster bed - unfortunately I suspect the mattress would leave a lot to be desired. Definitely not firm</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0hJT30Ypou6ReJ4RI3oqsfuliK_0mrebJEyQRHPCluCE8qdoiUAlxR4fwfgWDctzCY8SqED8cTLluKVDAOd-lBhadMYIoQNQuuPdE-od1Y1GPHE0eZRaSNWt1s5Y3wO8NA6Fgc0224hy/s1600/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(34).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0hJT30Ypou6ReJ4RI3oqsfuliK_0mrebJEyQRHPCluCE8qdoiUAlxR4fwfgWDctzCY8SqED8cTLluKVDAOd-lBhadMYIoQNQuuPdE-od1Y1GPHE0eZRaSNWt1s5Y3wO8NA6Fgc0224hy/s320/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(34).JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portable wash stand akin to what gentleman used to take on military tours. the basin hole goes into the top drawer which is in effect the basin and is made of lead. Thinking this wasn't too great for the whole health benefits thign.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7fK8G1U1pvdml0SaVN6LwItZXFyyUAD1nm1qMsy5_m4EAVH2Fi4GaUzVL_sLG8V1ub6C5V-Q3abNOJW-EPRtGSfFU8wsmdmpvJBEF9WWgEiH2x7CykjWXR7opwnQqgskFG10oIDMRRDHA/s1600/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(39).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7fK8G1U1pvdml0SaVN6LwItZXFyyUAD1nm1qMsy5_m4EAVH2Fi4GaUzVL_sLG8V1ub6C5V-Q3abNOJW-EPRtGSfFU8wsmdmpvJBEF9WWgEiH2x7CykjWXR7opwnQqgskFG10oIDMRRDHA/s320/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(39).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fact: Rats love candles, especially olden days candles made from fat. Apparently they also like modern candles so beware. This made me remember the time that my father hid my Easter egg in the basement downstairs and rats gnawed one side of it - but he didn't notice and gave me the egg and as I turned it around I realised it had been eaten by rats and I burst into tears because there was no spare Easter eggs. In hindsight it could be this fatty cakes behaviour that has landed me in the gym each day trying to slog it out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQslnKyS6gzRRVNTbcewIbilcp7_uu7GudMUC5FdONboLKPbm_RDaz7vT9-M5Ex2ZOgdMzJhH62dP0OdJv4LF7EKbufw7XAs1Y9nO02AnOfE9Ek2EGmtls6H7QJ_Nk0yq-QUn7QJo-0Cg/s1600/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(42).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQslnKyS6gzRRVNTbcewIbilcp7_uu7GudMUC5FdONboLKPbm_RDaz7vT9-M5Ex2ZOgdMzJhH62dP0OdJv4LF7EKbufw7XAs1Y9nO02AnOfE9Ek2EGmtls6H7QJ_Nk0yq-QUn7QJo-0Cg/s320/20121020_Toronto_CampbellHouse+(42).JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ballroom - apparently they were setting up for the evening for an event of "Jane Austen " dancing. I would attend if I thought Colin Firth would be there.</td></tr>
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Now, my Aunt lost her lovely little doggie Chloe a couple of years back and to be honest, if you're a doggy person you simply can't live without dogs in your life, but it can be heartbreaking to think about a new dog because they really are your children.<br />
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Anyway, Aunty has a neighbour from Indonesia - Desi , who works from about 11.30 am until midnight and her flatmate doesn't get home until late evening so the dog they have, Taro, who is a daschund is basically left alone in the condo all day and has been getting bored and up to mischief.<br />
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Enter Aunty who is now dog sitting. AND loving it. Taro is so sweet and loves Uncle and Aunty - sort of puts up with me, I think I'm a bit too boisterous and is cute cute cute. Taro is a boy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taro jumps up behind Aunty when she is in the car and so Aunty squishes him</td></tr>
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Now in the essence of all new dogs the below dog is my landlord's brother's dog. His name is Muscles. Yes Muscles. It makes me laugh each time I see him he is the most skittesh dog I have met!!<br />
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There are squirrels everywhere over here. I have a squirrel who lives in the tree outside my bedroom window. I refer to him as Ninja Squirrel because I see him but for the life of me everytime I go to take a photo he disappears. One morning I looked out and he was spread eagled up the side of the maple tree. Just chilling, like a ninja does. I had to take the photos below as I can't get one of Ninja Squirrel.<br />
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Actually on my way home last night I saw a squirrel that had been hit by a car just outside our house. I was very sad and thought maybe it was Ninja Squirrel. But no, I heard NS this morning so in my head he is still alive, even though I can't tell one squirrel from the other.<br />
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Finally, just have to mention the fact that all of that water below only cost me $2. I love drinking bottled water - especially as my stomach has a real problem with most tap water overseas (in NZ I can drink tap water no drama) so I am so stoked that it is so cheap here. I always remember in TV shows like Will and Grace they always have chilled bottles of water- so easy. Actually I drink more water now that they are in bottles and I can monitor how much they are. I used to think that the American water I got at Martha's backyard was a good deal 24 bottles for $24 but HECK $2 for 24 can't be beat!<br />
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<br />AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-2824962562736927122012-10-22T13:29:00.000-07:002012-10-22T13:29:09.433-07:00Wiarton Willie and Owen SoundI was absolutely stoked to be able to go and visit my friend Jess in Wiarton last week. Wiarton is a town with a population of about 2000 people so very small.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jess on the main street in town. You can stand at the top of the road and see the end of the road which is the end of the town.</td></tr>
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I went via Greyhound Bus - my aunt was sure that I'd be knifed - apparently Greyhounds can be a bit dodgy?? But clearly I made it out alive. The bus was actually quite comfortable and I didn't have to sit next to anyone which was awesome.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__xU-FbayFGb2W0txgLyVK5CpbbAo4WFxyDDWakqS_xm9HP_mHR6fA3lq_AuvDrSLJAyu7L3SMU22-mb-HS4G7K37eP-gt2km1zPdds_eY_ne6WZj4ITFuzplu3D6sbbY9J0HAObD3cYo/s1600/IMG_0420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__xU-FbayFGb2W0txgLyVK5CpbbAo4WFxyDDWakqS_xm9HP_mHR6fA3lq_AuvDrSLJAyu7L3SMU22-mb-HS4G7K37eP-gt2km1zPdds_eY_ne6WZj4ITFuzplu3D6sbbY9J0HAObD3cYo/s320/IMG_0420.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wheels on the bus go round and round!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">awww so beauitful - me - bus- early morning - nowhere NEAR enough coffee</td></tr>
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The trip is lovely, the change of seasons here is really spectacular and I think I will miss it alot when I return to Auckland as we don't really see the vivid colours and feel the change soooo much. It was cool as I got closer to Owen Sound to see the ski fields pre-snow. They are so close to the road, unlike in NZ where you have to travel ages up the mountain to get there. I tried to take a photo but I couldn't get the right shot in the bus.<br />
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It was awesome to see Jess who I know through my old workplace the Cock and Bull in NZ. We weren't that close in NZ however the day I first met her I kept asking her about Canada (a few wines down I totally didn't get the point that she hadn't lived there since she was like 6) and said that if we were ever in Canada at the same time we would catch up - and so we did.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTrpcqLfKk43cxYkmtKCWJ2rvGRPPR3zpVg21vxZfHrJHOb7oqFDhLBUK01a6QsZwFvlCL1dO5oSF_vm9j_T1Vp1ON8Iz2tH-6gi0TmOWsfXK848rTnD4AtFaaOAIvwAemExJ8d8KF-Oy/s1600/20121012_17_Wiarton_OwenSound+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTrpcqLfKk43cxYkmtKCWJ2rvGRPPR3zpVg21vxZfHrJHOb7oqFDhLBUK01a6QsZwFvlCL1dO5oSF_vm9j_T1Vp1ON8Iz2tH-6gi0TmOWsfXK848rTnD4AtFaaOAIvwAemExJ8d8KF-Oy/s320/20121012_17_Wiarton_OwenSound+007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jess and I and our friend WINE</td></tr>
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She works in this motel that we swear should go on Ramsey's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Hell" target="_blank">Hotel Hell </a>or something, honestly, and its not just so we could both meet Gordon Ramsey and swoon madly over him.<br />
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She has actually signed them up for it - which is hilarious. Jess reckons I could go and work as a waitress during the filming (if they got chosen) but then Ramsey would yell at me, because to be fair, I'm a totally crappy waitress. I would much rather be one of those patrons that he comes to talk to about improvements and decor.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yes this is the entrance way to the restaurant</td></tr>
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We had a big night the first night - ended up at the Legion which is the Canadian version of the RSA and sang karaoke. True to form we sounded horrendous I'm surprised they didn't turn the microphones off - what is it with having a few wines and thinking you can sing. You can't. No one can. I don't care if you are a brilliant singer - drunken singing is never good. Ok maybe a professional singer because to be fair...yeah...<br />
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ANYHOO -<br />
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It is also very famous in Canada for Wiarton Willie - who is a groundhog. Imagine Groundhog Day the movie but in reality!<br />
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Here's the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiarton_Willie" target="_blank">Wikipedia downlow</a>:<br />
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Wiarton Willie is a Canadian groundhog who lived in the community of Wiarton in Bruce County, Ontario. Every February 2, on Groundhog Day, Willie took part in the local Wiarton Willie Festival. His role is to predict whether there will be an early spring. Although the original Wiarton Willie died, the Wiarton Groundhog Day celebrations continue each year with successors of the original Willie, also referred to as "Wiarton Willie."<br />
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Groundhog Day, featuring Wiarton Willie, is a popular annual festival in Wiarton and is similar to events in other locations in North America. A midwinter celebration involving an animal with predictive powers was an element of Celtic culture. The link between weather prediction and the day is said to have been inspired by an old Scottish couplet: "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear/ There'll be two winters in the year."<br />
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We also spent a bit of time in Owen Sound. I'm hoping to head back there for the Festival of Northern Lights -<br />
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Got to see the Rail museum and their one mall.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP69Z4dy8ObSu1PQBBQd_yXtZFdKS_e5IGPZIj_7_uzT2O2ftk5iQudZiAU-GVu24wkXFZj-xWDjkVd2SbU7zWU5FfdkBgU3Q02dYRKzQS34Phqszs8r61EKPhfI0vKodnLbbXN0onC6yQ/s1600/20121012_17_Wiarton_OwenSound+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP69Z4dy8ObSu1PQBBQd_yXtZFdKS_e5IGPZIj_7_uzT2O2ftk5iQudZiAU-GVu24wkXFZj-xWDjkVd2SbU7zWU5FfdkBgU3Q02dYRKzQS34Phqszs8r61EKPhfI0vKodnLbbXN0onC6yQ/s320/20121012_17_Wiarton_OwenSound+010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tug - but not like one that I am used to, our POAL tugs would eat this one for brekkie - well maybe not the Busby</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX_o2uWtIkqqDKlJuZV7L6rFalVZF5qbXUgKGSE0I3nG8EZKnHeXWLVQYNhTjb3m7qyDY8yE5Env6IHD0_f9TGk_mtZMsPmkcwd2j9JSthgYQFdYbfpTR_S0REl1rrI9WNdzdLnTY7sXmP/s1600/20121012_17_Wiarton_OwenSound+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX_o2uWtIkqqDKlJuZV7L6rFalVZF5qbXUgKGSE0I3nG8EZKnHeXWLVQYNhTjb3m7qyDY8yE5Env6IHD0_f9TGk_mtZMsPmkcwd2j9JSthgYQFdYbfpTR_S0REl1rrI9WNdzdLnTY7sXmP/s320/20121012_17_Wiarton_OwenSound+011.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the other object in the museum</td></tr>
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I was tired from our big night and being the good Kiwi that I am found the first available spot to lie down on. I tried to get Jess to roll me around in this but apparently it was too much effort. Hmmph. (The time stamp on my picture is not correct FYI I think I still have it on Swedish time).<br />
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When we went to the mall it wasn't open as yet and I thought oh yeah I'll lie down on a bench. Apparently you can get arrested for this in Canada.<br />
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OOOO but I got to see an Amish person/Mennonite. Now I can't tell which is which by sight alone. Technically the Amish should be more cut off , well stricter, than the Mennonites but apparently these ones took a bus into the mall once a week for groceries and I am pretty sure that the Amish only have horses and buggies so I think these were Mennonites - she was dressed in a full old school dress, with a pinnie and a bonnet. I really wanted to take a photo but I couldn't take one subtly so that was the end of that.<br />
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But it did peak my interest so I googled a few pages and learnt all about the Mennonites, Amish and Quakers. Very interesting.<br />
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It was a good visit but I was so tired and pleased to be back in Toronto in my own room, which is coming along nicely - here are a few pics - it seems like I've lived here for months.<br />
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It is weird because if you look one way down my street then its completely suburbia but if you turn around you are looking at high rises and being in the middle of the city.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCbzaDnZJVrpKN15LmWYy5zskwVZO0qnyfB7IJxjiKapr1tOeqxas9JRGwNv479aqQbBoRmJ8Bbz8ei99178Ibg0WLiUl4icNqy8pacor1i1uz3jaoLjg22L1jmhTXz92759EbdkWiXMT/s1600/IMG_0406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCbzaDnZJVrpKN15LmWYy5zskwVZO0qnyfB7IJxjiKapr1tOeqxas9JRGwNv479aqQbBoRmJ8Bbz8ei99178Ibg0WLiUl4icNqy8pacor1i1uz3jaoLjg22L1jmhTXz92759EbdkWiXMT/s320/IMG_0406.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View one way</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-W0solpqfcehlUrruOUdiCle_ScPcgCJhlEjb92kmXXSTDT3dhGOs4x7VoridLwg54O5I6PaCeUGEacD-ms20WMJ91u6TktML0HGnSdjsAghyphenhyphen07sISa74uwauKP35TIbRZ4apQkLK8ACG/s1600/IMG_0407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-W0solpqfcehlUrruOUdiCle_ScPcgCJhlEjb92kmXXSTDT3dhGOs4x7VoridLwg54O5I6PaCeUGEacD-ms20WMJ91u6TktML0HGnSdjsAghyphenhyphen07sISa74uwauKP35TIbRZ4apQkLK8ACG/s320/IMG_0407.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then turn around 180 degrees and you see the high rises</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHV5IEME7hQmrhvjAL-RG0bueFe6U5FBC9pyt9bBaSwTBmp4PBxE16TzVdbUyHDiTSOB7BtQEtDd9X61aC9L25wXHhEbY-pbrccHMNgT4HlWx-nNaNqfoPYzaFWUHhKFpzCRymVEDazyhb/s1600/IMG_0408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHV5IEME7hQmrhvjAL-RG0bueFe6U5FBC9pyt9bBaSwTBmp4PBxE16TzVdbUyHDiTSOB7BtQEtDd9X61aC9L25wXHhEbY-pbrccHMNgT4HlWx-nNaNqfoPYzaFWUHhKFpzCRymVEDazyhb/s320/IMG_0408.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The outside to my house</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my bedroom - and my cool new IKEA duvet cover</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pattern- yes I know boring girly stuff - the duvet set was only $24.95 - that is with 2 pillow cases as well</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My desk and photo display!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bureau</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Hmm what else is new. Oh I've gone on a wheat free diet. And may I say, wheat is in everything, I don't know when it became such a staple but it is. This is my third day off it now and already I have to say I feel a tonne better - so watch this space on how I feel - I was inspired by the book Wheat Belly.<br />
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As you know I've been trying to lose weight for ages - ideally I would like to lose about 12 kgs and I just can't seem to do it.<br />
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In 3 days I've already lost .5% body fat which is crazy.<br />
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I'm starting to get way colder now and the duvets are piling on the bed at night - I'm holding out as long as I can but I dream of warmth so I'm very jealous of the southern hemisphere at the moment.<br />
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Oh, so last night I tried to watch American football. I don't get it. It was quite boring - maybe I need to a/ learn the rules and b/ watch a live game in order to get into it. They were so much gear though - in true Kiwi fashion I think its a bit pansy like. I'm just saying.<br />
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Alrighty I am off to the library as I keep chewing through books, and also I need to get my butt to the gym and have a sunbed mmmmmmm - and no - don't bother lecturing me because I don't want to hear it.<br />
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Hee hee - will write again soon!<br />
<br />
xxx AMP<br />
<br />AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-77272737389947002682012-10-10T19:00:00.001-07:002012-10-10T19:00:45.678-07:00Still discovering... and Gobble Gobble gahI joined a gym because I am getting all fatty depressed but I actually think that has more to do with the weather. Luckily , as I am not a great morning person, I have a crazy aunt who unceremoniously wakes me up in the morning to go walking. I am definitely my father's daughter, I can walk around (well stumble, and occasionally swear) in the dark and then I have to hop into the shower to wake myself up.<br />
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I have had three calls from the gym already, saying I am getting a free month and also from my new PT plus an email. It looks like I have entered into a committed relationship without even realising it!<br />
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Now what else have I been up to... I really need to note these things down..<br />
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Oh right - bought these cute little gifts for Mama Svenska and my darling Princess Ivy - cutest mittens ever (although I know NZ is heading into summer).<br />
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Also my Uncle Lox gave me the loveliest orchard as a new housewarming gift which is so sweet of him! My first orchid, and I've wanted one for ages too!<br />
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I thought I had a photo of this but apparently I don't - I will put one in when I show you my completed new room in my new place where I am staying.<br />
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St Lawrence markets - these were awesome - I picked up a retro telephone that works - and its purty as.<br />
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I also bought a cool set of knives that have bone handles. I got these for Dad - he has some butter knife ones at home and he loves them. I think they are the only thing he thinks about when the dishwasher is about to go on. Note - never bought bone in a dishwasher the caustic suds will eat it away.<br />
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We are prepping for Thanksgiving so have gone out and bought lovely little harvesty things. Seriously I love decorating but I am a Kiwi and we don't have these weird ass pumpkins and squashes they have here. Although you must love the warnings that say NOT for consumption. hee hee because fatty cakes will eat the ugly dried up corn things. Sheaves? Husks? Not sure what it is.<br />
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People put wreaths up here for fall and decorate their front steps - so cool. I really want to dress up for Halloween and scare the crap out of the neighbourhood kids.<br />
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This is my attempt at a Thanksgiving table decoration - it's my first go so be nice. Thanksgiving day was amazing and the food was divine. I went into a complete turkey coma. No seriously I only ate one meal the entire day, yes it was a doozy, I wasn't hungry until the next day around midday and THAT was after an hour walk the day before, an hour and a half gym session with a personal trainer and another hour long work. THAT is how much of an oink oink I was. Seriously though, best food!!!!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYgpYDgjHaLp-M-9mmRH7-XwlRFBARdvrEmivkfCb0d-ap72bOQQVP_XBmUOH2oKnYiADEmZc8ipK3JQp94J1dL_THf7X4qKKTPHS3deSwcN6Zy4L_DiyHZ_wZuhO937X6ngmGoL-G2YfU/s1600/20120921_20121008+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYgpYDgjHaLp-M-9mmRH7-XwlRFBARdvrEmivkfCb0d-ap72bOQQVP_XBmUOH2oKnYiADEmZc8ipK3JQp94J1dL_THf7X4qKKTPHS3deSwcN6Zy4L_DiyHZ_wZuhO937X6ngmGoL-G2YfU/s320/20120921_20121008+042.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It may be Thanksgiving but you can always practise your duck pout BANG BANG</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1XSCjr20o7K-L-tiR_cJEIPT2y8So-7OdmgS8fSx_RzreZq3GHJfGDM8nNYTnSH6oJl7wffiGn9Le0X3eX-tpGwC0j913jTUzscdTbZvljSmeVFky1r3E_5OopkpmpT6Bfv8KuV8iczp/s1600/20120921_20121008+040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1XSCjr20o7K-L-tiR_cJEIPT2y8So-7OdmgS8fSx_RzreZq3GHJfGDM8nNYTnSH6oJl7wffiGn9Le0X3eX-tpGwC0j913jTUzscdTbZvljSmeVFky1r3E_5OopkpmpT6Bfv8KuV8iczp/s320/20120921_20121008+040.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my cuz - sitting down I am at least sort of near his head. Standing up I don't have a chance. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgFu22v4_gCAE42aSmgGdPECEtaAzQalitxvpjYlQaH1XI4vMBUsqgpVs6JDyi59sKZIzJXDs3n4c4z8Tyoms3moZDDzT2yRNc7XaDQaXLKCUNdcXQzW6pryK0BE4L2nev5g7803Ue4uX/s1600/20120921_20121008+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgFu22v4_gCAE42aSmgGdPECEtaAzQalitxvpjYlQaH1XI4vMBUsqgpVs6JDyi59sKZIzJXDs3n4c4z8Tyoms3moZDDzT2yRNc7XaDQaXLKCUNdcXQzW6pryK0BE4L2nev5g7803Ue4uX/s320/20120921_20121008+038.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YUMMY food</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLXZjt5ABVMH_oSYkYpHv05kfd2e1u6XJKPwf1ESWyqkryIFwKajNRTHOC0Pq_F8sZ_TK1LRSinca1XDA75C30CLHVOpX5lWLSqtUblcq6iCvjTLnXHwEaSLOy0TtqJhz2szY1NnCOsaG/s1600/20120921_20121008+045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLXZjt5ABVMH_oSYkYpHv05kfd2e1u6XJKPwf1ESWyqkryIFwKajNRTHOC0Pq_F8sZ_TK1LRSinca1XDA75C30CLHVOpX5lWLSqtUblcq6iCvjTLnXHwEaSLOy0TtqJhz2szY1NnCOsaG/s320/20120921_20121008+045.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three types of pie! Blueberry, Pumpkin Pecan Crunch and Apple! NOM</td></tr>
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I've also realised that I stuffed up my aunty's internet account - whoops - I use ALOT of internet - so luckily she has upped her plan hee hee. But there are some really good new shows out and it is getting cold here so it is nice to snuggle down in bed and watch them.<br />
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Aunty Tree and I also visited Niagara Falls. It was impressive - and I like the fact that the view from Canada is better than from the USA.<br />
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We hopped on the Maid of the Mist and we had these gorgeous blue poncho things on - as good Antipodeans we tied a knot at the bottom of ours bringing the poncho into heel so to speak. No one else did and as soon as the boat started EVERYONE'S other ones flew up and stayed up. Giggle.<br />
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But to be fair on my head I still got drenched - the force of the falls is something else. Apparently Asians keep hopping up over the safety barrier in the search of the perfect picture and one Japanese bird fell right off, went over the falls and died.<br />
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Another story is that there was a high speed chase that came of the corner, both the perp and the cop went into the water - the perp died and the cop lived so that worked out ok.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi136xO1VgxBPMW7E7iGj5SbqcB1HFG2Ez56RkceRCyvC4mHbSH2hRhkNax6i5U33v7zFBD3x-Mink1E0WCLJpw8FvwgdyEkpE70Xm-gMJSUsd0oFar-cO5pa1f5G29NLpngB6ENlL4Z7fe/s1600/20120921_20121008+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi136xO1VgxBPMW7E7iGj5SbqcB1HFG2Ez56RkceRCyvC4mHbSH2hRhkNax6i5U33v7zFBD3x-Mink1E0WCLJpw8FvwgdyEkpE70Xm-gMJSUsd0oFar-cO5pa1f5G29NLpngB6ENlL4Z7fe/s320/20120921_20121008+015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> I just love the random birds here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojXT2XeeLHM_MDuQG9kQAKmGST7SKmSCFYVhzGHVEb3OL9nd0t1mRQJOrl_vI4MEPY4-bbEqQUsNXHGdnuHbVbfHCrmbvIBV9JsvidG_M4KHE8FX1ymiLxFwxfctDzvC4RfixJUpW1yBo/s1600/20120921_20121008+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojXT2XeeLHM_MDuQG9kQAKmGST7SKmSCFYVhzGHVEb3OL9nd0t1mRQJOrl_vI4MEPY4-bbEqQUsNXHGdnuHbVbfHCrmbvIBV9JsvidG_M4KHE8FX1ymiLxFwxfctDzvC4RfixJUpW1yBo/s320/20120921_20121008+020.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"> Cable car down the hill</td></tr>
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AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-14596619109050367672012-09-28T07:50:00.002-07:002012-09-28T18:52:37.053-07:00Random chats, IKEA traps and faceplanting a tub of Cherry GarciaRandom things seem to happen to me, which can be annoying sometimes but mostly I love it because I get to go or experience little adventures all the time and life is never boring.<br />
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As soon as I got my new mobile number I see this message coming up on my Whats App app. Thinking it is my cousin Jarred I start typing away. It takes a while to figure out that I have no idea who this person is.<br />
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So I say, er I think you may have the wrong person. To whit he replies yes I think I must do. I wish him good luck in finding the right person.<br />
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The next day I get another message from him and a picture. Here it is. Faces have been changed to protect identity.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqN80sjSr51h_bklQhOsRMvlOg-3evPkSgr3oKyYQgokns7G98VLajLxqjQa0R6JEvhhm3jgSayAMFh29GLrxObjKHnKxwNwY-pc9lak3T33UpxjS9go-FlWZbEcgHvUOonlsofllcY7oy/s1600/imagesCAEYAFRP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqN80sjSr51h_bklQhOsRMvlOg-3evPkSgr3oKyYQgokns7G98VLajLxqjQa0R6JEvhhm3jgSayAMFh29GLrxObjKHnKxwNwY-pc9lak3T33UpxjS9go-FlWZbEcgHvUOonlsofllcY7oy/s1600/imagesCAEYAFRP.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the lawyer. This is Shredder. If you don't <br />
know which show he is from shame<br />
on you. SHAME!!!</td></tr>
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So turns out he is in the next suburb over, is a second year law student working in a law firm who has already offered me his services should I wish to apply for residency. I tell ya!! I'm also assuming he is really young. Like 20s.<br />
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Now, yes, he could very well be a stalker, but I've had stalkers before and I've coped and I am intrigued by a person who continues to randomly message me.<br />
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Also now we have moved onto talking about cricket.<br />
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However if something should happen to me I trust you all know at least one of my tattoos in which you should be able to identify me.<br />
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Now on a different topic, I am moving into a room in a house around the corner from my aunt's place - because I love my aunt and I want us to stay friends so we are not going to live together hee hee.<br />
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Anyway I am staying with a lovely lady named Bonnie who I hear loves to dress up for Halloween and so I am going to , and hand out candy, etc. FUN!!!<br />
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In order to prep my room, because we all know how much I love to decorate, I headed to IKEA. For under $150 I bought myself a new queen duvet set, new queen duvet sheet set, a full set of towels, some holders for my bathroom products, a frame for my prints that I got in Sweden and some coathangers. AWESOME AYE!!!! I joined the club and I will go back when I have more of an idea what I need.<br />
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New duvet set - queen with two pillow cases only $24.99!<br />
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These are the beautiful prints I got in Northern Sweden and I'm so glad I found a cool frame for them - total cost of prints and frame comes to about $30<br />
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All my bootie!!! (And my stolen blue IKEA bag)<br />
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I will post a photo of my room before and after but I can't do this until next Monday when I move in. I am only paying $750 a month including all utilities, internet and dinners. Such a good deal!<br />
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Although I have to say, even with a map, in IKEA Aunty T and I felt a bit like this:<br />
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Thankfully, like a medieval town, IKEA has a set layout so we made it out in one piece. Although at the checkouts I didn't realise you had to pay for the bags and so now I am technically a thief of a $1 big blue IKEA bag. Whoops.<br />
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We also went north and visited the town of Stouffville where my uncle lived before he met my aunty. It was such a beautiful drive with the fall colours in the trees. Honestly, NZ is one of the most beautiful countries in the world no arguments but the countryside here in fall is just divine. I also really want to buy some gumboots and go kick some leaves. Just because I can.<br />
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I've been speaking to a friend of mine from NZ Jess who is now living in Canada so the weekend after Thanksgiving (Mon 8 Oct) I am heading two hours north west and going to visit her in her small town. It should be interesting, and fun. I will try to have photos!!<br />
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I have managed to get all my papers and documents sorted. I've even joined the library, which I didn't even do in Auckland. So now job hunting really starts in earnest. Let's just hope an employer recognises the awesomeness of me and snaps me up!!<br />
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Words, words,but they keep me pumped up and motivated a little like this:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoOa3Mm7HxXMZFTVF06BqJoGRd2q1K0pn4UD5ShsvPOw5SJx5ydSdqyik0QW83-Ud5ze62_iKSrWx_jeC2-Gar2iXvGZQGTFRH2RvJ1rDb4AZj6hsjzHf2veuNl5rlR3u6DyWxIpXh7c6/s1600/images+(5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoOa3Mm7HxXMZFTVF06BqJoGRd2q1K0pn4UD5ShsvPOw5SJx5ydSdqyik0QW83-Ud5ze62_iKSrWx_jeC2-Gar2iXvGZQGTFRH2RvJ1rDb4AZj6hsjzHf2veuNl5rlR3u6DyWxIpXh7c6/s200/images+(5).jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLGFhGbBAMljOgudOelcicwJkQM5xXAWa3qy84VMLu7pL0J8jO9WPP3cFPx27Y-TLlnl2DU58qMKpkh-BfWuuSFUNTE3EFdIv9lTxTEkkVVpR-blLySbqgkjJfQf2DIO1PNqV5xUerprn/s1600/images+(4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLGFhGbBAMljOgudOelcicwJkQM5xXAWa3qy84VMLu7pL0J8jO9WPP3cFPx27Y-TLlnl2DU58qMKpkh-BfWuuSFUNTE3EFdIv9lTxTEkkVVpR-blLySbqgkjJfQf2DIO1PNqV5xUerprn/s200/images+(4).jpg" width="149" /></a>Oh right , how could I almost forget. I am soooo happy to be back in a land of Ben and Jerry's. I finally got a hold of my favourite ice cream (apart from boysenberry ripple by Tip Top which always reminds me of my Nana Wilson) - Cherry Garcia, cherry icecream with cherry pieces in it. The goodness of taste on my tongue is indescribable. Nomminess would be the closest I could come to it.<br />
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Final thought, I've once had someone put me down for making up random words. I wish I had known this little factoid at the time - the word 'serendipity' was coined by Horace Walpole in the late 1700s. He was in British politics. Now it is an accepted word and in the dictionary. So you never know when made up words will become actual words. Schooled!<br />
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LOL should never actually be said though. That's just wrong.<br />
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Right, I am off to try and find work, then I am going to be a good girl and go exercise (can you see my newly polished halo?). Take care everyone and have a super super weekend. I'll be back soon - you can check out my other sections for blogging - head to the home page and just click.AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-36664772932040104642012-09-26T19:10:00.003-07:002012-09-26T19:38:58.223-07:00Changes to blogHey all,<br />
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There are a few changes to my blog as I am faffing around with it and trying out a few things. It's also driving me insane as I can't get the links straight so please bear with me.<br />
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It's fall here now and in honour of the beautiful weather I have changed my theme!<br />
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I've changed around the laugh and quotes pages and I've added in handy hints and will add a top ten page. But these aren't working at the moment - links. Grrr. Anyway hopefully I will be up and running by tomorrow as its 10.30pm here now and I've run out of patience.<br />
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If you would like to see anything added or have any suggestions email me at annemarie.petersen@gmail.com<br />
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Cheers!<br />
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xxx AMP<br />
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PS you should also be able to subscribe to the pages individually as they have been set up as different blogs linking through with this one there will be a tab on the side just saying follow by email - click on that and she'll be right.<br />
<br />AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-76980721669088696852012-09-21T03:26:00.001-07:002012-09-26T12:38:07.380-07:00Hoser how d'ya doAfter a rough start to flight morning I hopped aboard my Lufthansa flight and started on my voyage to Toronto, stopping off in Frankfurt, which may I mention is the hugest damn airport and is a pain in the arse when you have to book it from one side of it to the other.<br />
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I was on a flight that travelled through to the USA so was blessed with the dulcet tones of Americans throughout the journey. *cough cough sarcasm if you didn't get the fact that the accent was grating me the wrong way and it really does sound like they're complaining alot of the time and yes in answer to your raised eyebrows I'm anti- the accent because of recent experiences and yes I'm generalising of course.<br />
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Anyway the flight from Frankfurt to Toronto was quite good, I had an aisle seat as usual and the seat next to me was free so my over sized handbag and I were able to stretch out quite comfortably. I tried to buy duty free on board but my credit cards wouldn't work so had a bit of heart failure over that but they work now so you can all breathe easily knowing I won't be begging in the streets.<br />
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Also the funniest thing happened on the plane, I was walking back to my seat when I looked down and saw that a gentleman sitting down was holding my arrival card for Canada in his hand. I reached down to take it and explain (although I didn't know how) that I must have dropped it and could I have it. Language barrier and a few confusing seconds later and I realised that this German man was actually holding his wife's arrival card (who was sitting across the aisle from him and looking at me like I had smoked the electric puha) and her name was Anne-Marie Petersen, spelt exactly the same, and in very similar writing, but she was about 35 years older than me, oh and German.<br />
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Aunty Tree and Uncle Lox were at the airport to greet me which was absolutely lovely. Even in my short ride back to their house I have already learnt alot about Canadia :-)<br />
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This is the first time I have visited their home and my first time in Toronto so it's going to be interesting.<br />
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$1.24 for 20 + bottles of water so I'm already loving it. TV channels in French as well as English so I can bone up on my francais and a very comfy quiet and dark bedroom. Sleep was inevitable.<br />
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I really love the house its an apartment but two levels, actually the sort of thing I will look to buy myself in the future I imagine. Lots of groovy nick nacks that make me want to go antiquing!!<br />
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Right off to get bank account, SID number, cell phone SIM and hopefully a kick ass job.<br />
<br />AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-19297630723928367512012-09-20T16:25:00.001-07:002012-09-20T16:25:08.500-07:00Stockholm, ABBA, Sunken Boats and Au RevoirsZoomed on into Arlanda from Copenhagen and it was funny because it felt like I was coming home, hearing Swedish everywhere again, knowing where I needed to go, and again, helping out random strangers who are lost and who always seem to find me and ask for help. I must have a friendly face.<br />
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Met up with the glor-ious Kenny Stahl who is an old friend of Ida's and who generously was putting me up for the week, in his own bed no less while he took the couch.<br />
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It only took a wee while before we cracked open the bubbly, started chatting and the inevitable singstar started up. Nothing like a drunk Kiwi and a gay Swede to crank up a party.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OK not the first glass of bubbles judging by the time stamp - with the fabulous Kenny</td></tr>
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Needless to say the next day we did not look good so snuggled up on the couch and proceeded to start a Queer as Folk (US) marathon. I think by the end of season two I was so hooked I should have been a gay male.<br />
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The weather, like my stomach was a bit up and down but after two months in Sweden we realised I had been ill due to drinking tap water so I switched to my ever faithful Evian and Ida and I headed out to wander Stockholm and do a bit of sight seeing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmufvej1YqIK3R__QP1ugKcb9BC2Q1bzYqf4LI-yFxIb4PAILNDwYoHFQ1E6VsCh61ZlFx_NJ9RmRx_6LjHRqAl8SFcbPoyYFjLtCcSDo48BMmSnstiAtE86A-K8ff-GCtby_NSUSi_7_/s1600/stockholm-museum-vasa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmufvej1YqIK3R__QP1ugKcb9BC2Q1bzYqf4LI-yFxIb4PAILNDwYoHFQ1E6VsCh61ZlFx_NJ9RmRx_6LjHRqAl8SFcbPoyYFjLtCcSDo48BMmSnstiAtE86A-K8ff-GCtby_NSUSi_7_/s320/stockholm-museum-vasa.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Vasa Museum, the ship that sunk straight out of the er, gate, so to speak</td></tr>
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We headed to the Vasa Museum, in a nutshell, a Swedish king built a ship and it was absolutely beautiful and the colours on it were amazing it was huge, etc, etc and they built it wrong and as everyone was watching the launch it sank. Only no one bothered to go and retrieve the ship which had just tipped sideways and sunk and was now sitting on the bottom of the Stockholm harbour for , um, 300 years.<br />
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I have to say love the fact that the Swedes of the era completely ignored that it ever happened. Mind you at the same time they also let Norway be independent and Norway is the only country in Europe that will pretty much survive anything happening, economy wise and otherwise so I don't think the leadership of this period in Swedish history was getting any gold stars.<br />
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<a href="http://www.visitstockholm.com/en/To-Do/Attractions/the-vasa-museum/142">http://www.visitstockholm.com/en/To-Do/Attractions/the-vasa-museum/142</a>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They have retrieved bones from the wreck and built them up to make their faces.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Face once reconstructed</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry, excuse the flash - this is the description of what the skeleton would have looked like, age and also perhaps what he did aboard.</td></tr>
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On that note, does everyone remember that MacGyver episode where MacGyver finds a woman's skull in a house and uses the erasers off pencils and plasticine to help recreate her face so he can figure out who was murdered. MacGyver was so awesome.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOwUKG2iobEMYkBdKMKR-mYBAJok_b3NLxR0W_0Ao8pJkDcvtPs_9EVHhs81ucZbWH4IFe3v7U7vR-t5hwP7VzcdsQS5QGeGtUCtN_xRWdbbgyPGbecYuDXfGntnGSeutyIo3atZt8BoV6/s1600/178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOwUKG2iobEMYkBdKMKR-mYBAJok_b3NLxR0W_0Ao8pJkDcvtPs_9EVHhs81ucZbWH4IFe3v7U7vR-t5hwP7VzcdsQS5QGeGtUCtN_xRWdbbgyPGbecYuDXfGntnGSeutyIo3atZt8BoV6/s320/178.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seriously, I am glad this thing wasn't loaded - one Swede I do not want to be on the wrong side of if she has heavy artillery.</td></tr>
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All good things must come to an end however and so the mikes came out, as did the airline tickets as I bid a fond farewell to Scandinavia and hello to Canada.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WARNING: getting in the way of Swedes doing singstar will be harmful for your health. Trust me.</td></tr>
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Final things learnt in Sweden:<br />
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1. Everything is a phallus symbol, I even watched a documentary on how everything cultural is based around fertility. Even the maypole that you are supposed to dance around at Midsummer. The Swedes are still very connected to their pagan roots.<br />
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2. Strangers (Tourists)will always find me and ask me for help. I apparently blend into the colouring system over here yet have a friendly enough face that they can approach me to ask for help. Not that I have a clue on what I am doing.<br />
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3. Cobblestones. And bags and wheels and shoes and sore feet. Ick.<br />
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4. Alcohol - the Swedes go to Denmark where it is cheaper and the Danes go to Germany where it is cheaper and the Germans keep the money. Explaining a bit why Germany can help out the Greeks in their economy - I have seen Swedes and Danes drink and that is a lot of money going into the Fatherland.<br />
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5. A question to ponder: How can the Asian travellers who are always buying up every store never seem to have any excess baggage where I buy a few small items and get done for being .5kg over the limit or what have you??? Where do they store it? Do they have some sort of Mary Poppins bag invention that they are not sharing with the rest of the world?<br />
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6. In the US of A it is legal (as in written into the actual law of the state) in 23 states to shag a horse but it is only legal in 6 states to marry your gay partner. I leave it to you to decide your thoughts on THAT one.<br />
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7. ABBA. It was Sweden, there was LOTS of ABBA. And even guys will beat you at singstar if its ABBA.<br />
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8. All the hot policeman are in Denmark<br />
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9. Swedes love taking long showers. Remember this - whether something takes a short or long time depends on what side of the toilet door you are waiting on.<br />
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10. You'll never be away from home when you have family and I now have true family in Sweden.<br />
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That's Sweden folks, but I'll be heading back there, and to the Motherland of Denmark sometime soon.<br />
<br />AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-79256335724013970472012-09-17T10:58:00.001-07:002012-09-17T10:58:29.655-07:00KøbenhavnI have made a pit stop through to Denmark to visit my host sister Ditte. She lived with my family from 98/99.<br />
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In a nutshell, she arrived June 98 and I left for Belgium in December 98 so we had about 6 months together.<br />
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We haven't seen each other in 13 years and when we lived in NZ I was trying to complete Bursary , etc and any free time was spent with my then boyfriend Kieran so we didn't really spend that much time together so both of us were feeling a little hesitant in our meeting again.<br />
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I was met at the trainstation and we went to drop my bags off at Ditte's work - she works in the town hall in the Fredericksburg Kommun. She still had a little work to do so I was going to wander the streets a bit and hopefully find some cream for my damn finger.<br />
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I have to tell you about this, it was this amazing random lift, that used to be for everyone but little old ladies got stuck on it and someone tried to take skis on it and broke their arm or something.<br />
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Anyway it is this eternally moving wooden lift that you basically jump on and jump off and it doesn't stop. I just love it although it took me a couple of tries to get on.<br />
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I have to say, for me it was like we have been in contact this whole time. It has been amazing reconnecting with Ditte and getting to meet her lovely hubbie Christian and her gorgeous little boy William.<br />
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I don't know why I thought I could do an alcohol free Europe I think I was deluding myself really hee hee but it was nice to have tapas and a few wines on the Friday, on the Saturday a little bit of shopping.<br />
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Ditte and Christian have this great place although thanks to my parents I didn't realise it was four floors up with no lift but luckily I am built well so managed to walk up the stairs with my 27kg pack.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hand update- before I bound it</td></tr>
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And now come gratutious family shots<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ditte and William</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soooo cute</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhkICYneg6-m7rRP2yb8hGpMCZGPRq_otv2e65j-B57cIiAu7JnH8079T8P7hsy3KD-DSKg3PE2Xc8jof7FlqSVJ1LzkSqICw7PrGJZB0i1eL5u7FdCqTdoPEU0-E9mG3Kc6efFdLz9p0C/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhkICYneg6-m7rRP2yb8hGpMCZGPRq_otv2e65j-B57cIiAu7JnH8079T8P7hsy3KD-DSKg3PE2Xc8jof7FlqSVJ1LzkSqICw7PrGJZB0i1eL5u7FdCqTdoPEU0-E9mG3Kc6efFdLz9p0C/s320/016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christian and Ditte</td></tr>
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On Sunday we headed out to<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bregentved" target="_blank"> Bregentveld Estate</a> where my ancestors came from in Denmark. It was so peaceful and beautiful there and I felt that I should be wearing a gown befitting the period and gracefully walking around the estate. I am so pleased that I have had a chance to visit, and to connect with a little of my family history.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently William wanted to push Daddy in the pram!</td></tr>
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<br />AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-71097924731667316482012-09-17T10:40:00.001-07:002012-09-17T10:40:27.263-07:00On the road again- farewell to my new home of SkellefteåHey firstly I want to say thanks for reading I've reached nearly 2,000 hits so its cool to know this blog thing works for communicating!<br />
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I haven't updated in absolutely ages so I'm sorry!!<br />
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I'm currently in Stockholm but I need to update on my last days at home in Skellefteå and of course, being back in Denmark after a 13 year absence.<br />
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Well Lillasyster and I finally made it to Bonnstan which is the oldest area in Skellefteå.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZFZhP7eSHj-Spz1YWh-sGy5og7V5iCo6yAzBchRMY_63oAdyYJCUKxN0xRkImejx38Q5p-OPlACfF58xr57OBUPdGqwd2f8QwUaZgAhmTaqkBqljRE7XuMrZ9_JsqlYU26O-5NOUJcTh/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZFZhP7eSHj-Spz1YWh-sGy5og7V5iCo6yAzBchRMY_63oAdyYJCUKxN0xRkImejx38Q5p-OPlACfF58xr57OBUPdGqwd2f8QwUaZgAhmTaqkBqljRE7XuMrZ9_JsqlYU26O-5NOUJcTh/s320/019.JPG" width="320" /></a>Bonnstan is the local name for the Church Town of Skellefteå, which dates back to the 17th century. Bonnstan comes from the swedish (and local) word for farmer, so Bonnstan would transcribe into The city of farmers in English.<br />
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<b>Historical context </b><br />
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400 years ago the church village was the centre of the region surrounding Skellefteå. The church-goers from the countryside got together here during church holidays and conducted trade, drank, fought, proposed, asked for God’s forgiveness and listened to priest’s sermons.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_mItV1BCvId04YQTUK0UwVeJZkMSM_LUKcAXTiJTs7iah50zXI0-Jhza4ThCj4kSjFhdPfA4kOkbP-HP1PIsrYAZtzJar7LIbIf2mkyRMDxuFuq0_WVsm_49W9JRnq6Et_5snm30WC9v/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_mItV1BCvId04YQTUK0UwVeJZkMSM_LUKcAXTiJTs7iah50zXI0-Jhza4ThCj4kSjFhdPfA4kOkbP-HP1PIsrYAZtzJar7LIbIf2mkyRMDxuFuq0_WVsm_49W9JRnq6Et_5snm30WC9v/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a>But it was also here that the first lines in Skellefteå city’s history were written. Today, the area is a cultural haven in historical surroundings that do not leave anyone untouched.<br />
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<b>All in wood </b><br />
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Church towns is a northern phenomenon and maybe the church town of Skellefteå is the most genuine church town in Sweden since it has kept its rustic surface and traditions.<br />
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Several of the timber houses are well over 150 years old and in the old days the Church Town got erected due to the obligatory church visits for the farmers and here families. Today there are 116 houses with a total of 392 chambers. These were used as overnight stop for parishioners who lived too far away to make the journey to the church and back in one day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXfKtz5upUgAvqumhaAWdWanS7NDIyOx3fHzTdXYtK4VuBZJe7W_zRH9MZgh_vcULiIUhM7SqHSYsCcn381Cj98HuK5a0vkgGJs6Ha8GL9Vmo29XgetdO4t_0UoWjjvIi2GnDrUATJx_p/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXfKtz5upUgAvqumhaAWdWanS7NDIyOx3fHzTdXYtK4VuBZJe7W_zRH9MZgh_vcULiIUhM7SqHSYsCcn381Cj98HuK5a0vkgGJs6Ha8GL9Vmo29XgetdO4t_0UoWjjvIi2GnDrUATJx_p/s320/020.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNJC6JcbD_b1-6my-9Bu4PBWvTELFil79FAJ0z8kw75KSpEI0Z4PHYBIgaiN8wQOn3fQuv_u-yr2TLuLBT1yyh3px3vpoya_AkHHwVMyt3BnAJD4144_mt4BvT-6cpsh5HLtpWZ7fj_2x/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNJC6JcbD_b1-6my-9Bu4PBWvTELFil79FAJ0z8kw75KSpEI0Z4PHYBIgaiN8wQOn3fQuv_u-yr2TLuLBT1yyh3px3vpoya_AkHHwVMyt3BnAJD4144_mt4BvT-6cpsh5HLtpWZ7fj_2x/s320/021.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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There were some school kids out doing orienteering and we were sooooo tempted to move their flag somewhere else but we remained mature and left it as it was.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4Spl9hkuuA5Kiy267CSNYDJGBMt1TNzNcJlnAOX1bv1Ez5bpszwLR59Y8Ils4e_oqJexwtoU6GMQTXloT3iqa3-nTeHo1T0amiw4YivUC3zFgQgNSO_gLO-AYNK_55zCJB3kMtQ23w5s/s1600/026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4Spl9hkuuA5Kiy267CSNYDJGBMt1TNzNcJlnAOX1bv1Ez5bpszwLR59Y8Ils4e_oqJexwtoU6GMQTXloT3iqa3-nTeHo1T0amiw4YivUC3zFgQgNSO_gLO-AYNK_55zCJB3kMtQ23w5s/s320/026.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The church for which the town was built</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The faithful Ka which has transported us around Norrland.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The clock in the centre of the church tower has a face on each side, north, east , south and west and unusually is run off one timing system - not usual for this period.</td></tr>
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There was one final thing to do before I jetted off to Copenhagen and that was to try the traditional Swedish food of <b style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Surströmming</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> (</span><small style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">pronounced </small><span class="IPA" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)"><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_Swedish_and_Norwegian" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none !important;" title="Wikipedia:IPA for Swedish and Norwegian">[sʉ̌ːʂtrœmːɪŋ]</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_language" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;" title="Swedish language">Swedish</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> "soured (Baltic) herring") is a northern </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_cuisine" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;" title="Swedish cuisine">Swedish</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> dish consisting of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermentation_(food)" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;" title="Fermentation (food)">fermented</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> Baltic </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herring" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;" title="Herring">herring</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">.</span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Surströmming</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> is sold in cans, which may bulge after prolonged storage, due to the continued fermentation. When opened, the contents release a strong and sometimes overwhelming odour; the dish is often eaten outdoors. Click <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surstr%C3%B6mming" target="_blank">here</a> to read more.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy that the tin is closed.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional fare</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExIl1tUcom9qJMGBLL5a0qjQNcOl354t7uM30_dRAPaSwVvsGoFzB87yN2NSiMM9zaMeq1fGi3W502IwLic1mBneTqEzwjeQ_pacoOj8pHjVh7Spls5JijDAlO1e-_vh9iwZxW7M683Jt/s1600/049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExIl1tUcom9qJMGBLL5a0qjQNcOl354t7uM30_dRAPaSwVvsGoFzB87yN2NSiMM9zaMeq1fGi3W502IwLic1mBneTqEzwjeQ_pacoOj8pHjVh7Spls5JijDAlO1e-_vh9iwZxW7M683Jt/s320/049.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First you butter the hard bread, then you cut up the bits of fish and place it on- you add more the more used to it you are, as a novice I started off slow.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUn0DLPzJmV5B8w1FMgscf6lon13OY16HwU7Z3qEhifsEX5p5vzohDXYGZErY9UTl3wSQJaer_OAzrdNgfwFl3HC4YE53iJDsZozNqjPOvJxQ7ShhhYerNX8RHCUxKQQIDabWii5QKDWWq/s1600/050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUn0DLPzJmV5B8w1FMgscf6lon13OY16HwU7Z3qEhifsEX5p5vzohDXYGZErY9UTl3wSQJaer_OAzrdNgfwFl3HC4YE53iJDsZozNqjPOvJxQ7ShhhYerNX8RHCUxKQQIDabWii5QKDWWq/s320/050.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add mashed potato, tomato, herbs and sour cream and voila!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCYLPX1voKTeHAtrMI38fhDvSJd-m8gHyyc9RMpPm_IQjVcfhKKW8-vOpKFDYNqqOCPUwRJjIJZz0uz5OyJpQ3yGyVk6P9BBrjLHcW3ms5Tz8SWuuwEm9jomwq5wyDI045GasrFRjbhaU/s1600/051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCYLPX1voKTeHAtrMI38fhDvSJd-m8gHyyc9RMpPm_IQjVcfhKKW8-vOpKFDYNqqOCPUwRJjIJZz0uz5OyJpQ3yGyVk6P9BBrjLHcW3ms5Tz8SWuuwEm9jomwq5wyDI045GasrFRjbhaU/s320/051.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First taste I had been told it was the worst thing ever.....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-r8JZgh2c1E4CUpLeQMrW3y4WnFVC6uJnpWq121IQWQdrWTG2bGn0hvICDzlbf8vSYn2VTd_yc1s-UQjr89wsCUL4PmH5m5sLk63T9cb3XAAwTyeUoycS4_0tc2hly8uFABE0MAqF-Mc/s1600/053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-r8JZgh2c1E4CUpLeQMrW3y4WnFVC6uJnpWq121IQWQdrWTG2bGn0hvICDzlbf8vSYn2VTd_yc1s-UQjr89wsCUL4PmH5m5sLk63T9cb3XAAwTyeUoycS4_0tc2hly8uFABE0MAqF-Mc/s320/053.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But I rather liked it (down to my sour cream mo)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And I finished it all</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstZJRYrY5fOTEmHbomLfUxEqW8X2rSwUin7aFvjWMkgcgVTs1ihTgr5ChN6EQL_zaGKwzeFKwMTXF6YS_K31frBQY7lzyWoT8s2EX8j4T-pWuWUj3RFmOJLd-lifzjU3F8O9el8lBqWr6/s1600/065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstZJRYrY5fOTEmHbomLfUxEqW8X2rSwUin7aFvjWMkgcgVTs1ihTgr5ChN6EQL_zaGKwzeFKwMTXF6YS_K31frBQY7lzyWoT8s2EX8j4T-pWuWUj3RFmOJLd-lifzjU3F8O9el8lBqWr6/s320/065.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My darling Swedish parents</td></tr>
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So it was my final meal in my latest home of Skellefteå. I will be forever grateful to Ida and her parents, who housed me and fed me for two months, to Emil and Maria who showed me Ralund, Dick who showed me the mines and to all I have met. I have felt truly welcomed and in a warm loving home and it has been an honour and a pleasure to experience life as a Northern Swede.<br />
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Although of course, as though nature was telling me I shouldn't leave I got a wasp sting. The last time I had a wasp sting was at my Nana Wilson's house in Mt Wellington, I had been playing out by the taro patch (Samoan styles) and got a sting, went running into my mother crying my eyes out but was fine a minute later.<br />
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Not these damn vicious wasps here in Europe. This is what happened.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4BZgyoFkY6S7NS1a6jXuBK3ylWz_WPWQpCneAfs3DmSLUGJHHzaqO8Z-ArPlzHBUPUZJ8V77figcvxGGi0-JAd5GOvVoUj8eJSH-T5JW-Zn-YrtjmkElClMtxHD4S7VcE25U9bz00kUq/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4BZgyoFkY6S7NS1a6jXuBK3ylWz_WPWQpCneAfs3DmSLUGJHHzaqO8Z-ArPlzHBUPUZJ8V77figcvxGGi0-JAd5GOvVoUj8eJSH-T5JW-Zn-YrtjmkElClMtxHD4S7VcE25U9bz00kUq/s320/039.JPG" width="240" /></a>
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And my hand swelled up so much I couldn't wear my watch, I had to strap it and take it with me to Denmark I was soooo worried I was going to have my hand explode mid-air. I mean, sort of worried , sort of interested to see how it would all work.<br />
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And now we head to Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen!<br />
<br />AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-85869327324144442692012-09-06T06:46:00.001-07:002012-09-06T09:07:40.947-07:00How low can one go?Sob sob - no - kidding, but I have gotten to the lowest point I ever have - 1323 metres underground - putting vampires worldwide to shame.<br />
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AUTHORS NOTE: Actually now its been a few days nay more a week but the issue is that my photos of the mine are now in my dead laptop to which I have successfully removed the harddrive so I can try and access it in Canada. Anyway I got a bit annoyed with the whole scenario and a little bitter about the photos so I have not done this update yet. Here goes.<br />
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I visited the Renström mine today with Ida's uncle Dick as our tour guide. Ida's father, uncles and grandfather have all worked at this mine.<br />
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The Renström mine, which started operations in 1952, is currently Sweden’s deepest mine with a deep ramp at the 1,330 m level. The ore is polymetallic with zinc, copper, lead, gold and silver, and is extracted using the cut-and-fill method. Waste rock from the extensive development work and tailings sand from the concentrator in Boliden is utilised as fill. Renström employs approximately 100 people.<br />
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It has to be one of the most surrealist experiences I have ever had.<br />
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If you have ever been to an amusement park and been on a water ride then think of this - shut your eyes and breathe in through your nose. Surprisingly this is what the mine smells like - because I is so far underground and here is concrete that holds the sides up and there is obviously dampness from the earth.<br />
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Also because it is so deep into the earth as you descend into the mine you can physically feel the pressure of depth envelop you. It's not uncomfortable or painful you just know that you are not in Kansas anymore. It is almost like a calm that creeps up on you. I think that people who have either spent too much time in a noisy world or people who don't mind their own company would be very happy down here.<br />
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The people who work down here work in teams of 22 and their shifts start at 05h30 and 15h00. They tend to work alone but at the same time are always on the radio to each other. I think this is a people thing as well as a health and safety thing. They always try to have kaffe and fika together at 10h00 and 14h00.<br />
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If I haven't mentioned fika before it is obviously morning and afternoon coffee and the fika is basically an assortment of yummy cakes and bikkies. NOM!!<br />
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It's funny because I always thought of myself as a glam gal - but it was SOOOOO nice to hop into overalls and hi viz and be around big equipment again. I've turned down going to parties over here but I've not turned this down. So I've learnt about myself that I quintessentially love big boys toys which actually makes me happy because it means although I was stressed out and tired towards the end of my time at POAL I really did love being there at it really was the place for me.<br />
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Here is the safety video clip for the mine:<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn9iCJctqLY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn9iCJctqLY</a>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Uncle Dick</td></tr>
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<br />AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-83897767963714382862012-08-29T06:05:00.000-07:002012-08-29T06:05:09.836-07:00I'll have a side of BUGGER with that pleaseSo, we all know how awesome I am with technology. Actually I'm pretty good but stuff just seems to happen to me.<br />
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In our latest episode we come across a struggling traveller whose laptop meets with an unfortunate accident. In that a speaker, amongst millions of wires is pulled down onto the screen of her laptop rendering it useless.<br />
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The poor weary traveller looks up to the sky and thinks - in the vein of Job but of course not being blasphemous at all - why dear God why?<br />
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Luckily the weary traveller has recently received money back from medical expenses in New Zealand and goes forth and buys a mini - less powerful laptop. Which is also in the Swedish alphabet - didn't think of that!<br />
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However, pictures of mine adventures, iTunes music and other sundry items are lost. In hope, she takes herself off to the local electronics store, but alas, in vain, they cannot access her computer hard drive.<br />
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Realising that in a foreign land she cannot do much she still looks to the light of the Anglo world and will trudge around with laptop until a brave Canuk can rescue her precious items. Failing this the back up plan will be to ship the damn thing home because the traveller knows of a brave knight in the land of Aotearoa who can always fix her troubles.<br />
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Disheartened at excess expenditure the weary traveller is reminded by a Swedish fairy princess that she has full travel insurance and may be able to claim...<br />
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and thus the story of the weary and disheartened traveller is TO BE CONTINUED....AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-91025520640888899522012-08-24T11:25:00.001-07:002012-08-24T11:25:57.400-07:00It's been quiet but niceOK - the Scandanavians come up with the best stuff. Check out the photo below. This is their version of an ice tray. You pour water into the bag and it seals itself up and then you lay it in the freezer to freeze. When frozen you simply break the plastic and out pops the ice. It's a space saver, easy to use, you buy the bags in containers like the Glad Bags and you can store heaps of them at once. I realise I sound like an infomercial but seriously this stuff is awesome.<br />
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Mama Svenska very kindly agreed to cut my hair. I hate getting my hair cut. Usually I have to spend over 3 hours in a salon and I just can't sit still for that long! She learnt to cut hair in her teenage years - her father was the barber of sorts in their tiny village (Ralund - previously mentioned) and when the boys wanted more funkier haircuts - presuming this is in the 60s and they wanted Beatles rather than short back and sides Ulla learnt how to cut hair. 50 years later and I reap the benefits. Free, quick and painless. She didn't even get my ear with the scissors (this was actually a caveat!)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting a hair cut - we've figured out that with all the hair dying I've gone back to my actual natural hair colour. </td></tr>
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Now Ida has gone and be a gimp. Actually she thought that she could stop a massive plate glass window from dropping. With her hand. Delusions of superman I tell you.<br />
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She had previously torn ligaments in her hand - so now she is in a cast for a week to try and fix it. She has to wear gloves to do things. Hee hee<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The future makings of the worst prostate check ever</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJiseoswjT3zEwD8WACN89uXqIPOLsMbwN_qZ2_Sh3Dg065BGZsGs_kfhyphenhyphenx6qm5aKXMYovComom1pl3dLcSlhoHznCd4I-Koe7GhyphenhyphenHUBIcT5IXY6bqwk_RC6qv4nvBnem4TrRoWD5u-nLH/s1600/20120820+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJiseoswjT3zEwD8WACN89uXqIPOLsMbwN_qZ2_Sh3Dg065BGZsGs_kfhyphenhyphenx6qm5aKXMYovComom1pl3dLcSlhoHznCd4I-Koe7GhyphenhyphenHUBIcT5IXY6bqwk_RC6qv4nvBnem4TrRoWD5u-nLH/s320/20120820+017.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Years ago one of our dogs had an operation and we had to put a plastic bag around its leg. We have to do the same thing for Ida before she goes into the shower. Giggles.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGTcM3w4q_ZUyd7DwoVynzADW4oS1gIdkcWJODQ0tqQYo4iWNf7RWTC0UND2M9LJpqfE-31RqkU6yTzmPCvVVkb08A__F3pTtmEh_HepbkjoLm5eU2-PgRSI_83KRJ4n1MMEHuMDHAuU_/s1600/20120820+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGTcM3w4q_ZUyd7DwoVynzADW4oS1gIdkcWJODQ0tqQYo4iWNf7RWTC0UND2M9LJpqfE-31RqkU6yTzmPCvVVkb08A__F3pTtmEh_HepbkjoLm5eU2-PgRSI_83KRJ4n1MMEHuMDHAuU_/s320/20120820+019.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Langstroms should not be allowed near equipment ( her father saw planed his fingers/thumb off at his work)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdq8M6o_QdRWVlIl9z0k9IXUnOQPmMZ30yh9OBUuCCpPm5g6sVmP0X5hqvPaPhO-xKhe0rMoP27NYx4-WMAPIdGLPVC9GUve65LQCFMspjxKidgDSnNxFoqZneiIQkHu7GHjoB7lkprLRw/s1600/20120820+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdq8M6o_QdRWVlIl9z0k9IXUnOQPmMZ30yh9OBUuCCpPm5g6sVmP0X5hqvPaPhO-xKhe0rMoP27NYx4-WMAPIdGLPVC9GUve65LQCFMspjxKidgDSnNxFoqZneiIQkHu7GHjoB7lkprLRw/s320/20120820+021.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out my new Dickensian gloves knitted with love for me by Mama Svenska. Loving them - can't wait for it to get colder so I can use them!</td></tr>
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For all of you who have had to work with me, or live with me and heard me complain about this. I finally got my damn glasses fixed so they no longer go sliding down my or off my face so that I need to keep pushing them up like Point Dexter.<br />
<br />
This afternoon to a gold mine - 1 km underground. I am really hoping at this point that I'm not claustrophobic although I remember my father taking me caving when I was younger so I'm thinking not. I also intend of thieving any rock I think has gold it in.<br />
<br />
Not that I will be able to do anything with it - but I just feel the need to. Maybe I have a little LOTR in me after all - my precious!<br />
<br />AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0Skellefteå, Sweden64.750244 20.95091764.696058 20.7929885 64.80443 21.1088455tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-82453709743507810202012-08-20T09:33:00.001-07:002012-08-20T09:36:16.355-07:00The Swedes play Chicken (aka lessons one can take away thus far in Sweden)Almost half way into my stay in Sweden I would like to take the opportunity to reflect on the top ten things I have learnt thus far (and do they translate into everyday life):<br />
<br />
- in no particular order -<br />
<br />
1. <u><b>Swedes play chicken.</b></u> As in - if you are on the footpath, or in the supermarket or anywhere (apart from the road) and you see someone coming towards you - don't move out of the way. AT ALL. Seriously, when I first got here I was dodging people left, right and centre and then I realised that the buggers were never moving for me. I was summarily enlightened on the Swedes aversion to giving way to anyone. I mean, that would be polite - which apparently the Swedes are not, on the whole, renowned for. I don't mean in a Japanese there are millions of us squished into one tiny area so this is how we roll. This is - "I can see you 100 metres away and technically (as there are four of us spreading out on the footpath) we should move for you but bugger you kind of not moving".<br />
<br />
<b>Lesson:</b> Always stand your ground, you may bump into the other person but they'll be almost expecting it - nay- respect you for it.<br />
<br />
2. <u><b>You are not invincible </b></u> In NZ because we have an easier liquor law we tend to think that 2 glasses is by no means a blood/alcohol level that could possibly impair you. She'll be right mate I've only had a couple.<br />
<br />
However, try having 2 glasses of vino, hopping on a bike and you will realise just how much alcohol actually affects you.<br />
<br />
<b>Lesson:</b> You are most definitely boozed after 2 glasses no matter what the voices in your head are saying. And you may not always have a dandelion bush to soften your fall (refer to previous blog post).<br />
<br />
3. <u><b>Pee before you leave the house:</b></u> There is only one toilet in Skellefteå township which is public and appropriate for use i.e. you know that dodgy toilet that you HAVE to use on SH1 and you think needs cleaning up. That is heaven compared to public toilet here.<br />
<br />
<b>Lesson:</b> Learn your environment BEFORE you get stuck in an uncomfortable situation.<br />
<br />
4. <u style="font-weight: bold;">Sometimes a phallic statue is just that:</u> OK, just admit it - sometimes you look at artwork and thing - gosh that looks like a .... or a .... Well my first time in Skelleftea township I look over at this statue and I'm like that looks like a penis. Then Ida said to me " this is a statue that represents a phallus". I was like, you're shitting me. Then she said, no , but for goodness sakes don't say it looks like a penis. I was like, hang on - you're telling me it's meant to represent a phallus but not a penis - which is essentially , given the correct moment in time, the same thing. Yes was the answer. Ok says I.<br />
<br />
<b>Lesson:</b> Sometimes giving something a fancy name does not detract away from the fact that the town you live in , quite on purpose, has a statue representing a penis. A rose by any other name...<br />
<br />
Wikipedia: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallus">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallus</a> just in case you're interested.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQObrveMuccugfU6s1N8poIYFhtuCfeskmoVR8VYRHhwkMeU8ZHhkcN4Mj_IBGhT0lsmNz5yvpF50sF37QTyHWB15KM3jOfVvO7nibzMvCMu05A6gNaLLv3LLxm5Oekvvq3xDfUWBZfFj/s1600/SD532197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQObrveMuccugfU6s1N8poIYFhtuCfeskmoVR8VYRHhwkMeU8ZHhkcN4Mj_IBGhT0lsmNz5yvpF50sF37QTyHWB15KM3jOfVvO7nibzMvCMu05A6gNaLLv3LLxm5Oekvvq3xDfUWBZfFj/s320/SD532197.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is not unusual to see people posing this phallic statue</td></tr>
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5.<u style="font-weight: bold;"> Extra heaters in cars are not a rangi way of fixing the heat</u>: coming from NZ and the great culture of "she'll be right just use a bit of duct tape" I hop into some Swedish cars in the front passenger seat, look down and see a plug socket. With a heater attached. I just think - ah well fair enough easier than buying a new car.<br />
<br />
Apparently it's not just a rangi way of fixing the heat in a car. In winter it gets so damn cold sometimes you need EXTRA car heaters in the north. Why not put them in properly you ask? Well... because not all cars made are directly for the North of Sweden. They also have to plug their cars into little car heater things during winter as well.<br />
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<b>Lesson:</b> Don't automatically assume the reason for something - you may not have the full frame of reference.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuf3aaAi4qSl2nqzwiD7wS5FPrH3J1nQuqcvHmVRAEMPv186ss-Zh0R304ZgZnxqrBjjjf4A_NfrP2FqeanxQgae32TbdBiM0EaLABSxLzAlH2C3RQwTkBZ8gNbEH86Z-dhTFNONzwHPSX/s1600/20120817_19+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuf3aaAi4qSl2nqzwiD7wS5FPrH3J1nQuqcvHmVRAEMPv186ss-Zh0R304ZgZnxqrBjjjf4A_NfrP2FqeanxQgae32TbdBiM0EaLABSxLzAlH2C3RQwTkBZ8gNbEH86Z-dhTFNONzwHPSX/s320/20120817_19+011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8KB0xOpTj7LhTbQIJsKH-3kEjOCzORROmem5v5LqqVl22-9KB5_YU-ld6jkf30U9KAYAgYaOh5Cl481gIzpTXI46y-YYnJEynZXMXN7MWF0nlwKtbJLQ2LLVur79rvkZ1s1bSzXyICaL/s1600/20120817_19+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8KB0xOpTj7LhTbQIJsKH-3kEjOCzORROmem5v5LqqVl22-9KB5_YU-ld6jkf30U9KAYAgYaOh5Cl481gIzpTXI46y-YYnJEynZXMXN7MWF0nlwKtbJLQ2LLVur79rvkZ1s1bSzXyICaL/s320/20120817_19+010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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6. <u style="font-weight: bold;">NZ really needs to up the ante on our download speeds </u>It is ridiculous how quickly it takes for things to download here not only that but it is far cheaper here than in NZ.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b>Lesson: </b>no lesson but I am glad I'm going to have another year at least of fast download speeds in Canada!<br />
<br />
7. <b><u>Do I really giving a flying...?</u></b> Away from Auckland and separated from pretty much everything I know its been easier to decide whether I give a crap about something or not. In the end I have learnt thus far not to sweat the small stuff... and its all small stuff. I've also learnt a thing or two about how I let people treat me and my expectations of those around me. I said to Ida about a situation the other day , "let's be honest do you really want to hear about (*insert particular drama) from this person? Ask yourself - do you honestly giving a flying ....?" It sounds so simple yet so often I have found myself worrying about things and people that if I boiled it down, I really don't care that much about - this then takes time away from the things and people I DO care about.<br />
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<b>Lesson:</b> Cut the dead weight, pay attention to the things and people you really care about. The rest is just noise to be blanked out.<br />
<br />
8. <b><u>Every nation has their "Marmite".</u></b> I.e. the food everyone else not born of the country hates. Most of us Kiwis love our Marmite. I was trying to explain the comforting goodness I experience when I have a Milo and some Vogels toast with butter and Marmite. I had a fake Marmite here Our Mate - it smelt the same but the rest was just a big disappointment. However - managed to get some people to smell it. They said it was the most disgusting thing they had ever smelt. And this is from the people that love sour,smelly fish - (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surstr%C3%B6mming" target="_blank">Surströmming</a>) which to be fair I managed to avoid having the last time it was being eaten.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinedtG2xZxrKxexuYA6xZPr6dSVAnwUImpbgqpWq4sfahdBEyjobMgQtkbeogagX3gn1vqp54hk51PIVETRvyfa1_7PaHZjVjYC39VYckp3E_ZhcDREJDh4cCJfkYzGG1p_Vojx2qODLuV/s1600/Surstr%C3%B6mming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinedtG2xZxrKxexuYA6xZPr6dSVAnwUImpbgqpWq4sfahdBEyjobMgQtkbeogagX3gn1vqp54hk51PIVETRvyfa1_7PaHZjVjYC39VYckp3E_ZhcDREJDh4cCJfkYzGG1p_Vojx2qODLuV/s320/Surstr%C3%B6mming.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surströmming</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqU8ct5jjz7MpBtmEqkU2c2Gf4o-dBYt6nwIzbI6UdKikdJrYpIEZy1mW6B6Ae3nCGs9Xow2lzv6qZRGT9cbjYUcY4yxmnrR-autfRjCj8NoXVkuXSCeOERn2f_I8Yc8zXktLj2tD7cBr/s1600/vegemite-marmite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqU8ct5jjz7MpBtmEqkU2c2Gf4o-dBYt6nwIzbI6UdKikdJrYpIEZy1mW6B6Ae3nCGs9Xow2lzv6qZRGT9cbjYUcY4yxmnrR-autfRjCj8NoXVkuXSCeOERn2f_I8Yc8zXktLj2tD7cBr/s320/vegemite-marmite.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This makes me so homesick I feel like licking the computer screen</td></tr>
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<b>Lesson:</b> Never diss something that someone loves just because you don't like it - there will be something you love that they cannot understand and this is true for everyone just get on board, try it once and keep your mouth shut.<br />
<br />
9. <b>Sweden doesn't believe in post shops</b>: At all - I've got stuff to send home and do you think for the life of me that I can find any sort of packaging/ system/shop. I have trekked EVERYWHERE - I have one more hope left so we shall see how that pans out. So anyone who knows they're getting a little package I'm sorry - its coming unless Willy Wonka makes good on his promise to be able ship things physically by TV.<br />
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<b>Lesson:</b> Just because a country is left leaning and has post boxes doesn't mean they have an actual post office you can go to.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
10. <b>You are never too old to climb statues</b>. One of our forays into town and the only night club we met a local singing pop star. As we all cycled away from town I spotted a statue. I yelled out "OOO statue photo" Maturity is key here. Bless his heart Funky Dan as he is known promptly follows me to the statue and poses in front of it. Looking around , he wonders, where has the Kiwi gone. Meanwhile in front taking the photo the Swede Ida is in stitches as she notes the Kiwi not posing in front of , but rather climbing up onto, the statue. Funky Dan promptly followed suite.<br />
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<b>Lesson: </b>There are two lessons to be learnt here. One - the ancient art of statue climbing is definitely Kiwi/Australian past time not quite jumped onto by the rest of the world ..... yet.... and Two - no matter how hard you try , sometimes , you just have grab the moment, be immature, and have a good giggle.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIm-qMGe7GRD2NGIV4_uSDW9KpEMpogthz_9ijoNH0zAM_98F81sHrw1soKjb_VApcCTYUF_irknlbmjGbDw1zpdKh19gyyym4dCJTEKO9JFmb6KLGGfLB6CKkNox0YMx-_EYUcOIxMk3Z/s1600/DSC01425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIm-qMGe7GRD2NGIV4_uSDW9KpEMpogthz_9ijoNH0zAM_98F81sHrw1soKjb_VApcCTYUF_irknlbmjGbDw1zpdKh19gyyym4dCJTEKO9JFmb6KLGGfLB6CKkNox0YMx-_EYUcOIxMk3Z/s320/DSC01425.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Funky Dan<br />
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AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-69062186420028098182012-08-17T21:14:00.001-07:002012-08-17T21:19:05.236-07:00VERY honourable mentionsI just have to do a shout out to my dear friends who I love and have just gotten engaged. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm the most cynical romantic out there.<br />
<br />
But<br />
<br />
Vanh and EJ<br />
<br />
and<br />
<br />
Jesse and Sarah<br />
<br />
you are two fantastic couples who restore my cynical faith.<br />
<br />
I can't express how happy I am for you all and I actually like all of you not just half of you haha<br />
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xxxxx<br />
<br />
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487618733547758489.post-7989889931593862262012-08-17T00:15:00.002-07:002012-08-17T00:21:13.530-07:00Briefly speaking....Okey dokey - the week or so in brief:<br />
<br />
So I went up to the biggest "happening" in Norrland. It's an expo that has everything from household products to craft items.<br />
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Bought a little something something for my parents and myself some awesome earrings and a ring both of which are handcrafted by a local artist out of vintage spoons!<br />
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Next was dinner at Emil and Maria's house - smoked fish - literally smoked just 1/2 hour before it got to the table in this very handy and manly smoking device!!<br />
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I also got to try beaver meat. Disturbingly I posted this on facebook and actually received a recipe for it back from one of my mates. Takes all sorts!<br />
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Oh and at some point I learnt a very valuable lesson about wine and dandelion bushs. Drink wine, don't be as coordinated - end up in a dandelion bush.<br />
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On Saturday just gone Ida and I organised a BBQ for some friends and it was heaps of fun - even in Sweden the men are around the meat while the women are inside!<br />
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After eating we played a traditional Swedish game of coordination called Kubb. I actually managed to hit something so I was quite impressed. Basically you try and knock out your opponents 5 wooden pieces. Once you hit one from the other side you get to throw it in the middle then you have to try and hit it again. Once you get all their pieces you have to go for the King piece in the middle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjndeWN5Lxo9pw4xZmVjO1QiWP2CQ3GuRZeR2DcjLdPLHgfqh5Eo_-VVcBDLXXKb1ffW6DoUKIBfxMaM5YPVUKx9EkI-xbzt9PTlRkrABOSVYbYjXuF0WQXqqfeIl6zO6R4Rp04sbSoRfPj/s1600/DSC01442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjndeWN5Lxo9pw4xZmVjO1QiWP2CQ3GuRZeR2DcjLdPLHgfqh5Eo_-VVcBDLXXKb1ffW6DoUKIBfxMaM5YPVUKx9EkI-xbzt9PTlRkrABOSVYbYjXuF0WQXqqfeIl6zO6R4Rp04sbSoRfPj/s320/DSC01442.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were two Kiwis playing that day - guy in purple top is Ida's cousins hubbie Matt from the Mount</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julle goes in for the throw</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKWtBR8AceHQP48lC0FIJ9_SDV3taC66odg-Zy9SBXxfltsoiy9I3s14PuHo5q9tAnupsaVDAvBKLg7U1faxLskoLLVdBDfDERkDG-73LFgLHDTMOkvxVIqlYZGCux8ctTCf6h4KZUHIt/s1600/DSC01447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKWtBR8AceHQP48lC0FIJ9_SDV3taC66odg-Zy9SBXxfltsoiy9I3s14PuHo5q9tAnupsaVDAvBKLg7U1faxLskoLLVdBDfDERkDG-73LFgLHDTMOkvxVIqlYZGCux8ctTCf6h4KZUHIt/s320/DSC01447.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New friends! Arun and I</td></tr>
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It's actually quite fun! I have learnt the Swedes do love their games after they eat but I believe this is a good thing - particularly for the digestion.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguM_c8YBJ1VggtmAxw7HOWznDi8YZCu2ILDnlpahTOxpZrV6whPQ_nAlTe-yHkTPuHT8K7PduknL9dZ0RJLVmPNo3nt6xIdBlWokHE4vHAQqJ6UAUABQTeyTtl2WqLtZzVpq9jVsgRPWtO/s1600/DSC014492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguM_c8YBJ1VggtmAxw7HOWznDi8YZCu2ILDnlpahTOxpZrV6whPQ_nAlTe-yHkTPuHT8K7PduknL9dZ0RJLVmPNo3nt6xIdBlWokHE4vHAQqJ6UAUABQTeyTtl2WqLtZzVpq9jVsgRPWtO/s320/DSC014492.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snus makes your lips go funny ( I don't have any in just mocking Julle)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5JqAl4_BCzPsYb47P1NhACJkg9UG6_wAXAiuurKPYPxY8nmkTSmGvgWo_-HakEYDqV4muQT4RRHU4kLrVKdMoWnaR6gf_RsWCqNiqmPycgqd0leC5SWV4-jK1GKDjykK6AzFpyBMizyDp/s1600/DSC01451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5JqAl4_BCzPsYb47P1NhACJkg9UG6_wAXAiuurKPYPxY8nmkTSmGvgWo_-HakEYDqV4muQT4RRHU4kLrVKdMoWnaR6gf_RsWCqNiqmPycgqd0leC5SWV4-jK1GKDjykK6AzFpyBMizyDp/s320/DSC01451.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jo'berg and Ida</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RaFGm9Q0igV_ktY7Y43wLsyGaFbrXPpe7lg3QxqtxP81iOy6Z6qOXISWgGXiRAO0hP-mrq0N98YiWQuMgiHgz_JBidQex4Yb2zJt__jWWDGseGjYnv4feQmmd1I4Hko65CMtk2ln0z0b/s1600/DSC01450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RaFGm9Q0igV_ktY7Y43wLsyGaFbrXPpe7lg3QxqtxP81iOy6Z6qOXISWgGXiRAO0hP-mrq0N98YiWQuMgiHgz_JBidQex4Yb2zJt__jWWDGseGjYnv4feQmmd1I4Hko65CMtk2ln0z0b/s320/DSC01450.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awww. All tuckered out</td></tr>
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I also learnt that it is not wise to try and move too quickly on slippery floors while running away from Swedes - ouch!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuG6H_jUL-OAGZ7W9b-Q9kPJMxk1U8letfe2MPxMA1lCaULz4qG85V5s6S_s4WK54hhFRwU5SZDENx4LUQEC9poPSlYMua-_1PoOaw-odM9qS2BM2MKHXfLQKfjoL8c85LGNdC0FxymIzv/s1600/20120807_20120814+0312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuG6H_jUL-OAGZ7W9b-Q9kPJMxk1U8letfe2MPxMA1lCaULz4qG85V5s6S_s4WK54hhFRwU5SZDENx4LUQEC9poPSlYMua-_1PoOaw-odM9qS2BM2MKHXfLQKfjoL8c85LGNdC0FxymIzv/s1600/20120807_20120814+0312.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I bruise and I am slightly unco - it makes for an interesting mixture</td></tr>
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I have been helping out around the house and making dinner. I must say though that after walking around the hoooge ICA supermarket in Solbacken it was nice to then realise that they don't sell udon noodles at all here. Or the hokkien ones that are sealed up. I suggested I import a few Asians from Howick to boost their lagging Asian dining experiences here. I really miss the easy access to places like Tai Ping, etc. I have however found vermicilli noodles and shall be trying to make my first ever (because I always get Maman to make it hers is the best!) Island chop suey. I am going to make Ida try it before anyone else a/ because I'm less scared of poisoning her and b/ because she's tasted Maman's chop suey and so will be able to tell me whether or not I get near the mark.<br />
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Yesterday was Ida's sister's 5 year anniversary of her passing. We went to Anne's grave and it is in the most peaceful beautiful setting. It was perfect weather yesterday and it was comforting to the soul to sit for a moment and take stock on life.<br />
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Today we are off to the oldest area in these parts so will update on that.<br />
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Oh - this is also an old shot but this is where I am staying!<br />
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FINALLY a big shout out to my mate Ian Hui who Remote Assisted me from NZ and helped me sort out my PC issues - you rock Hui!!AMPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17416676089889864798noreply@blogger.com3