Life

In response to Abbey's comment. Yes, life's already pretty exciting but it's going to get even better. I've got my first day in the hospital on wednesday then Jesse will be here for a couple of days THEN I start my clinical training. Woo hoo! How exciting. Real patients!

There is going to be lots of socialising in the first couple of weeks which will be great. I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone and seeing what they all got up to for the summer.

Last night after hanging out with Catherine (movie, dinner then pool), I came back home to find Danny and his friends playing drinking games. I joined in on the festivities. Danny told everyone that his little sister's a good girl. I behaved myself :D We went into town and Danny introduced me to a lot of guys and told them to look after if I was out and any guys were giving me trouble. I had a great night out but I wouldn't be keen to do it on a regular basis.

Hot date

I've got a date with Catherine tonight :) we're going to the movies then out for dinner. should be lots of fun. I haven't seen the girls in months! She lots of fun and I love her (in a heterosexual way of course).

I was in the garden all of yesterday morning. Hmm, I think that I might go back out there later on today if it stops raining. The weeds at my place in chch have grown out of control! Danny asked our neighbour to recommend a gardener to us. The one she suggested was $50 per hour. Over my dead body!!! Even though i wouldn't be the one paying for it, I refuse to allow a loved one to pay that much for someone to pull out weeds. We're looking into other options now but in the meantime, I'll try to do as much as I can.

I've got a week before I start my clinical. Woo hoo! How exciting.

Still thinking

hmmm, i haven't written a post in several days now but I assure you that I'm still think. But the problem is writing down things that are blog-able yet interesting. oh well, flag attempting to be interesting. I'll just ramble!

Life's been pretty sweet. I've watched a couple of DVDs, worked for my mum, hang out with family. During my time in Nelson, I've been enjoying good food and great conversations.
.
I must say that I love my family. I really do. They're a great bunch of people. I'm thankful for them and I'm proud of them.

I've got church tomorrow morning which I'm looking forward to. Unfortunately, I haven't been spending much time with God this past week. I could come up with lame excuses but I won't bother. Ok, my mind's a blank canvas now. This is prehaps a good time to end my post and send a bit of time praying to God and listening to Him

working

The restaurant has been very busy so I've been busy. It was flat out today. I'm tired. Day off tomorrow though. yay :) Hmmm, how I long to do laundry. I'm not having much of a social life but that's ok. Been hanging out with mum. Catchin up - good times.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas came by so fast for me this year. Was I prepared? Hmmm, not really. Usually it is Danny and I who go grocery shopping for Christmas day. And it’s usually Kate (now Danny’s ex) and I that set up the Christmas tree and decorate it.

But this year, Danny and I had been traveling before Christmas. I went to Australia and American while Danny went to Japan, China and Hong Kong. So we were both quite busy and Christmas kinda took us by surprise. We drove from Christchurch to Nelson (5.5hr drive) on Christmas eve. By the time we got in, the supermarket in Richmond was closed.

But we decided that Christmas would still be ok without a turkey and all the other goodies that come with the occasion. After all, we still had each other. When we got to our house in Richmond, the house was empty but there was a Christmas tree :) Mum had put the tree up with her “granddaughter” (a family friend’s daughter). Once mum got home that night (she was at a wedding), we catch up with her and told her about our fun adventures overseas.

On Christmas morning, 3 of our employees from Blenheim (1.5hr drive away) came over to our place bearing gifts. They had cooked us a turkey and also had a Christmas hamper for us. It contained lots of Christmas treats. All we were missing now was Christmas Crackers. Well… I found a box of 12 Christmas Crackers hidden in the pantry that we had left over from a previous Christmas.

Our Richmond manager and her boyfriend joined us a bit later too. We all had lunch together. We didn’t have a shortage of food (one of the joys of being in the hospitality industries). I looked over at one of our chefs who was carving the turkey and said “wow, it’s beautiful. Looks almost like you’re a professional!” ;)

My family taught them the tradition of popping Christmas crackers together around the table. There’s an art to it, trust me. We had so much fun and everyone got into the spirit of it all. One of the boys had clip-on earrings in his cracker which we convinced him to wear. I told him he looked pretty. His girlfriend agreed.

It was great to spend time with them. I think that the most fantastic part of it was that they chose to spend time with us on such a day as Christmas. Yes… feel the love. Hehehe. Jack (my brother) managed to get into Richmond in time to hang out with us before we started clearing away the lunch. So all was well.

When they were preparing to leave, we were joined by a large group of family friends. They just came over to spend the later part of the afternoon with us.

In the early part of the evening, my family had time to relax and do our own individual things like talking to friends on the phone and napping. It was good to recharge before socializing with lots of people all over again.

We went over to a family friend’s for Christmas dinner at about 8:30. Since lunch on Christmas day is usually so big, they knew that no one would be hungry til quite late. Many members of my extended family were also there; a grandma, 2 uncles, 3 aunts and lots of cousins.

The family on the back porch


The Poppy Thai Restaurant crew (plus Tiger our cat) in the front yard


My Grandma and I just before xmas dinner




So Christmas was filled with food, family, friends and fun. At the end of the day, I felt a little unfufilled though. I didn’t feel that Jesus had been honored by the day that was coming to its end. The main reason for Christmas was lost by all (or most) of those whom I had spent the day with. What was also sad was that I was partly guilty of ignoring the reason too. I think that the fundamental reason for Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus; a baby who was born approx 2000 years ago to a virgin girl. A baby who would later grow to be a sinless man and save the world. So simple, yet so often neglected. I felt such better (and satisfied) after spending some time with God in prayer and honoring Him. As for my family and friends; I’ll continue to pray for them.

Rest and Relaxation

I had a great day today. Besides a trip to the post office, I spent the day at home (my aunt's place in Sydney). I ate, did laundry, read, ate, hang out with Steph (my cousin),ate, watched a video. I'm now eating a Magnum ice cream while writing this post with one hand.

The video that I watched was "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" It's a good movie. I recommend it if you're looking for a comedy (Or some eye candy if you're a girl, lol). George Clooney is pretty attractive for an old dude (distinguished in other words). Besides, it's an old movie so he's much younger in it. The charactershad thick southern ascents which reminded me of my stay in the south (Texas and Tennessee). Oh the memories :)

I'm overweight!

Yes, my trip to America has resulting in me being about 50pounds overweight. I was anticipating gaining a bit but not quite this much. It may come as a shock to some of you but I assure you that I'm telling the truth. Now... you're probably wondering how this happened. Well, it's partly the food (eg. Reese's pieces) but it's also cos of the random stuff that I've bought. You see, I was able to check in approx. 100 pounds worth of luggage for my trip (Sanfransico to Sydney), but I'm only allowed 23kg (50pounds) to take back to NZ (from Sydney).

I met up with Penny today. It was great to catch up with her. She's a friend of mine who's studying nursing in a graduate programme in Sydney. We went to a couple of markets in Sydney. There were lots of cool things (and very reasonably priced too). However, I wasn't too keen on gaining anymore weight. The great thing though is that she's heading back to Christchurch this Tuesday and she's taking 5kg of my stuff with her. Woo hoo!

I just need to somehow pack strategically and sneak in extra hand luggage. I've given about half of my candy to my family in Sydney so I've probably only have an extra 10kgs now. I think I can do it, there's hope :)

Memphis Tennessee

I arrived here in Memphis on Saturaday night.

Jesse's mum's (Becky) is a doctor and her holiday office party was that night. I went to it with Becky and Greg (Jesse's dad). It was a lot of fun and I got the opportunity to meet quite a few doctors that night.


I got to dance with Greg. He's a great dancer ( and so is Becky but I didn't do any swing dancing with her).

I'm having a great time in Memphis with Jesse's family. I've done so much. Hmmmm, so little time to discribe it all so I'll just list some of the highlights.

- Chruch at 2nd Presbyterian
- Shopping (I'm such a girl!)
- observered lots of hospital preocedures (including heart surgery!)
- went to the Rock 'n Soul museum
- walked down Beale St and the Missisipi river
- was the Duck's march at the Peabody hotel

Plus, I've been hanging out with the Wright family. They're lots of fun :) They've been taking great caring of me AAND Greg cooked us a fabulous southern dinner last night. Catfish... cornbread... and lots of other goodies.

I'm awesome AND FAMOUS!

I'm in 'The Daily Sentinel' today. Ok, the article wasn't about me BUT... having your photo in the local paper is still an acheivement. Definitely something to be proud of! ;)

Abbey writes weekly articles for the paper and she needed a photo of someone wearing the NHS Alumnni shirt. So... I was her model. She didn't pay me a dime! I know, I'm used and abused by that woman!

Speaking of used and abused ;) I cooked for the in-laws tonight (Abbey's family). I had Abbey and Jeff to help me so dinner didn't require much effort at all. They all enjoyed the food and really appreciated that I SLAVED over a hot stove for them all. I know, I'm an awesome housewife!

Jeff and myself:


Mmmmm, yuuuummmmy! (honestly)


conversation amongst the cooks


My helpers did a beautiful job setting the table

Creative Cookies

Katie and Thomas came over for dinner last night. I made chicken noodle soup from scratch since Abbey and I both weren't feeling very well. After this we all decorated cookies. I'd never done it before but I'd like to think that my dedication and immense concentration made up for my lack of experience.





This photo was taken before we all started eating our creations. More were made than can be seen in the photo but many were eaten while we were all decorating them.

Early Xmas celebrations

Abbey and I went shopping yesterday. I had a pretty successful time in the Gap store. I love how they have XS in most of the styles that I like. It can be so frustrating in NZ :(

That evening, we went to Abbey's parents place to have authentic chilli dogs before going downtown to see the christmas parade. It was great fun to watch :)
Here are a couple of pics from the parade.





There were even some foke singers out that night. The parade ended with a fireworks display. After the fireworks, we went back to Abbey's parent's place to sit by the fire and hang out. That's when I noticed that I lost an earing that I was wearing. I was a bit upset since it was one of my favourite. I got it as a 21st birthday present and it was the type that went with so many different outfits too.

After church today, Abbey and I went to Esther's family's place for lunch. Great food. After this, Abbey and I decided to go looking for my lost earring. I knew that finding it was a long shot but it was still worth a try. We pulled over by the corner where we watched the fireworks last night. The very first place on the ground that I looked was exactly where the lost earing was! Abbey hadn't yet gotten out of the car when I was standing at the corner looking at my lost earing. It was that fast! What a miracle! :)

Laughing at yourself

Abbey, Anna and I went out for dinner and then watched a movie in Lufkin "Casino Royale". The movie was pretty good. We all enjoyed it. Not to sound at all cheesy but the company was just as good (if not better) than the movie. We had a great time over dinner and in the car.
I laughed at Abbey, Abbey laughed at me and Anna laughed at the both of us. Anna thinks before she speaks so she says a lot fewer stupid things than Abbey and I. As a defence to Abbey and I; I'd like to think that we both do it for the sake of entertainment.
During dinner Abbey and Anna laughed at how I say "wee". For example "I had a wee nap earlier today". I guess it's a New Zealand thing. I told them how I find it hilarious that there are guys in the states named "Randy". If you don't know what Randy means in NZ... hmmm.... ask a New Zealander.

Well, when we were back on the road, there was a business van with "RANDY"S fine food" written on it. I HAD to get a photo of it. So... we changed into the other lane, and we drove right next to it to get a good shot. I had to put the flash on my camera on cos the photos were too blurry without it. I had to take a few in order to get a good photo. I now wonder what the van driver was thinking. Oh well, no harm was done and the 3 of us got lots of laughter out of it.

adventures continue

After shooting up with caffine, Jeff and I were ready to hit the road. We had interesting conversation on the road, talking about everything from Coon hunting to politics...
Once in houston, we went on an exploration around the Intercontinential airport to find the United Airlines ticketing counter.

The woman at the counter refused to help and said that I needed to book the ticket on the phone, again. eek! Not the automated service all over again! Jeff took the inititive and assertively demanded that they assist me. It wasn't long after this that the moment finally arrived. Everything fell into place and I had my ticket from Memphis to Sanfransico! I could hardly believe it and had to have Jeff confirm that all the details on the ticket were correct. Finally, I'm going to Memphis Tennesse, home of Elvis Presley!

Then... lunch, great food, great service, you know- the usual Texan goodness :)

We went to a market, where we found some of the essentials (eg. lemongrass) in order for me to cook for the Abt family. Mmmmm, generic asian food. This is the conversation that Jeff had with Abbey
A: Thida's goin to cook Thai for us
J: I thought Thida was Cambodian?
A: She is but... you know how "all Asian's look the same"? Well, it's the same with their food. lol

Abbey was kidding! (Just in case you all couldn't tell)

I am going to interject into my story now because I should probably explain why I'm going to Memphis.

Back in July of this year, I went to an International Christian Medical & Dental Assoication ( ICMDA) conference in Sydney. This is where I met a Sydney Dent student (Jesse). After the conference, we stayed in touch and became pretty good friends. Jesse is orginally from Tennesse and his parents still live there. AND to make things even more interesting his mother is a Pediatric anesthesiologist! With my free ticket, Abbey adamantly refused to let me go anywhere in the states without knowing people at the destination or having someone go with me on my trip. This seemed really limiting at the time, but then Jesse came to the rescue and suggested I go stay with his parents.

I get to shadow a brilliant doctor ( Jesse's mum) and see another part of the United States, having even more fun adventures!! I'm also really looking forward to going to Jesse's home church. From what I've heard about his church and the sermons I've listened to, it sounds really great. It'll also be cool to meet Jesse's family, whom I've heard so much about.

So, things seem to have worked out beautifully now that I've got my plane ticket :)

A new tradition

I think that I may have started an "anti-thanksgiving" day. It's the day after thanksgiving and consists of lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. I'm trusting Abbey to continue it in years to come. I was feeling a bit unwell yesterday and really craved my "5+ a day". So Abbey, Abbey's friend's (Katie and Amy) and I went to the grocery store to get supplies. We then came back home and cooked; like good woman should! ;) We all toasted to anti-thanksgiving with a glass of California Cab Sav.


Katie and Amy are now newly converted "Singstar" fans.

So overall, it was a very successful girl's night and for a "visual" idea of the evening read Abbey's picture blog

the moment...

I tried to teach Abbey how to say the word, "no" and "yes" in a New Zealand accent...she got "yes" pretty quickly ( what does THAT say about her?! ) But, noo was a bit more difficult, as you can tell:

Post Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving dinner at the Abt family was great. The food was fantastic. however, I didn't do the meal justice since I was still full from thanksgiving lunch. The dinner made me appreciate how much americans love fruit pies. A few quotes about pies were read. Later on, we even toasted and drunk to pie. lol My first thanksgiving ended with us all watching "miracle on 34th street". The start of the movie was very similar to the start of our morning; watching a parade while sitting on the window sill.

Abbey's parents took Abbey, Anna and I to go see "Stranger than Fiction" today. We all really enjoyed the movie. It was funny, clever and left a good after taste to ponder over. The secret to a great movie.

I patted miniture horses.

Girl's night tonight.

Abbey's Brithday

What a day! November 22nd might just be the highlight of my summer. Wow!
Abbey, Anna and I went to Houston for Abbey's birthday. Shopping there was definitely an experience to say the least. We all bought lots of great things. Abbey and I sent a small fortune. Anna was more well behaved HOWEVER she did pay for the hotel and the concert tickets and the birthday dinner. This was all for Abbey's birthday. What an awesome big sister hah?

The concert was amazing. The open act was really good. He was a local singer Levi Weaver But then there was this guy Kid Beyound who not only beat box but made all these sounds that I didn't think was possible for a human to do. It was insane! He had a loop box and made music using only his mouth. he imitates instruments like the base, the drums, symbols and the celo. How crazy is that? He did everything from hardcore house to a Portishead cover.

Somehow, Imogen Heap managed to out do Kid Beyond. She was adorable and and blew our mind with her talent and personality. Overall, we pulled of a fabulous concert. WE very very impressed.

This morning Abbey and I went to breakfast and found that we could watch the thanksgiving parade while sitting on the deeply setted window sillls because it went straight pass our hotel. We had such a great view.

I'm off now to a thanksgiving lunch.

Abbey's Birthday Dinner

I went to a Rotary lunch this afternoon to network with local business people with Anna (Abbey's sister). It was a thanksgiving lunch with the classics like turkey, cranberry sauce and apple pie.

Wall Mart was fun. Abbey and I bought SingStar. I can't believe that it took so long for it to come out in this country! Insane that NZ has had this PS2 game for over two years. We're a hip little country after all :) I bought an American cell phone today. For some crazy reason it turns out to be cheaper than just buying a sim card. It was such a mission to to activate my phone. The machine couldn't understand my acsent. It was so sad. I don't have a speech impediment I swear! I had to ask Abbey to speak for me.

I also bought lots of sweets. Mmmmm Reeses Peanut butter cups... Peanut butter M&Ms.... Mr Goodbar and much much more. Man, Americans knows how to make fat taste so good!

Went to Abbey's parents for dinner. Great company and good food. However, the company did manage to talk about pie and pizza for well over half an hour. lol. To be fair, intellegent conversation did sandwich the food talk ;)

We watched a couple of home videos of Abbey from 2 decades ago! Reminded us all of our mortality and the fact that it doesn't matter how old and tough we are, we were all cute and little at one stage.

I still haven't decided where in the states I'd like to travel to so if anyone has good suggestions, please let me know. We're off to Houston tomorrow to shop and then later, to an Imogen Heap concert.

Jetlag

I woke up at 3am this morning, took some antihistamines and then eventually fell alseep again.
Woke up at noon and went for a jog so I won't feel like a complete bum. Got lost so my workout was extended. I kepts calm and eventually found home. A little scary? Yes.

Abbey's sister Anna came over to bring me takeouts for dinner tonight. What a sweetie. My "tacos for 1" was enough to feed a family! Seriously! It's insane how big everything is here! It's not a complaint for sure. It just meant that I could eat dinner twice tonight. Mmmmm, TexMex is good!

Bible study tonight was great. I got to meet the girls in Abbey's lifegroup, they're such innocent darlings. Abbey and I tried to shock the girls by jokingly saying things like: "I'm really thirsty and need to get drunk really soon!" We studied the Shunammint woman tonight and then prayed for one another. After that, we all had a better perspective on life and we more at peace about the future. We were reminded about how God is perfect and has everything under control.

Church in Texas

Getting up this morning was hard. Jet lag is not cool. It was worth it though. Abbey's little church is very sweet. I enjoyed singing the hymms and the people were very friendly. They have two sermons in the morning service (hard out!). It was a good thing that both sermons were interesting and required me to think otherwise I would have fallen fast asleep!

Lunch out with Abbey's family. The Abt family is adorable. The meals here are huge! Abbey and I went halves and still didn't finish our porkribs!

Girly chats and fun times with Abbey.

Evening church - good times with God

Dinner out with Abbey's sister's husband's father's family (hope you got that!) - more wholsome texan family time. Another huge meal and again, I'm very full.