me, now.

i am annoyed because the internet at school is actually moving slower than the internet at my house. also because there is a mustard stain on my (new) black cardigan and i don't remember eating mustard. sketchy.

yesterday was a wonderful day because it was warm and i spent some of the afternoon in my front yard reading on a blanket, listening to music, and poppin grapes with my friend alice. i have missed sunglasses.

good news, sort of. steve does not have the swine flu. the doctor said it's a tonsil infection. i'm still skeptical because i have extensive experience with tonsil infections and never have i ever been the way he is. he hasn't really emerged from his room since, what. sunday night? poor guy. and yes, mother, i have been washing my hands.

you know those stupid little like myspace bumper stickers with their infinite wisdom? you know that one that says, "today is a gift, that's why they call it the present." yeah, you probably have it on a pillow somewhere.

i'm really bad at that. like, i am a forward thinker and a planner. i have spent my whole life thinking about what's next. in high school, it was belgium. in belgium, it was college. in college, it was new zealand. etc.

my family is coming for my birthday and for christmas. i haven't told you that yet have i? well, i am a pretty lucky girl. they'll get here the 15th of december and leave new years day. and i can't wait, i really think about it all the time. and i think that that's okay if that comfort gets you through the day sometimes. but they're going to be here december 15th whether i dwell on it or not. and i'm going to be back in texas before i know it whether i spend all my time day dreaming about it or not. (amount of school work has a direct correlation with amount of day dreaming, by the way). i have never been good at generally living in the now. maybe none of us are. but i'm trying. it's certainly easy when i'm doing some exciting new zealandy adventure thing, but it's having that attitude everyday that i need to work on. just a thought for the day.

also, it is my little brother's 18th birthday, hey trav! you don't read my blog but i still love you!

and i'm pretty sure that this dress was specifically made and designed for me. anyone want to donate 300 dollars to the "stuff i don't need but really do" fund? no? sigh.

photos from flickr and anthropologie

Smile, it's Monday!

So today was decent, for a Monday.
Slept through my first class, but I didn't feel nearly as badly about that as I probably should have.
Also, they think my roommate, Steven, has Swine Flu. I will keep you posted and try to keep my distance.
Guess what? Only 3 more Mondays and then I am finished with this semester. That's nuts. Their semesters are 12 weeks long. That's it! So short! I wasn't sure what I'd do with myself between the dates of October 15th and January 8th when I leave, but I'm really hoping that a trip to the Great Barrier Reef works out, and that I'll get to finish a couple books for pleasure, so I'm looking forward to it.

Today I startled myself somewhat. As I was passing a man walking down the street, I noticed that he had a huge smile on his face. He wasn't on the phone or walking with anyone, he was by himself, smiling really big. I found myself wondering if he had a mental disability.
Then I realized how sad that is, that we're all so caught up in what needs to be done and the tasks and annoyances of the day, we find someone who is very happy for no apparent reason to have something wrong with him. I decided that I needed to work on smiling more.
So until next time, think happy thoughts.

south island trip

okay, i know, i suck. i would say i've been busy, but i haven't really been. just neglectful.
soooo SOUTH ISLAND EXTRAVAGANZA!




this is me at the southern most point of the south island, Slope Point. i am hiding behind that tank to escape the gale force winds. i literally laid down into the wind and it held me up. that was crazy. i have also never been that close to antarctica.


this is liam, one of my travel buddies. he's from new york.





this is me being contemplative and new zealand being beautiful. both of us just doin our thang.



this is me in queenstown, which is a particularly beautiful part of new zealand. this was on our
drive up the hill to the slopes.


once we got up to the slopes, we got to play in the snow. this is my snow man. we did not get to ski. that's alright. also, no, i have not cut my bangs since i have arrived.




this is me on one of the super round boulders on this beach. these boulders are on the front of my "rough guide to new zealand" book. they are cool looking.



see how cool they look??

this is in penguin country. stay tuned for a fun surprise.

surprise! penguin!


we fed these ducks at the dunedin botanical gardens


dunedin also happens to be home to baldwin street, the....
the steepest street in the world! ta da! 19 degrees, baby!

nugget point, absolutely beautiful!


new zealand also has rain forests.

milford sound is one of the natural wonders of the world.

it is truly a magical place.

me at milford!




thats queenstown in the left corner, quite a place for a town! my friend aaron dolan took this picture. also, liam mccartney took the top photo.


i hope you liked the snapshots of my trip, it was wonderful! i did chicken out of bungy jumping though, if you're wondering. oh well. also, i will be coming home to texas in january now, rather than july. didnt get my working visa or the classes i need, so i will see you all in the winter!

Relaxing

Sorry that I have so severely neglected this blog. I even almost forgot my password at sign in, it's been that long.
It was a wonderful trip and the reason it's taking me so long to update about it is that I'm waiting for my travel mates to get their photos so that I have photos of everything to show you.
In the meantime, if you have facebook, you can see mine.

This morning is Father's Day here in New Zealand, so a big Kia Ora to all the dads out there!
I'm on my way to finally check out the Methodist Church downtown, and then to the Farmer's Market (a Sunday ritual) and then I've been invited to share a Father's Day lunch with David's family.
Also I think I'm going to see "The Ugly Truth" tonight with some friends. Have you heard good things?

Anyway, I promise to be back soon with lots of trip stories and pictures. For now you'll have to make do with this little guy sleeping on a rock. We walked right next to him and didn't even notice him until, well, we did. Adorable, isn't he?

xoxo
Maggie