Tuesday, 15 April 2008
The trials and tribulations of Jeans shopping!
Decided that the jeans that i bought on Sat are too small... or at least they don't fall in to the "comfy jeans" category. I appreciate what the sales assistants mean when they say that you should buy jeans a bit tight 'cos the denim does stretch. But... I want comfy jeans and the ones I got just aren't comfy jeans. I tried on a pair which were the same as the ones I bought on Sat but which are one size up. The sales assistant weren't impressed. I agreed to try different style (wide leg) which ended up being the ones I exchanged for. It was quite amusing because the first pair in the wide leg style that I tried on was a hard denim but I thought they looked okay. Both girls just looked at me and asked if I could get my hand between me and waist band and when I said I could two pairs of eyes shot up to heaven. One of them nipped off and came back with a pair in the same style, one size smaller but in softer denim. They felt fine to me and the two girlies were happy that I now had a pair of jeans that fitted me and that I was comfortable in. So, all good :)
Monday, 14 April 2008
Sunday sun
This Sunday was a really lovely sunny day so headed out to Belmont Park for a couple of hours walk. Think the route we took is the Korokoro Stream Track though we walked as far as dam and then returned. Nothing too strenuous as mountain biking trail and no climbing. I wore my boots as I'll wearing them all this weekend and they haven't been worn since my one and only tramp in the Tararuas last November. Going from flat light summer shoes to walking boots? Hard... thick socks and they weigh a bit more needless to say! But guess I'll survive next weekend!
Lovely and sunny out with the sun jumping off the water. The stream was beside the route for the walk... it was gorgeous and just loads of trees and bush around. Much greener than I expected.
The dam wasn't overly exciting but it was so quiet and peaceful up there that it was really very relaxing. There were a number of fantails flying about and even though I really tried to get picture of them in action they're such fast little flyers that I quickly realised that I was never going to be able to get a picture of them... so just stood back and watched them zoom about the place playing!
Lovely and sunny out with the sun jumping off the water. The stream was beside the route for the walk... it was gorgeous and just loads of trees and bush around. Much greener than I expected.
The dam wasn't overly exciting but it was so quiet and peaceful up there that it was really very relaxing. There were a number of fantails flying about and even though I really tried to get picture of them in action they're such fast little flyers that I quickly realised that I was never going to be able to get a picture of them... so just stood back and watched them zoom about the place playing!
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Half way there!
How exciting is this? I've been reading Sacred Games since February and just recently I've made it past the half way mark! To be fair to myself I did read a number of books when I home in Ireland in March (I didn't bring this one as too heavy) but nonetheless I'm not exactly making rapid progress through this book. The odd thing is that I'm really enjoying it but it's a decent chunk of pages with smallish text...
So the above pictures shows thickness and the following should give some indication of print size (not that I feel I need to make excuses for the rate that I'm getting through this book or anything!) Oddly, text doesn't look that small in this photo does it? Oh well...
So the above pictures shows thickness and the following should give some indication of print size (not that I feel I need to make excuses for the rate that I'm getting through this book or anything!) Oddly, text doesn't look that small in this photo does it? Oh well...
Saturday, 12 April 2008
Saturday...
This is my third Sat back in Wellington since my return from Ireland and it's such a relief for it not to be raining! It's not that it's been raining consistently since I got back, not at all. But it has rained for the last two Saturdays so it's quite pleasant to have experienced a bright, sunny and relatively warm day :)
It's been a very lazy day that after a few work drinks last night as we have quite a few new folk on the team now. There's over 40 of us on-site these days which is pretty impressive considering we're on a customer site all doing work for that customer project! After drinks we just had a quiet meal in an Asian restaurant with very noisy crowd at the table beside us. A large meal wasn't required as fish and chips had appeared during team update meeting earlier in the afternoon (I'd passed on the fish but did eat a few chips and have some crackers and cheese), and then spent rest of evening relaxing to some lovely music before I kind of just fell asleep!
I did have plans of maybe doing my tax return today but instead had leisurely brunch in interesting cafe... instead of getting number to put on your table after you've ordered, a large plastic lizard was handed over! Odd... A few purchases were made - I needed new "comfy" jeans that I can wear with flat shoes as my other pair of comfy jeans got left behind in Ireland due to them getting slightly worn out (i.e. a hold developed in the ass of them!). The ironic thing is that the jeans that I bought aren't even one of the three pairs that I brought in to the changing room myself! While showing me to the changing room the sales assistant said he'd grab another pair that he thought might work. When I was paying I was just commenting on the irony of me buying pair that I didn't pick out myself and a shading of denim that I probably wouldn't have picked up either. He asked if I was okay with the colour and I said I really liked them on actually. His response was that his girlfriend is a red head too (that is second time this week that I've been referred to as a red head!) and same build so he reckoned he knew what he was doing! Though apparently he's useless at rock, paper, scissors... interesting the things you learn on a Saturday afternoon :) And I got some rather nice boots. And eh, oh just a ground sheet for bushcraft course next weekend. Nothing too exciting. Leisurely stroll home in the sun stopping for a yummy passionfruit ice cream from my fave ice cream shop in Wellington.
After that hectic day I'm totally shattered! Been a busy week and I'm a sleepy girl so early night tonight I think.
It's been a very lazy day that after a few work drinks last night as we have quite a few new folk on the team now. There's over 40 of us on-site these days which is pretty impressive considering we're on a customer site all doing work for that customer project! After drinks we just had a quiet meal in an Asian restaurant with very noisy crowd at the table beside us. A large meal wasn't required as fish and chips had appeared during team update meeting earlier in the afternoon (I'd passed on the fish but did eat a few chips and have some crackers and cheese), and then spent rest of evening relaxing to some lovely music before I kind of just fell asleep!
I did have plans of maybe doing my tax return today but instead had leisurely brunch in interesting cafe... instead of getting number to put on your table after you've ordered, a large plastic lizard was handed over! Odd... A few purchases were made - I needed new "comfy" jeans that I can wear with flat shoes as my other pair of comfy jeans got left behind in Ireland due to them getting slightly worn out (i.e. a hold developed in the ass of them!). The ironic thing is that the jeans that I bought aren't even one of the three pairs that I brought in to the changing room myself! While showing me to the changing room the sales assistant said he'd grab another pair that he thought might work. When I was paying I was just commenting on the irony of me buying pair that I didn't pick out myself and a shading of denim that I probably wouldn't have picked up either. He asked if I was okay with the colour and I said I really liked them on actually. His response was that his girlfriend is a red head too (that is second time this week that I've been referred to as a red head!) and same build so he reckoned he knew what he was doing! Though apparently he's useless at rock, paper, scissors... interesting the things you learn on a Saturday afternoon :) And I got some rather nice boots. And eh, oh just a ground sheet for bushcraft course next weekend. Nothing too exciting. Leisurely stroll home in the sun stopping for a yummy passionfruit ice cream from my fave ice cream shop in Wellington.
After that hectic day I'm totally shattered! Been a busy week and I'm a sleepy girl so early night tonight I think.
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
BCNZ
I went along (finally!) to a Wellington BC meetup this evening. Very different to the Irish setup. For a start these guys are organised (sorry Dublin) and instead of having discussions on which date to meet up they go with the BC standard - second Tues of every month. I didn't even know that this concept existed until I got here! They meet at 5:30 so no hanging around town until 8pm as was the case for me in Dublin (in fairness nobody's fault that I lived in Wicklow, worked in town and so didn't have time or inclination to head back to Bray after work and then back in to town for 8pm). Actually a slightly later start wouldn't bother me here as I live in town :) But I can do 5:30 too. Unlike the Dublin meetings we eat dinner, have a glass of wine, have a few chats and then head home. I was home before 8pm this evening! Oh... and we have name badges with real name and screen name on them which definitely helps! I believe that alot of this organisation is down to Sherlockfan - thanks Sherlockfan!
Obviously as I'm not exactly zooming through books here, am only in to 382 out of 947 of my current read (Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra) and have about 9 books in my TBR list I obviously was not allowed take any books off table this evening. Em... I think that Sherlockfan, no matter how she denies, has secretly worked in sales in the past. I left with The Restraint of Beasts... we'll see how it goes :)
Now... back to House!
Oh, just one disclaimer... I know that I haven't been to Dublin BC meet up in yonks so I apologise (duck/hide) in advance if I've insulted any Irish BCers by indicating certain lack of organization on part of those meetings :)
Obviously as I'm not exactly zooming through books here, am only in to 382 out of 947 of my current read (Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra) and have about 9 books in my TBR list I obviously was not allowed take any books off table this evening. Em... I think that Sherlockfan, no matter how she denies, has secretly worked in sales in the past. I left with The Restraint of Beasts... we'll see how it goes :)
Now... back to House!
Oh, just one disclaimer... I know that I haven't been to Dublin BC meet up in yonks so I apologise (duck/hide) in advance if I've insulted any Irish BCers by indicating certain lack of organization on part of those meetings :)
IBS rant and bits of info
Last Thurs and Fri night I had two very bad nights. Bad for sleeping in that I didn't do much of it. In fact, one would think that after a bad Thurs night my Fri would have been great but it was worse. Actually I wasn't overly surprised as in the past when I've had bad nights they'll come in twos or threes (they're the really shitty ones) and then you get a good night and if it's a cycle you can hit a two or three again. Anyway, for me, these bad nights often trigger IBS symptoms which, when I'm suffering from it, I refer to as my "stomach is sore" even though it's not actually my stomach at all. I'm one of those people, who if going through an IBS flare up, my symptoms get worse as the day goes on as I have to eat but then that puts intestines in to motion which causes pain. Of course I could try not to eat but hey, if I eat irregularly even then that can cause flare up too so bit of a vicious circle.
So Sat afternoon I did a bit of googling. I've suffered from this for years but have had no investigation done in to it (having read what that might involve I ain't volunteering either) but as a result have no way to medicate this other than to just grin and bear it for the 3-5 days that it will go on for. I found that there are about 30 million sufferers in the US alone! And compared to some of them I'm such a mild case I nearly feel bad even writing this. In fact, not sure why I am writing it but I guess I've just read some things that I've discovered.
From "IBS Explained for People who do not have IBS"
IBS exhibits a predominance in women, representing over 70% of IBS sufferers.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is the catch-all diagnosis that is given to people who are experiencing symptoms, usually chronic, with their gastro-intestinal system that are not being caused by a known GI condition or disease. Oh yeah, it's such a catch-all diagnosis. You get diagnosed and left to it. Only GP I've ever dealt with who tried to give me some specific medication was my GP in Scotland who explained it to me and gave me some anti-spasmodics. Didn't really work though...
I’m not using ibs as an excuse not to do things. Making plans to go out can be really scary when the symptoms (and the rules) can change at anytime. Please respect that there are times when I can’t go out, even if I want to. I don't think my friends ever think I'm using this as an excuse but I still hate having to cancel or postpone events because of this. I've felt so bad cancelling going out in the past because it's hard to explain to people, especially casual acquaintances, that you can't go out because well, your gut hurts. A lot. Sounds, so, well, like an excuse!
IBS is not ‘all in our heads’. It’s true that stress can compound the symptoms. But the "all in my head" routine makes us feel like we’re being called crazy. Believe us, we’re not crazy, we’re just not feeling well. Years ago somebody did make some comment along those lines to me. I guess that wasn't at one of the times where I couldn't sit or stand up straight because of the pain.
I also found a short snippet indicating that that some medical research had shown a link between bad sleep and an IBS flare up. All I could say to that was "tell me something I don't know!!!" I mean that was it. Nothing else to it. Not much bloody good as anybody who has experienced this would know it.
So, why am I putting this on my blog? Not really sure. Just something I feel like doing. When I say I my stomach is sore (note that bizarrely, when I am experiencing this pain in my abdomen, lying down helps alot!) I'm not trying to get out of prior plans; anybody who knows me should know that I'd just say I didn't want to do something if that was the case :)
Anyway, this isn't meant to some "woe is me" post; just some bits of info...
So Sat afternoon I did a bit of googling. I've suffered from this for years but have had no investigation done in to it (having read what that might involve I ain't volunteering either) but as a result have no way to medicate this other than to just grin and bear it for the 3-5 days that it will go on for. I found that there are about 30 million sufferers in the US alone! And compared to some of them I'm such a mild case I nearly feel bad even writing this. In fact, not sure why I am writing it but I guess I've just read some things that I've discovered.
From "IBS Explained for People who do not have IBS"
IBS exhibits a predominance in women, representing over 70% of IBS sufferers.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is the catch-all diagnosis that is given to people who are experiencing symptoms, usually chronic, with their gastro-intestinal system that are not being caused by a known GI condition or disease. Oh yeah, it's such a catch-all diagnosis. You get diagnosed and left to it. Only GP I've ever dealt with who tried to give me some specific medication was my GP in Scotland who explained it to me and gave me some anti-spasmodics. Didn't really work though...
I’m not using ibs as an excuse not to do things. Making plans to go out can be really scary when the symptoms (and the rules) can change at anytime. Please respect that there are times when I can’t go out, even if I want to. I don't think my friends ever think I'm using this as an excuse but I still hate having to cancel or postpone events because of this. I've felt so bad cancelling going out in the past because it's hard to explain to people, especially casual acquaintances, that you can't go out because well, your gut hurts. A lot. Sounds, so, well, like an excuse!
IBS is not ‘all in our heads’. It’s true that stress can compound the symptoms. But the "all in my head" routine makes us feel like we’re being called crazy. Believe us, we’re not crazy, we’re just not feeling well. Years ago somebody did make some comment along those lines to me. I guess that wasn't at one of the times where I couldn't sit or stand up straight because of the pain.
I also found a short snippet indicating that that some medical research had shown a link between bad sleep and an IBS flare up. All I could say to that was "tell me something I don't know!!!" I mean that was it. Nothing else to it. Not much bloody good as anybody who has experienced this would know it.
So, why am I putting this on my blog? Not really sure. Just something I feel like doing. When I say I my stomach is sore (note that bizarrely, when I am experiencing this pain in my abdomen, lying down helps alot!) I'm not trying to get out of prior plans; anybody who knows me should know that I'd just say I didn't want to do something if that was the case :)
Anyway, this isn't meant to some "woe is me" post; just some bits of info...
Sunday, 6 April 2008
winter and stuff
First 5 day week in the office in a number of months last week. It felt long. And now I've another about to start tomorrow. I guess I'd kinda gotten used to 3 or 4 day weeks.. this 5 day week lark seems a bit tough if you ask me... oh, you didn't ask? Fair enough.
Nothing thrilling to report. Feeling so so - that's what the end of summer and a 5 day working week does to a girl! Our clocks changed this at 3am this morning so that it was dark by 6:30 this evening :( But, I did get extra hours sleep which was greatly needed and appreciated :)
So, to fight the glumness of the approach of winter I'm looking forward to:
*) bushcraft course weekend of 18th April.
*) weekend in Melbourne visiting Sonya Anzac weekend.
*) 8 week Practical Psychology evening course starting 5th May (think that this could be really interesting as it's soooo different to what i do at work every day!)
*) One day Rock Climbing for Women course on 24th May - using indoor climbing wall, not actually going to be hitting (no pun intended) real rocks! This one I think I will find v. hard and not sure if I'll actually enjoy but seriously looking forward to it for some reason. I think my disastrous sense of balance and hating any sort of clambering or climbing over rocks when hiking/tramping is what's making to really want to do this course.
*) Potentially joining a squash club.
Speaking of squash, I headed along to an open squash day at my local (about 6 min walk from my home so can't get more local than that!) squash & tennis club this afternoon. It seems like decent club with 4 squash courts and lots of space. There was miniscule turnout so I guess I could have played lots but due to horrific lack of fitness and not wanting to piss my back off too much I contented myself with 25 mins at the end of which there was an interesting aroma emanating from my good self :) I haven't played for a couple of years and then I only played for one season (not competitively!) after break of about 14 years so I'm not what you'd call great! But I did enjoy and I was asking about other players of my level in club (yeah you learn by playing people better than yourself but if they're too much better then game is frustrating for both involved) but it was reckoned that I'd be good enough for lowest level of the intra-club league. Anyway, not 100% decided yet especially as I'd miss 8 consecutive club nights as psychology course on same evening but don't think that should be insurmountable problem!
Nothing thrilling to report. Feeling so so - that's what the end of summer and a 5 day working week does to a girl! Our clocks changed this at 3am this morning so that it was dark by 6:30 this evening :( But, I did get extra hours sleep which was greatly needed and appreciated :)
So, to fight the glumness of the approach of winter I'm looking forward to:
*) bushcraft course weekend of 18th April.
*) weekend in Melbourne visiting Sonya Anzac weekend.
*) 8 week Practical Psychology evening course starting 5th May (think that this could be really interesting as it's soooo different to what i do at work every day!)
*) One day Rock Climbing for Women course on 24th May - using indoor climbing wall, not actually going to be hitting (no pun intended) real rocks! This one I think I will find v. hard and not sure if I'll actually enjoy but seriously looking forward to it for some reason. I think my disastrous sense of balance and hating any sort of clambering or climbing over rocks when hiking/tramping is what's making to really want to do this course.
*) Potentially joining a squash club.
Speaking of squash, I headed along to an open squash day at my local (about 6 min walk from my home so can't get more local than that!) squash & tennis club this afternoon. It seems like decent club with 4 squash courts and lots of space. There was miniscule turnout so I guess I could have played lots but due to horrific lack of fitness and not wanting to piss my back off too much I contented myself with 25 mins at the end of which there was an interesting aroma emanating from my good self :) I haven't played for a couple of years and then I only played for one season (not competitively!) after break of about 14 years so I'm not what you'd call great! But I did enjoy and I was asking about other players of my level in club (yeah you learn by playing people better than yourself but if they're too much better then game is frustrating for both involved) but it was reckoned that I'd be good enough for lowest level of the intra-club league. Anyway, not 100% decided yet especially as I'd miss 8 consecutive club nights as psychology course on same evening but don't think that should be insurmountable problem!
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