My Hubby and I had nothing planned for this christmas. We were both so depressed about not being able to spend it at home, neither of us could bother planning anything. So the friday before xmas we decide, at the very last minute, to go on a road trip! Ultimately Monday would be spent with the FamBams ( Hubbys' cousins in auckland) but we would spend a night in Rotorua on the way up and a night in Tauraga on the way down. So that was Fabulosoooo! Beats staying at home kuikui gifo-ing!!
Interesting bits re: the road trip?
1) It took us freaken 10 hours to get to Rotorua becooooossss---- we left Wellington at 11am, and hit 3 jams in 3 different little towns who were having their midday christmas parade...yup...3hours just to get outa wairarapa....bugger. So of course we arrive in Roto-vegas too late to do anything, basically eat , shower, sleep, wake up the next day, eat again, and head off for Auckland... (what a waste!)
2) We arrive in Auckland, and the room we are given ( with the fams) has a green skirt and ie faikaga waiting for us on the bed.?? hmm...whaa?? we quickly find out, the old lady of the fams had them sewn for us in the last few hours when she heard we were coming. The family were peforming an item at the church xmas service and we had been made honorary members!!hoh! thus poi and I's outfits...... (like OMG!!)
3) So.....within an hour I find myself on a stage at a church I have never been to, shoved to the front of the choir coz I am short (damned them genes! :) ) singing songs I have never heard of before, trying to act as if it were the 100th time I had done it!LOL! ( all that was going through my head at the time was my year 6 singing teacher's voice (ms solomona) going "fa'amaga le guku as if o gae ofi ai le fuamoa when you are singing!!"..so awkwardly found myself doing just that !LOL!)
4) The service was 3.5hours..yes, and I was there for the entire thing!!! But as much as it dragged on far too long, it was entertaining. My favourite performance was this one family, See all the performances were just the different families in the church doing a few christmas carols...and from the way the night was going, it was all about whos family had more people on the stage and the loudest choir with the most number of instruments being played at any one time!.
So this one family gets up, and there is only a mere hand ful of people ( compared to everyone else who had no less then 20 persons up there) the old man comes to the front, and starts a little speech which goes ( in samoan of course) Firstly, I would like to apologise that all you see up here are women, and me. ( looking at his feet and shaking his head) For the last 10 years I have been trying to get my sons to come to church, but they insist they only need to send their wives..and their sins will be forgiven ( nodding his head still) then I also apologise that their are still others missing. Only this morning I have been informed that my youngest daughter, has a boyfriend, and they have eloped to Australia to be married ( shaking his head still ) of course no one was invited.
Then he goes on about not having time to practice the songs he wants and not having a pianist. They start singing, and only a quater into the song -half of them sorta die off, as if they dont know the words and the old man looks like his face is going to fall...and then some people in the back start cheering them on, and singing along with them, and before you know it, the whole church is humming along with them, the old man and his choirs' faces all had smiles (mines tears!!LOL) and it was just the most beautiful thing ever. I think what made it great was the fact that it was acapella, no instruments, no fancy radio in the background, just pure singing...and it was lovely.!
anyways that was that. The rest of christmas was what you'd expect...eating heaps of BBQ and kalo, drinking, catching up with people I havent seen in ages, calling my fams overseas to wishem a merry christmas and ask what they're all having for lunch!! Ok guys, hope you all had a festive one too !! ciao later and look foward to reading all your xmas blogs!
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Saturday, December 09, 2006
blues
Why I have the blues
-I got on a plane yesterday and returned from a 3 week holiday in Samoa
-My husband gets to spend an extra week in sa, whilst i have to come back to work!
-I left welly on a cold and windy day 3 weeks ago, and arrived back on another cold and rainy day!
-I am addicted to sun, and wellington aint got any- losing the tan already!
- I arrived at work today, 10mins late because 1) I was travelling yesterday -thus, even though I was sat on my butt most of the day, I was shattered at the end of it. Then this morning I woke up, got in my car and found no gas so had to get gas, then drove for 10mins and realised I forgot my stethescope so had to go back and get it, and got to work, to face a very grumpy person (worked before me) who couldnt be bothered handing me over anything ( ie who is sick from last shift etc) and gave me the worst bitch face a guy could give ( yes it was a guy) before storming out of the place!! talk about PMS!!! ..Great way to start the day, first day back infact after a luxurious holiday!!
-I miss the beach
-I miss vailima
-I miss the close proximity of friends ( ie 1 min drive away)
-I miss having heaps of nosey family around, wanting to know my every move, wanting to book me for breakfast,lunch,dinner,movie, going out, going to the beach, going to a party, hanging out or just chatting in my mums patio.
- I miss the fact that a roadtrip to the store means you could run into at least 4 people you know, and everywhere you turn ie, read a newspaper/watch telly/ listen to the radio..there is someone you went to school with/knew your brother/is your husbands cousin/ met out one night or you just know through word of mouth- NZ is so impersonal, and although some may see the advantage of this at times, i dont miss it like i miss the personal touch of life at home...
thats why i have the blues
Saturday, October 28, 2006
laughter is the best medicine, but it dont cure insomnia...
HELLO everybody. I have finally decided to contribute something to the world of blogging, after weeks of being guilty of just enjoying other peoples blogs but not contributing!! he he!! Part of the reasoning for that is that I have dial up at home which is as slow as a snail, plus I have had limited time at work to sit down in front of a computer for very long (And do anything OTHER then work !!He he!!) and of course plain laziness.
My life in the last few weeks has been pretty hectic as usual. Work never ends to be anything other then a zoo..crazy hectic angry...for anyone out there who may be considering medicine as a career- I urge you to get a reality check, becoz this industry is full of people with high blood pressure, or developing high blood pressure!! everyone is always overworked and tired and grumpy and not wanting to help you out. when i get up for breakfast in the morning I feel like I really need my nutri grain because I am literally preparing for war. The poeple that fortunately, are oblivious to this chaos are the dear patients in the wards, they dont know that I had to yell( well not yell but speak 'sternly' to!!) at 5 people to make sure they got their medicines becos "we were out of stock" - so you just dont give it then??or let anyone know?? or "the pharmacy was shut" hello thats why we have afterhours people around " she was in the shower" " she had lots of visitors" " he didnt want it" " he refused" ..I am sorry, but none of those excuses means that one can missout on their Intravenous antibiotics or parkinsons drugs etcetcetc because for a sick person in the hospital, they could be dead by the next day!!. Patients dont know that I had to grovel, and got yelled at, in order to get them a CT scan because the radiologists will do everything to get out of having to do more work.. the life of a juinor doc is anything but glamorous or prestigous or as glorified as the innocent bystander often presumes.And frankly, I am getting all abit tired of the politics of medicine..could we not just all work together in a uniform and harmonious ( ? is that a word!) manner to get people better???
sighhhhhhhh..maybe I am just complaining too much- I think I am, and I guess that happens when youre tired. On a good note, after work yesterday my husband and I went to see the laughing samoans who were doing a gig down here. By pure luck I happened to stumble across ticketec when they opened the sales to the show -so managed to grab some tickets before the show sold out. It was GREAT. Exactly the sort of medicine I needed after a crap week of work, I laughed my silly heart out, and clapped and stomped my feet and wiped away tears of joy. What was interesting though was the number of palagis there. There were quite alot of big groups of them, of what I could only presume had to be work mates sponsored by their jobs, there would be 1 pacific island looking person in the group, so I presume that was who got them to go. Anyways, it was really entertaining watching them. Like, there were great stints of the type of "And da morro of da story is,....a chocolate par!!" (i.e moro bars) humour,with roars of laughter from the pacific island audience, where the palagis sort of looked at each other sideways as if to say "I dont get it?"!! I still feel slightly awkward about this, but I actually enjoyed watching them sorta squirm in their seats, feeling a bit out of place-ish. Too often have I been made to feel out of place amongst them ( despite the fact that I am part palagi!) too often have I remained quiet and hummed at their opinions of "the NZ society is not ready for Bro town"...when I actually wanted to say-> not ready my butt, bring bro town on, its the greatest cartoon ever, next to spongebob and simpsons of course!! he he!!
Anyways, the low side of my evening was that I nodded off halfway through the act, only for a minute,it had absolutely nothing to do with the act itself!!I was just soooooo tired after a hectic week. I laughed after cos I couldnt believe I had nodded off either, I had literally just been laughing my butt off , and then Zonk...out for a minute. I think it was in the brief minute that they moved to the back of the stage to change character outfits, cos they turn the lights off briefly so you cant see them doing so. Anyways, I woke up and managed to laugh and stay awake for the rest of the act so that was good.
I am due back home in about 3 weeks and ABSOLUTELY CANT WAIT. I am soo excited I can feel myself just about fall off my seat everytime I think about it. I just need to come home, get a tan, enjoy the weather, hang out with the folks and friends, see my grandma, drive down pot-hole plagued streets, and smell the umu!! I know X100, that my bones are not made for the windy chills of Aotearoa, the sulphur smelling geysers nor the snowcapped mountains and frost covered winsheilds.. I know I will miss white chocolate and blueberry muffins with frappucinos..but seriously, I am not doing myself any favors with those particularly addictive foods!!! So I am currently 'thinkin' about what to pack ( he he!! even though I know I wont actually pack my suitcases til a day before I leave) but its exciting just 'thinking' about it.
so far all you back home, look out for me in a few weeks ok!! and hope everyone has a good week!!!
My life in the last few weeks has been pretty hectic as usual. Work never ends to be anything other then a zoo..crazy hectic angry...for anyone out there who may be considering medicine as a career- I urge you to get a reality check, becoz this industry is full of people with high blood pressure, or developing high blood pressure!! everyone is always overworked and tired and grumpy and not wanting to help you out. when i get up for breakfast in the morning I feel like I really need my nutri grain because I am literally preparing for war. The poeple that fortunately, are oblivious to this chaos are the dear patients in the wards, they dont know that I had to yell( well not yell but speak 'sternly' to!!) at 5 people to make sure they got their medicines becos "we were out of stock" - so you just dont give it then??or let anyone know?? or "the pharmacy was shut" hello thats why we have afterhours people around " she was in the shower" " she had lots of visitors" " he didnt want it" " he refused" ..I am sorry, but none of those excuses means that one can missout on their Intravenous antibiotics or parkinsons drugs etcetcetc because for a sick person in the hospital, they could be dead by the next day!!. Patients dont know that I had to grovel, and got yelled at, in order to get them a CT scan because the radiologists will do everything to get out of having to do more work.. the life of a juinor doc is anything but glamorous or prestigous or as glorified as the innocent bystander often presumes.And frankly, I am getting all abit tired of the politics of medicine..could we not just all work together in a uniform and harmonious ( ? is that a word!) manner to get people better???
sighhhhhhhh..maybe I am just complaining too much- I think I am, and I guess that happens when youre tired. On a good note, after work yesterday my husband and I went to see the laughing samoans who were doing a gig down here. By pure luck I happened to stumble across ticketec when they opened the sales to the show -so managed to grab some tickets before the show sold out. It was GREAT. Exactly the sort of medicine I needed after a crap week of work, I laughed my silly heart out, and clapped and stomped my feet and wiped away tears of joy. What was interesting though was the number of palagis there. There were quite alot of big groups of them, of what I could only presume had to be work mates sponsored by their jobs, there would be 1 pacific island looking person in the group, so I presume that was who got them to go. Anyways, it was really entertaining watching them. Like, there were great stints of the type of "And da morro of da story is,....a chocolate par!!" (i.e moro bars) humour,with roars of laughter from the pacific island audience, where the palagis sort of looked at each other sideways as if to say "I dont get it?"!! I still feel slightly awkward about this, but I actually enjoyed watching them sorta squirm in their seats, feeling a bit out of place-ish. Too often have I been made to feel out of place amongst them ( despite the fact that I am part palagi!) too often have I remained quiet and hummed at their opinions of "the NZ society is not ready for Bro town"...when I actually wanted to say-> not ready my butt, bring bro town on, its the greatest cartoon ever, next to spongebob and simpsons of course!! he he!!
Anyways, the low side of my evening was that I nodded off halfway through the act, only for a minute,it had absolutely nothing to do with the act itself!!I was just soooooo tired after a hectic week. I laughed after cos I couldnt believe I had nodded off either, I had literally just been laughing my butt off , and then Zonk...out for a minute. I think it was in the brief minute that they moved to the back of the stage to change character outfits, cos they turn the lights off briefly so you cant see them doing so. Anyways, I woke up and managed to laugh and stay awake for the rest of the act so that was good.
I am due back home in about 3 weeks and ABSOLUTELY CANT WAIT. I am soo excited I can feel myself just about fall off my seat everytime I think about it. I just need to come home, get a tan, enjoy the weather, hang out with the folks and friends, see my grandma, drive down pot-hole plagued streets, and smell the umu!! I know X100, that my bones are not made for the windy chills of Aotearoa, the sulphur smelling geysers nor the snowcapped mountains and frost covered winsheilds.. I know I will miss white chocolate and blueberry muffins with frappucinos..but seriously, I am not doing myself any favors with those particularly addictive foods!!! So I am currently 'thinkin' about what to pack ( he he!! even though I know I wont actually pack my suitcases til a day before I leave) but its exciting just 'thinking' about it.
so far all you back home, look out for me in a few weeks ok!! and hope everyone has a good week!!!
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