what rhymes with orange?

haven't been up to much since i wrote you before
days of work, kickfit and spider solitare--you would think it a bore
but really, its quite lovely, and i'll let you know why
i feel quite at home... it'll be tough to say good-bye

now the reason that i'm writing my whole thing in rhyme
is that i'm awaiting a bus and have oodles of time

i had a few days off from work on the strip
so i hopped on a shuttle to take a wee trip
travelled up to a place nestled in a mountain pass
just perfect for a treking type of lass
(pictures here)

tuesday, i did a 6 hour hike up 1000 meters
had some rain, so i couldn't wait to be in front of space heaters
the whole trip was invigorating--that fresh mountain air
and a dorm room with LOUD snoring,

i've been staying with some fantastic kiwi folk
and i have my own double bed... no joke
josie and leon, the elder two, are just swell
they show me the sights and cook dinner as well

sophie, the teen, helped to dye my hair garnier number five point four
its a natural looking "golden copper brown" not blond anymore
gina just moved away (i'm in her room each night)
and there are 3 cats, but none of them bite

i keep myself quite busy, working 30 hours a week
and working out--i'm trying to get rather sleek
i also read about 50 odd pages a day
frequent trips to the library to get what i may.

the weekend before the last one went by
i flew up to wellington to play ultimate, no lie
it was a tourney with 8 other teams
my team, the little disc dieties was a dream

we actually played like the crap the entire time
and the crazy wind kept all throws to the right line
but it was worth it cause the party was sweet as
the venue was a converted public loo and they played jazz

every one was dress, the theme was 'toff'--you know, pull out the stops
but, with just one backpack of clothes, i wore teva flip flops
anyway, the next day i ventured to a exhibit that was neat
it was about lord of the rings and how they had 3000 hobbit feet
it showed all the costume, the making and filming
with videos and displays, it was truely thrilling...

(ok, so really, my rhymes really stink
i may have to stop pretty soon, i do think)

also, the international buskers festival was last week
so, of course, i wandered down to central city for a peek
breakdancers from LA and jugglers who were Dutch
and acrobats that did flips and balanced with barely a touch

truefully, i miss you all and would love a short email
and if i'm slacking in response its cause i've been saving up for this tale

so to finish this epic (which took way too much time)
i'll leave you with a favorite movie line
'no more rhyming,and i mean it
... anybody want a peanut'

this didn't make it on... i want to be all inclusive.

happy new year all! hope that your holidays were fun (and safe) etc. it is finally feeling like summer in city. after abotu the longest, chilliest spring in nz, i'm happy to finally sweat a little.

i haven't been doing too much in the past month since i emailed; so i'll sum that up pretty quick:

after the milford track and "hangin' in queenstown" i went on the bottom bus around the most southern part of the country. this meant a few things

1. the was a hideous amount of sunshine. the sun wouldn't set till about half ten, and it would rise at 6 am or something (not that i would see that; i slept in a lot).

2. more sheep. lots more.

pictures from this section bottom bus
----------
went to dunedin--college town and home to two *fabulous tours* the *speights brewery tour... beer of the "southern man" and drink with great adverts.
*cadbury factory... soooo much chocolate. they just hand it to you right off the conveyer belt... mhmmm...

went through the caitlins and stewart island (3rd island of nz)... some rugged countryside and great nature "stuff"...

stopped briefly in invercargill (which, according to steven tyler (or some other lead singer) is the a**hole of the world) i would have to agree. it sucked. i think the only thing it had going for itself was the most southern mickeyD's in the world. woohoo.

did yet another 3 day hike... the hump ridge. it was pretty full on... if i do say so myself. it was a "real bush walk" i.e. the trails weren't gravel covered... which meant that i had mud up to my ankles about 80% of the time and there were a ton of roots & hills... the first day we gained 1000m in abotu 4 km or somehting... i was knackered. that and it rained so i couldn't even see the view at the top. but the next morning was nice so it made up for it... saw dolphins and there was a great diversity of the enviornment... it was sweet. (really, even though this email seems half-hearted, it was really beautiful and i'm glad i added it in.)

christmas was in queenstown... bbq and dancing... not the traditional--but fun. i really met some cool people in that town, so i was glad i got to spend time with them again.

bussed it up to christchurch sortly after that, so thats where i am now... i'm playing a lot of ultimate (they play pick-up 3 times a week) and just kind of waiting for the holidays to be over, cause i might get a job here (just to stay and play ultimate more).

oh, by the way, the most boring experience of my entire life was on new years day. i went to the one day cricket match (nz vs. india) with the ultimate people and sat in the sun through the "short" game (clocking in at about 6.5 hours). nz only needed 30 overs to beat india's score(they have up to 50, each one lasts 6 'bowls' (or pitches) or until 10 guys get out...) it took me about an hour and a half to even understand the basic premise... it was crazy.

and by crazy i mean, "yawn". but it was a cultural experience that i guess i needed... never again.

last thing... quick book review. i have been reading like a maniac the past 3+ months and i want to share 3 books with you all that you should read if you have a chance...
1. "the poisenwood bible" barbara kingsolver
--told from the point of view of the 4 daughters and mother of a southern baptist who is sent to the congo on a missionary trip... really well written and insanely interesting.
2. "one hundred years of solitude" gabriel garcia marquez.
--amazing, strange deep story of a mytholigical family in spain... it was really odd, but beautifully written. i think he won some sort of big award for it.
3. "he died with a felafel in his hand" john birmingham
--short stories of living in flats in australia with really weird roommates (i thought of you april... not really) funny, cockroach & drug induced humor.


i could go on, but if you made it this far i will spare you.

coxsackie .. wah?!

in an unexpected turn of events i have somehow come down with coxsackie virus. yeppers. i even made teh doctor spell it for me, cause i thought that maybe i had a hearing infection too. now, i would like to state for the record that yes, there are just TOO MANY JOKES that one can make about the virus. i promise you that i did not do ANYTHING DIRTY to be striken with such a disease. i behave myself down hear... most of the time.

i actually have some really nasty-ass blisters in my throat. they look pretty revolting and don't feel too much better. i have to gargle an iodine solution, and i can't swallow so much. on the plus side (when you are ill is there a plus side?) i am on a liquid diet... so lots of frapaccinos and ice cream for me.

when i looked up my affliction on webmd i realized that its "hand foot and mouth disease" --and since i haven't been travelling to great britian, this is not from the mad cows (they even tell you that on the website) ... but i have pus-filled blisters to look forward to for the next couple of days...

one word of caution... don't ever look up a disease... it makes you feel worse. really.

thats all from here... i'm going to go drown my blisters in some ice cream.