Blue skies, sun, and warm enough for Chelfyn and I to wear shorts/T-shirts, get the hosepipe out and clean the windows (think more water ended up on him as the hose was being a little temperamental). It's the equivalent of January here so need I say anything else. The longer I'm here the more I realize how little I miss the UK, as in the way of life (rat race), and the weather. New Zealand is inherently more laid back, chilled, less controlling, the cost of living is cheap, the scenery is breath-taking and the people up-front, friendly and sincere. If any of you ever get the chance to come here just do it. The one thing that does make me feel home-sick are all the friends I've left behind; I just have to keep thinking that you're still all out there and we'll have lots of stories to swap when I next see you...

Found a shop in Pukekohe that sells funky clothes and club gear so I've left some jewellery samples for them to look at. I go back tomorrow to see what they say (fingers crossed) - en route to Auckland. Want to scout out a part-time job in the big city and have an explore. Now that I have Mick on the road I fancy getting a job in a clothes shop or something, firstly to meet more people, and secondly I'm feeling broke!

Well going to go back and be sociable - we've got visitors for the next couple of days. A UK DJ, D.A.V.E the Drummer (aka Henry) is over for some gigs and he's using the house as a home from home. The best thing is he brought beer, gorgeous ice-cold beer - I haven't had a beer since getting here and that was over a month ago so suffice to say I was gagging for it!

Can't believe it's Monday again, but at least it's sunny - the weather outside resembles a beautiful summer day, complete with blue skies and little fluffy clouds.

Saturday evening Helen and I headed into Auckland to watch '24 Hour Party People' at the 34th International Film Festival. The festival was surrounding by a great deal of controversy this year with a local group trying to dictate what films the rest of us should see - read the press releases.

Bloody hell, if people find something like a film offensive then don't watch it - I don't want to be wrapped up in cotton wool, I want to be challenged. If groups like this want the rest of us to be kept in the dark thinking that nothing bad ever happens then how the hell are things ever going to get better? "If ignorance is bliss then why aren't more people happy?" Anyway rant over! The film was good but left me with more questions than answers but the location - the Civic Theatre - was amazing, with the ceiling in the main hall designed to look like the night sky, complete with stars and clouds.

After the film we went to meet Demitri - a Russian/Australian DJ on the Tmet books - who was playing at DV8 an Asian club night. The venue was a small shopping mall temporarily converted into a huge club teeming with about 2000 Japanese. Definately an experience!

Sunday was a day for lazing. None of us left the house or even got round to getting out of our pajamas - it was great!

Hehe check this out, Aqua got taken to court over their Barbie song! "Barbie must accept that being parodied is part of the job, a US judge has ruled after the manufacturer of the famous leggy blonde took legal action against a pop song which mocked her." You have to giggle at how seriously they must take themselves.

Just got back from a hard day shopping with Helen. Over here charity shops are known as op shops (opportunity shops) and you can pick up some amazing bargins and I am now the proud owner of a very foxy little fitted jacket made of very soft honey-coloured leather, ummm... happy bunny.

Of to go and chill in the spa before getting ready for a Friday night at MonkeyFeather.

I've had one of those weeks where you seem to be busy but you don't really have anything to show for it. However, I did finish painting my room white and moved back in while I decide which colours to use to finish off and make it all funky. Also took Mick to the garage to get some rust sorted out. That cost me all of $101.25 - which is about £30; in the UK they'd charge you that for just looking at the car let alone doing any work on it! He's booked in to get a 'warrant of fitness' tomorrow, and then I'm legally, independently mobile. Guess I'll have to come up with more creative excuses to drive LWSC... suggestions welcome, just email me.

Have managed to arrange a summer job helping out on a caravan site by one of the North Islands most picturesque beaches, Pakiri [just above Kawau Island and Leigh]. Looking forward to being a beach bum all windswept and interesting, playing on the beach or surfing when I'm not working. Who needs an office job?!

On the down-side, Cass's evening at Chemistry fell through and so my jewellery didn't make it onto the stall. Next time I guess...

Went to play in boats with Sam and Craig over the weekend; little tippy kayaks in 'ouch, chilly toes' cold water. We went to the Rotorua region, in central North Island. It's very volcanically active due to a thin crust, with lots of thermal activity - good for hot water, but also verrry smelly due to sulphur [Rotorua is nicknamed 'Sulphur City'].

We stayed on a campsite in Awakeri (A-wa-kerry), about an hours drive from Rotorua, where they had a hot pool filled from a geothermal geyser... of course we spent far too much time relaxing in there! Went kayaking for the first time Saturday afternoon - yes capsized the canoe and got wet. Sunday - more time in the hot pools, then got taken to a river fed by a hydro-electric station, complete with rapids. Ended up very wet, learnt to capsize (not voluntarily), get out of boat and keep hold of it and paddle so I didn't loose them both down the river! All good fun, but think I need time playing in nice still water where I can get confident with the boat and fall out without worrying about loosing the boat in the water currents.

Something has been occurring the last few days; making me feel quiet odd. It's hard to explain, and I mention it here only because I sense a need to record this. In brief it feels as though part of me which has so far spent it's time snoozing, casting a lazy eye on the world, is beginning to get a sniff of something interesting and waking up. More on this another time but I think I'm going to set-up another blog to explore my thoughts.

Had a great meeting this morning - Cass liked the stuff I've made so far and is going to sell it on the stall this Saturday. I'm going to have a busy day tomorrow finishing things off. Can't wait till Sunday when I find out if any of it was sold.

Talking of mornings - they're are so beautiful here with the crisp clear light and mist rolling down verdant hills. I've been sleeping in since being here but after having to crawl out of bed at 0800 (it was soooo hard) and seeing the stunning view from the window think I'm going to make more of an effort.

Well apart from a slight cash flow problem things here are ticking along nicely. Although living in the countryside means fresh air, amazing views and lots of cows it also means I can't just wander out the house and blag a job in the nearest bar or café; I have to be a bit more imaginative. Thankfully living with Helen and Chelfyn is making me look at things somewhat differently as neither of them subscribe to the whole 24/7 work, work, work and haven't forgotten that life is all about having a great time.

Have a few fingers in a few pies, but I've been giving my creative streak free rein over the last couple of weeks and prototyping some jewellery to sell. It’s so nice to have the time to do this. I've got a meeting on Thursday with a lady who has a stall to see if she likes my stuff and figure out prices - then with any luck some will be for sale over the weekend.

A bit about the weather. Mid-winter in NZ is more like early autumn back in the UK - sun, blue skies and warmish but when it rains!!! The surrounding area is reclaimed swampland so there's a fair bit of flooding at the moment; we're so glad we live on a hill. However, the weather is still better than back home even in winter. Check out some photos of the house.

I've been painting my room today. The bland 1970s wallpaper is now hidden beneath layer of white paint, will do another tomorrow just eradicate all trace of it. The plan is to airbrush some very retro shapes on the walls in various shades of turquoise. Yes I know I'm replacing 70s cheese with 70s cheese, but it's going to be a funky full-fat version instead of boring beige on beige. Anyway I'm covered in paint so going for a nice long bath...

I do love driving that little white sports car; think it's that low down feeling and the way it hugs the road round corners. [Purrr...] The excuse I dreamt up today was a perfectly valid one - needed to buy some beads and other goodies so I can start making funky UV jewellery to flog to clubbers. If they sell then I'm in for quite a good profit margin and that's selling them at bargin prices... fingers crossed. I'm getting vaguely interested in the concept of world domination through retail therapy. Other people's therapy. Been chatting Helen about it and I think we could be onto something good.

Mick. Brought him home with me yesterday and then made him sleep in the barn. Harsh I know, especially when we should be getting to know each other, but I'm so infactuated with LWSC and still mourning the sale of Peugout 205 that I've barely given him a second glance... feeling a little guilty... do cars have feelings? So let me introduce Mick - he's a burgundy Mitshubishi Mirage who was previously owned by a friend of Helens's (he's off to tour the States for 3 months) and now belongs to me for the princely sum of 200 bucks (about £60), a new tyre ($20-ish), an MOT ($35), and some rust work (hoping not too much!). Hopefully we should be on the road sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Well almost the weekend - not that it makes any difference at the moment since everyday is like a Sunday here. Sweet as, eh!

Hehehe! Have to stop laughing - it's beginning to hurt. Have just been told the funniest thing. It's about a growing trend amongst those rufty-tufty Aussie men - not just content with exfoliation and moisturizing they are going crazy for the ultimate body beautiful - a 'back, crack and sack wax'! Ouch, at least us girls just stop at the legs, underarms and bikini and just in case you don't believe me read this article. I mean, how would you ever take a guy with hairless balls seriously, it's just not natural. Anyway I can't stop giggling and don't think I'm going to look at a rufty-tuftless Aussie hunk on TV the same way again! And all of you who find hairy backs and bums a turn-off you now know that Australia is the place to go.

Kiwi Guide
Supermarket trolleys are called 'trundlers'.

It's Helen's 29th birthday today... we're having a small jelly and icecream party with a special chocolate fudge brownie birthday cake. Jelly... eugh hate the stuff, but the icecream is pretty damn good here. Apparently New Zealand is the place to come if you want to test new products and flavours on a small captive audience, so there's about 15 different types of Cadbury's Dairy Milk, the chocolate icecream is out of this world, and technology is out there with the icecream. I now live in a country where they test chocolate on you!

Anyway I'm off to contemplate the possibility of spending the next hour lounging in the spa...

Kiwi Guide
JAFA, just another fucking Aucklander.
Cadbury's Crunchie bars don't have a golden honeycomb centre over here, they have a golden 'hokey pokey' centre.
Oh and if you're 'slutted' then you're greatly annoyed about something!

Been here in upside-down land a whole week but it feels like longer.

Spent most of Sunday in the spa recovering from the party... I ached all over from dancing so much. It was an amazing night but the jetlag kicked in about 1800 so they fed me some of this herbal energy stuff - like red bull but in a pill. Shit it worked, kept me going till about 0700, but that's all I had - just don't get the urge to try anything else. Anyway the party was Wow. Four DJs playing techno/trance in the main room - discovered this whole new groove I didn't realise I had :) Mad dancing all night. Then in the chill out room they had two guys playing live trip hop so I could go and slinky to some chilled beats when it all got too hectic in the other room. Being the only one wanting to dance to their music I got the whole floor to myself.

The original plan had been to recover in the hot pool at a place called Miranda [in the middle of the map, on the coast just below Thames], but some of us got distracted by the fact that there was a spa, warm wood fire and food at the house and didn't make it outside again. Helen and Chelfyn went onto Miranda to round up the rest of the crew and ended up getting thrown out of the facilities even thought they'd paid and forty odd people were there due to being at First Contact... seems the manager didn't like their hair. Why are some people such narrow-minded wankers?! [Sorry forgot to mention Chelfyn is sporting a funky orange mohican and Helen's got the most amazing raspberry coloured crop.]

Monday went to Auckland to drop off the UV backdrop at a theatrical prop/costume place. What a treasure trove; sure I recognized some of the cheesy props from Xena and Hercules in there! The last couple of days I've just been chilling trying to think up ways of making some cash so I don't feel quite so broke. Am going to start making jewellery and also some funky UV stuff to sell online and at club nights. Fingers crossed...

Oh, and I get to play in a little white convertible... very yummy. Can't wait for it to get warmer so I can drive it with the top down.

Kiwi Guide
Bedding/sheets, etc. and the linen section of a department store are known as 'manchesters' - eh?!
The post office is a shop called 'Books and more', and 'Postie Plus' is a cheapy middle-aged clothing store... confusing.
Other phrases: 'sweet as', 'staunch' when refering to manly butch men, if you're 'stoked' then your feeling very pleased, my favourite so far 'it's all good', and everyone is a 'bro'.