Well I always love Fridays, they're great and this one was no exception. Morning tea is always good because every week, a different department puts on food etc and there's all always heaps, SAFE!!!Played a lot of pool with Chris which was good and also ate pizza. Simon was particularly funny today, i have no idea why but he was hilarious, especially his comments on Corrine Bailey Rae. But anyway did some good lessons with the boys, cross country training mostly. Fridays finish at 3 and then all the teachers go to the staff room and have beers etc which is always a rave.
Then this evening I went to Epic which is a youth event run by Christian Life Centre in the city which was killah!Before the meeting there was skating and break dancing etc then the worship band played who were pretty good, then Lucinda Dooley from Hillsong spoke-her laugh is hilarious, anyway, really good message about being extra-ordinary people, and using the gifts that we are given!!Then had a big rave again afterwards, with breakdancing and some style of dancing called Cromping or something, anyway it was good to watch!!
As i was reminded today, it will be 4 months tomorrow that ive been going out with Emily for!!Wahoo, sweet, shes at Soul Survivor at the moment though so I wont be able to get hold of her i dont think, anyway I love her a lot!!
Saturday August 4th 2007
Despite the rain and the wind, Tessa and I decided to go shopping in the morning. For those who don't know, when we lived in Auckland, Mum and Dad met Tessa's parents before we were born, then we were born about a month apart, blah blah blah. You know when people say they've known some one all there life, this is actually true lol. Anyhuu, we went to this big mall and i got some clothes, some Quicksilver trousers, some skinny jeans and a cardigan!!SCORE!!Tessa decided to print off 210 pictures-wot a lunatic!!
Then in the afternoon, Kings College's 1st XV and Auckland Grammer's 1st XV were playing at Eden Park, so Angus, Charlie and I went. Angus and Charlie both go to Kings so they had to be in the uniform. Both schools did their own haka which was excellent. The match was very tight, and to my disappointment, Grammer won 15-14. It was so close!
Also, its the month anniversary thingy with Emily today, so big that up!!Its been amazing, and ive loved being with her-shes a great girl.Its a bit different now that im all this distance away from her, but we're doing really well and i talk to her regularly which is awesome!!
Sunday 5th August 2007!!!!
Well finally I turned 18 after long last, seeing all my friends turning 18, and me still being 17.Its all changed!!!YES!!!Sooo good. Went to church in the morning, then when out to lunch which was very nice. Then Andrew and the family came round in the afternoon for cake etc which was good. Katlin and Ethan are hyperactive kids!!lol it was hilarious. Then Ross and I decided we'd mark the day with my first ever beer!!well, first legal beer anyway!!The ironic thing was i wasnt asked for ID which in a sense was annoying, I was tempted to ask them to haha!!
Then in the evening we went out with the Sidnams (who we've known for ages) to a Malaysian restaurant which was sweet as!GREAT DAY!!
Friday 10th of August 2007
Today was a sad day but a good one. It was Chris' last official day at school, lets have a big awwwww, awwwwwwwwwwwww!!Yeh, a very emotional day!!Gary (deputy head) gave the PE department the afternoon off which was nice, so we went to the pub for a while which was hilarious. I tell you what, New Zealand beer, not sure what to think about it eh, cider there was nice but the lager-hmmm im suspicious!
After some inspirting speeches from Chris and then Carl it was time for me to go home. Then to my utter delight the youth group were meeting to watch a film so i went over the church hall and we watched Blades of Glory- a fantastic duo between Will Ferrel and the guy who played Napolean Dynamite!!Really funny film- u shud all go and watch it!!Felt very tired that night-probably the tiredist ive been for a while!
Saturday 11th of August 2007
Despite my original intentions on having a massive lie in i was challenged to a game of squash and managed to win 4-1 against Ross which is very satisfying. Granted he had just come off the back of 2 weeks of ill health but still, a wins a win.
Then I went to the Sidnams for lunch which was nice. Ming Ha is such a good cook.Played William at Pro Evo on the playstation, which i reckon im getting better at but he still wooped me!!lol, i hate losing!
Then in the evening Ross and I went to see Auckland v Waikato in the Air New Zealand Cup. I managed to get free tickets through the school which was sweet. I also learnt that Auckland public transport is panse, the train never came so Ross and I drove to the stadium and only missed 15 minutes so thats good.
It was a great game-very exciting and Auckland won 47-26 so a good win. Doug Howlett was outstanding and he sccored one of the most amazing tries ive seen.
Sunday 12th August 2007
Went to Christian Life Centre this morning, to the 11am service. Caught the train there and as soon as i got off, it started to rain so hard it was unreal.
Service was really good, great worship actually which was good, very lively and free-just how i like it lol and then Al Fury spoke about releasing your faith. It was so good that I bought the recording of it.
Then in the afternoon Ross and I took Matty for a walk in Cornwall Park. The weather just about held up and it was good to have a chat with Ross!!
In the evening Chris had a leaving party thing at his house which was good-some of the teachers were there and some other gappies from other schools so was all good. Particularly enjoyed Andrew Thompson's company who's a teacher at school. Thats him between me and Chris.
Wednesday 15th August 2007
Well today was a fairly busy day again as always with lots of shouting in the Pool. Thats the one disadvantage of the swimming lessons, that you always have to raise your voice so the boys can hear you. Anyhuuu, it was all good.
In the evening I had rugby practice which was good, They've put me on the wing which inst so bad i guess, although i dont get as much ball but it also means I dont have to take down these huge Polynesian boys which is a bit of a relief. Also my family came back from Canada today which was good so I could chat over with them about the big day tomorrow.
Thursday 16th August 2007
Well today was the day that has completely defeated the object of me going to school whatsoever. I got my A level results this evening and without saying what I got, all I'll say is that I was a bit disappointed. So I had a good chat with mum which was reassuring, but yeh I feel rubbish about it all and Im just really confused at where Gods leading me so yeh not good. Tessa gave me a good verse which was Romans 8:28 which says that God causes everything to come together for those who love him, so that was really amazing and relevant for me at this time.
Friday 17th August 2007
School on a Friday is always a doddle, because we finish at lunch time, and dont have to teach in the afternoon because we have house meetings so that was good. We had a meeting with Iain Britton about the trip down to Rotorua which sounds so good. We're staying in a genuine Marae which is the building that the Maoris live in-gona be sweet!! So yeh that was good, then we had beers at 3 which was good because I managed to reach number 1 on the pool table-ahh finally some success.
Went to Epic (youth service) in Mount Eden which was really good. Met up with Cole and Joe which was good and signed up for the life groups that meet up every Wednesday, so yeh thats exciting. We had some Aussie come and speak to us called James something or other who was really good. He talked about how its really important to do the somethings well, before you move onto the big stuff. Once you've done the small things, you are then qualified for the big stuff. He also encouraged us to do the things that to us might seem insignificant but that actually have a big impact on other people which was a really big challenge for me I guess.
Saturday 18th August 2007
I had arranged to speak to Emily on the phone this morning at 9am thinking that I would be up and awake by then, little did she know that I was actually woken up by the phone, which was funny because she thought my accent had changed but actually I had just woken up. Anyway it was lovely to talk to her, shes such a great girl and I love her to bits!!!So that was good. Then I thought it might be a good to get my hair cut, so after half an hour of finding a hairdresser that wasnt booked up with Anna, I decided to make an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.
Then at half 2, Ross and I went to see Adams last rugby match of the season. He plays for the uni team-hes Charlies older brother. Anyway, Adams team won 14-7 and it was actually a very good game despite the score line.
Saturday evening, we went to a friends house for dinner called George. He's very funny and we had a great time. After about 9 o'clock Jacqui starts getting a bit tired so we were home before 10 which was good actually cause I have church the next morning and I have to catch the train.
Sunday 19th August 2007
Woke up at half 9, which is a nice change. Thats about the best lie in i can get these days, especially when Im woken up by international phone calls-eh Emily!!Anyway, caught the train at 10 and then went and sat in the cafe at church before the service started-thats right, CLC has a cafe!!!Amazing lol. Anyway, I found Cole which was good because I go on my own, but im gradually getting to know people which is good. He introduced me to the leader of the life group that ive joined called Jared who is awesome-such a nice guy, and I ended up sitting next to him. The worship band were so good, actually incredible, and the drummer, WOW. I always compare drummers to Nick of course and this guy was I reckon better,but to be fair he was probably 30 odd so hes been playing for longer.
Then an American guy called Joel Holm spoke. He works with Rick Warren whos a big pastor in America. He was such a good communicater, and he was talking about letting God plan your life, which was so relevant to what Im going through at the moment. After my results, I was really puzzled and confused as to where God was leading me and what He wanted me to do and Joel used the image of one of those Etchosketch things, where we try and draw a picture on it, we give it to God and he just shakes up and its blank again. All good stuff!! Jared then gave me a lift home which was really kind of him!!
In the afternoon I went to my hairdressing appointment at half 4. Ive never had it done like this before though!!They gave me a coffee, washed my hair and then started cutting it etc. But i mean, I havent had my hair washed since I was a wee child so that was an interesting experience. Anyway, half way through the cut, she asked if she could have my name and number because she reckons ive got nice and hair and nice face, for some kind of modelling thing. I almost wet myself with laughter but she was deadly serious!!Was so funny lol- People, I could be New Zealand's next top model.
In the evening I went out with the Sidnams to a chinese restaurant which was very nice and good to catch up with them. Then I spoke to Mum on skype which was great!!!!
Monday 20th August 2007
This was a hilarious day today for one main thing. I dressed up as a rabbit!!YAY.I'll explain, the Transitionns boys, Yr 1's and 2's had their cross country today, so we decided it would funny if we hired a rabbit costume so the boys could chase after it, you know, to motivate them and add a bit of fun to it all. So as a GAP student, who Im told has no rights, was nominated to dress up as a rabbit:
It was hilarious, but absolutely rrrrossting, it was a hot day anyway, so with this huge, furry costume thing, it was boiling!!I almost died of dehydration!!Anyway, lol it was funny.
Then I had rugby training this evening which was good. The tournement is this weekend which is exciting.YAY!!
Thursday 23rd August 2007
It was the district cross country today for the boys in years 5,6,7 and 8 and luckily i didnt have to dress up as a rabbit for this one!Phew!I was team manager for all four teams and my Year 8s came first and 6's came third, so it was obviously my great training techniques and inspirational advice!!
In the evening I went to the Worship and Arts meeting at church to get involved in the worship band. I met up with some great guys and met a guy called Paul from Blackkburn-finally another Britt!!YES!!anyway was an ace night and I managed to organise an audition for playing keys in the band tomorrow!Sweet as!!The speaker that evening was the brother of the senior pastor at CLC and he's a sport pshycologist who has worked with the All Blacks, he was so good!!amazing message about giving your burdens and your worries to God!
Friday 24th August 2007
Again another great day, partly because I was excited about my audition etc but also because i finish at half 1 lol!YAYA!So i didnt do much except have a productive day on the pool table!!
At 5, i had an audition with Matt whos the worship leader for the youth band which went well. He's going to put me on the rota which is sweet!!Then I had Epic (teenagers meeting) and then Loud (uni studens meeting) so lots of excellent time with God and reading his word, and yeh good speakers!!
Excited about the rugby tomorrow!
Saturday 25th August 2007
And the big rugby weekend begins. I played for the Auckland Welsh!!Played on the wing today. We lost to Ireland and England by 2 points, but we gave them a good match and then beat Scotland, so finished 3rd for tomorrows games. I scored a try against England which was nice!!Should have scored against Scotland too but just out of reach!! We play Ireland in the semi's tomorrow!!I loved it today, havent played for a while so it was good to get stuck in.
Then this evening went out for dinner with the Sidnams and their South African friends to a really good Thai resteraunt. Great food!I also took some silly pictures on the way back.
Sunday 25th August 2007
Well i dont want to go to much inot the rugby as we came out last and got the wooden spoon, but i scored another try today which was good against Scotland. Despite the losses, it was great day and ive got some good bruises and cuts to prove it.
Of course there are lots of excuses as to why we didnt win, one that i like to use is that the ref was diabolical, also we had a few players that were a bit dodgy but oh well. I guess it was better that Ireland won though, would have sucked if England won. Talking about the England team, they had a player nicknamed Hanniball, who was a sick foot Islander, with long hair and humongous guns (arms), he was flipping huge, and yes i took him down!YEYA!!But I also need to get down the gym more.
Then after watching the Warriors smash Manly, went to a friends house for dinner with Ross and Jacqui and their friends. Amazing food and a great appartment with amazing views of Skycity!
