due to a wrinkle of the rules

#34 Attend a music at the zoo concert

On a slightly cloudy and very humid night, I, irkstyle, did attend a Zoo Music concert. Hot, sweaty, covered in sunscreen and anti-insect spray I made my camp behind the stage along a pathway. There were a lot more people than I was expecting and they had all arrived before me. I was by the generator but the performers all played so loudly that it didn't matter AND my spot was really close to the coffee bar. Score!

I missed a lot of Paul Ubana Jones' set unfortunately because he was teh awesome. Jangly, foot tapping guitar music with rolling, repeating themes.

Nathan Haines and his band were next up. Liked it all and especially enjoyed two tracks - one with tenor saxophone (something about memories or memphis or twilight?) and one with a flute (can't remember anything else about this one unfortunately.) (When I was in school he was my inspiration for learning the saxophone - anything was possible. Except for the fact that I was never going to be anything but slightly above average and that was only because I had years of piano under my belt so could transpose on the fly.)

Last up was Hollie Smith. I wasn't sure how I would like this and unfortunately I wasn't in the mood for her particular brand of music - maybe if I'd had a couple glasses wine I'd have been a bit more mellow. No worries though, I skipped out into the zoo to have a look around. Most of the animals were locked away but I did see a turtle and a small alligator swishing its way along the tiny river in the enclosure.

Overall a good night out. Lots of people were enjoying themselves - eating, playing poker, drinking, listening to the music.

Dinner was delicious - salmon salad, fruit salad, a chocolate bar plus coffee and a lemon lime drink.

he says okey dokey *

# 29 Learn basic Spanish
I've enrolled in a community education course to learn basic spanish. We reached the limit of my spanish in one evening. eek! still can't spell the words properly.

#34 Attend a music at the zoo concert
Have booked my ticket. couldn't find anyone to go with so am going by myself. Planning menu soon.

#39 '26 things' Flickr challenge
Completed this. It's no longer based off Flickr although that's where the majority of people save their photos. I found out about it late then put it off so most of the photos are taken on the very last day of January 2009. Most of the time I like my idea but not the execution so much. Favs - in the distance, twin, different, everything.

#66 Attend some festival events - arts, literature, movies etc
The Auckland Festival is coming up and I have booked/will be booking for 5 shows. go me! I have dance, circus, theatre, circus and theatre in my list. no opera. (not my bag baby.)

* Supernatural

a smile forming on his face

success! a tiny bit of progress...

#19 Read all of Jane Austen

"Emma" Is it just me or is that girl a silly cow who gets more than she deserves? (a bit like the Shopaholic bint although it does make a nice change from the fairytale plain unassuming girl gets the guy.)

Sweet baby cheeses! *

Well, I've only got myself to blame. I've done most of the easy ones and am now onto the longer term tasks which take a lot of time and effort to do. Or maybe it's just me?

I've continued to cook/bake through #35, the Edmonds cookbook. Trouble is that I'm now repeating recipes because they are 1. easy. 2. tasty. I need to get onto something different!

I need to buy two new tyres for #13 and #85.

This all conflicts with #41 and #52. *sigh*

Never mind. At least I'm still ticking along with this...

* nicked from Moata

Collision of human relationships in a totalitarian society

#56 Go vegetarian for a month
Completed. I had a steak and cheese pie for breakfast. 'nuff said.

I want them to suffer the same marrow-level dread of the oceanic

#56 Go vegetarian for a month How's it been so far? The first week I was anxious and HUNGRY all the time. The second week I started to feel great. I've got heaps of energy now - not that I'm doing anything with it and the adrenaline rush may have more to do with the action movies I've overdosed on than anything else. My skin has cleared up too which I'm really really surprised about. I haven't stopped drinking (estimate 1/10 intake is alcohol) or eating dairy (at the beginning this was probably 3/5 intake but now 4/10) and I've taken up with chocolate. I was at an event yesterday where someone asked one of the authors "You said that you should only eat food that is recognisable as food - what about lentils?" Haha! That's how I feel about them although as it turns out the author meant things like Twinkies and processed foods not beans and pulses. A lot of my diet consists of pasta and cheese. I've made lasagne and soup and eaten a packet of those plant-protein fake-sausages. I've eaten chips and chocolate but I feel great. Go figure.
It's not always easy I've found. Lunch was included in the event yesterday. Salmon for the entree - I ate the sprig of watercress garnish and the bread roll. Then I had the mashed kumara and spinach for the main leaving the lamb on the plate. Thank the gods for a pinot noir and dessert - nothing like a sugar rush rounded off by a good hit of caffeine.

Which of you is the least important? WHICH OF YOU IS THE LEAST IMPORTANT? *

#56 Go vegetarian for a month
September is the month! So far so good (1 day in and I'm not desperate yet.) (Funnily enough it's also NZ Book Month which is all about 'taste sensations' in books.) Why September? Well, I was running out of meat in the freezer and it occured to me that instead of buying more I could just eat what I had and then look to veges. Someone asked me "why?" The easy answer of course is that it's on the list. The slightly longer answer is that I have friends who are vegetarian and I thought it might be interesting to eat like that for a while. It's really more of an intellectual experiment rather than a moral or ethical one. Lucky it's a damn tasty one ay? :)

* dalek from Dr Who

Mahe Drysdale you're an inspiration

#53 Make homemade soup
Made soup - bacon bones, soup mix (pearl barley, lentils, peas etc) celery, onion, grated kumara, grated potato, water. Throw it all in a pot, boil, then simmer for a couple hours. Was a success - my lunch guest had two platefuls. Easy peasy. The closest to baking in cooking that I've found (where you combine ingredients then leave them alone for a while. )

#13 Cycle 'around' New Zealand
Bike has a flat tye and I have misplaced my cycle kit. Excuses excuses. Silly!

I have misgivings about this mission but deep down I know we're doing the right thing

#2 Make alphabet cubes
Finished! Finally. I've taken a long time to get to this point with the alphabet cubes. It seemed both too easy and too hard. The weather didn't help - it's been so cold that I've been wrapped up in blankets and haven't been able to do any crafty things. However, after a concentrated effort last weekend they were mostly finished. Then on Saturday night I finished stitching the last one up. It was very exciting. Pictures to come.

#29 Learn basic Spanish
In honour of this year TDF winner, Carlos Sastre, I have purchased a Basic Spanish audio kit ready to start learning. I've also bought a book for Latin American Spanish speakers becasue it has some good advice - listen as much as you can before trying to speal. Spanish DVDs, here I come.

#76 Attend films I want to see - by myself if necessary
Ongoing task. I went to see 9 Film Festival movies, taking a couple of days off. All very interesting although the one I think I enjoyed the least was the one I was really looking foward to. Dead parents seemed to be the theme of the day. Not by choice. V. strange.
Barefoot Cinema - NZ Documentary. Alun Bollinger and his wife Helen (Albol + Helbol) talk about their lives and his career. Fascinating insight into someone who is able to live the way he wants and work the way he wants. Well, the way they want really. (The kind of people that I wish I could be if only there wasn't so much work and so little luxury involved.)
Encounters at the End of the World - Discovery Channel documentary with German director/narrator. V. funny documentary about workers in Antarctica. nice study of just how strange the environment (and people) are.
Garbage Warrior - Discovery Channel documentary. About an eco-architect and his crew. All the best and the worst of the eco-sustainable movement and the best and the worst of modern society and governance. Happily it looks as though eco-architect and clients are legally able to build their houses now.

Jinx Sister - NZ drama. Languid, powerful, amazing acting. Excellent script, good characters - can hardly tell it was made on a shoestring budget. (About two sisters who have coped with the death of their father (then mother) in different ways. One has been in LA and has now come back to NZ.)

O'Horten - um, Norwegian (?) drama/comedy. Random events that individually are hilarious and poignant but together add up to a very Odd film. Mother is dying.

The Savages - USA drama. Excellent performances by the two leads. About a brother and sister dealing with their father's slide into senility and his eventual death. (Their lives seem to start after he is dead and they no longer have to deal with their feelings about him.)

A Song for Good - NZ drama. A couple of unnecessary scenes which make the story about characters other than the main. Strange ending but appropriate to the movie. (Main character's mum is dead.)
Trouble is My Business - NZ documentary. Assistant Principal with responsibility for student wellbeing at Aorere College in South Auckland deals with truancy, fighting, racism, self-esteem etc. Powerful documentary which shows the struggle that schools have to keep students at school let alone teach them something. Very emotionally intelligent teacher. (Unfortunately will never be on TV; it deserves a wide NZ audience. )
Welcome to the Sticks - French comedy. Cute little film but I don't understand this thing about v. attractive women with averagely attractive men. v. funny in parts that weren't focused on the language difference. (no dead parents!)

Alas poor Bill, I knew him not at all

#2 Make alphabet cubes
Letters stuck onto the fabric. Stitching around the edges with black thread to keep them on. I suspect they may fray. Never mind.

#20 Learn 10 poems by heart
Does Hairy MacLary count as a poem? It does now baby! "Out of the gate and off for a walk went Hairy MacLary and his mates."

#35 Cook through the Edmonds cookbook
I'm enjoying the baking side of this. Not so much the cooking. Mostly a matter of scale but also baking is easy - measure right, mix it well (ot not) shove it in the oven, pull it out, add icing (or not) slice and eat. Cooking = chop chop chop measure add add add add add add add sizzle watch baste watch stir watch eat.