AUTOBOTS .. roll out

last night nell, marcia, jontie, cossie, maresa, dan and i went to the mega screen at queen street to watch the Transformers movie.

i said it last night and i'll say it again - TRANSFORMERS ROCKS !

1. its funny
2. the storyline aint too bad
3. the acting aint too bad
4. the animation blew my mind
5. the whole theatre was laughing
6. i was cheering
7. optimus prime says "autobots - roll out"
8. ok - the animation kicked ass
9. i'm going again

transformers on wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers_%28film%29

BMW - look out!

i've signed up to complete the level 1 BMW driver training course.
its at the pukekohe race course on the 9th of july. the driver trainer is a friend of a friend so i'm hoping i might get an extra lap or two - and that i wont get my ass kicked if i write off one of their cars. woo hoo !!

This programme is modelled directly on BMW’s International Driver Training schools, and offers participants an active and dynamic drive experience that provides driving pleasure, education and fun in a controlled and safe environment. It includes both theory and practical sessions, and a certificate of accomplishment is issued at the successful completion of the course.

The Advanced I course prepares you for typical situations and hazards in urban traffic. Teaching the basic requirements for optimum control of the vehicle, realistic self – assessment and practical experience on traffic and hazard situations at 50 to 60 km/h. A combination of driving manoeuvres are practised in the slalom against the clock and you will explore the optimum line around bends as you are guided by a pace car around the track.

BMW Driver Training uses a fleet of five Z4’s and five 130i M Sport cars.

The venue is the recently upgraded racetrack at Pukekohe south of Auckland. Your host for the day will be senior driving instructor Mike Eady, one of New Zealand's most experienced professional driver trainers.

knowing your sagittarius

SAGITTARIUS:
November 22nd - December 21st

If you are in love with a Sagittarius woman, give her freedom and honesty. This is one honey who will resist any and all efforts to be pinned down too definitively and you would do best to understand this from the start. She needs plenty of rope.
well ...yes and no.
this sagittarius girl likes her freedom but she doesnt mind a bit of committment - just when shes ready. and as for the pinning down and the rope - yes please!

Don't expect a quick commitment here either; this lover is fairly independent and enjoys her own company. You will never be bored with a Sagittarius partner though. This individual is interested in almost everything and delights in sharing knowledge with you and everyone else.
yup that part is definitely all me.

"Flirt" could be a middle name here. Jealousy is a no-no as the exchange of conversation is nearly as important as air and food to this person.
flirt should be my first name.
i'd flirt with a power pole if it would respond and flirt back.
i like naughty conversation as well as day to day chats about anything.
i dont dig jealousy at all. its very unattractive.

Friendly as a new puppy, she meanders about collecting and dispensing data with all comers. Physical fitness is also important here. Often possessing natural athletic abilities, she can be found hiking, biking, running, or skiing, and will want you to keep right up alongside. You will have many joint memories of wilderness treks, roaring campfires, and starlit nights. Adventuresomeness is quite near the top of the qualities you must have to be of any interest to this enterprising individual. The meek need not apply.
adventurous - yes.
naturally athletic - i dont think so.
until i starting diving there wasnt really anything athletic that i was especially good at. i like yoga and kickboxing though.
the outdoors - yup. a bit of camping, watersports, i like to get outside my comfort zone except when it comes to heights. **shudder**

Your main challenges here may be learning to live with the occasional disorganization of this busy soul and the directness which could be construed as lack of tact.
i wish i was as organised as i would like to be - or as i think i am !
i like to think i am blunt too - rather than tactless. basically i say what i think. say what i mean and mean what i say. if you get offended then thats your problem.

You must understand that this person abhors dishonesty and is quite incapable of participating in it.
if theres one thing that my friends know about me - dont lie to me.
tell me the honest hurting truth but dont cover anything up or even worse, try and lie by ommission.

Too many concurrent projects can scatter her energy but your encouragement may be all that's needed to keep the number reasonable.

You have found a dynamic friend. Enjoy the wit and repartee, explore new worlds and lost civilizations together and talk until the wee hours of the morning.

With this individual, you can have fun!
http://www.astrology.com.au/12signs/sagittarius.asp

boarding in 5 mins

the departures board has been telling me that my flight will be boarding in 5 minutes for nearly 40 minutes now.
today is going to be a very long day.
up at 2:30 for a flight to melbourne. application workshops all day today - finishing around 6pm melbourne time (thats 8pm NZST).
same again for thursday and friday and then last flight home friday.

big sleep saturday!
thought i might go and dance my feet off at the our house party on saturday night.

possibly a new tattoo on sunday?
any able to translate some english into maori for me?

growing up in new zealand

this little mail has been doing the rounds.
but for any one who grew up in new zealand it should bring back awesome memories of your childhood.

I'm talking about hide and seek/spotlight in the park.
The corner dairy, hopscotch, four square, go carts, cricket in front of the garbage bin and inviting everyone on your street to join in, skipping (double dutch), gutterball, handstands, elastics, bullrush, catch and kiss, footy on the best lawn in the street, slip'n'slides, the trampoline with water on it (or a sprinkler under it), hula hoops, jumping in puddles with gumboots on, mud pies and building dams in the gutter.
The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass.

'Big bubbles no troubles' with Hubba Bubba bubble gum.
A topsy. Mr Whippy cones on a warm summer night after you've chased him round the block.
20 cents worth of mixed lollies lasted a week and pretending to smoke "smokes" (the lollies) was really cool!..
A dollars' worth of chips from the corner take-away fed two people (AND the sauce was free!!).

Being upset when you botched putting on the temporary tattoo from the bubblegum packet, but still wearing it proudly.

Watching Saturday morning cartoons: 'The Smurfs', 'AstroBoy', 'He-man', 'Captain Caveman', 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles', 'Jem' (truly outrageous!!), 'Super d', and 'Heeeey heeeeey heeeeeeey it's faaaaaaat Albert'.
Or staying up late and sneaking a look at the "AO" on the second telly, being amazed when you watched TV right up until the 'Goodnight Kiwi!'

When After School with Jason Gunn & Thingie had a cult following and What Now was on Saturday mornings!
When around the corner seemed a long way, and going into town seemed like going somewhere.
Where running away meant you did laps of the block because you weren't allowed to cross the road??
A million mozzie bites, wasp and bee stings (stee bings!).

Sticky fingers, goodies & baddies, cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, riding bikes til the streetlights came on and catching tadpoles in horse troughs.

Going down to the school swimming pool when you didn't have a key and your friends letting you in, drawing all over the road and driveway with chalk.
Climbing trees and building huts out of every sheet your mum had in the cupboard (and never putting them back folded). Walking to school in bare feet, no matter what the weather.

When writing 'I love....? on your pencil case, really did mean it was true love.
"he loves me? he loves me not?" and daisy chains on the front lawn.
Stealing other people's flowers from their gardens and then selling them back to them...

Running till you were out of breath.
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt.
Pitching the tent in the back/front yard (and never being able to find all the pegs).
Jumping on the bed. Singing into your hair brush in front of the mirror, making mix tapes...

Sleep overs and ghosts stories with the next door neighbours.
Pillowfights, spinning round, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for the giggles.
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.
Weetbix cards pegged on the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle. Collecting WWF and garbage pail kids cards.
Eating raw jelly and raro, making homemade lemonade and sucking on a Rad, a traffic light popsicle, or a Paddle Pop... blurple, yollange and prink!

You knew everyone in your street - and so did your parents!
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best friends" and you would ask them by sending a note asking them to be your best friend.

You didn't sleep a wink on Christmas eve and tried (and failed) to wait up for the tooth fairy.
When nobody owned a pure-bred dog.
When 50c was decent pocket money. When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for 10c.

When nearly everyone's mum was there when the kids got home from school.
It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb.

When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at the local Chinese restaurant (or Cobb'n'Co.) with your family.

When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed her or use him to carry groceries and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.
Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! Some of us are still afraid of them!!!

Remember when decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo" or dib dib's-scissors, paper, rock.
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in Monopoly.

Terrorism was when the older kids were at the end of your street with pea-shooters waiting to ambush you, or the neighbourhood rottie chased you up a tree!

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite gender was boy/girl germs, and the worst thing in your day was having to sit next to one.

Where bluelight disco's were the equivalent to a Rave, and asking a boy out meant writing a 'polite' note getting them to tick 'yes' or 'no'.
When there was always that one 'HOT' guy/girl.

Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot.
Your biggest danger at school was accidentally walking through the middle of a heated game of "brandies".

Birthday beats meant you didn't want to go to school on your birthday!

Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
Taking drugs meant scoffing orange-flavoured chewable vitamin C's, or swallowing half a Panadol.
Ice cream was considered a basic food group. Going to the beach and catching a wave was a dream come true.
Boogie boarding in the white wash made you the next Kelly Slater.
Abilities were discovered because of a "double- dare".

Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.

how i handle stress

1. stuff tiny mashmallows up my nose and try and sneeze them out.
i hate marshmallows so its seems significant punishment for their existence.

2. use my mastercard to pay my visa bill.
last time i did this i paid my visa off - so this is no longer an option - bugger (this was one of my favourites).

3. pop some popcorn without the lid on.

4. when someone tells me to "have a nice day" - i tell them i have other plans.

5. i make lists - of things i have already done.

6. i dance naked in front of my cat.

7. i start little rumors to see how much they change by the time they get back to me.

dumtie dumtie do

i said i wouldnt.

but i did.

i signed up with dive! tutukaka to complete my PADI divemaster certification next year.

i think part of it is the avoidance of work after we return - for as long as possible!
post cossie and maresas wedding in matakana, me and ryan (my pack and assorted other bags that i will be living out of) plus all my dive gear and my cameras etc will migrate north to tutukaka to live in an as yet undisclosed location for the next 4-6 weeks.
dive! tutukaka like to run an pretty intensive program apparently but the best bestest besterer news of all is that both anna and andrew will be working up there as instructors. anna took me for my advanced, wreck and deep dive specialties and andrew took my rescue and digital photography.

so .. 4 weeks diving. out at the knights - boat fees included - in the middle of summer. wicked!

So, what is it?

The PADI Divemaster course is the first step to being a dive professional. It expands your knowledge past that of any previous course enabling you to gain valuable experience and work in the world of diving. As a professional member of PADI you will be able to gain access to some great benefits, including their on-line job network, professional publications such as The Undersea Journal and special rates on materials purchased directly from PADI.

What does the course involve?

The course runs over an intensive 4-week period and the schedule will depend on you and your instructor needs, local logistics and course requirements. The course consists of three modules:

• Knowledge Development

Through independent study, videos and Instructor lectures, you will cover 12 topics in the knowledge development module and then complete 8 Divemaster exams (75% pass rate or makeup).

• Water Skills & Stamina

The Water Skills and Stamina module will develop and evaluate your overall watermanship skills. Not only will you complete several timed swimming exercises but also brush up on your rescue skills.

• Practical Application

This allows you to learn and practice divemaster skills by applying what you've learnt from the Knowledge Development and Water Skills & Stamina modules. You will complete exercises such as mapping, underwater problem solving and managing a dive accident scenario.

When all the required training exercises have been completed you will then have a chance to develop and practice divemaster skills with actual students and divers (under Instructor supervision). During your internship with us you will have training in how to assist an Instructor during training activities and you will be able to assume appropriate responsibilities that benefit the welfare of other divers.