Boredom begets shopping

I’m so bored.  So very very bored today.  I don’t know what it is – I obviously don’t have enough impending study to do…  All this excess boredom gives me the chance to peruse many a website during the day.  Today, I have already checked the forecast, my favourite news websites, flights between LA and Mpls, my bank account…   This is all aside from the obviously (all 3 email accounts and facebook).

Eager to Recycle Bag

I’ve integrated a few new websites into my daily routine.  That latest is ModCloth.  There are new items every day!  It’s a

fashion/internet addict’s dream come true.  Highly recommended.  Kind of like Anthropologie (currently the Holy Grail of RTW vertically integrated fashion) but a little more retro, younger, and cheaper.  It isn’t just clothes, there are other cute items, like the reusable bag pictured.

Another site which I’m not checking daily, but is simply a product I’ve become a fan of is Purple Camel Soap.  Seriously.  Ignore the hokey title and low budget website.  Her soaps are changing weekly and they are simply divine.  I’ve converted, even though previously I’ve been a fan of Eco store and Mistral.  Purple camel soaps are kind of like the best of both worlds.

Anyways, my brain has officially left for the day, and it’s not even lunch time yet!  ‘Til next time.

Travel tips!

It seems like everyone has been on holiday recently!  One of my sisters was recently in Mexico, another was recently in Jamaica, Emily and Ryan just went on a Caribbean cruise, and I just walked the Milford Track (ok, maybe not as glamorous and tropical as everyone else’s recent vacay, but it was absolutely spectacular).

Then, at work this week my boss brought in this little book – Lonely Planet’s 1000 ultimate experiences. So I was inspired to browse the good ol’ Dunedin library to find out what sort of travel books they had.  So at the moment I’ve been browsing National Geographic’s: Journeys of  Lifetime.  You see, when I finish my PhD I want to take a big holiday.  Like, big.  And long.  So, you know, I’m just scoping things out a bit.  : D

So here are my top choices at the moment, in no particular order:

1.  Holiday in Europe – Sadly, I’ve never been to mainland Europe.  Sad, Sad, Sad!!!  So I’m super keen for Italy, Spain, France/Belgium, Germany and the UK.  So…  like all of it (I just want to look at ridiculously old buildings, victorian costumes, old churches and cemeteries and castles and monuments until I just about vomit).  ALL.  Hey, it takes a long time to mark a PhD thesis.  I had better start saving now.

2.  Tanzania – aka African Safari (wildebeest migration!  Lions.  Elephants.  Giraffes.  c’mon, awesome) and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Finish a PhD, then climb a mountain.  I’m soooo keen.

Nasca Monkey

3.  Peru – Machu Piccu AND (thank you Nat’l Geo book for this next one) the Nasca Lines. The former which is becoming a bit commercial which is kind of gutting, and the latter which I had never even heard above before.  They are hundreds of animal and geometric figures etched into a desert plateau between 200 B.C. and 700 A.D.  They can only be seen from the air.  Why would an ancient race of people create images – art – that can only be seen from the air?  Oooh mysterious!  Some researchers have said it is viable to create a hot-air balloon from prehistoric materials, while others say “aliens”.  It’s a big mystery.  I’m keen.

4.  China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan – aka “The Silk Road”.  I think his would be pretty sweet.  On the way you can stop and see things like the buried terra cotta warriors, some of the world’s oldest inhabited cities.  Apparently it takes an entire month and “the n of Central Asia have many problems, check official travel advice in advance” <—  Thanks, Nat’l Geo.  But since I live and breathe silk over here, it would be a fitting trip.

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And of course, after walking the Milford Track (rated by Nat’l Geo as #2 walk in the world, AND having the MacKinnon Pass as the feature photo for the entire “on foot” section of the book.  #1 was the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming), my bf and I have plans to do many other NZ tramps in the next couple of years.  At the top of my list (bf’s list may be a little different – LOL!) at the moment is a combination of the Routeburn and the Greenstone, or the Greenstone Caples.  We’re also keen to do the Hump-ridge, and the Heaphy.  Most of those are “great walks” – and therefore more expensive to do than the other tramps (we’re talking $50/day to walk them and stay in the huts).  So we shall see.  We’ll prob try to do more of the cheaper ones too.

So dear readers – what are your grand travel dreams at the moment?  Might I suggest New Zealand?

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The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.
~Saint Augustine

Xmas blog?

So, ’tis the season for Xmas letters!  Well, okay technically I’ve only received 2 so far (both of which I thoroughly enjoyed).  It’s actually a bit of an effort for my family to even get around to sending me one.

I guess there are folks out there who despise the Christmas letter.  I don’t think any of them live in MN though.  Pretty sure Xmas letters are ingrained in the MN psyche.  I think it was 2 years ago that my parents totally stuffed up the name of my University in their annual letter.  I was not impressed.  This year I emailed them the exact name of the University, city, and what type of degree I had just finished.

I’ve always wanted to write the family Xmas letter.  In fact, last year I wrote a draft and sent it to Mom and Dad.  It didn’t get used.

So even though I regard the Xmas letter as something you start to do once you get married and have kids and technically become an adult, I can write my own, annual Christmas letter via blog!  Woo hoo!

So here goes.

Kia Ora and Happy Holidays from the Southern Hemisphere!

2009 has been a rather eventful year for me!  I am still employed by Silkbody, and love every minute of my job.  My official job title these days is “Operations Manager”, and I am sort of the the ‘jack of all trades’ in the office – doing whatever needs to be done!

I spent most of the early part of the year working hard on my Master’s thesis.  In March, I joined the Dunedin Aqaugold synchro team (coached by NZ Olympians the Daniel’s sisters); and I was offered a PhD scholarship by the University (score!).  I did take a wee break my busy schedule when my partner Dan and I spent 2 weeks in Australia at the end of Mar/early April.  In fact, we celebrated my b-day in Cairns.  It was a fabulous trip and I’m super keen to see more of NZ’s nearest neighbor.

Starting from April-June my mind goes blank and I simply remember a cold, dark, empty time known as “finishing the thesis”.  We don’t talk about this.

Life resumed again in early July.  I started feeling like a human again.  Beginning basic social interactions, etc.  Continued on with my study (writing papers for publication) until my thesis mark came back.  Apparently I passed so thank God for that.  August and September were busy months filled with much paperwork and no paper money.  The highlight of which was attending the World of Wearable Art show in Wellington (which coincided with synchro Nationals.  Our combo team – with the theme Guitarhero – came in 3rd!).  Fortunately, all of this filling out of forms paid off, as I handed in the hard copy of my Master’s thesis and I was able to start my PhD thesis in October.

Since then I’ve still been making attempts to repair my social interaction skills, which were seriously damaged in the ‘dark days’.  The ability to consume alcohol, party and stay up late is still poor, but I’m hoping that’s still an effect of the thesis (it has only been 6 months), and not a reflection of my ever advancing age.  Yes, 2009 has been a rollercoaster slightly more exciting than I possibly would have wanted, and filled with a torture (finishing a thesis) that I would never want to inflict upon any other human person.  But I persevered, and I *know* I’m a better person for it…

Hoping that 2009 was a fantastic, and slightly more normal and less academic year for you.  Looking forward to hearing from you (or better yet, seeing you!) in 2010.  Happy Holidays!

Becca