We're going to New Zealand!!

Flights are booked - Jan 7th to Jan 24th. Contiki place is held for us. The only part that is not confirmed yet is our couple of extra days in Auckland sight-seeing after the tour has finished up. We'll see what happens with that.

The most important part is THAT WE GOT IN!!

Now comes the boring part; actually PAYING for it (boo!) and saving up for the optional extras. And since we're definitely going now, let me share some of the optionals with you. Optionals are the bits that you can choose to do on your free days in the cities. You can pick and choose between a selection, so I'll just pop in some of the ones I'm considering down the bottom.

(I'm so excited, I may just pee. Sorry, but it had to be said.)

Oh, and you've already seen the actual tour itinerary, yes? If not, go look at it. Look. Here. Now.

Ahem. Optionals. Before I go off track again. Stay with me, I need your help. Find out what I need you to do, oh faithful reader, after the bullet points end.

• Carino Day Sailing:
  NZ$79
  Catamaran sailing in the beautiful Bay of Islands.
  Island hop, swim, snorkel, bar-b-q lunch, search for dolphins. 10am - 1630pm. www.sailingdolphins.co.nz


• Taiamai Tours:
  NZ$49
  Authentic Maori cultural experience with a difference!
  Travel by traditional waka to a deserted island to be greeted and entertained by
  a local tribe. 2 hours. www.taiamaitours.co.nz


• Black Water Rafting: NZ$85
  Following a cave
  system underground whilst sitting in a tyre inner tube (rubber ring). Some
  walking, some floating, some glowworm spotting. 3 ? hour tour. www.blackwaterrafting.co.nz

• The 'Zorb' Adventure Hill:
  NZ$45
  Become a zorbonaut as you travel in a large transparent
  ball down a hillside, either on your own, with a friend (or two) or with a
  bucket of water. www.zorb.com

• Rainbow Springs: NZ$19.50
  Beautiful
  walk through native bush, aviaries and trout filled streams. Chance to see Kiwi
  and Tuatara. www.rainbowsprings.co.nz

• Huka Jet: NZ$75
  40 minute jet boat ride on
  the Waikato River to Huka Falls. Includes 360 degree turns. www.hukajet.com

• Rock'N'Ropes: NZ$65
  Adventure 'confidence' course
  with series of trapezes, high wires, tight ropes etc. Allow 3 hours. www.rocknropes.co.nz

• Glacier Hike: NZ$80
  4 hour trek to the
  terminal face of the glacier and then climb up onto the glacier itself. All
  boots, picks, crampons provided. Reasonable level of fitness required. www.foxguides.co.nz

• Aj Hackett Bungy - Kawarau Bridge:
  NZ$135
  The original bungy jump in Queenstown and often
  referred to as 'the home of bungy'. 43m (142ft) jump incl. T shirt. www.AJHackett.com

• Shotover Canyon Swing:
  NZ$159
  Freefall from platform, 109m (360ft) above the
  Shotover River, then break into a cable controlled swing. www.canyonswing.co.nz

• Shotover Jet: NZ$95
  40
  minute jet boat ride on the Shotover River. An icon adventure product in NZ with
  360's and fast corners etc. www.shotoverjet.co.nz

• Moonlight Stables Horse Riding:
  NZ$89
  1 ? hour guided horse trek through Doonholme Farmland
  in the Wakatipu Basin. Any level of rider welcome but will only go as fast as
  the slowest member. www.moonlightcountry.co.nz

I realise that there are heaps listed here, but I will have to pick the ones that I
can afford and the ones that I really MUST DO while I'm in New Zealand.

Why do I need your help?

Because I need a MUST DO list; I need you to choose for me. So far? I'm thinking the Bungy Jump, Canyon Swing, Glacier Hike, Blackwater Cave Rafting, and White Water Rafting. And the Zorb thing. Rolling down a hill in an inflatable ball sounds like a blast! Or a death wish. No wait, the death wish is the Canyon Swinging. Crap!

It's your turn! Comment me, baby.

7 down; 23 to go!

In about six hours, Jason will get a phone call from the travel agent.

It'll be telling him whether or not we got accepted into a practically full Contiki tour for January.

To New Zealand.

I promised myself I wouldn't get too hyped up about it, because there is a good chance we won't get in. Well, I tried anyway. I ended up spending the whole weekend looking at brochures, checking out websites that showed all of the optional activities and getting more and more excited about the whole thing.

Please, please, please let the Contiki gods be smiling today. I'll even try and think up a suitable bribe if need be. Not sure what exactly, but it'll be something. I want this. So badly. It hurts.

The next time we speak, blog world, I'll have the answer.

(Hee!)

So I suppose it would be a good idea to update the blog this very morning, seeing as people who are visiting from the NaBloPoMo Randomizer are most likely backing away in terror and running for the hills right about now. I promise I'm not usually that bitter. A little, sure, but not quite that bad.

Moving right along.

Hi! If you truly ARE one of those people clicking in from the NaBloPoMo Randomizer, let me greet you with a wave and a whinge. Feel free to de-lurk too; I'm looking for fresh new blogs to stalk. Yes, commenting is a pain in the ass (and bloggers fishing for comments are even BIGGER pains in the asses, hee) but you know. Whatever floats your boat.

I don't even have a word verification prompt. Points to me for that, right?

I'm writing this in between random bursts of heading to the bathroom. Why is it that certain "hormonal" times of the month always coincide with my stomach turning into a churning pit of death? It's bad enough that I need to visit the bathroom for the first reason, but do I really need to have extra things to worry about while I'm there? Suffice it to say, I'm spending this Monday in bed, instead of at the swimming pools in the rain with the kidlets. And feeling extremely guilty about it, too.

Wow. This entry has gone from bad to worse. No wonder the fresh new commenters are moving right along; who wants to read about bitchy weddings followed by upset stomachs?

I'll just blame it on NaBloPoMo.

In fact, I think I'll just keep typing NaBloPoMo again and again, just because I can. I'm immensely proud that I actually remember the spelling combination of the letters now. My life is complete.

Bad weather? Must be something to do with the increased internet and computer usage by bloggers all around the world, causing the hole in the ozone layer to expand in rapid progression. NaBloPoMo.

Stomach cramps? Perhaps it's the stress of posting once a day. Heck, alright, I realise that doesn't exactly work for me; I'm weird and try and post everyday anyway. Could be pressure though, all those invisible randomizer lurkers floating around are making me want to have decent things to say, just so they'll stick around. (deep breath) NaBloPoMo.

My missing car? Maybe my smash repairer is busy blogging every day as well, so he's too busy to call me and tell me when (and if) I'll ever recieve my post-accident car back. Definitely NaBloPoMo.

Contiki tours being full? Oh man, if it really is full I'll be a big wailing mess tomorrow and of course, you'll hear all about it. In the spirit of NaBloPoMo, of course.

So using inspiration from Robbie Williams, let me wear the annoying comment whoring hat one last time;

LET MEEEEEEEEE INTER-STALK YOU.

(Well, I never said that it would make sense or be even slightly amusing, so there.)

6 down; 24 to go.

Please be warned; this post is completely mental and probably makes me sound like a psychotic freak, but I am tired and I am bitter and I am suffering PMS and I have access to a public blog, so there. You have been warned.

I didn't mention this before because I'm allowed to bitch and moan in private, but I surprisingly don't put EVERYTHING on this blog. But now I have to. Because I am so astounded (and completely pissed off) that I'll just explode if I don't talk about it. In fact, I'll probably go to bed pissed off anyway, but GEEZ. ANGER! And how the hell did this HAPPEN?

A certain family member of mine is getting married today. In fact, he got married earlier this afternoon. My parents got invited to the wedding, and I did not. This person is a first cousin, a couple of years older than me. No, we are not super close, and in fact I don't really know much about this cousin at all except that his fiance is so stick thin that I call her Skeletor. That is not the point. Hello? FAMILY! Cousins? Does that not MEAN anything to you people?

Anyway. Since this is the second wedding in the space of a year that cousins have not invited me too (last year I was told that another cousin wasn't inviting any "children" to her wedding. Cough. I was 21 at the time), I was rather peeved. So went about my way trying to get my parents to boycott the wedding too. As you do.

(They didn't. Damnit.)

They were overseas at the time of the engagement party though, and did not send a gift because of timing - however recieved a "Thankyou for your lovely gift" card in the mail a few weeks later. Nice to know that people even noticed that my parents weren't at the engagement party, but I digress.

Now, I am not usually quite so bitter. In fact, I love weddings. Weddings make me feel all gooey inside, and I always get teary. I like watching people at weddings. I like watching the couples at weddings. I like reading about weddings.

But that didn't stop me from being evil and gleefully happy this morning that it has been raining for the last three days, and that it continued to rain today too. Grey. No sun. Hee. Did I mention it was to be an outdoor wedding? (I swear, if I ever get married one day, I bet karma will come and bite me on the ass.)

Sure, I may have jokingly (!) hinted that I hoped Skeletor would fall down the aisle, or be blown away by gale force winds at some point in the proceedings. And yes, I may have continuously snarked on about how rude my own family is for not inviting me to this particular function. I might have even sent a couple of text messages to my mother, who is right now attending the cheap-ass reception on a Sunday night. Yes. Sunday night. Don't even go there.

Whatever. All went smoothly, as far as I can tell. And my energy for being stroppy about the whole non-invite thing wore out a couple of hours ago. It's nearly 10pm, my bed is much more interesting right now than some cousin who will DEFINITELY not ever be invited to my wedding when I am fifty. In fact, I wasn't even thinking about it at all. (I was too busy terrifying myself watching bungy jumping videos.)

Until mum rang me just now. And told me that I'd never guess what the happy couple's wedding song was. And proceeded to play the music over the phone to me.

(God, I'm getting mad just THINKING ABOUT IT.)

Anyone who knows me? Will know that I adore Lifehouse. Especially about five years ago. In fact, that is how I met Jason. Also how I met Jen, and Kirby, and Julie, and Stefi, and a crapload of other beautiful people. All because of that band. Suffice it to say; the band is special.

Every couple has a song.
Jason and I have a song.
It's a Lifehouse song.

Getting the idea?

Not many people know of Lifehouse. If they DO know of Lifehouse, all they know is "that Hanging By A Moment" song. That's fine. In fact, I prefer it that way, so that I could always have my little piece of "ALY" music hidden away. It always sucks when small bands get big.

Please. Unless you're a Lifehouse fan, you wouldn't remember old Track 12 on their very first CD that was realised in the year 2000. It is a slow song, it goes for over 6 minutes. It's a beautiful song. It's called "Everything".

AND.
IT.
IS.
MY.
SONG.

(And Jason's too, you know, we're a couple, but MINE. Mine!)

They took it. And used it as THEIR song.

THOSE FUCKING BASTARDS.

(Edit: Um, I realised after posting this that some people wouldn't get what the big deal is. I don't even really know, myself. All I know is this; If I ever get married, it won't be a big wedding. It'll probably be small, it'll probably be traditional, and it'll probably just be close family and friends (especially since half my family will have wiped themselves off the invite list by then).

I don't think I'm the sort of person to stress about details and the like, it's just not me. But there is ONE thing I want for my future, possibly imaginary wedding. And that one thing? Is to dance to my song. A song that few people know, and even fewer would enjoy for the same reasons as me.

It just irks me to no end that people that I'm not too keen on right now, would choose that song (out of a bajillion wedding songs) to use as their own. Mmbleh. Edit done, now.)

But before I go..

Is it too late to wish that they choke on their donut (I kid you not) wedding cake?

I am not bitter. No, no. I am feeling much better now, thanks.

Last night, I got hit with the "Holy crap, it can't possibly be that time of the month again so soon, damnit, shit, whinge, bugger, fuck" stick.

That was closely followed by the "I'm a moody bitch that may snap at any reason, so if you value your life, step away quickly please" stick.

After that, came the "I may just burst into tears and sulk like a baby after trying to take a passport photo that does not make me look like the walking death" stick.

Then, the "Let's just forget about it and go to bed because the thought of actually using one of those afore mentioned pictures makes me cringe and want to cry again" stick made an appearance.

Not to forget the "I think I'll toss and turn every five seconds until I eventually fall asleep with my arms clutched around my gut", stick that decided to poke me too.

And I mustn't miss out on the next installment, since next up came the "It's time for middle of the night intense cramps that caused me agony, and made me wake up Jason, whinge whinge blah blah" stick.

Joining in with all the fun, the next stick to hit me was the "I'm bloody exhausted but won't be able to get back to sleep, so I might as well make a cup of tea and sit up for a few hours doing Sudoko puzzles and listening to the rain until I eventually have to haul my butt upstairs and try and get some sleep before I explode" stick.

As a final blow, the "Haha, your alarm just went off and you have had two hours sleep and you look like a big, pale, cranky whale, but now it's time to make Jason breakfast, so get up you lazy cow!" stick decided to finish me off. Nasty stick, that one.

Thank goodness the house is empty today, because I think it's going to be one of those days.

5 down; 25 to go.

This has been the ups and downs of my travel plans recently.

Korea was on, was then off, was then on and is now off again. The contacts that we had were telling us two different things, and the programme apparently was filled before the cut off date had expired. Plus, the fact that they didn't even know what was going on with positions had me worried.

Instead, I decided to make plans with one of the girls at work to take a holiday, and we had narrowed it down to LA. Disneyland! Shopping! Theme parks! Money would have been tight, and very last minute, but I could have managed. Until I told Jase, who seemed very disappointed. I couldn't figure out why, until he told me he had five weeks of holiday time he was planning to use for us to go on a holiday. So the LA plans got changed.

Right now? We're planning on going to go to New Zealand for three weeks in January, just Jason and I. We'd like to do a Contiki (because we did one through Europe and it was FABULOUS!) so all the accomodation, travelling and some food is provided for, and it'll be nice to meet some new people too. Went to the travel agent this morning, and realised just how last minute we are - most holiday spots are taken in January. Damnit.

We're on "request" right now for the 15 day Grand Explorer New Zealand Contiki. We'll find out on Tuesday whether we made it into the tour; if not, we'll have to find another tour company that has spots available in that time. So, internet readers across the globe, please cross your fingers and toes and other appendages in the hopes that we can squeeze into that busy tour date! I'll keep you informed as to how it's all going.

HOLIDAY! CONTIKI! SIGHT-SEEING! PLANES! ALCOHOL!

It's all so exciting. I might even be brave and do the adventure stuff too; Bungie Jumping, Rafting, Quad Biking, heeee. Exciting! Lady luck, please be on our side.

4 down; 26 to go.

Thank goodness it's Friday.

For some reason, this week has dragged by. Taking the swim scheme kids has been exhausting, especially since I've been in the pool teaching a middle-level group how to float and the basics of breathing underwater and all. The morning flies by, then there's swimming, then we get back at the end of lunch and the last hour just disappears.

You'd think it would go fast? But actually, this week couldn't go faster. I'm looking forward to this weekend, even though I really ought to do school stuff while I'm not actually AT school. Have to write reports, find time for accreditation, assess the kids and get their last term units finished. Gah! I don't want to really talk about it anymore!

Instead, let me show you something which brought with it much happiness, and caused me to walk around like a loon last night in cute shoes and bug-eyed sunglasses.

MY PARCEL ARRIVED FROM AMERICA!

Oh man, the wedge sandals I bought? They are SO HIGH, I can barely walk in them. Totally cute, but just for show, methinks. I haven't got a pic of them yet, but I have some of the others! Thankyou so much to Beth, who got them here safely and super speedily, AND had them wrapped up in pretty pink wrapping paper. It was just fabulous, and I'm still all excited now. Here are my thoughts on the results;

Who knew over-sized sunglasses would be so.. well.. over-sized?

The converse shoes of love! They are here and they are wonderful. And I wore them today and even my kids said "Wow, I love your Chucks!" Happy days. I am too darned fashionable.

Desiree! I love you! Candycorn! I am currently on a complete sugar high because those white bits? YUM. Why can't the whole thing be white coloured? And it doesn't look like corn. Why is it called candycorn? It's great!

3 down; 27 to go.

I'm having warm fuzzies today - I just found out that my favourite Donkey is going to participate in not only NaBloPoMo but ALSO NaNoWriMo. Bugger my gym efforts, I think we should all send him some prizes RIGHT NOW. Fwoar; a novel plus a blog? You're my idol. Good thoughts going to you, BD. Lots of good thoughts.

What better way to celebrate than by completing a meme? A meme about blogs, of all things. Isn't that grand? Because I'm blogging right now! Blogging about blogging! And you are reading it! (Whoever you are, my SiteMeter will spill the details later, moohaha!)

Here are the rules. As for me? I only really have Part 1 to answer, because I am clever. Grasshoppers, the rest is up to you.

Part 1) Explain where or how you came up with the name for your blog. You can go into as much or as little detail as you like, it is totally one hundred percent up to you.

Coming up with a name for this blog was actually sort of easy. Let's go through it together, shall we?

My name = Aly. (That answer definitely requires rocket science.)

The bear = Way back in high school, a batch of friends somehow ended up tacking "bear" onto the end of our names. If I remember rightly, there was a N(a)omibear and a Hanniebear as well. Don't ask me how it started, I have absolutely no recollection now. All I know is that I was an Aly, and that I used it for all of my very first internet login names. Then came the embarrassment phase; where I would cringe giving my email to anybody because Aly? What the heck is that? Are you twelve? Eventually though, the cycle of internet-login/blog-names continued on its rotation, and Aly became my handy-dandy innernet name of choice. And ta-dah! I still use it. Interesting, no?

The ramblings = If you've stuck around a while, you'll notice I tend to ramble on - mostly about nothing. I've always been quite good at rambling (or waffling, or babbling, or whining, or whinging, or complaining, whatever you want to call it is fine by me.) (But nothing nasty, please.)  (Or I might cry.) (Or at least sulk.) (And then possibly blog about it.) (Possibly? Who the heck am I kidding? Of course I'd blog about it.)

So, using inspiration from Danny over at Dad Gone Mad (his vomit equations are so good, I'm planning on teaching my kids algebra that way in the future), the mathematics behind my blog name works looks a little something like this;

c + (by) / (..) + a + b = Ramblings.. by Aly.
(Otherwise known as the Blog That I Use To Procrastinate From Doing Other More Important Things.)

Thanks for reading it. Maybe one day, I'll hand out t-shirts.

Part 2) Pay the Briliant Donkey himself a visit, and take a peek at the list of people that are participating in this-here meme. Find a blog, and try to guess the reasons behind its naming and see how close you are.

I know I'm interested in finding out how a few people on my blog roll decided on their names. Like this one. And this one too. Oh, and also this one.

And in case you missed the link to BD's site the last three times, here is another one for you.

Because one can never have enough links, you know.

Part 3) Participate yourself. Spread the blogging meme loooove. And let's face it - after thirty days of this, we'll be trampling over one another to get to new memes just to pass the time.

All the underlining in this post is making my eyes bleed. If you are still reading now, I salute you! And now order you to head over to your nearest optometrist and get your eyes checked. I know I will be.

2 down; 28 to go.

Hello, November! Hello, NaBloPoMo! (To thirty days of straight blogging!) Hello, Typepad! (I will use thee well this month, as always.) Hello, Christmas decorations popping up everywhere! Hello, steamy hot days where it is much nicer to hide out inside! Hello, gym weigh in. Ugh.

I must brag, because I am proud. We were measured at the gym around the first of October, and had our first monthly follow up measurement today. Here are the results.

Weight: Stayed the same. Which I am bummed about, but predicted, I just had a feeling.
Arms: I lost 1.5cm! Yippee! Only 6m worth of flubber to go...
Bust: I lost 4cm. Holy cow! My first instinct was OMG I DON'T CARE ABOUT BUST, but then I realised it actually included your back and sides too, so I'm happy about that. I have the most icky back ever.
Waist: I lost 1.5cm. Again, not much, but still a loss!
Thighs: I lost 1.5cm. As above. Loss! LOSS!
Hips: I lost 3cm. Off the hips. Shimmmmmy.

All in all? I am pleasantly surprised. And very happy that working my ass off most days has actually paid off. Counting, I have attended the gym 26 times. In just over a month, that aint bad! Especially considering the fact that they are closed on Sundays. And I walked my first 4km walk.

Congratulations are welcomed in the form of Converse sneakers and ER DVDs. (Season 6 and on, please.)

Good luck to EVERYONE participating in NaBloPoMo, and be sure to leave me a comment if you have the time. I'd love to find some new people to stalk this month, to add to my blogroll. One can never stalk too many people!

NOVEMBERRRRRRR.

1 down; 29 to go.

If you are American, anyway. If you are Australian and you celebrate Halloween, bah humbug to you. And your pesky little children, too. If you are American, you will probably think I am a mean bitch after reading this post. Sorry about that.

I cannot stand it when people here (here being Sydney) use the Halloween excuse as a means to run around ringing doorbells for hours on end (CONSTANTLY too, geez, fuck off!) and demanding lollies.

I mean, excuse me? Do you SEE any pumpkins around here? Any autumn leaves falling off trees? Any spooky decorations? No? Excellent. Go away now.

Perhaps I should put some handy pointers down about this subject. So you can see what a grouch I actually am about it all.

• You only need to ring the damn doorbell once, assholes


• You should not be roaming the streets BY YOURSELF when you are all of six years old. Where the hell are your parents? Hello, child molestors?


• We don't celebrate this holiday and the fact that you aren't even dressed up? You are not worth the effort of going downstairs.


• If there were any lollies or candy in this house I would have eaten it already, so I wouldn't give it to some snotty little brat that I just saw stomping through the garden to get to the damn door anyway.

So while I gleefully ignore the constantly ringing doorbell and restrain myself from hanging a rude note on the front door, let me leave you with this nice video.

P.S. I still want me some candycorn.