Life, Oh Life

It has been a long long time bloggers and bloggees! So here is the past five months in a nutshell.. Got a job Worked Worked Worked Church Sleep Watched dozens of movies Gone on some dates (eeee!) Ran Walked Biked Drove Was afraid Was ecstatic Was horrified Was amazed Was blessed X 1000000000000000000000000000000 My emotions reel up an down as if they are a yo-yo but I am happy. God is good.

GREAT SUCCESS!

Hey everyone, I have been thinking of you all and thought I would give you an update on the job situation..

I recieved a phone call last monday to say I had been offered a job position, and I would find out exactly what it was and the hours the next day. I hung up feeling ecstatic but also like there may be a catch. So it turns out it is a barista position at a well known educational facility, good pay, full time, and just during the term time! So that is the catch, but I asked them about that and there is a high chance of there being work in those holiday periods anyway!

:)

You know what, I AM STOKED!!

Whenever life is going amazingly in pretty much every area I get a bit anxious that this will not be great forever. And that is true. It says in the bible that we will be tested "through all kinds of trials.." and also about the anxious part? Well Phillipians covers that very well "Do not be anxious about anything, but in petition and prayer present your requests to God."

So even though things are grand at this moment in time even if that changes, it'll be okay, cause God's got it covered!

Soon I will have to get up at 6am again and commute each day from Phillipstown to Ilam!!
:P

You know those make or break moments?

Hi everybody!!

Haha so this year feels like it's going to be one of those "God will give you the desires of your heart" years. :D Which is certainly cool after 2011 was not the greatest, you even might call it earth shattering. (Um yeah, sorry about that terrible terrible joke!)

But yeah, after Getaway, I just feel like God is going to pour out his blessings! Not just on me though! You and you and you and you and you. :)

This week I have been overwhelmed to have not one, or two or three, but FIVE job interviews. All in the industry that I want to work in. Fingers and toes and everything else crossed please!

And it was so weird. Last night I got a text about an interview at Gloria Jeans. I don't even remember applying online or anything! But I had handed in my CV there ages and ages ago. I'm fairly certain that was a God moment. :D

So once again I shall wear my interview shirt, yes, the black and white polka dot one. And I will pray to God that it goes well, and I'll try not to be nervous, and I smile and shake hands and say "Nice to meet you."

So yup, I am definitely playing the waiting game right now! Will let you know how it goes.

Oh, and something happened the other night that could be totally awesome or so awkward! But that's all I will say about that right now.

Talk to ya'll later!
Love from Gem.

Hair drama

So....

A few years ago my hair looked like this



It was long! And shiny! And happy! And healthy!!

But I didn't see it that way at the time of course. I would've killed to have my hair then the way it now.




The point I'm getting at is that now I want my hair back to it's former natural glory. Then once it is back that way I have a bad feeling I'll want it blonde again... O.o

So I'm going to dye it/or get it dyed brunette, sometime in the next month, when the dreaded regrowth begins to appear once more!


Do blondes have more fun? I would say yes. But hey, can't let hair colour rule your life. :P

....
..I made brown rice with stir fry veggies for tea, but had no meat fish or tofu to add to it so I'm a little glum.

Goodbye for now.
Love from Gem.

I was so nervous...

Last night, I was almost going to not show up to my job trial that I had today, because I was actually that scared, yes scared. Afraid to make coffee, something I've done hundreds of times, and know I can do. Afraid that I might mess up.

I flicked through the book my lovely flatmate had lent me a couple of weeks ago and on the page it said:

"We're talking here about inner strength that makes you attractive when you walk into a room and causes others to say, 'who's that?' They're not asking because of your physical appearance but because your presence has impact. This is not pride, it's just healthy self-esteem based on God's opinion of yyou. It's what I call God-esteem! When you have it, it affects the way you talk to others,apply for a job, perform a ministry, or even how you pray.."

Retrieved from, Believe That You Can by Jentezen Franklin.

I completely believe that through this text that God was speaking to me, assuring me and this gave me a peace, and I slept soundly through the night.

The next morning I woke 10 minutes before my alarm, something that happens to me quite a lot, fortunately. I felt a teeny bit nervous but no-where near as scared as I had the night before. Thank you Lord!

I got to Luciano's Esspresso early for my first job interview and they asked if I wanted a coffee. Stoked! Then I heard the familiar sounds of one of my favourite bands, The Cure. So far so good! However, the questions asked in a job interview always confuse me and I usually go "Uhhhh.." For example: "What has been you biggest achievement so far and how did it make you feel?"

I winged it and said that completing the 9 month course at Ruben Blades Hairdressing School was, and that it made me feel happy. :D

The rest of the interview was pleasant, and we talked easily, and I'm hoping and praying that this will be a great success.

So then I biked to Ilam to do my long awaited job trial. This is the thing that I was terrified of, and when I got there and greeted everyone the first thing I had to do was make a flat white. I am thankful that the coffee machine was a WEGA, which I am used to using, and it was very nice and new. Anyhow my flatwhite turned out good enough, and my milk got complimented, luckily!

I then was shown how the touch screen system worked and got to wrap up a few knives and forks, then got to serve some real life customers! Yay!

Two hours later I left feeling relatively optimistic about the whole experience and wondering why I had felt so scared in the first place! Haha.

Also hoping and praying about this job too. ;)

Gotta go!

Love from Gem.

Domestic Bliss

Hey followers!

It has come to my attention as I recline on this reclining leather chair watching Stuck On You (not paying attention at all however) that I am a person who enjoys cooking.

This is beginning to be extremely useful as I have recently moved into a new flat, where I am expected to cook my own meals and basically fend for myself really.
In the past I have existed on a diet of two minute noodles, fish and chips and anything that is extremely easy and simple to make/eat.
It is not that I can't cook, it is due to the fact that I may have been slightly lazy, and would go to my hairdressing course until 4:30pm and then head straight to my job at the call centre, where I would remain until 8:30pm to then bus home to the west side of town where I would get home at 9:30pm. Seeing as I got up at 7am the next day mostly I was never usually in the mood to cook!

My mood and health did suffer for this, and I find it intriuging to see that this was just prior to when I became a Christian. Funny how these things happen!

Anyhow, I made a decision (which I have been acting on) that in this flat I am going to embrace cooking, cleaning and all things housekeeping with a flair and passion!
I love cutting up vegetables, I love sauteeing them to deliciousness. I love eating the final product. I may be overdoing the seasame seed oil but I don't really care!

Due to influence from my Vegan friends, I have grown a liking to tofu, which I cooked for the first time tonight. I only accompanied it with cabbage, and the flavour was slightly overpowering, but it was lovely to be able to consume the fruits of my labour in a leisurely manner on the floor, accompanied by laptop, guitar and tv.

I hoping that over time my skills at cooking tofu will get better, but for now I'm happy.

I plan to remain in this flat as long as I can (I used to hop from place to place soooo often) and become really settled, get a full time job and even a car. :)

That's all for now, gotta have some camomile tea so I can sleep good for my job interview tomorrow.

Wish me luck and pray for me!

Love from Gem.

Take me to the circus! (The chronicals of a stalker)

It is accurate to say that I am a person who has gone through a lot of phases in my life.

Here are just a few:

The wanting to be a psychologist phase,
The artist phase,
The hairdresser phase,
The wannabe rockstar phase,
The goth phase (still a huge fan of the Cure)
The author phase,
The baker phase,
The knitter phase,
The Zumba phase,
The Soccer phase,

There are more I am sure, but these phases have all made some kind of impact on my life and turned into delightful hobbies!

Some I have left and may return to, others not so much.

I am currently in the midst of a new phase, and it all started a week ago when I met some friends at the Stronger Christchurch World Buskers Festival. I almost did not go, however I walked 2 hours and am extremely glad I did walk that 2 hours to arrive at the Botanic Gardens!

To be honest I was hoping we would stick with the original plan of having a movie night but obviously my opinion on that has since changed!

The first act of the evening (or MCs) were the Wau Wau sisters.

AGGGH, I CANNOT UN-SEE THEM.

They were sooooo dodgey! I did however like their southerner humour, the bits that were not so awkward that is, if there were any!

They were incredibly talented and could balance on each other. My mind boggles at how one person can hold another with their feet, or uh, hand.

The next act was possibly Los Cossas Nostra, and they were one of my favourites! I particularly enjoyed the hula hoop routine done by Mia Mine, due the americanised 50s music they used for it.

I loved all of the acts!

The next day went pretty normal, had a job interview then stopped via the Cashel Mall re-start Music Pitch to check out some of the talent.

Okay so I had seen Mel Parsons on the telly before and am a fan, but seeing her set really proved that she is an amazing singer/song writer. The way she played her guitar! My goodness! Certainly left me wanting to upskill in that department.

Next was Dr Rhythm. He was the man! He could create the sounds of a club or song from his own throat. All By Himself. He was quite cute too...

...



The next night my best friend and myself ventured to Hagley Park to go to the 7pm comedy show. My expectations were not too high, but I knew we would have a good night. I was pleasantly surprised to see other friends from church there! We all sat together amongst the crowd to be wowed (and disturbed) by the Wau Wau Sisters once again.

I saw that the Lords of Strut were the second act on. I was a bit like "Psssh, why on earth are they calling themselves that for?" and wasn't that impressed.

Then they came onto the stage.


THEY WERE ADORABLE!!!! (and Irish)

<3 <3 <3

Especially Seantastic,

(real name Cian Kinsella)

They had their comedy/acrobatic act down pat and I still couldn't fathom how on earth they were that strong!!!

I watched in awe and when all the buskers were doing the money collecting rounds during the intermission I approached Seantastic/Cian and shyly said "You're awesome" And I think his reply was something along the lines of (alhough I did not know at the time) "Tanks, we're doing a show in the Le Tigre Bleu tent tomorrow night where we'll be experimenting with Man-Spray, and lube (ok ok ok so I DID NOT HEAR THE PART WHERE HE SAID ABOUT LUBE, JUST TO BE PERFECTLY CLEAR!!!) So I joyfully said "Thankyou!!!"

Haha so my friend and fellow C3 attendee said "Gem!! D: Don't say thankyou!"

Haha. Awkward.

Too late. I was utterly and completely starstruck.

If you have ever had a large crush on a minor or major international celebrity you will know how I feel. :)

I bussed to my best friend's house with her and stated how cute I thought Seantastic was ....<3

We retired to our beds and rose early the next morning to attend the Buskers Fest once again.

There was The Circus Firemen (they were allgood)

Devil Dan (only saw 5 mins)

Ernest the Magnifico (didn't get the humour)

And unexpectedly Lords of Strut!!!

:D :D

Yay

I cannot remember whether I watched the night show, think I went home to do some domesticated housework.

On Thursday I attended a funeral of a beautiful young girl and while it was incredibly sad, it was lovely to be able to farewell her properly. The best past was when the 100 helium balloons were released into the sky, and then followed by four white doves, which circled around the sky before flying away into the distance.

I went back to the buskers festival around 3pm and watched a few more acts (including the obvious) and then strolled to primal.

I went to primal feeling sad that the worship leaders weren't doing backflips on the stage and whatnot, but it was a beautiful night and God brought me to tears through the sermon being preached.

:')

God is so good!! Amen.

Friday I headed to one of my jobs, knowing in my mind that later that night I wanted to get a photo with Lords of Strut somehow ;)

I biked from work to northlands mall to meet my bro and decided to go the park terrace way which funnily enough goes though where the buskers festival is. I checked the timetable and noticed that Lords of Strut were performing 2;10pm - 3pm!!! Perfect!

I watched in rapture as I saw them go through their routine that I had already seen several times but laughed at all the right times anyhow.

At the end of the show when they were collecting money I bravely approached Famous Seamus (real name Cormac Mohally) and asked "Is it possible to get a photo with you guys?" and he said sure. I shyly smiled at Seantastic and he gave me a nod. I then waited next to the other people wanting photos and then it was finally time!!

I stood inbetween the two of them and Seamus put his hand on my shoulder and then Seantastic put his arm around me! :O :D <3

A kind elderly gentleman offered to take the photo on my low quality mobile phone camera.

And then the mission was complete!!

I left the park, ecstatic and unable to breathe.

You can check out the picture Here http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150525673907756&set=a.429220587755.223239.687507755&type=1

I then went to the 7pm comedy club once again and expectant because I thought my favourite act would be on that night. (IT SAID ON THE TIMETABLE)And the funny awesome thing was that I was originally going to get a photo with them that night, soo glad I got one in the day time! Because you know what?? They weren't on the show that night!!

Anyhow, I am rambling a bit, which is why I should blog once a day or week instead of monthly :P


Enjoy!!