The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway
Thursday March 27, 2014
Last Friday, I played "Let it Go" (because I really can't get enough of that song) live, at work, on a keyboard, with one of my colleagues who had had some opera training. It went down pretty well I thought, certainly the live element and atmosphere made it so special. Would probably not do that again.
I was at yum cha with Wei on Saturday and music at church on Sunday (where I played Let it Go, again, during the offering, and it totally went down well with everyone who knew the song!) On Monday we were at Crazy Horse for some amazing steaks and finally on Tuesday it was time to head to Queenstown.
I saw the GDC contingent at Wellington Airport on my way out and had a quick chat to them before scampering off to the gate. It was a fine sunny day as I left Wellington, and all was fine until the pilot announced that the winds were too strong to land in Queenstown, and instead we had to land in Invercargill and take a bus for two hours.
Whee.
It was a mildly pleasant drive, apart from the lady and two babies behind me, but it was around 2pm when I finally reached Queenstown Airport and met up with my auntie and cousin. We spent the rest of the day wandering around town, getting some Ferg Burgers and Movenpick and checking out the lake. We had a pretty big day the next day...
We took a day trip to Milford Sound as part of this Jucy Cruise company. After a long wait for the coach to arrive, we went on our way to Te Anau, then Milford via some spectacular sights and fantastic scenery along the way. The cruise itself was amazing, just being able to appreciate the beauty of the Sounds as you're floating by. We were on the foredeck as the captain pulled right up against a waterfall - exhilarating! The gush of cold spray and the force of the water soon dissipated as the sun blazed down on the boat. It's true - every picture you take is a postcard picture. It was 9pm when we finally got back to Queenstown, but what a day.
While yesterday was more laid back and scenic, today was more adrenaline pumping, as I took my first bungy jump at the original bungy at the Kawarau Suspension Bridge. It was a bit windy and chilly as I stood on the edge of the platform, nervous as hell as I gawked at my surroundings. I didn't have my glasses on so it was kinda good that I couldn't focus on exactly how far down it was. The guys manning the equipment there were awesome though, I spoke to them about my job and tried to sell Robot Unicorn Attack 2 to them. Eventually I waddled my way to the edge and they counted down...but I hesitated when he reached zero! I took a deep breath and gracefully fell forward, arms wide open like a majestic eagle.
The jump is over so quickly. You don't really have the time to process what's going on. As I lay on the catchment boat, I replayed the last minute in my head and tried to remember what had just happened. It was awesome though, the slight free fall you get and the adrenaline rush of it all - I'd probably do it again. My bravery spurred my cousin on to go or her first bungy jump, so congrats to her as well for having the guts!
We spent the rest of the day enjoying the wine and cheese of the Gibbston Valley before heading up to Wanaka. We went to Puzzling World and conquered the maze, had a walk by the lake and finally headed back to Queenstown for some dinner.
It's been a long day but tomorrow will be even longer!
Posted by Jeremy at 11:22am on Thursday March 27, 2014 :: 0 comments :: 
Busy Month
Monday March 17, 2014
The month has been busy so far, with several social occasions peppering my week and plenty at work to keep me occupied. We had a sumptuous feast at Tiger, all you can eat ribs at Gasworks and a small but delightful dinner at my previous project manager's house. There's been nightmarketing and bubble tea and just general indulgence with food.
I went to the Power Plant display at the Botanic Gardens last Saturday, as part of the New Zealand Festival. It was a show of light and sound within the flora of the gardens. Ex-tropical cyclone Lusi was bearing down on the city and it caused a few showers during the night, but this only added to the mystery and eeriness.
On Sunday, the whole church was away at the annual church camp, so I took the opportunity to hold my own service - just jamming around on the piano with Wei and Andrew with no interruptions. Possibly the best church service I've been to! I've finally gotten my playing of "Let it Go" from Disney's Frozen to an acceptable level, and posted a video of me playing it on Facebook. Lots of great feedback and comments, thanks to all who listened! Still looking to finesse various parts of the piece to add volume and depth to the emotion and richness of the song. So good.
Posted by Jeremy at 8:58am on Monday March 17, 2014 :: 0 comments ::
What a Weekend
Sunday March 2, 2014
The weekend started out with a few drinks and pizza at the Sprig and Fern, and some healthy discussion on mildly controversial and polarising religious opinions. Following that, we headed back to the Greenhouse for some delicious black forest cake to celebrate a non-descript March holiday which happened to coincide with World Civil Defense Day. I had my suspicions but I was still pleasantly surprised and a little embarrassed with the attention, but the night was thoroughly enjoyable.
On Saturday, we had the PikPok Family Day Barbeque at the Mt Victoria Bowls Club. Though the day was a bit windy, the sun was glorious and the atmosphere chilled and relaxed. Charlie had found out about the aforementioned non-descript March holiday and had brought in some candles to stick in the cupcakes, it was very sweet. Thanks to a sign she had written, people well-wished me as the day progressed, again very touched by the sentiments but a little embarrassed with the attention, teehee. It was awesome to spend the day with cool people doing cool things, just out in the sun chit-chatting and playing bowls.
We ended up at the Gryphon Theatre at 8pm to catch the final night of the Fringe at the Gryphon, with three improv shows: Brooks and Brown in Literally Anything, Sketchual Healing and Here's a Thing. Mind-blowingly funny, absolutely amazing performances by all involved and just damn entertaining, capping off what was a brilliant day.
I've been house-sitting at Charles's place too, with his two kittens Hugs and Kisses. Adorable but so mischievous! They like following me around the house and they're extremely playful. I left the pantry open and they snuck in to have a look around; they got stuck in one of the large drawers in the kitchen as well. They'd go into my room and I'd try to carry them out, but since there's two, I'd get rid of one only to have the other sneak in, and repeat. Still, heaps of fun to play with, and I think they liked the attention too.
I've also been following Twitch Plays Pokemon, a social experiment giving 60,000 people the chance to control a Gameboy Emulator playing Pokemon Red. After 16 days, they've finally beaten the Elite Four and Champion but spawned several memes and a joke religion - Lord Helix the Omastar, Bird Jesus the Pidgeot, Flareon the False Prophet, so on and so forth. Highlight of the Elite Four battles would be level 36 Venomoth (nickname ATV, or All Terrain Venomoth) versus Lance's level 62 Dragonite. Due to some questionable AI programming, Dragonite kept using Barrier and Agility as they were "Psychic" attacks super-effective against Venomoth, and Venomoth had managed to Disable Hyper Beam and Poisonpowder Dragonite. Totally epic, and absolutely fascinating to watch the whole game unfold at the hands of thousands of people like that. A new adventure begins in just over two hours - what could it be!?
Today I was at church for the final in the series of "Things I Wish Jesus Never Said", and then out to Lyall Bay for Ekim Burgers with Jimmy and Charlie. After a solid afternoon nap, I was at Laundry with Jono, Andrew and Wei for dinner, then Fidel's for dessert.
My weekend has been super busy but full of amazing friends and fun times. Thanks guys, you rock.
Posted by Jeremy at 8:45am on Sunday March 2, 2014 :: 0 comments ::