Hooked, lined and sinkered

So... I have a slight obsession with online games. Not just any online games though. No, these are particularly addictive. I shall not name it, but before I started my blog post I made sure I harvested my crops and fruit trees, feed my animals, planted and watered more crops, and did some baking, all on my online virtual farm full of positive reinforcement on both fixed and variable ratio schedules. The most effective training programme you can use on any animal, especially us humans.

I recently made a nice wee diagram as part of my preparation (*cough* procrastination *cough*) for study. It is a piece of paper nicely divided into four squares, or quadrants, that are titled with important or not important, and urgent or not urgent (see conveniently placed picture to the right...) I was going to put this game into the "not important or urgent" category, but I realised that I was in denial. While it wasn't important... (although I would be soooooo annoyed if I lost my game - I'm level 12!) I admit that it was urgent for me. I had a deadline to complete this achievement thingy and I would get a cool chicken if I did and and and... oh dear lord save me now.

The thing with these types of games, and one major social networking site, is that if you "deactive" or "close down" your account, you actually aren't doing anything. Your game/page is still there and if you log back in it'll "reactivate" and be back to normal. Essentially the site/provider is lying to you through the screen and tricking you to believe that you've really deactivated something when all they want is to make it easy for you to get hooked again. If I deleted my game, and then realised that when I played it again everything was still there, I am a thousand times more likely to keep coming back. It's a sad, sad cycle and I am sorry to admit that I've been lured into it.

How do I get out of it? Well for starters, have better things to do, but when I'm studying it's so easy to be distracted. Once you get into the groove, studying is actually rewarding (don't kill me study haters!) but I find it so difficult to get cracka-lackin' that I'm really good at taking breaks. Trip to the bathroom, cups of tea/hot chocolate/water, putting makeup on, doing my hair, redoing my hair, putting more makeup on, talking to everyone in the hall, reading every book except my textbook, cooking, cleaning, eating, SPCAing... you name it, I've used it to procrastinate. But it's kinda getting to the not funny stage now. My first, and hardest, exam is in 3 days and every time I look at my notes I get a bit dazed.

So as I blog to procrastinate and push back the feeling of dread slowly encompassing me, I realise that no amount of wit and wonder can help me find a shortcut past this study-week-long mental block. I simply need to just do it. In an ideal world, I wouldn't touch facebook, let alone my virtual farm (those chickens need feeding every 5 minutes! So unrealistic...), and youtube would miss me trawling through it's makeup tutorials and crazy science videos, and I would kick my tea habit and drink water instead, and actually study (with short breaks) all day... So maybe - just maybe - I could try these things. I'll let you know how I go. See you on the other side...

Easier said than done

Something that has been on my heart recently is the saying "actions speak louder than words". Sometimes, words can be very meaningful (e.g. wedding vows) but more often than not I find myself saying things that I actually don't mean (e.g. saying one thing and then doing another). I try to think about what I say before I say it but that is easier said than done! In fact, a lot of things are easier said than done.

There are a lot of things in the media that are made out to be easy, and for a good price. The messages we get bombarded with can be quite overwhelming. "Get fit" "eat right" "lose weight" "buy this and you'll be happy" "you need <insert object> to complete your life" and so on and so forth. What would the media looked like if realistic goals were advertised? It's hard to imagine. And what if the pressure put on by bright colours and "SALE! SALE!!! SALE!!!!" weren't in our faces all the time? I'd definitely be a lot more relaxed. There's a reason I prefer to mute the sound of the TV in the ad breaks.

The one thing I have taken a long time to realise is, despite what the TV says, I don't need to have/do/buy everything advertised. I know, mind absolutely blown, right? But it's easy to get sucked in. It's also easy to say you aren't, but your actions and attitudes give it away. I have an essential flaw in this area. I'm not so bad now, but I used to be terrible at saying "NO!". It's mean. It's a rejection. But apparently I have every right to say "no" to someone who wants some of my resources, because I have limited resources to give. It was a case of "oh yes, I'm good at managing my time" and then saying "yes" to everyone who asked for help and running myself into the ground.

I learned that I can't just commit without thinking, or agreeing without sleeping on it, or say "yes" without talking to over with people that know me well. Why? Because I need to pause, think, wait, so I can say what I mean, and mean what I say - and then back it up with actions. So now, I'm really careful (most of the time...) about what comes out of my mouth. The amount of nonsense I can spit out per minute is quite impressive and quality definitely gives way to quantity. I am slowly learning to slow the tidal wave of words, and add to the intelligent conversation instead of the noise. It actually means I listen more, and become focused on the people around me instead of on myself.

In the famous words of a Sunday school teacher's song...
"I don't wanna be a hypocrite, I don't wanna be a hypocrite... cos they're not hip with it! Yeah I don't wanna be a hypocrite! No, no!"

Great expectations

Today was not a good day. After missing most of my lab, and napping when I should have been on campus later for a meeting, I passionately told my friend that “I wouldn’t cut the horse off a tail” and then discovered that the internet wasn’t working. “Argh” is the best word to represent how I feel at the moment. As an extrovert, I like to talk about everything that goes on in my head, but alas I do not have time so instead of having a full-blown rant, I guess I could get over myself and write an interesting blog post.

I think we’ve all heard nice sayings like “learn from your mistakes” or “two steps forward, one step back” or “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” or (my favourite) “shit happens”. And yet, as clever and concise as these sayings are, it still doesn’t make up for the fact that when things don’t go according to plan, it just sucks. I still think that the ideas put forward are very valid. I mean, shit does happen and if you can endure and get through you will be stronger, even if it means the way out isn’t linear and you make mistakes along the way (see what I did there? It’s called paraphrasing). But accepting this is just really hard, especially when success is valued so highly. And because failure is the opposite of success it is to be avoided at all costs. (I almost said “in western countries” but I think this could actually be true of most of the societies around the world).

Like all difficult concepts that I struggle with, there seems to be a balance of risk-taking and playing it safe. It’s all relative, said Einstein, and I think he had a point. Accidental spoonerisms in a friendly situation are really funny, but not when you get “fancy duck” mixed up in front of someone important… But the more I think about this, the more I realise how complex the idea of accepting failure is. You've gotta be in to win, but am I putting too much value on the outcome so that it is costing me? Or am I too scared to take a risk because it seems too hard and there would be no immediate satisfaction?

The easiest way to figure this out is to look at our expectations, and how we react when these expectations aren't met. What do you expect of yourself and the world around you? I expected the internet to be working, but, quite simply, it wasn’t. I had the right to expect that when I opened my browser the internet would be working but how did I react? Did I have a tantrum or write a blog post? (Well I did both really). How about something more important to me: if I expected myself to study all the time, I would let myself down constantly. I’ve had this expectation dangling over my head for a very long time and I have had to battle with the idea that study is not the be all and end all. Often I get to the end of a day, and see that I haven't done as much as I wanted. It's quite disappointing and usually my motivation disappears. While I can't be lazy, I've had to realise that the amount of study I do still works for me, even though my initial expectations weren't being met. With this new perspective, I can set out to see how I study best and change my view of my work habits.

What about things that are more out of our control? The bus being late, or tripping over on the way to class, or forgetting to do something, or the internet not working (!), or even letting someone down without realising it. It kinda makes me sad to realise that we (i.e. humans) are obsessed with the only thing that we'll never achieve: perfection. And I can't ignore the spiritual ramifications of this. The way my mum puts it, is that we live in a broken world. It is far from perfect and everyone knows it. Even closer to home is that when you look at youself from your own point of view, you aren't perfect either. But here is where perspective comes in handy. God made us in his very own image (genesis 1:26) and when he looked at everything he made (including you!!) he saw that all of it was good (genesis 1:31). It goes downhill pretty quickly from there when Adam and Eve start to think that they might just ignore what God has told them. But they are still in God's image. They are still created to be perfect, but by God's doing not their own. God sees us as perfect regardless, and we still expect God to turn around and say "just kidding, you have to earn your salvation". Nothing could be further from the truth.

So maybe ask yourself what kinds of things you expect to do, and how you react when you fail to meet these. If you're falling short of a goal, is it really your fault or have you set the standard too high? And what about how you see others. Do you expect them to be a certain way? Do you judge them when they can't live up to your expectations of them? And finally, how do you see yourself and the world? Have you got your God-lenses on? Happy mistake-making :)

 

Spoonerism in all it's might

 

Gardens

Me and my friend almost got locked inside the palmerston north botanical gardens last night. After a wrong left turn we decided that we could just drive through the gardens as a shortcut. The gate was open and off we went, passing a car on the way. I thought they flashed their lights at us, but we dismissed it as the car was bouncing over a speed bump. We confidently drove closer to the exit, only to realise that the gates were shut! A U-turn and a bit of speeding later, we drove past the aforementioned car which turned out to be a security guy closing the gates. Luckily, he waited for us and we were able to drive back out the way we came. Phew!

Do you remember the novel turned movie, The Secret Garden? I used to watch it all the time when I was younger. I remember it being so mystical and so beautiful and so sad. If you don't know the story, it's a about a girl who is orphaned and sent to live with her uncle who is severely depressed after losing his wife. The girl finds a neglected garden that belonged to her late aunt and, along with a servant boy and her previously bedridden cousin, they bring the garden back to life. The uncle eventually finds them in the garden and, seeing that his son is strong and that the garden is alive, is filled with joy (yay). It really is such an enchanting story. It reminds me of the preciousness of life, and looking after that life and that we are here to grow not to hide so we fade away.

I've always loved big gardens. Almost every city has at least one. They give you a sense of peace if you want them too. You can focus on the beauty instead of on your current situation. It helps me to quiet my mind a bit, though I don't think it'd be possible to make it completely silent, and helps me to stop and think, as I'm always on the move. That's the extrovert in me coming through! I really like the concept of gardens too. It seems like all the plants and trees and flowers make each other so much more beautiful than they would be on their own. A sort of body with many parts, all growing and contrasting with each other. Some gardens are planted so that different flowers bloom in different seasons, so one patch is never without colour. And as always I enjoy the link between this and the way I feel God has set up community, although I'll let you think about that on your own.

I think gardens also bring us down to earth, so to speak. They give you the connection back to creation in a way that manmade things may never be able to do. Sure, a garden is regulated and controlled by man, but I still think it's just pruning nature so we can see all it's wild beauty on display. I don't want to neccessarily go live in a garden so I can feel like I'm going back to my roots (pun intended), but I do like the sense being in a garden gives me that is so different to being cooped up in a room and studying all day. If you have read or heard of Genesis (the first book of the bible), you'll be aware that creation all started off in a garden. God made this place full of life and to sustain that life, including us, so that we could live in harmony with Him and creation. Sounds pretty cool to me. I think maybe that's why I find gardens so special - as I often think of God in the quiet and cool atmosphere. I love the verses in the bible that talk about creation reflecting His glory and singing praises. I don't hear trees literally singing, but they just stand there and are so awesome and because God created them, I know He is pretty awesome too.

Cherry blossoms :) so pretty...

Salsa!

Tonight is my hall's annual formal dinner! It's Alice and Wonderland themed, and I'm going with the Queen of hearts in mind. And, to top it off, some of the others in the hall have been teaching us basic salsa steps and it is so much fun! We had a lesson a couple of days ago, and sadly there were no men as they were at football... but this morning there were equal numbers of male and female and it made it a lot more fun! We learned the basic forward and back and side to side steps, and a turn, and a crossoverthingy where you do a 180 degree turn. I had heaps of fun (as I keep saying) and it's really good for getting to know people you may not otherwise talk to unless you were in close proximity and trying to salsa. And although when thinking of salsa one pictures two sexy people get their jig on (see below), I can assure you that nothing of the sort will come to pass tonight. We're all 'grown-up' apparently but there will always be the awkward "ew guys" and "omg it's a girl I haven't seen one in years" feelings floating around!

 

Remember Bert the cadaver? Well on Tuesday in our anatomy lab we really got stuck into him. For the last 6 weeks before break we'd been focusing solely on the the forelimb... but this week we used scalpels and bone crushers (hehehe) to get through the rib cage and take a look at his lungs and heart. SO COOL. We removed each lung and looked at the different parts and compared left and right (cos they're different...) and marvelled at the fact that we were holding lungs. You don't get to do that very often! So that was very exciting. We also had two tests this week, which were not exciting, but as vet students we take them seriously or something like that...

 

 

Gotta love memes! Anywho, I've got an assignment to do and it involves drawing something that I don't really understand... so we'll see how that goes. I'll try and get lots of photos from the dinner tonight and just post them everywhere so you can see my attempt at dressing up! I'm so looking forward to salsa, and the dinner should be amazing too! Until next time :)

A moth made in heaven

Yesterday I brought in some clothes from the washing line and later on found a moth sitting on one of the shirts. I wanted it out of the room (because it's harder to get to sleep if I know there are bugs around me) and stood for a while, plotting my plan of attack. I'm not very good with bugs, but I know that moths are harmless. In fact, I'm quite adept at catching them and biffing them outside usually but this one got the better of me. I was too chicken to pick it up and the longer I looked at it, the more grossed out I got by its bug-ness so I grabbed a tissue and tried to get it to hop onto it so I could carry it. This failing, I did something that I felt, and still feel, really bad about: I squished it.

I tried to justify my actions by thinking that it was just a moth and there are plenty more where that came from, and that it probably wasn't going to live long anyway... but the guilt came rolling in and then my brain decided to have a deep conversation with me about the parallels between moths and life. So here goes:

Brain: You know that was really selfish.
Me: Uh...
Brain: You could have easily just taken it outside.
Me: Well, I...
Brain: And then the moth would be fine, and you'd feel much better.
Me: Ok I get it, can we talk about something else?
Brain: Nope. So I was thinking (because that's my job) that this is a lot like life.
Me: Oh man, save me know.
Brain: You see, instead of making a small sacrifice for the moth, you decided to do something even more costly to all those involved.
Me: Well maybe next time I'll do it just to shut you up.
Brain: And, now we get to learn from your mistake and apply it to the real world.
Me: Oh joy.
Brain: So humor me. If it had been a butterfly, would you have taken it outside?
Me: Uh, I mean sure. They're so pretty.
Brain: But isn't a moth just a slightly browner version of a butterfly?
Me: They are SO different...
Brain: But can you see where I'm going?
Me: Kinda...
Brain: Look at it this way. You let your judgements of the moth get in your way of making a small sacrifice to help it. Instead of loving straight away, you let yourself turn away in disgust and get rid of the "problem" in a way that was essentially inhumane.
Me: Hey, that's a bit harsh don't you think?
Brain: But don't you see? You're called to love all of creation, whether moth, tree, person, dog, no matter what. Selective loving doesn't cut it. You need to love unconditionally, 24/7, 365 days a year. Whoever or whatever happens to cross your path, your first reaction is love.
Me: Love. Moths. You gotta be joking.
Brain: God created all things, great and small. If you can love a moth, you can love anything.
Me: So, what you're saying is, that I made a decision that was not from love?
Brain: Yeah! You're getting it now.
Me: OK, so if I come from the perspective of love first, not judge first, what will happen?
Brain: What Jesus calls us to do is further His kingdom. You see, Jesus lives in the love we share for one another. He is where love comes from so if we love, then we are demonstrating Jesus to the world. God said to leave the judgement up to Him. All we gotta do is love like Jesus would and you're on the right track.
Me: I see where you're going. Actually I'm kinda glad the judging is not up to me. It's tiring stuff.
Brain: So true! I'd rather we focused on brainstorming of how we can show love to people.
Me: Sounds like a plan!
Brain: :)

So you can see that it was quite an intense discussion but I hope I got the message across. If you can make a small sacrifice to show a little love, it will be so much greater than looking after number one. Trust me.

Hope restored in humanity, at least for today.

So you may have heard of the charity song that the boys from Flight of the Conchords wrote with the help of some NZ school children. I just watched the video of them talking to the kids and then recording the song itself! So cute :) here's the link to the video on youtube, trust me you'll be delighted ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QsmuMGkIlA

It was my 20th birthday yesterday! I am so excited to be out of my teens and onto adulthood. It's my first birthday living away from home, which makes me want to ponder the last 6 weeks of my life. I'm still slightly dazed about vet school, but it's almost completely sunk in. I've met amazing people and am having such a great time. I can't tell you how much I love dissecting a preserved dog every week! It's so cool. And I have to do farm work experience. I mean, I love farms! I'm so excited! I've been secretly looking for an excuse to get me on a farm but nothing has come up until now. I am constantly so grateful for the opportunity I've been given.

So, for my birthday I got simon's cat merchandise (t'shirt, mug, jotting pad) from the family, and me and Sam went to see a movie in the gold lounge in a cinema in Wellington. You go upstairs and there's a fully licenced bar with a posh barman waiting to take our orders. "And when during the movie would you like your sundaes brought in?" hehe so fancy! We were dressed up nice and felt very classy. The movie was called Hope Springs which was just awesome. I mean, anything with Meryl Streep in it is going to be fantastic and it was! Definitely recommend it! Then we went to this bar called The Library which was so cool. Low lighting, comfy couches and books all over the show. So cool! And no I don't think you read them but still! Very cosy. So a very good day all in all! Yay for birthdays.

In other news, the flat cat Niki has a sore foot and I feel so useless! I know, I know, I'm barely through my first semester of vet school but I feel like I should know everything already and be able to help! We've learnt a lot already and this is the easy semester so one wonders (somewhat anxiously) about the amount we have to learn and how quickly we have to learn it over the next few years. But Niki just sits there with her poor front paw elegantly held off the ground before doing the 3-legged-cat thing and basically hopping around. Am taking her to a real-life vet tomorrow and I'll have to try not to be starstruck by them. Technically, as I am already in the veterinary profession (according to my lecturers) any vet grad is a colleague. But they are so big and shiny! You remember what it was like in year 9 looking at the year 13s. How impressive they were! I feel exactly the same. And in 2016 I will look back at the little first years and wonder how time has gone so fast...

So nothing too profound coming out of my brain today, but since I have a blog it's a great excuse to get some creative juices flowing. Maybe this burst of literary genius will help me with my assignment... yeah nah bro! :P

A change of perspective

We've got our first graded tests coming up this week and I have to say, I'm not worried. I know some of my friends are quite stressed and so I think "should I be too?" The fact is I've learned a lot about the expectations I have for my study in the last month. There are a few factors that I've had to seriously think about and it's shifted my perspective significantly.

Myth: Everyone can get A+'s

Fact: Unfortunately the vet school are only allowed to give a certain amount of A+'s, A's, etc, according to some policy from someone somewhere. What they are allowed to do however, is scale the marks to the classes results so if the highest was 80%, that would be an A+ but on the flip side a 75% might be a C because it is the lowest mark.

What it means for me: I have to be OK with getting grades I'm not used to getting. I know that sounds quite arrogant, but I really tried hard to get my grades up and for a long time that was what my life was about. To suddenly encounter a school of thought that says "you may get C's because only a few can be at the top of the class" is quite challenging for me and a lot of the class. I've resolved that I don't care about the letters anymore. If I manage to get 80% in a test, I know that's an A- anywhere else, even if I don't get that letter on my record. It means I can demonstrate knowledge of at least 80% of the information I'm being tested on. If I know that I tried to the best of my ability without detriment to my health, I am really, actually, seriously going to be happy. I started of this semester looking towards an A+ average but now I've set my sights to a much more reasonable one.

One of the most important things that people have been trying to get us to understand is that we aren't in a competition anymore. Any pressure I put on myself because I'm worried about how I am compared to others is pointless and just a waste of time and energy. From now on it's time to enjoy the learning and the people I'm with, not spend the next four years straining and stressing. That's how it was leading up to getting in and I can tell you that I do not want to feel like that again. My life is so much more fun now and it's the best thing that's happened. I've even joined a Glee club here at Massey, which is so awesome!

Life is what you make of it, and I've resolved not to make mine all about study. In fact, on the list of priorities it definitely comes below God, friends, food, sleep and joy. It's about finding a balance. I will put in the hours for exams but I will not subject my body to more stress than it needs. I want to look forward to study and to tests and exams and learning, not feel sick thinking about it. I'm here now, and I'm going to enjoy the ride :)

Name that nerve!

My favourite part of the vet course so far is the weekly anatomy lab. At the start of semester, everybody was put into groups of five or so and we given a preserved dog cadavar that we look after and dissect (methodically cut up in order to study its internal parts - thanks google). Those of you who are a bit squeamish may not like this but I'll tell you, it is so interesting and boosts our learning of anatomy in a way that textbooks never could.

We have to respect our cadavar (a rottweiler, whom we've named Burt) and look after him so he doesn't dry out or go mouldy. We aren't allowed to take pictures due to ethical issues. So it really is all in the name of science. This initial dissection is a start to what will become my surgical skills in the future, i.e. learning how and when to use a scapel, scissors, forceps and other instruments, and be able to see how the anatomy we are learning in lectures fits together to make a whole functioning organism.

Rottweilers are acutally adorable and friendly if trained properly!

As with all things dirty and potentially infectious, we have to wash our hands vigorously after each lab and I've taken to doing it whenever I can. In the bathroom, after touching animals, before eating food. It's better safe than sorry! They gave us an introductory talk on all the zoonoses (a disease that can be transmitted to humans from animals) out there and I don't wanna risk it!

We've been focussing on the forelimb of the dog thus far, first learning the bones, then the muscles, and more recently the nerves that innervate (supply an organ or other body part with nerves) those muscles to cause contraction for locomotion. I've had to learn not just the names of muscles, but where they come from (origin) and where the attach (insertion). And bones! You thought it was hard learning the name of a bone, well, you have NO idea. Someone sat down with each bone and thought "hmmm there's a little bump here, lets name it something long in latin, and there's a TINY depression here... let's give it an equally ridiculous name!" so yes. To be honest it's kinda cool, cos those bumps and depressions have a purpose (usually attachment sites of muscles) but still, there's a lot to learn!

The most interesting one so far is dissecting out the brachial plexus (brachial: meaning of the upper arm, and plexus: meaning an intricate network or weblike formation of nerves). So the brachial plexus is a network of nerves, kinda like a junction of a motorway where all the lanes come together and then exit off again to go to various places. Mostly nerves are too small to see, but when they are all bundled together you CAN see them and thus they have names depending on where they are going. I couldn't find a good picture of this on google and I don't think many people would appreciate it so... yeah! I'm really enjoying all this because it is so interesting and like I said, so much better than lectures and a textbook. If we do anything else cool with Burt the rottweiler, I'll do an update!

And you thought the humerus was funny...

An udder day in paradise

There are a few things in life I didn't expect to do, and that includes most of what happened in my cattle handling practical today. We walked out to the Veterinary Large Animal Teaching Unit (VLATU), which is a 20 minute walk from campus, in our brand new overalls and shiny gumboots. In my group of 12 we assembled near a row of cow crushes that contained - well - cows. These were tame cows that didn't really do much except occasionally get poked a prodded by vet and vet tech students once in a while, so they were pretty chilled! An awesome vet tech took us for the 3 hours, teaching us the basics of handling, restraining and controlling cows in a safe way.

A list of exciting cow activities that we got to do follows:
Grabbed her nose
Grabbed her tail and yanked it up (called a tail jack)
Put a halter on
Put a nose grip on
Grabbed mouth, tickled hard palate to cause a mouth opening reflex, grabbed tongue, shoved gag between teeth, put hand down throat.

So, yeah. The cows had fun. But they knew what was coming so they handled it pretty well. Afterwards they lead a big older jersey cow into an arena and demonstrated how to cast a cow. Essentially they tied her up (see below) and pulled on her from both ends, and she toppled over (slowly) onto her side. So cool! This is a quick video on what casting a cow actually looks like. The cow today wasn't in labour like this one but it's the same idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWPn0QuJ1ok

So I really enjoyed that today. An awesome getting my hands dirty (cow shit, cow slobber, cow ruminate, cow snot, etc) and hands on with real animals instead of studying a textbook.

One awesome thing about the vet school is that they have lots of clubs and seminars that anyone can go along to every week. I went along to the radiology club this week and man it is interesting learning how to interpret x-rays. Of course I'll be using them in my career, but there really is something so fascinating about them. Every other week the 5th (final) year students get to present pictures of cases they've recently worked on, which will be so cool to hear about. They also have a wildlife club, and an emergency response club. The other thing they do is something called "grand rounds" where students give talks about cases. I went along to that today and I learnt so much! I'm really keen to go to another one called "post-mortem rounds" where essentially you get to hang out in the post-mortem room and people dissect animals out to show you diseases or just cool stuff in general. So, not for the squeamish but I seem to be pretty desensitised already!

We have the vet ball tomorrow, themed "Bollywood", which should be fun. Unfortunately Sam is in Dunedin so I can't take him! But I've made lots of cool friends already that I can hang out with. Yay for people!

So, a good day, a good week, thus I'll get a good sleep :)

p.s. watch this video if you haven't, it's simply hilarious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP4NMoJcFd4

My life as a Vet Student

So.

Wow.

I've been in Palmerston North for ten days. TEN. It feels like a lifetime!

I found out about vet on the 6th July, booked my flights, packed my bags, cleaned my room, bought lots of stuff, withdrew from Otago, bought more stuff, sorted out studylink, took three bags to the airport but was only allowed two on the plane, and flew to Wellington on the 13th.

Seven crazy days of oraganisation, stress-ation and I-can't-believe-it-ation.

Then in Wellington, I stayed one night at Sam's, drove to Palmerston North the next day, moved all my stuff into Fergusson Hall, bought groceries and kitchen supplies, went out for dinner, then church the next day, Sam left, started 8am Monday, lots of introductions, then camp on Wednesday, back on Friday, dressed up and went to the mentor/mentee happy hour that night, slept in, went out to buy gumboots and overalls, church x2, then 8am Monday again and now it's the evening of the 24th July.

FAR OUT.

I have been so busy, so flat out, so overwhelmed.

But I have also: met awesome people at my hall, am learning how to cook for myself, loving animal handling lectures, continuing to dissect a dog cadavar, meeting great people in the vet programme, getting fit on the stairs up to fergusson hall, meeting more people, have a fridge and a heater in my room, got to buy all my own kitchen stuff, and get to study the awesomest degree in the world!

So it's not too bad really :P

Aside from the break-neck speed of the last couple of weeks, I have to say that I am really enjoying everything so far! The camp I went on was called VLE (Veterinary Leadership Experience) and we were taught about self-management, personality types, and how to work in a team and respect each others differences. It was so interesting and it really jump-started the meeting and getting to know-ing of everyone in first year.

This semester I have anatomy (which is super interesting, and we get to dissect a dog in the labs), physiology (which is super boring, as we're going over the basics of physiology which is the third freaking time for me in two years), biochemistry (same feelings towards this as physiology unfortunately), and animal behaviour/handling/welfare (which is awesome and new and interesting). So, with 8am starts, four times a week, I have to be really organised. I've been getting up at 6:30am (!!!!) and making my breakfast and lunch and everything! It's been great because it's teaching me to put not only study but healthy living into my daily routine.

I really miss Elim and all the people, but I really felt like I was released from there and my life is here now. I've found a new church called Lifechurch which is just as awesome and just as spiritually uplifting so I'm happy!

I'm so grateful that I have the amazing opportunity to be a vet. It's such a privilege and I can't wait to see where I'm heading, whether it's small, large, equine, wildlife or mixed practice. Also, Wellington, and thus Sam, is much more accessible than before! I've already booked a couple of bus trips down for a fraction of the price of plane tickets. So awesome!

Anyway, off to an early night for an early morning start!

xx

Proverbs 9

Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer

Another poetic scripture describing wisdom and this time her opposing figure, folly (or if you read the Message, 'Madame Whore'!). Both wisdom and folly call out to those for whom life is confusing and has no sense. Both invite you to eat their food, but there is a striking difference between the consequences of which one you choose to be with. If you choose wisdom you can "leave your simple ways and ... live" but if you choose folly you find that in her house "the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead."

So we've established that wisdom is the way to go if you want to live. Luckily, we get some wisdom in this chapter which I think is very interesting. I thought I'd put in the whole section:

Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;
whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.
Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
rebuke the wise and they will love you.  
Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

One thing that I've struggled with A LOT is that it's not my job to change people. Sure I may have fantastic ideas and have sound logic with a compelling argument, but if people don't want to hear it, they won't - no matter how loud you speak it. It's a waste of time to try and correct (even gently) someone who doesn't want to change. These mockers and wicked people have their truth channel turned way down low and their "only what I want to hear" reciever on full sensitivity. If you try and turn up the truth, they get uncomfortable and hence the invitation of insults and abuse and hate.

Fortunatelty, there are some wise people out there! Thank goodness! These people have found wisdom which begins "in the fear of the Lord" and understanding which comes from "the knowledge of the Holy Spirit". They know that constructive feedback should be well received. They understand the value of respecting other people's opinion when given honestly and in a civil way. These people want to learn and grow and understand that to be rebuked is not a bad thing, it is a loving correction, a fatherly disciplinary action from our God who is full of grace and mercy. To put it simply: no pain, no gain!

So my application is to think twice about biting someone's head off for mentioning my flaws. No one has the right to tell me everything that's wrong with me with the intention to hurt me, but I should still be listening as I know that God can speak through other people as well as directly to me, just in case it is one of those loving corrections. If not, brush it off! Also, I need to careful in what I say to others, otherwise it could completely backfire and make the situation worse as they put on their defensive tatics.

So I pray that today and everyday I can be humbled. That I acknowledge that I have given my life to God and that if He has something to say, I better listen instead of insult or abuse. Thank for your mercy. Amen.

[Read Proverbs 9: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%209&version=NIV]

Proverbs 8

Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer

I love the poetry of today's reading. My mum is an English teacher so I'm often looking out for things like this. Here, wisdom is presented as the most valuable thing on earth. She is worth more than all the precious metals and rare gems. She's so much better than money or popularity or anything you place value in. "With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity."  This wisdom character sounds like a pretty good one to be familiar with! She was even here before the world was created, God made her from the beginning. "The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old ... then I was constantly at his side". She says that insight is hers and by her kings rule and princes govern. I think that's pretty amazing.

So, short blog today. My application is to understand why wisdom is described like this. Obviously it's good for us, so I'd like to find out how my life and my relationship with God can be full of wisdom.

And I guess my prayer is to give me the opportunity to grow in wisdom. Amen!

Read Proverbs 8: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%208&version=NIV]

Proverbs 7

Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer

This chapter of proverbs is quite straightforward. The writer (who I think is in fact Solomon) tells the reader to "say to wisdom, 'You are my sister,' and to insight, 'You are my relative'" so that they will not be led astray by a seductive and adulterous women. He describes a young man with no sense going to meet a woman. She says that she's prepared everything for them to make love all night. She kisses him boldly and, after reminding him that her husband is well out of the picture, promptly has the young man eating out of her hand.

How often do you see this in movies?

An attractive woman, dressed in expensive and sexy clothing, going out to catch a man and dominate him through sex. But is she really that attractive after all? How about a handsome man, with a slick suit on, luring women into bed with talk of how beautiful they are and how they'd be so good together. Is he actually handsome? Any movie/television programme that you watch in the evening will be riddled with sex outside of marriage, of people having affairs, of break-ups and flings and divorce and melt-downs. Yet somehow this is entices us and pulls us in. The scandal of these horrible and destructive things is glorified and we lap it up by watching our regular TV show.

I'm stuck on this one, so let me know what you think. Should we watch programmes that we know contain behaviours that are so obviously sin? That go against the bible? Where people are constantly being used and hurt, and barely any relationship in the limelight - fictional or in reality - is actually functioning and healthy? What about programmes or movies that glorify killing and violence? I can barely watch R16 horror or thriller movies, let alone R18 ones like Saw, without being so disturbed that I feel sick and have nightmares for ages afterward. But I'm not squeamish. I'm absolutely fine with getting my hands dirty dissecting animals at university or watching surgeries on TV. In fact, it takes quite a bit of yuckiness to gross me out. What is it,then, that disturbs me so much?

How about crime or police shows, where the story is so formulaic. One or two people die each episode but there's no real looking into how the relatives feel or how the community is affected. So much death and sadness and violence glossed over by jokes and witty dialogue. Is this acceptable? If not, what can be done about it? It's obvious that programmes like CSI and Castle bring in the money. Why would the producers/TV networks/actors stop just because some people disagree with their product? (Let me know what you think by commenting below.)

The application is simply to do what Solomon said. Even though he was talking specifically to young men about avoiding adultery, I still think that trying to be so familiar with wisdom and insight that you call them family is a good idea!

So my prayer is for God to give me wisdom and insight. I believe that He will guide me if I ask and listen. Lord, help me to choose wisely when it comes to what I let myself watch so I don't get sucked into the temptations that are displayed on my TV screen every night. Thank you for your great love. Amen.

[Read Proverbs 7: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%207&version=NIV]

Ephesians 6

Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer

Paul continues to give instructions about how to treat one another, but then he goes onto to say something very interesting. He says to put on the full armour of God because "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." This is the first mention in this book (that I've picked up) of protecting ourselves against evil that we can't see with our eyes. Our true battle is a spiritual one and therefore we must prepare and equip ourselves.

Luckily, Paul spells out exactly how to do this:
"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Instead of getting myself scared of the dark, I can put on the armour of God and know that I am protected from attacks from the enemy. One thing that I've learned is that the more I strive for God, the more I notice little attacks trying to bring me down. The devil freaks out when he realises that you love God. He will try anything to get you away. He'll try and put little thoughts in your head of inferiority or worthlessness, he'll try to tell you that you sin too much that God can't possibly love you. Any weakness you have, he'll try get a foothold. But, remember James 4:7 "...resist the devil and he will flee"!

My application is to simply put on the armour of God every day. I'll wear the belt of truth so that my faith doesn't fall apart as it is founded in truth. I'll put on the breastplate of righteousness so that I can act according to God's will and not let sin overcome me. On my feet, I'll be prepared for anything and be at peace with it because I know from the gospel that it's worth it. I try my utmost to take up the shield of faith, believing through anything that God is with me and He loves me and He has good plans for me, despite the current circumstances. With the helmet of salvation protecting me - for I know that I'm saved and nothing can take that away - I will finally learn the word of God, which is the sword of the spirit to cut down the enemy and his lies.

Father, I ask that you protect me from the enemy. I want to grow in faith and peace, so that I can fully trust in You no matter what. I understand that I cannot be idle as the battle is on-going. So help me persevere for You. Amen.

[Read Ephesians 6: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%206&version=NIV]

Ephesians 5

Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer

Paul gives the Ephesians more instructions in this chapter that are very condemning and offensive at first glance. Not a good place to start really! As a rule of thumb, if I find myself getting angry or dismissive of a part of the bible I check myself and check the context. Is this resonating with a part of my life that I know I need to deal with? Or am I not understanding the background or the people to which these words were directed to?

I thought an analogy would do well here:

How would you feel if you heard me reciting "white is right, white is right".
Are you angry? Appalled? Offended? Disgusted? What do you assume about me? Do you automatically think that I would then go on to say "black is wrong?" Do you then dismiss me as quickly as you've judged me?

What if you then heard me say "blue is left, blue is left".
Does your perspective suddenly wrench away from what you first thought? How do you feel now? This new context must mean I'm not a racist. Are you embarrassed?

In fact, I use the phrase "white is right" to remember which side of my contact lens case I need to put my contacts in so I don't get them mixed up. One lid is white, one lid is blue. The words "blue" and "left" don't rhyme so I started using "white" and "right".

*my contacts case doesn't have the helpful letters "L" and "R" on them.

 

So, context is important. Agreed? This chapter has some pretty challenging stuff that I haven't really got my head around yet in terms of application. The first section of the chapter is pretty straightforward: "Do what God does. [insert sinful thing] is what God doesn't do, so you shouldn't do it either. Live a life of love!"

But then it goes on to talk about wives submitting to their husbands (and don't forget he goes onto to talk about husbands loving their wives as Christ loves the church). Without getting our knickers in a twist, let's think about why Paul would have said something like this. This really is a brain drain for me. I have to think really hard about this kind of stuff. But my idea is that Paul wouldn't have said these kind of things to oppress any particular type of person, after all he did just spend ages telling the Ephesians that their identity was not birth place or gender. I often hear people say that Paul was a misogynist, and I have no idea either way. But I do know that a lot of what Paul says is calling people to a life of love, maturity and fulfillment, ultimately living for a relationship with Jesus.

So with that in mind, I will try and wrestle through this chapter to figure out what it truly means. I pray that God can give me insight and that I can find the truth. I ask for God to help me be open-minded and try to figure things out instead of dismissing them. I thank God that He gave me a brain to use and to make choices with and to learn with. Amen!

[Read Ephesians 5: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%205&version=NIV;MSG]

Ephesians 4

Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer

What strikes me about this chapter is the instructions Paul gives the Ephesians. After explaining in previous chapters that their identity is no longer found in their birth as Gentiles but found in Jesus, he calls them into futher maturity in Christ. If their identity really has changed then they need to do something about it. "So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking".

But look at the things he tells them to do. If you take a step back, take the instructions out of the context of the bible, out of the context of God, I think you'd agree that the world would be phenomenally better place if everyone tried to follow them. Paul tells them to "get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." It just blows my mind to think of how much peace would be in the world if everyone really did get rid of those things. Whether you have relationship with God or not, I'm sure you'd agree that a decent person should "... not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

You see, this is what I'm understanding about the bible. You have to read it to actually know what it says. What would an athiest say in response to the fact that Jesus told everyone to love everyone else unconditionally? Would they dismiss it just because Jesus said it? People often quote specific parts of the bible as rebuttal against a faith in God. But that doesn't make sense. How could the bible be used against the God that it so earnestly tries to document? I believe if people really wanted to look into the bible and actually find something, they would be surprised as to the complexity of each book. That if you really look, and understand the context, things don't contradict: they actually support and give background and colour and story. All the parts of the bible work together, not against each other.

So my application is to not judge a book by it's cover, literally. If I really want to understand where the intellectual basis of my faith is coming from then I need to study the bible and work out what it's really saying. Hopefully, by doing this I'll be more prepared to live a life according to the will of God and be able to help explain and pull apart the questions people have about the bible and about God. And I don't need to go to bible college to do this, though I'm sure it would be very useful!

My prayer today is for God to fill me with a desire to learn His word. I want to be so curious and get excited and passionate so I can find new things and learn them and apply them. Most of all I thank God that He has given us not only a book of instruction, but a book of encouragement and one that shows Jesus and all he did for us. Amen.


[Read Ephesians 4: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%204&version=NIV]

Ephesians 3

Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer

I read some commentaries on this chapter to get a deeper insight than I was getting on my own. My metaphorical ears pricked up at this quote from someone called Matthew Henry:

"We may learn hence that the faithful ministers of Christ are to dispense his sacred truths, however disagreeable they may be to some, and whatever they themselves may suffer for doing so."

Paul describes himself as "the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles". He says that God has disclosed to him the wonderful secret not known to anyone on earth before this time that "through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus."

As described in my last response to chapter 2, this view was absolutely radical at the time. Even one of great apostles Peter avoided preaching to the Gentiles until he was both convicted by God and challenged by Paul. No wonder Paul describes himself as a prisoner! However, Paul asks the Ephesians "not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are for you glory".

OK, let's pull this apart a bit more.

A quick look on google and you see that the word prisoner is very negative. Why then does Paul use this word prisoner in the same sentence as Jesus? I have one theory and it goes like this: when you become a Christian, your life is no longer your own. You have made a choice to submit your life to Jesus and do his will (whatever that is) in every part of your life. Jesus has authority over your life. He has the first and the last say. He OWNS you. Freaky huh? But recall that Jesus loves creation SO MUCH that he chose to replace it with himself on the cross as a sacrifice for all the sins every in all time in the whole universe.

I can't think of anybody in all of time that I would rather submit my life to than the God who has claimed me as His own out of pure love and from whom only good comes! This complete surrender to Him really does bring freedom and peace. I've found that being a slave to God is so much better than being a slave to myself, or to the world. In fact I've found that every time I try to please myself and ignore God, I end up feeling worse off for it.

But Paul still talks about suffering. In fact, he tells the Ephesians to stop worrying about it because his suffering is for their glory! HUH? In my response to chapter 1, I nutted out that because God loves us, we naturally love Him. And because we love what He loves, we love all creation.

I'm gonna spell it out for you: when it comes to God and restoring the world to a relationship with Him, how we feel doing his work has nothing to do with it. IT'S NOT ABOUT US. In an intensely individualistic society, this works us up because it goes against the grain. No, you say, this life is about me and how I feel and what I want to do. But, if you chose (note that this is a conscious decision, not forced) to follow Jesus then you willingly give up your life to Him and his will.

You see, Paul was suffering because he was preaching against society. The status quo was being challenged. He was doing UNCOMFORTABLE things. People simply didn't like it so he had a hard time. Recall that quote from the start of the post that we should tell people the truth of Jesus "however disagreeable [it] may be to some, and whatever [we] may suffer for doing so". Paul understood that this God given revelation of the truth was so much more important than how he felt at the time.

So my prayer is that I can draw on his strength to tell the truth no matter where He asks me to go or what popular belief is being challenged. I acknowledge that this may be hard or scary or freaky, but I ask that He remind me of His promises in the bible (like Jeremiah 29:11). Thank you Jesus that as Christians we know the truth but also have the great privilege to spread the gospel. Amen.

[Read Ephesians 3: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%203&version=NIV]
p.s. to see the commentary to which I'm referring, click on the link above and on the right hand side of the passage click on "Show Resources" and scroll down a bit to click on verses 1-13 of Matthew Henry's Commentary.

Ephesians 2

Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer

In the second half of this chapter (verses 11-22) we see a juxtaposition of before-Christ and after-Christ. After reminding the Ephesians that it was through grace they had been saved, not works, Paul goes on to remind them of their identity before Christ died for them.

"..remember that formally you who are Gentiles by birth and called 'uncircumcised'... - remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citenzenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world." (verses 11 - 12)

How scary would that have been, to know that just because you were born outside of Israel that somehow you were automatically excluded from God! I can't imagine how it would have felt to be apart from God. It really would have been hell on earth.

I've always wondered: why did God just choose the Israelites to be His chosen people and then exclude everyone else for that time? You can read the story of the Israelites. Over and over again they took God for granted and got into really bad situations because of it. They weren't exactly an ideal people!

But then you read on: "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been bought near through the blood of Christ" and not only that but also "for he himself is our peace, who has made two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility".

So let's look at the big picture: Jesus came and died for our sins, but he also claimed the whole world as his chosen people in the same action. He broke down all human barriers making his love and a relationship with God through him possible to absolutely everyone, regardless of who you think you are. "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's household."

Before Christ died, our identity was worldy. It was where you were born, what colour your skin is, your name, your gender, your sexuality, your personality. But now our identity is found in Jesus because when he died for us he claimed us as his own. Now two very opposite people are the same - unified in the love Jesus has for them. "His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace."

My application today goes something like this: there is no point in me trying to categorise people and treat them accordingly. There is only one category. Jesus. And therefore I must treat everyone as I would myself as I know that we are all one in Jesus and any actions against someone would be against myself and ultimately against Jesus!

Phew. I must say, that was a mission to get my head around today, so sorry if it's a bit confusing!

Anyway, my prayer is for God to help me to realise the power of Jesus dying on the cross. Lord, help me to act towards others as you would because we are one and the same in You. I thank you that you came to create peace and restore relationships with You. That you are a God of creation, not destruction. Thank you for your mighty love! Amen.

[Read Ephesians 2: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%202&version=NIV]

(I read this the day after I posted this response and I think it fits in. It's quite long, but worth it to read the whole way through. Let me know what you think! http://eugenecho.com/2011/03/08/supporting-women-in-ministry/)

Ephesians 1

Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer

Today's reading took me a while to get my head around in the NIV version, so I grabbed my Message bible and read that instead. Fortunately, it made a lot more sense!

In this chapter, Paul describes how God had all of us in mind before time began. That He had always intended for us to be adopted into the family through Jesus and that He took great pleasure in this! I can imagine God with a cheeky smile, rubbing His hands together, plotting the greatest love story ever told, all because He loved us from the word "let there be light"!

This playful and loving side of God is one that I feel many people don't grasp at first. This really is the grace of God - that He loved us before we even had the chance to stuff up and He still loves us and will always love us, no matter what! His love is a gift. No one can earn it or get away from it. Paul doesn't tell the Ephesians "OK, so until you are perfect and never sin and work super hard beyond human capacity, then I'll praise God because you have earned your salvation!" Of course not! Instead, Paul understands that God loves us so much that He couldn't help but give us the gift of salvation.

This is the radical thing then: God only gave us this gift because He loves us. It's not that He took pity on us, or gave it hesitantly, or anything. No, this gift of grace was a symptom of the immense and unfathomable love He has for us. So naturally, in response to this love, I feel compelled to love Him back! Loving God also means loving His creation with the same grace as He loves His creation. And so out of His love for me, given by grace, I naturally want to love everyone. Get it?

It's like energy in physics. Energy is always conserved, it is never created or destroyed. In the same way that energy came from one place and now flows all around the world, empowering nations and making life possible, so too does love, which comes from God and flows through us to everyone around us.

So my prayer today is that I can remember and be amazed at this gift of grace. I ask God that I can not help but love on everyone around me in response to His love. I pray that I can do this through His love and strength, and bring life to others this way. I thank God for the simple fact that He loves me! Amen to that!

[Read Ephesians 1: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%201&version=MSG]

Isaiah 42

Scripture - Observation - Application - Prayer

ISAIAH 42 (NIV)

I don't know much about Isaiah, so the context is very vague for me. I guess that's why they say that knowledge is power. What I do know is that Isaiah was an awesome prophet, bringing the word of God to the people no matter what He had to say.

I guess as my actual understanding of this passage is limited, I'll give you my general observation: Isaiah was faithful to God and trusted in Him. He heard from Him and spoke without doubt or hesitation.

We've been learning a lot about prophecy in my church, and essentially for me it is hearing the word of God and speaking it out - though this doesn't necessarily mean you are a prophet. I've also learned that the only way to prophesy is to have faith in God and believing that what you're hearing/seeing/feeling is indeed, God. The thing is, you can get a prophecy or word from God, but that is only half of the process. You have to bring that word to the person it was meant for. Sometimes, you have no idea who that person is or what the word means. Every time I've had a picture or word for someone, even though I didn't know what it meant, it has ALWAYS resounded with that person. How exciting!

So my application, is to continue to trust in God, and be faithful to Him in response to the fact that He is faithful to me. To believe that if I ask for a word and I get a word to give, then that word will build up, stir up or cheer up whoever it is God wants to speak to. Someone once told me that God would rather you made a mistake in faith, than hold back in fear.

My prayer is one of thanks for God being faithful, that He gives when we ask according to His will, that trusting in Him and stepping out in faith only brings good things for those around us. Lord, help me to overcome fear so my confidence and faith in You grows. Amen!

[Read Isaiah 42 here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah%2042&version=NIV]

Sunny down in Dunny

It's one of those spectacular Dunedin days. Blue sky, brilliant sun, beautiful scenary - all wrapped up in a temperature not usually experienced unless you are from the North Island. Yes, that's right - it's warm today.
Walking to Uni was actually enjoyable and I even decided to walk home instead of catching a ride, just to feel the sunshine on my pale skin and to see with my own eyes that insects really exist in Dunedin.
You see, this weather is treasure.
So used to wrapping up - I haven't shaved my legs for weeks - and then a day like this comes along and I wish I had the nerve to wear shorts.
I tried to be creative and capture the stunning views on my Nokia's not-good-enough camera. I toyed with the idea of coming back with my sister's expensive digital and then gave up, content to hold the images in my mind until further notice. I wished that my partner was there to see it all with his eyes instead of reading a pithy text telling him about the sun.
I supposed I should enjoy it all just for myself while I could.

...

And then post some pictures for you to enjoy too!

Looking up Leith Street

The Leith from the bridge on Dundas Street

Looking towards the city from Lovelock Ave

Walking up Lovelock Ave

About to walk up past the Northern Cemetery
(my camera wasn't good enough to capture the tiny golden
flowers that were shimmering down from the trees!)

Just up the pathway from the previous photo.
This tree is so beautiful and I get to see it change through all the seasons.

View from the path
This area has so many beautiful trees and grasses - it's always so magical

Looking down Warden Street