It's starting to feel real now
Jun. 13th, 2010 12:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nishatalithaMy parents woke me up around 9.30am this morning to say that they were leaving now and could I unlock the door so they could get out? This was easily achived, but by then Jemima was whining for her breakfast and I was too awake to go back to sleep.
Currently, I am trying to a) work up the enthusiasm to go down to the garage to get more firewood (actually necessary); b) decide whether I can be bothered making Diana's Chocolate-Caramel Brownies to take into work tomorrow (probably a good idea); c) make lactose-free apple cake for gaming tomorrow night (maybe). I should also have lunch.
For sometime we have been planning to have an electricity-free drill to test our preparedness for an emergency. We're not doing this with complete thoroughness, I have to admit - the experiment is planned to run from 3:00pm - 3:00pm, the fridge freezer is staying on, and we're not going to turn off the water. Given that the sun goes behind the hills shortly after 5:00pm and a southerly is expected to come through later today, this should be interesting.
I graduated on Friday with a newly-renamed Legal Exectuve Diploma. This counts as appropriate tertiary educated, so work gave me the day off for graduation leave. My parents were driving down and arriving when they got there, in plenty of time to be at the graduation at six. In the meantime, once I got up, I made myself useful around the house - you know, such things as laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, polishing my shoes and vacuuming.
And, well, I managed to crack myself over the left eye with the metal vacuum cleaner pole, and since I wasn't wearing my glasses at the time, give myself a black eye. There are reasons why I usually ask![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
maudlinrose and tamarillow to do the vacuuming... Yeah.
Graduation was much smaller and more intimate than from my degree. There were six of us total, and what with my last name beginning with A and all, I was the first one up. Some of us, like me, did it part time over three years, and others did it all in one year. One of my lecturers from a couple of years ago, who is also a director of the diploma, gave an interesting speech, half of which involved congratulating us on graduating, and the other half a short lecture on enduring powers of attorney (personal).
Then we went out for dinner at the Thai Chef Restaurant, which was very good, with the flatmates, callie and factioncat. The food, as remembered from the last time I was there, was excellent. People gave me cards, which was lovely, and Mum and Dad gave me a bottle of Bushmills 10 Yr Whiskey - and my parents giving me alcohol is just strange (they were Not Keen on alcohol for years and it still flumoxes me to be offered a drink when I go home). The whiskey is good, though.
Yesterday, went to all the antique shops on Tinakori Road, to Mediterranean Food Warehouse for lunch, then through all the second-hand and antique stores in Newtown, followed by the Salvation Army store in town and Abel Smith Traders. My parents didn't buy anything. I, however, did. I bought a 12 hole patty-cake tin, which will go with my 9-hole tin quite nicely when it comes to making Christmas mince-meat tarts this year. You just can't buy the properly curved ones new anymore, they're all straight-angled.
I also bought dining chairs. Astamarillow enthusiastically put it when she saw them: "Chairs! Chairs that aren't made of plastic!". We no longer need to drag out the computer chairs when we have guests around for dinner. instead, we can now seat four people on normal chairs. Two of the chairs even match! Then we can drag out the old white plastic chairs and seat six for dinner (which is about as many as we really want around our dining room table). This is Good Thing! They were $20 each, Dad glued the one that needed a little bit of attention, and also used some old carpet and packing tape to put padding on the ends of the legs so they won't scrape the hardwood floor.
After dinner, (beef noodle bowl at actual recipe-spiciness sincemaudlinrose was out), and over the wine I got at the Food Show accompanied with blue cheese also from the Food Show and some dark chocolate, Dad gave me the tour through 483 photos of his time studying at Harvard earlier this year and week in Orlando with family friends. Quite interesting, and Boston looks to be a beautiful city. The museums almost make me want to go to America. Almost. Apparently, I am the only person other than Mum to get the complete tour so far. As it was spring in Boston when he was there, Dad took lots of photos of flowers for Mum.
All in all, it was a good visit.
Now I should actually do things.
Currently, I am trying to a) work up the enthusiasm to go down to the garage to get more firewood (actually necessary); b) decide whether I can be bothered making Diana's Chocolate-Caramel Brownies to take into work tomorrow (probably a good idea); c) make lactose-free apple cake for gaming tomorrow night (maybe). I should also have lunch.
For sometime we have been planning to have an electricity-free drill to test our preparedness for an emergency. We're not doing this with complete thoroughness, I have to admit - the experiment is planned to run from 3:00pm - 3:00pm, the fridge freezer is staying on, and we're not going to turn off the water. Given that the sun goes behind the hills shortly after 5:00pm and a southerly is expected to come through later today, this should be interesting.
I graduated on Friday with a newly-renamed Legal Exectuve Diploma. This counts as appropriate tertiary educated, so work gave me the day off for graduation leave. My parents were driving down and arriving when they got there, in plenty of time to be at the graduation at six. In the meantime, once I got up, I made myself useful around the house - you know, such things as laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, polishing my shoes and vacuuming.
And, well, I managed to crack myself over the left eye with the metal vacuum cleaner pole, and since I wasn't wearing my glasses at the time, give myself a black eye. There are reasons why I usually ask
maudlinrose and tamarillow to do the vacuuming... Yeah. Graduation was much smaller and more intimate than from my degree. There were six of us total, and what with my last name beginning with A and all, I was the first one up. Some of us, like me, did it part time over three years, and others did it all in one year. One of my lecturers from a couple of years ago, who is also a director of the diploma, gave an interesting speech, half of which involved congratulating us on graduating, and the other half a short lecture on enduring powers of attorney (personal).
Then we went out for dinner at the Thai Chef Restaurant, which was very good, with the flatmates, callie and factioncat. The food, as remembered from the last time I was there, was excellent. People gave me cards, which was lovely, and Mum and Dad gave me a bottle of Bushmills 10 Yr Whiskey - and my parents giving me alcohol is just strange (they were Not Keen on alcohol for years and it still flumoxes me to be offered a drink when I go home). The whiskey is good, though.
Yesterday, went to all the antique shops on Tinakori Road, to Mediterranean Food Warehouse for lunch, then through all the second-hand and antique stores in Newtown, followed by the Salvation Army store in town and Abel Smith Traders. My parents didn't buy anything. I, however, did. I bought a 12 hole patty-cake tin, which will go with my 9-hole tin quite nicely when it comes to making Christmas mince-meat tarts this year. You just can't buy the properly curved ones new anymore, they're all straight-angled.
I also bought dining chairs. As
tamarillow enthusiastically put it when she saw them: "Chairs! Chairs that aren't made of plastic!". We no longer need to drag out the computer chairs when we have guests around for dinner. instead, we can now seat four people on normal chairs. Two of the chairs even match! Then we can drag out the old white plastic chairs and seat six for dinner (which is about as many as we really want around our dining room table). This is Good Thing! They were $20 each, Dad glued the one that needed a little bit of attention, and also used some old carpet and packing tape to put padding on the ends of the legs so they won't scrape the hardwood floor. After dinner, (beef noodle bowl at actual recipe-spiciness since
maudlinrose was out), and over the wine I got at the Food Show accompanied with blue cheese also from the Food Show and some dark chocolate, Dad gave me the tour through 483 photos of his time studying at Harvard earlier this year and week in Orlando with family friends. Quite interesting, and Boston looks to be a beautiful city. The museums almost make me want to go to America. Almost. Apparently, I am the only person other than Mum to get the complete tour so far. As it was spring in Boston when he was there, Dad took lots of photos of flowers for Mum. All in all, it was a good visit.
Now I should actually do things.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-13 01:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-13 02:47 am (UTC)I feel, for some reason, that using the laptop is kinda cheating for this sort of thing. Also, using it would mean having to do things like disconnect the internets...
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-13 02:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-13 10:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-13 02:58 am (UTC)Arggh, haven't worked out a character concept for Horse Punk yet!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-13 03:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-13 10:13 am (UTC)My character is currently one aspect and one sentence. I'm sure there's more to him than that - like, say, a name...
Thanks!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-13 03:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-13 10:14 am (UTC)