It's not my birthday anymore, and i can't do anything with the excuse that "I'm allowed because it's my 21st" anymore!!

Ahh.. the the moment my tests finished on Friday, everything was but uneventful! I had a blast the whole weekend with all sorts of things lined up!

The ICF/CU High School Prom: Winter Wonderland on Saturday, which all who attended made it fun. Precisely at the stroke of midnight, I was still in my pretty dress and heels, BUT holding a big broom cleaning the community hall where we had the ball! Talk about being Cinderella, me cleaning the floors, and my darling in faraway land. No, but it was fun..

Sunday started with a Cadbury Crunchie bar and the momentum of the day built up as it went! PAINtball was a blast, but PAINful. They were paintballsBULLETS! The BUTTER, BAILEYS AND STRIPES dinner was beyond words. Orange Limo, cosy cafe, baked smoked NZ salmon fillet, the hugs and the kisses, and most of all the surprises!!! My flatmates outdid themselves big time! A song composed for me, the quizzes, the speeches, the overhead projector, the slideshow, the massive mudcake, and THE SPECIAL APPEARANCE OF PEOPLE I REALLY WISH WERE THERE AT THE DINNER.. my sis, mum and dan!! They were life-size alright, except that they were projected onto a wall, hence 2-D instead of 3-D. (I think Dad was camera shy, so he didn't appear! ) I was sooooo surprised! My sis' and my mum's speeches made me burst into tears (why is that not surprising?) and darling lead the room to sing the birthday song.. and his sweet message, which made everyone in the room go "awwww", and I cannot forget his message to the guys to stay clear of me! That cheeky fella!

The night proceeded with many many pictures taken, and eventually people trickling out of the cafe. Then my flatmates, a few friends and I detoured for cocktails from Hummingbird before heading home with sore feet but an absolutely contented heart! Opened all the wonderful and thoughtful pressies everyone got for me, and caught glimpses of the Louis Vuitton Cup finals before talking to my dearest and retiring to bed.

The night came and went too fast.. way too fast. But i'm glad I have most of them on video and in pictures! So, pics to come! 

Pingy, Sharon, Jo, Mei, Ting, Tracy, Li Ting, Euodia, Eunice, Jen: Thanks for all the birthday wishes! They were as close to home as I could get.. Love you all!

I know you  all are sick of seeing this, hence the shrinking size each time I put it up! But GUESS WHAT?! I found it! In another shop, a surf wear shop which sells different surf brands! Muahahha! I literally yelped when I saw it, and the salesgirl tried to suppress her laugh. They didnt have the size there, but they have in in Palmy and they're getting it sent down! They were supposed to ring me yesterday, but they didnt!! And they still haven't rang me today..

 Ok, on another note, I know I'm procrastinating big time when I rather vacuum the floor than start on my lab report. I started clearing my desk, and ordering my room, and arranging the pressies I got in my tiny room. Somebody please smack me.

And on yet another note, Team New Zealand is buzzing away towards the Louis Vuitton Cup!! We kicked-ass. The poor Italian Luna Rossa, according to a commentator, has to "climb Mt. Everest, backwards, in thongs" !!!! It is the most hilarious comment I've heard in a while. As if climbing Mt. Everest is not hard enough, you have to do it backwards.. and in thongs!

My flatmates turned me into a sports junkie alright! This is the first thing i check when I got up in the morning. And I actually understand the second piece of news below! All the technical terms of sailing. Go Team New Zealand! We bagged the Louis Vuitton Cup and are headed for the America's Cup finals against Alinghi (Switzerland).

(From America's Cup Official Website)

Emirates Team New Zealand sweeps the Louis Vuitton Cup Final

Emirates Team New Zealand won its fifth consecutive race of the Final to sweep the Louis Vuitton Cup 5-0 and advance to the America’s Cup Match. Italy’s Luna Rossa Challenge put up a brave fight in this final contest on Wednesday afternoon, but were no match for the mighty Kiwis.

Racing was postponed for a short time to allow the light sea breeze to stabilise and settle. The fifth race of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final began in an 8 knot Southeasterly, with hundreds of spectator boats out to see Emirates Team New Zealand claim the Louis Vuitton Cup.

The Kiwi team returned to Port America’s Cup to a heroes welcome, settling in for the prize giving ceremony where the coveted Louis Vuitton Cup trophy was to be presented to a triumphant Emirates Team New Zealand.

Match 5 – Emirates Team New Zealand beat Luna Rossa Challenge – DELTA 0:22
It was Emirates Team New Zealand’s turn to enter the left-hand side of the start box and Dean Barker steered up into an early dial-up against Luna Rossa. There was a bit of separation between the boats and Barker pulled off a daring move to bear away on port underneath the Italian boat. James Spithill couldn’t respond in time, and Barker won the right of the start box.

However, at start time, with New Zealand controlling the lead into the line, they chose the left side of the start with Italy starting on the right. It was an even start, but soon Luna Rossa tacked away, New Zealand following to shadow their move. There was nothing to choose for speed between the boats as they sailed nearly all the way out to the starboard layline.

Eventually the Italians tacked and it looked like they might be able to seize control of the Kiwis. However ITA 94 couldn’t live in the backwash of disturbed air from the Kiwi rig and the Italians tacked away again. They tried a couple of extra tacks against New Zealand but by now, time was running out as Barker carried the fight beyond the starboard layline.

New Zealand led the race back to the windward mark and extended to a 20-second delta around the first mark. It was the same delta at the leeward gate, as the Italians followed New Zealand around the right-hand mark, the boats showing very similar speed downwind.

The Italians tried a more aggressive approach to the second beat, initiating a tacking duel against the Kiwis. It was working, Luna Rossa reducing the gap to just a boatlength at one point, but New Zealand always controlling the game. At the top mark it was yet another 20-second delta, and with time running out the Italians tried to find something better on the left of the course, gybing away early.

It worked, as the Italians closed the game down and got to within a boatlength of the Kiwis at one point. The aggressive tactics were paying off, but time was running out and the New Zealanders held their nerve to win the match by 22 seconds, and sweep the Louis Vuitton Cup Final 5-0.

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I can't believe the ALL BLACKS test is THIS SATURDAY! Woohoo! This time, we're going all out, face paint, flags, horns and all!

I dreamt about Pingy. I dreamt that we were on a train together, and she needed to go to the bathroom, and left her stuff in the train with me. Then, after a while, I realised that the train started to move! And Ping was still out of sight, and I didnt knw if I would be able to convince the driver/operator to wait for my friend, and the train was really long and I would have had to run all the way to the front.

Anyway.. Ping, you missed the train, and I carried all your stuff down.. and I think you took the next train to where I was.

So, why were you taking so long in the bathroom?!?! 

It was Jas' bday yesterday and Italian at La Casa Pasta was yumm! Though the Seafood Velvet got a bit too rich at the end of the meal. And the Kahlua Cheesecake, I really shouldn't have succumbed to it. Too late now We went to the General Practitioners which looked real nice outside, but sadly it was way too cold to hang around outside. The inside was just ok.  But I must say that their toilet was flash, and the gadgets (ie the anal prong, needles and all that jazz from the Kid's Hospital) was sleek and shiny! [edit: they were only on display, not for use! haha!] Anyway, we decided to hop over to Matterhorn on Cuba which was way more impressive! It was ranked 5th in the World's Top 20 Bars. This one bartender sniffed the cocktail he was making, and after processing the aroma went off to get a few more bottles of stuff and soon presented it to the guy who ordered the drink! And apparently other friends saw him rejecting wine that didn't "smell right" and opened a new bottle for the customer.

And goodness, they have a never-ending cocktail list! And one of them was the $100 Long Island Ice Tea served in a trophy! Anyway, Jas and three others decided to have the fancy $60 cocktail served in a Bacardi flaming tiki volcano! The presentation was cool, but it was mostly rum and some lime juice, and a bit too icy for my liking. Apparently they have a Limited Edition $1,000,000 cocktail?!?! I'm sure a lot of people have 1 million to spare for cocktails! It's always satisfying when you've been to a nice place for a good drink. Alcohol should be appreciated in a respectable manner.

One more exam to go and it's next Tuesday. I really can't wait. Work with the Outreach Program for highschool was alright... they made aspirin, and squirted distilled water at each other I've still got heaps to study.... Blehh

Have you ever come back after a long day, and realise "Hey, did I finish my conversation with A?" You know how when you have dinner, or at a party which obviously involves a lot of conversations with people, some brief and some deep. But I find that after all that, I come home and think.. hmm.. did I finish that conversation with A? Or did we get interrupted? Or was I rude and somehow drifted off midway through the conversation...  Honestly, I can't remember... haha.. Ok.. back to terpenes!

Im sooo tired.. I got woken up in the middle of last night and was struggling to go back to sleep. Tried to nap just now, but it made me even more stressed out because I had to force myself to sleep. Too many things are going through my head. I've been studying too much chemistry, when I close my eyes, I see all sorts of cycloaddition and electrocyclic reactions, to the point where it feels as if whether I can fall asleep or not is analogous to whether the reaction proceeds or not! What is happening?! argghh... Three weeks plus of exams is just too much. I badly need a break... I'm looking forward to the 1.5 week break, though I'l probably be working most of the time.

I feel like a walking zombie... 

Currently feeling: knackered

According to Metservice, it is 5 C, and with the wind chill factor.. it's -1 C!!!! No wonder it feels so cold.. (edit: ahh, the wonders of a heater, STRIPEY toe socks and gloves with the finger bits chopped off, whatever u call them)
I haven't taken the recycling out. (edit: Ok! Ok! i'll do it now!)
It's raining out there! (edit: still raining, i think)
Update on America's Cup: 1-1 (Team NZ vs Alinghi).
7 more races to go!
NZ better win this, otherwise, my flat will be flooding in tears!
Micheal blows the horn out the balcony each time we win a race.
I really should be studying. (edit: done! Now i have to go thru EVERYTHING again! )
Chocolate fudge. (edit: Done! Yum!)
Banana chocolate muffins. (edit: Done! But bananas were mouldy, so it turned out to be choc muffins instead, still good.)
Lasagna. (edit: Soon.. very soon)
Gilmore Girls

edit: I'm done with studying.. and I'm dead serious! 

Currently feeling: overstudied

Team NZ LOST again! Gahhhh.. It was a disaster yesterday, a tear in the spinnaker which lead to a rip and the events that follow is just too hearthbreaking... today, we were leading around the first mark, but the wind was not on our side. So now it's 3-4 to the Swiss! Tomorrow, one last chance.

Look at my flat, and the awesome balcony which we have! Funny how we lived just behind 2 yrs ago, in AB House (Weir House). And yes, we walk up the slope quite often from town, smtimes, it almost feels as if we're climbing a mountain to go home. And interestingly, the path that leads up to our flat is very much like a hike in the jungle, high banks on the right and bushes with flowers on the left, and also an extremely dark path which needs to be illuminated with light from cell phones at night! Strangely enough walking this path gives me a a calming effect... I'm sure going to miss how close nature is to home when I leave this beautiful place.