sqrewloose

Now.. for a proper, but probably rather blitzy entry, considering what hour of the night it is now:

Alright, lets go in chronological order.

Lets number the weeks, the last week of of my exams being Week 1.

The weekend of Week 1 was dedicated to guy fawkes, parties, and chill-outs. Then I think I had a bout of post-exam-flu too.

Then, Week 2 was devoted to the poster entitled: Sialic acid derivatives: From Bench to Bucket which I was to present at a Chemistry Conference down south. Was also suffering from a cold, and a dose of "I don't know what to do with myself, lets go to uni everyday" (even though my exams were well behind me).

Week 3 was meant to be solely a SLC-week. But the first few hours of Monday saw me fighting with power point, but I managed to finish my poster anyway. Or at least I thought so at that time. Then I was away for a great week at STudent Leadership Conference. Learnt heaps, and was really inspired by the William Wilburforce story. It was a great time away from Wgtn. Wouldn't have known how to pull myself from uni otherwise- this is what Honours does to u. Then jumped on the train along the Kapiti Coast, and got back just in time for Shiv's wedding- a colourful indian wedding. Loved how the Indians live in such a tight community- evident from all the planning, especially since it was a multi-faith wedding.

Week 4 was meant to be a Rejuvenation Week, but it turned out to be Poster Panic Week. Last changes to the poster was made, proofs were only sent in on Thurs, and received on Fri- and to my utter dismay, a film masked my pictures- revealing very oddly blurred pictures. I ran to my supervisor for help, and he saves the day! Then, I rushed to the printers to get proofs again- and finally received our prettily laminated and trimmed posters an hour before the printers closed for the weekend. Had my humble hair cut/highlights on the Fri night itself- I cut it short again, an highlighted it reddish-as red as the hairdresser could have gone. I like the colour! The cut- not perfect. Oh well. Anna's wedding on Sat was in a garden facing a protected area of the sea- perfect day for it. The fact that she spent the first 3 months of her life there made the whole event very personal. Oh and I found out my results on that week too. I recall being disappointed with my grades, despite securing a First Class Honours. I still am a little disappointed with the grades. But I am reminded of words that I value from the dearest Friend- my future was realigned. I am grateful for the grace that was shown to me this entire year!

Week 5 saw my whole research group and I in Dunedin, in a beautiful house we rented for the week, turning up for seminars at Uni of Otago, presenting posters, playing 500 and Cranium, food, and not to forget the battle against the surprisingly windy Dunedin. Weather was not ideal. But the best thing was, the sun immediately revealed itself on Fri, when we left Dunedin for the Catlins for a lil group holiday. It stayed with us for the rest of the weekend. Travelling in a van with 6 other people, bobbing along the unsealed road with stunning scenery of the coastal areas was a very welcomed break for all of us. Marshland, waterfalls, Cathedral Cave, Curio Bay, penguins, seals, Nugget Point, Kaka Point, beach, quad bike without brakes, Cranium, poker and 500, abandoned train tunnel. Great fun! 22 litres of beer between 7 of us was quite a shocker, but no worries, the guys took that one for the girls. They were still trying to finish it at the airport when they were dropping off the van, just before the homebound flight from Dunedin to Wgtn. Oh, and not to forget having to sift through gazillion grains of fine sand because our dearest driver lost the van keys when we were at the beach earlier in the day. Kaka Point is a city with no more than 150 people mind you. Tolling the van to the nearest "bigger city", Balclutha would have costed a few hundred dollars, B was close to trying to hack into the car, and jump start the engine when J, after digging sand on all fours for about 30 mins, retained the red-tagged key amidst sand which fell through her fingers. I have never seen anyone more relieved than B.  

Week 6 (this week). I left Dunedin a little earlier than the rest to head back to Wgtn, to meet mum who arrived a couple of hours after me! It's great to see mum, and be able to show her my little world. Graduation yesterday was ohk. They had to cancel the parade on Lambton Quay cos it was raining. They made the announcement through the radio & website at 10.30am, when it was absolutely pouring, but of course the sun had to appear at 12pm (when the parade was meant ot start), as if mocking us. So we only attended the graduation breakfast, and the boring ceremony, yet another ceremony.

Alright, we'll be leaving for Auckland/ Coromandel (Featured in Prince Caspian: Cathedral Cove, the cave/beach that they appeared in when they stepped into Narnia) tomorrow night and will spend the weekend there! Then we'll be back for a couple of days in Wgtn, and head down to the south Island for 10 days- Christmas and what-nots. Whoopee!

wishing you all a blessed and meaningful Christmas!