Pictures from Sydney

Hey all! Here are some pics from my trip to Sydney:


I met up with my friend Steve and his buddy Dave. Sydney was the last stop on their tour of Australia, so I was really glad that it coincided with the end of my semester.


We took a lot of pictures of the Opera House...


...and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.


We happened to be in Sydney over Thanksgiving so we had a little feast for ourselves:

Yum! In the absence of turkey, chicken and steak are a perfectly acceptable substitute.


We went to the aquarium where they have this awesome tunnel through the shark tank!

Sydney skyline!


It was a great trip! We walked and saw a lot of the city and ate a lot of food. We did manage to get some surfing in which was good, and we saw the movie Australia! How could you pass that up?

In other news, the completion of my thesis also means the end of the Year Without Music. If you remember, I decided not to buy any cds or music until I was done as a way to practice good stewardship and self-control. So to celebrate the end of this phase, I went and bought a new cd: Paul Kelly's Greatest Hits. I was after a few favorites by him such as "From St. Kilda to Kings Cross", "Everything's Turning to White" and "From Little Things Big Things Grow".

Now this doesn't mean I am going on a cd buying binge. On the contrary, I feel that itch less than I used to, but it's nice to allow myself the treat occasionally.

DONE!

I have so much to write about from these past few weeks, but for now let me dwell on the satisfaction of completing my thesis!!!

The last few days of work on it was mostly fixing typos and rephrasing tricky sentences, and making sure I had the correct format. I spent hours trying to get my table of contents looking nice and sensible. The final draft is 80-something pages long!

At this point I had done the best I can possibly do, so there was nothing left to do but send it off to the bindery. They put it all together like a book, and in a few days I should get it back from them so I can submit it to the office. You get to choose the colour of your cover, so I chose yellow, the brightest colour they offered.

One of fun parts about finishing my thesis was writing a dedication and acknowledgments.
Here's what I wrote:

This Thesis is dedicated to my parents for their unfailing love, support and encouragement over great distances; and to my sisters Bethany, Brynne, Emily, Kim, Kimiko and Rachel, because we all do different things.
I gratefully acknowledge Nabeel Zuberi who thoughtfully advised and guided me through the entire process of writing this thesis; and to the faculty and staff of the Film, Television and Media Studies department at the University of Auckland for invaluable instruction and support. Also, I owe much gratitude to the Biola University Financial Aid Office of La Mirada, California for financial support, friendship and enthusiasm that has supported me during these last few years of study.

If you see a typo in there, please do not point it out to me, or I will lose my mind.

I also wanted to take this moment to thank you: the many other friends and family members who have supported me during this great adventure. While I wasn't always the most reliable correspondent, I am grateful to all of you who take an interest in my studies and travels, who have prayed for me and encouraged me. I couldn't have done it without you.

That's all for now, but check back soon for some awesome pictures from my trip to Australia, some more stories from these last few weeks, and (hopefully) some news about what is next for me!

Books

If you look down on the sidebar of this blog, you can see that I just added a link for my Shelfari page. Shelfari is a website where you can keep track of what you are reading, write reviews of books, and connect with other bookworms. I pretty much just use it a glorified list of things I have read in the last year or so. I had it in my head that I wanted to read 52 books this year, and I think I am well on pace to do it (it helps that I read a lot of children's fiction). Click through to see what I have been reading lately. Recommendations welcome!

Transition Begins

I have finished teaching in my tutorials for the year! Last week I gave my students a practice essay to work on, talked about symbolism in a film called Jindabyne, and then set them free to study for the exams. Some students left me with very polite and sincere thanks which was nice.

The family I often babysit for recently moved to Sydney, Australia. After church on Sunday I went over to play with the kids and say goodbye. They were both a little sick, but we still managed to jump on the trampoline, hide under laundry baskets, ride bikes, and throw balls around. Since I am planning to visit them when I go to Sydney at the end of November, it was really more of a 'see you later' than a 'goodbye'.

Did I mention that I'm going to Sydney? I will be meeting up with my friend Steve Yao (Hey Brother!) I am looking forward to seeing the city, surfing and catching up with friends.

But before I can even think about enjoying any of that I have to finish my thesis! Back to work...

Tired...

Taking a break from editing my thesis... At this point in my revisions I am looking at about 31,000 words completed out of a minimum of 36,000. It blows my mind to think about it, so I'm not going to for the rest of the night. I also have to prepare for my tutorials tomorrow but I think that might fall slightly to the wayside for now. Last week was great fun as I got to teach on Singin' in the Rain--best job ever!

I am following the baseball playoffs as best I can and I am nervously excited to see if the White Sox can pull a win out of this series against the Rays. Even if we don't we have still managed to do better than the Cubs, and that is what matters. Go WHITE SOX!

So a few weeks ago I played at a coffee shop event we had at church. I was originally told that I would be doing two songs. A few weeks later, on the day of the event I was told that I would be playing four to six songs. I ended up playing seven! Luckily I had been practicing hard all week. Here's the set list for those who are interested:
---Strength to Try
---Favorite Place
---Hope
(break)
---When You're Gone (aka Dysfunctional Love Song)
---Noah and the Banyan Tree (Ben Bishop cover)
---Smaller Than I Was (new version)
---Farther Along (traditional hymn)
When it was all over I jumped off an amp doing the windmill and scissors kick and then set my guitar on fire. Just kidding.

Exciting news: I received my absentee ballot in the mail! I showed it off to my German friends who would gladly fill it in and vote for Barack Obama if I let them. I was just disappointed there were no Communists on the ballot this year...

Random Rules:
Tombstone Blues --- Bob Dylan
Amy in the White Coat --- Bright Eyes
Thou Shalt Always Kill --- Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip
Farewell to Ernest --- Jyotrinda Moitra and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
Second Chance --- Liam Finn
Daughters Will Tune You --- Danielson

Good night!

Spring Break

This semester is just flying by! Right now I am enjoying two weeks off for spring break. It's not really that much of a break for me since I have to grade essays and revise four chapters of my thesis. But I do get to sleep in everyday, so no complaints here! The other nice thing is that spring is on the way! We've been having increased amounts of sunlight and warmer weather which is a welcome change from the cold and rain we've had for months now.

Here are just a few last pictures from trip to the South Island. This is Milford Sound:

This is what happens when fresh water and sea water meet.

Recent Playlist:

"Let It Be Me" and "You Are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne

"Creature Fear" and "The Wolves" by Bon Iver

"While You Were Sleeping" and "Ash Wednesday" by Elvis Perkins

"The Big Guns" and "Handle With Care" by Jenny Lewis

"I Will Explode" and "Better to Be" by Liam Finn

"Daughter" and "Grey In L.A." by Loudon Wainwright III

"Ne Me Quitte Pas" and "The Call" by Regina Spektor

Pictures from Trip, Part Four

So here are some pictures from Queenstown!

Take the gondola up for some sweet views...


...like this one!

This is a picture of one of the Mirror Lakes.

Get it?

Pictures from Trip, Part 3

Here are some pictures from my trip:
This is the Franz Josef Glacier on the west coast of the South Island.
The glacier cut this riverbed over thousands of years...


And today we get to hike on the glacier!





The ice was beautiful! It was almost transparent in some places...


Some crazy guys jumped into this pool of icy cold water in only their undershorts!

Pictures from Trip, Part 2

Here are some pictures I took during the train ride through the mountains from Christchurch to Greymouth:

Still more to come!

Pictures from Trip, Part Uno

Here are some pictures of my trip! This is where I started and finished my two week journey.

This is the Cathedral in Christchurch:

And this the Avon River.

I went for a boat ride on it, which is called punting. The punter was also American which was a funny coincidence.

Ok, so here is my funny story from Christchurch: So all growing up (and even today) when preparing for a trip my Mom would always remind me to pack extra underwear. Which I always laughed at because who forgets underwear when packing for a trip?! Maybe toothpaste, but not underwear. Well, embarrassingly enough,that's exactly what I did. I quickly realized it after landing in Christchurch, so instead of sightseeing, one whole morning was spent shopping in order to correct my mistake.

Um, awkward...

Anyway....

A few hours away from Christchurch you can visit the Akoroa Harbour and see the famous Hector's Dolphins.

By snapping away at my camera I did manage to get this money shot of a dolphin swimming next to our boat:

Cute! I shall call him Squishy, and he shall be my Squishy.

More pictures are on the way, but for now I need to go to bed!

Pics from Lake Taupo and Mt Taranaki

So here are some trips from the road trip I took with friends a few weeks ago:

Huka Falls


Orokai Korako: This is a geothermal park and in this picture you are actually seeing steam come out of the ground!


These are some of my traveling buddies at another geothermal area called Craters of the Moon.

It did not really look like the moon.

This is a spot called the Three Sisters. We stopped here when my friend puked in the car.


We wanted to see Mt. Taranaki but there was too much mist. This is a picture I took from a "scenic viewpoint".

Back from Traveling

Yes, I am back from traveling! I have a zillion pictures just waiting to be loaded up on to the blog, but unfortunately, my internet connection is not cooperating. Instead, let me regale you with stories and promise to get some visuals to accompany them soon:

Taupo and Taranaki
The highlights were seeing geological stuff, which means geysers and bubbling mud and steam coming out of the ground. We visited two different parks where you can see this stuff and it was amazing, except it rained the whole day and we got soaked. In fact, the bad weather kept us from seeing Mt. Taranaki, except shrouded in mysterious fog.
Low points were when we had a fender bender with our rental car, and when one of the guys laughed so hard that he puked out the window of the car. Gross.

Christchurch
Loved this town! They have a pretty nice cultural center where I got to go to the art museum and theater. I could not pass up the chance to see Arsenic and Old Lace on stage again. Rent the movie with Cary Grant if you've never seen it--it's hilarious!
I also took a day trip where I got to see the famous Hector's dolphins (awesome picture forthcoming!), which I believe are native to New Zealand. They much smaller than other species of dolphins, so that much cuter.

TranzAlpine
I took the train across the mountains from Christchurch to the west coast of New Zealand---really great views of snow and mountains!

Milford Sound
I took a boat ride on a rainy/misty day but it turned out great because you get some really great light and photos of this waterway to the sea.

In general, it was cold but lovely in the South Island, and it was a nice relaxing trip before school gets going again. I'll be tutoring for four sessions this semester and finishing my thesis! Check back soon for some more stories with pictures!

Plans!

Yay! Today I finished my last day of tutoring for the semester. The day never seemed like it would end as we calculated the final grades for each of the 400+ students in the course. But, thankfully, we got it all done which means I am officially on holiday!

So here are my plans for my time off:
---Road Trip with Friends:
I am heading on a 4 day trip with some of friends from my building. We heading south to Rotorua, Lake Taupo, and Mt. Taranaki for tramping and sightseeing.

---Road Trip by Myself:
After that I will take a 12-day trip to the South Island where I will make my way from Christchurch, through the mountains, to the Franz Josef glacier, to Queenstown, and then back again. It will probably be cold and wet, and maybe even snowy! Expect some amazing pictures when I get back. It will also be a good time to recharge my batteries before my final semester.

---Read Books:
Here's what I have in the queue to read:
Emma by Jane Austen
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Midwinter Nightingale by Joan Aiken
The Birth of America by William Polk
Beware of God by Shalom Auslander
By the way, book recommendations are always welcome!

Check back in mid-July for some sweet pics!

Halfway Point

The semester is nearly over! Looking forward to a much-needed break...
I am actually fighting of a cold today (it's winter here), so I'll try keep this brief:
So far, I have written about 20,000 words of a rough draft of my thesis, so I've made some good progress.
I finished tutoring for the semester, except for some exams I have to mark. It was a great gig, and I'm hoping to get re-hired for next semester.

I am learning German! Well, sort of. I have several German friends here right now, so I have been learning a few phrases---another unexpected experience that comes from living in New Zealand.

Here are some tunes I have been spinning in high rotation lately:
"Skinny Love" by Bon Iver
"Everybody Here is a Cloud" by Cloud Cult---check out the entire album Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes)
"Go to Hell" by David Ford (not as angry as the title suggests!)
"OK, It's Alright With Me" by Eric Hutchinson (thanks Bethany!)
"I Love the Rain the Most" by Joe Purdy (again, thanks Bethany!)
"The Cure for Pain" by Jon Foreman
"Loose Lips" by Kimya Dawson
"Crown" by Mason Jennings
"Sun Down" by Nik Freitas
"Bag of Hammers" by Thao

Sailing!

Here are some pictures from a recent sailing trip I went on.

My friend Marleen invited me to go with her friends, and we had a lovely day.

We caught fresh mussells and ate them right on the boat!

Yum!

I wanted to climb the mast like Jack Sparrow, but that was not allowed...

Ahoy!