An Update!

Hello Friends! Greetings from Fort Wayne, Indiana in the USA.
It's been a while since my last update and so much has happened!

After returning from Sydney I had a few more weeks to finish writing my thesis. I had a lot of time to devote to it since all other school activities were over and most of my friends were moving out of our building. But finally the day came and I was able to turn in the finished, bound thesis entitled "Bjork, Buskers and Songbirds: Realism and Revision in the Musical Genre".

After that I had a very short break until my friend Kim arrived from California! The two of us did a whirlwind tour of New Zealand in just 8 days, ending up in Auckland for my final Sunday at church. We flew back to California together and were greeted at the airport by another friend, Brynne. Then I flew to Chicago just in time for Christmas Eve. Whew!

Now I am staying with my parents in Fort Wayne until I figure out what's next. It will be another month or so before I get the grade back from my thesis and officially graduate, so stay tuned for more news on those events. Thanks again to all my readers and to the many people who have supported over these last few years. I am deeply grateful and eager to reconnect with you in person sometime soon!

To close for now, here are some pictures from my last weeks in New Zealand.

Here is Kim and I with some icebergs.

The beautiful Lake Pukaki.

Sleeping Seals in Kaikoura!

Sunset in Wellington.

The Weta Workshop gift shop.

The view from a Hobbit hole.

A misty day at Cathedral Cove.

A rainbow in Mt. Cook Nat'l Park

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!

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

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

Some Highlights

---On Mother's Day, Christine, the regular leader for children's church, was away, so I was left in charge. We had no major mishaps and we didn't lose any of the kids, so I was quite pleased.

---My adviser asked me to come and talk to one of his classes. I spoke briefly about choosing a topic for my thesis, researching, and writing. I think I was a bit rambly, which shouldn't be too hard to imagine....

---A few weeks ago, I got together with some girlfriends to watch the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, which is fantastic, and also about five and a half hours long. I really didn't expect us to watch in all in one go, but after the first disc ended--right after Mr. Darcy proposes---we could NOT turn it off. And we had a ton of cookies, and tea, and Thai food making it the perfect girls' night.




---A friend of mind threw a murder mystery dinner and the theme happened to be set in Chicago in the 1920s. I ended being the resident historian and got to explain to the Kiwis about things like the Black Sox scandal, Al Capone, and Prohibition. It was a great night, except I was wrong in guessing whodunit.

---I recently finished reading Children of Men by P.D. James. It's a British novel that became the inspiration for a fantastic movie from a couple of years ago. Then, a couple of days later, I found that Children of Men would be showing on tv! So I told all my friends on my floor that we needed to watch. However, after about ten minutes I realized that probably it might not appeal to everyone, and when it ended, only one guy seemed to liked it. Everyone else seemed slightly confused. I always forget my love of bleak, dystopian futures is not necessarily the norm....

New Friends, New Challenges, New Shoes

New Friends
---The last few weeks I have begun to make friends with some of the people in my building, mostly with two German guys named Greg and Boris. They're pretty funny, and I like talking to them. Greg has visited California once and really liked it, so we bonded over that.
---I have been co-leading a small group at church for 18-25 year olds, so I've been meeting a lot of my peers from church. The group is fun so far, and new so we've been trying to keep it casual. I've been leading worship at our meetings, just playing a couple of songs on guitar, which is fun too.
---Last week at church an American guy named Michael was visiting. He's been backpacking across NZ for the last three months, and is planning on returning to the US to travel around in a van, play his guitar, tell people about Jesus, and see what happens. Based on these facts, I decided we would be friends. I also told him that if he makes it to California or Illinois, I know people who can hook him up with a free meal. If he comes your way, help him out!

New Challenges
---It is visa renewal time again, and once again I find myself running around, trying to get things done, and worrying about getting deported (just kidding about that last one). Something always goes wrong, but for now, thankfully, the worst has passed and I should have a new visa in about month.
---My job as a tutor is going really well. I have gotten a little bit of positive feedback from my students, but mostly just I really enjoy it. It's hard to invent new ways to discuss things each week, but so far I feel like I am doing a pretty good job.
---Recently, I find myself in a bit of a spiritual slump. I've been having to learn how to remain faithful even when I don't feel like it, and trust that God is around even when he seems a bit silent. It is a good lesson to learn, even if it is really hard. I have found encouragement from reading the Bible, and from many of you--thanks for praying and supporting!

New Shoes
---I really need a pair. My red converse--my trademark, my lucky shoes--sadly, are falling apart in every possible way.


Sorry there has been a lack of pictures on this blog lately. Unfortunately, my Internet connection is temperamental which makes posting photos a drag.

Oh, and happy April Fool's to you! I have to confess now that I sent some of you a news article I made up about Sufjan Stevens' new album. I hope it made you laugh. If you did not receive it and want to read it, just let me know and I'll email a copy to you. I have to confess, I was pretty proud of the fake song names I came up with.

Later days!

Year of the Rat

Did you know that this year is the Year of the Rat?

I recently got a job at school as a Tutor. I will be working with the freshman level media course. Since it is a class of about 400 students, the Tutors run discussion sessions and help with grading. I haven't had any sessions yet, but this week it all starts.

Also, I have been doing a lot of work on my thesis. I recently met with my adviser so I have a pretty good idea of all the work I have before me. Yikes!

And, at church I have been helping with the kids, as usual, helping with sound/AV occasionally, and soon I will be a part of a small group!

The Year of the Rat is already quite full.

Instead of music, lately I have been listening to This American Life---check it out here: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Archive.aspx

Musicals!

People keep asking me what exactly am I studying, and what classes am I taking, and what am I writing my thesis about. So here is the answer, in bulletpoints:

• I am studying Film, TV, and Media. Basically, I watch, study and analyze movies. I do NOT make movies. What I do is WAY easier than making movies...


• I don't have any classes this year! My sole existence as a student revolves around writing my thesis.


• Speaking of my thesis, my topic is about musicals. Specifically, I am writing about new musicals that take a genre characterized by fantasy and try a realistic approach. Um, yeah...

So, here are my two main examples so far:

Once: a charming little Irish movie with really great music.

Dancer in the Dark: a grueling melodrama from director Lars von Trier.

Besides my schoolwork, I am again involved at my church here. I have started helping out again with children's church, and I am going to start getting trained on AV and sound. Also, I will probably start helping out with editing the church magazine, which I am really excited about. I get a strange little high off of proofreading.

I think that's all for now. I'll leave you with ten songs I have in high rotation right now:

"The General Specific" by Band of Horses

"Click Click Click Click" by Bishop Allen

"Suspcious Character" by The Blood Arm

"The Crane Wife 3" by The Decemberists

"Les Champs-Elysees" by Joe Dassin

"Strangers" by The Kinks

"Second Chance" by Liam Finn

"Sorry Signs on Cash Machines" by Mason Jennings

"Mr. Pitiful" by Matt Costa

"Every Line of A Long Moment" by Roddy Woomble

No Show, Just Tell

I tried to add some pictures to this blog, but for some reason it didn't work. Use your imagination.

I just finished reading a wonderful book called The City of Ember. It is already a new favorite. It's about a decaying city in a world where there is no sun, or moon , or stars, and the only light that exists comes from electric lamps. Intrigued??

Right now I am on spring break. We get two weeks off, but it's not a total vacation because I have essays and things due right when we are back in session. Pretty soon I will have to buckle down and read a book about the use of blackface in old musicals, write an essay proposal about the movie High Fidelity, and catch up on some other reading.

The last few weeks in children's church, I have taken up my guitar for one song during the singing time. It's been pretty fun and I think the kids really like it. Sometimes kids do the funniest stuff:
---I went over to a group of boys to wrangle them back to the group, and when I was close enough I realized they were playing Harry Potter and using coffee stirrers as wands.
---One little girl was quite wriggly during story time, but not really disrupting anyone, or so I thought. No one noticed until it was too late that she had taken of her shoes, stockings and underwear.
---One of the other leaders asked the kids to raise their hands if they like my American accent. Most of the kids raised their hands, but it made me wonder about the kids who didn't...

Current Playlist:
Sugarcane by Missy Higgins (Listen here: http://www.missyhiggins.com/)
Lies by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Stations by Denison Witmer
Rag and Bone by The White Stripes
The Park by Feist
The Funeral by Band of Horses
Yankee Go Home by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
I'm Sorry, But I'm Beginning to Hate Your Face by Eagle Seagull

24...

...is the age I just reached on my recent birthday. I feel old and young at the same time. Last year for my birthday I was in California: Kimi and Mike took me to see "Lady in the Water"; the rest of the gang surprised me with Red Lobster and ice skating; and the next day was Hawaiian Shirt Day in the Financial Aid Office. This year in New Zealand, I went out for lunch with some friends from church for Mongolian BBQ--it was a really fun day, and it was nice to celebrate with my new pals. I have decided that my birthday is the best holiday, except for Christmas.

I have a new batch of flatmates for this semester. We have representatives from the New Hampshire, France, Kazakhstan (no Borat jokes, please!), and New Zealand.

Here are my classes this semester:
Research Methods---not really exciting, but necessary
Documentary History and Theory---really interesting! I have a group presentation this week about Holocaust documentaries...
NZ Media Studies---good background info
Music, Sound and Media---the best class ever! I think I have found my calling in life---or at least an area to focus on for my thesis next year...

Next time: more stories from children's church, spring break plans, and more!

Waking Life...

I've been absent from my blog for a while--sorry! In my defense, I have been writing essays for the past month. I only have one essay left which means have completed 1/4 of my Masters. Sweet as!

This Wednesday will be the start of my winter break. Here are my plans:

---sleep!

---finish reading The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie

---bake ginger snaps

---watch some movies (just for fun!)

---clean the flat before new flatmates come

---check out a thrift store I found

---write a new song

---see the new Harry Potter as soon as humanly possible

---and go to FIJI! I'm heading off for 10 days with some friends, and I'm really excited. It will be a lot warmer there than it is here, and I'm hoping to work in some surfing...I promise to take some sweet pictures.

I am just now recovering from a case of insomnia. The last two nights in a row have been good, but for the past two weeks I could not fall asleep for anything. And when I did, I had the strangest dreams (time travel, mops, homework, flying like a bird over Pangaea).

This past weekend I went with some friends to see Warren Miller's Off the Grid. It was about skiing, which I know nothing about, but I was told that it was one of the better ski movies out there.

Did you know that in Japan they have snowball fight championships? Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZU1BLotGpU&mode=related&search=

A few more Kiwi words:

choice = cool, sweet, or awesome

batch = a summer home, or second house

flash = fancy, dressed up, expensive looking

"dob in" = tattle on (At church, what happens is if you know that someone had something good happen to them in the past week, you dob them in by standing up and telling everyone during sharing time. Then you both get a kit-kat bar. From what I understand, it's an Australian phrase...)

Random Rules:

http://www.avclub.com/content/randomrules

I love this game! Since I have been writing this blog, here's what came up randomly on my iTunes (no skips!):

Cold Truth by The Guggenheim Grotto

The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon

Punkrocker by Teddybears featuring Iggy Pop

Wise Up by Aimee Mann

Lesson Learned by Ray LaMontagne

School is Cool!

I have survived my first week of class...here's how it went:

Monday: I had a film theory class, but I didn't really know the specifics until I showed up for class. The professor told us that we were going to be studying the works of Alfred Hitchcock (yay!) in reference to the philosophical ideas posed by Slavo Zizek. Ok, I had no idea who that was, but everyone else seemed to nod in understanding, so I faked it. Once the lecture started I became very nervous because I really had no idea what the professor was talking about. French Structuralism? Jacque Lacan? Slovenia? Huh? As soon as class was over I went to the library and spent a few hours investigating all of these things. This will probably be my most challenging class. At least I have already seen most of the movies we will be viewing...

Tuesday: No class! Slept in :)

Wednesday: This is a history of cinema class focusing on Silent films. It was a much less intimidating experience. First, the prof is Scottish so it is really beautiful to hear him lecture. Second, he told us he would prefer that we don't buy text, but instead go to the library because he thinks libraries are a great place to learn by exploration--fantastic! I love libraries, and ours here is quite large...

Thursday: The title of this class is New Waves, and it focuses on film revolutions in different cultures across the world. I'm really excited about this class because it will be almost all foreign films, many of which I have not seen. Should be pretty interesting. One of the girls in class is trying to get everyone together to watch the movies for homework as a big group which should be fun.

Friday: Yes, I am taking a class entitled Reality TV. Yes, I have to do a presentation on MTV's The Real World. This one should be pretty lively and entertaining. We are sure to come up with interesting discussions, and viewings. My homework this week is watching Oprah! Quite a difference my flatmates who are learning economic theory and business and engineering.

A few more things about my classes:
They are all in the same building, which is just a five minute walk from my apartment and very close to the library too. Should be good when it starts to get cold!

There are few people who are in more than one class with me, so we all exchanged emails so we can get notes if we need or to set up times to watch our assignments. In particular, there is a Kiwi named Michael, and Chinese girl named Ming, and another girl from California named Star.
Last, I am really excited to be learning about what interests me most! I can see how my Biola film education did a pretty good job at preparing me--I have a good foundation set up...

Thanks for reading! I promise not to bore you with the details of each class next time, and try to stick to highlights!