So, I posted last month about Octobers Challenge and I have to say I have so much <3 for Lucas right now for saving me from being the only one participating in this challenge last month!

And for serious, aren’t his photos awesome?

That’s Lucas being awesome, and rocking the challenges. He got up close and personal with something furry (SAVING that cute kitten (Baby Tuna) that was too weak to stand when he found it), being all educational and awesome (by signing the peace one day flag in Miri Malaysia! For serious, this is how he rolls), and the last being super helpful as an easel. An EASEL.

And right now Lucas is going ‘WTF, why I on Elly’s blog?!’ It’s because your awesome, Lucas. :P

And you make me kinda hopeful. Perhaps this month someone else will join us. Maybe there will be three or four of us. Are you keen to join?

The idea is simple. You have till the end of the month to upload three photos (just three) to the Steve’s Orienteering Challenge flickr group. That’s it. Easy, and a fun way to encourage people to get out and do something a bit random.

The Challenges this month:

1. Fake Facials
For those of you that don’t know, this month is Movember – the month where boys grow moustaches and the girls get pash rash for the sake of raising awareness and funds for Prostate Cancer.

So, take a photo of yourself with a fake mo! (This could be as simple as drawing a mo on your finger, or printing out a beard. Or you could go to the extreme and glue hair to your face. I’m just sayin’.)

2. Jump For Joy
Be airborne. Or rather, not on the ground, not on a chair, and not swinging from anything. Just jump for joy. In the air! :)

3. Feathered Flock
Find some feathered friends, and just go hang. You might want to bribe them with bread, but that’s totally up to you! Bonus points for the most birds in one photo!

Easy as, right? Everyone knows where to find ducks. Or chickens. Or other lovely feathered somethings :)

Anyway, that’s it for this month! Hope your November is wonderful, and that perhaps you’ll decide to join this month’s Orienteering Challenge! :)

Every person loves feeling like they are a little bit special. A little bit with the in-crowd, a little bit special. And as much as I say I go to these things because my best friend is in town and time with her is pretty rare (both true, so don’t discount it), we both know its a tiny bit because we like to squee that we met so and so, or whatever.

For the last four years, Liz has taken me to Armageddon. And every year, thanks to her connections with The Hub Productions we get in free, with fancy ‘Exhibitor’ badges. We usually attend the formal cocktail evening with the stars (something fans pay a ridiculous amount of money for), and sometimes we’ll have dinner with the stars + crew that The Hub bring to NZ.

(The line we didn’t wait in)

We’ll rock the expo, getting autographs and photos and whatever. We’ll visit talks, and check out stalls and hang out with The Hub’s whoever. Liz knows enough of the people who work the con to be down with the crew, and we’ll chat and hangout and generally have an awesome time.

Now, usually, I don’t know who the stars are. I might vaguely recognise them, but they aren’t usually from my shows. Or are people that I’d squee about meeting in advance. Not to say that I haven’t met some awesome people. I’ve met John Rhys-Davies (who wanted Liz and I to join a space-program thing to populate Mars). I met Tom Lenk (one of the nerds from Buffy) and Ernie Hudson (From Ghostbusters). I’ve met Kevin Weisman (aka Marshell from Alias) and Michael Winslow (who was the sound effect cop from Police Academy). All incredibly cool people, who have been so, so lovely. Tom Lenk was super into snowboarding, and Kevin Weisman introduced us to his baby daughter, and Michael Winslow took to saying my name in high pitched squeaky tone, and pretending it wasn’t him when I turned around. He was pretty awesome :)

This is Bronson Pelletier, whose going to play a wolf in New Moon. And the other guy? I actually had to ask Liz for his name. He’s Jason Momoa. And I had to look up on imdb to find out he plays a human alien on Stargate Atlantis.

But this year? Oh, how excited I was this year. This year I met Seth Green.

SETH. GREEN.

If you don’t know who he is: educate yourself. Think Dr Evil’s son (Austin Powers) or voice of Chris on Family Guy. He was in the movie Without A Paddle (as the doctor guy who hooked up with the chick who did random things with her feet), and was Lyle in the Italian Job. And he’s the Creator of Robot Chicken! In short: all kinds of awesome is who he is. :P

I was beyond excited. I sat next to him at the cocktail party, and we chatted and oh! He’s so little and has stumpy little fingers, and smells soooo good. I was a total fan, excited to be in his presence, and that was enough for me.

For him, I get that he was turning it on for us. That for that night it was his job to meet us and make us feel all excited and whatever. That even though he was shattered (having had a conversation with his agent about all the promotional stuff he’d had to do earlier) he turned on his ‘fan’ face and made all of us fall in love with him.

Realising this (and seeing him turn himself on and off) only detracted slightly from the deal. Like I said, I’m a fan. And while usually I get to see the stars in a not-fan capacity, I couldn’t do it in this case. Because seriously? This was SETH GREEN.

How do you not love him?

Anyway, Armageddon this year was possibly the last year I’ll go. Liz is maybe bound for far away shores, and if that’s the case then it’ll be the last Armageddon she’ll do, and by proxy, me too. So we took in our last possible day at Armageddon in style.

We tried on hats, and watched talks, met people (like the Drake, the author of the comic Ninjet, check him out, for serious: ninjet.com. I thought he was pretty awesome) and wandered around the chaos that was Armageddon.

It was a good expo, this year. Yay, Geekdom! :)

I was going to post yesterday, but I didn’t. Things are still up and down with me, I’m not sure what I’m doing, or what I want and I’m pretty sure I should know these things. I’m struggling with the idea that it’s okay to not know what I’m doing, or what I want. And I’m still rocking the distractions like it’s no ones business.

Like, the 365 project I started last month. I made it all the way through October. It’s been pretty easy, but I was surprised at how some days I just could. not. be. fucked. I pushed through, and I’m still taking a daily photo, but I was surprised at how some days I was happy with a two second ‘just take the damn photo of something, ANYTHING’ shot, and other days I’d take 200 shots of my tongue, looking for the PERFECT photo to post. Yeah, things are bit odd for me right now.

Anyway, because I’m stoked I’ve got this far. This is my October:

October 6th to the 31st. 26 days down. 339 to go. :)

What seems ages ago now (though it wasn’t really) The Fourth Quarter and I took Quinn down to the waterfront and rode our bikes along the boardwalk.

We hooked up a basket to the front of one of the bikes for Quinn. There was MUCH too much foot traffic + cars around for him to run alongside free, and even more dangerous had we tried to put a leash on him. Quinn is a bit unpredictable at the best of times. He seemed to enjoy the novel view and , as long as he could see me, wasn’t too fussed.

Is it silly that I love that my dog is small enough to fit in a bike basket?

It was a pretty nice ride, too. We parked up at one end of Tamaki Drive, and rode till near the end of the flat and then back again.

The sky was blue, the wind calm. It was pretty gorgeous. I love that we have places like this in Auckland to do these kind of things :)

I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore
I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
Cause I’m being taken over by The Fear
- Lily Allen, The Fear

There is something really amazing about the friends I have. I know, everyone says that really, but my friends? I have so much love for them, it’s ridiculous.

Last Thursday was one of those really misery inducing days where I couldn’t do anything right, and a nothing situation turned into a giant horrible THING. I felt like I’d taken a murky situation, taken a big stick and stirred it up BAD while I was trying to making it better. It was heartbreaking, really.

And so I did what I always do after these situations occur. I surround myself with people I know will bring a smile to my face, will pour me a glass of wine or two and distract me from the mess I’ve made for a couple of hours.

And honestly? My friends rose the occasion once again (there have been so many occasions, if I’m being honest).

There is something amazing about sitting in a cosy bar laughing with friends of friends, debating phones (the IPhone vs HTC’s G2 Magic), gaming consoles (the Xbox vs the PS3) and wines, dinner selections, ISP’s, holiday locations . . .

Feeling the warm cosy glow of the wine in my system, recognizing that as I walk up to the bar I was getting checked out. Can I buy you a drink? Can we make small talk, and oh look, you’re blushing.

It was brilliant to feel all warm and fuzzy, and then catch a friends eye as he played for the bar, grinning at me, knowing he was playing the song he was for me, so I could sing along.

It was awesome to receive txts about my well being, make sure you get home safe, chin up, chika. That people were reaching out to make sure that I was okay. To know that they cared. To know that it wouldn’t always be like this.

It was amazing to know that when I had to be somewhere else, and people were genuinely sad to see me go. Amazing to have my friend, mid song, mouth ‘I love you’ as I slipped out the door.

It was the best thing ever to get home, and have The Square all pile into bed with me, all four of us joking and talking and spending a rare moment of just us four.

My friends are amazing. There are no if’s or buts about it. My friends? Completely. Amazing.

Last weekend was a long weekend. That is to say that we got a glorious extra Monday off. That Monday I happened to be a Snells Beach, where friends have a cute little bach that sits right on the water.

Sunday night was filled with red wine and catching up and eating and ALOT of memories. Mostly from 3 years ago, but I don’t want to go there. On Monday things had perked up, and everything seemed a lot less dire (I suspect this is due to the lack of red wine in my system).

Anyway, Rob + John, the wonderful people that they are, took The Second Quarter, Liz and I out on the boat for some ‘it’s almost summer’ fun.

I say almost summer, because it didn’t feel like summer. It was cold, and overcast, and we were all in wetsuits and I still got blue lips in the end. But the point is, it may have been cold, but we went WAKEBOARDING, and SEA BISCUITING! (And The Second Quarter, the ski ponce that he is, also went waterskiing). We also rescued some kina before they got eaten. We’re good lovely people and all that.

It was brilliant. Really, it was. Wakeboarding is a ridiculous amount of fun, and getting up on the first try was SO BRILLIANT! And by the end of my turn I was grinning from ear to ear, and would cheer empathetically during everyone else’s go. It was a ridiculous amount of fun.

There was much cheering for falling over (or off, in the case of the sea biscuit). There was much cheering all round, really.

It was such a brilliant, brilliant way to spend an hour or two, and I was just so PUMPED after! Sure, there were sore muscles the next day (clinging to a sea-biscuit will kill your shoulders, seriously) but it seemed such a small price to pay for getting to partake in such an AWESOME sport. Seriously, check out the grins after:

I have to say, that wakeboarding? It totally made my weekend awesome. :)

A while back I said that I wanted to get more involved with the 20SB.net community, and so I signed up to participate in their 6th Blog Swap! I was paired with the lovely Amy from Just a Titch. It was a pretty sweet deal, I emailed her a post of mine, and she emailed a post of hers and tada!

Just quietly I think I got the better end of the deal. :) You can find me over at Amy’s blog today. Hope you enjoy her post as much as I did :)

Sometimes, on those perfectly quiet afternoons, I find myself missing, longing for the past. I sit and think back, flipping through my memories like an old book. I start at the beginning, in my old house, with the dark brown carpet with raisins squished into the carpet from my tiny, grubby little hands enjoying snacks and crawling and life. I turn the page to my brother, a baby, coming home from the hospital with his blonde hair and big blue eyes. I see kindergarten, with my tiny backpack and my shoes tied tight, a pocket-sized, curly-haired cherub.

Even as I grow older, I see my middle school self, awkward and strange, unsure of myself. I hear myself playing my once-treasured clarinet and piano, and all the while wishing I was cheerleading or playing a sport or doing something that would make me cooler. I remember high school’s awkward pains and growth and joys and most of all, it’s firsts: first kisses, first dances, first time driving, everything fresh and new and exciting. I remember what it was like to sleep in my tiny twin bed, to hear my parents talk late at night, to see them every morning, and to know, even when I was sad or hurt or angry, I was safe, simply because they were there, and they were my world and it was okay.

I remember days when my toughest questions were what color popsicle to eat on a hot summer day, or who to invite to my sleepover. There were no serious questions, big decisions, bills and real concerns. There were hugs, and someone to smooth my hair and make me dinner, and just down the hall if something bad happened.

As the book grows short and I reflect on the past few years, I see pain. I see a rollercoaster of pain, lonliness, extreme happiness, complete sadness, joy, fear and community. It is a jumble, but it is my life, my story. I think back and remember how much I hated certain moments that I would trade back in a heartbeat now. Little did I know: things get more difficult, and there is always so much to be thankful for. And sure, things may be better tomorrow, or worse next week, and we never know. All I have is now.

So, today, I promise myself that I will stop, take a mental picture, and look for all of the good in today. Because some day, sooner or later, I may look back on this time in my life, remember it’s sweetness, and wish I’d stopped to enjoy it, just as it is.

This post is a part of 20SB’s Blog Swap, and has been graciously sponsored by Bouncer, the latest in cellular and Internet-based privacy services.

Everyone has an infinite capacity to love, and you will never run out of love for one person by loving another.

I’m halfway through documentation that never seems to end, sitting in my grey cubicle breathing the air conditioned air, ipod headphones in my ears, volume up as high as it will go, ignoring the people who sit in the other cubicles.

It’s almost mid afternoon when my concentration starts to wane. I rub my eyes and try understand what it is I’m meant to include in this documentation. What’s important, what’s not.

I stop, for moment.

Yesterday events unfolded that I didn’t understand, events that hurt and showed me to be a little naive. If I’d gone home early last night like I’d planned then the thoughts in my head this afternoon would be gloomy and sullen.

But I didn’t go home early. And my thoughts aren’t gloomy or sullen. Last night I let a boy buy me two glasses of the 2008 Stoneleigh and we talked. The conversation quickly became animated and we debated, laughed and conversed until the bar staff started packing up the chairs and sweeping the floor.

We left the bar and drove, instead. Down the back streets through town, where we pointed out places of interest. A friend lives down this road, he took long-exposure photos from this bridge and I lived once in that apartment. We played ‘up’ songs. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I think.

We ended up down an empty dead end. And in the dark stillness something shifted. He told me I was drunk and endearing. I can’t quite remember what I said. The wine had tangled my tongue a little, and made my emotions a little buoyant. What happened after was enough to make me smile in my grey cubicle. To take a moment in the afternoon dullness and remember last night in all its sweetness.

I haven’t forgotten the events previous to last night. But I think right now I’d rather bask in the sweet, than dwell on things that are not so.

What are you thinking about this afternoon?