A pair of dirty boots

What a weekend! I spent a long time tramping up and down Richard's family farm, following him and Bevan to track down that elusive goat. I was also wondering about reading The Timetraveller's Wife when I wait for the men on their hunt, just like Henry, they were lost in their world and I was there by myselt, negotiating across the stream, down the slope, up the small hill that didn't seen to end any time soon, and wondering where I could sit for a short while to rest.
The view from the top of the farm was stunning. You could see right out to the sea, the oil rig in the background. No cloud in the sky, a light breeze in the air, and green pasture from me to the coast. It was quiet, apart from the occasional bird and airplane flying overhead. It was time to think about nothing at all, to relax, and do some exercise that I couldn't do everyday.
We went to see Stacey and Natalie on Saturday evening. They were both going out. Natalie and Evert were going to see Ironman, which we encouraged them to do because it was a kick ass movie. Stacey and her friend Diana were going to a party together. Dan's broke his collar bone, otherwise he would have come with Bevan and Richard on the hunt.
We managed to kill twenty four goats this time, and injured about ten more. There are still a lot of stray goats out there, eating the grass and wasting valuable resources. One good thing was that we found a young kid and took it home with us on the four wheeler. Hopefully, Stacey will be able to find someone to care for her. Richard wanted to give it to me as a pet, but I don't think I can take care of it.
My boots ended up extrememly dirty after this weekend of chasing goats and climbing up and down the farmland. It was pleasant weather, a bit tiring, but mainly fun.
Still hasn't done engagement present shopping at all. I should try to find something that we will need in the future in Stevens and inform the future mother-in-law.

What a busy day and quiz night

I had such a busy day today, trying to do three experiments a day was not funny, and just managed to wrap everything up at 5:40p.m. Kelly and I went to put down woodchips and flattened cardboard boxes for the garden path around lunchtime as well. That was a good workout, taking wheelbarrow down the lane and tipping woodchips out on the path. The weather was generous to us and didn't start to rain. Now the fun begins with planting in winter or keeping weeds at bay if you don't want to plant anything.
Fuzzy sent me a new job alert from Alfa Laval, but I don't think I can really apply for this job. Yes, the pay is much much better ($500000 upwards), and I will pick up the engineering part of my university study again. I don't want to mess the CV up, but I have a feeling there will be no reply. Feeling anxious about my job now, and there aren't a lot of opportunities around. This will be a hard year ahead. There's this sinking feeling that I can't get out of.
I just feel depressed. Is it the weather? Is it how life is going? Quiz night was fun, especially the pictorial questions. Food was a bit dubious, but felt really full afterwards.

I am engaged! I am 26!

I am engaged! K set up a treasure hunt, and he gave me a rose for the clue that I found, and eventually, he gave me a Celtic diary with the engagement ring taped at the back. The Hamilton Gardens is beautiful, with trees full of autumn leaves. We went to the place where we met, where we talked, where I worked, and had a great time. However, the ring was loose so we sent it to be refitted in Gemtime. Although I want to tell everybody that I am engaged, I will have to wait until the ring comes back. K's mum is thrilled, and his nanna called in the evening to congratulate me. Mum was a bit disappointed that I didn't bring the ring home, well, I am disappointed that I can't wear it now, too.
The three day weekend went smoothly. K made me a sponge cake, and I bought the cream and fruit for icing. We sang Happy Birthday to you in Chinese. I managed to teach K how to sing the song in Chinese with a song sheet. It was a fun day.
We watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy and ate a lot of popcorn yesterday to celebrate the birthday. I had fried chicken and chips for lunch today. I don't feel that different when I am 26, but certainly content and happy.

RED HOT HAIR

Mum hasn't noticed that my hair is dyed red from last night. Bevan took Theo and I to the Warehouse to get the hair dye, and I also asked Richard to get a shampoo suitable for dyed hair.
Before dying his hair, Richard had to sort out the internet connection problem in Taranaki with his dad. His sisters are living in rural Taranaki without broadband internet. Sounds like the connection fee is high, with normal monthly fee afterward. Mum said that Mrs. Phong has a dial-up connection because she doesn't really use internet that often. I guess Stacey and Natalie have just had enough of the excruciating snail-speed dial-up and broadband will be much better. Just wondering why they have to ask for such a high connection fee. Yes, I know it's rural area, but it's no excuse.
Let the adventure begin: I mixed the two chemicals together by shaking, and applied the mixture to Richard's hair. It was difficult not to get the mixture on his forehead and neck so we resorted to wiping them off with a cloth. I used an old toothbrush to apply the mixture to Richard's hair evenly, then he used the plastic gloves to rub the colour in. He also dyed my hair red using the remaining mixture.
You can see a red tinge under the light on my head, but Richard's hair is really red. I think it will look redder if we peroxide it.
Ken's gel had finally worked today, and he was using the method on the paper that I found. That's fantastic! He had ran the gel for so many times that he deserves to have good results. My experiments didn't work well so I am repeating them. I will have to come in on Sunday to set up some Minipreps for Monday.
I can't believe that nobody has discovered that I dyed my hair. It's frustrating. Hopefully, Fuzzy will notice.

V8 weekend

Hester invited us to pick chestnut on a farm in Gordonton. There were so many of them on the ground. Fuzzy and Theo had lots of fun in the forest. We went to Pak'n Save to get ice cream, and watched the V8 cars outside the circuit for a while. We stood on the edge of the wall and looked in, the cars came really fast and they were loud. Our friend Hamish complained that he couldn't see much on the grandstand because the stand wasn't steep enough. Other people complained and it got on the six o'clock news. The tickets were quite expensive so the spectators should be able to enjoy their view.
I watched several movies on DVD this weekend. Dad found Jurassic Park 3 among Mr. Phong's discarded things and he said he's never watched this movie before. Fuzzy and I watched Nacho Libre together. It was a funny movie about a friar who dreamt to become a wrestler since he was child. He had lost all the wrestling matches and only won the last one. He spent the prize money to buy a bus for the orphans he's taking care of. Theo and I watched the first season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. It's very interesting, and makes you think about the future and humanity. We also watched Good Luck Chuck, a guy who was hexed when he was young to be the guy who girls go out and will find the love of their life next. He met Cam, a nice woman who works in the sea world and loves penguins. His over the top wooing tactics scared Cam off, and eventually realises he has to let her go and have some space. It's not a very good movie, and I found out that Nanny McPhee was on and I didn't watch it.
Just wondering how Theo's Chinese learning is going. I will help him along the way.