Keys please

I want a spare key.  Or maybe what I want deep down is a better memory.

Today marked I think the 4th time in the past few months that I’ve locked myself out of the house.  8am on a Monday morning.  In the past, I haven’t been able to bear parting with money for a spare key, telling myself over and over that I’ll never do it again.  But I was kidding myself.  I had my bag all ready, umbrella in hand and drinkbottle in the other when I slammed my door shut and felt that horrible feeling wash over me.  I gave my pockets a slap to confirm the truth I already knew – the keys were trapped inside.

With this sort of forgetful memory, you would assume that perhaps I left the back door unlocked too or even my car door unlocked (this time my wallet was another thing trapped, but in my car instead of inside the house) to provide another way of entry.  But of course with my luck, everything was safe and secure.

So I set up camp on my doorstep, and punched my boyfriend’s number into my cellphone.  His friendly, cheery voice answered but my drawn out, flat tone alerted him to the fact that I was in the same predicament I had been in only weeks before.  And this time he couldn’t get me out of trouble.  Cue rain bucketing down around me and thunder starting.

Thankfully the weather cleared and I braved the hour trek to uni, finding a cute salmon/coral/pinky coloured trench coat in a second hand shop on the way in.  But I think now is the time to be honest with myself anf invest in a secret spare key.

Shhhh please.

I want some silence. 

Remember being shushed by the teacher?  I do and I hated it.  Not because I wanted to talk more but because I wasn’t one who liked being told off.  I liked the story on the mat, with everyone listening intently.  I like quiet libraries.  I like puting my television on mute now and then. 

If it were up to me, we would have specific parts of the day which were quiet.  Silent.  No noise.  Just some time to sit and think.  Lately the more noise I hear the more I want to tear my hair out but maybe that’s part of the only child syndrome taking hold.  Our house was never full of screaming children or barking dogs.  There was just me, Mum and maybe a cat purring softly.

I think I’ve found someone who doesn’t know the meaning of the word silence.  The term verbal diarrhoea never puts nice images in my mind but it is really the only way to describe this person.  Never shuts up.  I don’t really know how she really gets around to breathing with all the words that spill out of her mouth. 

I think I’m going to make use of the shhh from now on.

A splash of colour

First off, excuse me for the lack of posts recently.  To be honest, I haven’t really wanted much lately because I was spoilt rotten with a scrumptious cake, lovely gifts and a few versions of happy birthday sung to me over the past few days.

I didn’t receive an apartment building for my birthday.  I’d think I would like one eventually, an over-the-top, abnoxious multicoloured one to plonk in the middle of a skyline of drab, grey buildings.  And this one in particular brings a smile to my face everyday I walk past it.  I’m sure it’s not the most unique building you’ve ever seen but a few rainbow balconies are just the thing I need to brighten me up on a rainy Auckland day.  That blue sky I captured in this photo was just some freak of nature phenomenon.

Grit your teeth toughness

I want to get a little tougher.  A bit harder.

As a kid, I remember wincing everytime I had to take my shoes off and go barefoot.  Hated it.  Not really your typical kiwi kid by any means.  The thought of prickles, glass and just a sharp piece of road in general scared me most of the time into pulling my frilly socks and my comfy shoes back on.  If going barefoot was the dreaded only option, it would take an age to cross the road.  Cautious step by cautious step.  Barefoot contact with a gravel was a slow and painful torture.   I got teased for my stupidly soft feet, even though Mum told me how much safer it was with shoes on.

Barefeet are for cavemen anyway I decided.  My sights were set on something a lot tougher and an essential accessory for every kid – rollerblades.

And then I hear of this whole new sport – roller derby.  A bunch of females/girls/ladies all kitted out in protective gear to skate around an arena slamming and smashing into anyone rolling their way.  So far that’s the extent of my knowledge but after spotting a poster advertising a local game, I’ve decided I’m going as a spectator.  Maybe gritting my teeth in the bleaches is as tough as I’ll get…

Swinging style

I want to find a killer red lipstick and get myself into the swing of things. Nothing to do with exchanging keys at the door but some good old fashioned fun. Swing dancing.

A friend of mine mentioned it a few years ago and it wasn’t until recently that I really heard of it again. Another student I know told me of her idea for an upcoming video assignment about filming a piece on the dance genre that is swing.

Her sister is right into it and often goes to big swing dance nights, including gorgeous costumes and full big band set-up.

I’m hoping my slight lack of coordination and interest in modern booty drops wont hinder my chances of swinging success.

Meh, at least I’ll have a cute outfit.

http://www.theswingstation.co.nz/

A surprise a day

I want a surprise a day. Not for me, but a surprise for someone else. As naff as it sounds, I want to be the catalyst for a smile, a chuckle or a warm fuzzy feeling.

Windscreen surprise

This is what I found on my windscreen today.  Damp and slightly blurred after I peeled it from my savage windscreen wipers.

Marketing or not, mistake or not, I felt a bit of a glow after reading a personal message a total stranger had placed on my windscreen.  Maybe I was easily pleased that day or still partly in a romantic afternoon daydream.  Maybe I was pleasantly surprised that this note wasn’t full of the usual grumbles about my car blocking someone’s driveway and a warning of being towed.  Either way, I wasn’t expecting it.  I have now concluded that leaving nice, handwritten personal notes on windscreens for strangers to find needs to happen more often.

Crafty cleverness

I want to showcase some crafty cleverness.  And I also want to start buying birthday gifts and treats from local designers like these.

Today marks a week and two days since I visited the Auckland Art and Craft Fair at the Art Lounge, part of the Auckland Art Gallery.  Obviously the word art has been stuck in my mind ever since my eyes caught sight of the sheer brilliance and imagination of the vendors there.

The crowd boasted a mix of both kooky and conventional individuals and the small room/foyer was crammed full with people trying to get a glimpse of artsy up-and-comers.  Definitely on a smaller scale than other art and craft shows but worth the trip nonetheless. 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/breedentice

http://boxx.felt.co.nz/

http://www.trixiedelicious.com/

http://aucklandfair.blogspot.com/

Charity goddess

I want to give a little bit more.  To the needy, to the disadvantaged and to those that really just have a lot less than I do.

But it’s one of those things I’ve said before and haven’t quite had the determination to follow through with.  Sure, I give a few coins here and there to the bucket shakers and purchased a new anzac poppy every year but there’s not a hell of a lot of effort involved in putting my hand in my pocket.

So when I stumbled upon a notice in my latest copy of the Healthy Food Guide to get baking for charity, I very nearly wet myself.  Cupcake day for the SPCA is 30th August and it’s all about creating these delightfully sweet little cakes to sell on behalf of the SPCA, an advocate for animals.

Creative Cupcake Winner 2009

Registration, bake, decorate, sell and send money raised.  So far, the effort involved has been minimal with my registration form to becoming a ‘cupcake cook’ super easy.  Now I’m eagerly awaiting my cupcake starter pack in the mail.   Then I’ll don an apron and decide on a price for the cupcakes.   They send posters for cooks to use and run competitions for most creative cupcake.  Genius.

All tips welcome!  I’m keen but new to cupcakes.

Extra cuteness – the website even features a recipe for ‘pupcakes’ while warning people to resist the urge to feed their pooches part of their cupcake creations.

http://www.spcacupcakeday.co.nz/