Hey! An audience!

Writing a blog expecting noone to read it is kind of like the sound of one hand clapping, or the tree falling in the forest with noone to hear it (does it make a noise, etc. etc....) - although it is possibly more therapeutic than either of the above, I still immensely prefer communicating to real people... so, basically, I would like to thank anyone who has come here and showed some interest in my rambles about my life and times - well, a small selection of them - it is so nice to know that someone cares enough to have a read and it is also nice to hear your comments back :)

Anyway. I have now been happy on three consecutive days (actually, more like five), so I've decided it's here to last, and that the second half of 2006 is going to be a vast improvement on the first. Had Joy staying with Lisa and I in the weekend, that was really wonderful and we all had a lot of fun, I still managed to run both Sat and Sun since I have the Chch half marathon this Sunday!!! Hmmmmmm I'm doing it with Mindy, which will be fun, even though it will be quite different this time round than the Auck one in Oct last year - change in climate, not running with Karthik, later in the day, variation in training (a lot more running alone this time), I'm a little under the weather with a vicious cough which makes it hard to breathe sometimes, and the terrain will be flat instead of hilly, and it is a 'there and back' course too, and one I'm unfamiliar with. Although I could fix that one. So here's hoping it goes well and that the race is better than my training!!! I see that Esther is doing it too, and Megan, so I'll hopefully see them (probably passing me!!) at some stage. iN fact I'm only going down Sat afternoon 5pm, and back Monday night 8pm so it will be quite a short visit, and in that time I want to spend time with Mum and Jenna, visit all my grandparents, hang out with Helen and Doos and play my violin and the piano. And cook with Jenna. So, good luck to me!!!!! Oh and did I mention I have a half-marathon with Mindy taking up one morning???

Have been on training this week - well I did go to work today for 1.5 hours to do some testing for Jai (I was worried that since I was holding up two of her projects by being absent she'd be running out of work, but turns out I didn't need to be concerned...) so that has been brilliant, especially since it starts at 9am!! I wasn't too keen on going since it means taking 4 days off my important projects and the most important one is already behind deadline and I really like the client so I feel terrible... but oh well, in the end I can only do what I can do, and four days away isn't the end of the world. I probably needed to be away from work to regain some perspective, and it has been interesting. I may go to work after training tomorrow to do some stuff though, I'll see.. otherwise might be in for a long and hopefully very productive Friday! But hopefully no more mad hours like last week (Lisa busted me doing a 5am start once when she got up at 4.50am to go to the bathroom and I wasn't here - I should have closed my bedroom door!! - but I didn't tell her that I had been starting at 5.30-6.30 all week, I didn't think it would have gone down too well.....)

And we have had some nice weather lately which is always good! Plus I have been doing different things - like going to a talk by the author of 'The Time Traveller's Wife', that was on Monday night, it was very interesting - one of the things I thought was interesting was her comment that people would be so much happier if they made more of the things they liked rather than buying them. And she inspired me to write. I periodically get inspired to write, and this time I hope the inspiration will last. I also love the mayfly advert on tv at the moment. Fill your days with the things you love. Like for me this is talking to people, eating and cooking and baking nice food, making music, listening to songs, reading books, looking at paintings, looking around at the wonderful world we live in, learning languages, writing letters, learning about stuff, and lately I have been rediscovering the joy of shopping when you don't need anything and in fact are unlikely to buy anything ;) I have been wandering into shops instead of just wandering past, and it's been fun.

I also am really enjoying work lately. So that's a good thing, since I've had to be there so much! Went to a free concert tonight in the Town Hall, a sampler by the Auck Phil, it was great - Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, Mendelssohn's Hebride's Overture, and some movement of a symphony by Ross Harris, composer in residence, I enjoyed it a lot and thought it was much better than last year's offering.

Just discovered your site Abi, it's really cool! If anyone else wants to visit, go to www.jabbytalk.com

Ok, hope you are all having a wonderful week and appreciating the BLUE SKIES.