World Series Champs!

What an amazing game tonight! While it (very gladly) did not have the nail biting suspense as the last, we won! Go Cardinals World Series 2011 Champions! It’s party time in St Louis!

And now baseball!

Just a short post to say that yes I am still alive! I’ve been caught up now with baseball… and the St Louis Cardinals just won an amazing match! We (yes I am now emotionally invested in this) were twice 1 strike away from losing the World Series but twice we managed to make a comeback. Not only that but Freese manages to score a homerun in the 11th inning to win the game. The World Series ends tomorrow night and I will update you all with a longer post explaining all this craziness. Also 4 more days to NaNo! I’ve been brainstorming ideas and I think I’ve decided on a topic! I’ll be catching up with all you WriMos soon!

We did it

Words fail me at the moment. I feel so proud of the boys and all their efforts and so proud of my adoptive country! All Blacks you deserve this win!

Photo credit: Kiwi Flickr

We’re in!

It’s 5 am here now and I don’t have much to say except 20-6! We’re in the finals! Go All Blacks, you make us proud!

(Rugby World cup 2011 semi finals in case you’re wondering!)

Driving on the right… oh my!

I wish this was my car

I recently went for a drive on a mission to buy a set of table and chairs. This was my first time driving a car in the US and my first time driving on the other side of the street. Luckily I managed to convince a friend to come along for the ride and he was patient enough to give me directions and some tips.

Now I don’t actually own a car. Instead I’ve signed up to a collective project called WeCar. Basically it’s like a car rental community, with emphasis on the community. There is a central company (WeCar) who looks after them, gets them fixed, serviced and basically do the other boring admin stuff. The rates are pretty decent – $5/hour gets you the car, fuel and insurance cover. The community part comes in mainly in the gas – you are responsible for filling the car when it gets to about 3/4 empty. There is a gas card though so you don’t have to pay. All in all very useful when you don’t need a car every day and you get the environmental kudos for driving a hybrid vehicle (I got a Prius).

I had a few funny moments. For instance I kept turning on the wipers instead of the indicators (they are on the other side of the steering wheel). I also kept flicking on the wrong signal… up is right and down is left here, also the opposite direction for me. Reversing was tricky as I had to get used to looking over my right shoulder – something that was harder than I thought it should be!

Actually the experience wasn’t too bad. Apart from a few corners cut a bit too sharp we managed to get to Target and back in one piece. AND I am now writing this post on a table and sitting on a chair. Bliss!

Have you ever driven on the other side of the road compared to what you’re used to? Or any funny driving stories let me know below!

Timely words

And once again I am reminded to treasure the most important things in life.

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life,” Jobs said during a Stanford commencement ceremony in 2005.

“Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Reuters

This life may be short, but hope lives on.

The important things

Sometimes I get a thought in my head and I can’t seem to get it out. This last week I’ve been thinking a lot about life and getting older. This then led me to think about what I want to do before… well, before I get too old. It’s a sobering thought but in a sense I’m glad I’m having it now when I can still do something about it.

Then I got a letter telling me that I got selected to be part of a longitudinal study about recent graduates. A longitudinal study is one where they follow a group of people over a long period of time – in this case 10 years – and see how they develop. I’m always happy to answer surveys and I know that a study like this will really help shed some light. Plus I’m curious about the results.

Anyway, what I was getting at before I digressed was that this also reinforced this thought. Some of the questions asked were: “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?”, “What do you think is important?”, “What are you looking for in a job (i.e. job security, pay, allows a particular lifestyle)?”. All good questions.

I don’t actually have an answer yet… but I do know one or two things. I want is to have a job that I enjoy and hopefully, a family. I also want to travel and explore new places. I’ve decided that I should write down a “before I turn 30″ list – maybe since I’m feeling a little poetic, it should be a “30 before 30″ list.

Anyway what do you think? What are the things most important to you? Is it work? Family? Faith? What do you want out of this human experience?