alkaline-kiwi's blog

So tomorrow marks the start of NaNoWriMo 2010 (and I'll be starting at midnight!). I'm hosting the kickoff party at my apartment tonight then we're heading across the road to Esquires Hobson Street just before midnight to start our frantic novelling session!

Expect more blog posts about NaNoWriMo from me this month, plus I still need to finish 30 Days Of Me.. bad blogger!

Something you crave for a lot

Well there's quite a lot of things, some being similar to what Erik posted when he did this topic. Generally what I want is to be happy and hopefully for others to be happy as well.
A few other things being

1. To be good at what I do.
   
2. Right about now I crave something to eat.. I find most of my immediate cravings revolve around food.. and it isn't always junk food either
3. Entertainment
   
4. Hugs
5. To be able to focus more.. I tend to get distracted very easily
   

What makes you different from everyone else

Hmm that's a bit of a tough one.. I think that it is more a combination of my different traits and interests that makes me unique.
Still.. I think some of my defining traits and interests are my love of books, my faith and my sense of humour.

A picture of something that makes you happy

This is a small part of my book collection (is very disorganised.. obviously I have not yet gotten around to organising my shelves.)
The written word is such a big part of my life and I adore reading. Curling up with a good book is my idea of bliss (bonus points if there is a purring cat beside me, I have chocolate or a snack and drink).
I get a lot of books secondhand.. my favourite method of acquiring books is through BookCrossing.. I love sharing books, passing them on and releasing them into the wild. Generally once I have read a book I will pass it on through BookCrossing unless it is one I want to keep hold of.. but even those I will lend to trustworthy friends.
I find it easier to name favourite genres than to name favourite authors or even books. I read a lot of travel writing, books about animals (especially cats), oddball non-fiction, GLBTQ fiction & non-fiction, YA fiction and books related to music.

Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future


Not the best photo of me but it just looks so adorable.
The person I see myself marrying would be the guy who's giving me the kiss, my darling Erik.
I remember Erik a little from high school but I don't think we really talked then.. it wasn't until I started going out with one of Erik's friends when I finished high school that I got to know Erik.
We lost contact when Erik moved up to Auckland but it just so happened that Erik's father would come into my work (when I worked at the art gallery in Greymouth) and Erik was down for a holiday. Erik came into see me, we hit it off and started a long distance relationship.
Fast forward about 6 months after we started dating and I moved up to Auckland to live with Erik. Will be 3 years in January that we've been together for.

We understand each other fairly well and we can joke about different things. He's a sweetie, huggable and he gets along well with my friends and family.
I consider him my best friend (along with Jay of course).

Nicknames you have; why do you have them

I don't really have that many nicknames. The one that most people that call me by a nickname call me is Kirst.. which is pretty self explanatory.. my name but without the Y.
One of my Aunts (who has read this blog before.. you know who you are) and my cousin call me Kirt.. why, I'm not too sure.

Then there's the usual terms of endearment I get from parents or Erik, which don't really count as nicknames.

My stepdad has some creative nicknames for me: fridge phantom and big footed kitchen vulture are the two that I can remember.

Plans/dreams/goals you have

My far out crazy dream is to run a literary themed backpackers or B&B one day. I'm not sure if I will ever do it, I'm not particularly business savvy at all. Still it is a dream.
Plans and goals.. well my rooftop garden being successful is a medium term goal with the long term one being that I keep it up.
I guess another dream/goal/plan is to be a published writer, even it is an article somewhere. It is something I haven't really worked much towards so that's another plan. Finish things I start.

I plan to get married though not sure if I want kids (I do want pets so when we move elsewhere we will be parents to fur babies)

There's some more.. read more books, clear my TBR piles, get organised and get fit. Also to be a better cook and learn to bake more.

Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

Hmm this is an interesting question. By switching lives is it just taking the place of someone else or are we talking full body swap?
I'm not sure who I would like to switch places with for one day.. maybe Jay as her job seems so interesting and fun.
If we are talking full body swap maybe being a guy for one day would be an interesting experience.

Another picture of yourself


From April last year. I have no idea who the hat belongs to but I find this photo quite amusing.

Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play

Ooh I do enjoy music ones. OK here goes

1. This Year's Love by David Gray
   This is from Erik's CD collection, I do enjoy some David Gray.. nice mellowing music (which I like to sing along to. My fave of his is probably Sail Away, which I know Erik loves too)
2. Goodbye Tonight by Lost Prophets
   Don't think I listened to this song much before, was one of the ones that a friend gave me. I should probably give this album a listen.. I like some of their other songs that another friend put on mixtapes for me.
   
3. Misunderstood by Better Than Ezra
   Love this song.. sent to be by my Canadian writer/BookCrossing buddy Jamie. The reason she sent it to me was after a rather strange chat conversation that we had with Jay and possibly someone else about a misunderstood demon.. yeah my memory of that chat is a little fuzzy. Anyway I used to listen to this song a lot and think it will be going on my playlist for NaNoWriMo this year.
4. We Want More by The Living End
   Ah The Living End.. seeing them live at The Civic in Christchurch still rates as one of the best gigs I have ever been to. I do like this song but it isn't one of my favourites. I used to have a copy of their first album on a dubbed tape and would bounce around the hallway at the flat we were living in at the time listening to it on my Walkman.. I remember telling Chris (Cheney, the lead singer) this when I met them after the show at The Civic... embarrassing.
   
5. Who Needs The Kwik-E-Mart? by The Simpsons
   I downloaded a heap of the songs from The Simpsons a few years ago.. I think it was from this site and enjoy listening to them when they pop up on shuffle. Still one of my favourite TV shows. "Let's hurl a brick-e-mart"
   
6. Dead and Broken by Alkaline Trio
   Alkaline Trio are another one of my favourite bands... who I hope to see at No Sleep Til later this year. They're the band that I took the Alkaline from in my username. What else can I say? I haven't listened to them much lately.
   
7. Silver and Cold by AFI
   Was really really into this song when I first got this album and now listening to it (and yes I am singing along.. Erik just looked up at me with a strange expression) I have the urge to dance too.. ok next song
   
8. Penguins & Polarbears by Millencolin
   I was listening to this album (Pennybridge Pioneers) just recently while lugging groceries home from the supermarket.. I think I bought this album when I was in high school (and heavily into pop-punk music evidently). I used to have a penpal called Dan who used to make me these amazing mixtapes (which I still have somewhere) and he got me into a lot of bands, Millencolin being one of them.
9. Foux du Fafa by Flight of the Conchords
   The first NZ band that has come up on my shuffle, it took a couple of listens for this album to grow on me and now I love it. This is not one of my favourites on the album but still enjoy it. And yes I have sung along to it in the past.
   
10. Are You Waiting by Stellar*
    And another Kiwi band, Stellar* being one of the first NZ bands I got into. Final show in Auckland next week which I should get a ticket to for nostalgia's sake (that and I still do enjoy their music)
    

A picture of you and your family


A photo of me with my parents at my graduation. That's my Dad Paul on the left and my Mum Christine on the right.

My Dad had quite an influence on my interest in classic rock music and quite a few of the bands I like now are ones he blasted on our home stereo when I was a kid.. so loud that my Mum could hear it walking home from the supermarket.. which might explain me being hard of hearing at times. I love my Dad for his loyalty and his sense of humour while at times just not funny means he looks on the bright side of life. He lives in Reefton with my stepmum Shelly and my two step brothers Liam and Jordyn. My stepbrothers are still kids and I'm the sister that gives them books. My heart swelled with pride when my stepmum told me they took some of the books I gave them to show and tell at school. "Our sister Kirsty gave us these".. its enough to make a bookworm cry tears of joy.

I take after my Mum more than my Dad according to my sister. Mum is quite a bit more serious than my Dad (though she does have a sense of humour.. which is fairly warped at times like mine). She taught me cooking and baking (I'm better at the former than the latter) and encouraged my love of reading (though before when it was 'don't read in the dark you'll ruin your eyesight' it is now 'do you really need so many books?')
I am fairly close to my Mum and we talk on the phone at least once a week. Now that she has Facebook I can talk to her more often.
Mum lives in Greymouth with my stepdad Kevin. The amusing things about my stepdad could fill a blog all on their own. Kevin has two kids, both older than me.. Nicky who lives in Christchurch and Ray who is overseas.

I also have a younger sister Mishae. We really used to clash when we were younger but now we are pretty tight. Mishae never fails to make me laugh and says what she feels which can be highly amusing.
Mishae is mum to an adorable baby girl called Miley. I adore my niece and think she is just something else.



Like her auntie Miley loves books which I always buy for her. I look forward to her getting a bit older so I can gift her some more of my favourites.

A letter to someone who has hurt you recently

Oooh a tough one.. I can't think of anyone that has hurt me recently.. there have been some people who have annoyed me but thankfully I can't remember their names.
I find I get more pain from inanimate objects (physical pain).. maybe I could write a letter to the chair leg that I run into.. or the junk on my floor that I trip over...

How you found out about Blogger and why you made one

I think Erik used to have a blogger account which his blog was hosted on before he moved over to wordpress and then Drupal. I figured that it looked fairly easy to use and host a blog on this site.
Why I made a blog fullstop was I thought it would be fun and an interesting way to keep friends and family up to date with my life

Another picture of you and your friends


This one was taken around April last year on Queen Street while waiting for the Airbus for Jay to go to the airport. Was after the BookCrossing convention.. am using this photo as I don't have my external hard drive near to go looking for pictures.
On the left is me with my ITC keys hanging around my neck. I think I might have had course that day which might explain the black jacket.
Next to me is Kevin and Jay, who I have talked about previously. Two of the nicest people I know.
We all share a love of books, Questionable Content, chocolate and random odd conversations that go late into the night.

Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad

Even though I am a bit of a music nut mood rarely depicts what songs I listen to and it is normally bands that I can name that I listen to, not specific songs.

Though some of the stuff I am really into at the moment as far as songs go are:
Pulp Fiction by Motion City Soundtrack
Brand New Day from Dr Horrible's Sing A Long Blog
Second Season by Five Iron Frenzy
Stutter from A Very Potter Sequel
All For You by Sister Hazel
Thomas by mumsdollar
Popularity by Jonezetta

Plus a heap of other stuff.

Am on a bit of a short break at the moment from updating my blog as I have my friend Jay visiting. Will be getting caught up on my 30 Days Of Me posts on Thursday & Friday.

(Yes I missed a day or two this weekend so I'll do two posts today and two tomorrow to get back up to speed)

Something you’re proud of in the past few days


Behold the start of my rooftop garden which Janet (Erik's Mum) and I sorted out yesterday afternoon.
There's quite a bit planted already, though need to do some more planting over the next week or so. Will be also making it pest proof.
I do feel that Janet did most of the work but I helped out too, plus it was something that I was planning on doing.

I also cooked a roast pork dinner on Thursday night, was my first time doing roast pork and it turned out really well.