life at 42 maybank street

The title is a bit misleading... a bit of irony, perhaps, since I'm rarely at the flat these days. Read on and you'll find out why.

First of all, a huge thank you to everyone for their help and support with my applications for medical school. This has truly been a group effort. Mom and Dad for proofreading, for dredging up the address and phone number of verifiers who have long since disappeared from my life, and for general emotional support and encouragement. Sarah Freedman for her insightful comments on my applications (and on life in general), made even more remarkable since we are both applying for the same enviable spots at McMaster and Ottawa universities. Bjorn, Erna, Cate, Ruth, Heather, Andre, Mira, and the careers advisor at Otago University for providing invaluable comments on early and revised drafts of my submissions. I had to use a dictionary to understand some of Bjorn's comments ("projects either naive idealism or sycophantism" ... wha ...?!?). Don, Susan, Alex, and Mike for filling out stacks of reference letters. Simon for his unshakable faith that I will receive interviews and offers of acceptance from 8 of the 9 universities I am applying to. Everyone I solicited for words I could use to describe myself in a reference letter I had to write myself [hope no one from the admissions committee is reading this]. Everyone who provided feedback on what makes a good doctor [including random people at the rugby gates who were asked this question by my Rotary club President David Coster]. My friends and flatmates for enduring the boredom of yet another conversation about... that's right, my med school applications. Honest, when all this is done I will once again be able to sustain an interesting conversation.

Secondly, huge thanks again to my cousin Uffe for providing technical support for this website.

Thirdly, but definitely not lastly, thanks to Simon for spending endless hours over the past few months figuring out how to create a backup CD of my hard drive. No longer am I gripped by paranoia at the thought of my laptop being dropped or stolen, and the subsequent loss of all my NZ photos... oh yeah, and my dissertation too.

Academic stuff, Rotary stuff, social stuff. Pretty much.
 

Danilo and Tom at the Robbie on a Thursday night

On September 7 I helped my Rotary club to fundraise by once again staffing the rugby gates for the Otago versus Southland game. Before the game I met Tim Shadbolt, the world-famous mayor of Invercargill. Since it was raining, the players had huge issues catching the ball, passing the ball, and running down the field with the ball. Exactly the activities needed to win a game. As a result the game was quite wretched and I left at half-time when the score was 6 for Otago and 7 for Southland. I still don't know who won, although rumour has it that the local boys managed to pull up their socks and win one for the home crowd.

Watched "Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" with Emma and Simon, directed back in the day by Stanley Kubrick. Read "The Vagina Monologues" by Eve Ensler, "Bridget Jones' Diary" by Helen Fielding, and "Who Owns the Holy Land?" by Lloyd Geering (Emma's granddad).

We had a get-together on September 18 for the girls who participated in Rypen, the leadership conference for young girls waaaaay back in March. Much fun had by the girls, my Rotary chicks, and the Rotarians who helped organise it.
 

Sandwich on a fence post (in Castle Street) on the way to uni. The following day someone had taken another bite out of it, and the day after that, it was gone.

September 21 Cate's man Chris cooked an amazing Indian dinner for us.

That Sunday spent enjoying a walk in the park. And, um, spending time with Simon, my flatmate-turned-boyfriend [yes, I broke the cardinal rule].

September 24 the five of us Rotary girls went to the St. Kilda Rotary club for a panel discussion comparing our respective countries - visibility of Rotary in our home towns, university education in NZ compared to back home, and Kiwi's perceptions of our respective countries.

Went to the tramping club Annual Dinner on September 28 - Melanie and I got the John Williams Memorial Navigation Award for our misadventures in Kaikoura (yes, we climbed the wrong mountain) shared with three guys who made the same mistake.
 

OUTC Annual Dinner - Tom and Steve in back, Jay and Emerson in front

Russ and Pam Quin, my Rotary host counsellors, are off in China from October 3 to 16 and have asked me to house-sit. They've got a great house up on a hill overlooking the harbour and the Otago Peninsula. I jumped at the opportunity to have some time to myself, and to have some quiet space to finish up my med school applications and dissertation. Went down to the beach every morning for a run and such. Plus I get to spend some quality time with their cat Sam, who very much appreciates the attention : ) Might I add, though, that he has no appreciation for the solemnity of research. When I sit down at my laptop to work on my dissertation, he parks himself in my lap, purrs contentedly, and gazes disdainfully at the screen. Then he jumps to the ground and walks all over the file folders I've spread out on the carpet. Sheesh. Anyway, muchas gracias to Russ and Pam. Simon came for a visit. My glasses frames broke, so Simon and I rigged up his glasses frames with my lenses, taped together with some flash green and yellow striped tape. Had to rush off to the Snares, so couldn't fix the glasses, and Simon allowed me to keep his glasses for a few days. So I walked around with this crazy apparatus attached to my face... did replace the tape with clear cellotape though. Finally got the frames welded back together this morning, for a mere $15. Thanks to Gavin Bridgman from my Rotary club.

Christine (with her flash new frames) and Simon (when he still had big hair)

On October 4, Simon and I checked out the Best of the Mothras - low budget student films with generally wacky themes. That night they showed some of the best (or the best of the worst...) Mothras, produced between 1993 and 2001. Unfortunately missed "Being John Campbell" - one of this year's Mothras and apparently really, really good. A pun on the movie "Being John Malkovich" for those of you who didn't get it already... John Campbell is a news reporter on TV3 as well as a classic Kiwi icon.

Petra moved out on September 18, Mingus moved in on September 25, Petra moved back on October 2, Mingus has moved into my room for two weeks, and when I return I suspect Mingus will live with Ian.

Pip Chapman has invited me up to his bach in Wanaka again for the October 11-13 weekend, with the possibility of some downhill skiing at nearby Cardrona or Treble Cone. October 15 I've been invited to tramp the Silver Peaks with Cliff McAuley. Will see whether I can fit these plans around the crazy amount of work I need to get done between now and next Tuesday, when my medical school applications for Ontario are due, and when I've promised to submit two-thirds of my dissertation. Also need to make final revisions to a paper Alex Papaioannou and I are trying to submit for publication. Probably won't make the trip to Wanaka.

This morning Simon and I were drinking coffee at St. David's and were asked to be in a promotional shot for next year's Otago University prospectus... we're eagerly waiting to see whether they'll use it!

May not mean much to you guys outside NZ, but for the benefit of those in the know...

Think yummy spreads from the grocery store like Anathoth farmstyle pickle, Anathoth zucchini pickle, Anathoth jams, Lisa's hummus, and tasty cheese. The best sandwiches in the world are made with Vogel's, Molenberg, Buergen, or Holsum bread. When you get sick it's Throaties or Halts (not Halls) cough drops to the rescue. Do you prefer Jaffas (orange-chocolate candies, also refers to Aucklanders... just another f*ing Aucklander) or are you partial to Snifters (mint candies, also refers to people from outside of Auckland)? I rather like Jaffas : )

Shortland Street. Cringe.

Watching American-made films and getting nervous to see cars driving on the "wrong" side of the road.

Love Christine