The day before yesterday...

Nana and I went to Taupo. It was the first time in a long time I have been there. As in, I don't remember if I have ever been there before, I'm sure I have but I don't remember it. It was that long ago. But you're probably wondering why Taupo is important. Taupo is where my family comes from, as in the Chases, as in my Grammy and her family. So you see, it is kinda more important than some other places. 
Taupo has a humungous lake, a decent sized city, lots of interesting people, and a fun looking fair. It sort of reminded me of Flathead Valley. Not sure why, but Nana and I unanimously decided this.
I do realize that Taupo is sort of important and everything, but to me it seemed like any other place. Once upon a time my Aunty Kahu promised me that she would take me there and show me why it was important. I think she has forgotten about that promise though. Perhaps I will remind her. Perhaps Johnny will come. That would be a happy day.
So do you want to hear more about our wondrous adventures around Taupo? Well, we checked out McDonnald's toilets (they were all right, if you were wondering), we did some window shopping, got yelled at by some carnies (they kinda frighten me), drove around town, drove out of town, then discovered Reid's farm.
Here's the story about Reid's farm.
Once upon the time there was a man named Reid. He had a farm, kinda like old mcdonald. Part of Reid's farm bordered on the Waikato river, it was very, very beautiful. Reid was getting old and knew he was going to die soon so he bequeathed a large portion of this beautiful land that borders the Waikato river to the Taupo District Council. They put up a sign that said,

 Reid's Farm

Freedom Camping

7 Day limit

Please clean up your own mess 

Now any one who wants to can go to Reid's farm and sit on the bank of the Waikato River and listen to the birds sing and watch the water pass you by and breath the fresh clean air and feel the sun shine on their face and eat a picnic and contemplate eternity. Seriously, it is Taupo's best kept secret. So don't tell any one about Reid's farm or else the whole of Taupo would be there every single day, and that would ruin it.
By the way, Reid. I love you. If I knew who you were, I would probably give you a hug. But that is entirely dependent on your old-man-creepiness- status. And of course if you are still alive.
By the way, Ried's farm is a real place, but the whole story about old man Reid bequething his farm was assumed and not fact.


Well I must go have a shower. But don't be sad because I have recently rediscovered my love for blogging so will most likely continue the retelling of this adventure at a later time.
XOXO

Three wishes, if you please

I wish I had a million dollars (I know, not very original, but it would solve a lot of problems)

I wish I had a bag like Marry Poppins.

I wish life didn't have to be so complicated and I could still make decisions based on the outcome of eeny-meeny-miny-mo.

it was just so much easier then

there's a possibility...

source

...and that's all I have to say.

lots of fun on the naked bus

Haha curious? Here in nz there is a bus service called the nakedbus. Don't worry, there is no nudity involved. I'm not sure why they call it the nakedbus but they do and it is the cheapest way to get around so I'm not complaining. Anyways, today when I went onto the nakedbus website it said this...

"Nakedbus has teamed up with motels and hostels across the country to give you the cheapest accommodation possible. Introducing... naked sleep!"

Nope. There is nothing wrong with that at all.

I could stay here forever

 Sitting in the sand,

 listening to the waves,

 watch the clouds moving,

 feel the warm breeze on my skin,

 smell the salt in the air.

But real life is knocking at the door.

 It says get up Brittney. There are decisions to be made, things that must be done.

 I wish I could ignore it, but it's right.

I must get moving

Do you know what I think is funny? 

I think it's funny that they expected us to have our life all figured out before we left high school. 

I remember this time last year I was spending hours researching and applying for different schools. 

Now, a year later, I am still doing the same thing.

And I'm not anywhere closer to figuring out what I am going to do.

In fact, I think I am even farther away.

To many choices. To many options. To many consequences to making the wrong choice.

Yup. I am definitely farther away

Catch up!

Yeah, I know. It's been a long time. No internet connection. Sorry.
So here's whats been going on.
Temple View is great. I really liked it there and was making lots of good friends. But it was bothering me that I had been there for so long. Too long. So when the opportunity came for me to go back to Tologa Bay with my cousins I jumped on it. They asked if I wanted to come, I said yes! I threw all my stuff in my suitcase and 15 minutes later was on the road. Literally. That's one thing I like about my life right now. There is nothing holding me back, I can pack up and go anywhere in a matter of minutes. It's great. Anyways, that was friday.
Saturday we (me, and my six cousins, all girls ranging in age 21-11) went on a hike up to Cooks Cove. Saw the hole in the wall, sat and watched the ocean, chased some lambs, got chased by some seagulls, sprained my ankle. All in all, a good day. But at the end of it I wasn't 100% sure coming here was the right decision after all. But I decided to just wait it out and see how it went. Even if I didn't like it it would only be temporary.
Sunday was my little cousins birthday. She was turning 11. It was just going to be a little party but after the entire family, friends, neighbors and the branch were invited it turned into a group of about 30 people. A big marquee was set up by the water and it was a fantastic day with lots of food and laughter.

A few things I have recently figured out...

• Spontaneous decisions results in messy suitcases. I don't like messy suitcases. All my clothes are wrinkled and I can't find anything
• I also don't like sprained ankles
• Brussel sprouts make a good icepack
• I should have learned to play the guitar when I had the chance
• I don't like family drama
• goodbyes are sometimes better left unsaid

And the main epiphany of the week...

• If you ever find yourself staying at someone else's house and you don't feel completely comfortable just cause you feel awkward and are not sure what's going on- do the dishes. Seriously. Or help make dinner, or just clean something. Soon you will know how the house runs, where all the dishes go and will feel much more comfortable. And they will love you cause you are cleaning up.

Okay well that's all for now. I'm off to the beach



Tangi (day 2)

Well, here we go again...

No one slept that night. I would drift off for a little bit until someone started singing again. Aunty Mel arrived at about 4am. Everyone was woken up for that. And it was the same thing again- talk/sing, talk/sing, talk/sing, kiss hug, etc. Just a quite a bit longer than the previous ones. After that it was kinda pointless to try and sleep anymore. Breakfast was served at 6am. It was leftovers from last night. Yup, all those cupcakes I made tuesday were eaten.
All through the rest of the morning people were coming to the marae. People who were not able to make it for the whole week or to travel all the way to Tolaga Bay where the service would be held. Guess what that meant...? Yup. More talk/singing/kiss/hugging. By this time I was starting to feel familiar with the pattern. The group was supposed to leave Auckland for Paeroa at 7. We didn't leave until 10. But that is the usual I guess. 7 means 10, 10 actually means 12, and, well you get the picture. Nothing happens when it is supposed to. It happens when every one is ready.
It was an hour and a half drive to Paeroa, I slept for an hour and 20 min. When we got there there was a large welcoming on ceremony. This one lasted for 2 and a half hours. Yes, I timed it. And not a lick of it was in english. I will never complain about a long, boring sacrament meeting again, at least then I know what the speakers are saying. The speaker for our group was a particularly long-winded individual named Tony. (yeah, thats a nice maori name isn't it?) He would talk at all of these things and he seemed to love that responsibility. He just loved listening to his own voice. I asked Aunty Robyn what he was saying and she said he was just repeating the same thing over and over.
After that it was lunch time. And I got brave and tried a raw mussel. I didn't like it.
One of the good things about a marae is that the mattresses stay set up all day so you can go and have a nap whenever you want. I took advantage of this fact. It's funny how when you are tired enough you can sleep through anything, cause I had a wonderful nap even thought I was in a strange place, on a strange bed, surrounded by strangers who were constantly talking, singing, or snoring. I guess I just got used to it all.
And for the rest of the day?
More mingling. I met a nice man, Bro. can't-remember-his-first-name Shepard. He knew Grandad way back when he first joined the church. It was great talking to him. Also met some cousins and other fun people.
A fish 'n chip run with the Aunties.
Another small nap.
And meanwhile, a constant stream of people coming to pay their respects. For poor Tony that meant more talking.
In the evening they held a lovely little service. Followed up by story-telling, reminiscing, and more singing. So it turned into another late night. I think I dosed off half way through. Believe it or not, I liked sleeping in the marae. It was kinda cosy in there cuddled up next to my little cousins.
Surprisingly I didn't take many pictures at the marae. It just wasn't appropriate you know? I did get this one though. I think I'm doing pretty good with trying new food. I just might dedicate a whole post to that one day.

Tired ramblings..

I'm too tired to finish the tangi (day 2) post, but it's coming, I promise. For now, just a couple random thoughts...

Christmas? really? I got a shock this morning when I realized it was december. It definitely doesn't feel like it. Probably due to the lack of snow.

Long runs in the rain? I think so. It's the only way I can figure out all those thoughts that are swirling around my head.

Babysitting. I seem to have become the neighborhood babysitter. This morning I walked 7 kids to school. I didn't even know all of their names. 

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. I think the only thing harder than making a decision is sticking to it.

source