Thursday, November 24, 2005
I was just checking the stats for this wee blog of mine and I've had over 6000 visitors! Wow. I only thought about 3 people were reading this thing LOL.

One of the functions of this tracking software is it allows me to see what words people are using as search queries and end up here. By far, my favourite is "Tarts without Panties" LOL. I'd like it to be noted, that I usually do wear undies, except when I've been lazy and haven't done the laundry for a few days, then I may go commando.

It's also interesting to note (well to me anyway) where these visitors come from (yes, it's very big brother-ish).

So far, this blog has been visited by people in:

Livingstone, New Jersey, USA
Wayne, Pennsylvania, USA
Oak Brook, Illinois, USA
Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Dallas, Texas, USA
Reston, Virgina, USA
Philippines
Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Peterborough, England
Dominican Republic
Chile
Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Bellevue, Washington, USA
Anaheim, California, USA
New York, USA
Florida, USA
Auckland, NZ
Vitoria, Spain
France
Sydney, Australia
Sunnyvale, California, USA
West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, USA

So, I'm going to run a competition. If you'd like some gorgeous New Zealand goodies (including the infamous Tim Tams), just post a comment on this blog post.


I'll pick a name at random (bribes will be considered LOL). You have until November 30.

The said goodies will be sent to you, chosen with love, care and attention from moi. (But more like completely random stuff I find at the supermarket and shops LOL).



Tart at 12:07 PM | 0 comments
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
I've decided not to go to Melbourne in a few weeks. (Long story).

Instead, I'm going to
Byron Bay in the new year! The BF and I comprised. I wanted Langkawi, he wanted Koh Samui, our budget could only stretch to Byron Bay LOL).

It's a great place, BF can surf and dive and do all his nature/outdoorsy stuff, while I can laze on the beach, drink and partake in a few "herbal" cigarettes (it's known for it's alternative lifestyle LOL).

A friend has a house in Byron Bay and parked up on her back garden is a caravan. So, free accommodation for us for the 7 days, which will be fabulous. Normally I don't do caravans (or tents or anything other accommodation not made of concrete/steel etc), but I've stayed in this caravan before, and it's really cute (and I shall christen it "The Love Shack" LOL).

So yeah, roll on January 2!

Last nights bookclub was okay. I picked up a couple of books to read, so we'll see how I go with those. It still felt like a classroom with people giving book reports LOL. After the bookclub finished, my friend J and I went to a bar that had $3 bubbles all night. I love bubbles. Knocked back a few of those before meandering home.


Tonight, I'm off to the movies to see The Constant Gardener. Have read some good reviews, so am looking forward to it.

Tart at 11:59 AM | 0 comments
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
I'm a bookclub hijacker. Okay, perhaps hijacker is not quite right (put down the Da Vinci Code...hey you, move away from the Marian Keyes or I'll rip the last pages out of this Robert Crais) LOL.

Tonight will be the second time I've gone along to this bookclub that a former work colleague has asked me to join. (None of the other members are her friends, these are friends of another work colleague, who started the bookclub, and then decided to leave as she wanted to spend more time with her newly arrived boyfriend from London).

The first meeting was okay, not really what I thought a bookclub would be (there was wine and food, so that was a big plus). Instead of everyone reading the same book and discussing it, this was sort of like a book review/ book swap club. Everyone had read different books and then reported back on them. But the reporting back was so lame! Just comments like "it was a quick read", "I enjoyed it". Well doll, that tells me fuck all about a book!

At that first meeting, my friend and I ended up taking over, as we both had read the majority of the books and could give better reviews about the books, more detailed analysis and from listening to what others liked, could recommend a few titles.

Tonight is the second meeting. I didn't take any books from the last meeting, so I'm taking along a few of my books to discuss/swap. I just hope there are some new books, because surely, everyone has already read "The Lovely Bones", "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" and "The Life of Pi"?

Or is that just me?


Tart at 12:06 PM | 0 comments
Sunday, November 20, 2005
New Zealand have won the right to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup. This is a major deal for the country. We were seen as rank outsiders, Japan were seen as the country most likely to win the bid.

The RWC is the worlds third largest sporting event, after the Olympics and the Football World Cup. Expected audience of 4 billion. It's a big deal for a country this size. I think the fact that the government was behind the bid 100%, so much so that the PM, Helen Clark, left the APEC summit in Busan, South Korea and jetted off to Dublin to be part of the group who presented the bid to the International Rugby Board (IRB). Sort of like what Tony Blair did when he flew out to Singapore before the 2012 Olympic decision was made.

So yeah, as you can imagine, it's in all the papers and on the news. Big day for my little country.

I've been invited to a BBQ at a friends house tonight, and because the weather is so nice, I thought I'd wear this cute new skirt I have. So last night I stayed in and had a pamper session (face mask, manicure, pedicure) and because my fake tan has faded and I haven't had a chance to get to the salon to top it up, I bought one of those over the counter fake tan lotions. I got a gel one, that the women at the cosmetics counter said was easy to use and wouldn't streak etc. Which was my only concern, as I've used these lotions before and ended up with stripes down my legs.

It seemed easy last night, I followed instructions to the letter and went to bed all happy in the knowledge that I'd have lovely tanned brown legs in the morning.

Well, I woke up this morning with OOMPA LOOMPA legs.

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Gah! My legs are bright orange! Shit. Bugger.

Looks like I'll have to wear trousers tonight instead.

Tart at 12:23 PM | 0 comments
Friday, November 18, 2005
Yesterday, in under 23 minutes, I spent $549 on three pairs of shoes. I admit they were impulse buys, but they are just so darling - one pair of red wedge espadrilles, one pair of peacock green ballet flats and one pair of bronze jandals (flip flops) with bronze sequins and gems on the straps.

I get home last night, bags in tow, and head straight to my bedroom and the wardrobe to put away my purchases. As I'm ferretting around in the wardrobe, trying to re-arrange it so the shoe boxes fit (yes, I am one of those people who keeps their shoes in their original box, with a card attached to the front which I write on describing the shoe...christ, I'm so bloddy anal! LOL).

Anyway, I'm ferretting around in the wardrobe and I spot two unfamiliar boxes, with no cards on them. I whip out the boxes and lo and behold, in it are a pair of brand new, never worn Marc Jabobs wedge espadrilles (bought from Net-a-Porter as soon as they started delivering to New Zealand) and a pair of Chloe wood and leather slingback heels, almost identical to a pair I bought just recently.

Oh man. I have shoe-amnesia! I completely forgot that I had purchased these shoes (which is crazy, considering they cost me more than a small car!)

So now I have two pairs of identical shoes. I rang my sister to see if by some pure chance, her feet had shrunk two sizes, and did she want these shoes? She was wondering why I had bought more shoes, because "don't you have enough shoes anyway? You're like a bloody addict...do we need to stage an intervention?"

I cannot believe we are related. Enough shoes? Intervention? Though why I'm surprised with her I'm not sure, she only owns 4 pairs. Her two daughters have more shoes that she does LOL.

I've figured out what to do with the surplus shoes (surely an oxymoron, surplus shoes?) I'm going to list them on Trade Me (NZ version of eBay). I may as well try and get some of my money back.

Tart at 3:23 PM | 0 comments
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
I find it odd, in fact, really weird that my father is very good friends with my ex-boyfriend.

I went out with D for about 3 years when I was at university. He got on fabulously with my family, as D was really sporty, played rugby, cricket, golf, tennis, ran half-marathons etc. When we broke up, Dad was probably more upset about it than me as he'd lost his little buddy LOL.

I lost touch with D for a few years, he travelled around a bit, and then by pure chance, we both landed in London in 1998 and met up again. We spent a bit of time together, but not a lot, as he had met this English girl on a safari in Africa.

Anyway, skip to 2001. D is engaged to K and living in London, I've just moved back to NZ and my parents have moved to London. In passing, I said to Dad that D was now in London and that here was his email and maybe they could catch up etc, blah blah. Thinking that it probably won't happen, but might be nice for the olds to have someone they know in London, even if, you know, it's my ex LOL.

So Dad did. They got on fabulously again, played golf, went to rugby games and down the pub and Mum really got on well with D's fiance, K. So much so, that last year, they were invited to D & K's wedding! They have travelled to Portugal and Spain together, gone to international rugby games, even holidayed in Rome with D's parents as well! (Why, what a happy little family!)

Odder still, when I went back to London for a holiday last year, they were invited around for a BBQ. It was like some sort of family get together, like D was the favoured son-in-law or something. I felt so left out! It made me feel really uncomfortable LOL. Weird.

Geez I sound whiny. I think I'll shut up now.

Tart at 1:15 PM | 0 comments
Monday, November 14, 2005
Ugh, I just wish I'd taken a mental health day today and stayed at home with my rabbit, and I don't mean the four-legged animal variety ;).

To cheer myself up, I'm going to make lists. List making always cheers me up (crap, I need to get a life!).

Things I love

Veronica. She's my new Saben bag for summer and she's so damn cool.

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Buckles and bows. I seem to like embellishments lately, especially on clothing, shoes and bags (Veronica has a bow LOL).


Mattafix "Big City Life" and Arctic Monkey "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor".

The way my skin is looking lately. Oh, and the fact that the whites of my eyes are, white! Wow. I've never seen them so white before (usually bloodshot and blurry). Ya think the detox is working?

The new painting I bought. My grandfather left me some money, not a lot, but a small amount, in his will. I decided instead of using the money to pay off bills or buying shoes, I'd use it to buy this incredible painting I saw. It's by NZ painter Robyn Kahukiwa, and is simply stunning. I love it. And every time I see this painting on my wall, I'm going to think of my grandad, which I think is a really nice thing.

Things I hate

Wetas in my letterbox. I know they're completely harmless but they just look so fucking creepy. Apparently my letterbox is a haven for the fuckers. Euw.

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Skunk hair. You know the hair I mean - awful chunky blonde highlights that just scream "Ginger Spice 1998!".

Dirty fingernails. *gag*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I saw three great movies over the weekend.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - stars Robert Downey Jnr and Val Kilmer in probably the coolest movie of the year. Downey Jnr plays Harry Block, a petty thief who after fleeing a robbery in New York, stumbles into an audition for a Hollywood film and finds himself flying to LA to test for the role of a cop. For research, he is paired with private detective Gay Perry (Val Kilmer). A deft mix of violence, humour and action. Highly recommended.

The World's Fastest Indian - stars Sir Anthony Hopkins and is based on the true story of Burt Munro, a New Zealander from Invercargill, who spent decades perfecting a classic Indian motorcycle. He heads to America, to Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats, to set the land speed record in the 1970s. Highly recommeded.

Mysterious Skin - a powerful film and a heart-wrenching perspective on child abuse from the victim's eyes. In 1981, two 8 year old boys, Neil and Brian, were sexually abused by their baseball coach. Subsequently, the boys have very different memories and coping mechanisms in response to the incident. The story picks up again, 10 years later, with Neil (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) working as a small-time hustler, while Brian is a nervous dorky young man who believes he was abducted by aliens. This is a brave and unsettling film, extremely frank, explicit and graphic with stunning performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Elizabeth Shue, who plays his mother. Highly recommended.

Tart at 12:48 PM | 0 comments
Thursday, November 10, 2005
I'm in the process of applying for a new passport, as I'm off to Melbourne in a few weeks and my current one has expired. I can't believe it's 10 years since that one was issued. I love this passport, almost every page is stamped with immigration stamps from hundreds of countries I've visited. Used to be quite amusing watching immigration officers having to flick through the pages and find a space to stamp.

I thought getting a new passport would be easy. Fill in form. Take new photos. Send cheque. Get passport. Wrong.

A new passport has been introduced here, it's an e-passport. Looks exactly like the old passports, except it has this computer chip embedded in it. It's to enhance the security of NZ passports and ensure we meet the requirements for USA "visa waiver" border entry from 26 October 2006. These new passports will only be valid for 5 years now.

So, this means a new form. Oh, and new photos too. My current passport photos I had taken last week are not acceptable. The rules for the new passport photos state that you have to have your hair up, off your face/out of your eyes. No glasses. No smiling. Yes, that's right. No smiling. Apparently smiling is bad. Crap. These are going to be the fugliest photos then LOL.

Also, the cost of the passport has doubled. Used to be $71. Now, it's $150. So, add the cost of the new photos, the passport itself and this is costing me more than my actual flight to Melbourne!

An interesting side note, I read on a statistical US government website, that less than 20% of Americans have passports. That suprised me.

On a completely different note. Day 4 of the detox is going well. I am feeling really good. No cravings. Well, I do miss my glass of wine after work LOL. It was my routine. Get home from work, dump handbag, go to kitchen, open bottle of wine, poor glass and relax. Now, I've had to substitute the wine for a cold glass of water. Not really the same thing though.

Tart at 1:55 PM | 0 comments
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
I've started a detox. Seems a good time to do it, as I'll have to squeeze myself into a swimsuit shortly. Today is my second day and I'm doing remarkably well. Haven't had any cravings for a) vodka, b) chocolate or c) coffee.

On this detox, I cut out:

Alcohol
Caffeine
Red Meat
Chicken
Fish
Pasta
Bread (and any other wheat derivatives)
Dairy
Eggs
Sugar

So, um yeah, sounds like I'm depriving myself a lot, but I'm eating loads of veges (salads, stir frys) and fruit. I'm also allowed rice, but only brown or aborio (so can make a risotto), nuts and tofu are okay too. Oh, and stuff like hummus which I have on these wheat-free crackers or bread.

Usually, at this time of day (5.30pm), I'm craving sugary things like...


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Tim Tams

But not today. Which is very cool.

So, so far so good. Of course, by day 12 I'll probably be gagging for a vodka and a packet of Tim Tams LOL.

Tart at 5:39 PM | 0 comments
Friday, November 04, 2005
Haven't got much to blog about today (is that a first?).

Am listening to some sweet as music (see side bar) that is very cool.

I've got my new skirt on and it's got dots!

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Oh, and I spotted this in the SMH fashion files...do you think I could get the bf to wear this? Yeah, that's what I thought too LOL.

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Tart at 2:21 PM | 0 comments
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
During the last 10 days I have been out of the office, working on the festival, I have...
  • Been given diet advice from an international performer, who told me that I should "only drink tea, no food, only tea and walk a lot because you are big girl".
  • Flirted with a well-known NZ television presenter/newsreader who told me I was "delightful". I think he's "marvellous".
  • Lost 5kgs! The new jeans I bought only last week are now too big and fall off my hips. Talk about low slung. Any lower and I'll need a Hollywood bikini wax.
  • Been chatted up by a hunky event crew member (he had a tight black t-shirt on that showed off a buff chest and some seriously cool tattoos on his arms) who gave me his number.
  • Found my favourite designer Trelise Cooper's, discount store and spent $542 (two skirts, one top) in about 30 minutes.
  • Been told that I have nice tits and did I want to "show us them". (I politely declined).
  • Three new tattoos. Okay, they're temporary (one is a henna one), but they look so real and very cool. The henna one is on my right hand, both sides done in this incredible intricate Indian design. The other two are temp ones, one is on the inside of my left wrist (a vine thingy of flowers) and another is on the nape of my neck (sanskrit letters). Quite sexy I think. Apparently, they last a while too. They're not those "lick'n'stick" temp tattoos LOL. They've been airbrushed on with ink, same method they use in the movies.
  • Missed my bed more than my boyfriend.
  • Learnt how to do some traditional Indian and Bollywood dancing! (That was cool).
  • Managed to survive with little food, 3 hours sleep and 14-15 hour work days since the 21 October.
  • Had an international performer try to buy my New Balance trainers off me, while I was wearing them.
  • Won the lottery with a ticket my nana sent me.
  • It was $17.

That's it really. It's been really full on, but it was worth every minute. So much fun.

Now, I'm going to head off and watch the Melbourne Cup. I've got some money on Makybe Diva and Railings. Go horsey!


Tart at 4:44 PM | 0 comments