Freshly Squeezed

Guys, honestly, if you’re not on Instagram, you’re missing out. I’ve won free food 3 times just in the last year. Pretty sure THAT in itself is worth being on Instagram for. It’s a win-win situation - amazing food companies/startups hook you up, and in turn you show them some love with a bitta publicity... Good vibes all round!

Win #1: 24 x Whoopie Pies from Whoopi (NZ)

Win #2: $15 worth of Oob ice cream 

Thanks to this brilliant performance by my Joshie...

A video posted by Kaitlyn Irving (Ng) (@k8_irving) on Oct 31, 2015 at 1:53am PDT

Win #3: Free lunch from Origin Foods NZ - delivered straight to my workplace!

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNsKvZo6MDs)

1 month before I wrap things up at my current job. 2 months before we fly off to Singapore to start our new adventure! I was searching for a word that sums up our current state and ‘crossfade’ is the best I could come up with! One piece of music coming to an end - I’m thinking maybe a Katchafire track - kiwi as, goodtimes, goodvibes, soulful and grounded. Then a sense of closure and anticipation as the volume gets lower - I think that’s where I’m at... I’m expecting the next track to be pretty upbeat, slightly frantic, super tropical - concrete jungle vibes. Not quite sure what the track is yet, but stay tuned!

I’ve been applying for jobs in Singapore heaps. I think I’ve applied for a total of 18 jobs so far. It’s a funny space to be in. Should I use my maiden name or my married name? Will Singaporean employers be more likely to hire someone with a western surname or a local one? Will they value the fact that I’m coming back from New Zealand? Will they find it interesting or will it be a weakness because I lack local experience? So many questions run through my head. I feel like I’ve learnt quite a bit about the professional scene in Singapore just by looking through jobs. There’s so much happening - so many companies and organisations doing neat things. There’s a real buzz about the place. And what a hub Singapore is - so many international corporations have set up shop to reach the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. I’m excited just to be/feel a little more connected to the rest of the world. 

To celebrate Josh and I turning a year older each (Josh, 26, and me, 27 - yikes!) we threw an extremely mature party, as you can see, involving the hilarity that is Bubble Soccer. It was actually the best thing ever. (Shout out to Elisa for putting this video together.) Good ol’ GrabOne hooked us up, as per. $160 for 1 hour, which I thought wasn’t too bad since heaps of people would be there to enjoy it. It was so easy to organise. I just rang Kiwi Bubble Soccer up to arrange a time and place (you name it) and they showed up exactly as was arranged (and even earlier to inflate the bubbles, set up the pitch and goals, making sure they were on time for our party). We picked a school field opposite our house, found a picnic table to set up our snacks, threw beanbags and blankets on the ground, made a badass 90s playlist, got our mates to meet us there and that’s it! That’s all we had to do! We had the best time ever. So many screams and laughs - whether you were in a bubble or just watching everyone else look like total fools. What was it actually like, being in the bubble? Hilarious. It looked and felt gumby as. It was easy to breathe (the bubble was shaped like a bead, so there’s a good flow of air through it, no chance of suffocation) but it got pretty HOT cos you were running around so much while being semi-encased in this plastic thing. Depending on the bubble you got, sometimes you could hardly see through the plastic so you had to wander around the pitch semi-blind, and were more susceptible to incoming bumps. The bubble is a little heavier than it looks, so if you’re kinda unfit like me, I swapped out frequently to catch my breath! There were 12 bubbles available, and about 17 of us were around, so we had just the right amount to sub out for breaks. 

What was playing the game like? Also extremely hilarious. When I first started playing, I was concentrating on trying to play soccer... And then eventually it just turned into carnage, everyone was trying to mow each other over, and you were either rolling around, recovering from someone crashing into you, trying to get back at someone, or stuck upside down, waiting for someone with a charitable heart to knock you back into an upright position. It was a little like being in a roller coaster - except you didn’t know when or how you would be knocked upside down. 

This is a little something I wrote a while back after reading a Psalm. I thought, “Well why shouldn't I write one myself?” So I attempted to put my thoughts and experiences during a roadie up the East Coast with Goose and Simon into a wee poem. Here goes.

You are the endless wharf that leads into the sparkling horizon

You are the gleeful faces of my friends, the fuel in our bodies

You are the icy water that makes my jaw drop and my hands flap

You are the determination to submerge my entire body in it, nevertheless

You are the beads of water that roll down my hair onto my sun-kissed shoulders

You are the layered cliff that towers above the sea, majestic and proud; giant rocks lie at your feet

You are the sand that swirls between fingers and toes, clinging to everything within reach

You are the winding road, swinging in and out of sight

You are the nostalgia in the tunes we sing along to

You are the gleaming lighthouse sitting on top of the hill above, enticing, challenging legs to fly

You are the pink in our cheeks, embarrassed by the gorgeous sun

You are the brown cow that stands in the middle of the road, oblivious to swerving cars

You are the delicious, silent laughter that leaves my lungs screaming for air

You are the victory in a game of Scum

You are a large pillow of kettle corn, a reward for a wonderful father

You are a child's song, telling others not to worry... 'bout a thing

You are the grains of sheep sprinkled on lush green hills in the distance

You are the fragrant purple haze that wraps the mountains at dusk

You are the brilliant orange orb that sinks beneath the waters

You are the tie-dye sky fading slowly after

You are the jewels embedded in the black velvet canopy no amount of money can purchase

You are the sadness when it all ends, when I say goodbye to my friends

You are the comfort of my own bed, the roof over my head

You remain

Everything

You are forever

^Me at 11k, still so alive and happy. LOL. I ran my first half marathon ever in Rotorua, because I heard it was the flattest route in New Zealand. I knew that in order to get to the finish line I needed the smallest amount of obstacles, especially if they were known as “hills”. 

Josh also ran his first half in Rotorua so I was kinda familiar with what the route was like. When I was supporting him, I remember seeing a few people wearing tutus and thinking “how cool are they??” So when I signed up for the half, I was determined to be as cool and decided that I was going to make myself a tutu to run in! Thankfully Kerryn was also game to wear one, so I wasn’t going to look floofy by myself. 

We visited Yejele Beach in Mare during the first leg of our P&O cruise tour of New Caledonia and Vanuatu on the Pacific Pearl. The locals set up stalls for us along the stretch of road on the beach - coconuts, chicken kebabs, chips, pineapple fritters, seafood and drinks were all available for purchase. 

After a good-kinda-busy few weeks, I am finally turning my attention to this long awaited adventure - a 10-day cruise into the islands with 3 other girlies!

First up, I never thought I would be choosing to travel via cruise during this half of my life - but I guess things kinda just happen, and God loves sprinkling surprises over our lives. I can’t wait to see it all though, and be somewhere different, especially with the #cruisecrew Chewy, Becky and Kerryn. I can’t wait to absorb the cruise atmosphere and experience the Islands!

A big reason the girls and I decided to go was affordability. I couldn’t believe how reasonably priced this cruise was. We paid about $1k for the whole thing - meals included. That’s $100 per day, all in. I may spend an additional $300+ on shopping/activities/tours/drinks, but that’s still pretty darn sweet. The best part is, we don’t even have to worry about how we’re gonna get to our destinations, or where we’re going to stay!

The girls and I really want to keep it real though, and open our eyes to what’s happening locally in Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Amongst the touristy activities, we want to meet locals and hear their experiences. I hope we can make some new friends and exchange stories in an effort to truly connect!

So many things are swimming around my head at the moment, since we’re leaving tomorrow but mainly:

80% Excitement -

Such ace company

Themed parties + entertainment on board!

Spas + Swimming pools to chill out in/by

Nothing but the open sea for 2 nights to start off with!

The anticipation of being a beach bum AND (potentially) meeting a legit turtle!

20% A little nervous -

Logistics - checking in okay (never done this cruise thing before!)

Using my friends’ Go Pro (that they so graciously lent me for this trip!) - hopefully I can use it right, and keep it safe!

Aunt Flo is coming to town >:( (GREAT TIMING AUNT FLO)

Will I get seasick?

Today I made my very first pie. A Bacon & Egg pie, to be exact. It came out quite tasty, I'm happy to say, but much improvement needed for next time. Things learnt:

Puff pastry is a delightful thing. More than meets the eye when first pulled out of the freezer! (Definitely not #puffatfirstsight)

Use a shallower dish next time. (I never thought I'd ever say this in my life, but, due to the tall nature of the dish I used, there was too much bacon. (!!) With a shallower, wider dish, the proportion of bacon to egg will be much more satisfactory.)

My oven is extra hot. I have to turn the heat down a notch to prevent the top from burning before the whole pie is cooked!

We ended up eating at 8.30! Bit late. I am thankful for Josh's patience.

^Thoughts in response to the article:

I dunno. I have heapsa pens everywhere. At home, at work, in the dark folds of my handbag... I need a pen on a daily basis. Typing out a to-do list doesn't help me connect with it mentally or emotionally as well as when I write it out. And deleting those items does not hold a candle to physically running a big long stroke across the things you've conquered.

I really like the quote in the article that talked about how writing with a pen helps to develop a sense of identity, and gives one the power and satisfaction of seeing what you've created reflected back at you. I don't think typing cuts it in this way - apart from your words, I guess.

Tapping on the same surface with your finger doesn't allow for the same sense of creativity, ownership or release, as when you are directing the visual result physically - you write in YOUR own font, not someone else's. Another thing I love about writing is the fact that you're interacting with and feeling a variety of elements at once (the pen, and the paper, the surface you're working on).

I'm not sure what urged me to start a tumblr page... It might've been the slow death of my teenage blogspot account coupled with the desire for a clean slate. Blank canvas. Fresh sheets. Maybe I just needed a place to put some hilarious gifs I found.