A bit of a mutt article...

There's several little bits and pieces I want to catch you guys up on so I figured I'd smush them all into one article for your reading pleasure.

I am now study free until February next year! I finished my last exam this morning and while it wasn't quite what we'd been led to expect, I think that I did fairly well. I'm getting really excited about next year already - the teaching papers were the entire reason that I left my full time job, so it will be exciting to finally start them. I spend seven weeks per semester teaching next year (which means new wardrobe!) and then I'll be a certified high school teacher. Not a registered one, however, you need to teach for two years to get that.

I am so grateful to have my job. This does not mean I love my job all the time - there are definitely times where I find it less than perfect - but it gives me the money I need to live my life and a little bit more. One of my friends has quit her job at very short notice (believe me, totally justified) but now has barely enough to keep a roof over her head, let alone feed herself. My job enabled me to have the money to chip in with friends to provide her with some grocery vouchers and petrol vouchers to get by. And hopefully she finds a new job soon! I can't imagine how scary that must feel.

I saw the movie "Traitor" on the weekend and it was AH-MAY-ZING. Starring Don Cheadle, whose a talented guy, and a brilliant support cast, it has the bombs and explosions that guys love with the serious mind-fuck (! - pardon my language, but its true) that us girls tend to like. It's got a islamic terrorism plot and it was really interesting to see that from a different perspective than the Western Christian perspective that us kiwi/british/aussie/american girls are used to hearing on the news. Not bad for a "hey, we're at the mall, let's see what's on at the movies" pick.

I think fascination is a great basis for the start of a new relationship. For you loved up couples out there, what was the overwhelming emotion of your "courtship"?

BTW... love the word "courtship"

I love Billy Joel - the song "She's Always a Woman to Me" was just on the radio at work and I danced around the office swirling my skirt out to it. My sister and I used to walk to school singing "Sing us a song, you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight, well we're all in the mood for a melody and you've got us feeling alright". That and Little River Band's "The Other Guy"... it's funny how your early music tastes are so influenced by what your parents listen to. And I bet that my parents wished that they had a video camera when my sister and I did a can can rock musical number to "Bohemian Rhapsody"!

I had the worst indigestion before my exam this morning. I had chest pains and thought that it was maybe a sign of an anxiety attack (I've heard they have similar symptoms to heart attacks) and thought it was weird because I wasn't THAT nervous. Sure enough as I was sitting in the exam room I hear my stomach start to burble-urble-urble-urble - REALLY LOUD. Quelle embarrassment. At least I didn't belch. That would have pissed people right off. There was a girl in the exam that kept clearing her throat so loudly it sounded like she was dry retching... that was annoying.

I was at the mall the other day - I know, what a surprise - and saw a new shop being fitted out. The billboard said "Smiggle coming soon". It stuck in my head so vividly because it made me think about the whole Lady and Mr Smaggle and Mr. Smaggle's brother Mr. Squiggle thing so I had to look it up on the web. Turns out it's a gorgeous stationery shop. Now lord knows I love me some Kikki.K and some Nut and Bee, but I feel like this feels an unsatisfied niche in my stationery fetish market :D

You can look forward to daily posting for at least the next four to six weeks! I make a conscious effort to never go more than a couple of days without posting, but with uni over and full time work a wee while away you guys get more Scribbles! Hooray!