And that, Ladies and Gentleman, was 2004.

How times have changed, my dear friends! 2005 was, in all senses of the word, shit.

• Work: I decided I would rather die than deal with a year in that office, so I resigned and went back to University.
• Love: I suffered a catastrophic relationship failure involving infidelity, lies, betrayal, hate and depression. Makes some of these old comments oh so more poignant!
  
• Life: I moved out of home, back again, out again, into a new flat, and then into another new flat. I've ended up working for New Zealand's third largest Telecommunications company. Hey you. Stop throwing your money away!

Interesting, no? Well the plot always thickens. 2006 arrived and I'm taking a break from uni to work. I'm still deciding if this was a good idea or not. I have moved numerous times. I am madly in love with a beautiful, crazy, gorgeous, English girl. I live with her. We've gotten engaged. I spent a month in Europe. My depression has come and gone and come and gone. I can pick up the guitar and play entire songs now.

I can sing to some of them.

My my, times certainly are a-changing....

The End of the Beginning

OK, so I've been busy :P

Working more or less full-time at the moment, which is hard in the fact that it devours most of my time to read/write/game/socialise, but great in that I'm earning more money that I ever have before.

It's also bad in that I'm drinking more coffee than is probably good for me.

The work is kind of mind-numbing at times, but those around me at the office are pretty funny people, so it's not too dry.

What've I been up to? Not much beyond work. Spent some time with Erika (great girl), spent some time playing World of Warcraft (great game) and some time sleeping (great rest).

I have to go shopping with my new found wealth this weekend. Need a bit of clothing for the office, a mug (you know you're settling in when you have your own cup at the office!) and some christmas presents ^^

Yay, Green Day are coming to NZ in March! Tickets on sale tmo! Should be a fucking great show...I was blown away by how good American Idiot was, and if they play their old hits on top of that, it should be bloody good. Fingers crossed they play Good Riddance.

The Mars Volta - finally got ahold of the rest of their CD. Fuck Yeah. Bloody awesome. Really love the mellow 'Televators', different and great.

I can't think of anything to write.

More when I can.

Apathy builds..

Five days without an update, oopsy. Quite awhile, and yet I don't have a great deal to say.

Had Friday off work, which was nice and unexpected. Checked out Matt's exhibition and had lunch with Erika. Was really really impressed with the final product on display at Matt's thing. Although in a way it's underwhelming to those who saw his garage and all the effort he put in over the weeks - so much hardwork which will probably go unnoticed by the majority just to deliver a high class final product. Kinda gives you a better appreciation for the movie/book/etc-making process.

Speaking of movies, I saw House of Flying Daggers on Friday night. Colour me un-impressed. It felt like it had tried sooo hard to capitalise on the feeling of CT and Hero with their artistic shots, action and misc en scene etc, but that's seems to be the limit of their achievement. It was a beautiful movie, but lord did I find it boring. I'm sorry, but sickly pathetic love stories with poorly developed, stereotypical characters are not cool. Nor was the pathetic over-use of just plain shit CGI. Even the wushu was lacking in....flare? I don't know, I just never got that feeling of "wow!" that Hero gave me, despite the action scequences being quite impressive. But yeah, it was beautiful at least! And oops, yes, I'm guilty of being obnoxious and commenting throughout the movie, along with the rest of them. But in my opinion, it was a movie that called for it. Anyone who disagreed had only to say "Just shut up guys" or even something polite and I know at least half of us would have done just that once we knew someone was enjoying it. You can't have such expectations in a movie theatre, sure, but when you know all of the 4 people you're sitting with at someone's home as well as I did, you think they'd speak up. I don't think we were acting immaturely, however. Stupidly? Yeah, undoubtedly. But I think it balanced out with the immature response with those who weren't happy - sulking in silence and then storming out ignoring various offers and people talking to you is far worse. Especially when you make a point of criticising someone else for doing the same thing a day earlier. So I think everyone fucked up a bit. Still, it's in the past, no point in being stupid over it, as I don't think any of us will be. None of us are that bad at least :)

Bridget Jones' Diary 2: Not as funny as the first, but it had it's moments. I laughed quite a bit. Probably better if you're 35+ and/or female.

Saturday was a nice, cruisey relaxing day. Spent it in the hot hot sun out by the pool sunbathing and swimming. Forgot to put sun tan lotion on and got a bit burnt on my legs and chest, but I guess the positive side is that rest of my pasty white body will get a bit closer to the crazy ass brown my arms and face are at the moment. (Brown for me, at least)

Saturday evening went to Matt's BBQ. Had a pretty nice time. Nice to catch up with Scott and Kirsty again, found out we're going to be losing them to Tazmania at the end of the year which is a shame. Also finally met some of my older gong-fu brothers, including Scott's twin (hehe) brother, which was cool. Great food too!

Sunday was a bit rough. Had to get up early to go to training which was ok after the initial shock to the system. Finally not screwing up the stepping I was shown (part of the 24 Step Yang style tai ji). Had to walk backwards across my room about ten times so I could see my feet in the mirror, but it was a big help, and saves you looking down all the time as well - bad muscle memory to pick up. After that, Chan gave us a bloody interesting run down of WuLin's history and his kung fu history, which I'd only known parts of previously. Really, really interesting stuff. My knee feels a bit better too.

Day got shitty from there - went to get petrol on the way home and found I had a whopping five dollars to my name. (Roll on Dec1 and pay day=( ) so I had to txt Mike and tell him I couldn't make rockclimbing which was a real bitch. Had been quite looking forward to catching up with peeps again. Mehage.

Instead I spent my day at home inside as it was raining. Didn't really do anything at all.

Well, I have more to say, but I have to get back to work. Will update tonight after my stupid AA course. Adieu. I'll also spell and grammar check then, so forgive me if parts of this dont make sense :)

Fooling Myself.

'Ullo there!

Went and saw Without a Paddle yesterday. Movies are so much more enjoyable when you go in expecting absolutely nothing. I actually laughed a few times! Had a pretty nice evening all up, though the night was a bit rough. Usually we don't have any problems with the occasional night when we're sharing a single bed, but christ. Last night I woke up about ten times with Erika grabbing me to stop from being pushed off the side. Oops. Bloody restless sleeping.

I even managed to do some training yesterday. Took my lunch hour and went to a park close by whee I was working out on the Te Atatu Pennisula. Drilled Nan Quan 1, the little bit I know of 2, and spent a bit of time going through the tai ji drills I've been shown...although, mental note, in future don't try and do tai ji after going through a very external style, like nan quan :)

My knee has been giving me grief recently, it's stiffening up very quickly when I sit down. I wonder if this has something to do with the hours behind a desk over the last few days. Hopefully it's nothing serious, and the weather is just making it worse than usual. If it seems like it's not getting better I think I'd better ship off back to the physio. BTW Jian - I -think- the visits to the physio in NM are free now - the last few times the secretary didnt charge me, saying there was no cost. Either they got rid of the ACC surcharge somehow, or she screwed up. Although if it's gone, you obviously has to fill out an ACC form to get the benefit.

Half-life 2 came out today. I feel like I've kinda let part of myself down. I just don't really give a shit. Weird how much you can change over the space of a year or so.

I've done a bit of thinking recently, and I'm trying to develop some thoughts on what to do in regards to christmas presents for some people. I'm trying to break my habit of being excessively male and just heading down to the body shop for a gift basket at the last moment this year, and I -think- I'm making a bit of progress.

These public journal things are quite strange. It's weird - I can't see how the details of my day are actually interesting to anyone, yet people keep reading, and I still have a desire to write, even knowing that I'm editing and censoring myself subconciously. Similiarly, why the hell should J's poetry, or her telling me that she's going to buy a PS2 be at all interesting? When expressed through a journal though, it just -is-, like there's some extra value to it when put down in this medium. I think there's something secretly voyueristic about human nature that makes us crave what we believe to be the deep, personal thoughts of another. Because in converation, it wouldn't amount to much more than small talk.

Anyway, that's enough of me probably trying to sound smarter than I really am :)

I'd write more, but what more do I have to write? My days are long, dull and repetitive at the moment. I'm a slave to the wage, as they say. I can't wait to get some time to get out and get physically active again. I have a state of health to get back :)

Happy Times

Sorry to anyone who was hoping to see an entry sooner.

Thanks to the couple of people who have (somewhat randomly) sent me messages - it's always cool to know someone else is reading :)


So hrm, where to start?

Well, I am officially employed, essentially full-time for the next week or two. Unfortunately, the work is shit boring and pretty physically draining (although not particularly taxing - I just have to walk around in the sun all day. I need to find a hat that doesn't make me look like a complete toss). The pay is quite good however, and I'm definately getting a bit more familiar with Waitakere City. Which I guess is a good thing (?).

Songs I Like This Week:
Placebo - Protege Moi.
French version of 'Protect Me', which should be fairly obvious if you're at all a fan. It's essentially identical except that the verses are in French whilst the chorus remains english. I'm not sure what it is that makes it cool, but it's just...yeah, cool. Such an elegent explaination eh?

Ocean Colour Scene - Hundred Mile High City
Had this for quite awhile, but what the hey. OCS have a real strange sound to them, and they're kind of hard to describe, but I guess they're kind of like a modern cross between the Strokes and the Beatles. Or something like that. But yeah, it's a great song.

UB40 - Pretty much anything.
God bless 80's (and hell, 90's) white-boy reggae. Yeah bo.

----

Nostalgic thoughts: I was thinking about the memories and times I'm nostalgic about after reading J's last entry - I realised I don't really have all that many...

- Nastasi Island (Formerly ,Club): Awesome, awesome time. I can't remember exactly when this was, but I think I would have been about 10 or so years old. Spent about a week at this island resort in Fiji, and spent the entire time hanging out with three girls, two of whom I knew from back home in Suva, and one of whom I had a crush on. I don't really remember what we got up to, just that I had a really good time. Sitting in the boat as we sailed off home with that heavy sick feeling of sadness and longing, tinged with happiness from what you've experienced.

- Form 1, Parnell Intermediate. Anna and Georgia and Guy. These people all had a pretty big impact on me in one way or another (some more so than others) but the times I had with them were pretty fucking great before things got crazy. Rollerblading down Parnell Road. I remember once I tried to be cool and grab a parking meter and spin around it to a stop, but my upper body stopped whilst my legs just roared on, so I ended up on my arse, hard. Oops. Anytime I hear anything Aqua I think of these times.

God I miss Intermediate. Life was so simple and fun back then, although it probably didn't really seem so at the time.

I wish I could find someone who taught Choy Lee Fut, or Pak Mei or Fong Ngan in NZ..

More later.

Flashback Humour

I started writing out a really cool document that was kind of like my own version of The Republic, but it needs a lot of work and thought (and probably more intelligence, but oh well) before I put any of it here. Just so ya know eh?

Grats to everyone who has finished, or very nearly finished their exams - Jian, Jen, Jo and those who don't read Hi5. Ekka - good lucky with yours sweetheart, and remember not to sweat the little things.

"Novocaine is a local anesthetic often referred to as procaine. It is used on a wide variety of nerve blocks. It is most commonly used by dentists, when they are pulling out teeth. And it is also used in surgeries so that the patient will not feel any pain while being operated on. "

"Drain the pressure from the swelling! The temptation is overhwelming..

Tell me that I won't fell a thing. So give me novocaine!"

Ohhh, so that's what he's on about.

http://www.tommycarruthers.com/video.htm
This guy has the quickest hands I've ever fucken seen. (Note: martial arts link. BE WARNED.)

Something that pisses me right off:
When people judge someone based on some totally pointless taste or characteristic. The music someone likes does not, generally, define them as a person. So don't goddamn assume it does. The high school a person went to is bound to have -some- sort of effect on their character, absolutely. But the whole 'OMG HE'S A ST PAULS BOY??!!! WOULD SOOOO NOT DATE ONE OF THEM OMGOMGOMGHAHHATISPYONVODKACRUISERS:D:D:D' thing is quite pathetic. Please stop it. Now.

Who else likes "gay" music and is going to Maroon 5? All my friends are too masculine to like them :( SOMEONE TAKE ME :( I AM TOO MASCULINE TO GO ALONE :(
The BDO line up is quite unimpressive IMO. I'm gutted - I want to go, it's just that they've failed (as of yet anyway) to make it worth my $120. I like Powderfinger, the Streets, The Bleeders, Steriogram, but eh. I dunno.


Edit: Just ignore this really, I just wanted it somewhere accessible from the public to show a few people. It's kinda icky so yeah.

My Big Day
posted: 23-04-2004 09:46:43
6:15 - Wake
6:55 - Arrive at Ascot Private Hospital (oooh, private)
7:20 - Sign copious amounts of paperwork, change into button-up gown and paper undies
7:25 - Shaving of knee and groin. ~_~
8:15 - Fun begins!

Had a drip inserted first up and was given a shot of anti-biotics. Next they use a little device which generates a tiny electric current to locate the main nerve which supplies feeling to the right leg (it's up near the groin) which he jammed a needle into once he'd found it. This was kinda amusing as it makes your leg jump off the table five or six times. Then they numb that. Next was an injection of local anesthetic into my lower back, to prepare for the spinal injection, which numbed me from the belly button down. This was kinda fustrating as it took him five minutes to get my spinal cord and I had to sit uncomfortably hunched over whilst he poked me with a needle. My legs ached and then faded away into feeling nothing, at which stage they doped me up with sedative and the surgery begun. 15 minutes spent harvest the ligament from the hamstring to serve as the graft for the knee. Then the actual proceedure begun which I was 'watching' (I wasn't exactly 100% there) on telly. All key hole surgery, they removed a bit of broken cartiledge from between the knee joint and smoothed my damaged minuscus as well as grafting the new ligament. Took 57 minutes all up. Wheeled off to recovery where the sedatives wore off after about an hour and I felt kinda coherent again. Cocktail of drugs begins - anti-nausea pills, pain killers, anti-biotics, oh my! Come about 11am, I can kinda twiddle my toes. Come 1ish and I could move my legs again, so I got to have some sandwhiches and water (first food and drink since midnight the night before). Had the drains removed at about 2pm, although both were flushed with a fair bit of morphine first (kinda surreal feeling huge amounts of liquid being squirited into your joint and sloshing around). My lovely nursed Juf babied me more than my mother would and called me sweety-pea. Awww Impressed everyone by not passing out or feeling queasy during wound care. Go me! Spent another heap of time trying to sleep and reading. 3:30ish, annoying fellow patient arrives from same proceedure but finds it necessary to whine about how bad it feels and txt with key strokes turned on for a good solid fourty minutes. Migrane begins at about this stage and eventually subsides when she stops whining. :@

Come 4pm the physio arrives - I've regained feeling and movement of my legs, but my right knee is still numb (no skin sensation and I cant lift my leg whilst keeping it straight). We give it another thirty, still nothing, so she says screw it and gives me a brace for the rest of the evening. At this stage I finally get bladder control back and can go to the bathroom, after being busting since lunch time. Dear god what a relief. Quick hobble around the recovery room and some stairs to get used to crutches, surgeon finally shows up and gives me some inside-my-knee-photos and the removed cartiledge in a wee bottle, and they ship me home with enough pain killers for a small elephant etc.

And then....

Fuck you, hi5. Fuck you for killing the entry I spent two hours writing. Fuck you.


Sigh.

I won't bother to try and recapture what I had in all it's glory, so forgive me whilst I summarise.

- I spent all day pacing out over 3 square klicks of concrete pathing and asphalt. I spent another six hours walking around the rest of the retirement complex, clipboard, calculator and measuring tape in tow. I ache.

- Erika. I wrote you whole paragraphs. I'm sorry that this will likely be briefer.

I don't know what it is that makes waking up beside you so indescribebly comforting and amazing. Your presence alone soothes me into a sleep so deep and relaxing that I cannot explain. When you're not with me, I find myself awake at night - some sort of deep mental alert triggered by the failure of my automatically searching arms to wrap around your soft warmth. Confused and bewildered, I'll wake up simply knowing that something is wrong, something is missing. You.

Thank you for always trying your best to be there for me, and for being as patient as possible. I've tried to give at least as much as you have back in return over the last ten months. I'm sorry for the times I've fallen short.

The love we've shared has been so incredible that, inadvertantly, it taught me how to feel alone. I will never go through what we've been through with another. I have no desire to. You know what I want of our future. Not even Milla would threaten that :)

One day baby, one day. She just came a bit early the first time around.

- I had a big segment written out on Fiji and my return there about a year ago. It wasn't much more than my melancholic ramblings about what I found there but I'll still probably bother to write it out again at some stage.

- For those who care, I'm planning to whack something up on www.fictionpress.com at some stage this weekend, I'll post here when I do. I would really, really, REALLY appreciate anyone who took the time to read it and offer constructive criticism. Pleaes don't shelter me from the latter part of that phrase - it's really the most important :)

- I'm real tired and annoyed now, and cannot be bothered checking over this before I hit submit. I apologise for any glaring flaws or sentences that don't make sense.

- Picure: Modern medicine did it's best, now it's up to me.

About a day later...

Mild sunburn is a pain in the ass (or face and neck).

OK I have absolutely no fucking idea what to write here at the moment (my thoughts become a lot less coherent and serious at about 10pm - all my great stuff comes out after then), so I figured I'd just ramble about various ideas I have in regards to my Literary Masterpiece. (TM)

- Brena:
Tempted to finish this. Not quite sure where I want to go with it though, and the first bunch of chapters were written a looong time ago - I see errors all over the place. Also slightly put off by the fact that FictionPress' uploading service likes to destroy my formatting and make it look like I have the grammatical skills of a four year old.
http://www.fictionpress.com/read.php?storyid=1045502

- Matrix Fanfic 'Blind Faith':
I was always kinda proud of the idea behind this. The problem I ran into was more of a technical sort - I wasn't quite sure how to handle fight scenes and that sort of crap, which are kind of required in a matrix fan fic. And because of my dawdling, Revolutions came out, and the bastards blatantly stole my angle with the 'seeing-whilst-blind' that I'd intended to work through to with Jocasta. Utter bastards. Also, I'm not so sure about the whole fanfiction thing anymore. George Martin, a favourite author of mine, made a rather interesting point on it a few years back which struck a bit of a chord with me. He dislikes it, because in his opinion it kills your ability to be creative with the history/world/background/whatever.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1351746/1/

Random Idea One:
Devout Irish Catholic Boxer. Not really sure where this came from, probably Brad Pitt's character in Snatch. I just envisage this very devout irish catholic boxer in the midst of the clashes in Northern Island of the last few decades - not sure exactly when yet. Weird picture of him having an enormous tattoo of the Virgin Mary on his chest or something equally...uh...Catholic?

Random Idea Two:
I'm not sure how to put it into words atm, so I won't bother trying.

----------

Cool Guitar Solos - Honourable Mention: Incubus - Priceless ('A Crow Left of the Murder')
Ok this is fucking cool. I'm pretty sure it's Mike Einziger on the guitar in this, but I'm not enough of a fan to be 100% sure. Listened to this album again last night after my mention of Megalomaniac and forgot how cool this little segment is. It's not super complex or technical but it just sounds so damn cool. I can't really elaborate. PS: Mike - you have the worst haircuts ever dude. Sorry.

Or...oh you get the idea.

Yeah ok, I'm sad for writing three entries in one day. Leave me alone, I'm bored.

The whole racial quota and assistance thing: Yeah, I have a problem with it. Not with the idea behind the system, but the way it's implemented. Let me elaborate!

It's no secret that Maori and PIs are definately disadvantaged in our society. Yeah, you can claim they have all the same opportunities and what not, but at the end of the day, you have to acknowledge the whole cycle of poverty thing. Those born into less than ideal circumstances are not likely to easily escape them. Education is one (if not -the-) most predominant area in which they are likely to feel a sort of inequality IMO...simply because the quality of the education recieved in lower decile schools (despite higher funding) just isn't up to par with that you'd find at the likes of Grammar or Dio. In addition to this, you have to factor in the social mentality. To illustrate, forgive me the use of blatant stereotypes: ask someone from Otara what they want to do with their lives as opposed to someone from nearer the inner-city. Mr South Aucklander is probably a lot less certain about his future, his education and his career.

So it's in this regard that I think the idea behind the system is sound. All they're trying to do is close that gap and 'break the cycle', if you will.

The problem with it? Simple - it's a terrible way to go about it. And frankly, it doesn't do shit to solve the problem.

Firstly, there's no proper way to make sure those getting the help are the ones that need it. I'm 1/8th Maori. I've never really experienced any kind of economic hardship, or been truly deprived of anything a teenager needs (read: wants). And yet, under the current legislation/system, I was legally entitled to enroll as a Maori student, apply for Maori/PI scholarships, and get the extra tuition Jian mentioned.

Blatant exploiters of the system are a Bad Thing. I didn't enroll as a Maori student, but I know those that have, who really dont have anything to do with Maoridom except a relative three generations ago. This is not good.

Secondly, it lowers the quality of graduates whom are coming out of our tertiary institutions. If Mr Maori gets into Law Part 1 with a 220 Bursary over Mr Pakeha with a 320 bursary because they ran out of normal entry spots, then that too is a Bad Thing!

OK, but if we abolish the system, then doesn't that mean that the majority of graduates are going to be Pakeha or Asian? Well, duh, of course. And that's where the problem lies. In my opinion, if you're to abolish the system, you need to tackle the problem at it's core - the grass roots of education and social indoctrination. That's a task for the Government. They need to sort out lower decile education PROPERLY - not just throw money at schools in South Auckland. If kids are leaving Otara High School with an average bursary of 300 rather than 200 (I have NFI how NCEA works, so forgive my useage of the old system) then a racial quota entry system will be a mute point - everyone applying will have a roughly equal education.

Wow! Rambling! Sorry if that's kinda disjointed and random - I'm tired.

Originally posted 6Nov 2004

I've been considering getting inked, but I keep having the same doubt that I've always had about it, and that's simply that I expect my tastes to change in ten years time. Yeah, I think the design is really cool (and it means a lot at the moment) but I have a strong feeling that I won't feel that way forever. Decisions!

I had another thought about music whilst I was proof-reading the entry I posted this morning. Something I really appreciate in a band is when they can deliver a CD that's not all one type of music. I think this is where my love for A Perfect Circle (and to a lesser extent bands like Incubus and Maroon 5) comes from. APC's Mer de Noms is a good example of how an album doesn't have to be full of identical tracks to be fucking brilliant. It flows from the hardcore base line and rifts of Judith to mellow, laid back stoner tunes like Rose and Brena, and it does it seamlessly.

That reminds me: Megalomaniac would be a fucking brilliant track to choreograph a fight too. The long intro leads into song really well, and the lulls that occur prior to the chorus would be great times for the opponents to catch their breath, hurl abuse etc. I think I've seen too many kung fu movies. Oh well.

Inspired Randomness:
Moments of Brilliance in Coreographed Fight Scenes (Hollywood) - Honorable Mention: The Matrix (1999).

Sacrificing himself to save Neo, whom he believes to be 'The One' (TM), Morpheous head-butts through a bathroom tile wall to take on Agent Smith, and proceeds to get an ass-whuppin'. His pretty much single moment of glory is when he half-cartwheels left on to one hand, raising his legs to chest height on the right of Agent Smith and delivers two quick kicks, before pushing back up to standing with his left hand. It's like some sort of psycho break dance move gone wrong. Unfortunately it's pretty much down hill from there - you know you're screwed when you break a porcelian toilet with your skull. (Coincidently, when Elle Driver, played by Daryl Hannah, repeats this in Kill Bill 2 as she thrashes around blind, it wasn't scripted. That's a real toilet, a real skull, and real breakage that occurs when they collide. Yeouch.)

Originally Posted Nov5 04

Wow, hello there :)

After brushing dangerously close to starting down the path to an actual, proper, reliable career (first year LLB/BA conjoint) I came to my senses and realised I have slightly less than bugger all desire to be a lawyer. So I've sorted myself out and started writing again, and I'll probably study communications (read: Journalism) after a year off. Here's hoping all those English teachers and my parents weren't just humouring me in my efforts to forge together a literary master-piece.

So that's what this journal is all about: a way to ease myself back into the whole writing thing once again. Hold on tight, it's going to be a bumpy ride. I hope.

Randomness: I think I have to agree with Jian to some extent about the whole modern music thing. Yeah, the vast, vast majority of it is absolute bollocks. Everyone does the same bloody thing with hardly any variation at all. Where I differ with Jian though, is that I think occasionally you get someone who manages to be totally unoriginal and still be worth a listen. But what I really, really love in music is when someone different comes along. A really random example that comes to mind is Nelly Furtardo. I think she's great. Yeah, her music wasn't really anything new, but her voice sure was, as was what she did with it. (Although I suppose you could argue she took guidance from Bjork in some regards) I know a lot of people think she's an annoying, whining bitch, but at least she tried something a bit different. But anyway, to each their own.

Further randomness: Anyone who lives in New Zealand (and possibly the UK or Australia), please try and go see "In My Father's Den". It's a kiwi film, and much to my suprise, it's fucking brilliant. I never thought I'd see the day where my favourite film of the year is out of NZ rather than Hollywood or Hong Kong. Crazy.