Are Pigs Flying?

Hello Reader(s)!

Don’t worry, I promise this is not another blog about the media overhyping this swine-flu pandemonium, I just have one question about it though… Some hyped media sources have said that this is not only swine flu, but that it’s swine flu, crossed with bird flu, and human flu… So does this finally mean that the pigs are flying? I’m very confused by it all, though by no means running out and buying stocks of tamiflu and face masks.

After living a year in Japan it now seems like a normal thing to do during flu season. Wear a mask, either to try and prevent getting sick or to try and contain the spread of your already infectious germs. I’m not too happy about having to go on an airplane on Friday and Saturday for several hours with hundreds of other potentialy contaminated germ factories. Let’s just hope I don’t need to use the toilet, the ‘news’ said that’s how people got infected! Oh wait… maybe I could just wash my hands after I pee? that would make sense huh… Let’s try common sense people! hah!

Anyway, that’s 180 words on a topic I said I wasn’t really going to talk about… Sorry about that! So what shall I write about then? I could try and get more search engine hits by mentioning some other hot topic… I would use something like ‘Susan Boyle’ but I think she was last week and the hype and interest has already passed. Curse the 5 second average attention span it seems people have these days. It makes it so hard to write something that’s relevant, news worthy, and interesting enough but that has not yet been written by too many millions of other people so someone can find my writings amongst the masses.

So how was everyone elses week? My two, two hour sessions of classes were of course very hard work! i lied, actually. It wasn’t that hard going to the classes but I have had trouble staying awake when I finally sit down to do the readings for each day. I started to read about the chinese political situation in the 1800’s last night and fell asleep VERY fast. Better than a sleeping pill that stuff. One should need a prescription or something to be allowed to take such a potent sleeping drug on a regular basis. It did make class somewhat awkward today when me (the person who usually has too much to say) didn’t actually say anything the entire class. I’m sure the lecturer knew it mean’t I hadn’t done the readings so didn’t know what was going on.

After class I had a coffee with a couple of my classmates and we had intellectual discussion about student life, essay writing, styles of referencing and bibliography writing, doing post-graduate courses, world politics… It was like being a real student in the books and movies and stuff. Finally in my third year I get to see what all this ‘intellectualizing’ is about. It’s fun but I don’t think I’d want to do it too often, any more than one or two conversations like that a month and I’d run out of things to talk about very fast I’m sure. Either that or I’d have to start doing all my readings to actually learn stuff, n things.

After I  returned from the passport controlled zone (i.e left Uni) I went for lunch at Wasabi Sushi on Cuba Street. As far as Japanese food in Wellington goes, I really like Wasabi. Although their sushi is full of avocado (something that doesn’t get added in Japan really), and the fish is just not as fresh as you get even from the supermarket in Japan, Wasabi still has the most interesting flavours. I recommend it. Sadly my tastes are totally spoilt after my year in Japan, nothing tastes the same here, and doesn’t taste good enough.

Never to fear! Come Saturday I will be back in the land of plenty (of fish and delicious Japanese food that is.) I will have 5 days in which to gain back the weight I have lost since returning to NZ. Basically I will be eating myself sick on a daily basis and then going to bed before I am actually ill so I can spend all the precious sleeping time getting fat, or just less skinny. Doesn’t it sound like fun? Well, that and looking at Castles, staying in Temples, enjoying hot springs, and nice warm spring / early summer weather… If I don’t come home, please tell immigration that I am dead so they don’t come looking for me!

For those wanting gifts, please tell me now so I know what it is that I didn’t get you when I come back. It’s my little way of saving you from disappointment.

The rest of my day was quite productive but cost money, I ended up getting a haircut and some new trousers. I don’t totally understand how my hairdresser has managed to double her prices in the year I was gone, but somehow she did. It’s not as bad as it sounds because the difference is just $10 to $20, it’s not breaking the bank yet. The pants did kind of break the bank, but they will hopefully last longer than a haircut. I think the worst value for money today was probably the Starbucks caramel machiatto but that tasted good and helped wake me up, so I’ll let it slide as always.

Other than that I got myself an International Licence just in case I get the chance to drive the rental car (and because it’s in my name, I guess I better have evidence I can drive!). The very idea that we are surposed to spend so long learning to drive here in NZ so we don’t kill anyone, but with $20 and a small photo, I can get a piece of paper that allows me to drive in countries where the rules are totally the opposite, the cars are even on the other side of the road! I didn’t even have to sit a test and can now drive anywhere in the world except China, which is strange. I didn’t even think China had road rules, but apparently I am not permitted to drive there.

Anyway, I have more Resident Evil 5 to play … I mean, more important study and learning to do… So I will stop writing for now, but I have this set-up that I can write from the road, so hopefully I’ll be sending pictures and updates on my trip as it happens!

Talk to you all  again soon!