Surprise

For most of November I told my parents and all my family that I would be arriving on the 26th of December like last year as flights before Christmas were expensive and hard to come by. In truth I had booked December 22 in June and had been planing this surprise a long time.

In preparation I looked up a complete phony itinerary for the day I was suppose to fly out and made sure all the details for my fake departure were taken care of as well as for my real arrival. A special shout out to two of my friends (you know who you are!) for helping me pull of this feat.

Surprising the folks was awesome but of course uncertain and sure enough the one night I come home no one is there. I call around using skype so if folks check caller id it wont show my sim card that I've been using since LA (I also had to limit internet usage so people didn't see I was in the country). I didn't have to wait too long before my dad rolled into the lot which was great but it took him a few seconds to get over the shock of it I think. I really wanted some Mexican but we couldn't convince my mom ( or say my dad couldn't as I wasn't 'there') to meet us but we went anyway. Dad called her again to say he left his wallet and so spitting lightning my mom shows up to pay his bill. All rainy tears by the end of it.

It was good to see the family :D

Even with the jet lagg Matt convinced me to go out and party hard at Oasis that night with my b'ham friends including my bestie Sophia. Great times.

Awesome

Don't know what who more awesome. This kid, or this kid's parents.

Christmas Tree at work

Day Uno

Today!

Very excited to open some presents tomorrow :D although I have been officially banned from touching presents under the tree until said time ;)

Kung Fu

As most of you know I am in a Kung Fu class here in Palmy. If you don't know I train about 3 nights a week for 2 plus hours. On Saturday the 10th of December we had our belt grading which was super exciting. It's the first time I got to grade due to other circumstances and I'm super excited to say that I passed and am now a yellow belt! This is even a bigger accomplishment because I graded in front of Ta Si Gung who is the Grand Master (internationally) of our organization. I was lucky enough to train with him for a week and a half as well doing everything from kicking to knife fighting and it was a blast and a fantastic learning experience. I hope to get pictures soon!

Helping Rachel Decorate

Helped Rachel and Evan decorate the tree. Christmas trees are a lot smaller here and they don't do all the crazy amount of lights or ornaments like we do in the states. I like that. I like the idea that I can assemble and decorate a tree in under 2 hours. :)

Best Cake Ever

Becks made us a cake. In the shape of Catan. 

Equal Awesomeness

My work today

It's that time of year again that the clients panic and send us massive amounts of work to be done that they have known about for months to be compressed into one weeks worth of work. This means 50 hour weeks of design chaos, gallons of Dr. Pepper and occasional chocolate cake. All in all not that bad, no worse than finals that's for sure. In fact I'm going to say it's 10xs better but it is still a bit crazy. Below is one magazine. One.

Itenterary

Depart Auckland Monday Dec.26

AA 7315 3:05pm AKL to LAX. arrive LAX 6:30am

AA 2430 LAX 9:05am to DFW arrive 2:15pm

AA2030 DFW 3:10pm to BHM 4:40pm :D

Christmas Card!

Got my first Christmas card of the year from Auntie Barbara and Uncle Buddy and a nifty new hoodie :D

Christmas Wish List

By popular request :


A Kindle
On those long 12 hour plane rides my poor little iphone battery just can't hold up to it. Plus the screen and brightness really aren't designed to be read long term. Little knidle batteries last ages and their screens are made for reading plus they weigh less than a book in my backpack. It doesn't need to be super flash, the small one is just fine. I can't imagine needing more than 1,000 books at a time.
Amazon Kindle

A Tripod
I bought a new camera and i could use a small, easy to transport tripod, just something nifty to get me by and steady the camera on a table top. It would be nice to have one that tilts the camera but I can do that with books so no big issue.
Tripods at Best Buy

A SD Cart

I bought a new camera and I could use some 4GB-32GB SD cards. They are 2x's the price in NZ so I haven't bought any. Even a small one would be a big help. :(

SD Cards at Best Buy

Money towards new MacbookPro
The macbook I saved for and bought when I went to Auburn is on it's last leg. After multiple years of abuse via college tote bags, bicycle baskets, over heating and general mistreatment my logic board is failing fast and I could really use a new computer. My dream laptop (I'de prefer desktop but with moving so much) would be about $2,700 but I'm saving to get one that is about $1,600.  It's something I use every day  for work and play.

Shoes
My ChuckTs are falling apart and so I really need some new converse all star classics. I'm thinking bright red (not maroon) and low tops :) Again something I can't get in New Zealand easily.
converse

Socks
Striped socks, esp toe socks. I don't like socks with animals or stuff on them just fun coloured stripes. Normal fun coloured socks would be fun for the summer too.

Please No Candy

Trying to eat healthy. Candy is not healthy. Don't tempt me ;)

A New Zealand Thanksgiving!

rachel and me setting the table! Ham!

Todd and Marc

Baliey vs Jess on Wii with Chris and Evan watching

Racing cows