It's not a cry you can hear at night, it's not somebody who's seen the light...

Just went to see Men in Tutus and it was AMAZING. The second half of the show was Swan Lake and it was hilarious and perfect. And Laura bought the DVD so we can see it again while not soaked. Because apparently New Zealand decided that today would be the best day to piss down rain. It's like a deluge out there. There is a sea in the backyard. And Echo is outside so I reckon she's Icky the Loch LFoD Monster.

Had Chinese food for tea and now there is Aliens, tea, Ariadne in my lap, and a Laura! Today is awesome!

Tried to play fetch with Echo today but she just stared at me like I was insane and then chased the soda lid I had thrown for her underneath the bookcase. Little scrapper.

Helios got into something ashy because he came inside yesterday with black paws. And he is a delicate-peach-coloured boy with bright white paws. So something was up there! He had a smudge on his nose too. Adorable! His paws are grey now and I think he needs a bath.

As for Ariadne, she curled up on my pillow last night and then inserted her tail into my mouth as I was cooing at her and telling her how adorable she is. Thanks, girl.

In non-cat news, Good Friday dinner was awesome and I made key lime pie. The recipe was super-easy and it turned out really nicely! I might put a little more lime in it next time, but it was delicious! And Alison roasted chickens and we played Drawception and it was pretty brilliant. Hurrah.

Then there was an aftershock, but I'm going to pretend I didn't notice.

I have been looking forward to going to the US because being here in the city of Aftershocks and Gloom hasn't been great for the old brainpan. But my trip to Te Anau and various made me feel so incredibly good. So now I'm all "wah, I have to leave my home for two months!" It does make it better than I get my family though :D But I will miss my friends and my cats and my house and my housemates and all the things. In the long run, two months isn't too long. Just feels like it right now!

So in 10 and a half hours I will wake up and take a shower and then I will head for the airport. Then I will be in Sydney before heading to the US. I get to see my cousin in San Francisco, and then my mommy in Helena, Montana. I can catch up on writing all the things, since there are few distractions in Montana, especially in winter.

I feel so much better though. It's...awesome. I just really needed to get out of this city, even though I love it so much. Touring the south island of NZ was amazing. This county is gorgeous and I think, despite wanting to leave it for the UK for a while, I think I kind of want to stay. We'll see how things go. But I feel at home here. It's lovely.

So now I have to clean my room for Woot to move in to it for two months. I should vacuum for him too, since the floor is covered with catfood. Echo is a messy eater. I can't wait until I can come back and cuddle the kitties again though! I will miss my babies!

It is hot today. As an aside. It's gross.

It seems the worst of the snowpocalypse might be over, which is good. I don't know when things will open again, but it will be nice not to feel stuck at home. Not that I go anywhere these days, but I like it to be an option. It does mean Alison will fly away from us tomorrow, waahhhh. Let's not focus on that, or the fact that a virus deleted the essay I had mostly finished so I had to write 2,100 words for it last night. I kicked it's arse though. Thanks to my own personal cheerleader. His name is Simon!

So here is a pictorial account of the last few days. It is awesome and features mostly cats, my bathrobe, Jen in an awesome costume, a lot of me (some upsidedown) and a photo that looks like I am choking Ariadne. I was not.

( Listen close to everybody's heart )

Snow + New Zealand + Kitties + best friends + some Baileys (optional) + warmth + cameras = awesomeness.

I love this house.

♥

Laura came over and made me fajitas. OMG. So.Good.

It's that time again. Cat pictures time.

( Why do the Vikings in How to Train Your Dragon all have Scottish accents? )

Bought a cat tree house (the tunnels are not that big at all and I don't think Ariadne could even remotely fit in them but the rest is awesome) and they love it! Well the kittens were immediately convinced. They climbed up there before I was even done building it. I had to place Ariadne in one of the little cat hammocks and manually curl her up and then hold her there while I pet her for several minutes before she calmed down, but she hasn't moved since and she looks quite happy with her new sitting place. She's going to sleep in fact. See, baby? Sometimes when I bother you, I actually have your best interest at heart instead of just wanted to kiss your wee face because it is so cuteomg.

Also, check out the spam email I got (this is a print screen I took. It's safe to click!) It makes me laugh quite hard. I don't live in the US, guys. I didn't file a tax return. And much better on disguising your address there and even including a header, but still not falling for it. You sort of uhm...used some wrong words there. But you are getting craftier. Bravo.

The last few nights have been rough. I can't sleep again. Increased adrenaline makes for increased anxiety which makes for me staying up until 6 am and sleeping badly when I finally do fall asleep. I have a little dry mouth again and that's annoying. Huurrr. The social anxiety is still okay, I think! And I have finally gotten my head back into writing, YAY! Thank goodness for that. I missed it while it was gone!

Also thank goodness for our new cheese toastie machine. I will never eat anything else. And all the tea. I drink it. All.

♣ Woke up every time the kitties sneezed last night. They are doing heaps better today though, but Echo had one coughing fit (compared to the dozens she was having a day, this is awesome) and Helios still sounds like a croaky boy when he purrs half the time, but Ariadne seems to be just fine.

♣ Worked more on what seems like the spreadsheet that WILL.NOT.DIE for my mother. Wonder why it was sent to me in the first place if it wasn't...like...correct. (Note this isn't my mother's fault, it's the fault of the person who built the spreadsheet. And since spreadsheets are boring, no one cares)

♣ Slept all day because of disturbed night sleep.

♣ Drank apple pie tea. OMGteagasm.

♣ Echo is the cutest, tiny kitten IN THE WORLD.

♣ Didn't even look at RPGs today. Wonder why I agree to do action plots when I hate action and cannot write it. Though the reason I didn't look was lack of time, not motivation.

♣ Instead of looking at RPGs now, I will look at my STUPID ESSAY due on Monday.

♣ Made quesadillas. Yum.

♣ I wish Social Policy Essays would die :D

Too much wine. Actually just enough. Mmmm.

Also the cats all have cat influenza. But they have antibiotics now. Poor kitties! They should be all phlegmy for a few more days and then they will be fine. But the poor things. Echo and Helios needed shots and Ariadne is apparently old enough to just have to weather the virus. I hate it when kitties are sick.

Pumpkin soup, wine, and Boosh. Awesome. Noel is so cute. I love him. Also Turkish delight tea. Omg.

EDIT: Just ordered a bunch of tea from http://www.adoretea.com.au and omg. We just had the Turkish Delight tea and it is SO GOOD. So we ordered a bunch of samplers and plan to see which ones we like to order more. WHEE!

I've been sleeping better, and when I woke up with a funny feeling throat thanks to the cold I am developing, I didn't panic. Which is awesomely amazing. First time.

Yesterday I had class which went really well, except that I was 40 minutes late. Why? I walked to the vet to get a flea treatment for the new kitten, Echo. But when I had printed out my assignment, I had taken my wallet out of my bag to get my student ID to write it on the cover sheet. I did this at home, so at least I didn't leave my wallet somewhere public, but it wasn't in my bag at the vet's. :|. I had been planning on taking the bus from there to uni to turn in my medical withdrawal form and turn in my assignment with plenty of time to get to class. Except then I had to walk home. And then the bus was late. And then it stopped to let about 500 kids on, which is fine as that is what a bus is for, but they were stupid kids and took forever to wrestle before boarding the bus and then struggling to find their own wallets. And then the student services office had moved. And then I got lost trying to find it. And then I had to cross campus to turn in my assignment. And then the bus to the Dovedale campus took forever too. So yes. Late. But I didn't panic then either. Hurrah.

Today I have a meeting with Anxiety Support Canterbury. I am going to discuss counselling and group with work them. And I am not anxious about the meeting at all. I can't even describe how that feels.

So instead I am about to post 25 photos of kittens. Yesterday the sun was streaming in and since my flash is as bright as a thousand suns and washes everything out, I decided to take photos of the cats with natural light so people could see what they really looked like. And then the photos looked amazing. So I took like...150. Shut up, these are freaking gorgeous. The cats and the pictures ;)

( You should be glad there are only 25... )