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

I so overdid it on the days I had energy. I have spent the last two days basically sleeping and nothing else. Both days I went to take 'a nap' and ended up sleeping twelve hours and when I woke up I was really confused. I have been awake three hours now and I am ready to go back to bed.

Must stay awake. Have class. And if I have another cup of coffee I'll be shaking too hard to take notes...

Alison gets home tonight though omgomgomg and I will wake up when she gets here I DON'T EVEN CARE because :D:D:D Then she has to leave me again. I can sleep while I'm alone!

Those days I had energy though...gosh they were good. And it did go to show me that this won't last forever even if it does feel like it.

And I looked up plane tickets to the US yesterday and it's cheaper for my parents if I stay for like...two months. Cheaper by 1,000 dollars. Which is the choice I would make if I were buying them! It'll be nice to get away. And if I sleep this much in Montana, at least I'm not missing anything ;)

I just got asked out for coffee.

*nervous!*

Still no running water, though people on this side of town are starting to get it back so this gives me hope we'll have it soon. Our stores are still going strong though. We even have five bottles of our original stash left, and we've been boiling up the stuff we got from across the road. I am so glad it's there so we can replace what we've been using. If this goes on much longer we would have run out and we stockpiled water like mad. It just goes to show that even when you do prepare, sometimes it's not enough.

So. Guys. If you can? Have emergency kits. Even if you live in a place where you think they won't be necessary. We used to think they weren't absolutely necessary here even though we had one, because the dangerous fault lines were in Wellington and on the West Coast, not in Christchurch. And then a previously unknown fault ruptured. You just never know. If you're someone who can afford an emergency kit (and please know I completely understand that not everyone can), it's responsible to have one. It means emergency rations of food provided by whatever disaster relief happens to be around can go to the people who can't afford to have an emergency kit in a disaster and who need it far more, instead of getting used up on people who should and could have been more careful. It's just goddamn socially responsible, okay? It's caring about your fellow human beings while taking care of yourself too.

Put some tinned food and toilet paper and no-wash anti-bacterial hand cleaner and batteries and flashlights/torches and candles and matches and blankets and anything else you think you might need (including pet food) in your kit. And keep clean water around and replace it often (use the old stuff to water the garden or wash the car or...something). Hell, in Melbourne a couple of years ago, some kind of plant exploded and it left part of the city without electricity and running water for days and that was just a random malfunction without any natural disaster cause. So be prepared. Please. Be as prepared as you can be. The ability to have extra food lying around in case of an emergency is a luxury and if you can, please just do it.

Sorry. Preachy. But I can tell you first-hand how important this is. Never assume this doesn't apply to you. Be safe, lovelies. Gosh, this isn't even what I came here to do. I was going to talk about how I can't write fiction because it feels so utterly useless at the moment. And I got on my soapbox instead. Oh well.

It's finally over.

In February, I ordered a beautiful and fancy new laptop from Dell NZ. Blu-Ray player, purple colour, HD display, 17 inches and souped up processor. Fancyfancy. I never had trouble with Dell US and Dell Australia, so I didn't worry about it for a second. I had ordered three previous computers from Dell, and every single time I was emailed when the order went in, when the money cleared, when the unit was built, and then I was called when the computer was going to be delivered. Every time I called for customer assistance, I was helped.

Apparently Dell NZ, in comparison, sucks my ass. The order was not confirmed, and no email let me know if my money cleared, so I had to call THEM. Then no email told me when the unit was being built OR when it was being shipped so I called AGAIN to see why it had been three weeks and I had heard NOTHING beyond when I called to confirm the order had even been received. They told me it might be delivered two weeks later. You know. Maybe. And that the delivery company would call before then. They didn't. It just showed up a few weeks later (after I called again because ONCE AGAIN it had taken longer than they stated and I got no email to let me know about the delay).

And then the Blu-Ray player didn't work. Everything else about the computer worked like a dream, but the player made watching anything impossible because it stalled every thirty seconds. And yet I STILL sat through the entirety of Australia with it doing that because...mmm...Hugh... I called to trouble shoot it and spent HOURS on the phone to no avail (even completely reinstalled everything in the process and still it didn't work). Got told I would be called back. Wasn't. I had to call AGAIN and still nothing. I insisted they send someone to fix it. Someone came. A delightful tech named Julian. HE couldn't even fix it. So I called back and they said they would send a replacement. THAT was never confirmed in an email. Replacement arrived and worked perfectly. Was told they would email me back when they wanted the original unit picked up. Weeks went by. Then months. We all started thinking that we were going to get to keep the original one, and THEN Dell contacted me and asked for the computer back. I was told a courier would come by today between 9 and 5 and they would call first. They arrived at 8 in the morning, without calling, so it was a good thing I woke up early. My alarm was set for 9. Seriously. IS IT SO HARD TO CONTACT SOMEONE?! The only time they ever called me EVER was to ask for the computer back and that was months after they said they would. SO.Frustrating.

In case that was all too much text, the moral of the story is Dell NZ sucks and their customer service is non-existent. They did, however, replace my broken laptop. I hear they usually don't. It was weeks after I should have had it, but they still did it. I will never order from them again, however. No matter how pretty the computer is!

Oh, and this morning it was so cold in the kitchen, that when Leah turned on the light in the pantry, it made FOG.

Last night the lovely ladies I live with dyed my hair purple! It actually didn't come out very purple, but it's darker and for a change, it's quite nice! It's still got a hint of red in there which makes me happy :D And when I'm sick of this, I shall go back to my fire-engine, head-is-on-fire red colour I love so much :D

/vanity

OMG I have been watching Dead Like Me and I love it. How did I not know this show existed?! I am almost finished with season 1 and I wish there were more after season 2 (I have heard the movie doesn't count) oh yay oh yay oh yay!

It's cold in New Zealand, but I have my blankie and my hot water bottle and I sound like an old lady, but it's ALL TRUE! OMG if I was an old lady I would so dye my hair bright pink. ANYWAY this is the kind of day I want to spend inside watching Buffy or Boosh or something silly and happy-making. But I am SUPPOSED TO BE STUDYING. (Note my posting to LJ as TOTALLY NOT STUDYING...) At least it stopped raining!

And the cat just totally ate a spider...

Ooooh coffee!!

LEAHFOREHEADKISS!!!

YEAH!!

Also Adrimon *SQUEAL* And I get to see Battlestar Galactica and Urban Legends and POPCORN and coffee with cream and ♥

I love New Zealand.

I went to the Prater and realised I'm an old woman. All the rides looked TERRIFYING and the ones that didn't required me to leave my bag behind. And I was like "forget that, it's my bag! It has my inhalers in it!" So I wish I'd brought my camera after all because these rides were full on (really, look!). Slingshot things and...man. Nothing half-arsed like Luna Park!! So I went on the Riesenrad (big wheel) ala Orson Wells (by the way, if you haven't seen The Third Man and you like film noir, you don't know what you're missing!). Apparently today is 'face my fear of heights' day. I was scared the entire time but I totally did it. Go me. Then I sat outside Stephansdom and had a coffee.

See? Old lady. I watched younguns walk by and sipped. Mmmm.

I remember once someone told me not to walk in the Prater at night, but it was fine. Like most of Vienna, it felt safe. Vienna has to be the safest I have ever felt getting around on my own at night, with the exception of Karlsplatz. And that remains true, and now even during the day it's iffy. There was a fight when I was there this afternoon (with knives, the big dummies), but the police were there in seconds because they have a HUGE station about every 5 meters or so. I gave it a miss tonight. It's easy enough to avoid. The dealers all go there and the cops mostly leave them alone (when they're not fighting) because then they're in one area and not expanding out into the city. But I have no need to be there, certainly! It used to be where I switched U-Bahn lines every day (U4 to U2 Karlsplatz to Schottentor!) but that was at 8 am!

Anyway...I'm old, and now I'm back in my hotel and itching to actually write something YAY!