I haven’t even had time to check my emails lately. This is something quite new and exciting and unknown and I’m rather enjoying avoiding my computer as much as possible.
A brief summary of nerd avoidance reasons:
- I have two new flatmates
- I’m obsessed with playing classical piano
- I’ve made a routine of seeing my family every weekend
- I’ve been entertaining friends at home during the week
These things seem to leave not a whole lot of time left for doing things such as using my computer, writing, and photography. I’m sure it’s a phase.
The lease on the house I am living in came up to expire and both of my flatmates moved out. I toyed with moving in by myself or moving again, but when I woke up to the sounds of tuis singing and heard a morepork moreporking one night when I was sitting in my room with the windows open I decided that I simply couldn’t leave this house. I love it. I love that I am only a ten-minute walk to the ass-end of the city (aiie, The Terrace) yet I don’t hear any urban noise pollution and just get to hear lovely things like birds singing and dogs barking. This is something quite special, seeing how I have been living in cities for the past few years.
So, I took over the lease and found two new flatmates. I now live with Cat, a young Scottish girl, and John, the English fellow who recognised me from my website at Matterhorn a few weeks ago. I love living with them so far, and they have made this house feel homely and welcoming to come home to. I am really liking living with a girl again, especially one who reminds me a bit of the last female flatmate I met from a flatmates wanted ad, Natalie, who became one of my best friends. It’s strange to be able to meet strangers whom you instantly get along with to the point of being able to live with them.
John brought a digital piano with him when he moved in, which now sits prominently in the living room. We don’t really have a TV so we sit around the fire, play piano, play board games, and eat dinner together. It’s all very civilised. The piano is a full-size piano with properly weighted keys (i.e., not a shitty keyboard) and I decided I am going to CLR my piano fingers. I have been going on second-hand sheet music missions and have been playing for at least an hour a day. It’s been years since I’ve played like this but I’m slowly getting better. I’m determined to grow my long-forgot skills.
Along with being rather civilised, I’ve also been cooking. This is also unlike me because I detest cooking usually and won’t if it’s just for me. Having flatmates who are home after work and eat at the same time as me is wonderful, as is having friends who come over to taste-test my burgeoning skills as a Thai chef. My parents and my nana came over for Fathers Day and I baked scones, made tea, and played piano for them.
I’ve also been perusing the cocktail making skills of various bartenders around town. This has somehow led to me getting bar tabs without asking and without giving my credit card, and having drinks placed in front of me without even ordering them. This influx of delicious alcoholic beverages has led to the weekly writing of “N” on my left thumb and “O” on my right to remind me to not do things in excess when I’m drunk and rolling cigarettes. It is surprisingly useful, although I have discovered it doesn’t really work if you are already drunk by the time you pull out the pen.
My agenda for the next few weeks:
- Play more piano
- Reply to emails
- Get my camera out
- Work on my attempt of a novel again
- Get some fucking sleep