here's to you

Graduation ceremony 06

This month aka the graduation month marks the end of the study era and the beginning of entering the working world for many, and for some lucky/brainy ones- postgraduate studies.

Yesterday, one of the many graduation ceremonies took place at the town hall. Starting from 1.30pm was the graduation parade from outside Dentistry building to the town hall, accompanied by a Scottish bagpipe band and the mayor heading the parade.

Around 3pm, the official ceremony began. After speeches by the Chancellor and Maori Orator and the national anthem in both languages (Maori and English), the presentation of degrees and diplomas were next.

May and I went there to show our support for Renee who got her degree in Bachelor of Consumer and Applied Science, majoring in nutrition. Also graduating was fellow Studholmite William (BSc in Food science). Congrats also to Renee who got into an Australian uni to do her masters. =)

It was indeed a glorious day for the hundreds of students who finally got that piece of laminated paper, which costed at least 3 years and countless hours and effort to achieve. It doesn't guarantee a wonderful, well paid job in a particular profession, but a degree is just a baby step taken in that long-winding journey of achieving success.

The long awaited day.

Students entering the hall; see the guy playing the pipe organ! *coolness*

All the big guys on the stage.

All smiles =D

Oh well, another 3 years until it's my turn. Yikes.

Music-making

With 3 more weeks before 2006 comes to an end, it's inevitable to miss the fun moments and wish we were all back to that time once again.

Being a part of Cityside Nations Christian Church music team was a dream come true. It's like having the vip pass to the coolest club, playing music and growing together as a family. Friday nights would have been very dull without the practices. =)

My family I've grown attached to; Jo's birthday (we got her a mobile phone!)

The 3 new pianists this year; Ellise, jOSs, and May.

The 3 R's; Ray on drums, Rahul on bass, Rohan on percussions.

Always smiling Amy; who's heading off to Philippines for a mission trip!

Eeeeeks! :P

Jo and Renee; Renee's last music practice T_T

...and those were the times.

2007 will be another new year, with new musicians and the "old ones" retiring. Come what may, it will surely be as exciting, if not more, than this year. Can't wait!

New summer layout

As summer is officially here now, it's also time to change a new layout. Not that I don't like the current spring layout though, it's one of my favourites so far. Not much "summery" colours in this new layout, but what the heck, it's pretty.

P.S. DO NOT click on anything (especially the PULL link on the top right hand corner) until all the pictures have finished loading. If not, the pull effect won't work. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Day 8 - Departure

Last day at Auckland- part of me is happy to leave this city where living expenses are always a tad bit higher, part of me is sad to end this 8 day holiday trip with my friends.

During the last few hours before the plane trip home, we walked along Queen Street and relived memories of when we first got there, so lost and overwhelmed. And now, I'm proud to say that I have been to Auckland, met some good people, met some odd people, and at least know the basic ways of getting around the city I always thought was NZ's capital. My bad.

Anyway, some pictures taken that day.

Mrs Higgins cookies- irresistibly delicious.

Dunkin Donuts- a perfect snack anytime, anywhere.

The dodgy santa who winks and moves his index finger.

Architecture.

Hmm. Interesting play indeed.

Day 7 - Waiheke Island

The north island is blessed with many scenic small islands. We decided to visit one off the coast of Auckland called Waiheke Island.

At the very moment we stepped off the ferry, I sensed that something was amiss about the island. Uh huh, THE ISLAND. It's that feeling when you just know that something is not quite right though everything seems fine.

Like any other tourists, we got a map of the island and wondered which road to head next.

Soon enough, a middle-aged Kiwi guy approached us and asked, "You guys seem a bit lost here. I've got a van just right there, I can take you up to the village for $2 a person. And from there, you can just take another bus to wherever you want to go."

We looked at each other, thinking the same thing, "Does this guy sound dodgy or what?"

Janice, being the big sis among us, spoke up: "Actually we prefer to walk around by ourselves."

Dodgy guy: But it's a long way up, and you might get lost. It's only $2 a person...

Janice: Erm. Actually we wanted to do a bit of kayaking just by the ferry, so we won't be able to go up to the village just yet.

Dodgy guy: Kayaking? Oh... I actually have a few kayaks at my house just by the other side of town. I can bring you guys there. It's only $35 per person. Wait right here... I'll just get my van ready." (rushes off to his van)

Us: Let's just ignore that weird guy.

(few minutes later...)

Dodgy guy: Hey, I was looking for you guys. Let's go!

Janice: Ermmmmmm. Actually we're waiting for a friend to arrive quite soon. Sorry but no thanks.

Dodgy guy: Alright, fine then. (walks away, probably thinking: dang, I almost got them to believe me!)

After he left, we decided to walk up to "the village" ourselves. Guess what, it was only a 10 minute walk! Bloody dodgy guy claimed that it was very far away. Anyway, "the village" turned out to be just like any other small township with tourist shops and a beach just nearby.

Thank goodness we found a visitor's info centre and got more information about getting around. We also asked the lady working there if she knew about any other kayaking services around besides the one we saw near the ferry station. Why am I not surprised to hear that it's the only registered kayaking business on the island? This proved that the dodgy guy was running his own little illegal, dodgy, tourist-cheating business.

A little while later, Kang arrived with food! We went down to the beach to have lunch and had the biggest, most value-for-money ice-cream. Hehe. Later, we went kayaking for $50 per person (bit pricey), *the guy was a bit odd too!*. Bit disappointing as I expected a better view.

2 hours later, we walked quite a distance to Mudbrick vineyard for some wine-tasting and to buy some wine home. The cute wine guy looks tipsy to us, and on the table was a bottle of *cough* alcohol *cough* labelled with coke. Ah, the ultimate job where you get an awesome view of the island and enables you to drink whenever you want to.

Finally, we headed back to Auckland around 6-ish, totally drained out of energy, and also glad to leave the dodgy island. All in all, it was an interesting experience, but visiting it once is enough. ;P