| 100 in 1000 |
- Spend a week up a mountain learning to ski
- Visit Karoline's place in Moravia
Hold a conversation in Czech (only)- Drink 500ml of each of the following beers:
PilsnerStaroprammen- Budvar
- Velke Popovice
- U Fleku
GambrinusKrusovice
Respond to at least one GOARN request (WHO and MSF are
also acceptable)Travel across the AtlanticReturn to South America- Read a book to, or with, an impressionably aged child
- Participate in one NanoWriMo Challenge and come within at least 10,000 words of the goal length
Have my nose pierced- Have my next tattoo drawn
Purchase the perfect jeans (x 2 pairs)- Attend a spin class 3 times a week for 8 consecutive weeks
- Bake Viv's cheesecake
Make David's casserole Make David's Chicken Cashew-nut StirfryInvite 4 people who don't know one another too well to dinner- Ride from Vienna to Venice on a motorbike (pillion acceptable, those less desirable)
- Attend a book group for at least two books
- Go on a choir weekend (learn and perform difficult piece in two/three days)
- Visit Madame Tussaud's (in London)
- Take an architecture appreciation course
Join an all-girl group and sing a soloPublish in a scientific journal (top two authors)Cook a duck or other 'waterfowl'. Locate the Al-Timimi's from Doha Veterinary PractiseHave a pedicureMaintain a Brazilian (ouch) for three months.Find a trustworthy Czech hairdresser- Treat my inner-6-year-old twice a week (at least)
- Do the liver-cleansing diet properly (12 weeks)
- Don't eat out for one month
Find a flat and flatmate- Purchase one Joseph sweater
- Purchase one of the following pairs of
designer shoes (they MUST also be COMFORTABLE, and be able to be worn with 4
different outfits and 2 types of occasion): Jimmy Choos, Manolo Blahniks,
Christian Louboutin (Ebay or 2nd hand are acceptable)
- Send 5 books to the booksphere and track them.
- Go hanggliding
- Read 10 'classic' books (from 1001 Books to Read before you Die)
Moll FlandersEverything is illuminatedMadam BovaryZen & the Art of Motorcycle MaintainanceCatch-22OdysseusOn the Road
- Run (non-stop!) for 5kms outside (preferably in a street race thingy)
- Send Christmas Cards on time
Make a collage/mural out of street lights on my wallBuy a bed, build it, and sleep soundly in itGo to AfricaHost an 'event' (classified as and when)Organise a 30th Birthday PartyWear a costume- Sing on stage
- Buy a painting that evokes memories of Prague (cannot involve queues!)
Learn a god-damned card game that stays in my memory (other than fish/snap)See sunrise. Be sober. Have woken for it. Excludes months Nov-Mar- Take a walk and flip coins at each intersection
Win something- Draft a will
- Take a roadtrip
Go to Italy already- Sea Kayak around Abel Tasman Park (NZ)
Get plantsTake a train to another Eastern European Destination (accession countries are acceptable) alone preferably.- Get UK to give me a provisional motorcyclists license and simultaneously get a 'card' license.
- Go SCUBA diving again - at least two dives lasting 30mins each.
Go to a dentist. *sigh*- Do a Czech Wine Trail. And live to tell the tale
- Make an 'outbreak emergency kit'.
- Go to bed prior to 11pm every night (inc weekends) for four consecutive weeks.
- Marvel over lack of tiredness
- Dine at a Gordon Ramsey restaurant (or Nobu)- preferably for free.
Bet on the nags- Do something for charity (applying and getting a 'red card' will count)
- Walk along the Champs Elysee
- Do 100 sit ups in a row
- Do 50 pressups (arms in tight)
- Make branston pickle (or nearest substitute)
- Cook something 'new' and 'adventurous' at least once a month
Find a mentorBe a mentorLearn what mentoring is all aboutMeet an online person in real lifeResist the flirt. Once. Just one night. It's okay if people don't immediately succumb to my natural charm. Really it is.Spend time at a spa (spa towns in the CR don't count)- Send a care package to someone
Get a Tata Bojs CD- Take a French/German/Dutch course and SPEAK THE DAMNED LANGUAGE WHEN I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY EVEN THOUGH IT MAKES ME SOUND
LIKE AN IDIOT!
- Order new contact lenses.
Make a list of things I take with me when I pack for different occasions- Eat lobster. Prepared by someone else.
Back up the blogPut everything onto an external hard drive- Find a DDR mat and console and 'dance, I say dance!'�
- Go to the beach and lie on the warm sand. For an hour. (with sunscreen on, natch)
- Take and complete a course in either: Tango, Salsa or Flamenco
- Join the Municipal Library of Prague
- Move to another country
Go to a live concert of a band I actually like- Pay off debts (student loan excl.)
Send thank you cards for every gift I receive (other than the gift of happiness, blah blah blah).- Get an agent (literary or theatre)
- Go to a sports bar without cringing, by personal choice
- Ride a rollercoaster
- Hold a snake
Spend a day wandering around a museum (not art gallery!) |
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| So I hear you're off to Prague then? |
| Monday 8 August 2005 |
Nomesland (the one inside my head) is moving: to Prague!
A few months ago, I was in Sweden interviewing for EPIET, in the vain hope that they'd take on a kiwi who wants to be a field epidemiologist (red phone on MY desk please...).
A week after returning from my flying visit (London, said hi to Mike, Cheryl, Rowland, Thomas, Alisha, Gareth and spoke to Grandma and Miranda & Ian - and spent three days doing hefty interviews in Sweden with Lisa, Karl, Marten, Maarten, Lisanne, Luise and a whole swag of others) I was notified that I was on the waiting list.
I chose to read this in a manner to protect myself: they wanted me, but because I'd been less than specific choosing my prospective sites ("I'll go ANYWHERE!!"), they didn't know where to put me. Plus, I didn't have any prior knowledge of any other European systems so I was a bit of a wildcard.
(okay, it's the whole 'wild' bit of the wildcard that I wanted to be).
I waited. And I planned: what would I do if I didn't get in? (leave anyway...just without a clear destination in mind)
Then, one rainy Monday (I'm guessing here, it's often raining in winter in Wellington), I went into work and had a weird feeling that had nothing to do with the previous nights dinner. A message was waiting for me: "the candidate who was offered a position in Prague has turned it down, are you still available and would you like the position?".
*clears throat* "HELL YES!"
Of course, this was the moment I met a whole bunch of new friends (not the EPIET fellows, people in Wellington) and my social life took on a whole new dimension. Why is that always the case when you decide to leave?
Consequently, while most friends and colleagues will throw things at me (mostly dirty looks thus far) now when I mention "going to Prague...", they've still agreed to come to my leaving party (what more can a girl ask?). I haven't quite gotten to the guilt tripping, "but it could be my last time..." yet - but the more I pack, the closer it gets.
And now, a blog. It was inevitable really.
The only problem is; I like sharing my friends around (the magical mystery plane ride will now seek funding from Lotteries in Czech Republic - I'm thinking a cessna should spend it!) so I'm gonna have to check re photo posting. *sigh* You mean, most people DON'T want their face plastered all over the internet? Whaddya mean?
In the meantime (my lawyers, theirs etc), I'll post namby pamby photos of 'things' and 'sights' etc. Thrilling to those of you who like reading guide books, undoubtedly. But for those who wish for more salacious diary-esque gossip...you'll have to wait. |
posted by Nomes @ Monday, August 08, 2005   |
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| The Magical Mystery Plane Ride |
| Monday 1 August 2005 |
Okay folks, here it is.
Ever since I can remember, I've moved cities/countries. I've left many good friends behind - and thankfully, some have managed to keep up with changes of addresses/phone numbers. But it'd be so lovely to see them all in one place sometime (I'll probably be dead at my funeral, though I was thinking of holding a dress/tech rehearsal).
And having mastered the art of "the Book of Questions", I have decided.
Q. What would you do if money were no hindrance?
A. Travel around the world on a giant aircraft, collecting friends (the ones I already have - not making new ones as they hear about this) along the way. As they'd probably not be able to get much time off work - we'll have to party on the plane. Thus, a twice-round-the-world trip (so everyone met everyone else) in a long weekend.
You in?
P.S. There might have to be quick stopovers in particular cities - I'll let you know the final itinerary when it's booked. |
| posted by Nomes @ Monday, August 01, 2005 |
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