Teaching fun things

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More Randomness

I don't really write on here very often anymore. I'm just not that much of a technology person. I think I would rather have a really nice pen, and a cute little notebook that reminds me of something I love. Then I write. I did get a notebook like that. There is a stencil of a little girl sitting at the end of a pier. Since I am training to be a teacher, I have been doing a lot of brainstorms with the class. So I filled up my little notebook with cute little brainstorms about my childhood. It was so much fun. I wrote about my pink Jellies (the shoes), riding my bike all over Santa Cruz, Slurpees, pretending to be smurfs, all that kind of stuff. I even wrote about the soft, powdery dirt at my aunts house in Bakersfield. I remember waking up in the morning and walking outside and it being so dry, (even in the morning) that as my barefoot hit the dirt, it puffed and scattered into the air. I used to think that this must have been what the dirt was like on the moon when Armstrong first put his foot down. It was really fun to just list and organize things about my childhood. It made me feel all warm and nostalgic.
I'm liking everything that is going on in my life now. Its pretty amazing actually. The other day, a friend who I knew in Berkley who also lives here now, and I went out to get boba. Do you know what that is. Its this really sweet creamy milk tea with gummy tapioca balls at the bottom. They look like fish eggs, but taste like gummy bears that have been sitting in liquid for a while. We love it. I know it doesn't sound that appealing. But it is, and its amusing. Anyway, were talking about how here in New Zealand we have more friends then we have had since High school. Its pretty crazy to think about it actually. But it's true. I feel surrounded by amazing people that almost always say yes. Its lovely. But at the same time its almost a little scary. I have roots in a place that is thousands of miles from my family. Eek! Its great, but also a dilemma.
Keeping this blog random, I thought I would tell you that we got rid out our chickens. They are very wild you see. When I got them, I envisioned that they would run over to me every morning and let me pick them up, like the chickens I had when I was little. But they never did that. In fact they screamed like I was killing them when I was holding them. They hated me with a passion. I never liked that about that. The final straw was when the neighbors came over (twice) to tell me that they were going over into their yard and pooping everywhere. Even though we fed them, gave them a little house, clipped their wings, and put up a fence, the still wouldn't hang out in our yard. So they are gone now. Goodbye Janets. Thank you Morgan for letting us get them. I think one day I will get chickens again. But I will look into their breed more and make sure they have a big, safe coop.
Well, everything is going well. Morgan is loving his job. He is still working on Tintin. It sounds like he is doing some interesting collaborative work on some of the characters. And whenever I get to see a little bit of what they are working on, it looks better and better all of the time. Since I am at school every day, which is much farther away, he has been riding the scooter. I feel bad for him driving it in the cold. Luckily it isn't too far. And then he has been coming home at lunch time to look after the dogs. My classes have just finished. Now I have two weeks to study for finals. I am excited that we will have lunches together again.
That's all really, oh and I have another Roller derby game coming up in a few weeks. Should be good.
Love,
Jessica

Roller Derby

So I am playing Roller Derby now. I did a freshemat course in the Bay Area when we lived in Berkeley and was going to play there. But we moved to New Zealand. Almost two years later I did another freshmeat course here and am finally on a team and playing. It has been a lot of fun. The people are great. There is such a mix of lifestyles and personalities. Sometimes I get frustrated because I am too competitive and I like to compare it to the BAD girls. But I realize I just can't and I need to have fun. So since I realized that, it has been great. We had our first bout last weekend and I got a few really good blocks. Here are some pics.

Castle Point!

My mom is here! So we drove out to Castle Point and hung out at the beach. The first beach we went to was right on the road and didn't look good for dogs or surfing. But our friends told us that on the other side of the point it was pretty nice. So we drove over there. You have to drive on the beach and it is amazing. its this perfect little bay surrounded by sheltering rocks. And in the far corner there is an amazing surf spot. Morgan got a new lens for his camera. So he tried it out on me while I was surfing. Iv'e never really had surf pictures. So thats neat. It has been so awesome to have my mom here. She makes me feel all comfortable and relaxed. She gets why we love New Zealand so much.
Bye!

Hedge Hog in the Garden

Look what we found in the garden. He is just a baby. We played with him for a while and then let him go. I was afraid he would be too pokey to hold. but if you pick him up from underneath, and don't squeeze, its ok. He was just a little ball at first, all tucked into his spines like a sleeping bag. But then he got comfortable and wandered around. Really cute.