sleep much?

I am so sick of my neighbour. Apart from her practically accusing me of orgainising the burglary of her place the week I moved into my flat; and even apart from her phoning me the other day to tell me how annoying Mouse was when she was alive - I'm going to focus on her being a grumpy elephant in high-heels in the mornings. Her front door is right by my bedroom window, and she insists on slamming her wrought iron security gate shut over and over whenever she leaves the house. She is the only person on the PLANET who can make the locking of said door just as rowdy as it's shutting. Then she clip-clops across her cobbled walk in those heels to the huge triple-bolted fence/gate and wrangles that like it's the entrance to some castle. By the time she's starting her car, I'm wide awake and realised it's her fault AGAIN. This is every_morning even CHRISTMAS morning. Then I doze back off mumbling about at least it's 6:30am and I get to go back to sleep to wake up for when she comes back from _wherever_ repeating all those noises in reverse and adding one "slamming" of her main door to finish. Christ. SHUT UP!!

I'm trying to write an entry. I've been watching the cursor blink. I've added a title then deleted it four times. I have made a cup of coffee and smushed avocado on toast. I am now typing. This is me blogging. *stops to take a bite of avocado toast* *and watch the cursor blink some more* *and sip coffee* Let's retrace my steps: Monday 11:30am - I slept late. That's okay because I don't have to go to work, and because I was still awake at 3am this morning. My sleep has been fractured lately. I just can't get into this holiday mode. At least I got to see TopGear on the BBC last night. Monday 2:00am - TopGear raced a small plane (Richard "hamster" Hammond and the Other Guy) and a Bugatti Veyron* (Jeremy Clarkson driving the fastest road car in the world) from Italy to London. Clarkson won, but only by the skin of his sneakers. I think working on that show would be so much fun - they sure do look like they have a ball. Sunday 8:30pm - Television was really quite weak last night - I can't understand why Survivor and the Amazing Race are always opposite each other - they look annoyingly the same to me. Both Channel Two and Channel Three aired double episodes (well okay, the Amazing Race might not have been a double but it sure felt like one) We had Whale Rider on Channel One which was nice but I've seen it several times - thank goodness for Marcus Lush's Intrepid Journey to provide some semblance of entertainment early in the evening. Yet another amazing job - being flown around the world to have adventures and have them retold on Intrepid Journeys - easily one of the best and most well executed ideas TVNZ has even signed off on. They're all good too - from Ewen Gilmore heaving his guts out in Peru to Peta Mathias crying herself to sleep in Argentina - with the likes of Danielle Cormack, Tim Shadbolt and Kerry Woodham in between. (no.. not inbetween Peru and Argentina - go the other way) Yesterday was long - did you notice that? That extra second they added at midnight really took it out of me. I was Zombie Central for most of the day. Admittedly, getting home around midday from the night before didn't help my sense of time. So so pleased Trixie (I'm cat sitting for David) was still here when I got home - I had not been able to wrangle her indoors before leaving and was a bit worried she'd no know to stick around til I got home. I had the extreme good fortune to be invited to spend New Year's Eve with Sarah, her friend Clare and their friends David and Simon. Saturday 5:30pm - We arrived in the late afternoon to their gorgeous home in Ponsonby just as they were arriving back from a few days sailing around Waiheke. Their house was a welcome drop in temperature from the overly hot Auckland sunshine. The large trees down Franklin Road are so beautiful and block the heat with their fresh green leaves. Sitting on their deck and drinking wine, with some of the best and funniest conversations I've had in a while. I can't remember what we talked about specifically, but there was no shortage of easy banter and relaxed laughter. Time seemed to move at a goodly pace until stomachs rumbled for food. Fish and potato / kumera chips were sought from the local chippery. Along with more wine and decisions about what to do with the rest of the evening. Saturday 10:30pm - The boys went up the road to visit a friend, and we three girls decided to find fun up on Ponsonby Road. We weren't overly successful - we tried The Crib, The Chapel, The Chandelier - maybe we should've busted out of the "c"s. It was unusually quiet (felt like a Tuesday night) and full of pretty gay men in muscle shirts and unnaturally thin beautiful women in expensive clothing. In the end we hopped into a taxi and made for the Viaduct and found everybody in the world down there. Saturday 11:45pm - It was fantastic at the Viaduct. Lots and lots of ordinary people being friendly and happy. There was room at Plum so we ordered (two vodka orange, one vodka rocks - chant for the evening) and mingled and it was great. The countdown to midnight was rather muted, and no one sang Ald Lang Syne but that was cool too - we're the colonies afterall - not New Scotland. I think the Exponents were playing instead. Sunday 1:30am - But who knows - I had a lot to drink and I was having a good time. Yes, I do sing loud and no, I didn't hear what you said. Sunday 2:30am - We ended up back at David and Simon's and had a few more drinks and talked some more before I fell asleep on the couch around 4am (My plan had involved taking a taxi home but ended up staying instead) with the cat. Sunday 10am - Sleeping in one's clothes is always a good look. My hair looked _fantastic_. Thank goodness I was too (hungover? still intoxicated?) to care. We drove up Ponsonby Road to find breakfast, ending up at Sitio (as opposed to Standio?) for a bungled breakfast with poor service and far too many toddlers. Gawd.. what is it with people who take their underfives out for breakfast? hello? WEETBIX in front of television is how every child in this country should start their day. Not wearing designer sunglasses, talking on a plastic cellphone while drinking their soy milk fluffy (no, really, she was 4 years old). I'm not grumbling really - more power to Sitio for opening on New Year's Day. Shame they were crap. Monday 1:44pm - So here I am, still in my pyjamas - Monday 2nd January with 2006 stretching out in front of me and an feeling I "should" be at work. When does that feeling go away? i have one more week of leave, with some nice visitors between now and when I go back to work. Eroica came to stay Boxing Day (I had such a lovely time and will share that with you soon) and is coming back again this week. James and Lesa are coming over tomorrow and I have a beach-date with Todd sometime as well. I'm sure by the time next Sunday rolls around I won't be feeling like I "should" be at work anymore. I think I'll post this now so I'll stop staring at the blinking cursor and go make more coffee. Hope yawl had a groovy New Year and more than anything, wish you safety and happiness for 2006. *Each Bugatti Veyron cost 5 million pounds to build - and are sold for 800,000 pounds - they were built to prove a point at a calulated loss to the company.