Songs In Blue

Alright, (as most of you would know as you read it) I was asked a few questions in one of Dayna’s earlier posts.  In order to keep myself in Dayna’s good books I am getting the ball rolling and answering the first couple of questions for now (I’ll get to the others as soon as I can).  So Barbetti, thanks for the questions, my answers are below…

Why don’t you have a blog?

I did have a blog while I was studying in San Diego and travelling around North America but I don’t have one at the moment.  The main reason I had a blog while I was overseas was so my family / friends could keep in touch and see what I was up to whereas now keeping in touch is a bit easier (living in the same country and all).

So I guess a big reason for not having a blog is because I think I would struggle for readers – a blog about travelling across North America is a lot more interesting to read than a blog about the day-to-day adventures of a tax consultant (although in saying that I would so read that blog…).

I think if I’m living outside of New Zealand then I will most likely pick up writing a blog again as I did enjoy it while it lasted (and it’s good to look back on one day).  For now though, I am happy as a reader.

How did you and Dayna meet? And what was your initial impression of her?

Alright, let’s see.  It was November 2006.  I was working the “early” shift at Jet, the bar I worked at for a few years while at university (early meant finishing around midnight which qualifies it as a “very late” shift for me these days).

I was nearing the end of my shift when an old high school friend of mine came in with two Canadian girls in tow.  I hadn’t seen him in years so I was pretty pleased.  And he was obviously pleased to be able to show off in front of the girls (I remember him exaggerating “I know all the bartenders in Wellington!”) and it was working on at least one of them (*cough* Danielle *cough*).

So one of the girls (Dayna) ordered a round of tequila shots and I obliged (very quickly, with lemon / salt and a smile might I add).  Dayna then proceeded to complain to me (at length) about how much they cost.  I just clenched my teeth and nodded sympathetically (whilst noting her generous tip of ZILCH).  So my initial impression wasn’t exceptionally great (a cheap, whiny traveler who doesn’t tip – although I admit I did think she was cute).

I finished my shift shortly after and went around the other side of the bar to talk to my old high school buddy (who I hadn’t seen in years).  Unfortunately he had eyes for only one person that night (*cough* Danielle *cough*).  At this point I noticed that the Cheap Whiny Traveler looked kind of lonely sitting at the bar by herself.  I had a good amount of experience at playing third wheel so I forgave her (a little bit) for her earlier whining.  And besides, I needed somewhere to sit.

So we got talking and had one of those great first conversations.  You know the ones:

“I have lots of brothers and sisters”

“Oh my god, I have lots of brothers and sisters!”

“I like U2”

“Oh my god, I like U2!”

“I like chocolate”

“Oh my god, I like chocolate…”

Anyway, we talked for hours and I decided I really liked her (and apparently she didn’t mind me either).  She even wrote me a note telling me this (titled “Mr Hot Bartender”).

We had a few adventures before she left Wellington like when Dayna’s parents, who were back in Canada (obviously), were alerted to their child being missing.  What a great first impression to make on a girl’s parents right? ‘So you’re the one who kidnapped my daughter then?’ For the record, no I did not, at any point, kidnap Dayna.

By the time Dayna left Wellington my first impression had changed to be of a happy, passionate, caring, funny, cute, clumsy, awesome girl that I was very sad to being saying goodbye to.  Little did I know that after fifty or so phone calls, several thousand emails, a meet up in San Diego, a month in Canada and now a year of living together, I would get to spend every day with this girl.

Lucky me.

All the nerves, insecurities, worries, and excitement I had felt over the last few months had reached a boiling point.  I thought I was going to throw up as I gathered my things.  My legs were almost too weak to carry me through, what seemed to be, the longest corridor ever made.  My mind was racing so fast I thought it would explode as I neared the open door.  Then, as quickly as my panic had started, it was over.  I saw him.
His smile was all the reassurance I needed.

A year ago today, I got off the plane.

It’s been really bugging me lately that my family and friends don’t have much of a chance to get to know Matt.  Granted, they know quite a bit but most of it is from what I’ve told them.  I wanted Matt to have a chance to give his perspective so he’s writing a guest post!
 
He needs a few ideas about what to write, so I thought you could ask him a few questions.  My mom’s already asked one, “Do you think you’ll play Badminton again?”  That’s right, Matt was quite the pro a few years back before he got a really bad back injury. 
 
Matt will decide which questions he’ll answer, so try to make them as creative as possible!  You can ask your question as a comment on this post, by emailing me (songsinblue AT gmail DOT com), or via twitter.

The last few months have been a love affair of eating whatever I feel like and creating a permanent impression of my ass on the couch cushion.  As a result, Matt has started using my tummy as a stress ball.  While it may actually feel kinda nice to have him roll his fingers through my fat, I’d much rather my stomach be used as a washboard.
 
For a couple weeks now, Matt and I have been doing something about our collective chubbiness.  We even have spreadsheets to track food/gym/goals.  On Sundays we come up with a meal plan for the week that includes a dish that we can spread over at least 3 meals, like soup or a casserole.  I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything which tends to happen when I only eat salads for weeks on end.  The only thing we’ve really changed is cutting out bad snacks and adding a lot more fruit and vegetables to each meal we have.  It’s still hard sometimes tho.  Like today, all I wanted were these little loopy fruity sour candies (descriptive, I know) so I tried to do a bunch of different things to curb the craving.  I tried eating yogurt but could only get through half of it, which seems to be happening a lot lately.  Then I tried drinking a bunch of water to get myself good and full, but it only made me have to go pee a million times.  Then I tried to distract myself by burying my head in work but ended up with a huge headache and I’m pretty sure the only thing that’ll make me feel better are those stupid loopy fruity sour candies, DAMMIT!
 
*ahem*
 
Besides that, the plan is working really well.  Pre-planning meals for the week saves us a lot of money and means cooking only has to be done once during the work week, which allows enough time to go to the gym without feeling too rushed.  I have 3 goal weights, the first is getting back to the weight I was when I first got here.  It’s only 10lbs (4.5kgs) less than my starting weight and I gave myself until the end of September to get there.  The 2nd is a further 10lbs by mid-november and then another 5ish lbs by Christmas.   It ends up being just under a pound a week and considering I’ve lost 5 in 2 weeks make me pretty confident I can reach my final goal – which happens to be a weight I haven’t been since I was 13. 
 
It is kinda hard to imagine being that small, as I’ve never been a skinny girl.  But it’s a healthy weight for my body type and that’s really the whole point.  I’m not too worried if I only get within 5lbs of it, I just want to be fit and feel better in my body than I currently do.  It helps a lot to have Matt doing a similar routine too – I doubt I’d have the motivation on my own.  Plus, a little healthy competition never hurt anyone.