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Why do I always end up getting the urge to blog when I should be starting to go to sleep?

Anyway, I'm back home. Being in Wellington for so long was great, but with uni having started back up last week I really need to get into a decent study routine. I'm freaking out a tiny bit about how huge of a work load I have this semester, but I'm sure I'll be fine. The upside is that I'm pretty much done with intro courses and am actually doing interesting papers now. One particular topic I've been reading about today that I've found interesting is how a book becomes a classic. Does a specific group decide what books are or are not classics, or is it more of an overall societal thing? Actually, sounds kinda boring just mentioning it in passing, but it really is an interesting subject to delve into... no, seriously. I'd go into more detail, but I probably shouldn't until after my essay on the matter is graded. Don't wanna get into trouble for plagiarizing myself. Wouldn't that be a sad way to get into trouble at uni.

As for how things were in Wellington, I think the uncontested highlight was seeing Steve Vai live. I honestly wasn't particularly into him before I saw the concert, but I was perfectly happy to go as I understood he's a brilliant guitarist. I think I have a new obsession. Yes, his live shows are still far superior to his studio work, but damn he's amazing. A wonderful melding of jazz and hard rock while constantly playing insanely godlike guitar. I really hope I get to see him live again some time. Along with his amazing guitar skills, I also really appreciated how he dealt with his band. A lot of "solo acts" have a tendency to just kind of ignore their band and make sure all the focus is on the "act". While Vai was the undisputed centre of attention, he still really acknowledged his band and gave each member a lot of room to shine. I respect the fact that he doesn't let his ego (and he kinda deserves to have a massive one) get in the way of letting other people display their talent.

The highlight of getting back home is definitely seeing Laura again. 17 days without her is far too long, regardless of how much we both enjoyed being where we were. Seeing my cat, Odie, is great too. I suspected he might be grumpy with me, as many cats are after their owners return on holiday. Nope. He hung out outside for a few hours (couldn't when he was staying with our friends, didn't want him to run away) and after that he's barely left my side.

That's it for personal update right now, I'll make my next post a (hopefully) more interesting "This is what I think about x" sorta post.

Wellington Again (A blog post in which I ramble)

I've ended up in Wellington again, which really is a great thing. Laura is away for a couple of weeks so Mum asked if I wanted to come up if she paid for tickets. How could I say no? The weather here is so much nicer than Invercargill, even in the middle of winter. That said, I do miss Laura and the cat. But oh well. It's been great hanging out with Mum and my brothers, especially with everything that's going on at the moment.

I've also taken on some summer school classes with uni. Creative Processes, and Western Philosophy. Because of this, I've worked out that I might actually finish my degree in two years rather than three, which would be pretty freaking awesome. I am going to the US for part of the NZ summer, but because I do everything via correspondence anyway it doesn't really make much of a difference. I doubt either course will be all that time consuming.

Gotta say, I can't believe that I'll be 21 in a few days. It's not really that big of a deal in New Zealand any more, as you can do pretty much anything that's legal at 18, but it still does seem to be a bit of a deal here and just feels funny that I will be. Mum is going to be cooking food at her place and we'll just hang out there, it should be quite fun. I've also been given tickets to a Steve Vai concert, which should be pretty awesome. I can't say I listen to him all that much, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing him live. Definitely one of those guys who is better on stage than in studio.