Angela's Antics!

Talofa Lava everyone

Well It's been a busy few weeks what with heading home for Christmas, galavanting around New Zealand seeing everyone, back to Samoa for a week and off to Sydney for the Information Online Conference. I'm back in Samoa for a rest now! It's taken me 2 weeks to catch up with myself and get time to write on the blog. It's now Friday night and it's the finals of the 7's in Wellington so I'm quickly fitting in a spare moment before my lift home arrives and I'll have to be going as after all there is 7's to be watching! Go the Kiwis. Wasn't it a great win over the Aussies last night?!

Well I see Adam has given you his account of Christmas! He has covered most of it really. I just wanted to say that it was a fabulous time at home. So many shops, so much food (particularly strawberries which we don't get here and apricots and nectarines .... the list goes on) and so much good company. We enjoyed a week up in Auckland when we arrived being treated to Latika's culinary delights which included some potent maitai's and margaritta's that has to be tested. My favourite had to be the Ocean Breeze though with Blue Curacaeo. A Samoan tradition - or one that we created during Latika and Hedley's visit here at Happy Hour.

It was fabulous to meet up with the girls I originally did library training with back in the early 1990's. We have kept in touch all this time so had a mini reunion at Mission Bay the day after I arrived in Auckland. It was great to see everyone, catch up with the latest gossip and see all the children!

Also fab to see Derek and Richard at the pub in New Market. Photos on Flickr by the way.

After spending Christmas in Auckland with both families we heading down to Wellington for a week. Caught up with Barbara and Malcolm and the new addition to the family - Olivia. What a gorgeous wee thing and I mean wee. So tiny but I bet she has been growing fast since we left. Got to take some great photos of Kapiti Island while there testing out my new camera and saw Nana while in Wellington. Had a few outings with Mum and Dad around shopping for everything on my list that we needed to take back to Samoa. I must say even I was shopped out in the end.

Sooooooo after 3 weeks in NZ we came back to Samoa before I headed to Sydney for yet another busy time of Conference and meeting people. My Japanese friend Yuki came up from Canberra for a couple of days so we enjoyed Japanese lunch, afternoon tea (at the Japanese cake shop) and dinner. I am now well educated in where to go in Sydney for a great meal. Once Yuki left it was time for the Information Online conference. I caught up with Coral and Donna who I used to work with at UCOL and we had a great 3 days at the conference. No light bulbs went on with the presentations this time round but I found the Exhibition hall very useful so now have many new contacts for Agricultural resources. The mission for the conference was to see how many free pens I could collect to bring back to Samoa - as they seem to be like hens teeth here and disappear from under your nose within seconds! With the help of my friends I think we collected about 150 - problem was I had to carry them back in my suitcase!

Once the conference ended my brother came down from Brisbane to stay for a couple of nights and we "did" sydney. Well we did a lot of talking about everything and some visiting of his friends etc which we haven't been able to do for years as we have been in different countries. I had to remind him numerous times that I walk at "Samoan Pace" these days and to stop frog marching me around Sydney at top speed!

Well that's got me about up to date so byeee for now. The weekend is here so Yippee. Might get out with my new camera and it's new underwater case to test it out. I buggered the old one up taking it underwater but now I might even be able to make you some fish videos - I hear you groan.

Speak soon
Tofa soifua