Birthday Episode II : What Happened

I'm back again only two days after my last blog entry.


My birthday yesterday was definitely unlike any other birthday I'd ever had.



As I discussed, I tried really hard to not have any expectations and just enjoy Happy Tuesday.
It was my first birthday ever while being in a relationship with someone (which means Lyndon had planned to take me to a fancy restaurant for dinner).

Unfortunately, this was not to be.

Early in the morning, Lyndon went to the Emergency Room to try and get some pain relief for these abscesses that had been growing under his right arm. The people at the hospital told him he'd need surgery.


I woke up at 7:30am-ish to texts from Lyndon telling me that he would be getting surgery.
Naturally, I freaked out.

It sounded almost like a joke.

Surgery - on MY BIRTHDAY?!

Surely not!



But unfortunately a phone call from Lyndon confirmed that it was true.

I cried a lot.

I called my parents to ask my Dad about the procedure (he's a GP) and he basically told me that I should cancel all my plans for the day and go to Lyndon in the hospital.


I cried some more. Mostly because I was looking forward to spending time with Lyndon and now he was in the hospital. I wanted to be there for him but at the same time it was my special day and I wanted to spend it doing fun stuff with friends. Many conflicting emotions. More crying.

I ended up having the wonderful cooked breakfast made for me by my lovely flatmates and friends Joella and Xanda. It was delicious!

I then got dressed and ready to go see Lyndon in the hospital. I asked my cousin Emil to come with me and he said he would, so I waited for him to arrive.

Before Emil showed up, Lyndon informed me he was going in for the surgery.

I spent the morning wandering around town with Emil, I bought some dresses, which was fun. And Emil stumbled across a DVD sale at Marbecks so we spent some time looking at DVD's. He also bought me Creme Soda, my favourite drink in the whole world. It made me feel a bit better.


When Lyndon texted me telling me he was out of surgery Emil and I went to see him.


After a little while we went to my birthday lunch at Nando's where Floris, Huei, Xanda, Aimee and Emil all had lunch with me. I had a great time, but all the while I was still feeling quite upset about Lyndon being in the hospital.

Aimee made me a pumpkin pie, so after lunch we dropped it off at my flat and then I went to the hospital again.


I stayed with Lyndon for a while.

Once he had been discharged from hospital I got dropped off back at my flat. I cried some more.

By this time it was obvious Lyndon and I would not get to go out for the dinner I had been so excited about.
The reservation was cancelled.

I texted some friends, hoping that they would hang out with me around dinner time, and thankfully they came through for me.



After lying in the sun with Joella for a bit, she, Emil and I went down to Pita Pit where Dani, Chloe and Tim met us. Kim and James showed up a little while later.

We all got pitas for dinner and sat in the sun and ate them. It was nice.


After dinner I went to see Lyndon again and got my very own birthday cheesecake which was super sugary. I ate it.


Lyndon had made me a photo frame for my birthday, which I initially joked he was making me (If I was a builder I would make people photo frames for presents).


Overall, it wasn't a terrible day.



I really want to genuinely thank all the people that spent time with me.

Joella, Xanda, Emil, Chloe, Dani, Kim, Huei, Floris, James, Aimee and Tim.


My day wouldn't have been any fun without you, and you guys are the reason it wasn't the worst birthday ever.


I also want to thank everyone for their kind words and birthday wishes throughout the day, especially those that were praying for Lyndon to get better. It meant a lot and I really appreciated it.



Another birthday done for the year. Here's hoping your loved ones don't end up in hospital on your special day, but if they do, I hope you can make the most of it like I tried to do.


God bless you guys.



My day in pictures:

Birthday Pressure

Tomorrow is a big day for me.

At the same time, it is not a big day for me.

For some, it is an important day.

For most, it is just another day.

And for those people who happen to share their date of birth with me, it is meant to be a special day.



But it isn't always special.

And there's nothing in the Rules of the World that say it has to be special.


I've been thinking about it the past few days, and your birthday actually carries a lot of pressure.
At least for me it does.



It's meant to be this momentous occasion where everyone says nice things to you and gives you stuff.

But for someone else, it's just another day.

They don't care that it's your birthday, and that actually isn't a crime.


I know I don't always care when there is a person who I have lost touch with and Facebook tells me it's their birthday. I don't say anything. I'm busy with my own stuff.
For them, it's their special day.
But for me, its just a Thursday, or a Friday, or whatever day it is.


A friend of mine once told me that she often deletes her friends from Facebook on their birthday, based on the fact that if she doesn't want to wish them a happy birthday, they probably shouldn't be on her friends list. I can't say I disagree with her logic and have been guilty of deleting people on their birthdays as well.
Harsh I know, but sometimes it pops up and you're like: "Who the heck is this person?" *delete*.

I wouldn't hold it against anyone if they did the same thing to me.




My birthdays have always been equally the best and worst days of the year.


Their is a lot of EXPECTATION.

As a child, I had too many expectations.

Things never went the way I wanted them to.

People wouldn't wish me a happy birthday and I would feel dejected.

I wouldn't get any presents from anyone.

My mum would go out to a horse show and leave me alone at the house to cook dinner for the family.


There's just so much PRESSURE to have a good day.

Everyone who wishes you a happy birthday also tells you to have a good day.

It's hard to have a good day when no one really cares that it's your birthday - it's just another day.



The change in my perception on birthdays came last year when I turned 22.

I used to be the person that waltzed around telling everyone it was my birthday so they felt forced to notice me and say happy birthday to me. I would tell my brothers that it was MY RIGHT to get all these perks (like choosing what tv show we would watch/food we would eat/which seat in the car I got to sit in) because it was my birthday.

But last year I tried a different tactic. I didn't tell anyone it was my birthday. I just enjoyed the day, dubbing it "Happy Monday" and "Monday Martz Day", because my birthday was on a Monday that year.

Calling it "Happy Monday" relieved it of all the birthday pressure. I had a good day just because it was a good day. I surrounded myself with good friends and just enjoyed their company.
I didn't expect that much.
I took what I got.
I went with the flow of the day.

It was my best birthday ever.





Tomorrow is "Happy Tuesday". I am trying my best not to have too many expectations. On the one hand, it is my special day, but on the other, for many people, it is just a Tuesday and I can't expect them to care.
And that's okay.


I am looking forward to spending time with friends.

Aimee is making me a pumpkin pie, and Lyndon has been building something for me and my curiosity concerning that is in itself a bit of a present.
I don't know what to expect!

But whatever happens, I know that my birthday doesn't have to be the best day of the year.

It's just another day when I get a few more texts than usual and my Facebook wall has a little more activity.

I don't expect presents from anyone, but like I have said before, people are welcome to donate to my new guitar fund if they would like to get me a little somthin' somethin'. But don't feel obliged to at all.

I have enjoyed being 22.

A lot of awesome things happened.

And I'm sure I'll have a good day tomorrow, not just because it's my birthday, but because I have so many awesome people around me who make everyday a good day.








This is me at my 22nd birthday party hosted by my friends Chloe, Heidi, Olivia, Lily and Joe <3

My Boyfriend Isn't Whipped

Hi Blog,

I've got some time to kill before I make pizza for dinner so I thought I would take a stab at writing a blog post. Not sure how it's going to turn out but let's just see how we go.

The topic I have chosen for today is pretty self-explanatory.

I really don't believe that my boyfriend is whipped.

Before Lyndon came into my life, I was THAT PERSON who always made fun of the whipped boyfriends.

Growing up I mainly befriended guys, and eventually, they would get themselves girlfriends. I would then make it my mission to inform them if they were whipped. I didn't say if they were, I would just make the very loud whipping noise if they ever mentioned something that they had done/were going to do for their girlfriends.

Sometimes they would tell me how they had to leave to pick up their girlfriend from across town *whip noise* or they couldn't hang out with our friend group because they were hanging out with their girlfriend instead *whip noise* or maybe I'd be talking to my friend (whose a girl) about what she made her boyfriend do *whip noise*

I like using the whip noise, okay?!!?

But now that I am in a relationship, my whole perspective on what it means to be whipped has totally changed.

As I write this, I am racking my brain trying to think of who it was who was "the most whippiest of whipped guys I have ever met". I gave someone this title but now I can't even remember who it is...

DANG IT!

Maybe I'll ask around. Or maybe if you are reading this and you remember me saying this about someone, could you let me know who it is? Hahahaha. I usually have an excellent memory but I guess I didn't see any point to remembering this one little fact.

Looking at being whipped on a broader scale, I have been asking myself: What does it mean to be whipped?

As always, I like to look at the dictionary definition. And since 'whipped' is well and truly a colloquial expression, I have turned to my favourite website for word definitions: URBAN DICTIONARY.

The urban dictionary refers to 'whipped' as: being completely controlled by your girlfriend or boyfriend...in most cases a guy being completely controlled by his girlfriend.

Hmmm. So being whipped is all about CONTROL.

I do recall that with most of my guy friends, who were the chilled ones not the super intense ones in the relationship (like with Lyndon and me), they weren't exactly "controlled" by their girlfriends but they certainly did things to make them happy which made it SEEM like they were whipped.

But like I mentioned earlier, my perspective has changed.

The other night I was talking to some people about Lyndon being whipped.

I vehemently disagree with the claims that Lyndon is whipped, even though he agrees that he is (but he blatantly isn't) I'll explain why.

Here are two scenarios, one where the guy is whipped, the other where the guy is just being a loving boyfriend who is actually very thoughtful and should be praised for his actions not ridiculed.

SCENARIO 1:

Martz: My car is covered in bird poo it's soooooo gross

Lyndon: Oh true. 

Martz: Do you know of a carwash where I can take it to get washed? OH NO WAIT! YOU SHOULD TOTALLY WASH IT FOR ME? Can you wash it for me okay thanks Lyndon!

*runs off*

*runs back*

Martz: Oh and BY THE WAY if you could also take it for a WOF while you have it that would be just SUPER! Okay byeeeeeeee

*runs off again*

If Lyndon washes Martz' car and takes it for a WOF, he is pretty much whipped.

SCENARIO 2:

 Martz: My car is covered in bird poo it's soooooo gross

Lyndon: Oh true. 

Martz: Do you know of a carwash where I can take it to get washed?

Lyndon: Oh don't worry about that, I can wash it for you

Martz: Are you sure? That's so nice. I would really appreciate that.

*While Lyndon has the car he sneakily takes it for WOF without Martz knowing about it*

In this second situation, Lyndon is not whipped. Martz didn't even ask him to wash her car, he volunteered. He also took the car for a WOF without being asked.

HE IS NOT WHIPPED! HE IS A NICE PERSON!

If you didn't know already, Scenario 2 actually happened.

A friend from work described "whipped" as when a guy ditches his friends to hang out with his missus. I guess that makes sense.

I never want to be that person that asks Lyndon to ditch his friends for me, but there have been some times when he has preferred to come and hang out with me rather than his other friends. But again, I don't think this is him being whipped.

I genuinely like spending time with him because he is my best friend, I don't want to control him and make him spend time with me. If he doesn't want to then he doesn't have to, but I think if you asked him he would probably tell you the same thing I did.

Balancing your friends and your relationship is tricky, but I think what could help is having a better understanding of what it's like for both parties. I have been on both sides of the argument.

I have been the friend who gets ditched by the guy who is supposedly whipped, and I have also been the person who the guy who is supposedly whipped ditches his friends for.

I THINK the moral of the story is not to be too quick to judge people and thinking you know more about their relationship than you actually do.

I won't be going around making the whipped noise anymore, because I know how it feels when people call you or your significant other whipped when they aren't.

Lyndon likes to just go with it, he even tells people he is whipped.

But I stand by the fact that he isn't.

He's just a good guy.

Feel free to comment below on what your thoughts and opinions are on being whipped.

Thanks for reading! xx

Want vs. Need : My Dream of Minimalist Living

Greetings.

I have been thinking about this topic for a while now.

What does it mean to be a minimalist?

I'm SO intrigued by the concept.

According to the online Dictionary, a miniamlist refers to:

1. 1.

   a person who advocates or practises minimalism.
2. 2.

   a person advocating moderate reform in politics.

Obivously when I refer to minimalism I am in no way talking about politics.. hahaha...

Urban dictionary refers to a minimalist as:

• one who puts forth as little effort as possible

"I'm a minimalist, make your own example."

Hehe. 

Ever since I was young, I had a problem with having too much STUFF!!!!

There's just to much stuff you can have. I seemed to have more stuff than anyone else, which is probably not true, but maybe it was.. I did have a lot. My brothers had a lot of stuff too. So did all my friends.

I think it was just seen as totally normal.

I truly believe that we 100% live in a consumeristically-driven society.

It's not as if I have researched it, but I have been on this planet for almost 23 years and I can see the obsession with the NEW. People are made to believe they constantly need the next best thing.

Look at the Toothbrush market. We talked about that in my Media Studies classes at University.

A toothbrush is a toothbrush, but they are constantly bringing out newer and better models.

How?! Why?!

ITS A TOOTHBRUSH! YOU BRUSH YOUR TEETH! Yes, you are supposedly meant to replace them every 3 months. But I don't do that. I can't be bothered. My toothbrush can last ages. In 3 months its barely had a chance to be used to its full potential. But I digress.

There are things other than toothbrushes that people want to constantly replace.

Look at the obsession with cellphones. Every year there seems to be a newer and better model that people get their knickers in a twist over. A phone is a phone. If you have one, great. Don't just go out and get a new one every time it has some new functions. Your phone is perfectly good.

I had my dumb phone since I was in Second Year before I finally joined the Smartphone craze, and it was only because my phone couldn't survive without being charged for more than a few hours. It was impractical. I was worrying about dying in a ditch somewhere if I got into an accident and my phone died when I tried to ring for help. Seemed like the better choice just to get another one.

I don't intend on getting another phone til this one blows up. Should last me at least a few years.

I am so sick of having so much stuff. The consumerist culture makes me sick to my stomach.

I don't need all this stuff. I don't WANT it!

When people ask me what I want, I just say nothing.

There are obviously things I want, but its all stuff I'd have to buy myself.

A few examples are:

• A new handbag - mine is falling apart and looks TERRIBLE! But I am currently saving for a new guitar so the handbag will have to wait

• A new wallet - same as the handbag dilemma. My wallet gets constantly laughed at. Its hot pink and I've had it for almost ten years. Its looking a little worse for wear, but it still works so like the handbag, it can wait.

• A NEW GUITAR - this is a big one. I have wanted a new guitar for a very long time, but I've always told myself its not practical. I have a lot of things I need to pay for. 

There are my continual costs that go toward my car; petrol, oil, WOF, new tyres, etc.

A car is a bit of a money pit, but I need one.

I have my rent and food expenses, and I've also invested a lot of money in recording my first album.

This summer I am going to get physical copies of the album made and that's going to cost even MORE money.

It just never made sense to me to spend a lot of money on a new guitar.

But I REEEAAAALLY want one.

So I finally decided to bite the bullet and make my own 'Guitar Fund' bank account to slowly put a bit of money aside every paycheck and EVENTUALLY get my new guitar.

Its also a great way to satisfy those who insist on getting me presents.

Please donate to my New Guitar Fund!

Its pretty perfect.

EVERYONE WINS!

I don't expect to have enough to buy this new guitar for a while. And I do have Isabelle til then (Isabelle is my current guitar).

Don't get me wrong, I don't NEED  a new guitar, and I know that full well. But I want one.

I guess that's the difference between want and need.

I need to buy petrol, pay rent, etc. I don't need to buy a new guitar.

I also don't need to buy new clothes - so I haven't been.

I don't need to go to fancy restaurants to eat fancy food, so I don't.

There are a lot of things I don't need, so I do my best not to indulge in that stuff.

But I do want a new guitar.

You could say I NEED a new handbag but my one still works so I don't reckon ;-)

On a larger scale though, I don't need a lot of the STUFF I have accumulated in my life. I want to just sell/get rid of most of it. I don't want so much stuff.

When I get married and move into my own house, I don't want it to be full of stuff.

I want to be a MINIMALIST well and truly. The less stuff the better.

Only what you NEED.

No knickknack-y things, I have enough of those to fill a house. I want sleek and empty shelves, windowsills and tables. I don't want stuff everywhere. 

In my 5 years in Dunedin I have managed to accumulate boxes full of stuff. It makes me feel very frustrated and disappointed that I haven't adhered to my dream of being a minimalist. Its so difficult sometimes.

But I will keep working towards it.

Some people think that having more stuff will make them happier, I feel like the opposite is true for me.

The less I have, the more satisfied I will feel.

We don't need stuff to make us happy and fulfill us.

Some things are necessary.

Some things are just for fun.

And some things just aren't needed at all. 

A Constant State of Tiredness

Before I started writing this, I thought I'd try to find a picture of me being tired on Facebook.
I couldn't find anything.
I then realised that in almost every photo, I was tired, you just can't always tell.

So until I get Lyndon to send the photo he screenshotted of me TOTALLY EXHAUSTED at work that I initially sent to him via snapchat, this blog will have to remain photo-less.

Sorry about that.

I know photos make the blog more fun. I am a firm believer in that anyway.



I am tired all the time.

No, I don't have an iron deficiency.
I don't think its my diet, I eat a lot of iron.
It may be due to a lack of exercise but I'm on my feet all day at work so I don't think its that either.

I feel like I live in a constant state of tiredness.


Anyone who spends an extended period of time with me, such as my main man Lyndon, can vouch for this.
I am always tired.
And if I'm not tired initially, I will be by the time I've hung out with you for awhile.


I tend to be the most tired on my first day back at work, and also halfway through my days off.

I don't fully understand why I'm so tired all the time, but it has made my life a bit harder to live.



There are loads of things I would love to do, but I'm just too tired.

I want to play gigs
Write more songs
Hang out with more of my friends
Travel around Otago
Walk dogs at the SPCA
Volunteer to help more at church
Go running
Organise my room
Learn how to play more chords on the guitar
Visit friends I haven't seen in years


But I'm just too tired to do any of these things.



I'm tired on a Sunday because I always stay up too late on Saturday night and don't get enough sleep on a Sunday to make me function normally.
I'm tired on Monday because its my day off and my body is recovering from the week
I'm tired on Tuesday because its my first day back at work and my body finds it hard to get back into the swing of things
I'm tired on Wednesday because its my day off again and my body's like: WOAH WHAT HAPPENED?!
I'm tired on Thursday because I'm back at work again, and I have to once again get used to being on my feet all day
I'm tired on Friday because I am at work again and feeling a bit drained. Everyone's like: YEAH ITS THE WEEKEND! But you still have to work
I'm tired on Saturday because I'm working again and feeling really worn out from being on my feet all day and talking to people non-stop.

And the cycle continues.

I will admit that I'm not as tired as I used to be when I only had 2 days off as opposed to 3, but I'm still tired most of the time. It sucks :-(


I think a huge part of it is the fact I'm an introvert.
My job in the Cafe is super draining on me. By the time I get home from work the LAST THING I want to do is hang out with people (Lyndon not included). I would like to hang out with Lyndon any time of the day, but that's different.

Groups of people suck my energy away.

Hence, if you have invited me to stuff this year and I haven't gone, its because I have been too tired.

I am sorry about this.


I'm going to try really hard to be better next year.

At the moment my favourite thing to do after work is come home and watch TV shows on my Laptop alone in my room. I will, of course, let Lyndon watch with me sometimes, or I will go out and hang out with him, but that is as much as I can manage.



I guess I just felt I should explain why I suck so badly this year and have become a bit of a hermit.
I was telling my friend Natalie that my tiredness is hindering my life. I'm just too tired to do anything about it.
Ironic, isn't it? :-P



But anyway, thanks for reading.
And thanks for being accepting of my condition. I won't be at the Cafe forever, hopefully one days I won't have to live in a constant state of tiredness anymore. I'll also have you know I get about 9 hours sleep every night so its not as if I am not getting enough sleep. Its more likely I'm getting too much, but I can't really help that as I'm just too tired.


I FOUND THESE PHOTOS! Semi-relevant.

Stay classy xx

Playing With Fire : A Super SUPER Short Story

DISCLAIMER: Despite what you may believe, this is a work of fiction.
The reason I called it 'Playing With Fire' is because it deals with similar themes as the song of the same name.
Don't read too much into this ;)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We both lay there not saying anything.

I could see light from the moon streaming in through the cracks in the curtain, casting strange shadows on the posters on his wall.

The room felt cold, unwelcome.

I tried to listen for a sound, for anything to distract me from the feeling of guilt that blanketed me.

I heard him take a breath.

“This can’t happen again.”

He thought it was a mistake. I guess I agreed with him.

I must have thought it was a mistake too. 
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Despite what I lead everyone to believe, I never wanted anything to happen.

We had played a sort of strange cat and mouse game with each other for months. Leading each other on but never following through.

It had been fun for awhile. 

Tears welled up in my eyes. I didn’t want to look at him.

I hadn’t waited for an invitation. 
He didn’t ask for one. 
But as soon as it happened, we both knew it shouldn’t have. Something changed between us.

What was once an unspoken rule that “nothing was ever going to happen” had been broken. 
I guess I had broken it, but it was an accident.

I felt worse than he could have realised.

He must have thought this is what I wanted. He could have convinced anyone that I was the instigator in all of this. That's how it would look.

But I didn't want it. I never wanted it.

He wasn't the victim.

And I never pretended to be.
But I couldn't stand that he thought I was the one who started all this. 

We were both wrong.

Everything that happened between us up until this point was wrong.

“You’re going to regret this in the morning” I had told him, half-joking.

He told me that he already did.

The Road to Recording my First Album

Hello Blog!!



I have been very busy as of late so I had to set aside SPECIFIC TIME to write this!
It has been a long time coming.

I kept using the excuse that I didn't have any photos to accompany this blog post so I couldn't do it til I had some.
Well I got some, thanks to my good friend Aimee.
She's a star


Recording my very first album has been such a great experience. I have been learning a lot about my songwriting, what works, what doesn't, and also how my voice works. I never realised that I slid off the notes when I hold them too long. I also have a tendancy to write songs that require me to hold the notes for a long time. WHY DO I DO THIS?!?! I will try to avoid that in the future.
A really good example is in my song 'Stars'. Every other word is held for aaaaaaages. Sheesh. That one was a tricky one to record.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.


I will start at the beginning.



As most of you know, I released an EP this year in April. I recorded it in November last year and it was quite a rough time. I was still dealing with a lot of stuff and wasn't in a good place emotionally. I had to basically sing about stuff that was still very raw and impacting me in my daily life. YEUGH!!!!
If I could have NOT done that I think I would have found it a lot more enjoyable.
But nevertheless it was still a GROWING experience if nothing else.
During the time I was recording the EP, and then even later on, I wrote a bunch of new songs.
'Eveything I Wanted' and 'The Last Song' were written during the recording of the EP. They are now some of my all-time favourites (for now at least). I thought it was a shame they wouldn't make it on the EP.

When the EP came out this year in April, I had a Release Party and it was AWESOME! Even though I wasn't 100% psyched about the way the EP turned out, the Release Party was sooooo much fun! I got to perform the songs on the EP as well as some of my new material, including 'The Hard Road' which I finished writing that very week.

You can listen to and/or download for free and/or help me not be broke by paying for the song on my Bandcamp page: http://martinette.bandcamp.com/


After the Release Party I did a few gigs with my friend Chris but then all this other intense stuff happened and I started questioning my future in music.
Was this really what I was cut out for?
A lot of people told me that I shouldn't waste my time. I wasn't good enough at singing. Yes, I was a gifted songwriter, but my singing was not up to scratch (at least from what they heard on the EP).

Yowzer!

So I stopped doing the music thing for a little while.

OUT OF THE BLUE I get a message from this guy I know, Josh, who asked me if I was interested in working with his friends' new recording company type thing who were producing one free single for musicians. I of course said YES!

I met up with these guys, who called themselves Dancing Fox Media (and have since become Dancing Fox Studios), and played them 'The Hard Road' and 'The Last Song'. They said they were keen to work with me, so we got right to it.

Recording 'The Hard Road' was very different from recording my EP. The guys let me play guitar in the track and didn't make me use click (metronome). It was very organic and fun.
Even though I found the vocals tricky at times, they were very patient with me and encouraging so I didn't feel pressured or bad about myself.

By the time the song was done, it was sounding INCREDIBLE and I was keen to do more. So I signed on to do an album.

Over the next few months I went to their makeshift studio every Monday and recorded guitar and vocals for various songs I've written over the last five years.
I always left feeling good.

Even though Joe, the head-honcho producer, sometimes asks me to change the melody or the way I breathe in the song, it is usually for a good reason. I have been known to be a wee bit moody when tired and asked to sing that part of the song AGAIN because I slid off the note AGAIN, but on the whole the entire recording process has been tons of fun and an invaluable experience.

I feel like I have grown as a musician since working with Dancing Fox.
They are honestly such great guys.

It was also cool to have Aimee come along and take photos of one of our recording sessions.
She got to witness my sulky behaviour when Joe told me I had to change the way I sung the chorus of 'Maybe', and how I eventually gave in because I do actually trust his judgement, haha.


I also ended up playing to a click track for every song on the album EXCEPT 'The Hard Road' and 'The Last Song'. Joe said I'm actually really good at playing with click, I just psyche myself out when I can't do it at first.


When you finally get to listen to the album you'll hopefully notice that all the instruments have been recorded by various people, such as the Dancing Fox guys Joe, Andrew and Josh, and my good friend Christopher. My friend and flatmate Xanda even has an appearance on one of the tracks where she does some super cool BV's. Woooooo!!!


I'm super excited about the album. I won't give too much else away about it, except that it should be coming out before the end of the year on Bandcamp.
Seriously you should check out my Bandcamp page if you haven't done so yet.
http://martinette.bandcamp.com/


If you're in Dunedin you should also come see me play at Samstock. There is more info on the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/samstockfest

And you can keep up to date with what I'm up to with my music by liking my Artist page here: https://www.facebook.com/martinettemusic



Okay I'm done. Hopefully you've enjoyed my rambling. Here are some photos that Aimee took. I added captions ^_^

Joe setting up the mic, yo!

 

Joe and me practicising the new instrumental strum for 'Maybe'!

Jamming with the click

Standard Martz 'Not Sure' Face.

Singin' my wee heart out

The look I give Joe when he suggests a change

Who I sang my entire album to: the boys from The Strokes and Kings of Leon

If you are interested in working with or getting more info on Dancing Fox Studios visit their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/dancingfoxstudios?fref=ts




Thanks for reading :)

Facebook Friend Culling

Hello blog,

I am home sick from work today, so while I sit here in my bed with a box of tissues and my waterbottle close at hand, I thought I'd share with you my plan for today.

It VERY recently occurred to me that I should probably think about deleting some of my Facebook friends.

I never thought I'd be that person.

That person who deletes you off their friend list without even telling you.


But I think I understand it now.
I'm 22 years old and I have people on my Facebook who I haven't talked to in 5 years!!!!

That is quite a long time.

That's more than my entire time at University.



I've had to ask myself, why this obsession with having more Facebook friends than other people?
I tried to justify it to myself by saying it'll help my music.
But to be honest, the people I haven't talked to in 5 years have no interest in my music.
Keeping them around isn't even helping that cause.

My other reason was because it made me feel better about myself, which in itself is quite sad.


I have 810 Facebook friends.
There is NO WAY I am actually friends with that many people.

2013 has been a year of change for me. A year of growth. Of development.
I am sorting out my life. I am learning how to manage the experiences that have shaped me.
I am coming to terms with who I am.
This year has been detrimental to me. I am very glad I have had the opportunity to look at my life introspectively and learn what makes me tick.

I feel like part of the growth for this year means that I need to do some Facebook friend culling.
I feel very iffy about it. I really don't want to be that person who deletes people off their Facebook.

But I have to. It will be something positive.

It means I'll be letting go of that idea that my number of Facebook friends equals how important I am.

Its realising that it is simply impossible to have 810 friends.


Friendships are so important to me, and in order to maintain the friendships that actually matter, you have to let go of those that don't.



I read these interesting articles on Facebook Friend Culling:
http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Discerning-With-Your-Facebook-Friends

http://www.howstuffworks.com/internet/tips/how-to-cull-facebook-friends-list.htm



And there's even an app on Facebook which makes it easier:
https://www.facebook.com/appcenter/friend-cull



According to the FriendCull app, I have 443 Silent Friends (who don't seem to use Facebook)
126 Most Cullable Friends who I have little to NO interaction with
22 Least Cullable Friends, who I have a lot of interaction with. People like Aimee (who's my TOP FRIEND hehe), Lyndon, Chloe, Joella etc.
and 188 Middle Friends, who I have some interaction with.

Do you see your picture in there??????




At any rate, my eyes have truly been opened.

I don't know how I have justified having so many Facebook friends for this long. ESPECIALLY since I am so open with sharing information about myself. I guess that comes from being a songwriter and just being all: BLAAAAAH THESE ARE MY EMOTIONS. YOU CAN LOOK AT THEM IF YOU WANT.




Now the question stands, how many people do I cull?
Those who don't care about my culling will be the easiest. People I haven't talked to in 5 odd years.
But what about the people who have some sort of idea that we are still friends even though we aren't?
Hmmmmmmm.




I guess I'll just start small and see how I go.

I encourage you, dearest blog reader, to try the FaceCull app for yourself and see what it says.

It may surprise you.


My friend Katie P once told me that you either have EVERYONE YOU'VE EVER MET as Facebook Friends, or you only have your actual friends as Facebook Friends. Its either one or the other. And I think she's totally right.
She has since deactivated her Facebook account.


I'm going to go now. By tonight, I would have completed my Facebook Friend Cull, so if we are still friends, it means I consider you a real-life friend or at least a very good acquaintance.


Thanks for reading my blog. I hope I have inspired you to look at your own Friends List and maybe do some spring-cleaning of your own.

X

Life's A Funny Thing

I haven't written in awhile.
Sorry about that.

This morning everything was normal. I checked my phone to see what time it was, as I usually do.
I had a text from my mum telling me that my grandma has died and to let her know when I was awake so she could call.

So I called her and she explained what happened. She told me I didn't have to come to the funeral. I said I wouldn't be going.

But then I thought about it and decided that I'd better. If not for me then for my mother. She just lost her own mum and I wanted to be there for her.

So now I'm sitting in Wellington airport with Christian from SouthLife,  who I haven't talked to in months.

Life is so funny sometimes.

This morning was just another morning, yet life will be dramatically different from now on.

How To Not Suck At A Cafe

So, as most of you would be aware, I work at a cafe, and have been for the last four or five months.

Working in the hospitality industry has opened my eyes to SO MANY NEW AND WONDERFUL THINGS!!!!
I have wanted to write about this for soooooo long but I just never had a chance to.

So I'm doing it now.

Here goes.



I have compiled a few do's and don'ts for EVERYONE who frequents cafes. Since most people will visit a cafe at least one in a blue moon, THIS BLOG POST IS FOR EVERYONE!
And I hope you will not read it and do the opposite of what I am saying, because that is just childish and silly. And I can promise you that the cafe staff will be stabbing you in their minds.




First off.
Some of the most ANNOYING THINGS EVER for cafe staff to have to deal with are the following:




1. Full water glasses/cups left on tables
Whhhhyyyyyy?!?!?!?! You got the water, can you please please PLEASE just drink it???? I understand if you misjudged the level of water you poured yourself, but WHY do you have to leave a FULL GLASS OF WATER ON THE TABLE?!

Now I have to make multiple trips to take all of your flippin' glasses to the kitchen. You could have at least tried to drink some of it. Water is good for you, and no one really drinks enough of it. So before you get up and leave your filthy table covered in dishes, could you just drink the water in the glass?
Thanks, hun.






2. Chairs that are pushed out half a mile from the table
I know you're in a rush to leave the cafe, clearly, but you have two seconds to push the chair in under the table don't you? Oh, you don't? And you'd rather just get up and leave the chair out in the middle of the gaps between the tables causing a very dangerous hazard for people trying to carry their arms full of dishes back to the kitchen? It is very much appreciated.
PUSH IN YOUR FLIPPIN' CHAIRS PLEASE! Its common courtesy.






3. People who sit on dirty tables when there are a billion clean tables to choose from.
Honestly, why? Just PLEASE tell me what reason you have for possibly doing this?????? I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!!
You realise I didn't have a chance to wipe down that table yet, WHY ARE YOU SITTING AT IT?!?!?!
Oh, you're going to complain to me now about the table being dirty? That is just fantastic <3
I won't point out all the sparkly clean tables around you that you could have sat at instead, because you're the customer and you're always right.






4. People who buy something and then don't eat it.
The amount of wasted food in the cafe is absolutely disgusting.
What happened to the whole " there are starving kids in Africa so finish your meal"?
I understand if you eat the majority of the food and then you leave a little because its just too much food, but you barely touched your Pasta/Burger/Fries/Slice/Muffin/Sandwich.
You can always ask us for a takeaway container or bag if you can't finish it. You paid for it. Why do you want to just throw your money away?
I don't understand.
If the food is terrible you should tell us.





5. People who let their kids create a gigantic, disgusting mess and don't even bother to try and contain it.
They are your kids, you could at least try to help us keep the place at least minimally tidy. Kids are unbelievably messy. Letting them pour their fluffy's all over the table is really unhelpful. We have napkins at your disposal. You could at least TRY to clean up after them a bit. I know its our job to clean up after you but have a little consideration for the poor cafe staff that are constantly cleaning up after people's kids.






6. People getting mad at slow food/coffee deliveries when the cafe is insanely busy.
If you wanted your food and coffee in 3 minutes, you should have gone to McDonald's. There is only so much we can do in the time that we have. We are trying out best. Please don't yell at us because its not our fault and we're doing the best that we can :(





That's all I can think of at the moment. I will more than likely add to this list.
Thanks for reading and I hope it has opened your eyes a wee bit :)


LOTS OF LOVE FROM ME! <3


(I'm not always this rant-y. It has been a super long day and I NEED A DAY OFF)

I Don't Like Chocolate

Ello blog,

I felt compelled to write this. I wanted to, but wasn't sure. Then my flatmate Katie said I should definitely do it, so now I am.
I am listening to some awesome praise music while I'm writing this so there is a chance I will get distracted and not make proper sentence structures. I am also sitting in the living room while Katie makes her dinner, so there is also that contributing factor to me potentially not making any sense.

Is it rude of me to write this while I'm in a room with her? She probably wouldn't think so. Well she told me to write this so I'd say no.




So, chocolate.

Girls go crazy over the stuff.

Most of my friends, Joella especially, are clear examples of this.

If she gets given chocolate, it is demolished in a matter of minutes, or collection of minutes, depending on the size. Off the top of my head I know that Chloe is the same.
Goodbye chocolate, it was nice knowing you.




This is NOT the case with me.

People give me chocolate, four months later, it is still sitting on my desk, unopened.

I don't want to eat it.
I don't feel like eating it, ever.
If I end up eating it, its only because I figure I ought to. Like the chocolate would feel bad if I didn't eat it after four months of it just sitting there.




Chocolate is also a great gift idea, I'm sure you know this.

People give me chocolate as a present.

I don't eat it.

Well, that's not true. Sometimes I'll have one piece every few days, if its expensive chocolate, like those Belgian ones. Or Ferrero Rocher.



If its a slab of chocolate (like the Black Forest one sitting in my flat's treat cupboard for the past two months) it will not be consumed.



I buy chocolate, thinking I will want it as a nice treat sometime, and then that time never comes.

I don't like chocolate.

At all.

Its average.

How are people so obsessed with it??????

Sometimes I accept people's offers of chocolate because I just want to fit in and be like everyone else. But if I'm being honest, I don't really want it.



Last year I used to give all my chocolate to my friend Matt because I didn't want it.

I still don't want the chocolate I somehow obtain. Seriously, who wants it? Because I don't. SO MANY CHOCOLATES IN MY ROOM THAT I WILL TAKE A WHOLE YEAR TO EAT!!!




I will be frank, there are certain TIMES OF THE MONTH when I do crave a bit of the ol' chocolate, but these moments are few and far between. I realise now its not enough to warrant a trip to the supermarket. One time I wanted Tim Tam slams SO BADLY that I went out and got some. But this has only happened once.

That packet of Tim Tam's still has a singular Tim Tam waiting to be consumed. I had the pack with only two biscuits removed sitting in my bedside table for many months. I slowly made my way through the packet over the last month. Slamming three Tim Tams at a time. But the last one has been in there for a while. And I don't want to eat it.





Its like the Black Forest that I had offered to people back in.. March? We ate the first two rows while watching a movie, then I put it away and never had any more of it.

I don't want it.


I guess you are getting the picture.

Martz does not like chocolate.

I tell people this and they still buy it for me.

They forget I am a rare breed of girl that does not enjoy chocolate... / a rare breed of human.

I must be very strange to not like the stuff.







You must understand that I do not have a sweet tooth.
I have a salty one.

Put a hunk of biltong in front of me, a piece of soy-drenched sushi or another savoury treat of some description and I will surely devour it.

That's why I eat all the chips, you see.
Because I don't want to eat the chocolate.

I should have named this blog "The Girl That Doesn't Eat Chocolate", maybe people would give it to me less then.




But anyway, its still nice that people want to give me presents so I'm thankful. But please, if you can help it, don't insult me by offering chocolate to me. Instead, why don't you help me out and take the chocolate off my hands?? :)

Because I don't want it.

Like, actually.




When I finally get married one day, I hope my husband will never buy me chocolate.
Instead, he can give me a box of savouries. I prefer the spring rolls to the samosas, but both will do.

Chocolate I will never eat

Tell me, do you feel like eating chocolate now after seeing all those pictures of chocolate? Because I don't ;)

University And What I Never Told You

Hi everyone!

It feels like its been awhile since my last post but it probably hasn't...

I'm back in Kaitaia for a few more days so I thought I would finally write my POST-GRADUATION BLOG ENTRY!!! It has been brewing in my mind ever since the auspicious occasion, some ten days ago.

So yes. Here it is. The picture above, taken by the lovely Aimee Storm, features my parents and me in front of the famous Otago University clocktower. It is essential for every Otago Uni graduate to get a photo in front of it, so I did. Even though I find it extremely cliche and overdone, I relented in following this trend.

My four years at University were some of my best.

I wouldn't say they were the best years of my life, because that is super depressing considering they are now over, but they were definitely essential.

Before going to Uni I was extremely ... what's the best word to describe it... pathetic?

I would refuse to walk anywhere by myself. I had never driven a long distance or flown on a plane by myself. I HATED talking on the telephone and actually cried before my Mum forced me to call the StudyLink people a few months before I moved to Dunedin.

I was still very much a child.

As for the singing, well, I could barely manage to sing above a whisper. I was quite happy to sing along to songs in the car, but if you asked me to sing without music or along with a guitar, I found it EXTREMELY difficult. I refused to sing in front of strangers.

My secondary school did not adequately prepare me for the workload of Uni, but I seemed to manage.

At the beginning of my first year I used to do ALL my readings. I thought that's what you did at University. You took it seriously.

I quickly realised that you didn't need to do the readings to pass. Especially not with Film and Media Studies. A lot of the things I was reading about were never even mentioned in class.

HOW WAS THIS RELEVANT?!?!

I spent so many hours learning about the history of the media, how newspapers were invented and changed over time, bla bla bla (I forgot everything now, clearly). But the moral of the story was: I didn't have to do my readings. So I stopped. And I only did them if I specifically had to for an assignment.

Uni got a lot more fun at that point.

Most of you have heard tidbits of my drinking escapades. Its no secret I drank too much in my first year and the first half of my second year, but I still did alright in my studies.

I still wasn't doing all my readings and I could easily maintain a B+ average.

My proudest moment in my first year was when I wrote an essay on a film I had never watched.

I got an A.

It was things like that which made it seem like I didn't have to try that hard.

I probably should have, but I didn't.

This carried on through my second and third years. I did still try, don't get me wrong. And I studied hard. I always did my assignments and the readings necessary for them, but I tried to do the minimal amount that I could. Only because I knew that I could do it and still get good marks.

I NEVER handed an assignment in late.

I also NEVER pulled an all-nighter.

I also NEVER failed a paper.

I also NEVER got lower than a B- for a paper.

So, as you can see, I was still trying. I could have tried harder, but I didn't want to.

As a film student, I was required to watch, usually, four films a week (ones that they gave you on a list).

But I didn't always do that.

To this day there were films that I was interested to watch, that I was SUPPOSED TO WATCH, that I didn't.

And I would reference them and write about them as if I had watched them, but I never did.

This is probably making me look really bad...

I'm not trying to condone lying. I guess what I am trying to point out in this blog is that it is possible to get by pretending like you know what you're talking about, but you have to be careful.

I would have preferred if I had done all the work, but I just really couldn't be bothered.

Everything changed in Fourth Year.

All my previous techniques were no longer valid.

I HAD to do all my readings.

I HAD to watch every single movie.

The bare minimum was no longer enough to get me through.

WHAT A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM!

The reason fourth year was so hard was because I wasn't used to doing all the work that I now had to do.

As most of you would know, I struggled BIG TIME! But in the end I did the best that I could.

And maybe it wasn't good enough, but I tried.

I guess it shows that I got what I deserved in the end.

My dad likes to tell me that coming to University was a waste. But I think that is a straight-up lie.

I have met my best friends for life at Uni. I really believe that.

People like Briar, and Joella, and countless others, who never fail to be there for me when I really need them.

I wouldn't have met them if I didn't come to Dunedin.

I also never would have gotten the confidence to start writing the music that I'm writing now, or even sing in front of people.

And I wouldn't be that crazy ex-film student who has something to say about almost every film, and why or why not it works in terms of its character-development and use of motifs.

So thanks Otago University.

I know I was a questionable half-assed student at times, but I tried my best in the end.

And that's all you can ask for.

I have my shiny degree now, and even though I have divulged all my secrets, you can't take it away from me.

:) x