Why I'm Weird

The last time I wrote a blog entry with my phone the whole thing got deleted. . So figure me if I'm a bit scared.

Must press "Save" constantly to stop this from happening.

So anyway.

This year I'm trying to write at least one entry per month. And while I ashtray wrote TWO entries in my other blog this month, the chip eating girl is get to get a little sum'n sum'n this June.
So here goes nothing.

Don't forget to press "Save".
Okay good.

This won't be very long, purely because writing this on my phone is terrifying.
But I'd like to quickly outline to you why I choose to live my life being a weirdo.

Before I do though, I will first outline the ways in which I'm a weirdo.

- I enjoy accents: I put accents on ALL THE TIME.
I've noticed that if you say something in an accent it's much easier to come across not as a jackass.
For example: If you have to say something that's a bit uncomfortable or harsh, and you say it in a funny accent, people are much more likely to not get offended or hurt, and instead be amused by your weirdness while still taking in what you just told them.

There are few people who do this, but I always find it hilarious and really appreciate it when I do come across it.



- Whistling: I can't really whistle.
Like actually.
I suck at it.
But I still try.
And I do it ALL DAY LONG!
I used to not be able to whistle at all, but since I TRY to do it so often I have reached a level of mild mediocrity.



Facial expressions: If you've spent any time with me you'd know that most of the time I resemble a cartoon character.
I pull my face into a variety of different expressions, causing unwanted lines and wrinkles to regularly become more and more etched into my skin.
I can't help it though.
You can tell what I'm thinking because it can plainly be seen on my face.
This is sometimes frustrating for me but I actually can't stop.
Am I grossed out? You'll be able to tell.
Am I angry?  You'll be able to tell.
Am I trying to be subtle but in reality I'm being the most obvious I've ever been in my life? Yes you can tell that too.
Thanks,  face!



Random noises/body movements: Sometimes I sing what I'm doing (ask Lyndon. It took him awhile to get used to this but I think he sees the funny/cute side of it now).
I might just repeat one word over if i think it's particularly interesting or funny.
I also do weird little dances resembling ballet and something interpretational.
At work I often hum songs to myself as I clear tables, loud enough for people to hear, or just sing a song with only the word "La" in it.



The reason for all of this???

Because if I didn't live my life like this, it just wouldn't be as fun.

Things are a lot happier when you are enjoying yourself, and being weird is enjoyable to me.

I could probably try to stop being so weird, but what's the point?


Growing up, people would tell me I was weird, as if they were insulting me.
I'd just smile and agree with them


Because it's true.


I am weird.


And you know what?


I choose to embrace it.

A Life Introverted

Some of you may know, I am an introvert.

And for those who don't know me that well, I often get told: "YOU CAN'T BE AN INTROVERT! YOU ARE LOUD AND CRAZY!"


But the truth is, folks, I am.

You know how I know this?

Because I am exhausted.



It is often said that the way you know if you are introverted or extroverted is by looking at the manner in which you "recharge".
And by "recharge" I mean the way that your "battery gets filled up".
Hahaha.
So unhelpful.
What I mean is, you look at the way that you get energized from being tired.





Extroverts recharge by being around people.





My bf Joella is an extrovert.
If she is alone for too long she gets really lonely and has FOMO (fear of missing out) and goes out to find people to hang out with. In recent years she has become content with keeping company with characters in TV shows and movies, but she'd always prefer the real thing.
She thrives in public gatherings, parties and such, and can usually stay up talking with friends for many many hours.

My fiance is also an extrovert, and all the criteria I spoke of above also applies to him.





I, on the other hand, do not have these characteristics.





If I am around people too long, I get very very tired and crabby.
When I am in a social situation, I exert a LOT of energy being the "Loud and Crazy" person everybody knows me to be.
After a prolonged period of this, I am spent.
I need to be alone. To recharge.

Any introverts will relate with this.

Being around people all day is not my idea of a good time.
I dislike crowds and being around people I don't know for extended periods.
I can't handle the small talk. It exhausts me.

This weekend has been a perfect example of my introvertedness shining through.

I got up at 8am today and met with some friends. It was a lot of fun and I immensely enjoyed it.
Then the fiance and I went to church. We chatted with some people afterwards.
We then went on to have brunch with another two friends.
By the end of this, I was spent.
My fiance had another social engagement with even more friends, but I couldn't bare to go.
Not because I didn't want to.

I was just  T O O   T I R E D.


After a few hours by myself, my "batteries were recharged" and I was feeling back to normal again.


I'm sure extroverts reading this will be like "What in the world??!!? I don't understand!!!!"

But that's kind of what's nice I suppose. People are different and that's what makes life interesting.
And exciting. And fun.



For me, life is fun as long as my batteries are recharged and I eventually get my alone time.


It's also lucky that my fiance doesn't drain my batteries the way large groups of people do.







Being an introvert working in hospitality can be quite tricky as well.
I wrote a blog about how tired I am all the time.

A huge contributing factor to my tiredness is the fact that I am an introvert working in an extroverts world.
Being around people all day at the cafe drains me like nobody's business.
By the end of the day, I am beyond knackered, and the thought of having to hang out with even more people can sometimes be unbearable.

That's why I can be a little elusive and hard to get a hold of at times.


It's just a situational thing.



I'm sure one day I'll get a better handle on my introvertness.

As for now, I just gotta make the most of what I can, and hang out with as many people as I can while my batteries are still at full capacity.



I guess the purpose of this entry is to give people an idea of what it's like to be an introvert.

It's not always as easy for people to understand as you'd think.



I am super happy being alone reading a book, watching a movie or playing a guitar.


My idea of a dream weekend (before I had a boyfriend) was spending the entire time all by myself.
WHAT LUXURY!

Things are a bit different now, but that's okay.


I think it's important that we don't give introverts a hard time and just let them have their "recharge time"
It is actually really critical for them, trust me, I know.





Cheers for reading my blog!


Until next time -
Take it easy x

My Green Obsession

I don't often write about anything I care a great deal about.

But today, I am going to.

If you are here, reading this, then thank you.
It actually means A LOT!!!!

I've always longed to have a voice. To have people listen to me. It probably comes with being the middle child.
Pretty classic.


So I want you to listen to what I have to say.
REALLY listen.

I want you to read it and then think about what it means to you.

This earth we live on, it isn't in the best shape.

We all know this.

We hear about it in the news.

People often tell you how we have to take better care of the earth and stop driving cars etc etc etc.

And you might act like you care.




But then you don't really care that much.






You don't care enough to change anything.







I know how easy it is to live your life and not think about the consequences that our actions are having.






Growing up my mother taught me the importance of recycling. She didn't have to tell me to picture the amount of waste that is piling up in our towns and cities' landfills. I did that on my own.
Purely based on the black rubbish bags we would take to the recycling station in my hometown of Kaitaia, I could gauge how many black bags from my town alone was being dumped in the ground every week.
The thought made me sick.
Then I pictured how many of these black bags were being put in landfills across the country, AND THE WORLD!!!!!
It actually upset me so much that I couldn't even think about it.



In my mind, the only thing that could make a difference was recycling.
Instead of throwing paper, plastic bottles and containers, cardboard boxes, tin cans, newspapers and magazines into those black rubbish bags, you could choose to recycle them.

And recycling them meant that less of those awful black bags would be put into the earth.


So I made it my mission from that day on. I can't even remember how old I was when I became like this.
5? 6? Maybe 8? I don't know. I was young.

And I became obsessed with recycling.



Today I am 23 and I am still obsessed with recycling.
And I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DON'T RECYCLE!

It makes me so angry and sad and heartbroken.

Every flat I've ever been in I have gotten bent out of shape about my flatmates not recycling.
It just doesn't make sense to me.

I have become accustomed to picking recyclable items out of people's rubbish bins and recycling them.
To this day I do it.
I do it at the cafe where I work.

It's totally normal for me now.

If I feel comfortable enough with you I will give you a speech about the importance of recycling and ask you why you don't do it.

But even that doesn't always work. Or ever work.



I guess my question is:
Why Don't You Care????



Does not recycling make you better than me?

Surely not.


So my next order of business is to implore to you:
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CONSIDER RECYCLING.


It's not actually that difficult.

The following things are household products that you would normally throw in your rubbish bin.

• Cardboard food/drink boxes (for cereals, muesli bars, crackers, juices etc. Also toothpaste boxes)
• Paper. This one is self explanatory. Any kind of paper can be recycled. It breaks my heart when people throw years of University notes in the rubbish bin. RECYCLE THEM! PLEEEEEASE!!!!
• Plastic bottles. Including shampoo/conditioner, water and drink bottles
• Tins
• Glass jars

You would normally throw this stuff in the bin. I am asking you, as a fellow human being, not to.
Put it in your recycling bin instead.

Some of these items need to be rinsed before they are recycled. I know it might seem like a lot of effort but it really is worth it. Think about how much good you are doing for the earth.


I stole this from a town in Arizona's recycle plan, but it still counts for us.

If your city/town does not have recycling bins then that is totally unacceptable and you should start a petition to your local council to get them. This is the 21st century and we should all have access to recycling facilities. If you are too lazy to start a petition then let me know and I will try to start one for you.
But you shouldn't be too lazy. YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT THIS.

Here in New Zealand recycling is pretty prevalent so local authorities should take note of this.

My mother told me a little while ago that my hometown of Kaitaia is one of the top recycling towns in all New Zealand. This makes me proud to be from Kaitaia. I don't usually have many good things to say about Kaitaia, but they do care about recycling, and that makes me sooooo happy.



Businesses today are also become more savvy when it comes to recycling...
So Why Aren't You????

Anyway, that's everything I wanted to say.

I will leave you with one more story.

Last year when I moved into my flat on Agnew Street, there was no recycling bin.

Most people would have seen this and shrugged. "Meh, oh well!" and proceeded to throw all their milk bottles, cardboard boxes and plastic containers in their bins.

BUT NOT ME!

I contacted the Dunedin City Council about getting a new recycle bin.

They told me it was up to the Landlord.

So I phoned the Landlord and begged for a recycle bin.

In the meantime, recyclable items were piling up. I kept them in a large cardboard box and would scatter them in the neighbours recycling bins in the dead of night.

I called myself an Eco-Ninja.

Because the Landlord wasn't getting us a new recycling bin right away (we all know what they're like), recyclables kept piling up.

My flatmate told me she'd had enough and she was going to throw it all away.

She put all the recyclables in two black rubbish bags.

I couldn't let this happen! I HAD TO ACT NOW!

So I took these black bags and hid them from her so she couldn't throw them out.

I then asked friends on Facebook whether I could put my recycling in their recycle bin. Luckily my friend Christian from SouthLife responded and I drove those two big black bags of recycling about ten minutes to his mothers house, in order to put it all in her recycle bin.

Yes, I am that intense about recycling.

I have done similarly crazy and over-the-top things to stop recycling from being thrown into landfill.

I am that passionate about it.

So if you are still reading this, which I hope you are, I hope you will take what I have said into consideration.

I hope you will think twice when you go to throw that cardboard carton that your hair-dye came in into the bin.

I hope you will remember this blog and put it in the recycling instead.

Keep this world green. Reduce our landfills. Recycle.

Please share this with your friends and help raise awareness for the importance of recycling <3