Party like a rockstar! on a zero budget...

Whelp, another boring week in the lives of three lonely, jobless ladies living in queenstown. Don't get me wrong, we find ways to entertain ourselves, but there is only so much you can do on a zero budget. For the past week, we have used our creativity and wits to get us through our days. Some highlights include: tramping adventures, job attempts/trials, and band rehearsals.
Our new home is conveniently located near several tramping (hiking) trails that weave all over the area. On one of our tramps, Mari led us on a long trail that seemed to get more and more scarce as we walked. We kept asking her if she knew where she was going but, she reassured us with a famous quote , “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” I am surprised we didn't get lost on this trek! During our little adventure, the trail got a little steep and as I was trying to concentrate on my footing, I caught a glimpse of Mari slip and grab onto a tree for her dear life. It was so steep that it seemed as if she was hanging off a cliff! Thank god, she was alright and after a solid 2 minute laugh, we carried on our journey. We jumped rocks to cross a stream, ducked under tree limbs, and climbed down boulders as the sun was going down, rushing to get home before it got too dark. Luckily, Mari was right and led us home just in time.
As for the Job hunt, we have had a little luck! Mari got a call back from a restaurant located in a hotel a couple days ago and after a trial shift, she was offered the job and will start this Thursday! Liz got a call back from an internet cafe position and went in for a second interview. Apparently, Liz wasn't bubbly enough for the job, who would've thought? Me, on the other hand, haven't had much luck but, as the winter season gets closer, more jobs will open up.
After a long week of job hunting, we decided to clear our minds and bring out our musical talents! Our flat mate, Johnny, set up rockband in the living room and after a couple songs, we were pros! For all you that do not know, shame on you, rock band is a playstation video game, there are actually a set of drums, guitars, and a microphone that are hooked up to the t.v. After each of us trying out a different instrument we stuck with Mari on the bass, Liz on the guitar, and me on the drums, we were on our way to making hits one song at a time. We even recruited our flat mates, Johnny and Mosh, who brought the vocals. We got so into it that we had band meetings, which really brought the house together! Who would have thought that a virtual band would be our common ground...
Saturday, finally a night out on the town, or so we thought. We took our time getting ready for the evening and started to have a couple drinks while we played some card games in our room, I guess rock band didn't do complete wonders... We decided not to go to town because we couldn't afford it, but made plans to go to Johnny's sister's party instead. The party didn't start until midnight and poor Mari just couldn't hack it. After usually going to bed around 10pm each night, Mari just couldn't handle staying up any later. This will have to be worked on since when people go out here in Queenstown they do not go home till at the earliest sunrise! As she was tucking into bed, liz and I were just leaving. However, we just weren't up to kiwi standards, Liz and I were home sleeping by 6am while the rest of the party continued until 5pm the next day!

Fierce Four No More!

After much persuasion from our families we decided to keep up the blog! Though don't get too excited, because we are no Jessie Doig. Things will also be a little different since we will be switching off who writes the blog each time. Hope you enjoy!

Thursday, April 15th:

We spent the first half of Liz's birthday seeing Jessie off and it was harder than I thought it would be. I am definitely not comfortable with showing emotion in public, but people passing us by wouldn't have guessed that. I cried on the way to the airport and was convulsing with sobs while she left us to board the plane. This also continued three hours later when I went on facebook at the internet cafe and saw her status, stating that she was leaving NZ to return home. Danny and Liz just shook their heads at how ridiculous I was being. The day did eventually change from mourning Jessie's departure to celebrating Liz's birth. After looking at a couple places to live we got cleaned up and headed out to Lonestar, an old west styled restaurant, for fajitas and burritos! The food was great, we love any chance to get Mexican food. When Liz was brought out her free dessert with a lit candle we realized that we hadn't even sang her happy birthday yet! So of course, to Liz's embarrassment, we had to sing it to her there at the restaurant:) The rest of the night was spent watching Sherlock Holmes, we enjoyed having a low-key night since going out the night before for Jessie's last horrah. This wasn't the biggest birthday celebration, but we are the only friends we have in Queenstown so far...

Friday, April 16th:

Today was a pretty big day for us, we finally found a home! Not everything we hoped and dreamed for, but nothing to complain about either. It is a ten minute walk to town, has wireless, which as you know is a big deal to us, living area and kitchen are a decent size, and gorgeous view of the Remarkable Mountains and Lake! Some things that aren't so reputable are the cost, 400 a month, and our roommates. When being introduced to our roommate's girlfriend, she told him to not even tell her our names because she won't remember them anyways. It was nice meeting her too... I guess this house will not be where we meet our first friends! After we had all of our things moved in we cleaned up and headed into town to search for jobs. I had an interview at an internet cafe, but I am not counting on getting that job since they want "extensive knowledge" of computers. That was some fine print I didn't realize till the interview was in process. I don't think being on the computer for at least an hour a day counts towards extensive knowledge of it, I would only be able to show customers the ins-and-outs of facebook. A job that Liz and I were really counting on was a bartending job at The Ram, we met the co-owner, Skippy, a few weeks earlier and he told us to stop in with our resumes. When we came in Skippy was no where to be seen and what must have been the other owner told us that they weren't looking to hire for another month... We heard similar things at the other restaurants and cafes we went into as well. We will have to just try again next week. The rest of the night was spent grocery shopping and watching American Idol, our favorite.

Saturday & Sunday, April 17th-18th:

Saturday wasn't too exciting, we spent most of it lounging around till late in the afternoon when we went on a hike. We took a trail that follows the lake to Sunshine Bay. The hike was close to a two hours and along the way we entertained ourselves with a game of follow the leader followed by disney sing-alongs, because I guess the breath-taking views weren't enough... We made it home just in time for American Idol, we have to keep up on our American reality television:) For Sunday we took a family trip to the mall, where we picked up a few things to make our room a little more home-like. These things consist of hangers and a bucket to use as a drawer, as you can tell we have a very low budget. Tonight we are just blogging and journaling.

Kind Regards,

Mari