Of which, I try to bestow motherly guidance

this is possibly the worst bubble tea i have ever, ever had the misfortune to have.
1. no bubbles
2. almost 3/4 of the volume consisted of ice
the only redeeming feature was the fact that it tasted sweet. it was a rather nice taste, i have to admit.

except bad bubble tea is surpassed by the awful sinking feeling in one's stomach when one realises that it is Sunday evening... and there is a full five days ahead of you before the next weekend rolls around. it is depressing indeed.
i also realised than when one finishes a film, there's a bittersweet feeling in your stomach. sweet because the film came to a conclusion (happy, hopefully) and bitter because that's the last that you're going to hear of those characters. unless of course, there's a sequel. but we all know that sequels suck. unless, you're desperate enough to read fanfiction. which admittedly, i have done.

i have decided that Sunday evenings are the worst evenings and Fridays are the best.

this is turning into a bit of a depressing blog post. so perhaps i'll try to lighten up the mood. things are happy making include
- sniffing clothes. people's clothes in particular.
- when the mould has disappeared from the ceiling! courtesy of one awesome flatmate
- when the other two lovely flatmates have baked a black forest cake
- my bed
- watching 10 Things I Hate About You and quoting all the memorable one liners. i would like to say that any man who wants to uh, conquer my heart (damn, that sounds cheesy), should sing to me like Patrick did to Katerina. or buy me an electric guitar. but a ukulele will suffice.
- when you see people using the word 'definitely' spelt correctly
- baby photos

i have just come to the conclusion that i like lists. i would say that i am slightly OCD. but that would be taking my hypochondriacism to the max. also, i used to do things five times. that or seven times. never six times or four times. i also dislike any number that ends in a 'nine' because it makes it seem... incomplete. but i have never ordered my pens. my desk is tidy, but it's not in any special order. noooope. i think i'm just plain fussy and not OCD at all.

i am cold. in fact, i think i've lost weight from burning body fuels to keep warm. you know, i find it bloody ridiculous how some people have electricity bills close to $700. HTFU! our flat uses a mere $200 in the height of winter. it does help i suppose, the fact that we have a relatively small flat. which is piss easy to heat. so, in the light of flat hunters trawling Dunedin for that lovenest that will be their home next year, i will compile a list of things to take note of when flat hunting:
1. heat pump is essential
2. ask them how much their power bill is in winter (actually, this is often not very accurate... the previous tenants told us that they spent $99 in the middle of winter... i'm surprised they all didn't freeze before they graduated)
3. take note of the mould. on the walls? on the ceiling of the bathroom? (btw, on the bathroom ceiling is a given. it's going to be hard to dry unless a fan is installed) but if it's on the walls of the rooms, then you've got a pretty damp flat
4. water pressure and hot water. i love our shower. it spits out hot water like it was just installed yesterday. amazing for those cold winter days.
5. the state of the shower. grotty showers are a no no. also, look for water damage like rotting floorboards
6. the washing machine. we had an antique which eventually broke down. but it took them a week to replace. so try and avoid a flat with a crappy washing machine that is about to break down. i almost ran out of underwear.
7. check the general age of the appliances such as the fridge, microwave, washing machine, stove, etc. our stove is broken. so ask the current tennants if they've had any problems with their appliances.
8. security would be nice. locks, etc etc.
9. sunlight. very, very important. without that sliver of light, the flat will have an arctic feel to it. ask how much sunlight they get. it's free heating essentially.
10. the bigger and pretty looking flats are often the flats which are the hardest to heat and have absolutely NO insulation. you will freeze. so, it depends if you consider the aesthetics important.
11. any odd smells? i.e. overpowering fumes from nearby places?
12. what is the landlord like? best to have a nice one who gets things done promptly.
13. don't have your hopes riding on a gorgeous looking flat. to be honest, most of the ones in dunedin are not perfect. the nicer ones will be nowhere near campus. i gave up my dreams of a window seat... (it was always a dream to have a window seat with a thick stack of books like Pride and Prejudice within an arm's reach... sadly, this is not the case)
14. if the flat is unfurnished, weigh up the costs (i will say that you will end up saving more IF the rent is lower for an unfurnished flat and you are buying your own furniture... do the math)
15. don't settle for an outrageous price. $130 is pushing it. honestly.
16. if you find a flat you like, don't be slow in expressing interest. people will literally race you to the phone and often, the landlord will pick whoever called first. for us, it was a matter of mere minutes. apparently, someone else left a message ten minutes after we left a message for the landlord, expressing our interest. it probably helped that we sprinted to the phone as soon as we finished viewing the flat.

also, i would suggest all people to look at the flats on Dundas. once you visit, you realise that ALL other flats are superior. some of those flats looked like war zones. scary as.
and my diatribe is done.