Dear Trek

Can I please have this bike?

I promise I'll ride it every day.

I'm bored. Can you tell? So bored that I've been stalking Facebook photos of Sophie and Thom from last night in town. Here's my favourite.

Babes. Don't know who that guy on the right is, but whatever. Thom + Sophie = amazing.

I'm thinking of branching out into something that requires more energy than a 10k. Like a marathon? Though marathons are getting a bit scene now. People I knew in high school who groaned at the thought of running around the nearby lake (3km) are now training for marathons. Yawn.

Paris-Roubaix Juniors is being raced today. Not in Paris, however. How tricky! The race begins in Compiègne and finishes in Roubaix. It's 260km and features like, eighteen separate sections of cobbles. Yuk. The lovely boys of the Trek-LiveStrong U23 team will be there.

Tonight all I really wanted for dinner was sweet and sour pork. Mmm, yum yum. You would think, anyway. By the time I got to the mall, the Chinese place was closed so I settled for Indian. It wasn't that good, and there was SO much of it. Yeah, I'm pretty tiny, and not exactly a huge eater. This morning, for example, I was getting stretched after my race (there was a free stretching tent, and a $1 per minute massage tent. Of course I went with free.) when the woman stretching me said, 
"You're really skinny."
"Thanks!" I said. Pretty much the best compliment I've ever got. Ever.
"... Do you eat?"

HAHA. No, no. I just ran 10k and do most other days without eating. You know...

But anyway, I don't know. I'm pretty disappointed with my Indian meal.

An African Affair

The women's 5000m event at the Reebok Grand Prix was held about two hours ago - you have to let me off, I've been out pursuing my own running career this morning at RUN Auckland Race Four in Milford (more on that shortly).

It was all Africa in the medals, unsurprisingly. Linet Masai, a Kenyan who is not related to the legendary Edith Masai, took out the race in 14:35.39, which came up 11 seconds short of the meet record, held by the darling Meseret Defar (Ethiopia). Linet is no stranger to distance success, having placed 4th in last year's Olympic 10,000m, as well as being the current junior world record holder and Kenyan record holder for the longer race. In March, she was second in the same race that Genzebe Dibaba won at World Cross. She's just 19 years old!

My hero Tirunesh finished just over 5 seconds behind Masai, in 14:40.93, and little sister Genzebe rounded out the podium for Ethiopia, finishing in 15:00.79. So it was something of a stretched out race. Kim Smith, formerly of Papakura, was fourth with 15:26.00, and the rest of the field were Americans who I don't really care about. I would have liked a win for Tirunesh (I always would), but this meet isn't exactly the biggest one on the calendar, and I'd be much happier to see her take apart both the 5 and 10 at Worlds later this year *gets all giddy and excited about Worlds*.

As a footnote to the Grand Prix results, Asafa Powell had a disappointing show in the 100m, finishing 7th in 10.10s.

As for MY race (which I know you're all just dying to hear about), it went really well! It was over a course that would have suited a post-Athens me, as back then I was all about burning people off up hills. Now I'm one of these lazy flat-terrain types, so between hills I had a good time. That was until we reached the "Coastal Walkway". Uh, so it's totally my own fault for not pre-running the course, but about a mile of the run was on SAND. And I HATE running on sand. Like, I'm not even kidding. I hate it. I don't even really like walking on the beach. So there was a bit of grumpiness, which pretty soon got put aside as I found my old hill legs and proceeded to dominate (I'm speaking relatively, here) the rest of the course. Had my first ever bonk about 500m from the finishing line. Pretty humanising experience. I managed to finish in 53:22 (time to be confirmed) which, considering the course - harder than XTERRA in my opinion - was good enough for a thumbs up. No spot prizes for me, but I'm happy with the $50 Tamara Day Spa voucher from my race pack. Nidra Body Scrub & Wrap, here I come.

Big ups to RUN Auckland organisers, including the lovely Shannon Stallard, who are doing an amazing job of getting us lazy Aucklanders to push play.

Get out there.

Pictures Are Fun

So here's some more of that guy I was going on about yesterday.

Since yesterday's post I've learnt that Taylor and his teammates are readers. So I should probably find someone else to post pictures of.

New York, New York

Reebok Grand Prix! Can't believe it's already here again.

It was at this meet last year that the now world-famous Usain Bolt broke his first 100m world record, and effectively turned the athletics world on its head.

Of particular interest this year is the women's 5000m field. It features longtime favourite Tirunesh Dibaba, and her little sister Genzebe, who in March this year won her first senior world title in cross-country.


Of more local interest is Kim Smith, the Providence-based Kiwi who made the Olympic final last year in Beijing and also recorded one of the world's quickest 10,000m times for the year.
Missing from the race however is one of my favourites, Kara Goucher. Boo. The 5000m is due to kick off at 5:13pm New York time on Saturday.

The men's event features Bernard Lagat, the Kenyan-turned-American mile prodigy whose ability ranges from the 1500m to the occasional marathon. The race is assembled, as you'd expect, mostly of Kenyans and Ethiopians, with the occasional American thrown in for good measure, and even includes the Mexican Juan Luis Barrios, and Briton Nick McCormick. No New Zealanders here, which is hardly surprising due to our lack of any decent distance runners.

The 1500m for both men and women looks yawn-worthy on paper, with no notable names outside Vivian Cheruiyot and Mestawot Tadesse.

Jeremy Wariner, the 2004 Olympic 400m champion is turning out for the 200m race, along with Tyson Gay, Wallace Spearmon, and old favourite of mine, Xavier Carter. The 100m looks less exciting, with Asafa Powell, but no Bolt.

The only other event I'll be mildly interested in is the women's pole vault, featuring 2000 Olympic champion Stacy Dragila. With the absence of Isinbayeva, who tends to break the world record each season to secure her million-dollar payout, the event promises less excitement than it usually garners.

For Reebok Grand Prix event schedule and results, visit here.

The Brendan West Process Of Belief

After the 48Hour final, I went to McDonald's with Jono, Kimmy and Brendan. For whatever reason, it caused me great stress to decide on what I wanted to eat. Enter Brendan.

"Well it's quite simple, really. Do you want chicken, or beef?"
"Chicken."
"So... are you REALLY hungry, kind of hungry, or not really hungry at all?"
"Umm... oooh, I don't know. Kind of hungry?"
"Well, then have the Chicken Deluxe. It's big, but without bacon. And it's not as small as a McChicken."

I love people that solve my problems for me.

The Last Piece

To view films from 48Hours, please visit www.48hours.co.nz and hit up the Screening Room.

Make sure you watch "The Last Piece", which is under Hamilton finalists. It was made some very talented friends of mine and I just loved it!

While you're in the Screening Room, take a look at some of last year's winners - "F*Dance" (the National winner), "Sum of all Parts" (Hamilton winner) and a whole lot of other great flicks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL-TV_zfcK8 This is another great film, from the Wellington event. It's shot in "real time" and it's pretty hilarious, so check it out.

We're still hoping for a place in the National Final via Wildcard, so our amazing film won't be up until Tuesday. When it's up though, I hope you all ch-ch-check it out!

Collapse (Post-48Hours)

Just because I never updated you on some awkward aspects of the V 48 Hours Furious Filmmaking Competition, here they are:

- I arrived on the Friday night to be told by Sophie that "Donny is on his way". Yep. Donny was in my team. It actually went okay, until it was decided that
- Not only was Donny in my team, but he was to be on screen, which meant that he needed makeup. And I was the makeup artist. Uh oh.
- The makeup would have gone okay, had he not gotten drunk before his scene and made quite a show out of inappropriate behaviour. I swear, all I was trying to do was foundation, conceal and powder him up, but it was pretty hard, given that he was groping me, trying to kiss me (I kid you not!) and even telling me he was looking down my top. He's all class.
- He then had the audacity to ask for a ride home. "Sophie said you have to." Lies! I obliged anyway, on the condition that he walked ten steps in front of me, didn't talk to me, and carried my kit. Yuss.
- The night after 48 Hours finished, he sent me the abusive text that you can read part of in an earlier blog post, "Texts From Last Night".
- Of course he showed up at our heat, after assuring me he wouldn't be there. Urgh.
-Perhaps the worst of ALL, was that he somehow managed to buy the ticket for the seat next to mine for the final last night. I mean, are you kidding me?! There are a lot of rows in a cinema. And a lot of seats in each row. And I ended up sitting next to Donny.

So you see, I've been keeping rather a lot under my hat (or Kirby's hat, if you want to be precise).

Still, if you've read this post, you'll know how I feel about him.

*sigh*

Turning Japanese

The latest craze out of Japan I'm, well... crazy about?

Ryohei Komori. Mmm, yes please.

The photo comes courtesy of the seemingly hilarious Taylor Phinney, who I Twit-stalk. (I don't really. I "follow" him.)

Ryohei is on the Trek-Livestrong U23 Cycling Team along with Taylor, and two of our own: Jesse Sergent and Sam Bewley. Born September 26, 1988, he's a little young for me, but like... as if I care. He's a hottie. You can expect to hear a lot more out of me about him.

For now, read about him on the Trek-Livestrong site here or, if you're fluent in the world's greatest language (Japanese) you can visit his site here.

Let's go home together...

If That's Something You're Into

The lovely and talented Stephanie is currently taking over Berlin, so I recommend a great read at World Domination. I hate to admit it, but I think her flatmate is worse than ours. Yuk.

Today is shaping up to be another non-eventful one. I have to do a number of things - from taking a couple of my bikes to get valued for insurance, to training, to cleaning the hovel I call my bedroom, to going to the airport with my mum. Do I think I'm going to get any of it done? Unlikely. Apart from the airport thing, because that involves sushi and my mum. Yay!

Mum is, for the record, heading back to England for a few months to hang out with our extended family. It was my Grandma's 80th in January, so there's something of a mum's-side-of-the-family reunion going down in June. This is because my mum does not like to travel to the UK during our summer. Given the unusual cold this winter, she's picked a great time to go.

Yesterday she booked our flights to the Gold Coast in September! This is in anticipation of my getting selected for the ITU World Championships. But we figure that even if I don't, we're going to head on over anyway to watch Worlds, hang out with Kirby, and get tans. Oh, and spend too much money on Benefit makeup. Yeehaw! I love the Gold Coast.

If nothing else, I can enjoy the scenery... and Gomez

This weekend: RUN Auckland Race Four in Milford. I'll be going for broke in the 10km event, which hopefully will be awesome! If nothing else, the course looks scenic. Remind me to restock my iPod. If you run and live on the Shore, I think you should come. Yay for running!

To that end I now feel required to make the most of today, so I'm out.

Peace and love, yo.

MAC Saves The Day

I've gone out of my way in the past to not be obsessed beyond belief with MAC makeup, the way all of my SRA classmates were. I find solace in Chanel (when I have enough money, anyway), Nars, Benefit and Clinique.

Tonight I did Penny's makeup for the Face of Smashbox competition. Visit mim.artiste to have a look at her and two of my other gorgeous models' photos. Penny works as a sports reporter and sometimes weather girl on TV3, and told me that in addition to their work makeup and outfits being supplied, they receive a $1000 "grooming grant" each year, to spend on makeup and cosmetics. OMG. Get me a job there. Stat.

She brought out her own little makeup bag to show me her favourite blush: MAC's "Peachykeen".

I was blown away. It's identical to Nars' "Orgasm". And you can't get Nars here! My completely imagined dilemma is solved! To be honest, I've had my current "Orgasm" since July 2007 and it's showing no signs of needing to be replaced, so I don't really have a problem. But seeing "Peachykeen" just made me want to rush out and buy it right now!!! It's got that trademark MAC high pigmentation, just enough shimmer. And of course, it's the perfect shade. I'm in love.

Another current MAC obsession? This look.


Soooo culturally relevant. And versatile. I could definitely pull this off as an everyday look.

Yeah, I'm kidding. And that's why I LOVE THIS LOOK.

Anyway, it's getting late, my eyeballs hurt, and I have so much to do tomorrow!

Peace, love, and versatile everyday eye makeup, yo.

There Will Be Controversy

Okay, I'm sick of blog post titles relating to the name of our incredible movie, too.

I've just returned home from the Hamilton Final of the V 48 Hours Furious Filmmaking Competition for 2009. And I must say, I'm quite disappointed.

Not with the films. The films were of course, amazing. Along with our masterpiece, we watched films ranging in theme from funeral protocol, to courier drivers, to real estate agents living in bizarre parallel worlds. With some unorthodox priests, speed dating and softcore porn/horror (???) thrown in there for good measure. Hamilton filmmakers = SO talented.

The entire cinema was shocked and overall dismayed however at Chris Tan's recrowning as City Champion, for "Hardwood Floors". Chris is something of an awkward and intoxicated prodigy on the local film scene, and he most definitely deserved his win last year. This year, however? Not so much. While his film had excellent cinematography and costumes - and my personal favourite sequence "I sold this house, and this house, and this house, and this house... this is my car... and this house, and this house..." the concept for their film was generally hailed by the audience as pretty crappy. The weird clown dancing in the street, for example? Get out of here. Cool use of a prop: "the rock garden is made from dragon eggs...!"

And don't even get me started on second place, which was "Speed Date". As Jono brought up later, "how is making violence towards women funny ever a good thing?". Now, I'm not going to go all feminist on you, but you have to admit, it's a pretty touchy subject. And not one you really want to reward with runner-up in the City Final. The female actors were pretty rank, but one of them somehow managed to outclass our Kimmy for Best Actress. Yuk. Also, somehow the creepy main actor won Best Actor. Get out, get OUT!

Other shitters? Okay, how did "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" even make the final? They were in our heat, and they got a pretty poor reception there. We realised at the end of the night when they took the award for All Girl Team. All Girl Team? Are you kidding me? What about All Boy Team? This movie was pretty much pisspoor. And that's a word I hate. The lighting was so bad it was non-existent in some scenes, it wasn't even horrific (unless you consider the acting) and there were some questionable camera angles (for example, down Alex's already scantily clad cleavage) that all made for a pretty crappy production.

There was also "Recharge", a conspiracy film involving "iPears" being hacked and used to make the listener perform tasks like grand theft auto, and hit and run. Niiiiiice. Pretty awful acting, bad spelling, but kind of cute ending when the battery ran out.

"The Room" could have been the worst. They received an award for what I think was supposed to be consistency. Kimmy later asked if it was because they shot the entire seven minutes from one angle. Got a little tedious. The "hot" girl wasn't even hot, the ending was stupid, the only impressive thing was really the incredibly outrageous Alex, who listened to rocks and "dolphin eggs" throughout. Kinda funny. Overall: fail.

Film we LOVED: "Puddle Finishing School Part IV: Funeral Protocol" a massive and all-conquering crowd favourite, we're baffled as to why this little gem didn't win almost every award including the overall City Champion. The film was so serious it was hilarious, impeccably shot and cut, and the crew got it "just right". Particularly loved the trip hazards: a baby! a rock! a grenade! I can assure you there were more than a couple of angry viewers and fellow filmmakers who were dismayed at the lack of acclaim this flick received. Boo. But two thumbs up for the movie itself.

Other qualms: the judging of the minor awards. As I mentioned earlier, some of the worst performances of the night received Best Actor and Actress, a film with a poor soundtrack won an award for sound, and a film which made absolutely no use of costumes won best costume.

I'm a little bitter myself as I was nominated for Best Makeup (yay!), but didn't win... a film with no makeup whatsoever won for their projectile blood spurt. Which, for the record, at the Oscars is considered Special Effects. I really thought I had that one in the bag.

Radioactive Reptiles didn't come away empty-handed, though. We were nominated in five categories:  Best Actress (Kimmy), Best Actor (Brendan), Best Script (Thom), Best Use Of A Line (Thom) and Best Makeup (me). Thom took the award for use of "it doesn't fit". And too right. The judges did get something right, after all. A little shocked, too, that Bevan's incredible cinematography skills went virtually unnoticed. Boo.

We still had an amazing 48 Hours. As best put by Sophie: "we're chasing the thrill, not the competition". And we still have a shot at a Wildcard entry for the National Grand Final, as Peter Jackson (of Lord Of The Rings fame) HAS WATCHED OUR FILM and it's up for one of three nationwide Wildcards. Do the right thing, Pete!!

It's 2:36am. Miriam is very tired, still wearing makeup, and needing to sleeeeeeep.

RADIOACTIVE REPTILES, yo.

Crackalackin'

Huge congratulations are in order for New Zealand triathletes Kate McIlroy and Callum Millward after they posted wins at yesterday's Austin Triathlon, which served as an event in the Pan-American Cup.

McIlroy, who is now in her third or fourth sport (remind you of anyone...) initially represented our country as a 2000m steeplechaser. She competed and placed 5th at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, which was a stellar effort for the former mountain/cross country runner. There was light scandal in the track and field arena as she was in a relationship with High Performance Manager, Eric Hollingsworth (who was a bit of a twat to be honest), but nothing too serious, and it wasn't long before McIlroy made a departure from the sport anyway, due to persistent injuries and probably the fact that she was never realistically going to win a major championship while the Kenyans were around.


The next I heard, she was trialling for a spot in the women's track cycling team, along with one of my personal favourites, Vanessa Quin, and some other girls. The spot eventually went to my homeslice Jaime Neilsen, who went on to medal this year at Worlds with the team. Yeehaw.

McIlroy then posted some not-too-shabby results in the Wellington Open Water Swim series, and it seemed natural then she she descend upon our sport of triathlon. And, evidently, she's not doing too badly for herself. Interestingly, the second-placegetter in the Texas race was the delightful Hayley Peirsol.

In 2003 Peirsol won a silver in the 1500m Freestyle event at Worlds in Barcelona. Her brother is none other than the ever-dominant backstroke prodigy, Aaron. You may remember him being disqualified from the 200m backstroke final at the Olympics in Athens, then subsequently being reinstated (apparently, the official who DQ'd him had no basis for doing so, other than his being American. Lovely).

In Texas yesterday, Peirsol was first out of the water in a snappy 17 minutes flat. She was 1:06 up on the next athlete, Jennifer Spieldenner, and went on to post a similarly quick 1:01.32 for the 40km bike. That's fast kids. I'd be very interested to see the profile of the course. McIlroy, who was 9th out of the swim, made up for it with the 4th fastest bike time out of the women, then used her exceptional running talent to wipe up the field, finishing the race in 1:56.04. Let me tell you something. If you're doing an Olympic distance race in less than two hours, you're not messing around. Those times are FAST.

The quickest bike time for the day was posted by Canadian Tenille Hoogland, who turned in a mean 59.16. For 40km? That is, though I'm sure you don't need to be told, more than 40km/h.

In the men's field, New Zealand was represented by Millward, Martin van Barneveld and my hometown hero, Graham O'Grady. The swim was less of a one-horse show than the women's race, with 11 men exiting the water with times between 16:14 and 16:47. Van Barneveld was in the second bunch, along with Millward. In the bike, equally ridiculous times were posted - the fastest of which was USA's Brian Fleischmann in 53:15. These are like, cycling race times. Where is the profile!? Millward's 53:22 was sharp, and he was the 4th fastest cyclist on the day, where van Barneveld was 8th in 53:33. O'Grady was involved in a most unfortunate crash on the bike, ending his race. Which SUCKS, because he's so cool!

Millward tied for the fastest run on the day with Kevin Collington of the USA, with van Barneveld's 30:59 for 10km placing him an impressive second in the run standings. Millward's overall time of 1:43.16 saw him edge Collington out by 4 seconds, and van Barneveld ran home for 3rd, 28 seconds down.

Kind of embarrassingly, the men's field was 38 strong, compared to the 14 ladies in the women's event. Let's get out there!

Yes Please

20-something: Well, what are we going to do tonight if the movie is sold out?
Black comedy slinger, overhearing: See a comedy show!
20-something: No, that's okay.
Black comedy slinger: It's cool, I never killed anyone.
20-something: We're alright.
Black comedy slinger: And I love white people.
20-something: We're not tourists...
Black comedy slinger: Oh, okay. Want a piggyback ride?

Flawless In Progress

It's now *just* 26 hours until the Hamilton Final of the V 48 Hours Furious Filmmaking competition.

Today I've been on a sushi diet (so, much like any other day?) except today I've eaten a whole lot less than usual, and worked out a whole lot more. Whoever said you can't drop a size in two days in wrong. They haven't heard of the Little Black Dress Diet, obviously.

Not that I'm going to be wearing an LBD anyway. I brought that wee number out for the heats. No kids, tomorrow I'm breaking out the unbearably tight skinny jeans. Which, based on my eating since the last time I wore them, probably aren't so unbearably tight anymore. They might need to go in the drier tomorrow afternoon. They need to be so tight I can't breathe.

I'm wearing the lamest t-shirt I own tomorrow night. It's also the cutest. I bought it at Supre, which like a cardinal sin, but I don't care. It reminds me of my little brother Karl. It's a tan-coloured baggy t-shirt with a print of a pony on the front. It's pretty much got Supre written all over it, but I don't care. The colour makes me look emaciated, and I love it. Given that it's probably going to be about 2 degrees down there tomorrow, I'm going to wear something under it.

After my workout today I exfoliated my face like never before. Truly, right now it's like baby's bum. Mmm. I also used my Pro-activ Refining Mask, which further added to my skin's current condition: gorgeous. Here's hoping it holds out.

I'm hoping to sport something of a Blair Waldorf look in the makeup department. Even if my $30 t-shirt goes against the grain of her Chanel wardrobe, if there's a look I rock like no-one else, it's neutral eyes. I've read about 50 blogs on "how to copy Blair's look" and with some careful eyeshadow and lipstick mixing, I'm confident I can pull it off. Benetint, mmm.

I'm all up in arms about nail colour. I want to wear my favourite OPI shade, "My Chihuahua Bites", but it's hardly Blair, so I'm tempted to go with "We'll Always Have Paris". Thoughts? It's just that the Parisian shade is so unremarkable next to the Chihuahua, so it's kind of the biggest dilemma I have. Mind you, given that my two idols, Lauren and Blair, both go for dark colours over brights 99% of the time... I might have to save Chihuahua for my next event. Whenever that is...

And finally, my hair. While my hair is probably literally half the length of both Blair and Lauren's, I wanted to give the soft curl look a go, so I tried to commandeer the help of fellow SRA graduate Jana. She's a pro with ghd curls. However, I've yet to hear back from her, so it looks as if I could be on my own with my hair. Which means it's pretty much going to be dead straight and boring. If you live on the Shore and can curl my hair for me tomorrow afternoon, please call me!

So that's me for tomorrow night. Now all we have to do is win, and I'll be a gorgeous, ecstatic camper!

Excitement

This morning (33 minutes ago, actually), the City Finalists for the V 48 Hours Furious Filmmaking Competition were announced.

HAMILTON
DF10 – "Confessions" – Politically Incorrect/Religious
RRRFOFES – "Drip" – M Night Big Twist Movie
Whenua Pamamoa – "Eu De Toilette" – Real Time
Guerrilla Monkeys – "Hardwood Floors" – Parallel World
Tuff Films – "The Hidden" – M Night Big Twist Movie
Ginger Ninja’s – "The Last Piece" – Conspiracy
Team Bob – "Puddle Finishing School Part IV: Church Protocol" – Educational
Taktix Films – "Recharge" – Conspiracy
Hold your Breath? – "The Room" – M Night Big Twist
Holy Zarquon Different Fish – "Speed Date" – Real Time
Radioactive Reptiles – "There will Be Blood" –Nature Run Amok
Reel Good People – "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" – Horror

Did you see? Did you see? WE'RE IN THERE!!!!

Which means tomorrow night our film is going to be shown at the Hamilton Ciy Final! I'm so excited. This is like, better than making the Olympic Team!!

As such, the next 20 hours are going to be dedicated to me looking flawless for tomorrow night.

I AM SO EXCITED AND PROUD OF MY TEAM!!

Sparkle and Never Fade

So, I had a bit of a reshuffle this morning.

Moved to Wordpress, and found it rather difficult. So I've moved back.

Just operating under a new name now, but not much else has changed. Same crappy writing, pictures, and opinions. New graphic... and that's all.

Enjoy, lovelies.

I Have An Entire Album On Picasa Dedicated To Lauren Conrad

I just thought you might like to know.

Whereabouts Unknown

This PostSecret applies to me in as many ways as it doesn't. But I'm putting it out here anyway.

I struggled with a title for this post, and while Whereabouts Unknown isn't completely relevant, in a sense it is. I know where you are (exactly. where. you. are.) but at the same time I don't know where YOU are, and that's the worst part. It's because you could be anywhere on the face of the Earth, ANYWHERE, and I wouldn't mind as long as I knew what I used to know about you. But I don't... and that's what sucks. So text me. Call me. Stalk me.

I do know when you're thinking about me though. When it's bad thoughts I wake up and can never get back to sleep. When it's good thoughts I have amazing and surreal dreams in which we are friends. So really, it's more of a flashback than a dream. I'm confident we'll get back there. This haze of bad thoughts and even worse actions will be a figment of our imaginations from the past. We will have no use for this in a few years, I promise. Things are going to get better.

You will have no need for comments like "I can't live without you" (that is, dear readers, a direct quote). You don't have to, and you've never had to. Nor will you ever need to. In your life, you will never meet anyone who loves you more completely than I do. No-one else does, or will do, the things I do and will do for you. No-one else needs to. People love you. They don't hate you. Least of all enough to desicrate public images of you, like I did.

Think of me. Never let me go, for I do, and forever will, hold you in the palm of my hand.

I Wish My Hair Looked This Good

Or that I in general looked this good. Hmm, oh well. If I can't look like her, my life can still emulate hers!

My Private Jet

Not that I can afford it, but I went and got a manicure tonight at one of those cheap Asian salons. I love Asians, which probably comes as no surprise to anyone.

Actually, last night it apparently did. Marco seemed amazed at my interest in the airfares to Fukuoka. "Japan?" he asked. "Since when?" Apparently he had no idea about my obsession for the place, which is evidence of the fact that not even the people I like read my blog. Boo, Marco.

Anyway, back to the manicure. The shade I chose was OPI's "My Private Jet", which is kind of similar to "Brand New Skates".


So the above image is not really an accurate representation. But that's okay. My nails look fabulous.

Weirdly, the girl getting a mani next to me was having a pretty indepth conversation with her technician. To the extent where she told her that she was pregnant, and single, and visiting Thailand. Are you serious? No-one wants to know that shit! Least of all me, and I had to hear it, because she was talking so freakin loudly!

Keep your drama to yourself, yo.

In OPI-related news, seems they beat me to it with the whole Oceans theme. The Sephora by OPI range includes shades such as, Mermaid To Order, Blue Grotto, Underwater Fantasy, Water Baby, Lagoon-a Beach, and Ocean Love Potion. You guys should check out the entire range anyway, because it's more impressive than their regular offerings. Visit Sephora by OPI here.

I have eaten so much sushi today. Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so...

I Love Happy Endings!

Even moreso when they involve Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass.

Awwwh! He loves her! And I love him. Hmmm. So Gossip Girl is done for season two, and now it's up to The Hills to fill the void. Though, last night's episode was particularly nauseating, with Lauren firing the ever-idiotic Stephanie Pratt, whose repugnant brother proposed to that weird scrap of a girl, Heidi. Yuk. While I'm positive there's no way possible for Spencer to be THAT bad in real life, he does a pretty good job of acting like it. Die!

Super-cute GG quotes from last night...
Blair: I haven't seen you in a while.
Chuck: Have you been looking?

I love them. And I love how it ended happily. I'm telling you, people. This is how me and Donny are going to end! Maybe not with macaroons from Paris, and a limo... but I'll take a white Caldina and a Seared Chicken Deluxe (so, Donny - you have to do it before the end of May because after that I'm not having any more chicken burgers).

Anyway, enough about my dream life. It's just that my real life is so unfulfilling! The last few days have been filled with cycling "cram" sessions and swimming at my new favourite pool, the Newmarket Olympic. That pool by the way, comes with my highest recommendations. It may be because I love Newmarket and automatically feel a little more like Blair when I hang out there, or the fact that outside Sandeeka's work there is secret free parking. There's also a great sushi place... and the fact that I spent my Monday session sharing a lane with a Japanese guy. The pool is nice though. Despite having been an Aucklander for six months now, I still can't get over how paying $7 for a swim is somehow justified, but I guess I have to get over it or go swim at the beach. And given that it's set to get down as low as 1 degree tonight, not really that keen.

Which brings me to my next point: has it EVER been this cold in New Zealand in May? I mean, for real. I know I rave about Russian winters all the time, but this is actually the first time I've felt seriously chilled while on the island. Even in Dunedin, my former student hometown, I ran through May and June without resorting to the full-length tights (which was kind of a shame, because Jade and I bought matching Puma tights for that reason). It snowed the weekend of the Christchurch marathon - I remember because I took the bus from Dunedin to Christchurch for the event. But even then I don't remember feeling the need to complain like I am now.
"Miriam is... wondering why I don't own more clothes. Or live in HAWAII!"

Oh, well. It could be worse. It could be a Russian winter.

Yesterday, the flatmate we hate turned up unannounced. He's in the Navy *breaks into song*, and was supposed to be on a boat somewhere until July 4. No such luck. Which is awkward, because Aaron moved in on 48 Hour weekend. Soooo now not only does Aaron have to find somewhere to go, but we have to put up with the weirdo for an extra six weeks we thought we had to ourselves! Argh. Get out of my house! It's just my luck, really. On Saturday evening I was saying to Yasmin, "oh, well. I don't have to think about him until July 4."

Not happy.

I am however, beyond happy to have found a blog dedicated solely to Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. Please visit it here. It's all very exciting for me.

Above is a Google Earth screenshot (obsession with screenshotting comes courtesy of Katelin at gorgeous footsteps in the sand.) of Odaiba Marine Park, where the Triathlon will be held, should Tokyo win the bid. Exciting!! I just hope Tokyo can pull this off. I read some pretty negative comments on Wikipedia today, but you know what? Anyone can post on there. They're probably just angry yanks from Chicago.

At any rate, Yasmin and I are peachy keen to take advantage of the relatively cheap airfares to Fukuoka before then. $1400 return? Yes please. Yasmin notes that Japan is an expensive holiday destination. But to be fair, it's Japan!!! I don't really care. Let's go right now.

And FINALLY, I selected a new foundation and bought it. I subsequently lost it, but it's okay, because Luke is educating me on the power of positive thinking. I have every faith that I will find it again. Anyway, I went with Clinique's Even Better Makeup, which is gorgeous and came just at the right time, because I have ZERO left of my old Superbalanced. While at the Clinique counter, I also bought a new lip brush, and got a free gift (Clinique are SO good with free gifts) which my mum and I proceeded to fight over. We ended up divvying the loot up, so I came away with some mascara and lipstick. Happiness! The mascara is amazing. When I can be bothered, I'll go look in my kit and tell you what it's called.

I think that's more than enough talking for one day, so I'll leave you in peace.

Love and macaroons, yo. x o x o

Oh, How The Mighty Have Fallen?

I just found an article on NZHerald.co.nz about Michael Phelps.

"Michael Phelps was beaten again at the Charlotte UltraSwim today, losing to Frederick Bousquet of France in the 100-metre freestyle.

Phelps touched nearly a full second behind Bousquet, world-record holder in the 50 free, after losing his first final in nearly a year. Aaron Peirsol beat Phelps in the 200 backstroke yesterday."

Uh, okay. These people know that Phelps isn't exactly a 100m freestyler, don't they?

For those of you who don't follow swimming, Michael's first appearance at the Olympic Games was in Sydney in 2000, when he was just fifteen years old. He competed in the 200m butterfly and placed fifth. At his next Games in Athens four years later, he was probably the most famous swimmer in the world, winning the 100m and 200m butterfly, 200m and 400m individual medley, placing third in the 200m freestyle and also winning two golds and a bronze in relay events. At last year's Olympics in Beijing, Michael again won the 100m and 200m butterfly, 200m and 400m IM, 200m freestyle and three golds in relays. You will note that none of these events are sprint freestyle. Sure, he was in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay, but this is an event where you can afford to have a swimmer who wouldn't medal in the individual race and still win. After all, there are only three medals.

So, I hate to burst whoever wrote this article's bubble, but it doesn't really matter that he didn't win the 100m freestyle at the Charlotte UltraSwim (which is, for the record, not exactly the biggest meet on the calendar).

This is just further proof of scaremongering by the media. Oooh, Phelps is past it guys, in an insignificant meet somewhere in North Carolina today he came second, not first. It's like the time someone took a photo of him using a bong. What a bad guy! He should be so ashamed! I can't believe our children look up to this drug addict!

Fucking, shut up. The fact remains that Michael Phelps is probably the greatest swimmer ever. He's probably unbeatable in the events he trains for. It's just that the 100m freestyle is not that event. As an almost afternote, the final sentence in the article reads "He entered five events at Charlotte and won the first two, the 200 free and the 100 backstroke."

Why is the title not then, "Phelps victorious in 200m free at Charlotte UltraSwim"? Why don't people want to know good news?

Dear god. This is just getting ridiculous. You can't win everything. And it's pretty unfair to make a spectacle out of a guy with sixteen Olympic medals for coming second in one race that will be forgotten in a week's time.

Get busy living or get busy dying, babes.

Olympic Cities 2016

I know it's only May, but I think I'm allowed to get excited for the election of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games host, on October 2nd in Copenhagen.

October is set to be a good month, what with this AND the Bad Religion show two days later.

The candidate cities for 2016 are Tokyo, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Chicago. Other cities previously eliminated included Baku, Doha and Prague. Quite an interesting mix, although in the last few days a friend and I have been researching previous Olympic bids and been quite surprised.

Current IOC President, Jacques Rogge, has a goal of bringing change to the current Olympics. It's a huge financial and logistical undertaking for the city involved, and for that reason places like Beijing, London and Atlanta have previously been chosen - places with millions of dollars, and in Beijing's case, a place where virtual slave labour was used to get everything together on time. We all remember those Olympics (apart from the fact that they were less than a year ago). It was a showcase of opulence, perfection, and an overall triumph for the Chinese capital. But at the same time, there was also that whole fiasco with the little girl whose voice was used in the opening ceremony because she wasn't considered "cute" enough, as well as a few other scandals that popped up during the course of the Games.

Rogge wants to take a step away from the Olympic host having tonnes of money to pour into the event. London, for example, has already stated it has no intention of trying to match the splendour that was Beijing. The logo will probably convince you of that. It's so bizarre that advertisements for the Olympics last year were taken off television in some places because the bright colours and flashing were causing epileptic fits. Weird. Rogge says while there is no "timetable" to put in places his wishes for an Olympic Games to be held in Africa or South America, it seems that with Rio in the top four, this might be a good time.

And why not? Brazilians may not have a lot of money, but we know they can put on a show. We've all seen photos from Carnaval! Brazil is also one of the most beautiful places on earth. Rio successfully held the Pan-American Games in 2007, which bodes well for their Olympic bid.

Chicago, which was just strangely described to me by an acquaintance as a "front runner", is probably my least favourite of the four cities to win. Not because I don't like Chicago - I LOVE Chicago. It's where my best friend lives, and even though it's ever so slightly windy, it's a cool place. But I'm just kind of against the USA having another Olympics for a few years. Atlanta wasn't even that great. As for it's "being a frontrunner", I'm not convinced. Basically, in the Olympic race, there are never front runners until election day. Strangely, for the 2008 election, Toronto was runner up. Can you imagine? If it had been Toronto 2008? It would have just been so weird. And more likely that my favourite would win this time.

My favourite for 2016 is Tokyo, who in fact has the highest score leading up to the election. Yeah, yeah. Predictable, I know. But come on! Japan is cool. They have all-important money, but more importantly, they have style. And technology. I wasn't a fan of the "Bird's Nest" or the "Water Cube" in Beijing, and I know those Japanese architects could come up with something way cooler. My only qualm would be the Open Water Swim and Triathlon... you just don't know about the sea up there. That said, you just know that the organisation of the Games, especially transport (which was a biggie in Athens... trust me, I was there) would be unparalleled. And hello? Can you say free sushi in the dining hall? Yes please.

Madrid is an interesting one because the 1992 Olympics were held in Barcelona. So far, the Barcelona event has been the benchmark for organisational excellence, and I know for a fact I remember these Games better than any others I've been alive for (that's Seoul, Atlanta, Syndey and Beijing, in case you were wondering). Because I'm narrow-minded, I haven't actually done much research on their current bid. Madrid fared well in the 2012 bidding, and while Paris was a runner up then, the city thought it enough to apply again for 2016. Former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch is a supporter of Madrid's campaign.

What's your pick?

Stuff Miriam Likes

Jeanie at Swritches lists "Stuff Asian People Like" on her Blogroll. Naturally I assume this applies to me because of my unlikely obsession with Japanese guys. Or, to be more correct, Japanese guy.


You have no idea how bad I want to do an "elegant" lip on him. He's beautiful.

Anyway, said blog is freakin hilarious. Posts include "Bleached Hair" and we all know how I feel about bleached hair. There's also a "How Asian Are You" quiz, which under normal circumstances I would take, however I'm actually pretty out of touch with the Asian world (despite the whole Nayuha thing) and I'm embarrassed at the possibility of a bad score.

That said, I got the highest score on "How Indian Are You" on Facebook, when Harjeet got the lowest. Excellent.

In other news, I've been scouring the International Olympic Committee site for job opportunities. Since about 1999, I've thought being the President of this organisation would be a pretty cool job. Though I also get the feeling it's not something you just walk into. Current President, Jacques Rogge is an orthopaedic surgeon. I don't really think I'm approaching this the right way. It's pretty unlikely an internship in the Research and Reference Service is going to wind up with my induction as President, right? Still, can't hurt. Good thing I've got a European passport.

So that paragraph was a bit rambly...

You have to excuse my brain's current state: scrambled. If  it helps, 8 Mile, that awful 2002 movie featuring Eminem as "Runnin' Rabbit" is on. Is he for real?! Jesus. I would say "stick to music" but, he's not particularly good at that either.

Roll on October 4, when BAD RELIGION PLAY IN AUCKLAND AGAIN!


And this year, you can bet your ass I'll be there. In 2007 I didn't go, and Donny did. He also called me on his way home, to tell me it was great. So yeah, he's a piece of shit. Anyway, there'll be NONE of that this year, because I'm going to go too. And I'm going to enjoy it way more than he does. Not that I'm petty, or anything like that.

Oh yeah, I must offer my congratulations to my gorgeous girl friends Rena and Sulva, who both had babies recently - on May 7 and 9, respectively. Rena had a boy named Joshua (yeah, he's already "Jboy" in my mind) and Sulva's little girl is named Mya! Yay. I'm also well aware that May 7 was like, ten days ago now. But that's me. Too wrapped up in my own non-existent life to be concerned with those of others.

This week, I'm hoping for a job interview at Phoenix Cosmetics. It would help heaps!
I've also got the much-anticipated cycling testing day on Friday. Hello, Wingate test: my all-time favourite. In the way that it's not. I'm happy to do a Wingate test every day until August 29 of 2012 if it's required though.

London's calling...

Swing Party?!

No, not a swingers party. I get the feeling I would be quite out of place at one of those.

Becky is throwing a 1930s/40s themed party! I'm so excited. I'm going to dress as Ginger Rogers.


A little-known quirk of mine is that I love Fred Astaire. He's about the sexiest guy I've ever seen in my life. Tap-dancing is one of my favourite things, ever. Does life get any classier? Seriously. Plus, after studying at SRA, I'm a pro at the "World War Two" makeup look.


If you think you're going to be best-dressed at Becky's, think again. I will conquer all! If you're a guy wishing to dress as Fred Astaire and be my date (or husband, if you can tap-dance), hit me up. We can chat.



I'm already a spitting image... right?

Dark Shines

Uh, memo to the Smashbox advertising department...

Just because a mascara wand has a double-helix shape, doesn't mean it can "redefine your genes".


Nice try, though. From Sephora.com: "Smashbox Lash DNA Mascara contains a proprietary complex of proteins and amino acids that bind to lashes—creating mega-length and curl while conditioning and rebuilding former lash damage. The double-helix brush lengthens and separates every lash, no matter how small, for the ultimate fanned-out effect."

It's cute, because it appeals to the science geek and the beauty addict equally. And I'm kind of impressed by the use of "double-helix". But let's be honest people. How different is this going to be to Bionic?

I'm past Smashbox mascaras now. I've moved on to bigger and better things: Dior's Iconic, for example. It's developed from the same formula as the all-conquering DiorShow, but with an amazing brush that makes me want to die. It's that good. It's also well outside my price range, so here's hoping I meet someone rich and fabulous in the next few weeks.

I'm an optimist. It could happen.

I'm Not Convinced

Is it just me, or is NARS' "Vintage" Nail Polish range kind of... disappointing?

Their original range includes cute shades like "Arabesque", "Chinatown" and "Saratoga" - along with my personal favourite colour of all time ever, "Orgasm". This range seems more "Circus" than "Vintage" (wow, how many of "these" am I going to use during this post!?)

Not that I have a problem with Circus. You guys know how I feel about Britney. *does Britney dance*. Speaking of *puttings things in asterisks*, have you guys noticed on Facebook chat now it makes your typing bold? What is UP with that!?

Anyway.

Nail polish... yeah, I'm obsessed. And still a little disappointed at the lack of new OPI shades to swoon over. I'm thinking of submitting my Oceans collection idea to Suzi.
From "Just Like Lash Extensions, Only Crunchy":
Isn't it about time OPI brought out a new range of fashion colours? And no, Suzi, the "Fairytale Bride" series, while lovely, doesn't cut mustard with me. Not after the huge success of my personal favourite "India" collection. What about an "Oceans" theme, where the colours would range from an eye-catching atoll blue for the Pacific, to a funky calypso lime for the Carribean (yes, I am aware it's a sea, not an ocean). An ice blue tint could be added to the startling Alpine Snow, already a hit in OPI's current lineup, for the Southern, or Antarctic Ocean, and a Bollywood-inspired turquoise could represent the Indian Ocean. I'm beginning to feel like I missed my calling in life...

Yes? No?

This morning, I've been having a good old gossip with the beautiful Grace.

Yep, she's a complete babe, I know. We have like, the female equivalent of a bromance. She's incredible. And we have the same boy problems - except she's already shacked up with the just-as-gorgeous-and-amazing Brad, but had a wee crush on a guy who I'll liken to Donny. And they just keep us hanging on! It's so unfair. Mind you, if I was a guy, I would totally want Grace hanging around me. Babe city!

And just when you thought things were finally quietening down on the Donny front, BAM. It's gotten so bad so quickly that my mother has offered to PAY for me to go and live overseas for a year, provided I don't have anything to do with him during that time. Uhhh, intense. Sounds like a good plan though, and it's one I'm definitely considering for after Road Nationals. Pretty Mainstream goes to Whistler? I like it.

With that, I need to get out on my bike.

Over and out, babes.

My Latest Trick

... I'm obsessed with Luke Chueh.

This particularly delightful work of art is called "My Happiness is Riding on your Misery" and it came up via Google Images Search when I searched for "Happiness" the other day. Amazing.

After my weekend sealed off from the real world, I've been catching up on TV shows today. Yeah, realistic as. I watched episode 24 of Gossip Girl and shed a tear. Why doesn't Donny love me like Chuck loves Blair? And then there was episode 6 of The Hills. Can none of "my friends" (that's Lauren, Lo, and Audrina) see that Stephanie Pratt is actually mentally retarded? Like, for real!? That girl is SO STUPID. Did she even graduate high school?

I came home to more mail than I've ever had in my life. Sure, half of it was from Work and Income, StudyLink, and boring places like that, but I also had an invite to Theresa's 21st! YAY! I can't wait. I love 21sts. Plus, it's formal, which means I get a new dress. I love new dresses!
I also got my Proactiv, which I've been waiting for for close to three weeks. If you've seen un-airbrushed photos of me sans makeup, you will know that my skin is a disgusting mess, and has been since about 1998. Yuk. So fingers crossed this shit actually works!

Once I got over the bridge this afternoon I began rejoicing in my car. I love the North Shore! More specifically Bayswater. I'm so happy to be home! It's been a week. We have a shiny new flatmate too - albeit temporarily. Rex's friend Aaron has taken our weird flatmate's room for a bit. Fun! He better not dirty up my shower though *growls*.

Here's another cute picture.

Radioactive Reviews

The title is tackcity - quite like Thom's crazy little animation for our team name, which involved dinosaurs blowing fire and carrying on. But I just had to share a review he posted on my wall this morning.

Radioactive Reptiles – Nature Run Amok: “There Will Be Blood.”
[Mother Nature plays a cruel joke on a population driving itself towards sans-female status.]

One of my favourites for the night, this film approaches a rather sensitive subject with no holds barred humour, very clever dialogue, and brilliant twists on some of the events that scare ... Read morethe shit out of men, even though they only happen to females. Fantastic concept and great polish make this film a really entertaining and quality flick.

Our film was 2nd in the "crowd favourite" stakes last night, and I'm confident we will do just as well in the City Finals. Radioactive Reptiles = My Life.

Texts From Last Night

My new favourite site.

My own are less exciting. Here's one:

"... I want nothing to do with you nor..."

Burn.

Profesh

I love this photo that Luke added to Facebook this morning. It's of me setting up my kit on location in the weekend :-)

Miriam Casablancas And The Infinite Euphoria

I slept, almost uninterrupted, for twelve blissful hours last night. I had the occasional text, to which I attempted replies, but fell asleep part-way through. I also had one of those "sleeping-awake" dreams where my teammate Katie called me and asked me to come in and do more makeup for our film, and it wasn't until I was about to crawl out of bed to my car that our 48 hours were all over, and there was nothing else I could do.

The fact remains that "48 Hours Furious Filmmaking" was the greatest time of my life. The greatest night was Sophie's 21st, the best day was last year's XTERRA, but this has been the weekend.

It got me thinking about how easy it is to forget the worst days and remember the easy days, which accompanies my theory that as humans, we block out trauma as a coping mechanism (as a side note, I'd just like to confirm that I know that I am by no means the first person to theorise this.) and remember the good stuff. There were a few messy hours early on Sunday which led me to shed a few tears and tell the passenger in my car that "this is the worst night of my life". Prior to that I don't really know what the worst time of my life was.

I've had some crappy times. There was my race day in Athens. Another meet that didn't go to plan. The day I got hit by a car and fired from my job within the same hour. Once, before I got in the pool at a morning practice, my favourite cap split and I wailed "this is the worst thing that's ever happened to me". It prompted my coach Jo to say "you must have a pretty fantastic life."

And don't I? Don't you? I know I'm biased, because I'm coming off the world's greatest weekend, but to be honest, even though I don't have a job, and it's too cold nearly every single day to ride my bike without dying, my life is pretty fucking fantastic. Euphoric, even. Today, I got another rejection letter for a job I applied for last week. I wrote the world's greatest cover letter (I'm serious. I am so good at writing cover letters), but apparently it wasn't great enough, because I got one of those faceless emails that told me that while my application was of a high standard, I would not be moving on to the next stage of selection. Jobhunting is like a competitive sport! I should be good at it. But I don't really mind. I'm happy.

I'm not content, though. A well-meaning friend suggested "content" when I quizzed him for appropriate synonyms for the title of this post (it's taken from the Smashing Pumpkins' Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, in case you didn't work that one out already). Obviously said friend is not a very good one, because almost everyone I associate with knows that I hate content, contentedness, being content... you get the picture. Happiness is not content. He went on to suggest "excitement", which I'm sure you will agree, is another emotion altogether. Sure, I'm excited. But excitement is not happiness!

There is still much to be done. Today, I received an email informing me I've been invited to attend a testing day for cycling. It's part of a scheme to identify athletes to "fast-track" for the Olympics in 2012, so it's a start. You guys know how I feel about the Olympics. This could be my way back in. Anyway, it's going to be held May 22, so I have a few days to cover all my bases. I'm not even sure what I mean by "covering my bases" but I guess a few more long rides won't hurt.

I just looked for some appropriate pictures on Google Images for this post... but I can't really find any. It's just general euphoria. I hope you feel the same, yo.

There Will Be Blood. And Love. And FUN!

I'm not going to lie to you. I just had the best weekend of my life. Ever.

It might sound a little outlandish, but if you'd been around my incredibly talented and great 48 Hour Filmmaking team, the RADIOACTIVE REPTILES for the last, well... 50 hours, you would have had the best weekend of your life too.

Tonight, we are a bunch of zombie-like, sleep- and decent food-deprived maniacs. But we did something special this weekend, that I can't even express. We gathered in Wintec's Moving Image Studio on Friday night at 7pm to brainstorm ideas, stories, scripts... and by 2am we had a script. 7am next morning, Thom had every shot for every scene finalised. These film guys are machines!

When I signed up for Sophie's team, I imagined us running around the place like decapitated chickens with Handycams, but this was not to be. It was like a full-scale, motion picture event. Sure, it was condensed into the space of two days, and seven minutes of running time. But it was quality. There was all sorts of shots I've never heard of, proper lighting, a boom microphone. Best of all, the makeup looked beyond amazing on film. Once my teammate Luke has uploaded his pictures to Facebook, they'll be up on mim.artiste.

I wish I could put into words the genuine happiness I felt this entire weekend, but instead I guess I'll finish by saying I ADORE the following people:
Sophie
Thom
Luke
Katie
Kimmy
Brendan
Adam
Jono
Bevan
Nick
Kevin

Yay! 48 Hours rules.