I loved Monkey Island. I’m not really sure why since I pretty much sucked at them and had to frequently resort to hints sites or walkthroughs to get through difficult bits. I haven’t the patience to try all the permutations of different objects together to achieve some effect. But I did like seeing how the puzzle was solved, even if not by me. I’ve got all the games, and I do go back and play them every year or two. I find I’ve forgotten half of it by then and it’s like playing a fresh game again. I’ve always thought it was a shame they didn’t make another game. Well, now they have!

My plans for giving to charity have advanced one step further – I’ve now signed up for the Unicef Global Parents program. That pretty much takes care of the international and extreme poverty end of the spectrum. At the more local and personal end of the scale, I also support the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust, since several of my family members have needed this to get to hospital.

I promised myself many years ago that when I finished my thesis I would buy myself a PDA. I had my eye on a Palm LifeDrive at one point. But that was a long time ago, and PDAs seem to have gone out of style now – what you have are smartphones instead.

I went to Melbourne for a shopping trip this weekend. My sister overflowed her suitcase, but I only got a few pairs of shoes and a few tops. Shopping isn’t really my thing. Next time I go to Melbourne, I’ll spend a bit more time sightseeing. Still, it was the first holiday/break I’ve had in several years, so it was good.