good intentions

i've been meaning to do something like a "top ten" of new zealand, but when i finally sat down to make a list i came up with 15 things easily.  so clearly ten is probably a bit of a stretch.  so then i decided that, since it's the new year starting tomorrow, maybe i would do a year in review type thing.  because i know there were times when i didn't really blog, and so i ended up kind of skipping over a few things. 

i'm sure that i have some stories stored in my brain somewhere to share!

random aside: speaking of travelling and stories, i'm reading william least heat-moon's roads to quoz: an american mosey.  even if i hadn't previously read any of his work, i would still love it simply for the title.  and i'd be reading it much faster if stephanie weren't on a chuck kick, watching it on hulu all the time.  (it has adam baldwin, who is also in firefly and serenity playing jayne cobb.  jayne cobb's "cunning" hat is my next knitting project, if i can find someone to teach me how to use circular needles.  and how to sew up my previous knitting project, my "lumberjack" hat.)

urgh.

not even a week in, and i'm totally over ever working in retail/sales for the rest of my life.  also, that song that the store is so famous for plays over the p.a. system about every two minutes.  i have it memorized.  actually, i had it memorized days ago.  now it's just driving me nuts.

but if you have any questions about appliances...

happy holidays!

last night we had our holiday party (good timing too, as far as the weather is concerned).  it was good fun, and we spent a lot of the week making food, decorating and cleaning.  i made mulled wine and a pavlova, both of which got compliments.  i was relieved because the pavlova that i made, did not look quite like i remember pavlovas i've eaten.  meringue is a tricky thing!  we also had a white elephant gift exchange, which is generally hilarious.  the best part was that my mom got confused about two gifts, and my brother ended up picking a gift that was his actual christmas present--not the white elephant gift!  oops! 

i think i will spend the rest of this weekend doing not much at all.  the weather is rather unpleasant with several inches of new snow, and blowing winds.  it's cold.  and on monday, i start my new job selling cabinets and appliances at the midwest's favorite home improvement store.  the one where you can "save big money".  it should be an interesting experience, considering my current lack of knowledge about everything in our department.  except the part where i know how to use some of the things.  yeah, it's going to be a fun couple of weeks coming up!

"the other woman"

since a certain blogger has not posted anything in several months *ahem, stephanie* i have been added as a blogger on spencer list.  i did my first post tonight, and i have a couple more ideas.  even if you don't live in spencer, you should at least check it out. 

booklist

i still haven't done much by the way of working on adding new photo albums, but this evening i did replenish my stockpile of books to read.  the selection at the library here in spencer is a bit hit and miss, but i guess i went in at a good time this evening.  i was able to find a few non-fiction books that look interesting, as well as a couple of mysteries.  so far i have been able to resist dewey.  and i haven't really got any immediate plans to read it.  i feel as though i ought to, though.

(particularly as i was unable not only to resist twilight, but i went with my sister to the film, and i've been picking it up again to re-read certain parts when i'm trying in vain to actually be reading margaret atwood.)

i really wish that they had a better selection of travel books.  in that section, the pickings look fairly slim. 

how i feel about the snow: i wish it'd waited, because that means that grand meander was cancelled last night, and i was looking forward to it.  i wouldn't have minded so much, but it's not really quite right for the outdoor activities i would like to do, like cross-country skiing.  at least i'm gauranteed a white christmas, i guess.

the weather with you

crowded house, anyone?  (they're from new zealand!)  as before, i still miss the sun and surf.  but i'm adjusting somewhat to the idea of having christmas with snow and christmas lights this year*.  last night the parker museum, where my mom works, had an open house.  i helped out in the kitchen (swapping my pjs and slippers for a dress and boots), and had a look around.  the house is covered in christmas decorations, it's very cool.  there are a number of christmas festivities planned around here in the next few weeks, so there's plenty to look forward to.

 

it's so bitterly cold, that every time i go outside, i feel as though the skin on my face is going to fall off. hence the apparel that makes it look as though i'm about to embark on an expedition to the arctic.  or antarctic, take your pick. 

*not adjusting to the whole driving on the right side of the road thing--still looking the wrong way when i cross the street about 80% of the time.  good thing there's not much traffic around here!  and the one time i did drive (about three blocks) it felt strange.  and the blinker is on the opposite side.  d'oh!  it took me ages to get used to it being on the other side!

welcome home!

 

isn't this such a welcoming sight?  the mall of america, taken from the parking lot of ikea!  hooray!  consumerism at it's best!  it was in a way a bit welcoming: it meant that the over 20 hours of flying/sitting in airports was over.  that is probably one of my least favorite activities, even before spending 12 hours cramped in a crowded airplane with hardly any leg room.  (and i'm "average" height!)  i feel fortunate that, even though i had to change my flight the day before, i was still able to get a window seat for the auckland to los angeles leg.

so i've been back a week, but i haven't done an awful lot yet.  we had thanksgiving, which was also a belated birthday celebration for me, and i've been watching episodes of doctor who on youtube.

my sister has been reading my twilight books and doing the same ranting and raving i was, but slightly more eloquently and at great length.  (honestly, everything is vampires or, occaisionally, werewolves with her this last week.)  we've also been to see the film.  so see, it's not just me!  it really is quite addicting, even with all of it's awfulness.  but the film version of bella is easier to stomach, and i absolutely love all of the scenery.

and i don't know what's next, but seriously?  that's what every other person keeps asking me.  i wish i knew, just so i had something to say.  because i can't keep saying "sleep" forever.

why i am going grey.

isn't it fun how a person can go from uber-relaxed (ie "raglan time") to the most stressed out person ever in just 24-hours?  or less, really.  i got the plane ticket problem solved (they moved my flight from tuesday to monday/tonight, but not my conneting flights.  what would i do in san francisco for such a short amount of time?  like i would be in any shape to sightsee after an overnight flight on top of the usual airport stress. on top of the million things i had planned to finish up here.  so now i fly tuesday, as planned, but through los angeles.  much better even if lax is slightly showerless and s.f. airport is not.)  but now i have an immigration issue to deal with.  my visa is, in fact, still valid.  who knew?  certainly not the man in dunedin who i spoke with.  which means i have a refund coming to me but not into an american accounts and not in cash, or check, in auckland.  i have to have it mailed within new zealand and, basically, lose a lot of money trying to cash it at home.  oh well, it's still cheaper than having a black x in my passport, i suppose. 

the to-do list is slowly resolving itself but that doesn't make me feel any more relaxed about it.  i won't until i arrive in minneapolis on tuesday night, and i have no more flights to worry about catching.

ka pai!

again, i don't know what is with the sideways-ness of the photos, and why it is suddenly doing this to me.  i'm now in raglan, after an amazing nine days up in the bay of islands.  paihia was really fantastic, and i went to waitaingi (where the treaty of waitangi was signed), russell, and up to kerikeri for a few days.  i didn't like kerikeri quite so much, but i was staying at a place and there were some really hilarious american girls there.  honestly, i don't think i have ever laughed so much in my life!  i also did an overnight boat trip in paihia with kayaking and fishing and so many other things, and from kerikeri i did a day trip up to cape reinga (furthest north you can go in new zealand), and along 90 mile beach.

in raglan i'm having a great time as well, yesterday i took surfing lessons which was interesting, and i'm going to go back to the beach today and i'm renting a board and wetsuit from the backpackers so that i can practice falling off and hitting myself with the board some more...i mean, standing on the board!

the weather is amazing at the moment, so warm and sunny during the day, even if it is still a bit cool at night.  i have absolutely no desire to be going back to iowa at this time of year.  four more days...

one year gone

i arrived here, in auckland, one year ago today.  there's an interesting thought, if it's something you care to think about.  i'm back in town now, in time to witness the whitcoull's santa being assembled and beckon in a questionable manner.  it's also movember, and while i have yet to actually see any budding mos, i have seen plenty of billboards to that regard advertising marmit'se (or vegemite's?) ability to make your mo shinier and fuller.

tomorrow the plan is that i head to pahia in the bay of islands, and spend some time up there and go to cape reinga.  but i was supposed to go today (or so the plan was), and i've already procrastinated, so whether or not i actually go anywhere in the next couple of days is questionable.  no matter where i am, i'm enjoying these last couple of weeks of sun and good weather, before i have to come home and break out the clothes that i've only just put away.

(and i don't know why those photos are sideways, they weren't on my camera.)

   

 

 

it's guy fawkes day, but fireworks are fireworks!

and what fun this was!  i was watching the election on tv here after i returned to whakatane this afternoon, they were getting ceoverage from cnn and abc news...and when they announced the projected winner, i was so ecstatic!  i wasn't even expecting them to be close to doing so at that point, i was like, oh, wait, what?!  and it's been the news here all day, even though new zealand has it's own election on saturday.

all in all, it was a good excuse for some fireworks!  well, that and it's guy fawkes day (you know, to celebrate that dude who tried to blow up parliament back in the day).  some of us went to the park and put off a whole bunch of different things from the box o' fireworks i purchased for cheap at the warehouse yesterday.  it was good fun, but playing with fire often is.

     

(that last photo is the "red fan" which i insisted we save for last--i called it my "obama" fireworks because i wanted something to celebrate, but it wasn't quite as spectacular as i expected it to be.  it didn't rotate like it said it would.)

remember, remember, the fifth of november!

thanks to ilya in queenstown, i will have that infernal line in my head until the end of time.  but it's the fifth of november, which means guy fawkes day!  after the evening news, in which i am hoping there is some kind of u.s. election result, i get to set off my box of various firecrackers and the fifty roman candles that i bought at the warehouse.  although i will hopefully be celebrating a successful obama victory.  if the unthinkable happens, then i shall be setting them off just because it's fun, and it's guy fawkes day.

until that point, i will soon be heading back to whakatane, and setting myself in front of a tv all afternoon: tv one is exclusively covering the election all afternoon until evening news time.  i almost wish i had a shorter drive, just so i can get there sooner!  (not that i would be missing much anyway!)

photos to come shortly, i have quite a few of them!

a few weeks

i wanted to write a post, about all sorts of things: travelling, coming to the end of my year (plus seventeen days), the upcoming elections, the iowa d.o.t. (again).  but as i am wavering between feeling fine and overwhelming nausea i fear i may have come down with some stomach thing, and i will have to keep it more brief than i intended.  (and just when i've got my rental car, too!  i hope it's short-lived.)

travelling!  i will concentrate on that because obviously i am not in wellington any longer, as that was a couple of weeks ago since i wrote that.  i went to paraparaumu, on the kapiti coast, for a few days, but was rained and wind-ed out of going to kapiti island to look at some more birds.  i didn't have my heart set on it, so i'm fine with that.  i then went to napier just in time for hawke's bay day on friday and labour day on monday.  awesome!  so i had to move hostels halfway through, and felt very lucky indeed to find one to move to.  i didn't do much there that i didn't do before, but i did go to the national aquarium.  it's very cool, and i really enjoyed looking at all of the fish. 

next i headed to taupo where i missed the good weather for the tongariro crossing waiting for it to be nicer the next day: i ought to know better, and that the weather here is so changeable.  if there is a nice day, take advantage of it!  but i didn't, so i still have not gone, but i hope there will still be time at the end.  i did however, go kayaking on lake taupo with a man from a company that does these sorts of things.  it was just a short trip, three hours to the maori rock carvings.  it was very cool, and a beautiful day!  twenty knots winds?!  it was flat as glass out there.  i do have blisters though, thank goodness they are already healing!  next whakatane.  didn't do much there, but picked up a rental car for my east cape adventure.  i return it there as well, so i'd like to do white island (an active volcano off the shore there) when i get back. 

it's a whirlwind thing, but it's good, because it keeps my mind off of my ever-nearing departure date.

and now i feel ill again, so i will post more later! 

intervention

i leave in one month from today.  but we're not here to talk about that, instead, we are here to help me get over a horrible addiction: twilight. 

i was doing so well, being completely oblivious to it's existance on the other side of the planet, but then it was mentioned to me.  and i read the back cover of the first book and was intrigued by the whole vampire bit (why wouldn't i be?  after all, i read books about necromancers with bells, and books with alternate worlds and talking polar bears.)...and then read the first half of the book in the borders in wellington. 

i thought, wow, this isn't so bad, definitely not my favorite book on the planet but i can see why it's so popular.  ugh!  i thought too soon!  the more i read, the worse it gets.  the plot twists are cliched and predictable, the lovey-dovey romance bit is certainly not my thing (perhaps because i'm not a teenage girl and totally in love with the over-controlling edward or the drama-queen bella who is constantly having hysterics of one sort of another) and now, in the final book, every time anyone says the name "renesmee" i want to puke.  and the whole one-month gestational period thing?  really?  that is so star trek!  (no, really, i can think of at least two episodes where they used a quicker-than-usual gestational period for their characters and it was explained away FAR BETTER than just as a convenient for the plot...of course, aliens were involved.)  i have been doing a lot of eye-rolling and walking away, but i always pick it back up again.

i think i need help.  or some garth nix or phillip pullman.

wellington.

not so windy, but very full of people.  lots and lots of people.

back in nelson

 

it's a little bit surreal.  but i'm glad to see fiona & co., and be back somewhere familiar.  as soon as i get myself sorted and finish a few projects i've been working on, i will head to golden bay before going up to the north island.  i'm feeling a little bit melancholic about it because it means i am getting closer to the end.  i've had such an amazing time, and the west coast is so beautiful!  i'm a bit sad to be leaving there, but i will go back some day, i'm sure of it.  (did i mention the ice climbing i did at franz josef?  at hukawai, there is a 10m/32ft ice climbing wall, and i did an hour and a half session.  it was really quite fun!)

although it was cool and rainy on the west, as it is wont to be, so it's nice to be able to ditch the fleece and quite possibly, if i am feeling brave, break out the swimsuit!

voting is fun!

sorry, dad!


but your "hippy" daughter has voted for the "wrong guy" again!

i also have a question:


would it really be an election without ralph nader on the ballot?

finally!

again, i have to leave why?  i am now in fox glacier and it's so nice
here.  i did not get to do ice climbing, it wasn't offered today, so i
just did the full day walk.  it was so beautiful!  i think i may stop
at franz josef after all.  still waiting to get north, but i don't want
to miss anything here either.  i wish ultimately that i had all the
time in the world, and that i could stay here for a few weeks.

talk about frustrating!

i fought the computer, and the computer won.

the computer and i are having an argument.  it keeps telling me to insert a disk into drive h, and i keep thinking, i did that already.  i think it is an argument that i am destined to lose.  so, sadly, i still have no new photos that i can share with you.

since i left queenstown, i have been having a grand ol' time travelling across this fantastic island.  my first stop was at lake tekapo, home to mt. john observatory, the bluest lake i have ever seen, and the church of the good shephard at which approximately one million tourist buses stop daily.  i only spent the night there, wisely thinking i would easily be bored with the town, and headed the next day to mt. cook.

i am in love with mt. cook, if that is possible with a geological feature.  it's maori name is "aoraki", which means "cloud piercer" and for good reason.  the two days i was there, it was fairly clear, but with occasional bouts of it living up to it's name.  i did two day hikes there and just admired the mountain, wishing i had the skills to partake in some of the more hardcore activities one can do in a place like that.  and on wednesday morning when it was blowing a gale and rock hard snow, i headed to the alpine center where i watched a film about mountain rescuers and another about sir ed(mund hillary).  what a guy!  there are certainly worse people one could look up to as a role model.  besides being one of the first to reach the summit of mt. everest with tenzing norgay, did you know he was also in a party to be the first to use motor vehicles to reach the south pole?  true!  he is also famous for his philanthropic work in nepal, of course.

i could have easily stayed far longer at mt. cook, but yesterday made myself (after two bus transfers) leave to come to wanaka.  it's a mini-queenstown, in that it's a hive of skiing and boarding activity, as well as being close to mt. aspiring national park.  none of which i am interested in right now.  instead i have been taking it easy, and went to puzzling world (a bit of a letdown, i must admit) and am planning for my next leg, fox glacier.  i will head up there tomorrow and on sunday i hope to do a glacier walk, or perhaps if i decide i am adventurous enough, try some ice climbing!  i am also trying to figure out how to get myself to barrytown for knife-making because it sounds interesting, and somewhere near punakaiki is a place called shantytown, which appears to be like a wild west sort of place in the states, except, of course, new zealand style! 

so i am still slo-o-o-wly working myself up to the north island.  i'm taking it cruisey though, which is the new zealand way to be!

"...and then i found twenty dollars!"

i did find a dollar at the four square in oban on wednesday, but that's a story for another day.  actually, i guess i just told you the whole story: that's it, i was looking for a candy bar, and there it was.

anyway, i've had a very interesting day yesterday, involving a rough ferry crossing and a lack of dramamine--i'm sure your imaginations can fill in the rest.  after bulking up on band-aids and falafel in invercargill, i got the bus to queenstown and here i am!  not that i spend much time in these sorts of places, but it reminds me of a resort town in colorado.  or what little i've seen of it.  i'm undecided on whether or not i like the place, but at least there's a great burger place nearby. 

stewart island is nice, i'd show you photos, but the place i'm staying at, while it has free internet i can't upload photos.  that's cool with me, and hopefully you guys don't mind because it means you have been spared photos of my left foot's toe-next-to-the-big-one.  i injured it on monday and it's been turning some nice colors of the rainbow, and i'm wondering how about my toenail and it's attatched state (hence the band-aids). 

because i know you love my series of photos dealing with my gruesome and usually variously shaded injuries.  that sprained ankle a year ago is still the best, how my leg turned blue and purple halfway up my calf.

...and then i found twenty dollars?

so i guess i'm another year older.

according to all documentation, today was my birthday.  it's probably the most low-key birthday i've ever had, doesn't quite feel right without the lasagne and german chocolate cake!

i predict a long day ahead of me.

no matter how many times you do it, packing does become any easier.  how do i have so much stuff?  how?!  didn't i just get rid of a number of things?

in a somewhat related query: should i just go ahead and sell my tent now, and not bother with attempting anything camping up north?  what are the chances i will do any?  and what are the chances that i sell it and two days later i want to go?  discuss!

curio bay, and whatnot.

the sky in that second photo just totally amazes me.  i loved the way that the setting sun reflected off of the clouds and into the water.  although it was a little freaky as well, being that it was also really windy that night.  but then when i woke up, i had that amazing view of porpoise bay you see in the photo after.

i'm still working at countdown, i decided it was easier to work a second week now than to try to find work later on, since it always takes awhile.  this weekend was dull, dull, dull though for the most part.  because i slept all day, i had not much to do all night.  i ended up making best friends with youtube, watching doctor who, french & saunders, and quite a number of music videos from mostly kiwi bands that i like.  i also met some canadians who are doing so much tramping!  i'm jealous, they're planning on going to fiordland in a couple of weeks.  the kepler track is one that i would really like to do, i think.  time!  i wish i had the time!

four more shifts, though, and i'm done with work!  and on my way!  that is a start, at least, i'm trying to decide my route, and the most logical first stop is stewart island, but only if the weather is good.  (i'm not going to pay money for a ferry if i'm stuck inside a backpackers all day, i think that makes sense, right?)  otherwise on to queenstown for a day or two, and up to mt. cook!  i'm sort of excited to be going back to the north island, not because i want to leave (of course not), but because i'm ready for a change, and it's certainly different up north.  

and what do i get to do now?  get ready for work.  wasn't i just there?  sure seems like it!

a few more catlins photos

purakaunui bay in the evening, starry night with caravan, sea lions at surat bay, and looking down near jacks blowhole.

i really like that second one, if you click on it and see it larger, you can sort of see the stars.  my new camera has a "starry sky" setting, but alas, the longest the shutter will stay open is one minute.  i think it'd be really cool if i could get it to stay open longer, i could spend hours taking photos of the sky at night! 

we finished work early last night, which we knew we would, but it ended up being only six hours.  fantastic!  i got more sleep that way, and i slept some more this afternoon.  i'd go to bed now (it's not quite 2am), but it took me long enough to get into the whole up-all-night, sleep-all-day routine and i'd really like to keep it that way for next week. i'm getting a little bit bored though, i was watching the rugby match (all blacks vs. wallabies) on tv, but i think that socket is on a timer (as most of them in this house are, annoyingly), because the tv went out before it was even halftime.  ack!  so i'm just dinking around on the internet, and about to find some doctor who on youtube! 

i'm in practice for a job on "deadliest catch".

work is okay, the actual tasks aren't terribly awful, even if a bit monotonous or sometimes frustrating.  (like trying to find a place on a shelf for an item that, it turns out, will no longer be carried, or anytime the tickets are messed up which is more often than we would like.)  and my coworkers are okay, even though there is that one guy who calls everybody "bro" every two seconds.  nor can we forget that i am working eleven-hour shifts.

i do feel a bit zombie-fied though.  perhaps more vampire-like, being that i am only actually out at night.  despite my efforts, i have had approximately six hours of actual sleep since i got up monday morning, 75 hours ago.  there is an occasional giggling fit, and some difficulty concentrating (especially when i went grocery shopping this morning, but that could be because i am tired of looking at food), but for the most part i feel compeletely fine.  hardly tired at all!  it's strange how sleep deprivation works like that!

progress

i meant to write a post about my travels as part of my "project day" that today was going to be, but it turns out i am working this week after all.  night shifts.  eleven-hour night shifts.  until saturday morning.

i should be in bed, sleeping.  i will go soon, but i wanted to show that i have been doing something this weekend at least:

 
defintitely further along than i was a couple of weeks ago, but still not finished yet.  it does't look that great either, there are mistakes everywhere and the side i start my purl rows on is not even close to straight, but i hope that since it's my first knitting project i can be forgiven!  (and that once it's finished it's slightly less noticeable.)  perhaps i will only wear it when i become a lumberjack (to match my plaid), and nobody will notice. 

a political ranting of my own.

don't worry, normal programming to resume soon.

this is just a response i've written about sarah palin earmarking money for the state of alaska, which i read on d's blog:

 

before i begin, i would like to point out that i have no desire to see sarah palin as our country's vp--i have been excited about obama for months.  nor do i agree with her earmarking* of money for wasilla ($500,000 for a youth center?  that's not a bit excessive?  i'd like to see the full list, and how much the city put in, if any), and definitely not the bridge to nowhere**.  nor am i an expert on government or finances.  if i were, i'd have far more money.  i just get stuck on the part about her earmarking money for the state.

 

based on my experience and knowledge of alaska, a lot of the $198 million earmarked for the state would go to genuinely useful programs. rural sanitation probably does not need to be discussed, as it's a pretty self-explanatory.  (do you want to try digging a septic system into the permafrost?)  there are many programs having to do with fisheries which is a main industry in alaska, following oil drilling, and along with tourism.  they've learned what overfishing can do, and have, from what i have seen, been doing a good job of regulating the industry in recent years, and i hope that they continue to do so.   i would certainly support any efforts to be made to keep things that way, and to find newer and better ways to run a sustainable source of income for the state.  along with that were programs like DARE, and things dealing with drugs and alcohol.  a problem anywhere, they definitely have issues with it.  a number of places have outlawed the import of alcohol altogether because of the effect it has had. 

 

another note: according to wikipedia, "Federal subsidies are also an important part of the economy, allowing the state to keep taxes low."  i should have a problem with this, because they do have such a huge income from oil.  it funds a lot of state programs, including the permanent dividend fund.  each alaskan resident, last year, received $1654.  on the other hand, the per capita income from alaska in 2006 was $26,919 (higher than most states, also with a much higher unemployment rate than nationally), but consider the high cost of living in most rural communities: while living in naknek, i rarely saw fresh fruit or vegetables at the cannery, and the cost of those in the grocery store were, for example, between $2.50-$3.00 for a pound of bananas.  the cost of other necessary items, like shampoo, is astounding in a place like that.  i'm not even sure what housing costs.  so $1600 can make a huge difference in the income for many alaskans.  (a round trip plane ticket from king salmon to anchorage, the nearest major shopping center?  at the moment, about $500 on travelocity.)  you can see why a huge number of alaskans are for continuing with oil, and opening up anwr.  that check, it's not just a plane ticket out of town, but an important source of income for some.

 

a lot of people seem to comment on that being a lot of money for so few people, but alaska being so VAST and so much of it being undeveloped/without infrastructure, and fewer natural resources/sources of income, it's not exactly a black and white issue.  i think sarah palin is a hypocrite for calling herself a reformer and i don't agree with all of her decisions,  but i can understand why she made them.  and so going back to earmarking (and really in quite a lot of topics), i don't think that we can talk about alaska in the same way that we talk about other parts of the country. 

 

i guess in the end, that is my point: politics as with many topics is a complicated issue to begin with, and we never really can see every point of view.  especially in a country like the u.s., which being so large makes everything even more so.  and it all gives me a headache.  and i'm glad i'm not her daughter, how humiliated she must feel.

 

*in general i think the way earmarking is done is a crappy way to get money for programs, and that does need to change.  but the end result is what i'm trying to focus on here.

**in talking about, some writers fail to omit the part about the airport being there, just a population of 50, making it sound even more laughable.  *giggles*

 

info from:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/elections/keyraces/census/ak/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska
http://stevens.senate.gov/earmarks/Approps-StateofAlaska.pdf

 

addendum: i also cringed when i read jezebel calling palin a "moose murderer".  um...a lot of alaskans hunt moose.  as an affordable source of food.  a moose can provide nearly all of the meat for a family for quite some time.  i really just wish people would not make accusatory statements without a little basic research.  although when i read about her being for hunting wolves by helicopter?  that's not so much okay by me.

back, again.

while everyone else is discussing politics, i have been away, content in my ignorance.  i went to the catlins, and part of central otago for a few days, sleeping in my tent (and one night a caravan, which i now want) and just got back in town this morning.  and was promptly given more work at countdown (days) in mornington, a nearby neighborhood.

no time to collect my thoughts!

curio bay, where i camped one night.  the sky looked a bit ominous, and it did rain a little, but it was mostly the wind that was a bit freaky.

misc.

well, i'm not sure about this new blog banner.  it's not colorful and cheerful, and even though i like aldo leopold, that's maybe not the best quotation i've ever read.  although i do think it has something to it.

things i have done recently:

• burned several months of photos on dvd.  several more months await.  not sure if i should send them home, don't want these to get recycled too!  (kidding, mom!)
  
• filled out an "enquiry" form at the post office to look into a package missing since march.  which would be, of course, my journal.  only fitting since my photos from that time are also in limbo.
  
• spoke to immigration about my visa so i don't stay here illegally.
  
• gone on a tour at the speight's brewery where i looked at a lot of shiny copper apparatuses.  (is apparatuses a word?  too lazy to go to dictionary.com)
  
• went on a tour at the cadbury factory and got some free chocolate!  i also saw them making creme eggs, which i really wish i could have had.  i learned they store the easter stuff in a super-secret location.  i think i understand why!
  
• listed one thing on trademe, new zealand's answer to ebay.  i only hope that i can sell it.
  
• this afternoon i spent a good half-hour or so at the otago museum in the butterfly exhibit.  it's a big room with a lot of really pretty butterflies, some koi, a few turtles and some finches.  it's very nice, and it would be relaxing if not for all the school kids.  still very beautiful!
  
• booked a rental car for the beginning of next week so i can do some travelling on my own.  this will include camping, unless i get caught in some torrential downpour.  i'm hoping for the camping, especially if a nice big campfire is allowed!
  
• and it goes without saying, lol'd at the lolcats at icanhascheezburger.com.

clearly, i'm not too bored.  and i haven't really been working on my knitting either, which is a no-no!  i need to mail the needles back, and i need to learn to not be frustrated and give up when it takes me five minutes to start a row.  although i have never been a very patient person.

to make you jealous!

a few more photos from yesterday!  it was so amazing.  i wasn't sure of the weather at first, because it was cloudy in te anau, but once we got through homer tunnel it was just BEAUTIFUL!  clear skies and everything!  (thanks easterly!  you can go back to westerlies now!)  we did a few stops along the way, a couple of times to deliver mail (i got to through a newspaper from a car window, through an automatic door and on top of a reception desk.  i made it and received an ovation!) and just to get out and look around.  one place, called the chasm, is where the first photo was taken.  the only thing is that there were so many tourist buses wherever we were.  i don't really like them much, but in some places they are just unavoidable.  (like uluru.)  the company i went with was small, just six of us in a van, which was fantastic.  we got into milford and onto a boat, and ate some lunch and just had a great cruise.  on the way out, the wind was behind us, so it was just so warm and sunny with some fantastic views of mitre peak, and out to anita bay and the end to turn around.  anita bay is the location of a form pounamu (greenstone) called taniwai.  at hollyford camp on the way in, i had purchased a taniwai pendant that is really pretty.  it's translucent and has the white markings that look like the tear tracks the name means.  i want to keep it, but you aren't supposed to buy greenstone for yourself.  it's supposedly bad luck, you're supposed to give it away.  it's a bit of a dilemma!  anyway, we came back by stirling falls, which is three times high as niagra falls.  that is in the photo from my previous post.  it's so fantastic!  when i was in te anau, i saw a film made by a local pilot called ata whenua (remember that "wh" makes an "f" sound) which means "shadow land", the maori name for the fiordlands.  it's so amazingly beautiful that i bought the dvd, but it has a scene with stirling falls in it.  so everyone can ooh and ahh with me when i get home!  after we finished on the boat, we went on a helicopter!  it was a bit of a splurge, but i was so excited, i had never been on a helicopter before!  we went up on a mountain, i can't remember which one, and stopped and were able to walk around on it!  and we went all over, to homer tunnel where we got off!  money well spent! milford area is very sharp mountains, it's so dramatic, so it was so cool to see it from the air.  and then we drove back, and i was so tired!  i didn't even do much actual moving around, but it was so exhausting anyway!  and it was so amazing.  and now i am back in dunedin, and kind of sad about it.  can't wait to get back on the road!

what a day!

it was so fantastic!  it makes up for the thickly falling snow of doubtful sound.  i will try to write about it tomorrow, but i'm so exhausted!  and cold, still.  i'm sad now that tomorrow i have to board the bus to go back to dunedin, although once i'm there i'm sure i'll be glad to be planning my next adventure.  but a couple of photos!

 

(yes, that is my shadow on a mountain next to a helicopter!)

knit & purl

i've only just realized that this computer has a card reader, and that i can resize photos on my camera.  it goes without saying that i have been a bit spacey recently.  (the last several months, perhaps?)

anyway, to fill the time here i've been learning to knit.  it's going better than my numerous previous attempts at learning to crochet, but i'm still messing up stitches here and there.  and i'm not entirely sure that i care for my chosen color scheme, but i had somewhat limited options.  i suppose i could always take the parts i do like and re-make it after i've had the practice, if i really want to.

it's not such good lighting, but i hope you can sort of get the idea anyway.

this weekend i get to "take charge" and then on monday i'm going to milford sound, before heading back to dunedin on tuesday.

tick & tock

i've been trying to decide how to explain this phenomenon of temporal brain fire, and i have nothing.  well, no, i have a theory on how this happened.  a) the whole seasonal backwardness has me confused.  b) not having a schedule doesn't help.  a week can go by and i don't know where it went, simply because i have nothing i necessarily have to do.  (even when i was working it was true, i have to know what day it is, but not the date.  it's not like i have to remember that such and such a date is this commitment or whatever, because i don't have anything except "flight home" which was so far in the future.  some days i don't know what month it is, let alone day.  no wonder time is passing me by.)  the downhill theory from a few months ago is so definitely true.

and now i hear that clock ticking down!

the weather is pretty awful here, on thursday i went to doubtful sound on a boat cruise, but it started to snow.  wilmot pass sure was pretty underneath it all, but it was terrible for trying to sightsee in the sound.  i saw...snow.  and some trees on a hill.  covered in snow.  a disappointment.  i'm not even going to try to go kayaking in milford, what's the point?  i'd freeze to death.  and probably my fingers would fall off, because of this.  recently i've noticed an awful pain in my fingers when they get cold, even mildly, and then i remembered reading about this syndrome in my winter hiking and camping book.  obviously self-diagnosis means little, but i have no other explanations for the cause.  (although it could be panic attacks, that's what webmd's symptom checker tells me.  it gives me that diagnosis as an option no matter what symptoms i put in, i could put in my leg hurts and it would tell me i'm either having panic attacks or have generalized anxiety disorder.  i don't put much stock into symptom checker!)

so bad weather = a lot of time watching olympics.  this afternoon was men's 20km speed walking.  oh, the excitement!  also viewed: badminton and ping pong.  but also some genuinely exciting stuff, michael phelps!  and shawn johnson, fellow iowan, getting silver in gymnastics!  that was pretty great.  tonight should be good, lots of rowing finals in which new zealand has finalists in five groupings.  and tomorrow?  i'm hoping for better weather!

out of my hands

one thing leads to another, but what if it's not what i want?  i can stay in te anau and clean for food and accommodation, but what would i do when i'm not doing that?*  nothing.  i like quiet, but not this much of it.

and if i leave, what happens then?
oh! if only i had more time!

*not to mention i'm sort of over cleaning toilets and making beds for the time being.

nz pronunciation guide #2: "te anau" pronounced "don't ask me!"

this afternoon i am going to te anau. i have no idea how to pronounce it, even though it seems it should be easier than some places/words i've had trouble with, like "pohutekawa".  i'm going to spend the rest of the week there, as it is the sort of gateway to the fjordlands.  i'm hoping to do some kayaking and cruising and whatnot in doubtful and milford sounds, and not be precipitated on too much.  i'm realistic enough to know that it will probably not be sunny, or at least much. 

i have other things i want to talk about, like how time is passing in an extraordinarily fast way (thereby setting my brain on fire, temporally), the peace lecture i attended and how my perceptions on the u.s. have changed in the last nine months, and the final film in the film festival that i went to.

but i also have to pack and get myself sorted, so it will have to be later.  that with my new camera arriving today (at least in theory), perhaps it will give everyone something to look forward to, eh?

i need a library card, or a second-hand bookshop.

the only book that i found on the bookshelf here that looked remotely interesting (as in not a book by jeffrey archer or some horrible chick lit thing) is the return of merlin by deepak chopra. i'm only a few pages in, but i'm already unsure as to whether or not i will continue reading it based on these things:

"This version, The Return of Merlin, is about waking up the wizard that sleeps deep within all of us, so that we can reclaim the field of pure knowledge and dream a new world into reality, from the purity of our hearts."

and

"As you read this book, I hope you will see in the characters of...the different roles you play as your soul sleeps in beams of light."

i didn't exactly get any further into the introduction than that, i just sort of wanted to start banging my head on the wall. the main idea of the book, according to the cover, seems to be that "we can change our world" which is all well and good, but why does everything have to feel so trite all the time?

it's like the alchemist, by paulo coelho. i read it twice straight through when i arrived in nelson (it's short, it's easy to do) and while i did like it, i did get annoyed the second time around with the whole "personal legend" bit. i mean, it's good, you need to do what you think you need to do, but it got to be a little much for me. you have to have a book tell you to "follow your dreams"? (or that "you can change the world"?) really?

i think this goes hand in hand with a problem i've been having. (i apologize if you have already been subjected to this train of thought, it happens to be on my mind often.) a lot of people (a LOT of people) back in the states make comments to me along the lines of "wow, you are so lucky, i wish i could do that but i have x excuse." it's so incredibely frustrating because it happens nearly every single time that someone else finds out i am living in new zealand. i have met so many people while travelling who could have used these same excuses to just sit at home and not go, but they found a way around it. two of my good friends that i met here left long-term boyfriends at home to come, others had given up relationships. i've met people who have given up good jobs, apartments and houses, and all manner of things to do something they really and truly wanted to do. there was an irish couple who were renting out their house and travelling with two sons under the age of five for several months. how easy do you think that was to sort out?

as for myself, half of the money i used to come here was earned by working 14-ish hour days, seven days a week, for nearly ten weeks canning salmon. that wasn't exactly the easiest thing i've ever done but it was worth it. basically what it comes down to is, i'm tired of hearing people's excuses. if it's something that people truly want to do, "where there's a will, there's a way." i think what it comes done to genuinely is that people are afraid. another thing i hear often is that i'm "so brave" to go away for a year on my own. i don't think anything of it, it's not at all something that ever crossed my mind, but it speaks volumes on other people's points of views. yes, sometimes i am outside of my comfort zone, but does it bother me? not really, not anymore. i wanted to do something, and i found a way to make it happen. that's all, that's what it comes down to. and i didn't need any book to tell me to "follow my dreams" or "personal legend" either.

keeping myself occupied is a full time gig

i ordered my new camera from amazon, so i am awaiting it's arrival here via iowa!  i decided to get the lumix, and try something new.  either way, i'd have to learn a new camera all over.  they've really dumbed things down over the last few years it looks like, it's kind of a shame we cater to the lowest common denominator.  it doesn't really encourage people to learn how to do things, does it?

the other thing i've been doing lately besides waiting (and working, and sleeping for insanity hours a day) is enjoying the dunedin film festival.  i was in sydney for part of theirs, but i couldn't decide what i wanted to see other than my winnipeg which i missed simply because i arrived in sydney only a couple of hours before it's last showing, and persepolis, which was screened after my departure back to new zealand.  the one here is not nearly as big, but i've already been able to see persepolis which was as every bit as good as i'd hoped and i recommend, and the band's visit.  i liked the band's visit, it's a visual film, but it's a rather slower paced movie which can be difficult for someone who lacks patience.  depending on how work goes, i might try to see be kind rewind despite my general dislike for jack black because it sounds funny, and i'm definitely going to try to get a ticket for safety last!, a silent film from, i think, 1923.  they are having a pianist come in and play, and it's going to be in the regent theatre which was built in the 1920s.  it's a beautiful building, even if i wasn't going to see films, i wouldn't mind just sitting there and looking at it!  but it'll be a perfect fit, and an amazingly good experience i'm sure.

other than that, i don't know.  i was supposed to work through next week, but the contract is being ended early and tonight is the last night.  this puts a little bit of stress on me simply because i haven't got anything else planned yet.  i'm sure that adecco will be able to help me figure something out regarding work, and there is plenty of sightseeing that i can do around this part of the country.  i'll keep busy!  and it will be nice to be awake for more than about two hours of sunlight daily!

when it rains, it pours

it's rainy and cold here now, even more than before.  it's a bit miserable.  and on top of that, last night the blue screen of death appeared on my phone.  today i took it to vodafone and they will repair it under warranty.  of course, this means that i don't have a phone for about two weeks, but neither do i have to buy a new one.  so that's sorted.  the camera issue is nearly at an end i hope, i've been doing some research and thinking and decided to extend my original price range.  i might as well just go for something nice instead of say, a cheap samsung that i end up hating, and then i can dream of a nice digital slr instead of the leica d-lux 3 that i want so much.

i did read a review that said the panasonic lumix some-number-or-other was basically the same camera as leica's c-lux 2 (the "cheaper" alternative at $400US) but with panasonic software.  so that led me to this camera which has more megapixels than i probably need, but i won't complain about that.  (i wish it also had the 10x zoom, i really can't decide if it's worth the extra money, would i use it that much?)  the thing that attracts me the most to this camera is the wide angle lens.  i think i could really have fun with that. the alternative is this sony cybershot.  it's safe, i will know how to use it, i've been using cybershots for a few years now.  so i suppose i will just have another look around town tomorrow and see what i can and talk to some people, and then make a decision.

but i still don't know what to do about the computer virus.  and i really want to post some photos, too.

you'll have to pardon me.

so far i have made it through two night shifts.  second night definitely easier than the first, but it's very hard to sleep in the day.  too much activity, and too much noise.  plus i think my brain and body are just very, very confused as to what is going on.  the work is easy enough at least, and unless i'm facing shelves (so far most of it has been stocking the freezer section) it's enough to keep my mind busy and myself awake.

it's sort of like, even though i don't have the muscles to be a crab fisherman à la deadliest catch, perhaps in a couple of weeks i will feel like one anyway.  an insane experiment in sleep deprivation.  (so i know it won't get that bad, in about two days i will just pass out with exhaustion and sleep most of the day.)

it's just really weird that i'm just about to go to bed, and other people in the house are getting up.

am i being punished?

last week i did my typing tests for the temp agency, and i did better than i expected, which is to say at least average on most of it.  altough my ten key was lower than i'd hoped.  i blame the fact that there is a distinct lack of  heating around here.  (but my attention to detail was higher than average, and all correct!  that's a confidence booster!)  but here is the job that they had to give me: stocking shelves at a supermarket.  from 9:30pm to 6am.  which is why it is past 2am and i am still awake, even though i'm exhausted, cold, and very bored.  this week will be pretty awful, i think.

this last week was alright though.  i didn't do much, watched flight of the conchords about a dozen times each episode (go on, quiz me on the show), similar with about a dozen episodes of doctor who, and made an effort to walk up the hill as few times as possible. 

i should take a photo of the stairs that are one of my options for reaching the top.  it's worse than the stairs in bowman and at the naknek cannery combined, except my camera, which i have had for 2 1/2 years and 10,000+ photos is on it's last legs.  i can (mostly) manage with the turning itself off and struggling with the electronic issues of it, and even the exceptional rate it now drains batteries if it weren't for the black blobby line that has decided to make an occasional and inoportune appearance.  i've found an inexpensive replacement camera on amazon that would do the trick, but i'm loathe to spend the money, even if it's not much for what it is.  it's a bit of a conondrum really, technically the old one still works, but not very well and not always even athat.  if only it could have held out for just a few more months!  perhaps an early birthday present will be required...hint hint, mom and dad!

i digress.  i was talking about last week!  i had lunch with abbie, and it was wonderful.  she's a very nice person, and it was great to hang out with her for a couple of hours.  and saturday was a trip to the farmers market where i bought quite a lot of fruit*, and a loaf of cinnamon-raison-walnut bread from a local bakery.  a piece of which i think i will turn into toast in about five minutes.  i also got a much needed haircut, battled with my jump drive which has a virus (and i can't get rid of which is why i am lacking photos), and went to the local art museum.  not the most productive week i've ever had, but restive.  which will hopefully be handy in this upcoming week.

and i think i'm going to be giving up on "easing myself" into the all-nighter business.  as i said before, i'm tired, bored and cold.  instead i'm going to try a new strategy: giant thermos of coffee!  wish me luck.

*suddenly i had 1.5 kilos of oranges, about a kilo of apples and the same of pears.  i supose it offsets the half kilo of cadbury chocolate i also bought last week and have nearly finished off already.  although since it's mostly dark chocolate, at least it has antioxidants, so it's sort of okay...right?

the hills are alive, and they're out for blood!

dunedin has hills, and i knew this, but i suppose i didn't quite realize how big the hills here could be.  and how fun it would be living at the top of one.  nice view, but good thing there's free laundry where i'm staying.  no matter how cold it is, i'm sure by the time i get up to where i live, i will be sweating profusely.

(the house i am in is part of a backpackers, but most of the people seem to be here long term.  it's a little bit like bloom county, actually, except that the kitchen is far cleaner.)

this afternoon i am meeting abbie, a friend of sandy's who is studying here in dunedin.  it'll be nice to meet another iowan.  i've met very few americans, and even fewer iowans, and one of them didn't even know where okoboji was.  how this is possible, i haven't quite figured out, but it seems to be possible.

also today my friend vicky is leaving the south island, and going back to the uk next week.  this one is especially hard because she is basically the last person left.  i know i will continue to meet new people, but i met her the first week i was here.  i almost cried when i had to say goodbye, not only because i will miss her and don't know when i will see her again, but i suppose also because of how it represents the passing of time, and my turn will soon be up here. 

speaking of christchurch, i had an acceptable time there.  i never made it to the ngaio marsh house, which was a disappointment, because i called to make an appointment but since it was a machine i never got to speak to an actual person.  and i never got any calls back.  but i did make it to the international antarctic center.  when i was about twelve or thirteen, i read madeleine l'engle's troubling a star, and since then i have had a small ambition to one day visit antarctica.  i'd really like to now, and i think it's an even stronger desire.  i've met someone who went there, and both christchurch and hobart are departure points for expeditions.  i think it'd be cool.  and not just literally!

one of the funny things about the antarctic center is that they have a room filled with ice and is a windchill room to simulate a storm.  i got all bundled up and ready, and then the readout went down to only -2F.  i've been in colder wind chills with fewer clothes!  (granted, in those times i thought my ears would fall off...)

i also went to the market at the arts center and bought a skirt from this totally outrageous guy, he was so funny!  i tried it on (it's got three panels in front with three different completely different tweedy fabrics, with a sort of fuschia-y tiki sewn in with foam to make it puffy) with my magenta-ay striped shirt and knee socks that are multi-colored and he told me i should totally wear it together as an outfit, the clashing went, and then took a photo!  hilarious!  i could definitely put that outfit back together someday and take a photo to share, but your eyes might not appreciate the optical nightmare, lol!

this is a random thought, but i was wondering, did i ever mention the proliferation of grey hair on my head?  it started with just a couple when i was about 17, but en masse* in february, and i keep finding more.  especially above my right ear.  i'm really not sure how i feel about this.  on one hand, i don't want to be grey like my dad, on the other, it'd be nice if everyone stopped thinking i was 18 all of the time.

at any rate, that's all i have to say for now.  i made it to dunedin, and hopefully will find work. unless the hills knock me out dead first.  and if they don't, then i will be in such great shape!

*i really feel i should point out that i have found no more than a dozen total, but it does not mean that they are not there.  just that i have not seen them.

my "fourth"

was spent as my last two were before it, working in a fish factory.  however, after a lot of travelling on saturday i spent my fifth in wellington with maayke watching the all blacks smash the south africa springboks (current world champs).  the game started out fun as it can be in the wind and freezing rain, with a nice little scuffle after one of the all blacks did an illegal tackle, but that was about it.  it wasn't nearly as exciting as watching them play england, but hey!  i got to see the all blacks!  how cool is that?  and there were a few fireworks, some national anthems, and some local sporting...all very patriotic, even if not for the right country!

then after more travel debacles, (including a ferry crossing that had 7m/22f waves) i finally managed to make it to kaikoura and then yesterday to christchurch.  i get to hang out with my friend vicky for a few days now, and at the beginning of next week i will head down to dunedin in an effort to find work for a few weeks.

fireworks, the haka, maayke and i, and rugby!  (although i usually don't know what's happening.)

stringing you along

since i don't feel like telling anyone when i'm coming home yet, i don't think i will!  so nice of me!

maayke and i just bought tickets to see the all blacks in wellington.  i wanted to go too in dunedin, but it's all sold out, so this is my one chance.  it'll work out well though, afterwards i will go maybe to kaikoura, and then visit vicky in christchurch before i head to dunedin to look for work of a non-fishy nature.  (speaking of, i am back at sealord this last week and next, hooray.)

another news item that has porobably not reached the u.s.: hydro levels on the south island below normal.  hence commercials for this website being shown constantly.  brownouts?  blackouts?  i'm hoping not.

word of the day: "trepidation" (or "agitation" will work too).

today i made the booking for my flights home.  i didn't want to do it, i didn't want to have to pick a date, but it needed to be done siib.  i'm unhappy about the idea that i will ever have to leave here, not knowing when i will be able to come back.  and now i have a deadline.

but some good things happened today too, i've got work for a couple of days this week, my friend maayke will come back to nelson tomorrow, and i got another package from home.  this one containing, among other things, barbecue sauce!  bring on the ribs, lol!

sunset over sydney.

coming "home"

coming into christchurch, and leaving christchurch to nelson.  oh, happy day!
even discovering that the nelson post shop has moved did not disturb me (confuse me, yes).  i'm happy to be back, even if it's not for long.  and then, hopefully, on to dunedin i go!

photos: alice springs, uluru, kata tjuta, kings canyon

 

a) uluru
b) camel farm
c) uluru shadow portrait
d) bush tucker (kangaroo tail)
e & f) kings canyon
g) kata tjuta
h) the todd river