also...

close-ups where i live,
the marina/harbor in nelson,
he littlest of the young 'uns, and a gift to myself.

now that i finally have money in the bank

i am a happy girl.  also makes me happy: only working three days this week as opposed to five last week.  less money, but you know, more free time.  to spend the money i made last week.  (not actually, i'm trying to be good so i can get a car to travel around the south island.)

the work isn't bad at all, it's just packaging frozen product basically.  like fish fillets and fish sticks.  and now that i don't totally suck at it, it helps.  and the people are generally very nice.

now i'm going to go do some research on tramps in the nelson lakes national park.  yippee!  i'm so excited!

an update

so...on saturday night, leah and i went to trafalgar park where there was a concert of dame kiri te kanawa and friends.  dame kiri is a world famous opera singer from here in new zealand, and so it was a really huge treat to get to see her perform.  there were other singers as well who were really good too.  staying at our place is a couple from wellington, and the man is a reviewer of these sorts of things.  he seemed to enjoy it too, so it wasn't just that i am uncultured on opera, lol!  it was just a beautiful night, and the music was so enjoyable.  we had picnicker tickets, so we sat in this grassy area and had some food and champagne, and later we shared a thermos of hot chocolate.  it was so cool!  what a great thing to have been able to do!

sunday leah went skydiving, and so that was her big thing!  i went with to the place, but just sat and read while i waited for her.  i thought it would take longer for some reason, so i didn't realize she had gone when she came back.  but she had fun, so that was cool.

and yesterday i started at sealord.  once i get the hang of things, i think it'll be really easy work for the money i am making, but i have to get used to it.  and figure out a way to not have my back hurt when i am doing certain jobs.  it's so easy, really, just packaging battered and frozen fish fillets.

i just wish that i didn't have to work nights!

photos, two of them being of me.

me refusing to be a "responsible adult", my yarn which is not yet a scarf, the geographical center of new zealand, east of nelson, the geographical center of new zealand, and the setting sun lighting my hair.

news: i may have a part-time job at a fish factory, there is an "induction" on tuesday i am going to.  (sometimes they use the strangest words here, i would have just said "orientation".)  i got to talk to my friend toni yesterday on the phone, and we talked for 45 minutes.  it was pretty much just 45 minutes of awesome!  and, i made king's cake on tuesday and shared it with the other people at the backpacker's.  it was gone by the next morning, although i did eat something like four of those pieces myself.  oh!  and on monday, leah and i went to watch the superbowl at a sports bar.  it was the most americans i had seen since i left auckland, and all in one place.  i think i can safely say that we all had a good time.  lastly, we met a couple from wisconsin staying at the almond house, and i learned about a company that hires support people for scientific expeditions to antarctica (mostly things i can't do though) and i can now play cribbage to a certain degree.

i think that's pretty much it, really!

one last hurrah.

this morning leah and i are moving hostels (again), because we got cleaning jobs at this one.  we will clean for a couple of hours a day, wednesday through sunday, for our accomodation.  it's a pretty good deal, most places you clean six days a week, or daily.  and we don't even have to clean the kitchen, just change sheets (and probably wash them) and clean the two bathrooms!  it sounds like a pretty good deal, really.  we start wednesday, but get to move in today.  so i am doing some last minute emailing and such, before i am wireless-less once again.

did you notice all of those new photo albums on the right?  did you look at them yet?  don't feel bad if you can't look at all of the pictures...just enough to have made it worth my time putting them up, please!  i can never tell if i am wasting my time doing it, or if people really do like to look at them.  i know i take a lot, i try to keep it down, but i really can't help it!

here in nelson is a public holiday, nelson anniversary.  (it's also the superbowl, which i think we will be watching at a pub with some canadians.)  so it sounds like a number of shops will most likely be closed down.  tomorrow is mardi gras, which isn't so much a holiday here but one that i like to celebrate.  and then wednesday is waitangi day, so pretty much nothing will be open...again!

shoes.