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!