Memorial Day

So I realize you are all coming off Memorial Day weekend in the states and I just want to talk to how different this memorial day is for me than the last one, and how important the last one was in changing the course of my life.

Last year, I spent Memorial Day weekend in Washington DC with my mother. We were there for maybe 5 days, visited the Capitol where we got a private tour from a creepy policeman, watched the 200,000 Harleys do their yearly ride along the Mall on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, saw President Obama speak at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, and I decided that I was going to quit my job and travel around America and the world. I bought my membership for the WWOOFing USA website and started researching and e-mailing farms about staying with them. When I thought about my trip back then, it was nothing like it looks today, but that weekend in DC was the start of the rest of my life. Amazing! And look where I am now, 1 year later, living in Auckland, New Zealand, working as a server, going into Winter (yuck!), just getting home from dinner with my NZ family. Although you only make little decisions/changes (or big decisions/changes) every day they can really add up over time! One big decision set me down this path, but many little decisions along the way have really influenced my journey and have brought me to this point right here today. Just incredible!

I wonder where I'll be next year on Memorial Day weekend.... Vietnam maybe? That's gonna be my official prediction. Well not my prediction per say (as I'm sure I won't be there) but if what my plan is as of this moment pans out as it's currently planned I'll likely be in SE Asia this time next year. That said, I'm sure I won't be in SE Asia at this time next year as lots of little and big decisions will have me on some drastically different path by that time. Maybe I'll be married with 2 kids - wait that's not possible. Maybe I'll be riding on the back of my boyfriend's motorcycle in Argentina. Maybe I'll be working at the best restaurant in Tokyo. Maybe I'll be milking goats in Romania. Who knows. But I do know one thing, the world is my oyster and I need to go see all I can.

That said, I have a big crush on one of the chef's at my work. I typically don't date people I work with as there's only 2 ways that can end - either well, or terribly - and it usually ends terribly. I did date the chef at the first restaurant I worked at here in Auckland for a couple of weeks but it wasn't a good idea. Good thing I left that place. Anyways, back to the chef at my current workplace. He's super good looking (in a tattoo, piercing kind of way), different from anyone I've ever dated (which is precisely who I should be dating on this trip), shy, tall. Anyways - I don't know what I should do about it. Should I go for it and risk a possibly awkward work situation? Or should I just let it be? The problem is, I'm probably not going to live in Auckland at all once I'm done at Ortolana so it's not like I can wait until I have a different job or something. As soon as I'm done with that job, I'm leaving Auckland to head south. I was thinking I could just leave him my number and then he could call me if he wants - or not call if he doesn't want. But what if he doesn't call - I could end up very disappointed and sad, or I could be fine. I guess I won't know unless I go for it. But I really just would hate if it was awkward at work because it didn't work out since I really like that job. Hmmmmm.... Okay, advice please! I would like to add a poll to this thing so you could vote and let me know what you think. How's this - leave a comment on this post and then I can see what you all think. Either say "Go for it!" if you think I should pursue my crush or say "Don't do it" if you think I shouldn't. Or you're welcome to respond with advice, other comments etc...

Okay, I'm going to watch a movie now and work on my scarf.

Best!

More of the Same

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, been busy working, as always! :) It's 1:20 am and I'm just getting into bed now. This week I did another 55 hour week, over 6 days. I am thankful to be getting such great hours as I need the money to pay for my car and my move, but it is getting a bit tiring. And I have another 6 week day next week. I'll probably be closer to 60 hours or more then as well as I have more early starts.

Last night Jonathan (France), Ana (Peru), and I went out to the bar for a few drinks after work. We ran into some friends who work in another bar and that was good. We met some nice people but overall it wasn't all that exciting. I did meet a group of NZ guys who couldn't believe that I know who LeBron James is. They told me 99% of women in NZ don't know who LeBron James is to which I replied 99% of women in America do know who he is. Obviously being from America really helped out in this case - there were really impressed with me. We did then made a video imitation some LeBron James move. I don't have the video - and it wasn't that good (both in that I was bad in it and the video was bad because it was so dark) - but maybe you'll see me on YouTube someday doing a LeBron imitation.

In other news, I had a guy guess that I was from MN the other night. I have not once on this trip had anyone guess that I'm from MN. Even after giving most people many hints, they still don't get it. This guy, however, guessed without any clues at all! First guess! Amazing!

My date with Joe doesn't appear as if it will ever pan out. He's a terrible texter - very intermittent, not great at encouraging conversation, and hasn't me about any future days that I'd be available. It is a bit strange because he's great at conversation in person, just terrible when texting. Anyways, I'm not counting on that panning out and am thus "on the hunt" for a date for this Tuesday, my only day off this week. (I am using the phrase "on the hunt" because whenever I'm out with Jonathan at the bar he always tells me that I'm "hunting," which is true because Kiwi guys are so shy I would never get a date if I waited for one of them to ask me out! Which brings me to another interesting point - I had a Kiwi guy buy me a drink at the bar last night, which is a real rarity. I even commented to him how he should go out and teach his fellow Kiwi males how to treat a lady. Haha! Anyways back to the original point of the paragraph....) I have one possibility for my Tuesday dinner date, the flat mate of the Dom (manager of all Hipgroup locations at Britomart). Apparently he's very charming, cute, nice, and has evenings off. She was going to pass my number to him last night but he wasn't home. Maybe I'll hear from him tomorrow so we can set something up?!

I'm trying to think of anything else happening here but I don't really have anything, sorry! It's time for bed. Chat later!

Best!

Not Dating

So I was going to ask Joe (the Cook Islands barista) out on Monday before work but I totally chicken out. So, Tuesday after I got my car back I decided I had to just go down there and ask him out. The worst that could happen is he'd say no and then I could easily avoid him for the rest of the time he's in NZ for which is only 5 more weeks. I simply would not go into his coffee shop - which I only do rarely anyways - and that would be that. So I went down there on Tuesday and I said to him "I want to ask you out for dinner". Lame, I know, right? I was so nervous!! Anyways, I told him I wanted to go out Wednesday night and he seemed a bit hesitant but said he'd make it work. I gave him my number and he said he'd text me later. I heard from him last night (Tuesday night) but we didn't get the details ironed out completely.

I texted him this morning to confirm and he told me he was double booked and couldn't make it and asked about a rain check. I was disappointed, although to his credit I only gave him about 32 hours warning. I did not respond to the raincheck question because I'm not sure I want to go out next week. I was really just hoping for a fun, spontaneous date, not something that is going to be planned well in advance. Really, I just don't want to have to text him daily for the next week. Plus, he's a terrible texter. I won't hear from him for hours at at time. I'm not sure if it's a game he's playing or if he's just really busy, but I can't be playing this whole texting game for a week - I just don't want something like that. Anyways, he sounds like he wants to go out again next week but I'm not being comital on that yet. As my colleague Julie and I agreed, I will keep it on the back burner as a plan b for next week but I'm not going to have it as my plan a. Too much anticipation, too much pressure, not enough spontaneous fun! Anyways, I'll let you know how it turns out...

At 7 pm tonight I went to look at a place to live closer into the city and for a cheaper price. It is in a 3 bedroom house with 3 other girls. There are currently 4 girls living there but one is going to travel for 4 months and thus needs someone to rent her room. I looked at that room which costs $210/week including utilities, so $50/week less than I'm currently spending. And, with it being closer to the city I will also save on transport with my daily costs going from $6.12 to $3.42. I can't wait! Plus, taxis home will be cheaper, I can go out more from work as I could actually walk the whole way home if I wanted to. I'm moving in at the end of June. I'll have to tell Kate soon, yikes. I don't think it will go over badly I just hate doing stuff like that anyways.

I went for my Italian meal tonight, as always, even without Joe and I ended up eating dinner with Bruce, the New Yorker I met there a few weeks back. He is a Tuesday night guy there and I usually go on Tuesday nights as well but this week we were both busy on Tuesday. We happened to both arrive about the same time and had dinner together. He talked the whole time - I'm sure none of you can believe that I did almost none of the talking during a 90 minute dinner! Anyways, the company was nice. He's an interesting guy. He's been here in NZ for 15 years and now refers to NZ as his county, not America. He left America as a social protest to many of the inequalities he saw there. He is going back to America in a few months to live for a bit and may be moving back there or may start an extreme version of the snow-bird lifestyle. Live in NY for the summer there and live in NZ for the summers here.

That's all I have for now but I guess some of it is big news - I asked a guy on a date and I found a new and cheaper place to live.

Best!

Oh, and I passed 10,000 page views! Thanks everyone for visiting my blog!

Enjoying the Fall Weather, Waiting for my Car

I have just dropped off my car at the mechanic and am now sitting at a cafe here in Ellerslie (a suburb of Auckland) waiting for it to be serviced and about to start my long overdue responses to many of your great e-mails! I am so sorry for the great delay!

As for yesterday, I never asked out the guy at the coffee shop, I got too nervous and chickened out! What a loser I am! I think I'm going to drive into the city once my car is done, however, and get right to asking him out then. I only have one night off this week and he's leaving NZ in 5 weeks so I don't have much time! I should've just done it yesterday. I can quit my job and move to the other side of the planet without my second thought but I can't ask out a guy who works at a coffee shop near my work and could be easily avoided for the rest of my life if he said no. Ha!

I am working tonight even though it's technically my day off. I have a short shift at Milse, the dessert restaurant next to Ortolana. They are part of Hipgroup as well. Although I will be missing out on one of my evenings off for this week, I am very happy that my boss was able to get me a shift there, even though it may only be 4 or 5 hours, as I really need the money to pay for my car1

Okay, I'm done blogging for right now. I have to start into my e-mail responses.

Oh, and a fun fact to note. Today, if at least 7 people look at my blog, I will surpass 10,000 blog views! That's quite a feat I'd say.

Okay, that's really all for now.

Best!

Working (and Working on getting a date)

Nothing exciting recently. Worked yesterday, worked today, working tomorrow.... Good money, not good for excitement. Except.... I have decided I am going to ask out a guy that works at the coffee shop near my work. I've met him a few times when I've gone in there and we always get to talking. I can't remember his name (terrible isn't it? I think it's John) but he's very good looking and has dreams and goals and ambitions that are actually quite cool. He's from the Cook Islands and one day hopes to be an ambassador for the cook islands to the world. I've wanted to ask him out for a few weeks but have been too much of a chicken. Today, however, he told me he's leaving NZ in a few weeks so now I have nothing to loose! Plus, there's no threat of commitment which is perfect for me since I'm enjoying my singleness. So tomorrow I'm going to go into work early and hopefully he'll be at the coffee shop. If all works out as planned I'll ask him to dinner on Wednesday and that'll be that. I'm going to have him join me at my favorite Italian place, O'Sarracinos. Wish me luck everyone!

Oh, and unrelated, here's a video of me explaining some of my car trouble from the other day if you've missed seeing my face and were wondering what I looked like around 1:00 pm on Friday morning.

Best!

A Roller Coaster of Car Drama

Sorry for the delay in writing this post, I have been very tired, both from work and from my recent car dramas. So here's what has happened since I last wrote about my car....

Thursday I called Paul at Western Auto Electric to ask if my car would be ready for pick-up Friday at lunch time as I had arranged with Tom to drive me out there in exchange for a lunch date. Paul told me to call back Friday at 10am because he was still waiting on the locksmith to look at my door lock. I called him Friday at 10 and he confirmed that he could have the car done for me by lunch time. I confirmed with Tom to drive me and all was just dandy, until.....

I got a call from Paul about 11 telling me that they had finished up my car and were running some electrical tests on my car and found that my alternator wasn't working. This was NOT what I wanted to hear - not that I knew what it meant, but another thing I had to pay for? No way! I asked him what this meant - apparently my battery wasn't charging when my car was running so eventually my car battery would run out and I wouldn't be able to start my car anymore - and how much it would cost - between $550 and $750. I do not have this extra money and I was not in the mood to deal with it. I called my parents, I was very upset and crying, this was just too much extra stress on top of an already stressful situation. They helped me realized that I need the car no matter what, so the alternator needed to get fixed, but I should get another opinion on it. Seems so convenient that I haven't had any problems until this point with my car starting and now my alternator isn't working? A bit fishy... I called my mechanic friend that my NZ family knows, Magan (who originally referred me to Western Auto Electric), and he told me that he doesn't fix alternators but he would be happy to look at my car next week for a second opinion. I told him it seemed really convenient, this whole situation, and he said it's possible it was blown when they were trying to hot wire the car and blew the alternator out. After all these conversations I decided I was going to go get my car, talk to Paul about it, and then probably take me car with me drive it until it died (at least then AA would tow it for a breakdown) and get a second opinion and then get it fixed. So, Tom picked me up and we headed out to get the car. \

When we got to Western Auto Electric I spoke to Paul but I wasn't too convinced about anything he was saying. He wasn't the best salesman on needing a new alternator - he didn't make me feel very convinced. I paid for my ignition and door lock ($837) and took my car. I asked him if not fixing it would damage my car and he said no. He told me with diesel vehicles once they're started they will keep running, unlike a petrol car which can die while you're driving. I figured that'd be fine then. I'll just keep driving it until it doesn't run anymore. He told me my battery warning light wasn't working (which now that I think back, I think it did work before and I'm starting to wonder about this....) which is why I might not have known about the alternator problem before. Anyways, I paid for the car and took it with me and left. (I'm thinking I probably got ripped off on the other work but I have decided not to look into it because there's nothing I can do now and it will only make me upset if I were to confirm that I overpaid or he did unnecessary work to my car. They did fix my interior light and clock though which I'm happy about. Neither were working when I purchased the car.)

Anyways, Tom and I went for lunch after at a place called Ko's Dumplings and were quite impressed. I might have to say this is one of our favorite places for dumplings now. I'm sure we'll be going back at some point.

On my way back from lunch/picking up my car, I stopped in at Repco (an auto-parts store) to pick up a steering wheel lock, to hopefully discourage people from trying to steal my baby again. The guy who helped me, Chris, was very nice. He gave me a deal on the lock and referred me to a friend of his. Craig, who works at a shop near my house and could look at my car and give me a second opinion. I couldn't go yesterday (Friday) but he told me Craig works Saturday and he'd give him a heads up that I was coming in.

So, today is Saturday so I went in with my car this morning to see Craig and see what he thought about the alternator. When I go there they told me Craig wasn't working but another gentelman, Paul (not the same Paul as before), offered to check it out. He ran some tests and told me he wasn't seeing anything wrong with the alternator. We did chat about the battery a bit (side note: when I bought the car I had an inspection done and as part of this they told me that my battery wasn't in good condition. Eventually I would need to replace it and it would cost me about $200. I told this all to Paul). In the end he told me my alternator seemed to be working. He said I did need a new alternator belt (he showed me that it was cracking) and it would be about $40 for the part and $40 for the labor. I told him I need a service for the vehicle and we've arranged it all to happen on Tuesday - service with oil change and filter change as well as a new alternator belt. Apparently with diesel vehicles it is very important to keep them well services as not doing so can cause lots of damage and be quite expensive. I haven't serviced it since I bought it so it's about time.

Anyways, in the end I'm happy to report that I won't have to replace the alternator. I think I will be able to manage the expenses over the next 6 weeks or so without needing to dip into my savings and I think all will work out just fine. Case in point, this last week I worked 55 hours again. That'll net me $812 after taxes. After paying rent and putting a bit away for savings I can make a good dent in my car expenses.

That's all for tonight. Best!

Tired

Long story with the car, will update you tomorrow. I'm very tired now and I'm going to bed. I'll post in the morning my time, afternoon back in MN. 

Best! 

Going Nowhere Waiting on My Car

I had yesterday off and I did nothing at all. Sat around the house all day watching TV and movies and knitting. My scarf is now long enough to cover maybe 1/3 of my neck. Maybe it'll be done by the time winter's over here. Haha, just kidding. Since I won't have money to go anywhere to do anything for the next few weeks I'm sure it'll be done soon.

Today I worked and got 10.75 hours. That means I'm up to 33.5 hours for this pay week already and I still have 2 working days left. It's so nice that I've been getting these longer shifts, especially since I'm so desperately in need of money now!

At work today I met a great girl, Francis, who's 24 and lives here in Auckland. She was in at Ortolana having lunch with her mother today. She works as a flight attendant for Quantas Airlines and is heading off to Rio tomorrow for vacation for 3 weeks. I gave her my phone number and she's going to call me when she's back in town to take me out, try to introduce me to a Kiwi guy, and turn me into a flight attendant! Haha. It was funny though because she told me I should be a flight attendant for Emirates Air and a few hours later I had a table of Emirates air flight attendants. That could be my ticket to living in Dubai for a bit. I'll consider it.

Anyways, that's all for today. I'm going bed now. Have to be up early as I'm hoping I can go out to Henderson tomorrow to get my car. My friend Tom will give me a ride and I'm going to buy him lunch. If I can't get it tomorrow I'm going to have to wait until Monday - yuck! Wish me luck please :)

Best!

Attempted Car Theft

I woke up this morning to find that someone had attempted to steal my car! Crazy, right? I mean I guess it probably isn't in reality as it's an old car and is probably an easy target, but I'm not all that happy about it. But what a bunch of excitement it's bringing to my day! I didn't have plans for today at all but, now, I've been busy all day - filing police reports, insurance claims, organizing a tow, talking with mechanics. Never a boring moment here! Or at least not in the last few hours there hasn't been. And right now, I'm getting another call.... Hold please.... Okay, thanks for holding. That was the glass people. They will be fixing the window on Thursday, while the ignition is also being fixed.

Okay, anyways, so I went out to my car to get in this morning and when I went to the driver's side door to unlock it, I noticed the lock looked a bit funny, like someone had tried to jimmy it. Then I noticed my car was unlocked and I thought how weird, I never leave my car unlocked. I opened the door then and saw broken glass in my back seat. I immediately assumed they broke in to steal stuff from my car, in which case I'm very glad I don't keep anything valuable in my car, and so I went inside to call the police. While I was on the phone with the police report a car break-in the woman asked if looked like they had attempted to steal it at which point I went to look and saw that the entire ignition was torn out. So, my answer to her was obviously yes, they did try to steal my car. I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with her filing the report after which she told me she would send it to the local precinct who may or may not want to come out and see the car. Either way I took video and pictures, see here:

Broken window behind the passenger side door - how they got into my car in the end.

Tampered driver's side lock.

Where's my ignition gone?

Stupid thieves they couldn't even hot wire the car!

After getting off the phone with police I called the insurance company who told me they would replace the glass since I have glass coverage - yay! - which would've cost about $100-$200. They will not cover the ignition, however, because I only have Third Party, Fire, and Theft. The insurance covers the car if it's stolen, but not if someone attempts to steal it. It would've been nice to get the big payout had the car been stolen, but I do love it and I'm happy it's still mine :) We're gonna make so many great memories together.

Okay, so moving on, I called the only mechanic I've been to so far in Auckland - out in Te Atatu where Terri and Mimi live - and he referred me to an electrician who can do the work, Paul. I sent Paul some photos, he reviewed them, and told me between the ignition and the door, at a maximum, it'll cost me $738 including tax. With the tow, that my roadside assistance does not cover because my vehicle was vandalized and not broken down (seriously?), it'll be about $850 worse case scenario. I'm hoping the door lock doesn't need to be fixed - fingers crossed - because that'll save me some money (watch another video staring me and my car). My car is getting picked up tonight or tomorrow by the tow company and then Paul will call me with a better quote estimate. It's a lot to spend on my car (which I only paid $2000 for) but I've been able to see and do so much because of that car so to me having it working is very important. Plus, if I can sell it at the end of my time here and get some money back that'll be really nice.

I guess people trying to steal your car happens when you have one as awesome as mine. They're just jealous!

So anyways, that's what I've been up to today.

Last week I worked 55 hours in total - money in the bank, very nice especially after today.
So far this week (I've worked 2 days) I'm up to 22.75 hours so that's good as well, now that I really need the money, not just to save, but to fix my car! Yikes! Maybe I can spread the car costs out over the next few weeks though and not have to dip into my savings. Otherwise I'm taking donations if you'd like to make one ;)

Okay, well now that it's 4pm on my day off and I haven't done anything day off worthy yet I'm going to end this blog post and go and do something, even if it's just lie around and watch TV and do nothing, at least that's something worthy of a day off.

Best!

Happy Mother's Day

It's officially Mother's Day here in NZ - it's 12:20am on Sunday morning. Happy Mothers Day mom, and all you other mother's out there! Apparently Mother's Day is historically our busiest day of the year and I've got a 10am start tomorrow - with probably a 12+ hour shift - so I've gotta get some sleep. For today, nothing really exciting to note. I worked an 8.5 hour shift to bring my week total to 55 hours, not bad. Money in the bank! Yay! Schedule is out for next week and I'm back to me regular Tuesday/Wednesday off. Looks like it'll be italian on Tuesday night and maybe Waiheke Island on Wednesday? We'll see about weather and money. Anyways, I'm off to bed. Chat soon.

Best!

A Teacher From Edina

I worked today, even though it was supposed to be my day off, as one of my co-workers was looking for someone to take her shift and I'm in need of money. I just looked at my credit card bill today and in the last 2 days I've spent over $400 dollars. I went out for two meals - being that they were my days off - and then had my car expenses which look like they were about $300. So anyways, I needed the money and I ended up getting 7 hours in so that's good. I'm already up to 46.5 hours for the week and I still have one day left of work in this pay week - nice!

Anyways, at work tonight I overheard a table in another section talking about Mpls. I went over to them and asked if I heard correctly and it turns out the family is from South Dakota but one of the daughters used to teach at Countryside in Edina - about 5 years ago she said. She lives in Minnetonka and now works for Thompson Reuters. What a small world! Apparently her cousin graduated from Edina but she must be the year ahead of me because I didn't recognize the name. The parents live in Rapid City and the father gave me his card and told me to call next time I'm in SD for Strugis. They know the guy that runs the big Harley-Davidson store in town and I think they also know the people who run the Buffalo Chip. Maybe they can help me get a job there one summer?

We got tips today which was also nice. It wasn't all the much but now I'm that much closer to Samoa and Asia and everywhere else I'm going to go to.

One of my table didn't have any cash on them to tip me so they told me to come to Waiheke Island and they'd take me out for lunch as a tip. How nice, isn't it? I don't have my roster yet for next week but I think I'll go then for the day. Their nephew is in town now from London so they told me I'd have someone young to hang out with. (I did meet the nephew at dinner and he seems quite nice, probably around my age, maybe a bit older.)

No other notable customers I can think of right now....

Anyways, I'm off to bed. It's 1:35am here now and I have an 8am Skype date. Plus, I'm reading my book club book now, Stardust by Neil Gaiman, and it's really good so I want to get some of that in before bed.

Best!

O'Sarracino

Tonight I went for Italian for dinner at a great place her in Auckland, O'Sarracino. I've been to this place once before - a few weeks ago - and they took such great care of me I thought I should definitely go back again. Tonight, it was even better! I re-met the whole crew - Danilo (bartender/waiter - from Brazil), Gaetano (the previous owner and current executive chef - from Italy), Flavia (chef - from Brazil), Cindy (dishwasher - from Germany), Nadia and Mauricio (current owners - from Italy), and Bruce (a regular customer, grew up in NY, now lives in Auckland). They had me back in the kitchen a few times - to talk about what I wanted for dinner, and afterwards to chat with the chefs. I've only been there twice but I'm already a regular! I love the place, the service is superb as is the food! I think I'm going to make it my weekly Tuesday (first night off) haunt. If/When you come to Auckland, you have to check the place out. They made the top 50 restaurants in Auckland list - just like the place I work did - so you know it's good for that reason too, if you don't want to just listen to my opinion.

Anyways, nothing more for tonight. Tomorrow I'm gonna try to leave the city if possible. I don't really have the money for gas, but who ever has enough money?! I'll make it work one way or another. There's always more money to be made.

That's a lie, I do have something more. I'm switching gears a bit here:

Something I've started to realize about myself recently - I really prefer to do things alone. It's not that I don't like other people - as I do - but when I'm alone it always seems that so many more opportunities present themselves that the thought of being with other people just seems a burden. I like being free - totally free to do as I please at all times - go where I want, do what I want, meet other people I don't currently know. When I'm at work I always wish I had a boyfriend - there are so many people on dates at our restaurant having so much fun - but as soon as someone asks me out, or the opportunity to possibly be in a relationship presents itself I find it very unappealing. I don't want to be tied down to someone else. I don't want to feel obligated to spend my free time with someone else. I don't even really like making plans that far in advance anymore - I want to be able to change my mind at a moments notice. The idea of being committed to doing something, with someone, at a certain time, just really doesn't do it for me anymore. (With the obvious exception of work). I hope this doesn't last forever - as I'd still like to think that someday I'll get married, have a family, etc.... - but for now I just like being free.

Now a small part of me knows that if the perfect person presented themselves I think I'd take the opportunity and go for it - I haven't really been all the interested in many of the people (men) that have presented themselves recently in any serious way, but that's not to say that good people haven't come into my life. Maybe they just haven't been the right one? Anyways, it's just so weird to see myself changing, or see myself figuring out more about myself every day. Here in NZ, where I don't have a large social network, or any family, or any expectations, I can do as I please and it's really interesting to see what that really is. A few things I've learned:

- I like to be busy. Especially on the days I work I don't mind working 10 - 12 hour shifts, I actually enjoy it. I tend to waste the free time I have on my work days so I simply prefer to be working when possible.
- I enjoy the outdoors much more than I thought I did. On my days off I like to go out hiking, in the woods. I haven't been camping yet, and I'm not jumping to any crazy conclusions that I might enjoy that, but hiking, exploring in the woods (jungle) is quite appealing to me.
- I like my alone time, a lot. When I've got my days off I really enjoy spending them alone. This is for many reasons including I can do as I please, I get to meet all sorts of interesting people I wouldn't otherwise meet, and I get a break from all the socializing I do as part of my job. It's nice to have time off from chit-chat sometimes.
- I need a social job. Although I like my free time alone, I like my work time to be social. I need a job where I spend my time talking, interacting, and forming relationships with other people. I find this energize and I almost always leave work excited about all the amazing people I got to meet. It's just fabulous and something I will need in my work life forever, what ever my final job ends up being. Travel TV show where I get to meet people all day? Here I come!
- I am a rather private person - I like to be in control of my relationships and I don't like giving out my contact information when I don't want. I value my privacy and find it very unappealing when someone who I haven' given my phone number or e-mail to contacts me. Strange that I have a blog though, isn't it?
- I hate cleaning. I don't think this would necessarily surprise anyone but I haven't had any revelations here. I think I may end up living in an apartment building for the rest of my life and hiring a cleaner as I just find life to be too short to be worrying about fixing a dishwasher or raking the leaves or any other household chores.
- I like being in the city but I need an escape. I didn't grow up with a cabin but the idea of having somewhere to go outside the city - a retreat - for my days off work is something I am starting to really see the value in. As with my main residence, I wouldn't own a second home/cabin/bach if I had to spend tons of time maintaining it (again, I'd outsource these tasks) but I think if I could manage it financially this would be something that would make me very happy.

That's all I can think of right now as I'm not distracted by something I else I want to write about before I forget.

Today, as I was waiting for my Warrant of Fitness inspection I met a guy, Chris Jones, who works for the local TV station - TV3 - as a camera man. He's traveled all over America and the World filming big events like Hurricanes, Tsunamis, etc... I told him if they ever need an America girl to do parts for their TV show to let me know. Of course I'll never end up on TV in NZ but maybe one day I'll meet someone like this who'll give me my big break into actual television.

One of the customers at Ortolana checked out my blog and told me I should really get my own TV show (he also watched my videos). Maybe one day it'll happen! Wouldn't it just be fantastic?!?!

Okay, that's all for now.

Best!

Good News, Car News

Just went to get my Warrant of Fitness done and my car passed! Nice! Now I don't need to get another inspection for another 6 months. Yes! It was more than I was expecting - $53 - but at least it's over and done with. While I was waiting for the inspection to finished I picked up a brochure on getting an NZ drivers license - something I'll have to do to continue to drive if I stay here for longer than 12 months. Because I'm from the US, I don't have to take a written or driving test, I just need to pay the fees to get the license. Super great news! Yay!

Okay, that's all for right now.

Best!

Responses from Home

I really appreciate getting feedback on my blog from those of you back in America. I'm going to share a few I have gotten via e-mail with you guys, and hopefully this will encourage feedback from others of you.

The following feedback was in response to a post from last week, Reflections.

From my father:


Hey Belle, this is your Dad. It's late and I'm tired but I just read your blog. It's the best one yet. I miss you a lot, but I'm so glad you left. I have not seen you this happy or relaxed since you were a little girl. It makes me happy to know someone who has the courage to just get up one day and go find their life. That's a lot different than just living the life your given. Wherever or whenever home is, can be many different things. It can also be more than one place. When you talk about pressure and expectations you hit on a struggle every father has. "I just want you to be happy." ," I just want you to do your best.", "I just want to help you be successful." this is said directly and indirectly without even knowing it. All this from someone who isn't even sure what they are talking about. and we can't stop doing it. I'm sorry .     I envy your new shared team-work. As you know I have spent almost my entire work life on my own, it must feel good when everyone's clicking. And finely the money thing. Some of us never ask or even think, "how much is enough?' well, your Dad doesn't know. All I do know is " no matter what, I'll always love you."       Dad


From an old co-worker:

So I just wanted to let you know how much your last post made me think!! I have been looking at my life and thinking that something just isn't right...I'm just not happy as I think I should be! So I am going to work on that.

I was having coffee with my mom last night and I was telling her about the book you were reading for book club... The Happiness Project... yeah I went out and bought the book and started reading it last night. And my mom downloaded the book as well and we are reading it together. I thought... hey... you recommended the Lean In book and it was amazing so why not read this book!!! So my mom and I are reading this book together and it's amazing! I couldn't put it down last night! I just want to continue reading!

I hope all is well! Thanks for the new book! :)

Miss you!

It is so great to hear that what I am writing is resonating back home. I'm happy that as I am learning about myself, about life, about what I value, that these realizations may be useful to others as well. 

I'd love more feedback/comments/questions from others either as comments on the blog or via e-mail, annabelle.c.joyce@gmail.com. Does what I say resonate with you? Does it not? Do you agree? Disagree? Maybe just want to say Hi from America?

Best!

Oh, and another thing my father told me a few months back I don't believe I ever shared but want to put into my blog so when I make this into a book I'll have this in there....

The following picture is my father's favorite picture of me ever:

He told me that when he looks at this photo he knows he succeeded as a father. How nice is that? I'm just happy my parents think they succeeded because I feel like the luckiest child to have such wonderful parents who have always supported me fully in every decision I've made. It's great to know that even though they miss me, they are happy I'm over here doing what I want to be doing, even though maybe I'm not doing what I "should" be doing, or what my $100K college education prepared me to do. Although I like to think that college was just a stepping stone on my path to my world tour - something I wouldn't have necessarily gotten to without all my experiences along the way. 

Okay, enough for tonight. It's 1am, I have the next two days off, I should get some rest so I can do something fun the next few days, or do nothing at all but still be well rested to enjoy doing nothing. 

Best!

Samoa here I come!

I have decided I will go to Samoa on my winter holiday. Looks like I'll be able to fly there for less than $600 and it looks like a great place with culture, hiking, beaches, and something different from NZ. I haven't bought my ticket yet but I plan to talk with my boss about it in the next few days and then maybe commit with a plane ticket. I've gotta start going for it again!

Best!

Nothing but Work

These last few days I haven't been doing anything but working. Yesterday I worked a 12.5 hour shift and today I worked 8.5 hours. It's nice to get half of a full time week in in two days! I will still work 5 days, but most of that will be "extra" hours. They don't have overtime here like we do in America - no time and half pay over 40 hours - but I am always happy for the extra money. I can do more and save more and then do more later.

I have decided that I'm going to go away for a nice vacation this winter - maybe in September - to one of the south pacific islands. Maybe I'll go for 2 weeks? Just fly there and figure everything out on the fly. I'm thinking French Polynesia, where Tahiti is. Or maybe Niue. We'll see. It will depend on timing and flight costs and anyone I run into between now and then who says anything along the lines of "You have to go to Tahiti". That would pretty much make my decision for me.

Anyways, that's all that's been happening in my boring life.

And here's a shout-out to Michael - I had a great time in Raglan last week. When I got to work on Thursday, after spending the night in Raglan, I had that post-vacation depression you get when you come back from a week at the beach. Although I was only gone from the city for one night I really felt like I had been away, on some great adventure, for much longer. It was so nice to make the decision on the fly to stay the night, to hang out with someone new that I met, and just be spontaneous. Living here in Auckland I feel like I've lost that a bit. Although I am getting out and doing plenty in my time off from work, I cannot be all that spontaneous because I can't go too far from Auckland and have a rather limited budget. All that said, my trip to Raglan last week was fantastic! It had that spontaneous feel, I had fun meeting new people, all was just great!

I typically have Tuesday and Wednesday off, so we would be prepping for a few days of adventure right now, but this week I am off Thursday and Friday. I will be working again tomorrow and Wednesday, with likely little exciting happening, and then will be off at the end of the week. Not sure yet what I'm going to do. Have to take care of a few car things but depending on what my pay check looks like on Wednesday night, maybe I'll get out of the city for one day. If one of the days is going to be quite rainy I may just lay around watching TV and movies. I'm a bit in the mood for a lazy rainy day - but only if it's rainy. No lazy sunny days here. Not now. And then of course the weekly Tuesday night Italian by myself (except it'll be Thursday night this week). Okay, that's all for now. Night!

Best!

Bridal Veil Falls Video

Here's a video I made from the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls.

Customers from Thursday

So I had some tables on Thursday I was going to tell you about but never got around to it. Let's get to it now.

The Americans here on work: I had a table of 6 people, 4 of whom were American. One of the Americans lives here in NZ and the other three were visiting from the US for a few days on work. It's always fun to see Americans, but most are nicer than this crew. One of the people in the group, and the only Kiwi, was rather overweight. He was a big guy to start out with (quite tall) but he was definitely heavier than is healthy. He was sitting at one end of the table and three of the Americans were sitting at the other end. At one point I walked past the table and heard the three Americans talking about how lazy obese people are and commenting out loud that they need to learn how to take care of themselves. I could tell that the overweight gentleman could overhear what they were saying, not that they were trying to even be subtle about it. I was embarrassed for the Kiwi, embarrassed that Americans (from the most obese country in the world) were going around the world making such rude comments and making us all look like rude people. I was quite tempted to interrupt their conversation, tell them how rude they were being, and apologize to the Kiwi gentleman on behalf of all Americans. I didn't, as it probably wouldn't have done much good for me, but the Kiwi man did not deserve that kind of terrible treatment. Poor guy! And for the icing on the cake, they put the dinner on their American corporate card and didn't even leave me a tip!

Phil, Debbie, and son: I had a family in on Thursday - Phil (father), Debbie (mother), and their son (I can't remember his name....). They were really nice and were telling me about some of the amazing travels they'd had. I believe Phil was the biological father of the son (who was likely in his mid-late teens) and Debbie was maybe the stepmother. Apparantely Phil and his son had spent 3 years living on a boat in the Pacific and had also spent 1 year traveling America in an RV they bought when they landed in Seattle. What an amazing life for the son. He's not even done with high school yet and he has had so many experiences most of us will never have. I always love meetings people like this!

Tracy and Lorne: I had a great couple in Tracy and Lorne. Well they aren't actually together, just good friends. Tracy has a boyfriend who isn't Lorne. Either way, not all that important. These two were amazingly fun. We talked about who should pay on a date, how American men always pay and Kiwi/Oz men do not. Tracy taught me that the term "going Dutch" exists because dutch men are notoriously tight with their money. She told me about a date she went on with a dutch guy who asked her to contribute $10 to a $40 bill. Can you imagine that? It was only $40! She taught me that a flan in England is a savory food with crust (like a quiche) and not a dessert custard food with jell-o like consistency like I'm used to. They were a great couple of people. Apparently Lorne comes in on occasion so hopefully I'll get to see them again soon.

Okay, I'm working on uploading my Raglan videos now. Here's a few links for you. Hopefully the videos will be working soon. I'll add a video of Bridal Veil Falls tomorrow.

A surfer.
Raglan overview.

Oh and I had a 12 hour day at work today. I'm already at my 40 hours for the week and I still have tomorrow left. How nice to make a few extra dollars here and there. I need it!

Best!

Raglan Photos

Okay, so here are the photos to follow-up yesterdays blog post. No videos yet, I don't have time to take care of that before going to work today. 

The cool cemetery:

Isn't that just so beautiful?! Who wouldn't want to be buried there. I think the cemetery is all Maori people so my chances of being let in are probably about 0%. Lucky them!

Raglan surf beaches:

View point from behind my book at one of the surf spots in Raglan.

Looking down on the surfing area.

And looking out across the Tasman Sea.

My trusty old truck. Isn't it amazing where it's taken me so far? Just imagine what we're going to see together!

Some pretty clouds.

Switching gears for one minute. Here in NZ they use quotation marks in a very different way than I'm used to seeing them back home. We tend to use them to either directly quote someone or as a way of being sarcastic. Here I think they do it to add emphasis to words. Anyways, from an American point of view, would you get a haircut at this place? Probably not... And who is "Lucy" really?

Just a pretty hill overlooking the estuary in Raglan.

Bridal Veil Falls and the hike there:

As you walk down the path towards bridal veil falls you come across this sign, a bit scary isn't it?

Here's an example of the Maori language and the English equivalent.

Looking down from the top of Bridal Veil Falls.

The falls.

And the falls again.

And now from the bottom.

The open NZ road. I was going to hike that hill/mountain you can see there had I gotten to raglan on Tuesday and not Wednesday. At least now I have an activity for another day.

The sunset:

Surfing at sunset. Looks amazing, doesn't it?

Okay that's all for photos. Videos to come soon.

Best!

Raglan

Yesterday I drove down to Raglan, a surf town about 2 hours Southwest of Auckland, to spend the day. This is where I meant to go on Tuesday but was too hungover to accomplish the drive. I'm glad I went Wednesday - the weather was spectacular! I left Auckland about 9 am, pulling into Raglan around 11. On the way down I stopped at this amazing cemetery along the highway. I had seen the cemetery last week when I drove to the Hakarimata hike but didn't stop. This cemetery is built into the side of a hill - and it's stunning. It is so well maintained and so beautiful, I want to spend the rest of eternity in this place. I parked on the road and walked up to the gate which has a sign reading "No tourists." I ignored the sign and entered anyways but felt so uncomfortable I wasn't able to stay more than a few minutes. I did take a few photos that'll I'll share with you here. I wish it was allowed to explore the cemetery because it is just so amazing, but I guess it's just not in the cards.

When I got to Raglan I decided to go straight to the beach. I pulled up to one of the three surf beaches there and spent some time watching the surfers and then read my book for a while.

When I was leaving one of the surfers started chatting with me, a guy named Michael from Oregon. Turns out here's here in NZ on vacation for 2 weeks. We chatted for a bit and he invited me to dinner. I didn't agree but he said he was going to watch the sun set up the road and if I decided to go to dinner with him I could meet him there for the sunset before hand. I kept this in mind. He also suggested a good place for lunch, The Shack, and I took him up on his suggestion. I headed straight into town for lunch, as I was quite hungry, and The Shack was good.

After lunch I went to Bridal Veil Falls, a waterfall outside Raglan about 20 kms. It's a very skinny but tall waterfall, coming in at 55 meters tall. It's so stunningly beautiful. I just can't believe how many waterfalls they have in this country. How much fresh water! This waterfall, however, is full of polutted water. There are signs saying no swimming because the water is full of agricultural runoff. You can definitely see it when you look at the river, the water is all cloudy. Yuck!

I decided while I was visiting this waterfall that I had nothing to lose by going out to dinner with Micahel - and Raglan being only 2 hours from Auckland, I could still drive home after dinner. I went to meet him for the sunset.

After the sunset (and a few beers) we went into town for a drink followed by dinner. We had a drink at the local hotel/restaurant (the Raglan equivalent of the Top Pub where I worked in Coromandel town). We went to dinner at the local Cambodian restaurant. All was good. After dinner I decided to stay the night in Raglan so we went back to the local hotel/restaurant (Harbour View Hotel) to check room prices for me and have another drink. The girl working the desk definitely undersold the room. She said it was very simple and only had a bed but when we went to look at it, turns out it had a shelving unit and a sink too. :)I stayed the night there, wasn't bad. This morning Michael took me out for a nice breakfast at The Shack and then I had to head back into Auckland for work. Always nice to meet a fellow American abroad.

Work today I had some interesting customers that I'll write more about tomorrow. It's just getting late now and I need to get to work. Here's a high lever description, I'll write more when I can:

- the Americans here on work.
- Phil, Debbie, and son.
- Tracy and Lorne.

After work I went out for a drink with some work peeps - Anthony mostly, as he's leaving in a few days. Not bad but I'm really getting sick of drinking more than once every few weeks. This just isn't my scene anymore at all! And I had to take a taxi home which is just such a waste of money. I'm very upset with myself for staying out and not taking the bus home. All the money I would've saved!

Anyways, off to bed now. I'll post photos and videos tomorrow of Raglan, no time to wait for them to upload now.

Best!

I have videos that I will upload soon, I just need to clear space on my computer before I can download them and then upload them.

P.S. I talked with a high school friend today on Skype, Allyson, and she told me she's buying a house. How crazy for me to think about this. I'm so excited for her but man, she's really becoming an adult at the same time as I feel like I'm turning more into a child. Not that I'm getting more immature, rather I'm backing about for serious responsibility like this as she's taking it on. I'm happy I'm doing what I'm doing, and happy she's doing what she's doing, but it's just so weird to think how similar our lives were only 8 years ago and how different they are today - and who would've predict all of this?! It's just so amazing to watch your life unfold, and the lives of those around you!