Who's your best friend?
As a child that seemingly so simple a question becomes the cause of many an argument and upest, as well as joy at being labelled such by another kid; it is the source of hunts for friendship bracelets/necklaces/charms, secret passwords and codes, and the endless dilemma of who to choose for that prestigious title.
As an adult, I now delight in having lots of best friends, spread all over the world. I'm one of those lucky people: my mum's my best friend. So's my boyfriend. The girls I stayed up to 2am writing essays with at uni. The shy 'other English girl' who my fascinated classmates told me to speak English to on my first day at a Dutch-speaking school. The special lady I saw today who has made her home elsewhere but never forgets about me. My wonderful, tolerant housemate in NZ. The list goes on and on and on...
I no longer feel the need to choose a best friend. I have lots, all different, all part of who I am, all fabulous. I love you all.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
When Kansas becomes Oz (group email)
Hmmmm... It's been quite a while since my last email. Wonder why that is? Wouldn't be anything to do with a rather wonderful distraction in the form of a fabulous man...
The past few months have passed in something of a whirlwind, with the hurricane picking me up and finally landing me back in my Kansas, which feels more of an Oz than ever before. Let me recap first:
I went back to Mt Ruapehu in late August and worked in the Marketing Department there til
mid-November. It was a slight departure from my usual line of work, but I had a great time and I learnt so much from my fabulous colleagues, Shannon and Nadia. The job involved supporting the two of them by taking on things like the video content of the website, helping out at events and a bunch of other projects. Right up my street! I got lots of skiing in and (naughty me) bought some sexy new skis.
It also gave me lots and lots and LOTS of quality time with Gregg, and brought me back with the lovely Bex. Dinner parties, road trips, walks, skiing, etc etc. There are way too many stories to tell, really. One good one is of the Wild Food Festival held by friends of my NZ mum and dad up in South Auckland. The instructions were 'bring something you have caught, trapped, shot etc - only rules are: no roadkill and no pets'. Living in a national park we were clearly going to be limited in choice, so we went for a vegetarian option. Several hundred 'ows', 2 restarts and many scratched fingers and faces later, we had sufficient of the main ingredient for gorseflower fritters.
They turned out to be rather bland and unexciting, but a lot of fun to make and they looked pretty... Other offerings at the festival included fish-eye mornay, peacock stew and wild horse steaks (yum!!), although eating started so late that we were all too intoxicated to really worry about what might be in most things. Come to think of it, that's not a bad tactic on the part of the hosts!
Check out photos of the Ruapehu and Wild Food shenanigans on flickr:
Mt Ruapehu, 23 Aug - 16 Nov 08: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddballproductions/sets/72157611324745025/
Wild Food Festival, 1 - 3 Nov 08: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddballproductions/sets/72157611326822839/
After the season finished mid-November, G and I headed south for a 2-week holiday on the South Island, seeing some of the bits I missed first time round, revisiting others and meeting Gregg's family and some friends. For those who know the geography: ferry to Picton, over to Nelson (WoW and classic cars museum, Centre of NZ), down to Westport (Gregg's brother and niece, huge opencast coal mine tour), across Lewis Pass (Maruia Springs) to Christchurch (Gregg's dad and wee sister, Antarctic Centre, Arts Centre) and over to Akaroa. I
t was a really relaxed holiday with little dashing around. The absolute highlight was Tree Crop Farm over in Akaroa. In a wild garden filled with lavender and roses we stayed in a tiny and secluded hut down by the stream. No electricity or plumbing, only a small woodburning stove, candles and lots of flowers. Oh, and mustn't forget the bush bath - open air bath with a fire under it to keep the water hot. It was the most romantic place ever.
The weeks sped by and a lightning speed week in Wellington later, we were back at National Park where Pete treated us to a shot in his jetboat and Bex put on a lovely Christmas dinner before I buggered off home, where I am now.
Holiday photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddballproductions/sets/72157611400827386/
Yes, I am back in the UK. Temporarily. Visiting mum and dad for Christmas and chilling. Literally. It's so cold here, having come from the height of a beautiful NZ summer. I'm also more conscious than ever of the sound basis for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). The days are SO short this time of year, and when there is daylight, it's not exactly much to write home about. But it does feel much more christmassy than I've felt the past couple of years, which is great!
Some other things I've noticed immediately on returning
- pedestrian crossing lights are larger but quieter
- no public toilets
- it's still much more cash-based here
- NZ just has no equivalent to Boots or Have I Got News For You
It's both lovely and very strange to be back.
Further plans are to go back to NZ late January, sort out my visa and a job and go from there!
Wishing you all a very merry christmas and a happy new year.
The past few months have passed in something of a whirlwind, with the hurricane picking me up and finally landing me back in my Kansas, which feels more of an Oz than ever before. Let me recap first:
I went back to Mt Ruapehu in late August and worked in the Marketing Department there til
mid-November. It was a slight departure from my usual line of work, but I had a great time and I learnt so much from my fabulous colleagues, Shannon and Nadia. The job involved supporting the two of them by taking on things like the video content of the website, helping out at events and a bunch of other projects. Right up my street! I got lots of skiing in and (naughty me) bought some sexy new skis.It also gave me lots and lots and LOTS of quality time with Gregg, and brought me back with the lovely Bex. Dinner parties, road trips, walks, skiing, etc etc. There are way too many stories to tell, really. One good one is of the Wild Food Festival held by friends of my NZ mum and dad up in South Auckland. The instructions were 'bring something you have caught, trapped, shot etc - only rules are: no roadkill and no pets'. Living in a national park we were clearly going to be limited in choice, so we went for a vegetarian option. Several hundred 'ows', 2 restarts and many scratched fingers and faces later, we had sufficient of the main ingredient for gorseflower fritters.
They turned out to be rather bland and unexciting, but a lot of fun to make and they looked pretty... Other offerings at the festival included fish-eye mornay, peacock stew and wild horse steaks (yum!!), although eating started so late that we were all too intoxicated to really worry about what might be in most things. Come to think of it, that's not a bad tactic on the part of the hosts!Check out photos of the Ruapehu and Wild Food shenanigans on flickr:
Mt Ruapehu, 23 Aug - 16 Nov 08: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddballproductions/sets/72157611324745025/
Wild Food Festival, 1 - 3 Nov 08: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddballproductions/sets/72157611326822839/
After the season finished mid-November, G and I headed south for a 2-week holiday on the South Island, seeing some of the bits I missed first time round, revisiting others and meeting Gregg's family and some friends. For those who know the geography: ferry to Picton, over to Nelson (WoW and classic cars museum, Centre of NZ), down to Westport (Gregg's brother and niece, huge opencast coal mine tour), across Lewis Pass (Maruia Springs) to Christchurch (Gregg's dad and wee sister, Antarctic Centre, Arts Centre) and over to Akaroa. I
t was a really relaxed holiday with little dashing around. The absolute highlight was Tree Crop Farm over in Akaroa. In a wild garden filled with lavender and roses we stayed in a tiny and secluded hut down by the stream. No electricity or plumbing, only a small woodburning stove, candles and lots of flowers. Oh, and mustn't forget the bush bath - open air bath with a fire under it to keep the water hot. It was the most romantic place ever.The weeks sped by and a lightning speed week in Wellington later, we were back at National Park where Pete treated us to a shot in his jetboat and Bex put on a lovely Christmas dinner before I buggered off home, where I am now.
Holiday photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddballproductions/sets/72157611400827386/
Yes, I am back in the UK. Temporarily. Visiting mum and dad for Christmas and chilling. Literally. It's so cold here, having come from the height of a beautiful NZ summer. I'm also more conscious than ever of the sound basis for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). The days are SO short this time of year, and when there is daylight, it's not exactly much to write home about. But it does feel much more christmassy than I've felt the past couple of years, which is great!
Some other things I've noticed immediately on returning
- pedestrian crossing lights are larger but quieter
- no public toilets
- it's still much more cash-based here
- NZ just has no equivalent to Boots or Have I Got News For You
It's both lovely and very strange to be back.
Further plans are to go back to NZ late January, sort out my visa and a job and go from there!
Wishing you all a very merry christmas and a happy new year.
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