I'm still here

Wellington, on the South side of the North Island, got a 6.5 earthquake the other day.  Yikes!  What is up with me living in places that always want to shake down to the ground?!?  Thankfully the quake had no effect on Christchurch in any way and we didn't even feel it.  Wellington is slowly recovering from its minor damages. 

So what have I been doing the past week or so?  So much and nothing at all at the same time.  First off, the important news, is that Guy and I got ourselves an apartment so no longer will we be squatting in Dan's apartment.  I can finally unpack my suitcases.  Here is a picture of our new place.  The building is a cute cottage on the corner which is actually two flats.  We have the flat on the right side in the picture.  That big bay window is our bedroom.  Behind that is the second bedroom for visitors (like you, yes you), a lounge, and a kitchen.  Bathroom is off the hallway.  It is super cute and I have a good gut feeling that it will work out just fine.  We have it until February with the option to renew if all is going well.  

The red door is our front door

I keep applying to jobs. Nothing yet, but I'm still plugging away at it hoping/praying that I'll get a chance on something that I am semi interested in. I've been spending a lot of time at local cafes using free wi-fi to get me out of the house. They have a drink I am digging a lot called the flat white.

A flat white is a coffee beverage developed in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s. It is prepared by pouring microfoam (steamed milk from the bottom of a pitcher) over a single or double shot of ristretto espresso. It is similar to the latte and the café au lait although smaller in volume, having a higher proportion of coffee to milk, and more velvety in consistency.

Thanks for the definition Wikipedia.  Here is a picture of my recent flat white with a silver fern latte art on the top.  It hits the spots.

I've also have been spending a lot of time mindlessly wandering around Hagley Park.  I wandered into the Pinetum, which is a nice collection of pines and coniferous trees.  The park is so empty during the week it boggles the mind.  A bit more crowded on weekends, but overall it feels like my own special place when I bike alone in the afternoons.  

The other day it was a beautiful day!  It was 16 degrees outside!  Don't know what that means?  I barely do.  It was about 60 degrees fahrenheit which meant that I could be outside, briefly before the sun went down behind the mountains, without a jacket!  After a breakfast of hashbrowns and bacon, and Guy going to the gym while I biked around town, we walked over to the Rapaki Track just on the outside of town.  It seemed like half of the city was there enjoying the sunshine.

The Rapaki Track is there the "A" pin is

The walk was lovely.  A bit strenuous but the burn in my legs just told me that I need to do that more often.  Along the hillside going up Guy and I saw a bunch of sheep!  I'm still not over seeing and talking to the sheep.  I even saw some lambs!  I asked Guy endless questions about sheep, "where do they sleep" "are they scared" "do sheep like to live in herds" "what does their poop look like" "why is that one jumping around like that" "who owns these sheep"?  He could answer... most.  Here are some pictures!

A Mom and her lamb

My first semi close encounter with a lamb

My first semi close encounter with the Rapaki Track

Another semi close encounter with Some Guy

My first weekend

Upon arriving in NZ I stayed with Guy at his parents place while his parents were still in Europe.  His parents' house is on the other side of the hill from Christchurch, about a 25 minute drive out of town.  The drive felt very much like driving up Mt. Tam (a mountain in Marin) with the sharp turns, high overlooks, and beautiful views.  I stayed at the house/farm for several days on my own while Guy was at work.  It was my responsibility to keep the fire going and relax.  Life is hard.  NOT.

I slept in, read, figured out how to watch Hulu not in America, and snacked.  There was constantly a chill in the air, which was worse at night, but sitting by the fire was lovely.  At the warmest parts of the day I ventured outside to explore a bit.  The house is high on a hillside, overlooking Governors Bay, with a small sheep population on the farm (Guy says there are about "30 head" of sheep on the property to keep the grass down).  The view looking out was lovely.  

Looking out from the front door

I talked to the sheep.  They just stared at me.  I promised I wasn't a predator.  They didn't believe me.

  

No houses nearby whatsoever.

A side view of the front yard.  On the left is the front grass area, on the right is the house.

On my second full day at this house with no one to talk to and waiting for Guy to come home, I ventured into "town" to the local pub.  Before I went in I walked down to the jetty at Governors Bay and was pleasantly happy that I did.  Despite the sky spitting and dribbling rain on me in sporadic outbursts I walked along the water as far as I could but had to come to a stop when a "slip" had poured lots of tree, dirt, and debris on the walkway making it impossible to completely walk the path.  The view was lovely.  No one was around.  It was me, the rain, the water lapping onto the rocks, and the very distant sounds of cars.  A new happy place and I cannot wait to see it in the Spring/Summer months.

A kea.  Not my pic.

On my first Sunday Dan drove Guy and I out to Arthurs Pass, a pass that connects Canterbury (where Christchurch is located) with the West coast of the South Island.  We left the Canterbury plains in a cold but sunny morning to drive up through the mountains which got increasingly more cold and rainy.  The views reminded me of the drive into Yosemite but with more rivers everywhere.  We kept driving and when it was time for a potty break there was light hail outside.  At the rest stop I met my new favorite bird, the Kea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kea).  It's a cheeky bird.  Big, we're talking large parrot sized, and smart, like it knows how to charm humans for food.  One kea flew up onto the hood/bonnet of the car and stared Dan our driver right in the face, then hopped over to the side mirror on the passager side looking inside at the two boys.  I was coming back from the restroom and as it sat on the mirror watching me approach it was not scared at all.  I opened the passenger door as it was still perched on the mirror just watching and waiting.  It did not hop off the car till we were almost out of the parking lot/car park.  The kea now has my heart.  Damn cheeky bastard.

We continued to drive into the pass and the weather quickly changed for this California West coast girl. SNOW!  I even got out and hopped in it!  Then quickly hopped back into the car, it was COLD.  As we approached the pass we quickly contemplated having to put on our snow chains, it was that bad.  Soon we just chose to turn back when we saw a small car off the side of the road on its side.  Semi-fresh tracks too.  That made my heart beat fast!  Guy jumped out and went to check to make sure no one was still in the car.  Thank God whoever the car belonged to got out safely.  We turned around and not 5 minutes later the authorities closed the pass.  We headed home.  It was a long day out but a memorable one.  I commend the boys for showing me three weather patterns in one day.  NZ and I are off to a great start.

Miss me yet?

Feel free to email me at annmpattison@gmail.com.  I will try to respond.

Keen on using that Skype account you swore you'd use more? Annmpattison.

Ever notice the FaceTime app on your phone/iPad/computer? I'm there too. Annmpattison@gmail.com.

I miss you all! Here is a picture of my view from the only pub in Governors Bay where I am waiting patiently for Guy to get off work.  We are making spaghetti tonight!

My independence day to NZ

I'm here! I really am here!

Me and my stuff

I left the evening of July 3rd with my bags packed (suitcase, backpack, bike box, travel backpack, and a small duffle) and I was at the strangest calm I have been at for months. I checked in my luggage and went through security without a hiccup.  I did my last ToDo's, like call my parents, then I paced. Up and down the center of the international terminal till it was my turn to board. My jumble of nerves set itself down in the back row next to my new friend, Wendy.  For the next 12 hours we flew to Auckland together while talking, laughing, and eating the adequate plane food.  By the end of the first leg she gave me her phone number and said she may know someone who has a job for me that would be working in an Irish bar!  Rad!  I will definitely give her a call by the end of the week.

The plane landed in Auckland and I had two hours to get off the plane, through customs, through bio-security with my bags, run over to the domestic terminal, re-check my bags, and go through security again.  I was starting to stress but thankfully I had gotten about 4 hours of sleep on the plane mid-way through my viewing of classic 1980's movie: Wall Street.  I had my many printouts of all of information which was requested I had before I could enter the country with my visa.  The woman at the customs counter did not ask me for any of it.  I asked, "did you want to see any of this?" and she replied with "nah, it all showed up on the computer."  Works for me, so I skipped (no joke) merrily towards baggage pickup.  All three of my pieces of luggage rolled by and it was up to me to get it all on my wee trolley cart.  When the bike box was standing up on the trolley I couldn't see over it.  I had to steer with my face careened around the side of the cart.  Bio-Security was a breeze and nobody seemed to care that I had a jar of peanut butter, a bike, a wooden jewelry box, or anything.

Upon exiting the international terminal I ran my cart directly into a small metal stump causing all of my goods to spill everywhere.  I was quite a sight but every one was kind to help me navigate my trolley up and down curbs.  My my, the people are nice here!  Upon entering the domestic terminal I met up again with my plane friend, Wendy, who showed me the ropes of checking back in.  We had about 45 minutes till our plane took off.  I had worn two jackets and a scarf thinking it would be cold since it was 6am and the middle of winter.  Instead I sweated.  A lot.  When I went through the security line I set off the alarm and had to get my back patted down.  My sweat set off the scanner.  I was mortified.  I made it with 5 minutes to spare but our plane was delayed 15 minutes.  Perfect.  I got a tea and went for a mini-walk.

The second flight was a quick one and before I knew it I was collecting my bags again and calling Guy.  We did all that mushy stuff and I realized I was safely here.  Not as tired as I thought I would be.  More content than I ever thought I could be.  I have arrived and it feels great.  More posts to come about my first week here!  Sorry I missed the Fourth of July but my adventure was my own independence day.  

Goodbye 102 and Ness

Today was a huge day for goodbyes.

My studio bachlorette apartment I have lived in for over five years is now out of my life.  I cleaned the last bits and got rid of various items that refused to leave till last minute.  The keys are sitting on the counter of a kitchen I should have cooked more in.  The curtains are pulled back letting in sunshine onto a living room I hosted a variety of parties in (birthdays, White Castle & Beer, Lost nights, B2B jello shots, murder mystery).  I feel like I have done most of my growing in this space and I will always remember it fondly, despite my mostly-deaf neighbor and the bitchy-slutty girl upstairs.  I left a room that had no windows and moved alone into apartment 102 after I got my first fulltime job.  At the time this apartment was well out of my price range but I lied to the agent and said my parents gave me $1000 a month for rent atop my current income.  I also became a mother to an (illegal, no pet-deposit) furball after constantly saying that I would never own a cat.  It was my scared space and I loved it.  It is also time to move on.  

Main space

Kitchen

And now there is the story of my cat.  Ness moved out last week before I did most of the cleaning of the apartment to minimize her stress.  Her ride over to her new home was traumatizing for the both of us to the point that she peed in her carrier and upon arrival she walked around her new home with pee-pee paws.  She is living with three good friends (ex-work friends) and another cat.  I'll call them D/M/S since I don't know how much they want me giving away about their home life.  Some people just like to be private.  Anyways.   I figured Ness would hide under M's bed for several weeks and slowly come out of her shell.  Apparently she hid under the bed for one night then was walking about the apartment.  She has completely made herself at home just after a week.  The difficulty comes in when speaking about her relationship with the other cat in the house.  The other cat, who has lived in this apartment for almost a decade I believe, isn't too happy about this temporary living situation.  She will yell/yowl at Ness when Ness does something she does not approve of such as:  speaking, getting to close to her couch, or drinking out of her water dish.  I can't blame her.  Ness continues to test boundaries and keep a safe distance.  I am so proud of her.  This gives me such hope for our new life in NZ in September.  She is good at coping.  Yes, after a long flight and being handled by humans she does not know will stress her, but after a week of love from Guy and I all will be well.  Her paperwork is 70% in order and I cannot wait to have her back in my care.  The universe knew best that she should travel after me and I respect that since it is working out well for the both of us.

Ness lovin' next to Tia M