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

Triumphant titer test!

My phone rang and it was the vet.  I got goosebumps and my stomach dropped.  But the news was good, NESS PASSED HER RABIES TITER TEST!  My vet was over the moon being able to give me the good news.

I just finished making my phone calls (Guy, my parents, those currently taking care of Ness, my pet transporter) and now I have some permits to work on.  I am so happy.  There is so much work to get done.

Thank you for all for the well wishes.  It worked!  Now I can get onto more pressing matters.  I move in less than a week.  My bags are mostly packed.  My apartment is becoming more and more barren.  Tomorrow is my last day of work.  I have many more goodbye hugs to savor.

Happy tears

It all started with a proclamation

 

Then I had the best day ever.  What did I experience?  All my favorites:  popcorn, kiwi's, fritos, salami.  I had grade levels sing to me which touched my heart more than I ever thought I could experience.  Second grade moved me to tears and I will never be able to forget it.  Kindergarten sang me their "Ivy Leaf" song which is filled with memories from all the years gone by.  Fifth grade sang a rousing rendition of "Happy Miss Pattison Day" which made me smile from ear to ear.  I was serenaded by a band a of teachers and 7th graders.  I collected handmade cards from numerous kids as well as getting post-it notes back to myself.  I hugged more kids than I ever could have dreamed.  Some children hugged me multiple times.  My desk was covered with flowers of all kinds.  I got chocolate.  So much dark chocolate.  I had the amazing gift of NZ money so I can have a drink in the Auckland airport bar.  And the parents... showed me such gratitude via my Paypal widget I cannot even comprehend the love.  How do I repay a community that loves me so dearly?  So throughly?  So wonderfully?  I cannot.  I am blessed to have these people in my life.  My heart swells to limits I never knew about.  

Needless to say that I cried all day.  They were happy tears.  To feel as loved as I felt today is amazing and indescribable (I want to cry just typing this out).  I love my Day School families.  I love my Day School kids.  If I wasn't so excited about my upcoming NZ experience, I might want to stay.  I know I am young but now I know what it feels like to be apart of the biggest family you could ever dream of.  To know I can always come back and see them makes this "goodbye" that much easier. 

                        

I have so many people to thank for today.  They know who they are.  June 7th, 2013 will forever be one of my better days ever.  I love everyone and everything.  Thank you for today.  Thank you all for everything.  I couldn't have asked for anything more.  I look forward to having a NZ refrigerator filled with child artwork and memories!

Let the goodbyes begin

This morning I said my frist true goodbye.

A friend, who I have known for 13 years, got on a bus and went back to Davis while I stood at the bus stop with tears in my eyes.  We spent a wonderful afternoon chatting, bar hopping, eating too much, then meeting up with his lady and roommate.  Together we drank and laughed and remembered why we are friends.  This is the first of many heartfelt goodbyes.  There are many more on the horizon.

AMP and AMC

I might freeze to death

I just checked the current weather in New Zealand.

I just might die.

It snowed last night.

I have never been good at cold weather.

This is becoming my international pet transportation blog, sorry

Bear with me.  I am eating that dark chocolate with almonds bar I keep in reserve for times of need.  This is one of those times.

I got the phonecall from my vet.  The phonecall that I prayed would be a happy phonecall.  It was not. Ness failed her second titer blood test which means she does not have enough rabies antibodies in her blood to travel internationally to NZ.  I am floored.  After crying a lot at work, calling Guy, calling my parents, and leaving work a bit early... I made A LOT of calls.

I called my pet transporter, who I am SO THANKFUL FOR (James is a calming voice to my hysterical outbursts of sentences).  They said they have never known for an animal to fail their second titer test.  I hate being the case that people are baffled by.  The cause for the second failure could be a litany of things and it is hard to pinpoint what exactly went wrong.  First of all, it can be Ness.  Her kitty physiology may just refuse to produce antibodies.  Maybe it is her saying "F- You Mom, I'm not moving to NZ."  Secondly, it could be the vet.  Perhaps he stored the vaccine wrong, or sent the sample (aka blood) incorrectly, or mishandled something in the process.  Thirdly, it could be the vaccine itself.  Maybe it just doesn't work and the manufacturer screwed up, making a lot of animals out there not actually ready for a rabies attack.

This was my plan of action.  I had a big cuddle sesh with Ness telling her all the excitement that is to await her in NZ (TWO people who love her, lots of birds to listen to outside, tons of sunshine pouring through windows, so many rooms to run around in and explore).  Then I made an appointment with a NEW vet who can administer a different vaccine brand.  Then I called the manufacturer of the first two rabies vaccinations to say "WTF?  What did you do to my cat"??!?

After many many tears, a ton of phone calls, I feel better.  I have an amazing amount of people around me who want to help look after Ness to make sure she makes it safely into my NZ lap.  I love them all very deeply for seeing the sadness in me and wanting to do whatever is in their power to help out.  It is a blessing to know that my parents love me and are a wonderful ear to my woes.  And that I have a supportive boyfriend whose first reaction upon hearing this frustrating news is to curse loudly at work because he knows how crazy-cat-lady I am, even though I try not to be.

Thank you everyone for reading.  Sorry this blog has mostly become a chronicle of moving to another hemisphere with a cat who won't pass her tests.  In NZ related news: they fully support gay marriage, have banned stupid names for kids, and created this comedian who sang an amazing cover of silly song.

I go to Hawaii next week for my cousin's wedding.  I'll post pictures.  I have never been.  I look forward to the mental and physical getaway with the family.

/chocolatebar