20 days to takeoff

The ticket is bought.  I fly out from Newark Wednesday, 01/18/12.  Arrive Gisborne 20/01/12.  Land of the reversed dates, left side of the road, and clockwise toilet flushes.  And summer, sunrise, and surfing.

Today's research is on computers---what should I bring, what get there, which service to use, which of their packages to get? Telecom looks to be the best service with lots of options, plus more people use it and in NZ you pay less if you call someone's cell who uses the same provider.  Paying to call a cell locally? This takes me back 15 years or so.

Big day

Another successful trapeze experience this morning.  Trapeze is rapidly becoming the new addiction.  Lucky I'm leaving before it can bankrupt me!

...and speaking of leaving, this was waiting in the mail for me when I got home---

Yes, I am now official and immigrationally (is that a word?) approved to work and travel in and out of NZ for the next 2 1/2 years!  Woo hoo, break open the champagne and buy that plane ticket!

trapeze

As promised, the story of my first trapeze class, at TSNY on 30th and 10th Ave.
You start by being hooked into a belt/harness and grabbing hold of the bar of the swing, which, by the way, is much heavier than it looks.  And isn't sideways like the photo.  Just tilt your head to the left.

Then, when they say 'hep', you jump off the platform, hopefully not dropping like a stone, but holding fast to the bar (at which time you pull all the muscles in your chest wall, back, and upper arms) you swing out

keep swinging

and through a series of clumsy (on my part) moves you eventually get into this position

and you trust that the guy who's been telling you what to do all along knows what he's talking about and will be there to catch you....

....and he is!
Talk about adrenaline---what a high! I've gone back once more and will try for another before heading out.
The best part of the experience was that I was completely incapable of thinking about everything else going on in my life right now---a welcome respite from the insanity.

 Photos courtesy of Laura, fellow first timer and new friend---we did it!

 Class courtesy of Beatrice---thanks again for the great birthday present!

Cracker Barrel lunch

Back from visiting my parents in NC for a few days.  We got together with my sister Sarah and her son PJ for southern home cooking lunch at Cracker Barrel.  It had been several years since I saw PJ---was great to catch up on what he's been up to---and plan what we'll do when he comes to visit NZ---I now have a partner for shark cage diving!  We missed seeing Phil (Sarah's husband) and Erika and Brandon (my niece and her boyfriend).  This is the start of goodbyes--unless I fly back for a visit sooner, I'll see them in 2 years.

Visa

Got the paperwork from Gisborne on Sunday, spent Monday running from hot yoga at 8:30 to trapeze at 10:45, quick bite and haircut downtown, then passport photos, copy around 50 pieces of paper, realize that I'm missing something, run home, get paper, go to Fed Ex and get it all sent out to embassy before they closed at 9pm. Which was such a relief, as I flew out on Tuesday to visit mom and dad in NC for the rest of the week.
 
Wednesday at mom & dad's I get a message from the embassy that I am STILL missing 2 important pieces of paperwork.  One of them was easy enough to have sent in. I spent the next hour calling, emailing, and pleading with people to help me find the other and get it to this lovely man at the embassy within the next 24 hours.  Because of course, the embassy is closed for 10 days over the holidays, will reopen on Jan 3rd at which time they'll have a ton of visa applications waiting.  I know that the paperwork was faxed at the end of Wednesday, and can only hope they processed the visa yesterday or today.

When I know, you'll know.

Bread

This has been a week of not hearing back.  Not from HR department, midwifery director, and a close friend I haven't spoken with in a while.  3 strikes.  I know they move slowly in NZ, clearly that's already been a challenge for me.  I want to submit the work visa application.  Can't do that until I have form INZ-1113 filled out by HR, which clearly is not yet done.  Once that's in (overnight via Fed Ex with return overnight envelope included to the NZ embassy in DC with my actual passport), it takes around 10 business days for them to process it.  Assuming, of course, there are no issues with the application.  Which there shouldn't be, but I'm not buying that plane ticket until the visa is in my hands.
Not hearing back from a close friend is no big deal usually.  I can be the same way, usually when I'm feeling down---sort of a self-perpetuating misery--I feel down, don't get back to people, they get annoyed/upset which validates my feeling bad about myself.  Interesting, as it's one reason for the blog---I know quite well that I'll stink at keeping in touch by email, I'm not up for facebook or tweeting my life.  I want to keep in touch with people without the pressure of individual responses, rewriting versions of the same email to 15 people, or doing a 'group' mailing to the whole list.  I don't read those, wouldn't want to subject friends to one from me.

I meant this to be about my recent bread baking activity.  It's soothing, and very satisfying, to make bread from scratch.  I love Chef John.  foodwishes.blogspot.com. No-knead ciabatta bread.

Next up, my trapeze school experience.  Hopefully with photos!

Goodbyes

Went to the BCtr Holiday party today and saw a lot of people I hadn't seen in awhile.  Danielle, Laurie, Sandy, Sylvie, Candice, Elizabeth, and loads more.  It was great to see everyone.  I realized I hadn't been back since I stopped working mid-September, 3 months ago---and although I missed the people, I didn't miss working there.  Strange feeling.  I'll go back once more to see Laurie, and leave it at that.
I left while they were doing secret santa, otherwise I'd stay and talk forever.