one career goal down, five or six to go

Alright! I'm updating! So, what have I been up to for the last few weeks? Well, Shawn left for Australia and Kevin is preparing to bike across the country, so no more running from thunderstorms for a while. Although I've managed to risk my neck in plenty of other ways.


I went back to Akaroa with Evelien and Hanna for a girls' day and some shopping.


We had a really good lunch, except for this fried cheesy thing, which tasted "like an old Ewe" according to Evelien. I think that is the most accurate description. Even the birds wouldn't eat it. How did they even make something taste like that? I'm very scared.


I also went to the beach with my flatmates (foreground) and the next door neighbors (background). We played cricket which I'm quickly becoming addicted to, tossed an American football around for international flare along with some frisbees, and flew my kite! It was fantastic! Little did I know I would be putting it to shame in a couple of weeks.


Then this weekend we had a Christmas do at work (a "do" is a party or get-together. It's a great word, try it and you'll be hooked). So we went golfing. Dean here is trying for the (apparently) patented Tiger Woods three bounces and a drive move. He was not successful. Some of you might be thinking he bears a stunning resemblence to Andrew Mehrtens. This is highly unlikey since most of you don't even know who Andrew Mehrtens is, but if you plan on coming to NZ I suggest you find out. They won't hesitate to throw you out of a sushi restaurant for your ignorance.


Ah yes, and then we all went out for Japanese food. After the meal Debbie handed out prizes for the afternoon's golf game. Mark received a can of mackarel for his love of water hazards, much to everyone's entertainment.


And Simon and Dean had a long discussion about who hit the longest drive. Hey, a set of toy cars was at stake, can you blame them? I mean, they only WORK with REAL cars all day; that sort of thing is clearly really exciting.




So that's about all that's been going on... Oh wait no, that's right. The morning after the Christmas do, Jane called to tell me we were back on for PARAGLIDING and I should meet them outside in 20 minutes. So I did. And it was mind-blowing.


First they took us out to this nice practice hill and taught us how to run down it while hefting a parachute over our heads. Turns out the higher up you start, the easier it is. By the way, that nice grass at the bottom is actually mostly stinging nettles, and if a person were to fly beautifully down the hill and then lose their footing on the landing and be dragged through those nettles on their side and stomach, jeans and a long-sleeved shirt would not provide much protection. And they might also find that they still have thorns stuck in their hands 4 days later. Just in case you were wondering.


Then our fearless leader Red drove us out to the Port Hills above Taylor's Mistake (sight of hiking goodness a few months ago) and we all got a little nervous. It started out as a hill like the other place had... and then it just sort of ended.


But there were lots of other paragliders on the hill and they helped us get strapped in and ready to go. Even the little paraglider in training wanted to help! Jane told me later that all she was thinking was "yes it's cute that he wants to help-- please check my lines again."


We were given a little more instruction, a radio, and an encouraging shove. Actually it was usually a pull to get us running fast enough.


And then we were up in the air! That's me! It was totally miraculous! I only wish it had lasted longer. If I had a more lucrative source of income this could definitely become an ugly ugly addiction.

So there you have it, and since I've been so remiss in my blogging duty, I included a post about my not so new flat below. Bonus!

By the way, if you understand the title of this post you receive bonus points for knowing me entirely too well.