Friday, August 17, 2007

Small world....

Disclaimer: this story has not been corroborated, but I'm confident it is true.

So at work on Friday, I was working with one of the ACC Programme Managers (they work directly with providers in monitoring what is charged back to ACC, and yes, that's how they spell it). Anyways, Rosemary asked me if I was Canadian or American (I am often asked the either/or question... maybe my Minnesota accent is coming back), and where in the States I was from. We were talking a little more about the different perspective you get when you're out of your own country and she shared this little anecdote with me:

She said that when the Olympics were held in Los Angeles (1984) she was watching in NZ with some Danish friends and their American relatives in Christchurch, and the Americans were really taken by the non-American coverage of the Olympics, and how different it was from the patriotic coverage back home. Well, combining 1984, Danish Kiwis, Christchurch, and American relatives in my mind, I said "were your Danish friends Jorgen and Mona Schousboe?" She was shocked, and I think a little embarrassed that she just inadvertantly told me a story about my parents. I do need to confirm this with Mom and Dad (if they remember), but I'm pretty sure Jorgen and Mona do not have any other American relatives (certainly not who were in NZ in the summer of 1984 - unless it was my Grandma, or Uncle who came over to visit - regardless, they're in the family).

I told Rosemary she'd probably even met me at the time and we had a good laugh. It is indeed a small world.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Let the two week countdown begin...

...and now the best bit of news (which deserves its own post) is that in two weeks Ann Marie will be here!!! She arrives next Saturday which will be utterly fantastic. I have a couple days off work so we can enjoy a nice long weekend in Wellington. Beyond discussing a number of things we'd like to do, we haven't made specific plans yet, but we'll have four months to explore NZ and hopefully some of the surrounding pacific before we come home for the holidays.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Throw another shrimp on the barby...


...as the Aussies say. This was my first experience grilling fresh prawns (complete with heads, legs, and shells). Extremely tasty, but extremely messy - you really had to work on these guys. I laughed later that night when, upon meeting up with Carsten and his friend Steph and telling them I had grilled prawns for dinner, they both immediately quipped "Throw another shrimp on the barby" in faux-Australian accents. Too funny (here are the three of us that night at the wine-bar).

In addition to prawn grilling and wine tasting, earlier that same night my flatmate and I tried go-karting... one of the guys on my basketball team invited us to his dad's go-kart park. Here are Andy and I before racing (finally - a picture of the infamous flatmate). It was fun and mostly uneventful, except for when one of Andy's wheels came off his kart - he was a bit disappointed, or "quite gutted" as they say in NZ.


Sadly, after a rousing come-from-behind semi-final win, my basketball team lost in the league final last wednesday. Actually, "lost" may be an understatement - we were demolished. There was one interesting aspect though - after the game, the captain of the winning team was asked to address the teams and fans. This is standard in New Zealand - be it the end of the annual Tri-Nations rugby series with Australia and South Africa, or the lowest grade recreational basketball league in Wellington. I think it's rather cool, and to my knowledge, that doesn't occur back home. Hopefully, the team will bounce back and get to the final again next season and win it all.

Now some good news - my cousin and I finally caught a fish! On our fourth expedition we snagged a healthy sized butterfish (or greenbone), which we brought home and deep fried. Marvelous.

I've been unfortunately under the weather this weekend, and haven't really left the house but for a few errands. Hopefully I'll be up and running again in a couple more days.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Quick Thoughts

Hi all - in light of the tragedy in Minnesota this week, I just wanted to say I hope everyone back home is safe and ok. I've heard from my family and several friends from MN thus far, who were thankfully not involved.

It's a strange experience, being so far away when something like this happens. I didn't expect it, but the story has been the top news item and on the front page in NZ. It was surreal seeing pictures of my hometown all over the office on Friday. It's nice to know that despite the distance, being connected with home is relatively easy thanks worldwide media, internet, etc. It's something I'm trying not to take for granted - 20 years ago when my parents lived here, the only way to communicate home was via mail, or a $2/min phone call!

Again, I hope everyone is safe and sound - especially those of you who live in Minnesota or have family there.