"...as Einstein said, God  does not play dice with the Universe; everything is interconnected and has a meaning.  That meaning may remain hidden nearly all the time, but we always know we are close to our true mission on earth when what we are doing is touched with the energy of enthusiasm. If it is, then all is well. If not, then we had better change direction..."

-Paulo Coelho

Mmm. Such interesting times. It would appear that I have applied for every single teaching vacancy in Wellington and always got the same response: "Sorry, we have received 65/70 applications for this job and the position has been filled."

Initially I felt despair, anxiety beyond what I've known before and even a feeling of inadequacy.

Now however, I cannot deny that this must be some sort of sign. I am left with no option but to go into the working world here and to see where I can fit in; start form the beginning, and accept that no matter what my education or experience, I need to start over. It is truly very humbling.

The moment of this realisation occurred round about 3pm yesterday, when I realised that not having received that phone call I've been waiting for, inevitably means that the last teaching job available and the last chance I had to continue my career here in Wellington this year, is now over. And funnily enough, with it came an enormous flood of relief.

I am now looking into business vacancies, predominantly in the hotel and catering industry and will apply for various posts left right and center. Russell, with his hotel experience, assures me that in this industry if you are a hard worker, show innovation and reliability, you can work your way up to a managerial position relatively quickly. We'll see. 

For now I am opening my heart, taking courage from inside, and diving head first into a new world of which I know very little about. I feel a strange excitement tingling through me and I'm sure that the extra energy it is giving me will help me be successful.

Angelina came to stay over the other night and she had a feast playing with Lola and doing crafts with me. All in all, it was a beautiful day.

Of Absurdities and Dreams

A change of gear perhaps.

Last night Elsje and I were invited over for dinner by some our friend’s friends. They are also immigrants, from England, and have been in Wellington for about five years. We each shared our initial experiences the place and how it’s different to home, what we miss etc. It was a really pleasant and informative exchange and really it’s the first time either Elsje or I have had a meaningful conversation with anyone outside of our immediate – and extremely limited – circle of people here.

All the while, however, I was thinking about New Zealand, the USA, England – where I lived for four years – South Africa and Namibia. I was thinking about the mostly spurious concept of ‘first’ and ‘third’ world counties that often gets bandied about when speaking about the differences between these countries. Basically I decided that the determining and equalising factor in determining which country is which is the human factor, which for me basically boils down to  'Absurdity.' What makes one country ‘first world’ and another ‘third world’ is the nature and the degree of the absurdity which permeates the social fabric. 

In South Africa I’d have to say it’s race relations. It’s the glue that gums up the gears of efficiency and makes so many well-intentioned projects grind to a painful halt, or slow to a speed which makes effective implementation impossible. Ok, there are of course, like every other country, way more problems than that, most of which are very complex and convoluted, but I think of all the other factors the race issue in South Africa is particularly unique and acute and in many cases is the root cause for many other social and political ills. It is also used all too easily and conveniently to justify some really ugly behaviour and next level absurdity. In short it is a problem which is used to simplify some very complex social, political and economic issues by reducing them a single highly emotionally charged issue and there just seems to be no getting away from it. It was at times exhausting to live there. 

New Zealand’s brand of absurdity on the other hand, like England’s, is, I believe, Health and Safety. Again, it is a concept which is used to justify stupidity and, more insidiously, a benign-seeming form of social control. Taken to its extremes Health and Safety restricts what one can and cannot do with one’s own life; how you choose to live and express yourself. It is being used as the justification (although perhaps obliquely, then again, maybe not) of the proposed Food Bill (http://uncensored.co.nz/2012/01/17/how-to-bury-the-food-act-%E2%80%93-please-distribute-widely/) as well as a host of other less overtly fascist, but equally absurd methods of social control. Ironic as it may seem, you’re actually freer in a country like South Africa; sure it’s a bit wilder and more dangerous, but that’s the trade-off it seems. 

If you fancy a laugh (sort of...) check out this link: http://www.homesafety.co.nz/  

and check out the posters under the Resources section. My favourite one isn't there, but there are some crackers. Also check out the Summer Safety tips.

Good lord, if I didn't know better I'd have to believe from this website that all Kiwis were clumsy morons. 

  
I never believed New Zealand was the promised land, I just thought that it would be a lot better than it is. This is not me complaining, it is me acknowledging that every county has its issues and I'm merely recognizing the need to adjust to a different kind of messed up.  :-)

So the point of this post is just to say - a lot less articulately than I would have liked - that it seems that in the world today the only real choice we have is to choose the kind and the degree of absurdity we are willing to live with and how we go about doing so. And I didn't even mention the States.

P.S. - I don't know why there is a grey background colour. It wasn't me and I couldn't change it...maybe it's symbolic...

Good morning Lola

At the risk of sounding sentimental, I need to admit that having a kitten has brought in a whole new dimension into our life. She is a real presence and a real character. I find it refreshing to have another little being to give attention to and to be distracted from the routine of everyday life. 

Good morning Lola. 

Isn't it fascinating how a kitten can bounce and run around like crazy, only to collapse the next minute and sleep fiercely, curled up on your lap in the smallest little ball?! 

I have some admin to do this morning and I love having her gently pawing the computer and looking with fascination at the strange things I do with my hands. I have a steaming cup of rooibos tea, a blanket, a heater and a beautiful kitten to keep me company. 

Life is good.

Her name is; LOLA

Riley got one. William got one. I REALLY wanted one for a while now and then, to both Russell and my surprise, we casually spoke about it the other day and decided...we'll get one.

We fetched the little bundle of fluff yesterday. She is 6 weeks old and has the most beautiful eyes. Russell named her Lola.
Although my poor husband is allergic to cats, he also has the most amazing way with them I've ever seen. (and horses for that matter) His presence and interaction with them causes instant calmness, (purring and falling asleep in Lola's case) and complete surrender. It is truly beautiful to behold.
I call him the cat whisperer. :)
We are not allowing Lola into our bedroom at the moment. We are trusting that, like to the New Zealand pollen, his allergies will adjust to her soon.
So here is a blog post dedicated to our new kitten, Lola.

Lola is a charming, very brave, content and adventurous kitten. She does many things like:

Eat

 

Cuddle

Doing yoga

Day dreaming...

 

More yoga...

 Sleeping

More cuddling...

More sleeping...

And more...

 And of course, lots of playing!

 

Two roads diverged a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other; as just as fair,

And having perhaps the the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for the passing there

Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

  
              
                                                                                           -Robert Frost

This is one very cool guy.

Wellington has a culture of cycling and since Russell is starting part time work this weekend in town, we decided that to save on parking money, cycling is the way to go!!

We LOVE food

Our produce of the week displayed

We figured out that ordering a box of organic vegetables a week from local farmers and having it delivered to our doorstep saves us $12 a week. 

Works for me! 

I made a chard, courgette, roasted tomato and onion quiche for dinner tonight. Delicious! 

What I love about this setup is that you only get what is seasonal and available...so dinners are creative, innovative and you simply use what you have. I find it stimulating and it saves money. I just make sure that I have ample supply of olive oil, organic brown rice, lentils, beans, flour, oats and cheese and voila! Whip up some gastronomic magic! 

We are yet to discover our favorite free-range organic chicken and meat supplier. All of the organic farms are in competition for the best, naturally and ethically raised animals. We want to go visit some of these farms and see which ones resonate with us the most. 

An excursion into the land

So, just a quick one. Yesterday we went out to Makara and Oharui valley, a semi-rural area just over the hill to the north-west of Wellington city, about 20 minutes away. Makara is where the wind farm is (seen in the distance on one of the previous posts) and yesterday we found out why. It was a really windy day yesterday anyway, but we went to Makara beach and caught a taste of some real wind. It was pretty awesome. We were being whipped by sea-spray and lashed by sand and so didn't stick around too long, although there was a family who was getting ready for a hike in that craziness; mmm.

Oharui valley and the area around it is a beautiful place consisting of mostly what are called 'lifestyle' properties (basically a house on a plot of arable land), but there were also larger, working farms, mostly cattle and sheep farms. We drove around checking them and the animals out. There were some plots for sale, some of them really quite nice. Unfortunately the camera's battery died before we got to the really awesome spots. What I really like about this area is that it's really close to the city, about half an hour or so and yet it feels like you're in the country. This is pretty much what we had in mind for our piece of land - something to consider.  :-)

First Hike in Wellington

Good day all. My, my, it’s been a while ay? I’ve been leaving all the heavy blogging to Elsje these last few weeks. Anyhoo, here we all are again. 

So Elsje, Cristina, Angelina and I took a leisurely drive around to the eastern side of the bay to a beautiful little town called Eastbourne. The weather has been a bit erratic of late and we were blessed with a beautiful day and on the way to the trailhead we saw loads of families taking advantage of the sunshine. 

A friend of ours who has lived here for a few months longer than us told us that Wellington is ‘all about the green.’ I went a bit nuts on the hike and took 150 photos, requisite ferns included of course – the below shots are some of the better ones.

We took a hike over a ridge to a beautiful little spot called Butterfly Creek. For Elsje and I it was an important outing. We had been feeling a little bit ‘out of the loop’ living in Wellington, like we hadn’t quite been ‘let in’ to our new land. We had a similar kind of experience when we first got to the States, but the experience of couchsurfing and camping opened the country up for us and allowed us to really get a feel for the place. This hike was a sort of like that; walking on the land, through the forest, gave me a sense of being grounded, like ‘ah yes, here I am, in New Zealand.’ Elsje mentioned that the land feels so benign compared to South Africa and Namibia – no dangerous or poisonous creatures to speak of – and yet it is both seismically and volcanically active. I really like that.   

 

Two avid hikers

Ah, the green

Kept looking behind me for elves...

The troops

The interesting patterns on the inside of the trunks of the tree-ferns

The awesome patterns on these leaves reminded me of Maori tattoo patterns - it actually only occurred to me then that the Maoris took their inspiration for their tattoo designs from nature. Especially the fern-shoot in the below photo, which I did not take.