Beached Whale

So even the Americans laughed at this one!

Halloween.......

So today I carved two pumpkins for halloween. It was one of those things that made me perfectly happy. I sat in the sun at the picinic table in my backyard, enjoyed a Corona and carved pumpkins! What you can't tell from the pic is that I have put battery powered "candles" in them both so they glow at night...... There's a competition at work to decorate our areas as well. Halloween is, I think, the best holiday of all in the US!
Last week I rode the bike to Sunnyvale (near San Jose) for her 600 mile service (okay closer to a 1000). Funniest of all - to avoid the worst of the traffic. given it was a Wednesday - I arrived half an hour before they opened. So, all dressed up in my leathers, I stood in the carpark, pulled out my work laptop, propped it on the saddlebags of the bike and promptly logged on to the free Google wi-fi so that I could download my work emails.......even sent a few and instant messaged some folks, that's kinda how work goes here! Or maybe it's always been like that for everyone.....nah not how I remember it in, NZ nobody carried laptops into meetings as a matter of course and no option to IM! It's a new way of working but suits me.
Oh now speaking of laptops - this weekend I have bought the new MacBook Pro for my personal computer. Having vaguely speculated with folks here that I needed a new laptop the crowd come in on going with the Mac (oh yes and one very loud voter from Aussie as well). Apple just launched a new laptop so I went with it......ordered it on line so should be here this week.
I've booked tickets to New Mexico for Xmas and New Year (Michelle's coming along for Xmas). I'm looking forward to it. I won't have the whole time off but can work remotely so that's easy!

Ever been a public servant?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27228287

Presidential candidates and working life

It's been fascinating to watch the whole election saga roll out - what a costly why to go about it. I watched the first presidential debate and heard some of the second. Not really debating I didn't think. Funny too, alot of the Americans I speak to aren't watching the debates at all but they are passionately interested in the outcome of the election. As to Sarah Palin - yikes.........although she was much better in the VP debate than I expected.....still she feels like a train wreck waiting to happen. The pic on the left comes from a Facebook page called "Everytime I hear Sarah Palin speak I feel sick to my stomach".
The economy, well that's incredible to watch. Panic selling isn't helping! Listening to the candidates I think Obamas got a better handle on it but then that's my biais. McCain initially saying he wouldn't debate the bailout package until it was a done deal didn't inspire confidence.......Fascinating time to be living here.
As of last week I took on my bosses job. It was a huge week, for some reason the program went crazy and we had multiple "firedrills" (you know hurry hurry crisis crisis) - some real and some imagined. Still even my boss said she was sorry my first week had been so full on. Thankfully the Leads in my team really stepped up and we somehow managed to keep all the balls in the air and maintain the appearance of being under control! A really fun part of my job is that I have recently started to have weekly 1:1s with my bosses boss. Igor is the Director for the wider team we are part of. He is Czech, amazingly energetic and visionary in a slightly random way. Best part is that I am now helping him with some of his comms work, learning all about new technology (web 2.0) including a whole new suite of online collaboration tools. So strange to find myself excited by what some of the new IT stuff can do.
Concurrent with this I've landed in Facebook land - now that really is amazing. Its fun and interactive and full of quirks (I'm a vampire) and you get to do fun odd things with friends online. It's very immediate.
I still like my blog though, well it's more of an online journal I guess. Everytime I think about changing it or moving to another provider I remind myself that it works, I don't need it to be more than it is. I like that it is simple!

I have a new job

Not quite as startling as it sounds! Actually I now have my bosses job. She has moved on to another role and I was offered the chance to take on her role, so I move from being the lead on one program to overseeing all the comms folks across several programs. Kathy (my boss) was a real champion about it and put me forward........it comes with the opportunity to possibly convert to becoming an employee - a whole other opportunity full of risks and potential rewards. Either way my new role is another big step in firmly establishing myself here and, I guess, demonstrates a renewed commitement to my professional life. I'm surprised by the things I am good at (well I guess I've been at this for nearly 15 yrs in one form or another), delighted at how much I have learned since I arrived, ecstatic about the quality of people I work with (and how hard they push me to keep up and be as professionally competent as they are) and grateful for the opportunity. I really am ready to give it my best shot and hugely fortunate to have the backing of some very capable people who are committed to having everyone be successful. Couldn't ask for more really.
On another note.....I've tracked down a pal that I met while I was in Bosnia (in fact more than that, we shared a room for 6 months!). We haven't had contact for 13 1/2 years so it is quite a blast from the past.
In between all of this my new room mate (2 days a week) is now in residence and is a delight to have around. It's a little like my rideshare.......we don't spend much time together but the time we do is full of laughter and insight.
On balance life is grand.....

Bunch of stuff

Life has been busy both at work and home. Long silences (well in the scheme of the blog this is long), usually mean I have “something” to share. Well as it turns out I do and I don’t (but it is time to update the blog….apparently).
On the work front things are changing…..again…..and I am waiting to share…..but as of today nothing looks quite like it did yesterday (how’s that for a teaser). So far it looks good for me but nothings a done deal until it’s done! Oh and it's just occured to me that next month I will have been contracting at Cisco for a year - that went by fast. I've learnt a huge amount, not only about Cisco but working life in the US in general. People here (or at least the ones I work with) work incredibly hard and I've met some amazingly competent people; both comms professionals and others, keeps me on my toes I have to say.
I went on a grand adventure several weekends back. It was Marcia’s birthday and she arranged a trip to Mendocino. Mendocino is 228 miles from Santa Cruz………well somewhat longer if you get on the coast road. A 6 hour trip going there; somewhere around 4 hrs coming back on the freeway. As it turned out Marcia’s bike was off the road so I followed her and Michelle who drove up in Marcia’s car. Being on the coast road and riding through red wood forests was really very spectacular. Redwood forests really are stunningly beautiful and I love riding through them. It was grand!!!! The pic on the left was taken just before we headed out of Santa Cruz……….yep, my hair is that long…..I like it and no one in California knows me with short hair so I thought I would "come out" and show the world.
Hair aside, we stayed at this very fab house on over 100 acres owned by 13 (?) women who bought it in the 70s. A couple of Marcia’s friends came from SF as well…….turns out Marcia and her pal can sing so we spent one night sitting on the deck (pic on left) while Marcia and Adrianna sung a whole bunch of songs…..it was an easy time, fun and full of laughter.
Nice turn of events the WHOLE family are coming to visit in December! While I live in a small cottage (see the earlier bike pic, the house in the pic is my house) the landlords have built something a little grander next door as their “holiday home”. They rent it out so I’ve rented it for early December - it will be fun and mum is going to New Mexico for xmas as well so I’m planning to go back to El Rancho ………. Thinking maybe the snow won’t be quite so big……..just thinking it, not sure I believe it and I really did/do love the snow.
Watched the first presidential debate – not convinced by McCain…..still think Obama needs to prove himself ………..didn’t like McCain pulling out the war record again…..didn’t like the edge of smarmy from Obama…….don’t get to vote anyway but have some interesting debates with my ride share about all of this! Okay so yes, I’m more Obama than McCain (well way more) – fascinating to live and work with Americans who actually get a say. I really do enjoy the culture, it is remarkably transparent….and complex.
Watching the response to the economic storm is equally fascinating. It's not something that is directly impacting me but it's pretty clear some people are really feeling the pain and there's going to be more pain to come for those facing foreclosure. Sad. In the end I am looking to buy a house somewhere and have a loose plan in my head about how I can make this happen - in the interim I am sitting back and watching how the market goes. I see from the papers that NZs feeling the pain as well - let's hope the bailout works!

2nd Anniversary

It has been two years since I immigrated……WOW. I really don’t think I knew this at the time but 1 Sept is also Labour Day in the US……..so I have the day off work! I am, honestly, startled to reflect back. The day I arrived in the US wasn’t all that I had expected nor hoped for, a year on I was, I think, equally bemused. But here I am, startlingly happy. I had some very clearly defined dreams for the US…….honestly all about me and it's all proving to be the grandest adventure. Somethings are exactly how I imagined and some things are different and bringing new and different adventures. I never did imagine living on the west coast…..I did think the East coast (NY) was where I was going. Silicon Valley? Well no, but a job that used my skills, yes always. I really am having a grand time and having the bike and my new home brings new grown up moments and a greater sense of being settled.

Two weekends back I did a road trip to Half Moon Bay. It's about 50miles north of Santa Cruz along a very scenic coast road. It was the first big ride I had taken with the windshield. What a difference that makes. Don't get nearly so tired and very comfortable to sit back and enjoy the scenary. I hadn't exactly planned to do the trip but was at the bank on the North side of town and decided I would like to spend some time on the coast, hit the road and saw the sign for Half Moon Bay. I'd travelled the road once with Michelle so I just decided to keep going. Turns out Half Moon Bay is this cute little tourist town full of galleries, a fab kitchen shop and an amazing antique store called "Half To Have It". I had quite a fun time ferreting around. No militaria but some fun stuff to look at. It was a great day and I also saw some great art along the way. Coming home I hooked in with a couple of other riders who set a nice pace. I really enjoyed the whole day.

During the week Marcia arrived back from LA so we headed down to the wharf to have some dinner. I decided to walk as I was feeling the need for exercise. The entire beach and wharf were engulfed in a sea fog - very funny to be out on the wharf and have no sense of there being an ocean out there somewhere. Rather than sit at the window we sat up at the bar and watched surfing videos taken along Santa Cruz beach.....somewhere. Marcia introduced me to Meyer Lemon Drop Martini's. Three down and I was glad I was walking home. I needed both the exercise and the fresh air. I had work the next morning so drunk gallons of water before falling into bed (worse for Marcia, she had a 6am flight out of San Fran!). It was fun though and the food was good......seafood of course.

This week we have a two and half day global program meeting. People flying in from all over the world. It will be interesting to meet some of these folks in person - given how well I've come to know their voices.

The power of grump

Culturally the single biggest hurdle I have dealt with here is that, sometimes, you just have to be grumpy and let people know you are! It is very un-british and very un-kiwi. It is a necessary survival mechanism. I have just spent two hours on the telephone with my internet provider who then informed me…..oops, bad modem installed, hey here’s a number you can call, gee only available four days a week and most definitely not this weekend…..kinda random……..sorry. So I took a breath and demanded to speak to the supervisor….well they had just billed me for the full month and taken my credit card number….that seemed to work fine. It seemed to me they took my credit card readily enough and now I had an erratic, limited service - not to mention the fact that come Monday if I don’t have internet I have to go into the office and, regardless, come Sunday if I don’t have it I have to go find it……’cos dealing with emails before Monday helps me survive the week! It takes a lot for me to get grumpy with anyone (seriously it is a deep personality flaw, I’ve never mastered spontaneous grumpy and don’t much hang on to real anger…..frustration and disappointment yes, anger no). Mostly I have to think about it and decide I am going to do it. It’s not spontaneous – it’s not a natural way of being. I resent having to do it because mostly I think people should behave and do the right thing, well…….they don’t. So grumpy muppet worked, or at least maybe worked. On Sunday they promise someone will arrive. I will lurk…..they better arrive or I will have to wind myself up again! On balance Kiwis are “passive aggressive”, we invite people to get it, we really are not as direct as the average American or European I might add (my pop psychology insight). There are merits in both but, of late, I’ve figured that throwing my toys from the cot is sometimes the only choice…..maybe, just maybe, it might work….

Of bikes and books

So this weekend the bike got all her finery. Best of all, because I had a little complaint with the bike shop, the sales guy came to my house in Santa Cruz (pictured) - a 1.5hr drive and fitted everything for free!!! Needless to say I did tip him......a very Amercian moment - complain, you get the service in a new and special way and you tip for the pleasure. Now she's looking like a cruiser, windshield, saddle bags, boards (rather than pegs) and a backrest.....that is not really because I think I want to ride two up so much as a convenient place to tie things to!
On Sunday I braved the 17 and headed to San Jose to visit some bike shops. Found the first one easily but then spent a CONSIDERABLE amount of time trying to find the second one. I think I crossed SJ at least twice and went down the same stretches of freeway many many times. The only reason I didn't give up was that I felt it was simply too moronic to ride all that way and then fail to complete the mission. Anyway as it turned out the illusive leather jacket (I am still wearing Karens) remains illusive so I have resorted to ordering online, seeing what I get and sending it back if it's wrong. I pretty much order everything online now or call it in - so easy and one way funny moment - I went to order a cover for the bike and had to call an 0800 number. The person who owns the business is a woman, has my name, spelt the same first and last with one extra letter in the middle name.......good grief, it was very funny!
I have also just finished reading Jodi Picoult's novel, Nineteen Minutes. Very interesting, and I quote "deals with the truth and consequences of a smalltown high-school shooting. Set in Sterling, New Hampshire, Picoult offers readers a glimpse of what would cause a 17-year-old to wake up one day, load his backpack with four guns, and kill nine students and one teacher in the span of nineteen minutes." This is a good read if anyone has ever pondered what may or may not have happened behind the scenes of a high school shooting. It's not a really big pychological insight just.......an interesting read. Highly recommend it.

Living a life

So I guess there would be no surprises - apart from working I've been out riding, enjoying the summer evenings and beautiful California countryside. The pic on the left was the sunset view from by deck a few nights back, I'm not sure the picture captures just how spectacular it was but thought it worth sharing.

Anyway back to the bike. Being mobile again means I have really started to be able to explore the Santa Cruz area - both the mountains and the coast. Last Wednesday Marcia and I headed into the mountains and did a fab ride through the redwood forest. Despite the picture, it wasn't actually raining or even vaguely damp - I raided this off someone elses blog to show what the road was like. We dropped down from the forest and headed along the coast road. On the left is a picture of the beach that forms part of Natural Bridges state park. Going from the mountains down to the coast in a ride of roughly an hour was pretty amazing.

On Saturday we rode through to Corralitos - maybe a 45min ride. It's this tiny little town that has an amazing reputation for sasuages! There's a local store with a great meat selection. The local "fair" was on and it was just like any small town fair in NZ - Scouts were out in force.....strangely (as these things go) there was also a break dancing demonstration. The pic on the left is mine and Marcia's bikes and on the right Marcia getting ready to ride. Before anyone thinks to ask - yes you do have to wear a helmet in California, yes I only ever wear a full face, no I don't ride sleeveless (I wear a leather jacket) and my riding boots.......lessons learnt long ago!

Anyway the weekend ride was fun as we drove through a lot of orchard country. A little sad too as Corralitos was hit baddly by the fires and we passed a lot of burnt out country where houses had been destoyed. Oddly too at times the entire surrounding area would be burnt out and houses untouched - kind of creepy.

Other things - works busy, as always. My new home is lovely and I am well settled in. Took the ex.room mate and her boyfriend out for dinner on Friday. Had a lovely evening and drunk some very good NZ Pinot Noir. Also watched some of the Flight of the Conchords. Haven't seen it all yet but was more than a little surprised that I could hear the accent - not at all unpleasant but strange!

Meet my new love

She's not wearing all her finery (still some accessories to come) but this weekend I picked up the bike! She is a Honda Shadow Aero 750 and, in what may seem startling, she isn't black! Actually the Aeros have a great retro look and I fell in love with this colour combination - there are other colours you can play with if you follow the link in the post (okay this is quite possibly something only I am interested in). You don't actually get to test ride here so I purchased her on the back of alot of research! Marcia drove me over to Sunnyvale (about 1.5hrs away) on her Yamaha VStar 1100, then she took me on a fanastic ride through the mountains/forest and down along the coast - about 1.5hrs. It was way more scenic and, quite possibly, less dodgy than the 17. This is the first brand new vehicle I have ever owned and so I have to break her in - which mostly involves making sure not to rev her to full throttle and change gears alot. It was the perfect first ride and I wouldn't have known how to do it. I'm very grateful to Marcia as following someone made it so much easier, I could concentrate on the bike.......not figuring out which turns to take. The motorcycle safety course really paid off. I had thought I might feel more nervous but felt relaxed and the bike is very easy to ride. Needless to say I am more than a little happy!
On Friday I moved into my new house. It's lovely, easy and bachy. It only took two carloads (although I felt that seemed like way more stuff than I should have!). I have made some effort and done some little homey things (new linen being one notable moment) and some other little things. Really I need Karen to come and visit - help me add some personal touches.......I get the theory, just not very good at implementation.
Decided not to get a TV but will go and get a monitor for the laptop so I can watch movies and online TV if I want to. Funny, in NZ I watched alot of TV.......I've just lost the moment here. I like being able to pick and choose online. I will have a room mate two nights a week. I've picked up Michelle's room mate, one of the professors from the University. Lives in San Fran but comes down here two days a week. It's a nice middle ground, not full time but some help with bills and easy company.
Work is still busy. Even though I was moving on Friday morning I still had the laptop on and was responding to calls. I've been getting some nice feedback so (while it is good for the ego) it has me feel I am able to do the job and be successful at it.
Michelle's back, briefly, before heading to LA. I've had dinner with her and Marcia a couple of times and will miss ME when she goes. Still LA isn't far and all going well Marcia and I will be able to make a bike trip down to see her before the summer is out.
Okay long post, I've been holding off waiting to share the bike.
PS - wow crap weather in NZ.......looking and sounding more like an US East Coast winter.......yikes!

Poor Veitch........

I've given up......I can't stand to read one more story about how hard Veitch is taking it.......what a terrible situation he is in.......with, at most, one line mentions of the victim and more than some implication that she is orchestrating the whole saga.....so what if she is.....Veitch made his choices now he gets to live with the consequences........gee maybe he missed the point....money doesn't much change anything....maybe a little less writing a cheque to have it go away and more checking in...... How strange it is for the NZ media to finally wake up to their own narrow minded bias (well no, mostly TVNZ who lost their golden boy)......, the NZ media turned on their own and now they are startled and horrified at their own ability to destroy peoples lives. Go figure. I'm speechless but not surprised.

Busy busy busy...having fun

The last few weeks (months for that matter) seem to have flown by. My working day is very full and challenging. This week I was on point to put the Statement of Work (the contract) for Cisco together for TechProse. I wasn't completely alone of course! It was a new thing to learn and my first exposure to how this all works in the US. Fortunately I get on well with my boss (and her boss) so I didn't have to try and "guess" a number to work to. It was a good experience as one of the things that was really challenging about immigrating was letting go of all of my industry knowledge; I knew how rates worked in NZ, I had networks of people (even if I didn't know it!), I understood the work ethic of it all, how the media and design agencies worked etc etc. I am having to re.establish and understand all those things in a country that is, surprisingly, more culturally distant from New Zealand than I might have expected.
I have also been having some fun. Two weeks back I met the new landlords and, over a vino and some great converstation, signed a year lease on my new home. Very exciting, I am looking forward to moving on Aug 1; it feels like my next "grown up" moment.
I have been scouting bikes and I am heading out later this morning to San Jose to another bike shop. Someone has suggested that I should also try getting a quote online as often you get a slightly better deal as the sales people on line are less concerned with the bottomline number than their sales quota. Worth a try as I know what I want and the accessories.....given I am going for a new bike the risks are the same as buying it off the shop floor...maybe.
Marcia (a friend of Michelle's who I have been getting to know) is coming along to check out bikes with me too (K&B have been giving great advice on bike gear as well). Marcia has a Yamaha VStar 1100 (a bike I've thought about too.....although not the 1100). When I get some time up on my bike the two of us are planning a road trip to LA to visit Michelle. It's that type of adventuring that buying the bike is all about for me.
Last weekend (as well as bike shopping) I headed to Oakland to visit a friend from work (my old boss). We have kept in touch and I had a really pleasant afternoon eating lunch and chatting with her. As I drove back I was chuckling about how I didn't think twice about driving an hour and a half each way for lunch - did I ever do that in NZ?

The Veitch Story

This is startling. Not because domestic violence is startling but because of the way it has gained momentum and that employers responded, the police responded and the public responded. The Tui Board sums it up.

Fireworks

Okay not my pic but this is what Seabright beach looked like for July 4. Fireworks are banned in Santa Cruz (mostly ignored). Given the California fires fireworks were supposed to be "strictly" banned. Police were posted at all the entrances to the beach and searching people.......yeah not so much success on that front. There were hundreds and hundreds of people on the beach and standing around the dunes. People on the beach put together some very clever displays; huge fun. Before going down to the beach I headed off to a friends beach house in Aptos (about 15mins away) - spent a couple of hours with them celebrating the day. Something really nice was driving through the suburbs and seeing the number of flags out. Very colourful and patriotic in a strangely comforting way.

Independence Day

It is Independence Day..........So I have the day off work, yay!

The origin of "ta"

Alright then I don't know about everyone else but "ta" as a short form of thank you is alive and well in my vocab. Language for me is practical, I don't know many big words and, while I can pull together a slick sentence when required, I am far from a mistress of the English language. Ironic given I am in communications. Every now and then I flip into kiwiana.....ta being one of those words that I flip off easily (well people are being helpful, what can you say?). The first time I got a quizical instant message back seeking to grasp what, exactly, I meant. A simple inquiry along the lines of, this is good, yes?
Today I flipped a "ta" (with an explanation that it was New Zealandish) to someone who works for me. She is new to the program so currently everything she is writing requires quite alot of back and forth while she learns both content and style/tone.....that sounds pompous, I don't mean it too......it's just part of what being in communications is all about!). So we are endlessly swapping emails and IMs all day (among the other endless emails and IMs I am getting; Kathy is away and I am learning what it is to have no immediate top cover) while she writes what is a relatively simple message - don't be fooled, these are the hardest. Finally I get to "ta" and explain it's kiwiana for thank you. Her flip back is the American version is "way to go dude". I am not sure is "ta" "way to go dude"?......made me laugh and at hour 10 in my day that was sufficient to make it all worthwhile! And to be honest, it was "way to go dude".......in the end we got there. At no point did I feel the need to just take over and do it myself (tempting but a. probably wouldn't have ended up reading as well as it did, b. not sustainable, I have 6 people who need do do their jobs so I can do mine, and c. there was a very lovely moment where I could tell she just felt proud of herself for hitting the mark.......). It was a long day in everyway but I think "ta" has become a benchmark; I am not sure I will ever get to "way to go dude" but I did get the sentiment. I am so back to being a corporate geek.

California fires and other things

I think the CA fires have been reported in the NZ news - they really are big and the air quality is pretty awful. There is a haze over San Jose and Santa Cruz and yesterday the smell of smoke was really strong. At least two of the people I work with had their homes threatened and firefighters are still trying to get them all under control. Worse yet on Friday I walked out the door to find three fire engines at the house across the road; smoke pouring out of the house and a terrible acrid smell..........at the time I thought it smelt familiar and, sure enough, 10mins later they pulled a car out of the garage. Damn thing was on fire (no one in it I might add), not quite sure how that happens but reminded me of when the peugeot went caught fire when I was driving it in Wellington during peak hour traffic! No real loss at the time, didn't like that car much but it was quite a dramatic way to get rid of it.
Come Monday I will have a car for a month as Michelle heads back to NZ before returning to move to LA in August. She's busy packing "my house", or at least the house I am moving into in August. Yesterday I sat around and watched TV at her house (a novelty for me) while she packed.......very generous don't you think! I did go buy us dinner so wasn't entirely unhelpful.
I forgot to mention this but a few weekends back I went with Michelle and her friend to Castroville (the home of the artichoke and where Marilyn Munroe was crowned Artichoke Queen at some point). We went to a dance bar, the novelty being Castroville is predominantly mexican so the bar played all mexican music. Their was also a drag show all done in Spanish (Barcelona revisited). Later in the evening I even got over my shyness about dancing - although why anyone thinks they can get me up onto a nearly empty dance floor is beyond me.....once it filled up and I could hide in the crush I felt much more relaxed. It was a fun night, we danced late and laughed alot.
Work is still busy and I finally got to meet my boss (Kathy) in person, which was very nice. Monday night I went to dinner with her boss and two others from the team then Wednesday stayed in San Jose later to have drinks and snacks with Kathy and some others from our team. Very social time and long days. Michelle gave me her car as well so at least I didn't have to catch the bus.
Things coming up: serious bike shopping. All going well come the end of July I will share a photo of my new purchase and be able to spend sunny, hot weekends touring the surrounding area and reacquainting myself with the joys of motorcycling! 4th of July next weekend so I am going to go down to the beach and watch all the fireworks. Michelle says it gets crazy and last year I was at the ranch so missed the beach part. Might see if I can get some pictures to share.

37 degrees and climbing

I kid you not, it's hot.......today was an "off site" day i.e. working from home so no air conditioning for me (truth is I freeze in the San Jose office and my hands often feel like icicles during the day)! Day started at 630am with a conference call to Europe.....fair enough - they come to late/early calls all the time. Working from home does not translate into "working less"........day ended at 6pm - that is a long day! Notwithstanding the heat; I do like my work and love my boss - it is nice to be able to influence things and work for someone who is smart and funny. My team continue to amaze me - deliver quality work in, often, unreasonable timelines! As the day finished I headed down to the beach; Ipod headphones glued to my head (day of talking to people does not prompt an evening of same) to watch the crazies convince themselves that the water was not straight off the polar ice cap. It was hot, really really hot........I still did not feel prompted to venture in!

The Price of Milk

I just watched this movie. If it's not obvious, it is an NZ movie, and came out in 2000 - clearly something I missed! It's .......quirky.....odd....very kiwi....funny in places, insightful and then just damned weird. I don't know if I would exactly recommend watching it. But it seems NZ makes so few movies these days (no Lord of the Rings doesn't count) that it's worth looking at just to know what people are (or have!) made. I found it on Netflicks (the DVD and online video store here). The Aussie movie industry is clearly doing much better than NZ - heaps of their movies are available for instant watching or to have sent to you.