Espresso Oatmeal Roasty Pie

yes...long time

2008-07-26T18:08:00.017+12:00

When I sit down to my computer I am so overwhelmed with the amount of work that I have yet to complete, that the blogging is the last thing on my mind. Well, I suppose that it's time to update things a bit.

I feel like there's not much going on with me right now. But, I guess that's because it's Saturday night at 6:15pm and I'm sitting in the office...not really wanting to work, unsure of what else to do with myself. It's raining outside and it's bitterly cold. My head gets super cold when it hits this temperature and that's how I know winter has returned.

It seemed like spring here for a few weeks...these weeks since the last post and this week. We took many bike rides and enjoyed outside as much as we could in the time we had each day. It was nice. Winter returned this week, I have gotten little (very very little) exercise but seemingly a lot of work done. I finally have data. I have no idea what it means...working that out.

My time here is running to an end in a very quick way. I don't want to leave. That's also what happened to me these past few weeks. I realized that NZ is the place of simplicity...the place that helps me to recognize what is necessary versus what is "nice". Luxury is cheese, homemade bread, a car, a television, heat. Necessary is fun, love, a few layers of clothing, the ability to wake up each day, and I suppose the pursuit of this degree that I'm undertaking. But that's only my necessity... Those are really the only things I know.

So, with the ability to wake up each day, put on a few layer of clothing, feel love from this person here with me, I have been able to have fun AND work. Also, I have learned the love of skiing (I think I am addicted...and convinced that I'm spending next winter in NZ even if I have to be the barista at the local coffee shop who is also a doctor).

amazing sunset, mountains, road car, power lines...juxtaposition is great.

Ohau ski field...the best in NZ (of course I've only been to two places, but this one is small, family owned and nice)

Our house...on the mountain...happy from playing in snow.

Going up...serious about skiing.

Up and wintery.

Clear and lovely from a switch back on the road down.

From the lift exit at the top of Ohau...end of first day...amazing sky.

2nd ski weekend in a row... Kea (the mountain parrot...only parrot living above the snow line) waiting for someone to drop some food...or for someone to leave their ski poles long enough to allow him to peel off the plastic.

Two friends from the NSF project heading down a snowy mountain. I discovered that white out conditions give me motion sickness! Can I not escape it?! I thought skiing wouldn't cause a problem...I guess in a white out it does. Apparently it's something about not being able to determine the horizon, therefore = sickness for stupid me and my inner ear issues.

Loud gulls
Us @ Lake Wanaka.

Lake Wanaka and snowy mountains...the ski hill is over there in the distance.
Clouds clearing and showing off mountains...from hike up a big hill in the middle of town.
Dinner with the NSF EAPSI group who traveled down to the South Island for our Wanaka ski vacation (and three others from Dunedin).

Seriously....2 months is just not long enough. I want longer...more...

July is here

2008-07-10T08:58:00.013+12:00

It's been a while. I don't feel like I have a whole lot to say and I've been kind of bad about taking photos...but here are some from the past couple of weeks. :

Sunday sunset at Karitane...I went for a run around on the Pa (Maori safe haven from attack, kind of like a fort but made all natural like by the sea).

The man coming in from a wintery surf.

Photo from the newspaper of the sunrise on my birthday...I woke up to our bedroom glowing red and peeked out the curtains to see the sky on fire. It was pretty amazing.

Much more subdude sunrise on July 4th. Still, the sky and sea in NZ seem to be central themes to my photograph taking.

The ocean view from an area called "The Catlins" which is about 100km south of Dunedin. We drove our bikes down there last weekend and went for a ride until we a) ran out of paved road and b) it started to rain. It was the day of the rainbow...none pictured here, but I swear we must have seen about 15 that day.

We checked out the hide on a beach, but didn't seen any penguin buddies.

Roaring Bay in The Catlins.

Rainbow through car window during sunset on ride home.

On Tuesday I went to a native forest south of town with a woman who is funded by the same NSF grant that got me here. She collects these super cool long necked spiders (genus afrarchaea) that are Gondwanan and now only found in the cooler regions of the southern hemisphere continents. Anyway, after a while in the woods I set off on my bike to ride back home. I had a route mapped out from the airport back into town (which was 30kms) and didn't think it was that big of a deal...this is the starting scene...me, open road, no traffic, my bike, and a rainbow (with no rain!). I was stoked.

What I didn't realize is that it was 30 more kms to the airport from where I started...oopsie. So, I rode for a long while...had a couple of phone conversations with Ian who was out there riding and trying to find me. Of course he didn't because I was pretty far from town. But, when the sun started to set and I had only gone 34 kms, I decided to call in for a pick-up...

In the end, 44kms and a cool adventure with just me and my bike... priceless!

Yesterday we took our newly instilled afternoon break and drove out to another beautiful little seaside town where they carve words into the bushes.

We rode along the uppy-downy coast road to Karitane (photograph at top). Fabulous...and it was a lot like summer yesterday and very little like winter...

Winter will come tomorrow when we head to the mountains for a ski weekend.

Sorry, other than the update, I don't seem to have much interesting to add about the state of things in the world. The only funny news I've come across lately is that brothels in NV are handing out fuel vouchers to stimulate business. Puts new meaning into the term "gas and go" doesn't it?

Yes, it's colder here.

2008-06-24T12:20:00.015+12:00

Tuesday

Max: 6°C	Min: 1°C
(Day)	(Overnight)
Bitter southwester with sleet and hail, clearing.

There is no joke about this...it's cold. Yesterday I went for the coldest bike ride of my entire life. The uphill of Mt. Cargill was fine...extreme breathing, but easier than anticipated. I didn't think I would make it to the top. It was the downhill that made me cry. Yes, the little baby inside of me surfaced and tears accompanied whining as my fingers went numb and I feared falling into the road due to inability to feel the brakes in my hands. Wind chill is a bitch. But I'm committed...however, the cold and extreme wind (and occasional rain and threatening snow) has kept me off the road today. Maybe tomorrow...high is 11 (51 degrees F) rather than 6 (42 degrees F). That's much closer to bike riding weather...of course with the wind chill right now it's about 3. Fun.

The good news: I love my bike.

The consensus that I have come to is that it's definitely colder in Dunedin than elsewhere throughout the S. Island...and up to the very southern tip of the North Island (in Wellington). It was seemingly warm...pleasant. It was mild last week in general, but there is something about the bitterness of the cold down here. But people have said that winter "hit" yesterday. I feel it.

So, I don't really know how to go into the detail of the journey we had through the S. Island, but I will give it a go...perhaps with photos?

On the way North...only 25 minutes out of town is Karitane beach.

Toilet stop complete with slide and other playground fun.

Friday night with friends in Christchurch...friends and tequila (surprisingly La Chica brand is very smooth and super delicious). Too bad there was no one out in town that night...we tried 3 different bar/clubs.
Saturday in Kaikoura...sunset in the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. The place where the snowy mountains meet the sea.

Love, sunset, and beers on the beach...pretty sweet for a Saturday afternoon.

Had to get up in time to see this sunrise...though it was at about 8am. Lovely view toward the northeast looking out over the Pacific Ocean.

Beaches made of polished stones made for interesting hours of fun.

We parked the car in Picton and took the ferry over to Wellington. Hoot flying on the bow of the interisland ferry on the way to the North Island through the inlets of the northern South Island.

And the EAPSI NZ group together at the Te Papa museum in Wellington. This is a very tame photo, of course that's what we were during the day. Nights brought beverage and food consumption...a very fun time with quality people.

After my week in Wellington (and Ian's working on some researchy stuff in Palmerston North (2 hour bus ride further north)) we ferried back to the S. Island and continued the adventure. We stopped in Hanmer Springs on Saturday and I, unfortunately, don't have any photos from there. It was lovely though and I went on a bike ride Sunday morning. Here's some photos I found out there...

and of course, we couldn't make it out of town without visiting the hot springs resort. Although commercialized, it was amazingly relaxing.

Wellington

2008-06-17T12:42:00.002+12:00

The trip to Wellington was beautiful. We had fabulous warm weather the whole way and the drive proved to be easy. The first night we went out in Christchurch with friend J and his house mates. Christchurch is a city...kind of. It's much bigger than good ole Dunedin and has an feeling of city life about it...trendy shops, cool looking people with individual style, lots of delicious food options, and some nightlife. We managed to go to three different "clubs" but there was no one in any of them....how is that possible. In Honolulu there seem to be few options for places to go but each of those seems packed. *shrug* Music is different here too...there's a LOT of Drum and Bass...a LOT of Dub and similar types. Of course there's breaks too...gotta find more of those.

Anyway, 2nd day and night were spent in Kaikoura. I will provide photos when I'm back in Dunners and have my computer, but man. I honestly think that it is the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. We did a short hike and spent lots of time hanging out on the smoothed stone beaches.

Then, off to Picton and the ferry to Wellington. Today I'm hanging with some other NSF funded nerds...good to be with them. Hopefully the time here will prove to be fun and educational. I'm sure of it.

More soon...

The price of gas...

2008-06-12T17:33:00.000+12:00

I've been sitting here drawing lines around bubbles for the past several days...well, I do it more than just the past several, but let's not get into the boringness of my life. While sitting here I have taken to listening to the news. NPR always gets my vote and I find different programs on different websites, but mostly I stick to KCRW's online website. But, I get sick of BBC news after a while then just go to other sources listening to American news shows...All Things Considered, To The Point, etc... But, I think I just like to hear people talk and tell me stories. I swear if there was a "People Magazine" that I could listen to online I'd jump on it...maybe there is, hum...

Anyway, the dominant story (other than the obvious political situation) is the outrage of Americans at the price of gasoline. Seriously? Outraged? Come on.... Non-renewable resource, much? Growing and already very large developing nations, maybe? AND, not to mention that gas is super cheap in the US compared to other countries...even neighboring Canada. Here, well...let me just show you:

That's not cheap. You see...that price is per liter. A US gallon of gasoline has 3.79 liters in it... Hum...so for road trip to the North Island starting tomorrow we will be paying about $7.85 per gallon of gasoline. Hum... Interesting. At least we're driving one of these (a Honda City):

Speaking of vehicles and gasoline...I was overjoyed to learn that GM is selling the Hummer brand! YAY!! Finally...in the not-so-nick of time...

Short story from http://solveclimate.com/blog/20080603/gm-sell-hummer-brand-now-auto-industrys-worst-performer

GM to Sell Hummer Brand -- Now the Auto Industry's Worst Performer
by David Sassoon - Jun 3rd, 2008

Saying that the market shift to smaller vehicles is permanent, Rick Wagoner, the General Motors CEO, today announced that the company is considering the sale of the Hummer brand. Wagoner also announced the closing of 4 truck plants and said the company would focus on making smaller calls -- including its electric vehicle, the Volt.

For a number of years the Hummer was

one of GM's strongest brands. Now it is its worst -- in fact it is currently the worst-performing car brand in the US auto industry, with sales down 30% over the last year.

While announcing the possible sale, Wagoner did not specify who would be foolish enough to buy the troubled brand.

Perhaps the American Museum of Natural History should consider an acquisition for its great hall of dinosaurs.

Bye y'all. I may not be around for another week.
Have good ones.

my commute

2008-06-12T09:35:00.011+12:00

front door to office takes about 5 minutes to walk. on a wintery day like today it would be pretty miserable to walk much further. glad i live close...of course there's not much "happening" between school and home. the sky is gray out there and today a serious chill is in the air...that's what happening.

Thangs that roll...off the brain and tounge

2008-06-10T14:03:00.003+12:00

Today's theme is things that roll. Like...MY NEW BIKE!!! Woohoo! I don't have Miss Blue Belle yet, but I will after next week. Seems silly, maybe, to buy a bike that I will only ride for a month, but man, this is the place to ride. And, who knows, maybe I'll be back...if so then I'll have a bike here. Or I could try and sell it. So, we'll grab it on the way to Picton for the ferry to the N. Island. It's in Marlborough...the Napa County of the south. Should be good riding around those parts. Lookout NZ roads...here I come.

Other things that roll(ish):
The continuous changes in weather (warm and sunny today)
Ian's new bike (bling bling)
The delicious quiche in my belly
Digestive cookies (across the table if launched on their side)
Bubbles (if they could but they're stuck on my screen)
My obviously foreign accent
Delicious and different tasting m&m's
Life
Time

Back to work.

Weekend gone...working begin

2008-06-09T09:19:00.006+12:00

The weekend kind of started on a slacker Friday...feeling like I should have accomplished more last week than I actually did. But, I achieved some of the goals I had set for myself in the settling in process...phone, plans for regular exercise, accessibility of the necessities. The weather has been nice and Friday seemed like an anomalously warm weather day. The wind was blowing from the north. Apparently when a strong southerly is in the works the warm wind blows from the north first... So, I shot a couple of photos on that nice autumn day.

Clocktower building at the University of Otago.

Walkway between the Clocktower building(left) and Geology building (right).

Friday was yummy Indian dinner. Man, the food here is great and the opportunities for delicious meals whether out or in seem to abound.

The rumor Saturday was that it was supposed to snow. We woke up to blue skies but that sharp southerly wind was certainly blowing...imagine the chill of a wind blowing off the coast of Antarctica. Dunedin is nearly the first bit of land that wind hits...serious, but crisp and dry. The front moved in and it did, in fact, snow! That afternoon huge white flakes started tumbling out of the sky...mixed with a healthy amount of rain and sleet. But overnight more fell and we woke up to white hills surrounding the city and frosty white hats covering the bushy plants outside the front door.

Sunday, the wind was even stronger...this poor moped just couldn't take it.

For a final wintery thought...here's a photo of the sky at 8AM this morning. It's the northeastern sky looking across the rugby field that I pass on the way to school.

It's Friday Y'all

2008-06-06T09:54:00.001+12:00

Yesterday was kind of weird, but good and different from other days here. Waking up in the dark is not a strange thing for me to do...but toward the end of my days there in Hawaii, darkness was coming earlier and earlier so I rarely met it on any given day. But here darkness lasts til 7:30 and then the light is just eeking into the world from the northern mountain shadows. Sun doesn't crest the hills until 8:30 or something.

See, getting up in the dark used to mean having a cup of coffee and riding my bike down to Waikiki for the morning exercise routine. Here getting up in the dark means deciding if it's too cold to take a shower. But, today like yesterday, I did it...braved the cold damp darkness and started the day. There was no coffee though...so today I left the house with a thermos full of tea.

This morning Ian and I took the car into the shop for some maintenance before our road trip next weekend...well, the trip will actually last for what is seeming like two weeks. Some of it is a working trip though. We're driving from here up through the lovely S. Island wilds and to the coastal tourist town of Kaikoura. I bet it will look a lot less summery than it does in the photo to the right. We'll stay there for a couple of days before making out way to Picton and then onto the ferry to the N. Island and to Wellington. I'm looking forward to it all...and definitely to Wellington. I'm looking forward to seeing some more of the fun and interesting people I met while in Washington DC at the NSF meeting...these crazy other grad students who are going to be in NZ. We'll get to see the inner workings of The Royal Society of New Zealand (which is essentially the scientific funding agency down here) and meet some more people...yes, rubbing noses and making connections. All good, I suppose...

But wait...I was talking about yesterday wasn't I?

Yes, yesterday...woke up...came to work...started blog...worked...finished reconnecting broken bubble walls for one sample (via photoshop...amount and volume of bubbles speak to degassing and ascent history of magma)...and ran the images through the image processing program...figuring it all out...working...good.

Then there was lunch at the cutest vegetarian trailer ever! Check it out...and look at the cute chairs that match the trailer...ah...these Kiwis. The food was awesome...the company great. We ate with a friend P and her friend H. H is researching the treatment of queer youth in public high school in Dunedin...very cool and interesting. She's had good success and there seems to be a lot of organizations out there who are interested in increasing awareness and understanding in young people. It's nice to see someone doing research that actually means something! ah, bubbles...

The evening Pilates class was good, but a bit on the beginner side. I'm ramping things up in that regard though. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I will take "intermediate" classes from the same woman...her studio is cute and warm and has lots of equipment and props. Pilates here will be a different and good experience I think. I hope to attain some new goals in that arena. So, Fridays class is at 12:15 (hooray for today) and I'm going to run down there...it's about 1.5 miles away or so...not too far. But a run there and then back will be good. It's nice and sunny again today so it should be pleasant.

After Pilates I went home and was encountered by "band practice". It's a good thing...for sure a good thing that the boys with whom I live get their music studio in house, but I took it as an opportunity to go out and explore. What did I discover?? That there are no decent bars open on a Thursday night within the first 8 blocks into town...had I walked one more I would have gotten to one. So, instead of drinking alone, (awww...poor me...) I came back to school and worked for three hours! Who's a loser!? But, it was warmer here than in the bedroom at home...I had internet...I had my bubbles... And, I chatted with goodest friend and found out about some breaks that I will hopefully be dancing to tonight... I haven't danced to breaks since San Francisco people...and I mean since I LIVED in San Francisco. It's about time.

Happy Thursday to everyone behind me. It's Friday and the weekend is here! And, I may buy a road bike!! woot!

The Beginning

2008-06-05T09:44:00.000+12:00

Hello Friends and Family.

Once upon a time I had a blog but I got rid of it. Now, since I'm even more removed from all of you down here near the bottom of the world, I figure it's time to begin again. So, hi.

I am in Dunedin, which is at the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand. It's winter and these New Zealanders don't heat their buildings (except the hosptial, library, etc...). So, it's typically as cold outside as inside...not soooo bad since it's been averaging around 45 degrees F.

Since I arrived I have been craving wintery foods...it's just what happens, I think. Oatmeal and espresso are breakfast, delicious savory pies are lunch, and roasted root veggies happened for dinner the other night. Man, how much did I miss winter food?

The wintery food consumption seems like a good option in theory, but the current lack daylight hours and warmth is making my exercise motivation fly away...something will change soon. There's a ton of Pilates studios here, but they all seem to be with machines rather than my loved and more desired Mat classes.

...and I took a break to walk down three stories of the Geology building to go to the bathroom and ran into the only man in Dunedin who goes to Pilates Mat classes regularly...seems I'll be going with him tonight! How bout that.

Well, in order to keep you interested I will leave you hanging. But, do know that I desperately want to snack on some Cheezels right now... mmmmmm...mmm.mmmmmm.
Oh, and here's me working on bubbles bubbles bubbles...notice sweater, gloved hands and down vest. But hey, my desk is nice.