Happy winter!

I know you've all been enjoying the lovely winter season taking place in the northern hemisphere this time of year, while I've been suffering through a NZ summer. But I won't hold it against you and thought I would send along a couple of quotes I found online to prove I bear no grudge. I wonder which one you will enjoy the most?

Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours." ~ Robert Byrne
O, Wind, if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

Close up picture of a whitebait fritter - very popular in New Zealand. I think this dear little wee one tried to escape...











I didn't attach any of the photos I took after Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula, so here are a few:




Picture of a blossom on a Pohunuawa tree







A view from Kaikoura

East Coast of the South Island

I will always love and remember the color of New Zealand glacial water...

Yes, it's summertime in New Zealand and there are tons of festivals and events taking place in Wellington to mark the season. Nightly concerts in the Botanical Gardens complete with Magic Lighting in the surrounding gardens. A street carnival with live music, great food, street performers, and a "glittering and glamorous illuminated night parade". A festival to celebrate the seven Pacific Island nations, showcasing their crafts and cuisine and sharing their cultures through singing, drumming and dancing. A parade of nations to welcome the International Rugby Sevens teams to Wellington. Alfresco films. Rooftop salsa dancing. And the list goes on! I even attended an event one evening last week, held at the San Francisco Bathhouse on Cuba Street (sounds cool doesn't it?) to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Most of the festivities will take place in February - which is also when I will be moving into my new accommodations. I will continue to stay with Trish and Kelly until February 1 and will then move across town into a room in a three bedroom flat. I found out about it through Rebecca, a Canadian I met way back in my days at the hostel in Ponsonby (October?), who has been working in Wellington for a couple of months. One of her flatmates is moving out. It's an old place, as are many of the structures in Wellington, but it's a pretty nice spot with big rooms. The room I'll be taking has several big windows that welcome in natural light and the morning sunshine. I'll post pictures of it once I get there. One interesting feature - it's located at the top of a huge hill. Central Wellington is at the bottom. I'll either be getting lots of exercise walking up and down each day, or I will become very familiar with the cable car!!

In the meantime, Trish and Kelly continue to make me feel at home. They seem to be taking on the role of my NZ parents! Looking out for me, feeding me, giving me tips and suggestions on the best spots in Wellington, introducing me to people they think I'd enjoy meeting, giving me things they no longer want yet know I'll use (like a set of sheets for the flat and a blouse for work). They're just so generous! And they encourage me to try new things...like the whitebait fritters we had the other night...(hence the photo at the top)

To update you on the subject of my job hunt, I'm still looking. I've completed several online applications for a variety of jobs, but have no major leads. I have, however, enlisted the assistance of a recruitment agency. I spent four hours in their office one morning, completing forms, writing tests, and discussing with a candidate manager the type of work I'm seeking (i.e. anything different than what I've been doing!) They've already run two jobs by me. The first I rejected - it didn't sound very interesting and was for a 6 month term. I'm not sure I want to commit to one job for that long - at least not for that type of job. The second possibility, although incredibly SHORT in duration, sounded much more interesting to me. For one morning only, I may be an interviewee in mock interviews to assist some bank employees with their manager training. I think I can handle that! The recruitment agency is going to let me know on Monday if I am the successful candidate. Beyond that role, I will check in with them daily and see if there are any positions they think would suit me. Who knows what could come my way? I'm optimistic. But still, it's a strange process for me. I've never really had to look for work before. Thanks to great contacts I've built up over the years in the financial industry, jobs always found me. So it's a new process. To compound matters, I've technically been unemployed for about four months now, unless you count the exchange work I did at the farm. I've gotten used to not working - and have been enjoying it immensely! But part of me is ready to work again for various reasons. And I need to follow through on my plan to explore what's out there. Fortunately, I can be flexible in a few important areas: with no debts and very little in the way of daily expenses I have a lot more freedom regarding the type of work, the term, and the hourly pay rate I can accept.

The only barrier I'm experiencing so far is an internal one, brought on by one of my favorite phenomenons to discuss: social conditioning. I love to blame lots of things on social conditioning! Here's the deal: I've been conditioned to think I need a job that provides security; to aim high, be ambitious and make lots of money, right? Isn't that the ideal picture we all have in our heads? But my priorities have changed. I no longer need to seek those things. I no longer WANT to seek those things. Sometimes I need to remind myself of that. I've decided I have an aptitude for and, on some levels, enjoy clerical work. I can do without the corresponding monotony, but do find a sense of contentment dealing with that type of work. Due to social conditioning, however, I've developed a lofty belief of what my career SHOULD be. And it doesn't involve clerical work. I've got a lot to offer, as they say. I can do better than settling for a clerical job. But "better" is a relative term, isn't it? If I manage to find contentment doing a clerical job, maybe even discover I could enjoy it, wouldn't that be "better"? No stress. No pressure. Is that what I'm after? It's a thought! Aren't journeys of personal growth fascinating!?

Anyway, two more points before I sign off.

For those of you wondering if I've made any decisions regarding the 9 day tramp with the Czechs, I have. I've decided against it, but ONLY because I think a 9 day hike would take too much of a toll on my body. I'm looking into alternatives, though, so I may get out with them yet. A 2 or 3 day hike might be more my speed!

And lastly, I am finally in a position to talk via Skype and MSN Live Messenger! If anyone is interested, let me know and we can arrange a time to chat.

Enjoy your weekend!

Holly