New Zealand: week 4- July 3-9

Friday July 3

I had another trial at 8:30 at PizzaBox (I'm not sure I mentioned the name in previous posts, by the way). There were two unfamiliar faces & both were friendly. I only really got to work with one of them as the other worked in the back. It went smoothly and the manager told me the boss would probably talk to me Monday. I went home and ate a light lunch before Jasmine so kindly drove me to my other job trial at Sal's Pizza, the place I was supposed to go to last Friday but got lost. I was there for about two hours and was offered a job. I liked the people I worked with and even though it seemed like it'd be super easy, I know during busy times it'd be overwhelming. It's about 40 minutes by bus and let's not forget that the bus system here is laughable. If it was closer that would be more ideal. I told them I'd get back with them Tuesday after I find out what happens with PizzaBox. At least now I have options and that's good, right? After work, I got to hang out with the girls for a bit. Despite having three cups of coffee, I had to take a nap before dinner. After dinner, a couple of Jasmine & Suz's friends came over to work on some projects they've been working on sewing. Before they got started, they presented Jasmine with a quilt that Suz and her friend made and had people sign it. It was a very sweet gift and Jasmine was super touched by the thoughtfulness. Less than a week now before Jazzy is off to Hawaii for an adventure!

Saturday July 4

After trying to squeeze in a few chores to check off the chore list, I headed into the city to meet up with one of the people I met at the Meetup last week, Andy. We met at the Britomart station and headed to Mission Bay. After walking along the shore, we had lunch at Mission Bay Café. We walked along the beach for quite a while. There were so many shells and I found some beach glass! I really wanted to find a blue piece and Andy found a piece and gave it to me…I decided to wash the sand off them. Mistake. As I was shaking the water off I heard a *tink* and opened my hand to see that the blue glass had flown out of my hand. Sad.each beach area we came to was more neat than the one before. We eventually ended up at a really beautiful view. We stopped at a café on our walk back into town and had some coffee/tea before heading back to Queen Street. He pointed out some cool places to eat/shop. Ended up going to Mexican Café. It was pretty good. We went to SkyCity in the Sky Tower…the casino was comical at best. After living in Las Vegas, it's gonna be hard to impress me when it comes to casinos. ;) He walked me back to the Britomart station and Suz kindly picked me up when I arrived at the Papakura station. Another successful city trip! Now I can finally tell my Uncle Larry I've been on Queen Street. :)

Lava

Sunday July 5

After a big day out yesterday, I felt like I could do it again, especially since it was nice out; but then the clouds came in, then went away, then came back, and so on all day long. I intended on going to the store to buy a couple of things to make dinner, but I ended up literally doing nothing all day…well, with the exception of chatting with a friend from back in the states and trying to convince her to visit by looking up flights. No luck. Yet.

Monday July 6

Emerald left for camp today…who is going to make popcorn while she's gone? She'll be back Saturday so I guess I can make it until then. I went to Sal's today for orientation and met two other new employees. The lady who was going to meet with us couldn't make it so we are to go back Tuesday. We just went over the rules and the manager took the time to answer any questions we might have. So I am proud to say that I made it there (and back!) without any trouble. However, I did arrive about 40 minutes early. Better early than late, right? After the meeting, I went to a bike store to get an estimate on a bike and accessories I would need. I'm looking about $550NZD (~$415USD) which sucks and will be really weird at first (since I've never used a bicycle as a mode of transportation), but I think in the long run it'll be better than relying solely on the bus. It's stressful that it runs so infrequently, or what if I miss it? I suppose there's the added health/reduced carbon footprint benefit as well. However, until I feel comfortable enough (financially), I will take the bus and use that time (~45 minutes) to read…the particular book I'm reading is "Fried Green Tomatoes." I loved the movie as a kid. My best friend, Siobhan, and I would pretend to be Ruth and Idgie (characters from the book (additional note: neither of us knew they had a lesbian relationship as that's not how they were portrayed in the movie/we didn't know what gay was back then)) and the last time I was in Florida, Siobhan gave me the book. I'm excited to see the differences. Anyway, I made pad thai tonight which I had intended to make the night before, but whatever. I made it and it was pretty good. Suz made some juice with the persimmons I had loaded up on last Sunday from their church, carrots, and apples. I LOVE JUICE.

Tuesday July 7

I went back to Sal's and signed my contract and got my work shirts. I am now officially employed! My first official (paid) day of work starts on Saturday. Suz's in-laws came over and the grandma stayed for dinner while grandpa went to a meeting. I have been looking forward to this dinner ever since I found out about it on Saturday. We had what Suz calls "roasted salad." Suz was running late so Bonnie and I got the carrots, kumera, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms cut up while grandma worked on cutting up the pumpkin. That's all it is basically…tossed in olive oil and some seasoning and in the oven until it's cooked. Leave it to me to take something healthy and make it unhealthy by dipping it in mayonnaise. I would've sat there and ate until there were no left-overs, but I thought it best to not over stuff myself. 

This was my bowl...kidding.

Wednesday July 8

I spent some time with Jasmine and Bonnie at Sylvia Park (where a mall can be found) and Kmart. Now, I'm sure most of the people who read this have been to a Kmart and you're probably thinking "Ew." Well, let me stop you right there. It's like a damn Target here. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I can say I haven't been to a Kmart more than like 3 times in the past 10 years at least…and none of those times was I impressed by anything in the store really. We got home not too long before Suz. She had gone to the store and bought some ingredients I said I needed to bake cookies the night before, so I got started on that. I also made the "one pot zucchini/mushroom pasta," but it wasn't as yummy as the first time, but it was still good. I was on a roll…WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME? Haha cookies AND dinner?! I also noticed before bed that the yogurt-maker container was in the dishwasher so that means I can have yogurt, cottage cheese, and muesli for breakfast tomorrow! Again, it's the little things. Oh, and yes, Suz makes her own yogurt…she's supposed to show me how sometime.  I also talked to the manager from PizzaBox today. She told me they'd only give me a day or two a week so if Sal's is going to eventually offer more hours then it might just be best to stick with them. Womp-womp. No worries though, I still had fun learning a bit from there.

Thursday July 9

Four weeks! Saturday marks one whole month in New Zealand! Today was spent mostly with family coming by to see Jasmine off as she makes her journey to Hawaii. I am excited for her because I know what it's like to go to some unfamiliar place for months without knowing anybody and meeting a group of strangers and before you know it they've become your best friends and family…I'm looking at you Masa. I hope she has an amazing time. It's definitely an experience she'll never forget. Damn it. I'm starting to get the feels. If any of you Masa folks are reading this, I love and miss yall. :) 

In the spirit of Jasmine's journey, here's video that captures some of what Masa was like...I still get teary-eyed when I watch it. So, big thanks to Karen for making this amazing video. In just a couple of months it will be a year since we all met. But that's another post for another time :) Enjoy...