Updates in no partucular order

Following up from my last post, Project “please, lets just find something minorly interesting to watch this summer” has commenced. Watched Eps 1 and 2 of Firefly – good stuff. Watched Ep 1 of Twin Peaks last night with Will. He did not like it. Complained that it was the slowest tv show ever in the history of man. I didn’t remember it being that slow, but then again, I was ~14 when it aired and all I remember was the crazy Lodge and Bob, and the more bizzaro stuff (log lady anyone?).

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We didn’t do the Subaru scavenger hunt (that we did last summer). Main reason was that it started practically in Galveston (50 miles away) and we really didn’t feel like driving all over for 5 hours and burning $60 in premium unleaded gas. The finish line was at the bar we frequent by our house. So, we just hung out and watched Firefly in our air-conditioned house and showed up ~30 min before the hunters did. (seriously, we are at that bar too much. We walked in the door and the owner, who was behind the bar, greeted each of us by name. And our usual waitress had Will’s beer waiting for him. AND they kept the kitchen open late for all the Subaru people. THAT is service, people!) Anyways, I think if we did the hunt, we would have fared well, as I had a lot of the random items in my house. Xray of your hand (check – when I broke my thumb in 2002). Pic of teammate in full on ski gear (tons of already developed pics of this, I wouldn’t have even had to dress up for this). Other items (in case you care):

Pic of teammate in a shopping cart holding a block of cheese
Pic of teammate in a porn movie theater holding a mop
Pic of teammate with a stripper (sense a theme?)
Pic of teammate in a dumpster – one with head sticking out, one with both feet sticking out
Pic of teammate doing a handstand in a hot tub
Pic of teammate in a bathroom tub display
Etc etc…. lots of random stuff. This is probably the last Hunt for the Subie crew. Not sure how I feel about that.

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Job update – its going ok. Have had some deliverables. Think I’ve done ok on them. At least well enough to not get yelled at. I’m figuring out personalities now – who’s responsible, helpful, lazy, short-tempered. I think my boss may be on the short-tempered end, b/c she expects perfection. However, she’s very clear about those expectations and seems to communicate things fairly well. So its more like “if I screw it up, its my fault” rather than like at my last place where I did as I was told and they couldn’t tell me I was doing the wrong thing until my review where the slammed me. I just have to remember to keep my edge and stay focused. I used to be more like my boss, with the expect perfection bit, until my last job, which totally just killed any motivation. I don’t want to be a perfectionist again, mainly due to the stress, but I do need to eliminate “oh hell I don’t care this is good enough” attitude. Because, clearly, that is not going to cut it. Still rocking the Fridays off, though. Woo!

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Swimming update – we’re still homeless. So, when its not raining, I’m swimming outside Tu and Th. Fridays off I’m swimming at the other pool, but its too far away to swim at on the days that I work. I also joined a pilates studio and am doing an hour long reformer class once a week. I have no races to train for, so it seems like I’m in a bit of a rut.
I’m becoming slightly obsessed over trip details to New Zealand. Trip 2.5 weeks in Nov/Dec to the South Island. Only our airfare is booked. I think the plan is to rent a small campervan (think a van with a pop-up top that has a stovetop, benches and smoosh together to form a bed, and a teensy tiny bathroom) and tour around.

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Typically, when I plan a vacation, I become obsessed and plan everything down to the minute, ensuring that we squeeze as much as possible into our time there. It can be fun – but its also exhausting. And Will is also more of a “hang out and do nothing” type of guy. I’m more of a “if I wanted to hang out, I would have just stayed home for free” type of girl. He is usually a good sport, though, and plays along w/minimal complaining.

So, I’m really fighting the urge here to plan-plan-plan. For starters, this whole campervan thing is wigging me out. Can I tolerate such cramped quarters for 18 days? Can we access all the places we want to go? Will there be enough room for all our luggage (and all the Lush NZ stuff I plan on buying early in our trip when we’re in Christchurch – they have different products that I can’t get here). So, Will and I are going to go (probably this weekend) and look at RVs locally. Just so I can visualize this. Downside is that RV sales people are going to harass us for the next 5 years, thinking we’re buying something. Sweet!

Then the other thing is that I’ve got ~5 months where I can research, research, research. I literally feel like I want to read as much as possible, so we can pick and choose as we go along. My worst fear is to come back and have someone ask “didn’t you do this – it was so cool?” and our answer is no, we didn’t even know that existed. However, there’s a balance for me between crappy touristy junk and doing once-in-a-lifetime activities. How to balance that, I’m not sure yet. And there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of information (online, message boards) devoted purely to the South Island that covers more than main/populated areas of the big national parks. For me to feel comfortable, I want to see pictures, and there just isn’t a whole lot out there (at least that I’ve found so far).

My point is, I’m trying very hard to quell my OCD tendencies. The whole point about this trip is to hang out and explore. No rushing. The goal is to focus on 3-4 regions and explore at a leisurely pace. I have regions in mind, but being OCD about this stuff, I have to research to make sure we’ve chosen wisely.

Anyways, the first regional selection is the Marlborough Region, which is the NE corner of the South Island. Tons of vineyards, pretty scenery, hopefully not a ton of people. The Marlborough Sounds is basically a bunch of inlets/finger peninsulas, and most of the land is accessible only by hiking/biking or boating. So, adventure # 1 is sea kayaking here: http://www.marlboroughsounds.co.nz/ Not sure if we’d do a one day tour, overnight camping, guided. I just figure it would be a good way to see some parts of the country that aren’t over-ridden with LOTR crazies, and still have a relaxing adventure. You jealous yet?