I guess the consolation of having weather this bad is that I'm now glad not to have gone up into the Tararuas. DOC are warning people to stay away, they've had bridges washed out and there's been a search & rescue mission for a woman with hypothermia. It's particularly weird today - I'm in Masterton and it's gone from blue sky to heavy downpour, and back to blue sky within 20 minutes.
So after a pretty good new year's eve, the year's been more or less a writeoff so far - the holiday that wasn't. Half of my friends are down in Southland for a Stewart Island trip, but I had to decide not to go on financial grounds; I'll put the saved money into my international travel fund. Stewart Island is great, huge abundance of wildlife, endless golden beaches and crystal-clear water, but I've been there before and it's probably most enjoyable the first time. Surprisingly though for a fishing community, the fish & chips there suck.
Just as well I haven't been feeling depression; it's early in the year so I'm optimistic about it and have a few things planned out. Tomorrow we're having an Ascension Band meeting to watch the Live 2004 dvd and write a press release for the Fringe show. That's due on Monday and I've also got the proofreading job starting then. Hopefully if I can keep busy time will fly and it'll be Fringe time soon. And hopefully hopefully hopefully enough people will come to see the show - with this kind of scale of thing, playing to five people just isn't going to be satisfying (or break even). Then off to Melbourne & unknown adventures (eg washing dishes for a living?) and back to Wellington in August to finish my diploma.
One good thing with visiting family is that I got to see all four of my half-sisters in the last few weeks, and they're all looking well. Bronwyn the youngest (merely 40) is living in Korea now, seemingly permanently, so could be a useful contact there. She's doing a NZ road trip with her boyfriend for another week or so and looks happier than I've seen her for a long time (quit smoking etc). Megan's living just outside Carterton, big property with fruit trees, chickens, sheep etc, semi-self-sufficient. Alex has lost weight and got over last year's cancer scare. Christina the eldest (45? 46?) is an international airline pilot, and she's got a new job that lets her spend time in London and San Francisco. She's single, independent, well off, & has taken up weight lifting which is pretty cool really.
Another odd thing about the last few days is that I've been listening to a lot of American country and folk music - Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, Joan Baez's second album (pretty dark mysterious stuff once you listen to the words), the Carter Family (a bit too weird for me, conservative commercial music from the 1930s), and The Essential Johnny Cash. The last one in particular is great stuff; I guess now that he's dead his time has come and he's gaining in popularity. I'd heard a little of his stuff before, but songs like 'I Walk the Line', 'Folsom Prison Blues' (recorded live in Folsom Prison for an audience of inmates), 'the One on the Right was on the Left' and 'the Man in Black' really made an impression. Listening to country eh - who would have thought? Hope I'm not going senile...
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Did you get to go kayaking or anything?
Posted by: Sister Novena at January 8, 2005 01:17 PMNo, the river's unsafe with the extra water. It's yet another indoor day.
Posted by: Dave at January 8, 2005 03:35 PM