A Volcano Getaway

Tomorrow I leave on a week-long camping trip. It was organized by two of my coworkers--they run a 5-week field camp for college kids majoring in science. These kids' families paid over $15,000 USD for this! I can't even imagine...plus, that is about $30K PER KID in NZD. Holy mackerel!

For a week of that field camp, they hike the Tongariro Crossing (17K dayhike, the best in NZ). Since I'm a scientist, my coworkers wanted me to come along to represent female scientists. :) I don't know if i'm going to be of much help (I just learned how to do some things myself last semester in San Diego...), but I am happy to get to do the hike, learn some stuff while getting paid for it! I'm a little apprehensive about the 17K hike, since my tired-ness hasn't gone away yet, but we'll see how I do. It's going to be rough, but I've told my coworkers about my condition. They said it was good since there is a female student who has some health issues, too, and will need to go more slowly than the rest of them.

We'll see. I'll post some pictures when I get back...hope the weather stays good!

There was some frustration because it seemed like they weren't going to pay for my transportation down from and back to Auckland, but I guess I can't really complain. I just don't want to have to PAY to work! Kind of negates the purpose...!

Roller Coaster

Status: relationship related, but not really 'rant-y'; just descriptive.

my emotions today: all of them. seriously, i went from angry and hurt and tired to nervous to betrayed to suspicious to ambivalent to grateful and content to angry and hurt again to emotionally spent but satisfied and optimistic. Wow. I am glad that I am usually such an even-keeled person. this is exhausting!!

Had a very long talk with the BF today (he's still BF to me, even though i KNOW he isn't). I still wish this situation wasn't how it is, but once in a very long while i think it's for the best and that it will work out somehow, some day. A long time from now, yes, but that ray of hope is still there.

Today was also my sister's 28th birthday in the US, but it didn't go so well when i called her. She was supposed to go to my parent's house for a little celebration, but apparently she just canceled it at the last minute, much to their chagrin. I also really needed my best friend today, given the whole BF situation, but she's really just not in a place to hear me out and help at all. That pretty much sucks. I hope she had a really good birthday, but I don't think she enjoyed it. :(

Spending: should have been $160

I was supposed to pay $10 to join in the ultimate frisbee league that i played in with coworkers, but i didn't have to since i was just 'trying it out.' I'd never played before, not even WATCHED, and the other team's players kept telling me what to do, where to run, how to do it! Ha! i was the reason the other team scored a few times, but we won, somehow, despite the handicap of ME. it was fun to be around people that didn't know about my breakup, and i actually pulled it off...i forgot about it for a while and was able to joke around. I am stronger than I thought.

The only blemish on the evening was when a cop pulled us over and I wasn't wearing a seatbelt (we were squished in the back of a car, and the seatbelts were buried in the cushions...oops). Normally i'm very, very good about seatbelting, but not today. I talked to the cop and was let off with a warning (again. Cops LOVE to give me warnings, but not tickets!).

the fine if you didn't wear your seatbelt, even in the backseat? $150!!

Just don't feel like it

I just wanted to say that my posts will be less PF related for the next little while. I have a feeling things are going to get alot worse before they get better in the BF situation, and I'm not sure how to stop it from happening.

I intend to indulge myself a little bit while I'm working through this. Eventually I'll set a time limit to end my obsessing, but right now wallowing feels really good, even right. Anything that makes me feel better (within reason, obvi) is what I'm gonna do... So bear with me for a while, will ya?

Zombie Spending Money

{Relationship Rant ahead; I'll warn you guys each time so you can skip it!!}

I just felt like dropping out of life today. It's been a hard day. Wow, am I dragging. The worst was when I had to see the female coworker that he spent the night with over the weekend today. I could barely even look at her, and I have to work with her closely in a few weeks, for a whole week together. I almost went home to bawl under my covers at that point. Also, the myspace page with 'single' instead of 'in a relationship.' It makes it way too real. (Remind me never to change my status for anyone ever again...)

I don't want BF to stop talking to me, but at the same time, it hurts alot even to share any sort of information with him. So, I'm polite, like I would be to a stranger or a roommate I don't really want to know, and I talk to him when he talks to me, but I don't volunteer anything. That way, when he hurts me again, it's not my fault; I haven't invited him in. Crazy logic. But I don't know how else to be. If I'm nice and fake to him, I'll just bottle it up inside; if I'm mean, I'll hate myself for it later. So I'm trying to keep a balance, but he keeps trying to force conversations. He was the one who wanted space; now that I'm giving it to him, he keeps coming into mine. It's like he just wants me THERE in case he needs me, but only on his terms. I'd explain that to him but I think I'd end up crying, again, and I don't want to do that. And even though it hurts to talk to him, I don't want him to stop trying to talk to me. How weird is that?

The good news out of all of this is, even though this SUCKS and HURTS and sometimes I want to scream obscenities at the wall he and I share, this is NOTHING like the crippling emotional agony of my last breakup. The intensity of that time was a WHOA--I can't get out of bed, can't eat, can't sleep, for months, kind of thing. This time, I can at least go to work (for now), the knot in my stomach comes and goes, and I'm able to put it out of my mind and focus on other tasks. When the feelings do come up, they are JUST as intense, but they aren't constant. So that's an interesting twist to all of this...

Adding to the misery, tomorrow is my sister's birthday, and since she got kicked out of her last group home (yes, because she called the cops on THEM, too) and hasn't let anyone know her new phone number, I have no way to reach her to wish her a happy birthday. :(

Tomorrow I have big plans--i'm going to take my suitcase to be repaired, and watch a game of Ultimate frisbee that some work people are playing in after work. I'm not interested in meeting any guys, but friends would be nice. Even if they are Ultimate people. ;)

$8.30 subway
$5.20 groceries (pasta for dinner, milk)

Spending

Still not in a good place with the whole BF thing. I'm distracting myself by taking long walks, calling old friends, and facebooking my more attractive, single guy friends. They are always good for an ego pick-me-up.

spending yesterday:

$28 groceries (juuuust over budget there this month)
$2.30 eating out
$3.40 misc (electrical tape; there are exposed wires on my laptop cord!! where did those come from??)
$30.50 eating out (got at least 4 dinners out of this; it is from my favorite thai place, and i had hardly spent ANY of my eating out budget this month thus far)


I have spent approximately $1577.39 so far this month. Looking good to keeping my spending under half of my income ($1621.10).

However, I do need to pay for health insurance ($221.50 for 6 months) soon. That may happen this week, putting me over my goal!

Not Missing...

...just IRRESPONSIBLE. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? SERIOUSLY.

He's not missing anymore, he was just out "having fun." Ok, great, glad you didn't end up on the police blotter I WAS UP CHECKING ALL NIGHT, but no phone call or text back to say he'd be out all night? that's really thoughtless, careless, and plain MEAN to do to someone you say you care about, have just broken up with and live with, and who you KNOW is going to notice if you suddenly spend the night elsewhere.

I know we're broken up and I don't have any rights to know this kind of stuff anymore, but it's only been 3 days...I can't turn it off that quick! I don't know what he did or didn't do (and don't want to know), but I'm livid that I wasn't even an afterthought and that he didn't have the common courtesy to let me know not to worry. I don't think I will be able to speak to him today without telling him off.

Missing

BF went for a walk last night at 8 pm and isn't back yet. It's 7 am the next day. He isn't answering calls or texts. I've called the cops and hospitals, but they know nothing. I haven't slept yet, and when I try, scenarios keep running through my head. I'm so worried. I don't know what else to do here.

Gotta Pay Off That Debt!

I'm missing too many opportunities here in summer in NZ due to debt. I decided to pull $2250 of my US EF, and $640 from my US checking, and apply it to clear my debt this month. Since the exchange rate is dropping like a rock, I am going to save my NZD and wait until it rebounds to transfer some money to replenish my US account.

Check the sidebar for updates on my progress...

this may get buried by all my tax posts, but...

i had to document it somewhere, and the blog is as good a place as any: i'm officially single and officially sad. I was thisclose to organizing a happy hour this Friday for me and my co-workers; I mean, i was JAZZED about going out on the town. Now, all the wind is out of my sails--i think I need to stay in and cry a little bit instead. if i drank in this condition, someone would have to carry me home, and well, more than likely, it would be X-BF, since he's a coworker and going to the same place as me. :/

Man, just when I thought I could handle this, the reality of it is still blowing me away. He was all, "I think we should be friends for a while." And I was saying, I can't do that--I'd just hope you'd change your mind at every glance or nice gesture. (it's true; i've been there before, and learned my lesson the hard way.) He kept saying, basically, that he wanted me to wait around for him to be happy with me again. He really didn't want to break up, but he also wasn't happy with me; he wanted CHANGE. I was like, DUDE, I am who I am, so you are in or you are OUT, I can't be in the middle like this anymore.

I can't deal with not knowing where I stand--one minute he was talking about buying a house with me (last Thursday), and the next I'm not allowed to touch him or even sleep in the same room as him. I've been doing this for the past 6 months or so, and the *only* reason I put up with it, NZ be damned, is because I knew he was/is dealing with his Mom's death. I don't think I would've been so patient otherwise. BUT I don't deserve to have to just sit around, either.

Anyway, I am hoping we can just tough it out and live together til the lease is up, and we'll see where we are after that. I'd hate to have to make him move, or move myself, but it may become necessary. I can't be friends with a guy I still care about that much, it will drive me crazy. What worked with the last guy was to just break off ALL communication--I didn't speak with him for like 3 years after we broke up. Obviously, if I'm living and working with the guy, I can't do that in this situation...

Hmm, sorry for the rant. don't worry, i'm DONE with relationships, so you won't have to hear about another BF again. :)

2008 Taxes and Spending: Rent

I am evaluating my spending of 2008. This post focuses on Rent.

The first five months of 2008, I spent $750 on rent ($3,750 total). I then went home for June-July, moved to NZ in July, and BF was taking care of rent in exchange for me paying for groceries. I was unclear about how to count that, but decided to only count what I actually paid in rent--and therefore the total will be a little underestimated; likewise, groceries will count as groceries and will be higher than normal.

Rent in the US ($750/mo): $3,750
Rent in NZ: $4,838 (includes bond that I will get back in full once we move out)
Total Rent: $8,588 ($716/mo)

That represents 35% of my after-tax 2008 income, or 27% of my before-tax 2008 income.

Not bad, but it's mostly because of no rent in June, a break with BF paying, and the fact that our rent in our last NZ place was about $650/mo ($300/week). Cheap, but CRAPPY.

All right then. That wraps that up. In 2009, unless our landlord raises the rent, I expect to pay $913/mo, or $10,956. I hope I can offset that by renting out our garage...hmmm.

2008 Taxes and Spending: Roth IRA Contributions

As part of my tax evaluation, I'm also evaluating my spending in 2008.

2008 Roth contributions: $3,100

(about 10% of my after-tax income, ~12% of my before tax income)

All to my T. Rowe Price US and international indices. They are SUCKING right now, and are barely worth $3,100. Over the years, I've contributed twice that amount. Blah, blah, blah, economy.

I didn't make my goal of $5K this year, but I didn't do too shabby.

No taxes are owed on these contributions, as they are AFTER TAXES (hurrah!). I have a feeling that taxes are only going to go UP UP UP in the future, given the current Social Security and National Deficit debacles.

I am banned from contributing money to my Roth IRA this year (tear), because I won't make enough US income, as I understand it. Even though I will have ChaCha US income, I have to make over a certain amount in order for it to be considered 'taxable income' and therefore eligible for Roth contributions. This explains more. When I tried putting in various amounts in the tax form in H&R Block, it also gave me an error for every amount.

I have so many questions still to answer:

do I pay state taxes on the NZ income? In that case, to which state, Cali or my home state?

Do I pay New Zealand taxes on my ChaCha income?

Inturrupting Normally Scheduled Activities

Just to say: I didn't think I could be more excited than I was on November 4 when Obama was elected, but on the eve of his inauguration, I'm sitting here, CRYING, at a NZ news station's coverage of the impending inauguration, and our history, from slavery to Lincoln to Dr. King til now. During the actual inauguration, I'm going to be a mess, even at 5:30 am Wednesday, when it will be broadcast here.

African American slaves built the White House, and now, finally, an African American will get to live in it. There are no words.

Started Filling Out My Tax Forms

Whoo boy, it's more complicated than I thought. I don't pass the necessary tests in order to claim the foreign income exclusion, though I may be able to claim a foreign income credit...good thing, because without the credit, I end up owing Uncle Sammy over $2K. No likey that number.

The issue is that my NZ tax is taken out every two weeks, so I'm going to have to research the average daily exchange rate on each paycheck, and convert each of my NZ paychecks to USD. Or, I can do some sort of voodoo with the average annual 2008 exchange rate, but since the rate was MUCH higher the first half of the year vs. the last half of the year (when I was actually paid), I would end up getting less credit. I think. I need to look at the verbiage closer, but I think I'm going to have to do all the work before I can decide which is more favorable...argh. Good thing I like money!

In other news, BF? left for a work trip this past weekend, and was supposed to get back tonight, but so far, he isn't. And I really, really miss him. What is WRONG with me? What happened to all my revelations and fresh attitude? :( I wish things were back like they were when he actually liked me. I'd be a whiny girl to ask him this, but why doesn't he like me? It's weird, because it feels like one day, he was all about being with me, moving to be with me, etc., and then almost overnight, he couldn't stand to be around me. I just can't figure it out, and I keep going over it in my head when I should be sleeping or eating or working. Ugh, guys. I think I'm going to organize a happy hour with my coworkers this Friday so I have an excuse to drink and not think about this for just one evening. :) (which may backfire...he IS one of my coworkers...)

2008 Taxes and Spending: Savings Accounts and Interest Income

This post details my income from savings account interest in 2008.

I currently have Bank of America, ING, and HSBC savings accounts. I keep the BoA one because my checking is free if I deposit $25 per month into my linked savings account. However, I just transfer that same $25 right back into checking, since the savings account gets really minimal interest. Likewise, my ING account transfers count as direct deposits, and my checking account stays free if I also have one direct deposit a month. so, I just transfer the same $1 back and forth every month...

US_
Bank of America: Maybe $1 in interest
ING: $21.39 (I had two referrals)
HSBC: $397.81

ChaCha: $85

Pinecone Surveys: $35

New Zealand_(NZ gov't takes out the taxes from your bank account every month, so I shouldn't owe much if anything on these amounts)
Raboplus: $136.73
Kiwibank: $41.84


Total extra income: $718.77
Total income (before tax): $32,227.82

Can't calculate after tax total income, because some of the above interest income has been taxed, and some hasn't...it'd be a little confusing.

I also recieved some $50 cashbacks and gift cards from my credit cards...does anyone know if they count as income?? This seems to make me think 'No.'

Love and Taxes

If I have a prayer of getting one of those things right this year, I've got to start looking at tax codes and international laws NOW. I have a feeling this is going to be painful...

I am also going to use this tax exercise to examine my spending in the past year; good way to knock out two birds with several posts!

US Income (strictly from my job only; before taxes): $11,124.45
NZ Income (strictly from job; before taxes): $20,384.60

total: $31,509.35

...not bad considering that 1) I was only part-time January-May, and 2)I didn't work the last week of May, all of June, all of July, the first week of August, and most of December!

After taxes:
US Income (after taxes): $9,187.65
New Zealand income (after taxes): $15,684.84

Income after taxes: $24,872.49 (obviously treating USD and NZD as equivalent currencies...which we all know is incorrect!)

I also have income from: interest on savings accounts (Bank of America, ING, HSBC in the US; Raboplus and Kiwibank in NZ) and from ChaCha, Pinecone Surveys, and my $1.13 from Google Adsense (I'm not in it for the money). Hmm, am I forgetting anything here? Maybe my state and fed income tax reimbursement from 2007?

I don't have to pay any taxes on my Roth, Traditional IRA rollover, or any of my other retirement vehicles. Looks like that's it. Wow, I thought that would be harder.

Fortnightly is not Twice-Monthly, a Primer*

So you know how in the States, you pay your whole rent by the first of the month? and, say, your rent is $840 a month, and you, therefore, pay $840 * 12 = $10,080 in rent annually?

Well, in NZ, you would pay $420 fortnightly instead of $840 monthly. I thought that maybe, just maybe that paying half of the rent twice a month would work out to be roughly somewhat equivalent to paying monthly. But I just (stupidly) did the math:

365 days/year (divide by 14 days in a fortnight)
26.07 fortnights/year (divide by 2)
13.035 fortnights in which I am responsible for paying $840 (multiply by $840)
ADDS UP TO $10,950 a year (divide by 12)
-or- $912.50 a month!

Agh! I've been duped by my US thinking! My rent is over $900 a month, not $840!

Jesus. I would never have taken this apartment if I'd done the math ahead of time.

I'm going to have to readjust my budget for this nonsense. I feel like a total idiot.

*In my defense, I've never been paid 'fortnightly' so I don't have experience with it financially! In my job, we were paid the same amount on the 1st and the 15th of every month.

Electric Feel

...I love that song! And the video always reminds me of the Country Bear Jamboree at Disney.

I am getting concerned that I haven't received the electric bill for this month yet. We usually get it a few weeks before it becomes due on the 17th or so of each month. With my vacation, and then my cold, I totally forgot about until today.

Good news is, it is automatically charged to my credit card before the due date to get the 10% 'early payment' discount; bad news is, I have NO IDEA how much it is going to be. At the old (tiny) place, it was only ~$40/mo or less. I asked the previous tenants how much their monthly electric bill was, and I think I blacked out for a moment after she said $150, so I may be wrong. I'm hoping that I'm wrong...

Twilight is a Money-Maker!

People are going Twilight CRAZY! in not only the US, but New Zealand. If you remember, I bought the first book in NZ for about $30. I bought the fourth book at Target for about $16 USD, and then I got the second and third books for free with a gift card left over from last Christmas (but about $22 USD). In total, I spent $53 USD, or roughly $100 NZD counting the gift card as cash. Not counting the gift card, I spent $32 USD and ~$64 NZD or so out of pocket on the four books.

I read them all (eeeehhhh...not impressed), and promptly listed them on TradeMe, the ebay of New Zealand. They don't have a version of craigslist here--probably 'cause they don't want anyone to get anything for free. Hrmph.

I listed it with a reserve and starting bid of $100. I spent about 95 cents advertising it, and they take about 7% 'seller's fee' after the auction is over.
I also listed the books with free shipping, so I was prepared to pay out another $16 more to sell the books. So I wouldn't have made much on the transaction but I only wanted to cover the cost of the books.

ANYWAY--I looked at the ending bid and it was $181!!! Holy Renesmee! Awesome!

AND the buyer was going to meet me to pick up the books, so I didn't even have to pay shipping!

So, the transaction occurred yesterday at 8 pm, and she ended up giving me an extra $1 'cause I didn't have change.

Sooo. I spent about $64 NZD out of pocket on the books, $1 on advertising, and $12 on the 'seller's fee.' Total profit: $105 NZD. Hurrah! If only I could do this every day...

Sickness = Confession Time

I continue to baby myself through my cold. Lots of OJ, lemon tea, water, soups, etc. They don't really have good Chicken Noodle soup here--I talked to someone once about this, and people give their sick kids pumpkin soup instead of chicken noodle in NZ. Somehow, it just doesn't seem right. Eh.

For now, I'm eating this chicken soup from a dry, powder mix--it was all I could find. It's horrid, but I strain all the extra onions and carrots out of it, and pretty much just drink the broth.

In addition to working from home, answering emails and researching articles online, I've been whiling away my sick hours from bed by watching old Laguna Beach reruns online. I've gotten through Season 1, and am halfway through Season 2. My two college buddies and I have a sick obsession with the whole Laguna/Hills/City cast--and I have some strange connections to Laguna:

1) My cousin was roommates with Lo at UCSB. I heard some stories about her, let me tell you.

2) My friend now works with Alex H. (now goes by 'Lauren') at the Yardhouse in Honolulu. I actually met her when I went to visit last summer (she's very sweet and tall). Even though I was 29 at the time, I could barely contain my giddiness. Out of respect for her wish to 'leave all the MTV stuff behind,' I refrained from getting my picture taken with her, otherwise you KNOW I would have been all over that.

3) My coworker here in NZ used to babysit Trey and LC back in Laguna.

In addition to these connections, my 2 friends and I stayed in the same hotel as Syrus (Real World Boston) and Ruthie (Real World Hawaii), and ended up partying in one of their rooms in South Beach one spring break. I went somewhat wild at one point in college (my dad had recently been diagnosed with his illness, and I was pretty heart-broken and stressed about it), and they caught me at the peak of that streak...Thank God I didn't get that tattoo (just kidding!).

Ok, now that that shameful secret is out (I am a 14 year old girl at heart), we can all move on. Shall we?

Paying for It...

OY! In retribution for my apathy towards my relationship exhibited in my last post, I seem to be paying karma back in the form of white blood cells. My immune system is valiantly fighting off some sort of cold/flu hybrid, rendering me bed-ridden and tired, even after 12 full hours of sleep. And of course, there's the fact that I may not be so carefree, after all--BF was only around for about a day when I wrote that, and it definitely is getting harder to be so flippant about how much I care for him, and to define what, exactly, those feelings are.

But it's not time for that, it's time for my spending! Perhaps in order to remain carefree, my emotions have been coming out in other ways--by spending massive amounts of cash (for me). Friday, I spent about $50 on canvases, more paint, and some brushes for my stupid, pointless painting hobby that is loads of fun.

Also, I went to New World grocery store, which we have established is WAY too expensive, and I went hog-wild. $179.11 I blame the cold that was setting in--I was dizzy and just wanted to get home, so I grabbed the first thing that I saw that was on my list, without comparing prices at all. Ugh.

I'm really hoping that visit will last me at least two weeks, if not more.

Also, I got an email back from Air NZ--they will pay to have the wheel on my bag repaired, even though they 'don't normally' do so. Small victories, I suppose!

My (Ex?) BF's Back

As I type this, I'm wearing my engagement ring for fun. The one I'll not be wearing for real for a VERY long time, if ever. (See this post for background, this time WITH PICTURES! of the ring). I put it on once in a while to make sure it is real and is still as beautiful and perfect as I remember it.

I have half a mind to just start wearing it on my right hand, but no, it's too valuable and precious to me to 'waste' it on every day wearings.

Anyway, as the title says, my BF? got back into NZ this morning. He ran into my room while I was sleeping and cuddled up next to me, like old times. Except, we sleep in separate bedrooms now. and don't touch ever. So really, NOT like old times at all. The holidays were supposed to be a time for him to not talk to me and think about if he wants to be with me, but I also did some thinking about us.

And what I came up with was: I just don't care about him anymore. At least, not THAT way. The separation (and me forcing him not to talk to me during the separation) reinforced to me that I was really just hurt that he didn't find me lovable anymore. It wasn't about not being with HIM, it was about him breaking up with me. It was about having to go through the dating scene all over again, finding someone I liked, and then going through the tiresome motions of letting a new person get to know me. And accept me.

So, I'm done. It's weird, but I feel nothing when I think about breaking up with him. Just a complete absence of feeling, like I've already dealt with the emotions. Lord knows I've had enough crying jags over him and his behavior the past 6-12 months. So I guess it makes sense.

Today, we talked alot about our respective trips. We had FUN, something very lacking as of late, what with him being annoyed with everything I did, and me being pouty and sad that he was annoyed. We didn't even mention our r-ship at all today. I don't know when we're going to get to that. It was just nice to catch up and hang out together without the nastiness. Maybe we'll talk about it once I get my PR and my very livelihood doesn't rely on us being together? I don't know. I think it's pretty much a done deal that we're over, we just have to say the words.

In the meantime, the only thing I'm sad about is not getting to wear my ring anytime soon!

Spending

Getting into the painting thing--it's so much fun!! I turn on some great music (Kings of Leon is my latest obsession) and let the brushes flow. My creations don't turn out the way I want them to; they are VERY amateur, but I don't really care. It's just nice to see my walls a little livelier than they were before.



$11.70 on 3 9" x 12" canvases.

If this keeps up I'm going to have to take an art class...

GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!

I just b*&tched out Air New Zealand and United Airlines over email for breaking my luggage wheel completely off, and getting my bags to me over 32 hours late. I think I was fair--I laid out all the evidence (the bag was brand new; I had to miss work to meet the luggage guy at my apartment; I now cannot maneuver the bag since the wheel is missing; I am only 120 lb and CANNOT carry a 50+ lb bag very far at all; it was stressful to have all my belongings lost).

I hope they repair the bag, at the very least. At the most, some travel vouchers and a replacement bag? I told them that, a bag repair and some airpoints or travel vouchers seemed like 'a fair compensation.' Should I have asked for more?

I tried to not be too nice, but I can't help but wonder if that sometimes helps. I'd be more willing to work with someone that's nice than someone that is a downright biatch. But maybe that isn't a good trait to show in the corporate world? ah, I hope I toed the line between pushover and irate...

Just call me Picasso

Check out the painting that I did tonight:




It's very simple, but it was fun to do while watching Revenge of the Nerds on TV. And I LOVE blue and green, so it'll dress up the walls nicely. I decided to make it sort of abstract and try to paint it as it looks like in my mind's eye. It's of Rangitoto, the volcano off the shore of Auckland. Compare it to this:



You can see that I exaggerated the steepness of the slopes but caught the moat-like ring around the summit. Not too bad. I decided I'm going to do a 'series' on NZ volcanoes, and hang them up around the apartment (or just my room, if X-BF disagrees with this plan). Our walls are SO BARE! and and artwork and frames for photos are so expensive here. So for the cost of a canvas and a nail, voila! Instant decoration.

My next project is much more complicated, as seen here. don't know if I can pull that off. Then I need to tackle Tarawera with its pinks and rust reds.
I have the paints and the brushes, so I'll just need to stock up on canvases...I think the size i'd need is about $6 each. I wonder if i could get them cheaper anywhere else?

Out of Control

I went a little crazy today in the Warehouse. They were having this Xmas sale, and I wanted a string of lights for the apartment--they make the perfect mood lighting for watching a movie or for the balcony at dusk.

But I forgot I was in New Zealand. A string of TEN lights was $3.50, marked down from $19. For ten lights. it doesn't even stretch all the way across my balcony's short side! Ugh, I'm disgusted that I bought them. The lights, when lit, are this weird blue color even though they should be more white. They didn't have any lights longer than that--maybe they don't decorate their tree with long strings of lights like we do in the States?

In total, I spent $53.12 in the Warehouse, on some food, body wash, snacks for work, a paint and canvas set (I've been getting bored in the evenings), and a pot for a plant that has outgrown its old digs.

I also spent $10 to top up my international phone card. I had topped it up with $30 in October, but it expired while I was away in the US and I came back to a disabled card. grah. It still had $15 bucks on it! I was mad...

Also making me mad, the airline returned my luggage with a wheel broken off. My brand new suitcase, just used on one other trip before, now only has 3 wheels. It wouldn't be so bad if it were the little suitcase, but this is the BIG Ginormous one--it's going to be mighty hard to wheel that sucker with 50+ lb in it. I need to complain.

Oh, I also went to the asian grocery store to get some more limes, rice, and some other veggies. $15.18

I gotta start keeping myself better occupied so I don't spend money. It doesn't get dark until about 8:30, though, so i find myself wanting to get outside and walk around every night! And that leads to spending.

I love summer in January though!

Waiter, bring me the expensive stuff

spending: $2.50

Got totally ripped off on a can a Dr Pepper. It was only $2 in the next convenience store (they only have Dr P in convenience stores in NZ). I drank my reserve can today 'cause I am not over my jet lag yet and needed a pickup BAD. Anyway, my reserve can that I drank today has lasted over 4 months, so this expensive can will last me a long time. :)

Spending

OK, OK, I've fallen off the wagon. During and after I went to Taupo for that conference in November, I simply stopped keeping track of my spending, since I wasn't sure what my company was going to reimburse me for. And then I went to my home state for a month, and barely spent anything on food, etc.

Now that I'm in debt again, it's only fair that I start keeping track of my spending and regulate it a little better. It's also time to switch from using my credit card (paid with USD), to my Kiwibank debit card, which is in NZD. Not only will it more accurately reflect what I am spending in NZD, it will also keep me from adding to my debt--I have to have the money in the account to spend it!

So, yesterday I took a trip to get food. The large asian grocery store around the corner is the only place I could really shop, since I don't have a car and the free bus to New World had stopped running by the time I woke up. They don't have sales or coupons or anything, so I ended up spending quite alot for what I bought.

I have to say I'm more than a little hesitant to buy some of my products at the asian grocery store. Some of it is because the packaging isn't always in English, and some of it has to do with the fact that I'm completely ignorant about how strictly New Zealand tests and restricts imported food. China, for example, doesn't exactly have the greatest record when it comes to regulating the chemicals in products that they export. And during that whole melamine-baby formula debacle, asian groceries were the prime target for testing here in NZ. Oy. I feel sort of mean discriminating against some of the food in there, but I honestly don't know if this is something I should be worried about...or which I should be most concerned about: produce (pesticides) or the packaged stuff I can't read? I tried asking the cashier about where they got their food, but I couldn't effectively communicate my question and eventually gave up.

Anyway, I bought some food and we'll see if I die in the next week. :)

$39.73 (chicken breast, steak, corn on the cob x 3, peppers x 2, limes x 1, apples x 4, bananas x 5, bread, cheddar cheese, potatoes, eggs x 12)

I'm going to make lime-garlic chicken. I simply LOVE the taste of fresh squeezed lime and salt on tortilla chips, so I'm intrigued about what I could do with lime elsewhere in my diet. I will serve this with potatoes and corn on the cob.

Today I needed some ham for my lunch. This was purchased at one of the little convenience stores all along my road. Of course it is overpriced, but I like the brand so I got it:

$6.20

This weekend I need to stop by New World (kind of like a Kiwi Whole Foods--expensive but they have a free bus that stops not too far from my apartment)...I think I'd be ok if I could just alternate going to the asian grocery store and New World.

Whew!

My bags just got delivered to my door. I'm SO RELIEVED. This all makes me annoyed that I'm so careless with my bags sometimes--one of the pieces of luggage was my parents' (I needed the extra room in their super-large suitcase), and it didn't have an address or any contact info in it at all. What if that airport tag had been pulled off?? It was also a plain black bag with no distinguishing marks--yup, I would have never seen it again.

Anyway, all is well that ends well. I do think I'm going to write to United about this, though. I went over 24 hours without my luggage. If that had happened the first time I came to NZ, I would have been royally effed, as I started driving around the South Island immediately after landing, and didn't know where I'd be staying from one day to the next, nor did I have a cell phone. Yuck.

I'm back at work today, but had to leave to meet the baggage guy at my apartment. One good thing did come out of this though: I didn't have to drag my two 50 lb suitcases, plus my backpack and computer bag, up the hill from the busstop. :) As my mom remarked, all my stuff weighed more than I do!

With that crisis over, I can concentrate on others. I miss my family terribly. I don't know what it was about this time visiting home, but I wasn't a hurry to leave. Actually, I wanted to stay. Forever. Buy a house nearby, see my parents every weekend, help out with the renovations they are doing...they are getting older, and maybe that's why I feel like it's time to go back. ? It just feels like time is running out, and I should be there. I'm not super happy with the social network I have there, have no job prospects whatsoever, don't enjoy my home town at all...it's more like I feel like I am...not obligated, but something similar to that. Like I will really, really regret not being there while they are still alive. Like I want to settle down already, buy a house, and plan to be there indefinitely. Stop moving continental distances every 4 years. Maybe I haven't caught up on my sleep yet and am just overtired and emotional, but I want to cry when I think about all of this.

On the flip side, my job is one of a kind here in NZ. I'll never get an opportunity like this again, and my home state isn't known for my specialty. :) And I enjoy New Zealand. Since I got back, I am pleasantly surprised about how much I actually like it, and how much I've missed certain aspects of it. I was dreading returning. I am torn. Why can't someone make a teleporter already? I could be here during the week and at home to the East Coast on the weekends!

I don't know how to make this decision.

Back and Lost

Back in GodZone again! I had a horrendous journey from the East Coast. I slept maybe 3 hours before I had to get up and go to the airport, due to my own anxiety about waking up in time, and making sure my luggage was under the weight limit with the Wii Fit board (did NOT want to incur that $200 fee!).

My EC-Chicago-San Fran flights went fine, but the SF-Auckland flight was sooooo sooooo loooooong. The plane wasn't full, but there were people all around me, so I didn't get to stretch out at all to try to sleep. Of course, it wouldn't have helped--i just do NOT sleep on planes, but it's always nice to have some extra room. On my 24 hour journey, I watched as many movies and tv shows as I could stand and finished the last two books of the Twilight series (if i had high expectations, i'd be disappointed...but they were entertaining enough to get me through my flight, so, whatever!).

Anyway, I made it awake through Immigration at 5 am this morning, barely making sense, and waited by the baggage claim for about an hour before I gave up and went to report my missing bags. The guy said I was supposed to receive them today, but so far, no phone call. And it's 8:30 pm now. I just called, and they still haven't located my bags.

I'll be really annoyed if they can't find my bags!!! My favorite red shirt is in there, all of my camping and hiking gear, and alot of other stuff. I do have travel insurance, so I think that would cover some of the lost stuff, but I don't know if they just would give me money for the approximate value of the goods, or if I would have to remember everything I packed for an inventory list?? Does anyone have experience with this?

I can't think of any truly irreplaceable items in my baggage, but I'm sure there were a few favorites that I will soon miss once I realize what they are.