You can't beat Wellington on a good day!

The sun finally put in an appearance yesterday. Of course, it's gone again today; guess it had other things to do. But while it was out, I took advantage. I went for a long walk through Newtown, up Mt. Vic, down through Roseneath, around Oriental Bay and back to Jo & Wally's.

We went out for Indian food Friday night. The people at the table behind us insisted on moving because we were making so much noise. We had a bit of a laugh when we went downstairs to leave and realised they were sitting next to an even noisier crowd than us. Poetic justice.

Last night we had a BBQ at Jo and Wally's. We managed to fill 2 recycling bins with beer, wine and spirit bottles so the evening was a success. After, we went to Atomic to see Bill do his DJ thing. Jo and I got home around 2am; Stu got home around 6am and was in pretty bad shape apparently.

More pics here.

Friends & Family

This, I think, will be my mantra for the next few months, repeated frequently with deep breaths in between. Yes, I'm back in NZ and wondering why I'm here.

I spent a lovely weekend with Courtney. We went to San Diego and checked out the zoo and spent a day driving around L.A. Then I began my 13 hour, teeth-grindingly frustrating flight to Auckland. Seriously folks, if you're travelling with kids, please drug them up before takeoff. I'm not talking drugging to the point of unconsciousness; I just want them mellowed out so they're not up all night playing, whining, screaming or kicking seat backs. Might I suggest marijuana.

I'm now in Wellington and, while I love seeing my friends again, NZ itself as been a bit of a disappointment so far. It's cold, grey, rainy, windy and wet... and it's summer. I'm wearing 3 layers and had to borrow a hat from Jo. And everything's crazy expensive here. I was looking for a haircut today. Nothing fancy; just a trim. The cheapest I was quoted was $72. I paid ₩15,000 in Korea and $15 in New Orleans. I paid $30 at the chemist for some personal items that I could've bought at Walgreens for about $8 in the States. Vodafone, bless them, reallocated my mobile number to someone else while I was away and wanted to charge me $40 for a new SIM card (no credit, just the card). New Zealand, it seems, has excelled in the art of price gouging while I was away.

I'm in Wgtn until Wednesday then I'm heading down to Christchurch. I don't know how long I'll stay but given that I'm already pining for New Orleans and I've been away less than a week, a long stay isn't looking to be on the cards.