OY! Jumbled Thoughts

So I kind of figured that when I came to this brand new country, this little island isolated at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, I was bound to encounter a number of fun new viruses and bacteria that my immune system just wasn't up to handle. I failed to realize how shitty it would actually be. And that being said, I've been sick probably 40% of the time that I've been here with colds, hayfever, bronchitis, sinus infections, and the like. But now, after plowing through a box of tissues and a whole pack of Sudafed in nearly three days I think I'm finally getting better...again. Hopefully it will stay that way since my Daddy is coming in a few days!!!

Not much has been new here on the Southern Front of Kiwi-land. My wallet along with my bank card have suddenly disappeared, which unfortunately has rendered me poor for the next week. After taking care of that nonsense however, I've basically been cleaning this place up a bit, working, getting healthy and finding new little niches in which to hang out and enjoy my time here. I've stumbled upon the Caterbury Film Society that meets every Monday night to screen foreign films and documentaries. Complimenting this discovery, I've also found a fantastic little video store called "Alice in Videoland" and it is quite possibly the coolest place ever...with nealy every movie ever made. And in a country where no mainstream Blockbuster has movies like "Searching For Bobbie Fischer" or "Annie Hall" it is a hugely exciting thing to have found this place. And can you believe that they also have the "Deep Blue" collection Hilary!?!

My friend Brett has been staying with us for the past two weeks as he was evicted from his flat when one of his flatmates disappeared and left them with something like $600 or $800 of the rent. He's leaving tomorrow on a mini bike trip toward the north of the South Island and after a brief conversation with him this morning over homemade pancakes, I think that this whole bike trip idea may be a really really good one. So when my term break hits in four weeks and I finally have ten days to kill I may have to take off on good ol' Milo for a week and some days. But who knows where. There is also the possibility of taking a small road trip to see some more southerly stuff of this South Island with Mr. Craig, but if he's working, well, who knows?

So it's been a weird couple of weeks lately, whether it's because I'm anticipating my Dad coming, realizing my Mom's not coming as well, or because I was slowly getting nice and sick...but weird is the best word for it. I think my Dad actually getting here, while being fantastic, is going to present a little bit of a challenge for me. Not because I don't want to see him, but because once he's here, I know he'll be leaving soon. And then once he's gone, that's it. And this is a perfect example of how I need to think more of what is going on right this moment and not worry so much about what is going to happen later on. Duh.

This is the most disjointed blog I have written in a while. Let's see...ah yes, another bit I can put into it. The Commonwealth Games are going on right now in Melbourne and all of NZ's eyes are on the Kiwis competing over there. For those of you who don't know, the Commonwealth Games are kind of like the Goodwill Games that the US competes in, except it's all the countries that are or were in the Commonwealth of England or something like that. Anyway, the US doesn't compete here, so a lot of people from the states may not have heard of them. But the members of the United Kingdom split up into their own respective countries to compete (ie Scotland, England, Wales, etc), plus Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Samoa, Figi, Malaysia, Canada, etc. And after watching these games I have realized that they are basically the Olympics minus the US, Russia, Japan, China, etc (I think). And these athletes are amazing. Anyway, I've been watching the swimming, cycling (on the track) and the triathlon. And of course, the cycling is fun to watch, the swimming makes me miss swimming and the triathlon is inspiring. So today I'm off to buy a pair of running shoes, and despite what my doc has recommended about running, I'm going to try to get back into it. It will be hard without my running partner (yes you J.) but I know he'll be there in spirit. And while there are not a lot of tri's going on right now, the winter series for cycling starts soon. But who knows...maybe I won't be as into this as I thought I would be, but we'll find out.

Anyway, there isn't too much left to say, I should be off to do something today though.

I hope everyone back home is doing well...and I hope to be returning with more interesting stuff to talk about. :-)

-Nic