Time is not on my side

With only a few months left now my timeline is getting set, sometimes by things out of my control, which is making it all that more of a reality.  But it is falling into place and although I'm not sure I'm ready to face it, there is still a piece of me that is comforted by the thought of home.  Here's the latest plan (although it does keep shifting slightly):

October 25-November 7:  Vacation!  Sydney/North Island of New Zealand
November 12: Give notice at work
December 5: Move out of flat, become a drifter
January 2-17: Travel New Zealand (cross a few more things off my To Do List)
February 2: Last day of work
February 4-5: Wellington 7s game
February 8-28: Travel New Zealand (one month left to finish up my To Do List)
March 7: Fly to Kuala Lumpur
March 7-May 10: Travel Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos) and China
May 14: Celebrate coming home and my birthday in Chicago

Note: In New Zealand many offices completely close for the holidays, my current employer isn't an exception.  Our office will be closed from December 24 - January 17.

Bits and Bobs (aka This and That)

It's been awhile since I've written and although nothing big has happened, there have been a lot of little things.  Sunday is my 7 month anniversary!  It's hard to believe I've already been here that long (or not longer depending on the day).  Here's what's going on in my life right now:

Visitors!!
I am so thankful for my phone calls back to the States and my emails and messages, but there's nothing better than a visit from a friend.  So for the last several months I have been looking forward to one of my closest friends visiting for the marathon.  Of course, as someone who is a natural runner (and a bit crazy) he'll be competing in the Chicago marathon, touring around Sydney for a week, then coming to join me as I putter through the Auckland run (he'll literally be miles ahead of me).  But the excitement of the visit has made the last month feel like it's been dragging.  I'll get to spend a week in Sydney before coming back to New Zealand where we'll do the run and then tour around for the following week.  It will be a nice long break from work and life.

But he's not the first person to visit me from the States.  Last week I was surprised as a friend from Chicago came through Auckland on his way home.  We got to spend a night hanging out in Auckland: I did my best to show off the awesome City of Sails and he entertained me with news and updates from the Windy City.  It was a good trade.

Running the Marathon (Well, half anyway)
Well, since I brought up the marathon I thought I should bring you up to speed on my own running progress.  About 2 months ago I got sick with some ridiculous cold/flu.  It put a damper on my running and training for the marathon.  And unfortunately, even after I recovered from the illness, I wasn't able to get my motivation back.  Now I find myself three weeks away from the marathon and I don't think I can even run a full 2 miles.  It's a pretty dire situation.  I've decided to set my sites on a more attainable goal (although not necessarily more realistic) and that is to run/finish the half marathon.  It won't be pretty, in fact, it's bound to be downright horrible, but I intend to run and finish the half marathon on 31 October.  I probably won't be sharing my time with anyone, but at least I'll be able to cross that one off of my to do list for New Zealand.


Weekend Trip - Raglan:
I have realized the benefits of the weekend trip.  I don't think I fully appreciated the idea when I was back in the US but I now see it as a great way to add some spice to a bit of monotony...not that I have time to get monotonous with my life here.  My latest was a trip to a surfing town south of Auckland, Raglan, while the largest storm on the earth was sitting over the Tasman sending torrential rain, incredible winds and other dicey weather towards the west coast of New Zealand - that's where I headed with three friends.

We took awhile to get to our destination as we were swerving around downed trees and I was nervous on the winding roads, but after we arrived we took advantage of the nice weather when we could.  Only planning on staying for one night we made the most of our time - walking in the small town (the main street was only two blocks long), drinking wine and playing games at the hostel (Catch Phrase is a big hit), visiting the local beaches where the surf was higher than the locals had ever seen, and hiking to a waterfall (the river was swollen with rain water and made for a spectacular site).

Attending the New Zealand Music Awards:
I've never been to the MTV Music Awards, and quite frankly, it's not on my bucket list.  So when my flatmate wanted to see the NZ Music Awards I was a little skeptical.  But tickets were only $20 so I decided to give it a shot.  Surprisingly, I had a great time! The radio stations in NZ are required to play a certain percentage of Kiwi music, but I can rarely tell when it's a local band or someone from the States.  So as I was watching the nominees and listening to the performances, I was shocked at how many of the songs I now love are actually Kiwi performers.  I'm going to miss them when I go back to the States and am subjected to the radio stations that play the same songs all day long.


To be Thankful:
As always, I love all of my awesome friends near and far.

Good luck to David Boonstra, Becky Dandy, and others who will be running in the Chicago marathon this weekend.  If I had stayed in Chicago this would have been my year to run it as well, nothing can be luckier than running a race on 10-10-10.  If you listen closely you might hear me cheering for you on the other side of the world, I'll be the one shouting your name. Have fun and be safe!

Thank you, America

Americans have a tendency to stand out, sometimes its for good reasons and sometimes bad.  But there seems to be an endless number of things to use for friendly banter.  Afterall, we are a nation of ridiculous lawsuits, selfishness, and Hollywood, but there are a few things that stand out over others to poke fun at.

For example, I can't count the number of times that it's pointed out to me that the World Series of Baseball doesn't actually have many teams from around the world.  "Why is it called the World Series if other countries aren't actually invited?"  Laughing politely I typically point out that somehow Canada was sneeked in.  I act like I haven't heard it fifty times before or even thought of it myself - long before I came overseas.

And a few of the other comments I've heard at least once or twice:

• "Why is everything so big in the US?  Why do you need five gallon jugs of milk and tubs of popcorn?"
• "I've seen Cops, I know how things are done in the US"
• Three words:  American Reality TV.  It just provides endless material.
• "Oh!  You're from Chicago...that's the one with the governor...what's his name?" "Blagojevich."  "Yeah, that's the one!"  Wonderful.  Halfway around the world and they know my former governor for all the wrong reasons.

Weekend plans:
I'm off to Raglan on Saturday.  A popular surf town on the West Coast just South of Auckland.  In the meantime, the largest storm currently on the planet is sitting in the Tasman sending huge swells and large wind gusts across New Zealand.  The forecast:  50km winds and 18ft waves.  I'm at least hoping for some good photos.

Things to be thankful for:
- The Super Bowl is the Super Bowl and not the World Series of Football.  I'd never hear the end of it.
- Plenty of Americans to back me up
- Being an American.  I may get aggravated with my country, but there's plenty to be happy with too.  For one, I have the freedom to have an opinion and the ability to do something about it.

14K...Urgh!

I woke up this morning and it was slightly overcast, cool but without too much of a breeze...a perfect day for a 14K run.  Which was a good thing, since I had foolishly registered and paid for said 14K.  Only one problem, I didn't feel up for running and haven't for two months now, so this was going to be a feat.  Whatever, the money had been paid, I would muster through.

I started the run.  There was a lot of walking involved but I was still making it up and down the hills without too much of a problem.  The course was set up in 7K loops, which meant I had to go right by the finish line and force myself to keep running to start off the second lap.  I made it through...lap 2 here I come!  And I had a few people around me that were going at about the same pace.  The last 5 kilometers seemed to last forever, I focused on my opponents.

During the last three kilometers I was regularly trading places with another runner.  I couldn't hold the lead, but neither could she.  That's fine, I was on to her game.  As we approached the final kilometer I had some distance to make up.  I picked up the pace and then slowly, slowly I started to make up some ground.  My enemy was in my sites, I pulled from my reserves to pass her before turning into the stadium for the final lap. With a burst of speed I tore ahead, she wasn't going to be able to catch me now, the devil woman.  I crossed through the finish line and looked back at the dust I had left behind.  I sure showed that 65-year old what was up.  Better luck, next time.

Fourteen kilometers down, next up, a 16-kilometer run in three weeks.