So I am deeming this the worst-run blog in the history of blogdom. It's not entirely my fault, however, seeing as how my power cord malfunctioned two weeks into my trip to New Zealand, leaving me with no way to charge my computer. Then, a couple weeks ago my wireless internet adapter quit working, so I've had little other choice than to squeeze in 15 whole free minutes at the local library (which is frequently packed and closes 45 minutes after I get home from work) or to try to plug into the internet at my new house via hard-line connection (which is in the homeowner's bedroom). My other choice is to go to the lone internet cafe in town, which is inexplicably owned by -- and filled to the brim with -- Brazilians. But seeing as how I just spent $320 NZD on a hospital visit (turned out to be a 4mm kidney stone), I'd rather access the internet for free and save some money in the hope that maybe... just maybe... I might be able to see a little bit of this country when I'm done.
Things have been going relatively well here, aside from the kidney stone (which has been every bit as painful as advertised). I am now the last remaining foreign cellar hand at the winery since Tom Jones took off on Saturday for a stint in Australia before returning home to England. Last weekend was a three-day weekend courtesy of the Queen's Birthday (God save the Queen!), so Tom and I headed out in his campervan and stayed the night at a campground at Nelson Lakes. Following a 90-minute trek, some pasta, and two bottles of NZ wine, we slept in the van during what must have been one of the coldest nights of our lives (heard it was -7 Celsius). The next day we headed to Abel Tasman National Park and vowed to stay in a backpackers. Abel Tasman was pretty awesome... it was far more tropical than I expected and I was often thought I was in Hawaii instead of New Zealand. We hopped on a fairly cheap water taxi in the morning that dropped us off at Anchorage Bay before 10AM. It was perfect weather for a hike, but since it's winter here we had the trail mostly to ourselves except for the occasional group of people and some loud California girls (effin' Yanks).
I'm in a new house now, which I really like. It's just me, the lady that owns the house, Mary, and a guy named Dave who works at another winery called Cloudy Bay... oh, and Boss, a 7-year old Jack Russell! Mary's a British transplant who's been in New Zealand for 14 years... and she has a pretty spectacular BBC-tinged DVD collection. British humor... ahem, humour... is a little different, but The Fast Show is definitely worthy of a Netflix rental or two. Dave's pretty cool too... my first weekend here we did some wine tasting together at St. Clair, La Strada, and Highfield Estates. Last weekend we made a trip over to White's Bay and Monkey Bay to take in the scenery (since there truly isn't much to do in Blenheim).
Blenheim isn't actually so bad... and I think I kind of like living in a small town. At least for just a little while :). For example, I think the last 5 times in a row that I've gone walking around town on my own I've randomly run into someone on the streets that I know. It's certainly been a little sad here post-harvest, and I'm definitely missing my Euros... and even the Americans. Fancy that! But it's been nice to get a little perspective on what it's like around here the rest of the year. Man, is it fucking cold here though. It's about 2 degrees Celsius now (just above freezing) and no one has central heating in the entire country, apparently. Why would they though? It's not like people catch a cold and die... oh, they do? Is that why the World Health Organization just came out and said 50% of NZ homes don't meet modern heating standards? It's 2009... W... T... F?
Then I spent yesterday in a blast-from-the-past hospital that was built in the early 1960's... and I'd say not much renovating has gone on since then. I went to work and about two hours in, I was doubled over in pain near the tank I was racking. It felt like someone was stabbing me in the lower-left side of my back with a knife while I was simultaneously being kicked in the groin. The pain was so excruciating that I threw up twice before seeing a doctor... Doctor Chad from Las Cruces, New Mexico (not even I can make this stuff up). A CT-scan, an x-ray, an IV-drip and one urine test later... and they told me I had a 4mm kidney stone that I would hopefully pass without much pain. I thought older people got kidney stones, so when I went home and wanted to fall asleep at 8PM I felt especially old.
Today I took the day to recover and to think about what I want to do with myself when I get back to the US. I'm still leaning very much towards an Arizona return by the end of July, but I would also like to do another harvest that's a little closer to home. It might be a little late for some of the Napa wineries, but I've found a winery in Northern Arizona between Prescott and Sedona that's hiring workers for the upcoming vintage in August. That would be amazing, and I could even come down to the Valley on my days off... or hit on the townies along Whiskey Row. But I think Napa would be a lot of fun too, and I will definitely be sending my resume to a few wineries and hopefully exhausting some of my contacts as well.
But for now I must be going. I've got to get those resumes out... and Mary's having a small dinner party tonight which I promised join. Hopefully I'll get a few more of these blogs out before I begin my brief travels in 3 weeks. Hope everyone is safe and sound (and kidney stone free!).
P.S. -- The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra must be checked out. Their cover of the Kings of Leon's "The Bucket" makes me love life. Oh, and one of the ukulele players is Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords!
