Where's BH - Volume 7 (the back issue!)

Greetings dear readers,

Just when you officially thought I had fallen off the face of the earth, I come back to life. You just can't keep a bad penny down! Apologies for the lengthy delay between my last update and this one. I've received incredible amounts of (well-deserved) grief from many of you. Of course, some of you are also mad enough to think I should compile these into a book or travel journal. It's good to know I continue to make crazy friends! :-) Actually, I've decided I should really write a book about my "dating" experiences in New Zealand. I think this stuff is funny, but it'd be a whole lot funnier if I weren't involved! However, I'm getting ahead of myself. I will try and sum up the past 9 months without turning this into a novel.

Grab a cold one or a nice cup of tea, tuck yourselves in and prepare to catch up on the past 9 months of my life. Wow, long enough to have a child! Don’t worry though, nothing happening on that front with this Corley. My brother, on the other hand, is a different story. He and his wife are expecting #4 just before Christmas. I get to be Auntie BH a fourth time. Yay! Actually, this update will probably only cover 7 months as I’ll save my trip home for another email.

December/January - I had a wonderful trip back to San Francisco and to Kansas City. Managed to catch the last weekend of Dickens Fair and do a Dark Garden window with Tanya and Laurie. We did the Three Blind Mice and were a rousing success. It was wonderful to catch up with so many friends. Time at home with the family was amazing. I can't believe how much my nieces and nephew have grown (and continue to do so). The girls are finally old enough now that I was able to continue Uncle Jack's tradition. When John and I were children and Uncle Jack would come in town for Christmas, we always had one day where it was our day. We could go where we wanted, do what we wanted, eat and drink what we wanted. Then UJ would bring us back home bouncing off the walls on a sugar high, grin and wave at my parents and go stay at grandma's. Well, unfortunately I don't have grandma's house to escape to, but I did take Isabella and Kate to Chuckee Cheese for the first time. It was a great day! We even went ice skating that evening which produced about as many laughs as you would expect. I spent New Year's Eve in San Francisco with some dear friends and flew back to Wellington, arriving 4 January. On 5 January my friend Brandon who is currently living in Tokyo came to visit. We hopped in a car and drove up to Rotorua to hang out with a bunch of hash (house harrier) friends. We went luging, zorbing, did the giant swing, found a "locals only" part where a hot stream and cold stream meet. You get to essentially pick your spot in the river to control how warm you want to be. It was a lovely trip. Returning to work was difficult.

I also got to see my horse Magee while I was home. He has been in the wonderful care of dear friends Fred and Mary Worman. It was my last visit with him as at the age of 31, he had no molars left and couldn’t chew so it was difficult to keep weight on him. Other than that, he was sound as could be and happy as. It was great to be able to say goodbye to him. I got the email from Fred and Mary later in January that Magee had been put down. I was a bit gutted as he had been a part of my life since I was 13, but I know he is in greener pastures and that he had a long and happy life. I can’t thank Fred and Mary enough for their wonderful care of my boy!!

February – There were three events I wanted to attend in NZ: 1. Sevens rugby tournament in Wellington, 2. NZ Nash Hash and 3. Kiwi Burn (NZ’s version of Burning Man). 52 weeks in a year, and they all chose the same weekend! Foiled again. I decided to attend Nash Hash as it only happens every other year. Flew up to Rotorua and had a grand weekend of shenanigans. Even managed to get some unexpected fire dancing in on Saturday night which was a treat. I think it surprised the natives that a Yank knows how to fire dance. Cuba Street Carnival was also this month which is similar to Haight Street Faire. It coincided with a Harley Davidson convention so the town was hopping. Festivities included a parade which we were able to watch from our balcony. We had a few friends over to ours rather than fighting the crowds and watched from there. We eventually did go wander the streets as well.

March – I volunteered along with some other hashers at the Weet-Bix triathlon which is a kids triathlon. It was a lot of fun and cheering for the kids was fantastic. Ended up working the bike course. The kids were great, the parents left something to be desired at times. All in all a great day. I also took a sailing racing skills course which started the end of March. It had been some time since I had sailed, so decided to take the course. Royal Port Nicholson (ooo posh) Yacht Club holds a variety of courses and you can only get on the crew list once you’ve taken one of their classes. It was a lot of fun. They say if you can sail in Windy Welly you can sail anywhere. After some of the sessions we’ve had on the water, I believe it! I also started helping out with a women’s rugby team here in Wellington. The club is called Old Boys University and fields a large number of teams. Rugby here is so different – all clubs have club houses, changing rooms, showers, a physio, etc. Quite different from having to pick needles off King Field in university before playing!! We would have killed to have what these guys take for granted.

April – I continued the sailing course during April. We were blessed with some pleasant days, and some rather crazy days as well. 30 knot winds were pretty common. Over Easter, I booked a last minute trip down to the Marlborough Sounds. I couldn’t find anyone to go with me, so just went by myself. NZ gets Good Friday and Easter Monday as holidays which is rather entertaining in a secular country, but I’m not complaining! I caught the ferry over to Picton on Saturday. It was a beautiful crossing and got to watch some dolphins play alongside the ship. I stayed at Lochmara Lodge (http://www.lochmaralodge.co.nz/) which was about a 20 minute water taxi away. As we pulled in, the sun was shining, a guy was playing his guitar in the garden and life was beautiful. I took a kayak out for a paddle around and explored a bit. That night I ate dinner at the lodge which was fantastic. You can book private half hour sessions in the spa pool so booked that at 10pm before going to bed. The next morning I got up early and went for a hike up the Queen Charlotte track. It’s about an hour hike up to the track from the lodge. I then hiked up to Hilltop Lookout. There were some stunning 360 degree views – not a cloud in the sky, the water just a surreal shade of blue…a real slice of heaven on earth. After enjoying some time there I met up with 4 people and hiked back down with them. I had some time to relax in the garden after the hike, including a nana-nap in a hammock in the sunshine. I then had a massage in my room (hey, if I don’t spoil myself, who will?) and later dinner at the lodge again. Followed, naturally, by another 30 minute session in the spa pool under the moon and stars. I woke up early the next morning and took a kayak out again. I was the only human around for about an hour and a half. Saw all sorts of schools of fish, some seals, various birds, etc. A great time to just enjoy nature. There was also a rope swing at the lodge over the water which was tons of fun. I think the kids were impressed an “old person” also wanted to swing with them. Then it was time for a quick shower and headed back across on the ferry. I definitely need to go back and spend more time there.

A mate of mine, Colin, (an Englishman who has been here for years) held a St. George’s Day dinner. When he emailed on Wednesday the week of saying offerings of English vegetables would be gladly accepted at dinner Saturday night, I wrote back and said, “So I should put the pot on to boil now and they’ll be ready by Saturday?” I decided to take “New” England pumpkin pie instead. It’s the first time I’ve made pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin which I steamed. It was amazing!! The dinner was a fun mix of people and we had some very interesting conversations.

I also spent a couple weeks in New Plymouth for work. As I have a couple hasher friends (Wantie and Rigid) there, they took me around town and showed me all the fun spots which was so much nicer than just exploring on my own.

May – (sheesh! Only up to May? Bear with me!) In May I went down to Hanmer Springs in the South Island with a bunch of hash friends (WENDY, Toyboy, Jeeves, LGFM, Nipl and Angela [Nipl’s friend from the US]). We rented a house at the base of the mountains and walking distance to the spa pools. It was luxurious! Far too much hilarity ensued that weekend. We eventually made it back to Christchurch where we stayed with Dagy and Fingers for the night. The whiskey was brought forth and you can imagine the rest of the evening.

Later that month was my birthday. I’m used to having outdoor birthdays – the weather is always gorgeous and I’m a nature kind of girl. This whole birthday in the Southern Hemisphere/winter birthday thing is for the birds! The weather was absolute rubbish – pissing rain, windy and cold the entire time. However, we still had a blast. Some friends came out for drinks at a bar called Alice – it’s an Alice in Wonderland themed place. They even serve some drinks in tea cups. We then went dancing at Boogie Wonderland which was right next door. It was a lot of fun. The next day I foolishly had invited far too many people to brunch and had about 18 people say yes. I made mom’s breakfast soufflé (well, lots of batches of it!) and grandma’s muffins. An interesting note about muffins – Kiwis tend to put lots of things in their muffins. When I say lots, I mean LOTS. It’s like an entire meal in and of itself – chorizo, rocket, cheese, tomato, capsicum, etc. I had forgotten that initially and wondered why everyone kept asking what kind of muffins I was making. “Ummm…just muffins…when they come out of the oven, put some butter and jam on them and you’ll be sweet as.” When the second round came out, I thought I was going to burn some hands there was such a clamouring for them. Apparently they liked them. Good to know Gram hasn’t lost her touch. :-) It was awesome to get so many phone calls and emails from friends back home on my birthday as well! My friend Carol also sent me a sock monkey (not a euphemism) to keep my flying monkey (again, not a euphemism) company which rocks! They are quite happy together in their monkey bliss.

June – At the end of May/beginning of June I went to NOMAD which is a “back to basics” Hash House Harriers weekend. This year it was just outside of Taumaranui in the middle of the North Island. Jeeves, LG, Tree Top, Twiggy and I hired a camper van. We decided to road trip up on Thursday. We met WENDY, Toyboy and After Five along the road. It was a beautiful drive up and we stopped in all sorts of random places – including by the Giant Carrot. Who doesn’t want their photo taken with a Giant Carrot? I ask you. We also stopped at the Speights House for a pint along the way. We decided to take some photos outside and yours truly left her purse on the rock outside. I remembered a few kilometres down the road. Good old NZ, it was still sitting there waiting for me when we got back. The weekend was loads of fun and a great chance to catch up with folks. Unfortunately, I was fighting a cold, but still had fun and luckily some good friends helped nurse me. Oh, and apparently since people had raved about my muffins (note – not a euphemism), I was requested to bring them along on the NOMAD weekend as well. So, I brought all the ingredients and we had muffins with breakfast one morning. They were a hit again. Thanks Grams! By the way, photos of this trip and others mentioned above can be found here - (If any of you on this blog actually want to see photos, comment and I'll send you a link. Otherwise, not throwing it out there to the world)

After arriving home from NOMAD on Monday night, I hopped a plane Tuesday morning to Melbourne for work for 3 weeks. We had a client there and they wanted someone with more of a consulting background rather than a risk background. Yours truly fit the bill so I spent 3 weeks in Melbourne. It was nice as I was working with a great team and the work I was doing was a lot closer to the work I used to do. I got to hash several times which was a lot of fun. Also finally met Cass – we have numerous mutual friends, but had never met. She and I bought some hilarious hats from a street vendor (she got a koala hat and I got a strawberry hat) which we (naturally) wore when we went to the art museum. Somewhere along the way I had dropped it out of my hand in the museum. A gentleman had picked it up, handed it to someone who worked there to give back to me. I heard him say, “I saw her wearing it when she walked in.” Yes, I really am 5 years old. Did any of you doubt that fact? It was my first time in Melbourne and I really enjoyed the city. It’s very easy to get around and has tons of great restaurants and shops. Cass and I went to see Wicked while I was there which was fantastic! I love the book so was glad I finally got to see the stage version.

I flew directly from Melbourne to Christchurch for Winter Camp (another hash event). Man, I am so easily conned into things! I even gave up my tickets to the All Blacks vs France match that weekend in Wellington for this. Another fabulous weekend and way too much laughter.

July - The Winter Racing Series also started in June/July. I missed the first two weekends due to Melbourne, but made the last two. We had some crazy days on the water – 40 knot winds with gusts up to 45 knots. Definitely lets you know you’re alive when out there. Fun times, but really glad to be on dry land too! Line 7 which is a NZ manufacturer of sailing clothing, bags, etc is sadly going out of business. The nice thing is they were having an amazing sale (60% off) so I got some awesome foul weather gear for super cheap. They have 3 ranges – inshore, offshore and ocean. I wanted either inshore or offshore. I managed to get the trousers in that, but they were sold out of the jackets in those two. I went down to their store here in town and all they had was the ocean range as well in the jackets. These things normally run $1000, but I got it for $400 which is cheaper than the other two when not on sale. So I got a screaming bargain and a kick ass coat which has kept me nice and dry since!

We also had a farewell for WENDY and Toyboy who decided to go play around Europe for the next 18 months. I kept trying to get them to adopt me and take me with them, but alas, no luck. The farewell was at Xerox and Knick’s place in Rotorua. I road tripped with Jeeves, LG and Culcha. The weekend was a rousing success as you can imagine. There was also an All Blacks/Wallabies match on that night. Drawing numbers for a drinking game during that match was evil! Good times and great company. I was also added as a “Bastard Skwad in Training” member which is quite an honour. I hope one day to become a full fledged member, but they are definitely keen on making me earn my dues. :-)

Whew, okay, I think that covers a good seven months which is probably more than any of you wanted to read in one sitting. I would carry on with my dating adventures, but I think I will save that for another edition which isn’t quite so lengthy. Trust me, they are worth waiting for (though I’m still trying to decide just how many of those I actually want to share with such a large list of people).

I hereby solemnly swear to try and be better about sending updates in the future. It is not lack of thinking of all of you, just lack of actually making the time to write. I hope all is well with you and stay tuned for another instalment of Where's BH shortly!

Much Love from the Kiwi,
BH