Buffett words to get ya by!

In honor of the Jimmy Buffett concert that will take place this Saturday at Irvine Meadows (BOO!! This will be the first one I've missed since I was 16....major Bummer!), I wanted to post some lyrics from the great man himself. These bits of songs have helped me through some bad days here in New Zealand and I have them written on a post-it in my room.

Far Side of the World
Back at home, it's afternoon
Six thousand miles away.
I will still be there when I get through
Attending this soiree
There are jobs and chores and questions
And plates I need to twirl,
But tonight I'll take my chances,
On the Far Side of the World.
That's the way it happens
On the Far Side of the World.

Love the Now
It's the reason for livin'
That's what I'm givin'
I don't need a history lesson
To tell my why

I mean I'm in no hurry
To hustle and scurry
There's so much to see
And life ain't gonna
Pass me by

Tomorrow's right around the corner
I'll get there somehow
But I'm stuck in meantime
And I Love The Now

I Love The Now(All the faces and places)
I Love The Now(All the rats and the races)
It's the only place I've ever been
It's the only way that I know how

It's true we've got problems
How do we solve them
Better break out your thinkin' cap
And your old dunce cone

The whole damn world's gone crazy
The moon is jumping over the cow
How can you help
But not love the now

I Love The Now(All the ranting and raving)
I Love The Now(All the cussin' and cravin')
It's the only mess I've ever seen
It's the only place where I know how

I Love The Now(All the pain and the pleasure)
I love the now(All the blood and the treasure)
It's the only circus that I know
It's the only ring where I'm allowed

Talk about a standing ovation
Everybody take a bow
But don't talk about tomorrow tonight
I Love The Now

Awww....

....so nice! I've spent the last two days not getting out of my pajamas until 2pm! Break time! Tomorrow will be my first official FULL day off! I have spent my mornings laying around watching the Australian Today show, eating, and catching up with people back home.

Saturday, Jo and I went to another BBQ at Jim's house. The weather was STUNNING all weekend long. We even hit 70! The minute we hit Jim's deck we took off our shoes, rolled up our jeans, and layed out in our tank tops. My pasty white skin finally got some color (my Hawaii/Mexico/2 month CA summer tan did last long due to the pool chemicals. I actually LOOK Irish white!)

This BBQ was really great, mainly because Ivana, Jim's wife, was able to join us. She loves the house...YAY!! I did good. I can't wait till they get their furniture and their dogs will be around. I miss having an animal around. (*hugs for Tahoe*) The sunset from in front of Jim's house.
SMILE!

Sunday- After jumping up and down in the pool for 10 minutes due to my excitement for not having to work weekends anymore, I went home and took a long nap. James (my American buddy) and I then hit up a Texas Hold Em poker tournament in the City. I was so nervous because it's been a good 2 years since I've played and I've never played with strangers before. Out of 75 people (and 8 girls), I placed 13th. I was quite impressed with myself.

Monday- I had to take my eight hour First Aid course for WRAC (This was my second first aid course in 3 months. I was originally told that I needed to be certified before I left. Well, come to find out I needed to be New Zealand certified, even though it's all the same!) It helps that it was all instructors from the pool, so we still had a fun time. (Doesn't hurt that our instructor was a HOT lifeguard! "Can he practice CPR on me?!?!")

Alexia being silly with our mannequins removable faces so we don't spread cooties. (Please note the guy in black. That is Tim, our 28-year-old, incredibly good-looking, buff, and flirty instructor!)
Cute....yet Creepy!

My plans for the next few days are as follows:
Thursday- Flatmate dinner. I'm going to have my first piece of lamb ever! I'm going to make brownie sundaes and we'll all hang out and watch movies. Friday- Jo's birthday party. The instructors and lifeguards from WRAC are gonna hit up the town. This will be my first REAL night seeing Wellington's social scene! Saturday- shopping with Seka and maybe some plans in the evening. (I know it's alot but I can't spend 2 weeks in my pj's....or can I?)

The weather has turned for the worst over the last three days. I have been FREEZING! Today it didn't get over 45 degrees and it has been really rainy and windy. I jinxed myself with my celebration of Spring coming. Darn.

I want to send out my thoughts and prayers to my friend, Pat, who is having major spinal surgery on Thursday. Pat, I love you so much and I'm so glad we stayed close over the last 3 years. My prayers are always with you especially right now. I will continue to pray for your health and a speedy recovery. *hugs*

More to come later!

Forever Young.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9sEZ-wdFegU


Here's a really cool video on YouTube.com from the New Zealand Tourism Department. It's really beautiful and I know that you will enjoy it!

(just hanging out today, watching tv!)

Pictures Galore!

I finally put my new Sony Power-Shot camera to good use! Here are a few pictures from my day, my daily drive to Raumati, and Fun Friday at the pool. ENJOY!

Alexia and I being silly on the last day of Term!

An hour long commute isn't so bad when you get to see this!

(Pacific Coast Highway 1, New Zealand)

.....or this!

....or even this!! (SHEEP!)

My flamingo dashboard buddy. We sing in the car together!

Marco! Polo!!

Handstand Contest.

The Old Swimmer in a Cap Trick....but I have to admit I've never seen two swimmers in a cap!

*sings* We're having a heat wave....

...a New Zealand heat wave!!

It hit 20 degrees yesterday and currently it is 21....that converts to 70!!! And its really hot for 70. I feel pathetic for saying that, the California Girl. (But considering its RAINY and in the 60's at home...maybe I am in the right place at the right time!)

I officially wrapped up my last class about an hour ago. The instructors spent the majority of the morning pushing each other in, and that included Bekki and Ali. It was alot of fun....why can't the whole term be like this? Now I just have to get through weekend lessons, Monday's First Aid class, and two days of Flippaball at Raumati and I will have some days to myself.

Tonight at Raumati is FUN night ending with a Sausage Sizzle. Mmmm...meat.

WEEEEE! Can it be like this ALL THE TIME?

Can you feel it??

SPRING IS COMING!! But of course you can't feel it because it's becoming Autumn back in the States. SO HAHA!! Y'all laughed at me..."Haha, Casey. You're going to the land of Winter"...well, look who gets to laugh now! It was stunningly beautiful yesterday. Everyone was excited because you can feel that the weather is turning. It was a whole 18 degrees Celsius. I was excited for that...thinking to myself "YA! That's gotta be at least 70! It feels like 70!" I made my drive to Raumati with all the windows rolled down and in a tank top and jeans and then I layed on the beach to read. When I got home and I typed "18" into my trusty temperature converter, it only resulted in being 64 degrees Fahrenheit. I was slightly disappointed but then I realized I'm becoming acclimated to the temp.

Laying on the beach in front of the pool....awwww....so nice!

Just a kiwi kid playin' in the surf at Raumati Beach.

Yesterday also resulted in my first New Zealand "going to the Doctor" experience. Tuesday night my eye was itching like crazy and I knew I was getting an eye infection, which happens alot when you work with kids as much as I do. Wednesday morning I called the closest Medical Centre to the pool, which happens to be a 5 minute walk, and scheduled an appointment on my lunch break. So at 11am I walked over and the Doctor took me right away (no wait) and looked at my eye and said I was right about it being infected and prescribed me some drops. I payed my $50 and walked over to the pharmacy and the drops were filled right away for $10 and I was back at the pool by 11:45. This would have NEVER happened back home. It was really easy and completely painless (except for my itchy, red, swollen eye...that does kinda hurt).

Sunday night, Katrin invited me to join her and her school friends to a steak dinner to celebrate her birthday. We went to this a restaurant called "Lone Star" in the city and it was FANTASTIC! I had the Sirloin (medium) with mash potatoes and a apple pie for desert. Meat is DEFINITELY better here. Fresh, grass-fed animal........mmmm, can't beat it!

After dinner, Frazer took a detour up to Mount Victoria (a mountain in the middle of the city) and I took this shot of the east side of Wellington Harbor. You can see the inter-island ferry in the bottom right-hand corner. It was really cool to see the city at night.

Finally, last night Seka and I met up to see "Hairspray". It was cute but the original with Ricki Lake is so much better. Work is also pretty easy this week. We basically get to play with the kids because it is the last week of term. No one here knows "Marco! Polo!" so I've been teaching about every class how to play it (and the other instructors) and I also taught them "Rainbow" which my cousins and I use to play in my grandparents pool. ("Red! Purple! RAINBOW!!....GOT YOU!")

So that's about it. Congrats to Aly and Rob on their big move to Texas and being proud owners of their own home and business. I know it will work out perfectly!

I'm a photo takin' machine!

YAY! Some new pictures! My care package from my Dad (with my camera) arrived last Monday but because it was a mixture of gifts and things that already belonged to me, customs had to hold it hostage for a few days. So, after an entire day on the phone with customs on Monday, filling out 12 pages of paperwork, faxing over a copy of my passport/visa, and assuring them Airborne was not some new form of crack....FedEx delivered the box on Friday and I couldn't have been more excited!

I'm in the home stretch of 10 straight weeks of work. I have one more week left and it is going to be an EASY week. (Monday/Thursday mornings off and 2 hours on Friday) Many of my kids are going on holiday. That's another thing, Kiwi's take their time-off VERY seriously and they become avid world travelers at a very young age. Alot of the families are going to Fiji and Australia....take me please?

On Friday I didn't have to make the drive to Raumati and instead I got to referee flippaball (water polo where the kids can touch the bottom) with Nicky at Keith Spry Pool. It was alot of fun but one thing I've noticed is parents SUCK in every country. They yell. They scream. They take it way too seriously. They are rude. Don't get me wrong, I have alot of really cool parents but some people don't understand that their kid is 8-years-old and it's okay if they drop the ball or miss a goal.

Saturday after work Nicky, Jo, and I loaded up in my car and drove to Jim's new house to BBQ and help unpack some things. It's so beautiful up there. I'm thinking about if the time comes for me to move out of Newlands, I will get a room somewhere up there. It's more quiet and the weather is always SO much better (about 5-10 degrees warmer, sunny, and no wind!)

Tonight the flatmates are heading out to Lone Star, one of the best steakhouses in Wellington, to celebrate Katrin's birthday. YAY! COW!! MOO! I've been dying for a hunk of meat since I've been here and now I have an excuse too.

LOOK! I can drive on the "wrong" side of the car and the road! I know you're impressed.

Jo and I coming up with an evil plan to take over New Zealand.

I hope all is well at home. I want to welcome Mom back from Hawaii....awww POOR BABY! Life's rough right now.

*hugs*

The Accidental Day-OFF!

It is official! I had my first day off in 9 weeks! YAY! It was purely accidental. I have Thursday mornings off at WRAC and when I walked up the driveway at Raumati there was the most beautiful sign known to man, a piece of art….words spelt out in “Pool Closure due to Fecal Accident”. I don’t think anyone has ever been more excited over poop then I was at that moment! So, Jim and I headed out to his NEW home about five minutes from the pool, which he officially received today, to have a meal.

The house is truly beautiful. It would be something I want eventually in my life. There are 2 bedrooms and full bathroom downstairs, a kitchen with granite counter tops, hardwood floors, a huge patio and big front year. Upstairs there is the master bedroom and bath and a sitting area…..oh yea, they also have a perfect view of the ocean. Jim also purchased two plasma flat screens to go in this house and a new BBQ which is going into use on Saturday when everyone is going over there for an “unofficial” Housewarming BBQ. I hope Ivana, Jim’s wife, likes the house as much as everyone else does. She comes in next Wednesday with the dogs! (Two Irish greyhound mixes)

Also, yesterday morning I walk into our kitchen only to see a Tupperware container on the counter top. Inside the container was the BIGGEST, HAIRIEST spider I have EVER seen in my life! It is the size of an American half-dollar…and I am not kidding. If I had my camera I would take a picture of it. You can see its eyes and fangs. It looks like a mini-tarantula. So I write an email to Frazer and Haydn asking “Why is there a monster staring at me while I eat my oats?” Haydn replied with “It is a present for you. I found it on our bathroom mat this morning.” WHAT?!?!?! THAT THING WAS IN OUR HOUSE!?! AAAHHH!! So in all seriousness, I tell the boys not to torture me with the spider (which I named “Harry”) because since I was small I can always remember my Dad (The Official Spider Killer of 20th Street) killing a spider with a tissue and then thinking it was hysterically funny to put the tissue with the spider corpse in either my bed or my sisters bed. So NOT funny! The boys thought this was hysterical and have since threatened me with Harry as a nightly cuddle buddy. I told them if they get near me they will be short one American flatmate. Harry is currently still in his Tupperware container in the kitchen.

Tomorrow is Katrin’s birthday so I went and purchased her earrings and some decorations to put in the kitchen so she’ll be surprised when she wakes up in the morning. Then on Sunday we are going to one of the best steak houses in Wellington called Lone Star to celebrate. (YAY! MEAT!)

ONE WEEK OF WORK LEFT!

An International Perspective on September 11th.

As an American, 9/11 will live on forever. Everyone know where they were, what they were doing, what was said. We all have our story. The haunting television footage, how united we felt in the days that followed, and the fear that we still have when we hear a plane over head...these things will never be forgotten.

I was a freshman in college, playing water polo, and living the 18-year-old dream. When those towers fell, it changed everything. It wasn't just the day I told Coach Don to go "F$&@" himself and his three hour afternoon practice...it was the day that changed the way I viewed our safety and opened my eyes in realizing America isn't liked by every country.

In the past few days my flatmates, co-workers and friends have discussed what happened on 9/11 in New Zealand and in Great Britain. It was evening when live television feeds broke scheduled broadcasting. They sat and watched the second tower get hit, as the Pentagon burst into flames, and as thousands of Americans died. They stayed up all night. They watched television for days. They cried for us. They thought of us. They prayed for us. Peter Jennings was right...it was the "day that the world stopped turning" and for the past six years I thought otherwise.

For the past two days, I have thought of that retched day. The day that will live on for years. The day I will tell my grandchildren about, as our grandparents tell us about Pearl Harbor. But when I tell them that "it was the day that world stopped turning"...I will know it was true.

My thoughts and prayers to all my fellow Americans at home and around the world. May we always remember what sacrifice was made and we continue to remember and pray for the families that were effect by September 11, 2001. We will never be the same, and neither will the world.

"TOUCHDOWN!!" "No, he tried" "He tried for what?"

Rugby season is in full swing with the World Cup currently happening in France (they only have a World Cup every four years, so it's pretty cool I'm in NZ during this time). The matches come on around midnight-4am here in NZ and the pubs are PACKED with fans and they just don't watch the All Blacks play but EVERY GAME! Last night Haydn stayed up to watch Great Britain VS USA (the US lost...but I'm not surprised) and was up till about 2 in the morning. (BTW they call a "touchdown" a "try" here....the title of this blog is from the first time someone tried to explain rugby to me)

I'm feeling a little better then what I was earlier in the week. I have Monday morning off and I have to take my car to the shop to get service, I don't start till 1:30pm on Wednesday, and I have Thursday morning off, and I don't have to go to Raumati on Friday night. So, it is going to be an easier week. I'm hoping to attempt to have a social life this week, even if it is just going to get a cup of coffee with someone.

There is another American here, Nicky. She is really good friends with Jim and his wife. I went to High School with her (she was two years behind me). She is working for Haydn at Keith Spry Pool in Johnsonville and we hung out and got some pizza last night and watched "Step into Liquid" and "Saved".

I was really excited to have my preschoolers this morning since it's been 2 weekends since I last taught them. They are really funny. I had one kid start crying for no reason today and I asked him "Samuel, what's wrong?" and he looks up at me with crocodile tears in his eyes and goes "I have bubbles in my shorts...." I couldn't help but laugh. I've never had a kid freak out about bubbles in his suit before. Then I have 3-year-old Harry who is a talker and very adorable. Well, I guess he is figuring out the difference between boys and girls. He points to himself this morning and goes "I'm a boy!" and then he points to the other girl in the class and goes "She's a GIRL!" and I laughed and asked him what I was. He replies with "You're the Swimming Teacher." I cracked up and then I asked him if I was a girl or a boy and he looked confused and said "You're the swimming teacher." It was pretty cute.

Well, I have another swim meet at Raumati tonight. We had a girl last week at Wellington Short Course break a New Zealand breaststroke record and there was an article in the Kapiti newspaper with a picture of the swimmer, Jim, and myself. It was pretty neat. I'm nervous about tonight since a majority of the swimmers are my kids from the Bronze, Silver, Gold, Elite 3, and Elite 5 groups. Please NO D.Q.s!!

Lastly, I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Aunt Judy. I hope you have a great day with the grandkids and the rest of the family. *Hugs* Miss you! Love you!

Nap time!

So....tired....Must...Zzzz!

I've been exhausted. I realized yesterday that I haven't had a FULL day off in over 7 weeks. I am constantly going and the frustrating part is I'm not even going for myself. I have to be somewhere at a specific time ALL the time for other people.

I cracked yesterday. I just broke down into tears from sheer exhaustion. I had to teach in the water for 6 hours on Monday and Tuesday and 5 hours on Wednesday...and that was just at WRAC. My skin felt like it was on fire and I realized when I changed on Wednesday night I had a rash that looked like chemical burn down my back and this morning before I took a shower my skin was literally peeling off.

The second I got in the car to drive from WRAC to Raumati I just burst into tears. (thank goodness for sunglasses). Poor Seka called me about 30 minutes into the drive and talked me down for a few. It's nice to relate to someone that has been here. A funny thing she said was "The Honeymoon period is over. You've realized it's not a vacation anymore and it is reality" and I just replied with "What vacation period? I've been working since the second day I was here."

I felt better after 13 hours of sleep, a really long shower, and laying in my toasty room in my MYSTERY jammies from Grandma Morrison before having to go to Raumati. Oh, and a chocolate bar and tea always helps.

I know I'm not WonderCoach but that doesn't stop me from trying to be 100% to everyone 100% the time. This is why I'm here. This is what I do. Shouldn't I be 100% at it?

3 weeks till holiday break. I can do this. 21 days. Light at the end of the tunnel.

Must....keep....going........

Father's Day....in September?

Happy New Zealand Father's Day! Yes, I called my dad and left a message. Hopefully, before I have to go back to the second part of the swim meet I can Skype with him. I also wished my boss, Jim, a happy pseudo-Father's day, because he's the closest thing to a dad that I have here.

The Wellington Short Course swim meet is going really well. Alot of our kids are getting Personal Best times (PB, for short). My kids are dropping times like they are hot. It's alot easier to enjoy the swim meet without a migraine. It is also a really great bonding experience between the coaches and athletes, we share music, food, stories between events. The kids have a really unique sense of humor and they are teaching me how to say words properly...."Casey, it's not BAA-NA-nas. It's Bun-anas." (bananas)

I FINALLY got Mexican food. My American buddy (Shout out to JAMES! HONK!) met up at Courtney place yesterday between sessions and went to Sweet Mother's Kitchen. I had a Feta Cheese and Spinach Quesadilla (or as my sister would say "Case-a-dilla") and chips and guacamole, which tasted like it came out of the can. In all honestly, you could have given me a cold gas station burrito and I would have been ecstatic! Hey Carly, I really think there's an open market for a Del Taco here.

McDonald's is so yummy here. After 6 weeks in New Zealand, I finally caved and got some today because who am I kidding....when did I have time to grocery shop in the past 2 weeks? (I'm going tomorrow between WRAC and Raumatic) I ordered the Big Mac combo. First off, it tasted really fresh and their medium size is the US size small. Second, it was really strange going the OTHER way through the drive-thru. Overall, I was really impressed. It doesn't mean I'll be getting Mickey D's every week, but maybe once every months.

I also weighed myself on Friday for the first time since July 7th (right before I left the states)... 170 pounds! I was 182 when I left. I probably weigh less then that too because I got on the scale after lunch and with jeans and a sweatshirt on. I haven't been under 170 since high school. YAY! Go ME! Too bad my skinny going out jeans look like guy pants on me. I lost what little booty I had.

About five of my co-workers were also really impressed with the way I swim 3-4 times a week. So, I started the "Instructor Swim" and we swim M,W,F for a half hour. I give the sets and the times and it is actually alot of fun. We laugh and make-up strokes. Jo, one of my co-workers/friend, has never had experience swimming so I've been working on her stroke and breathing with her. We only do about 1200 meters but some of them are just starting out. I'm hoping we can get to 2000 meters sometime in the next few weeks.

I want to wish Grandma Triplett a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you have a fantastic day and that it isn't to hot so you can get a birthday round of golf in. I miss you and love you! *hug*

Cheers,
Casey