Happy Easter...

Sorry I haven't posted much over the last week. Hearing the news that we had to put our family dog down was pretty devastating and really put a damper on the week.

Wednesday night, my work had "team training" at our favorite pub, Hope Brothers, to celebrate our mid-term survival and to kick off Easter Break. We had about 15 instructors turn out and it was alot of fun to bond with them and to see everyone with dry hair and out of our orange vests.

Thursday, I went to Te Papa, the National Museum. It was really cool but I had some guy treat me like I was an idiot. Him: "Ohhh you aren't from here. Have you been to a museum before?" Me: "Ever heard of the Getty?" Him: "Why, yes, I have." Me: "Well, it's pretty much been in my backyard."
I really enjoyed the exhibits, especially a special one they have going on all about whales. It was interesting and not to mention free!

Friday, my flatmates and I literally had a movie and pajama day. We watched 6 movies over the course of the day and I stayed in my sock monkey pjs. We ate homemade soup and fresh baked bread (along with an assortment of cookies and soda) over the course of the day. By the end of the night, Cathy and I were the lone survivors and she introduced me to the tradition of hot-cross buns on Good Friday and MMMMMMMMMM.....they were delicious.

Saturday, the gang headed up to Hayden's house up the coast to Paraparaumu, where we indulged in a Easter dinner feast, watched Batman Begins on his Plasma flat screen, and had a slumber party on the floor of his living room. Sunday morning we woke up after a visit from the Easter Bunny and went on an egg hunt. After working up an appetite, Hayden made a "proper" English breakfast of potatoes, mushrooms, bacon, eggs, toast, tomatoes, and beans.

So, I have been trying to stay busy. Currently, I'm conquering 3 weeks worth of laundry and cleaning my room. No work till Tuesday at 3:30.

Goodbye....

She had the thickest, reddish mane that would rival any sunset. People would admire her when ever they came near. The blue of her eyes sparkled as a reflection of a mountain lake. That’s how she got her name.

Over a decade ago, my family saved Tahoe from the Orange County Animal Shelter. When my sister saw her, she knew she was going to be our dog. She sat at the gate of her kennel for hours and while Tahoe licked her fingers threw the bars, my mom worked out the details. She hopped into the back of our red Jeep Cherokee like she’d been doing it for years and we took her home. What we didn’t know is she would save us as much as we saved her.

Tahoe was the greatest dog the Finnegan clan has ever had. She’s known me longer then most of the people in my life. I laughed at her as she shoved me out of my bean bag chair to make her claim on her spot in the house, purchased her a cheeseburger squeak toy on Buffett Day that ended up being her favorite, and cried into her mane many nights through my parents divorce.

Tahoe- you have been my greatest friend and companion a girl could ask for. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you, but at least you knew I loved you with my whole heart. I’ve missed you like you wouldn’t believe over the last 10 months and will continue to miss you for the rest of my life. Thank you for always hogging the pillow at night and leaving your hair all over my clothes, especially when I wore black. Thank you for always chasing me around the house when I was in one of my “Casey Moments” and for always being my partner in crime. Thank you for always knowing when to cheer me up and for being the best cuddle partner on the face of the planet. Thank you for being you.

May your dog cookies be plentiful, your tennis balls tossed far, and your toys squeak loud.
I love you and will miss you now and forever.

Really Disappointed.....

I have tried to stay up on current affairs of California while I've been here and all I have been hearing about is "soaring gas prices" and the hardcore whining that follows a headline like this.
I'm really disappointed in my fellow Californians. Being in NZ has made me realize that we have it EASY when it comes to gas prices. When I first arrived here I was paying $3.75 a liter (roughly $14.00 a GALLON). I couldn't afford it after about 5 months and I learned how to take public transportation, ride a bike, and walk to work.

Its simple business practice: Use LESS fuel and they will LOWER the prices.

Do other countries have it worse then us? Yes.
Do they like it? No.
Are they whining about it? No.
Do they change the way they live? YES!

They car-pool when they need to drive somewhere. They don't drive around and cruise for the sake of looking cool. They don't have SUVs (I can't even tell you the last time I saw a Ford F-150....a common sight on the streets of OC). And they WALK to the the 7-11, ice cream store, grocery store, Blockbuster, etc.

Sure, we can whine/demand/throw a hissy fit all we want but it's not going to change anything. We have control over what WE do, and that my friends can make a DIFFERENCE!!!

WOW!

First off, ONLY 5 WEEKS TO GO TILL PAPA IS HERE!! 9 WEEKS TILL I'M HOME!!

Good News:
I went 5 days out of 5 where I didn't have to cover for anyone. I finally got to take my OWN classes with breaks. YAY! This week I only have to work Monday, Tuesday, and part of Wednesday. Next week I only have to work Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. So that means almost an ENTIRE week off! WEEEEEEEEE!!!

I have been having shoulder issues lately, I think from lugging out the platforms we have been using to teach deep water. I'm not going to strain it this weekend and I'm going to start getting on people's cases if they don't clean up their stations after their shift. Who cares if they think I'm bossy? I'm not picking up after you!

The weather has been really great the last couple of days. There was a bright blue cloudless sky today and it was in the 80s! Can you say "Indian Summer"?

Today, randomly, Seka and I decided to head to the Wellington Zoo....and I have to admit, it was REALLY cool! Being raised going to the San Diego Zoo I was really impressed with the size and the amount of animals they had the park (I was expecting a more pathetic version of the Santa Ana Zoo). Outside of the typical birds and reptiles, they have 4 different monkey sections, lions, cheetahs, tigers, elephants, giraffes, kangaroos, and bears. The best part about it is that my NZ friend from the pool works at the zoo so I gave her a ring to let her know we were coming and she gave us a private tour of the zoo. We got to know the animals names and personalities and we even got to go behind the scenes to see the Kiwi Bird and where he lives. It was amazing.

I'm excited to a have a few days off to refuel before the home stretch....... :)

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.....

I'm going to be really blunt and honest in this entry. I'm completely SICK of working at WRAC. There's this mini mutiny going on and we had 4 instructors call in "sick" today. Granted, one is extremely ill due to a recent development of diabetes but the other three I want to knock on the head and say "GROW UP!!" Their reasons for being stubborn...one doesn't want to teach in deep water (even though if she actually did it she would know the kids listen and swim BETTER!), the other one doesn't want to come in because our bosses don't supply towels, and third because she doesn't think she should be in the water all day and doesn't want to get wet.

*jaw drop* ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! WE ARE SWIM INSTRUCTORS!! KIDS SWIM IN A POOL, NOT A PUDDLE. SUPPLY YOUR OWN TOWEL. AND I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO ADDRESS THE WANTING TO STAY DRY ISSUE!

The last week myself and another American girl (Katie) have had to work solid 5-6 hours straight to make sure all the classes are covered. We've pretty much had it. Katie ended up going home early today after her skin broke out into a really bad chemical rash/burn and I've been threw about an entire bottle of lotion in the past week.
The fact that these "rebels" are getting away with this is surely a New Zealand thing. This would never happen in the States.....EVER! I was really curious as to what it would take to get fired from WRAC, so I asked Ali and she replied with "Seriously injuring someone or threatening the Head Manager of the pool. That's the only thing I've seen get immediate termination" My jaw about hit the floor.
On an upside, we did hire 3 new employees that I'm training and should be lightening up the load pretty soon.

*breath in. breath out. repeat 30 times*
*think to self* 6 weeks left. 6 weeks left. 6 weeks left.