*Drum roll please!*

Now announcing your guest writer for the evening.....Daddy!
Freezing my a$$ off!! But we are having a great time. I met alot of Casey's friend. We had a great dinner and a few drinks on Saturday night. We went to a rugby game on Saturday afternoon, where it was so windy I thought I would be blown home. It was the coldest I've been in a really long time. Yesterday we drove up to Lake Taupo and this morning we did the jetboat ride. It was one of the most amazingly fun things I've ever done. (as you can tell by the pictures). We shot up the river at 65 mph and we pulled some great 180 turns! It was so cold though that Casey kept saying "I can't feel my face because I'm smiling so big or because its so cold!!" It was such a great drive. New Zealand is such an amazing country. There are just endless amounts of vast green hills and space, with thousands of sheep dotting the horizon. One of the first things I said to Casey was "And you want to leave....WHY?!?!" Overall, its great. Being in the city and being able to walk, the people are so nice, and the beer is great.
Tomorrow is a mellow day. Casey wants to go to the pool to say goodbye and hopefully get a good letter of recommendation from her boss and then she has to go to the bank. At night all her friends and flatmates are coming over for what they call a "Feed." All I know is I get fed.

So long for now!
-Jimmy

Brrr....

Yesterday was an amazing day! Yes, Dad and I both got teary at the gate when I picked him up. (Here in NZ you can actually greet arrivals at the gate!) It was a stunning day and we walked the entire city. I took him to the beach we go to, walked along the water front, purchased him a beer at one of our brewery's, walked the Central Business District, took the cable car to the top of the botanical gardens, and then walked back to the Monsoon Poon near my house to have a celebration birthday lunch.
Today the weather is CRAP!! Its about 50 degrees and raining! But I'm just stoked to have had ONE great day of weather....

....and my dad said it himself....

"WOW!! You really can't beat Wellington on a great day!"

Joining the ranks!

I'm officially unemployed. EEK! I am nomad. A world traveler. A proud pilot of an improvised life.

Today was my last day at work. I will never have to wear neon orange again! It was a great start. I wandered in around noon to teach 2 hours of really cool kids then about 5 instructors and I went over to play in the bubble machine for one final time. It was great! The bubble machine never ceases to amaze me. This time I sat on the vent where the bubbles come out, Buddha style, and the massive air flipped me around under water 4 times.

It was really weird saying goodbye to some people. I'm stoked that my dad will be here in exactly 10 hours (now....if only I could get to sleep) but at the same time I was really bummed out to teach my last class. Teaching has been apart of my life for so long its weird to think I'm done. It hasn't really set in yet. I got some tearful goodbyes from my parents and an assortment of chocolate, pictures, and even a hand-made stunning necklace! My kids cried. My parents cried. It was a bummer. At least I know I can always come back!

Tomorrow, Dad arrives. Wellington Airport at 8am. We are going to get him home to nap and shower, get some breakfast, and then off to the pool to show him off. We will then probably walk around town and then I'll take him out to dinner for his 61st birthday! Saturday I'm taking him to a local rugby game a couple of my friends are playing in and then I'm having a friend dinner with alot of my buddies and co-workers. Sunday, we leave for Taupo (a town 5 hours north of here) to go jet-boating on Monday. Monday night we are having dinner with Jim and his wife and Tuesday is a mellow day, concluding with a Final Feed with current and former flatmates and a really close assortment of friends. Wednesday we jet set off to AUSSIEEEEE!!

Whew.....confused yet? Me too!

Oh well! At least I'll be with POPS!!'

Okay time for bed. The sooner I fall asleep the sooner I wake up and get on the bus to the airport!

Down to the wire...

So I'm officially into my last days here in NZ. The weather has been amazing and like I've said 100 times before... you CAN'T beat Wellington on a good day! Its been really warm, with that amazing blue sky, slight off shore breeze, and those big puffy white clouds. It's almost like that the city is saying "Casey! Don't GO!!" (I just hope the weather is half as good as today when Pops is here, so then at least one person will believe me about Wellington)

Work will be easy this week. It's the final week and the instructors basically just play with the kids. I also don't start till noon 3 out of the 4 days that I'm working. I know I will be a hunted woman too. Due to the fact that I'm leaving I have to watch my back because its tradition to get pushed in the pool. One of the managers got me in last week (while I was in my DRY uniform) because I chucked a water polo ball at his head. I can't help it if he catches like a girl. So I ended up wet on my "dry" day.

Friday night was my last night out on the town (I don't think Dad wants to stay out till the wee hours of the morning, dancing the night away). A bunch of my friends and co-workers came out to play and we had an amazing time at our favorite place to hang out, Hope Bros. We laughed, we danced, we acted silly. It was a great way to remember the city social scene.

That's about all for now. I'll keep you updated on the tears and goodbyes and the Hello and Airport greetings!!

Humph.....

2 weeks to go....

Now that it is almost here, I don't want to leave. I've met so many amazing people and had so much fun. 10 months feels like 10 minutes. Don't get me wrong. I'm so excited to come home and see all the people that I have missed so much but that also means reality has to set back in. Which means a *gasp* a real JOB....like one of those things people call a CAREER.....EEK! I don't know what I want to have for dinner, let alone what I want to do with the rest of my life.

Let's see how long I can be a traveling swim instructor....I wonder if Hawaii needs swim teachers? And no, I'm not joking.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll....

We had an earthquake this morning. Enough for me to wake up but not enough for me to care! "Just a little wobble" Tia says. I don't know what the size was but it was a decent jolt. Reminded me of HOME! Haha. Just wanted to let you know everything cool just in case I got a bombardment of emails "ARE YOU OKAY?!?!" (Not that I don't appreciate them)

I'm a slacker...

I would write more if there is more to write about but honestly, time is going by. I'm working but its been great. They've hired a TON of new people and its been great getting to know them, swimming with them, training them. Work has mellowed out alot since we've figured out when and where and what lane we need to be in ("New pool? Old pool? Big pool? Little Pool? Just give me a puddle to teach in!!") and my parents are slowly starting to realize I'm not going to be teaching next term.
The weather has literally turned from Summer to Winter in 3.2 seconds. This morning on my 15 minute walk to work, I had to wear a beanie and a thick sweatshirt and my hands and face were bright red. Talk about BRISK!! It was bright and sunny today. Just crisp. It's suppose to rain this weekend....go figure. Second weekend in a row that its been GREAT during the week but raining on the weekend. Boo! No fun!
So in the mean time I'm just hanging out with all my friend. They get all teary eyed when I even mention my leaving. Next week we are having a Red, White, and Blue outing into town because Katie (the other American instructor) is also leaving in 2 weeks. Should be good times.

Stay Classy, States!