Shiny New Computer

When I returned to Loudhailer my other computer had finally had it's last days while was away so I got a shiny new MacPro complete with this awesome screen and keyboard. :D It's like someone put a brand new swing on my playground.

Jazz & Blues - Summer Concert in the Park

Today I walked down to the Victoria Esplanade Gardens, which I have been to before, for the Jazz and Blues show. The Esplandade is one of the first places I went in Palmerston North with my awesome Couch Surfing host Steve (*waves to steve) and while there I saw the birds and pool but I neglected to see the flower garden. How I could miss such an amazing feature is beyond me but there it was. Almost every colour and scent of rose must be in this garden! The festival jammed with everyone sitting out picknic style with home cooked food and wine. Kids were running around playing and a little one year old carrying a lightsaber came to visit me which was too cute. All in all, good times.

Glory Days

Recently I've been reading a lot of work by a writer named Chris Guillebeau. I stumbled upon his work by sheer happenstance and a series of bloggers i linked thru from a yahoo news article before I left on this amazing trip to New Zealand. While it is still early in our 'reading relationship' I can already tell that his philosophy of life and writing is going to have an impact on my own journey.

One of the chapters in The Art of Non Conformity Chris addresses how dangerous success can be in the creation of Glory Days and how one instance in our life defines us and shapes us in such a way that it becomes the foundation of our identity. Every time we talk we can relate back to that moment and by God everyone else will know it too. Sometimes we do this until others can repeat along and are completely sick of spending time with us.

I know that I at times am completely guilty of this. Reminiscing stories of favorite times with friends or working with youth on trips creating a song like a worn out recording. My newest story is of course the one I am blogging about right now; graduating college, selling a lot of my junk, cutting my hair to buy a one way plane ticket and flying halfway across the world to a country i have only read about to interview for a job I  may or may not get. While this is an amazing story, no one really needs to hear it more than once.

So now the question is what is next? How to move past the 'Glory Days' and create something new , challenging , and better. How do I 'one up' myself?

Christmas mail!

What a wonderful surprise to come home and have so many cards from everyone! I still have a package to pickup tomorrow (today is a holiday so the post shop is not open) and I am excited to see what that is too. I have posed a few below, I also received some while in the states but I have left off ones with pictures of family and with peoples names on them to preserve their privacy. Thank you everyone!

Wishing me a very Merry Christmas and New Year plus congrats on the new job!
>hugs< to a friend

Sending me a smile and support - Thanks Mom

A Merry Christmas and much encouragement - Thanks Aunt Jean

A update and support -Thanks Mrs Jean

A Merry Christmas and teasing - <3 friend

A Merry Christmas and updates - Thanks Janna

A Merry Christmas with love and package! - Thanks Aunt Barbara and Uncle Buddy

A Merry Christmas and photos - Thanks Arkansas Friends!

Traveling from Atlanta to Palmerston North

Traveling back to New Zealand from the states was incredibly exhausting as I spent the last few days running about trying to pack and say my goodbyes. The number of stops coupled with lack of sleep, screaming babies, and the crappy plane on the long haul made for a dragging trip. I slept for 12 hours when I got back. I think next time I'll just try to book earlier (if I have the notice) and pay more for fewer stops.

First stop DFW

2nd stop LAX

3rd Stop Fiji - I really don't like British Brats with Nannies - long story

4th Stop -  3 hours of screaming babies later

5th stop - A taxi ride from sleep

Going back to New Zealand

It has been a fun and overall great holiday

Depart: Jan 20 - 22

11:45am EST - 1:15pm CST--Atlanta (ATL) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) -- American Airlines flight 4722
2:15pm CST - 3:45pm PST -- Dallas (DFW) to Los Angeles (LAX) -- AA flight 3032
9:30pm PST - 5:15am -- Los Angles (LAX) to Nadi, Fj (NAN) -- Air Pacific 3838
10am - 1pm NZT -- Fj (NAN) to Auckland (AKL) -- AirPacific 3842
2:25pm - 3:30pm -- Auckland to Palmerston North -- Air New Zealand NZ8337

New Goals of 2011

Personally I am not a large fan of new years resolutions. Instead I prefer to view the new year as a marker from short to medium length goals. Short term goals compress into a month. mid and medium goals fit in a few to several months. Long term goals for me are something that take years for me. Some of you may or may not know my goals from last year (see right) and with a few exceptions I completed the majority of the list and the remainders either became irrelevant to my living situation ( like learning Spanish) and have been re-catorgarised under good to know vs important.

For me moving out of the dorm and into my first apartment was a big deal. I enjoy my freedom immensely plus at the end of the day it actually cost less money than a dorm and student loan. Graduating college, paying off debt, job, working out, spending time with family, and dancing are pretty self explanatory. Moving to New Zealand was a off the wall move I'll admit but it's the consummation of a long term goal I decided on while 16 sitting at my desk one Alabama summer. Spelunking is more of a wow that just looks like fun so we are adding it. As for needles, well I have now gotten to the point where I can voluntarily give blood. That is a huge step. It is now fair to specify that I am not afraid of needles but afraid of syringes.

And so the tally for this year begins as follows:

Goals for 2011:
- work on learning Spanish
- get over fear of syringes
- go spelunking
- be completely debt free
- learn basics of drums
- create more artwork
- learn more about html and css to the point I can build web pages properly
- visit another country (again) or better explore the south island of NZ

Just as important to me as what to do with this year is what NOT to do with this year since it consumes valuable time and resources that could be spent more productively.

Not-To-Do list 2011:
- World of Warcraft
- more than an hour of tv or one movie per day
- waste money on things vs experiences
- nothing