updates

OK, as promised, here’s the update:

Turbulent times, they were. Victoria went overseas on business for a couple of weeks, and I finally realised that I couldn’t stand to be apart from her. So when she arrived back in the country, I had organized a special weekend away to Waiheke Island. We stayed at Villa Pacifica at the east end of the island. Although it was quite a long way from the main built up areas of Waiheke, the views and tranquility more thjan made up for the remoteness. Our room overlooked three small bays, with Auckland city as just a hazy shadow in the background. We were treated to the best of Auckland autumn weather all weekend – beautifully sunny, but crisp in the morning and not too hot during the day. On Saturday (the 7^th of May), we had a lazy morning, but managed to make it to lunch at Te Whau vineyard, where we were treated to the most divine food I have ever tasted. The chef was on loan from O’Connell Street Brasserie for a couple of weekends, and I knew that Victoria had wanted to go there for years. We ordered Tempura Squid and a Wild Mushroom Risotto as an entrée; the squid was beautifully fragrant, and melted in your mouth, and the risotto (with which I have had bad experiences in the past) was perfectly cooked. We both chose Papardelle of Wild Hare as a main course, which tasted absolutely sensational. What could possibly be better than the spectacular views from Te Whau coupled with amazing food and superb wine! After lunch we drove to Onetangi beach, and decided to take a walk along the beach to help digest the fabulous (and somewhat rich) food. As we walked, I realised that there would never be a better time than this, so I dropped to one knee, and as the waves lapped around us, I proposed. The rest of the weekend was a bit of a blur, but needless to say, I sit here writing this as a happily engaged man.

Then, less than three weeks later, I was boarding a plane bound for San Francisco, and ultimately London. You may recall that I had handed in my notice at work a few weeks prior, so the future was definitely still uncertain. However, I managed to gather the courage to go back to the boss, and grovel for my job back (actually, grovelling didn’t turn out to be necessary – he welcomed me back gladly, which was very reassuring).

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the trip, and even less sure about what I was going to do once I came to the end of my time in North America. But I made it to San Fran alright, and met up with Chris at the Hotel. Not before spending a couple of hours wandering SF airport waiting for him to turn up, though! The BART deposited me Market Street station, which was just around the corner from the Mosser hotel I had booked. In my haste to get out of the station, dump my bag, have a rest and a loooong, hot shower, I didn’t check the map closely anough, and ended up walking in completely the wrong direction through a less desirable part of town. I made it to the Mosser a few minutes later, slightly wiser, and found Chris in the foyer. It was good to see a familiar face in such unfamiliar surroundings. That wasn’t the end of the challenges for the day though. We attempted top check in, only to find that the ‘twin’ room I had booked was actually a single room with a double bed. We had to upgrade (for an extra $30/day) to a ‘double’ room, which had two twin beds. Crazy! I tried to argue, but my heart wasn’t in it as I really just wanted to get to the room and relax. The room was, after all, quite pleasant and comfortable, if a little noisy. We went out a little later to explore and find some food – mercifully, the hotel was near Union Square, the major shopping area of San Francisco, so there was no shortage of choice. We actually stumbled upon what I found out later to be one of the best and most popular pizza parlours in SF, Blondies. I’d been hanging out for a good American-style pizza since I got back from Vail, and it was just as good as I remembered. I don’t know how they manage to get so much flavour into a pizza with so few toppings. American food was going to feature prominently on this trip! I spent some time in the Virgin Store listening to music, and came away with three new CDs. Spent plenty of time in the Apple store as well, on this day buying a PowerPod and iTrip for the iPod. We were almost ready for the road trip!

where to start?

Where to start indeed?

To cut a long story (very) short, I proposed to Victoria before I left NZ, she accepted, I went away to USA and Mexico, then came back to NZ rather than continue on to the UK.

So here I am, sitting back in the test lab at my old job, wondering how exactly I came to be here again.

So it's true that the more things change, the more they stay the same. I'm now engaged to be married in March 2006, I'm working at the same job, and I still feel the inescapable desire to travel.

Stay tuned, more will follow.

point of no return

It's now official. I handed in my notice (six weeks) at work yesterday, something that I have been putting off for a while. It's certainly taken a great weight off my mind. The boss was extremely good about it, and seemed genuinely sorry that I was leaving! He even gave me details of a contact in the automotive engineering industry in the UK, which I may or may not use...

Rocky and Silvia sold last night for $1185, which is $15 less than I paid for them around a year ago. Joy!

7 weeks to go.

überpost

Plenty has happened since the past post, but I haven't really had the motivation to blog until now. Interestingly although things are happening so fast, time seems to be dragging. I guess my brain is in overdrive trying to organise everything I still need to do.

The passport mess has been sorted. It was quite easy in the end - I took the day off work (ahem) and headed to the camera shop first thing to have my picture taken (making sure that I was looking as bad as possible), then straight to the consulate. I was second in the queue, and it only took about 3/4 of an hour. So with any luck I will soon be the proud owner of a shiny new passport.

I've now completely moved back into my parents' house. It has been a bit painful, but thankfully they have been very accomodating. I have to remember that it's only short-term. I really despair at the amount of stuff I have accumulated, even just over the past couple of years. My presence in the world now extends far beyond the limits of my bedroom.... sigh. I can barely move in there. Sophie (cat) has been pretty good with the move, and has settled in quite well already. She has, however, been very put out about not being allowed outside. Soon she will be back to decimating the local bird and rodent population, I'm sure.

I've been desperately trying to get rid of stuff, and to that end I've attacked TradeMe with renewed vigour. I'm glad the things I'm selling have been received quite well so far - the Rancilio twins are the hot items at the moment. They have had a lot of interest already, and there's still five days to go in the auction. My printer and bikes are next on the block. Getting rid of the cars is up there too. Remind me why I have three cars again...

Crikey! Only eight weeks to go! Time flies. I haven't yet handed in my notice at work, or my practical work reports for Uni, but I'll get there. I will have to word my notice carefully, as I am in need of a good reference from these guys. I must update my CV as well.

I can't wait! I've been talking to Chris (travel buddy) about the American trip; and the Baja leg will probably be extended - who could resist all the beautiful Mexican food, margaritas, beaches and señoritas? I'm very disappointed that I am going to miss the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England again this year. It is being held on 24-26 June, so I'm just too late. Next year definitely. But to make up for it, I'm planning to watch some motor racing whilst in California. With any luck, I'll be able to see the Pulp Racing guys in action.

I'm starting to feel the restlessness that comes with a big upheaval. Thankfully it isn't accompanied by any mental weight. I am just getting excited, and I'm sure that this is the right thing to do.

red tape

Dammit, more hoops to jump through. Bloody Dutch bureaucracy! I went to the Dutch consulate thinking that I could just pick up an application form and continue on my merry way. But no, that would be far too easy. I have to take: my old passport, my father’s passport, my parents’ marriage certificate and my passport photos and fill in the form whilst I’m at the embassy. During their opening hours of 9:30 am to 1 pm. Fume. Still, what can ya do?

electronic lust

I gave in and bought an iPod last week, and I’m in love! I’ve been coveting my friends’ iPods for a while, and when the 40 GB models went on special for $600 (runout special?), I just had to do it. It is such a great item for travelling – it makes so much more sense than lugging around all of your CDs. It is the coolest gadget – I love having my entire music collection literally at my fingertips. The downside is that I now want an iBook or PowerBook to go with it. Apple’s almost unerring ability to make electronics sexy totally perplexes me.

losttogether/togetheralone

I’ve been thinking about the relative merits of travelling alone and with another person. Travelling alone allows you to see everything you want to see, and nothing you don’t, but it can be lonely, and there is no-one to support and motivate you to carry on. Travelling with someone allows you to share the experiences (which somehow makes them more valuable) and shows you things that you wouldn’t normally see, but things can get tense if you don’t see eye to eye, especially when money is involved.

I loved travelling with my ex as we had very similar interests, so we had the best of both worlds – it was like travelling alone with someone else. The only thing that irked me a little is that she was so prepared that I could just sit back and enjoy the ride, rather than actively seeking out things that I wanted to do. Now I have the opportunity of travelling with a friend around western USA, which I was a little apprehensive about – will we want to see the same things? Will we get along in close confines for weeks on end? I’ve given up worrying now, as it’s all part of the adventure, and as the song says: life’s what you make it.