Good things come to those who wait

...and patience is a virtue. Some of us are better with it than others (I suck).

But the good news is that Eric is now working at and enjoying himself at Weta Workshop.

And I am excited for him.

My work also continues to go well. We have a new tenant in our house in Seattle, and spring is beginning to show hints of arriving here in Wellington.

The Rugby World Cup will be starting in another week and I suspect it will be an interesting time in the city with a bunch of sports fans gathering for the fun. We have tickets to one match at the end of the month. We will be cheering on the US team as they take on the Aussies. We are looking forward to it. Even if we are still trying to learn the rules of the game.

My Company's Rugby game was just released and is doing well. If you are interested, check out:

www.rugbychallengegame.com

That's the latest update from here.

Hugs to all,

Stacy & Eric

Snow in Wellington?

Unbelievable!

We were told that it does not snow in Wellington. - oh well.

Apparently this is being called a "50 year" storm -as in once every...

It's actually very cool (and very COLD)

While we can bundle up and enjoy the snow outside, once again the issue is staying warm inside. I think I have mentioned before houses here are not built to modern day codes and things like insulation, double paned windows, and central heating do not exist.

Those of you back in the States enjoying a warm-hot summer.

Think of us and send warm wishes!

Cheers,

Stacy & Eric

What a Great Time

Our first trip back to the States after our first year in New Zealand was terrific.

Where to start....

I flew into LAX on July 1^st (July 4^th weekend). Getting thru Customs took almost 2 hours. But I had all the patience in the world at this point so it was fine. I could not get over how cranky most everyone else was. Eric was to to follow on the 7th.(using frequent flyer miles what a pain) Ok not a pain for him, he got to go Business Class!

I picked up our rental car. Yes, I needed to remember to drive on the “other” side of the roads once again. It was not that difficult actually, but I did keep hitting the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal when I was trying to indicate a turn. And I was happy to learn that Eric did the same when he got here.

I drove straight to see my brother and my niece and nephew -Casey and Tanner. They were certainly a sight for sore eyes. I miss them very much and it was great spending some time together. First In N Out burger-check and Pinkberry Yogurt double score!!

After that I drove to Pasadena where I was staying with Rich, my Uncle-in law. Great new Condo, it was like staying at a 5-star hotel.

I spent the next 12 days running around seeing as many friends and family as I could. It felt great seeing everyone and being able to share stories of our adventures in NZ. I drove more in those 12 days than I have driven in the entire year I have been in NZ. It was “hot” (90-100 F) and sunny and I loved it. I did not wear shoes the whole time. My feet were in complete shock. (yay flip flops)

I celebrated my Birthday with friends. It was the first time Eric and I have not been together – odd. We got to celebrated a few days later with him his Mom, Uncle and sister Sheila at a great steak place. Alas for those who know... I did not get to Benihana this year ;O(

I also got to see the Tim Burton Exhibit at LACMA which was really cool. -I was sorry I did not buy the Collectible Book but it was soooo big and I did not have the space or weight allowance to drag it back to NZ.

http://www.steelespublishing.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Standard+Edition

After LA, Eric and I flew up to Seattle.

It was great to see my parents and more family. Dad made his famous French Toast (heart attack on a plate) MMmmmmm it was sooo good. And more friends! And more good food.

We checked in on our house which was looking great. I was not sure what to expect after a year of someone else (a whole family with 3 kids) living in it. I spent a wee bit of time just staring at my shower – my extremely large, recently re-modeled, glass enclosed with dual showerheads shower... and I was crying on the inside. Ooohhhh I miss that shower. My shower in NZ – Is so small I can’t even bend over without touching the sides.

We discovered the AFK Tavern, a great bar/hangout for gamers and geeks! If you are in the Seattle area I highly recommend supporting this place. There should be more of them. I'd love to see the game community help promote and support it.

http://www.afktavern.com/

We also got to see the Avatar and Battlestar Galactica exhibits at the EMP -AND THEY HAD THE Daggit!!!! That made my day.

I then spent two days attending the IGDA Summit and Casual Connect for work, while Eric continued visiting with friends.

From Seattle we flew down to San Diego for Comic Con.

I really love this convention. Although I have to be honest and say that over the last 5 plus years, I have been very disappointed that I can no longer attend the panels that I want to. The situation with the lines is so out of control and I refuse to waste my time standing in lines for 2-6+ hours. So I spend my time mostly in the smaller panels and on the exhibit floor drooling over the amazingly cool stuff, buying some, discovering and meeting new artists and catching up with artists I have worked with, and old friends. I also had a few work related meetings.

I flew home on the Monday after Comic Con and Eric stayed another 5 days, visiting with family and friends in San Diego.

The time really flew by. But it was a good amount of time.

We are sorry that we did not get to see “everyone”, but summer can be a busy time for all. And some shopping did occur along the way as well. We arrived in LAX with 2 suitcases, Eric and I, and we came back with 4.

Take Aways:
We were pleasantly surprised that we were not as repulsed by the States as we feared

we might be. (Okay maybe still by the politics, medical and economic situations)

Seattle is still a beautiful city and we loved being back there with the crisp clean air and fresh smell of the evergreens.

And San Diego is still a great beach town with perfect weather.

Yes, you can live mostly on Mexican food, hamburgers and frozen yogurt for 3 weeks.

I hope I can do this all again next year!

Hugs to all,

Stacy & Eric

At least no one was hurt!

Thank goodness there were no injuries.

And I was certain that our first accident would have been our fault, being new drivers on the wrong side of the street and all.

BUT NOoooooo!

We were just going straight though an intersection and someone made a right turn (same as a left to those in the states) - did not yield - and hit us.

It was dark and pouring rain.

The good news again was that no one was hurt and insurance here has been easy and great. All repairs are being paid for, no out of pocket expense. The car is still drivable so we are going to take it to the dealer and they will repair it while we are away on our trip. It will be all fixed by the time we get back.

:O)

Speaking of our trip, we are looking forward to seeing friends and family. This will be our first trip back, having been away now for almost an entire year. It is interesting finding out what things we still miss, and what things we don't. There are definitely some restaurants and food we are looking forward to as well as some "shopping". We will be bringing an extra suitcase back with us for sure. It is currently winter here. It is all of 3 degrees C at the moment that's 37 for those still using F. We are also definitely looking forward to some sunshine and warmth.

Hope to see as many of you as we can fit in.

Cheers,

Stacy & Eric

It is a sad day

Our hearts are broken today.

He was a love and he will be greatly missed.

Where ever it is our pets go when they leave this world, I hope for him that there is chicken.

:O)

And life goes on...

So what's new here? Not much.

Eric is working part time for an electronics store and still looking for other opportunities.

He has also spent a week with the Flu - yes our first New Zealand illness. He was not happy. I think I may have been lucky. I did not get it even though it did go through our office too. I did opt for the free flu shot offered only a few weeks before Eric caught it. FYI Flu in New Zealand is the same as the Flu in the States.

Winter is coming and we have already had some fun little storms blow through. The photo above is from from the local paper and was taken here in Miramar. Pretty wild huh? We had one evening where the wind was so strong that the rain was literally hitting our windows horizontally and making sooo much noise we could not sleep. Gotta love single pane windows.

We will be looking forward to some sunshine next month. We are heading back to the States in July for our first visit since we left almost a year ago now. We can't believe how fast the year has gone by. It will be a whirlwind trip with lots to do (i.e shopping and In N Out burger and Mexican food feast, Seattle Casual Connect, and San Diego Comic Con) and people to see. We will be in Los Angeles, Seattle and San Diego -all in only 3 weeks. We will do our best to see as many of our dear friends and family as we can and apologize to those we miss this trip. We are still figuring out our plans, but hope to have a "open" meal or two where anyone who is around can come see us.

As for other fun and interesting news, the city of Wellington wants to promote itself and one of the various ideas was the "Wellywood" sign. No I am not kidding although I wish I were. The image above is only a photoshopped image there is currently nothing on that hillside. As of this posting, it looks like the majority has spoken out against it and it will not be happening. But it has been an entertaining controversy.

Check out these links for all the fun details.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/the-wellingtonian/opinion/5053968/The-Wellingtonian-editorial-WellyWhat

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/new-zealand/news/image.cfm?l_id=71&gal_objectid=10727895&gallery_id=118830#7643884

Warm Regards to all,

Stacy & Eric

Lesson for the day

This blog entry is brought to you by the word "pants" and by the letter "z".

We continue to learn and adjust. Here are some examples of New Zealand vocabulary and spelling.

The word "pants"

slang definition - rubbish, no good, bag of shit

ex - "that's pants!"

The letter "Z" or as they call it here "zed"

Is apparently a rarely used letter.

Of course we use it regularly in the spelling of New Zealand

But otherwise the letter "z"(zed) is replaced with the letter "s" here

The 50 most common instances are: agonize, apologize, authorize, baptize, centralize, characterize, civilize, colonize, computerize, criticize, crystal(l)ize, dramatize, emphasize, exorcize, fertilize, fossilize, generalize, hypnotize, industrialize, institutionalize, jeopardize, localize, materialize, maximize, mechanize, mesmerize, minimize, mobilize, modernize, nationalize, naturalize, neutralize, organize, penalize, polarize, pressurize, publicize, rationalize, realize, revolutionize, scrutinize, specialize, subsidize, summarize, symbolize, sympathize, utilize, visualize.

http://www.spellingsociety.org/journals/j21/usukspell1.php