The slow death of my PJs

I vaguely remember the day I was standing in JCrew weighing the want vs. need columns for a pair of lightweight cotton, bright green, PJ pants. The want column won and must have been almost been a tie to the need because since then I've practically worn the pants everyday for the past four years.

They even survived a Clorox attack where they lost half of their brightness and assumed another color identity. This incident also probably weakened the fabric. Then came the fateful day that they made the cut to join the small list of clothing items brought on our around the world trip. Due to their comfy-ness and packability it was an easy choice even though they were 1 of the 2 items I brought that were 100% cotton. Day in and day out they've hung in there providing great comfort after a long day of sightseeing. Each hand washing cycle they would emerge fresh and crisp, drying in record time right along with all of the technical fabric. By the time we arrived back in a developed country, they were no match for that wonderful invention, the automatic laundry washer.

Now they are hanging in there by a thread, no pun intended. First, a hole emerged along the tip of the back pocket (don't even know why there was a pocket there to begin with) and then another one popped through on the back seem. It's almost an insult to me since it alludes to the fact that maybe I've gained too much weight during our time wandering the world without exercising. Anyhow, at this point I'm too attached to the PJs to give up on them and I'm pulling for them to make it through the whole trip with us. I may have to resort to patching but I'm hoping for a policy of "nothing left behind" when we leave New Zealand. We've done really well with our belongings we brought with us. We lost my travel journal on an Emirates flight from Dubai, one Nalgene bottle in Egypt, and a necklace in Thailand. That's pretty darn good if you ask me so my RIP blog for my PJs may have to wait until we are back on US soil.

I really don't have a moral to the story of my clothing tragedy other than the fact that wearing a small selection of clothes over and over again wears them out dramatically quicker than spreading out the use over a variety of outfits. So the next time you think about adding an item to your wardrobe maybe you should go for it therefore extending the life or your most favorite items.

As for other updates in the life of Jesse, there's not much more than the daily routine of working again. I love the daily commute back and forth to work on my bike. It's wonderful in the morning to feel the wind on your face and in the evening there's nothing better than cruising past the long lines of people stuck in traffic. The burbs of Auckland suit me. The views are fantastic due to the dramatic steepness of the hills allowing you to catch glimpses of the beautiful blue bay water. Not to bring up the dull topic of weather but even that has been quite pleasant since we've been here. And on that topic, we've been stationary for two months now and I'm starting to get the itch of travel again. We'll be moving on soon enough though since work ends here in two weeks and we'll begin the migration South to our vineyard positions. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the North Island and hopefully volunteering for the 2008 New Zealand Ironman around Lake Taupo, March 1st.

Until next time....
~J

The mosquito problem

So a vast majority voted in the last poll that we should purchase a quite expensive mosquito net to keep the mosquitoes from feasting on us while we slept. Nature had it's own ideas as to how to beat the mossies...

Because there's no central air or heating here, we leave the windows open quite a bit, which lets in a fair amount of mosquitoes. However it also let's in a fair amount of spiders. By letting the spiders do their thing in the corners between the ceiling and the walls or behind the toilet and sink, they've been catching the mosquitoes for us. As I'm cleaning today, I'm selectively leaving the spider webs up so that they continue to trap and kill the bloodthirsty bugs. Thanks nature!

Keep up the voting! We really enjoy it.

Cheers,
~S

According to the Voters: Democratic Candidate

According to faithful (or outspoken) blog readers, Barack Obama will win the democratic nomination with 81% of the party's nomination.

Now a few random election thoughts...
1) What's with all these states having primaries with no delegates at stake, or not having any candidates on the ballet?

2) And why does Hillary keep declaring herself triumphant in these states?

3) Should we be worried that the Supreme court will be deciding the next party nominations and subsequently the fate of the nation's next president?

4) I guess this all boils down to beg the question: Is America ready for (or less scared of) an African American President or a woman President?

Let's hear what you think.

Cheers!
~S

Back on the wagon...

One of the hardest things that we're dealing with here in NZ is the fact that we're not in the shape we were before we left the States. For 6 months, we did nothing regarding training. We traveled, ate, drank, got food poisoning and other fun bacterial infections, but, aside from a few random days in Europe, did nothing that one would deem a workout.

Not that there's anything wrong with that - I'd do it again in a heart beat to experience what we did, but what we're left with now, as we start getting into running and biking again, is a mere shell of our former selves. Our base of fitness, usually in the above average to high range, is gone. For me, there's not been a chunk of time more than a month or so that I've been inactive.

Fortunately, and unfortunately, the part that's stuck with us is the mindset that helped push us to workout quite frequently. Jesse and I make a great workout team, constantly pushing ourselves and each other to new heights of fitness. However, this mindset is a huge stumbling block for us right now, as we frequently forget our current shape and try to workout "like we used to." This habit leads to overtraining and frustration. We know what we're ultimately capable of, and the fact that we can't achieve it right now is maddening.

Funny, but this lesson has strong parallels to a common theme that's been present for the last year: becoming ok with where we are currently, or being "present." I believe that this is a strong theme that we've picked up on in Buddhism. If one lives in the present, and appreciates it for what it is, they can't dwell in the past about the way things "used to be" or worry about the future, about what might happen. I believe that this lesson will continue to be important as we come back to the US and reintegrate back into society.

Cheers,
~S

What's all this traffic about?

Oh, it's Sir Edmund Hillary!

Parnell, the town where we live, made history in the past couple days by hosting the funeral of Sir Edmund Hillary. The first man to successfully summit Mt. Everest, Hillary died on January 11th of a heart attack at the ripe old age of 88. While most Kiwi's don't get their 15 minutes of fame on the world stage, a large state funeral was held for SEH that was well attended by world dignitaries, sherpas, friends and family of the Hillary's. Also in attendance was half of Auckland, who turned out to try to catch a glimpse of the goings on at St. Mary's Cathedral, hopelessly snarling up traffic at the intersection of Parnell Rd and St. Stephen's Road. Apparently not in attendance were any members of England's Royal family, which was viewed by many Kiwi's as a direct snub at SEH's accomplishments.

As if being the first to summit Everest wasn't enough, SEH also lead the first expedition to the south pole by vehicle. Because of his influence in both Nepal and Antarctica, live telecasts were beamed to these nations and were viewed by the 3% of Nepalis with TVs and thousands of penguins, polar bears and a rapidly melting glacier or two.

After 3 days of irregularities in our daily commutes, we finally put two and two together to realize what was going on. This morning, we went running and missed seeing the funeral procession by about 15 minutes. Had we done our research in advance, we could have witnessed this historic event.

The dumbest thing I've heard in a long while

So I took the ferry to work yesterday. It's the only way to cross to the north shore of Auckland and bring your bike. For some strange reason, you can bike everywhere else in this city, just not to the north shore. I've decided that taking the ferry to work is THE coolest way to commute, hands down. Since I've decided this, there will be no poll on it.

Anyhow, on my way back, I was standing on the pier waiting for the ferry to pick me up, when this guy saunters out onto the pier. He looks at me, my bike, my helmet, my biking gloves, looks at the pier and asks...get ready for it...

"How's the fishing?"

Yes, that's right, ladies and gentlemen, "HOW'S THE FISHING?"

All I was able to muster up at that point was something just as intelligent sounding... "Uhhh, I have no clue." About 5 seconds after this dumbfounding question, was when my brain started working again, and came up with all sorts of snappy responses like "Well, I've been unsuccessful so far..." or "I've thrown my bike over a couple of times, but those m*therf***ers just aren't biting" or "Well, if my bike was equipped with Shimano DuraAce, I'd probably be having better luck."

He then continues to add, "Well, I think this would be a great fishing spot." Ok, thank you, Captain Obvious for your expert analysis. Since, you've proved that you have metal reasoning powers well above mine, I'll run off and get my fishing gear... or maybe just hang myself from the pier as shark bait just to end having to hear his incessant stupidity.

Other than that, things are peachy. Life is good.

~S

First survey results are in!

Thank you all for your responses about quantities of beer that we should buy for our upstairs neighbors. Due to your responses, we'll be buying a case of beer when we go grocery shopping tomorrow and putting it on their doorstep with a thank you note. Maybe we'll even be invited up to share it with them.

Be sure to check out this week's new question of the week.

Cheers!