Did I tell you?

I wrestled a sheep the other day. I know, I know. Such a New Zealand cliche! But I really did. Not so much wrestle as restrain. I also herded cows. Placid cows, mind you, who knew the routine, but I could tell they were really put out by us. I am now going to risk getting kicked out of Animal Management school and commit anthropomorphic sin by imagining the cows were thinking this:

"Good grief, Bessie, here comes a fresh batch of Unitec students to "herd" us into the imaginary adjacent pasture. I think this year we should bust through the electrified fence since it's always turned off for the dumb ass students' protection."

Bessie lifts her head and says to Shaniqua, "Girl, you're whack if you think I'm doing that again. Don't you remember that damn heifer Fontana got her ass whooped by Daisy Mae when she tried running over the students last year?"

"Bitch, who you calling heifer?"

And so on.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you this to illustrate further how different my life is now than it was 8 weeks ago. In my new life, I know how to wrangle a sheep, sort of. I know that I don't like sheep, and I know that not all cows are called Bessie and Daisy. Some cows have cool names like Shaniqua and Fontana. You go, girls!

On another note:

Tonight the lights go out in Auckland and all over the world. Supposedly, the Sky City Tower will be the first to go. I cannot believe that all I have to do is walk half a block to witness it first hand. I also cannot believe that this time last year I was at a party in Christchurch deciding that I was definitely going to move to New Zealand. The lights went out that night, too.

Good night!!

Felines out

I was able to spring my cats from quarantine two weeks ago, and they are settling in nicely. Too nicely for my taste as they have officially become indoor/outdoor cats. I knew it was inevitable, but it's been hard to watch their transformation from housecats to prowlers of the suburbs . I wouldn't normally choose to let them be outside cats because there's so much danger out there, but there was no alternative. You see, here there are no such things as screens on windows or screen doors. Everything is wide open to the great outdoors, and since it is early fall, still quite warm and no such thing as air conditioning, the doors and windows are kept open when I'm home.

Big Cal is addicted to the underbelly of the house which is a good thing. The sun is so hot here because of a lack of ozone layer, and skin cancer is prevelant. Lots of kitties end up with skin cancer, and it's common to tattoo white ears to prevent this. So the more Cal chooses to stay in the shade the better.

It took Olivia a bit longer to put her precious paws on the wonders of grass, and for a while I was hopeful she'd have no part of it. Unfortunately, she's now just as keen as Cal to go out. No more happy housecat - she's joined the feline liberation movement.

The only rule is they must be in the house when I'm not here. As if that will keep them safe...

Sincerest ablogogies

Are there rules for blogs? If so, I bet there's one that states "if one exclaims to friends that one is going to blog and one takes the time to create a blog page, one is expected to blog on a regular basis. Otherwise, one is going to be chastised by one's friends and arrested by the blog patrol and thrown in the blog jail." Poor one. I wonder if this rule applies to other numbers? Surely it does not apply to me. I have, however, fallen down on my blog duties, and for that I apologize. In my defense, I still do not have access to the internet at home. When I'm at school, I tend to answer all my emails, study online notes from our lectures and do research for this scientific(ish) paper I'm expected to write.

Rule number two (which, ironically, still applies to one only), "it is recommended that one's blog be longer than two short paragraphs and one should refrain from excessive blogging about blogging (see rule number three)." So much pressure to put on lonely ol' ONE!!! Glad I don't have to follow those stinking rules!

Well, I am going to add a third paragraph for the sole purpose of sending a great big shout out to my young friend, Susanne McDonald, who apparently had a fantastic run as Scout in the Charleston Stage Company's production of "To Kill a Mockingbird". When she first told me she was auditioning, I told her I would be there opening night (I had no doubt she'd get the part), unless I had moved to New Zealand. Well, I wasn't there opening night... I read the great reviews of her performance. No surprise there. Congratulations, Susanne!!

Will write more later in week. I just found out that I AM "ONE"!