Windy Wellington

I woke up with a cold on Thursday morning that developed so quickly, I had to go home at 11am (causing me to miss out on Cross-Country day). I had to take Friday off as well. It was much needed though cause this cold was certainly a doozy! I spent the majority of both days laying on the couch (or moving to my bed with the electric blanket on low) moaning and groaning and trying to nurse the fever that consumed my body. Poor Matt had to deal with me while I was in one of my lowest states!

Despite being sick, I took off to Wellington for the weekend with Emma. We had bought our $90 ferry tickets 2 weeks previously, and since they were non-refundable, I didn't exactly want to miss out.

Magaglie (the superstar) generously put us up for the weekend and even let me sleep in her bed, coughing and sneezing and all. It was a pretty low-key weekend, but still very enjoyable.

Saturday morning I took Magalie out for breakfast and we caught up on the latest happenings in each other's lives. That afternoon, while Magalie went to uni to run some experiments, Emma and I went downtown to do some shopping. Although the weather was crap, it felt great to get out in the fresh air and get some exercise walking down and back up the steep hill that Magalie lives on. That night we headed out for some Turkish cuisine which was very tasty.

On Sunday, we took Magalie out for breakfast at a cafe on the waterfront and afterwards, Magalie played tour guide and showed us a few sites around the city. Our Wellington trip was made even more complete with the gale force winds that we got to experience that day!

We drove up to Mount Victoria and took in some of the awesome views...



Did our best not to get blown away...




And finished up on a tour of the coast line, stopping off at a cafe that had some pretty funky decorations on the wall outside...


On this wee tiki-tour I also learned lots about how Wellington has developed the nickname "Wellywood" due to the film industry that exists today. While driving along the coast, we drove past several film companies and abondoned movie sets. Magalie also told us about how she managed to get a job last year working for the movie Avatar where she was hired to be a consultant for the lab scenes to ensure that the equipment was laid out properly and that it met "proper scientific standards". Can't wait to read her name in the credits when the movie finally comes out!

Luckily the gale-force winds were "Northerlies" which made the ferry trip back home a pretty easy ride. Apparently it's the "Southerlies" that wreck havoc and usually result in a boat load of spewing passengers. Since the ferry crossing is so beautiful, I couldn't help but want to capture another picture just to remember it by...


Thanks again, Magalie, for your incredibly warm and generous hospitality and I look forward to catching up for another girlie weekend when you come to Toronto in September!

Married Life

I sent an email to my friend, Trina, the other day wishing her a happy birthday. In it I asked her how things were going, what was new, and how she was enjoying married life. (I am sad to say that I missed attending her wedding last year, but happy to know that she and Ben had a fantastic day)

The response that I got from Trina about married life was so cute that I just had to share.

I like married life. My latest desciption of it is that it is like working out - sometimes there are huge highs and feel good moments like after a good run, or making a new time, sometimes it's hard like lifting weights but you know it will be worth it and is making you stronger or better, sometimes it's routine and familiar. Plus, there is always a hot guy present, kinda like the gym! Lol...I just added that to my description, it works. :)

Now there's some food for thought!

ps. happy birthday to my dear sister, Laura!

Autumn in Marlborough

The colours have really started to change here in Marlborough. For the past while I’ve been meaning to get out and take some pictures of all the colours around us. It really is like an artist’s canvas here. There is simply no end to the infinite variety of colour and beauty that surrounds us.

This weekend I finally got around to taking a few photos. Although they didn’t turn out super fab due to the dark clouds that kept sneaking in, it still gives a pretty good idea of how spectacular Marlborough is at this time of year.

I hope you enjoy these pics...

Changing Places

I have made my final move from the hostel into the place that I will be house-sitting for the remainder of my time here in NZ. It's been a busy week, and taken some adjustments to get used to my new routine here, but I'm already liking it better. It feels so fabulous to be able to come home to a nice, clean home, turn on the heat-pump, crash on the couch, and relax the evening away. I'm slowly getting used to the idea of cooking for myself, but am surprisingly enjoying it since it means I can eat what I want, when I want. It's so nice to have my freedom back and not have to worry about working hostel shifts and timing things around the dinner bell.

With this move, I have also invited Matt (a friend from church that is staying in Blenheim for a few more months to make some money working in the vineyards before flying home to the UK) to stay with me. I checked it out with the house owners and they are ok with it. The invitation is mostly selfish on my part since I'm desperate to have some company with me in this old house, but I figure I'll also be helping him out quite a bit financially since he'll only have to pay for some of the power costs.

The place really is fabulous. I feel so lucky to have found this gig. What a change from the conditions I was enduring while living at the hostel. Although it's still got some of the qualities that come with an old house (cold, drafty, noisy), it's got all of the charm and character that comes with it too (stain-glassed windows, hard-wood floors, etc). Check it out for yourself!









Oh... and here's Fred. The one-eyed, very friendly cat that I will be taking care of for the next 8 weeks while I'm staying here...

St. Clair Half

Yesterday I competed in the St. Clair Half-Marathon - a very popular race here in Blenheim that sells out several months in advance. Lucky for me I was able to snag someone's entry the day before since they could no longer do the race. Since it was a last minute entry for me it became more of a "Saturday morning run" than an actual race.

The most hilarious part was the weather. The forecast the day before was looking absolutely dreadful: strong winds, pouring rain, and freezing cold temperatures. Since I'm a sucker for punishment and was looking for a reason to go for a nice long run, I decided I would enter anyways. Much to everyone's pleasant surprise, it turned into a wonderfully beatiful autumn day. Although it was quite cool to start (close to zero degrees when I woke up), the sun shone the entire day and the temperatures steadily increased throughout the race.

The course was absolutely beautiful. You can't beat running through a bunch of vineyards with a all sorts of varying colours. In keeping with my recent track-record, I couldn't help but take some time to stop along the way and capture some of the scenes around me.

Walking to the start line from the parking lot...

The crowded start line...


And we're off...




The Wither Hills from a distance...

No race in NZ is complete without some form of livestock along the course...

A random pumpkin patch...


Jacinda (a co-worker of mine) and her daughter - Jacinda owns property that the race course runs on so she got a free entry. She walked the entire half-marathon despite the fact that she is almost 8 months pregnant!


Meeting up with Tineke at the finish line (Tineke also walked the half-marathon with some of her co-workers)...

Emily, Claire, and I happy to be finished and looking forward to our finishing prize!


I ran more than half the race with Claire but during the last few kms my knee started to hurt, so I took off at a slightly faster pace to see if it would alleviate the strain. I think it helped. I crossed the finish line in approximately 2hrs 14mins, and was super excited to enjoy a freshly made chicken pie as a reward. I also took home my "trophy" - a bottle of St. Clair Sauvignon Blanc special reserve - a reward that every race entry receives.

On a different note, today was Mother's Day in NZ and I was able to enjoy an early mother's day chat with mom (and dad, and Laura) on skype. Matt made a guest appearance with his cute head of curls. They were particularly wild since he had just gotten out of the tub. It was nice to catch up with the fam and to hear of the latest happenings.

My Grandmothers

After graduating university and buying my first car, I finally found myself having the time and the means to visit my grandmothers on a more frequent basis. Thus begun a semi or tri-annual tradition that I coined "the grandma tour".

On Friday night I would hop in my car and drive to Ingersoll. In Ingersoll, I would meet up with Grandma E where we would enjoy dinner and a movie at her place. The next morning we would go for a walk and/or I would help her to run some errands. After an early lunch I would say goodbye and head off for London. In London I would meet up with Grandma T at her apartment, and after some sort of afternoon activity (errands or a walk to the park or afternoon drinks on her balcony), we would share dinner together along with another movie or some Saturday night television. On Sunday morning we would go to church, and after lunch I would head home.

Depending on how early I could set off on Friday, I sometimes switched things up and drove to London first, and Ingersoll the next day.

I always enjoyed these weekends away. They were always so peaceful and relaxing. Can't beat sharing some good-ol quality grandma time! I look forward to re-instating these "tours" when I get back to Canada this summer...

On one of my "grandma tours" I discovered that Grandma T had gotten hooked on one of my favourite tv shows called "Grey's Anatomy". Upon discovering this fact, I was sure to bring along Season 1 on DVD the next time I visited and we watched at least 4or 5 episodes in that one night alone.

I received a letter in the mail from Grandma T the other day and I couldn't help but laugh when I discovered that it contained a newspaper clipping with an article about Grey's Anatomy. Apparently the show's marketing department is capitalizing on the upcoming marriage between Derek and Meredith and they've created an actual wedding website complete with an RSVP section and a registry where any goods purchased will be donated to charity. Pretty neat, actually!


Thanks for the update grandma. Although we are approximately a half-season behind here in NZ, I look forward to watching the upcoming nuptials unfold.

More Marathon Stuff

I've been sorting through some of my photos and came across this one of my marathon training schedule. In true "Heather fashion", I used a star chart to monitor my progress and attempt to motivate me along the way. I'd say it half-worked. There is a legend which outlines what each colour star represents, and I've totalled up my weekly kms along with totals (in brackets) that represent what I was *supposed* to have run that week...


I've also come across some newspaper clippings that I've been meaning to post for quite some time. This one is an article that one of the hostel supervisors showed me several months ago. It was written by a guy that was training for the race, a month before the actual race date, hilariously making fun of the fact that the race course runs through some of Shania Twain's property (click on the image to enlarge it):

This next article was in the paper the day after the race, written by the same author as the previous article. It came complete with a fantastic shot of what one of the many river crossings looked like, and also had a great write-up about the race. I particularly liked the "punny" headline that is a take-off from one of Shania's greatest hits "Man, I feel like a woman":


I'm not sure how I missed it, but after I threw out the paper, I discovered that the story at the very bottom of the page was also about the race (unfortunately I didn't capture the entire article). It talks about some woman who couldn't run the marathon due to a broken toe. It also, funnily enough, talks about a woman who protested her race results, because she was stuck in the port-a-loo when the gun went off! Looks like I wasn't the only one.

One final marathon photo to share comes from my brother Mark - a shot of him after completing his very first marathon in Boston. I think he looks pretty good, all things considered!

Book Review: The Alchemist

Just finished reading one of the many books that I currently have on the go.

Side note: I feel like a bit of a "book whore" right now since I've currently got so much reading material around me. It's like a bit of a pot-pouri when I crawl into bed at night and try to decide what to read.

Alas... I finished this one in a relatively short period of time. It was great. A quick read, but one that is filled with meaning. I started off knowing only that the book was about a young boy that goes on a journey in search of his dreams. Turns out the book was filled with parables and analogies for life lessons, and the moral all came together in the end. Here are some quotes that stood out for me as I came to the conclusion of the book:

Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World. It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that's where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are. pg. 152

No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it. pg. 160

Definitely a good read. Makes you breathe easier knowing what this book has to say.

Here is what Chapters has to say about it:

"My Heart Is Afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky."Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."

Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come.

The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.

The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.

The Demographic I'm Teaching

Although I have been fully aware that I'm working with a fairly diverse demographic here at my school, the shocking reality of JUST how extreme things are was brought to my attention today. It was brought on by a conversation that I engaged in with one of my students about why education is important. I was trying to explain to her that having your highschool certificate really is a good thing since it opens up opportunities. I tried to use a bit of a scare-tactic and mentioned that without a certificate, you get stuck in a minimum-wage job. Her response was to tell me that her dad doesn't have a highschool education but he makes millions of dollars selling "P" (otherwise known as Methamphetamine, or Speed I think).

Shocking? Well, sort of... But surprisingly, not so much for me. It's amazing how very few things seem to phase me anymore. It certainly helps to explain some of her behaviour in class. My heart goes out to this student who is trapped in a very unhealthy family environment. The question I ask is, "how does one go about trying to help someone in that sort of situation?"

Back to School

Well, we were back to school yesterday for the start of Term 2.

The headline crasher yesterday was how the Swine Flue epidemic may possibly affect NZ after some students returned back from a holiday at a resort in Mexico. Oddly enough, I hadn't heard a thing about this epidemic until then. It's amazing how much you can fall behind if you don't watch the news for two or three days in a row!

Also hitting the headlines is the weather. Most of the country is under rain clouds...

... and the forecast for the next week is looking dismal. Especially for Blenheim!

It's quite balmy and warm though - odd for this time of year. I've been waking up the past few nights in a hot sweat since I have one too many layers of merino and fleece on (a quantity that wasn't sufficient in keeping me warm at night a few weeks ago!).

Not surprisingly, we are all roasting in our classrooms since the boilers get fired up at the start of Term 2 regardless of the actual temperature outside. Nevermind the fact that we were freezing our butts off the last couple of weeks of Term 1. Gotta love the rationale in which decisions - like when to turn the heat on - get made!

Boston Marathon

I'm about to take off for a wee reunion with Nic & Nic in Twizel very shortly, but wanted to share my excitement for my big brother Mark who just completed his very first full marathon. I'm not sure how quick they were to upload the latest chip times, but according to our stalking times, he just finished a few minutes ago in a time of 4:47:11!

We (my family and I) have been e-stalking him on the Boston Marathon website. It was a very exciting thing to be a part of! Even being on the other side of the world and in a completely different time zone, I was able to partake in the last hour of the excitement and the back-and-forth family emails!

Way to go Mark! Your little sister is very proud of you! How do you feel???

Strange Emotions

What I enjoy most about attending my small group is that you never know what you are going to get. It’s composed of a mix-bag of “newbies” to the church, with varying levels of knowledge and experience. Each person is unique and brings something different to the discussion.

Tonight’s discussion centered around the topic of “prayer” which was fitting given that Donna-Marie and I were just having a wee conversation about this topic via email last week. Here is a snippet of what I had to share with her on this subject:

As you can tell, it's not something that I'm used to doing. I mean, I do pray from time to time, but I'm not yet fully convinced of its power. I'm starting to develop some of my own theories on how it all works, but of course these ideas are based only on my limited knowledge and biased thoughts and opinions... Would love to chat more about this with you sometime!

Tonight was a night that I suppose could be described as another “landmark” in my spiritual journey...

Our session tonight began with us watching a short video clip by a man named Philip Yancey. I thought the name sounded familiar and later on realized that he is the author of a book that I’m currently reading called “What’s So Amazing About Grace?”

After hearing what Mr. Yancey had to say in his video clip, I couldn’t help but be reminded of another book that I browsed through when I went camping with Kelly at the start of the term. Kelly is an avid reader and brought several books with her that day, one of which was "Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?"

With such an intriguing title, I was compelled to skim through the first chapter to get a taste for what it was all about, snapping pictures of a few pages that caught my attention:

...Is God listening? Why should God care about me? If God knows everything, then what’s the point of prayer? Why do answers to prayer seem so inconsistent? Does a person with many praying friends stand a better chance of physical healing than one who has cancer but with only a few people praying for her? Does prayer change God or change me?

...I have come to see prayer as a privilege, not a duty. Like all good things, prayer requires some discipline. Yet I believe that life with God should seem more like friendship than duty. Prayer includes moments of ecstasy and also dullness, mindless distraction and acute concentration, flashes of joy and bouts of irritation. In other words, prayer has features in common with all relationships that matter.

...If prayer stands at the place where God and human beings meet, then I must learn about prayer. Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes: why God doesn’t act the way we want God to, and why I don’t act the way God wants me to. Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge.

Some interesting thoughts indeed. And these were just a few of the lines that intrigued me. I will have to see about tracking down this book and reading it fully from cover to cover. Oh, and I forgot to mention, turns out this book is also written by Mr. Philip Yancey!

So back to tonight...

Why such a landmark? Well, tonight was the first night that I have officially been “prayed for”. Yes, if you were a fly on the wall, looking in on the living room and watching it all take place, you might have thought it was a strange event. Even I, who was a willing participant, felt a bit odd. But I decided to give it a go. You see, Susan suggested that she thinks we, as a group, should be watching out for one another more, and she feels that prayer is an important component of this.

So I sat there. In a comfy chair, in the middle of the room, with 5 others surrounding me, their hands resting gently on my shoulders. Susan began leading the prayer. Within seconds I was filled with emotion and immediately felt a flood of tears come to my eyes. I did my best to control myself but there was no stopping the tears. I let them roll down my face as the prayer continued and did my best to control myself from releasing a really loud and embarassing sob.

When all was said and done, I felt good - relaxed - at peace. Although still embarassed about my emotional display, the others assured me that it was all ok. Talking further about the experience, I expressed my thoughts on the fact that I couldn't really understand why I broke into tears. The theory amongst the group was that I was experiencing the Holy Spirit in it's finest form. Although I can't help but wonder this myself, I also can't help but be skeptical and think "maybe I am just worn down, and am feeling sorry for myself, and brought these tears on myself". Who knows... We shall see. An interesting experience indeed...

More back-posts

My blogging habits tend to go to the wayside at various times for various reasons. But since I'm this crazy anal person that wants to keep good records of my experiences here in NZ, I take the time to write about things that happened in the past whenever I can get the chance. Here's a random collection of posts that I've made over the past couple of months that were way out of date when I wrote them.

And to my dear friend, Nelson, I've done my best to include more pictures as per your request :)

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2009/04/cute-note-i-had-evening-off-last-night.html

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2009/03/teachable-moment-we-had-guest-speaker.html

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2009/03/pilates-weight-gain-i-dont-know-if-ive.html

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2009/03/dedicated-training-enduring-hail-storms.html

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2009/02/live-music-i-went-to-concert-last-night.html

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-my-sisters-keeper-last-week.html

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2009/01/hickey-at-church-no.html

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2009/01/north-island-adventures-arriving-home.html

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2009/01/sumner-in-christchurch-backposted-on.html

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-holidays-claire-and-i-had-no.html

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/dinner-at-larrys-claire-and-i-cycled-to.html

http://mathgeekgirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/spontaneous-weekend-after-random-text.html

Dad's Response to the Hoax

Just got this email from dad...

This is a scam!! BAD BAD
Do NOT reply
It has been in the news. People are being duped
Dad

Ok... so my intuition was right.

Canada Revenue Hoax?

I got an email today with the following message:

I haven't clicked on the link cause I'm sneakily suspicious of this message. Surely the Canadian Revenue Agency must be more streamlined than this? I can't possibly see the need for me to "complete this last step" towards getting my tax refund. I would think that should be automatic???