NDBT

Okay – I’m mostly just excited to see more of NZ and I’m not really thinking about headed home yet, but… I’m not going to have a chance to post this right before going home. And travel can help you appreciate the best of back home. So. Things I can’t wait for back home: jeans and real clothes, books that cost less than $30, my own bed (well, that’ll have to wait a while), a laptop, my ITUNES. Catching up on my favorite shows (Did Greg keep working CSI? What’s up with Jim and Pam?!!!), real guacamole, bagels (although I think Chch is leading the way on close to home food), TRADER JOES (and whole foods, and many brands of tofu meats), SF weather, subscribing to EW, eventually moving all of my stuff into my own place (ok – this may take a while but its a dream I’ve had ever since I was a little girl and it’ll be REALLY EXCITING when it finally happens), paying off the tail end of this trip, no longer using power adaptors/converters/ being really afraid of frying my stupid electronics, The Dickens’ Faire (and their fish and chips), Christmas at Davies Symphony Hall, Nachos from Ocean Taqueria, REAL HONEST TO GOD SOURDOUGH FROM BOUDIN and JAMBA JUICE. That’s all I can think of right now. Oh! Jewelry and beauty products. And jeans. Did I mention those? Oh! And things not being closed on the weekend.

Vid for this one; Rufus doing Judy doing San Francisco.

Still to post; my final travel mix and my packing list. But I need to go eat dinner now. Maybe in Auckland? Or between other travel posts?

I’m officially over 13 months abroad now. Go me! Obviously, taking a year off to travel is more common in Europe, but I guess this makes me part of a pretty select handful of Americans who take the leap. I’m unfortunately too broke to get a commemorative tattoo just now (as my mother breathes a sigh of relief), but I will at some point.

I think this achievement calls for a little retrospective. Mostly it’s been great to go back through all my old entries through the past year and remember all the awesome things I’ve been able to do. And a lot of the lows on here (especially those in Madagascar) at least make for really good stories, and in no way outweigh the great bits about travelling.

Ireland Highs:

Seeing Rocky Horror at the Sugar Club in Dublin

Newgrange

The mummies in Dublin (at St. Michan’s)

Slurping my smoothie at Bertie Ahern

Yamamori!!

Watching Ireland beat England in six nations

Glendalough

Kavanaugh’s bar next to Glasnevin

Killarny National Park (including the horseback ride there).

The Burren

Connemara

Donegal (particularly the famous chippers, and the walk out to lough eske)

The Giant’s causeway

The murals in Belfast

The trad session at Hercules in Belfast

Pat’s horse winning Fairysdown

St. George’s Arcade in Dublin (also, St. Stephen’s Green, the dead zoo, and the pubs in Ranelagh. And the Laser video store, although Alice’s here in Chch is still my fave. Oh! And Cafe Bar Deli!!! Yummm…. and Blazing Salads).

The ghost tour in Dublin http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Jessica+Dillon/?p=38

The bog men at the National museum in Dublin

The staff at Kiely’s (well, everyone except Gavin, but they finally fired his butt).

The Guinness Storehouse

Whelans

Seeing the Anatomy lab at RCSI

Helping Kristl out with the Vagina Monologue auditions

[read on]

Stuff I posted about Joshua when it came out in the summer

I've been going through old blog posts (see the next ... [Continue reading this entry]

I totally forgot!!! The list for Sundance 2008 was announced yesterday!! Guess what's coming.... "As ever, moody dramas, dark comedies and offbeat romances abound... In “Choke,” the actor Clark Gregg’s adaptation of a best-selling [Continue reading this entry]

So - I'm working on finishing up my last couple of big travel posts. Hopefully those will be up this afternoon. I have a tickle in my throat that is worrying me - I think I'll go buy some airborne ... [Continue reading this entry]

Got my haircut yesterday. It's a bob halfway between my chin and shoulders. It looks fab. Things are slowly coming together, although the next couple of nights till I leave are likely to be long ones. Apropos of some earlier posts ... [Continue reading this entry]

This makes me laugh so, so much.

I feel like a chicken with it's head cut off. Really and truly. Things are slowly getting done, but why, oh why, couldn't Christmas be another 4 weeks away? I seriously need a week off between work and travel to ... [Continue reading this entry]

So... I went out to Akaroa with a tour company called Kowhai (Ko-phay), which was a great little family run operation. It was in a small van, so we got to drive through the Port Hills to get to some ... [Continue reading this entry]

I've had the most competely wonderful lazy day. I was up late watching the Green Mile on tv last night (WHY Sam wasn't nominated for an oscar is COMPLETELY beyond me. Ok - not really, actors are saps and they ... [Continue reading this entry]