Random bits of kiwi

After a less than brief hiatus, I've finally sat down to write another blog post. Why now you ask? Well, besides the rather menacing facebook messages from those coauthors of this blog who shall remain nameless, a couple of things have struck me as rather funny lately and I thought you all might like me to share them with you. Also today's the first day when the weather info on my desktop for Buffalo and Auckland is the same - a picture of rain and sleet against a cloudy background. Apparently a cyclone is coming and we've been advised to stay indoors - perfect day for some blogging. So here are a few brief anecdotes from the last few months for you to enjoy ( in no particular order)...

LAURA GOES TO AUSTRALIA (FOR 24 HOURS)
Last weekend was our annual awards night in Melbourne, Australia. I was psyched to get a free trip to Australia and another stamp in my passport. But after waking up at 4AM to catch the flight, I was unable to really appreciate what is probably a very nice city. All I saw was a mall and the inside of my hotel room. The party had an Oscars theme, so of course everyone dressed up nice and acted classy, except for the adviser from Christchurch who had one too many glasses of chardonnay and offered our insurance rep her "services." Unfortunately I saw no koalas kangaroos or wallabies so the trip was a failure in that sense. I'll have to get back there soon.

LAURA SMELLS SOMETHING ROTTEN
Early this month Joel and I rented a Juicy Cruiza and went down to Rotorua. A Juicy Cruiza is a green and purple vehicle not unlike a fatter station wagon with a double bed, dvd player, and burner in the back, and Rotorua is a place that smells like rotten eggs. That's due to all the sulfur bubbling up from the volcanic activity, or maybe all the kiwi equivalent of trailer trash. Anyway we went down there for a reggae festival called Ragamuffin. The dude from UB40 was there, sans the UB40. You know, red red wine you make me feel so fine, all of the time. Profound stuff that I can really relate to. Ziggy Marley was there, son of the late Bob Marley, as well as Arrested Development and my personal favorite, Shaggy. I really could've done without seeing Mr. Bombastic performed live. Hey Shaggy the 90's called they want you back. Oh slam!

LAURA BECOMES A KIWI
I think I realized I've been here a long time when I started using certain New Zealander (or kiwi) words in casual conversation, rather than giggling at their very mention. Most of these words are place names that have Maori origin, the language of the native people of NZ. Such words as Mahuhu Crescent (hilarious!), Whakapapa (pronounced f$%k -a-papa), and Manginagina (which has the word mangina right in it :).

LAURA TAKES A (SIMULATED) JUMP OUT OF A PLANE
Joel thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of some of the crazy life-threatening safety-regulationless nonsense that goes on all over this country, otherwise known as adventure tourism. So we picked one of the tamer options and went to the Agrodome, the only place in the world where one ticket is good for a ride in a plastic ball at high speed down a hill and a seat at the sheap-shearing show. We got suited up and climbeed to the top of a 3-story wind-tunnel, where the only thing between you and a scary high-powered fan of death is a thin layer of fish netting. When the first guy in our group fell and suffered a neck injury after his first 30 seconds, I did the right thing and let Joel go first. The facebook pictures tell the rest of the story. Joel's face looks like what would come out if you put an action figure of him and wolverine in the microwave and they melted together. My face looks like I can't wait for the stupid fan to shut off.