Snowbirding
Friday December 13, 2024
The year has gone by so quickly. It felt like only a few months ago that I had come back from Spain and Iceland, where I’d faced so many tumultuous events over the course of 90 days. But here I am again, ready to escape the cold and dark of winter in the northern hemisphere. This time it’s going to be simple. Just one country. Staying with my parents in Auckland. One week in Wellington. Plenty of time to catch up with people and enjoy summer.
As usual, I was a bit jittery on my way to the airport, just nervous about all the upcoming flights and timings and whether my luggage would be overweight. I finished up work in the afternoon, packed all my electronics and had dinner at Gus Tacos before taking the UP Express to Pearson Airport. Baggage drop (21kg exactly! Could have brought more maple cookies) and security were all routine and without incident. I found a public piano in the gate area but a small kid was banging about on the keyboard and I didn’t feel like hanging around for too long so I just went to my gate and did my Duolingo for the night.
Toronto to Vancouver was pretty busy, but not completely full. One of my row mates was also travelling to New Zealand, and it was her first time on a plane as well! The flight was uneventful, though I managed to do some work on my website, miraculously. It didn't seem like that long before we had passed Calgary and the Rockies and began descending into Vancouver. A short layover and I was back in the skies over the Pacific Ocean.
I think I managed to get six hours of sleep, of which only four were uninterrupted. They kept feeding us at strange hours and so I kept waking up to eat. This why I’m fat. I continued doing some work on my websites to pass the time; the power supply on the plane kept my laptop going pretty well.
There’s something emotional about coming into Auckland. I always have Dave Dobbyn’s Welcome Home playing - I know the song wasn’t written for expats but I appreciate the sentiment and emotion of the song. As the plane finally descends below the cloud line, I see the beautiful blue waters of the Waitemata and Manukau Harbours, Rangitoto, the rolling Bombay Hills, and the Sky Tower. It’s been fourteen hours in the sky, and finally, I’m home.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:02pm on Friday December 13, 2024 :: 0 comments :: 
A Wisconsin Thanksgiving
Monday December 2, 2024
I’ve really enjoyed my time here in Wisconsin, this short stint over American Thanksgiving. I wouldn’t say it’s a particularly interesting place, but the people that I got to meet and catch up with were my primary reasons for coming here. There was a lot of food and alcohol, and some hilarious memories that we’ll talk about on our Discord for years to come. Insinkerator-gate!
I guess it was nice to just have a very quiet holiday where I could wake up late every day and not worry about work for an extended weekend. No obligation to code something for the website or fix bugs. Couldn’t even really go explore by myself since it was so cold and I had no transport, but I did get to see a little bit of the surrounding towns and countryside. Stoughton has a very strong Nordic presence, and I got smashed off a 10oz cup of cider before sobering up at Culvers, known for their butter burgers and frozen custard. Went up to Madison once to have brunch on Saturday, there happened to be a cat store with two cute voids sitting around. At dinner, we watched a bit of Jet Lag, a YouTube channel where in this particular season, they had turned New Zealand’s highway system into a board game and raced from Cape Reinga to Bluff. We also played Lynked: Banner of the Spark, and it was a genuine joy to learn that so many in the room had purchased the game and were playing it too.
I was supposed to meet Matt in Chicago during my six hour layover but he wasn’t feeling too well so I ended up venturing to Logan’s Square for some food by myself. It was all terrible. The pizza was too salty and the ice cream was gross and too sweet. Better than being cooped up in the airport at least, so after I had acquired all my food, I headed back to the airport. Security was a breeze and I’ve just been sitting around monitoring my Duolingo progress and organising things for my last full week in Toronto.
Posted by Jeremy at 2:10am on Monday December 2, 2024 :: 0 comments ::