Week 3 in Wanaka - Being an adult

Unfortunately it's been a rather dull week for me, doing grown up stuff that needed to be done but we're still a bore to do.

First of all, my phone got water damaged - I can hear my pals saying "not again Fiona?!? but it really wasn't my fault this time; the bag of ice that I had in my cooler melter, and the cooler leaked, and the my handbag was next to it and so was sitting in a puddle when I came out of work) and now well and truly buggered (pardon the language) This was only determined after several visits to a Professional 'Fix-it' shop, and $200 down the drain trying to fix it....only to find out that the water damage had worsened and because these two things hadn't worked it was now truly dead. Ugh. So I have now been looking into making a travel insurance claim, since it's for this sort of situation that it's there for, but this itself is a long winded process of collecting reports and reciepts, and filling out various forms. Double UGH! 😒 for that reason I've also not really taken any photographs this week so the blog will be pretty visually boring this week....but I'm about to post a blog with a whole bunch of film scans from months ago that should fill that gap if you so wish. 

At the same time I also go a parking ticket on Monday - for parking too long in one place (oops) - that's now been paid, and I had to put my car in for a WOF (a Warrant of Fittness) basically an MOT - still waiting on the results for that. HOPEFULLY this comes back all clear and I will only have to pay for the check-up!? *crosses fingers*

Work has also been pretty mixed with really busy days and really quiet days, with some downright 'frustrating' customers. (Yes, I'm being diplomatic here.) We have had mostly lovely customers and my favourite of those when you manage to solve a problem for them and they say "you're my lifesaver" or "you've made my day!". It HAS been nice getting to know Steve and Jess a bit better though and this has made the social side of work much better. Jess and I get on particularly well but that might be the age thing, but we do have a similar mindset and similar musical interest too so that helps, haha :) I also got a lovely bonus in the form of a Jam filled donought from Steve on Wednesday for all my hard work these past couple of weeks so that was really nice! Thanks, Steve!

I guess these things are part of traveling too, the not so fun things that happen, are annoying and a little stressful at the time, but you get over it, and the good bits have most definitely been, and will be, so much more memorable! The bad is all part of the journey but doesn't take away from how good the good bits were! (I sound a bit like a fortune cookie?!) It's also at times like this that I'm so thankful for all the good times that I HAVE had so far, and looking back I cannot believe that I'm my sixth month away! It's flown by and WOW how I've filled it with wonderful things! 

Thanks to Frances and her awesome Barry-the-box car I've traveled the South Island extensively, and reached almost every corner, and even now I still feel like I haven't explored it enough!! I've done so many of the 'must see' bits and yet the vast and diverse landscape of New Zealand means that I've not even covered half of what could be seen, and most of these aren't in any guidebook! I've been able to share part of this trip with my family, and drove them around a country that I now feel so at home in, so that in itself was pretty special, if not a bit surreal. Having the three of them here for Christmas and New Year was just lovely and even though I have to admit that pre-trip I was unsure of how I'd feel about them joining me mid way, it totally put the icing on the cake to have them here and share some of these memories with me first hand. My wee car felt quite empty after they'd gone.

There are hundreds of other things that I'm thankful for, but I'll save those for a round up post nearer the end of the trip. To name a few quickly though; the new friends I've made song the way, the closeness I feel to France's and Graeme, the total genuine generosity of the kiwi folk (native or otherwise), the food (of course!!) and the amount of new things that I've added to my list, and last but not least the enthusiasm and continual interest and support and love that I've received form all the people I love back home (you guys rock and should all move here too!!)! Anyway I'm waffling on now and getting soppy so I'll stop. Good night, and hopefully the weekend brings better things for you too :)