Work: Pros and Cons

Working with animals has its hazards...



I can't remember the last time my hands were scratch-free

On the other hand, I get to cuddle kittens


kitten season has officially started

... and on a good day, I might even get to cuddle a lizard!


the nice lady who owns this blue-tongued skink lets me have a cuddle whenever she sees me in the shop

Cuba

Last week we went to a Cuban cafe near our house. It had a mural on one wall and a huge photograph of Havana on the other.


(detail from the mural)

Sitting in that cafe brought back memories of my visit to Cuba. We mostly stayed in Havana which is not what I'd call a relaxing vacation, but it was one of my most memorable experiences. We stayed with locals. We talked with artists and taxi drivers, with actresses and University professors. We met people who had devoted their lives to the revolution, and people on the street trying to make a dollar off tourists so they could get to America. It was amazing. It was a beautiful city. In the evenings we'd sit around and talk about politics and about our day, trying to process what we'd seen, trying to make sense of the strange world around us. There were five of us: myself, my parents, and two of my cousins. My younger cousin had just graduated high school and had never left the States before. My older cousin is a gay rights activist in Florida. My father was the centre point of our group; the one who devised the trip.

I took some fantastic pictures on my old 1950's era split screen point-and-shoot. I am now feeling inspired to dig them out of the closet, get them onto disc, and also get copies sent to those who were on the journey with me. It's way overdue.

Foreign Things

Last week on the way to the pharmacy I noticed a little Asian market, so of course I had to check it out. It was pleasantly homely, with crowded shelves and, for some reason, an impossibly tiny driving range in one corner. Browsing the aisles of mysterious goods with undecipherable text it occurred to me that I am an immigrant living in a foreign land and yet I still have this impulse to put myself in strange and unfamiliar situations.

What does that say about me?

Stranger still, I encountered several familiar products among the exotic wares, items I hadn't been able to find New Zealand before. I found Dr. Pepper, and what must have been Gatoraide though it was only recognisable by the distinctive lightning bolt logo. And, most amazing of all, SPAM!



(only the most expensive SPAM I've ever seen)

In fact, I realized later I'd walked out of there with two comfortingly familiar items:
strawberry mochi (for me) and Dr Pepper (for Loren).



(the mochi was very tasty!)

Wellington goes to the Movies

Written Friday, August 1st

Wellington is considered the Hollywood of New Zealand, and with this title comes a dizzying number of Film Festivals, the biggest being the NZ International Film Festival, which is in town right now. I am determined to make the most of the festival this year, and by the time it is finished I will probably have seen more movies on the Big Screen in two and a half weeks than I have seen previously since we moved here. So this seems an appropriate time to talk about the Wellington movie-going experience.

Wellington has 5 major movie theatres - four within a couple blocks of my apartment. They co-exist by filling different niches - the art house theatre, the cheap theatre, etc. - but the fact that they coexist at all in such tight quarters is a testament to the enthusiasm Wellingtonians have for cinema. There are two significant differences in the basic movie-going experience here vs. the States. The first is in the refreshments. There is usually the familiar concessions counter - here called a "candy bar." However, you may not find some of the basic items Americans associate with movies - popcorn and hot dogs. On the other hand, most "candy bars" will be happy to sell you a beer or a glass of wine. Many theatres are also associated with a full cafe, where you can get a beer or a cup of coffee, a muffin or a toasted sandwich, and either enjoy them at the tables (often on the 2nd floor and overlooking the street) or take them right into the movie with you.

The second difference is the hardest for me to get used to: assigned seating. When you purchase a ticket for a film, the ticket is for a particular seat, just like if you were going to a play or a concert. This means if you are going to a popular film you can't just rely on buying tickets right before the movie - you may get stuck with the worst seats. You need to plan ahead, and you need to know what the good seats are for that particular theatre. Mostly box offices will have a seating chart to help you with this. The plus side is that with a little planning and know-how you can get your favourite seats, and you don't need to show up early and wait in a long queue for a popular film on opening night.

The NZ Film Festival also uses a couple of less conventional theatres: the Film Archive, and Te Papa Muesum's Soundings Theatre.

When Loren and I went to get tickets for a Film Festival movie the other day, the lady at the box office looked really familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. When I went to the same theatre today, the same lady was at the box office, and again she just looked so familiar. Hours later it hit me: I'm almost certain she's the lady that officiated at our civil union.

Something about that made me feel like a really belong here now.

Moments

Written Friday, 25th July, 10:14 pm
Random moments from last weekend. Which was much more eventful than this weekend has been thus far. (by "weekend" I mean my days off which are Thurs. Fri. and Sun.)

Thursday.
I got a haircut for the first time in about two years. I got a recommend for this tiny place run by one woman. It was raining, and I sat on the couch flipping through hair design books. I pointed out a photo, and she got to it. Washing my hair, she asked me what I do for work. She said, "If it's true what some people believe that you come back as another animal, then I want to be a parrot." I asked "in the wild or someone's home?" She said "A pet parrot, because you can say whatever you want and no one will care." She got the haircut from the magazine dead on. I can't remember the last time I was this pleased with a haircut.

Friday.
I cycled to the Sheepskin Warehouse to buy a possum tail to send to my nephew for his birthday. There's American opossums where he lives, I thought it would amuse him. They were fresh out of tails, but the lady gave me pitch for buying a whole possum fur. She explained that if you loop the tail through one of the holes from where its eyes were, you can make a sort of furry scarf of it. Something about being a foreigner myself makes me feel more comfortable asking strangers where they're from if I notice an accent. She said she's from Malaysia, lived here 17 years, raised two children here and they both left for the UK where the job market's better. I told her about where I'm from, and about my parents, and how my nephew, whose birthday it is, is a dancer. I settled on wool and possum fur hat, tucked it into my windbreaker, and cycled back into town.

When I got home, I saw a friend online whose visiting Hawaii right now. I was giving him all kinds of advice about Hawaii, and then I got to really missing Hawaii. He said "enjoy the island you're on." Which was excellent advice.

Saturday.
After work I quickly set about following my Hawaii-visiting friend's advice. Loren and I went to a great little out of the way Malaysian restaurant. I got lamb roti chanai and a side of steamed veggies. We wandered around town for a while then met some friends at SF Bath House (which is a dance club) for Atomic - a weekly even where the DJ plays 80's. Not just pop 80's but everything - pop, punk, new wave, goth, everything. It was late getting going but once I got on the dance floor it was so much fun. I couldn't believe I'd been here over a year and hadn't once been out dancing. I mean, that is ridiculous.

Sunday.
Loren and I went to our 1st Wellington Film Festival film. Vexille - a CGI/Animae scifi/action movie. It was actually really good, really interesting plot, and a lot of fun to look at. I cannot believe we didn't make it to a single thing for last year's festival. I mean, 3 of the theatres are within 2 blocks of us. Clearly we have a lot to make up for this year.

Wellington Coffee

Wellintonians love their coffee. This city has it's own coffee culture, and coffee is different here. For starters, coffee always means espresso drinks. There is only one place that serves drip coffee and that is Starbucks. Also, there are some standard items on a Kiwi menu that you won't see outside of NZ and Australia.

Flat White - very similar to a latte, but in theory the flat white has less foam.
Short Black - this is a shot of espresso
Long Black - a double shot of espresso with hot water. Similar to an Americano (as close as you're going to to get to something resembling drip coffee)

I was not much of a coffee drinker before we moved here, but now I order decaf mochas all the time. What makes them so great? For starters the milk is just better here. The coffee is also consistently good. Cafes get their beans from one of several local roasteries that source their beans from around the world and roast them on site. And since NZ has nothing against Cuba, some of them source beans from there, especially Havana Coffee Works.



Turns out Cuba makes some pretty tasty coffee. I also love that if you order a cappuccino or a mocha (also called a mochaccino here) it will always come with at least one marshmallow. Often the marshmallow is covered in chocolate.


(this mocha from Mister Bun's came with one regular and one chocolate marshmallow)

Despite, or maybe because of this, mochas aren't made very sweet unless you ask for sugar in them. Which is just the way I like it. Also coffee always and everywhere comes in the same lovely Italian ceramic mugs with brown glaze on the outside. Wellington coffee culture is not about a quick coffee to go. As my copy of "The Best of Wellington" puts it:

"The definitive coffee experience is best had sitting down, drinking from thick, pleasantly warm, tactile Italian crockery, with just the right amount of finely textured milk blended with a short strong shot or two of espresso."



Despite all this Starbucks does have a presence here, with its tall, vente, and grande, with its super-sweet double caramel latte to go. They are not completely clueless, though. They can't ignore the popularity of the flat white.