Just Because You're Paranoid . . .

I finally got through Gravity's Rainbow and, I have to say, even at the end I had almost no idea what it's about. Brilliant, yes, but . . . talk about everything in no particular order. From history to song lyrics, genocide to doper trivia, rocket-engineering formulas to Weimar pornography, Pychon's paranoid fever dream of the rise and RISE of the military-industrial complex is alternately hilarious, mystifying and utterly thought-provoking. When I got to the end, I felt compelled to go back to the beginning. Sure enough, it makes a bit (though only a bit) more sense the second time around.

Went to see "The Motorcylce Diaries" earlier this week, and it's another movie I can totally recommend. It's a road trip/buddy-flick/bio-pic that didn't feel at all generic or cliched. They handled what could have been ruinously sentimental material with humility and grace, plus the South American scenery is completely gorgeous.

I got curious about what parts of GR were based on historical facts, so I took advantage of being unemployed and spent a couple hours on the internet. The book is so weird, but it really grabbed me and I wanted to know more. I knew it won the National Book Award (says so on the cover), but turns out it was also picked by the panel judges for the Pulitzer Prize. But the people who actually give the award refused the judges' decision, saying the book was "unreadable, overwritten and obscene." (They were probably both right.)

I went on my first job interview in years this week, with a headhunter. She confirmed what I already knew: it's hard to get a job here without PR or a work permit. But she was also pretty helpful and encouraging, so it was a good experience.

There was an interesting site linking the Bush family to a bunch of businesses that supported the Third Reich. Not much of a stretch, actually, since IG Farben was half owned by Standard Oil, financed by Morgan, and spun off Bayer, Hoechst, Agfa and others. Same case could probably be made for practically every American with money in the 1930's.

One of the weirder news bits I've come across recently is the JeffGannon/Jim Gluckert story. Seems the White House gave press credentials to a guy with no journalistic experience, working under a fake name and who's other "job" was working for hotmilitarystuds.com. This is the same Administration that's taken away press creditials from experience staff at the New York Times (e.g., Maureen Dowd). And supported criminal prosecutions of more than a dozen legitimate journalists. Including a couple who were looking into the "Plame Affair" - in which an undercover CIA agent's cover may have been blown in retaliation against a diplomat who criticized Bush's Iraq policy.

Easily the most paranoid GR website made a case that the current Bush Administration is, in fact, carrying on many of the good ol' National Socialist Party's policies: escalating militarism in order to gain control of resources, promoting pharmaceutical and chemical interests at the expense of national health and safety, consolidating power in the hands of cronies while speaking to the masses of freedom and their special role in history, . . .

. . . nah, but it's a helluva book.

Cheers,
Sandie

Weird Talents

A few weeks ago we caught some of Auckland's International Busk Fest (which isn't nearly as big as Christchurch's festival of street-performers, but was a bit more quality-conscious). Highlights included an English comedian/magician who managed to conjure a watermelon from his hat, and a Canadian who juggled: a chainsaw (while it was operating!), an apple (from which he took the obligatory bite now and then), two flaming wands and a machete, all while "riding" his bicycle - which was perched on top of a 5-meter high pole that was only held up by ropes being pulled taught by five strapping members of the audience.

I'm feeling almost back to normal, so yesterday afternoon we headed over to Aotea Centre for what had been described in the paper as a "Multicultural Festival" but which, when we got there, seemed to be a Chinese New Year event. (But turned out to be pretty multicultural after all.) The stage was dominated by a giant rooster and the emcees introducing each act spoke at length in Chinese, followed by a few words in English. The performers were all Chinese, and included a troop of school girls dancing to Polynesian tunes, a baritone singing arias from the Marriage of Figaro and a modern dance troupe with a Michael Jackson soundtrack. But the standout was the accordianist, accompanied by an electric piano (featuring every sound-effect known to modern man), playing disco versions of Flight of the Bumblebee and The Sabre Dance. (The last one always brings to my mind visions of the plate-spinners on Bozo's Circus when I was a child.) They played with wild intensity, the accordianist nearly bouncing off her chair, hair flailing rock star-style, as the stagelights pulsed and changed like a giant Chistmas color wheel. They were absolutely surreal.

In the evening we packed a picnic and headed over to the Domain for the "Starlight Symphony," billed as the biggest outdoor concert event of the year. In spite of some clouds, it was a beautiful evening and there were a lot of people (although probably not the 200,000 predicted). We walked to the concert at sunset, via a woodland trail which was abuzz with that sound insects make to let us know summer is still here, but won't be much longer. Then, as we reached a clearing, we could hear the Auckland Philharmonia playing Carmen. The first half of the concert was a showcase for local new opera talent, and they were quite delightful.

The second half, however, featured orchestral backup to local celebrities belting out pop/rock classics from Deep Purple to Joe Cocker and, most unfortunately, Led Zeppelin. Plus some razzle-dazzle special effects: multi-color flares, laserlights and a flaming pool the length of the stage, which were supposed to marvel but just came off as cheesy.

Seems like there's never a good chainsaw juggler or accordianist around when you need one.

Cheers,
Sandie

What's Cookin'?

Monday was Valentine's Day, of course, but more important, it was Ali's birthday. So I had an excuse to make a fabulous dinner and he had an excuse to buy me flowers. (Things we both do without much provocation anyway.) I stopped by a local butcher shop and picked up a couple of "Scotch fillets" (they looked a lot like rib-eye steaks to me). Grass fed, of course. What else would you feed cattle? the butcher implied. Crusted with sea salt, crushed peppercorns and mustard seeds, seared, and served with garlic-and-thyme-infused balsamic glaze. Along with rosemary potatoes, roasted portabello mushrooms, and zucchini sauteed with mint. We toasted our good fortune with a lovely bit of Australian bubbly (Rosemount, which was one of my favorite labels in the U.S., has an even bigger range available here), and finished with tiny slivers of fudge cake - topped with equally small scoops of honey and fig ice cream. Ummm, good thing we joined a gym last week!

Unfortunately, I haven't been up to working out much since then. I haven't had a cold for years, but the last couple days I've been feeling a tad under the weather. Then, today, whatever bug has been lurking in my system came on full force. It's just a sore throat & headache, really, but I've had no energy at all. On the bright side, it gave me an excuse to stay in bed all afternoon, reading newspapers and having Ali bring me tea.

In the news this week, aside from the "big" story - the Prince of Wales is still coming to Middle Earth next month (despite his upcoming nuptials) - NZ's jobless rate has hit an all-time (at least since they began keeping records 20 years ago) low of 3.5%. New job creation is, apparently the highest in the OECD - at least if you measure just right.

Since our permanent residency looks like it's just around the corner, we've both been looking at the jobs ads more seriously, and there certainly are a lot of them. I've recently applied for two positions: research grant contracts administrator and lecturer in commercial law. They're both at U of Auckland, which could help me get a work permit if they wanted me to start before our PR comes through.

There's a catch-22 situation here: without PR, you need a work permit to get a job. But you can't get a work permit without a job offer. And most employers won't make a job offer (or even talk to you), if you're not eligible to work. Universities are one of the few exceptions, since they need to hire internationals on a regular basis. I'm not going to hold my breath, especially for the lecturer position since I don't know much about NZ commercial law, but it was a good excuse to transform my resume into a C.V.

And if nothing else works out, there seem to be a lot of job openings for chefs.

Cheers,
Sandie

Sideways

Last week we went to see "Sideways," which just opened here. I thought it was a great movie; specifically, it was my kind of movie. (I can hardly believe the Academy liked it; we haven't agreed on a movie in years.) Intelligently written, with great performances, and a story that was funny and bittersweet. It managed to send up the snooty, pretentious side of wine, while fully expressing - in almost poetic terms - what afficianados find so genuinely worth their time and enthusiasm. And, in a feat I find most amazing, it made me care about two guys who were both, basically, assholes. Best of all, for such a pitch perfect mediatation on middle life disappointment, was its ending. Not sappy/happy, not dark and gloomy, but hopeful. Just the right note.

On a different note, we've been busily assembling the documents we need to submit our application for permanent residency. Some of Ali's jobs date back a while, to companies that no longer exist. But what fun would this be without a challenge? We also had to get our health certified, so Thursday we spent half a day at the doctor's office. They took chest x-rays, bodily fluids, and loads of measurements. I learned that I'm 164 cm tall, my weight in kilos sounds a lot better than it does in pounds, and that my blood pressure is about the same as always. If all goes well, we should be able to submit the application by my birthday and, hope against hope, it should be final in a few months.

Permanent residents have most of the same rights/privileges as citizens. (They can even vote!?!?) They also pay the very reasonable domestic student tuition rates at university. International students are charged more than triple. Since I should have PR before next term begins, from the doctor's office I went to the University and postponed my enrollment until next semester. I was really looking forward to starting school in a few weeks, but I was also expecting to have my PR before now. So, one step forward, one step . . .

Cheers,
Sandie

We're Invited!

We finally got our Invitation to Apply - yeah!!! Under NZ's immigration system, if you want to move here you start by sending them an "Expression of Interest." You fill out an online form with information about who you are, how much schooling you have, what your work history is, and if you already have any connections to Middle Earth. You get points for going to school, having work experience, etc. If you have enough points (it only takes 100 points these days), your EOI is selected for "verification." Once NZIS has had a chance to "verify" the information in your EOI, they send you an Invitation to Apply.

This is essentially a print out of your EOI and a request that you send them documents supporting every statement you made in it. Lord only knows what they've been "verifying" for the last 5-1/2 months. (NZIS's website says the verification process will take 2-4 weeks. Either we were a very special case or they woefully understimated their average time frame (this is all part of a new immigration scheme introduced early last year). Or both, I guess.)

We already had most of the information they need, e.g., birth certificates, passports, academic transcripts, etc. But there's a few bits and pieces we still need to track down, so it will be a couple weeks until we can submit our application. The process isn't supposed to take too long after that, since our information's already been "verified."

Whenever I get frustrated, Ali reminds me how lucky I am that I never had to deal with the I.N.S. I know he's right and thank my lucky stars.

Cheers,
Sandie

. . . And the Livin' Is Easy

Summer is well and truly here - a sub-tropical summer, yet. It's been getting up around 27-29c (86-90F) every day for the last week, and the humidity is increasing as each warm day goes by. Don't know if it's "normal," but most people (us included) don't have air conditioning, so we're hoping it won't last. The worst part is that the windows don't have screens, and the mozzies have figured out where we live. We got a fan yesterday, and that seemed to help - I only woke up from something buzzing in my ear once last night.

During the past several days we've had a rental car and been out exploring again. Monday was a holiday - Auckland's Anniversary Day (it's turning 165 years old. For perspective: Chicago will be 168 this year.) The City of Sails celebrated with - what else? - a regatta. Actually a bunch of regattas, with races for every category of boat imaginable. Harauki Gulf was full of them, and the strong easterly breeze ensured that everyone clipped along at a good pace.

We drove about 30 km (almost 19 miles) north of the city, where a sizeable penninsula juts out into the Gulf. Shakespear Regional Park (named for a settler family, not the writer) occupies most of the end point, and provided great views of the city skyline in the distance as well as the sail boats racing around the Gulf Islands. We took a trail that lead us through sheep and cattle pastures (which, although still a novelty for me, is completely normal here), past a few WWII pillboxes (they worried about a Japanese invasion during the war, and the Dept. of Defense still occupies a good chunk of the penninsula), and along volcanic flows and shell-strewn beaches.

Then yesterday we drove about half an hour west of the city to the Waitakere Range area. I've been hearing about this place in the news since we arrived; there's a lot of controversy about whether/how to control suburban sprawl there. Barely a ten minute drive past the edge of suburbia is Auckland Centennial Memorial Park, the largest reserve in the region. It's an oasis of native bush covered mountains - especially valuable in a country that's cut down the vast majority of its native forests.

We took a road that said "9 km" to Whaitapu, which we could see on the map was the point where Manukau Harbor meets the Tasman Sea. What the sign didn't say was that it quickly turned into a narrow gravel affair full of hairpin twists through the hills. Fortunately, we were driving a rental.

What the road led us to was a small collection of bachs (beach homes) - a few dilapidated shacks and caravans (trailers) - on the edge of an ecological wonderland. Facing the waterfront were hills are riddled with caves, some big enough to hold scores of people comfortably. And between the caves and the water were huge dunes of blue-black sand that spilled down to broad marshy wetlands. The air was buzzing with cicadas, bees, and red dragon flies, as well as the swallows and shorebirds that were snacking on them. We walked around for an hour without seeing anyone else, although there were a dozen cars where we parked.

Cheers,
Sandie