Where did time go? Especially November 23rd!

Last I recall, I was skiing like crazy in Banff and Lake Louise...Playing Siedler...Taking Suzi for walks... Playing with my new gator mitts... And then WHAM-BAM! I was on the plane to L.A. and took a photo of the sunset, and the pre-landing.I did some yoga in an inconspicuous space in the LA airport, and then I treated myself to some FREE wine with my dinner on the Air New Zealand flight. I forgot how hard it is to get sleep when you're stuck in a small seat that doesn't really recline much at all. The seats should be called 'leaners' and not recliners. Anyway, I arrived at the airport in New Zealand and had to explain what the word 'Kinesiology' means to the customs officer. I passed through customs okay and hopped on the bus to the hostel in Mt. Eden. On the bus, I met a lady from Germany, Birgit. She's in the same hostel as me, and we've walked down town together twice now. We have bought bus tickets to Tokoroa, near Rotorua, to pick up a van that her German uncle's friend is lending to Birgit for the next two months (mm-hmm, quite a link, hey?). Free wheels. Sweet. We plan to hike around the volcanoes in the area once we get the van, and then Birgit has to be in Wellington by Dec 5. I don't know what or where I will be at that point, but if it works out for me to go to, that would be just super!

Here's a photo of the sky tower in Auckland. We watched people sky dive off the top. It looked like fun, but not for me... today at least. Here's irony for you: I'm in Auckland, sitting in a cafe that sells Seattle coffee. An old dude sitting next to me was wearing a sweatshirt with Seattle written on it, but after questioning the guy of his home, he and his wife are from England, not Seattle. But, they love Seattle, and they added, "Oh, and Vancouver too" at the last second. Here's Birgit at the Seattle cafe. Too weird. Weirdest things about being here: 1) The traffic on the opposite side of the street. 2) New Zealanders are SUPER FRIENDLY, but they don't stop for pedestrians - it actually seems like they are attempting to run you over... 3) The smells of spring are in the air and the birds are singing with the coming of summer. 4) The light switches turn on by ficking them down and not up. Well, my internet time is about to run out, so I'll add some pictures and some more stories after I get to Tokoroa tomorrow night.