Yinzer in the Shire

April, 2015 marked the 100th anniversary of the first landing of the Australian New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli, Turkey during World War 1. Every year on this date Kiwi's and Australian's commemorate Anzac Day. Approximately 100,000 men left New Zealand to serve, only 82,000 returned. Anzac Day is a day similar to the US Memorial Day, except with less nationalism and more focus on the loss and pain of war. It is a solemn occasion, marked by Dawn Services and other such commemorations. Anzac Day is a half-day off from work, with shops and other businesses closed til 1pm on the day. This year, with the holiday falling on a Saturday, the holiday has been Monday-ised, meaning that if a worker would have normally had Saturday off, they are given the Monday off instead. Employees who are scheduled to work on Anzac day and are not given the day off must be paid time-and-a-half and are to be given another day off in lieu. Being a contract worker Seth does not get ...

After spending weeks in and out of other people's homes on our recent visit back to the States I began to feel a bit disillusioned with our flat here in New Zealand. When we first moved in Seth and I were both incredibly hesitant to make any major purchases.  Most of our furniture came from the op shops and I spent so many months sitting on the floor prior to us purchasing a futon that our landlords began to worry about us. Upon returning from holiday I decided to make some changes to our home.  Though it still took us a few days to get the root of the problem. At first I thought we needed more stuff, then as Seth and I discussed the matter, we realised that the heart of the issue was actually the way we had placed the items we did own.  Our house lacked a certain coziness. We began with the kitchen.   We took everything off the counter and slowly brought items back in one by one.  With each item we considered if it should be out on the counter or tucked ...

Just a year and a half ago I had exactly zero stamps in my passport despite owning it since 2006.  I still haven't visited many countries, but living on a remote island has enabled me to become intimately familiar with eleven different airports in six different countries.  Through these journeys I have learned a lot about the ups and downs of international travel as I attempt to make the most of it and not crumple up into a heap of sobbing Jess after my fourth security checkpoint in less than 24 hours.  (Doubt my authority on this subject?  This post was written during a 43 hour journey from Washington DC to New Zealand) On Dealing with Security & Boarding: - Be kind to security and your flight crew. Sometimes you will come across a sourpuss who makes security or boarding unpleasant no matter how much kindness you throw their way, but if you smile and engage with airport staff as fellow human-beings your trip is likely to be a lot smoother. Who knows,...