Week in review

I'm finding this out now?

Last night, Jake had his first gay (rum) experience with the guys. We went over to a friend's place to watch some rugby, and in between all the boos and hissing at the floundering All Blacks, a bottle of Mount Gay Rum emerged. And with it came a long string of gay references about each man who drank it. All in good humor, of course. 

(Hopefully this is interpreted as good humor; I'm usually very sensitive to topics that could offend. New Zealanders seem much more relaxed about political correctness. They make the U.S. seem strict, rigid and litigious in contrast, but that's a blog topic for another day.)

Looking forward to next weekend, when we'll see the All Blacks live when they play right here in Wellington. Hopefully they'll beat France this time.

Folks, don't try this at home

This weekend we were also introduced to what is a apparently a staple of the Kiwi diet. Once our friends learned we'd never tried Marmite, they told us we HAD to try it, and described it to us as "black goo that you spread on toast... It's made out of yeast and some other stuff." Most of them told us their parents made them eat it as kids "and you just learn to like it." Nothing they said seemed appetizing or even very positive. 

Finally someone jumped up, ran to the fridge and came back with samples. Kiwis are super-hospitable, of course. Jake and I both politely tried it, then quickly shared the rest with the others. It tasted salty and almost a little bitter (or something in the bitter family). Jake said it reminded him of soy sauce. In any case, I probably won't be bringing a bottle home to the folks, and I'll certainly never force my kids to eat it. 

I can't be sure we don't have this in the States just because I'd never seen it before. But there sure are some enthusiastic Marmite fans over here in NZ! 

First week on the job

After my first full week at my job, I think I'm really going to like it. I guess they have fortnightly (it's still strange using that word -- means "every two weeks") happy hours in the cafeteria. Jake stopped by and we ended up enjoying $3 beers and chatting with my new colleagues all night.

I had an embarrassing moment at my job on Day 4: I walked into a tray on the printer that was hanging out in the hallway. Loud crash, lots of laughter and some applause. I had a flashback to dropping my tray in the cafeteria in fourth grade. But I felt worse when I saw the repairman there later. I'd actually broken it. I think sharing this story with all of you might ease my shame... let's see if it works.

The fog rolls in
We had a super-foggy day yesterday. This view is looking out our back deck over the harbour, but we couldn't see any water at all. 

We usually see a big island in the middle too, but even that was mostly hidden. You can just see the top of it in this shot.