Hello, one & all!
How goes it in the U.S.? it's hard for me to think of everyone @ home in the Christmas season, gearing up in winter, snow, boots, all that stuff. Instead, I'm in springtime, w/ erratic weather patterns, & very little Christmas-y stuff around, few advertisements, Christmas lights, Christmas programs, santas, etc. That's fine w/ me, as none of it really pertains to us anyway! We're unsure as to what exactly we'll be doing over the holidays, but we're not too worried about it.
I'm of course in the library typing this up; too bad i can't use what I already have saved to a mem stick, b/c the actual computer is locked up. whatever. just got done w/ a LONG day of work (the usual 10 hrs, but doing the same mind-numbing task over & over & over & over again, can seem like a long time!). it's tough to think after being in those conditions, though I am of the opinion that farmers should be the world's most brilliant philosophers, as you've got plenty of time to think, if you so desire!
as I said, we're working in a few different vineyards; when you're doing such similar tasks, it's amazing what constitutes variety! wire snapping v. planting sticks to hold the vines, v. bagging the vine to the stick, etc. I don't think that we'd be getting through w/o our ipods; I like to set mine to shuffle & change b/w listening to country, books on war, rock, Les Miserables, comedians, etc. you never know what's coming next. exciting life, eh? :) Liz & I also pass the time by debating such deep philosophical issues as who our favorite Lord of the Rings character is & why (L & L similarity #3: self-professed LotR geeks, who both love Aragorn) & discussing what other actors could have played each role successfully, or simply telling stories & filling each other in on what's been going on for the last 12 years! my imagination has run wild a few times, but it's all stuff that you'd have to be there to understand; I've made sure to fill Liz in & make her laugh! also, I believe that my work in AmeriCorps (read, picking up sticks everyday for 40 hrs/week in Feb in WI) helped prepare me for the tedium of our present job. but, we're making $$! (though not a lot) and, we've made friends w/ our Chinese co-workers, who will be quite sad to see us go.
In fact, we just returned from a 3-day work trip to another vineyard 1 1/2-hrs S of here, 5 km from the beach. everybody referred to it as the middle-of-nowhere, w/ no cell reception & no Pak 'n Save (grocery store). coming from our background of backpacking, we found it hilarious when it was actually near a miniscule town & even a country store! both nights at the campground (we stayed in musty cabins), we ate Chinese BBQ, which was delicious! nothing but meat on a stick; we favored the mutton & sausage, they also ate chicken necks & hearts. mm, mm, good! :)
also on that trip, we made a 4.3 km detour to see the longest sign name in the world, 85 letters! I can now check that off the list of stuff to do before I die--see longest sign name in world. lots of a's & k's in it, like in Hawaii. made sure we got pics.
One question that I have pondered is what I'd like the greatest accomplishment of my life to be. If I could answer that, then I'd have a clear goal & a clear purpose to work toward, making decisions simple, as everything I do would have to align w/ that 1 overarching goal. too bad I don't know for sure what it'd be! what do you think?
another speculation for you--what do you think I'll be doing in 5 years? sometimes I'm asked that; I think it'd be interesting to hear others' responses to it!
1 work day, it started hailing, so we took the opportunity to visit the winery; who knew you could try 10 different wines for free?! the noble viogner was our personal favorite, a dessert wine that's super sweet & smooth, that costs $45/bottle (& the bottle is half the size of the others). viogner actually means rot, so we quite enjoy "noble rot." boy, did we ever feel gauche, walking in to the winery in our dirty work clothes, featuring baseball hats, bandanas & the stench of previously stepped-in sheep poop. Liz later referred to the ladies working there as "high-class;" they were wearing jeans & fitted t-shirts! typical of us, eh? anyway, it was quite fun & we learned a lot; of course, it was esp satisfying after spending all that time working w/ the vines (no grapes yet, they're not in season).
we've got a few days of work left, just through Sat, & when we'll be heading just a few kms away in order to enjoy our first WWOOFing experience (Willing Workers on Organic Farms), meaning we help them 4-5 hrs/day, & they feed & house us. we're definitely looking forward to the feeding portion!
as usual, this is quite long, & I must sign off. I check my e-mail regularly, so feel free to drop me a line!
Niece Alyssa, I've been thinking of you when I see all the sheep around here (they're not kidding that NZ is full of 'em!). I can just hear you answering the question of "what does a sheep say?" BAAAAA. they really do! sometimes, it almost seems like a person imitating a sheep. odd.
