Wow it's been a month since our last update! No new pictures or anything, as we haven't done anything particularly exciting, however I will give everyone an update on our goings-on.
The Christchurch earthquake happened a few weeks ago. Neither John nor I were affected at all--as a matter of fact I didn't even know about it until 5 hours later when I got home from work to see it on the news. Two of our friends, Mark and Pam, were actually in downtown Christchurch when it struck. They were okay but it was quite an ordeal for them. They have since headed back to the UK, but stopped in Hawke's Bay on their way to Auckland about two weeks ago and I was able to meet them for a light platter at Elephant Hill while John was working. It was a nice afternoon and good to see them one more time. We wish them the best!
However, the earthquake damaged a lot of buildings including one of the main Census buildings--as the headquarters were in Christchurch. That, coupled with the fact that 50,000 people had left the city to temporarily or permanently settle in other places, meant that the government decided to cancel the census for the year--and perhaps start back up again next year. However, I will still be getting paid even though I didn't do too much work--which is kinda nice but still unfortunate circumstances. However, I am still super busy at the packhouse.
John and I have both been busy working a ton. The seasonal staff at John's work has dwindled down to just him. So now it's 5 managers, one permanent staff, and him. Which is great because he gets a lot of hours and gets on pretty well with his co-workers. There was one girl who was a pain in the butt who was finally fired recently and that made John happy to no longer work with her. Last week, a girl named Zara had her last day after working there 2 years because she was moving on to become a hair stylist at a nice salon. After work that night I was invited along with John for drinks and dinner at this cool little cafe in Havelock North with a lot of his co-workers and two of the managers. It was a very fun evening and great for us to socialize, as I haven't really "gone out" per se in quite a long time. We enjoyed some nice wine and food, and I learned all about how to make wine from one of the assistant winemakers, Yurin, from Germany, who was there. I brought the camera, but unfortunately didn't take any pictures.
On Tuesday of this week was my 24th birthday and while it was quite low key it was still a great day! I was able to get off work early and John took me to this microbrewery cafe, called the Filter Room, over in Napier. He got a great deal on GrabOne that let us each get a tasting tray of 6 beers/ciders and a tasting platter. It was such a beautiful day, warm with a light breeze and we enjoyed sitting outside tasting all the beer and food! Afterwards, he took me for a little shopping in Napier where I got some earrings that I could wear to work (they only let you wear continuous small hoop earrings--nothing with studs). He also finished making me earrings from the same shell he used to make the necklace and I wore them to my birthday dinner! I will post pictures of them soon.
The dinner at Elephant Hill was delicious. When we first got there it was just as the sun was starting to set and it was gorgeous so we had drinks on their terrace with the head winemaker Steve, and Yurin, the guy I had met last week. It was such a gorgeous evening, not too cold, and when dinner time came they gave us the best tables in the restaurant (as it was not very busy on a Tuesday). It's in the back so it's quiet, but it's a big round table right at the corner where two big floor to ceiling window's meet so you can see all of the vineyard and the ocean--I felt to special! THEN the chef gave us TWO complimentary appetizers that were really good. Yellowfin tuna (RAW--which I ate and actually enjoyed!) and beef carpaccio. It was super nice because John said the tuna was the best appetizer and was what he was going to order anyway. We enjoyed some more nice wine with dinner, I had a delicious chicken dish while John had venison, and then for dessert I had a glass of dessert wine and the BEST chocolate fudge thing that I have ever had. It was chocolate mousse cake with a chocolate biscuit bottom and chocolate fondant on top with hazelnut chocolate cream spread all around it with some small bits of fruit. It was SO GOOD. I said to John that was exactly how chocolate should taste.
All in all it was a good day, with good food, good wine, and good company--all the components that you need!
Apparently we have been invited to a small house warming party this Thursday for one of the girls who works in the Cellar Door so that should be fun as well. There are a few people my age at work, but the people I socialize with the most are my Team Leader, Ian, who is 63 and almost retired--but he's super nice and stands up for us whenever stupid crap happens--which is quite a lot--and Grahame, a 30-something married with kids guy who just moved here from the UK with his family in November. Very nice people, but it's good to get out every once in a while.
We are starting to get the travel bug again though, and are very much looking forward to moving on. We have started looking for jobs on the ski fields in the South Island and there are plenty to be had--so hopefully we can start apply soon and plan to keep moving sometime in mid-May.
Hopefully another update won't come as late as another month, but if anything exciting happens, I'll post it here!
