In which Shane runs a race...

Today, on the urging of one of my new coworkers, I signed up (last-minute, as usual, 15 minutes before the starting gun) for the City2Surf - a leisurely 12-k race along the Avon River from the city centre towards the coast. So did about 14,000 other people. It was quite the mob scene, a la the St. Patrick's Day Dash along the Alaska Viaduct, but without the stunning views of the Olympics or the cold rain. The race ended at the Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) sports park east of town (see right photo) and was really quite nice, I must say.

At the end, instead of the standard post-race free food and drink, there were about four dozen tents set up by individual companies for their runners. It seems there are so many runners that most compnaies just get all their employees corporate jerseys and then set up nice tents with BBQs and drink coolers and chairs at the end. Pretty sweet deal, eh? Beca did not do this for the City2Surf but they have done it in the past and I get the impression that, if we had been a bit better organized, it would have been possible for me to be lounging around afterwards with my fellow sweaty, smelly coworkers. How cheerful for a Sunday!

A few more pictures of note here. First on the left, what I gather to be a pretty common sight here in New Zealand - the complementary sunscreen. Thanks to all those CFCs that Americans like to produce, there is no ozone here and you end up getting skin cancer over the course of a week if you are not careful. Glad such facilities are about, as I have an albino's tolerance for sunburn...

Then, I snapped this photo on the right from the QEII, looking south to the Port Hills. These are right on Christchurch's south edge, and are a popular spot for hiking and biking, or so I am told. They also catch on fire regularly, so they must be pretty dry. They stretch out towards the Banks Peninsula, so there is another bay to the south of them, somewhere, and Christchurch's main port of Lyttleton, where my worldly goods will arrive in two months!

Finally, there was the clothes bag claim - they just set all of the bags (it was a lot but not quite 14,000) out on the grass by bib number and you went up to find yours. Compared to the chaos that usually occurs at the St. Pat's Dash, this was very orderly and quick. Of course, if they were to set everyone's bags at the St. Pat's Dash just out to be sorted by us runners, all of SoDo's rougher element would be there to grab the cell phones and wallets for themselves! And the entertainment was provided by a live band - three gals of some advanced age and behive haircuts doing golden oldies. Not even a discernable NZ accent when they were singing!

I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore. And, dammit, Toto took the wrong tornado…

I have made it to the land of Middle Earth, along with all of my belongings that could fit in four bags just under the airline weight limit. Well, I broke one bottle of wine in flight and wasn't able to sneak any of my friends into carryon luggage, so I had to leave them back in Seattle. Overall, pretty satisfactory, though.

So, what do I think of Christchurch, three days into my adventure? Well, it has not been the ideal circumstances under which to explore the city – today is Easter and Good Friday and the Monday following are both public holidays along with today. Most everything is closed and people are off doing – well, I am not sure what they are doing but whatever it is, it does not involve me! I still have had a chance to wander around the city center (centre?) a bit and also soak up everyday Kiwi culture through the TV and newspaper. Just a simple walk through the local dairy (think convenience store, not large milk-producing factory) or their version of Wal-mart (The Warehouse) is an insightful trip.

I am constantly reminded that Christchurch is a smaller city than Seattle or Denver – the downtown is much smaller, there are not as many restaurants or bars, the shops are smaller, there are not as many buses. This is going to take some getting used to, I think, but I have a lot of time! I am not yet constantly reminded just how far away the U.S. and all of my friends and family are, but I am sure that will be readily apparent in the future. I do know this – I really miss all of you! For all of this, I have not yet had a chance to get out an meet many genuine Kiwis – the Easter holiday is keeping the streets quieter than usual, I think, and I have been staying in my room more so than usual, to finish combating the wee flu I picked up before I left.

I spoke with my parents yesterday, and my brother's girlfriend, who was down visiting. After the usual small talk, I had to enquire about Orli. She, of course, is doing great – playing with their dog all the time and going for rides and walks and generally having a grand old time! I had them put me on speakerphone, and when I called for her and whistled, she got very excited and made a beeline for the front door. So sad! Well, I am glad she is in good hands, but the sooner she is here, the better as far as I am concerned!

So, how is everyone doing back in the States? Talk to me!

How to get in touch with me

New Zealand might be down on the other side of the world but there are a number of ways to get in touch with me that do not involve carrier pigeons or pony riders.

My hotel (for a week and a half) is:
Fino Casementi All-Suites Hotel – Room 403
87-89 Kilmore Street
Christchurch 8144
Phone: (country code 64) 3-372-5403

Work, which will start on Wednesday, is:
Beca Group
P.O. Box 13-960
Christchurch 8141
Phone: (country code 64) 3-366-3521

I have Vonage hooked up but the internet costs a lot per minute here so I will be using it sparingly until I can find somewhere else that is cheaper. Sadly, there is a Starbucks right on Cathedral Square, but they might have cheaper wireless, so I will give it a shot. The Vonage service is on my old cell number – 206.437.0009 – so keep that number in your cell phones!
As always, I still have access to my Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail accounts but I am not checking them nearly as often at the moment.

Finally, I am registered on Skype as shane.binder, but I am not on it much as I have little internet connectivity. At some point, I will put up a posting discussing Skype and Vonage in more detail, as soon as I get my internet situation more stable.

Latest Dispatches from the Front

Somehow, despite my best intentions, I managed to make it out of America successfully. This whole episode just goes to show why I always run late: everything usually works out in the end.

I slept the night down in Gig Harbor to spend my last moments with Anne, so Emigrating Day started at 7:50am, when I arrived - 30 minutes late - to finish last-minute packing before the movers arrived at 8:30. Always a good sign! After I hurriedly packed and the movers came and went, Garth and I headed over to Mae’s Phinney Ridge Diner for one last breakfast. The last time I had been there was with Lily almost two years ago, shortly after I had moved to Seattle! We then finished up with the remained of my stuff heading into storage – and I discovered a garment box that still needed to go to NZ.

The airlines recommend three hours of prep time at the airport for international departures. Now, the first leg of my flight was to San Francisco and I will admit that it is an admittedly exotic and unusual place, but I still do not need a passport to go there yet. Nonetheless, I had planned on leaving for Sea-Tac by noon to have this three hour window. Ah, man plans and G-d laughs, no? We left Garth’s place about 45 minutes late, and still had to go by the post office to collect my last mail, the bank to get some seed money, and the moving warehouse in Tukwila for the unfortunate garment box. I think this would have all worked out still, if it had not been for the damn Interstate. It pains me greatly to admit it, but we ended up wasting close to 40 minutes going round-and-round trying to get on I-5 south from the top of the Rainier Valley – it is not easy to do! By the time we arrived at the airport, there was less than an hour and a half left of my three-hour window (i.e. we were 1.5 hours late now). And then my lateness karma stepped in. Untied Airlines, in their usual manner, had delayed my flight by two hours.

Given this delay, I had, just planned, plenty of time to check myself and my baggage train in, sit down for a drink with Garth, get through security, and make last-minute phone calls and texts goodbye. Sure, my flight landed late in San Francisco, but my original 2.5-hour layover still had enough float that I could dash over to the international terminal and get aboard an Air New Zealand Boeing 777 bound for across the sea with fifteen minutes to spare. Best of all, my luggage made all the connections too.

This, kids, is Defense Exhibit No. One as to why I am always late. On what was the biggest event of my recent life – a 20-hour flight to a foreign country for relocation – I ran invariably late by almost two hours, and yet everything worked flawlessly! I feel a little guilty about the whole thing since I know this is one of my traits that should not be encouraged. However, I also feel just as satisfied about it, because I was able to wring every available second out of my Wednesday.

First Posting, ever...

Ah, my first blog. Let me pause a minute to wipe off the dust left by the drywall guys. Well, actually, that is all I really have time to do. I am starting this thing right in the middle of a mess - I am moving from Seattle to New Zealand, if you had not already heard, and am up to my eyeballs in unpacked stuff. I am afraid you will have to wait a little longer for more scintillating blogosphere material. Until then, good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea...