I live here
The blogging has tailed off lately; I’m in a different headspace.
Gone are the mindblowing vistas and revelations of being totally unhinged from everything fixed, the future wide open and new exciting things happening every day.
Even the harrowing real estate adventures have been absent these past couple of weeks. We’re in the middle of the process, progress is happening, but it doesn’t have much to do with us, right now. That will change, and there will no doubt be some harrowing negotiation in the final stretch, which unfortunately looks like it will be occuring when we are once again travelling.
We are quite clearly not travelling now. That is the difference with everything. We are stable, we are steady, we live here, we are home. And I am =stuffed=
Our stuff arrived a week and a half ago and has since been demanding all of our attention, getting it unpacked, getting it sorted, enjoying a few bits and pieces here and there, getting it repacked and stored away because we are leaving in just two and a half weeks, and renting the place out again. Add to that the need to buy more stuff for the tenants—extra beds, NZ compatible TV, freezer, DVD player…
It’s practically like moving again. It wasn’t fun the first time this year, and it isn’t fun now. And then in three months when we return it will be unpacking and house setting up, though that’s only going to be for what, a year? Who knows, until we find our property. And then moving again, probably into a house that will also be temporary, until we finally build our dream eco-greenhouse a couple of years after that. Boo hoo hoo, most of the people in the world should be so lucky, it’s a high quality problem, but damn!
The bodymind doesn’t care that we’re only here on a temporary permanent basis, though. We have easily fallen into the habit of just living here. The things we are doing are normal things, things that don’t inspire great sweeping bloggable insight. Getting the car battery replaced. Raking leaves and mashing them into the leaf mould bin. Getting into a steady groove with my chi gung practice. Shopping for food. Making dinner. Watching movies.
All of this is cool in a way, because just a couple of months into my expatriate adventure I feel quite normal, quite settled, except of course for the imminent trip, which is quite unsettling. At this point I am thinking of it as an important long term community building task, but it isnt’ really what I feel like doing right now. I know I will have loads of fun, but I feel like it is very disruptive to the putting down roots work I am doing here now. If I had another 4 days in town, I could have gone to www.massivenz.com/. If I had another month in town I could have thrown together a crazy little burning man style party, DJ, firespinners, maybe the dome put up in the yard. instead we will have about 5 people over for dinner next week. Pleasant and domestic, but without the big excitement I like to have every once in a while.
There were some cool firsts recently, which are very much in the mood of being settled. At Ali and Jake’s game night we met a fellow who knew another kiwi friend of ours quite well. Degree of separation collapse, when the social branches shooting away into the peoplesphere come back again through a new acquaintance. Is there a name for this? Social Loop Back? At any rate, it makes it feel like home.
Along similar lines, we ran into Briar at the natural food store. Nothing feels so homey as to meet one’s friends out in the world.
I got my New Zealand driver’s license. On a 35 question test, I was twice asked how much distance maximum is allowed between a vehicle and a vehicle it is towing. 4 meters.
I planted my first tree here. A little Meyer lemon bearing an outrageous number of fruits for its size, which I pruned off so it could put more energy into getting bigger. Of course, wise growing strategy aside, it would have been nice to be here for the fruit to ripen… But it is not time yet for us to fruit, here. This winter is growing our roots deeper in preparation for the big tree we will become.