To everyone back home, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Lacking any Puritans and Native Americans to mix it up back in the early 1600's, New Zealand does not recognize the holiday. Unlike Halloween, I did not noticeably miss it. Since it's not autumn/fall here (early Summer, rather), it just doesn't "feel" like Thanksgiving. It also doesn't feel like Christmas, though decorations are starting to pop up in stores around town. I have noted they don't celebrate Christmas with the same intensity that we seem to in the United States.

Early Summer in Wellington is interesting. There was a moment when I was walking down the street the other day, very brief mind you, where I imagined it would be a good day to be at the beach. It was sunny and warm. Not hot, though. Considering the steambath that is Atlanta in the summer, I cannot say I miss a proper Summer just yet. Ask me next year, though. =)

I just returned earlier from the corner market, where I did the shopping for the bulk of our week's veggies. Things are much more seasonal here. Tomatoes are in season, and we're starting to see fruits like cantaloupe melon on the stands. I also picked up our regular Sunday afternoon snack, Red Bean Moon Cakes.

We find ourselves very busy these days. I have finally managed to land some work, in the form of a small freelance project for DOC. Though it's a small project I am involved with, the experience of working with their staff has been really great and I'm hoping it could lead to more things down the road. Next week, I am attending a conference digital archiving at Te Papa. Looks pretty interesting, and hopefully will be a good networking opportunity as well. Stacey and I met some interesting people the other night at an evening meeting of the NZ-American Association of Wellington. The other attendees were all pretty interesting, many of them coming directly from the Embassy. Consequently, they had stories to tell from other posts, including places like Afghanistan. While our being there was initially for networking purposes, it was also an excuse to get together with some Americans. We have not seen many since our arrival, and it was admittedly nice.

Speaking of Stacey, she's also quite busy these days. I will not speak of her many meetings, lest I jinx their potential outcomes, but suffice it to say she is networking like crazy and getting decent response (which is great). Sometimes it reminds me of gardening...planting seeds...you put them in the ground, and wait to see if they turn into anything. You have to keep watering and feeding them once they sprout, or they don't grow. Sometimes they don't grow no matter how hard you try. In some of them, you can see the beginnings of potential. It just takes time.

Our social lives are not too bad. Stacey is doing better than I. Like a good gardener with the plants, she is more attentive to her friends. I tend to get preoccupied with other things, like work stuff. But, am hoping to get together with a regular gaming group starting next week. One of the guys is an aspiring writer from New York, so that will be interesting to talk with him and see what brought him to New Zealand. We also have a bowling date this weekend with another group. Should be quite amusing--watching me bowl always is.