Summer is here!

If only I could be better. Better at everything. Better at being a good person to others, better at living a healthier lifestyle, a better son, a better partner, a better employee, just better. It’s not enough to be who I am, and it never was. I remember as a teenager sitting alone on a river back near the house I grew up in. I would compile lists of the things I wanted to do with my life and qualities I wanted to exemplify, all in order to make myself more popular and better. There’s that word again. This river bank memory was lost in the far recesses of my mind until recently, when again I started my journey to make myself better. Even with many years between these two points in my life, the feeling is exactly the same now as it was then. So as I revisit this seemingly insatiable need to be better, memories come tumbling forward in to life once more. I get the feeling that the chance has been long-lost to do all of those things that were on the young childs river bank list.

But then maybe the chance wasn’t lost? If I take a really good honest look at what I have done with my life, it is evident that I have done some of those things. They were merely dreams considered beyond difficult to achieve, yet I did achieve them - traveled, learned languages, worked with animals - along the way I have also acquired a reputation which displays some of the qualities I wanted to be as well – honest, reliable, creative, .......hmmmm. Let’s analyse this a bit longer. So I made some lists of things that I hoped would make me a better person. I compared it to the reality of my current situation……………………………..there’s not much difference between the two actually.

A slight change.

Sometimes when I sit down to write, I get carried away on a philosophical tangent and I don't really know where that drive comes from.  I don't sit down with that intention, it's just that sometimes I like to enliven my thoughts through words and bring them in to the real world.  It makes me feel a little bit creative and most importantly, it makes me feel good.  The intention of this blog originally though was to be a means of keeping everyone up to date with the goings on in life here in New Zealand.  So back to basics and I will try to write more about what we are doing as opposed to the deep and sometimes dark bursts of philosophy.  Afer all, I also wanted this blog to become a personal record of this adventure as well as a means of keeping everyone informed of my life.  So, whats new.......?
Life continues to roll along and sometimes I have to double check dates for it really to make sense just how fast time is passing.  When I think of things I did a year ago, it seems like a few months ago, and so my entire sense of time and order are constantly being challenged.  In a few days it will be two years since we drove away from our farm, and that moment indeed does seem like a lifetime ago.  Everything since then thought is all as recent as yesterday in my mind and my emotions.
Work continues to grow and evolve in to a constant learning experience.  There is no monotony or routines at Hamilton Zoo.  I am always being offered opportunities to grow and to challenge myself, and I am always taking them.  I don't just go to work and to the basic zoo keepers role, albeit this is the most important and enjoyable aspect of my job.  I have been given opportunities to get involved in policies and procedures, education services and leadership and do not tire of these new inclusions.
Our mini-farm here has grown by two this past week, with the birth of two calves and another two expected sometime soon.  This is a much better outcome from last year where we only had two calves born, both still born.  I am selling the three geese however as they make a hell of a lot of noise and chase the chooks around the place.
A for travel, summer is here and so we have begun going camping again for the season.  In December we are going to be climbing Mt Taranaki, a volcano on the North Island.  In Februaury we booked flights to Vanuatu and in April we booked time to go on a week long road trip to the north of the North Island.
So that's us in a nutshell!

What I want.......

Sometimes we want so much that we lose sight of what we actually have.  I am a classic example of this and recognised this trait in myself a long time ago.  Some would have you believe that it is a negative trait to possess, one that needs to be exorcised from the demon within thus leading to pure and happy thoughts about life.  Taken to the extreme, I can see some truth in that belief.  Taken to the extreme, it could be seen as greed and pure over exasperated self indulgence.  But kept at a balance, wanting for things, whether it is a new jacket, a holiday in Rome or to find true love, can be a mode of emotional transport through life.  We know we will not get one tiny ounce of the things that we want, but this doesn’t stop us compiling those imaginary fantasies in our minds.  Some of these things, with time, become our goals or they start to shape our thoughts, our emotions and our attitudes.  Sometimes they even help us get by, even though we know they are unattainable.  The wants become part of the life plan and before we know it, we have gone from just wanting stuff to fill our lives, to having something to aim for in the future.  So next time you feel guilty for wanting something, stop and think about it and just enjoy the thought.  Maybe you will end up finding yourself buying a new jacket, while on a holiday in Rome with your true love.  Doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?

Raglan and serentiy....

Raglan is only 45 kilometres from Hamilton, yet it feels like you are in a far flung corner of the country, forgotten by the masses but enjoyed by a few. There is a low but significant range of hills which stretches along the edge of the flat Waikato farmland. This range separates the coastal communities of this area from the interior of the North Island. The road which crosses this range at its highest point is known and The Deviation, locally called the ‘divvy’. At this point it is not only the crossing of a physical barrier that you sense, but also that of a psychological one. Leaving Hamilton, it is a relatively flat to low undulating urbanised terrain, which gives way to ‘lifestyle blocks’, known in other countries as ‘hobby farms’, all compressed in to an uncomfortable example of urban sprawl. Crossing the divvy travelling towards Raglan sees an increase in native forests and streams, with larger agricultural areas lush with green pastures year round. Finally, this all falls in to the Tasman Sea with some extravagantly contrasting dramatic and serene scenery. Arriving in Raglan brings a deep breath, and respite from the rest of the world is inevitable as the overwhelming sense of arriving in a nurturing and welcoming place takes hold. Wooden cottages are strewn around the harbour and in to the hinterland. Friendly locals, an eclectic mix of hippies, surfers, fishermen and travellers all nod and wave as if you are lifelong friends and neighbours. It is a perfect match of scenery, lifestyle and serenity and one which I feel fortunate to have landed in.