Lamentations, Time and B in the Big NZ

Brianne has just left, yesterday actually, and already things are just not quite as good as they were a day ago. I most likely failed a test this morning, I am feeling a little sick, the weather sucks and frankly, I miss Brianne. Not to say that these things are the fault of Brianne leaving, I guess that would be a bit ridiculous, but the contrast should be noted. Not to be too terribly pessimistic but 3 days ago I was in Kaikora with a collection of some of my favorite people in the world watching one of the bests sunsets I have ever been provided and today I am wearing wool socks and a parka, plus I’ve got the heat cranked because I am in the cold and tired stage of being sick.

START READING HERE TO AVOID UNECESSARY WHINING:

My Bloggership has been below par for the last couple of weeks, but with good reason: Brianne came to visit Chris and me and, well, I wasn’t really around much. I went to one class during this time (don’t tell my father) and spent less than 2 whole days in Christchurch and around computers. Basically, life has been about living for the last couple of weeks, not writing about it. Still, now I sit back in my flat with time to reflect and memories to recall. So, instead of wallowing in my self pity I am going to write about and remember our time, these last couple of weeks, in New Zealand.

Usually after long trips I take the sort of lazy way out of writing a lot saying something poetic sounding like, ‘the stories are too numerous and the memories far to dear to depict in words.’ Actually, I think that I wrote exactly that in my blog about Easter Break, but the reality is that I just didn’t want to write. Sorry if you had thought that memories could really be too dear to recall, but I am not sure if they can be. Plus, the adventures of these last two weeks are some of the dearest to me, which is exactly why I am going to do my best to recall them. Instead of posting 10,000 words, getting carpal tunnel and sending you all into boredom or to another blog, I am going to split it up, write a little about a couple days at a time.

Before all that, I want to say that I was sad to see Brianne leave, really sad. It wasn’t just because I won’t see her for a month; it was more because it was the end of a saga, a glorious adventure. Never again could we share that time. Never again will we be in the same circumstances and setting. Never again we’ll we drive down to Stewart Island for the first time, watch our first New Zealand sunset together, see Abel Tasman…you get the point.

I began to think about the hopelessness of time; and more than that, the amount of energy I put into wishing that it would go faster, slower, ect. I certainly invested some into wishing that it could slow while Brianne was here, or that it could reverse now.

I began to think about what I want from my time, what I except with my time when all of the sudden my thinking was turned around. I was convicted by the selfishness which was inherent in this sort of thought. My time? My expectations? Sometimes some of God’s most simple truths are the easiest to forget, and for me this was one of those times. My time is not my own, it has been given to me, it is a gift. That doesn’t mean that I won’t try to enjoy or make the most of it, but instead of worrying about changing it or getting more of it I am going to be thankful for the time I get. I am incredibly thankful for the time Brianne and I spent here together, it was a greater use of time than I could imagine. I have been greatly blessed to have this time here in New Zealand, I have been greatly blessed to share the last 12 days with Brianne in this country and still I have a hard time trusting that time will be great/fulfilling/worthwhile/meaningful in the future. I will trust and I will try and remember that my time is a gift, one that I am incredibly thankful for.

Also, go read Ryan’s latest blog right now. Really, really good.


Friday, May 11th-

I woke up in utter anticipation. I hadn’t seen Brianne for 3 months. I had almost forgotten what it was like to communicate in real time—no emails or phone calls. I had butterflies in my stomach. I am not sure if this sensation—butterflies in the stomach—is supposed to go away after several months of dating, all I know is that it hasn’t for me, and I like it. Chris and I headed for the airport at 9:30 am to meet Brianne as she arrived at 10:20 am. I skipped into the airport to which an older Kiwi man mentioned to Chris that ‘it had been sometime since he had moved like that’ as he chuckled. We found the gate which Brianne would be unloading from and waited for her to show up. When we realized that some of the people which were coming down the escalator were those from the 10:20 Auckland flight Chris hid behind the empty information counter and I crept over next to the escalator, showing only my eyes hoping that I could spot Brianne before she spotted me. I swore we had made eye contact, as does Chris, but Brianne said that she didn’t see either of us. When I saw her step onto the top of that escalator my heart leapt and I ran underneath to meet her on the other side. She turned to head towards the baggage claim, I suavely walked up behind her, tapped her on the shoulder and all the culmination of my anticipation was at hand. Finally, after three months, a hug. We then nonchalantly strolled by the information center to be started by an eager Nicoletti who had times his boisterous ‘HEY!’ just perfectly to startle Brianne a bit.

We climbed for a while in the Port Hills that afternoon. The great thing about climbing in the Port Hills is that you get an incredible view of Christchurch, Sumner, Kaikora Peninsula, Canterbury Flats and the Southern Alps. Brianne dominated her first ever sport climbing route and Graham, Chris, Brianne and I watched the sun fall behind the giant peaks of Arthur’s Pass.

We went out for Mexican with a large group of us to celebrate our roommate Zoë’s 21st birthday. I thought it was ironic to go for Mexican the first night in New Zealand, which is dominated by Asian and Indian cuisine, for Brianne who had just come from Tex-Mex Promised Land, Colorado, but I was excited for her to meet everyone and visa versa. We went back to the flat early that night because Brianne hadn’t slept in some 40 hours and somehow going to some crazy bar with raging techno music didn’t sound too appealing.


Saturday, May 12th:

We had a lazy morning and spent some two hours cooking and eating breakfast, which wasn’t actually consumed until about noon. Something about running to the store for ingredients, using fresh vegetables and not rushing a good potato scramble makes eating it at noon very satisfying.

After breakfast Brianne and I loaded up the Vista, Chris and Frank loaded up his big green van affectionately referred to as ‘Barbie’ and we started to head South on highway 1. Our first stop was not our best; actually, we have come to refer to the location of our first stop as ‘poop smell beach’. Frank lead us east in hopes to get a glimpse of the mighty south pacific only to be quite surprised when we pulled up to a rocky beach adjacent to a animal processing plant complete with a tube pouring fecal matter into the waters. This is very a-typical of New Zealand and Chris, Frank and I decided that it was definitely the worst thing we had seen in here to date. Oops. To make things worse, Frank decided that it would be a good idea to try and turn Barbie around on the beach which resulted in the submersion of his back left tire into the soft sand. Brianne and I had gone ahead and then come back only to find Frank revving the engine while Chris shoved some pieces metal underneath the tires. We unloaded from the Vista and were once again hit with poop smell beaches terrible scent, which seemed so thick I was afraid to chew. Eventually the Van became unstuck and we continued on our way.

That night was spent on the Otago Peninsula just east of Dunedin. We arrived at our destination in dark, which is one of my favorite things to do because you get to be awoken in a completely new setting, and this one was quite beautiful.