Tuesday/Rārua
We left our home in Auckland at 3.30 pm (via Anna our daughter in her boyfriend - Mark's car) saying goodbye to 23 Cedar Rd for the last time after 25 years living there. We were on a 7.45 pm Air NZ flight heading for San Francisco and Bill whispered in my ear “I have got emailed that Air NZ took our lowest possible offer for a One-Up upgrade that I pitched for a week ago, and we are going business class.” That was music to my ears!
Getting out of Cedar Rd has been a mission. While we sold and got the price we wanted, too many things broke just as we have been leaving - dishwasher, range hood, pantry door, bench - it cracked, waste disposal, pool heater and spa. So I have had my head down organising to fix things. One thing left to fix. That is the range hood to go and we may have to get a new range hood! I am hopeful that I can fix it and all my eggs are with Bevan. He fixed the fridge and I have certainly tried every range hood place in Auckland! When we put in the range hood in the house 2006 I decided on Scholtes brand. It seemed up market and lasting. I guess after 13 years of use it did last!
I got into action and arranged to have them fixed while I was in the Koru lounge. I did not let the house beat me. Though I do have one more thing to fix .. the range hood!
I am writing this on the plane. Bill is in his business class pod on his lap top. Gee he is focussed. He knows what he wants and is so prepared and organised. He bites and sucks his fingers a lot. I get so annoyed by this. I can see I am going to have to give up my attitude of annoyance about this. I am not sure why I always feel so annoyed. I will look into this further on the trip.
Anyway bon voyage to us. A year of travel. Yippee 😊.
Toku toa, he toa rangatira. (My bravery is inherited from the chiefs who have gone before me on Aotearoa.)
I like this card (Annette, a colleague of Bill's gave it to him.) I like it because Bill is really driving this year long sabbatical. I am at the back and I can still have the ride of my life, and maybe someone like you is following us.
We arrived in San Francisco after a near perfect flight in business class. It was near perfect because I had the near perfect sleep. I noticed I was first to go to sleep in my business pod and last to wake up (I had been awake for some of the night and then I must have gone back to sleep eventually.) This is a typical pattern for me of sleep and I would love to sleep better. That will be my ONE BIG THING. Yay I have found it. I will work on exactly what in the weekend coming after the golf. I will follow the six week format of the One Big Thing course I did with Leanne before leaving Aotearoa. Maybe too this rangitaki/blog will also assist me to sleep more solidly at night. A solid night's sleep will be really something to look forward to.
Bill has hired a car. (Bill does nearly all the organising on this trip.) I think he likes to take charge. I don’t think I am as good as him at that either, he likes doing it so I let him. It saves arguments and besides I have my blog to look forward to.
So today Bill goes to another floor to get into the Budget Fast Break queue and he tells me to wait in the ordinary Budget queue. He wants a dollar each way. He says we will talk via messenger (free wifi for 30 mins at the airport.)
A few minutes have passed. I look for my phone. Oh no, I can't find it! I have bonzoed (a polite word for making a mistake I have picked up). Not again. I have that sick feeling. Why can't I be present? (I talk to myself.) I must have left it in the loo. I bonzoed. (This is almost like yippee - what can I learn here.) I try not to beat myself up. I know Bill is not going to be happy. He arrives. I tell him the bad news. He says he knows, he has been trying to call my phone. We wait for a bit and then someone calls his phone. Someone has handed it in! Just as well I kept using the word bonzoe! The guy says he will bring the phone to us and he will arrive by bike.
He did. I have never felt so relieved. Someone handed it in to the policeman in the picture. I wanted to hug him and then thought that maybe not the thing to do.
The car we have hired to head off to Aptos.