today was a good day.

after a couple weeks of increasingly bad insomnia, peaking with being awake from 1am to 6:30 the night before last, I slept pretty much the night through last night. That was with the help of leaving the heat on and taking my last sample dose of Lunesta. Lunesta leaves a very strange taste in your mouth...hard to explain but it isn't pleasant. When I asked my friend who tried it how it had worked for her, the first thing she said was, it gave me this horrible taste in my mouth :-P For me it's not such an issue, but definitely bothersome. So, I slept, happy me.

Then this morning I decided that I would do one (or more) of three things with my day. First choice was something I've been wanting to do since before I moved here which is to visit the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. It is mostly just a bird sanctuary but they have removed all predators and are trying to reintroduce endangered species there. Second on the list was going to the Wellington Zoo, I like animals, what can I say? Third option was going for a little shopping and getting a fleece and maybe some warm socks or something.

Turns out I chose the first option. So, after doing a little straightening around here I drove down to the sanctuary. My third driving experience in NZ and my furthest drive. I wasn't expecting much excitement, really just getting myself out of the apt. and into nature was enough motivation. The entry fee is $8 and i also bought a little bird booklet for another dollar.

I spent a few hours wandering about looking up and down and all around to see the creatures. Saw quite a few birds, most of whom look like the birds I see outside of my apartment. They have a special little hangout they built for the Weta an insect that has apparently been around, pretty much unchanged, since dinosaurs were hanging out http://www.kcc.org.nz/animals/weta.asp

My biggest realistic hope was to see the Kaka (a New Zealand species of parrot). My unrealistic hopes were to see a Kiwi bird and the Weka another flightless bird in the sanctuary. They are both quite rare and quite skittish and the Kiwi pretty much only comes out at night, so, unlikely they were to be seen. The parrot seemed a little more likely though.

I reached the far end of my walk without a parrot being seen. I was a little disappointed and a little damp when I turned back. It didn't take too long though before I came back to a feeder I had seen on the way up and there was a big brown parrot getting himself something to munch on. It's a little embarrassing to admit just how happy this made me. Unfortunately this was a little in the day and the lighting was not good. Also, when I tried to get close enough to use flash, the parrots would head further away. That was a little frustrating. So, after probably ten or fifteen minutes of watching the parrot (and a friend of his that came along a bit later), I continued my walk back to the car happy that I had finally seen a parrot in the wild. I then heard quite a bit of noise off to my left and when I looked out there were four or five parrots sharing a feeder. Of course I had to stop and stare at them for another 10 minutes or so. Once again lighting and distance made pictures unlikely. I've not yet gone through the 103 pix I snapped, but my guess is no pictures of birds will be worth looking at. It was quite an enjoyable afternoon nonetheless.

I then drove back home. Right after coming in the door the house phone started ringing. I don't usually bother answering as not many people call me, especially on the house phone. This time I thought I would in case it was one of the roomies needing something. It wasn't one of the roomies. It was actually Massey University asking for me. I have a job interview on the 7th of June for the position of Student Liaison Adviser. Not necessarily my dream job, but a perfectly acceptable entry into the uni world in New Zealand. It would also be based here in Wellington which would make me most happy.

I'm very excited to have finally received an interview. Even if I do not get the job, this is another step and adds to my experience.

That is about all I have for now.

I am very much enjoying New Zealand still.