After the turmoil and uproar of last week, this one has been relatively quiet. The demo guys are gone, the dust has settled, and we only had one day of rampant activity. The cement floor had to be ground down and a float of cement spread over the top, but now it's a blank canvas. We got quite a bit accomplished. JB and Mikey laid out the kitchen by painting equipment layouts on the floor. I wish I had gotten a picture of it, but it was ground off before I could whip out the camera. The structures for the walls are in place, and adjustments have been made for equipment, storage, plumbing and electrical locators.
Conor and I spent the week getting the logo done, printing business cards, and setting up the wireless network in the building. This was, of course, after waiting for a week for the Telecom guy to come in and string the voice and ADSL lines, only to have them cut by the demo guys within one day.* Then another wait for the repairman put us off a few days. We got our new router from the States (thanks, Kitten) and set everything up on Friday. It works perfectly, and our new SSID MexicaliFresh is sending out a wireless signal for anyone on Prince's Wharf who may want to jump online. To my knowledge, this is the first FREE wireless Internet access point in Auckland. We are not sure if there is some reason why businesses do not offer this service to their customers, but we plan to do so unless we encounter some unforseeable problem.
Our social life has been quite active in the hours we have off. On Friday we had lunch with Ken and Jennifer Horner (friends introduced to us by Hawk & Judy in Bend) and their son Tom who is an attorney here in Auckland. They live about 4 hours away, but came up here to their beach house on Waihike Island for the weekend. We had a blast telling stories and drinking excellent New Zealand wine in the hot sun on the deck at the Ferry Terminal for half of the afternoon, until their ferry was ready to depart for the island.
On Saturday we went to dinner with Bend friends Roger and Sue Kryzanek who are in New Zealand for a month of vacation and little business. Roger is a representative for an international group of social workers and has meetings while they are are. I can't remember the name of the organization, but I'm sure Roger will reply to this post and sort me out. It was great seeing them and sharing our experiences. They are off to the Bay of Islands on Monday.
* Although nobody is pointing fingers, JB was seen in the vicinity of the phone lines with a wire cutter. He earned his new nickname "Sparky" (dubbed by the demo boys) by cutting a few live wires before they could get the switch box turned off. I never knew how loud the pop could be! To be fair, JB insists that he was safe all along because his wire cutters had an insulated handle. Yeah, right.
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4 comments:
Hey guys,
Wow everything looks like it's coming along great. I can't wait to come over there and see the final product. Conor and Mikey what up from the permmmmm. CJ I was down in P-town the other day and I wish you were there, I miss you dude. It is gorgeous back here in the NW, it is so wierd it has been sunny and about 60 degrees every day, strange. Went hiking on Mt. Si Sunday and man was the view incredible, wish you were here to see it Conor. Anyways the picture from you and Mikeys apartment looks sweet, great view. What have you two been up to? Let me know at rjfrik@yahoo.com when you get a chance, I would love to here some stories of the life in NZ. Dude I can't wait to see you again, do you have a phone number yet? Do you have your own blog? Let me know.
Cindy and John hello,
Ron Fricke
Thank you Cindy for your very entertaining and informative posts. And thanks to all of you for the great pictures so we can place you in our minds. Mike, you and Conor's apartment looks awesome, what a great view. I'm sure Patton is going to love that elevator ride! ha ha Look at all of you in your shorts! This week Central Oregon has decided to have winter again, so we are digging out our boots, hats, gloves and warm jackets. A 24 hour ice bar here. Next year this time I plan to be where you are! Doubt I'll go into the ice bar though...too much like home.
Thanks to all of you and keep those posts and pictures coming. Love you Mike.
Your Mom (Suzanne...in case you didn't figure that out already)
Cindy, you are a jolly good writer and certainly have a way with words, but sometimes I think your posts can be a bit murky. For instance, you say "it's a blank canvas now."
Does that refer to the restaurant or to John?
If the restaurant, it all makes sense.
If John, I would ask, why do you use the qualifier "now"?
....Chosing to remain anonymous, but admitting that my wife's name is Mary and she is the cigar queen of the world.
It was great seeing you two and seeing how the project is coming together. We have enjoyed our tour of both the North and South Island. My business contacts with those involved with Social Work regualation have been great. I even had a chance to attend a "Select Comittee" hearing in the New Zealand Parliament regarding the Regulatory Board last week. My friends at the Association of Social Work Boards were impressed.
Roger & Sue Kryzanek
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