Truckasaurus!

I went to the Southern Thunder Monster Tuck Shootout on Friday night with a couple of friends last Friday night. We all used the same excuse, Seth, the two year old would like it. Seth did like it, but I think we really all went to that we could drink whiskey and yell really loud. This was the first monster truck rally I had been to in nearly 20 years. A few things I noticed:

• It's really, really loud.
• I inhaled a lot of carbon monoxide as this occured indoors.
• All they really do is drive over the same row of junked cars again and again.
• I have no idea how a winner is determined.
• Raminator was the undisputed champion.

It's redneck stuff like this that I'm surrounded with and try to distance myself from most of the time. It's also the kind of stuff I end up missing when I'm away.

The night ended at 6:30 the next morning when James and I set off a small arsenal of fireworks in front of his house in quaint West Asheville.


PHOTO: Raminator!

Pulling the trigger.

Flashback to October 2004: I’ve spent the last two years transforming a fledgling music hall into a South East institution. With the Orange Peel’s credibility, my job has also grown into a stable, office-like position that I can live more than comfortable off of. With the low interest rates I’m thinking about buying a house. Yes things were looking pretty good for me in Asheville. Except for this one small detail, which started as a whisper but turned into a roar; I was bored. It was more than just a lack of something to do, it was more than that. Was this my final destination? It’s almost like I was having a mid-life crisis at 25.

Ever since I had spent six months working in London in 1998, I knew I wanted to travel more. And I had; three months in Costa Rica, a few more trips to London, Canada, the Caribbean. Traveling was something I could do, something I HAD to do. I had wanted to explore New Zealand and Australia for some time. If I bought a house, I probably wouldn’t be able to take this in the foreseeable future. I might not be able to do it at all, and I would probably live to regret it for the rest or my life. The time was at hand.

So with that I began planning. First I submitted my visa application thru BUNAC, I can definitely say that I would not be who I am today without that organization. If you’re under 30 and are thinking about taking a working holiday, check them out. I had been saving frequent flyer miles for six years of anticipation of a trip of this magnitude. I cannot sing enough accolades of mileage earning credit cards. I had channeled a college education plus a year of rent in Boston thru that card, a great help. Most of my daily expenses went on the card for several years and I would buy high-dollar things for my friends on the card in exchange for cash. I have thought of hanging around a car dealership and offering strangers to let me charge their new Land Rover on my MasterCard for cash, but I haven’t gone that far… yet.

I was a little worried about not getting a place in the BUNAC’s Work New Zealand program as they did not get my application until after Dubya’s tragic re-election and the slots were limited. After a few sleepless nights I was relieved to find that stage one of my visa application had been approved. I had until January 5^th 2005 to submit the second stage. The main part of that was submitting proof of a confirmed flight to the New Zealand consulate. It turned out that this was not going to be as easy as I thought. I was going to get my flight with miles and I planned on spending the maximum amount of time in New Zealand as I was allowed (one year). I knew that reward travel to the South Pacific books up far in advance so I got right on it immediately, but there was a draw back. Per American Airlines policy, award travel is valid for 365 days from when the ticket is issued. So it’s November 2004, I want to begin my travels in March 2005, but because American feel like being butts, I’m going to have to return in November 2005, five months earlier than I had planned. As the Automator would say, “Unacceptable.” It took a lot of head-scratching, but I figured it out. First I built my flight reservation and put it on hold. I chose to fly my out-bound trans-Pacific portion on Air Tahiti Nui instead of Quantas, as Quantas flights fill up much faster. Holds expire after 14 days, but can be extended pending availability. I needed to call every two weeks to extend the hold, as of February 13^th 2005, my ticket is still on hold. I still needed to submit proof of a confirmed flight to secure my visa, an itinerary on hold would not be acceptable. So I purchased a full-fare, fully-refundable flight from Los Angeles to Auckland for $4800. (Actually Dad helped me out with that. Thanks Dad!) I made a copy of the tickets, submitted them, and cancelled the ticket for a full refund. It’s a little scary moving around five thousand dollars, but you got to do what you’ve got to do. It worked! I’ve got a shiny hologram sticker in my passport giving me authorization to work in New Zealand for 365 days beginning March 16, 2005.

Flash forward to February 13^th 2005: I gave the Orange Peel a six week notice. Starting tomorrow I will begin training my replacement. Good luck, Sarah, you’ll need it. I was having a recurring dream that I was on my flight to New Zealand are realized that I forgot to pack. I haven’t had that dream in a few weeks now, so I’m hope that means that I’m pretty well prepared. I’ll be moving out of my house in two weeks. The ball is rolling faster and faster. I feel a little nervous at times, but that should be expected.


Photo: 4am on New Years Day. Nuff said.