- 5 APRIL 2009 - 

Hello loved one. 

Today is Sunday. It's been a while since we've added anything new to this blog. And as you can imagine, it's because there really hasn't been a whole lot crackin' for us. This isn't to say that we haven't been keeping ourselves busy, because we have. And it definitely isn't to say that milestones aren't being passed, because they are. We just haven't been up to a lot of 'blog worthy' activities over the last 6 weeks. 

Of course, we're assuming anything we've even done and wrote about in the last 8 months, has been blog worthy. At least, we hope that it has. 

And 8 months reminds me that, "Holy crap! Heather and I have been gone for 8 months already!!!" Can you believe that? 

Well anyway, since we've last written anything, 3 very big things have happened to the young Superfly Family. 

FIRST - As of Tuesday, February 24th, at  12:00 a.m., Michael Douglas Madden, personnel number 546-57-8921, was no longer subject to military service under his Non-Active Reserve contract with the Oregon Army National Guard. Ahhhyeeeahhh!!! Thus ending 2 years of concocting schemes of how to evade a stop-loss situation and be pulled back into service; believe me, I had some doozies. 

This is the two year inactive reserve contract they tack onto the end of first time contracts for servicemen when they first sign up. My contract was a 6 year, actively training with the Oregon Guard and 2 years inactive withe the Army Reserve. So for the last two years, if there was a shortage of Infantrymen ANYWHERE in the Army, world wide, I was technically available for re-activation. The 2 year inactive tack-on is a common practice thing and most guys don't ever get pulled back in but, as you can imagine over the last 7 1/2 years, there have been many horror stories of guys being called up just days before their inactive reserve time was up. Needless to say, I have been quietly counting down the days. 

But it's not that I wouldn't have done it, because I would have. And I would have been the best disgruntled soldier in the whole Army! I just didn't want to have to deal with it. I also didn't want to have to bring Heather into a military spouse situation either. It works for some folk, but that kind of separation would be no good for her. I know this. And I could have a lot more to discuss about my time with the Nasty Girls (a term of degradation for the National Guard (NG) used my active duty people), but in the end, it's as they say, "All's well that ends well!" 

SECONDLY - Heather didn't bring enough birth control with her. We both were scratching our heads as to how this item was left off our pre-departure checklist. We think it had to do with how freaking stressful it was for her to get more than a 3 month supply in Oregon. I guess it was expensive and extremely intrusive to get one pack, let alone enough to keep us baby proofed for an entire year. 

We even had a chance to buy a life time's supply while we were in Thailand. You'd be amazed at what kind of prescription stuff you can buy at a Thai pharmacy. After the currency conversion, we could have bought a life time's supply for like a $1.60 US. But for some reason we didn't. It could have been because what thought about how this would have sounded:

"I don't know Mom. I don't know how this could happen. After all, we were using the birth control we bought in Thailand."  

So, a couple weeks ago when Heather comes to me and says:

"Mike, how reproductive have you been feeling lately?" 

My gut cramped and I could feel my face go flush. In a moment all of my life flashed before my eyes. I thought, "Ah shit, not like this. Come on, I don't even have a job for pete's sake!" 

I think she saw that in my face because she laughed and said, "Oh no, no! It's like that. (Insert Heather's hard laugh) I just ran out of the baby stoppers, but I don't know how difficult or expensive it's gonna be to get more here. So we might have to follow the stars from here on out." 

Hmmm.... 

Anyway, the short of the long of it is that it wasn't difficult at all. On our weekly pilgrimage to our favorite fish 'n chips place, we swung into a medical center and within 1/2 hours time and $24 bucks, she had a 6 month prescription. No intrusive screening. No personal questioning. No dubious interrogation about sexual history. It was a quick, professional and responsible process. 

So we're back on track. Wheeewww! 

(Don't worry there Moms, the day will come & it wont be when we're on the other side of the rock. Our hearts aren't that depraved.)

AND THIRDLY! - March 15th came and went. It marked the expiration of my visitors permit in NZ. It also marked 11 weeks since I had submitted my application for a working holiday visa. After the 15th, I was sort of an illegal alien. Not technically because I had a application in progress but sort of because I didn't have a permit to be in NZ. This is was a very strange position to be in. The uncertainty of our near future was starting to cause stress between Heather and I. 

It didn't make it any better that I had been reading all kinds of news reports about NZ immigration. In early January, it was about how more and more Kiwis are leaving NZ each year to go work in Australia. One Kiwi interviewed said he was leaving to got to Oz for 3 W's. He said, "Better waves, better wages and better women." (By the way, maybe the first two are true but I think the last is way off the mark. I would encourage any single man to find out about it down here. Christchurch woman alone largely out number men 3 to 1 and the majority of them are 'stumbling on your feet good-looking.' This is, of course, what Heather tells me. I haven't noticed myself.) So anyway, I took this to mean that there would be plenty of opportunity for a skilled worker like myself. 

But then in February I starting reading about how Kiwi workers were getting laid off before migrant workers. All of the local labor Unions were up in arms. The press was calling for all NZ employers to hire "Kiwi first." And then last month, as a decision on my work permit was still yet undetermined, I was reading that NZ Immigration was going to put a lock down all new work permit requests for the rest of the year. That got me very frustrated and worried about what we were gonna do. 

Heather and I started coming up with contingency plans. We thought for sure that we were going back home way sooner than we had expected. Of course, no sooner that I sent out 30 Candidate packets to Construction Companies in Hawaii, Alaska, Washington and Wisconsin, did I get the confirmation email. It was a good to get it finally, but it was only step 1. 

Step 2 is actually getting a job. So for the last 2 weeks, I've been searching like crazy. I've been looking for anything. And... there really isn't a whole lot out there. But I have found a few leads. The two leads that I have had some positive response to so far has been to either be a sales rep going to private, pre-arranged parties selling sex toys to middle aged women or to be a shepherd on a sheep ranch out in the middle of nowhere. 

So at least I've got some leads. They probably aren't what Heather would like me to be doing but at least the two jobs aren't one because then I'd be going to sheep parties selling... 

eeerrr.... 

scratch that. 

Heather and I are doing as good as ever. We're starting to miss home and do look forward to starting all over again when we've had enough of this irresponsible behavior. 

In Christchurch, the symptoms of autumn are setting in around the city. The morning's are getting brisk. Daylight is retreating and the sun now goes closes up shop at 7. We just turned our clocks back last night, which means soon he'll be out by 5. The leaves on the trees are hanging in there with some final strength, but they aren't fooling anybody. Seeing their chlorophyll fading quickly makes me feel like I should be getting ready to see some college football. But for now, I'll take Rugby!