Reason #9,572 Why I Hate Wal-Mart

A worker died and at least three people were injured after being trampled by a crowd of shoppers at a Wal-Mart in the New York suburbs.

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7755278.stm

The Deck Family Leaps Into the 21st Century!

Thanks to my cousin Hannah, my family has FINALLY witnessed the miracle of webcams and Skype. And even though my parents' and sister's proficiency with computers doesn't extend much beyond 1996, I think this experience has proven to them that it's time to embrace the new technology out there. What's next for them? Digital cameras? Cell phones? I know... I'm getting ahead of myself.

It was incredible, though. I haven't seen my family in a year, so this was so amazing!

Here are a few pictures. I wasn't able to get any of of the whole family, which sucks because it was great. Everyone was standing around Hannah's MacBook with champagne (while we sat here in NZ with coffee since it was like 10am and we had to work...!) Here are a few of my sister and her kids. My nephew Maytham (missing his two front teeth!) took to it like any ham in front of a camera.

Yea Hannah! Webcams for all!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Next year I'll dress the cats up for real!

Thanksgiving!

We're celebrating this awesome holiday by working. Awesome!

Actually, my cousin Hannah is going to set up a Skype webcam call with my family, so we can all see each other. I have been trying for a YEAR to get my parents and sister onto Skype and webcams, and I think they'll be blown away when they realize how cool AND easy it is.

It's perfect timing, too! While on the phone with my sister this morning, she asked my nephew,"Do you wanna say hi to Aunty?" and he replied, "Who's Aunty?"

Iain's Worst Nightmare!

Ah... the joys of PhotoBooth!

Celebration!

Despite Blue's support, Iain decided to take a break from sanding and painting this weekend! Instead, we took advantage of an incredibly low hotel package at the Langham Hotel.

The only thing that sucks about the Langham is it's neighbor:

Gross! My school!

Thankfully, our room faced the opposite side of the street. We had a complete blast! We thought it would be like a glorified Sheraton but it was much nicer. They had awesome toiletries and excellent champagne cocktails. We ate amazing food and slept in a huge king size bed (I know - I sound like I'm 8). Oh yeah, it was nice spending time with Iain, too. It was really cool to "get away" from house renovations and code, even for a night.

Here are some more pictures. I'm not sure why I look so matronly, but whatever.

Downside of the Weekend

When we got home from the hotel, we went out for a quick lunch and Iain got food poisoning. He was up most of the night and only just started to feel better this evening. The cats loved it, though!

End of Classes!

I am officially finished with class and now we move on to our Industry Project. We still have to attend class, however, which infuriates me. 1.5 hours commute to sit in class next to the annoying German for 3 hours, then another 1.5 hours home, to do what I could've done sitting in my living room. Yeah, that makes sense. Luckily my attendance is like 98% so I may just use up all of my absences and work from home as much as possible.

We got out of class early yesterday so me and the geeks went to a café where I got a glass of wine and they got cappuccinos (one of them got a shot of Bailey's in his - oooooh! Drinking under the legal age!) We had a nice time discussing class and the teachers and how much they suck, but then the conversation turned to rollercoasters and I was suddenly reminded of the vast age difference.

Above is a picture of the bus, crossing the Harbour Bridge on my way home.

Christmas is coming...

Check out this TERRIFYING Santa they've installed downtown. The creepiest part is his index finger, which moves back and forth in a beckoning motion.

SkyTower!

Iain's parents treated us to an awesome brunch last Sunday at the revolving restaurant Orbit. I was extremely psyched to get decent scallops -- something I haven't been able to find over here yet. We all enjoyed three courses and a few bottles of bubbly. It was an excellent day, except for a rough experience with the world's most confusing parking ticket machine. Here are a bunch more pictures:

Hell

Flash is over. It was a horrible week. Iain took some sick days because he felt he was coming down with something. I promise to post some decent posts tomorrow. I've fallen behind due to school stress!

The Week

Ok, so Facebook has taken over my life and trumped email and blog updates. I've also been obsessed this week with setting up my new MacBook. I really need to ween myself off a bit. The blog (and my marriage) is suffering!

We've had Iain's parents in town all week, which has been great. Iain's spent every day showing them all around Auckland. I've had school, but we all meet up for dinner.

I'm finishing up Flash in school and cannot wait until I'm done. Our teacher takes a very hands-off approach and is a little too fond of saying, "Google it." when you ask a question.

CONGRATULATIONS JAMIE & SCOTT!!!

J. Miles Taitleman arrived November 13 weighing 7 lbs, 10 ounces, 20 inches long! Congrats guys!!!

New MacBook

This is the highlight of my WEEK!! (ok, year)

WORK!

Here are pictures from last weekend. Lots of code, lots of work. See Iain sitting on the porch enjoying the sun? Yeah. Actually, he did as much if not more work than I did. He's finishing up scraping and painting all of windows so we can have double-glazing installed.

Quick update

There haven't been any posts because my Flash teacher is an email/Facebook Nazi who yells at you if he catches you online, so I've had to majorly curtail my emailing. I'm now limiting my internet time to really quickly in the mornings and at night. It's killing me!

But new posts are on their way! In-laws! New windows! BBQs! New laptops! Cat pictures! It's an exciting life.

Happy Birthday Nam!

Here are my 2 favorite pictures of Nam, who turns 37 today.

Hard to believe these guys are married --- to women!

Nam's celebrating his big day with a football game and some quality time with Danielle and Din Din. Have fun, Nam!!!

Election Day in New Zealand

Today New Zealand votes in a new Prime Minister. The two major parties, Labour and National, have been duking it out for months. Incumbent PM Helen Clark (Labour) is allegedly on her way out, with rival John Key (National) the predicted winner.

NZ has a TON of political parties. Ralph Nader should become a Kiwi. Check it out:

Today's newspaper:

The Week

Attached is a ridiculously cute picture of Din Din, sent by Danielle & Nam. I've ordered a similar harness for Iain.

Besides the election, it's been a pretty mundane week. I'm struggling with Flash but my teacher is much better and when I'm not in class thinking, "HUH?!" I'm enjoying it. It's pretty intense, so I've been exhausted all week. The German has been absent and I'm loving it! I dutifully email my files to him each day after class, and he responds with lots of annoying questions about the teacher: is he improving? Is he better? Do we need to complain more? I think he's trying to recruit me to join his li'l cause. Sorry, buddy. You're about 4 years too late. My trouble making days are over.

Guy Fawkes Day was uneventful, thank god. The cats were a bit disturbed by the fireworks, but we got Tama safe and comfy under a blanket with Blue on top and they settled down.

The Americans next door (AKA "Snarky McNeighbors") have yet to acknowledge us, even though I walked right by one of them on my morning walk. She was coming towards me with her dog, and didn't even make eye contact when she passed. Neighbors or not, that's just rude. People around here say hello and good morning. Not even a nod!

When I shared this news with Iain, he tactfully reminded me of the time when a Philly news crew stood on Market Street filming people leaving work. Apparently, when the news aired that night I'd been caught on film trudging down the street, scowling and looking really pissed after a typical day. A few people recognized me and made fun of me the next day. So, maybe our neighbor was just having a bad day. Stay tuned.

In more interesting news, we've got Iain's parents visiting us next week. We're really excited! Iain's taking time off to hang out and show them all the fun stuff in Auckland. We've made reservations at Orbit, the revolving restaurant at the top of the SkyTower. We can't wait!

Lastly, welcome to New Zealand, Nana! Nana is a producer and she's making the move to Auckland from NYC for a year. I think she is probably en route as I write this!

Nana would've been the perfect candidate for Brian and Melanie's DVDs on moving to NZ. Check it: http://www.nzimmigrationdvd.com/

YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!