another all day ramble

it is saturday. do you know where i am? i am sitting in the satellite pharmacy, working. yes, feel sorry for me. i am on a marathon of working. i have been working since tuesday after memorial day, and i will be working till next friday. how do you like that? it's okay though b/c it isn't too busy at the moment, so i am able to blog and take care of returning some emails that have been sitting in my inbox forever.

i am tired this morning. probably of all the working, as mentioned above. i slept like a rock, but then i woke up almost an hour earlier than i set my alarm for. i tried to fall back asleep. didn't really happen. oh well. hopefully it won't be such a pain to get up tomorrow morning since i start my shift at 6am. talk about an ungodly hour!

hopefully mike can get rid of some furniture and kitchen appliances today. we really need to start off-loading stuff. we are in complete agreement that we have too much crap in our place, and it is time to fet rid of it! i am happy to report that lately i am much better at just tossing stuff away or donating things earlier. previously, i would save stuff for sentimental reasons for years. now, i am much quicker to just relieve myself of things that i will never wear or use ever again. that has been helpful in reducing junk around the house.

i was perusing our web boards this morning, the one dedicated to making the move to nz. i think i need to make a list (another one) of all the things we need to stock up on and ship over. there was a guy on there that was asking what else he should fill up his empty boxes with, and there were a lot of suggestions by others already living there. here is what people said:

-books
-blankets, down comforters
-non-stick saucepans
-jumpers=long johns????
-rain gear
-shoes/clothes for all seasons
-dental stuff
-toiletries (moisturizers, face wash, etc)
-vegetable peelers

interesting...i will get working on that. although i am not bringing too many books over, i did hear that wellington has a very nice public library. i never checked it out when we were there last, but i do like libraries. and i suppose i won't be able to loiter at the local borders or barnes & noble there with a latte reading books all day long. anyway, i keep saying that i need to make better use out of my public library card.

i am debating with myself about whether i should take my CAOP (competency assessment for overseas pharmacists) exam earlier than i planned. the nz pharmacy council, well actually, the australian pharmacy board, only offers this exam four times a year, and i wasn't planning on taking the exam till march 2009 b/c i thought there would be no way i could study, prepare, and be ready for this exam in early december. however, now, i am having second thoughts. i think i should try to start studying now, and just sit for the december exam and see if i can pass it. if i do, that would be awesome, and if i don't, then i think i can retake it in march, like i originally intended to do. there are so many job postings that i am interested in, so i thought i would try to pick up the pace on the whole taking my exams thing. i think i already made my decision, i just have to crack the book and start studying again. and i thought i was done with this stuff! yikes! also, just like here in the states, the exam is expensive, to the tune of almost $800, so it will suck if i can't pass it the first time around. hmmm....all the stuff that needs to be considered. boo!

i think we finally picked a weekend to go down to southern california to drop off boxes at my mom and dad's house. we are aiming for june 20th, since mike will be done shooting his movie, and i am off that weekend. i think i even have a 4 day weekend. so, good timing. we thought we might be able to sneak in some time at the happiest place on earth, but somehow, i doubt it. it will be hot, and i think most of the schools get out around that time, so it will be a huge headache to go then. but i think we wanted to make a final trip down south in september b/c we won't be working any longer, so we can probably squeeze disneyland in. may be the last time for a long time to barf on the teacups!

yesterday mike and i went to lunch at our regular place. we were both pretty tired, and we started talking about our lives, and where we would be and what we would be doing in the next two years if we weren't taking this adventure down under. i am sure we would be following the plan that is otherwise organized for us. we would try to purchase a home in the next year, and then probably start trying to have babies. i am sure we would still try to travel as much as possible, but i think i would probably have to get a full time position somewhere so i could accrue pto, and get paid vacation time. we would probably stay here in the bay area, and continue working at this super speedy pace. relating to the rat race mentality, we were also talking about how we work so hard 51 weeks out of the year to get to that 1 week of vacation, but a lot of the time we are stressed out during that 1 week of vacation that is supposed to be spent relaxing, and not stressing out. vicious, sad, terrible cycle.

i am fully aware that our move to nz will be difficult. i know that we will stuggle with things we have never had to struggle with, like fitting into society and not feeling like we don't know how to do anything or where to go. i am sure we will be horribly homesick at times, and just want to come home. trust me, we are not expecting to move there and automatically have everything fall into place. we are, however, hoping to do something different, journey our own self made path, and enjoy a slower, simpler life. who can find fault in that?

time check: noon thirty. day is halfway done. so far, so good. not complaining at all. i might even have some time this afternoon to do something fun. a bike ride perhaps? a walk? a trip to the jacuzzi tonight? movies? don't tell anyone, but i really do want to see the sex and the city movie. doubt if hubby will be convinced to go with me. shopping? nah, i am out of money. payday was yesterday, and i am already feeling strapped for cash. good thing i am working steadily for the next pay period. this paycheck was spent on germany plane tickets. i am pretty excited about that!

more later, i suppose. how is this for mundane monotony?