I've been a bit slack about updating. In the two weeks since Wanaka, I interviewed for and was hired for a position as Executive Assistant to the regional manager of the prison system here. I work about 40 minutes outside of Dunedin, at a prison that was built about 3 years ago, and I work right "outside the wire." It's quite interesting, as I get a glimpse of another world of bureaucracy. It is in some ways quite heartening, as it makes America look functional, at least. Because of confidentiality issues, I can't say much about my job, but it's full time for the next three months, which means that Jon and I should be able to sock some money away to use for travel later on.....

We have been talking a lot about what we are going to do when we move back to Fayetteville. It feels like we have started that funky transition from flying by the seat of our pants to wanting to have (at least a few) things sorted out. We are hoping to open an indoor climbing wall in Fayetteville, as Northwest Arkansas has AWESOME outdoor climbing, but very limited indoor facilities. At the same time, we hope to create a nonprofit that works to create and maintain outdoor climbing facilities in the area. It's pretty exciting, and I think doable, if we go about it correctly!!!

We went for a great hike today, to the top of Mt. Cargill. On a side note, if anyone can explain to me why Mt. Cargill is in Dunedin and Invercargill is 3 hours south, I'd be much obliged. As far as I can figure, Scots have a very loose sense of distance, and "inver" implies "somewhere roughly near." By that logic, Inverness should be within 3-4 hours of Loch Ness... Anyone? Anyone? After that, we dropped Jon and Sam off at Ultimate, and Cody and I hit the bouldering gym for a few hours.

There is nothing like that totally sated feeling at the end of a day of being physical and outside... it really is one of the more satisfying feelings in the world. Anyway, I'm drinking a bloody mary, sitting on our burlap-covered couch, feeling like I had a very productive Anzac Day.

Much love to all...