Democracy ...

is the worst form of government except for all others.

I was thinking about life in New Zealand in the shower this morning (yes, Dixie, I am back!) and the sense of dread that I have when I think back on the day-to-day life I lived there. It's quite surprising, frankly, to be revolted by the thought of making press coffee and I'm trying to work through that. I think, though, that it has to do with not working for a year. As much as work sucks (in the abstract, so don't take that as a reflection of how I feel about my actual job), not working sucks even more--which put me in mind of the Churchill quote I've paraphrased above. I'd probably say that working is the worst way to live your life, except for all the other ways that you can live it. Yeah, it might be cool to do a monastic retreat for a year, or to be retired and not have the kind of responsibilities a 30-something father of two has, but you know what I mean.

Which of course got me thinking more, this time about the nature of life in the US. Could it be that the same could be said: Of all the ways of living, the way we live in the US is the worst, except for all others. In the abstract, the 'laid back Kiwi lifestyle' is appealing, but in practice? Not so much. In the US, we seem to have a difficult time learning when to turn it all off--the mobile phone, the TV, the go-go-go-ness of it all. In NZ, they seem to have a difficult time knowing when to turn it on--knowing when a sense of urgency is required (and thus the broken window it took a week to get fixed).

As an individual, I can learn to relax in a society that is always moving; but as an individual, I can't act with a sense of urgency in a society that is dominated by a 'she'll be right' attitude.

New House

If all goes well, we should be moving into this place the last weekend of July. Unlike our last move, we won't be waiting weeks for our stuff to arrive--it'll actually hit Boston on July 5th (or thereabouts). I don't really know why it takes 75 days to get to NZ, but half that to get back.

Some things I like

Have been house hunting these past couple of days, as well as trying to tie up the loose ends of getting my new-old job. It looks like everything is a god on that front--which is outstanding news. House hunting has also gone sort of well, with a clear top and bottom defined, and now just a couple of places in the middle to look into.

Driving across New York to Connecticut, then making the drive back up to Epping, I remembered why June is really my favorite month--it's green. I've said several times that I never knew how many shades of brown there were until I moved to New Zealand. New England in June is gloriously green, nicely warm, usually not too hot, and did I mention it's green? I didn't realize just how much I missed trees.

On our way from Epping back to Portmouth's best Motel 6, Evan and I stopped at Sandy Point Discovery Center in Stratham for a little leg stretch. (The boy's been a trooper, I'll tell you.) Walking down the boardwalk through the woods on the edge of Great Bay, I also realized how much I missed that smell ... the oak leaves, pine needles, the moss on the granite. There's something about the smell of the woods--I guess it reminds me of running around behind our house in Connecticut when my brother and I were kids, or of the summers I spent lifeguarding the rocks at the Polar Caves, or who knows what. I will admit that the view across the bay isn't as dramatic as the view from Spencer Park outside of Christchurch, from which you can see all the way to the dramatic seaward Kaikouras on a good day, though Great Bay certainly has its own unique charm.

After a swim in the pool (Evan, not me), we headed into Portsmouth for some dinner at Muddy River Smokehouse. I honestly don't know if they've changed the recipe or I'm just jonesing hardcore, but I swear they were better than I remember them. We followed that up with some Annabell's Icecream (Evan was starving!)--which is hands-down the best icecream I've had in a year. The stroll along Market Square and down Bow Street reminded me how nice it is to not dodge broken bottles and to enjoy real charm--rather than the ersatz touristy-charm.

Debi and I always said that the Seacoast was pretty much it for us--we wouldn't live anyplace else in New England (with the possible exception of Portland, Maine or maybe those condos on Boston Harbor right next to the Long Wharf Marriott). I've always loved it here and in Portsmouth especially, so it's been nice to just drink it all in again.

There were the obvious financial considerations that led us to leave NZ (which I wrote about quite a bit) but the soul of the decision to return was that I (actually, 'we') found so little to love in Christchurch. We gave up so much of what we loved when we left and found nothing to fill that void. The scenery? Sure ... and I will miss looking up and seeing the snow-capped peaks in the background ... but that's it. Frankly, Christchurch itself has all the charm of Manchester, New Hampshire (or maybe even Manchester, Connecticut). Hagley Park is beautiful and the Botanic Gardens are wonderful, but the city itself has no character once you leave the Arts District.

(Sorry, but while Sumner is beautiful, it's also pretty non-descript beyond Shag Rock and the cave ... more scenery. I'd take Marble Head, Salem, York, or pretty much any town between Yarmouth, Maine and Cap Cod over Sumner any day.)

I love Portsmouth. I love Market Square and the Portsmouth Brewery and the Gundalow and the narrow streets and the drive out to Great Island Common. I love that I can get great pizza, great ribs, great burgers, great Thai, great Indian, great Sushi, great icecream, great coffee, and about 100 different beers--several of them truly great--on tap ... on the same block! And I can buy things made by real people who have used their hands and their talents to create them--none of that tacky cheap plastic crap from China.

And our friends are here.

(Poor Debi is still in New York at her mom's house ... if she's reading this, she's probably going 'Mmmm ... Annabell's icecream.' Soon enough, Honey!)

Blogging from Columbus, Ohio

Headed to NY and should be there tomorrow. No firm ETA for NH, though, at this time.

More later! ;)

Arrived in San Francisco, safe and tired

More soon ...