(no subject)
I'm pretty sure I'm fighting off the beginnings of another sinus infection. I felt like crap when I woke up, so I went back to sleep. Later in the day, I felt dizzy for about 2 seconds while just sitting, and I've been on the verge of nasty sinus headaches off and on for the last week. Typical pre-sinus infection sypmtoms for me. I've been using my Neti pot more sporadically in the last few weeks since I was actually drying out my sinuses beyond the optimal level. Now I'm liberally using the Neti pot, decongestants, and megadosing on vitamin C. Taking megadoses of vit. C can bother my stomach, but that is far preferable to a sinus infection.
Planning for the NZ trip in late Oct. is going well. All plane tickets are booked, interisland ferry tickets are booked, car for the south island is reserved, the volcanoes/rainforest guided "backpacking" trip is booked (read extreme car camping, 2-7 hours hiking/day in national parks with one multi-day hike). The backpacking trip won't run with fewer than 4 people, so 2 more folks better book for that date!
We have a few more items to procure for proper clothing/supplies, and hostels/hotels to book. We also need to gradually pick out trails we might like to tackle in the south island. Even if we change our plans during the trip, I want to have an idea of what is appealing ahead of time rather than wasting time trying to figure that out when we are there.
Billy mentioned something about skydiving with a wide-eyed petrified kind of look. I think the concept is appealing to him, but the reality is not. I'd be up for it, but I'm guessing that it won't happen. That's ok too.
I've been looking at NZ dollar/US dollar exchange rate histories and forecasts. It's too complicated for me to bother with the fine details as it seems to depend on the GDP's multiple countries, interest rates, and lots of speculation. I don't care to invest my time into learning all about that stuff. Some factors influence the exchange rate in a way that is initially counter-intuitive to me. Anyhow, the rate is currently more than the min and less than the max of the range in the most recent 2 years. So, I'm going to just settle on the idea that we are getting a fair rate given the recent past. Some things have been paid for in advance, but other things won't be. The most expensive items have been pre-paid at the "fair" exchange rate. That leaves food, hostel lodging, car rental, and gas that will be paid during the trip. We do have the option to get some NZD from our bank now to "lock in" the current exchange rate. I never expected to care about exchange rates, but it seems that they are fluctuating a lot in recent times due to volatile economies.
My older sister will be visiting me a week from Sat. for the evening. She's going camping for a week by herself not too far from me. She'll have about a 9.5 hour drive, and this will break the drive into about an 8.5 hour and 1 hour drive. That way she'll get to the camp grounds during the day (early morning) and won't have to pay for a hotel or set up the tent in the dark. Also, this way she can borrow some of my gear and see my house for the first time.
I got my Teva's that I ordered from Amazon. Unfortunately, the store sent 2 right sandals. Amazon is very good with customer service and already has a replacement in process and is sending it with 2 day shipping. It would have been nice to have them for the 4th of July, but I won't miss them terribly. These sandals actually have reasonable arch support. I've decided to throw away/donate all but one of my slide shoes to promote better foot health. It's so bad for my right foot to not have proper support. If I forked out the money for expensive supportive sandals, I need to get rid of my old bad shoe habits. Hopefully these will last me at least 2 seasons. I won't mind paying for them once every other year if I can wear a non-sneaker that doesn't bother my foot. Dress shoes will be a different battle... I may slowly integrate dance shoes into my shoe collection since they are supposed to be much kinder on the feet. They are just expensive... I'll make due with what I've got for now. I don't wear dress shoes much, so my feet can tolerate the occasional 4 hours in non-dancing dress shoes.
Planning for the NZ trip in late Oct. is going well. All plane tickets are booked, interisland ferry tickets are booked, car for the south island is reserved, the volcanoes/rainforest guided "backpacking" trip is booked (read extreme car camping, 2-7 hours hiking/day in national parks with one multi-day hike). The backpacking trip won't run with fewer than 4 people, so 2 more folks better book for that date!
We have a few more items to procure for proper clothing/supplies, and hostels/hotels to book. We also need to gradually pick out trails we might like to tackle in the south island. Even if we change our plans during the trip, I want to have an idea of what is appealing ahead of time rather than wasting time trying to figure that out when we are there.
Billy mentioned something about skydiving with a wide-eyed petrified kind of look. I think the concept is appealing to him, but the reality is not. I'd be up for it, but I'm guessing that it won't happen. That's ok too.
I've been looking at NZ dollar/US dollar exchange rate histories and forecasts. It's too complicated for me to bother with the fine details as it seems to depend on the GDP's multiple countries, interest rates, and lots of speculation. I don't care to invest my time into learning all about that stuff. Some factors influence the exchange rate in a way that is initially counter-intuitive to me. Anyhow, the rate is currently more than the min and less than the max of the range in the most recent 2 years. So, I'm going to just settle on the idea that we are getting a fair rate given the recent past. Some things have been paid for in advance, but other things won't be. The most expensive items have been pre-paid at the "fair" exchange rate. That leaves food, hostel lodging, car rental, and gas that will be paid during the trip. We do have the option to get some NZD from our bank now to "lock in" the current exchange rate. I never expected to care about exchange rates, but it seems that they are fluctuating a lot in recent times due to volatile economies.
My older sister will be visiting me a week from Sat. for the evening. She's going camping for a week by herself not too far from me. She'll have about a 9.5 hour drive, and this will break the drive into about an 8.5 hour and 1 hour drive. That way she'll get to the camp grounds during the day (early morning) and won't have to pay for a hotel or set up the tent in the dark. Also, this way she can borrow some of my gear and see my house for the first time.
I got my Teva's that I ordered from Amazon. Unfortunately, the store sent 2 right sandals. Amazon is very good with customer service and already has a replacement in process and is sending it with 2 day shipping. It would have been nice to have them for the 4th of July, but I won't miss them terribly. These sandals actually have reasonable arch support. I've decided to throw away/donate all but one of my slide shoes to promote better foot health. It's so bad for my right foot to not have proper support. If I forked out the money for expensive supportive sandals, I need to get rid of my old bad shoe habits. Hopefully these will last me at least 2 seasons. I won't mind paying for them once every other year if I can wear a non-sneaker that doesn't bother my foot. Dress shoes will be a different battle... I may slowly integrate dance shoes into my shoe collection since they are supposed to be much kinder on the feet. They are just expensive... I'll make due with what I've got for now. I don't wear dress shoes much, so my feet can tolerate the occasional 4 hours in non-dancing dress shoes.