I realized tonight that there is one small part of New Zealand life I have not yet made peace with: mosquitoes. Mozzies, as they are called here, seem to have a special talent for appearing just when I am trying to concentrate.

The small ones are the worst because I cannot always tell whether I am seeing a mosquito, a speck of dust, or just my imagination after too much time staring at a screen. I refuse to spend the evening clapping randomly at the air, though I admit the temptation is real.

So why bring this up? I have accumulated a collection of mosquito bites, plus a few spider bites from gardening, and they are doing their best to interrupt my productivity. If I ever get a work evaluation that mentions unusually distracted productivity, I may be tempted to submit a formal note about humidity and small mozzies.

Enough. Life here has been enjoyable as usual. My days are consumed with working online, talking with family and friends online, writing papers online, and sometimes hanging out with my flatmates. Basically, I am making sure to get every penny out of my overpriced DSL.

Two good things did happen this week. Curry night went well: about 10 people showed up, the food was great, the conversation was good, and the bill was lower than normal. Afterward I went to a bar and coffee place with Michael and Jay, two IT people, where we talked for hours about customer support, networks, and the New Zealand internet scene.

Michael owns an ISP out of Wellington and Jay was Orcon’s first employee. I spent Friday afternoon with them and the other owner chatting about IT. Michael asked whether I would be interested in a PHP and billing sync project or network admin work. It would have been fun, but staying in New Zealand would change what came next. I still felt pulled toward learning Mandarin and the projects already in front of me.

When I got home there was a small party at the flat. I joined the conversation, accidentally tossed my lucky hat at Dylan with worse aim than intended, apologized, and all was well. Another ordinary, slightly ridiculous week in New Zealand.