horrible bosses

Well, there has been some drama going on lately that makes me think our next few weeks may go slightly different than we had planned. despite our amazing setup here in Kekerengu (actually, I'd like to clarify, we live in Wharanui, which is just 10 min north of Kekerengu, just in case anyone wants to look it up on google maps), tensions at work have been really high lately. It kind of feels like when we first started: feeling on edge all the time, every move being scrutinized, being made to feel we don't know what we're doing (even though now we finally do), and suffering from surpressed I-hate-my-boss anger 24/7.

I think it's time I paint you a picture of the Mcfarlanes, the father-son duo that own the store. Richard, the Father Mcfarlane: rich (off his wife's family's money, mind you), stuck-up, awkward, socially-inept, passive aggressive, constantly hungover, and haggard. Clive, Bratty Son Mcfarlane: rich (off mommy's money), stuck-up, awkward, socially-inept, passive aggressive, rude, condescending, and irritable. The Mcfarlane men enjoy: chain-smoking in their office (or behind the counter at the restaurant, depending on the time of day/their mood), penny-pinching, finger-pointing, drinking the whole stock of chardonnay so that we're constantly out, criticizing people, popping out from around the corner anytime any staff member is complaining about them, expressing disappointment in others' minute mistakes, and most importantly: avoiding confrontation at all costs (usually by means of their version of the childhood game "telephone").

I'll spare you the details, but after several condescending comments over the last week from Clive to Brian, he reached his breaking point and had to call Clive out on his behavior. They had an argument during which Brian gave Clive a much-deserved piece of his (and the entire staffs' collective) mind, which ended anticlimactically (as I mentioned, Mcfarlanes do not fare well with confrontation). Meanwhile, the elder Mcfarlane has wormed his way into my head and planted a seed of negativity in my brain, making me constantly question my ability to perform basic restaurant skills (after how many years in the industry…?).

So. We may be leaving this place slightly earlier than our original planned date of April 24th. Actually, the idea of staying here that long actually makes me laugh out loud. What stops my laughing is the reality of how sad we will be to leave this place… we have made some really close friends here, have made a home for ourselves, and (I may be speaking for myself here) gotten really, really comfortable with a daily routine (I'm running again, you guys!). Kekerengu/Wharanui feels like home, but it is approaching the time to move on and get back to adventuring.

The plans after this include a more extensive south island tour, including the Catlins, Queenstown and the Routeburn track (highly recommended to us and very highly anticipated!), the fjordlands, and much, much more. If we had our way (and weather cooperates), we'd explore and travel around until the end of May, and then make our way back toward Wellington, where we hope to find jobs and live for a few cold and windy months. Then once spring hits and we've saved up some money (fingers crossed), we should have a little over a month to explore what we missed of the north island before flying out of this lovely country (to Australia? Asia? we'll see…).

For now, please keep us in your thoughts as we try to stay positive through the many Mcfarlane shenanigans that surely await us, and make the very most of our last bit of time at our home here. :)

Here are some pics from the last few weeks

Brian's delicious bread

it snowed in the mountains!

Our friends Zosha and Matt stopped by for a visit, and we went on an amazing local hike (our first since we've been in Kekerengu, embarrassingly enough), to the Sawcut gorge. The hike included long bouts of wading through rivers/streams, which was really, really fun! The hike and gorge were incredible and we had the best time. Afterwards, we were rewarded with a treat; the homeowner on the property where the trailhead is told us that Richard Mcfarlane had once fallen into a septic tank and had to be rescued, and that his wife once owned the only brothel in Blenheim. Those juicy bits of info got us through a few days of annoyances at work with smiles on our faces :)

our lovely roommates, Chloe and Joe