Off Road Adventure

So there hasn't been much change from last week, except for a lot more work! Last week I was the new, naive intern, and now I am carrying my weight and then some in our office. As with most state offices, we have far too much to do and not enough staff to do it. I have things that are starting to be time pressing and the procrastinator in me is rejecting the concept of deadlines. I am trying to learn which things should be priority and which ones can be on the back burner for a bit. With this upcoming PIC conference, my main focus has been preparing for not only the conference but the dinner event we are putting on as well. But on the other hand there are a few more things that have to get done right after that event is over and I have to make sure they aren't forgotten in the hustle planning stuff for PIC. But enough about the boring parts of work...

This weekend was awesome, want to know why? Cuz the New Zealand All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup, on home turf, after 24 years of being the best in the world and just not winning the World Cup. It was so awesome to go hang out with my Aunt and Uncle who were just as big All Blacks fans as I am. I was so proud of them! They really did something amazing, they held off France (barely) 8-7 and the festivities since have shown just how much their country loves them. And it has made me miss NZ soooo much, especially seeing everyone celebrating in giant groups and watching the celebration parades. I know a couple of them are taking a vacation in the US, wonder if they are going to stop off in Hawaii :) I wish!

Doing our Haka pose, though nearly not as scary as 15 large rugby guys doing it!

 Unfortunately my very awesome weekend was tainted by illness on Monday morning. I felt bad missing a day from work so early on, but it was just not possible for me to leave my bed. The good thing was that it only lasted a day which meant I was free to go on a field trip today! We went to Waikele valley today to look at a giant property. The owner wanted us to take a look so that they could enter a Safe Harbor agreement. This sets a baseline for any endangered species on the property and allows for you to improve the habitat and possibly "take" (kill) an endangered species as long as you dont go below your baseline. It protects people from getting in trouble with the endangered species act. I also think he just wanted to show us what his plans were. He was really cool, worked as a geologist but also has a passion for restoration. He taught us various native plants and kept us going at a very quick pace as we went up from the valley onto the ridgeline. Our trails were ones created for a tunnel system to move water 70 years ago, but then there were also some extremely dangerous trails that he had created himself. I just kept hoping that I would channel some grace and NOT fall off a cliff face and die. The road getting up there was insane as well. Our car was bouncing for an hour like we were on Indiana Jones at Disneyland. At one point we got out of the car to put sticks and vegetation on the mud because the car was not moving! It was definitely an adventure and incredible seven hours in the field. Heres some pics!