As Time Goes By

Well, apparently time slips away from you. I apologize it's been so long since my last post. The clouds moved in and we got a spell of rain that has pretty much put me overboard. Yeah, after only 4 days. Yikes.

But it's sunny again and well, looky here I'm writing in my blog again. So we've been gearing up for Christmas here at Linkwater Organics and it's been quite hectic with lots of work. The rain has been good for the crops but then it keeps us from doing things that need to be done. It's difficult to harvest in the rain (but we did) and some things such as strawberries don't really do well when picked while wet. Other things, such as the potatoes are simply difficult to harvest in the rain because digging through wet clumpy heavy mud is harder than soft lovely beautiful light airy soil. Wet potatoes also tend to rip through the bottom of the paper bags we sell them in. Shucks.

But all of that is over now. We had a huge order go out this morning that we were all frantic about and now its done and the cloud cover has finally lifted and it's sunny and we have the afternoon free. How perfect.

What else? It will be two weeks tomorrow that I've been here in Picton/Blenheim area and I'll be heading off tomorrow morning. I'll be attempting to hitchhike all the way down the east coast of the south island which will be quite the feat. I'll probably have to stop off at some point and snag a hostel which I'm just so miffed about. I really don't like staying in the hostels, they're just really lame. All you meet are fellow traveling types and they're situated mostly in touristy areas and you only stay there briefly, or else you pay a ridiculous amount of money to stay in them for say a week. Hostels, are really not that cheap of an option for accomodation anymore. It sucks. So bummer right.

Although, when I do think about it, I'm so proud of myself when it comes to money (and really grateful for this whole WWOOFing experience.). It's been 2 weeks and I haven't spent any money. It's great.

I am traveling south (I completely planned this all wrong, but that's ok) because I misread my friends itinerary for their time here. So I will end up back tracking a fair amount and am not sure how long I'll get to travel with my friends...but, backtracking is not a bad thing when you know people you're traveling toward and your transportation is free. Hee. Ugh, speaking of money again. I just realized this...it's a good thing I haven't spent any money in the past two weeks because this Christmas deal is going to cost me at least $100 ...well actually it's already cost my $90, so there ya go. I am meeting mi amigos for a Christmass 3-day hike in Fiordland (Southland) and staying in mountain huts that are owned and operated by the DOC (department of conservation) and cost a pretty penny. I think this will be my first and last. It just costs too much money, especially when I can WWOOF at places and go explore the tracks at my leisure and for free. But it will be nice to be with friends. I caught up on their blog about their adventures and it makes me a little sad and lonely comparing their experiences together with mine alone. Like I've said, it'll be nice to be with friends. nice and fun actually.

I'd like to thank everyone for their concern about my sand fleas. I should have been a bit more specific, or perhaps not so misleading. they are sand FLIES. So, no, I don't have fleas, and they don't travel with me. They just are little and they breed in flowing water and they come up from sand and dirt and bite you and make you itch like crazy and go ugly. But thankfully, I have finally developed an immunity. I still get bit and itch, but only a tiny amount that is easily overcome and no more humungoid swelling from breaking down and mimicking a crazy OCD person.

The two other WWOOFers here at the moment are from Utah and they want to bake cookies or go get ice cream. I am in full support of that. Although, I'm not going to help them bake because it is sunny out and I will only be inside in order to finish this post. duh.

Oh, I was reading my friends blog like I said. And they are math people and readers have noted how funny the blog is written by two left-handed brain siders. Well, I think it will be funny to read posts on each of the same experiences when we're together, one being nerdy and the other being totally right-handed brain sided and beautiful. Hee. Speaking about math and stuff. My host went off on a huge rant/tangent/diatribe (is there one that doesn't denote anger?) Monologue, about how cool math is, and from a lay math person's perspective how awesome math is and great, and he has an ecology degree and how great math is with ecology and how mathematical ecology is and how you have to have all these super complex equations and differentials to map these systems in ecology and how ecology is just really complicated closed systems where it's definite cause and effect and blach blach blach (I typed blach by accident, but I like the sound better).

well. I got depressed and had to leave. a lot of you know why, but perhaps some of you who don't might find this entertaining: I hate math. Correction: I like math. Conditional: as a language or method of description. Furthermore: or as pure mathematics that can be beautiful but doesn't really necessarily pertain directly to our 'real' world.

Math is dangerous as a Religion. Math is dangerous when people to take it as the final or one and only solution. Math is annoying when treated as trump. (vomit break: my host said a mathematically minded ecologist was going to be the one to come up with the unified theory of everything) (that's when my head was screaming "FUCK OFF!") So yeah. This is a rant and not an argument (what's coming up, not what I just said, hee.)

Is ecology perhaps soooo complex, requiring such complicate convoluted crazy equations to define it because, well, ecology is something that is ill-defined by math? Could there possibly be shit in our world where math is NOT the best way to describe it, categorize it, or know it? I mean I know there are a ton of shit arguments all over and back and forth about all this crap. But still. Cmon, unified theory of everything? Ecology a closed system? I end up always having to fall back on my final argument (because I get depressed thinking about this stuff, then I get too tired to want to argue my side) that, EVEN IF math is the best and math is great and math solves all the problems of the world, it really is just not the way I'd like to live my life. i guess i get more heated about it, because it's just not the way I want other's to live their lives either. At least if we keep cutting math education short so that people don't study it long enough to learn the cool aspects of it and the parts of it that I consider ok. Hah, ok, so people unfamiliar with this chip on my shoulder, should also note that I view most ethics as depending on exactly these desires/wants for other people. So no, I'm not being selfish blah blah blah, wanting others to do what I want, blah blah.

(Second vomit break: host says, math at a certain extent gets to be really similar to art (leap of joy in my heart, perhaps he'll save himself in the end...), pause, I think someday math will predict how and what art arises.) DUNNNNGGGG. 16 tons just falls on his head. That's ridiculous. And if it does. I hope I'm dead. I guess, this is enough for now. It's so whiny. And, I really haven't put forth any good reason not to allow math and rules of efficiency and definite one object solutions guide almost every controlling aspect of our lives. I connect these because these lay math persons, often confuse math, with efficiency, and clear cut square line solutions. In and Out, put this in get this out thinking. That's what math is to a lot of these 'lay math people' and it annoys me to no end, because I see the seduction in that viewpoint. You CAN explain the whole world according to that thinking, and things FIT and sure it's not all happy and shiny. and sometimes you don't know the answer and its hard, but the whole world is still there. And it's so difficult to try and convince someone like that, that they are MISSING a huge chunk of the world, the whole big chunk of the world that doesn't FIT in math.

Wow, I did not see that (indicating above) coming. I am sorry I couldn't control myself. I will go out in the sun and calm down. That will be good. I will probably not be able to write again til after Christmas ( I think, who knows what the worlds holds....if only I knew more math.) Hee.

Also FYI, I'm a pretty darn good farmer at this point. I was managing 4 people today and it was fantastic. I got to organize. Which, I'm a really good organizer, to be fair. Hee. Except then my other host, came in (after being away from the farm all morning) and completely RE-organized everything that I had done. When ALL that needed to happen was have everything I had organized, put into the car. I had taken care of everything! Knowing that they were stressed about the order. It simply needed to be loaded. Well she came in and wasted half an hour simply reorganizing what I had been crafting all morning. Well, I've been really good since I got here on being able to handle shit like that and just be like, "oh well" but I got really frustrated because a) getting up early everyday sucks and makes you tired b) i've been weaning myself off coffee c) these people are fairly abrasive (such a good word) and d) I just did ok.

So, conveniently, it's time to leave. Phew!