Sunday    21 November

 I was originally scheduled and, with a generous  supply of top shelf Scotch and bourbon,  well prepared for, a full 2 weeks of quarantine but I guess New Zealand's Dr Fauci decided last week that, with the Delta COVID varient being so contagious it's a losing battle to shoot for zero covid in the country so he shortened the quarantne time to just one week and I got out after only 9 days.  Ah, sweet freedom. 

 But not so fast.  After all I am coming to the West Coast where people totally wig out in a panic about a drought if it doesn't rain for more than a week.  A lot of people around here, who live outside the city, depend on rainwater from the roof of their house collected, unfiltered,  in a big cistern  for all their domestic water. They seem unconcerned about the inevitable results of all the birds flying around down here and poo poo the whole thing whenever I bring it up.  Botteled water for this cowboy when visiting friends in the wopwops (boondocks).  So on the drive over the mountains from Christchurch the clouds got darker and a slight drizzle progressed to a thundering downpour as I got close to Greymouth.  Bottom line is that for the past week I'm still basically in quarantine but restricted to my house by the weather rather than by the NZ army.  A few days ago a water spout was sited a mile or so off shore in the Tasman Sea and yesterday it hailed cats and dogs, or whatever animal units in which hail is traditionally measured.  Anywhere else these would be seen as unmistakable signs of the end times but it's just businseess as usual on the West Coast

Probably none of you know this and even fewer care but the day before I was set free The All Blacks; the Kiwi national rugby team, lost to Ireland and so, I kid you not,  on my 3 hour  drive from Christchurch to Greymouth on every radio station, I had to listen to endless nonstop whining about the game and a litany of, sometimes creative, excuses as to why The All Blacks lost.....I mean, come on,  the sun can't be in your eyes the whole game. I found myself praying for a tampon commercial.  So now I have to deal with a whole country of grumpy Kiwis

Oh yea,  And FYI: clockwise.  The water down here spirals down the drain clockwise.  Urban legend has it that the Corriolis effect is in the opposite direction above and below the equator.  Go take a bath and get back to me on this in the comments