Day 2

• First stop: Starbucks (for Curt). Are we American or what? We need to start drinking tea if we want to become true Kiwis.
• Second Stop: Whitcoull's bookstore (for Megan). We got a newspaper and a city map. We also gawked at the GIANT Santa on the outside of the Whitcoull's building. He's 5 storeys high and his finger wags back and forth and his eye winks. It's rather disturbing.
• Next stop: electronics store. We needed an adapter so we could get our computer operational. Mission accomplished, thanks to a kind salesman named Jarred.
• We went back to the hotel triumphantly to set up the computer. Unfortunately, after we got everything plugged in, we discovered that the mouse no longer worked. It must have gotten crushed because it wouldn't click; it doesn't have any spring left. It was packed in the box with the computer & keyboard, wrapped in bubble wrap and a down comforter. That poor box went on 2 plane rides and was handled by the notoriously careless baggage handlers. Hmmm. The box was also unpacked, inspected, and repacked by TSA. Hmmm. And now our mouse is crushed. Hmmm.
• Back to the electronics store. Our new friend, Jarred, helped us find a replacement mouse.
• Back to the hotel triumphantly once again. Success! The mouse works. The computer works. We're back in business.
• Next mission: hairdryer. My hairdryer from the States actually works on New Zealand's voltage system, so I brought it along. But somehow the "Cool Air" button got pushed in too far while it was packed in my suitcase on the plane (how did those baggage handlers manage to do this?) And I can't seem to undo the Cool Air button. I feel rather silly, because it shouldn't be that hard. But I pushed and I pushed and I can't get it to pop up. Sheesh. So we bought an authentic NZ (pronounced "en zed") blowdryer at an authentic NZ department store called Farmers. It was even on sale because it's Boxing Day. On a different note, I forgot my purse at Bev's yesterday and my hairbrush was in there. So this morning I brushed my hair with a fork! I felt like Old Dan Tucker who brushed his hair with a wagon wheel. Boone used to sing that song over and over when he was little. : )