Mid Week Update

I know that the video above is pretty delayed. What can I say? I have been lazy about the whole video making process. But I got it to you in the end. I am currently working on the video from the Northland Trip and that will hopefully be up sometime next week.
Insurance
So before I left the USA I purchased some 12 month Holiday Working Visa Insurance from a company in New Zealand, Orbit. Well for the year it costed me $220 dollars and that covered property while traveling and emeregency health care. Since I did not request to have my filling to fall out, get infected, and need a root canal this is considered an emergency.
The way that the insurance works in New Zealand is the person getting the procedure pays the money out and then they claim it back through the insurance company. So many of you were interested in how much I will have to pay the answer is " I am really unsure." The breakdown of the cost of the Root Canal is $350 for the first visit $350 for visit two and then $250 for the last visit. A grand total of $950 out of pocket payment. After my last visit I then have to take all the receipts given to me from the Dentist and fill out a claim form. Then I need to make a nice packet and mail it down to Christchurch, they then review it and write me a check for what I have spent.
Many of you are probably thinking:
"Oh it wont be that easy! Insurance companies are pains in the arse!!!"
However here in NZ the insurance companies take care of their customers, apparently they go the extra kilometer* to make sure you are taken care of. Atleast that is the impression that I get, they dont send you on the run around to get your money back. They are very helpful.
So I have two more visits to go with my next one on this Monday coming up, it is an 11 am appointment and I will be taking a half day at work so I can get there in time. Cross your fingers and pray that everything works out well.
*Distance in New Zealand measured using the metric system. FYI 1.609 Kilometers = 1 mile
Vernacular
I received a message from a fan of the blog that said they "Were enjoying my new found vernacular!"
For those that are reading and might not know what "vernacular" means it simply is the language of the locals. Yes they speak English in NZ but they have different words for things than we do in NY. Just like traveling from state to state there is different meanings of words. I did a post about some words ages ago. So for those that dont remember I will post some more examples below.
New Zealand local word on the left --- Our LI meaning on the right
Kia Ora --- Hello
Good Day --- Greetings, Hello, How are you?
Partner --- BF/GF Wife/Husband (In a Heterosexual way)
Cuzzy Bro --- Close Friends
Mates --- Friends
Foot Path --- Sidewalk
Boot --- Trunk
Tow Bar --- Hitch
Petrol Station --- Gas Station
Motorway --- Highway/Parkway
Car Park --- Parking Lot
Trolley --- Shopping Cart
Push Bike --- Bicycle
Harbour --- Harbor
Labour --- Labor
Tomato Sauce --- Ketchup
Sauces --- Dressings
Chips --- Fries
Fizzy Drink --- Soda
I think that you get the picture. There are several others but I use them so frequently now that they are escaping me. I might be taking on the vernacular but there is no mistaking where my accent comes from, LawnGuyLand, Nu Yawk.

Weekend South NZRC

This weekend we headed down to Hamilton for New Zealand Road Champs. It was going to be a road trip with the Joy's (Lynette, Julian, Bart and Cindy), Leo and our new found friend Hanny Allston. The plan was that we were leaving 9am from our flat and on the way down we would stop and pick up Hanny and then continue down to Hamiliton, which took 90 minutes. Bart and Cindy were folowing behind us on their motorbike. We got to Hamiliton around 11am picked up our race packs and then headed over to the motel to check into it. Then we headed back to the race to warm up and get ready to race.
First let me start out with a little more information about our new found friend. Hanny Allston is an Aussie that is studying here. She is from Tasmania, and is 22 years old. She runs for the same club as Leo and that is how they got to talking. Just some other quick facts about Hanny, 2:40 Marathon runner, World Oreinteering Champion, and wicked interesting to talk to. Now that you know Hanny lets get into some details of the race.
For me the race did not go so hot. It was a combination of not feeling too fresh, and a shoe incident that made my race go shitty. I was running well and was hitting some decent splits on a very tough course. The course was 5 and a bit laps on a course that had some slight ups and downs and some sections of sharpe left and right turns. I hit 2k in 615, 4k 1235, 6k 1950 and then it just fell apart. On the fourth lap I was running in a group when my shoe had come untied, I didnt really worry because the shoe was not getting loose. Then one of the guys around me stepped on my heel and my shoe popped off. I pulled off to the side to try and fix it. Got it off loosened it so my foot could get in and then had to retie it. By the time I did that the guys I was running with were out of sight and I was left in no mans land. Pretty pissed that it happened a pretty much packed it in and just finished the race. I made sure that I didnt lose to any of the females in the race, but other than that nothing else was pushing me the last lap of the race. I was the last to finish for the Auckland Centre team that I was representing. and 24th in the race.

On the other hand the women ran a little better than I did (comparetively). Hanny finished 3rd overall and Leo was 6th overall. They also helped the Auckland Center team to a 2nd place finish in the teams race. They were the top two girls for the centre team. I dont have details of their races, cause I was busy running my race at the same time.

(Above: Hanny left and Leo right) Running together at NZ Road Champs
Hamilton Town
After the race and after the awards ceremony we headed back to the motel had a snack and got ready to go for dinner. We headed out for dinner and walked up and down the main street of Hamiliton trying to find a resturant to eat at for dinner. There must of been atleast 50 resturants/cafes to choose from. In the end we went to an all you can eat twenty dollar buffet. It was a Mongolian Resturant and they cooked the food for you as you selected it from the buffet. It was delicious, and I enjoyed it a lot. For the rest of the night we walked around and then headed back to the motel to relax and watch some tv.
We had planned on getting up at 630 to get ready to go for a run by 7am. At 10 to 6 I heard Hanny say she was heading out for her run, FREAK... Just Kidding, I was going to enjoy the next 30 minutes of sleep. I got up with Leo and we headed out for our run by 7am. Got back from the run around 830 had some brekkie and then got ready to check out of the motel. We planned on walking the town, downing a little bit of shopping and heading down to the river for "The Great Race" which was a rowing competion between the University of Waikato (NZ) and Cambridge University (UK). They also had a few other races on through out the day to check out. The day was going to be pretty packed full of stuff to do.

We grabbed a spot on a bridge over the river where the race would be finishing so we would be able to witness a good chunk of the race. There was some pretty exciting races building up for the concluding race of the day which was the battle between UK and NZ. The UK came out ontop this year, but NZ will seek revenge next year.
ToothAche
We headed for lunch after that, where I got a killer toothache and didnt know why. It was so painful, I took some drugs on the car ride home and that didnt even work. I forced myself to take a nap in the car so that I wouldnt feel the pain. That worked except that when we went to drop of Hanny I woke up and my toothache was back again. When we got back to the flat I took some more stronger drugs and they didnt work. We then got on the phone and called a few emergency Dentists to see if I could get an appointment. I could, 530 with a dentist at an emergency clinic. I was so relieved that I was going to be able to get some help for that.
I got to the dentist and was taken right in, I told him what I was feeling he took a look and then took some xrays. He said that it looked like I had a leaking filling that had gotten infected and that at lunch I must of been eating something that aggravated it. So what are the solutions? He said I could get the tooth removed or get a root canal. Well I didnt want to lose a tooth from my smile so I went with the root canal. I thought I was going to have to come back for that or go else but he said if I wanted to I could get it started right there and then. I wanted the pain to go away so I said yes. I was in the chair for an hour when he said that he was finished for the time being. I had to come back to complete the last two steps. I was so thankful that I got into see him. I made my next appointment and got on with the rest of the evening pain free. I will be going back on the 15th for the next steps and I will have to be in the chair for two hours. (If you have any questions about payment, cost, and insurance please email me or ask it on the comment section. I could go into depth but dont want to if no one cares)
Fundraising?
After the Dentist and we were invited to this fundraiser for Nats Hockey Team. They said I didnt have to go if I wasnt up to it, but I was so we went. It was called a "Quiz Night", which consisted of three main parts for the fundraising. Part I The Quiz Part II the Auction Part III Raffle.
Part I The quiz was 8 rounds of 10 questions each that covered 8 different topics. There was also this thing called your joker, where if played your points would be doubled for that round. The topics per round where: Round 1 NZ history, Round 2 Auckland history, Round 3 Maori culture, Round 4 Olympics, Round 5 General Sport, Round 6 Tip of the Tongue (Complete that Line of a Song) Round 7 Name the Artist and Round 8 Name the Movie.
So Rounds 1-3 I was useless, round 4 I was a little help, Round 5 a little bit more of a help, Round 6&7 I was the shit and Round 8 I was useless again. During rounds 6&7 our team scored the most points of the game, and I dont think there is any other reason than ME. LOL (Laugh Out Loud) Round 6 we scored 9 out of ten and then Round 7 we scored 14 (we played our Joker that round). Anyway our team finished up in 4th place out of 10 teams and we were only 4 points from victory and 1 point from third. Points went like the 4+4+4+4+5+9+14+1=45 points.
Part II was the Auction which was different items that were donated by the players and businesses in the area. It worked like a regular auction with the bidding and everything. It wasnt a silent or Chinese auction. There was Olympic gear to win, Hockey sticks and bags, flat screen tv, and much more. and For the Raffle which was Part III they had other lesser prizes to win where they picked numbers out of a bucket of bought tickets. Leo and I won a cool NZ Black Caps T Shirt. The Black Caps are the name of the NZ National Cricket team.
All in all the Fundraising event was pretty awesome and thought it was a great night to get the parents, family and friends of the team members involved in with the team. I am going to keep that in my mental dairy and when I need to give an idea for a fundraiser I will have that. Dont know when I will have to do that but if I had to I have it.
One Last Thing I Promise
As I sit here on the couch in my flat with the TV blasting and the keys typing I am watching/listening to the TOP 40 Guilty Pleasure Music Videos and it is totally an awesome countdown. You know it is the songs that are awesome but are embarassed to say that you actually like. For instance Bon Jovi "Living on a Pray" or the whole rest of the countdown...minus the Brittany Spears...she is not liked. C4TV is Cool
Well I hope that you enjoyed my blog and I will catch you later in the week.