NEWS BRIEFS
Hay Fever of Bust!
So, my allergies have returned with a massive vengeance. What did I ever do to cause such annoyance? Despite having industrial-strength allergy meds shipped in from abroad, my nose is itchier than ever, my throat is constantly sore, and my eyes are always practically tearing up. Really, New Zealand, for all your beauty, you've got to learn to control your dandelion populations. They are really upsetting to me...and my gardens...and your visual splendour...
Phase II Afterword
Last week I said that all I had to do this past week was input a bunch of quotes in preparation for writing my first chapter of my thesis. One week later, the task is done, but it took until Friday to complete. That's right, it took five days to copy/paste over 130 pages of quotations. On the plus side, my thesis is quite well organised now, with each of six chapters separated into five sub-sections based largely on my quotes but also my thesis demands. The only problem is that I've sort of lost sight of what my actual conclusion is supposed to be. I will have to rediscover that in the next couple of weeks. The historiography section, which is about half the first chapter, is a little light on the historiographical information, partially because much of the material is in French and partially because I haven't really been able to collect all the historiographical stuff I want to include (I mean, I have another 2.5 years of writing this thing, I have time, right?). I assume my supervisor is aware that this section is going to be incomplete, but I'm not certain. I've never written a dedicated historiographical chapter or essay before, so this is new ground for me and I am getting literally zero guidance at this point.
Loaves of Brick and Hardtack
Two weeks ago I began a new sourdough starter and it came out great. The only problem has been that I can't possibly get the darn thing to work in any bread. I've been trying to make loaf rounds in the oven but the starter doesn't seem to be potent enough to get the yeast to rise. I'm not sure why, either, since it seems quite active when in its starter state. Yet once mixed, the bread just doesn't go up at all. I let it sit for 24 hours and it did nothing. Nothing. I baked it anyway and the bread actually tastes really good. REALLY good; not quite San Francisco sour-style, but it still has a nice tang to it. Unfortunately, the bread is so dense it's practically inedible. I'm working on improving the recipe, but the next batch will be using spelt flour rather than normal baking flour. This will add a negative element to the bread because spelt has much less gluten in it, which is what the starter yeast eats. Any advice from sourdough chefs out there would be greatly appreciated.
Lands Down Under-er
This week we travel to Queenstown near the south of the South Island. We're going down there for a week and dropping Niko off at the Cattery first. That way we can ensure he is safe and eating and everything. Queenstown is a major tourist trap, as is Dunedin, which we stop at along the way, so we're expecting high prices for everything. Fortunately, petrol is extremely cheap right now—it just dropped to $1.799/litre. It was around $2.39 when we got here. We spent a small fortune today upgrading the car for the journey, though. We got the tyres replaced only to find that all four wheels were terribly out of alignment. We also got an oil change and had a number of other things checked out. It cost us a small fortune to do all of this, but we feel safer now with the car.
Obviously you'll hear more about these adventures next week. I plan to still do my regular train blog and the next Khagan Weekly while there, so stay tuned.
The Uncertainty of Construction Work
Lastly, I just want to gripe briefly about construction work. It is everywhere in Christchurch and it is awful. It is noisy, it blocks roads and makes people late to school, and it unpredictably resumes after extended holidays. All along our ride to school today, construction had resumed. Apparently all the local firms took three weeks off for Christmas and New Years and restarted their efforts today. Roads were closed everywhere, while elsewhere they were down to single lanes. On top of that, the neighbour decided it would be fun to remove his concrete driveway at 8 this morning. Because, why not? A large tractor was actively destroying his yard as we left.
If you plan to visit us, we'll probably try to take you elsewhere. Christchurch was once the garden city of New Zealand, but it currently is one massive construction zone. The country may be beautiful, but this city is decidedly not. I hope that changes in the next few years because it is starting to bother me.
DISCLAIMER
The Khagan Weekly is the unofficial news outlet for an American living in Christchurch, New Zealand. Anything he says can and may be used against him. His statements should be taken as factual, except when they are not. All rights reserved, except where prohibited...like in Russia. They prohibit everything there. Psh. Punks. Let's start a punt Putin day. That'd be fun.
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