i love coming home. i love it when the plane sinks below the clouds & the familiar coastline appears, the kaikouras glistening white to the south, the choppy waters of cook strait beneath & the steep green hills of wellington ahead, dotted with little wooden houses like a model landscape. i love it when the wellington wind teases the plane as we descend, & the pilot rises to the challenge to achieve a smooth landing. i love it when cathy’s there to meet me & my luggage appears on the carousel & we drive thru the familiar streets to my house. i love it when i put my key into the front door & the cat is there to greet me & just for a moment the house smells a little bit different, then i’m seeing all my accumulated life hoardings & everything is just as i left it but a little bit different …

yes, i’m back! … for a while … since my last post from the sky, i’ve had a whirlwind tour of san fransisco (yes it is like a larger, grander wellington), survived the long flight back, & partially recovered from the sleep-deprivation and jetlag. now my work is to catch up with everyone here, catch up with all my projects, sort out my accumulated hoardings, & make plans for getting back to europe next year …