State of the Schafer: Deep in gratitude

Friday marked a public holiday in New Zealand to celebrate Matariki, which in Māori tradition signals winter taking hold of the land. It's marked by the rise of the star cluster Matariki (also known as the Pleiades) in the nighttime skies, and begins a time for reflection as one cycle draws to an end and another begins. I figured that was a good reminder that I ought to post one of my "Yes, I'm still alive" missives here, complete with reflection on the months past. 

2024 has certainly been a busy year, I started my new role as Head of Data Science over at MetService, and wow there's been so much to learn about forecasting models and extreme weather events, plus all the ins and outs of how the company operates. (Unlike many countries' main weather forecasting services, MetService is not a government department, but a "state owned enterprise", run as a separate company expected to make profit as well as provide weather information and warnings to the New Zealand public.) 

I love the challenge of the job, the strong sense of purpose, and I'm working with a great team. The only downside is that using so much brainpower at work means I feel like I don't have much left after hours! I'd say my writing pace has slowed to a crawl, but it was already a crawl, so...a glacial creep, perhaps? 

That said, I'm delighted to tell you I finally (FINALLY!!) finished the last edits on The White Serpent. The final version clocks in at ~66K words, still in that awkward realm where it's too long to be called a novella, but seems short for a novel. I'm thinking I ought to finish the Ruslan short story and include them together in one volume. Given my glacial pace, I do worry how long that will take me. If I can't finish the Ruslan story in the next few months, then I might go ahead and publish without it. Either way, I need to start looking for a cover artist. 

One of my other goals for 2024 was to seek out some new adventures, and happily, that's been going to plan. I started off the year with an overnight trip to Mueller Hut, which I'd been wanting to visit for ages. 

Mueller Hut

Aoraki (Mt. Cook) looming over the morning fog layer

Mueller Hut, with Mt Sefton behind, and Aoraki in the distance

Right after that, we headed off for our first-ever trip to Japan. Ever since seeing footage in old Warren Miller movies of skiers floating through bottomless powder in scenic forests, I've wanted to try skiing in Hokkaido. This year, I finally got my wish - and yes, the powder is as epic as those movies made it look. We didn't take many pics while skiing because we were too busy enjoying it! 

Tree skiing heaven

Winter wonderland in Rusutsu

We also did a bunch of sightseeing in Tokyo and Kyoto. I'm not that big of a city person, but I did love the Ghibli Museum and the teamLab Planets interactive art installation in Tokyo, and the bamboo forests and shrines of Kyoto. Plus, we were joined on the trip by friends from Colorado, and it was really great to spend time with them again.  

Robert and I at the Ghibli Museum

Alien eggs at teamLab Planets (or at least, they look like alien eggs to me!)

Bamboo forest

Torii gates at Fushimi Inari

After returning from Japan, I started at MetService, spending the first week up at their main offices in Wellington so I could meet everyone. Wellington is famous for terrible weather, but every time I visit, it's gorgeous. I mean, look at this:

Wellington Harbour from the observation deck of Te Papa museum

In the evenings after work, I had a grand time wandering the botanic gardens and hidden pockets of green scattered throughout the city. My favorite of these is probably Bolton Street Cemetery. It's a historic cemetery where the graves are tucked in amid trees and flowering plants; the greenery is so thick you'd never know that the bustle and traffic of the CBD is right next door.

One of the many quiet niches of the cemetery

Not too long after returning home to Hawea, I celebrated my birthday with a climb up New Zealand's only operating via ferrata route. Via ferrata routes use cables and iron rungs to make it possible to climb cliffs that would otherwise be too difficult, at least for a cautious climber like myself. A local company called Wildwire created a route near Wanaka that climbs up past several long waterfalls. It was really fun! 

The kiddo and I, ready to tackle the route. (Yes, he really has grown that much taller than I am!)

Ascending the route

Enjoying the view (me in the middle, the kiddo below)

This was my favorite part of the route

Having a great birthday

Another great milestone came when husband finished all the paragliding flights needed to get his paraglider pilot's license. (You have to take two courses, an exam, and complete something like 40 flights under supervision of an instructor before you can get a license to fly solo.) Paragliding, if you're not familiar, is where you raise a big fabric wing like a giant parachute kite tied to your harness, run off the mountainside, and then float around on air currents until you land. I haven't tried it myself yet - maybe once Robert gets experienced enough to safely take me tandem - but I'm delighted he's found a new sport to love.

Robert making his run off a launch site on the side of Coronet Peak

Robert in the air after taking off

The huge geomagnetic storm that hit in May gave me the chance to achieve a lifetime dream: seeing the aurora australis. Where we live in New Zealand is far enough south to get occasional sightings of the aurora, but seemed like every time it was strong enough to see, either the sky was cloudy or I was too tired to get up and look for it. This time, the conditions lined up perfectly. The sky was wholly clear, and the aurora was bright right after sunset. And boy, talk about bright! Friends who've seen the aurora in NZ had talked about diffuse glows and muted colors often only visible through a camera lens. This time, the colors were vivid with the naked eye, beams of pink and green covering the entire sky. I was in absolute awe. I never thought I'd see an aurora on this scale unless I somehow managed to get to Norway or Antarctica. 

I took these with my cellphone, and haven't enhanced the pics at all

Now in June, the ski season has begun, and this year there's actually snow on the ground, woo hoo! (Last year the ski fields had to delay their opening for weeks.) Climate change is hitting NZ ski fields pretty hard - the season gets shorter and shorter, and the snow line higher and higher - so I treasure any days I can get. My favorite local area, Treble Cone, opened this weekend, and while they only had about two runs open, they were allowing hiking access to the terrain above the chairs. I'm willing to walk for my turns, especially when the views are stupendous. 

Rest stop

Earning my turns

Not everything's been great about 2024, of course, and I don't just mean the state of the wider world (which continues to dismay and sadden me). My first follow-up scan after last year's breast cancer treatment picked up some more areas of concern, which has meant a round of several painful biopsies and a lot of stress and uncertainty. One spot turned out benign, whew, and I certainly hope the rest will too, but the doctors aren't done checking. The uncertainty is hard, but all I can do is put it out of my mind as best I can. 

Comet's exuberance as he races around on a walk always reminds me that life is for living

I've had a lot to be grateful for so far in 2024, and not just in terms of adventures. One of my favorite authors, Janny Wurts, published the big conclusion to her 11-volume mega-epic Wars of Light and Shadow series. She's been writing this series since the early 90s, persevering through all kinds of publishing hurdles, and I can't even tell you how awesome it is to see her masterwork completed. (Why do I love it so much? Janny is one of those authors like Dorothy Dunnett who can pull off intricate, careful plotting through a multi-volume series without sprawl and with multiple layers of reveals. I can't get enough of "board to the head" moments when a later scene opens the reader's understanding in a whole new way and prior scenes are cast in a totally different light. I'm always in awe of authors who can pull that off well.) 

Re-reading the whole series so I can best appreciate the final volume has been a terrific way to escape worries (whether over my own health or the state of the world). Thank you to Janny and every author out there creating worlds that give illumination and comfort.