this is my office

I actually woke up on time (5:30 am), got ready, and got out to the
vineyard on time today – about 4 hours earlier than my usual wake-up
time!

I'm working for Nicholson Contracting as a wrapper. The company is
owned by a Maori family – Tony, Steve, Marcus and their dad, Steve Sr.

We're working at Taylors Pass vineyard in Seddon. The vineyard's
owned by a company called Terra Vitae which seems to own a lot of the
vineyards around here. It's in a beautiful area, with rolling hills
and a few mountains in the background. It's easy to get distracted
from work by the surroundings…and most of the women here agree that
Tony's a nice part of the landscape too ;)

Marcus was tasked with training me, and I got paid for 2 hours of
training plus any plants I finished in that time. "What kind of vines
are these?" I asked Marcus this morning. He's not much of a talker.
"Sauv blanc. Shit grapes." Oh, right then – glad I'm putting some
effort into this!

Marcus did get a little more animated later on, when he asked me what
I did for work back in the States. I don't usually go into the gory
details unless I know the other person would relate, so I just said I
worked in an office. "Oh – that's terrible!" Well…at least it's
warm, and there are chairs I thought. "This – " Marcus gestured to
vineyard, the peaks in the distance. "This is my office."