Just wishing everyone a happy new year! I hope that 2005 was a dream for everyone, just as it was for me. I met and made some great friends, had some amazing experiences and adventures, and have memories that I know will last a lifetime. Thank you to everyone who was part of my life in 2005. I can only hope that the next twelve months will live up to the last twelve.
All the best to everyone, especially all my friends in the UK, NZ, and Oz. I love you and can't wait to have beautiful experiences with you again!
31 December 2005
28 December 2005
Greatest Gift Ever!
Thanks to Geoff, I am now the VERY proud owner of one of the greatest party games ever...
26 December 2005
Welcome Back, Mr Kotter!
Well, well, well. Long time, eh? What's it been now, about six weeks or something? I can't even remember. It's alright though, I'm here now for you. You can stop your crying, sit back, and enjoy where I'm going to take you. It'll be fun, I promise.
Haha, actually it's been so long now that I'm unfortunately not going to tell you all the exciting things I've seen and done since leaving Fiji. In a couple days I'll point you in the direction of my photo page where you can peruse at your own pace through the adventure that is my life... Until then, I'll tide you over with the story of my arrival home.
As most of you that read this know, I decided to make my presence known in Canada for the first time in three years this holiday season. And as I may have let you know my mother was in the dark about my return. I wanted it to be a surprise for her ("Happy holidays, here's your present: ME!"), but everyone else in my family knew I was coming. So after a long day on a bus (and remember, this was the night before Xmas), traveling from Chicago to London, Ontario, Canada, I met my younger brother Geoff at the bus stop and he took me home. I had been thinking of how I would approach the actual meeting of Adam&Mum, but in the end I simply opened the side door, took my shoes off, and walked into my parents' bedroom where they were changing the sheets all casual-like. "Merry Christmas", I announced, and watched as the tears began to flow from my mother's eyes. I couldn't escape her crab-claw-like grasp for two hours after that.
Haha, in the end it was a great surprise for her. She claims that she had "mother's intuition" and sort of knew that I was coming, but I really have my doubts about that. All in all it worked out pretty much as I had hoped.
More tales of excitement and surprise later. It's late, and time for this monkey to be put down...
Haha, actually it's been so long now that I'm unfortunately not going to tell you all the exciting things I've seen and done since leaving Fiji. In a couple days I'll point you in the direction of my photo page where you can peruse at your own pace through the adventure that is my life... Until then, I'll tide you over with the story of my arrival home.
As most of you that read this know, I decided to make my presence known in Canada for the first time in three years this holiday season. And as I may have let you know my mother was in the dark about my return. I wanted it to be a surprise for her ("Happy holidays, here's your present: ME!"), but everyone else in my family knew I was coming. So after a long day on a bus (and remember, this was the night before Xmas), traveling from Chicago to London, Ontario, Canada, I met my younger brother Geoff at the bus stop and he took me home. I had been thinking of how I would approach the actual meeting of Adam&Mum, but in the end I simply opened the side door, took my shoes off, and walked into my parents' bedroom where they were changing the sheets all casual-like. "Merry Christmas", I announced, and watched as the tears began to flow from my mother's eyes. I couldn't escape her crab-claw-like grasp for two hours after that.
Haha, in the end it was a great surprise for her. She claims that she had "mother's intuition" and sort of knew that I was coming, but I really have my doubts about that. All in all it worked out pretty much as I had hoped.
More tales of excitement and surprise later. It's late, and time for this monkey to be put down...
23 November 2005
Hot stuff comin' through!
Hello y'all!
It just seems to be getting hotter and hotter here in Fiji. Yesterday I wasn't able to do anything but sit beside the pool and bake, cooling off every fifteen minutes with a dip. Yeah I know, it's tough.
The one thing I wanted to comment on is the buses here. They are absolutely crazy! Most haven't got any windows, and if it rains they just slap down these tarpauline windows that get rolled away when it isn't raining. There is absolutely no way that they would be road worthy in just about every other country in the world. Most of the drivers are Indo-Fijians that never talk, which is understandable because speaking creates heat and the last thing you need on these buses is more heat.
On the plus side they are dirt cheap. I can take a bus all around the main island (about a seven or eight hour trip) for about $25. And that's FIJIAN dollars, remember. For me to get into town from where I'm staying costs me $.65!
Oh, and while I remember, I'm now living on less than $15/day, accomodation included. Not too bad. I haven't been to too many places where you can claim that. Now, if I was in South-East Asia, you could cut that down to about $5/day, but I'm not there so I am pretty happy with my daily costs. Anyone want a genuine Fijian necklace for Xmas? Not a problem. I can afford the $.95, don't worry about it...
It just seems to be getting hotter and hotter here in Fiji. Yesterday I wasn't able to do anything but sit beside the pool and bake, cooling off every fifteen minutes with a dip. Yeah I know, it's tough.
The one thing I wanted to comment on is the buses here. They are absolutely crazy! Most haven't got any windows, and if it rains they just slap down these tarpauline windows that get rolled away when it isn't raining. There is absolutely no way that they would be road worthy in just about every other country in the world. Most of the drivers are Indo-Fijians that never talk, which is understandable because speaking creates heat and the last thing you need on these buses is more heat.
On the plus side they are dirt cheap. I can take a bus all around the main island (about a seven or eight hour trip) for about $25. And that's FIJIAN dollars, remember. For me to get into town from where I'm staying costs me $.65!
Oh, and while I remember, I'm now living on less than $15/day, accomodation included. Not too bad. I haven't been to too many places where you can claim that. Now, if I was in South-East Asia, you could cut that down to about $5/day, but I'm not there so I am pretty happy with my daily costs. Anyone want a genuine Fijian necklace for Xmas? Not a problem. I can afford the $.95, don't worry about it...
18 November 2005
Golden Sand and Shimmering Water: A Heady Mix
I'm happy and exciting to say that during my time on the Outer Islands of Fiji I did not get drunk once. Considering that many people do this, what with the copious amounts of sun, sand, sea, and cocktails that are served up day after day, I didn't give in to the voices telling me to "have another". It didn't help that the local (and cheap) beer tasted like feet.
So if I had more time, or more money to afford more time, I would have included your typical "palm tree lazily leaning over crystal clear water" photo in this post as well. But since I don't it will have to wait for another time. Instead I will run through some of the things I have seen and done whilst in Fiji thus far.
-Snorkelling and seeing exotic fish of all shapes and sizes, notably clown fish (I found him! I found Nemo!), a puffer fish, a deadly lion fish, and a ray of some kind. Also brilliant coral that you can't even imagine.
-Lived on a boat for two days, which was brilliant.
-Eating amazing food, stuffing my face with seconds, thirds, and on one occassion, fourths.
-Visiting local villages and villagers, seeing a way of life that is unique and beautiful, but also sad and hard to stomach considering what us Westerners have, such as constant electricity, which many here still don't.
-Sunsets and sunrises to shame anything Disney or Pixar could imagine.
I could go on, and I wish I could, but time is running short. So for now, I'd like to wish all my friends back in New Zealand and big hello. Tam, I'll see you in Canada. Mel, I hope to see you there too, one day. Emjay, keep doing what you do best (my door is always open for you). Sarah, I love and cherish you and will always be indebted to you, even though you may not know why. To everyone else that I haven't got time to mention, all my thoughts and love.
Now I'm off to sit and read (is there anything ELSE to do in Fiji, you might ask? Not at the moment, it's pissing down with rain!), maybe even try and stomach one more can of Fiji Bitter. Probably not, actually...
So if I had more time, or more money to afford more time, I would have included your typical "palm tree lazily leaning over crystal clear water" photo in this post as well. But since I don't it will have to wait for another time. Instead I will run through some of the things I have seen and done whilst in Fiji thus far.
-Snorkelling and seeing exotic fish of all shapes and sizes, notably clown fish (I found him! I found Nemo!), a puffer fish, a deadly lion fish, and a ray of some kind. Also brilliant coral that you can't even imagine.
-Lived on a boat for two days, which was brilliant.
-Eating amazing food, stuffing my face with seconds, thirds, and on one occassion, fourths.
-Visiting local villages and villagers, seeing a way of life that is unique and beautiful, but also sad and hard to stomach considering what us Westerners have, such as constant electricity, which many here still don't.
-Sunsets and sunrises to shame anything Disney or Pixar could imagine.
I could go on, and I wish I could, but time is running short. So for now, I'd like to wish all my friends back in New Zealand and big hello. Tam, I'll see you in Canada. Mel, I hope to see you there too, one day. Emjay, keep doing what you do best (my door is always open for you). Sarah, I love and cherish you and will always be indebted to you, even though you may not know why. To everyone else that I haven't got time to mention, all my thoughts and love.
Now I'm off to sit and read (is there anything ELSE to do in Fiji, you might ask? Not at the moment, it's pissing down with rain!), maybe even try and stomach one more can of Fiji Bitter. Probably not, actually...
30 October 2005
Two T-shirts, a Haircut, and a Stir-Fry...
Hello again, and welcome back! The far north was beautiful, beautiful I tells ya! I really wish Geoff and I still had our van and that we had more time to spend up there. Lovely beaches, little undiscovered coves, friendly people... Very nice indeed.
I'm in Auckland now, New Zealand's largest city. Lots of people say that Auckland is full of JAFAs (if you're in the know, you know) and that it's too busy and bustling. Frankly, I'm enjoying myself. I bet it would be different if I was working here and had to contend with traffic and expenses and everything else that comes with big city living, but right now I'm enjoying myself.
Yesterday my friend Calesta took me on a "Tiki Tour", which as far as I can make out is just a little day tour of wherever you happen to go. It has nothing to do with tikis at all. My day started with a hair cut, which was probably well overdue. I have to say that John the Immigrant Iranian did a fine job. After this I met Calesta and we had a picnic lunch on North Head. North Head has all these cool underground tunnels that were built during the war, and they are now open to the public for shitty little kids to graffitti their tags all through. It's quite interesting, actually. After exploring the tunnels we drove to a place called Takapuna where I purchased two new plain t-shirts to replace two others that I didn't wear anymore. I'm very pleased with the new ones. Plus they were only $10 for both, which in my mind is a bargain! Calesta and I then grabbed a juice and drove over to Mission Bay and the Domain. Next it was off to have dinner at her place where she cooked me a nice vegetable stir-fry, and home by 10.30. I was pretty tired from not sleeping the night before, but I had a great sleep last night. Thus the Tiki Tour was completed.
As far as Tiki Tours go, it was the best one I've ever known to have been on.
I'm in Auckland now, New Zealand's largest city. Lots of people say that Auckland is full of JAFAs (if you're in the know, you know) and that it's too busy and bustling. Frankly, I'm enjoying myself. I bet it would be different if I was working here and had to contend with traffic and expenses and everything else that comes with big city living, but right now I'm enjoying myself.
Yesterday my friend Calesta took me on a "Tiki Tour", which as far as I can make out is just a little day tour of wherever you happen to go. It has nothing to do with tikis at all. My day started with a hair cut, which was probably well overdue. I have to say that John the Immigrant Iranian did a fine job. After this I met Calesta and we had a picnic lunch on North Head. North Head has all these cool underground tunnels that were built during the war, and they are now open to the public for shitty little kids to graffitti their tags all through. It's quite interesting, actually. After exploring the tunnels we drove to a place called Takapuna where I purchased two new plain t-shirts to replace two others that I didn't wear anymore. I'm very pleased with the new ones. Plus they were only $10 for both, which in my mind is a bargain! Calesta and I then grabbed a juice and drove over to Mission Bay and the Domain. Next it was off to have dinner at her place where she cooked me a nice vegetable stir-fry, and home by 10.30. I was pretty tired from not sleeping the night before, but I had a great sleep last night. Thus the Tiki Tour was completed.
As far as Tiki Tours go, it was the best one I've ever known to have been on.
27 October 2005
G'day from the North of the North!
I made it, everyone, I made it as far north as you can make it in New Zealand. The sense of achievement is great, and I am a better person for it. Let's step back a little and bring you up to date, okay?
Mount Maunganui was nice, very nice indeed. We got there fairly late, after a late start to the day in Rotorua. We checked in to the hostel, dumped our stuff, and a few of us headed for the Mount, which is about the size of a pimple compared to the rest of the mountains here in New Zealand. Still, it was nice to get some exercise and the view from the "summit" was beautiful.
An early start to the day got us on the road to Auckland, and we were there by early afternoon. Just enough time to check into the hostel and have a wander around the city centre. Everyone bags Auckland and says how crappy it is, but I got a pretty good feeling from it. It's nice and green and there seems to be enough stuff to do to keep oneself busy. But then again there are lots of big cities that are exactly like it. As far as big cities go, though, I thought it was okay. I'd better like it because I'll be back there tomorrow! Haha!
Anyway, on Wednesday morning I caught the bus again for the north, and a town called Paihia. Northland New Zealand is beautiful, and the ride was great. I'm in a great hostel here (far and away the best I've been in while in New Zealand, actually), and the atmosphere is great. Yesterday I did a LONG day trip up to the northernmost tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga, and along the way we did some sand boarding on 100metre high sand dunes. I had the most runs out of everyone, I'm pretty proud of saying...
Today I've already gone for a walk along the beach into the town centre, and this afternoon I'm going on a four hour walk to the Haruru Falls and back. I'm also going to pop into the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and inform myself of Maori/European History. Should be good I think.
Mount Maunganui was nice, very nice indeed. We got there fairly late, after a late start to the day in Rotorua. We checked in to the hostel, dumped our stuff, and a few of us headed for the Mount, which is about the size of a pimple compared to the rest of the mountains here in New Zealand. Still, it was nice to get some exercise and the view from the "summit" was beautiful.
An early start to the day got us on the road to Auckland, and we were there by early afternoon. Just enough time to check into the hostel and have a wander around the city centre. Everyone bags Auckland and says how crappy it is, but I got a pretty good feeling from it. It's nice and green and there seems to be enough stuff to do to keep oneself busy. But then again there are lots of big cities that are exactly like it. As far as big cities go, though, I thought it was okay. I'd better like it because I'll be back there tomorrow! Haha!
Anyway, on Wednesday morning I caught the bus again for the north, and a town called Paihia. Northland New Zealand is beautiful, and the ride was great. I'm in a great hostel here (far and away the best I've been in while in New Zealand, actually), and the atmosphere is great. Yesterday I did a LONG day trip up to the northernmost tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga, and along the way we did some sand boarding on 100metre high sand dunes. I had the most runs out of everyone, I'm pretty proud of saying...
Today I've already gone for a walk along the beach into the town centre, and this afternoon I'm going on a four hour walk to the Haruru Falls and back. I'm also going to pop into the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and inform myself of Maori/European History. Should be good I think.
23 October 2005
And awaaaay we go!
YIKES!!!
That's right folks, I have now achieved both my "adventure goals" for New Zealand, that being jumping off a platform with nothing but a rubber band strapped around my ankles, and now I have lept out of a plane with nothing but a piece of fabric and a tiny dwarf strapped to my back. I have to say, though, that it was one hell of a ride. Mind you, it DID sort of feel like we were being cattle-herded into the plane... There just wasn't that personal feeling about it. Oh well. Can't have everything in our "adventure goals", can we?
So Taupo was nice, and now I'm in the rotting egg hell of Rotorua. Actually, the smell isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Rotorua is the spiritual centre of the Maori Kingdom (or so I've been told to tell everyone), and it's also a major hotspot for geothermal activity. This means that the town has a faint odour of sulphur constantly hovering over it. Luckily that managed to mask my own smell (I had a bit of geothermal activity myself last night!)...
This afternoon we're off to a place called Mount Maunganui, which is a popular coastal resort town. The hostel I'm staying at there is giving me a free meal tonight, which I'm really looking forward to. Should be good...
20 October 2005
Where do I begin?
Hells yeah, y'all, I'm back on the road! Well, it's not all fun and games, of course. I had to leave several good good friends back in ChCh, which is probably the worst thing about travelling. That, and not having enough money, EVER, to do the things that you want to do... But I'll be raking in the casheesh soon enough, so it's not all doom and gloom! Thanks (huge thanks, in fact) go out to Tam, Mel, EmJizzle, and Phil for the last south island road trip, it was fun. I'll miss you all, and already do.
Of course all the other folks back in good ol' ChCh will also be missed, and you know who you are. Thanks for the memories. So long, and thanks for all the fish.
Now, back to the travelling bit. Hopped on the ferry to Wellington on a beautiful cloud free day. Waved goodbyes across the bay to the ones I love the most, and set off into the distance. The trip itself was pretty uneventful, but once I arrived in Wellington I was determined not to get stuck in a rut and stay at the hostel. Nice city, Wellington, and my only full day there was spent walking around taking a few photos, visiting a couple museums, and generally being a tourist. Luckily there were plenty of other tourists to blend in with. Met a couple nice people, which always makes the stay that little bit brighter.
Wednesday morning I got on my Magic Mystery Bus (beam me up Scotty was our driver, in only his third ever solo trip. What joy awaited me!) at the oh-so-early hour of 7.55am. Off on the road we went, with fresh-faced Scotty telling us interesting banter that he read out of the Magic Bus Driver Handbook along the way... I'm sorry, but please don't re-hash all the same stuff you have been told in training. But if you absolutely HAVE to, at least get the facts right and remember names.
After a few gratuitous stops along the way we arrived in Napier, the art deco capital of New Zealand. Napier was levelled by a massive earthquake at the turn of the 20th century, and it was rebuilt in an art deco style. Unfortunately they seemed to have forgotten over the years that art deco is a fairly boring style of architecture, so it just ended up being any other town. Oh well. The hostel I stayed at was interesting. It used to be the local prison, and we got to sleep in the old prison cells or officers' buildings. The shower blocks were, well, interesting, with a small plywood board covering your tiddly bits. Thankfully there weren't any extremely tall or short people staying at the time. The creepiest bit about the hostel though, was the fact that they had decorated some of the cells with dummies and other "prison-esque" articles. You'd be walking through the halls and suddenly see this person looking at you through the bars, only to turn around and see that it was some mannequin. Wierd.
The next day we were off to Taupo, where I'm writing this right now. Nice little town, with the cheapest skydiving in the world. I signed up to do a 12,000ft jump, all for the low-low price of $145. Unfortunately when we arrived it was really windy, so the jump was called off. We arranged to jump in the morning (today) weather permitting, but it's been raining since yesterday evening, so no jump today. Now it's scheduled for 8.30am tomorrow morning, exactly two hours before the Magic Mystery Bus is scheduled to come and get me to take me to the next spot. Talk about cutting it short!
Anyway, instead of skydiving yesterday I walked to this little stream that is heated by thermal vents in the earth's crust, so I had a bit of a free hot spa by the side of the river. Mind you, it was bloody freakin' hot, so I didn't stay long. Instead I went back to the hostel, cracked a beer, and hopped in the hot spa there. Haha! Made a few friends, which was nice, and had a good time.
So today is a bit of a write off, really. I can't go for a walk along the lake, which is what I wanted to do, because it's too rainy and wet. Instead I've already watched "The Incredibles", eaten breakfast and lunch, played pool with an englishman who didn't know how to play pool, walked into town to buy some dinner food, and now I'm writing this. Oh well.
Tomorrow should be more eventful. Early morning skydive, bus to Rotorua for a stopover to see the bubbling thermal pools, and a couple nights in Mount Maunganui. The hostel there is meant to be great, with free breakfast AND free dinner. Who could ask for anything more?
Of course all the other folks back in good ol' ChCh will also be missed, and you know who you are. Thanks for the memories. So long, and thanks for all the fish.
Now, back to the travelling bit. Hopped on the ferry to Wellington on a beautiful cloud free day. Waved goodbyes across the bay to the ones I love the most, and set off into the distance. The trip itself was pretty uneventful, but once I arrived in Wellington I was determined not to get stuck in a rut and stay at the hostel. Nice city, Wellington, and my only full day there was spent walking around taking a few photos, visiting a couple museums, and generally being a tourist. Luckily there were plenty of other tourists to blend in with. Met a couple nice people, which always makes the stay that little bit brighter.
Wednesday morning I got on my Magic Mystery Bus (beam me up Scotty was our driver, in only his third ever solo trip. What joy awaited me!) at the oh-so-early hour of 7.55am. Off on the road we went, with fresh-faced Scotty telling us interesting banter that he read out of the Magic Bus Driver Handbook along the way... I'm sorry, but please don't re-hash all the same stuff you have been told in training. But if you absolutely HAVE to, at least get the facts right and remember names.
After a few gratuitous stops along the way we arrived in Napier, the art deco capital of New Zealand. Napier was levelled by a massive earthquake at the turn of the 20th century, and it was rebuilt in an art deco style. Unfortunately they seemed to have forgotten over the years that art deco is a fairly boring style of architecture, so it just ended up being any other town. Oh well. The hostel I stayed at was interesting. It used to be the local prison, and we got to sleep in the old prison cells or officers' buildings. The shower blocks were, well, interesting, with a small plywood board covering your tiddly bits. Thankfully there weren't any extremely tall or short people staying at the time. The creepiest bit about the hostel though, was the fact that they had decorated some of the cells with dummies and other "prison-esque" articles. You'd be walking through the halls and suddenly see this person looking at you through the bars, only to turn around and see that it was some mannequin. Wierd.
The next day we were off to Taupo, where I'm writing this right now. Nice little town, with the cheapest skydiving in the world. I signed up to do a 12,000ft jump, all for the low-low price of $145. Unfortunately when we arrived it was really windy, so the jump was called off. We arranged to jump in the morning (today) weather permitting, but it's been raining since yesterday evening, so no jump today. Now it's scheduled for 8.30am tomorrow morning, exactly two hours before the Magic Mystery Bus is scheduled to come and get me to take me to the next spot. Talk about cutting it short!
Anyway, instead of skydiving yesterday I walked to this little stream that is heated by thermal vents in the earth's crust, so I had a bit of a free hot spa by the side of the river. Mind you, it was bloody freakin' hot, so I didn't stay long. Instead I went back to the hostel, cracked a beer, and hopped in the hot spa there. Haha! Made a few friends, which was nice, and had a good time.
So today is a bit of a write off, really. I can't go for a walk along the lake, which is what I wanted to do, because it's too rainy and wet. Instead I've already watched "The Incredibles", eaten breakfast and lunch, played pool with an englishman who didn't know how to play pool, walked into town to buy some dinner food, and now I'm writing this. Oh well.
Tomorrow should be more eventful. Early morning skydive, bus to Rotorua for a stopover to see the bubbling thermal pools, and a couple nights in Mount Maunganui. The hostel there is meant to be great, with free breakfast AND free dinner. Who could ask for anything more?
04 October 2005
All that is old is new again.
I've noticed yet another idiot fad coming through in the youth of today. Recently we've had such gems as the fashion mullet come back into style, or the genius style of the 1980's coming back, which to me is just ridiculous. Even people that were teens in the eighties would tell you that it was complete stupidity that got them to wear such hideous articles of clothing.
Since I work in a busy shopping centre in Christchurch, New Zealand I'm able to observe quite frequently what the youth of today are up to. Mainly I just shake my head and laugh, but over the past week or so something has come to the forefront of my embarrassment for them. Somehow kids of today have decided that it's once again cool to shave interesting shapes into the sides of their heads, much like the Fresh Prince Of Bel Air used to shave ladder effects into his hair back in the early-mid nineties. I think if you were to ask Will Smith (aka. The Fresh Prince) what his biggest fashion faux-pas was in his entire life, I think he would say it was a toss-up between fluorescent clothing and funky hair designs.
Today alone I've noticed two of the youth of today with things shaved in the SIDES of their heads. One had funky ladder designs, and the other had what looked like a shockwave-esque line, much like what a heartbeat looks like on a heart monitor. I'm sure one of them was even wearing a pink polo shirt.
Now, if the youth of yesterday can see, in hindsight, that their fashion choices were horrible, why can't the youth of today see, with foresight, that their choices will inherently be horrible? Smarten up kids, think before you shave.
Since I work in a busy shopping centre in Christchurch, New Zealand I'm able to observe quite frequently what the youth of today are up to. Mainly I just shake my head and laugh, but over the past week or so something has come to the forefront of my embarrassment for them. Somehow kids of today have decided that it's once again cool to shave interesting shapes into the sides of their heads, much like the Fresh Prince Of Bel Air used to shave ladder effects into his hair back in the early-mid nineties. I think if you were to ask Will Smith (aka. The Fresh Prince) what his biggest fashion faux-pas was in his entire life, I think he would say it was a toss-up between fluorescent clothing and funky hair designs.
Today alone I've noticed two of the youth of today with things shaved in the SIDES of their heads. One had funky ladder designs, and the other had what looked like a shockwave-esque line, much like what a heartbeat looks like on a heart monitor. I'm sure one of them was even wearing a pink polo shirt.
Now, if the youth of yesterday can see, in hindsight, that their fashion choices were horrible, why can't the youth of today see, with foresight, that their choices will inherently be horrible? Smarten up kids, think before you shave.
26 September 2005
If you could, would you? (Part 1)
If you could fly, what would you do? I mean if you had the power of flight... Take, for example, birds. Not any old birds though, I'm talking about seagulls and ducks. You know how they sometimes will fly around in the air (duh, where else would they fly, Adam?) and randomly crap on people? Well, if you could fly, would you randomly crap on flocks of seagulls? I probably would. It would look pretty funny if anyone on the ground saw you, but I think it'd be worth it.
Or how about magpies? They seem to get immense joy out of harrassing us land-dwellers, swooping down on us and sometimes stealing our "shiney things". To be honest, I'd probably do the same thing. It'd be so much fun doing dives and barrel rolls in mid-air, and then catching a set of keys in your mouth, only to deposit it a few hundred yards away from where I got it from. So much fun...
Or, if you wanted to completely abuse your power of flight, would you fly around rich neighbourhoods and pool dive? Or maybe crap on the bonnet of their expensive cars? Or watch as they sunbathed nude? That's taking it a bit to the extreme, and not something I would do, but the option is there.
Or would you use your powers for something good, like solving crimes, or transporting people around the world for free, on your back? All they'd have to pay for would be a meal to keep your stamina up, and you'd get to see the world! That's what I'd do. I'd just travel around the world whenever and wherever I wanted, my backpack in tow. I could be the first person to climb Mount Everest in under twenty minutes!
Or how about magpies? They seem to get immense joy out of harrassing us land-dwellers, swooping down on us and sometimes stealing our "shiney things". To be honest, I'd probably do the same thing. It'd be so much fun doing dives and barrel rolls in mid-air, and then catching a set of keys in your mouth, only to deposit it a few hundred yards away from where I got it from. So much fun...
Or, if you wanted to completely abuse your power of flight, would you fly around rich neighbourhoods and pool dive? Or maybe crap on the bonnet of their expensive cars? Or watch as they sunbathed nude? That's taking it a bit to the extreme, and not something I would do, but the option is there.
Or would you use your powers for something good, like solving crimes, or transporting people around the world for free, on your back? All they'd have to pay for would be a meal to keep your stamina up, and you'd get to see the world! That's what I'd do. I'd just travel around the world whenever and wherever I wanted, my backpack in tow. I could be the first person to climb Mount Everest in under twenty minutes!
20 September 2005
Sweets for the sweet!
What a start to the day! Last night as I closed the shop I made sure I had most of the next day's fruit prep done, so I could just come in and relax and do whatever I wanted. That was a good start to the morning. Then another mall employee that works at a gourmet candy shop came up and asked if he could use the internet for a few minutes to check something, and in exchange he'd bring me a bag of candy. This is real gourmet stuff, you know, hand made sweets. In the middle of each of the lollies is a picture of what it's meant to taste like: orange, passionfruit, strawberry, et cetera. I haven't tasted them out of fear that they may be laced with arsenic.
However, slightly more exciting than a free bag of candy also happened to me today. One of the mall managers came up to the shop with a piece of paper in her hand (turned out to be a mall comment card). She showed me that and asked if the person that wrote it was talking about me. Sure enough, at the end of it was a description of me: Tall, mid-twenties, with an American accent (how was she to know that I'm actually Canadian?). Then mall manager tells me that I've been selected as the mall employee of the month! So she then asks me if I drive, because the usualy prize for being selected mall employee of the month is two free months parking in the secure staff car park. When I say no, she tells me that she'll go away and try to organise something in place of the free parking. Then she takes my photo with a very old digital camera, says congratulations again, and walks off.
I can only imagine that either she really IS going to sort out some other prize for me, and that my face will be plastered in the next mall newletter, or she's actually a bounty hunter hired by Vodafone and she's tracked me down and is going to extradite me back to England to pay my unpaid mobile phone bill. I still haven't recieved a prize, so it's entirely possible you know...
19 September 2005
Look everyone! It's a Sun-day!
Watch those steps, you might slip on the two centimetres of snow! I woke up two mornings ago to see this sight outside the front window. It's mid-spring here in New Zealand and people are wearing winter coats and long johns... Granted, I'm no different, but when you're travelling you have to try and fit in with your surroundings.
So I got to work yesterday morning and the place was completely dead. By ten o-clock I'd recieved word that all the schools in Christchurch were closing one-by-one, probably in an effort to flood the city with rampaging children gradually, so I thank the city council for that one. By 10.30 the mall was bulging at the seems with school kids, and by 11.15 we were back to normal. Maybe they figured out that being a MallRat wasn't a good life-long job...
Around 11.30 I'd heard through the grapevine that all the city buses were going to stop running for the day, even though the snow had stopped a half hour previous and I'd noticed brief moments of sunshine peaking through the television static sky. About the same time I heard that the buses were stopping I'd also heard that the mall management was giving shops permission to close up early if they wanted. I thought to myself "Well, that seems pretty silly since the snow has stopped..." Then again, I'd been at work for three hours and I hadn't sold anything at that point, so maybe it would be a good idea for me to close up shop.
Which is what I did, after getting the word from the manager. In the end I'd finished on $5.00 worth of sales for four hours' work. At least I had something to show for, however pathetic it might have been. So I picked up a case of beer and got some friends to come over for my first "Snow Day" in nearly three years. "Snow Day" eventually turned into "Kind Of Sunny And Nice Outside Day". I couldn't help but feel ripped off in the fact that I got sent home for just about no reason. There were rumours that the storm was going to come back that night and dump even more snow on us, but mostly it just rained and was cold. I woke up this morning and didn't notice any difference in snow levels.
So in the end I got a little bit drunk, complained about the state of New Zealand Weather Preparedness, and laughed. Here's a couple more picture of what caused Christchurch to come to a stand-still...
18 September 2005
Bend it like Blogger.
That great British film of a few years ago "Bend It Like Beckham" is on television right now. I can't help but wonder if that great British football star David Beckham gets royalties from the producers of the movie for using his name in the title. I don't even think they use his name in the actual script, but he's in the title, so surely he's entitled to some sort of cash settlement... Not that he needs it.
Also on television right now is that doyen of reality tv "Growing Up Gotti". It features the Gotti family, of the famed modern-day mafia variety. Does a high profile mafia family really need more money by selling themselves into the worst thing that has ever happened to television (I'm talking the reality type)? And how come one of the richest families in the USofA has such horrible taste in everything? Their house looks like it's made of plastic and came out of a bad Eighties movie, as does their fashion and plastic surgery sense.
Speaking of bad taste, I watched "World's Wildest Police Chases" earlier on television. My main problem with this program is that it's in fact "America's Wildest Police Chases", and not the World's.
I just peaked up from the compter monitor and saw a Gotti family member with a mullet. WHAT THE HELL?!?
Also on television right now is that doyen of reality tv "Growing Up Gotti". It features the Gotti family, of the famed modern-day mafia variety. Does a high profile mafia family really need more money by selling themselves into the worst thing that has ever happened to television (I'm talking the reality type)? And how come one of the richest families in the USofA has such horrible taste in everything? Their house looks like it's made of plastic and came out of a bad Eighties movie, as does their fashion and plastic surgery sense.
Speaking of bad taste, I watched "World's Wildest Police Chases" earlier on television. My main problem with this program is that it's in fact "America's Wildest Police Chases", and not the World's.
I just peaked up from the compter monitor and saw a Gotti family member with a mullet. WHAT THE HELL?!?
13 September 2005
A Cryptic Wing-ed Horse Has Landed...
It's been a fairly good few days, everyone, and here's why. On Sunday last I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was good, but not as good as I'd prepared myself for. There was just something missing, and I think it was too easy for me to compare it to the original Gene Wilder picture. Thanks go to Mel for shouting me the tickets, and thanks go to Kim for hooking us up (you know what I'm talking about, don't pretend you don't!).
Monday and Tuesday were pretty standard, really. I worked a full ten-hour shift at Tank on Tuesday that simply DRAGGED on and on and on, so in the end I was very happy to park my ass on the couch for the rest of the night.
Wednesday, today, is where the big even unfolded. I woke up and had some breakfast, a cup of tea, and Tam and I went to the vet to get LB the cat's stitches out of her foot. She was such a good little cat, and we're all very proud of her. Upon returning home I had some leftover pizza that I had for dinner last night and readied myself for my visit to see Steve The Tattooist. Steve is very talented, and I'd brought a sketch over to him on the previous Sunday to see if he could come up with something. He did, and after 90 minutes the wonderful work he did was etched for eternity on my inner left arm. Here's a bit of a photo to see him in action:
So thanks to Steve, and thanks to my mum for not giving a crap what I do to my body. I've uploaded more photos of the event into a new folder of my yahoo.ca photos, which you can find a link to (second from the top) on the right. ENJOY!
Monday and Tuesday were pretty standard, really. I worked a full ten-hour shift at Tank on Tuesday that simply DRAGGED on and on and on, so in the end I was very happy to park my ass on the couch for the rest of the night.
Wednesday, today, is where the big even unfolded. I woke up and had some breakfast, a cup of tea, and Tam and I went to the vet to get LB the cat's stitches out of her foot. She was such a good little cat, and we're all very proud of her. Upon returning home I had some leftover pizza that I had for dinner last night and readied myself for my visit to see Steve The Tattooist. Steve is very talented, and I'd brought a sketch over to him on the previous Sunday to see if he could come up with something. He did, and after 90 minutes the wonderful work he did was etched for eternity on my inner left arm. Here's a bit of a photo to see him in action:
So thanks to Steve, and thanks to my mum for not giving a crap what I do to my body. I've uploaded more photos of the event into a new folder of my yahoo.ca photos, which you can find a link to (second from the top) on the right. ENJOY!
08 September 2005
I do not know everything.
I'm going to get a t-shirt made that says "I Work At A Juice Bar, Not An Information Desk". At least eight times a day when I work at Tank I get people coming up and asking me where this or that store is, or where they can buy lottery tickets, or stamps, or if they are as dumb as they look.
Case in point an elderly gentleman just came up and asked me where he could buy some bread to feed the birds. I pointed to the GIGANTIC BRIGHT YELLOW SUPERMARKET DIRECTLY BEHIND THE TANK STORE!!! For some reason he still couldn't comprehend what I'd just said, and asked if they sold bread there.
I must need a vacation, or at least some time off on a tropical island, to get my head back in the the "I love humanity" mode that I generally am in. Preferably there would be hula girls there...
Case in point an elderly gentleman just came up and asked me where he could buy some bread to feed the birds. I pointed to the GIGANTIC BRIGHT YELLOW SUPERMARKET DIRECTLY BEHIND THE TANK STORE!!! For some reason he still couldn't comprehend what I'd just said, and asked if they sold bread there.
I must need a vacation, or at least some time off on a tropical island, to get my head back in the the "I love humanity" mode that I generally am in. Preferably there would be hula girls there...
06 September 2005
God help us all... Part 2.
Old Meathead: You do coffee too, do you?
Me: (Standing right beside a large cappuccino machine and huge coffee bean grinder) Yep.
Old Meathead: I'll have a long black please. Back in a minute.
Me: Sorry, what size did you want? (Pointing to the small, medium, and large paper cups we serve them in)
Old Meathead: You don't do coffee in cups?
Me: No, just these paper takeaway cups.
Old Meathead: I'm not drinking coffee out of that...!
Me: (Sigh) Okay. Bye.
Me: (Standing right beside a large cappuccino machine and huge coffee bean grinder) Yep.
Old Meathead: I'll have a long black please. Back in a minute.
Me: Sorry, what size did you want? (Pointing to the small, medium, and large paper cups we serve them in)
Old Meathead: You don't do coffee in cups?
Me: No, just these paper takeaway cups.
Old Meathead: I'm not drinking coffee out of that...!
Me: (Sigh) Okay. Bye.
God help us all...
I thought for a second I had escaped them all. Yesterday I worked a long shift at Tank Juice, at the normal location of Northlands Mall. Now everyone knows that shopping malls around the world are filled with homeless and hearless wierdos that have nothing else to do but hang around shopping malls being homeless and heartless. For some unknown reason yesterday there was a disproportionate number of wierdos in the mall, and for some further unknown reason they all seemed to gravitate towards me and my little wee shop. I can't explain it. But when I finished at the end fo the day I thought I'd gotten away from them, and that it would go back to the normal number of homeless and heartless wierdos. How wrong was I?
Today I'm filling in for a couple hours at the work-out-gym capital of the world, Les Mills Christchurch. Meatheads and protien junkies from all over the world seem to come here to pump iron (this comment is not directed at those of you that I know that come to Les Mills, I know you're not like the regulars that come here every waking minute of their day). I figured that these people couldn't possibly be a bunch of wierdos that would annoy the shit out of me, but for some reason it happened. Here's an exchange I had with two people, one wierdo and one ultrawierdo, about half an hour ago as they came in to get some nutritious and delicious Tank drinks...
Wierdo: Hi, I'll have the veggie combo juice, but with spinach instead of spicey tomato juice (Sidebar: You cannot get a whole hell of juice out of wilted, dead spinach. Trust me on this one.).
Me: Uh, sure, not a problem, I'll work it out.
Wierdo: (Insert Ultrawierdo's name here), are you getting anything?
Ultrawierdo: (In a voice loud enough to hear across the busy street outside) I'll, uh, mmm, huh... I'll have one of these ones on the board up here, but I don't want frozen yoghurt or strawberries.
Me: Okay, no problem. I can leave the frozen yoghurt out of anything that's up there, and there are quite a few that don't have any strawberries...
Ultrawierdo: Well I definitely don't want frozen yoghurt, that's for sure! And no strawberries! How about this one, on the board up here! (Sidebar: At Tank Juice, we have six different boards of options, all with on average seven or eight juices and smoothies. For me to pick the exact drink he's looking for is a near impossible venture.)
Me: (Sigh) Uh, okay...
Ultrawierdo: This one, with peach nectar, oranges, strawberries, and orange sarbet (He meant sorbet). But I don't want any strawberries!
Wierdo: I think he means the Tank Up. He'll have the Tank Up. Give him the large. No strawberries (just in case I didn't catch it the first four times...).
Me: Actually I'm sorry, but we haven't got any orange sarbet at the moment.
Ultrawierdo: Well put some frozen yoghurt in it then...
Me: (Sigh).
Did I mention that he was missing the front four teeth from both the top and bottom of his mouth?
Today I'm filling in for a couple hours at the work-out-gym capital of the world, Les Mills Christchurch. Meatheads and protien junkies from all over the world seem to come here to pump iron (this comment is not directed at those of you that I know that come to Les Mills, I know you're not like the regulars that come here every waking minute of their day). I figured that these people couldn't possibly be a bunch of wierdos that would annoy the shit out of me, but for some reason it happened. Here's an exchange I had with two people, one wierdo and one ultrawierdo, about half an hour ago as they came in to get some nutritious and delicious Tank drinks...
Wierdo: Hi, I'll have the veggie combo juice, but with spinach instead of spicey tomato juice (Sidebar: You cannot get a whole hell of juice out of wilted, dead spinach. Trust me on this one.).
Me: Uh, sure, not a problem, I'll work it out.
Wierdo: (Insert Ultrawierdo's name here), are you getting anything?
Ultrawierdo: (In a voice loud enough to hear across the busy street outside) I'll, uh, mmm, huh... I'll have one of these ones on the board up here, but I don't want frozen yoghurt or strawberries.
Me: Okay, no problem. I can leave the frozen yoghurt out of anything that's up there, and there are quite a few that don't have any strawberries...
Ultrawierdo: Well I definitely don't want frozen yoghurt, that's for sure! And no strawberries! How about this one, on the board up here! (Sidebar: At Tank Juice, we have six different boards of options, all with on average seven or eight juices and smoothies. For me to pick the exact drink he's looking for is a near impossible venture.)
Me: (Sigh) Uh, okay...
Ultrawierdo: This one, with peach nectar, oranges, strawberries, and orange sarbet (He meant sorbet). But I don't want any strawberries!
Wierdo: I think he means the Tank Up. He'll have the Tank Up. Give him the large. No strawberries (just in case I didn't catch it the first four times...).
Me: Actually I'm sorry, but we haven't got any orange sarbet at the moment.
Ultrawierdo: Well put some frozen yoghurt in it then...
Me: (Sigh).
Did I mention that he was missing the front four teeth from both the top and bottom of his mouth?
04 September 2005
Bring it on (with or without Kirsten Dunst)!!
I'm going hard out. I've promised myself, just this instant, to have a good week. Last week was fairly good, but at the end of it I was pretty tired and a bit bummed out from not doing too much. So this week I'm going to be happy chappy Adam again. I promise.
I haven't had a full day off from work since Tam's birthday over a week ago, and won't be having one again until this Sunday coming. At least I'm not stuck in a hurricane or going without food or water for days on end (and even if I was, I'd probably still blame George W!). I'm working 30.25 hours this week at the juice bar named Tank, plus I've got three shifts coming up over the weekend at The Club, so this should make my bank account grow significantly next week. This past week I did 28 hours at tank and 15 at The Club, which will be very nice to see when I get my next bank statement.
Yesterday, unbeknownst to me, Mel went out and got a new tattoo. She claims that she only went in to see him about the design and to book in a time to get it done, but I think that she actually called ahead and arranged it. I'm all full of conspiracy theories. Either that, or I'm just jealous. Yeah, well, you just watch and see when I call in sick for work and actually go get a full sleeve done!!! Then who'll be laughing, eh?
This is also the week in which I start to harrass Bridgette on the telephone. For those of you in the know, well, you know what I'm talking about. Those of you who don't know Bridgette probably don't need to know at this point. Let's just say that if it all comes together I'll be a very happy person, as will Tam and Patsy probably.
Two days ago I came to the mall with Tam to get a few groceries and we popped into a shop called JayJay's. They have some nice clothes there, and since I'd been thinking about buying a new pair of jeans for a couple weeks I thought I'd go have a look. Normally I hate shopping, but I bit the bullet and swallowed my pride. They had one pair in particular that I liked, and low-and-behold they were even on sale. But alas, they didn't have my size. Oh well, not to worry, thought I. The next day I ran off to another branch of the shop at another mall. Wouldn't you just know it, but they had my size. Now, I'm no dummy, but would you expect these to be on sale too, since they are from the same shop? Me too, but these weren't. I liked them, but I didn't like them "full-priced like them". So fast forward to today, and I got to Tank Juice a bit early so I could run in and see if my size had magically appeared at the shop here. Amazingly they had, and even more amazingly they were on sale!! Now here I am with a fresh pair of jeans sitting on the bench next to me, and I'm quite looking forward to showing them off.
Look out world, here comes Mr. Skinny Arse!!
Ps. Hey Kirsten, call me!
I haven't had a full day off from work since Tam's birthday over a week ago, and won't be having one again until this Sunday coming. At least I'm not stuck in a hurricane or going without food or water for days on end (and even if I was, I'd probably still blame George W!). I'm working 30.25 hours this week at the juice bar named Tank, plus I've got three shifts coming up over the weekend at The Club, so this should make my bank account grow significantly next week. This past week I did 28 hours at tank and 15 at The Club, which will be very nice to see when I get my next bank statement.
Yesterday, unbeknownst to me, Mel went out and got a new tattoo. She claims that she only went in to see him about the design and to book in a time to get it done, but I think that she actually called ahead and arranged it. I'm all full of conspiracy theories. Either that, or I'm just jealous. Yeah, well, you just watch and see when I call in sick for work and actually go get a full sleeve done!!! Then who'll be laughing, eh?
This is also the week in which I start to harrass Bridgette on the telephone. For those of you in the know, well, you know what I'm talking about. Those of you who don't know Bridgette probably don't need to know at this point. Let's just say that if it all comes together I'll be a very happy person, as will Tam and Patsy probably.
Two days ago I came to the mall with Tam to get a few groceries and we popped into a shop called JayJay's. They have some nice clothes there, and since I'd been thinking about buying a new pair of jeans for a couple weeks I thought I'd go have a look. Normally I hate shopping, but I bit the bullet and swallowed my pride. They had one pair in particular that I liked, and low-and-behold they were even on sale. But alas, they didn't have my size. Oh well, not to worry, thought I. The next day I ran off to another branch of the shop at another mall. Wouldn't you just know it, but they had my size. Now, I'm no dummy, but would you expect these to be on sale too, since they are from the same shop? Me too, but these weren't. I liked them, but I didn't like them "full-priced like them". So fast forward to today, and I got to Tank Juice a bit early so I could run in and see if my size had magically appeared at the shop here. Amazingly they had, and even more amazingly they were on sale!! Now here I am with a fresh pair of jeans sitting on the bench next to me, and I'm quite looking forward to showing them off.
Look out world, here comes Mr. Skinny Arse!!
Ps. Hey Kirsten, call me!
29 August 2005
Link it up!
Hi everyone. Just a quick note to let you all know that there is a new photo file under the "My Photos Page" link to the right. It stars one Tamara Peace, and if features the events of her getting inked at Planet Tattoo here in Christchurch. The other person in a few of the photos is Steve, the tattooist. He did a hell of a job, and it only made me want to get my next one... soon.
So the good news is that I've been looking over my finances over the past couple days, and it looks like I'll be above target. This means that I'm going to have more room to play around and decide what I want to do next, and it also means that if I did want to think about getting my pegasus stars done then I can start to seriously consider it.
At any rate, enjoy the photos, and Tam's little piece of art. I like it.
So the good news is that I've been looking over my finances over the past couple days, and it looks like I'll be above target. This means that I'm going to have more room to play around and decide what I want to do next, and it also means that if I did want to think about getting my pegasus stars done then I can start to seriously consider it.
At any rate, enjoy the photos, and Tam's little piece of art. I like it.
26 August 2005
Hair and Cake - A Beautiful Mix
I'm sure by now you will have figured out that I've been and had my hair cut. Here's the low-down on how it went...
I got there bright and early, right on time at 10.00am. That's in the morning, by the way (shown by using the "am" after the numbers, in case you couldn't figure it out). I was greeted with a hello and asked if I wanted a drink. I chose orange juice, and thought to myself "Wow, I get refreshments AND a free haircut??!!" I was asked to fill out this form describing my current hair situation, then Sophie came over and introduced herself. She asked me what I wanted, and I told her to make me look good. I gave her virtual free-reign on my head, if you will. She checked over her plans with the superviser, and away we went.
An hour and a half later I looked like I had just had my hair cut at the normal $10 price I pay for Harold or Jim to snip away, only they had put something called DiFi (a funky way of spelling defy, because hair salons HAVE to be funky...) in my hair to make it look trendy. In actual fact when I asked people what they thought of my new locks, a common concensus was that I, in fact, looked like the famous Belgian comic book character Tintin.
Cheers Sophie.
Now onto the second part of this entry. Yesterday was my pal Tam's birthday. We started the day bright and early by having Adam-baked chocolate chip pancakes, which went off really well. We quickly readied and got our acts together to run down to the tattoo parlour so Tam could get inked up, and they did a very nice job. I'm hoping to post some photos of the event on my photos page, linked to the right, in the near future. Next we were off to Coyote's, a mexican-themed restaurant, for lunch. I was hoping to have the potato skins, but when they came they had bacon on them, even though on the menu they didn't say anything about being coated with pig. Oh well, live and learn. Next Tam went off to have her hair cut, and an hour and a half later Philip and I picked her and her sexy new look up from the salon.
Dinner was spent at a lovely place called Winnebago's, filled with gourmet pizza, a birthday tequila shot, and jokes flying from all corners. I have to say, I was on FIRE! I even organized for half the restaurant to sing Tam happy birthday, which was much appreciated. After dinner, and being totally stuffed, we all headed off to have a couple rounds of late night bowling. Bowling is an interesting activity for me. One round is fun, two rounds verge on extreme boredom. I think most people felt the same way as I did. The main thing, though, is that everyone had fun, and my pants fell down (I hope you all enjoyed the bum wiggling!).
After a long day, we all headed our seperate ways, and ten seconds after I lay my head on my pillow I was asleep. A sure-fire sign of a great day. Happy birthday Tam, the next one is going to be even better...
I got there bright and early, right on time at 10.00am. That's in the morning, by the way (shown by using the "am" after the numbers, in case you couldn't figure it out). I was greeted with a hello and asked if I wanted a drink. I chose orange juice, and thought to myself "Wow, I get refreshments AND a free haircut??!!" I was asked to fill out this form describing my current hair situation, then Sophie came over and introduced herself. She asked me what I wanted, and I told her to make me look good. I gave her virtual free-reign on my head, if you will. She checked over her plans with the superviser, and away we went.
An hour and a half later I looked like I had just had my hair cut at the normal $10 price I pay for Harold or Jim to snip away, only they had put something called DiFi (a funky way of spelling defy, because hair salons HAVE to be funky...) in my hair to make it look trendy. In actual fact when I asked people what they thought of my new locks, a common concensus was that I, in fact, looked like the famous Belgian comic book character Tintin.
Cheers Sophie.
Now onto the second part of this entry. Yesterday was my pal Tam's birthday. We started the day bright and early by having Adam-baked chocolate chip pancakes, which went off really well. We quickly readied and got our acts together to run down to the tattoo parlour so Tam could get inked up, and they did a very nice job. I'm hoping to post some photos of the event on my photos page, linked to the right, in the near future. Next we were off to Coyote's, a mexican-themed restaurant, for lunch. I was hoping to have the potato skins, but when they came they had bacon on them, even though on the menu they didn't say anything about being coated with pig. Oh well, live and learn. Next Tam went off to have her hair cut, and an hour and a half later Philip and I picked her and her sexy new look up from the salon.
Dinner was spent at a lovely place called Winnebago's, filled with gourmet pizza, a birthday tequila shot, and jokes flying from all corners. I have to say, I was on FIRE! I even organized for half the restaurant to sing Tam happy birthday, which was much appreciated. After dinner, and being totally stuffed, we all headed off to have a couple rounds of late night bowling. Bowling is an interesting activity for me. One round is fun, two rounds verge on extreme boredom. I think most people felt the same way as I did. The main thing, though, is that everyone had fun, and my pants fell down (I hope you all enjoyed the bum wiggling!).
After a long day, we all headed our seperate ways, and ten seconds after I lay my head on my pillow I was asleep. A sure-fire sign of a great day. Happy birthday Tam, the next one is going to be even better...
23 August 2005
T-minus 11.25 hours.
I'm getting a haircut. In just under twelve hours I will have some random Sophie running her fingers through my hair, trying her darndest to make me look respectable.
Here's the thing though... Sophie is a "trainee" hairdresser. Now, let me get one thing straight -- I don't normally go to "hairdressers". I go to the cheapest damn place to get some large, cigarette stained fingers to snip away at my locks with these horribly dull scissors. This time, however, I'm going to Sophie. It's a free haircut, at a proper salon, and my haircut might make or break Sophie's soon-to-be booming career. She's going to be judged on speed, accuracy, and probably her answer to "How would you bring peace to the world?" Apparently this whole ordeal is going to take upwards of one hour.
Don't get me wrong, my best ever haircut in the entire world has been by a trainee hairdresser. That, however, was in the fashion capital of the world: London, England. And that haircut was in one of the trendiest parts of London, that being Notting Hill. Now, I know it's not fair to compare Christchurch, New Zealand, with London, England, but...... COME ON! I just hope Sophie doesn't massacre me and make me even more unattractive to women.
I know I shouldn't complain. It's a free haircut, whereas normally if one was to go to this particular salon it might cost me upwards of $39.90 (by the guide, anyway). I just get nervous about people deciding what I'm going to look like for possibly the next three months, or until I run straight out and pay my normal $10 for Jerry, or Ralph, or whoever, to shave me bald...
Here's the thing though... Sophie is a "trainee" hairdresser. Now, let me get one thing straight -- I don't normally go to "hairdressers". I go to the cheapest damn place to get some large, cigarette stained fingers to snip away at my locks with these horribly dull scissors. This time, however, I'm going to Sophie. It's a free haircut, at a proper salon, and my haircut might make or break Sophie's soon-to-be booming career. She's going to be judged on speed, accuracy, and probably her answer to "How would you bring peace to the world?" Apparently this whole ordeal is going to take upwards of one hour.
Don't get me wrong, my best ever haircut in the entire world has been by a trainee hairdresser. That, however, was in the fashion capital of the world: London, England. And that haircut was in one of the trendiest parts of London, that being Notting Hill. Now, I know it's not fair to compare Christchurch, New Zealand, with London, England, but...... COME ON! I just hope Sophie doesn't massacre me and make me even more unattractive to women.
I know I shouldn't complain. It's a free haircut, whereas normally if one was to go to this particular salon it might cost me upwards of $39.90 (by the guide, anyway). I just get nervous about people deciding what I'm going to look like for possibly the next three months, or until I run straight out and pay my normal $10 for Jerry, or Ralph, or whoever, to shave me bald...
20 August 2005
Oh my god, what's that smell??!!
I'm just watching television while I'm typing this (I know, pretty good multitasking on my part, eh?), and I thought it was fitting that an interesting fact just came up because this was exactly what I was going to write about anyway.
"Most people fart between 10 - 15 times per day, with men and women farting about the same amount."
The other day I had pizza for dinner. Mel and I had just arrived home from delivering, or attempting to deliver, her mini to a garage so it could get fixed when Patsy declared we should order it from the place up the street called "Papa's Pizza", or something to that effect. It's a good place, and you can pile as many toppings on as you want, at no extra charge. I thought this was amazing, so I agreed we should try this place. We did our ordering and waited patiently whilst watching a pirate dvd (Shhh! Don't tell!) that Patsy had picked up on her recent trip to Bali. A knock on the door later told us that the pizza had arrived. Remarkably the delivery guy was actually super nice and friendly, which only made me respect Papa's Pizza even more.
So we break open the pizza and tear into it. I do have to say that it was very, very good. Toppings to the edge, crust was exactly as it should be (although they forgot to put on the feta cheese that I asked for)... It was great. UNTIL half an hour later my stomach decided that the pizza wasn't as good as I first thought and I started to fart up a storm. I didn't understand what was going on, it was pretty gross. I decide to sleep it off and go to bed, and see what happens in the morning.
The next day, nothing changed. I had to work in the morning at Tank Juice, and then the evening at The Club, but that 10 - 15 fart average was EASILY exceeded by a factor of four. I'm not even kidding. Not only that (you might want to skip this sentence if you already think this entry is disgusting), but I actually crapped about six times yesterday. I'm sorry if you didn't listen to my warning and have now lost all respect for me. I must have had a very mild case of food poisoning, but I don't know for sure. I'm okay this morning though...
I suppose there's some good in this: I have now brought the average back up in the fart category. By farting four times as much as most people over the past 36 hours, I make up for all those girls that say they never fart. Cheers ladies!!
"Most people fart between 10 - 15 times per day, with men and women farting about the same amount."
The other day I had pizza for dinner. Mel and I had just arrived home from delivering, or attempting to deliver, her mini to a garage so it could get fixed when Patsy declared we should order it from the place up the street called "Papa's Pizza", or something to that effect. It's a good place, and you can pile as many toppings on as you want, at no extra charge. I thought this was amazing, so I agreed we should try this place. We did our ordering and waited patiently whilst watching a pirate dvd (Shhh! Don't tell!) that Patsy had picked up on her recent trip to Bali. A knock on the door later told us that the pizza had arrived. Remarkably the delivery guy was actually super nice and friendly, which only made me respect Papa's Pizza even more.
So we break open the pizza and tear into it. I do have to say that it was very, very good. Toppings to the edge, crust was exactly as it should be (although they forgot to put on the feta cheese that I asked for)... It was great. UNTIL half an hour later my stomach decided that the pizza wasn't as good as I first thought and I started to fart up a storm. I didn't understand what was going on, it was pretty gross. I decide to sleep it off and go to bed, and see what happens in the morning.
The next day, nothing changed. I had to work in the morning at Tank Juice, and then the evening at The Club, but that 10 - 15 fart average was EASILY exceeded by a factor of four. I'm not even kidding. Not only that (you might want to skip this sentence if you already think this entry is disgusting), but I actually crapped about six times yesterday. I'm sorry if you didn't listen to my warning and have now lost all respect for me. I must have had a very mild case of food poisoning, but I don't know for sure. I'm okay this morning though...
I suppose there's some good in this: I have now brought the average back up in the fart category. By farting four times as much as most people over the past 36 hours, I make up for all those girls that say they never fart. Cheers ladies!!
14 August 2005
Happy 21st Dad!
Hello again everyone. Welcome back.
Last night I worked at "The Club", which was, for the most part, fairly enjoyable. I just wanted to tell you about a couple things that happened during the night. First off I started in the main club bar, serving the regulars and having a fairly chilled out time. It was good and steady, and was quite looking forward to the night. There was a Wallabies/All Blacks tri-nations match on late in the night, which I was eager to watch, when suddenly the Boss asked me to move downstairs to help out at the 21st birthday party that was being held in one of the large function rooms. As soon as she asked me to do this my heart sunk, because I had seen the other barmen running around all night.
I moved down and immediately hated the situation. Like I said, it was a 21st birthday party, which is a very big event here for the youth of New Zealand. What made this particular 21st a highly distressing event to work at was the fact that it was a completely open bar tab, so we had stupid guys coming up and ordering four bottles of Jim Beam and Cola, for example, at a time. It just got completely out of hand, and we went through about seven one litre bottles of vodka alone. I won't get into the exact numbers, but at the end of the night the tab had reached a staggering $5000 plus.
Now, I ask you out there... If your father was paying this amount of money for you to have a 21st birthday, would you go along with it, or would you ask him to fork over that money for a car, or to contribute it towards a loan on a house, or possibly to help pay off your school loans? I know one thing, I for sure wouldn't ask my dad to spend five grand on a party so all my pisshead friends could get off their heads.
Maybe I'm becoming cynical in my old age....
Last night I worked at "The Club", which was, for the most part, fairly enjoyable. I just wanted to tell you about a couple things that happened during the night. First off I started in the main club bar, serving the regulars and having a fairly chilled out time. It was good and steady, and was quite looking forward to the night. There was a Wallabies/All Blacks tri-nations match on late in the night, which I was eager to watch, when suddenly the Boss asked me to move downstairs to help out at the 21st birthday party that was being held in one of the large function rooms. As soon as she asked me to do this my heart sunk, because I had seen the other barmen running around all night.
I moved down and immediately hated the situation. Like I said, it was a 21st birthday party, which is a very big event here for the youth of New Zealand. What made this particular 21st a highly distressing event to work at was the fact that it was a completely open bar tab, so we had stupid guys coming up and ordering four bottles of Jim Beam and Cola, for example, at a time. It just got completely out of hand, and we went through about seven one litre bottles of vodka alone. I won't get into the exact numbers, but at the end of the night the tab had reached a staggering $5000 plus.
Now, I ask you out there... If your father was paying this amount of money for you to have a 21st birthday, would you go along with it, or would you ask him to fork over that money for a car, or to contribute it towards a loan on a house, or possibly to help pay off your school loans? I know one thing, I for sure wouldn't ask my dad to spend five grand on a party so all my pisshead friends could get off their heads.
Maybe I'm becoming cynical in my old age....
08 August 2005
Work, Play, or Both?
Well, what an eventful weekend and early week I've had. It's been most exciting and tiring. Let's have a quick run down, shall we?
Friday I worked a bit of a shift at the Workingmen's Club (read: a place where the older generation goes to spend their money on cheap drinks and fried food), then had to wake up early to start my shift at Tank Juice, which went rather well. It was fairly busy, and on one of my trips to the toilet I passed a bookshop that had a sale on. I bought "The Photo Book", which is a book of popular photographers and their seminal works that defined their style. It's very famous and I'm sure you've all heard of it. Check it out, sincerely. That night I was back at the Workingmen's Club until 1.15am, which gave me a grand total of nearly 15 working hours for the day. Not too shabby!
Sunday was pretty relaxed, which was lovely. Went to the pictures with my friend Sarah, which was also lovely. We saw "Land Of The Dead", the new zombie movie that came out. I would highly recommend NOT seeing this one. Sorry folks. Afterwards Sarah and I caught up on each others' lives, something we hadn't done in seemingly forever. Everybody say good luck to Sarah on her move up to Auckland and her new job at NPR. Good luck Sarah!!!
Glad to say that my movie watching experiences on Sunday weren't completely ruined by the undead, as Tam and I watched "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" on dvd. I hadn't seen this one before, and thoroughly enjoyed it... If you haven't seen it, and want to be wierded out, have a look. Sincerely.
Monday was pretty standard, watched a skateboarding dvd that I bought alongside "The Photo Book" (at 75% off, you can't really turn it down, can you?), played video games, and then went off to work a quiz night at the Club. It was quite fun, I must say. In between the five rounds they had a blind bottle auction. They were mostly bottles of wine and bubbly, but there were also a few bottles of spirits thrown in for good measure. I just have to say that I was a mere two dollars away from winning a one litre bottle of Kahlua. Gutted. Totally gutted I missed that one.
And there, in a rather large, rambling nutshell, was my weekend. How was yours?
Oh, and how do you like my profile photo? Pretty good, eh?
03 August 2005
Pants, Pants, Pants!
I did something a little bit crazy a couple days ago. I bought new underpants. Four sets of them, actually. I won't call them "pairs" of underpants, because to me a pair of underpants would be two seperate sets. So I bought four seperate sets, or two pairs.
They are quite nice, too. I bought them on sale, for a mere five dollars each. Normally they range in price (when not on sale) between 19.99 and 36.99! 36.99 you ask in disgust??!! Yes, I reply, 36.99! Now, if anyone out there can explain to me why they would spend that amount of money on a set of undies, and actually justify it in a reasonable way, then please go ahead. Don't get me wrong, they ARE nice undies, and I'm actually wearing them now. It's just that there's no way in holy hell I would consider paying that ridiculous amount of money on one set of underpants.
So I bought one of dark grey, one dark navy blue (almost black, the 36.99 pair), and two sets of sort of blue/green ones. I'm super stoked to have some new undies, especially since I bought them for a steal. Usually I get my undies as part of my Xmas stocking, but since I don't know when I'm going to be home next, I don't know when Santa will be delivering me some new ones.
Besides, five years with the same undies is getting a little bit ridiculous, isn't it?
They are quite nice, too. I bought them on sale, for a mere five dollars each. Normally they range in price (when not on sale) between 19.99 and 36.99! 36.99 you ask in disgust??!! Yes, I reply, 36.99! Now, if anyone out there can explain to me why they would spend that amount of money on a set of undies, and actually justify it in a reasonable way, then please go ahead. Don't get me wrong, they ARE nice undies, and I'm actually wearing them now. It's just that there's no way in holy hell I would consider paying that ridiculous amount of money on one set of underpants.
So I bought one of dark grey, one dark navy blue (almost black, the 36.99 pair), and two sets of sort of blue/green ones. I'm super stoked to have some new undies, especially since I bought them for a steal. Usually I get my undies as part of my Xmas stocking, but since I don't know when I'm going to be home next, I don't know when Santa will be delivering me some new ones.
Besides, five years with the same undies is getting a little bit ridiculous, isn't it?
30 July 2005
Stop Clowning Around!!
Here's the thing, right. When you're travelling, you often have to do things that you normally wouldn't do to keep yourself busy, and generally the cheaper those things are then better. So when Geoff and I were staying at the old hostel Kiwihouse, he picked up a set off juggling balls from the free table and we learned to juggle. I thought it was really fun and practised quite often.
A couple days ago I went searching for my very own juggling balls, and picked up a pretty good little set of juggling cubes and a juggling book from a company called Klutz. At first I was a little sceptical about the cubes, but after a few days of practise I'm actually improving at a faster rate than by using the round ones that Geoff had. Yesterday whilst working at Tank I learned to juggle two cubes in one hand, which for me was quite an achievement.
Thankfully this time around I didn't throw any of the cubes out of the shop at any passers by! Thanks, Geoff, for introducing me to this cheap, thrilling form of entertainment!
A couple days ago I went searching for my very own juggling balls, and picked up a pretty good little set of juggling cubes and a juggling book from a company called Klutz. At first I was a little sceptical about the cubes, but after a few days of practise I'm actually improving at a faster rate than by using the round ones that Geoff had. Yesterday whilst working at Tank I learned to juggle two cubes in one hand, which for me was quite an achievement.
Thankfully this time around I didn't throw any of the cubes out of the shop at any passers by! Thanks, Geoff, for introducing me to this cheap, thrilling form of entertainment!
28 July 2005
Cough, Cough, Hack, Hack!
Well, I'm nearly there. I'm nearly 100%. As previously stated, I somehow contracted a head and chest cold over the weekend, which has kept me holed up for the past couple days. It's not nice having to sit around the house all day trying to heal up, so today I'm going outside. I pretty much spent the entire day on the internet yesterday, speaking with friends on MSN Messenger, writing emails, looking at pornography... Just kidding.
So anyway, today I'm going to walk into town and get some fresh air. I think it'll do a world of good. I'm pretty much over my little cold, and I woke up today with a clear nasal passage. I didn't even have to blow my nose first thing like I've been having to do the past few days. I did, however, have a bit of a headache, but I think I can put that down to having a glass of chocolate milk and three peanut chocolate fudge cookies about seven minutes before my head hit the pillow last night.
Last night was a super fun night. I really enjoyed it. Tam had to work, so Mel came up with this super idea to build a fort in the lounge. I hadn't built a fort in ages, so I was all up for it. I have to say, as well, that any six year old child would have been proud of what Mel and I came up with. We had an entrance, an exit, it was hooked up with a television, playstation, and VCR, and it had two seperate levels. At first glance there were no faults. After a while we discovered that the roof wasn't entirely secure, and this came about when one of the cats decided to scamper over the top of it and cave it in. Silly LB.
Anyway, Mel and I had good chats whilst in the fort, and when Tam got back we too had good chats. Thanks guys, it was heaps of fun.
But right now the sun is shining outside, and I'm a bit peckish. Time for breakfast ("What?! Breakfast at twenty past eleven in the morning!?"), a shower, and to get my skinny arse out the door. I hope I don't infect the rest of Christchurch with my sickness...
So anyway, today I'm going to walk into town and get some fresh air. I think it'll do a world of good. I'm pretty much over my little cold, and I woke up today with a clear nasal passage. I didn't even have to blow my nose first thing like I've been having to do the past few days. I did, however, have a bit of a headache, but I think I can put that down to having a glass of chocolate milk and three peanut chocolate fudge cookies about seven minutes before my head hit the pillow last night.
Last night was a super fun night. I really enjoyed it. Tam had to work, so Mel came up with this super idea to build a fort in the lounge. I hadn't built a fort in ages, so I was all up for it. I have to say, as well, that any six year old child would have been proud of what Mel and I came up with. We had an entrance, an exit, it was hooked up with a television, playstation, and VCR, and it had two seperate levels. At first glance there were no faults. After a while we discovered that the roof wasn't entirely secure, and this came about when one of the cats decided to scamper over the top of it and cave it in. Silly LB.
Anyway, Mel and I had good chats whilst in the fort, and when Tam got back we too had good chats. Thanks guys, it was heaps of fun.
But right now the sun is shining outside, and I'm a bit peckish. Time for breakfast ("What?! Breakfast at twenty past eleven in the morning!?"), a shower, and to get my skinny arse out the door. I hope I don't infect the rest of Christchurch with my sickness...
26 July 2005
Happy trails to you, until we meet again!
Well, the honeymoon is definitely over. We have put the paperwork in, it has been accepted, and the divorce is over. Final. Fin. My brother has left my side, and is now travelling around the north island of New Zealand. Somewhere.
We left on Sunday morning, early, to take the LONG road to get up to Picton, where he was to catch the ferry to Wellington. We drove all the way to the west coast, via Arthurs Pass (where we stopped to get a bite to eat at a local shop and a wild Kea bird flew up to us, the curious thing that it was!) to Greymouth. Our first major stop was in Punakaiki, where the strange rock formations of the Pancake Rocks are found. We walked around here for an hour or so, then balked at the price of two real pancakes for lunch and hit the road. We kept going on up to Westport, where we refueled and started the long trip through Lewis Pass. Eventually we ended up at Motueka, where we bunked for the night. This was the longest day of driving of the three days we were gone, and we were all bushed as bears from it. No one more than me, I think, as I had managed to pick up a nose and throat cold from somewhere along the way.
The next day we were heading up to Farewell Spit, the northern most point of the south island. Basically it's this sandy bit of land that sticks up from the sea and just sits there, with loads and loads of migrating birds using it as a nesting site. Unluckily for us the migrating birds were migrating elsewhere, so we didn't see much wildlife. The drive up to the Spit was an exciting one, with the car rarely getting over 60km/h as the road was windy as all hell. We stopped on the way to walk through a beautiful beech tree forest to the largest cave in the southern hemisphere, Harwood's Hole. Let me tell you, this thing is massive... And very scary when you stand on the edge of it looking down! Hopefully photos will follow shortly. The day ended back at the same hostel as the night before, which we all were very happy to stay at again, especially since it was pouring down with rain and we were all pretty beat from another long day.
Day three was definitely the least enjoyable, since it was the day that Geoff was leaving us all. We drove to Picton in near silence, if you can imagine. Basically it was two and a half hours of looking out the window remembering all the cool stuff that he and I had been doing for the past seven or eight months. I think everyone in the car was thinking the same thing, that it will be sad to see him go. We dropped him off at the ferry terminal, checked him in, and said our goodbyes. It was pretty sad, and I'm not afraid to admit that I had a lump in my throat (I held it together though... wouldn't want to show too much emotion in front of my two lady friends, would I?). So off the two ladies and I went, but again it was a pretty somber affair, the drive back. We got through it though, and when we got back to Christchurch we unpacked the car and sat down for a rest. Tam got her ears candled, we all had a bite to eat, and that was it.
It was a good mini-road trip, for the most part, but there's still something missing back here in Christchurch. It'll never be the same again...
We left on Sunday morning, early, to take the LONG road to get up to Picton, where he was to catch the ferry to Wellington. We drove all the way to the west coast, via Arthurs Pass (where we stopped to get a bite to eat at a local shop and a wild Kea bird flew up to us, the curious thing that it was!) to Greymouth. Our first major stop was in Punakaiki, where the strange rock formations of the Pancake Rocks are found. We walked around here for an hour or so, then balked at the price of two real pancakes for lunch and hit the road. We kept going on up to Westport, where we refueled and started the long trip through Lewis Pass. Eventually we ended up at Motueka, where we bunked for the night. This was the longest day of driving of the three days we were gone, and we were all bushed as bears from it. No one more than me, I think, as I had managed to pick up a nose and throat cold from somewhere along the way.
The next day we were heading up to Farewell Spit, the northern most point of the south island. Basically it's this sandy bit of land that sticks up from the sea and just sits there, with loads and loads of migrating birds using it as a nesting site. Unluckily for us the migrating birds were migrating elsewhere, so we didn't see much wildlife. The drive up to the Spit was an exciting one, with the car rarely getting over 60km/h as the road was windy as all hell. We stopped on the way to walk through a beautiful beech tree forest to the largest cave in the southern hemisphere, Harwood's Hole. Let me tell you, this thing is massive... And very scary when you stand on the edge of it looking down! Hopefully photos will follow shortly. The day ended back at the same hostel as the night before, which we all were very happy to stay at again, especially since it was pouring down with rain and we were all pretty beat from another long day.
Day three was definitely the least enjoyable, since it was the day that Geoff was leaving us all. We drove to Picton in near silence, if you can imagine. Basically it was two and a half hours of looking out the window remembering all the cool stuff that he and I had been doing for the past seven or eight months. I think everyone in the car was thinking the same thing, that it will be sad to see him go. We dropped him off at the ferry terminal, checked him in, and said our goodbyes. It was pretty sad, and I'm not afraid to admit that I had a lump in my throat (I held it together though... wouldn't want to show too much emotion in front of my two lady friends, would I?). So off the two ladies and I went, but again it was a pretty somber affair, the drive back. We got through it though, and when we got back to Christchurch we unpacked the car and sat down for a rest. Tam got her ears candled, we all had a bite to eat, and that was it.
It was a good mini-road trip, for the most part, but there's still something missing back here in Christchurch. It'll never be the same again...
21 July 2005
Look at all the CRAP that came out of there!
I did something yesterday that I have never in my entire life. It's something that I'm entirely proud of. You see, it goes something like this:
I was having a really good day yesterday. Work at the juice bar went by fairly quick, the afternoon was enjoyable, and I knew the evening was going to be just as good. The night before Patsy, one of the girls who lives in the house I'm staying at, brought home some ear candles. You know, the ones that new-agers stick in their ears to draw all the wax out so they can hear properly? Those ones. Anyway, she said that she was going to bring back some more last night, and I was the first one to jump at the chance.
Patsy was a bit scared at what was going to come out of my head and didn't want to be the one that held the candle in place, so Mel kindly volunteered. Good thing too, because there was no way I would have been able to do it. So she lit the candle and stuck it in my ear. I was eventually able to hear this wierd cracking sound, and then my ear started getting all warm. I put the crazy crackling sound down to the fire, but my ear getting warm was a mystery... Until, that is, she cut open the ear candle to reveal five years of build-up. There is only one word for what came out: FILTH. And I still had the OTHER EAR!!!
By the end of it I had a bowl of water with my ear gunk floating on top, and two ears that were amazingly hollow. I stuck a cotton bud up there and it went in SO much further than I had been able to get it before. Seriously, I think everyone should try sticking a candle in their ears and seeing what comes out. It's quite liberating... Huge thanks to Mel for putting up with all of that crap.
Oh, and if you follow the link on the right to My Photos Page, I've finally been able to upload a whole bunch of photos from my recent trip around the south island of New Zealand. There's also a few photos of my 134 metre bungy jump. Shame I can't share the DVD with all of you too...!
I was having a really good day yesterday. Work at the juice bar went by fairly quick, the afternoon was enjoyable, and I knew the evening was going to be just as good. The night before Patsy, one of the girls who lives in the house I'm staying at, brought home some ear candles. You know, the ones that new-agers stick in their ears to draw all the wax out so they can hear properly? Those ones. Anyway, she said that she was going to bring back some more last night, and I was the first one to jump at the chance.
Patsy was a bit scared at what was going to come out of my head and didn't want to be the one that held the candle in place, so Mel kindly volunteered. Good thing too, because there was no way I would have been able to do it. So she lit the candle and stuck it in my ear. I was eventually able to hear this wierd cracking sound, and then my ear started getting all warm. I put the crazy crackling sound down to the fire, but my ear getting warm was a mystery... Until, that is, she cut open the ear candle to reveal five years of build-up. There is only one word for what came out: FILTH. And I still had the OTHER EAR!!!
By the end of it I had a bowl of water with my ear gunk floating on top, and two ears that were amazingly hollow. I stuck a cotton bud up there and it went in SO much further than I had been able to get it before. Seriously, I think everyone should try sticking a candle in their ears and seeing what comes out. It's quite liberating... Huge thanks to Mel for putting up with all of that crap.
Oh, and if you follow the link on the right to My Photos Page, I've finally been able to upload a whole bunch of photos from my recent trip around the south island of New Zealand. There's also a few photos of my 134 metre bungy jump. Shame I can't share the DVD with all of you too...!
20 July 2005
Come with me, to my island in the sun...
I had a rather good day yesterday, thanks for asking.
Probably two the best things that happened to me were thus: 1) As soon as I finished my prep work at Tank Juice I was able to move straight onto the computer and talk to my friend Vanessa back home in Canada. This instant messenger thing is amazing. I had been into it before, when I was still at school and had a computer at my disposal, but got out of it when I started travelling because it was too hard and I didn't get to use a computer that often. Now that I'm in Christchurch with a job that has constant internet access, and staying in a house that's connected, I can talk to people all over the place instantly. It's amazing what you can do in today's day and age of science and technology, eh?
The second best thing that happened to me yesterday was going to see a preview of "The Island", starring a badly-accented Ewan McGregor and a stunning Scarlet Johannson. I had seen the trailers beforehand and had already come to the conclusion that it was going to be good, and I wasn't at all disappointed. It's set in the future, and I thoroughly believed every minute of it. That may sound odd, but it was very enjoyable to watch. The car chase scene was awesome! Plus it had Scarlet Johannson in it, who's always a pleasure to watch... Go see it, it's worth the price of admission.
I hope today goes as well as yesterday did...
19 July 2005
Thank you to the Good, Good People...
Well, I can sleep a little easier now. When Geoff and I had our little accident where we found ourselves upside down in a ditch in our van, I had a little trouble getting my newly purchased discman working again. After drying it out for a few days, it somehow found the energy to turn itself back on again. Recently, however, the battery didn't seem to hold a charge. I put this down to the flooding it recieved during the accident. I had hoped that since I still had the reciept I could take it back and just explain my position, hoping that they would exchange it for a new one. Fortunately I didn't have to add the part of the accident and the waterlogging it got. The salesman looked at the reciept and walked into the back storeroom, emerging a few minutes later with a brand new player. So I say this:
Thank you to the good, good people at Dick Smith's Electronics, you made my day.
P.s. Hi Ma.
Thank you to the good, good people at Dick Smith's Electronics, you made my day.
P.s. Hi Ma.
17 July 2005
Cashing In, Cashing Out.
So back to this idea of money for a moment... Yesterday a couple friends (Tam and Mel), my brother and I all went on a day trip up to the seaside town of Kaikoura. I came up with the brilliant idea of all getting scratch lottery cards, you know, for a bit of fun. Maybe we would hit the big one and be able to have a nice dinner or something, I don't know. Anyway, we bought our tickets just as the shop was closing (at three o'clock in the afternoon!!!) and sat down to scratch them. We all had the same $2, but I was the only one to win anything -- a whopping $3!!! I cashed it in for a $3 card, where I proceeded to win a further $5!! It's wierd, because I had a feeling that I was in for a bit of financial luck. It's just a pity it didn't come in the form of $50,000...
The day as a whole was very enjoyable indeed. We saw sea lions and fur seals, which was very exciting. I got close enough to one for it to bark at me and show me it's knashers, but I was too slow to be able to take a picture of it with it's mouth open. It would have been cool, though. We then went into town and got the lottery tickets, then some lunch down the local chippie. Kumara chips are awesome, and I can thoroughly recommend trying them.
The drive back to Christchurch was pretty quiet, as we were all rather tired from the excitement of the day. Tam had to get Geoff (my brother) to drive for a bit, but as he got out of the back seat he dropped his mobile phone in the grass at the side of the road. Only he didn't realise until about four minutes down the road, at which point he turned around and swore and cursed all the way back until we found it again. Way to go, Tam!
All in all a very enjoyable day. I'm at one of my part time jobs at the moment, Tank Juice ("Where fresh is our motto!"), and the morning in dragging... If I can pick myself up off the floor I might just help this customer standing beside me...
14 July 2005
Money, money, money, MONEY!
On my way back to the house today I passed one of those bus shelter ads that was advertising Lotto tickets. The maximum amount you could win was $50,000. Then when I got back and changed into my sweat pants, I started to watch Deal Or No Deal, which has a maximum dollar amount of $200,000. So it got me thinking...
What would you do if you won a large sum of money?
Would it change the way you lived? Would you go and splurge on a whole bunch of "stuff", like a new computer and new furniture and new clothes and other "stuff"? All I could think of was paying off my friends' student loans and throwing a big party, then taking the rest of it and just keep doing what I have been doing for years. I would probably buy myself some new camera equipment and a nice Apple Powermac laptop, but for the most part I would probably just keep doing what I love. Oh, maybe I would put some aside for when I go back to Canada and want to head back to school, but I don't really think I would change that much.
Then I got to thinking about why everything costs so much, and why inflation happens. If anyone can explain to me why I have to pay $1.30 for a chocolate bar, where I could have got one for $.50 when I was a kid, please help me out. Is it "the Man??" Who is this "Man"? And can I have some of his money??
What would you do if you won a large sum of money?
Would it change the way you lived? Would you go and splurge on a whole bunch of "stuff", like a new computer and new furniture and new clothes and other "stuff"? All I could think of was paying off my friends' student loans and throwing a big party, then taking the rest of it and just keep doing what I have been doing for years. I would probably buy myself some new camera equipment and a nice Apple Powermac laptop, but for the most part I would probably just keep doing what I love. Oh, maybe I would put some aside for when I go back to Canada and want to head back to school, but I don't really think I would change that much.
Then I got to thinking about why everything costs so much, and why inflation happens. If anyone can explain to me why I have to pay $1.30 for a chocolate bar, where I could have got one for $.50 when I was a kid, please help me out. Is it "the Man??" Who is this "Man"? And can I have some of his money??
09 July 2005
200 for 30...
Hello and good morning to all. My second post here, and it might be hard for you all to share in the joy of it.
Let me give you a little background first. Here in Christchurch I have a part time job at a Workingmens' Club. Basically this is a bar where people can become members in order to get cheap alcohol. The people that tend to join are generally older men and women, retirees, or blue collar workers that work hard and drink four jugs of beer on their way home to their wives after a hard day of work. That's the main business. There are also several different halls that can be rented out for birthdays and other celebratory events.
Last night I had to work at one of these events. In theory it was a thirtieth birthday, but in practise it was something a little different. Word on the street had it that there were some 200 invites sent out, but after an hour and a half only fifteen had showed. How gutted would you be that you had sent out 200 invitations, and not even 20 people showed? I was standing there waiting for something to happen, and decided that they were probably all IT nerds that don't drink or dance or know how to do anything fun (no offence to the majority of IT workers that work hard and play harder, of course). In actual fact, I was only partially correct.
Backtracking a bit here.... On Thursday nights there is a new-age dance evening called Ceroc. This is basically people that have no rhythm or desire to get rhythm trying to put together tango, salsa, hip-hop, and all other sorts of dancing into one great big cacauphony of a dance.
Back to the "birthday party". While half the guests were probably the IT nerds I mentioned, the other half belonged to the Ceroc dance troupe that invade the club every Thursday. Try to imagine a man, dressed in a black leather jacket, white jeans, black pointed shoes, grey tshirt tucked into said white jeans (which in turn accentuated his rather jelly belly) shaking his thang to early nineties house music, and this is what I had to deal with for three hours last night. Oh, and none of them were drinking. SO THEY WERE DOING THIS SOBER!!! What reason, in all of the world, would someone put themselves through this sort of thing without being pissed to the gills? I have yet to figure this one out...
Please, answers on a sheet of A4.
07 July 2005
Welcome to my world...
Welcome, one and all, to my brand new weblog. I have another weblog at a different, rival site, but after looking at a friend's weblog (who, incidently, I introduced to the wonderful world of weblogging via the rival site) on Blogger.com I decided to switch teams. Not entirely, mind you, but his looked really slick, and it had his NAME in the main body of the address! How exciting!!!
At any rate, a little bit about me. I'm a Canadian, currently in New Zealand, who's two main passions in life are travelling and photography. I am in year six of my travels, and have seen many beautiful and wonderful things. My dream destination to work and travel is Japan, which I have not visited yet, but my dream photographic destination would definitely have to be Antarctica.
At the moment I'm in Christchurch, on the South Island of New Zealand. I had planned on travelling around all of the country on a massive two month trip in a Ford Econovan, but two and a half weeks into the trip it blew a head gasket, leaving me and my brother stranded back in Christchurch. I'm hoping to get some quick money via a drug trial, so that I can continue travelling the country the way I want to. In the meantime I'm just relaxing and working part-time at a couple jobs, trying to decide what to do next...
Any suggestions are more than welcome!
At any rate, a little bit about me. I'm a Canadian, currently in New Zealand, who's two main passions in life are travelling and photography. I am in year six of my travels, and have seen many beautiful and wonderful things. My dream destination to work and travel is Japan, which I have not visited yet, but my dream photographic destination would definitely have to be Antarctica.
At the moment I'm in Christchurch, on the South Island of New Zealand. I had planned on travelling around all of the country on a massive two month trip in a Ford Econovan, but two and a half weeks into the trip it blew a head gasket, leaving me and my brother stranded back in Christchurch. I'm hoping to get some quick money via a drug trial, so that I can continue travelling the country the way I want to. In the meantime I'm just relaxing and working part-time at a couple jobs, trying to decide what to do next...
Any suggestions are more than welcome!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
