“Gotta learn the Haka!”
Oct 30th
Today was a good day overall. Sad, but good. Had to say goodbye to Mom today, which was weird. Definitely emotional. Having her here has meant everything, and I am going to miss her. I guess its up to me to take it from here. Just hoping things continue to go smoothly while I get settled. And GOD I hope I like the place Im about to move into. Its got to be better than this (getting ready for another INCREDIBLY noisy night as I write this. Unfortunately, its Halloween weekend…).
Anyway, so today we again took the day chill. Had a late breakfast, and wandered the city. We ran into a Teacher’s march, pretty much protesting budget cuts for teachers, and saying that everyone’s children deserve a good education. Cracks me up that the two times I leave the country, I end up witnessing some kind of protest / march on something! Haha.
Anyway, we kept wandering, and it’s funny the things you find when you just wander with no agenda. We ran into a mini arts and crafts market at a bar that we had been looking for before (called Cassett) on accident. Looks like its kind of cool. More hippie / artsy for sure, and definitely funky, but fun. From there, we ended up running into this crazy Indian Festival going on, called the Diwali Festival I believe. The “Festival of Lights” as they refer to it. So we hit that early on, as they were still setting things up, and got a taste of it. Its today and tomorrow, with a fireworks show tomorrow night, so I’ll have to check that out for sure and take Matt and Carla for it. What we got of the festival was cool. We went shopping, I bought a purse for cheap (really cute), and we did some other secret shopping which I can’t disclose here ;-). But it was a blast. I ended up getting a Free All-Blacks poster too! EPIC! Definitely going to be the first thing up in my bedroom. I think I am going to like Rugby (if not just for the players, if you know what I mean).
Then we wandered to the waterfront one last time, and took some more photos. Mom and I really did have a blast while she was here. I can’t get over it. She really is one of my best friends. I couldn’t be luckier to have a Mom like her. Really. I am so greatful for what I have. And a trip like this, is definitely enough to make me realize all that I have. It will be weird without her. Her bed is so vacant! Hopefully I will be able to settle in a little bit, and get used to it just being me soon. At least we start work on Monday, so I will be super busy then.
After a tearful goodbye to Mom, I hung around in the room a tad to contain myself, until Matt and Carla came back from their errands. We were all going to get together to go watch the All-Black’s Game tonight. We ended up talking for HOURS before hand. They must have come by around 5, and I think we just hung out in the room and talked until around 9! It was awesome. They are seriously great, and I am so glad to have met them. We are going to be awesome friends, and we have a ton more in common than I ever thought. Not that I thought we didn’t have much in common already, but I just didn’t’ know them very well. I had a fantastic time with them tonight though, and that helped so much after Mom leaving. The game (match?) was freakin sweet (even though they lost by ONE goal… if that’s even what you call it), and honestly I think I could become a fan of rugby. It makes sense to me. I don’t even really know the rules, but it still seems to make a decent amount of sense right off the bat! So we had a couple beers, shared some fries and “tomato sauce,” since that’s what they call ketchup, and just had a great time at a local bar. This is the latest I have been up since we have been in Auckland, and its about 12:10am. Not too shabby. Its going to be a noisy night though, with the Halloween crowd out. Plus, we learned that unfortunately there are like, 3 night clubs underneath of our hotel on our street… so that’s where half the noise is coming from. Dude, I don’t really get it. I understand noise normally, like, city noise. But for some ungodly reason, people here just like to SCREAM. What the fuck. Seriously. They are all screaming…right now. No reason, no purpose, just screaming just to scream. I can not WAIT TO GET OUT OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA. Omg. I gave Matt and Carla some earplugs… and thank goodness, cause they’re going to need them. Now, I’ve even had a couple beers, so I'm ready for bed, but shit its going to be loud. Oh well. At least this time next week I will be living on the other side of town. Lets hope its quiet in that household at least… who knows what my random room mates will be like.
Oh, Carla and Matt found a place today! Awesome for them, I know that helped their nerves a lot. It’s a studio apartment toward campus in the city. Hopefully it will be quiet for them, they seem to think so which is good. Far enough from Queen street, which is what seems to be the issue with the noise. Anyway, good for them, so they can get settled. They move in on Tuesday, so I will still be here a couple nights alone before heading out to Grey Lynn.
Man… I hope Kyle comes soon. I know I still have AT LEAST another month before it would even be possible… but I hope the time flies once I’ve started work. It’s hard not seeing or talking to him. We COULD talk, but its expensive. Fortunately, I will have regular internet again soon, so I can keep posting these regularly too.
Anyway, alright, I think Im going to try to get some sleep. Time for ear plugs again… and I think I might leave the bathroom fan on to dampen some of the screaming…..
….I swear… cities are great, but not 24/7
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Oct 29th.
Matt and Carla are here! What a funny morning. So mom and I got up, and kind of lazed around this morning a bit, made some coffee and breakfast and were trying to figure out what to do today. Funny enough, once we were starting to get going, we hear a knock at the door. Oddly enough: Matt and Carla’s hotel room is ACROSS THE HALL from mine. Literally, I open the door, and there’s their door. Hilarious how things have a way of working out! Haha.
So Mom and I got ready to go, they got cleaned up, and we took them around the city to help them get acclimated. First thing we went to do was to get them another HSBC bank account open, here in NZ currency. They had one open in the US already, and were just going to move the money over within the same bank. Unfortunately, HSBC sucks, and they only have premier branches here, so poor Matt and Carla have access to almost none of their money. Not only that, but they had traveler’s checks, which HSBC was going to charge them $10 to cash each one! RIDICLOUS! So that freaked them out a bit, and I don’t blame them, I would have been SO upset to have that happen to me as the very first thing in another country: not having access to all my money. But its all good, they were able to get money out of the ATM and we went and helped them set up an ASB account later on. Problem #1 = averted! We went and got some food at the first place Mom and I had eaten when we got into the country, and then found another Warehouse Location downtown which was nice.
Then we hopped a bus, and headed over to Ponsonby. I wanted them to see this unit that I am renting. I signed my paper work and put down my deposit, got my key, and set my move-in date. Wewt. All set! At least for now. Hopefully I like it… my bedroom is big and spacious, which is great, Im just of course nervous about room mates that I don’t know… at all. So we’ll see. Carla and Matt looked at it, but you know, it’s the first place they had seen, so they want to check out some more spots first. Makes sense. Possibly they will come join me, which could be cool, but obviously to each his own. It is an old place for sure.
Anyway, we got some more logistics covered for them, and me (set up my bill pay for my rent at the bank), and then Mom headed back to the room to chill, and we went on over to Oktobor to hang out. Turned out to be pretty awesome. Levi gave us a heads up on how things have been for him over there, and he literally started animating RIGHT away. A little scary! Fortunately they’ve been like, 3 second shots, which is good to ease in with. Its been good though, he’s been very busy but is liking it. The staff is cool, we met a lot more people today. They have a happy hour every Friday around 5:00, where the “trolley” cart comes around, and theres beer, wine, and snacks for every one. Sounds like Friday is deadline day, so lots of people were on a bit of a crunch to get their things in to Nickelodeon before the day was out. It was really great though, we definitely got to talk to and meet more people. Hung out with Fraser and Dan, and then I had a chat with Myke. It was great, I really think we are going to like it there. Still nervous about being able to keep up, but I also can’t wait to get my nose to the grind! It will keep me busy for sure. Now, just to figure out what to do for the weekend!
I am nervous about Mom leaving. It’s like my security blanket being ripped away. It’s been so nice having her here. Not so much that I couldn’t have done any of this on my own, but the emotional support of having her here and telling me its all alright, and letting me bounce ideas and opinions off of her, has been invaluable. I think I would have been so much less secure in coming and getting set up… and questioning the decision to come here much much more without her. Seriously, my mom rocks. I am going to miss her when she goes. At least we got all the hard stuff figured out before hand, so I can feel settled, and I’m sure she does too, but still. Definitely going to miss her. Its been nice having Mom and Gary to come home to most nights at home. It will be different now. Granted, if I stay in this place I’m renting, there will be plenty of people around, and I hope (really hope) I like them and make friends, but there’s just something about those nights at home that we all shared eating dinner and watching tv and cracking jokes. Times I definitely won’t forget any time soon.
Anyway, I’m getting all sappy here, but today was overall, a good day. Mom and I then went out to dinner and let Carla and Matt get some much-needed rest. They were so tired by the end of the afternoon, just like we felt when we got here. :-). Dunno what we’re up to tomorrow, but Mom leaves at 4:30. Hopefully the 3 of us can all go to a bar somewhere and catch the local Rugby game going on. Should be cool if we can! Who knows.
Ah well, bed time for now. Prepping for of course, another noisy night. At least this time next week I will be in a neighborhood off the main road and out of the city to sleep! City life (like, center city) is just not for me. Good thing there’s a lot more to Auckland than city!
Peace :-P
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"Swim Bike Run!"
Oct 28th
Mk, so last night was annoying. For the first time, we got our taste of obnoxious noise in the city. Definitely not going to live downtown. There was some kind of live band playing around Queen street, and omg was it loud. Not to mention the screaming and laughing drunken rioting outside. I did hear that drinking here is a big problem, and that many people over-consume on a regular basis… and it was a friggin WEDNESDAY NIGHT! Unfortunately I fear tonight may be worse, and that doesn’t even start to speak for the weekend. I kinda can’t wait to get out of here. This room has been fine, but its just really friggin small. Convenient in terms of location, but that’s about it. Oh well. You get what you pay for I guess.
Matt and Carla come in early tomorrow! Oh man, but that means Mom leaves day after tomorrow…shit. It will be weird not having her here to bounce ideas off of, and to talk to at night when we’re back in the room. But then again, I do start work on Monday… so I just really have the weekend that might be lonely, but who knows, maybe I could go apartment hunting with Matt and Carla if they’ll have me! Haha, we’ll see. Goin to be weird when she leaves…
I just got a text as well from Carl, the guy renting the property I looked at yesterday. He asked if I would like to reserve that room in the unit, as it sounds they may all be gone by the weekend. WOW. Not really that surprised I guess, but very glad he let me know that. So… well, I went ahead and said yes, I want it. I think it would be good. Looks like I may have a place to live!!! At least for a while. And if I don’t like it, then I can change location. Crossing fingers it works out alright. I am trying to see if I can go tomorrow to sign the paperwork and hand over the money, but he wants to meet tonight to do it. I want to check out one more place, but I may have to lock in (at least for the month to month). I’ll know soon. Yeesh, CRAZY!
Anyway, for the rest of the afternoon we decided to go up to Parnell and take a look around, since we hadn’t really be there yet. Mom and I grabbed some Sushi from a little place and carried it on the bus to eat in one of the little park areas. It’s a nice little area! Pricey though, seems a bit on the ritzy side. We discovered the Warehouse, which was great. It really is kind of like Wal-Mart. I will for sure be looking there to get some cheaper furniture for wherever I live. They don’t seem to use dressers here, or at least don’t provide them in furnished places, so I’ll probably need one. On from there, we wandered down the strip, stopping in a couple of places. Found this really cool store that was selling the Taonga necklaces, which are WICKED cool. Very tribal symbols in all kinds of swirling patterns and shapes. I am in love with them. Each one means something else too, so that’s kind of nice. Good gifts. I got one for myself that is the fish hook, which represents Strength and Determination, New Beginnings, Peace and Prosperity, Good Health, and a Safe Journey Over Water. Love it. I will definitely be sending some home.
From there, we made it to the end of Parnell road, and went into the “Swim Bike Run” store, naturally. I wanted to check out what they had in there, and see if the shop lead any rides (which they do… wewt!). We browsed a bit, and I found a wicked awesome sweatshirt that I just had to have. The guy there that was helping us was super nice too, and gave me a bunch of information to come back to join in a ride at some point. I found an ad for a series of Triathlons in the area too coming up! 4 Races, Sprints and Tri’s (you choose the distance of each of the 4), and participate in some or all of them! Starts in November. Hopefully I’ll have my bike by then, but who knows. That would be cool!
Then we headed on back, and stopped for some groceries on the way. I made some pasta for us back in the room, and we had a couple glasses of wine. Set up for another noisy night in the city, and heading to bed.
Later!
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