the trip, part 1

Back home after a long trip away with my buddy Coop. Finally made it to the South Island going by train, boat, plane and foot. Coop and I decided to head for Fiordland National Park, on the southwest part of the country. New Zealand has three train rides that take you over long distances: the Overlander that crosses the North Island and connects Auckland and Wellington, the Transcoastal the connects Picton and Christchurch along an east coast route, and the Transalpine which negotiates the mountains between Christchurch and Greymouth.

We started on the Overlander. Twelve hours of scenery including mountains around the center of the island and deep valleys towards the south. It's important to stock up on snacks like delicious Pineapple Lumps for such long rides even though the dining car offers nice lunch options. The train had an observation deck that was open to the outside. It's amazing how fast trains whip over the tracks. It also made for a great spot to take pictures of crossing over high up railway bridges.

The train got into Wellington with enough time for us to check into a hostel and hit the streets. Hunger and hot blood from a day on a train drove us to the city center where we found, as if by magic, the perfect place to eat: Abra-kebab-ra! A kebab is like a gyro, but since little lammykins are raised all over NZ, the ingredients are delicious.

Early next morning, we boarded the Interislander ferry to Picton.
Stunning scenery, and no pirates even though they were marked on the map. Good news for us.

Straight from the ferry onto the Transcoastal train. This train had a whole car for observation, rather than just a small porch. I'll never forget the pleasure of speeding on tracks a stone's throw from the ocean, through tunnels and short grassy fields, in between small enclaves of pine trees and waving to the seals lounging on the rocks. This was my favorite part of the traveling to our destination.

Christchurch is a much smaller and flatter city than Auckland, and it happens to be where our buddy JT lives. He showed us around and explained that the line out the door and around the corner at Wendy's is due to the fact that it is the first of its kind there. Can't get over the square patties, maybe. JT was an excellent host and took us to the best bar in town, which had live music and an open attic, complete with comfy furniture. Falling asleep in bars is nothing new to me but I wished they hadn't made it quite to easy. Coop and I needed our energy though, because the next day we started our five day hike along the Kepler Track in Fiordland National Park. Stay tuned for the next installment of the trip!

December Monthly Report

By the numbers (and examples of note)
times I've moved: 2
new flatmates: 7 (+1 cat)
bus rides: 8
bike rides: 4
train rides: 0
ferry rides: 0
walks in a park: 13
walks after midnight:3
times I've made stir-fry:3
times I ate stir-fry leftovers:4
beers:17
liters of milk: 4.5
loaves of bread: 2
movies (in the cinema): 2 (Harry Potter and The Disappearance of Alice Creed)
movies (on TV): 12 (The Last Emporer, Die Hard series, It's Complicated)
books read: 6 ("Under the Mountain", "See Ya, Simon", "Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules")
short stories read: 15 (Half a Grapefruit by Alice Munro, Best of Betty by Jincy Willett)
times I used the library computer: 7
times I used my flatmates computer: 9
interviews: 2 (for three positions)
job offers: 0
new bands I've seen playing live music: 8 (Heart Attack Alley)
swims in the Pacific Ocean: 2
swims in the Tasman Sea: 1
pick up soccer games: 1
blisters: 2
minutes spent calling home: 47
baking competitions entered: 1
place: 2
cookies/pieces of pie eaten at Christmas party: 8
invites to New Year's parties: 3
hours spen turning a pair of pants and a belt into a satchel: 6
minutes spent coutning angels on a pinhead, wondering what to do next: 378

*Note: beer total does not include New Year's Eve

The Velveteen Laptop

Strange how computers change our lives, or how much more we're affected by their absence. My computer has been in the shop for a while being repaired. It's taken a bit longer than usual to get it fixed, hence the radio silence. I stopped into the store today and noted that it's called Magnum Mac, way tougher than iStore, or whatever other wimpy names they go by. The service guy told me that they were running diagnostics, and couldn't tell me when the repair would be completed. The original issue, that when opening the laptop the backlight would periodically fail to come on, was something that fell into the cliche of repair issues - namely that they couldn't recreate the problem. The repair file noted that they are trying to 'fault' the computer, meaning that the technicians have not yet seen my backlight failure issues, rather than they are blaming my computer for all their problems. I'm not sure how much I believe in the 'aliveness' of things, or if karma extends to inanimate objects, but I certainly did as a kid. I would wonder if my toys were comfortable in the positions I left them in, or if He-man wanted to spend the afternoon in his bulky form or relax in his Adam of Eternia casual attire. I can remember putting Marble Madness in the NES, even though I hated it because the play control was sloppier than eating an open-faced reuben sandwich on a hot summer day, just so it would have something to talk about with the other catridges when I went to school. So now I can see how my anxiety has traveled with me to adulthood and Auckland, where I fret for my poor macbook, languishing for weeks in a flashy, mac-world chrome and white workshop somewhere, wondering why everyone keeps trying to find fault with it. Now I think I want it back not so much for the reassurance of my laptop's self esteem, but to distract myself from wondering about it. I just hope my bike doesn't get jealous.

A quiet little place in the city

I've been off the radar for a while taking care of some basic necessities like finding a new place to live. My stay with Marianne and Terry, wonderful in every way, was ending before the holidays. I had trouble thinking I could find another place so comfortable, convenient and affordable, but I did! It's perfect: fine, friendly young people, an excellent backyard for reading and drying clothes in the sun, a short walk to awesome pubs, cafes, downtown and the beach.




And there's a hammock!













On my street, Collingwood, I saw a flower getting some attention from a bee.












My new addy is

6/25 Collingwood St
Freeman's Bay
Auckland 1011
New Zealand

It's just a block and a half from Ponsonby Rd, and another block to my favorite burger joint, Murder Burger. Check out their website.
I like this picture they posted of Street Fighter II characters in the minimalism style, except that it really shafts Zangief of his best attribute.