Sunday, January 15, 2006
Yippee!
Finally did my first live music photo gig in NZ yesterday. Small venue, singer songwriter, and plenty of fun. (Also close to getting on staff at a music magazine in Wellington) Whoo Hoo!
Saturday, January 14, 2006
More catch up...
Christmas and New Years over the summer break were excellent. The pictures have been up for a while, but thought I should give them a bit of narrative as well.
Our offices closed on the Thursday before a Sunday Christmas with Thursday not really being work. Board games, xbox, darts, beer, wine unabashedly came out by noon. Along with those was the excitement of an upcoming holiday break, with friends going to Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt… these Kiwi’s know how to travel.
I opted to work through the break to same as much holiday as possible for my trip to Europe in July, as it turned out it still felt very much like a holiday.
After about a half a day of work with maybe 4 out of 90 people I hopped on a ferry to the South Island to meet my friends Sal and Paul for Christmas. The ferry is between Wellington and Picton – landing about half nine in the evening. Picton is a very small town, yet I had to get from there to Nelson (about 2 hours away) to meet my pals. Once I determined that there were no busses available that time of night, I left Sal and Paul know via test message. Being the planner that I am, this was about 20 minutes before the ferry was to leave. I promptly received a phone call from Sal insisting that they come pick me up, to which I insisted they do no such thing as I was determined to try and hitch a ride for the first time in my life. After a few minutes on the phone and letting her know the ferry was late and I wouldn’t land in Picton until 11 pm now – she and Paul acquiesced to my demands. I hit end on the mobile and the guy sitting next to me asked me where I was off to. To which I replied Nelson, and he offered me a ride. I must admit I was almost disappointed with how easy that was – not 30 seconds went by and now someone asked me if I wanted a ride!
I boarded with Sam, a good looking guy about my age, living in Wellington but from Nelson informed me that these were the roughest seas he had ever seen – and he’d been riding the ferry for about 10 years. Sure enough from the forward lounge, you could barely stay in your seat, and the spray when we broke through swells whited out the windows. This lounge by the way is seven stories above the water in a 500-foot ship that even carries bloody trains. Needless to say, I loved it!
By 3 am Sam dropped me off where Paul and Sal picked me up in Nelson and we made the last 20 minute treck from Nelson to Mapua, the very, very small town of which we were staying outside. We stayed in Mapua Leisure park (say leisure with a british accent and it’s much more fitting). The two brits and I in a chalet 200 meters from the Tasman Sea, for 4 days we basically didn’t move. Sal and Paul are vegetarian and Sal is quite maternal so I was spoiled with fresh fruits and vegetables as I sat in the sun, read Harry Potter, and took breaks to play petonque (French lawn bolling – rather sure I misspelled it). It is the most stationary and most relaxed I’ve been in months. The sound of gentle waves lulled me to sleep each night, the milky way was out in force, and even during the day the quite that only nature provides enveloped us. Cell phones only worked standing atop of a tree stump 200 meters from our chalet, but the beach was closer, so it did more calling. Absolutely glorious.
We sat in front of the chalet on Christmas morning and opened presents around the picnic table, enjoyed the sun, and then stuffed ourselves with a feast we barbequed. Summer Christmases are quite nice, yet not all that different from South Texas in temperature, only in the length of days with the sun setting here after ten.
Took the ferry back Tuesday to get back to work, all three days of the work week as Monday and Tuesday were bank holidays. At this point, I officially decided to start my Christmas beard, as I wouldn’t be seeing any clients. Thursday afternoon I realized New Years was during the upcoming weekend so Friday at lunch I decided to plan a trip – yet again my talent for planning shining through.
Bought tickets at 6:15 for a 7:00 flight back to Nelson, transport from the airport to a hostel in Motueka. Saturday morning to be picked up by a Kayaking company for a two-day trip through the Abel Tasman National Park (Northwest corner of New Zealand’s South Island). Then a night in Marahow to be followed by a two day sailing trip through more of Abel Tasman before flying back to Wellington on Wednesday morning where I would head straight to work. Not to bad for no planning, eh?
Went on a gourmet, fully catered Kayaking trip where I only had to provide myself with 3 other people (a British couple and a Dutch chap). It was amazing, immaculate weather – except for the start when we got 55 knot gusts, but that only lasted for the very first hour. The water looked liked the Caribbean, but there were seals in it. Afterwards we continued downwind and enjoyed world-class beauty - stopping on beaches for tea, lunch and finally for camping on New Years Eve. With the long days I was taken aback by counting down to 2006 only about an hour after it got dark. Truly beautiful.
The wind was kicking up again so my sailing trip was cancelled, instead I popped back to Wellington Monday night after spending the day with Hanna, a lovely Finnish architect.
Tuesday was great back in Wellington where I met and spent the day with a German named Connie. (As it turns out I went out last night with Theresa, a Kiwi) I only bring up these girls because of how blown away I am by how worldly the rest of the world is. Of these three girls I went out with; Hanna went to school in London, speaks Finnish, English, French, and Russian, Connie grew up in Africa, speaks German, English, and Swahili (at 19 was jumping over to London for the weekend), and now Theresa who lived in Thailand for a year so she speaks English, Thai, and French. All of them had lived overseas before they were 20 and this didn’t stop; they’re all smart, confident, and capable. I can’t imagine seeing the world has hurt, so I wonder what happens to my countrymen that are famous for not travelling?
Well, the Wednesday after new years it was back to another gruelling three-day week with two of us in the office and lots of breaks to play the X-box. The weekend was filled with people returning from holidays, telling stories, and winding me up about my beard.
A day in the office and then down to Christchurch for a three week consulting engagement, from where I’m now writing you. Sitting in a little garden attached to my room sipping tea and feeling thoroughly commonwealth.
More importantly I’m aware that in two days I will have been overseas for one year… a whole year. A year that has flown by in the sense it has never dragged. Yet, at the same time when I reminisce it feels like a lifetime. I must say that I do feel I am living, sucking the marrow, taking the path less travelled, and it is definitely making all the difference. As Dougal my flatmate says, “We’re here for a good time, not a long time.”
Family and friends are in my thoughts and heart as I think about how long it has been; yet of the things I’m surprised to miss, I most miss the soulful passion of America. I experienced most threw great singers, and I wonder why I don’t feel it here. Is it because it is too easy here, virtually everyone is healthy, happy, and satiated? Do you need struggle to bring out what inspired Jazz and Hip-hop? It is wonderfully easy and comfortable here, but will I grow board of it?
This is by no means a desire to return, but merely one to keep travelling and to travel further afield. But where to next?
“No worries” as the Kiwis say... and live, I’ve got at least another year to figure that out.
Our offices closed on the Thursday before a Sunday Christmas with Thursday not really being work. Board games, xbox, darts, beer, wine unabashedly came out by noon. Along with those was the excitement of an upcoming holiday break, with friends going to Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt… these Kiwi’s know how to travel.
I opted to work through the break to same as much holiday as possible for my trip to Europe in July, as it turned out it still felt very much like a holiday.
After about a half a day of work with maybe 4 out of 90 people I hopped on a ferry to the South Island to meet my friends Sal and Paul for Christmas. The ferry is between Wellington and Picton – landing about half nine in the evening. Picton is a very small town, yet I had to get from there to Nelson (about 2 hours away) to meet my pals. Once I determined that there were no busses available that time of night, I left Sal and Paul know via test message. Being the planner that I am, this was about 20 minutes before the ferry was to leave. I promptly received a phone call from Sal insisting that they come pick me up, to which I insisted they do no such thing as I was determined to try and hitch a ride for the first time in my life. After a few minutes on the phone and letting her know the ferry was late and I wouldn’t land in Picton until 11 pm now – she and Paul acquiesced to my demands. I hit end on the mobile and the guy sitting next to me asked me where I was off to. To which I replied Nelson, and he offered me a ride. I must admit I was almost disappointed with how easy that was – not 30 seconds went by and now someone asked me if I wanted a ride!
I boarded with Sam, a good looking guy about my age, living in Wellington but from Nelson informed me that these were the roughest seas he had ever seen – and he’d been riding the ferry for about 10 years. Sure enough from the forward lounge, you could barely stay in your seat, and the spray when we broke through swells whited out the windows. This lounge by the way is seven stories above the water in a 500-foot ship that even carries bloody trains. Needless to say, I loved it!
By 3 am Sam dropped me off where Paul and Sal picked me up in Nelson and we made the last 20 minute treck from Nelson to Mapua, the very, very small town of which we were staying outside. We stayed in Mapua Leisure park (say leisure with a british accent and it’s much more fitting). The two brits and I in a chalet 200 meters from the Tasman Sea, for 4 days we basically didn’t move. Sal and Paul are vegetarian and Sal is quite maternal so I was spoiled with fresh fruits and vegetables as I sat in the sun, read Harry Potter, and took breaks to play petonque (French lawn bolling – rather sure I misspelled it). It is the most stationary and most relaxed I’ve been in months. The sound of gentle waves lulled me to sleep each night, the milky way was out in force, and even during the day the quite that only nature provides enveloped us. Cell phones only worked standing atop of a tree stump 200 meters from our chalet, but the beach was closer, so it did more calling. Absolutely glorious.
We sat in front of the chalet on Christmas morning and opened presents around the picnic table, enjoyed the sun, and then stuffed ourselves with a feast we barbequed. Summer Christmases are quite nice, yet not all that different from South Texas in temperature, only in the length of days with the sun setting here after ten.
Took the ferry back Tuesday to get back to work, all three days of the work week as Monday and Tuesday were bank holidays. At this point, I officially decided to start my Christmas beard, as I wouldn’t be seeing any clients. Thursday afternoon I realized New Years was during the upcoming weekend so Friday at lunch I decided to plan a trip – yet again my talent for planning shining through.
Bought tickets at 6:15 for a 7:00 flight back to Nelson, transport from the airport to a hostel in Motueka. Saturday morning to be picked up by a Kayaking company for a two-day trip through the Abel Tasman National Park (Northwest corner of New Zealand’s South Island). Then a night in Marahow to be followed by a two day sailing trip through more of Abel Tasman before flying back to Wellington on Wednesday morning where I would head straight to work. Not to bad for no planning, eh?
Went on a gourmet, fully catered Kayaking trip where I only had to provide myself with 3 other people (a British couple and a Dutch chap). It was amazing, immaculate weather – except for the start when we got 55 knot gusts, but that only lasted for the very first hour. The water looked liked the Caribbean, but there were seals in it. Afterwards we continued downwind and enjoyed world-class beauty - stopping on beaches for tea, lunch and finally for camping on New Years Eve. With the long days I was taken aback by counting down to 2006 only about an hour after it got dark. Truly beautiful.
The wind was kicking up again so my sailing trip was cancelled, instead I popped back to Wellington Monday night after spending the day with Hanna, a lovely Finnish architect.
Tuesday was great back in Wellington where I met and spent the day with a German named Connie. (As it turns out I went out last night with Theresa, a Kiwi) I only bring up these girls because of how blown away I am by how worldly the rest of the world is. Of these three girls I went out with; Hanna went to school in London, speaks Finnish, English, French, and Russian, Connie grew up in Africa, speaks German, English, and Swahili (at 19 was jumping over to London for the weekend), and now Theresa who lived in Thailand for a year so she speaks English, Thai, and French. All of them had lived overseas before they were 20 and this didn’t stop; they’re all smart, confident, and capable. I can’t imagine seeing the world has hurt, so I wonder what happens to my countrymen that are famous for not travelling?
Well, the Wednesday after new years it was back to another gruelling three-day week with two of us in the office and lots of breaks to play the X-box. The weekend was filled with people returning from holidays, telling stories, and winding me up about my beard.
A day in the office and then down to Christchurch for a three week consulting engagement, from where I’m now writing you. Sitting in a little garden attached to my room sipping tea and feeling thoroughly commonwealth.
More importantly I’m aware that in two days I will have been overseas for one year… a whole year. A year that has flown by in the sense it has never dragged. Yet, at the same time when I reminisce it feels like a lifetime. I must say that I do feel I am living, sucking the marrow, taking the path less travelled, and it is definitely making all the difference. As Dougal my flatmate says, “We’re here for a good time, not a long time.”
Family and friends are in my thoughts and heart as I think about how long it has been; yet of the things I’m surprised to miss, I most miss the soulful passion of America. I experienced most threw great singers, and I wonder why I don’t feel it here. Is it because it is too easy here, virtually everyone is healthy, happy, and satiated? Do you need struggle to bring out what inspired Jazz and Hip-hop? It is wonderfully easy and comfortable here, but will I grow board of it?
This is by no means a desire to return, but merely one to keep travelling and to travel further afield. But where to next?
“No worries” as the Kiwis say... and live, I’ve got at least another year to figure that out.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Gratuitous extra shot
Here's where we stopped for lunch on New Year's Eve. Right before I shot this there was a seal swimming around in the rocks (bottom left hand side of this photo)!
New Year's Eve Photos
I went on a Kayaking trip last minute in Abel Tasman National Park on the South Island. Here are the photos from the weekend.
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