Merry Christmas

I'm still alive, living in Onetangi beach, Waiheke Island.  I will have a few updates very soon.

One Year In NZ

I have been in New Zealand for exactly one year now.  To mark the event, I have decided to leave my flat in Auckland and move to Waiheke Island for a few months.  I will update what my employment and accommodation will be in the coming days, but I have decided that after 8 months if city life its time for a change! 

Rugby Madness

For the past week all of New Zealand has been in party mode for the Rugby World Cup.  This event is by far the largest sporting event ever held in the country.  Trust me, its a big event, even though no one in America has heard of this or knows what rugby union is.  Auckland was not prepared for the opening ceremony the friday before last.  I had the chance to jump on a friend's boat to view the fireworks, but it was a major mission just to get to the marina because of infrastructure gridlock.  The city's main rail and bus lines completely collapsed. The Vodafone cell network also crashed for a few hours.  The opening ceremony downtown was expected to attract around 100,000 people.  Quay street was blocked off, but it was not enough room as an estimated 200,000 patrons descended the festivities.  I arrived around 3 pm, taking in the scene, before ducking into the Countdown grocery store for an hour just to relax.  It's ominous sign when all of the shelves of beer were empty at 3pm.  We fought our way through crowds to the ferry building to catch the boat across the harbor to my friend's boat.  We waited at least an hour for the arrival.  We were lucky not to get crushed by the mass of people waiting to get out of the city.  The ferry's had become incredibly overloaded and only so many of us could get off the wharf.  Once we made it to my friend's boat we had to wait for others stuck in traffic.  By the time we made it out to a good viewing point at least 5,000 other boats full of idiots were in our way.  Many vessels did not have lights and I now know why the supermarket shelves were bare. The fireworks were quite a intense surprise.  The most impressive show I have ever seen.  Many buildings including the Sky Tower had jets of flames erupting vertically to the heavens.  Four additional coastal stations shot satanic skeet skyward, creating the illusion of volcanic vertigo. The best view was from the port side of High Times, our yacht, and not the crowded streets of the city.


This past weekend featured a game pitting Ireland verses the Australians in Auckland's Eden Park. The Wallabies were heavy favorites, but fell to the Irish 15-6 in what I have been told an epic upset.  I slept through this game after fighting a cold all week long, but got the chance to meet some of the supporters first thing the next morning.  I was working for Riveria yachts all week preparing the vessels for the annual boat show.  I was starting at 6 am Sunday but I did have the chance to meet several Ireland fans on my way to work,  One gentleman was attempting to hoist a young lady onto his shoulders.  What I term a mini skirt was one of the apparent obstructions this scholar decided was in his way.  I should have called the police as I witnessed the mini skirt become a loin cloth.  I could have reported that a hooligan in a green rugby shirt was attempting a scrum with a local girl, except that there were about 500 other blokes with green rugby shirts that fit the same description.  All this is happening at 5:30 am, the game ended 7 hours earlier!  I worked until about 10 am, but the party was still going on all around us.  Just as soon as my work cleaning the super-yachts was finished a downpour arrived washing away my polish, and many of the rugby supporters as well.  The rain cleaned the streets of Irish beer mud and the tears of the the Australians, hoping for another easy conquest of New Zealand.

What I Wear

Auckland had its first snow since 1939 Monday.  My breath is visible in my room.  When asleep, I am cloaked by my work t-shirt, pants, sweater, jumper and a hat. All of this inside my sleeping bag, fleece throw, and a duvet to top it off. Very few homes in NZ have insulation. But in related news, New Zealand is now number 3 in the world in the Human Development Index. Homes bereft of insulation must equate to longevity!

The Life and Times of Ponsonby Terrace

 Its been almost 10 months since I first arrived in NZ.  I have had the absolute time of my life here. I have not posted for awhile because I have not thought of anything that could be considered witty or clever, so I will write about current activities.

I have been working for the past three weeks after traveling again, this time with my mom.  We flew to Wellington and took our time driving up the North Island.  Mom got very sick the 4th day of the trip and we spent 5 days in a hotel in Rotorua recovering.  She e-mailed me since she got home and said that she has a clean bill of health now.  Not exactly what she was planning for her first international vacation, but she had a great time anyway. 

I had 2 jobs once I came back to Auckland.  I only lasted 2 weeks at one job.  I missed my weekends off.  I am in a country for only so long, so I need to enjoy any free time I can get.  Boat Boys has given me more responsibility, including driving the company car during the week.  More responsibility also means more hours. I have learned an incredible amount about boat building in the past 6 months.  Its great to have this knowledge to go along with my diesel and diving experience.  Jobs I have had since I have been here include, petting zoo wrangler, beef cattle wrangler, party prep person, furniture mover, car cleaner, boat fairer, and construction dude.   I do enjoy the boat work the best.

Living in the same place for the past 6 months has been great.  I live in Ponsonby, a great neighborhood with many bars and restaurants within minutes walk. I have finally been able to have a stable home life after months of traveling in NZ, and 16 months of living at a boy scout camp.  Sea Base was a really cool place that I miss dearly, but it is still a scout camp with severe social limitations.

I have just moved into a new room in the same house that I have been since March. I now have a studio flat behind the house, a lot more privacy.  I have never lived in a large city before. Auckland is not super big, but a stark contrast to small town Nebraska and the Florida Keys.  I lived in small towns in Nebraska for 7 years and this is a whole different world.  I always seem to keep my self busy every night of the week. Salsa classes Monday, rugby training on Tuesday and Thursday, Couchsurfing meetup Wednesday, a concert or hanging out late Friday and Saturday, and a bush walk on Sundays if I'm not working. I will start sailing on the weeknights now that rugby season is over. 

On a related matter I am inching closer to the 100 kg(220lb) mark.  I have lost about 10kg(22lbs) since the beginning of the year.  I have joined a gym, but always seem too busy to use it.  I walk everywhere, and always try to have my mind engaged in something constructive.  I have also been rockin' the full beard for the past 2 months.  Its winter here, helps me stay warm. 

New Zealand is such a great place I would have no problem living here long term.  Auckland is very multi-cultural, many people here have traveled abroad, and can relate to what I am doing now.  People here are incredibly nice and the whole population seems to be on eternal holiday.  I sometimes forget when I am when I wake up, but its feeling like home more and more.

There is little racism here.  Mixed race marriages are very common.  The faces I see in the street are a collage that would make America's "melting pot" look like a tin can.  I would like to travel more, most likely to Australia next year, before I forget what other places are like.  NZ is a very isolated country by distance, but vary plugged in in this digital age.

Double Down, New Zealand

The KFC Double Down monstrosity has made its way to NZ.  I enjoyed my first one ever 2 days ago.  The double down is 2 pieces of breaded and fried chicken with cheese and bacon in the middle.   Before the so called sandwich came here, there was a facebook group dedicated to bringing it here.  In Austurlia, the reaction was mostly negitive.  As I was aimlessly walking down the street one evening, I came across a KFC restaurant.  I have not been to this American chain since I entered the country.  The sandwich is NZ$7.90 by itself.  This exchanges to about US$6.50.  I'm sure it is much less back home.  After I ordered the sandwich, I waited in the restaurant and watched a music video from This is Why We Fight by The Decemberists on an LCD screen.   This sandwich has to be the reason that we fight.  The video, which I had never seen before depicts a bunch of homeless looking people who look like actors in a post-apocalyptic setting.  I don't think the actors in the video have had a double down, they are all skinny hipsters trying to fit into the backdrop of old Kevin Costner movies like The Postman or Waterworld.

The actual meal is 2 pieces of delicious white meat patty with a strange sauce with ham in the middle.  There is no bacon, it was ham! The cheese congealed into a very runny mixture that got all over my fingers.  The chicken pieces were great.  I consumed the thing in about 3 minutes.  I will not likely get another, epically considering the price. I get much more utility from $8 of fish and chips. On my way away from the restaurant, someone wrote on the sign next to the drive through window, "double down sux." I am glad I am not the only one who shares this sentiment.

Pronounced Fung-a-ray

I recently spend four non consecutive weeks working in Whangarei. The pronouncement of the city name for whatever Maori reason is Fung-a-rey. The w is silent. This city is about 2 hours north of Auckland and has a reputation for dodgy as behavior. The best drugs in all of New Zealand are found within the city limits, or so I am told. I worked with 2-3 other people the entire time I was up there.  The boat we were working on is just being built. It has to be bogged, sanded, faired and painted. If you don't know what bogged means, that's ok, we call it bondo in the states. The entire hull of the boat is covered in bondo, then sanded back with long-bords to have a super fair finish. This takes the welding marks out. Work like this is not rocket science, so many co-workers like to smoke and drink every night. This would normally not be problematic, except for the 6 am wake up call. The hotel is in a great location. There is a tinnie house, aka weed house right around the corner, and a couple prostitutes rented the room next door to us to turn tricks. Our crew fits right in to the neighborhood. Maybe the w in Whangarei was smoked too.

I am not complaining about the circumstances, but I can now post this after I was laid off by my employer earlier this week.  Off to the next exciting employment agency.  My mom arrives June 16 for 10 day trip.  Cant wait to see you here mom!

Speed Date NZ

A few weeks ago I went to a speed dating event out of utter boredom.  It was held at a bar called Degree in the Viaduct waterfront of Auckland.  The bar is the kind of place where characters of a Judd Apatow movie would congregate.  Think of a glass pained bar and air that permeated with hairspray.

The event was held upstairs. The cost was $55.  I texted the organizer. I said that $55 was way too much to talk to a few bimbos.  I said I would do it for less money and drink specials.  She settled on $35 and a drink voucher. The organizer looked like she had a few botox injections and her boobs were gorgeously fake. She had the look of gold digging trophy future ex-wife. (I hope she is not reading this, she was actually nice) There was 9 guys and 8 girls. It turns out that all but one of the girls did not pay, the organizer had to scour the streets to fill the girl's seats. Most of the dudes paid $55.  All of us were given cards to write our perceived matches name on.

Sat down to girl number 1.  She looked a little round in the face, then she stood up. Her face looked skinny compared to everything else.  Ok, deep breath.  I will at least let her speak.  She speaks. Words come audible, but the message is clear: she has a cat and rarely leaves the house, except when she goes to work in the library.  That's cool, another girl who is afraid of sunlight.

Girl 2. I need a interpreter.  She is from Japan.  Steel resolve is in her veins. She tells me that I should circle match on all of the girls on my card, that way, she said the girls will circle who they really want as a match.  This woman is a speed date veteran.

Girl 3. Has a bow tie on her head, kind of like a x-mas present. "Are you going to pop out of a box for me"  She does not like this comment.  She ignores me for the next 9 minutes.  I like my chances.

Girl 4. Says she works in television.  I ask her about the internet, she responds by asking me what market share is. I explain what Google is doing to tv advertising. Long awkward pause. She is a bright one. I try to understand how people like this have the skills to even buy a bus ticket, let alone "work in television"

Girl 5. I quote: "I am here with a friend, it was her idea, she needed support."  Her friend was girl number six.

Girl 6. I quote: "I am here with a friend, it was her idea, she needed support."  Her friend was girl number five.  Someone is embarrassed to be here. wonder who it is?

No girl number 7, empty chair, must of got scared and left.  My own thoughts for 10 minutes.

Girl 8. Smoking hot brunette. "Ive never been to karaoke," she stammers.  I suggest to leave at once, I get up, she does not move.  Ok, maybe it was the wrong angle.  Before I try another pickup line, she belts out a Katy Perry song with the worst American accent I have ever heard.   Those 10 minutes seemed to last for days.

Girl 9. Clone of the Shallow Hal girl, but bigger, maybe.  She does not drink, so she gives me her drink voucher.  My $35 cocktail just turned into a $17.50 drink.  If I get one more voucher, I will break even for the night.  She also lectured me about her job at a burger joint and wonders if she is appreciated.  I respond by telling her that if food had feelings, it would be happy for her. She thinks this is funny. I like my really like my chances.

Dead Camera

Easter Weekend Results:

Diving Canterbury wreck
Swimming with dolphins
Lunch on a deserted beach in Cavalli Islands
Diving the Rainbow Warrior wreck
Amazing wall dives
5 girls and one guy in hostel dorm room
Local liquor ban for Good Friday and Easter Sunday
Go to restaurant to buy bread and wine instead of pub to eschew liquor ban
beautiful coastal cruises
German girls taking over hostel
Hot Tub
Flooded camera case on first dive of the weekend: Priceless

Now I have no way to prove that this all happened. 

Easter Week

I have been working in Auckland for 8 weeks, time for a break.  I will be work in Whangarei this week until Thursday, then I will be in Paihia, Bay of Islands for Easter weekend.  I have booked wreck dive trips next Saturday and Sunday out of Paihia, Hopefully I will have pics too.  Have a happy Easter everyone!

100 Gallions of Fuel

In downtown Auckland a flotilla departed that is in opposition of deep sea oil exploration drilling. The New Zealand government approved exploratory drilling last year before the Gulf of Mexico disaster. 200 people attended the sendoff today.  I am guessing that 2/3rds of them were just rubbernecking and not part of the protest.  There was a large Maori group singing and dancing and a half dozen speakers.  The flotilla included about 8 sailing yachts that averaged 60' long.  Each boat has a diesel engine that will probably use at least 100 gallons of diesel just to get to Cape Runaway where the proposed drilling will take place.  I was tempted to ask the participants how much of the junky consumer products that they use have some form of crude oil in them. If the protest in prolonged, the boats will undoubtedly have to re-fuel, maybe they could pull next to the exploration vessel?  The East Cape region of the north island does need some economic development, this could be a start.  Oil is not an answer to sustainable energy, but nether is driving a diesel fueled yacht in circles.

How Many Guns Do You Have?

Have been employed for 3 weeks now by boat labor company.  Most of the days go by with my hands scorched by 150 grit sandpaper as I hand sand the entire sailing vessel Athena with 20 co-workers.  Tradition says that a yacht hull must be hand sanded and not faired by any electrical device.  This helps unemployment.  On my way to work at 7 am every morning I listen to podcasts of This American Life and muse about thelemic inopportunities of past travels.  When I arrive I am in a good mood, until someone asked me "Are you from America? How many guns do you have?" The only answer that I could give the workers satisfaction is something like: "Uh ya, I keep them in my pickup just in case the wild injuns come down from the hills." this is mildly amusing from most of the people who ethnicity are Maori, and Pacific Islanders who listen to rap music from the ghetto blaster and complain  that last night's UFC fight was not hardcore enough.  When people I meet at a party ask me what I do for a job I tell them that I work on super yachts. If they only knew that it is not much different than working in Nebraska for Labor Ready.

Documentary Edge Festival

I decided to stay in Auckland and I found work very quickly.  Monday I applied for my tax id number and set up a bank account, Tuesday I worked for the yacht Yannakee Too, and Wednesday I was hired by Boat Boys, a boat labor contractor.  I am renting a camper van behind a lady's house in the Ponsonby neighborhood for a good price. It is only a 20 minute walk to the boat yards.   Last night my landlady invited me to a showing of I am the River, the award winning documentary on Maori photography.  The documentary won the award for the best New Zealand Feature in the Documentary Edge Festival.  The showing was one of the final showings of the festival and the director, Luigi Cutore was present and fielded questions from the audience after the film.  It turns out that Luigi was friends with my landlady's friend and the 4 of us ended up meeting for a drink after the show.  Luigi is very nice and told me that being a film director is like being a starving artist, sometimes not getting paid for years at a time.  The rest of the conversation was about middle-aged bars, ect, and I was off daydreaming.  Everyone was nice and the night was short.  Its going to be strange settling into a routine for the next few weeks.

NZ Young Farmers

My farm host Marty took me to the Helensville A&P(Agriculture and Pastoral) show where there was the regional New Zealand Young Farmer contest was happening.  The Young Farmer contest is hosted by the Young Farmers social group.  The competition is open to anyone in the group aged 18-30, and it is a most strenuous event.  The participants have to go through many practical tasks such as build a fence gate, use a chin saw to make a boot, make a irrigation hose setup and put wheels on a 4-wheeler.  After the day activities, the contestants are in a game show type question and answer section.  The questions ranged from politics, sport, and many technical farm questions.  The winner of the competition goes to a national competition.  The prizes the people get are amazing.  The regional winner got a mechanical water pump, $100 in new clothes, Echo power tool vouchers, and $1000 in cash.  The National winner gets up to $100,000 in cash and a new pickup! 

Farming is the biggest industry in New Zealand and people take it seriously.  The quality of produce is valued highly.  No BGH is used in dairy cows, and no genetic engineered seeds are planted.  Most of the farms are family owned, there is little corporate farming. Small business are thriving all over New Zealand.  Small towns have main streets at full occupancy, a nice change from the states. 

I am in Auckland, getting my tax number, setting up a bank account and looking for yacht day work.  If I don't find anything by Friday, I will be leaving to go to Tauranga, in the Bay of Plenty and look for farm work.  Jobs are become scarce in the cities. Many people are leaving Christchurch looking for work in other parts of the country.   The summer season is winding down to a close.  Below are a few pictures of the Young Farmers contest and the A&P show. 

Work Visa, At Last

I have been waiting for my work visa for several months now, but finally have it.  I had to log onto immigration NZ's website to find out that I actually had the visa approved yesterday.  I had no e-mail verification from my case officer, but oh well.  I now need to apply for a IRD number, a New Zealand tax identification.  This will seem strange to me.  I have not had to look for a job since the spring of 2008.  I have always been working at Sea Base or odd jobs.  For the past week I have been cleaning up the farm, but the owner, Marty took me caving with school children in the middle of the week to take a break.  The kids were from Auckland and had a outdoor day that included caving, rock climbing, and repelling.  I wish I had the chance to do these things when I was their age(except I did and was too scared to do it).  I am going to a agriculture show wih Marty this weekend, then off to look for work, most likely in the Bay of Plenty, fruit picking.

Christchurch Earthquake

 

The earthquake that rocked Christchurch was in the middle of the south island.  I am about as far as possible from the epicenter.  Kaiwaka is 1.5 hours north of Auckland.  

Farmageddon

The past weekend included a party at the farm I am staying on called Farmageddon.   The party consisted of  a 130 meter water slide, BMX bike jump into a pond, jet ski ramp, dirt bikes driving around everywhere, 4-wheeling trucks, a car that drove it self into a pond, a tiki bar, one band, 2 DJs, huge bonfire, 100 kiwi rednecks, and party crashers at 2 am.  Those items don't necessarily go in chronological order.  The party crashers were local Maori teenagers who decided it would be a good idea to steal a bunch of CD's from the DJ.  This idea did not go as planned and the kids were in a fight with the DJ's friends, and the police had to be called.  Just another day in New Zealand.

Life on the Farm

I am now working on a cattle farm near Kaiwaka, about 1.5 hours north of Auckland.  I have been here for the past few days. So far, I have used a huge earth-mover, helped vaccinate cattle, build a giant water slide and drove all over the farm with the owner's ATV.  It is awesome here.  I have to work for 4 hours for accommodation, then after that I can work for $12 an hour.  I worked about 4 additional hours today mowing and trimming grass.  The water slide we build yesterday is for a huge party planned for the weekend.  Here is the video last year's years party.  It should be sweet as.

Still Waiting

I can maybe now understand a little how immigrants feel when they enter the United States and work illegally.  I am in the same situation now.  I have been waiting to resolve my work visa since September, but I think that a resolution is close. I did the second blood test about 2 weeks ago, and have a clean bill of health.  I have to wait one more week to hear back from immigration NZ.  I have spent the past 3 nights on a friend's boat in the viaduct harbour in Auckland.  Tomorrow I start  another farm work stay in Kaiwaka.  I looked for day work at the boat yards in Auckland, but no luck.  If I stay in town and go back more often, I am sure that I could find something.  I have been keeping busy by reading and watching a lot of movies.  I recently stumbeled upon my friend Hannah's blog.  She is a good artist.  I miss my friends from Florida.  I like New Zealand too.  Maybe everyone should come and visit me!

Zippity Zoo

I recently spent 12 days on a farm near Levin exchanging work for accommodation.  The owner, Beverley runs a mobile petting zoo.  She has 3 donkeys, 2 miniature ponies, about 15 goats, 5 sheep, 2 hogs, roughly 15 guinea pigs, 8 or so rabbits, and too many ducks and chickens to count.  Her operation was in high gear before she got sick the third night I stayed with her.  She had diverticulitis, a intestinal infection.  She essentially left me in charge of her farm for 6 nights while she rested in the hospital.  I have not been around livestock much, and one of her goats was due for a baby.  I was a little worried about having a goat kid on my hands.  I corresponded with Beverly through text messages and the week went smoothly.  She had other couchsurfers coming to her house and I was the host for them, at a farm where I was a guest! 
When Beverley returned home, she was supposed to go to two parties in Wellington, but she was too weak to drive.  I volunteered to drive the animals and I had help from Jonathan, a local kid who has helped her in the past.  We got lost on the way to the first party, but I should have known not to follow the GPS, it told us to take the shortcut, which included many mountain roads.  The parties went on without a hitch, everyone was happy.  We had one sheep, one goat, 2 bunnies, 2 chickens, and 7 guinea pigs stuffed into the back of her box truck.  All of us made it home safe.  Beverley was a great host, I would have stayed longer, but I had to go back to Auckland to do another blood test for immigration.  Beverley also moonlights as a belly dance instructor. Check out her websites at http://www.zippityzoo.co.nz/ and http://www.moonjellybellydance.co.nz/ 

Another Blood Test

Back in Auckland now.  I spent the past 2 weeks staying at a petting zoo farm.  Immigration NZ requested that I do another blood test, which I just completed this morning.    I was requested to do a Hep C Serology, Ferritin Test, Microalbumin: creatinine ratio, and Antinuclear Antibody test. I have no idea what this means.  I will get the results back tomorrow.  The nurse told me that my visa application could be stretched out longer. She said I could go to Wellington to get a liver scan, but that is not likely. 

Kiwi Idol

I watched an entire American Idol episode for the first time yesterday.  NZ channel 3 had the program on.  I cant understand how this show can continue.  When half of the contestants say that they grew up watching the show, then the show has been on too long.  Simon was the only good judge. Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler, and Randy Jackson would have not made it as contestants on the show if they tried.  I really don't get it.  Most pop stars don't even write their own songs.  Pop stars voices are digitally enhanced, and most don't play an instrument.  The only thing that would make the show watchable would be to bring back Wacko Jacko in a  séance and have him tell bedroom secrets, but even that would be a push. I will never like pop music and never watch a full episode of Idol ever again.

Trim is the New Skim

Milk, the little 4 letter word I like so much.  Milk in New Zealand is classified differently in stores.  Whole milk is known as standard milk, and had a blue cap as opposed to a red cap in the States.  2% milk is known as slim and has a light blue top, as opposed to a dark blue top.  1% is extra slim and has a dark green top, not purple like back home. Skim milk is known as trim and in held in by a light green cap.  Skim in the States has a light green top as well. This is the only cap that is the same.  I'm confused easily.  I like milk, but because skim is my "standard," I have bought it once or twice by mistake. I thought that the labels were custom made for me!  How many times do we look at milk tops anyway?  The average 1 liter of milk is NZ$2.75 at the cheapest.  I don't remember what prices for a gallon are in the states, but I think around $4. Milk is a little more expensive here, even though there are many dairy farms around the country. Oh and by the way, a "dairy" is also known as a local corner store, even more confusion.  

Waiting in Wellington

I have decided to evade the law and take my chances by staying in New Zealand.  I called the immigration NZ hot-line, and I was told that I could stay in the country for up to 42 days after my visa expires as long as I have a work visa application pending, which I do.  I can also claim amnesty, but to do that I would have to explain to the removal authority board that I was persecuted in the Unites States.  I am thinking of the options that I could claim to do this.  I am in Lower Hutt, a suburb of Wellington for the time being.  I have rented a room for another week to wait it out. 

Aspartate transaminase

I may have to leave the country because of my liver.  I have applied for the New Zealand Working Holiday permit twice now.  The first time I applied was Sept 4, about 5 weeks before I arrived in Auckland.  For one reason or another it was withdrawn in mid November.  I was camping in the woods and had no e-mail contact with the outside world and could not correspond with the immigration officers at the time.   I applied for the visa again on December 1st.  This time because I was already in the country I had to pay NZ$140 for the application, plus have a comprehensive medical exam, which cost NZ$250.  As part of the exam I had a blood chem test, which revealed that I had elevated ALT and AST scores.  this means that my liver had been damaged and I need to possible have another evaluation.  The immigration officer told me that because of the holiday season it may take 4-5 more weeks to process.  My last day on my tourist visa ends Jan 14th.  So I have the choice to overstay my visa or fly to Australia.  I would like to stay in NZ, the country is a great place and it is in the middle of summer now.  Australia is super hot now.  Ok so the choice is simple, be killed be the Aussie heat or let my liver kill me in New Zealand.