I think I'm finally starting to get into rhythm here. I'm settled in and things are running acceptably smoothly. I get to class most of the time (when I don't decide that it's a waste of my time), I have what I consider to be a solid group of friends and my flatmates and I have a pretty good living relationship. I have a guitar and my calluses are back, I had spam "musubi" (quotations because I didn't have a molder so they were hideous) for dinner last night - also pointing out that I have finally worked out the kinks in my stovetop rice making abilities - and last friday I even got to play tennis.
I guess I should expand on this tennis thing because I know dad would like to hear about it and tennis is a fairly sizable chunk of my life. I got in contact with this guy who I guess is the President of an organization called Tennis Southern which seems to umbrella all the clubs on the south island. He wanted to see how good I was so he could hook me up with some people to play with, so I met him at this indoor sports facility called the Edgar Centre. The place is something over 2 miles from my house and not really a distance that's fun to walk, so I took a cab there and it costed me $16!! So next time, I'm either walking or getting someone with a car to drive me. It was literally a 7 minute drive...
ANYWAY, the courts at this indoor place are literally a poured concrete floor with a green carpet over it. Shittiest courts I have seen. Well, that's not true at all. But they were still a sad excuse for tennis courts. The carpet took any action you had on the ball right out. Kick serves do not exist in this place. I'll have to get a picture of the courts at some point. The court lines were painted in amid the basketball court lines, rugby lines and all kinds of sports. The Edgar Centre is not by any means a tennis center, it's an all purpose sports warehouse.
So I played this guy, who was probably closing in on 60 years old (but still smacked the shit out of the ball when he felt like it), and I won in straight sets. I think it was 6-0, 6-4. In the second set he stopped trying to win rallies against me and just pounded the ball at a corner hoping for a winner. It worked way too often and I found myself down a break in the second set. Eventually, I just played retriever and won the last 4 games of the second set. He told me there are some good juniors around that I would enjoy hitting with and that they would definitely benefit from hitting with me. Also, there's a coach that's always looking for help with teaching or maybe even stringing that he was going to hook me up with, so I might be able to make some under the table money while I'm here, which would be really nice since I'm spending so goddamn much of it.
But yeah so my life here is chilling out. We'll probably stay in town this weekend and hit up the walking distance attractions; Cadbury factory, Otago museum, other random stuff. Tonight I'm going to a dubstep concert. The guy calls himself Filth Collins...I checked him out on youtube and his stuff is pretty cool, and the tickets were only $12 so I figured, why not? I've never been to a dubstep concert before, but I'm sure it won't be as crazy as I've heard they are in the states (besides, I've heard ecstasy is really expensive here so there's no way this will be as crazy as a concert in the states).
I have some math homework to do I think so I better get moving on that. Peace out.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
25 July
Hey guys! Man it was a great weekend. Let's see, I think I left you all last time with a mention of heading to the All Blacks game.
The game was incredible. Professional rugby is definitely something to behold. I think it's much more graceful than football in the states. The only thing was that the game itself wasn't very competitive so that took some of the fun out of it. The All Blacks destroyed the Fiji team, but I heard that was to be expected. The match was just an exhibition to raise money for Christchurch, I think.
Saturday morning we got a rental car and decided to explore the Dunedin area. This was a three day rental so it was going to be a sweet weekend. But before we could leave, a friend from school and I had to get to the Willamette lunch that was happening at the Speight's Alehouse. A professor from our school was in town and had offered to take us all out to lunch with university money, something none of us would argue with. I had a $22 steak and $7 sorbet, all paid for by my tuition money. It was the most delicious free lunch ever. I was told, however, that there couldn't be alcohol on the same bill, so free beer on Willamette was out of the question (something that deeply saddened me). I'm still waiting for Willamette to buy me a beer. After all it's put me through and done to me, I think it's the least it could do.
So after lunch we headed out to the Otago Peninsula. The place is beautiful. My friend had his camera with him, so I downloaded these pictures off of facebook to show you guys.
Here's our car, it's the one with the FS license plate. And our crew standing in front of it waving like idiots.
First place we hit was a place called Sandfly beach. It was beautiful. We saw some sea lions on the beach messing around and lept off of sand hills. Don't let the great sunlight in the picture fool you though, it was a cold-ass day. Taking my shoes and socks off was probably a terrible idea.
Next we went to a place called the chasm and another called Lover's leap. These were both basically huge cliffsides, but each one was amazing. I think there are some pictures of these places as well.
A friend of mine planked the place. What a champ.
This was lover's leap.
These places were pretty awesome.
That's all we had time for on saturday because we had to get to a birthday party in the basement of a bar. There was some kind of bar tab deposit that someone put down so all drinks were only $3 until 9, then $4 until 11 or something. It was a strangely quiet night around Dunedin, but I'm pretty sure everyone there had a fairly decent time.
The next day we hit up Tunnel beach and the Albatross museum. But honestly, it was the driving around the scenic peninsula that made it cool. There's a few pictures of that too.
The craziest thing though, is that sunday morning it started raining and by the time we got back into town, the streets of Dunedin were blanketed with about an inch and a half of snow. By night time, kiwis were talking about having no school in the morning. This place deals with snow just about as well as Portland does - not very well at all. Nobody knows how to drive. Today, I still had class (unfortunately), but I went and withdrew some money to move to my NZ account I found the bank closed. The post office too! Also I was hoping to buy a sandwich here on campus because I didn't make a lunch for myself today and I find out the sandwich shop is closed too! These kiwis are a bunch of pussies that don't know how to deal with snow. The upside, though, is that the liquor store will be open. The people that run the place are from the neighborhood and the people that shop there are as well. I heard that X-Men Origins is on TV tonight, so I will for sure have something to do somewhere warm tonight.
Hope the addition of sweet pics, courtesy of my Texan friend (first one ever I think) allow you to appreciate my babbles a little more. Until next time...
Cheers! (lol)
The game was incredible. Professional rugby is definitely something to behold. I think it's much more graceful than football in the states. The only thing was that the game itself wasn't very competitive so that took some of the fun out of it. The All Blacks destroyed the Fiji team, but I heard that was to be expected. The match was just an exhibition to raise money for Christchurch, I think.
Saturday morning we got a rental car and decided to explore the Dunedin area. This was a three day rental so it was going to be a sweet weekend. But before we could leave, a friend from school and I had to get to the Willamette lunch that was happening at the Speight's Alehouse. A professor from our school was in town and had offered to take us all out to lunch with university money, something none of us would argue with. I had a $22 steak and $7 sorbet, all paid for by my tuition money. It was the most delicious free lunch ever. I was told, however, that there couldn't be alcohol on the same bill, so free beer on Willamette was out of the question (something that deeply saddened me). I'm still waiting for Willamette to buy me a beer. After all it's put me through and done to me, I think it's the least it could do.
So after lunch we headed out to the Otago Peninsula. The place is beautiful. My friend had his camera with him, so I downloaded these pictures off of facebook to show you guys.
Here's our car, it's the one with the FS license plate. And our crew standing in front of it waving like idiots.
Next we went to a place called the chasm and another called Lover's leap. These were both basically huge cliffsides, but each one was amazing. I think there are some pictures of these places as well.
These places were pretty awesome.
That's all we had time for on saturday because we had to get to a birthday party in the basement of a bar. There was some kind of bar tab deposit that someone put down so all drinks were only $3 until 9, then $4 until 11 or something. It was a strangely quiet night around Dunedin, but I'm pretty sure everyone there had a fairly decent time.
The next day we hit up Tunnel beach and the Albatross museum. But honestly, it was the driving around the scenic peninsula that made it cool. There's a few pictures of that too.
The craziest thing though, is that sunday morning it started raining and by the time we got back into town, the streets of Dunedin were blanketed with about an inch and a half of snow. By night time, kiwis were talking about having no school in the morning. This place deals with snow just about as well as Portland does - not very well at all. Nobody knows how to drive. Today, I still had class (unfortunately), but I went and withdrew some money to move to my NZ account I found the bank closed. The post office too! Also I was hoping to buy a sandwich here on campus because I didn't make a lunch for myself today and I find out the sandwich shop is closed too! These kiwis are a bunch of pussies that don't know how to deal with snow. The upside, though, is that the liquor store will be open. The people that run the place are from the neighborhood and the people that shop there are as well. I heard that X-Men Origins is on TV tonight, so I will for sure have something to do somewhere warm tonight.
Hope the addition of sweet pics, courtesy of my Texan friend (first one ever I think) allow you to appreciate my babbles a little more. Until next time...
Cheers! (lol)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
21 July
I'm beat, man. The most I've exercised since I've been here was our hike up to Signal Hill, which was basically climbing up dirt bike paths the wrong way, straight up the side of a hill. Other than my daily routine of pushups and crunches, I haven't really exercised at all. So today when I went and ran through the Botanical Gardens nearby for around 25 min or so (including a sweet hill to sprint up) and then some solid pickup ultimate frisbee later in the day, I could feel how my fitness has slipped in the past two weeks. My friends all went and played dodgeball and I didn't have the drive to continue this whole "being active" thing. Tomorrow, I've got to walk over two miles across town to get to the indoor tennis center, where some guy wants to hit with me and gauge how good I am. I haven't played in three weeks, so I'm gonna look so shitty. Pile that on top of my slipping fitness and my explosive speed muscles which are sure to be sore tomorrow, and I might be a mess. But maybe kiwis aren't that into tennis and I'll look fairly good in comparison. We shall see.
Honestly though, I miss exercise. I fucking miss camp, too (STILL!!!). I miss knowing that I'll have time for a run through the desert terrain, and maybe get to a sweet view at the end. A breathtaking view becomes even more so when you're out of breath upon seeing it. I need to wear socks all the time, because well obviously because it's cold here, but also because if I look at my feet I see my fading flip flop tan. This causes me great sadness and that sucks. I can't help but be without socks in the shower, so this it's always the best and worst part of my day.
Speaking of showers and things associated with showers, I saw an Axe commercial the other day, the one where the slogan is "even angels will fall". I know you all know that one. Well I saw that same commercial here, but the product they were selling is called Lynx. It's a shower gel, just the same as Axe, but it's New Zealand and it's the cheapest one on the shelves. I have come to the obvious conclusion that Lynx IS Axe. Cool huh? Shut up, I thought it was.
I've talked with a few friends back home about how good writing down your thoughts can be. I think they're right, writing this all is very therapeutic. However, I'm not sure about the merits of putting your thoughts down and then immediately posting them to the internet. Who thought that was a good idea? Apparently me.
Tomorrow I have tickets to see the All Blacks take on Fiji. That's a New Zealand rugby team against one from Fiji. There's like some crazy political shit going on with this match too, but I'm not real up to date on that stuff. It's going to be sweet, though. We have like face paint and stuff and some people went out and bought All Blacks gear. I'm super excited. I would go out and buy some gear, but a simple jersey costs at least $100 and that seems ridiculous to me.
Oh and the Speight's tour that I had mentioned last time was super boring. The kiwi had such a thick accent I couldn't understand what he was saying. I could tell he was trying to make jokes because he would laugh at them himself but I could not bring myself to laugh since I did not understand. The tour was totally worth it though, because at the end they lead us into this room with a bar and all these glasses set out. The guy went and got more glasses and told us to have at the bar. We basically had an open self-serve bar for half an hour. THAT'S how you get your money's worth at the Speights tour.
Honestly though, I miss exercise. I fucking miss camp, too (STILL!!!). I miss knowing that I'll have time for a run through the desert terrain, and maybe get to a sweet view at the end. A breathtaking view becomes even more so when you're out of breath upon seeing it. I need to wear socks all the time, because well obviously because it's cold here, but also because if I look at my feet I see my fading flip flop tan. This causes me great sadness and that sucks. I can't help but be without socks in the shower, so this it's always the best and worst part of my day.
Speaking of showers and things associated with showers, I saw an Axe commercial the other day, the one where the slogan is "even angels will fall". I know you all know that one. Well I saw that same commercial here, but the product they were selling is called Lynx. It's a shower gel, just the same as Axe, but it's New Zealand and it's the cheapest one on the shelves. I have come to the obvious conclusion that Lynx IS Axe. Cool huh? Shut up, I thought it was.
I've talked with a few friends back home about how good writing down your thoughts can be. I think they're right, writing this all is very therapeutic. However, I'm not sure about the merits of putting your thoughts down and then immediately posting them to the internet. Who thought that was a good idea? Apparently me.
Tomorrow I have tickets to see the All Blacks take on Fiji. That's a New Zealand rugby team against one from Fiji. There's like some crazy political shit going on with this match too, but I'm not real up to date on that stuff. It's going to be sweet, though. We have like face paint and stuff and some people went out and bought All Blacks gear. I'm super excited. I would go out and buy some gear, but a simple jersey costs at least $100 and that seems ridiculous to me.
Oh and the Speight's tour that I had mentioned last time was super boring. The kiwi had such a thick accent I couldn't understand what he was saying. I could tell he was trying to make jokes because he would laugh at them himself but I could not bring myself to laugh since I did not understand. The tour was totally worth it though, because at the end they lead us into this room with a bar and all these glasses set out. The guy went and got more glasses and told us to have at the bar. We basically had an open self-serve bar for half an hour. THAT'S how you get your money's worth at the Speights tour.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
20 July
Yesterday I got a guitar. I almost got a $270 one for $150 with the promise that he would buy it back for $100, but when I went in with the money he said that a cheaper on had come in and he would sell it for $80 and buy it back for at least $40. I'm down for spending $40 for a semester of playing the music I love. It has only been about 2 weeks since I left my wonderful 3/4 size acoustic in my room at home, but playing this little chunk of wood felt really great. I like to wait until my flatmates have left the building for class and stuff and then I pick a song and sing it as loud as I can. By then end of the semester my neighbors might know the words to "Baby I'm an Anarchist" or "Poison Oak".
It's been even longer since I've hit a tennis ball and I'm wondering how awesome that's going to feel if I can ever get to it. I've had a phone conversation with a guy from Tennis Southern New Zealand and he wants to hit and he's hoping he can get a coach there to gauge how good I am and who would be able to hit with me. I'm pretty sure by this time, the rust has set in and I won't be able to connect the ball with the strings, but hopefully they'll understand as I embarrass myself.
Tonight may be a wednesday, but there are two things happening. I am about to leave to go on a brewery tour of the Speight's brewerey (pronounced Sp-ate, like the number 8), complete with beer selection sampling. Speight's is the pride of the south, apparently. Also, our neighbors are having some kind of party. Some european girl was over last night watching Toy Story 3 with us, telling us that it was mermaid themed and therefore everyone should be naked. First of all, I'm not sure she understands what a mermaid is. Second of all, no. An "everyone naked" party sounds like a disaster. She also made a point of saying that she will be the only one allowed to not be naked, a privilege she will most certainly utilize. Some host, huh?
Tonight should be cool. Cool and clothed.
It's been even longer since I've hit a tennis ball and I'm wondering how awesome that's going to feel if I can ever get to it. I've had a phone conversation with a guy from Tennis Southern New Zealand and he wants to hit and he's hoping he can get a coach there to gauge how good I am and who would be able to hit with me. I'm pretty sure by this time, the rust has set in and I won't be able to connect the ball with the strings, but hopefully they'll understand as I embarrass myself.
Tonight may be a wednesday, but there are two things happening. I am about to leave to go on a brewery tour of the Speight's brewerey (pronounced Sp-ate, like the number 8), complete with beer selection sampling. Speight's is the pride of the south, apparently. Also, our neighbors are having some kind of party. Some european girl was over last night watching Toy Story 3 with us, telling us that it was mermaid themed and therefore everyone should be naked. First of all, I'm not sure she understands what a mermaid is. Second of all, no. An "everyone naked" party sounds like a disaster. She also made a point of saying that she will be the only one allowed to not be naked, a privilege she will most certainly utilize. Some host, huh?
Tonight should be cool. Cool and clothed.
Monday, July 18, 2011
19 July
So not much has happened since my last post. Mostly because I've decided I've been taking too much advantage of the low drinking age here and it's time to take life a little more seriously. Well, not too seriously...but I could use a little grounding here in this foreign land, and the bottle is certainly not the way that's going to happen.
Last night I saw Harry Potter with some friends. I want to start of my quick little review of the movie by saying that I really enjoyed myself while I was watching it and all in all, I'm glad I saw it. HOWEVER, it was a terrible movie! Yeah, it was. It got the job done though; it finished up the series, had some cool combat stuff and managed to make most of the fans happy. Cool. Now that part of history is over. Right?
The other day I encountered my first American bigot. That was fun. In his defense, he was somewhat intoxicated, but he started saying some shit about black people and dropped a few N-bombs. I couldn't help myself once he started looking around for someone to acknowledge his opinion, I just busted up laughing. Partly because I couldn't believe he said that, partly because everyone in the room was suddenly uncomfortable. Nice one, bro.
I've realized that this place is actually super liberal. I was in some political office downtown trying to get a "justice of the peace" (something kind of like a notary) to sign a paper saying that I am, in fact, 18 even though I have multiple documents proving it - this way I can get a 18+ card so I don't have to carry my passport around if I want to buy alcohol - ANYWAY, this political office had these flyers about a new bill passed. This new bill sounded pretty sweet to me. Basically, it was a tax the rich, don't tax the poor bill, and I told the lady it was awesome and she told me that no, I was awesome. Well it didn't go exactly like that. At least the first part was true.
Also, last post I mentioned that Country Road was played at a bar I was at and how it doused me in a wave of melancholy sadness. I found out the next day that the guy had finished his set by playing Wagon Wheel. Damn, if I had been there...I can only imagine. Wagon Wheel is another song that has deep camp connections with me. It's the first place I heard it and really the only place I really love it. Had I been there when 'ol Johnny was playing that song, I would've been screaming it at the top of my lungs, beer glass in the air, tears streaming down my face. As soon as the song finishes I'm going to sprint north like Forrest Gump in a vain attempt to reach Hancock before the next campfire so I can, again, sing Wagon Wheel and Country Road at the top of my lungs with tears streaming down my face.
Lucky for me (and everyone else in the world), I had already left by then.
I think I really need that guitar. I'm going to continue my attempts to have on in my hand today after I watch some internet TV here in the library.
Hancock people, dedicate the next Wagon Wheel to me. And sing it at the top of your goddamn lungs.
Last night I saw Harry Potter with some friends. I want to start of my quick little review of the movie by saying that I really enjoyed myself while I was watching it and all in all, I'm glad I saw it. HOWEVER, it was a terrible movie! Yeah, it was. It got the job done though; it finished up the series, had some cool combat stuff and managed to make most of the fans happy. Cool. Now that part of history is over. Right?
The other day I encountered my first American bigot. That was fun. In his defense, he was somewhat intoxicated, but he started saying some shit about black people and dropped a few N-bombs. I couldn't help myself once he started looking around for someone to acknowledge his opinion, I just busted up laughing. Partly because I couldn't believe he said that, partly because everyone in the room was suddenly uncomfortable. Nice one, bro.
I've realized that this place is actually super liberal. I was in some political office downtown trying to get a "justice of the peace" (something kind of like a notary) to sign a paper saying that I am, in fact, 18 even though I have multiple documents proving it - this way I can get a 18+ card so I don't have to carry my passport around if I want to buy alcohol - ANYWAY, this political office had these flyers about a new bill passed. This new bill sounded pretty sweet to me. Basically, it was a tax the rich, don't tax the poor bill, and I told the lady it was awesome and she told me that no, I was awesome. Well it didn't go exactly like that. At least the first part was true.
Also, last post I mentioned that Country Road was played at a bar I was at and how it doused me in a wave of melancholy sadness. I found out the next day that the guy had finished his set by playing Wagon Wheel. Damn, if I had been there...I can only imagine. Wagon Wheel is another song that has deep camp connections with me. It's the first place I heard it and really the only place I really love it. Had I been there when 'ol Johnny was playing that song, I would've been screaming it at the top of my lungs, beer glass in the air, tears streaming down my face. As soon as the song finishes I'm going to sprint north like Forrest Gump in a vain attempt to reach Hancock before the next campfire so I can, again, sing Wagon Wheel and Country Road at the top of my lungs with tears streaming down my face.
Lucky for me (and everyone else in the world), I had already left by then.
I think I really need that guitar. I'm going to continue my attempts to have on in my hand today after I watch some internet TV here in the library.
Hancock people, dedicate the next Wagon Wheel to me. And sing it at the top of your goddamn lungs.
Friday, July 15, 2011
16 July (barely)
Tonight I was at a bar called The Cook Tavern. I went there with a few friends, stumbled upon a few more friends and pretty soon we had a legit crew surrounding us. That, and the place blew up at around 1130. It was a pretty great night I'd say, and these are the things I'd like to share about it.
They serve food at this place. At one point, me and my buddy bought a serving of fries to eat (and of course share, because intoxicated hands are all over any food they see) and they were really good. The ketchup here is way more runny than ketchup in the US. They even call it tomato sauce, even though it's nothing like the stuff you'd put on a pizza. The point is, the fries came with ketchup. ANYWAY later on, we were all hanging out in the same place and this waiter(?) is walking around with a huge platter with jojos, chicken nuggets, fries and some like egg roll-looking thing. This plate was massive. The dude looks confused and one of my newly acquaintanced friends looks at the guy and just says, "yeah, put it right here" and the dude sets down the platter in front of us and takes off. We just scored a giant plate of food. Food ingeniously formulated to appease the appetites of anyone intoxicated. #WINNING.
We start eating the food while rejoicing in the fact that we had just majorly scored and sharing it with whoever we know that comes remotely near us, but then this blonde girl who I've never seen before drops in on the couch I'm sitting on. I figure someone here knows her and I give her some food. Next thing I know, she's sitting next to me grabbing paw-fulls of food off this platter. I look around and everyone at our little couch circle has the same confused look on their faces. NONE OF US HAVE ANY IDEA WHO THIS CHICK IS. I start cracking up, because I've now realized that this girl has eaten ALL OF OUR CHICKEN NUGGETS without hesitation and nobody has ever seen her before. I ask her, "hey. do you know ANYONE at this table?" To which she replies, "YEAH I KNOW EVERYONE HERE." I try again, "Do you know who this is?" pointing at the guy to her right. "Yeah, he's my BEST FRIEND." This girl was obviously three things: friendly, drunk, hungry. So I shake my head at her and say, "Okay, well my name is David, nice to meet you." Her name was like Bridgette or something, if she was even telling the truth. If we had actually paid for that food someone would've been pissed at her, but since it was a product of good fortune and good timing nobody had any issues with giving her ALL OF OUR CHICKEN NUGGETS. After she finished them all, she waited about two minutes and got up and left. Crazy biddy, that one.
Night keeps going and people are dancing to live music played by this one guy who we have learned is named Johnny (a friend went up and flirtatiously made requests and, I guess, learned his name; the dude was actually very, very talented and I have much respect for his abilities, though he seemed to play an over abundance of John Mayer songs). Honestly, my night may have hit it's lowest point when Johnny started playing Country Road. Back at camp we sing our own version of Country Road at the end of every campfire and hearing that tune again seemed to cause me some real emotional pain. I moved away from the music, had a seat and drank another beer. As if this shitty wheat soda these kiwis call beer would be enough to drown out the sound of all the campfires I'm missing out on and all the times I my friends sang the song without me. It is what it is.
Eventually, I decide to leave this bar because it's almost one o'clock and I'm getting tired. I decide to walk back with a few people I know, but then realize that they don't live anywhere near me. I decide to just walk back on my own; some girl was taking forever getting her stuff together to leave anyway. On my way back, I come to this block. The block has been destroyed. There were literally five giant piles of throw-up on the sidewalk all within six feet of each other. I made a mental note that this was actually hilarious and kept moving. It was cold outside. I guess my information on how kiwis don't party on fridays was bad. They really do.
New Zealand is crazy.
They serve food at this place. At one point, me and my buddy bought a serving of fries to eat (and of course share, because intoxicated hands are all over any food they see) and they were really good. The ketchup here is way more runny than ketchup in the US. They even call it tomato sauce, even though it's nothing like the stuff you'd put on a pizza. The point is, the fries came with ketchup. ANYWAY later on, we were all hanging out in the same place and this waiter(?) is walking around with a huge platter with jojos, chicken nuggets, fries and some like egg roll-looking thing. This plate was massive. The dude looks confused and one of my newly acquaintanced friends looks at the guy and just says, "yeah, put it right here" and the dude sets down the platter in front of us and takes off. We just scored a giant plate of food. Food ingeniously formulated to appease the appetites of anyone intoxicated. #WINNING.
We start eating the food while rejoicing in the fact that we had just majorly scored and sharing it with whoever we know that comes remotely near us, but then this blonde girl who I've never seen before drops in on the couch I'm sitting on. I figure someone here knows her and I give her some food. Next thing I know, she's sitting next to me grabbing paw-fulls of food off this platter. I look around and everyone at our little couch circle has the same confused look on their faces. NONE OF US HAVE ANY IDEA WHO THIS CHICK IS. I start cracking up, because I've now realized that this girl has eaten ALL OF OUR CHICKEN NUGGETS without hesitation and nobody has ever seen her before. I ask her, "hey. do you know ANYONE at this table?" To which she replies, "YEAH I KNOW EVERYONE HERE." I try again, "Do you know who this is?" pointing at the guy to her right. "Yeah, he's my BEST FRIEND." This girl was obviously three things: friendly, drunk, hungry. So I shake my head at her and say, "Okay, well my name is David, nice to meet you." Her name was like Bridgette or something, if she was even telling the truth. If we had actually paid for that food someone would've been pissed at her, but since it was a product of good fortune and good timing nobody had any issues with giving her ALL OF OUR CHICKEN NUGGETS. After she finished them all, she waited about two minutes and got up and left. Crazy biddy, that one.
Night keeps going and people are dancing to live music played by this one guy who we have learned is named Johnny (a friend went up and flirtatiously made requests and, I guess, learned his name; the dude was actually very, very talented and I have much respect for his abilities, though he seemed to play an over abundance of John Mayer songs). Honestly, my night may have hit it's lowest point when Johnny started playing Country Road. Back at camp we sing our own version of Country Road at the end of every campfire and hearing that tune again seemed to cause me some real emotional pain. I moved away from the music, had a seat and drank another beer. As if this shitty wheat soda these kiwis call beer would be enough to drown out the sound of all the campfires I'm missing out on and all the times I my friends sang the song without me. It is what it is.
Eventually, I decide to leave this bar because it's almost one o'clock and I'm getting tired. I decide to walk back with a few people I know, but then realize that they don't live anywhere near me. I decide to just walk back on my own; some girl was taking forever getting her stuff together to leave anyway. On my way back, I come to this block. The block has been destroyed. There were literally five giant piles of throw-up on the sidewalk all within six feet of each other. I made a mental note that this was actually hilarious and kept moving. It was cold outside. I guess my information on how kiwis don't party on fridays was bad. They really do.
New Zealand is crazy.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
15 July
I type this blog entry from my room in my flat. My laptop is quietly (sort of) playing weird folk punk music that reminds me camp. My desk is cluttered, my room is a mess. I think I'm getting a little cold coming on so that sucks.
Nevertheless, I'm still having a lot of fun. Last night at this bar called "The Church" (because it's in an old church), me and this Canadian belligerently - yet somewhat respectfully - tried to get a guy from Boston to see the obvious benefits of universal health care. Just minutes earlier I was arguing with that same guy about whether or not the Mavericks were a good team. He holds that they were just lucky, but he's also a republican.
I'm currently on the hunt for a cheap guitar. I've been talking with this guy that owns a second hand music shop. He's a really cool old guy who spits a little when he talks. When I walked into his shop he was jamming with some asian guy right in the middle of his tiny little shop. Seems like a nice work environment. It sounds like I'll be able to buy a guitar off of him for $100 or less and then sell it back to him without losing much money. He's real reasonable and said that he just likes to see people playing music. One of the cooler kiwis I've met here for sure.
In classes here I still find myself about to fall asleep just about every day. Honestly though, I think it's justified. The math prof was telling us what a matrix Ax=B equation was for thirty minutes. The phys prof spent the first fifteen minutes of class telling us repeatedly that "MATLAB is just a big calculator". Even the philosophy prof spent an entire hour explaining the argument that skeptic would take. Dumb. Although, I guess I didn't come here because I really wanted to take these classes.
I'll close by attempting to show you pictures of my room.
Oh and one more thing. It's friday. Friday. We so excited.
Nevertheless, I'm still having a lot of fun. Last night at this bar called "The Church" (because it's in an old church), me and this Canadian belligerently - yet somewhat respectfully - tried to get a guy from Boston to see the obvious benefits of universal health care. Just minutes earlier I was arguing with that same guy about whether or not the Mavericks were a good team. He holds that they were just lucky, but he's also a republican.
I'm currently on the hunt for a cheap guitar. I've been talking with this guy that owns a second hand music shop. He's a really cool old guy who spits a little when he talks. When I walked into his shop he was jamming with some asian guy right in the middle of his tiny little shop. Seems like a nice work environment. It sounds like I'll be able to buy a guitar off of him for $100 or less and then sell it back to him without losing much money. He's real reasonable and said that he just likes to see people playing music. One of the cooler kiwis I've met here for sure.
In classes here I still find myself about to fall asleep just about every day. Honestly though, I think it's justified. The math prof was telling us what a matrix Ax=B equation was for thirty minutes. The phys prof spent the first fifteen minutes of class telling us repeatedly that "MATLAB is just a big calculator". Even the philosophy prof spent an entire hour explaining the argument that skeptic would take. Dumb. Although, I guess I didn't come here because I really wanted to take these classes.
I'll close by attempting to show you pictures of my room.
Oh and one more thing. It's friday. Friday. We so excited.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
13 July
I'm sitting here in my new place. It's at 3/777 Great King St. They moved us yesterday. I'll have a total of 4 flatmates, but at the moment only two of them are here. Both are girls, one is the kiwi host.
So yeah, they did end up moving us. Flatmate 1 (who, I suppose will have to assume a new identity on this blog) bitched enough to get us all moved out of the flat and our kiwi host fired. Pretty extreme, I'd say, but I like this new place and flatmate 1 - who was a bit of a mooch - doesn't live here. This new kiwi host is really friendly and everything here seems really organized. I doubt I'll be moving from here.
Last night was the Castle St Kegger. Yeah, the whole block had a party. Almost have the school was in attendance. It was ridiculous. There were police all over the place, but they weren't doing anything. I guess they just wanted to make sure nobody lit any couches on fire.
From what I've heard, it sounds like this country parties every night except fridays and sundays. It's kinda crazy. They have like inverse weekends or something (not sure my terminology makes any sense there). I doubt I'll be able to keep up.
So yeah, they did end up moving us. Flatmate 1 (who, I suppose will have to assume a new identity on this blog) bitched enough to get us all moved out of the flat and our kiwi host fired. Pretty extreme, I'd say, but I like this new place and flatmate 1 - who was a bit of a mooch - doesn't live here. This new kiwi host is really friendly and everything here seems really organized. I doubt I'll be moving from here.
Last night was the Castle St Kegger. Yeah, the whole block had a party. Almost have the school was in attendance. It was ridiculous. There were police all over the place, but they weren't doing anything. I guess they just wanted to make sure nobody lit any couches on fire.
From what I've heard, it sounds like this country parties every night except fridays and sundays. It's kinda crazy. They have like inverse weekends or something (not sure my terminology makes any sense there). I doubt I'll be able to keep up.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
10 July
Last night a friend's kiwi host took us to a bar called the Monkey Bar. It wasn't really a bar at all, it was more of a club. She has told that girls there are easy, to which we replied, inquisitively, "and you go there often?" But anyway, it was pretty cool. They play ALOT of American music. I chose this country because they speak english here, but I guess that also means the shitty club music is of the same language and America makes the best shitty club music the english language has to offer.
We also had steaks last night. I burnt one of mine. I also screwed up the rice. In my defense, when I used the other pan my steaks were fine. Also, it was the third batch of rice I have ever made on the stove - and my other two turned out fine. I guess I still have some serious learning to do. I'll be a pro when I get back to the states. Also noteworthy: steaks are really expensive. But I guess not as much as liquor.
Remember when I said the Air New Zealand safety video was really crazy. Well someone found it on youtube. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iaTEgoezNQ
We also had steaks last night. I burnt one of mine. I also screwed up the rice. In my defense, when I used the other pan my steaks were fine. Also, it was the third batch of rice I have ever made on the stove - and my other two turned out fine. I guess I still have some serious learning to do. I'll be a pro when I get back to the states. Also noteworthy: steaks are really expensive. But I guess not as much as liquor.
Remember when I said the Air New Zealand safety video was really crazy. Well someone found it on youtube. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iaTEgoezNQ
Thursday, July 7, 2011
8 July
Today the international students all got on a train, went out into the country, turned around and came back into town. We got to see a lot of the scenery and I have to say this country is fucking gorgeous. I'm not sure if I can further describe it. My flatmate took some pictures from the train, but I'm not sure they'll do this place justice.
Then when we got back in they had a barbecue all set up for us and there were heaps of food available. My friend and I stuffed our faces with obscene amounts of food because we know we'll never be able to buy meat like this for ourselves. Free barbecue? Gotta take advantage of that.
After that, three of us ran a few errands. We need toilet paper for the flat, as we are running low. I also picked up my debit card so I now have quick access to almost $NZ600. Exciting.
Then when we got back in they had a barbecue all set up for us and there were heaps of food available. My friend and I stuffed our faces with obscene amounts of food because we know we'll never be able to buy meat like this for ourselves. Free barbecue? Gotta take advantage of that.
After that, three of us ran a few errands. We need toilet paper for the flat, as we are running low. I also picked up my debit card so I now have quick access to almost $NZ600. Exciting.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
What do you guys think so far?
As I've been doing this blog thing, I've been thinking and I think it would be a lot more fun for me if you guys hit me with some feedback. Maybe it's just so I know someone's reading it, but it could also be useful for like ideas of what I could be writing about. I don't know if you guys even care about these things I'm saying.
Since you clearly have nothing better to do than read this and your lives seem to be mediocre enough to want to know about mine, how could I make it more interesting for you? If you don't help me out, my musings will only become more monotonous I think.
Since you clearly have nothing better to do than read this and your lives seem to be mediocre enough to want to know about mine, how could I make it more interesting for you? If you don't help me out, my musings will only become more monotonous I think.
Quiet Day Today
Today I got my classes all sorted out. It sounds like I might have quite a few Fridays off so I'll have time to go adventuring.
My flatmate (I'm going to refer to him as flatmate 1, since he was the first one I met) is still bitching a lot about our living situation. I mean I totally see where he's coming from about how absent our kiwi host is, but we really aren't terribly far from everything. The dude has also brought up how much he's paid to come here and how things should be better because of his hefty bill. The thing is, his situation isn't out of the ordinary. My school is making money off of me. I pay them tuition and room to come here (which sits at around 38 grand) and tuition here is only around 8 grand, so they get to just pocket the rest. I kinda want to tell flatmate 1 to just shut the fuck up and be happy he's in New Zealand. I'm worried he's starting to effect the attitude flatmate 2 has about this place. I understand he's unhappy, but I don't think his unhappiness should spread. Maybe that's just because I don't feel it's totally justified unhappiness. Life could be a whole lot worse.
Tonight there's an international student party (as if there weren't any of those yet this week hehehe) at a bar downtown. The place has been rented out for us or something. It sounds awesome and I'm sure it's going to be fun.
My friend from WU and I have been doing a lot of our errands together these past two days and in line for our courses yesterday we met these two girls from the midwest of America or something. The line was pretty long so we talked with them for quite some time. The funny thing is, since then we've been seeing them everywhere. Saw them as we were leaving the library, saw them after we got our ID cards, saw them as we walked to the store, and we'll probably see them tonight at this bar. I think we might have to get their names and numbers.
My flatmate (I'm going to refer to him as flatmate 1, since he was the first one I met) is still bitching a lot about our living situation. I mean I totally see where he's coming from about how absent our kiwi host is, but we really aren't terribly far from everything. The dude has also brought up how much he's paid to come here and how things should be better because of his hefty bill. The thing is, his situation isn't out of the ordinary. My school is making money off of me. I pay them tuition and room to come here (which sits at around 38 grand) and tuition here is only around 8 grand, so they get to just pocket the rest. I kinda want to tell flatmate 1 to just shut the fuck up and be happy he's in New Zealand. I'm worried he's starting to effect the attitude flatmate 2 has about this place. I understand he's unhappy, but I don't think his unhappiness should spread. Maybe that's just because I don't feel it's totally justified unhappiness. Life could be a whole lot worse.
Tonight there's an international student party (as if there weren't any of those yet this week hehehe) at a bar downtown. The place has been rented out for us or something. It sounds awesome and I'm sure it's going to be fun.
My friend from WU and I have been doing a lot of our errands together these past two days and in line for our courses yesterday we met these two girls from the midwest of America or something. The line was pretty long so we talked with them for quite some time. The funny thing is, since then we've been seeing them everywhere. Saw them as we were leaving the library, saw them after we got our ID cards, saw them as we walked to the store, and we'll probably see them tonight at this bar. I think we might have to get their names and numbers.
Today is July 7th
Last night our last flatmate moved in. She's from Wisconsin. Now our little house seems almost complete, if only our kiwi host were present once in a while.
I got my class list yesterday, but I still don't know my schedule. I find this kind of weird, but it's okay I think today is when I figure out my schedule. They had us all waiting in line for like an hour and a half just to get this stupid sheet that doesn't really even tell me much. My friend and I managed to make a couple friends while we stood in line though so I guess it was worth it. As it turns out, one of them will be in one of my classes too, so that was cool.
Today I think I'm supposed to go to this building somewhere and get some important people to sign the sheet of paper that I waited in line for so that I can get my schedule and student ID. Then tonight there's an international student party booked for us at some bar somewhere. I don't remember when that starts either.
Needless to say, my understanding of what I'm supposed to be doing is a little shaky, but I think if I follow the crowds I might be okay. This place just keeps getting more interesting.
I got my class list yesterday, but I still don't know my schedule. I find this kind of weird, but it's okay I think today is when I figure out my schedule. They had us all waiting in line for like an hour and a half just to get this stupid sheet that doesn't really even tell me much. My friend and I managed to make a couple friends while we stood in line though so I guess it was worth it. As it turns out, one of them will be in one of my classes too, so that was cool.
Today I think I'm supposed to go to this building somewhere and get some important people to sign the sheet of paper that I waited in line for so that I can get my schedule and student ID. Then tonight there's an international student party booked for us at some bar somewhere. I don't remember when that starts either.
Needless to say, my understanding of what I'm supposed to be doing is a little shaky, but I think if I follow the crowds I might be okay. This place just keeps getting more interesting.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
First Full Day
Well I guess yesterday was kind of the first full day (considering I arrived in the country at around 5am), but today I woke up in my new bed. It was cold outside of my bed.
We had an orientation thing this morning for the international students. We found out that Americans make up more than half the number of total international students. It's too bad, I'd rather meet less Americans than more.
Went to the grocery store after the orientation and I got enough food to last something like 3, maybe 4 if I worked really hard at it (and these meals would be nowhere near balanced or filling, this shopping trip was more just to find something to eat since I hadn't had breakfast) and it costed me $40. I have a feeling my weekly cost of living is going to be much higher than anticipated and it's becoming a legitimate worry. My lunch today was penne pasta with tomato and garlic pasta sauce. I also had half a bag of chips. My nutrition here might get kind of sketchy.
Also I found out today that my laptop is not charging. As long as I keep it plugged into the wall it won't use battery, but it won't charge either. This is also worrisome.
I still need to figure out how electricity and all that stupid domestic stuff works. Apparently, even electricity is pay per. So this is all very confusing and stupid and my kiwi host has not done a single helpful thing for me or my single flatmate yet.
On that note, my flatmate told me he's going to try to get moved somewhere else. He says we're too far from campus and all his friends and our kiwi host is terrible and never here. He has a legitimate point, but I'm not sure they'll accept his laziness as a reason to move. Maybe if they could see how unhostful she is they'll understand. If he moves out, I for sure do not want to live here. We'll see how all that turns out.
We had an orientation thing this morning for the international students. We found out that Americans make up more than half the number of total international students. It's too bad, I'd rather meet less Americans than more.
Went to the grocery store after the orientation and I got enough food to last something like 3, maybe 4 if I worked really hard at it (and these meals would be nowhere near balanced or filling, this shopping trip was more just to find something to eat since I hadn't had breakfast) and it costed me $40. I have a feeling my weekly cost of living is going to be much higher than anticipated and it's becoming a legitimate worry. My lunch today was penne pasta with tomato and garlic pasta sauce. I also had half a bag of chips. My nutrition here might get kind of sketchy.
Also I found out today that my laptop is not charging. As long as I keep it plugged into the wall it won't use battery, but it won't charge either. This is also worrisome.
I still need to figure out how electricity and all that stupid domestic stuff works. Apparently, even electricity is pay per. So this is all very confusing and stupid and my kiwi host has not done a single helpful thing for me or my single flatmate yet.
On that note, my flatmate told me he's going to try to get moved somewhere else. He says we're too far from campus and all his friends and our kiwi host is terrible and never here. He has a legitimate point, but I'm not sure they'll accept his laziness as a reason to move. Maybe if they could see how unhostful she is they'll understand. If he moves out, I for sure do not want to live here. We'll see how all that turns out.
Monday, July 4, 2011
In My Flat
So I'm sitting here in my room, it's almost six o'clock here and it's probably around 40 degrees. I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do about dinner. I've contacted a few friends that I've made and I think together we'll be able to figure it out.
So far today I've tried a lamb burger, two different local beers, opened a Bank of New Zealand checking account, got my own phone line and made 3 pretty good new friends - two of them from Texas, thus already changing my worldview (since beforehand I had never yet met a Texan I had liked).
I've met both my flatmates; one is a guy from Pennsylvania and the girl is the kiwi host. They seem really nice, but I haven't had much interaction with them yet. Hopefully we'll get along really well.
I also just took a shower. The water as nice and hot, but now here I am, still a little damp, sitting at my desk, shivering as I type because it's so cold. It's probably my fault for wearing just shorts and a t-shirt.
I'm really excited for this semester now. My only worry is that it looks like it could potentially cost me a lot of money. Money that I don't have. But maybe I'll worry about that later.
So far today I've tried a lamb burger, two different local beers, opened a Bank of New Zealand checking account, got my own phone line and made 3 pretty good new friends - two of them from Texas, thus already changing my worldview (since beforehand I had never yet met a Texan I had liked).
I've met both my flatmates; one is a guy from Pennsylvania and the girl is the kiwi host. They seem really nice, but I haven't had much interaction with them yet. Hopefully we'll get along really well.
I also just took a shower. The water as nice and hot, but now here I am, still a little damp, sitting at my desk, shivering as I type because it's so cold. It's probably my fault for wearing just shorts and a t-shirt.
I'm really excited for this semester now. My only worry is that it looks like it could potentially cost me a lot of money. Money that I don't have. But maybe I'll worry about that later.
#WESOEXCITED
Landed in Auckland and am having no luck with free internets. The weather here is cool and crisp. I was expecting cold, but this is actually refreshing. I’ve got about half an hour until I board a plane to Dunedin and I’m pretty fucking excited.
Big Long Plane Ride
Found out that on New Zealand Airlines the way they tell you the whole safety shpeal that they have to tell you on airplanes is with a Gene Simmons-esque guy giving a workout video-style crash course in airplane safety. The dude wears classic 90s workout clothes (yeah, the high cut sleeveless shirt, headband, high socks, all that shit) and is excessively encouraging. It was hilarious.
Another cool thing is there appears to be a gushing nosebleed going on in the row in front of me. EPIC. Seriously, they’ve got a fucking towel smashed on this girl’s face to stifle the bleeding. I’m contemplating pausing “Paul” to eavesdrop on the whole matter.
I got like no sleep on this plane ride. I did, however, watch 5 movies. I watched Paul, Sucker Punch, 28 Days Later, From Russia With Love and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The 12 hour flight coupled with these 5 movies gave me about 2 hours of sleep. That was my night of rest. On the brighter side of things, I got to try some New Zealand wine with dinner and some New Zealand coffee more than a few times. I can't wait to try more New Zealand things. ;)
Another cool thing is there appears to be a gushing nosebleed going on in the row in front of me. EPIC. Seriously, they’ve got a fucking towel smashed on this girl’s face to stifle the bleeding. I’m contemplating pausing “Paul” to eavesdrop on the whole matter.
I got like no sleep on this plane ride. I did, however, watch 5 movies. I watched Paul, Sucker Punch, 28 Days Later, From Russia With Love and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The 12 hour flight coupled with these 5 movies gave me about 2 hours of sleep. That was my night of rest. On the brighter side of things, I got to try some New Zealand wine with dinner and some New Zealand coffee more than a few times. I can't wait to try more New Zealand things. ;)
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Still in the US Pt 2: SFO
I think I just needed to get out of Portland to make all my feelings of loneliness or whatever that shit was go away. I’m sitting here in the international terminal of the San Francisco airport with six and a half hours until my plane departs. It might also be around three hours until my “cousin” gets here with his girlfriend.
I’m really looking forward to him getting here, not just because I’ll have someone to talk to and stuff, but because I’m looking forward to some hardcore third wheeling on an international flight across the Pacific Ocean. I guess I probably won’t have a seat particularly close to them since our reservations were different. One can only hope.
For some reason I cannot log into San Francisco’s free wifi. As soon as I tried it told me that my “complimentary 45 minutes of wifi” is all used up. One reason I know this is bullshit is because I landed here ten minutes ago. Maybe some time dilation happened as I walked on those moving sidewalk things they have here, though I’m pretty sure I wasn’t going anywhere near relativistic speeds (#physicsjokesftw). In any case, that’s the reason why these blog posts are not in real time. These should’ve been posted hours ago. Looks like I might have to find something to do here that doesn’t involve internet and the prospect scares me. What does an adolescent in this day and age do without internet?
But being real, I could really use the internet right now. I don’t even know what the address of my flat is, or where the office that I check in is. These are things that I would need the internet to look up - unless the information booth I saw a ways back knows more than they’re letting on. I also want to see if my friend who is already there has told me how I’m supposed to contact him once I land. I usually communicate through facebook or skype, which it turns out requires internet. Maybe I’ll walk around the airport and try to make friends.
Finally, the interent mysteriously worked. Still, it's only 45 minutes so it's still really dumb. Man, I hope "cousin" gets here soon. I look like a goddamn bookworm reading so much. People are going to start labeling me as an intellectual if I'm not careful.
I’m really looking forward to him getting here, not just because I’ll have someone to talk to and stuff, but because I’m looking forward to some hardcore third wheeling on an international flight across the Pacific Ocean. I guess I probably won’t have a seat particularly close to them since our reservations were different. One can only hope.
For some reason I cannot log into San Francisco’s free wifi. As soon as I tried it told me that my “complimentary 45 minutes of wifi” is all used up. One reason I know this is bullshit is because I landed here ten minutes ago. Maybe some time dilation happened as I walked on those moving sidewalk things they have here, though I’m pretty sure I wasn’t going anywhere near relativistic speeds (#physicsjokesftw). In any case, that’s the reason why these blog posts are not in real time. These should’ve been posted hours ago. Looks like I might have to find something to do here that doesn’t involve internet and the prospect scares me. What does an adolescent in this day and age do without internet?
But being real, I could really use the internet right now. I don’t even know what the address of my flat is, or where the office that I check in is. These are things that I would need the internet to look up - unless the information booth I saw a ways back knows more than they’re letting on. I also want to see if my friend who is already there has told me how I’m supposed to contact him once I land. I usually communicate through facebook or skype, which it turns out requires internet. Maybe I’ll walk around the airport and try to make friends.
Finally, the interent mysteriously worked. Still, it's only 45 minutes so it's still really dumb. Man, I hope "cousin" gets here soon. I look like a goddamn bookworm reading so much. People are going to start labeling me as an intellectual if I'm not careful.
Still in the US
Damn. I'm not in New Zealand yet. But I'm almost there. Well, maybe not. I think I still have around 20 hours until that.
Here I sit, in the Portland Airport with a bazillion things zooming through my head. Most recently I was able to distract myself from all these things by thinking about what a bitch the United Airlines lady was. Like a straight up, mean person. Some kind of dumbass too, she didn’t seem to know what a visa was. In any case, now that I’m away from the general vicinity of her bitchiness my racing mind has returned. The thoughts seem to zoom so fast that I'm certain I won't be able to write them all down...
I bawled on the way here. Mom and Dad don't know because I'm semi-pro when it comes to hiding my feelings. They probably just thought I was quietly taking in the view of Portland from I5 for the last time until this winter. But I wonder if I really do hide my feelings well at all. They probably saw me rub my eyes, as if I could still be groggy at 11:30.
I’ve spent some time thinking about this summer. I’ve been excited to go to New Zealand for a long time now, but the past few weeks have made it really difficult for me to imagine leaving. My time at camp reminded me how much if enjoy camp (I mean seriously, I fucking love camp) and how much I’m going to miss it. I’m not sure how it’s going to be next summer if I get a job or internship doing something else and I can’t be at camp. I think if I had to analyze it, it’s like camp sort of represents my childhood/adolescence and all the things that were wonderful about it and once I stop doing camp I’m essentially letting go of that and accepting the fact that I’ve grown up. And let’s be real, I don’t want to grow up. In the words of Andrew Jackson,
“growing up really fucking sucks”. I’m super excited to get to New Zealand and see one of my best friends from school, the other WU people and meet some crazy kiwis, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m missing out on something by leaving.
Maybe it’s because my best friend just got back into town, another great friend I’ve seen only like twice this summer, another might not be here when I’m back, and I know that the summer is really just about to kick off. And I mean really kick off, what with the 4th of July happening tomorrow. I know without a doubt that there will be good times had.
Maybe it’s because even though I know that I’ll see all my friends again when I get back, there are a few people I’m not sure that I will see again. I mean I’ll probably see my camp friends again, even if it isn’t at camp, but there was one person at camp I really enjoyed spending time with who I’m actually not sure I’ll see again. I’m not sure if I ever told her that either. I can’t explain it, but it just feels like I won’t see her again. This really bothers me and I’m don’t know why. Or maybe I do…
But perhaps it’s simply because I’m venturing to a new place that I really – despite talking to tons of people and researching – don’t know much about. Maybe I’m just nervous.
REM told me that it’s easier to leave then to be left behind and I’ve experienced that firsthand plenty of times. Being the last one left somewhere sucks balls. But it’s like even though I’m leaving, I’m the one who’s being left behind.
Here I sit, in the Portland Airport with a bazillion things zooming through my head. Most recently I was able to distract myself from all these things by thinking about what a bitch the United Airlines lady was. Like a straight up, mean person. Some kind of dumbass too, she didn’t seem to know what a visa was. In any case, now that I’m away from the general vicinity of her bitchiness my racing mind has returned. The thoughts seem to zoom so fast that I'm certain I won't be able to write them all down...
I bawled on the way here. Mom and Dad don't know because I'm semi-pro when it comes to hiding my feelings. They probably just thought I was quietly taking in the view of Portland from I5 for the last time until this winter. But I wonder if I really do hide my feelings well at all. They probably saw me rub my eyes, as if I could still be groggy at 11:30.
I’ve spent some time thinking about this summer. I’ve been excited to go to New Zealand for a long time now, but the past few weeks have made it really difficult for me to imagine leaving. My time at camp reminded me how much if enjoy camp (I mean seriously, I fucking love camp) and how much I’m going to miss it. I’m not sure how it’s going to be next summer if I get a job or internship doing something else and I can’t be at camp. I think if I had to analyze it, it’s like camp sort of represents my childhood/adolescence and all the things that were wonderful about it and once I stop doing camp I’m essentially letting go of that and accepting the fact that I’ve grown up. And let’s be real, I don’t want to grow up. In the words of Andrew Jackson,
“growing up really fucking sucks”. I’m super excited to get to New Zealand and see one of my best friends from school, the other WU people and meet some crazy kiwis, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m missing out on something by leaving.
Maybe it’s because my best friend just got back into town, another great friend I’ve seen only like twice this summer, another might not be here when I’m back, and I know that the summer is really just about to kick off. And I mean really kick off, what with the 4th of July happening tomorrow. I know without a doubt that there will be good times had.
Maybe it’s because even though I know that I’ll see all my friends again when I get back, there are a few people I’m not sure that I will see again. I mean I’ll probably see my camp friends again, even if it isn’t at camp, but there was one person at camp I really enjoyed spending time with who I’m actually not sure I’ll see again. I’m not sure if I ever told her that either. I can’t explain it, but it just feels like I won’t see her again. This really bothers me and I’m don’t know why. Or maybe I do…
But perhaps it’s simply because I’m venturing to a new place that I really – despite talking to tons of people and researching – don’t know much about. Maybe I’m just nervous.
REM told me that it’s easier to leave then to be left behind and I’ve experienced that firsthand plenty of times. Being the last one left somewhere sucks balls. But it’s like even though I’m leaving, I’m the one who’s being left behind.
Your gateway to more of my thoughts than you ever wanted!
So I'm going to be trying to keep this up to date as I go about the island of New Zealand this fall and I wanted to keep those who care updated on my activities. Here's a few notes:
-Please excuse any typos. Remember that I'm a physics major.
-I'm going to be trying to not use any names for privacy sake. Because I'm like super respectful and stuff.
-I don't plan on filtering much. You may encounter profane language here and you may be offended. I'm sorry for that. I also wouldn't expect the content to be totally G rated either.
That's about it.
Thanks for being interested in my life,
David
-Please excuse any typos. Remember that I'm a physics major.
-I'm going to be trying to not use any names for privacy sake. Because I'm like super respectful and stuff.
-I don't plan on filtering much. You may encounter profane language here and you may be offended. I'm sorry for that. I also wouldn't expect the content to be totally G rated either.
That's about it.
Thanks for being interested in my life,
David
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