Year of the Kiwi

Today is my last day in Auckland. My plan was to stay here 3 months to settle in, get to know the city, and earn some traveling money. I didn’t do a great job saving money because city life is pretty expensive, and if my bulging gut is any indication, I haven’t been skimping on the food and booze either. But alas, it’s time for a major change of pace. And as I’ve become so accustomed to doing so many times, I say goodbye to everybody and everything familiar to me, for tomorrow is exactly 3 months, 1 day, and a new beginning.

 

 

That frying pan was the center of so much contention in the
household… so many stories. I have to tell them later. It’s
weird that this first chapter is coming to an end.

 

 

One morning I woke up to find my car battery dead, because I didn’t
turn off the headlights. It happens a lot because my hands still automatically
go through a shut down routine from home. It was too early in the morning
to bother my flatmates to jump the car, so I crossed my fingers with the
shitty public transport. After a half hour of relaxing, stress-free travel into
downtown, I wished my car battery had died sooner in the month. I have a
new appreciation for bus lanes as well, though I’m pretty pissed the fines
for the traffic infringements haven’t been resolved yet, worries I definitely
didn’t want to carry with me out of the city.

 

 

I was going to mention the lack of street performers
in Auckland… not sure if he qualifies.

 

 

Me and the Wilson Parking sales girls, Ivy and Sharon. Ivy was totally
stressing out about who would replace me to finish the archiving job.
In my few weeks there, I tamed the years worth of neglected work and
systematized a way of finishing the job, but merely put a dent in all that
needed to be done. God, it would take someone almost a year to finish all
this I thought to myself. Then again, I don’t really have to care because
it’s somebody else’s problem. Oh, the joys of a working holiday.

 

 

That’s James, the sales manager who hired me to do promotions.
Though once I moved onto the other task, I slipped under the radar
and wouldn’t even see him all day. Hell if anyone knew where I was or
what I was doing. Office work is weird like that, I could’ve just found
a corner and slept; there’s no accountability.

 

 

Another victim falls prey to Springfield.

 

 

A painting of Coke I made for Tim… acrylics… nothing spectacular…

 

 

…Except that I was too cheap to buy brushes and ended
up painting the whole thing with Q-tips and parking
tickets and without a drop of water. 

 

 

My goin’ away BBQ… though there didn’t need to be
an excuse to have one really. It was an absolutely
gorgeous day… and life is good.

 

 

Finally met the neighbors, though it was a bit of a moot point for me
since I was leaving.

 

 

It’s a Kiwi thing that people bring not only a dish and booze to a BBQ,
but some meat as well. And when you get a few dozen people showing up,
fuck, that’s a lot of meat. This wasn’t even half of it. Leftovers for days!

 

 

The boys showing me how to play euchre. I remember waking up the next
day… OHHHHhhh…. I get it now.

 

 

There’s always an event going on at the ASB showgrouds and I finally
got around to going to one.  Big Boys Toys was fuckin’ awesome. Car show,
bike show, electronics show… Pretty much a big boy’s wet dream.

 

 

Some electronic car racing.

 

 

It took hours to see all the exhibits, and more importantly, collect all
the free samples. 

 

 

Boy, do they start young here.

 

 

The most amazing display of foosball playing I’ve ever seen. The guy
on the right was not beated for over an hour, handling the small plastic
ball with his small plastic men as if he were Pelé himself.

 

 

 
Tim can have his dog back now. Who will take care of it now? I worry.

 

 

And the sun has set on Mt. Eden as I start my next phase in Hastings tomorrow.