The Plan

so new digs, a job (which i learned on Sunday will definitely last till November) and all kinds of things in the work. an update on "The plan" is in order.

really up till now there never really was a plan. there was the amorphous "i'm going to New Zealand" phase, then the "Auckland is going to be awesome" phase, then several iterations of the "oh shit" phase and finally we have "The Plan":

now-December 3rd:
-work at Borders, accumulate monies (repay Amy (super shout out thanks BTW)), read books from the library, receive mail (hint hint), send mail, take day trips (so many volcanoes i can visit), meet new people/make friends, hate the Auckland bus system, go to the gym (more on this later?), work on art projects (suggestions welcome), watch some of the movies and TV i have on my hard drive, get to my two favorite cafes as much as i can considering the crappy bus system, go to art openings, blog, relearn how to cook (and relearn how to shop for said cooking), have a thanksgiving fest, and some other as yet unknown things of fun, leisure and adventure ...

this is where things get interesting
December 3rd till at least half way through January but i'm hoping till early February:
i'm going to be working on a farm/resort.
not just any farm/resort, this farm/resort:
http://www.autumnfarm.com/
a gay, clothing optional hippy farm.
yea crazy right. i'm figuring because Auckland/New Zealand is not going to be a place to advance my career (though i guess that would require having something approaching a career in the first place but that is baggage for another post) i should do something weird/exciting/adventurous so that i get something out of this country other then nice pictures and a bunch of stuff with the All Black's logo on it. a lot of the people who come down here to work/putz around for a bit end up doing some fruit picking or farming work (apparently many of the crap ton of Germans do it) and while i don't really want to do it as a form of employment the idea of doing it as a sort of adult (not in the XXX way) summer camp really appeals to me. sort of a vacation from my normal existence but one where i'm doing something productive and still having fun. i have been wanting to learn about growing food for a while (the slow food and urban homesteading movements are big in SF) and just generally do something a little more radical then i usually do. i have this vision of working hard on crops and cooking and general interesting estate maintenance/handyman kind of stuff for a few hours each day then reading on a beach or a nice green field in some small item of clothing (or if i get brave enough nothing at all?) then some kind of magical campfire events at night and some nice yoga sessions in the woods. obviously i don't really know what to expect but i'm still really looking forward to it. i've decided to do it when it is summer here as opposed to just hopping on a bus now because i think that will make it a more enjoyable experience, and give me time in the city to make money.
so yea gay naked farm for two months. neat right?

February and some of March:
fuck around, go on crazy adventure/travel buses (google Kiwi Experience and or Stray) do all the fun silly backpacker touristy things meet drunk college kids and freaks from the UK and Australia and Germany and the US, get drunk, eat lots of bad food, talk about the gay farm. send postcards from lots of places, just vacation basically. by this point i will probably picked a date to come home so it will be a "run out the clock" kind of mood. i'm hoping to get in some Australia travel and maybe an island or two before i head back but it will depend on how much i bank here in Auckland.

late March:
return triumphantly to the US just as its getting nice (weather wise, i'm hoping that economically things will be better too), parties in SF and NYC, consistent internet, real public transit systems, currency that doesn't have the queen on it, showing all my pictures to everyone.
but most importantly figuring out what's next.
still not clear on that, "The Plan" kind of drops off a cliff at the end of next march, but then i'm hoping by then i will have added to it. i know i want to take a road trip across the US but not really how or why (i mean why in a narrative thrust way, they why is because its an awesome idea), i could go to grad school or move to Austin who knows. i'm hoping some of my time here and in the naked woods of a gay farm will help me figure out a "what's next"
or i'll mooch off my parents for a month or two and go from there?

stay tuned for "The Plan 2: in a State"