my bank account could use some work.
feeling less stressed and panicked then for my last post.
just booked another week at a hostel for Tuesday and have actually done a little apartment hunting.
still not sure if i'm going to stay more then the 6 weeks i'm definitely here but i'm less dead set against getting out of the country.
just need to get back the slight bit of stability i lost in loosing my place.
if anyone hears of someone in Auckland who needs an adorable if neurotic flatmate let me know.
ok more when i get regular internets back.
miss you, send me e-mail based love till i have an address again.
26 July, 2009
23 July, 2009
What Now !?!?
this was going to be a post about my new job! which i will still cover:
i work at Borders, its a lot like working at Borders. if anything it's kind of a step back in my life but it's employment for the next 6 weeks. i'll take what i can get at the moment.
instead this is a post about how i now have to apartment hunt, or i was going to apartment hunt now i'm thinking of just staying at a hostel for the next 6 weeks then getting out of NZ before it strips me of all the dignity i have left.
... the explanation ...
so i'm about to head to my second day of work, i'm not exactly excited but i am at least kind of happy to be working. i step out into the hallway and the guy who lives next to me, and is the floor manager for (and son of) the landlord stops me to talk to me. he is a chubby and sweaty asian guy of indeterminate age, probably mid to late 20s but looks like a 10 year old. he proceeds to ask be who i am and what i'm doing there, i explain that i am living here while the guy who rents the place is back in Canada. i am paying him rent but just what he pays (though that turned out to be a bit complicated). see before i even got to Auckland i asked this guy 3 times if things were going to be cool with his landlord, and he assured me he spoke to them and it was fine, and not like i need to lie/fake OK it was supposed to be for real OK. so when this sweaty chubby boy tells me that it isn't OK i'm confused and annoyed, then he explains that i can either sign my own contract (for more per week) on this shitty place, or leave and pay rent on the time from when he spoke to me till i do go, and i have to pay a bond for the key card for the front door and elevator. i didn't have much time or will to fight as i had to head down the hill to work, so i spent most of the day with it festering in the back of my head. then when i got home i had to talk to the sweaty boy like 4 more times and his mother too who didn't seem to contribute much to the conversation.
now if this had happened last week when i was still unemployed i would have just called up Air New Zealand and gotten the hell out of the country by the end of the week. but now i have this job, and it's only a 6 week contract (though i would probably be able to stay on at the end? i think?) but i hate calling out sick so i'm not going to just give up on this job two days into it. so now i have to decide what i want to do.
i started to look at apts online and even walked a tremendous way to look at one this morning but as i was walking i started to think.
and i may have made a decision, i'm going to work the 6 weeks for Borders and maybe stay at a hostel for that time. then if i have some cash at the end of it do something exciting and then get on the next plane out of NZ.
i'm mostly just tired of putting so much energy into this city when i don't feel like i'm going to get even half as much back from it. and really in retrospect i should have just done the Holiday part of the visa and then maybe considered the working part. i miss stability and even if it means the stability of my parents couch for a few weeks or moths while i figure out a new plan i think i'd much rather it over the sort of rolling crisis that i feel like this place has been for me.
please give me advice if you have it.
and maybe things will change in the next week or 6 and i will have an all new plan. who knows.
i work at Borders, its a lot like working at Borders. if anything it's kind of a step back in my life but it's employment for the next 6 weeks. i'll take what i can get at the moment.
instead this is a post about how i now have to apartment hunt, or i was going to apartment hunt now i'm thinking of just staying at a hostel for the next 6 weeks then getting out of NZ before it strips me of all the dignity i have left.
... the explanation ...
so i'm about to head to my second day of work, i'm not exactly excited but i am at least kind of happy to be working. i step out into the hallway and the guy who lives next to me, and is the floor manager for (and son of) the landlord stops me to talk to me. he is a chubby and sweaty asian guy of indeterminate age, probably mid to late 20s but looks like a 10 year old. he proceeds to ask be who i am and what i'm doing there, i explain that i am living here while the guy who rents the place is back in Canada. i am paying him rent but just what he pays (though that turned out to be a bit complicated). see before i even got to Auckland i asked this guy 3 times if things were going to be cool with his landlord, and he assured me he spoke to them and it was fine, and not like i need to lie/fake OK it was supposed to be for real OK. so when this sweaty chubby boy tells me that it isn't OK i'm confused and annoyed, then he explains that i can either sign my own contract (for more per week) on this shitty place, or leave and pay rent on the time from when he spoke to me till i do go, and i have to pay a bond for the key card for the front door and elevator. i didn't have much time or will to fight as i had to head down the hill to work, so i spent most of the day with it festering in the back of my head. then when i got home i had to talk to the sweaty boy like 4 more times and his mother too who didn't seem to contribute much to the conversation.
now if this had happened last week when i was still unemployed i would have just called up Air New Zealand and gotten the hell out of the country by the end of the week. but now i have this job, and it's only a 6 week contract (though i would probably be able to stay on at the end? i think?) but i hate calling out sick so i'm not going to just give up on this job two days into it. so now i have to decide what i want to do.
i started to look at apts online and even walked a tremendous way to look at one this morning but as i was walking i started to think.
and i may have made a decision, i'm going to work the 6 weeks for Borders and maybe stay at a hostel for that time. then if i have some cash at the end of it do something exciting and then get on the next plane out of NZ.
i'm mostly just tired of putting so much energy into this city when i don't feel like i'm going to get even half as much back from it. and really in retrospect i should have just done the Holiday part of the visa and then maybe considered the working part. i miss stability and even if it means the stability of my parents couch for a few weeks or moths while i figure out a new plan i think i'd much rather it over the sort of rolling crisis that i feel like this place has been for me.
please give me advice if you have it.
and maybe things will change in the next week or 6 and i will have an all new plan. who knows.
15 July, 2009
First Epistle of Peter
i ended up seriously drunk last week at like 8:30 (free drinks were involved) and came home without much to do. i started chatting with my friend Tynan, because he has just the right kind of weird sleep schedule for good talks at random times. i was sad about things; homesickness, lack of purpose, poor social skills. and we had this conversation:
as most of you know he's right, maybe you haven't all gotten letters but most of the important people in my life have gotten postcards at this point, and not just lazy "wish you were here" postcards but thorough postcards often chosen just for you (a lamb for Caitlin, gay penguins for Dan). some people have gotten letters and more will in the near future. i have a whole fleet of stationary ready to go and if i weren't doing so much job hunting i would have sent out more. at the moment i'm working on a sort of complicated letter, Amy's boyfriend likes codes and puzzles and so i'm trying to create an interesting puzzle for him to solve. i even wrote a letter to my friend from elementary school who sent me his address on FB when i put up the status message "who should i write a letter to today" and that one was two pages.
and i can't tell you how much i'm jonsesing to send my first care package too. those of you who have received my "collages" and packages of goodness know how much i enjoy assembling a bizarre but well chosen assortment of stuff/crap/art/joy and shipping it off to someone. i've already been making mental lists in my head of all the things i want to get and make for people when i finally have some money coming in.
if you don't believe in my letter/gift prowess i can give you a list of references, all three of my SF roommates, Amy, Paul & Mayo, Becky, et al. really if i could find some way to be a professional gift giver or care package-ist it would be my ideal career.
oh and if you think i might not have your address you should probably send it to me. then check your mailbox (though i am on the other side of the pacific so you might want to give it some time)
love
-Peter-
Tynan: yeah but you send lettersthis conversation really made me feel much better, and i think says a lot about me. it's not that i have bad social skills i just have less instantly noticeable ones and ones that are a little more rare.
Tynan: carefully considered letters
Tynan: that's like going the full 110%
Me: what does that mean?
Tynan: it's indicative of your care for a person
Tynan:let's do a political analogy
Me: ok?
Tynan: an email is worth 10 votes
Tynan: a phone call, 100 votes
Tynan: a letter, 1000 votes.
Tynan: it's about effort
Tynan: conspicuous consumption, but instead it's like conspicuous feelings or something
Tynan: conspicuous effort
Me: wait i'm confused is this a problem or a good thing?
Tynan: you are the sort of person who sends letters
Tynan: sends collages
Tynan: sends postcards
Tynan: and they are all well-considered, at least as far as i've gotten
Me: thank you
Tynan: the implication is that you actually give a flying fuck about the recipient
Me: that is kind of the point
Tynan: i've dated guys who wouldn't send me even an email from their trip abroad
Tynan: but do you realize how rare that makes you?
Me: no?
Me: i think i get that its rare but i don't understand why
Tynan: maybe you're from a letter-sending clique or something
as most of you know he's right, maybe you haven't all gotten letters but most of the important people in my life have gotten postcards at this point, and not just lazy "wish you were here" postcards but thorough postcards often chosen just for you (a lamb for Caitlin, gay penguins for Dan). some people have gotten letters and more will in the near future. i have a whole fleet of stationary ready to go and if i weren't doing so much job hunting i would have sent out more. at the moment i'm working on a sort of complicated letter, Amy's boyfriend likes codes and puzzles and so i'm trying to create an interesting puzzle for him to solve. i even wrote a letter to my friend from elementary school who sent me his address on FB when i put up the status message "who should i write a letter to today" and that one was two pages.
and i can't tell you how much i'm jonsesing to send my first care package too. those of you who have received my "collages" and packages of goodness know how much i enjoy assembling a bizarre but well chosen assortment of stuff/crap/art/joy and shipping it off to someone. i've already been making mental lists in my head of all the things i want to get and make for people when i finally have some money coming in.
if you don't believe in my letter/gift prowess i can give you a list of references, all three of my SF roommates, Amy, Paul & Mayo, Becky, et al. really if i could find some way to be a professional gift giver or care package-ist it would be my ideal career.
oh and if you think i might not have your address you should probably send it to me. then check your mailbox (though i am on the other side of the pacific so you might want to give it some time)
love
-Peter-
07 July, 2009
What am I Doing Here?
well, i've been here for a full month now, and i still don't really have an answer to that question. i didn't really have an actual plan before i got here and what small idea of a plan i had isn't going so well so far.
i'm still job hunting, though i think i've gotten to the point where if i don't change tactics soon i'm defiantly not going to find anything. if i were back in the States i would be hounding everyone i know about publishing jobs (which isn't strictly true but it's easy to think that way from over here) or if things got desperate hit up BN. but here i don't really have the right contacts to get the inside line on jobs and i don't seem to have the social skills (or experience) to get a cafe job. i've already dropped my resume off at just about every bookstore in town. (i didn't give one to the Cookbook shop because it was tiny and there were two people already working there when i went so it seemed like they might need less staff not more.) i don't quite know the ethics/procedure for nagging people into a job. i did start reading What Color is Your Parachute the other day (thanks for the advice Tynan) and it was one of the only books about job hunting that didn't just make me feel more crazy. some of it's advice was a little hokey and would be more useful to me back in the US (and i still want to go back in time and break all the fingers of that first asshole who wrote a god damn thank you note after an interview) but it did a good job of talking me down. at least for now, looking at moneys (which is being annoying in it's own way, more on that later) i have till the end of July to find something before i don't really have a choice.
part of me wouldn't mind getting to the point where i just have to give up and go, i'm still not really liking Auckland all that much. i've meet a few people by now which is nice but so many of the people i meet are travelers and in and out of town, i haven't really made any Kiwi friends yet which could change but we'll see. i'd love to be here on a for real vacation, just going around the country and seeing all the cool things i keep hearing about but actually living here isn't all that exciting. i've seen a bunch of places in Auckland that i like but would like more if i had someone here (i've seen over a dozen places i'd love to go to brunch with Blyth, Caitlin and Kristina) and i don't really have the cash at the moment to get the best out of the city.
on that: because my old bank got bought during the Great Banking SNAFU last year i've been sort of half way between two banks since october. now if my new bank had just gotten on the ball and taken over my account i would have done and international money transfer to my bank here, but because they didn't and there aren't any physical branches near my parents (though there is one of the new bank in walking distance) they couldn't start the process there either. so i had to write my self a check, which i was told would take three weeks to clear. that would have been monday, as it stands now i only really have 40 NZD in my account. though at some point soon there will be 1100NZD in there. so at the moment i'm being super frugal and tip-towing into credit card debt.
which is whatever i guess.
i'd really like to give this country the chance it deserves but beyond money i don't know how much longer i can last down here. i spend a lot of time alone, which could be ok if that were an active choice but i'm living in a really solitary apartment in a town with the kind of night life where you really need to know where you're going. i think this city might be making me exaggerate how bad i am socially, like maybe i'm not as shy as i think i am, i'm just in a city where breaking into social networks is harder or at least works differently then back home?
well depending on how things go i might be back there sooner rather then later, though i keep realizing that if i go home before it hits summer here i will have the unique joy of winter part two. lovely.
i'm still job hunting, though i think i've gotten to the point where if i don't change tactics soon i'm defiantly not going to find anything. if i were back in the States i would be hounding everyone i know about publishing jobs (which isn't strictly true but it's easy to think that way from over here) or if things got desperate hit up BN. but here i don't really have the right contacts to get the inside line on jobs and i don't seem to have the social skills (or experience) to get a cafe job. i've already dropped my resume off at just about every bookstore in town. (i didn't give one to the Cookbook shop because it was tiny and there were two people already working there when i went so it seemed like they might need less staff not more.) i don't quite know the ethics/procedure for nagging people into a job. i did start reading What Color is Your Parachute the other day (thanks for the advice Tynan) and it was one of the only books about job hunting that didn't just make me feel more crazy. some of it's advice was a little hokey and would be more useful to me back in the US (and i still want to go back in time and break all the fingers of that first asshole who wrote a god damn thank you note after an interview) but it did a good job of talking me down. at least for now, looking at moneys (which is being annoying in it's own way, more on that later) i have till the end of July to find something before i don't really have a choice.
part of me wouldn't mind getting to the point where i just have to give up and go, i'm still not really liking Auckland all that much. i've meet a few people by now which is nice but so many of the people i meet are travelers and in and out of town, i haven't really made any Kiwi friends yet which could change but we'll see. i'd love to be here on a for real vacation, just going around the country and seeing all the cool things i keep hearing about but actually living here isn't all that exciting. i've seen a bunch of places in Auckland that i like but would like more if i had someone here (i've seen over a dozen places i'd love to go to brunch with Blyth, Caitlin and Kristina) and i don't really have the cash at the moment to get the best out of the city.
on that: because my old bank got bought during the Great Banking SNAFU last year i've been sort of half way between two banks since october. now if my new bank had just gotten on the ball and taken over my account i would have done and international money transfer to my bank here, but because they didn't and there aren't any physical branches near my parents (though there is one of the new bank in walking distance) they couldn't start the process there either. so i had to write my self a check, which i was told would take three weeks to clear. that would have been monday, as it stands now i only really have 40 NZD in my account. though at some point soon there will be 1100NZD in there. so at the moment i'm being super frugal and tip-towing into credit card debt.
which is whatever i guess.
i'd really like to give this country the chance it deserves but beyond money i don't know how much longer i can last down here. i spend a lot of time alone, which could be ok if that were an active choice but i'm living in a really solitary apartment in a town with the kind of night life where you really need to know where you're going. i think this city might be making me exaggerate how bad i am socially, like maybe i'm not as shy as i think i am, i'm just in a city where breaking into social networks is harder or at least works differently then back home?
well depending on how things go i might be back there sooner rather then later, though i keep realizing that if i go home before it hits summer here i will have the unique joy of winter part two. lovely.
29 June, 2009
Goal Post
so i had a whole list of goals written up before i came here. most are probably still the same but a few might have changed. here's the list:
- go Zorbing and try and meet Phil Keogen, from The Amazing Race. (this are for my college roommate Paul who is a bit of a reality TV show dork, on top of just being a regular dork.)
- go bungee jumping. now i sort of half did this already, but i want to do a for real-real bungee jump too (maybe not the one in Nevis which is apparently like a billion meters high.)
- Visit locations for Lord of the Rings. there are tons of tours for this. the morning before i left the US my dad was showing all the special features from the DVDs about where they shot.
- go sailing. Auckland is the city of sails and i need to get on one of those boats while i'm here (also i have a more general life goal of spending at least a week at sea, and not on a cruise (though i do want to go on a cruise too))
- hobbit Hotel. Caitlin sent me a link to a hotel that is in the side of a hill like the houses from the Hobbit, i want to stay there, but first i need to find the link so i can figure out where it actually is.
- improve fitness. i always tell my self i need to work out more, even if its just some crunches some push ups and a bit of yoga. though i've been doing just that for almost a week now so i'm on my way, if it weren't so damn rainy and winter down here i might try some running too but who knows.
- write more. this one is multi parted
- blog. well i'm doing OK on that one so far. this is post 11 and i think i have a few people who will pester and punish me if i start to flake off with it.
- journal. i snagged a nice molskine notebook before i left my Chronicle job and so far i've done a pretty good job of writing at least one page a day. i've only missed two days and they were right when i was moving into my new place. there is also some art in there which i posted some pics of on facebook.
-writing project. i haven't decided what this is yet. i was thinking of trying to write one big project while i'm here but i need to make up my mind as to what it will be first.
- take at least one picture a day. i have mostly succeeded at this. (see Flickr account) some were taken kind of late and are not all that exciting pictures but i have at least one a day and a few of them are actually kind of good. oh and there will be plenty more on top of that in my facebook.
- have a favorite bar, go there often. this one i think is going to be tricky. i have kind of replaced it with two cafe's i like (one is more of a day spot, the other a night spot) and have been to both multiple times. there is also a guy who works at both of them which i discovered last night, too bad it's not the cute boy from the day cafe though.
- expat thanksgiving. i'm not quite sure if i will be in a place to orchestrate this when the time comes but we shall see. (when i'm done on here i'm going to make a poster for some kind of ex-pat 4th celebration.)
- try and visit Amy. this one i might fail at. tickets to Korea are kind of expensive so it will all depend on what kind of job i get and things like that. but i'm still going to try. also see about Becky if she is still in Japan at a time when i might be able to get there.
- go to Australia. i'm right here i better at least get to Sydney, i'd be a really crappy gay if i didn't.
- go to a tropical island. everyone here seems to go to Fiji but i think they still do Fucked up things to the gays there so i need to investigate. if not Fiji there are plenty of other options. but i want at least one side trip that just involves me half naked on a beach, probably reading.
- write lots of letters. working on it. most of you should have gotten postcards (if you think i don't have your address send it to me) and i have nice stationary for more and more letters in the months to come.
- take an art or design class. this is kind of a long term goal and i haven't found a good one to take yet (i also can't afford one yet) but i'm going to try and i've scouted a few good places to look.
- see and Opera or a Symphony. something i should do more of in general. nothing seems to be coming up till August here but i've got a few things marked ready to go when they get here.
- make a plan for when i get back. i don't want to end up like i did at the end of college with nothing ready to go next. it will all depend on money and what my life is like after NZ, top two ideas are grad school (though i usually say that) and a massive road trip across the US (probably ending in SF, though i want to take at least a month and stop in lots of places) both are kind of cash heavy but i have time to think about them.
well looking at the list i wrote before i left that is everything. so nothing much has changed on that front. i have a few new goals too though, ones that are more NZ specific. i think i will save them for another day.
- go Zorbing and try and meet Phil Keogen, from The Amazing Race. (this are for my college roommate Paul who is a bit of a reality TV show dork, on top of just being a regular dork.)
- go bungee jumping. now i sort of half did this already, but i want to do a for real-real bungee jump too (maybe not the one in Nevis which is apparently like a billion meters high.)
- Visit locations for Lord of the Rings. there are tons of tours for this. the morning before i left the US my dad was showing all the special features from the DVDs about where they shot.
- go sailing. Auckland is the city of sails and i need to get on one of those boats while i'm here (also i have a more general life goal of spending at least a week at sea, and not on a cruise (though i do want to go on a cruise too))
- hobbit Hotel. Caitlin sent me a link to a hotel that is in the side of a hill like the houses from the Hobbit, i want to stay there, but first i need to find the link so i can figure out where it actually is.
- improve fitness. i always tell my self i need to work out more, even if its just some crunches some push ups and a bit of yoga. though i've been doing just that for almost a week now so i'm on my way, if it weren't so damn rainy and winter down here i might try some running too but who knows.
- write more. this one is multi parted
- blog. well i'm doing OK on that one so far. this is post 11 and i think i have a few people who will pester and punish me if i start to flake off with it.
- journal. i snagged a nice molskine notebook before i left my Chronicle job and so far i've done a pretty good job of writing at least one page a day. i've only missed two days and they were right when i was moving into my new place. there is also some art in there which i posted some pics of on facebook.
-writing project. i haven't decided what this is yet. i was thinking of trying to write one big project while i'm here but i need to make up my mind as to what it will be first.
- take at least one picture a day. i have mostly succeeded at this. (see Flickr account) some were taken kind of late and are not all that exciting pictures but i have at least one a day and a few of them are actually kind of good. oh and there will be plenty more on top of that in my facebook.
- have a favorite bar, go there often. this one i think is going to be tricky. i have kind of replaced it with two cafe's i like (one is more of a day spot, the other a night spot) and have been to both multiple times. there is also a guy who works at both of them which i discovered last night, too bad it's not the cute boy from the day cafe though.
- expat thanksgiving. i'm not quite sure if i will be in a place to orchestrate this when the time comes but we shall see. (when i'm done on here i'm going to make a poster for some kind of ex-pat 4th celebration.)
- try and visit Amy. this one i might fail at. tickets to Korea are kind of expensive so it will all depend on what kind of job i get and things like that. but i'm still going to try. also see about Becky if she is still in Japan at a time when i might be able to get there.
- go to Australia. i'm right here i better at least get to Sydney, i'd be a really crappy gay if i didn't.
- go to a tropical island. everyone here seems to go to Fiji but i think they still do Fucked up things to the gays there so i need to investigate. if not Fiji there are plenty of other options. but i want at least one side trip that just involves me half naked on a beach, probably reading.
- write lots of letters. working on it. most of you should have gotten postcards (if you think i don't have your address send it to me) and i have nice stationary for more and more letters in the months to come.
- take an art or design class. this is kind of a long term goal and i haven't found a good one to take yet (i also can't afford one yet) but i'm going to try and i've scouted a few good places to look.
- see and Opera or a Symphony. something i should do more of in general. nothing seems to be coming up till August here but i've got a few things marked ready to go when they get here.
- make a plan for when i get back. i don't want to end up like i did at the end of college with nothing ready to go next. it will all depend on money and what my life is like after NZ, top two ideas are grad school (though i usually say that) and a massive road trip across the US (probably ending in SF, though i want to take at least a month and stop in lots of places) both are kind of cash heavy but i have time to think about them.
well looking at the list i wrote before i left that is everything. so nothing much has changed on that front. i have a few new goals too though, ones that are more NZ specific. i think i will save them for another day.
26 June, 2009
The Domain-ation
today was the first day in what is supposed to be five days of rain. so of course this ends bu being the day that i make a nice nature trek into Auckland's largest park, The Domain. (i think domain is kind of a generic word for park here as i've seen it a few places on maps of the country.)
luckily there was a big burst of rain early in the day when i was at the library (where i was writing postcards to people). by the time i left there it hadn't exactly cleared up but it was no longer full on raining, which was giving me SF flashbacks. i quickly realized that as much as i know the Domain is near my apartment i probably should have checked a map anyway. i ended up taking the semi long way there, which was mostly longer because it involved walking to the top of the hill first. though i did get to see a different view of the park then i did two weeks ago when i just went to the Museum (which is in the park).
a large part of the park is taken up by soccer/rugby pitches. which due to rain and general winter-ness were unoccupied. i skirted the outside of the fields and walked through a nice well groomed garden area with a pond for ducks and geese. i saw some nice places for picnics and maybe some outdoor yoga if i ever get around to that. from there i went into the area of the park where their are forest walks. those are really cool. the one i started on is just like stepping into a mini (if cold) rain forest. the paths are paved which kind of detracts from things but you really do feel surrounded which is nice. there seemed to be a few side trails but i didn't explore those yet, waiting for a day when they aren't 80% mud. there was only like one place where you could stop and maybe sit or something in the forested parts, other then just sitting in the middle of the path and blocking traffic.
It's no Central Park, or Golden Gate Park but its nice. and now that i know how to get there without hiking up and down too many hills i might actually go there more often. though i will probably wait till this week of rain ends.
right now the view out my window is like the inside of a cloud its so foggy here today.
ok to the post office for more stamps!
luckily there was a big burst of rain early in the day when i was at the library (where i was writing postcards to people). by the time i left there it hadn't exactly cleared up but it was no longer full on raining, which was giving me SF flashbacks. i quickly realized that as much as i know the Domain is near my apartment i probably should have checked a map anyway. i ended up taking the semi long way there, which was mostly longer because it involved walking to the top of the hill first. though i did get to see a different view of the park then i did two weeks ago when i just went to the Museum (which is in the park).
a large part of the park is taken up by soccer/rugby pitches. which due to rain and general winter-ness were unoccupied. i skirted the outside of the fields and walked through a nice well groomed garden area with a pond for ducks and geese. i saw some nice places for picnics and maybe some outdoor yoga if i ever get around to that. from there i went into the area of the park where their are forest walks. those are really cool. the one i started on is just like stepping into a mini (if cold) rain forest. the paths are paved which kind of detracts from things but you really do feel surrounded which is nice. there seemed to be a few side trails but i didn't explore those yet, waiting for a day when they aren't 80% mud. there was only like one place where you could stop and maybe sit or something in the forested parts, other then just sitting in the middle of the path and blocking traffic.
It's no Central Park, or Golden Gate Park but its nice. and now that i know how to get there without hiking up and down too many hills i might actually go there more often. though i will probably wait till this week of rain ends.
right now the view out my window is like the inside of a cloud its so foggy here today.
ok to the post office for more stamps!
24 June, 2009
Job Interview Kiwi Stylye.
So, i went on a job interview on Tuesday.
it was to work here: http://www.skyjump.co.nz/
the interview was ok, nothing too exciting. Why are you in NZ? describing the job, helping people into jumpsuits and harnesses, how long are you planing on staying in Auckland? i thought i did fairly well and it wasn't a complicated process. non of the "where do you see yourself in 5 years," or "how can you bring value to our company," or any of that nonsense.
after the interview was where things got interesting. she says thanks for coming in and she will let me know later that afternoon because they are apparently hiring for the next day. then she's like "oh and now you get to jump so that you know what it's like."
now, i kind of wanted to do it. i watched that kid from the hostel do it the other day and it looked really cool. but showing up for a job interview and then at the end being told you get to jump off of a 630 foot building was not what i was expecting on the day.
i get all suited up by a very cute Irish boy, weighed (62kg with the harness) and put in an elevator. i'm honestly a little surprised i didn't vomit or something, the elevator has big glass panels that open out to the city and one in the floor. i get to the top of the building (well not the very top but quite high enough thank you) meet the very nice, and comfortingly burly men who attach my harness to the thing that's going to guide me down and make sure i don't have to be hosed off the street. we walk to the end of the thing that looks suspiciously like a pirate's gang-plank and he asks "are you ready?" i reply "no."
(there was a family doing the Sky Walk www.skywalk.co.nz) and the kid helpfully said "yea!" for me. to which the guy answered "good enough."
now he didn't push me off the building, and surprisingly i didn't hesitate too much before taking the step off the building. first you just kind of dangle then they drop you about 10 feet so that the people in the observation deck can point and laugh. then time for the big drop. about 50 mph and 630 feet to the ground. it was quite exhilarating and for the first few seconds terrifying but totally fun. i would do it again (though it's kind of expensive to do for real). when i landed my legs were quite wobbly and tingling and i had definitely drooled allover my self and anyone below.
we went back down into their main area under the tower and i not only got a free photo of the fall but a free DVD of my fall too (there is a camera attached to one of the guide wires.) which all tolled was like a 250NZD that i got just for showing up and being asked a few questions.
and after all that i didn't even get the job. oh well ...
it was to work here: http://www.skyjump.co.nz/
the interview was ok, nothing too exciting. Why are you in NZ? describing the job, helping people into jumpsuits and harnesses, how long are you planing on staying in Auckland? i thought i did fairly well and it wasn't a complicated process. non of the "where do you see yourself in 5 years," or "how can you bring value to our company," or any of that nonsense.
after the interview was where things got interesting. she says thanks for coming in and she will let me know later that afternoon because they are apparently hiring for the next day. then she's like "oh and now you get to jump so that you know what it's like."
now, i kind of wanted to do it. i watched that kid from the hostel do it the other day and it looked really cool. but showing up for a job interview and then at the end being told you get to jump off of a 630 foot building was not what i was expecting on the day.
i get all suited up by a very cute Irish boy, weighed (62kg with the harness) and put in an elevator. i'm honestly a little surprised i didn't vomit or something, the elevator has big glass panels that open out to the city and one in the floor. i get to the top of the building (well not the very top but quite high enough thank you) meet the very nice, and comfortingly burly men who attach my harness to the thing that's going to guide me down and make sure i don't have to be hosed off the street. we walk to the end of the thing that looks suspiciously like a pirate's gang-plank and he asks "are you ready?" i reply "no."
(there was a family doing the Sky Walk www.skywalk.co.nz) and the kid helpfully said "yea!" for me. to which the guy answered "good enough."
now he didn't push me off the building, and surprisingly i didn't hesitate too much before taking the step off the building. first you just kind of dangle then they drop you about 10 feet so that the people in the observation deck can point and laugh. then time for the big drop. about 50 mph and 630 feet to the ground. it was quite exhilarating and for the first few seconds terrifying but totally fun. i would do it again (though it's kind of expensive to do for real). when i landed my legs were quite wobbly and tingling and i had definitely drooled allover my self and anyone below.
we went back down into their main area under the tower and i not only got a free photo of the fall but a free DVD of my fall too (there is a camera attached to one of the guide wires.) which all tolled was like a 250NZD that i got just for showing up and being asked a few questions.
and after all that i didn't even get the job. oh well ...
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