Christy's blog

Updazzle

In just 3 short weeks I will be on a plane to Thailand.  I have my bus ticket to Auckland, my plane ticket to Thailand, and I will soon be purchasing a plane ticket from LA to Minneapolis, a few nights in some hostels, and probably a couple plane tickets to and from Vietnam.  Whee!!!

As usual, the past few weeks have held little to really talk about.  I am working, working, working and at the point of exhaustion.  A couple weekends ago I worked 44 hours in St. Johns alone, including one 15.5 hour day.  That weekend was a big rugby game between the All Blacks and The Wallabies (Australia's team) and we had a big function for the Wallaby players and fans.  Though exhausting (that was my 15.5-hour day), it ended up being relatively fun as well.  At the very least, our manager felt so bad for us all at the end of the day that we got to have whatever we wanted from the bar, provided we didn't exceed about $300 between the six of us.  While none of us were functional enough to really take advantage of the offer, I got myself an amazing martini made with premium spirits.  Yummy.  I'm still thinking about that one.

Since then, I've had a bit of trouble recovering and, when given the opportunity, end up sleeping the day away.  I just keep reminding myself that I only have a couple weeks left (9 Oct is my last day at St. Johns, 15 Oct. my last day at Ticketek) and that I need the money to do what I want to do.  It's been a bit rough at times, but I'm almost done!!!!

Still, there have been a few notables in the last month or so.  I bought yet ANOTHER pair of shoes (5$ at the Warehouse!!!!) because my other pair of work shoes disintegrated (literally).  As you may have noticed throughout the blog, I've been a bit rough on shoes throughout my travels (lost my trainers on the plane from India to NZ, put holes in my original work shoes, and cracked my sandals in half).  I'll probably purchase some flip-flops before leaving the country, but no more!!

I also was lucky enough a few weeks ago to get free tickets to the show Busting Out, showing at the Opera House in Wellington.  Busting Out is a caberet show about, for lack of a better description, women's boobs.  It is put on by two middle-aged women who, while a bit squishy and floppy in places, are absolutely hilarious.  They do almost the entire show topless and basically just play with their boobs for an hour or so - making them sing and talk, doing shadow-puppets (the Taj Majal was my favorite), etc.  It was hilarious, joyful, tasteful, and liberating.  If any of you (women in particular) ever get a chance to go, I would highly recommend it.

A special mention to Jenny Dechaine who turned 28 a few days ago... but probably doesn't read this blog anyway : ).

Thailand and the Mutant Next Door

I do apologize for the belated update... though that seems to be a common theme in many of my posts nowadays.  To be honest, there isn't really all that much to say.  I've been working quite a bit lately at both Ticketek and St Johns.  I feel like my employment-status this past year has been a bit like an eating disorder.  I binge for a few months, working 50+ hours a week, and then purge by quitting my job(s) and traveling for a few months more... arriving back to "home" (wherever that happens to be at the time) and starting the process all over again.  This lifestyle has been beginning to get to me as my travels begin to draw to a close, and I'm starting to look forward to a "real" life... one with a bit of stability and one that includes an intact bathroom ceiling and 40-hour work-weeks.

That stable life is not yet here, however, and I'm working away so that I can have one last big bang before returning home.  As of today, I am officially going to Bangkok, traveling in SE Asia, and then flying to LA.  I am not yet officially going home to Minneapolis, but that will happen soon enough.  A couple of weeks ago I put a down payment down on a flight to LA with a stop-over in Bangkok.  Today I paid off the remainder of that flight.  On 20 Oct, 2009, I am flying from Auckland and to Bangkok.  On 17 November, I am flying to LA.  What I am doing in those 3 1/2 weeks is yet to be decided.  When I am going to fly back to Minneapolis is TBA as well... though it will definitely be before Thanksgiving.  Not too long ago, I was really feeling "over" the whole traveling-lifestyle (as mentioned earlier).  I was finding myself more drawn to a new outfit than a flight to Thailand.  Purchasing that ticket today, however, along with a brand new "Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring"-book, has gotten me excited again.  I've spent the better part of my evening pouring over my guide book, trying to get some skeleton of an itinerary down (3 1/2 weeks is not long!), and I can't wait to go!  

It's a bit strange to have an official plan to end my overseas adventure, particularly one that's coming up so quickly.  It all feels a bit surreal.  My current life is trudging along steadily.  I have just enough days off to feel rested every once in awhile, though I'm not sure how long that will last.  For the most part I am enjoying my two jobs.  I have gotten good reviews at both, and am feeling pretty confident in my abilities... a good feeling, despite them not being my specific career choice.  I am enjoying St. Johns in particular, and generally like working in the restaurant.  The only thing is that, having one job in hospitality and another at a call center, I am getting increasingly sick of people.  Sometimes I just want to say, "Of course I'll serve you... but I reserve the right to be cranky while I do it!"

The most exciting that to happen in the past couple of weeks was, of course, not to me at all.  I was awoken a couple of weeks ago (22 August to be exact) by a call from Pablo's work place saying, "Pablo cut himself and has to go to the hospital.  He said you could come in and wash dishes for him."  The call was at 10 am (I had closed the bar the night before), and I was supposed to be at St. Johns at 12.  A bit fuzzy still, my first thought was, "Oh no!  Pablo hurt himself and he needs me to give him a hand!"... this was soon followed by the thought, "Don't they have any other employees?"  I broke some sort of record getting to the restaurant in 12 minutes, and was met there by Pablo himself who said, "Adam was confused.  I asked him to call you to take me to the hospital, not to work"... which made a lot more sense.  

Pablo had the bright idea of borrowing the car of a friend who works at Base hostel (my former living place), just around the corner to the hospital.  After quite a bit of discussion in Portuguese about the pros and cons of going to the hospital (pro: you won't die of blood loss, con: it's expensive), and a couple of failed attempts to start the car, our friend Guto "fixed" his car and Pablo and I drove to the emergency room... where we were told that it would be significantly less expensive to go to a nearby emergency medical clinic.  We jumped back into the car to drive to the clinic and... it wouldn't start.  I tried again... and it still wouldn't start.  So we sat in the parking lot, Pablo looking light-headed and pale with a tea-towel wrapped around his finger, and I making frantic calls to the taxi company and St. Johns (which was already really busy at 11... Pablo would have to chop his finger off on a nice day).  Eventually we were able to get to the clinic where I waited about an hour until Pablo was called in by the nurse.  I then hopped in another taxi to go home, grabbed my uniform, and took the same taxi to St. Johns.  I arrived at 12:40 for what would be an almost 11-hour shift having not eaten or showered, totally unaware that I would not eat until 5 that evening.

Pablo, in case you were wondering, has lived to tell the tale.  He nearly chopped off the tip of his pinky finger.  If he's lucky, this portion of the finger will die and fall off, never to grow back again and rendering him freak-life and frightening to small children.  I'm sure he'll be stronger for it.  Until then, he gets to wear a mini diaper on his finger so that he doesn't bleed in public.  Whee!  What a day.

an interesting week

Yet again, it's been quite awhile since I last updated the blog.  Life has settled down in New Zealand and, to be honest, I'm just living a normal life (as one does).  As mentioned, I'm currently working two jobs - at Ticketek on the weekdays and St. Johns on the weekends.  For the most part they're a good combination.  Both can be tiring, but Ticketek is far less demanding physically.  Still, I love St. Johns for the people and (usually) for the work.  I'm almost always in the restaurant now which I feel like I'm much better at than working behind the bar.  Working in the restaurant also means I get to work with my favorite manager Anthony which is a lot of fun.  Overall St. Johns has been good and my bosses seem to be happy with the jobs I've been doing.  It's strange, over the summer, I never really felt like I was that good at my job.  I always felt like the newbie and like I had so much to learn.  Of course I still make mistakes, but now I feel as though I really have a handle on the job and its various aspects.  In short, when my bosses compliment my work I feel like I really deserve it.

Ticketek is also going relatively well.  There I am definitely still the newbie, but for the most part, I think I have a handle on the job.  This past week was a bit stressful because ACDC tickets went on sale and a few people had problems with their bookings.  The phones have literally been ringing nonstop the entire week, but I do feel as though we have a handle on the situation.  Also, despite the long queues over the phone people generally tend to be pretty nice to us... a lot more polite than I expected.  Besides, the good thing about working on phones is that when people yell at you it feels a lot less personal.

Unfortunately, I did receive some sobering news at the beginning of this week.  My grandfather passed away Saturday morning (US time) and I received an email about it from my father Monday evening (NZ time).  The funeral was on Wednesday morning (US time).  While of course this wasn't happy news, I would say that it is joyful.  He lived to be 91 years old, and 90 of those years were healthy.  I hated seeing his health deteriorate, and he passed just before he had to move into an assisted-living home.  In the end, it was a blessing.

So this week was a little rough, but it's also a bit of a relief.  On the brighter side of things, I did get a bit of a break from working to go to La Sylphide, the ballet currently showing at the St. James Theater in Wellington.  There were just a handful of free tickets for Ticketek employees and I was lucky enough to grab one.   I did feel a bit out of place because, bar prom, I have never seen that many tuxedos and evening gowns in one place!  Still, I ended up really enjoying the show.  I've never been to a ballet before, but I seem to have quite an eclectic taste in entertainment.  I tend to like most anything that involves a stage, a theater, a stadium, some music... whatever.  Someday I'll go to a ballet and where a nice cocktail dress and have dinner at a fancy restaurant beforehand.  The day is not today, and it probably won't be for a few years, but it WILL come.

Whew, after a long week of work, etc.  I'm beat.  G'night!  

I do NOT have swine flu

As with the rest of the world, swine flu is quite the topic here in New Zealand.  The last figures I saw (which was... Saturday, I think) said that there are 500 confirmed cases of swine flu in Wellington alone - basically the entire population (okay...not really... but Wellington is really small).  I also read somewhere that 75% of the flu cases in New Zealand are swine flu rather than regular seasonal flu.  However, my dorky sociology-senses are tingling and I think this figure can be contributed to media sensationalism and poor research (or at least distortion of the statistics).  Because of the huge pressure on the health system, people with flu symptoms are being asked to stay at home unless they're about to die (about to die... in the at risk population... same thing).  Technically, you aren't really even supposed to call the health hotline unless you're symptoms are unusually serious.  Therefore, very few flu cases are going reported and even fewer are progressing to the point where anyone would bother to test what kind of flu it is.

Anyways, the reason that I am so up to date on the swine flu situation in New Zealand is because this weekend Mr. Munoz (aka Pablo) was experiencing a cough, low fever, and aches... typical flu symptoms.  I googled "swine flu new zealand" for a good hour and found the above information.  Because I am so caring and loving, I was conflicted on how I felt about the possibility of Pablo having swine flu.  On one hand, the symptoms were mild; either type of flu would hold the same risk-level for his well-being. He was sick and whiny but if it were swine flu I would at least get a good story out of it.  On the other hand, the real problem of swine flu is that no one has immunity to it.  Therefore if the flu was swine-related my chances of becoming ill would increase about tenfold; this being my first week of work, I couldn't really afford to be hacking up a lung.

So I spent the weekend attempting to strike a balance between staying as far away from Pablo as possible and trying to help him feel better.  My strategy seems to have been successful because, while I have a bit of a cold, I am currently flu and fever-free (knock on wood).  This fact deserves a smiley face : ).

In other news today was my first day at Ticketek.  This weekend I start work again at St. Johns.  After almost a month of sitting around being useless, it feels really good to be back to work.  I think that working at a call center during the week and doing hospo on the weekend will strike a nice balance.  Also, it seems that St. Johns is going to try putting me in the restaurant.... meaning tips (a few) and fewer drunks!!!!!  Yay!!!!!

Finally, I had a good weekend (despite the sick and whiny Pablo) for two reasons: (1) Kenny and I went on a long walk and stumbled upon a really nice walking track. Which featured panoramic views of the north side of the city:

Westpac Stadium

 (2) I finally got together with my old roomies (Crina, Pia, and Claudia) on Monday and we were actually able to figure out a time when we can see each other again!

So... life is simple, but I'm pretty happy right now.  This picture describes my current emotional state:

Happy!!

Yay!

Good Day!

Today was a good day.  I ran four miles and got TWO jobs.  I also discovered that there is an landline phone in the house I am staying at... and my breakfast tasted really good.

Beat THAT!

Patriotism

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!

I celebrated (yesterday) by playing all the America-themed music I have access to.  At first, when the internet was down, the playlist did not fair well for the US of A.  Songs included "I Love America" by David Byrne, "American Pie" by Don McLean, "4th of July" and "God's Country" by Ani DiFranco, "I Wanna Be a Kennedy" by Kill Hannah, "American Idiot" by Green Day, and "Dear Mr. President" by P!nk.  I also, much to the chagrin of everyone near me, did my own personal renditions of "God Bless America", "America the Beautiful", and "The Star Spangled Banner."

Things perked up a bit when the internet came back on, and I played the most patriotic/tear-jerking renditions of the previously mentioned patriotic songs I could find.  I also threw in "America, F@$% YEAH!" and, after a lecture on how South Americans don't appreciate the United States monopolizing the title "America" added in "God Bless the U.S.A." and the Westside Story version of "America" for diversity's sake.

It was quite the musical-party.

I am the only person faring from the US that I know in Wellington, so I had to hang out with South Americans instead (as usual).  Also, I couldn't find any US flags, so I had to do with squinting at a British flag hanging in the room... how ironic.  This prompted a Brazilian friend to lecture me, for the second time, on my lack of patriotism (the first time I was lectured was when the US almost beat Brazil in a soccer finals a couple of weeks ago).  That evening Pablo and I ate pizza and beer and danced to crappy US hip hop.  

YAY!

USA!!  USA!!!  USA!!! USA!! USA!! USA!! USA!!  USA!!!  USA!!! USA!! USA!! USA!!  USA!!  USA!!!  USA!!! USA!! 

Photos!

I've posted photos on flickr as well as throughout the blog.  Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31159686@N04/collections/

unemployment, ukuleles, and ungodly pain

Well... I've been back in Wellington for almost two weeks and have yet to find a job.  I've had a couple interviews, dropped off loads of CVs, and have done a lot of walking, but nothing has come to fruition just yet. The busy summer season is over and the city has moved into winter, and so employers are less desperate for workers - particularly those that can only say for a few months.  Still, I remain optimistic that I will be able to find something eventually because really I don't have any other choice.

In the meantime, I've been spending my time trying to be a good housemate and seeing friends. Probably the highlight of my various activities (which usually involve coffee or something free like Te Papa), was the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra concert that I attended last Saturday.  The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra is a bit of a legend here; they started out playing at a little cafe called Delux (which I frequented when I was living at Base), but soon were unable to fit all of their fans into the tiny establishment.  Since then they have begun playing more and more concerts and have even played with the symphony orchestra.  For those of you who are Flight of the Conchords fans, Bret (one of the two leads) is a member and was actually able to make it to the concert on Saturday.  Because of the orchestra, the ukulele has made quite a comeback in New Zealand and is even considered "trendy" (in those artsy-fartsy alternative circles of course).  I have few friends that play.

Scottish Kenny (oh Kenny, the only constant since I've arrived!! At least I can understand his accent now...usually...) works at Ticketex, the Ticketmaster of New Zealand.  Though he doesn't get any discounts (I know, seriously, what's the point?) he does know what shows and events are coming out and has access to tickets right away.  Almost as soon as I arrived into Wellington, Kenny texted to ask if I wanted to attend the concert with him for $15.  Of course I did, but I didn't have $15 to spare.  Lucky for me, most of Kenny's friends have left the country as well, so the night before the concert, he asked me if I wanted to go for free!!  Yay Kenny!  I have wanted to see the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra for quite some time and I was not disappointed.  They, in addition to being talented, are hilarious - poking fun at both themselves and respected musicians everywhere.

Here are a coupe clips of the orchestra:

Its a Heartache - Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra

Hey Ya - Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra

The concert was made even more amusing by the fact that I, after a moment of craziness, decided to try out some new shoes I acquired in Australia.  As mentioned, I met two Vancouverites while in Sydney that were heading off to Asia.  They were much more fashionable than I and had loads of clothes that they didn't want to take with them and gave to me instead.  One such clothing item was a pair of stilettos.  Most of you know that the I can count the times I've worn heels in the past few years on one hand.  I'm not sure that I've ever worn stiletto heels.  Yet, I decided to give them a try for the concert because... they made my feet look cute.  Besides, I didn't have to walk that far and I could sit down at the concert so I'd be fine...right?  Right?

Worst idea ever.  

The first hurdle came just after I had walked out the door of my house.  Our house is at the top of a very very steep hill that, while relatively easy to walk UP in heels, is nearly impossible to walk down.  It probably took me a good 5 minutes to shuffle down the hill, looking ridiculous all the way.  Instead of taking this as a sign that I should, you know, change my shoes, I decided that once I got onto flat ground, I would be totally fine.  Of course, this is Wellington and flat ground took quite some time to come to.  By the time the ground leveled out, it had become obvious that I had no business wearing those shoes.  I looked like a child playing with her mother's heels - tottering down the street, ankles wobbling, looking terrified that I would fall over at any time.  I had to walk so slowly that every 10 minutes or so I had to "pull over" to the side of the sidewalk to allow the parade following behind me to pass. To make matters worse, I had stupidly gone to the wrong meeting place to find Kenny and so ended up walking much further than I would have otherwise had to.  Because of this, I did not have time to run back home (hahaha - run! I wish.) to change shoes.

Kenny, for his part, cracked up when he saw me and asked if I'd ever worn heels before (yes, thank you very much, I have).  He then refused to escort me, even when the ground started sloping down again!  Instead he chose to laugh at my ridiculousness which was, while fair enough, totally unhelpful.  We made it safely to the concert, but by the time it was over, I knew that there was no way in hell I was walking back home in those shoes.  Instead, I went barefoot which, while uncomfortable in 40 degree weather, could not compare to the excruciating pain I had gone through before.  

The moral of this story?  Never try to be someone you're not.  Those shoes will never touch my feet again.  I texted Crina to tell her she can have a cute pair of heels... perhaps she will survive their treachery.

P.S. Speaking of shoes, here's an update on the chacos:

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How sad. 

A few more notes on Wellington

I've been in Wellington for less than a week, but it already feels like it's been longer than that.  I've seen a few friends, but have spent most of my time looking for work.  I currently have about $30 to my name (haha) so it's pretty imperative that I find a job... and quick!  The good news is, that I had an interview yesterday for a cafe position in the city.  It went well, and I should  be hearing back from them by Monday.  In the meantime I'm checking the job website every day as well as wondering around town dropping off my CV at various places.  I'm pretty confident I'll find a position sometime in the next week so... no worries : ).

There is one event that I forgot to mention.  Last Saturday the 20th, Pablo and I attended an All Blacks game at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.  Though I don't get to watch many games (I don't have a TV and am too lazy to find out which bars are showing games... though that might change), I really enjoy rugby.  It's the sport in NZ.  Unlike American football, rugby is fast paced with few stops.  I have a relatively short attention span and so sports like rugby, basketball, and soccer, have always appealed to me.  Of course, when one can't even be bothered watching a television series that comes on at the same time every week, its even less likely that one will make the effort to follow a sports team.  Still, the idea has always appealed to me and maybe someday I'll actually follow through.

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Anyways, the game was loads of fun.  I never get sick of live sporting events (except baseball... not a big fan of baseball...) - people chanting and yelling directions that will never reach the ears of the players; flags being waved by brightly colored fans; and an energy that makes the entire stadium seem alive.  The All Blacks (our team) was playing against France and won (of course), but with enough close calls to make the game exciting.  Even the weather - close to 5 celsius with any icy rain - was bareable with some slight shelter, a lot of layers, and the tea I smuggled in.

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An interesting and unique tradition in New Zealand is for the All Blacks to perform the haka (a traditional Maori war dance) towards the other team before each game.  As the haka is difficult to describe, but fundamental in NZ culture, I thought I would post a video of one such performance.  It's definitely worth checking out.  I've also posted a video advertising Wellington that has been floating around on Youtube for a few months now.  It's funny, but is also a relatively spot-on depiction of the city.

Cheers!

Haka video (my favorite part is the awkward-looking opponent):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GpTsPNwwms&feature=fvw

 

Wellington video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWVoaf3OuN8

And so it ends

Another big apology for my delay in updating.  I have lots of (true) excuses about limited access to internet, being busy, etc., but really I just didn't feel like writing anything for awhile.

Anyway, I made it down the rest of Oz's East coast to Sydney, hopped on a plan, and am back in Welly!  It seems that, no matter how hard I try to get away from this place, I keep ending up here : ).

After Frasier Island and Noosa, I made my way to Brisbane - a relatively large city on the coast.   Hearing Wellington friends and coworkers talk about Brisbane, I kind of expected it to be a bit "party party" and relatively devoid of culture.  That was not my experience at all!  I spent my first two days in museums (particularly their Modern Art Museum), walking along the river, and checking out the gardens littered around the city.  I was couchsurfing with a woman named Catherine who, despite leading a crazy (and currently exam-filled!) life, took the time to hang out with me and make me feel as comfortable as possible.  She also fed me which, for those of you who have spent extensive time with me (particularly at Knox while I was in swim season), you know is the way to my heart.

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My final full day in Brisbane I visited the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, about 30 minutes outside of the center city.  Lone Pine's major attraction is that you can hold a koala and get your picture taken if you give them money.  Up until visiting Rockhampton, I didn't particularly feel the need to do so, and was planning on skipped Lone Pine in favor of Sydney's zoo.  After seeing the koalas in Rockhampton, however, I was totally enamored and all I wanted to do was hug them.  So I trekked out to Lone Pine and got my picture taken with a koala.  His name is Wendall.  He is nine.  I love him.

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In addition to actually holding a koala, I also got to see wombats (probably the cutest creatures to walk the earth), watch a sheep-mustering show, check out some birds of prey, and see some Tasmanian Devils.  The highlight of the visit, however, was watching a little baby koala suckling on it's mother.  It still had it's feet in her pouch and was just kind-of hanging out upside down which it suckled.  Then, when it was all full, it turned around and dived head-first back into her pouch and pulled the sides around it so that you couldn't see it anymore - just a big bump on the mom's stomach.  Dear lord, I nearly died.

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The next day, after sushi and company with Catherine and her sister Sarah, I started my 15-hour bus ride to Sydney.  Yuck.  It didn't end up being that bad (I got two seats and slept most the way), but my awkwardly long legs were hurting after being scrunched up for so long.

In Sydney I basically hung out with friends and walked around and looked at stuff.  I was lucky enough to meet some Canadian girls in my hostel who were absolutely fabulous (haha... I sound like a gay man).  We hit it off right away and I lost many hours of healthy sleep staying up and talking to them.

I also spent a lot of time with Tomoko, the Japanese woman from my Whitsundays trip, who ended up in Sydney at the same time as me.  We went to see a really beautiful exhibit at the Contemporary Art Gallery featuring a Australian photographer named Ricky Maynard.  His work consists of black and white photography with the aim of promoting social justice for aboriginals.  Considering I love black and white photography and I love social commentary, this was the perfect exhibit for me.  The exhibit also showed photographs taken by some of Maynard's biggest influences including Amstel Addams and Dorothea Lange.

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SWINE FLU!!!

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So, that's it.  I started out my tour of Australia with nature and adventure, and ended it with culture and museums - I couldn't ask for more!  Though I had originally planned to try to find work in the ski fields of the south island, trusted sources tell me that there are no jobs.  In fact, I had a few friends move down there to find work and then have to go back home because they ran out of money.  So, it seems that I will be staying in Wellington - a prospect that, while a little disappointing, has its advantages too (you know - comfort, familiarity, friends).

Wish me luck in job-hunting... I'll need it!