Lost weekends and Flight of the Conchords

So, another week has gone by and I find an entire new list of obscure tasks for me to perform.  I long for the days when a weekend was spent doing weekend things like laundry, catching up on sleep or playing endless hours of World of Warcraft.  MY weekend is already booked and its only Thursday.  I have a major test on Monday that will require myself to study profusely all weekend in hopes of obtaining that coveted “A”.  The small price I must pay in order to guarantee entrance into the program of my choice next year.

I currently stand at a 3.0 GPA and I have a desire to increase this GPA (Grade Point Average) to the range of 3.5 for I may partake in all the scholarships and bursaries that are available to those dull people who care more about studies than having a good time.  This time around, I have chose to be dull and actually complete my assigned work.  It is amazing how your marks may reflect actual effort.

I keep telling myself, I am doing this all for the good of my exploration.  Five years of school, one working, and then resident of NZ.  In retrospect, I shall be enjoying a more enjoyable income when this is all over and I long for the days of new cars, milk, and processed cheese, which I still consider to be “Luxury Items” in my current predicament.

Now that I am a student again, I have resorted to shenanigans I resorted to almost seven years ago when I was a student last.  I have been informing my much younger school mates on how to cut corners and save money and I have got the idea to start another blog to notify people about my penny pinching abilities.  The only problem is, I am prone to starting blogs and never updating for long periods of time.  Case in point, True Confessions of a Strip Club Bouncer, True Confessions of a Video Store Clerk are just two examples, not to mention my long hiatus from this blog as well.  Well, I do have time to think about such things.

I downloaded the first season of Flight of the Conchords over the past week.  What a wickedly funny series.  Yes my friends, I have already viewed this season last year but I finally took the time to download it for my own purposes.  I still think Murray is the best character of the series.  The stereotypical Kiwi reminds me of the stereotypical Canadian.  A little low tech, a little out of their time, yet very polite and helpful to anyone.  This concludes my New Zealand reference of this entry.

For those Flight of the Conchords fans, who is your favorite character from the series?  Lets hear your opinions!

Desktop wonders and Halloween Sugar

So, most of the results are in and for the most part, I am quite happy with what I have seen. It is amazing how well one may do in classes when one actually does the work and prepares for tests. I never had marks like these in high school; then again, I wasn’t overly interested in much during my high school days.

So, Samhain is almost upon us and I plan to spend the evening with friends, eating grotesque amounts of sugar and watching cheesy b rated horror movies from my youth. I could think of nothing better. I want to take this time to wish all my Pagan friends a happy Samhain and for the rest, sugar induced hallucinations. I know Halloween is not really a holiday or even in NZ, but for those Kiwis that do partake in a night of hallowing at the moon; I just wish you all a safe and marvelous evening.

My studies have kept me quit occupied for the last few weeks and I was happy to finally catch up on my sleep and reading. It is a pity to look at the world’s economy and exchange rates. I am happy that I opened that Kiwi Bank account when I did because the value of the Canadian Dollar has bottomed out as of late and my dollar no longer buys the substantial kiwi notes that it once did. Perhaps I did pick a fine time to go back to school. This way I can ride out the economic bust and hope for greener pastures in the years ahead. I have been finally reading my Move to NZ newsletters about the new changes in NZ immigration and I have finally finished reading my NZ travel guides that I have been kicking around for so long. A fresh crop of NZ desktop wallpaper has been downloaded and I enjoy the bright lights of Auckland and the majestic folds of Mount Cook.
Cheers.

Midterm Madness

An update of sorts.

I am now in the middle of what one may call “Midterm Madness” where all my midterms fall on the same week and I am scrambling to find my place in life and trying to remember the 15 stages of ------- and the four types of ------ and desperately trying to keep different subjects from leaking over into one another. I hate this time of year. I can respect multiple math or science exams where all you have to remember is the formula and you just need to work with the numbers to find the final answer. Book learning or “remembering junk” is more complex considering you have two very intense subjects, with the exams falling on the same day. You are trying to remember the 10 qualities of a critical thinker and some of the answer leaks over into the organelles of the human body. Stressed out so I am. Yet, I look at the future with a smile on my face and anticipate the next curveball that is handed to me. Besides, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

I had an interesting Thanksgiving weekend with a wonderful night of drugs and alcohol and enjoying the company of old and new friends. This night of debauchery was just what the doctor ordered. I also met up with an old flame (the one I regard as being the one that got away) and we have been talking to one another for the past week. I am a little reluctant to open up to her considering the circumstances of our last breakup (last breakup considering we have dated three times before and there certainly is chemistry there). I lay and wait to see what her reaction will be, testing the waters so to speak. Had dinner with my parents and this was the first time in six years that I have enjoyed the taste of Turkey on Thanksgiving. We had not yet started dessert but when a family fight broke out and I was forced to leave prematurely and head back home. I was happy to see my parents but sometimes you must take family in small doses if one does not want to overdose on the reality that is public scrutiny.

I survived a week of unit test and assignments and was very proud of my resulting grades, well, most of them. I just have to survive this week before I can again breathe a sigh of relief and attempt at a good night’s rest. I have been sleeping in uneven bursts of 1-4 hours for the last two weeks and I cannot remember the last time I had a full uninterrupted 7 hour nap. I desire this, yet my previous obligations keep me from my goal.

I have been dreaming of New Zealand often and I spend a good few hours looking at my old photos and videos of my trip last year. It is spring there now, and NZ will be blessed with sun and warmth as my world is rotating into the dreary winter that will last for a good six months. New Zealand, I long for your warm embrace and your sunny smile. In time my friend, we will be mates. In time…I hope.

Fighting off that loving feeling

Fighting off that loving feeling The anxiety, I do admit, has finally met the insides of my head. With more and more assignments being piled onto my plate, I feel an escape is in order. As I have tried to impress my skeptics by producing immaculate works of art, I have found that I have been sagging in other sectors. What can one do to impress all and live up the expectations of one’s own soul? 

I do admit that I have been sidetracked by a recent stint with the flu bug (yes, I actually got sick and that doesn’t happen very often) and this flu virus has placed my last two weeks in complete turmoil. I was thinking that the Thanksgiving holiday would relieve some pressure to the growing madness, yet I have learned that my refuge has now been cast down. I would be taking three days to myself then one day to volunteer for the national election. The national election is the first form of employment I have been offered since my relocation to this godless rock. So, it is easy to say that I was somehow confused by the concept that I had a project presentation on the same day I was to be out of school, doing my national duty. After a heated debate with my professor, I just explained that with the absence of funds, there would simply be an absence of school. This is much the case since no income and high expenses never helps a student.  

Anyhow, I know that almost every student has these types of snags and I was happy to think that I had overcome all these futile aggravations. Yet for some reason, I decide to go back to school and live this life all over again. I guess I can only cure myself for such a lifestyle. If only education was free and one could live the life of learning with now afterthoughts of where ones next meal would come from or where one would sleep that night.  

It is funny how the under skilled and unemployed has their education served to them on a silver platter, free of charge and an able bodied semi-employed person must scratch a living to progress in the lie that is the American/Canadian dream. I long for the world that does not judge a person on his or her wallet, but judges on the merit and principal of one’s beliefs. Wow, was I just expressing the thought of revolution? No, I guess I was expressing the thought of a new structure and a new way of thinking. Yes my friends, as the central theme to this blog, New Zealand.  

I have grown tired of the political stance that my once mighty country has taken. I am annoyed by a conservative government that has dragged out good name through the mud of America. I long for the days where I was proud to be a Canadian, where I would walk with my head held high in any state without the fear of those unknown gunning for my essence. Now days, I feel more like an America. When one feels like an American, there are simply only two options. One must kill oneself, or retreat to a more favorable setting. Now I was not the one for ending my young life since, well I have too much fun with this body. I long for relocation, to the island shores of NZ.

The Plan is a New Plan

Okay, so a slight hic-up in my plans. The series of events went a little like this. I was on cloud nine, I had very thing figured out. I was in a good paying job and I had a plan. Everything was going well until I got into a little problem at work. I don’t want to bore my readers with the details but let’s just say I got in trouble for something I didn’t do. So I was punished for something I didn’t do and it didn’t matter how much proof I had that it wasn’t me. I was reprimanded and had a black X on my file. To make it short and sweet, I have endured an anchor that chained me to my current tasking without any hope of promotion and promotion was what I wanted.

So it is east to say that I was a little disheartened about this situation and took a few personal days to figure out what I wanted to do. In these two personal days, I broke down. I broke down hard and fast. After the fog cleared 48 hours later, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t like who I was, or what I was doing. I thought about finding another job but there was just one problem, the crappy jobs that I hate just follow me. I realized that I hated the career path that I took and that my college education was useless to me. The cloud had lifted and a light bulb went off in my head. I needed to change my career. I mean totally change my career. For the next week I researched and talked to friends/family and I realized that I should have taken my mother’s advice and gone into the medical field. My best friend reinforced this conclusion since he is a Paramedic. So, inside of a week, I was applying to colleges all over Ontario. This was early July and I was a little late with everything. I was accepted about two weeks later and I had less than two months to save for this life changing decision.

So, I told my employer I was leaving for a new career path and they just gave me the same load of crap that they had high hopes for me and blah blah blah. Too bad they didn’t give me this pep talk after they screwed me in the first place. So, school, career, no New Zealand.
Everyone who reads this blog knows about the plan. The plan is on hold. All assets that I had accumulated for the plan has been diverted into the new plan. The new plan takes five years. NZ is on hold for five years. Yes, I am going back to school at the age of 28. I will be taking a five year course. I will be making ridicules money once I graduate and the best part is, my career is listed on NZ’s long term skills shortage list. So yes, work permit and PR. Ohh yeah.
This is a small sacrifice to make for the greater good, but I am willing to make it happen. So my Kiwi friends, I am sorry but you will have to wait for a little bit longer. It will happen, just not now.

Siobhan - New Zealand 2007

Siobhan

She reads my account of my great journey. She sometimes criticizes my story, sometimes she agrees and sometimes, she keeps it to herself. This however is my account of our meeting and subsequent “chilling” session on the streets of Auckland.

Siobhan arrived at 1pm in the XBase lobby. She was double parked and irritated about my slow reaction to the situation. I stopped to say goodbye to Julia, and took the elevator down to the street. Siobhan was indeed double parked, but I couldn’t blame her since there was a huge lack of parking in this area, just like all major city centers’. We hopped into her car, and VROOM, dashed down the streets of Auckland. We exchanged pleasantries yet the mood was awkward. I had been waiting seven months to meet this Kiwi and now that I had, I couldn’t think of anything to say. I snapped a few pictures as we followed streets deep into Auckland. We began to discuss what we were to do for that afternoon, and I suggested the Auckland Zoo.



She's gonna kill me for posting this picture. Such a lovely smile though.

The Zoo

I wanted to see a Kiwi and opted for the Auckland Zoo, Siobhan agreed but as we arrived it was apparent that the Zoo was quite full and crowded. School was out and families were enjoying the spring weather and treating their families to a day at the zoo. I was disappointed but I had several days ahead of me to see a Kiwi. The Zoo idea quickly dissolved and we were again on the road to another destination. Siobhan selected Mission Bay as out next destination.

Mission Bay

Siobhan stopped so she could get her fix of coffee and was rewarded with a free newspaper. I took the time to browse the area and comment on the small cars and trucks on the road. Suck cute little things. Nothing like to monster automobiles we have in North America.



I had never encountered the ocean. I had seen it through the window of an airplane and even seen the ocean on television, but I had never touched or experienced the ocean. My first order of business was to immediately remove my shoes and slash about and let the water flow over my toes. Yes, I was acting like a total tourist because, after all, I was a tourist. I think Siobhan was a little embarrassed. After my encounter with the ocean, I picked out some seashells as souvenirs and ran along the sandy shores of Mission Bay. Siobhan and I then proceeded to talk and discuss random things. We took pictures and attempted to create a video. Both of us were big on making videos for Youtube and Live Video at that time. There was never a video that was created, but I still to this day, have the original footage. Perhaps, in due time, I will make something of it.

XBase - New Zealand 2007

I was looking forward to having a nice long shower, then several hours of rack time in a nice soft bed, or something of the sort. My long journey had run me ragged and I was unable to secure a good night rest for the duration of my journey. I smelled, well I am not fully sure if I did smell but after 24 hours without a shower, I know I was not smelling my best.

It was early, and I took the elevator with Angela to the second floor of the Base Backpackers Hostel and attempted to check-in. We attempted, however we did not succeed. It would turn out that check-in did not occur until later that afternoon (2 or 3 pm to be exact) and we were doomed to wait until the rooms had been cleared out. Angela and I promptly checked our luggage at the desk. I and purchased a generous helping of Internet time via some sort of card system, and I surfed the Internet to pass the time.

I called my mother to let her know that I had arrived safely, and I also called Siobhan to arrange for a time to meet and hang out. I had six hours to kill before I was to meet Siobhan at 1pm. The hours went quickly; I walked the neighboring streets with Angela and took in a few shops. I was amazed (again) at the infrastructure of Auckland. The beautiful paved roads, the fresh painted lines, street signs that actually marked the name of the street. This place was nothing like Ottawa.


I love the fact that all prices listed in NZ shops are the actual price and you don’t have to calculate the GST. Angela and I located the local grocery stories and corner stores (dairy) for our supplies. The morning was enjoyable and I finally fell asleep for a wondrous 45 minutes on the lobby couch. All in all, I say my six hours were well spent. I met a new friend, explored a little of my surroundings, called my mother, and purchased apple juice. Not bad, not bad at all.