thoughts on new zealand

well, finally have some time, and a moment to blogga. I'm currently watching two most likely german (lotta germans here) girls feed each other cookies. One of them dipped it in chocolate first and then put it to the other's mouth for a taste. I know this probably all sounds very sexy - trust me, it's not. They both have New Zealand sweatshirts on that I'm sure they picked up at the local gift shop and they're murmuring to each other as they shovel croissants down their throats. It's one of those mornings...
We went out for our first big night in Queenstown last night, and it was...interesting. The night began at a local pub for happy hour, and I pulled an Alicia and sang Freefalling with the band on stage. Good times, right? We went out with our host, Ritchie, and found ourselves dancing in a sea of lesbians having a great time. Only when we left did Ritchie tell us that not only were they not lezzies, but that those girls were standard NZ chicks. Yeah, not the most attractive people in the world here. Not like Aussie.
Aside from that though, it is a damn beautiful country. Ritchie (our couchsurfing buddy) took us out to the Vineyards on Friday and we tried some amazing wines, and met some really cool people. Stopped at Amisfield (the fucking Pinot!) and had a nice snack outside, soaked up the sun. Unfortunately, that's really the only nice day we've had out here. It's been cold and rainy for the most part which is doubly annoying, because it gets in the way of all the hikes and beaches and wonderful adventurous things we're supposed to be taking advantage of. Today we're headed out to a concert at some gorgeous estate where apparently Bill Clinton played a round of golf once. Whoop whoop! Nah, it should be cool - some new kiwi music that I haven't even heard yet, but is supposed to be pretty mellow and nice. Check the review tomorrow on QC please. For now, I have to go trek through some puddles, get Jess a breakfast sandwich, and prepare for a rainy day of musica. I guess it could be worse :)

Ah, Christchurch

It's our 4th day in Christchurch, and I don't want to say that I'm bored but - shit, I'm kinda bored. The weather is so fucking menopausal, and right now it's about 50 degrees and windy as fuck. Jess and I walked through town yesterday, went to a crappy little museum, and met up with our hosts for sushi. We took it easy again last night, and watched the acclaimed "The Castle" with Timmy Mac. I'm wondering to myself if it would be wrong to walk into town in a bit and see "Milk," the new (for NZ) Sean Penn. Honestly, without a car, there's just not too much to do here. Tim and Chris took us about an hour outside on Sunday and showed us the countryside which was beautiful, so I'm really looking forward to getting back out there. We stopped at a little pub on the way back and i tried my first real meat pie. DEEEElish. Chicken and mushrooms and tomato sauce - okay, I know it might sound gross, but you have to trust me. If there's one thing they know how to make over here, it's them pies. Timmy Mac is lending us his car for our trip down to Queenstown, which is undoubtedly awesome, since we were going to have to pay about 300+ to rent one. We'll stop in lake Wanaka on the way down and couchsurf with some chick who lives on the water front. Hopefully, water skiing and the like await in the next couple of days! Then on Thursday, on to QTown where we can take in all the bungee, skydiving, and white water rafting we want. Well, we'll see. A trip to the spa is in the works, too. Our traveling bodies could use a little rubdown, as long as it's in the budget. But, as Jess keeps reminding me, "It's all half price!"
As soon as I have some regular internet, I'll throw up some country pics so y'all can see exactly what I mean....

A plane, a boat, and a train. And we're here....

It's been a while since I've blogged. After Playground, I was with no internet for a while, and blogging froma cafe with backpackers milling around doesn't exactly draw inspiration. We flew into Auckland on Monday, and within five minutes of arriving, were wondering why we were there. Even the lovely Hudgy (who we met over the weekend through friends, and who so graciously offered up his chaueffer services and a place to sleep) told us that Auckland sucks, and he didn't know why we wanted to visit there. Well, it wasn't all that bad. Certainly not the coolest city, but it had it's charms. We spent much of the two days walking around, and went up in the skytower to get a view of the city. The highlight was meeting up with my friends Courtney and Fiona, who I met years ago in LA, but were back in Auckland visiting family. Those two drinks made the trip to AUCK all worth it. We hopped on a plane two days later, and landed in Wellington. Luckily, we found someone last minute to couchsurf with, and had some good times at their palace a few minutes (and uphill miles) out of the city. Ben, Pipa, and Cal were awesome, and they showed us a really good time in Wellington. My first experience with fish and chips as well. Kinda gross, to tell you the truth, but I'm glad I tried it. The next day, we had lunch with Ben, and went to our fist museum of the trip! The Te Papa (I think?) was having a Monet exhibit, but once we were in there we realized you had to pay for it, so obviously we went and had a beer on the wharf instead. Jess and I continued our theme of the trip, which has been discussing ways to keep traveling and never work again. That day, the idea surfaced that we should start our own brand, and put our restaurant and wine company in the name of that brand, so we can monopolize the business. Or at least I think that's where we were headed. We were wishing we had an extra day in Wellington, but had to get on the ferry in the morning to Christchurch. From what we had heard, the ferry ride would be a beautiful, scenic adventure that shouldn't be missed. Unfortunately, it was pissing down rain, so we spent the three hours of beutiful landscapes downstairs sleeping. I wasn't sure if we were making a pit stop at the nursing home or what, but the average age on that fucking boat must've been 105. WTF? We hit the train next, for another 5 hour scenic cruise the rest of the way to Christchurch. Trains are usually a pretty moving (pun interded, obvi) place for me, mentally. I'm able to do some of my best thinking and contemplating of life on them, especially when I'm watching a beautiful world go by. Again, of course, it was raining. I was soaking wet for 5 hours sitting in the geriatric cart, across from a man that looked freakishly similar to my dead grandfather. He kept shifting his feet around so his shoe would land on my sock, and I'd have to reach down every few minutes and pull it out from under him. I'm pretty sure he was doing it on purpose, but who knows. At the end of the trip, I was sitting indian style listening to Pink Floyd and writing down what songs I want to mix together once I start DJ'ing (yes, it's gonna happen so deal). A bunch of sheep, cows, mountains, and trees later, we were in Christchurch. The legendary Timmy Mac picked us up at the train and showed us a night complete with asian dinners, wine, and a brand new way to smoke weed. Today, we're making our way to the Pegasus Winery for a full day of NZ music. Shapeshifters! Should be pretty awesome. Will def post pics, and write up a post for QC, so check that out. Shenanagins await!

Playground Weekender is the shit. Brushfires, not so much.

I haven't been around for a few, I know. After getting back to Mundey's, we took off on Friday for Playground Weekenders, out at The Del Rio Resort up North. The place was a beautiful, a playground it definitely was. Located on a river, right beside a golf course, and surrounded by trees, I was thrilled to be away from the hot city, and in a new place. I was also pretty damn excited about the lineup for the weekend. Cold War Kids, Primal Scream, TZU, The Streets? Um, hell yeah. If it hadn't been for the pool ad the river, it may have been miserable. The temperature was reaching the high 40's, which in fahrenheit is something like 110 degrees. Crazy. We were so far away from everything, and there was no cell phone service or internet, so nobody heard about the major brushfires outside of Melbourne. I was just watching the news and it looks like the death count will be near 200. Over 750 homes went up in flames. Talk about a comedown from an awesome couple of days. Aside from that, it was an incredible weekend, and Jess and I met some fabulous people. One of which is our new friend Alex, who's place we're going to be couch surfing at this week. Check the photos to get an idea of what I mean...

This place is the WORST

I've never met anyone like this guy. A friend of a friend put me in touch with him, so I figured he'd be good people. I'm pretty sure he needs medication. Dave, the asshole, has made Jess and I feel so incredibly uncomfortable in his great big house. Desperately trying to be nice, and despite his need to be a complete prick, I offered to cook the house dinner last night. He said that he had plans to go to a bar with friends, or some shit like that, but made no effort to invite us along. That was fine by us, so we made plans to have dinner with a couple of friends in the city. As we were leaving, I heard him in the next room doing some major shit talking. Saying that we were taking advantage of him, and he's been nothing but nice, and we were going to cook dinner and then we bailed... Ha! As I started walking toward him, he slammed the door in my face. Good stuff. Way to be a gracious host man. I suppose the first flag should've popped when, after literally 2 seconds, he pulled Jess and I into the kitchen to show us the "house rules." "You have to do one thing for the house every day," "a shower lasts 5 minutes, not 25," etc. I'm all for someone laying down some rules when it's their home, but to usher you into them when you walk in the door is just bad manners. Anyway, to make it short, I'll just say that we weren't surprised when he locked us out last night. Luckily, the sweet girl downstairs got out of bed to let us in. We're packing up now, and are creeping out early, hopefully without having to run into him downstairs. Back to Mundy's!

This place is ni-iiiice

We're out in a place called Point Piper at the moment. I'm sitting on a deck, looking out at onto the rippling harbor. There are boats and boats, and boats, and a couple in a kayak moving slowly along. From here it looks like a husband and wife. Perhaps they've retired here, and can now afford themselves the great pleasures of doing little things like gliding out onto the water, only to sit there and enjoy the breeze for a while. Must be nice. Meanwhile, my mind has been aching for stimulation, begging me to pick up a book, or read the paper. After two weeks of the most fun I think I've ever had, it's probably a good idea. I feel as though I haven't been a part of an intellectual discussion in ages. There are definitely some smart folks living in Sydney, don't get me wrong. But, it seems as if things like reading and films and the news sort of take a back seat to beaching and partying. It could very well be that I've only been surrounding myself with the social youth, surely. All I know is that in New York, I constantly felt mentally motivated. I was always wanting to learn and know more, and to be as filled with knowledge as possible. I need to generate some introspection out here, to feel like I'm growing in some way or another. Jess thinks I'm crazy. She thinks I should get out of my head and stop feeling so guilty about things. It's funny to hear that from her. Back home I was always the voice beside her, telling her to live in the present, to let go of the what ifs. I'll find a common ground one way or the other, I just need to figure out how. Today will be a good day. A 20 minute walk to the beach, a sandy soft cover book, and some Bob Marly will put me in the right space for now.

Moving, AGAIN

Looks like we're gonna be packing up our shit again, moving over to Rose Bay for the week. Again, so sad to leave the boys and what has become our home base, but it's time to meet some more people, and maybe give these guys their couches back. Yesterday, we went over to Sounds of Sunday, where a bunch of DJ's were playing, including the one and only Smoking Joe. It was heaps of fun, and we danced for literally 4 hours straight. My legs hurt. Well, at least we'll be going for a nice swim at Dave's house shortly. He's a friend of a friend who said we can stay this week with him. We even have our own room! Very fancy stuff. I'll upload some pics and write some as soon as we arrive. This might be the week where we plan our NZ trip, do some touristy things, and finally get geared up for Playground Weekenders on Friday!