shaken confidence

So I looked through my grades from Auckland last night...not great. I failed one class, and two others weren't impressive: I passed them, but by the skin of my teeth. One of my friends said that perhaps only the credits come back, not the grades themselves - that would be nice, but it's not like there's ANY place it's set out in stone particularly.

But now it looks like I effed up the Journal Requirement (the actual point of this blog, sorry it wasn't actually intended to entertain anyone). From the OISP site, I was supposed to do these types of things...

Pre-Departure:

• What are your goals and objectives for studying abroad?
• What do you hope to gain from this experience (personal, academic, career)?
• Why did you select the program you are going on?
• How does it feel to leave friends, family, and NU behind?

During the semester:

• What are your first impressions? Think about the people, campus life, courses, transportation, politics, food, language, family, music, clothes, etc.
• What insights have you gained about your host country through the courses you are taking?
• How do your American values, beliefs, and traditions differ from your host country?
• What is it like being a minority in another country?
• How does the media respond to different world events?
• What is the relationship between the US and your host country?

Returning:

• What have you done that has made a significant difference in your life?
• What advise would you give to future study abroad students?
• What did you learn about your host country?
• What did you learn about yourself?
• What is your favorite memory?

Yeah. I had a quick look through this thing...looks like I started out well...but it kinda morphed into a day-to-day blog for friends to read. Which, further down the page, is listed under the unacceptable types of journals submitted. Just wonderful.

I make my own bad days I guess. I shouldn't have checked all this crap at the start of a holiday weekend, since now I can't do anything about it but stew for...four or so days.

So I guess I could write some stuff about all the above, and try to submit it. It's not like I blatantly disregarded the requirements. I just sort of...forgot about them. About the same time I started slacking off in my classes, and we know what happened there. It's not like I don't try, I just stray off course sometimes; this was only exasperated by being in a different country and trying to change as a person - I was so uptight and easily irritated by things before I left. In NZ I suppose I learned to relax and let stuff just bounce off. But perhaps I took it too much to heart, and lost my ability to self-advocate. That would explain why I didn't aggressively pursue getting help when I should have. It's not like I didn't know, at least at a gut instinct level, that I wasn't doing as well as I could have in my classes.

Perhaps this may be seen as an excuse, but with me, if I'm not interested in the subject matter being presented before me (e.g.: historic art in 15th century Europe, ick), I'm not going to engage in the course. If I don't engage, it shows in poor markings on my papers and exams. I could have dropped the classes and searched for stuff that I was interested in, but to be honest, I was nervous that they wouldn't be equivalent to any courses upon returning. (I've heard stories.) Like I said, I made my bed on this one.

If theres one thing I've learned, it's that college is a fine balance between personal and academic growth. It's all about the choices made. For example, I could go out on a Wednesday night and get to know people, but at what expense? Class on Thursday morning, where information for the exam is given? Alternatively, I could forgo taking a trip to the other side of the country, so I can stay around and catch up on my work. But then I'm unable to relate to anyone that I routinely interact with, so I'm cast off as the antisocial one. And what is really the likelihood I'm going to keep up with many of the people I met for more than say, a year or so. Or they'll keep up with me? In other words, I'm sitting here in Vermont, with a transcript of disastrous proportions, and while I made good friends there, they're all back in their American lives scattered around the country.

I don't know I guess. Maybe this entry will help salvage this journal. It certainly helped my mood. Time to go make cranberry chutney for dinner at 4. Happy Thanksgiving!

the things i should do are the things i'm not

I'm back in Boston. What a great feeling to be home again!

Although - I did NOT get my thesis done in time while over in Auckland, so I should go to the library and work on that...alas no. I'm typing in this thing and having a Dunkin' Donuts breakfast...to be honest, I feel like it's just another day and I'm loitering at Shilman Hall instead of going to class.

Aside from the fact that it's subarctic here (I think with the wind chill it was 16, or -9 Celsius, this morning), and that the sun goes down around 4:45, I don't have many complaints about being home. But then again who does?

For everyone else coming back - I thought of a really great game, it only works though flying across the country at night. Try to guess what cities your flying over, just based on the lights. It really kept me from going insane with boredom on the plane. Not to mention how weird it is to see Chicago, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati in one glance. They look like small towns that are a few miles apart, when in reality we all know how big each of those cities are.

So now I am home, and from here going to the Study Abroad office to do what I need to do upon returning (which I don't have a clue what), I suppose this is the appropiate entry with which to say goodbye. I hope I didn't bore you all too much with my musings over the past four months. Frankly I liked it as a way to keep sane, and it gave me something to do.

E noho rā, and thanks for reading.

I'm waiting for my laundry to get done, and I'm generally sulking about, so I mightaswell write something.

I feel absolutely horrible. I shouldn't be...it's the last day I spend in NZ and I think people are gonna start doing stuff this afternoon (aka drinking). I probably won't do all that much, I kinda do want to get to the right plane...not say...accidentally fly to Australia or whatever (well I could deal with that).

My damn thesis isn't done...yet. Which means it's coming back with me to the US - where I can work on it at my leisure (sort of) and email my professor a final copy...I emailed her, lets hope she doesn't object all that much. To be fair, I did send what I had done. But right now I've psyched myself out of working on it anymore...did I mention that I feel horrible about this whole thing?

I have to get to campus to drop off some books at the library, and I do want to get a sweatshirt or something from here. Maybe I'll go to the Auckland Museum...I doubt it though because I don't think I could give it justice though.

Plus I need to pack. Fortunately I didn't bring my life with me so I can probably get that done in half an hour...once my clothes are dry I'll just get that out of the way I suppose.

Speaking of...its 10:10 so the hour's up...

Just woke up, and it looks like a beautiful day out - not a cloud in the sky from what I can see out my window. Looking at the forecast it appears that today will be the last nice day I see in Auckland - although tomorrow may not be bad (just not as perfect as today).

I am so tempted - you have no idea - to blow off my paper today and go picture taking. Which I can't sadly. I should have a lot more done on it than I do currently, but I had the most severe writers block this week...fortunately I finally broke through it yesterday afternoon.

Well, maybe if I write about one film...maybe even two.

Better get started.

i'm up way too early for Sunday...

The long sought secret to fertility must be here in New Zealand, if the Associated Press is as reliable a source as they espouse to be...

Obama’s Election Inspires an Indigenous Party in New Zealand

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: November 7, 2008

"...Maori account for 15 percent of New Zealand’s population of 3.4 million, and they are among the country’s poorest, worst housed and least healthy citizens, enduring higher than average unemployment rates."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/world/asia/08zealand.html

New Zealand Leader Concedes Defeat

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: November 8, 2008

Filed at 7:20 a.m. ET

"John Key, a 47-year-old multimillionaire former foreign currency trader and leader of the conservative National Party, swept easily to power in this South Pacific country of 4.1 million people. He did so by ousting Prime Minister Helen Clark's Labour Party."

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-AS-New-Zealand-Election.html

So that would be an increase of 700,000 (20.58%) in 24 hours...?

from halloween

found pictures! Not the most flattering...



I'm only posting one of the tatts, as the other one is a confederate flag...and I don't want to offend anyone (and we all know what that flag looks like anyhow).

So to add some content- one of the girls drew faces on oranges to represent Zack, Cody, and myself...

I'm on the left. Does anybody else see the resemblance to South Park's Cartman?

uninspired

My last exam is Monday...and I haven't started studying yet. Oops.

I'd like to get to campus, because at my apartment I'm just too distracted. But there's a problem: my sleep schedule is completely screwed up. While trying to study for my finals in the past two weeks, I was pulling all nighters, since I work much better at night - I guess it's more that everyone else isn't up and about to distract me (by doing non academic things, which investigating is much better than studying I suppose). As a result, I am now accustomed to going to bed around...4, 5 AM and getting up...whenever I decide to get up.

Or worse still, I have tried going to bed around 10:30 - 11:00 (not tonight clearly, read on...), but I found myself just waking up in the middle of the night. Not like just-had-a-nightmare woken up (or even have to go to the toilet woken up), but woken up without rhyme or reason. Yet, I felt so refreshed that I'd guess it was around 5:30 or something, but to my dismay, my phone would say "2:45" or something equally ridiculous. So to pass the time (clearly sleep wasn't going to), I'd putz around online or playing my computer games...go back to bed around 6 AM.

That was the case today (Friday). Except I actually fell asleep, and didn't get up for hours. Usually when that happens, I'll end up overshooting the actual time, where I wake up and think it's much later than it is. Instead today, I woke up, and guessed it was maybe...11:30, noon even...

Not even close. Try 3:15 PM. And my alarm was even set and on! (sorry Martyn for having to hear that racket for I don't even want to know how long).

In short, got nothing done today. Again. Maybe I'll try some studying right now...

Other than that, nothing much has been happening. Some friends went on another trip to the South Island, which I couldn't partake in because of this stupid final on Monday. Surprisingly, I'm not completely broke, but actually I have a decent buffer in cash alone, not even counting my checking account or my credit card (which I am NOT touching again until I get a job). Except for a potential trip next weekend, I don't plan to do much, so I should be more than set. I do also have to write my senior thesis for NU, and that's not gonna get going until Monday at the earliest.

lazy sunday

Nothing better to do today except just sit around and do...nothing. Classes ended last Friday, and final exams start on Tuesday I think, though I don't have my first final until the 31st - and it's a hellish one. Not so much in the sense that I'm not sure if I'll do fine, but rather that my grade for this class, Legal Method, is the final exam. Nothing else.

With that in mind, I decided it would be in my best interest to not try and bum along with Zack, his friend from home Cody, and the girls (Kirstin, Sam, Cory) on what seemed to be a impromptu "road" trip to Wellington and back. Though I really do wish I could have gone - it involves a 12-hour scenic train ride through the North Island, and then I think they're picking up a car and driving back via the West Coast. The cards were stacked against me though - the car only had room for the five of them, so I'd have to book a flight back to AKL (which I wouldn't have objected to); but the dealbreaker for me was that when I called the hostel, I found out I wouldn't have been able to stay in the same room as they were in - the sixth bed was already booked. And everyone here knows damn well how much I hate meeting people and dealing with strangers.

So anyway, according to "official" university rules, as of 12 noon today, no one is allowed to have alcohol or make substantial noise within student housing for the remainder of the semester. In that light, we had a end of semester / Halloween bash on Friday night - aside from beers we brought ourselves, there was a very large amount of drinks on the house. I went as a representation of white trash - so I had a torn and stained wife beater on and some tattoos painted by Kirstin - I think there are pictures of them completed...I hope, I really want them!

Other than that, I'm really bored today. I don't plan to start studying until tomorrow, as my brain needs a mental break from studying after a test on Thursday (which was essentially the final). I got hung up on one question which I believed had a typo in it, and as a result didn't finish the test. I was not pleased about that - I will probably pass, but it won't be pretty. Even if I get say, a C+ in logic and a C in Art History, I will hopefully have either an A or high B in Legal Method and History to offset those grades, and maybe keep my GPA decent.

a state of limbo (or disputed consciousness)

I'm too tired to do anymore studying - my logic textbook full of really simple errors toward my stopping point is evidence of that - but I just attempted to sleep for half an hour with little success there either. Ergo...here I am.

This weekend was more of the same old things that weekends are comprised of - some variation of the three girls made their way into my life on Friday and Saturday. Friday, it was Kirstin and Sam - watched Shawshank Redemption while drinking: they both had never seen it, and when Martyn blurted out the ending (in asking Zack a question about it), pretty much gave it up for them. Whatever - serious films shouldn't be watched when alcohol is being consumed.

The entire scene was fairly deja vu for me - all I could think of was the past two years and the many movies that were nominally 2 or 3 hours long, but the actual time they took was a equation consisting of actual length (hrs.) + number of shots consumed by whomever held the remote (so usually Mark) + number of people present (me, Mark, Jon, Kim, Beth [later on])...I think it's clear where I'm taking this.

At least the film was completed in around its actual time...maybe two rewound scenes, but no pausing! (no remote either...that helped)

Saturday was everybody, started out at the girls' place, with improvised white Russians and other vodka-based mixed drinks. Blech. Given the choice between no alcohol and alcohol, I'll drink vodka, but such an extreme is rarely the case. Hence, I think I'll leave the vodka to the Nordic-types, which leaves more whiskey, tequila, rum, beer, wine...for my consumption.

Made our way down to the Viaduct club area, and started out at Degree - I had been there before, but was substantially buzzed...whereas this Saturday, the time from my last drink to actually getting there (my text message log leads me to estimate about an hour) resulted in me being completely sober. I sorta danced a little...but was fully conscious of my inability to dance. Meanwhile, two other friends, Bonnie and Gina, were at the club as well, but were just leaving for another place, Danny Doolans. I ended up leaving and heading over there in short order.

Being sober there was annoying at first, as I was legit irritated by being constantly shoved and jostled by other people going to and fro - although not reacting to strongly was in my best interests - the closest call I had involved a large gentleman wearing a sport jacket; looking up and focusing, I quickly realized this to be the likes of a bouncer, who was in the process of removing another drunk, resisting patron. Yeah, Rajan, bad idea to cross him. Fortunately as the night went on the club emptied a little - from no breathing room to pockets of actual elbow room by 3 am. My flatmate, Christine, also happened to be at that bar. It was a little odd at first, since I just kept locking eyes (and I'm sure she knew I was there as well), but we finally said hi. Ended up buying a drink for her and her friend, who was very nice - hung out with her a bit (no I don't remember her name), and I thought I had something good going - but then she wanted to go smoke; being the idiot I can be, I said I didn't. Oh well. Found Bonnie, and just chilled with her and her friends, with Christine and her friends finding their way to us later on.

So I'm still not sleepy, one bit. I'd put a movie on and go lie on my bed, but since it's 5 am, it would be inconsiderate to everyone else sleeping (lucky...) to use my speakers...and I don't really relish the idea of sitting at my desk with headphones on. Moving the computer is downright out of the question. *sigh* the travesties that comprise my life...I could always study some more...oh wait, that's making me sleepy...

I don't know what happened but...

Yesterday was a milestone in this study abroad adventure business - the start of my last full month in New Zealand. I'll be honest, I get a mixed feeling about crossing that point - I can't wait to be back in Boston and see friends again. But, on the other hand, I don't think I accomplished all that much, at least in the realm of what I wanted to do. Most of that was financial - save for maybe the past two weeks when the bottom fell out on the dollar, each NZ$1 was around US$1...let's average it at 1.35 or so. When I received orientation materials from the University of Auckland, they suggested a budget of $175-$275 (US)/week. Study Abroad suggested around $6,000 (US) - yes that's more than the uni, but I now completely understand why they suggested it - and yes, I was stubborn and decided to go on the lower end of the uni budget (less than the Study Abroad office - probably about US $225/wk). So now that it is around $1.60 +/- (link), I have virtually no money left to splurge, if you will.

(P.S. - no consumer prices haven't adjusted accordingly. So yes, I'm getting substantially more bang for my buck right now. For example, a 12-pack of beer at the local mini-mart has always been $25: in July, that was $18.50, now it's $15.15)

I suppose if there is one thing I have learned, it's the importance of forward-thinking. E.g. - when I do get a job, I am most definitely making sure, through some automatic process, that 15 - 25% of my paycheck is instantly squirreled away in my savings account. More if possible, because I think although it might be devastating for certain aspects of my social/relationship life, I should consider moving back home and staying put for at least a year, which will be significantly cheaper than moving to say, Boston or New York and dealing with all that.

I also don't feel that I traveled anywhere near as much as I could have. Many different reasons behind that - yes, money is part of it - but I am considering getting a loan from the bank of Dad (most likely will call him today).

But, as most of my close friends reading this stateside know, I have a big mental block about doing pretty much anything alone, especially something like traveling. I suppose it's more I just want to be with people to share whatever memories happen. I don't know. I suppose I didn't really make too much of an effort to get out and meet many people - but that's a catch-22...it would have required me to most likely go out alone, at least at first. (see the problem?) And yes, I know that I fell into some of my old habits that probably ultimately alienated (or at least gave a fairly negative impression of me to) some...especially in the relationship / looking department - to boot, I naturally have nothing to show for that.

Yes, a third goal would have been to meet someone, even if for just the four months I was / am here. I try to keep the fact that I am very actively looking to myself (aside from that omission and the borderline ecstatic state I go into when I think I finally met 'her'); a lot of my friends, especially guy friends, think I'm absolutely insane when I say I'm tired of being single - it's been...wow...four years since I last had a date that wasn't ambiguous in its intent. Well, it's not like I'm really enjoying many of the "privileges" - I'm not going out to clubs/bars/parties (however much I keep prodding friends to go) and meeting/hooking up with girls; I'm not all that active in the dating scene, somewhat by choice (not mine though!) - and I'm sure that's not going to change, especially if I move home...

The ultimate question is, even though I have 29 days left, will I actually do anything? Obviously, this coming week will be a low likelihood - it's the final week of classes, and I have a large test on Thursday that I kinda need to learn 2/3rds of the material for. That's gonna be this weekend. Next Friday is a Halloween/end-of-classes bash/shitshow...so looking forward to that. That will be followed by a week of intense studying as my first exam is on the 31st, and it's worth a whopping 100% of my final grade...take a breath for a moment, than I have to work on my senior dissertation for NU, which is due the 7th as it is being graded as a term paper here. Oh yes, then another week of studying for an exam (only 50% though) in a class I barely went to on the 12th.

Uh...wow, even though my carefully planned out schedule above will be completely trashed by say...midday today when I get up and can't be bothered with doing anything and play my computer game instead...I now see why it is said that everyone goes into virtual hibernation during finals. It seems like a long time...but it's definitely needed.

meh, and other onomatopoetic sounds

Ah yes, once again, it's 1 in the morning and another red-eye entry brought to you by the resident insomniac.

The weekend was decent. After returning from class Friday, a bunch of us went over to the Domain - one of the large parks in Auckland, and my apartment complex is more or less within it - and played touch rugby. I'm improving! By that, I'm no longer just standing around clueless or running half-assed to look like I'm actually involved - but my offense needs some work (probably my defense as well). When I got the ball, I was too consumed by the euphoria to actually do anything useful - like run forward...more or less I ended up handing it off (backwards passing only...) to the nearest teammate, as if it were coated in some lethal goo. Another barbecue followed - the ruined dish this time was pork sausages from the butcher down the road...cooked them way too fast on the outside...so by the time they weren't raw in the middle, the outsides were charred black. Yum.

My goal of getting out was...well technically achieved...and it was a fun time. Two of the girls came up from their apartment in center city, and well...there was some drinking, and we ended up heading down to Newmarket to a really nice bar, which I hadn't been to since late August when I went there with a girl I was interested in at the time. I really should start busting out my camera - IF ONLY I COULD GET MY COMPUTER TO READ MY FUCKING MEMORY CARD! That is easily going to be the biggest aggravation of this entire semester abroad.

Anyway, today was a lazy Sunday - watched some friends play volleyball from my balcony, while listening to the crushing (emotionally, not statistically...9-8 in 11 innings) defeat Boston suffered at the hands of Tampa Bay. All I can think about though, relating to this series, is that Papelbon better not be injured too badly - that was a bad deflection he took off his left side. And Timlin...gahh well the guy has to pitch sometime. Lets hope he retires this off season (don't be a hero...you're not qualified...)

Aight, that's enough of this for now.

inspiration...

I think I have finally my catalyst to focus my senior dissertation.

The assignment nominally is to assess the American Dream and how its depiction has changed throughout the history of Hollywood, using films from the class and outside research at one's leisure. However, since I am not writing the paper primarily for this university or this history course, but rather for my senior capstone back at NU, I was able to work with the professor to customize the paper for those requirements. More or less, it's basically going to be an expanded version of the assignment.

I do find it almost inappropriate though to not look at the American Dream as anything but the American Nightmare, especially since I will probably take a contemporary approach to writing this piece - essentially, I want to answer the question, what is the American Dream right now? My answer to this question is another question: what dream?

"I'm losing my mind" is overly presumptuous

killing time before my 11:00 tutorial. can't be bothered to write with acknowledgment of the rules of the English language, such as complete sentences or capital letters, too tired. really stupid idea to attempt staying up all night, as i had been up with friends until 2:00-ish. no i didn't, by the way...was concerned that i'd fall asleep and not wake up in time for breakfast and my 8 am - surprisingly, I did.

have been told by a majority of my readers (2) that essentially i can be overly verbose and...erm...borderline obsessed on topics? yah i don't remember exactly what the issues were, not that i care frankly. well my bad, i'll try to be more diverse...or less frequent with writing. I dunno.

would really, really, like to go out this weekend - club, bar, movie - fuck, i'll settle for the dairy! (no, i won't actually...). or alternatively, maybe those who come up could bother themselves to bring other people? (hinty hint HINT.) there are people I want to get to know, but i can't think of a logical or subtle (see a recent post on the subject) way to make this happen on my own, lest i be labeled a complete creep.

whatever. maybe tonight will be an impromptu outing - after all, a few friends are spending the whole day idolizing a strange fellow who they knew for at most...a few days? oh yeah, and getting absolutely blasted.

I've decided it's time for a break from my work. Been at this computer on campus since about 10:30 this morning, researching for my senior dissertation - I think I finally have a topic and direction that will satisfy the requirements for the course I'm taking here, as well as what I need to get done at Northeastern.

So meanwhile, I'm listening to the debate that started...now. I have officially removed my support from McCain (as offical as a facebook page can be...) - perhaps temporarily, perhaps for good. I definitely want to listen to both sides, because I frankly am at a loss on who to vote for...seeing that I just recieved my ballots via e-mail from Vermont...

So here goes. Will probably write some stuff as this malay progresses.

stand out - when your bored, write in a blog. everyone else is just looking at porn.

That should be a sufficient justification for this whole thing.

Anyhow, the boredom continues. Barbecue earlier tonight - I think ill stick to grilling steaks henceforth - I had found these delicious prawn skewers this afternoon at the Auckland Fish Market (more on that in a moment), and I marinated them in a spicy sauce and Cajun spices. BUT when I went to grill them, first I severely undercooked them: the first shrimp was decent, but about 10 minutes after eating it, I got this sudden nasty feeling in my stomach, like I felt like I was going to be sick right there. I thought to look down at the shrimp, and upon going back to my flat and retrieving my watch, which can't tell time but still has a wicked intense light on it, and looking, sure enough - the shrimp weren't cooked. At all. Back to the barbie they went. For a long time.

Of course, in my attempts to keep me alive at least one more night, I overcompensated to the point that the shrimp shriveled up and were permanently adhered to the skewers. Yum, rubber-like shrimp. However, as my friend Sam put it, the barbecue has more or less become his oven - in that there will probably be another cookout tomorrow evening. And for that, I have a steak that will have been marinating in a basic brine and Worcestershire sauce for just about 30 hours...and if I screw up a steak, well I just don't deserve the title of "man," now do I?

I have found my thoughts starting to stray back to what I will do upon returning home - don't get me wrong, it's amazing here, the friends I've made are wonderful, and I hope to keep in touch with a substantial majority of them (preferably all...). But, I think when November does come, it will be time to go back to Boston. I already have a list of culinary things I plan upon embarking in the second I return - UHOP for buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks, "Worst Pizza Place Ever" (aka Pizza Pie-er on Mass Ave) for their jalapeño poppers...ugh the list could go on forever.

(for the record, because I know of corporate types trolling blogs and sites similar to this to get true opinions on products, Pizza Pie-er is actually wicked awesome...)

OH yes, I forgot - the fish market. It is very neat to see - sadly I didn't bring my camera...but I'll probably be going at least once again in the near future to get more things. However, it could not be in a more sketchy location of Auckland - at least on the weekend, as all that are around it are fishery-related factories, which looked fairly desolate - actually completely desolate. Although there is a shuttle from center city to the area, I decided it was a nice day and I didn't want to wait a half-hour, so I walked out to it.

The first 2/3rds of the walk are through what I'm going to guess are reclaimed port areas. What I mean by that is, probably 10, 15 years ago, the area was probably also really run down factories and other industrial type things, but since that point, they have been redeveloped into upscale condominiums and workplaces (e.g. I walked past...Vodafone, Microsoft, HP, you get the idea). But, quite literally, I turned the corner, and all there was were desolate streets and closed factories...if this were any city in the U.S. I'd be concerned about getting mugged (regardless of it being the middle of the afternoon) - the market was an oasis in a desert of shit, quite frankly.

Within - the most diverse selection of fresh fish and crustaceans I've seen in quite a long time - I don't even think we have a permanent market like this in Boston. Yes, we have Haymarket...but that is really just a summer thing...more or less a large-scale farmers market with other things. Also, found a shop that had good quality meats, cheeses, and (hopefully) pies - bought one of those. But I don't think it would be worth going all the way to the viaduct unless its for fish.

¿ʇı ǝlpuɐɥ noʎ uɐɔ

˙ʇuıod sıɥʇ ʎq ƃuıpɐǝɹ pǝddoʇs ǝʌɐɥ ʇsoɯ ǝɹns ɯ,ı˙˙˙ʇuɐɔıɟıuƃıs ooʇ ɹo `ƃuol ooʇ ǝq ʇ,uoʍ ʇı ǝsıɯoɹd ı ˙os ǝʞıl ʎɹʇuǝ ƃolq ǝɹıʇuǝ sıɥʇ ǝʇıɹʍ oʇ pǝpıɔǝp ǝʌɐɥ ı ʇɐɥʇ pǝɹoq ʎlǝʇnlosqɐ os ɯɐ ı

˙ǝɔıds unɾɐɔ ɥʇıʍ pǝʇɐoɔ puɐ pǝʇɐuıɹɐɯ sɹǝʍǝʞs uʍɐɹd `suǝddɐɥ ʎllɐnʇɔɐ ʇı ɟı `ǝnɔǝqɹɐq ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ʇɥƃıuoʇ ˙ʞǝǝʍ sıɥʇ sɹǝuuıp ǝlqıssod ɹoɟ sʇɔnpoɹd ɹǝɥʇo ʇsƃuoɯɐ `pooɟɐǝs ɟo uoıʇɔǝlǝs ʇsɐʌ ʎɹǝʌ ɐ ˙ƃuıʇsǝɹǝʇuı sɐʍ ʇɐɥʇ `ʎɐpoʇ ʇǝʞɹɐɯ ɥsıɟ - ʎɐʍʎuɐ ʇnq

˙ǝqʎɐɯ˙˙˙dn ǝpıs-ʇɥƃıɹ oʇ ʞɔɐq ǝq llıʍ ʍoɹɹoɯoʇ ˙ʍou sıɥʇ ɟo ɥƃnouǝ s,ʇɐɥʇ

a quiet weekend

Everyone can use a weekend of being antisocial, or dorky/dweeb-like, however you want to interpret it. It so happens that mine was this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I would've been more than content in putting such a weekend off as long as possible, maybe even until I return stateside. With everyone scattered all over the Northeast, be it for school or (mostly now) work, something tells me Montpelier will be a fairly desolate place. It's not like I'll be staying too long, just through Christmas - the whole time I will be looking for a job and whatnot.

Anyhow, no such luck. Finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in respect to catching up in Intro to Logic - only 3 chapters to go! Perhaps I'll be able to start going to lecture again and actually engaging in whatever-the-hell is being talked about! Yeah...about that, I have decided that for the remainder of the term, I shall attend all lectures and tutorials unless a extreme circumstance prohibits this (such as...being so far behind in material there's no point in going...heh heh). Well, okay, most who read that will scoff and realize that I will most likely break that pledge by say...Monday. Not true - I actually enjoy my one lecture at 3 pm...yes Monday is my easiest day.

Now that spring is in full swing around these parts, usually one person or another is holding a barbecue at their flat - such is the case tomorrow evening. They provide the grill, we bring our food and drink - I like the sound of that - however, I am thinking of going to the Auckland Fish Market in the morning with hopes of securing lump crab meat - if so, and depending on price, I plan to make crab cakes - enough for myself definitely, but perhaps for others...and some grilled asparagus and white wine...hmm deluxe barbecue...I'm salivating at the thought of this already. And if I can't do that, I have a backup plan involving marinated steak with cajun spice rub, mushrooms, and a red wine.

I will post pictures of the market if I get there.

Does anyone know why a memory card from a camera won't read in the card reader drive? To get technical - my camera's SD card, upon insertion in my computer's (important) SD drive, will not load (also important - the computer knows its there, as acknowledged in 'My Computer') However, said card works in my flatmate's computer, and other cards work fine in mine...

ugh.

October already?

I don't know what happened. All of the sudden, it's 45 days until I return to the US. It seems like such a blur in all reality...

This week has been strange - I've been sleeping, a lot. Inexplicably also, in my opinion. Today was the second day in a row I was unable to get up in time for my first class, and that led to a subsequent justification for taking the whole day off. Well...it's probably just because my sleeping schedule is completely whacked at the moment - I've been staying up until 1, 2 in the morning...plus 8 - 10 hours = wake up anywhere from 9 to noon. Hmmph. Perhaps tonight I'll try going to bed at, say, 11? Ironically tomorrow I have a light day, no class until 2 pm...

Not that I really think it matters, the classes here are nothing like Northeastern. There, I'd be inclined to go mainly because I knew that a substantial part of a term grade was based on actual participation. Here, it seems to be that course grades are based on one's ability to re-hash learned material. I suppose the one exception to this, and figuratively, the course I feel I'm doing best in, is my history class - that course requires two papers: no tests, no exams, not even that much reading.

I do know that I have some substantial catching up to do...I got my 2nd intro to logic test back, the grade was a spectacular 27%! (oh shit.) In my defense, I was really sick - I had the flu when I should have been studying, not to mention any emotional / mental chaos at the time...I did file the paperwork requesting 'compassionate consideration' for that test, maybe I'll get to take it again, or even better, just have the final exam count higher - because I am studied in the material...the last test was an 85% (which at UoA is an A-).

Also, I realized this week that I've done virtually nil on my senior dissertation...oops.

This weekend though most of my close friends are skipping town for another ski trip; of those left, one is busy with an orchestra concert and the other is in a precarious position equal to mine (well, maybe not...), and I don't know about the others. If I - upon finishing this - start working this afternoon, do a little tomorrow either before or after my two classes, and then go all out Saturday and Sunday, I should be able to handle a little drinking fun...

So on that note, time to delve into the wonderful world of Intro to Logic. Oh yeah, and laundry.

Free...as a bird...

There is really something to be said for subtlety. I just don't know with absolute certainty what it is yet - though I think I am starting to get my head around it though.

Here's what I've learned so far - subtlety is NOT:

• persistence to the degree that "yes" is really a sugar-coated "alright already let's do something so you shut up"
  
• visits without goals/activities in mind.
  
• [this bullet point is intentionally left blank] (well, I haven't learned that much yet I suppose...)
  

In other words, subtlety is what I'm not. And by "not," I mean what I used to not be. Effective 1:15 AM (NZ Summer Time), on Monday 29 September, I'm going to try being a subtle creature. This may result in me missing out, but given what ultimately has transgressed between myself and the reason for this change, I don't think (Bad play on words warning) I'll...miss...what I'm missing.

I think that this proves the whole part of how people change when they go overseas - oddly enough, I chose to open up a random entry in the blog - I chose an old entry from I think the first week of classes. some things remained the same - i was still bitching about Art History...


So anyway...

If only I could write papers as quickly as I write blog entries. In that I've gotten to -- 176 words...since I started this just after 1 am (it's now 1:36)...well, I guess it's not that fast. Point is, I have a 2,000 word paper due in just over 24 hours - and I haven't done one iota for it. I guess I've just really stopped caring about this class. See my last blog entry. However, there is hope - I had a paper of an exactly similar length late last week, and I managed to get that done in about four hours (no joke Mark...)

And to finish off, I share the following YouTube video to pay homage to all the negative political ads that everyone is being bombarded with stateside...

I absolutely hate this class...

...so instead I'm going to write in here, while sort of paying attention to lecture. The class is about historical art in Europe throughout the Renaissance Era. Don't get me wrong, I like looking at the pieces, and I'd love to get back to Europe sometime and see these places. However, I could care less about any of the other details. I would have dropped this course, why I didn't I don't know.

Anyway, nothing too new in life - tomorrow the residence hall that I live at is organizing a free trip to some hot pools outside Auckland - I hope that turns out to be fun...

Oh, our flat is finally having another party - well, it started out as a challenge from me to another girl over Edward Fortyhands - except here they don't measure in ounces, nor do they have bottles of beer in an equivalent size (1.2 liters). I guess here, it's called "Edward Scrumpyhands," I'm assuming that has something to do with the type of bottle...

que sera sera

For some reason, I was convinced to hit up the club scene again tonight, why I don't even know. It was more or less a drastic failure (at least for me) from the get-go. Worse, it wasn't anyone's fault but my own. In other words, for those who don't know me really intimately, pretty much every single weakness of mine manifested itself in some form, and somehow contributed to the detriment. Don't get me wrong, I'm elated that the two guy friends I went down with are probably hooking up with two very good looking girls tonight - they did the work, they earned it, but the whole reminded me of how shy (or maybe just socially retarded) I am. Alternatively, I could find fault in another friend of mine for not introducing me as enthusiastically, but they had a good point after I alluded to my issues - "you could always go over and introduce yourself..."

However, by the time the above transgressed, I would have violated the man law, in my interpretation. Although, yes, there were three girls initially (key), by the time I started protesting in secret, only the two girls that were introduced to the guys remained, and I strongly believe the third girl went elsewhere for the same reason I was hesitant to get in the middle of my guy mates. So anyway, I distanced myself, and was OK with things - I actually told my female friend (the one who told me to introduce myself), "well, if I'm not gonna meet anyone tonight, I might-as-well go drink and forget about everything." That was going well and we were all on the dance floor enjoying ourselves, until, oh yeah - forgot to mention, she's single too! So...her and her girl friend got hit on by other guys, who pretty much just shoved me out of the way - the first time through I shoved my way back in, but afterward I came to and decided it wasn't worth a fight, I just walked off the dance floor and stewed from afar.

Watching them enjoy themselves, and my mates enjoy themselves, versus me standing awkwardly alone drinking, further pissed me off. I felt it come up in my face...just the whole scowl and flushing of the cheeks, you probably know what I mean. In other words, I essentially started cock-blocking myself. To seal the deal, I saw my two mates and their gals do a dance train off the floor over to the bar. With that I decided it was time to go home, even though that meant going home alone. My mood plus my lack of self-promotion had more or less sealed my fate.

Perhaps I made my own bed on this one. [redacted] If so, read: I'M STILL SINGLE, AND I'M STILL LOOKING. [redacted]. I dunno, I'm just sick of always having to feel like I have to plead and beg to do things with people - when for every 10 times I do that, I maybe am once asked to join in without me doing any sort of action (asking, first observing then..., etc.).

don't drink and...have the flu

Wow, it's been a really long time since I wrote in this thing. Oh well - I've been away from Auckland the past two weeks, nor am I psyched to be back. At all. Aside from the tests and the fact I've class again, I have the flu. Bona fide this time. As in - body aches, severe chills, headache, etc...so to that effect this entry will be relatively short. Also the reason why I'm in on a Saturday night. Boo. Pretty much killing time while I have another cup of blackcurrant tea that has medicine in it...that's nice. And I'm definitely getting up at 5:30 tomorrow to have another...well maybe not.

Since I can't think clearly, I can't be bothered to write anything more now. Though I will definitely - it has been the best two weeks yet, on multiple fronts.

obviously I'm procrastinating...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/nyregion/27arrival.html
August 27, 2008
Newcomers Adjust, Eventually, to New York
By CARA BUCKLEY
Sometime over the course of a person’s first year in New York, there usually comes that moment. It can happen in the first days or weeks, or after 10 months. It can happen repeatedly, or without people noticing, at least not at first.
Newcomers suddenly realize either that the city is not working for them or that they are inexorably becoming part of it, or both. They find themselves walking and talking faster.
The subway begins to make sense. Patience is whittled away; sarcasm often ensues. New friends are made, routines established, and city life begins to feel like second nature...

Ok, so the article itself is concerned with NYC. Other than that, it's something that other city dwellers can relate to. I don't even know why I put it up - well, I liked it for one - but it's not like I'll be here in Auckland long enough to really apply it here.

I suppose the case could be made about Boston. No, it is not a city of 8 million - just a small town of...maybe 1 million? I don't know? Still, though I moved there for college in September of 2004, I probably didn't stop feeling like a tourist until after the summer of 2005 - so about a year later.

How does one know?
Well, for me, it wasn't probably a typical moment; when I was growing up in Vermont, I couldn't wait to leave - the state was just so damn boring! Especially after living - more or less year-round - for four years (I'm counting the time I'm here as still being "from" Boston), I have to say I've developed quite an appreciation for the opportunities to head north. It got to the point (this past summer at least) that I really didn't care to stay in town on the weekends; it was a nice escape.

What are some other points brought up...did I feel lonely despite being surrounded by people almost constantly...
I still do sometimes. Just being surrounded by people doesn't make one feel welcomed/accepted. Don't get me wrong, I have my circle of friends - but, for example, on the T, that kind of surrounding...it isn't comforting. In fact, I'd make a strong case for it being the exact opposite - especially on the rush hour trains (and more in the morning than at night) - just hundreds of people, most of whom look somewhat annoyed at the fact that they had to get out of bed in the first place. Encountering that kind of mentality just reinforces how much they don't care about the other peoples' problems - nor do I care about theirs.

Back to VT for a moment - I do now find myself thinking how 'rural' it is - even just with the laid back lifestyle, seeming resistance to "change" (weasel-word: my standard is based on how I live now...), and (a good thing), how friendly some people are.

I don't know...wow it's 1 o'clock. Time to study. I will probably ramble on later about this.

Procrastinating the inevitable...

What I should be doing right now: short reading and prep for tutorial in an hour.

Oh well.

It's only five pages, so I have...45 minutes.

Anyway, it's finally starting to become tolerable in this city - right now it's sunny out, and at least according to the display on the bus, this should be the first day I think in a month that it's not going to turn overcast or rain. At all. (yeah right...)

On the home strech to mid-semester break, which starts Saturday. Two weeks of no classes, drinks with friends, travel, and so on. I will probably end up staying in town the first week at least. Not because I don't want to go anywhere, but things just didn't organize themselves the way I envisioned. People made plans, many before they even got here in July (so clearly I can't do anything about that). I probably would have done the same thing if I had somehow coordinated going abroad with friends - for example, if they went to Australia or Christchurch, I'd visit them.

I do have a good amount of work to do however...I will confess I have been skipping one of my classes for just over a week (including today): recieved an e-mail outlining the textbook sections to be covered, opened my textbook and realized I was nowhere near that point. Oops. The next test (for this class) is after break, so I should be fine if I catch up.

No regrets though - I am going to Queenstown the second week to ski and watch other friends bungee jump - apparently the main site there is three times as high as the bridge (134 meters/44 stories); the platform, accessed by gondola, is just suspended in midair? no thanks...

Tonight may be interesting...as the two girls in our flat are usually elsewhere - on Tuesday, my flatmate Martyn was proud to report that he had a conversation for a whole 90 seconds with one of the girls (who is NEVER in, or if she is, in her room)-, the three of us will usually end up procrastinating nightly in the common room. The point is that both Zack and Martyn are de facto on break after today...and poor, poor Rajan has a really stupid Art History test at 2 PM tommorrow. ACK! If I leave campus after my tutorial, I should be home by 12:45...a short break for lunch, then I have possibly five - six hours of study time (and I'm not joking around MARK), and then I'll take a break anyway. I'll probably go visiting for a little bit then, who knows.

Alright, I can't procrastinate anymore. Time to go read.

It mightaswell be a sack of potatoes...

I told you it wasn't graceful...

Humans can't fly...

I suppose it could be said that one of my fears is falling - even if it is secured with a thick tethered cord, harness and staffed platform. Although it took two attempts, that fear was conquered - not gracefully though (no one said anything about it needing to be graceful...).

Up above is the Auckland Harbour Bridge, and the platform is underneath the bridge at the highest point (count back 6 supports, under the two flags) - about 40 meters or 13 stories up. Although I was ultra psyched for the quest, I made the amateur mistake of looking down off the platform, and completely copped out at first. Don't get me wrong, I still had every intention of going, just not right then. I just needed to catch my breath.

At least now I know that it really isn't all that bad; once I jumped off the platform, well, I couldn't go back then, right? (my most sincere apologies to my parents that I will no longer be able to continue the Frantz family name...)

I was, however, finally able to get a decent shot of Auckland...even though it was shrouded in mist - perhaps it added to the quality?

(P.S. - click each image to get their actual size - not dial up friendly)

Multinationalism?

I thought this was really strange; I figured that like TV and radio, online advertisements would be targeted toward people who actually might need or use their services.


So why does an ad for a Canadian telephone company appear in a New York Times article which I'm reading here in Auckland?

Fail.

An endorsement for AXE body spray?

Just got off the phone with STA Travel about possibly heading to Europe after Auckland. I guess since I've used part of my ticket for study abroad, I apparently can't get a refund or use any of that money toward further flights. Apparently that would mean if I wanted to fly direct from Auckland, I'd essentially be booking a new ticket on top of the other ticket which wouldn't be used.

That's really stupid.

So instead I asked about flying from Boston the next day (give myself a chance to recoup.), wow I thought the flight from Auckland was good - it would apparently be $950 to go from Boston, round trip. Double-plus good.

The agent I spoke was wicked nice too, a little flirtatious even. Her voice sounded cute (wow, I've used that word twice in one week...record shattering)...if that means anything. Maybe those ads for Axe are true, even though in premise when I saw them they looked absolutely ridiculous. Yes, I'm currently having a look on YouTube in another tab.

I need to get a new belt this weekend. With a sick buckle. Suggestions? This is because I feel that I can now, for the first time since I started caring about how I look in high school, actually get away with the partial shirt-tuck. With a few crunches, I might even look good too.

Things didn't go the way I wanted them to last night, but when do they ever in our lives? The person aforementioned in yesterday's ramblings stopped by our flat, and I more or less became a statue. Not like I was busting out my bi-/triceps and Greek god-like abs (which barely and don't exist respectively), but in a very rare moment for me, I actually didn't have anything to say. Not that I didn't want to talk, I did; it was more that I didn't even feel like I was in my flat, but rather at a party where I didn't know anyone and felt awkward. Although yes I was upset with myself because I basically froze up and effectively came off as a cold disinterested dork, and that kept me from really getting to sleep until about 6 o'clock this morning, just with the thoughts, real or imagined, of how lame I appeared.

(Josh, if you're reading this, I'm trying to keep smooth and cool. Honest.)

Once I got my...4.5 hours of sleep in and let everything just file itself away, I realized that I had better things to do. To confirm, I more or less acted like myself and things were as they were before.

So, anyway...

I took that logic test last night. I think I did OK, but apparently the grades will be available in two weeks or so, so we'll find out then. The material is so damn boring...I think that not only do I have acute senioritis, but its exasperated by being overseas. (maybe that's why you're not supposed to do the last semester abroad...oh well). But seriously, I could care less about three of my four courses; all I really want to accomplish, scholastically, is writing my dissertation for NU, and other than that, just to pass the other classes. Exhibit A: I should be reading probably, but rather, I'm sitting here writing in this blog. (I will probably do some reading after though, the class is at 8 AM).

I called Missy today while walking to campus. My day was made just talking to her. And also hearing that I should consider a career in Journalism (apparently since I write so well).

Talking to her gave me another idea, which I would love to come to fruition - traveling to Spain to visit. Turns out that to fly from Auckland - Spain and then to Boston would be around $2k (US)...seeing the price that Auckland to Boston was, it can't be that much more expensive (well...it probably is who knows). I will be contacting STA in Boston about this later tonight (when things are open on the east coast around 1 or 2 am Auckland time). Maybe.

double whammy

As per usual, I'm just writing in this thing to pass some time. I have class in an hour, but I forgot my laptop at my flat this morning - as that is the only thing that gets me through the lecture, I'll probably skip. Whatever. Besides, I have a test in another class at 6:00 that I need to study for. Not that the test will be too difficult, but I want to make sure I actually do well on the thing.

I have a test of a different sort later tonight, maybe. I'm planning on having drinks with a girl I met early on in this semester abroad business - nothing confirmed but I asked her to hang out last night and she suggested this evening instead.. . Anyway, I decided that enough is enough with dancing around the idea and I should go for it. Those reading this that know me well will know that I'm on pins and needles about the whole thing, given my nearly paralyzing fear of rejection. Though I could use this to my (possible) advantage ["...it took me so long to get around to this because..."] I'm thinking not, I don't want to make it awkward. Ah, well first I have to get through today and this evening. It's probably just my inexperience - I've only really gone on...2 or 3 dates my whole life (by what most would define as a "date;" I will [and have] embellshed that figure), so I always feel like a middle schooler in a 22-year olds body. I should stop though I'm probably boring you to death.

I really have to get the ball rolling on traveling - I haven't left Auckland once since I got here and the mid-semester break is 19 days away...who wants to wager the over/under possiblity that I'll end up sitting on my ass (in Auckland) for the entire two week break?

3:21 PM

I'm so bored right about now. Trying to kill just over 90 minutes before I have a 3 hour film screening. My friend in the states emailed me mentioning that he was going to have a read through my blog, and I remembered that I haven't written much in it in a while. Oops.

To my defense, I've been fairly busy - roomies and I held our first party (of what will be several, if I have any say in it). Nothing too big, just a beer pong table and a rotating crowd of neighbors. Surprised at how many people hadn't heard of the game - a lot gathered around and watched as my flatmate and I kept dominating the table (perhaps expectedly, given the circumstances. All in all, that died down by about 11:30, and some of us migrated down to the main campus (15 minute walk) and chilled with some other people. I suppose it isn't too earth-shattering an existence, but I enjoy it.

Found a really nice bar/brewhouse about 10 minutes from the flat last night, called Mac's. Went down there with a couple people that I'm getting to know really well, one of them a girl that I'd like to hang out with more, we'll see how that goes.

(In lieu of inventiveness...) Thursday 7/31/08

Just hangin around the info commons while my lunch digests a bit - can't go to the gym on an empty stomach, nor can one go right after eating...

The class issue appears to be resolved - my adviser at NU tells me it will either come back as an upper level poly sci course, or possibly as a pre-law course - the latter will be wicked, as I was also told that with that course, I could petition for the minor - that isn't too bad...just, how will I fit it on my resume haha? Either way, the course will not be in vain.

So about the gym. Finally got around to joining yesterday, and it's pretty nice. I mean, it's a gym...all the weight machines, but substantially fewer cardio machines than NU - so few that use is limited to 20 minutes (which I could have stayed on for longer, but there was a queue when my time was up). And then - it keeps popping up - that darned metric system. I could gloat and say I was jogging at 10.0 for 20 minutes straight...but that is to say 10 KPH (6 MPH)...so not so impressive. I plan on lifting today, maybe like the states the machines will be dual-labeled (the leg press upon inspection was, that will be an immense help).

At this point in the tale, I could be an arrogant American and declare that everybody else should return to pounds, but to be honest, I feel the states should come round. It is really a lot easier...the conversion process alone is a headache...
2.2 lbs per kilogram? Temperature Celsius multiplied by nine-fifths (1.8) and then 32 added? besides, who's ingenious idea was it that "32" was the freezing point. "0" just seems a more natural number to assign to that. Perhaps Mr. Farenheit (or whoever invented that stupid system) had an inferiority complex. Although -- 30.48 seems alot more impressive than 12, correct?

Tuesday 7/29/08

Auckland: 3:26 PM; Boston 11:26 PM (Monday)

Things are better on the personal front, I think. More or less I felt that I had to get over myself and realize, I chose to come down here for four months, and that I was warned about the issues that would come up.

So anyway (yeah I hate thinking about depressing things, who doesn't?)...surprise. It's raining. Again. (I was warned about that also). I'm procrastinating on going home, even though I should soon - I have a lot of reading to do, and I'm working under the assumption that poker will be happening again this evening. Even though I finished in the middle of the pack, it was because of two really bad beats, so it's not like I'm inept or something (right?).

Starting to get concerned with one of my classes, and if it will actually count for something. No one at NU has gotten back to me yet - and the add/drop deadline is Friday. Given my luck with that school and the way they usually are anyway, I'll probably find out on Monday or something that it counts for nothing. Or worse, it will count for a class that I already took. Which will, bluntly, fuck me over. It will mean that I will return to the US 4 credit hours (1 class) short of completing my undergrad degree. I've heard the nightmare stories before, so I suppose I should just say my fingers, toes, and anything else that can be, are crossed.

So other things that are taking some adjusting - the internet is slow as molasses. For example, just bought a song on iTunes, and what would take say 5 to 10 seconds at home, just took about 5 minutes. Haha...at least I won't be spending lots of money on songs this term. At least I have internet, I'd go insane without it. Maybe when we install the net at the flat - probably by the end of the week - it'll be faster. We'll see. I might try putting my US sim card in tonight and seeing if I can get broadband access like I do in the states.

I think I hit a personal low on dietary habits - my lunch consisted of salt + vinegar chips and a candy bar. The latter I haven't had in probably 5 months, and such a combination probably not since high school...oh well. Will have to work on that.

I'm bored now, so I'm out...peace

Sunday 7/27/08

Auckland: 9:13 PM; Boston: 5:13 AM

I have to say that I was had. Through all of the pre-departure orientation, reading, etcetera, etcetera…, I kept seeing about the “feelings of homesickness” and whatnot. I was convinced, CONVINCED, that they’d never happen. At all. Maybe it’s pride, the high level of self-confidence I’ve in myself, or the arrogant nature I tend to espouse in life.

This isn’t to say I’m clawing the walls looking to go back stateside. (I did however, wake my poor friend Missy up at 8 AM Friday [Boston time] and talked her ear off for about 30 minutes – Thanks, it meant a lot by the way, if you’re reading this) I guess it’s more I just forgot how hard it is meeting people, and forcing myself to be out there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m plenty social, but at the end of the night, many nights, it really feels like instead of bonding with people that I’ll hang out with in the future, it’s more I just happened to be in the same room doing the same thing as the others, and everybody parts and returns to their separate lives.

Maybe it’s me, I suppose I haven’t exerted that much effort in meeting people – aside from my roommates and the other person from NU, I know maybe three people’s names with some degree of certainty. Of those three I have one number, and I’m hesitant to contact them that often for I don’t want to appear a nag or needy. Perhaps everybody is in the same boat. Who knows, I certainly don’t.

Apparently missed the chance to join student groups at a discount through last Friday (apparently unlike NU the fee is not built in). The discount wasn’t something to sneeze at either - $30 for the ski and snowboard club (versus $50 normally). Maybe I’ll join Monday…a $20 ‘stupidity tax.’

Today being the 27^th…the “mid-semester break” is September 1^st – 13^th: anyone who is a college student reading this knows how quickly time flies once classes and work really kick off, which it’s supposed to this coming week. So I have to really start researching where I might want to travel during the break, which brings up another sore point – I absolutely hate the idea of travelling alone. For the most part, I just won’t. I can so see the following scenario: I book a week in, say, Fiji. Probably around ~$1,000 for it. Going alone, I’ll be bored by the end of the first day. Oh well, I’ll figure that out later this week.

Friday 7/25/08

Auckland 11:57 AM; Boston 7:57 PM (Thursday)

Yeah, I didn't get any work done last night. So I came down to campus a few hours early, got it all done this morning :-). The pub quiz wasn't as good as I expected - apparently the RAs at Parnell Student Village (where I live) arranged to have a PSV-only quiz, and it was all music - everyone reading this knows how excellent my music skills are...right? I don't know. Went down with three of my roommates and one of their friends - the five of us I think came in third from last. I was assured that the normal pub quizzes are better - so I guess a second visit next week will be in order.

Anyway, tonight is the themed flat night. We haven't decided on a theme. Something tells me we're not going to. Oh well. I'll get some beer at the bodega near our apartment on the way home, just in case.

No internet at the apartment yet - I've been keeping this thing in a Word document and then posting online when I get to campus - today is actually the first time I'm posting directly. Possibly will get it next week - I'm frankly in no hurry, I can do what I have to online on campus...like this blog. And listening to Boston radio, I now have a vague idea what's happening on planet earth.

Thursday 7/24/08

Auckland: 4:02 PM; Boston 12:02 AM

The irony…on probably the most beautiful day since I’ve been here, I’m stuck in reading for class tomorrow and Monday (obviously I want my weekend to be free and clear, who knows what will happen). I’m not kidding about the weather, it’s the first day that it hasn’t rained once – to contrast, yesterday I was walking around downtown Auckland for about an hour, I think I had to go back and forth from sunglasses to umbrella probably four or five times, over the span of about 10 blocks. Apparently rain is the telltale sign of winter. Even though it’s not too enjoyable, at least Aucklanders don’t have winters like the Northeast US!

Tonight is pub quiz night, which I think will be a lot of fun – though probably won’t do too well if it’s all New Zealand-type knowledge (rugby, geography, etc.). We’ll see. Friday is apparently a “Themed Flat Crawl,” where those who want in have to decorate the place and/or themselves, and it’s some form of competition. No, I don’t know what we’re doing yet.

Other than that, classes started Monday, and as of this morning I had finally had at least of all my four classes. I thought of the adage “save the best for last,” as my history course (“paper” as they say here) rocks. Hollywood’s America. Some sacrifice in that I have to leave here around 7:20 (lecture starts at 8, and this morning I left at 7:35 and barely made it), and that there are also weekly movies on Tuesday night at 5. Still, the course reminded me why I chose to be a history major in the first place.

The other three classes…I enjoy Legal Methods, but it’s going to be difficult. Apparently, in this country, a law degree is attained as an undergrad, not postgraduate as in the states. So, therefore, I am taking what would be akin to a first-year law school class. Fun. Art History I really don’t know how I’ll survive, the lecturer isn’t that engaging, nor is the material. But considering the horror stories I’ve heard about NU not honoring credits overseas, I’m very hesitant to switch any of my classes. But it’s still better than Introduction to Logic. The material drives me insane, attempting to do it – I feel like I’m in grade school again, oh well. Easy A. Further aggravating was that the class location changed, and unlike NU, there is no notice posted at the old site – had I not gone up to obtain a coursepack that was being handed out, I would’ve sat through I think it was Intro to Geology or something random. Apparently one is supposed to learn that it moves through osmosis or whatever (in my case I opted to go back to the computer lab and look online), I was so annoyed about it that yes, I ended up skipping lecture. A record for me – I usually make it through to midterms before skipping haha.

Getting up at 6:30 this morning in the pitch black wore me down, I need a nap. Or something of that sort.

Saturday 7/19/08 (Day 7)

Auckland: 7:57 PM; Boston 3:57 AM

So it’s official. I’ve been in New Zealand for one week. Not too bad I must say, my roommates (flatmates as they say here…) are friendly, social people. There has been a substantial amount of down time, which has led to spurts of boredom at times. Nothing like homesickness or that – though don’t get me wrong, I do miss all back in Boston and Vermont. Although I’d have to say today has been the worst day of all the days I’ve been here, because I’m sick, in a different way – I have a very bad cold. Most likely caught it on the plane or in VT right before I left: I was coughing a bunch on the way to Logan, but I thought that it was just a reaction to the air conditioning in the car, and to be honest, the cold-like symptoms really came on somewhat instantly; I went to bed after a night out Thursday (more on that in a bit) feeling fine, then I woke Friday feeling horrendous. Oh well. At least I’ll get through it (hopefully) this weekend – since the locals are still on mid-year break, the scene hasn’t really gotten underway, or so I’m told. Apparently next week will be parties or some form of get-together almost every night.

In contrast, Thursday has to have been the surprise highlight of the week. After a very bad first experience with the Auckland club scene on Wednesday – the place (called Margaritas) was jam-packed with drunk (and probably high) 18 and 19 year olds (and plenty of under 18s with fake IDs I’m sure), and pretty much sucked. Thursday was the official “Bar Night” as part of the orientation at the University, and when I saw the place was on Queen St (the main road in Center City), I figured it would be as horrid as the prior night. Understandably, I was on the fence right up until I arrived. Though, I’m very glad I went down: it was a much better time than Margaritas. Met a group of girls (and one guy, I wasn’t completely discriminatory) from around Boston, and also ran into another girl I had met at the first orientation session Monday, and had made a complete ass of myself around – at that point, I was still in the “honeymoon” phase of being in NZ, so I said something about how I wanted to emigrate because this country was so amazing, etc. – to be honest that was one of my famous spoken before thought out lines, though I do like NZ.

Enough rambling for tonight, I’m going to watch a movie I think and work on my 3 liter bottle of Orange Juice, and pass out early-ish. Classes start Monday, hopefully I’ll be better for them.

Tuesday 7/15

Auckland: 5:10 PM; Boston 1:04 AM

Today was the first day of orientation, nothing special there, papers and books and listening to people talk. Dreary day, wanted to go for a run through the Domain, but the overcast sky and the freezing cold air (maybe 45ish?) was a fairly strong deterrent.

Yesterday was interesting, saw the main parts of campus for the first time, and it’s a very nice campus. I’m also going to get a good cardio workout going to and from: not only is it 20 minutes away, but it’s 20 minutes straight up and down hills – the most challenging part (although not too challenging) is on the way back, about ½ my walk is up a moderately steep path, probably about a 200’ ascent over at most two-tenths of a mile.

The architecture is…different. The newer buildings are like any other modern structure, with lots of glass and a real transparent feeling to them. On the other hand, the older buildings look like I could have been in the French Quarter or the Caribbean (especially those surrounded by palm trees) – very loud colors (example: the History department was a bright yellow). I’ll get down there probably by Sunday, but this time with the camera.

Registering for classes was a little hectic; according to the other NU student here, she was led to believe that we were behind the 8-ball and that the international office was fairly annoyed about it. I wasn’t too worried really, although I would’ve preferred to register for at least the 100-level classes online before getting here, it didn’t happen. Oh well. Especially since they appeared to be lectures with “unlimited” capacity. After stopping at the international advisors office, easily registered for an Art History class and an Intro to Logic class. History was a little more difficult – and I learned that the problem of administrative shuffle is not exclusive to NU.

From the international office I had to go to the Arts Student Center (vis a vis the College of Arts and Sciences Office), and find out who in the History Department I could speak to about what courses offered research papers. From there I was sent to the department and after waiting about 20 minutes outside an office, it turns out the person was now down the hall (and had been there for about 5 years according to the professor who now was in the space). Not that that mattered, she wasn’t even there. Luck was on my side though, as not only was the professor whose office I loitered outside of willing and able to help, she actually taught the perfect course for me and signed the paper I needed allowing me to take the course.

All in all, I have my four classes. And with the exception of one, I am 100% sure they will count back at Northeastern. The fourth one I intend to email the correct department and make sure it will count, probably tomorrow when I’ve down time on campus.

Day 4 – Sunday 7/13

Auckland: 10:04 PM; Boston: 6:04 AM

Many things that I still need to get used to here, of which they range in importance and therefore order in which I will focus on. On the lesser end, the fact that Sunday is just beginning for you all where it is ending for me (as noted above). Also, it is kind of weird that I am putting on long-sleeves, jeans, and jackets on July 13^th…and that I can see my breath at various points during the day. Then again, for being the middle of winter, it’s pretty nice to see palm trees and green grass. As I was describing to one of my suitemates, they could always have daytime highs reach 32 if lucky and 6 feet of snow—wait, that is actually 0 and approximately 2 meters—on the ground; that reminds me of how bad my knowledge of the metric system is, and how essentially I need to learn it – fast. The supermarket this afternoon was a good example: my approach I’ve decided is going to be honesty and humor (humour?); I went to the deli counter and just said that I had arrived from the U.S. and therefore my metric skills were horrible, what is half a kilo of sliced ham? I figured that a kilo was greater than a pound – unless the NZ economy had gone into utter freefall overnight (on a Saturday, nonetheless…), one could expect a lot of meat for $14 (a kilo of ham). I was better reminded when I got to the cheeses, and saw a large block of cheddar which was 1 kilogram – in the states, that same size would be around 2 pounds.

As soon we get internet access in the apartment, I’ll look for a more accurate conversion. No big deal – I’ve realized for all the time I spend(t) on the web, how much of it was really superfluous. I went to an internet café this afternoon with two of my suitemates, checked my email for the first time since Wednesday night in VT (all of it was spam and stuff like the daily headlines from the New York Times), looked at Facebook for about 30 seconds, and then read some of the papers from the states – all in all, I was done with what I wanted to do online in about 30 minutes. I will concede, part of my quickness was that the computer I happened to be on must have been loaded with spam or other crap because it keep freezing. I just went out to the “café” part of the internet café and bought a cappuccino.

I think I’ll be getting plenty of exercise while I’m here – the rest of the campus (which I’ve yet to see) is about 20 minutes away, and the main shopping district where I get my coffees and internet (for now) is about 10 - 20 minutes away depending on what I want. Also, Auckland’s main park – Auckland Domain – is right outside my window: I want to go for a run through there just to check it out.

I think my jogs – at least for now – are going to be without any musical accompaniment, such distractions will cause me to get run-down much easier, and I’m having a hard enough time without the iPod. First, New Zealand drives on the left, so when I approach a crosswalk, I automatically look left then right (or just being in Boston I don’t bother sometimes). Two problems there: one as stated (left side driving), I have to start looking right then left. Second problem – although cars are supposed to yield to pedestrians (as my native suitemate said when I asked), no signs are posted stating this, and apparently, pedestrians actually wait for the all clear or when a car stops for them, not the other way around (pedestrians enters crosswalk at reasonable point and cars stop). The exception to this is some crosswalks every few blocks (not only along intersecting roads) have lights and signals that when a pedestrian pushes the button, the light turns red, and a green walking man comes up for me. For my last thought, I will probably continue to look like a moron when I cross: the signal noise (which I can’t describe, I’ll have to just bring my camera along sometime and try to record it), causes me to smirk in an attempt to hold in outright laughter.

Day…2? 3?

I guess technically it’s day three; I left Logan at 5 PM Thursday…LAX at 8:30 PM (11:30 Boston) and left at 11:30ish (2:30 AM Friday) – though we taxied for what seemed to be forever. Somewhere near Fiji we crossed the International Date Line and aside from being some made up line on a map, it was 5:30 AM Saturday when we landed in Fiji. So in other words, although it was 6 hours to LAX, 3 hours waiting there, and then 10 hours to Fiji (18 hours total), the calendar argued that it had been just over 36. Hmmph.

Surprisingly no jet lag – though I may be speaking too soon. Probably will be fine though – passed out for a good 6 hours en route to Fiji, and that was probably around 3 AM in Boston – both aspects my body are quite accustomed to. Today might be challenging, since I effectively woke at 5:30 AM Auckland time – probably will (not) be an early night. Since I have no food or anything to cook with, it will definitely be an out night – and a chance to meet whomever I’m living with and near perhaps.

Day 1 – So this is what the Midwest looks like…

Boston: 7:12 PM; Los Angeles: 4:12 PM; Auckland: 11:12 AM (Friday)

Not that I’m surprised or anything. Square farms as far as the eye can see – which is fairly far on a clear day at 36,000 feet. The occasional town appears as if God himself threw it down like a splattered paintball from the heavens. I suppose such views are a reward for the work that went into actually getting here – the paperwork, emails, meetings, etc. Didn’t actually really start packing until the night before the departing flight – typical guy habits – and of course, couldn’t miss out on $2.50 Margarita Night at the Mexican restaurant in my hometown of Montpelier, Vermont; ironically the majority of my consumption was a local amber ale topped off with one Margarita at the end.

It’s going to be quite the change heading “down under.” Of course, the weather will be somewhat a shock, being mid-winter there and all. Perhaps a welcome change, summer finally started to rear its ugly head – northwestern New England style. That means highs in the mid and upper 80s with humidity that one could take a knife and cut blocks out of. Having that annoying Windows Vista and all, I was able to place one those weather ‘widgets’ on my desktop, and keying in Auckland, I happened to see that the weather hasn’t been getting much above 50 and nighttime bottomed out in the upper 30s.

What else can I say I’m looking forward to? Well one of the first things I will have to accomplish is finding out what the local brew is like – I’m guessing descending from British roots, perhaps there will be some very good IPAs and Bitters – neither of which I can espouse to being my top picks – but beer is beer I suppose. (Natty and similar brews notwithstanding)

It will be neat to find a ski area and perhaps take a few runs in July. I did read about the presence of some areas, including one just a few hours away from Auckland. I figure being volcanic islands, the mountains will be impressive and actually give me a good run for the money (pun intended? You be the judge :-))

Wow, twenty minutes later – still more square farms for infinity. Wake me up when we reach the Rockies.