Useful Websites, New Zealand

You wanna know something about New Zealand? Ask me. Better yet, consult them:
-TradeMe Jobs
-Inland Revenue: Taxes! New Zealand!
-BBH!
-New Zealand Immigration Office, home of the Working Holiday Visa
-Trade and Exchange: Classifieds
-Flat Finer, the best housing search thinger in NZ
-AA; these guys will help you get your vehicle concerns sorted.

And that is the most important stuff I can think of off the top of my head. If you come, fly in to Christchurch, buy a car here (because they seem cheaper than in the North Island), and get a BBH card straight away! These hostels are by far the best in New Zealand, and potentially the best in the world. I've been impressed.

"It's all about the network"

Alright. I like to pretend that I have no use for definitive chronologies, so I'm not about to start one here, but it's been four months. I will confess to that. 4 months that have found me up, down, around (at least twice), both bored and overstimulated, and sleeping in almost every hostel in New Zealand.

I have no use for definitive geographies either, but I'm in Christchurch, and I'm looking for a job.

I got, well I've been getting... I don't know how to say it... It's like this nostalgia that builds up and creeps in and seems something like... well... homesickness? It's just these days where everything is indefinite... the future, present, and even the recent past becomes warped and wrapped up in melodramatic planning concerns. It's only the beautiful homely moments that remain untainted by these common anxieties, and so it is to those that I find myself turning, even if ever so slightly.



I've discovered some of the dirty web secrets of good friends, and that makes this nostalgia even worse, as it reveals the seedy underbelly of activity I thought I was searching for the entire time leading up to my departure.

But then I realize how good I've got it. I'm active. Shit, I'm jet-set. How much tighter does it get than this? Not fucking much. I can do whatever I want, and further more, I'm already doing it. What happens after this is gonna happen, I'll plan it, but I'm gonna try my damndest not to stress it much.

PS- if you are an employer in the Christchurch area, and you're looking to pay somebody a reasonable wage to do interesting work in almost any field, give me a ring: 021-297-8542.

Loves Ya,
B

Fate Hates Me

For some reason, things often don't work out to my advantage when I'm trying to meet new people. It's fucking harder work than it should be. I was referred to what seems like a pretty cool sight, though: couchsurfing.com. Check it. I've mailed some people on it, and I'm awaiting responses: if I get some, then the site is awesome, if not, it sucks balls. It's only 7:50 pm here right now, but I'm struggling to stay awake. It's like 1am in the time zone I'm used to, and my bed time there is like 9pm. I can't wait to get behind the wheel of a rental car tomorrow and start actually exploring. The first time I typed that I typed "sexploring," and I really wish that was what I was doing. Ah me.

Swaddled in the Future

History. It's always hard for me to pinpoint the forces that push down on me, but it's becoming clear that history is a major one. I can't rectify the things I've done (or haven't done) with who I want to be, or who I am, or something. There have been so many people who have passed in and out of my life, so many who have come close only to have all ties severed for one reason or another. I feel like I've stepped on feet, and I feel like I don't even know whose feet anymore. It's to a point where I avoid people from my past at all costs, but that isn't fair, friendly, or healthy. So, I'm going to make an effort to be less of a dilettante in my own affairs, say I'm sorry to everyone equally, and hope the future will grant me amnesty.

Of course, this is a lifelong project I'm going to put off until I see how I build history in a place where I have none.

NZ, baby

I'm just....
...about....
.......gone.

Between the cones.

Went to the Jeep/4x4 rally today. I've never seen that much wanton damage done to anything in any one place, legally. It was amazing. 4x4 people have developed a language that is similar to English, but is heavily influenced by gear ratios. The only event we really got to watch was the rock crawl, which is really cool, but I feel like sports should have their basis in some sort of utilitarian purpose. I guess the purpose of the rock crawl is to help figure out ways to get trucks out of bad situations, and how to engineer things to be tougher. Here's the thing, though: I could crawl over those rocks faster than those trucks can, so what's the point? I say that if a car can't traverse a terrain at a speed of 15mph for an extended amount of time, it isn't worth taking a car there at all. SO, design those fuckin' four-bys tougher and crazier, boys.

Also, no electric entrants. What gives? Four electric motors located one at each wheel would eliminate the entire drive-train, giving a vehicle unlimited ground clearance.

Epiphany

Hassles.