Goodbyes

I hate goodbyes. On Saturday I drove out to the airport to say goodbye to Cameron who flew to Japan to live and travel with his girlfriend, Michelle. I know they are going to have the time of their life travelling around Europe and elsewhere together. Here's a few photos of Cam I just uploaded...

- Cameron going for a 'surf', read on for the full story...
- Dave and Cameron
- Cameron playing on the chessboard he made (did you take that heavy thing on the plane?)

Over a month ago we decided we would go for a pre-work surf on a tuesday morning and Cameron could use his new board. We left at some crazy hour (4.30am) and headed out to Piha. It was windy as hell and the rain was thundering down on the van, we kept driving! We got there to discover that it was still pitch black and a real storm had been whipped up, so we decided to wait till there was some light. Once we got out to the surf well, there wasn't any! Its the flattest I've ever seen Piha ever! I went for a swim in the rain and didn't even bother taking my board out... it was all worth it though just for the randomness of it all!

The life and times

Ahh, to be a student. I rewarded myself with a wee sleep in this morning. What for? Err. I've made it to Tuesday, thats a feat in itself surely? I'm really not that lazy!

I spent the weekend at the Navy base in Devonport watching JOIST (Junior Officers Inter Service Tournament)- I think thats what it stands for anyways. It was great to catch up with my fellow officer cadets from Waiouru training and I even played a quarter of netball (my first game in 15years!). Saturday night I enjoyed the priviledge of cheap drinks at the bar, where a night out costs a quarter the price of a night out in Auckland (go Government subsidies).

I watch Tsotsi last night as I've been meaning to for a while. I'd give it ***** top ratings, It's got some wicked music to it and the story really brings you in to it. It's about a South African boy who lives in the slums and gets himself into more trouble than he knows what to do with... see the trailer now It's won a tonne of foreign festival awards now and well deserved too. If you've seen it tell me what you thought.

Tuesday afternoon

I'm liking Daughtry today:



have a listen

Pancakes

It's morning. I've just cooked myself some of my best pancakes yet, I put cinnamon in the mixture as my special ingredient... adds a bit of spice. sorry i had to :o

As part of my morning routine I've been catching up on the world news on http://news.bbc.co.uk/. I'm disheartened to read about the Zimbabwe protest that got ugly, the opposition leader has been beaten up by the national police, what a champion. He came out saying

"For the struggle, I think it's an inspiration to everyone. There is no freedom without struggle, and there is no freedom without sacrifice"

What an insane time we live in, some countries seem to have gained enormous rights for their citizens and others are still living in a time of political and humanitarian oppression. I'm going to keep my eye on Zimbabwe and see how this develops. I hope and pray that their freedom will be won.
Back to my coffee. I'm drinking gotta love it

A new part of my life

I've just returned from 6 weeks in sunny Waiouru, it was sunny too... sometimes too sunny as the DPM top I wore would be sticking to the sweat on my back, charming I know.

I've just completed my initial offier training which has taught me the basics of the nz army soldiering skills. It was an intense time and there were days running up some big hill that I didn't know if I would make it to the end but I did and now I'm inspired to take on my next year of training with my local Auckland Unit alongside my ongoing University studies. Coming back to Auckland was a strange feeling, life here is so relaxed and slower, I had to watch I didn't swing my arms marching down broadway!

I'm not finding the transition too difficult however, I've once again mastered the art of sleeping in and layering my bedroom floor with clothes.

The photo was taken on my marchout day before the parade. 17 Feb 07

oh summer.

Happy New Year readers! When the sun has decided to display it's glory i have been there with bells on... and I have the photos to prove it (go to my flicker badge for more). I spent New Years Eve at Hahei beach, raindancing on the beach and 4-wheel driving with friends through tracks around Tairua. What an wild experience, we took the angle-meter off the scale on the truck! I did a spot more diving on New Years morning and saw a sting ray and some beatiful fish, God didn't leave beauty and originality out of any bit of creation. Here's a few photos from the coromandel. 1. me underwater 2. pohutakawa 3. Jo and I amongst it all.
I've got 4 days left to make the most of my summer freedom before I head off to initial officer training in Waiouru for 7 weeks of a completely different lifestyle!

clockwork orange

I started reading clockwork orange today and I'm a third of the way through already because its riveting. Anthony Burgess has invented tonned of words and his own grammar structure so the first few pages are nothing but confusing but once I got the hang of the style I can see the brilliant-ness of his writing. It's incredibly violent but still a crafty piece which I'm enjoying - will keep you updated on my thoughts.

Aparently there's a movie of it produced by Stanley Kubrick - if you've seen it is it worth me watching? I can't work out how it could accurately replicate the book???

Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Tramp

I'm 2 days back from tramping through the Kaimais and still feeling stiff in my calves, they know they've done some solid work up those steep climbs


over tree roots and sloshing through knee deep mud. 10 of us set out from Auckland on Saturday morning and took the tramline along the river for a 3 hour stroll to the Waitawheta hut. It was easy grade with 6 river crossings which added some fun, we attempted to rock hop but after a couple of crossings and slips on the rocks most of us just walked straight through the water and walked on in squelching boots.

The new hut was 5* accomodation, better than my flat for sure! Theres a 4minute walk to the glow worms and I made the most of the cool river for chilling my beers. Breakfast was quite an event as we tried to cook pancakes on a sticky frypan.. we resorted to pancake stodge, it has the consistency of mashed potatoes but tastes like pancakes!

It took us 6hours including a lunch break at the top of the 106m falls to get back to the road, it was an overgrown track at parts with a lot of variety in plants and scenery. For more photos of our group gone bush click on my flicker badge on the right sidebar

U2 rocking Auckland

Wow. U2 blew me over. What a powerful, spiritual experience friday night was. Mt Smart at Ericson stadium in Auckland, Aotearoa was host to the band of the century all the way from Ireland. My group managed to get into the front section where we stood about 3 metres from the stage where the Edge was playing. I loved the way the band made their own songs local by changing words to talk about Auckland, Aotearoa and Cape Reinga to the Fiords. Bono you're awesome! You can share the experience and watch 'One Tree Hill' from the concert courtesy of You Tube, note the koru patterns on the background screens.

Kanye West was pumping too but the crowd reception for him was disappointing, maybe I can go see him in New York one day with a crowd that admires him more!

quick movie review

I'm not in a wordy mood but here's my ratings on dvds and movies I have watched in the last few months: I"ve linked them to their official sites so you can watch the trailers and read up about them and see if the film might be in your interest.

Enigma ***
Nacho Libre **
Jackass 2 **
The Zookeeper ***
Phonebooth ****
V for Vendetta *****
Tears of the Sun ***
Basic *****
Coffee and Cigarettes ***
Pulp Fiction ***
A Series of Unfortunate Events **
Get Rich or Die Trying *****
The Interpreter ****
Batman Begins ***
The Spanish Apartment ***
To End all Wars *****
Jarhead ****
Inside Man ***
Walk the Line *****

This list should keep you busy if you need to fill in some viewing gaps. Movies rated * or ** stars I wouldnt recommend so watch at your own risk :)