Current mood:	drained
Current music:	Martha Wainwright

Iced Water
New Zealand updates, where art’ thou?

It’s been well over a week since I got back and I haven’t written a damn thing. I guess the problem is two fold: I don’t want to miss anything out, but I don’t want to have to write as much as I’ll have to if I do somehow remember everything of note.

So, flashing back some weeks, I finished up Killer 7, got my stuff together, and armed with a new DS (the first of two I would have with slightly naff screens), a copy of Memoirs of a Geisha, and promise of occasional work doing the game journalism thing for Hyper I headed out onto the ‘last family vacation ever’. Well, I didn’t have to pay anything.
Auckland was pretty straight arrow, a nice enough city, but lacking a little in the unique personality department, and nothing of any real interest happened there. Moving to the Bay of Islands area, however, things got much cooler. Despite it’s way too touristy atmosphere, I seemed to like it much more than anyone else. Being there for a few days was favorable as I was able to knit with the backpacker community at the hostel, and the community here was standout. It threw everyone else somewhat off balance, and I think Christmas day may have been a shock to the parents, but what would you expect from a backpackers place? It was an exhausting double life to lead, as I still had to get up early for the family activities after I had been up drinking and playing cards well past midnight, but it was well worth it and an absolute affirmation that I have to do something like this by myself of with a friend.

Moving away from this, I never got to stay anywhere for more than a couple of days, and was in Wellington for less than 24 hours. New Year’s fell well behind Christmas on the memorable scale. The North Island (and indeed, overall) highlight, however, was Rotorua. At least I think that was it. Whatever. The place kinda stank, but through sheer fluke of checking my email at the exact right time I was able to meet up with Jen. I hadn’t seen her since we were both placed in Saga back in 2002, and then I buggered off to Matsuyama while she stayed behind. Then I got bounced all around Japan and she stayed behind. It was a time of likable envy. I even actually wanted to look at photographs, and I never want to look at photographs. Generally I just endure them as a courtesy. She’s grown up quite a lot, whereas I’ve… stayed pretty much the same. At least visually, which is something I actually put effort into, even timing my shaving practice so as to have just the right amount of stubble. She only had three hours to spare, but I recall just lying down and Listening to Automatic for the People after she left, and then wandering around town feeling completely re-resolute. The hope for that day was the main reason I was there, and it paid off fantastically, shaking me up utterly in a way that was becoming near necessity.
I suppose there was also the late night of playing Twister with three Swedish girls in Waitomo.

Speeding through this, the South Island drifted by a bit more. I still met some cool people and got to speak a little Japanese at times, but never stayed anywhere for long at all. At least I got a couple of email addresses, but I do wish I had accepted Analie’s after I gave her mine instead of saying that I’d probably just lose the piece of paper. Stupid lack of sleep making me say stupid things. Then I found myself in Christchurch, and then back in Australia.

Got home dead on midday and went storming up to my room to put on the radio just in time to catch the end of the news update and launch into Ross and Terri. Only two weeks a year is cruel, and I missed 4 episodes this year of what it the best radio show since Adam and Wil.

Looking at the clock now, it’s just become Australia Day. Time to celebrate an invasion and attempted genocide I guess, but I suppose I at least have the worlds largest music poll countdown to compensate.