I MISS PAIHIA

k so
i am a tool
it's "Kaitaia", as in "kay-tay-a"
whatever
either way it was pretty much just a part of the highway where there is stuff that isn't fields with sheep
but the hostel we stayed in was snazz
as was the trip up to the Cape
bad weather though, torrential tropical downpours
crazy lightening storms
SO COOL

AND WE DID LAUNDRY!!! YEEEEEAH

then we went back to Paihia for three nights
and it was wonderful
and we made lots of new friends
then we had to leave this morning and i am sad
and i miss paihia and the argentinians and the quebec guy and the cute blond british guy ((it is weird here how you get to know people and where they are from and why/for how long/since when they are in NZ, and what they are cooking, and where they worked and what they do all day, etc etc, but the whole Name Exchange thing just doesn't happen)) ((mostly Mim and I just call people by their hometowns/countries.... or in the case of cute blond british guy, i come up with fitting descriptions))
but oh well
must keep truckin

we are back in auckland now and we are staying in a hostel in Parnell which is like a district of auckland that is just beside the CBD, but not actually IN it... very trendy... i will never be upwardly mobile enough to fit in here... but i am ok with that (ps they say "CBD" here instead of "downtown")
the big hostels downtown (like where we stayed last time we were here) are fine but kinda scary, impersonal and institutional
BUT, this place where we are now..... it is like.... oh how can i describe it.... it is like a Queen's Ghetto House that has been decorated by a kindergarted class on an LSD trip. there is just no other way to describe it.
funny story: when we got it here it was kinda late so the office was closed
so mim is wandering arond with her backpack that is like seven times the size of her
and i am there trying to wheel my painintheass over these rocks and this boardwalk thinger
trying to figure out where we are supposed to go
then this guy (who has been watching us wander around and being all "this way?" "i dunno, that way?" "i dunno, down here?" "i dunno, over there?") who is sitting in this little door thing inside the hostel is like
"oh, to check in... call this number"
and we are like "suuuure ok yes... we have no phone"
and the guy is like "use this phone"
and so i phone the number and the same guy who i made the booking for this place with is like "ok go inside, go all the way to the back until you find a yellow fridge. inside the yellow fridge is a roll of tape, and inside that is a key. that's the key to your room. room 2."
and i just like "ok, for sure dude", thinking: that makes so little sense that i actually think he must be serious, cause you can't make stuff like that up
and sure enough, three yellowish fridges later, THERE'S OUR KEY

then we went for dinner at a snazzy indian place where the waiter kept mummbling and talking to me like he was saying earth-shatteringly important things and my head was actually a door knob instead of a head.
and again, we debated and probably failed the Proper-Way-To-Go-About-Paying Test (ask for the bill? go up to the cash? ask for the bill then pay at the cash? tip? no tip? how big of a tip? so many unknowns)
but the food was good
and then we searched for a supermarket but found every single other store in the world instead
so we shall be having left-over indian food for breakfast
but at least we know where to go shopping after that
fine by me

and now we are sitting here, indulging in tea, pods (the best candy ever), and FREE INTERNET
HOLY CRAP
EMAIL ME!!!

and there is a huge stereo on the other side of the wall from where i am sitting and sometimes it is pumping "Faithless" which is pretty much the best backgroundmusicband this century, so i am happy

cept speaking of music: my ipod has DIED
in a tragic, horrendous, scarring incident whereby it was plugged into a socket which delivered TWICE the voltage to which it was accustomed
i take no responsability for this
(really, it's not my fault, the little plugger-in thing says it can handle up to 240 volts... but apperently not)
there is an apple store just up the street so i think i will take it there tomorrow and see if they can nurse it back to health
it has done this flashy broken thing before and i can't remember how i fixed it, but i remember it being easy
.... but just incase, who would like to donate to the "Alie Needs A New Ipod" fund? mom? dad? jen? friends? collegues?

ok there was something else horrendously important that i was gonna bust out here but i totally forget what it is

but if you think that means that i will leave you alone, then you are sadly mistaken

i am reading Alias Grace now and NOBODY EVER TOLD ME THAT IT TAKES PLACE IN KINGSTON!?!?!
it's so weird. nothing cool ever takes place in kingston!
and this one part, the guy is describing the "bleak flat look" of wolf island and how he has to see it from his office and i am like "yup i feel ya... guess what the Hinn faces?"

but anyways
we are here for three nights then we're gonna go check out the coromandel peninsula (which i have OBVIOUSLY spelled wrong and which i am not even gonna TRY to pronounce)
where we will spend even more time on beaches and being lazy and reading books

BUT we are both getting slightly weird feelings from not DOING/LEARNING/HANDING IN anything ever... so we are gonna buy a "teach yourself spanish" book tomorrow
and learn spanish
....basically, we are PURPOSEFULLY forcing ourselves to learn as if in school... who woulda thunk it?

ok my tea is cold and i still haven't even emailed The Jenny

probably i will post again soon cause there is still that thing that i am totally forgetting that i wanted to mention, and also: FREE INTERNET

OH WAIT I REMEMBER:

1. are you still a vegetarian?

YUP. so far so good. and Mim is too, so the grocery shopping/eating out is very straight forward

2. what is the time change?

ummmmm ok to figure out home, i ADD 6 hours, then subtract a day. to figure out Vic, i ADD 3 hours, then subtract a day. so ummm... just flip that around.... sounds easy eh? eh? eh? for someone who moves through timezones a lot, i am surprisingly inept at doing the conversions.

3. could you please buy like three replacement watches and set them to all the different time zones like watch 1) auckland, watch 2) kingston, watch 3) victoria?

could you please pay for them? that would actually really help me out. cause apparently i really suck at adding 3 or 6 hours and then subtracting a day. and just think of the triple watch tan i could have!


...and yes, i will post pictures... and maybe even soon... i have only taken like 7 thousand so far.... maybe while i am here actually... cause remember: FREE INTERNET!

g'night e'rybody