New Website
I've mentioned it a few times, but it is official now. I have a new website. I apoligize for the immense inconvenience this causes anyone. The new website is devoted to travel and has a much more user-friendly system.
I have just uploaded a few more photos on there, and there's a couple of new posts on there, so check it out.
Also, there's a message board for anyone to leave some criticism or hate-mail. Please, feel free.
The website is
www.getjealous.com/dj
Please check that one out, even replace this site with it on your "Favorite's" folder. It was in your "Favorite's" folder wasn't it?!
Also, for those few people out there that have significant troubles checking the site every now and again(more likely it's that my journal entries are so few and far between), there is a box on the left of the homepage that you can put your e-mail address and the website will e-mail you when I update the site. Sweet as!

DJ

Happy New Year.
Now Playing: The sounds of Carlos Santana.
Belated Merry Christmas to those who didn't receive my latest mass-mail. Early Happy New Year to everyone. The weather has been great the last few days, and I just read today that Nelson is about 72 hours ahead of Blenheim(a town not to far from here) for the most hours of sunlight this year. And with a couple of nice days to end it out, we'll be above average for the year. Unofficially(thus far) the sunniest town in New Zealand. Yay Nelson.
The shenanigans that had encompassed my awesome Christmas, and even Christmas Eve, continued on Boxing Day. What began innocently enough as a friendly game of cricket, ended strangely, and rather ugly I should say. The night should have been preempted by a warning that some of the scenes would be unsuitable for a younger audience. After cricket ended, I was introduced to a great game called "Bullrush". Part "Red Rover", part "Smear the Queer", totally stupid, it was great fun. It consists of one person starting between the rest of the players and their goal(the other side of the playing field). The lone wolf in the center calls out a name, and that person needs to do whatever they can to get to the goal. The namecaller in turn needs to do whatever he can to tackle, or maim, the namecallee. Should the namecaller tackle the other person, they both are subsequently in the middle, and another name is called. If the person gets by the namecaller to the goal, it's a Bullrush, and all the other people at the start run to the other side, dodging the person in the middle. Basically, it's a bunch of idiots tackling each other.
Bullrush wasn't the worst part. I can't go into detail some of the ideas that came out of these Kiwi's heads, but I'll will say that some sort of sandal ass-slapping went on, and eventually ended with a large cutting board gracing the bottom of at least two willing victims. I'm proud to say I stayed out of that game. I guess that's how Boxing Day is celebrated.
In other news, I was able to upload two photos to the other website, www.getjealous.com/dj in just over ten minutes via excruciatingly slow dial-up internet access. I plan on having all my pics burned to CD within a week and posting as many as I can when it's done. Should be easy.
All for now,

DJ

Pubs are smoke free in NZ!
I just deleted a whole journal entry regarding the law passed and put into effect a week ago regarding an all-out ban on smoking in bars. It was lengthy, longwinded, and fought both sides of the debate. I scrapped it. Here's what I'll say instead: I believe bars are much better off being nonsmoking. I can't understand why more bars aren't voluntarily smokefree. Being in a bar without a thick fog of viscous and choking cigarette smoke is wonderful. Clean air doesn't burn your eyes nearly as much as smokey air. Waking up today, after being out, VERY late last night there was no stank. No stank at all! Normally, the stank creeps from the clothes you were out in the night before, invading everything it can. It stanks to the very essence that is stank. Alas, there was none.
On the other hand, I don't think a blanket law that covers all bars, handed down from the government, is the way to go. Certainly there was a better way to do it. Tax breaks for smokefree bars. Something to that effect. Regardless of the way it was done, I still like it. Sure, there are some bitter bar owners and patrons. You'll have that. But for the most part, most people don't care. So they've got to step outside for a few minutes to have their ciggy. Big deal. Plus, I gaurandamntee that smokers will find themselves smoking less when they are out, which ultimately will cut down on the severity of their hangovers! Bloody Brilliant!

Here are a heap of random thoughts: Still no job, but there may be one on the horizon yet. Still no pictures, but I've got a plan for that. It's currently raining outside, and rained like hell two days ago, and a bit yesterday too. It doesn't, and I wager won't, feel like Christmas here. The weather is too nice for Christmas. I suppose it's good though, for the people who may get homesick over the holidays.

One last story. Again involving a bar. Again I will attempt to leave out every single detail and get to the point. Long story short, I had the pleasure of briefly hanging out with a local named Sass, as he said, "You know, as in Sasquatch!" He was probably 6'5", with cromagnon facial features and an utterly spectacular mullet. And he was wearing windbreaker pants with a sweatshirt tucked into it. I think he had moonboots on as well. So naturally when he offered to show me around "his town", I had no choice but to accept his offer. By the third bar and after a strange run in with a friend of his that involved numerous bear hugs, and Sass's probable inquiry to a bouncer about the where abouts of drugs(of this I can't be sure), I had begun to formulate my excuses for leaving. Then, with the grace of God, I went to the bathroom and came out to find him gone. He hadn't seen me duck into the bathroom, so probably thought I ran away. Some turd that worked at this bar, when he saw me looking around(praying that he had left) told me that my friend had left. I quickly corrected him, and stayed at the bar for a safe period of probably and hour and a half before I went home. I call that research in job opportunites. Anyway, that was my brief adventure with Sasquatch.

DJ

Home away from home...
Now Playing: "Free Fallin' - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Worry not comrades and elders! I am not lost, nor have I been injured. I've just been away from the computer for a bit, but today I'm back, stronger than ever.
I found a place to lay my weary head. After a long and exhausting search, I chose a place to make my humble abode for then next three or so months. Actually, it was the only place I looked at, but I called at LEAST two other numbers. After going to see it and meeting one of my would-be flatmates, I was pretty sure it would be a good fit. Sophie and Sam are my flatmates/landlords. A couple just a few years older than me, Sam is a native Kiwi, and Sophie is English. I get to occupy the basement level, which has it's own entrance, bathroom, shower and fridge. I also have the freedom to use the upstairs, where there is a living room and small kitchen. I'll admit, with the utmost respect to Sophie and Sam, that the house is a disaster area. Only due to the renovation of nearly the entire house is this the case, however. It reminds me of a much larger scale operation that is still in use to renovate my brother's bathroom.
There are certainly pros and cons to the arrangement that I have already found. One pro is that I am plugged into their social life. On Sunday I had the great opportunity to have my first experience playing cricket. Along with the house's generally close vicinity to downtown Nelson(about an 8 minute walk), it lies directly across the street to Victory Park, a large grassy area used mainly for Cricket. I bowled, I batted, I caught the ball. It was great. My shoulder has been quite tender for the past two days since then, apparently due to cricket bowling's use of muscles that had previously been unused in my arm. I hit the wicket(Cricket term, not the Ewok) a few times though! That's like a strikeout I think.
The con of the basement room I have, is that after I agreed to terms, I realized that there were already inhabitants in my room. Spiders. And many of you know that I, HATE, spiders. I understand that the light colored, small bodied, long and wispy legged spiders are mainly a product of atrophy that the room goes through while no one lives there. They've been in every house I've lived in during college, an ever-present reminder that your mom does not want to visit. But besides those harmless ghosts, there have been a handful of thicker-bodied arachnids as well. Don't think for a secong when I say "handful of spiders" that any of them touched my hands. I rue the day! Anyway, most of them were promptly introduced to my toilet, but after running out of spider-snatching material, I was forced to live trap one fella and attempt a release into the wild. Sadly, the empty tube of spider-snatching material that I used somehow managed to injure him. If nothing else, at least he stood less of a chance gimping back into my house after the encounter. After that, I had to go get more toilet paper. Er, spider-snatching material.
Now that I've found a place to live, I suppose you all think I should get a job. I've been looking around, without much luck. I've dropped off some C.V.s at a few bars and other places. And I spend a little but of every day just waiting for callbacks...
At present it is 3:49pm on Tuesday, and the sun is blazing through that big ol' absence of ozone. Beauty Clark.
That seems like enough for y'all to read in one sitting. I'll be back to the keyboard in a day or two to give you my analysis on "Animal Farm", "Brave New World", and my current read(which has began rather sludgely), "A Tale of Two Cities". I think I'd like the naughty version better... A tale of... Too easy.
DJ

One last thought, some friends I've met here just e-mailed me a link to their site on "www.getjealous.com", and I rather like the format of it, so I might check it out. If the pictures load better on it, there might be a switch. If you have time to check it out, try www.getjealous.com/dj You might want to give it a few days so I can tinker with it.

Whitewater Kayaking, SuperLoos, and Cold Weather
Now Playing: Some crap over the speakers at the cyberthingy.
It is frigid here today. The clouds that have been rolling through all day today(sunday), have brought with them unrelenting cold. I'm serious, it feels like it could snow. It couldn't have occurred on a worse day, either. Not only did it wreck the day's planned skydive for my friend Andi and her mum, but it has made me quest of killing 15 hours of the day ridiculously problematic. Although Taupo has turned out to be delightfully entertaining and welcoming, I am on a mission to get to Nelson. Nelson is the city that basically acts as the gateway to the South Island of NZ. Tonight, at precisely 1:05am, I will jump on a night bus headed for Wellington. Wellington, as some may recall, played a huge part in the filming of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Before that, it was the Capital of New Zealand. With the night bus, I will circumvent a whole night's accomdation, simply by having to bear through a treacherous 6 hour ride full of frequent stops, bumpy terrain, and probably at least one instance of drool running down my arm as I try to catch a handful of Z's. But far before that can happen, I still need to make it through the day, and part of the night. I've already purchased a new book, Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs, seen a movie, "National Treasure," walked all of the barren streets of a city shut down on a Sunday, and visited the SuperLoo, which I will address later...
Before the SuperLoo, I have to talk about the kayaking I did yesterday. It was the bombs. I've only kayaked a few times in my life, but I do know how to work a paddle, at least somewhat. I was invited to join Andi, the aforementioned "Jersey Girl" I've been hanging out with in various cities throughout NZ. She somehow got hooked up with some guys that were training to be certified to handle level 3 rapids for an event known as the "Coast to Coast Challenge". It's a race from one side of the South Island to the other, taking place either over two days or one 24 hour period, comprised of swimming, kayaking, and running. We simply were out for the day in sit-on-top kayaks enjoying the views and learning(or trying) to navigate the rapids. I'll be honest and straightforward, Andi toppled over first. Later, at the utter height of my confidence(read arrogance), I was caught unawares and spilled into the drink as well, much to the delight of both Andi and our guide Karen. It sort of shut me up. Needless to say, the views of this river, perhaps I should include the word 'gorge', were breathtaking. The cliffs were mostly packed with trees, bushes, vines, anything made of green. When they were bare, it was to show us the intricate detail of the rock formations. Some parts of the rock appeared as though at some point in time, before it had eroded, the rock was home to some burrowing animal on steroids. Imagine a cliff racing up 200 feet, looking like an antfarm, with all of the tunnels meandering all over the place. Amid the plants on the cliff faces were waterfalls. Not often large, some were minimal at best, but none-the-less spectacular. My favorite were the spots where the water ran down, over the edge of the cliff that jutted in, creating a little shower for me to paddle under. In a word, it was 'awesome'. And I don't mean awesome in the way I would use it as every other word in a conversation. Awe, some.
The SuperLoo. Summed up to be one of Taupo's greatest tourist attractions, I apparently missed the point. It was supposed to be the public bathroom to end all public bathrooms. A work of art within it self. A mecca of defa... Nevermind. I used it, at a cost of 40 cents. That's 29 cents American, for those not keeping up on current exchange rates. I didn't see what I had heard was the big fuss. I imagined a state of the art toilet, complete with voice automated commands and heated seats. And where was the hole in the ground with two foot prints by it that I was told about? I think I chose the wrong stall. Regardless, it made me a little nervous that a public bathroom should need an attendant in it while open. Not actually in it, but outside, in the lobby. You get the idea. So that was the SuperLoo. I guess it flushed nicely. Hardly worthy of the credit given...
This edition has knocked off a healthy 35 minutes of my day. Hooray for time! Off to find some grub, and probably some pre-boarding cocktails. You know, to make the ride smoother...

DJ

P.S. If I didn't mention it, I am putting the Wwoofing on the backburner for a bit, in order to find a place to live for the summer, and to get a jobbyjob. One that pays.

Think Rotorua...
Now Playing: Bob Marley, again.
Two nights ago, I didn't know what my plan was. Well, I still don't really have a plan, but at least I know what I'll be doing in a few days, whihc is worth something. I guess I can sum it up to a gut feeling about Tauranga. It didn't feel right, and I figured that was well enough reason to get out. I looked through the WWOOF manual for about and hour and picked out a place near Rotorua where I thought it might be cool to do some work on a farm. Yesterday morning, at precisely 9:45am, still undecided as what to do, I got a call from the woman saying if I didn't mind sharing a room with another Wwoofer I could start on Monday. So I packed up my stuff and checked out at 10:03am, and by 11:30 I was on a bus to Rotorua.
Let me tell you a little about Rotorua. First of all, it is an enormous tourist trap and everyone knows it. Second of all, which should be first, but I wrote the other one first, so it's second, it smells here. The city was built on a volcanic fault line, which constantly is spewing forth sulfuric fumes. It's great. I walk around here with the constant itch to ask random people if they just farted. Of course, they wouldn't get the joke, so I don't say anything. But you could imagine!
About twenty minutes after I got to the YHA hostel, I was assaulted by Andi(short for Andrea), one of the English chicks I was partying with in Paihia. I thought I might run into them, because I knew they were to be in Rotorua after Paihia at some point. It was a good thing I ran into them too, since they had planned to come see me in Tauranga, except they thought it was Taurangi, a completely different town in the north. But within an hour of my arrival, they were on a bus to Taupo, a lake town about an hour south of Rotorua. I might hop down there for a day or two before I Wwoof on monday.
New topic: Why I am done with the YHA.
Aside from the Paihia YHA, all of the Youth Hostelling Association/International hostel have been less than appealing. They are ofthen farther away from the action than other hostels. Also, I believe they attract an older crowd. Granted I've met a lot of interesting people, mainly at the Auckland and Paihia YHAs, but Tauranga was void of anyone who was cool. So far the Rotorua one is boring too, even though its resort-like size and appearance should house tons of people. It does have a bar in it though, which would be sweet if it weren't for outlandish prices and a closing time of 11:00. Redicks... And another thing, aside from one german beauty, I haven't seen many, ahem, attractive females at YHAs. Somehow, when I go to the bars within or near the profit producing hostels, or "backpackers" as they're called, hot chicks run rampant. Also, despite being allegedly nonprofit, YHA hostels seem to be less than competively priced. But why shouldn't they be more expensive, since they are usually far from the city center, don't have cool bars, and don't attract the attractive. Damn.
I got my money back from the YHA card that I bought for 40 bucks. Without it at a YHA hostel, you are surcharged an extra 3 dollars. My California math skills tells me it only took two weeks for that to pay itself off. Now that I've got my money back from that, I'm off the YHA track. Give me a hostel with some attitude. Give me a hostel with flair, style, and color. For heaven's sake, give me a hostel where the beer runs freely, and the girls like to party.
That said, I should give the YHA a couple of warm fuzzies, since I blasted them with all those cold pricklies. The Tauranga YHA had an amazing backyard, filled with flora, a volleyball net, a nice little tidepool, and plenty of art, presumably from the art studio directly adjacent to the hostel. And the staff at most of the YHAs have been more than kind and helpful. Props to Wendy at Tauranga, and Jean-Luc in Paihia. Two, that's all the warm fuzzies I can muster.
Tomorrow's adventure? Perhaps hitching down to Taupo. Cross your fingers.

DJ

Tauranga
Now Playing: Ghetto Superstar - Mya, Pras, ODB(Rest in Peace)
It's been a while since I made an entry, but have no fear, I am indeed alive. And well.
I made it to Tauranga without a hitch. Ryan and Anneka's sweet red Mitsubishi ride even managed to stay in one piece.
I've been here for three or four days, and the job search is underway. Actually, it's underway AGAIN. I walked out to The Mount(Mt. Maunganui) on Sunday to look for work, since it's supposed to be a pretty chilled out spot. Instead of looking for work, I found this bar with cheap beer, free jukebox and pool, and spent my afternoon there. I asked the bartender there if they had jobs and she said they were fully staffed, so it's not as though I didn't try. At about 9 or so I started walking back. I should let you know that the Mount is a good 5 km from Tauranga, and I walked both ways. To realize how ridiculous that was, understand that I never passed by a single person in either direction. But there were a few friendly passersby in cars that honked to let me know I was cool. When I got back into Tauranga I stopped in this bar on a hunch, and because I was parched. When I inquired about work, the manager basically told me I had a job and to come in the next day. After buying clothes (that she told me to wear) and studying the menu(that's right, I made flash cards) she wasn't even there. Long story short, the "other managers" had filled the staf earlier that day and she hadn't known. Right.
So the search carried on, but after much walking around and seeing the city, I think I've concluded that I don't like it.
My new plan is to Wwoof, working on organic farms for room and board, for a week or two while I wait for phone calls from other bars I visited. If nothing surmounts, I'm on to another town.
When I was in Paihia I realized that the longer I was there(I was there ten days) the more I liked it, but here in Tauranga it is the opposite. It doesn't help that all the bars on The Strand, the main waterfront drag here, are all trying to be high-class and posh.
So, on that somewhat sad note, I'm off. Oh yeah, one more thing I don't like about Tauranga... It pretty much all shuts down by 5 o'clock every day. Not at five, by five. I went into a cafe today at about 3 and was greeted with, "By the way our kitchen is closed," which they may as well have followed up with, "but feel free to some old pastries and stale coffee."

DJ

What I've learned in the hostel kitchen.
In my short stay in NZ I've learned a lot. I've learned things about places around the world, about people from around the world, about New Zealand, about everything. And, I've learned countless things, in of all places, the kitchen at the hostel.
The hostel kitchen is a common area, shared by all of the people staying at the hostel. Normally very quiet, it begins to bustle woth energy and movement at around 6pm. The sound of boiling water can be heard coming from all around the room. There are four seperate ranges, each with two stove coils. They are under constant use from 6pm to around 8pm. As soon as one frees up, it is immediately sprung upon by these jackals, these starving foreigners. The smells that swirl around the room come from all over the world, as well. Thai, german, american, french, italian, they're all here. The sizzle of chicken and beef can be heard. Pasta and vegetables are trump here. If you don't have at least 3 fresh veges in your meal, you're obviously doing something wrong. The other day at the grocery I struggled to pick three out that I thought I knew how to cook. I'm still unsure about what to do with the asparagus that I chose. The carrots and potatoes were easy enough to manage. I just boiled them and added a can of beef that I grabbed. Even while I was doing this, a couple to my left were creating the most extravagant meal I've seen since being here. It had bratwurst, veges, pasta, tomato sauce. What was this magical concoction? It was spaghetti, but it was glorious. And my stew of sorts, well it was fine. Better than the alfredo I tried to make the other day. And beyond vegetables, you better have a bottle of wine, too. Without wine, you are no one. You'll be scoffed at, even harassed. I've seen grown men cry because they didn't know the power of a cab shiraz. I've had to give up beer for a bit, in order to keep up with the Joneses of the kitchen.
Everyone in the kitchen is friendly, although they may not all strike up a conversation. Most will ask how your day was. You'll probably respond, "Uneventful." Wait, that's how I respnd anyway. And then you'll be asked where you're from. Sometimes I want to say, Minnesota, sometimes The United States. Whatever you say, you'll be wrong. If you assume the questioner knows the States, and respond with your homestate, they actually don't know, and ask if it's near a state that is 2,000 miles away. If you say, "The United States," they are the savvy traveller that quickly responds, "I knew that, but where in the states?" It is a simple question, but I never get the answer right. There's always a split second that I pause before answering, in which I'm thinking which path to go down.
Then you have to do the dishes. Which is surprisingly easy, and not painful. Strange how in college the dishes would pile up until you were either using chopsticks and paper plates or you were washing only the dishes you needed for the meal you would make in ten minutes. Or you just threw the dishes away because they were unsightly, fruitfly-breeding space wasters. But at the hostel kitchen, the dishes never pile up. They are done within ten minutes of your final bite. I even did someone elses dishes the other day after they forgot them. I never!
The glory of the hostel kitchen is amazing. When I build a house, I'll have a hostel kitchen in it. And you're all invited.

DJ

Still in Paihia...
I'm still here in Paihia. I've got a free ride on Saturday to Tauranga, where I hope to set up shop. In the time being, I'm pretty much just hanging out here. It's kind of dangerous though, to have nothing on my agenda. The longer I'm here in Paihia, the more comfortable I get and the more I seem to be liking the place. If only there was a reasonably cheap place to stay.
A couple of days ago I went to historic Russell, which is just across the bay. Its only a five minute ferry ride, but to get there by car it would take three and a half hours, making it rather remote. Two hundred or so years ago, when the Europeans were first arriving in NZ and setting up shop, Russell was a bustling port. It was a frequent hang out of whaler fleets and criminals, and was even dubbed the "Hellhole of the Pacific". It is also home to NZ's first liqour license. Now much quieter, there's not much to do in the town. I went to the museum there, which was more like a small shack. It had plenty of interesting artifacts, however, and even a scaled down replica of Captain Cook's ship, the Endeavor. After the museum snooze, I went to Long Beach, a beach that is long that I was told to go check out. As it had been rather overcast(which they say you get more sun from due to the lack of ozone, go figure) there was only about five people on the beach. Being the explorer that I am, I just hung a louie and started following the coastline back towards Russell. Two hours, several near falls, some rock climbing, cave exploration, crab hunting, and general shenanigans later, the tide was coming in and I hadn't seen a soul, let alone a way back to society. Basically, it was sheer water to my right, and cliffs to my left. I was too far to return now, but I had no clue where I was. Finally I saw a couple of people on a point farther down, so I knew I had to be close. It took me another half an hour and admittedly scary rock climbing to get to that point, but when I reached it, I found my self in a cove that was almost uncrossable. I had to get wet, but I was able to leapfrog the other side. I finally caught up to the fishers, and they kindly gave me aride back to Russell, as I was still at least a mile from it. I took plenty of pictures on the trek, so I should hopefully get those made into a CD when I get to Tauranga and I can get them up on the website. There were some truly spectacular views.
The clouds are looking like they are breaking, so I think I'll go for a hike. There are some really cool trails around here. Earlier in the week I hiked one with a girl from Florida I met and it took us through a mangrove swamp, to a waterfall, and to some peaks overlooking a massive river. Theres another longer one that is supposedly even more spectacular, so I'm going to check that out. Until next time...

DJ

Paihia away(a).
Now Playing: Nothing... I haven't bought a electric converter yet, so no juice for me iPod.
Sunny Bay of Islands. It's gorgeous for sure. A bt of a paradise even. I've got at least two three more days here, maybe more. It turns out there are plenty of jobs here, but no cheap accomodation. This means its off to the next destination. Tauranga! An even better summer town, it is said to have plenty of jobs and should be cheaper to stay at. I'll be leaving Bay of Islands either in a few days by bus, or I can wait a week and grab a ride with a South African/English couple. They've been here in Paihia for three weeks working and are off to Tauranga for more of the same. Tomorrow morning I'm going kayaking with another South African I met who is currently touring the world with his surf board. He said he spent the last four months in Indonesia where food and accomodations are dirt cheap, and spent approximately three grand. That included all of his food, lodging, transport and even airfare all around the different islands. Not bad. Time to bounce, I've got to get out to that beach and get some sun through the giant hole in the Ozone that covers most of New Zealand. Fun.

DJ

P.S. Is it snowing in Minnesota/Wisconsin yet? It's 90 degrees here.