I have noticed that New Zealanders don't seem like very good drivers.
They have this habit of driving, when in the left lane, with half the car out of the lane, most of the way to the gutter. It's strange. I have been very careful to keep fully in my lane, to show them how a real driver drives.
In Wellington now.
Today has been quite a day. To give you an idea where I am, Jo and I are sitting here in a pokey and smokey, internet cafe in Wellington, about 2 minutes walk from our motel (The Gunhappy Shooter's Motor Inn, or something like that). The monitors are all grubby and everything on this computer is in an Asian language that I don't understand. Even the Internet Explorer messages are in another language, I have to say "yes" and "no" to all these things I don't understand. At least I think it's "yes" and "no" I'm saying. At least I understand the little "X" to close windows. This became particularly useful about five minutes ago when I got a pop up with a lovely video of two people practicing the art of procreation. I hope they were married. If they knew they popped up on my screen they'd probably be frightfully embarrassed. They should have sex in more private places. Next time they pop up perhaps I'll warn them that they left they're webcam on, happens to the best of us.
We left our lovely motel in Northcote, Auckland, at 7:55 this morning. We had to pick up the hire car at 8am, so we were running a little late. After spending many funny minutes trying to find "Scotties Car Rental". We arrived at around 8:30 and there was a distinct absence of Scottie-types.
They turned up at around 8:45 thinking we were planning to pick the car up at 9. Little did they know that we were actually planning to be at a church on the other side of Auckland at nine (luckily we weren't too late, Auckland is small enough that you can leave for one part at 8:30 and arrive in another part at 8:25, it's a bit like Parramatta on wheels, without the wheels.) We had a few issues getting the car (they tried to give us a manual, but neither Jo nor I drive manuals), and they told us that the insurance didn't cover us if we were drinking, on drugs, speeding, or Australians. I'm hoping the last bit was a joke.
We made it to the church at 9:18 and managed to arrive after the Sunday school had left, and the worship (musical kind) had finished. We were visiting friends and they had kindly saved us seats in the middle of the church (big charo-type church) and in the second row. That was nice of them. Everyone then knew we were visitors.
After church we set off for our trip with lots of lollies. I slept then drove. I liked being able to drive, was fun.
Around somewhere or other in the middle of New Zealand, we were driving along happily and I was contemplating overtaking a truck when I noticed a truck swerve suddenly, the car next to it was also swerving, and a dog came out from under its wheel. I noticed the van behind the car get very close, then it slowed down and was not so close again. The back of the car I noticed was a lot more compact that I remembered it being. Everyone slowed down very fast and I pulled out my best defensive driving maneuvers (Jo said she was very impressed). The truck kept driving and the car and van that had smashed into each other stopped in the middle of the right hand lane. We pulled up beside the car and asked if they'd be alright (the van looked fine). They said they'd be fine. We drove forward a metre before they asked us if we had a mobile. We did, so we pulled over (that was embarrassing as I had used up all my good driving on the emergency before).
I put on my hazard lights (very exciting) and we hopped out of the car. I went over to give the woman my phone. "Would you like the phone?" I asked.
"Call the police" she said
Suddenly I felt very stupid and like an bad traveler.
"I don't know the number. I'm from Australia"
"111"
I called and the voice on the other end asked if I wanted Police, Fire or Ambulance. "Police" I said (I've never got to do that before) then the crash lady took the phone off me and talked hysterically to the police. Her husband drove their car to the side of the road, it wasn't looking too good. The smashed up boot was ripping up the rear tires. Then the driver of the van came over to visit. He was a Maori man driving a bunch of interlectually disabled adults home after a day trip. They were all very nice and made the side of the road experience even more fun.
Eventually an over abundance of Police turned up and we were thanked and told we could go on with our holiday.
"Enjoy your holiday" the man said.
"We will"
"Sorry you lost the rugby" said the woman.
"Sorry you lost worse" replied I.
And then we were off. All in all it was quite an addition to our journey.
(The dog that got hit seemed fine. He ran off before anyone could help him.)
Following that we traveled through very Middle Earth looking country. I kept having to say "Frodo" in my best Shire accent at varying intervals.
We saw two very big snow-capped volcanos. Absolutely awesome. Makes me want to become a mountain worshiper. Yay God and His glorious creation. It really was a beautiful sight. The whole drive was pretty good.
In some town Jo and I ate dinner in a greasy Chinese fish and chip shop. The two men who worked there were lovely. I didn't eat much. I arrived feeling like I was going to vomit, didn't eat much, and left feeling closer to vomiting more than before. Jo drove from there, and I slept.
Now we are in Wellington and staying in our wonderful motel. Jo has left this crazy internet cafe, and no-one here has yet spoken English. I feel like I'm back at school. Or overseas. Very overseas. I'm enjoying it though. I like feeling like the odd one out at times. Not very often though.
I should be watching the rugby but I felt the call of the net more. I'm keeping track on the net and I'll probably go home to watch the second half. Or at least the last ten minutes. Like I did with the semi-final.
I'm a fair-weather friend of Rugby.
Today was a quieter day. I didn't fly to any new countries. I did though sleep a lot. So far I have slept four times today. Once in the morning (like usual), once in the car, once in the middle of a conversation with my grandfather, and once on a couch in the cabin. We bought the NZ Herald weekend edition. Almost like being in Sydney.
Today started very slowly because everyone wanted to sleep in. Jo and Dad went for a run while I had a quiet time (I may have fell asleep during that too). We ate breakfast at 11:30. Holidays are nice.
We made it to One Tree Hill. It's good to see. There was a big obelisk as a monument to the Maori people. I felt like a true U2 fan. Although the place didn't really seem very U2-ish, I knew that deep within the trees, and the earth and the sheep that stand around the bottom of the hill, was the spirit of that band of Irish men.
The rugby ain't looking good at the moment. 14-5. I need to go and cheer Australia on.
We went to visit my grandfather again. Still nice.
Tonight we went out to dinner at a restaurant call Valentines. It's just like Sizzler. Very cool. Buffet! Ya Ya! I was too full from lunch though.
I'm trying to eat as much food as I can while I'm here though. Take the chance while out of the country to take as much of New Zealand home with me as possible. I'm hoping to be a big fatty when I step off the plane on Friday morning.
Julius Caesar was thought to be a genius because he could read in his head. Everyone else read outloud.
I think that's true.
Yes, now I am here with the sheep.
Actually I haven't seen any sheep. Or maybe I saw a few on the plane as I looked across the isle, past the Indian lady's head and into the lush green pastures of Auckland airport.
It's now two hours later than Sydney time. Add two hours to whatever time this says it was posted at. I can't be bothered changing the time for a week.
Getting to the airport, we caught a train, and then heard at Wahroonga that someone had died at Turramurra and so our train may not be able to go past Warrawee. Dad and I jumped off the train and grabbed a Taxi which was waiting for us (perhaps it is taxi day). We caught it and then noticed at Pymble that we were driving along next to our train. How annoying. We caught the taxi all the way to Central. We were meant to meet Jo there but she forgot her passport so we met her later at the Airport.
I caught a plane. And I used my passport. Both very exciting things.
New Zealand seems just like Australia. Just like another state really. Nothing special. Different money. Their $50 note has a guy that looks like Stalin on it. I have $NZ200 in my wallet. That's nice seeing as I have -$53 in my bank account.
I got international roaming turned on on my phone while I was in the taxi. So I can sms still. Calls cost a lot. The Optus woman that I talked to sent me an sms about who to call to get my voicemail. She signed it "Sarah P" that was nice, I felt like we were friends.
They have different Coke cans and bottles here.
We got a hire car with a cd player. Jo and I are hiring a car for our drive to Wellington on Sunday. That will be fun. I get to drive. Jo brought cds and I brought my mini-disk. I like to drive with music. Yay.
Dad, Jo and I saw my grandparents. That was nice. We had conversation. My Grandfather brought up the fact that I haven't opened my HSC. As I told him, he's the only person who still brings that up. It's nice to see him. He's much thinner than he used to be. It's sad that I probably won't see him again after Thursday. But at the moment it's nice spending time with him.
We are staying in a cabin thing. The motel is right next door to Maccas and Pizza Hut. Posh.
Tonight we had dinner in a two story asian food court. I had indian and am feeling full.
Tomorrow night we are going to watch the rugby. I want to find a pub populated by Australians so we can all cheer. We are also might go to One Tree Hill tomorrow. I'm gunning for it. I'm not all that interested in the hill (which I have heard no longer has the "one tree") but U2 wrote a song named after the hill, so that's cool.
Local calls are free here. Unless you go to a pay phone. I need to find someone to call for free.
Now I think it's time for me to go. I have to find Jo and Dad who are shopping at Woolies (Woolies has a different logo here). I asked them to buy Corn Pops if they are here. I hope they still make them in NZ. Ever since we stopped getting them at home I've felt like a lesser person. If they do still have them here, I might move.
I just thought I'd take this opportunity to blog from Sydney Airport. I'm about to leave for New Zealand. It's all very exciting.
I didn't get much sleep last night. A bit like the night before really. We had issues getting here. Trains and stuff. Jo forgot her passport. But we're all good.
Last night was good fun. We had a college dinner. People said good-bye and gave presents. I started a fire on the table with my napkin which I was quite calm about but caused much screaming and water throwing from the women at my table.
The day was reflection day, which means reflecting a lot. Not really my favourite past time. Sitting around talking about "college life". During prayer groups time I got to have one by myself because my prayer group didn't turn up. That was good. I slept and prayed. The two would keep swapping. Very pleasant.
Anyway, I'm going to find Jo and Dad with my macca's breakfast.
Posh.
See ya in NZ!
I found out who the mystery love letter sender was. It was people playing silly buggers. Which is good because Robert started sounding like the person was real. And then I started to think about it more. Because if the person really did like me and was sending me love letters written by two different people, then they had serious issues and when I found out who they were, they I was going to have serious words with them.
When I was talking about it today with college people, someone suggested that I tell one of the faculty because, just incase this person was real, (which I was pretty sure they weren't but not fully sure) then they would have problems and things could go bad. They might go crazy. So for protection from sexual abuse claims or something I should tell someone. So I had a chat with the Dean. He agreed that if the person was serious, then they had issues. At least now I'm protected in case the mystery letter writer sues me.
We had an Australian Idol party tonight. Twas fun. We were silly. Rob made lots of signs and put them everywhere. We cheered and all pretended to be experts on Idol.
Later Gus and I watched a documentry on this crazy cult guy called Rev Sung Mung Moon. Or something like that. His followers were called Moonies. They said Moon was bigger than Jesus. And when Moon's son died in a car accident, Moon said his son had taken Jesus' place in Heaven, and Jesus bowed down to him. Yep. Moon was very rich too.
We then watched Bush's speech in England on Sky news. Now it's late and I'm getting up in 4 hours.
It's been a good night of quality TV watching though. Except perhaps the special on what happened to people after they were on Baywatch. That was a stupid show.
I'm going to watch the Australian Idol final tonight. I voted for Guy via SMS the other night too. I'm feeling a little ashamed of my behaviour, but, well, I'm human too.
I think they should let Mugabe go to the Commonwealth council summit and then all the other leaders of other countries can shout at Mr Mugabe and tell him to stop being a poophead. Not that that would do anything, but perhaps peer pressure works on dictators as well as 13-year-olds.
"There is a stillness and a sureness about mountains to be found no-where else; it is landscape that diminishes man, who, on flat land, can imagine forests and fields of ripening crops, lowing cattle and distant church bells or who, on the sea, can fashion a coracle and hoist a sail and command the wind and the surface of the sea to be his servant. But high mountains are not as easily tamed; man can burrow like a small rodent into them to hide or blast and chip vaingloriously at them, but he cannot vastly alter their shape or diminish their control of the heavens and the clouds that rise above them and the water that flows from them to replenish the earth. The mountains do not lie still, meekly submitting to the arrogant tampering, the thoughtless rearrangements of man. Instead they test his strength and courage and ignore his pompous sense of superiority over all things. When man is threatened by others of his kind he seeks the mountains, a place to disappear and to change the odds, to hide and force his enemy to pursue him on more equal terms." Tandia - Bryce Courtney
What is God teaching me at the moment?
To seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
Well today was pleasant day.
I arrived at Loftus at 11:48, my train was meant to get in at 11:28 but I think it was running late judging by the time. I'm quite good at things like telling the time.
I bought my self some breakfast from "Ma and Pa Crazy's Takeaway" (chips, two scallops and a Coke) and walked college to the lovely tunes of Bruce.
Once at college I had my general working bee feeling of inadequacy. All the jobs make me feel like I need to be manly and skilled with tools, or feminine and skilled with cleaning things. I know that's a sexist generalisation, but I wouldn't feel capable of fulfilling any task that either manly or feminine skill. I'm have no manual skills. I've got low muscle tone, that's what Mum reckons.
Anyway, I managed to stand around at the top of the driveway and watch as three of Youthworks lovely ladies dismantled letter box. And then I found myself a job near the mulcher. That was fun. My job was to make big branches smaller. This required me to do some sawing. So I spent almost two hours sawing my little heart out. I sawed big branches, I sawed twigs. I sawed everything in between. Every now and again, in a fit of strength and manhood I would snap a branch in half or something. I'd find big branch in the pile of what once used to be a few trees, drag them out like, and then cut em up. It was great.
I told Mitch Tinku's story. That was nice, standing talking to Mitch. He's a good man.
After lunch the mulcher broke so I stood around the mulcher looking like I knew something and making un-helpful comments.
I did some weeding later on and explored the poo pump.
Then Gus and I traveled home (he's sleeping over tomorrow night, yay slumber party).
I slept all the way from Central to Pennant Hills. Beautiful.
At Community dinner we had discussion about favourite films and a heated debate about whether Moulin Rouge! was an American or Australian film (IMDB lists it as both). I think it's still American, but I'm happy with saying it's both.
On the way home Howie and I discussed who it was that is sending me secret love letters at college. He's not telling me anything. It's quite infuriating. I'm not really all that concerned about it except when I'm around Howie because he know's what's going on but he won't tell me. He said I should figure it out, but from the notes I can hardly tell anything. I'm not a very good detective. Anyway, it's all a little perplexing for me. I can't figure out why it's happening. But hey, I'm sure it'll make a good story, if nothing else. And if you're reading this, mystery letter writer: "Hello, feel free to let me in on the secret anytime".
Jo and I had a "travel plans" meeting tonight. My requirements for this trip to New Zealand (apart from seeing my Grandfather) were to sit in a park and read a book and to go see a movie. I think I may just get both those things.
I just read someone's blog about how easy it is to make a low budget feature film on film, and I got nostalgic. I got nostalgic for the days that I was planning to do that. Perhaps one day I still will. Probably not though.
Hmm. I've thought about writing about yesterday, but I can't be bothered. Read Jen or Rob's comments. They'll sum it up for you.
Tonight I preached again. I didn't really make a big deal about it. I didn't send my usual "I'm preaching" e-mail to the official Tom fan club (sorry fans). I only had this week to prepare and really till today, I had about 4 hours to properly prepare. I finished writing it at 3:30pm this afternoon, right before I had a meeting. And I didn't even get to go through it once before preaching it. I wasn't feeling too good about it, not very confident. I met Matt in the hall later on, and he prayed for me which was really nice.
May I just digress for a bit to say that I think Matt is a wonderful person. He annouced his leaving tonight, and that's kinda sad. Exciting because of what he's heading off to do, but having Matt around has been great. I couldn't have asked for a better boss this year. He's been really supportive, always looking out for me, making sure I'm going ok, open to sharing his life with me, and anyone really. He's a great bloke. Mum asked tonight if I'd miss him, and I said I would. I miss him now when he's not around the office. Not having him there next year will be sad. So that's what I'd like to say. Praise the Lord for Matt. May there be many more like him out there.
Anyway, back to me. Tonights "sermon" (I still feel silly saying that word), was kinda strange. It wasn't conventional. It was basically Tinku's story, and stuff about Abraham. I went into it feeling the least prepared I have ever felt. It's a scary feeling. And telling Tinku's story was scary too. It's a pretty full on story. Quite difficult to believe I guess. And telling it meant that I was committing myself to it. Committing and saying that I believe and endorse this story. Which I did, but I still found it a little hard. That and not being prepared, made me feel pretty vulnerable. That's a good thing though. I believe in vulnerable preaching.
I also didn't really enjoy myself tonight. Usually I enjoy myself. Preaching usually is fun. But this time, it was more draining, and hard. But I knew this was never going to be "my night". It was always going to be God's. The Holy Spirit had His way tonight. So it's nice being a "vessel" as they say. But it's still not the easiest thing in the world. Still I love doing it. It is an honour to preach God's Word. He gives us good stuff. It's good being privilaged to be able to spend 20 minutes every now and again talking about it to people.
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