According to faithful (or outspoken) blog readers, Barack Obama will win the democratic nomination with 81% of the party's nomination.
Now a few random election thoughts...
1) What's with all these states having primaries with no delegates at stake, or not having any candidates on the ballet?
2) And why does Hillary keep declaring herself triumphant in these states?
3) Should we be worried that the Supreme court will be deciding the next party nominations and subsequently the fate of the nation's next president?
4) I guess this all boils down to beg the question: Is America ready for (or less scared of) an African American President or a woman President?
Let's hear what you think.
Cheers!
~S
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Back on the wagon...
One of the hardest things that we're dealing with here in NZ is the fact that we're not in the shape we were before we left the States. For 6 months, we did nothing regarding training. We traveled, ate, drank, got food poisoning and other fun bacterial infections, but, aside from a few random days in Europe, did nothing that one would deem a workout.
Not that there's anything wrong with that - I'd do it again in a heart beat to experience what we did, but what we're left with now, as we start getting into running and biking again, is a mere shell of our former selves. Our base of fitness, usually in the above average to high range, is gone. For me, there's not been a chunk of time more than a month or so that I've been inactive.
Fortunately, and unfortunately, the part that's stuck with us is the mindset that helped push us to workout quite frequently. Jesse and I make a great workout team, constantly pushing ourselves and each other to new heights of fitness. However, this mindset is a huge stumbling block for us right now, as we frequently forget our current shape and try to workout "like we used to." This habit leads to overtraining and frustration. We know what we're ultimately capable of, and the fact that we can't achieve it right now is maddening.
Funny, but this lesson has strong parallels to a common theme that's been present for the last year: becoming ok with where we are currently, or being "present." I believe that this is a strong theme that we've picked up on in Buddhism. If one lives in the present, and appreciates it for what it is, they can't dwell in the past about the way things "used to be" or worry about the future, about what might happen. I believe that this lesson will continue to be important as we come back to the US and reintegrate back into society.
Cheers,
~S
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
What's all this traffic about?
Oh, it's Sir Edmund Hillary!
Parnell, the town where we live, made history in the past couple days by hosting the funeral of Sir Edmund Hillary. The first man to successfully summit Mt. Everest, Hillary died on January 11th of a heart attack at the ripe old age of 88. While most Kiwi's don't get their 15 minutes of fame on the world stage, a large state funeral was held for SEH that was well attended by world dignitaries, sherpas, friends and family of the Hillary's. Also in attendance was half of Auckland, who turned out to try to catch a glimpse of the goings on at St. Mary's Cathedral, hopelessly snarling up traffic at the intersection of Parnell Rd and St. Stephen's Road. Apparently not in attendance were any members of England's Royal family, which was viewed by many Kiwi's as a direct snub at SEH's accomplishments.
As if being the first to summit Everest wasn't enough, SEH also lead the first expedition to the south pole by vehicle. Because of his influence in both Nepal and Antarctica, live telecasts were beamed to these nations and were viewed by the 3% of Nepalis with TVs and thousands of penguins, polar bears and a rapidly melting glacier or two.
After 3 days of irregularities in our daily commutes, we finally put two and two together to realize what was going on. This morning, we went running and missed seeing the funeral procession by about 15 minutes. Had we done our research in advance, we could have witnessed this historic event.
Friday, January 18, 2008
The dumbest thing I've heard in a long while
So I took the ferry to work yesterday. It's the only way to cross to the north shore of Auckland and bring your bike. For some strange reason, you can bike everywhere else in this city, just not to the north shore. I've decided that taking the ferry to work is THE coolest way to commute, hands down. Since I've decided this, there will be no poll on it.
Anyhow, on my way back, I was standing on the pier waiting for the ferry to pick me up, when this guy saunters out onto the pier. He looks at me, my bike, my helmet, my biking gloves, looks at the pier and asks...get ready for it...
"How's the fishing?"
Yes, that's right, ladies and gentlemen, "HOW'S THE FISHING?"
All I was able to muster up at that point was something just as intelligent sounding... "Uhhh, I have no clue." About 5 seconds after this dumbfounding question, was when my brain started working again, and came up with all sorts of snappy responses like "Well, I've been unsuccessful so far..." or "I've thrown my bike over a couple of times, but those m*therf***ers just aren't biting" or "Well, if my bike was equipped with Shimano DuraAce, I'd probably be having better luck."
He then continues to add, "Well, I think this would be a great fishing spot." Ok, thank you, Captain Obvious for your expert analysis. Since, you've proved that you have metal reasoning powers well above mine, I'll run off and get my fishing gear... or maybe just hang myself from the pier as shark bait just to end having to hear his incessant stupidity.
Other than that, things are peachy. Life is good.
~S
Anyhow, on my way back, I was standing on the pier waiting for the ferry to pick me up, when this guy saunters out onto the pier. He looks at me, my bike, my helmet, my biking gloves, looks at the pier and asks...get ready for it...
"How's the fishing?"
Yes, that's right, ladies and gentlemen, "HOW'S THE FISHING?"
All I was able to muster up at that point was something just as intelligent sounding... "Uhhh, I have no clue." About 5 seconds after this dumbfounding question, was when my brain started working again, and came up with all sorts of snappy responses like "Well, I've been unsuccessful so far..." or "I've thrown my bike over a couple of times, but those m*therf***ers just aren't biting" or "Well, if my bike was equipped with Shimano DuraAce, I'd probably be having better luck."
He then continues to add, "Well, I think this would be a great fishing spot." Ok, thank you, Captain Obvious for your expert analysis. Since, you've proved that you have metal reasoning powers well above mine, I'll run off and get my fishing gear... or maybe just hang myself from the pier as shark bait just to end having to hear his incessant stupidity.
Other than that, things are peachy. Life is good.
~S
Thursday, January 10, 2008
First survey results are in!
Thank you all for your responses about quantities of beer that we should buy for our upstairs neighbors. Due to your responses, we'll be buying a case of beer when we go grocery shopping tomorrow and putting it on their doorstep with a thank you note. Maybe we'll even be invited up to share it with them.
Be sure to check out this week's new question of the week.
Cheers!
Be sure to check out this week's new question of the week.
Cheers!
Monday, January 7, 2008
Steebe does Retail...
One day of retail work down, many more to go...
After working one day in retail, I truly believe that retail experience is a crucial part of anyone's social development, one that I missed. This invaluable experience teaches you how to interact with people (often making conversations over nothing), make decisions on the fly, lie convincingly, use persuasive reasoning, develop a phone persona and multi-task effectively. One should definitely not go 28 years without some sort of this experience.
That said, I have to say I had a good first day, slowly learning my way around the register. It's one of those interfaces that use "function keys" to navigate through different screens. What happened to the interface that uses the mouse to move between fields?
I sold quite a bit of merchandise as well - 2 backpacks, half a dozen sleeping bags, a rain jacket, other assorted items and I almost sold a $500 tent (quite the up-sell). Unfortunately, the customer left saying he'd return "tomorrow" after sleeping on it. I'm not working today to complete the sale if he does come back. Oh well, it doesn't really matter, as we're not paid on a commission basis.
Tomorrow, I return to work and learn how to open and close the store, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let some function keys stand in the way of me figuring out the inventory/ordering system.
~S
After working one day in retail, I truly believe that retail experience is a crucial part of anyone's social development, one that I missed. This invaluable experience teaches you how to interact with people (often making conversations over nothing), make decisions on the fly, lie convincingly, use persuasive reasoning, develop a phone persona and multi-task effectively. One should definitely not go 28 years without some sort of this experience.
That said, I have to say I had a good first day, slowly learning my way around the register. It's one of those interfaces that use "function keys" to navigate through different screens. What happened to the interface that uses the mouse to move between fields?
I sold quite a bit of merchandise as well - 2 backpacks, half a dozen sleeping bags, a rain jacket, other assorted items and I almost sold a $500 tent (quite the up-sell). Unfortunately, the customer left saying he'd return "tomorrow" after sleeping on it. I'm not working today to complete the sale if he does come back. Oh well, it doesn't really matter, as we're not paid on a commission basis.
Tomorrow, I return to work and learn how to open and close the store, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let some function keys stand in the way of me figuring out the inventory/ordering system.
~S
Friday, January 4, 2008
Global Traffic Report- Part 2
Good evening folks, this is Steve in Chopper 8 (twice as good as Chopper 4 and four times as good as Chopper 2, which was subsequently dismantled and sold as scrap for gas money in Nepal) bringing you world traffic conditions.
India - Why anyone is driving in this country this evening is beyond me. While cows and funeral processions are plugging up traffic in Varanassi, someone's made a parking lot in the middle of the road in Delhi. I'm not sure that anyone can really see where they're going because of all the pollution spewed from cars, trucks, scooters and tuktuks. I highly suggest taking the new, clean mass transit train. Just make sure to have correct change ready when you get up to the window. Moving further south and west to Mumbai, the roads get slightly better allowing speeds of up to 50kph, but religious festivals have the public out in droves, bringing things to a grinding halt. It sure looks like the people on foot are having a much better time of it than those in vehicles. Inland, in Bangalore, things aren't any better because the road construction due to the installation of a "subway" has caused MG Road to go down to 2 lanes. This hasn't stopped many of the scooters or motorcycles carrying at least 3 people each. Who knows when this will end because the political party that had started this project was just thrown out of the government. Whoever starts this project up again will have to go through the process of bribing key people again. This is all compounded by the sewer that just burst.
Thailand - Other than the traffic caused by the 8 minute long red lights, traffic seems to be moving pretty well in Bangkok, except on the road north to Kao Yai National Park. It seems that many of those who are traveling north this weekend to their "privilege homes" or to visit Thailand's wine region have things gridlocked pretty well. You may come across a large tourist bus or two carrying camera wielding tourists, but they're pretty easy to pass, because apparently, in Thailand, driving fast is cool. Overall, the roads around Bangkok are paved well, and with plenty of public transportation and boats across the river, you should have no trouble this evening getting home. Hungry drivers are also well cared for, with a plethora of street side food choices, from any imaginable pork product to smoked guinea pig and fish to custard apples and fresh fruit. Be sure to pick some up on your way home tonight. Pedestrians, please take care when crossing the street. The tuktuks here launch harder from stoplights than my friend's '89 Mustang with drag radials. They sound pretty bad as well.
Hong Kong - Most of the drivers you see on the roads tonight are there because they can afford to drive to work. I've never seen such an upscale traffic jam (ok, maybe portions of the Woodward Dream Cruise) with high end Rolls-Royces, BMW's, Ferraris and Mercedes. There are a lot of cars on the island's roads, but it seems they continue to move, albeit slowly. Other commuters have chosen to avoid the traffic and have taken one of the many other options, Double Decker Trolly, subway, or train. After New Year's sales have brought the public out in droves this evening to shop at some of the most upscale malls in the world. Consider taking public trans to the mall, as the parking lots are full.
Japan - If you're considering heading to or from Narita Airport, this evening be sure to give yourself a good half day. Even though I'm staring at one of the most orderly and courteous traffic jams in the world, no one's going anywhere. Over in Rappongi Hills, someone's caused a back up by running their Left Hand Drive S600 into a pole. Could it have been because he was driving on the WRONG SIDE OF THE CAR? Seems like a large price to pay for "status". Pedestrians tonight in Shibuya should be prepared to cross the street with 3000 others at the same time. Don't consider driving here. Additionally, around the Royal Palace, traffic's gone bazerk because there's a marathon running through the streets. However, everyone's dressed in single but brightly colored jogging suits and wearing boxes on their head. If the street hasn't been closed off, throngs of other Asian tourists are photographing the event and blocking traffic. Best bet to get around tonight, do what millions of other Japanese do and take the subway. Just make sure to buy the right type of ticket. The JNR lines and the Toei lines take DIFFERENT TICKETS.
Australia - Around the major cities tonight you'll find it gridlocked due to the plethora of cars and roads that make no logical sense, like a hub and spoke gone bad. It's probably influence of the hills and bodies of water surrounding Sydney and Melbourne. If you're looking for parking there, be prepared to give your first born in exchange. It looks like the cyclists are moving the best. If you're driving, please watch out for them and their high end road bikes. Oh, a note for all you tourist drivers out there, there are certain roads that look ok to take, but require an EZPass type device. You'll want to research which roads these are BEFORE traveling on them, as it's a $100 fine to be caught without one of these devices. Things are moving well along the roads down the coast between Sydney and Melbourne, as the towns here give a new meaning to "small town". Be sure to get your groceries and fresh fish before 3pm, as many of the stores will close. Moving to South Australia, please be careful of Kangaroos, as they'll bend up quite a bit of sheet metal. However, if you see any Cane Toads, please, please swerve to hit them. In the Barossa, things are snarled up because Elton John's in town and police have set up DUI checkpoints every 500m on roads leaving the concert. I'd suggest that you bike, but it's rumored that the police will not hesitate to cite you with a "drink driving" charge even if on a bicycle. Oh, by the way, the legal limit is .05.
Happy driving and have a good weekend! This is Chopper 8 signing out.
India - Why anyone is driving in this country this evening is beyond me. While cows and funeral processions are plugging up traffic in Varanassi, someone's made a parking lot in the middle of the road in Delhi. I'm not sure that anyone can really see where they're going because of all the pollution spewed from cars, trucks, scooters and tuktuks. I highly suggest taking the new, clean mass transit train. Just make sure to have correct change ready when you get up to the window. Moving further south and west to Mumbai, the roads get slightly better allowing speeds of up to 50kph, but religious festivals have the public out in droves, bringing things to a grinding halt. It sure looks like the people on foot are having a much better time of it than those in vehicles. Inland, in Bangalore, things aren't any better because the road construction due to the installation of a "subway" has caused MG Road to go down to 2 lanes. This hasn't stopped many of the scooters or motorcycles carrying at least 3 people each. Who knows when this will end because the political party that had started this project was just thrown out of the government. Whoever starts this project up again will have to go through the process of bribing key people again. This is all compounded by the sewer that just burst.
Thailand - Other than the traffic caused by the 8 minute long red lights, traffic seems to be moving pretty well in Bangkok, except on the road north to Kao Yai National Park. It seems that many of those who are traveling north this weekend to their "privilege homes" or to visit Thailand's wine region have things gridlocked pretty well. You may come across a large tourist bus or two carrying camera wielding tourists, but they're pretty easy to pass, because apparently, in Thailand, driving fast is cool. Overall, the roads around Bangkok are paved well, and with plenty of public transportation and boats across the river, you should have no trouble this evening getting home. Hungry drivers are also well cared for, with a plethora of street side food choices, from any imaginable pork product to smoked guinea pig and fish to custard apples and fresh fruit. Be sure to pick some up on your way home tonight. Pedestrians, please take care when crossing the street. The tuktuks here launch harder from stoplights than my friend's '89 Mustang with drag radials. They sound pretty bad as well.
Hong Kong - Most of the drivers you see on the roads tonight are there because they can afford to drive to work. I've never seen such an upscale traffic jam (ok, maybe portions of the Woodward Dream Cruise) with high end Rolls-Royces, BMW's, Ferraris and Mercedes. There are a lot of cars on the island's roads, but it seems they continue to move, albeit slowly. Other commuters have chosen to avoid the traffic and have taken one of the many other options, Double Decker Trolly, subway, or train. After New Year's sales have brought the public out in droves this evening to shop at some of the most upscale malls in the world. Consider taking public trans to the mall, as the parking lots are full.
Japan - If you're considering heading to or from Narita Airport, this evening be sure to give yourself a good half day. Even though I'm staring at one of the most orderly and courteous traffic jams in the world, no one's going anywhere. Over in Rappongi Hills, someone's caused a back up by running their Left Hand Drive S600 into a pole. Could it have been because he was driving on the WRONG SIDE OF THE CAR? Seems like a large price to pay for "status". Pedestrians tonight in Shibuya should be prepared to cross the street with 3000 others at the same time. Don't consider driving here. Additionally, around the Royal Palace, traffic's gone bazerk because there's a marathon running through the streets. However, everyone's dressed in single but brightly colored jogging suits and wearing boxes on their head. If the street hasn't been closed off, throngs of other Asian tourists are photographing the event and blocking traffic. Best bet to get around tonight, do what millions of other Japanese do and take the subway. Just make sure to buy the right type of ticket. The JNR lines and the Toei lines take DIFFERENT TICKETS.
Australia - Around the major cities tonight you'll find it gridlocked due to the plethora of cars and roads that make no logical sense, like a hub and spoke gone bad. It's probably influence of the hills and bodies of water surrounding Sydney and Melbourne. If you're looking for parking there, be prepared to give your first born in exchange. It looks like the cyclists are moving the best. If you're driving, please watch out for them and their high end road bikes. Oh, a note for all you tourist drivers out there, there are certain roads that look ok to take, but require an EZPass type device. You'll want to research which roads these are BEFORE traveling on them, as it's a $100 fine to be caught without one of these devices. Things are moving well along the roads down the coast between Sydney and Melbourne, as the towns here give a new meaning to "small town". Be sure to get your groceries and fresh fish before 3pm, as many of the stores will close. Moving to South Australia, please be careful of Kangaroos, as they'll bend up quite a bit of sheet metal. However, if you see any Cane Toads, please, please swerve to hit them. In the Barossa, things are snarled up because Elton John's in town and police have set up DUI checkpoints every 500m on roads leaving the concert. I'd suggest that you bike, but it's rumored that the police will not hesitate to cite you with a "drink driving" charge even if on a bicycle. Oh, by the way, the legal limit is .05.
Happy driving and have a good weekend! This is Chopper 8 signing out.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Want to see where we're living and working?
As part of our more permanent stay here in Auckland, NZ, we've found an apartment for two months. Click the link here to see where we're staying. We know it's not much, but, after all, we're simple people (riiiight) and living out of anything more than a backpack is downright luxurious.
Because we aim to serve our customers, we're also posting the location of where we work as well. Click here to view the Queen St. Snowgum store, click here to view the New Market Store, and here to view the location of the Fox Outlet Store.
Cheers!
Because we aim to serve our customers, we're also posting the location of where we work as well. Click here to view the Queen St. Snowgum store, click here to view the New Market Store, and here to view the location of the Fox Outlet Store.
Cheers!
New Feature - Question of the Week
Be sure to check out the new feature for 2008 - The Question of the week. Each week we'll ask a question relevant to life here in New Zealand. We'd love to hear what you, our faithful readers, think. Also, please feel free to email us if you have any suggestions for future questions.
Thanks,
The Management
Thanks,
The Management
Happy New Year!
Hello Everyone, Happy 2008!
We're back and for lack of better New Year's Resolutions, do vow to update the blog more often. It'll definitely be different types of content, now that we're settled in one place for a while, however, we should still have lots to talk about.
As a New Year's gift, we were hired by an outdoor store called Snowgum. This is my first retail position, ever and I have to say that I'm quite nervous about starting work next week. Snowgum sells the type of gear that people will find useful when they travel and partake in outdoor activities. There's some camping stuff, some travel stuff, and many thoughtful things that one would need to take a trip. They even sell a drain plug for the bathroom sink so you can do wash while traveling. Funny how you'd never think to take your own drain plug while traveling, but it would have proved very useful in a number of places. We found that in lieu of this handy item, a plastic grocery bag shoved down the drain does the trick. Anyhow, we'll be working at Snowgum until the end of February.
Then we head down to Blenheim to work for Nobilo Wine Group as cellar hands for their 2008 harvest. I'm pretty excited about this, because, first of all, it's a foot in the door to the wine industry, one which we've enjoyed hanging around since we started our trip and secondly because it'll let me know whether or not I like wine enough to pursue a career in it when I get back to the States. Speaking of the States, we'll be returning after the harvest in May. We're not really sure what a "cellar hand" does, but I seem to remember seeing an episode of "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery Channel, where Mike Rowe visits a winery and performs many of the dirtier tasks. What we do know, though is our employer supplies us with overalls and boots. Fun!
It's kind of funny to look back on 2007 and realize that January 1, 2007 is the day that Jesse and I vowed that by the end of the year we'd be doing something "drastically different" that probably involved quite a bit of travel. But at that point, we had no idea of what it would take or how much we'd learn selling/renting/packing up everything we own and taking off to travel the world. I'm not sure that what we do in 2008 could top this, but there's a good possibility that coming back to "civilization" and finding a place to live, finding employment, buying a car again, may be just as challenging.
For 2008, we've promised each other that at the end of this year, we're going to have at least defined the criteria for our work/life balance, attempting to find the location and employment that suits us both.
I'm definitely looking forward to the coming year and the events contained within, especially the marriage of my sister, Lindsay, to my arch training rival and good friend, Chris Wells. You can see their wedding website here. I'm hoping that preparing for marriage (a big deal) will distract CW from his strict training regiment and actually allow me to beat him. Yeah, he usually beats me, but SHHHHH, don't tell him I ever admitted to that.
Cheers!
~S
We're back and for lack of better New Year's Resolutions, do vow to update the blog more often. It'll definitely be different types of content, now that we're settled in one place for a while, however, we should still have lots to talk about.
As a New Year's gift, we were hired by an outdoor store called Snowgum. This is my first retail position, ever and I have to say that I'm quite nervous about starting work next week. Snowgum sells the type of gear that people will find useful when they travel and partake in outdoor activities. There's some camping stuff, some travel stuff, and many thoughtful things that one would need to take a trip. They even sell a drain plug for the bathroom sink so you can do wash while traveling. Funny how you'd never think to take your own drain plug while traveling, but it would have proved very useful in a number of places. We found that in lieu of this handy item, a plastic grocery bag shoved down the drain does the trick. Anyhow, we'll be working at Snowgum until the end of February.
Then we head down to Blenheim to work for Nobilo Wine Group as cellar hands for their 2008 harvest. I'm pretty excited about this, because, first of all, it's a foot in the door to the wine industry, one which we've enjoyed hanging around since we started our trip and secondly because it'll let me know whether or not I like wine enough to pursue a career in it when I get back to the States. Speaking of the States, we'll be returning after the harvest in May. We're not really sure what a "cellar hand" does, but I seem to remember seeing an episode of "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery Channel, where Mike Rowe visits a winery and performs many of the dirtier tasks. What we do know, though is our employer supplies us with overalls and boots. Fun!
It's kind of funny to look back on 2007 and realize that January 1, 2007 is the day that Jesse and I vowed that by the end of the year we'd be doing something "drastically different" that probably involved quite a bit of travel. But at that point, we had no idea of what it would take or how much we'd learn selling/renting/packing up everything we own and taking off to travel the world. I'm not sure that what we do in 2008 could top this, but there's a good possibility that coming back to "civilization" and finding a place to live, finding employment, buying a car again, may be just as challenging.
For 2008, we've promised each other that at the end of this year, we're going to have at least defined the criteria for our work/life balance, attempting to find the location and employment that suits us both.
I'm definitely looking forward to the coming year and the events contained within, especially the marriage of my sister, Lindsay, to my arch training rival and good friend, Chris Wells. You can see their wedding website here. I'm hoping that preparing for marriage (a big deal) will distract CW from his strict training regiment and actually allow me to beat him. Yeah, he usually beats me, but SHHHHH, don't tell him I ever admitted to that.
Cheers!
~S
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