hi kids.
it’s been a tick since i last checked in with you, but i have been up to quite a bit. i dropped into hong kong for a kip, caught on movies via qantas in demand, went to very many meetings, got a new roommate, took a bus tour up to northland and a boat through a hole in a rock, made friends with a traditional maori dance troupe, accrued 30K frequent flyer miles and shot some guns.
since so much has happned, i guess it’s best to sum up the highlights and key takeaways:
- qantas has better business class than cathay pacific,
- spiderman 3 was the biggest let down in my movie going career since, well, ever, i guess,
- australia and new zealand may only be separated by the tasman sea, but they are worlds apart,
- kiwis say “awesome” more than americans,
- the all blacks might be the coolest rugby team on the planet. but i’m such a poser, i’m basing that statement on the trivia from my bus tour driver and the cute jacket that i bought at the auckland airport,
- i didn’t go to the “lord of the rings part” of new zealand (of which there are several), but i did go the house where the treaty between nz and england was signed, as well as the world’s biggest war canoe,
- i am now, officially, a tree hugger. there’s a kauri tree, somewhat like the american redwood, in new zealand that the maoris believe bring you good energy if you hug it, so i complied,
- got some good business done,
- signed on some new agents,
- took on even more duties since my domestic counterpart is leaving the company, but will get to have some fun with it,
- nz also has law and order a lot, though i was often too jetlagged to make the 8:30 showtime,
- yes, flight of the conchords is popular there,
- there is a store in australia called mooks. seriously. it’s very trendy. can’t figure out why it hasn’t made it to the us, though…
- LA still sucks, but having a gps in your car makes it almost bearable,
- LA kind of rules for having a gun club downtown that you can go to, rent any kind of non-automatic and shoot. i tried a glock 9 mm (what the coppers in nyc use- thought it might be prudent to give it a test drive in case i go that way). also tried a .357 magnum revolver with .38 caliber bullets. MUCH better for target practice,
- next time i want to try rifles and shotguns,
- i’ll probably never make it as a sharpshooter,
- hailed the return of russel crowe during 3:10 to yuma, which needed a better director to handle that star power,
- ate like crap,
- watched t.o. devour the giants on sunday night football, which is the only way i could ever tolerate a dallas-led giants loss,
- saw bubba on letterman whilst in oz. still love and worship him and need his new book,
- decided elvis should rise from the dead to take out all those responsible for the “viva viagra” campaign- pfizer, the ad agency and the people in his estate that OKed that deal,
- was amired by a hot (female) bartender for my choice of drink (whiskey on the rocks) and my job,
- got worked on by an aussie physiotherapist and was massively impressed. he thinks i should be much more healed and is going to hunt for someone in new york to help me,
- i love bubba. i know it’s a repeat, but i like round numbers. and i really love him.
oh, and the catalan has been IMing; he can’t wait for me to visit. i gotta try and swing that.
