A Week of Wes

Hey guys. I apologize it has been a whole week since my last post. Let me fill you in on what has happened since then.

On Wed of last week I had a pretty easy going day (if I remember correctly). That evening I went out to Couchsurfers where I had a really good time. Its nice to know I'm finally getting a group of people that I can say I'm friends with. We didn't have our usual bartender again, which really sucked because it meant she didn't randomly make G&T's and then forget them accidentally on the counter for me. (Needless to say it was a much more expensive night then normal) The nice thing about being with an organization that is founded around letting people sleep on your couch is that if you were to say happen to miss the last bus home, then there is always a large number of people will to let you crash on there couch. Last wed. just so happened to be one such occasion. And needless to say I was dissappointed in the morning when I learned that the earliest buses that return to Onehunga started at 7:10. So I had to pay 30 dollars to take a taxi at 6:00 in the morning. (As I said an expensive evening, but live and learn).

Thursday, to be honest I forget what I did in the morning. Probably read, fed, exercised, and worked on german (the 4 things I try to do every day). However in the afternoon, I took Yannik to the wave pool that is down the street. I think that Yannik had a great time. He loves the water (which, in case your curious, is a common affinity for autistic kids (water that is)). (Its also why my family is building a pool in their back yard in a month) However as much fun as Yannik had, to say the least it was rather nerve racking for me. Yannik for some reason really seemed to being enjoying the kids pool (which I will say was atleast 10 degrees warmer than the wave pool, however unfortunately I assume that is because the lack of urinary control of small children). Regardless of its warmth, it meant that I was continuously getting the evil eye from parents understandably afraid that Yannik (a 15 year old) may accidentally crush there children under foot. When I did get him to the pool I had to be on constant guard from the large group of adolescent boys playing rugby in the pool. However I was able to avoid conflict the whole trip. When we left, I foolishly forgot to ask if they had handicap bathrooms. So I had to help change Yannik in front of around 20 other naked to semi-naked men. I was rather aware of how awkward I probably looked instructing a 15 year old how to change his clothes. Half way through a man interrupted me saying "Excuse me sir". I instantly thought "great someone wants to make something of this". So I turned around already prepared to defend my actions, or Yannik or whatever and rather forcefully responded with "Yes" at which point he simply pointed to the floor and stated that I had dropped a two dollar coin and then walked away. I felt a little sheepish after that. (I don't think I have ever written the word sheepish about anything, but in a country where sheep outnumber humans 10 to 1, it seems fitting) The rest of the evening ran smoothly.

Friday was such a beautiful day. It was like summer was already here. So I went down to Mission Bay shortly before I had to be home for Yannik. Mission Bay was incredible. It is a little beach front community just off from downtown. Its a beautiful location with a great shot of the Auckland skyline, and a beautiful beach with a nice store fronts and a park. I bought a cone of Hazlenut chocolate gelato and walked along the beach. I think I found out what Nirvana felt like that day. It would make you sagt wundabar (as they would say in German).

On Saturday, Chris and I met up (thats the other Manny in town). We went back out to Mission Bay (because it had been so beautiful there the day before) we went in to Belgium Beer Bar, and I was able to get my favorite kind of brew ( a Belgium Tripl) while we say on a balcony and watched the ocean. It was really nice. Then we went to Ladies Bay by Bastion Point. We walked along the rocks right by the water, and got our feet a bit. Little did we know (I later found out) where we were is known as the gay and lesbian beach, (I suspect more lesbian since it is aptly named Ladies Bay) and just a beach or too over is what is commonly the nudist beach of Auckland. We weren't fortunate enough however to see any of these things. However having never been to a nudist beach, at some point I may have to investigate. We then drove into downtown and I had my first Kiwi Kebab. (which is just a Turkish Kebab only in Auckland) I don't know if I have mentioned it or not, but there are Kebab shops everywhere here. I have no clue why but now I can say that I know they are delicious.

Sunday for me was a pretty lazy day. I didn't do all that much except to talk to people from home, and write some emails, trying to coordinate things for the race I am competing in this weekend. (See previous post for details).

Then on Monday I had a rather constructive day. I finished my book, Slaughterhouse-five. Which by the way was really good, and I would recommend it to everyone. I am now on to 1984 (because somehow I avoided reading it all through high school and college) (which I should say is not a term used here "college" that is. If you say you did something back in college people are like what you mean like high school. Everything is University here.) At any rate, I am now on to reading that. But what else did I do on Monday. I made a daily schedule for myself. Which I think will be good, because its easy to waste a day when you have a whole afternoon off. So I divided the hours of my day out which hopefully I will stick too. And then at 6:00 I went to my first ever improv class. As of Monday I have started taking the "Art of Improvisation" taught by Wade Jackson who is kinda the name in improv here in NZ, and for any Whethermen reading this, he and his partner ended up beating, low and behold, Zach Ward and his partner in 2004 Improv Championships in Chicago. It was just really funny to talk to him, and we knew some of the same people, for example Zach Ward simply because thats kind of the small community that Improv is. At any rate, the class was good. It is kind of for people that have never performed or done improv before, but I have to take it to take level two. Its kind of nice too cause its like a trip back to basics.

Anyways, so that is I think catching you up to speed. Today I explored Devonport which is on the north shore of Auckland across the harbor from downtown. It was as beautiful as Mission Bay. There are so many of these great little communities. Alright now I must run, Yannik is getting antsy.