License Plates

Kiwis like their vanity plates. There’s an absolutely preposterous radio spot that features “real life” people whose business was on the brink of bankruptcy until they turned it around with... a vanity plate.

Here’s a list of plates I saw one morning on the bus. 70% of these make about as much sense as Tracy Jordan’s vanity plate.

Misti
EZ-G
NoBos
DukeH
8th Sin (on a Jaguar of course)
Liquor
Txter (pretty ballsy since it’s illegal!)
Nike01
Go300
SRFER
VW Ate
4Tarsh
Our Joy
Hefner
I SPY
14U2C
A Dove
BMW (why do people who drive BMWs always have a license plate that says the name of the car?!)
Mini (and AGAIN...)

Random bus pictures

The shirt says "Josh kicks ass! Better than Tama!"

Weird Renaissance-Faire dude at the bus stop
The coat is velvet with big gold buttons and buckles in the front.

Weird bus activity

I've started noticing this guy on the bus who clearly has no respect for personal space.

There are two sets of seats on the bus that face each other, like a booth in a restaurant. The one set of seats faces the front of the bus.  The other seats face the back of the bus, creating a really awkward situation where you're stuck sitting directly across from a complete stranger.  99% of people sit in these seats as a last resort, when there's no other place to sit.

Everyone, that is, except this one guy.

At first I thought it was a sneaky strategy to prevent someone from sitting across from him, ensuring a bus ride unfettered by someone sitting next to you. But no -- he's just nuts.

In fact, a woman got on the bus the other morning and sat in one of the seats, and even though the bus was 85% empty, he actually sat across from her -- this is the bus equivalent of being in a bathroom stall,and someone comes in and takes the stall RIGHT next to yours, even though it's a big public bathroom and there's plenty of empty stalls.

See how it unfolds!

Woman gets on the bus, sits in her seat:

Other people get on the bus and take the next available seats:

But then this guy gets on and where does he sit?  Check it out. What's the deal?!?  He sits in that same seat every single morning, without exception.

Public transportation

As I've established many times before, I hate my commute. The internship is at my school, so my commute has remained the same, only with different hours. It's usually a fairly annoying ride filled with loud school children or idiots with cell phones.

But every so often something happens that reinforces some of our reasons for moving here. On Friday, I got on the bus to go home, and realized that I didn't have my bus pass. I fished around in my purse and found nothing. I gave an apologetic look to the driver and explained that I didn't have my pass, and turned to walk off the bus.

He said, "Wait - -which stop do you get off?". "Beach Haven," I replied and he said, "There's an ATM there -- you can pay me then."

Relieved and a little stunned, I said thank you, and sat down. As I walked to my seat, a complete stranger had out her purse and said, "How much do you need? I'll pay for you." I couldn't believe it. I declined and explained that the driver was going to let me run to an ATM once we got to Beach Haven. Once seated, I rummaged through my purse again and found the bus pass after all, so everything worked out.

Election Day in New Zealand

Today New Zealand votes in a new Prime Minister. The two major parties, Labour and National, have been duking it out for months. Incumbent PM Helen Clark (Labour) is allegedly on her way out, with rival John Key (National) the predicted winner.

NZ has a TON of political parties. Ralph Nader should become a Kiwi. Check it out:

Today's newspaper:

YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ELECTION DAY!

The NZ press seems pretty optimistic that Obama is going to win. I'm not as confident. I really wish I could stay home, glued to the TV all day, instead of going to class, but I'll be at home by the time the final announcement is made (I think!) GO OBAMA!!!!!!

The Americans

We STILL haven't met the two Americans who moved in next door. On Sunday, Iain and I were out on the deck when we heard them come home with their dog (a lab - how original). They hung out in their backyard for a while, eventually going inside but leaving their door wide open.

Iain said, "Should we walk over and say hello?" Trying not to look too obvious, we started wandering around our front yard, discussing plants and weeds, casting the occasional glance up to see if the neighbors came out, allowing a well-timed, "Oh! Hey there!"moment. I was even wearing my Obama shirt -- it was perfect!

Well, the guy walked out onto the porch, saw us, and went right back inside and shut the door. Ok, that's not exactly what happened but it felt like it. Iain thinks I'm probably reading too much into it but I'm not convinced. Stay tuned!

Rock the Vote!

The NZ elections are on November 8 and they've got their own version of MTV's Rock The Vote.

There's a commercial targeted to "today's youth" that features four people around a table, including a dwarf featured on one of the local shows. Every time one guy (not the dwarf) starts to speak, the rest of the group shhhsh's him. He keeps trying to talk, and finally one of the women yells, "SHUT IT!".

Then they attack him and duct tape his mouth. (I swear to god, I did not write this spot)

The announcer reads, "If you don't vote, no one gives a shit what you say."

Well said!

The Americans!

Our next door neighbor is moving to a new house. He hasn't sold his current house yet, so he's renting it to some tenants.

They're from California. That's all we know. Oh, and they move in this weekend. I have mixed feelings about this.

Fears:
1) They like Palin (deal breaker)
2) They're young and will have super loud parties (this is a general fear that has nothing to do with their nationality)
3) They'll assume that because I'm American, we're instant BFFs.

Hopes:
1) They're voting for Obama
2) They're our age and super cool and watch Gossip Girl and Lost and can't wait for the Golden Globes
3) Because I'm American, we're instant BFFs.

Stay tuned!

Olivia & Matilda support Obama!

With the camera in the shop, I've decided to post other people's pictures. Here's Matilda (top) and Olivia (below). If only they could vote....

Palin ?!?!?!??!????!!!!!!??

On The Bus

I started taking a different bus home to mix things up a bit. The stop is a few blocks away from my usual stop, and there's less people so you're pretty much guaranteed a full seat to yourself.

Whether I like it or not, the bus is a big part of my day.

Today, there was a woman was sitting across the aisle from me. She was about 50 or so, I guess, and was fumbling with a bunch of CDs she'd just purchased. I smiled, thinking, "Man, who still buys CDs?" She started the horrible task of trying to get the plastic off, and the noise make me glance back over. I looked at the CD. It was Toto! How random!! Then I looked at her other CD. Toto! I didn't even know Toto had more than one CD! Awesome. And she looked SO excited, like you know she couldn't wait to get home and put them on.

But the BEST was this other woman. She was carrying around a box of tissues -- not sure what that was about. Her outfit consisted of hiking shoes, Mom jeans, sweatshirt with some school emblem on it , and a F.U.B.U. baseball hat. I was DYING to ask her if she knows what FUBU means, but of course I didn't. I'm not saying whiteys shouldn't wear FUBU*, but the fact that this woman was SO white and it's New Zealand just made it that much better.

And then there's Revolting Hairy Lady, who thankfully is not a regular passenger. She is unshowered, has what appears to be a beard, and completely reeks of stale cigarette smoke mixed with horrendous body odor. She's filthy. It's so bad, even when she leaves, the bus still stinks. I need to be more tolerant of this poor woman, who is clearly mentally ill, but it's tough when she chooses the seat right in front of me.

(*after a brief visit to the FUBU website, maybe we should all wear FUBU -- they donate tons of money to charities around NY and stuff. I bet The Gap can't say that.)

Yuck.

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. It hasn't been a good few days. It's done nothing but rain and I have a horrendous cold which caused me to miss 1.5 days o'school. Bad idea. Because my school is only 10 months, the teachers fly through everything, and it's really difficult when you miss a class. Honestly, I thought my days of sitting in a classroom on the verge of tears were over, but no.

Today was also filled with fun "Are you kidding me?" bad day incidents: my teacher actually typed "Saxon is sick and should go home" in PHP code on the overhead projector. Admittedly, I was "that guy" in class -- coughing, sniffling, fumbling for tissues. I ended up leaving early, when my Bea Arthur voice gave out and I broke down into non-stop coughing.

Then, while waiting at the bus stop, it arrived and stopped 20 feet up from the official stop to let people out - I thought, "Weird, but so what! I'll be first!" So I approached it, only to have the bus driver close the doors on me and drive 20 feet to the actual bus stop, forcing me to walk back to my original position, and wind up in the back of the line. Then, right in front of our house, I walked through wet cement. Come ON. It'll serve as a reminder of this day, right alongside the Van Halen logo and I.P + S.F.D = TLA / BFF.

Thanks to Iain for comforting me and reminding me of my days working for Mr. Pitt -- nothing is ever that bad.

Tomorrow is Friday and will hopefully mark the return of more interesting, positive posts. Unlikely!

No, really, I have a bunch of pictures from our weekend in Dunedin to post and all...

Panic, at the Bus Stop

While sitting at the bus stop this morning, slack jawed and listening to my iPod, I suddenly bolted upright: I PUT THE PRINT STYLESHEET LINK ON THE WRONG PAGE!!!!!! This was in reference to our big class project that we just turned in last week. You get one re-do or you fail, and I'd already done my re-do and handed it back in. I realized that I'd forgotten one really stupid, really easy, but really important step in my HTML code. SHIT!

I totally panicked -- I had no cell phone, no way of getting in touch with my teacher to beg for a second chance. In short, I was screwed. And I now had an hour commute ahead of me before getting to school, which gave the teacher that much more time to grade my project and flunk me.

I don't have a cell phone here because, for now at least, I don't have a job and the only people I would call all live in the US, so why spend $60--$75 a month for a phone I'll use maybe twice a month to call Iain and say, "I'm running late." But today I was freaking out over this. It's like being on a plane and realizing you left the iron on. What can you do? Nothing. SHIT!

So I get to school and race up to the 5th floor (ok, via the elevator), dash into the office where 2 of my teachers are hanging out: I'll call them Johnny and Rick. I walk over and politely say, "Um, Rick, I know I handed my project in already but is it at all possible to just double-check one small detail?" Rick gives me a blank stare and says,"No. I already graded it and it's done. Filed. Too late."

I stand there speechless, when Johnny (the department head) intervenes and says, "That means you passed. If it's been filed, you're good." I manage to exhale. Amused, Johnny says, "What'd you think you did wrong?" I explain, and Rick just says, "It was fine." as if I'm this huge annoyance that has interrupted his peaceful morning, instead of a student who helps pay his salary.

I am totally relieved (and baffled) at discovering that my project was fine, but imagine if it wasn't? Thank god Johnny is teaching us now. I officially hate Rick. Iain has jokingly recommended that I start taking the kitty Valium we got in the States that I still have.

Attached is an unrelated picture of our good friend Nam.

Auckland public transportation

I ran out the door to catch the bus this morning and forgot to pee. So, 45 minutes and one bus ride later, I arrived in Auckland desperate for a Starbucks. There's one a block away that's usually crowded, allowing me to sneak into their bathroom without feeling obligated to buy anything. Not so today. It was empty, so I reluctantly ordered a cappuccino and then raced to the bathroom.

Coffee in hand I walked to my second bus stop, two blocks away. Remember my post about the busses being so clean? Well, now I know why. The bus driver gave me a firm but polite lecture about beverages being prohibited. I mumbled an apology and went to pay for my ticket. Nope - I was asked to please leave the bus until I was finished with my coffee. I said, "Well, when are you leaving?" and the driver said, "We depart in 5 minutes." So I had to sit outside in the rain with my stupid coffee that I didn't even want in the first place. Then I got on the bus.

Public Transportation

Things I Like About Taking the Bus in Auckland:

1. the drivers are friendly and actually speak to you
2. they also give change
3. if you ask nicely, they'll let you off right where you want to be dropped off, not at the actual bus stop
4. the people on the bus are friendly (mostly) and quiet (mostly)
5. people don't talk on their cell phones - they text
6. the bus is clean - you can actually put your bag on the ground and not worry about setting it down onto gum, or spilled diet Coke, or worse...
7. people (including kids) actually follow the "reserve this seat for the elderly" rule
8. there's a lot of them -- you can get pretty much anywhere, including the 'burbs
9. there's no advertisements anywhere on the bus

Things I Don't Like:

1. there's no advertisements anywhere on the bus
2. I'm on the bus for 2 hours every day (though it beats driving)
3. the regulars: the guy who smells like dirty hair who often sits RIGHT in front of me, the grody chainsmoker lady who reeks, the guy who gets off right before my stop who never wears deodorant

Unfortunately, the guy in the picture is not a regular. His outfit was so much better from the front but I obviously couldn't get a shot. He was 100% color coordinated in orange and dark orange, right down to his socks, a dark orange ribbon around his wrist, and what I'm assuming was an orange ascot around his neck. He sounded like a Kiwi Paul Lynde and was VERY chatty. He'd just purchased the umbrella stand he's carrying and couldn't have been more pleased. I thought, "Oh my god - I hope this guy takes the bus all the time!" but I've only seen him once.