May 2009 Archives

On Wednesday, May 27th I woke up at 5:30 am, quickly pulled some clothes on, and drove to the SkyCity Casino on Victoria Street to watch the Champions Leaue Final between Barcelona and Manchester United on the big screen. I was joining a surprisingly rowdy-considering-the-time group of mostly European friends who also wanted to see the game live. It was a really good time. After I woke up, around the second half, I had a beer, which is a great breakfast by the way, and proceeded to sit back and enjoy the atmosphere and the game. There is really nothing like watching sports with people who really love the teams and the game being played. Back in Canada it's hockey, here in New Zealand it's rugby, but in Europe (and much of the world), its gotta be soccer. I used to play soccer ages ago, my favorite player was Pele, but its been a good decade since I have sat and watched an entire game, and I must say it was epic, definitely something I would travel across the world to experience live.

Yesterday I went to Mount Maunganui for a last minute day trip. It was a rainy Friday when we tentatively planned the trip, and so decided if it was rainy and cold again Saturday we wouldn't bother. Lo and behold, I woke up to sun, so we set off. The place is really nice. Awesome beaches, super mild climate. I noticed randomly it was really clean, and there are really nice apartments and hotels everywhere, like a real resort town. Apparently it isn't, but there is a lot of money in the area. The Mount itself is awesome. Walking trails criss cross its slopes, and they are well used by the locals. The only downside is no mountain biking is allowed, but that's a minor problem all things considered. The view from the top is pretty epic, all 360 degrees of it. I'd definitely recommend it as a destination, and it is only a short drive away so you can do it in a day if you have a time restraint.

     

        

Its officially work time. Only 11 more weekdays until the study break starts, not that I'm counting. And for the first time in my university career, I have decided to try a different approach for this time of year. I have tentatively termed it "preparation". For those of you like me who are unfamiliar with the term, it basically means doing things before the very absolute last second, with the idea that it will save stress and in the end provide a better grade, longer life expectancy, and happier friends and flat mates. Sounds awesome I know, but for someone who is used to cramming, it’s a little difficult to adjust. For example, on Monday I started writing an essay for one of my classes. Monday afternoon I researched like a maniac. Monday night I rushed to plan and start writing. On Tuesday and Wednesday I spent the better part of the day in the dungeon (library, 1st floor. Don’t worry its an affectionate nickname) finishing the paper. Last night when it was finally written, I was exhausted, but for a 6-page essay, glad I had been able to finish it on time. Here’s the thing,

It’s not due for three weeks . . .

This is the problem. You get used to doing something in a certain way, and it’s ridiculously hard to break out of that cycle. Although now it’s Thursday, day 4 of my new "preparation" campaign, and things are smoothing out a little. This weekend, I hope to go to the Chiefs game, and cheer on the home team. Hopefully the weather stays good, as I have an incurable urge to travel somewhere outside Hamilton. I guess we'll see how it goes.

 

I had a good week this last week. On Wednesday I watched Lindon Puffin perform at the village green, at Momento Cafe. I thought he was really talented, playing guitar, harmonica, and singing. As well, he did a great job of entertaining in between songs, which would be a daunting task, seeing as how he was

doing the entire show solo. While I was there, I noticed that Momento is going to be holding an open mic night every Thursday evening. I didn't get a chance to see it this Thursday, but I think the idea is awesome. I’m a huge sucker for live music, so I will definitely check it out.

On Friday night the Chiefs squeaked past the visiting Brumbies 10-7, to earn a home semi final this weekend. I went and like a "true Kiwi" (at least according to my flat mate) sat in the uncovered section of the stadium, eight rows back from the field. It was great. I had been to the first Chiefs home game ages ago, and while it was good, I think rugby is a game that has slowly grown on me. In addition, there was a WAY bigger crowd so that helped a lot.

On Saturday, I went into town and ate at a restaurant called Ghengy's. It's a Mongolian style barbeque where you pick out whatever food you want, buffet style, and then they cook it for you on a special 600 degree Celsius grill. It’s pretty awesome. You can pick out whatever combination of meat you want like chicken, beef, pork, squid, shrimp, etc, and then combine it with a load of veggies. They also have a bunch of sauces and spices so you can really experiment. For dessert, they have pancakes and ice cream. Epic.
Yesterday was a workday, so pretty much a bust. I did get to play a little basketball before it started raining, so that was good. Now its time to get back into the swing of things though, and hammer out some work as we head into the home stretch of the semester.
 

This last week I have been able to feel a change in the seasons. It’s definitely autumn here now; the leaves are changing, the rain seems to stick around longer, and it’s colder in the morning. Lucky for me fall time is my favorite time of year. I love the crisper mornings, and the lakes here on campus look beautiful. It’s also that time of the semester when school seems to catch up to you and all of a sudden everything is due. I have been spending a lot of time in my second home, the first floor of the library, and my favorite hangout, Momento cafe. Both locations are good, one by the lake, one right near Orchard Park in the Management block. There are a number of reasons why I love the place. Firstly, it’s got some style. It’s right on campus. They serve great coffee, and nachos, and curly fries. And, after 4 pm, you can get a beer.

The 45th Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon took place this last weekend. I didn’t run in it, but I had a friend who was so a few of us drove down to Rotorua on Saturday morning to surprise and support him.

The guy is ridiculously fast. He finished in under 3 hours, around the 2:54 mark, putting him in the top 30 at only 21 years old. Epic. He also raised money for charity in the process, which is a great idea. We went to meet him around the 40 km mark, with the idea to run with him a bit and cheer him on. So he runs by, and we cheer, and start running, and we maybe go 200 meters and the guy loses us. Even after over 2 hours and almost 40 km, he still ran faster than us…. After that, we checked out “Wai-O-Tapu” thermal park which was awesome as well. It was cheap, not to busy and gave us a couple hours entertainment, a supring amount  of which was due to our reactions to the drifting sulphur smell. Highlights included the Champagne pool, and my personal favorite; the “violently boiling” mud pools. I didn’t get a chance to go biking, but that’s ok, there is always another weekend, and I got to see a side of RotoVegas I hadn’t yet.