... random thoughts about Tea

Bachelor. Interesting word I thought. A bachelor by its definition is a single male I thought. Mothers think of a clean cut, respectable young man, or Cliff Richard as they like to call them. Thirty-something’s think of Tom Hanks running about a hotel room wearing tight denim jeans that look like they have been spray painted onto his legs, while a donkey stands in the corner sniffing and eating a concoction of coke, speed, red, blue, yellow and green pills and blah blah blah. Time changes everything, and for me, time has meant that this word no longer conjures up these images. No. For me this word now leaves one very harsh and real image in my mind ... soup in a cup.

It used to be that if you were a bachelor, you were free and single. Enjoying life to the full without a care in the world. Being able to alter your mind state at every whim with no one to give you that authorative, disapproving look. Then finishing the night off by having guilt-free sexual interaction with a woman called Christine or was it Catherine ... whatever!

Now it’s just soup in a cup. The cup being society as we know it now. The soup being single men. We are a starter. We are not a main course, and we are too savoury to be a dessert. The question is what you can put in a cup to defy this.

Alcohol I thought. Lovely alcohol. Alcohol is your friend. Alcohol comforts you when you are down. Alcohol lets you say how you feel. Alcohol is your friend.

The draw back with alcohol is that it’s definitely NOT your friend when you wake up the next day. It has the ability to disguise the real world. When you are alcohol everyone and everything is beautiful. The next morning when alcohol has disappeared, you are left with one word to describe the person sharing your usually spacious double bed ... munter.

Women don’t want soup and they definitely don’t want alcohol. Soup is a starter. Something they try for about five minutes until the main course comes along. Alcohol will show them a very good time but leave them with a horrible feeling the next day.

What else is there I thought? Soft drinks maybe? Naturally the first word sums that liquid refreshment up.

Coffee maybe? Coffee comes in a variety of aromas, shapes and sizes. Sort of like friends do really. “I’m just nipping out to meet up with latte and espresso. I’ll see you later”.

What else is left I thought?

One word entered my mind ... tea.

The only word that can bring a smile to any English persons face. Tea is the first thing you want to see in the morning. The first thing you want when you get to work. The first thing you want when you go around your mates. The first thing you want when you get back home. The first thing you want when the flame ignites the rizla paper. Wonderful tea. “Tea Mart….”. “Cup-o-tea me olde china?”. “Pauline put the kettle on”. What a beautiful thought.

The main problem being that I’m not tea. The other problem being that I’ve just thought of the weirdest analogy ever.

Thoughts …… that’s all these are. Weird and random thoughts that just appear in my head like road works do over night.

I have issues as you may have guessed. The thing that keeps me going is that I whole-heartedly believe that people with issues are special. Like Hunter S. Thompson said, “Too weird to live and too rare to die”. I like that.

You might think this analogy is weird, but yet you still can see the underlying meaning behind each different liquid refreshment. Therefore I’m too rare to die. Thank fuck I thought. That keeps me going. If I couldn’t see that there were other liquid refreshments out there, then I would have already been a memory in all my family and friends minds. Tears cascading down their cheeks at the realization that the smoking entrance in my head was self inflicted.

Lucky for me, and for them I suppose, that I think that would just be a cop out. I don’t like the thought of it. It is a cop out. Tea is a magical thing. It’s a very hard and difficult refreshment to find. The journey to it is fraught with danger. Once you get there though, well imagine Narnia. Narnia with Tea. Paradise I thought.

Enough with the analogies.

... his travels in 2002/2003

Well this is far from rambling, but having said that there are some ramblings going on in there, so i'm going to stick with it.

Anyway, I was thinking back to when I went travelling, and came across one of the emails I sent back home. Having read it I again I decided to share it with you lovely people. And if you actually get to the bottom of the page ... well give yourself a gold star, and be safe in the knowledge that I too have issues, which is very evident throughout reading it.

Subject: Relentless Rant ...
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 13:37:07 +0000

Hi i'm Big Chud - and this is writing an email.

Well hello to you all. It's nice to see so many familiar names on my email list. Which - lets face it - is not surprising as i've yet to reach the dark, morbid, sad and pathetic levels needed to reach out with my pathetic, non-eventful life to random@hotmail.com.

Hi, good evening everybody. Welcome to rant mail. Welcome to random mail. Welcome to the world is wrong mail. Come with me on a journey through my dark and random thoughts. And you thought I was traveling the world - well i am but it's still ME doing the traveling.

JOURNEY - PHYSICAL RATHER THAN SPIRITUAL

Still in Brisbane, and have been now for about two months. The whole reason for this was to basically settle down for a while and get some money. Obviously money doesn't grow on trees - so - work was the order of the day. I moved into a house and decided to take a few weeks just relaxing before I got a job. This was a bad idea as far as some people might see it. I think it was a good idea. The reason being - I just sat out in the sun reading. It turns out that - well - I liked just chilling in the sun and reading. I think it was more the reading then the sun, but I can't be sure. Anyway - two weeks turned into two months. I just decided that I really preferred reading in the sun then working. Not a very mature decision I can hear a lot of you say - well lets face it, i've always been a mild type of cheese rather than a Mature Farm-House Cheddar.

BUSH, BLAIR, CHENEY, HOWARD, RUMSFELD ETC
(WARNING: Strong views and language are coming up)

Talking of satan - which we weren't - but I was watching the news the other day when Bush, Blair et all appeared. Something started to nag my brain - they reminded me of something but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then it occurred to me. I might be on my own here (but I doubt it) - but do they not all remind you of those guys from gay porn flicks? Is it just me or does George Jnr remind you of one of those Southern, Red-neck, closet homosexuals?

Oh good - you mean it's not just me. After this thought everything else sort of just fell into place. Blair with his permanent smile and the big ears. Old Tony obviously loves nothing more than dropping to his knees and blowing George - a happy smile upon his face. George pulling on Tony ears as his body jerks and he shoots his load down the spineless fucker's throat. Howard sitting in the corner just watching and rubbing himself - a bit part role you could say. Cheney lying on a table while Powell puts a new nappy on him and burps him. Cheney obviously returning the favour. Rumsfold the scatmuncher.

I hope I haven't lost any of you? Apologies - politicians just bring out the Darth Vader in me.

JOURNEY - PHYSICAL RATHER THAN SPIRITUAL

So there you have it. Chud decided rather than work, he would spend his time reading, sunning himself and drinking cold bottles of beer. Some might think it was bad of me to do this - but I think it was a good idea. I've read more books in these two months than I ever did at ****** **** School, I have more of a tan, I can drink beer whilst turning a page (a true talent I must say) and I enjoyed myself - therefore A GOOD IDEA.

It's not like I haven't been doing anything else. I only cook with raw ingredients now - again when you have a clear day, you can pretty much put 2 hours aside in order to cook. I have been out socializing in many a Brisbane bar. I even got to the stage where I blew chunks - as many of you will know this has always been a state I have always found difficult to get to. I have headed north up the coast with house-mates and visited Mooloolaba. Went surfing - the first time in about 8-9 years. Jesus they have big waves over here. Have seen many new films and added to my extensive movie knowledge (no .. not as extensive as you Mr.**** - OK!). So there you go. I know you were all expecting tall tales of traveling and wild experiences but you'll just have to put up with my rants instead for the time being.

AUSTRALIANS - SMALL PERCENTAGE OF

OK - Now don't get me wrong here, but the large percentage of Australians I have seen, met and talked to are very nice people. Very fun loving, generous, amusing and up for a laugh. Unfortunately, there is a small percentage (roughly 5% in my estimation) that drive me up the wall. Now this small percentage are the type that instantly brings you to the point where you get medi-evil on their arse. I'll take you through a few points to explain.

SPORT - Now the majority of Aussies love sport. Don't blame them to be honest as they tend to be good at it. Anything they turn their attentions to they tend to win. Tennis, Rugby, Cricket, Swimming, Surfing and you get the idea here. The problem is that there are a few people here that can't have a decent conversation in regards to sport. I was chatting to a guy in a Sydney bar shortly after the England Rugby Union team had beaten South Africa.

"That was a good game" I stated to him after finishing my Guiness.
"Yeah - not too bad mate. Still, hardly like they were playing us now, was it mate?" he retorted in a fairly sober, loud aussie accent.
"True - but yet we still beat you a couple of weeks ago - yet to be fair it was a very close match" "Bollocks mate! We gave that one to you guys!"
I chuckled "OK, you gave us the game then"
"I'm not bloody joking mate - The guys were told to lose that one by the powers that be" he stated in a very serious voice.
"You are serious here? You're telling me that the powers that be told you guys to lose that match?"
"Shit yeah mate!"
"Why?"
"To make other nations think that they stand a chance at the world cup - When in actual fact we will end up thrashing everyone"
"Interesting" I said in a very sarcastic voice. "So if I said to you that I think the Rugby Union World Cup will be between England, Australia, New Zealand and maybe either France or South Africa - what would you say?"
"It's all shit mate. Australia will walk away with it"
"So you're not willing to discuss or recognize the treat that the other nations I mentioned will be?" I asked him.
"No point mate - Aussies all the way!"
"You're a moron!" I stated then got my Uzi out placed it into his obnoxious, loud, stupid mouth and squeezed the trigger.

(Editor's Note - England actually won the World Cup - I'm not luaghing honestly)

I obviously then had a large smile on my face as the contents of his head sprayed all over the clean wall behind him. At this point I would like to point out that instead of calling him a moron and ending his life, I did just ignore him and walk off. This has been the same on a few occasions. When it comes to sport some Aussies are extremely arrogant and can't grasp the concept of a mature, intellectual debate over the subject.

TV - Now if any of you have had to sit through American television then i'm sure you understand the concept of awful shit. I'm not talking about certain programs here, i'm talking about the overall state of it. Loads of adverts and a lot of pure trash. The kind of stuff that when left alone with - well let's just say keep all rope hidden. Especially the type with a noosey theme to it.

If a TV channel has advert breaks every ten minutes then I would say that it generates enough income in order to purchase quality imported programs, with enough left over to produce it's own. I therefore don't expect to see American reject programs like 'Everybody loves Raymond' - yet another comedy (and I use the term loosely) based on the comedy of someone nobody has ever heard of before. Ted Danson's retirement fund, otherwise known as 'Becker' - 'Shitter' more like. Every kind of Law & Order made. You know that's quality when you see Ice-T appear in the starting credits.

I don't know what I expected considering that it doesn't matter how many advert breaks you have if all of them are for cheap, shit companies. I'm trying my best to get a copy of some of these gems in order to share them with you lucky people. Awful, just fucking awful is all I can say. The straw that broke the camels back though is reserved for the fact that every ten minutes you have either a McDonalds, Hungry Jacks (Burger King), Dominoes or Pizza Hut advert. EVERY TEN FUCKING MINUTES! You capitalistic money grabbing fucks! You will not be happy until the whole of Australia is eating your shit every minute of the day. You evil, sucking satan's cock, bastards! The rest of the world doesn't want to look like America thank you very much - now die. Die you bastards DIE!!!

I know ... I feel quite strongly about that one.

As for their home-grown comedy. Well it's not. Simple as that. The show called 'Skit house' is a prime example. It's like the 'Fast Show' but for people who have had a labottomy. I have dumps which are funnier that this show. The award though has to go to 'Comedy Inc.'. A skit on this program had Legolas, Gimli & Aragon from the LOTR running through a forest. They came to a stop and Aragon turned to the other two and said ... "Quick, if we carry on running maybe we might find a female character!" - Laughed, I nearly fucking wet myself - obviously after I emptied a full clip into the TV!

AUSSIES Vs POM'S

This one is the greatest I feel. It deserves an award. The comments like "Bloody winging pom's" is a good one. Firstly, if you lived in the UK then you have everyright to winge because it sucks. The weather sucks. The cost of living sucks. The public transport sucks. The government sucks. Half the population suck. The national sports team's suck (not including Rugby Union here). You get the jist. So we have a right to winge.

Secondly - If you place the word 'Bloody' in front of a statement it tends to turn the statement into a complaint or in other words a winge. So in my eyes saying this comment is in fact a winge in itself.

Thirdly - It was the Australians who were originally referred to as Pom's NOT the English - but that's a whole different argument.

The other things that fall under this catergory are using England as a whipping boy nation. Adverts for health cereals that show the Aussies thrashing the English in a particular sport. Try getting those past the ICT!

Commentators changing the way they commentate when it's Australia Vs England. A rather excited middle-aged gentleman stating that the Aussies were yet again CREAMING the Pom's when the scoreline in the England Australia football match was 2-1 !?! That is not creaming in my book.

JOURNEY - PHYSICAL RATHER THAN SPIRITUAL

So anyway - I have decided to move on. Yes it was a GOOD IDEA to bum as other people would call it, but I need to move again. Have handed in my 2 weeks notice for the house and carried on with the drinking and reading in the mean time, it came to Bex's birthday just before it was time to leave. Obviously more drinking, but we did spend a day at 'Dream World' on the Gold Coast. Sort of like Chessington really. The usual mix of elaborate and expensive rides designed to enforce vomit from you mouth. Was a very good day. Got soaked on the Log-Flume ride and I refuse to accept that it was due to the fact that our log was weighted down. I blame everyone else due to me not being that heavy at all. They even had the Australian Big Brother house there. Unfortunately it was closed so I never got the opportunity to napalm it and rid the world of one more god-infuriating house filled with cameras and sad bastards who just want to "grow as individuals" and "find out about themselves" by sharing a closed house with 11 strangers. Fuck wits all of them. I was informed that Stuart from Neighbours was infact one of the original Big Borther people from the first series and came second. Now he has landed a roll in Neighbours and can expect to be doing the Panto season next year in the UK. Wow - how far he has come !?!

The worst part of the day came when we were walking away from the Log Flume ride. I was walking down a path when I spied a large black male walking towards me. He sort of stood out from the crowd due to the place being filled with holidaying Aussies dressed in t-shirts and boardies - where as this gentleman had baggy jeans, a basketball vest and a large platinum chain hanging from his neck. Odd I thought - then about 10 more guys followed him dressed exactly the same. One of them even had a rather fetching platinum hand hanging from a platinum chain around his neck. Odd again I thought. Well actually I thought what a cock - but then I realised what was going on. A pint size man then walked past me with a rather ill-fitting - well red pair of tights is the best way I can describe - on his head. It took about a second to register - but alas that was too long - as the man dissappeared out of sight (and sniper range). So I take this opportunity to apologise to you all. I ... Big Chud, could have taken out Ja-Rule and rid the world of his god-awful shitty, wanky, ghetto-bling bling music from this world. I have failed you all and i'm sorry. I could have - and should have - wielded an uzi in his face and let rip - but I didn't. So again i'm sorry.

So that was then and this is now. After a fairly boring flight from Brisbane I landed in Auckland to ... yes you guessed it ... RAIN! I'm sure you're all laughing at that one but it stopped the next day so guts! Anyway - New Zealnd - Middle Earth. Wow is all I can say. Wow bloody wow!

SMELLY BACKPACKERS & McDONALD's MANAGERS
(WARNING: Strong views and language are coming up)

The majority of people who decide to travel around the world make a list before they leave. Whether it is a physical list or mental, it doesn't matter, but they make a list. I need to take underwear, preferably a large quantity of. A lot of socks. T-shirts, jeans, trousers, towel etc. Finally - toiletries. These include shower gel, toothbrush and paste, shampoo - your basic cleaning and health products.

Now the majority of people - once they have left their home country - use these products on a daily basis. On the other hand you have a tiny percentage who feel the need to go back to primative days when washing was considered not important. Case in point here being a young gentleman who - well lets be honest here - attached himself to a few of us in the hostel we were staying at. He was 19 years old, sort of a 'Boy meets world' look about him - but without Tapanga hanging around him. He took about 5 minutes to complete a sentence - which of course had me screaming "skip to the end" inside my head.

So we were in the TV room of this hostel, which was no bigger than your average size lounge. After a few minutes we notice a rather disturbing smell. We leave the room to get a drink, leaving boy meets world with the TV. The smell goes. We rejoin the TV. The smell appears again. Put a wet towel in a bag and then leave it for a couple of days. Return to the towel and bury your nose in it and breath very deeply. Now you have the smell we incurred. Comments like "The showers in this hostel are really nice" and "I've just purchased a new bottle of shower gel" went over his head. And let me tell you, this is not the only time I have experienced this on my travels.

McDonalds - Sucking satan's cock - Capitalistic bastards. Now all of you must know that if you walk into a McDonald's restaurant in the UK, the people who work there - well - are fairly special. Let's face it they are the plankton of our working class. The bottom of the pile. No one in their right mind would choose to make a career out of working there - so of course you have to be fairly special in order to become a manager within McDonald's.

We were walking around a town we were staying at, when one of us saw a man wearing a T-shirt stating that they were with the McDonald's 2003 UK Managers conference. What a prick I thought - to actually advertise this fact - well - what a prick. Anyway my point being that you can actually spot these ediots a mile off. We were enjoying a few beverages in a bar that night. The place was full of relaxed travellers wearing chilled out, haggered clothing and the locals wearing pretty much the same. The vibe was good with people just chatting amongst each other. Music banging out the speakers and people having a laugh. No drunken ediots all over woman and looking like they could have taken Di Caprio's part in 'What's eating Gilbert grape'. Like I said - a good, chilled vibe. You could pretty much spot them as soon as they walked in. The tight jeans, the polo shirts with the collars turned up. The shaved heads. The gold signit rings on every finger. The Benson & Hedges (or Bennies as they call them) being sucked like their life depended on it. The "Or-White mate" being uttered relentlously out their mouths. I just knew what would happen after these twats had a few beers. And it did. They acted like drunken little shits and were like flies around a shit as far as the women were concernded. I could feel my blood pressure rise. I went travelling around the world to experience new things and meet new and different people. If I wanted this shit then I would go down to the Event II in my RS Turbo with my girlfriend Kell. Listening to my banging dance tunes on the way. Spit on the floor every 2 seconds as I walked from my car. Hit my girlfriend Kell and then find some other slapper to spend the night with. Suck on my B&H again. Get mashed on a couple of pints of Stella. Get into a fight because someone didn't have tight jeans and a polo shirt on - and therefore was obviously a mincy little faggot. Drive back to my council flat with the slapper I pulled that might called Sharlene. Smoke a joint made from resin and ciggarete tobacco - because I have no class and would not understand that the only thing you should smoke would be the finest skunk mixed, if you were not going to smoke it pure, with rolling tobacco. Once I got stoned from one joint of this utter shit, then I would proceed to get my mincy, degenerate, no-good, uneducated tiny little limp dick - thrust it into this social-services, hand-out looking, foul-mouthed, wizard sleeved, mountain of foundation little cracker whore. Thrust wildly back and fourth whilst sucking on my B&H. Let out a moan as I ejaculated my maggot of DNA into her. Sit back and wait for 9 months until little Gaz popped out already wearing the McDonalds uniform and a green trainee badge. Then of course hit Sharlene a few times beacuse she loves me and I have to show her I love her too.

I didn't want all of this. This is why I left the UK. Yet the little bastards still find me. Before you ask - i'm seeking anger management and part of my therapy is writing this stuff to you guys. So we are all helping each other - how nice!

JOURNEY - PHYSICAL RATHER THAN SPIRITUAL

So he we go. What you all were expecting. No rants. Just details of my travels. I thought you guys deserved it - no - earned it.

Arrived in Auckland - Rainy. Met with old neighbours who I haven't seen for 18 years. Caught up with them.

Planned a trip around New Zealand - Sunny. Hired a car. Looked like a piece of shit, but goes from A to B (ironic that the hire company was called A 2 B).

Left Auckland - Overcast. Drove all day. Arrived in the Bay of Islands. Stayed in Paihia. Had a few beers. Beautiful scenery everywhere. Hated the UK just a bit more than usual.

Drove to Cape Reigna - Sunny. Even more scenic. Last 20kms of the road was gravel. Did a hand brake turn and nearly ended up in a tree. Saw the Tasman Sea meet the Pacific ocean. Was amazing. Didn't want to swim in it though. Probaly end up dead.

Drove to the Ninety mile beach - Sunny. Wasn't ninety miles but still fucking long. Beach just went on in both directions. Amazing. Thought better of driving the hire car down it after hand brake incident.

Drove back to Paihia - Rainy. Very hilly and a lot of tropical looking plants everywhere. Reminded me of Romacing the Stone. Nearly ran out of petrol in the middle of know where on a Sunday. Managed to run on fumes and get to a petrol station 15 minutes before it closed. Luckily didn't shit my pants. Got to hostel. Went and got drunk.

Drove to Hamilton - Sunny. Long drive. Listened to some dope beats. Got through Auckland. Business man in falsh car cut me up. I beeped horn. Dave and myself gave disapproving looks as we passed him. He ignored us and smoked his cigar. Wanker. More nice scenery. Can't even begin to describe it. Save up and come here yourself. Or buy a book with photo's and pretend. Got to Hamilton. Paid $20 for a room with it's own TV, bathroom & kitchen. Went out and had few a few pints of Guiness. St. Patrick's day. Got back to room. Weird foreign bloke was in room. Decided to watch TV in our room. Didn't get hint when we went to bed at 11pm. Stayed up a watched bollocks until 1.30am. Wanted to kill him in slow, painful manner. Reminded me of Simon Garfunkel due to hair and making me want to slit my wrist.

Drove to Matamata - Sunny. Visited Hobbiton set. Was so scenic and peaceful. Tour was really good. Lots of pictures. Felt like a big kid. Went inside Bag End. Acted like a geek.

Drove to Rotorua - Sunny. Smelly place due to thermal activity. Visited town park which had loads of bubbling mud and smelly smoke. Weird feeling. Went to Polynesian Spa in evening. Felt like a roman-god. Acted like a nonse. Sat in 47 degree spa. Had beers.

Busy morning in Rotorua - Sunny. Went Sprint car racing. Was very fast but not fast enough. Couldn't drive after this due to adrenaline. Did clay pegion shotting. Got 3 out of 5. Did archery. Sucked. Went to Agrodome. Was a show about sheep. Suprisingly interesting and funny. Was more funny watching the japanese tourists who lapped it all up. Went in a Zorb. Big inflatable ball pushed down a hill with you inside it and a load of water. Very cool. Lots of fun.

Drove to Waitomo Caves - Sunny. Very, very scenic. Hated the UK loads at this point. Encountered our only moment of NZ road rage. Arrived in Waitomo. Stayed in YHA hostel for $22. Was more like a brand new hotel.

Went Black water rafting - Sunny but obviously not in the caves. Went through a hill via caves. Underground rivers. Very cold. Floated in rubber rings. Saw glow-worms. Really good tour. Jumped of underground waterfalls backwards in the dark. Full on. So cool. Never get to do it in the UK. Had soup and bagels afterwards. Drove to Wellington. 7 hour drive. Very scenic. UK sucks. NZ rocks. Stayed in wellington YHA. More like a hotel. Had more Guiness and went to bed.

Wellington - Sunny. City rocks. Nice vibe to it. Went to Chocolate Fish cafe. LOTR cast hung out there. Really cool place. Had a road going through it. Remided me of a small cornish fishing village. Really chilled. Nice views. Dropped hire car off. Went to Te Papa museum. Saw LOTR exhibition. Very, very cool. No camera's allowed due to New Line Cinema. Bastards. Got ready for flight to Christchurch. Arrived in evening. Cold. Foggy. Had more Guiness.

Coach trip to Queenstown - Sunny. Beautiful views the whole time. Very scenic. I'm here you're not. Saw Mt. Cook. Very scenic. Either come here or by a book and pretend. Sod the book - come here it bloody rocks. Arrived in queenstown. Had some beer. Booked some activities. Met a couple of cool guys. Same sense of humour. Took the piss out of a lot of things. Ha Ha. Good time. Went on the Shotover jet. Boat that goes 70km/h in about 4 inches of water. Did 360 degree turns on the spot. Was good but no adrenaline rush. Went to a large gorge. Went to the middle of it. Felt very nervous. Looked down. Had thing attached to me. Jumped off platform above Nevis river. Plumted 134m to the ground and then bounced back up again. Fucking wicked. You have to do it. Adrenaline pumping. Will do that again. Bungy rocks. Can't believe I did it. Have the video to prove it. Wow. Went in plane. Got very personal with a guy against my wishes. Realised I had to get this close. Jumped out of a plane with said guy. Experienced free fall from 12000 ft. 40 seconds of me just flying with guy attached to my back. I have a very flabby face which looks very weird when travelling at 200km/h. Fucking awesome. Fucking awesome views. Beautiful and scenic. You have to do a skydive. Got video and pictures. Wow. Walked around Queenstown. Really cool chilled placed. Wow. Did a Bungy and Skydive. Can't believe I did it. Wow. Fucking wow.

ENOUGH

Well there you go. I'm back in Auckland now. Had a really good whistle stop tour of NZ. I am now just relaxing again and deciding what to do next. I love New Zealand. One of the best places on this planet and I DO MEAN IT. So scenic, so chilled, so beautiful, so much to do, so many adrenaline pumping things to do. It is Middle Earth and more. Yet I still have so much more to see of it.

Apologies for the rants - but you know me. So anyway - this is it for awhile. Don't know what i'm doing or where i'm going next. Who knows? I don't even know. I will no doubt rant again when something is on my mind. Until that time - whenever and where ever it is - Ciao

I miss you all - well - nearly all.