Last Week in New Zealand

Tomorrow morning I need to close my bank account, pack up all my stuff, and catch a plane back to the States. Over the past week the fact that life I’ve been living here is about to come to a close is really hard to grasp. I like it here. I like these people I’ve met. People I now consider good friends. But it’s time to go. Today we celebrated Anzac Day with two full games of ultimate, playing with Hammer Tron in Hamilton. We had some of the best pizza I’ve tasted here (Pizza Pizza) over some tall beers. One at a time I said goodbye to these friends, not sure when or if I’ll see them again, but hopeful that here, in the States, or somewhere else in the world, our paths will cross again. One of the reasons I decided to leave NZ is so I don’t set up a bi-global life. It’s too hard always feeling separated from people I want to be with. I did that for five years in LA and I’d rather not repeat it across the world. It is hard nonetheless. Will going back feel like I never left? Have I been changed at all by this experience? Will I have to give in to how much I enjoy it and move back to NZ permanently? We’ll see how it all plays out. For now just appreciating what an amazing time it’s been here. Thanks New Zealand!

Olive Picking in Pakiri

Saturday morning Christina and Simon picked me up and we headed north to the town of Pakiri. It’d been a while since the three of us had taken a trip out of town together, so with my departure from NZ looming, we leapt at a free weekend to make a break for it. The plan was to join Paul and his wife Jo for their annual olive picking. They live on a beautiful piece of land with over a hundred olive trees, which they’ve been turning into olive oil for around 30 years. Some say it’s the best in the country. We arrived to their lovely hand-made house and got to work.

Around a dozen friends of theirs joined over the weekend to help. We were rewarded with terrific meals and it felt like a real labor of love. We camped out under an epic star-filled sky, rich with the dusted stars only visible from the countryside.

Sunday afternoon with boxes of olives filled, they were trucked to press. We ate well, said our goodbyes, and our trio headed out for a ride. Chris & Si have a collection of top of the line bikes. Super light, 29″ wheels, and all kinds of suspension, the ride was rugged but felt like butter.

Before the sun called it a day we packed up the bikes and stopped off at the beach for a view of the ocean. Great weekend getaway.

A week later Christina and I met up for dinner. She went back to help finish off the trees that hadn’t gotten picked in the one weekend and was given a bottle of oil. Paul and Jo make sure that everyone who helps gets one. They insisted Christina bring one back for me

Good Friday Easter Egging

American Stereotype Party

And we bid Dan & Naomi farewell as they set off for the South Island then head back to the States.

New Zealand National Ultimate Tournament

We did not win it. Let’s nip that in the bud right off the bat. It’s cool ’cause Werewolf Bar Mitzvah is new team and happy to have anyone on board. Our expectations were to work our asses off for our teammates and have fun. In this were were completely successful. Four full games on a wet saturday Saturday, the last one going extra extra long, wrapped up with sore muscles and a kebab dinner that didn’t stand a chance. We goofed off a bit at a Dress Like Your Parent’s party, but most called it a relatively early night.

Sunday morning awoke on the wet side. We had two games then watched the men’s and women’s championship games as the day burst into sunshine. Auckland team Magon went point for point with Aussie Bro and took it in the end. Local women’s Vixenz also came away champs. Great end to the season. Nothing beats a good team sport

Inside & Around the Neighborhood

Win

With summer wrapping up so too the ultimate season in New Zealand. I’ve been playing with three leagues- social, competitive, and a men’s national team. When I started playing in Auckland I didn’t know what to expect, so I started with the ever-welcoming Sunday pick-up games and learned about the rest through folks there. Our social team, Everyday I’m Shuffling, was a small crew of mostly newbies. Below is IDC, short for InDiscSisive. We had a really solid crew, managing to win every game in the competitive league. It’s sad to see the season ending. I’m told it has to do with not enough lights on the fields. Been great to have three days a week of play. The other thing I love about ultimate is that it’s a global community, so it’s fairly easy to find a pick-up game and get to know folks in the area. The perk about coming back to the States this spring is I’d get another whole season!

Loss

I’ve been hoping to post more regularly, but my camera, which was out of commission from a water damage right before New Year’s, is back in the shop for a repair which could only of happened when it was being fixed. With no visual accompaniment I just say here that life these days has been fine. Working on a few small illustration projects, follow up design stuff for MexiKai, playing ultimate three days a week, pub quiz on Tuesday nights, and fairly frequent dinner parties. Over the weekend the house’s internet went out. This morning I plugged in at a cafe to catch up on emails and was told that my grandfather passed away. He went peacefully in his sleep at 93. Lester Schoen. He was such a good man, and a real creative and supportive presence in my life growing up. He’s been in my thoughts a lot lately. It’s hard to let people go. But that’s life.
Summer is cooling down, with rain passing through daily here in Auckland.

 

Ocean Beach Ultimate Tournament

Last Friday I drove with three ultimate players north four hours to a beach near Whangarei. The Ocean Beach Hat Tournament is an annual event, said to be the most fun one of the year. It certainly didn’t disappoint. We arrived Friday night, set up tents and as we and around 65 others trickled in to the surf club house the party got started. Saturday everyone was randomly (?) placed in teams and the full day of games began. Running hard in the soft sand beneath a full sun is a particular kind of exercise to be sure. The clear cold water was perfectly refreshing, though best be wary of the current.

Saturday night’s party was glam rock themed. I hadn’t prepared but was lucky to be lent a glittery silver skirt and top hat. Teammates pulled together a band and a night of antics ensued.

Sunday was filled with final games, lunch, and closing ceremonies. I had a picturesque moment with a lovely horseback rider before we packed up and returned to the city.

Splore

Every two years the music festival of Splore descends on the beach of Tapapakanga Regional Park, an hour from Auckland. I caravaned with Angie and a few of her friends on Friday afternoon. We set up camp with around 8000 folks from near and far, including lots of families. Wary of the rainy season summer has been thus far, the clouds danced around us, lashing out only once on Friday evening, at the tail end of Erica Badu’s set. I dashed off to my tent and had a nice moment tucked inside, returning for a late night of dancing in mud beneath a star-filled sky. It was a fun weekend with great music, swimming in the ocean, a lecture I stumbled upon about epigenetics, and a midnight tour with my friend Steven and his glow in the dark Vospertron Multimedia dance crew.