8/29 - 30 /06 (Tuesday -- Wednesday) - Beer Does Not Make For Good Cough Syrup Reader Warning: This is another long one, sorry. The last two days are more a blur in my mind, than anything else. The sinus cold made talking difficult and decision making/thinking almost near impossible. But the flat hunt goes on, I’m riding a wave that I don’t want to get off of. Very good news last night (Wednesday) I found a flat share last night (very nice). The last four weeks have proved Toney Robbins, Dr. Wayne Dyer, etc.. are right, positive thinking is very [View Full Entry]

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8/28/06 (Monday) - The Case of the Moondays - See Office Space the movie I think I’m coming down with a bit of a cold. One of the new roommates had a bad cough and the smell in the room was so bad last night we decided to sleep with the windows open rather than closed. I’m the lucky one with the bed next to the window, so all night long I had cold air blowing over me. Reminds me of a story where Ben Franklin had once told John Adams to leave the window open when they were sharing a [View Full Entry]

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8.27.08 (Sunday) I promise that this blog will be shorter than yesterdays. Slow start for the morning. Trying to air out my cloths, my hostel room still stinks. I can’t wait to find a permanent temporary housing situation. Those vacuum seal bags work like a charm. I pulled out a pair of pants that I’d not taken out of the bag since packing it down in Teresia and John’s basement apartment they smelled so nice. I contemplated wearing them around my neck like a scarf to enjoy the full benefits of the restful aroma. T & J didn’t we have a [View Full Entry]

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8.26.08 (Saturday) Let me begin this blog by saying that I may need to call someone for a voice check. To date I’ve received 8 to 10 comments from non English speakers that my accent doesn’t sound “American”. I think that I may have discovered the cause for their confusion, and am embarrassed by the conclusion. From past experience (especially when working at the Hotel in Oxford) I’ve learned that when speaking to non English speakers I slow the pace of my words and try to annunciate each syllable clearly. If the person I’m speaking to has a reasonable g [View Full Entry]

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August 25th Got up this morning and took a cab to my second interview. Arrived 45 minutes early and slipped into a tea shop to pass the time. The shop had perhaps 150 to 200 large square tin tea bins up on the wall, all holding a different flavor tea. I had an excellent citrus/berry tea that was strained through an assortment of nuts. The second interview was more like a proper interview. They were prepared and obviously still excited about me. I spent an hour answering and asking questions. I was then given a tour through the office ( the [View Full Entry]

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August 24th Waiting, Waiting, Waiting…… just need to pass the time before my second interview Scheduled for Friday at 10am. Nick Gillingham my recruiter at BBT sounds very positive and feels that congratulations are in order. Started searching for a long term accommodation. I had to move from my nice dorm room to a 5 person room that smells like hangover vomit. Opened the windows and let the place air out over night. When I moved into the room the party remains from the last group were still present. Two full garbage cans of beer and wine bottles. The refuse was [View Full Entry]

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August 23rd Observations of the day: 1. One can only go out to eat and site see so much during a day while traveling. This leaves a number of empty hours to fill especially in the evening. While television has its place one gets tired of spending time with the same people evening after evening, they seem mesmerized by whatever rubbish is being broadcast that night on free television and are not creative enough to do anything else. While trying to pass the time this evening I found my way into the largest of the Borders Book Store in Auckland. The [View Full Entry]

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August 21st and 22nd Monday I spent up at Auckland University trying to blend in with the students. To spend the afternoon on campus was a great treat. It was like I was a student again and makes me consider my graduate degree options. Architecture library is similar to WSU and UW libraries. Musty smell of old periodicals and literature waiting to be opened. Models of the Pantheon, Egyptian Step Pyramid, projects that could be built and project that would never have a chance to get off the drawing board. Students feverously studying for the unending stream of tests and assignments. [View Full Entry]

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August 20th The big event for my Sunday was a two mile hike out to Mt. Eden, another volcanic mountain, and the tallest in Auckland. What a great view to be had from the summit. The grass was almost iridescent green. Nothing like what I’ve seen in the states. We were going to hike to One Tree Hill, another volcanic hill of cultural significance, but the weather changed quickly. Black rain clouds were moving in from the west. We did an about face and did some window shopping along Newmarket and Parnell streets. [View Full Entry]

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August 19th All Blacks Game Today was the first time doing laundry on the road. I am proud to report I managed to keep my whites white, no transfer of color with these loads. The dryer didn’t shrink my clothes either; I’m two for two. This evening I went to the New Zealand (All Blacks) vs. Australia rugby game. It was a well battled match with New Zealand pulling out ahead in the latter minutes of the game. Final score was 31 to 27. I sat in row H, just 8 rows back from the playing field. Excellent seats!!! Rugby is [View Full Entry]

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