...and all because of a sandwich.

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Adaptation. One of the most important things i'm aware of being a nessessity to aply to my journey in order to make all this work. So, 6 days on and still in Auckland. The shift and adjustment is not quite so painfull any more and am begining to accept, understand and welcome the way ahead. All I have really done is sleep (badly), drink (fantastically well) and adjust (accordingly). All the admin stuff done; bank account set up, job searches enrolled in, friends here phoned and the customery batch of severe tonsalitis from my fantastically bad antics listed above.


The rugby was a shock here and in true style no one really talks about it. A nation still in mourning and already talking about the rugby coming home in four years time. Having woken from a rather pathetic sleep with a little amount of blood in my alcohol system, I was in need of some fitting food. Also deciding that I had already visited Macdonalds, Burger King and Dominoes already this week it was only right that i could justify some appropriate junk food from from somewhere else. And thus it began...

I ended up just walking, directionless and with no sense of resason other than the little monster in my stomache rolling around like he was sonic the hedgehog being used by the old firm in a league clinching match. Walking past every food place thinking "no....no....no....been there...done that...wouldn't wear the t-shirt if you paid me..." I again found myself wondering what the time was and realising that yes, I still need to buy a watch. Lo and behold a sign down the shopping Mall ally "Italic watch this space", ok I thought, lets follow the signs. Nothing in the Mall but through the other side there was someone who caught my eye, for whatever reason, and as i watched go up the escalator, saw a sign saying "knuckle sandwich" perfect. What true Glasweigian (or any other Scot) wouldnt?! And it was certainly what i needed although it could be aptly renamed "muckle sandwich" and that was just the small one! On the way out I nearly fell into some people in red cross gear trying to enroll folk on the street to donate.

Charity work has always interested me and I have had every intention to do some while I am away. I handn't thought about it for NZ but more for South America, but why not? After speaking to lovely Amandine, and no, thats not why I was enquiring, I got a number to phone to arrange an interview, brilliant. Whilst stuffing my muckle nuckle I saw a park and wondered if it would be a good spot for a bit of running. On a further look I found the most amazing, awesome, increadible Trees I have ever seen. No wonder lord of the rings was filmed here. These things were more than vegetation, they were as if they were animals, frozen in time as we all hurried around them. Roots like giant snakes, lizards and dragons, trunks like mutant elephants and branches fitting a Diplodocuses neck. Must have spent a good hour in the park in awe of these moster tree hurders.

As I came to complete my cuircut and head out I found another remarkable one that had a tree growing out of a tree, absolute genious! And then saw a man taking its picture. On passing comment we ended up discussing them and he said he had only started looking at them cos he saw me staring up at so many. That in turn had got him to fill his camera with them all. Nice guy (cant for the life of me remember Franks name) and we chatted for a while about noticing the things that we never notice, about looking up, seeing signs and a bit of NZ history.

Now, having gone and over done it i'm rather unwell with tonsalitis and unfortunatly not able to go and photo or video the park, but I hope to be back in Auckland so may well be able to add them at a later date to my pics and vids. But it just seemed remarkable that having been directionless, hunover and grumpy I found people and a place that lifted my spirits and filled me with a sense of euphoria, and all because of a sandwich.

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