Almost Out of Here!

Well today is my last day of work and I'm sooooooo happy about that! I am definitely going to miss my work buddies, but I have to admit that I'm not going to miss the job very much. I haven't worked as much this week (which I'm okay with too!) and have just hung out at the hostel each night. I did go on Thursday and get a haircut at the sketchiest place I've ever had my hair cut...which ended up being great! All the gals working were Asian and almost everyone coming in was Asian and they didn't speak a lot of English. But I have to admit, the gal that cut my hair did a great job!

I'm trying to upload the Christmas pictures now so that you all can see them...I may have to figure out another site that doesn't take too long.

NZ Christmas

Off to work!

-Lisa

A Fabulous Christmas

Okay so my Christmas definitely kicked ass! It wasn't the traditional one I'm used too but it was fun none the less! Christmas eve was sooooo nice that I wore shorts and a tank top and got sunburned! When I load all the pictures up (later today or tomorrow) you'll see how red I was--I'm sure the wine didn't exactly help. There were about 11 of us that ate dinner on Christmas Eve together. Everyone brought something. We started with some appetizers and salads that Carol (new addition to the long-timers from Scotland) made. She made so much that we could have just ate those! Ed and Andrea bought us those Cracker things so we all got a little trinket, joke and paper crown that we wore throughout dinner. Beate (and I helped her) made the meat which is called something that sounds like "Roe-lah-den". It was these really thin slabs of beef without much fat that she put salt, pepper, paprika and mustard on and then stuffed them with cooked cabbage and bacon and a little cheese. Then she rolled them up like a mini-burrito and secured them with a toothpick. Then she browned them in a pan and the put them all in a big pot on low heat with sauce for a few hours to make them tender! It was amazing! We all had 2 each and there were leftovers! Then I made mashed potatoes and gravy and Gill made about 3 different veggie dishes: steamed carrots, cauliflower in a creamy cheese sauce and then 2 pans of roasted veggies with squash, pumpkin, turnips, etc. We didn't even dent the wine and beer that Bernie brought and we finished with a Blackforest cherry cake that Dennis made (which is native to the area in Germany where Beate's from)! Everything was fantastic and we had a ton of leftovers!

We ate about 8:00pm and then right after 10, Andrea, Dennis, Beate and I walked downtown to go to the midnight mass. We went to St. Patrick's which ended up being completely packed! I've never seen so many people in a church before! So we ended up leaving to try a different church where there might be some room. We heard the bells ringing from St. Matthew's (which I think was Presbyterian) and we ran inside. This place was packed too, but they were so welcoming that they let us and a bunch of other people sit on the floor! The service was quick with a couple of readings, a short little message and then a bunch of carols. We sang a Maori hymn (which I thought was cool) and then a bunch of traditional carols, but with different melodies than I knew! I mean I've been singing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "It Campe Upon a Midnight Clear" since I was a kid and most of the words were the same but the tune was completely different! Crazy!

We took a cab back to the hostel and stayed up for awhile longer since Beate wanted to call her family and I made the casserole for Breakfast the next morning. We woke up on Christmas morning and exchanged gifts (between the roomates). Beate got me a fabulous purse since I need one for going out and also a necklace with matching earrings! Dennis said he had something downtown for us. We ate breakfast with fruit and "bubbles" (as they call sparkling wine here) and talked to our families. Then we took off at about noon because we didn't want to spend all of Christmas day in the backpacker. It was kind of rainy but warm and so Dennis treated us to a movie! But this wasn't just any movie experience. We sat in the Gold class which means we got to go hang out in a lounge first and order drinks and food for then or for during the movie. We each had a glass of wine and then ordered some bread and dips for during the movie. We walked into the theatre which was small and we each got to sit in a big comfy recliner chair! It was heaven! We saw "Enchanted" which ended up being really cute and funny and the three of us even took pictures of the chairs that I'll post later!

We caught the bus--which was free because of Xmas--back to the hostel and warmed up and then spent the rest of the night eating leftovers, on the phone and watching "The Holiday". I had a fabulous time with my "family" of friends here in NZ and I hope all of you had a wonderful time too! I have less than a week until I leave for the South Island so it's going to be busy with New Year's Eve and a couple days of work left! I'll try and post pictures as soon as I can!

-Lisa

Trying to get into the Holiday Spirit!

Last week I made fudge and snickerdoodles (not exactly Christmas-y but very easy!) which everyone loved! One person had heard of snickerdoodles before and none of the others had! They all loved them and Bernie pretty much ate 1/3 of them the night I made them. Beate made some chocolate no-bake cookies and then Andrea's (Ed's girlfriend that is now working at the restaurant with me) mom sent her some in the mail.

Thursday was SUPER busy at work! Everyone finished or finishes up work this week and then takes some time off so they all wanted to go out for drinks or dinner. Yesterday during lunch was busy but then at night it slowed down...I think a lot of people go out of town for Christmas. All of us staff members were given a bottle of Australian bubbles (Champagne-like wine) for Christmas! That will be perfect on Christmas morning...if we can wait that long to drink it.

The plans for Christmas are as follows: Christmas Eve we are having a big dinner with about 11 of us "long-timers". I think I'm making mashed potatoes or some sort of potato dish, Beate's making the meat which is a stuffed beef roll-like thing that sounds amazing! Everyone's bringing something so it should be fun! Then Beate and I are going to the midnight mass (which is at 11pm...go figure) at St. Patricks church downtown. It's a super old church that Beate found and it's Catholic, so that will be a first for me. That night Beate's staying up late so she can call her family in the morning of Christmas Eve. They celebrate that day and it's her Grandpa's birthday that day too. Then on Christmas morning I'm going to make us breakfast/brunch and we'll open presents in the morning and then hopefully if the weather is nice, we'll go to the beach! Diana's having a bbq at the hostel but Beate doesn't want to spend Christmas with her boss and I don't blame her.

Well, off to work! Happy Holidays everyone!

-Lisa

Franklin Road Pictures

Alright, I don't have enough time to write another post so I'm just going to put up the links to latest photos:

Franklin Road

The next three photos are from dinner last night. Beate and I went to a German restaurant and it was sooooooo good! We had Jagerschnitzel with potato salad and Ziegoinerschnitzel with fries and then what's called "Hot Love" for dessert. Hot love is ice cream with hot raspberry sauce! We finished off with some schnapps to settle our stomachs!

German Restaurant

Off to work!
-Lisa

Quick Update

So there has been nothing but non stop functions at work, all week! Ugh! Thursday night's function booked the whole venue out for only 50 to 60 people. It was easy until the end. They had to burn up $8,000 or they would just have to pay that amount anyway. At 11 they were maybe at $5,500 so they stayed forever and all of them had too much to drink and well it just seemed like it was never going to end. Finally the new GM sent me home at almost 1 (and I guess they didn't leave until almost 1:30).

Friday was great though. The lunch function was easy to handle and they had leftover mud cake and pavlova that we got to eat! Then that night there was another Christmas party for an optical company here in NZ. Their theme was "Black & Bling"! Ha, all of them dressed up! They were so much fun too and they even had a comedian perform! One of the gals befriended me early on and when I was serving a platter of mussels she asked, "Do they have any garlic on them?" I said, "Yeah probably." She said, "What if I meet someone tonight?" I laughed and told her, "Well then lets hope he's as drunk as you are." She then proceeded to say, "I brought my toothbrush and toothpaste in my handbag in case!" HA! Classic!

Beate and I went out Friday night and just had a few glasses of wine so that was fun. Yesterday totally sucked because I had a headache and it just went so slow. I also messed up a bunch of the orders for the function (somehow), but it ended up going smoothly. I'm sooooo glad I just have today and then another couple of days off! I desperately need them! Hope everyone's doing well!

-Lisa

Oh My God, Do You Know Who That Is?!!

Saturday was pretty crazy at work because we had a Christmas party function that booked out the entire venue. It was packed full of people dressed up at something that started with the letter J. We were extremely disappointed when we didn't see Jesus in attendance. I ended up working about 11 hours that day since it was so busy!

Sunday I got to work and was absolutely exhausted (as I always am on Sundays). It was really busy during lunch time and I came around the corner towards the bar after setting up a table with cutlery (silverware) and I just stopped abruptly and my mouth totally flew open. Standing at the bar with some guy buying drinks was Kate Bosworth! For those that don't know she starred in "Blue Crush" and "Superman Returns" (but she had brown hair in that one). I seriously freaked out! I grabbed Roshan as he walked by and was like, "Do you know who that is?!!!" And I took aside Aggie and Hardi and asked them too! They were like, I thought she looked familiar. OMG! She looked exactly like how you would think she looked with like a Bohemian outfit of boots, messenger bag and all. Luckily she wasn't in my section, otherwise I would have made a total fool of myself. So on their way out, I just said "Thanks for coming in guys! (as I always say)" and the guy was like, "The food was great!" She looked right at me too because I'm sure she heard that American accent and thought, "Oh shit, she knows who I am." But it was great because the people here are good about leaving celebrities alone, and not one person even looked twice at her when she walked through the restaurant. I don't think anyone knew who she was, except for me!

So yesterday I had the day off and just took it easy. I didn't do a whole lot which was fabulous. But last night was pretty sweet: Beate and I came around the corner into the front area to go upstairs and as we looked outside we saw a bunch of old cars! So we hurried and grabbed my camera and a jacket and went out on Franklin Road to find a bunch of old American cars parked in the center! They decorated the cars with lights and streamers and other Christmas-y stuff! I was like, No way! I mean I see old cars at home in the summer time because I live in the U.S., but these were all imported from the U.S. and all though it's summer here, it's also Christmas...so all in all it was a very unreal experience! I took a bunch of pictures so I'll have to post them soon!

Today I have the day off too and I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do...maybe I'll rent a Christmas movie to get in the spirit!

-Lisa

Functions

Well, Tuesday I spent the day on Waiheke with a friend of my mom's--Joyce--and her husband Jon. We had a fabulous time walking around the shops and wine tasting! The weather was extremely nice and warm! It was probably in the 80s! I got back late that night and have been working since.

Last night I closed. I haven't closed in weeks so I was totally fine with it. But before I go into that I have to tell you that Beate and I rented "Knocked Up" which I've already seen but I told her she had to see it since it's ridiculously funny. The two of us and Dennis watched it and we laughed the whole time. Then I headed off to work (in the rain) at 5. I was in charge of a booking of about 20 people, and another booking of 5 and then just whoever sat at the other two tables. Well, I had met this American girl earlier from Chicago and we swapped stories about college choices (she almost went to ASU) and whatever else. She had been sitting with a bunch of people in my section for the better part of the day just drinking wine and finishing lunch. Well at about 7:30 I was telling my big table about the specials and I watched her lean over the end of the table and throw up on the ground. I was so lucky that nobody else in my section (other than her friends) saw that! So of course I finished telling the specials and went and told the managers and asked if Paul could clean it up while I got the order for my other table. Of course he was like, "Can you do it?" Come on! Of course I can, I've never had a problem with other people being sick but he wasn't doing anything! Anyway, I had to clean up the area...fun times. But...I still made $41 in tips last night, so all is good. We have a new General Manager starting on Monday because a bunch of changes happened within the company and our GM is moving to a downtown pub. I'm not sure if I like her yet...she never smiles.

Other than that, I have my two German roommates teaching me some German words and phrases (why not?). All of them are of great importance, for example: "I want a cheese sandwich" and "F-off wanker" and "lazy". So that's been fun. I can only pronounce them, so I have no clue how to spell them in German or I would for your benefit.

All right, so another long day of functions at work today. Tomorrow we have the whole venue booked out. Tonight's also a farewell party night for Daniella so that should be fun. I hope you're all getting into the holiday spirit!

-Lisa

It's December!

Wow, so I totally can't believe it's December already! I've been here for 3 months, but it feels like forever! We finally bought the train tickets and are leaving for Wellington on January 2nd. I'm super excited and totally ready to get out of Auckland for awhile!

There have been a lot of people in the backpackers lately; a lot of people travel during the holiday time around here. But there was one particular guy that I have to tell you about! He was definitely a character to say the least. He looked like he stepped right out of Bavaria or Leavenworth, WA. He was young and German and had braids, the hat, the long flared pants, the white loose shirt, a vest and even a fur-covered suitcase/bag thing! He offered Beate and I some tea out of a horn-type thing that looked like you could yodel through it! Beate said that he was in the traditional dress of Carpenters (in Germany) and once they finish their apprenticeship, they usually take a year and travel around Germany practicing carpentry. Well this guy had been travelling for 6 years!!! Can you imagine that? He also was looking to buy a horse to travel around New Zealand on! Ha! How about that?

We had functions at work on both Friday and Saturday. One had a jukebox/karaoke machine and the other had a DJ. The great thing about the one on Saturday night is that they had a ton of food left over so I got to take some home! Woohoo! I'm even more of a sucker for free food now than when I was in college.

The other news is that on Franklin Road (Where I'm staying), it's known all over NZ that all of the houses are decorated with lights in December. All of the houses literally get a letter in the mail saying they have to put up lights and which times the lights have to be on! Tons of people drive or walk up and down the street! It's really cool! You can also see the sky tower lit up in green and red from Franklin Road. I'll have to take some pictures for all of you to see.

But, speaking of pictures I'm going to put the links to all the photo albums I just put up:

Taka's Birthday

NZ Thanksgiving

42 Below Party

23rd Bday

I hope that's enough pictures for awhile!

-Lisa

The Birthday

Wow, what a day! I am going to have to begin by saying that I definitely had a fabulous birthday yesterday! It all started on Tuesday night when I got done with work an hour and a half early, at 8:30. Wiki (my manager and friend), bought me a birthday drink--a glass of champagne--to have after work. I had also served a couple of older ladies earlier that day, one of which was celebrating her 80th birthday! They left me the last of their bottle of wine which ended up being about one drink. Then Wiki bought me one more "for the road." I got home and made some dinner. It was Rob's (English guy that's been here longer than anyone, about 9 months) birthday so I gave him some food to sober him up a bit! Beate asked if I wanted to stay up until midnight and I was like, I don't care. We don't have to. But she said yes, I have plans! So at midnight she made me go to the kitchen where she had a couple of brownies with candles lit and glasses of champagne poured! Woohoo! Dennis (my other roommate) presented me with a bag of 4 different kinds of TimTams!!! I can't believe I haven't brought these up yet, but these are the most fabulous chocolate cookies "biscuits" (the NZ term) that I've ever had!

It was the first night in our new room, aka. the first night I got to spend in the big bed! It's a double and it's also a dream compared with the twin I've been sleeping on for the last 3 months. I was supposed to meet up with Wiki in the morning and we were going to see "Atonement" and then have lunch. Well, she called to say that she read the listing wrong and the movie was showing a couple of towns away, so we decided to meet later just for lunch and whatever else. I got to open my cards and the present from my parents and then I was able to take my time getting ready and hang out and listen to my newly stocked up iPod! I have missed my music sooooooo much...

So I finally met up with Wiki at about 12:30 and by the time we got into the city, it was after 1. She bought me a fabulous gold and green beaded necklace that I just can't wait to wear! We had lunch in this posh area of town called "The Chancery." The restaurant we went to was "Mecca." It was a combination of Turkish, Indian and Mediterranean food and so we shared some Hapuka (a white fish) skewers and a plate of dips and antipasto type stuff. We each had a fabulous glass of wine as well. The service totally sucked so we decided to try a different place for dessert. I think the place is called "Vivace" or something like that, and it's totally cute! They have tons of wine to taste and we knew the waitress because she comes up to our restaurant all the time! I had ice cream and sorbet and she brought it out with a candle!

We finally headed back to Ponsonby and I got to talk on Skype for awhile to my parents. Then I went back to the hostel and hung out until Beate finished work at 7. We went and grabbed a quick dinner down the street and I had some fabulous fried rice. We came back and I dropped me stuff off in the room and went to the kitchen to find everyone ready to toast with champagne! We all hung out and some fabulous champagne, some of the best Pinot Noir I've ever had (Vince left it), and then a bottle of wine Mom and Dad sent me. Taka made me a dessert pizza and a regular pizza too!

We (Beate, Me, Daniella and Dennis) decided that we would go check out K' Road for something different. Well, there was hardly anyone out and we finally ended up at a Japanese restaurant/bar. We each had a drink and I ordered us some edamame! None of them had ever had it, and the people that were sitting next to us hadn't either! For those of you that don't know, edamame is steamed soybeans that are absolutely wonderful. We didn't stay to long because the sake got to us and we were all tired, so we headed back. Daniella heated up some food and Amy (Rob's girlfriend who's also English) brought me a piece of chocolate cake since it was my birthday! Wow! I definitely didn't go hungry yesterday...

All in all I had a wonderful time and didn't even wake up with a headache today! I'm sooo thankful for all the wonderful people I've met here in NZ too, because without them it would have just been another day.

-Lisa

Crazy/Busy Weekend

Alright so I'll start with Thursday: Thanksgiving. I made the pie, peeled potatoes (with the help of Ed, the Irish guy), and made the stuffing the day before. So on Thursday the plan was to have everyone there and ready to eat at about 7pm (there was supposed to be 12 people attending). So I started cooking the Turkey at 2pm because we figured it would take about 4 hours since it was 5kg (which is about 11 pounds). Anyways, I'll just tell you that I cooked the Turkey, stuffing, rolls, salad, green bean casserole, gravy, and mashed potatoes (with help from Vince) all in time for the 7pm deadline! I honestly had no idea if it would be enough or if the turkey would be overcooked (since I took it out 1 and 1/2 hours early). Everything turned out perfectly! Two guys didn't end up making it to the dinner because some things came up, but there was plenty enough food for all of us to be stuffed full and then have one small piece of pumpkin pie. The stuffing (as I predicted) totally kicked ass too, as it was everyone's favorite dish. We went through several bottles of wine too and had a fantastic night. I put my camera out so among all of us, we took a bunch of pictures that I'll try and post in a couple of days.

Then on Friday I worked until 10, and came home quickly for the farewell party for Vince (He left early on Sunday morning). Wow...that was definitely a crazy night. We all had a bunch of wine before going out around town. Vince got completely wasted (as he wanted) and Beate and I half carried him home some time after 4am. Needless to say, he had a terrible hangover the next day, but the important thing is he had a great last night out in Auckland.

So Saturday night was tame and yesterday morning at about 10 to 7, Vince left. Then I got up early and went and met Robert Speer and his twin daughters for breakfast before work. We had a nice talk about all the places I should go on the South Island. Oh! I knew something else happened Saturday. I let a couple of the customers I was serving (two guys that were drinking a ton of the beers we have), buy me a drink. They were having a fabulous time and I couldn't say no, so I grabbed a vodka tonic and they asked about moose because they liked the way I said it in my American accent...whatever. So at work yesterday I guess I served one of the guys that plays on the NZ soap opera "Shortland Street". Wiki was like, "You go deal with that guy, he's a wanker." Ha.

Last night was definitely awesome though! I got back from work at about 8:30 and Beate andI got ready and headed down to Britomart (which is right next to the wharf downtown, where all the buses and trains depart) to find the 42Below party. Like it said on the ticket, we couldn't have missed it since it was Sunday night and a ton of people were outside and music was blasting. I took a few pictures that I'll have to post, but it was awesome! We went up to the bar every time we wanted a drink and they had a bunch of bartenders that were just making up a bunch of the same drinks at a time and then setting them on the counter for everyone to take. I was going to try and remember all the drink names: Manuka Berry Sung, Kiwi Lemonade, Duchess, Summer Breeze, and we definitely got a Gin and Tonic too! Of course none of them were very strong, but I can't believe how much money they must have put into that party! There were a ton of people, live bands, 42Below vodkas, South gin, free designer waters and the best part was when we walked outside to check on getting a snack at the food stand, there was a 42Below tab where we could get burgers, hotdogs and fries for free!!! HELL YES!!! This party definitely made my job seem a little bit better.

Whew well, that's it for now since I have to head off to work. I can't believe Christmas is only 1 month away; It's getting warm here! I hope you're all doing well!

-Lisa

Happy Thanksgiving!

Alright so yesterday I spent a couple of hours at the supermarket trying to find everything for the Thanksgiving meal. I'm making Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, roles, salad, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. I peeled the potatoes (with help from Ed), made the pumpkin pie and the stuffing yesterday! I honestly have to say that I totally kicked ass on the stuffing and just made a ton of it! I think the finaly count is about 11 or 12 people...yikes! I told everyone to bring a bottle of wine so if the food sucks, we'll just get "pissed"! (Ha, we'll probably get pissed anyway.) None of them have ever had a Thanksgiving before! We have Taka (Japanese), Bernie (Kiwi), Melissa (German), Beate (German), Vince (French), Dennis (German), Gill (English), Mark (English), Daniella (Chilean/Kiwi), Gary (Scottish), Ed (Irish) and then I'm the only American!

The other exciting news is that on Monday, at work, a girl that worked for 42 Below vodka came in to ask how it was selling. Then she started telling us about a party that the company is hosting on Sunday. She gave us 2 tickets and the GM let me have one!!! Free 42 Below vodka!!! Woohoo! The GM even told me he'd let me go early on Sunday so I could go to the party (which is underground somewhere down by the harbour)! Hell yes!

Other than that, the rest of this week will continue to be crazy because Vince (French roomate) is leaving on Sunday, which means a lot of partying! I'll let you know how it goes. Meanwhile, have a great Thanksgiving and make sure to cheer on the Devils for a much needed win over the filthy Trojans!!!!!

Got Off Early

Alright so on Friday I was supposed to work until 10, but we had 7 people working at 6pm and there were only a few tables. Very slow! I could hardly tell it was a Friday. So I sat 2 guys and gave them some menus at about 6:30 and went back to tell Roshan that I put them in his section when the rest of the staff all at the same time said, "Lisa do you know who those guys were?" Um no idea. The All Blacks captains! Ha, I told them that I don't know anything about rugby except that the guys are big, they where short shorts and the All Blacks are supposed to be the best in the world. Anyway, they said that girls would pay thousands of dollars to go out with those guys! Haha. Then Dave sent me home early since there wasn't anyone there! I was definitely not going to complain about that.

I came home and it was Ed's (the newest member of the long-term stayers who's from Ireland and is a know-it-all) Birthday so everyone was getting started drinking and Taka made some pizzas since he remembered the recipe from his Pizza chef job. We all went out and had a great time, as always! Then on Saturday I didn't have to work until 4, so Beate and I went out for breakfast and then sat out in the warm sun while I did some laundry. We had heard about the Grey Lynn festival which wasn't far and we went to check it out for an hour before I had to go to work. I was expecting some small deal with some market booths and a little stage. Well, it ended up being huge! There were tons of people there and rows of booths with clothes, jewelry and crafts set up! The stage was big and tons of people were sitting on the grass listening to the bands and kicking back some beer. I wanted to stay sooooooooo bad! I should have called in sick (because the night was pretty slow at work), but I did the responsible thing and bought a $12 swimsuit and headed back. It was so cool though!

Yesterday I woke up with a nice sunburn from getting a bit too much sun the day before and spent a busy morning and long evening at work. The weather is definitely getting warmer so that's good, but I don't know why it was so dead yesterday. I went home at 8:30 instead of 10, so I didn't complain. I work today and tomorrow and then have Wednesday and Thursday off to prepare the Thanksgiving meal I'm cooking for everyone.

Oh the Time Flies

Well, I have just been working a lot over the last few days and the good news is I won't have to work 7 days in a row as I thought I would! I get Wednesday and Thursday off next week, so I'll have plenty of time to get the Thanksgiving dinner ready.

The weather has totally sucked the last few days, but you wouldn't know it at the restaurant. We ended up with quite a few people in last night and Wednesday night was very busy! The excitement last night came when I slipped and almost fell and dumped 2 large Stellas and a coke all over me and the floor. Luckily, I only broke one glass and everything happened right in the middle of the restaurant--so nobody was splashed.

Yesterday afternoon we also had a couple of Korean people dressed in what looked like a Karate uniform, come in and ask if we wanted a Jungshim energy demonstration. Wiki volunteered me and so I sat down the guy gave me a massage and made some weird noises in order to relax me and then give me good energy. I wish I could have laid down and let him do the full body massage!

Well time for another long day at work...

A Fun Day Out!

Well, what has happened since Saturday? Um, Saturday night we had another function at work. It was an engagement party and a big group of 50-70 tall, skinny and rich 30 somethings attended. I think these people were some of the elite of Auckland. They went through 26 bottles of Champagne! Then they went to the bar for more drinks. The girls were all dressed to perfection in some fabulous heels and sporting Prada and Dior handbags. Needless to say, all of them were extremely condescending as I was "only" the waitress. Ugh. It was a looooooong night.

Sunday was another boring day and I was super excited to have 2 days off. Yesterday it was realitvely nice out so I put on my skirt and Beate and I walked around K' Road and Ponsonby. We didn't do anything too exciting and I still had to go into work for a 1 hour training thing. Why are those always on days I don't have to work?

Today I got up early and met Wiki after 9am in order to catch the bus and get into town to go see a movie. We ended up not going to see the Jesse James movie because her sister (who owns a TV rental store) told her that other than Brad's acting, the movie was super long and boring. So we went and saw "Evening." Not impressed. I think it could have been good, but they edited out the wrong parts. Then we went and had a long lunch at a sushi restaurant at the Viaduct! We ate quite a bit and had a few drinks and then decided to go shopping for the Clinique lipstick that Wiki had lost the day before. Well, a bus ride to New Market and a couple hours later we finally had a substitute lipstick for her (since everyone was out of her shade) and were on our way to catch the bus back. Instead of immediately catching the bus back, we decided to stop at a pub and have another drink. It definitely looked like some dive out of AZ with saddles for seats and U.S. license plates on the walls. Too fun! Finally I got back to the hostel where I'm unwinding with some wine and chocolate dipped strawberries that Beate is making!

Taka's Birthday

What a night! First, before I go into that I have to tell you how crazy work was yesterday. The head chef made me one of the specials (Chicken Supreme stuffed with apricots and cranberries and topped with a cumberland sauce and served with potato dauphinois) since I've been selling so much of them. The day was nice so we were kind of busy outside and I took my food break just before the place got packed! We only had David (manager), Rashan and me working. Luckily Paul (who's still waiting for his visa) came and helped out in the bar. We also had Emily (the other American girl), but it was her last day and she is completely worthless as a waitress. Every table inside and out was filled and people just wouldn't leave and they kept coming in all up until 10! It was insane how busy it was and how short-staffed we were. I honestly can't believe we made it. I spilled an entire glass of Pinot Gris all over me so I smelled like wine the rest of the night. Dave bought me a beer before I left after 10 so that was good.

I rushed back to the hostel because they were waiting for me to light the candles and bring out the cake for Taka. He was totally "pissed" (drunk in Kiwi and English terms) by the time I got back, and was drinking sake out of a mug. There was a big group of us and someone took pictures so hopefully I'll be able to get them up on this. We all hung around for awhile and made Taka give a speech and then we made him get ready because we were all going out. Ha, it was a hilarious night and I have no idea how he made it so late! He went home probably around 3 after lots of dancing and bar hopping. Most went home a little after 1, and the group of 5 or 6 of us left kept going until 4. We had a great time!

So today I work at 4 and then a split shift tomorrow. I'm definitely going to be ready for a couple days off after this week of so much work and one long night out. I hope everyone's doing well!

-Lisa

Miso Soup

Today I'm working from 12 to 12:30 so I'm going to make this a short one so I can get some coffee in me before the long shift.

Yesterday I got to work at Wiki (my favorite manager) told me to hang on because she had to go the bank. She always asks if I want a sweet or savory (which means a not sweet treat in Kiwi language) treat from the bakery and I said savory this time. She came back about 5 or 10 minutes later with treats and cups of miso soup! The Japanese restaurant down the street sells cups of miso soup for a $1, she said! It was super good too. So later, once the guys in the kitchen heard about it, they wanted some too. Chang took the money to get us all some more miso soup, but he only returned with a couple because the lady told him that it was only $1 when you bought it with sushi, otherwise it's $2. Ha, so he had to go back again with more money to get 2 more and then he came back with 3 because he spoke to them in Korean and they're from Korea too! Ha, anyway I hope that made sense...the soup was great though!

Next Tuesday Wiki and I are going to a movie and then going to get sushi. She says that she always has to go to movies by herself since her fiance is always working (I feel like she is always working). Anyway, so we're going to see "Jesse James", the movie with Brad Pitt! Woohoo!

Also, I've come up with a plan for traveling. I'm staying here in Auckland until after New Year's and then Beate and I will travel down to the South Island for awhile and we'll probably end up stopping in Queenstown or Christchurch to work some more. Then I'll come back up to the North Island and travel around up here. So this is exciting because now I have something to look forward to and to many of you this may not seem like a plan at all since I don't have any details yet, but to me this is great. I think we're going to take the train down to Wellington and then the ferry to Picton and then travel the South Island by bus.

Okay, I've got to get going. Tomorrow's Talka's birthday so I have to buy him a cheap bottle of wine (that's all he drinks).

-Lisa

Guy Fawke's Day

Yesterday, was Guy Fawke's Day and so everyone celebrated with fireworks. It's a British Holiday and I have no clue why it's celebrated here other than the Kiwi's will take any excuse for a holiday. For those of you that don't know, Guy Fawke's was the guy that tried to blow up the Parliament in Britain and ended up killing himself in the explosion...or something like that. Everyone told me a different story yesterday so that's kind of what I got out of it. It's like the movie "V for Vendetta." So last night Daniella, Vince, Greg (French guy that works with Vince), Ed (new Irish guy that annoys me) and I went to watch the fireworks from under the bridge, where we could look at all of Auckland. It was fun as we took a bottle of wine and just hung out for an hour or so. Fireworks are generally illegal here in NZ, except for a few days before Guy Fawke's day (kind of like the U.S. and the 4th of July).

The only other excitement is that Talka was supposed to leave yesterday but after making a ton of noise packing in the morning, he finally looked outside to find it raining so he stayed and planned on leaving today. He has a motorcycle so you would think that the first thing he should do is look at the weather in the morning but no. He did the same thing this morning just to find it raining again! AAaaaaah! I wanted to strangle him so I could finally get some sleep!

So now I'm headed to the supermarket to do a little shopping and a lot of research on Thanksgiving type food since I'm making the Thanksgiving dinner for everyone. I hope all is well!

-Lisa

No Time for Small Talk

I think the reason I haven't updated the blog since Thursday is that the job just zaps me of any desire to make conversation with others. By the end of the day I'm like shut up, I don't want to tell you where I'm from and why I'm here. I mean on Friday night Beate and I went out for a drink (which ended up being 4 drinks and a shot, but who's counting?) and instead of talking to cute guys and having a wild time, I just got more and more tired. I've been working a lot of long shifts though and that means good money! We had 3 people quit last week! One girl is going on a long holiday since she's at University, one called and said she was in an accident and can't work any of her shifts and the other one just started and she's already quitting! I guess this just means job security for me...

What else is new? I'm totally drawing a blank...I think I'll add more later when I'm rested.

It was Halloween?

Wow, that was by far the lamest Halloween I have ever had. I didn't even see anybody (other than a little girl dressed as a fairy) that looked out of the ordinary, let alone dressed up! I had to explain to all my co-workers about how fun it is in the U.S. and how we used to party for like 3 to 5 nights just in the excuse to dress up! All the excitement happened the night before though.

Tuesday night I was sitting on the couch reading my book, waiting for 9:30 when the craziest Kiwi show you've ever seen comes on--it's called Outrageous Fortune--when the fire alarm went off! It was so loud all of us jumped! We slowly filed out of the hostel and I was expecting to hear that someone was smoking in their room. Diana (the manager/owner) came over and the whole thing was over within a couple of minutes. As we walked in the door, in the first room on our right we could hear running water. So we told Diana and she opened the room up just to find it like a shower in one corner of the room! There was steam along the ceiling and everything. She said that there had been steam in one of the bathrooms upstairs which set off the alarm. Bernie and Mark (a new English guy that's staying here for awhile with his girlfriend Gill) went upstairs to see what they could do to fix it. Apparently one of the hot water pipes broke and the water went spilling down into room one and then at the entrance of Federico's room 2A (He wasn't here, but luckily none of his stuff got wet). Craziness! So they shut off the water upstairs and since they're remodeling one of the bathrooms outside, we only had one shower and two toilets for the entire hostel for that night and the early part of Wednesday. Luckily by the time I got up, everything was fixed (except for the damage in room 1) and I could take a shower in the bathroom upstairs.

Whew, so yesterday I worked from 12 to 10 with one 5 minute break. It was a little busy and I was training one girl, the manager was there, Anton (who's a bit slow) was there, and Emily the other American girl who just started and totally sucks, was there. I made the most tips as of yet...$43. And, I bought a hamburger on the way home that saved me from starvation.

One more thing I have to tell you all about New Zealand. I don't know if it's just in Auckland, or if it's in all of New Zealand but the month of November is called "Movember" because all of the guys grow mustaches and keep them for the entire month. Ha! I have no idea why either. I've tried to ask, but nobody knows. I'm not exactly looking forward to it. I tried to tell them, "Girls don't usually like Mustaches" but they don't care. Anyway, this should be a very interesting month.

Also, Talka is leaving in 2 weeks because he doesn't want to be a chef anymore. Vince is leaving in 4 weeks to travel and then got back to France and then to Australia. And Daniella is leaving in about four weeks too, to go up North. Wow!

I've got to get to work, so I hope everyone's having a fabulous Halloween!

-Lisa

Sunburn

Alright so Sunday was long and awful, but one of the managers bought me a beer. So, yesterday I had the whole day off! Yippee! And...it was sunny! In the afternoon I just had to do one load of laundry (which took me about 4 hours) and so I grabbed my book and went and sat in the sun. A few minutes later one of the new girls, Lizzie, came out and sat down next to me. Within five more minutes we were both inside changing into our shorts. The rest of the afternoon we were joined by another 4 or 5 people and we all just sat outside talking and relaxing. It was fabulous! It was probably in the high 70s where we were sitting and considering how white I was, guess who went to bed with a mean farmer's tan/burn?

They also called me yesterday to come into work for 3 hours today. It was a good thing I came in because since it was sunny again today, the lunch time was quite busy and it was just me and one of the managers. I was so happy I only had to work 3 hours though! Oh, the time buzzed on the computer! Tomorrow's Halloween so I'll let you know if anything happens!

-Lisa

A lot of hours

Wow, so the last few days I've been putting in close to 10 hours a day at work. Ugh. The paycheck will be nice, but that's about it. One of the managers said to me last night, "You have a lot of energy, don't you?" Because I'm always smiling at people and always doing something. I just wanted to say, "Compare my tips with everyone else's and tell me I'm not doing a kickass job." Seriously though, if you appear happy and enthusiastic it will rub off on your customers who will want to come back or just buy more from you. Duh!

That said, Friday night I had a "tiff" with one of my colleagues. Of course, it was the guy that I had a problem with once before. I was having issues with one order since the salad that the girl ordered was a special and therefore not on the till. I had been back to the kitchen once and then talked to the manager again just so I could put one order through. I was finally trying to put it through when the colleague was standing there with another customer who wanted to pay. I said, hang on just a minute. Well, he couldn't wait so he just swiped his card through and cleared everything I had done so that he could get the customer's bill. I said, I was almost done! He said, The customer's right here. I was like, Seriously?! Then I stormed off to the other till, thoroughly annoyed. Well, of course when he was done he tried to talk at me 2 different times about what I did wrong and I just walked away from him. The manager asked what happened and I shrugged him off and said nothing. Another hour or so later I realized I would have to make things better so I apologized to the guy and he patted me on the shoulder and said, It's okay mate. He NEVER would have thought it was his problem because he has a bit of a sexist attitude that stems from his culture, I'm thinking. He already thinks he's smarter and somehow my teacher because he's a male and he's worked there a long time. Whatever, he totally screws up more orders than anyone on staff.

Whew, okay sorry about that little complaint. Yesterday went smoothly considering there weren't many people working. It got pretty busy last night and there were only 4 of us, but we totally handled it. I came back to the hostel to find some people had stayed up drinking white russians to see me when I got home! Yay!

Well I'm SUPER glad that I have the next two days off, so the only thing I have left to say is Go Devils!

Drama

Okay, sorry for leaving you hangin' on the last blog! I'll get right to the point: Morgan was kicked out of the hostel on Monday. Diana (the owner) watched the security camera tapes and found that Morgan went to the reception area and wrote down in the books that she had paid for the next week. Obviously she hadn't because she doesn't work there and she didn't give Diana or Beate the money. The shitty part is that Diana made Beate clean out Morgan's room without calling/getting ahold of Morgan first. Beate said her room was the messiest and dirtiest thing she's ever had to deal with, and Beate and Diana just felt so hurt that they couldn't trust Morgan. She's been staying there for months! Wierd. So it's Thursday and she still hasn't picked up her stuff. Plus, Vince told Diana that he was upset because of how she handled the situation and then Diana was upset all day yesterday because of it. So the dynamic is a bit tense in the hostel right now.

Moving on...Monday, Daniella and Vince and I went for a drive in Daniella's car out West to Muriwai. This is a beach and cliff side right on the ocean where there's a colony of Gannets (birds) that sit in this one little area where it's always very windy. Apparently they leave only once a year and fly up to Australia and then return to the same spot. This area is also popular with surfers because of the big waves. So you're going to be pissed when I tell you that I forgot my camera! Oops! Maybe I'll go back. Then we left and grabbed some Steinlager Pure (beer with no additives or preservatives--very good!) and went to another beach where I learned to open the beers with the end of Vince's lighter! Woohoo!

Yesterday was super boring at work. There was hardly anyone that came in during the day. I'm still sick but more with sinus pressure now versus the sore throat I had last week. Needless to say I was off, therefore I had four separate instances where I dropped something. I broke a large Leffe glass and it went EVERYWHERE! Then I dropped a little bowl of mayo and had to clean that up. Then I dropped some mussel shells with sauce on the floor. Finally, I dropped a Steinlager bottle and it hit the side of a table and shattered all over the place. Luckily I got to go home early! But one cool thing: Two ladies from Anchorage, Alaska came in for drinks and dinner! They're staying for 6 weeks! I told them my Aunt and Uncle lived up there and so we had a nice chat.

Okay so I don't have to work until 5 today, so I'm going to look for another job and go to the supermarket. I hope everyone's well!

-Lisa

The Rat

Wow, have I got a story for you guys! Yesterday in the first hour or two of work one of the the kitchen staff, Selena, saw the tail of rat that was hiding behind the deep fryer in the restaurant! They said it was trapped back there and it would probably come out after close. Well a good 45 minutes or so later I was in the hallway that's between the kitchen and the restaurant with a drink or something in my hand and I was trying to turn around or something and my feet were stuck on something like the carpet. So I looked down and here's the rat between my legs! I let out a short scream and it went scurrying in the direction of the restaurant!!! Holy shit! I was so freaked out it was unbelievable! David, one of the managers and Karam, one of the chefs came out and I was like, "The Rat!" (In a whisper of course since the customers would have totally freaked out). Anyway, we never found it!! So the rest of the day I was staring at the ground as I walked. I have now decided that I can take a spider any day, but a rat totally creeps me out! My heart was literally racing for another hour! Karam said that this is the time of year that the rats come into the old building so they have to watch out for them...yuck!

Whew, anyway there's some drama going on back at the hostel right now so I need to check and see what's happening. I'll give you the details later.

-Lisa

Ugh

Well it's Sunday at 11:15am and I'm super sorry I haven't written anything in the past couple of days! I'm still fighting a sore throat which is hard when I'm working because of all the talking I have to do! Yesterday was the LONGEST day of work ever! I worked from 4 to midnight and was helping out in the area blocked off for a private birthday party. They had a DJ and strobe light and everything. To top it off, I was seriously hungover from the night before when Beate, Vince, Morgan and I went out. Wow! I can't believe how crazy the four of us can get!

We had a private party on Friday night too that blocked off most of the restaurant, so the last couple of work days have been VERY busy! Tomorrow's Labour day here in New Zealand so a lot of people will be off work I'm sure, and I'm super glad to have some time off too! And with that said, I'll write more tomorrow when I have time!

Pictures of Ponsonby

Okay I feel bad for not taking any pictures recently so here's a few of where I'm staying and where I work!

Ponsonby

I promise I'll take more pictures soon!!!

A break

Alright so yesterday what happened? Well I worked most of the day and there were 3 Americans that came in! There was a couple--she was from Florida and he was from Arizona--that were very nice! I told him I just graduated from ASU and he said, I'm sorry! Ha, I said "Oh, you're from Tucson..." Anyway, he's a doctor and has a great job on the South Island and she's only been able to find a receptionist job so far. They're here for a year and they've got it made because they pretty much just get to house sit for other doctors that are travelling and use their cars and whatever else! The other girl was from Louisianna and not quite as nice as the couple.

I definitely had some people that were in seriously bad moods yesterday! There were some picky old ladies, a spoiled sulking teenage girl and a Russian family that started out bad, but ended in a $5 tip! The weather was also bad with a nasty wind and it was pretty cold.

I woke up this morning with a bit of a sore throat, so I've been drinking fluids all day. I took a nap this afternoon too (yay!). This morning I went to a test and interview with a temp agency here in Auckland for some added work. The test totally sucked because I'm a little rusty with some of my computer skills. I did fine, but I knew a lot of the answers but didn't get them right in the two chances I was given. Whatever! They told me it's a little slow right now, but as soon as something comes up they'll give me a call. The girl that interviewed me also told me outright that I should register with some other agencies as well so I have more options.

I got back to the hostel and found Beate so we could go have lunch. We agreed on this over the weekend since we don't get to see each other as much now with our working hours. Then we walked down to the supermarket and stocked up. She's making us Schnitzel tonight and I'm making taco salad tomorrow night! Luckily I found some El Paso seasoning packets and salsa because I could find any worchteshire (spelling?) sauce for putting on the meat (with ketchup and horseradish). Oh and get this, they don't have any plain tortilla chips in this country! They all have seasoning!! WTF? While I'm on this subject, the Kiwis also pronounce the "t" in fillet as well as the "ll" in Tortilla. Ha!

Thank goodness I have tomorrow off too so I can rest up! I also hope nobody watched that Seahawks game...

-Lisa

It's always worth it!

Okay so last night I worked from 6 to 10:30 and made over $32 in tips! Wiki let me go home early since I'm working today and Sunday and since things were dying down and there were enough staff to handle it. It was definitely busy yesterday and I had a fun time working. At about 10pm, right after Wiki said I'd be going home early, there was phone call at the bar for me. I was like, "Who the hell would call me?" It was Morgan asking if I was getting off early because Beate, Vince and her were going to go out later and wanted to know if I wanted to go too. Pretty much this phone call could have ended my job if I was working in the U.S. but here in New Zealand it was totally fine! I apologized to Wiki and she was like, What? I don't mind phone calls. Sweet!

I cleaned up the outside and left at 10:30. I got back to the hostel to find that they already left, but I changed really quick and texted Beate to find out where they had gone. The Crib of course! The night was absolutely fabulous and we didn't get back to the hostel until almost 4. And that was after we went through the drive-thru of McDonalds in a taxi because we were starved and that was the ONLY thing open! I told them that maybe the best thing about the U.S. is that there are a lot of late night/24 hour fast food places.

All that said, I've only had 5 hours of sleep and the first thing I saw this morning when I opened my eyes was the Frenchman's bare ass. Thank God I'm moving to another room today! Beate, Talka, Vince and I are moving into a different dorm since we all know each other. I'm getting a brand new mattress too! It's also Bernie's birthday today, and I lied about his age. Morgan told me he's about 40!

Anyway, I had better get back to the hostel and move my stuff. But the title of this post is in answer to Gary's questions the morning after going out (he doesn't drink at all).

-Lisa

Characters Part 2

So before I talk about the rest of the people at the hostel I want to say that I was given $9 in tips last night and a beer from one guy in this huge group of our neighbors that came in to celebrate yesterday. This group of guys racked up over $1000 in drinks!!! Can you believe it?

Anyway, on with the rest of the hostel dwellers...

Daniella - She's from Chile, but she came to New Zealand something like 12 or more years ago with her dad and has been here ever since. She works at a womens shelter and teaches classes about believing in yourself and appreciating your own body. She's probably in her mid 20s.

Vince - He's from France and the more I talk to him, the cooler he is. He's very funny and sarcastic and he can speak very good English. He had one girlfriend come and stay at the hostel for awhile and then she left and Beate says he's already got another...oh the French! Haha.

Melissa - She's very quiet and is "with" Bernie. She's German and must not be able to speak English very well because she hardly ever even talks to Bernie. She's nice though, but definitely young: 19 years old. And she always wears the same gray sweater.

Federico - He's Italian and is pretty quiet. He smokes alot and works at an Italian restaurant in Parnell. He pretty much only talks to the ladies...

Talka - This is his nickname because his real name is hard to pronounce. He's Japanese and works as a chef in an Italian restaurant now, but he worked in a sushi restaurant before. He's very friendly and he reads comics to learn better English.

There's an English couple outside in one of the little bunk houses, but they work late like me so I hardly see them or talk to them. Right now there is a French guy in the dorm room with Beate and I and when I first saw him I thought, Wow cute! Haha. I finally met him and he smiled and I almost completely lost it! It took all my strength not to laugh or gasp out loud because he's somewhere around my age and he's missing about 1/3 of his teeth! Aaaaah! It's seriously hilarious.

Okay, so that's everyone! Of course there are people that come in and out every few days, but these are the ones that are staying for awhile. Maybe I'll try and get pictures...

Characters

Sailing was great yesterday! It was the ladies league so there were about 7 of us girls on the boat and Tony was there just advising. We came in 3rd which was pretty amazing considering how many of us are pretty inexperienced. I was pulling up sails and pulling in sails and "jibe-ing" and all kinds of new stuff!

Today I got up and went to the internet cafe and pounded out about 7 more job applications. I can't handle having all this free time and hardly any intellectual stimulation so I applied for some Event Marketing and Personal Assistant desk jobs. I figured since all I'm really working now are evenings I could just continue with evenings and weekends at the Ponsonby and then work during the day somewhere else. If I don't get another job I will never be able to save any money with all the free time I have...that's pretty much what got me going this morning.

So now I come to the title of this posting: Characters. I really haven't discussed the wonderful people at the hostel so far so I realized I need to give you all a picture of the fabulous faces I see every day.

Beate - I've already told you about her a bit, but she's German and looks more Italian or Latin with darker skin and black hair. I'm really enjoying her friendship and we definitely have a blast together.

Morgan - A Kiwi girl that's 20 years old (but I thought she was older) . Her mom moved to Sydney a few months ago, and she would eventually like to move there but wants to finish University first. She's only working right now and is taking a break from her studies. She used to live in Ponsonby, and now likes the hostel enough to make her lazy in trying to find somewhere else to live.

Gary - Gary is from Scotland and is about 30 years old. He lives in the "Caravan", which is the Kiwi word for trailer outside the hostel. He loves American football--specifically the Miami Dolphins--and Judge Judy. Ha...

Bernie - He's a Kiwi and I have no idea how old he is...somewhere in his mid to late 30s? He's a marine engineer and is absolutely hilarious, especially when drunk. He can cook a mean steak on the BBQ too.

Oh the computer buzzed! More of the characters later!

Hungover

Okay so I'm going to make this short because I have one awful headache from too much vodka last night. So this weekend wasn't too exciting...I worked during the day on Saturday and then Beate and I went out that night. The crowd downtown seemed very young so we came back up to Ponsonby and there was hardly anyone out!

Sunday was dead quiet everywhere because the All Blacks (New Zealand Rugby team) lost and are now out of the world cup running. Every Kiwi was in a state of mourning.

I had yesterday and today off so I got some things like laundry and going to the supermarket done yesterday and today I'm just going to relax and rest up before going sailing with the women's racing league tonight!

I'll add more detail later, but I need a nap now.

Long day of work

It's Friday at about 2:15pm and I realized I haven't updated in the blog in a couple days! Oops! Tuesday I had the day off and ended up just walking around the city with Beate and then deciding not to see a movie but to rent one. We actually rented two: Being Jane (about Jane Austin) and We Are Marshall. The first was pretty slow and the second was like every other sports movie, but better than the first! It was a good thing we decided to rent movies because right after we got back to the hostel it started storming and continued off and on through the following day! I'm talking sheets of rain, thunder, lightning and even hail at times! CRAZY!

Wednesday I was having some breakfast and coffee with Beate at a cafe when Hardi (my polynesian boss) called to see if I could come into work early because one of the other workers wasn't feeling well. Of course I said yes and ended up working from 1:15pm to about 12:15am! My feet were KILLING me!!! That said, I did end up making $42.50 in tips! Woohoo!

Yesterday I looked at some sketchy flat with Lindsey and then pretty much relaxed for the rest of the day until I had to go to work at 5. Yesterday Wiki (the other main manager at The Ponsonby who is an excellent worker--she worked for McDonald's and Wendy's in the past and is one of those people that everyone wants because she works her ass off and helps her colleagues), told me that she was talking with Hardi and Riyat (the Balinese head chef) about how she might have finally met her match in me! Meaning that I was almost as hard a worker as her and that the customers like me as much as her! Awesome compliment huh?!

So today I slept in until 10:30am, which pretty much means I slept in until 8 but laid in bed until then. Beate and I went and got some coffee and then walked into a fair trade store where I bought myself a journal and then we continued walking around. We're back at the hostel now and I'm seriously contemplating taking a nap before work at 6. If I learn nothing else from this job, at least I have come to appreciate the fact that I got a degree and I won't have to work as a waitress and anticipate $1 raises for the rest of my life! Whew!

I hope everyone's doing well!

-Lisa

Exhausted

So it's Tuesday at about 11:36am and the guy over here at the internet cafe was trying to give me a hard time about coming in at 11: Did you just wake up? What if I did? It's my day off and I haven't been getting very much sleep for the last week, so I slept in until 10. That's the latest I've slept since leaving the U.S.!!! I've been known to sleep in until noon on the weekends like any other "active" 20 year old, so 10am is nothing!

Anyway, Sunday I worked from 5pm until closing. I left at about 11:20pm. I REALLY am not a fan of closing, but I understand that somebody's got to clean everything and just do it. One of the guys I work with, Anton, was showing me what to clean and how to clean it. I hate to be mean, but it's like he doesn't really have a life outside of the bar because he comes in on days he doesn't work and because he SLOWLY showed me one thing at a time to do! I was like, I just want to leave so let's hurry it up! But he was taking his sweet time.

At one point I was cleaning the tops of the tables and then putting the chairs up on top of the table. I accidently knocked the bottle of cleaner over and the spray cap wasn't on very tightly so it spilled everywhere. I ran and got some paper towels and wiped it up on the ground. Now here's the difference in cultures: In the U.S. you have to immediately wipe up the spill so that someone doesn't slip, break their neck and then turn around and sue the bar. In New Zealand this is what happened: I got up from mopping the mess up with the paper towels and the manager (a young guy) said, You don't have to mop the floor Lisa, we have people that come and clean. I told him what happened and he just walked away. Anton then said, "I heard you were mopping the floor" so I told him what happened and he just looked at me and said, "We have cleaners." So I seriously think that they would have left the spill! WTF!!!!!

Yesterday it poured down rain off and on in the afternoon. I caught up with my American friend Lindsey (from Texas) since she's back in town and we chatted about the differences between the Kiwis and Americans. Then we checked out a flat of a friend of hers in Ponsonby. It won't be ready to rent until December (so I'm not too sure why we looked now), but it was cute and right down the street from where I am now. Then we grabbed some food at a nearby cafe. I was excited when I found out it had Pitas and Shwarmas (Indian style) for about $9! Hell yes!

I only worked from 6-10pm last night because I was filling in for another girl who only works part-time. I was in charge of a large group so that was interesting and it kept my mind off one of the guys that I work with that is just a ______(instert word that starts with "D" here). I had a headache too, so I'm glad I only had to work the four hours. I even ordered pizza when I got back to the hostel, that's how tired I was.

So today I'm free to do whatever and am probably just going to take it easy and relax. I hope everyone had a great weekend and ASU won another game and are finally ranked! Woohoo!

-Lisa

Working hard...or hardly working?

Alright so it's about 9:20am on Sunday morning and the Daylight Savings Time kicked in here last night so we "Sprang Forward" one hour. This pretty much means I'm a bit tired, but oh well! I was supposed to work a split shift yesterday but it was so busy in the afternoon because it was nice out and it was market day in Ponsonby, that I worked through until about 4:35pm. Then I was able to go back to the hostel and grab some food and check my e-mail and go back. I finished at about 9pm last night so that was nice!

A couple of things from my day at the bar:
1) I made $10 in tips!!!
2) A guy came in asking for a job in the kitchen and I heard a familiar American accent so I asked him where he was from. "Kallispell, Montana" Ha! Too crazy, so I told him I was from WA and we had a laugh, etc.
3) This was soooooo good I almost cried! A young couple walked in to have a drink in the courtyard and I looked down at his shirt and was speechless! Arizona State!!!! Hell yes! So I said, Where are you from? Have you been there? And he said no, but his really good friend has been going to ASU for the last year and he sent him the shirt. So I told him I just graduated from there and blah blah blah, but that seriously made my day!

Then I got back to the hostel last night and was a little tired but not in the mood to sit in front of the TV or anything so I asked Beate if she just wanted to go somewhere chill and have a glass of wine or Baileys (she loves Baileys). Of course she couldn't refuse after the mention of Baileys and so we went in search of a laid-back place. We decided to try this one place called "Dorothy's Sister" which looked busy enough to be good. After walking in and ordering martinis, we sat at the bar and talked with the bartender. It honestly took took me about 5 minutes from entering the bar to figure out that we were totally in a gay bar! Haha, I can't believe it actually took me that long to figure out! The martinis were absolutely fantastic and I had an excellent glass of Shiraz after it and before we left. It was definitely a colorful scene and an interesting experience to say the least! We had a great time and they even took our picture for New Zealand's gay magazine! I'm going to have to look that up...maybe I should send you all a copy? Haha. Anyways, it was a great night!

Today I don't work until 5pm so I'm hoping to hit the seafood festival!

-Lisa

Working Girl

It's Saturday morning right now t about 9:17pm and I have to work today from 12:30-3 and then 5 to about 10:30 I think. It looks like I'll be working a lot of these split shifts because I'm on the schedule for tomorrow as well. I don't mind though!

Thursday night I actually made $2.50 in tips!!! Woohoo!!! Tipping isn't even an issue in the New Zealand culture and I'm thinking that may be why the prices of things are a bit expensive. The pub got pretty busy at times on Thursday night too...not later though. Most people came in for dinner and drinks or just for drinks right after work. There were a few that had lunch earlier when I worked the first part of my shift and then were still there when I got back! They stayed until 7 or so...let's just say they were completely toasted! The gal couldn't even stand by herself and she was in her 40s! Wow.

By the time I finally got done (I was supposed to be done at 8 but it was busy so I stayed until 10) and walked back to the hostel, every muscle in my body ached and I was completely exhausted! Needless to say I just ate some food and then washed up and got in bed.

Yesterday I had the day off so I did some laundry, bought some better shoes for working, took a nap and signed the contract and other papers for the job. But of course I forgot to go open up a bank account so I'll have to do that Monday so they can pay me! Then I spent the rest of the night having some drinks with Morgan, a Kiwi girl staying in the hostel, and then grabbing a late dinner of vegetarian lasagne with Beate. Tony never called me about sailing and I'm kind of glad because I was still so tired yesterday.

I've decided I'm liking this job because it keeps me busy and everyone I work with is super nice! The people that I'm serving have been great too and I even had an offer to stay with a customer's brother when I go to Coromandel! Haha.

I hope everyone's doing well!

-Lisa

First Day of Work!

After another trip to Mission Bay and a lovelly stroll back into town yesterday, I finally changed and headed off to my "trial" work shift at The Ponsonby. Oh, but before that Beate and I had taken the link bus just up the hill because we were done walking and we were almost to our stop when crash! The bus totally rammed into some gal's car door!!! She was sooooo pissed!! And the bus driver was like, you saw me coming so you shouldn't have opened your door. It was hilarious!

I get to work at 4pm and the Manager, Hardi (I think he's Japanese), was talking to me and then he had Paul, one of the guys that worked there, show me around. After showing me around for about an hour he gave me a bunch of paperwork and a little manual to read. He wanted to me to have the contract and everything signed today, but I didn't have enough time to read everything yet. But it's okay, because I have a few days until it has to be turned in. Then it was funny because he asked if I wanted to go home and look at the contract or start working. I was like, I'm already here and in the uniform so the best way for me to decide on the job would be to work! Plus I had already planned on it. I worked until 9pm and pretty much did the job. There wasn't any "Watch what Mark is doing" B.S.--it was like hey, Lisa! Table 44 needs to order, etc. It was definitely fun and every table I served asked where I was from. The only real problems I had were with some of the words of the specials; a lot of food here has a different name than in the U.S. And I only spilt a tiny bit of a beer on my shirt (as usual) so that was pretty good!

Hardi asked if I could come back tomorrow at noon and I said of course! What else do I have to do? Haha. So I just got done working the first part of a split shift from noon to 3pm and then I go back at 5. I'm not really sure when I get done tonight though...the Kiwi's operate on a 24hour clock so I'm totally confused all the time. But right now I'm just one of the wait staff and once I get the hang of it then they want to train me in the bar so I can do everything. The company that owns these bars is called Frenzi Group and get this: If I'm with them at least 3 months or so they will pay for me to get 24 credits towards a hospitality degree! Ha! I guess this means I could eventually have another degree...sweet! Here's the website of the cafe if you guys want to check it out:

http://www.theponsonby.co.nz/

It looks like I'm not working tomorrow, but I am on Saturday and Sunday so I can probably go sailing (and get comfortable shoes with a rubber sole) tomorrow! Tony called me today so I told him to call me tomorrow and I might be able to go. The weather is absolutely beautiful today and was yesterday, which is good for the bar because good weather = people going out. That's what they tell me here in Auckland! And...I've received a lot of good feedback/compliments from Hardi, Wiki (the girl manager that I worked with today), and Riat (or something like that--he's the head chef and he's from Bali). Wiki told me that it's rare that Riat says good things about the new people so I'm lucky!

So things are going great here in Auckland and I think that I'm really going to like this job!

-Lisa

Job Hunt

Alright so here's the deal: It's 9:45am on Tuesday morning and I have a job trial thing tomorrow at 5:30pm at The Ponsonby (which is the Belgian Beer Cafe that I went to last week with the girl from Seattle and the English guy)! It was the 3rd bar/cafe I went into and the manager gave me an application, talked to me for awhile and then got out the schedule to see when I could come in! Pretty sweet deal! He also told me that the company that owns this bar/cafe also owns about 13 other ones across New Zealand and if I ever wanted to leave Auckland, they could find me a job at one of their other bars! Hell yes!!!

I have also talked with the gal from Moss Adams that called me about the job I wanted in Phoenix. She said they filled the position but after bonding with her over our Honors College experiences and the thesis she told me to keep in touch and call her when I get back to the U.S. and she might have a job for me in one of their many West Coast offices...woohoo!!! I'm also hoping to hear from Microsoft by the end of the week.

On another note, I moved rooms yesterday at Ponsonby Backpackers to the other dorm room because mine smelt horrible!!! Seriously, I'm not sure which of the 3 guys stunk but it even reeked in the hallway! So now I'm in a smaller room with 3 other beds which should be much better.

Beate and I just walked around yesterday and that's how I got the job at the Ponsonby. Then we went downtown so she could get bus information and I could get cash. We decided at one point to stop and have a coffee with Baileys (which is totally normal on a Monday afternoon) and it was a super idea because it started to just dump rain. Then the lightning and thunder followed! The storm was super crazy downtown where the thunder was echoing off the buildings. AWESOME!!! I guess it doesn't storm very often in Auckland either, so I was very happy to enjoy this treat!

I pretty much have no idea what I'm going to do today since the weather is so unpredictable here. It was super sunny when I got up this morning but now the clouds have taken over. I'm sure a trip to the supermarket would be a good idea...

-Lisa

Another Weekend is Gone

It's 9:55am on Monday morning and I'm gearing up to go into different bars and cafes today until I end up with a job. It's bound to happen!

So what did I do this weekend? Let's see...Saturday I went and saw that movie "Stardust" which was so completely Hollywood and predictable, but very entertaining! Then I had a headache so I went back to the hostel and hung out for awhile. Beate and I went for some dinner and then just walked around Ponsonby Road. We were too tired to hit the nightlife scene, so we went back and watched a movie on TV.

Yesterday, we (Mom and Dad and I) tested out Skype! If any of you want to talk to me or anyone else overseas, this is an awesome program!!! You just download it off the internet and use some headphones and a microphone to talk on the internet. The internet is like your phone line and then you can just talk to anyone else using Skype for free! Very awesome, as long as you have a good internet connection.

After the chat I went with Beate out to Mission Bay. We had some lunch and decided to walk on the trail along the water all the way back to the city. Well not even 5 minutes into the walk it started to sprinkle and then about 15 minutes later it started to really rain! It was so ridiculous because by the time we finally caught the link bus we were soaked and totally exhausted! I imagine that the walk would have been excellent had the weather been nice. So we came back to the hostel and got into some dry clothes and just hung out on the couches since we were so tired. I made a very ambitious meal of quinoa, frozen veggies, chicken and some Tiki Masala sauce...it ended up pretty good!

So I'm still in the Ponsonby Backpackers and have decided to stay there some more since everyone's so nice and it's very home-y. I still have 3 guy roommates: Chris (the German), Talka (the Japanese guy that wants to go to the U.S. in 20 years so that that is the last place he travels to, a.k.a. save the best for last) and some Kiwi guy that gets in really late and sleeps really late or doesn't come back at all. I'm enjoying some of the other characters like Gary from Scotland and Morgan (I think she's Kiwi).

I hope everyone's Sunday is going well!

-Lisa

Waiting...

It's Saturday morning at 10:30am and I am yet again, waiting for things to happen. Why does this always happen to me? Probably because I'm the type of person that gets things going/I'm a do-er not a sit around and wait for life to come to me type person. I still haven't heard from the Safari Lounge, I'm supposed to find out from a job at Microsoft sometime next week and I just found out that one of the jobs I really wanted in AZ is open and they wanted me...whew! So I have no clue what I'll end up doing today.

Yesterday I ended up doing little things like setting up Skype on my computer and making phone calls and grocery shopping. But then Chris, Beate and I went out again! Yay for Friday night! We realized we had to go out later if we were going to find the crowds so left at about 9:45. I really enjoy spending time with these two but...1) I find myself explaining a lot since English isn't their native language and 2) They are quiet and indecisive and want to please others, which is great but even when they're drinking they don't get any livelier and we all know that I do. So we went to a knew place: Grand Central, which had some live music that was bluesy. Finally Beate and I ditched Chris again and hit up the Crib and the Whiskey! Whoever told me that Kiwis don't buy girls drinks was a liar, because it's happened both nights now! We didn't stay out near as long because we were both pretty tired so we left at 1:30am or so. Fun times, but I guess in some respects I wish I had one of my crazy American girlfriends with me because then I wouldn't have to worry about her understanding me and or if she was having a good time or not. I guess I'm just used to more direct people.

Well, I sure hope everyone's having a fantastic Friday!

-Lisa

What a night!

Alright so now it's 7:30pm on Thursday night and I just re-read my last entry...things have definitely changed! I went back to the hostel to make some dinner last night and ended up meeting a couple of great people. Beate (pronounced Bee-ah-teh) is a German girl, 21, who is here on a year holiday working visa as well. She's super sweet and we have become fast friends! Chris is also German and he's here for a few months just travelling around. All 3 of us really wanted to go grab a drink or two so I was super excited to experience a little night life in Auckland (finally!!!!!)!

I spruced up my outfit a bit...maybe added some eyeshadow and cute shoes, which is a lot considering I'm an official "backpacker". We just started walking down Ponsonby Road until we came upon a bar that we all agreed on: The Crib. Well there were only a couple of other people in the Crib because it was a Wednesday night at about 8pm, but we were able to make friends with the bartender...or rather, I was able to make friends with the Brazilian bartender because the Germans are a bit too shy. I was finally able to have a vodka tonic (my fav drink) and we ended up staying about an hour or so in the bar. We were about ready to leave when I saw them setting up for something so I asked what they were up to and surprise! They were having a live Brazilian band playing later!!! The bartender said it would get good an busy at about 11pm so we told him we'd come back. I'm pretty sure all of you know this, but I absolutely LOVE live music!

Then we walked next door, but wait! I quickly have to tell you about my 2nd drink: Feijoa flavored 42Below Vodka and apple juice...amazing! Feijoa is some kind of fruit here in New Zealand and apparently this drink is very popular among Kiwi girls. Okay, next bar we had some beer and it got really busy! I was so happy to be in a roudy/loud place. We stayed there for another length of time and then decided to move on and check something else out. After walking for awhile we decided to hit up "The Whiskey"!!! Haha, oh I think my brother would have loved this place! The back wall was lined with different whiskeys and the bar boasted signs of "Best Bar 2004 and 2005!" They had excellent old classic rock like ACDC and Guns n' Roses playing in the background, but the place was fancy and the people were 40s and over and dressed up! I loved it though, and so did Chris. I'm not much of a whiskey drinker, but just for the special occaision I decided to have a whiskey sour in remembrance of Laura's new favorite drink! The bartender was asking me questions and it was so loud and her accent was so strong I just said, "Yeah" and nodded alot. The next thing I know she's cracking an egg white into the drink she's pouring me and then shaking it up. When in rome...

We left this bar at around 11pm and Chris was completely done/exhausted so Beate and I ditched him and went back to The Crib for some music! Haha, all I'm going to say about the next several hours is that we didn't have to pay for our drinks and the music was FANTASTIC!!!! We were meeting all kinds of people and I basically had to drag Beate out of there at almost 3am because I was exhausted!!!

Needless to say I was a bit tired today, so I just did some errand-ish things like laundry and filing for a tax ID number so I can work. I slept so good and thoroughly enjoyed my new friends so I extende my stay at the Ponsonby Backpackers until Monday. I was so happy to finally be able to get some of that night life I've been missing since AZ, which was probably last April! I have to remember I'm still only 22, so live it up!!!

Okay, I think it's going to be an early night for me so I hope you all have a great night like mine sometime this week!

-Lisa