One Hell'uva Week (or two)
Mar 6, 2008
Dragged Rich into playing pub poker at J.J.Murphys. Asian guy is dealing for the
table cause I took all his chips... sucka! I got pretty far that night, probably chip
leader with 2 tables left but with Rich out and me hungry, I went all in with two high
pairs even though the the flop was a straight-flush draw. Lost to a pocket straight.
Oh well... Food > Poker.
A moonlit night.
The New World in town has been under rennovations since I arrived... seems like
a lot of effort just to add a few meters to the front of the building.
Reading Courtenay (in the heart of Courtenay Place) is a nice place to relax...
but one time, a fat Pacific Islander cleaning lady harshly told me to put my feet
down and that I was using too much power (had my laptop plugged in while
connected to the internet). "3 hours maximum, 9 o'clock now", she pointed to
her watch. I sat there and played poker until 3 in the afternoon just to spite her,
and smiled every time she walked by. hahaha... what can she do about it?
Mayank's last day working at the Dog & Bone because University is starting again.
Being the Chronicler of All Things, I took a bunch of pictures of his last day for him.
Where you can usually find K after work... at work, in the Whisky Bar chattin'
it up with Phil who's full of tidbits of knowledge.
Stacey and Robin having fun in the kitchen.
Bikers hit the waterfront for "Bike the Bays". What do you call someone who cycles?
A cyclist right? What do you call some who recycles? A recycler. I think it's weird.
I think marathon runners should carry babies on their back as well.
About as bootleg as a finish line can be.
"The Best Hand Job in Town"... can they really get away with saying that??
Watching a car get towed from the carpark I usually park at. Sucks for them...
it was a Sunday and streetside parking is free that day. I'm always paranoid that
my car wouldn't be there when I return... just one of the things that add to daily
anxiety.
I was only scheduled for 23 hours at Dog & Bone last week. That sucks. Not enough
money... too much free time. Luckily, Wellington being the awesome city it is, kept me
entertained... starting with a free concert Monday night. First on stage was Autozamm
(wasn't sure who they were until I heard a few songs I recognized from the radio).
The headlining performer of the night was OPSHOP!!! Holy Crap! Folks at home
won't know who they are... but they have a few hit singles here that will no doubt
bring back memories of NZ forever.
An Opshop song, "One Day", is used in an NZ Post ad. Love it!
The lead singer/guitarist Jason Kerrison rockin' it out.
Surrounded by screaming teen girls. Yeah... it's that kind of music. But such goddamn
catchy tunes!
Tuesday night at Big Kumara is freeroll poker night. The pot at the end of the
rainbow... $500 cash!!! Holy Crap! Of course I didn't play to win the money, but
just for the fun and socializing aspects. It started out horrible... a couple annoying
Chinese guys at my table kept on raising big pre-flop. I wasn't going to play that
way and folded, only to find I would have a massive flush or full house once the cards
came out. Pissed, stack being blinded away, I conceded that I should give-up and do
something else. Went all-in on low unsuited cards - a few callers - ends up becoming
a straight - I'm back in the game. My patience is constantly tested, but as players at
my table are eliminated one by one, especially the foolish aggressive ones, I stay in
the game... quitely building my stack. Fast forward to 3 hours later... I'm still in the
game... on the final table (my first time since playing pub poker, pictured above) with
the smallest stack. A few hands later, I'm chip leader with only 5 players left on a
slow played flush. OMG... the $500 was in sight. I never even considered winning
it, and now there was genuine possibility! 4 players left. I'm hanging in there, but blinds
are raised to 10,000/20,000. I think my unfamiliarity in this territory broke me down.
I was just hanging in there to at least come in third to win the $50 bar tab. Never
calling, and giving up blinds was not a good way to play at this point. Before I knew
it, I went all in chasing a straight draw. The turn and river weren't in my favor, and the
old man won the pot merely with an ace high. As the three other players high fived
each other, knowing they will come away from four and a half hours of poker with at
least some sort of prize, I sat there... gutted.
BK fanciness.
On lunch-break with Kiritea and Nicole. God... I eat way too much BK here.
A slice of quiche... just one of the many treats the kitchen hooks me up
with because they love me so much!
I don't know if it's a desire to tempt fate, but I tend to drive with a nearly empty
tank. Sometimes I go 4 or 5 days with the E light on. It's never been a problem...
until one night... It was day #6 (I know, how silly of me), the car seemed to be
running just fine as I was driving up and down Oriental Bay looking for the best
place to ninjanet, when suddenly it started wimping out - putatataa... putatata...
putata... put... pt. This was at about two in the morning. Okay, this sucks. I knew
this was an effect of my car dying of thirst, but I was hoping there was enough
fumes to get me to the nearest petrol station - turned the ignition key - nothing.
All the indicator lights went on, petrol, oil, check engine, emergency break,
seatbelt (?). Anyway, it was my car's way of saying, "fuck you". Goddammit.
Luckily, the petrol station was only about a km away. I can say that I walked
there, but it was more like a frantic powerwalk... maybe a jog, because at the
time I was freaking out and didn't know how much fate was going to punish me.
The anxiety got worse when I returned to my car with a canister of petrol,
emptied it into the car's thirsty belly, turned the ignition key... and still... nothing.
Oh for fuck'sake! I sat there, car on the shoulder lane with its ass sticking out
into the road, thinking... Did I fuck up the engine? Do I need to bring it to a
garage? Do I need a tow truck? How much will that cost? Where can I find a
towtruck at this time of night? Do I have to stay in the car until the police
wake me up in the morning? I'm hungry, is McDonalds open? Then it hit me.
What do you do when you have a meal, and it doesn't satisfy you? You have
another one. Back to the petrol station I go/run. The Indian guys at the petrol
station (yes, just like in the States) catch on the my car troubles and tell me to
shake the car, sometimes the tank needs to settle. I return to the car to give it
another drink, shake the hell out of it, sit in the driver seat, and turn the ignition.
Nothing. All the lights go flash on again. GRahhh!!! Frustration kicks in...
My feet kick... kick the hell out of the gas pedal while I turn the keys... Turn
on you FUCKIN' CAR!!! Putatata.... puta..vrr.. puta.. vrroo.. vrooommmm.
Lesson finally learned? Probably not.
Adding to the previous night's trauma, I got a call at 9 in the morning for kitchen
hand work at the Defence House (I didn't end up going to bed until 4am). Needing
to pick up as many hours as I can, I took the job... tired as I was. Told them
to give me an hour, they said sweet. Drove down to Thorndon (where all the
government buildings are) looking for a place to park, but what I forgot was
that there was a Super 14 Rugby game that night at Westpac Stadium, so that
car park was closed. I wasn't planning on parking there, but anyone who would
usually park there filled up every other parking space in the city. I drove around
frantically looking for an empty space. Nothing. Finally, I gave up and called the
temping agency I'd be running half an hour late; literally. I parked all the way
out on the other side of the waterfront and ran for half an hour to get to work.
Arrived there sweating, but was doing dishwashing anyway, so it didn't matter.
Wellington is in the middle hosting the New Zealand International Arts Festival.
All the performances are too expensive for me, but there are a few free things
to do throughout the city as part of the festivities. The best is an installation at
the Te Papa, a high powered spotlight that projects enormous shadows on the
building's facade. I've spent countless hours there beating people up and ducking
giant stomping feet. It's just amazing how much we strangers are willing to
communicate non-verbally.
Government House... this is where the Governer-General of New Zealand lives.
New Zealand is still a British Commonwealth, so that's the person who represents
the Monarchy in this country. Usually the premises are only open to invited guests,
dignitaries, heads of state, etc...
So what gives me the honor of being there?
Work! My temping agency had positions for cocktail waiters at a fuction there.
They were hosting performers from the New Zealand International Arts Festival.
Walking around with trays of drinks in my hand... I looked like a penguin,
felt like a monkey... but it was a cool opportunity nonetheless.
Those two guys were Argentinians... never waitered in their lives. It was hilarious
watching them nervously try to handle the trays. Girl on the left is one of Dan's
flatmates. Always running into her.
That old lady was the "Head Steward". Total control whore, but I guess you
have to demand perfection and exude authority in an environment like this.
Premonitions.
Nothing refreshes like an ice cold Cock.
Chinese + Baptist = Possibly the most annoying people EVER!
Dinner with Rich at the Sports Cafe watching India beat Australia in the first of
a three day cricket final. I never imagined myself rooting for India in anything, but
it appears being pro-Kiwi and anti-Aussie come hand in hand. It makes sense to
me now though. No different from the "anyone but the Yankees" or "anyone but
Duke" mentality... "anyone but the Aussies".