Taking the Peter Pan Complex to new heights

Tender group shot. How naive we were to the awaiting nausea...

I attempted to mask how petrified I was with a gigantic smile and laughing really hard the entire plane ride.
Also, on the way up, they kept opening the door to get a rise out of me, but that un-appreciation was not captured on film haha.
Also, Luman is on the verge of a seizure, and Andrew is about to rip that rope off.

One of my favorite pictures of me ever taken. LOL.

Also I was not briefed on how NAUSEOUS I would be mid air, after the chute was pulled, and as you swirl down. What the heck! Well, I guess I did have the wind knocked out of me.

I felt SO sick...

And of course, shout out to the birthday girl. We HAD to go on her birthday so she could get a free shirt. What a princess. Happy 24th Lumanizer!

Her guide jumps barefoot. Awesome.

I'm all about promotion

Just a few little ditties...

A) I am WITH PHONE again. Miraculously, it got turned in. HUH? I know, I'm still shocked.

B) My dad has moved on from forwarding Easter bunny pictures to Eyjafjallajokull volcano ones.

C) I am reading Pride and Prejudice and literally laughing out loud at Elizabeth Bennett's character portrayal - particularly how unimpressed she is with the women around her acting so beneath themselves around men- it reminds me of my own common observations. Just hilarious.

D) My friend Rachel wrote a poetic blog post likening a romantic breakup to the ocean. Even though I know nothing about breaking up, her words are quite expressive on the matter. Have a look...and a vote!

Woman vs. Wild

Mavora Lakes, Fiordland, Camping Trip.

"Maori Princess Treasure Hunt"- Fiordland.

Queenstown

The Remarkables

I'm putting some pics together for another blog platform, and came across the above. Just a few.

I know I wasn't changing the world birthing goats in Mongolia or anything, but New Zealand was often just as wild for me. Living in cottonless "polyprops" exploring the countryside, getting really comfortable in torrential downpours, bungy jumping, multiple day camping excursions sans bathrooms in the middle of nowhere that made regular campsites feel like 5-star resorts. Counting on ONE hand how many times I wore makeup in 3 months. 2 hour roundtrip bike rides to church every Sunday (made for some sweaty sacrament meetings).

Fleece, fleece, and more fleece.

Sheep, sheep, and more sheep. People like to say there are more sheep than NZ's human population. Try 10 TIMES more sheep than people, or so it seems.

Did I mention I had never camped before (minus a few sumptuous-by-comparison church camps when I was a youth)?

I love the lushness of Hawaii, but it feels dirtier than New Zealand. I didn't expect to miss such pure wilderness. For those of you who haven't seen me in a while, you're probably asking yourself if this is the same Al, the same aspiring urban yuppie who finds magic in concrete jungles. Yes, still me. Just I appreciate other jungles now too. Like the original type of jungle. WILDERNESS.

Peter Pan complex achieved.

Advertising WIN

This is just fantastic. Wholly agree.

Also, Air New Zealand has this new campaign promoting their new Economy Skycouch. It's called "Who Would You Spoon?"


Oh Kiwis...your humour is whimsically unbeatable.
As are your accents ;)

"With sounds of rocks on the coast"

It's late, I just finished up Season 2 of Prison Break...I don't think I can do 2 more. I just want to watch the final movie and see Scofield and Sara together. OK.

But I'm of course creeped out by T-Bag's inevitable next escape and kill, not to mention dumb Panamanian officials, so to calm myself I am turning to V. Carlton..."Home" a particular favorite.

I really love living steps away from the water right now. It's basically my childhood revisited. I immensely miss that house, even though it was too small for our family. "No room for a desk in your room," says my mom. I'm not victimizing myself, I'm just nostalgic.

Since I'm fast running out of creative juice and battery juice, take what you will with that, the lyrics I'm pasting and video embedding. A lot of music tries to be vague for artistic interpretive purposes, and while I will argue for its place, I appreciate the straightforward too.

I saw her in concert 2 years ago and she is even more amazing live (absolutely she nailed that piano solo at the end).




HOME
Some people live in a house on the hill
And wish they were some place else
There's nobody there
When the evening is still
Secrets with no one to tell

Some I have known have a ship where they sleep with sounds of rocks on the coast
They sail over oceans five fathoms deep
But can't find what they want the most

Even now when I'm alone
I've always known with you
I am home

Some live in towns
Cardboard shack on concrete
All bluster and bustling life
They search for the color you can never quite see
Cause it's all white on white

Even now when I'm alone
I've always known with you
I am home

For me it's a glance and the smile on your face the touch of your hands,
And an honest embrace
For where I lay it's you I keep,
This changing world I fall asleep
With you all I know is I'm coming home,
Coming home

Hawaiians- 2, Me- 0

Item A)
First of all, I am being WORKED by the sun. Yeesh. Couldn't I have been even 1/32 Italian or something so I didn't turn into a tomato day after day, only to attain a mere semblance of a 'tan' by the END of summer? Nope, just me and my stark white Scandinavian skin trying to make it in near-equator latitudes.

Item B)
My phone got stolen out of my roommate's car today, in the parking lot of a church (the irony) overlooking Waimea Bay. At least it was a beautiful crime scene right?

(yeah, that beige-ish tower in the left third of the photo. not too shabby a place. bah.)

Maybe this is the universe's way of telling me to check myself out even more than I am.

OR

Maybe this is karma for me riding my bike around and saying to myself "Sheesh, I miss those happy-go-lucky Maori, Hawaiians are sure a grumpy bunch."
Seriously, they are Polynesia's version of hurried New Yorkers, only they still don't get anything done very fast. Just my observation.
It's okay, I might be pretty ticked too if Americans took over the beautiful islands of my grandfathers.

OR

Maybe it's just annoying...

Simple things missed

TIDE Detergent...

A clothes DRYER...

shrinking quads (and appetite) now that I'm not biking 20K a day- plus in headwind...

a little SNL on Hulu... as I sit in my living room hearing the majestic waves crash not more than 20 feet from me.


Things are stellar right now.



And I really have NO idea how people like Val do it.
Mangoes? YES. Bucket showers? Um...

I sometimes feel guilty I am not as brave or self-less. Send her some congrats.

Remember when I had a fling with Wentworth Miller?

Yeah. Spring term 2007. Bleak minus the many hottub running, music video making nights with Brook and Em .... and Prison Break marathon with some other fellow addicts.

I haven't been as addicted to a show since Alias. No, not even Gossip Girl.

But I left before the end of Season 1. So I hadn't even seen the characters break out!

It has left me hanging for 3 years.

Now I'm watching it on Netflix Movie Viewer, and all is well again.

As you were...

A crossroads or a personality assassination?

(Yes, the title reflects John Mayer's newest album. I miss the old, non-A-list dating, non impromptu press conference outside his gym, non-unflattering-interviewing-so-much-his-publicist-needs-to-be-fired John).

So it's kind of embarrassing how much magazines used to excite me, mostly for their welcomed purpose of mind-numbing after a week (or few hours) of study and the escape of print media that quite literally decided my collegiate studies.

I used to joke that I should fake credentials a la Catch Me If You Can style to become an astrologist for Cosmo.
I recalled this career option with a chuckle skimming a horoscope today (on the beach- does that make it ok?) and reading something about being "empowered to make a Facebook change around the 11th." Oy. Seriously?

But lately, magazines bore me. Just ordinary. This is even after a 3 month sabbatical. The clarity (thank you again, John) is just so bright now.

Why does glitz not excite me as much anymore? Maybe realizing I am now at a crossroads of personality, what with not fretting over a long curbside wait yesterday or riding in the backs of pickup trucks with 5-minute-ago strangers (cute ones, I may add. Which makes it ok, right?).

Perhaps it's just maturity, perhaps this is just a hallmark funk of island living. The latter would warrant a huge mental change.
Wait, no it wouldn't...if I come back to reality I realize it's just really late and I'm spiraling into equal parts drama and genius - a pair quite well-acquainted.

Post-Edit:
This was posted in one of those moments, perhaps fleeting. I still do love glitz and glam.

"...per capita"

My friend on my New Zealand trip lived in Hawaii a few years ago...

Such a crack up, always came over to our house to play 'Pork and Beans' on the guitar. As much as that dang song was constantly in my head the last few weeks of NZ, I miss that kid.


He also had some great pearls of wisdom for my upcoming Hawaiian long vacation. Including, and certainly not limited to:

"The requirements for a good day: good food, good company, good weather, good surf - they are all fulfilled in Hawaii."

"You have to promise me you will listen to Bob Marley every day, as it will greatly enhance your experience."

"Hawaiians probably wear the least amount of clothes per capita." HAHA.


All duly noted.

I have a couple dates lined up.

With my favorite date, my mom.

Circa 1980, singing to Robbie Redford. Isn't she cute?

My sweet mom AND dad picked me up from LAX yesterday, and the drive back down home was really fast... while my dad wasn't counting off the minutes to the next freeway landmark seeing how fast we were making it and talking about I-405 horror stories (he's super German sometimes, even though he's not).
Oh to be back on the huge CA freeways on which you can go over 100 KPH (the New Zealand standard, about 60 MPH), wow.

I saw a billboard for Date Night. Two of my favorite comedy actors EVER. This has a lot of hype to live up to... My mom high-fived me in the backseat.

Tina Fey on Letterman. Love her.

Then, I brought up that I was excited to watch General Conference (impressive language lineup by the way, gooo Mormons).
My mom was cruising the Amtrak with little sister Kathy on the northern East Coast this past week for college visits, so she hadn't seen it either. High five again.

And when I got home, while I was giving my fam some Neverland mementos, they were pausing some Tivo'ed Project Runway. My dad, the architect, has watched it with acute concentration from Season 1. It's really darling.

Don't worry, they've saved the entire current season for me. I have sorely MISSED Tim Gunn!

Make it work ;)

"Second star on the right, and straight on 'til morning..."

So long, Neverland... you brought me back to life, by allowing me to enjoy your beautiful country while letting me act like I was 5-years-old again.

'Maori Princess Treasure Hunt' was not a "success" by US standards. But in terms of "the journey"... the trail was completely flooded out due to heaps of rain the area had received the past 48 hours, we walked in 3 feet of water fully clothed at one point, and also slid down a makeshift 30 foot mudslide, so as you can tell it was hilarious.

Then we went to the Clifden Caves (my second time) and looked at Planet Earth glow worms inches from our faces.

I will post pictures once I get back to home turf.

And now I will traverse half the globe in 25 minutes...literally (with the time changes). That's about right if I were really traveling Peter Pan speed, right?


Then in five days I'm headed to Hawaii. Visitors most certainly welcome!


(Oh, and as for a book update, I bought a Tom Clancy novel the size of my head. Perfect.)

Probably the sweetest thing I've read in a while

Pregnant Joanna Goddard is such a lovely human being.
I've gone back and read this post several times.

When that phase eventually comes, I hope nesting will be as simply splendid as that.

Will bushwhack for treasure

Ahh I've missed this (interesting choice of music). Although I won't ever work in fashion, I got on Google Reader today for the first time in many many weeks and it's good to know that the 1st world carries on in style...

Tomorrow, I'm off with some of my hooligan friends in search of a secret Maori Princess burial site... on an island...in the middle of a lake. I wasn't going to go at first because of all the sandflies in that region and not to mention bushwhacking through the forest, but HOW OFTEN does one get to go on a sort of treasure hunt in a foreign country? That's what I thought.

Apparently we are trash bagging our clothes and swimming across to the island.


This is so much cooler than Legends of the Hidden Temple circa 1997.


It's going to be epic, even if it's an epic fail. I'm stoked.


Oh and just for giggles, today I took a couple hour bike ride because I was bored, had the iPod going with some rap and r&b, the rain was lightly sprinkling, the sheep were grazing. The usual.

And at one point when I thought no one was around I started singing "Bad Romance" a la Miranda Sings. And then out of nowhere an older lady passed me. Uhh?

And that song is not even one that sounds cool when you try to sing it normally, so it was just a big FAIL!

You know it's a good read when...

You force yourself to go to sleep waaay past your bedtime, then lie awake for another ten minutes contemplating if you made the right decision to stop reading for the night.

The struggle!

Anyways, this TRUE STORY both captivated and horrified me. And sure, you can say it's biased and prejudiced, but it's her story, so she's entitled to her observations and opinions.

And it's pretty amazing how far Iran has come since the 80s, judging by the Rick Steves documentary on Iran I watched on Hulu a little while ago (Rick Steves is way goonie, but what can I say, it was a boring Friday night in Provo), and their Twitter-influenced elections late last year... different picture, indeed.


Have you read any good books lately?

I have a few long flights ahead of me :). Recommendations are greatly appreciated.