The Adventures of the Overprotected

I am finally making my way to Auckland after months of speaking about it to my nearest and dearest and the not so close – well, everybody then. To be completely honest, there were many times that I felt I would never make this trip. But here I am, on my way! Woo hoo?

Leaving my ma two days ago almost broke my heart. I busied myself with preparations for this trip, saying byes to my friends and drinking copious amounts of alcohol, which eventually led me to only desire my bed at night than think of the people that I was leaving behind. That whole day that I left Kuala Lumpur for Singapore, I cried so much that my eyes were still swollen many hours later.

The flight from Singapore to Brisbane was mediocre at best. I must applaud Emirates for their fantastic selection of new and old movies, television series and cartoon selection. It is one of the best I’ve seen so far. I distracted myself by watching a couple of movies but I still felt a great sense of loss for the forthcoming days when I will be very much alone and amputated from my comfort zone.

I am trying to find solace in the things that I have planned to do in Auckland and hope that my desire to achieve and succeed what I have planned will distract me from all that I dearly love and will sorely miss.

It is not news that the grass is always greener on the other side. Muthu, for example, has told me a couple of times before I left Kuala Lumpur that I am a source of inspiration – I dared to leave to seek an adventure of sorts, leaving everything behind, venturing into unknown lands (dramatic music in the background). If you heard him speak you would think that I signed up to join the Peace Corps or to fight AIDS in Africa. He does have an annoying tendency to over exaggerate the simplest of things and make too complicated the most mundane of tasks. But it is exactly these little quirks of the people (also the food, THE FOOD!) that are making me reconsider if my decision to leave Kuala Lumpur Auckland is correct.

Well, I’m finally in Auckland and en route to Te-Atatu where I will be staying for the next six months. Got stopped in the airport by immigration officers because they wanted to know of my intentions. Apparently many Malaysians are abusing the Working Holiday Visa Scheme to do nothing but work here in New Zealand (to be read as making lots of money) and end up doing very little travelling (to be read as not spending any money in NZ). I doubt I’d be travelling much either (only because I am admittedly the laziest m-f***er) though I will probably end up spending all my money in local bars. How the hell does one explain something like that to an immigration officer who looks like a decent woman trying to make a decent living hoping that her kids will grow up to be decent human beings! I’ll probably end up spending more money in bars and on fags than if I did go travelling. Unfortunately, Auckland Immigration will never realise that!

The decent woman in question was a Maori immigration officer who seemed pleased with my semi-pretentious answers and let on a smile when I said something about how the All Blacks’ made up of super cute guys! I mean there are so many things I could have said but of course I had to tell her that. She let on a smile. She likes me, I think. We have a casual chat and she asks me if I’m getting picked up and I say no. Immediately she tells me not to take a taxi because it would cost me an arm and a leg.

So, I’m now on the alternative cheaper form of transportation (recommended by decent Maori woman immigration officer) – the Shuttle. I’m sharing a van with 3 other passengers and the driver’s fee is about half of what I would pay for a taxi though I’m told I’ll be dropped off last because I’m west of the city (the Airport is south).

Everything feels better now. I managed to find a smoking spot, got into a Shuttle which was nearby the smoking spot (so I didn’t have to lug a whole load of luggage halfway across the world), the Shuttle left almost immediately after I boarded and I ended up with four seats on the back all to myself, which is why I am able to whip out my good ol’ laptop to write this. The radio plays My Cherie Amour by Stevie Wonder. It’s all seemingly perfect. But someone in front of me farted. It was a real stinker. A mother and daughter sit in front of me. They were on the same flight and boarded from Brisbane.

I’m praying hard that my new housemates are as cool as per email conversations. They have a friend over today so hopefully I get sometime alone to unpack, take a shower and hopefully get invited for alcoholic drinks! Waitaminute! The past entire week has been one hell of a bender and I’m supposed to stay off the alcohol for a while. Decisions, decisions. Someone let out another stinker. I need to find a window opening but they are sealed. Urgh … I’m gonna faint!

As I look out the window and see the good people of Auckland walk around, I realise that I forgot to pack something – a scarf that Asya knitted for me back in the Leicester days. I promised to wear it whenever it was possible. Now there’s a sinking sense of ‘what else did I forget’. I will find out in due time.

Oh I forgot. I must tell this to TBKL108. Gambling is pretty much legal here and there are slut machines everywhere. I don’t think I’ll miss keicheong as much as I initially thought I would, although I will surely miss the sleaziness of the place, the semi-foul smell laced with cigarette smoke and the occasional shout-outs from the punters playing in the next row.

Okay, so I get to the house and Housemate 1 (HM1) opens the door. He seems super friendly and he immediately reminds me of n.Bi. I don’t know if it’s the smile or the way he said ‘mate’. He carried my super heavy bag in and introduces me to some dude on the couch.

HM1’s friend is on the couch. He’s visiting from Wellington. He seems pretty quiet and uncomfortably manages a smile. I extend my hand to him and he seems quite reluctant to shake it. Shy guy? Don’t know, don’t care la! I am super tired and in desperate need of a fag!

So HM1 shows me to my room – or rather the room I was supposed to get. Apparently, a new guy from the States, HM4, will be moving in on Thursday. He’s asked for a whole bunch of things including, I suspect, though I cannot confirm, a large broadband width. He’s supposed to be some super techie guy who wants to put up a projector in the hall (which is fine by me, so long as he puts good movies up there). Anyway, super techie HM4 may need the larger desk in my supposed room and HM1 wonders if it’ll be okay with me if I took the next room that houses a reasonably sized desk.

To be honest, I don’t really give a rat’s ass. My supposed room is definitely much larger but for some reason I preferred the blue walls on the other room. It’s still a double bed and it’s pretty decent. Happily I tell HM1 that it’s not a problem for me that super techie gets my supposed room. SCORE!

Unpacking was such a bitch! I have to learn from Nielle the art of packing a suitcase. Somehow I never get it right. But let’s skip the boring stuff …

So I’m done unpacking and showered. HM1 and Friend want to watch a movie in the city. Some Will Ferrell show called Semi-Pro. They invited me along but I wasn’t gonna drag my ass to the city after 17 hours of travelling for Will. I stayed back to watch tv.

HM2, HM1’s long-time girlfriend, gets up from bed. It’s almost 5. She works the graveyard shift at a call centre which is why she is in bed during the day. She’s sweet. We chat for a couple of hours about everything and nothing. I’m starting to feel that all of us will get along really well.

Just as HM2 left for work, HM1 and friend come back from the movie. They make a sarcastic remark about how ‘great’ the show was. HM1 offers me a beer (how could I refuse?) and then the night began.

We played this board game called Alhambra whilst drinking more beer which slowly progressed to whisky. HM1 cooked us a meal, which was great of him.

HM3 finally gets home. He has been renting from HM1 and 2 for the past 2 months and he’s also on the same work/travel thing that I am doing and he has just come back from this place where he works as a waiter. I soon find out that he’s my age and from Eastern Europe … and he smokes! Finally, one person I meet here that smokes! We go out the back and have a fag and chat about forgettable things. A couple of beers and whiskies later, I need my bed. HM3 offers to take me and Friend into the city tomorrow. We’re leaving at noon and Friend and I will go to the museum (ada ke?)