my friend, i’m sad to report i’m back in the city, wellington. got here yesterday, 28th. apparently, my timing is so wrong as i’ve suspected long before. being in hastings in between christmas and new year is a no-go if you want to find any job. if you are not aware of it, i’m actually in the haunt for non-it jobs, something about farming just to check if i have any career in agriculture, hehe. but to be honest, i haven’t started finding IT jobs from the moment i landed down here. i had several email applications to agencies back when i was still in st.paul and the philippines, but realizing that if i could find myself a job in a kiwi city, then, i’ll get stuck in the urban and it defeats the purpose of moving in this amazing country at all.
so now, i’m hoping to become a farmer. 
well, there is only one worry that i have in working in farms and i assure you that is not because i might get my skin any darker. to work here in nz, one must have an IRD number for taxation purposes. it’s similar to TIN # back home. my IRD number is probably coming soon as i applied for one in hastings. now, the thing is that i am on a work-to-resident visa and that permit was given to me on the basis that i work in my trade, which is information technology, and obviously farming is far too different trade with IT (although milking rhymes with programming, and well as encoding). after several months of wandering, i plan to establish myself here more, and find appropriate long-term jobs, and i worry that immigration would not grant me the residency if they found out i worked in a totally different area. so, i’m really undecided if i should pursue looking for farm/fruit-picking works after the holiday, or go WWOOFing, which is another good option. no, that’s not barking like a mad dog just like it sounds, hehe, but it’s Willing Workers On Organic Farms. basically, it’s a volunteer programme where you work and help in the farm and in exchange for that, you receive free food and accommodation. at least in WWOOFing, i won’t be getting use of my IRD number, so there’s no risk of breaking any immigration law.
i don’t really know, let’s just see what happens.
to say something about hastings, there’s really nothing much to do around in area if you don’t have a job or a car. and me having none of these, it was such a bore. my christmas eve dinner was a full-foot subway sandwich, and a yakisoba instant i brought here..and saw twilight in cinema during the boxing day (dec 26). we actually had a christmas gathering in the hostel, sharing foods and drinks but nothing really compares to spending christmas back home. see, this was the first christmas i spent without my family, and although i’m used to be far from home, there’s still enough family-ties sense left in me to feel homesick. every time i pass by travel shops, and see their ticket listings, it feels weird. i could easily buy a ticket and be back home, but then again, i might regret for the depressive failure is more remembered than the euphoria of success, and the last thing that i would want to be is a failure. well, who would want to be?
Oceania → Australasia → New Zealand → Hawke’s Bay → Hastings
i’ve been out of updates, but right now i’m not in the capital city anymore. i’m here in hastings, a small city in hawke’s bay some ~300 km north of wellington.
so i left the german group in wellington (benny, nico, alex, and felix) as they were heading to south islands. new zealand is actually divided into two major islands, called north island in the northern part and south island, well in the southern part (how creative is that?)..plus a couple more smaller islands around. my first point of entry, wellington, is actually in the southernmost part of the north island, and i’m basically making my way up.
wellington’s been my place for 6 days, and i find the city very compact. walking around lambton, willis, to courtenay and cuba street is very easy. i didn’t have a problem finding my way to the main bus and train station, or to the libraries (but i haven’t been inside) or museums. i find it very safe as well walking alone is no major risk, and people are helpful if you ask for directions.
apart from te papa, there’s another museum in wellington worth mentioning. the museum of wellington city and the sea at the entrance of queens wharf. like the te papa, entrance is free, but unlike it, this museum looks more traditional and old-style being housed in a victorian store. wellington’s maritime history is displayed early from native maori to european settlement. a mini theater is attributed to the wahine disaster of 1968, where an inter-island ferry sank along with 51 lives. the disaster, with more than 700 passengers onboard the ferry, happened in one of new zealand’s most violent storm. in another theater, there’s an impressive holographic projection on maori legends about the creation of wellington harbour.
with some friends from the hostel (the germans), we hiked for the botanical garden, all the way up the steep road, and then finally reaching the top where the cable car ends. then, walked the way down and to a cinema for rock and rolla.
when i mentioned that wellington’s nightlife is about as expensive as greenbelt. i think i made a mistake, or my currency conversion is not working properly, it’s probably twice as much. for example, a glass of tap beer is about $8, or 240 pesos.
i forgot to mention that i’ve seen ben hana. that famous, destitute-looking maori. he is so renowmed and respected that even the government can’t take him away!
and the silly bucket fountain, an iconic display installed in 1969 and still splashing unsuspected passersby. also, the capital city is home to parliament buildings, the seat of new zealand’s government. the most distinct infrastructure is probably the beehive (executive wing) designed by a british architect, and took as much as 13 years to finish.
going north to hastings, is taking a bus of up to 5 hours with a stopover in palmerston north, and passing by dannevirke. the view along the way is awesome! for the first time in nz, i’ve seen wild and live sheeps! and cows! the green hilly terrain backdrop added to the dramatic sight, but i guess the picture i have of it didn’t make any justice. arriving at hastings, all tired and starving, i followed the direction to the first hostel in sight, the rotten apple hostel (i remember reading this from LP..), where a night is $24. hastings is more of a quiet laidback (well, i found the whole nz laidback!) city compared to its bigger touristy brother napier, a bit up north. hastings is also the dwelling place of a lot of fruitpickers and orchard workers. dec 25, and today, 26 is a holiday. the 26th being boxing day. no, not that sport where pacquiao excels, it’s boxing, as in boxing or wrapping something up. the history about it? i still have to find out..
so, happy boxing day!!
more pics of welly
Oceania → Australasia → Australia → Sydney
with a layover of 12 hours in sydney, a dozen hours is too long to wait and sit idly in the airport, however, it is too short to try anything more than just the city..so after the immigration and customs (nothing much), as quickly as i can, i head to the forex to get some australian money, and then hop on the express train to circular quay. i’ve got a picture of what i’ll do in my day (thanks to lonely planet). circular quay station is the gateway to the famed opera house, and the sydney harbour bridge. to be quite honest, there’s nothing grand about the opera house. well, i’ve only been to the outside and no nothing about its design and architecture, but superficially, it’s just an infrastructure shaped oddly.
the harbour bridge is more picturesque with black heavy metal frames connecting sydney cbd and north shore. i haven’t been upclose to the bridge though. so after just wandering along the rocks, several pictures, and walked around near the opera houses, i hopped on wharf4 enroute to watson’s bay for the gap.
the gap is a cliff ocean ridge, famous not only for the pleasant view it offers (the expansive pacific ocean) but also for the reason that it’s a favorite suicide spot in australia. more than 50 deaths are reported each year, and recently they’ve put in fences along the sides, and additional surveillance camera in an attempt to lessen its infamous reputation.
it’s a bit tiring going around as first, sydney is hot. it’s summer at the moment down here in the southern hemisphere, and the beating sun in ever drenching my energy. second, i’m lugging my big heavy backpack handcarry. that’s even quite a fortune as i originally have 2 heavy handcarries and just at the gate in naia, an attendant offers to check-in my 2nd backpack.
from the gap, i took a bus to another famed destination in sydney. the bondi beach. walked around, had my first authentic australian fush and chups (i had it grilled), which is good but just too much for me! of course, the scenery is beautiful along the shore..hehe
then, hop to bus back to circular quay, and onwards to airport.
Oceania → Australasia → New Zealand → Wellington
cheers mate!! it’s been 2 days since coming here to wellington and now i’m staying in a hostel. i came in the early hours of dec 18, and spent the night until dec 19 in the afternoon at tita ning’s place, a friend of an officemate in sun life. they’re just so hospitable and kind, accepting a stranger in to their home, sharing their meals, using their bathroom, and even getting me from the airport, and onto this hostel! really really big thanks to tita ning, tito joel, and of course to the referrer, miss leah!
i’m afraid to say that i haven’t done anything productive yet. 
i don’t even have a single kiwi centavo that i’ve been relying on my credit card since day 1. i was suppose to go to a bank earlier today, after going to te papa museum, but banks are only from mon-fri! anyways, met some cool people from the hostels. of course, the room i got is the cheapest, which is a 10-bed dormitory type, with shared bathroom. it’s quite good, clean, nothing fancy or posh…and as a bonus, they have free dinner every night, which is a pity portion of fish and chips. better than nothing still.
so, among the people here. there’s one from england, another one from holland, and several kiwis. most haven’t been to wellington long, so we just hang out after dinner last night, and bar/beer-hop from various clubs along courteney and cuba street. well, night life in here is not as bad as you might think, and drink prices compares to those in greenbelt, so really not bad at all. music is good, though i haven’t spotted any live one, which is pretty much common back home. a bit tipsy, we walked our way back to the hostel around 3ish in the morning, and saw a man lying on the street, apparently beaten up! we actually saw the guy who kicked him, and there’s another guy trying to get in between them. somebody then called the police and ambulance, and after a few while, interrogated what happened (yes, we were witness! but nothing serious, they didn’t even get our names..) we headed back to the hostel.
today i woke up past 11am, and the weather being drizzling cool, it was even harder to get up. we had breakfast in a nearby corner, i got back to the hostel for a quick shower, and then to te papa (museum of new zealand). it’s a massive museum of anything about new zealand, some geography, maori cultures, etc. i believe i haven’t even seen all the exhibits. the entracce is free, but some attractions require you to purchase a ticket. there are some temporary exhibits as well as paintings, art, and photo gallery. in the earth section, there’s a room that simulates an earth quake, and of course being from the philippines, i’m quite used to it.
so, i’m waiting for the free dinner, which is from 6-7pm later, and probably head to the bars again with oli, and polly. sadly, i haven’t seen any other filipino apart from tita ning’s family. i haven’t even seen one from the plane from sydney to welly. i might have to enjoy this city life for a couple of days, because who knows, if i go further north or south, all my eyes could see from miles are greens, and more greens.
so, until next time! cheers mate!
caricature from lawson friends, thanks everyone!
it’s 19 minutes past 12 midnight of the 16th of december 2008. i’ve just finished packing things, thanks to my sister and mom for the help. i couldn’t have done all the squeezing and fitting by myself. i’ve done this thing a couple of times before but now is a bit different. i don’t know when i’ll get the chance to be back at home again, and it’s hard to miss anything that i’ll need. let’s just say nz is situated way off geographically to anyone i know from manila who might be coming to rescue should i need my retainers! (thanks and special mention to chiqui who once transported my retainers across the pacific)..
today (well yesterday technically as it’s tues already) is mostly spent at home, some relatives came over for lunch,..some cousins were here earlier, and in the afternoon, i tried to get USD from banco de oro but failed. they only allow forex transaction if you have an account at their branch. tomorrow morning, i’ll try my luck at bpi. if i really can’t get any, then, let’s just see..
last sunday was spent at home again, with some highschool friends and glai. we planned to go out for videoke, but eventually settled in staying just at home. mom cooked her special morcon, ordered palabok from her batchmate, and some barbeque. and since i wasn’t able to dispose all of my books, i distributed some among them, writing a note on the cover.
last saturday, i came home 8ish in the morning sleepless. ’spent friday after work with lawson friends, hang out until the wee hours of the morning. it began at hooters for dinner, walked along san miguel establishments over looking the manila bay, played in the small park with some exercise machines, hang out at bed space in greenbelt, and just like before, finished it with caffeine at 6750’s 24/7 starbucks. when we were leaving bedspace, anna is half-drunk, but i know she meant it when she says mamimiss ka namin,… then she cried, i can’t help myself, tears started flowing..then, from carmi and lanie as well. i hate crying, and much more, i hate for people to see me shed tears. but these people are just so endearingly special that i hate if i won’t cry.
i know i’ll still put in something in my luggage by tomorrow, but i sit down, and take this opportunity to say a goodbye to everyone…well, probably a more proper farewell. i’m leaving tomorrow at 7.35 pm downwards to sydney, australia and connecting from there to wellington.
i have my roaming activated, please don’t be shy to say hi, though i might not reply until i get an nz number. you can also reach me through email, and of course, through this blog!
everyone, you’ll sure be missed!
hanggang sa muli!,
~jeremy
as you’ve probably observed, my posts has been pathetically sporadic. it’s been so busy on my end, doing all preparations for the very soon flight down below the equator. despite all attempts to get nzd, i still don’t have any. the only significant non-peso money i’ve got at the moment is a grand $280.00 USD, a leftover from st paul stint. i’ve made a couple of calls confirming my flight, had my globe mobile on roaming (so you could still sms me at local rates!), made authorization letter to let my mom receive docs i’ll left behind (for COE, and last pay check), and another letter for smartBro (broadband internet) to discontinue service by early next year (the subscription is under my name, and has been paid until next month, so can’t have it disconnected right away). last friday was my last day in the office. of course, finished my company clearance, and bid goodbye to several people.
friends from the office arranged a despedida, pizzas, ice cream, a present, a caricature and a banner of myself with their messages. more than touched, i can’t find enough words to say. these people are not just my colleagues. we don’t just see each other at work. we go out for adventures from going to the beach, to climbing walls, to skating the ice, to climbing a volcano, to getting sloshed and wasted. we share food, and even cooking, we share laundry, i’ve lived with a couple of them, and without a doubt, they are some of best friends i could ever get…and i deeply appreciate that.
goodbye and may god bless us all!
without a single kiwi centavo, and as prudent as i could ever be, i spent a couple of calls since yesterday looking around to exchange some of my pesos. you wouldn’t believe it! not a single bank in the philippines holds new zealand dollar. i began my search, of course, with the bank i’m using, BPI, and their main forex office at the mezzanine of enterprise is kiwi-money less. tried BDO, and metrobank to no avail. metrobank even got it wrong that they thought i’m selling “my” NZD, and told me they don’t buy the currency. haha. could you believe that? it’s money nonetheless!
on the consolation, BPI, however, didn’t say they don’t have the currency at all. it is just so scarce, that few people (if any) exchange their NZD to peso.
is it really untrue that people in nz get paid by milk and fruits?
so dear folks, to update you on my ever exciting life (?!), i’ve just finished reading twilight. yes, that one about vampires on big screen at the moment. nothing more than a cheesy lovestory, a human girl falling in love to a vampire boy. there’s a catchy storyline, but i guess it could have been delivered in a more decent, conscientious literary read. unfortunately, i don’t have luxurious time to go in details, but it’s definitely a far cry from the way rowling’s famous potter series was written. different in a good or bad way, i can’t really say, but meyer is more less mature in novel context. i haven’t seen the movie though.
the past few days starting last friday was chaos, so today, monday, being holiday is something good although i hardly feel that extra day off. i woke up at 3 in the afternoon earlier and after devouring lunch, took a bath and head out to car wash. item was in badly need for a wash (after the rizal-laguna circuit), and i just don’t have enough time and effort doing it myself. besides, they clean item much better that i could do, and sometimes, it’s good to give business to other people’s businesses. enough justification for being lazy…and so 105-pesos later (plus 50-peso tip), item is all shiny black, free from dried mud, or water marks (it’s been raining lately). he is now peacefully sleeping in our garage, neatly covered up with some vinyl-type encasement.
the reason why i slept until 3 in the afternoon today is because i came home around 4ish in the morning today. hang out sunday afternoon at jp’s place, and some dota games…then, some dinner out, and then we went to casino (in san pedro, laguna) for some games where i won as much as 88 pesos! but ended up losing total of 300 pesos. hehe. we even saw eddie garcia, sitting solemnly by himself (and the slot machine), curious me had a peek at his credits and he is at about 1K+, betting around 45 pesos each. i play using a hundred peso bill for initial and final credit, and bet for as low as 1 peso. hehe
earlier that sunday (before jp’s place+dinner+casino), i was with my mom to festival mall (item still dirty then), i had a 3000-peso voucher for adidas from metrobank credit card, and in as much as i want to get an adidas-pilipinas-jacket, i wasn’t able to get it as they’re all sold out. plus i heard it’s 4K+ so even had to shell out more money! i ended up getting a cordoba football jacket, and 2 pairs of socks, and a cash out of a grand total of 5 pesos (total bill: 3005.00). not bad for a shopping. 
a day before that, saturday afternoon, i went out with my mom to puregold (again, item was still dirty) to get some groceries. we had one cart each as i’m bringing some stuff with my to kiwiland next week (hah?!, it that that soon!?). i had a total of 1800 pesos, just all the basics. one shampoo, one toothpaste, a bottle of mouthwash, 2 brushes, a lot of noodles (instant), a bag of laundry powder, and 3 or 4 canned goods. my mom’s cart weigh heavier at 2K+ pesos. i had them paid by my new metrobank credit card as i need to get it swiped for atleast 2K pesos in order to use the adidas voucher i was just talking about earlier.
earlier saturday was christmas party lunch at amicis (don bosco). sharing some stories, friendly barrage of why i need to do the trip next week (yes i know! really, that soon), excellent pasta, and pizza, and seeing kat’s yael (my first and only inaanak to date)…then walked across (that highway towards the train rails), and to buendia and hop on bus to binan.
friday after office was company christmas party. the theme is to show some talents of colleagues, and it was nice to hear some jammin’ and music riffs of friends. too bad i wasn’t able to join, buy i’m not a natural performer! buffet dinner and some raffles, where of course i won nothing.
it was dee’s (a friend from the office) birthday, so hang out in bedscene after the party until the early hours of saturday (wilson’s day, friend from the office and my flatmate in st. paul for 3 months), drinking strong ice + the bomb (cuervo shot drop down a half-filled glass of beer) and some hookah (honestly, i enjoyed, hehe). then finish it off with some caffeine at starbucks (at glorietta, they’re up 24 hours).
a quarter intoxicated; caffeinated; sleepy; and awake, i learned that just before daybreak, glorietta to our garage is separated by 29 minutes.
*sorry for the bad story-telling. i’m a terrible one, it has to be in reverse.
EP2 - nice! Congrats! Pst, email mo ako - i would like to know when I can get the 20/1.7. Thx
Hallo ´ti! Wie geht es Dir?! Mukhang laking project nyan ha? means laki kita! Goodluck! I am proud of you… keep it up!
goodluck jeremy!
saludo ako sa yo master
Jeremy and his last 2 days at the casino.
hi shiela! salamat sa pag-bisita! maybe life on a backpack, backpack gamit ko eh, hehe.
hello, je! musta na? just hang in there.. you can write a book abt the life on a suitcase..
thanks for dropping by!
Hey! Jere don’t give up…
hi ramil, i know it’s really sad, but each of us is different..just hang in there! you’ll know when to give up. haha “)
thanks carmi, will see you soon i guess!!
Jere!! I like that “Im not frightened because whats ahead of us will be better!! AJA!!!! AJA!!!
I feel for you bro… i am in the same predicament… hope we can have a cup of coffee before you leave…
Jeremy is workaholic = needs money.
Jeremy believes it’s going to be easier.
thanks!
belated happy birthday je~! ^___^
Haberday Je!!! Wala na ako kasabay mag bday
haberday!
mabuhay ka master!!!
