my dear readers, i’m announcing my first ever contest promo! it’s very easy and simple. from the picture below are 2 japanese, a korean, and a chinese (hong kong). can you guess which one is one?
from left to right: boy01, girl01, girl02, girl03.
example: boy01-chinese (hong kong), girl01 (japanese), girl02 (korean), girl03 (japanese)
sorry everyone on the pic, i can’t put it your names then it would have been too obvious! actually, i asked them if they’re able to know if someone is from japan, china, or korea just by the face and apparently they couldn’t be certain as well!
simply submit your answers by comment in this blog, or via text message at +63917-2094172 (no calls please), or email at jeremydavid.chua@gmail.com (a short hi or story what’s going on up there is appreciated! and probably will get more prizes! hehe). only one entry per person. prizes will range from a chunk of feta cheese, big bar of cabdury, or a bottle of nz’s finest wine (maybe even straight from a winery where i could probably be working!) prizes will be given as soon as i meet you, which is in the very near future i’m sure! 
sweet as!!
jan 22, 2009. thursday.
i’m still working in the vineyard but from a different contractor. sussie’s job has been mostly contract and earning money in contract work, apparently, is only possible for people adept at plucking leaves as if they have 2 extra pairs of hands. i’m working for john now, who heavily expressed he is not giving contract work, and prefer hourly rate jobs of $10 (after tax). helen, kayo (of japan), and myself worked for him last monday, and was soon followed by several people from the hostel, yoko (’worked with her before for sussie), tim (of germany), leonnie (of germany), sam (a kiwi), and my roommate conrad (of germany as well). leonnie drives a car, so some of us gets to work with her,
all vineyard and farms i’ve had work are a bit far from the hostel that owning transpo is definitely a big help, but luckily i always ended up getting ride from someone else. for now, we are using a car left by morgan, who was our roommate a few days ago, conrad drives. the vineyard we are working for at the moment is around 15 kms from our hostel.
i forgot to mention that i had a 1-day work in waipukurao (about 50 kms south of hastings) while i was still working for sussie. it is a cabbage plantation and work is weeding. unlike weeding onions, cabbage doesn’t smell, and more importantly, we use a special rake to do the job, so the task was a bit relaxed that we don’t have to do much bending, but still the sun was always present to torment.
so work with john started last monday, which was in a vineyard. leaf plucking and grapes thinning (just removing small fruits), and i’m getting familiar with the tasks. tuesday was the same work, and the good thing about this is we get hourly rate. on my first day, i didn’t even finish a single row! and that is the case for most of us since it’s hourly. and we don’t necessarily be in a hurry. last wednesday and today, we moved to a different vineyard, and john said it’s going to be on contract! so we were a bit surprised as he said he doesn’t do any contracts! we had no choice so we just tried anyway.
today’s work in the vineyard is a change. i’ve done mostly plucking and grape thinning before, also some clippings of the net to keep birds off the fruits. i’ve done a total 1,183 meters of grapes rows clipping in a day (yesterday), and a meter is paid at a rate of 10 cents giving $118 BEFORE taxes. this morning while doing my 4th or 5th row of net clipping, our supervisor asked if i want to try a trolley job which could probably give more money. i said i’ll give it a try. so before noon i worked with trolley. the task is to place the nets along the great length of vine rows (the very same nets we clip). first, i need to find the net roll among a heap of rolls and map it with the correct lane number. grape lanes are of varying length and so they must match with the net’s length. a single roll could be heavy, especially when i’ve done the job for a while already that i’m so tired. i have to lift a roll and fixed it in a special trolley more like a spindle, the nets are spun around a long wood, and fitting this in the trolley could be troublesome like when the wood is not long enough to catch the lock (it will fall off when rolled) or when the spring is so tight you can’t fit in the roll easily. then, tie a knot in one end of a lane and roll all the way down to the other end and going back to the other side. sometimes, the nets are so mudddled (they appeared to have been used before) and it’s very annoying to untie the tangles. at the end of the day, i ran, walked, and jogged a total of 4,280 meters in length of vineyards all lugging a heavy trolley with rolls of net. this pays for a pity 3 cents a meter. to save you from calculating, i earned $128.4, which is more or less 3531 pesos. doing the rolling is a lot more tiring than clipping and a lot less boring, but really have to be careful as tim once dropped a roll on his feet and it was so bad that he skipped work for a day and now just back to the dullness of clipping.
we’ll try to be a bit early tomorrow (we want to have a longer, like an hour lunch + siesta perhaps), and leave here half past 6, so ‘will have to end this post now. sweet as!
jan 23, 2009. friday.
realizing rolling is extremely tiring, i finished 3 rows of rolling nets and then joined the others with clipping. we were home a bit early today as there were not much nets to clip anymore, and it was horribly hot. sometimes, i feel that it gets even hotter than summer back home. though a good thing to note is that it’s not much humid so there’s no sticky feeling at all. now, i try to apply as much sunscreen as a can and it’s almost empty so have to buy a new one. the coppertone tube i’m using is still from a discounted shop in st paul last year, hehe.
since it’s a bit early for dinner when we got home (as most of the time we’re in a rush cooking, dinner, plus having a shower after work daily), tim, conrad, helen, and myself went for a quick cold dip in a waterfalls around the neighboring town, maraetorara?. it’s about 40 minutes away and using morgan’s car, we got there just in time before the sun gets down. the water was so cold!! a lot more cold than waterfalls i’ve been to at home (taytay and pagsanjan). it’s icy cold that i was hesitant in dipping at first! but then, it was so a good chance to miss swimming that i even jumped from the top of the falls (it wasn’t that high), and another jump in swinging-rope style! the only not so good thing that happened is that conrad’s camera tried the water as well. 
we’re not sure if it’s broken, he hasn’t turned it on yet and better to wait for a few days to dry it.
jan 24, 2009. saturday.
i just came back from the vineyard as it seems there’s not enough lanes to do the clipping on the other blocks as well. i did a total of 4 medium-distance lanes, and we decided to go home. before leaving, sam and leonie were offered by the supervisor if we want to work directly for them and not through john. john took us originally in this vineyard, and the thing with working for john is that he is a contractor, and there’s always rumors around about contractors being dodgy that some people don’t get paid for their work. we don’t know anyone who worked for john and has been paid. also, he might go and take us to a different place next week, different work, and might be different wage, so we thought that having a more stable job is better for all of us.
it’s been a week since running from the witch of oceania and getting here in hastings. day off today. i didn’t really plan to have rest day until sunday but yesterday after work, delta (contractor) told us there will be no work today, and we have to wait for sussie’s call for the next work. i’m not sure if i’m going to be happy as my body definitely needed some rest, or anxious as of course it means no pay.
the day before yesterday was a change as we worked in an onion farm (white onions). it’s an hourly job, which is nice and more lucrative than contract in my case, however, the smell is terrible. in the morning, it was quite alright as the morning dew makes the atmosphere a bit pleasant, smells like fresh onion in the kitchen, but as the sun goes high, it was horrible. the field is hectares in size and we’re a total of just 4 people to clear everything up. basically the work is removing the weeds and wild grasses growing along the onion rows. sounds easy enough, but believe me, doing that in the vastness of annoyingly nasal flavor is a challenging task. in comparison to vineyard, it is more relaxed and less stress as we don’t have to push ourselves to limit as we get paid hourly. in the vineyard, we do everything as fast as we can (even our lunch!) just so we get more pay. in the onion farm, we even had a short break in the morning and afternoon apart from the 30-minute lunch. after working 10.5 hours with the onions, you could just imagine my stench. i am indeed a giant onion. i managed to sneak in 2 onion bulbs in my camera bag! haha. ’should have got more than that!
as soon as i get back to the hostel, took a shower and scrubbed my skin as hard as i can but it hurts a bit now. probably because of the sun, ‘will really really have to put on more sunscreen as the ozone hole is directly above in this part of the globe. skin cancer is the most common cancer in this country, as so in australia. also, i would like to report that i am so dark now! this is the darkest skin i’ve ever had.
yesterday work, i was reunited with the grapes. it’s still leaf plucking work (tandem with helen), and after doing 6 rows (that many because the leaves are not much) in contract, we we worked hourly (for 2 hours) for grapes thinning. the work is removing excessive fruits in a single stem so that grapes will not overcrowd and there will be enough space for them as they mature. the work itself is not very hard as there’s no bending or much crooking (as in the onions), but judging which bunch of fruit to remove is not so easy. the fruits are really multitude often they seem to fight for space and tangle with each other. during leaf plucking job, i feel bad for the fruits i accidentally plucked, but now, i realize they most of them will be removed anyway. we get as much as 50% unripe fruits, no wonder why grapes are expensive.
just when the work is a bit relaxing (we even had time to play around with the grapes, making some grapes bomb and throwing to other lanes), delta said we don’t need to come in today. so last night, i did not prepare my lunch box and i was so tired that i was in bed as early as 9 or 10pm (it was just starting to get dark at that time here). this morning, around half past 6, i was awaked by my phone and i’m very certain i did not turn my alarm on last night. it was a call from sussie (contractor) and says she’s gonna pick us up in 30 minutes for work! whatta! i went to helen’s room and told her about it, but we agreed to have this day off as we’re not in shape nor prepared our food.
so i went back to bed, and continued my disturbed repose, waking up at around 10 in the morning, so making a 12-hour sleep. not bad. threw in 2 circles of hokey pokey cookies in my mouth (they are lovely!) and gulped some choco milk straight from the bottle container in the fridge. there’s not much people in the hostel as everyone is at work. yoko (from japan, ‘worked with her in the onion and vineyard) is already in the kitchen when i passed by, and helen had her breakfast. we watched a dvd (chuck and larry) in the tv room and because i’m too lazy to cook proper meals for lunch, i just had a maggi instant noodles, some toasted bread with garlic butter, and orange-apple juice.
earlier before the dvd, i set my laundry and because i have a couple of white and colored-clothes. i have to do 2 rounds. washing machine here is coin-operated as well as the pc for this internet. $2 for 30 minutes. $2 as well for a round of laundry. $2 too for the dryer but i just hanged them in the clothesline outside the lawn. you see, a lot of people think that this country is so old-fashioned that they even doubt if there’s computer here! but i find that this country’s case of being incredibly ancient so incredibly advanced. coin-operated internet use, laundry, and dryer?! i haven’t seen these around the corners of the very advanced hong kong! i won’t be surprised if they have coin-operated tread mill here.
just after i posted my previous entry last thursday, cindy gave me a phone number of a contractor which might have a job available. i rang it at once, and asked sussie (the contractor) if she has any job for me, to which she answered immediately, “how many are you?”, and so early the next day was my first day at work. sussie picked us up (i work with some backpackers from the hostel), and then transfered me to another contractor, lita. the work is at a vineyard, and it’s simply trimming the excessive leaves of grapes. it’s not yet picking time, but there’s a plethora of tiny green fruits already. these are actually red grapes when matured and will be use by wineries. the work is not really hard, imagine plucking kangkong (swamp cabbage?) for sinigang. that’s more like the job. however, the line of kangkong could reach as long as half a kilometer! my first day was paid on an hourly basis, so there was no pressure to do the job as speedy as i can, but still, i did work very hard for almost 10 hours. we have a 30-minute break for lunch, and since i only knew that i have a job the night before my first day, i did not prepared my lunch box at all. all i have is a can of baked beans! and a pity 600-ml of water, which is totally not enough with the heat of the sun (it’s summer here).
i swear they must have jinxed the vineyard as it never ends. i hate and avoided to look on my right side (i’m working my lane from left to right) as the distance remaining to trim seems not to decrease no matter how fast i pluck, and without a garden gloves, it’s even harder to have a good grip. i work my lane with chris, a young kiwi working for the season. one lane is normally done by 2 persons, 1 on each side. so after a very long day, i made about $115 NZD (before taxes) which is not bad i guess.
the next day is the same work but the contractor suddenly decided to the compensation by contract. 40c per plant. the vineyard is a long lane of plants, about 5 plants per block, and there could be as much as 40 blocks per lane. the sun was less striking which is a bit helpful, but with the new rule on salary, i’m not sure how much i get that day.
today, even sunday, i worked at the vineyard. last night after dinner, helen (of sweden) walked to pack and save to get some garden gloves as we believe it could give us better grip. we transferred to a different vineyard since yesterday afternoon as the first vineyard was done. you couldn’t just imagine how many and expansive the land they have for agriculture here. along the highway, hectares and hectares of farmlands with valleys dotted by sheeps, apple plantation, cherry, blue berries, and infinite lanes of vineyards. with the magic gloves, helen and myself (we teamed up for the lanes) plucked as much as 360 trees, but dividing by 2, we only get $72 each, which is even below nz’s minimum wage of $12.50! all of us got around the same rate save for the bloody fast samoans, who get as much as $200+ in a day!! they are so fast, we tried to watch and copy how they do the trick. it was just so graciously done that when they move their hands in between the stems, leaves seem to follow and obey at their command, falling one after the other! meanwhile, us, we have to go on one by one to remove them! none of us could do the trick, that today, helen complained that if this is the way we get paid, then we can’t get much money. sarah (of manchester) rung the contractor just awhile ago and asked if it’s possible to have hourly rate tomorrow. so we’ll see for that, we do hope they would agree.
and so, that’s it for my first paying-job here in nz. the job itself is not hard, but it becomes heavy when it’s so hot, and when you realize that your lane is simply so long it’s almost impossible to finish. say for example this afternoon after lunch. for about 4.5 hours, helen and i just did a grand total of 1 row!!!
i’m not sure how long i’ll do this, but i’ll probably stay in this town for a while now. the hostel i’m staying (A1 Backpacker) is amazing, the best hostel i’ve been yet. since this will be my base for a couple of weeks, i pay by weekly so it’s cheaper, and done some real grocery and cooking. i cook every dinner, and prepare my lunch box as well, so the food for dinner is the same as my lunch at work the next day. cooked menudo, adobo already, and tonight was pork steak.
plan to sleep early tonight as i very much needed to energy for tomorrow. cheers!
Oceania → Australasia → New Zealand → Hawke’s Bay → Hastings
my dear reader, i escaped the witch. woke up halfpast 7 in the morning, and briefly gulped some milk, brushed my teeth, and donned jeans and jacket not only because it’s cooler in the morning but also because i don’t have more space in my bag for bulky clothings. i walked all the way out from her farm without seeing her as i guess it wouldn’t have mattered. i know she has some alarm in the main gate, so when i was a few yards away, i was she went down to the barn (where my room was), and checked on it. she was probably making sure i did not do any damage in revenge, but to be perfectly honest, i was thinking of cutting wires in her motortrailer, hehe..or leave some ketchups stains on her sheets…but of course, i’m so kind (believe it) i did not do anything except from leaving my bed undone. hehe.
on the road, i try to hitchhike and after about 6 cars passed me by, a man on a pickup stopped, backtracked a bit and let me in. thank god! he was going on the opposite way as i’m heading (hastings), so i just asked him anywhere is good like a bus stop or something, rather than be stranded in this farming section of waipawa. later, i found myself in the bus stop, and after waiting for a while, headed to get something to drink first as i was so tired of walking (before i got the ride) as my bags are really heavy. back at the bus stop, an old lady came, “we’re not both on the run are we?” she said, “no, i’m not, are you?” i answered. she’s actually with her daughter as she’s going to work (just had to get some money on the atm at the other side of the road). i asked her if there’s any bus going to hastings in that bus stop, and she said she’s not sure at that bus stop is only for buses going on the opposite way (going south, hasting is towards north). also, i’m not certain if i can get on the bus as i don’t have any booked ticket. on my previous bus trips, i buy ticket the day before i leave.
a few more minutes passed by, and still no bus. i actually thought of walking my way if i can’t get any bus, but realize that waipawa and hastings is separated by some 42 kms, and that distance is most definitely not convenient with heavy load! suddently, there was this another lady who walked to her car and after seeing us in the bus stop, asked if anyone probably needed a ride where she’s heading to. amazingly, she’s going to hastings, exactly the town where i needed to be! so that was really a saving grace! she’s still outside her car, and about to get in, so i walked on the right side of the car because that’s the passenger side of cars i’m used to (it’s left-hand drive in the philippines), she said “oh, you want to drive?”. “oops, sorry, no.”, i replied. the angel’s name is nicola, and they moved to waipawa from hastings about 4 years now. inside at the back of the car, are her two very cute kids, a 7 and 4. they are very well-behaved for the entire trip. they are just visiting some friends in hastings, and go to some beach. when we were at a gas station, i went out with her, and operated the gas nozzle to fill her tank (self-service here just like in st paul-minneapolis), and offered a $20 note share for the petrol, to which she politely declined and said, “no, that’s what were her for.” and so, the 2 hitches today were the first hitchhikes i’ve ever done!
back in central hastings, i tried to find any hostels, and after walking around, all has no vacancy. i went to the information center, and asked if i can leave my bags first so i can go on searching without a heavy back, and she told me she could make some calls to hostels and find if there’s any vacancy. a few minutes later, she found one, it’s A1 Backpacker Hostel and that’s where i am right now. the owner, cindy picked me up from the town center, and i told her my not so good experience in waipawa. she was so sorry for it, and told me that we probably have to do something because that bitch could do it to others (no, she didn’t call her bitch). i paid for a week stay here because it’s cheaper and cindy makes some call to see if she can find me any farm work around. it won’t be apple picking season until february, so i’m not sure what work she can find me.
then i went back to the center (riding with cindy again as she has some errands) to check if my IRD mail has arrived. i used the address of another hostel (Rotten Apple) when i was in hastings last december, so went there and it’s still not there. ‘will probably call IRD, and just ask for the IRD number. then, went to grocery for some food to cook, rice, and oranges…and met cindy again for a ride back to the hostel. then cooked something to eat as i haven’t had any solid food for today.
’til next time!
Oceania → Australasia → New Zealand → Hawke’s Bay → Waipawa
jan 05, 2009
your intrepid traveller is now an official farmer. i decided to do the volunteer, WWOOF thing, as i get the experience to work in the farm without using an IRD. meals and accommodation are provided. well, i’m not really sure if i should be bothered by that IRD issue at all as i’m thinking of heading to the next farm in hastings after this volunteer. i got here today in taurimu farms in waipawa, central hawkes bay. wireless internet access is not possible as i’m in the middle of a farm..and mobile signal is even limited, i’m only having one bar and that is when i’m outdoor, or when i leave the mobile on the window sill. so, i’m actually just typing this entry in a textpad, and would probably be posting it once i get back to civilization.
the trip from wellington to waipawa took a bit more than 4 hours with stopover in palmerston north (the same as when i went to hastings). after getting off the bus in waipawa, i headed quick to new world (famous grocery here) to get some things like laundry powder, and some food. the farm i’ll be working is a bit off the closest town, and margaret, the owner of the farm, runs to the town only once a week.
right now, i’m actually staying in a quarter in a barn. well, i don’t really sleep with horses and chickens but my room has enough hay on the floor to make me realize i’m indeed in a farm. today’s work at around 4ish in the afternoon was feeding the animals, and it’s amazingly tiring! imagine preparing food for gazzilions of chickens, several pigs, horses, and cattles. it is not a fun thing to do as you’ve probably imagine or as i originally thought. we moved some chickens as well, collected and boxed some eggs for delivery. there were about 6 bucketfuls of mixtures to be dispensed to various animals that we used a motorized trailer (margaret drives, i hop on the trailer) to get up and down the hilly farm.
and these gluttony-stricken animals have to be fed twice a day!! i came here after lunch so only had to endure the task once today..but tomorrow we’ll have the first round early like 8ish in the morning, and again at 4.30 in the afternoon.
by the way, something weird really happened just moments ago. my mouse suddenly stopped working since yesterday, and a bit bored, i thought of playing dota. however, with laptop’s mouse pad, that would be almost impossible to enjoy the game, let alone finish the game. i tried plugging in my mouse, and unsurprised, it’s still not working. i just had a silent wish that it would work, bang it lightly on the floor, and plugged it again, then, flickering red lights started to flash (well, it’s an optical mouse), it is working once again!! haha. thanks.
jan 06, 2009
only my second day at the farm, yet i fully realize how hard the task is. to add that margaret is a very irritable, old granny, i almost wanted to quit. the thing is, the bitch goes to town only once a week, and i’m not sure if i can walk my way down to town, or probably get a hitch. i don’t know for now, probably i’ll quit after making use of her washing machine hehe. she reminds me of my auntie, hehe, really really wicked!!
this morning was feeding and giving fresh water to the chickens. only the chicken around the barn though, so that really helped a lot as the feeding during the afternoon from yesterday was really massive! mucking out horses dung is something i really don’t enjoy much, and horses are the most inefficient animal i know. they just produce waste too much! then, onto backyard to do some weeding and clearing out. in the afternoon, it’s sweeping the very untidy barn, and feeding all the animals again. when we were up the hill for the pigs and horses, lawrence forgot to unplug the electric fence, and come mighty margaret’s arms touched the fence when she threw the food to the horses, she exclaimed, “oh jesus!!”. from her reaction, i could see it must be a strong jolt. i’m truly happy for her. it took more effort than clearing the weeds to hide my utmost bliss.
jan 07, 2009
third day at the farm started with watering the plant at half past 8 in the morning. as usual, i had another argument with margaret, as she asked me to water a seedling and she simply pointed at somewhere near the bushes. i went there to find it, and she was saying, “can you see it?”, i said, “no”, and she asked me again if i can see it. i did not answer immediately as i was still trying to find it. then she comes, and shove off the dry tall grass in front of the seedling! it was so small and hidden that i’m pretty sure with the very sharp vision that i have, everyone (except from the bitch!) will not see it!! “there it is!”, she said, i told her “nobody could find that plant, it’s hidden!”. she answered “i was asking you if you see it, and you won’t answer!”. her tone was really demanding, and i said, “well i was trying to find it first that’s why!”. she said, “i don’t want to be answered that way!”.
you can’t simply win an argument with her. it took a bloody vigorous amount of patience not to answer her back as first, i live in her place, in her big farm surrounded by electric wire fences. second, nobody knows exactly where i am and if anything happens i may need assistance, and third, she cooks our meals everday. that final reason would be enough.
done some weeding again, cleaned another room full of hay. prepared food for the chickens, pigs, and horses, and did my laundry. today was the first time i did my laundry since leaving home (18th of dec), and now i realize how important it is to be more economic, and sparingly use clothes. honestly, i used the same and only jeans! haha. i left my gigantic luggage, and a backpack at tita ning’s place, the filipino family i stayed with during the first 2 nights in wellington, and travel a bit lightly with a backpack and a big shoulder bag.
at dinner i told her i’m leaving the next day, and she said she won’t be going to town as tomorrow would be a very busy day for her and asked how am i going to town (as if she cares enough! the biatch!). i said that i’m going to find my way. there’s lot lot of other things we’ve had arguments but i don’t want to waste my time and this blog’s space about it. but please remember the name, MARGARET FULLERTON-SMITH of Taurimu Farms. should you find yourself backpacking near hawkes bay, don’t ever try to work for her! it’s not a farmstay, it’s more of a witch’s lair!
P.S.
as you can see, what i do during my pasttime.
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!!!
pakshet sabi na nga ba yan ung ninong kong koreano e…HARHAR
