11. Camping + broken friendships

I can quite honestly say that camping is not for me. For the record, backpacking does not float my boat either. My sister works for a huge, international hotel chain so we have all stayed in some absolutely stunning hotels all around the world.

I love hotels. I love the fact that I have a nice bed, clean sheets, hot water and room service. When you are camping, I dislike the fact that hot water can be intermittent and I get a bit sick of cooking on a BBQ. I also HATE not having a washing machine!

I have had two memorable camping experiences; one good and one bad.

The first was when my friends and I went camping on a private property out in Muriwai at the end of High School. There were over 18 of us and we had an absolutely brilliant time. We had a very private camping site, a beautiful waterfall and had an amazing time and great New Year’s party. Even though I am no longer friends with most of these people, thinking back about this holiday makes me smile. It was also our transition from High School to University.

The second experience of camping I remember is because it was horrible at the end, and the fall out was emotionally draining. We went camping with a friend’s daughter and her family the same year of the Boxing Day Tsunami.

We were very excited about it and probably the one big mistake we made (in hindsight) was being on the same camping site. If we had been on the next site over things probably would have been fine.

In retrospect I probably felt a bit uncomfortable about my weight; nothing new there. Also, when I go on holiday I love nothing better than curling up with a book; which I expect can be seen as unsociable. Do not get me wrong, I did interact with everyone, but sometimes I just like time on my own. Also, we were camping with a lot of children and as we do not have children often it was hard for Mark and me to relate to some things.

It was when another friend of the people that we were camping with turned up; things turned a bit nasty and this new woman and I got a bit bitchy with each other. Even now I cannot stand her. Admittedly perhaps I was being a bitch and unsociable, but in all situations both sides need to take responsibility for their actions. In the end it was really “three’s a crowd”.

After having to hold our tent up and sleeping under the tarpaulin when the worst of the weather hit us and a huge “grrrr” moment with this girl we decided to leave early.

I did not really think a lot of it until a few weeks later when I was talking to my friend (whose daughter we went away with) and that is when things really got nasty. We were talking and I was explaining that I was a little bewildered about how things ended up. To which she replied “it was because I was hard to be around when we were camping and that her daughter did not know what was wrong with me”. What the hell?? I said “nothing was wrong with me and that it was not until XX turned up that things got a bit weird”. Then we got into a huge conversation about how I had been odd and that this friend had only been sticking up for her daughter (or something like that). Anyway I said “well I do not like XX anyway” and then it just got nasty. I then got told that “XX was a lovely person and a close friend of the family”.

Mark and I went from seeing my friend just about every day to not seeing them for over 2 years. It wasn’t until her eldest daughter actually text me out of the blue that I re-formed a relationship with members of this family. I have an amazing relationship with the daughter of my “old” friend and consider her one of my closest and most loved friends.

Looking back I realise that if the roles had been reversed, any one of my friends would have stuck up for me if they felt a person was being rude or unreasonable. However, I think that they would have addressed it at the time, rather than after the fact. The irony is that the person that we went camping holds no ill feelings years later. I still do not like or trust her friend, but then she is not my friend so does it matter?? Also, it is probably time to let it go and give camping one last try!

9. Australian Accents and 10. Kiwi Accents

I have never really thought too much about Australian and Kiwi accents to be honest; mostly because I do not think that they are as obvious as American or English accents. Mind you I expect to other people that do not live in Australasia then they probably are. I can think of 3 distinct instances where I have thought about it.

When I went to America in 2000 speaking with a Kiwi accent was better than a pick up line. I remember being in a bar and this guy was absolutely intrigued by my accent. He kept asking me to talk, it was my first real experience where I realised that yes “we Kiwi’s do have accents”. It was a great conversation opener; you did not even need to say anything interesting or witty!

The next two instances were just recently.

1. When flying from Brisbane to Sydney I was next to an Australian couple. It was quite interesting listening to them and thinking about who their accents differed from Kiwi’s. One thing that I have realised is that all Australian’s call women named Sharon, Shazza. I have absolutely no idea why, but I find it quite cliché. I always expect the sound of “cracking chewing gum” to precede the use of the name Shazza. Also, Australian women seem to over use the word “darl” which really ends up getting on my nerves.

2. I was saying Fish and Chips in the car on the way to work this morning after listening to Peter Heller on The Edge radio station. Unfortunately, I think it may actually come out as Fush and Chups with a New Zealand accent...go figure!

8. Road Rage

There are so many things that I could talk about in relation to road rage, however I think it is best for me to pick the two that really drive me absolutely nuts!

The first one is people not using their rear vision mirrors. Why do we have rear vision mirrors in our cars if we do not intend to use them!? The most common mis-use of a rear vision mirror is when a person driving is turning left into a side street, and there is a person coming the opposite way wanting to turn into the same side street but they are turning right. The person turning left fails to check their mirror to see if there are cars behind them going straight through, and blocks traffic because they think that should be giving way. I want to scream in frustration at them to check their rear vision mirrors so they know that they can turn left because ROAD IS NOT CLEAR BEHIND THEM.

The second thing is are drivers cutting into a busy stream of traffic forcing those behind them to break suddenly and almost causing an accident. My favourite is people coming up Hobson Street to go onto the motorway. Two lanes going to South Auckland and two lanes going west. The centre lane going west always has drivers who decide to jump into the southbound motorway lane at the intersection to the motorways. What the hell??

When it comes to road rage, just remember to breathe and take it easy!

7. Unicorns

I was really struggling about what to write about Unicorns (so this is not a huge blog), until I had a bit of a look on the internet over the weekend.

To be fair, I have not given a lot of thought to Unicorns over the years. I see them as a mythical, magical creature and a product of limitless imagination. They have found their way into our hearts by way of books and stories handed down from generation to generation. These stories have slowly helped to weave the magical vision of unicorns around us and into our lives. Also, movies, and books of the fantasy or science fiction genre certainly help keep the unicorn in our minds.

Interestingly enough biblical unicorns found mention in the bible. Did not make it onto the Ark?

Perhaps Unicorns once existed as a flesh and blood animal, before becoming extinct and over time their existence has simply become woven into our lives as a mythical being.

Luckily, in today’s world, there are echoes of unicorns in the rhino, narwhal, Oryx and Eland.

6. Ponies

The last time I rode a horse was in Waipu at least 8 years ago and I will not be doing it anytime soon.

I felt so sad for this poor horse having to carry me up the darn hill and it was really muddy. I kept saying “sorry” to the horse the entire trip. The woman I was with (who owns horses) laughed at me through most of the trip, especially when I said “oh my god the horse is panting”.

Did I want a horse as a child; probably. My parents had a 10acre section in Karekare and I went on my first horse aged about 3 years old. I think that if they had chosen to keep the section and build there, then I would have had a horse, and the annual Karekare beach races would have been part of my life.

We live in Te Atatu Peninsula and every morning and evening we go past a huge block of land with quite a number of horses/ponies grazing there. I always get a bit worried that they don’t have any shelter from the elements, as there are not really many trees. So they are really exposed to the sun and the rain. Most of them have covers which is great if it is cold, but probably stifling if the weather is warm.

One of the greatest things is that they give away free manure for gardens. I cannot wait to start out vegetable garden with a good helping of Peninsula Poo.

5. Old friends

I seem to have quite a few close friends that I have met over the years. However, I am only in touch with two friends that I went to school with, and the rest are from old jobs, people I have met through mutual interests and also the internet.

I am constantly amazed how I can live in Auckland and not really bump into many people I know. A few years ago I came across an old school/university friend that I had wondered about for ages. We met for coffee and talked about all the people that she had kept in touch with. What scared me the most was that she was friends with everyone that I had lost touch with; she also knew everything about their lives. I found it a little disconcerting. When I emailed to say thanks for coffee and say we must do it again, I was a little surprised to get not response back. I am no longer worried, I am glad to have seen her and glad that she is happy.

I then bumped into another person from the same group of friends at U2; I found it quite uncomfortable as in the end I did not really have anything in common with her. I was also glad that I lost touch with her, because I considered her to be a bit of a bitch.

I was “dumped” by a friend who I was really close to. It just ended as she found a different set of friends to hang out with and also she became interested in religion. I think that the main reason that it ended was because I was a bit overpowering, and also I was obsessed with a guy I worked with, and he liked her. All very difficult and messy...hopefully I learnt not to be so overpowering with friends after that experience.

Recently I posted a status update on Facebook about whether some friendships just end naturally with no apparent reason. I found the responses from my friends quite interesting. The consensus from most people is that friendships do end sometimes and it is often the result of lives taking different paths and priorities changing. Another comment was that people come into your life to teach you things.

Yes I have lost friends over the years, and also been “dumped” by others. After taking it personally, I have learnt that it is just part of life.

I love the group of old friends that I have and know that I will be friends with them forever. I also love the new friends that I have met this year as a result of Twitter and other interests.

4. Postcards

When it comes to postcards when travelling I always have the best of intentions. I but the postcards very early on my holiday, and then never end up posting them in time; this means that I normally arrive home before the postcard.

Now for me Twitter, Facebook, email and texting probably help me stay in touch with my husband and family while I am away. Aside from texting, the other options provide an awesome way to send photos to people. Living in the ‘digital photography’ age means that people can take a photo, and then upload it instantaneously for people at home to view.

So, sorry postcards it will be electronic for me now on in. It also means that I do not have to negotiate the post office to get stamps.

3. Duty Free (best and worst)

Love Duty Free shopping. It feels like I am getting such a bargain, when in reality I am probably not. I really enjoy smelling all the different perfumes and looking at the gadgets. I have not brought perfume duty free for years because I was a Le Reve consultant and had all the perfume I could ever ask for.

For the past few years my alcohol allowance (and often my boss’s when we travel for work) has been allocated to my good friends. I end up coming back with between 3-6 bottles of dark rum for them. We are not really spirit drinkers, so it is not really a big deal.

I have just discovered that there is a Walker & Hall at Auckland airport which is fantastic, as I am addicted to my Pandora bracelet.

One thing over the past 8-12 months that has really irritated me has been the forcing out of Regency Duty Free by DFS. It was so underhanded and in my opinion just wrong. I think that competition keeps companies honest, and competition is not always a bad thing. After all the fighting and arguments for and against, I know see that they have brought in another duty free shop called JR to Auckland airport. Which leads me to think perhaps they did not want “just one” duty free shop, but wanted Regency out; might have to do a bit of research on that.

2. The little packets of nuts

I wrote this halfway between rainy Auckland and the super sunny Gold Coast, listening to ‘Ego’ by Beyonce. I did actually write it on a sick bag (not used) because I had nothing else to write on.

There is not much that I can say about those small bags of nuts that you get when you fly. Honestly, I think it is more of a domestic travel thing however; I can talk about in-flight food.

Normally when I travel I tend to select the vegetarian option as I do not eat red meat or pork. This usually saves me from some near-miss food disasters and it also means that I get my food first; getting my food first means that I can sleep and relax.

I think that Emirates offer the best in in-flight food and entertainment. You get a cute little menu, although I often wish that I had not taken the vegetarian option when I look at Mark’s menu. Also, on their website they have the LARGEST choice of different meals for people who have allergies, or do not eat specific foods.

The only truly hideous meal I have had was flying from Chicago to LA when I got a vegan meal instead of vegetarian – YUCK!

Weight-loss guru Susan Powter slams in-flight food, and suggests that people take their own meals when they fly. Before flying this time I ate before I got on the plane, and slept through breakfast. It is also impossible now to bring your own food options when you fly unless it is pre-packaged.

My suggestions for in-flight food if you do not enjoy it is to either eat before you go and check which food you can take on the flight with you, or choose an airline like Emirates that will offer you better choices.

1. Air Travel

It is the night before I am due to travel to Australia to meet my gorgeous new nephew in the Gold Coast. I said to @josiecampbell that I would write a few blogs while I was away and this is the first blog in a list of 13 that she gave me as suggestions.

I do not really enjoy too many forms of public transport and have really whittled them down to cars and trains/planes if I absolutely have to. This may seem cliché but prior to 9/11 I loved flying, there was something amazing about being able to go from one country to another with a great deal of ease. I really wish that I was like a bird and could fly without having a metal shell around me.

Unfortunately, the events of 9/11 will permanently be etched in my brain. I will never, ever forget the people who died in those planes or who jumped from the buildings because it was preferable to being burnt alive. On the flipside, I also understand that 1000’s of innocent people have lost their lives as a result of war and/or terrorism, and I hate it. It makes me feel heartbroken that we cannot live in a world where all people can co-exist peacefully despite their differences of race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, size etc. But that’s probably another blog altogether.

I now always get nervous before I fly. I feel physically sick, and just can’t wait until I am on the ground again. All I can think about is what happens if we crash, or the plane breaks up in the air (thanks ‘Lost’)? What would I do? Would I panic? Resign myself to my fate? Who knows how one would react until they are put in that situation. In saying that once I am up in the air I do not feel as bad, perhaps it is because once you are in the air you cannot get out until the plane lands.

The other reason I dislike flying is because of my weight. I am conscious of whether the seatbelt will fit, and whether I will be stuck in the middle section with no easy way out. Will I have a free seat next to me, so I can put the arm rest up for comfort? Will I knock the person next to me? Let’s not even get started on the toilets.

To me there is really only one thing that I can fix and that is to lose weight, to make travelling more comfortable. Maybe this will help lessen my fear of flying as well??