The Portrait of a Lad(y)

Breaking news: we *probably* have a place to live! Neither of us are getting our hopes up until our bums are firmly planted inside the flat, clutching the bit of paper that says that we're allowed to plant our bums inside the flat, but all things considered, this can only be good news.

The potential property is in the centre of town and a couple of minutes' walk from C's campus. It has four burners, a bathtub, is fully furnished and has plenty of space. There is one other flatmate- a Thai chef who is out at work from early 'till late, and a balcony overlooking the city. We are to meet up tomorrow evening with "Jimmi", who we will be renting from, and sort out some paperwork. Fingers crossed, toes crossed, arms crossed, legs crossed... If everything looks legit, we should have somewhere by Tuesday!

We're both becoming a bit madder with each day spent in the hostel. Last night C was rudely awoken by shouting drunk man next door (G slept soundly through- silicone earplugs are a miracle), and we're both very eager to leave the less pleasant aspects of hostel living- corridors smelling of BO, people smelling of BO, in fact, just mostly a lot of things to do with BO and annoying shouty people at 3am.

C started uni on Thursday. She attended two lectures on environmental policy and governance, and research methodology. She was given assignments and papers to read, and spent most of the day familiarising herself with the literature. G went to ballet and applied for some more jobs. The following day, G had an interview with an agency, and spent an hour being grilled on her past, present and future occupations. She decided to walk back over the Auckland Domain, a huge park featuring a hill with some oak trees scattered about. It was a beautiful sunny day, which took away some of the stress of flat/job-hunting.

As C was immersed in her papers, G went to view another flat to keep our options open. This was above Whitcoulls, so couldn't be any more central. It was nice enough, but the viewers were told they may have to vacate at any time as the owners were trying to sell the flat. No thanks! G got some lunch in town (hummus, avocado, salad, mango chutney and cashew nut sandwich and a CRONUT just because).

Later on in the day, we went to the first gathering of Generation Zero, a collective of young people dedicated to campaigning for a zero-carbon New Zealand. We spent the first part of the evening pasting posters to whatever we could find (excluding the more obvious no-nos, still not sure if what we were doing was strictly legal). The posters featured a large portrait of Kim Dotcom's face (C-"who??" G-"the guy from Megavideo, etc") with someone asking him "Why are you so sweaty?" in reference to global warming. We're not really sure why they chose this particular individual for their poster campaign, but we think that Kim Dotcom must be a popular cultural icon in NZ as everyone seemed very enthusiastic about him.

All postered out, we headed to "Bungalow8", a bar that does free food platters for groups of 5 or more. Giving the deep fat fried meat options a miss, this sadly translated to bland nacho chips with salsa for the two of us. The ale was nothing special- our quest to find decent ale is so far unfulfilled. This aside, we had a truly enjoyable evening getting to know the other Generation Zero-ers. C made another Jewish friend and G had a fascinating chat with a PhD student about his research analysing brain signals in neonates. On the way back we picked up some tasty vegan wraps from the Kati Grill on K-Road, and enthused about things to come.

The Night Before Coursemas

(... continued from the last post ...)

Amidst all the rain, C received an email from the really nice flat we applied for that our application had been declined, and we couldn't find out why. This had been expected, so we shrugged, told Nat, and hurried to the university shop to buy an umbrella. We've decided to try again for flatmates, in parallel with finding a 2-bed with Nat. The law of large numbers and all that.

We headed through Albert Park (very pretty, with lots of big, old trees), and onto Queen Street, where we split: G to go to ballet, and C to carry onto Ponsonby for another house viewing. For most of the way to Ponsonby, it rained heavily, then all of a sudden, it was brilliant sunshine, and the brolly dried off almost instantly. It was about 1km up a fairly steep hill, and then down an un-sign-posted street (Google Maps, thank you), and C was ten whole minutes *early*.

... long pause to let that sink in ...

The house was lovely: very minimalist, with big open spaces, and the bedroom would be unfurnished, save for a wooden rack type thing that would only really be suitable for hanging clothes. Of course, the huge suitcase stuffed with hangers got lost en route, so it would be quite impractical. Having said that, we are getting desperate, and the house was nice, and well located, so we expressed an interest. There is also a vegan cafe on the same road the house is on, so C popped in to get some cake.

We met back in the hostel, and tried the cake. Truly, it was vile. A quick google later revealed it's a raw vegan cafe. Still, at least there might be a job there for G: teaching people how to bake properly... C got engrossed in finishing "Requiem for a Dream" (the book), and G job hunted. We arranged two viewings for the evening, which were conveniently in opposite directions. The first was *completely* unfurnished, so we turned around and walked out. The second was right downtown, we'd be sharing with a chef who is out from 11:00 - 00:00, and we had a good long chat with the person we'd be sub-letting from. He was a really nice guy, and very helpful and chatty, and we didn't feel like we'd be murdered in our sleep, so we put in an offer.

Then, finally, to retire to the hostel for some well-earned food (C walked 9 miles!) and the first half of "Almost Famous", and to sleep for the first day of uni tomorrow... only to be awoken at half two in the morning by a really loud, drunk couple... thank goodness for G's earplugs.

Neverwhere

Dear loyal readers, we apologise most profusely for our lack of posts as of late - our actions have been somewhat tedious, and the mere act of committing them to pixels was an unbearable thought.

So, yes, we are still in the hostel, with no end in sight, no magical wand to whisk us into a place of our own. On Monday we went to a flat viewing, but there were so many people vying for the place (it was quite nice), we thought that we didn't stand too much of a chance. After the viewing, we went to Raviz, a curry house. The papodoms arrived with no chutney, the onion bhajis and pakoras were virtually identical, and completely tasteless. Then, C's vegetable jalfrezi arrived, and turned out to be sauce-covered paneer, with extra cheese grated on top. To add insult to injury, they were out of large bottles of Cobra (so we had two small ones instead!)

On Tuesday we took a walk to Parnell, where we went to a really, really lovely house with a potential flatmate who works for Amnesty International. We are still waiting to hear back from them, but have hopes that they may want us yet. We also went to an evening flat viewing of a place that was very dark and dingy, with about 30 people viewing. We turned around, and decided to try to get the stairs out of the building. We wound our way to the very bottom, to be faced with a fairly impenetrable fire exit. We turned around, and found a lift on the third floor to take us down, but were unable to activate the lift without a swipe card. Several minutes of hitting the "open door" button to no avail later, and someone on the ground floor finally called the lift to rescue us.

Yesterday we went to the university in the morning to sign up for some of the clubs and societies. We had a good long chat with one of the admins for "Generation Zero", a national group of young Kiwis who lobby the government for environmental legislation. Then, free vegan semolina pudding (delicious!) at the "Sustainability Network" stand. Free pens from the Green party (can you see the theme here?), and then free tampons from the feminist society. Two book club memberships later, and the skies opened down.

The weather here seems to be fairly unpredictable. You wake up, and it's nice and sunny outside, but then suddenly it rains, and it's freezing. Just when you're all bundled up in your scarf, it's suddenly beautifully sunny again, and the sun looks at you as if to say "Me? Nah, man, I've been here the whole time." 

To the Nice-House

As a couple of avid readers, our e-book readers form an integral part of our travelling lives. So, when C's Kobo packed in - frozen eternally on a page (thankfully not too raunchy) of Royal Flash by George MacDonald Fraser - and would not respond to charging, touch or prayer, there was no alternative but to return the 7-day-old neonate. Fortunately, with excellent customer service from Whitcoulls' and 45 minutes later, C had a brand-new, hot-pink Kobo, and was eager to make up for lost reading time.

Priorities must be satisfied, and we made a beeline for the nearest cafe with Wi-Fi, which happened to be the Strand cafe in an arcade just off Queen Street. Here G enjoyed some delicious eggs Florentine with mushrooms, and C a corn dog with avocado and assorted salad and a side-order of a newly set-up e-reader. After running out of internet allowance (how time flies..) we headed back to the hostel, where C read and G applied for some jobs in the city. 

Becoming hungry (again- Auckland does wonders for the appetite), we went in search of an Indian restaurant to satiate C's curry craving. K-Road is full of south Indian and veggie curry houses, but they had all decided to be closed on a Sunday. As if people need days off?! Pah! Thankfully, our favourite (and only) Lebanese cafe was open, and we ordered our usual falafel wraps. After around 20 minutes, we became suspicious as we had seen other customers being served, (and eating what looked suspiciously like falafel wraps), but were yet to receive our orders, so G went to enquire under the guise of ordering some water. The kindly yet absent-minded owner smiled and nodded, and we assumed all to be well. 

Ten minutes later and our wraps arrived. We decided not to mention the lack of hummus (an integral component of the falafel wrap, I'm sure you'd agree) and started munching away. The falafel was freshly prepared and crisp, and rather enjoyable. Ten minutes later, the owner came out with a bowl of hot hummus (which tasted of not much other than hot chickpea) and a plate of pita, apologising for the omission. Our annoyance about the wait turned into feeling a bit sorry for the man, as his memory was clearly not the best, and he didn't seem to have anyone else helping him. 

Tummies filled for the time being, we headed to Rainbow Youth for their weekly I.D. meeting. There we played some team-building games and met some new folk, and chatted with folk we'd met the previous week. A few of us (including Linda, who wanted a mention here!) decided to go and watch a film at Ting-Ting's house. We decided on "Milk", and took our first kiwi bus-ride to T's house in Parnell. 

We both feel at this point the need to emphasise how wonderful T's house is. It's a huge, sprawling 21-bedroomed, vegetarian house, with enormous kitchen and dining area (six gas cookers,we noted), one ballroom-sized living room including table tennis table and three pianos (which G promptly tried out), and another cinema-esque TV room. The garden was beautiful, and had an area devoted to home-grown vegetables. Sadly, there were no rooms available (yes, we asked). We watched one-third of "Milk", and participated in cider, beers and discussion. Then, at our 10 o'clock curfew, headed back to the hostel to get some rest before resuming flat-hunting on Monday. 

Vanity Bear

In the midst of all the flat hunting, the bears were having adventures of their own. After one night in the new hostel, G and C headed their separate ways: G to ballet, and C to view yet another house. The bears decided the time was ripe to put to test their latest invention: Bear-a-chuting.

With Fandango safely taken care of (she was in the suitcase as Jeremy had been on the lash the past few nights), and G and C absent, Jeremy led the other bears to the edge of the table (we can happily assume this was J's idea - Fred and Ginger are getting on a bit, and their adventurous days are far behind them). For days now they had been stealing bits of clothing and piecing them together to construct the 'chutes. They neatly concealed them in Fred's bum (he's a puppet), and put the keyboard on their laps to fool us into thinking they were studying.

What we thought the bears were doing

Jeremy was eager for the other bears to go first. (May we add that this is all known after coming back to the hostel to find a huge mess of clothes that neither of us could possibly have created. Jeremy still denies it, but Fred and Ginger broke after the first round of questioning.) Coercing Ginger into a 'chute made from a pair of old leggings, Jeremy pushed him to the edge and urged him to jump. As Ginger hesitated, J got bored, and pushed Ginger squealing down to the ground. Luckily Ginger landed safely at the bottom, although a bit dazed.

J looked at Fred, and Fred resigned himself to what was to happen. He was much more dignified, and jumped off the edge of the table, tartan 'chute in tow. Fred and Ginger started to help each other climb back up the table, but Jeremy yelled at them to stay there and take a picture of him. Even the prospect of jumping from such a great height could not dampen Jeremy's vanity.

Jeremy at the start of his jump

He hurtled through the air, as ungracefully as ever, Fred and Ginger dutifully snapping photos as he fell. As he landed, the bears heard the girls returning and hurriedly scrambled back up to the table top, doing their best to feign innocence.

Ginger trying to take a photo of Jeremy

Luckily for the bears, G and C were too distracted at the time to notice: G ranting about having been accosted by a militant vegan woman, and C freaked out by the fake lobster balls the girls had prepared for lunch (again from the Chinese supermarket). The bears breathed a collective sigh of relief, unknowing that they would soon be found out!

Flatspotting

On Friday morning, we had to vacate our room at K-Road City Travellers by 11am, which also happened to be the time that C's university orientation began. We miraculously managed to pack up all of our belongings, which seemed to have increased in number since arriving one week ago. After this no small feat, we legged it down the road to the next hostel (BK Hostel) with our bags in tow. C had to go to uni by this time, so G took care of checking in and out.

G had a leisurely morning, reading in Western Park until it was time for the first viewing of the day at 12:30. This apartment on Ophir Street was quite spacious and pleasant, however there was the same old issue with the beds, and the balcony overlooked a motorway. The estate agent was a lovely, grand-motherly figure, who wished G “Doll” well in her mission of finding a place to live after G declined the apartment.

In the meantime, C was down the hill at her university orientation. The lecture theatre was cosy, and there were at most 50 people in the room. The heads of department spoke briefly, and then the entire faculty staff (it seemed) were introduced: the technical aides, the financial advisers, the career advisers, and even the kitchen sink was rolled out to be introduced. The affair was lovely, and it was really nice to see that everyone felt at home there, and kept insisting that we ask questions any time. Afterwards, we went upstairs for pizza (or in C's case, orange juice), and C had a chance to meet some of her fellow students. Everything was over within an hour and a half, but it was a very good briefing for what to look forward to over the next couple of years.

Outside the uni, C received a call from G, and they rendez-vous'ed in an Alice-in-Wonderland-themed cafe for an avocado sandwich, with freshly-picked basil from the garden, and soft, luscious chips with sweet tomato ketchup. We raced down the road, dropped off our bags at the hostel, and carried on racing to the next viewing at the marine end of Queen Street. The flat was a mess, it looked like C's room as a teenager, and had a strong aroma of mouldy rubbish or gone-off milk. Having said that, the ceilings were incredibly high, which gave the rather small space an aura of grandeur. It would just-about manage to fit four people, so we will go back next week to view the place when it's not such a tip.

The next viewing was in the same area, but not for a few hours, so we hung around the docks and watched the sea and read our Kobo's for a bit, and then went to the final viewing of the day. G and C walked in, looked each other, and went “YES”. Homely, spacious, 4 burners, fan, 2 double bedrooms, gorgeous decoration, and basically everything on our check-list had a big mark in the box. We expressed interest to the estate agent, and she said she'll email our application forms on Monday.

We met N at the bus station (he had been unable to make the viewings for the day) and gave him a round-up of what had happened, and showed pictures of the spotted flat. He seemed keen, and so we went home buzzing. On the way home, we were given apples by the Krishna-consciousness dance that was happening on Queen Street. G grabbed a subway, C a falafal wrap, and we headed back to the hostel, to fall into bed and sleep.

The Nat in the Flat

Day one of flat-hunting with our new flatmate Nat commenced with a viewing in some student accommodation. The flat itself was lovely, spacious and airy, with a lot of natural light. However, the bedrooms were only singles, without much privacy, so we decided not to apply, although it was nice to know that there were flats out there that weren't as heinous as the ones in Zest. En route home, G grabbed a take-away mushroom and walnut burger, and we both grabbed a smoothie.

Later that day, we had a 1630 viewing at a house in Grafton, so we filled the time until then arranging more viewings! The house was a 20 minute walk away from the hostel, past a Jewish cemetery, over a motorway, to a part of town we'd never visited before. The house was quite old, and had a very wooden demeanour. For a house, it only had two cookers, and there were cobwebs and dust everywhere. There was very little natural light, and the beds were singles in massive rooms. The sofas were ripped and faded, and N declared that we could get a lot better for the same money. However, we were almost convinced to apply for the place as the agent was named “Fab Wang”.

Together we walked to the next viewing, but arrived there with half an hour to spare, so we went to “Columbus Coffee” which was just closing up, but G got an ice coffee with cream, and C got an ice coffee. We hung around on the steps outside a local church, drinking our coffees and chatting. Eventually it was twenty-five past, so we headed down this incredibly steep hill to the next flat.

The flat had a lot of natural light, and a balcony, it was by far the most pleasant place we'd seen so far, but again the rooms were only singles, and there were only two cookers. We mentioned this to the agent, and she told us about a flat which met our criteria and told us to come for a viewing the following day.

N invited us to a gathering of the mini queers at “The Eagle” on K-Road. We went down, and passed a very pleasant evening with some local Kiwi students. The guy sat on C's left was an hilarious barista who spent a good while explaining where all the good coffee beans could be found in the city. That coffee grinder we brought over needs putting to good use! The guy on G's right was an accounting student, and we had some good chats about the university of Auckland's support network.

We passed a very delightful evening, and left on a high after having persuaded the room of students that pandas are a conservationist's nightmare (sorry Ling-Ling!), and that millions of pounds would be better spent on saving species which are vital to the global ecology / food production systems, such as bees. We grabbed dinner at the Chinese food court, C had a very intense discussion with the nine-year-old behind the till about the best dinner to have (eventually deciding on a dish we can't pronounce), and G opted for veggie satay.