I don't deserve the life I have.
I didn't deserve to be born into an American, white, middle class, loving family.
I didn't deserve to be given the brother I have.
I didn't deserve to be given a piano by my grandfather.
I didn't deserve to be given the athletic and intellectual abilities that I have.
I didn't deserve to be given the game of rugby, and every single soul that wonderful game has put me in touch with.
I didn't deserve to be given the chance to travel the world.
I didn't deserve to be given the lifelong friends I've met.
I didn't deserve to have any of this.
I've been GIVEN an incredible life.
And by God, I'll continue making the most of what I've been given.
Thank YOU for being part of my unimaginable gift.
Merry Christmas, from New Zealand.
Thankful Hogs Wild.
So..I was a bit overcome on Christmas and did a little introspection again. Luckily for all of us, this time it was much shorter.
The last introspection took weeks of compilation and hours of writing. This one took 5 minutes - much nicer.
Anyway....
Hey from New Zealand again!
I've been here 3 weeks now and...excuse me, I just received a text saying dinner was ready. Back in a bit.
.......
Back now, and dinner was great. But now New Year's Eve is catching back up with me. I'll come back and write when I'm rested.
...Some 20 hours later...
Alright, the hangover is officially flushed by way of sleep and a sweaty ass workout.
Things that happened since last time:
- Bought a motorcycle!
- Christmas
- Barbecues
- New Years
- Failed miserably to record anything with my GoPro
- Showed my new friends how a real American man drinks. And pukes.
- Beach visits
- Discovered the secret to keeping a tan
- Took motorcycle lessons
- Still looking for work
- Got a haircut - Gus is a barber
- Started watching Deadwood - Raylan Givens!
- Had my first encounter with the New Zealand police
- Still haven't seen the new Star Wars...
- Jedi braid fell out
- Wrote a list of things I don't deserve in my life
- Swiped right on Tinder
- Downloaded all of Eminem's old albums and almost drowned in the ensuing wave of nostalgia.
- Haven't played a single video game in 4 months
Video Recap
I'll be the first to admit my videos from NZ have been quite weak so far. I haven't taken much footage, and it shows. It's a little different carrying a GoPro around in a fantasy camp like the Philippines, compared to toting one around in everyday life in New Zealand. Still, I will do better in the coming entries.
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| New Years BBQ |
Settling in:
I don't know if it's the smaller town mentality, but the people here are so willing to help me, it's almost scary. In my last entry I touched on this same subject, and I'm only becoming more convinced the longer I stay here that this place is heaven. The Philippines was a fantasy camp - no responsibilities except diving every day, working on my tan, and flirting with Zoe the Turtle. I always knew it wasn't real, and I understood that.
But this place, it has the feeling of being grounded in reality, while still being a paradise. Rugby, good people, beaches, beautiful weather, barbecues, teammates...
Quite frankly, if I couldn't be at home in Sacramento, Nelson New Zealand wouldn't be a bad second choice.
Christmas: My Adopted Family
This was my first Christmas away from the Haugen home - the original Hogs' den.
As I mentioned in my last post, I was invited to join my coach and his family on Christmas - Sam (Coach), Sharyn (Sam's Wife), their three daughters, and Gus.
The invitation was humbling, to say the least.
Christmas morning Sam and I went and got a quick workout in before the festivities.
After cleaning up, I walked over to their apartment with presents for the girls, Annaihah (7) Sienna (4), and Aneeva (1). Apparently Santa delivered their presents to my apartment by mistake..
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| Gus, me, Sam |
In Islander fashion (they're Samoan), I was given a formal lava lava to wear along with Sam and Gus Way cool.
We had breakfast, and the girls raced all around the apartment trying to contain their excitement while we adults took our sweet time with our food and tea - presents were next. I can relate to this pent up excitement, and thoroughly enjoyed being on the other end of it for the first time. Muahahaha, you will WAIT while we sip our tea and relax after breakfast!!!
Presents: After a seeming eternity - for the girls - it came time for presents.
As the girls tore into their presents, squeals of excitement and glee mixed with the sounds of tearing paper were in no short supply.
I tried to take pictures/video, but there was simply too much activity for my cheap phone's camera to register. Scooter, rollerblades, Frozen-related things, frisbee, nerf vortex football (which Gus and I commandeered at the beach).
Here's the kicker though: There were presents for me too.
What?
Not only was I given the gift of not being alone on Christmas, the gift of food, but... presents too?
No joke. I had a present from each of the girls, as well as a couple from the Gibbens family.
I was shocked, and a little lost for words.
Luckily, after many years' worth of practicing the art of repressing my emotions, I managed to hold it together and act manly.
Sam had heard me talking about how much I liked the jogger jeans I saw everyone wearing, and got me a pair. I also scored a few fancy shirts, an NZ shotglass, a deck of cards, a SWEET ass keychain, and some chocolates.
The keychain took the cake. It's a mini All Blacks jersey with a little rugby ball connected to it. It will go perfectly with my motorcycle keys.
In all, I CLEANED UP!
Humbling doesn't even begin to describe it.
After presents, we all went to church and listened to a nice Christmas service. I also really enjoyed going out in public in my lava lava.
After church we came back home and readied ourselves for the beach.
Yep, the beach. On Christmas. It's summer here, yo!
The boys went ahead and claimed a spot and set up the tent, and promptly started drinking black russians while we waited for Sharyn and the girls to show up.
Sharyn made a FEAST - lamb that fell right off the bone - and we stuffed ourselves while enjoying the ocean breeze and summer sun.
After feasting, Annaihah and I spent a good hour crashing through waves, seeking out only the biggest ones to conquer. By the time we were done showing the ocean who was boss, the rest of the gang had packed up our camp, and it was time to head home.
All in all, it was a very memorable Christmas. Here I was expecting to be alone on Christmas, and ended up being welcomed into a family with open arms.
It was a pretty great day, and it started me thinking about what I do and don't deserve in my life...
The Third Hog
Get your mind out of the gutter.
I am officially the proud owner of a brand new - to me - 1974 Honda XL175 motorcycle. Or I guess motorbike, which is what they call them here. Need to teach some American lessons here too I guess.
I found the bike on Trademe.com, which is basically New Zealand's version of Craig's List. As soon as I saw the listing for this beast, I was hooked. Vintage, unassuming, some rust spots, and way cooler than some stupid race bike. So McQueen.
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| Gonna see if Gus can cut my hair like this... |
A few days later I met up with the seller at his workplace. Turns out he's the head mechanic at a Honda motorcycle dealership - nifty. He spent 10 minutes telling me about the bike, then promised to ride it into work the next day so I could see it then.
The following morning I turned up and sure enough, there she was, in all her glory. Just looking at her, I could tell she was hungry to be out on the open road, ripping and roaring down the highway, tearing up pavement and never apologizing to nothing and no one.
The seller, Richard, told his boss he'd be back in a few minutes, grabbed a bike off the showroom floor, and we took off for a test drive. He led me around town while I followed on the future Third Hog. Between riding my dad's old dirt bike when I was 16, and the help of a few Youtube videos beforehand, I managed to make it around town without crashing or stalling. The bike felt great - some sweet Hog on hog action, it was glorious.
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| Look Mom, a helmet! |
Turns out Richard was given the bike last year by a satisfied customer, and he decided to rebuild the motor as a labor of love. Now he was selling it to simply recoup the costs of the rebuild.
Richard's a real cool dude, and was very upfront about all the intricacies of the bike. He showed me a lot of parts that had been added throughout the bike's life and I nodded my head while pretending to understand every word - the truth is, I just wanted the motorcycle. Kinda like talking to a girl at a bar and nodding your head as details fly by. Except in this instance, the end result was that I actually got to ride the motorcycle...
We talked price after the test drive, and I tried to play hard to get by low-balling him, but Richard was set on his price and could not go any lower. I was fully prepared to pay his asking price, but my male ego would not be satisfied until I tried to bargain over some sort of motor vehicle.
Man stuff!
He told me he would be happy to hang onto the bike and give me a chance to make a bid if anyone else made any offers on it. I told him I'd be in touch sometime after Christmas when some money from the bank cleared, and I'd make him an offer. This wasn't total bullshit, because I still needed
to transfer the money from my US bank account to my NZ one..but I had no doubt about buying the bike.
I visited a few other motorcycle shops and talked with some experts on the subject, and they all raved about the bike and told me to buy it ASAP.
A couple days later I called Richard and told him I was prepared to offer him $1600. He wanted $1800, but agreed to the sale on the condition that he could keep the extra parts advertised with the bike and sell them to make up the difference. I asked him if he was okay taking an initial loss on the bike - because I genuinely like the guy and was not interested in screwing him over.
His response: "No worries, mate. You're keen on the bike, there's no denying it, and you need some transportation. I'm good with that."
Damn.
This guy's an example of the good, honest, genuine human spirit that exists in the world. Someday I'll have to make sure to pay it forward and help someone out like Richard has done for me.
Two days later we met up at the post office and signed the bike over into my name. He told me to give him a ring when it was time to change the oil and do any other maintenance, and he'd help me out.
For the equivalent of $1100 US dollars, I got a bike with 600 kilometers on it, and possibly the best warranty/maintenance program you could ask for.
The blessings just don't stop.
Class 6 License - Motorcycle
This will allow me to ride a motorcycle alone, up to 100kph, and not between the hours of 11pm and 5am. I am forbidden to carry any passengers for one year - so basically, no picking up hot dates on my bike like Steve McQueen.
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| Sadly, none of this.. |
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| Damn, what a stud |
To get a motorcycle learner's license in New Zealand, you need to provide a valid driver's license (my US license counts), pass an accredited motorcycle handling test, and pass a road rules computer test.
Valid License: Check.
Besides driving on the opposite side of the road, it's pretty much the same. Except way more roundabouts....ugh.
Handling Test: Check.
I paid $250 to get a very useful 3 hour training on basic handling techniques, and then 1 hour practicing the test, culminating with me crushing the test like a pro.
Basically I had to ride around in circles - rather dizzying - and do some figure eights, and prove I could use a blinker. It's not exactly a piece of cake, but I'd say it's easy as pie.
When I told my trainer what kind of bike I was buying, he told me:
"Mate, what a score. That bike will still be running when you die of old age."
Awesome.
Road Rules Computer Test: Almost check.
Currently waiting for the licensing agency to get off their fat holiday asses and open back up so I can come nail the test and get my license.
Upon completion, I'll be road legal.... can you say HOGS WILD!!?!?
Job Search
"Hi, my name is Travis. Know anyone who's hiring?"
This is the line every person hears upon meeting me.
At the moment I've got two leads, with about 25 other applications floating around in the job-seeky space.
One is four days' worth of work ripping out tomatoes on a local farm, with the potential for some part time work afterward.
Another is at the fish n chips place across the street, but their hours conflict with rugby, so that probably won't pan out. When I handed the manager my resume, she looked at it and frowned.
"I hope you understand, this job isn't going to pay as well as the others I see on this list."
"That's fine, maam. Something is better than nothing."
"Did your business degree teach you to use a deep fryer?"
"Haha, no maam, it did not. I bet I can figure it out though."
"We'll see. I'll be in touch."
The great thing is, I'd be perfectly happy frying fish and making burgers as long as it funds my ability to pay rent and play rugby. New Zealand is worth it.
Another great example of Kiwi kindness is the fact that at two separate businesses, the managers stopped what they were doing and picked up the phone to call their friends and see if they had any work for me.
While buying my motorcycle helmet, I asked the manager if he knew of anyone hiring. The manager promptly called one friend and gave me the number of another who works at a temp agency, - all while I stood there, a complete stranger.
While stopping in at the auto shop to make an appointment for Gus' car, I asked the manager if he knew anyone who may be hiring. Without a moment's hesitation, he picks up the phone and called three different people, asking them if they had any use for a young, fit laborer.
The first two calls yielded nothing, but the third guy said he might be able to offer some work building fences in February.
The call went like this:
Manager: "Hey Phil, got any use for a rugger looking for work? Guy looks fit and his hands aren't TOO soft." He chuckles.
Phil: "If he's a rugby player, I'll do my best to find something for him. Give him my number and tell him to call in early February."
This Phil guy has NEVER met me, and the manager he's talking to on the phone just met me 5 minutes before.
Okie doke, time to get my ass off the couch and get a workout in. When you're unemployed and have unlimited access to a field/gym, you better finding a way to get something done each day. Between that and
Thanks as always for reading.
