Anna and I went to Mission Bay to watch the sunrise on Tuesday.She got the car from one of her Kiwi friend so we were off at 5.45am.After having breakfast we just drove to the beach and parked ourselves there.Unfortunately the sunrise wasn't as glorious as the ones you get on postcards,it was cloudy and we hardly saw the sun.Didn't wanna spoil the day (and didn't wanna waste 1 day of having such a chic car),Anna suggested we drive to Mangawhai Beach,about 150km north of Auckland,almost near Whangarei.So off we went.The scenery was beautiful,it was a lovely day,and Anna was a great company.We arrived in Mangawhai at about 11am,changed to our swimming attire and went to the beach.
We didn't swim really long,as it was a HOT day,and none of us had a surf board.It was so good to just go for a dip in the cold water though.After a short swim we went for a long walk along the beach,collecting paua shells.Paua shells looks like mussell shells,except that they have a beautiful glitter of rainbow colours.In New Zealand,paua shells are used for souvenirs and (I'm not sure how true is this) is also considered sacred to the Maoris.
We managed to find some broken ones,and after changing into dry clothes again,we drove to the small quaint town of Mangawhai to have lunch.I opted for a Butter Chicken meal while Anna had pizza.It was a cool,breezy day and after lunch,we headed back to Auckland,stopping briefly at a Honey Centre coz Anna,being the honey junkie that she is,wanted to buy some New Zealand honey before she gets back home.
We arrived in Auckland at about 4.30pm,I accompanied Anna to a souvenir shop and afterwards I went back to the backpackers.Since I didn't really have much sleep the night before,I slumped on my bed and just dozed off,only to be woken up by an SMS from Suzie and Johanna,who just arrived in Auckland and couldn't wait until the next day to meet up * grinzz*.
So we met at 9.15pm at the Skytower,and went to Starbucks for coffee.They looked positively tired,having arrived from Taupo to Auckland,which is about 5 hours drive.Nevertheless,we exchanged travel stories,boy they sure had lotsa stories to tell and gossips!They were regalling me with gossips about AJ and most of the other people we met in Blenheim.Apparently they made a brief stopover in Blenheim to meet the Malaysian boys.
After they went off,I tried sleeping again,but couldn't,so I went online for a while and slept at 2am.This morning,I kinda woke up early and was walking to Skycity to the Intercity bus station to book my upcoming Tongariro travel,when I met Suzie and Johanna again.They were buying their Airbus tickets.I got a call from Rean,asking me to come over to AUT as the student orientation is going on.So I went to AUT,and she was excitedly telling me about her new tertiary pack which she signed up for with a bank,and she's getting a free MP3 player.There was a hotdog stand which were serving fresh hotdogs,and so we grabbed some and after that went for coffee.She ponteng her class,complaining how boring it was.Ponteng kelas kau ye,Rean!* LOLZ..*
She left at 12.30pm to go to work,and I was walking back and was thinking of sleeping for my night shift tonight when Suzie and Johanna came and knocked on the door,to ask assistance in filing their tax claim form.So off I went again,to Inland Revenue,to help them fill out the form.By the end of it all I was really exhausted.i asked Rean if she would go out with me for dinner,but she had shopping to do.Anna was busy today,doing taxes and closing bank accounts,so I didn't get to see her today.
Rean and I are going for a small farewell gathering for Anna tomorrow at a bar in the waterfront downtown.Final say,I got back,tried to sleep but couldn't,tried to eat but I've ran outta food to cook,so I had showers and signed on for night sec duty with a mug of coffee.
I've counted and I have another 4 weeks here in NZ.It's coming to an end!No,and I'm serious this time..I REALLY DON'T WANNA COME BACK!!

It's freezing cold in Auckland City.It's supposed to be summer!Today Anna and I went to Devonport and climbed Mt Victoria for a sunset view from the summit.It was amazing.Seriously.We hesistated to go as the weather was not so good,and it wouldn't be the best sunset ever,but we're glad we went ahead coz the sun started shining just as we hopped on the ferry.
We got incredible photo shoots,it was truly an amazing sight.Rean is on my BestMate plan,something like Activ5 for Maxis,and I can call,text and video her for as much as I want for $6 a month.So called her and spoke for 40 minutes today,it's good to still hear the Malaysian slang=)
Well,back to Devonport.Anna and I left at 9.30pm,and taking in the view of Auckland's night sky from the ferry.I was too hungry and too tired,so I grabbed a Subway sandwich and made my way back.After making a mug of coffee and eaten my sandwich,I signed in for my night sec duty for tonight and tomorrow night.
The agency Rean and I registered for sent us to work for Skycity Hotel and Convention Centre on Sunday night.The function?The 25th anniversary of round the world cruise of the world's biggest ocean liner,the Queen Mary 2.Naturally,I was really excited.It was supposed to be from 3pm until 2am.You would think with a place as big as that would have good and proper coordination skills.But heck,no.It was the worst ever.I swear i have no idea,why Skycity hired 150 staff,from 4 agencies to cover one night.It wasn't like it was the MTV Awards or anything.It was just a bunch of rich old people who spent USD$45k per person for this world cruise.150 staff to take care of them was ridiculous.
For a start,we didn't have proper groups.We had about 8 supervisors,and got divided into groups and my group was supposed to take care of the banquet tables in the main ballroom.Halfway,suddenly we were asked to serve beverages to guests!Well,not that I minded much,but the trays were heavy and we had to circulate around the ballroom giving everyone drinks.Due to the many people,glasses were breaking and alcohol was spilling,but nobody cared much.Halfway through,everyone got separated,lost among the crowds,and it was hard to recognise each other coz we all only met each other like 1 hour before.
The main ballroom was worse,we who were asked to take care of the tables,immediately found out that there were already waiters allocated for each table.So we were generally left doing nothing,except for walking about holding champagne bottle and acting like we had something to do.Rean had the easiest job though,she was ushering.She got bored of the work so she sneaked inside to join me in the ballroom where all the action was taking place.
Well,we left at 11.30pm.I couldn't take another minute there.It was tiring and I didn't have enough sleep in the past 2 days.And I surprised myself,even with all that tiredness,I managed to go online and stay for 3 hours..
Well,at least I got to see the Haka dance live for the first time.

It's my first day at Surf N' Snow Backpackers doing exchange work.I did want to do exchange work at some point of my stay here,and this was a good chance.(Wanted to do exchange work in National Park though,but I was too settled in Auckland and the thoughts of packing my bags again terrified me,so I'm gonna stay here until I return).
I started at 11pm and will finish at 7am,and I will be doing this for 2 nights in a week in exchange for free accomodation.It wasn't too bad,it's 5.11am now and all I had to do today was give someone a wake up call (she had to go to the airport for her 6am flight),print out a check out report,check some people in,count money in the till and log on to MSN Messenger and chat.I am tired allright,as I got back from work at 5pm today and didn't get much sleep (about 2 hours)and I will have to stay awake until about 9am or so until Rean comes to go with me to the agency we both registered to work for on Sunday.
I can see the Skytower right behind me from the window.It's still hard to believe it's the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere.Anyway,let me tell you about what happened at work today.I took the kitchen position today as we had other bartenders working today.The chef,Eddy,was being a lil cranky and grumpy all week (Monday was terrible,he was practically screaming at everyone,until the manager had to come and do some peace talk).I thought he'd get over it but he didn't.We were slammed left and right and all the mistakes became our faults!I was going to work until 9.30pm tonight,come back,have showers and dinner and maybe a strong cup of coffee and commence my night duty but seeing him so cranky made me change my mind,I went off at 5pm.
Well,I heard from the other staff that he's got some personal problems and he's being moody all the time.Well,personally Ii can understand how it feels to have problems and to bring em to work,but shouting and blaming your staff is terrible.I will be telling him that I am leaving next week,as he wants a 2 weeks notice before I leave.Else,I have caught up with Suzie and Yohanna,who's still in South Island and will be travelling up north next week to do Tongariro,and hopefully I will be able to join em.Rean has expressed interest to join us,and if I go to National Park next week Rean will be coming with me.
We had a public holiday on 6th Feb,Waitangi Day.Rean invited me for a day out with them to Long Bay,and we had a pretty good time in the beach.It was a surf beach,apparently,and the waves were gigantic.(And I thought Cherating was rough!LOL!)Well they all had surf boards and I didn't,so I didn't go too far.Prakash and Raveen offered theirs to me but I was in the mood to swim,not to surf so I declined.After chilling for a while,we went for coffee,and they dropped me back in the city.I just got into the backpackers and was gonna lie down and take a nap when Rean texted asking if I wanna go over to her house as she is cooking dhall curry.
Dhal curry!Man I miss Malaysia!.Nevertheless I went to her house,Prakash picked me up from Panmure.The dhall curry was superb allright.After dinner we had several shots of vodka and watched a movie,Blood Diamond.I stayed overnight in her place,woke up at 10 the next day,had a late breakfast and Rean dropped me off in the city on her way to work.
My German friend,Anna and I are planning to go to Raglan,the best surf beach in New Zealand,and start our journey by watching the sunrise from Mission Bay,go on to Raglan,climb Mt Victoria to watch the sunset,and go on to One Tree Hill and watch the view of Auckland at night.
It's gonna be a long day,but it's gonna be beautiful.
Till the next update,people.I'm having a headache doing night shift!