goodThen today I had a Productive Day.
I woke up feeling SO MUCH BETTER than yesterday. Amazing what a good night's sleep will do, eh? So I ate breakfast, took a shower, and set off. Among my accomplishments (not in chronological order):
1) I opened a bank account. Nothing exciting there, really, but important. This means that once I find a job, I can get paid.
2) I bought a mobile phone! Yes, I did! I get to call my home whenever I want, and I already have done so. And it plays "What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor?" when I have a call. Also, once I start applying for jobs, prospective employers can get in touch with me. All good things.
3) I sat by the water for two hours. This may not sound like a productive way to spend my time, but I have to tell you that it did amazing things for my state of mind. It was a beautiful day, and there were boats going by, and I wrote in my journal and read over parts of my Lonely Planet book and I thought about what I'm doing and what I want to do. It was very peaceful. I also got some random backpacker to take a picture of me standing by the water, so there's now photographic proof (albeit not yet developed) that I am in Auckland.
4) I went up in the Skytower, which I'm told is the hightest building in the Southern Hemisphere. I paid the extra $3 to go up to the higher observation deck, and it was totally worth it, because it was, well, higher, as well as having far fewer people and NO little children. There was a school group or something on the lower deck, which made it difficult to really concentrate on enjoying the view. While I was up there, at least a hundred white sailboats were going by on the water. It was great.
5) I made a Plan. Well, a tentative Plan, anyway. What I would like to do is to spend some time in Auckland, just looking around, getting to know the city, seeing what there is to see, staying in the hostel. Then, I'd like to make my way down to Wellington. I think it would be really cool to take a train, but I'm not sure whether that's possible for me. It's worth looking into. I'm hoping that I can find some longer-term housing and a job in Wellington. Auckland is nice, but it's the biggest city in the country with a quarter of New Zealand's population, and I'd like to be somewhere a little less . . . like that. Yes. So I guess my next step is researching transportation to Wellington and figuring out what kind of housing and employment options I'd have. I'll keep you posted. Plan subject to change at any moment, due to unforseen circumstances, acts of God, or Planmaker's whim.
And that's been my day, with most of the random walking of the streets left out, for brevity's sake. I've been on my feet most of the day, except when eating or sitting by the water. I think I'll sleep well again tonight.
