What a Day!!!

Let's play a game friends...who had the most random day? Ready, I'll go first.

It all started yesterday when I took the Naked Bus (yes, that's seriously the name of it) from Auckland to Turangi. Those of you who know me know that I now prefer couchsurfing and therefore ended up staying at a fellow couchsurfers place here in Turangi. So, we're sitting there talking and I'm reminded of my grandparents' house...these people are in their 70's after all. (yes, people even in their 70's participate in couchsurfing) So last night, we're having a wonderful dinner and then we start talking and all of a sudden out of left field this old guy tells me he's done astro-travel, which is basically an out-of-body experience where his mind travels to somewhere else but his body stays in the same location. And I'm sitting there nodding my head thinking to myself, "This is the most whacked out stuff I think I've ever heard in my life!" They're still wonderful hosts but that part was weird I must admit.

Then today, I decide to hitch to a mountain called Whakapapa (which is pronounced the f-bomb, followed by 'apapa', not even lying here.) Because really, how many people can say they've been snowboarding in July? So I walk for about an hour until I get a hitch and have a lovely conversation with the people and a free ride to my destination, sweet! I've never hitched before, so I was a little nervous I must admit but it turned out to be awesome! Then I arrive at Whakapapa (this would probably be funnier if you knew how to pronounce it, look back up and say it correctly...do it) only to find that the upper half of the mountain is closed due to weather conditions but the bottom half is open (apparently the weather didn't travel all the way down the mountain?) Had a blast snowboarding, except the fact that I couldn't see more than 2 feet in front of me and was never really sure if I was going over a cliff or not (quite the adrenaline rush in one sense) Then, it starts raining, which doesn't exactly help you while snowboarding. And then, somehow, it starts raining in my goggles (I'm guessing this is due to the fact that I requested the cheapest pair :) So I decide to call it a day for snowboarding and hitch my way back to the couchsurfer who I'm staying with. Have another fabulous hitch with an Irish couple and get back home.

Then, I put my pants in the dryer while walking around in my long underwear! Not only that, but I'm used to dryer's that dry...but apparently this one doesn't really, because I seriously had only my pants (and not jeans but more dress pants mind you) in there for an hour and it hadn't hardly done anything! So, I get the brilliant idea to just put them on (commando, by the way, this will make sense in a minute) and sit in front of a fire to help dry them out. All is well, first dried my backside and then try and dry my frontside. Well, I hardly wear these dress pants and had forgotten that they have buttons on the front pocket on the inside. (remember here that I'm commando) After quickly realizing that something is burning in my pants on my thigh and wanting to scream my head off but just biting my tongue so I don't draw attention to myself, I shift my pants so it's no longer burning. And of course, the buttons then proceed to burn me in another area which probably isn't appropriate to write on a blog such as this one. Let's just say that I never even thought of someone getting burned there but was quick to realize that it is a most unfortunate area to get burned on, if you catch my drift.

At this point, my pants are finally dried (and I can breathe again) so I decide to finally take a shower since I had dry pants to change into. Still had a little burning sensation, mind you, on my thigh as well as the other area but didn't think too much about it. Until the hot water hit the burn spots. Holy cow...OWWWWW!!! I don't know if I've ever taken a shower with my back to the showerhead but I certainly did tonight. And I quickly think about how I should go about asking for ointment for a small burn from my couchsurfing hosts who I really don't know that well. Well, I still haven't figured that out but I think desperation is going to lead me to ask for that pretty soon.

Hope you have enjoyed this adventurous story as much as I enjoyed living it today. And to think, in a few short weeks I'll be in front of a class of 10 and 11 year-olds teaching them about math as well as responsibility and making 'smart' decisions...brilliant, isn't it?!

CHEAP GAS!!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/business/10transit.html?pagewanted=1&sq=rise%20in%20public%20transportation%20&st=nyt&scp=10

Okay, so here it is, an e-mail that I just sent to someone regarding the benefits of higher gas prices, yes, you read that correctly, the benefits of higher gas prices. The above link is just a story about the rise in mass transit usage in cities and also cites the energy dept's prediction of less gasoline consumption this year than last, the first yearly decline since 1991. Don't know if that will come up as a link or not since I'm still fairly new to this whole blogging thing. Anyway, enjoy the read.

It's interesting that you sent me this e-mail just now, because I had planned on going to my nearest gas station when I got back to the states and wearing a sign that read, "Hooray for CHEAP gas prices!!!" And then list the price of gas in different places around the world and show just how good we have it. I'm currently paying $6.61 per gallon here in NZ, how much are you paying back home? I checked for Sarasota yesterday and found gas was right at about $4 per gallon, which is insanely cheap compared to most of the rest of the world (obviously, there are places like Venezuela and Libya where it is cheaper, but who would want to live there?)

So, as unpopular as it is, I must say I think higher gas prices do have some benefits. How long has America said we needed to get off foreign oil or gas period? Has anyone done anything about it though? Of course not, we haven't really needed to. What motivation is there to get off oil if we can continue to afford to fill up our vehicles without even thinking about it? But, what have we seen in the last year or so as a direct result of higher gas prices? More people in cities are using public transportation, SUV and truck sales are way down (which I consider to be a good thing since they pollute much worse than other vehicles and a lot of the people I see driving SUV's especially don't really need them.) and for the first time in 16 years domestic use of oil is predicted to go down (this is people who use oil, i.e. people filling up their cars; it's only predicted to go down by less than 1% of the total but all the same it is to go down a little which is saying a lot compared to the last 16 years when it has just kept increasing) Not to mention, there is suddenly a huge drive towards developing new technology that is renewable and an increased movement of interest in 'green' stuff (I assume that this still lines the shelves at grocery stores and book stores, but haven't been in the states for over a month so not completely sure of that) People are thinking about carpooling as a legitimate option now, or at the very least thinking of ways they can combine their errands into 1 or 2 trips as opposed to 5 or 6 trips.

Look at what has happened in certain European cities that have ridiculously high taxes on their gas. Quite a few people over there don't even have cars because their public transportation is more than enough. Now, I realize when I'm speaking to a fellow American this sounds completely awful and very terrible. But I dare say how freeing is it to 'get' to drive everywhere? If you live in a big city, you're not allowed to talk on a cell phone, people really need to learn not to text while driving, and you really can't do much of anything except listen to the radio. Personally, I'd rather take the trip on a bus and catch up on reading or meet someone new, wouldn't you? Not to mention the car payments, which if you get those paid off, you still have car insurance for as long as you own your car. Sounds more like prison then freedom to me. In fact, in November my lease ends and I'll be able to move back into the city limits of Sarasota where I work and I really hope I can go carless at that time.

As far as your friend's husband who owns a trucking company...I have no idea how extremely difficult that must be for him and I can't imagine how stressful that must be on someone who owns a business that is inherently dependent on gas. I just wanted to offer some thoughts on the benefits of higher gas, obviously these benefits pertain more to individuals (in cities for that matter) than to companies. Something I have wondered lately though, is why don't cities form co-ops with restaurants? There are quite a few people who have converted their diesel engines to run off of used veggie oil. Restaurants usually have to pay people to come and take this away so they are more than happy to have someone come and take it away for free. There are a couple of ways to do this, people either convert the engine (which can cost about $3000) or convert the veggie oil (the downside of this is you still use a little diesel additive formula, about 1 quart of diesel per 5 gallons of veggie oil to give you an idea) So I guess my question is why doesn't a larger city form a co-op with the bus transportation system and restaurants and provide veggie oil at a much reduced cost? Obviously, I still think these people should pay taxes on the used veggie oil since they are using the roads. However, I think the current tax on gas is about 18 cents per gallon if I'm not mistaken. So why not use waste veggie oil instead of sending it to the city dump where it usually ends up? Yes, it will smell like french fries, but I'd much rather drive something that smells like french fries than continue to pay absurd amounts for gas.

As far as rural communities go, not really sure on that one. Although I think there might be something to be said for biodiesel. Obviously, I don't think we should make as much as we are now since that has had a dramatic side effect on the Amazonian rain forest, but what if farmers in rural communities just set aside enough of their crops to make biodiesel for their farm vehicles and their neighbors vehicles? Just a thought, obviously. I have no idea whatsoever how much crop land it would take to do that or if it would be cost-efficient at all.

Now, obviously these are just ideas and meant to be taken as that, just ideas. I have no degree in business and have no idea how most of this stuff would work in the 'real world.' However, I do think we need to start thinking creatively about how to get off oil and also how to help reduce our carbon footprint a little bit (this being said by a guy who travels abroad quite extensively and is definitely aware that flying is my biggest environmental sin) Very few things are done all at once but I do think that if we take small steps in the right direction that is better than nothing (i.e. making fewer trips or at least trying to take public transportation once or twice a week for starters)

Peace out (or how about peace in the middle east? which would probably be helped a little if we weren't quite so dependent on their oil?)

Justin

1 Scot + 1 Brit + 2 Kiwis + 1 three year old = heaps of fun!

Well, I just got back to Auckland this evening after a fantastic weekend in Wellington. I stayed with a couchsurfer and had one of the best times of my life.

As the title implies, there was a Scottish girl, a British guy, and a couple of Kiwi women and a Kiwi child. These people were some of the most amazing people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.

I mainly hung out with the Scot and the Brit in the evenings and had some great conversations with them. Both of them had a head full of dreads and were definitely hippies, of which I've always had a certain respect for somehow (maybe because I might be becoming one :) Also, I have a new found addiction to fair trade black tea that I can thank them for. Last night (Sunday night) was my last night there and I found myself going back to their house a little early just so I could hang out with them some more. I reckon I enjoyed talking with them more than checking out the city.

Have you ever met those people you just clicked with instantly? That was how it was with these people. Honestly, by the end of my time there, I thought to myself, "I could just stay and live here." It was brutally cold this weekend but I so thoroughly enjoyed it in spite of that.

Most people think it's so weird when I tell them about couchsurfing. Oh, how I pity them, especially now! What does it say about our culture when the first response I get from people when I try and explain couchsurfing is the question, "What if the person is an axe-murderer?" Is fear so woven throughout our daily lives that we instantly jump to that conclusion? Yeah, but I know, I'm the crazy one, which I readily admit to usually :)

Everyone else can just keep paying ridiculous amounts to stay in a hotel room and not meet anyone new. That's their prerogative (weird spelling, but I did just look it up so I'm pretty sure that's correct even thought it doesn't look like it) As for me, I'll stick to couchsurfing whenever possible. And for that matter, I think I might start doing a lot more of it since I've had two great experiences so far.

Til next time,
Justin