Happy Holidays
The Frankfurt 4a.m. sessions...

Here's a taste. Mark (my fabulous English computer geek of a best friend hitherto not mentioned on this site because of lack of outdoor sport adventures in New Zealand) ..and I were playing around with our oh-so-cool digital cameras and we came up with these short clips. If you click on them in order, I will play you a whole song!

Stay tuned for more polished versions- these are raw and performed very quietly at 4 in the morning while his brother Simon slept only slightly disturbed in the next room. The object that I keep looking at is the clock- we only had 30 seconds for each clip. Very difficult to work it out after many hours of drinking! We're (read that: Mark is) going to be fooling around with some fun splicing programs to see what we can do. If you download this onto media player, you can watch them back to back with little interruption. They're a little silly, but what the hey.

When we make it I'll post the polished version, but until that time, here's a little holiday gift of love from me to you. Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah and Happy New Years. This year I'm especially thankful for all of the people that have come into my life through my traveling (even though you don't write). Thank you for making 2002 the best year of my life so far. A toast to 2003- may it bring that kind of joy to all of you.

http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/In_my_life_part2.avi


http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Closer_to_fine_1.avi
http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Closer_to_fine_2.avi
http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Closer_to_fine_3.avi
http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Closer_to_fine_4.avi
http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/CLoser_to_fine_5.avi
http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Closer_to_fine_6.avi
http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Closer_to_fine_7.avi
http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Closer_to_fine_8.avi
http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Closer_to_fine_9.avi

http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Oak_Cliff_Bra_part_1.avi
http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Oak_Cliff_Bra_part_2.avi
http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Oak_Cliff_Bra_part_3.avi

http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Closer_to_fine_outtake_9_1.avi
http://www.maths.lse.ac.uk/Personal/mark/willow/Closer_to_fine_outtake_9_2.avi


PS
The "contact" button is located at the top of the page for those of you who've lost your address books...

Wow. It has indeed been a long time since I've updated my blog!! I apologise. Many, many things have been happening. I must say that NZ has been bad for my writing (as well as my guitar playing and anything to do with art with the exception of photography).

Highlights

1. Three-day weekend in the Bay of Islands- Junsuke, Vera and myself
Yet another amazing time. We drove to the Bay of Islands on Saturday morning so as to save some money on hostels. Unfortunately this weekend was Labor Day Weekend in NZ and nothing was open. Poor Vera was mortified as Junsuke and I tried to suggest the possibility of staying in a tent or the car! Never in her life. The look of horror very quickly changed our minds and we assured her again and again that although it didn't matter if he and I had to stay in the car, we wouldn't rest until we found a bed with a roof for her. Luckily we happened upon a fabulous bed and breakfast 1/2 hour away. When we stepped out of the car we were knocked over by the scent of flowers wafting over the tops of the trees and surrounding the vineyards.

The shower and beds were such experiences in themselves that I hardly need mention the rest. I took the first shower and it was very difficult to leave. Junsuke was last and by the time he took one I was beginning to experience pangs of jealousy...would the shower do that for just anyone? Wasn't I special? I felt mildly betrayed and yet I wanted more...

We all showered an abnormal number of times for 15 hours. It was good. Shower, if you're out there, here's to you. I'll never forget you.

Sunday we went para-sailing. It was very peaceful. No adrenaline, but a nice sense of the infinite. You go out of a motorboat with some very handsome young men who then hook you into a harness with a friend and together you peacefully ascend into the heavens where you sit in the sky for a time sailing over the harbor until they reel you back in. Junsuke got to go twice because he and I went first and Vera was too small to go by herself. I was jealous at first, but one of the handsome young men took the opportunity to flirt shamelessly with me so in the end we were all happy.

While Vera was asleep, Junsuke and I discussed our options. He opted for a long road trip. We got out anywhere that looked interesting to hike, or whatever. We drove to the tip top north of the real north of the north island - they actually say that on welcome signs. On the way it rained and rained and rained. Not even sheep in sight. Very depressing and an incredibly long drive!! When we finally arrived at the very last place you could possibly rent to sleep without a tent, we were greatly relieved. We rushed to the one computer to check our emails only to realize that it didn't recognize Japanese or Russian. They were pretty bummed, so I declined checking my own email.

We went for a drive in the fog and made it to a wonderful bay where we got out to be rained upon. Great fun. We also got a picture of "Junsuke with sow". :-)

The next day began with a revolting fatty breakfast followed by some half frozen meat pies. (shudder) It got better though. We rented body boards and headed out to 90 mile beach. Vera declined body boarding and slept in the car (although I later found out that she walked over and watched a bit).

The trek to the sand dunes was laborious, especially as it began to rain on us. Junsuke and I were both barefoot and clad in oversized hooded sweatshirts and jeans rolled up to our calves. Finally arriving at the base of the dunes, we had to look straight up to see the top. With wind and rain whipping around us, we braved the ascent, boards in front of us to protect us somewhat from the sand. It was tough going. We had to stop a couple of times when the blowing sand got too strong. At one point I remember looking at him and saying, "So...we're doing this so we can slide down one time?" to which he grinned and said, "Yeah." heh heh.

When we got up to the top and looked straight down...we decided that it was a bad idea and we were obviously crazy and "Hey, look over there...why don't we practice on that little bitty hill?" Practice went allright, enough that we braved a good medium sized dune. When we got to the bottom we felt the rush. Our eyes met, and grinning from ear to ear we said, "Again?!!" heh heh, "Yeah!!" and with that we both RAN up the hill which had taken a good ten minutes to accomplish the first time. A couple more times on the medium hill and again our eyes locked and we knew, "The big one? YEAH!!!" Again, we took off running up the hill. Just as we got to the top, another sandstorm blew up.

Sandstorms are much much worse if you are on top of the highest peak. We used our boards to protect us as well as pulling our hoods closed over our faces. The wind was tremendous and the sand left burns on our bared legs. We finally went down despite the storm... If you want a rush like no other, I highly recommend body boarding down a very tall sand wall (not slope, a wall) in a sandstorm!! Nothing touches this.

Afterwards we drove back to that bay - I think it was Takapotupotu bay and went body surfing in our swimsuits (not wetsuits, swimsuits.) Vera on shore was wearing a sweater and coat as it was in fact still winter. The trick is that once you're completely wet, you don't feel the cold anymore (or anything else for that matter). Great fun!!

Later we drove to Cape Reinga on the very tip top of the N. Island. It was pretty cool. It has signposts pointing to Japan, Sydney, and many more places with km's posted. On the way back we drove round the other side of the island. We stopped to be guided to the giant Kauri tree by a drunk local. Apparently the Kauri trees in NZ are the biggest in the world except of course for the California Redwoods. Unfortunately, if you've experienced the redwoods, these are like saplings. However, it was interesting and beautiful besides.

We also stopped for coffee in the town that is entirely decorated in Christmas lights to the point of having great Christmas light sculptures of ships and bells and all sorts of stuff so as to lure people to stop there. The intrinsic flaw in their plan of course is that you can only see the lights after dark, and being a small town, everything closes shortly after dark or long before in the summer time.

2. Skydiving
This was a fantastic experience. I highly recommend it. We met at the Sky Tower 9am, where a van picked us up and drove us for an hour or so to somewhere I'm not sure exactly where. We had to wait a long time while the other people in the van dived and then Vera and I took our turn. It was a surreal experience being packed into that tiny plane like sardines. My instructor said that I might as well go to sleep on the way up, so I did. (I always sleep on planes). I was awakened by a rough grab as I was attached to a man, I looked up to see the door of the plane opening and the man Vera was attached to holding onto the solo jumper about to throw her forcibly out of the plane!! She looked scared, he threw, Vera's and my eyes met then she was gone and I suddenly realized what I was about to do and then I was falling through the cold wet rain cloud. (notice a theme with the rain?). The moment that I live over and over again is the sudden realization of what's happening and then leaving the plane. Everything else seemed rather normal. Grin. Normal. Que va?!

We had a weather suspension after that and Junsuke had to wait another couple of hours for his turn. After, we had to wait the entire day for everyone else to skydive because unfortunately the man driving the van was also one of the instructors. Most unfortunate. I now know more than I ever wanted to about the love lives of stars (there were many magazines which I read cover to cover). At one point we watched the cows line up and go home. Very depressing to watch the cows go home and to be stuck yourself, and you dont know where!!

When we arrived back in Auckland, Vera and I took Junsuke out for a farewell dinner. Sadly, Junsuke went back to Japan. Luckily for me, I will be in Japan to visit him in about a week from today!!

3. I met a boy..
That's right! I met a wonderful boy from Brasil. His name is Marcius