The Real Work

It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come our real work,

and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

The impeded stream is the one that sings.

–Wendell Berry

But saw this photo and was brought back in time. That's two photos on two days that have brought me back in ages.

Time to get settled back in the present.

Distorted, sorry, can't figure out how to shoot this correctly, but I'll get there, I pass it every day.

Super good washed rind cheese, stinky as epoisse, not quite just like it, but good. Not good in a small room. ohwell.

NZ money has birds on it, so cool. I heart birds.

These did not taste like wine, but were good. Chewier than I thought, i thought they would be more like jujubes.

Dual flush, I have no understanding why these aren't the the only option in the world.

Crazy indoor skking place. Sper cool, very short, very not steep, but how cool that it exists.

There are sheep down there.

Dave playing air hockey


Check out the upside down Vegetarians welcome, maybe the aren't so welcome.

Super cool, amazing park bench and table.

Super tall fern trees

Aucklands version of a white picket fence.

Fall in Auckland, I may well miss spring this year...


Zoe the studio dog.

Little key rings, the cheap shitty throw away ones that attach things to your key when you leave your car for servicing or when you valet park, they fit perfectly on my ring finger, and I like them. I'm not quite sure why, but I like them. Its jewelry, but not really or just barely. They come and go, seem to lose them by staking them off before class and sticking them in my pocket. The current one I'd had for a month or so, which is a long time, but today, it's gone. My finger feels a little lacking without it. Who knows when I'll find another. Maybe the make different sizes over here.

Coffee shop logo

Mailers in the box

Natural moire patterns.

time table= schedule
maths = math
taking class = teaching class
take away = to go
other words /phrases to know;
Good on you
Have a go
Cheers
Ta

I walk past this guy almost daily, and I like it, but I also really love that it's on a tiny box low to the ground.

Opening this package of cheap Jasmine tea was the most sensual experience in a week. As soon as I broke the plastic wrapping the scent of Jasmine flooded out of the package even before the inner plastic wrap was opened. Then there was the surprisingly precise beauty of the symmetry of the tea bags lined up perfectly in their package. I'm not a tea bag person, it's never as good as loose tea, but it does a passable job, the tea was fine but really it's the smell the that I like most about Jasmine tea.
Growing up in Irvine we ate dinner on the back porch most nights during the summer, there were large Night Blooming Jasmine plants around the yard, near where we ate, when dinner was done, as if on cue, the flowers would release their scent and we would be bathed in the scent of Jasmine, it was amazing. When I smell jasmine I think of my childhood, I think of dinners sitting with my mother and brother in the warm California evenings, of finishing dinner and going skateboarding again, and eventually sitting down to read. It wasn't a story book childhood, but I do have good memories of it.

Architecture of desire
There is this building, I see it when I cut through a park from Queen street to the place I'm staying. It's right on a park, looks like a sort of condo building, with big square rooms with high ceilings, huge windows that open up onto the park. I can see into a hand full of room as I walk up the stairs opposite the building. One is lined with bookshelves; packed top to bottom with with books of all sorts and it's beautiful. Another is busy with all sorts of art; the walls are packed with prints things are hanging from the ceiling, it's cluttered but alive with art and passion. The third I can see into is very well decorated with simple modernist furniture. Not completely modern, and uncomfortable but with those so desirous clean lines while still totally inviting and comfortable. It's very incongruous to see these beautiful places to live while I'm staying in a very austere room right now, I'm very comfortable, but typing this form the floor because of lack of a chair. It's interesting to look at very comfortable places, filled with things people love and then reflect back. I've gotten rid of a huge amount of things in my world, the rest are in a storage container, sitting somewhere at a location that is completely unknown to me. I'm not missing any physical things, there are some intangible things I'm missing but right now I feel very content to live with very few things. But it's thecurrent transitory nature of my life that makes it possible. I know that once I settle in again, I'll surely need a... then a ... and of course why shouldn't I have a ...
For now though I'm very happy with my one duffel bag worth of things.

This reminds me of Spanish architecture, super cool

Auckland from a bridge walking home form Ponsonby.


Coolest plate ever from the super cool Maori part of the museum, all part of the War Museum.


More Maori things, from the museum.


This is the icon for the Elephant that they brought to Auckland a long time ago, to give elephant rides. But that didn't work, so they stuffed it. I suppose many of us are lucky they don' stuff miss behaved things as often as they used to.

Grass and glass


From the walk home, after teaching. This is from K road to the freeways below.


Ponsonby studio, nice place.

Western Park - through the remnants of someone else's last night.


More of Western Park.

The benefit to arriving early in the morning, is the sunruse through cool airport buildings. The other benefit is getting here, and getting to take class right off. Nothing like sweating for 90 minutes to get all the airplane junk off you.

Lost in the international dateline.