Back from 2 weeks in Bali

Here are some quick sketch impressions of Bali which I wrote on the plane home:

First impression::

Jungle vegetation, shanty shacks, color fabrics spilling out of every doorway, lots of ornate temples. Musicians and artisans everywhere. Prolific, motivated kids painting or carving wood abound. The way America teaches its young liberty,individualism, and competition Bali teaches its children painting, sculpture, carving, music and dance at a very young age.

Second impression - lots of serene smiles, perfect teeth, beautiful women. Perfect teeth because of religion. Their demon god (equivelant of our devil) has enormous fangs, therefore children of a certain age (6 months) have their teeth ceremoniously filed.

Third impression - sarongs, sarongs, more sarongs...
A hard one to get around. The shopkeepers can become extremely obnoxious with their "Please come just looking. Lookee, lookee, in my shop" "cheap for you". They grab your arm and invade your space. (One climbed through our car window) BUT once you do go into a shop you invariably find it to be a wonderful place with all items for sale handmade by the owner and nothing but big smiles and incredible bargains. In no time you sort learn to have fun with the whole process instead of letting it get to you. I found myself haggling for groceries and getting bargains.

geckos, lots of them, ubiquitous in their chameleon-like separate world. Geckos are also ubiquitous in the fabric prints, featured in many sarongs.

Monkeys, spider monkeys specifically. They are cute but they frighten me.

Camel ride - silly to ride camels along the beach in the Balinese tropics but wonderfully fun as well.

The flipside of Bali -

They litter a lot. The beach is littered with hundreds of little 300 rupiah bamboo plates for offerings and burnt incense sticks, along with more conventional litter, like bottles and cans. Once (or is it twice?) a week in the tourist areas they comb the litter into a big heap and burn it, a smoke which emits a definitely noxious fume. Their garbage is burnt on a daily basis. There are smoldering garbage fires everywhere. If it were not an island the air would be extremely polluted. (It made me wonder where all of the "island air pollution" goes and who gets blamed for it).

Bali has an amazing aquaduct system rivaling that of the Romans. They are everywhere, integrated into the land and traveling beside natural waterways.
This must come from the need to irrigate the rice paddies that they depend so heavily on. But, with all of the beautiful natural and man-made waterways it would appear that not one of them is clean.

People shit in the rivers. We saw this everywhere. It would appear that many poor rice farmers and village people have no sewage so they rely on the river to poop in. In our travels we saw people shitting upstream of people bathing downstream.

We visited one of the more famous 11th century temples, the "Elephant Cave", of which I'll soon have photos. As we walked along the outskirts, we looked over the rattan fence separating the temple from the valley and dried river of rubbish below. On the other side of the rattan fence is a rubbish heap of disposable altars and coke cans, banana peels and snack food wrappers.

THURS. August 16

Today is of those magical, ever changing Wellington days, replete
with rainbows, soft rain, patches of blue, chased away by ominous
grey clouds that make the air wet even though its not raining.
* * *
I took Pukka-Pook for an inspired walk through the neighborhood, taking as many silly little paved short cut walkways as I was able. Right after a short drizzle I came across a lady wearing a similar outfit to mine; instead of a rain poncho oshe was wearing a rain jacket w/hood and shorts, rain boots.

"Lovely day" she says as we pass each other.
"Gorgeous" I reply.

Only in NZ would one find another person walking around loving the moody weather. Anywhere else in the world people would be annoyed.
* * *

Here are some QuikTime links to a few commercials we did music and sound design for back in U.S.A.:

Budweiser Burglar
Bissel
A&W Rootbeer

I was in the news again last week, in the money section of the Saturday Evening Post.

For the FULL STORY click here

For a laugh, check out this QuikTime Movie I did in the 80's, called PEROXIDE.

Today (June 21) is the shortest day of the year here in NZ. SO I clocked it - the sun actually rose at about 8:00 and it is now setting, at 4:30 pm.

So (this year anyway) the shortest day of the year lasts 8 1/2 hours.

SHOTOVER JET - Queenstown

My Fiordland video footage is SOOOO exciting - I've been editting it down to short QuikTime movies because I did take alot of footage crossing the Alps and then cruising through the Milford Sounds. On this first video I added ambient sounds and music, both from Partners in Rhyme CDs. Short but sweet.

Here is a longer Quiktime movie I threw together of theÊ Milford Sounds, so magnificent with the myriads of waterfalls, rainbows and dolphins. It is quite thrilling to cruise through the Alps meeting the fjords. I braved the wet and wild to videotape the Shangri-La terrain.

We went with my parents to Queenstown and to the Fiordlands and now I miss them both quite a lot. They are remarkable people and it was an honor and a real highlight in life to have such fun with them.

Observations from a different side of the world:

- In the morning, if the car windows are foggy I get very confused as to which side to get in to drive.

- Mark doesn't know his right from his left anymore. A turning lane in the middle of the road with an arrow pointing cross another lane of traffic will always be a left hand turn in his head when it is actually a right turn. He's gotten mad at me yelling "turn left, turn left" and I calmly say "I am". - oops!

- Everything is easy here. It seems like it's the way it should be. Insurance is cheap. We have full car coverage and $30,000 business insurance. Mechanics are inexpensive. Health care is amazing. It's not free but it's cheaper than going to a vet (George is having a gallstone operation for the equivalent of $1000 US)

- If your dog kills a cat or any other domestic animal it is put to death. No questions.

- The lady at the pharmacy will drop your prescription at your house if the wait is too long.

- The people at the dry cleaners will not take your garments if they have too much work. No matter how much you offer to pay (a friends experience).

- The Seatoun post office doubles as a dry cleaners, a book store (and school supplies) and you can also leave your shoes there to be fixed. Just this week I brought the pair of brown sandals that my mom sent me and had them dyed black so I could wear them. (the shoes are cute but I never wear brown). All this is walking distance from our house.

- The food is terrible!

- They put beet root on hamburgers.

- You can't get thousand island dressing. anywhere. They only serve oil and vinegar in restaurants.

- 99% of the people in New Zealand are really genuinely nice.

- I'm pronouncing words funny and it scares the hell out of me.

- find myself saying Zed.... instead of Zee. USA is the only country who pronounces it Zee. No matter how many times an American says "but it's a Zeee!" the rest of the world will stare down their nose at you with a look of pity and say "don't even go there".

- The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful and the Kiwis seem to be having a hard time keeping it that way. They've made some real environmental blunders in the past. A kiwi's natural instinct is to kill and eat a species until it is completely wiped out and then move on to next easiest thing to kill and adapt your diet. The Maoris almost starved on this island filled with wingless birds. (wingless bird extinction helped by the Europeans who brought such predators as possums, cats, and ferrets).

- There was an incredible amount of cannibalism on this island. "we killed them, we enslaved them and we ate them, that is the way of our people"
and the English say "right! fine with us! we've been doing that sort of thing for centuries, except for the eating people part of course."

- The kiwi equivalent of our Fourth of July celebration ends on the brink of civil war, every year. Last year the Queen's liaison was spat upon by an elder Maori woman. Something about cheating the Maoris out of their land, I'm sure glad we don't have anything like that in our past.

- A burrito. (or even a decent tortilla) tastes reeeaally good when you haven't had it for 6 months.

- It is very easy to join a club. I joined the ping pong club and now play times a week. My friend joined a badminton club. Driving around I see all kinds of clubs - croquet, tennis, lawn bowling - just find something you can do and join the club - its cheap too and the people are friendly, devoid of the 'jock' mentality that would reign in a similar club in America (if you could find it).

- Neighbors drop by unannounced. We've had many dinner parties that started out as an evening alone. I like it. We eat at the table. We talk. TV is terrible here so you
don't watch it.

SOME KIWI EXPRESSIONS

"bangers" - sausages
"ropey" - questionable, not good.
"cock-up" - big mistake
"gob-smacked " - surprised
"palava" -debacle
"that shot's a real palava."
"Take a squiz" - a quick glance
"wheelie bin" - trash can
"Biff it out" - throw it out
"panel beater" - a car body shop
"use a trolley" - use a shopping cart
"ginger nuts" - ginger snaps
"cello tape" - scotch tape

May 21

Moving to New Zealand has simplified my life considerably in many ways. I find it easy to focus and I have very few interruptions during the day while I work. I really appreciate the clean air, especially this time of year (autumn), when everything is so crisp. I've had no problems at all with my asthma since I've been here.

Of course, I have my moods to contend with. I go through these "poetic" sad cycles which I'm learning to avoid by playing ping pong at least twice a week. I just got a new "bat" so I may begin playing 3X a week in the near future. Ping Pong is good for everything. It heightens my reflexes, fills a need to just hang with a bunch of nutty people otherwise unrelated to my life, and helps to keep me buoyant.

May 5th

6:52 a.m. and the streaks of color of this morning's sunrise are almost imperceptible in the mauve-grey sky turning a rich blue, like litmus paper, in the spots where there are no clouds. I love it when there are so many different kinds of clouds. A deep turquoise background, burgundy-grey stratus clouds and big puffy blue-gray ceruleans decorate my view in yet another amazing tableau. Cinco de Mayo in New Zealand and fortunatissima am I. Its like every morning I am given yet another masterpiece of lighting and movement over the bay. I like to go out on the balcony even when its chilly to smell the salty breeze and taste the mist. I inhale the wonderful Wellington air. If you pay attention you can actually feel little tiny particles of moisture and it feels like a drizzle, but you know its just that puffy cloud meandering by.

This is my welcoming committee every time I open my front door. Pukka and Chiva agree they've got it made here in New Zealand, with a formidable house to protect complete with big fenced yard, a beach that we walk to almost every day and all sorts of new friends, all within walking distance. I have a human friend named Holly who lives in the immediate neighborhood. She and her canine companion Saff meet us twice a week at the Eastern Walkway trailhead, an easy 1 km hoof from my house. The trail itself runs parallel to the Coast, with a most spectacular view overlooking the Cook Strait. On a clear day you can see the South Island, so near and yet so far away...

The ever changing light play and clouds make this one 6 km (rt) hike very inspiring, plus there are all sorts of mysterious trail options, one of them leading to a Maori monument. My favorite route is to start off in the "grandma's woods" area, full of creaky trees, rustling bushes and melodious, virtuoso bellbirds. We normally take this way down and then cross over through a little stretch of private property which connects to the parallel coast walkway.
This shot is taken from our friend george's pad. he lives just down the street, so we visit him alot, oftentimes en route to the chocolate fish for coffee and a snack. the dogs like to visit george. his is usually the first stop en route to a the beach and then to the fish, where penny (the owner) always has a big bowl of water and a treat ready for them.

PING PONG
A short story by Mona-Lia Ventress

The score is 18 all. The two lovers are in a sweat in the two oâclock sun. He is wearing white shorts, no shirt. She is wearing her pink bikini and sun bonnet. They are both barefooted on the sun deck. Waves crash nearby.

He says, while deftly serving the ball,
ã I think I am a capable family man, honest and reliable.ä

She says, returning the serve with skill,
ãI am sincere, willing, able to love and feel empathy. ä

Slicing the ball into the far right corner of the table, he says,
ãOthers perceive me as handsome and happy-go-lucky.ä

She gets the tricky shot, but her rhythm is thrown off.

Taking advantage of her loss of balance, he slams the ball,
ãI hate people who are too positive, too happy, too naturally cool or too eager.ä

She cannot return this ball.
ãNineteen to eighteenä he triumphs, serving the ball again.

She effortlessly slams an impressive return,
ãI have decided that I want to love you, even though sometimes your stinging sarcasm hurts me.ã

He misses the ball.
Serving, he mutters,
ãnineteen allä...
His serve is a tricky ball that bounces oddly in the corner, but she gets it, saying,
ãSometimes itâs hard, but I try to refrain from name calling. I try not to bring in a third party to settle an argument. I try not to make cheap shots and to maintain a sense of humor.ä

He returns the ball, laughing,
ãI think that we should hold hands when we argue.ä

She nails a winning point,
ãI want a career and lots of girlfriends. Am I asking too much?ä

He says quickly ,
ãnineteen to twenty,ä
He serves an unreturnable ball, and shouts,
ãtwenty all! ...
I am sarcastic, canât help it. Itâs in my genes. I am also admittedly tactless and brash, but Iâm a prude at heart, although I come off as being a wild man. America turns me off yet Iâm proud to be an Americanä.

She says, returning the volley with grace,
ãSometimes I get scared when you are sarcastic and mean. You get this look in your eyes...this is when I feel you have lost respect for me. I know you donât see or hear me. You close off completely.ä

He misses the ball, losing the point.
ãtwenty to twenty-one, game point,ä he says quietly while serving.

She returns it, ãIâm on the pill. I no longer take Prozac. ã

He says, ãI want three children,ä hitting a net ball.

She says, ãI donât want any children.ä
She smashes the ball, causing it to crunch in his side.
ãGAME!ä

Downtown Seatoun is one block long. Living here in Seatoun has a lot of charm. In some ways it is like living in the 50's. For instance, a few days ago I had my asthma prescriptions filled at the local Seatoun Pharmacy, which I normally walk to with the dogs. Because it would take at least 20 minutes to fill the prescription that morning, Julia the owner offered to and later did drop the filled order off to me on her way home. When she didn't have change for my $20, she said, "just drop the money off next time you're in town." The local post shop is also a book store, school supplies store, dry cleaner and shoe repair center. Across the street is a fresh fruit and vegetable store, the Fairy Shop and a Dairy Store (mini market).

But there are days where I feel like life is a bit too rural here in Seatoun. On days like that I like to go downtown just to be around people. So far the weather has been holding out, but I imagine that a month or 2 from now it will probably get lonely here. I'm glad to have the dogs. They are really good companions.

Swamp Queen

("Swamp Queen" is a QuikTime video of me wrastling a gator
in Bayou country outside New Orleans ten years ago).

I just joined a PING PONG club. (called table tennis here) and now play
every Sunday from 9:30 - 12:30 with a bunch of pros. They're all very nice,
are teaching me technique and are keen to recruit me into the upcoming
tournaments.

This is really fun for me. The club has 9 tables and about 20 members. We
all play each other for 20 minutes, then swap partners, so you are always
playing different people and gettng to know everyone's game in the
process. They are extremely friendly and boast and international team. A
couple of Koreans, a German, me from USA, some Chinese, a Pakistani man...
The most refreshing thing about this club is that there are no discernable
attitudes. SO this is what excites me most at the moment.

APRIL 18, 2001

MAGIC MOMENTS

On my walk down to Seatoun today my eyes focused on a tree with a beautiful monarch butterfly resting on a fleshy leaf, basking in the one o'clock sun. I made the dogs sit still while I observed in silence. Soon I noticed other butterflies all resting in different trees soaking in the warm sun rays. I starting looking for butterflies, counting them - one, two, three, five, seven...and I noticed one swoop through the sky almost hitting my hat. Other butterflies began swirling about, though many remained resting. Another butterfly swooped at my hat, making me duck. Soon a swell of about seven butterflies swooped past me, barely grazing my hat. I could almost hear them telling me, "Move along now. You've seen enough. Move along now."

MARCH 25, 2001

POETIC MUSINGS

the full moon mocks me
big and bright, she laughs at me.

I cannot get my house to quit buzzing. My mind is unquiet. Restless and
unable to fixate on anything. So I sit and stare at the moon over the bay.
If not from the moon, then from where should I seek my inspiration?
An occasional ship slices through the moonlight like a rogue idea. Where did it come from and what is its mission?

Looking into the core of myself I see nothing. AM I gone? Where is my
voice? I listen but hear only the constant buzz of computers and
refrigerators and lights. I see the ocean but cannot hear it.

Maybe its okay to let myself feel after all. Maybe I don't need to stay
numb any more. Maybe my ideas will come out in a clear and logical
progression if I don't force them. What is it all about and what do I
really want to do? My battle rages on, poetic under the moonlight.

MARCH 11, 2001


OUR NEW TENT

This week I experienced the first hints of what they call an Arctic blast -
it was deceptively gorgeous out, surreal and brassy "God rays" fanned out
like the Japanese symbol for the Rising sun. We could see clouds innocently
waft by our big picture windows in a northerly direction. But when I opened
the door to let the dogs out to do their morning business a big fist of
spine chilling air blasted the door open. Now I know what they mean
when they talk about the "icy southerly winds" - seems we are in a
direct line of fire to be the first recipients of Antartican wind blasts.

Today is an equally gorgeous day out, splendid sunrise, etc. but there is a
big difference. The breeze is coming from the north, and it is a perfect
day to go out on a hike with the dogs wearing shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt.
I try to take advantage of every great day and hike with the dogs. I've done the whole "Eastern Walkway" and most of the "Southern" Walkway, which is more thanmany Wellingtonians have done, I'm told.

Recently I've been hiking in the nearby rainforest. I only discovered that Wellington has a rainforest a couple of weeks ago, when we camped near it.
(that's our new 'thing' now that the dogs are with us; camping, though I don't know how much more camping we'll get in this season.)

Details pending as Autumn unfolds.
¨Y«¨Y«¨Y«¨

PHOTO

MARCH 3, 2001


One of the first things I noticed when I moved here to Wellington is the
constant everchanging light. Phantom shadows overcome you, so sunrays always appear to be dancing. A city of dancing sunlight is not what I was expecting. In fact I had no idea what to expect. I had heard about the wind, but who hasn't? I was certainly expecting to see more sheep. We were here over a month before we finally found ourselves in sheep country. I was expecting the summer to be warmer.

As my future becomes my present, I am thankful for the opportunities that
have presented themselves to me these last five years.

On a sunny day like today cicadas provide a constant white noise background.
Bellbirds trill and a blackbird is taking a thorough shower and rinse in our
sprinklers, luxuriating in the constant soft flow of water.

Y«¨Y«¨Y«¨Y«

MARCH 1, 2001

Riding a speedboat throughout the Marlboro Sounds is FUN! Easy too. Sluicing through the warm waters of the South Island - unlike the chilly Wellington water, this water is warmed by a continental plate.

We were the hallmark picture postcard couple, speeding through all the azure labyrinths, each one full of inviting, mysterious, lush beaches and hundreds of bays. Had we known how to anchor the boat we would have swum to a beach, but we'll have to save that experience for next time. With our luck, the boat would have taken off without us and we would have been stranded. So instead we hovered in our favorite bay, eating cheese puffs and sipping our respective beverages.

The guy who rented us the boat told us that if we got stranded or in any trouble to use the radio and say, "Portage Gold, over" and the shop would answer. They would walk us through the problem. He made a big deal about how we must dock tho boat in stall number 32, but didn't actually show us how.

2 hours later, we made it back to the dock area easily. But we were like Laurel and Hardy trying to get to boat into stall 32. First we realized there is no brake. The boat slammed in idle into the general stall area which effectively stopped it in stall #33. Its hard to make a boat move sideways we found out, so Mark hopped out on the right side to pull the boat over to stall #32 (way to the left of where the boat was). The boat turned sideways in the stall, which was embarrassing. Mark was yelling - "Push! Get up and push the back end out," but I was busy trying to radio the shop we rented from.

"Radio Portage Gold over " I yelled into the microphone, squeezing the handle like they showed me and saying the the exact words they instructed us to say, and then putting it up to my ear. Meanwhile, a big group of about 14 suitcase laden people tramps by to catch a water taxi. We must have looked ridiculous, Mark trying to pull the boat around, me desperately trying to send radio signals for help. All I can hear in response is static. (we found out later that they had the volume turned down so they could hear the phone ring).

Finally I gave the rear end a big shove, Mark pulled the front end of the side it was supposed to be tied to and manages to tie the boat in #32. I jumped out on the left and grasped the other rear end of the boat. Finally we tied it up in the right spot, ignored the gawking tourists and returned the keys to the shop.

*¿*¿*¿
*¿*¿*¿

FEBRUARY 23
Here is a fun video I did in 1990 with my band,
The SKANSKTERS.

IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER:

Partners in Rhyme hitting the right note
19 FEBRUARY 2001

By AMANDA WELLS

Bubbling volcanoes and windy Wellington can be heard on a website two
Americans have created which sells sounds.

MonaLia Ventress and Mark Tait Lewis moved to Wellington because of Mr
Lewis's work on special effects for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

They started their company, called Partners in Rhyme, in Los Angeles as a
free resource for multimedia professionals, then began selling their sounds
over the Internet three years ago.

The website receives about 6000 visitors a day, Ms Ventress says, and the
company has probably sold between 500 and 1000 CDs in the past three
years.

Many customers use the sounds as soundtracks for movies they edit on their
computers, she says, and they are also widely used by animators using
Macromedia's Flash software.

Prices for the CDs range between US$29.99 (NZ$66.6) and $129.99.

Ms Ventress says she has been recording volcanic sound effects on White
Island and the sounds of wind in Wellington.

She says the pair used to write music for television and commercials, before
becoming involved in sound recording, which started as a hobby.

Ms Ventress is collecting enough New Zealand sounds for a CD, which will be
sold on the couple's website at:

www.partnersinrhyme.com

along with the five CDs they have available at the moment.

One of the CDs has tracks that function like building blocks and can be put in
any order and still sound like a flowing piece of music.

The site offers an archive of sounds effects, Midi files and audio shareware
for free downloading, as well as a message board that people can use to
search for particular sounds.

Ms Ventress says the company has sent orders to the Vatican, Uruguay, and
China, and is looking into buying the rights to a Russian recording studio's
classical music collection.

When they moved to Wellington and were waiting for their computer hardware
to arrive, Partners in Rhyme operated out of Miramar cyber-cafe Capitol
Internet Access.
Y«´Y«´Y«´

FEBRUARY 8

AS long as it is summer here, I don't miss Los Angeles. I miss my family and friends, but not life in the city.

The dogs have been with us a week now and life is pretty idyllic. I walk the dogs either to the beach or to a trail I found that begins in Seatoun and supposedly goes through Maori grounds. There are so many forks to take off that path that it will take quite a few hikes to do the whole thing.

Hiking gets my lungs working, and I like to come home and record a melodica or clavietta part for whatever I'm working on.

Sometimes I can't believe what great fortune I have in this life. Mark finds his job challenging and stimulating for the most part. He got his buddy from Los Angeles, George, a job at his company and now George has a place just around the corner, slightly closer to the beach. He has become part of our new extended family, and fills both of our needs for a brother.
CLICK HERE for a great shot of Mark and George.

JANUARY 19

CLick here to view a very early, vintage Mona-Lia animation. Here's another one

JANUARY 7, 2000

White Island

For the Holidays we went on a sound design excursion to the active volcano of White Island to sample the otherworldly hissing fumaroles and boiling mud. The next day we drove to the geothermal region of Rotorua, where we continued to sample the many geysers,
steaming vents,
bubbling mud sounds.

HERE I am trying to videotape Mark recording the sounds, but I'm envelopped in a burst of steam.

Here's some footage from the crest of the STEAMING CRATER.

Next we drove through lush farmland and thick rainforest to Hot Water Beach in Coromandel, a beautiful surf beach. At low tide hot water bubbles up at a particular place in the sand and you dig yourself a "hot pool" to bathe in. When the water is too hot, you take a swim in the Pacific! It's quite a unique sensation, especially knowing that the hot water comng from the sand is fresh water.
Y«´Y«´Y«

HAPPY NEW YEARS 2001

DECEMBER 15, 2000

Written my last night in Auckland:

I must confess I fell in love with this city. Auckland is a much bigger city than
Wellington, and it sprawls like San Francisco, decorated with parks and little
unexpected byways filled with the parapets of sidewalk cafes. Coffee is very
popular here, and I have yet to have a bad cappuccino in NZ.

My first day I visited the dogs in quarantine, an experience similar to visiting
your child in prison. They seem well adjusted, frolicking together for show, but
it was difficult to leave them in their cement cell. I feel guilty that I can only
tolerate being there with all the barking of fellow inmates for little over 20
minutes.

Day #2 - I took a ferry ride to Rangitoto Island; black endless mounds of
porous black, balsatic rock sprouting trees miraculously bursting in red. The
Pahutukawa tree blossoms only at Christmas time. It is a strenuous but
rewarding 2 km climb to the top of the crater, where there is a 360 degree
view of Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf.

Day #3 - I loved the alien landscape of Rangitoto so much that I returned to
climb to the top via a longer, more circuitous route, sans backpack, equipped
only with a bottle of water and a bag of mixed fruit and nuts in my pockets.
This time I also explored the fern grotto and the lava caves that I bypassed
the day before.

Day #4 - I did a Beach and Bush Tour which brought us to the rain forest and
to the black sand beach of Pija, famous as the location of the Oscar winning
movie, The Piano and also of many Xena Warrior Princess and Hercules
episodes.

TOMORROW - a ferry ride to Devonport ("over the bridge"), a visit to the
famous Cheltenham beach. Pay the dogs a last visit, then fly home to
Wellington.

I've slapped together a QT movie of Auckland with the little bit of footage I
took.

CLICK HERE

to see my Auckland movie.

DECEMBER 3, 2000

This is my new studio from where I write. This view overlooks the bay. click here for a view of the roses in my front yard.
CLICH HERE to see my first movie from NZ.
Y« Y« Y«

NOVEMBER 27, 2000

Today we drove to the other side of the bay, and to our delight the road ended at a little place with a German man renting bikes. We had come upon a historical trailhead open only to foot traffic and bicycle traffic. SO we slathered the sunscreen moiturizers on and set out along a gravel trail with wild goats and historical landmarks (mostly of shipwrecks), unfrendly looking black sands, weird, exotic spiky but colorful vegetation and we actually made it to the Cook Strait. Because we only rented the bikes for an hour, we decided to turn around once we actually made it to the strait (wind blowing straight at us, no pun intended.) We decided that next weekend we'll return and bring our techno back pak.

NOVEMBER 23, 2000

The good news is that I'm all hooked up now, in my own little studio with a fireplace, easel and picture view windows of the Bay. This is my first day "up" in my new Mondo Lia Studio. I feel like the luckiest girl alive.

It's a typically sunny but breezy day here in Wellington. I realize that I have to
make friends with the wind. I must keep an eye out for a perfect sunny but windy day hat. A cute one, if it exists.
***
Mark (MTL) and I have been invited by WETA, his new company, for Thanksgiving turkey on the beach. It is a little celebration for WETA employees and their spouses. Here's the catch though; MTL is stuck at work fine tuning a shot he's done for the super bowl trailor. SO I am going as a WETA widow. It is a sunny but breezy day. Because I have decided it would be in my best interest to make friends with the wind anyway, I walk and enjoy the warm but strong breeze. I am presently scribbling from the bottom of my trail, from where I can see a billowing white tent at the point, and hear a bass and saxophone wafting my way in the strong breeze. There are people milling around. I walk into the wind, which caresses my sunscreened face to nonchalantly join the food line.

*** LATER ***

Good meal, friendly and nice looking group of employees from all departments. Turkey rolls catered by Pan D'oro, my favorite bakery here. Biscotti too. Fresh squeezed orange juice and 2 cappuccinos before heading back home, in the direction of the wind. The hobbit-like trail to my house gets easier and easier to scale back up with every trip. I wish I had wings, as this wind would certaily carry me.

Turns out that Sir Ian Mc Clellum (sp), who plays Ganalf in the movie MTL is working on, lives next door to me. I saw him out front washing his car. I knew he lived close by, but not THAT close!
*@&*@&*@&*

NOVEMBER 19, 2000

Yesterday I went on a GREAT hike. I was feeling meloncholy, missing my dogs and my friends. I opted to scale the ridge ABOVE the beach, which runs parallel to the shore. The panorama reminded me of Malibu, Leo Carillo specifically, and I became more meloncholy. After hiking for about an hour I came upon a beach with three nudists. All three were very PINK and one of them quite fat. Viewing them from my safe haven in the cliffs, I couldn't stop laughing; I felt like a voyeur that stumbled upon a silly scene. It was the perfect remedy for those blues...

On the hike back I ran into the sculptor Diane, whom I met the day before.
"Bare Bum Beach," she said, "you hiked to Bare Bum Beach. That's what we call it here."

I am so afraid of the ozone hole in NZ that I coudn't imagine exposing my privates to the radioactive sun.

NOVEMBER 17, 2000

Lunch at the Seatoun Cafe, located across the street from the Fairy Shop, and 2 blocks from my favorite beach trailhead. Today is yet another of those "lovely, lovely" days (that's a favorite word in these parts). The weather forecast predicts that this afternoon a chilly "southwesterly" rain and wind will change what is now a warm "north western" breeze.
My new "thing" lately is to take a notepad and pen with me when I hike, nothing heavy. Then I transcribe to my computer later.

I order a cauliflower soup, which is quite delicious. I have just come from the Fairy Shop, where I had a serendipitous moment; Just yesterday Linda emailed me how she had been shopping for purple capes in Santa Clara but to no avail. I just now popped in to the Fairy Shop to ask if they knew where I could find one.
"Boy, this is YOUR lucky day!" Dorothy the Fairy Godmother , owner of the shop replied. "For an adult, right?"
"Yes."
"Why, I just finished making a lovely purple cape this afternoon. You must be a lucky person. I thought I would get started early for the Christmas Parade on December 16th. I just now sewed the last seam in. It's the first costume I've made," scurrying to her Fairy Dell headquarters in the back room and returning with a dark purple cape.
Because Linda might read this, I won't mention the price of the cape, but BOY, was it a steal! I paid for it and asked if I could drop by later with my car.
"Why, of course," Fairy Godmother Dorothy cooed, already distracted because she was thinking of the next coustume she would make. "By the way, you MUST come to the Christmas Parade in December. It's a Seatoun highlight."

I was tempted to keep the cape for myself, but Dorothy admonished me.
"You know the best gifts are ones you covet for yourself. You should definitely give it to the person who wished for it as a present, so that in return someone else will give YOU a present you wish for."

My waitress, Alex, clears my soup dish and brings me a cappuccino. I'll need the energy boost to climb back up the hill after I finish these scribblings.
* * *
Later,

After coming home, I drove down to the Fairy shop, inspired by Dorothy's advice and sent the Merlin cape to Linda. YEAH! I did the 'right' thing. I don't NEED a purple cape, and it was not I who wished for it.

Now I sit and light the fire. The weather is living up to the forecast, and it is now cold and beginning to rain.

NOVEMBER 15, 2000
After 3 weeks of running Partners In Rhyme from cyber cafes and a box, it is great to be connected at home again.

We found out that we are not just a global company, but we can in reality run it from any country that has a cyber cafe and a post office for us to use. This is a liberating idea. Fortunately I thought ahead and brought plenty of CD-ROMS ready to go. This tangent in new Zealand might be our first step in becoming the "sound design gypsies" we aspire to be.

Today is yet another splendidly sunny spring day in Wellington and I'm off now to enjoy it.

I am starting to look Maori, but I can feel the Maori spirit
peering at me,
scrutinizing my intentions when I hike through the cliffs.

November 14, 2000

Lunch hour at the "Chocolate Fish" in Miramar. I set out walking here about 45 minutes ago and have managed to beat the lunch crowd that arrives in about 20 minutes. This is the most popular (and only) cafe on the beach in Miramar. It is a friendly place with lots of dogs and people sitting outside. Bold little birds swoop leftovers off the table tops as soon as someone vacates a table. There is a "waiter crossing" sign on the road, but the poor waiters, at lunch hour, are seen dodging across the road with soup, panini and cappuccinos. They are quite nimble, as I have observed one of them spin around to miss a car, with the tray never for a moment out of control. I look forward someday to actually seeing some blue penguins on my hike here, as there are also two "Blue Penguin" crossing signs along the trail that parallels the beach. The Chocolate Fish, run by a likable local character named Penny, is a perfect destination for a long hike from home.

As I eat my ginger carrot orange soup, I decide that I like the cream of potato/ rosemary soup better although they are both good. My cappuccino arrives just as I finish my soup.

All the blondes at the cafe today remind me of Phoebe Legere from "Friends"; tall, Nordic and somewhat eccentric.

November 7, 2000

Hello from New Zealand.

Having settled in and gotten online at my new home, an extraordinary 5 bedroom villa with 4 rooms overlooking the Bay, I just popped in to let my friends know that i LOVE New Zealand and have already made 2 new friends. VIEW of my living room from the front yard.

This marks the beginning of my New Zealand Daily Journal.