THE NEXT ACT

I have been blogging in Blogspot for more than a year now. Well! Well! Well!

"Do you wanna ride the Gondola?" Ruth asked me when we were on vacation in Rotorua. For me that was very interesting. When I think of Gondola, what comes to mind is the romantic boat in Venice, Italy. They have them here. Great. Finally I would ride a gondola. And so the Palines Clan and I went to Skyline to ride the Gondola. When we reached skyline I tried to take a look beyond the ticket line and I haven't seen any canal or any small boat. All I could see was the mountain and cable cars. And so I learned that gondolas are cable cars in Rotorua. Take a look at this video! Gondolas or cable cars would bring us on top of Mt Ngogotaha where we had the extensive views of Rotorua City, lake, geothermal activity and surrounding hinterlands. The kids were so excited to ride the Luge which they have been mentioning on our way to the Skyline. What is Luge? The Luge is a fun ride for all ages. A World 'First' proudly designed and built in Rotorua, the Luge is a fun filled ...

I was in Christchurch Airport waiting for flight to Auckland when Brigitta told me that I got a flight scheduled to leave for Taupo this coming Monday. I haven’t recovered yet from the taste of England of Christchurch and here I was having to think of another interview in Taupo District Council. I checked on my email and there it was my electronic ticket to Taupo. I felt bad right away because the flight to Taupo was scheduled at 7:30 am and the flight to Auckland was scheduled at 11:30 am. It lead me to think that I have no ample time to look around. I heard that there are a lot of interesting lakes and falls in Taupo to see. Well! When I arrived in Taupo Airport, I immediately looked for a taxi that will bring me to the council. Just when I was about to go through main door of the building, a Chinese lady with perfect kiwi accent was running to catch me calling my name. She introduced herself by the name of Krissy from HR department of the council. She was the one who would bring me ...

Palm Sunday is celebrated in New Zealand very much the same way we celebrate it back home. The only difference is that you can have palms for free and you can just get them from a box displayed beside the main entrance of the church. And a palm is just a small branch of a cypress.

I went back to the Cathedral Square in front of the Christchurch Cathedral. The flea market was setting up. And then I noticed a crowd watching a street performer within the large area of the square! My God! There are street performers in the Square. Who says Christchurch is a lonely place? They seemed enjoying the funny street performer who calls himself Bruce as he did juggling acts and stunts. I thought that this was interesting and I watched. He was a funny guy because I found myself laughing with the audience. Bruce was a crowd drawer and he even had the talent to convince two guys and a lady to volunteer in some of his acts. Or maybe it does not need talent to summon people here to volunteer because kiwis are such "cowboys". After his last act, he held his hat in front and the crowd just swarmed in and put money inside his hat and even thanked him. For me that was amazing. The crowd may have just enjoyed the show and left. But they just have to approach the guy and show...

I was told that Christchurch is a beautiful place and it is called the Little England of New Zealand. So when I was invited for an interview in Christchurch City Council I became so excited right away. The interview would happen at 10 in the morning of Friday, March 30. So Jovy from Christchurch City Council booked me on flight to the city at 6:30 am. I requested Jovy a flight back to Auckland at 7:10 pm of the same day so that I would have some time to look around. My request was granted. She sounded nice by the phone. I checked my Email at night and there was my electronic ticket. Everything was settled. Great! Christchurch, here I come! I arrived in the Christchurch City Airport 8:30 am. I took a cab going the City Council. I got a good chat with the lady driver who has been a cab driver for twelve years. I fell in love right away with place when I got a glance by the cab window many joggers along the path of the huge North Hagley Park. I got off the cab in front of the Buiding of t...

I flew to Rotorua for a job Interview in the District Council. It went well.Rotorua is small town but very famous in attracting many visitors because of its beautiful lakes, Hot Pools, Redwood Forest and giant geysers.Too bad, I did not get to see a single one of them for I only had an hour interview and I got to fly back to Auckland City.Inside the airport, while waiting for my flight back in Auckland City, I ordered a latte in a coffee shop. I couldn't seem to take a sip because I was enjoying looking at the design the waitress made on the froth of my latte.

The bay is outstandingly beautiful. It attracts people who use to enjoy night life by the sea. Several bars are along the stretch of the coast. In some part, you can take a good look at the Sky Tower.

One more station after New Market Station is the Britomart Station. Getting out of the station would lead you to famous Queen Street which is somewhat like the Ayala in Makati. In front of the station is the West City Mall. The size of it is just as big as a typical Robinson. Walking along Queen Street and just like in Broadway Street in New market, you would see a lot of restaurants, Mcdo, KFC, Burger King, Starbucks, beauty shops, clothing stores, Starmart. Civic Theatre, the Aotea Centre, Art Gallery and the Townhall are also along Queen Street.If you haven't seen the Sky Tower when you are in the City, it's like you haven't been in the city at all. You got to see it. Sky Tower: 328 meters tall, with 360 degree views of the city, 3 viewing platform, glass floor and fronted lifts, 3 restaurants, Sky Jump, Vertigo Climb and a gift shop.When I was there for the first time, I happend to see a parade of graduates of Auckland Institute of Technology.

I use the train going to New Market. When I first heard about New Market the thing that came to mind was a typical busy wet and dry market. It was a mistake. It is a commercial area where malls and theatres are everywhere. Walking along Broadway Street woud just cover all of what New Market is all about.

I jog in the morning and end up in Pak n' Save. It is something like the Puregold in Pinas. I might like to hang out in the Library and be a geek. But really, it is so comfy inside. I like it there. There are computers where you can look into their database the books you like.

I got to spend overnight in Brunei for a stop over in my flight from Manila to Auckland New Zealand. In the morning after breakfast in Brunei Hotel, I still had the chance to walk around and to take some shots of the famous Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque with its Golden Dome.I was surprised when I saw Jollibee in Brunei.

I am trying to take a couple of pictures of britney but she is still not used to me around the house. Everytime I come near her she just run away. I did not see her for the first two days in the house because Allan told me that she kept on hiding from me. I was surprised when a huge cute black cat appears in the sala on my third day in the house. She is still avoiding me, sensing every move I make to approach her. (Click image for more images.)

Two days in Auckland and it seems I have been here for two weeks. The adjustments, sightseeing and learning are overwhelming that I became numb with the time. Auckland map and Vodafone became my security. They are the items that I must possess in order to move on, to venture and to take risky routes. Just in case something goes wrong and consulting the map on the road won’t help you a bit, a loaded Vodafone would connect you to friends to rescue. I am not really a guy who is not easily lost. As long as there are signs in all roads and a map I would find my way to the destination. Auckland seems to be efficient in their road signs. I still don’t drive here so I don’t bother to learn the driving rules although I have been given a quick instruction on it. I just have to possess a car and have to drive so that my brain would generate learning nerves for driving rules. Today, I am gonna try take the bus and ride the train to the city and force my brain to learn the hard...

Dad: Son, I will allow you to drive my car if you can drink these straight up. JC: I think I still like my stroller, Dad.

JC likes french fries a lot. He visits Jollibee almost everyday because the food chain is a walking-distance away from our house. He likes running around Jollibee and driving the security guard and the food attendants crazy. As I have said he likes french fries. Yesterday, he noticed I dipped my fries to a cup of ketchup. Hmmm. He thought it was interesting so he tried it. Blek!!! "Here, Daddy. You can have mine." "Blek!" I imitated. He laughed so hard. "Do that again, Daddy!"

It's final! I just recieved my working visa for New Zealand. I got to pack my bags. Big Change! Got to face it! This is for my loved ones.

Numb. The house is full hatred. Maybe that is the reason why I can’t think anything positive. I know I should have to be more open. I know I should be more fluid. I know I have to be more obedient to the flow. O whatever. I just want to type and type and type until I get a crack on my head for some juicy staff to come out. But no matter how I pound my head and no matter how the crack gets bigger and bigger, my brain seems to be frozen solid: nothing really flows. Got to heat up. Ice Cubes stuck in a tray for so long has to be washed over by flowing water from the faucet. Maybe I just have to take a shower. Nah, that won’t do. I need something stronger than water. I am thinking of hard drinks but it’s too early. Coffee will do. Sip. Sip. Sip.

I am not a frequent reader of the Bible but I have an idea of what words come from the Bible and what do not. I may not be very well versed but I know what's white from black. I may have questions in the Bible and the Lord has an option to enlighten me or not because we are here to obey the word and not basically to question. It is a matter of putting faith in the word.

Days are numbered. This is a little scary since a big change in my life will happen soon. Thinking of all the preparations needed would overwhelm me. I just have to think of them one at the time. There are also some unnecessary worries here and there. What-ifs creep in just like that and decay my thought of scary scenarios. I am praying that everything will be alright. I am not thinking of myself now. I have my own family to look after. I am on the track of really going all the way. No turning back. The comfort zone leaves me bit by bit as I proceed. I wish that the comfort zone won’t leave at least my baby. I hope that he stays happy forever. I am doing this for him. I got to go on. I prayed hard for this. I believe God blesses me and He is 100% on my side with this decision. I wouldn’t have done this without consulting Him.