I’m going to write six words that will probably piss everyone reading this off.

I have too much free time.

Now, before you go writing your senator to complain, think about this. Daily, I read 200 pages of novels, text books, blog posts; I clean my bedroom (sometimes twice because I am that messy of an individual). I do daily laundry. I go to the gym. I apply for jobs. I’ll walk the dog. Sounds like a full day right?

It takes less that three hours.

Conversely, my roommates are two hardworking individuals that are occupied all day. One is studying nursing, the other is running his honey company. When they get home after long days of work or clinical, they don’t pop in front of the TV and sit until tomorrow starts, they keep productive.

For example, William is currently renovating the bathroom, while Rebecca is always cooking/baking/planning social events to make sure we’re all fully happy. And the funny thing is they never, ever complain about not having enough time. They also have one of the healthiest relationships I’ve ever seen, another Kiwi trait I’ve noticed here that’s making every relationship back home look like middle school flings. But I digress.

We’re told growing up, that we can be anything we want to if we work hard enough for it. Now, that simply is a boldfaced lie; regardless of how hard I work, I simply don’t have the capacity, status and/or genes to become Stephen Hawking, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or a Rockefeller (although if there are any good looking 20-30 year olds in that family…) I’m not sure if it was growing up in a suburban town that led me to feel this sense of entitlement and expecting stimuli/success at a constant rate, but it is ever present. What someone really should’ve said is, you can definitely have a life that doesn’t suck if you get up off your ass and apply yourself!

If I’ve learned one thing from Kiwis, it is not to be passive. There is so much time, every day, that just gets wasted if you allow it to be. Yesterday, I learned more about building composting retaining chambers than I ever would’ve thought to learn. I also stacked two kits of wood with a teammate and William. And this was a recover day after playing a match and going out the night before. But there it is! Everyone here keeps active, be that socially, with regards to obligations, with leisure, etc. It is incredible.

It does leave you questioning your own internal fortitude. And it makes me a bit nervous to come back home.

This is not to say that I’m feeling sorry for myself. What I am witnessing here is inspiring me to be a person of a bit more substance. I’ve got graduate school coming up in less than four months. It will take time. It will take effort. While I was studying at University, I remember this ever impending pressure that comes when you think that there were always assignments due, and never enough time.

Looking back, truthfully, there was a lot of Xbox, partying and sleeping in too late because, you know, life is hard when you have three classes a day and have nothing to fill the rest of the day with (reflecting upon Freshman and Sophomore year (side note: I paid how much for that education again? …idiot!)).

So, here I am, sitting at the coffee table, writing this blog post, encouraging all of us, but mainly myself to get up and do something with your day. Yes, work sucks for the majority of us and you’ll never have time enough to do what you want to do. But personally, rather than dwell on the fact that I’ll never be a millionaire, professional athlete, rock star, astronaut, celebrity chef…I gotta tell my ego to go jump in the lake and just do things that will make me happy, even if it takes more effort, in turn making me a better person.

So my (self)advice, learn something, ask questions, don’t be afraid to look like an idiot. There’s always more time than you think. It’s a helluva lot more rewarding to throw yourself into a new situation and have a semblance of an idea on what you’re surrounding yourself with, even if it’s foreign to you, than it is to sit idly and let the experiences you could be involved in slip by due to lethargy. Everyone’s an imbecile in something and an expert in others, bridging the gaps makes for a better “community.”

Find a way to enjoy exactly where you are at this moment in time and try to not let the day slip through your fingers.

It’s good to be back.

It’s the start of winter here and I could not be happier to have layers on, knowing full well that I’ve escaped a sweltering asphalt filled summer in NYC.

I was welcomed yesterday by high humidity, gray overcast skies, spots of rain, and two smiles I hadn’t seen in over a year. William and Rebecca, my host family, roommates, whatever terminology suits best, were quick to scoop me up and rush me into Auckland, where we grabbed coffee, caught up and headed to brunch with Rebecca’s family.

I have forgotten how odd the pricing of NZ can be. Breakfast 15.90 NZD (13.50USD); it was unbelievably delicious, and it was the weirdest thing not to have to tip your server for the lack luster service you get at just about every restaurant globally anyway (thank you for that NZ!). …For beer drinkers concerned here it was  $23.90 for a 12pk of…okay brew, that oddly enough gets their hops from the NW United States.

After the meal we swung back to William’s parents about an hour outside the city to pick up some fruits and vegetables from their lakehouse garden. What an awesome sight to see this completely organic garden off the side of their house. The quality of the air here, I simply cannot describe. I haven’t breathed this comfortably since the last time I was here.

As we approached hour 38 of my consciousness from leaving from the airport, I had to find a way to stay awake as I did not want to be as jet lagged as I had been on the previous trip. I accompanied William to his honey company’s storage and separation facility. While he effortlessly moved 300 kgs of honey with a dolly, I moved a few with some hilarity. He did well to explain the intricacies of the honey business, leaving me impressed with all the work these boys have gotten done to make it a profitable business venture. Brilliantly, or perhaps in just true Kiwi fashion, he dismissed this feat with a simple, “But you know, it’s just another job really.” BS, it’s cooler just about any job I’ve had, and none of them were my own business.

After loading 3300kgs of honey back onto the truck, we headed back to Hamilton. I finally unpacked and settled in for dinner, after which I was fading fast at approximately 7:15pm local time. I’d beaten my record from the last time I was here and commenced to sleep for a whopping ten hours.

Not a bad first day.

Now here I am, on the first day of the big adventure. I’ve had a bit of breakfast, a shower, mowed through the first chapter of the Great Gatsby and am now off to discover Hamilton, and adventure (and hopefully a job and a gym).

Hoping today rocks for you,

Pete

Just some daily inspiration

Well, here it is. 3 months ago I had the idea to spend the summer (for us northern hemisphere dwellers) in New Zealand. Summer in NYC sucks; it’s hot and, sure the sun dresses are nice to look at, but when you’re covered in sweat waiting for the subway it doesn’t bode well for your chances of making a good impression.

With a gaping hole in my finances due to one job finishing this past week, it would’ve been impossible to survive, let alone thrive in the Big Apple, so alternative plans needed to be made.

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